How is it December already? Like, no??? This also means it’s around time for me to reread the CSI: Miami novel Harm for the Holidays: Misgivings again.
On Tuesday, I read a short section of next4years.
And again I ramble on for about as long as the part I read was:
We learn that last year, when YuniChika were second-years, Seiin had gotten a second gym due to the team’s Nationals appearance the year before. No more trading off with the girls’ team as to who practices on the indoor and outdoor courts! Also, Aoki was the one who lobbied to get it, at the end of his third year. He definitely doesn’t care about volleyball and the team as little as he sometimes pretends. Only doing this for Oda, my foot. But, well, we been knew.
(I still haven’t figured out how to say that without making him sound like a tsundere though, because he’s not.)
But yeah, Yuni and Chika stop by Seiin first and go to the second gym—which of course Chika’s never seen before since it was constructed late fall of last year, while he was at Keisei—where Oda and Aoki are waiting for them, visiting from where they’re both attending college in Kansai to congratulate them both on making it to Nationals again and on their graduation. We learn that Keyakisha is in Kantō, and Aoki comments half-sarcastically/jokingly (and thus, half-seriously) to YuniChika, “Keyakisha in Kantō, is it? So you’re choosing Mimura over Oda, hm?” and Oda chides him, saying entirely seriously that his back isn’t one that anyone would want to chase after </3 That’s totally not true (also that’s kinda what Aoki did? He started and is continuing volleyball for him, though they’re attending different schools now), but Yuni and Chika have that promise to Subaru about playing on the same team as him that they have to keep.
Also I have no idea why I keep getting Kansai and Kantō mixed up. Yeah, they both start with the same character, but one’s “west” and has Kyōto and the other’s “east” and has Tōkyō, and I know this. Despite 関西 literally being a couple paragraphs up, I thought, “Oh, so everyone’s in Kantō now.” No.
Some vocab of note:
およそ [adv.] about; roughly; approximately
運動 (うんどう) [noun, する verb] appeal; campaign; drive; crusade; movement; lobbying
甘ったれる (あまったれる) [自一] to behave like a spoiled child. Has a more negative nuance than 甘える.
たしなめる [他一] to chide; to rebuke; to reprove
On Wednesday, I read 2 chapters of 不機嫌なモノノケ庵 vol 10.
lol I just said the other day that I’ve only come across 父上/母上 in fantasy, and today we meet a youkai who uses 父上. And then when the Mononokean is talking to Moja, she refers to the father as お父上, confirming my suspicions that it took the お because it was someone else’s father.
Also it’s cool that his father is named モロハク (諸, all; many) and he’s named カタハク (片, one (of a pair); few). I’m not sure how many other youkai have meaningful names like that.
Some vocab of note:
持久走 (じきゅうそう) [noun] marathon training in P.E. classes in Japanese schools. Literally “endurance running.”
飛脚 (ひきゃく) [noun] express messenger; postman; mailman; courier
酔狂 (すいきょう) [noun, な-adj.] whim; vagary; capriciousness; eccentricity
何卒 (なにとぞ) [謙譲語, adv.] please; kindly; I beg of you; if it pleases you
下見 (したみ) [noun, する verb (他)] preliminary inspection; having a look in advance. In the same vein as 下書き, “rough draft.”
Yesterday, I read another chapter of 不機嫌なモノノケ庵.
I think this chapter may be setting up a Hanae backstory arc
We learn a little bit about Hanae’s father: his name was 榮 (Sakae), he could somehow cure Hanae’s mother’s anemia (almost certainly brought on by possession of a youkai, and almost certainly he could see them and removed them from her person the way Hanae did the one possessing her in this chapter) when she was younger, and he had golden hair and eyes just like Abeno. Well, I use past tense, but I dunno if he’s dead or what; this chapter was the first mention of him.
I kinda hope them having the same golden hair and eyes doesn’t mean Abeno and Sakae (and thus Hanae) are related… I wonder if it has something to do with them being humans who can see youkai—or possibly not being fully human at all? Yeah, Hanae can see youkai too, but he couldn’t until Moja, and he was only able to see other youkai after Moja possessed him. It may also have to do with how, though Hanae has the same power or “influence” that Abeno can use over youkai, he can’t use it consciously/at will, unlike Abeno.
It's only manifested twice so far, and both times he was experiencing strong emotion that went beyond that and into a sort of calm, and he wasn't really aware of the power or what he was doing at the time.
The first was the first time he went to the Kakuriyo, when that capybara-looking youkai hurt (maybe killed, Hanae’d thought) Mojamoja; he got distracted and came back to himself and so never actually used the power. The second time, that little b*tch Yahiko thought it would be fun to torment Hanae in his sleep and took on the true form of the Executive, who had recently tried to kill Hanae and whose presence in his true form was so great that Hanae couldn’t breathe and still thought he was gonna die even though the Executive hadn’t actively been trying to at that point (and Abeno rarely uses his influence, especially not against the Big 3, but he did so here to force the Executive back into his human form). Yeah. So you can imagine that when Hanae woke up and saw whom he thought was the Executive here in the Utsushiyo come to finish the job, he was terrified, though this time it surpassed that into a sort of calm, and his influenced manifested, and he did actually use it this time against Yahiko. Abeno could sense something was off though and rushed to the room, startling Hanae back to himself, and he hadn’t actually been aware of what he was doing at all. Yahiko only got what he deserved though. I hate him so much, especially after this. How could he think that was okay?
So Abeno and Sakae might have golden hair and eyes because they’re strongly gifted, and Hanae’s less-strongly gifted, so he’s got regular ol’ dark hair and eyes? Well, we’ll see.
Hanae’s mother compares Abeno to a sunflower, and even though it’s because of his hair and eye color, it’s funny because he’s rather sullen. The title should really be 不機嫌なモノノケ庵主 lol, the Mononokean is the cheery one while Abeno is the ill-humored one.
On the last page, we also encounter whom I assume is Hanae’s elder sister, who also appears to be blond, unlike Hanae and their mother who have black hair.
Some vocab of note:
出来心 (できごころ) [noun] sudden impulse; passing fancy
葬り去る (ほうむりさる) [他ラ五] to consign to oblivion
脱力感 (だつりょくかん) [noun] ennui; languishing; feeling of exhaustion; lassitude; lethargy
Going by the calendar (at least in the northern hemisphere), the majority of December is in autumn! The winter solstice isn’t until the 21st, give or take a day depending on the year, so only about a week and a half or so is technically winter. Weather-wise, it sure feels like winter though lmao
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12月02日
About as good as any time, I say. I’ve been so disorganised with Japanese this month, at least with reading, but I’ve been listening quite a bit so it’s alright, still daily study just different focus for a bit. I’ve needed a bit of leeway what with all the schedule adjusting I’ve been doing this week, but I’m happy to announce that it’s been going great. I’ve been going to bed early, waking up early and going for a walk daily since Monday (which has given me the opportunity to do more Japanese listening with podcasts), and I want to start going for an easy run here and there from next week’s Monday onwards to start preparing for regular exercise again. A part of me is still resisting and missing staying up late at night sooo much, but I know that if I give in I’m definitely at risk of going to bed super late again feeling tired most of the day and honestly… I very much prefer the energy I have now, which is not a whole lot but it’s still noticeable. It’s still early and I still prefer the night, but… 
Dec 2 
at least 蜂楽’s having the time of his life, and 潔 is… experiencing 
I think this is my favorite chapter so far, I really enjoyed the way it was written and the extra flavor it gave to the story.
