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Next chapter of my roommate fic is up on ao3

In which a wild Kaoruko appears. Oh no.

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So I’ve heard it’s kiss day in Japan today and totally drew this for this occasion :>

Kiiiiith

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And here we go, more art for my fic “Not a date”. Read the final chapter now on ao3.

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First drawing of 2022 is mayakuro, which is probably a surprise to no one.

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Guess who decided to write and draw a small mayakuro Christmas thing just a few days ago?

Happy holidays everyone!

Read about Maya being insufferable on their Christmas date on ao3

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Have some christmas mayakuro

A/N: This was written for @vhalesa wee! The trope for this one is when a person who can literally do anything can’t do the simplest task. Uh… Perfectly Capable person can’t do supposedly basic task.

Sorry for the lack of updates/ writing lately. Been busy. Very. I need sleep. School hard, MayaKuro wonderful.

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

It was a menial task, something that required so little effort, and even less skill.

-That was how it was supposed to be.

Maya could just feel how her ears burned as she tried to keep a passive expression on her face while her nails slowly took on an orange tint as she continually tried (and failed) to open a single, simple… orange.

She could just hear Claudine hold back her giggles, actually feeling bad for Maya and her pride for once. It only made her feel even more ashamed.

She should just outright laugh if she wanted to!

Maya grumbled, pushing her nails into the skin, and cursed aloud (a surprise that rendered Karen speechless as she stared at Maya with wide eyes) when a small amount of juice squirted into her eye.

Maya grit her teeth, muttering her angry woes into her hands as she covered her face, unable to open her eyes.

Just as she lamented her terrible luck, she felt strong, gentle arms help her up, guiding her to walk across the room to where Maya found out to be the sink.

She heard the faucet twist, releasing a steady stream of water into the basin. Soon, careful hands assisted her in bringing water to her eyes to rinse them, relieving her of the burning feeling.

As the discomfort soon waned, Maya blinked away the few remaining tears, sighing happily as they were swiped away by the soft pads of Claudine’s thumbs.

She knew it could only be her. Her scent, her touch, her gentleness were far too familiar for Maya not to figure it out.

“I told you you should have just let me do it for you.”

Even her teasing tone of voice.

“I can peel oranges myself, Ma Claudine.” Maya whined, wiping her face dry with the towel handed to her.

She was greeted with a smirk, and she scrunched her brows in annoyance, sighing as she unwillingly admitted defeat.

“But maybe… today can be an exception.” She relented.

Claudine gave her a happy giggle, one that sent butterflies through her stomach.

She watched as the girl placed a piece of orange between her lips before leaning in close, daring Maya to take it.

“Really?”

Claudine simply shrugged.

Maya didn’t think she could be teased like this, but maybe she was just weak to Claudine.

But two could play at that game.

Taking the other end of the orange between her lips, she pushed forward, leading their tangy little kiss, and leaving Claudine flustered and breathless.

At least she won again.

Grinning, Maya closed in once more, brushing her nose against Claudine.

“Shall we have another? Ma Claudine?”

She loved the way Claudine huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance, but nodded nonetheless.

“You insufferable-”

“NO BEING GAY IN MY CHRISTIAN KITCHEN!”

The pair burst into a fit of laughter at the sound of Junna’s frustrated voice.

Maybe they should do this some other time.

“I mean it!”

Taking Claudine’s hand, Maya led her back to the living room, plucking a fresh orange from the counter they passed by. Winking at Claudine, she handed the fruit, sharing a small laugh with her girlfriend as they settled down with the rest of their friends.

“Keep it SFW too.” Junna warned, to which both shrugged.

“Okay~”

A/N: Happy Birthday Leoooooooo

I KNOW I’M OVER A MONTH LATE I’M SORRY ;-;

MAKING IT A TWO(?)-SHOT SO THAT CONGRATS ON YOUR GRADES TOO YEY! (Also because It was getting too damn long)

k. that’s all from me. Sorry for the meh quality and sorry in advance for all the mistakes and plotholes. I’m getting rusty. Forgotten how to write.

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

[Okay, how about a Mayakuro “remake” of seeping beauty? Where Claudine is all like “Tendo Maya give me that sword, I can do this shit myself” and wasn’t in a coma like sleep but that it was just a rumour or something. …she’d be so confused for a minute, no one told her that the princess would have that much of an attitude.]-Was the request, hihi.

“Sleeping Beau-”

“A princess… in a tower, oh so far away from me. This dear princess, deep in slumber, oh how much I long to see…”

“… Is this because you want to use her as reference for your new play?” A certain brunette mumbled through a mouthful of food she’d managed to smuggle in while on duty.

“Dame Aijo… It’s not like that.”

“I thought I heard you ask that vendor girl earlier for the location because you had plans to visit.”

“Shut up, Karen!” The bespectacled playwright frowned, scribbling down her latest line. “And how do you even know about that?” Junna narrowed her eyes at the knight who merely shrugged. Junna clicked her tongue, turning back to her sheets of paper. “I’m just a little curious, is all!” She defended, mumbling incoherent complaints to herself.

“But Miss Junna, the last time you used actual people as references for your script, you got scolded by Hikari.” Karen reminded, resting her head in her palm as she watched Junna jot down more lines, more notes for her newest work.

“Th-that was only because she didn’t like how I stared at you or Mahiru for too long! I couldn’t help it! I have to study my subjects intently to fully grasp their characters and way of life, and embody-” She was going off on a tangent, and Karen couldn’t help but giggle.

“So you are thinking of her as a reference.” Karen grinned smugly.

“Karen!”

“Now, now. What’s all the fuss about?” A voice called from the other side of the room, catching the occupant’s attention. The pair froze in place, minds registering the identity of the newcomer.

“Your highness!” Junna greeted first, immediately straightening up as she and Karen offered their respects in deep bows to the tall figure, regal and proud, stood at the doorway of the study.

The Royal Princess, Tendou Maya, in her full glory, sauntered into the room, not forgetting to shut the door behind her, before taking a seat on Junna’s desk- much to the latter’s chagrin- and immediately destroyed her image of poise and elegance as she hid behind closed doors.

“Finally.” Maya sighed, gazing out at Junna’s balcony, seeing the bright blue sky and the rustles of trees as the wind’s whistling was heard through open windows. “I thought they’d never end.” She huffed, jumping back onto her feet as she walked about the room.

“Princess, what are you doing here?” Junna addressed their new companion once more, surprised at the sudden visit. Usually Maya would inform her beforehand if she was planning on dropping by. “Did you run away from more noble meetings?”

Maya smiled at her in an amused manner that had Junna feeling a little irritated. “Can’t a student come see her Tutor at any given time should she have any queries in mind?” Maya asked sweetly, picking up a random book from a nearby shelf and flipping through its pages.

Junna stared, trying to read the woman’s expression and actions. She couldn’t. Groaning, Junna replied, “First of all, you are no longer my student. You’ve learned all you’ve needed to from me, finished all your course work two years ago. Secondly, do you even have anything to ask that I can answer that you don’t already know?”

Maya kept smiling at her mysteriously. “How are you?- is a valid question that you can answer and I don’t already know?”

“Don’t be cheeky, Your highness.” Junna rolled her eyes, getting back to her script on her desk.

“My, the genius scholar, the Kingdom’s royal tutor, can’t answer one of the simplest questions?” Maya faux-gasped. “Whatever shall we do? Find a new one?” She continued to tease.

Junna frowned, feeling a headache coming on. “Maya, you really don’t want me to dive into a long discussion on how that question could actually be one of the most difficult to answer.”

As if to remind the pair of her presence, Karen agreed enthusiastically, nodding her head at the same time. “You wouldn’t want to get bored, your highness. One time, Miss Junna tried to explain to me why I could buy five sacks of rice in the next town over for the price of only three in the capital, and I still don’t get it.” She chuckled sheepishly, scratching her head in confusion.

“Um, Dame Aijo, that’s a little different. You might be somewhat slow-”

“Oh, how interesting!” Maya clapped, playing along with Karen. Turning to Junna who had just flinched, she directed another question. “How can that be, teacher?” She asked innocently.

Junna grimaced, really not up to the task of having to play Maya’s little games today. Regaining her composure, Junna cleared her throat. “Okay, for what purpose have you actually come to see me, Princess?” She asked, hoping for a reasonable answer.

“To see my good old friend and catch up on life?” Maya tried.

Junna deadpanned. “Like hell that’s true. You haven’t visited me in three months. Each time you’ve visited before that, it was to either ask me to hide you from marriage interviews, sneak into a play, escape whatever duties you found tedious, or snack on baumkuchen secretly with Karen over here.”

“Baumkuchen is good for the soul.”

“Not for your figure.” Though she said that, Junna frowned as she remembered the time she was chewed out by the etiquette tutor for allowing Maya to eat ‘junk’ outside of mealtime; allowed her to eat more than her designated and controlled portions.

Despite knowing how nobles liked to keep up appearances, Junna hardly found it necessary to impose such a diet on the princess with how active she was anyway. Also, as someone with lists and lists of responsibilities to cater throughout the day, she worried if it was even enough, what they fed the poor girl.

What if she simply collapsed one day?

“You don’t mean that.” Maya smirked at her, propping up her face in her hands on Junna’s desk.

Junna’s frown deepened. A splash of color appeared on her face that she quickly hid behind her manuscript. “I suppose not.” She admitted quietly.

Maya laughed freely, stepping back to allow her friend some breathing room. She went over to Karen to strike up some more amusing conversation maybe.

“So what kind of whimsical fairy tale has Miss Junna tried to string together this time?” She asked Karen.

Junna choked on air as she turned to glare at the cause of her stress today. “Why would you like to know?”

If the princess claimed she wanted to take part in another one of her productions, Junna would have to discourage her from doing so. She used to be pleased to have Maya on board, sometimes even pleading her because of her talent and potential for the stage- she was very clearly loved by its goddess. However, Junna had quickly learned that a Royal should not be placed under that kind of spotlight.

They were already on a high enough pedestal that was better tailored to people of their caliber; worlds and worlds beyond even the most talented actors, the brightest stars.

When His Majesty’s second wife,  the queen consort, had heard of these activities, she had hounded Junna, and her fiance Nana- the director and owner of the theater- to cease any production that would ‘taint’ the Royal Princess’s image and only serve as distraction from her duties that were of greater significance.

Such as trying to succeed the throne.

It wasn’t only for her sake that she had to turn Maya away from the stage that called to her like a siren from the sea. It would be better for that sailor to keep away and stay alive all together. After all, mermaids were temptingly beautiful, but they devoured the life of those drawn to them.

So would it be for Tendou Maya.

“There’s just been this rumor circling about, princess.” Junna heard Karen begin, looking over at the pair who shared amicable smiles as they conversed.

Should she halt this topic?

“And this rumor is…?”

“Oh, just how there’s this weird, abandoned, palace-like thingy in the forest just by the border to that terrible west kingdom.”

Junna watched as Maya seemed to perk up, not liking the interest that was apparent on her face.

“They say there’s a princess there!”

“My! A princess!”

“They said she’s been sleeping there for a while!” Karen continued to share without much thought, Maya nodding enthusiastically and clinging onto every word. An action Junna did not like. “And that she’ll never wake up. Poor princess. Can’t they bring her to a clinic or something?”

“Ohoh? I suppose that would be the usual course of action.” Maya replied, going along with Karen’s storytelling. “What else do you know?” Maya asked, hoping to fish out some more information, no doubt.

Junna had to stop her already burning hunger from getting even bigger.

“Nothing else that you should hear of.” She cut the conversation off with a tap of her pen. “Anyway, it’s all just a rumor.” Junna stated. “It’s not as though there is proof of an actual structure suddenly being there in the western forests, nor is there any certainty about a princess residing in deep slumber there.”

Maya flashed her an evil grin, walking over to her table again, standing right in front of her once more.

“But there isn’t any proof that it doesn’t exist either, right?” She whispered to Junna with a glint in her eyes that only spelled trouble.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, Maya. The kingdom will absolutely have my head if they learn that I’ve somehow placed ideas in yours.” She sighed, rolling up her papers and smacking Maya on the head lightly. The princess simply laughed in amusement.

“Worry not, my good friend. I’ve taken your kind words into consideration.”

Junna stared at her, still skeptical. Knowing Maya, ‘consideration’ was just that. Consideration. And, most likely, Maya was considering going against Junna’s warning.

Really, she could only hope for the best, and pray that Maya wouldn’t do whatever her pretty little head had clearly already planned.

‘No, no.’ Junna shook her head. She should trust Maya. She was an adult, responsible, and a royal. She knew her duties, and she knew what was right. Maya was an intelligent woman. She wouldn’t just thoughtlessly go out in search of the existence of some baseless tale. Yes. Junna shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She looked over at the princess still casually conversing with Karen, all cheers and smiles coming from the pair. The knight continued to entertain Maya with more and more trivial details regarding the stories of that hidden castle in the woods, and the shine in Maya’s eyes that Junna usually associated with her excitement and craving for adventure only became brighter and brighter.

This was worrisome.

Junna bit her lip, anxiety growing more and more as she tried to convince herself that everything would be just fine.

Okay, okay. Even if Maya would, hypothetically, try to go off in search of this ‘mystery princess’, there were many guards posted about the castle anyway.

She couldn’t escape and do anything, right?

No, in the first place, she wouldn’t do anything. Right?

Right?

//-//-//-//-//

She shouldn’t be doing this. She knows it deep down.

Should her parents catch wind of her plans, she could either be disowned or forever locked away in her owntower.

Regardless, these threats of consequence could not hope to quell her hungered curiosity. Maya couldn’t sit still after hearing such a tale- an adventure outside the walls of the palace. One that was much like the stories she had only ‘played’ thus far.

This time, it was real.

And so did the princess sneak out into the dead of the night.

“Come now, Samson.” A lone horse’s whinny shook the silent air, Maya feeling her heart pound at the thrill of game she had begun to play. A game of life. “Shhhh. Be silent, my boy. We must be discreet.” She whispered, stroking the silky mane of her stallion, hoping it would soothe him.

It seemed to have worked and Maya sighed in temporary relief.

Looking ahead into the darkness of the courtyard, she surveyed the area ahead in attempts to check for any possible dangers. Finding none, she took one final look behind her to ensure that she was not being followed.

Good. The coast was clear.

Addressing her loyal companion, Maya took the reins and commanded forward. “Shall we?” She smiled as she got a little huff. “Hyah!” She exclaimed, loud enough only for their ears to pick up.

She cantered Samson over the currently-empty courtyard, out the back, having known a secret pathway through the castle gardens to get onto the streets without passing the main gate where guards were usually posted, and rarely left.

She should really advise their knights on how to better their security. People could get in through places besides the gate.

…or people could sneak out.

She could.

But maybe… not now.

Stepping onto the cobblestone pavement, she grinned. So far, so perfect.

Catching sight of the palace gate, she giggled as she saw a guard stretching in the distance, probably yawning from drowsiness during night duty.

Yes, she should indeed talk to her father in the future. Or not.

“Fools.”

//-//

Into the dense forest, they ran. Galloping hooves braving a weather that was somehow stormy. The air and the scenery was somehow eerie. Darkened clouds and thorny paths had so soon greeted them as Maya traversed towards the direction Karen had pointed out.

The location of a hidden tower.

From what Junna and Karen had shared in terms of the rumors they’d heard about it, they said a princess from the neighboring kingdom had been born twenty or so years ago. She had been blessed by three fairies, and cursed by a witch, Maleficent- was her name, apparently.

The girl was to prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and then she’d sleep on death’s bed inevitably.

That was how it had gone.

Maya was a believer in the magic of the world. After all, the members of the royal family were some of the few who had been gifted with its wonder.

She wouldn’t call them miraculous, but she had undeniable strength that far exceeded many of their best male knights, as well as healing abilities that could get rid of smaller cuts, and halt excessive bleeding.

This proved useful as Maya made her way through the thick brush, feeling the sharp of thorns on occasion as she went deeper into the forest.

After a good hour or so of searching, Maya had found herself at the base of what she had presumed was the ‘palace’ from the rumors. Tall-standing and surrounded by thorns, with an eerie air that only added more fearsome layers to its image shrouded in darkness, Maya deliberated continuing on her little adventure.

Should it hold terrors far greater than she had initially accounted for, this curiosity trip would very easily end up with chaos and sorrow in an entire kingdom.

However, should rumors stay as rumors…

Maya laughed at her own foolishness as she dismounted Samson, tying him to a nearby tree.

“Let’s hope I don’t die, my boy.” She stroked her trusted steed as he nuzzled against her hand. “I’ll be back.”

//-//-//-//-//

Another cough exited her mouth, particles of dust shrouding her vision. Clearing away a cobweb with her hand, Maya found the first open door to any room she’s passed by thus far. A long winding stairwell sat inside, steps that snaked their way to the top of a tower invited Maya to take them and uncover the secrets they might lead to.

Maya took one step. Then another. And another.

Half-way to the top, she had found another door. Right away, she knew it was different from all the other wooden entrances she’d encountered so far. Besides the odd glow that seemed to be coming from within, it had an equally strange inscription carved into its wood.

With a light push, the door flew open, revealing a spinning wheel. The glow she had initially taken note of didn’t come from the room, apparently. But neither was it from the spinning wheel itself.

Maya focused her eyes on one part of the machinery, seeing the spindle sparkle alluringly, almost invitingly.

“What a dangerous-looking contraption.” She murmured, stepping closer. Sharp. It was sharp, she observed, the closer she got. “What if… someone got hurt?” In a trance like state, her body continued to close the distance between herself and the seemingly glowing piece of furniture. Her eyes remained fixated on its eerie shine. “…How tragic… would that be…”

Stopping just inches shy of the spindle, Maya’s breath stilled. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, almost as if Maya had forgotten the whole tale she had just been told, her hand lifted up, reaching for the spindle-

…when a creak suddenly caught her attention. As though a spell had been broken, Maya blinked, quickly pulling her hand away and looking up towards the source of the noise. She saw another door, one that was slightly open, leading into more darkness, revealing none of what possibly lay beyond it.

Her heart beat fast at the thought of either being caught by someone from her kingdom, or by an entirely different entity- a monster or ghoul perhaps? Either way, the dangers the options presented was not to her liking.

Still, this did little to douse the fire that was her thrill-seeking curiosity, and thus, she went after it: the dark and beyond.

She took careful steps, pushing the door to widen its opening in hopes that the strange light from the previous room would help to illuminate this new one. The hinged wood budged with an echoing creak, one that made Maya flinch, still wary of alerting any possible inhabitants of the palace.

Upon entering the room, Maya’s eyes fluttered about the dim surrounding, scanning over the surprisingly dusted furnishings, and well-kept room.

How strange.

For a place that supposedly only had a sleeping individual of a few years already, to be this clean… Was this also due to the effects of magic?

Her gaze continued to travel, hopping from one thing to another. She took careful, quiet steps about the room as she surveyed it, searching for a better source of light at the same time.

Coming to a curtained wall, she pulled the fabrics apart, hoping a window was present there. Smiling victoriously at her correct assumption, she allowed the natural evening light to flutter into the room and illuminate it as she turned around to see things more clearly.

And clearly she saw. Eyes widening, they came to rest upon a figure glowing under the elegant light of the moon. A sleeping beauty, resting. The princess of the rumors. Maya gazed upon her face, mind blanking and unable to tear her gaze away.

Her cheeks were somehow still a gorgeous apple-red despite supposedly having lack of nutrition due to her lengthy slumber- should the rumors hold any truth- albeit somewhat hollowed out. She had long lashes, and was fair-skinned. What drew Maya in the most in that moment was the glow of golden hair. Silky, fluffy, seemingly magical.

“Absolutely beautiful.”

Maya, outside of her conscious control, reached out to touch it- much like she’d almost done to the needle before. However, unlike that earlier attraction, this one was… different.

The pull of danger was as a hypnotic, malicious trance. Despite the dread coursing through your veins, the fear pounding in one’s heart, you could not step away. On the other hand, this allure was gentle, soft. She was not as a moth to a flame, nor a sailor to the siren’s song.

This was a hand held out, beckoning her for a life-changing dance as her fate entwined with whoever it was that lay upon satin sheets in an abandoned castle.

Maya flinched once her skin made contact with silken gold, before relaxing, enjoying their soft feel. Holding a few strands that slipped through her fingertips, she brought it to her lips placing a kiss on them.

Her heart beat painfully in her chest, but she did not think it was in any way unpleasant. Her eyes scanned over Sleeping Beauty’s features once more, resting upon slightly paled lips somehow growing larger and larger in her view.

Oh.

Maya had been drawing closer.

And Maya was about to kiss the lady.

Breath stilling in her lungs, Maya pulled her senses together, shaking her head as she berated herself for even consideringsuch a distasteful course of action- throwing herself upon someone without the least bit of consent.

She’d seen many beautiful faces in her lifetime, she’d flirted with some too- much to Junna and her parents’ chagrin. But never had she felt as… captured as she was in this moment; never had Maya been filled with a strong urge to know who this person was, to have the pleasure of being acquainted with someone such as this.

She had never felt the desire to steal a kiss from someone she’d just met, and hoped that maybe… they’d kiss back.

Eyes widening, Maya slapped her hands against both sides of her face; the feeling of the warmth of her cheeks grounded her back in the reality of the moment as she attempted to take a step back and recollect herself-

And suddenly she found herself looking up at the ceiling and into precious garnets with a flame-like passion burning within them as she was pinned down to the mattress by their glare and their owner’s physical strength.

A lovely owner, might she add.

“Who. Are.  You.”

Maya blinked.

‘Even her voice is lovely.’-She thought, despite the venom in its tone. Whether Maya’s heart was picking up speed due to fright or something else, she didn’t know. Her mind was a jumbled mess of being dumbfounded and starstruck at the beauty presented to her, her subconscious’ warnings that she was currently in danger, and confusion towards this predicament she had found herself in.

“Isaid,Who are you.”Maya’s fair lady repeated, shaking her by the collar for emphasis that she was not to be joked with, and that Maya should answer seriously if she wanted to make it out of this situation in one piece.

Did she, however?

Maya wondered if she had some sort of odd preferences deep down that despite her apprehensions and surprise, she couldn’t help but feel merry and excited in her position, laying beneath some unknown gorgeous woman who was angered and threatening.

She couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face as she replied, “Why, I’m Maya. And you?” She hoped it at least looked charming, like the one she usually used on all the pretty village girls as their faces soon turned red and flustered.

She didn’t expect to get a growl instead… or should she have?

“Are you one of her servants?” The blonde interrogated, not answering Maya’s own question as she searched Maya’s eyes for any motives of deception and dishonesty.

“Her?” Maya cocked her head to the side curiously. “Who might you be referring to, my dear?” She asked, somehow still hoping to charm or tease the woman with a subtle pet name that only went ignored.

Golden brows scrunched up further, fangs baring more obviously for Maya to admire as the woman answered her question. “Maleficent, obviously!”

“Maleficent?” Now where had Maya heard of that before…

Apparently, this strange beauty had taken it upon herself to fill Maya in on the details, as she released her from her grip, pushing her away and onto the sheets as she got up to pace the room in clear vexation and rage from just the thought of whoever this ‘Maleficent’ person was. Just her name was enough to rile her up, it seemed, and Maya’s suspicious and intruding presence was now quickly forgotten as her newly-awakened companion went off on a raged rant.

“She who has locked me up for who knows how long. With the silly prophesy that I’d prick my finger on a spindle and fall asleep for many years.” She explained, pausing in her steps to give Maya a look. “That one.”

Maya still didn’t quite follow. It all did sound so familiar.

“I beg your pardon?”

The lady didn’t seem to have heard Maya as she continued on her fiery tirade. “Who in their right mind, when being told the exact misfortune that would serve as their demise, go with it? Certainly not I!”

“I see…?” Maya had now assumed a more comfortable sitting position atop the room’s mattress, watching the woman in front of her continue to grumble and pace about.

“Avoiding that damned curse was nothing of a challenge- it was trivial, even.” She sighed, biting her nail in annoyance. “But there’s an entirely different issue at hand!” She exclaimed, stomping her foot down as she crossed her arms and looked to Maya, as if asking her to tell her what it was.

Maya had no clue whatsoever.

She heard her companion click her tongue in disappointment at the lack of response, and that somehow stung for Maya.

Maya was quickly enlightened once more by the things she had no clue about.

“I can’t leave the building for some reason. Each time I’ve tried, it was as though I’d entered a never-ending maze.” She huffed. “And even if I got passed that, I’ve discovered that she sends a dragon to check up on me from time to time. The timing is sporadic so I can’t even plan a definite schedule of escape. Maybe if I had my sword, though…” She mumbled the last bits to herself. “Maybe it would be a different story.”

Maya watched the troubled girl continue with her mental acrobatics and murmuring, still bewildered by the sudden outburst of emotions and quickly growing pile of information that she was still trying to process bit by bit. She reviewed the story she had heard in her memory to the best of her abilities, somehow feeling that something was off with the tale she had just been told.

Something clicked, and she snapped her fingers in realization, as she got up from her seat and walked over to the perplexed lady.

“Excuse me-”

“What.” The response was biting and cold.

Maya flinched, but prepared an unbothered smile as she tried to strike up a coherent conversation with this girl.

“I’m sorry, but… I just wanted to confirm something.”

The blonde only raised her brow, telling Maya silently to go on.

Maya suddenly felt nervous, and nervous wasn’t really something she thought she was capable of feeling, not with all her background and training. However, under the scrutiny of those intense eyes, she felt her throat dry as she struggled to use her words.“Um, so…” She began, feeling the urge to rub at the back of her neck to ease her sudden anxiety. “You said you couldn’t find a way to leave?” She finally got out lamely.

“Yes, that’s what I said. Weren’t you listening?” Was the fiery response that confirmed Maya’s confusion.

“I… I see.” Maya stuttered. She cursed at the fact that she did. Still, she had to continue on with this conversation in order to understand what was nagging at her. “I see, but…”

“But?”

Maya pointed towards the way she came in, the door still wide open and with that odd glow from the needle in the previous room she’d passed to arrive in this one. “The exit is right there, milady.” She stated slowly, clearly, hoping the other woman would get her message.

“…”

“…milady?”

She received an angered glare, feeling her collar grasped once more as Maya was pulled to meet the woman eye to eye. “What foolishness are you spouting?” She questioned, thrusting a finger in the direction Maya had pointed at. “That is clearly a wall.”

Maya blinked, tilting her head in confusion. No, no. She was clearly not blind, was she? She was sure that she wasn’t dreaming either- that she was in the right state of mind. So why…

Instead of trying to explain things, or understand through words, Maya decided to figure things out the easier way. She pried the other woman’s hands away and made her way towards the door. She felt the heated gaze on her back as she stood in front of the open frame. Looking back once, she nodded.

And she walked right through the door.

Staring at the lady through the passage, she wondered why she wasn’t being followed, why there was no ‘I hadn’t noticed that there’, or any similar words.

All she heard was an awed, “How did you do that?”, and her lagging brain clicked. Oh.

Maya came back in, multiple possibilities and reasons now running through her mind as to why this girl could not see the clearly placed exit. Right, this place was covered in magic. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Maya put on her smile once more, approaching the girl as she took her by the hand and led her closer to the door. “I’m telling you, milady. There’s nothing here.”

She still looked at Maya skeptically, clearly in doubt.

“Milady, do you believe in magic?”

She received a deadpanned look, and she realized it wasn’t the smartest question to ask someone who had been locked up in a tower, guarded by a dragon, and cursed to suffer eternal slumber by the touch of one tiny needle.

“Apologies, of course you do.”

Maya watched the blonde sigh, as she nodded, looking at Maya with a calmer demeanor as she stated what they now thought they both knew. “So there’s a door there, and I simply can’t see it because I’m probably under some type of illusion spell.”

Maya hummed her agreement, and admired the way her companion’s face lit up in relief and a joy she didn’t think she’d ever see replace the grouchy expression that seemed to be forever set in place.

“Well.” Maya’s sleeping beauty smiled at her, unknowingly making her heart skip a beat. Maya wondered what that was about.

“Well?” Maya parroted, clearing her throat after a minor crack in her voice.

“Now that we know that this wall is but an illusion… I guess I feel like a fool for not trying to figure that out any sooner.” The woman laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to look about her room. “I suppose it’s time for me to leave this musty old building and claim my freedom.” She grinned. “I wonder if I can find anything of use here that I can take with me.”

Huh. She was leaving.

Somehow Maya didn’t like the sound of that.

She couldn’t leave. Not when they hadn’t even had a proper conversation yet.

To where would she go? Would it be to a place where Maya could find her, or seek her out? Maya felt compelled to stay with her, or have her stay with Maya. Maybe they could go back to Maya’s kingdom together… and then she could get to know her more. Maya… wanted-needed to get to know her more. Even if she didn’t know why that was herself.

Right, Maya still didn’t know her name. Where was she from? Why was she… Maya needed to ask. Maya needed to know.

Clearing her throat once more, she reached out for the girl.

“So, I was wondering-”

“It was nice knowing you, thank you for showing me the way out.” Were the words that interrupted her plans.

‘Wait, no. Not yet. Where are you going?’

“Now I must be off-”Maya’s panicked hands were too late in catching the girl as she tried to exit the room, “Oof-What the…” but instead found herself hitting a hard barrier and falling onto her back.

Hmm?

“Hmm? What… happened…” Maya asked, quickly kneeling to check on her fallen companion.

The woman rubbed her forehead, a red spot marking the area that probably hurt the most. “That’s what I’m asking.” She quickly turned to glare at Maya, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You.” She angrily spat. “You lied to me.”

“Wha- I did no such thing!” Maya felt compelled to defend herself, getting up from her spot and hastily walking in and out of the doorway, as if that would prove some point. “See?”

“I don’t see!” The blonde exclaimed, crossing her arms as she sat on the floor. “You really are one of Maleficent’s henchmen! What, did she send you here to make a fool of me? Is she watching from somewhere? Is this some kind of sick entertainment for her?” She madly questioned, standing up and jamming a finger into Maya’s chest, forcing her back.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not!” Maya countered, her own volume raising.

“Thenwho are you?!” The woman screeched at her, pinning her against the wall- except that it wasn’t a wall for Maya, and she promptly fell through into the other room and onto the cold hard floor.

“Ouch… that hurt…” Maya groaned as she got up, running her fingers against the back of her head gently to soothe the sharp pain there.

She looked up to see the girl on the other side of the entryway banging her fists against a barrier Maya could not visualize, but the other could not deal away with, apparently.

“Who are you?” She was asked again. “Who are you?! If you aren’t one of those people who have thrown me in here, how did you find me? How did you know of this place? Why are you here?! Tell me!”

Maya silently watched her continue to yell in fury, continually slamming her hands desperately against the ‘open door’.

“Were you here to toy with my sanity? To give me false hope that I’d finally get be able to be free?”

Each question was accentuated by a hard thumping sound as she beat against the wall.

“Did you leave already?! Figures you would! You didn’t eventrytoprove me wrong!”

Maya considered the option of exiting the place, no longer willing to tolerate the manner with which she had been treated the entire time. She considered it.

She considered no longer having to deal with this clearly crazed woman. She did not know what came over her when she thought that she was the least bit attractive.

She considered getting up. She got up.

She considered turning away. Maya did.

She considered finally walking out of the room…

-until she heard it.

The tiniest sniffle, so small she could have missed it if it weren’t for the sudden complete quiet after all the loud noise.

“…I just thought I’d finally be able to find my way home…Wherever home is…”

A pang shot through her heart as she turned back around, eyes falling upon a forlorn face that was quick to be covered in tears. If that wasn’t enough to drive an emotional knife through her chest, the lady beyond the wall began to wail helplessly in what Maya could only describe as pure, unadulterated pain.

“WHY AM I HERE?! WHAT DID I EVEN DO TO DESERVE THIS?! WHO EVEN AMI?!WHY ME?!” The girl sobbed. “Damn you, Maleficent! Damn you, dragon, damn this stupid tower, damn it all!”

Maya watched the girl slump against the clear barrier, falling to her knees as her poundings returned in weak waves and slaps against the wall, until she ended up curling on the floor, quietly sniffling and well-worn.

Maya approached the door once more, wanting to reach out, but not knowing what to say. She crouched down, mouth opening and closing until her voice eventually came out.

“I… I’m still here.” She spoke softly. There was no response. “Can you hear me?” Nothing still.

Maya bit her lip nervously. If she tried to go back in, would she be walking straight into death’s clutches? Would she get beat up? Even if she escaped later, how was she to explain what happened once she returned home?

Maya needed to think… wait, but did she have the time? She didn’t have all night to do whatever it was she came here to do. She needed to be out by sunrise and well on her way home. Wait… home? What home? Where was she? Why did she need to go home? Why was she here in the first place? Where was here?

“What am I…”

She felt a sharp pain in her head. Was it from the fall? Maya suddenly felt dizzy, her head began to spin and ache as she fell to the ground. She cursed the throbbing in her head. Maybe she could try healing it with magic. Maybe that would assuage the pain.

Healing? Magic?

What…

Maya shook her head. She didn’t have the time to think about all these things that were suddenly confusing her. She just had to do what she needed to.

Her hand took on a golden glow that almost seemed foreign to her. She didn’t know what it was, but somehow her body told her she should do it, that she could.

Shakily raising her hand up in a struggle, she managed to touch her head, and suddenly, along with a blindingly bright glow that filled the room, she felt clarity and many thoughts flowing in, as the pain melted away into nothingness along with the light.

Maya blinked, suddenly remembering so many things that she didn’t even know she’d forgotten. “…The princess. I’m… a princess. I’m Tendou Maya and I’m here to… I wanted to find out about a princess- the princess!” In panic, she turned to the lady she had been with all this time, her story earlier now registering in Maya’s mind and associating with the tall tale Junna and Karen had spoken about.

Maleficent… a tower… magic… a spindle and a curse.

Maya whipped her head about to see that the needle was no longer glowing to her. It looked like any old spinning wheel, sat in a room.

It was like an enchantment had been lifted off of Maya, and she saw with clearer eyes what was going on.

When had it settled? Was it the moment she entered this forsaken castle? Was it when she had laid eyes on the cursed contraption? Maya did not know.

All she knew was that she needed to help set free this woman that was most probably the princess from the rumors that may as well not be rumors. But how?

Well, it didn’t matter right now. Maya just needed to take some course of action to temporarily ease the situation. She could figure out the rest later. Soon. She did not know how long she’d been here in the tower, nor did she have a way of telling how much time she had left before needing to leave except through the window she’d opened in the other room. If she had to go in anyway, she may as well explain things to the captive princess inside.

Maya swallowed thickly, wondering what she should do now. The princess still lay across the way. Should she simply step over her and enter like that? Or should she move her out of the way first. Either option would probably get her beat, but Maya didn’t need to think about that right now… maybe if she held her in place to prevent her from attacking once she notices Maya’s presence?

Nodding to herself, Maya crept closer to the open door, knelt down on one knee, bracing her arms for the weight.

She needed to do it smootly and quickly, before there was any time for the other woman to register what was going on.

Three… two… one…

“Wha-!”

Maya slipped her hands and arms under the princess’ weight and hurriedly carried her up and over to lay her down on the bed before she could react.

“You!” Wide eyes regarded Maya with shock as she pinned the other princess down by her wrists, hoping that she couldn’t break free. “Why are you back?! What more are you going to do to me?! Are you- Get off me! Get off!”

“Wait! Wait! I need you to listen to me for a moment! Please!”

“Why should I, you rascal- what are you doing to me-mmpghhmm!Mmmmphhh!!!”

Maya had managed to hold down both the other woman’s wrists with only one of her hands, while she used her free one to cover her mouth, hoping to silence her, if only for a bit.

“PLEASE JUST LISTEN FOR ONCE.” Maya shouted sternly, shocking them both by the power and force in her voice. She felt worse as she noticed the still-present tear stains on her cheeks. They stared at one another in complete silence, until Maya regained her thought process. “Please. Listen. I’ll tell you all I know. But please listen first.”

The girl still looked shocked, but nodded.

Maya nodded back, pondering her next words. “If I… release you. Will you promise to stay silent and behaved, and let me explain everything?”

She watched the girl slowly nod once more.

Maya looked at her doubtfully.

“You won’t attack me?”

Another nod.

“…okay. I’ll let go now.”

To be safe, she first took her hand away from the girl’s mouth, receiving a disgusted glare.

“Leather tastes awful.”

“You promised to stay silent.”

“You promised to release me.”

Maya felt her brows furrow, feeling the slightest bit annoyed.

“Do not attack me.” She warned, slowly releasing the woman’s hands. “I swear, do not attack me. Do not.” She chanted, hands finally completely off.  “I’m telling you, I swear. Do not-”

And once more, she found herself pinned against the cushions, only this time, she was face first into them.

“I SWEAR TO GOD-”

“Tell me who you are and why you are here!” Was demanded of her. “And don’t try anything strange.” Maya could probably find a clever way to weasel her way out, but she knew if she raised any more suspicion by being untruthful or vague, she’d get nowhere in negotiating and explaining with this person.

Sighing her usual pride away, she asked a single question first.

“Will you believe what I’m about to tell you?”

After all, there would be no point if she didn’t.

“Yes.” The answer was quick, and Maya was genuinely surprised.

“R-really?!”

Genuinely surprised.

“Just spit it out. No funny business either.”

Maya actually felt elated as she did her best to nod in her position.

“Okay, I will tell you. My name really is Maya.”

“Maya. Maya what?”

“T-Tendou Maya.” She answered, before adding, “I’m a princess from the nearby kingdom, and I came here to confirm a rumor.”

Suddenly she felt herself released. Easing up into a sitting position, she turned to look at an oddly nervous face.

“… Are you serious about the princess bit… Tendou Maya?”

A tingle ran through her spine at the sound of her name rolling off those insanely gorgeous lips that she was suddenly so conscious of once more, almost forgetting to respond.

“Y-yes. Yes. I promise. No lies here.”

She was given a once-over, before the other party looked away and whispered a quiet ‘sorry’.

Why… was it so cute.

“So we can be civil.” Maya quipped, lightly teasing.

“Shut up.” The woman huffed. “And so? What rumor, p-princess?” Maya was asked carefully, snapping her out of any unnecessary thoughts.

Right. Maya inhaled deeply, breathing out a question in return to first confirm something. “Do you know how old you are?” She asked.

Her companion looked at her confusedly, before nodding. “If my guess is right, and that Maleficent visits every year or so to see if I still exist… then I know I am roughly twenty years old from the time I was taken away at six. But what does that have to do with what you’re saying?”

Maya nodded to herself, now a little more sure, and hoping that these rumors actually held some kind of truth to them. She looked seriously into confused eyes, ready to explain.

“If that is so then… the rumor was that a princess had been asleep in a castle in the woods for many years. I… came here to investigate.”

“Princess?” The girl echoed. “Me?” She asked again, pointing a finger to herself.

Maya nodded.

“What?”

“If the rumors hold any weight to them, then…”

“But really, a princess?” The girl continued to be skeptical, and Maya was becoming just as confused as she was.

“Wait, don’t you know that? But…” Digging through her memory, Maya was so sure that… “But you knew that you were supposed to prick your finger and fall asleep, didn’t you? Why wouldn’t you know that you’re a princess…”

Two confused ladies sat on a bed, staring at each other in utter confusion.

“I was raised in a cottage in the woods by three aunts. They just happened to warn me about something odd like this. And they told me that if I ever came across a Maleficent person, I should try my best to get away…”

“But how did you end up here?” Maya was now so very lost.

“I honestly do not know.” The blonde shrugged. “I woke up one day in the room with the needle, somehow felt angry that I fell into the stupid situation I was trying to avoid… and I remember walking away from it. Next thing I know, I’ve already grown up in… this place.” She shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing towards the whole room. Maya suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

“Pff- what?”

“What?” The look on the other woman’s face told Maya that she was slightly offended with Maya’s reaction.

“No, I just… Your tale sounded like it should have been much more dramatic than that. But then you just… walked away. From what was essentially your life’s bane.” Maya giggled, laughed in disbelief, combing a hand through her hair. “I can’t… I can’t believe you.” She said, looking the girl in the eyes in amusement.

“How rude… after I believed every word you said.” She grumbled.

“Except that you are possibly a princess?”

“…No one would believe that.”

“And you believe that I am?”

She received a shrug. “Best be safe than sorry. If you ever go back to your little kingdom and report that you were manhandled by a random prisoner in the forest, I might be free from this prison, but moving straight into another. Though that doesn’t sound so bad if it means I have company.”

“Pfff.. ahahahha. What are you saying?”She broke out into laughter, wiping tears away from her eyes, feeling more and more relieved by the second.

Everything felt so surreal to Maya. It all felt peaceful and settled, like she wasn’t just adventuring in a dangerous area; like she hadn’t just been under- and fighting against- the effects of a spell that was distorting her mind; as though she wasn’t just wrestling for life with the woman now seated calmly across from her.

A woman she still didn’t know, but felt like she should.

“And so?” Maya said, finally calming down.

“So? So what?”

Maya felt a familiar giddy smile playing over her lips once more.

“You told me what was essentially your life story, so how about you finally tell me your name next?”

“My name?”

“Yes. Your full name, if possible.” Maya said with a bat of her lashes that earned her an eye roll.

“Right, how about no.”

Maya felt her lips fall into a pout. “But why? Isn’t it only fair that I get your name in exchange for my own?”

“All is fair in love and war, whether you get my name or not.” The woman shrugged, returning a grin of her own.

Maya liked that. The grin, and the mention of love.

Love… huh.

As Maya continued to get hung over on those words, she heard a cock crow in the distance, reality immediately sinking in as she looked in the direction of the window only to be greeted by the thin orange line of the morning horizon.

‘No!’

“I-I have to go!” She sprung up to her feet, panic in her voice as she looked around the room hastily for anything she may have dropped of hers. Finding all her things secure, her gaze finally landed on the lonely smile on the face of the woman she had strangely become attached to- so much so that she didn’t want to leave. She gasped, realizing what she’d said wrong. “I-I mean… we- we have to-”

“I suppose this is goodbye.” The other woman said quietly in a tone that was a far cry from her earlier fierceness. “We both know I can’t leave. Not unless we figure out how I could.” She spoke, eyes trailing towards the door only Maya could see. Her voice was small, insecure. It was sorrowful. It hurt.

But it didn’t have to, Maya realized.

She coughed a few times, approaching the foot of the bed, kneeling by the seated maiden. She hesitantly offered her hands up, pleased when the response of the woman was to place her own in Maya’s.

Maya took in a deep breath to counter the unexpected anxiousness growing within her.

Lifting her gaze up, her words came out in a mere whisper. “M-May I… come see you again?”

Maya watched her eyes express the widest range of emotions she’d ever seen from a person. Shock, embarrassment, warmth, fondness, gratefulness…

They were beautiful.

Even the small drops of tears that had begun to form at the tips of her long lashes, beautiful.

Her current smile and bout of gentle laughter, beautiful.

The way she sniffled, and the fresh trail of tears that rewrote the story of the prior stains on her face- so beautiful.

The way her golden hair framed her face, stray tresses sticking to her slightly sweaty skin- beautiful.

Maya stared at beauty itself, and was left in awe.

“Only if you bring me a better meal than stale bread and uncooked potatoes.” She chuckled through her sniffling.

Maya felt her heart flutter erratically, barely managing a playful response. “Any requests?”

“… Tuna.” Was the near inaudible reply, coupled with a shy tint on her companion’s cheeks.  

“May I inquire as to why?” Maya asked, feeling her stupid grin widening so much, it ached.

“…I just like it…”

Just who was this adorably shy creature, and how could Maya make her even happier.

“Understood. I will acquire for you only the best.” Maya smiled, the pads of her thumbs running circles over the smooth skin of the other princess’ hands.

Another crow of the rooster made her grip those hands lightly, the sting in her chest coming back.

“I s-suppose I’ll see you again later.” Maya said, looking down at their joined hands, avoiding the other’s gaze as she stood up.

As she began to pull away, she felt a light tug. Looking up, she met bashful garnets searching her eyes, and quivering lips that were trying to communicate something.

“Yes?” Maya gently prompted, squeezing her hands lightly.

“Claude. For now… you can call me… Claude…J-just so that… when you come back…” Claude trailed off, averting her gaze shyly- rather endearingly, might Maya add.

“Claude.” Maya smiled, placing a chaste kiss on her knuckles. “I will come back.”

She relished the blush blooming across ‘Claude’s’ face, pocketing it in a memory to be recalled multiple times throughout her everyday, no doubt.

“I will definitely bring you home. I’ll figure out a way.”

Maya cupped her face, wiping the few tears that had escaped away as she rested her forehead against Claude’s.

“I will definitely bring you home,free.”

A/N: I clearly strayed from theme. Sorry. Ah. ;-; sorry, this was no-good ;-; Sorry Leooooooo, hope you liked it even a littleeeeee.

~Shintori Khazumi

Nomoto Hotaru interview for -The LIVE Edel- Delight in Monthly Bushiroad March 2022 (Eng)

In commemoration of the Starira stage play! A special interview with Nomoto Hotaru who plays Yukishiro Akira

From here on, we will present an interview with Nomoto Hotaru that was recorded just before the play’s performances began. Active in Starira and on stage as the leader of the “Edels”, Nomoto-san spoke all about Siegfeld.

What Nomoto Hotaru thinks is Siegfeld’s charm

——First, please tell us what you think Siegfeld Institute of Music’s charm is.

Nomoto: I would say it’s the merit-based system and hands-off policy. My first impression was that it’s a very strict school with strict rules, but as I learned more and more about Siegfeld as a school, I came to understand that it’s actually a school with a lot of freedom. On top of its foundational value of excellence, there is no good or evil, and instead everyone’s individuality is respected. I think that’s its charm.

——Is your current impression of Yukishiro Akira any different from your first impression of her?

Nomoto:At first, she seemed too perfect, and I felt very distant from her. Because she’s a genius stage girl, and says things like “I will make no compromise” at every chance she gets, for example. But recently I’ve come to think, “This girl is lacking in some pretty incredible areas, huh…?”. When it comes to things unrelated to the stage, she’s a rather normal (?) girl. Once I came to know that side of her, I thought she was really cute, and now she’s an endearing existence to me.

⬆ Akira may appear perfect at first glance, but in a 1-panel comic in “Starira”, her unexpected weakness comes to light…

——What are your impressions of the four other “Edels”? Please tell us about both the characters and the actresses.

Nomoto:First is Otori Michiru. She truly is Akira’s right hand. No, maybe both hands? I think she’s the only one who will genuinely get angry at Akira. She’s the scariest when she gets angry, but really, she may be the most loving stage girl. Ozaki Yuka-san, who plays that sort of Michiru, is a cute and cool person. She has her own well-defined style and is someone who will take on a challenge for anything. She’s for sure the number one “good woman” in Siegfeld, I think.

Liu Mei Fan rushes headlong into things and is high-spirited. The way she doesn’t care how she appears to others when she aims for a goal and her straight and honest gaze are very dazzling to me. Takeuchi Yume-san, who plays Mei Fan, is actually the member that I’ve known for the longest. When we see each other, we’re always just joking around and out of breath because we’re playing around too much. I’d like her to have mercy on me for once (laughs). That’s what Yume’s like, but I really love her singing voice.

Tsuruhime Yachiyo is a noble cat-like girl! She’s a girl who easily slips off and runs away when you try to get down to her core. I think she might be the most like a high school girl out of the “Edels”. I respect a lot of things about her actress, Kudo Haruka-san, such as her approach to her work. On “Edel Radio”, which the two of us host, I’m always relying on her, so I promised, “On the stage, I’ll try my best to lead you”!

And then Yumeoji Shiori. She’s a girl who can truly be called the “nation’s little sister”. She has everything that I don’t have, and I’m grateful simply for the fact that she exists. She’s that sort of a stage girl. Tono Hikaru-san, who plays Shiori, is an incredible hard worker. How should I put it, it feels like she enjoys the effort itself, I think. I feel like she’s similar to Shiori in that way. She’s a person who naturally increases my motivation when I’m with her.

Seiran Stage Play Memories

After all, Seiran is amazing!

——In the Seiran stage play, you appeared alone on Siegfeld’s behalf. Which scene left the deepest impression on you in that play?

Nomoto: For a scene that I was in, it has to be the revue scene that unfolded at the end. All I can remember is that it was fun, so much fun that I couldn’t do anything but have fun.

⬆ In the Seiran stage play, she became Hisame’s rival in particular, and they faced off in the “Revue of Reigning”.

The three stage girls who appeared for the first time were also very impressive. I love the song where Yanagi Sakura-chan reveals the secrets of her sister Yanagi Koharu-chan. Matsue Miko-chan’s song was also wonderful, and Hanare Yatsuki-chan’s dance had me giving a standing ovation internally every time. I’d like to meet those three people again one day.

——Were there any memorable events during the rehearsals or performances?

Nomoto: Shiina Hekiru, who plays Souda Sawa, was very kind to me. My arm gets very tired after swinging my revue weapon, a lance, so I was caring for it by icing it, but Hekiru-san came next to me and said, “Your arm will get tired, so I’ll hold it for you”, and she iced my arm for me! It was a kindness that blew away the tiredness of my arms…

——Please tell us your impressions of the three Seiran stage girls and Yakumo-sensei.

Nomoto:Yanagi Koharu is a person who quietly and certainly moves forward step by step. Minase Suzu is a bright and straightforward person who is overflowing with energy to live. Honami Hisame is a person who loves and is loved by others, and who can shine by herself even as she supports others. And Yakumo Kyoko is an ideal teacher that everyone aspires to, a superstar. I feel like their actresses are also pretty close to their respective characters. Their quality and charm as people are on a cosmic scale, I think.

——On this next stage, the five “Edels” will finally assemble on the stage. How are you feeling right now?

Nomoto: Happy. I’ve always, constantly been saying, “I want to stand on stage as five someday.” I’m truly thankful to have received this chance to do that!

In the past, the five “Edels” served as the opening act for Starlight Kukugumi’s 2nd StarLive “Starry Desert”. This is the first performance with all five of us since then. Just what will happen… I’m really excited for it right now!

——For the performances and rehearsals, what are you looking forward to?

Nomoto: I wonder… being able to see the stage girls exhausted to the max, maybe. More than anything, I’m looking forward to sharing with everyone what we can only taste once we’ve gone through despair. …I may be the only one thinking about it from the angle of despair, though (lol).

But, I’m sure that all of the performers will create a brilliant stage in their own way! Please anticipate it!

Starting off 2022 with the stage!  Concentrating only on the performances right in front of her!!

——To Nomoto-san, what was 2021 like for you?

Nomoto:I was born in the year of the ox, so last year I was a woman of the year (born in a year with the same Chinese zodiac sign). So, it was a “cow fever” kind of year. I wonder what cow fever is. I don’t know either (lol).

By the way… A cow’s butt is not round. It’s super super bony, and it’s actually a square. Did you guys know this?

——I didn’t know about the cow’s behind (lol). Then, please tell us your plans for 2022.

Nomoto:Just to make February’s Starira stage play a success! As for what comes after that, I’ll think about it when it’s over. Ah, but I want to be able to wake up in a good mood every morning. On clear days, “Good morning blue sky!”, on rainy days, “Good morning blessed rain!”, that kind of feeling.

——Lastly, a message to all of the readers!

Nomoto:Thank you for reading this to the end! The charm of Starlight that everyone in Kukugumi has built up, this time we, Siegfeld, will deliver it to you. Just how will we accomplish that? We will strengthen our resolve and try our hardest. The “Starira” play will be performed starting from February 18th. Please come have some fun at The Galaxy Theater. Thank you so much!

Hello! I subbed the Revue Starlight movie back in December (the one that has color coded dialogue) - this is my first post because I was too much of a coward to make an account anywhere then.

To put it simply, I was not satisfied with my original work, which had mistakes from mishearing and also just misinterpreting things. It was rushed for various reasons, and I really regret not being more patient with it. I don’t think the mistranslations impact any plot points of the movie, it’s really more in the specifics, but I misrepresented some things I consider to be important, and for that I am truly very sorry.

After not touching it for 2 months and then working on it in all of my spare time for the past month, I finally!!!! finished the revised version and a widescreen version, since I had originally done it letterboxed. I think the widescreen version is actually more readable, so that’s one more thing to bonk my past self on the head for, but the letterboxed version has its merits too. They can be found on nyaa and anidex like before, and to make sure this appears in the tag, I’ll add links in a reblog!

Now I’m going to ramble a lot about the fixes I made and translation decisions and other things under the cut… it’s going to read like half a callout for myself and half a defense, and half just fun rambling about translation (yes that’s 3 halves) so do with that what you will…!

This is going to be unnecessarily long - so long, in fact, that I am going to divide it into parts. You may be thinking “I don’t wanna read all that” so a tldr for you if you are: 

1. major changes: 

• revue of malice -> revue of resentment, fixed lines in futakao conversation towards the end of the revue
  
• a line the giraffe says that is directed to the audience but I misinterpreted
  
• Nana’s line about feeling drunk: sake -> alcohol (this was just stupid of me)
• revue of souls -> revue of the soul (yes the the is ugly but necessary)

2. minor changes: really nitpicky stuff and obsessing too much over timing, typesetting

3. this took so long because I actually just fully stopped working on it for 2 months, I had like 0 time due to work and had no motivation, i overshare about the process

okay, time for the longer explanation!!! you don’t have to read this but if you want to witness someone be a little insane then have fun (also, warning for spoilers)!! we’re dropping capitalization now! i know nobody asked for this, but i have to talk a lot about this bc i haven’t, really, to anyone. and i think it’s kind of fun

first off i want to say… i’m not a professional translator (as of right now at least, who knows  this might change in the future, though maybe not for japanese) i’ve never taken translation courses and i’ve only taken like one creative writing course in my life. but i really enjoy linguistics and translating and am always, but especially after subbing this movie, trying to improve myself. generally my principle for translating things is that. Words are just words. personally i think that as long as something makes an equal amount of sense in the target language then all of the information in the source language should be retained as much as possible. of course, with english and japanese being so different, it’s difficult to stick to this. anyway i’m already going off topic, mainly i wanted to say my goal is always to present what MY understanding of the source is in a way that i feel is accurate to the source and would 1. convey the same meaning to an english speaker 2. read well to me as a person who can (to an extent) understand japanese. now let’s get into how i failed here.

PART 1: major changes / decisions

when the giraffe speaks to the audience, saying “it’s because of all of you”, i misinterpreted it as being about karehika and put “it’s because of you two” even though that’s not what he said.

• this is the WORST mistranslation imo and i lost my shit when i realized, but at least the message isn’t entirely lost because right before that he talks about how it’s the stage the selfish and greedy audience longs for. i have no idea how tf i ignored that previous line and thought it was about karehika.

i decided to change the title of the futakao revue to “Revue of Resentment”.

• the original title, “Revue of Malice”, i honestly took from the wiki without thinking too hard about the translation of the name that someone else had done, which was stupid of me. I also forgot to translate wagamama highway as selfish highway and just left it as wagamama highway in the subs, so you see. 
• 怨み (urami) generally means “grudge, resentment” in the same way that the more common form for urami, 恨み does, only it’s a stronger, more hateful emotion, and not commonly used. it’s usually used for a very deep-seated, strong grudge/resentment, or for things that are supernatural, ie. the grudge of a soul.
• either way, “malice” doesn’t really represent the meaning properly imo, because while resentment is about bearing ill will/bearing malice towards someone, the word by itself doesn’t cover the meaning of resentment, at least to me. but i’ll admit that it sounds a lot cooler, and i don’t think it’s toofar off, so i think it’s fine if people keep referring to the revue as revue of malice. if you take the midpoint between malice and resentment then that’s what my understanding of 怨み is.
• i also thought about changing it to revue of grudges, but to me that sort of implies actual tangible, countable grudges, which isn’t necessarily wrong, but considering the kanji selection it has the vibe of the actual feeling/act of holding a grudge, which in english is only resentment. so that’s what i settled on.
• i probably won’t change what’s on the wiki until the official translation for it comes out on starira, and no matter what starira says this is my final decision for my subs. 

I changed the final lines to the final line. 

• i had originally called the karehika revue “the final lines” and made karen say “i have to say them. the final lines”, when there was no need to make it plural and makes less sense to make it plural, because the final line is, one final line. i can’t say why this happened other than i apparently was not thinking hard enough about it until one day i was

originally what i put for A Beautiful Person, Or Perhaps It Is was “A Beautiful Person, Or Somebody Like That”.

• i had also taken this from the wiki and thought it was a reasonable interpretation because i didn’t know the backstory of how it was genuinely supposed to be cut off at the end (A Beautiful Person, Or Perhaps It Is [A Love Song]). that was my fault for not doing enough research and not looking in the right places to find this out before finishing it, and also a lesson that sometimes trying to extrapolate things from vague grammar is not a good idea

in the scene with the vegetable giraffe, right after junna says “putting an end… to what?”, maya says “greedily, ferociously, in order to continue standing on stage, we will go to the next stage.”

• here i originally made a dumb mistake and thought that when she said 貪欲に、獰猛に it was an extension of junna’s line instead of an adverb - like what are we putting an end to (何に？) to greed (貪欲に), to brutality (獰猛に).  

this isn’t a mistake but since i am explaining my choices i feel i have to mention - the なんだか強いお酒を飲んだみたい。line (Somehow it feels like… I just drank some strong alcohol.). actually i did make a mistake here and it was calling “sake” “sake” instead of just alcohol, which was really just me being careless. 

• besides that, there’s an issue with this line in that it lacks a subject/identifier. it could be that nana’s the one feeling drunk, or that the rest of them seem drunk to her, but there’s no way to eliminate a subject in english and have it make sense (Somehow, it feels like strong alcohol was just drunk. <– ??????? what?? people don’t talk like this)
• the first time i even heard of this line b4 the bluray was out it appeared to me that it was about nana, and every time i went down a twitter search rabbithole while working on both the original and the revision, it appeared that jp fans took it the same way - i wanted to link this fanart i saw where futaba is drinking w/ nana and makes fun of her for it but i lost it..
• i think the whole brushing hair back thing she does it seems to imply it’s intended to be more about her, but really it can have a double meaning (i found one or two jp fans talking about this, that at first it seems to be about nana but could also be about the rest of them).
• since it the general consensus is that it’s about nana, i stuck with “I”.
• i also considered removing the “just” because it’s technically not in the original line but it sounds a lot more awkward without it, and adding it doesn’t change the meaning of the line at all in context (like she’s not saying someone drank alcohol before they got on the train or something lmao so)
• speaking of this scene, here is a fun jp blog post analyzing it which is pretty parseable even just w/ google translate (it’s less about the actual line, but their theory for the line is that nana was very stimulated from the fight = feels like she had a strong drink): https://note. com/suzumya/n/n7ee2160d039c
  

revue of resentment:

• didn’t you say we were cutting ties? when futaba catches kaoruko after her truck flies off.. originally i just had “did we cut ties?” umm this was just me being dumb. anyway funny line because kaoruko was the one who said they were cutting ties in the first place and then she turns around and asks this to futaba LMAO
• towards the end when futaba is saying “this time, it’s my turn to say something selfish. it’s my turn to-” and then kaoruko says “it’s my turn to make you wait”? she’s imitating futaba/predicting what she’s going to say. i…. again, was careless and did not realize this and just had “it’s time for me to wait” (you’d think it’d be easy to catch because she said “atashi” and not “uchi” but well. I was not thinking clearly..)
  
• after she says this, she says “i know that much, okay” basically saying she knows that that has to happen/that futaba was going to say that, but this was one that i misheard and i thought she said わっかてませんや when she said わかってますんや and i put “i dunno about that” which is basically the opposite meaning.. lol
• the final line of this revue, i originally had as “guess i can’t win against the selfishness of a kid”. I changed this to “i just can’t win against the selfishness of a kid”. i can see where my past self was coming from with the “guess” to represent the わ but it makes it feel too.. speculative and like she didn’t know? which isn’t really right. I just can’t better portrays the sort of helplessness of it while still being like she’s stating a known fact, i think

this is kind of just a discussion, but i’ve been thinking about how “revue of souls” isn’t entirely accurate to 魂のレヴュー because it’s, a revue of a singular soul. but “revue of soul” doesn’t feel right to me, because… i dunno there’s some sort of rule to these revue of ___ things to me where it’s like the thing has to be a noun that’s either uncountable or plural if it’s countable. to say revue of soul makes me think that it’s like . revue of who is the most soulful or revue of soul music LMFAO so… i think it’s actually just a rule for using (something) of (something), maybe. like… tree of noodles vs tree of noodle. wow every day sentences that have never been spoken before are created

i think it’s more accurate to say “the soul” in this case, actually… but i don’t like putting the in a revue title……. but i think i will change it actually. you’re watching me make this decision live as i write this blog post lmao okay so i changed it to Revue of the Soul. maybe ateam were onto something with putting the Thing first actually. (just kidding i really don’t like that anyway moving on)

other stupid things that i almost forgot to mention in this post bc i changed them so long ago, but they’re in the first version: i wrote “kuro” instead of “clau” for .. some reason, and i wrote “bakkaren” instead of “karenitwit” and i spent some time thinking about alternate ways to localize this but karenitwit ended up being the best option.

PART 2: minor changes (summary, some specific lines i thought were notable, etc)

the minor things were really more minor, enough that i can’t actually list everything that i changed. some examples off the top of my head:

• i misheard “jesters” as “idiots” in the distant el dorado lines that hikari recited in english. or rather, i couldn’t make it out, and i did a twitter search and found jp fans saying it was idiots and went “i guess that makes sense, idiot can kinda mean the same thing as clown”, but then later when i looked at the chinese subs they had put “jesters” and i felt like the biggest idiot in the world
  
• i said “stage prop” for 舞台装置, the fake blood in the revue of annihilation, but it really shouldn’t have been prop. i changed it to equipment, then waffled on it and changed it to set, then my theater kid friend who speaks jp proofread for me and told me to change it to equipment
• when kaoruko tastes the fake blood, she says “it’s sweet.” i put “it’s tasty” - i think i might have thought she said うまい not 甘い and not challenged it
• at the seisho fest one of the students talked about making a new cyc(short for cyclorama but nobody calls them that apparently) and i didn’t get that
• thanks to my theater kid friend i realized i misrepresented the text that hikari gets from the giraffe, where i originally said “the house is already open for entry”.
  the original here is 小屋入りはもうはじまっています. apparently when i searched 小屋入り the first time i somehow misunderstood what i was reading and i thought it was about the audience entering the theatre, and i went with “the house is open for entry” because i thought hey, the audience section of a theater is called the house so that works out well. but it’s actually basically tech week, where “entering the hut” means to move into and start doing things in the theatre ahead of the first performance.
  what i ended up going with was “the dry tech is already underway”, which imo is the same amount of jargon-y ambiguity as the original and pretty much the same meaning. Thank you again to my friend
• when nana talks to masai + amemiya in the bg of her career interview i misheard what they were saying LOL originally i put that amemiya wasn’t going to hand over the script but she was saying that she WOULD. this + the kaoruko line both being me mishearing something as the negative.. is funny to me.
• not a mistake but a defense: in mahiru’s revue intro the first thing she says is 宣誓 which is most commonly translated as I swear/vow/oath but I wanted to stick to the olympic theme and in the olympic oath in english the word “promise” is used, so that’s why i used promise. however, in the original i translated 輝け、私 as “I will shine” but i changed it to “shine, me” because it just doesn’t fully capture the meaning the first way..,, speaking of revue intros i also fixed a small thing each in hikari’s and junna’s but its nbd i think.
  
• when mayakuro are playing shogi at the beginning, maya’s chick gets captured by claudine and it shows that claudine still has 2 chicks on the board, and when claudine calls her weak(/basically saying she sucks at it) maya was like “your chicks look too pitiful for me to…(take them)”. i am very embarrassed to say this took me too long to understand and at first I thought it meant maya’s chick got taken by claudine and then she was saying her chick looked pitiful on claudine’s side…
• AIJO KAWAN!!!!!!! again something i didn’t know mostly because i was not paying close enough attention, i only knew of this after i checked the korean subtitles. baby karen wrote her name wrong on her cubby she wrote かわん instead of かれん :’’’)))
• changed “pep rally” to “kick-off party”
• stuff like this. aside from that, i reworded some more awkward sounding sentences, fixed capitalization (why did i think capitalizing the beginning of every line was a good idea?) doubly made sure all information was kept in the translation, etc.
• i added some more onscreen text translation and some more bg conversation lines thanks to the korean subs catching things i couldn’t, and made a few really small changes to the lyrics that i don’t think are worth listing out here
• i added watashitachi wa mou butai no ue lyrics to the credits - this is my own translation and i purposefully did it without looking at the one on the wiki by lunaamatista, but they kind of ended up pretty similar, so i thought i should mention that it was not my intention to just steal/reword that translation or anything. the one on the wiki is great and you should go listen to the song and read it there and appreciate all the work luna has done!!!!!
• if there are any more mistakes (which i sure hope there aren’t bc i have watched this movie so many times now and cross referenced the chinese and korean subs, though the chinese one i looked at had some mistranslations as well imo) i can change them in the sub files, but i won’t be making a new release again.. if you see something you think is worded awkwardly, just know that i probably agonized over it for too long and decided i wanted to word it that way (ie., saying you who ___) also i Know i use too many em dashes and ellipses i’m sorry for that… i think they’re fun
• UPDATE thank you @flibbityflob​ for telling me i messed up the very final on screen text caption because i misread 本日 as 日本 like 100 times in a row apparently . I um. reposted the torrents because it’s been less than 12 hours so. woohoo

also one last thing I guess i can call this a decision i made but mostly i think it’s fun trivia - for karen’s middle school play, i wrote her character’s name as “sara” (it is seira in romaji). the reason i did this is because i found some jp fans talking about how hikari playing “lavinia” when she was 5 and karen playing “sara” in middle school is possibly related and a reference to princess sara, though the spelling is SLIGHTLY diff (セイラ vs セーラ)

PART 3: putting the worst and most annoying last, i apologize and defend myself at the same time. disclaimer: might sound kind of negative as i complain about tiring myself out and stuff, but overall i have SO MUCH fun doing this ok i want to make that clear

first of all: i am truly very sorry. maybe to some (most) people this isn’t a big deal but. i’ve spent most of the time working on this revision miming punching myself in the face every time i read over a translation that i changed, because i remember the original and want to die. but on the other hand, i don’t think what’s in the first version is really /that/ bad. i think it’s decent, passable i guess, and a lot of the things i changed were minor - the most important lines like the ones in the revues are relatively untouched, bc those are the ones i had already done enough agonizing over to be satisfied with what i had (except the futakao revue). but i am still very ashamed of myself and very sorry that i couldn’t do a better job the first time. 

this took me (looks at calendar) three and a half months, because first i fixed a lot of the timing issues, which was very tedious and time consuming and mind numbing. then i ran out of motivation for a month and a half bc things got very busy at work and i was in a horrible place health wise and did not have the energy to work on it. and then it was mid March and i took a few weeks to review + fix things over and over bc i only have time to work on this on the weekends and a few hours on weekdays and even then it’s hard to find the time and focus to watch a 2 hour movie while agonizing about the translation and timing and make changes… 

when i published the original, i was tired of working on it and too impatient and i couldn’t imagine working on it more because i knew things were going to get busier at work for me. every time i thought about the fact that people couldn’t watch and experience The Movie Ever with better understanding, i could not STAND the thought of just letting what i had done sit there on my computer for another week (let alone a whole month) while others couldn’t watch it… so i just released it… i am sorry if this reflects poorly on my character, but it is the truth. i regret not taking like, at least a few more days to proofread more, but at the time it really felt like the only thing i could do. 

i also want to say that it was never meant to be a response to the other subs - i was (and generally still am) so distant from most of the fandom that i didn’t even know there were other people subbing the movie. of course i knew that someone somewhere would probably be doing it, but i had no clue until after I posted my own that there were discord-only showings of the other subs or anything (the only reason i am not in the discord is bc i don’t enjoy large discord servers, and i don’t have any opinion on this). i’ll admit i still haven’t looked at the other subs because i didn’t want it to impact my own interpretation as i worked on the revision.

but also… i didn’t plan to sub the movie at all, actually: this is how it happened

• i watch the movie on dec 21 (i’m in est so it was dec 21)
• i absolutely lose my mind
• i think o___o i…………….. could sub this because i already translated the song lyrics…….. and revue intros……………. and… isn’t that like… a lot of the movie…. so…….!!!
• i spend the next 7 days in a hell of my own creation (barely sleeping and barely working which i could only do bc i work remotely and it was holiday season and all of my coworkers were away but i’m a lowly student coop who doesn’t get PTO)
• why did i do this? who asked me to do this? i don’t know. myself i guess.

so it was kind of an impulsive decision made in a vacuum. i don’t want to regret it, it was fun and i learned a lot, but were the mistranslations worth it? i suppose that depends on how much you care about the specifics. i think overall it’s not a big deal but, well (gestures to this whole post).

when i was working on this v2, there were a lot of moments where i thought that i really shouldn’t have subbed this in the first place. unfortunately, i am kind of a person who feels compulsed to do Things when i get too excited and that’s why this happened, and there is nothing i can do except move forward, fix things, and try to improve for the next time (yes there is a next time sorry! i’ll be stuck here for the forseeable future). 

all that’s to say if you want to hate me for this, or instead want to hate me for this stupidly longwinded!!! post that’s totally cool. next time, i will try very hard to put out better quality the first time around, and i ask for your understanding. thank you!