#the tokey tones

[guessimdumb]

The Tokey Tones - Yoghurt and Vinegar (2003)

Charming, quirky and melodic lo-fi pop from New Zealand.

[bunnibai]

Round 2 But It Actually Works

Wow imagine getting your round done – characters featured in order of appearance: Tokachi Ameko, Sugiyama Tsuki, Inoue Hiraku, Grigori Vai, Takakutou Shakou, Spellman, Lyrimon (mentioned), Hiyasu Shimokizu (mentioned), Funkee, Zeke, Otsuka Aimi (mentioned), Fuji Hotaru, Seishin Tamashi, Yukino Zoe, Tokei Yameru (mentioned), Gakusa Oh, Fujinuma Ozen (mentioned), Ogura Svetlana (mentioned)

“This is Hop To It, reporting in.” 

“Now You See Me Now You Don’t, reporting in.”

“Key Lime, Reporting in.” 

“B - bondage-san, reporting in.” 

“This is Takakutou--” 

“I’m sorry, who?” 

“Now You See Me Now You Don’t is right, we have to use the code names!!”

There was a silence on the other end, followed by a heavy sigh. 

“...Holey Cow, reporting in.”

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

A week before, Ameko had been sitting in homeroom with the rest of 1A. It was a little energetic in the classroom, which had intimidated Ameko at first, but the careful excitement of 1A was quickly starting to grow on her. She appreciated the way that Lyrie-chan had a habit of lowering her volume when it got too loud for Ameko, and how it was becoming second nature for the person closest to Hiyasu-chan to put their arm around her when she seemed too cold. 

Ameko leaned against Lyrie-chan as the class chatted, feeling the warmth of her part-horse body taking over the coolness of Hiyasu-chan beside her. 

“Hey, guys!” 

Ameko’s voice carried over the others, and they all looked over at her, finishing up conversations and turning over in their spots; in a chair, or sitting on a desk, or enjoying the giant cuddle-pile that had collected around Ameko. 

“What’s up, Tokachi-kun?”

Inoue-chan raised an eyebrow and rested his chin on his hand. Ameko straightened in her spot, letting her hands flitt around her as she spoke. 

“We should have a secret comuni-ni-nation device!” Ameko declared. Inoue-chan paused for a second, before clarifying in a smooth, calm voice, “Communication device?” 

“Yes! That!” 

“How would we even do something like that?” Takakutou-chan snorted, rolling her eyes. It was, of course, to be expected of the grumpy girl who never seemed to care much for being a team player. The entire class gave each other a knowing, amused glance. 

“Like - like a walkie-talkie or something!” Ameko continued, “For when we’re doing training stuff.” 

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Inoue-chan mused. “If we had the knowledge to do something like that, anyway.” 

“We probably could,” Spoke up a boy in the back. He was a transfer student, and had arrived that day in the train station alongside another late arrival, Otsuka-chan. 

“We can?” Ameko lit up. 

“Yeah. I could make some headsets and connect the transmission to some AM radio waves; if we all hit the same channel, we can talk to each other. They won’t hit a terribly long distance, and anyone with another radio can listen in, but they’ll work.” 

Ameko hopped up, her hair bouncing with her and a grin on her face. “You’re so super smart! Haaah, what’s your name again?”

“Funkee, Zeke.” 

Ameko blinked a few times. 

“Fu… foon-kee…?” She scrunched up her nose. 

“You can call me Zeke, if it’s easier for you.”

Ameko blushed, shaking her head. “That’d be really embarrassing. I could--” Her voice lowered, “--do you mind being called Kisai-kun?”

“Talented? Why?” 

“Because - because you’re making the radios!” Ameko bounced on her heels, feeling her quirk threatening to burst. “And if we have radios, we gotta have codenames!” 

There was a bubbling excitement in the class as they all huddled together, paper in hand… 

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

Fast forward to a week later, and their first hero lesson had started. Ameko quickly learned her field was connected to Inoue-chan, Gigi-san, Takakutou-chan, and the newest transfer, Sugiyama-chan. She had caught her just before they split up, handing her a headset and collecting a code name. 

She stood on the edge of a dilapidated city, looking at the aged buildings and the almost peaceful atmosphere. It would have been just Ameko, if her ears couldn’t pick up the faint chatter of her classmates. The overhead speaker boomed an excited set of instructions from Kyokkou-sensei, interrupted every so often by a mildly-irritated Kuzu-sensei. 

“Ready!”

Ameko crouched down, letting her foot skid slightly on the ground, gripping the concrete under her. 

“Set!”

Her hand brushed the dust-covered surface. Breath in. Breath out. 

“Go!”

The dust stirred as Ameko took off, and the familiar feeling of jumping high, so high, gave her a quick rush of excitement. When she was hopping, it almost felt like flying. Ameko felt like she was making good progress when -- 

“Shit!”

Ameko skidded to a stop when she saw one of her other classmates, Gigi-san, sprinting towards the goal. Behind them, an empty trash can that had sprout legs -- their quirk, Ameko knew -- was running along at a frankly impressive pace. A glob of lava flung out at the trash can, melting it and leaving the orb rolling away. 

Right at Ameko. 

“Bondage-san--” Ameko blushed as she spoke into the headset. “--how fast can you run?” 

“Pretty fast,” They replied, “Why?”

“I can kick the ball towards the goal, but you gotta catch it before it goes over.” 

“I have an idea.” Gigi-san sprinted towards the sidewalk, finding a bench and touching it. Their quirk made it come to life, and like an animal, pranced anxiously as Gigi-san climbed on. “Go.” 

Ameko kicked the ball, and Gigi-san hurtled after it, their opponent struggling to catch up. Without much hesitation, Ameko kept hopping towards her goal, and after a few minutes the radio crackled to life with a relieved, “Thanks, Hop To It.” 

Ameko spotted the shining from a window a few buildings ahead, and slowed down, slipping into the doorway with quiet focus. The building was run down, but maybe not as much as some of the others, because it was clearly sturdy. Dust coated the floor in a very thin layer, and the air had a heaviness that made Ameko’s breath hitch the wrong way. There were a lot of floors; Ameko figured at least five. With the winding rooms and nooks and crannies, it felt like hours (although in actuality, she had only been searching maybe five minutes) as she shifted boxes and climbed staircases. 

She tried to listen for her opponent, but she heard nothing. 

Although it would be lying to say that Ameko knew all of the kids in 1B well -- She had classes with them, but besides the people that she had gotten close with, she was much more focused with the familiar, family-like feeling of her own class. But Ameko had run into quite a few, and she could recognize a lot of them. 

Ameko had known Seisei-chan since the exam, and she had a pretty solid grasp on his quirk. She had gotten used to the way that he popped out of existence when he was startled, the way his heartbeat was a bit too slow whenever she went in to hug him. She knew that Seisei-chan was slow; maybe not to the average person, but definitely to someone who’s quirk was good with speed. 

Ameko really liked Seisei-chan. Some might even say that she loved him; that, of course, would depend on whether you believed love could even be accomplished after two weeks of school. But Ameko was also here for a reason. She was here to grow, to be a good hero, and Seisei-chan was too. 

If she didn’t try her best, even though she liked him, then she wasn’t being nice to either of them. 

“Hop To It, this is Now You See Me Now You Don’t, reporting in.” 

“What’s up?” Ameko whispered, opening one of the doors and poking her head in. 

“You’re fighting the purple ghost kid, right?”

“Yeah?” Nothing. Close the door, rush down the hallway, look in another door.

“He’s running towards the goal with the orb.” 

Ameko stopped. For a split second, she’s confused. She would have definitely heard someone come in; footsteps, breathing, little huffs and puffs and bumping around that, although not much, was enough for someone with sensitive ears. 

Unless, of course, he was invisible. And he couldn’t be touched -- or touch the things around him.

Ameko cursed a soft, “Sweets and sugar,” as she opened the window and launched herself out. “Where?”

“I’m bad with directions,” Sugiyama-chan admitted on the other end. After a beat of silence, Yukino-chan piped up, “You’re looking for Seishin-kun, right, Hop To It?”

“Yeah, I am.” 

“He’s nearby!” Yukino-chan assured. “Go three blocks East and two South, and he’ll be there.” 

This was, of course, something that the class had considered before the match; because of Yukino-chan’s quirk being like a person detector, she could easily direct people towards any targets. In preparation, they had all made sure to have compasses on hand. Ameko had to thank Tokei-kun for that idea. 

“Thanks a ton!” Ameko called out, and started sprinting in the direction. 

Seisei-chan was floating, fast but not as fast as Ameko. He saw her coming, and when she went to tackle him, he floated up and out of her grasp. 

Ameko rolled on the ground and popped back up, her feet skidding on the ground. Seisei-chan floated further down, eyeing her with apprehension. 

“Sorry, Tokachi-chan.” 

Ameko lurched forward again, and again, he flew back. Ameko quickly realized that this wasn’t going to work. 

Ameko had remembered the days afterschool in her backyard, in the makeshift training ground, trying to knock Gakutori-nii off of his feet. She’d try the same lunge. She remembered his slightly amused tone when he told her that it wasn’t a good idea -- Ameko would get tired a lot quicker than Gakutori-nii would. She bit the inside of her cheek and thought. 

Ameko’s quirk buzzed with energy waiting to be used. When Seisei-chan took a floating step towards his side of the goal, Ameko knew what she was going to do. 

When Ameko was little, she used hopscotch to try and control her quirk. She tried to stay in the squares by doing little jumps, because otherwise, she could hurt herself. Her quirk was one that she loved, but it was dangerous, too. 

Patience. Self control. Ameko tapped her foot on the ground and lunged, aiming higher. This was no problem for Seisei-chan; he ducked lower, instead. 

That was his mistake. 

She shifted her attack to kick his side, and he cried out in alarm, the ball rolling out of his arms and down the street. Ameko was fast; she scrambled, grabbing the orb and breaking into a run towards her goal. Seisei-chan floated after her at a speed that was actually a little startling for Ameko; she was faster, but if she made one wrong move, he’d catch up in no time. 

Ameko heard it before it was going to happen. She could hear most of her classmates’ fights from the headset, but Takakutou-chan’s boisterous, “We’ll see how you like this building, Tall Girl.” 

A building. 

“Holey Cow, this is Hop To It, reporting in. Did you say you’re going to bring a building down?” 

“I sure as hell am! Why do you care, Bunny Girl?” Takakutou-chan spat into the mic, followed by a grunt from what Ameko assumed was her battle. 

“Where are you? What’s your 20? I need to slow my opponent down.” Ameko ducked into an alleyway to her left, ran, then hopped a street over. The orb was cradled in her hands like a child. 

Takakutou-chan laughed haughtily. “Saving your ass, am I? I’m on the building on the corner -- it’s the one next to the burger shop.” 

Ameko clicked her tongue, and on her next hop, spotted it a few minutes away. “I need you to hold off on that building. Can you do that?” 

“Of course I can! What, you think I’m in trouble? I’m already winning the--” Takakutou-chan shrieked, and there was a crash, “--I’ve got Tall Girl under control!” 

“Great.” Ameko waited, and once she passed the building, she shouted a loud, “Now!” 

A lot of things happened at once. Behind Ameko, there was a rumbling, and the building Takakutou-chan described started toppling in on itself without the weight of the chunk she punched out. Ameko looked back, but kept going, and stumbled over the finish line orb in hand. Her chest heaved, and she slumped against a tree, the orb rolling at her feet. 

Ameko heard the call of, “Tokachi Ameko wins!”, but she was more focused on the sweet, satisfying taste of her candy. 

After the exercise and a shower, the bed Ameko rested on wasn’t her own. She closed her eyes, soaking in the quiet of a soundproofed room and the vibes -- the cool breeze of a fall night, brushing your cheeks and enveloping you in a refreshing embrace. She could feel the slow, steady rise and fall of breathing from the person she was laying on. 

Underneath her, Lana-chan let out a gruff oof as Gakutori-nii flopped on top of the two girls. “So, 1-A had radios, eh? Who’s idea wassit -- Bird knock-off?”

Ameko grunted as she went to twist, looking up at her best friend and his dumb, smug smile. She stuck her tongue out in return, blowing a raspberry. 

“It was my idea!” She bragged. 

He snorted, ruffling her hair roughly. “Not too bad, Amenee.”

Ameko couldn’t help the smile that infected her entire being.

[utagoe]

UtaPri: Shinnaru Senritsu wa Saiai wo Utau (真なる旋律は最愛を歌う) Lyrics

Kanji, romaji and English translation for Shinnaru Senritsu wa Saiai wo Utau (A True Melody Sings Who’s my Beloved) by Hijirikawa Masato

(kanji source)

触れれば何時でも傍にいて　慰めてくれたんだ

悲しい時もどんな時でも　同じ気持ちの音で

幼き日々の　優しい居場所

時計の針と共に紡ぐ　思い出たち

儚さの旋律と孤独の歌

それだけしか知らない　変わらぬ毎日

…お前と出逢うまで

面影と香りを辿るように　駆け出した恋情が

いつの間にか求めて止まぬ　限りなき愛情へ

酔うほど甘くて　眠れぬほど切ない

満ちるはSerenade

互いに近づき離れては　繰り返す波のように

瞳合わす勇気も持てず　上手く話せずとも

想いまた一つ　確実に咲く

愛に伴う痛みさえも　喜びへと

奥の奥まで　深く感じたいと

抑えきれない渇きが　疼いて止まない

…お前が欲しくて

交わし合い溶け合い踊り出す　2つの旋律が

睦み合う音色は　こんなに愛おしく綺麗で

燃ゆる魂　色濃く揺れるまま

重なるSerenade

鍵盤の上　吐息を絡め　 艶やかに指先で誘う

面影と香りを辿るように　駆け出した恋情が

いつの間にか求めて止まぬ　限りなき愛情へ

酔うほど甘くて　眠れぬほど切ない

満ちるはSerenade

Romaji

furereba itsudemo soba ni ite nagusamete kuretan da kanashii toki mo donna toki demo onaji kimochi no ne de osanaki hibi no yasashii ibasho tokei no hari to tomo ni tsumugu omoidetachi

hakanasa no senritsu to kodoku no uta sore dake shika shiranai owaranu mainichi ...omae to deau made

omokage to kaori wo tadoru you ni kakedashita renjou ga itsunomanika motomete yamanu kagirinaki aijou e you hodo amakute nemurenu hodo setsunai michiru wa Serenade

tagai ni chikazuki hanarete wa kurikaesu nami no you ni hitomi awasu yuuki mo motezu umaku hanasezu to mo omoi mata hitotsu kakujitsu ni saku ai ni tomonau itami sae mo yorokobi e to

oku no oku made fukaku kanjitai to osae kirenai kawaki ga uzuite yamanai ...omae ga hoshikute

kawashiai tokeai odoridasu futatsu no senritsu ga mutsumiau neiro wa konna ni itooshiku kirei de moyuru tamashii irokoku yureru mama kasanaru Serenade

kenban no ue toiki wo karame adeyaka ni yubisaki de sasou

omokage to kaori wo tadoru you ni kakedashita renjou ga itsunomanika motomete yamanu kagirinaki aijou e you hodo amakute nemurenu hodo setsunai michiru wa Serenade

English

If we touched, you were always by my side comforting me With similar sounds of feelings, at sad moments, at all moments The gentle whereabouts of our young days Memories are created along with the hand of the clock

A melody of transience and a song of loneliness That is all I've ever known in my unchanging days ...Until I met you

My love started running to follow your traces and scent Before I noticed, I couldn't stop seeking you - Towards an unlimited love So sweet that it makes me drunk, so painful that I cannot even sleep This rising Serenade

We get closer and then farther apart, like the repeating waves Even though I do not have the courage to look you in the eyes, and I cannot speak to you very well, Our feelings will certainly bloom as one again The pain that follows this love, too, will change to joy

"I want to feel you deep inside" I cannot stop this uncontrollable thirst from aching ...Because I want you

We exchange our melody, melt together with it, begin to dance to it Our complementary tone colours are so precious and beautiful like this My soul burns, while strongly swaying Our Serenade overlaps

Entwining our sighs on top of the piano keyboard, You charmingly invite me with your fingertips

My love started running to follow your traces and scent Before I noticed, I couldn't stop seeking you - Towards an unlimited love So sweet that it makes me drunk, so painful that I cannot even sleep This rising Serenade

[you-turn-it-into-light]

Some thoughts on ‘Wakana Live Tour 2019 ~VOICE~’ Blu-Ray

I would have loved to buy this but unfortunately 1) I’m broke and have more important things to spend money on (licence, university) and 2) I don’t have a Blu-Ray player. So huge thanks to @putschki1969 and znbc on bilibili for providing the live online. I have downloaded it so look forward to some gifsets! 

Anyway, my thoughts:

All the dresses are gorgeous. I love them. 

I particularly love the salmon dress, she looks super cute and the colour is very flattering.

Wakana’s voice is very thin by nature, which made it harder to enjoy some of the more upbeat song songs because she can’t really ‘belt’. Her voice was a bit shaky during some long notes, her breathing was super loud and her falsetto was way too breathy, but I really enjoyed the live. 

I didn’t really like the Kalafina song sections. Not because they didn’t sound good (except for one but I’ll get to that), but because it just felt really lonely. I know it’s kinda mean for me to say, but without Keiko and Hikaru there, it felt kinda off? It didn’t feel like this during her solo songs, they felt like they were Wakana’s songs only, but watching Wakana sing those songs alone made me kinda sad. 

Wakana’s voice really suits soft ballads and during those is when her voice really shines

Wakana playing the instruments at the end of Nagareboshi was super cute, she really did look like a kid!

As my favourite song on the album, ‘Toki no Ne’ was gorgeous

‘Kaze ni Naritai’ was so much fun. Some of the notes seemed a little too low for Wakana but it was a very solid performance. 

I was upset that they cut out ‘Mizu no Akashi’, I would have loved to have seen it

The worst part of the live must have been the audience, there was no excitement. There were only a few people up during the upbeat songs, and once ‘Musunde Hiraku’ began, every got up! I agree with Sarah, I thought it was quite disrespectful. I would have stood up during ‘Kimi Dake no Stage’! Speaking of that…

‘Kimi Dake no Stage’ was awesome! The song was so bright and uplifting and cheerful and Wakana’s high-toned voice really suited the song

I really liked the arrangement of ‘Musunde Hiraku’. Having completely omitted the strings section (understandably), the rhythmic phrases of the electric guitar made the song a lot more energetic and fun, I think I enjoyed it more than the original

‘oblivious’ was nice. I really liked the arrangement.

‘Boku no Kokoro no Tokei’  was gorgeous. I really love the middle part. Although the song is a bit repetitive for my taste, I really love the middle, more dramatic section.

I DID NOT like ‘Hikari Furu’ at all. The droning organ effect on the piano in the beginning really weirded me out, it didn’t fit the tone of the song at all. With the strings section being omitted, the electric guitar replacing that was not nice. Wakana’s voice is not powerful enough to hold up a song of that calibre. To me, a reason why that song is so special is the harmonies, the overlapping parts and the gorgeous strings section. Without any of that, it just sounded really awkward and bad. I’m probably being too harsh, but the only part I liked was Wakana’s ‘mabushii asa’ which is when the instruments just stopped and let Wakana’s voice echo. 

On the other hand, I LOVED ‘Ato Hitotsu’. The lyrics are beautiful, and Wakana’s voice really suits it. I really loved it when the piano stopped playing and Wakans sung in acapella ‘あとひとつだけの歌が歌えるなら’ It was gorgeous.

Overall, I really hope Wakana releases more songs from here on out. ‘Kimi Dake no Stage’ and ‘Ato Hitotsu’ are great and I hope they get an album or single release one day. The lie was really nice, Wakana looked really happy and I hope she keeps improving and doing things that she enjoys.

[putschki1969]

VOICE Tour Live Report Part 2

Hi everyone!

It’s been 84 years...Okay, here is part two of my report. The ACTUAL report so to speak. Just in time for the tour final. I am expecting some news articles to be posted soon. I hope we will get some nice pictures of the Tokyo live. Anyways, sorry to have kept you waiting. Things have been crazy in Japan. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t go according to plan and I never got the chance to write the rest of my report while I was in Japan. And now that I have been back, I have been pretty busy with work >_< Unfortunately, writing reports like this takes A LOT of time because I try to do it as detailed as possible, I wanna do Wakana’s live justice after all. Oh well, I should stop rambling and start with the actual report. Before I focus on the songs I would like to share a few general thoughts.

Seating/audience: As most of you probably know, I attended both the Tokyo as well as the Fukuoka concert of Wakana’s tour. I had amazing seats for both lives. In Tokyo I was seated in the second row and in Fukuoka I had a first-row seat. Both were located right at the center so Wakana was literally in front of me. BANZAI!! The Fukuoka stage wasn’t very high and there was only about 1 ½ metres between the stage and the first row so basically I could have reached out and touched Wakana (not that I would ever do that but you get what I mean XD). It’s the closest I have ever been to her during a concert. I was able to see every micro expression on her face, I looked into her eyes, I waved at her, it felt so good to be noticed. On a more or less related note I wanna add that I felt kinda bad for Wakana because for the Fukuoka live the hall was pretty empty, I think the audience only filled about half of it (if not less - for reference, the main hall has a capacity for about 1,000 people, I think we weren’t even 500 people in the audience). I hear it was the same for her other venues (except the Tokyo live which was quite well visited but even there the upper floor was empty). Lining up for the goods was also completely different. Merchandise sale started very late, about 1 ½ hours before the live and there were hardly any people lining up. It’s really sad to see Wakana getting so little support for her solo activities. I guess lots of YK and Kalafina fans aren’t really interested to follow her. Right now Wakana’s management is making the mistake of still thinking in Kalafina dimensions. Wakana as a solo artist simply can’t fill out halls like Kalafina. Maybe at some point in her career she will be able to but I feel she will have to do a lot of tie-ins to achieve that sort of popularity. Right now it would be smarter to go for slightly smaller (and more classical) venues I think...This way the halls would fill up quickly and it would probably reduce the ticket prices (which in turn would make more people willing to purchase them). I hope for the next tour they will consider making some changes. Wakana deserves to perform at sold out lives.

Band style: Speaking of “more classical” venues, I feel like Wakana would also benefit from a more “classical style/acoustic arrangement”. The band style is a bit overwhelming at times, there were a few songs that would have sounded SO MUCH better with a less band-heavy arrangement, at least in my opinion. In particular the drums and bass guitar felt a little overbearing during some parts of the performance (“Yakusoku no Yoake” and “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” immediately come to mind - the bass was bordering on obnoxious during “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” and the drums kinda almost ruined the mystical/translucent atmosphere of “Yakusoku no Yoake”). Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the musicians, I think they all did well. The guitarist was particularly dedicated, he switched between e-guitar and acoustic guitar throughout the entire concert, even during songs. There was a staff member that constantly had to run back and forth, I felt kinda bad for him. At any rate, all the musicians were really into it and they were obviously having lots of fun. Unfortunately, most of Wakana’s songs simply aren’t suited to be played by a “standard” band.

Vocals: Wakana’s vocals were great during both concerts. As far as I can tell she hit all of her notes, to me she sounded particularly beautiful in Jidai, Boku no Kokoro no Tokei, Hikari Furu and Ai no Hana. At no point did she seem exhausted, I didn’t notice her getting out of breath and she barely even sweated. Due to the nature of most songs, she didn’t move a lot so she was able to focus fully on her singing. I did notice however that her voice got occasionally drowned by the band. Once in a while she would sing her lines really quietly, not sure why though. Maybe she lacked confidence or she forgot the lyrics. Perhaps she purposefully used a quiet voice and didn’t take into account that the background music and band would be so loud. That’s just a minor complaint though and didn’t really take away from the overall experience.

Production: The stage set up was very simple which I didn’t mind. The decoration consisted of these metal thingies hanging from the ceiling (as seen on the report pictures). The atmosphere was mostly created via the lighting. There was a screen in the back but it was barely used. To be honest, I only really noticed it during “Kaze ni Naritai”. I am sure it was used during other songs but for the life of me, I can’t remember. There was no choreography or anything. Wakana just did what she felt like doing. Some swaying here, some arm gesture there. A bit of walking across the stage during the more up-beat songs. The outfits were obviously chosen by Wakana herself. You could tell she felt very comfortable in them. She also opted for flat sandals. It’s details like that which made the lives feel very real and intimate.

MCs: Wakana was quite nervous during her MCs (especially at her Tokyo live which was filmed). At times she was a bit awkward and didn’t really know what to say. She even admitted to feel a little uncomfortable since this is the first time in her solo career to have so many cameras around. She definitely talked a lot more at the Tokyo live but I am not sure if all of that is gonna make it onto the DVD/BD (I hope so though!). During her Fukuoka live she was far more relaxed and towards the end you could tell that she didn’t mind the MCs at all. She was able to talk freely at that point.  Either way, at both lives she managed to work her way through the MCs. The audience was very supportive and found her little awkwardness quite precious. I mean, how could you not find her cute?

Tokyo or Fukuoka? Overall, I thought the Fukuoka live was much better than the concert in Tokyo. Wakana was more relaxed and I guess she didn’t feel as pressured since there were no cameras. She cried at the end when she said her final goodbye. It was so sweet. Also, the acoustics were a lot better at the Fukuoka Convention Center, at least it sounded that way for me. The band wasn’t so loud and Wakana’s microphone was quite well-balanced which really cannot be said for the Tokyo live (but as I mentioned in my previous post, I think it will be easy to fix with a bit of studio magic, the video release should sound fine).

Okay, now let’s finally get to the songs...

01.約束の夜明け | Yakusoku no Yoake Wakana came on stage wearing the orange/salmon-coloured dress and flat white Roman-style sandals. The lights weren’t doing her arms any favours to be honest but aside from that she looked gorgeous. The colour of the dress really accentuated her skin tone. Her hair was made up in an elaborate ponytail with lots of braids. For this song there was some sort of see-through screen similar to the one used for Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yūgure no during Kalafina’s FOTW tour. The song started with a short intro/overture that sounded very epic. I think they should have added that part to the studio version (since that one starts rather abruptly). As mentioned in my quick overall review, everything was quite loud during this song (more so during the Tokyo live than the one in Fukuoka). I didn’t really like how the band sounded, to me it felt rather overwhelming. I think something different is needed for an almost ethereal song like that. Maybe some strings or a flute...Sometimes a little less is more. On top of that, Wakana’s singing was quite loud to compensate the sound of the instruments so that didn’t exactly make it better. Wakana did a little “oohhhh-ing” for the rather long instrumental section that starts around 2:40 minutes. It’s also noticeable in the studio version if you listen closely but it’s barely there. For the live version Wakana is doing some proper “ooohh-ing”, it sounded really nice. I expected to REALLY love this song since it’s among my album faves but unfortunately the loudness and arrangement made it very hard for me to fully appreciate the performance. It wasn’t bad or anything but I also wasn’t blown away. I guess you could say it was a little underwhelming...

02.流れ星 | Nagareboshi A straightforward performance. Sounded pretty much exactly like the studio version. For me this song is ranked pretty low as far as the album tracks are concerned. I had hoped Wakana’s live performance would make me appreciate the song more but I still feel the same way about it. I mean, I don’t dislike it or anything, I just don’t enjoy it as much as most of the other album tracks. It just doesn’t click with me if that makes sense. At the end of the performance we get a small highlight. Wakana went up to her little table and picked up a couple of instruments. First she used the tingsha to create some sort of “bling” sound. Then she took the big rainstick and slowly moved it upside down to create the sound of rain. Honestly, I can’t wait for you to see her face on the video release, I hope they caught her expressions on camera, she looked so happy playing those instruments. Like a little child that got to play with her favourite toy.

MC: I don’t have much memory of the MCs tbh (or rather, I don’t remember what was being said in which MC because there were SO MANY) but I think she talked about her album release here and how she wants people to listen to her as an individual, she wants people to focus on her as a human being, this tour is only about her and her voice (which is also why the tour title is “VOICE”). This is also where she talked about the weather I think. How she tends to be really unlucky and wherever she goes she brings rain with her. During her first few tour lives the weather was always really nice but unfortunately it rained a lot on the day of her Tokyo live. It did however stop raining towards the late afternoon. The weather wasn’t exactly nice but at least we managed to stay dry. It was super hot and sunny for Wakana’s Fukuoka live. Maybe she mentioned the cameras here too or it might have been in a later MC...? Anyways, she confirmed that we would get a home video release for this concert.

03.瑠璃色の空 | Ruriiro no Sora This is probably my least favourite song of the album, it’s just not my cup of tea. As a result, the performance didn’t really stand out to me and I don’t have much to say about it.. However, for those who like the song I think you will like the live performance because Wakana sounded really good. No complaints.

04.Hard Rain This is where the concert really picked up for me. It was the first up-beat song of the live and I generally enjoyed the performance. In the beginning when I first listened to the album I wasn’t sure whether or not I liked “Hard Rain”, both “Ruriiro no Sora” and “Hard Rain” have a similar vibe, they almost sound “jazz-y” to me and honestly, jazz is a genre I don’t enjoy at all. But unlike “Ruriiro no Sora” “Hard Rain” managed to win me over. The studio version is really nice but the live version is so much better. Wakana delivered a lovely performance, her stage presence was great. During the chorus she kept walking from one end of the stage to the other, flapping her multi-layered skirt. She came right to the edge of the stage so I felt really close to her.The “paya-paya” part at the end of the song was lip-synched to some extent. Or at least they had a very loud track playing in the background. The last few “paya-payas” she sang herself.

MC: I think in this MC Wakana talks about the privilege of working together with so many different and talented composers/songwriters. She feels honoured that all these beautiful songs were made for her. She learned a lot, she got to meet lots of amazing people, she got a lot more involved in the creative process. The next song was composed and written by Yūko Andō, Wakana is particularly smitten by this piece because it’s so powerful, it’s a showcase of female strength.

05.記憶の人 | Kioku no Hito In my opinion Wakana’s live performance far exceeded the studio version. Those who already love the studio version will fall in love even more with the song once they watch the live. At least that’s what happened to me. There was so much emotion in her voice. She sounded beautiful. THIS is the kind of singing style I enjoy most from Wakana, it’s this kind of song where she gets to shine. The previous songs lacked this particular charm (at least it felt that way to me). Don’t get me wrong, they were all solid performances but there are distinctive aspects of Wakana’s voice that I originally fell in love with and that aren’t really all that present in the above mentioned songs (because they are a different style to what Wakana usually sings). Does this make sense? The band thankfully held back here, the arrangement was very simple, no excessive use of drums, e-guitar or bass.

06.時の音 | Toki no Ne Just like with “Kioku no Hito” this song was much more impressive being performed live (as impressive as a slow ballad like that can get :P). While listening to the album I usually neglected this track because I didn’t really care for it all that much. However, Wakana’s nuanced performance really moved me. There was something in her voice that struck my heart, it’s hard to explain. Once again the band held back for which I was very grateful. An understated piece like this sounds best with a simple arrangement.

MC: I think this might have been the MC where she talked about the sky and taking lots of pictures. She loves watching the sky, the sun and the trees. How the position of the sun changes the entire scenery, how the strength of the wind puts everything in motion. She wants everyone to get a feel for the summer wind so for her cover corner she chose the song “Kaze ni Naritai” as intro. She thinks it’s a perfect song for the season.

07.風になりたい | Kaze ni Naritai ❇Cover (original by THE BOOM) Probably the most quirky and laid back performance of the night. A feel-good song if there ever was one. Everyone had a blast. Wakana was so hyper and she was dancing around like a little girl. She got the audience to clap along, it was a ton of fun. I didn’t expect to like this song so much because I wasn’t really impressed with the original when I listened to it on youtube but boy, Wakana truly worked her magic, I was mesmerised, it felt like we were all at the beach. Throughout the song she used a small rattle and let me tell you, she took the shaking seriously. Can’t wait for everyone to watch this performance on DVD/BD.Vocally this song wasn’t outstanding or anything, it was just about having fun.

MC: Next up she talks about how there are so many artists she admires and she decided early on that she wanted to sing some of their songs during her lives. Last year during her autumn tour she already sang a song by Spitz (they are among her favourite bands) so for this tour she KNEW that she wanted to sing another Spitz song. This time she chose Hotaru which is one of her all-time favourite songs.

08.ホタル | Hotaru ❇Cover (original by Spitz) Ever since Wakana had mentioned in an interview that she would love to sing this song together with the lead singer of Spitz one day, I have been in love with it. I watched the original on Youtube and was immediately smitten by Masamune Kusano’s voice. Wakana uses a very similar style to sing the song, it’s very intense and soulful. The arrangement is also pretty much the same. Just imagine the original being sung by Wakana and you will know what to expect.

MC: This MC was pretty long and quite different at the Tokyo and Fukuoka live, I fear I might mix up things a little. Here she talks a lot about loving Miyuki Nakajima. Last time she sang “Ito” and this time she is gonna sing “Jidai”, a song that has left a huge impression on her. She used to sing it as a young girl but back then she didn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics (find the English lyrics HERE). She just sang it because she liked the melody. As she became older, the lyrics gradually started to make sense and now it’s so much more powerful. Wakana says that as time goes by so many things happen, everything changes, steadily we learn to love new things, we say goodbye to old things. At the Tokyo live she tried to recite a part of the lyrics but for some reason she couldn’t remember the lines in the heat of the moment. She was standing there, flustered, trying to remember the lines. Not a single word came out of her mouth though. She looked at the ceiling looking for a hint but obviously there was none, the pianist even started playing a few tones so Wakana would remember but nope, it didn’t happen. Eventually Wakana gave up and just decided to sing the song. I hope they keep that part in the DVD/BD.

09.時代 | Jidai ❇Cover (orignal by Miyuki Nakajima) Absolutely breathtaking, I LOVE this song so much, I understand why Wakana is such a big fan of it. And really, Wakana sings it perfectly. This is the kind of song that was MADE for her. It was a very emotional performance for everyone because we all had to think of Kalafina parting ways and Wakana taking a new path.

10.水の証 | Mizu no Akashi I was so happy to hear her perform this live since it’s literally one of her oldest songs. I have never attended a YK live so last year during Wakana’s symphony concert, I got to listen to it for the first time. I was mesmerised back then and I was just as charmed this time around. I feel like Wakana is getting better and better at performing this song. She literally sounded like old-school Wakana. After the song had ended, Wakana took a small bow and walked off. Since the music was still playing there was no applause.

～ Mizu no Akashi inst ～  (dress change): The instrumental started out quite slow and quiet. Steadily it became more up-beat and epic, basically like one of YK’s typical instrumental pieces. I liked it quite a bit but I wasn’t blown away. Not sure if Satoshi Takebe arranged this or if the musicians improvised, either way, it was a nice little transition. They then played a little intro for Tsubasa that reminded me a lot of the beginning of “the battle is to the strong”. That was pretty epic. Wakana came on stage wearing her heavily patterned dress. I personally liked it a lot because the cut of this dress was much more flattering than the previous one. Plus, we got some Waka-collarbones and in my book that’s always a bonus.

11.翼 | Tsubasa I am really sad that Wakana doesn’t perform the song like she did on the music program Bokura no Ongaku (CLICK ME). That rendition had so much edge, she was literally growling some of her lines. Something we have never really seen from her before and certainly a welcome change. Ahhh, that was such a powerful performance. Alas, for this tour Wakana has decided to sing the song in a manner that’s quite similar to the studio version (comparable to the version we got from the Odaiba Venus Fort release event). Wakana does well, she sounds good, there’s no doubt that it is a great performance BUT there is a lack of “oomph” if you know what I mean. Her expressions and gestures also aren’t as passionate as they were in that music show. But hey, it’s fine. Perfectly enjoyable performance.

MC: There was a short MC where she talked about wanting to enjoy the following song together with the audience. Once again she invited us to clap along. a few people got up from their seats.

12.君だけのステージ | Kimi Dake no Stage WOW!! Wakana was glowing in this one, the song radiates so much happiness. She had a smile on her face the entire time. I can’t remember the melody of the song but the chorus is super uplifting and cheerful. I hope we will get a single release in the future. I can understand why it’s not on the album though, it’s too up-beat I think, it wouldn’t have fit the overall vibe XD

MC: This is when the band introduction happened...I wonder if this was also where she asked the audience members about where they came from. At one point she asked everyone from Tokyo to raise their hand, then everyone who came to the live from another part of the country. And finally she asked everyone from overseas to raise their hand. OF COURSE I was raising my hand as fast as I could. I am kinda sad that she didn’t ask the same question at the Fukuoka live T_T  

13.むすんでひらく | Musunde Hiraku Solid performance, perfect continuation of “Kimi Dake no Stage”. If I am not mistaken I think she struggled a bit with some of her notes...probably because of the faster tempo...Almost everyone stood up for this song and did the typical Kalafina hand/arm gesture. Not sure what to think of that actually. It’s like no one was invested in the live until she started singing a Kalafina song. Wakana had tried really hard to engage the audience during Kaze ni Naritai and Kimi Dake no Stage but you could tell people were holding back (for whatever reason). With the first note of “Musunde Hiraku” everyone literally jumped out of their seat. Kinda disrespectful if you ask me...maybe that’s just me reading too much into it but it didn’t sit well with me...

MC (Satoshi Takebe joins Wakana on stage): This part and the following two songs were Tokyo-exclusive. Wakana asked everyone to take a seat again and introduced Satoshi Takebe. She talked a bit about him being the producer of her previous and current tour, about him being awfully busy (they didn’t even have time to rehearse together!). He then says a few nice things about Wakana and apologises for talking too much. Wakana tells him it’s totally fine, she has been talking all evening and is happy someone else is taking over. She was like, “please keep talking so I don’t have to talk!” XD Satoshi Takebe explains that they decided to perform two songs together, the first one being a song that Wakana has always wanted to sing at a concert, she has been singing it so often at karaoke. The second one being a song Satoshi Takebe has always wanted to try and play.

14. ハナミズキ | Hanamizuki ❇Cover (original by Yō Hitoto) Sorry, can’t say anything about this. I hadn’t known that song prior to this performance and tbh, it didn’t really stand out. I thought it was quite boring tbh…But maybe that’s just me being overly-critical and me not having read the lyrics. I am always having a hard time judging songs that I have only listened to once. I am not able to take in everything the first time. Plus, at that point I was fighting a battle with exhaustion. I had arrived in Japan that morning and didn’t get any sleep on the plane. I kinda wish she would have sung this in Fukuoka too because there I would have been able to appreciate it more. I have basically no memory of it so it’s hard for me to write a proper review. Wakana definitely sounded good but I don’t think it was a very challenging song...or maybe it was? Ughhh, sorry, I fail...

15. oblivious I have never been a big fan of “oblivious” to begin with and this new arrangement doesn’t really do anything to improve my opinion of it. Wakana performed a similar version during her symphony concert, it’s just a bit more up-beat now. They pretty much removed all the “oooohh-ing” parts so Wakana is only singing the verses and chorus. Just at the very end Wakana is doing a bit of “oooh-ing” but she chose to do it with a very thin and breathy voice. Not sure why because she could have definitely sung it with a fuller and more “operatic” voice. Personally I feel like without the operatic style “ooooh-ing” the song isn’t all that special. I guess you will all have to judge for yourself. Those who love “oblivious” might find something to like here too.

MC: Here she talks about time and clocks, pretty much the same thing she has been talking about in many of her interview. Time is the theme of quite a lot of her album tracks, she is generally very fascinated by time.

16.僕の心の時計 | Boku no Kokoro no Tokei A touching performance. One of my favourites actually, didn’t expect to like it so much. Her vocals were lovely here, especially towards the end. Can’t really say anything else about it.

17.時を越える夜に | Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni Unlike most people, I have loved this song from the get-go. I think it’s a beautiful ballad and I could listen to it all day. BUT the band really ruined this performance for me. Okay, maybe “ruined” isn’t the right word, there was still some enjoyment to be found, Wakana’s vocals were on point after all but it just wasn’t what I had hoped for. As I mentioned at the beginning of this report, the bass was super obnoxious during the chorus. It was totally out of place. I hope they can work some studio magic to make it sound better on DVD/BD. Or maybe it was just my personal perception and other people liked it...???

MC: Wakana says that this is the final song of her concert *fake news XD* and thanks everyone for coming.

18.金木犀 | Kinmokusei Ahhhh! A beautiful and solid performance, nothing more to say about it. I was already smitten with the studio version so Wakana didn’t really have to do anything to convince me to fall in love with the live version.

~EN ~ Wakana left the stage and people started doing the usual clapping for an encore. They didn’t do the typical “encore” chanting. The band returned and the pianist started to play with a sort of organ setting. It sounded very epic. Wakana comes on stage wearing her album cover dress. The sleeves were altered slightly, instead of long sleeves she now has the fabric flow freely around her arms. It’s a very good look on her, she literally looks like an angel. She has some accessories in her hair that look a lot like the ones she used for the 10th Anniversary Live.

19.ひかりふる | Hikari Furu I think this performance will be quite polarising. Some will love it, others will hate it. Personally, I really loved it because Wakana sounded great. Yes, Keiko and Hikaru are missed dearly and a couple of their essential lines (e.g. “hikari no naka”) were left out but nonetheless, Wakana did an amazing job (especially during the climax). As I mentioned before, the song starts with some sort of organ-style playing by the piano and Wakana’s angelic singing. As the song progresses the other instruments join in, the arrangement sounds quite dramatic. For some reason I was reminded of Queen’s music (probably because I had just watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody on the plane). Wakana sings as many of Keiko’s and Hikaru’s lines as possible and she really does them justice. She doesn’t necessarily try to imitate their singing style, her “mabushii asa” for example sounds totally different than Keiko’s. Overall I am very happy that she decided to sing this song, it was definitely one of the highlights of this live. I guess everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not they like this new arrangement.

MC: Here Wakana talks about the final song of her album. During the Tokyo live she explains that this song is very special because it showcases the power of lyrics. The melody is cute and playful but that’s actually quite misleading because the topic of the song is profound and sad. She also mentions that the song was composed by Shusui and another Swedish composer who she had first met more than a decade ago when she was still in her teens.I think she might have only sad that at the Fukuoka live, not sure o.O

20.愛の花 | Ai no Hana Hands down my favourite song of the album and probably my favourite performance of those two nights. I don’t know what it is about this song but I am just so freaking in love with it. I guess it’s just like Wakana said in the MC, the juxtaposition of the sweet melody and the tragic lyrics makes “Ai no Hana” so precious. There are so many emotions combined in this song. Tragedy, sadness, joy and hope, they all come together to create a beautiful song. Wakana sounds like an angel, especially after the second chorus when she does her “ooohhh-ing”. The live version is SO MUCH better than the studio version. Her high notes are gorgeous. The end of the song is also improved quite a bit because it doesn’t end so abruptly after the final chorus. The chorus is repeated a second time (starting from “kōri mo tokasu ai no hana) which adds a lovely climax.

MC: Wakana thanks everyone and once again introduces the band members. One by one they start leaving the stage until only the pianist is left. Wakana says that she wants to sing one final song accompanied by just the piano. The song is written by Satoshi Takebe and it means a lot to her. The past year has been filled with lots of emotions, there has been sadness, pain and joy, she has made so many new experiences, she has worked really hard on writing all these lyrics. Every time she stands on stage she knows it’s all worth it. She was born to sing, she wants to keep on singing, she wants to deliver her songs to an audience. She has put all these feelings into the lyrics of the next song.

21.あとひとつ | Ato Hitotsu So simple and yet so beautiful. I think for most of you who are not really fans of slow ballads the song will be too boring. For me personally, it was love at first listen. The melody of the chorus is still stuck in my head. I wonder if we'll ever get a release for this song. I really hope so! It would go perfectly with “Kimi Dake no Stage” - topic wise I mean. And it would make a lovely B-side. This is just about Wakana declaring her love for singing and performing, about being herself, about treasuring the moment, about following her dreams. I don’t remember everything but the lyrics are so sweet, I honestly couldn’t help but cry.

Final greeting: Wakana walked from side to side saying a few parting words. In Fukuoka she started crying, it was so precious. First she only teared up a little but then she kept talking and the tears were just flowing down her face. She didn’t really say anything special, just the usual stuff (so happy to be back home, to be welcomed so warmy, etc). She can’t wait to be back, there will be many more tours (she made it sound like another tour was already in the making, there was no official announcement though).

[completeoveranalysis]

TRC Translation Notes Volume 14 (Chapters 100 - 108)

The continuation of @giniroangou making all of our lives better and saving us from mistranslations, now for Volume 14.

Highlights include: distant crying in New Zealand over Kurogane, Mokona being a better liar than me, Fai being Fai the best he can, and what about the books??

Chapter 100

p.1 - “That one” referred to in the line here is definitively Fei Wang - the kanji for his name are written below the reading of “that person.” This connects directly to his dialogue on the next page.

p.9 - The line that’s been translated as, “There will be no second time!” is a bit literal IMO. It’s more like, “Never again…”/“You can never again…” There’s no ellipsis in the original text (no exclamation point either though) and it’s written in such a way that it looks final, but Yuuko doesn’t really complete her sentence here. It’s also intended as a direct mirror to Fei Wang’s “Once more” at the end of his monologue, which also wasn’t a complete thought. (In Japanese, Fei Wang ends with “Mou ichido,” and Yuuko ends with “Mou nido to.”)

p.10 - Kurogane’s question about Clow Kingdom here is less of a question and more of a confirmation - in the Japanese version I wouldn’t say it gives the impression that he needs to ask, just that he’s reaffirming information he already knows.

p.12 - There are some subtle differences in nuance during this conversation. In the Japanese version, Kurogane tells Syaoran that now there’s even less reason to feel bad about seeing his memories (making it clear he had no reason to feel bad in the first place.) Then he says it’s precisely because Syaoran saw his past that he was able to notice the markings on the sword. Not that this isn’t obvious, but it has a slightly different tone than the translated version.

The word Syaoran uses when he calls Kurogane a nice guy is the same one Kurogane’s mother used in the flashback - “yasashii.”

Syaoran’s final line on this page is actually in direct response to Kurogane’s WTF reaction to being called nice - “My father said that truly nice people will try to dodge the subject if you say that to them.” So basically he’s saying Kurogane just proved how nice he is by reacting that way, lol.

Chapter 101

Cover page - The fan translated title is more accurate than the official title. “The Book in Which Magic Dwells” is the gist of it. Also, re: the splash text - keep in mind that Japanese doesn’t have a capital/lowercase distinction and often doesn’t distinguish between singular and plural, so if you see “God” or something similar that’s purely the translator’s choice. Sadly I can’t see the original text for these pages, but generally in cases like this I prefer more general translations like “divine light” rather than “God’s light.”

p.26 - Fai’s comment on the flying train is less wondering than it appears in the translation - he’s just like, “So these are flying by magic too, huh.”

p.28 - I suppose the wording is ambiguous, but I’m pretty sure the actual meaning of Mokona’s line here is that Kurogane did something unspeakable to her, lol.

p.32 - I’m assuming this city’s name should be rendered as “Biblio” rather than “Viburio,” for obvious reasons.

p.38 - Because Mokona is THE WORST LIAR IN THE WORLD (or just a gigantic troll) the thing she’s singing as they walk in is, “We’re just borrowing, we’re just borrowing~” Subtle.

p.42 - While “funt” is a possible transliteration for the name for the guard creatures (exact katakana being “funto”), the Japanese “f” is very close to an “h,” and “hund”/“hunde” (ie “dog”/“dogs” in German) makes much more sense. In the original explanation, these are included among the “soldarts” protecting the library, hence why they’re referred to that way later.

Chapter 102

p.46 - Fai’s totally fake line about the books is more along the lines of, “I wonder if we can find any interesting-looking books here?” as if they’re just regular folks casually browsing the library who don’t already know exactly what book they’ve come there for. Sakura’s agreement is a weak attempt to keep up the pretense.

p.47 - Fai’s “That looks fake” uses the exact same wording as Kurogane’s on the previous page. THIS IS REVENGE.

p.54 - Fai’s original line about his magical experience is, “Anyone who’s studied even a little bit of magic would know that.” Of course, this is untrue and it does make implications about his knowledge being less than it really is, but it feels a lot smoother than the English version, like a natural answer to brush off Sakura’s compliment. (All of which just makes me love Kurogane’s suspicion even more.)

Chapter 103

Cover page - The “ruins” referred to in the chapter title are physical ruins based on the kanji (referring to the Clow ruins that show up a little later), and I don’t think this word would have other meanings unless you got very poetic about it, but I love all the layers in the English translation.

p.65 - After Fai says that running will be faster than fighting, he adds that there seems to be no end to the things coming after them (implying there’s no point in fighting anyway.)

p.71 - Fai’s deflection about studying a little magic is in the same vein as the one from the previous chapter.

p.72 - Kurogane isn’t talking about Fai protecting himself here - he’s reasoning that it wouldn’t make sense for the library to use basic magic for its protective spells.

p.76-77 - The time-measuring gadget on these pages might not actually be a sundial. In the Japanese version they just call it a “tokei” (時計) meaning “clock” or more generally “timepiece.” It’s still keeping time when Sakura turns it away, the kids just literally can’t see it anymore so they don’t know what time it is.

Chapter 104

p.89 - Syaoran’s “Princess, please…” in the translation was much less infuriating than his original line, which was, “Please take care of the Princess” (presumably spoken to Fai.)

Chapter 106

Cover page - The official translation for this chapter title of “The Escape with no Tomorrow” is correct. I feel like “Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire” could be an alternative, tbh. It’s certainly not a literal translation, but it feels like that’s the idea.

p.123 - In the Japanese version, after Syaoran says he’s fine his line is, “More importantly, the books…!” Bless this child and his priorities.

p.132 - Kurogane is not suggesting jumping over the water here, but jumping into it.

Chapter 107

p.145 - It seems like the meaning got across just fine, but when I first saw the English translation Kurogane’s, “Isn’t all magic the same?” felt a bit obtuse, as if he’s just questioning that different types of magic exist. His original line is, “Magic is magic, right?” which I think makes it clearer that he’s seeing through Fai’s nonchalant facade - whatever Fai might say, he still used magic when he swore he wouldn’t, and that’s a big deal.

p.154 - Fai is actually saying that if Kurogane carries Sakura over his shoulder all the time the blood will rush to her head. Cute aside: in Japan they refer to carrying a person in your arms as a “princess carry” so that would be the literal translation of Mokona’s line.

p.155 - In the translation it seems like Fai has already given up on finding anything else in this world, but in his original line he’s just hoping they can find a place where they can treat Syaoran’s wounds.

Chapter 108

p.168 - Syaoran’s last line on this page is, “But I wonder what could have happened to destroy them like this.” I think the translator was trying to show the connection between that and his previous thought about the age of the buildings by adding in “What other than time” but it comes off sounding a little too naive.

p.169 - Syaoran notes that there was a little bit of the hard road left, not the entire thing.

[shimokitazawathree]

2018 07 01-15

1 sun

Live Time

TOKEI RECORDS Presents Looks Tour

16:00- ENTRANCE FREE

<LIVE> KONCOS / vivid branch / smoug / ゆーきゃん / cassette tape echo

<DJ> CHIGON

Bar Time

スナック チゴン 東京支店 with  🌙  スタンドかげん🌙 

2 mon

Live Time

"Interlude" 

19:00~

ENTRANCE FREE (1st drink ￥1000)

<DJ> WATT a.k.a. ヨッテルブッテル / Yohei Torii / Yanoasayin' / H!ROKi <SHOT LIVE> MEL / Bell / Dali Tha Art

3 tue

Live Time

『BUDGE』 

OPEN/START 18:30/19:00 

ADV / DOOR 2000 / 2500 (+1D)

学割 & THREE PASS 1000 (+1D)

-ACT- ステレオガール / らご / bulbs of passion / merimeriyeah

-DJ- hirano the tone

-Food-  テリヤキチキン by凸凹ごっこ

Club Time

Happy Tuesday

OPEN23:30　¥2000(1d込)

DJ：片平実／神啓文／SHiN／etc!!

4 wed

Live Time

NEW ROCKS 

open/start 19:00/19:30

adv/door 2000/2500(+1D)

<LIVE> 土屋竜一と魚雷 / BARAMON / CUICUI / LONESHIP(from L.A) 

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

5 thu

Live Time

冷牟田敬企画 「hiyamutan dream2」   

19:00open/19:30start

adv￥2,300/door￥2,500(＋1d) 

学生￥1,000

<LIVE> 冷牟田敬band / 1000%SKY / Klan Aileen

<予約> http://sort.eplus.jp/sys/T1U14P0010843P006001P002260332P0030001 …

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

6 fri

Live Time

P-Party

OPEN / START 18:30 / 19:00

ADV / DOOR 2000 / 2500 (w1D)

<LIVE> The Tallyhoes / heavenphetamine / Yusuke Matsuda(CANVAS) / NARITARICOM(プリムラ☆カオル) / The Plashments

<DJ> JUDY

Club Time

Block Party x Vienda! OPEN / START 23:30- 

完全入場無料 music charge ¥0〜name your price

<GUEST DJ> PANORAMA CREW / SKANAMI U

<DJ> Vienda!sextet!

<FOOD> SANDWICH CLUB / スタンドかげん

7 sat

Live Time

『WOSK presents vol.13』

開場 18:30 / 開演 19:00

前売 2,300円 / 当日 2,800円（＋1drink）

【出演】

core of bells / KONCOS / THE RATEL / DARK THE GIANT / sans visage

【DJ】

esqwe / tetsuya yamakawa / 7A

予約：coreofbells@hotmai.com（題名に「7/7」と記入し、お名前と枚数を送ってください） 

Club Time

Seuss monthly live 「Fun,Fun,Fun」

OPEN / START 23:30

ADV / DOOR 2000 / 2300 (+1D)

<LIVE> CHABE & CHIE (from LEARNERS)  / Seuss

<DJ> TAISHI IWAMI / KUWA (MIXX BEAUTY/BYE CHOOSE)  / BLAST JAMS!! DJ crew (笹井トシオ/ヒラノツヨシ/ゴーゴージュリー/Shinyah/MACHI)

予約 : ticket@secondroyal.com 

※公演日/イベント名/お名前/枚数を書いて下さい。

8 sun

Live Time

Waterslide Records presents “Liveage Vol.76” 

OPEN 17:45 START 18:15 予定

 前売り 2500円 当日3000円

DOWN AND OUTS（英国）

bows（徳島

A Page Of Punk

Shipyards

Dead-EX 

9 mon

Live Time

9party

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

10 tue

Live Time

The ChainUps presents 第２火曜マンスリーイベント

  「るんるんナイト」   at shimokitazawa THREE

OPEN / START 18:30 / 19:00

DOOR ¥2000

<LIVE> The ChainUps / The forevers / 中野ミホ(Drop's) / からくりごっこ / RESERVIOR 

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

11 wed

Live Time

diskunion presents入場無料イベント

Open18:30 Start19:00

ticket free(+2drink) 

<LIVE> Jan flu / So Sorry,Hobo / しんきろうのまち / ylang ylang

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

12 thu

Live Time

『TipToe Garden Vol.5』

OPEN&START 19:00

DOOR ¥1000 (+1D)

<DJ> AMA UU (KANKO / FUKUSUKE TRAVEL) / ハラダケイスケ (BOTTLE / FUN AND FUNK) / YASUHIRO MORI (COLORFUL) / meg (民謡クルセイダーズ / TOKYO SABROSO) / SHOCHANG (HIGHLIFE HEAVEN / Huracán TOKIO DJs)

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

13 fri

Live Time

喃語企画ライブ『URON』 

開場18:00 開演18:30

Ticket ¥2500(＋1d別途) 

<LIVE> SuiseiNoboAz / 左右 / LOOLOWNINGEN&THE FAR EAST IDIOTS / 喃語 

予約受付中 info@naaango.com

Bar Time

🌙  スタンドかげん🌙

14 sat

 Day Time

LUNCH SESSION DISCO（LSD） 

OPEN ~ CLOSE 11:00～14:00 

Ticket ¥2,000 + 1drink ¥600

※THREE PASSをお持ちの方はドリンク代のみで入場可能 

 <LIVE> AARHNND / MOJA / おとといフライデー / 乙ナティック浪漫ス

Live Time

imakinn records presents

DON KARNAGE 1st Album 「reminiscence」 release party 

Open 17:30 / Start 18:00 

Adv. 2,000+1d / Door 2,500+1d

<LIVE> DON KARNAGE (Sapporo)  / akutagawa / control / Fredelica / V/ACATION 

15 sun

Live Time

TBA

[drkreviews]

🎃Propaganda of Fear🎃

💀Here I am with the final post of October in “Lyrical Love”! Today’s subject is a song by the visual kei band Megaromania, precisely Propaganda, released as lead-track of their fourteenth single on 17th October 2012. As you can see, the song has a dark atmosphere, with an obscure and intense metal sound, covering a scary message, where the darkness domains against the light, which still survives in a little portion.💀

🎃 THE MUSIC 🎃

💀A dim and vibrant melody opens the song, leading up to a dynamic rhythm, accompained by strong bass lines, building up an obscure and gothic atmosphere, typical of this band. Sui’s voice is piercing, where there are screamed parts and clearer and more sensual tones; the song in general is dark and pretty appealing, with macabre and suggestive tones and a good technical component, especially for the guitars and the drums.💀

🎃Lyrics (Romaji)🎃

💀Ikudo, me ga same te mo nani ka ni obie ta mama no kairai [Are tied to the chain] kurikaeshiosou kyōfu ni mukuro wa mahi shi ta mama... [Awake from a nightmare] Deguchi no mie nai sekai wa make no kanjō no hakidame [Can not be hamstrung] kurushimi no hamon wa hirogari, kizuka nai uchi ni ayatsurare ta... [Awake from a nightmare] Mirai ga ima ubaware, yami ni shihai sare te iku zōo wa hangyaku no shisō o umi, zōshoku suru. Without the stop beating... Look for a place to breathe. Kurushimi ni obore te iki mo deki nai soredemo negau... yumemi ta kyūsei mō nani mo shitsu kusu mono nado nanihitotsu nai no da kara umarekawaru toki o machinozomu dake. Deguchi no mie nai sekai wa make no kanjō o hakidame [Can not be hamstrung] tokei no hari to kodō wa kasanariau koto naku susun de yuku... [Do not fear the end] Kurushimi ni obore te iki mo deki nai soredemo negau... yumemi ta kyūsei mō nani mo shitsu kusu mono nado nanihitotsu nai no da kara umarekawaru toki o matsu. Ubaware ta kibō wa yami e to chiru shinshoku sare te iku sekai... soredemo kono shintai wa mirai o ima mo yumemi ta ikudo, me ga same te mo.💀

🎃Lyrics (Translation)🎃

💀 Even if I would reawake many and many times, I would fear some puppet [Are tied to the chain] The fear stays paralyzed of its repeating... [Awake from a nightmare] (I)

The exit of the unseen world brings out negative feelings [Can not be harmstrung] The ripple of suffering spreads, being unconsciously manipulated... [Awake from a nightmare] (II)

Now the future is robbed and domained by the darkness The hate lets rising the thought of the rebellion and it grows

Without the stop beating... Look for a place to breathe 

I can’t breathe because I am drowning in the pain But I still pray... dreaming of the salvation Now there’s nothing to lose anymore Just wait the moment to reborn again. (III)

The exit of the unseen world brings out negative feelings [Can not be harmstrung] The hands and the beat of the clock go forward without overlapping [Do not fear the end] (IV)

I can’t breathe because I am drowning in the pain But I still pray... dreaming of the salvation Now there’s nothing to lose anymore We wait the moment to reborn again.

The deprived hope falls into the darkness The corrupted world... still with this shape Now I dream of the future Even if I reawake many and many times. (V)💀

🎃THE WORDS🎃

💀Written by the singer Sui, this song belongs to the darkest side of Megaromania’s style, which they have drawn from in several occasions. The theme is apparently simple, but actually it encloses a deeper meaning, which now we will see here unveiled. The key word is precisely “propaganda”, as per title, whose technical definition says so: “propaganda is an activity of dissemination of ideas and information with the purpose of inducing specific attitudes and actions to reach objectives for the benefit of whoever starts this activity”. In a few words it is a device for conform and level the people, basing to things which generally are wrong or false or worse manipulated for personal advantage. The main vehicle of this activity is the fear of being ourselves and of reacting to whatever happens around us, even when it is a wrong situation. So our ultimate goal as human beings is to hope for a better future, free from prejudices and false ideologies. And now... let’s analyze the song!💀

💀I) The text starts with the protagonist, who is already living under that fear, like everybody else; in fact, even if he rewoke many times, he would be scared of that sort of puppet (Ikudo, me ga same te mo nani ka ni obie ta mama no kairai, where the final word can be translated as dummy, a derogatory term used mostly in politics); then there’s a line, of the few here featured, written in English and bordered by brackets, meaning that the protagonist’s inner conscience is talking to him, saying that everybody is tied to the chain of the propaganda, which is driven by the fear, as mentioned above and it, because of its repetition, becomes paralyzed (kurikaeshiosou kyōfu ni mukuro wa mahi shi ta mama...) and the conscience finally says people needs to reawake from this dark nightmare.💀

💀II) The exit of the world unseen by the people, where few build the fear which where we live in, precisely spits out negative feelings (Deguchi no mie nai sekai wa make no kanjō no hakidame) and the protagonist’s conscience is aware of it, as it says that it can’t be obstacled in any way; the ripple of the pain is spreading among the people, while it is manipulated without being conscious of it (kurushimi no hamon wa hirogari, kizuka nai uchi ni ayatsurare ta...) and finally, like in the previous sequence, there’s an invitation to wake up from the nightmare.💀

💀III) Because of this, the future is being robbed and domained by the darkness given by the fear (Mirai ga ima ubaware, yami ni shihai sare te iku) and the hate makes rising the thought of rebellion against this state of things, growing more and more (zōo wa hangyaku no shisō o umi, zōshoku suru); and the protagonist knows that he need a moment of pause, for breathing more (this part is written in English), but he can’t, because he is drowning for his own pain (Kurushimi ni obore te iki mo deki nai) and despite of that, he continues to pray, dreaming of his salvation (soredemo negau... yumemi ta kyūsei); finally he, aware that he has nothing to lose anymore (mō nani mo shitsu kusu mono nado nanihitotsu nai no da kara), has to wait the moment for reborn again in a better world (umarekawaru toki o machinozomu dake).💀

💀IV) After repeating the first part of the second sequence, this part starts with the image of the passing time, represented by the hands and the beat of the clock going on without overlapping one another (tokei no hari to kodō wa kasanariau koto naku susun de yuku...) and the protagonist’s conscience tells him to not fear the end.💀

💀V) In the final sequence, the hope, deprived of its light, falls into the darkness generated by the fear (Ubaware ta kibō wa yami e to chiru); now the world where he lives is corrupted and has the same shape (shinshoku sare te iku sekai... soredemo kono), but despite of it he continues to dream of the future (shintai wa mirai o ima mo yumemi ta), even if he has to reawake many times (ikudo, me ga same te mo), even if he has to wait a long time.💀

💀A propaganda which brings fear, confusion and darkness in people’s hearts, making them to stop believing in a hopeful future, without chains and prejudices. With their gothic fascination and solemn approach, Megaromania puts a strong focus on a meaningful theme, going beyond their dark vestige, with impactful lines and powerful images, full of obscure shades but with a little hint of light.💀

That’s all folks! See you tomorrow for the first post of November in “Let’s Listen to”!

Thanks for the reading!

🎃 💀 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!💀 🎃

[komahinasecretexchange]

Title: Test of Courage

Author: @howbadcanibe

For: @kurokku-tokei

Rating/Warnings: T (a not so brief mention of past trauma, panic attack)

Prompt: Kimodameshi

Author’s notes: I hope I did this prompt right omg

“Remember our halloween party in school?” Saionji asked out loud during your communal breakfast. You watched as she popped another strawberry (that was coated in a concerning amount of sugar) into her mouth. There was a happy murmur of agreement in the room. She continued talking about this party that must have occurred after you were suspended and before you came back, while the others around her excitedly joined in.

“Remember how we snuck into the abandoned visual art room to spend the night? Those discarded sculptures were so creepy,” Sonia said, her eyes bright. From spending many hours in the library you knew Sonia’s favourite type of books were those that had horrific subject matter, so she must have had the time of her life in such a setting.

“What about when Gundam accidentally summoned all those bats?” Koizumi joined in, sounding ready to scold Gundam over something he did over four years ago.

“That was no accident, mortal! The swarm of winged rodents were under my control, it wasn’t until the siren started playing her dreadful hymn that they became free of my bounds!” Gundam said defensively. At the mention of her music, Ibuki began loudly singing one of her songs, causing the SHSL Imposter, who was to the immediate left of the musician, to cover their ears. Although the Imposter rolled their eyes at her song, they also showed a smile on their face and contributed to the growing conversation.

“I liked Souda’s fog machine. It made the atmosphere so ominous.”

“Now that was an accident! He said it was supposed to be a humidifier!” Nidai shouted from his table, laughing in turn.

“Hey!” Souda said, jumping up on his feet at the friendly criticism.

It was actually fairly unusual for their time at Hope’s Peak to be a positive group discussion point. Even long before Junko came into the picture and wreaked everyone’s hope and took Nanami from the world, the time you had shared at Hope’s Peak wasn’t as picture-prefect as Koizumi’s photographs portrayed them as. Between the deaths of Kuzuryuu’s sister and Koizumi’s ex-girlfriend, you indirectly blowing up the gym, and the rough time Hinata endured as a reserve course student, there were few good memories that could be salvaged.

The volume of the room was also unusual for this time of the day. Breakfast was usually the only time there was true peace when you were all gathered as a group. Everyone was usually too busy yawning or blinking away sleep for their eccentric and conflicting personalities to shine through. With loud noises not being something you enjoy, eating breakfast was your favourite group activity (despite the fact that you weren’t truly a fan of the “eating” part). You couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of uncomfortable as the volume increased in the room, but your auditorial sensitivity was nothing to be too worried about. Besides, seeing the passion in the other talented student’s eyes was always a privilege.

As the others continued to talk (Kuzuryuu was now arguing with Akane; he was apparently still mad at her for practically eating all the food, her rebuttal being that she did leave plenty of chocolate sweets, and that it wasn’t her fault that he was lactose intolerant), you felt a hand on yours. Looking to your right you were greeted with Hinata’s comforting face, his two-toned eyes were expressing nothing but care and concern. The surrounding noise must have reached a decibel that Hinata knew crossed your comfortable/uncomfortable threshold, and he was here to comfort you.

“Are you okay?” he whispered so only you could hear, his multi-coloured eyes soft. He rubbed your hand with his thumb and you nodded, smiling back at your boyfriend.

There was a time in your life when you would reject any form of kindness, reasoning that no one should be wasting their emotional labour on the likes of you, as well as there were many times in your life when you weren’t offered any kindness at all, so you often still found yourself second guessing and hesitating to respond to Hinata.

It was true that you’ve been more than just close friends since he awakened you from your personal Neo World Program, you had only been officially dating for about three months, and you were still nervous to indulge in being cared for by anyone, let alone someone like Hinata. He knew this, and you were both working towards a place where you wouldn’t consider someone else’s comfort an indulgence.

“That night was truly a test of all our characters,” Nidai’s loud voice bringing you back to the group’s conversation, “and as everyone’s coach I’m pleased to say we all excelled at over coming the fears we encountered that night.” Smiles were exchanged, and the room went silent in a brief moment of reflection and pride.

“Not all of us,” Tsumiki said her eyes focused on you and Hinata, as well as Mitarai. Her voice was quiet and timid, like she was scared she was ruining the moment being shared between her classmates.

“Hey, shut it!” Saionji said with her usual malice towards the nurse. She probably had more to say but Saionji didn’t have the chance to spew anything else before her girlfriend placed her hand over Saionji’s mouth.

“Tsumiki has a point,” Koizumi said, glaring at Saionji as the dancer rolled her eyes. “Neither Kamukura, Komaeda, or Mitarai was there that night.”

“I believe my presence that night properly accounts for Mitarai’s absence,” the SHSL Imposter had a protective arm around Mitarai that clashed with the vinegar in their tone towards Koizumi. Even though they were one of the kindest out of the group, they were currently presenting as Togami and they had a role to follow. The animator looked small and scared, most likely due to both the sudden attention and getting singled out, and the idea of having to test the little courage that he has.

No one questioned the Imposter’s stance, and the group’s focus then fell on you and Hinata. “What about you two?” Koizumi asked. Her hand was still over Saionji’s mouth, and the dancer was beginning to move her head, as if she had to add her input and call you and your boyfriend scaredy-cats.

You consider the proposal for only half a moment. You’ve faced enough fears to last you a life time, but you’re sure this will be more fun than frightening. Besides, how could you say no to the ultimates? Espicially when they’re asking you to take part in the recreation of a shared happy memory between them.

Hinata’s hand was still on yours when you nod and he orally answered for both of you. “We’ll do it.”

The abandoned building was actually in much worse shape on the real Jabberwock island compared to its copy in the simulation. Apparently the interior of the building wasn’t included in the original code, and it took some quick, on the fly, coding from Alter Ego to make the mark-up for their party. In reality, the building was truly abandoned, and had no running water, air conditioning or electricity. It was nothing more than rotting wood, rusty nails, and dust. Between its interior state and the memory of what occurred there while in the simulation, it was the perfect spot for the night’s activities.

After breakfast you and Hinata were instructed to stay in your shared cabin for the day, and leave the preparations to the others. Staying in bed with Hinata had to be your favourite thing to do on the island, so there wasn’t a single complaint over this request from you.

Currently you were laying on your stomach, jacket and shoes removed, and had an open book in front of you. Hinata was sitting up and would occasionally lean down to brush hair out of your face and kiss your forehead. He also was toying with your currently detached mechanical arm, making a small improvement to something you hadn’t notice was breaking. It was peaceful and quiet, save for the occasional noise you could hear from the direction of the abandoned building through your open window. There was no pressure between the two of you to force a conversation or do something and you were both content with just being in each other’s presence.

As the day passed, you had decided to take a nap, reasoning that you would be kept up all night by the other’s attempts to recreate the experience they each had during their halloween party. You woke up hours later to the setting sun on your face and Hinata’s arms wrapped around your back. Your face rested against his chest and your thin body laid on top of his.

Noticing you stirring, Hinata spoke to you softly as he hugged you. “Hey, it’s just past 9:30, so we still have a half hour before they want us to be at the abandoned building.” You nodded slowly, not making any other attempts to move just yet. From the many times you’ve slept together you knew there is absolutely nothing as comfortable as laying on Hinata’s warm figure.

“Are you nervous?” Hinata asked to your sleepy self, one hand still on the small of your back and the other lifting your thin white hair from your forehead. As you shrugged a response you realized you were warm and were probably grossly sweating all over Hinata, not to mention that you had the majority of your weight on him. You quickly rolled off of your boyfriend, blinking the sleep out of your eyes, and muttering a quiet sorry that he either didn’t hear or didn’t see purpose in responding to. You knew Hinata would tell you it’s okay and he knew you saying sorry was more of an instinctive response than a conscious apology.

“You know I don’t like doubting the others, Hinata-kun,” you said after your gather yourself, sitting up, “but I don’t believe that even with their combined efforts that they would be able to make something I’m actually scared of.” Hinata sat up and nodded at you before reaching over to the nightstand to retrieve your arm. “I’m nervous I’ll just be uncomfortable or annoyed and accidentally laugh and hurt someone’s feelings.” He nodded again as he began reattaching the arm to your body.

“That’s fair. You would always laugh at the cheap effects the haunted house on the fourth island had to offer. It was a real mood-killer when I thought I could use the horrors there as excuse to hold your hand.” There’s a faux sadness in his voice and a small pout on his face. He had finished setting up your arm, and you intertwined his warm fingers with your metal ones.

“We’re holding hands now,” you say, bringing your hands up so he could see for emphasis. He gives you a warm laugh and leans in to kiss you. Although you could do without his morning-breath (nap-breath you suppose), his kisses were nothing but magical.

“Are you scared, Kamukura-kun?” You ask, returning the question to him, but not expecting him to affirm the question. Hinata was the bravest, strongest person you’ve ever met after all.

“I’m more concerned someone will get hurt. You know, not a single one of our friends half-ass anything, and if one of them has it in their mind that they’ll scare us, they’ll make it happen.”

You spend another fifteen minutes in bed before getting ready. After you rolled out of the sheets you helped each other get dressed and brushed your teeth and used the washroom. It would be truly unfortunate if nature called while you were in a building with no working toilets. You weren’t bringing much with you; Hinata had slung a small napsack with some packaged snacks, waterbottles, your medications, and a first aid kit around his back and you carried a pillow and a large sleeping bag that you knew could fit you both if you get the chance to sleep. Once Hinata did a final check up, and made sure you both were ready, you headed out, hand in hand.

As you walked by the pool you noticed it was eerily quiet. Normally at 10pm there was usually still some buzz in the compound; someone splashing in the pool, or someone having a late night snack, or the white noise of a muted conversation that was happening in a near by cottage. All that was present was a chilling calm before the storm. Hinata voices this observation and you smile at how in-tune you are with each other. You were so ready to spend the night braving your friend’s attempts at terror with him.

The abandoned building’s door opens with a creak, and slams shut the moment you’re both inside. The loud noise and sudden darkness surprises you and makes you jump, while Hinata turns around to look at the door. The light of dusk was slipping through the uneven wood where the door wasn’t flush against the wall, providing you with just enough light to see what Hinata was doing.

Much like the floor and walls, the door was composed of rotting wood, but there was a small black casing by the lock. You watch as Hinata attempts to turn the door knob, followed by him examining the lock. After a moment he straightens himself back up and takes your hand again.

“I think Souda set up an automatic lock on the door.” You nod and Hinata begins to reassure you before you can begin to worry. “But it’s not like we’re stuck in here or anything, I mean we could still easily break the door down, but I think it would be rude to ignore his attempt to make us feel trapped.”

Under the floor boards you hear whispers followed by a louder hushing noise. You could only imagine someone chiding Souda, while the mechanic says something back in defence as a third person tells them both to be quiet. Based on the smile Hinata’s has, he also heard the people under you and thought something similar.

The dim light from the door is long behind you as you walk deeper into the building. It was difficult to walk the winding hallway with only the wall to guide you along the uneven flooring. More than once you had a misstep that would have resulted in you tumbling forward, if it wasn’t for Hinata’s hand in your hand that wasn’t against the wall. Luckily you both make it to the door of main room in once piece.

When you push the rickety doors open you’re surprised to see a light instead of more darkness. There’s a single lantern in the middle of the room that’s just bright enough to illuminate about a foot of the floor surrounding it. You can’t see the corners of the room, or what’s immediately in front of you, but it provides you with a goal to get to.

You set up next to the lantern, which you noticed is sloppily attached to the floor, a sign that you shouldn’t be moving it about (despite how easily it would be pull it from the floor). You unroll the sleeping bag, and you both take a seat on it rather than in it. Hinata places the backpack he had between you, and offers you one of the snacks and a water bottle. After you decline both he puts the items back in his pack, and exchanges them for your medication.

“You should take these now, I don’t want us to get caught up and forget about it.” You nod and open the pill bottle. Most of the time you take your meds just before bed, typically at midnight and more often than not Hinata is the one who reminds you take them.

It was never weird for either of you, that you were both boyfriends and had a doctor/patient relationship. You liked it because Hinata always knew what you were going through, no awkward explanation needed for any of your behaviours, and Hinata liked it because he could make sure you were doing things like taking your meds. The only downside to your ordeal was that sometimes you would find yourself guilting yourself over how much he worries over you, but Hinata has told you countless times that that isn’t necessary and he loves being the one there for you.

You hand your medication back to Hinata and eye him in the dim light. His tan face is just visible enough so you can make out his handsome features. Where you have hollowed cheeks and sharp edges, he has much rounder characteristics. He has a soft nose, soft cheeks, and when his red and hazel eyes look back at you they’re equally soft.

Just as you begin to lean in to kiss his soft, pursed lips you see movement out of the corner of your eye. You turn your head to where you thought it was, but you couldn’t make anything out in the inky darkness. If there was someone there they had already retreated out of sight. They had only briefly stepped in to the light just long enough to make you feel unrest and let you both know you’re not alone.

You look back to Hinata, who’s still looking to the side. His eyebrows are knotted, like he’s desperately trying to see through the dark shadows. You knew he had a stronger vision than anyone else, but even his inhanced eyes weren’t perfect substitutes for night vision goggles.

“Hinata-kun, I think somone’s-” you stop mid-sentence when he holds up a hand, signalling you to stop talking. He’s listening, you think, trying to pin-point the person’s location. As you walked through the building earlier you noted how each board creaked and groaned under your weight, and it should be possible for Hinata to pick up on the person’s location with his keen ears. You on the other hand, could hear all the creaks and squeaks, but couldn’t differentiate between the noises that were coming from inside the room to the sounds that were coming outside of the room (most likely from some of the others walking through the building, getting ready for your next scare).

After a moment of concentration, Hinata turns to look just over your left shoulder. There’s a smile on his face and for a short moment you’re impressed by his ability to locate a person based on just the soft sounds they make. The moment of pride is lost when behind Hinata you see a figure stepping into the light. They’re looking right at you, and have a grotesquely large smile on their ghostly pale face. Their body is adorned in ripped white cloth and it reflects the dim light of the lantern so they appear to be glowing.

You see right through their face paint and costume and can’t help but chuckle as they raise their arms, the loose cloth swaying with their movements. At your laugh, Hinata turns his head around to see what was amusing. Not expecting someone to be behind him, let alone someone dressed up as a ghost, he tenses and from his siting position he falls into you.

Hinata’s momentum leaves you on your back, but instead of seeing the darkness of the unknown ceiling you’re met with another person looking down at you. This must have been the person Hinata heard, and they’re also sporting a halloween costume, but is more zombie-like compared to the ghost behind you. You laugh at this person too, but unlike the ghost who remained silent, the zombie retorts back at you.

“Hey! You’re supposed to scream, not laugh, I mean, ughghggg,” you recognize the voice to be Saionji’s, and you and Hinata both laugh at her half-hearted attempt of a moan to save her act. The notice the person dressed up as a ghost was now walking around you, just on the outskirt of the circle of light. As they walked they faded in and out of the darkness, and from their airy clothing only occasionally being caught in the light they truly looked ghost-like. It was a cool affect and you would compliment them if Saionji wasn’t still staring you down.

“Aruaghrag!” Saionji says at you, obviously annoyed with your giggles towards her. Her grey skin and fake scars did make her look more frightening than usual, but you still weren’t scared. She’s holding her hands open, but she makes no attempts to bend down and actually grab either of you, so her stance also has little affect on either of you frightened. Despite her lacklustre performance Hinata throws her a bone and tries to play along.

“Komaeda, hold me!” He flips himself over so you’re now chest to chest as he voices his pretend destress. “This zombie wants to eat my perfectly developed brain!”

“Don’t worry Hinata-kun, I’ll use my body to protect you!” You say, matching Hinata’s dramatic tone as you wrap your arms around Hinata’s torso. Maybe we’ll both get lucky and she’ll eat my sick brain and die before she gets her hands on you, you think to yourself, but don’t voice the comment. You’re not entirely sure Hinata would recognize your joke, and if you’re being honest with yourself, you’re not entirely sure how sarcastic the statement is.

Saionji rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “As if either of you could provide a zombie of my status a filling meal.” She turns and walks back into the darkness, the ghost briefly coming back into view and following her.

There’s some more footsteps and you think your first two terrorizers walked out of the room. You and Hinata sit up, still giggling in the low light. You have a moment to yourself, when you here Saionji, who’s definitely in the hallway, call out in an ornery voice, “They’re all yours, banshee.”

You hardly have the sentence processed when someone who was also hidden away in the room begins to scream and bang the walls. It’s now your turn to move in closer to Hinata, but he keeps you both upright. The high-pitched scream doesn’t let up and they’ve started running back and forth around the room, all while managing to stay out of the lantern’s light. You put your hands to your ears, in an attempt to block out some of the noise, but the attempt is futile. There’s just noise everywhere and it doesn’t let up for a full minute. You reason that the “banshee” must be Ibuki, since no one else would (or would want to) be able to scream and run around non-stop for so long.

After a much too-long period of time, the screams stop and you hear an impossible energetic voice from the direction of the door as she runs away. “These songs and more will be featured on Ibuki’s upcoming album!”

After having to listen to the screamo stylings of Ibuki, Hinata’s light laugh sounds all the more sweeter.

It’s a good half hour before the next attack of horrors hits you.

In the down time you and Hinata shared a few snacks and split one of the water bottles. Hinata asked you multiple times if you were doing okay, more concerned over the potential damage Ibuki did on your ear drums than the possibility of you being scared. You did your best to stop your concerned boyfriend’s worries by reassuring that you were fine and returned the question to him. You share a kiss once you both thoroughly establish you’re fine.

You were both still sitting crossed legged on the sleeping bag, and were just beginning to consider if you should actually get in to the sleeping bag or not when light fills the room. It rises up from the cracks in the floor boards, causing an eerie and incomplete glow. You look at the floor, then back at Hinata. He’s also studying room, now looking at the walls and ceiling to fully examine the room. You notice that save for your few items, the room is completely empty. No chairs or tables and not a single one of your friends.

Nothing happens for a moment and the small wait fills you with more worry and fear than the previous three’s actions combined. Once you know what you’re dealing with it’s easy to reason with yourself that you’re not in danger, but with the threat still unknown your anxiety gets the best of you.

You can hear the machine before you can see its product. A low humming and hissing noise comes from under you, and a second later the room begins to fill with smoke. The lights remain on, and are more of a nuisance then an aid to you, since they give you a false sense of visibility, when really all they do it bounce off the moving fog and obstruct your vision completely.

“Could this be Souda’s failed humidifier?” Hinata asks from beside you. He couldn’t be more than a foot away, but you have trouble making out anything other than a fuzzy outline of his figure, so you can’t see the smile you know he has on his face, laughing at his own joke. You think his right hand is on your left, but you have difficulty seeing that from your sitting position and can’t feel at all with your hand (although sometimes you believe you can feel things with that hand, Hinata has explained to you that you don’t have input sensory nerves to feel with, and that any perceived sense of touch is only from what your mind thinks you should be feeling given the current context of your situation).

“Kamukura-kun?” You ask, bringing your right hand to your left. There is definitely a hand on yours, and for a split second you worry that it’s not Hinata’s.

“I’m right here Komaeda, don’t worry,” he says calmingly as he places his other hand on top of your hand pile. You can see his outline coming closer and his face getting clearer, and you realize a moment too late that he’s leaning in to kiss you. At the realization you jerk your body, and when your lips meet him you’re kissing his nose and he’s kissing your chin, ruining what would be a properly centred kiss. He laughs and kisses your nose again, this time with purpose, as you mumble a “Sorry Hinata-kun,” and he kisses your nose and both cheeks and tells you there’s no need to be sorry, and that you’re forgiven regardless.

You sit like that a bit longer, faces still close enough so you can actually see one another in the fog, and you almost forget that your friends are somewhere, either underneath or around you, biding their time and waiting for the right opportunity to strike a fright out of you.

The first time you feel it you thought you were imagining things, just your anxiety and paranoia catching up to you, but you feel it again and the action is real; someone or something was poking your behind. On an instinct you turn your body around to punch behind you, but your fist it met with nothing but the substance-less fog. When you feel a third poke you realize the prodding had come from under you. Someone, or more likely a few someones, were poking at where your sleeping bag was laid out. It felt blunt enough, definitely not a metal skewer set on murdering either of you, but you didn’t appreciate getting poked in the behind, especially if it was from an unknown person.

You scramble up and step away from the sleeping bag, trying to escape the pokes. Hinata is still sitting and his figure, and even the light from the lantern becomes lost to you.

“Komaeda? Where’d you- ow!” He calls out. There’s more surprise in his voice than pain, but your heart still hurts for you boyfriend. You try to move back towards him, arms extended in front of you, but you’re unsure if you’re actually moving towards where he is. With your luck you’ll walk right out of the room, but you are thankful the room is empty and you only have to worry about tripping on the uneven flooring.

“They’re under the floor!” You warn Hinata. You can still feel the occasional prod at your feet, but you have your shoes on and their thick soles save you from the pain. Hinata had just taken his shoes off before the fog filled the room, and as a result you can hear a lot more stepping and jumping about from where he is in the room.

“I noticed,” he says, and he does sound fairly close, so at the very least you must be heading in the right direction.

It doesn’t take long before you find each other again, but you’re still getting poked at from below and Hinata has to keep moving from place to place so his feet don’t get prodded at. Hinata’s probably less concerned at the immediate threat of a bruise, and is more concerned that the others will find out that his feet are extremely ticklish. The others having that knowledge on Hinata is probably more terrifying than anything you would be presented with tonight. When you accidentally found out (you had thought you were being romantic, taking off Hinata’s socks for him after a particularly long day) Hinata had made you swear to secrecy. In an act of trust you responded by revealing that you were ticklish just about everywhere, and you’ve both kept this information to yourselves since that night.

After about 10 minutes of Hinata dancing about while just about ripping your good arm out of its socket (neither of you wanted to let go of the other) the poking stopped. Hinata takes a deep breath, but doesn’t appear to be notably winded. He does have every SHSL athlete talent after all, and you remind yourself that the majority of non-athletically inclined people can be physical for more than 10 minutes, and that not everyone has the inability to exert themselves like you do.

A second later all the lights, including your lantern turn off. You can hear Hinata take another deep breath, but you recognize this to be the sigh he makes when he wants to be rude, or tell you or one of your ex-classmates off, but in an act of kindness he keeps his salty comments to himself instead of ripping on another.

“Should we sit back down?” You break the silence between you. The fog machine is still hissing under you, but it had become white noise to you at this point.

“We might as well. We can always stand back up if they still feel like being jabbing us. In the meantime I’m going to try to find my shoes. I think I kicked them away when I stood up.”

Together you bend down and crawl, searching for the mesh material of your sleeping bag. Hinata leads the way and once again you find yourself sitting on the sleeping bag, awaiting for what your friends have planned next.

Hinata kisses you once before letting go of your hand to look for his shoes. A loving gesture that tells you he’ll be right back. Although you can’t see Hinata you can hear him shuffling around, crawling and extending his arms out. You feel a hand on yours and he mutters a quick sorry, before he continues his search for his shoes.

A few moments later you feel two hands on your hand again, and you laugh, “That’s not your shoes sorry, it’s still just my right hand.”

“What?” and at his answer your blood runs cold. Hinata’s voice was too far away for the hands to belong to your boyfriend, and you instantly try to retract your hand from the person’s grasp, but it’s for naught. Whoever it is, they’re much stronger than you, and their hold on you doesn’t falter. You tense, thinking of past memories, and can’t get the scream out of your throat. You feel your brain trying to reason with itself, that this is just one of your friends trying to (and successfully) scaring you, but you can feel your anxieties taking over. Your worry only increases when a third, large hand slaps duct tape over your mouth. You’re still trying to struggle your way out of the person’s grasp, but you feel yourself being lifted by your legs, and you lose your footing as quickly as you lose the small amount of cool that prevented you from having a panic attack. It’s happening again, you’re being kidnapped and taken away, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

“Komaeda?!” Hinata calls through the room, but he’s still too far away. You thrash about and try to use your free hand to remove the duct tape, but your blunt metal fingers don’t have fingernails to get under the tape, and one of your captors quickly grabs your hand from you, rendering you completely helpless.

You’re frantically breathing in and out of your nose, desperately trying to calm your heartbeat and mind. You try again to remind yourself that this is just your classmates pulling an ill-humoured prank and that you’re not getting kidnapped, but as you feel a tight cloth being placed over your eyes, your trauma kicks in at an unbearable level. Suddenly you’re ten years old again, getting shoved into bags and believing you would die at any moment. Your only serenity is that your limbs weren’t yet tied together, and you could still thrash about in your captors’ arms.

You can feel that you’re being moved, being taken away from the room, away from Hinata, but you can’t see where. You can hear the creaking of wood, and Hinata calling your name again but it’s muffled, as if it had to pass through a wall, maybe even mutliple walls. Where have they taken you? Were you out of the building or in one of the side rooms? What were they planning on doing to you? Questions filled your mind and you didn’t like any of the possible answers your mind supplied you with. You’re crying and you can feel your tears getting caught in your blindfold and your snot falling over the duct tape and you just want this to be over.

A crash can be heard in the distance and you continue to try to free yourself of the strong arms holding you in place. A second, closer crash quickly follows and Hinata is shouting your name, and he sounds truly scared. The entire building is groaning and you’re unsure if Hinata is fighting someone or if he’s breaking down walls in an attempt to find you. Since your mind considers your own safety and wellbeing a lost cause, your heart hurts for Hinata, and you hope with all your might that he stays safe.

You hear a third and final crash, and feel a blunt weight striking your face. Before you lose consciousness you think to yourself that you love Hinata, and hope that somehow, by some force, that if you don’t get the chance to tell him as much again, he feels your love.

When you come to you’re still in the abandoned building, but you’re back in the main room, curled up against yourself in the sleeping bag you brought. There are five or six bright lights placed around the room, and you sit up, using your right hand to support you. You notice the first aid kit is out of the backpack and open, and you remember getting hit in the face. You start to bring your left hand to face when you realize it’s been detached. In a panic you sit up straighter to grab the knapsack, relief washes over you when you feel the cold metal. You also feel your jacket and shoes and figure someone must have stripped you of them in an attempt to make your unconscious body more comfortable.

No longer using it to support yourself, you bring your right hand to where you were struck earlier. It stings like a bruise and it’s wet, and you’re thankful that when you pull your hand away there’s no blood on your finger tips, just a clear substance you assume is some sort of disinfectant for your wound. You wipe the slimy gel from your hand to your jeans and you hear voices coming from the closed door of the room.

You can hear Hinata, talking sternly (perhaps angrily or annoyed was a better descriptor) to an apologizing Akane and Nidai. It takes a moment for you to focus on their words rather than just hearing their sounds.

“-recreate Komaeda’s trauma?”

“Koizumi, and Saionji said that you both weren’t phased by their monster costumes, and we could hear you guys just complaining about Ibuki’s shrieks. Not to mention you guys weren’t really separated for that long in the fog. We had to up our game if we wanted to freak you both out.”

“Well congratulations, you did it. We’re both all freaked out.”

“But the others-”

“You guys took it way too far. But whatever, we failed your test of courage, I don’t care anymore. Tell Souda and Saionji and everyone else they can shove it up their ass if they have any further comments.”

A moment passes and the athletic pair’s voices are fainter when Akane saying something about how Gundam would be pissed and Nidai reassuring her that the animal breeder would find other uses for a trained hoard of island fruit bats. When the door opens Hinata still has his face curled in an angry expression and he’s talking to himself, probably saying the ruder comments that he was too polite to say to Akane and Nidai’s face. When he sees you he stops and perks up, and he’s kneeling by your side in two quick strides.

“Komaeda, you’re up! Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Kamukura-kun, I’m-” you start to apologize, planning on saying you’re sorry for ruining the night with your silly memories, that you shouldn’t have let them get the best of you, or something else equally unfair to you, but he cuts you off.

“I’m sorry about everything. I knew someone would take it too far, I should have been more prepared,” he shifts his gaze down from your eyes to your cheek. “And I’m really sorry about that.”

You bring your hand back up to your cheek, but he stops you before you can touch the wound again. “What did you do?” You know Hinata would never purposely hurt you, and you don’t mean to sound accusatory. “Do you have a mirror?”

“No, uh, they had you in a side room by the front door, and well, I broke down the door? I broke down a few actually.” That would explain the crashes you heard earlier, and looking at Hinata’s hands you notice his knuckles have a few splits on them, but they were either not too big to begin with or his accelerated healing already had him mostly patched up. “A rouge piece of wood hit you when the door came down.”

You nod and reflect on this. It was true that with Hinata’s SHSL Luck your own luck was often muted, leaving you with only mildly good and bad luck, but it felt like your bad luck was alive and well tonight. You don’t voice this to Hinata though, he looks like he’s emotionally exhausted and you wouldn’t want to give him another strain.

Noticing your silence, Hinata speaks up. “Hey, let’s go back to the cabin and get some good sleep. It’s not much past one.” He begins to reach for the bag, maybe to get your shoes or jacket, but your reach out to his arm and stall his movements.

“I don’t mind just staying here,” you say, bringing your hand down and patting the sleeping bag, encouraging Hinata to sit down. “Traditionally it’s the staying over night part that’s important to the test of courage anyways.”

“I’m not sure how traditional it is to tell off the surrounding spirits,” he says to counter you, but he makes no further attempt to leave. Instead he begins to loosen his tie, telling you that you will be staying the night.

“Besides, I’ve had to sleep in here before, and it’s not that bad,” you eye Hinata as his nimble fingers undo his shirt’s buttons, distracting you from continuing your thought. You bring your eyes back to his when his undershirt becomes fully visible. “As long as you’re here Hinata-kun, I don’t think I can classify anywhere as bad.” He smiles and kisses you in response to your shameless flirt.

You shimmy out of your pants, socks, and t-shirt, leaving you in just your undergarments and watch as Hinata, who had also removed his shoes and pants and turned off the surrounding lights, crawls in after you. Like always, he’s warm against your body and you love the heat that washes over you as he hugs you from behind.

“I love you Kamukura-kun. I was so worried, I thought I’d never get to tell you that again,” you whisper to the open air. The soft breath on your neck turns to slow kisses and he squeezes you again.

“I love you too.” It’s said with a fading voice, and you’ll talk more about your panic attack in the morning. He doesn’t need to tell you that for you to know that to be true and you appreciate how he takes the time in his exhausted state to tell you he loves you.

As you find yourself drifting to sleep you reaffirm what you said earlier to yourself; having your boyfriend pressed against you made this location, in all its hard and uneven glory, as warm and comforting as your bed. Here, wrapped in Hinata’s strong, protective arms you dream not of your reawakened trauma from the past, but the future you have together with your loving boyfriend.

[kimonobeat]

Stephanie Lyrics: LET’S GO!!

English translation and romanization below the cut.

ENGLISH

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night! HOLD ON! HOLD ON! hold on till the party ignites! HEY!!

Still working on homework I’m too busy for this I’ve got something thrilling... Something exciting coming up...

Meet up at my room At 7 PM on the dot Oh be quiet! So we don’t get caught...

See? See? Tonight’s gonna be A special CELEBRATION NIGHT for her You ready?

When it’s time to surprise her Let’s yell with a nice, high tone! Letting our bodies soak in The joy flying all around! A present from everybody else, to you Absolutely, positively, congrats to you!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right! HEY!!

She freezes Taken aback By the sudden turn in events How cute

Everyone’s voltage Is getting close to the MAX The clock is also looking Like it’s ready to break...

See? See? Make it even more magnificent We love a good thrill You ready?

Throw your laughter Right back at us wildly!! Getting so crazy It’s messing up our hair! Take it from me, despite how I look right now Really, trulyーcongrats!!

Looking back, You’ve been through a lot You did the best you could Even when you were falling apart Today we’re celebrating you And what you’ve done So go big Yeah! Yeah!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right! LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right!

You oughta do whatever you want ‘Cause we’ll stick with you Always Look into the distance

When it’s time to surprise her Let’s yell with a nice, high tone! Letting our bodies soak in The joy flying all around! A present from everybody else, to you Absolutely, positively, congrats to you!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right!

LET’S GO!! LET’S GO!!

ROMAJI

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night! HOLD ON! HOLD ON! hold on till the party ignites! HEY!!

yarikake no shukudai mou soredokoro janai dokidoki... wakuwaku...

yoru shichi-ji kikkari kono heya ni shuugou shite ne Oh be quiet! barenai you ni...

hora hora kyou wa ano ko no tokubetsu CELEBRATION NIGHT junbi wa ii kana?

sapuraizu no toki sa hai to-n de sakebou! tobikau yorokobi wo zenshin de abite! minna kara no kimi e no purezento saikou ni saikou ni omedetou!!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right! HEY!!

totsuzen no dekigoto ni akke ni torarete katamaru sugata ga kawaii ne

minna no borute-ji MAX ni chikazuite’ru tokei mo koware GIMI ne...

hora hora motto seidai ni uchira wa suriru ga daisuki junbi wa ii kana??

wairudo ni waraigoe nageattari shite!! hashagi-sugite kami ga midare-makuri da ne! konna sugata de iu no mo nan dakedo, hontou ni hontou ni omedetou!!

omoikaeseba iroiro atta ne boroboro ni nattemo ganbatte’ta ne kyou wa sonna kimi no itsumo yori hade ni Yeah! Yeah!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right! LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right!

nan datte yareba ii sa donna toki datte minna tsuite’ru kara tooku wo mitsumete...

sapuraizu no toki sa hai to-n de sakebou! tobikau yorokobi wo zenshin de abite! minna kara no kimi e no purezento saikou ni saikou ni omedetou!!

LET’S GO! LET’S GO! let’s go and celebrate it all night GET THAT! GET THAT! get the beat into your system, all right!

LET’S GO!! LET’S GO!!

[rukakikuchi]

Bara no Toge playlist

Just thought of making a collection of songs that I feel can reflect and tell the story of Bara no Toge. Whether it be events or character’s emotions, I just made a list of songs I feel fit the overall tone and image for the series.

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00.) Kagayaku sora no Shijima ni wa - Kalafina (Lyrics)

For me, this song acts like a prologue to the whole story. Not only does it feel like the song is about to introduce us to somewhat of a dark fairytale, but I can also imagine this being a song that Shizuku would sing at Himeno’s funeral after her death.

01.) Sekai ga Naiteru Nara - SKE48 (Lyrics)

Kinda goes without saying; this is the theme song of Bara no Toge.

02.) TWO ROSES - SKE48 (WMatsui) (Lyrics)

You know why.

02.5.) Futatsu no Koudo to Akai Tsumi or Rondo - ON/OFF (Lyrics to both here)

I dunno, somehow I just think these songs both fit in this story well. Maybe it’s just cuz they were both openings for Vampire Knight.

03.) In the land of twilight, under the moon - fictionjunction live variation

I just think it sounds cool.

04.) Kin no Ai, Gin no Ai - SKE48 (Lyrics)

I dunno, I can somewhat see the Cattleya class singing this.

05.) Ame no Pianist - SKE48 (Lyrics) or 10 Krone to Pan - AKB48 (Lyrics)

I can imagine Uta singing and dancing while Onpu is playing piano for her.

06.) Red Moon - Kalafina (Lyrics)

This could be sung by Kou, Mizuki, (maybe) Shizuku, and even Kiba, reminiscing about the past and the tragedy that befell 18 years ago.

07.) Tsuyogari Tokei - SKE48 (Lyrics)

Whenever I hear this song or watch the girls perform it live, the emotion that is always conveyed is heartbreaking despair. I can easily see Shizuku singing this during her mental breakdown in Chapter 8, as she begs and pleads for time to stop as the guilt toward Sumire unintentionally dying because of her and the heartbreak over Himeno’s death consumes her.

08.) Monochrome - Matsui Jurina original (Lyrics)

I already mentioned this, but I really connect this song with Shizuku. Any time I hear it, I immediately think of Shizuku singing about her growing feelings toward Yuri.

09.) Kataomoi Finally - SKE48 (Lyrics)

Is it weird that I can imagine this taking place during the Winter Ball?

I mean, it can reflect on both Shizuku x Yuri and Ruka x Nami.

09.5.) Kareha no Station - Furumarion Saxophone x Piano Duet variation

Come on, I had to put this here, it was such a great scene to image out.

10.) Magia - Kalafina (Lyrics)

I can imagine Kiba, Erena, and Yami singing this as the spell that awakens Sumire to possess Kureha.

10.5) Suna no Oshiro or Still Doll - Kanon Wakeshima (Lyrics here and here)

I can imagine Sumire singing either of these.

11.) Kimi no Gin no Niwa - Kalafina (Lyrics)

Again, with this story being somewhat of a fairytale, this song has a child-like innocence with dark undertones behind the cheerful melody. In my mind, this is a song that the young Himeno, Shizuku, and Sumire could sing when Yuri has her flashback dream about them, as well as becoming somewhat wrapped up from the children’s imagination that’s returning to her memories.

12.) Hikarifuru - Kalafina (Lyrics)

This is a heavenly song, whenever I hear it, an image that often comes to my head is Yuri and Shizuku dancing together, happy. So imagine, in the final moments of Yuri’s dream, after finally remembering the tragedy of her past life’s death, the Three Mothers sing this song, Shizuku appears to comfort her and they dance in pure light. Beautiful, right?

13.) Hanamori no Oka - fictionjunction (Video)

I can see this song portrayed two different ways. One could be Yuri and Shizuku singing to Sumire’s spirit for forgiveness, or a duet between Aya and Kureha.

14/15.) To The Beginning or Sprinter - Both by Kalafina (Lyrics here and here)

Honestly, either of these songs would be perfect for the end of the story. They’re both hopeful and triumphant.

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If there’s any song that you would put in this list, reblog and let me know. ;)

[dracomysunshinechild]

Twist of Fate - Chapter 8

“Fortunately, he did not,” Severus replied, crossing the carpet. He reached out a hand for Nagendra to scent as she flickered her tongue towards him, taking her weight as she uncurled from around Harry’s arm to glide up his, wrapping possessively around his shoulders. “I am happy to see the two of you have not resorted to killing one another.”

“It seemed too predictable,” Harry replied with a smile. “Probably messy, too. We couldn’t do that to Tokey.”

“Speak for yourself, Potter.”

“You’re just upset that Tokey likes me more.”

Silver eyes rolled impudently as long fingers stroked along Ladon’s scales. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Potter.”

Harry chuckled softly before turning a curious gaze towards Snape as he sat down on the other end of the couch. His lips parted, a burning question on his tongue, when he suddenly paused, head tilting to the side as Nyoka flickered her tongue towards his cheek. A faint frown appeared on his brow before Harry responded, the silky tones of Parseltongue still strangely foreign to be falling from Potter’s mouth. As the young man conversed with the snake, Severus glanced over towards his godson and refrained from rolling his own eyes; the heated look in Draco’s gaze as he stared at Potter was difficult to ignore.

Read: AO3

Read: Fanfiction.net

[halimtone-blog]

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[putschki1969]

I really love how some of Wakana's new songs don't focus just on her range. So many Kalafina and other Kajiura songs were about pushing her to the highest notes. I love those songs still, but there's so much more to her voice than that. I think sometimes her voice sounds best lower so you can truly absorb her beautiful tragic tone, and when she does falsetto it's spectacular! I do enjoy Yakusoku no Yoake etc, but songs like Tsubasa, Hard Rain, Ai no Hana are my favorites. I'm so proud of her!!!!

Hi there!

Honestly, I love all the songs Yuki Kajiura created for Wakana in her position as FictionJunction WAKANA and as part of Kalafina. But those songs have always been about Yuki Kajiura’s vision. And like you say, there was definitely a lot of pushing involved. Of course that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, after all, it made all three members strive to do their very best at all times but in some ways it might have done more harm than good. But oh well, they continued to challenge themselves and ultimately that made them a lot stronger I think.

At any rate, I am so happy that Wakana now gets to explore her own visions a little more. She gets to experiment with different styles, she gets to write her own lyrics, she is much more involved in the whole creative process, the composers/artists she is working with seem to be treating her as an equal (which hadn’t really been the case with YK for many years). So yeah, all of this, it’s a completely new world for her and you can clearly tell from all of her interviews and other media appearances that she is having a lot of fun. It’s obvious that she holds a lot of love for each track on her album and I think it’s because she has put so much of herself into each and every song.

I can’t believe that I am still working on processing the album. I have been busy posting, translating, scanning etc so I am still not ready to give a full review of the album. However, it really helps translating the lyrics of each track because I feel so much more connected to the song after spending hours trying to figure out how to best translate those lyrics.

Currently my favourites are Yakusoku no Yoake, Kinmokusei, Ai no Hana, Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni and Tsubasa (because of that live version from the “Bokura no Ongaku” show). It’s no coincidence that those are the songs that I already translated. I am also really fond of Kioku no Hito and Boku no Kokoro no Tokei so I will be doing those next. I never expected to like Hard Rain after my first listen because it was too jazzy for my taste but it has grown on me so much and now the melody is stuck in my ear. XD The other songs I have honestly not listened to a lot so it’s hard for me form an opinion. Either way, for me the album is a huge hit, there is so much to love and Wakana is just amazing in each and every song. I didn’t really have any expectations going in and I think that’s the best way to approach this album. I have seen quite a few people say they were “underwhelmed” by this release but I think that’s because they expected something YK-like.

YESSSS, super proud of her! And I don’t regret literally buying four versions of this album XD

[sharol29]

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