28 February 2012 @ 07:13 pm
Last Exile Chronicle ... stuff.  
So my super cool LE anon friend (HI YOU ARE STILL THE COOLEST) reminded me that there were ... interesting and untranslated things in the Last Exile Chronicle book. Naturally, that meant I had a new adventure to embark on: to do ghetto ass translations to try and get the jist of some of the things it has in it. On my subjects of interest, of course.

UNDER THE CUT IS STUFF GOTTEN FROM THE FOLLOWING

- Dio, Lucciola and Cicada's profiles
- The two page feature of "What's Dio thinking?"
- The two page feature of "The relationship between Dio and Lucciola"

There is some cool shit in here. Also thanks to the awesome anons in this post for expanding on some of this stuff! The post has been edited with all of that extra info.

Mainly of the DIO AND LUCCIOLA'S LIVES ARE SAD AND TERRIBLE variety.



It would be an amazing thing if one day the stuff in this book could be properly translated, as there is a lot of texty stuff as as seen below, a lot of cool info. But Last Exile is ... Last Exile, so one never knows with its fandom, even though we have AWESOME FREAKING THINGS re: the timeline on the wiki thanks to translators and the like. So, yes. One day somebody with the amazing power of translate should really get in on this, you will be a hero to us all.

But okay, let us begin!


According to sources and the wiki-- Delphine killed her and Dio's father, Darius - something we know! Said sources and the wiki only mentioned Darius. The Chronicle books says that Delphine killed "their parents," which confirms the mother as well. And not only that, but a young Dio kind of saw it happen.

Obviously, after an ordeal like that, Dio was all kinds of emotionally fucked up -- and lonely. So Delphine decided to get him a servant, thinking that he was just lonely for his parents (but mainly really because he thought she was going to kill him too; she didn't know that he saw what she did). Lucciola was chosen specifically by Delphine for Dio, because he was Cicada's younger brother and thus had a strict upbringing. And Cicada to Delphine had shown a devout loyalty and possessed mad fighting skills and such. Lucciola was also chosen at an age one year lower than servants are usually chosen at-- probably because of the special case of Delphine needing someone to satiate Dio's loneliness as well as keep him safe from potential rebels as a result of the purge she made on the other Guild houses.

Dio gave Lucciola his name. Naming is apparently an Important Thing and a high honor for the servant class. I believe it mentions something about how "lower" people in the Guild don't really have names outside of what their jobs are? And a difference between being a "part" of the Guild and "a person" of the Guild with a name. And once named, they are required to pledge their absolute loyalty to whom they serve. And since Dio was more or less compliant to the Guild laws, Lucciola had no problems staying completely loyal to Dio because he wouldn't be going against anything Delphine didn't want Dio to do.

Of course, Delphine was possessive and cruel, so became jealous because Dio was instantly attached to Lucciola because he had been sad and lonely since his parents were killed and he liked him more than her. So she began to suspect Lucciola and wonder about his loyalty to her-- the Maestro. She didn't want to do anything to him like kill him because that would only make Dio worse, so she went about it in other ways. She'd make sure to take Lucciola aside to talk to interrogate him to ensure that he wasn't "straying". And did things to remind him of the power she had over them all -- one thing mentioned specifically was her not letting him eat as punishment (oh, hello series flashback scenes).

It goes on to say that the food plan ended up backfiring worse for Delphine, because the bond between Dio and Lucciola grew as a result of Dio doing things like sneaking him food.

In Lucciola's case, he made sure to be even more careful, keeping his personality, attitude and posture perfect to keep Delphine assured, since if he showed anything kind or familiar to Dio and she found out, she would kill him.

And in Dio's case, he was always interested in Lucciola's feelings, wanting to see how he really felt behind the very rigid posture he kept for himself. So he would always do crazy things to get reactions out of Lucciola, to see him look bothered, or sometimes angry, and sometimes maybe to even smile. For Dio doing things like that was easy because Dio was always the kind of selfish person to want to troll around and make things complicated.

Dio never had any interest in the politics of the Guild or anything like that, and preferred to just go and do whatever he felt like - ala how he did his own thing after the Horizon Cave race and went to the Silvana. When he disappeared, Delphine didn't really pay much mind, because she could always contact Lucciola wherever he was via his earring device to order him. (I'm not sure if it's contact him or track him -- it could be the latter, considering the things that came up in the latest Travelers chapter).

When Delphine did board the Silvana, non-compliance or attempted counters to her could have resulted in massacring the entire crew, so Lucciola followed her orders. Due to the strength Delphine took with her, they had no choice but to go-- which was why Lucciola was doing things like stopping Claus from doing anything stupid (when they went to Guild as well). Because Claus was important for Lucciola's plan to possibly free Dio after he was brainwashed. Lucciola also didn't expect Dio's brainwashing to be as deep as it was-- apparently Dio's was different from the norm and his personality had been completely reprogrammed.

When they were taken back to the Guild, and Lucciola made his decision-- he chose Dio over his dedication to Delphine because his friendship with Dio was more important to him. Giving up his life in order to protect those bonds was something that he was okay with. Delphine of course, was deceived-- she had taken Claus to the Guild because he appeared to be "the first friend Dio's ever had" which was why she asked Lucciola what he was to Dio in the end.

Oh god the way they worded this part-- okay, so when Lucciola responds with "I am Lord Dio's friend" he says it with pride. He could have lied and responded saying he was a servant to save his own life. Because he didn't want to betray his relationship with Dio, he responded how he did, and it clearly shows that Lucciola was a person, an individual who made the choice he did himself.



Cicada's profile had a lot of interesting shit about the Guild. Here are some things I got from it:

- When they mention Cicada and Lucciola being brothers, the term/phrase of "same genetic source" comes up. And they do mention genetic manipulation in general in the next paragraph.

- It talks about two ways to become a "Guild member." One is, obviously, being born into it. The other talks about educational and military institutions, where only the best are chosen from, but still just for lower class/servants. They came from "the ground" are are known as "apprentices" as they learn/train. And when the best of the best are chosen ... they get a test at 17, which, if failed, resulted in a mind-wipe which is what those Guilders with the weird makeup and chanting all are.

- Guild uniforms and ranks.

Maestro: Wears whatever they please.
Chief Agent (called Lorica, aka what Cicada is): Wears black
Next Maestro (also, what Dio SHOULD have been wearing): Wears black
Subordinates to Delphine (called Scutum, aka Delphine's other servants): Wear grey
Subordinates to Dio, also Delphine's maids (called Aspis): Wear grey
Everything else below that: Wear white.

HOWEVER. Dio, because he is the master troll, decided he liked wearing the white servant uniforms. And so not to dress as though they outrank him, Dio's servants all wore white as well, with silver collars. Dio's collar is gold to separate their ranks. Awesome job, Dio.



And here are a couple of choice things from "What's Dio Thinking?" Since some of the stuff was ... obvious already.

"He's not good, but there's some sort of glimmer about him."
The way Claus was flying seemed to be reckless, not bound by any sort of rules. It also mentions Dio's birthday approaching -- and I think it says something along the lines of that he was looking for something to DO with himself to keep himself occupied, so Claus stood out.

"If I say your name is Immelmann, your name is Immelmann."
Something about how there are names in the Guild for people who are around on a regular basis (maybe referring to the earlier talk about how naming is important?). And how this was a fresh experience outside of the Guild-- maybe in that since it's not a Guild-regulated kind of naming/nicknaming it felt nicer to do?

"Lucciola get out, now!"
After being ignored by Claus, Dio was pissed off because nobody ever ignored him before, so reactionarily snaps because he's losing on top of that.

"It feels like I can touch the clouds!"
Dio has no sense of crisis-- there was an emergency happening and he ignored it to go up on deck. It also says that it might have felt like a feeling of freedom to Dio at the time.

"If it tastes good, you should let it show on your face, Lucciola!"
Dio's time spent on the Silvana meeting everyone helped him express his feelings better than he'd been able to before. He wants Lucciola to be able to have those feelings, too.

"Understood!"
Now that he's interacting with more people he can call friends, and being ordered around in general is something he's never had done to him before in that manner. So it's a fresh new experience for him that he's having fun with.


And that's all the stuff I personally wanted to get out of the book so tried my best to translate. Mainly because ha ha wow Dio and Lucciola's lives are depressing.
 
 
( Post a new comment )
(Anonymous) on February 29th, 2012 08:35 pm (UTC)
(NO U)

Couple of things about Cicada's part since it's the one I remember: you're right about the people being picked from the best institutions being only for servants. Like, all the weird Guildies with weird black makeup and lines over their faces (WHO'D WANT TO VOLUNTEER FOR THAT, HOW DOES THIS EVEN WORK). If you fail the testing at 17 you get a mindwipe and join the ranks of the Claudia Unit controllers, those who're handling the levers and chanting creepy monotone stuff.

In that same profile, I don't know how ghetto-TL handled it, but there's also the uniform codes. Like, Delphine can dress however she wants, black is for Cicada and Dio, and gray for their direct subordinates, with the other agents in the white cape-jumpsuit-things. But Dio being the troll to troll all trolls decided he liked the white servant uniform more and went with the servant dress code. Of course his own servants wouldn't dress as if they outranked him, so they (Lucciola, Coccinella, Apis and I think Ephemera until he got moved to Delphine's bunch) all downgraded themselves and took the white uniform as well, and it's now a tradition for Dio's guards to follow the leader and dress in white instead of gray. Dio gets the golden collar instead of silver to not get mistaken for a servant.

Dio, trolling even with his clothes!
Dio Eraclea: hey hey hey hi[personal profile] unguilded on February 29th, 2012 08:53 pm (UTC)
Oh my God.

Oh my God that is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. Is that what it says at the end of Cicada's profile, then? Because it was coming out as "WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS EVEN SAY" for everything I had tried so I just gave up but I know Dio's name was in it. Dio you are the most amazing thing in the universe. THANK YOU FOR THAT INFO oh gosh that made my day.

And oh wow, about the Guild stuff. That clears that part up a lot better. '-' THOSE CHANTING GUYS ALWAYS CREEP ME THE HELL OUT.
Dio Eraclea: trip the light[personal profile] unguilded on February 29th, 2012 08:58 pm (UTC)
Also omg now it makes sense. In our IRC chan we were talking about Guild ranks and uniform colors and trying to make sense of them but it was all confusing.

Now we know why.
(Anonymous) on February 29th, 2012 09:27 pm (UTC)
I don't remember where is which part, but yes, that's the part of Cicada's profile with Dio's name. I always wondered about Guild uniforms and couldn't make sense of who wore which color either. No wonder, Dio was trolling Guild uniform traditions, so there was no way of figuring it out before Chronicle. But the Dio weirdness aside, it's anything he/she wants for the Maestro, black for the chief agent (forgot the position name) and whoever's next in line to be Maestro, gray for the upper rank agents (Scutum), white for the lower rank agents (Aspis). Both Scutum and Aspis meaning shield. After that, each job has its own uniform, all mostly white. I don't remember what other Principals wear.

Gotta love Dio trolling uniforms and his entire team following along.
(Anonymous) on February 29th, 2012 10:31 pm (UTC)
Sudden late remembrance of no particular importance: the chief agent rank is Lorica (Armor in latin, to go with the other agent classes being named after shields). So you have Cicada as Lorica, Dorcus etc as Scutum, Dio's trio and Delphine's two maids as Aspis, and Ephemera who was Dio's fourth guardian and also an Aspis, but got jacked by Delphine and moved to Scutum rank (and was playing neutral messenger between Delphine and Dio's groups since then).

So that's it for Guild ranks and who was doing what for whom.
Dio Eraclea: every day's a birthday[personal profile] unguilded on February 29th, 2012 11:16 pm (UTC)
Oooh. I love that naming scheme for the ranks. THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW aaahh, yay. YOU ARE THE BEST.
Lucciola: Damn it Claus you forgot me.[personal profile] castling on February 29th, 2012 09:03 pm (UTC)
And things in my life make a LITTLE MORE SENSE NOW!

Thank you, anon!
(Anonymous) on February 29th, 2012 09:47 pm (UTC)
A wild Lucciola. Consider yourself stalked.

I WISH I COULD REMEMBER MORE. Or read without spending an hour on a line. All I really recall about Lucciola is random stuff from OTHER profiles, like the Cicada's GENETIC brother thing and that the only other person he trusted with Dio's safety was Coccinella (because IIRC, even though Apis was part of the "Mission: Protect Dio" team, he was too blunt and spoke his mind too much, which could have landed them in trouble).
Lucciola[personal profile] castling on February 29th, 2012 09:49 pm (UTC)
Oh! This is also helpful. I knew the first part,but not the second bit.