#this can be read in both japanese and english. huh. meaning slightly changes though.

[5-pp-man]

ichiya to matakara

[sandwichrin]

A Little into You (Junkyu x Reader) (Ch. 9)

Chapter 9 - A step further.

Word count: 3k words

Genre: Fanfiction, PG13, Comedy, Romance.

A/N: Hi! Here’s Chapter 9! Thank you so much for waiting, and I really hope you all love this one 😀🧡

Now, it had been three weeks since you last met any of the Treasure members since you all had that lunch at the Japanese Restaurant. What’s that? Did you read that right?

Yes, it’s been three weeks.

And by now, the group chat that you and the 5 members have, had already expanded after Yedam added in the rest of the group in there.

This was your first time being in a group chat with these many people. Aside from your office’s group chat of course.

So one day whilst at work, you received a text from the Treasure group you were in.

 Chatroom:

Junkyu: Yeorobun~ Jihoon is asking if you all want to get some IKEA meatballs after today’s schedule!

Hyunsuk: Oh? But we’re finishing quite late today. Are you sure they’re still open late at night?

Junkyu: Oh. Right. @Jihoon Hey! Why did you recommend IKEA?? You know they don’t open after 11pm!

Jihoon: 😂😂😂 I knew they don’t.

Junkyu: ???? Then? Why’d you tell me to ask the group about it??

Jeongwoo: 😂😂 Junkyu-hyung…

Jihoon: I just like messing with you. Besides, you chatted the group with y/n in it so…. 😏

Y/n: ….are you guys okay….

 You smiled to yourself reading the chat again. It was silly, yet, amusing. You sort of missed talking to your new friends to be honest.

“Y/n, Mr Bae is looking for you,” your colleague, Soomin said, making you stop looking at your phone.

“Oh? Oh, right. I’ll go to him now,” You said as you got up from your seat.

Soomin nodded and went back to her desk not far from yours.

                                                               *

 Jihoon was grabbing himself a cup of water from the practice room’s water dispenser when he heard his best friend yell from behind him.

“YAH! PARK JIHOON! What’d you do that for???” Junkyu huffed, as he entered the door of the room.

Jihoon chuckled and drank his water before setting the cup down and facing his best friend.

“What? I didn’t do much?”

“Yahhhh, that was so embarrassing!” Junkyu exclaimed, as he ruffles his hair.

“Hm? What? Hey, I only asked you to ask the rest about IKEA and you were the one who chatted the wrong group,” Jihoon stated matter-of-factly.

“We need to change the group’s name! Y/n must think I’m dumb now,” Junkyu said, pouting.

“Sure, sure, we can change it later. We can write it as Treasure x Y/n. How’s that? Sounds like a collaboration, right?” Jihoon snickered as he pulls out his phone from his pocket.

“Whatever, as long as I don’t have to embarrass myself anymore,”

“Hmm?” Jihoon hummed. “Since when do you care about what y/n thinks of you, huh?”

“I-I don’t! I just don’t want to appear dumb, that’s all,” Junkyu stuttered slightly.

Jihoon grinned at him, “Sure, Junkyu.”

“Hey!” Hyunsuk’s voice appeared as he entered the practice room.

Both Jihoon and Junkyu turned to see who it was.

“You guys are early today. Your vocal training ended early?” Hyunsuk asked as he headed towards where Jihoon was, grabbing himself a cup of water from the water dispenser as well.

Both Jihoon and Junkyu nodded at his question.

Hyunsuk gulped down his drink, disposed the cup and walked to the middle of the room. There, he sat down and gestured the rest to sit with him.

“What are you both doing standing there? Come, sit! You should get proper leg rest before we start dancing later on,”

Junkyu and Jihoon went towards him and sat with him.

“So…what do you guys want for dinner tonight? Minus the IKEA idea of course,” Hyunsuk said.

Jihoon giggled when he saw Junkyu tense up from the word IKEA.

“No, noo! I didn’t mean it that way Junkyu,” Hyunsuk said, laughing a little. “Really though, where do you all want to order from for dinner?”

“I’m fine with whatever you guys are having,” Jihoon said.

“You guys want to gather in one dorm and just eat altogether there?” Hyunsuk asked, now scrolling his phone, searching for a suitable food menu for dinner.

“Sure, sounds okay with me,” Junkyu said. He tugged on the string of his pink treasure hoodie, realising that the strings were uneven.

“Ahh,” Jihoon stretched his arms out before laying down on the floor. “Hmm. Hey, Junkyu, do you want to invite y/n as well?”

Junkyu choked on his own saliva hearing Jihoon mention your name again. “Wh-what??”

Jihoon and Hyunsuk started laughing out loud.

“Hey, Jihoon, stop teasing Junkyu like that. He’ll hit us both later if you keep doing that to him,”

“Yeah! Why are you always mentioning her name here, huh? If you want to invite her so bad, why don’t you do it, huh?” Junkyu huffed as well.

Jihoon got up and sat back up properly. “Hey, don’t say that. I just might really invite her, you know,” he smirked at his two friends there.

“But y/n doesn’t know where we live? And I don’t think the rest are ready to reveal where we live to her too. I mean, we’ve only known her for what, a month or two?” Hyunsuk wondered aloud.

Jihoon shook his head. “Who says it has to be at our dorms?”

“Oh? Then, where?” Junkyu asked, extreme confusion portrayed on his face.

Jihoon smiled, showing his eye smile at his friends. “I’ll take care of it. Just find us some good food for takeout tonight,”

                                                                *

 “I don’t think that’s necessary Mr Bae,” you said, shaking your head from the idea he mentioned before you.

“Oh come on, y/n! You’ve been working here for over a year! It’s only reasonable you get promoted to do something else,” he said.

You kept quiet. Truthfully, you didn’t think you deserved any promotion at all. A raise in your salary? Maybe yes to that, but a new post?

Your eyes were kept lowered, as you stare at your thighs as you stay seated opposite Mr Bae’s desk.

Mr Bae is the president of the company, and yes, he is your teacher’s son. This was the man who gladly took you in to work with him when his mother was worried what would become of you when you missed your college entrance exam.

“Y/n,”

Your eyes lifted to look at him. “Yes”

“My mother would have wanted this for you too, you know.”

“I…I don’t know, Mr Bae,”

“What’s stopping you? Tell me,”

You shifted uncomfortably in the big chair you’re sitting in. You picked your fingers as you began thinking whether you should voice your concerns to your boss.

“Y/n?”

You inhaled deeply before letting out a deep sigh.

“Alright, fine. You caught me. I am worried. I feel like I don’t deserve this because first, I am the youngest person here, and to be promoted into an important team of the company just makes it seem fishy, don’t you think so? Besides, what’s everyone gonna say when they find out that I’m given that post when in reality all I have is a high school certificate??”

Your president grinned at this. This was the first time you have ever said anything this much to him. You had always been quiet around the people in this company, and seeing you rant out your concerns somewhat eases him.

Mr Bae leaned back into his tall, leather office chair. “Hmm. That’s it? That was all you’re worried about?”

You shook your head in disbelief. How could your president see this as a small matter? You were anxious about this, and yet he was so calm about it.

“Mr Bae, you don’t understand—”

“Please, call me Joonyoung. Or Joon for short. You’re my mother’s friend, and to be frank, our age isn’t that far apart, no?”

Your eyes narrowed at this, “Correction; I was your mother’s student. And, you’re literally 8 years older than I am so—”

Joonyoung laughed at this, clearly amused by you. “Alright, that’s fine, y/n. I’d understand why you’d benchmark yourself. You are indeed, way younger than I am,”

“Yes, indeed,” you huffed.

“But I still think you should accept the promotion,”

You scoffed. “Look, I told you, I am already concerned abou—”

“Soomin recommended you to be in her team too, you know,” he interrupted you before you could nag at him about your reasonings again.

That made you stop. You straightened your posture in your seat.

“S-soomin-eonnie? The one who seats not far in front of me in the office?”

“Yeah. She’s been asking for you to be on her comms team couple of times now, actually. I just didn’t want to push you before this because I knew you would refuse, with your ‘I am only a high school graduate’ excuse,” he said, adding quote marks when he mentioned your excuse.

“But…why?” You asked, confused.

Surely, Soomin is the only person you’ve interacted most in the office, and she’s quite young too, around 6 years older than you. But your interactions with her were mostly work-based. You were in charge of designing brochures, pamphlets, slides, creating reading materials and such for her and her team.

Whereas for Soomin, she was the leader in her unit, the Comms Team; they call it. What her team does was, they would go out on trips to other companies and provide a lecture or meeting for staffs and brief them on how they can incorporate and learn English language for their staff and companies. Sounds easy but it’s a handful once you’ve experienced the pressure of meeting people all around the city.

“So..?” Joonyoung’s voice broke you from your string of thoughts.

“Will you join Soomin? She’s been talking about how helpful you were to her and she felt bad that you were stuck doing all the computer work in the office.” Joonyoung got up from his seat and decided to peek outside his office’s window.

“She said that she felt like you had more potential than just being a person who sits at her desk and doing all mini jobs for everyone else in the office,”

“H-hey! That’s not true! I have students too,” you added, not wanting to make it seem like your job was that pitiful.

Joonyoung turned to look at you now. “Please, y/n, your students are the 3 staff that will soon be leaving to be relocated into Karako W’s office,”

You pouted. You almost forgot about the merge your boss had secured almost a month ago.

“So, let’s just say yes, shall we?” he smiled at you.

You let out a sigh.

“Great! I’ll take that as a yes!” he said happily. “I’ll let my mother know about this, she’ll be happy for you,”

“Sure…”

“Oh come on y/n, cheer up! You’re getting a promotion and a raise! Anyone would be happy to be in your shoes!”

You groaned. “Anyone but me,”

“Hey, at least now in your new post, you get to visit other big companies and collaborate with them,” he smiled, still convincing you.

You blinked a few times. You wondered if you ever got a chance to visit YGE’s company as well?

                                                                    *

 You got back to your desk to see your phone buzzing non-stop. You hurried to sit down and looked at it closely.

4 new messages from Jihoon TRSR

“Huh? Jihoon-ssi?” you muttered to yourself.

Just as you were about to open the messages, your phone started buzzing again in your hands, but this time it was a heavy buzz since it was a call.

Panicked, you answered it without looking at the screen.

“Hello?” You answered, slightly whispering since you didn’t want to disrupt the quiet atmosphere in your office.

 “Y/n! Quick! I need help!” Jihoon’s voice, rang in your ears, all panicked.

“What? Why? What’s wrong Jihoon?” you felt your forehead creasing, now that you heard his panicked voice. Did something bad happen to them?

“Y/n, please. You gotta help us. The management…Jaehyuk…”

“What, what?? What’s going on??” Your tone in your voice rose, now that you were anxious to know what happened. But Jihoon wouldn’t complete his sentences!

“Please, I’ll tell you all about it later. But you gotta help me, help us, please?” he pleaded through the phone.

You took a deep breath and exhaled. Your eyes dart around the office to see if anyone was watching you. None. Coast clear.

“Alright, Jihoon. What can I do for you?”

                                                                 *

 “Bingo!” Jihoon said happily, once he got off the phonecall with you.

The rest of the group looked at him and wondered what he was so happy about.

Jihoon walked to his spot in the choreography formation and did some light stretches since he took a short break to call you just now.

“Hey, Hoon, what are you so happy about, huh?” Hyunsuk said, as he noticed his friend’s beaming reflection from the room’s mirror.

“Nah, I’m just happy about tonight, that’s all,” Jihoon answered, his bright smile still plastered on his face.

“Ookay…”

“Speaking of which, have you decided what to buy for tonight’s dinner?” Jihoon asked Hyunsuk back.

“Oh, I asked the rest and they said they wanted pizza. That good for tonight?”

“Sounds great! And I’ve got the perfect place for us to eat too, tonight!”

Doyoung clapped his hands at this, “Wahhh hyung, both you and Hyunsuk are really treating us really well tonight, huh? What’s the special occasion?” he asked.

“Oh nothing, it’s just for all your hard work today,” Jihoon answered happily.

“Yayyyy! We’re having pizza tonight!” Junghwan cheered happily.

“Oh yeah, where are we going to have dinner tonight? Hyunsuk-hyung’s dorm?” Jaehyuk asked.

Jihoon winked at his dongsaengs. “It’s a surprise.”

                                                                  *

 (Y/n’s Apartment – Nighttime)

 “Eonnie! Eonnie!” you called out.

Your sister’s breathing was ragged and heavy. Like she was suffocating badly.

You got up from your chair beside her bed and ran outside the room, hoping to bump into a doctor who wasn’t busy at the time.

You found one not far from the nurse’s counter, and you grabbed him by the arm.

“Doctor! Please, please, my sister—” you shook your head and gestured him to follow you.

When both you and the doctor arrived in your sister’s room, she was already shaking in her bed, her breathing more ragged now.

The doctor rushed in and checked your sister’s vitals and eyes.

“She’s having a seizure! Nurses, hurry!” he called out loudly.

Soon, you saw two to three nurses rush in to help the doctor.

You stood by the doorframe, holding on to it, as if you were going to fall if you ever let go.

You watched as they tried to tend to your sister and your tears wouldn’t stop flowing down your cheeks. You were sobbing on your own now, watching needles being poked into your sister’s delicate skin again.

You shook your head over and over again, sobbing.

Please don’t leave me, eonnie. Please.

 You woke up from your sleep, panting.

You sat up in your bed slowly, trying to regain yourself.

It was a dream. It was only a dream.

You sniffled to yourself. You realised your cheeks were wet and you proceeded to wipe them on the sleeves of your shirt.

“Ah shucks. I can’t believe I cried in my sleep,” you mumbled to yourself.

Eeeeeekkk.

Your eyes widened. What was that? Did you hear wrongly? Or was it really a chair moving?

You gulped. You grabbed your phone on your nightstand and checked the time.

11.37 pm.

You frowned to yourself. Just how early did you fall asleep?

You kept quiet a little longer, just to see if there were any more noises.

A good whole minute passed by. No noise.

“Huh, I must be imagining things,” you assured yourself.

You were about to pull your covers over yourself again when you heard it again.

EEEEeeeeeekkkkk. Eeek.

That sounded like two chairs. Or specifically, the sound of the chair in your kitchen makes because you fairly remember how it sounds like ever since you removed the carpet underneath the chairs to be washed the other day.

Your heart raced. You slowly got up from your bed, slipped on your room slippers and slowly made your way towards the door.

You didn’t open your bedroom door or anything, since you didn’t have the courage to do so. But you pressed your ear against it, just in case you could hear anything.

“What are we doing here, hyung? Aren’t we trespassing?”

“Nah, we’re not. Believe me, this is legal,”

“But she’s not here. She’s probably asleep already,”

“Yeah, hyung, we should leave. This isn’t right,”

“Oh come on you all, she could be curled up in bed reading a book. Who the heck sleeps this early??”

You could your own breathing growing louder. Are there trespassers in your house??

Who should you call? Should you call the police?

Your head turned to look at your phone that you left on your nightstand. You decided to go over there to take it when suddenly you heard the doorknob getting turned.

This is crazy! You were in your pajamas and you didn’t have any weapon on you! Heck, you didn’t have your phone with you right now too!

You decided to just brace yourself and just throw in a hasty punch at whoever this trespasser is. The nerve! How dare they come into your home this time of the night?!

Just then, the door creaked open and you hurriedly pounced on the trespasser, making you both fall to the floor. Your eyes were shut as you swing your arms to punch the person but then you felt a hand grabbing your arm, making you freeze in your spot.

“Whoa! Easy there, cutie. What are you all feisty about?” a familiar voice spoke out.

Huh? That voice.

You opened your eyes to see….Jihoon laying on the floor beneath you, whereas his waist was trapped in between your thighs.

His hand was still holding on to your arm that was raised up earlier.

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Jihoon?? What are you doing here??”

“Aaahhh! I think I just saw something I shouldn’t be seeing!” You heard another voice screaming not far from you.

You lift your head to see who it was, and there it was….the rest of the familiar faces you know…all looking at both you and Jihoon with shocked looks.

  To be continued... 

[bellamer]

The Way You Make Me Feel (Okuyasu x OC)

Note: This is a continuation of my last Okuyasu x OC thing)

Missina Belle didn't really know what to think when she was handed a note by Josuke Higashikata, saying that the note was from his friend, Okuyasu Nijimura. She didn't know much about Okuyasu. She only knew that he didn't do well with school work, that he was loud and she always saw him hanging out with Josuke. But when she read that note, she found out that Okuyasu had a certain charm to him. She felt a deep need to get to know him.

Missy watched the boy across from her eat his muffin as they awkwardly sat in silence. Both didn't know what to exactly say until Okuyasu cleared his throat.

"So Missy... Have you lived in Japan long ?"Okuyasu asked.

"No, I actually lived in Tanzania and moved here about two years ago but I went to school in the city before my mom's job transferred her here to Morioh." Missy said. "My mom met my dad while she was on a business trip to Tanzania and she and dad met and fell in love, they got married in Tanzania and she eventually moved there with him."

"Wow, really ?" Okuyasu asked. "Your Japanese is great !"

"Well, my mom is Japanese so she taught me Japanese while dad taught me English and Swahili, my mom knows English so that's how she was able to talk to my dad and then she taught him Japanese and in return he taught her Swahili so I grew up hearing all 3 languages at home." Missy said. Okuyasu gasped.

"Wow Missy, you're so smart !" He said. "You know three languages ! That's so impressive !"

"Oh it's no big deal Oku-Honey, though it makes English class easier." Missy said.

"Maybe you can help me ace English then." Okuyasu said, grinning. "Hey, can you say something in Swahili?" He asked.

"Really ? Like what?" Missy asked, tilting her head.

"How do you say, 'I like you' in Swahili?" Okuyasu asked.

"Nakupenda, but it can also mean 'I love you' in some cases." Missy said. Okuyasu tried to say the word, struggling with the pronunciation.

"N-Naku-Panda ?" Okuyasu asked, trying his absolute best.

"Almost. Say it with me. Na-ku-pen-da." Missy said, enunciating every syllable to help Okuyasu.

"Na-ku-pen-da." Okuyasu repeated.

"Now put it all together." Missy said.

"N-N-Nakupenda." Okuyasu said, struggling with the words at first.

"You've got it, Oku-Honey!" Missy cheered.

"Nakupenda ! Hey Missy, Nakupenda !" Okuyasu said.

"Nakupenda pia." Missy said. "That means 'I like you too' Oku-Honey"

"You actually like me ?" Okuyasu asked.

"At least I think I do." Missy said. "I still would like to get to know you and your friends better so that we can all be friends and maybe hang out."

"You're super nice Missy, so I'm sure Josuke and Koichi already like you !" Okuyasu said.

"You really think so ?" Missy asked. "You're such a sweetheart Oku-Honey, I'm surprised that you don't have a girlfriend."

Okuyasu couldn't help but to blush at that statement.

"So Missy, whaddya like to do for fun ?" Okuyasu asked, changing the subject.

"Well, back in Tanzania, I used to dance." Missy said.

"No way, you dance ?" Okuyasu asked.

"Uh-huh, people usually assume that I dance to lose weight or something but I dance cause I love it, it's fun !" Missy said.

"Why would you need to lose weight?" Okuyasu asked, tilting his head.

"Well, being pear-shaped in Tanzania is no big deal, when I tell people here that I dance, they assume it's to lose weight and congratulate me on trying to 'better myself' " Missy said. "In Tanzania, people didn't care or even liked my type of body shape but in Japan it's weird. I hear girls whispering behind my back about me all the time."

"W-Well, I don't think you need to lose weight." Okuyasu said, clearing his throat. "People should just mind their own business when it comes to other people's bodies unless they're doing something like hurtin' themselves, you look fine and healthy and if it helps... I like the way you look."

"You do ?" Missy asked, slightly shocked. "Do you really mean that ?"

"Of course I do." Okuyasu said. "A-And if it's alright with you, I'd love to see you dance one day, I bet you look really cool and maybe you can teach me." He said with a laugh. "I have two left feet so I've always sucked at it."

Missy couldn't help but to giggle.

"You got it Oku-Honey, just to let you know, I'm pretty agile and light on my feet for a big girl." She said. "Now enough about me, tell me about you, what do you like to do ?"

"Me ? Well I don't do much but pal around with Josuke and take care of my dad and my house." Okuyasu said.

"Oh my, is your dad sick ?" Missy asked.

"Oh um- In a way. He can't really do much for himself and he can't speak anymore after a really bad accident." Okuyasu said. "And it's only me taking care of him since my mom died a long time ago and my brother Keicho died too..."

"You poor dear." Missy said. "If you and your dad ever need anything, I'll help you out."

"You don't have to do that Missy." Okuyasu said.

"I want to do it Oku-Honey." Missy said. "Let me know if I can do anything, like cook you any meals or help you clean up around your house when you need a break or something, when I was little, one of my aunties was always sick and to help her daughter out, we always brought food to her home or helped keep her house clean." She said. "Do you think your dad would like Tanzanian food ? I can make mshikaki or zanzibar pizza, although my dad would have to help me with the zanzibar pizza."

As Missy went on about all of the foods she could cook and bring to Okuyasu's house, Okuyasu felt like he was going to cry.

~

"Now what are they doing ?" Koichi asked, standing next to Josuke who was intently watching their friend.

"I think Okuyasu is crying." Mikitaka said. "His eyes appear to be wet."

"Oh no, I hope she didn't reject his feelings or anything." Koichi said, frowning.

"I think those are tears of joy, Koichi." Josuke said. "She's touching his arm and everything while giggling and he's blushing like a maniac, she must've said something that really touched him."

"Now they are both laughing and Okuyasu seems to be wiping his tears away." Mikitaka said.

"Wait, now they're getting up." Josuke said. "They're leaving together ! We should follow them !"

"Didn't you start following Okuyasu out of concern?" Mikitaka asked. "He seems to be alright with that girl, so you should have no need to spy on him anymore."

"Oh Mikitaka, you know nothing." Josuke said, leaning on him. "We have to follow him until he goes home, just to make sure that everything's alright and then wait for him to tell us about it the next day at school so we can have proper judgement if Missy is the right one for him."

"That seems highly unnecessary." Mikitaka said.

"Well, as his friends, it's our job to look after him, right ?" Koichi asked. "So maybe us following him might not be such a bad thing, we just want to make sure that Missy is good for him."

"I don't get it." Mikitaka said.

"We just want to make sure that Okuyasu doesn't get hurt, that's all." Josuke said. "Who knows what intentions this girl really has for our sweet, gullible, Okuyasu." He said dramatically.

"Just the other day, you were all for Missy and Okuyasu getting together, now you don't trust her ?" Koichi asked.

"Yeah, well things change." Josuke said. "She could be pranking Okuyasu just to break his heart, like some sort of sadist !"

"You're starting to sound like some sort of jealous ex girlfriend." Koichi said. Josuke let out an offended gasp, putting a hand on his chest.

"I do not !" Josuke said. "I'm just a very concerned best friend !"

"I hate to interrupt, but Okuyasu and Missina are walking away from the cafe now." Mikitaka said.

"Let's trail behind them but keep your distance." Josuke said. "We don't want them to catch on." He said as they started to follow the duo.

~

"You didn't have to walk me home, Oku-Honey." Missy said, beaming at him. After they paid for their food at the cafe, Okuyasu offered to walk Missy home.

"What kinda guy would I be if I let a girl like you walk home by yourself ?" Okuyasu said, shyly looking away, trying to appear tough even though he was crumbling on the inside.

"What do you mean, 'a girl like me' ?" Missy asked, tilting her head a little in curiosity.

"W-Well, who knows what kind of creeps are lurkin' around." Okuyasu said. "Some perverted weirdo might try to hit on ya cause you're a cute young girl !"

"I'm so grateful to have you as my bodyguard." Missy said. "I'm sure you'd be able to protect me if anyone tried to hurt me."

"You really think so ?" Okuyasu asked. "I-I mean, yeah, of course I would protect you !"

"I feel terrible that you have to walk all the way to your house though." Missy said. "You mentioned that you live farther than me."

"Don't feel bad, I could always take the bus !" Okuyasu suggested.

"But then you'll have to pay bus fare." Missy said with a slight frown.

"Well then I wouldn't mind walking home, I could use the exercise and besides, I like walking !" Okuyasu said, trying to reassure Missy the best he could.

"You're too kind Oku-Honey." Missy said. "My street is coming up soon, I enjoyed spending time with you today, you're a very sweet guy and I'd like to do it again sometime."

"Really ?" Okuyasu asked. Missy nodded. Okuyasu felt like he was going to explode. He never got this far with a girl before. He didn't know what to say, so he kept walking with Missy in silence, trying to look cool.

"My house is just right here." Missy said, pointing at a tan and white two-story house. Missy saw that there was no car in the driveway so her parents were still working, so she'd be alone for a while. The duo approached Missy's house, Okuyasu walking Missy to her porch.

"Thank you again Oku-Honey." Missy said, unlocking her door, opening it and stepping into her house. Okuyasu leaned on the doorframe, along with Missy."I really appreciate you." she said.

"It was no problem." Okuyasu said, biting the bottom of his lip. The two stared at each other for a little. Missy stood on her tip toes, wrapping her arms around a shocked Okuyasu's broad shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug before rushing inside of her house and shutting the door. Okuyasu didn't move for a good few minutes until he ran off Missy's porch and away from her house.

'I was hugged... by Missy !' He thought, walking down the street, giddy. He wanted to shout from the streets how excited he was to see Missy again, but he couldn't form the words. All he could do was chuckle like a dope.

~

"Did you see that ?" Koichi asked, watching Okuyasu walk away. "She hugged him real tight and Okuyasu looks like he's head over heels !"

"His face is turning red." Mikitaka said. "Is he perhaps having an allergic reaction to the hug ?"

"No, Mikitaka, he's just flustered." Josuke said. "It's the first time Okuyasu's ever been hugged by a girl, a girl he likes at that." He said. "And my guess is that he won't be able to shut up about it tomorrow."

~

The next day, while walking to school, Josuke and the others noticed that Okuyasu was quiet. Really quiet. Usually it would be hard to get him to shut up but he didn't say a word. He constantly had this dreamy look on his face with a dopey grin and when they ate lunch, he barely ate a bite and didn't say a word. When they were on their way to walk home, Josuke decided to ask.

"You've been really quiet today Okuyasu." Josuke said. "Are you thinking about something ?"

"Or someone ?" Koichi asked.

"I can't get Missy out of my head." Okuyasu said. "I think I want to ask her to be my girlfriend but it's way too early to ask and I don't wanna freak her out by moving too fast."

"I think it's wise for you to get to know each other for a while longer first." Josuke said. "You don't wanna rush into a relationship, besides, you don't know all that about her yet."

"I suppose you're right, Josuke." Okuyasu said with a sigh.

"Oku-Honey !" A feminine voice called out. Josuke, Koichi and Okuyasu looked up to see Missy walking towards them, a smile on her face. She approached them, waving at Josuke and Koichi.

"Hello Josu-Honey, Koichi-Honey." She greeted. She then turned towards Okuyasu. "Oku-Honey, I just wanted to give you something." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a large Tupperware container. "I made this last night for you and your dad, it's called Mchemsho and it's got beef potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers and other stuff I'd think you guys would like, I would've made traditional Japanese food but I'm not good at it yet and-"

Missy was cut off when she heard a choked noise. She looked up to see Okuyasu crying. She gasped.

"Oh, Oku-Honey, I'm so sorry, did I upset you ?" She started to apologize but Okuyasu pulled her in for a hug. She was surprised. Okuyasu hugged her for a while before letting her go.

"Sorry, I just-I just got overwhelmed with feelings all of a sudden." Okuyasu said, sniffling and taking the container. "Thanks Missy..."

"It's okay Oku-Honey." Missy said, smiling. "I'm just glad that I didn't upset you." She chuckled. "I've gotta get home, okay ? I'll see you later." She said as she started to walk away.

"I'll see you later.." Okuyasu said, sighing dreamily, watching her walk away. He felt weak as he held the tupperware container close. The food inside smelt delicious. He didn't even know that he was still zoned out, watching Missy leave, her figure disappearing into the distance. Okuyasu stood frozen as Josuke waved a hand in front of his face. The pompadour wearing male let out a sigh.

"Just as I thought." Josuke said.

"You mean-?" Koichi asked.

"He's head over heels in love." They both said at the same time. Josuke put a hand on Okuyasu's shoulder.

"Come on buddy, let's get you home before you fall over." He said, guiding his friend as Koichi followed. Okuyasu in love. Who knows what this could lead up to...

[kaialone]

Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: Final Battle and Ending

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

Specifically, this will cover the final battle and the ending cutscene of the game.

You can also watch these scenes for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, 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.

--

Characters in this part who had their names changed between versions:

Mallador = Malladus, Dego = Byrne, Sharin = Anjean

--

Start of the Battle:

Zelda:

リンク！ わたしは この身体に 聖なる力を 満たします

Link! I will saturate my body with sacred energy.

Link! I'm going to concentrate on channeling my power.

Zelda:

その間 マラドーから わたしを 守ってください！

Please protect me from Mallador while I do so!

While I do that, please protect me from Malladus!

-

Zelda:

リンク！ 守ってくれて ありがとう！ もう 大丈夫よ！

Link! Thank you for protecting me! I'm ready now!

Thank you for protecting me! I'm ready now, Link!

Zelda:

この聖なる力と 大地の笛の力を合わせて マラドーを！

Let's combine my sacred power with that of the Flute of the Land, and use them on Mallador!

Let's combine my sacred power with the power of the Spirit Flute!

I think we can use them to weaken Malladus!

-

Zelda:

さあ リンク！ はじめます！ わたしの歌声に ついてきください！

Alright, Link! We will begin! Please follow alongside my voice!

This is it. Just follow along with me, Link!

-

After the Duet:

Zelda:

リンクは マラドーを引きつけてください

Link, would you please divert Mallador's attention.

You distract Malladus, Link.

Zelda:

わたしは その隙に この光の弓矢で マラドーの背中の紋章を狙います

I will use that opportunity to shoot the crest on Mallador's back with the Bow of Light!

When I see an opportunity, I'll shoot him in the back with the Bow of Light.

Zelda:

さあ リンク！ これが 最後の戦いです！

Come, Link! This will be the final battle!

This is the last battle, so let's make it count!

-

During the Final Attack:

Zelda:

いま行きますよ！ 持ちこたえてください！

I will be right there! Please, hold on!

I'll be right there. Hold on!

-

Zelda, if you do badly:

リンク！ このままでは 負けてしまいます！

Link! At this rate, we will lose!

We won't make it if we continue like this!

-

Zelda:

リンク！ もう少しです！

Link! Just a bit more!

It's almost over now, Link!

-

Zelda:

もう一押しです！

Just one more push!

Just one last push!

-

After the Battle:

Zelda:

…全て終わったのですね…

...So it is all over now...

So it's all over now.

Zelda:

…でも…

...But...

But...

Anjean:

間に合わなんだか…

I didn’t make it in time, huh...?

We were too late.

Zelda:

…シャリン様…

...Lady Sharin...

Oh, Anjean...

Zelda:

…ごめんなさい わたしを かばってディーゴさんが…

...I am so sorry. Mr. Dego protected me, and then he...

I'm so sorry. Byrne was trying to protect me...

Anjean:

そうか… しかし あの子も 後悔は しておらんじゃろうて

I see... However, I'm sure that child had no regrets, either.  (1)

Yes, but there should be no regrets.

He wouldn't have had it any other way.

Anjean:

それに我らは 神に つかわされし種族…

Besides, we are a godsent race...

Besides, our kind are the servants of the spirits.

Anjean:

そう簡単に消えて なくなりはせんよ

We don't disappear that easily, you know.

We don't disappear that easily.

Zelda:

…シャリン様 それは…？

...Lady Sharin, what is that...?

What do you mean?

Anjean:

ディーゴの魂じゃ… もっとも もう今までの記憶はないが…

いつか…何百年か後に 新たな命として また…

It's Dego's soul... He may not have his previous memories anymore, but...

One day... maybe in hundreds of years, he will be reborn as a new life...  (2)

The spirit is persistent, my dear.

Byrne may not have any memory of these events,

but years from now, he'll return in a new form.

Anjean:

ゼルダ そして リンクよ…

ワシらは神に この地に つかわされた…それは

結界を守るためだけではなく 人の営みを見守るためでもあった

Zelda. And you too, Link...

We were sent to this land by God... The reason for that

was not just to protect the barrier. It was also to watch over the actions of people.  (3)

You see, as Lokomos...

We weren't only meant to protect the Spirit Tracks.

We were also meant to watch over mankind.

Anjean:

しかし もうその必要などない…

However, there is no longer any need for that...

But our protection is no longer needed.

Anjean:

お前たちは神の守りなぞなくとも 立派にやってゆける…

You will do just fine, even without such divine protection...

Even without the spirits' guidance, you will do well.

Anjean:

ワシは この子と共に 天上に帰るとするよ…

I will return to the heavens, together with this child...

So I think I will return to the heavens...

In the company of my old friend Byrne.

Zelda:

シャリン様!

Lady Sharin!

Anjean, wait!

Anjean:

ゼルダよ この地を頼む

Zelda, take care of this land.

Please watch over this land, my dear.

Anjean:

リンク ゼルダを 助けてやっておくれ…

Link, please help her...

And, Link...

You must help her.

Anjean:

さらばじゃ… 二人とも ありがとう

Farewell... Thank you both.

Good-bye... And thank you. Thank you both.

Translation Notes:

In this scene Anjean refers to Byrne with terms like あの子/ano ko, which does literally mean “that child”, like I adapted it. But this is a common phrase you’d typically use to refer to children, among other things, so you often adapt them with simple third-person pronouns. Still, I decided to keep it literal here, to highlight how it’s different from how she referred to him before.

In Japanese, this line doesn’t literally contain a verb that means “reborn”, but it’s strongly implied from the context, so I adapted it the way I did for easier reading.

The word I translated as “people” is 人/hito in Japanese, which in this context does mean something along the lines of “mankind”, like the English version used. The only reason I went for “people” is because technically, not all people in this land are human, so I wasn’t sure if “mankind” could be applied to them.

--

Comparisons & Thoughts:

I thought it only made sense to include the dialogue regarding the duet of Zelda and Link in this part, even if it’s brief.

I also added the dialogue during the final attack on Malladus, although there aren’t any notable changes there. Those lines of text can just be a bit hard to find, since they don’t always appear, depending on how well the player does during the QTE.

Aside from those, the final cutscene of this game is short, and I have already gone over some of my thoughts that are relevant to it, but there are still several points I want to address here.

-

When Zelda tells Link to use the combined power of herself and the flute on Malladus, the English version adds her saying: “I think we can use them to weaken Malladus!“

This was probably done to make it more clear why they are doing this. Though, it technically doesn’t seem to weaken him directly, it just reveals that spot for attacking him.

-

Almost like a reversal of the last point, the English version is less specific than the Japanese one when Zelda talks about shooting Malladus in the back, since it leaves out the part about specifically aiming for the “crest” on it.

In this case, this might have just been to save on some space?

-

When Anjean arrives, I adapted her line as “I didn’t make it in time, huh…?“, while the English version went for “We were too late“ instead.

This is a case where the intended meaning can be a bit unclear without additional context.

In the original Japanese line, no subject is defined, so both “I” and “We” are possible options here.

But given the context, I think the idea of “I didn’t make it in time” makes more sense than “We didn’t make it in time”.

Anjean arrives all by herself, after the battle is already over, so I’m fairly sure her line is supposed to be her talking about how she herself didn’t make it in time to help out during battle.

So, I went with “I didn’t make it in time, huh…?“

By comparison, I’m not sure what the English version’s “We were too late“ would be referring to exactly.

Applying it to herself and Byrne doesn’t really work, since nothing Byrne did would have been more effective if he showed up slightly sooner, and Anjean wasn’t with him to begin with.

And applying it to all the good guys collectively wouldn’t work either, because they ultimately did stop Malladus, even if they lost Byrne in the process.

So, I really don’t know what the English version was trying to say here, and I’m guessing this might be another oddity due to lack of context for the translators?

But I can’t be certain.

-

I brought it up in the translation notes already, but in the Japanese version of the final cutscene, there is a notable difference in how Anjean refers to Byrne, compared to the rest of the game.

She uses あの子/ano ko and この子/kono ko, which you’d generally use when referring to children, so it comes across as more gentle and caring than she had previously been.

During the earlier cutscene in which Anjean tells Zelda and Link about the Bow of Light, she instead used こやつ/koyatsu when referring to Byrne, which can come across as much more dismissive and hostile, likely reflecting her disappointment in him.

In turn, Anjean changing the way she refers to Byrne in this cutscene right here shows how her attitude towards him has changed, too.

It seems evident that her thoughts about him have softened at this point, maybe she’s even forgiven him, and so her softer tone reflects that.

The English version seems to lack a true equivalent to this change in tone, though it’s not something you can adapt literally in the first place.

I’m guessing her calling Byrne ”my old friend” is supposed to get a similar idea across, and it’s a nice touch. It doesn’t have quite the same vibe, but it works well enough as a means to show Anjean's kinder attitude towards Byrne here.

Maybe as an addition to that, I think what could have worked would be to rephrase her line “He wouldn’t have had it any other way” to something more like: “Knowing that boy, he wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

I don’t know how well that would’ve fit with the text limitations, but maybe it would have been possible to find some phrasing that would reflect the Japanese version’s tone even more?

Something that gets across Anjean talking about Byrne like a young child, in a caring way.

-

Next is a rather minor thing, but I find it interesting.

In the Japanese version Anjean points out again how the Lokomo were sent by this land’s god, but the English version instead has her mention how they are “servants of the spirits.”

I think this was most likely a small translation error, since there are verbs relating to serving someone and being sent by someone that can sound pretty much identical, being 使う/tsukau and 遣う/tsukau respectively.

Doesn’t help that both of these have been used when referring to the Lokomo before, too.

I’m fairly certain “sent” is the correct meaning in this line, since the wording used is 神につかわされし/kami ni tsukawasareshi, which I’ve only ever seen used when referring to things or people considered godsent.

In any case, the Lokomo being godsent and being divine servants are both true, so the only real difference between versions here is which of these qualities Anjean points out as being a factor regarding them not disappearing easily.

-

There are multiple things I want to say about the following exchange between Zelda and Anjean, so have another look at it.

Zelda:

…Lady Sharin, what is that…?

What do you mean?

Anjean:

It’s Dego’s soul… He may not have his previous memories anymore, but…

One day… maybe in hundreds of years, he will be reborn as a new life…

The spirit is persistent, my dear.

Byrne may not have any memory of these events,

but years from now, he’ll return in a new form.

Years ago, I assumed that the English version not directly stating something like “this is Byrne’s soul” was a slight bit of censorship.

But now I think there was probably a different reason for it?

The way Zeda’s line was adapted as “What do you mean?” in English makes me believe that this is another result from lack of context.

If the English translators didn’t get to see the actual footage of this cutscene, they wouldn’t know that Anjean was literally showing Byrne’s soul to the children during that moment.

And without knowing that context, their exchange was probably interpreted as something along the lines of:

Z: “What do you mean by that?”

A: “I’m talking about Byrne’s soul.”

At least, that’s a feeling I’m getting? As always, I can’t say for certain.

If this was the case though, I would assume that rephrasing Anjean’s line as “The spirit is persistent” was probably meant to have her be more specific about what they thought she meant.

Moving on to the rest of this dialogue section, the Japanese version has Anjean estimate that Byrne might return in “in hundreds of years” or so, whereas in the English version she only says “years from now”, which is a bit more vague.

I’m guessing this could have been done to lessen the sadness here, since the English version leaves more room for the possibility that Zelda and Link could meet a reborn Byrne during their own lifetimes?

But it could’ve just as easily been to save a little bit of space.

The Japanese version also specifically uses the phrasing of “new life”, while the English version uses “new form”.

Not sure why they would change this, so it could have been something unintentional that just happened to end up like this during the writing process.

Since this is a Zelda game, I find it hard to imagine they would have wanted to avoid an implied mention of reincarnation. But then again, who can say?

Now, looking at the differences with this exchange as a whole, there is one more thing I want to mention.

In the English version, there is this more unambiguous implication that only souls like those of Lokomo are able to persist and be reborn eventually?

In the Japanese version, that is a possible interpretation one could draw from this text, but it’s not clear. Going by the Japanese text alone, one could also assume that when Anjean said that Lokomo don’t disappear easily, she was simply referring to the fact that Byrne’s soul is actually still with them at this moment, rather than being obliterated or lost in some other form.

Again, it’s not entirely clear from her phrasing, but it would be strange for Anjean to suggest that only Lokomo are ever reincarnated, since the huge number of recurring characters in the Zelda franchise implies reincarnation is possible for just about anyone.

This would also line up with the most basic idea of reincarnation that most people in Japan would be familiar with.

-

Overall, it’s a bit unfortunate that the localization of the final cutscene starts out in a slightly clunky manner, seemingly misunderstanding some of the context.

It’s less than ideal to have the final cutscene of your game begin with lines of dialogue that don’t fully make sense when you try to think about them more.

Thankfully, it does come through in the end, with its crucial aspects being adapted quite well, especially the actual ending.

Anjean’s final words to Zelda and Link act as a conclusion to one of the game’s most prominent themes, it begins with the story of how the land was entrusted to the people, and it ends with the people having proven that they are capable of carrying that responsibility.

Naturally, this was an important part to keep in the localization, too. And so, going just by the final cutscene itself, it holds up pretty well in English, because it kept that aspect intact.

But, the scene still ends up suffering a bit from the same continuity problems that have been frequent in these last few parts.

In this case, it’s the fact that the English version started to gloss over the theme of humans outgrowing divine protection towards the end.

Specifically because of little alterations in earlier scenes, like Anjean saying “May the spirits be with you”, and more importantly, Byrne saying “Your body has the sacred power of the spirits!”

I already talked about those moments in their respective parts, but it’s worth mentioning again, because they do kind of hurt the ending of this cutscene right here. Especially since the English version started being more loose like that right towards the end, where it actually becomes relevant. It’s kinda bad timing in that sense.

With the English version, players who have been invested in the story and thus try to pay close attention to the dialogue could potentially be confused by Anjean saying that the people don’t need the spirits’ protection anymore.

After all, as far as they know, the game had just earlier established that the spirits gave Zelda power, and that they’re currently watching and protecting her and Link.

It’s not something that would be a huge deal to most players, of course. But it’s still something that can make people more likely to dismiss Spirit Tracks as inconsistently written, with some careless plot holes.

With all that said, that’s still not a problem with this particular scene itself, it’s a problem with how past details affect it.

And I know I’ve been going over something like this in almost all of the latter parts, but that’s kind of the point.

I said it a few times during the earlier parts - there are many changes in the English localization that appear small and irrelevant on their own, but they do add up when you look at the bigger picture.

So of course these points come up more during the last hours of the game, where their effects get the most noticeable.

Still, in the end I am just glad that the final lines of this game did get adapted well in English, because in the moment, they are still powerful on their own.

I’d say the emotional impact of the ending still manages to come across well enough as is, and that’s something I can appreciate.

With that, this concludes the look at these final scenes, and since they’re the final ones, this concludes the final part as well.

Feel free to check out the previous parts if you haven’t already, and thank you very much for reading!

--

< Previous Part | Start |

--

[sf-akahana]

B Support (snzfic)

Fi//re Em//blem 3 Houses fic based of Dorothea's B support with Byleth.  This is written from Dorothea's perspective and I copied the lines straight from how it's written in game, so you might want to watch both the female and male version of that conversation if the dialog reads a little stiff sorry.  The voice acting in both English and Japanese is good anyway so I suggest it.  I purposefully used gender neutral pronouns so you can pick which ever version on Byleth you prefer.  Hope you enjoy my frantic 5am thirst ramblings

-------------------------------------------------

I can’t help but grumble a bit to myself as I reread the notes from today’s lecture; even though I wrote everything down it feels like I didn’t retain any of it.  It’s not my fault though, Professor Byleth’s just so distracting!  How am I supposed to focus on what they’re saying when they’re looking at me like that?!  I heave a heavy sigh and try to focus my attention back on the lesson, when I’m interrupted by a familiar monotone voice.

“What’s wrong?”

I whip around in surprise - speak of the devil.  There they are with their blank expression and piercing gaze, and as our eyes meet I already start to feel my ears heat up.  Dammit.

“Professor?!  I – Oh… don’t worry.  It’s nothing.”

They quietly accept my answer and seemingly wait for me to go back to my work.  Under normal circumstances I would have appreciated it, but honestly this is getting ridiculous.  I can’t be constantly distracted by my own teacher; I have to find a way around this or else there’s no reason for me to be here!!  I take a second to gather my thoughts before I meet their eyes again.

“Actually, could we talk for a bit?  Somewhere a little more...private?”

I work hard to come across as sincere as possible; it’s too easy to let flirtation slip into a question like that and get brushed off.  Their expression barely changes, little more than raising their eyebrows, but it’s enough that I know they understood.  I don’t bother to wait for an answer as I turn around and walk out the dinning hall towards the first floor dorm rooms.  Not long after a set of footsteps click on the stone pathway just behind me.  I use the silence of our walk to come up with a good way to start this conversation, but by the time we close my bedroom door behind us I still don’t have the right words.  We stand facing each other saying nothing for a few moments before I decide to throw caution to the wind.

“I’m just gonna come right out and say it.  I find you a little difficult to be around.  I know, I know.  I’m your student and you’re just trying to watch out for me.  But the way you look at me sometimes… it’s like you’re seeing right through me.”

The change in their expression is again subtle, but I’ve always been pretty good at reading others.  They’re a person of few words, and I can see the gears turning in their head as they carefully choose the right ones.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize.  I know you don’t mean anything bad by it.  I’m just self-conscious, I guess.  The thing is, I don’t have anything to call my own.  No land, no birthright, no fortune.  Little knowledge or battle skill.  I think that’s why I always clung to my popularity as a diva.  Even after leaving the stage behind, I sort of kept up the act.  When I look at you, it’s like your eyes are accusing me… Telling me that you see right through it.  That’s what I mean when I say it’s difficult to be around you.”

I didn’t mean to get so personal with the professor and to dump all my baggage on them, but now that I’ve started I just can’t stop.  And of course, they just stand their quietly and let me ramble uninterrupted.  I take a deep breath and meet their piercing eyes again, the heat moving from my ears to my cheeks as an idea forms in my head.

“Hey, uh, this might be nuts, but maybe you could show me some kind of weakness of yours?”

“Excuse me?” Their eyes immediately widen in shock, and though not as much as other people this is the most expression I’ve gotten this whole conversation.  The reaction gives me a little confidence as I continue on with my silly request.

“You know my biggest fear.  If I know one of yours, maybe I’ll feel less, I don’t know… vulnerable.”

They look pensive for a moment, hesitation clear to see as they seemingly way the pros and cons.  I’m not oblivious as to how showing a student your weakness could be uncomfortable or embarrassing, but honestly that’s what I’m going for.  Anything to humanize them.

“Well, if it would really help...”

“Excellent.  Well then, don’t mind me.”  Just as they promised they wait patiently as I quickly try to think of something to get a reaction out of them. Something ridiculously human, something involuntary.  Tickling maybe?  Though they are wearing a lot of clothing, they might be able to endure it.  The only thing exposed is their...face - that’s perfect!!  I couldn’t quite help my grin as I fiddled through my gift drawer.  Right on top was a pretty white owl feather, the very same one Professor Byleth gave me for my birthday over tea not but a few weeks ago.  I’ve been meaning to sew into into my cap, but now I’m glad I haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I have to keep myself from skipping back across the room as I hold up the feather just above their beautifully pointed nose.

“Is this still ok, Professor?”  With a small look of reluctance, they take a deep breath and nod their head.  Though there’s no color across their cheeks, their eyes drift away from mine as I tip their chin back slightly, and I will happily take that as a show of embarrassment at this oddly intimate act.  From this angle it was hard not to notice Byleth’s beautiful skin and perfect jaw, but then no ever one said the professor isn’t attractive.  I take a deep breath of my own before stealing my nerves and starting on my work.

The first touch of the feather to their upturned nose gets little reaction, but I’m in no hurry right now.  I take my time tickling around the nostrils and up the septum.  It’s almost mesmerizing watching the muscles around the nose tick slightly at the sensation, a little scrunch of the nose here and a shallow sniff there.  Soon their nostrils are flushed pink under the attention of the feather, Byleth’s eyes squinting up at the ceiling and their arms crossed tightly across their chest to deal with the itch.  It’s only then that I decide it’s time to get the real reaction I’m looking for.

As I ease the feather slowly into their left nostril their nose immediately scrunches up, a gasp muffled through their teeth and a visible shudder tensing their shoulders.  I can feel my grin stretch across my face; this is exactly what I’m looking for.  It makes me feel in control, a little sadistic even.  I keep my fingers underneath their chin as I twirl the tickly tool deeper into their nostril, the tip of the feather brushing lightly against their sinuses, and soon I’m treated by their first desperate sound; a little whine as their nostrils flare out trying to escape the tickling.  I’m treated to more gasps and soft noises as I continue to tease the sensitive spot I found, and it isn’t long until Byleth is hitching in earnest.

“ah! hihh...hhIh-hIHh!! ehh-hIH!”

They’re shoulders are tensed up so they don’t jerk away from me and their hands have moved from their chest to hovering just below mine, ready to catch the sneezes when I finally bring it out of them.  Though it seems they were too impatient to wait for me to finish it, as a sharp sniff triggeres a desperate breath in preparation for the fit.  They quickly pushed my hands away and back up a few steps, though to my delight they don’t obscure their face as they finally tip over the edge.

“hhHIHHHhh- AT’chuhh!! A’tchh! ‘tchuh!  hehh’eTCHhu!!  hiih...hEH!  ATCHhhu!! snff snf...”

Byleth pulls a nice handkerchief out of their coat as the fit comes to an end, and I stand pink cheeked and a little speechless as they clean themselves up.  Weirdly enough I’ll say I’m even a bit starstruck.  Usually a display so dramatic and impolite would take away from one’s attractiveness, but under these circumstances I can honestly say that it kind of has the opposite effect.  I quickly shake out of my thoughts as they clear their nose a final time, and my grin quickly spreads over my face once more.

“Goddess’ blessings, wow Professor that was dramatic.  I don’t mind though, you have pretty cute sneezes.  Next time you gaze into my soul, I know just how I’ll retaliate!”  I can’t help but giggle as I tease them a little, hoping to get just one more reaction out of them.  Byleth just smiles slightly though and doesn’t rise to my bait, no pink cheeks or nothing.  I let myself pout.

“Come on!  I thought that was funny.  I swear it’s like your heart isn’t even beating.”  Without missing a beat and with a completely black expression, they come back with-

“Actually, my heart isn’t beating.”

“Ha, don’t be so silly… Huh?  It really isn’t beating?! - Is what I’d say if I were more gullible.  You’re just fooling around, Professor.  I’m not sure how you did it, but that was a good one.”

___________________________________

|                                                                     |

| Byleth and Dorothea’s                                 |

| support level is now B!                                |

| Their motivation has also increased.           |

|___________________________________|

[lenaisanerd]

i know it’s expected that i be serene

When Clary texts Simon requesting Fullmetal Alchemist, he knows something's up. But Clary seems to be in denial, and so Simon dispenses the ultimate cure-all: Hanging out with her best friend. (ca. 3500 words)

tunes.

Read on AO3.

 This story was co-written with my darling @raisehades. Please enjoy the hard-earned fruits of many late-night Google Docs comment battles.

Clary: can i come ober

  Simon: Ofc

  Are u okay?

  Clary: yes i just want so talk and cuddle or something

  Simon: Okay. Want me to set up anything?

  Clary: fma? 2009?

  Simon: I gotchu

Simon was slightly worried.

First of all, Clary wasn’t usually this reserved in her texting. Her lack of exclamation points coupled with the request for her favourite show could only mean one thing: his friend was way more down than she was letting on.

But he would deal with that when she brought it up because, well, he was also happy; Clary and him used to do this a lot – go over to each other’s (parent’s) place to hang out and watch something they both more or less enjoyed and maybe even talk about their lives and their feelings and- stuff.

But ever since the whole… half-angel manic pixie dream girl mom reveal (the HAMPDGMR) and everything that went down in consequence of the HAMPDGMR, they simply hadn’t done this sort of thing anymore. Sure, they hung out with all their other friends, at parties at Magnus’ loft or karaoke night at the Hunter’s Moon. And while that was fun, it was different when it was just the two of them.

Even during their brief dating stint, there wasn’t much they did that they’d done as friends. Simon had enjoyed what they’d done together, of course, but looking back it had been obvious that this wasn’t ideal for them.

Ideal was this: Lugging the connector cable for the TV into the vicinity of his laptop, powering both up and then loading a site with English subtitles of Hiromu Arakawa’s masterpiece Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Also ideal: Clary bringing weird snacks with unpronounceable names from the Polish bodega down the street from their old high school. That store had become their first stop after class when they were younger and would sneak candy into movie theatres or curl up on the couch in Clary’s living room and watch Audrey Hepburn flicks with Dot. Simon was almost certain he would be able to eat some and keep them down by now.

Well, actually, in a perfect world, Simon would have loved to cook something for Clary (the food at the Institute was a far cry from what any sane person would call comfort food. Or edible). But one of the results of moving out of his mom’s place just after he’d become a bloodsucking creature of the night was that he owned basically no dishes, or pots, or kitchen utensils.

Even compiling his stuff with Maia’s (who had lived next to a Chinese restaurant for her entire adult life) yielded five plates, one bowl, two chipped mugs, and somehow a ridiculously large amount of cutlery. So cooking anything more than a bowl of cereal was out of the question until they got around to buying some usable stuff. Simon could already see himself and Maia filling their birthday and Christmas/Hanukkah wishlists with basic household items for years into the future. Ah, the joys of adulthood.

Still, this was almost the Saturday morning of his dreams. In the past year, Simon had come to understand that while moments of normalcy were few and far between, when one came along they had to hold on tight for as long as they could. Which was exactly what he was planning to do.

“I’m telling you, Polish Bodega lady has to be a Downworlder. We just have to find out what flavor she is.” Clary started on her new favourite topic as soon as Simon opened the door. She draped her damp jacket over the back of a kitchen chair to dry, dropped a plastic bag on the table, and re-tied her wet ponytail.

Simon started rummaging through the contents of the bag. “Okay, one: I don’t like “flavors”, at all, two: how do you know she’s not just a normal human being who just happens to own a windowless shop where she basically lives 24/7? Oooh, you brought those weird milk drops!”

Clary had her back turned to him while she stretched as far as she could to reach the plates and mugs on one of the high shelves above the sink, not quite managing it. “She never sleeps. Sometimes I come by that store when I’m on patrol, and she must be there all night. Every night. And every day, too. Either she never sleeps, or she has at least two clones.”

“Maybe she has an identical twin sister.” Simon took pity on her and handed her the dishes. Clary took them and ducked out under his arm from between the sink and his body in one fluid movement. Then she set to digging through the fridge for some soda for herself, and a bag of A+ for him, hugging the plates and mugs to her body with her free arm.

“I think I caught her staring at my runes. She definitely at least has the Sight.”

“Oh, so your angel-ninja sense is tingling? Tell me, is there a type of demon that loves to disguise itself as an old lady and watch reruns of Polish soap operas?”

“There’s only so many demons that can be terrorizing Manhattan bankers at a time, you know.”

Simon let out an undignified snort of laughter, of the kind that, had he been drinking at the time, would certainly have made him exhale his drink through his nose. Clary stuck her head over the fridge door grinning triumphantly. Then she emerged fully from its depths with a bottle of coke wedged horizontally under her chin, the plates under her arm, right hand holding the mugs, and left hand holding the blood bag. Standing up was a precarious balancing act, and Simon rushed over to take the bottle from between her chin and collarbone. After he snatched up the bags of sweets from the table they continued their procession into Simon’s bedroom.

Maia and him had moved in together just after New Year’s, into a tiny two-bedroom apartment in Fort Greene. They had decided against sharing a bedroom, though, mostly because of their sleep schedules. As Maia had put it, one partner strangling the other because a certain vampire keeps making noise all through the night while a certain werewolf is trying to sleep is not very conducive to a healthy relationship. Of course, they often spend the night together anyway, although those weren’t the nights when they did much sleeping.

“Come lie down, thought you wanted to cuddle,” Simon said, sitting down on the bed and patting the spot next to him. Clary flopped down and threw her legs over his. Balancing the snack plate carefully on her lap she fluffed the pillows behind her and finally settled down.

It was several skipped episodes, an entire bag o’ blood, and a good two thirds of the coke later when Simon got to find out why  exactly  Clary was in such urgent need for Comfort TV Time.

“Did you know jat Ling’s name doejn’t need the ng sound at all? It’sh Lin in Japanese and”, Simon swallowed the milk drops, “the Chinese translation both, so they just changed it for us for some reason.”

“You’re going to regret eating those,” Clary said with such a comical expression of distaste on her face that Simon couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself. I won’t mop it up, though.”

Simon was still grinning when Clary reached forward to pause the episode on a rather unfortunate still of Major Louis Armstrong in motion.

“Do you think Izzy would like this,” she said, suddenly serious.

“Who wouldn’t like Fullmetal Alch- ”

“You’re right. Of course she would. Continue.”

Simon took her vague gesture towards the screen as a command to unpause. About half a minute later she piped up again, this time not even bothering with the pause button. “Her favourite character would have to be Mei-Chang.”

“Really?,” Simon indulged, reminding himself that he had in fact watched this episode several times in his life(un-life?) already and could live (hah) with not catching every subtitle, “I would have thought Olivier, Lan Fan… or maybe Riza? One of the really cool badass ladies.”

“Izzy may be a really cool badass but trust me, she loves little girls with a passion for science. Did I tell you about that dinner party at Magnus’ place? She was off in a corner with Madzie all evening, talking about chemistry or something. It was adorable.”

“Yes, I – I don’t know how I managed to forget. You’ve told me about it... several times now.” Simon was quite proud of his wallowing pause here.

Clary said, “Well.” and when Simon looked over to her she was visibly re-invested in subtitles. He suppressed a fond headshake and decided to let her have this one.

The next time they got through a good fifteen minutes during which Clary only noticeably stopped herself from interrupting twice and Simon started quietly wondering if eating those drops was a bad idea after all.

“Could we invite her to something like this?”

“Izzy, you mean?”

“Ah, yes. I just mean, like, we’ve hung out at the Hunter’s Moon and the Institute and stuff but I don’t know, would she like just… watching anime? Snacking?”

Simon really did put up with a lot, huh. “I don’t know, what do you think?”, he said in his least exasperated voice and leaned forward once again to press pause. He looked over to Clary, who was searching through one of the bags of candy for the last red one with the utmost concentration.

“I think she’s probably never been able to do something like this but that… she’d probably like to try. And I guess it depends on the show if she’d enjoy it. Her attention span is better than ours’ for sure, though. Maybe I’ll ask her.”

“Instead of me?! I’m hurt, Fray.” Simon placed a hand over his unbeating heart and pulled what he hoped to be the most devastating pout since Shrek’s puss in boots. He probably didn’t succeed in that.

Clary repaid his efforts by hitting his shoulder. He whined out an ooow and curled up to smoosh his head into Clary’s side. Her shirt muffled his sigh, and she recoiled from his breath, pushing him away with a giggle.

“Simon, stop that! You know I’m ticklish!”

Instead of letting up, Simon wrapped his arms around Clary’s waist.

“Zis vasn’t my decision.” Simon was using his best Bela Lugosi accent. Clary’s eyes widened in mock horror and the corner of her mouth twitched upward. “You brought zis on yourself. If Izzy is going to be your new best friend now, you must face...ze octopus!” His legs wrapped around Clary’s knees while she wriggled and squirmed and laughed.

“Hang on, what do you mean ‘my new best friend’? Simon Lewis, you’re not suddenly getting jealous, are you?” Clary asked when she had successfully freed herself from Simon’s grasp and they were both lying on their backs, looking at the ceiling.

“Pssh. No,” Simon lied. Clary had the decency to look slightly guilty. “Maybe you just have a crush on Izzy, ever thought about that?”

He had expected a pillow to the face for that tease, or another assault on his shoulder, or a bit of banter. What Simon had not expected was Clary suddenly looking all serious.

“Huh. You know, I’ve never considered that. Thanks, Simon,” she said, and Simon was quite proud of himself for being as good at identifying sarcasm as he was, but he really and truly couldn’t tell what Clary was thinking then. As his friend leant forward to unpause their series he decided she must just be a bit tired of antics for today. Understandable, really.

Yesterday’s summer storm had turned into persistent rain. It pitter-pattered against the fire escape and the windowsill, occasionally cutting through the sound coming from the TV’s speakers. During the peak of the heat wave, Maia and Simon had opened all the windows in the apartment to let in a breeze and had jammed whatever was handy at the time underneath to keep them from closing. There was a guitar foot rest wedged in the crack of Simon’s bedroom window.

“Simon?”

“Yeah?”

“I definitely have a crush on Izzy.”

The pause button had never been pressed so quickly. It would have been a world record, if world record judges liked to hang out on rickety fire escapes peering through windows to see if random teenagers performed laws-of-physics-defying feats from the comfort of their beds.

Simon lay back down, face to face with Clary. She seemed way more casual than what Simon thought was appropriate for the situation.

“So…Izzy. Isabelle. Really tall, beautiful, kinda scary. Terrible cook. We’re still talking about our Izzy here?”

“Yep.”

“Huh.” Simon let that sink in for a minute.

“And, uh. How long have you known?”

Clary let out a hollow chuckle. “Consciously? About 30 seconds.”

Simon sat up. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Clary. I know you won’t like hearing it, but I’ve been your friend for over ten years, so I feel it is my duty to tell you this: You are such a dumbass.”

With a big sigh, Clary rolled over and buried her face in a pillow. Simon could barely make out her voice, but what she said sounded distinctly like a whine.

“What was that?”

Clary came up for air. ”I know.” Definitely whiny. With a very long vowel sound.

“I mean, you’re in so deep that I’m surprised you don’t need scuba gear yet.”

A groan.

Simon bumped her shoulder gently with his elbow. “Did I make you skip to the ‘wallowing in your own misery’ phase of having a crush?”

“No, it’s just...I can’t believe I never noticed.” Clary sat up, her legs crossed, facing Simon. “I only spent, oh, the last year with Izzy, every day. And– and looking back on some… things, it’s becoming really clear that I’ve had a crush on her for a while. And now I just feel like the biggest idiot in the world, and also what the fuck do I do now, Simon?” While she spoke Clary had let her head sink into her hands. Simon was of the opinion that they had just passed ‘wallowing’ and were well on their way to “breakdown”.

Simon leaned forward and, as gently as he could, pried Clary’s hands away from her face and held onto them for safekeeping.

“Hey, slow down, ‘cause this is bringing back really bad memories of pre-finals all-nighters.” This at least got a little smile out of Clary. “Now, can we back up just a bit to the ‘things’ you’re currently re-examining?”

Clary thought for a moment and then answered slowly, as though she was choosing her words with care. “Like, for example, why I love when she does my makeup. She’s really focused and just gets so close to my face and then she does that thing were she bites her lip and narrows her eyes, and sometimes I just want to lean forward and… kiss her?”

Immediately and seemingly instinctually, a grin tugged its way up the corner of Simon’s mouth. “Should I go get that scuba gear?” Clary rolled her eyes in response, but continued her recounting of Isabelle’s many virtues.

“And, uh, I always pick Izzy as a training partner, even though she does not go easy on me, because I kind of like when she kicks my ass.”

Simon only held in a dirty joke by viciously biting his own tongue. Clary was in distress. In distress.

His friend looked up at him from behind a strand of hair as if sensing his struggle but, judging by the nearly imperceptible untrackable movement of her eyebrows, refusing to acknowledge it. She headed on.

“Like, Izzy isn't really like anyone I've ever met before? And it's so - uh, exciting? Just to see her, like, do things her way. From the start she's made me feel like I belong, when, like, no one else really bothered to try?” Clary exhaled and shook her head. “I don't know. Maybe that's a bit much. I mean, what if we start dating and it immediately goes sideways? It’s just - we have too much history together. Maybe that doesn’t make any sense?”

Simon frowned. “No, I get it. She's really important to you.” He tilted his head to catch Clary’s gaze again. “And I know you’re really important to her. I don’t think one bad date could end your friendship. Also, you’ve known her for a year. If you want to call that ‘too much history’, I guess it might be, but when has that ever stopped you?”

Clary barked out a laugh. “Yeah, our relationship wasn’t exactly a success, though.”

“Okay, that’s fair, but Izzy isn’t me. And you aren’t the same you you were a year ago. Things are different.”

Clary looked ready to argue again, but kept quiet. Her body language was singularly vulnerable but her expression was more thoughtful than anything, brow furrowed tightly. She picked absently at her fingers which were still stained with oil paints, green and purple and gold. The rain continued its assault on the fire escape.

Eventually, after a long moment of silence, Clary stretched out on the bed next to Simon and, tugging at his shoulder, gently nudged him to lie down too. Clary tilted her head so it was lying against his shoulder and they lay there listening to the city they had been hearing their entire lives. But it was different now, wasn’t it? Simon had super vampire hearing and Clary had her angel ears and this wasn’t the city they had known anymore, because they knew what hid under the surface. But then, well, New York had never been the city they thought they knew. Simon had meant what he’d said: Clary had changed, and he had changed, and their old world felt lifetimes away. A year ago he would have said this was a bad thing. Today, he... wasn’t so sure.

“Should I tell her, do you think?”

“Hmm? What?”

“Izzy.”

“Oh.” Simon tried to get his train of thought off the existentialist detour track. “Uhh,” he said, intelligently, “I don’t know. Give me a sec.”

“Yeah, of course. Can you think while we watch?”

Simon nodded and Clary unpaused the episode. She propped her head up on her hand to get a more comfortable angle at the screen, and Simon’s eyes caught on the rune on her neck, right against the edge of her jawline. That was the first one, the healing rune that had seemed so out of place the night he’d found her by the church. By the Institute. Now, he couldn’t really imagine Clary without the runes, each a different part of her new life. There were the quick, simple ones Jace had drawn in the beginning, joined by the strong, decisive strokes of Isabelle and the slender script that indicated Alec, and of course Clary’s own hand, elegant and curving. Some for protection and some for strength, for courage and speed, fresh ones and older, darker marks. There was a story for every single one. A bit of experience. A battle won or lost.

He didn’t often dwell on this, but it sometimes occurred to Simon just how strong his best friend was. She had been through so, so much and come out on the other side a victor, maybe through luck, but also through sheer stubbornness. It was one of the things he loved (and sometimes loathed) about Clary. Simon was extraordinarily grateful that, even though both of them had lost a life, they had gained a new one, and one that had the other in it.

“Clary.”

She turned her head so she could look at him. One side of her face reflected the  flickering lights of the TV. “Yes?”

“I think you should do what you think is best. Trust your gut. You’re gonna be fine.”

Clary looked disappointed. “That wasn’t much of an answer, oh great oracle,” she said.

“Well, that’s the only one you’re gonna get. This oracle is closed for the day,” Simon replied. He crossed his arms over his chest to emphasize his statement. Then, very quickly and stumbling over his words a little, he added: “I just really respect you and I think you’re really smart and have good judgement, and you can sort this out for yourself. Also if anything goes wrong this means you can’t blame me, so–” The rest of the sentence was cut off by Clary rushing to hug him. Her shoulder banged into his chin rather painfully. He would, of course, not have it any other way.

“Thank you, Simon. I love you.”

Simon smiled into Clary’s shoulder. “Love you too, Fray.”

[sazandorable]

A compilation and comparison of Ghetsis’ USUM lines about Giovanni in ENG, JPN, and FR

awright so I was actually started on this over on twitter and actively encouraged, so now you get... this (harharhar). It’s long and rambly, sorry!

For clarity’s sake, let’s start with the official ENG localization. I’m linking random LP videos each time for convenience, but there are lots of others to find.

ENGLISH:

"In order to achieve this beautiful ideal, however, I have need of a useful pawn... And that man, the leader of Team Rocket, is a man of pure evil! If I can make good use of him, and set him up as a king, I shall be able to reign supreme above all existence!"

"I have found that humans, with their predictable ambitions, are easier to use and control than a freak without a human heart."

"It wouldn't do at all to have you get in his way, especially when I must establish him as my king!"

(text c/p’d from bulbapedia (bolding mine). conversely, please have a look — i don’t even mean read, just. look. — at the entirety of ghetsis’s USUM dialogue on bulbapedia:

look at all this bold. i love his freakout trips so much.)

So to recap:

- pawn

- man of pure evil

- useful, make good use

- set up as (my) king

- human

- predictable, easy to use and control

- don’t get in his way (doesn’t comply with my plans!)

Now for the original

JAPANESE:

この野望を叶えるには操り人形が必要です 純粋な悪の思想を持つロケット団のボス… あの男…王としてうまく扱えば ワタクシはあらゆる存在の頂点に立てるのです！ 目的がわかりやすい人間は人の心を持たぬ化け物よりはるかに制御しやすいのです！ いいですか？ワタクシの王として彼を利用するためじゃまをされてはこまるのですよ！

(partly c/p’d from this blessing of a page which is basically the monolingual equivalent of this post, I’m laughing so much, same, bro, same)

I’m... Ok, I linked a video where the player reads the text aloud, but I’m still also going to transliterate this so you can “hear” it in your heads because. I really need you all to take notice of the sheer amount of “のです” in this extract. 3 out of 4 lines end with “no desu”. This is how Ghetsis speaks all the time. English localization did its best but still mostly lost this IMO: there’s two ways to read the formal, polite way JPN!Ghetsis speaks. One is the calmly threatening, quietly scary way in which the player acts out his lines in the video. The other way, the way I personally cannot stop hearing him, is like an affable, cutesy and harmless grandmother. Like a moe schoolgirl, even. Ghetsis once referred to himself & Team Plasma as being all “nakama” in canon. (EDIT: i actually remembered that bit as being worded “nakama na no desu” but alas, not quite.)

I just really need people to know this, okay.

Now that I’ve made this clear, as-literal-and-close-as-possible-and-thus-very-wonky-sounding translation by yours truly:

kono yabou wo kanaeru ni wa, ayatsuriningyou ga hitsuyou desu

“To fulfill this ambition, I need a puppet.”

Although “pawn” is a perfectly good translation choice (and adds a very appropriate chess theme), I also really want to let it be known that the original was “a puppet” (操り人形 ayatsuri ningyou). The kind with strings. (操る ayatsuru means “to pull strings” or “to manipulate”, in the literal sense.) Such a wonderfully creepy image too <3

junsui na aku no shisou wo motsu ROCKETTO-dan no BOSU... ano otoko... ou toshite umaku atsukaeba, watakushi ha arayuru sonzai no chouten ni tateru no desu!

“The boss of Team Rocket, of purely evil thought/idea/ideology... that man... if I can successfully treat him as a king / if I can make good use of him as a king, I will be able to stand at the summit of all of existence!”

The ENG used two verbs constructions here, but it's a single word. I am not savvy enough in Japanese to be able to tell if one or both nuances is stronger than the other here. But I do know that the verb (扱う atsukau) has the two meanings (“handle/operate” and “treat as”). And the ENG localization did keep “make use of”, too, despite the として structure being generally translated with “treat as”. I'm just saying, interesting double meaning within a single word here. V nice.

mokuteki ga wakariyasui ningen ha, hito no kokoro wo motanu bakemono yori haruka ni seigyoshiyasui no desu!

“A human with easy-to-know/understand objectives/motivations is far easier to control/keep in check than a monster without a person’s heart!”

... Okay usually I would have gone with “without a human heart”, like the localization always does, but the thing is he actually says “人間 ningen” (human) in the part about Giovanni. But not for N. In his usual pet name for N, he just uses “人 hito” (person). So. As evil as Giovanni is, Ghetsis still considers him human, unlike N (and N doesn’t get to be a person either). As lovely a dad as ever, huh. (Not about Giovanni but also noteworthy: the “freak” in the recurrent pet name is originally “monster” (化け物 bakemono). As far as I can tell, it’s always the exact same wording in JPN too.)

Technically this sentence could also be set in plural (no grammar cue at all), but since he’s clearly referring to N in the second half, I went with singular both times. In truth, he could be referring to humans in general (like what the localization went with), or simply to Giovanni specifically.

ii desu ka? watakushi no ou toshite kare wo riyousuru tame jama wo sarete ha komaru no desu yo!

“What about this? In order for me to make use of him as my king, allowing you to interfere would be troublesome!”

I ALSO JUST REALLY NEEDED EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT HE SAYS “II DESU KA?” HERE AND IT’S SO HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONVEY THAT ACCURATELY. IT’S NOT QUITE “WHAT ABOUT IT”. IT’S BASICALLY. ASKING FOR YOUR PERMISSION. LIKE “MAY I?”. Except of course he’s not asking for your permission, it’s also like... “So, you see?” But basically. Basically he’s not just threatening you or explaining to you why he’s gonna beat you up, he’s like “See what I’m about? So, can’t you be a good kid and let me do this puh-leaaase? :)”

And the word choice in the rest of the line is also very “Look I’m a nice harmless grandma :) :)” and cutesy.

The verb for “use” is a different one this time, though, more straightforward.

And the last line is slightly ambiguous as to who you’d interfere with — either “I can’t let you interfere with my plan (which is to control Giovanni)”, or “I can’t let you interfere with Giovanni’s actions, since I need him to succeed for my own plans”. Ultimately that doesn’t change a thing, but the latter sounds a little like “heeeey don’t break my stuuuff, I need this”.

And by the way yes it’s literally “my king” in Japanese too, very conspicuously so, sounded super gay to me.

So to recap, this version gives us:

- puppet

- PURE EVIL MIND

- to treat him as my king (huhuh)

- human

- easy to understand, easy to control/keep in check

- puhwease :) don’t get in [his OR my] way

And now for the absolute funniest:

FRENCH:

“Mais pour cela, j'ai besoin d'une créature... Un pion facile à manipuler, un pantin pour distraire les masses...”

“Et soudain, voilà que le ‹‹ boss ›› de la Team Rocket, un homme à l'âme plus noire que son costume, se présente à moi !”

“Je n'ai qu'à faire de cet homme un roi, puis à tirer les ficelles en coulisses... Et je me dresserai au sommet incontesté de toute la création !”

“Il est tellement plus aisé de manipuler un balourd aux désirs primaires qu'une grotesque parodie d'être humain sans âme !”

“Comprenez-vous, belle enfant ? Et vous, Dresseuse ? Je ne peux vous laisser m'empêcher de faire de cet homme un roi.”

So much to unpack here. /rolls back sleeves/

First off, you can probably tell that the French localization loves to make Ghetsis RAMBLE. He’s very dramatic, flair and all, and his choice of words are absurdly purple (and often archaic). Yes, he noticeably has these traits in the ENG localization too, but FR!Ghetsis is that to eleven. I can’t manage to accurately convey this in these translations, but trust me, he’s just. Completely over the top in all ways, all the time.

Mais pour cela, j'ai besoin d'une créature... Un pion facile à manipuler, un pantin pour distraire les masses...

“But for this, I need a creature... A pawn, easy to manipulate, a puppet to distract/entertain the masses...”

Geez, FR!Ghets, how come your localization lets you have all the cool dehumanizing insults and creepy metaphors at once?!

Et soudain, voilà que le ‹‹ boss ›› de la Team Rocket, un homme à l'âme plus noire que son costume, se présente à moi !

“And suddenly, the “boss” of Team Rocket, a man with a soul blacker than his suit, presents himself to me!”

I treasure the shade in those sarcastic quotation marks, okay. These just. Come from absolutely nowhere. Quite possibly to poke fun at the fact that French localizations have used the word “boss” from the start of the franchise, and it would be weird and confusing to use something else to refer to Giovanni here, but it’s not actually a word we’d use naturally and, indeed, FR!Ghetsis would never use it unironically (it’s kind of slang and very much not-originally-a-French-word)...

Also: A SOUL BLACKER/DARKER THAN HIS SUIT

GUYS THIS WAS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT

Je n'ai qu'à faire de cet homme un roi, puis à tirer les ficelles en coulisses... Et je me dresserai au sommet incontesté de toute la création !

“All I need to do is to make this man king / make a king out of this man, then pull the strings backstage... And I will stand at the unquestioned/unchallenged top of all of creation!”

In this version he just says he’s literally going to make Giovanni a king. No detail as to how, but there’s no nuance that it’s just pretending or tricking him or anything. The words he uses also mean literally “pull strings” and “backstage”, exact same nuances as in English, so still totally reveling in the show metaphors.

Il est tellement plus aisé de manipuler un balourd aux désirs primaires qu'une grotesque parodie d'être humain sans âme !

“It is so much easier to manipulate a boorish oaf with primal/basic desires than a grotesque parody/repulsive joke of a soulless human being!”

... Again. Bonus extra shade. The original wasn’t complimentary by any measure, but this is so gratuitously extra mean. Amusingly, even though we have the word “ambitions” too, the FR localization opted to turn the JPN “objectives” into “desires”. Yes, same nuance as in English here too. “Désirs primaires” sounds insulting but also... kind of raunchy.

Also, “balourd” is a really funny word choice, intrinsically and also especially when contrasting with Ghetsis’ usual speech, it suddenly drops a few levels in formality to go almost colloquial. A “balourd” is like... think The Jungle Book’s Baloo, actually.

"Grotesque parodie d’être humain” was one of the (... many) things he yelled to N at the very end of B2W2, however it was translated a bit differently in BW, so this is the first reoccurrence French localizations get!

(... Because until then he had... quite a varied arsenal of these. “Marionnette” (puppet) and “aberration de la nature” (aberration/freak of nature) in B2W2, “MA CREATURE” (my creature/creation — Giovanni got this one too here!), “Il ne possède pas de coeur!” (He doesn’t possess a heart!) and “triste abomination” (sad/grotesque abomination) in BW.)

Comprenez-vous, belle enfant ? Et vous, Dresseur/Dresseuse ? Je ne peux vous laisser m'empêcher de faire de cet homme un roi.

“Do you understand, beautiful/lovely child? And you, Trainer? I cannot (afford to) let you stop me from making this man king / making a king out of this man.

This has nothing to do with Giovanni anymore but it’s some more extra creepy :) (HAHAHA YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR MY CUNNING TRICK i just wanted to ramble about Ghetsis’ awesome lines and speech patterns in general ok... don’t shame me...)

“Do you understand?” appears to be how the FR localization chose to deal with the “Ii desu ka?”, which isn’t a wrong decision, but they randomly decided to apply it to Lillie too.

“Belle enfant” is referring to Lillie, he calls her this through the entire scene. It sounds very archaic (calling to mind the Middle-Ages and fairy tales — it’s what someone would call a teenage Sleeping Beauty for instance) and also, you know, SUPER CREEPY. Also, despite this infantilization, he uses vous (= formal you) for both Lillie and the PC, which is very very odd for an adult speaking to a child. Like I said: extremely polite, overly so, unnaturally so.

... Until you beat him and he snaps, anyway, because then he switches to tu (= thee, informal/familiar you) and informal insults. <3

Anyway, in this version he says you’re in his way, not Giovanni’s.

So to recap:

- creature, puppet, pawn

- manipulate, pull strings, creation

=> overall, all the chess AND (puppet) show AND creator-god metaphors (later on instead of “ruler of this world” FR!Ghets literally calls himself “the demiurge”, I’m not making this up) 

- “““boss””” of Team Rocket

- his soul is blacker than his suit

- simplistic, boorish oaf

- ... does not directly call him a human (just at-least-not-a-grotesque-parody-of-a-human-being)

- primal desires ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

- don’t stop ME from MAKING HIM KING

- (no “my king” :()

I wasn’t setting out to make a point but oh hey guess there is one: the level of ‘respect’ and amusement Ghetsis has for Giovanni’s abilities and evilness, as well as exactly how serious Ghetsis is about the whole king thing, vary from one version to another, and some things can also be interpreted in various ways! The reason why he attacks you also differs from “Uhhmm, I can’t let you get to Giovanni and ruin his thing, because I need him functional for my thing later, so I’ll have to stop you here” to “Don’t ruin my thing. Lol just try and stop me”. ... And I thought he called Giovanni something along the lines of “black-hearted” in all versions, but this post taught me that he doesn’t, just “evil”, so hey now you know that in French he does, isn’t it neat!

Also, Giovanni may be evil and basic, but at least he doesn’t speak to Pokémon.

Ghetsis, your standards.

[eyedelater]

notes (translation and otherwise) on chapters 100.12 and 100.13

basically i typed these up the day of translation for the respective chapters but never published them because i was feeling weird about them but i figured i’d put them out there anyway

translation notes marked with a * at the front so you can read only those if you want. overall this is pretty long and kind of nonsensical

--

for 100.12

*the "brother you can earnestly compete with" is the same phrase that i translated last chapter as "serious conflict," as in "there's never been a serious conflict between us," and i can't decide whether i translated it too strongly and then too weakly or vice versa but basically the meaning of the phrase (honki de butsukariau) is like, “seriously clash.” yeah, clash is the best word, isn’t it. it’s got all the right connotations, like bouncing off each other and general conflict but not necessarily a destructive fight and also not necessarily a friendly competition. yeah i should’ve said clash both times, huh. do you ever have regrets

*i was right about the sound effect at the end of 100.11 being a flash, sort of..? it was a precursor to this first panel's sound effect, which is "PIGIIIIN" which is an unusual sound effect, or at least, one i haven't really seen before. i mean it's entirely possible to just invent a one-off sound effect for any particular situation, you know? but in this case the sound effect appears to describe the phenomenon of ritsu being utterly immobilized by ???% in an instant

i was wrong about the percentage meter being mob's :0

raise your hand if you lost your shit after doing a double- or triple-take between the omake title and the omake itself and finally realizing what it was

i still need to sort out exactly how ritsu's interpretation of ???% and my ???% hypothesis work out, but i've been too busy playing psychonauts... plus i'm sure we will continue to better understand the nature of ???% as this chapter progresses. [[edit: psychonauts was good, and i’m probably going to reserve judgment on ???% until we get the full story, since there’s no point in speculating when your speculations will be addressed a week later]]

--

for 100.13:

*well, i had a lot of decisions to make in this chapter... which i guess actually just means i was slightly confused/ambivalent a lot. it comes with the territory of not actually being that good at japanese. i've said this before, right? it's on my about page. so don't let it come as a surprise to anyone that i'm not that good at japanese. i mean i'm not terrible, i have a solid handle on it. it's just that my approach to translation is more like decrypting a cipher as accurately as possible and then phrasing it in a way that captures both the meaning and the feeling. i try really hard, but i know i couldn’t be a professional translator without further education. that’s why i never claimed/aimed to be the best or only translator of this series. but i do still believe my work is accurate. 

*anyway, starting on the first page. ritsu says "wakatta... wakatta yo..." and wakatta just means "understood" and the "yo" adds emphasis, but we don't quite have any emphasis-adding particle in english, so i changed the latter to "i get it" to make it sound more insistent. even though i really try not to translate the same phrase two different ways, especially not in direct sequence like that. but at first i translated it as "i get it... / i get it, okay..." and that sounded way too whiny, so i thought the better way to phrase it would be to do what i did. i think ritsu feels bad about causing distress to ???% and is saying, like, "i know it feels bad, but i had to do it." (<< interpretation, not a translation)

*when ritsu says "right...?" i was thinking about translating that as "don't you think...?" (what he actually says is just "nee...?" which is just a call for confirmation basically) and while i do think "don't you think...?" would've been the cuter translation, i went with "right...?" because it has the same number of syllables as the raw line and maintaining brevity is important to me sometimes.

*thanks again to femoralynn for hand-drawing the "STOP!!!" on the third page~ i think it makes a big difference. in the raws it was also hand-drawn and it said "TOMAREEE" which means... "STOP," but in english there's no good way to add more letters to "stop" to indicate you're stretching out the pronunciation, so i added three exclamation points in order to convey the intensity and desperation of the line. even though i usually try my best to stick with the punctuation offered in canon without adding or removing any.

*translating newscasters is an ordeal because they use hella kanji but i think i got the majority of it down... the only bit i'm not very confident on is the speech bubble to the right of tsubomi's face, but like, i don't think it will have a huge bearing on the story, and i'm pretty sure it's close enough. i've said before that i'm not going for archive quality, and i'm not going to go back and fix little mistakes unless they're really annoying or really important to understanding the story (like the mistakes i fixed last week).

*i hope it's clear in the "the government has claimed that no official agencies are involved in this matter" line that they're saying that no official agencies are responsible for causing this disaster, and what they're NOT saying is that there's no government agency investigating it. because like. surely there is. like, joseph works for the government, and he dropped touichirou on it, so the government is doing Something.

*yes, ???% uses "boku" pronouns. an established fact, but just a reminder to the curious who forgot or didn’t know in the first place.

*oh, i might've mentioned this in previous translation notes, but whenever i put "power" in quotes like that, it's because it's in quotes in the raws. whenever it's Not in quotes (like in ritsu's "innermost power" line), i don't put it in quotes. i'm not yet sure about the significance of this, because although mob seems to use "power" in quotes consistently, he's not the only one who does it, and yet, not everyone does it. hmm.

i guess i’ve unconsciously switched to using “he” pronouns for ???% sometimes in my meta. this is probably exactly what ???% wants...!

*now about the confusion that led me to post the chapter an hour late. on page 8 of the chapter (labeled page 149 in the bottom right corner), you'll notice that the four speech bubbles in the last two panels have no tails to indicate the speaker. tailless speech bubbles are my mortal enemy, as both a translator and a comics reader in general, and if you're someone who makes comics or ever will, i strongly urge you to add tails to your speech bubbles no matter what (and if the speaker is offscreen, do the thing where you make an inverse tail in the speech bub by taking out a wedge). so basically, i rely heavily on context and got confused about who is speaking in the last two lines of this page. of course, i was also confused by the grammar to a degree, otherwise i wouldn't have had to rely on context in this case. anyway, at first, i thought it was ???% saying, "if you do that, you'll disappear. i live freely." the first line makes sense in a way, telling mob that he'd disappear if ???% disappeared, but the second line seems like a non sequitur, and i couldn't really make sense of it. then i thought, oh, it's mob talking from offscreen, and he's saying, "if only you would disappear. then i could live freely." that's a very reasonable sentiment for mob to express, and it would make sense as mob elaborating on the line that came directly before those two lines... but then, on the next page, it seemed strange for mob to be saying his fifth line in a row. it seemed like it should be more of a back and forth than just mob talking at ???%. and note that i had poor femoralynn typeset all these confused iterations as i thought of them at like 11:25 this morning. sorry again for that. but anyway i finally realized that ???% really IS the one talking in those last two lines (no thanks to the tailless speech bubbles, again), and he's responding to mob's request to go away by suggesting that mob should be the one to go away, since he's the fake one. and finally that makes perfect sense with the lines surrounding it. i don't know why it took me so long to understand that... but the speech bubbles definitely had something to do with it. remember, kids, if you put dialogue in your comics but don't indicate who is speaking, the reader doesn't know either! unless they're the only one on the page, like when mob was yelling into the void inside his own head.

it doesn’t help that in japanese, they often leave the subject (and sometimes the object) out of the sentence entirely and leave it to me to interpret who is doing a verb to what/whom. because in english, you can’t just leave the subject out of a sentence. (e.g. “korosu” is just the verb “to kill” but if you say “korosu” to someone, you’re essentially saying “i’ll kill you.” notice how i had to add the subject [i] and the object [you] even though the literal translation would be nothing but the verb “kill.” so if i see a speech bubble that says “korosu” and it doesn’t have a tail to indicate who is saying it, i Literally Cannot Know who is threatening to kill whom or what, except by using context to make an educated guess. you see why this is a problem? and naturally they do this with tons of verbs completely unrelated to killing, i just thought of “korosu” first because bakugou katsuki says it all the time)

(ONE-sensei is usually very good about tailing his speech bubbles. i wonder if the lack of tails was intentional here, meant to further reflect the fact that mob is arguing with himself and that they’re kind of both technically the same speaker. still confusing though)

(oh and for the curious, the raws for the last 3 lines on that page, page 149, were as follows: 「僕の中からいなくなってくれ。」 「だったらキミが消えてくれ。」 「僕は自由に生きる。」 yeah the "kure" in that second line really threw me off bc i'm a fool and also i translated that same "kure" as "please" for mob but i didn't put "please" in ???%'s line because i couldn't figure out how to put it in there concisely and also it's clear that ???% is being a dick even if he kinda said please. and also because i don't know shit)

(and fuck, if i'm being honest, that "please" probably teleported up to ritsu's "so please... come home..." line, because he didn't actually say please in that line. should i correct it? i feel like a fraud. i just thought the "please" helped convey the sentiment of the line, but in retrospect i could've translated it more accurately without losing the feeling of it.......... what ritsu really says in that line is "dakara... kaettekite ne..." which, if you've watched the one punch man anime, you can only hear as the lyrics to the extremely sappy ending credits song, so maybe that impression of extreme sappiness sapped through into my translation and made me make it sappier than it really was...............)

about how ???% is like "ritsu is my little brother. he was saying that i'm his older brother." i might be wrong in my interpretation (not translation, which is more or less literal, but the interpretation i'm about to give), but i took this to mean something along the lines of "just now, ritsu kept addressing me as his brother. i think that means i am his brother. today i learned that i am ritsu's brother." as opposed to meaning something more like "i'm the one he called 'nii-san,' so i'm his brother and you're not." (plus ???% did not literally say, “he called me nii-san.” i translated that line accurately.) although either way, it seems to indicate that ???% only just recently started noticing (or being able to notice) whom ritsu is addressing as "nii-san;" otherwise, ???% would have known that the other million times ritsu has called someone "nii-san" in his life, it has been directed at mob, not ???%. so even if ???% is suggesting that he is ritsu's only True nii-san, his claim is only based on the last few minutes of ritsu addressing him directly, which would back up my claim that ???% only learned/decided just now that ritsu is his little brother... if any of this makes any sense.

i love how serizawa is like "let's get out of here i'm sure kageyama-kun is fine" and reigen's like "...he's in the tornado isn't he" and seri's like "..........maybe"

and serizawa's new umbrella, which he must have picked out and bought himself specifically to use as his preferred vessel of psychic power, is transparent. is that... a bubble umbrella...?

[eirikrjs]

A Deep, Strange Week

My crazy week with vacationing Japanese friends is over! After coming to terms with the fact that I was close to death multiple times while navigating a hearing-and-English-language deficient elderly man through DC-area highways, I’m finally able to get back to doing what I do best: being a wet blanket. 

But in truth, in commenting further about DSJ, the blanket will remain mostly dry. I’ll get to a few common asks and leave the spoiler talk behind a jump. 

#1: The Shekinah (神霊 シェキナー; she is a Godly!)

Tons of people sent the name to me and THANK YOU because I was, after all, asking for it. A shame it didn’t get revealed before the trip because now it already feels like old news. 

Anyway, without getting into spoilers, this turned out to be a pleasant reveal for once. I have a couple quibbles with it (the dark purple faces, even if they are meant to be “cosmic”, seem “evil” when some bluish, greenish, or especially reddish hue for them would have better represented the “presence” aspect; plus that one face that’s grimacing for some reason), but those aside this is one of the only decent demon designs from DSJ, along with Anahita, I guess! 

#2: For the Glory of Speculation

So what does this mean for our good friend from the SMT5 trailer, “Shekinah Glory”? Don’t expect it to translate into this Shekinah appearing in that game in a major way, since it’s already used here. Instead, I can see this referring to the male protagonist’s (sorry folks, that’s just the reality) girlfriend, who could possibly serve as a kind of navigator for you after you both get eaten by those demons. Or, at the very least, she will be the “megami tensei” because we have to take that literally from now on. The broad strokes of femininity and divinity! 

Oh, and “Daath”...you see, Daath isn’t always on the sephirot tree, so I figure it could refer to a hidden or alternate path, because I doubt they will be able to get away from Law/Neutral/Chaos. Hopefully it represents something more abstract! 

#3: Have My Thoughts on DSJ Changed at All? 

This is a question from @m4tter4545. In short: sort of, but not really. I’ll get into the new endings in spoiler territory, but even thought they are interesting, they don’t erase what happened to Zeus or Demeter; it’s still a net negative in my eyes. I would maybe buy the English version on sale, but I’m not willing to commit to it beyond that. 

#4: Farewell, Miiverse! 

Before I move on to spoilers, let’s pour one out for Miiverse, which closes on Tuesday. While you still can, enjoy the Japanese DSJ community. Plenty of decent screenshots to grab in these final hours, like Mem Aleph above in full view for once--though the rest of her legs were always present in the original DS version, as seen at the bottom; the 3DS sprite is ever so slightly bigger, as well. I’m gonna miss Miiverse and its eccentric users, especially those on the European SMT4 page who supplied almost all of the screenshots I needed for Identity Crisis. Cheers to all you lucky devils who were able to post horny Walter, it was greatly appreciated! 

Be careful, spoilers ahead! 

#5: Lucifer’s Child and the New Endings 

So for some of these spoiler topics I honestly won’t have much to say because I don’t want to prematurely judge without the full context. Sometimes having the whole story at your disposal makes things better, sometimes worse (like for Apocalypse). 

But Alex being the daughter of Lucifer and MC is perhaps completely unexpected, so bravo to Atlus for surpassing expectations. But Lucifer...a mother? I mean, it’s a supernatural entity that doesn’t really exist and seems to be able to fully shapeshift, so who’s to say it couldn’t happen? But other than the weird logistics, I don’t find the idea bad or anything, at least based on the basics I know at the moment. 

The new endings seem to be divided between Law and Chaos endings on steroids and a primary new Neutral ending, where MC and Arthur become immortal or something and live on the moon to defend the world from the Schwarzwelt, which now reappears every 150 years. On paper that sounds totally rad, but kinda silly if you think about it for more than a minute. So let’s not do that and just conclude that it’s rad. 

#6: The Three Wise Women 

Even though I like the Shekinah design, her place in the overall SJ scenario seems odd. No, it’s not necessarily the Three Wise Men changing genders, as they were so vaguely defined (and smartly so) that they could be anything; that said, this idea definitely seems like a retcon. 

But it’s more that since canonically in the SJ universe, God has been split apart by the mothers, right? Hence the Metatron/Demiurge quest. But the Three Wise Men were still around, yet here they turn into what is certainly a direct avatar of YHVH. But hey, missing context, huh? I think some Cosmic Egg shenanigans were going on, too, so that may be enough to handwave it. 

Oh yeah, and apparently Demeter turns out to be Shekinah’s underling or something. Whatever. The quicker we move on from that mess, the better. 

#7: Zeus and Amon 

The last major topic I can think of, the game links Amon and Zeus together. Why? Because of Zeus-Ammon. 

I don’t know that many specifics about this other than it has to do with the Lucifer ring that Alex owns, which she uses to control Amon (?). But this connection strikes me as incredibly tenuous, chiefly because you can’t really make a direct connection between Zeus and Amon because a whole other god is standing between them: the Egyptian Amun. Just because one group equated A to B and another equated B to C doesn’t mean that A is equal to C. But yeah, yeah, this is the same game where Asherah results from Asura, so who really cares. 

I believe that’s it for now! Let me know if there’s anything to correct or add! Thanks for reading! 

[crossgartered]

P5R liveblog (8/?)

(Makoto arc end)

[[MORE]]

Oh, hey, Chihaya.

Idk if I'm remembering the timing right, but it looks like they took out Ryuji's interaction with those two entirely. I told him to wait outside bc of his uniform and he said he'd kill some time somewhere until I was done

It really does seem kind of awful of us to volunteer Mishima for this, especially without him knowing.

OH HERE THEY ARE

Oh, hey, they think he's interested in drag bc of how he was looking into Crossroads. They want to help him out. Still sucks that this supposed to be something funny, and that they're dragging him off without his wanting to, but it is better than it was.

UGHHHH MISHIMA IM SORRY

Oh, this translation seems different. A bit more natural, I think. Still really harsh, though. Sae...

Makoto...

FUCKING PRIESTESS LISTEN TO YOUR INNER SELF THIS IS JUST DOING SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF DOING ANYTHING PLEASE PULL BACK AND THINK STRATEGICALLY INSTEAD IF GOING ABOUT THIS SO EMOTIONALLY

Honestly her charm stat is in the pits. It's kind of hilarious since you need high (max? Idr) charm to progress past rank 5 with her.

Huh, if she had social stats... High knowledge, low charm, good guts, not totally sure about proficiency & kindness but I'm leaning towards okay-low proficiency and middling-decent kindness.

Now, the others...

Ryuji would have low knowledge, good guts,

Listen, I'm having trouble with quantifying their kindness. Because, they all have differing levels of what I consider personal-kindness and general-kindness

Wait. Do I really want to get on this tangent right now? ...Not really. Hold that thought. Back to the game.

GOD this was so dangerous I am honestly amazed that she got out of this okay.

GOD THAT IS SO DANGEROUS I AM HONESTLY AMAZED THAT HE GOT OUT OF THAT OKAY

Honestly I'm kind of surprised Kaneshiro doesn't have a doorman or anything.

Jeez, Kaneshiro's face looks off compared to everyone else. Like, on its own, it's a decent face, but it looks like it doesn't belong with the rest.

Huh, I wonder how many of them actually have mommies and daddies to beg money from. Let's see... Makoto is being raised by her prosecutor sister. Parents dead. Ryuji is being raised by a single mom. Dad left a long time ago. Canonically poor. Yusuke was being raised by Madarame. Mom dead. Dad out of the picture, idr how. Canonically poor, with poor money sense. Ann has parents. Successful fashion designers that she doesn't see half the year. And the protag has an ambiguous family situation. Of course, I have my headcanons, but that's nothing. Anyway, if we were going about this the way Kaneshiro wanted us to, Ann would probably be able to provide the most, followed by Makoto. (Again, leaving Ren out of this).

Guh, thinking about it like that feels shitty.

...can you even imagine an ATM with Ann's pigtails though? I mean I know the other ATMs don't have any distinguishing features but still

Anyway

Godddd, I really love when people are given reaction shots when something another character is saying is resonating or otherwise meaningful to them

Makoto: "A lot happened after we lost her father three years ago, so it's just us living together... But I'm still a child, so all I am is a burden to her..."

Yusuke: *cut-in* "......"

Me: *chef's kiss*

...it happens at other times in this game (and other stuff), too, but I just wanted to point it out. Especially bc you kind of have to infer a lot of the time when it comes to Yusuke.

OHHHDJDJSJDJJDS HE LOOKED SO SAD WHEN MAKOTO CALLED HIM A CANINE

"IT'S FOX" HE SAYS

Both Makoto and Ann called him specifically a monster cat. I wonder if the Japanese calls him a cat ayakashi or something.

What property damage did any of us cause?

Why is Shadow Kaneshiro purple anyway?

JOHANNA IS SO FUCKING COOL GODDAMN

I love Makoto's awakening ngl

But honestly, is there a /bad/ awakening in the bunch? They really killed it with the game aesthetics, you know?

"No weaknesses. Our only chance is to make them confused" or whatever she just said about confusing them. Idk if I just tune her out or if that's a new thing

Didn't Makoto have Flash Bomb or whatever that multi-phys + chance of Dizzy skill was called? Maybe she gets that at a higher level

*heavy sigh* Okay, Makoto

"I will crush him like a fly" I see what you did there

It really is nice that they're bringing up the advisor thing instead of just her doing it herself. I still feel like there should have been a little more talk about it amongst the 5 of them instead of just the 3 human-shaped guys but w/e

The references to English songs and memes is a little jarring, ngl

Man, Sae's gonna flip her shit when she hears what Makoto did to get here.

Awww Ann & Makoto are bonding

*sigh* listen, I like Makoto, I even dated her in my first playthrough of vanilla p5, but I really dislike how they just keep shilling her around this time. It's a little off-putting. I think it's a thing Atlus likes to do.

Hmm? Is the man getting joint pain on rainy days going to affect his Mementos fight?? Interesting.

Ughhhhhh Queen choosing her name and then the """strategy""" thing is exactly the same. Like her being there even changes anything about how we go about things. And we do think about what we're doing, actually! Well, mostly Morgana bc Phantom thievery is his whole schtick. But like, outside our usual plans, we successfully pulled off the heist in the Madarame Palace, for example. We also opened the locked door and dealt with that. We go about the palaces with intent! Blugh.

"it's my role to be the brain of this team and give out orders" BLUGH

And then Ryuji & Mona are into it... -_-+

I hate this part. It's awkward and dumb. There are better ways to make her their advisor, Atlus

Also someone mention that I am field leader pls. I know you did in vanilla p5 do it now as well

I wonder if they've changed her s.link abilities? They at least have to have given her 1 more thing due to the baton pass thing

I WONDER IF EIKO WILL HAVE A SPRITE NOW?!?!? I hope so ^u^

GUH I love Makoto's Queen outfit.

Oh, whoops, I forgot about that conversation. Maybe I should have put Morgana in my party.

But heck yeah, let's do a finisher! I wonder how to get these for people.

RYUJI WANTS TO DO A SHOWTIME WITH FOX "We could call it Art Run or something" I LOVE HIM

SHIT WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I SAVED

Ugh, it's really frustrating that they're trying to get me to showtime w Ann & Morgana when all the enemies here are weak to Zio & Bufu (with a little bit of Psi & Gun thrown in for good measure).

Okay, have reorganized my party so I don't have to use an Agi-weak persona to go after enemy weaknesses. That was so embarrassing.

Oh, neat! My sleuthing instinct kicked in! ... Makoto's abilities have to have changed.

YOU MEAN SHOWTIME CAN KICK IN EVEN WHEN ONE OF THE MEMBERS IS NOT IN THE PARTY?!?!?! AHHHH

Maybe even both, idk. Morgana seemed like the best choice to heal/lucky punch so he's in my party rn but maybe when he gets swapped out later I'll find the answer to that

...this is being surprisingly easy. But I don't think I'm overleveled... Jeez, I haven't bought weapons since Kamoshida's Palace. And they give you so many clothes in this game... And accessories! Really!

But yeah, I finished that security guy in 3 moves. Morgana - Garu (absorbed), Yusuke - Bufu (inflicting Freeze), Ryuji - Headbutt (Technical) -> All-Out Attack. I remember it being a lot harder in the original. Idk.

Okay, the next one was slightly harder. It took two All-out-attacks to beat it. But hmm.

Maybe I am overleveled, though. Apparently that miniboss (??) Was only level 21, and I am 23.

Oh, I'm getting Sigma feelings. Ann's counting down for opening the vault-like door.

I don't think I've ever noticed before how neat Kaneshiro's palace music is. Well, at least the Laundering Office, anyway. What is this, exactly? It's some version of Price - that's the same melody line, but the instrumentation is all different. That's not to say that Price isn't good; it's just that I'm weak for strings & orchestra instruments in non- orchestral songs. It sounds darker and more intense. I love it

Oho? That gold vault door seems new.

Or maybe I just don't remember it.

Anyway. I really do appreciate that Morgana mentions Shadow personalities in negotiations. Like, I read the tutorial on it, but it's nice to have him like "what's this one so happy about? Well, guess we'll play long for now" or whatever he says for an upbeat shadow. It's pretty neat.

"I wonder what it'd be like if we had Palaces instead of Personas." SAME, RYUJI, SAME 👀👀👀👀👀

Hmm, I know Joker Palace has some fics, and I think I remember seeing a Crow Palace fic, but I wonder about the others...? Hmm 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

I don't want to accidentally spoil myself, though. I'll go through the archive after I finish this.

"Your Palace would definitely be a beef bowl shop." ANN OMG

"Why'd you gotta give a straight answer right off the bat? I can't argue with that!" Ryuji pls ;u;

Why do Will Seeds all look like that? I know there are those death things with the hollow eyes like that, but is that what it is? It just seems so out of place in this technical setting. I'm kind of surprised they don't change appearances to suit their Palace. Tbh, it doesn't really look like anything that comes from Mementos, either. But I suppose it must...

WHOA, why did the Velvet Room door turn red? "I have an uneasy feeling" Same, protag, same

WHY IS THE VELVET ROOM ON HIGH ALERT

A fusion alarm? OH COME ON IT HASNT BEEN THAT LONG SINCE I FUSED ANYONE

Is this because I still have Jack Frost with me? But come onnnn I already had most of this palace's inhabitants alreadyyyy

By /fusing/ them

Could this have come at any time? Or was this scripted for now? Oh, wait, I overreacted, this says that my Personas will be stronger if I do it during a fusion alarm. Kind of incentivizes him to slack off, though, doesn't it? Lol

Oh, interesting. Look at all those accident possibilities. Nvm.

Orpheus... ;-;

Huh, I didn't realize the Picaro versions also were not just dlc

"You would like me to become your mask? Well then, let us search for the answers of life together."

*lie down* *try not to cry* *cry a lot*

Anyway.

I need to go to Mementos and find an Eligor. Gotta get that Flauros.

YES FINALLY MY GUTS INCREASED

Aww, the newspaper club girl is rooting for the phantom thieves. She's so angry at akechi rn

Oh, speaking of! Hello, Akechi!

AHHH RYUJI AND MAKOTO TEAM UP IM SO PSYCHED

Oh man it's bc of the motorcycle ISNT IT, RYUJI : DDDDDD

JDSKSKXNXJKS

The voice acting there was. Wonderful. Omfg

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense that Ryuji's tried to suggest team ups twice now, ever as soon as he learned they were a thing. He was on the track team, and the team aspect of that was very important to him. He likes cheering others on and being cheered on by others. Specifically by training and sweating and testing limits together - by fighting together. Of course ryuji is interested. Of course he is.

Man, I wish I had better context for the "you filthy fly on dirty money" line - I mean, obviously he's Beelzebub, who is apparently in charge of gluttony, but like, is that a phrase? Is this just a Beelzebub reference or is there more to it bc it feels like there's more to it and I don't understand bc cultural reasons

Blegh I don't want to give up my expensive items...guess I'll do this the tedious way.

Ah, here we go. Let's see how these hired guns are. Hopefully I can see the Makoto & Ryuji showtime? :3 ?

Wait, Bael? Not Beelzebub? Really? Huh?

YES IT'S SHOWTIME

HOLY SHIT I LOVE IT

I wonder why that briefcase was related to his distorted desires. We really know so little about Kaneshiro, relatively

Yusuke's kinda on the ball today.

...*snerk*

Wow, damn, Akechi was potentially onto us since the Kaneshiro calling card? He gave a list of potential candidates, maybe we were on it...

Makoto, really, it was unfair of everyone to put the burden of resolving the Kaneshiro issue on you. You really can't be blamed. you know that, right?

Oh, hey look, it's 'Gaudy Student' there in the background

Hhhhhhhhhhh there are so many choices I have 5 potential social links to do tonight. I could start Kawakami, Ohya, Chihaya, or Hifumi, or I could level up Yoshida since it's Sunday

AHH KASUMI IS SO CUTE. FUCK!

BWAHAHAHAHA justice rank 3 is. Amazing.

"I've seen everything. A vision of you groveling on the ground..." IS THIS THE THING IN DECEMBER SHES TALKING ABOUT

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Grimms Notes 1 | Spec Ops Asuka 1 - 2 | Boogiepop 3 | Price of Smiles 2 - 3 | Kaguya-sama 1 | Mob Psycho II 2 | Morose Mononokean II 2 - 3 | Shield Hero 2 | My Roommate is a Cat 2 | Girly Air Force 1

Grimms Notes 1

Somehow, from the opening shot having an easy-to-draw-and-animate non-very-threatening monster, I can tell this is a game adaption.

…Likwise, when I have complaints about the birds in the OP being CG, you know this is an anime.

I think this “handing down the role of Red Riding Hood” thing is interesting. However, the humour Tao was going for at the time…was so not me.

I think all Tao said was that it was dangerous (in the audio). I think the subber was trying to insert a Zelda meme…what an evil agenda…(partially joking)

“…scary black thing…” – Do you mean the monster? If you mean the wolf monster and not the other clawed creature from the beginning of the episode, then that’s not black. That’s purple.

I think Brain’s Base is trying to make Red look creepy with her dead ahead stare, but…as much as I don’t like a fisheye lens, we could really use some right now.

Okayyyyyyyyyy…I knew anime could make anything a weapon, but a bookmark? That’s stretching credulity a bit. How is that badass??? C’mon, even healing was – kinda – badass in Merc Storia because it had a purpose. A bookmark is just used for keeping your place in a book. Unless it’s one of those metal ones that falls out of books all the time, they don’t hurt flies.

Seriously, doesn’t Goliath get defeated by David??? In better news, I thought Tao was vaguely hot, but Robin Hood…ooh…

I have no idea why Alice’s weapon is a sword, btw.

Waitttttt…wuh? “I’ll show you how to be a real lady”???? *eyes of skepticism* At least the other ones make sense and aren’t as gendered – but notably Cinderella is a healer when they could’ve done something cooler, like the Little Mermaid or something (to tie into siren mythology).

Obviously Evil Villain is Obvious. Nothing new to see here.

Well…that was mildly unsatisfying…

Spec Ops Asuka 1

For some reason, I call Magical Girl Special Operations Asuka “Spec Ops Asuka”. Well, at least it makes sense…*shrugs*

Karambit. Surprisingly, it’s a weapon I’ve never heard of before…

Exposition dumps have never been this clunky before! Oof!

Whiskey Charlie? Like…WC? Toilet??? (I’m not sure everyone will get that joke, but okay.)

I’d probably translate the episode title to “Comeback of the Magical Girl”. It starts with a relative clause, so it should be that way in English too.

The ol’ transfer student cliché. *sigh* Anime, anime, anime…why you do dis to me? Not that I mind it, I wouldn’t be so deep if I weren’t…

What’s the name of Nozo-chan’s friend again???

“Franz on the Waves” seems to be a play on “Kafka on the Shore”.

Le sigh…I get the feeling this was written by a dude to satisfy male fantasies by pretending to use girl power as a symbol.

Seriously though, if you thought Sailor Moon was bad at keeping identities…Asuka has it worse. I mean, Rapture Asuka = Asuka Ootori. It’s really obvious in English…

A thug man with a metal hand drinking tea from a tiny cup…now there’s a real source of humour!

(Trigger warning: prostitution discussion) - “…whoring yourself out.” – Err…that’s definitely not what I expected to see in an anime like this. I haven’t shied away from Shield Hero, but this I did a really big double take on for all the wrong reasons. Even with Sayoko to hold Nozo-chan back, I still think Nozo’s being really, really insensitive here.

Okay…the rules of long hair state you must pull your hair out from towels. They missed a good opportunity to do that shoujo sparkle thing with that, y’know, even if to create mood whiplash.

There is something to be said about bystander effect here, I think, and how people award proactivity rather than being passive...especially with magical girls and those other kinds of people who act as “heroes” during times of crisis.

Oh, of course, terrorism. Because we want our magical girls political now…*le sigh*

“Live your life for the sake of those who died.” – This reminds me of the situation with cian-aemilian all over again. I’m pretty sure I’ve said something of a similar nature in the past due to it. Update: my exact quote was “…what can the living do but keep those who have gone in their memory?”

…and of course, people who watch magical girls from afar use drones, because that’s going to outdate this show in a good 10 – 20 years. *le sigh*

Well, colour me impressed. I was about to jump ship due to the shoddy quality, but I think that quote at the end felt like a dig at me personally in the best (yet worst) way possible.  I did laugh a tonne at how stupid the gore looked, though, which might be a problem…

Boogiepop 3

Is it just me, or has Echoes cleaned up now enough to be kinda…hot?

Waittttt…which of them is “Niitoki-kun”? Sorry, I just don’t think I’m 100% comprehending all the names being flung about here. Update: Niitoki is the class prez gal.

Somehow I knew he was going to stab Echoes with the pen, but I was still slightly surprised to see it happen.

Hmm…that episode was a lot more impressive than the last two. Things actually made sense, now that we know the background of them,

Price of Smiles 2

I see 2D mechs. They may be stationary, but I’m still impressed…they’re basically a dying breed these days.

Why do these mechs have shields, anyway?

I like how the twins poked fun at Joshua’s “passion and will” thing.

Oh no…judging from their reaction…did Joshua die???

End of episode segment…keep watching.

Kaguya-sama 1

This is my final premiere…so I’d better make this count. I read somewhere the narrator was overpowering and read the first volume of manga, but otherwise that’s all I know about this.

I think that shot that replays in the OP is part of one chapter of the manga.

Tori…Tottori…geddit? Oh, never mind.

20th Century Fox, much?

The weed was a good touch. I don’t remember that being in the manga. (No, I’m not talking about that weed…which you can smoke…)

“Who’s Hayasaka?” you ask. Good question. Even I didn’t know, so I had to ask Google. Hayasaka…is Kaguya’s valet! If you know that, then you can laugh about it!

If you want a sausage octopus, just go ask your team of chefs for one, Kaguya!

Mob Psycho II 2

I’m pretty sure Ura Sunday is where Mob Psycho is serialised…

Is this the real Junji Ito adaption (LOL)?

Mononokean II 2

Why is Ashiya good at finding metal objects anyway? (If there is an explanation…) It’s only metal items and not anything else, right?

So the Justice is this frumpy purple-haired dude? I think I outgrew this kind of dude once I got over Urushihara…

There are CGI tadpoles, but they’re kinda hard to see against the 2D background…

Come to think of it, Abeno may be the master of the Mononokean, but it seems he reports directly to the Legislator. Is there a guy/youkai like that for the Justice (and presumably the other dude) as well?

Moja falling into the water was too adorable!

Oh great (LOL), the Legislator is basically baiting Abeno with “that’s not water!” from Grand Blue…

I just realised Abeno’s so big in comparison to Ashiya…n-not that I mind of course…(lel)

Aoi? Who dat? Update: Oh yeah…that guy (?) was the first master of the Mononokean. Sorry, I may have watched the 1st series twice, but that was at the start of 2017.

Shield Hero 2

“…is diseased and has a mental disorder.” – Well, I thought it honestly couldn’t get any worse, between slavery and rape accusations. It just did. Again, I don’t condone this stuff, but a story’s a story, no matter how depraved.

Seeing a story about the pits of despair naturally means you can see people get better – I think that’s why we need to have both stories that are light and fluffy + dark and dreary.

I see Naofumi keeps a Balloon (<- how I’ll refer to balloon monsters from now on) at his side all the time now, LOL. By the way, when he bought that ball, I honestly thought he was going to offer Raphtalia a Balloon instead of getting her a proper ball…

Update: Not sure if Naofumi’s inability to taste stuff is because of the betrayal or because of the fact he changed worlds…or maybe even something else?

My Roommate is a Cat 2

I see Bliss wallpaper...either someone has good taste in default wallpapers or a very outdated computer!

Is it alright to feed cats bread…? I’ve never fed a cat.

They say pets are like their owners, huh? Subaru is very much like the cat.

Wait, why are all the pets that are out and about do-Update: Forget I asked. There are some cats outside as well…

I’ve never seen a Japanese word processor with genkouyooshi to type into vertically, come to think of it.

Talking to cats is fine and dandy, I think, assuming they understand you as well. Anyways, I think Subaru got the name “Haru” from “sunny” (hare).

Ah! Kitty too cute!...I wish that could be a review, but sadly…it can’t be.

Post-credits segment…keep going.

Oh, that post-credits segment was so good, even if it did need some explaining to an audience that only knows English!

Update: I read the character bios from the official site, and turns out Haru is a girl.

Girly Air Force 1

I’ve seen mixed opinions about this (as in, read too many impressions on it and they don’t neatly go one way or another), so I’m taking the plunge while I still have time to.

You can tell your protagonist is great when the first word he says is “S***!”

EGG? “Defective girl”? I know I’m watching something with a lot of context here…but seriously, this was definitely made for dudes. Jusssssssssssst saying.

See? What did I say? After your first kiss, it’s only a matter of time before-erhem. I’ll stop ranting now.

So…what languages does Minghua know, exactly?

Wait, so what was Kei doing in China? Better question! (sings in a teasing voice “Eloping, eloping, Kei was eloping!”)

As much as I think free tuition is a good thing…I’m with Minghua. Don’t go risking your life when you just escaped for your life not too long ago.

*sigh* Kei, Kei, Kei…what do you think you’re doing?

…and I LOL. I LOL so hard at how they tossed Kei into the boot but laid down Minghua like a baby.

But seriously, why the name “Daughter”???

Egao no Daika 3

I found and heard Huey! I can leave this show if I wanted to now…

The fact people are red or blue, and sometimes you can’t tell which is which, is powerful colour symbolism.

Spec Ops Asuka 2

Well…that (perception magic) explains one of my questions from last time.

I kep thinking that Sayako is the sort of girl who would become a magical girl…in the traditional sense.

Pigeon fight! The fight I never knew I needed…kind of.

I’ve watched enough anime to know the new transfer student is Kurumi…geez.

Mononokean II 3

For some reason, I didn’t realise this until most of the episode had gone…but Egen is a tengu, right?

Make sure you watch closely for the “like him [Ashiya]” bit…it’s funny when you find out.

I find it the most surprising that Abeno is calling himself an idiot…hmm.

[kaialone]

Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: Zelda’s Spirit

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

Specifically, this will cover the cutscenes in which Link follows and encounters the spirit of Princess Zelda.

You can also watch these scenes for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, 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.

--

Characters in this part who had their names changed between versions:

Cirokuni = Alfonzo, Kimaroki = Cole

--

Seeing Zelda's Spirit:

Zelda:

ああ 誰か...

Ahh... Anybody...

Hello! Hello! Guards! Please help me!

Zelda:

誰か わたしが見える人 いませんか？ たすけて..

Anybody? Is there no one who can see me? Help me...

...Can any of you see me? I need your help!

-

Guard by the stairs:

ん？ なんか 今 声がしたような しなかった ような...

Huh? I thought I heard a voice just now, but maybe it was nothing...

Did you hear that voice? Or did I just imagine it?

Guard by the stairs:

最近寝不足だからな... 今日は早く帰って寝よう

Probably haven't been getting enough sleep... I oughta go home early today and hit the hay.

I really need to get more sleep. I'm so tired that I'm hearing things.

-

Following Zelda:

Zelda:

もし！ そこの兵 私が見えないのですか！？

Hello?! Can you not see me, soldier?!

Help! I need your help!

Zelda:

........

...

...Why can't anyone hear me?

-

Guard by the door:

何やら 人の気配が したような気が...

I sort of feel like there was someone here just now...

I thought I saw someone moving out of the corner of my eye.

Guard by the door:

はっきりいって こういった 広いところにいるのは あまり好きじゃないですね  

Frankly, I'm not that fond of wide open spaces like this one here.

This castle can be awfully creepy sometimes...

-

Meeting with Zelda:

Zelda:

…リンク 私が…見えるのですか？

...Link, can you... see me?

...Can you...see me, Link?

Zelda:

…そうですか シロクニには 申し訳ないことを しました

...I see. I must apologize for what happened to Cirokuni.

...I must apologize to Alfonzo for what happened.

Zelda:

そして あなたにも…

And to you, too...

And to you too.

Zelda:

まさか大臣が あのような 魔物だったなんて…

To think that the minister was such a monster... 

I never knew the chancellor was capable of such evil.

Zelda:

長年 気がつかなかった 私が愚かでした

All these years, I never noticed it. I was a fool.

All these years, and I never noticed what he really was.

I was a fool.

Zelda:

リンク あなたも見ましたね？

あの禍々しく変わってしまった 神の塔の姿を

Link, you saw it too, right?

How the Tower of God changed so ominously?

And the Tower of Spirits breaking apart...

You saw it too, didn't you, Link?

Zelda:

塔が あのような奇怪な 動きを始めた理由…

あの魔物と関係があることは 間違い無いでしょう

The reason that the tower started moving in such a bizarre way...

It must have something to do with that monster, no doubt about it.

It must have something to do with the dark forces.

Zelda:

これまでの線路が消える現象も 全て彼ら…

キマロキ達の仕業とみるのが 妥当だと思います

Not to mention the train tracks that have been disappearing lately. They...

Kimaroki and the other one are behind it all, I am sure of it.  (1)

After all, they made the Spirit Tracks disappear.

This must be the handiwork of Cole and his cronies.

Zelda:

それにしても…キマロキの 目的は何なのでしょ？

Even so... what is Kimaroki after?

But what could their goal be?

Zelda:

結界が消えた…と言って いましたが それはいったい？

He said the barrier was vanishing... but what is that supposed to mean?

He said something about the Spirit Tracks vanishing.

What did he mean by that?

Zelda:

それに私の体を持ち去った 理由も分かりません…

And I do not know why they took my body, either...

And why would they take my body away with them?

Zelda:

何をしようと いうのでしょうか…？

What are they going to do...?

What will they do with it?

Zelda:

あ ごめんなさい…

Oh, I am sorry...

Oh, I'm sorry.

Zelda:

私 この姿になってから 浮けるようになったみたいです…

I seem to have started floating when I assumed this form...  (2)

It seems I'm much…lighter without my body.

Zelda:

リンク

Link.

Listen, Link.

Zelda:

私は もう一度あの塔に 行こうと思います

I would like to go to that tower once more.

Let's try again to go to the Tower of Spirits.

Zelda:

こうなっては何としても 賢者様に お会いしなければ

At this point, I absolutely have to meet with the sage.

Now more than ever, we must find the tower's sage!

But before we go, I want to show you something.

Zelda:

この楽器は大地の笛といって 昔から王家に伝わるものです

This instrument is called the Flute of the Land, and has been passed down the royal family for a long time.

This Spirit Flute is a prized family heirloom.

It's been handed down for generations.

Zelda:

この地に移り住んだ ご先祖様が お持ちだったと聞いています

I heard that it once belonged to my ancestor, the one who migrated to this land.

It originally belonged to one of my ancestors,

the one who founded this kingdom.

Zelda:

…わたしの大事な 宝物なんです

...It is my greatest treasure.

It is my greatest treasure of all.

Zelda:

リンク 今わたしは これを持つことも出来ません

Right now, I cannot even hold it, Link.

I can't carry it while I'm in this state, as you can see.

Zelda:

でもこれは ご先祖様から 伝わるもの…

きっと わたしを守ってくれると 思うのです

But it has been passed down from my ancestor...

I am certain that it will protect me.

But I'm certain it's meant to protect me.

Zelda:

これ以上 ご迷惑をおかけ するのは忍びないのですが…

I cannot bear to ask any more of you, but...

I can hardly ask you to do any more for me...

Zelda:

これを持って もう一度…

Would you take this, and...

But...will you take this?

Zelda:

一緒に塔へ行って もらえないでしょか？

Would you go to the tower with me again?

And will you come to the tower with me?

Zelda:

今のわたしには あなたしか 頼れる人が いないのです

Now there is no one left I can turn to but you.

You're the only person I can turn to now.

Text Box:

大地の笛を手に入れた！

You got the Flute of the Land!

You got the Spirit Flute!

Text Box:

きっとそのうち 何かの役に立つはずだ

It'll definitely be useful in some form.

This pan flute will probably come in very handy!

Zelda:

ありがとうございます リンク…

Thank you so much, Link...

Thank you so much, Link...

Zelda:

では参りましょう

わたしは この姿で あなたに付いていきますね

Now then, let us depart.

I will follow you in this form.

Now then, shall we go? I will travel alongside you.

Translation Notes:

What I translated as “Kimaroki and the other one” is キマロキ達/Kimaroki-tachi in Japanese. Adding the suffix 達/-tachi essentially means “that person as well as one or more additional people”. In the context here, I felt it most likely referred to just Cole and Byrne, which is why I translated it the way I did.

What I translated as “floating” here is 浮ける/ukeru in Japanese, which can refer to floating in the sense of being light, like when levitating, or floating on water, similar to the English word.

--

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The localized dialogue in this part is overall pretty close to the original version, and well-written as usual.

But there are still several aspects I want to point out here, though some of them are more about how prior changes alter the implications here.

-

I want to start with Zelda’s flute.

We don’t learn the full story behind it until later, but I still want to go over it here, since this is the point in the game where it’s first named.

In both versions, receiving this flute is significant, since Link will use it throughout his adventure, but it’s especially important in the Japanese version.

Like I mentioned in the introduction of this comparison series, the Japanese name of this game is 大地の汽笛/Daichi no Kiteki, meaning “Steam Whistle of the Land”, which ties directly into the name of this instrument, 大地の笛/Daichi no Fue, meaning the “Flute of the Land”.

So, in the Japanese version, we are finally receiving the instrument which the game is partially named for, so it’s a moment not unlike receiving the Ocarina of Time or the Wind Waker in their respective games.

In the English version, the name Spirit Flute does relate to the game title Spirit Tracks, but since this version overall has plenty of things that have “Spirit” in their name, the flute itself doesn’t stand out as being particularly special.

In Japanese, the flute is completely unique with its “of the Land” descriptor.

I also want to explain in more detail what the name “Flute of the Land” actually means.

The “Land” part of this name, is 大地/daichi in Japanese, which could also be translated as “earth” or “ground”. But in this case, it’s referring to “the Land”, as in the entire land the game takes place in.

In a way, the flute symbolizes this land itself. As we learn later, it used to belong to the sage of the tower at the center of the land, and the colors of its pipes reflect those of the individual regions: Forest, Snow, Ocean, Fire, Sand, and even Darkness.

We will also learn later that this flute having been entrusted to Zelda’s family was done so under the condition that they would promise to protect the land.

With this flute, as well as the game’s title, and the overall dialogue in it, the Japanese version places more importance on the actual land.

This ties in with the history of its native people and pantheon, plus the divine servants and their sacred instruments, which still continue their ancient traditions and duties, playing important roles in the narrative.

In turn, Zelda and Link, being representative of the Hyrulean people, prove themselves worthy and capable of continuing this legacy over the course of the story.

These are elements which are still present in the English version, but a few general changes like this one make them slightly less prominent.

The English version focuses on a general “Spirit”-themed branding, though I feel this was done for marketing purposes, rather than censorship or anything.

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It’s minor, but I want to mention this change of what one of the guards says:

Frankly, I’m not that fond of wide open spaces like this one here.

This castle can be awfully creepy sometimes…

Mostly because I think it’s another neat example of completely rewriting the original line, but still conveying its meaning.

It’s just this optional line from a guard, but maybe that’s why it kinda stood out to me.

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After Link confirms to Zelda that he can see her, the scene cuts to a shot of just the room’s window, which slowly zooms out.

In the Japanese version, Zelda’s next line starts with her saying “…I see.”

Combined with the framing, this tells us that there was probably a tiny skip in time, during which Link told Zelda about the current situation, particularly how Alfonzo is completely out of commission now.

The English version omits this line, and thus the implication, but it could be another oversight from lack of context.

It’s a minor difference, but it explains how Zelda later knows about the extent of Alfonzo’s injuries, compared to the mostly unscathed Link.

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I’ve already talked about terms that the Japanese versions of Zelda games generally use when referring to the demonic, and also how the respective English versions of Zelda games generally go for “monster” rather than “demon” when adapting those.

And in that same vein, you’ll notice the English version of this game right here seems to avoid calling Cole a demon directly, and doesn’t even go as far as calling him a monster in this particular part.

Instead, phrasings like “evil” and “the dark forces” are used instead.

It’s strange, because they did finally use the term “Demon King” in the English version of this game, but for some reason they avoid most other instances of demonic aspects being mentioned.

It could be they were only using different phrasings for the sake of sounding natural, and it coincidentally ended up like this, but I can’t say for sure.

I won’t bring this up every time there is an example of it, but you can keep an eye out for yourselves whenever something like “demons” comes up in Japanese, and see how the English version handles those instances.

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In the Japanese version, Zelda says she’s certain that Cole and co. are also involved with the disappearing of the train tracks, in addition to what happened to the tower.

While she’s later proven to be right, it’s still supposed to be speculation on her part here.

In the English version, Zelda instead states that Cole and co. made the tracks disappear like it’s a confirmed fact.

Cole did mention that the tracks disappearing was something beneficial to their plans in English, but he technically didn’t say that they were the ones behind it.

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Also, a minor detail is that in English, “Cole and his cronies” is used as the translation for キマロキ達/Kimaroki-tachi.

This is a possible way to translate this, but at this point we haven’t really been given any indication that there are any more people besides just Cole and Byrne involved, so it’s more likely Zelda was supposed to be referring to just those two in Japanese.

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In both versions, Zelda talks primarily about Cole in this cutscene, rather than Byrne.

So there isn’t really a change here, But the context of previous scenes slightly changes the implications.

In the English version, Cole has acted as the primary antagonist so far.

So, there is nothing unusual about Zelda speaking of him the way she does here.

However, in the Japanese version, Cole had previously acted subservient to Byrne, referring to him as “master”. And Link earlier described Cole as a “minion” to Teacher.

Despite that, Zelda still focuses on Cole here, showing that from her perspective, he is the more prominent antagonistic force, likely because of their history.

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When Zelda shows her flute to Link, the English version adds a line of her saying she’s about to show him something.

This was probably done to make the transition flow better, which is understandable.

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In the Japanese version, Zelda says that her ancestor “migrated to this land”, whereas in the English version she says her ancestor “founded this kingdom”.

Both are true, but note again how the Japanese version puts a bit more focus on the actual land itself, rather than the current kingdom in it.

Also, it’s not important just yet, but over the course of the game, there will be occasional mentions of Zelda’s ancestor, or ご先祖様/gosenzo-sama in Japanese.

In the Japanese version, any mention of this almost exclusively refers to one specific ancestor of hers: Tetra.

But in the English version, this sometimes gets translated more vaguely as “ancestors”, making the references to Tetra more ambiguous.

So keep that in mind.

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And finally, when they are about to leave, the Japanese version has Zelda say “I will follow you in this form”, referring to the small ball of light form she turns into while travelling.

The English version just has her say “I will travel alongside you“, maybe because they didn’t realize what she meant by “this form”, considering they probably didn’t get to see the footage.

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As I said, the dialogue in this part is pretty close and well-written.

Almost all the notable differences here are the results of prior changes or possible lack of context for the translators.

I can’t help but wonder how this script would’ve turned out under different circumstances?

The biggest change for me here is definitely the name of the flute and how it ties into the name of the game, as well as the story, because it’s likely to shift the perspective of the player.

Anyway, that’s it for this part, feel free to check out the next one!

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