C.O.M.A.T.O.S.E.
やばい。。。 (Crap.)
眠くて瞼が。。。 (My eyelids…are…)
重かった。。。 (…heavy with sleep…)
(Not Quite) A Eulogy
Four days! Four days I lived like a zombified hermit to finish the typesets Stiletto mercilessly left behind for Kiyoku Yawaku. If that’s how much work it took to type the 80+ pages, then I can’t imagine how much energy Swirly must have used up to clean these atrocious raws. By the way, thank you, Swirly, for donating the tankos! Starting from Volume 3, we will be using HQ raws.
With that squared away, I should be able to say, “Tonight I sleep like a baby.” Because I seriously need sleep. Three hours a day for four days is going to kill me. Seriously. And it’s been hard for me to sleep while working on Mayama’s arc. The moment my head hits the pillow, my brain cogs start wheeling in motion. Because I’ve lost a friend too.
Mimi VS Evil Future Sister-in-Law VS Mimi Mama VS Mimi Papa…?
I miss my dad. With the recent fiasco between me and my brother’s fiancee, who said she could not personally come to give me an invitation to her wedding because, according to my mom, her foot hurts. Oh, wait, no, now it’s her arm? Oh, wait, was it her stomach? Anyway, enough was enough. Their wedding is two months away, and I had to call my mom about it to give her a piece of my mind.
Mimi: I live five minutes away from you…by foot. If I was living in Iceland, or something, then it would make perfect sense, and I would not be holding that against her. And how did she get to your house anyway? Doesn’t she have to drive there? I’d hate to think of all the pressure she’s putting on her poor, swollen feet, so swollen that she cannot make her way down the block to my house to hand me an invitation.
Mimi Mama: You so mean, I afraid you might do something to her.
Mimi (in an exaggerated Valley Girl tone): Yes, poor, sweet girl. All 140 pounds of her might come here, and, like, get her hair yanked by my skinny little fingers, and even though I’m, like, only 98 pounds, I will somehow wrestle with her and come out the victor, and I will somehow manage to shove her out the door and onto my lawn, and she will accidentally bump her head against a lawn gnome on her way down…
Mimi Mama: See? I told you so.
Mimi groans in frustration.
I broke things off with the last guy I was seeing because he was her friend, and she was unhappy with seeing us together, and it was making him feel miserable to be shunned by everyone because of his association with me. And because I’m a freaking saint, or seriously stupid, I bade him farewell, and now he’s happy, and she’s happy, and I’m at least – if not happy – then moderately satisfied that they’re all happy.
After that conversation, though, I avoided that side of my family like the plague. My sister and friends think I’m punishing myself, that I should just tell everyone what’s she’s done to me and set matters straight. But I don’t think that helps. I’m not cut-out for all that juvenile crap. Never was, never will be. She’s going to marry my brother in two months, anyway. Plus she really is very sweet to everyone else. Who am I to pull the carpet from beneath her feet? (Though I do relish the idea of standing up and shouting, “I object!” when the guy doing the wedding vows asks if anyone has any objections.)
But I do miss my dad. The poor man was forced to call me the other day, in secret, in the driveway, behind his parked boat, lol. I still remember the day I almost killed us both, like it was yesterday.
The year is 2003 and it is late afternoon at a parking lot of a community college. Mimi Papa is in the passengers seat showing 17 year old Mimi, who is at the steering wheels, how to work the gas pedal.
Mimi Papa: OK, just put you foot down on it gent-a-ree (gently).
Mimi: Like that?
Mimi Papa: Yeah, OK, good. Now…
Mimi Papa suddenly throws his hands in the air and shouts: P- POLICE!
Mimi’s right foot accidentally goes heavy on the gas pedal instead of the breaks, maneuvering the car over the curvy premonitory of grass dividing the sidewalk and parking lot, onto the sidewalk, and manages to wrestle her foot onto the brakes just in time to stop it from crashing into a palm tree.
Mimi: Piece of craaaaaap!
Mimi Papa (dropping his arms and slowly, then pats himself, as if to ascertain that he is still alive): Good thing I teach you how use brake first.
Lesson learned: Mimi Papa’s insane fear of the cops leads to car almost hitting tree, leads to cop car pulling up to check IDs, then said cop eyeing the IDs suspiciously, and then finally letting them go with a-
Suspicious Cop: You need to learn the mechanics of your car before getting behind the wheel.
Mimi: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. We’re sorry, sir.
…And now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, releases, releases, and more releases for you! Take one, take all. I know you really want to throw your clothes off and run naked through the sprinklers from joy, but keep them on. No, really, put them back on! /shields eyes/ If you’re really happy to see them, then don’t forget to thank all the staff that helped us with these projects, especially our new freelancers: StormspikeX and Kat. ‘Cause I really do appreciate the help.
3 AM Dangerous Zone v3, ch12 —- Download || Read Online
Balancing Toy v2, ch.6 —- Download || Read Online
Kiyoku Yawaku v2, Act 3 Part B —- Download || Read Online
Principal v4, ch.13 —- Download || Read Online
P.S. Thanks to Lilanar, we will be having weekly, Friday releases of Chiruhi by Kawachi Haruka (author of Sekine) in May. So please don’t forget to drop by next Friday and offer your support!
P.P.S. I’m still duking it out with Otoko no Issho Volume 1. I am almost, almost done. Don’t give up hope yet!
In Celebration of Our 4-Year Anniversary: The Legend of “Steamy Heels”
July 31, 2013 marked four years of scanlation for the team. ┗(｀ー´)┓ ┏(｀ー´)┛ Let’s hope we’ll be able to keep going for another four! In celebration of our anniversary, I’d like to present a fairy tale for you. One that brings wonder, excitement, havoc and mayhem, and of course, many releases too!
[strums lute]
Once upon a time in a faraway land called the Kingdom of Steamy Heels, there was a lonely queen named Stiletto, who had an insatiable love for Josei. In order to feed her desires, she locked up a group of editors, proofreaders and translators in an extremely high tower with doors made of fire, and placed creatures called Josei-a-fans to guard the doors. These Josei-a-fans were infamous for traveling together like a swarm of locusts. Faceless and shapeless, they took the form of a cloud of dust, and whenever a work of art was created, they would swarm up and snatch it away for Queen Stiletto’s vault, leaving only a trail of Critique bugs in their place.
The editors who were trapped in this tower were forced to dream up art, and the proofreaders and translators writing, but the amalgamation of individuality created havoc within the tower, and it become a warzone of mismatched pieces and disconnected thoughts. With nothing but Critique bugs to feed their hunger, the editors, proofreadres, and translators became increasingly depressed.
The longtime editors were beginning to feel their limitations: katamari began karaoking to Beyonce (“Bey”) videos in her head; amatsu’sendless smiles and Go-and-get-’em attitude was beginning to lose its fizz; Kelpie and pirato4ka, who both felt largely ignored, began slowly disappearing; Flapper Girl’s mind was occupied with ’30s starlets, Gatsby, and hair jewelry;Lilanar of Dustbowlia, unable to control her daydreaming, would crowd the room with her wild imaginations, which belly-danced their way to life, disrupting everyone’s concentration; and Mine-of-Lauva, remained huddled up in her corner of the tower, suffering from tea withdrawal, muttering the words, “J’ai besoin de thé. J’ai besoin de thé. J’ai besoin de thé.” (But alas! Nobody could understand her, for she was from the Kingdom of Lauva.) The other editors, shuyiin, stellar, Gypsie, Jenn, Ivy, Gazechic, Betakoi, and SwirlyOwl could only look on in despair.
The translators and proofreaders suffered no less: Mimi, bubblesinmysuitcase, otaku_mel, octopus, Mo, niflheim, Miwachan, badtzphoto, kiraxjinwood and cheesecrayon spent the better part of their days fending off the attacks of the evil, script-eating creatures called Mangiwi and Kiwango, who were able to penetrate the towers through their distortion of shadows.
After several years trapped in the tower, these prisoners lamented their fate, but resigned themselves to it and continued to dream up their art and scribble away at their writing, while the Josei-a-fans continued cloud-dust-snatching their work to store in the vault, and leaving behind Critique bugs in their feeding bowl.
But as the days and months and years wore on, the Josei-a-fan guards began to notice the editors, proofreaders and translators. A few of them even fell in love. These ones began to gather up secretly and band together to train to free the imprisoned occupants of the tower. When the day for another Giant Raid finally came, the changed Josei-a-fans separated themselves from their usual swarm of yellow dust of Critique-bug-planting Josei-afans and raced to block their newfound enemies’ ways.
“What are you doing? Get out of our way!” their former partners shouted.
“Over our dead bodies!” the changed Josei-a-fans replied.
In the fierce melee that ensued the changed Josei-a-fans overpowered their enemies and turned out as victors, thus able to free the imprisoned editors, proofreaders, and translators, and destroy Queen Stiletto’s vault, removing all of the stories from within, so that every citizen of Steamy Heels would be able to experience in these exquisite delights:
Delight# 01: 3 AM Dangerous Zone v2, ch.9
Delight# 02: Ane no Kekkon v1, ch.4
Delight# 03: Kiyoku Yawaku v2, Act 3a
Delight# 04: Nigeru Otoko ch.5 — FINAL CHAPTER!!!
Delight# 05: Nobody Cry Story, ch.1 *new*
Delight# 06: Principal v3, ch.9
Delight# 07: Principal v3, ch.10
Delight# 08: Principal v3, ch.11
Delight# 09: Sekine’s Love v3, ch.14
Delight# 10: Torch Song Ecology v1, ch.1 *new*
HAPPY FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!
P.S. An innocent typo from our new typesetter, Gypsie, gave birth to this story. So Gypsie, thank you for sending in an application wanting to join “Stiletto Steam.” And though you are probably clutching at your head going, “No, why’d you tell?!(;*´Д`)ﾉ”, we’d just like to say that we really did appreciate it. ^(#｀∀´)_Ψ
P.P.S. There were many more chapters planned, which did not fall through because of my deteriorating health. (I was down with a fever yesterday and could not finish checking over everything.) I’d just like to say that I appreciate all you loyal readers. We are working hard on more chapters from seemingly dead projects such as Futago, Heartbroken Chocolatier, Tokyo Alice, and Toribako House, along with new projects as well. We hope you will be patient and will continue popping up to check on us from time to time.
RL > everything else
Apparently RL can be just as unforgiving as Cats. The nightmares that I had assumed would never happen came rearing its ugly head. It seemed like life had a dealt me a card titled: “IN ‘YO FACE!”
“IN ‘YO FACE!” Event No.1
In order to avoid a tl; dr post, let me just say that our so-called attorney for my hit-and-run accident back in May 2011, screwed us over. We never signed any paperwork, except for a rental car agreement. Everytime we asked about the car, she told us it was “evidence for the trial” and that it “was in a safe place.” After the towing company hit us with a Notice of Lien Sale, she told us to fax over the information, and she would take care of it.
Oh sure, she took care of it all right! Now I have, flapping limply in my hand, a letter stating that I owe $1462.52 in towing and storage fees for a car that, once May 26 hits, will no longer belong to me.
“IN ‘YO FACE!” Event No. 2
My dad had a bad fall at work the other day, where he cut and bruised his knee, cracked his front teeth, and formed a bulbous, horn-like lump on his forehead that had to be rubbed down with a poached egg. I was unaware of all this when I called him up and threw a tantrum over the phone about the collection notice, and only found out when I received a stern call from my mom saying, “Ha’chan, I know that you have your fair share of problems, but how can you trouble your father when he’s recovering from a fall?”
The news totally gutted and fileted me. I felt like a complete jerk.
“IN ‘YO FACE!” Event No. 3
I went “scissor”-happy last night and attacked my over-grown bangs. It was crappy-looking at night, but I figured it would look better once I woke up the next morning, like it usually does.
…Apparently, that wasn’t the case here.
“IN ‘YO FACE!” Event No. 4
There are only 4 releases today, instead of 9 promised to our staff. (Sorry guys, I just couldn’t stay awake to finish them.)
& (and) Volume 1, Ch.3 – A very, very, very short chapter that doesn’t even showcase Shinkeikaku’s beloved Yagai-sensei. (Oh, wait, was that his hand I saw?) Sincerely Yours, A Shiro-chan Fan.
Download/ Read Online
Kiyoku Yawaku (Joint w/ PI) Volume 1, Ch.4 – I love the sassy dialogue in this chapter, especially with Asami.
DDL Ch.4/ Read Online
Principal Volume 1, Ch.3 – The amount of SFX in this chapter alone is equivalent to the amount of paint-ball pellets needed to take down a grown, male bear.
Download/ Read Online
Sakamichi no Apollon Volume 1, Extra – Absolutely NOT canon. (We know.)
Download/ Read Online
However, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. In this case, two. Our new typesetter, amatsu, helped us pull through for Kiyoku Yawaku, and will continue typesetting for Principal, so that Principal’s original TS’er Lypiphera can help us finish ts’ing Volume 3 of Bitou Lollipop.
What’s getting pushed back this week, will show up next week, and it will be a really nice batch to close the month. The following are in typesetting or QC process:
Balancing Toy Volume 1, Ch.1
Futago Volume 1, Ch.15-16 /end volume
Heartbroken Chocolatier Volume 1, Ch.1-3 /end volume
Junai Rosen Ch.1
Nina My Love Volume 1, Ch.7 & Omake /end volume
Tokyo Alice Volume 2, Ch.7~8
And if staff has the extra time, we’ll throw in Sakamichi no Apollon Ch.6 , Toribako House Ch.3 and What Revolves Around Al and Neri Ch.2. If not, these will show up in our earliest May 2012 batch.
And in case anybody thinks we don’t read their comments, we want to assure you, Mako, that we are now fully aware that it is Art Blakey (not Blake-LY) & The Messengers’, Moanin’ (not Moaning). Talk about embarrassment. I had a chance to listen to the live performance on youtube with my punk-star-wannabe-22-year-old brother (aka Canon in D), who has now been converted to jazz.