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nadiajustbe · 1 month

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I know people in HMC books speak English so there's not gonna be any kind of miscommunication between the characters, but sometimes I think about how it would be way more funny If there was some language diversity.

Howell Jenkins falls into the portal to an absolutely unknown, magical realm and... everyone speaks English. He was rather happy about it, finding it funny: it's a new, fantasy, fairy-tale based world with dragons and spells and seven-league boots and magic, and yet its habitants English. What are the odds?

However, it does not takes him long to realise (much to his own frustration) that, even though all of the locals native language is, in fact, English, it is pretty different from the English Howell himself is familiar with. He cant understand it quite well at fist, but it sounded like an odd mix of a modern language, specific dialects and an old tongue people was using around Victorian England/Middle Ages. It has so many words and unusual forms (Howell even called them "slang" once in a while), that it takes him a while to fully get every term and subtexts ms. Pentstemmon was referring to.

Their languages were similar just enough to catch the full sense of the sentence, but not enough to undertand all the little details, not cultural nor linguistic. It would even worst If he wasn't a big fun of Shakespeare and old Arthurian Legends growing up, letting alone studying old English (and old Welsh) at the university.

The language also differs from the area. Michael, for example, uses so many words you can hear in Porthaven only, regarding it's unique aspects. Sophie uses a lot of Market Chipping proverbs, and even more old terms connected with hats. The language he heard the King using wheh he got his first chance to met him at the time of his apprenticeship was so long, confusing and vivid, as If it was taken straight out of old English Literature books. And yet, English.

To this day Howell — at this point long-knowing as Howl Pendragon — finds himself confusing new terms, forms of words, proverbs and sayings. Maybe, he thinks, you have to be truly born there to understand all of - although he did better than anyone else would. Sophie seems to catching up just well.

—

Abdullah ends up with a flying carpet and the magical genie, exited to give away his fist wish to find the love of his love... only to not understand a word of what the genie is saying. This is how, instead of searching for Flower-In-The-Night, he now searching through a whole Zanzib for a proper translator from English because, here's the problem, If he can't understand the genie, then genie can't understand him, and If genie can't understand him, it's pointless to even try making a wish. He knows it's English: there's plenty people all around the world visiting the market, and he had even learnt certain words, important for making a trade, but that's not nearly close to a full sentence on unrelated topic.

With a great effort and after hours of searching for a really proffecional master of languages (who charges Abdullah nearly all of his money for one single session), he finally gets to the point. Except, here's another moment. That's where Abdullah finds out the wish has to be spoken from his heart and not through the other person. Here comes another catch — Ingarian English, no matter how simple or structured is, to put is simply, badly different from Rapshutian Arabic. It's not even the same language group!

So, he sits in the small, hot room near the glamorous bottle and tries to pronounce a bunch of difficult, complex words written on a paper, the kind that translator couldn't cut or simplify to ones he's familiar with, for a whole ten (to fifteen) minutes. And, as If trying to make his task as difficult as possible, genie, when he shows up, starts randomly breaking into the language translator can't even recognise, with no talk about understanding. Abdullah assumes it may be a secret genie language only this creatures know and, annoyingly, gets along with it.

After successfully wishing to understand (and use) English, he also finds out he can't wish for anything more language-related, and he shouldn't even bother himself trying to ask for a foolish things like an ability to speak every language in the world. Language is a big part of human's essence and otherwise shouldn't be messing with, just as magic focusing on it is strictly limited.

Using this fact, the genie also finds a loophole - from now on he speaks his secret genie language half of the time, stopping only when it comes to important tasks, because Abdullah "wished to know only one of his languages" and he, apparently, knows more.

This whole puzzle takes new turns, when, while traveling with the carpet, Abdullah meets the solider. Despite claiming being from Strangia, this strange man from the forest starts speaking with them in English in first and then, noticing they're from different country, easily switches to Arabic.

As they wander together, the soliders explains that he is non less confused than they are: he didn't even noticed he could speak English before the passer-byes from Ingary noticed him, and now, being with genie and Abdullah, he also remembered he knows Arabic. He adds that he can't recall anything before his duty in the army, where he definitely used Stangian and nothing else, but it feels like an strong knowledge he has, even If he doesn't remember learning any of this. He decides to wave it off, focusing on the cats and schemes.

The solider becomes a great translator for them along the journey, up to the day the got the inn. He does not understand the secret genie language, though. Especially when from the jinnies and angels they found out there's, in fact, no such a thing as a "genie language"

The story finally clears itself when Midnight and Whippersnapper turn into humans, the Solider turns into a bewitched Prince and the Royal Wizard surprisingly seems to recognize all of the words the genie was — and still is — using.

—

Charmain runs after Sophie with a long, old dictionary she has found in the Great Uncle Norland's Library. The Royals, of course, gave their honored guest the translator, but the things quickly becomes pretty private, with the search for the gold and all this story with lubboks, so Sophie tells them she's gonna manage it by herself.

To say the Dictionary is heavy is to say nothing: it's huge and thick, containing thousands of words from Ingarian English alone, split by topics, marked with tons of colors an additional moments. Even carrying it around is a whole different type of task.

Half of the time Charmain and Sophie communicate with gestures, context clues and even sounds. When they need to say something really long and complex, they write, leaning on the Dictionary, as it's a bit faster than talking. Still, at some moments Charmain has to flip through the massive pages, searching for the right word with her finger, while Sophie has to do the same. Till the end of the day the both learn some basic words from each other's language, which makes it easier.

The poor nanny has even harder times with Twinkle and Morgan, because she has no idea about what they actually want, except they both whining and crying, one louder than another.

Translator does not come in handy that much, as it looks like these children mix languages everytime when speaking to each other. She has to guess things all over the room to finally get what they need, and usually it's the most useless things ever, like striped pants and a bunch of toy horses falling from the sky.

They see Sophie and Twinkle arguing about something, but no one gets the topic of their screaming, let alone the reason why Sophie is so mad at this angelic child. Charmain asks Sophie about it, because she heard an unusual name along the lines of their quarrels, but Sophie looks too annoyed to explain, mumbling something in her native language with some sort of anger.

The only positive side of it all is that, If Chairman can't understand English, then the lubbocks can't either. Wich means that they didn't have to be as cautious when using Dictionary as they would have to If they understood each other perfectly.

Then she has to climb on the roof, where Twinkle is sitting. Charmain tries to dismiss all his attempts to start a dialogue till she's there, huffing and suffocating as she tries to get the Dictionary with her, trying not to fall.

Twinkle seems to be really proud of himself, saying he knows twice more languages that anyone else in this magical House. Charmain flips through the pages, asking either one of is the one she knows (Norlandian, I assume).

Twinkle says no. For a second Charmaine starts to really understand Sophie's feeling, fighting the urge to hit him on the head with this massive book.

Peter does not communicate with this new guest as much and, luckily, he knows the language Charmain speaks, so they don't have to struggle with a language barrier. The way speaks might be a bit different because of the area he grew up and the amount of hiding and spells he encountered, but there's nothing they can't handle. Luckily.

Calcifer knows the Saucepan song, but other than that his linguistic knowledge is far from perfect, certainly not as good as you'd expect from a fire demon. He also cannot use a Dictionary, because it will burn the second he'll come to close to it, and If this happens their main way of communication is basically gone. He makes up for it, talking with Twinkle, Morgan and Sophie, as well as being expressive enough to understand the basics or what he feels and plans. Sometimes someone (aka Sophie) has to translate what he is saying when she's near, wich is a bit longer than Charmain would wish, but still pretty plausible. She got that he desperately needs his logs, after all.

Twinkle could have used some kind of magical bubble to get them finally understand each other fully, but, again, magic connected with languages is pretty difficult and has its important limits, so it wouldn't last long. Little 30 years old boy is enjoying his childhood, running up the stairs and beating these huge bugs, not as much caring about Charmain all this huge book in her hands.

In the end, (as he turnds out to be) the Royal Wizard Howl is right - the only languages lubbocks can understand is punching.

(Many thanks to my rly good friend @your-queen-shuri for being co-author of this concept. A bunch of ideas here are from her!)

#ALSO THINK ABOUT WHAT CHAOS THERE WOULD BE ALONG THE PRINCESSES #like they're really educated so (same with Justin) probably know a lot of languages BUT #they will need a time to understand who speaks wich and who knows which better #also there's definitely a term of “foreign language”as Sophie used it when Howl was speaking Welsh with Mari #and the Asian princess (poor soul was written so wrong) does have an accent #AND YET #all of the protagonist speaks English without a problem #wich is pretty unrealistic as all of them come from different social status #they can't possibly all know English to C2 #wich is #it's not making books wose by any cjay #they stole my soul #BUT #I love thinking about the concept #imagine how different the language would evolve because of Fairly Tale norms #like sayings and proverbs #like “just as an eldest daughter” = unlucky #etc #howl pendragon #sophie hatter #howell jenkins #howl's moving castle #hmc #howl's moving castle book #hmc book #castle in the air #house of many ways

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mareastrorum · 2 years

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Since it's Saint Patrick's Day, here's a little bit about what I've been doing in TF&TS regarding the Irish language (Gaeilge).

One of the cultural flavors I wanted to add to the story is the prevalence of multilingualism in Exandria. Actually speaking multiple language doesn't work that great in a stream because it (a) is difficult unless you already speak it, (b) is confusing for anyone else that doesn't understand it, and (c) undermines the speed in which role play can progress because it slows down dialogue unless everyone is fluent. I like how the cast handles it (especially Liam!) by simply indicating that they're speaking in another language and sometimes changing their accent to give that impression. It adds a little interest that way, but it's not that flavorful because of the practical limitations of that medium.

But in a story published online (especially these days), understanding another language isn't so difficult. Addons and mods in browsers let you right click to translate immediately, or readers can copy/paste text into a search engine and easily find a translation. I remember wishing it was that easy back when I was in college, and now it finally is!

So my plan for the story in general is that several Exandrian languages will be replaced by other languages in very specific circumstances: (1) the line is not relevant to the plot, and if there is even a minute chance it might be relevant, the context or character provides an obvious translation before/after; (2) there is a reason for the character to want to speak in a language other than Common; (3) it is a relatively short section, usually only 1-2 sentences max; and (4) 99% of dialogue is still in Common (English).

Why do it? Because: (i) I don't like making up words and adding unique translations at the endnotes because it distracts some readers (like me); (ii) the online vocabularies for several D&D languages are woefully limited, and (iii) multilingual interactions can help show a character's mindset, attitude, and opinions when you begin to notice when they do it and why. Plus it's an excuse to learn the basics of other languages!

Not gonna lie, Gaeilge is hard to learn. It is a complex language, there are three very different dialects, and my ear is not trained to comprehend all the different sounds yet. But I still enjoy researching it every time I find a bit of dialogue where I want to add something in Gaeilge.

So far, the most helpful site I've found is teanglann.ie, an online dictionary that includes 3 different English-Irish dictionaries, a grammar index, and a pronunciation index. Comparing all the different dictionaries helps me figure out if I'm choosing the correct noun/verb for a particular context (and, of course, I do searches to confirm that it makes sense or pops up online). The grammar index is super helpful with conjugations and declensions. The pronunciation index also includes Ulster, Connacht, and Munster speakers for a lot of words, as well as common phrases.

After I've selected the words/phrase, I usually head over to Wiktionary to search the same words for the IPA pronunciation guide so that I can translate the dialects into written word. For example, "mhaith" by itself is pronounced differently compared to "maidin mhaith" (good morning), and those each sound different in each of the dialects, but I know to write good morning as "madjin wah" when a non-fluent character mimics someone with Connacht dialect because I've checked each of them. I always include the correct spelling first in case readers want to search it, but I sometimes include a misspelled repetition so they can understand what it sounds like without needing to do all that work.

Now, there is a characterization reason I'm using Maidin mhaith rather than Dia duit, and it 100% has to do with the character's attitude towards the gods. I know Maidin originally comes from the name of the goddess for the morning, but Dia is more general "god" and Maidin is based on a name of a goddess that doesn't exist in Exandria, and there's no clear equivalent. Thus, since the character would have the option, I think they would opt for Maidin mhaith.

And that is the sort of flavor that can come through with simple translated phrases. Someone who speaks/reads Gaeilge would catch it rather easily, and non-fluent speakers would likely figure that out after a relatively simple search.

That would not come through in English, whether I indicated that it was another Exandrian language or not, because there is no such implication in English. Even for the nonreligious, Dia duit is more common of a greeting than maidin mhaith in Ireland, so the conscious decision to use a less common phrase is a flag of "oh, there's something odd about that." And if anyone digs into it, they get some flavor for the character that otherwise would need to be lampshaded.

There's also the fun of writing multilingual characters who slip into the other language's grammar when they're not speaking that language. As a child, I spoke both Spanish and English fluently, and my grammar was insane to anyone that did not speak both languages. I shifted between them because, in my head, they were different ways of the same thing, and I could mix it up if I want because everyone I want to talk to understands me anyway. Of course, that's too much for a written story where most readers will only read English, so my compromise has been to modify the character's grammar when they speak Common (English) to use Irish grammar and slip in a few words in Gaeilge that can be understood in context. It's only done a few times, but it's great for expressing when a character is excited or flustered, because they're so focused on getting the response out that they shotgun the words without correcting for the audience they're speaking to. It makes perfect sense to them, but not to the other person.

Lastly, there's also code-switching. For anyone who is unfamiliar, code-switching is when you adjust your language, grammar, and manner of speech to match the audience you speak to. Pretty much everyone does it. It's like the Customer Service Voice, or the Talking to My Boss Voice, or the Talking to My Pet Voice, etc.

Code-switching gets way more complex for polyglots that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. I'm very used to my own form of code-switching, so adding that to the story has been great for reflecting on when/how I do it, which in turn helps me figure out when/how the characters would do it. Which audiences do they think they need to be more formal with? Who would they speak Gaeilge to? Who would they be comfortable enough around to use slang? How would they express threats/gratitude/politeness/rudeness around different types of people? And so on, which adds another layer of characterization.

Altogether, that provides a rather condensed tool that allows me to give the reader more insight into that character without needing to add a paragraph of navel gazing in that moment. Some readers also like to search for easter eggs, so they get a little treat.

And that's why I've decided to use Gaeilge quite a lot in my story. I'm using a handful of other languages more sparingly, but Gaeilge is just too challenging and fun to limit it to just greetings and such.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

#TF&TS #gaeilge #writing #fanfiction #Azazel!Lucien

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pigeonfancier · 2 years

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And while I'm Elfquest posting on main --

I've gotten three of the Blood of Ten Chiefs anthologies in so far for my EQ-blog-and-readthrough venture, and I was always a little baffled that forum members largely refused to actually summarise the books when I was a kid! Because a lot of minor details that aren't even translated to the comic version of BOTC remain canon to the greater lore, so it's always felt as if the books should have their material considered canon until directly contradicted, rather than considered noncanon until directly referenced.

The preference for the latter was baffling! But from the things people did mention, I figured it was entirely the horrifying wtf of Stormlight's story. Which, you know, fair, that shit's fucked.

Did not realise it was:

Horrifying wtf of Stormlight's story

Preypacer Recognising Wreath! Then Zarhan immediately Recognising Wreath afterwards, and informing her to lie about the parentage of the resulting child, because lol not his problem

Zarhan Recognised Rahnee before she was born.

As well as probably this:

The hunt had mated within itself and back to their yellow-eyed ancestors. They'd become peerless killers and regarded the first-born as failures. Strength and success were what counted within the hunt, and it did not matter that their offspring were often misborn and did not survive their milk-days.

And maybe (but probably not) this:

Timmain was golden in their memory, as she was golden in all the stories the Wolfriders knew, and loved, about her. Her face hovered above the white-shrouded camp. Reflexively the tribe yearned to find peace and serenity in the tableau, and were brutally turned aside. The hollow-eyed men and women of this dreamberry tale were not high ones but merely tall. Owl cleared his throat and spoke hesitantly, using words that had long been forgotten by the tribe: malaise, alienation, negritude, and anomie. The Wolfriders, young and old, heard the sounds and understood them only as they described the dreamberry tableau. In their own minds the words were simpler: waiting-for-death.

Gotta love when the distant, troubled past is defined by.. a general feeling of discomfort of uncertain origin, a state of being isolated from one's group, "black culture", and a lack of usual social or ethical standards in a group..?

I was trying to figure out if this was perhaps just a remarkably poor word-choice on the authors' part in this short story, but lol:

Her protagonists often attempt to uphold existing social institutions and norms in the service of the greater good while the antagonists often attempt to exploit, subvert or radically alter the predominant social order for selfish gain.

Can't imagine it was just a poor word-choice that slipped past the author, the Pini's, and the editor.

These books are such a fucking mess.

#d. reads #elfquest #negritude's exact definition isn't precisely just 'black culture'#but the only way to make its placement even more incoherent is to assume that it's a reference towards a cultural movement #that did not occur in this fantasy-ass world #with a race that does not exist on this fantasy-ass world #so lolll #I'm glad I didn't read this as a kid! I would've been SO MAD #but with age comes the ability to look at the shit you used to obsessively adore #and embrace the schadenfreude

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lilyrachelcassidy · 2 years

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Crescent (1)

A/N: Hey, you lovely people! It has taken a while for me to post it, but here goes the first chapter of the series. Some of you may have seen the INDEX that I’ve already prepared, and the summary included in it. If not, make sure to check that out!:D As a footnote, I also wanted to thank y’all for welcoming me to the Peaky Blinders community so warmly, you are the best, it’s so nice to be here with y’all;) One of the people who strongly encouraged and inspired me to start writing for the fandom is our lovely @mrsalwayswrite, to whom I also dedicate this series (plus, that's a form of contribution to her 1k milestone, it’s wild, she deserves it so much).

Against my posting schedule, which is totally all over the place, I really hope to start posting more regularly. BUT, enough of the ramble, sorry for the long intro. Enjoy:)

Word Count: 6.8k (ooops!)

IMPORTANT WARNING!: This fic contains a lot of dark elements and I’d regard it as pretty adultish. In every chapter, I’ll try to address the warning list but if you don’t feel like that’s what you are into, consider whether you really want to read. Should you need any more explicit clarification about this series, just message me! I’ll be happy to elaborate:D

Warnings: language, violence, mentions of alcohol, crudeness, shameless and yummy drama, insights into Tommy’s sensitive nature (probably the most bizarre one), and a rape attempt??

______________

They both were snuggling on the sofa, Y/N sitting with her legs wrapped around Tommy’s torso while he was settled in her embosom, an old French book in his hands, and he was reading out loud. Comfortable as she had already been, Y/N felt even more comfort prickling in her chest as Tommy’s smooth lilt echoed in her ears, making her eyes flutter in response to the repose she was experiencing.

None of the words read by Tommy did she understand. After all, she wasn’t the one who ever had had anything to do with French culture, and she was clinging to that premise rather resolutely. The mere fact stated, however, how much of a good reader Tommy was when he pronounced all of the syllables with such a passion and sublimity, with his perfect little accent and soothing voice. When he utterly surrendered to every single word of the book, ardently translating each one of them into the scenery of images played out in his head.

And his enthusiasm made her only fall for him even more.

When Y/N closed her eyes, try as might to, accepting the natural urge to give in to the melody of Tommy’s voice, he finally stopped reading and plonked the book on a table opposite the sofa. His breathing was steady and lulling, the chest against her leg with its heart drumming in the regular heartbeats. It all contributed to Y/N’s peace of mind, and little did she care for the bitter weather outside nor the flimsy house’s doors which prevented it from coming in.

“Why did you stop reading?” Y/N finally asked, rendering Tommy’s gaze rivet on to her rather than the obscure snowscape out of the window.

“I thought you were sleeping,” he said simply, giving her a small smile and then planting a kiss on her calve. Although Y/N and Tommy had been married for over two years now, it always made Y/N partly flustered when he did those little gestures of affection, causing her to blush like mad. Tommy had always teased her for that; whenever they had been out in public, even a chaste peck on a cheek could make her somehow so affectionately coy that it had never failed to make Tommy smile.

“No,” Y/N said, but her eyelids were indicating otherwise, feeling their rocketing weight on her eyes. She forced herself to open them at least half a fraction, and Tommy was already looking at her. “I like to listen to you read. It’s calming.”

It really drove Y/N crazy, the intensity of his gaze on her. Never had she admitted that but she wasn’t the one to thrust herself into the limelight, yet with Tommy, it was different - it was as if she was the only person in the world. She had never decided whether it bothered her or made her feel special.

When Tommy still remained silent, Y/N continued. “What’s the book about anyways?”

A corner of Tommy’s lip lifted as he spoke. “It’s about a princess who, against her father’s will, comes late at night by the lake to join the man of her life in a tryst. The man is a knight in her kingdom, and when the king finds out about her daughter’s romance, he sends the knight off to exile.”

“Oh, that’s tragic!” Y/N pouted, her eyes instantly filling with sympathy. The light in the lantern beside the sofa suddenly started flickering in irregular spurts of light, and Y/N had to tap it three times to mend it back to its normal state. It nicely illuminated Tommy’s features as he returned his gaze back to the window where now snowflakes were performing their little dance to the rhythm of whizzing frigid wind. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have suspected that would be your book choice.”

He frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

“You know,” Y/N started, gentle giggles erupting from her mouth. “You are not the biggest romantic that I’ve known.”

What she had originally dubbed as slight indignation by her words was actually an attempt to retort to her with an amounting dose of banter. “What would make you think that?” Tommy asked deliberately, trying to act offended, but his smirk was betraying him. He swiftly changed position to the sitting one, so now his back was against the backrest of the couch, his gaze intensely fixed on Y/N’s posture while she was suiting herself to the cross-legged position.

“You know what I mean.” She glanced at him knowingly.

“I don’t. Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No.

Exhaling dramatically and shaking his head, he pressed on. “Well, then, you leave me with no other option...” And then he edged closer to her and, without any proceeding warning, attacked her with the cascade of tickles, his hands quickly finding their way over her stomach and, with the two-year experience, careering across the most tickle-sensitive spots on her body. Y/N started laughing uncontrollably, little begs to cease the action escaping her mouth.

Every one of his touches, those smooth and itching touches, made her feel as if she was touched by a whole load of butterflies. His hands were traveling everywhere: her tummy, under her chin and armpits... That only increased the laughter in her throat and, soon enough, tears started rolling down her cheeks. Trying to defend herself, Y/N flailed her arms all over the place, but that only seemed to encourage Tommy even more.

“Stop!” she shrieked ultimately, and at once, he actually listened to her but not before peppering her with the last couple of tickles and a loving smooch on the forehead. Subconsciously, Y/N began neatening her impinged garments and trying to smooth down her - as for now - tousled hair while Tommy sat back on his spot and chuckled lightly under his breath. “You’re really horrible, you know that?”

His eyebrows raised the look of supreme innocence on his face. “Oh, but you love me for that, don’t you?”

“Sometimes I doubt,” she said, but a denouncing smile sprung on her lips which she tried to hide to no avail. He was already grinning at her.

“How about...” He took another dramatic pause there. “I read you another chapter of the book, and then you decide about the way you feel?”

Now it was Y/N’s turn to grin. “Let’s give it a shot.”

In moments, they were pressed to each other again, this time, however, he was the one cradling her between his legs. His arms reached around her sides to elevate her a little bit so that her head could conveniently rest on his chest while plucking the book from the table, and began flipping through the pages to find the latest chapter. So tranquil in that state, Y/N utterly gave in to the moment when Tommy’s voice, a low murmur next to her ear, began reading aloud again, his head hovering just over her shoulder.

“La fille n'était pas dupe des paroles du roi. Bien que dévouée à sa famille, il y avait une certaine partie d'elle...”

Tommy was warm and comfortable, and being with him like that while he read her the book with his perfect, husky voice, her body enfolded in his snuggly embrace, was nothing short of incredible. At once, Y/N’s eyelids started to droop, heard the words weaving pleasantly in and out of her consciousness, and she leaned her head back against his chest, beginning to fade away.

Bzzzz... Bzzz... Bzzzz...

The scenery started changing rapidly: the faces turned into artistic blurs so that now there was only a mere outline of silhouettes visible. The sunken holes in the facelessness, which were probably the equivalent of mouths, mumbled some unintelligible babble in overexcited, high-pitched tones.

Bzzzz... Bzzzz.... Bzzzz....

No longer was Tommy standing in the living room but in the place that was detached from any kind of comparison because it was basically a white, vast void with no ground or neither any kind of abyss. The light was becoming more and more bright, and eventually temporarily blinded Tommy, who closed his eyes now, not really capable of deducing what was happening.

Bzzz... Bzzz... Bzzz...

Suddenly, the scenery wasn’t so foreign anymore; when Tommy finally decided to risk it all and open his eyes, he found himself tangled in the floral-scented sheets, sweat dotting his forehead, and panting in half-fear, half-oblivion. The wind-up alarm clock was going on in an annoying buzzing, and it took Tommy one harsh thump on a small button on the top of the device to turn it off, ceasing sound in the bedroom and instead permeating it with silence.

What the fuck was that?

Was that all a dream before or, perhaps, was he dreaming right now?

Tommy’s heart was palpitating loudly against his rib cage, head pounding, and he, still in awe, looked around his surroundings and inspected the area he was in right now. Luckily, he was alone, and everything seemed to be the same way he had remembered it last time.

When he had returned to his house after the snobbish banquet he had been obliged to attend, without any more power gathered in him, he had thrown himself on the comfortable mattress in his bedroom and with that, he had drifted asleep, not even taking his smart tuxedo off of him and barely affording to cast off his oxfords. It had been a celebration organized by Oswald Mosley himself, and if it hadn’t been for that fact, Tommy probably wouldn’t have considered coming at all.

Yes, he remembered everything vividly now: the fake diplomatically smiley faces, elegant attire, a surfeit of foods and champagne, strict atmosphere hovering in the air... He remembered that he had shaken hands on some kind of deal inaugurated by Mosley; he couldn’t recall what it had concerned, however, maybe because of the amount of whiskey he had drunk. He remembered that Arthur had got into some intensive grapple with the other guest that night and reached such a crux when both had had to be separated from one another. He remembered the big-ass, stuck-up toast raised by Mosley’s brother, Edward, who had nettled him so much that, after that, he had had to get some fresh air to calm himself down.

Everything appeared to make sense now. Except for one thing - with all of the things that cropped up yesterday, how on earth did he end up dreaming about his secretary, Y/N?

Truth to be told, it had been rather a recurring occurrence because he had been having a similar series of dreams for the last month. They had never been the same, however - every night, it was always him and Y/N, every time in different scenery. Either some intimate moments of cuddling, kissing, and spooning in bed; or daily-life moments like cooking together or taking a stroll. What seemed to be a bizarre fact was that they were always one-on-one, without any other people appearing on the horizon.

And Tommy, very fervently actually, had tried to seek a reason, a probable explanation for those dreams.

However, to no use...

Sure, Y/N was an attractive woman, and there was no point denying it. But as for him, he had never had any other but professional feelings for her, and he hoped to keep it that way. And when he had employed her, he had made it very lucid that there was nothing but business standing between their relationship.

Yet still, a very nagging part of him, an annoying one too, made him somehow think that whatever had been transpiring could not be happening only in his head. A lingering feeling whispered next to his ear, tacitly, that all of those moments were far too real to be just a flight of fantasy.

When Y/N beamed, it was as if the whole room lightened up with her glow and, in those moments, it was the only thing he would want to watch. When she spoke, it was as if the sweet melody was tickling his ears. When he would play the music on the old gramophone, she rhythmically swung her hips from one to another side, and he could be her most avid spectator.

Or maybe he was a spectator? He was quite a cogitation for him if being honest. In dreams or whatever resembling them that was, he was placed in a strange, abstruse position because he actually wasn’t the one with the leading role in the scenery; it was almost more like he was observing the scene between two people, one so strikingly identical to him. And Tommy could do nothing but be a passive participant in the gnomic show that was playing out before his eyes.

That was just... inexplicably complicated to Tommy.

Another thing that startled him too was the place the couple was dwelling at - his old, dilapidated house in Birmingham, the area he would never wish to return to. The walls were drab, and the overall air was muggy and abominably icky; the only things that seemed to coat the unpleasant interior of the house were some female touches in an attempt to veil funguses or crud with some decorative details, like flamboyant curtains or a flowerpot on a tarnish mantelpiece.

Tommy’s actual house, on the other side, was the exact opposite. After spending many years of his childhood and adolescence in penury as his mother had strived to earn a single penny whereas his father had abandoned the family for a bimbo, he had promised himself that he would put any effort to elevate himself and, perhaps, even move out of the Birmingham area.

And so he did. He resided in a beautiful, vast mansion now and although it had caused some detriments on his health, and maybe he could deem a workaholic to some, at the end of the day, he was still grateful that he could pull himself out of disdain and impertinent he had been treated with throughout his life.

A knock came on the door and, instantaneously, jerked Tommy out of his contemplation.

“Come in.”

A maid treaded into the bedroom, and instantly, Tommy registered a wary look on her face. “Mr. Shelby,” she started. “Arthur and John are waiting in the car downstairs and anticipating your presence. They mentioned something about horse races.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

How could he have forgotten?

Today, he was supposed to come with his brothers to one of the most important horse races in this season, during which he would be trying to bid on one of the most talented mares in the entire territory of England. The range of horses during the race had been presented merely a week ago, and it was crucial for Tommy to buy out the captivating mare he had been attempting to acquire for years.

“Tell them I’ll be down in five minutes,” he instructed with what could seem a composed face, except he was panicking inside. In the mental calculation, he noted, he still had to fetch the ample sum of money from his office, change his garments to more appropriate ones, and make his way to the opposite side of the mansion.

Great...

“Yes, Mr.Shelby.” Mary nodded to his directions and walked stiffly out of the room.

As soon as the doors behind her closed, Tommy sprinted out of the bed and went over to the wardrobe where he picked up random clothes and put them on. It’s not like he cared for such trivial matters like appearance anyway. His lifestyle and the rush he was living in forced him to always go with the plain choices - in this case, a three-piece, overcoat, and a newsboy cap.

Another destination was the office, which was luckily located in the same corridor, basically a beeline between one room and another. He darted to the place, swinging oak doors ajar, and quickly approaching the desk drawer where the viridian envelope with plentiful cash was already prepared. Taking it out and scattering other papers all over the space, he didn’t pay any thought to clean the mess he had left behind as he was already racing to the main entrance of the mansion.

He peeked at his pocket watch - 8.32 a.m. How could have he overslept?

The alarm clock had woken him up, yet he had completely failed a job of setting it up at the earlier hour. The races were starting sharp at ten o’clock, and a way from here to Worcester took around two hours in the right weather conditions. That, fortunately, was the only thing that was on his side today - the streams of the sun penetrated the light blue sky, spreading the warmth around, and no signs of forthcoming squall appeared whatsoever within the vision.

It was 8.35 when Tommy left the threshold of his house and walked onto the front yard, exactly where the polished Bentley was parked with two brothers waiting inside of it. One of the front seats was vacant, presumably reserved for him, and he willingly accepted the non-verbal invitation.

When he finally occupied the leather-covered seat, two questioning glances were sent in his direction.

“You alrigh’, Tom boy?” asked Arthur, who was currently inhabiting the driver’s seat.

Tommy looked at him from the corner of his eye, ripples on his forehead. “Yeah, why?”

“’Cuz your never late, Tom.” It was John now who chimed into the conversation. He was holding on to the headrests of both front seats, apparently trying to show off his presence at the most by taking up some personal space.

“It’s alright, just overslept,” Tommy replied, shrugging. Reaching to his inner pocket, he examined his pocket clock again - 8.38. To busy himself with something and divert the attention of his brothers, he began searching for a stash of cigarettes and matches to light one up. Once he found it, he ignited a fag whereas Arthur turned on the engine and drove off to the main road.

“Tough night, huh?” After one minute’s silence John, who was still imposing himself to the forepart of the car, pressed on. “Bet yesterday’s beano upset ya a lot, aya? Mosley gave you a har’ time, for sure, with all of his codswallop about-”

“That’s enough, John,” said Arthur, warily, cutting in right before his brother could say something that would rotten the two-hour drive between the three of them. With a honed sense for deducing people’s attitudes about particular subjects, Arthur had learned just right when to cease talking about sensitive topics. It was the fact, however, that yesterday hadn’t been the most pleasant night of their lives; Mosley who apparently had thought himself superior to others had talked down Tommy during the entire banquet and denigrated his ideas every time he had spoken. Tommy’s unalterable response while receiving a cold shoulder was always a diplomatic silence, but that didn’t mean the occurrence hadn’t left him nettled afterward.

Arthur looked over at Tommy for a brief second, before turning his gaze back at the road. He let out a little sniffle and then stated matter-of-factly. “Y/N’ll be meeting us in front of the stables.”

Confused, Tommy frowned slightly. “What would she be doing there?”

“We thought we would invite her over, ya know, to take a peek before signing the documents. Ya know, as a precaution.”

“And you thought I wouldn’t manage to read on my own?” Tommy asked, suddenly somehow out of kilter. The cigarette was still in between his teeth, but he still managed to purse lips in dissatisfaction.

Arthur sighed. “Of course, you would, Tom. But Y/N, a clever gal she is... She can help us. And besides, she offered to come herself. Wanted to see one of the races. Has never been to one before.”

Tommy said nothing more and preferred to focus on the vista before him: they were driving through the middle of fields, the line-up of buildings stretching in the far by one side. It was a spring morning, so the sun was raising just now, but still, a warm breeze was accompanying them while they sped on the asphalt road. At the bottom of the road was an explosion of yellow and green which, landlocked, was surrounded by nothing but glistening trees and multicolored sky.

Sunrises.

They always made Tommy feel oddly sentimental as they reminded him of times before he had been sent off to the War.

And as he watched the sight sprawling before him, he opened a window, threw a stub of the cigarette, and ceased the only activity he could busy himself with for the rest of the ride. The rattling Bentley devoured the miles with stoic competence, but the journey had begun to seem interminably long and, involuntarily, searched back to the recollections of the morning’s conundrum - what did Y/N really mean to him, and how did their relationship evolve over the course of years?

Though he knew that the thought shouldn’t have even crossed his mind, Tommy wondered what would have happened if their relationship was elevated to a different level. Would that transmute his life to something he would feel comfortable with, or would that be too big of a load to handle? After all, it’d been six years since Grace had perished, and ever since, he hadn’t felt a woman’s touch on his skin throughout that time...

Or maybe, was it a commitment she wouldn’t want to put up with? There were always some undertones implying that, perhaps, there were some sparks kindled between the two of them. Y/N was self-sufficient, erudite, and easy to talk to, and he enjoyed having an occasional chit-chat with her during some spare moments. Although they never crossed the line of professionalism, circumscribing the topics of conversation to a pure employee-employer level; when she would happen to mention something about her personal life, he would be always eager to hear more. But he would never dare to inquire because it seemed to be a slippery road.

At the same time, Tommy was skeptical about entwining Y/N into his life - if he should consider such a possibility - which carried a lot of danger in it. Even so, she had signed up for a secretary position, which was risky itself, joining the Shelby family was a new dimension of jeopardy. And the simple thought of losing Y/N, the similar way he had lost Grace, was just unbearable.

While the robust debate transpired in Tommy’s head, Arthur was fervently pressing the pedal, accelerating, as the other car attempted to overtake their jet-black Bentley; John decided to give up on the thought troubling the Front-seat and, instead, was already drooling in the rear of the car, his head lolling in every direction.

“That’s right, you little nutter...” Arthur muttered under his breath, flipping the other driver off as he was passing him, the driver, gawking, startled by the obscenity. Despite that Arthur was the bigger brother, he could never resist the flash of temper.

Tommy ignored the urge of pulling another fag out as his eyelids started to droop rather dangerously. He had slept only two hours, after all, which was mainly due to the buzz and adrenaline left after the banquet.

‘One nap,’ he told himself. ‘One nap won’t kill anybody.’

XOXOXOXOX

“Get up, get up, mate.” A poke with a slight jiggle jerked Tommy out of his slumber.

Initially nonplussed, he started blinking rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the dazzling light of the day. After a moment’s haze, things finally got more into distinctive shapes, and now he knew that it was John’s voice that woke him up as he was standing in front of him, lining with his forearm on the car.

“You okay?” asked John, the second time this day. His head was bowed slightly so that it was lined up with Tommy’s, his foul breath huffing unpleasantly in Tommy’s face.

“Alright, yeah.”

Straightening himself up and mending his attire to make it look less wrinkled, Tommy took out a fag and lit it up as his old habit suggested. He took a swing with his long legs and got out of the car, where he encountered a light breeze brushing against his face. The fag was already in between his teeth, a gray string of smoke rising from the end of it while Tommy was examining the hour on his gold-plated pocket watch - 9.54.

They made it. Arthur had apparently completed a good job at chasing time.

Three of them - Arthur, Tommy, and John - were now halted in front of the stables that abutted a white, enormous tent where the whole event was about to take place. The neighs and nickers were erupting from stalls, horses in the progress of preparation before the luxurious show-off.

“Hello, boys,” the voice from the back said. Turning around, Tommy beheld the woman that had been trespassing his thoughts, and he suddenly felt as if he was dragged back to the hinterland of his dreams.

Y/N was smiling sweetly at each one of them, looking particularly radiant today. A thin auburn coat was sprawling around her shoulders, vaguely muddy galoshes pulled on her feet, and a dark Breton arranged in harmony with her low, tight ponytail. She was clutching a small purse in her hands.

“’Morning,” Tommy replied, accompanied by his brothers in the background. He sent her a meager smile in response to her grin.

In mere seconds, they began heading towards the main entrance of the tent where every person was gathering and hastily taking the available seats in the front row before all of them were occupied. One man deliberately bumped into some woman, who was just about to sit, to flump on a seat himself; they got into a rather vigorous quarrel.

“So how was yesterday at Mosley’s?” A soft voice rang up in Tommy’s ears again. He and Y/N were walking arm-to-arm, and from this proximity, Tommy could get a nice whiff of her perfume - a floral note with something he couldn’t quite recognize. Perhaps, vanilla?

“It was... fine,” Tommy lied, but he wasn’t specifically in the fancy of receiving a pitying look.

“Oh, okay. That’s nice!”

"I guess." He shrugged, deciding to change the subject. “Do you happen to know the order of an array?”

“Yes, I’ve just checked actually. Your mare, Mrs. Shelby, will be displayed as third.” In the peripheral vision, she could see him nodding - accepting the information - at what she had said, but something twitched in his expression. Not expecting him to pick up on the conversation, she recalled the details stated on a black-and-white page pinned to the cork board at the door of the stable; then she continued: “After that, the bidding will commence. The good news is we have high chances of winning.”

“That's what I'm hoping for.”

The tent looked pretty neat inside, once the four of them reached it. It was bustling with people, mainly those from around the village who did not intend to participate in the auction and merely hoped for quality entertainment; Tommy, however, could spot some wealthy people in the crowd too with unidentifiable for him faces. None of them did he recognize but, on the other hand, he presumed that not many folks from Birmingham would actually show up here anyway.

“Good mornin’, ladies and gentlemen...” the presenter started with a thick Irish accent, incomprehensible to those who didn’t listen intently enough. A loud yawn escaped Y/N’s mouth. She covered it with her hand, but that didn’t help much with subduing the sound. The presenter went on with his exuberant babble for a while, earning two more yawns from Y/N, before finally letting the first horse on a paddock - a heavily muscled gelding with red ribbons tangled in the mane, and white patches contrasting with the rest of its black hair.

It took several minutes but, exceedingly bored, Y/N made up her mind on taking a little stroll as a form of wake-up. “I’m gonna fix some water from the shop. It’s just around the corner. Want some?”

“No, thank you.” And as she collect her things, a nagging thought popped up in Tommy’s mind. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, that’s alright. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said in a thankful tone towards his offer, smiling. Subsequently, she directed herself to the main exit, leaving her group behind, and soon vanished from Tommy’s view.

Tommy didn’t like it but was forced to concede to the fact that Y/N was simply his employee, and he was in no capacity whatsoever in questioning her whereabouts. Accordingly, with that persisting notion in his mind, he was compelled to sit and watch as the second horse was hauled on the paddock by a groom who made an impression of being slightly annoyed with the horse’s resistance. He poked it at its haunch with an elbow and, consequently, received a faint neigh with a few, back-legged twitches.

Ten minutes elapsed...

Still no sign of Y/N which was increasingly worrying because, as she had said, the shop was just around the corner and obviously queues couldn’t be that long since everyone was assembled in the tent. Tommy was constantly glancing between the paddock and his pocket watch, fingers fidgeting in nervousness. He was hyperaware that maybe he was just panicking, and maybe the whole storyline he had visualized in his head was a figment of his overheated imagination; but he was also hyperaware of the danger during such events whereas some men, vicious men, wandered around with no good intentions in them.

“Our next precious gem is the one and only mare dragged all the way from South England...”

This was Tommy’s horse or the one he intended on owning after the auction. He should have focused on the beautiful mare that had just trotted in with its glistening mane reflected by a dozen of floodlights. He should have focused like the rest of the audience, Arthur and John included, as all of them began cheering loudly from the stands. He should have focused when the presenter started tossing the compliments all over the mare, making it double enticing for other contestants of the auction.

Instead, his attention was racing far beyond that as fifteen minutes elapsed in absence of Y/N. This tiny voice in the back of Tommy’s head, maybe a hunch, was giving him the hints - something had happened, something had happened.

He would drive himself mad if he didn’t check what was going on.

“Oh, where’re ya going Tom?” asked John, who instantly turned his gaze around when Tommy got up.

“To the loo...” was all he said before departing. Quickly, he made his way towards the main exit, subconsciously picking up on the pace with every step, the invisible noose tightening around his neck.

As he left the tent, he traveled across the muddy patches of the green land, his eyes frantically scrutinizing the area. Nothing, in particular, caught his eye: a mixture of shabby and extravagant cars, scattered paper cups, horses’ dung-

But then, he heard something. Almost inaudible that was but the silent whimpers, like the quiet tussle, were emerging from somewhere. Tommy, now even more panicked, started looking around the place inspecting every single corner, every single stall... Reaching one of the last spots he could possibly check, he halted at the storeroom where the all items and accessories for horses were stored. And, as the door flung open, the sight in front of him struck him to the core: trapped in the extremely small area, Y/N was pinioned to the wall, both of her hands pinned above her head and she was squirming tremendously. The sleeve hems of her white shirt were almost completely torn and material dangling. The Guy, who very likely initiated the scuffle, was trying to impose himself on Y/N, one of his hands harshly seizing both arms to the wall, the second one marveling all over her attire. At the moment, he was struggling with the upper buttons of Y/N’s shirt, the auburn coat she had on before thrown somewhere into a distinct corner of the floor. The little cries Tommy had heard beforehand must have been muffled by the closed door because now they were excruciatingly loud, pleading to let go.

What the-

Without a second thought, Tommy launched himself on the Guy, and with all his strength he could gather, pulled him away from Y/N, rendering her free. He was in a state of utter stupor, the blunt rage blinding him and provoking anger to boil in his chest. He had no restraints now; fists all over, he was punching the Guy with a whole new vigor, the Guy strongly flabbergasted by the abrupt plot twist. The unsuppressed moans were erupting in the room, the man constrained to the ground attempting to fight back, but unsuccessfully.

Tommy was hitting him and, heedlessly, he didn’t want to stop. Not until the blood spluttered, not until the man understood what kind of doom he had brought onto himself by imposing on the woman. The woman that meant a great deal to him. He didn’t care for the screams, somewhere in the nebulous background, telling him to stop. He didn’t even notice when he was extricated from the Guy, still grappling against the grasp that was holding him back as he tried to pursue the fight.

“That’s okay, let go now,” the male voice said in a calming manner. It was Arthur if Tommy had to guess, but he was too occupied with his untamed fury to verify that. “Breathe in. Breathe out.”

Although unwillingly, he complied to the command. Mere moments later, after his nerves had soothed down back to what could be regarded as a normal state, Tommy’s view became more clear and, for the first time, he looked around - Arthur was indeed anchoring him in the place, his hands on Tommy’s shoulders, wearing a sympathetic furrow on his face. Tommy’s gaze passed on, discreetly searching the familiar face in the crowd of spectators who had come to witness the accident.

And there she was - weeping meters away from him, encircled by a bunch of women who were trying to affirm her emotionally with what had just happened. One of them, seemingly the oldest one, placed a hand on her bare shoulder to which Y/N flinched at first; however, when she turned and saw the woman smiling down at her, she appeared to be thankful for her non-verbal support.

Tommy decided to walk over to her. “Oi, Y/N, I’m so sorry for wh... Whoa!” He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because a pair of arms flung around his neck, clasping him in an embrace. Instinctively, he reciprocated the gesture by wrapping his own arms around Y/N’s waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She started weeping again, weeping hard, but more in gratefulness than hysteria as she had done before. Her fingertips were clawing at his overcoat.

“I do-n’t kknow what... if you we-ren’t there,” she half-cried, half-mumbled, her weeps intensifying when the probable images bobbed up in her head. Her fingertips dug even deeper into the material. He cradled her from side to side, assuring her that everything was alright, that she could feel safe now. Truthfully, it shattered his heart when he saw her like that - broken, tears staining her beautiful face. He wished to could take her pain, expunge these nasty memories from her head with a snap of fingers; murder the man who dared to lay his dirty fingers Y/N. She felt so vulnerable now, unlike usual when she would make an impression of strong and independent. Like a little girl, she was helplessly sobbing into his torso, and all Tommy wanted for that moment was to take proper care of her.

The realization clicked within him suddenly - Y/N meant a great deal to him, his emotions building up for years now, and only fortified by the dreams he had been recently having.

They stood like that for minutes, hours maybe - Tommy really couldn’t tell. Meanwhile, the Guy was taken over by one of the coppers who was luckily attending the event as a form of scanty security; Arthur and John were talking to the second copper, presumably clarifying what had just happened at that very place (the scenery was pretty self-explanatory); and the bunch of women who previously accumulated around Y/N, moved over to give her and Tommy some privacy.

“How d-did you fin-d me?” asked Y/N suddenly, after her respiration returned back to normal, her voice less shaky. She removed her head from his chest but shifted only mere millimeters so that she could get a better view of his dial.

“You were away for a long time. I thought something happened...”

‘...and something did,’ was the part he thought of, but chose to leave to himself.

“Oh...” Her face flinched and she furrowed her eyebrows slightly. “Okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Uh... Not now, no.”

Tommy accepted that with a silent nod. Of course, he understood why. What had just happened must have been extremely overwhelming to her.

Undoubtedly.

Back in the days when he had been dispatched to the War field, he had encountered so many victims, so many dejected people who had participated in the bloody battle, espying far too many deaths of strangers, friends, or families. They would never want to talk about their experiences as he had offered, but they had always seemed to be secretly touched by the indication that they could freely talk to someone. It had subconsciously united them.

The heavy steps approached them from the back. “Y/N, you alrigh’?” asked John.

Hastily, as if the bucket of water was poured onto her, she untangled herself from the embrace. Tommy secretly missed the warmth of her body but didn’t vocalize the thought.

“Have been better,” Y/N replied, truthfully, wiping the residue of tears on her face with one swift hand movement. She gave him an awkward attempt to smile. “If that makes you feel any bettea, Arthur has taken care of the guy.”

“Thank you,” said Y/N, her voice still a little bit hoarse. “That actually means a great deal.”

“How has that started? If you don’t mind askin’.”

Clearly uncomfortable with the question, Y/N squinted and Tommy, with the power of his mind, slapped him across the face. “I- I’m sorry, John. I’m not ready for that. Not yet.”

He understood that; nodding, his hands plunged to the depths of his pockets and started rummaging. Tommy looked at Y/N again, not able to resist the itch. But she was completely lost in her rumination, it seemed, as her gaze was absentmindedly fixed on the calm sky above her.

Tommy knew what she was thinking of, the tranquility of the sky being the contradiction of her knotty mind. And the images floated again: Y/N trapped in the firm, ferocious grasp, the Guy breathing down her neck with his stinky intentions. Something was suddenly churning in the pit of Tommy’s stomach.

The clinking of the car keys echoed. “Want us to give you a ride?” asked John.

“Umm, that’s really sweet John but I’ve already decided to go with Mary.” She pointed at the elderly woman who had been clutching her arm previously. “She’s my mother’s old friend.” Then, yet again, she turned to Tommy who had been staring at her the whole time. She gave him a coy smile now, suddenly realizing that the embrace they had shared may have been a little bit out of line. “Thank you once more... Mr.Shelby. If it Hadn’t been for you-”

“I know,” he chimed in, reassuringly, concerned that she may start tearing up again. “Take your time and come back to work whenever you feel like it.”

“Thank you.”

And then, he did something he wasn’t aware he had the courage to do - grabbing her by both arms and pulling forward, he planted a kiss on her cheek. Luckily for Tommy, she reciprocated the gesture, bringing her hands softly on his torso and lining into the kiss. As they departed, Tommy could feel that his cheeks were on fire, bright red, something he hadn’t experienced many times in his life. Y/N had a similar reaction.

“Be careful, alright?” he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“I will,” she said, smiling like mad.

She left afterward, leaving Tommy worried about whether she would keep up with the promise.

#Tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #Tommy shelby x you #thomas shelby x reader #Thomas shelby x you #thomas shelby x y/n #thomas shelby #Tommy Shelby #tommy shelby fanfic #Tommy shelby series #Thomas shelby series #peaky blinders #peaky blinders fiction #drama

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ironwoman359 · 3 years

Text

This is probably not the best place to ask, but you’re also a Christian woman too. I was wondering what you thought about what the Bible says about women and how we must submit to husbands and some other stuff that has me (a potential ace) Christain woman kind of terrified. I would go to my church but social anxiety and my church is pretty conservative. I don’t want to think that we’re just second rate citizens with this. Um…that’s all. You don’t have to answer. Love your Tumblr. It’s one of the main ones I look at. Thanks for countless enjoyment!

— — —

(I’m responding on the submission and not the ask because the ask refused to post properly, I think it was too long for Tumblr’s fancy)

So I know you just asked for my thoughts and not a biblical interpretation lesson, but I didn’t spend 3 months writing an exegesis in college for me to never use those skills again, so buckle up for something of a long answer! (literally, this is almost 3 thousand words, so....sorry about that) *rubs hands together* The thing we need to take into consideration when reading the bible is Interpretation; any truly honest biblical scholar would tell you it is a mistake to take every word in the bible at its literal face value, ESPECIALLY since most of us are reading translations of scripture, not the original ancient hebrew/greek/aramaic/whatever else. So when interpreting scripture, we must consider these things:

Author (Who wrote it?)

Audience (Who was it written for?)

Context (What is written around it?)

So the verses you’re referencing are Ephesians 5:22-23, and in the NIV, they read as follows:

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Isolated from author, audience, and context, they sound pretty sexist, don’t they? And male authority figures have used these verses as justification for the oppression of women for centuries, just as white men used the passage only a few verses away, Ephesians 6:5, as justification for the oppression and ownership of black people (Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ). So let’s look at each of the points above in regards to Ephesians 5 and 6. First, who wrote it? Sometimes that can be a tricky question to answer, but in this case, it’s actually very easy (though there is still a bit of fuzziness/debate). Traditionally, Ephesians is one of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early church. Specifically, to the body of believers in Ephesus, a Greek city that was a part of the Roman Empire at the time. According to two different study bibles I have, the letter of Ephesians was not addressing any particular problem that the church in Ephesus had (as was often the case with Paul’s letters), but was meant as an encouragement of faith and to increase his readers’ understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Christ. So now what about the Context? Why are the verses at the end of chapter 5 and beginning of chapter 6 so damning to our modern sensibilities? To answer that, we must look at the passages both in context to the verses around them, and in historical and cultural context (which is where 1 & 2 come into play again). Going back to the beginning of chapter 4, which is subtitled “Unity in the Body of Christ” (and remember, these subtitles and groupings were come up with LONG after they were written; we grouped sections together in a way we thought was most logical, which honestly for a book as short as Ephesians I would argue is barely even necessary), we can see that the letter from chapter 4 onward is about living a Holy and Godly life. Chapter 4 urges us to be “completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love” and warns us against living “as the Gentiles* do, in the futility of their thinking.” *Gentiles in this case meaning not neccesarily all non-Jews, but non-believers. AKA, we should live like Jesus lived, WWJD and all that jazz. If the Holy Spirit is in our hearts and our relationship with God is at the forefront of our lives, then that should show clearly in our actions. The very first verse of chapter 5 reads “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Chapters 5 and 6 especially are meant to act as a sort of guide for how a follower of Christ should act. There’s some stuff about obscenity, greed, sexual impurity, 5:15 sums it up pretty well basically, “Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise,” and then we reach the all important verse. Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” That’s a full sentence, just that there. Submit to one another. The following three sections are all subsections of this point: one for Wives submitting to Husbands, one for Children submitting to Parents, and one for Slaves submitting to Masters. But when looking at all of these, bad shepherds (ie, racist, sexist assholes) like to ignore that first bit, submit to one another, just as they like to ignore 5:28, which says “husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself;” or they ignore 6:4 which says “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord;” and they ignore 6:9, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” I do highly encourage you to read chapters 4, 5, and 6 in full, or at least start at 4:17, which is where Paul starts talking about “Living as Children of Light,” because it makes the intent of these apparently damning verses much more clear. Paul is stating that as Christians, we should treat everyone around us with honor and respect. According to one of my study bibles, the grammar of the original Greek suggests that the “submission” involved in all three sections is intended to be mutual submission, and is to come from a filling of the Holy Spirit. However, to be quite frank, Paul still Lived In A Society. A highly structured, patriarchal society, in which all members of a household (women, children, slaves) were expected to submit to the patriarchal head of that household. Male children until they reached adulthood, Slaves until they were freed (remember that, while by no means a purely morally good thing, the system of Roman Slavery was VASTLY DIFFERENT from the Atlantic Slave Trade that men later used this passage to justify existing), and women, unfortunately, for their whole lives. In another one of his letters, what is now the book of Galatians, Paul says in chapter 3 verse 27-29 that “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” This would have been radical at the time. Paul is promising all people of all genders and classes that, in the eyes of God, they are Equal, One, and all “sons,” meaning that they all have a right to the Inheritance of the Father (remember, at this time and in this culture women did not get any inheritance, and younger sons got significantly less than the firstborn. Paul assures the believers that they ALL are equal receivers of the Promises of God). But this equality that Paul speaks of was, in his eyes, a spiritual equality. He was not particularly concerned with overthrowing the earthly patriarchal society that subjugated women and lower classes, but rather instructed all members of that society who also were Believers to submit equally to one another out of love and respect, for they were all Equal in God’s eyes and would be Equal in heaven. This is why he both tells women to submit to and obey their husbands, but also husbands to love, cherish, and care for their wives. Children, obey your parents, but Fathers, don’t be dicks to your kids. Slaves should obey their masters (slavery was much more like a job that you weren’t allowed to quit until your boss said so) but Masters shouldn’t abuse their slaves. There are Societal Authorities, and Paul is telling his readers “look you can’t just go around not respecting those Authorities, but also hey, if you’re the Authority? That’s not a free pass to be an asshole.” As one of my study bibles puts it, “Paul counseled all believers to submit to one another by choice…this kind of mutual submission preserves order and harmony in the family while it increases love and respect among family members.” Paul is basically saying “it’s better for everyone if we all get along, and remember that Christ had a servant’s heart, and intentionally lowered himself for us, so we should do the same for each other.” And while a patriarchal class system is still super sucky for like 80% of the people involved, at least it’s a whole lot more bearable if everyone involved is being a Nice, Good Member of that Society. You mentioned being worried about being treated like a “second rate citizen.” The fact of the matter is that when this was written, women were second rate citizens; that is the context in which Paul is writing. And while I firmly believe that that was wrong, in every sense of the word, Paul wasn’t especially concerned about challenging that aspect of society. Priority one was “Spread the Gospel” and Priority two was “Don’t Get Killed while Spreading the Gospel.” Speaking of Paul, let’s talk a little more about Saul of Tarsus, shall we? In all literary analysis, it is important to examine the author’s beliefs and what biases may have made their way into the work. And while we believe the bible to be a Holy Book, it can and should be subject to the same rules of literary analysis as non-religious texts. First, you must ask yourself, what do you believe about the bible? There are four general ways of looking at it (which are called Theories of Inspiration).

The bible is the Divine Word of God, dictated word for word across centuries directly to its human authors by God Himself.

The bible is the Divine Word of God, written across centuries by men Inspired by the Holy Spirit. While they are writing in their own words, this Inspiration means that the bible is Wholly Perfect with no errors.

The bible is the Divine Word of God, written across centuries by men Inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, because they are imperfect, fallible men, there is a possibility of errors in the text, both in the account of events that happened and in the teaching therein.

The bible is a collection of accounts written by men, with no Divine Intervention from God. It is not Holy, God’s Word, or Infallible.

I was raised to believe theory 2, but now I personally believe theory 3. And since I’m the author of this analysis, it is through the lens and bias of theory 3 that I now present my next point: Paul was sexist. I don’t think he was maliciously so (see again, Galatians 3, and the statement in Ephesians 5 that men should honor, cherish, and care for their wives), but he was a product of his time who had ingrained ideas about women and their place in society. This does not A) mean he was right about how women should act OR B) mean that we should toss out everything he had to say, about women or otherwise, because he was Problematic. Most biblical authors were, in fact, Problematic. Either by our modern standards, due to the time in which they lived, OR by the standards of their own time, because God liked to use Imperfect People (we’re all imperfect, but He liked particularly imperfect people) in His plans. David was an adulterer and murderer. Paul happily sent dozens of Christians to their deaths. Peter was hotheaded and super prejudiced against Gentiles and Samaritans. And most of them were, in one way or another, sexist, racist, and homophobic. These biases then found their way, intentionally or not, into their writings, and then other racist, sexist, homophobic men used those writings to justify systemic oppression of anyone who was not like them. Oppression that is not Christlike. So where does that leave us, in our 21st century application of scripture to our daily lives? We must examine how it was to be read at the time (which we have done), and then see what we can apply from it to our own lives. For myself in my marriage, I look again to the original grammar of Ephesians 5, that indicates the submission is to be mutual. I “submit” to my husband, and he “submits” to me. In other words, our relationship is built on Trust, Clear Communication, and Respect for one another. Sometimes we have to compromise, and I have to put aside my own desires for his sake, or he must set aside his own desires for my sake. It is a willingness to listen to one another, to approach conflicts with an open mind, to consider each other’s feelings before we speak. It is an equal, mutual submission based on love for each other, which doesn’t contradict what Paul says at all. God created all people to be equal. Humans are stupid sometimes and try to insist that we know better, try to create hierarchies and use the bible to try and justify that, but that doesn’t mean those humans are right. If your church is trying to make you feel less than because of your gender, or if you date somebody who pushes TradWife rhetoric and tries to use Ephesians as their justification, then you Run, and feel justified in doing so. (Especially if they also try to use Paul’s words to tell you why you owe your partner sex; see again, Paul was not only sexist but also lived in a patriarchal time when women were second class citizens that had very specific expectations placed on them AND he wasn’t even in a relationship himself, forgive me if I take his advice on my sex life with a grain of salt. Without doing this whole process again, a good modern reading of “don’t deprive one another” is “don’t use sex as a weapon in your relationship/withhold it for bs reasons when you’re mad at each other, etc. Like all other relationship things, sex (or a lack thereof) with your spouse should be based on mutual trust, communication, and love, not petty arguments or the standards of others.)

Trust me, as an ace woman myself, I totally get the fear. I’ve felt it myself, in the past. But God’s intentions for you are not that you become a doormat or servant to a man. If a romantic relationship (or any other partnership) is part of His plan for you, then the bible clearly states, both in Ephesians and elsewhere, that it should be one built on Love and Trust, not Subjugation and Servitude.

I hope this helped you, and again, sorry it was so long XD. Have an amazing day! <3

#christianity #biblical analysis #religion #anti trad wife #ephesians 5 #ace things #taylor talks #for a loooong time

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vladimir-nabokov-official · 3 years

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what nabokov got absolutely right is that a translation is not a replacement for the original. english readers are arrogant and lazy when it comes to foreign books and many of them really don’t care about the original assuming they can feel comfortable with a replacement, or an englishing of proust, flaubert or even an americanized borges (soft g). in nabokov’s hands pushkin becomes a hybrid between russian and english (and the nineteenth and twentieth century) that readers have to exert effort in order to understand even vaguely. so what? would it really hurt a reader to have to use their brain even a little? complaints about nabokov’s version do generally come, i think, from a frustration that it cannot be immediately understood or “enjoyed.” lest we forget, one reviewer complained native english readers would have to look up obscure words in the dictionary; the audacities of national & linguistic vanity! rather than national entity, nabokov treats pushkin as the individual writer he was: a specifically russian writer who knew french fluently, a man who invented a great many more brilliant metaphors than bland ones, a writer who was influenced, according to the dictates of his talent, by early and late romanticism, etc.. the problem, really, is the arrogance of english thinking itself the legislators of everybody else & that all that is abroad can simply be absorbed into its remit. has anybody noticed how the writer abroad, once translated into english, is always regarded as transcending nationality and culture but the canonical “english” writers like shakespeare and dickens are just writers of genius located firmly in their nation? there is no such thing as national literature, only world literature.

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itonje · 4 years

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people of color in arthurian legend masterpost

hi! some people said it would be cool if i did this, and this is something i find interesting so. yeah! are you interested in king arthur and the knights of the round table? do you like to read about characters of color, especially in older lit? well, i hope this can be a good resource for people to get into stuff like that, especially poc/ethnic minorities who might feel uncomfortable or lonely getting into older media like arthuriana. this post is friendly to both those who prefer medieval lit and those who prefer modern stuff!

disclaimers: i am not a medievalist nor a race theorist! very much not so. i am just a 17 year old asian creature on the internet who wants to have an easy-to-reference post, if i’m not comprehensive enough please inform me. i’m going to stay closely to the matter of britain, as well, not all medieval european literature as a. this is what i’m more familiar with and b. there’s so much content and information and context to go along with it that it would really be impossible to put it all into one tumblr post. (however there’s always going to be overlap!) also, please do not treat me or any other person of color/ethnic minority as a singular all-knowing authority on anything! we’re all trying to have fun here and being made into an information machine on things, especially what is and isn’t offensive isn’t fun. with that out of the way, let’s get into it! (under cut for length!)

part i: some historical context (tw for racism and antisemitism discussion)

fair warning, i’m going to start off with some discussions of more heavier history before we talk about more fun stuff. while pre colonial racism was far more different than how it is today, there still...was racism. and it’s important to understand the social mien around nonwhite people in europe at the time these works were written.

to understand how marginalized ethnicities were written in medieval european literature, you have to understand the fact that religion, specifically catholicism, was a very important part of medieval european life. already, catholicism has violent tenets (ie, conversion as an inherent part of the church, as well as many antisemitic theologies and beliefs), but this violence worsened when an event known as the crusades happened.

the crusades were a series of religious wars started by the catholic church to ‘reclaim’ the holy land from islamic rule and to aid the byzantine empire. while i won’t go into the full history of the crusades, (some basic info here and here and here) its important to understand that they had strengthened the european view of the ’pagan’ (ie: not european christian) world as an ‘other’, a threat to christiandom that needed to be conquered and converted, for the spiritual benefit of both the convertee and the converter. these ideas of ethnoreligious superiority and conversion would permeate into the literature of the time written by european christians.

even today, the crusades are very much associated with white supremacy and modern islamophobic sentiment, with words such as ‘deus vult’ as a dogwhistle, and worship of and willingness to emulate the violence the crusaders used against the inhabitants of the holy land in tradcath spaces, so this isn’t stuff that’s all dead and in the past. crusader propaganda and the ignorance on the violence of the catholic church and the crusaders on muslim and jewish populations (as well as nonwhite christians ofc) is very harmful. arthuriana itself has a lot of links to white supremacy too-thanks to @/to-many-towered-camelot for this informative post. none of this stuff exists in a bubble.

here’s a book on catholic antisemitism, here’s a book on orientalism, here’s a book about racism in history that touches on the crusades. (to any catholic, i highly reccommend you read the first.)

with that out of the way, we can talk about the various not european groups that typically show up in arthurian literature and some historical background irt to that. the terms ‘moor’ and ‘saracen’ will typically pop up. both terms are exonyms and are very, very broad, eventually used as both a general term for muslims and as a general term for african and (western + central) asian people. they’re very vague, but when you encounter them the typical understanding you’re supposed to take away is ‘(western asian/african) foreigner’ and typically muslim/not christian as well. t

generally, african and asian lands will typically be referred to as pagan or ‘eastern/foreign’ lands, with little regard for understanding the actual religions of that area. they will also typically refer to saracens as pagans although islam is not a pagan religion. this is just a bit of a disclaimer. the term saracen itself is considered to be rather offensive-thank you to @/lesbianlanval for sending me a paper on this subject.

while i typically refer to the content on this post as having to pertain to african and asian people (ie, not european) european jewish arthurian traditions are included on this post too. but, i know more about poc and they’ll feature more prominently in this post because of that, lol.

part ii: so, are there any medieval texts involving characters of color?

i’m glad you asked! of course there are! to be clear, european medieval authors were very much aware that people of color and african + asian nations existed, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. even the vita merlini mentions sri lanka and a set of islands that might (?) be the philippines!! for the sake of brevity though, on this list i’m not going to list every single one of these small and frequent references, so i’m just going to focus on texts that primarily (or notably) feature characters of color.

first of all, it’s important to know was the influence of cultures of color and marginalized ethnicities that helped shape arthurian legend. the cultural exchange between europe and the islamic world during the crusades, as well as the long history of arab presence in southern europe, led to the influence of arabic love poetry and concepts of love on european literature, helping to form what we consider the archetypal romance. there are also arthurian traditions in hebrew, and yiddish too, adding new cultural ideas and introducing new story elements to their literature-all of these are just as crucial to the matter of britain as any other traditions!

when it comes to nonwhite presence in the works themselves, many knights of color in arthurian legend tend to be characters that, after defeated by a knight of arthur’s court join the court themselves. though some are side characters, there are others with their own romances and stories devoted to them! many of them are portrayed as capable + good as, if not better than their counterparts. (this, however, usually only comes through conversion to christianity if the knight is not christian...yeah.) though groups of color as a general monolith created by european christians tended to be orientalized in literature (see: mystical and strange ~eastern~ lands), many individual knights were written to be seen by their medieval audience as positive heroes. i’m going to try to stick to mostly individual character portrayals such as these.

with that all said though, these characters can still be taken as offensive (i would consider most to be) in their writing, so take everything with a grain of salt here. i will also include links to as many english translations of texts as i can, as well as note which ones i think are beginner friendly to those on the fence about medieval literature!

he shows up in too many texts so let’s make this into two bullet notes and start with one of, if not the most ubiquitous knight of color of the round table (at least in medieval lit),-palamedes! palamedes/palomides is a ‘’saracen knight’’ who (typically) hails from babylon or palestine and shows up in a good amount of texts. his first appearance is in the prose tristan, and he plays a major role there as a knight who fights with tristan for the hand of iseult-while he uh. loses, him and tristan later become companions + friends with a rivalry, and palamedes later goes off to hunt the questing beast, a re-occurring trend in his story.

palamedes even got his own romance named after him (which was very popular!) and details the adventures of the fathers of the knights of the round table, pre arthur, as well as later parts of the story detailing the adventures of their sons. it was included in rustichello da pisa’s compilation of arthurian romances, which i unfortunately have not seen floating around online (or...anywhere), so i can’t attest to the quality of it or anything. he appears in le morte darthur as well, slaying the questing beast but only after his conversion to christianity (...yeah.) in the texts in which he appears, palamedes is considered to be one of the top knights of the round table, alongside tristan and lancelot, fully living up to chivalric and courtly ideals and then some. i love him dearly and i’ve read the prose tristan five times just for him. (also the prose tristan in general is good, please give it a try, especially if you’re a romance fan.)

speaking of le morte d’arthur, an egyptian knight named priamus shows up in the lucius v arthur episode on lucius’ side first, later joining arthur’s after some interactions with gawaine. palamedes has brothers here as well-safir and segwarides. safir was relatively popular, and shows up in many medieval texts, mostly alongside his older brother. i wouldn’t recommend reading le morte of all things for the characters of color though-if you really want to see what it’s all about, just skip to the parts they’re mentioned with ctrl + f, haha.

the romance of moriaen is a 12th century dutch romance from the lancelot compilation, named for its main character morien. morien, who is a black moor, is the son of sir aglovale, the brother of perceval. whilst gawaine and lancelot are searching for said perceval, they encounter morien, who is in turn searching for aglovale as he had abandoned morien’s mother way back when. i wholeheartedly recommend this text for people who might feel uncomfy with medieval lit. though the translation i’ve linked can be a bit tricky, the story is short, sweet, and easy to follow, and morien and his relationships (esp with gariet, gawaine’s brother) are all wonderful.

king artus (original hebrew text here) is a northern italian jewish arthurian text written in hebrew- it retells a bit of the typical conception of arthur story, as well as some parts from the death of arthur as well. i really can’t recommend this text enough-it’s quite short, with an easy-to-read english translation, going over episodes that are pretty familiar to any average reader while adding a lot of fun details and it’s VERY interesting to me from a cultural standpoint. i find the way how they adapt the holy grail (one of the most archetypal christian motifs ever) in particular pretty amazing. this is also a very beginner friendly text!

wolfram von eschenbach’s parzival (link to volume 1 and volume 2-this translation rhymes!) is a medieval high german romance from the early 13th century, based off de troyes’ le conte du graal while greatly expanding on the original story. it concerns parzival and his quest for the grail (with a rather unique take on it-he fails at first!), and also takes like one million detours to talk about gawaine as all arthurian lit does. the prominent character of color here is a noble mixed race knight called feirefiz, parzival’s half brother by his father, who after dueling with parzival, and figures out their familial connection, joins him on his grail quest. he eventually converts to christianity (..yeah.) to see the grail and all ends happily for him. however, this text is notable to me as it contains two named women of color-belacane, feirefiz’s black african mother, and secundilla, feirefiz’s indian wife. though unfortunately, both are pretty screwed over by the text and their respective husbands. though parzival is maybe my favorite medieval text i’ve read so far i don’t necessarily know if i’d recommend this one, because it is long, and can be confusing at times. however, i do think that when it comes to the portrayal of people of color, while quite poor by today’s standards, von eschenbach was trying his best?-of course, in reason for. a 13th century medival german christian but he treats them with respect and all these characters are actually characters. if you’re really interested in grail stories (and are aware of the more uncomfortably christian aspects of the grail story), and you like gawaine and perceval, i’d say go for it.

in the turk and sir gawain, an english poem from the early 16th century, gawaine and the titular turkish man play a game of tennis ball. i’m shitting you not. this text is pretty short, funnily absurd, and with most of the hallmarks of a typical quest (various challenges culminating in some castle being freed), so it’s an easier read. it’s unclear to me, but at the end of the story the turkish man turns into sir gromer, a noble knight, who may or may not be white which uh. consider my ‘....yeah’ typical at this point, but i don’t personally read it that way for my own sanity. also he throws the sultan (??) of the isle of man (????) into a cauldron for not being a christian so when it comes to respectful representation of poc this one doesn’t make it, but it does make this list.

the revenge of ragisel, or at least the version i’ve read (the eng translation of the dutch version from the lancelot compilation), die wrake van ragisel, starts off being about the mysterious murder of a knight, but eventually, as most stories do, becomes a varying series of adventures about gawaine and co. one of gawaine’s friends (see: a knight who he combated with for a hot sec and then became friends and allies with, as you do) is a black knight named maurus! he’s not really an mc, but he features prominently and he’s pretty entertaining, as all the characters in this are. i also recommend this highly, i was laughing the whole time reading it! it’s not too long and pretty wild, you’ll have a good romp. this is a good starter text for anyone in general!

i’ve not read the roman van walewein, which, as it says on the tin, is a 12th century dutch romance concerning some deeds of gawaine (if only gawaine was a canon poc, i wouldn’t need to make this list because he’s so popular...). i’m putting it on the list for in this, gawaine goes to the far eastern land of endi (india) and romances a princess named ysabele. i can’t speak to ysabele’s character or the respectfulness of her kingdom or representation, but i know she’s a major character and her story ends pretty well, so that’s encouraging. women of color, especially fleshed out woc, are pretty rare in arthurian lit. i’ve also heard the story itself is pretty wild, and includes a fox, which sounds pretty exciting to me!

now the next two things i’m going to mention aren’t really? texts that feature characters of color or jewish characters, but are rather more notable for being translations of existing texts into certain languages. wigalois is a german 13th century romances featuring the titular character (the son of, you guessed it, gawaine!) and his deeds. the second, jaufre, is the only arthurian romance written in occitan, and is a quite long work about the adventures of the knight jaufre, based on the knight griflet. what’s notable about these two works is that wigalois has a yiddish translation, and jaufre has a tagalog translation. wigalois’ yiddish translation in particular changed the original german text into something more fitting of the arthurian romance format as well as adding elements to make it more appealing for a jewish audience. the tagalog translation of jaufre on the other hand was not medieval, only coming about in 1900, but the philippines has had a long history of romantic tradition and verse writing, so i’m curious to see if it too adds or changes elements when it comes to the arthurian story, but i can’t find a lot on the tagalog version of jaufre unfortunately-i hope i can eventually!

this list of texts is also non-exhaustive! i’m just listing a couple of notoriety, and some to start with.

part iii: papers and academic analysis

so here’s just a dump of various papers i’ve read and collected on topics such as these-this is an inexhaustive and non-comprehensive list! if you have any papers you think are good and would like to be added here, shoot me an ask. i’ll try to include a link when i can, but if it’s unavailable to you just message me. * starred are the ones i really think people, especially white people, should at least try to read.

Swank, Kris. ‘Black in Camelot: Race and Ethnicity in Arthurian Legend’ *

Harrill, Claire. ‘Saracens and racial Otherness in Middle English * Romance’

Keita, Maghan. ‘Saracens and Black Knights’

Hoffman, Donald L. ‘Assimilating Saracens: The Aliens in Malory's ‘Morte Darthur’

Goodrich, Peter H. ‘Saracens and Islamic Alterity in Malory's ‘Le Morte Darthur’

Schultz, Annie. ‘Forbidden Love: The Arabic Influence on the Courtly Love Poetry of Medieval Europe’ *

Hardman, Philipa. ‘Dear Enemies: the Motif of the Converted Saracen and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’

Knowles, Annie. ‘Encounters of the Arabian Kind: Cultural Exchange and Identity the Tristans of Medieval France, England, and Spain’ *

Hermes, Nizar F. ‘King Arthur in the Lands of the Saracens’ *

Ayed, Wajih. ‘Somatic Figurations of the Saracen in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur’

Herde, Christopher M. ‘A new fantasy of crusade: Sarras in the vulgate cycle.’ *

Rovang, Paul R. ‘Hebraizing Arthurian Romance: The Originality of ‘Melech Artus.’’

Rajabzdeh, Shokoofeh. ‘The Depoliticized Saracen and Muslim erasure’ *

Holbrook, Sue Ellen. ‘To the Well: Malory's Sir Palomides on Ideals of Chivalric Reputation, Male Friendship, Romantic Love, Religious Conversion—and Loyalty.’ *

Lumbley, Coral. ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth and Race’ *

Oehme, Annegret. ‘Adapting Arthur. The Transformations and Adaptations of Wirnt von Grafenberg’s Wigalois’ *

Hendrix, Erik. ‘An Unlikely Hero: The Romance of Moriaen and Racial Discursivity in the Middle Ages’ *

Darrup, Cathy C. ‘Gender, Skin Color, and the Power of Place in the Medieval Dutch Romance of Moriaen’ *

Armstrong, Dorsey. ‘Postcolonial Palomides: Malory's Saracen Knight and the Unmaking of Arthurian Community’ (note this is the only one i can’t access in its entirety)

part iv: supplemental material

here’s some other stuff i find useful to getting to know knights of color in arthurian legend, especially if papers/academic stuff/medieval literature is daunting! i’d really recommend you go through all of these if you can’t go through anything else-most are quick reads.

a magazine article on knights of color here, and this article about the yiddish translation of wigalois.

this video about characters of color in arthurian legend!

the performance of the translation of arabic in Libro del Caballero Zifar, and how it pertains to the matter of britain

a post by yours truly about women of color in parzival

this info sheet about palamedes, and this info sheet about ysabele-thanks to @/pendraegon and @/reynier for letting me use these!

this page on palamedes as well

this post with various resources on race and ethnicity in arthuriana-another thank you to @/reynier!

part v: how about modern day stories and adaptations?

there’s a lot of em out there! i’m not as familiar with modern stuff, but i will try to recommend medias i know where characters of color (including racebends!) are prominent. since i haven’t read/watched all (or truly most) of these, i can’t really speak on the quality of the representation though, so that’s your warning.

first of all, when it comes to the victorian arthurian revival, i know that william morris really liked palamedes! (don’t we all.) he features frequently in morris’ arthurian poetry, (in this beautiful book, he primarily features in ‘sir galahad, a christmas mystery’ and ‘king arthur’s tomb’. he has his own poem by morris here.)

and some other poems about palamedes, which i’d all recommend.

for movies, i know a knight in camelot (1998) stars whoopi goldberg as an original character, the green knight (2021) will star dev patel as gawaine.

some shows include camelot high, bbc merlin, disney’s once upon a time, and netflix’s cursed, all featuring both original characters of color and people of color cast as known arthurian figures.

for any music people, in ‘high noon over camelot’, an album by the mechanisms, mordred is played by ashes o’reilley, who in turn is performed by frank voss, and arthur is played by marius von raum who is perfomed by kofi young.

i’ve also heard the pendragon and the squire’s tales have palamedes as a relevant character if you’re looking for novels, as well as legendborn and the forgotten knight: a chinese warrior in king arthur’s court starring original protagonists of color!

part vi: going on from here

so, you’ve read some medieval lit, read some papers, watched some shows, and done all that. what now? well, there’s still so much out there!

if you have fanfiction, analysis, metaposts, fun content etc etc about arthurian poc, feel free to plug your content on this post! i’d be happy to boost it.

in general, if you’re a person of color or a jewish person and you’re into arthurian legend, feel free to promote your blog on this post as well! i would love to know more people active on arthurian tumblr who are nonwhite.

this is really just me asking for extra content, especially content made by poc, but that’s okay! arthurian legend is a living, breathing set of canons and i would love love love to see more fresh diversity within them right alongside the older stuff.

a very gracious thank you to the tumblr users whom i linked posts to on here, and thanks to y’all for saying you want to see this! i hope this post helped people learn some new things!

#finny.txt #arthuriana #arthurian legend #matter of britain #medieval romance #arthurian literature #arthurian mythology #<- :/#but necessary #also ITS DONE ITS DONE ITS FINALLY DONE #PLEASEREBLOG THIS WRHSFSHDFDHSFSDF #2K PLUS WORDS..

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

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I’ve been trying to figure out the best obi wan ship. They all have one slightly problematic thing this way or that. I’ve landed on the idea of obi wan and an equal is pretty top tier. But then I saw a picture of Coran from voltron. Coran and Obiwan might be a disaster but also both are dad shaped, both are bad ass, both are ginger, both have an accent. I think it could work. But another part of me is like Coran is just obi and jarjar mashed together. At the very least they hooked up.

Hey I just had restaurant ramen and Starbucks and actually feel like a human being so let's do something unnecessary but funny. I'm taking this as a challenge, anon.

Also IMO Coran has more in common with C3P0 than with JarJar

So obviously, both of these happen in Big Space, but the difference appears to be density. We see about the same complexity of culture and species interactions, but Voltron covers more galaxies. It's vaguely implied that Earth, at least, is the only planet with sapient life in the Milky Way.

I think the way I want to play this out, culturally, is that the Voltron area of the universe covers a much wider, but much more sparsely populated area, while the SW-verse is just the one very densely populated (in part because apparently humans just went Literally Everywhere) galaxy, where they didn't necessarily bother with developing the tech to go to other galaxies (except Rishi, which only sort of counts) because they haven't really even charted out their own yet. It was never contacted by the Voltron side of things because [checks notecards full of excuses] it's really far away from Altea and all that, and the Force shielded the galaxy from Galra interests because Reasons.

All this to say that the two franchises didn't interact until after the Voltron plotline was already over. We'll say it went mostly canon, except Allura survived because uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuck that.

We'll say that this is mid-TCW, you know, before Obi-Wan is a bundle of repressed traumas and bad coping mechanisms that's lost almost everyone he's ever loved to the dark side through death or corruption. He's still (mostly) okay! Anakin's not dark (or at least, not as dark as he could be; Obi-Wan doesn't know about the Tuskens), and Ahsoka's still in good standing and most people are alive and--and okay the army is a massive ethical violation he hates with his very soul and he misses Qui-Gon and Anakin's keeping secrets and pulling away from him every day but He's Fine, Guys.

He's Fine.

In comes a ship from not Wild Space, but beyond that. Intergalactic visitors, from the direction of the deeply concerning Force bullshit they felt a few years ago. Translation tech is decent enough on both sides that they get to talking pretty quickly. The explorer is actually a member of the Blade of Marmora, who gets the absolute most basic info (approximately this many inhabited planets, approximately this many trillions of sapients in the recorded galaxy, basic structure of the government for the past however many years, most recent conflict, etc.)

BoM person is like "cool, okay so you guys are really well set-up so I'm just gonna head back and kick this up a few rungs of the coalition ladder because this is way above my paygrade, I'll make sure you get some diplomats who can maybe help out with the whole galactic civil war situation as neutral parties."

The Voltron Coalition does send a diplomat! They, uh, also send Coran, who isn't technically a diplomat, but he's high-level.

The thing is, okay, that Coran is mostly just... passably competent at things. He's a jack of all trades, master of none type. He knows a lot of things, actually, but his practical knowledge in high pressure situations tends to be up in the air. He knows how to fix the Castle Ship and various technologies, but all of that info is ten thousand years out of date. He was a competent fighter at one point but these days his back gives out. He's very knowledgeable regarding intergalactic politics but, again, that information is ten thousand years out of date. He's also a little prone to social gaffs in dicey situations (e.g. the inciting incident in the Voltron Show episode where he misses the single day with clear skies), but puts in so much goddamn effort to make things happen.

In this manner, he's like a warped mirror of what Obi-Wan is and could be.

THAT SAID

Coran is actually really good with teenagers, and specifically with training them.

And Obi-Wan... isn't.

Obi-Wan's snarky and snippy and sassy, and he's decent enough at teaching and he's great at being a jokey friend and all, but he's not necessarily very good at emotions. And unfortunately for Obi-Wan, the teenagers he spends the most time with are Really Full Of Emotions. He tries, bless him, but he's just... he doesn't respond well to emotional conversations at the best of times.

His son-figure saying "You're like a father to me" leads to a response of... radio silence. Guys. That's not the mark of a man who knows how to talk about his feelings with the people he cares about.

In swans Coran with the various other diplomatic envoys of the visiting extragalactic community. The entire situation is really leading to a lull in the war because nobody wants to risk pissing off this clearly well-funded, well-powered third party. As a result, many of the High Generals can interact with the envoys, even if they spend quite a bit of time eyeing the Separatist representatives on the other side of the room, because clearly Everyone Needs A Seat At This Table.

It's a very tense situation.

Obviously, Coran is exactly the weird uncle that goes around telling plausibly-exaggerated stories about Weblums and Yalmors and Balmeras. I'm going to say at least one former Paladin is there, maybe Hunk. Hunk's fun, and also very willing to help Coran make friends and seem Amicable instead of Distant by correcting some of the exaggerations. There's a nice, calm atmosphere in a bubble around Coran and his nonsense, and it's a weird situation but arguably just... you know. It's good. He's good at making people feel safe around him.

Cue the hissed argument between Skywalker and Kenobi. The actual cause of said argument isn't important, just the fact that, in a dark corner where they're less likely to cause a PR issue, Anakin and Obi-Wan are having it out. Anakin's maybe twenty, still a lanky ragebaby, all that fun stuff. Obi-Wan is a the endpoint of every too-young brotherdad. He's thirty-six but feels like he's sixty-three. He's tired, but trying so damn hard to still connect with Anakin and just--just--

Obi-Wan gives himself a few minutes to calm down before following Anakin. He doesn't even remember what they were arguing about, really, but he has to mend the bridge before it frays even more than it already has. If Anakin goes to Palpatine for advice again, he's going to... do something. Obi-Wan isn't sure what, but he just has to fix this.

What he finds is... well, Anakin did end up going to vent to a man of an earlier generation who acts like a slightly eccentric older relative, but it's not Palpatine for once.

The goofy, slightly abrasive but mostly charming, brightly-colored representative of the Voltron Coalition is standing in the little balcony that Anakin's made it to, listening as Obi-Wan's recently-knighted padawan vents. The man nods and makes noises at the appropriate times, and then asks questions that are... maybe a little too accurate.

"You said that you view him as a father, that he raised you after you left your mother."

"Well, yeah, but he doesn't think I'm ready, or--"

"No parent ever does."

"...my mom thought I was ready to become a Jedi."

"I can't speak for your mother," the representative says, "but the princess of my people, Allura... I half-raised that girl from the beginning, and after the destruction of Altea, we were all the other had left. I watched her lead battles and bring life to planets, trying to rebuild a universe out of the ashes of what we'd left behind... I saw the evidence with my own eyes, and I still, every time, I worried for her."

"Why?"

"I worried that she'd be hurt, that she wasn't ready, that she'd make a decision she regretted. Often, she did, and I had to help her back up, and while she's always come back, stronger than before... she is the closest thing I have ever had to a daughter, and I will always worry for her. Every parent does. Do you think, perhaps, that your own Jedi Master, that you consider a father, may worry because he looks at you like a son? That it's not that he doesn't trust you, but that he doesn't trust the world around you?"

Obi-Wan feels his heart in his throat.

The conversation continues in that vein. While Obi-Wan can't say he likes the fact that this stranger is putting words in his mouth, if only as hypotheticals, he can't deny that there's a part of him that relaxes as Anakin does, as every frustrated fresh-knight question gets a measured elderly-steward response that's angled to consider the interpretation that favors Anakin and Obi-Wan in equal measure. Every word encourages Anakin to talk things out and lay boundaries and express his frustrations to Obi-Wan in the plainest words possible.

There's a story in there, more than one. The representative tends to go off on tangents, ones that Anakin sometimes finds interesting and sometimes just resigns himself to. Mostly, though, it goes well, and Obi-Wan... well, he's always been 'a nosy little bastard,' according to quite a few people.

(In his defense, the terms they'd used about Quinlan's 'investigative personality' had been quite a bit stronger.)

He eavesdrops to the end, and Anakin doesn't notice at all. Obi-Wan's not sure if he should try to address Anakin's lack of awareness of the world around him. He's not technically Anakin's master anymore. The comment may be taken as a criticism of his worth and capability, rather than a sincere desire to see his padawan not die.

He approaches the representative instead. He intends to introduce himself. Instead, the first words that tumble out of his mouth are:

"How do you do it?"

The man--older than he looks from a distance, more wrinkles than the bright hair would suggest, but not quite elderly yet--turns and lifts a brow. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry, I'm--" Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The young man you were just talking to is my former padawan, er, my former apprentice. I've been finding it harder and harder to speak with him over the past few years, and it seems that every interaction we have leads to an argument. How do you... manage that? I can't get him to listen to me at all."

"Ah, teenagers," the man sighs.

"He's twenty."

The representative pauses, and turns to him. "Are you the one he says raised him? The father?"

"Well... yes, I suppose that's one way to phrase it," Obi-Wan says, eyes darting to the side. He doesn't know how to explain the whole attachment situation to someone who barely knows what a Jedi is. He has even less of an idea of how to explain his own broken ability to speak of emotion, the parts of his mind that Bant clucks over and attributes to his own complicated relationship with Qui-Gon. "I had custody as his primary guardian from ages nine to nineteen and was the primary individual for handling his schooling, health, and general upbringing."

"That sounds to me like a very convoluted way of saying you were his father in all but name."

Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm not exactly old enough to be his father, and I wasn't exactly the person he was supposed to learn from; I was the... back-up option."

"It seems he cares for you very much."

"He didn't have much of a choice," Obi-Wan says, with the kind of helpless smile and awkward shrug he's long gotten used to sharing with people when they ask. "And I assure you he'd have been happier with the man that was meant to teach him."

"I'd say that the 'would have' in this situation is much less important than what is," the representative says. Obi-Wan probably should have paid more attention to his name. "I wasn't in a position to define my relation to Allura or her father in the way that truly suited our situation, by... oh, tradition, social norms, public relations, take your pick. I was a very well-regarded official, of course, but I wasn't royalty, not even nobility, and I certainly wasn't wasn't legally or publicly part of the family. But for all the limitations there, I was still able to find ways to tell her and her family what they meant to me, and they in return. Your apprentice cares for you very much, and I'm sure you care back, but I'd hazard quite the guess that you've no idea how to tell him that."

"I... I shouldn't," Obi-Wan says. "I'm fond of him, of course, but I've no wish to smother him, and to simply say it would be undignified. I imagine he'd laugh in my face."

The representative raises one eyebrow and takes a sip of his drink.

"Master Kenobi," he says carefully. "Might I suggest you go find your young man, tell him you love him, and perhaps give him a hug?"

Obi-Wan's face flares red. It's been years since anyone short of Yoda has spoken to him like that.

"I'm not a child," he sniffs, trying to angle enough away that the blush isn't as noticeable. He's damnably prone to such things. "You're not that much older than me."

The man laughs, and Obi-Wan lifts his glass to his lips in a futile attempt to hid the embarrassment a little more. "Oh, not counting the stasis, I've well reached the age of six hundred and twenty-four, my boy!"

Obi-Wan chokes on his drink.

The man laughs a little more, but thumps him on the back until he's breathing normally again.

"Yes, most of the humans I've told have had quite the reaction!" the representative assures him. "But yes, even with the times adjusted to what any given local year is, I am significantly longer-lived than most species."

"No kidding," Obi-Wan manages. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand and looks over at the representative. He takes in the wrinkles and bright eyes, and says, "Well, I must say you look very well for a near-human of such an age. I can only name one person in that category that has managed better, and I haven't seen her since I was a child."

"I shall take that as the compliment it's intended to be," the representative says, twisting the edge of his mustache and beaming.

The man is... well, goofy, really, and quite a bit older than Obi-Wan had thought, but he's quite the charmer. Obi-Wan faintly compares him to a few different people in the back of his mind, but nothing quite fits. For all that the man is quite the jokester and--going by some things he'd seen from the corner of his eye in the main party--a master of physical comedy, the representative is actually more competent than he looks, and for all his visible age, not bad to look at. He is also, seemingly, an expert in dealing with teenagers and young adults, something Obi-Wan himself is... decidedly not.

He really should go speak with Anakin.

And there's a war to fight.

He doesn't really have much time, even with the recent lull.

He's in no place to be looking at the clean-shaven jaw and wondering what it would feel like under his lips, or to let himself consider whether this man would be the kind to have an hours-long discussion as to the narrative forms common in other galaxies, and whether they have anything paralleled to those in Obi-Wan's own, or if this man would show the same enthusiasm over teas that he'd shown over the hors d'oeuvres inside.

He should... really go find Anakin.

"I suppose it's time to find my padawan," he says, more to fill the air than anything. "Er... thank you, both for speaking with him, and for speaking with me."

"Not a problem at all, Master Kenobi!" the representative says, and Obi-Wan realizes that there's one last thing he may have... forgotten.

"This is terribly embarrassing, but I don't believe I caught your name?" Obi-Wan says.

"Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, at your service!" the man says, with a sweeping bow. "As you can imagine, most simply call me Coran."

"Then I insist you call me Obi-Wan," he says, and before he can stop himself, "Might I bother you with an invitation to a shared tea time? You seem a knowledgeable fellow, and I'd appreciate the chance to... eh, pick your brain, shall we say."

It's not the smoothest come on he's ever put out there, or the most easily interpreted, but... well. Perhaps it's for the best. He's rather often found his tastes going in irresponsible directions, and it'll be much easier to brush this off without diplomatic incident if there's room for Coran to politely ignore the less platonic options.

Obi-Wan hopes he doesn't.

It's very selfish of him, but a dalliance with an older gentleman... well. He does, perhaps, make such irresponsible decisions, even now.

"I do believe I'd enjoy such a thing!" Coran enthuses, grabbing Obi-Wan's hand and shaking it in large, effusive movements.

Oh, this is a terrible idea, Obi-Wan thinks, even as he exchanges comm numbers and says goodbye.

Still.

He likes the idea of having at least a little fun, sedate or less so, while they have some time to themselves.

#Obi Wan Kenobi #Coran Smythe #Coran #coran hieronymus wimbleton smythe #anakin skywalker #Star Wars #Voltron #crossovers #Phoenix Posts #Phoenix Answers Asks #parenting

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the-knights-who-say-book · 3 years

Text

The following is a translation of a document which claims to be authored by the god known as Death.

the world started in the dark, but of course we didn’t call it the dark then, before there was light. we didn’t call it anything, because that would be like having a word for something as basic as being alive—

ah. wait. living.

back up. let me start over.

the world started in the dark, but we didn’t call it the dark then, before there was light. we didn’t call it anything, because that would be like knowing what it’s like to be dead before you’ve died. it’s impossible to envision it not being dark until it isn’t. i mean, it’s impossible to know it’s dark until it isn’t. it’s impossible to know what dark is.

they killed my dark. you know the story. the titans birthed themselves from the primordial soil and with their blades they stabbed my dark a thousand times, and a thousand more. and each pinpricked wound blazed a star, and it has never been dark since. not really.

the titans became kings. the sun, the moon, the ocean, the underworld—the four of them who made it out of the war alive. that’s a secret i’m telling you, dear one. there was a fifth.

he was like the sun, and the moon and the ocean and the underworld — if he had lived, a world with him would be the only normal world. he didn’t, so you can’t imagine him at all. it’s a failure of some kind, isn’t it, that knowing there are things beyond our imagining doesn’t let us imagine them? you share that failure with your gods.

my sisters and i, we killed the fifth one. in defense. they were killing the only world we knew. or anyway, they were creating a new one, which amounted to the same thing.

they’re all dead now. my sisters. or anyway, they don’t have names, which amounts to the same thing.

the titans invented killing, but they weren’t any good at it. me, i paid attention. when i killed the fifth one it took. only... it also gave.

you know this part of the story, when i give birth to the first human. didn’t you ever notice how awkward it is, the way you tell it to each other? the war between the titans and my sisters, then our defeat, and then i birth humans out of nowhere. why? so sudden, so awkward. i’ll tell you why, what’s missing. first i killed the fifth one.

i told you, killing was new. none of us really understood it. in the confusion afterwards, i wasn’t sure i should keep him dead. i tried, well, i experimented... i tried to undo it. i did it backwards. invented the opposite.

and then the first human screamed. came out bawling, loudly. nothing had ever been loud before.

that first scream, it killed the silence the way the titans killed the dark: messily and incompletely and painfully. not the way i killed the fifth one. back then i was the only one who could do it right — or wrong, for that matter. the others, they just did it badly.

that’s when they named me death. of course death existed first, but no one realized it until i invented life.

and ever since then people have been inventing things we didn’t need. but i’ll tell anyone who listens, i did it first.

In the first centuries after the Fieren empire’s near total annihilation of the Archinaeds, scriptei, or “god writings,” became a popular literary genre. These short treatises retold portions of the Archinaed holy books, which had previously had only a minor role in Fieren’s religion, from a god’s point of view, usually focusing on a part of the text in which the writer saw a discrepancy or inaccuracy to be explained. This is consistent with the empire’s scribal tradition of writing extensive accompanying texts to expound on mistakes in old documents, though using a god as a mouthpiece seems to draw on the Archinaed religious ceremonies.

It has been suggested that creating literature in which the gods corrected the holy books was a form of backlash against the now-subject Archinaeds by denigrating their religious texts from the mouths of their very gods. Other scholars argue that with the subjugation of the Archinaeds so complete, the Fierens had little reason to rub salt in the wound. Rather, the scriptei simply grew naturally out of the contact and culture mixing between the empire and the Archinaeds. The intimate familiarity with the Archinaed holy texts exhibited in the scriptei may in fact point to some of them being written by Archinaeds who had partially assimilated to Fieren society.

Among extant scriptei, the Scripta of Death is unique for lacking a preface and appendix, in which the writer of the text would usually explain how they came to be in possession of the god’s writing and then elaborate on their reasoning for believing it to be authentic. These were staples of the scriptei until the genre died out in the fifth century, but there is no evidence of anything missing from this document. It is widely accepted that it never possessed either preface or appendix.

In addition, the Death Scripta’s style is noticeably more casual and less evidential than the rest of the corpus. No passages from the holy books are cited to support the invention of a fifth titan, an unusually drastic departure from the rest of the corpus, which generally prefers to fill in gaps in the holy books with the most believable explanations. For this reason, some scholars have argued that there may have been a now-lost tradition regarding a fifth titan which this text draws upon (see Jordan 2014 for an overview of this scholarship).

#My writing #*rifles through my pockets for loose worldbuilding*#creation myth

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kaialone · 3 years

Text

Kirby Planet Robobot Translation Comparison: Pause Screens (Part 2)

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the pause screen descriptions of all bosses faced exclusively in the extra modes of the game.

While I’m mainly comparing the US English version to the Japanese one, I’ll bring up differences in the EU English version that I find notable, too.

For the comparisons, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

This part will work the same as the last one.

And since a lot of these pause descriptions are somewhat connected to their counterparts of the main story as well, I would recommend reading the previous part first, if you haven’t already.

Also, as a general note, you’ll see that all the stronger versions of the regular bosses have the prefix “Re:” added in the Japanese version.

This was changed to “2.0″ in the English version.

From what I’ve seen, “Re:” in Japanese pop culture is often used as a cool, sometimes futuristic way to refer to a “renewal” of something, so adapting it as “2.0″ makes sense.

Re:ウィスピーボーグ

ウィスピーボーグが新モデルにリニューアル。ねんぴもよくなりはいきガスもへっているので、カンパニーもかんきょうにはいりょしながらしょうエネ開発を進めているもよう。価格も前モデルの半分におさえられている。

Re:Whispy Borg

Whispy Borg has been newly remodeled. The improved fuel efficiency and reduced emission of exhaust gases indicate that perhaps the company too strives to be environmentally friendly, developing new ways to conserve energy. Its price has been cut down to half the previous model, too.

Clanky Woods 2.0

Clanky Woods has been redesigned and upgraded. Better fuel efficiency and fewer emissions demonstrate the company's new environmentally friendly initiative. It costs only half of the previous model!

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The description has been slightly shortened as usual, though there are some potential errors or changes, too.

In the English version, the text mentions “the company’s new environmentally friendly initiative”, whereas the Japanese version doesn’t make it sound like this would be a new thing for them.

It’s possible that this was a mistranslation, but it could also be that they intentionally changed it in English to be a little more obvious about the irony - because the Haltmann Works Company allegedly trying to be environmentally friendly is ridiculous.

Also, in the Japanese version, the original wording makes it more clear that Clanky Woods’ price being reduced is seemingly referring to the cost a potential buyer would have to pay for it, rather than the cost of producing it.

This feels like it might be alluding to how in real life, manufacturers of electric cars or the like will try to cut down their prices to some degree in order to get more people into them, and thus creating more of a demand for them in the future.

The English version could be going for that as well, but it’s a bit less clear.

Re:ホログラフ防衛システムズ

マザーコンピューターによりリニューアルされたこの防衛システムも、他の星にねむっていたせっけい図をもとにして作られたものだが、一部データがかけているため、本来のせい能をはっきできずにいるらしい。

Re:Holographic Defense Systems

Revised by the Mother Computer, this defense system was also created based on blueprints discovered on another planet. But, because part of the data is missing, it is apparently unable to demonstrate its original performance. (1)

Holo Defense API 2.0

Redesigned by the Mother Computer, this defense system is based on a blueprint found on another planet. It's missing a segment of data and is unable to demonstrate its full potential.

Translation Note:

What I translated as “original performance” here could also be translated as “true performance” or the like. I don’t think the specifics make much of a difference here, but thought I would note it, just in case.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, but there is an interesting detail about it.

The Japanese version notes that this defense system was “also” based on blueprints found on another planet.

This directly implies other things have been based on such blueprints, but it doesn’t specify which those are, nor how many blueprints and planets are involved.

From its looks though, we can gather that the Holo Defense API was likely based on Pix from Rock Star, as seen in Kirby 64.

Similarly, we can assume that the Security Force mid-boss was likely based on Metal General from Halcandra, as seen in Return to Dream Land.

And of course, Star Dream is heavily implied to be something similar to Galactic Nova from Milky Way Wishes - and both of them are implied to be so-called clockwork stars, also first mentioned in Return to Dream Land.

But even considering all that, keep in mind that we still can’t say for sure where and when the Haltmann Works Company would have precured any of their respective blueprints, and series director Shinya Kumazaki intentionally left the answer up in the air when asked about it during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon on Miiverse.

Just so we are all on the same page here.

In any case, the English version is still missing the indication that the Holo Defense API isn’t the only one that was based on blueprints found elsewhere.

The EU English version actually goes one step further, rephrasing the line in question to say that the defence system was built “based on the blueprint found on another planet”.

The wording of “the blueprint” would imply there was only ever one, which does not appear to be the case in Japanese.

Re:ホロ・クラッコ

この雲のモンスターのデータは、ぶんせきすればするほど、様ざまなこうげきパターンが見つかる。そのいったんがシステムのリニューアルによりかいほうされ、手強くなっている。

Re:Holo-Kracko

The more data of this cloud monster is analyzed, the more attack patterns are discovered. A portion of them have been unlocked by the system's revision, making it a more formidable adversary.

Holo-Kracko 2.0

They further analyzed the data of the cloud monster and discovered even more vicious attacks. The system redesign has implemented these attacks and made Holo-Kracko even more powerful.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description features some slight alterations.

The Japanese version mentions that a larger variety of attack patterns is being discovered, while the English version says that “more vicious attacks” have been found.

Aside from those being different things to discover, the Japanese version also makes it clear that this analysis is still being done continuously.

The Japanese version also states that the system’s revision has “unlocked” these additional patterns, but the English version states that it has “implemented” the additional attacks.

So, the implications of how the system works are slightly different here.

The US English version also has this description start with “They further analyzed the data of the cloud monster and discovered (...)“, while the EU English version phrases it as “Further analysis of data from the cloud monster has uncovered (...)“.

The latter matches the Japanese version a bit more, with the narrator having a more neutral position regarding the progress.

But, the former isn’t really wrong by comparison either, and the narrator does refer to the company in third person like that occasionally in other places.

Re:ホロ・ローパー��

このモンスターは、スージーがかつて入手したデータを入力し生み出されたのだが、異空間とよばれるエリアにすくうこのモンスターのデータを一体いつ、どこで手に入れたので　あろうか。かのじょのナゾもまた、深まるばかりである。

Re:Holo Lopers

These monsters were created by entering data that Susie had acquired in the past. But, just when and where exactly did she obtain data on those monsters which live in the area called another dimension? There is no end to the mysteries surrounding her, either.

Holo-Doomers 2.0

These monsters were created by Susie entering data she acquired from her travels. Where and when did she encounter the original monsters from another dimension? Who knows?

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, with some slight oddities.

Of course, the term “another dimension” used in the Japanese version here is the same as before, so my notes on the regular Holo-Doomers also apply here.

And just like before, the EU English version changed “another dimension” to “extra dimension”, which I also went over back there.

Also, the Japanese version specifically uses the word “area” to refer to another dimension, which is also the term used for “areas” in Planet Robobot as a game.

I think this could just be to add some flavor to this description, though.

The game seems to use “area” in favor of “level” to give it a more mechanical and business-driven vibe. And so the narration is consistent with that internal logic of the game’s aesthetic.

The final line in the Japanese version says that there is no end to the mysteries about Susie “either”, which I think is simply a follow-up to the final line of the regular Holo-Doomers description.

The English version doesn’t have a connection between the two descriptions like that there.

Re:ホロ・アイスドラゴン

かつて存在した、古代のドラゴンという生命体のデータから生み出されたホログラフだが、もしかしたら今でもまだどこかの島のどうくつのおく深くで、ひそかに生きのびているのかもしれない。

Re:Holo-Ice Dragon

This hologram was created from the data of an ancient organic life form called a dragon, which has existed in the past, but it is also possible that they secretly continue to live on, deep inside a cave on an island somewhere.

Holo-Ice Dragon 2.0

This hologram was created from an ancient dragon. Dragons are no longer seen, but one of them may still be living quietly in a cave on an island somewhere. Who knows?

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, except for a small detail that might be a bit confusing, but I’ll try to explain it.

There is some potential issue here regarding the usage of plural versus singular.

In my translation of the Japanese version, I have the description refer to dragons in a general sense, rather than one individual dragon.

The English version chose to use singular instead, for the most part.

As I mentioned before, there usually is no clear distinction between plural and singular in Japanese, so either way could work here.

That being said, the English version would still be slightly off, because if one chooses to use singular for the translation here, it has to be applied to all of the text.

If I were to apply singular for my own translation, it would become this:

This hologram was created from the data of an ancient organic life form called a dragon, which has existed in the past, but it is also possible that it secretly continues to live on, deep inside a cave on an island somewhere.

Therefore, the English version’s line “Dragons are no longer seen, but one of them (...)” would be inaccurate for that approach.

It should at least be something like “This dragon is no longer seen, but it (...)” instead.

At the end of the day, I don’t think the specifics actually matter much in this case right here, but I still wanted to explain them.

Re:ホロ・ガラーガ

このモンスターがいたという天空の国が存在するらしいが、いまだキカイ化のしんりゃくがとうたつできていないもよう。この星にはまだ、様ざまなみかいのエリアが残されていることがうかがえる。

Re:Holo-Garāga

It appears that the land of the sky where this monster is said to be from really exists, but the mechanization invasion seemingly has yet to reach it. It's clear that there are still many uncivilized areas left on this planet.

Holo-C. Rattler 2.0

It is said that the People of the Sky who enshrined this monster still exist. It seems that the mechanization invasion has not reached them, due to their remote location.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There are some slight alterations in this description.

Like before, “land of the sky” is changed to “People of the Sky”, so my notes on that also apply here.

The Japanese version has the narrator note that the supposed land of the sky apparently does exist, but the English version has the narrator say that the People of the Sky “still” exist.

The latter would imply that from the perspective of our vague narrator, the People of the Sky were known, but also previously thought to possibly not exist anymore.

In contrast, the former implies the land of the sky is only just being discovered.

Next, the Japanese version notes that there are still many “uncivilized areas” on Pop Star, following the prior statement that the land of the sky has yet to be reached by the invasion.

The English version changes this to stating that the People of the Sky have yet to be reached by the invasion “due to their remote location”.

This might have been an intentional change to sound less demeaning, but I can’t say for sure.

Really, this mostly changes the narrator’s attitude about the situation, since the Japanese phrasing still would imply that the company just needs more time to reach Floralia and other locations further away from their operations.

Also just for the reference, the word “areas” is once again the same one they use for the game’s main levels as well, keeping with the game’s aesthetic.

As an aside, the general narrator of these descriptions is not really a character, so slight differences in their limited knowledge and attitude about the world like in the two previous points are not that big of a deal.

But it’s interesting to me that in this description right here for example, the Japanese version of the narrator seems to roughly reflect the knowledge and attitude that the Haltmann Works Company would have.

In other places, the narrator’s knowledge and general perspective does shift to other sides too, I’m guessing to fit the mood that works best for each description.

Also, I mentioned in the last part how it’s strange that the English version didn’t just go for the shorter “Holo-Rattler” as the name, and this choice comes back to haunt them here, cause they had to spell “Holo-Coily Rattler 2.0″ as “Holo-C. Rattler 2.0″ to make it fit.

Re:秘書スージー

おさないころ、マザーコンピューターの起動じっけん時にじこにまきこまれ、ゆくえふめいとなったという。時がたち、何を思い、ふたたびカンパニーにもぐりこんだのであろうか。フルネームは「スザンナファミリアハルトマン」。

Re:Secretary Susie

As a young child, she was supposedly involved in an accident during an experimental start-up of the Mother Computer, and went missing. (1) Whatever she may be thinking, some time later she must have snuck her way into the company once more. Her full name is "Susanna Familia Haltmann".

Susie 2.0

As a child, Sue [sic] was involved in an accident during a Mother Computer experiment and went missing. Why has she joined the company after all this time? Her full name is Susanna Patrya Haltmann.

Translation Note:

What I translated as “experimental start-up” could also be translated as “start-up experiment”, or the like.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

In the Japanese version, Susie’s middle name is “Familia”, which was changed to “Patrya” in the English version.

The Japanese one is probably based on the English word “family” or maybe even “familiar”, alluding to the story going on with her, and keeping with that Western influence they go for with her and the company.

I’m guessing the English version changed it because “Familia” might’ve seemed too on the nose about it?

Going by that, I think “Patrya” might be based on something like “patriarch” and related terms, which would also allude to the story surrounding Susie’s character.

The actual description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be shorter.

In the Japanese version it’s stated that the experiment during which Susie went missing was one about starting the Mother Computer, which ends up omitted in English.

Not hugely important, but interesting if you care about finer specifics of the story.

The Japanese version also mentions that Susie later “snuck her way” into the company, implying some obfuscation of details on her part when she joined.

That detail can already be inferred from the story alone, so not as much of a loss.

The US English version refers to Susie as “Sue” in this description for some reason.

I’m almost positive this was just a typo, since it seems very unlikely they would randomly introduce a second nickname for her only in this one screen.

The EU English version rephrased the first line slightly and fixed that spelling in the process, too.

強化量産メタナイトボーグ

メタナイトボーグのデータをもとにして作られた、セキュリティマシンの量産型。最新ぎじゅつによりかなり強化されている。もしも実用化された場合、カンパニーの戦力はひやくてきにこう上するであろう。

Enhanced Mass-produced Meta Knight Borg

A mass-produced security machine model, built using data from the Meta Knight Borg as a basis. Its strength was enhanced considerably with the latest technology. If it were to be put into practical use, the company's military power would increase dramatically.

Stock Mecha Knight

This mass-production model is based on an upgraded Mecha Knight model. If this model goes into commercial production, the company's military power will dramatically increase.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The ”Enhanced Mass-produced Meta Knight Borg“ had its name changed to “Stock Mecha Knight“, because yeah, there was probably no way to make a more literal translation fit here.

I think going for “Stock” here is pretty clever, boiling down the idea to its bare essentials, and with such little space, too.

The actual description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be slightly shorter.

The English version’s phrasing does make it sound like Stock Mecha Knight was based on Mecha Knight+ in particular, whereas the Japanese version has it be based on the data of the regular Mecha Knight.

Re:クローンデデデ

声もすがたもまるでデデデ大王と同じだが、その心までクローン化することはだんねんした。いくつかのしさくでは、食べ物ばかりもとめたり、とあるこん虫をやたらとおそれたりと、兵士として、不完全であったためである。

Re:Clone Dedede

Its voice and appearance are just like King Dedede, but they have given up on cloning his heart, too. This is because there were several prototypes only interested in food, or exceedingly afraid of a certain insect, as well as other aspects that made them imperfect soldiers.

Dedede Clone 2.0

It has the look and voice of King Dedede, but not his soul. Some things can't be cloned. Some of the trial models were only interested in food, some were fearful of a certain insect, and all were imperfect.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There is a pretty significant alteration or possible error in this description.

In the Japanese version, it’s stated that the company has given up on cloning Dedede’s “heart” because several prototypes ended up being imperfect soldiers.

What this means is that cloning his “heart” is actually possible for them to some extent, but since that causes the clones to take on parts of Dedede’s personality, it made them worse as soldiers.

So, they have given up on cloning the heart specifically because the clones having one has proven to be a detriment for their purposes.

In the English version, it’s instead stated that the company is unable to clone Dedede’s “soul”, because “some things can’t be cloned”.

In turn, the issues with the trial models are also implied to be unrelated general cloning issues.

So, while the Japanese version somewhat eerily states that cloning a heart is possible, but the company is now making the clones heartless on purpose, the English version seems like almost the complete opposite and states that cloning a soul is just not possible.

This could have been a translation error, but it could also be that the English localizers wanted to avoid crossing a certain line here and thus changed it intentionally.

Continuing from the previous point though, you may have noticed that the Japanese version uses “heart” while the English version uses “soul”.

The actual Japanese word used here is 心/kokoro, which is most commonly translated as “heart”, but it can also be translated as “soul” like the English version did - and also as “mind”, or even “feelings”, as well as other things like that depending on the context.

Because of that, it can have different connotations than just the English word “soul” on its own.

I think “heart” is a broad enough term that it works well here, and the Kirby series has a frequent heart motif as well, so I went with that, personally.

The term will also be brought up again in future descriptions down the line, so keep it in mind for later.

Re:クローンデデデ&D3砲

この立体砲台はとてつもなく高がくで、ウィスピーウッズやメタナイトのサイボーグ化のなんと4倍。あのギガヴォルトより 50億ハルトマニーも高い。それでも、ハルトマンの乗る、純金の「プレジデンバー」の 4分の1ほどではある。

Re:Clone Dedede & D3 Cannon

This three-dimensional artillery is extremely expensive, costing no less than four times more than the cybernetic conversions of Whispy Woods and Meta Knight. It even surpasses the Gigavolt by 5 billion Haltmoney. However, that is still only about a quarter of what the "Presidenver" that Haltmann rides is worth, which is made of pure gold.

Dedede Cl. & D3 2.0

This tridimensional cannon is extremely expensive, costing a whopping four times more than Mecha Knight. However, it's still much cheaper than Haltmann's Executive Suit, which is made of pure gold.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly accurate, just rewritten to be shorter.

The English version simplifies the different cost comparisons in this description a lot, which is mostly expendable information, so that’s understandable.

Still, since the Japanese version has the room for it, it’s fun to see it continue with the trend of comedically focusing how much everything costs compared to one another, going with the themes of the game.

Also, Haltmann’s own mech is revealed to be called “Presidenver” in Japanese, which was changed to “Executive Suit” in English.

Either one goes along with the name of Susie’s mech, but since its name was omitted in the English version, this fact doesn’t come across there.

“Presidenver” is pretty self-explanatory, just adding “president” to “Rereinver”.

“Executive Suit” might be a play on “executive suite”, which is pretty amusing to me.

Re:プレジデント・ハルトマン

フルネームは「ゲインズインカムハルトマン」。かつてひとり娘をじこでなくし、それいらい人の心もきおくさえもすて、カンパニーの成長のためだけに生きる男。だがそれも、娘にふたたび会いたいただそのねがいをかなえるためであったのだが…。

Re:President Haltmann

His full name is "Gains Income Haltmann". He once lost his only daughter in an accident, and ever since then, the man has been casting aside his heart and even his memories, living only for the sake of his company's growth. But even that too was only for the sake of granting his wish - to see his daughter once more...

Pres. Haltmann 2.0

His full name is Max Profitt Haltmann. Ever since losing his only child, he's dedicated his life to his company. However, his only wish is to see his daughter once again.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

In Japanese, Haltmann’s given and middle names are “Gains Income”, which was changed to “Max Profitt” in the English version.

“Gains Income” is obviously taken directly from “gains income”. Aside from probably referring to the fact that he’s about earning money, this also is another English-sounding name to go with the company’s aesthetic.

“Max Profitt” is a similar play on earning money, but done in a way that works better as a pun-based name for English-speaking audiences.

The actual description has one fairly notable omission in particular.

In the Japanese version, it’s specifically stated that Haltmann has been “casting aside his heart and even his memories“, which is not mentioned in English.

The fact that Haltmann doesn’t have all his memories anymore is crucial to understanding the story at this point, so leaving this out caused a lot of confusion for English-speaking fans around the time of the game’s release.

It would eventually be brought up again during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon, so fans did get to learn about this, but it was still an inconvenience.

Not to mention that Miiverse has since been shut down.

The detail about Haltmann’s “heart” is interesting as well, since it gives additional insight into how Haltmann has presumably grown more callous over the years as well, rather than starting out the way we see him in the present day.

For the reference, the English Miiverse post adapted this as “compassion”, which works perfectly fine in this context, too.

The US English version doesn’t mention that Haltmann specifically lost his only child in an accident, but the EU English version actually included that part, too.

So I’m not really sure why the US English version omitted the “accident” detail.

クローン剣士ダークマター

星の夢に入力されているデータの中でもかなりの強さをほこる黒き剣の使い手。クローン化にせいこうしたものの、かいせきはデータの一部にすぎず、その正体についていまだ、全ようかいめいにはいたっていない。

Clone Swordfighter Dark Matter

Among the data that has been entered into Star Dream, this dark sword user boasts especially tremendous strength. Although it was cloned successfully, only part of its data has been analyzed, and its true nature has yet to be confirmed with certainty as of right now. (1)

Dark Matter Clone

Creating this dark swordsman pushed Star Dream to the limits of its abilities. The cloning process was a success, but only a partial data analysis was possible, and its true form has not yet emerged.

Translation Note:

The word I translated as “true nature” could also be translated as “true identity”, or other things along those lines. Either could potentially work in this context.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

“Clone Swordfighter Dark Matter” is shortened to “Dark Matter Clone”, most likely for space.

The US English version of the True Arena labels this boss as “Dark Matter Blade”, so I wonder if they originally intended to reflect the “swordfighter” part in the name as well, but partially dropped it.

The actual description has a few potential errors or changes.

In the Japanese version, it’s stated that Dark Matter Blade is one of the strongest included within Star Dream’s data.

The English version instead states that cloning him pushed Star Dream “to the limits of its abilities”.

This could have been a translation error, but it could also have been an intentional rewrite.

As mentioned in the translation note, I can’t say for sure if the Japanese version is supposed to refer to Dark Matter Blade’s “true nature” or “true identity” not having been confirmed yet.

The relevant line could either be referring to Dark Matter Blade’s true form, which the clone does take on during the battle, but it could also be referring to the other general mysteries about Dark Matter and its background.

Either way could work in this context, so I went with “true nature” in my translation, because you can read either interpretation into it.

The English version specifically goes for “true form” here, but also changes “has yet to be confirmed” to “has not yet emerged”.

So the implications are slightly different there.

クローンセクトニア

この星のしんりゃく時に見つけた巨大な植物の花からデータをさいしゅ。不思議なことに、こん虫の女王の剣士のクローンが生まれた。データには 1000年にもおよぶ様ざまな生物のデータがふくまれており、ナゾがたえない。

Clone Sectonia

Data was collected from the flower of a giant plant that was discovered during the invasion of this planet. Curiously, it produced the clone of an insect queen swordswoman. The data includes that of various organisms, spanning a period of over 1000 years. The mysteries continue.

Sectonia Clone

Data was collected from traces of a giant flower the invaders stumbled upon. Cloning it produced the insect queen. Its data contains elements of creatures spanning a period of 1,000 years.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be a bit shorter.

The switch from “Clone Sectonia” to “Sectonia Clone” is probably just to sound a bit more natural in English.

ギャラクティックナイトリターンズ

その力ゆえおそれられてきた、全てをほろぼしかねない古の剣士。クローンではなく、未知なる異空間ロードから時空をこえよびさまされた。様ざまな時代でふういんされてきたきろくが残るが、しょうめつさせることはできていない。

Galactic Knight Returns

An ancient swordfighter, capable of destroying everything, who has come to be feared due to his power. He is not a clone - he has been awoken across time and space, from the unknown Another Dimension Road. There are records left behind of him having been sealed away in various eras, but he has yet to be destroyed completely.

Galacta Knight Returns

This ancient swordsman is feared for his immense power. He is not a clone. He was awakened and brought here via an extra-dimensional road beyond the space-time continuum.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

“Galactic Knight Returns” is renamed to “Galacta Knight Returns” in English.

This matches how this character has always been called in the English versions of Kirby games, of course.

The actual description is mostly accurate, just shorter, but the final sentence has been omitted entirely.

In the Japanese version, the final sentence provides some neat insight into Galacta Knight’s background, particularly the impact he has apparently had on people across history.

It’s a shame this is missing in the English version, but they most certainly couldn’t make it fit.

The “Another Dimension Road” is mentioned here again, which I already went over when I covered Meta Knightmare Returns, so all my notes there also apply here.

The English version again adapts it as “extra-dimensional road“, staying consistent with what they used in the cutscene.

星の夢.Soul OS (First Phase)

未知ノダメージにヨリ、最終プログラムがアンロック。アノ生命体ヲハイジョデキるカクリツは、99.99% トナル。タダハルトマンとイウ生命体の「ココロ」というモノが不要なソンザイとナルモヨウ。コレヨリ、ハルトマンのメモリーの消去ヲカイシスル。

Star Dream.Soul OS (First Phase)

Unknown DAMAGE HAS CAUSED the final program TO be UNLOCKED. PROBABILITY OF ELIMINATING THAT organic life form is NOW AT 99.99%. ONLY THE OBJECT called the "HEART" of the organic life form CALLED HALTMANN WILL LIKELY PROVE TO BE innecessary. NOW INITIATING erasure of THE MEMORY OF HALTMANN. (1)

Star Dream Soul OS (First Phase)

The final program has been activated. Its calculated victory probability is 99.9%. However, a small part of Haltmann's soul is yet to be purged, which could throw a wrench in its plans.

Translation Note:

The literal term used in Japanese here is メモリー /memorī, which is a transliteration of the English word “memory”. This is normally used to refer to computer memory, rather than a person’s memories. Though the double-meaning might be intentional in this context.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There are some notable details in this description.

First of all, the Japanese version is once again written from the perspective of Star Dream, as seen by its unmistakable speaking style.

However, unlike in the main story, Star Dream does not refer to itself in first-person here at any point.

Since the Soul OS battle seems to roughly follow after the events of Meta Knightmare Returns, this might reflect how Star Dream presumably never gained its own sense of self in that scenario, but that’s just a guess on my part.

Either way, in the English version this description does not seem to be written directly from Star Dream’s perspective.

If this is the case, it might have been an oversight, but I can’t say for sure.

I do think this is a shame, because it’s a nice callback to its final pause screen from the main story, and also may become more impactful once you see the remaining pause screens from this current boss battle.

A smaller detail, but the Japanese version specifies that the final program was unlocked by “Unknown DAMAGE”, which may refer to the cut done by Galacta Knight - as it can still be seen on Star Dream here.

This gives this boss battle a stronger connection to the events of Meta Knightmare Returns, even if the continuity of these extra mode stories is rather vague, of course.

This next detail will take a bit longer to go over, so bear with me.

In the English version, it’s stated that Star Dream has yet to purge “a small part” of Haltmann’s “soul”, and that this could be detrimental for it.

But in the Japanese version, Star Dream instead comes to the conclusion that Haltmann’s “HEART” will be innecessary. It also proceeds with the erasure of the “MEMORY” of Haltmann, which the English version does not yet bring up.

This results in some different potential implications here.

In the English version, the usage of “soul” would suggest that this must be Haltmann’s actual soul or spirit, but it’s not quite the same in Japanese.

While these extra stories only have vague continuity, keep in mind that as far as we know, Haltmann was never actually taken over directly by Star Dream in this scenario.

If this was meant to refer to Haltmann’s spirit, they could’ve easily used the same word for spirit they used during the final battle of the main story.

But instead, they use the same term “heart” that has already come up before in the descriptions for Dedede Clone 2.0 and Haltmann 2.0, which this current description also seems to follow up on.

Just like in the Dedede Clone 2.0 description, a heart is deemed as a flaw by Star Dream here. And we know from the Haltmann 2.0 description that Haltmann has been casting aside his own heart too, in a way.

This goes into speculation territory, but one could assume based on this that the “heart” of Haltmann which Star Dream currently possesses is the same heart that Haltmann has cast aside, either literally or figuratively.

Again, remember how the Dedede Clone 2.0 description confirmed that a heart is something that can artificially be reproduced in some form, so it wouldn’t have to literally be the same.

In any case, Star Dream’s method to rid itself of this “heart” is to start erasing the “MEMORY” of Haltmann.

This could mean that at the very least, the memories that Haltmann has lost over the years are stored or documented within Star Dream in some form.

Though not from the pause screen, further evidence of this is the fact that the objects summoned by Star Dream during its respective third phase are officially called “MEMORIES”.

And while they are all parts of Galactic Nova, they also all relate to specific details about Haltmann that were revealed in a Nintendo Dream interview (June 2016 issue.)

The Soul OS version of the attack also adds piano keys, a possible reference to Susie’s own profile mentioning that she plays the piano.

That last point was rather long, so to summarize it briefly:

While the English version suggests that Star Dream here contains Haltmann’s soul or spirit, much like in the main story, the situation appears to be a bit different in Japanese, given how the term “heart” can be used - and how it has been used in the game so far.

星の夢.Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

だれが何のために作ったのかさえ分からない。そんなモノをなぜわたしは起動させてしまったのだろうか。そうだ、かなえたい夢があったはずだ… あぁだが、マシンが夢などかなえてはくれないというのは、もう分かっていたことだというのに…

Star Dream.Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

I don't even know who made it or for what purpose. Why would I activate something like that? That's right, I think I had a dream I wanted to be fulfilled... Ahh, but I already knew that a machine could never make dreams come true, and yet I...

Star Dream Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

"Why did I reactivate such a terrible machine? Oh, I remember -- I wanted to see her just one last time. How foolish! I should have known that no machine could make such a dream come true."

Comparisons & Thoughts:

Just like the previous one, there are several notable details about this description.

Now, in both versions, this pause screen appears to be from Haltmann’s perspective, though the English version actually added quotation marks to it.

This could have been to make it more clear that this is from a specific person’s perspective, but the same was never done with Star Dream’s narration.

There could be another reason for this, which I’ll go over next.

Here’s a subtle detail you might not have caught.

While this is most likely Haltmann narrating here, the Japanese version has him refer to himself with the first person pronoun わたし/watashi.

In the actual story, he only ever used ワシ/washi to refer to himself.

But here’s the thing: in fiction, having a character refer to themselves as ワシ/washi is generally used to indicate that the character is old, and just by comparison, わたし/watashi sounds younger.

This could imply that this quote might in fact be from a time where Haltmann was at least somewhat younger than he is now.

In other words, a memory from the past, rather than a current thought in the present.

Being shown a memory of Haltmann at this point would also fit with Star Dream’s narration from the previous pause screen.

Because of that, I think the English version could be using the quotation marks to indicate this temporal distance, since they can’t really show it in the same way the Japanese version does.

But I can’t say for sure if that was the intent.

The Japanese version has Haltmann mention that he did not know who made the machine he’s talking about here, which is most likely Star Dream.

Interesting backstory tidbit there, if you’re curious about these.

Also in the Japanese version, Haltmann believes that a machine can’t actually make dreams come true in general. Though, we can’t know if he is correct about that.

In the English version, Haltmann only comes to the conclusion that no machine could make his specific dream come true.

On that note, Haltmann is never shown to recall what his dream was in the first place in Japanese, he only says that he must have had one.

In the English version, he explicitly remembers wanting to see “her” again being his dream.

It seems like almost a given that Haltmann’s dream here is referring to his wish of being reunited with his daughter, so it makes sense that the English version would change the text to make it obvious.

There is a non-zero chance that Haltmann actually had another dream, but that’s a whole different topic.

星の夢.Soul OS (Final Phase)

このコアからもハルトマンのメモリーは、消えた。最後に想うあの心も、消えた。その瞬間より星の夢は完全な存在からただのこわれたマシンとなる。夢も見ない、ゴハンも食べない、そんなあいてはもはや、星のカービィのてきではなかった!

Star Dream.Soul OS (Final Phase)

Haltmann's memory has disappeared from this core, too. And in the end, that feeling heart disappeared as well. That very moment, Star Dream turns from a perfect being into a mere broken machine. It doesn't have dreams, it doesn't even eat lunch - an opponent like that no longer stands any chance against Kirby of the Stars!

Star Dream Soul OS (Final Phase)

All of Haltmann's memories have been deleted from the OS. Even his soul-- the last trace of Haltmann--has vanished. Star Dream has gone from a near- perfect being to a cold, mindless machine.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This is the final description, so of course there is a lot to say again.

A minor detail, but in the Japanese version it’s said that the memory of Haltmann has now disappeared from “this core”, which is pretty straightforward, all things considered.

For some reason, the US English version instead says that Haltmann’s memories have been deleted “from the OS”, and the EU English version says they have been deleted “from the Mother Computer”.

This is also the first time the memories are brought up in English at all, so their relevance is a lot less clear.

And another minor detail related to this one.

I believe the specific phrasing of “disappeared from this core, too” in Japanese is meant to refer to the fact that Haltmann’s memories had already been lost by the man himself.

At least, that makes the most sense to me.

Once again, the English version uses “soul” where the Japanese version used “heart”.

The distinction between the two becomes especially important here, because while the English version says it’s the “soul” of Haltmann, the Japanese text is more vague about it.

Of course, the first Japanese pause screen of this battle did refer to it as the “heart” of Haltmann, but at the same time, remember that this would have basically been Star Dream’s own heart as well.

This also seems to be the implication going by the lines that follow afterwards.

Interestingly, the Japanese version describes Star Dream as having been a “perfect being”, whereas the English version just goes for “near-perfect being”.

This is very similar to how they changed Kirby’s energy from being described as “infinite” to “nearly infinite” in the main story.

I suppose they just don’t want to deal in absolutes with these.

The English version also goes on to describe Star Dream as now being a “cold, mindless machine”, instead of just a “broken machine” like in Japanese, which has different implications.

Star Dream being actually broken and not functioning as it should is another point that Kumazaki reiterated during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon, so that’s another plot detail the English version technically omits here.

The English phrasing also leans more into the idea of Star Dream being a scary opponent, while the Japanese phrasing leans more into the idea of Star Dream being something pitiful - a similar sentiment to the descriptions of the main story’s final battle.

Adding to the point above, the English version also omits the final part of this last description.

The phrase “It doesn’t have dreams, it doesn’t even eat lunch“ references a recurring concept first introduced in the manual of Kirby’s Adventure - the fact that the people of Dream Land, and Kirby especially, love to take naps after lunch to have fun dreams.

This was referenced in the Japanese version of Kirby Super Star as well, where the pause screen description during the Starship segment of Milky Way Wishes features the line:

マルクのやぼうをさっさとくいとめ、ゴハンたべてねよう。

Let's stop Marx real quick, then have lunch and a nap.

That’s another Milky Way Wishes connection only in the Japanese version, but said line also wasn’t featured in the English version of Kirby Super Star in the first place.

And since the “Kirby of the Stars” title is also not really used in the English localizations of the Kirby series, it would have been hard to make this final bit of the pause description work, even if space weren’t an issue.

I think the Japanese version is stronger for having it, but there probably wasn’t much the English version could have done about this.

With all of the point-by-point comparisons out of the way here, I want to take a moment to go into some general thoughts on this battle as a whole and what each version implies about it.

Naturally this will have a bit more speculation on my part too, so keep that in mind.

If you only look at the English version, the implication you get is that during the Star Dream Soul OS battle, Star Dream is fused with Haltmann’s actual soul, in a similar manner to the events of the main story. (Even though those events may not have happened in the extra scenarios.)

It must be Haltmann’s own soul, because the English Dedede Clone 2.0 description states that a soul cannot be cloned.

Star Dream then proceeds to delete Haltmann’s last memories as well as his soul, because Haltmann’s soul had a chance of stopping its plan. (Even though it had no apparent issues about fusing with his spirit in the main story.)

Therefore, during this battle Haltmann is essentially killed “deader than dead” by Star Dream, for the lack of a better wording - his very soul eradicated for good.

The middle pause screen during the battle may be thought of as Haltmann’s final thoughts before ultimate oblivion in this interpretation.

I don’t think this is just what I myself take away from the English version, because this is the most common interpretation I have seen from English-speaking fans over the years.

It can come across as a tragedy in which Haltmann is finally destroyed for good by a terrible machine he could never truly control.

Now, onto the Japanese version.

The exact details leave more room for speculation, because of how vague the term 心/kokoro or “heart” can be.

But the way I understand it is that Star Dream has been storing the memories that Haltmann has been losing over the years.

In addition to that, it would likely have data on Haltmann’s current memories and thoughts as well, as seen in the main story.

From this, it gained the “heart” of Haltmann, or at least a partial reproduction of it, allowing it to feel and think in a way similar to Haltmann. Just like the early Dedede clones with cloned hearts acting similar to King Dedede in various ways.

However, Star Dream never fuses with Haltmann’s spirit in the extra scenarios.

Because of that, it never gains its own sense of self, and fails to understand the purpose of a heart, deeming it a potential flaw to be purged, just as it did with the updated Dedede clones.

Thus, it deletes the memories of Haltmann, which brought about the heart in the first place, and thus loses said heart again, becoming a lifeless object once more - no longer able to think and feel anything.

And there is another subtle detail in the Japanese version related to that, too.

During this battle, the first description is narrated by Star Dream, the second seems to show a memory of Haltmann, and the final one goes back to the general narrator.

This could possibly represent the transition of Star Dream starting out with that heart, sifting through the memories to delete them, and finally having become just a machine again, so it no longer has any thoughts that could serve as the narration.

This potentially paints the Soul OS battle specifically more as a tragedy of Star Dream itself. A machine that achieved the miracle of being alive with a heart, but proceeded to undo said miracle all on its own, without even realizing what it was really doing.

Also, Kumazaki only specified this on Miiverse, but Haltmann losing his memories from overusing Star Dream was also because it was broken.

So this was never something that was supposed to really happen in this way, had it functioned properly.

Overall, Star Dream can feel like more of a tragic figure in the Japanese version, and more of a villainous figure in the English one.

Several small differences between the versions across the game reflect this, with moments painting Start Dream as pitiful or even pathetic being altered or omitted.

However, this is a very general summary of it, the Japanese version still has Star Dream being the main antagonist, and the English version has plenty of moments where the tragic aspects to Star Dream are still apparent.

Final Thoughts on the Pause Screens:

First, let me say, I am very impressed by the English localization of these pause screens.

Really, look up these screens for yourself some time, they pushed these to their limits. Almost every single one of them is crammed full with as much text as they could possibly fit in.

Yes, they still had to cut a lot out here and there, but clearly not from lack of trying.

Of course, the fact of the matter still ends up being that the Japanese version simply has more good stuff in it.

A lot of stuff is “expendable”, but losing fun fluff all the time adds up, I feel.

The extra modes pause screens especially also feature a few major errors or alterations, as well as omissions that do end up being detrimental to the story in some form.

The biggest one I feel is the fact that Haltmann’s memory loss is not brought up at all, because that one detail is the puzzle piece that makes everything fall into place and let’s the player finally understand what is going on with the emotional core of the story.

So much of the details regarding Star Dream are up to interpretation, so I’m perfectly willing to let the broader details be, but the Japanese version still does a better job of dropping small details earlier on that become relevant for it at the end.

And it’s not just Star Dream, the Japanese version overall has more of these smaller connections and continuity across the pause screens, and connections to the actual story contents as well. So they feel more like smaller pieces in a carefully crafted whole, where everything is interconnected and enriches the story.

Again, the English version probably couldn’t have done much different here, due to the difficult conditions translators and localizers usually have to work with - lack of context, lack of time, limited space, etc.

I guess what I am getting at is that I do prefer the Japanese version, and would recommend fans to check it out (though if you are reading this, I suppose you already have), but don’t assume this means I have a disdain for English version.

It’s very well done, considering the circumstances.

And with that, my coverage of the game’s pause screen descriptions come to a close as well.

Feel free to check out the previous parts of my Kirby: Planet Robobot translation comparisons if you haven’t already, and thank you very much for reading!

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