#meanwhile Damian is a literal horse girl

[aloha-obi]

Batfam headcanon:

Dick, Tim and Damian all grew up riding and are comfortable around horses…. But Jason doesn’t trust a horse as far as he could throw one and will only attempt to ride under extreme duress.

[inevitableenquere]

Mademoiselle Mari

Insp. by a comment on the Maribat Discord:

Buckle up, biches.

We’re gonna pull deep into DC canon for the French codename for female superheroes, Mademoiselle Marie, in use since the 18th century through the World Wars and probably beyond. Alfred Pennyworth worked closely with “Mademoiselle Marie” in the past.

In this universe, its expanded into a French government-sponsored training program, training little girls in espionage and assassinry since the Cold War. These program heads aren’t monsters; the girls still live with their families, still go to civilian school, they just occasionally “take trips to see distant relatives”.

Their parents are aware that their daughters are doing government work, and there’s a benefit package unlike any other available within the country. Salary is set aside in trust for “Marie” until she hits adulthood (precaution in case of shitty parents) and a stipend besides for her and her parents to use as they see fit. These girls get a full-ride “scholarship” to any accredited global university of their choice. Only the best of the best risk their lives for wet-work necessary for the good of France. These girls become unsung heroes of France, and they receive glowing recommendations when they decide to move on from the program.

Still, it’s not something the Dupein-Cheng family had thought of for their daughter, it’s not a well-known program after all. The handlers don’t have an eye on her until new mayor of Paris, freshly divorced, André Bourgeois brings the girl “bullying his little princess” to their attention. And that is how six-year-old Marinette Dupein-Cheng is brought into the program.

Now, Marinette, tiny little bi-racial girl, is competitive, and this program is something she enjoys, learning from adults and “older sisters” on how to tumble, dance, act, create, and make new friends– both in person with the other girls, and through letters to former agents and outside contacts. They craft a network based on previously established agency contacts and expand upon them as they move out in the world.

Marinette quickly becomes a star student, moving on to weapons training, and eventually becomes one of the first to graduate in her batch and she travels the world as pre-teen superspy “Mademoiselle Marie”. (Whose last name changes by assignment.)

This is how she meets Damian Al Ghul, prince of the League of Assassins for the first time, though he’s introduced to her as “independent contractor” Caracal. He clocks her as trained, and a threat right away, and takes his standard precautionary measure. He attempts to murder her.

Attempts, because Mari is just as trained as he is, if not as lethally inclined. He quickly finds himself pinned under her knee, knife to his throat. (Later, he insists that he was having an off day, helplessly grateful that he hadn’t succeeded.) But in the moment they agree to a truce and go their own way, Marie Simon to her “parents”, Caracal to the shadows from whence he came.

Naturally, the next time they meet they are “distant cousins” on a collaborative wetworks mission in Thessaly, against an uppity German drug lord, and his mad-scientist wife. The mission goes a bit sideways, took more luck than either will admit to pull it off, and they emerge from the aftermath, a grudging respect on both sides. Even if she’s too soft and he’s an arrogant andouille.

Through happenstance and circumstances, they run into each other enough, work together enough, to become friends. Friends, in this case, meaning “person I won't stab on sight and/or who owes me a favor”. A rarity for Damian.

Marinette thinks otherwise; with friendships among those in her organization, and tentative friendships with some of the boys in école, she considers Caracal an Ally. A lonely sad boy, sure, but more a feral street cat then a friend. It takes more than a few meetings for Marinette to consider him a Ride-or-Die Friend.

Through the years, these two baby assassins grow into a friendship that withstands facing each other as enemies to reunite with no hard feelings at the next meeting between them. After all it’s Just Business, and they both know that well.

And then Hawkmoth.

Marinette can’t be Ladybug, “defender of Paris” when “Mademoiselle Marie” travels across the globe networking for her government and taking down European threats. Marinette reluctantly resigns from her position, and she takes up a red-spotted mantle.

Now the Mlle. Marie Organization aren’t idiots. Marinette Dupein-Cheng retires with accolades, offered a permanent place whenever she finishes her “hiatus”. And if the Parisian Police are instructed from on high to look the other way for Ladybug? Well, it’s best to leave superhero business to superheroes.

People in the organization are Carefully Not Thinking About It.

Completely coincidentally, therapy and healthy coping mechanisms are now mandatory for all operatives working within Paris and the surrounding areas.

That said, she still has to tell her assassin that she’s retiring.

Damian does not take it well.

Not like murder not well.

Like communication blackout and regime change in Peru not well.

Damian gives her the silent treatment. After all, she’s Out. (She abandoned him.)

Little does he know, his mother is working to get him out as well.

Marinette, meanwhile is Not Happy that Mothman Barbie decided to take out his issues on her home turf. The Mlle. Marie project is supposed to be foreign support, and last line of defense. So I mean it's in her wheelhouse. She just enjoyed her job as a globetrotting pre-teen superspy.

She doesn’t want to be chained down to the homefront, not when there's so much inspiration out there! Putting all that on hold for Mothman Barbie in Paris, eating into her free time, sleep, and drastically cutting into her social life? Bitch.

Civilian life makes her itch now, stuck in one place with confusing, mandatory, rules. Fictional barriers and preteen posturing, and only one hidden knife? Being Marinette is Suffering™. New friend Alya and pretty-boy Adrien can only relieve it so much.

Yes she has a bit of a crush. He's pretty and a model. Shut up.

Tikki is pleased she's got another loyal warrior, a second coming of Jeanne d'Arc, though she wishes Marinette was kinder. That's something she learns while dealing with Mothman Barbie. Not just how to act kind, to prevent akumas. But how to genuinely be kind. How to unlock the empathy she'd learned to tune out years ago, and how to act altruistically.

During her collège years Marinette juggles the life of a teen superhero, making friends with her class sincerely for the first time in years, something she didn’t get the chance to do with her frequent trips. Beyond Nino and Kim that is.

When Lila comes she deems her as annoying, but not worth her time. Until she’s the one turning her friends into akumas, with broken promises and lies that damage reputations. Marinette has a set future, as long as she keeps to the laws of this land and doesn’t slaughter a bitch. Lila can’t do anything to her. But if she hurts any of her friends, Lila is getting a horse head in her bed, American cliché or not.

Thankfully her crush on Adrien dies a silent death during this time. She can’t see herself with someone who won’t stand up for himself, nor with someone who enables a pathological liar that is one move away from harming the rest of her friends. She’s unspeakably grateful for that when Mothman Barbie is revealed to be his absentee father and Mayura to be the closest thing he has to a living mother. She’s able to focus her attention on his mental state and not how stupidly pretty he is.

Adrien is cemented as her best friend and platonic life partner in a catsuit. Adrien, once he got over his crush on the "idol" Ladybug, is happy to treat her the same. He’s just glad that his Lady won’t leave him for what his family had done.

Despite Mari’s wishes, Ladybug can’t retire just yet. People come out of the woodwork to fill in the vacuum left behind from the fashion-blind terrorist that held Paris in fear for three years. Ladybug is a celebrity, and Paris would be left uneasy if the city’s heroes left them undefended. She trains to be a guardian with Master Fu, to find more permanent Miraculous holders to take up the defense of Paris, and later the world. She finally has the free time to devote to her fashion commissions and to pick up the occasional job with her old organization.

It’s mid-way through lycée that Jagged invites her as his plus one to a charity gala in the United States. As his designer, and as an inconspicuous bodyguard that has combat training (far more than he knows), Marinette is the best choice when Penny is on leave. It gives his favorite niece the chance to network with American big shots, and get her brand noticed by more than just a few fashion moguls in Paris.

Which leads us to today. Marinette Dupein-Cheng– agent on leave, teenage superhero, aspiring designer, and temporary bodyguard of her surrogate uncle– spots a very familiar profile across the room.

Her assassin, dressed to kill, possibly literally. And she resigns herself to once more being on the opposite side of the boy who cut her out of his life, and any attempts to get in touch with him.

She’s dressed in a MDC original (with more hidden knives on her person than people would think), as she goes through the familiar song-and-dance and slips into the mindset of Mademoiselle Marie.

Stolen glances across the room. How have they been? Will they talk to me again even if I left/left her in silence?

Both are on edge. They are professionals and an unexpected meeting won't prevent them from keeping their loved ones charges safe.

It's like they never left the business, the two of them. They don't know each other. I've never seen them before. They can't have been the murderer because I saw them head to the bathroom. Just don't. touch. what's. Mine.

They're Friends after all.

Thankfully nothing happens at the party.

Damian Wayne saw her. How could he have ignored her, magnetic as she ever was. His eyes periodically drawn to her, partly assessment, partly admiration. When nothing happens at the gala, he figures that she’s changed as much as he has. And Damian has changed. He's softer and he knows it. He's been Out almost as long as she has, and in trying to hold to his father’s standards, he doesn’t think he could slip into the mindset of the ruthless prince of assassins so easily any more.

The silence and loss of his first friend on the other hand, was a wound that lingered even as he learned of civilian friendships and built connections with other superheroes around his age. This was a chance to introduce himself to his oldest friend. Without business between them this time.

It's Damian that does the signal.

Mari trips and giggles at the end of the night over to her assassin. It's easy after years of "Clumsy Marinette can't possibly be Ladybug!" She plays up the petite harmless French girl.

"Mon Caracal!" She calls from 3 feet away, stumbling into his arms.

She hugs him, compartmentalizing the muscled form that holds her safely, knowing he can kill her if she plays this wrong.Not without a fight though.

She hugs him more surely, kissing both his cheeks the way neither of them would be allowed outside of acting. "It's been far too long!"

She pulls away to see him gazing down at her, and wow someone has given him acting lessons because he smiles soft, fond, and far more real than he ever had Before.

"Marie."

She boops him on the nose. "Marinette." She teases coyly. She can't tell him her last name. For the safety of her parents, but also to keep cover as close friends.

"Marinette." He nods, crooked smile on his face, and away from prying eyes there's the signal that he'll keep his mouth shut about her name.

Speaking of prying eyes... "Marinette!" Uncle Jagged calls, making his way over to the pair of them. Her assassin is surprised, though few would be able to tell, at the world-famous rockstar approaching them.

"Uncle Jagged!" She answers, facing him but keeping a hand on the muscled arm of her friend to keep him from attacking, just in case.

She plays up the accent. Just a rockstar with his very French™ niece and her boy toy, nothing to see here!

"Jagged," she says again looking up at her uncle, "this is my good friend–"

"Damian" her assassin, starstruck or not, can follow his cue.

Between them is the subtle flash of information-true-hidden as she speaks over it to distract Jagged. "–Damian, my caracal."

Jagged bristles a little, baring his teeth in what those who don't know him would call a toothy grin, rather than a threat.

"And is Damian rock-and-roll enough for my favorite designer, M?"

"He's very kind," she confides with a Marinette-sweet smile. In his own way. she finishes the thought ruefully. A small part of her brain is cackling hysterically.

Jagged relaxes, and drags the both of them forward, holding a polaroid out to snap a picture of the three of them. ("Very Rock-and-Roll!" Jagged had said three months earlier.) He shakes the picture to development, and autographs it with a flourish, before stuffing it into Damian's hands.

"Well any friend of Marinette's is a friend of mine! And M? Car leaves in 10." He smiles, patting them both on the shoulder before sauntering off.

"I." Damian tries. He sighs.

"Jagged Stone? Jagged? Really Marie?" Damian asks, slipping once more into the familiar nickname. Marinette decided to let it slide, Jagged had that effect on a lot of people.

Marinette shrugs helplessly, before fishing a pen and spare notepad for her to jot down her contact information. It had only been a night but that familiar rush and heady friendship was something that Mari didn't want to lose if she could help it. She placed the paper with the photograph, putting the lethal pen back in her clutch, and cupping his face in both hands.

"Keep in touch this time? Please mon caracal?" If her begging was a little more heartfelt, well she’d learned a few things too. She kissed his cheek one final time and stepped away.

A hand caught her wrist.

"It hasn't been the same without you, Marinette." Damian said, hand slipping into hers, thumb gently brushing the back of it. He lifted her hand and kissed the air above her knuckles, before stepping away and towards the exit.

I must not swoon. I must not swoon. I must not swoon. Marinette chanted internally as she left to find Jagged, already looking forward to turning a Friendship into something more honest. More real.

-Meanwhile, In The Lobby-

"What was that, baby bird?" Dick asked his youngest brother.

"An old friend." Damian answered tersely, pointedly ignoring the curious stare from his Father and the more obnoxious kissy noises from Todd.

"Hell of an old friend." Tim commented, sounding almost put out, probably because of the unexpected personal introduction to Jagged Stone and autograph Damien had received. "You let her get close."

Damian raised an eyebrow at Tim.

Tim rolled his eyes, "PDA close!" he expounded like that explained anything.

Dick must have sensed his confusion, " You attempted to judo-flip Kor'i when you first met her. And you let this tiny girl hug you and kiss your cheeks."

Damian scowled, "I'm not that bad!"

"You bit me last week when I went to ruffle your hair!" Jason said, tugging his suit sleeve back to reveal light scarring.

"And?" Damian said, very done with the conversation already.

"We just wanted to know how long you've been pining for her, baby bird." Dick teased.

Damian felt a betraying heat creep up the back of his neck, to his ears and cheeks. "It's not like that!" He hissed.

"I-" he paused, wondering how he could explain the beautiful, cunning girl who knew of his past, was honestly the best part of it, and how she had watched his back, kept him safe and sane, had killed people on his tail even, without making them regard her as a threat.

His grandfather would have made her an example. Vivisected, drawn and quartered for daring to get close to his perfect weapon.

"I've known her for years. We're Friends, and that means I'll allow her more than I would you, Todd."

He stalked forward, as his father called behind him, "You should introduce us when you feel comfortable, Damian."

He stopped, listening but not daring to turn around.

"After all," Damian could hear the grin in his father's voice, "It'll be nice to meet my future daughter-in-law!"

Screw the Joker, Batman ends right here, right now.

[gyakutengagotoku]

GSvsAA - Dual Destinies - Character Profiles

In line with the AJ one, here’s the next in the line up. Check the master post more more of the GSvsAA translation project.

It’s worth noting that while Mr. Takumi is known to have some very obvious or random inspirations for his name puns, there are times when it’s tricky to figure out because of his choice of punny origins. Meanwhile, Mr. Yamazaki & co. tend to follow suit with the obvious, but their puns are often very straightforward and easy to deduce. Sometimes, a name has multiple layers of puns and chances are good that plenty of those puns make their way into the character’s design.

I don’t think it’s lazy design, since simplifying a character’s role in a plot means more care can be taken for the actual mystery, but sometimes it leaves something about the character to be desired. Then again, there are plenty of characters from the first four games in the series that aren’t so memorable.

I’m just obsessed with this series so I know them all. Ha.

Edit: SoJ profiles posted.

Spoilers below.

Main cast

Athena Cykes - Kidzuki Kokone (希月 心音) kidzuki means “awareness” (kinda following how Trucy is named Minuki) and the second kanji in her surname is “moon”. The kanji in her given name, when pronounced shin’on, means “heartbeat”. It can also be translated literally as “heart sound” to refer to her ability to hear people’s voices of their hearts.

Simon Blackquill - Yuugami Jin (夕神 迅) yugami means “distortion” or “twist”, referring to his epithet, “The Twisted Samurai”. The kanji form a phrase meaning “god of dusk”. jin, written as 刃, is “blade”; while the kanji in his name means “swift”. It’s analogous to Edgeworth’s name, Mitsurugi, which is the name of a noble blade of legend. Trivia: He refers to the chief in person using the term danna, a title reserved for Lords and noblemen back during the days of samurai. Since this couldn’t be replicated in English without sounding drastically out of place, it’s been tamed down to a plain “sir”. (Imo, he could very well have gone with “sire” and it’d be just the right amount of tradition and respect, but I guess it doesn’t quite sound Japanese enough.) Incidentally, Taka is Gin, which can mean “silver”, or possibly like the English word (but it’s pronounced with a hard G).

Bobby Fulbright - Ban Gouzou (番 轟三) The ban in his name may refer to a “guard”, though being written as 万 means “many”. Combined with his first name, which consists of “booming” and “three” (like in “two’s company, three’s a crowd”), you get a whole lot of bombastic in one guy. Trivia: His catchphrase is shouting “JUSTICE!!!” in English at the top of his lungs and laughing triumphantly. Imo, the localization's “In Justice We Trust!” has a certain nuance to it that really makes it pop when you realize just who he is, though.

Yep, that’s it. That’s the game. These three right here.

Episode 1

Gaspen Payne - Auchi Fumitake (亜内 文武) “Auchi” is simply “ouch”. His first name is the same as his brother’s but flipped. fumi (文) is “literature”; take (武) is “martial”. I suppose both of them are warriors of words, but I really think their parents the devs just ran out of ideas.

Juniper Woods - Morizumi Shinobu (森澄 しのぶ) mori (森) is “forest” or “woods”; shinobu means “to hide”. Meanwhile, the kanji for zumi (澄) used in the verb sumasu becomes “to look prim” or “to listen carefully”. These two definitions better relate to her from Episode 3, though. Trivia: In the Japanese version of this episode, the crime scene shows in English letters: “S I N O B U”. Since Japanese is typed using romaji, し can be either shi or si. Either way, it’s still pronounced the same. If it weren’t obvious enough from the intro, this spelling would have easily given away the real killer.

Ted Tonate - Barashima Shingo (馬等島 晋吾) barasu can mean a few things: “to expose”, “to take apart”, or “to kill”. He already covers the latter two in the first case, but the first definition doesn’t quite play in until the last one. The last syllable of his first name ties into his first name to make mashingo, or “machine language”; hence the keyboard.

Candice Arme - Kaku Hozumi (賀来 ほずみ) Her full name can be written as 確保済み, meaning “in custody”. kaku may refer to “square”/”cube”; probably referring to how she’s been hit. Her surname and the first syllable of her first name make kakuho, or “guarantee”, which seems to play into her English name.

Edit: Well, I totally screwed up this entry. My bad.

Episode 2

Jinxie Tenma - Tenma Yumemi (天馬 ゆめみ) Her surname as written here refers to the “heavenly horse” Pegasus. yumemiru means “to dream”. More on Tenma below.

Damian Tenma - Tenma Deemon (天馬 出右衛門) His first name comes from “demon”. Tenma, which is also the name of the village, is written as 天魔. It refers to the yokai of the Buddhist sixth heaven in the realm of desire who haunts people and deceives them into avoiding good. According to legend, Tenma tried (and ultimately failed) to lure the young Siddhartha away from enlightenment with earthly desires. Tenma Taro from this game is based on this Tenma. In Japanese folklore, he's described to have a bird-like appearance, hence we have jangly-cackling-bird-demon. 

The Great Nine-Tails - Great Kyuubi (グレート 九尾) He’s based on the Nine-tailed fox of Japanese legend, a yokai of immense power and influence and sometimes disastrous consequences. You know the one.

Rex Kyubi - Kyuubi Ginji (九尾 銀次) His last name is the same as the Nine-Tails. The gin (銀) in his name refers to his silver hair and to the Nine-tailed fox of legend, which is often portrayed as silver. ginjiru also means “to chant” or “to recite”.

Phineas Filch - Zeniarai Kumabee (銭洗 熊兵衛) zeni, as written above, is “money”. (This is what Capcom’s fictional currency zenny is based on.) His last name is a reference to the azukiarai, “The Bean Washer”, a yokai who resembles a small boy that keeps people up at night with the sound of washing beans. Filch here claims that he’s the grandson of an infamous thief who once kept people up by the sounds of his money-washing. His first name is made of bears: kuma (熊) and “bear”; yet he’s frequently called a tanuki instead, especially for his swindling ways.

Edit: Got that the other way around.

Florent L’Belle - Biyouin Shuuichi (美葉院 秀一) biyouin is “beauty parlor” and shuuichinichi is “once a week”. The kanji in his first name come to “excellence” and “[number] one”.

Episode 3

Aristotle Means - Ichiro Shinji (一路 真二) The kanji in his name together mean “one road, two truths”. ichiro, with the same kanji, means “straight” or “directly”, and shinjiru means “to believe”.

Constance Courte - Michiba Masayo (道葉 正世) michibata is “roadside” and masa (正) is “right” or “just”, to parallel Means’ name above.

Hugh O’Conner - Shizuya Rei (静矢 零) His name is most likely picked for the convenience of the recording that’s played during trial. In Japanese, the muffled recording sounds like it’s saying “Koroshite yare!”, which is Japanese for “I’ll kill you!” Thanks to Athena’s efforts, she reveals it’s actually supposed to say “Kora! Shizuya Rei!”, or a scolding “Hey! Shizuya Rei!” The kanji of his last name are “quiet” and “arrow”. His first name can also mean “zero”.

Edit: This one I made a mistake due to mistaken memory. It’s actually kinda hard to make out the te sound in the recording, so I assumed it was excluded.

Robin Newman - Atsui Chishio (厚井 知潮) atsui is “hot”; it can also mean “hot-tempered” or “passionate”. chishio is “blood circulation”, usually referring to hot-headedness. It also doubles over as a gender-ambiguous name.

Myriam Scuttlebutt - Uwasa Atsume (宇和佐 集芽) uwasa is “rumor” and atsumeru is “to gather”; thus, her full name comes to “gather gossip”. Trivia: Producer Eshiro is a huge MGS fan; hence Myriam’s M.O. of traveling under the cover of a box.

Episode 4-5

Solomon Starbuck - Hoshinari Taiyou (星成 太陽) His name comes from the phrase “hoshi ni naritai yo”, which means “I wish to become a star”. taiyou, as written above, means “sun”.

Clay Terran - Aoi Daichi (葵 大地) aoi is the color “blue”. daichi is “ground” or “earth”; also refers to the planet itself. His relative calm and the color blue was chosen specifically to pair with Apollo’s bright and passionate red. (In fact, it may very well have been the localization’s choice to name Odoroki as Apollo that led to the development of this game’s space theme. I don’t remember if it was mentioned in an interview or not, but I’m sure it played some role.)

Yuri Cosmos - Oogawara Uchuu (大河原 有忠) His last name means “bank of the great river”, which is a reference to the Milky Way. It’s known as “The Great River” in several cultures, including Japanese. uchuu, written as 宇宙, means “space” or “universe”.

Aura Blackquill - Yuugami Kaguya (夕神 かぐや) Kaguya is a reference to a famous Japanese folktale from the 10th century, Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The main character’s name is Kaguya-hime, or Princess Kaguya, who was one of a mysterious people living on the Moon but was sent down to Earth and raised by an old bamboo cutter. I’m not too sure if this tale inspired her English name, but when Princess Kaguya was discovered as a baby, she was described to be the size of a thumb and glowing with brilliant light. The Moon people were weird. (I can also draw the parallel to Simon’s Taka, since Aura may come from the Latin root aurum for “gold”.)

Ponco & Clonco - Ponko & Ponta (ポンコ＆ポンタ) ko and ta are common endings to boys’ and girls’ names, respectively. Aura also likes to call Clonco “Ponkotsu”, referring both to how he’s basically “Ponco #2″ and ponkotsu, “junk”.

Metis Cykes - Kidzuki Mari (希月 真理) Her first name can also be pronounced shinri, meaning “truth”. In turn, shinri, when written as 心理, means “psychology”.

DLC Episode

Sasha Buckler - Umino Shouko (羽美野 翔子) umi is “sea”, and shouko, written as 証拠, is “evidence”. Thus, her full name becomes “evidence from the sea”. The first kanji in both first and last name have to do with “feathers” and “flight”. She’s quite a flighty personality for sure.

Ora "Orla" Shipley - Arafune Elle / Ale (荒船エル / エール) Her last name is made of the kanji for “wild” and “ship”. Her name is Ale, as a shortened form of “whale”, but it doubles as the alcoholic drink too. Actually, it triples as “air”, to complement her trainer. Her supposed real name is actually her sister’s name, and it seems it was just picked to sound similar.

Jack Shipley - Arafune Ryouji (荒船 良治) ryouji as 療治 means “treatment”/“cure”, possibly referring to how he saved two precious orcas and returned them to health.

Norma DePlume - Uratori Reika (浦鳥 麗華) uratori refers to “gathering evidence” as for a news story. reika as 冷夏 becomes “cool summer”. It can even be written as 零下 to mean "sub-zero". She’s quite the contrast to the rest of the sunny crew.

Edit: Note to self: simplify.

Marlon Rimes - Itsuka Ikuya (伊塚 育也) itsuka means “someday”; the kanji iku (育) means “raise”, as in pets or children. In other words, he’ll “become a real trainer someday”. His name may have been chosen for its easy rhyme as well.

Rifle (ライフル) She was named for her dangerous temper, and probably as a shout-out to Mr. Takumi’s naming of Missile. Her daughter Sniper also keeps the same name.

Herman Crab - Sugomori Gaku (巣古森 学) His last name may be referring to su-komori, or “nest-babysitter”, since he keeps li’l Sniper up there. Even the first kanji in his last name is the right one for “nest”. gaku as above is “learning” or “study of” a subject.

Azura Summers - Natsukaze Suzumi (夏風 邪涼海) natsukaze means “a summer cold”, but it can also literally mean “summer wind”. It was picked probably as a stark contrast to Norma’s Japanese name. suzumi is “cooling off”, like outdoors in the breeze.