#which is through Yoshiko's perspective too so

[athyrabunlord]

So I’m having major LLSHP AU withdrawal symptoms so I was wondering whatever blip you choose it could be from that universe? first choice is: 8. “Your smile is not as bright as it used to be.” Kanamari after Mari was attacked in Hogsmeade and her power had been drained Or either: 45. “I think I made a mistake.” (Kanan) 46. “Shut up, I am a delight!” (Mari)- Kanamari prequel When they first started dating if possible? As I’m desperate to know how their relationship started! Thank you!

“Shut up, I am a delight!” [Prompt List] (closed)A/N: I skipped 6 asks to do this one sorry XD;; Don’t worry, I’ll do all the existing asks. As said in this post, I’m glad to be asked about this AU Anon! A/N2: This would be a teaser from the prequel-Interlude “Delphinus”, which is about kanadiamari’s Hogwarts days prior to the main story, told in Mari’s POV.Words: 2,696As usual, “italicized words” = Mari’s Engrish

“What’s up with her…?”

Mari lowers her Omnioculars and fiddles with the buttons on the side before looking through them again. Her objective is jogging at a decent speed, not at all deterred by the bumpy and uneven shore around the Black Lake. The girl’s expression is one of utmost concentration, her dark-indigo ponytail fluttering behind her like a, well, pony’s tail. Dressed in jeans and a shabby hoodie, Kanan Matsuura looks like a lost Muggle who somehow wandered into Hogwarts grounds.

Alas, the carelessly strewn Gryffindor cloak and scarf beside a rock remind Mari that Kanan is indeed a fellow student, Muggleborn or not.

She sure can run… ugh, stupid tree in the way.

Mari narrows her eyes and shuffles from one hiding spot to another. They say curiosity kills the cat, but she happens to be quite resilient! Each and every one of her adventures make her into the shiny person she is today!

Once an idea has taken root, Mari is sure to follow it through until boredom wins and sends her elsewhere. So far, her observation of Kanan is, frankly, tedious. Other than learning her peer has seemingly inexhaustible stamina and appears to be unaffected by the cold weather, nothing exciting has happened.

Mari grumbles under her breath as she reapplies the Hot-Air Charm for the umpteenth time. Waking up at the ungodly hour of 5AM is horrible already, let alone on a friggin’ Sunday! And Kanan’s done nothing but jog around the Black Lake for over an hour now! After the first twenty minutes, Mari had given up sneaking around the bushes and merely settled for perching on a high vantage point so she could oversee the Lake’s perimeters.

Sighing, Mari uses the Omnioculars to slow down Kanan’s movement and watches the replay to see if she could find anything interesting. As expected of binoculars specifically made for Quidditch games, she could see every single detail clearly, such as how Kanan’s sweaty bangs are messy and her cheeks flushed from the jog.

Mari blinks, noticing a particular detail for the first time.

Is she… smiling?

She considers herself an active person, having flown around on her broom and her precious Hippogriff since she was a little girl, but all the fun had been obtained through magical means. She doesn’t understand what could be so enjoyable about something as mundane as just… running. It’s not a game of Tag, and there is no goal, no incentive as far as she can see.

What’s so fun about this?

Sure, Quidditch players are known to train around the Black Lake, but even they would not wake up this early on a Sunday (she really can’t get over this fact). At least, such outdoorsy and tenacious spirit fits the Gryffindor stereotype. Mari has always wondered why Kanan got Sorted into Gryffindor - she isn’t rowdy and prone to mischief; while she appears smart enough in lessons, she isn’t academic like the Ravenclaws; she certainly exhibits no ambition whatsoever like the Slytherins.

Really, Kanan should be an easygoing, peaceful Hufflepuff. From weeks of observation, Mari decides that most of her peers fit the norm, and everyone seems to be mingling just fine. It’s only their First Year at Hogwarts after all, so it takes a different amount of time for an individual to find his or her niche.

Mari herself is quite friendly with her fellow Ravenclaws, finding their intelligence on par with her own and thus making it easy to strike interesting conversations. And, if she gets a little bored, she would challenge the Gryffindors to Exploding Snaps or even secret duels (she has yet to get caught!). Chilling in front of the fireplace or enjoy the rare afternoon sun? No problem, she has a few Hufflepuff buddies to share that lazy but content sort of joy too!

And there’s always Dia Kurosawa to tease and prank. Really, the only reason Mari even tries so hard in tests is just so she could flaunt her scores over the studious Slytherin. They’re evenly matched so far, with her being slightly ahead at Transfiguration and Dia at Potions. Like the rest of the students, other Muggleborns have more or less settled in the daily routine of school life here at Hogwarts.

Yet, why does this Kanan Matsuura still seem out of place? It’s not like she gets ostracized in lessons, and she sometimes participates in class discussions or naps through droll lectures. She’s like any regular teenager, so why is there something off about her?

Chartreuse eyes blaze in determination. That’s why she, Mari Ohara, is here to solve the mystery! The Sorting Hat must have placed Kanan in the House of Gryffindor for a reason, surely not just because this jogging-maniac has muscles!

Oh, she’s finally stopped. Hmm, what’s she doing now?

Kanan has returned to the boulder where she had discarded her cloak and scarf earlier. Instead of donning them, she simply stands there with her hands in her hoodie’s pouch and is looking out towards the Lake. Since her back is facing Mari, this only gives the blonde Ravenclaw two options: go around the trees to another vantage point, or just go over to confront the girl in question!

Smirking, Mari nimbly hops down from a branch, utilizing Sticking Charms and other small tricks to muffle the noises from her movements. She’s tired of all this spying (totally not stalking) and is ready for some action!

She casts a few more Charms to ensure that her approach inaudible. She does hesitate for a moment when she notices the slightly forlorn expression on Kanan’s visage, but she quickly steels her resolve.

Eheh, I bet you weren’t expecting any spectator, are you, Miss Ponytail?

Mustering all her energy, Mari darts out from the bushes and leaps for her target when she’s close enough.

To her shock, Kanan somehow detects her pounce and dodges to the side. Their mutually startled eyes meet for a brief second before momentum pulls Mari towards the rocky shore.

“Shit!”

Though confident in her own swimming ability, Mari could feel her limbs cramping up under the icy lake water. Bubbles burst from her mouth as she panics, her uncooperative fingers unable to reach the wand in her pocket.

A muffled splash later, she glimpses a dark silhouette diving towards her. Strong arms wrap around her waist behind her and she faintly feels propelled upwards where the light is. As soon as she breaks the surface, she gulps for air and tries to swim but only ends up flailing about.

“Be still! You’re in no shape to swim. Try to relax, I’ll get you to shore.” A calm yet firm voice stops her movements.

With her mind muddled, Mari could only nod and allow her savior to lead. She struggles to drag herself ashore, though the drenched clothing is weighing her down more than she could ever imagine. Again, strong arms haul her up and soon, she finds herself seated atop the boulder where the Gryffindor cloak and scarf remain rumpled in a pile nearby.

“Just what were you thinking! Do you have any how dangerous that was?!”

Kanan looks and sounds furious, wearing a dark expression never before seen and thus surprises Mari into silence.

After opening and closing her mouth a few times, she could only mouth a word. “Sorry.”

Glaring, Kanan is probably about to scold some more when a chilly breeze blows past them, making Mari shudder and her teeth chatter.

Wordlessly, Kanan wraps her cloak around Mari and begins to dry her in brusque movements.

“Erm, you should dry yourself first-?”

Indeed, the soaked ponytail is plastered to Kanan’s equally sodden hoodie. A scowl is all Mari receives as Kanan continues to wipe at her head.

Honestly, Mari feels like a little kid under reprimand and in no position to argue.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Mari retrieves her wand and gives it a complicated wave. Kanan recoils, her amethyst eyes wary and her fists clenched even as Mari calmly directs the wand’s tip over her.

Her stance only relaxes when it’s obvious that the magic is simply drying her clothes via controlled hot air. Smiling, Mari then dries herself with this nifty Hot-Air Charm and holds up her hands akimbo.

“Tada~ See, no need to manually do it. It’d take forever to wring out the water, yes?”

“Right, what was I thinking. You’re a Witch and we’re at Hogwarts.” Kanan’s tone is oddly aloof, as if she doesn’t consider herself a fellow Witch as well.

“Yup! I can do this too,” she utilizes one of the more advanced Transfiguration spells and manages to conjure a jar from a piece of the Omniocular. Under Kanan’s watchful gaze, Mari smoothly aims Bluebell Flames into the container. “See? You can even carry this around if you get cold!”

“Useful, I suppose.” Again, Kanan’s voice is rather flat, not in a dismissive way but more like all of this has nothing to do with her. Her eyes are still trained on Mari, scrutinizing at her from the top and down to her feet.

“What?” Though unabashed most of the time, Mari feels quite self-conscious under such an intense gaze. “Am I so pretty that you can’t look away?”

Ha, she couldn’t help but add that cheeky remark.

Kanan, as expected, ignores her and points at her leg. “You got a spell for the cramp too?”

“Damn, you got me,” Mari playfully holds up her hands. “That’s for a Healer’s level.”

At last, Kanan’s hardened expression is replaced by a small smile. “See, it’s still necessary to do it yourself, rather than rely on magic.”

“U-um…” Again, Mari finds herself rendered speechless as Kanan begins to massage her leg. Her hands are well-practiced, as if knowing exactly where and how much pressure to apply.

“How do you feel? Does anywhere else hurt?”

Blinking out of her daze, Mari shakes her head. “You seem knowledgeable about this. Do you do this often? Is this a way to hit on girls?”

Kanan gives her a blank look. “Huh?”

Mari rolls her eyes. “Never mind that. So, this massage, the swimming, and all that, you seem like a professional-?”

At this, Kanan holds her head a bit higher. “I already have my lifeguard license, back in the Muggle world I mean. My grandpa… well, I used to work at a diving shop,” her voice falters a little but her enthusiasm quickly takes over again. “See, I live at this small town by the sea and-”

Always ready to learn new things, Mari becomes absorbed in Kanan’s story and especially her passion about the sea. Despite having quarter Muggle blood, the Ohara ojousama grew up in a magical community and mostly interacted with Pureblood peers. As she grew older, her father would take her around the world to build connections with foreign communities, hence she has some pen pals from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and even Ilvermorny. The acquaintances she does know from the Muggle world all have power and position, so she has yet to befriend a Muggleborn like this.

Well, she’s always been fascinated by Muggle contraptions anyway, so this could be her chance?

“Hey, teach me more!”

“What-?”

“Like, what were you doing around the Lake? Can’t be only jogging! It’s a Sunday!”

Kanan’s relaxed expression tenses again in annoyance. “I was just exercising! I do this every day, and that reminds me, what were you doing spying on me and-”

“Don’t mind don’t mind~ At least we’re talking now right? You chat with your Housemates and other students just fine but I notice you always pull away before the conversation gets any longer.”

“That’s- I was just-” Kanan furrows her brows. “How long have you been watching me? And why me?”

Honestly, Mari doesn’t know. She tends to go with her instincts and just rolls with it. Some would argue that is actually a Gryffindor trait, but hey, a shiny and creative mind like hers could only belong to Ravenclaw! Everyone has bits of qualities from each House, sì?

“It’s a secret~ To find out, all you have to do is teach me more about Muggle life style~” Mari ends her sentence with an award-winning wink.

Needless to say, Kanan appears unaffected. “I don’t really… besides, I can see that our personalities don’t match and-”

“Shut up! I’m a delight!” Mari pats Kanan’s shoulder and gives her a thumbs-up. “Stick with me and I promise your life here will be shiny every single day~”

Reluctance oozes from Kanan’s body language. “Surely there are other choices? Aren’t there some Muggleborns in Ravenclaw and I bet they’re smarter than me-”

“Nope. I’ve picked you, and that’s the end of the discussion.”

Kanan lets out a quiet and contemplative hum. “You sure are headstrong. What do I get out of this then?”

Shrugging, Mari glances at the blue fire flickering in the jar. “Hmm, I could teach you cool tricks like this? Whatever I can think of to help your daily exercise or something?”

“That… could be helpful,” Kanan mumbles and seems hesitant for the first time in their conversation. “Well, being a Muggleborn, there are some stuff I don’t quite get about the magical world, and I do have trouble with some of the assignments and spell works, so, um…”

“No problem!” Eager to be of help, Mari shakes Kanan’s warm hand and grins triumphantly. “Deal! We help each other out and, well, we’ll go from there, Kanan!”

“We’re on first-name basis already?” Kanan’s lips twitch in a hint of a smile, which Mari takes as a good sign.

“Of course~ We’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, so get used to it!” The blonde pauses when a thought occurs to her. “But, huh, I thought Gryffindor Lions would take you under their wing. Pride of Lions as they say, no?”

Kanan does not reply to that, her expression rigid. Mari puts that away to her To-Investigate List and waves it off.

“No matter, I’ll be a much better influence than those rowdy Cubs anyway, hehe. Oh, actually, I have a better idea.”

“What?” Kanan asks warily.

“I’d love to be the one tutoring you but my attention span isn’t long enough for that~” Her dear acquaintance and perhaps the only person she considers a friend would surely accept. Dia’s outstanding achievements in every class have already made her famous in the school, on top of her prestige as the heiress of an ancient Pureblood family. However, such distinguished status causes a distance between her and her peers, even her Housemates. They don’t dare to approach her out of reverence, and Dia likes to keep her personal space anyway.

Until Mari Ohara comes along, that is.

“I have the perfect candidate in mind. Why don’t we go to her right now?” Grinning, Mari tries to stand up but almost stumbles when her cramped leg refuses to cooperate. She could support her own weight, though the sensation of weakness is disconcerting enough to make her growl in frustration.

Where is her broom when she needs it!

Suddenly, she is lifted up as if she weighs nothing.

“First, we need to go to the Infirmary. Your leg still needs to get looked at properly,” Kanan says evenly, not at all out of breath as she begins to walk towards the castle.

It takes several moments for the gears in Mari’s head to resume functioning. Didn’t her morning start with trailing after this ponytailed Gryffindor? How did that lead to her being wrapped in the said Gryffindor’s cloak and carried like a princess?

“Okay, giddy-up!”

“I’m not your horse.”

“Go fetch!”

“I’m not your dog either.”

“What are you then?” Mari peers up at Kanan, fluttering her eyelashes theatrically.

Kanan looks down and huffs in exasperation. “I suppose, we’re… friends now?”

“Good answer! Ten points to Gryffindor!”

Kanan sighs and Mari giggles to herself. Perhaps, by sticking with Kanan, it is her life that will be shiny every single day!

#anon ask #LLSHP AU #kanamari #prompt list bliplet #an excerpt from an Interlude that would take forever for me to get to lololol #the beginning of the kanadiamari trio #keep in mind they're same age as Yoshiko here #and... somewhat different than how they're currently characterized in the main story XD #which is through Yoshiko's perspective too so #POV effect yay \0/

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Prince Animage May 2021 Issue (Part 3)

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

Due to the amount of content in the magazine, I have decided to the split the translation into three parts as follows

Part 1: Elder Son’s Resolve! Interview with Director Satou Teruo

Part 2: We Won’t Give Up On the Future! Father-Daughter Round-Table Talk with Narita Ken, Matsumoto Sara, and Komatsu Mikako

Part 3: The Strength to Overcome Destiny. Interview with Director Satou Teruo

The Strength to Overcome Destiny Director: Satō Teruo

The Words of Sesshōmaru’s Mother Speaking on Behalf of Everyone’s Thoughts

— Please tell us what you are feeling now that the broadcasting of episode 24 has ended.

Satō: It truly went by fast. With the Corona disaster, we had many struggles starting from the cast auditioning phase and having the actors perform in a different way compared to before. This work was created with a lot of first-time experiences on both the creator’s and actor’s side. The way the dubbing* was done was completely different than usual in that we recorded with only a small amount of people. Up until now, teamwork was created when everyone was boisterously​ dubbing together which is what brought out the goodness of a work, but we weren’t able to do that this time. That being said, we couldn’t gather in other places either aside from dubbing, so of course we didn’t have an opening or closing party… … I think everyone went through all sorts of difficulties. Even so, we overcame it and finally reached this point. I feel so grateful to the cast and staff.

* Translator’s Note: The word dubbing here does not have the same meaning as what we’re used to like foreign language dubbing.

— At the final phase of the story, it was revealed that Zero’s words and actions stemmed from her yearning for the Dog General.

Satō: In episode 23, the Lady Mother (Sesshōmaru’s mother) asks Zero “What exactly did you want to do?” and I think she spoke on behalf of what everyone was thinking. Zero’s actions starting from when she said “I wanted to protect my younger brother, Kirinmaru” had a slight twistedness to it and in the end, it was revealed that Kirinmaru was just an excuse for her to let out her jealousy. It was when all the rainbow pearls were gathered that Zero, who had not opened her heart until then, was stirred up.

In episode 23, Zero also throws a question at the Lady Mother “When Izayoi (Inuyasha’s mother) previously came through this path, how did you feel?”. The Lady Mother and Zero loved the same man. For this perfectly impactful dialogue between the two of them, we had Sakakibara Yoshiko (the role of Sesshōmaru’s mother) and Sakamoto Maaya (the role of Zero) record together. Zero is a troublemaker but she has an adult perspective and bewitching looks so I think she turned out to be an interesting character.

— On the other hand, in the beginning, it was thought that Kirinmaru was an absolute villain. However, as the story progressed, we begin to see him show that “Maybe he’s not such a bad person?”

Satō: To Kirinmaru, the Dog General is his eternal rival. In a sense, his grandchildren (Towa and the others) are like his own grandchildren. Even while fighting, he had something like a parental affection budding (within) that he no longer saw Towa and the others as ones he had to defeat with a moral purpose**. I think that he bestowed upon the name “Twin Azure Dragon Wave” to Towa’s technique because he had that side to him.

** Translator’s Note: By moral purpose, they mean the classic theme of rewarding good and punishing evil.

— However, in the final episode, it is that Kirinmaru who kills Setsuna.

Satō: It was quite a shocking development and I think there were many people who were surprised. Nowadays, there are not many works that back a character into a corner to this level and I think Setsuna fans especially were shocked by this… In the final episode, Towa was entrusted with a broken Tenseiga from Sesshōmaru. I can’t say too much yet about what that means but I hope that people will look forward to that in the second chapter (season).

Carrying the Destiny of Their Parents, the Children Themselves Move

— Up to this point, which character did you have the most fun moving Director Satō?

Satō: Takechiyo. I mentioned this in the Animage February issue interview as well but as a therapeutic character, I was really saved by Takechiyo. Onsite (aka the studio), Moroha was the favorite. She’s like a female version of Inuyasha and the way she speaks is similar to Inuyasha so I think for those who knew “Inuyasha”, she had the most familiarity and was easy to move. It’s just that because of that, there’s a tendency to start the story with Moroha. The focal point of this work was “The story of Sesshōmaru’s daughters” so we did struggle to balance with that.

— Then who was the most difficult?

Satō: Perhaps Zero, who burned a lot of calories in terms of drawing. She outfit is already showy as is and she ended up fighting in it. At first, we assumed that “Zero would possess Kirinmaru and fight in his form.” We did not plan to move her this much. Thus, since she was a key person in the story, we had (animation character design) Hishinuma Yoshihito-san design her to be flashy and impressive so that she was easy to remember. She ended up fighting though. Hishinuma-san kept reminding me “She’s not going to fight like that right?”… … I feel truly sorry about this (laughs).

— Lastly, please give our readers who are looking forward to the second chapter (season) a hint regarding the story.

Satō: Until episode 24, the child generation of Towa and the others got caught up in the quarrel of the generation before them consisting of Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru. In the second chapter (season), the story will connect from confronting their parent’s destiny to the child generation’s story of “There’s something only Towa and the others can do”. In the end, Towa and the others are the root of the story after all, so instead of continuing to be pulled around by the parent generation, I would like to depict the girls moving on their own. We are diligently in the middle of production with that in mind.

— To begin with in episode 4, when Towa and the others were told about the source of evil within the parent generation from the spirit of the Tree of Ages, they did say “That has nothing to do with us”.

Satō: That’s correct. They said why should we have to do it. Setsuna has a dryness to her to begin with and Towa has the sense of a modern person of “How should I know?”… … There was a part of me that personally didn’t want a protagonist that would suddenly get swallowed by destiny. I wanted them to reject the unreasonable request. It’s just that as a result, they’re currently following the Tree of Ages’ wish as is… … Did the Tree of Ages have an influence on that? That part is also a point going forward.

The Two Who Encircle the Dog General

Through the Meidō stone, Sesshōmaru’s mother reaches out to Zero who is in the Meidō, a path that connects this world to the underworld, after Zero lost her life to Setsuna’s blood blade. Seeing through Zero’s heart that she yearned for the Dog General and that her hate for the half demons that carry his blood stemmed from jealousy, the words “How pitiful… women who are deeply in love are” spill from Sesshōmaru’s mother.

The Twin Azure Dragon Wave

With Towa’s emotions heightened from Setsuna’s death, she manifests a power so strong that it makes Kirinmaru’s eyes go wide. Associating the technique with Sesshōmaru’s, Kirinmaru bestows a name upon Towa’s technique that releases a shockwave in the shape of a two-headed blue dragon “Twin Azure Dragon Wave”. Getting hit with Towa’s Twin Azure Dragon Wave and Moroha’s Crimson Dragon Wave at the same, Kirinmaru is seriously injured.

#yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation

[patchwork-panda]

If A Moment Is All We Are (ch 11/?)

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121633/chapters/61459765

I thought I was going to throw up.

My nerves were already bad enough even before I got into the police car, but as I sat in the back with Kunikida, our driver rushing us towards the nearest police station, every jostle and bump in the road made the bile rise higher and higher in the back of my throat. I turned to look at Kunikida, who was sitting one seat over from me by the other window and wondered how he could look so calm.

After we had identified the corpse as Taneda Mayu, the second woman reported missing, given her clothes and whatever identifiable features remained, I’d been given all of two minutes to finish freaking out before Kunikida pushed me towards the nearest police vehicle and joined me inside. Now that Mayu had been found, the police needed to complete the autopsy and call her parents for identification; since we were still officially helping the police on this investigation, Kunikida and I would be joining them.

Normally, we wouldn’t be allowed to stick our noses this far into an official investigation but Kunikida somehow managed to convince the police that we needed to talk to Mayu’s family before they delivered the bad news. They would let us borrow an interview room for a few minutes and there, I would need to activate my Ability and see if I could use my visions to learn something—anything—that could lead us to Mayu’s killer. Hopefully, I would see something important enough that would allow us to save the others before it was too late. If Mayu’s body had already turned up, then there was a possibility that Suzuki Yoshiko, victim number one, was also dead already too and that the other missing women would follow shortly if we didn’t hurry.

But there were several problems with this plan.

I never had full control of my Ability in the past, was terrified of activating it for the past several months to a year and I hadn’t even tried using it since joining the Agency. In fact, the very last person I had been in physical contact with was Dazai, which meant nothing considering his Ability nullified mine before it could even activate.

President Fukuzawa had said I should have control of it by now and Atsushi had mentioned the side effects being less severe but since I hadn’t tried using my Ability again since joining the Agency, I still didn’t have any idea to what degree either of these statements would be true. Sure my eyes looked normal again but would that be it? Would touching the Tanedas still result in nausea, dizziness, debilitating headaches or possibly even blacking out? Or would I see things from the perspective of someone who couldn’t give me any useful information?

Or worse... would I be forced to witness yet another death?

We hit another pothole and I slapped my hand over my mouth.

From his side of the vehicle, Kunikida glanced at me.

“Carsick?”

Not trusting myself to answer, I nodded weakly.

“I see.”

He pointed out the window, at the streetlights we were passing as they flickered on one by one. The sun was starting to set.

“Try counting the lights. We can’t roll down the windows back here but this might distract you. If it makes you feel better, we’re almost there.”

In the light of the setting sun, his gray-green eyes looked softer than usual.

“You can do this, Kusunoki. I believe in you.”

Nodding again, less hesitantly this time, I returned my attention to the outside and started counting. As the sky darkened and night began to fall, I began to see my face and the inside of the car reflected more clearly on the darkened glass of the window. I could see Kunikida, sitting there by the other window in the back seat, flicking through his phone with his arm propped up against the door and his long legs crossed in front of him. He looked slightly uncomfortable because of the hard seats and the overall lack of room (he was a hundred eighty-nine centimeters tall, after all), but other than that, he seemed completely at peace. And for some reason, seeing how calm Kunikida was as he sat there made me feel calmer as well.

As the car slowed to a gradual stop in front of the police station, I realized my nausea had long since faded away.

***

Kunikida shut the door behind us as the fluorescent lights clicked on overhead.

The interview room was warm and well-lit, with a couple of leafy plants in one corner and a set of filing cabinets in another. In the center of the room was a single, simple wooden desk with two chairs on either side; two were for us, and two were for Taneda Mayu’s parents, both of whom would be coming for this interview.

The nerves that had faded away on the car ride over came back with a vengeance as I realized that while I’d seen dead bodies before, this would be the very first time I had to meet with the relatives of someone who had passed—my first time seeing such grief in person. I was about to turn to Kunikida to ask how he dealt with it when the door opened once again and an older couple walked in.

My breath stilled in my lungs as I looked upon the woman’s face, which would have been an exact copy of her daughter Mayu’s over twenty years ago. Like her daughter, she was quite tall for a Japanese woman and had large, expressive brown eyes. Her husband, a man with a head of delightfully curly black hair, stood just a little shorter than her, but he kept one hand out to hold hers as they slowly came towards the desk where Kunikida and I would be interviewing them. Both the Tanedas were kind-faced and polite and as we bowed across the room to each other, I realized that they had no idea what they were about to hear.

My stomach clenched painfully as I heard the hopefulness in Mr. Taneda’s voice.

“Detectives,” he stated, his voice quavering a little as he looked from me to Kunikida. “Thank you for your hard work. We came as soon as we could.”

Kunikida nodded.

“Of course, sir.”

He gestured to the table and all four of us sat.

As Mrs. Taneda gingerly took her seat, I saw her knobby hand grip the armrest gently and my pulse went up the moment I saw her bare hands. To steady myself, I took a deep breath in and tried to put what I hoped was a polite smile on my face. I quickly stopped when I realized it must look more like a grimace.

“We called you here because we’d like to go over some things with you once more,” Kunikida explained, his back straight and his tone professional.

Shooting me a quick, meaningful glance, he put his elbows on the table and leaned forward a little, as if asking me to copy him. When I didn’t move, however, he pulled a photograph out of one of the police folders and slid it across the table towards the Taneda’s, throwing me another look as he did so. Very slowly and very hesitantly, I also put my arms up on the table, my bare fingers slightly outstretched.

“This is a copy of one of the photos you gave the police recently, correct?” Kunikida asked.

“Yes,” Mrs. Taneda said, smiling a little as she glanced down at the picture. “This was taken a couple months ago, at a family gathering. She really loved that dress.”

“And that bracelet,” Mr. Taneda said, pointing to Mayu’s wrist in the photograph. “She insisted it was too much for us to give her something so expensive but she earned it. She did just start her new nursing job, after all.”

His fingers lingered on the photograph as he passed it back to us and I realized I had an opportunity to touch his hand.

But for some reason, I couldn’t move.

It’ll only be for a second. Maybe even less. A single brush will do it.

Mr. Taneda took his hand off the photograph and withdrew it and before I could bring myself to even try, my chance was already gone. I could feel Kunikida’s eyes on me but I wouldn’t look at him.

I felt, rather than heard, his sigh.

“Okay. I know this question has been asked before but I’d like to just confirm it,” Kunikida continued, not a trace of tension in his voice, “To our knowledge, you were the last people to see Mayu that afternoon when she went out for a tennis game?”

“That’s right,” Mrs. Taneda said. “She was supposed to meet a friend at a rec center between our house and the friend’s, but her friend said she never arrived and called us instead.”

“She didn’t have a tracking feature on her cell phone but it appears she at least got to this station,” Kunikida said, returning to the map and holding it such that all four of us could hang onto it if needed. “At least, that’s what our latest information indicates.”

He wasn’t lying; that information had literally just been handed to us as we’d walked in this room. Kunikida pointed to a spot not far from where Mayu had been reported missing. It was a train station that connected to the line that ran right by Saeki Mei’s place of work: the convenience store. I stared at it, and then looked back up at Kunikida, who was not looking at me but at the Tanedas in front of us.

I could tell he was just buying me enough time to try to attempt a touch (he knew how little time I actually needed) but try as I might, I just couldn’t bring myself to move. I could barely even breathe.

“Any idea on possible routes she might’ve taken? Stores or cafes she liked to drop by near this area?”

As the Tanedas leaned in to study the map, I saw that there were wrinkles on one corner of the map. Without thinking about it too hard, I reached forward and went to smooth it out, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mrs. Taneda reach out as well; it seemed she had the same idea. If I just let my hand collide with hers for a moment, I would have what I needed.

Time seemed to slow.

Our fingertips were but centimeters apart.

But at the last minute, I looked up into Mrs. Taneda’s face...

...And saw Mayu’s dead, bloated face flipping over in the river, her sunken eyes boring into mine.

“NO!!”

I pushed back away from the table, nearly knocking over the table as I fell back in my seat, the metal chair I’d just been sitting in crashing to the ground with me in it. I scrambled to my feet to see the Tanedas looking just as terrified as I had been a moment earlier. Kunikida...

I froze.

I had seen him looking angry at Dazai before but nothing prepared me for the sheer fury I saw in his eyes. I looked away and ducked for the chair.

“I’m sorry—I’m so, so sorry—” I stammered, bowing hastily as I picked it up with shaking hands.

But before I could upright the chair, Kunikida’s hand descended on my shoulder.

His hand never leaving my shoulder, I felt him pick up the chair next to me and instantly set it on the ground in one smooth motion. The legs scrunched up against the carpet just enough for me to hear it as it settled and before I could move away, his grip on my shoulder tightened considerably.

“I’m very sorry about this but could you please excuse us for a moment?”

His voice might’ve still been gentle and professional but I could tell that Kunikida was barely holding it in.

“Kusunoki?”

His glasses flashed as he turned to me.

“Can I talk to you outside for a second?”

***

The door crashed shut behind us and I winced.

“What are you doing?” Kunikida snapped. His voice echoed off the walls of the interrogation room the police officers had lent us, making me feel like I was the suspect in our kidnapping-turned-murder case.

“What the hell happened back there?!”

“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed, bowing because I had no idea what else to do. “I don’t know what came over me. I—I tried to reach out to touch Taneda-san but then she looked up and I saw Mayu and—”

“Mayu is not here,” Kunikida stated. “Her mother is. I know they look alike but you need to think about the person in front of you and the case we’re trying to solve. Don’t lose focus.”

“I... I know,” I stammered, clutching my arms to my sides.

I was shaking.

“I... I just need a minute. I haven’t used my Ability in so long and I don’t want to see another corpse—”

“You don’t want to see another corpse, huh?”

Kunikida’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper.

“Do you think any of us want to see another corpse?”

I heard the click of footsteps and looked up to see him advancing on me, a steely glint in his eye.

“Let me remind you, Kusunoki-kun,” he growled, “that Taneda Mayu is one of four—no, five—women who have gone missing within the last ten weeks. If we don’t solve this case fast, we are going to be fishing many more bodies out of Yokohama’s canals within the next several weeks, I guarantee it.”

He was right. There would be more.

And one of them would be Mei-chan...

As I thought about the girl at the convenience store with the long, black ponytail, the one who had been so nice to me that she’d cheered me up after a long hard day, Kunikida’s tall figure slowly disappeared behind a panel of rippled glass. I felt something cold on my face when I blinked and realized they were tears.

I quickly reached up to wipe them away just as I heard Kunikida’s voice again. He sounded more tired than stern.

“Get it together, Kusunoki.”

His large hands descended upon my shoulders again and I looked up through the spaces between my fingers to see him looking down at me from his considerable height.

“Listen to me. Taneda Mayu was killed very recently—within the last several days, the officer said. She was the second to go missing, which means there are still three—no, four—missing women who could still be found and saved, including your friend Mei.”

His hands were heavier than ever on my shoulders but his voice had softened a little. I put down my hands so I could better see his face.

“I know you’re scared of what you’re going to see,” Kunikida said quietly. “I am too, but I know you can do this. I brought you on this case because I know—because I have seen what you’re capable of. Stop letting your fear get the better of you and stop running away from your own Ability!”

He gritted his teeth and his grip tightened on my shoulders.

Kunikida looked like he was in pain and I was the one who had done this to him. I felt something constrict around my heart.

“Kunikida-san...?”

“When you asked me to let you join the Agency,” Kunikida whispered, his sage-colored eyes never leaving my face, “You said you wanted to help people. Is that still true or not?”

He may not have shouted but in the silence following his words, his voice echoed around the room.

“Is that still true or not?”

“It is...” I answered, my voice barely audible even to myself. “I want to save Mei-chan. I have to save her...”

“Then save her,” Kunikida said, squeezing my shoulders so tightly that they almost went numb. “Bring back the Kusunoki Kyou who ran back inside the art gallery to try to help me. Bring back the girl who tried to fight off Yasha Shirayuki with a pair of office scissors.”

His voice dropped so low I had to strain to hear it.

“Bring back the girl I vouched for when Dazai said she had potential.”

My shaking hands stilled at last.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. We were standing so close to each other that I could see my face reflected in Kunikida’s glasses. My eyes were red and I was still crying but I no longer looked scared.

Because I no longer felt scared.

Kunikida was right. I needed to stop running away. Both he and Dazai had vouched for me and I had passed the test; I was a member of the Armed Detective Agency now and I needed to start acting like one. If I didn’t stop running away now, then when would I? A year? Two years? More? If I continued to let my fears and anxieties make my decisions for me, I’d be right back where I started: hiding away in a cheap studio apartment, spending my days idling away with nothing to do but wait for my life to someday end.

This stopped now.

I let out a loud, undignified sniffle and started wiping my face again. When Kunikida let go of me and started backing away, I called out to him.

“It’s okay.”

I gave one last sniff, wiping my face with the tissue he awkwardly handed to me and blew my nose.

“How embarrassing of me...”

Kunikida was right. I was better than this. I should know that better than anyone, having risked life and limb to join the Agency, to gain control of my powers. I had to learn to face up to my fears if I was going to save Mei and the others... and if I were to become anything like Kunikida and the other detectives at the Agency.

I put away the tissue, took in a deep breath and straightened up.

Even at my full height, I was still a full head shorter than Kunikida but he was looking at me as if I stood taller than I was.

“Thank you, Kunikida-san. I’m fine now.”

I pushed past him and went to the door. When I had the thin handle of the doorknob in my grip, I turned to him and smiled. I could feel resolve burning in my chest.

“I’m going to save Mei-chan. I’m going to save all of them. And I’m going to touch as many hands as I need to do it.”

Kunikida crossed his arms over his chest.

“Good.”

***

“Sorry about that,” I said as I sat back down in my chair. “I thought I saw a uh... spider...”

“Oh, it’s okay!” Mrs. Taneda murmured, putting her hand over her mouth. “Are you alright?”

“I am,” I said hastily, hoping to move on from my stupid, made-up lie.

Even worse than the lie was the fact that Mrs. Taneda kind of reminded me of my own mother, and lying to my own mother had never been easy...

“But more importantly, we should finish up. I’m sorry we had to bring you here so abruptly, I’m sure you have things to do this evening.”

As I sat, Kunikida closed the door to the room and the puff of air lifted the map off the table and onto the floor.

“Oh!”

At once, Mrs. Taneda and I both reached for it and this time, I didn’t shy away from physical contact. A couple of fingers touched and although nothing happened at first, the moment I closed my eyes, an image washed over me...

I am in an old apartment complex. The door is open. Several people are inside the main living area. There, in the corner of the room, is a small shrine, a photo of Taneda Mayu framed in black sitting inside the wooden box. There is a bowl of incense, some oranges and a tiny teddy bear placed before the photo. These were all Mayu’s favorite things.

I smile and lay down one final item the detectives managed to recover from the killer’s home: a thin, silvery bracelet, the one Mayu had never taken off since the moment we bought it for her.

I do hope Mayu doesn’t mind that I kept it for her shrine. It was too late to bury her with it...

I clap my hands together and pray before the image, recalling my daughter’s laugh and her cheerful voice. Tears run down my face as I feel my husband walk up behind me and join me in prayer...

I heard someone clearing their throat loudly behind me and I realized it was Kunikida, I was still in the interview office and Mrs. Taneda had meekly retracted her hand. I couldn’t have been out that long but my fingers had definitely lingered long enough for the situation to get awkward. Shaking my head abruptly, I snapped back the map and rubbed my eyes.

I could feel a slight headache coming on but interestingly enough, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been the last time, when I’d seen that vision of Mrs. Yamazaki. Atsushi was right. The side effects really were becoming less severe...!

“Sorry. I think I fell asleep for a second.”

The name of the condition finally came back to me and I tried to force a laugh.

“I actually have narcolepsy...”

The Tanedas looked a little concerned so I sat back in the chair and gave the map back to Kunikida, who seemed to have understood what happened. He could tell from the look in my eyes that I’d seen something but wasn’t sure how useful it might be.

I faced Mr. Taneda and tried to think of a way to pull myself out of the vision once I was in. Kunikida making a noise definitely worked but how could I get myself out of it? I wouldn’t always be working with a partner on these assignments in the future and I had to learn how to do this on my own. Somehow, I would need to be able to move my own body or make it react while I was still occupied looking through someone else’s eyes, at another time. In a flash, it came to me.

I needed something heavy I could drop...

I put my messenger bag, the one I’d been carrying with me everywhere since starting my job at the Agency, on the corner of the table. Then, I looked around for something I could comment on, some way to get Mr. Taneda to lean forward a little more. I didn’t think reaching for a dropped item would work twice; it might look a little strange and I’d come across as even more unprofessional than before. To avoid arousing suspicion, I enlisted Kunikida’s help.

“By the way, Kunikida-san, what time is it?”

Raising one eyebrow, he lifted his watch up off the table.

“It’s six-thirty one.”

“You sure about that?”

I pointed to Mr. Taneda’s watch, a small, digital device that wrapped loosely around his wrist.

“I think yours is running a little fast. Look at Taneda-san’s watch.”

As both men leaned forward to compare, I subtly touched the tips of my fingers to Mr. Taneda’s wrist, taking care not to touch Kunikida’s (I wasn’t sure I could handle two people at once). This time, when I felt the pull, like I was circling a large drain, I was ready and I bumped into the table leg so that my bag would fall to the ground. I had two seconds before the sound of my stuff hitting the floor would wake me up...

I am walking in the streets. It’s mid-afternoon judging by where the sun is in the sky. I’m following the river where she was found…

I pass several benches, a train station, a rec center.

I’m not sure how much longer I will walk until I see it, the place where those two detectives pulled my Mayu out of the river.

How did it come to this? How did she end up so far from home? Why here?

I throw a flower into the water and watch the current take it away...

I hear the thud of my backpack hitting the floor and I pull my hands away. My head was starting to spin. Judging from Kunikida’s reaction, my actions were well-timed and I smiled softly and thanked Mr. Taneda for allowing me to check the time. As if on cue, one of the police officers we’d rode up to the station with rapped at the door and opened it. Kunikida looked to me and I met his gaze for the briefest of moments before I nodded to the officer.

“Would you like to speak to the Taneda family? We’re actually done.”

I bowed hastily to the old couple, thanked them for their time and walked out the door, Kunikida hot on my heels. I stumbled the moment I got out of the room and Kunikida grabbed onto my elbow to keep me steady.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, putting my hand over my eyes as the dizziness suddenly got worse.

“What did you see?” Kunikida whispered as we stood in the hallway, the fluorescent lights flickering slightly overhead.

“Not much,” I admitted and I relayed everything to him as best I could. Kunikida nodded and thought to himself as I tried to steady myself on my feet. Still feeling weak, I finally lifted up my head and he clapped me on the shoulder and nodded approvingly.

“We’ll have to keep investigating but I think we can call it a night for now. Nice work.”

“Thanks. Uh, Kunikida-san? Where’s the restroom?”

As soon as he pointed down the hall, I pushed past him but it was too late. I had only walked about two feet before I leaned over and puked right on the floor.

Kunikida winced.

“How about I take you home, Kusunoki-kun...?”

#bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #kunikida #kunikida doppo #kunikida doppo x oc #fanfiction

[bunlai]

My goal through my cooking has always been to create perspective-changing and transformational experiences—which we have achieved on so many different levels—on our journey together at Miya’s. This would not have been possible without all of my teachers, collaborators, and patrons. You have stoked a irrepressible fire in me to make a difference through my art. I cannot thank you enough.

My Sunday classes are inspired by my childhood spent fishing and foraging in the streams and woods around New Haven. It’s the about unwavering truths and wisdom that nature shares with us; it’s also about perspective-changing, connection, digging deep into understanding of what’s truly good and beautiful; and it’s about transformation—through food.

I am offering three experiences that will be taking place at my home (aka the Miya’s farm) in Woodbridge, CT, every Sunday. All the classes are lead personally by me, are kept small (10 people), socially distanced and outdoors.

FARM DINNER: The dinner starts at 5:00 pm and includes experimental recipes and along with classic sustainable sushi creations that I’ve served at the White House and beyond. Our Flaming Cock sake, invasive mugwort liquor we make together, and local beers and sustainable wines are also included. All tables are socially distanced, outdoors, but configured in way that encourages connection. $165 person*

FORAGING CLASS & DINNER:The foraging class starts at 2:00 pm. Its focus is on common weeds and invasive plants and their preparation paired with a discussion about nutrition and the environment. You’ll make and take home wild plant tea, wild plant soup, wild plant herb vinegar, and wild plant liquor. The foraging class includes dinner on the farm. $300/person*

THE WHOLE SHEBANG: We begin in the morning with traditional Japanese fly fishing at a nearby pond, humanely kill and prepare the fish we catch for a traditional Japanese country breakfast, and use the fish to make an ancient preparation of sushi too. The sustainable sushi class that follows will feature original recipes that best represent different approaches to sustainable eating: sustainable seafood, plant-based, and invasive species. This class includes the foraging class and dinner on the farm. $375/person*

*Prices are exclusive of 6.35 % sales tax and 20% administrative fee.

*I love kids so if you have little ones please bring them with you. Dinner for them is on me.

For questions or reservations, please email Yordanka at [email protected]

About Bun Lai

Bun Lai is the sole chef recipient of the 2016 Champion of Change Award for Sustainable Seafood. His family restaurant, Miya’s (founded by his mother, Yoshiko Lai, in 1982), is the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the world. Miya’s specializes in sustainable seafood-based sushi; plant-based sushi; invasive species-based sushi.

Described by The New York Times as “the mad scientist of the sustainable sushi movement,” Bun Lai has been featured in countless national and international media such as Time, National Geographic, Prevention, Food and Wine, Eating Well, Outside, Popular Mechanics, Vice, The New Yorker, and a wide range of international publications and television.

Bun Lai is an educator who has been published in Scientific American and Harvard Design Magazine. He has spoken at The White House, Google, The American Fisheries Society, World Wildlife Fund, Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Whales, Yale School of Management, Harvard School of Public Health, and at Monterey Bay Aquarium where he is a Blue Ribbon Task Force member. He has curated events in collaboration with Jarobi (A Tribe Called Quest) and Maya Lin (Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial).

Bun Lai is on the Council of Directors for the True Health Coalition which was founded by Dr. David Katz (Director of Yale University Prevention Research Center) and Dan Buettner (Director Blue Zones Project). Bun Lai is the former Director of Nutrition for a non-for-profit that serves low income diabetics.

His movie, BLIND SUSHI, made in collaboration with Eric Heimbold (Who Let The Dogs Out) and Ryan Knighton (Cockeyed), is the 2018 finalist for the James Beard Award.

He is currently working on educational experiences on his farm, planning on taking Miya’s on the road post-COVID, books, television, and bringing Flaming Cock, the world’s first furiously spicy sake liquor, to market—which will sponsor the work of people who fight for social and ecological justice.

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: Romeohane

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~3.2k Rating: T’ish? AU: Angelic? Time Frame: Sometime during their college years Story Arc: Stand Alone

Author’s Note: Thank you, tumblr, for removing the Thematic Break function from Rich Text editing. This has made posting my fics here so~ much easier. /sarcasm

Riko looked up from her doujin.  Was Yoshiko performing a ritual? Strange, the younger girl typically announced when she was streaming. Riko had always assumed this was mostly out of pride, as Yoshiko unquestionably enjoyed the performances and was proud of the viewerbase she maintained. However, recently, Riko had begun to suspect her roommate wanted her, specifically, to watch and maybe, possibly, even participate.

Riko focused her attention to try to pick out what was being said, but could only determine Yoshiko’s tone. Though the words were muffled by the wall separating their rooms, there was no mistaking the dramatic voice of the fallen angel Yohane.

Driven by curiosity, Riko hopped off her bed and made her way to her roommate’s door.

“As daylight doth a lamp. Her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night.”

Now in the hallway, with only a hollow, wooden door between them, Riko could understand what Yoshiko was saying. And she had heard those phrases before.

“Yocchan?” Riko called, knocking.

“R-Riri?!” Yoshiko sputtered in surprise. “C-come in!”

“I thought you were maybe streaming, but…” Riko said as she opened the door.

“No, uhm, sorry…” Yoshiko smiled sheepishly. “I was actually rehearsing my lines and kinda forgot you were here. Sorry if I was too loud.”

“Not at all.” Riko assured as she shook her head. “I was just curious. You told me you got the lead, but you never told me the play.” Though she had a pretty good idea after what she had just heard.

Yoshiko’s grin grew more confident. “Despite this being merely her second production, Yohane has proven herself worthy of securing the lead role in the most tragic of tales.” She announced proudly, striking a pose. “A classic story scribed by none other than the Bard himself, about star-crossed lovers and their regrettable fate.”

“You club is performing Romeo and Juliet?”

“I was just about to say that!” The blue-haired girl complained, her voice rising in pitch as her fallen angel persona was forgotten for a moment.

“That’s wonderful. Congratulations again on getting the lead!”

“I mean,” Yoshiko regained her composure with a smirk “Riri is quite perceptive; determining the play as well as character Yohane has assumed based on only a few lines. As expected of an elite little demon.”

“Do you need any help?”

Once again, the persona faltered as Yoshiko seemed caught off guard by the offer.

“That’s the balcony scene, right?” Riko continued when the younger girl didn’t reply. “I can read Juliet’s lines if you would like.”

“Riri playing the part of Juliet…” Yoshiko considered, looking over the older girl. “A felicitous role for a fair maiden destined to fall alongside Yohane. Very well.” She extended he hand. “Let us elevate you to a position befitting of the scene.”

Destined to fall…? Riko felt her cheeks warm as she accepted the offer. Yoshiko was already playing up her own part and she couldn’t help feeling a little enthralled.

“You want me to stand on the bed…?” Riko couldn’t help questioning as Yoshiko guided her up.

“M’lady is most certainly welcome to kneel, should she prefer as such.”

“Alright…”

“Thou shall be needing these parchments.” Yoshiko handed her a copy of the script.

“Thank you.”

“And with that, I shall as well take a knee so as thus to preserve the proper perspective.”

Riko felt her heartrate spike as she watched Yoshiko make great show of kneeling. And again when she looked up at her with a dashing smile.

“Do… uhm…” Riko cleared her throat in an attempt to do the same for her mind. “Do you want to just pick up where you left off?”

“That I do.” Yoshiko nodded curtly.

“Alright…” Riko took a deep breath let it out quickly to focus on getting into character.

“See how she leans her cheek upon her hand O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!”

“Ay me!”

“She speaks. O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven”

As Yoshiko continued her lines, Riko found herself having to put conscious effort into keeping herself from imagining those words being spoken to her directly, instead of through her to a character. But as this was one of her favorite scenes from a classic romance, and she truly wanted to help her friend, she knew she needed to give her all.

“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Thankfully, with a longer set of lines Riko was able to concentrate better. It also helped to look away from those dazzling magenta eyes. And she could even justify looking away as Juliet was unaware of Romeo’s eavesdropping at this point in the scene.

But then came the part where Romeo reveals his presence.

“I take thee at thy word.” Yoshiko said, her intonation demanding attention.

Riko found herself taken in by the fallen angel’s gaze once again.

“Riri? It’s your line.”

“Oh yes, sorry… Uhm…” She scanned the page. “What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night,”

Riko mentally chastised herself for being distracted by Yoshiko’s charm. Steeling her resolve, she managed to push through the rest of the scene.

“That was fun.” Yoshiko said cheerfully as she took another bite of her dinner. “Definitely more fun than practicing alone. Thanks again, Riri.”

“You’re welcome, Yocchan.” Riko returned a smile. “I had fun as well. And if you want me to help you practice more, just ask.” She offered before thinking better of it.

Well, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to help, she merely wondered if her heart could take it. While under normal circumstances, she was well accustomed to Yoshiko’s dramatic behavior, it had a different effect on her this time. Perhaps it was because it felt like the younger girl was directing it at her. Perhaps it was the romantic nature of the characters and story they were acting. Of course, the fact that she was becoming increasingly aware of her growing feelings for her friend probably added to things as well.

“I’d like that.” The younger girl’s eyes sparkled. “Say, do you want to maybe come watch us rehearse sometime?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll send you our schedule and you can just drop by whenever you want.”

“Alright.”

O, speak again, bright angel… The line lingered in Riko’s mind as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Angel… Fallen angel…

For someone claiming to be cursed, Yoshiko had no shortage of angelic qualities. Obviously, there were the prop wings and halo she wore for her streams, or sometimes just hanging out around the apartment. And though cute, they were superficial at best. The same could be said of her gothic sense of style, no matter how good it looked on her. No, Yoshiko’s true angelic nature shown through her kindness, generosity and loyalty.

And her smile. By the gods, her smile…

Riko couldn’t help a smile of her own as she recalled all of Yoshiko’s smiles she had witnessed through the day. From the sleepy smile that greeted her in the morning, to the energetic one that welcomed her home. From the content one that enjoyed her cooking to the triumphant one that celebrated the defeat of a chapter boss. And all of those she had displayed while rehearsing lines as Romeo.

Yoshiko was a fallen angel, certainly, but an angel nonetheless. And Riko was Yoshiko’s elite little demon. Her favorite, in fact. But what if… perhaps… she could be Yoshiko’s angel instead? Could someone as plane as herself be…

Riko shook her head. She knew better than that. It had taken a lot encouragement from her friends, but she had gained some self-confidence over the years. She could be an angel as well, right?

Yocchan’s angel… That had a rather nice ring to it.

Riko felt her heartrate increase and noticed her reflection was blushing. She shook her head again to clear her thoughts before hastily donning her pajamas so she could let her roommate prepare for the night.

“Sakurauchi-san, I presume?”

Riko turned toward the voice behind her. “Yes?”

“It would seem I presumed correctly.” A woman approached with a smile. “You look exactly as she described.”

“She?”

“Yohane. You are her cohabitant, am I right?”

“Co…” Riko’s mind settled on a definition. “Roommate!” She corrected, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. “I’m just her roommate!”

“Ah, my apologies.” The woman bowed. “Nonetheless, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you this day.” The woman held out a hand, which Riko accepted. “I am known as Hayashi Haruka, esteemed director of this fine drama club.”

“Thank you for letting me come watch today.”

“Think nothing of it.” Haruka dismissed before spreading her arms dramatically. “All are welcome to observe rehearsals. Of course, beyond friends and family, most are only interested in the final production.” She added the last part as though it was an aside to an unseen audience.

Riko nodded, realizing what was likely part of why Yoshiko liked the director. “So, uhm…” She paused to consider her words. “Yocchan talks about me here?”

“Indeed.” The director confirmed with a curt node. “With regularity, in fact. To the point that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that she holds you in high regard.”

“I see…” Riko blushed again.

“And should your talents be anywhere near those that have been proclaimed,” Haruka continued, not seeming to notice the student’s embarrassment. “I have more than half a mind to persuade you to join the orchestra. Particularly since our current pianist is graduating at semester’s end and we’ve yet to find a suitable replacement.”

“I’ll… uhm… consider it?”

“Most excellent.” Haruka clapped her hands together, seeming to behave as though the offer had been accepted. “Verily, you will make a fine addition to our crew.”

“I… but…”

“Now come.” The director stepped past the student and beckoned her to follow. “You wish to observe our rehearsal, do you not?”

“… Yes…”

“I believe you will be pleased to witness the results of your assistance.”

“My…?”

“You have been aiding our future star of the stage with her lines, have you not?”

“Yes, but… Future star?”

“Yohane has proven herself a prodigy with practically unparalleled potential for performance artistry.” Haruka explained as though it should be obvious. “Forsooth, it is for this reason she was nominated and thusly chosen for this role, despite her lack of formal experience. We knew it to be a risk, but she has risen to the challenge. And we owe you a debt of gratitude for your support.”

“It’s been a pleasure helping Yocchan.” Riko assured.

“Riri!” Cried an excited voice as soon as Haruka and Riko entered the theater. A blue-haired blur bounced off house right, ignoring the access stairs before speeding up the walkway.

A younger Riko may have chastised Yoshiko for her reckless behavior, but today, she let some of the fallen angel’s energy invigorate her.

“Hey, Yocchan.” She greeted warmly as the younger girl skidded to a halt in front of her.

“Everyone!” Yoshiko called over her shoulder to a handful of others who followed behind her at a more normal pace. “Yohane’s most elite little demon has come to bear witness to today’s decent!”

“I shall permit everyone a brief respite to greet our guest.” Haruka spoke up before Riko could respond to her roommate. “But to honor her presence, I shall then expect you all to perform at a hundred and eight percent afterward!”

“Hai, Direkutā!” Yoshiko saluted before turning her attention back to Riko. “C’mon, Riri! Let me introduce you to my newest hoard of little demons.”

“Alright.”

“Everyone!” Yoshiko addressed again those who had gathered. “It is Yohane’s privilege to introduce you to Riri. You may address her as Sakurauchi-san, as only Yohane is may call her Riri.”

“Riko is fine.” The redhead bowed politely, though she couldn’t hide her amusement in the blue-haired girl’s insistence.

One by one, the members of the theater troupe stepped forward to introduce themselves. Riko quickly realized that she wasn’t meeting complete strangers, rather it felt like more akin to meeting online friends face to face for the first time. Yoshiko had described them well and they all seemed like wonderful people. As such, part of Riko wondered why she hadn’t visited earlier.

“Yohane!” Yoshiko corrected someone and drew Riko’s attention. “Only Riri is allowed to use such a cute nickname!”

“Mutual and exclusive nicknames, eh?” the other girl inquired with a smirk. Riko recognized her as Kaho, a girl who Yoshiko claimed took great pleasure in teasing everyone else; the fallen angel, in particular. “You two sure make a cute couple.”

“C-couple?!” Yoshiko sputtered before retreating behind her fallen angel persona. “Riri is Yohane’s most elite little demon. Such things are only natural.”

This earned a hearty laugh from Kaho.

“Riko-san?”

“Eh?” Riko turned back to the girl in front of her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…” She insisted before clearing her throat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Airi. I look forward to seeing your portrayal of Juliet.”

“It has been quite the trial keeping up with Yohane.” Airi admitted, glancing toward her costar. “But she makes such a debonair Romeo that it really helps me get into my part. She’s really fun to work with.”

“Mmm…” Riko hummed neutrally. As she also turned her gaze toward her roommate, she felt a pang of something that was becoming more frequent and familiar as of late.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand.” Yoshiko said, taking Airi’s hand. “This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:”

Riko watched intently from her seat beside Haruka. Despite still being an early phase rehearsal, with all the mistakes and mishaps that entailed, the girls taking the titular roles seemed almost ready for opening night. At least as far as Riko could tell. The director had interrupted them far less than the rest of the cast and made fewer suggestions for modification of their acting.

“Saints do not move,” Airi continued the scene, “though grant for prayer’ sake.”

Riko felt her pulse quicken as she recalled what was to come next.

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.” Yoshiko leaned forward.

Riko’s eye twitched as lips met on stage.

Or at least appeared to meet. They were using a stage kiss, right? Yoshiko was just kissing her own thumb… right?

“Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

What the heck? Riko thought as her jaw clenched. This wasn’t how she normally reacted to scenes like this. She usually loved romantic or dramatic kiss scenes; regularly rereading them over and over to savor the sensations they brought to her.

So why did this one feel so different? Why did this one bother her so much? Was she… jealous? … Maybe? Of a stage kiss? Really? How ridiculous to be jealous of a kiss that was merely acted out on stage… by Yoshiko… in front of her…

“Sin from thy lips?” Yoshiko’s dramatic tone brought Riko back from her vexed thoughts. “O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.”

She had to resist the urge to look away as the second instance occurred.

“Thanks for coming, Riri.” Yoshiko said cheerfully as the two made their way to the station.

“Mmm…” Riko hummed, her thoughts still focused on specific scenes she had witnessed.

“They’ve wanted to meet you for a while now.”

“…”

“Riri?” Magenta eyes, full of curious concern entered Riko’s field of vision.

“Oh, sorry Yocchan, I was just… thinking…”

“About…?”

“… Nothing… Never mind…”

Yoshiko raised an eyebrow. “Did Riri not enjoy her time with us during rehearsal?” Though her tone was mostly teasing, Riko could detect an undertone of unease.

“No, that’s not it.” The older girl shook her head. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“But?”

Riko furrowed her brow as she realized the younger girl wasn’t letting go of the topic. But how to describe it to her?

“Is… uhm…” Riko paused to clear her throat and ensure she worded things correctly. “Is a fallen angel alright kissing just anybody?”

“Of course not!” Yoshiko immediately donned her Yohane persona. “The kiss of a fallen angel is to be bestowed only upon those most coveted!”

“A fallen angel’s little demons aren’t coveted?”

“Of course they are! They all are.”

“And Airi is one of Yohane’s little demons…”

“Yes, she is, but…” The fallen angel faltered for a moment, as though unsure as to how to proceed. “But she is not of Yohane’s most coveted. Only a precious few may be most coveted.” Yoshiko emphasized the word most both times. “Thus, Yohane must preserve the chastity of her lips through the guise of a stage kiss.” She held her hand across her own cheek as though to demonstrate.

“I know what a stage kiss is…” Riko grumbled.

Riko could practically see the gears spinning in the other girl’s mind. Suddenly, Yoshiko’s eyes widened as something clicked.

“Was Riri jealous of Yohane’s stage kisses with Airi?”

“W-what?” Riko balked. “Jealous? No! I was just…”

“O, fair maiden Riri,” The amateur actress intoned dramatically “dost thou desire to sully thy divinity with the guilty pleasure of performing a stage kiss with this fal-aahhh!”

“Falling Blossom Hold of Binding Silence!”

A stage kiss with Yocchan… Riko found herself considering the possibilities as she lay in bed, awaiting sleep.

The prospect was more than a little tempting. So why had she denied Yoshiko’s offer? Was it because she assumed the younger girl had been teasing her? Was it merely habit at this point?

What if Yoshiko had been serious? Would Riko have accepted? Maybe…

Thoughts of the day’s rehearsal came to her mind, but instead of watching from off stage, Riko imagined herself standing opposite Yoshiko. The blue-haired girl held her hand up to Riko’s cheek and moved forward. Not surprisingly, Yoshiko’s thumb moved to cover her lips to prepare for the stage kiss. Riko desperately wanted to push the digit aside, but didn’t want to do so in such a way that would disrupt the scene. Then, at the last possible moment, Yoshiko slid her thumb aside.

Riko opened her eyes as something burned within her.

Yocchan…

Perhaps certain desires would have to be addressed before she could fall asleep.

A stage kiss with Riri… Yoshiko found herself considering the possibilities as she lay in bed, awaiting sleep.

There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to do such things with Riko. And far more than that, in all honesty. But, had Yoshiko actually read the situation correctly? Had Riko actually been jealous? After so many years of assuming Riko’s feelings lay elsewhere, Yoshiko had fallen back on old habits and turned the offer into teasing, if for no other reason than to soften the blow of the inevitable refusal.

But what if Riko had accepted? Would Yoshiko have had the courage to follow through? Ma… no, probably not…

Thoughts of the day’s rehearsal came to her mind, but instead of Airi playing opposite her, Yoshiko imagined Riko. She held her had up to the redhead’s cheek as she moved closer. Out of habit, she placed her thumb across lovely lips to cover them for the stage kiss. But something in Riko’s gaze made her slide her thumb aside at the last moment.

Yoshiko’s eyes snapped open as something twisted within her.

Riri…

Perhaps certain desires would have to be addressed before she could fall asleep.

Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post.

#YohaRiko #YoshiRiko #Sakurauchi Riko #Tsushima Yohane #Love Live Sunshine #Happy Life #fanfic #Tsushima Yoshiko

[hrsksky]

Sigma Harmonics Chapter 3 Final Deduction (Solution)

Note: Please refer to masterpost for more information on this game and its translation.

To view the gameplay of the final deduction, it is available in the following link from 24:00 to 31:50. All of the soundbytes/seals are translated in the English let’s play. So if you’ve been following that, you will more or less understand.

http://www.bilibili.com/video/av2922849/#page=2

I’m translating the dialogue/cutscene that explains the solution to the murder case line by line. The dialogue starts at 31:50 in the above video. Note that Neon is in her Swordmaiden form for this translation. () contains editor’s note to help comprehension.

Sigma: This case is not as complicated as it seems. It just gives the impression that there is a crazy person killing randomly. It’s that impression which fooled us. Let’s start by looking at the evidence one by one.

First is the death of Obaba at 18 o’clock (6PM). Only Shizuma and Yoshiko were present. It’s unlikely that they poisoned the food as they ate in front of Obaba.

Does that mean the meal was poisoned beforehand? 

But the only person who was near the food before the trio ate was Obaba herself.

The one who prepared the meal was Yuriko, who was already murdered.

Neon: Ha? So does that mean nobody can be the killer?

Sigma: If we were to use the same perspective, yes. The truth is, Obaba didn’t die by poison.

Neon: ??

Sigma: I’ll explain that part later. Next, let’s look at the sealed room and the death of Yuriko. The Game Room was locked and all the windows inside are shut as well. Yuriko was killed in this room. The Master Key is the only thing that could open or lock the Game Room from the outside and there is only one Master Key.

Not to mention, the only other access to the Game Room is the mini elevator from the kitchen. Neon has already tried to enter the shortcut and we know that the opening is too small to fit a regular person.

Neon: Meow. Then that means it was Yoshiko who held the Master Key that murdered Yuriko?

Sigma: But don’t you think Yoshiko’s behavior is very strange?

Neon: ??

Sigma: The Game Room (which is usually open so anyone can play) is locked for some odd reason. Also, when Shizuma was killed, Yoshiko was on the 2nd floor looking into Nene’s room. She then visited Obaba’s room before finally hanging herself in her own room.

If it was Yoshiko who killed Shizuma, then she’d have to quickly go to the station on ground floor right after leaving Obaba’s room. After the act, she has to return to her room on the 2nd floor to hang herself. 

Isn’t that the only way for her to do everything in such a short span of time? For her to play a trick like that, she would also have to put on quite the act. I think such a feat would be way too difficult.

(Sigma’s point is that Yoshiko’s behavior and words, especially when she’s alone, don’t seem to match the profile of a blood-thirsty killer)

Neon: Maybe she’s just presenting a false impression so that she can work in the shadows...? 

Sigma: Who would she be acting for? Hmm... Like her usual self (demeanor) is actually all an act to cover her hidden plot... I guess I can’t say it’s 100% impossible.

But these people from the past simply have no reason to give an alibi or fake an act.

(I guess 50 years ago, complicated crimes and extensive modern investigations weren’t the norm. Hence why Sigma says they don’t have to worry about those things)

Neon: My guess. The Omahito wants to stop the Time Tuning.

(The Chinese translation was very vague here. I’m assuming Neon means that Yoshiko is possessed by an Omahito so she puts on an act to trick Sigma and Neon who are looking into the past. Thus, if the duo is confused, they won’t be able to Time Tune OR they will perform a weak Time Tuning)

Sigma: Even though the Omahito is certainly involved, Omahito can’t directly control the host’s actions. It simply provokes (nurtures) into a person’s deep consciousness and births an Oma into said person’s soul.

(The “deep consciousness” is implied to be the negative thoughts of people. So by exaggerating it, the Omahito creates the new Oma via proxy. Remember that the Omahito technically exist in the time gap, like Sigma and Neon. They aren’t actually in the timeline)

Neon: Then, question. If Yoshiko carries the key (yet Sigma doesn’t believe she’s the culprit), then who killed Yuriko and locked the door?

Sigma: Who the real killer is?

Neon: The killer... is who?

Sigma: Obaba.

Neon: .......

But Obaba was the one who was killed first!

Sigma: False assumption fallacy.

Neon: ?????

Sigma: The logical fallacy of false premise. Have you never heard of it?

Neon: ... I don’t get it.

Sigma: To put it simply, the killer pretended to be the dead. This trick often shows up in detective novels. We were completely fooled by it.

Neon: ..... Eh? The dead is the culprit... Did the Oma do this?

(Neon is thinking the Oma possessed Obaba’s corpse)

Sigma: Incorrect. We simply assumed she was dead. First, think back to the beginning of the case.

Neon: At dinner time, Obaba was poisoned to death.

Sigma: That is the first false assumption.

She didn’t die. She simply fainted.

Neon: ??

Sigma: Shizuma reacted by saying, “This... So cruel” which is different from the first case where he said, “She’s dead...”.

(I copied the exact phrases from the original translation. Though I feel that instead of “so cruel” it is more like a “how troubling”, which is a lighter phrase)

For Shizuma, it is very troubling to see Obaba suddenly fainting and that there is no one to carry Obaba to the 2nd floor.

Neon: ??

Sigma: Because Shizuma has one arm that can’t move. This fact is in the [Shizuma’s Left Arm] soundbyte/seal.

Every time Obaba sees Yoshiko, Obaba will get angry. So Yoshiko can’t carry Obaba neither.

(Recall Obaba’s sour attitude when Yoshiko entered her room. Yoshiko probably don’t want to upset her further while she’s fainted. So Yoshiko didn’t carry Obaba upstairs)

Now recall the conversation between Obaba and Yoshiko (at 17:00 o’clock/5PM). Remember when the same dialogue repeated twice?

Neon: So you mean......

Sigma: That’s why Shizuma wanted Yuriko to carry Obaba so he left to find her.

Plus, he wanted to call the Tsukiyumi clan so they can perform restoration (healing) through spirit switch.

The Tsukiyumi not only master the “God Descend” (aka Equip) that Neon uses. They also have the ability to switch consciousness with another body to perform restoration, right?

Neon: Meow. Yup.

Sigma: Based on the (repetitive) dialogue in Obaba’s room, the idea of a “consciousness switch” is very probable.

Neon: So Obaba does have two personalities?

Sigma: Not like that.

Neon: ??

Sigma: Both Puramu and Take were definitely in that room. 

Do you remember? Yoshiko used different ways to address them.

“Obaba” and “Granny”.

(You can check the previous videos. The distinction was there!)

Neon: Meow... That’s right...

Sigma: On my deduction based on all other evidence, this could mean a bodily link or some sort of pact established by them.

For example, while one of them is conscious, the other one is unconscious.

(Sigma means that while Puramu and Take are 2 separate people, they are somehow entwined either through body exchange or spirit exchange. This is similar to the ability that the Tsukiyumi’s have)

Plus did you notice the collar color of the one who died in the room? Now recall collar color of the one who fainted in the dining room. They’re different.

(Blue is Take and Red is Puramu. The one that we normally see is Puramu)

Neon: Now that you mention it...

Sigma: I’m afraid Take is the one who died on the bed and her death is the real “death by poison”.

Before Puramu went downstairs, she made Take consume the poison capsule. Then, over time, the pill took full effect. I believe the loud sound we heard coming from their room was the sound of Take dying and falling.

(This was mentioned in the [Sound inside the room] Soundbyte/Seal)

Take came into consciousness as her body was dying. As for Puramu, she fainted in the dinning room until Take died...

Neon: ... Then, after everyone left the dining room...

(For clarity: Puramu, the red one called by “Obaba”, took control as Take faints. Puramu forced the poison pill on the unconscious body of Take, the blue one called by “Granny”.)

Sigma: That’s right. She got up to continue her chain of crimes.

Neon: But but~ What about Yuriko who was already killed in the sealed Game Room?

Sigma: The room was locked from the inside.

Neon: From the inside...?

?? If she locked it from the inside, how did she get out?

Sigma: The mini-elevator.

Neon: What? The opening is too small. I was only able to fit my head through...

Eh?

Sigma: That’s right. That is where Nene died.

Only someone as small as a child like Nene could go inside.

But isn’t it also the perfect size for Obaba’s small figure?

Neon: Meow, so that’s why...

But but~ Why would she do all this?

Sigma: Even though technically the Omahito is the instigator of this case,

but the clue to the real cause is this photo.

Neon: The picture of leader Shizuma and Yuriko?

Because of an affair?

Sigma: ......

Do you remember the collar color of Take who died on the bed?

Neon: Blue.

Sigma: Correct.

Now recall that I once told you blue is the color of the Himekayo family?

Neon: Himekayo is Yuriko’s last name.

Sigma: I believe that is also Puramu, and Take’s surnames. Didn’t one of the Himekayo’s marry into the Kurogami family?

Neon: Meow......

Sigma: Puramu, Take, and Yuriko...

Unless they’re all blood-related? 

They are likely related.

And then there’s the gynaecology medical certificate in Yuriko’s room.

(In Nyaa’s original translation, that is what she called it. However that is actually very vague. It is more like a medical report of the study of childbirth, within the large umbrella of gynaecology. Basically it implies that Yuriko could be pregnant)

Neon: Meow? Mm mm...

Sigma: This is only my speculation but... I think that’s the motive behind the murders. For Puramu who is very strict with traditional precepts... How much inner struggle/pain did she go through....?

Neon: ......

Sigma: Q.E.D. ....

Begin Time Tuning!

~end~

If you read all that and yet still can’t grasp the arc, lemme clarify it for you. I know it is quite complicated since too many things are subtly implied.

Background: The Himekayo family that has served the Kurogami family for countless generations. They’re almost all maids/butlers/servants. The Himekayo clan wears blue whilst the Kurogami wear red. However, Puramu “Obaba” Himekayo (Shizuma’s mother) married the head of the Kurogami (Shizuma’s father) many years ago. That is why she changed her last name to Kurogami and began wearing red. Take “Granny” Himekayo is likely Puramu’s twin sister and Yuriko’s mother. This technically makes Yuriko and Shizuma cousins. Take did not marry out of the family and thus both Yuriko and her wear blue. Apparently (based on JP wiki), Puramu was treated badly and was the target of many rumors when she married in. Back to present time, Shizuma and Yuriko got into an affair (romantic photo). Yuriko might even be pregnant (medical report). Puramu, who is strict with precepts, found out. She is very troubled because not only is Shizuma cheating on his wife with the house maid... Yuriko is also his cousin. This alongside Puramu’s bitter memories of being mistreated set Puramu’s deep consciousness into negativity. The Omahito took this chance to foster an Oma into her. Puramu goes crazy and a killer was borne.

The Crime: 17 o’clock/5PM. First, Puramu takes over control when Yoshiko entered the room (hence why Puramu asks the same question again after Take fainted; the sisters do not share memories). Once Yoshiko leaves, Puramu forces the poison pill down unconscious Take’s throat. Then, she (assumed) chases Yuriko into the (publicly open) Game Room where she kills her. Nene heard the footsteps from her room so she also went to check out the Game Room. Puramu kills Nene (witness) and pushes her down the elevator. Puramu locks the Game Room from the inside and exits down through the elevator. 18 o’clock/6PM. From the kitchen, Puramu goes to the dinning room (hence why she was early). Yoshiko and Shizuma arrives. Yuriko and Nene don’t because they’re dead. At this point, Puramu knows that Take’s body is almost fully poisoned. So as the trio began eating, Puramu WILLINGLY switches back. Puramu faints and Take wakes up at her bed. Shizuma and Yuriko are shocked and leaves the dining room. Take soon dies from poison on her bed. Now Take is dead, consciousness returns to Puramu. 19:00 o’clock/7PM. Puramu rises (hence why her “corpse” “disappeared”), follows Shizuma. Yoshiko and Shizuma discover Yuriko’s corpse. 20:00 o’clock/8PM. Puramu follows Shizuma to the station and kills him. At this point Yoshiko discovers Take’s body on the 2nd floor. Finally, Puramu follows Yoshiko and hangs her dead too.

#Sigma Harmonics #jrpg #Japanese #translation #DS #Nintendo #Sigma #Neon #Crime #Murder #Detective #Deduction #import #JP #Square Enix #SQEX #game #logic #mystery #solution #guide #LP #Let's Play #fan translation

[athyrabunlord]

About LLSHP AU (Afterword)

[Brief note about School Term] [other LLSHP AU stuff] [YohaMaRuby concept arts] [ChikaYouRiko concept arts] [KanaDiaMari concept arts] [Hogwarts Staff]

[FFN link] [Pixiv Link] [Translated to Chinese by plin2290]

I’m just so pleased and happy to have made it! I have so many existing incomplete stories that it’s astounding for me to actually complete a multi-chapter story. Once again, I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU!! to my readers for staying with me to the end, providing me feedback and expressing interest, motivating and inspiring me enough to reach this point.

The following is really just about my rambling, about my thoughts, about the planning process and my decisions, so do keep reading if you’re interested in the makings of this story. I just feel like sharing (aka: blah blah blah) since, again, I actually friggin completed a story omg (´；Д；｀)  

===================

First of all, let’s go way back to near the end of October 2016, not long after LLS Season 1 ended. Yes this is so long ago lmao. After drawing several canon-related fanarts and writing short blips to satiate my thirst, I decided to create a complete whole AU so I can fantasize more XD I ended up picking the Harry Potter verse because, come on, it’s always fun trying to Sort your favorite characters and think about their abilities and whatnot.

Ideas started to whirl and initial sketches began. There’s an old post explaining why I Sort the girls into their respective Houses. That’s also when extra details were pondered over, the why and the pros in doing so. You should know by this point that I’m a complete useless 3rd Years trash, but as I brainstorm more, I realize that their story is more suitable to be a prequel, something that supplements a main story. And so, what should the main story be about? What kind of story do I want to present? Who would be the perfect main character/narrator for this?

Yoshiko. In canon, she’s already associated with (black) magic and, as a First-Year and Muggleborn, she would be perfect for a reader to immerse into this fascinating new world of magic through her perspective. As an old post says, I fudged up the School Term and age during the initial stage and didn’t realize until everything’s all finalized, that’s why I had to keep it as it is XD;;;;

Anyway, at this point, I’ve already decided Yoshiko to be a Horcrux, with the antagonist of this story to be Yohane, and how the last few chapters are going to play out.  Everything else, even the other characters’ backgrounds are all further elaborated and refined based off of this central plot. On a side note, how sexy is Aikyan’s solo in the 3rd Live, I mean, the white and black wing I could only think about Yoshiko/Yohane DX

Ahem, I’ve always found Yoshiko’s character fascinating, that there’s a Yohane side of her even though, really, she’s Yoshiko (a good girl). The Chamber of Secrets and the Half-Blood Prince are the main source of inspiration for this particular idea, but of course HP fans might notice many elements from the original story used or modified in my story. I’m also a strong believer that the Patronus Charm can do more than just warding off Dementors or Lethifolds (and Obscurus), hence its significance in this story, especially later chapters.

Therefore, each girl’s Patronus was tentatively decided at this early stage, with 1 or 2 possibilities. After this, I then thought of what ships should this story present. As much as I did not want romance/ships be The Major Point, I have to acknowledge that ships are what people go for in a story, myself included. I understand shipping might turn people away from even trying a story, that’s why I kept it secret for the first few chapters before confirming it on tumblr (where the chapters were first uploaded). I was just testing the waters, to see if people are interested in the story enough to keep reading even if the ships aren’t their preferences.

Back to planning stage - as a multi-shipper, I did not want to set in stone right off the bat what the ships are either. And thus I continued expanding on ideas and see where things would  go, keeping most of the initial interactions and important moments intact. This is why there are times it might seem there are multiple pairings even though nothing was specified (cough wee kanadia, youriko etc (｡･ ω<)ゞてへぺろ♡). Not to mention, as the main character, Yoshiko will always have moments with each of the 8 girls. I remember joking in an old post that, if this were a gal-game, there are various routes to this story, from the default path to those you have to unlock via certain conditions XDDD

Naturally, members of the 1st-year trio and Guilty Kiss get more screen time with Yoshiko. Then, as a fellow Slytherin and part of the tsurime trio, Dia does too. Not to mention Season1’s anime ED shows You & Angel together, You gets special moments too. Chika is Aqours’ leader who first accepted Yoshiko into the group as datenshi, so I tried to show that as much as I could given the circumstances in the story. And so, this leaves poor orca on the side lol. But yeah, YoshiMaru, YoshiRiko, YoshiRuby, so many possibilities! However, as more details get finalized, such as Yoshiko’s childhood, her Shiira-KANSU! Patronus and about the Augurey, YoshiMaru just happened. Things seem to click into place with their love as the focal point and I was able to keep expanding the story. First puppy love, innocent and pure. A dream that grew to become reality. Could other ships have worked? Yes, but then that would’ve given this story a different direction and it wouldn’t have been LLSHP AU – Yoshiko Tsushima and the Fallen Angel anymore. As I developed YoshiMaru more and more, I was very satisfied with my choice.

On a side note, I confirm Yoshiko did have a crush on You at first (and Hanamaru had a crush on Kanan) xD it’s mostly just physical attraction in a “the-senpai-I-admire” kind of way, and it soon morphs to strong friendship as this story progresses. I don’t know if this was obvious at all but that’s why these two girls always have a soft spot for Gryffindor Baka#2 and Baka #3 xD!!!

On the other hand, I was not expecting DiaRiko to form. Yes, it was my guilty ship but I didn’t intend for them to be a couple in this story, just close friends/confidantes. In canon, they’re already the straight man of their respective year trios (most of the time anyway, I’m looking at you ponkotsu penguin). Yet, given their respective pasts and personalities, they became intimately close and found solace with each other, and that kind of relationship is what I tried to show to the readers, especially through the Carbonado Interlude. They’re not predestined to fall in love but they did and found happiness. Out of the four ships, I was most worried about DiaRiko since it’s a rareship unlike the other three. That’s why I keep saying how pleased I am that it ended up being well-received by fans ;;A;;

ChikaYou came to be as I finalize the 2ndYears’ background and Riko’s part, while KanaMari’s story is set aside for the prequel and thus not given much spotlight in the main story (and also due POV effect). In spite of how much I adore ChikaYou, it’s also not shown much because of what happened in the story but also because I wanted to present their dynamic as a duo and CYR bond with Ruby (since that’s how Yoshiko perceives them most of the time anyway).  

Ruby, my widdle cinnamon roll baby, is left unpaired for a reason. I want to show that platonic/friendship love is just as wonderful and powerful. There’s a saying ‘lovers come and go, but friends are for life’, and that’s exactly what Yoshiko and Hanamaru meant for Ruby, and vice versa. Now, while I’m on this, I have a confession about Ruby’s fate. After the concept arts were drawn and uploaded, I was finalizing the details of the three Arcs before I toss the first chapter onto tumblr. The end of ch19 is definitely one of the biggest climax of the story - Ruby ended up being Yohane’s target instead of Dia. Originally, uh, yeah, Ruby is supposed to die because her wounds were too much. Regular healing spells do not work on sectumsempra, only a special counter-Curse could reverse the effects. I tried very hard to find a way around it to save her. I don’t want my baby to die, any of them really, and she still have so much ahead of her. Fortunately, I was able to save her through Yoshiko/Yohane which, in turn, saved this raven-haired girl as well. I was able to continue working backwards on finalizing the Arcs and individual chapters with a peaceful state of mind.

‘Yoshiko’, as in the one who’s been narrating the story from ch1-20, still died in a way, but at least I was able to change the story from Bad End to True End (?). True End is the ch21 I uploaded. Bad End route would have Ruby dead, Yoshiko gone and ch21 would turn out completely different. A Happy End would be Yoshiko the Narrator miraculously alive and the others not having scars or still recovering, but I just find that too unrealistic. I’ve minimized the, uh, damage enough as it is, given the circumstances. J.K. Rowling did go on a killing spree in Book7 but come on, with a psychotic maniac like Voldemort and all those magical spells, you can easily kill people. You don’t need Avada Kedavra to kill someone, a sudden Diffindo or Reducto is enough. I’ve chosen my sacrifice and one is too many already. And speaking of sacrifice, let me talk a bit about Riko and why she was the ‘first victim’. Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare. Even though this story was outlined even before the First Live, this song already stands out to me from the anime, a song where the 8 of them sang in Riko’s absence but her spirit is still with them. And so, I sort of portrayed that the way it is in this story. Even though Riko didn’t get any lines from ch12 onward until ch20, her role remains significant and is the pivotal point for the remainder of Arc2 and Arc3. In terms of the plot, I’ve followed my outline quite closely. All the core points remained unchanged as I write out the chapters, though how I write a chapter (ie the wording, the extra little details, and actual professor dialogues instead of just narration) did change as I go along, influenced by more of the official content. Facts about characters that are only revealed in Season2 or other media such as SIF etc were not incorporated into this story (for example, Kanan being afraid of ghosts and height). As I mentioned in an older post about wands, I would have chosen phoenix feather for Ruby’s wand core had I known about the Duo-Trio results. The Kazuno sisters would have been incorporated into the story alas, back then, very little was known about Saint Snow in Season1 of the anime. Yes… season2 was finished and, like, a total of 15 live performances have happened between the creation and the completion of this story LOL Back to the plot. Seven is said to be a magical number in the HP verse and that’s why each Arc has 7 chapters. Arc 1 is the Intro, Arc 2 is the turning point, Arc 3 is the climax and the resolution. Sounds easy and straightforward so I thought I would’ve finished the story within a year. Well. It ended up almost taking two years lmao. Obligations IRL aside, new ideas, more AUs, more fanarts etc also make sticking to the update schedule difficult. It’s the worst when it comes to writer’s block – you have the outlines, you know what’s supposed to happen in a chapter, yet the words just aren’t flowing and you’re stuck. Thankfully, with you lovely readers giving the feedback and encouragement I need, I made it over each bump on the road to get to the finale. Hanamaru wrote most of this story, yes. Each chapter titles with exception of Ruby’s interlude and ch18-19 also showed up in ch21. The title of the ‘book’ is supposed to be revealed in the Epilogue but, since I had to upload it onto Fanfiction.Net, I can’t just call it LLSHP AU so I had to reveal “Yoshiko Tsushima and the Fallen Angel” right away. Back then I called this a temporary title because I did think about giving this story an alternate title, since she didn’t write the interludes, ch21 and the epilogue. However, at the end of the day, this still suits the story best. After all, the individual titles for ch21 and the epilogue make up the story’s title.

“Yoshiko has always known that she isn't normal like everyone else. Surely, she would master everything about magic at Hogwarts, and become the amazing fallen angel she's meant to be. Little did she know, her school year would be more than eventful as she makes great friends, uncovers secrets, and learns what it truly means to be Yohane.” - this is the summary I put on Fanfiction.Net. It speaks from both Yoshiko the Narrator’s perspective, and Yoshiko from the Epilogue’s perspective. It probably sounds confusing but I hope you understand what I mean. So, what’s next? I’ve invested a lot in this world of LLSHP AU already and there are still so many more possibilities, especially with the rather open ending both ch21 and the epilogue presents, so I’m definitely not done with this AU! Since I have the memory of a goldfish, I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned this but the prequel will be told mostly in Mari’s POV. It will have occasional Dia and Kanan POVs too (because I’m a shameless 3yrs-oshi and writer privilege); Rather than taking forever to write and cramping the scenes into a massive interlude chapters, I’ve decided to split it in shorter chapters - this will roughly be a 12-part story that took place before the main story, showcasing segments of the kanadiamari’s first 3 years at Hogwarts.

This prequel is… relatively normal and lighter compared to the main story, meaning it’s more school-oriented and more slice-of-life episodes for the most part (at least, that’s the outline), and much more Professor cameos. There will be more N-card girls to be showcased as well, such as kanadiamari’s Housemates and Quidditch teammates. Overall, it’ll be shiny °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° There will not be a full sequel to the main story. Instead, there will be blips/drabbles about events that happen after the main story, as teased in the Epilogue - the TriWizard Tournament for one XD And, unlike the main story, the ideas for blips in this sequel-timeline are more vague, so I’ll be able to incorporate new content into it (as in, from official content 2017 onward such as proper characterization of Saint Snow).

There are plans for omake/filler fun blips as well - little incidents that happened throughout the main story or, rather, ‘excerpts’ that Hanamaru wrote but didn’t make it to the final version of her book. The first Halloween, more scenes with the Professors, birthdays and so on.

There are also plans for character-exclusive blips as well, similar to an Interlude. For example, DiaRiko’s ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) cough cough.

My tentative plan is to keep going with the prequel, and maybe every few chapter or so I’d write a sequel-timeline blip. I’ll see how my muse and inspiration is in the future, I’m already extremely satisfied that I finished the main story XD And I do want to work on some of my other existing AUs (ie Animus AU and Mafia AU just because I’ve already invested time in creating the concept arts and so I don’t want them to sink into oblivion…) or who knows, there might be new AUs. I mean, pretty much every new SIF set is enough to inspire a brand new AU please allow me a moment to giggle like the trash I am over the DiaRiko UR set *pterodactyl screech*

AHEM. Another thing is illustration/artworks. Since most of my time was spent on writing, there are much fewer artworks than I would’ve liked for this story. I think I mentioned this somewhere that I’d love to have an individual cover art for each chapter alas, no time at all DX I’d like to have at least one illustration per chapter too but OTL I can only pick one and so for this AU I chose writing over drawing. Cry.

Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough and I think I’ve talked about everything I want to get off my chest. If you have any questions/feedback, go ahead and fire’em at me, since I’m now able to answer anything without fear of spoilers now XD (unless your question is about the prequel or things that happen in the sequel-timeline)

Thanks for reading the whole thing and, ofc, staying with me until the end of this story!

#LLSHP AU #athyra rambles #really just athyra blabbering #this thing is almost 3k #at least it's shorter than the Patronus Ramble lmao #but yeah I think that's everything #all that's left are the fun times with the prequel and blips #makings-of #I feel accomplished to have come this far #it really has been an amazing journey #yeah I think that's everything I want to say #it's not like this is the end-end... #prequel and other stuff