anyacrypha

[anyacrypha]

Rift X Machina is updated to chapter 9! I've been told that it is "Peak" and "Absolute Cinema"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/171893935

[anyacrypha]

Shirasagi-san, from my web novel Rift X Machina

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/162683341

[anyacrypha]

Also concerning Rock is a Lady's Modesty, although I think Tina needs to sort of grow into her own in the band, I do just conceptually enjoy:

This princely girl that all the other girls fawn over was not actually being transgressive about gender; she was just forced into a socially accepted transgressive gender role. + What inspires her is girls who transgress gender through rock AND get to fully express themselves.

I might normally side eye the "Masculine woman just need to accept her femininity", but the other band mates, the ones who inspire her are pretty masculine themselves. They like bringing up their cocks a lot in their shouting matches. It avoids saying masculinity isn't right for women AND focuses on the issue of "enforced gender roles are bad"

[anyacrypha]

Rift X Machina is updated to Chapter 8!

It's Pride Month, read a story about trans lesbians written by a trans lesbian!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/162683341

[anyacrypha]

「…誕生日おめでとう、鳥子」 「お嬢様って呼んで～」 「ゲッ…」

"...Happy Birthday, Toriko." "Call me Ojou-sama~" "Geh….."

[anyacrypha]

The Unbearable "Denseness" of Sorawo Kamikoshi

It bothers me a little bit when I see people refer to Sorawo as dense. For whatever reason it makes me think of the fucking Kojima "you will regret your words and deeds" tweet.

[So, uh, there's a lot of later novel spoilers in this post, so I'll hide them under the read more break]

While I do think she's a bit... obtuse... when it comes looking at herself and motivations, I do think there is a consistent throughline: Sorawo Kamikoshi does not like assumptions and invisible expectations. Vols 7, 8, and 9 of the novels all elaborate on this theme—there's her classrom discussion of interpretation-free ghost stories, having a breakthrough when Benimori brings up alternatives to escalator relationships, and comparison of romance to a gravity well. It's pretty clear she struggles to identify with normative romance, and feels scared and frustrated by the way her words and actions are misinterpreted by those around her.

Like yes, she does want a special relationship with Toriko! She swoons at first sight (twice!) and has a strong desire for exclusivity. But Toriko makes a number of common assumptions about relationships that feel like a form of pressure to Sorawo. Somewhere between vols 2 and 4, you can see her discomfort about how she expresses herself around Toriko start to grow once Toriko begins to seriously pursuing her as a romantic partner. I think the source of that discomfort is ultimately the shape of their relationship changing from queerplatonic "accomplices" exploring the Otherside into something more typical of a standard romance.

In hindsight, her behavior around the confession at the hot springs in vol 4 makes sense. She even says in passing that she feels comfortable saying "I love you" to Toriko; her fears are entirely related to the "danger" of Toriko's behavior changing in a way she can't anticipate when she says it. And with good reason: once Toriko believes she has secured a relationship, she immediately moves to sex, the next step in the progression of normative romance. Which, while moving a little quickly, is a reasonable assumption for most people! It's not until Sorawo says she doesn't like kids in vol 6 that she realizes they don't have the same thoughts about how their relationship should progress.

Not to say that all of the blame is on Toriko. Sorawo, for her own part, has her own ideas about the relationship but doesn't really have the language to express herself. Rather than trying to understand or talk through the problem, she tries to ignore it and hopes it goes away. It's not until Toriko gives her an ultimatum that she puts words to a long-running source of discomfort for her and they can figure out whether their relationship is sustainable or not.

But I don't think "dense" is the right word for that behavior. Her problem is not that she's unaware of her own attraction, it's that she doesn't have the langauge to describe it and a fear of what happens when she does. Without that understanding most readers*, like Toriko, default to intepreting her behavior through the framework of "romance". They fail to try interpreting Sorawo through her own words, and then poke fun at her inability to conform with her expectations. If that's dense, then so is every queer person attempting to understand themselves when society doesn't give them access to the tools to do so.

*for the record, I will confess that I was in this category of "most readers" until vol 8 dropped. I regret my words and deeds

[anyacrypha]

Rift X Machina chapter 7 is up!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/169503607

[anyacrypha]

鵼の日

Nue day sketch

[anyacrypha]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/168739918

Rift X Machina chapter 6 is up! I carved out a lot of my own ugliest parts to put in here. The girls are Not Okay, the author is also Not Okay

[anyacrypha]

🌸💢

ぶん殴るぞ！

I'll frickin' punch you!

[anyacrypha]

When my friend and I looked at the volume 3 cover, all we could see was Sorawo missing her opportunity for a hug!

[anyacrypha]

Happy Birthday Sorawo!

Took me literally the whole day, and barely got it done in time >_<

[anyacrypha]

Happy birthday, Sorao 🥳

The art that my friend drew for a bowl of noodles, I love her

She also has a Tiktok account: butter_skaf and a telegram channel https://t.me/skafIstrax, please enjoy it!

[anyacrypha]

Rehabilitation sketch of Vita, the main character of my story Rift X Machina

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63488020/chapters/162683341

[anyacrypha]

How labels can help people connect

I think I came up with a good analogy for how labels can help people connect and communicate. Imagine I want to connect with you, and I'm holding out USB-C, HDMI, and XLR cables. I can fumble around and cause us both pain, before eventually finding the right one (or the pain causes us to break off completely before it happens), but it would be easier if you said "Hey, I have an XLR port over here", and I know to approach you with an XLR cable first.

Finding the right hardware port and specifications are part of the human experience, but say if I had a usb-c port, and you try to shove an XLR cable in me, it's going to hurt and I'll break off and run away. If you already know I have a usb-c port and choose to approach with a usb-c cable, then we can have a connection established faster and with less pain, and get along and discuss deeper things.

Usual internet disclaimer that it's oversimplified, there are bad effects of labels too, no analogy is perfect, there's a ton of nuance and context in different situations, etc etc. But I think it's a neat way of thinking about it

[anyacrypha]

Forget Otherside Picnic, do you know about Underworld Picnic?

I recently found out that Miyazawa Iori has a tradition of posting synopses of his spoof series "Underworld Picnic" (JP: 裏社会ピクニック, CN: 黑道野餐) on April Fool's every year. As of 1 Apr 2025, there are 9 'installments'.

Underworld Picnic is set "in near-future China" and utilises a lot of wordplay between Japanese and Chinese, so I thought it would be fun to translate and dissect these tweets.

The original tweet in Japanese, its English translation and Translator's Notes for further linguistic context will all be included.

Links to his tweets (are they still called tweets on Bluesky???) are hyperlinked at the start of each section.

Introduction

おかげさまで『裏社会ピクニック／黑道野餐』シリーズも９まで行きました。 このシリーズは「裏世界ピクニック」が「裏社会ピクニック」[1] と読み間違えられることをネタにした著者自身による二次創作で、毎年4/1に発表されています。

Thanks to the support of everyone, the "Underworld Picnic” series has now reached its ninth installment.

This series is a spin off by the author himself, based on how often "Otherside Picnic" is misread as "Underworld Picnic" [1], and is released every year on April 1st.

[1] "Otherside" is read as Urasekai (裏世界), while "Underworld" is Urashakai (裏社会).

1. Underworld Picnic | 裏社会ピクニック／黑道野餐

冴えない学生の空鱼（コンユー）[1] は、スラムで殺されかけたところを鸟子（ニャオズ）[2] に助けられた。鸟子はいい儲け話があると空鱼に吹き込み、マフィアや殺し屋がひしめく危険な裏社会での犯罪者狩りに誘い込む。近未来中国が舞台の暗黒百合小説！（ヤヤカワ文庫NV）[3]

Dull student Kongyu [1] is nearly killed in the slums when she’s saved by Niaozi [2]. Niaozi tells Kongyu that she has a lucrative business opportunity and lures her into hunting criminals in a dangerous underworld teeming with mafia and assassins. A dark yuri novel set in near-future China! (Yayakawa Bunko NV) [3]

[1] "Kongyu" (空鱼) is the Mandarin reading of "Sorawo" (空魚).

[2] "Niaozi" (鸟子) is the Mandarin reading of "Toriko" (鳥子).

[3] A goofy riff off Hayakawa, publisher of the real series.

2. Underworld Picnic II: Last Resort | 裏社会ピクニック２／黑道野餐II Last Resort

元公安局員小樱（シャオイン）[1] の協力を得た空鱼（コンユー）と鸟子（ニャオズ）。鉄老大に囚われたCIAを救い、コンゴ・ニンジャ部隊[3] の暗殺者〈猫〉（ニャウ）[2] を撃退した二人に謎の女・冴月（フゥユエ）[4]と〈超青幇〉[5] が忍び寄る。暗黒百合小説第２弾！

Kongyu and Niaozi receive assistance from former Public Safety Bureau officer Xiaoying [1]. After rescuing the CIA held captive by the railroads, and defeating an assassin named “Neow” [2] from the Congolese Ninja militia [3], the duo is approached by a mysterious woman named Huyue [4] and the "Ultra Green Gang" [5]. Second installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] "Xiaoying" (小樱) is the Mandarin reading of "Kozakura" (小桜).

[2] I'm not sure what's going on here bc Miyazawa gave the reading for Cat (猫) as "Neow" (ニャウ) but it's supposed to be "Mao" in Mandarin. Maybe it's a cross between "nyan" and "meow"...?

[3] I had to Google this but apparently there really is a militia from Congo called the Ninjas LMAO.

[4] "Huyue" (冴月) is the Mandarin reading of "Satsuki" (also 冴月).

[5] "Ultra Green Gang" (超青帮) is an obvious reference to the UBL, but there's a bit of a fun wordplay behind this. 青 means blue in Japanese, and (light) green in modern Chinese, respectively.

3. Underworld Picnic III: Master of the Ghost Mountain | 裏社会ピクニック３／黑道野餐III 幽灵山主

深層ウェブにアクセスした空鱼（コンユー）と小樱（シャオイン）が路上で拉致された。二人を追って鸟子（ニャオズ）が辿り着いた迷宮のような屠殺場跡は、〈超青幇〉に繋がる洗脳カルトの本拠地だった。地獄の脱出行が始まる――！　暗黒百合小説第３弾！

After accessing the deep web, Kongyu and Xiaoying are kidnapped on the streets. Niaozi follows their tracks and arrives at the labyrinth-like remains of a slaughterhouse, which turns out to be the headquarters of a brainwashing cult connected to the Ultra Green Gang. Their escape from Hell begins! Third installment of the dark yuri novel series!

4. Underworld Picnic IV: Candlelit Night Escapade | 裏社会ピクニック４／黑道野餐IV 秉燭夜游

自宅を襲撃された空鱼（コンユー）は鸟子（ニャオズ）と共に都会を離れる。しかし〈超青幇〉の腕は長かった。双子の殺し屋〈人〉〈牛〉[1] に追われ、廃墟となった歓楽街で一夜を明かす二人。だがそこで鸟子の様子がおかしくなって――!?　暗黒百合小説第４弾！

After her home was attacked, Kongyu leaves the city with Niaozi. However, the Ultra Green Gang's reach is long. Chased by twin assassins "Human" and "Cow" [1], the duo spend the night in an abandoned entertainment district. But Niaozi starts acting strangely?! Fourth installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] 人 means "human", while 牛 means "cow". When you combine them, you get the kanji for kudan (件), which is the cow-human hybrid monster that Soratori encounter during their overnight trip in vol 4.

5. Underworld Picnic V: Madam Eight-Feet | 裏社会ピクニック５／黑道野餐V 八英尺夫人

かつて空鱼（コンユー）と鸟子（ニャオズ）が倒した誘拐組織のボス〈八英尺〉が死の淵から戻ってきた。ビルの崩落に巻き込まれて折れ曲がった８フィートの長身を引きずり迫る〈八英尺〉。そこに猟犬を連れた謎の老婦人が現れて――暗黒百合小説第５弾！

Madam Eight-Feet, the boss of a kidnapping organisation that Kongyu and Niaozi once defeated, has returned from the brink of death. Madam Eight-Feet approaches, dragging her eight feet-tall body that has been twisted from being caught in a collapsing building. Then a mysterious old woman with a hunting dog appears. Fifth installment of the dark yuri novel series!

6. Underworld Picnic VI: Mr. T | 裏社会ピクニック６／黑道野餐VI Mr. T

謎の男「T大人」の気功[1] で記憶喪失になった空鱼（コンユー）。鸟子（ニャオズ）は小樱（シャオイン）たちと共にT大人を追う。カーチェイスの果てに〈超青幇〉の地下廟で対峙する一同。茜理（チエンリー）のジークンド[2] ーは通用するのか!?　暗黒百合小説第６弾！

Kongyu loses her memory after being subjected to qigong [1] by the mysterious man known as “Lord T”. Together, Niaozi and Xiaoying pursue Lord T. After a car chase, they come to a showdown in the underground tomb of the Ultra Green Gang. Will Qianli's Jeet Kune Do [2] come in handy? Fifth installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] Qigong (气功) is a form of meditative martial arts that focuses on breathing techniques, but in fiction (especially wuxia works) it's popularised as some kind of chakra-esque everything-jutsu.

So here it's kind of funny bc T-san's attack is quite literally exhaling hard in someone's face with a Hah!

[2] Qianli (茜理) is the Mandarin reading of "Akari" (also 茜理).

And I guess Miyazawa converted her karate skills to the Bruce Lee-invented Jeet Kune Do for good measure LOL.

7. Underworld Picnic VII: Funeral Under the Moon | 裏社会ピクニック７／黑道野餐VII 月下白事

〈超青幇〉の女・冴月（フゥユエ）が死んだ!?　突然届いた葬儀の案内状。敵の意図を怪しみながら��、空鱼（コンユー）と鸟子（ニャオズ）は、因縁浅からぬ小樱（シャオイン）、露娜（Luna）[1] と共に冴月の葬儀会場へと乗り込む――！　暗黒百合小説第７弾！

Huyue, the woman from the Ultra Green Gang, has died?! A funeral invitation arrives out of the blue. Although suspicious of the enemy's intentions, Kongyu and Niaozi, along with Xiaoying and Luna [1], with whom they shared a deep connection, head to the venue of Huyue's funeral! Seventh installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] Runa doesn't actually have a kanji for her name, so Miyazawa gave her a Chinese homonym (露娜), read as Luna.

8. Underworld Picnic VIII: Birds of a Feather [1] | 裏社会ピクニック８／黑道野餐VIII 一丘之貉 [1]

謎めいた言葉を残して鸟子（ニャオズ）が姿を消す。戸惑う空鱼（コンユー）を襲う、鸟子によく似た女。鸟子は一体何者なのか？　二人いたという彼女の母親とは？　相棒の謎を追ううちに、空鱼はいつしか鸟子の家の前に立っていた。暗黒百合小説第８弾！

Niaozi disappears after leaving behind a cryptic message. A confused Kongyu is attacked by a woman who closely resembles Niaozi. Who exactly is Niaozi? And who are her two mothers? While investigating the mystery behind her partner, Kongyu suddenly finds herself standing in front of Niaozi's home. Eighth installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] The sub-title "一丘之貉" is a Chinese counterpart to the English phrase "birds of a feather". A literal translation would be "raccoon dogs on the same hill".

9. Underworld Picnic VIIII: Chimera City | 裏社会ピクニック９／黑道野餐VIIII 奇美拉之城

空鱼（コンユー）と鸟子（ニャオズ）は訓練のため、民間軍事会社〈炬光安保〉[1]と共にかつてカルトの拠点だった屠殺場跡へ赴く。しかしそこで露娜（Luna）が取り乱し、罠だらけの屠殺場の奥に姿を消す。二人は露娜を救えるか――暗黒百合小説第９弾！

Kongyu and Niaozi head to the remains of a slaughterhouse that was once a cult's base with the PMC, Torchlight Security [1], for training. However, Luna becomes upset and disappears into the depths of the slaughterhouse, which is full of traps. Can the two of them save Luna? Ninth installment of the dark yuri novel series!

[1] The "torchlight" used here is written as 炬光. 炬 specifically refers to wooden torches.

Bonus:

You might've noticed that the vol 9 title above was written with the erroneous roman numerals "VIIII". Miyazawa has an explanation for this:

よく見たらナンバリングがVIIIIになっててウケたのでIXに直そうかと思ったけど昔はVIIII表記だったらしいしこの作品らしいのでわ��と違和感のある表記をしたんですよという顔で行くことにしました（創作の秘密）

Upon looking closely, I noticed that the numbering was written as VIIII and thought about changing it to IX instead, but apparently it used to be written as VIIII in the past, and since it seems to fit this story, I decided to roll with it and come across in a way that says, "I deliberately made it look weird" (secret to creativity).

Hope you guys had fun reading this! It was a blast to translate and break down this thread.

[anyacrypha]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51594991/chapters/165008986

The Thrush and the Flower's Eccentric Household, my Otherside Picnic polyamory yuri fanfic, is up to chapter 41! It's Benimori time!