#so take everything I say about translations with a grain of salt lol

[petrichal]

One Piece 1133 talk: Praise Me for Living

i just wanted to open this with I WANT TO PELT SPANDINE AND THAT FUCKING SON OF HIS WITH ROCKS SO BAD OH MY GODDDD

"I'll never forget the sounds of the screams that emerged from the fire" THOSE WERE CIVILLIANS. ON THE ISLAND YOU ORDERED A BUSTER CALL ON. I HOPE YOU CHOKED IN YOUR GRAVE AND SUFFER IN HELL I HATE YOU

(kind of a moot point but one other thing i wanna say when I was reading through the raws was that Spandine says “ガキの皮を被った悪魔だ”/"That's a demon wearing the skin of a child" here which - to me - felt more visceral than the translation. still an insane thing to say about a child though, obviously.

edit: I was thinking how fucked up it was that literally everyone around her believed that she truly was the devil's child, but with descriptions like that (+ rumors spreading about how she can use "freakish sorcery" [-> devil fruits not being common in the Blues?], she'd "slit your throat in the night", and "no human emotions", like she's not human at all) you can see how easy it was for people to get brainwashed into this wrong idea of her when she was young. Government manipulation in, i guess, the entirety of West Blue at the time, ran deep. anyways)

With that outta the way, this chapter is masterful. Im gonna cry. Ive cried already throughout a third of my reading for this chapter, it's just so good. Nico Robin I love you so much

Though its unfortunate that we have to see Spandine again, Oda knows what he's doing bringing back Robin's tragedy at the start of the chapter. We know her story, we've seen her flashback, but it's an entire other thing to see it again in Elbaf, the arc where we know the context of, that Saul is alive, and it gives us a clue that that is where the chapter is heading towards.

Also isn't it crazy that when the dialogue frames Robin as this "dangerous", "unfeeling" person with no heart, the visual we're presented with is her crying as she sifts through garbage to search for food, and then sharing it with a dog?? Hello??? And the panels before that goes "The government won't go into detail about the story" for fear that "the truth" might "traumatize the children", which is CRAZY when slapped upon an image of cipher pol agents with guns actively hunting down a child??? The juxtaposition of Spandine's dialogue and the images that are shown is very telling, it's just so well done.

TW: discussions of suicide (for this part)

We know that Robin was ostracized as a child. We know this. Doesn't make it hurt any less, though. Especially (and especially) when it's shown on the pages clearly of how it affected her.

What got me thinking when I saw this again was that all of West Blue was probably fed this lie from the World Government. Every island she went to knew who she was, literally everyone was warned to look out for her, that she was dangerous and should be turned in. And it's not like travelling out of West Blue was safe, nor was it probably an option that existed for Robin back then- like, she was eight!! How was she supposed to go across the Red Line, the Calm Belt?? She was truly boxed in. She must've felt that there was no other way out. Of course she'd turn to suicide.

That panel of her at the cliff honestly broke me. It's not like it wasn't implied at all back when her flashback was first shown; Her circumstances were difficult for her and it wouldn't be out of left field to think that she might have considered dying. To have it drawn on a page that she considered it, looked down from a cliff, and the fact that the only thing keeping her from jumping was her mother's words and Saul's promise was genuinely heartbreaking. She was so strong to have gone through all of that, she deserves the whole world and more actually

Cut back to the present and she lived through it all and here she is with her family, a place where she belongs aaaaaa 🥲 I love that Luffy gets all huffy (hah) over Robin saying that she can go alone, saying that a captain needs to pay their respects to those who have helped their crew, that it's the honorable thing to do. Sounds like a certain someone, ey? (Ace & Shanks lol, he remembers Makino's lessons from all those years ago too ;v;).

Then they all insist to go with her and it's so cute and I was like oh when did she change her clothes and $@!#>}! ITS THE SAME FIT SHE WORE WHEN SHE MET SAUL FOR THE FIRST TIME!! SAUL'S "FALLEN AND WON'T GET UP" IS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO GREET HER SO HE DECIDED TO JUST FACEPLANT ON THE BEACH BECAUSE THATS HOW HE MET HER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! ITS SO SILLY BUT I STARTED TEARING UP??? WHAT????AND THEN THE PARALLELS:

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

my heart...... my heart.....augghjkjsdh..... (speechless)

The fact that the first thing he tells her was about how Ohara's sacrifice wasn't in vain, that traces of them still remain, like Robin, did you hear Vegapunk's message?? That was the message from the people of Ohara, their voices are still being heard!! was so goddang wholesome.

And Robin hears this, and she hears about how Saul survived and the things he heard other people call her, and he's getting angry on behalf of her again but all she wanted (and perhaps, what she truly needed this whole time) was something else;

For Saul to praise her for having survived.

(The Viz translation isn't ~wrong~ with Robin's line here, but I wanted to point out how it was put originally; Instead of "I want to hear nice things about how I survived!", the raws read “生きたこと… 褒めてほしい！”, which, as I understood it, "I want you to praise me... for being alive/having survived!". The chapter title has it as "Nice Things" but the original was “褒めてほしい”/ "I want you to praise (me)". And this probably seemed self-conceited in english?? and that's why it's translated like that idk, i just thought its nicer in jp)

But the fact that Robin is asking this of Saul and the fact that she's able to make that request in the first place is where I sobbed because this is what Robin wants to hear!!! It's a childish, selfish request, and it's something she wasn't able to wish for / doesn't allow herself to wish for before because she thought Saul/anyone she loved from her past was dead this whole time or that she didn't deserve it, but Saul is alive, and it's the first step she needs to take to truly heal!! Her changing her clothes and cutting her hair to seem more like herself when she was younger is a deliberate choice, this is the part of her that needs closure, the part of her that went through all the trauma the world had given her, and she's healing her inner child!! She needed to hear this from Saul!! She deserves this so much!!! (im rambly if this doesnt make any sense im sorry khfdjk)

And Saul laughs, and says of course!/“勿論だ！”, no questions asked, and the unconditional love just broke me down man i cant

Note that Robin was smiling this entire time (maybe from the start of the arc? or at least since she cut her hair) and leading up to the last page was when she finally started breaking down. They're crying, the crew's crying, Luffy looking on so fondly, happy for her, and I'm crying. I love One Piece so much, I love these dorks. I don't think I'll forget this last page for my life, it's one of the best moments in this series to date.... Truly the Robin chapter of all time <3

bonus: lmfao?? maybe they'll let him down once they get back for the festivities but rip bozo

[hwnglx]

jyp's favorite stray kids members

based on tarot. i do not know these idols personally. energies are always changing. what i say is NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

#1 felix most profitable member, heartbeat of the group. he keeps them going, gives them the drive to remain determined. also is very ambitious when it comes his career. they think he has this inner fire that's unleashed once he taps into work mode. the company puts a lot of thought and effort into figuring out how to market him, use him to his full potential. he's also like a sponge, absorbs all the member's energies.

#2 hyunjin very close to being no 1, lix just gives more favorite child. hj has the most star power, literally carries the group. in jyp's eyes, skz wouldn't be what they are without hyunjin's impact. he has an abundance of dreams and wishes, isn't easily satisfied and carries himself in a proud manner. knows what he can do for the group. but also, is the most cherished one within the members, someone they're very protective over. they care about him a lot.

#3 seungmin cares a lot about the group's harmony, willing to sacrifice his own beliefs and opinions for the sake of his members. very agreeable and easy to manage. like he just doesnt bring you any trouble, a company's dream.

#4 jeongin cutely enough, the most professional and mature when it comes to work. good at keeping a level head and separating his private life from his career. brings a lot of happy energy into the group, makes them more of a family. (they think skz would bicker more if it wasn't for him bringing a sense of joy into their dynamic) however, can be explosive unexpectedly, isn't afraid to raise his voice when necessary.

#5 bang chan very intuitive and smart, obviously a member in place of authority. makes the big decisions. constantly worrying and pondering over what to do next, how to keep up their momentum and hold on to their fanbase. good at mediating between the members and the company. can get hyperfixated on certain things and get very controlling or manipulative, knows how to get what he wants from the company. (basically uses the company's resources for skz's “own” good -> doesn't take jyp's opinion into consideration if he feels strongly about something. but obviously knows jyp benefits from their success too so = win win)

#6 lee know very close to being no 5. jyp thinks he's someone who dealt with a lot of losses and sadness in the past. was able to overcome it by keeping busy, he's amazing at balancing different priorities. makes it look very easy and effortless. has a quiet but strong inner confidence, doesn't let anyone stand in his way. doesn't insert himself into discussions too much and tries to remain balanced, only speaks up if he feels strongly about something.

#7 jisung i expected him to be higher, but jyp just struggles handling him sometimes. they think he isn't that reliable, very easily tired and hurt, needs a lot of mental breaks. unpredictable and unstable, you never know if you're gonna get drained or energetic jisung today. they think he's disconnected to his feelings a lot, a lot of numbness. jyp thinks he's a genius and could be one of the most popular members if he didn't stand in his own way. i can sense worry about the public not understanding and judging him. (the cards flew for him my god)

#8 changbin i just kept hearing “말 넘많아” which translates to “he talks too much” lol, they think he disagrees with almost everything the company says, always finds himself in conflict with them. just hard to handle. like, even if the entire group agrees, changbin can probably find something else to nag about and improve. they do acknowledge he plays a huge role for the emotional support in skz though. he's the rock for many members. he's good at reading them, speaking up for them, being their shoulder to cry and lean on. like a soft and gentle father figure.

tbh, i can't sense any animosity towards any members here. they all have a decent enough relationship with the company, their liking just goes towards some members more than others. i can tell they're very aware of how essential the group is for the company's brand, profit, reputation, etc.. so they definitely are very considerate towards them, and making sure they're all satisfied with what they get. the road wasn't all rainbows and butterflies though.. i can see a lot of discussions being held in the past, and skz needing to hold their ground firmly in order to get what they want.

[ultra-violet-heart]

THE 2018 DENGEKI BUNKO INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

Disclaimer: This translation is made by me for fandom purposes only. This interview, conducted in 2017, gives major insights on how the sci-fi mecha series 86--EIGHTY-SIX was conceived and written before it eventually won the Dengeki Novel Prize back in 2016.

Please ask my permission and credit me+this post if you will be re-translating this to other languages. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST ON YOUTUBE AND TIKTOK AND PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THE IMAGES ON THIS INTERVIEW. Please take the fan translations here with a grain of salt. 

Credits to @Yashamise from Twitter for copies of this Dengeki Bunko Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine.

Erratum: This interview was conducted and printed in 2017, but this Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine is dated 2018 as an advance issue of sorts. This interview has been summarized here. My apologies for the title.

I’m posting my Ko-Fi here as currently, I’ve been having financial trouble regarding my medicine, so if anyone can donate, I would be much grateful for the help, thank you very much.

AN INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

“I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them,” this author says. This tale is filled with the grief from war, the ugliness of racial discrimination, as well as the romance of mechas and of garter belts! In this interview, she reveals to us everything about its roots and its appeal! 

Text and Composition: My Street 

Illustrator: Shirabii

Translator’s Note: For purposes of this interview translation, the interviewer will be labelled as “MS” for My Street, since they layouted and probably conducted this transcribed interview. Also, for words that have brackets or parenthesis:

{} = implied by context                             

() = given emphasis/given parenthesis in the interview itself

[] = included in the footnotes/translator’s notes

A robot lover as far as she could remember

MS: Thank you very much for your time today for this interview. It was surprising to learn that the author {for 86--EIGHTY-SIX}, Ms. Asato, is a woman.

ASATO: I get that a lot (haha). My family says the contents of my work is just “the usual {for Asato}” though. I think my Afterwords have the impression they’re written by a woman, and I never hid that in particular (haha).

MS: This year {2018}, 86--EIGHTY-SIX placed first in the New Works category and second in the bunkobon {paperback} category overall. How do you feel about this now?

ASATO: I’m very happy. I knew of KonoRano’s existence [1], so I was hoping {86--EIGHTY-SIX} might be listed there somewhere, but it was a surprise that it placed higher than expected. As I said in this interview’s foreword: “I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them.” I’m thankful that many readers found it interesting.

MS: For readers who haven’t heard of 86--EIGHTY-SIX, can you give us a summary of this work?

ASATO: It’s a lively, filled-with-clanks story of the protagonist Shin, his merry band of thieves, and their remotely-working-class-president Lena. [2] (LOL)

MS: 86--EIGHTY-SIX is your debut work. Can you tell us about the time you started writing this work?

ASATO: I’ve been writing ever since I can remember, and I started with writing manga {scripts}. I switched to writing novels around before I started junior high school and have been writing them ever since.

MS: You’ve been interested in robots and military-related things ever since elementary school, is that right?

ASATO: Yes, that’s correct. My mother liked {Space Battleship} Yamato [3] and Gundam, and as I have a younger brother, I got into watching and reading anime and manga targeted at boys. I was rarely exposed to anime and manga targeted at girls. We had the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy [4] at home (which I’ve seen many times), and I also watched The Brave Police J-Decker [5] and The Brave Express Might Gaine [6], as well as other shows in The Brave [7] series. The only anime I had watched that is {targeted at girls} is Magic Knight Rayearth [8], which is another story with robots fighting in it (haha).

MS: I reckon such an environment led you to writing 86--EIGHTY-SIX. Can you tell us about your writing process?

ASATO: I originally submitted {works} to the Kadokawa Beans [9] Bunko Newcomer Awards. I avoided the Dengeki Novel Prize as it was rather {too hard to enter} due to the large number of entries [10] there. The novel entry I made on the 21st year of the Dengeki Novel Prize (2014), however, was totally not aimed at women at all, so I didn’t have any other choice but to submit that to said contest, as it has the closest deadline. It was a sci-fi fantasy work, with a theme of redemption, set on a time before and after {a} revolution. At that time, I thought, maybe I can go past beyond the 3rd round of screenings and unexpectedly, maybe placed on a good spot? However, the evaluation I got from the judges were “This is a 100% a work targeted at girls” and “Next time, we hope you will submit a work that should be Dengeki Bunko-like”. As Dengeki Bunko [11] is an all-kinds-of-genre publication, I didn’t know what ‘Dengeki Bunko-like’ even meant. I thought about it a lot but couldn’t figure it out, so I just kept on writing and finished my next entry, which is 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

MS: How did you come up with the idea and structure of 86, a war drama where unmanned drones and “unmanned manned drones” battle each other?

ASATO: I once read a newspaper article whose main message was “It won’t be good if a country sends its citizens to war, but it shouldn’t be a problem if they made an army of foreigners fight in their stead.” In that case, I felt very afraid that other people will be forced to fight instead of us, with the idea of “those aren’t people, but drones” justifying this and everyone just allowing it {to happen}.

MS: As written in Volume 1’s Afterword, looking back at history, it. is true that racism and racial exclusion existed to no small extent. So, why did you decide to incorporate “racism” into your work?

ASATO: Ever since I started writing novels, I have repeatedly written about boundary lines between “human beings and those who are human but not treated as human beings”, with 86--EIGHTY-SIX being in a similar vein. One of the bases for this is probably the class discrimination found in Final Fantasy Tactics [12], for example. A character there, Argath, who is an aristocrat, tells a commoner character: “But the gods have no eyes for chattel! [12]” This line has stayed with me ever since. After that, I continued to write with the motifs of “human beings and livestock in human form” and “human and those considered not humans”. I think BLACK/MATRIX+ [13] influenced me as well. This game deals with ethnic discrimination, set in a world where black-winged people are ruled over by white-winged people. In there, those who were discriminated against were treated harshly. They were treated like livestock, with the game having this line of, “Why is a mere slave like you wearing clothes?”

MS: Do you often play games?

ASATO: When my gaming consoles weren’t connected yet to the Internet, I used to play a lot of RPGs. I’m not good at action games. I did play a lot of Final Fantasy, like Final Fantasy VI, Tactics, VIII, IX, and X [14].

MS: Are there other works which influenced you? I wonder if there’s something similar like the war situation in Knights of Sidonia [15], which was mentioned in Volume 1’s afterword.

ASATO: I often watch a lot of robot shows, Knights of Sidonia included. In addition to the Gundam series mentioned earlier, I also watched Full Metal Panic [16] and Gunparade March: A New Song for the March [17]. It’s not a robot series, but I also have read Battle Faery Yukikaze [18] over and over. I like {literary} structures where the protagonist side is overwhelmingly inferior while the antagonist side is the superior one. I want to see the flow of emotions from the characters more than the fight scenes themselves. I think emotions such as fear, resignation and desperation show more in situations where {characters} are hopelessly in a big disadvantage. Winning a battle by domination can be exhilarating, yes, but those other emotions don’t show as much during that. That’s why I prefer for the protagonists to win through unrefined and tenacious means, rather than them winning by outsmarting {enemies}.

The work’s influences from horror films and in-depth military research

MS: The Legion are getting more ominous, and the deteriorating situation for Shin and his group is putting them on a very big disadvantage, if I’m not mistaken.

ASATO: 86--EIGHTY-SIX has been influenced more by horror movies than robot anime, with it being based on movies such as The Mist [19] and Screamers [20]. Mist is a horror story where the protagonists get trapped in a supermarket due to a mysterious fog and monsters, and the people gradually lose their ability to make rational judgments as they are unable to defend themselves or escape, without any rescue in sight. This horror movie has a great ending, so I’m inviting you all to watch it without further spoilers. 86--EIGHTY-SIX was initially set as a novel about a fog of nanomachines covering the walls outside of the Republic, and the “Legion” being an aggregation of said nanomachines. However, that kind of thing couldn’t exactly be defeated by conventional weapons, so it was rejected at the setting phase. These elements from this setting, however, were retained in the form of Volume 1’s final boss character and the appearance of those electromagnetic jammers clouding the sun.

MS: It’s rather surprising this came from a horror setting.

ASATO: The other {inspiration mentioned earlier}, Screamers, is a sci-fi horror film where autonomous war weapons evolved on their own and went out of control. In 86--EIGHTY-SIX, the Self-Propelled Mines, which look like wounded soldiers, are based on Screamers. The work is rather interesting as one has no ideas who their enemies are and everything else looks suspicious.

MS: So you have a situation like this, and you applied what kind of emotions you want to be shown in that situation, correct?

ASATO: Yes. Looking back, I think I was strongly influenced by the novel Chaos Legion [21] {in this regard}. Shin’s Personal Mark, which has a shovel on it, was influenced by his special ability as well as his role being the “Undertaker” responsible for collecting the fragments of his comrade-in-arms’ {Feldreẞ} units.

MS: The more I hear about it, it seems this work is really packed full of things {you} like.

ASATO: While I was writing this, I played the Black Hawk Down [22] movie repeatedly instead of just background music. It’s also a favorite {movie} of mine.

MS: I would like to ask you about military-related matters. What kind of material did you use for your research?

ASATO: I borrowed all relevant materials I use from the library, so I don’t have any specific references… About racial discrimination, I read materials about Nazi Germany [23], the internment camps in US as well as the 442nd Infantry Regiment [24] and Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary [25]. As for the weapons, the Juggernaut and the Legion are based and patterned from tanks, so I’ve read materials dating back from World War II [26] as well as the Gulf War [26], where 120mm tanks were the main weapons used. The Juggernaut’s 57mm cannon wasn’t used very often, so I had a difficult time finding research material for it. The unit itself is based on the M551 Sheridan [27]. This airborne assault tank has aluminum alloy armor, but the Juggernaut reflects the pitiful aspect of said flimsy armor which explodes upon impact by any stray attack.

MS: Why did you make the Juggernaut and the Legion multi-legged tanks?

ASATO: Because it’s romantic! I love multi-legged tanks! My first exposure with them is the X-ATM092 [28], a spider-shaped mobile unit from FFVIII. The loud, resounding footsteps it produced as it chased you away was very scary, and it left this impression of being a symbol of a very powerful weapon. I also like Ghost in the Shell’s Tachikoma [29] and the Tobigumo from the Swallowtail novel series [30]. In reality, multi-legged tank units aren’t really fast enough, and there is too much ground pressure for those to actually carry a 120mm cannon… but I make up for it with my imagination (LOL)

A character that embodies the idea of “to be human” walks alone

MS: Concerning those people called “Eighty-Six”, what do you think it means “to be human”, which you tried to depict in Volume 1?

ASATO: What I tried to depict in this work is “to respect other human beings, and to live without regrets.” However, I don’t think everything I wrote in this main part is actually correct. I think this is the answer the “Eighty-Six” came up with due to the environment they lived in. In Volume 2, the stage now shifts to the Federacy, so the theme there is now what will happen if said environment has changed.

MS: In Volume 2, I see this as a story where the “Eighty-Six”, who managed to get safety for the time being, nevertheless still returned to the battlefield. I think this sentiment was portrayed very well.

ASATO: Volume 3 will focus on what happens inside {Shin’s head} after he made that choice, so please look forward to that. After all, they don’t feel safe even after coming to the Federal Republic of Giad. And the war against the Legion isn’t over yet. Since the Eighty-Six think they will not survive if they don’t fight, I think they will continue to fight until the Legion disappeared. Then… what will they do after the Legion are eventually gone? …They will certainly have to think about that in the future as well.

MS: Do you have a favorite among all the characters?

ASATO: It’s Raiden. Of course, I love the two protagonists, Shin and Lena, but Shin isn’t really a very cooperative character with me, so I have a certain attachment to Raiden, who provides much support. Instead of simply just crafting the plot, I write in a way that captures how each character would act in line with {the type of} world I've created. That’s why I do not know what the characters think, what goals they have, or what pasts they bear unless they “talk” to me. Shin is not the type {of character} to talk about anything in particular, and he doesn’t even say anything much except for his name. It wasn’t until I finished writing that climax of a battle in Volume 1 that I realized what he was fighting for. After I wrote it, I was like, “Huh?! So, this is it?!” and was surprised as the author (LOL).

MS: So, you didn’t think about Shin’s background at first?

ASATO: Yes, that’s right. During that climax, I finally understood {everything} concerning Shin, so I went back on that part and wrote the details that I then added. 

MS: So even at the plotting stage, you haven’t put together the {setting and background} for each of the characters?

ASATO: To begin with, when I wrote Volume 1, I haven’t even made a plot. I didn’t even have a story structure in particular, and just wrote while letting the characters act. The first time I finished this volume, the last two pages were still missing, but Shin brought them to me, saying, “Sure enough, write up to this far.”

MS: What happened after Volume 2?

ASATO: I have submitted the plot… but stressed on the important scene that “I won’t know everything until I write it” then submitted it. As a result of this, only the boss character from Volume 3 remained in that plot I submitted. {I caused} my editors a lot of trouble.

MS: How did Frederica (the character) come to be?

ASATO: Frederica is a character with a part further on in the series, so I intended to debut her in Volume 2. As I was writing her, however, it seemed she and Shin have similarities on what they carry on their backs. Since then, she acts as a mirror to Shin. As Shin is a character who is not very good at grasping his own emotions, {I had Frederica} serve as the one who verbalizes those emotions. I wondered then, what does it mean to have a 10-year-old verbalize {another person’s feelings}? (LOL) I simply wanted to show a little girl. In Volume 2, the heroine, Lena, is absent, but I can’t have another girl the same age as her as this volume’s heroine… and so, under this pretext, I brought out {Frederica as} the little girl heroine.

MS: For some reason, I thought there’s other many works featuring little girls in the battlefield.

ASATO: If this were about a real battlefield, it would have been filled with old men. I like older men soldier characters, so that would have been fun to see, but I don’t think readers would find that interesting. Cute little girls adding a touch of color {to a work} is important (LOL).

MS: Did you decide on the setting from the start?

ASATO: The setting was generally decided from the beginning. The scenes were written out as needed. For example, regarding the battlefield, the Legion are ground-based weapons, and it would be troubling if they’re easily eradicated by aircraft weapons. That’s why {I had} the Eintagsfliege, a Legion unit which has jamming, and restricted the use of aircraft and communication devices. This, however, would have prevented Shin and Lena from communicating with each other, so I then devised the special communication device called the Para-RAID.

MS: How deeply did you think about this world’s setting on itself?

ASATO: The necessary scenes have been chosen in detail, otherwise, the rest of the details aren’t fixed. For example, it’s not in the main story, but the Republic’s population has already been decided upon. It’s the reverse with the countries on the edge of the continent that aren’t scheduled to appear, as they might have a Chinese-like culture… that’s all I thought of it right now. There’s also this “sensory tuning”, which hasn’t been written in the setting yet, but is scheduled to be involved in the future part of the plot. However, as I said just a short while ago, the story {as a whole} is influenced greatly by how the characters act, so it depends on them to make the best use of the setting. From this point on, who will survive and who will die… is something that I still don’t know.

MS: Is it still unknown how the war against the Legion will move forward?

ASATO: The basic points {for that} have been decided, with the foreshadowing being built onto step by step. However, it is up to those two, Shin and Lena, if they will follow suit. (LOL)

MS: What about the Legion, then?

ASATO: About the Legion, the setting about them has been solidly established, including the future boss characters. However, I can’t say anything about them yet. Details about them have been foreshadowed little by little. I write hoping the readers will be surprised by this later.

The love for garter belts explodes! A talk about eroticism

MS: Changing the subject, what it is about your particular fixation towards garter belts [31] and pilot suits [32], both of which you spoke so passionately about in your Afterwords?

ASATO: About the pilot suits, on the outline for volume 2, I wrote "I don’t want men’s pilot suits paired with ground-based armaments!!!" using half of the A4 outline paper and submitted that (LOL). I’ve wondered whether pilot suits are really necessary, apart from space or aircraft or even ground battles. I’ve my doubts about it, and with said doubts I don’t want {characters} just wearing pilot suits, even in a robot thing. I do agree with the editor-in-charge about “Female pilot suits are justice!” so Lena wearing a pilot suit is scheduled to appear in the future [32]. After all, the garter belt shows a good place between sexy and cute. I think the eroticism {from the garter belt} dwells in its self-contradictory element: it’s just one additional item {in a set of clothes}, and somehow manages to show more skin―I think that’s the charm of the garter belt. In particular, if the color {of the garter belt} contrasts strongly with the skin color {of the wearer}, the impression of bare skin is more emphasized in spite of the wearer. Because of this, I think it’s wonderful that Shirabii colored the belt part {of Lena’s garter belts} black.

MS: It’s amazing the garter belt drawn by Shirabii has the functions of both a belt and a ring, isn’t it?

ASATO: Furthermore, Lena’s military uniform, a garment that is very much seen in public, has garter belts, which are usually private items, and I think that adds further to her ambivalent charm even more. As a matter of fact, at first, I argued that it would be better if {her} thighs were not visible all the time but could be glimpsed at occasionally, but after a 2 AM discussion with the editors-in-charge while looking at the rough draft of the cover art, they convinced me that “That ‘occasionally’ should be now!”, and we settled on its current form. The ideal situation {we have} was when {Lena} lifts her legs up and a glimpse of the black lace garter can be seen through the slit of {her} dress. However, as Lena is a prim and proper lady, the only situation I can think of where she lifts her legs while wearing a dress is when she is about to wear heels… I’ll have to ask Shin to do his best on this one.

MS: Rather a difficult situation, isn’t it?

ASATO: It’s Shin, after all. Also, a military uniform with pretty boy shorts + sock garters is also cute, and as Theo hasn’t appeared with his military uniform yet, I’m thinking to add that to his outfit now… (LOL). However, middle-aged soldier uncles shouldn’t show their bare legs with shirt garters! (Editor’s note: Please Google “shirt garters” for more info)

MS: Are there any {role/inspiring} models for your characters?

ASATO: Basically, none. However, as mentioned earlier, Shin is partly inspired by Sieg Wahrheit [33] from Chaos Legion, while Lena is partly inspired by General Garrison [34] from Black Hawk Down. In the film, {Garrison} is placed on a situation where he could do nothing but only communicate with his subordinates in adverse circumstances, and this inspired Lena’s position {in the series}. In Black Hawk Down, many characters died before we even understood them, and I think that influenced 86--EIGHTY-SIX as well.

MS: That’s right. They die when the chapters change. When you are writing, you’re writing without knowing who is going to die, isn’t it?

ASATO: There are some characters whose manner of death came to mind as I was writing them. I think they’re good kids, but I have no choice but to let them face their fates (oops).

MS: If the names of the Eighty-Six characters were names of Japanese people, would they still make good names?

ASATO: Yes. All their names can be written in kanji. For example, Shin’s surname, “Nouzen” is from the kanji of the Chinese trumpet creeper (凌霄花) {pronounced as “nouzenkazura”} [35].  I actually like the arrangement of the kanji {from that plant} within the kanji for “surpassing the sky” (霄を凌ぐ) {pronounced as “sora wo shinogu”}. If you use the same kanji and put the honorific (君) {pronounced as “kun”} on it, you can form the characters for the Eurasian goshawk (凌霄君) {pronounced as “ryoshoukun”} [36]. This is also a reference to Shin’s image, as he does resemble a hawk.

What’s next for this series? There’s so much more to write about!

MS: What will happen in Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX? [37]

ASATO: It will be properly connected to Volume 1’s Epilogues, so please don’t worry about that. The battle scenes, which were limited in Volume 2, will be much increased here. It might be even tragic.

EDITOR KIYOSE: This paperback series will, of course, continue to be serialized, and the series will also be expanded into various adaptations such as comics [38] and other various media. This work will have a lot of side stories, so we hope you will all appreciate this series as a whole.

MS: Can you please tell us about the future developments of 86--EIGHTY-SIX?

ASATO: The stage has shifted to the Federacy from Volume 2, and as the war situation gets more violent, the environment surrounding the Eighty-Six and the others is about to deteriorate further. There will be new enemies for mankind to face, and their own numerous personal conflicts standing on their way one by one. However, they have survived far difficult circumstances up until now, and since Lena will join them in earnest by Volume 4, I think they will still survive, stubbornly, shamelessly, and boisterously. However, I really wouldn’t know what would happen unless I write them. (LOL)

MS: How many volumes does this series will have?

ASATO: Currently, I'm thinking of around 13 volumes. The war against the Legion has a general flow and an ending in sight already, so I'd like to get to that point first. In addition to that, I’d like to like to write a side story about Raiden and Shin when they just first met, if I have the opportunity [39]. There’s so much more I want to write about. From Volume 4 onward, countries other than the Federacy will be related, and there’s plans to stretch out the stage even more. The Queen's Knights [40], led by Lena, will also make their appearance. I think there might be some slight surprises about Shiden, who first appeared in Volume 2.

MS: Lastly, any message for the readers who have supported you and the series?

ASATO: I was never active on the web at all, and I was totally an unknown newcomer writer. I believe the reason why I and the 86--EIGHTY-SIX series have come this far is due to the readers who picked up the books and supported us. So, everyone, I will do my best to write bringing Shin and Lena and the Eighty-Six’s battle to conclusion, so from this point on, I look forward to your continued support!

{End of Interview}

Translator’s Notes (Most of the blurbs here are taken from respective relevant Wikipedia articles, and the notes also include the Magazine Notes from the actual interview):

[1] Kono Light Novel Ga Sugoi: Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! (このライトノベルがすごい!, lit. This Light Novel is Amazing!) is an annual light novel guidebook published by Takarajimasha. The guidebook publishes a list of the top ten most popular light novels according to readers polled on the Internet and votes from critics, influencers, and other people related to the light novel industry. 86--EIGHTY-SIX ranked 2nd and 5th in the bunkobon category here in 2018 and 2019.

[2] Lena is the class president of Class 2-E in the 86--EIGHTY-SIX Operation High School spin-off side stories and the manga. This is probably among the first references to said spin-off.

[3] Space Battleship Yamato: one of Japan’s most influential sci-fi/mecha series, a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions.

[4] Mobile Suit Gundam: The first series in this very popular Japanese military science fiction media franchise, it was re-released into a film trilogy in 1981.

[5] The Brave Police J-Decker: The fifth installment in the Barve series.

[6] The Brave Express Might Gaine: The fourth installment in the Brave series.

[7] The Brave mecha and sci-fi series: a Japanese toy and anime franchise Brave series made by Takara and Sunrise, and currently owned by Bandai Namco.

[8] Magic Knight Rayearth: a mecha, fantasy and isekai shoujo manga series made by the all-female manga artist group CLAMP.

[9] Kadokawa BEANS Bunko Award: The contest launched by Kadokawa’s female-focused light novel imprint, Kadokawa Beans Bunko.

[10] Dengeki Novel Prize: a literary award handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works for their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint, spearheaded by parent company Kadokawa. It is among Japan’s largest light novel contests, with more than 4500 entries submitted annually. 86--EIGHTY-SIX won 1st place in the Rookie Awards category in 2016, launching it to the spotlight.

[11] Dengeki Bunko: a publishing imprint affiliated with Kadokawa’s ASCII Media Works. Many anime adaptations from light novels were published by Dengeki Bunko, including 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

[12] [Magazine Note 1] Final Fantasy Tactics: A tactical simulation RPG released in 1997. The socially conscious storyline, which tackled friction between nations and the gap between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Please take note I used the Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions translation here as contextually I believe this translation has more in line with EIGHTY-SIX than the translation of the actual game Asato played, which is the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, Argath vs Algus :3

[13] [Magazine Note 2] BLACK/MATRIX+: A tactical simulation RPG for Sega Saturn, with the PlayStation port released in 1998. It has a unique setting where virtue and vice are said to be reversed.

[14] Final Fantasy: a fantasy anthology media franchise, first and mainly developed as RPGs, owned, published, and distributed by Square Enix. Currently this franchise has 16 main series game releases. One of these games, Final Fantasy VIII, has its main soundtrack (“Eyes on Me” by Faye Wong) featured on the Afterword of 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 7: Mist.

[15] Knights of Sidonia: A sci-fi/mecha seinen manga, made by Tsutomu Nihei and ran from 2009-2015 in Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon magazine. Its anime adaptation, which ran for two seasons, was produced by Polygon Pictures and aired from 2014 to 2015.

[16] Full Metal Panic!: a series of mecha light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji, published by Kadokawa’s Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and ran from 1998-2011. Its anime adaptations were produced by Gonzo, Kyoto Animation and Xebec respectively, from 2003 to 2018.

[17] Gunparade March: A New Song for the March: The anime adaptation for the Playstation video game Gunparade March, produced by J.C. Staff and aired in 2003.

[18] Battle Faery Yukikaze: a Japanese military science fiction novel series written by Chouhei Kambayashi. Its five-episode OVA adaptation ran from 2002-2005.

[19] [Magazine Note 3] Mist: A 2007 film based on the award-winning science fiction horror novella by Stephen King.

[20] [Magazine Note 4] Screamers: A 1995 futuristic science fiction horror film, based on Phillip K. Dick’s novelette “Second Variety”.

[21] [Magazine Note 5] Chaos Legion: A mixed-media action RPG released in 2003, getting a novelization by Tow Ubukata.

[22] [Magazine Note 6] Black Hawk Down: A 2001 war movie. Based on a non-fiction work about an actual urban war between international forces and guerillas that occurred in Somalia. The film depicts how a UH-60 Black Hawk​ gets taken down and this being dragged into a war situation.

[23] This is a very extensive subject, so please feel free to check out Nazi Germany on Wikipedia to get at least an overview.

[24] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out 442nd Infantry Regiment on Wikipedia to get an overview.

[25] [Magazine Note 7] Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A diary kept by a Jewish teacher, {Chaim A. Kaplan}. It described the persecution and pillaging by the Nazis, as well as the three harsh years of {Kaplan’s} life.

Printed in Japan as (ワルシャワ・ゲットー日記―ユダヤ人教師の記録 or “Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A Jewish Teacher’s Record”), with Kaplan implied to have died in 1942 when he was sent to the Treblinka death camp along with other Warsaw Jews.

[26] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out World War II on Wikipedia to get an overview. Feel free to also check out Gulf War on Wikipedia to get an overview on this topic.

[27] [Magazine Note 8] M551 Sheridan: an American tank developed to be amphibious, airborne tank. Its body was made of aluminum alloy to help reduce weight, but this made it vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and land mines, and it could explode when the shells it’s equipped with are triggered.

[28] X-ATM092: A spider-like robot boss enemy found in Final Fantasy VIII.

[29] Tachikoma: a blue-colored AI walker/roller tank that looks like a spider in the Ghost in the Shell cyberpunk media franchise.

[30] Swallowtail series: The sci-fi novel series written by Chitose Touma and published by Dengeki Bunko in 2008. The series is about artificial fairies, androids created in the form of humans, to be companions to still-living humans after parts of Tokyo’s population were wiped out in a pandemic, and one of these fairies, Ageha, is investigating a serial killer causing destruction. The work also has this multi-legged armored tank called “Tobigumo”. So far as I know this mecha doesn’t have official art, however, a fanart can be found in Pixiv here.

[31] [Magazine Note 9] Garter: They’re suspenders of sorts. “Garter belt” is the term for {a fabric strap which} which is clipped on over-the-knee socks or stockings. Having no shorts above garters is righteous! between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Asato’s interest in garter belts is not only shown in the novels, but also in the anime, which is noted to have a lot of thigh shots of Lena wearing said garter belts.

[32] [Magazine Note 10] Pilot suit: In this case, this is the type of suit that sticks really close to the body. As it shows the body lines quite clearly, it’s considered quite fetishistic. 

In the current time, 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 5: Death, Be Not Proud, has already been published, and Lena did wear the Cicada, which is Asato’s homage to pilot suits.

[33] Sieg Wahrheit: the protagonist of Chaos Legion.

[34] William F. Garrison: a retired major general of the United States Army who commanded United States forces during Operation Gothic Serpent including the Battle of Mogadishu, which served as an inspiration for the novel Black Hawk Down.

[35] The Chinese trumpet creeper, a native flowering vine species found in East Asia, usually in China, can mean “fame”, “honor”, “glory”, “abundant love” and “life filled with flowers” in the flower language.

[36] Eurasian goshawk: a medium-large bird-of-prey found in Europe and Asia and is among the species considered as “true” hawks. The kanji used in the article actually just refers to how Shinei Nouzen looks like a hawk, but upon further examination of said kanji in this reference, it pertained to that goshawk as well.

[37] Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX was just about to be released in Japan around the moment this article was published, serving as a promotion of sorts.

[38] Several manga adaptations of 86--EIGHTY-SIX have been published as of current time. For more information, please check out this 86 Reddit Manga FAQ for further details.

[39] Besides Volume 1, Eighty-Six’s Interlude: Headless Knight II, Asato has managed to write this in the side stories Volume 10, Fragmental Neoteny Chapter 8: The Banks of Lethe and Alter.1: Claymore Squadron.

[40] The Queen’s Knights, formally known as the Brísingamen Squadron, was the squadron Lena became the Handler with after the Spearhead Squadron was sent on the Special Reconnaissance Mission. It was led by Shiden Iida and was pivotal in the Republic of San Magnolia’s defense during the 1st Legion Large Scale Offensive.

[omarera]

Breaking down the Aftonbladet article putting into Swedish context, at least my perspective. Markus is viewing the award as a music award and he has strong opinions on what his music taste is. People should vote as he wants lol. So a positive thing g here is that Omar seems to have a lot of votes. He is always very sarcastic and often have one line slaps sticks liners in his articles and is always straight forward. Markus wants it to be a his taste of “best music “ award but in reality fans are voting based on their own taste and dedication to vote. He needs to change his view of what Rockbjörnen is and why people vote.

Long post ahead…

Some nominations are the joke of the year. Doesn't just stand out. It sticks the eyes.

Ok, I have a few questions. La Gunilla? Fröken Snusk? Where did the musical taste go, dear audience? Is it out drunkenly riding a valley horse?

Since Rockbjörnen is Aftonbladet's prize, I should probably hold back.

It will be such a bad atmosphere otherwise.

The taste is different. After rain comes sun. It's always worse in Gällivare. Take pastors in Knutby with a grain of salt, and so on.

But one of the nominations doesn't just stand out. It sticks out the eyes of sensitive people.

Gunilla Persson? What is she doing here? Her contribution in the Melodifestivalen, "I won't shake (la la Gunilla)", was quite a lot. But "Breakthrough of the year"? What to say about it? Hawk tuah?

Nominating her is like watching the pole vault final at the Olympics, watching Armand Duplantis break a new world record and then giving the Gold of Achievement to a falcon.

I interpret everything as Aftonbladet's dear readers trolling us. If La Gunilla is the breakthrough of the year, you might as well give the bear to Babsan's chorizo ​​hit "Give me a Spaniard", even though the song was released in 2011.

That would be about as reasonable.

For context: Babsan you all know 🫠 but Gunilla Persson is known for being a “Hollywood wife reality star” and she is just loved or hated and just a strong character. She is not a music artist and the actual new breakthrough music artists gets in her shadow.

Another nomination makes me demand that Sweden should introduce a driver's license test before people can express themselves about music. Otherwise, there is a great risk that many people will accelerate backwards towards a red light on the left side of the traffic. That is, cogs in the run-up by voting for Fröken Snusk.Her mix of knight fun and epadunk in a pink robber's hat would only have been a given winner if Rockbjörnen introduced the category "Joke of the Year".

Then so. Now it feels easier to breathe.

For context: Fröken Snusk performes in a pink mask and have songs like “Ride me like a Dalahorse” and “the Gynecological”. Fröken Snusk kind of translates into Miss Naughty. She is though very popular among kids and teens mostly. A guy behind her pulls all the strings and she basically sings the songs. She wants to take a bigger role and is starting to change her image. The song she did in Mello she was a co-author on and she was also the winner of this year’s “The mask” showing off she has great voice. Taking of the mask having her pink mask on. Some songs were also taken down from Spotify due allegations of manipulation of streams. But many love her. Others hate her.

Otherwise, this year's gala seems to be a classic duel at dawn between two relatively young men: Omar Rudberg and Benjamin Ingrosso.Omar can win four Rockbears and Benjamin three, which is due, among other things, to the fact that "Benji" has not performed at Gröna Lund this year and therefore cannot be nominated in the category "Grönan live act of the year".

There is nothing wrong with Rudberg, but if the prize is still about music, Ingrosso should sweep home everything. This summer he took on a new giant leap as a stage performer.

For context: I won’t riot against Markus, so if that’s what you want to read, move on. He acknowledges that it is a duel between them and he has probably seen the numbers of votes. That is positive news for me. There are not just Omar and Beji nominated and Omar and Benji seems to be close in voter numbers (if that’s the reason he writes the article and want to prime Benji winning)

Stating “there is nothing wrong with Omar, but if the prize is still about music, Ingrosso should sweep home everything”.

Music is subjective, and Markus saying there is nothing wrong with Omar is like a compliment coming from him. I prefer Omar’s music and we all know he is not recognized is Sweden as any of us thinks he deserves. I fully agree with that. I also agree that Benji is the biggest artist this year and he has taken leaps both performance wise and with his music. He has done an outsold European tour ( similar to the one Omar will do) and he has had several hits dominating the charts with a little bit of, for him, music style and quality. He has also had a very successful summer tour ( designed by the same person who designed Beyonces stage performance). He has had arena show in Sweden, very few Swedish artists pull that off. He IS the biggest Swedish male artist atm. So I understand Markus viewpoints. Omar is still in the beginning of his career, he has just started performing on stages and has his first tour announced. It’s not possible to compare them. Benji has so much more experience and has released so much more music. Omar is already great but he will have more music coming out with better producers and he will ofc evolve even more on stage. I see many compare Benji with Harry Styles and that’s where my references goes as well. He kind of has similar stage clothes and also the reading signs and having people proposing on his stage. So he interacts with the audience in a similar way.

The trolling part when it comes to Benji is that Benji has been/is by some hated just bc he is a nepo kid and his family. He had a FB group with 9000 members called “we who hate Benjamin” when he was 9yo. And yes he has benefited a lot from his family background and the benefits that comes with that but he also gets hate. And he still has that feeling with him it seems and seem to consider himself as a kind of an underdog needing to prove himself. So him being the biggest artist atm, and if he doesn’t win some will see it as people voted on other artist to make him not win and build on the narrative that it is bc he is a Wahlgren/Ingrosso. He also gets votes for that reason ofc, people loving him and his family, rather than people loving his music.

But all together, La Gunilla and Fröken Snusk might win, loved by the people but maybe not the best music. Omar is loved and have dedicated fans even though Benji is the biggest artist this year. And has the music that has been recognized. Markus seem to prefer his music, I prefer Omar’s music.

Regarding the trolling history for Rockbjörnen, last year Hooja won four categories, they are also liked and loved by kids and people all ages I guess, they wear masks and do fun songs with kind of silly lyrics. Listen below. But they were also “outed” and their names and life’s were written about by Aftonbladet last year which was quite controversial since they wanted to be anonymous for their sake and also their families. They live north in Sweden and lead somewhat just normal family life. So, that was also probably one reason people voted for them. A way of trolling as well.

[kazu-naito]

Hey !!! I love your theories, do you think that Cain was the one who gave humans that poison that causes disability in immortals ?, since in this update it showed the place where Plague and Hunger were collecting the horns for the mother's return from life, and one of the officers in that base had a weapon that managed to seriously injure Dino, I'm taking it as a basis that Cain rebelled against his family, and may have been "expelled" to earth or came here of his own free will, keeping his wings hidden from the humans, I don't know if he made it clear how long he's been living on earth, something else would be about ABH, I'm sure the end of season 3 will be the beginning of all the horror that the horsemen of the Apocalypse did on earth. and who knows Lane showing up there to get the book, Lane perhaps became the only person Audrey could trust at that moment, thus making her fate in HSR unknown. and finally paving the way for the future HS3. Sorry for the long text, the more I write, the more excited I get. success and happiness to you.😉

hello thank you so much, wishing you all the best as well! 🥺

this is such a good question and i'd never thought about before! after letting it simmer for a while unfortunately i am not certain on "yes" nor "no" 😭 but here are my thoughts on it!!

cain has never mentioned how long he has been on earth for but we can assume long enough since he (presumably) has no clue on what's going on up there. he has said he was raised on earth but that's a point that confuses me a lot - either his family was in between heaven and earth or whatever happened there took place when he was very young (seems kinda unlikely imo though). i also think he went to earth full time on his own, if he were expelled from heaven he'd most likely be a fallen angel

(spoilers for both hsr and abh just in case) in ep 9 cain tells lane he is bound by a contract and throughout the book he's always implying the answers to it are in the book. in abh mikael has a theory that the beast has an immortal as its right hand on earth - and its followers are also looking for the book. this could be a reach - take it with a grain of salt - but i believe the beast and baal are the same creature and therefore the cult in both books are the same

if that turns out to be true then if cain is bound to baal by a contract and has been on earth for a long time, that means he could very well be the beast's right hand [in mikael's theory]

i don't remember every detail of the hs2 scene but iirc the soldier said they got the weapon from an immortal and iirc again it was poison from a hellish creature and it was definitely not easy to get it - meaning it couldn't have been just anyone there. throughout hsr we see glimpses of cain being way stronger/more powerful than the other immortals (eg lane noticing the obvious difference in strength and energy between him and pileon and him easily overpowering a demon in ep 8 and crushing his skull with just one hand). supposing everything above is true then he might as well have been sent forcefully to the depths of hell to obtain that poison - and ofc he wasn't seen who would've looked there?

another thing about his character is that he always has his own motives and will put them above anyone - he needs the book translated and will do everything to ensure it cause his life and freedom depend on it, everything is just means to an end, he has no set loyalties.

about abh i agree that it'll likely end when the apocalypse begins, likely it'll start at the last update. audrey has mentioned knowing a cryptographer (lane) and they just found the book. during a conversation between lane and dmitry he says others before her failed to translate it so lane won't be immediately given the book, she'll probably be the astrean's last option (and if iirc lane was given the book shortly before the cataclysms started but im not sure so don't quote me on it lol)

one last thing!! the "calls" cain gets are similar to malbonte's so maybe it's shephamalum and not baal, but that's a topic for another time lolol

[kanotototori]

The Knave MV: X by Nano, directed by Enki-Z - English translation

About two months ago, HoyoFair came in clutch with this excellent Arlecchino fan song from Nano and it looks like no one has translated it yet so I felt compelled to do so, lol. It's an awesome song so please go forth and enjoy it with the added context 🙏

Edit: Apparently there's EN subs on the video itself so here's another take on the lyrics, I guess ;pp

Description:

What does “X” mean, I wonder? Does it mean “complete destruction”? Or does it represent “protecting something to the end”? When the “X” that burns inside of her eyes changes, Is it for the sake of lighting the fire of the hearth? For the sake of burning her enemies? Or, perhaps something else… In a world where “right and wrong” isn’t clearly defined, She is inclined to follow only her own voice.  In that case, if you look even deeper, “X” can only mean one thing… Secrets.

冷酷で黒ずんだ 人と違う腕が 強張るこの身体に 取り憑いて Blackened by cruelty, These arms that are different from a human’s— My body stiffens, As if possessed.

帰る場所はどこなの？ 息が詰まりそう 思い出の鐘の音 沈んでく Where is the place that I can return to? My breath seems to stop. With the memory of ringing bells,  I sink into the deep.

傷だらけの（闇より怖くて） 小さな身体（震えが響いて） 無垢な瞳 慄いて 蹌踉めいて These small bodies (Their trembling that echoes) That are covered in wounds (Is scarier than even the despair) These innocent eyes They quiver in fear And stumble.

殺すために（人群れの中で） 生きるならば（ほんの一瞬だけ） 守るために 反逆の 声あげよう If I live (Amongst the crowd of people)  For the sake of killing (If even only for a moment) Then for the sake of protecting others I will raise the voice of rebellion.

痛む 傷口よ 燃える火に 変われ They’re painful— These wounds. This flame that burns Will change

逃げ��ことも（欺くことなく） 戦うのも*（野心を晒け出す） 意味ないから 手のひらで 足掻くがいい There is no use (Without deception) In fighting nor running away (Laying my ambitions bare) With my own hands, I will make you pay.

ハースをつける**（身を暖めて） 敵を燃やす（刑を施して） 炎一つで その真実 どんな形？ Light the flame of the hearth (To warm your body) And burn your enemies (To carry out punishment) With this one flame That “reality” — What shape is it? Oh X 燃やせ Burn

* appears as 戦うことも in the MV ** appears as ハースを灯す in the MV In both of these cases, the meaning is the same, just worded in a slightly different way.

Notes: There are definitely a few places where I really struggled to articulate the meaning or just wasn't sure that I was on the right track, particularly:

手のひらで/足掻くがいい lit. "with the palm of my hand, struggling/flailing is good" - can't be translated directly so it's a little tricky but it gave me the impression of Arlecchino bringing retribution to her enemies that's mentioned a few lines later, so I went with "with my own hands, I will make you pay."

欺くことなく/野心を晒け出す lit. "deception is not there, exposing ambitions/treachery" - 晒け出す has the connotations of not just exposing something but revealing something without concealment, to show everything as it is, to reveal one's true feelings. It gave me the impression of Arlecchino being contrasted with the previous Knave in the sense that, unlike her, she does not deceive the children of the HotH, but is being upfront about her goals - so I went with "Without deception/laying my ambitions bare." I feel like it's still kind of vague, lol.

Other tidbit: The description used the "proper" word for hearth/fireplace 暖炉 (danro) ("Is it for the sake of lighting the fire of the hearth?") but the last verse specifically references the House of the Hearth (ハースをつける**/"Light the flame of the hearth"), as it uses the phonetic reading of hearth ハース (haasu) from the JP localization (壁炉の家, read ハウス・オブ・ハース hausu obu haasu). So I guess if we're being super specific, it's "lighting the fire of the House of the Hearth", possibly playing off what Freminet says in this demo ("as long as the light of the hearth still shines, I'll always have a home to return to").

I am still learning Japanese as of writing this so take the translation with a grain of salt, but to the fullest extent of my knowledge, it's as accurate as I can make it. If you are more 日本語上手 than me, feel free to correct this ;PP

[maplefield]

rambling about fujin and the white snake adeptus

ok so. i was watching videos of previous lantern rite playthroughs on yt (started playing at the end of january 2023 so i couldn't even take part in last year's) and looking back now after the 4.4 livestream, i thought maybe that 2022 mingxiao lantern was a nod to fujin, so i started digging and went down the rabbit hole basically and collected some things i found interesting.

NO LEAKS, everything written about here is mentioned in in-game items or is a part of chinese culture and legends, but some of it might be considered potential spoilers regarding chenyu vale

first, i wanna preface this by saying that i am no expert in chinese culture so please do correct me if i say something incorrect.

during the 2022 lantern rite they didn't mention which fallen liyue hero the lantern was for (or i missed it) but i found a really good post on hoyolab by Flora's cake.EN, talking about chinese customs and the celebration of the lunar new year. they say that the mingxiao lantern was based on the lantern with the fish pattern of the previous year's festival, and they also note that the lantern resembles carp and goldfish, how in chinese culture they symbolize wealth, fortune, and benefits, and express "people's yearning for prosperity, auspiciousness, and good fortune". this symbolism in chinese culture is very clearly transferred to the game too since we know from the stream that there is a well-known legend in chenyu vale about a carp adeptus named fujin and that "in local legends the golden carp is a symbol of good luck". they also talk about jademouth, a famous landmark left behind by an adeptus to protect the people from flooding, and mention the abodes of the white snake and the carp adeptus.

bai suzhen aka the white snake is the central figure of a chinese legend titled "the legend of the white snake". there are several versions and i'll be fully transparent, i haven't read them yet unfortunately. according to this article by Minjie Su, who researches medieval literature (and apparently had the same uni major as me lol) bai suzhen was originally an evil snake spirit, but later the story became a romance between her and a man, Xu Xuan. in one of the later versions, though she is still morally questionable (she "poisons the well to boost her husband’s pharmacy") she is devoted to Xu and sympathetic to humankind. Xu almost dies of shock when he sees her true snake form. (1) however, she "revives him and makes him believe the snake was but an illusion. Enraged, Fahai wages war against Madam White and holds Xu as hostage, Madam White commands water to rise from the lake to drown Fahai’s temple. She would have defeated the monk, if she did not feel sympathy towards the innocent townsfolk involved in her war. In the end, she surrenders to Fahai’s power and becomes imprisoned under the Pagoda, but not before her short reunion with Xu and the birth of their son. (...) she will never bee freed unless the palm tree before the Pagoda blossoms (...)" she is eventually freed by her son, though this action is not intentional, merely a coincidence. (2)

while searching, i also found this post by baoboatree on reddit, who did some huge work and re-translated the descriptions of the echoes of an offering artifact set. three things to note before i continue: 1) this part might contain POSSIBLE SPOILERS regarding the story of the new chenyu vale region, so proceed with caution 2) my chinese is not good enough to be able to compare the translation to the original and verify the information presented here (i am NOT saying it is incorrect and i'm certainly NOT trying to criticize baoboatree, just thought i should mention this) and 3) the post is relatively old, so some information might have been updated/re-written in-game and become outdated here. for these reasons, it's best to take it all with a grain of salt.

according to baoboatree's interpretation, the story "involves two adeptus - a "medicine adeptus" and a "carp adeptus". The two are bickering lovers/friends and lived near Chenyu valley. Until one day, the carp adeptus was sacrificed in an ancient ritual and loses her human form. She can no longer walk on land, but longed to see Liyue harbor. The medicine adeptus took her on a trip to Liyue harbor by taking her along in a Serenitea pot . (...) The fish adeptus is implied in at least four of the five pieces to have sacrificed herself again, becoming the sunken jade of Chenyu Vale. In at least one but maybe two legends, the medicine adeptus is implied to have become a tea tree that only grows in Chenyu Vale." they say the medicine adeptus may or may not be madame ping, which personally, i believe it's more likely they have something to do with the white snake adeptus (or is even the white snake adeptus themselves), whose husband was a pharmacist in the legend, and who stole medicine for him in another version of that legend.

i encourage everyone to read the whole reddit post, i found it fascinating and baoboatree really worked hard on it. i don't want to go into too much detail here bc this post is already way too long. when the medicine adeptus brings the carp adeptus to liyue harbor in the teapot, baoboatree also states that, in contrast to the official english translation, the teapot was not a gift from "a friend" but "friends", plural. now, this was actually something i could check, and it is absolutely correct. they theoretize that these friends might include madame ping, the role of the medicine adeptus and carp adeptus being clear. they also note in a comment that the fish lantern during lantern rite might have been representing the fish adeptus. looking back now, i would be surprised if it wasn't. hoyo has shown to pay attention to things like this.

as for why it were two fish, one might have been referencing this medicine adeptus, or one could have simply been put there to make it look more balanced, or to emphasize the wish for good fortune, or maybe there will be more to this that we'll uncover. either way, i'm interested in seeing how the story about this carp adeptus will unfold. if they try to stay close to the legend, it might have been the white snake adeptus that caused the flood which made the carp adeptus sacrifice herself. as for whether this white snake adeptus is the same as the medicine adeptus, honestly i think it could go either way. i could argue both for them being the same character and them not being the same. as of right now, i'm more inclined to think that they are different beings. (edit bc 1) i deleted my reasoning bc looking back it was just ehh and 2) bc i realized that i forgot to add this originally: obviously all of this is just wild speculation, and it could very well be that the story that we get, assuming we learn of these events, will be entirely different. the whole turning into a tree legend from the artifact set could also really just be an in-game myth, though i don't think that very likely, but who knows. either way, nothing even remotely certain can be concluded from the information i presently have.) of course i could very well be wrong, and hoyo will probably do their own take on this legend. after all, they have taken a looot of inspiration from nordic mythology as well (i might do some posts about that too, i was a scandinavian studies major so it's always interesting for me to see how nordic mythology is implemented in games/films etc).

anyway, if anyone read this whole thing, i hope you found it interesting. sorry that it was not very concise, i haven't slept in weeks so my brain is barely working lol. i'm really excited for chenyu vale and lantern rite and can't wait to see what this update brings!

(1) the author points out the storyline also has similarities to that of the french legend of mélusine but i don't have enough brain capacity to go into this as well.

(2) the wikipedia page states that Xu actually dies, and "Bai Suzhen went to Heaven to steal the immortal herb Lingzhi. She succeeded in her mission and used the herb to revive Xu Xian. (...) Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing fought against Fahai and flooded the temple with water, hurting other living creatures.", however, i can't find this information in the relevant source.

Sources

Genshin Impact Version 4.4. Special Program https://youtu.be/abZdO3rWoVc?si=wA1QDAYqeCqh3yUA

Flora's cake.EN on Hoyolab

https://www.hoyolab.com/article/14973902 (accessed 20/01/24)

Minjie Su: The Legend of the White Snake: A Chinese Mélusine Story

https://www.medievalists.net/2017/11/legend-white-snake-chinese-melusine-story/ (accessed 20/01/24)

Bai Suzhen on Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bai_Suzhen (accessed 20/01/24)

baoboatree: Echoes of an Offering artifact lore re-translation and interpretation

https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Lore/comments/tta8wo/echoes_of_an_offering_artifact_lore_retranslation/ (accessed 20/21/24)

[crustyfloor]

Hello there. I really like your account! I'm happy there are people who are active here,and talk about Ivan and Till.

I maybe wrong,maybe I'm too excticed for the next round,but at 23 seconds,in the teaser, I hear Till sing ''Watashi o itsukete'' or something similiar. I googled the meaning using the translator and the result ''私 お 医つけて'' had me more confused and surprised! It means ''Call me a doctor'' ! Cure is the title of the Round and I thought I was not that delusional. MAYBE. I SAY MAYBE,THERE IS A CONNECTION.

''Okay. This is Till. This is Vivinos. There is a possibility that they didn't mada him sing in korean like in the verse ''My Clematis. Everything can happen. Or else I'm just dumb''

I'm seriously curious. If I messed up then I'll go away and hide somewhere. (；・∀・)

I want to say that I am NOT a japanese speaker,I have no knowledge of the language except for the basic greetings etc, but while I was trying to understand what the lyrics said,now I can't hear anything else but these words!

Any japanese fan hangin' there?

I don't know anymore.

Bye and love.

Hey! (￣▽￣)ノ I'm glad you pointed this out because after listening to the teaser for the 3rd time I also managed to hear out some words, I thought I was going insane lol. But I didn't exactly hear "Watashi o" I heard "You are" and then the "Itsukete" but that's just like a pov difference. since I'm bad at hearing things when its muffled n stuff and I don't know Korean I may be mishearing so im taking that with a grain of salt, but if you're right, and that rlly is what Till said then that is definitely playing into the "you're my cure" theme that some people are saying is gonna be put into the song. or given all the medical imagery related to Till it could have a connection to that too.

[bl00d-1n-wat3r]

Everything New I have found on Welcome Home! (So far)

EDIT: THIS HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED IN AWHILE. SO PLEASE TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

Hello! So just a few hours ago Welcome Homes website was brought back up, and I have found a lot so far lol, I mostly found this stuff by tabbing through each page or going on the old URL's that we have found on the old page. Anyways this is everything that I have found so far

CREDITS TO party coffin HERE ON TUMBLR FOR WELCOME HOME

AND PLEASE LMK IF YOU FIND ANY NEW LINKS AND I WILL ADD THEM ^^

(OFC SPOILERS FOR THE WELCOME HOME ARG)

Wally Secret Audios:

These are audios of Wally directly speaking to us (With the exception of Neighbor which is morse code) and the titles to the links read out: "I will help you understand Neighbor, I will find a way soon" (This is the way I interpreted it I could be wrong tho)

On the link Neighbor like I said is morse code but u/gxmmyfuit (Should be the second comment down) on Reddit has said they deciphered it! It says "…. . .-.. .--. / -- ." Which they said translates to: "Help Me"

Next to the links I will describe where to find each audio!

I: You can find it as soon as you open the main page for welcome home, it is a drawing of home right next to Wally on the welcome page, click on the picture and it will bring you to the audio

Will: You can find Will in the Neighborhood section of Welcome Home, click on Home then on Wally's profile a drawing of a flower will appear on his easel, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

Help: At the bottom of Welcome Home!/What's Welcome home? there is a picture of Eddie Dear on his left is a drawing of a yellow flower, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

You: You can find you in the Neighborhood section, in the paragraph at the top of the page click the word you, that leads to the old secret page You, but now there should be a drawing of a heart, click on that and it will bring you to the audio (Take a shot for every time I have said you lmao)

understand: At the bottom of Exhibition of Welcome Home to the left of the drawing of Poppy is a drawing of Home, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

Neighbor: You can find Neighbor in the Neighborhood section of Welcome Home, click right below Home and it will bring you to the old secret page So Below, but now there is a spiral drawing at the bottom, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

I - 2: On the Stickers section of Welcome Home there will be a star drawing underneath the first paragraph of text, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

will - 2: At the bottom of Welcome Home!/Whats Welcome home? there is a picture of Eddie Dear and on his right is a drawing of a red and blue flower, click on them and it will bring you to the audio

find: In the Guest Book next to Wally and Barnaby there should be a drawing of a speech bubble that says Hello in it, click on that and it will bring you to the audio

a: In the About Us/FAQ page of Welcome home 3 drawings of hearts will pop up behind the first few paragraphs on the page, click on them and it will take you to the audio

way: On the Open/ywxoev page a drawing of a phone will appear next to the eyes/home, click on it and it will bring you to the audio

soon: On the 404 page (whenever you type in a wrong address into the search bar), drawings of stars will appear behind the text, click on them and it will bring you to the audio

Answer:

Now these are all titled answer and each video has 2 of the characters interacting with each other, and at the end one one of them addresses Wally and it distorts and ends.

Next to the links I will describe where to find each video!

Answer 1-14-ph (Poppy and Howdy): In the section Media of Welcome home, by the part with the Live Interview Segment a little bug/ critter will pop up, click on it and it will take you to the video

Answer 2-14-sp (Sally and Poppy): In the section Exhibition at the top a bug will run to the right side of the screen, being cut off by the border, click on the bump that is left and it will bring you to the video

Answer 3-14-hs (Howdy and Sally): On the fourth page of the Guestbook, at the top of the page a bug will appear, click on that and it will bring you to the video

Answer 4-14-bf (Barnaby and Frank): In the section Welcome Home!/Whats Welcome home?, next to the picture slideshow a bug will appear, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 5-14-be (Barnaby and Eddie): On the Transcripts page, (You can get to it by clicking on the text below any audio you have to listen to), scroll down a bit and next to Eddie's catchphrase a bug will appear, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 6-14-jf (Julie and Frank): In the section Merchandise a bug will appear near the currently unknown records, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 7-14-ej (Eddie and Julie): On the first page of the Guestbook, on the letter/ note from Zip (You can tab through if you cant find it) there is a bug, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 8-14-ef (Eddie and Frank): In the section Neighborhood in Eddie's profile a bug will crawl out from under the post office flag, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 9-14-fp (Frank and Poppy): In the section Neighborhood a bug will appear next to the About Us button, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 10-14-js (Julie and Sally): In the section About Us at the bottom of the page, right above the flowers a bug will appear, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 11-14-jb (Julie and Barnaby): At the top of the Stickers a bug will appear, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 12-14-hb (Howdy and Barnaby): At the top of the News section a bug is there, click on it and it will bring you to the video

Answer 13-14-he (Howdy and Eddie): At the top of the Guestbook section a bug will appear, click on that and it will take you to the video

Answer 14-14-bh (Barnaby and Home): The Try Again Script/woxyve has a bug crawling around the eyes, click on it and it will take you to the video

Staff Only:

(This section is kinda long lol)

So I found Staff Only by the user u/throwmeaway2207 on reddit and currently dont know how to get to that part of the site on my own (Im working on it lol)

Edit: Ok I found it thanks to u/Far_Yam_6369 on reddit. On the Exhibition page on the normal website there is a line that says "I still have so many questions to answer here in the world of Welcome Home" you have to click the word answer then you are brought to a page with a picture of a paper with writing on it, if you click that it will take you to a picture of a safe then to get to the Password Please website all you have to do is click on the safe. Thanks again for the help!

But to log into Staff Only you have to put in a passcode and the passcode is the answers to The Welcome Home Worksheet (Picture 18 I think).

Which is

Who is the funniest neighbor? B arnaby

Who shines brighter than any star? S ally

Who is the biggest chicken? P oppy

Which neighbor speaks to the flowers? J ulie

Who is your best friend? W ally

So the password is (case sensitive) BSPJW

Once you type in the password it leads to a very messed up version of the Playfellow Exhibition portion of the website

There is some text on the page that reads:

I had a dream when I began working on the Playfellow Exhibition. Wally Darling was sitting at the foot of my bed with a rotary phone in front of him, ringing away. It looked just like the little toy phone we were restoring for the exhibit. It kept ringing. Wally stared at me like he was waiting for me to pick up the phone. Just staring, unblinking. The phone ringing and ringing. I couldn't move. I couldn't figure out how to move and pick up the phone. He kept waiting. I couldn't pick up the phone. I keep getting phone calls, now. Or at least, I assume that's what's happening. I keep hearing it ringing. All day, sometimes. I check my phone and there's no new messages. I thought maybe some of the site staff were pranking me, but I tore up the workspace and couldn't find another phone that might be ringing. All that was there were the toys for the exhibit, and obviously those couldn't be ringing. But I kept hearing it anyway. The phone ringing and ringing. The more I work, the more questions I have. Why didn't any of the site staff I worked with remember this show? Even the ones who grew up in the 70s? Why can't I find any files on the Playfellow Workshop? Why isn't there a single TV guide ad saying what network or time the show was on? I keep digging and digging. I've poured over every recovery the WHRP has given me access to, every inch of their website, and the things I find make less and less sense. If I didn't know better I'd say everyone was coming together to pull an elaborate prank on me.​ I can still hear the phone ringing now.I don't know how to answer the phone.I need to answer the phone

There is some more text that is blacked out that reads:

Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring-ring. Ring. Hello? Can you hear me? Call back soon, please. Ring. Ring ring. Ring. Won't you please pick up?

On the page there are pictures as well and some of the pictures have transcripts which will be listed below

Picture 5:

Thurs, April 13, 2023 at 7:53 PM To: < [text omitted] @whrp.net > From: < staff@QAexhibitions.org > Subj: Re: Safe code?? Hi [text omitted] ! Thanks for getting the activity prize shipped out so promptly! I wasn’t expecting them to arrive in a lockbox (should I be worried about the value of these prizes for insurance?) - there actually wasn’t a code I could find in the packaging at all, could you send that so we can open the box and give away the prizes to visitors? Thanks again, give me a call at [text omitted] if that’s easier! ~ [text omitted] , Head Curator Questions Answered! Curatorial Services Exhibition Design, Curation. Archival & Restoration__________________Thurs, April 13, 2023 at 7:53 PM To: < staff@QAexhibitions.org > From: < [text omitted] @whrp.net > Subj: Re: Safe code?? Attachment: WHactivityworksheet.jpgBlacklight text underneath email attachment reads: ~ WALLY DARLING Writing on sticky note reads: ATTN STAFF: Still waiting on safe code. If guests complete worksheet offer to send prize later once we get this open!

Picture 6:

Writing on sticky note atop vinyl glove box reads: Put on gloves before handling ANY art Call me if we run out!!!

Picture 7:

Text on sticky note is partially cut off; visible text reads: [...] -is art was NOT [...] -the shipment [...] -EASE stop using [...] -work printer [...] -prank me. >:( “ Blacklight text underneath artwork of Frank reads: “Who are you?” (with a drawing of an eye and a spiral beneath it).

Picture 9:

4) What’s your favorite or least favorite part of the research/restoration work? Our favorite part? Uncovering more information, of course! As well as restoring pieces with beautiful results! Nothing feels better quite like a job well done! Our least favorite part, however? Nothing I can think of! Blacklight text in space between paragraphs reads: Everything is so disgusting to touch. Sometimes the mail doesn’t come for weeks. I want to rip into everything I have. My head feels so muddled too. Ever since I opened that envelope.Visible area of e-mail reads:“Fun facts” you’d like visitors to know about your work and Welcome Home? (Maybe a [...] -ularly cool or funny way you found one of these pieces, or an unexpected [...] ?) [...] -is top secret! We feel as though we were the [...] -ding the good word of Welcome [...] -mail to us has quite the [...] -longings in such a [...] -ed the heck out of their [...] -bout the merchandise? [...] have been a mountain of it! [...] -ore fun, informative, and

Picture 10:

Writing on sticky note underneath blacklight reads: ATTN: ALL STAFF Check art w/blacklight before hanging / packing / cleaning / etc. Need photos for condition reports and WHRP Team !!!

Picture 11:

Mon, April 3, 2023 at 1:53 PM To: < staff@QAexhibitions.org > From: < [text omitted] @whrp.net > Subj: Re: Confirming arrival! Plus…? Hello. We are overjoyed you have received all of the work we have so far uncovered! Please take care of it while it is in your possession, but under no circumstances should it be touched with your bare hands. Please wear gloves. If a substance begins to grow on anything delivered, please place it back in the box it was shipped in and return it to us at your leisure. If you or anyone in your team experience nausea, dizziness, or fatigue, please don’t be alarmed. We also thank you for your offer to assist in restoring these pieces, but I cannot accept your offer. Thank you. ~ [text omitted] Hello again [text omitted] ! The shipment of works for the exhibition arrived today - thanks again for being so generous with these items! At some point I would like to run down the full checklist with you to confirm which are originals and which are restorations/reproductions, so we can include that information when we write the didactic labels. Let me know if it’s easier for me to email you a list or if you’d like to have a phone call about it. Speaking of restoration, I also wanted to ask - would you like us to work on having any of these items professionally touched up while we’re here for the exhibit? I’m sure the folks we usually work with would be thrilled to work on something so unique (some of them were kids in the 60s and 70s, maybe an opportunity to get some eyewitness accounts too?) and it seems only fair for us to offer, what with you so kindly loaning us all this material to exhibit. Totally understand if you’d prefer to keep that work among your own team, of course. Just let me know. Excited to get this all on display, will send photos soon when we start installing! ~ [text omitted] Head Curator Questions Answered! Curatorial Services Exhibition Design, Curation. Archival & Restoration https://inbox.wemail.com/mail/FMfcgzHseLpLGBGbzoRtzKm&=print

Picture 13:

Notes. WHRP sent their research notebook. It has to be a prank. Maybe all of it. Maybe that’s why no one has ever heard of WH. The staff, friends, parents, not a memory. All made up to… prank… me, specifically? Ok that’s nonsense. I don’t know what to think. I feel like I need to read it again. There has to be answers. There has to be. I’ll find answers. People need me to have answers There’s more of that stuff on the walls I keep hearing phones ring.

Picture 14:

Writing on sticky note atop red notebook reads: For research!! ON LOAN Do NOT write in >:( Writing on sticky note atop research notebook reads: This one is mine also for research ALSO DO NOT WRITE IN >:(

To the right of the photo is a near illegible show script from Playfellow Workshop. Below the show script is a pink sticky note pad. Drawn on the pad is a spiral, and a phone with two small speech bubbles that both say “ring”.

Picture 19:

Text on sticky note that is placed on research notebook reads: “This one is mine also for research ALSO DO NOT WRITE IN >:( “ Blacklight text on sticky note reads: “THE PHONE IS RINGING”

Thanks to u/robindebank on Reddit they have done their best to transcribe the letter on picture 18! (The stuff in the parentheses is stuff they were unsure about)

Picture 18:

Hello, My name doesn't matter. I am here to catalogue something. I'm not sure it's (fully) real But it must be, I'm holding all the evidence ?? in my hands. Pictures. Characters. Text I can barely read. It's called "Welcome Home", and it looks like it might've been a children's (book)? Like I said I can't tell. It was sopping wet when I found it. When I first reached into one of the brightly colored (???s) my hand was already covered in some green (liquid?) material. It feels like antiques are always covered in some kind of grime. I'm going to (clean up what?) I have and do a little more digging. There's only one name I can make out right now. Wally. Probably important, but like I said, I'll keep looking. XOXO

Picture 22:

Visible area of printed-out email reads: Thanks for getting the activity prize shipped out so promptly! I wasn’t expecting them to arrive in a lockbox (should I be worried about the value of these prizes for insurance?) - there actually wasn’t a code I could find in the packaging at all, could you send that so we can open the box and give away the prizes to visitors? Thanks again, give me a call at [text omitted] if that’s easier! ~ [text omitted] , Head Curator Questions Answered! Curatorial Services Exhibition Design, Curation. Archival & Restoration __________________ Thurs, April 13, 2023 at 7:53 PM To: < staff@QAexhibitions.org > From: <; [text omitted] @whrp.net > Subj: Re: Safe code?? Attachment: WHactivityworksheet.jpg Blacklight text underneath email attachment reads: ~ WALLY DARLING Writing on sticky note reads: ATTN STAFF: Still waiting on safe code. If guests complete worksheet offer to send prize later once we get this open!

Picture 23:

Text on sticky note attached to television reads: “ BROKEN??? Call facilities ASAP “

Picture 24:

Visible area of email reads: Mon, April 3, 2023 at 1:53 PM [...]-ived all of the work we have so far uncovered! [...] -on, but under no circumstances should it be touched with your [...] If a substance begins to grow on anything delivered, please [...] shipped in and return it to us at your leisure. If you or anyone in [...] dizziness, or fatigue, please don’t be alarmed. Blacklight text underneath paragraph reads: I am so sorry. Remaining visible area of email reads: [...] offer to assist in restoring these pieces, but I cannot accept your [text omitted] [text omitted] ! [...] for the exhibition arrived today - thanks again for being so generous with these items! At some point [...] -own the full checklist with you to confirm which are originals and which are restorations/reproductions, [...] information when we write the didactic labels. Let me know if it’s easier for me to email you a list or if [...] phone call about it. [...] ed to ask - would you like us to work on having any of these items professionally touched [...] the folks we usually work with would be thrilled to work on something so unique [...] maybe an opportunity to get some eyewitness accounts too?) and it seems [...] this material to exhibit. Totally understand if you’d prefer to

On the bottom of the page there is a button that says "It's in here" that leads to a 404 page that takes you back to the Welcome Home page

(Im sorry that was so much 😭)

The old stuff:

So the old secrets have gotten some updates! Lets take a look!

You: You now has a heart drawing that leads to the audio you-1 from the message before

So Below: So below now has a drawing of a spiral that leads to the audio Neighbor from the message before

As Above: As Above or the 404 page now has drawings of stars on it, if you click on the stars it will lead you to the audio soon from the message before

Answer: From what I can tell Answer is still the same as before

Messed Up 404: The messed up 404 is still the same, just click on the phone and you will be brought to Duet but now there is a transcript, just highlight right under the player and you should see the transcript there

voywex: From what I can tell Try Again is the same as before

Open: Open now has a drawing of a phone next to Home/the eyes, if you click on it it will take you to way from the message before

Try Again Script: Try Again Script/woxyve now has a bug crawling around on it and if you click on it, it will take you to 14-14-bh from the Answer videos from before

Misc stuff that idk where to put yet lol:

Phone/Duet: So for some reason this link is also titled Duet? I dont get why since Wally calls us and is the only person we hear, but idk. Ok so to find Phone/Duet you have to go to the Merchandise page of Welcome Home, scroll down to the picture of Wally's phone and if you hover your mouse over a certain part of the picture you can click on it and it will bring you to the audio.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU FIND ANY OTHER SECRETS AND I WILL ADD THEM!!

[ananke-xiii]

Form and Void... and Hands and Hearts.

Intro.

Part II

Part III

I really like "Form od Void" from S11. It's one of my favorite episodes and it enrages me to no end that it was Andrew Dabb who wrote it. Sometimes a girl just wants to be a hater. But I don't have it in me :(.

Talking about H-A-T-E...

The episodes starts with this word:

H-a-t-e. It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-o-v-e. You see these fingers? They're arched. These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends -- the hand of love. Now watch, and I'll show you the story of life. These fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warrin' and a-tuggin', one against the other. Now watch 'em. Old brother left hand -- left hand hates a-fightin'. And it looks like love's a goner. But wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hot dog! Love's a-winnin'. Yes, siree. It's love that won. And old left-hand hate is down for the count.

This little monologue here is taken from "The Night of the Hunter" by Charles Laughton, his first and only movie. Laughton was bisexual and I'm telling you this because it's relevant to the usual queer stuff happening in SPN and to the point I want to make in this post.

The title of the episode, "Form and Void" , refers to the Genesis but it contains a meaningful omission. The King James version reads:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Earth is without form, and void. This changes everything because the subject of the sentence is the earth but here we're talking about "form and void" as nouns, not attributes. It's a brilliant call-back to the Genesis (therefore to the beginning of time and the beginning of SPN) and to the dichotomy of God and Amara but it's a smokescreen. The episode abounds with biblical references but there's more, at least to me. There is a secret.

If we look a little beyond Christianity the terms "form and void" are used in one of the most important sutras from Mahayana Buddhism. The Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, "The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom", or simply called "The Heart Sutra".

I think you know where I'm going with this. The heart of the Heart Sutra is the following: "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form". Sūnyatā is such a vast concept that I cannot possibly even IMAGINE to summarize it here. Just for the sake of my argument I'll say that it's often translated as emptiness, vacuity, void... without form. Very broadly (and I'll go to different kinds of Hell in different religions just talking about this stuff in relation to fucking CW Supernatural LOL) it means that ultimate reality is EMPTINESS because there is no FIXED reality, no STABLE self and EVERYTHING is connected and dependent on something else. Therefore form is emptiness and emptiness is form.

You undestand that in this light "Form and Void" is no dichotomy, thefore the episode is telling us to subvert how we view things. And it starts with that quote from "The Night of the Hunter".

Little useful background: the movie is about a fake preacher who preys on two children to get to their father's hidden treasure. He's the big wolf in disguise, a hunter wearing a preacher persona. So we need to take what he says with a grain of salt and he says a lot.

Right hand vs left hand: the preacher/hunter says that the right hand is the hand of love and the left hand is the hand of hate. This follow a well-know misconception regarding everything associated with the left as "sinister" and satanic. It's a Christian view of the world. He also says that Cain killed his brother using his left hand while the right hand has "veins that run straight to the soul of man". This man is conning people.

Notoriously, the hand that has veins that run to the heart is the left hand. This is the reason why people put their wedding rings on their left hand's...ring finger. It's an incredible old assumption that has been debunked by science but we don't care about science here. We care about symbols. And symbolically-speaking the left hand is the hand of the heart and love, not the right hand.

Now where in the hell does this idea of right and left hand? And am I crazy for seeing hints of Buddhism in a story about the Christian God? No.

The left-hand and right-hand paths are two approaches to magic and Western esotericism in general. They're called this way because people in the '800 got interested in Tantrism and translated the sanskrit terms "vāmācāra" and "dakṣiṇācāra" respectively "left-hand path" and "right-hand path". I'm not gonna go into details but I think you understood by now that the "left-hand path" was the "evil" one, the one with sex and other Very Bad Things, while the "right-hand path" was Good and Sexless and Serious and Real. In other words, the right hand represents White Magic and Controlled Sexuality while the left hand represents Black magic and Uncontrolled Sexuality. Practitioners of black magic were evil AND gay.

LOL.

Let's go back to the serial killer preacher: he says that Love wins and that it's the right hand that triumphs over the left hand. All these fingers connected to the soul that are always tugging and warring and getting entwined and hot dog! it's hot in here! But, remember folks, he's conning people. So what he says it's the opposite of what we should understand.

the preacher shouldn't be talking about this stuff in front of children. but then again, he's a predator.

Wait there's more: do you want to know if you're left-hemisphere dominant or right-hemishpere dominant? All you gotta do is to weave your fingers. If your right thumb goes over your left one then you're LEFT-dominant. If your left thumb goes over your right one you're RIGHT-dominant.

Confused much? As you know left emisphere controls controls speech, comprehension, arithmetic, and writing while right hemisphere controls creativity, spatial ability, artistic, and musical skills. It's the opposite of what we might think (because of the stupid assumption according to which left is Bad and Evil. Well, ACTUALLY left is rationality and control so the joke's on you, stupid assumption).

The dear preacher over here is right-hemisphere dominant. It may possibly mean that he's LEFT-handed and thus this image is a huge foreshadow of his "evilness" and his eventual demise. It also means that what he's saying is bullshit.

So to sum it up: in this episodes there are hunters and preachers that aren't really hunters and preachers, there are innocent children who might be seen not as innocent, left hand and right hand are subverted and they mean the opposite of what they should mean thus actually meaning what they mean, the title refers to something AND to something else and this something is very much related to hands and love and hearts...

In just one fucking scene we are told the whole episode and I H-A-T-E-that Dabb wrote it, have I mentioned it?

[miliamin1]

And now my nerd out about the action scene cause I really got into it the moment I remembered my pre-injury jock era. First before writing I remembered a video from Polygon about Insomniac's Spiderman game.

And then it hit me that I used to be a capoeirista so, lol yeah, this is gonna be mostly about capoeira. I'd tell you what my level was but capoeira groups have all different systems and just a year before my injury I changed mine with my trainer. But in one of them I was at the end of the beginner era and one level below the rope (our belts are made of rope) rank that would technically allow me to teach beginners if I remember correctly. So. Obviously it's been a few years so I'm no longer at that level and I also forgot the scraps of Portuguese I learned but that's my background. (Also English isn't my first language nor the one I learned this stuff in the first place so bare with me and take everything I say with a grain of salt.) First of all, ignoring even the game Spidey inspiration capoeira fits Enid. She is a dancer, she is someone who loves to perform and I'm pretty comfortable saying that capoeira is the flashiest martial art. You don't do capoeira, you play capoeira.

Of course historically it was caused by the style needing to be concealed as mere dance because slaves in Brazil were forbidden from fight training to avoid revolts but today as a consequence capoeira is where you learn to hit hard while looking good doing it. And you will be hard pressed to find an experienced capoerista that would be difficult to persuade to start doing flips or other acrobatics for you. If my leg would let me I'd teach you how to do my favorite jumping kick anytime. Also one of the basics is literally just learning a cartwheel that becomes a blocking strategy as well as a dodge with time. The basic guard, ginga (swing), is a mobile stance, triangular footwork that looks like a 3 step dance. You practice to music, you learn songs and instruments. It is a very musical martial art, it is a flashy one, and very useful both for destroying opponents and filming a TikTok at the same time. In the fic, Wednesday as a classically trained musician keeps track of BPM of Enid's moves: allegro, vivace, allegro vivace. The substyles of capoeira have different tempos, with the slowest you stay closest to the ground, movement largely supported on your hands, with the fastest you're basically flying with it's signature jumping moves, which is reflected in Enid's aggressive switch of attacks. I wrote that Wednesday could clap out the tempo as it is the custom that when you're in the roda (circle) and spectate the two fighters inside you are supposed to sing and clap to the music to provide Axé, the energy for them. Even as the time signature is 4/4 the clap is two quick and one slow on repeat. Samba is an afro brazilian dance, and Samba de Roda is celebratory event from the state of Bahai, and at the end of any capoeira function the Roda de Capoeira transforms into Samba de Roda with people genuinely dancing to the same instruments they were previously fighting to. I wish I remembered the steps I was taught but Enid can dance with Wednesday after every practice, as a treat. With how each martial arts names every move differently from each other the fic could be just filled with Portuguese noone would understand or Kung Fu terms. From Wednesday's pov as someone who just knows Enid and what she practices enough alongside the half-understanding of Portuguese as a Spanish speaker she translated the moves either into colloquial English names of them or literally. Even as not a werewolf Enig gets to do spinny half moon kicks (meia-lua) that Wednesday calls crescents. The word for the 'hammer' roundhouse kick is martelo.

The push kick would be chapa to Enid.( Irrelevant side tangent, midway writing I got irrationally mad at a random reddit thread complaining that people call the push kick 'spartan' but he also called it a teep kick, so, dude, if you're gonna complain about a word in English at least use the common English name for it. This is the most basic move in all martial arts, it doesn't belong to muay thai come on.) It is up for interpretation if Enid started in capoeira because Esther went 'no martial arts for girls' or because she went 'dancing is lame'. Could be either.

I kind of know more about wrestling than an average person but the Polygon video already contains the majority of the relevant points. Enid would like wrestling. She just would.

She does do hurricanrana on Wednesday. A lot of her attacks aim to do brain damage overall. Peak comedy and all. (Spiderman for sure doesn't kill, what do you mean???) As Wednesday is majorly on the defensive, adapting to Enid's moves and using weapons, her Kung Fu expertise doesn't come to play yet. If you finished this whole thing, thanks for reading.

Who the hell came up with the word identity porn when it's not smut...

Anygay, second installment in my wenclair Spiderman AU follows up with drop into angst as repercussions of the very silly short one shot. ---

when first we practice to deceive (6190 words) by miliamin Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Wednesday (TV 2022) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wednesday Addams/Enid Sinclair Characters: Wednesday Addams, Enid Sinclair Additional Tags: Wednesday Addams is Bad at Feelings, Angst, Identity Porn, Secret Identity, Fluff and Angst, Angst and Humor, Relationship Discussions, Autistic Wednesday Addams, Enid Sinclair Has ADHD, Established Relationship, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Aged-Up Character(s) Series: Part 2 of Spiderman AU Summary: Wednesday realized that her reality is one in which her superpowered girlfriend didn't figure out that she has powers too and never approved of the way that she's been coping with the circumstances in which she got them. Nor was Enid a willing participant in it. Moving in together might have been an attempt at forcing that reveal to be out of her hands and inevitable. It didn't work. And with time it starts to seem like she set herself up for a break up.

[criscura]

Yeah I dont see how the manga is ending soon when there is still more webcomic after garous arc and the webcomic isn't finished? Maybe they're hinting Murata will be taking a hiatus cause after garou because there's not much webcomic material left to work on until ONE get more webcomic out or maybe they think this arc will be somewhere neat to tie off the manga idk lol

I'm actually gonna post something I just wrote on Reddit (with minor edits):

There are really, REALLY good chances that the whole "HE MEANS THE END OF THE SERIES" is being taken way out of context. In the thread this tweet came from, Murata was answering another artist who said they were checking out OPM for the first time. They were impressed with the fight between Saitama and Garou, and Murata answered with that tweet. It's more likely than not he meant that this series of fights is almost over--not the whole-ass manga--because it doesn't make sense for the story at all, the rumor is coming from an extremely unreliable source, and it's been disproved.

Explanation under the cut:

Story-wise, why on earth would they end it here? After introducing so many new, unanswered plot threads (some of them within the last few pages!); spending a year redrawing fights so that they worked with wherever the story was going, which would then be ending immediately after all those redraws before you could understand why they were done; hinting hardcore at MANY different mysteries that we haven't touched; and not that I think ONE or Murata care particularly hard about profit first, but having the series rocket up the charts over the past few months?? To the point where it's been trending on twitter multiple times now? And when ending it here would contradict almost every single element of the story, on every single level, effectively destroying it, after busting their asses over it for the past ten years? And they decide to say it's done with a fucking off-handed comment in a reply tweet to another artist?

No. It makes way more sense that Murata just meant, "Oh man, I'm so happy you like this fight, but I'm sorry because it's coming to a close. Me and ONE-sensei will try to make sure it's a satisfying finish though!"

Also this rumor was started by an extremely toxic "fan" who, for the past several years, has done nothing but start fandom-wide drama. So far as I can tell his only motivation is that he thinks the webcomic is better than the manga (and seems to have a personal grudge against Murata, who he's constantly insulting and making fun of). It's to the point where he gets pissy and petty if anyone says they enjoy the manga, and will go out of his way to make people miserable for disagreeing with him--or just for making content he doesn't like. So like....yeah. Yeaaaahhh, I'm taking anything and everything he says about this with the tiniest grain of salt. It doesn't help that the people I'm seeing push hard for the rumor being true are all people who will agree with anything he says and/or can't stand the manga and want to see it over. They don't want it to exist for whatever reason, so they're gonna read this tweet in the worst possible light--even if it doesn't actually make sense.

On top of all that, a Japanese reader on Reddit said that in their decades of reading manga, they've never seen シリーズ used to mean a series or manga, but moreso an arc. Here's a link to the comment. That matches what I've seen from the Japanese accounts I follow on Twitter--Japanese fans aren't freaking out the same way non-Japanese fans are. They have Twitter same as we do, and if they're reading the same tweets and getting a different meaning, I'm going to trust them. (And that's not to mention that the translations the linked as "proof" of the rumor that the is series ending seem pretty half-hearted and lead-on to me.)

TL, DR: This was a rumor started by an unbelievably toxic fan who hates the manga and wants to see it end, which has been disproved or completely unacknowledged by native Japanese speakers, and makes no sense in any context of the series at all.

[probably-haven]

Kaeya Alberich & Why his Failure is Inevitable

A theory on Kaeya’s reaction to- that event in his backstory.

take everything with a grain of salt , because it’s heavily based on assumptions, most of which are centered around his reaction to- backstory stuff, so gonna put that under the cut-. i actually originally said this in a reblog to someone asking the exact question awhile ago

im kinda in a content drought though so i might as well bring it back, hopefully some people find it interesting in this context though. Lol a lot of it is just seeing how angsty i can make it too so- ehe

actual content under the cut: (spoilers for kaeya’s backstory, diluc’s backstory, Khaenri’ah lore, and a bit of Childe’s backstory)

so the exact verbiage used in kaeya’s story for his reaction to Master Crepus’s death is: “Even someone like Master Crepus would submit to such a dangerous and evil power…” Sinister thoughts flashed through Kaeya’s mind, and he simply smirked— “This world is truly… fascinating.”

-

Now I’m actually pretty sure this quote ties in, not to the destruction of khaenri’ah, but to the cataclysm before it. Specifically, it deals with the Khaenri’ahn alchemist Gold who started it.

Canonically, Gold was an incredibly ambitious alchemist specializing in khemia 500 years ago. Their most well know achievement is corruption of the dragon Durin, but concealed much deeper in Teyvat’s history, a number of Gold’s legacies include incorporating the powers of the abyss into their alchemy(and eventually being corrupted by those very same powers, tho it might be a translation error), followed by the destruction of Khaenri’ah’s Eclipse Dynasty(including the royal family and the royal guards tasked with protecting the people of Khaenri’ah), and this was followed shortly by ‘using their talents to create an army of “shadowy monsters."’

these monsters, blood filled with the corruption of the abyss, would only continue pouring out of Khaenri’ah in waves until the fateful day that it was destroyed. The era of suffering these monsters caused would come to be known as the cataclysm.

-

taking those facts into account, it could be a remark about how even someone as kind hearted as Master Crepus could fall to the temptation and corrupting aspects of power that caused his people’s fall so long ago, even without the naturally corruptive effects of power from the abyss. that’s sad- but if you get into the theory of it its even sadder the further you go.

Now theory wise its important to make a few connections- I am under the impression that the “fall of the Eclipse Dynasty” that Gold caused through abyssal power was actually the first instance of Khaenri’ah’s curse, and the monsters of the cataclysm- were among the curse’s first victims.

a bit sadder with the fact that his statement can now refer to his feelings of there truly being nothing that could have been done to prevent the very same exact curse that has caused him so much suffering through his life. There was no resisting the corruption of power, only delaying it. It hammers in the fact that the reason he was sent to Mondstadt truly might be the destiny he had many times been told it was. A cruel joke from Celestia perhaps?

but not sad enough. let’s pull out the big one. The Khaenri’ahn Royalty Kaeya theory. (there’s a lot- im not gonna cover the explanation behind that one here)

Gold, the most powerful alchemist in Khaenri’ah would likely have worked under the Eclipse Dynasty, so assuming the theory of Kaeya(and Dainsleif) being the last member of the Eclipse Dynasty, its reasonable to say he would have known Gold. Now whether Gold was a good person or not is irrelivant because it remains the same either way. Kaeya has twice seen the corrupting abilities that come with power strip him of all those close to him, shouldering him with an additional responsibility to carry out in their memory that he never wanted. Yes this hurts more if he was close with Gold and Crepus managed to make him feel safe enough to get close to people even after that- but I’m here to provide the facts and theories, not the emotions, though theres a lot

but…. its a stretch(like a big stretch)… but for the sake of going all out on a limb, we can take this one step further.

In Childe’s story it references the abyss by saying “this dark realm had sensed the burning ambition in this boy’s heart” and it can be assumed that the powers granted by the abyss, as the natural opposition to Celestia(natural as in abyss magic literally opposes the magic of Celestia by nature) might just opporate in a similar way to the gnosises. Kaeya has no knowledge of gnosises though so for now lets use the word visions.

The powers of the abyss that were given to Gold would likely have been favored over visions from the gods in a godless nation like khaenri’ah afterall. and if he knew Gold, a known genius, he likely wouldnt have noticed anything off until it was too late. A sudden fall from his perspective. Visions, delusions, power from the abyss, what difference truly is there to a child raised to shun the gods. All are granted through ambition, and all will only end in suffering

afterthought:

However the main thing behind the Khaenri’ahn Royalty aspect of this angst fest- Kaeya would have been extremely young during Gold’s corruption and Khaenri’ah’s fall… like i cant help think of that one tik tok audio “that must be so confusing for a little girl” but it really does fit because now i can’t shake the imagery of Kaeya, faced with the imagery of the man who raised him dead as a result of a power he chose to use. And he finally understands what he was too young to understand back then. the world is not fascinating in a way that he is interested in it or wants to know more about it, but more interesting in the way that people’s eyes are involuntarily drawn to images of tragedy. It’s an expression of cruel irony, of truths he was forced to face, of knowledge he doesn’t want to know, but that he needs to know- if he plans on carrying through with his destiny- siding against Mondstadt. but siding with Mondstadt would cause him to turn against Khaenri’ah as Gold had all those years ago, and is that not fulfilling a cycle of fate all the same?

It’s an expression of mourning. He is chained by the legacy of Khaenri’ah and there’s nothing he can do to escape it. Either way the cycle will repeat. This fate gives him a unique power and even he will eventually succumb to it, doomed to be viewed as a corrupted betrayer no matter who he sides with, to doom yet another civilization in return. Such is his preordained role as the last hope of Khaenri’ah. The unescapableness, the way it all becomes so sure and clear and nauseatingly relevant in that very moment are what drive him to say that as he finally realizes that he cannot win.

-

of course a lot of this is a stretch and just theories, but the angst potential was there so i decided to run with it lmao

additional afterthought: this isn’t something kaeya would know, but the corruption of Durin by Gold was actually predicted by a priestess in dragonspine before Celestia destroyed it and made it like it is now.

just angsty because it reinforces the idea of a repeating cycle of foretold destiny that no matter hard hard Kaeya tries, he will never be able to escape. Really puts Mona’s “He believes he has made a clean break with his past, but one day fate will catch up with him” line into perspective.

[dark-frosted-heart]

A compilation of random and not so random things from Clavis’ route throughout the common route and true love route. This is not a detailed summary, but rather a series of things I found funny or interesting that later on turned serious as we got to the heavy stuff. And three times I yell at the new characters. 

Take the information with a grain of salt because I’m still a learner, and used a translator + dictionary for most of the story, so some nuances may be lost

Spoilers and very long post ahead, ye be warned. Some backstory stuff is listed first

Another note, I switch between using Chevalier and Cheva a lot lol. I’m sorry. Everything italicized is a sublist to an unitalicized point because Tumblr formatting is weird sometimes

CLALELOUUUUUUU

Such a charming, confident-looking gentleman that hides behind a smile but actually has a lot of insecurities.

The comedic timing in this route, holy shit

Take a shot every time his golden gaze with a hint of sensuality is mentioned, or he’s described as sexy in some way or another. Have a medic on standby. 

I need an 色香 counter

But can you blame MC?

Clavis writes long-ass letters. And each ends with a little fact about himself. Some including:

Clavis doesn’t like food that looks or tastes ordinary

Princes are given territories. Clavis took one of Chevalier’s and developed it into his own. 

He started learning medicine to show that he too could read medical books. Then one day, his mother caught a fever so he tried to make medicine based on what he read from a book. He realized that he can make people happy by making medicine. And then it turned into him using this skill to overcome his weak constitution and pull pranks

Clavis gets a fever if he stays up late, something touched upon in the story event of what the princes do when MC’s away, attending a friend’s wedding. The medicine allows him to push his body through these types of situations. Because the man’s always working.

Clavis is not of fully noble birth. Clavis’ mother, Letitia, was a maid from a lineage that served the Marquis de Michele family for generations. And so, Clavis’ fate was to do the same from the moment he was born.

His mother and Chevalier’s mother were close like sisters and had been together since they were children. Letitia was very loyal

Because of this relationship, no one knows how Clavis came to be. Sariel suspects that it wasn’t something she did willingly, but this was before the previous Belle had died and before the king lost his mind.

It’s revealed that in the both end clear chapter that his mother was raped by the king.

Clavis’ mother was always smiling, even if she wasn’t happy. She had loved Clavis very much but...

After Cheva’s mother died, Letitia threw herself off a cliff a few days later

Clavis says that if Chevalier wasn’t such a beast, adding on to the queen’s heartache, then the queen wouldn’t have died and Clavis’ mother would still be alive.

It’s after his mother’s death that Clavis is the way he is now.

By the way, every prince’s mother is dead...

Imagine Ikemen Prince if everyone’s mother loved their sons. And if their mothers were still alive.

Seven wonders of Clavis

Writes letters in code: actually his terrible handwriting. Sometimes even he has trouble reading what he wrote. BIG MOOD

Clavis has this secret room. Anyone that goes in doesn’t come out: It’s a room filled with weird shit and where he meets informants who tell him about activities from the surrounding kingdoms.

Parties that Clavis hosts filled with questionable people: anti-government people. You meet the “main” bad from both Cheva’s and Luke’s route. (Flandre and that guy that starts with a B in Luke’s route)

A gentleman that makes women cry. More on that soon

Whenever Clavis appears, there’s always an incident

Anyone who enters Clavis’ room gets amnesia

Clavis gets in a bad mood when it rains because of the rain-soaked roses, just like on the day of his mother’s funeral (revealed in the Both End Clear chapter)

A gentleman that makes women cry (the following is revealed in his true love route):

Clavis is a man that loves everyone and wants to be loved by everyone. However, he will only fall in love with one person

He had a bit of traumatic experience with love in the past, coming from how his mother killed herself the day after she told him she loved him

He thought he had all of his mother’s love. But he knew it wasn’t so after he found his mother at the cliff where she threw herself off of. His mother loved Chevalier’s mother more than she loved him.

He knows that women are attracted to him. Many have told him that they like him. But the more they proclaim that they love him, the more suspicious he gets.

And so he tests them, plays with them. Making the women who claim to love him run away

Clavis’ room hides his studious nature. It’s filled with well-used books on a variety of subjects including cooking, medicine, law, and economics. He doesn’t have a bed, but a couch.

Clavis has self-confidence issues when it comes to Chevalier. He’s an ordinary man while the 2nd prince is a genius.

As a child, he’d only receive praise and acknowledgement from his mother. He wanted others to recognize him as a real prince, but they were all always looking at Chevalier.

He’s never been able to beat Cheva in anything. In the true love route, Cheva says this is because Clavis never believed in himself

As children, bebe Cheva tells Clavis to do something that only Clavis can do instead of trying to do/beat him at things that Cheva can do if he wants to be acknowledged

Cheva would acknowledge him first if Clavis is able to do something Cheva can’t

Clavis is the type that’s willing to betray his country for the sake of a person/people. Where Chevalier will abandon a few lives, Clavis will save them. Where Chevalier protects the country, Clavis protects the people.

Chevalier is named king of Rhodolite. Clavis is named king of his own ‘Lelouch Kingdom’ that’s his territory.

If you want want Clavis to stop teasing you or doing whatever to you, tell him that you’ll hate him if he continues, and he’ll stop.

Clavis:

--------------------------------------

Cyril has red hair and his last name is Rose

MC’s second day in the palace is her being dragged around by Clavis and witnessing him pulling pranks on all of the brothers but Chevalier.

Yves and Licht pit count: 1

The food Clavis makes is questionable in color and appearance. It’s as awful as it looks. At least the first time. When referring to the food he made, a (?) is attached to emphasize the questionable nature.

Clavis and MC have breakfast daily (with breakfast made by Clavis). Occasionally the other princes are threatened invited to join, where MC can learn more about the princes as Belle.

Cheva’s the only one that hasn’t been invited

When Yves and Licht were invited, Yves brought breakfast that he made. Much to Licht’s relief. Licht gets force-fed cake by Clavis. Poor baby.

Leon actually enjoys the food and keeps stuffing his face.

Clavis drags MC with him to Cheva’s room to wake him up. Clavis’ method of waking Cheva up is drawing his sword and attacking him. But MC holds him back this time.

MC gets “kidnapped” by Clavis after lessons with Sariel. 

Clavis: You’ll be saying “Clavis, I love you” after this.

MC: (There’s no way I’m going to say that)

Cut to Chevalier’s personal library

MC: Clavis, I love you!

They really just talk about the three new characters without dropping names in one scene huh

Clavis invites MC to a soiree he’s hosting. Licht and Yves tag along.

Clavis’s villa is weird. What is this architecture. Also looks haunted.

No seriously, what the hell is going on in the front.

It’s a dilapidated mess with booby traps until you go deeper in

Yves and Licht pit count: 2

HI SILVIO

OH? SILVIO’S FACE FEELS FAMILIAR TO MC?!?!?!? looks at Rio

“Silvio arrived by caravan”

Me: Romani dalmatian...

Silvio invites MC to a soiree he’s hosting at the Benitoite embassy

Cheva’s nickname for Silvio is jarajara? JINGLES? Silvio is Kommo-o

Clavis kissed MC’s forehead

HI GILBERT

Gilbert kowai

Cyril hiding in a chimney

Silvio tries to get MC drunk, but at her latest glass where she’s reached her limit, Clavis swoops in and snatches the glass, downing the drink

There’s talking with Silvio afterward, a carriage ride home, Clavis tucking MC into bed, and him leaving her room before we see the alcohol take effect

We get a reserved, insecure Clavis who keeps comparing himself to Chevalier

I WANT TO HOLD HIM

Sidenote: TW server mentioned acting along the lines of spoiled and affectionate when he gets drunk 🤔 

Jade people are staying at the palace.

HI KEITH

tall like Jin and Luke

Has trouble sleeping and often wanders in the middle of the night

He’s having a tea party with Yves and Licht. Clavis appears

Y, L, K: SCATTER!

Clavis once fed Keith something weird

Clavis under suspicion for helping an Obsidian prisoner escape

Clavis is nowhere to be found. Cheva tells her where she can find him.

Meeting Gilbert in the ruins at Obsidian and Rhodolite territory. 

Gilbert kowai x2

Clavis did free the Obsidian spy. Returned him to Gilbert in exchange for a key. Gilbert then kills the spy

The mansion at Clavis’ territory is clean and normal because it’s actually being maintained

Gotta love when a route has you question morality and if a character’s actions are right or wrong.

CLAVIS BOCCHAN

Clavis has been a disaster child since childhood

Date with Clavis in his territory!

Townspeople: SCATTER!

It’s like his birthday story all over again

Instead of punishing an Obsidian refugee boy who escaped the orphanage and stole from a bakery, Clavis has him work for the baker instead.

Clavis loves and remembers all of his people

People may be nervous around Clavis because he’s a walking disaster, but he’s a good lord to his people. You just can’t bring yourself to hate him.

30% of the people in his territory are Obsidian refugees

Sariel and Rio are at the mansion. There’s a document signed by all the other princes but Cheva charging him for kidnapping MC as well as helping a prisoner escape. Back to the capital we go, where Sariel questions MC

You can exchange books for information with Chevalier

Sariel begins to interrogate Clavis in the throne room with the same questions he asked MC, but Cheva interrupts and kicks Sariel out

Clavis and Cheva have a long talk about the things that Clavis is doing and how he’s a pawn in Gilbert’s game, and is going to end up getting himself killed. Before he leaves, Chevalier tells Clavis what MC said when she was questioned by Sariel

Breakfast with Leon and Nokto. Leon calls Clavis’ tart(?) cute and can tell that it’s a rabbit. Why rabbit? Because Clavis likes rabbits. Like MC

A knight rushes over and tells Clavis that a certain “place” is under “attack”. Clavis leaves breakfast to attend to it and the other princes are just chilling, Leon stuffing his face with food. Suddenly an explosion. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Apparently Sariel tried to break into Clavis’ room.

He tries to do it again, this time having MC keep watch and Rio act as a distraction

Sariel was the one that taught Clavis how to pick locks

Young Clavis threatened to tell other people about how he saw Sariel pick a lock unless he taught him how

Sariel wasn’t raised in nobility

Door opens, and the two see the inside of Clavis’ room.

MC comes back to her room after a bath and sees Clavis waiting for her. She tries to leave but he stops her. She has this guilty look and MC eventually confesses that she went into his room

Clavis was actually in her room to apologize for leaving during breakfast. He left her a clay figure, a Clavis substitute

As punishment for entering his room, Clavis gives MC a hickey

MC gets a lesson on the history of Belle selection and tragedy that was the previous Belle and king

This MC had the time to look over the contract and was not surprised when Sariel asked about the 99th clause

MC says she knows her position. But suddenly Clavis pops into her mid and she thinks about how she’s never going to fall in love with him

MC: (Wait a minute, what did I think about Clavis when there are 8 princes?)

Clavis takes MC to the southwestern border where a civil war has broken out. They’re crossing over to Obsidian because a refugee boy from Clavis’ territory begged him to save his family

CLAVIS IS A CUTE SLEEPER

Cyril was formerly an Obsidian soldier who couldn’t live with what he had done during the war 10 years ago where 1000 people from a Rhodolite village were to be burned. The 1000 people that Cheva sacrificed. Before that, Clavis came to the rescue. Well...he got captured first, and Cheva still didn’t budge. So the burning commenced. Cyril went to meet Clavis because he was curious and planned to die in the fire. Clavis freed himself and whatever survivors he could and Cyril joined him after hearing the prince’s convictions.

Onto the True Love route!

After finding themselves in an Obsidian prison, Clavis, Cyril, MC, and two guards that Clavis convinces to release them go and rescue 100 prisoners and they take an underground path leftover from an old fallen kingdom toward Rhodolite.

At the exit, Clavis and MC go to check it out and are greeted by Chevalier and an army

Cheva draws his sword and Clavis is frozen. MC steps in between them and Cheva points his sword at her throat. Clavis snaps out of it and pulls the blade away from MC with his hand

MC: (Don’t act like a gentleman at a time like this!)

Clavis scolds MC for trying to confront a beast like Chevalier

MC yells some sense into Clavis to get out of his lack of confidence funk

Cheva’s just standing there while Clavis is still holding onto the blade

MC continues her talk no jutsu and tells Clavis not to give up. Clavis starts to laugh and is out of his defeated state.

Cheva draws his sword out of Clavis’ grasp. Ouch. Clavis throws a smoke bomb and the two make their escape back into the tunnels. Cheva calls off the army. But stay alert

Back underground, they need to figure out food. They can’t get aid or find refuge from other countries. MC offhandedly suggests that Clavis establish his own country.

Clavis agrees to the absurd idea and establishes Lelouch Kingdom

Someone save Cyril from this absurdity

The refugees are for it.

Exiting the ruins, in the forest, Clavis points MC in the direction of his territory.

Clavis asks for a kiss goodbye and MC gives into his sad eyes. She pulls his ascot tie and kisses his cheek

In the city of the territory, MC asks for everyone’s attention to help their lord and tells them about the story of Lelouch Kingdom being established

MC then returns to the palace. She has to choose the next king the next day.

MC writes down two names: Chevalier and Clavis. Sariel asks her to explain (threateningly). She asks for a meeting with the two new kings.

The meeting’s to discuss granting Clavis’ territory independence as Lelouch Kingdom. Chevalier counters all of Clavis’ reasons, but Clavis knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince Chevalier with words

They’ll settle this with a duel. Someone help Sariel who can’t take more of this.

Oh my god the ground below gave in and they fell to the floor below.

After throwing a smoke bomb, Clavis lands a hit on Chevalier’s shoulder.

The two shake hands and Chevalier tells Clavis to prepare the necessary documents, with legible handwriting, and to set a meeting with Jade and Benitoite. He’ll surrender land to Clavis.

Clavis cries after Cheva leaves

(premium attire chapter 24) Shirtless Clavis

MC treating his injuries.

Clavis tells MC the various things he likes about her, kissing her in various places on her face in the process

Clavis starts to kiss her legs while trying to get MC to admit that she likes him

MC relents, grabs his collar, and kisses him

Clavis mentions that he’s a leg man, not a breasts man. I’m surprised this didn’t come up anywhere in the common route)

(end)

Before returning to her job at the bookstore, Clavis tried to keep her in Lelouch Kingdom by taking the yandere method of handcuffs, drugs, and nets until MC told him that she would hate him

At the bookstore

MC: (It’s a bit lonely, but it’s nice to have some peace and quiet

The door opens with the loud bell

Clavis: I missed you my lover! Now come and jump into my arms! (He says chest, but that sounds weird)

MC: (The peace didn’t last long!)

MC doesn’t give Clavis the welcome he was expecting so he says he’ll jump into her chest instead. *picks MC up*

It’s the day of Chevalier's coronation. Clavis drags MC off to the ball to show off their love

*squints* The dress that Clavis puts MC in sounds like the same dress Clavis had her wear for their engagement party in the fake wedding event. Or they’re just both coincidentally wisteria in color

*kisses MC while they dance* everyone is shocked

MC, embarrassed, tells Clavis that she doesn’t like PDA

Clavis: I wanted to show off our love, but now I can’t let anyone else see how cute you are

Drags MC to his room in the palace

Kisses and starts to strip MC out of her dress

Stops when she tells him to.

Even at this point, Clavis is still testing MC. 

She asks what he’s testing her on. He gives her one of his shirts to wear because it’s going to be a long talk

refer to ‘A gentleman who makes women cry’

MC has learned to distinguish his laughs

MC decides to show her love more, catching Clavis by surprise every time

She tells him that she’s confident that she won’t break, so he can keep playing with her until he believes that she loves him the most. Other than PDA

A lot of tie pulling

Unnecessarily sexy act of removing his gloves

Lifts MC’s bare legs up and situates his body between them. Starts stroking her legs because the man loves them

Used to want to imprint his existence to everyone, but now is more interested in doing that with MC

MC asks him to do it gently, without the handcuffs, drugs, and other stuff

Ah, the wet sound of kissing

Epilogue

Clavis had a branch of the bookstore MC worked at in the capital open near his house in Lelouch Kingdom

He also has a room set up for MC at his place

He asks for a kiss on the cheek and MC complies, surprising him

Cyril makes his presence known, surprising MC

MC’s dere dere moments need to be cherished

MC doesn’t have to go back and forth between Lelouch Kingdom and the capital anymore. But what happens to Rio?

Clavis asks MC to wait in his room while he goes and carries out his duties. The door to his room opens easily, but instead, another trap waits for her that restrains her

As Clavis teases her, she notices that his body temperature is high. He takes some medicine.  He got a fever from staying up late again

MC wants to be someone that Clavis can relax and be himself in front of

Cuddle time with Clavis. Vulnerable Clavis but doesn’t mean he’s still a little bastard

More wet sounds as Clavis teases MC in the morning

[studywurfavwasian]

My professor is unintentionally hilarious so I started keeping a list of things he’s said.

My entire department at my school is just filled with hilarious and genuinely kind professors. I am so lucky to have them teaching me a subject that I thoroughly love and enjoy so deeply, as they are so passionate and so dedicated to encouraging academic and personal growth. Not to mention they love a good rant. My friend and I literally plan our schedules around which prof is teaching the course bc we just love some of them so much. 

(This is how we ended up both enrolling for a course about Greek & Roman science & technology, where we may have to write a 2000 word essay about olives. But yk, the olive was so important to Ancient Greek society, and I love olives, so it’s fine.)

But there is this one professor who stands out from the others. For some background information, this professor was one of my first professors at my university. In my first year, he taught me three courses (Latin & Classical Mythology), and I did a Latin reading group session with him, and I had my Greek Literature course with him (so I’ve spent a lot of time studying with him). Studying Latin can be so intimidating (for good reason, the case system is absolutely overwhelming when you first start learning it), but he created such a positive environment that I ended up being able to fall in love with Latin.

This professor is not always the most...organised (he left answers in our online tests by accident at least twice), and just goes on various tangents that take up most of our lecture time. (Although, I think this trait is common in the humanities. Literally look at what I’m doing right now). He likes to go on and on about literature and Hebrew and his years in grad school where he spent hours pouring over translating Plato or Aristotle or Gorgias. I personally find this entertaining and love learning from his little tangents. Plus sometimes he says some pretty funny things. Which I will now share a selection of with you.

**For Legal Reasons (ha), take the quotation marks with a grain of salt.**

“Conserve me sounds like you’re an autumn peach waiting to be put in a jar!”

(Context: we were translating the sentence: ‘Conservate me!’ which does directly translate to ‘conserve me!’ but ‘protect me!’ is just sooooo much better.)

“I suck.” *ends the Bongo meeting*

“Did I do something stupid? I do that a lot.”

*someone asks a question* “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Sometimes I get worried that nobody can hear me, so I have to ask.” *Five minutes after nobody could hear him and he didn’t ask*

“I was driving yesterday and I saw a vanity plate, in Latin! Latin is everywhere!”

“It was all leading up to this very high point of learning Latin!”

“Is anyone listening?” *No response* “Okay.”

“This is my cat Mango” (during online classes)

*Late for a lecture and Mango jumps up on his desk* …. “oh, mango!” *exasperation*

“Does everyone get that?” *No response* “Okay.”

“I get tired of hearing myself talk.”

“There’s a problem with calling it Archaic poetry. But, I’ve called it Archaic poetry.”

“How can class be over just when we’re going to talk about Socratic Irony?” *ducks head in sadness* “I’m just going to go outside and lie down” (it was raining) “…. okay class is over. Mark this as the most pathetic class you’ve taken at [redacted].”

(Context: he showed up ten minutes late and the lecture was very disorganised (I think he did a good job!))

*Begins gesturing to the blank title slide of his powerpoint* “Notice the nice ancient map I have with ocean all the way around, and then all the continents with a nice short kind of Africa, and everything kind of roundish, smushed together, with the Mediterranean (Old world) oversized, Black Sea oversized, and everything stylized once you get out to the East.”

“Some colonial asshole probably, who lived a really dull life and wanted to oppress people.

(I can’t even remember what lecture this was from. I’m thinking it’s our geographical literature lecture. And he’s right lol.)

“Don’t tell the bartender that you’re there for the Inklings, he won’t care. It’s not like I did that or anything.” (Talking about the Eagle and Child pub)

“Scholars are fairly certain there was no access to google at this time.” (Talking about the year 280 AD)

*Everyone in the class agreed that we hate Plato.* Someone says: “I have beef with Plato!” He laughs and just dejectedly says, “aw. I love Plato.”

“A hoplite was kind of like the middle class who could afford heavy armo-- actually, you know what, we don’t need to talk about that.” *moves on and doesn’t finish his sentence*

Some other things he has done that I think are wonderful:

When we were studying Herodotus’ Histories he told us about how when he was in grad school, he used to read Herodotus to his daughter as a bed time story. It got to the point where she would ask for a Herodotus story.

Came into class, took out his laptop, wrote a website URL on the chalkboard, turned around, told us we had to go to that link and fill out a survey and then walked out of the room with all his stuff and didn’t come back for fifteen minutes.

Always had at least one typo in all his pop quizzes. On our quiz for Poetics he wrote ‘Aristotle’ as ‘ARistotle’ and my friend and I looked at each other and made pirate hooks with our fingers.

Hosted a Latin reading group in the summer and gave the people who had been studying latin for less than a year the Vulgate and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. (I gave up so quickly). But went on a ten minute ramble about the word ‘fiat’ and the subjunctive mood (which helped me a lot in second year).

While studying the Vulgate he went on a mini rant about St. Jerome and talked about his authorship when it came to his Latin translation, which spiralled into a 10 minute discussion about Hebrew and his frustrations with it.

Our pop quizzes were 5 multiple choice questions and we finished them before he finished handing them out, only for him to be shocked each time.

Agreed that the Greek Gods act like a squabbling family in the Iliad.

Laughed at my friend’s theory that between the Iliad and the Argonautica it was like they had grown up, and agreed.

Pronounces ‘circe’ like ‘sirsaayyyy’ (very long ‘ay’ sound at the end)

Whenever he writes words on the chalkboard he accidentally writes them in Greek (ancient Greek isn’t a pre-req for this class), and then has to take a minute to figure out how to write it in English.

Said: “Why does everybody read the bloody Republic? Read Symposium” only to realise like 5 minutes later THAT HE SCHEDULED US TO READ THE REPUBLIC. 

TLDR - He’s a very funny man. And he’s a very good professor. He did create what is probably one of the MOST CONFUSING ESSAY QUESTION I’ve ever had the displeasure of creating a thesis for, but that’s beyond the point. I would go on forever, but this is already long. 

[tinyshinysylveon]

Koimonogatari Summary Ch.23

Hello! So I'll be posting a slightly detailed summary of the latest chapter (23) of koimonogatari but before we move on, disclaimer that I'm still learning JP so it'll probably be not as accurate ;; Please refer to the official translations once it comes out and/or, if you prefer, from a scan team that's scanlating this manga! With that being said, I'll also be posting a few images that I've translated/typeset (i won't be translating the sfx effects since they take too long to edit orz) so spoilers ahead! 

So first page takes place after Yuiji and Nemoto had that talk from the previous chapter. Nemoto proceeds to complain while calling Natsumi "Neko-chan" about how she told Yuiji something troublesome/annoying. (she said something like, 自己焼悪 "self-loathing" or "I hate myself" afterwards). Natsumi decides to do the same thing and complained about how she might've said something strange too to Yamato. After that, they both decided to eat crepes together to forget their worries lol

Next, it shows Yuiji and Yamato walking together and they talk about the culture festival and how the girls are really reliable when it comes to preparations. They even agreed that they're strong (they didn't specify who here but i'm sure they implied nemoto and natsumi). Yuiji then talks about how he started talking to Nemoto after a long time and he felt a sense of relief in talking normally. He then asked if they can hug and Yamato was confused how it was related to what he talked about, but Yuiji went for it anyway. Yuiji says that he used to embrace Kyousuke (Hongou) whenever he gets "struck by the source" so now he's using Yuiji for today as his "healing point." 

(T/N: I was a bit confused with このへん here and because この means "this" and へん could mean "strange" I was thinking "this strange-" but then I saw the preceding particle で (このへんで) that could indicate location or where an action takes place and found out このへん together means "this area/around here" so I chose this one instead of the other one, I'm probably wrong ;; oof just know that they hugged here lol)

In Yamato's thoughts, he's happy that he's a substitute for Hongou and he couldn't stop his heart from beating fast in his chest. He keeps telling himself that he's scared that he was going to get caught and that he couldn't hug Yuiji (it shows a half hug from him so i'm guessing he couldn't hug him fully?). Yamato kept on saying, 怖い (kowai) meaning "scary" in the page during the hug ;; 

Now we jump to the culture festival! (i probably won't go over too much till the end, so i'll probably skip some parts) Yamato and Seki appeared and people were saying how they look really cool in their outfits. After that, they started preparing and splitting the groups into two: beautiful girls and handsome boys. The handsome group goes first.

They even told the customers not to take photos of them lol Yamato and Seki got into character (they were discussing a character system, i'm not sure if Seki mentioned his but he told Yamato to do a "prince" type and he even acted like one to a little girl) and were serving customers samples, charming them, etc. (the "here you go" first image ref!) Meanwhile, Yuiji was making waffles and they were getting a lot of people lining up to get some so it was a huge hit. Part of it was because of Yamato and Seki's customer service. When they met up, Hongou's friends who came over (and even took notice of Seki and Yamato's looks) loved the waffles too. When Seki and Yamato switch with the girls to take a break, Mikeda and the girl (i wasn't sure if her name was mentioned), who were from the last page of ch.21, are in the festival and also tried the waffles. It then cuts to Yuiji and Natsumi who told each other good work and realized they both ended up getting the same drink from the animal cafe that Nemoto is working in. Yuiji starts talking about his relationship with Nemoto to Natsumi and being friends. Natsumi said something about love is merely fun until you realize your mistake (or probably too late in this case?), then wondered if she'll fall in love with someone again. 

Mikeda shows up out of nowhere then asks if they know where Yamato is and introduced himself as his middle school friend. Natsumi made a weird face when she saw him and Mikeda noticed it then asked if she knows him. As he was talking, she tried texting Yamato not to come to them but it was too late orz

- end of chapter - 

If you have reached the end, take everything with a grain of salt! I didn't want to make it long so I had to cut off some parts ;;  Hopefully the scan team will release the full pages with translations soon! Nonetheless, thank you for reading! 

If you want to pay for the official to support the author, please go on this website! https://www.tokyopop.com/book-catalogue-new-titles/koimonogatari-love-stories-vol-1 (it tells you on the side what platforms it's available on and so far, there's 2 volumes) 

I am also not affiliated with any scan team! I've only been in one so far and have only worked as a proofreader/quality check/helped with translations sometimes