#...the knives has had a very long day of splashing satellites and wants to take just a smol sleeb.

[feekins]

getting more into Midvalley's character here in ch 2! so here are my thoughts and things and whatever translation weirdness I find as I re-read Trigun Maximum vol 4!

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

man...I knew trimax Midvalley was cool, but I'd forgotten how cool =u=

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

here, Dark Horse's use of "gods or devils" puts the emphasis on power. the way the Overhaul words things, though, there's the power aspect ("This isn't human for sure") as well as that power's intent. Midvalley's basically saying 'it was not a good higher power that did this - it was a very bad one.' furthermore, the Overhaul's translation makes more sense given the context. you just need to look at how Midvalley describes Knives on the next page.

but before I get to that - the very last panel of this one says in Dark Horse "Given my line of work, I should have been able to sense trouble coming" whereas the Overhaul's translation starts with "Given I'm good at my line of work"

anyway. that leads into the next page, where Dark Horse puts it like "But that doesn't work on pure, unmitigated evil. A power that immense seizes your destiny without warning." whereas in the Overhaul, it's "But that sense doesn't work on pure, absolute evil. A power so great that it seizes your destiny in the blink of an eye." the Overhaul's translation is more straightforward/explicit, specifying that Midvalley's still talking about his not-Spidey Sense, which. was not something I picked up on before, lol.

collecting VS a collector of. "collecting" strikes me as more passive, whereas "a collector of" implies deliberate intent. Knives isn't doing the thing just to do it - he's doing the thing with purpose, if that makes sense;;;;;

Midvalley goes on to further illustrate just how evil Knives is from his perspective, which - idk, it says a lot when one murderer looks at another and says "yeah no, this guy is The Literal Devil".

and it's. so. funny to me (but also kinda sad). how detached Knives is while he and Legato are talking.

also...knisvisiese neebs to slek, ver twired boyo, just a lil guy. knivsinienvesi needs his beaty sleeb.

look at him go! he yawn big cause he skeejy, neebs to falafel asleep.

(no but srsly - I wonder if the angel arm usage is physically tiring...?)

you can rly see how much Knives just. doesn't. care. how devoted Legato is to him. he literally could not care less about any concerns Legato has about Wolfwood, and he certainly doesn't care about whether or not Legato's in the loop about any of his overarching plans. Legato's just another human to Knives, just a means to an end. it plainly shows us the kind of disregard/complete lack of care for humanity Midvalley tells us about Knives.

...now...nini time! good night, mr. the knives.

...aaaaaand we end with this interesting translation discrepancy 😆

[pisceserena]

The End (Part 2)

Part 1 here

A/N: So this is posted a bit late-r than I planned. But here is part 1 anyway! This is quite long, and I hope you take the time to read it. Thank you guys so much for reading my fics! 

wordcount: 1,779

AndromacheTheScythianxReader

No one knows how long it’s been since Andy and (Name) have actually interacted. The two have resulted to going back to how they were before. Cold, and with walls greater than the Great Wall of China. The two only speaking when needed, they are still a team after all. 

Behind the strong facade (Name) puts up, is a person who is broken inside. Only letting herself go in the comfort of her bedroom or her bathroom. After countless nights of tears, and the discomfort of not being able breathe well due to their nose getting clogged, they’ve decided getting over someone won’t be possible if they’ll always see Andy. Not to mention the fact that being with her in missions results to her losing focus. No matter what happened between them, they wanted her alive...for as long as possible, even if it won’t be with them. It was the day after that (Name) has decided they was done breaking down, Quyhn will live a long life, and Andy would be there till her last breath. They should move on. And distance is needed if they wanted it fast. It was the day after that, they decided to go on missions on their own. They could take care of themself. They didn’t need anyone.

“I want work alone Copley.” Not all for it at the start, but after a few persuading and the “Not like there’s much that can be done with me, I can’t die” line from (Name), he eventually gave in. When the team asked about it, all Copley saud was that it was they wanted and that his hands were tied. In his defense, (Name) could be scarily persuasive if they wanted to be. 

“Copley wants to see you in his office.” The sound of the throwing knife hitting the bullseye echoes in the room. “Are you working on missions alone?” Joe inquires, concern etched on his face. Taking a deep breath, (Name) throws the knife, not bothering to look at the target. “ I figured it would be best to be as detached as possible.” Not knowing what to say, Joe lets them walk past him, seeing the knife they nonchalantly threw at the target embedded on the bulls-eye. They were strong, but so broken inside, everyone sees that, Andy just chooses to turn a blind eye. She was with Quyhn, and wasn’t it (Name) that broke up with her? She hasn’t realized herself that she was in denial.

Quyhn at first was clueless, she didn’t know what was going on, why there was tension and why the two acted the way they did. It took a few days, but she was finally able to pick up on what was going on. She didn’t mean to intervene. She didn’t want to be the cause the two didn’t end up together. When she confronted Andy, she’d always brush it off. Saying that they were broken up, and it was just a short thing.

“This is your mission-” Copley starts, handing her a file and and ipad with a satellite map pinned. “that warehouse, in the outskirts of London, just a few miles from here, is where 3 daughters of a very important person is being kept hostage.” Their brows furrowed. What is it with men always targeting women? They looked through the file. Seems pretty easy. “You just need to take out the men, and get the girls to the car that will wait for them outside the facility gates.” They nod in understanding. “How many men?” Copley stares at them handing over the keys that they’ll use to drive themself to the location. He decided that in order to keep the warrior’s profile lowkey and what they were were doing a secret, (Name) couldn’t be the one to take the 3 girls back to their homes, hence the separate car with a clueless driver. 

He zooms in on the satellite map and points out the possible entries and exits. “There are 2 guards at a bird’s eye view that you need to take out before the 2 infront of the facility’s main gate. Otherwise, the rest will be alarmed and you’ll be out numbered-” 

“Because being outnumbered can really do me some damage” They roll their eyes before sarcastically gasping “what if I get killed?” They joke chuckling to themself. Unimpressed, Copley sits down and rests his hand together on his desk. “There’s 3 in the 2 entrance and exit points of the warehouse. Once you get in, there will be 6 surrounding the girls.” He finishes “Should be easy enough” They say standing up, Copley following suite. “Get what you need and load up. Not that you’ll think of it as much but, Goodluck, and come back safe”

Grabbing a DLQ33, (Name) tests to see if the the scope was clear and in good condition. “Need some help with that?” Nicolo’s voice loud that she could hear, but soft that it does not echo in the room. “I got it” They reply continue to move around putting the weapons she needed in bags, strapping herself with her throwing knives and such. It was silent for awhile, Nicolo watched as the broken warrior attached an extended mag to their AK117 “You don’t have to do this alone caro” his pet name made them pause. Oh how they missed the team. But as quickly as it came, it was pushed back just as fast. “I can do this Nicky” They reply adding the stock for penetration and the red dot sight for better aim. Grabbing more bullets, and stuffing it in the bag, they stop to turn to Nicky. “I just need to let all of these feelings go Nick.This is the only effective way of me releasing all the bad thoughts and negative emotions. Let me cope...please” Their voice getting soft, pleading towards the end. Silence once again embraces them. Their eye contact breaking when (Name) zips up the bag and hauls it over their shoulder. They take one last look at Nicky before proceeding to head upstairs towards the garage. 

“(Name)? You dropped this” Nile says handing to them the car keys. “Thanks” they reply walking faster and towards the car. “I can help you (Name) atleast take me with you” smiling and ruffling Nile’s hair, “I’ll see you when I get back champ” they smile reassuringly and unlock the car. 

“Need some help?” Booker asks, being the one to load up the car. “You’re going against 17 men (Name)” His words not bothering them as they open the driver’s side and start the engine. Rolling down the window, (Name) smiles at Booker. “Don’t worry, I can handle it.” That was the last thing Booker heard before they drove out of the garage.

The phone connected to the car starts to ring. Not bothering to look at the caller, they still gotta drive safe, they press the answer button. “New updates?” 

“Be careful. I want you alive more than you think” Andromache says before the call ends, not giving (Name) any chance to speak. This wasn’t the first mission they went on alone. What was up? Shaking it off, they focused instead on what lies ahead. The sun has just set, and night was falling upon them. Perfect.

Eyes sharp, their AK117 in hand, they enter the warehouse. How incompetent is the police, this door is waaay too easy to breakdown. Taking a deep breath, they knock the door down with a strong, hard kick. Bullets were flying, their knife, hitting another man’s chest. The screams of the girls adding to the noise pollution. Everything was going well until (Name) decided that the girls needed cover, pushing a table over they lead them to hide behind it. What they didn’t notice, was a man getting up and grabbing them from behind, locking their arms. Before they got to break free, another man got a hold of their knife, and without hesitating, plunges it into her side. Crying out in pain, and finally being able to break free, they tackle the man and stab him in the head. His blood, splashing on their face. Another pain ran through their body, and they realized that they’ve been shot. Having enough, they throw the knife, hitting the right spots, killing them instantly. 

Silence followed. It was creepy, and at the same time comforting. Taking a step towards the girls, pain shot through their side. The stab wound didn’t stop bleeding. Their brows furrowed. Inspecting the gunshot wound, they see that it’s not clotting. Imposible. Brushing it off, maybe they weren’t healing as fast. Quickly gathering the girls and taking them to the car infront, they leave safely. As promised. 

Getting into their own car as well, the pain becomes unbearable. This is impossible. “I’ve got to get back to Copley” they mutter thinking quickly. Driving was difficult, and their vision was starting to blur. The pin was agonizing. The car seats were covered in red, as well as every possible thing that could be used to cover their wounds. Perhaps they didn’t realize it, but there were cuts littered all over, their body, and the gun shot wound giving her a difficult time breathing. Damn those guards really got me. Was their last thought. Before they passed out, Andy’s blurred figure came into view. “Hey, I made it”

As soon as they all heard their car stop outside, they jumped to their feet to greet them. The team speechless at the sight before them. Andy was the first to reach them, just as they were about to pass out. “They’re not healing” Booker states. “They’ve lost too much blood.” Nile adds seeing the fatal wounds on their body.

Copley didn’t know how to tell the team. He himself was devastated. So, when he looked up from the mini recovery room in the safehouse, they all knew. Some went into shock, like Quyhn and Nile. This was Nile’s first tie losing someone who’s become like family to her since she joined...she didn’t know how to take it. She was devastated and angry and sad. She should have gone with them. 

Nicky had his head in his hands, in denial about the news, Joe trying to reach him, trying to be strong for his significant other, but deep inside, he was crushed. They’ve lost a best friend. 

Booker lost a drinking buddy, a laughing partner. They’re memories played in his head, and as the news sunk in, he collapsed into a nearby chair. 

Tears fell from Andy’s eyes, her body frozen “I never got to tell them how much they actually mean to me...how much I wanted them back.”

[feekins]

depression still sucks but I am stubborn SO! here are my thoughts and things and whatever translation weirdness I find as I re-read ch 5 of Trigun Maximum vol 7!

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

again, we have interesting differences in how Dark Horse and the Overhaul translated this chapter title: "When They Arrived, It Was Already The Beginning Of The End" VS "Late Arrival To The End Of The World"

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

vague wording from Dark Horse - I never understood what they meant by "projecting". once again, the Overhaul's wording is much more straightforward, easier to understand, and nuanced (not just "pressure" but "oppression" and not "projecting" but "powered up").

perhaps another case of literal translation by Dark Horse? anyway. I appreciate the Overhaul's specificity in using "that vision" here!

also it's. rly weird. that Wolfwood got that "vision" of being torn apart from Chapel and/or Livio... 🤨

and again, literal VS nuance? and I appreciate the Overhaul including "priest" to make it easy for us to identify who's speaking =u=

both translations make sense, but the Overhaul's feels more natural imo

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

speech bubble confusion!!! 😵‍💫

so like...Dark Horse seems to imply Chapel's "more than one weapon" = Livio, whereas the Overhaul reads like Chapel's "whole slew of new weapons" INCLUDES Livio. 🤔

I love Elendira teasing Wolfwood here, and how Wolfwood's so clearly annoyed by it 🤭

the Overhaul makes it clear that Wolfwood is talking about how Vash's and Knives's forced empathy/emotional projection feel similar. and then...Dark Horse gets weirdly vague again. maybe literal translation, again? in any case, the Overhaul's translation makes MUCH more sense. also I like the addition of "this fight" for clarity!

(Dark Horse on BOTTOM and Overhaul on TOP this time bc the translations for the top 4 panels are p much the same, also the Overhaul's scans are nicer than any pics I try to take are turning out;;;;;, )

yup, had to include the famous misgendering self-correction bit (the only difference is that Dark Horse has Wolfwood saying "From a man like you...") - handled ESPECIALLY well even back then! thank you, Nightow, and thank you to EVERYONE who worked on these translations, Dark Horse and Overhaul alike!!! 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

also...interesting differences, Dark Horse's "easier if it were" VS the Overhaul's "would be rather nice" 🤔

the knife has had a very long day of splashing satellites and wants to take just a smol sleeb

...I just noticed Wolfwood's dumbfounded expression. and that just made this bit HORRIFYING in a way I never realized!