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#his dialect might be a little off idk
da-shrimping-station · 3 months
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a Filipino MC in WHB has so much comedic potential
Teaching Satan swear words in Tagalog, telling Michael about his sun halo and it's resemblance to the PH flag, informing everyone in Tartaros about a cake called "mamon"
AHAHAHAHA YESSSSSSS PINOY PRIDE LET'S FCKIN GOOOOOO 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
im sorry if that's kinda cringe but as a filipino i am obliged to do so 😭😭
Teaching Satan how to cuss not only in Filipino but also in sooooo many dialects just take your pick 😭 or you can hit him with the "oh those aren't swear words! they're endearments! yes yes, 'hoy gago' deeefinitely means 'my darling'!" (it does not lmao)
Idk if you can even finish a sentence w Michael before he attempts murder 💀💀 seeing him might make the national anthem play in your head and do the whole "right hand on the left side of your chest" routine 😭 ano to flag ceremony????? HAHAHAHAHA shit ayan na ang watawat ng pilipinas 😭😭😭 w Michael idk if i wanna pay respect to his halo the flag or kneel and recite the lord's prayer
As for the mamon part, you get the cravings and just say "i wanna eat some mamon, i miss it"
for reference, mamon is a Philippine sponge cake that's usually eaten as an afternoon snack or snacks for kids in recess (everyone fckin loves mamon you can bribe w that shit)
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While the nobles would be confused and probably be convinced that they misheard you Mammon will find it hilarious
After you explain what it is he will send someone to Earth to get you the best mamon there is (homemade and expensive mamon is good but nothing beats Monde and Lemon Square 😩 fight me) ykw might as well ask for other delicacies while he's at it
Once he gets the gist of Filipino cuisine, he'll probably have a personal chef for you, which may or may not be good if MC can cook
A professional chef at your disposal is amazing and all but your recipes are from grandma and that's how you like it 😤 no i dont need measuring cups and spoons imma just eyeball that
A little off topic here but Filo!MC will feel right at home in Gehenna. The devils there are very resilient and are still able to laugh and joke even when shit hits the fan. But that doesn't mean they don't take the situation seriously. Their sense of community is ✨✨✨
Also, Filipino humor is so broken and unserious idek how to explain PH jokes to my non filo friends/moots. MC will just roll with the punches when it comes to Hell's logic imo 😭 "Oh we're doing this now, okay. Fuck it we ball." We're memeing everything. Nothing and no one is safe.
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columboscreens · 2 years
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ive been rewatching columbo eps on prime video (idk where to get the other season after 7 :c) and i'm just done with A Case of Immunity, the one with the Suarian Kingdom and the whitest middle east guy i've ever seen ? And like. I'm not a fan of that episode, but. I feel like i'm missing a lot of political or historical context for that episode ? And I wanted to know if you knew more. Thank u, I'll get back to my little guy show now.
you're not missing much.
the latter portion of original columbo was marked by an increased desire to show him in radically different contexts--between a man on international waters, an arab diplomat, a IRA liason, a CIA agent, and a mexican matador, it suffices to say columbo got around a little more as time went on. and due to the growing US interest in the middle east throughout the 70s (most of europe's imperialist/colonialist tendrils had vacated, cold war alliances were being made, israel, oil, etc.) i suppose they thought people would want to see something topical. they also didn't want to piss anybody off, so the Very Real Country of Suari it was.
the role of hassan salah was originally intended for ben gazzara, but he was scrapped by the network for being too expensive (much to peter falk's consternation). mine too, really, because though hector elizondo did a fantastic job, i think gazzara would've played a better arab. he was sicillian, but i wouldn't be surprised if he had actual arab heritage, as sicilians very often do. his surname is arabic as hell--غزارة is arabic for "abundance", which ended up as a loanward in italian to mean "noisy".
ultimately though, the middle east is an ethnically and geographically diverse region containing a wide variety of looks and skin tones. for one, i and my entire family are lebanese. my skin is rather pale, my grandfather was tan but had pale blue eyes, my aunt is nearly blonde, etc. so elizondo's countenance may not scream "arab" nearly as much as gazzara's, but levant, maghreb, or gulf--he's not all that unbelievable either.
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funnily enough, in middle ages arabia, those with blue eyes were associated with duplicitous and untrustworthy behavior....
i guess something that does kinda make me roll my eyes is the treatment of the language. to their credit, the characters do speak and write real arabic in the show, albeit...poorly. obviously it's a 70s tv movie, who cares about accurate glottal stops, but they spent like eight grand to rent a learjet for one of the scenes, and the arabic is real and (mostly) intelligible, so clearly somebody translated it. would it have killed them to hire a dialect coach?
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we did get some extremely jewish-sounding arabic out of peter though. so. all is emphatically forgiven
the one thing that truly rubs me the wrong way about the episode is that it's noxiously sympathetic to the american political ethos of the time, which as we well know could do no wrong. watch columbo OWN this EVIL diplomat donned in traditional garb who wants to retain his country's DISGUSTING traditional ways while the new, hip young king who was probably forcefully instituted by american troops in a coup you'll never learn about is COOL and LOVES AMERICA and will lead his oil-filled country on camelback into a beautiful sunset of BEING COOL and LOVING AMERICA. there's NO WAY this could go south. STOP looking at iran NOW
(speaking of which, the state dept. rep who bursts columbo's bubble, kermit morgan, might or might not be a nod to kermit roosevelt jr. who played a central role in the CIA's ousting of iran's mosaddegh in 1953)
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...least he's honest
anyway, in retrospect this episode isn't the series' finest moment, but it's a decent watch--and believe me, far and away not the worst treatment of arabs hollywood has thrown at us over the years. i know i'd certainly take a dozen of these over whatever the hell they were churning out post-9/11.
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wallahi i could've forgiven the weird culturally inaccurate bowing if they just put columbo in a keffiyeh...
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luimagines · 1 year
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beep boop beep anon who asked about sharing stuff coming in to bring you: the chain meets child raised by fairies
do be aware, I developed this around and oc so she has a name but shdjdj not sure how okay is to share that so for now imma just be neutral about it (might slip though)
in general: the chain finds a child in the middle of the forest who happens to have bene raised by fairies and end up basically adopting them and taking them with them because. they aint leaving them in the woods
they have no idea why or how the fairies ended up taking care of a kid but go off I guess
kiddo is about 8 years old and speaks as much hylian as a toddler would. they are fluent in fairy tongue though, which, throws the chain on a loop
Hyrule becomes the offical-unofficial translator
Wars and Time understand her some— thought Time is a bit... lost shdjd
(I headcanon fairies and kokiri speak two different dialects. fairies living with kokiris speak both. Time only learned kokiri so it's... a hot mess)
Wind wants to learn how to cuss in fairy. He is convinced the child knows how to because Hyrule pauses every so often to come up with an alternative word for the cussing
Four would make a small dagger for them. He fails to make it on time though and the kid ends up stealing one from Legend (very hilarious, he is mad but he is not figjting with the fairy kid who cusses and has a dagger on hand. end up accepting he no longer owns that dagger)
Sky would make them tiny wooden figures so they can play
Wars and Wild keep an eye on the kid's food intake because both know refeeding syndrome is a thing. Kiddo isn't terribly underweight, but they probs ate idk berries and eggs and maybe stolen bread from the closest village
Hyrule has no idea about it and gives the kid fish (they end up with a stomach ache)
Kiddo absolutely loves being dressed up but refuses to let go of a poncho the fairies made for her
Twilight tries to play with her both as hylian and as wolfie. wolfie earns the kid's trust first
shenanigans happen for them to not drop them off in the nearest village ✌🏼✨️ this is long already so shhdjdjd not sharing it yet
Whhaaaaatt?!?!?!?!?
By all means go off XD
I'm sorry for answering this so late, I was saving it <3
That being said, I had to look up what refeeding was and then again in terms I could understand. but I got the jist of it. Basically, if you go a long time without certain foods and stuff, suddenly introducing them to your diet can/will have uncomfortable/ terrible consequences.
That being said, Reader ok and all, but you wouldn't be the first person to bring up an oc around here. I don't mind it one bit what's her name. She sounds awesome XD
I feel like we would be fast friends- minus the cursing. I relate to Hyrule on that part of having to change and "translate" it into something a little more palatable.
Legend just giving up that dagger is so funny. I could picture his face perfectly and frankly, that's a valid argument on the kid's side. XD
And Time! I think he would probably be able to understand a word every now and then. He defiantly understands the curse words. With Tatl by his side? He's not sure what they actually mean- but he knows a curse when he hears it. Xd
I want to hear more. I'll all for it
:D
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meanscarletdeceiver · 2 years
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All this talk about engine accents makes me wonder - what would a Sudrian accent sound like? (also, IDK enough about London to know, but what kind of accent would his career at Paddington have given Duck?)
I was wondering about a Sudrian accent last night, too!
The Manx dialect would be a good starting place for any fantasy linguist who wanted to develop a Sudrian dialect... here's a (very short) video that summarizes, well, everything I know about the Manx dialect, and then some.
An IoM commenter offers this pointer to the amateur linguist who made the video:
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This excites me coz the one thing I was gonna propose for Sudrian English was lots of glottal stops, and it looks like we're on the right track! The Barrovian dialect, incidentally, is already known for glottal stops in the middle of words (like "la'al" for "little" or "twen'ny" for "twenty") so if you mix that with a Manx dialect you could just avoid saying 85% of your "t"s altogether. 😆 I love that!
Here's another interesting comment:
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I think this is a sensible template for Sodor: the towns (especially Vicarstown, I think) have a more Barrovian/Lancastrian thing going on, while the rural areas have a more native accent that is soft and lilting like Welsh...! (I'm substituting Furness district accents in this template for the Isle of Mann's Liverpool and Manchester influence because there are obviously very strong economic connections between eastern Sodor and Barrow! But there's an overall similarity here of northern city accents that have a lot of influence in them from workers who migrate in from a large area.) Anyhow, TVS giving Skarloey a Welsh accent might not have been too far off the mark. I think that's a good starting point for a rural Sudrian accent.
I would add to that template that I think Tidmouth traditionally has its own distinct dialect, too. IoS makes old Tidmouth—before the TKELR + Topham Hat developed it—sound like a very distinct community of fishermen and sailors and smugglers and marsh-dwellers. They probably have a different linguistic tradition than the shepherds and farmers further inland/northern/the rest of western Sodor!
I don't know much about English dialects either. Everyone traditionally makes Duck sound super West Country but I agree, it seems likely he spent virtually all his pre-Sodor time at Paddington so that would surely affect how he sounds (although his constant interaction with Great Western engines travelling to and fro would give him an ongoing West Country influence, too)... Funnily enough, Duck and Oliver should have a bit of a city and country mouse dynamic, respectively. Oliver's West Country game should be way thicker!
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thinking about saeyoung who is very confused by his MC at first bc like, sometimes she really plays along with his jokes and laughs with him and seems really into it but other times when he jokes around she seems so put off and kinda goes quiet in the chat and doesn't acknowledge it and he's like ??? she seems to like him but also brushes him off sometimes and doesn't say why??
then it turns out it's bc korean isnt her first language. like she's good enough to speak/write it but when saeyoung starts with wordplay or when he sends like individual words/letters as seperate messages she completely loses the plot but was kinda embarrassed to say so.
maybe they're at the apartment or something and he hears her talking to herself in her native language (or she drops something and curses in it) and he suddenly makes the connection. maybe it's a language he already speaks maybe it's not
ik he'd probably know from the beginning bc he did the background check and all + he's smart as hell but idk maybe he missed it somehow i just like the idea of him being thrown off at first and then being like OH and maybe helping her improve her language skills. if he doesn't already know her native language she offers to teach him too
Saeyoung is a known polyglot. He mentions how many languages he knows but he certainly doesn’t know them all yet. He keeps in practice as best he can as it is important to engage with languages a lot to ensure that your skills don’t fade or become stressed with time. So, the chances are high that he knows about the language you speak but there’s always a possibility he doesn’t happen to know the one you primarily use.
Make no mistake, he’d make note of what he needed to learn immediately. He would want to engage with you in the language that’s easiest. It doesn’t matter which language it is, he’s going to find a way to learn and to show you he values that ability to meet you beyond halfway. He doesn’t want to meet in the middle, he wants to meet all the way on your side if possible. He values the ability to be able to converse with others in a way that’s fluid and natural.
The thing about language is that you’ll miss things when you haven’t grown up speaking something. There’s always slang and other hidden things you’ll never know when you weren’t raised in the culture. You can speak formally and know how to keep up with people in a simple way, but casually? Casually trying to be the best communicator when regional dialects and slang come into the fray isn’t easy no matter what language you’re attempting to speak.
The thing is, it's not hard for him to piece together clues that are placed in front of him. He might think that he did something wrong at first. It's easy for him to assume that maybe he said something that didn't hit the mark or that you just didn't think he was funny, but after the first or second time of miscommunication, he’d figure it out. It's easy for him to figure that out because he has had similar struggles with language in the past.
It doesn't matter how much you study something, it's going to be very different when you actually start speaking with other people. It can be embarrassing and mortifying but that's a part of the process. Communication isn’t easy and things get lost in translation even if you know what you're talking about. He wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed or bad about not understanding something.
He more than anybody else understands what it feels like to be Lost in Translation.
So, it's okay to stop him in the middle of a comment and ask what's going on. It's not going to make him angry or frustrate him. He wants to be able to help. It's not easy to go out of your way to learn another language, and it's even harder to be able to keep up with everybody else without feeling like you need to ask a hundred questions.
Honestly, you don't have to be afraid of anything in this situation. All you need to do is be honest with him that you get a little lost sometimes. He's happy to help out because this is one of his great passions in life. Language is something that has interested him since he was little. So, it makes him happy to feel like he can take the face of a teacher.
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iantimony · 10 months
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exhausted tuesdaypost
short one this week! i'm at baby's first big academic conference and boy howdy i have no idea what the fuck i'm doing! technically posting this a little early by the time zone i'm in (pst) but in my normal time zone (est) it is already tuesday so fuck it amirite
listening: a little more partizan but not much (almost done with episode 19). VERY bold of me to think i could finish partizan before 2024, but also the first two weeks of december were a total wash for me because of conference prep. will very likely blaze through a ton of it when i get back to my apartment at the end of this week.
reading: read a little more of 'the house on vesper sands'. reread some tgcf chapters because they're familiar and soothing.
cait corrain goodreads controversy: the world of twitter/tiktok writers is such a foreign concept to me. the drama even more so. i was fascinated by this. reminds me of the livejournal drama of yore.
diagrammatic writing by johanna drucker: picked this up at a bookshop in san fran. might give it to my brother as a holiday gift? it's very cool and meta and caught my attention, as well as being bite-sized.
drinking, power wheelchairs and dui: got in a conversation with my roommate about how you can get a dui on a horse in arizona (which i think is a little strange because a horse, while under your control, generally wouldn't just go off a cliff or into traffic even if you try to guide it that way?? idk shit about horses though) which morphed into "wait. you can get a dui on a horse. and a bike. what about wheelchairs." i definitely agree with the "wheelchair and its driver together fall under the class of “pedestrian” when using sidewalks and crosswalks" because like. yeah. it's no more a vehicle than my legs are y'know? or something. there's definitely deeper disability theory here that i am ignorant to but i'm remembering stuff from the embodiment-themed art history class that i took my senior year and how technologies can serve as extensions as the self rather than separate entities.
playing: still pokego. yeehaw
watching: episode 6 of tgcf donghua! i'm a little confused about the release schedule but i am obsessed. they're in love your honor
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misc: found out the nyt dialect quiz is behind a paywall now when i told my friend about it and she tried to take it >:( met a cool older gentleman on the cable car, he's a retired nat geo photographer originally from paris. just a really cool dude. wish i got his name so i could look up his work.
BONE TIRED at this conference despite it literally being day one. i am so exhausted. partly jetlag partly New Experience partly anticipation for poster session on wednesday partly meeting collaborators and wanting to make a good impression etc etc. i definitely need to plan in more breaks. last week was easily one of The worse weeks of my life so far, combo PMSing plus breakdown over realizing i had to completely re-run a simulation (or two etc) and redo all my plots for my poster. just agonizing cramming of so much stuff. completely draining, basically burned myself out before even leaving for the conference, but it's Fine i'll be Fine i just gotta get through my presentation on wednesday without completely losing the thread.
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theladyfae · 3 years
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yorkshire!luke, out of nowhere: d'you think americans think bangers'n'mash sounds like... a music genre or sumfink?
rp!alex who just wanted to have his lunch in (relative) peace: uhhhhhh
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herorps · 4 years
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Hey flo do you have a guide to naming Chinese characters?? So I can be ethnically correct !
i apologize for how late this is. i’ve had a very busy work day and i’m only now getting some downtime to sit down and answer this the way i want to answer this. i want to start off by saying that i am chinese-american and that what i say and how i name my chinese characters is based on my personal experiences in my community growing up and what i’ve gathered through long-sought out research and diaspora twitter. 
i also want to say that of course your ethnically chinese character can have an western name, it’s very common that we do, especially in modern times and in immigrant spaces, however i think we should be able to normalize using ethnic names. also unless you are adopted ( see: leah lewis ), in my experience you 100% have a chinese name on top of having a ‘western’ name, so if you want to give your character a western name it’d be accurate to give them a chinese name as well ( see: natasha liu bordizzo/liu chengyu ).
if you find this guide helpful, please like and reblog the post, validate me and if you have any questions/corrections/add ons please let me know! 
i would have you start off by reading this really helpful guide. it’s a little long winded and you don’t have to read all of it but they do a great job with describing the different romanizations of names and how they’re different across different dialects/regions. you need to first decide what context your character exists in, whether they’re from beijing or taipei or hong kong, their full name is going to be spelled differently based on what background you want to give them.
my mother’s surname is actually a great example of this. her surname is 湯 which in mandarin chinese is pronounced “tang” but because my mother’s family is originally taishanese, her last name is romanized “hong” everywhere that uses an english spelling. alternatively, if my mother’s family changed their romanization when they moved to hong kong, where they speak cantonese, her last name would have been romanized as “tong”. 
another example of this is chou tzuyu. because she from taiwan, the romanization of her name is chou tzu yu but if her family was from, like, shanghai her name would be romanized zhou zi yu. same chinese characters ( 周子瑜 ), but because they are pronounced differently across different languages and because she is taiwanese, the romanizations are different. 
so after you’ve decided what romanization you want to give them, the next step is to actually choose a name. i personally begin with the given name with all of my characters because i like attaching a meaning to the given name over the surname. and also surnames are pretty easy to find/figure out.
here is a guide that discusses a little bit about naming conventions in china, particularly about gendered names. i really like what tangelotime had to say about the fact that gender doesn’t really matter when it comes to naming because, in my opinion and experience, it doesn’t. i would say that what would be “gendered” is possibly the way a name sounds. idk how to explain this but there are some names that sound “girly” but more in the sense that it’s like girly vs. butch. and i can’t think of a good example of this so you’re just gonna have to ... idk go with your gut. but for the most part, chinese names are gender neutral. 
what tangelotime also said about how giving a chinese name is intense is absolutely true because there are so many things that parents may consider including chinese zodiac and fengshui and radicals in a certain character and what it means---it’s a sport that i do not have the effort for nor the intelligence to properly explain. however, i think the guides that i’ve linked so far do a good job in explaining that in a way that i cannot. here is another extensive guide, but this one discusses historical contexts ( for all u historical rpers heh ) and more importantly imo, the list of themes that a parent might take in creating a name. 
8/6/21 edit: i came across these pictographs of characters from mdzs that analyze the etymology by the radical that gives you a lot of insight to possible name meanings and to the written chinese language. 
additionally, here is a video by avenue x, an amazing creator on youtube who reviews c dramas and gives a lot of in depth cultural context for some of the shows she watches, that explains the names of characters from word of honor and gives the poetry references that the writers may have used. 
so if you’ve taken a look all the guides i’ve given you, good on you, i really appreciate you putting in all the work. now let me give you some examples of how different things may be taken into consideration when giving a chinese name. 
my given name is 安儀, romanized “on yee” because my family speaks cantonese. the first character means “safe” while the second character means “appearance,” so together my name means “safe appearance”. but, my mom also took into consideration the radicals of the characters as well. the first character looks like it has a hat or a roof on it right? that is intentional. the character underneath the hat is the character/radical for girl, so my mom wanted to make sure that her daughter had something over her that would protect her. hence why she chose the character 安. the second character in my given name consists of primarily two other words/radicals, 亻+ 義. the first radical is a variation of ⼈, the chinese word for “person,” and the second radical can roughly translate to “righteous” which means when put together, 儀 can mean “righteous person.” however 儀 can also come to mean “the appearance of a righteous person” if you consider all of the meanings i’ve given so far. my parents thought heavily about what my name means, not only on a translation level but also on a structural level. 
if you’re writing a family with multiple children, consider having a generational name. in short, generational names usually have a shared character among a single generation of family members. both of my parents and their siblings are named in this manner. my mom and her siblings all have the 華 ( wah ) character in their names. my dad and his brother have the 少 ( siu ) character and his sisters have the 美 ( mei ) character in their names. my grandparents ( both sets ) thought to give their kids a generational link in their names. 
now let’s look at jackson wang’s given name, 嘉尔, which he explained was homophonic in meaning. this is a tangent but chinese people love homophones and it’s why we don’t trust the number 4 but love the number 8. his given name, romanized “gaa yee”/”jia er”  is essentially a homophone for “plus 2″. he said ( in a video that i cannot find anymore ) that his grandfather named him because he wanted the meaning to be “a king with two guards to protect him”. jackson’s last name 王 (wong/wang) means “king” so “king” “plus 2″ is the intention his grandfather had in naming him. 
but if you’re really not versed in things like fengshui or poetry or you don’t have someone with chinese literacy available to you, the next best thing is to honestly ... take a look at media. whether that’s celebrities or film/tv/book characters ( written by actual chinese people pls ) and see what their names are ( or at least the romanizations are ). this will help you figure out what sounds appropriate and what sounds like you’re just mashing sounds together ( see: cho chang is she korean... is she chinese?? who the fuck knows ). and then finding characters that give off a meaning ( like my name meaning “safe appearance” ) is just fine imo. 
and honestly sometimes giving a name doesn’t have to be so deep. like fan bingbing’s name literally translates to “ice ice” and i don’t even know what her brother, chengcheng’s name is supposed to mean, i think their parents just think having the duplicated character is fun and cute. so don’t stress yourself out. 
also a lot of what i’ve gone over has pertained to the common 3-character name ( 1 character surname, 2 character given name ) but you can also consider a 2 character name ( 1 character surname, 1 character given name ) ( see: xiao zhan ) or even a 2 character surname ( see: ouyang nana ). 
so finally, to get you started, here is a short list of characters and their romanizations that you can take a look at.
thank you so much for bearing with me, i know this is a lot of information to take in but it is great that you are seeking this information out in the first place. i also know that this may seem very daunting, and even for me it’s daunting sometimes, but if you have any more questions, please let me know and if you have anything you’d like to add, please let me know. 
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girlnextmorgue · 2 years
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obligatory pinned post (please read!)
HI! I am girlnextmorgue (you can call me morg if you want) and this is myyyyy.... fanfic blog? Fan content blog ? Whatever that is ya. I am a they/them....! 18 years old
This blog is mainly used 4 creepypasta content, however i must admit i post rarely... the vasttt majority of my hcs/other posts r reuploads from an old blog from around 2021, so they are a little dated. Those old hcs arent necessarily characterizations i agree with now so i might write things that clash w them !! I would take them down but people seem to like them so i keep em posted for old times sake
U may notice that i type a lil weird in my notes/shitposts/tags but i have really solid grammar and spelling and punctuation and stuff i prommy !! I like typing like this because i think my own internet dialect is fun and disjointed
The one thing that i will ask is that u do not interact with this blog if u are a proshipper/comshipper/anti-anti/whatever names u go by these days idk i dont keep up with that stuff much. I dont agree with u on the content that u produce/consume and u people make me very uncomfortable! So please do me a solid and stay off my blog .. if u send me an ask trying to argue i will not respond to it so dont waste ur time!!
Thats it for the most part i think!! U can totes feel free to send in a request i just cant guarantee that u will get a response in a timely fashion ... i also have an ao3 that u can find here! I post longer works there and keep them organized
OK thank you BYE
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miyacchis · 3 years
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Notes from a Con Man - Musical Great Pretender Stage Report Act 1
This is a bit extremely rambly, but I want to give some description of the distinguishing features of the staged version of Great Pretender as compared to the anime, although my plan is not to give a complete recap of the plot, as I’m sure anyone who is choosing to read this has watched the anime - or so I assume, but you know you do you. I try to control myself and keep it just to what is relevant, but I’m also a wordy bitch and that will never change, so, reader beware, I guess.
 The stage is set up with three levels (the stage level, the second floor, and the third floor where the band is). Both the stage level and second floor have a couple of rooms that can be pulled out or opened, and backgrounds are projected onto the set to create different settings. With the exception of the opening theme, which is taken from the anime, all of the music is live, and there’s very good interplay between the band and the performers, and I don’t know if I’d ever been to another show that felt so vibrant/alive/idk?
First, the biggest change made for the sake of clear storytelling on the stage is the addition of a framing device: the plot is conveyed to the audience through Edamura’s (Miyata Toshiya) narration as he tells his story to a prosecutor after the events of LA Connection. The play opens where LA Connection ends with Edamura being questioned at a police station, where it’s clear that he has been attempting for hours to convince detectives to believe the team-confidence-wild-and-wacky-adventures ™  explanation as to how he came to be in possession of a bag stuffed with foreign currency. Detectives are fed up with him and ready to go berniewiththesteelchair.jpeg on his ass. Enter Kitaoji (Kato Ryo), an elite prosecutor who seems to be on track to become attorney general, although it is unclear to those at the police station why he would take interest in Edamura’s case. 
Edamura is initially reluctant to open up to Kitaoji (Kato Ryo), certain that he won’t be believed, but after Kitaoji quotes from Shakunetsu (side note: I had no idea that in English Shakunetsu was turned into Die Hot which is an absolutely incredible pun and I really commend the translator), Edamura thinks Kitaoji might be just the person to believe him and help him to make amends to all those he had harmed through his life of fraud. Kitaoji encourages Edamura to start at the beginning and goes to eat a piece of candy, prompting Edamura to question, “What would you do if this simple piece of candy was sold for $5 million?” at which point he begins telling his story, transporting us first to a club in Hollywood where we are introduced to the plot with Sakura Magic and, more importantly, Laurent (Miya Rurika, goddess, dressed devastatingly in green), who is identified in quick succession as a French trader, an arrogant Don Juan, and the “bastard who got me into this mess.” 
Edamura bumbles through Laurent’s plot to build hype and clinch a deal with Cassano (Otani Ryosuke) by having Abby (Yamamoto Chihiro) “test” the “drug,” while giving small asides to Kitaoji to explain the main players and reveal to him that this is all a con job, but when Edamura is called to sign the contract to supply Cassano with the drug for $5 million, he flips out, pulls Salazar’s (Mikami Ichiro) gun, and flees the club, without the excuse of believing that he had taken drugs as he did in the anime. It is also not at this point that Edamura makes the connection between Laurent and Kudo and realizes that he’s been set up (Miyata!Edamura is overall a bit less perceptive than Kobayashi!Edamura, as we shall see, although I think this was a function of simplifying aspects of the characters’ interactions for the sake of clarity for the stage). 
Kitaoji pops in and out of the story from this point, donning different costumes (an unhoused person, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Razzie from the Shakunetsu series, etc.) to illustrate different aspects of the main characters’ conversations, and he serves as a way to get into Edamame’s head, allowing him to express what he is thinking and feeling as events in the story play out. It is in the metanarrative that we get some of these more comedic scenes, as well as additional insight into Edamura’s character as he grapples with his own identity as a scam artist and the son of a child trafficker.
After escaping Cassano’s henchmen outside the club, Edamura rejoins Kitaoji to ask if he’s following the story so far, which of course he is not (lol), so Edamura dives into how he met Laurent and came to be in LA. From here we flashback three days, joining Edamura and Kudo (Fukumoto Shinichi) in Asakusa as they spy Laurent as a potential mark. Edamura pulls the wallet-switch trick, and this scene generally follows the anime, although parts, such as the scenes showing Edamura selling water filters and Edamura and Kudo being raided by what seems to be the police, have been cut. After realizing that Laurent pickpocketed him and saw through his grift, Edamura quickly follows and catches him as he is about to depart in a cab to the airport. Just a moment to talk about this cab because it was such a cute, clever idea; it was really just a little push car driven by one of the supporting cast, and it can be disconnected in the middle, so as the driver pulls off, the back seat can be left behind, allowing the audience to watch Laurent and Edamura’s conversation as they are taken to the airport. 
Similarly to the anime, the successive scenes are nominally delivered in English, so Edamura switches to a dialect of Japanese to represent his accented English, which I mention only because Miyata discussed Edamura’s code switching with Kobayashi (Edamura’s Japanese voice actor) in an interview in vol. 51 of Stage Square and how he was concerned that he might confuse Standard Japanese and the dialect during scenes where he has to go back and forth quickly. Kobayashi reassured him that as he got into the character of Edamura Miyata would naturally fall into dialect whenever speaking to Laurent and Abby, and I’m very biased, buuuttttt throughout the run of the show, Miyata performed this beautifully, and as someone who for several years lived in the Tohoku region, the dialect of which Edamura’s accent reminded me of, his accent made me really nostalgic. 
Anywayyyyyy
After Laurent and Edamura bet on the outcome of Laurent’s upcoming “business negotiations” and it’s agreed that they will travel to LA together, the opening theme plays, the main cast is introduced, with Edamura running up and down the set to give a sense of action, the title in massive letters is lowered onto the stage, and we rejoin the main plot with Edamura trying to elude Cassano’s gang on the streets of LA by hiding behind the title. The supporting cast gives us some great background color as like random people in LA, like we’ve got some girls with Starbucks cups, some people breakdancing while simultaneously mugging a Dodgers fan, a skateboarder shouting “STREET”...for some reason. Perfect encapsulation of America *chef’s kiss*
Laurent finds Edamura and tells him to come home because he’s a good boy (😳), and Edamura is then introduced to Abby who, just as in the anime, kicks and knocks him out, after which they collect him and take him to an upscale hotel where Cynthia/Paula Dickens (Senna Ayase) is performing as a jazz singer. Laurent greets her briefly, but we don’t properly get introduced to her character until a later, very frustrating scene, but I’m not going to get started on that yet (it’s not her that’s frustrating, but it’s how they chose to have her and Edamura meet, but anyway we’ll get there). She sings “Summertime,” and it’s a lovely performance; all of her acting choices are very clearly informed by her experience in Takarazuka - she has these really dynamic, almost over-the-top movements and she uses that to her advantage to be one of the more comedic actors - and it’s really entertaining to watch.
Laurent orders them drinks; Edamura has something pink in a little martini glass, and he splutters when he tries to take a sip because he can’t handle his alcohol, which makes Laurent laugh, giving a lot of credence to Laurent’s statement soon after that he derives a lot of pleasure out of toying with naive boys like Edamura who pretend to be tougher than they really are. There’s also some funny adlib with Abby at this point where she gets brought different plates of food like fake fruit on one day and a tower of donuts on another. Laurent explains who Cassano is and the plan to defraud him and gives Edamura a notebook with a fabricated recipe for Sakura Magic, so the notebook is not part of what Edamura prepares himself when he goes later to get himself captured by Cassano to negotiate with him. Edamura has a couple of outbursts accusing Laurent and Abby of putting on airs, pretending to be carrying out justice, repeatedly interrupting the band who give him dirty looks and Shi-won, dressed as one of the saxophonists, loudly blows the saxophone back at him, and this prompts Laurent to be like nah we’re getting too much attention here let’s continue this back at the hotel. 
The hotel scene is fairly similar to the anime, but once Edamura is left alone, we get the first instance of him thinking about his family as he reflect on what Laurent had to say about how people don’t always believe the truth that is in front of them as they would rather believe whatever is most convenient. He flashes back to his family going home together after his father finished a case (the hotel room is on the second floor with his mom and dad entering on the stage level; the younger version of Edamura is done in voice over), and of course they seem like a happy family, although it’s interesting that what his dad has to say about ethics was cut from the script. The scene focuses more on Edamura idolizing his father as a great lawyer.
Okay, so we’ve finally come to the scene I absolutely hated and did not think was necessary, after Edamura leaves the hotel room. He is approached by three unhoused persons, one of whom he at first thinks is Kitaoji coming to interrupt the narrative again, but he soon realizes that they are “real homeless.” It was really just a disgusting, cruel stereotype; one of them is playing with a rat they found, another is acting like a junkie, and the ringleader is trying to get money off of him because they haven’t eaten in three days and then they steal his little Toyotomi Hideyoshi figurine and play keepaway with it and don’t stop until Cynthia/Paula Dickens (at this point she’s Paula tho so I’m going to refer to her that way) enters and is like knock it off. So that’s how they meet. Cool. They could easily have come up with something else and they just didn’t.
But, anyway, since he got his figurine back, he explains to Paula that his hobby is collecting capsule toys, and during his explanation, a gacha machine is projected up on the stage, out of which comes Kitaoji dressed as Toyotomi, followed by a bunch of other figures from Japanese history. This part always got a pretty good laugh out of the audience, and I think it was a pretty cute way to stage it. Paula insists they go to dinner together, so she can hear more about Toyotomi, and the capsule toy figurines all follow to a diner (serving “breadfast” 24hrs lol) where Shi-won is dressed as someone named Ricardo. The figurines all start to get drunk, while “Ricardo” fixes Edamura and Paula some tacos; meanwhile Edamura explains that Toyotomi began as a simple peasant, but because of his hard work and study, he was able to climb all the way to the top and unite all of Japan as a powerful lord. 
Edamura asks why she decided to help him before and he despairs that he must seem like a beaten dog, but she explains that while she might seem confident, she faces tremendous anxiety getting on stage every day, particularly as she wants to make it big as a performer but can’t expect to get the attention of a label just because she can sing a bit. (In the background, Francis Xavier is completely sloshed and ends up drinking with Ricardo) Edamura suggests that she take inspiration from Toyotomi as someone who was able to trick even his enemies into working with him and represent herself as someone more important than she is to get music producers onto her side. She seems fired up by this proposal, and she says that she’ll follow the example of Toyotomi, “Japan’s best confidence man,” which gives Edamura his own motivation to get back to trying to win the bet with Laurent. He asks Paula to wish him good luck and runs off, and we get the first dance scene with Edamura and a number of samurai as he builds up to confronting Cassano. The scene ends with him running into a video shop, presumably to rent Cassano’s movies.
Laurent and Abby are called to Cassano’s mansion - they argue if Edamura is capable of pulling off a job like this, although Laurent insists that he has a natural talent - but they are certain that he must be dead when they hear from Salazar that Edamura was taken into their custody at the airport trying to run. However, Edamura bursts onto the scene, dressed in a new Hawaiian shirt, and at this point, Miyata looks as though he has been in a swimming pool, but it’s just sweat lmao. Cassano informs them that he’s made a new deal with Edamura for $10 million, and when they ask how, we get a flashback showing how he got onto Cassano’s good side by praising Shakunetsu with Kitaoji, as Razzie, acting out scenes from the Shakunetsu movies on the second floor of the stage. Whenever Cassano hugs Edamura in these scenes, it was really funny because his jacket would get just absolutely covered in Miyata’s sweat just ugh gross lol 
Cassano’s accountant joins them and they play out the whole bit about confirming Edamura’s credentials as a pharmaceutical scientist, at which point Edamura finally realizes that Kudo is working with Laurent, when he calls Kudo to thank him for deceiving Cassano’s attorneys. After Cassano has confirmed Edamura’s identity, he takes the crew to his factory and insists that Edamura make Sakura Magic for them right there and then so that they can be sure to properly replicate his recipe. She does this the whole play, but particularly during this scene, you can really see how well Miya Rurika portrays Laurent as always calm and and in control before Edamura but as quietly losing his shit whenever he feels like they’ve been backed into a corner, and we also get some very cute like Laurent clearly being exasperated with Edamura but the two of them starting to be able to play off one another as they convince Cassano that the factory isn’t up to snuff for making Sakura Magic. 
They have to clear out because they hear someone coming, but Cassano promises that he will build a new laboratory for Edamura and entrusts his care to Salazar. The police bust in after everyone has left; Anderson does the absolute most to show off to everyone that he’s properly securing the scene, but he’s clearly relieved that Cassano slipped through their fingers once again oh my how does this keep happening oh well better luck next time. We get a proper introduction to Paula and Shi-won as members of the FBI who have come to investigate Laurent and his organization (Paula has changed into this beautifully tailored brown tweed pantsuit and she pulls it off so well), and Paula threatens to expose Anderson’s connections to Cassano if he doesn’t follow her lead.
After the scene in the factory, we return to the present in the interrogation room with Kitaoji and Edamura. Detectives bring Kitaoji additional files on Edamura, asking if the prosecutor has heard of the attorney Ozaki. They inform him that Edamura is Ozaki’s son, and Kitaoji is a bit shocked; he leaves, saying that he will review the files. The detectives collect the money before exiting the room, but not without getting in a dig at Edamura, telling him that he clearly takes after his father. Edamura is stricken by this statement, and the act ends with Edamura battling with this internal conflict. 
I don’t think anyone would want to read all of this, but if you have, thank you so much. I hope some of it at least was interesting or informative. I’m going to end there for now, as I’ve already gone on for too long, and I’ll finish writing up the second act in another post.
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fraks · 3 years
Text
LEVERAGE REDEMPTION 1x15 THE MUDDY WATERS JOB
- i can't believe this is the first part of the finale already. @cminerva and i have been speculating about the finale since the episode titles + descriptions were released. well, since before that, really, but the titles and descriptions gave us so much fodder, oh god. my prediction was that they'd do another first/second david job that would wreck us completely. so. you know.
- i watched all eight eps in a row, the night they were released, but @cminerva only got to watch the first two, so i had be very vague and spoiler-free in the texts i sent her when all i wanted to do was YELL, but once i got to the finale, i couldn't possibly be vague anymore, so i stated typing up my reactions in a notes file. that's gonna be super useful for this post now.
- ok let's do this! harry's daughter sneaking out, interesting start. harry's ex is beautiful. but jesus she REALLY traded down.
- harry delivering their mail. :') and eliot fixing the place up. EVERYONE IS SO AT HOME AT THE BASE. 😍 omg sophie's wearing a shirt that could definitely belong to harry.
- uhhhh wasn't tom baker nate's alias? side-eyeing the writers tbh. miss river song—hardison c'mon. LMAO TEDDY BEAR. harry and soph are so delighted, i love it. fjsjfhskdjfjjdjdjd "MISS SOPHIE DEVEREAUX, FROM ALL THE WAY FROM ACROSS THE POND!" harry your accent is ATROCIOUS. but THEY'RE FLIRTING!!! "stop it!" fjakfbskfjksfj HELP ME I AM DYING HERE. (now we've had him saying her name while she's actually in the room, but in a horrible accent, so like. all i want is one soft "sophie" right to her face. bonus points if they're naked.)
- "i need to give you some dialect lessons." - "i'll take 'em." i'm sure you will, harry. 😏 the only time i was ever this eager to learn things from someone was when i was head over heels in love with them, so. just saying.
- nooooooooo. sophie can't leave. SHE CANNOT. ugh parker's reaction is everything. she loves sophie so much and has been fighting to keep her with them since 1x01. and i don't think sophie has realised how much it really means to parker to have her there.
- i also live for harry's reaction. he's so crushed because he thought they had something. not the something he wants, but a friendship, at least. and she just talks so casually about leaving them all behind it crushes him. you can actually SEE his heart breaking.
- and then later he sends parker off with eliot and specifically assigns sophie and himself to a task, TOGETHER. i'm guessing he either hopes he can change her mind or, failing that, he wants to spend what little time they have with her before she goes.
- but first, harry's daughter shows up. lmao because she used the tracking app harry tried to sneak onto her phone to track HIM. :') i like breanna's nerd girlfriend, but if they'd made becky a few years older, breanna would currently be falling all over herself trying to impress HER instead. (yes, this was originally on my wishlist for s2. also yes, i am okay with not getting it.)
- "he never did business with really bad people like—" - "...like i did?" CALLED IT. @cminerva and i figured the strain in their relationship would have been harry's work, and not just the many hours of it, but more that he defended so many evil people. "i get it." oh maaaan it KILLS him to know his daughter thinks so badly of him. because he IS a good man, at his core.
- "what, was the monopoly man busy?" gjajfjskfjekd PARKER!!!
- lmao harry defends ethan so eagerly, sophie's little smirk makes me think SHE thinks harry and ethan might have been an item. before he drops the bombshell of ethan being married to harry's ex, that is.
- breanna going on strike is... idk, i'm torn. it's obviously mostly played for laughs, giving harry and sophie the task of hacking (😂), but also, the last time they weren't sure what to do, they voted, and the majority won. there was never any talk of strikes? it feels kind of weird and ooc to me that breanna just says no and basically abandons them, especially after harry's asked for help. and her attitude about the whole thing... not helping.
- but lmao harry planning to learn hacking from the binders. what a NERD. a clueless, naïve nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.
- "how hard can it be, hacking?" oh sophie, sweetie.
- lmfao "stupid little lawyer man." - "breanna!" - "i did something wrong..." you think, harry? 😂
- omg when eliot and parker come back to the base and ask what happened, sophie says "we (!) tried our hand at hacking", but harry points to himself while she says it. this is one of the many, many reasons why i love this character: he's so absolutely willing to own up to his mistakes—not just the big, obvious ones they're all trying to redeem him from, but just the small ones, too, and i think that's mostly noah's acting choices, i doubt any of that is scripted. it's making me very emotional because it's obvious noah loves this character, too. and the WAY he takes the blame for the things he did wrong just reinforces my headcanon of anxiety disorder harry who has had therapy.
- you REALLY left harry for this dude, grace? really? i mean i know looks don't mean anything in the long run, but jeeeeesus. this dude doesn't even come across as a good guy.
- lmfao parker carding harry i cannot. "oh look, he's human." i love her.
- that red top on sophie looks amazing. my wishlist for s2 had her in another red dress, but i'll take this, too. red on sophie is just... [chef's kiss]
- OUCH. that ethan guy is a piece of work. "i believe in being civil." okay two things. a) i like that harry doesn't, idk, hate his ex and that he didn't make it hard for her to leave and find someone else, someone even he considered "better", cause even back then, he KNEW what he was doing was wrong. b) but also, this "being civil" thing i think might just have been another symptom of his attitude of "never picking a side". it's a really easy way to make sure nothing ever touches you, that no one can ever blame you. if he HAD fought for his ex and made it hard for her to leave him, she could have thrown that back in his face. by staying "neutral" (or as he calls it "civil", cause lbr, there is no true "neutral" in a breakup like that), he made sure none of the immediate blame could fall on him. SHE left him. SHE asked for a divorce. stuff like that. but he knows now that it was precisely that, his INaction, that put the final nail in the coffin of his marriage. which ties in very nicely with what he says to sophie in that one scene in jackal job.
- "probably doesn't hurt that because of me, you don't have to pay alimony or child support." YOU LITTLE TWAT. harry has made a LOT of mistakes in his life, but i don't believe for a second that he would've minded paying alimony, let alone child support. i mean, he's a lawyer, for god's sake. if he'd wanted a pre-nup that would've kept him from paying alimony, he probably could've had one. and we KNOW he's loaded. and especially now, he no longer cares about the money. i mean, he's been living in a room in a slightly run-down old theatre with four housemates, basically, instead of staying at his presumably huge and fancy own apartment or house.
- another "sophie". i want harry to say her name all the time thanks. 😭
- EVERYONE EATING TOGETHER AGAIN! lol i can no longer watch these guys (or any other fictional characters) eat chinese food without thinking about the audio commentary for the original show. 😍
- oooh good plan, parker. you go to the platform and take eliot and breanna with you. it'll give harry and sophie some time alone. 😏
- "the security of my family" u g h harry listen. your daughter is your family, OBVIOUSLY. but your ex is not. if anything, this TEAM is your family now. this is what @cminerva i were afraid of, that by making harry's ex's husband a bad guy / mark, the writers would open the door for harry to go back to his ex. and i'm 100% against that, and not only because i ship h/s. that's not even my main reason, actually, though i will admit it plays a big role. no, the main reason is that harry is a different person now. and going back to his ex would throw him back into a life that he once had but left, even just by NOT acting when she left him. and if he's back in that situation again, well. it's very easy to fall back into old patterns once you're back in a familiar environment, isn't it? i'm not saying his ex would drive him to doing bad things, or that she did that when he first went crooked. no, that was HIS choice. but thanks to harry and now ethan, she's always had a certain standard of living that she no doubt wants to keep, and harry would fall over backwards trying to make that happen, and lbr, these guys don't exactly make money from conning bad guys. as far as we know, the original team still lives off their one big score from nigerian job, personally. hardison probably makes sure leverage international has some income for bases and clothes and props and whatnot, but personally, i doubt these guys would take so much as a penny from a mark if that penny could instead go towards helping people. so harry has not had any official income since the beginning of the season. he probably has assets that generate income for him, but the money he got from being a lawyer was probably his main source. and he'd want to make his ex happy, so he'd probably slip back into doing bad things, and i DO NOT WANT THAT FOR HIM. my little baby thief who's been working so, so hard on his redemption.
- SOPHIE WITH A PONYTAIL. i was so looking forward to this and it's just as hot as i expected. what is even hotter than i expected is that PINSTRIPE VEST SHE'S WEARING.
- "why would you be covered in oil?" ghskfhsifhkehfkejf 😂 it only just occurred to me that these bits are 4th wall breaks, in a way. i just hadn't realised because they're DONE SO WELL. (i ususally hate 4th wall breaks.)
- "oil happens." gjskfbksfnksbfjefbjdnfjeke I CANNOT.
- lol i have absolutely no notes about this upcoming h/s scene from the first time i watched the ep, so i'm guessing i was too overwhelmed.
- "i thought i might find you here." SHE LOOKS SO GOOD. and she knows where his ex lives, which i assume is where they used to live together.
- "when i lost grace, i reconciled myself to the fact that i lost her to a better man. a decent man. maybe i didn't deserve her." OUCH. and exactly what i suspected. there's no way that this wonderful, wonderful man doesn't have anxiety over all the bad things he's done.
- "is that it? have you been seeking redemption for grace and becky?" GOT IT IN ONE, SOPH.
- "if you can't use the law as a guideline to show you what's morally right and wrong, then what do you have?" a) leverage asking the TOUGHEST questions since 2008. b) he's not wrong. c) i don't think i can imagine HOW hard it must be for him, this whole redemption process. i mean, he knows he did the wrong things. but how does he know that? because it FELT wrong. and because he saw other people's pain. and then because the crew has been telling him. but the law, the thing he's spent his entire life on, tells him the exact opposite. so all this time, all these months now that he's been with the leverage team, there has always been a part of him that has told him what he's doing NOW is wrong. because it's against the law. and i think a part of him is always going to be struggling with that if he stays with the team.
- "mr. wilson, i think you need to recalibrate your entire thinking about morality. life isn't always as clear-cut as we'd like. life's complicated." THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE DEFINING QUOTE. OF THIS ENTIRE SHOW.
- "how did you recalibrate your thinking about morality?" - "well. there is honour amongst thieves. i started there." i am SOBBING. i know this episode and this entire season really is about harry, but my GOD. sophie has grown SO much, since nigerian job obviously but also since the end of leverage 1.0 and even since the beginning of 2.0—so, so much. talking about harry and his arc comes to me fairly easily, but talking about sophie is just. hard. she means so much to me. i might come back to this in another post. i do want to talk more about her arc in this entire season.
- on a more shallow note, JEEEEESUS gina is gorgeous. and idk if that was a coincidence or ~filming magic, but it's overcast in this scene EXCEPT for the moment when sophie says "there's honour amongst thieves". it's not a lot, but you can tell that the sun comes peeking out for that one second and hits her face and she just GLOWS. JFC.
- also i know it probably doesn't mean anything, but when sophie leaves, the way harry turns and looks back at what i assume is his old house (i.e. his ex and his old life), then turns back to sophie and looks at her and then walks after her DOES THINGS TO ME. it could be such a beautiful metaphor for the way he's being torn in half.
- awwwwman, the kids talking about sophie leaving. "she's gotta find out who she is." !!!!!! I JUST!!!!! i think i've got something about this in my "yell at @cminerva" notes for the next ep, so i'll just. stop for now. but i have all the feelings anyone has ever had about this.
- nooooo i think harry just got all dressed up to meet his ex. GDI WRITERS WHAT ARE YOU DOING.
- yeaaaah they've just tanked the ot3. i am UPSET. "i've always admired you and hardison's relationship." AS IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THAT RELATIONSHIP YOU DUMMY.
- "i think the reason hardison and i work so well is because he's the first person who saw me. i mean, he really knew me." is such a sweet thing to say, parker.
- awwww but. that was an eliot+parker scene that would be SUPER cute family vibes if it weren't for that bitter anti-ot3 aftertaste...
- LMFAO SOPHIE IS HAVING ELIOT'S BABY 😂 i know at least one (1) person who will appreciate this tidbit. i love how sophie just like, goes with the "sweetheart". you can almost SEE her thought process. "ah, eliot's not alone. guess i'm having his baby!" and lmfao breanna "baby?" dhakhfksbdjejd
- harry doing actual lawyering in court? HOT AF. i don't have a secret thing for lawyers or the law, but watching someone—anyone—be super competent is always crazy attractive. (yes, this show makes me sweat a lot.)
- lmfao "how did you meet the missus? was it romantic?" what this episode DESPERATELY needs here is a flashback to the first time eliot saw sophie, playing lady macbeth in chicago back in nigerian job, and a shot of his horrified face.
- ugh harry don't run after grace. if this were any other show, or fanfic, grace would now ask harry about that gorgeous woman in the red dress. "oh grow up, harry. what did you think was going to happen? i was going to leave him and come running back to you?" wow maybe it was harry who deserved better all along. yes, it was naïve and frankly wrong of him to assume or even hope for this. but it was a GENUINE hope, a genuine wish, and i can't blame him for that. if he really HAS been trying to find redemption so his ex would come back to him (which i don't think he has—maybe that was part of it for him, but he's been wanting to be better for himself, too, and above all, for his daughter), it's going to be even harder going forward, knowing that outcome he hoped for isn't going to happen.
- "where's harry? all his stuff is gone, he cleaned out his room." oh shit they're doing it THEY'RE REALLY GOING THERE THIS IS FIRST DAVID ALL OVER AGAIN, ONLY IN REVERSE. oh jesus christ i did not expect this.
- PARKER+SOPHIE CUDDLE I CAN'T. 😭 I LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH. "you always knew that this was gonna be my last tour. i'm just not the same person i used to be. i need to go and figure out who the person is that i'm going to be." I AM A WRECK THANKS.
- and so is eliot ugh. these people threw him a baby shower like, YESTERDAY. leverage redemption really not pulling ANY punches, are they?
- oh fuck. OH FUCK. "well, let's just say that i've decided to recalibrate my entire way of thinking about morality." OH FUUUCK.
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sternbilder · 3 years
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Hi!! Stumbled on your blog via the buried stars tag and I'd like to say thank you so much for the kr>eng translations! There aren't many english-speaking fans so I was happy to read about the game & its characters. I was wondering, what do all the characters call each other in Korean? Or what honorifics they use? I could hear it in the audio sometimes (Gyu-hyuk: "Do-yoon-ah", or I think Seil: "Inha-ssi" ?) but I didn't catch all of them. Google tells me some of it is based off of (1/2)
(2/2) Google tells me some of it is based off of respect, friendship/closeness, or just being older/younger than one another, but I'm still new to the intricacies of what it implies about the characters' relationships and how their individual personalities are. If it isn't too much trouble, I'd love to know ^^
Hello!! You're very welcome and in fact thank you for the question, I'm always receptive to more excuses to talk about this game!
It seems like you already have some context on rules surrounding Korean honorifics. There is a lot of nuance, obviously, but to put it simply...Yes, I'd say the speech patterns the cast (particularly, the TOP5—the others are a bit more complicated) uses are what you'd see in a casual social setting between people who already know each other somewhat, but aren't necessarily friends, which is what I think I would expect from a group of twentysomethings who probably had a chance to bond socially as a cohort throughout the whole audition process (it's explained in the Q&A that they lived together in a dorm for most of the show, too). And as you've pointed out the rules there I would say are much more tied to age and closeness. I'd generally characterize their speech patterns as informal, but polite—basically, you have to use the polite form with people who are older than you, but you can use casual speech (banmal) with people who are the same age or younger. The exception is if you are close enough with someone that you mutually decide it's OK to drop honorifics despite the age difference. More on that later.
The order of the age of each of the main cast are as follows: Seungyeon (33), Juyoung (28), Gyuhyuk (27), Doyoon and Inha (25), Seil (24), and Hyesung (20). So with no other caveats we'd expect, for example, Doyoon to use polite form with Juyoung and Gyuhyuk but not with Inha and Hyesung, etc. Now, with that as the basis, here are some notes based on what I can remember, though disclaimer that my memory isn't perfect, and there are also things I might have missed because I haven't done a full playthrough yet with Korean text.
(Character spoilers for the "Other" section at the end; otherwise a few minor spoilers)
TOP5
Juyoung (28)
Juyoung is the oldest of the main cast, so she uses banmal with pretty much everyone and refers to them by name, or name + ah/ya (which is the casual vocative marker), and it's perfectly acceptable for her to do so.
The rest of the TOP5 call her 언니/누나 (unni/noona, lit. "older sister" but more generally used to refer to any slightly older female acquaintance; which one is used depends on the speaker's gender). They also sometimes call her 영이 언니/누나 (Young-i unni/noona) for short, which I thought was cute. There's actually a Q&A question that asked about this because it is a very familiar/affectionate nickname, and the director explained that Juyoung asked the others to call her that because she was afraid of seeming unapproachable due to her age and because of the fact that she was a former idol.
Gyuhyuk (27)
As the second oldest, I believe he uses banmal with everyone but Juyoung. The younger male characters all call him 형 (hyung, lit. "older brother", see above), though I can't seem to remember Inha calling him 오빠 (oppa). I might be projecting that assumption onto her based on her somewhat brash personality, since 오빠 can come off as a bit...Girlish? Cutesy? Flirtatious? in certain contexts? Idk.
Doyoon (25)
What's notable about Doyoon is that he uses the polite form with Juyoung, but not Gyuhyuk. He calls Gyuhyuk 형 (hyung), of course, but he uses the casual form, which suggests that they're close enough with each other that they've already agreed to drop formalities. Their first rapport event gives me the sense that they're especially close, too, compared to the other contestants (as does just like...waves in their general direction, but anyway,)
Inha (25)
Inha is the same age as Doyoon, so you would also expect her to use polite form with Juyoung and Gyuhyuk. However, she doesn't with either of them IIRC.
As for Juyoung, I don't remember how much of this came through in the text of the game itself, but I would guess they were probably already pretty close in a way similar to Doyoon and Gyuhyuk were. At the very least, I think I remember one of the Q&A answers indicating that they kept in touch very frequently after the events of the game.
I don't really remember too many interactions between Inha and Gyuhyuk, tbh. I do recall that she (not sure if any others do) refers to him as 규 (Gyu) at least once, which I think is adorable, LMAO. This might indicate that they may have been on close enough terms to use casual speech? But then again, she did seem to resent Gyuhyuk at least a little bit for the scholarship thing, and according to the Q&A she took much longer than Juyoung and Doyoon to see him again after the game, so??? She could just be kind of disrespectful like that, which...Kinda tracks, honestly??? 🤷‍♀️Like I said, I don't remember too much about these two, so don't take my word on this.
Hyesung (20)
Hyesung is the youngest, so you would expect him to use polite speech with everyone, but he, uh, does not. With anyone. LMAO. Maybe he's just super tight with everyone, but something tells me it's more because he's a rude little shit who's just Like That. (I mean, he uses banmal with Seil, who does hate his guts, so.) He does call everyone 형/누나 (hyung/noona), though, at least—though, now that I think about it, Seil might be an exception to that, LOL.
Since he's the youngest, everyone just calls him Hyesung.
Also, this is tangential, but I also just wanted to throw in that Hyesung notably has a slight "old man" dialect in that he sometimes uses expressions and slang that you would expect from the older generation, because growing up his only friends were the other vendors at his mom's fish market. This is unrelated to politeness, but it does come off as really funny considering how young he is, and definitely gives his speech a unique vibe.
Staff
Seil (24)
The speech patterns between Seil and the TOP5 are pretty similar to speech patterns within TOP5 itself, which is to say, fairly informal but still polite. He uses polite form with everyone older than him, and uses banmal with Hyseung. I actually wouldn't necessarily have expected this to be the case since he technically has more of a professional relationship to the TOP5 than they do with each other (so I wouldn't have been surprised if he actually used formal speech, rather than just polite), but it's probably because he's in that same age range and because he was the staff member who was closest to them socially.
I believe you are correct that he calls Inha, and Inha alone, -씨 (-ssi), which is actually formal, rather than simply polite. Probably just indicating his high level of admiration for her in particular.
The rest of the main cast just call him Seil. Hyesung also occasionally calls Seil 세일 FD님 (Seil FD-nim) which is technically extremely formal, but obviously said in sarcasm.
Seungyeon (33)
I believe she calls everyone by their full name, and uses casual speech with them. Makes sense. She's the boss.
Everyone else calls her PD님 (PD-nim, formal). Including, notably, Hyesung. AFAICR Seungyeon is the only character Hyesung shows even an ounce of deference toward in this game. 😛
Other
Suchang (27) & Suyeon (18)
AFAIK Suchang only really has in-game interactions with Doyoon and Suyeon, and Suyeon only has interactions with Suchang, who she of course calls 오빠 (oppa), in the familial sense. Though IIRC at the very end she does once refer to Doyoon as 그분 (geubun, lit. "that person") and 도윤님 (Doyoon-nim), both of which are extremely formal/deferential in tone but in kind of a "little girl talks about her crush as if they were Prince Charming" sort of way...Which causes Suchang to hilariously go into overprotective/jealous older brother mode.
The Ha siblings use casual speech with each other, which is standard among siblings. However, Suchang also talks down to Doyoon, which is pretty audacious of him considering they're strangers—he basically talks to Doyoon as if they're already friends. He's kind of an audacious guy in general, though, so I'd say that kind of fits his character.
Doyoon, on the other hand, being the polite young man that he is, uses polite speech with Suchang. There's a funny scene where he accidentally slips up and uses banmal, and then immediately gets called out by Suchang, who chews him out for talking down to someone older than him. (Though ofc Doyoon had no way of knowing this, and also, Suchang shouldn't be using banmal with a stranger in the first place.) At the very end of the true ending when they finally meet, Doyoon actually takes it up a level and calls Suchang 수창씨 (Suchang-ssi) but Suchang tells him to drop it and just call him 형 (hyung). It's sweet.
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arizona-trash-bag · 3 years
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I can totally explain a bit of my thinking behind seeing lwj as autistic and wwx as autistic/adhd!! Before I get into specifics though, let me preface with where I’m coming from. I first saw CQL and then read the EXR translation of the novel. I prefer MDZS to CQL, but also want to acknowledge that because I do not read/speak Mandarin I am inherently experiencing this story second-hand and therefore am probably missing out on a lot of nuances. I am trying to learn Mandarin, but it will be a long time before I am even a little close to fluent lol.
Another preface- obviously not all autistic people present in the same way, and many of the things that I will mention are not solely specific to autistic people either. It’s one of those things where all of it added up together points towards asd, but each one individually would not on its own indicate asd, you know? Also, I will say that many of the things I picked up on for both characters are autistic traits that many autistic people have vs the clinical characteristics (much like most of the case I could make for wwx’s adhd would be adhd traits he has rather than symptoms that would lead to a real-world diagnosis.) Edit: OH! I almost forgot to say, that also all of these traits I’m listing are from a western perspective, and I would LOVE to read more about how autism presents in different cultures and to see conversations between autistc Chinese people specifically, so as to see if these traits are specific to western autistic people or not, but again, I do not speak Mandarin or Cantonese or any other Chinese dialect, so that’s a little inaccessible for me atm.
Ok, SO, for both characters I would list: strong sense of justice, lack of care for society’s opinion (I feel like it could be argued that lwj does to a certain point, but imo he operates more from what he morally considers to be correct and from a place of familial duty vs catering to the opinion of society at large), and then more vaguely, they both seem to be “nerdy” (this doesnt feel like the most accurate term, especially because it's not like being scholarly is specific to their characters, especially in ancient fantasy China- it’s more that their particular hmmm, flavor?? of love of knowledge feels very neurodivergent to me, vs like, being scholarly because it’s the thing that is expected of a Young Master, if that makes any sense at all- like the difference btwn someone getting an engineering degree because it is expected of them vs because they genuinely love engineering), and lastly for both- I would say that they are canonically kinky, and while I can’t cite any statistics, there’s a pretty high correlation between being autistic and being into kink. Obviously, not every person who is not vanilla is autistic, and not every autistic person is into kink…….but there is a high correlation.
For lwj specifically, the things that made me think he might be autistic are his lack of outward emoting combined with his depth and breadth of emotions, how he seems to thrive in and quite enjoy the very structured environment he grew up in, and then the last one off the top of my head (side note, I feel like a week from now I’m going to randomly think of other examples lol) I’m not actually sure IS an example, because I know (thanks to the awesome post from hunxi that you linked to that I had read previously) that his succintness does not equal autism, but I do kind of feel like it is very autistic to Always be so formal and to Always talk in textbook perfect language.
For wwx, I also think he likely has CPTSD! I’m not going to list anything for adhd or cptsd since we both agree on those :) As far as being autistic goes, there is, of course, the high prevalence of adhd/asd comorbidity. For specifc traits- while autism can show up as lack of facial expressions/tone, it can also show up as being overly exuberant and overexpressive. Especially for younger autistic children this can show up as being overly friendly/no boundaries w/ strangers (just?? going home with a random man who says he knew wwx’s parents???), making unusual connections that others do not can be both asd and adhd, his disregard for social status (disregard might be a strong word, and also I feel like this might be one of those things that got lost in translation and if I had read the original text I might have a different opinon, but what I mean here is the way that often autistic people learn certain social rules and try their best to follow them, but often do not pick up on specifics related to social hierarchy that are not spelled out for them- I think jyl’s take down of jin zixun is a great example of the /oppossite/ of what I’m talking about, and is a very neurotypical interaction. An example also of what I mean by disregard for social hierarchy, but from my own life, is how I’ve reflected on past convos w/ my boss only to realize that what I thought was just an interesting conversation about our opinons on a particular subject was actually them trying to tell-me-as-my-boss something they wanted me to do. We ended up doing things the way I wanted to do them because I didn’t realize that they were telling me to do something because they didnt explicitly say so, and because I just don’t pick up on when people are saying something from a social hierarchy pov. Idk if this makes sense or not, so I’m happy to try to expand if you would like me to. I feel like wwx could be described as having alexithymia, which is very common in autistic people, but could also be due to his cptsd. And then, I don’t feel like this is a true point because it is kind of based on headcanon? but wwx feels very demisexual to me, which is much more common for autistic people than it is for allistic people. But him being demi is not canon, just my perception of him (I see him as demisexual gay w/ massive comphet, but I know lots of people see him as bi, which also totally makes sense!!)
Tbh, I’m having a harder time than I thought I would listing wwx specifics. I might go through the book sometime this weekend and see if there are specific moments that pop out at me, but tbh w/ him its more that he Feels very adhd/asd to me?? Idk, I was diagnosed w/ adhd when I was 8, and all 4 of my siblings plus my father have offical adhd diagnoses. I’m 29 now and was only diagnosed as autistic earlier this year.  All of my close friends have always been either adhd, asd, or adhd/asd. There have been multiple people I have met that I’ve suspected were neurodivergent who have later told me they started looking into it and are now seeking formal diagnoses. I mention these things, only to give full context when I say that I have spent a lot of time observing the differences between interacting with neurotypicals and neurodivergents. I mean, obviously, it’s possible that I could just be projecting, but to me, Wwx gives off late-diagnosed/heavy masker autism/adhd combo vibes. Again, maybe I am projecting, but I did try to analyze whether I was or not previously, and determined that since in the past with other favorite characters (who I probably share more similarities in personality with) I did not feel like they were neurodivergent, so I figured that probably I wasn’t? That feels like a very convoluted sentence, but what I mean is that I have not thought that about other characters who have been my fav, so I figured that while I do project in certain areas that this particular area probably wasn’t one of them. Or, to say it in yet another way, since i did not project any of my neurodivergencies on past favorite characters, I figured I probably didn’t start doing so now.
I would love to hear more of your perspective on this, particularly because I worry that I do not have the cultural touchstones to realize when something wwx or lwj is doing is not actually a sign of being neurodivergent. I try my best to research things I don’t know about and to listen to fans who actually do have that cultural understanding, but there’s only so much I can look into on my own when I only speak/read english. And also, I love mdzs and I love talking about both adhd and autism, so I’m glad to talk about these subjects with someone else who also likes all of those topics :) Sorry for sending a book of a response and also I hope you are having a great day!!
wow wow wow anon THANK YOU for doing your research and acknowledging your blind spots you seriously made my day. I wanted to get to this as soon as I made that rant while sharing cyan’s post bc this is specifically an example of a well researched proposition based on actual lived experience and critical thinking.
I almost want to ask you to come forward so we can take this convo elsewhere for a more nuanced discussion bc you’ve already hit upon an issue that’s been holding me back from making a big blathering masterpost on the matter - that the ND experience is so unique and individual, and no one person can dictate someone else’s experience. at the end of the day, if you personally relate to these characters and gain more understanding of yourself and your experiences from them, who am I to take that away from you?
in a public space though I have to make the discussion very broad in order to accurately contextualize these issues, bc in typical autistic fashion I feel morally compelled to Do My Best and Get It Right even as the masses show no inclination of returning the favor, so apologies for the boring backstories I have to get out of the way before we can approach anything resembling new ground.
first from a diagnostic standpoint, while I recognize the traits you listed (and appreciate your clearly nuanced understanding of ND expressions) and would find value in exploring them in a personal context, they are not unique to adhd and/or autism and wouldn’t constitute a basis for diagnosis in a clinical setting. I know that's probably beside the point for this anon, but there's enough edgy teens hoarding labels out there without tacit encouragement from scientists (yes I am technically a scientist, even though my ideologies these days range from conventional to... wildly esoteric, shall we say)
from a cultural standpoint, it’s important for me to emphasize that the concept of neurodivergence is a uniquely western notion. for those unfamiliar, the term 'neurodiversity' was only coined in 1998. I was born in 1991. I existed for a whole 7 years as an autistic person before the idea of being neurodivergent was even a thing. this ND acceptance thing is very, very new - people were not making tiktok confessionals about their adhd diagnosis journeys when I was growing up.
china, like most asian countries, is about 20 years or more behind on just about every social issue compared with western countries. to better illustrate, the experience of being ND in china falls much closer to the conventional experience of disability (i.e. being eugenicized out of existence) than the tentative ND acceptance movement that’s been kickstarted in the past 20 years in the anglosphere.
safe to say, there is no ND coding going on in chinese media. characters are either explicitly ND or they're not. there's no basis for a creator subtly inducing ND-like traits in a character, because there's no such thing as ND awareness in the cultural context of where mdzs was written and consumed. any resemblance is purely accidental, as they say.
as to how this resemblance could exist - I could go into the layers and layers of historical, cultural, social and religious context that make up these characters and the xianxia genre as a whole. for this anon in particular i'm happy to, because they've done the work. please please get in touch in some way where we can have a fully fleshed out chat if you're interested in taking this further, I realize i’ve basically addressed none of the finer points you’ve raised but honestly it’s another level of discussion to be had that cannot be summarized in one blog post haha.
as for those who would scream 'but special interests!!' at a character whose sect was founded by a literal monk - what would be the point?
PS. to comprise a starting point for why it's possible to see ND4ND everywhere in media if you looked hard enough - I refer you to the seminal red oni blue oni trope 💁‍♀️
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the mando fic for the wip title thing
As promised, I made this into its own post. @purplecarseat and @lastwordbeforetheend, here thanks for the asks, and hope you like this! 
Right, so the Mando fic!
This is the first Mando fic I came up with, not too long after the season 2 finale, and I've been kinda calling this like... the opposite of a fix-it fic? Like by coming up and possibly writing this I'm doing the opposite of manifesting, I'm manifesting for this to never happen in canon ever, you know :') This one's gonna be long too, I might put it under a read more. We'll see!
EDIT: This is definitely going under a read more, it's like 4k words or something. It's like, half notes, half almost-prose, so um. H. Hope you like it? Buckle up boys, this is a long one ajhdalsfhklaskfja
Right, so! Hm. Where to start. 
Let's try this. It's about 100 years after the season 2 finale. We follow Grogu, entering a bar or an inn or some other establishment. He's now maybe a teenager - I'm not sure how age works on his species - but he travels the galaxy alone, doing what? I'm not sure! He trained in the ways of the Jedi from when Luke picked him up to the destruction of the Jedi academy in the hands of Kylo Ren. He'd perhaps finished the necessary training by then, or was away by complete chance, but he survived, and spent the next few years running and hiding from the First Order. That threat is gone now, but he's still touring the galaxy. 
Maybe he's still looking for his dad, even though he knows, logically, that humans only live for a hundred years if they're lucky, and he was already older than his dad when they met, but... Or maybe he's looking for other Force-sensitive children? The Jedi way doesn't seem to be working since they've now failed spectacularly twice in a rather short tim, so maybe he's kind of doing his own thing. Maybe he's going to the children and teaching them to control their abilities and to live with them. He's trying to make sure no one else has to be separated from their parents and family, like he was. 
Anyway! He's been going around for quite some time now, and now when he walks into this establishment, he spots all kinds of patrons, including... Mandalorians. It's not that unusual - I don't know what happened to Mandalore, but there are more Mandalorians around now, he's witnessed their growth in his time travelling the galaxy, and he comes across them from time to time now.  He tries to talk with them whenever he can, which is usually when they're not hostile towards him, which isn't that rare! They are, however, rather guarded towards outsiders, which he knows he is, he did knowingly choose the path of the Jedi all those years ago after all.
Even so, he has learnt things about Mandalorian culture from those chats, and some Mando'a, too, but not much. Sometimes he's just had to sit near a group of Mandalorians to try to learn Mando'a by listening to them, when he's been desperate. He has learnt a lot though, different beliefs, dialects, clan names, clan signets - he's seen dozens of those, heard many stories behind them. These Mandalorians all have some part of their armor painted red - honoring a parent, he knows. Maybe Grogu doesn't see the signet well at first? He's too far away. The shape is a kind he doesn't remember seeing before, but it's somehow familiar. Maybe he creeps closer, gets a table near them, sits down to eat his food and to listen, brush up on his Mando'a, if they'll speak any, it's not always the case. 
Then. Suddenly. He hears it. A name he only vaguely remembers, but remembers anyway, despite hearing it only once or twice ages ago. A hundred years. Idk if it's just the Mandos in red beskar, or if they have someone else there too, but someone calls one of the Mandalorians by their surname. The sound of it cuts through the chatter of the establishment. Djarin. One of the Mandalorians was called Djarin.
"Tell them it's from Din Djarin-”
"-Carry this for Din Djarin until he is well enough to wear it-"
It's like he's been hit by lightning, energy crawling all over his skin, like he's supercharged. Hope surges in him, but dies as quickly. It's been too long, and surely, if it were him, he would've recognized him? And it's been too long. Even so, he turns in his seat to look at the group. He's close enough now that he spots it. The sigil, on the right pauldron. The vaguely familiar shape. 
It's a mudhorn.
-Him, in his small pod, straining, lifting a giant horned creature, using the Force for the first time in years, after the Dark, Dad looking at him in wonder, the two shiny pieces of his armor covered in mud-
Grogu doesn't sense the familiar, safe presence he remembers, but it must be the same signet. It must. One of the Mandalorians turns their helmet just a bit but he can tell they're looking at him now, so he turns to his food and tries to merely look fascinated by the beskar, even if it is kind of rude, and not like. Like he's seen a ghost, which is probably pretty close to how he feels. 
He probably finishes his food - it would feel rude to eat when others can't - and makes his way to the table where the Mandalorians are. He speaks Mando'a to them to get their attention, ljust a greeting, and they're surprised he knows any, and the discussion starts from there. He tells them he's quite fascinated by the culture and has taken any chance he gets to talk with Mandalorians. Even if his Mando'a isn't very good. He says he hasn't seen their signet before, and they tell him it's a mudhorn. Clan Mudhorn.
They introduce themselves, just a little, they're still cautious, but give their first names at least? One of them, a younger boy, a teenager maybe, is called Din, though he's not the one referred to as Djarin. Grogu remarks it's not a very traditional Mandalorian name, to which they tell him it's probably not, as the boy is named after the founder of their clan, and he was a foundling himself. "Oh", is all Grogu can say, because he's sure now, these people are from his clan. Their clan. Their little clan of two.
He asks about the story behind the signet, and they tell him quite eagerly! It's grown and been both simplified and exaggerated, polished, but Grogu can recognize the battle he remembers. He's in it too. Saving their ancestor - saving Dad - and to his surprise, the story doesn't end there, but instead includes also the betrayal and the redemption, when he was exchanged for beskar and when he was rescued. He didn't guess Dad would've felt so guilty about giving him away; he'd rescued him, Grogu had already forgiven him then.
They're still a little cautious, but maybe they've heard form other mandos that the little green guy with the big ole ears that speaks Mando'a is a cool dude, so it doesn't take that much for Grogu to get some more stories out of them. Like how their clan started to grow, a.k.a. how Din found his second foundling,  and the third, and how he was the Mand'alor for a sec, and how he did not like it at all, and of other things he did, and then, eventually, Grogu gathers the courage to ask what happened to him.
But about the foundlings. How the clan began to grow. If you thought Din "Mandadlorian" Djarin could turn off his dad instinct once it was activated, you'd be sorely mistaken. Granted, it took some time, but once the wound of losing literally everything scabbed over a little and the pain of having to have given up his child eased somewhat, he did find more kids for himself to parent.
I think the first foundling would've been, hm, not quite as young a child? I think maybe she were a teenager, or even a young adult. She wasn't a foundling, per say, but Din probably took her under his wing anyway? Maybe she was a young Mandalorian from a similar covert as the one he'd been in, but she'd survived some attack on it, as the only one, and crossed paths with Din, who then first was just gonna teach her to, idk, do bounty hunting, help her join the Guild, but then she stuck around. She would've already had her own name, so she's of the line the younger Din Grogu met is a part of.
The second would've been a small child again, this would've been around the time of the First Order's existence? They would've come across a village destroyed by an attack by the order, and from the ruins Din would've discovered a young child. Not much older than Grogu was, really. He would've taken them in, and raised them. Eventually he did adopt them both, and this younger child would've been given the name Djarin, because they wouldn't have found their original name, other than the first name. And the first child would've gotten married and the spouse would've joined the clan, and they'd found more foundlings, as would Din, too, eventually, I'm sure, and not all of them were kids? But he probably adopted them anyway. With the Mandalorian adoption vow.
There would've had to be a realization from him, though, I think at first he took his time saying the vows because he hadn't said it to Grogu when he'd had the chance and he would've felt like it'd been a betrayal to say it to these kids but not his son, the one who taught him to love like a parent. But he would get, quite quickly, that him loving these kids doesn't take away of the love he has for Grogu, and that it's not right by them that he would reserve a place in his heart only for one child. He can and should love all of them, and he does realize this, and does adopt them, and loves them all like the bestest single space dad he is. Grogu is happy to hear that; he was such a good parent to him that he's glad that other kids have had the chance to have someone love and protect them the same way he was loved and kept safe. He does feel a pang of sadness as he does everytime he hears of the adoption vow, and feels a little as if he's been forgotten since they don't know his name in the stories, but he does know they only had a relatively short time together, so it's no wonder then, if compared to the many years the others have spent with Dad, he had been a little forgotten.
The way the founder died, though. Family is important to all Mandalorians, but seems to be even more so to Clan Mudhorn, Grogu observes. When he hears about the story of the clan signet, they tell him that's not the only story everyone in the clan knows by heart. There's also the story of how the founder died, and the first time he's not brave enough to ask and no one offers to tell him, but later he gathers his courage and does ask. And they tell him.
Grogu hears of the restless times of the rise of the First Order. The chaos. Bloodshed. Tyranny. The clan had been more or less in hiding on a planet, trying to lay low and stay out of trouble, but they'd been found and attacked. For the beskar, for some other reason? Were they on Mandalore? Was that attacked again, by the order? Maybe? Whatever the reason, it had been calm, too calm, like the calm before the storm, and then the attackers had come. The founder had died protecting his family, the Mandalorians tell Grogu, he'd bought them time to escape. 
He'd saved the oldest of the foundlings, his first daughter, really, who'd been the mother of the eldest of the Mandalorians Grogu met in the inn, an older woman going by the voice and what the Force was telling him. Her mother had been pregnant with her at the time of the attack, and her life was directly saved by the founder of their clan, Din Djarin. Grogu's Dad. 
It's like a thread, connecting Grogu and his dad and this woman, through the decades. Something concrete, tangible proof that he, Din, Dad, had lived and been alive and existed in this world. Sometimes Grogu thinks it might all have been a dream he dreamed up in between hiding from the Empire and hiding from the Order, because a year feels like such a short time for him, sometimes, and it has been so long. But no. This person is proof. His father had saved her. She is alive because he existed. Just as Grogu is.
The final thing the founder had done before going into battle, they tell Grogu, had been to hand an object to his eldest daughter, something that'd been the Child's, and to make sure he would get it. And she had promised. That's the reason this story has been passed on with the story of the signet, to keep the promise and deliver the object to the Child, should their paths someday cross. 
What happened to the Child, Grogu asks  - he doesn't know if they haven't passed on his name or if they just don't want to share it with an outsider - and the Mandalorians tell him the clan founder tried to keep the child safe, but he wasn't strong enough and failed, and even when he rescued the child, he knew he couldn't provide for him in the ways the child needed, so he was given to the Jedi to raise. This is what happened, Grogu knows, but his heart aches to hear Dad thought he wasn't good enough. Grogu would've gone back, he tried, after the temple was destroyed, he's been trying, but...
And he tells them that it's not so simple. That even if the founder failed, he still came back for the child and saved him, and let him choose his own path, and loved him so much and so purely that he was able to let him go, to let him follow the path he'd chosen. And that he was the greatest buir the child could have asked for, and that anytime the child was terrified, anytime they were scared, anytime they felt they were not brave enough to take another step, there was the beloved, familiar voice telling them to not be afraid, and always the child found the courage. And the child tried to come back, he really did, but the galaxy was so big and the child so small and he could not find his way back until it was too late.
And it seems like the older Mandalorians had guessed, by now, but Grogu takes out the mythosaur pendant he's had all these years, and tells them it's from Din Djarin. 
And they welcome him home. 
Later, when they take Grogu to the rest of the clan he is introduced to everyone. There are so many. Their clan of two has grown so big. There are more than one species, too. Many foundlings. Not all choose to follow the Way, and the ones who do not are let go, to find their own paths, and loved all the same. 
He asks what they did to his Dad's armor. Most of it went to the foundlings - of this clan and of others who might've needed it - but for two parts. The right pauldron, which is now passed on from clan leader to the next, with the original clan signet, and the helmet. They'd thought the helmet was destroyed, it was stolen by the people who'd attacked their clan way back then, but they'd recently heard rumours of a helmet of pure beskar found in some stashes of the First Order that had been unearthed somewhere. No one knows where it is, though, but they're planning on getting it back, someday, somehow. Grogu promises his help in that endeavour. 
The clan also finally fulfills the eldest daughter's promise. The object is delivered to the Child. Grogu sees it and kind of wants to cry. 
It's the ball. The knob. From the Razor Crest. He takes it and probably does cry a little. It has so many memories written into every tiny scratch and groove. He thanks them, but when they offer him a place to sleep he declines and goes to the inn or his ship. He is not Mandalorian, he chose the path of the Jedi, and that's it, he thinks, sadly. He doesn't think he can really be a part of this clan, this family, because he chose not to be, you know? He's pretty sure you have to be born or brought into the Mandalorian Creed, to be raised in it, or at least adopted. He hasn't been, or someone would've mentioned it if he had, and as if he'd ever call anyone else his buir. No way. So, this is it, he thinks, he knows what happened to Dad, he can move on now, he guesses. 
That night, before bed, he examines the ball again. It looks a little strange to him, not as he remembers. Didn't it have a hole in it where it got screwed onto the gear stick on the Crest? It did, it must have. Grogu remembers turning it with the Force, around and around until Dad noticed and gave it to him. It doesn't have it now. That's strange. It's like... it's been filled in with something.... He fiddles with it and he must press or nudge something, or maybe it was the Force he used, but something pops out. It's an old fashioned holo-stick? Like an usb stick, but like, space-y.
It takes him some time until he finds a player (or maybe we'll just have the ball play it, idk) and he plugs it in one night, alone on his ship (or that same night if we skip this ahdkshd). A hologram flickers to life. It works! There's a small moment of triumph before his breath freezes. That's Dad. In the hologram. The armor and the helmet and the voice. All of it. Just like in his memories, just blue and flickering and transparent as holos are. But it's Dad. 
Grogu doesn't know when it was recorded, and he doesn't particularly care. He just listens to Dad's familiar, soothing voice.
What he tells him, though. If Grogu is seeing this, that means he couldn't keep his promise. 
"I'll see you again. I promise."
Ni ceta, ner ad'ika, he says, he hopes he can destroy the stick when they meet again in person and he can tell this to the kid face to face, but it has been. Restless. Recently. So he thought he'd make this, just in case. 
He wants the kid to know he has said these words to himself a hundred times, in his mind, out loud, and they have been true in his heart since at least the moment he looked upon the face of the child he had risked it all for, faced stormtroopers and all of the guild, that one night on Nevarro, when he'd shielded him and gently stroked his tiny little head, content with that being the last thing he would ever get to see but full of guilt for not being able to give this child a better life. Since then, at the very least. But, even if he can't say them to the kid face to face, he swears he has said them and meant them every time. They will hold true until the end of time, even after he's gone and joined the manda, even after this recording is gone and no evidence remains. 
Here, he pauses and takes off the helmet, and Grogu looks upon the face of his father for the second time in his life. He has gotten older, of course, grey streaks in his dark hair and wrinkles on his face, but he is still the same man, the same safe presence, with the same gentle sadness, the same overwhelming love in his eyes as that day that ended up being their final together in this world. Grogu has to blink away the tears blurring his vision to drink in the image of the one who saved him, one who protected him, one who cared for him as the first person after the Dark, the first one who loved him. His father. His buir. Dad.
Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad, Grogu.
The hologram of his father smiles a little, almost like he can see Grogu's hand touch his face on the hologram, desperate to let him know he heard the words and has wished, known, to hear them for so long, and that he loves Dad, so, so much. Dad once again says he hopes he'll get to tell him in person, but that even if he won't, they'll be true all the same. He hopes Grogu has found his path and place in the world, and that whatever it may be, Jedi or Mandalorian or both or neither, he is, and will forever be, so proud of him. 
Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum. That's the last thing he says, before clearing his throat and a little awkwardly putting his helmet back on. It's so like Dad that Grogu almost smiles. When Dad leans forward to stop the recording, he stops for just a second with his head bowed. Grogu doesn't know if it was on purpose or just by coincidence, but it is the perfect spot for him to lean his head forward towards the hologram, and for a second, just a moment, he can almost feel the coolness of the beskar gently press against his own bare forehead, through the years and parsecs. Then the hologram flickers out, and he is left in the darkness. 
However, there's a warmth in his chest he hasn't felt in a long, long time. It will stay there, forever, long after the members of their clan have passed and joined his father in the manda, centuries, even after the recording will be unusable and he will have long forgotten his father's face and the sound of his voice, the knowledge that he was there and he existed and he loved him, loved Grogu, so thoroughly and deeply and so much, that will stay.
Tonight, though, they're both bright and clear in Grogu's mind, and the warmth in his chest blazes like a thousand suns, and even as he sleeps, and his tears dry on his cheeks, he smiles. 
And that's the fic. 
Hope you liked it! I've also got like, hm, a companion piece? It's like a shorter one shot, about what exactly happened to Din, like how he died? I've got that written in actual prose, not this half-ramble-half-fic format, but I didn't add it here becuse this is long enough already. If you'd like to see that, too, hit me an ask or a reply! I'd be glad to share that too! Hurted me to reread. 
Oh, and since I mentioned a song that inspired the space fic, this one's go two, too; Shelter by Porter Robinson & Madeon, and The Truth Is A Cave by The Oh Hellos, especially the bit that goes "I was blind to every sign you left for me to find", via the logic that like... after the stuff that went down at Jedi School, Din and Grogu kept looking for each other in the galaxy but kept just barely missing each other all that time, until his mortality caught up to Din, after which Grogu still kept looking. But, as he said, the galaxy is so big, and he is so small. There was also a third song for the part with the hologram, but I've forgotten what it was because I didn't write it down anywhere. :( It might have been Arctic by Sleeping At Last... I really don’t remember, and this annoys me a whole lot rn. Hm. >:/
In any case! If someone wants to see the part with Din, let me know, and I hope you enjoyed my ramble. Thanks for asking about it!
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scatterpatter · 3 years
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Corren - 1 through 100 - You did this to yourself.
FUCK YOU *UN-IRONICS YOUR ASK*
UNDER THE FUCKING CUT
1. What do they smell like?
Bad. Do you think their party is able to regularly take showers? I thinketh the fuck not. ... Pine and old books when he can self care tho.
2. What is their voice like?
Listen I know Corren, being taller, would be more likely to have a deeper register but you'll tear "tenor Corren" out of my cold dead hands
3. What is their biggest motivator?
Spite.
4. What is their most embarrassing memory?
When he first met his BFF Alondra, he was so antisocial and good at ignoring people that she actually got the impression he might have been hard of hearing. She never let him live that down. (one day I'll finish this fic i promise)
5. How do they deal with/react to pain?
"I will keep all of my pain in here, and one day I'll die." ... Okay but listen he's squishy so he takes like one hit and is bloodied up. Someone get him a healer. Pls.
6. What do they like to wear?
He likes his cloak. Its weighty and soft(well. WAS soft. got a bit of wear and tear these days.) and like. Who doesnt love cloaks.
7. Which of their relationships have impacted them most positively?
Ohhhhh fuuuccck this one's tough. I might have to go with Torvid honestly. While the entire party has had a positive impact on him(and trust me I was this close to picking Alistair), Torvid's been more of the one to call him out on his bullshit and to, oh I don't know, talk about your emotions? Ever??? Yknow BEFORE they become too much to handle and he absolutely breaks down???
8. What’s the weirdest thing they’ve ever eaten?
Alistair's cooking.
9. Describe the way that they sleep.
Good luck finding him NOT cuddled up with at least one dog. Tbh he just enjoys cuddles in general.
10. What is their favorite food/kind of food?
FUCKIN. GIVE HIM A GOOD STEAK. THIS BOY IS MOSTLY CARNIVORISTIC.
11. What do they feel most insecure about?
As tempted as I am to say "His cooking", it's actually his singing.
12. How do they like to dress?
"Comfort over flashiness tbh. I gotta go ADVENTURING in whatever I wear after all."
"... Also don't you DARE perceive me as cishet."
13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?
Call him a genie because he will BOTTLE THAT SHIT UP.
14. How do they react to/deal with betrayal?
Denial :D
15. What is their greatest achievement?
Shrike: Killing his dad
Me: NOOOOOO
EDIT: WAIT THIS WAS ANSWERED IN Q99 WHAT THE HECK
16. What are they like when they’ve gotten too little sleep?
Somehow more of a dick than usual. Snappy and cranky and just. Mrehhh.
17. What are they like when they’re drunk?
Doesn't get drunk often, but when he does I imagine he's actually giggly and a little clingy. It's cute :)
18. What kind of music do they enjoy?
*Opens my Corren playlist* Oh yeah. It's either full edgy alt rock or indie alt "depressed millenial" tracks.
19. Are they right or left handed?
FFFuuhhhhck uhhhh well
Looking over my old art I can't seem to pick a dominant hand(I've even drawn him handling his sniper with either hand???????????) so like oops guess he's ambidextrous.
20. Fears?
The dark, the ocean, dying alone and forgotten, his friends losing their trust of him
21. Favorite kind of weather?
Rain!!!! Especially cool rain like what people often get in fall months.
22. Favorite color?
Indigo!!!
23. Do they collect anything?
Books :3
24. Do they prefer either hot or cold weather more?
Cold weather by far.
25. What is their eye color?
Electric blue!
26. What is their race/ethnicity?
Well his race is a homebrew race known as Marelienth. Uhhh ethnicity? Idk he's from a mountain town way up north *shrugs*
In human aus I imagine him as half-Mongolian half-Norwegian so ayee
27. Hair color?
Black!
28. Are they happy where they are currently?
No :D He loves adventuring with his party don't get me wrong but he still has a lot of trauma to unpack. ... Also he was just possibly broken up with soooo. :/
29. Are they a morning person?
NOPE.
30. Sunrise or sunset?
*motions to above question* Sunset.
31. Are they more messy or more organized?
More organized, actually!
32. Pet peeves?
*unravels a list. It's all shit the party has done. Mostly Alistair.*
33. Do they own any objects of significant personal importance?
HOOUSIDSJFK- HE- Y-YEAH HE SURE DOES
His amethyst pendant used to belong to his brother, Julian, and he gave it to Corren right before they were separated so you BET it's sentimental as shit and he wears it daily.
34. Least favorite food?
Mecha's usually a great cook but one time trolled him with some absurdly spicy curry he couldn't handle and he's never forgiven them.
35. Least favorite color?
Hmmm. Maybe... yellow?
36. Least favorite smell?
He spent a year with his party in a damp cave and no showers, so uh. I'll give you a guess.
37. When was the last time they cried?
Literally last night in our game's timeline :D Full breakdown and everything!
38. Were they with anybody the last time they cried?
Torvid :D He was there to comfort
39. Tell us about one of the times they got injured?
One time they were in combat and Corren took a few hits and was down to about 2hp or so. He had a temporary level thanks to Kieran, which boosted his HP a little bit. When he teleported them to a safe town, though, well... Torvid was waiting for them so that's cool. But uh. Yeah that temporary level wore off then and there, dropping Corn Cob to exactly 0hp and he just- flopped down face first in the snow and started dying then and there KJNDKLFNSLKN
40. Do they have any scars?
:)
Do you want to talk about the scar over his eye from a fight he got in with his dad or like. The scars on his limbs from the time he was literally experimented on.
41. Do they struggle with any mental health issues?
:)
Undiagnosed+Untreated Anxiety, Depression, DPDR, PTSD, just to name a few
42. Do they have any bad habits?
Running away from his problems, definitely.
43. Why might someone dislike them?
He's a pretentious nerd. He can be a dick if he doesn't care about you.
44. Why might someone love them?
He's an adorable nerd! He's a hopeless romantic and oddly enough an optimist. He's passionate and driven too!
45. Do they believe in ghosts?
Well ghosts are like- a canon proven thing in his world sooo. Yeah.
46. Is there anyone they would trust with their lives?
His party. Well- most in his party.
47. Are they romantically interested in anyone?
Nethyl :)
48. Are they dating/married to anyone?
He's dating Nethyl and they're in a happy and healthy relationship :) *politely ignores canon*
49. Do they like surprises?
NO >:(
50. When is their birthday?
Heroya 5th! I think. I don't wanna check, assume it's this.
51. How do they usually celebrate their birthday?
"You guys celebrate your watchdays?"
Jokes aside, he mainly just treats himself to a nice dinner and a new book or something :)
52. Do they have any family?
Two older siblings: Julian and Mila. His parents are Andreas and Fanya!
53. Are they close to their family?
... *Coughs*. He was close with his siblings, but Mila died and he hasn't seen Julian in 30 years. Was close with his dad but last time they saw each other, they fought and Corren might have killed him so. ... Yeah. :/
54. What is their MBTI type?
FUCK uh. I... N... T... J? INTJ. Sure.
55. What is their zodiac sign?
In Sekrezia: The eagle
In our world: Uhhh. Idk. Capricorn????
56. What Hogwarts House would they be in?
Uhhh. Ravenclaw??? I know almost nothing about HP :/
57. What D&D alignment are they?
THIS ONE'S EASY- lawful neutral!
58. Do they ever have nightmares? If so, what about?
:)
Used to have typical nightmares, nothing special. Nowadays though he often dreams of being underwater. Not drowning, though. It's... weird. He doesn't like those.
59. What are their views on death?
He's a necromancer lol.
Death is inevitable, though. It's a necessary part of life. Death is not an entire loss, though. One lives on in the memories others carry of them, in the love they hold in their hearts. Death is complicated, but that's okay.
60. What is something that they’re sure to laugh at?
Alistair :)
61. When bored, how do they pass time?
Dog time :)
62. Do they enjoy being outside?
... Ehhhhhh?
63. Do they have an accent?
Technically??? It's an accent from where he's from but like. I just barely tweak my own voice when I rp him so? Damn Corren I'm sorry you've been cursed with east coast dialect.
64. Upon seeing a slice of chocolate cake, what is their first reaction?
"Damn who's the rich bastard here?" (cake is kinda a delicacy in their world- not like elites only but not NEARLY as common as it is here)
65. If they knew they were going to die, what would they do/say?
Reassurance mode to whomever he's with. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm okay. Remember what I told you, death is a natural part of life, yeah? I don't have any regrets, I'm okay... Just. Thanks. For giving me a chance. Thank you. Thank you."
66. How do they feel about sex?
I SWEAR he's allosexual. I'm just bad at writing allosexuals.
67. What is their sexuality?
He doesn't really know how to pin it down, so he just calls himself "queer". Definitely not straight, that's all he knows.
68. Do they become squeamish at the sight of blood?
AHAHA no. He's hella desensitized
69. Is there anything that they find really gross?
Skulking cyst. Look it up at your own volition. It's. NO.
70. Which TV Trope(s) best describes them?
It's 12:21 in the morning and I'm NOT about to scroll through a bunch of tv tropes just. just. NERD stereotype.
71. Do they enjoy helping people?
Yyyyes? Only really if it's the people he cares about.
72. Are they allergic to anything?
Bullshit.
73. Do they have a pet?
WINGTHARA!! HIS SKELE-DOG!!!
74. Are they quick to anger? What are they like when they loose their temper?
Oh yeah he's all bark and no bite. He usually just throws a little fit and/or yells.
75. How patient are they?
More than he should be :/
76. Are they good at cooking?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
77. Favorite insult? Do they insult people often?
Oh yes he insults the others all the time. No particular favorite, he likes so spice it up.
78. How do they act when they’re particularly happy?
Stim. Stim. Stim. His eyes get all sparkly and he. He.
79. What do they do when they learn about other people’s fears?
He will do everything in his power to assure they won't ever have to deal with their fears alone- You afraid of spiders? It's his job to get the spiders from now on so you won't have to deal with them.
80. Are they trustworthy?
Oh yeah. He's like Rapunzel- doesn't break promises.
81. Do they try to hide their emotions? Are they good at it?
Oh yes he tries to hide it. And yes, he's awful at it.
82. Do they exercise regularly?
Yes and no? No like- exercise regimen, but the amount of travelling and fighting they do is just- a workout in and of itself
83. Are they comfortable with the way they look?
Yeah! He's cute and he knows it baybie!!!
84. What are some physical features that they find attractive on people?
He,,, he likes someone who's physically stong,,, Muscles are,,, aaaaa >///>
85. What kind of personalities do they find attractive?
Someone he can nerd out with :)
86. Do they like sweet foods?
Impartial to it. He won't turn sweets away but he's not crazy about them either.
87. What is their age?
43, the equivalent of- I think someone in their mid 30s?
88. Are they tall or short or somewhere in between?
He's 6'8" :) Which is actually normal for his race
89. Do they wear glasses or contacts?
Sometimes! I like to think he has reading glasses or something like that.
90. Do they consider themselves attractive?
HE'S CUTE AND HE KNOWS IT.
91. What is their sense of humor like?
Julian tainted his sense of humor and now he finds the most dumb shit hilarious. Think very millenial/GenZ humor like "I wish I was Jared, 19"
92. What mood are they most often in?
"I don't get paid enough for this" or Fear.jpg
93. What kinds of things anger them?
People who don't keep their FUCKING WORD. Oh and like. Yknow. Half the shit his party does.
94. Outlook on life?
Again he's??? Oddly an optimist? In the "Things will get better and that is a fucking THREAT" way, but still optimist!
95. What kind of things make them sad/depressed?
Talk about his family :) Or the fact that his boyfriend might want him dead :)
96. What is their greatest weakness?
He's squishy as fuck. He goes down easy.
97. What is their greatest strength?
He's extremely intelligent and great with magic and his sniper!
98. Something that they regret?
Not doing more to stop his brother when he tried to resurrect their sister
99. Biggest accomplishment?
Either convincing an entire town his name is Torren or accidentally convincing some very OP people that he's secretly a dragon.
100. Create your own!
FUCK YOU I SPENT LIKE 2 HOURS ON THIS. NO PROOFREAD. IVE ALREADY DESIGNED CORREN'S AND NETHYL'S HYPOTHETICAL KIDS. ANYWAYS THEY'RE TWIN IRINAGA AND I'VE NAMED THEM AFTER THE DNDADS TWINS: THEIR NAMES ARE LARK AND SPARROW.
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oh-boy-me · 4 years
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Idk if you’ve ever talked about it before, but how does Mammon speak in Japanese? In the translation, he speaks kinda rough and casual (maybe a bit of a southern USA flair? he uses y’all once or twice iirc) Does he have a particular accent or dialect in the OG text?
Oh, Mammon might be hard to break down, but I’ll see what I can do!
So I don’t think Mammon has any particular accent, per se?  I think he’s just very informal.
From what I’ve noticed, Mammon’s speech is characterized by informal phrasing and some phonetic changes.  I don’t think it goes into any actual ヤンキー (”delinquent youth”) territory, but I might be wrong as I don’t have any experience with that subculture.  Regardless, it’s pretty rough, and very informal.
The following example sentences all come from the phone call where he cancels your plans (I think it’s intimacy 25?), his home screen dialogue, and the current Halloween event.
And this time more than any before, Japanese is not my first language and I have never lived in Japan, so if you find anything incorrect about the content below, please let me know so I can fix it.
---Informal Phrasing---
Japanese has lot of different ways to say the same thing with varying levels of politeness.  Mammon tends to use (one of) the most direct ways of saying things.
It’s important to remember though that a lot of these “direct” things are characteristic of male speech in general, and I won’t go over those.  Mammon says やつ (guy, basically) to refer to others sometimes, but so does Lucifer.  Likewise, it’d be weirder if he didn’t use the dictionary verb form most of the time.  There might be some that I describe even though they aren’t particularly unique to Mammon, because I’m not an expert on masc-coded Japanese.
悪い!! (warui)
(Phone call) This literally means “bad,” but in this context it’s “my bad” or “sorry.”  It’s a rough way to say it, rougher than ごめん (gomen), which I know Levi says off the top of my head, and すまない (sumanai), which I know Lucifer says.
If you need to apologize in Japanese, I think it’s best to stick to すみません (sumimasen) or ごめなさい (gomenasai) to avoid accidentally coming off as too rude or too stiff.
許せ!! (yuruse)
(Phone call) This means “forgive me,” but like.  As a command.  A pretty demanding one at that.  An example you’ve probably heard is when a man yells やめろ (yamero) to make someone stop what they’re doing.
その時は何があっても予定を空けろよ! (sono ji wa nani ga attemo yotei wo akero yo)
(Phone call) Here’s the imperative again.  空けろ (akero) is the command form of 空ける (akeru), which here means to clear your schedule (予定 is schedule).  The よ (yo) at the end softens the command a little. The sentence means “At that time, no matter what you’ve got going on, clear your schedule!”
A softer way to say it would be 空けて (akete), and even softer would be 空けてください (akete kudasai).  I’m pretty sure Mammon isn’t the only character to use the imperative like this, but he’s certainly uses it a lot.
館中の掃除を言いつけてきやがって…… (yakatachuu no souji wo ii tsuketeki yagatte)
(Phone call) You can tag やがる (yagaru) onto a verb to show your contempt for someone’s actions.  You hate that they did something.  Like most of these, it’s pretty harsh. The sentence means “He had the nerve to order me to clean the house,” but with the strength of やがって, “He fucking ordered me to” might be closer in attitude.
近いうちにまた誘ってやるから (chikaiuchi ni mata sasotte yaru kara)
(Phone call) If you read the Levi post, you might remember that やる (yaru) is a more colloquial way to say “to do” than する (suru).  It’s also a more colloquial way to say あげる (ageru), “to give.”  It used to imply that the recipient was on equal or lower standing with you, but I don’t think that’s really the case anymore except for how it’s not really a polite phrasing.  Attached to a verb, both あげる and やる imply a favor is being done. This means “I’ll invite you out again soon before long, so”
---Phonetic Shift---
In general, the most common phoneme shifts in Mammon’s lines are cutting the middle and monophthongization.  Cutting the middle is a term I’m making up for the sake of this post and is exactly what it sounds like: lengthening the first syllable in place of the next ones.  Monophthongization is when a vowel made of two sounds (diphthong) is pronounced as one sound (monophthong).  In the case of rough Japanese that we’re working with, that usually means <ai> and <oi> turning into <ee>.
そのなんつーか…… (Sono nan tsuuka......)
(Phone call) つーか (tsuuka) is short for というか (to iu ka).  You can see how “to iu” assimilates to “tsuu,” especially if you say というか a few times fast. なんつーか/何というか means “How should I put it?”
だぁっ!わーったよ!! (Da-!  waatta yo)
(A Devildom Halloween, 1-3) わーった (waatta) is from わかった (wakatta), which means “I get it.”
そりゃ傑作だぜ! (sorya kessaku daze)
(A Devildom Halloween, 2-16) そりゃ (sorya) is a shortened それは (sore wa), “that is.”  Also, I’m not sure where else to put this, but ぜ (ze) is a very strong assertive particle that I don’t think many people actually use anymore irl. The line is “That’s a great joke!”
すっげースピードで鞭とんでくるんだけど! (suggee supiido de muchi tondekurun dakedo)
(Phone call) Here we start the examples of monophthongization, which is probably the worst word you’ve had to read in a while but I promise is the easiest phonetic concept to understand here.
すっげー (suggee) comes from すっごい (suggoi), which means either amazing or terrible, depending on the context.  Like I said before, <oi> often simplifies to <ee> (the second “e” is written either ー or え). The line means “The whip’s gonna come down real fast.”  すっげー is emphasizing the speed.
By the way, やばい (yabai) also means amazing or terrible, based on context, and can be changed to やべー (yabee) in the same way.  Mammon’s said that before too, but I don’t think it’s in my example pool.
あー…金降ってこねえかなー (Aa... kane futte konee kanaa)
(Home screen) This time, the negative こない (konai) turns into こねえ (konee), with the same <ai> --> <ee> shift.  This time, it got written as ねえ instead of ねー. This is his “wish it’d rain money” line, and the translation is basically the same.
うるせぇ…… (urusee)
(A Devildom Halloween, 2-13) うるせぇ is from うるさい (urusai), which means “shut up.”  This time the second え is the smaller ぇ!
おっせえよ。俺を待たすんじゃねえ (ossee yo.  ore wo matasunjanee)
(Home screen) We’ve got two here, with 遅い (osoi), late, turning into おっせえ (ossee), and 待たすな (matasu na) becoming 待たすんじゃねえ (matasunjanee).  Putting んじゃない where a な would normally be makes it a rough-sounding command.  And then the ない turned into ねえ like tends to happen with Mammon.
The line is “You’re late.  Don’t keep me waiting.”
気安くさわんな! (kiyasuku sawanna)
(Home screen, UR+ animation) This could possibly be in the first section too, idk, but.  The general way to say “don’t touch me” is 触らないで (sawaranaide), and a more casual way to say it is 触るな (sawaru na).  Mammon takes it a step further, and drops the る to say さわんな (sawanna).  Levi uses the 触るな style, so I assume Mammon’s style is pretty noticeably informal.
他人の為に何か買ってヤンなきゃならねぇんだ! (tanin no tame ni nanka katte yannakya naraneenda)
(A Devildom Halloween, 2-13) やらなきゃならない (yaranakya naranai), is already a pretty casual way to say “have to.”  Mammon’s version uses the same んな as the last line, turning やらなきゃ into ヤンなきゃ (yannakya).  Also notice the switch from hiragana to katakana, which is often used to convey the conversational tone.  And then ない once again becomes ねぇ! The line is “Why do I have to buy something for someone else?!”
And last but not least... そうだ、殿下。 言い忘れてた (souda, denka. ii wasureteta)
(A Devildom Halloween, 2-23) This line means, “that’s right, your highness.  We forgot to say.” Why is this one last?  Mammon says this line to Diavolo.  From what I’ve seen it’s about the same level of politeness that Lucifer uses when talking to Diavolo.
It’s worth noting though that Lucifer and Mammon both speak casually to Diavolo.
So this isn’t organized at all, but I hope this gave you an idea of how Mammon’s idiolect ended up giving him a distinct one in the localization!
This is always a hot topic with Mammon’s portrayal as a POC character, so I need to say that I don’t know enough about Japanese subculture and language codes to say anything for sure about whether this makes him sound “uneducated.”  Impolite, definitely, but “uneducated,” I don’t know.  Regardless, the connotation definitely exists in how he’s written in English.  And with that I’d like to remind everyone that your idiolect says nothing about your intelligence.  Don’t judge a person’s worth by how many big words they use.
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