Katharos

This is currently a Nirvana in Fire blog.  Perennial fandom is The Silmarillion and Dogs plus other random stuff. 

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

insp.

[enchantedbook]

"Mélusine" from Les grandes Sataniques de l'histoire de la Légende by Roland Brévannes, 1907.

[charminglyantiquated]

that story where you challenge the fairy queen to a match of wit and skill to win back your loved one. and it goes … fine, you think? probably.

adapted from this very short Elsewhere University piece, changed slightly to be a little more self-contained.

other comics//tapastic//patreon//ko-fi

[ozempicofficial]

[thisishowyoumakemovies]

That comment is spot on AND sciatica stretches are legit. The best treatment for sciatica is get stretchy.

Signed: Willem Defoe fan with sciatica

[wethekeegsta]

For anyone who doesn’t know, Sciatica is pain due to compression of the sciatic nerve, which runs from your buttocks down the back of your leg. The reason this stretch is helpful is because the sciatic nerve, after leaving your spinal cord, immediately runs just underneath - and may get compressed by - the Piriformis muscle deep in your buttcheek, which helps you externally rotate your hip. (If the muscle is super tight, your toes on that side might actually point further out when you lie down compared to the toes on your other foot, jsyk).

If the above stretch ain’t compatible with you for reasons like having bitch ass knees, here are some alternative and amazing stretches for the muscle in order of easiest to hardest (but imo least to most helpful) to perform:

However, just keep in mind that none of these stretches will help you if you have a herniated disc, which compresses the nerve roots that protrude from the spine itself! For that you’ll for sure need some different medical intervention.

Have fun!

[electricswamp]

[wolfythewitch]

furthest we've ever been

[arctic-hands]

When I was a teenager and still on Neopets I was part of a pretty big Star Trek guild and eventually became part of its council, with the solemn duty of creating weekly polls. Well one day I created the poll "Which would win in a fight? Borg Cube or Death Star?". Naturally, since this was a Star Trek guild, the answer was overwhelmingly "Borg Cube", but someone did have the rationality to point out we were biased.

So I look up a pretty prominent Star Wars guild and message one of their council and ask them to poll the same question and get back to me in a week. They do, and naturally the fuckin geeks said "Death Star".

So then I look up a Stargate guild and messaged the lead council member, saying the same thing, and they get back to me almost immediately saying that the Death Star would immediately one-shot a Borg Cube but they would never be able to do it again to another Cube. And I took that wisdom back to my guild and we were mollified, and for one moment the Nerd World was peaceful.

[evilsoup]

[gilliagandy]

Truly thrilled to finally find this post on my dash.

[periru3]

Hill to Die On - a Steven Universe and Rebecca Sugar fanvid

I would compromise on other things, but I would not compromise on Ruby and Sapphire.

Made for the Unfinished Business premieres show at @vidukon 2026

Cross-posted on AO3

[kirbypoyopoyo]

in lieu of chapter 50, which is delayed due to satou coming down with covid, volume 5 of tongari kitchen ends with a charming little extra chapter featuring qifrey and orugio during their students days!

this extra chapter may have been inspired by this drawing shirahama did a couple of years ago

it's a good thing these two started cooking so early because i would feel so bad for the girls to have to deal with unseasoned vegetables boiled in water soup

and thus young qifrey discovered the joys of cooking, and would enjoy many years of night time fun with orugio thereafter and with this, volume 5 is finally done! as i've posted about before, with the news that tongari kitchen will be officially translated into english i will be stopping my scanlations here, but my notes won't be going away completely! i'm thinking of writing summaries for each chapter and translating the recipes found on the back pages going forward. i probably won't include any images aside from what might be publicly available from satou and the magazine, but it will probably be similar (though less wordy) to the summary i wrote for orugio's special chapter. if i end up purchasing english volumes, i might even post translation notes and compare to what i've come up previously. but in any case, i will still post tidbits about wha in general. have a happy new year!

[kirbypoyopoyo]

heyo witches, i don't think i've seen anybody translate this little doodle shirahama posted on twitter a while ago so i figured i'd give everyone a basic translation about our little makeidan fam

lulucy: please don't worry about work and just rest okay!

garuga: after you've finished eating it all be sure to take your medicine

utowin: hey now- even if you don't have any appetite you gotta eat eas

easthies: (while nodding off) ok...

easthies is actually saying "n" or "un", which is basically a verbal noise used to signal agreement or acknowledgement in the same way we say "ok" in english.

i'm sure the makeidan are just there b/c they care about easthies, but i suppose it's also possible that all of them know easthies can't take of himself properly and it requires 3 adults to remind him to eat, drink medicine, and go to sleep

[kirbypoyopoyo]

hello! if you still take wha translation asks, i have a question about ch 27. On the 24th pg of that ch, when Qifrey confronts the brimhat, in the official eng ver. he says "then tell me, what do you know of a brimmed cap with a visage like mine" but in some fan translations, he says "what do you know of the brimmed cap with the same eye as me." and since that's a fairly big difference, i was wondering if you had any insights. thank you! and i hope this comes off respectfully, and not demanding!

i'm always happy to answer questions! the volumes i buy write the page number based on the whole book, but i believe this panel is what you're referring to

the fan translation is more accurate to what was literally said, which does focus specifically on qifrey's eye(s). i'm not quite sure why the official translation decided to use "visage"--which refers to a person's appearance--though i wonder if it's possibly a mistranslation/misinterpretation of the term 見た目 which means "appearance" but also uses the same character for "eye". it's also possible that they didn't know at the time the significance of this line and chose a different word for artistic reasons.

qifrey is specifically saying "then what about the brimhat who has the same eye(s) as me!?", and the term used for "has" can refer to possession both in a literal and figurative sense. so it could either mean the brimhat has the same eye or eye color as qifrey, or that he literally has qifrey's eyeball. considering what we know about qifrey's past, the latter isn't exactly improbable but the wording is more likely the first (more common) meaning.

hope that helps!

[kirbypoyopoyo]

hey there witches, have you ever wanted to know what orugio would look like with longer hair? or perhaps you'd like to see his baby face again? shirahama hits us up with this nice spectrum illustration! gotta say, orugio rocks coco's hairstyle pretty nice haha

each note is a fun descriptive name for each 'gio (from left to right)

1. shavedgio (using the word sori, which means "shaved" in this context)

2. defaultgio (parentheses says "the usual")

3. growingio (using the word nobi, which means that something is extending i.e. growing)

4. unkemptgio (using the word bosa, which is part of bosabosa which refers to something being messy or disheveled)

tanaka ai, author of tengu's kitchen, left a really funny comment of just "！？！？！？？？！？！？！？！？？１？！？！"

[kirbypoyopoyo]

can't have a 'gio without his 'frey! here're qifrey's long-hair versions, from right to left (cuz of course he mirrors orugio)

defaultfrey (in parentheses, "the usual")

ponytailfrey. below shirahama notes that this one might look the most "witch-like", though in parentheses she also says he kinda looks like a researcher. clearly shirahama thinks a proper fantasy man needs hair below the shoulders

sunday bestfrey (according to the notes, he took a bath lol)

scruffrey (parentheses notes he'd probably cancel his bath. this is probably also referring to a recently trending term called "bath cancelling" or "bath cancelers", where japanese post about deciding not to take a bath due to being too lazy or tired. bathing is an intrinsic part of traditional japanese culture, and it's normal to take a bath daily)

[kirbypoyopoyo]

shirahama's live commentary tidbits 1-2

hey witches, shirahama sometimes writes little bits of trivia in her commentary threads during airings of the wha anime, so i figured i'd collect the ones i thought were interesting here

this compiles everything up to episode 2, and i will also refer to events in later manga chapters or other things like the repro select so beware of spoilers

just to note again, these are not all the things shirahama tweets (a lot of it is just plain reactions to the events in the episode). i focus on things that seem to provide extra info about the wha setting or characters, though i might also include things about shirahama in a more general sense

episode 1 - shirahama really enjoys watching all the little gestures get animated, and refers to herself as a having a "gesture fetish" (this is obviously meant as a joke) - the deer that appears at the well is called a "trihorn deer", though being a doe it doesn't seem to have any horns. the butterfly is called a "bride butterfly" which has also been mentioned in kitchen of witch hat - coco's village (and possibly including the area where qifrey's atelier is) has very little flat ground - aside from being a tailor, coco's family shop also functions as a thrift store. they buy unwanted cloth stock from traveling merchants, and also sell clean clothes that travelers can buy before entering town - the kid with black hair is called "Tanaru" (or maybe Tanar/Tanal) and is the son of the village chief. the blond is called "Kamura" (or maybe Kamra/Camra/etc). both of them are troublemakers as well as coco's classmates/friends from school - the kids in coco's village (including herself) learn to read and write and do simple maths from tanaru's mom at the village chief's house. coco's village is probably too small to merit a proper schoolhouse, though other areas are noted to have actual learning institutions - papermaking in the wha universe is prosperous, due to the existence of the witches who use a lot of it episode 2 - this was also mentioned in qifrey and orugio's background arc in the manga, but qifrey's atelier is built upon the remains of an old sheperd's hut - rumors like the news of qifrey taking on coco (an unknowing) as an apprentice spread quickly in the witches' world due to the existence of certain magic [items]s, though shirahama didn't go into the actual details. i suppose she just means that they have the tech to make info travel more quickly and widely - also mentioned in the repro select, but the chimney-like structure in the atelier is used as a space to test out magic - the tower of tomes's lake is not marked on any map, and the only way to get there is through a windowway. shirahama notes that even if you tried to look for it by searching similar looking lakes you probably can't find it, implying that there may also be magic involved to hide its location - the item qifrey uses to talk to beldaruit is actually a mini version of a windowway. it basically connects two spaces together, which is how it allows for conversation to happen (so it's different than, say, how a telephone would work as a communications device) - shirahama requested that agatto's voice be "standoffish, strict, and sound attractive/cool" - coco doesn't have much experience being surrounded by books and learning for long periods of time at a school before coming to qifrey's atelier - shirahama thought agatto's desk being depicted as neat and tidy on top, but crammed with her personal junk underneath was cute. like a straight-a student who comes off as prim and proper, but is surprisingly messy and has bad manners - shirahama jokes that qifrey's has low exp in building up human relationships LOL. she mentions that he tends to leave his students to their own devices because he personally prefers to be left alone and doesn't like following the crowd. she basically calls him out on leaving coco on her [metaphorical] own right after she came to the atelier

[kirbypoyopoyo]

commentary tidbits from wha episodes 3-4

episode 3 - alaira doesn't currently have an apprentice so she typically works like a jack-of-all-trades; she takes on requests, proctors tests, acts as the guard to the entrance, and so on. the fact that her not having an apprentice is pointed out implies that she did pass the 5th exam and has the certification to do so - the dada range test isn't considered terribly difficult by witch standards, and is kinda seen as more of a charming presentation event for little kids after learning some basic magic. i suppose it's equivalent to watching a play by elementary school kids. because of that, there's very little kids who've taken the test more than once (you'll recall though that coco went during a time period where it's dangerous and so most people wouldn't hold their first tests then) - shirahama notes that there are a higher number of animals with multiple limbs in the wha universe compared to ours - agatto didn't think coco would actually attempt the test. she figured coco would return after not being able to do anything - in the scene where coco imagines her younger self with the other 3 girls appearing, the young tetia design was created specifically by shirahama for the anime as tetia hasn't had her younger self drawn in the manga yet - tetia and the others (riche, qifrey, and probs orugio since he wasn't aware of these events at all) didn't know that agatto made coco go to the dada range. they thought she went there of her own accord after being told about it, which is why agatto didn't get any flack for her actions here episode 4 - the figures shown in the book at the beginning are considered the same sort of "fantasy existence" as fairies and other kinds of mystical spirits in our world. elves and dwarves also don't exist in wha, they're only there because shirahama loves fantasy lol - you can't really fly for long distances in sylph shoes because your legs will end up getting really tired from keeping them together enough to activate the magic seal. - shirahama notes that qifrey is actually pretty muscular despite his slender appearance since he's able to carry two kids while flying all the way to kalhn - only witches can live on the island off the city of kalhn, and since there's no bridge to it they can talk openly about magic and sell things related to it without issue - while we can clearly see that coco and agatto don't have the smoothest relationship so far, shirahama notes that's the kind of thing that adults fail to notice (which is probably why qifrey hasn't really intervened). though she also throws some shade at him by mentioning that qifrey has quite a few memories about relationships where you end up fighting on sight - magic stationer's like the starry sword tend to build their shops around or near silver leaf trees - magic stationers also tend to favor shorter robes that are easier to move in or take their arms out of. they'd probably need to draw magic or appear before normal people less often so there's maybe less focus on hiding their hands - shirahama based the fake city coco and the others get trapped in after surrealist art and works by Escher - shirahama can't spin pens with their fingers (like tartah is shown doing)

[kirbypoyopoyo]

commentary tidbits from wha episodes 5-6

episode 5 - magic is apparently copyrightable in the wha universe. some magic is unique to certain witches who hold authority to draw that specific magic (like a patent perhaps?) while the rest is under public domain that anyone can draw. public magic goes through a process where it's examined and, if approved, then added to textbooks used to teach foundational magic - shirahama intentionally draws agatto as being "bad mannered" compared to her more refined style of speaking (as she comes from a high ranking family). bad manners in this case is more about the fact that agatto can carry herself in a rough manner, such as not caring about sitting criss-cross while wearing a skirt - it seems that the reason the carriage broke in the first episode was probably due to the kids accidentally erasing part of the magic seal, which prevents it from working

episode 6 - qifery's atelier lets the students study wherever they want, since when they become working witches they'll rarely need to sit in front of a desk to draw their magic - thanks to magic allowing for long-term preservation of food, the cuisine in the wha universe is quite diverse and developed. shirahama doesn't forget to drop in a mention about the kitchen of witch hat spinoff manga - carapace yams are like a mix between potatoes, japanese taro (sato'imo), and pumpkins. they're viscous, fluffy, and have a slight sweetness. eaten widely across the wha universe. - it's often recommended witches learn cooking because it has many similarities with the process of magic (both having workflows that focus on preparation and creativity) - the bridge everyone eats lunch under is used by nearby shepherds as a rest area. travelers occasionally also camp there - watchful eyes are meant to act as a third party where teaching is done behind closed doors or in more secluded areas to prevent abuse. it's also practical to have more than one adult during times of sickness or emergency. however, it's a relatively new system - the struggle of the poor recent grad exists even in fantasy witch universe. many newly graduated witches will share an atelier space to save money, but many also do so to collaborate on their magic or watch over apprentices together. it's similar to our real life apprenticeship systems under various craftsmen - i wrote about this already in a previous post, but the glowstone path was a very early work that was instantly popular of orugio's that debuted when he was still an apprentice. it caused quite the stir at the great hall at the time

[kirbypoyopoyo]

commentary tidbits from wha episodes 7-8

episode 7 - the stairway river is in the forest west of qifrey's atelier. it seems among travelers in the wha universe the topic of witches who help people comes up often, which is why dagda went there on a desperate hope after getting out of the forest on the way to kalhn. - this probably means that before, dagda was going to head into kalhn to ask for help but saw the atelier in the distance first - witches typically don't learn swordsmanship, but qifrey did to protect himself during his younger years while traveling alone (trying to get distance himself from orugio) - there used to be a lot of magic swords in ancient times, but as they're used in warfare their numbers gradually dwindled. however, since they're so cool a lot of nobles like to commission them from witches. it's probably ok if the magic is purely decorational - coco knows some basic first aid since she wasn't raised as a witch. this implies that maybe agatto and the others might not have much experience or knowledge about it - some people may say that custas going back for the belongings (which turned out to be mainly dagda's instrument) was stupid, but shirahama notes that for nomadic folks like them who don't have a permanent home, their belongings are both the entirety of their wealth as well as the means of making a living. - since witches need to ensure normal people don't see them drawing magic, there are many that do exaggerated performances and gestures to distract the eye. some even chant fake incantations - normal people don't know much about witches in general, so they end up asking for things they can't do (like healing) because they have the impression witches and magic can do anything.

episode 8 - the knights moralis are essentially the judge, jury, and executioner of witch society all in one. there's no trial system, instead arrests are made at the scene of action - the knights have a tendency to think that erasing a person's memories and letting them go is "kinder", because they're not taking their life or imprisoning them. - this was another post i previously made, but qifrey and easthies' relationship was originally meant to be a lot worse; supposedly they would've gotten into an argument/fight that had qifrey using foul enough language that shirahama's editor pointed it out as being out of character lol (let qifrey swear!) - qifrey, orugio, alaira, and eas are all acquainted with each other from the great hall since childhood - because of their behavior and attitude, the knights are feared and hated by pretty much everybody in witch society LOL. but at the same time, it'd be pretty easy for things to get out of hand without them - technically, coco (and probs agatto as well) isn't allowed to draw magic in front of others yet, but desperate times called for desperate measures. if there wasn't any accident, first aid and drying off the people would've been all they would've done - orugio's sand bridge magic isn't permanent. afterwards they would've contacted a town close to kalhn (so probably normal people) and have them build a new one - the silvernectar wine that orugio asks for is a sweetish alcohol similar to maple liquor. he likes to put it in his tea or dilute it with milk and whiskey and enjoy it after a day's work - the tranquileaf that tartah uses to treat coco's leg is grown by him. he injures his hands a lot due to working with a knife (carving wands) - glassmaking technology is also advanced thanks to witches and their magic, so windows having glass is normal and thick, sturdy glass jars are readily available

[kirbypoyopoyo]

commentary tidbits from wha episode 9

this may not make much sense to readers who only ready the official english translation, but brushbuddy is called "brushbug" (technically, the kanji for bug or insect isn't used but the kana is the same) in japanese. shirahama clarifies that our lil guy is a type of rodent

the atelier gang's personal clothes come from different sources: agatto brought her clothes from her home, coco and tetia's were bought from kalhn, riche's top and qifrey's clothes were given to them by shepherds in the nearby village

clothes in this region (Naakiwan) can be given as gifts to witches as thanks for their work

while the twin bottles were used by chemists and healers, they were also very widely used as tools for assassination and poisoning

hydro hater qifrey can't swim at all it seems (rather than him not being able to swim as a kid only)

qifrey likes to grown medicinal herbs used in magic and cooking behind the atelier as a hobby

shirahama jokingly said in a twitter space a few years ago that brushbuddy's nickname was official, but in reality it probably didn't stick bc brushbuddy themself doesn't like it

qifrey's magic surfboard (shirahama did in fact liken it to a surfboard, which is a funny comparison to use for hydro hating qifrey) is generally only used when qifrey needs to carry a lot of veggies or luggage. i guess he's a "one trip" kind of guy

although tartah helps out at the store, he's not actually undergoing any magic training (i.e. learning to draw seals and stuff). instead he commutes by boat to the school in the human part of kalhn to learn his letters and maths. obviously, all his school friends aren't witches

witches typically will go to the healing tower at the great hall for injuries or sickness, but qifrey went to kalhn instead due to the recent incident with the knights. qifrey himself doesn't often go to the hospital in kalhn

[othellho]

Ingram, John Henry, Flora Symbolica: The language and sentiment of flowers, (London: 1869).

[ocularshingles]

Free PDF at the Biodiversity Heritage Library

[mikkeneko]

#i was sceptical for a minute cause these illustrations don't match the plants in every case#(rounded dandelion leaves serrated willow leaves same leaves on crocus and aloe etc)#but these are the section headers NOT illustrations/representations of individual flowers#anyways. found a link. gorgeous book.

[eleanor-hugo]

Gutted to learn that the incredible Anthony Head passed away. I need everyone to see thos incredible edit of him

[slayerbuffy]

I've gone. Not one for goodbyes, I thought it best to slip out quietly. Love to you all, Giles.

Rest in peace, Anthony Stewart Head (1954 – 2026)

[merchantarthurn]

Hi! I saw your WHA post on twitter, about the Atelier's floor plan. I might be missing it, but I was wondering if you'd ever posted anymore about your theories on it? With the anime coming out, I'm trying to nail down the floor plan myself, for fanfic's sake, and it's driving me up the wall.

[me trying to put together the exact layout of olruggio's atelier* and the dorm block--] there is some indication we'll get a little more information about the few spaces that are unclear! but the central lounge and kitchen space is very well mapped out.

In terms of notes, I finished these areas (blue numbers indicate the chapter i grabbed the screenshot from):

*what we do know about olruggio's atelier is that we've mostly seen the level that's at the same height as the bridge, and there's at least one floor BELOW this (there's an external entrance door we see in episode 2 that's also screenshotted in the images above). there's a kiln which also heats the floor of the desk area iirc, and it's likely his bedroom is on the lower floor.

I've also got some other screenshots of areas I was trying to figure out the location of (windows, the void toilet, the bath; the outside bench seems to be below the bridge it's just not really visible in other panels lol)

[alexxuun]

Shots from a PHM animatic I’m doing which I’m planning to post tomorrow!

Edit: it’s now out!!