#I hope that sheds some light on the succubus mystery!

[tricitymonsters]

Ahhh I don't want to be rude and if Amir identifies as a famine entity feel free to ignore this, but if they mainly identify as a masculine entity (as I assume since I rarely get on Tumblr! Sorry of it's wrong! Demon genitalia is not my strongest suit 😭) Then their designation would be incubus instead of succubus.

Anyway, I've backed the Kickstarter and everyone should too, and don't read my msg if I'm making a buffoon out of myself YIKES

(They can identify as whatever they want I'm just being nerdy I love all of the stinky demons I will give my left nut for them <3)

I also just realized I wrote "famine entity" instead of feminine, but. We thirsty for 'em so we're keeping it unedited.

LMFAO no worries! I actually get asked this a lot so I totally don't mind answering- someone else is probably wondering why he's a succubus too!

The short answer is: the contextual succubus vibes and the image it conjures up just suits him better.

The in narrative answer is: Amir is technically a kind of qarinah, another night time bed-sharing demon that is pretty similar to a bog-standard succubus. In the world of TCM, however, when you get turned into a demon, there's no one to explain what you are. Succubus is the word Amir chooses to describe himself basically as a vibes thing. Similarly, Mori could just as easily call himself a werecat but instead uses bakeneko as a nod to monster stories he heard as a kid.

The longer nerd answer is: So neither word was used in English until the late 14th century but the latin roots show some critical differences between them. The word Succubus is two separate Latin words, succuba, meaning lover, and sub (under) + cubare (to lie) whose differentiation blurred over time and became the single word we know today. The word incubus has more muddled origins and loses its succuba/lover context to simply be in (on) + cubare (to lie) which is also the exact same etymological path the word incubate comes from and I don't really love that associated with his super sexual nature just as kind of a personal thing.

Another complication is that a few noted scholars of myth make the case that Incubi are strictly heterosexual and taking male victims is detrimental to them in some way and while this isn't a tremendously popular cultural paradigm these days, it just made the word harder to fit the vibe I wanted. In the sort of collective modern mind, there's also the hazy conception that Succubi are more prone to creating thralls with their powers and Incubi seek to make more demons by impregnating their victims.

These two reasons are a big part of what I felt "mismarketed" Amir and I didn't want to fight against deeply ingrained preconceptions by trying to trim up more subtle nuance to a word everyone is familiar with. So as a designer and contemplating all of these angles, I felt it was important to distance Amir from some of the expectation we have about either side of the horny night demon coin. And since he fits the succubus vibe much more closely than the incubus, I decided to go with that wording instead.

#I hope that sheds some light on the succubus mystery! #thank you for asking! #amir

[lapisrelights-tls]

Kinki no Märchen - IV Klore Lyrics

Song:  禁忌の寓話（メルヘン）- Kinki no Märchen/Fable of Taboos

Unit: IV Klore

Video: Here

Japanese kanji + romaji + english translation lyrics & translation notes under the cut!

*Please don’t repost my translations anywhere!

闇に包まれて綴られる...  亜人達の寓話

Yami ni tsutsumarete tsuzurareru...  Ajintachi no märchen

Bound and engulfed by darkness... So begins the fable of the demi-humans

異彩なる、その姿形... 禁忌の扉が開かれる

Isainaru, sono sugatakatachi... Kinki no tobira ga hirakareru

It's shape is distinctive... The door of taboos is open

喰い違うモノは... 存在理由

Kuichigau mono ha raison d'être

Those who are not prey... Have a reason to exist

其々に宿る確かなる魂

Sorezore ni yadoru tashikanaru psyche

The soul that certainly dwells in each one of us

ーー嗚呼... 異美しき

Aa... Utsukushiki

Aah... What strange beauty

この物語を描こう...

Kono monogatari wo egakou...

Let's draw this story...

世界の総て包む様に

Sekai no subete tsutsumu you ni

So that it wraps up the entirety of the world

誰もが目にして畏怖する耽美な終わらない旋律

Daremo ga me ni shite ifusuru tanbi na owaranai cadenza

A beautiful, endless melody that strikes fear in the hearts of whoever looks it's way

妖しさは口を閉ざす程の魅惑...

Ayashisa wa kuchi wo tozasu hodo no miwaku...

The mystery is attractive enough to shut your mouth...

恐れは目を閉ざす誘惑...

Osore wa me wo tozasu yuuwaku...

The fear is tempting enough to shut your eyes...

此れこそ正に 蠱惑の接吻

Kore koso masa ni kowaku no baiser

Because of that, right now, the seductive kiss is

刻みつける四闇寓話

Kizamitsukeru IV KLORE

Engraved by this folklore

夜舞い降り踊りだす... 飾られた魔律人形

Yoru mai ori odoridasu... Kazarareta marionette

Dancing in the fall of the night... Is a decorative marionette

艶めかしき熱い吐息は触れる事の無い... 夢魔

Namamekashiki atsui toiki wa fureru koto no nai... Le succubus

A seductive, hot sigh is untouchable... Like a succubus

狂月は満ち欠けて...猛る人狼

Tsuki wa michikakete... Takeru bestia

The moon of insanity rises... To a raging werewolf

黄昏の狭間...現れる幽霊

Tasogare no hazama... Arawareru phantom

In the midst of the twilight... A ghost appears

ーー嗚呼...異麗しき

Aa...Uruwashiki

Aah... What strange gracefulness

この物語を記せば...

Kono monogatari wo shiruseba...

If we write this story...

世界の総て変わって行く

Sekai no subete kawatteiku

The entire world will change

傅づき崇め頭を垂れ祈る永久の異形詩

Kashizuki agame tou wo tare inoru tokoshie no lamento

Pray for eternity with your head hanging low, serving and worshipping this grotesque poem

可憐さは手を伸ばす程の煽惑...

Karensa wa te wo nobasu hodo no senwaku...

The cuteness is instigating enough to make you reach out...

嫋やかさは眩む昏惑...

Taoyakasa wa kuramu konwaku...

The madness of the night is enough to gracefully dazzle you...

此れこそ正に 不滅の表象

Korekoso masa ni fumetsu no idea

Because of that, right now, the idea is immortalized

浮かび上がる四闇寓話

Ukabiagaru IV KLORE

By this rising folklore

哀チミハ花トナリ此処で咲イテ...

Kanashimi wa hana tonari koko de saite...

Grief becomes a flower that blooms here...

宵闇ノ中デ星々ヲ仰イダ

Yoiyami no naka de hoshibochi wo aoida

It looks up to the stars in the twilight

重ナリ奏デル四ツノ寓話

Kasanari kanaderu yotsuno märchen

Four fables overlap and play a music

其々の歌と声やその躰...

Sorezore no uta to koe ya sono karada...

Each one's songs, voices, and their bodies...

禁忌の扉が今開かれていくーー

Kinki no tobira ga ima hirakareteiku

The door of taboos is now opening

撥ね退けられて...

Hane nokerarete...

Rejected and pushed aside...

現し世を憂い生きてた

Utsushi yo wo ureikiteta

I lived in anguish

其れでも光を求めていた

Soredemo hikari wo motometeita

But even so, I longed for hope

涙を流し傷ついて尚今...此処で生きてるから

Namida wo nagashi kizutsuite nao ima... Koko de ikiteru kara

I shed tears, I got hurt, and yet... I'm still living here

此の気持ちこそが繋がった四つの確かな絆と意味だから...

Kono kimochikoso ga tsunagatta yotsu no tashika na kizuna to imi dakara...

Because these feelings connected the four of us, an unbreakable bond...

其れでもいい...其れだからいい

Sore demo ii... Sore dakara ii

Even so, it's fine... Because of that, it's fine

共に歩む四闇寓話

Tomo ni ayumu IV KLORE

Let's experience this folklore together

異なる此の手で描こう...

Kotonaru kono te de egakou...

Let's draw with this strange method...

世界の総て包む様に

Sekai no subete tsutsumu you ni

So that it wraps up the entirety of the world

畏れは光に哀しみは夢に変わり行く希望

Osore wa hikari ni kanashimi wa yume ni kawari iku espoir

Hope will change fear into light and sorrow into dreams

此の気持ちこそが繋がった四つの確かな絆と意味だから...

Kono kimochikoso ga tsunagatta yotsu no tashika na kizuna to imi dakara...

Because these feelings connected the four of us, an unbreakable bond...

其れでもいい...其れだからいい

Sore demo ii... Sore dakara ii

Even so, it's fine... Because of that, it's fine

共に歩む四闇寓話

Tomo ni ayumu IV KLORE

Let's experience this folklore together

私たちが四闇寓話

Watashitachi ga IV KLORE

We are a FOLKLORE

========================================

1. “四闇寓話“ is written as “four fables of darkness”, and read as IV Klore/folklore

2. This song was incredibly hard, since it uses a lot of words I wasn’t familiar with + they sing really fast so it was hard to tell what they were saying exactly ;;

3. I had to alter some parts slightly so that they’d make sense in english and somewhat keep the original meaning...

4. I used the japanese lyrics to translate the song, meaning I didn’t take into consideration the meanings of the other words in the song (such as märchen, espoir, psyche, etc). I believe most of them remain the same meaning as the kanji counterpart, but there might be some minor differences.

Any criticism and/or feedback on my translations are welcome! I’m not a native speaker of english or japanese, so I do these to practice!

Thank you for reading, more will come soon enough! ╰(´ ∀ ` *)

#lapis re:lights #lapis re:lights translations #IV Klore #song lyrics