#anyways about 5 eps into the bear now. very good. cannot watch much at once i get stressed. but very good.

[twinstxrs]

kageyama & hinata from haikyuu are kinda variant carmy & sydney from the bear to such an insane degree. may actually fully elaborate on this one day may not but just know it’s about grief & anger & renewed passions & learning how to be partners (& love, obviously).

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor Ep 6, and let’s talk a little about what’s canon, and what’s not, and about the particular slip-slidiness of the line between them on this show.

But first, due diligence: If you are NEW or JUST VISITING, this is a re-watch, so you’re going to find SPOILERS not just for this ep, but for the entire show. Scroll away and come back later if you haven’t seen all 36.5 eps and want to watch unspoiled. Also, heads-up, this got super long, because I had to talk about that stuff up there and then still talk about the ep. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

So, “canon,” as applied to fannish source material (in Western fandom, at least) traditionally has been considered the official stuff – the episode, the book, the comic, the movie – based on the religious definition of  “canon,” the collection of texts accepted as genuine and official within a religion. The word “fanon” – widely accepted fannish ideas – plays on this, as does the fandom concept of “word of God,” or things the Creators have said about the text but outside of it. Is it in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Canon. Is it not in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Not canon. (Apocrypha? Maybe. Anyway.) Generally, I think we’d say that things like material in the first draft of a script that doesn’t make it through revisions and onto the screen isn’t canon, even if you can get your hands on a copy of the first draft. The final product that airs is what’s canon. BUT this gets super slippery in something like WoH, in a way that’s exemplified in this episode. This ep is one of the places where people who can lip-read Chinese have spotted some significant dialogue changes between what the actors say on-screen and what lines have been dubbed in. (Everybody’s dubbed in cdramas, it’s just the thing that happens. You have your on-screen actors, and you have your voice actors. The ONLY person in The Untamed who did his own voice dubbing, for instance, was Ji Li, who played Nie Huaisang. All the other characters had voice actors dubbed in. In fact, the voice actor for Jiang Cheng in The Untamed is the voice actor for Wen Kexing in WoH.) One of the descriptions of WoH that I’ve heard is that this show was filmed as a bl and dubbed as a bromance. The thing is, nobody tried very hard to hide the shift. There are plenty of places that you can clearly see the actor’s mouths don’t match the dubbing, and they’re not artfully shot or edited to hide this. They’re fully on-screen, mouthing words that don’t match, right out in the open, almost like they want to you to pick up on it. Almost like it’s canon, because it’s right there on-screen, aired in the episode. In my first-watch reactions to Eps 36 and 37, I talked a lot about how the dubbing puts a layer of de-queered no-homo over what the on-screen actors are saying in these places, but if you can see what they’re actually saying and understand it, does that make it canon? What does it mean, both textually and meta-textually, if you can’t believe what you’re hearing – what you’re being told – because it contradicts what you’re seeing? How does that affect what we’re told about Our Protagonists and its “truth,” particularly in the final scenes? How much is the show deliberately working against censorship in this way? How much is it teaching us to look deeper than what we’re hearing on the surface?

Several people have talked about what’s actually being said by the on-screen actors in places where this happens, and I’m going to direct you to AvenueX on Youtube if you want a complete overview, because she’s reliable and has a good compilation that’s easy to find. She has a couple of videos called “Lip Reading for Sugar,” and the March 9, 2021, installment includes the Ep 6 incidences, the most significant of which are: At 3:05 in the ep, when WKX throws himself on Zhou Zishu’s back during the zombie Drug Men attack, calls him “mom,” asks ZZS to carry him, and tells “mom” that “your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” Only no, Gong Jun didn’t say this, if you watch his mouth compared to the sound of the words. Instead of “niang” (mom), he says “Zhou Zishu.” Twice. “Zhou Zishu, carry me.” “Zhou Zishu, your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” This is not only important because it emphasizes he’s gay for Zhou Zishu’s shoulder blades, but also because he’s fucking baked on Drunk Like A Dream incense when it happens, and later, ZZS will reveal that Drunk Like a Dream makes you see what you most desire, and he’ll confront WKX about how he “kept calling” someone’s name while he was under the influence of it. This makes no sense with the dubbing we get, because with “mom” dubbed over ZZS’s name here, WKX only calls Zhou Zishu’s real name once while he’s under the influence, at the end of ep 5. That is not kept calling. ANYWAY, once WKX clears his head and flies them away from the Drug Men, back to the a lakeside, there’s another disjunct at 5:05, when the dubbing has WKX tell ZZS not to play hero, that he doesn’t lose face if WKX helps him, and ZZS responds with something about your grandmother’s bear, which AvenueX tells me is a real Chinese idiom, although not for what. What Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan appear to actually have said, though, is that WKX tells ZZS that this was just like a hero saving a beauty, with the implication that ZZS is the beauty, the damsel in distress, and ZZS respons that no, it’s like the beauty saving the hero, without a lick of concern that he’s the beauty, the damsel, in this scenario, just that he did all the work killing Drug Men and now this asshole is going to act like he’s the one who did the saving. At 31:24, dubbing has WKX telling ZZS that he’ll give ZZS whatever he wants if ZZS can get him some of the Drunk Like a Dream, but AvenueX tells me that he actually offers his body in exchange, in a way that implies marriage. And at 32:22, when ZZS asks WKX what he saw under the influence of the Drunk Like a Dream, the dubbing gives us some random story about baby WKX throwing a rat on his mother’s bed, while Gong Jun’s mouth seems to be saying something something about being in the bridal chamber with his beloved … so circling back to our first instance at 3:05, WKX using Zhou ZIshu’s name is now super-interesting, eh?

Another slip-slidey point of canon here is that there are two versions of this episode. The original version didn’t have the rabbit-washing scene. That was an extra that was inserted later into a Special Version ep when Youku reached 2 million subscribers. But the Special Version is now available on Youku’s channel (it’s the one I watched for this re-watch), AND it’s the regular version that’s on Netflix. So at 25:28, we now get this adorable little scene where ZZS and WKX are cleaning two rabbits in the lake before cooking them, and WKX splashes ZZS who pretends to be irritated before splashing WKX back and running away up the riverbank, chased by WKX. It’s flirty and playful and ALSO a foreshadowing of the flashback we’re going to see in a later ep, when they play together for an afternoon as children. Wasn’t canon before. Now it is.

Anyway, even with the (bad) dubbing that we get, this is a fantastic WenZhou ep. We open with them still being menaced by the zombies Drug Men, with a lot of swordwork by ZZS before he starts flagging because of his Nails Issue, whereupon WKX instantly sobers up, goes Evil Ghost Valley Master on Imposter Hanged Ghost who’s controlling the Drug Men, kills him with his Fan of Death, then scoops up ZZS and flies him off to a lake, where he attempts to tenderly check ZZS’s pulse and take care of his wounds before ZZS slaps away his hand like an offended maiden. WKX has to give him the qi smackdown in order to hold him still to :coff: pull down his robes and suck out the poison from the Drug Men scratches on the back of his shoulder. :hands: I remember the first time around, watching this with my mouth hanging open, demanding to know the heterosexual explanation for this. (Also, if you’re rummaging on Youtube, the Five Straight Guys Watching Word of Honor for this ep is not to be missed. They’re a little questionable in their reaction to the poison sucking, but before that, they’re a bunch of squeamish babies over using the dagger to further slice open the wounds to get to the poison, and it’s HILARIOUS. They can’t even look at the screen once the dagger comes out, hiding behind their hands. I love them, more and more as the eps go on, but they are WEAK compared to even the newbiest hurt/comfort fangirl.) There’s some more back and forth between WKX and ZZS about revealing their true selves to each other, no you, no YOU. WKX makes it clear that he knows there’s something really wrong with ZZS, and then they fight, set to romantic music, and ZZS ends up falling in the lake. I do the victory arms (  \o/  ) to myself where I’m sitting on the couch and startle one of the cats, because FINALLY we’re going to get rid of that execrable fake facial hair. ZZS fucks with WKX by staying underwater long enough that WKX panics and also dives in, we get some really cheap and awful underwater effects, and ZZS reveals his face! They end up back on the edge of the lake, drying their perfectly dry outer robes, while they sit around the fire together in their perfectly dry inner robes, but I am not going to complain because y’all. I CANNOT with how smug and pleased ZZS is for just a moment about WKX mooning over how pretty he is. Then he remembers to be an ill-tempered gremlin and pokes at WKX with a flaming stick, but I had to rewind four times just to catch that little moment of satisfaction about being admired again – it’s subtle and gorgeous and Zhang Zhehan is going to kill me with his face one of these days. ZZS demands dinner on this date, and fake-coughs pitifully to get WKX to go hunt something down, while he stays and does his delightful little thinky face as he pokes at the Soul Winding Box they got from Imposter Hanged Ghost. Then we get a shot of WKX looking at ZZS before he heads off to catch some rabbits that confirms he now knows he’s really Zhou Zishu, rather than Zhou Xu.

So, we’ll get back to the Ghost and the Box in a minute, but I do want to mention that this whole ep is layered through with mini-references and thematic stuff. Imposter Hanged Ghost rings his little bell to control his Drug Men, and remember that, we’ll see that again. WKX asks if ZZS came from the Healer’s Valley when ZZS offers him an antidote to the Drug Man poison; we learn later that WKX, himself, is the one who came from the Healer’s Valley. When ZZS gets the Soul Winding Box open and finds a piece of the Glazed Armor inside (Danyang’s, taken off of Ao Laizi by Ghost Valley before he was hung at the gate of Sanbai Manor), he gives it to WKX, tells him to throw it away if he doesn’t want it. WKX says he couldn’t possibly, and that he’ll wear it because it’s his first gift from A-Xu. Compare this to the way Xie’er will wear Awful Yifu’s Glazed Armor around his neck. We also see some of the thematic and referential stuff come up in conversations that form a repeated pattern in this ep of ZZS stressing what a bad and dangerous person he is: He scoffs at the idea he’s from Healer’s Valley, and asks if he looks like someone who practices medicine; WKX responds that he looked like a professional killer (true) who was cruel in the abandoned temple (presumably while escaping Mirror Lake) and frightening to a kind-hearted man like WKX who can’t even kill a chicken (particularly amusing given the prep for New Year’s dinner in a later ep, when WKX is the only one who CAN). At the lakeside and again after ZZS hightails it away from Sanbai Manor when they spot Han Ying there (HAN YING, my beloved), WKX asks if ZZS is a fugitive, what he’s hiding from, and says that he’ll protect him – by reason, because would he kill anyone unreasonably (omg, where to even begin? How many guys have you choked out at this point)? When they’re arguing about ZZS revealing his “true” face, ZZS warns that most people who’ve seen his real appearance are dead (probably true). WKX says he’s not afraid of death (not his own, at least, we’ll see that the thing he’s afraid of is ZZS’s death). ZZS warns WKX that he’s not only sharp-tongued, he’s ruthless (true). He tells WKX that he’s murdered many people (true) and set them on fire (not unlikely, frankly) and committed many crimes (true, in a way, although they were state-sanctioned, making them legal, if morally reprehensible). This is the ZZS who put the Nails in himself, who talks to himself about what a truly awful shixiong he is, who tells Prince Jin that he’s only good as a weapon. I like how we see this at the same time that we’re starting to see the side of him that’ll preen when someone thinks he’s pretty - this is a process, and it’s subtle, not as high-drama as WKX’s, but it’s there, nonetheless.

We also formally meet Xie Wang in this ep, artfully posed and playing his pipa among the bodies – old and new – of Zhao Coffin Home. He and Changing Ghost have a bit of a slapfight over whose fault it is that Imposter Hanged Ghost, who was actually Long-Tongued Ghost, got killed and got his (Danyang’s) Glazed Armor took by WKX, when Changing Ghost stole it from Ao Laizi, put it in the Soul Winding Box and gave it to Long-Tongued Ghost specifically to deliver it to Xie Wang. Xie Wang is super cool through all of this, and I think we get a sense of how deadly he is by the way Changing Ghost backs down. So, here’s what’s falling together: Some iteration of Ghost Valley is working with Xie Wang and the Scorpion Sect, giving the Scorpions access to the Soul Winding Threads, which we saw used at the Mirror Lake massacre and in the woods outside of Sanbai Manor to kill Yu Tianjie in the last ep. Via Xie Wang, Ghost Vally has access to use of the Drug Men, which we’ve seen at the Zhao Coffin Home (so far), although we haven’t yet been told (I think) how Xie Wang got access to the potions to create Drug Men (we also know ZZS read about Drug Men in a book somewhere, and got enough info to engineer an antidote to them). Xie Wang and the Scorpions have access to Drunk Like a Dream incense, which had to come from Prince Jin’s court, having been engineered by ZZS based on a much stronger formulation. Han Ying, from Tian Chuang in Prince Jin’s court, has been seen at Sanbai Manor, Zhao Jing’s place.

Meanwhile Chengling is doing poorly, with no appetite and getting bellowed at some more by Shen Shen, who would be the worst if only I didn’t know everything I know, which makes me cringe when Zhao Jing refers to Chengling as “my son, now.” NO. RUN, Goldbean. For some more thematic and referential stuff in this ep, WKX calls Chengling a “lonely chick with no one to rely on” and tsks over the fact that he’s “surrounded by hounds smarter than foxes” now that he’s under the care of the Five Lakes Alliance. This is clearly to manipulate ZZS into thinking Chengling is better off with ZZS, but it also sounds like an awfully apt description of Zhen Yan in Ghost Valley. I’m just sayin’.

[mejomonster]

This is gonna be my love/hate situation with Bridgerton lol

Well I just finished ep 5, and so far? Well I’m sold on daphne and Simon. I could happily end their story here and not get disappointed. They realize their dumbasses were both pining in love and not in love w someone who hated them/whos dreams they were ruining. Delicious. Superb. Sexy. And very sweet when they finally talked. Because like. Yeah the crux is there they have best friend potential and when they do talk and become honest they really really click and really could be happy forever with.

Which sidetrack? I am so curious about what the queen said about loving a best friend. I love her now that I saw her with the king. It was so sad, it makes me think they were best friends and in love once. Then they lost a child, her husband got so sick he loses his memories, and now she has these glimpses where he’s back - her best friend is with her. Then he falls apart again, and it hurts her so much each time to re-lose even these small pieces she gets of him, but she’s so used to losing it she’s hardened herself to bear it. And like now her coldness makes more sense. She’s trying to soldier through it and be strong, be a strong leader and presence as someone needs to be - and her even more because she has no best friend anymore to confide in and support her. She’s doing it all alone. And grieving someone constantly who she has to re-lose.

Also I would. Just watch Lady Dansburrys origin story.

I really like Marinas story and I saw spoilers and I’m sad in advance. I want her and Colin to work out - like logically it is a reasonable happy ending for both, if she can just get him to speed up marriage to within a week or two because “they’re really in love and wanna speed it up.” They definitely seem capable of falling in love, and while marinas gotta bring what she’s trying to fix and handle into the situation, overall they’re pretty solid. Like in our modern era? I guess it depends on the person but if I was Penelope I’d let my friend marry Colin and move on. Especially since now Colin hasn’t been pressured to do something before marriage, so if the marriage is sped along yeah there’s one white lie of a kid that’ll be his but like adopted (which in the modern era we’d just be honest about but apparently in this story setting she’d be unable to marry if she has a kid first?). Like if Colin didn’t like Marina - yeah say something. But Colin does like her. Even if he likes Penelope too - presently he keeps consciously choosing to pursue Marina, that’s his choice, and his choice to not pursue clear single on the market Penelope. If it were me I’d be like well I don’t want him if he doesn’t want me. (Also that storyline is interesting in general I like Marina and Penelope quite a lot).

I also unfortunately heard spoilers of an upcoming scene I will dislike. And I’ve just been bracing since I don’t know when it is. So anyway, future me, good news, if you Do like this show you can just pretend it ended with ep 5 if you get too pissed off later.

Only tangentially related: I plan to watch Black Sails after that cause I love that show and wanna finish, and it’s way more MY kind of period drama. With action and less rich people and struggles for freedom in society etc. However I suppose I have my one unliked scene in that one too. While I think it was a fine writing choice, and as brutal as anything else in the show so not unexpected, the scene where Max is attacked I cannot watch and wish I’d known to avoid ahead of time. I can’t handle it on rewatches. I appreciate how the fallout is handled after, particularly Max’s arc etc. But that scene was so horrific I cannot handle seeing it. While... I know the rest of black sails continues to be brutal, as the violence from ep 1 has always been visceral and present, I think that’s the only scene of that nature though. So I don’t think I need to check for anything else to prepare for. If you have never watched black sails and happen to want to, I do completely recommend looking up the warnings ahead of time and Specifically episode specific warnings because it is very present when it does various heavy things and if there is anything you can’t handle then it is entirely possible to skip those scenes. Like ep 1 I believe flint breaks his nose, it’s on screen, as is the murder of the other guy visibly in the fight, later i think a man is crushed or nearly crushed and the scene doesn’t cut away I think, fights in general don’t tend to cut away from the gore or injury, sex is full on, etc. While it got recced a lot right after supernaturals lackluster finale, and it’s phenomenal story/characters and representation, it very much IS a heavy show and not for everyone. It’s at minimum as heavy in content as Game of Thrones (though I’d argue black sails is much more gory on screen) and eons better written.

Anyway back to Bridgerton, Simon is my favorite character, I do love him, I realize despite how much I hope he’s on screen that the cut aways and him avoiding daphne (and therefore being in scene very long) are the only thing that keep me from just starting to say I love you aloud and get invested too excited for the scene lol. His actor is doing a phenomenal job. Him and Lady Dansburry I think are my favorite actors in the entire show, I’d watch other things they’re in. And I have, perhaps, found the pdfs of the Bridgerton books in the bizarre chance I get too sucked into this and need more Simon scenes ToT

Also I find it. So funny. I follow a misc of people, and when Bridgerton dropped it was on my dash a TON but also I know very Clearly that period dramas about rich people and marriage are so FAR from what I’m into lol. They were like “enemies to lovers! It’s phenomenal” and I was like “yeah perhaps... but could I even stand the genre. I’m not u guys...” and like. I did eventually give it a chance, quit halfway thru ep 1 cause it’s Reallt NOT my genre, then finished and Simon showed up. Then in ep 2 Simon got fleshed out more and I became invested. I can get into most things if the characters are well done. And this show does have a well done cast of multifaceted characters, once they have time to reveal more of who they are - like I hated Siena and Anthony in ep 1. Then quickly loved Siena once I saw her more, and I still hate Anthony but now find him interesting at least the same way Cersei Lannister I found interesting (he’s a sabotaging mess clearly half conscious half unconscious and very Busy lol). And now I am decently into the story, at least characters wise, and yet I think most ppl following me LIKE me probably could run from this genre if presented with it lol. And if like me, this genre isn’t ur usual cup of tea, ur probably right. Truly I got into this cause a gif of Simon looked hot and I was promised a well written enemies to lovers. Well I certainly have gotten those things by ep 5. Especially Simon, who turned out immediately to be a very good character which is even more compelling to me than the prior things. But yeah like? If I was gonna tell anyone Following me a period drama I Did recommend? It would be one of the cdramas I got into - Goodbye My Princess perhaps, is a great one - or Black Sails (again heavily minding warnings particularly i think it’s ep 8 where Max is attacked, or any scene you see has a warning of something you want to skip). Black Sails has some great fucking characters and arcs, themes, power struggles, overarching plot, and a ton of fucking action if you like me Need good action. Like... period cdramas the ones I Do watch, win me over Bridgerton setting, because it’s usually warring nations marrying and war and internal politics Affectint any marriage bullshit I have to endure. It’s societal corruption, loyalty and conflicting interests, choices affecting much more than just a relationship or family on a small scale (tho I could do small scale romance i just mean I care 0 for marriage related plots on their own). Also I tend to like the characters that Don’t belong in the Royal setting - in Bridgerton it’s the seamstress, Marina who is used to the country and not these stuck up norms, Simons best friend and his wife, Siena. In The Untamed it’s Wei Wuxian, Meng Yao, xur Yang a-qing Xiao Xingchen. In Love and Redemption all of Lize sect are Demons and demons who totally overthrow their usual mold in other xianxia! It’s demon as the main lover! Bi demon in canon even! It’s Xuanji being our lead, being a devil turned into a puppet and in the “god” world as god of war, as much an outsider as Wei wuxian.

[rubiaryutheroyal]

When Something Smells It’s Gotta Be Cthulhu - Ep 8

Gyakuten Saiban CoC (Call of Cthulhu)

Uploader: 久瀬 さん (Kuze san)

mylist: http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/58256490

Ep 8: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm30769742

Nicoviewer: http://nicoviewer.net/sm30769742

–

This video series is a replay of a CoC game played with the uploader’s family & friends featuring GS characters (Phoenix, Maya, Edgeworth, Larry), with a few tweaks in the dialogue. It follows a scenario provided by kanin @ <http://kanin-hib.hateblo.jp/> called “Touring the Town”.

This is the latest one that I’ve found for now. With this, I’ll shortly be returning to my regular schedule of releasing translation submissions.

KP: There's a bit of distance between Gyokusen Yui's home and the town.

Maya: Okay.

KP: Saki begins by saying, "Her father was once a geologist who worked in Limestone Cavern."

Saki: Um, since I'm not an expert on it, I don't know the details about her decision to make it a tour site, but I think it was because she envisioned her late father in a dream.

Edgeworth: Her father has passed away...?

Saki: Um, yes... I don't know if I should talk about it, probably not, but she does live out of town. But, a year ago when her parents passed away, she returned home... She was really depressed about it, but she still set out to open up the cave for tourism.

Edgeworth: ...I see... I cannot help but stay quiet on this matter...

Maya: Both her parents were people involved with the cave, huh...

Larry: Hearing about all these people involved with that cave starts to grow on you.

KP: As expected, Saki doesn't know what really happened with her parents.

Larry: Maybe... they died to something...

Maya: Hmhm... I have to ask more about it too... It's hard to comment about these things, but I'll still ask...

Saki: At the time, Yui was spirited about it, quite different from how she used to withdraw into her thoughts when she was young...

Edgeworth: ...So you mean, after facing her parents' passing, she grew strong...

Saki: ...But, as I said before, she eventually still ended up staying at home and not coming out...

Larry: Hmm... why wouldn't she?

Maya: I guess there must have been something bad that happened...?

Edgeworth: Did she show any signs of it whatsoever?

Saki: There probably was something... but I didn't notice anything. The townspeople simply said to not pay her any mind, and in a way, it felt like they were quickly forgetting about her... And then this happened and I'm worried about her, being my close friend.

Edgeworth: ...As a friend, you would be worried, especially at a time like this.

Maya: Yeah! We should meet up with her and ask her about it!

Larry: Saki, you're such a good person, thinking about your friend.

KP: Saki makes a slight smile. Now you've come to a mansion, Yui's home, outside of town. Whether the mansion may or may not have been maintained, the hedges in the courtyard have been trimmed in a simple way. The entrance is locked, so you would need to pick the lock. There doesn't seem to be any other way in.

Edgeworth: If we don't get a response from ringing through the intercom, let's take a walk around the perimeter...

Maya: We're looking for a back entrance, right?

Larry: Can't we just break in through the window?

KP: You try the intercom, but there's no answer. Then, Saki explains, "When I visited her earlier, I gave up after trying for a while. She didn't even show her face..." You can try to break the windows, but there's a door from the backyard that's open.

Maya: How careless! Let's go in!

Edgeworth: Hmph, let's have Saki lead the way and have her let her friend know first.

KP: "Pardon the intrusion... Yui...?" Saki timidly calls out as she enters. Seems to be the kitchen.

Maya: I say "Excuse us!" too as I follow her in.

Larry: Pardon us for stopping by this lady's home...

Edgeworth: Where do we go from here?

KP: Let's see, this house has two floors. First floor has "the kitchen, living room, entranceway, courtyard, bathroom, collection room". Second floor has "the study, bedroom, guest room, Yui's room".

Maya: A collection room? That's a curious name.

KP: Your current location is the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room are directly connected. There don't seem to be signs that this neat and orderly kitchen has been used lately. A "lighter" has been left by the gas stove. There's an "oil lanturn" hanging next to the door to the backyard. As usual, you can roll for aim here.

[all three roll: Edgeworth, Aim (85) -> 91, fail Larry, Aim (80) -> 11, success Maya, Aim (80) -> 27, success]

KP: And finally, Edgeworth has been broken. So, Larry and Maya also discover at the center of the floor, there's a trapdoor that leads to the storage cellar.

Maya: Ooh! "Hey, there's something here! ...looks like a door." But I get a bad feeling from it if we open it... Is that it? Just a space for sake or hardtack and such...

Larry: You mean like a bunker?

KP: Yep. You get that feeling when you look at it.

Larry: So can we open it?

KP: I'm the Keeper here, so of course I'll let you do as you will.

Maya: There are other places to look, but if we don't find Yui, we can look here! Wait, so do we open it...? I don't think anybody would be down there.

Edgeworth: Hmm, it may be a bit daunting to look into every single place.

Larry: We can even call "Heey! Where are youu?" as we look around in the trash and the drawers before we open it up!

Maya: Oh, okay! Gotcha. Anyway, I guess we should think about where else to look...

Edgeworth: Alright... next we try the living room?

KP: There doesn't seem to be any livelihood in the living room either. There isn't even anything special to find.

Larry: What's that collection room about...? Say, should we also take the lighter with us?

Maya: The lighter and oil lantern?

Edgeworth: Is it dark in here?

KP: Yep, since outside is dark.

Larry: The lanteeern!!

Maya: Can we borrow it? Light it! Light it!

KP: The house has electricity.

Edgeworth: Oh, it does?

Larry: Flick.

Edgeworth: But, it's probably best that we borrow the lantern in case of a blackout, and we'll return it later. If we're looking for the person herself, should we first try her room...?

Larry: Can we go into Yui's room...?

Maya: We're going straight to her room right from the start!? But yeah, thinking about it, that would be the first place we'd expect her to be...

KP: Alright. I'll describe it for you. There are bookshelves lined in a row in Yui's room, and they're almost entirely filled with geology books. In the corner is her bed and next to it is a desk. On the desk is a "diary". It seems the owner of the room isn't here.

Larry: T-the diaryyy!!

Edgeworth: As there may be some clues, let's have Saki read through it for us.

KP: Then, Saki goes first. She skims it for a summary, so doesn't take much time. ...And then she looks as if she's unusually shaken up.

Larry: Saki, what's wrong?

Edgeworth: ...What is it?

Saki: Ah, no. No, it's nothing.

Larry: But you don't look like it's just nothing? Are you okay? It wouldn't happen to be some kind of secret between girls, would it...?

Saki: I-I'm okay!! Just fine!

Maya: B-but you don't look fine! What was written on there...?

Saki: U-um...

Edgeworth: ...If there wasn't anything hindering her, she would probably tell us... but it seems there is something quite serious.

Saki: I-I'm sorry...

[psyche-locks]

KP: Even if you aren't psychologists, you can tell Saki doesn't want to talk. Somehow from her trembling, you get the feeling that she's covering for her friend.

Maya: Do we try persuade or trust...?

Larry: Can I try to lifting the mood with my art skills!?

Maya: ???? Using what?

KP: Should I also try with my acting skills?

Edgeworth: Go ahead.

KP: With trust or something?

Larry: Not acting?

Edgeworth: ? Wouldn't you use acting?

KP: Huh?

Maya: Roll for acting?

KP: My acting is only 65.

Edgeworth: Roll for it.

KP: !?!?! Why are you forcing me!? Larry! Then you roll for your skill!

Larry: Don't worry, Nick, my art is just 55. Do I roll for it?? Huh? Do I show that picture??

KP: Suddenly, we're being eccentric by showing off our art skills. Fine, I'll do it since you're making me.

Larry: Yeah, let's roooll!

Edgeworth: Put a little effort into lifting the mood.

Larry: Oh, my art is 45.

[both roll: Larry, Arts/Drawing (45) -> 10, success Phoenix, Arts/Acting (65) -> 45, success]

Larry: I did it.

KP: What just happened?

Larry: So... to calm her, I carefully pull out a picture I've been keeping in my bag and show it to her...

KP: Never mind Larry, what am I supposed to do!? Am I going to pretend to be an actor in a William Shakespeare play!? (1)

Edgeworth: Y-yeah... But, just think of it as you're trying to bring a smile to her face...

Maya: Good luck, Nick!

KP: Huh...? Then, I'll follow behind Larry, who's carefully pulled out that picture, and will act out a scene based on it like from a drama...

Larry: Oh, yeah, Saki, take a look at this~! It captures a sense of my artistic genius!

[picture moziac] (2)

KP: You really pulled out that picture!? (3)

Phoenix: (I knew something smelled from this guy...!) ...Well! What beautiful flames you have there, Laurice.

Saki: Uh... huh?

Phoenix: (It's been way too long since I've done something with an all-male cast...) (4)

Edgeworth: ...Though, it would be the duty of a friend to have faith in these two, despite their making quite a painful show. ...Well, it would also be a duty of mine to point it out to them. So I direct the two who have run their eccentric course to bring it to a proper (?) finish. (5)

Maya: And I nod, saying, "Yep, yep," to Mr. Edgeworth's suggestion of wrapping it up...?

KP: I'm the only one here who has to bear the pain. With this... I nervously pass the diary over to Edgeworth and Maya.

Larry: What!? You don't think I cut it, Saki!?

KP: Between the two of you, I'd say Akago is worse.

Larry: Y-you meanie!!

Maya: You guys can um... just talk about something if you've got it!

Edgeworth: Now may we read it?

Saki: ...Very well.

KP: So I'll reveal the contents aloud.

[Gyokusen Yui's Diary]

"I've come home after hearing that my parents have died in an accident. I've participated in the funeral, but now I have to sell the estate. While cleaning up the album, I found a picture of my family going to the amusement park. There was also a picture of me crying about my lost balloon. When were they taken...? I've reunited with Saki after a long time. She's as cheerful as always. Nothing about her has changed. And neither have I since young. Father was in a daze over the rocks left in that abandoned mine. I didn't understand it at all, but it seems trying to dispose of the rocks that formed like hills would break one's bones. Just where did he pick up that especially large crystal? But it's still an interesting mineral. I'm curious about its composition. I saw a dream. I don't remember it well, but I feel like I've seen it before."

Edgeworth: Hm...

"I heard a song. It was a mysteriously beautiful song. But I don't know if it's a good sign as a song. I have to pass on that song. I don't know why. I thought about what I could do. Among Father's collectibles is a large crystal that enhances the song. I can't leave it here to collect dust. I should move it."

Larry: E-eek...

"Ever since I listened to that song, I've come to be a follower. I'm happy that I've changed. That crystal is only one part of him. Obviously, I can't break it. But it's okay. As long as he is in good health, he'll protect it, after all. I want to listen to that song some more. Hearing his voice has changed me.   I don't want to go back to how I was. His voice   voice   getting closer   If I don't change   I am not myself"

KP: The contents of the diary stop here.

Edgeworth: This is...

Larry: Bad!

Maya: Very bad.

KP: Hahahahaha.

Maya: M-Mr. Edgeworth... this is...

Edgeworth: ...It seems that we'll need to examine around this house further. Will that be alright with you, Ms. Mitsuba?

Saki: She is my friend, so um... But as a police officer, I permit it. I will take responsibility.

Larry: What in the heck is going on?

KP: "It's a tough world, isn't it, Laurice?" And I put my hand on his shoulder.

Larry: "Yeah, it is, Nick... It feels like no matter how hard you try, you're never paid back for it. It's so saaad..." And I do the same.

KP: Akago is probably beside you too.

Edgeworth: Our apologies. We promise not to intrude into any private quarters if we don't need to. ...It's unfortunate, but one of us has also become a victim of this. I'm sure you must have mixed feelings now... but we would appreciate your help.

Larry: Yay! My hand is turning to crystal!!

Saki: ...Yes, sir. Where could Yui have gone...?

Maya: Hmm, according to what she's written... a crystal? Or something may be around here...

Edgeworth: I don't know for sure... but I suspect she may have become emotionally cornered. She may have left behind some clues in this house. Wright also heard a song, didn't he?

Larry: Nick heard a song and fell down. And then I! My hand!

KP: Phoenix did say he heard a song, and he saw a dream too.

Saki: ...I think there may be a study of some sort, in this house.

Edgeworth: The study... Perhaps there may be some hint as to her father's behavior. Whatever has been left will do.

Saki: That is true...

Maya: ...I kinda feel bad about looking around her house... but we don't have a choice here.

Edgeworth: ...Wright, before you fell, you mentioned that you heard a song. Do you still remember it?

Phoenix: Huh? Uh, yeah. I heard it.

Edgeworth: Did you hear it coming from further inside the cave?

Phoenix: No... I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from, since I fell over...

Edgeworth: Hmm... I see. This diary also has a description of a song... I figure there is indeed something inside that cave.

Phoenix: You don't say... After I heard that song and fell over, I saw a dream that made me feel really good as I sank into darkness.

Edgeworth: ...That's terrifying.

Phoenix: It was a terrifying dream.

Edgeworth: Hmph...

Larry: If it made you feel good, then I wanna hear it too...

Maya: But wasn't it a bad dream?

KP: After waking, I did think it was, but it was also a dream with good feelings.

Edgeworth: In other words, you became addicted to it.

Larry: You mean like drugs?

Edgeworth: Hmm... While we examine around the place, I have some questions that need answers about what's mentioned in the diary...

==

To be continued.

Episode 8 (untitled)

==

(1) It may have been a remark made amid confusion, but of course he'd make it a comedy.

(2) KP has no particular reason to blur our the reproduced image here.

(3) Larry's PL actually pulled this picture out for this moment.

(4) Phoenix's PL is referring to the "All Male" series of drama, where all roles, even the female ones, are cast with men.

(5) Though the video only shows KP's one-man act, he'd like to point out that the PLs' smiles played a part in it as well.