Quick translations of comments from new characters!
Czech : Sumire Morohoshi I am very happy to be able to participate in this work, as role of “Czech” is very new to me and was excited and wondering how the character will develop. There are some conversations which makes you giggle, and Czech’s simplemindedness and cuteness is very attractive, which made me want to enjoy doing the role.
Slovakia: Yusuke Kobayashi I am the voice actor for Slovakia. I am not good with history but by I enjoy learning history while recording voices of country’s history lol. He is close to Czech especially! I will be voicing the two’s relationships that makes you smile so funnily and cutely, please look forward to the anime!
Portugal : Yuichirou Umehara I am very honored to be able to voice Portugal in the anime “Hetalia World★Stars” Though there is some difficulties with Kansai-Dialect, I enjoyed the role. I though that I wanted do more with interactions with Spain who they look like but have different personalities. Please to meet you.
This time I spent in Thailand was nothing short but amazing. This was my second time going and I absolutely loved it even more. I had a ton of more time in the country so I spent a lot of it just roaming around and just relaxing and soaking the sun.
The first 5ish days were hectic. Flew into Bangkok and from there flew to Koh Tao where we took our scuba diving courses. Quite a challenging yet rewarding experience for I am not a great swimmer nor am I comfortable with the deep water so I feel like with this experience, I really pushed myself beyond the boundaries of what I was capable of doing and it has opened my eyes to yet more a world out there of something different. And what made it fun was that we met up with my friend’s friend whose from the states but is currently traveling around the world and doing a lot of freelancing work. But not too long after, she found a love for Koh Tao and found a job as a Yoga Instructor. You go girl! So happy for her. Wishing her all but the very best.
From Koh Tao, we took a ferry to Koh Samui. And in Samui, it rained the entire time. Like the entire time. It wasn’t hard rain, but moreso little drops. The island is much bigger than Koh Tao, a bit more laid back. There’s not too much to do for things are quite spread out, but it was still nice. When I travel, I enjoy walking around and just seeing the spots hoping I run into a hidden gem. I like to have places that I want to go but I also don’t mind exploring on my own for a lot of expected things can come up and turn out fun.
Flew north to Chiang Mai. And before we get to Chiang Mai, can we talk about the Koh Samui Airport!!! Because its on an island, I guess half of the airport is inside but mostly its outside. Its looks almost like an indoor mall, but its outside. There’s a ton of storefront shops you can visit and they also have these platforms you can sit under for shade (well needed for it was raining pretty hard) and they knew I didn’t eat. The airport provides free snacks, yes FREE snacks. I was soo happy. You don’t understand how hungry I was. They had a few thai snacks that I wasn’t familiar with, but they had this ham sandwich, some juice, and water. I was in heaven.
I went solo in Chiang Mai, but it was awesome for I was on my own, I can do what I want, when I want and no one to hold me back. The city itself was super neat. Tons and tons of temples, lots of bomb ass food (per usual) and tons of great things to offer. There, I got to take care of elephants which was a very cool expereince. Elephants are pretty smart and they eat a lot! The younger kins were so playful esp when it came to bathing in the water. It was so cute. They all had some interesting personalities. I think it would be cool to volunteer for a few weeks hanging with elephants. Definitely gonna look into that in the future. I also ran into these two women from Las Vegas from this cheap city tour I went on. They were so sweet and down to earth. I really enjoyed them so much that I hung with them on the next day. We went to a night market and tried local Thai wine. It tasted pretty good. Students from the local university make the wine (amazing) and I believe each glass was like 50 baht (a dollar y’all). I was in heaven.
We flew to Singapore in which also rained the entire time we were there. We still had a nice time. WE had a very lavish dinner at a buffet in a hotel in the Sentosa area. Then went out to a club that we thought that it was Hip-Hop but just another shitty EDM club. Missed the countdown for i was too busy in the bathroom but you know, we still had a good time. Even though it was raining, it was crowded. There were tons of people out and my feet were killing me (damn you heels). Taking a taxi was impossible so we took a bus back to our hotel. It was crazy.
The following day, we went out to downtown area to the Marina by the bay where they have that amazing green lavish garden. Then, we went shopping and my friend was going ham in the beauty section for the items sold in Singapore are much cheaper than back home. And you know what’s crazy, from there we walked from downtown to our Airbnb in Geyland. 45ish minute walk (which I don’t mind). It was dark, yet nice and quiet and the weather was amazing.
Flew back to Bangkok where we ended our trip by meeting my friends that I met in China from my A+1班 class at Fudan. We had such an amazing time. Bittersweet moment and my friend really liked them. I was so scared that she wasn’t gonna click with them or say something crazy but man it was a good time! We had these amazing cakes, reminisced about our times in China, we even talked about bitcoin and the future of currency and investing along with lots of good laughs.
A small smile formed again when he squeezed her hand. It sent so many mixed feelings through her. She squeezed back again and lets her hand stay in his. She planned on getting him exactly what he wanted.
She nearly panics when she sees the difference with Ossis at the question. She was practically kicking herself and moved closer to him without thinking about it. The bright energy had faded from him and that terrified her more than him forgetting her.
She leaned over his bed, other hand pressing against his cheek. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” Her exhaustion began to show through her actions and facade once more. She was nervous about his reaction to the closeness. “I’m glad I’m not so forgettable at least…”
Anvivia was physically relieved at his response and leaned down to rest her forehead against his, if they would allow it. She never wanted to leave his side, even if they didn’t know it.
It was not a gesture they had expected. It’s not the gesture in itself that they even register as the intimate show of closeness as it was, no, but it’s rather the touch. A real touch of something corporeal. Something that gently asks them to return back to the world but without any strings of threat or violence. It was strange and somewhat new. And Ossis has never feared anything new and unknown.
Sapphire blue eyes blinks back to the present, back to Anvivia. The smile relaxed. There’s a brief flash of uncertainty in those eyes to her words before the pieces fell into to place.
His hand grips over the white gloved one, and his eyes closed as the two foreheads connected. Anchored. Close to shore. It’s warm and light and they feel bright and secure.
“True,” there’s a hint of a small chuckle under their breath, “you are not one would with ease forget even if they put effort behind it. However…” Voice trailing. Keeping their eyes closed in this close encounter, doing nothing to step away from it. “I am afraid you are mistaken. You were there. I was simply… not fast enough. I am with no doubt in my heart that you did your best to catch me.”
At least, he liked to think so. It was a comforting notion to him, the idea that Francis de Clair, from somewhere up above, was looking down the clouds, watching over his beloved daughter with pride. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, honestly, but there was just something touching at the thought, that someone could be looking out for you simply because they love you, even if you yourself might not even be aware of it.
“I-I think he is,” Randall reaffirmed with a little nod, as he glanced over to Emily. “Th-That he’s…he’s watching over you, I…I think he would, j-just based on what you’ve told me. And…And I like to think th-that, as he does, he’s…h-he’s so proud of you, honestly. I…I can only imagine what he’d say were he here now, k-knowing that you’re about to play Elissa in Hannibal…”
How joyous would he be to know that his daughter was about to make her grand debut on the stage, in an opera as sweeping and beautiful as Hannibal? He could just envision the smile that would surely be on his face, the grin, no less, knowing that Emily was about to take the opera world by storm, how excited he would be for her, how delighted he would be to sit in the audience, and watch his daughter give the performance of a lifetime.
(Honestly, were Mr. de Clair still with them, Randall would gladly forsake his seat in Box Five; he deserved the best seat in the house to watch his daughter perform.)
“I…I have a feeling he’ll be there, on opening night,” he said with a shy little smile. “E-Even if we don’t see him, he’ll be there, I-I think.”
To Emily’s chagrin, Randall’s words stirred something in her heart, causing her to tear up: there was something so touching about the notion of her late father watching over her, especially when it came to her upcoming Hannibaldebut.
As quickly as her tears started to fall; she reached up to wipe them away, not wishing for Randall to see her cry. Ultimately, this action proved to be in vain, and thus she resolved to turn her head away in an effort to conceal her tears.
“Thank you,” she croaked, her hand slightly trembling as she reached up to brush away her tears once more. “You…you have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”
Emily hoped that he was right, that her beloved father would be watching her first performance as Elissa, and that he’d be proud of her, wherever he was. Everything she did, she did for him, and she could only hope that it wasn’t in vain.
At first, a wave of guilt struck Randall, and he immediately winced, feeling like a total heel: Here he was, trying to make her feel better, to comfort her, to lift her spirits, and all he’d done instead was make her cry! Behind the mask, he cringed at himself, feeling absolutely awful as he reached into his breast pocket for his handkerchief.
“I-I’m sorry, I-I really am,” he began, fishing out said handkerchief and offering it to her, only to pause when, through the tears, she thanked him. This made him pause for a moment as he listened, taking in for a long moment what it meant for her, for him to say that, how it had touched her heart so deeply, the thought of her father watching, out of sight but still present. Knowing he hadn’t totally upset her soothed Randall, and he instead offered her a warm smile.
“I…y-you’re very welcome, E-Emily,” he managed to say, still offering the handkerchief to her, even as his own eyes were beginning to well up with tears, moved by it all. As much as he envied Emily for having had such a loving father growing up, he didn’t let that stop him from feeling happy for her, and he was glad to know that the idea of him being there, even in spirit, was such a comforting one for her.
Sheepishly, Emily reached out and grasped the handkerchief that she saw Randall offering her from the corner of her eye, uttering a quiet “thank you” before quickly dabbing at her eyes as she walked.
How humiliating it felt, having Randall see her cry: she knew he didn’t judge her for it, that he didn’t think any lesser of her, but she still hated for him to see her so weak. She loathed having anyone see her cry, especially for such a trivial reason as the memory of her father, and Randall seeing her in such a state didn’t make it any more tolerable.
Not only that, but his life experiences had been so much more sorrowful than hers: what gave her the right to shed tears when her pain was nothing compared to his? It almost felt to Emily that she was making a mockery of Randall’s hardships somehow by letting her father’s memory send tears rolling down her face. How dare she cry when her life had been so merciful compared to this?
“I…I’m sorry,” she appologized, voice meek as she continued to dab her eyes, face still turned away. “I shouldn’t be crying: I have nothing to cry about.”
“Nothing to cry about…?”
Of course she had something to cry about, she had lost her father, for heaven’s sake! She had lost him all too recently, and Randall knew she was still reeling from it-and why wouldn’t she? He was all she had for so much of her life; if he had been so fortunate as to have as loving a father as Francis de Clair, he too would be utterly gutted over such a loss too.
“P-Please, don’t apologize,” he insisted gently, unsure of what he should do to try and comfort Emily: Should he reach out and touch her? Should he hug her? Pat her shoulder? He briefly cast his gaze down at his hands, and being reminded of how bony and cold and unpleasant they were, he decided to keep them to himself, instead saying gently, “I-It’s okay to cry, r-really! y-You have every right t-to…”
All she ever wanted to do was to make her father proud, and coming to the opera and worked her hardest was her way of trying to do so, throwing herself into every role she was given with gusto, even if it was merely a chorus part. She wanted to do right by her father, to show him how far she’d come after he’d passed, and Randall both knew and appreciated that, just as much as he understood the mourning she still felt in her heart. As much as he hated to see her so upset, he understood, and felt he shouldn’t stop her from letting it all out.
“I-It’s okay to cry,” he reasserted, wincing a little when he said this: It reminded him, for a moment, of the ringmaster banging on his cage, insisting demons like him didn’t cry and that he needed to wipe away those tears before the show began…
…but he tried not to trouble himself with these memories: It was Emily he needed to focus on now, not himself.
❝ I see. If that is the case, then I will do my best to finish it. There was no such thing where I came from. But if that is the case, I take it there are other uncommon brands many have not heard of? ❞
“Oh, thank you then. Wasting tea would be unbecoming… Ah, I work at two cafes, but my former home didn’t have any of those at all. Unless you count tea-houses. I’m familiar with both green and black tea, though I now know how to brew white tea, too. It’s supposed to help your heart in the long run.“
