#I am English but not syntax really

[awkwardturtletrash]

Im not an expert at all but Im opinionated. I did a research paper on the Gullah dialect of Creole languages for a syntax class. It is very much a ‘vibes’ based language due to their abstract use of such limited vocabulary. Some words have dozens and dozens of different meanings, tenses don’t matter, verbs and nouns are meaningless, and tone carries most of it.

It can still be researched, recorded, and has a historical path. It is a rigid, definable language to native speakers . It’s very much something that has to be told to understand, it’s very much against other language’s natural code of conduct. But it exists historically, proven despite its rejection of syntactic law.

Emojis and “chat” are neither of these things. They aren’t natural progressions of grammar, they’re humorous references. They’re jokes. Grammar isn’t just references that mean other things, it’s a system of communication through shared representation of concepts. It IS rigid because it fucking had to be. Otherwise there would be no point.

Gullah is extremely socially based and doesn’t make sense to those unfamiliar with what they’re taking about, it can come across as “vibes.” This is because it is shaped by colonialism, slavery, had time to develop, and location.

Memes and a quote from twitch are nothing grammatical. They’re not new forms of language. I understand you want your wasted time to be more important or mean something but maybe be more interesting than calling images pertaining to Seinfeld equal to ancient texts. Just a thought!

"chat is a pronoun" has officially joined my list of internet linguistics pet peeves. "emojis are hieroglyphs" is welcoming them to the club.

[urfavfakeblonde]

can u write a smut where fem reader is a virgin and stiles is some what experienced and stiles goes slow with her??

ₛₜᵤdy ₛₑₛₛᵢₒₙ

hi!! yes <3 thank you so much for requesting love

Stiles Stilinski x fem!reader

warnings: lots of foreplay!! fuffly, fingering, HEAVY makeouts oml, game sex??? idk lol, p n v, virgin!fem!reader, implied!experineced!Stiles

mdni

I cautiously walk up the steps to his house, nervous fingers picking at my chipped nail polish. I take a deep breath as I knock on the door lightly, my other hand fiddling with the ends of my hair. It's just a study session, stop shaking. At least that's what I tell myself before the door opens softly, and I'm face to face with Stiles. He smiles at me, and I almost forget how to breath. "Hi," I say with a smile, eyes avoiding his gaze. He moves to the side to let me in, responding with a 'Hey'.

"Thanks for coming over," he says, closing the door gently. My mind is swirling with thoughts, emotions-- and honestly, I don't know how I'm going to get through this evening. "I'm pretty sure you understand English a lot more than I do," he remarks, turning around to face my timid figure. I smile, blush creeping onto my cheeks. "I don't know about that," I giggle, looking around the house as if I hadn't been here before. But before, I mean that was just a pack meeting, this--this is more than that.

Well, not really, were just studying, but this is the first time it's just been me and Stiles. Alone.

I follow him up the stairs, and into his bedroom. "Where's your dad?" I question, setting my bag down beside his bed. "Work," he replies, sitting at his desk, shoving aside all his crime papers. I nod, even though he can't see me, and look around his room. A simple grey wallpaper, the typical teenage boy posters; half-made bed, a lamp, and of course-- lots and lots of papers. Eventually, we sit on the floor, looking through my notes, (because stiles didn't take any) and write his English paper. "Okay, I'll quiz you. What's a Caesura?" Stiles thinks for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as he lies on his back. "When the punctuation is in the middle of the poem before the line ends?" He finally says, glancing up at me. I smile and nod, flipping to the next flashcard.

"Okay, what's a Syntax?" He looks back up at the ceiling and furrows his brows. "No clue," He utters, sitting upright. "It's the-" suddenly he takes the flashcards out of my hand as I give him a confused look. "I was gonna tell you what it was," I say, sighing. He looks at me, and I feel my heart flutter. Pink starts rising into my cheeks again as he holds the flashcard in front of him. "Tell me what it is," he asks. "Why? You're the one who needs the help Stiles-" he cuts me off by shushing my lips with his finger. My heart literally skips a beat as he slowly drags it down, my lip following obediently. He moves his finger back to the flashcard, an action that he believed to be nothing but innocent. He asked me something again, but I continued to stare at him, specifically his hand. "Y/n?" He asks, shifting his head to capture my eyes again. This stopped me from zoning out; quietly clearing my throat. "Sorry," I mumble while my fingers pick away my nail polish again. "What's a Syntax?" He asks again, eyes boring into mine. "The way the piece is structured," I say as he smiles. It's quiet for a moment, and when my eyes lift up, my gaze is locked with his.

"I have an idea," he says, standing up. He reaches his hand out for mine, and I take it hesitantly. "You've been helping me, it's only fair I help you." He says, pulling me to my feet. When I'm up, I notice how close I am to him, especially that he hasn't let go of my hand. I swallow hard, trying my best to maintain eye contact with him. "We'll play a game; you ask me questions and every time I get one right you have to take off one of your clothes," he whispers softly. My eyes widen, and I feel my heart starting to beat faster. "And if you get it wrong?" I whisper back, leaning in closer. He just smiles as he dips his head, connecting his lips with mine.

I cannot believe this is happening to me. I am fucking kissing Stiles Stilinski, my crush since elementary school and God does it feel just how I always imagined it would. The kiss is gentle, caring. I pull back slowly as I make eye contact with him again. I swallow hard and feel my hands start to shake a little in his soft hands. "Um, I've never really...kissed anyone before. Well, before now," I whisper, nervous beyond belief. He just smiles and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "See? You teach me, I'll teach you." He gives me a comforting smile before cupping his hand behind the base of my neck, pulling me in for another kiss. This time, it's more feverent, hurried. Like he was going to lose me if he stops. I learn as he kissed, opening my mouth enough for his tongue to slip in, a gentle hum coming from my throat.

My hands, more comfortable now, move up to dance through his dark hair, nails gently scratching his scalp. He was taller than me, causing my head to have to lean up just to kiss him, but it felt magical. I felt safe in his hold, rough, but gentle hands tilting my head up to meet his kiss. He pulled away enough to kiss down my jaw, down to my neck as my head tilts back with eyes closed. My fingers continue to dance through his hair, a soft whine releasing from my mouth when he found my sweet spot. I felt him smirk against my neck, mouth traveling back up to meet my mouth again. He moves me backwards, letting us fall softly on the mattress. He kissed back down my jaw again, but further this time as he reached my collarbone. He sucked a hickey on the side, causing my core to ache and clench around nothing. "fuck sti," I whine, letting my hands fall to his biceps. He liked the nickname--I could tell; a soft smile forming on his kissed lips as he rested above me.

"Ask away," he whispers, leaving sloppy, wet kisses all over my neck. In a way, it was all almost too overwhelming, but somehow it felt like it was supposed to happen. I couldn't focus, not with my core aching, legs moving softly as if to get some release. "What's a -fuck,-an enjambment," I ask, hands roaming his body. "Mhm," he kisses my collarbone again softly, lips trailing to my ear. "When the line ends with no punctation," he says, smirking as I nod. He lets his fingers dance under the hem of my shirt. He slowly peels it off, letting it slide over my head before throwing it on the floor somewhere behind him. He's quick to kiss my stomach, my body arching up into his gentle touch. "Next," he whispers, kissing the tops of my breasts. My breathing intensifies, hands running through his hair again. "How do you spell philanthropy," I ask, my teeth catching my lower lip. He looks up at me and grins, as he licks his lips. "If you wanted me to take my shirt off, all you had to do was ask," he chuckles, leveling his face above mine. "That's not how the game works, " I giggle, running hands down his arms. "I bet you don't even know how to spell that," he smiles, taking off his shirt.

The navy-blue cloths fall onto the floor with a quiet, thump as he repositions himself above me. "But you wouldn't know if I was right, would you?" I playfully ask, biting my lip. He chuckles softly, catching my lips in a kiss once again. My fingers trace his stomach, soft enough to make him shiver. "What's a metaphor?" I ask as he looks down at me. "A figure of speech when a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that has no real relation to the word," He answers proudly. This time, his fingers dance under the hem of my jeans, before his fingers undid the brass button and zipper. He helps me drag them down, before adding them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. "Fuck," he whispers under his breath, eyes taking in the thin white panties that so effortlessly match with the bra. I bite my lip, trying to overcome my nerves. My body wants to close up, run away but I can't bring myself to do it. Not when he's looking at my body like he wants to fuck me till morning.

His fingers hover above the straps along my hips before lifting them up slowly before letting them snap back against my skin. I gasp, the wetness in my panties growing larger, it was almost embarrassing. "How do you spell rhythm?" I ask, a grin forming on my face. He rolls his eyes, kissing my stomach. "r-y-t-h-m-n," he answers, confident in his answer. I giggle and shake my head, "r-h-y-t-h-m-n," I say, watching as he sighs in defeat. He slips off his jeans, throwing them in the darkness somewhere. "Okay, I see how it is ms. I'magoodspeller," he says, messing with the straps of my bra. My face starts to flush, the realization that this answer could leave me bare in front of him.

"How do you spell Indispensable?" I stay silent. I have no fucking clue how to spell that word. Fuck. "I-n-d-i-s-p-e-n-s-i-b-l-e?" I answer. "Wait no, it's with an "a"! I-n-d-i-s-p-e-n-s-a-b-l-e!" I say quickly, trying to retract my previous answer. "You got it wrong the first time, no take backs," He chuckles, hands slowly lifting down the straps to my bra before reaching behind my back to unclasp it. It lays limp until he slides it off my arms; perky nipples on display as goosebumps litter my body. He lets his eyes linger for a moment, admiring the sight before him. "Fuck you're pretty," he whispers, his rough hand moving up to massage the soft flesh. I bite my lip, watching as he leans down, pausing for a moment before taking the bud into his mouth. "Oh shit," I whine, my hands returning into his dark hair once again-this time pulling and tugging. He swirls his tongue around before sucking it gently to let it go with a soft pop! He kisses between my breasts, taking the other bud into his mouth to give it the same attention.

My body arched up into him, my clothed clit brushing against his hard erection in his boxers. "Please Stiles..." I whine, my core pulsing at the lack of attention. "I know, I know," he whispers, sucking onto that sweet spot once again. His hand finally travels lower, antagonizingly slow I might add, as he slips his fingers over my white, lacy panties. He begins to rub small circles over my clit, kissing my neck, jaw and chest as I arch into his touch. He brings his lips back up to mine, accepting my moans as he fastens his pace. My legs wrap around his torso, my aching and empty hole begging to be fucked for the first time. "Sti-I, fuck, please-" I whimper, head thrown back in ecstasy. God if he can do this with just his fingers-no his hand, then fuck. The wet patch in my panties begins to grow, fingers rubbing fast and small circles around my bud. "please, please, please...fuck sti!" I moan, hips moving back and forth to fasten the rhythm of his hand.

Suddenly, he slips his fingers into my panties, letting a digit slip into my sopping hole. I moan loudly into his mouth as he kisses me, letting another digit in to fuck me softly. My body starts to shake from the overwhelming feeling, the band breaking as he curls his fingers into my G-spot. My mouth opens as a loud moan escapes me, body shaking as he slips his tongue into my mouth, fingers riding out my high. "That's it, I've got you," he coo's, kissing my neck as my body settles down the shaking. I close my eyes, sweaty body breathing heavily against his chest. I feel him slip my panties off, throwing them in the pile of jeans and shirts. "You okay?" He asks, caressing my face softly. I nod, licking my lips. "I want more," I whisper. "Please." He smiles at my question throwing off his boxers. "Whatever you want," he answers, kissing my cheek. He leans over to his drawer, grabbing a condom as he slides it over his length. He leans down to kiss me as he moves his hands under my legs, bending them forward as he pushes into me. I let a satisfied whine out into his mouth, the feeling of him inside me already feeling so good. He kisses me deeply, letting his tongue explore my mouth. He starts slow, letting his forehead connect with mine, heavy breaths coming from our mouths.

"Fuck you're amazing," he groans, pushing out slow before bottoming out quickly. This let moans come as they will, back arching off the bed, and the steady shaking from my legs to make it all feel so lifechanging. It didn't take long before I felt the cord in me about to break again, my hands cupping his neck as I moaned out soft praises. "Sti-" I whine, met with a groan from his lips. "Fuck, I know, me too-" he says, fastening his pace. My legs began to shake once again, breathing becoming heavier than before. "Fuck, please Sti-oh shit," I moan, hips meeting his thrusts. The cord finally snapped, body arching up off the bed as Stiles kisses my neck again. "Fuck," he groans, pulling out quickly to release in the condom. He lays next to me, tracing my stomach softly. "Are you okay?" He whispers, sitting up. I nod and smile, glancing at him. He smiles back, going to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and return with a wet rag. He drags it across my body, soaking up the sweat and spit from his kisses. "You wanna stay the night?" I nod as he leans down to kiss me.

[kaedekolya]

alien stage "cure" lyric translations

i've been losing my mind over how poetic the korean lyrics are, so i tried translating them a little more closely to the original! there are so many implications and so much nuance that it's simply impossible to fully convey them in english, due to vocab and syntax differences, so there will be a ton of translation notes below. please cry over this tragic pair with me :")

[ disclaimer: i am in no way trying to imply that the official translations are subpar, because they're actually really good — it's difficult to convey the full extent of meaning while remaining concise enough for closed captions! i just want to share my own take on the original lyrics ^^ ]

r o u n d 6 — c u r e

Please permit me, till the tips of your hands Please permit me, till the tips of your feet I wish for you to melt me within your eyes I don't want to lose you I plead of you, inflict wounds upon me I plead of you, make it so that I am hurting Until not a single drop of me remains I dissolve in you Till these stars, which will crumble Buried within eternity, which will fade into a blur At the edge of your frigid lips Read me, please That's right, me Even the sharp words you gave me Even if they leave scratches beneath my eyes I wish they remain upon your tongue Even if everything is shattered, it's okay Now, please, look at my wounds Now, please, cure me Just so that my unease may be dampened So that I dissolve into you Above these nights, which will be drawn Screaming into the silence, which will collapse Within your pupils that gaze at me Drink me, please That's right, me This song without an end Towards each other, we dance Our story, buried within eternity Till these stars, which will crumble Buried within eternity, which will fade into a blur At the edge of your frigid lips Read me, please That's right, me Above these nights, which will be drawn Screaming into the silence, which will collapse Within your pupils that gaze at me Drink me, please That's right, me

[ translation notes below the cut. ]

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

translation notes

"please permit me"

허락해줘, please grant me permission; implying the person Till is singing to (henceforth Mizi, for brevity) has authority over him.

"I wish for you to..." vs "I wish..."

a slight difference in conjugation; Till wishes that Mizi will do that action for him, whereas Ivan simply wishes for things to be a certain way.

"I don't want to lose you"

놓치다, to lose something or someone by missing them or failing to catch them; implies less agency and control than "to let go."

"I plead of you, inflict wounds upon me" / "I plead of you, make it so that I am hurting"

부디, implying an earnest entreaty, a fervent plea. here, the conjugation has Till asking Mizi to give him wounds, and give him pain.

"I dissolve in you" vs "so that I dissolve into you"

there is no exact translation for 물들다 (conjugated into 물들어 and 물들게 in the lyrics), but picture this: watercolour paints soaking into a white canvas, permeating across it, imbuing it. difference in adpositions: Till says 너로, indicating "by" or "with," whereas Ivan says 네게 (너에게), indicating "to" or "towards". so for Till, Mizi is the colour and he is the canvas, whereas for Ivan, he is the colours that are spreading towards Till. difference in conjugations: Till says 물들어, in present tense and active voice, while Ivan says 물들게 [하다], to make a certain state happen (note that this is different from the ~ㄹ 게 conjugation that indicates future intention). Ivan is saying please notice my pain and heal it, so that I permeate into you, which would then quieten my unease.

"which will crumble" / "which will fade into a blur"

the ~ㄹ conjugation here is a future indicative tense; the action it describes will happen, the state it describes will come to be. 무너질, "will crumble;" to fall by crumbling, crumpling, caving in, breaking down. 흐려질, "will grow blurry;" i chose to translate this as the more poetic "fade into a blur."

"buried within eternity"

묻힌, from 묻히다, to be buried; this word can also mean "to be stained," giving the phrase an alternative meaning of "stained upon eternity."

"read me, please" / "that's right, me"

the official translation says "read my soul," which might indicate the meaning that the creators intended, but the original korean lyrics only says "me." "그래," which i translated as "that's right," can be used in many contexts with varying nuance; it is an acknowledgement and a simple, light agreement. in some contexts, it can be perfunctory, in others, it can be an acceptance.

"even if the sharp words you gave me" / "even if they leave scratches beneath my eyes"

here, Ivan is downplaying the extent of hurt that Till has inflicted upon him. Till may use sharp-edged language, but Ivan describes these words as being given to him, almost as if they are a gift, implying he treasures every word Till throws his way. the word used for "scratches" is often used to describe scrapes left by fingernails; shallow, surface-level wounds.

"even if everything is shattered, it's okay"

부숴, from 부수다, to break, smash, shatter. the official translation says "you can break me apart," which might reflect the meaning that the creators intended, but since the subject and object can be omitted in korean and still be grammatically correct, this sentence doesn't indicate the subject that is doing the breaking or the object that is being broken apart.

"now, please, look at my wounds" / "now, please, cure me"

the word for "wounds," 상처, can also be used to refer to scars, but i chose the former to indicate the open wounds that Ivan wishes Till will cure.

"just so that my unease may be dampened"

그저, "just," implying that Ivan doesn't want for much, he is only asking for this small and simple wish. 불안, unease. it's not quite as intense as "fears," though it can be an indicator of it; it's closer to worries or anxieties. 가라앉도록, from 가라앉다, to sink, to subside, to become subdued.

"above these nights, which will be drawn"

그려질, from 그려지다, to be drawn, like a sketch or painting.

"screaming into the silence, which will collapse"

the more accurate conjugation would be "screamed," but i went with "screaming" for a smoother flow. 쓰러질, "will collapse;" to fall by collapsing, fainting, passing out.

"within your pupils that gaze at me"

translating it as "eyes" would probably read smoother, but the korean lyrics use the specific word 눈동자, meaning the pupil of the eye.

"drink me, please"

the official translation says "consume me," but 마시다 (original lyric 마셔줘) means "drink." it's simple and fluid, not as forceful as "consume" or "swallow." once again, Ivan never uses harsh or violent language to describe Till's actions.

"this song without an end"

i intentionally chose this syntax to emphasise the lack of an end, and to more closely mirror that of the original. it can also be translated as "this endless song."

"towards each other, we dance"

향해, towards, indicating direction. the official translation, "face to face," can be inferred from the word, but i like the idea of them dancing towards each other, going towards each other, as if drawn together in each other's orbit. (also, the irony that in reality, it is only Ivan doing so, only Ivan going towards Till; Ivan sings this line, like he wishes it were the case, like he wishes it were mutual, even as he knows it is not.)

"our story, buried within eternity"

in the previous instance of the phrase "buried within eternity," the object is not specified. here, the clause is completed with 채, meaning "the state of." specifically, this line would be "our story, in the state of being buried within eternity."

[ and that's it — thank you for reading! please note that this is mostly a line-by-line translation, as the original lyrics are composed of distinct clauses that connect in meaning, but not in grammar. the official translation wove the clauses together in proper sentences, whereas my translation mirrors the scattered discontinuity of the korean lyrics. ]

[kitimeq]

hii!! ₊˚⊹ᰔ i’m looking for proofreaders!!!

i’m looking for someone who would be able to pinpoint any grammatical/spelling/punctuation/syntax (or ANY really) errors in my future works!! I am an english philology student so i SWEAR u will not have that much of a work to do but i often make stupid mistakes in my writing, especially punctuation-wise because in my native language we put commas literally everywhere (��—ᴗ—)

+ i would love to get feedback for my works!! i wish to improve and i would love for someone to tell me if my work is cohesive, coherent and/or interesting at all! i am a huge over-thinker so i need help in that regard too.

SO!! if someone can and would like to help me then please write a comment or an ask and i’ll pick my victim when i’ll have a completed fic to give for your evaluation!!

u can also write who your main is so that i will know which works would even be interesting to you! <(˶ᵔᵕᵔ˶)>

thank you in advance ♡

[rook-writes]

extremely rare writing blog reblog here but on paragraphing i always think about the old tiptop post that circulated around tumblr a while back. for those that have never seen it, tiptop stands for time, place topic, person. these are practical ways to split paragraphs, but also, that last one is especially important for how dialogue reads. standard formatting is useful in that regard.

also, paragraphing (in my experience) has a similar purpose to syntax diversity in that they're about how a piece Flows(tm). all different elements of what you do when writing can affect flow, as well as tone and mood. but on a basic level, syntax and paragraphing are peas in a pod. what you put where, and how you break it up, will always affect how an audience absorbs information.

that said, i want to highlight that you can still learn important skills from employing techniques inspired by other mediums. obviously they shouldn't be the only thing you use, but there's a reason a lot of creative writing programs will make you study more than just your focus (the MFA i'm looking at makes you do that, and my undergrad degree did as well). learning from other mediums of writing helps us innovate with the way we use language.

do i think books should be written like movies? nah, not really. but while i was looking for the tiptop post to make sure i quoted it right, i saw another post i reblogged about paragraphing that talked about people wanting to capture the feelings that movies invoked in them.

(hell, it's literally the last post we reblogged here)

studying elements of the stories we like can help us learn how to elevate our craft. for my money, i've learned a lot about paragraphing by working on personal comics (and more comic-oriented people than i have noticed that paneling and paragraphing are far from entirely divorced concepts). thinking about what i want a reader to see versus what i want them to know has been a lot of fun as i've gotten back into writing recently. but that's less related to paragraphing and more just me trying to develop "show and tell" techniques (in this case, showing one thing while a character is telling another).

that was kind of a tangent. anyways.

at the end of the day, paragraphing is, like many other elements of writing, a stylistic thing. it's going to vary from writer to writer, and for people building a style of their own, you'll really need to pull from more than just visual media if you're writing something not intended to be visual.

if you want to write film scripts, do it! but understand that you'll be severely limiting yourself if you only sup your style on the way film crafts stories.

i think people who complain about paragraphs being too long should just read/write screenplays instead. some of us actually enjoy reading

[blamgranules]

WWW: What's the "reflexive indicative"?

I've been meaning to write this for a while, but I wasn't sure what it really meant and now I have a theory. I am a professional linguist. I teach translation, so grammar/syntax is something I have spent a lot of time on.

Now, brace yourselves, because I'm going to be explaining modern English grammar and most schools in the English-speaking world are still teaching traditional grammar. I don't know how well versed BLeeM is in modern grammar, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Let's start with the basics. Indicative is a grammatical mood. Moods effect the reality or truth of a clause. The indicative mood is one of the realis moods, meaning that the clause is true in the tense. (Irrealis moods can make the clause possible, hypothetical, desired, etc.) The other realis mood in English is declarative. The difference is that a declarative clause uses a verb as its predicate and an indicative clause uses a noun or adjective as its predicate.

In modern grammar, the predicate is the word or phrase with the most important meaning. To put it another way, the predicate is the word or phrase that the rest of the sentence "depends" on (see: Parse Tree). So, "I am running" is declarative and "There is a shotgun in the drawer" is indicative.

Whatever magic's "reflexive indicative" is, it's roughly equivalent to "a thing exists" or "a thing is [adjective]".

Next, reflexive is term used in grammar to refer to anaphoric nouns. An anaphor is a word that refers back to another word or concept. In "we climbed a mountain and said mountain was tall", the participial adjective 'said' marks the following noun as an anaphor. Anaphoric nouns are usually analyzed as pronouns; e.g. "itself". Some English pronouns are only sometimes reflexive, like "that".

This means that the "reflexive indicative" has to be a couple things. First, we know it's somatic, so sign language basically. Second, it's a full clause. One gesture for a full clause isn't difficult. In many languages, there are verbs that do not need any nouns to be satisfied. Consider: "It is raining". 'It' is a dummy pronoun; it doesn't mean anything. In ASL, it is a single gesture. However, a reflexive indicative clause must have a noun. In short, the somatic gesture most likely means "a thing mentioned before exists".

My theory is that the reflexive indicative is used as a kind of anchor. It may be a conjunction between two magical actions: "Control the edges of the tear. Those edges are there. Bring them together." It might also be used as punctuation to end an action: "Bring the edges of the tear together. That tear does not exist." or "Connect the edges of the fabric. That fabric is whole."

If this is true, I would theorize that early in the development of wizardry, the reflexive indicative was used either 1) to assist the wizard in their focus (assuming that WWW's magic is the manifestation of will) or 2) doing magic this way was so new that it was "low context". Low context communication involves a lot of specifics and reflexive nouns are more frequent in low than high context communication. Insulated communication systems tend to become higher context over time.

Brennan mentioned that the more people who know a particular spell, the less potent it becomes; hence the Citadel tightly controlling who has access to spells. However, more people knowing a spell might also increase the level of context the spell has, thus making the reflexive indicative unnecessary.

This would make even more sense if magic was always an interaction with the spirit world. Whatever spirit is making Mending possible has become so familiar with it that the reflexive indicative is understood.

But at this point, we are into untethered speculation. That's the theory. We'll see what info Brennan drips out next and if my theory holds up.

[milgram-en]

Trial 2 - Neoplasm Voice Drama (Side-by-Side English Translation)

Preface: This is a side-by-side translation of Mikoto Kayano's Trial 2 voice drama Neoplasm in which the original Japanese text is directly taken from the official scriptbook. Translating this was a challenge considering how well Yamanaka plays around with the Japanese language to develop his characters, so be prepared for all the translator's notes. Google Docs version of this translation (formatted as an actual script and more readable (in print layout) than this tumblr post). If using/reuploading/reposting this translation, do not remove the translator's notes, do not color code the translations, and do not change the translations. Additional Translator's Notes will be found in the replies. Check the original post before reblogging as TLs are occasionally revisited and edited.

ミルグラム監獄内 尋問室 INTERROGATION ROOM IN MILGRAM PRISON 薄暗い尋問室。 エスが尋問室の扉を開けると、うなだれているミコト。 A dimly lit interrogation room. ES opens the door to the interrogation room, finding MIKOTO with his head down. エス　「……ミコト」 ES: ...Mikoto ミコト　「……あ。やぁ、看守くん」 MIKOTO: ...Ah- Hey, Warden-kun. ミコトが顔をあげる。 MIKOTO lifts his head. エス　「お前、ミコトだよな？」 ES: You're... Mikoto, right? ミコト　「何言ってんの……？」 MIKOTO: What are you saying...?

覚醒したてのような、まどろみを感じている顔つき。 そこで初めて自分の四肢に鎖が巻きついていることに気づく。 MIKOTO has the look of someone just waking up, still in a daze. It's only then that he notices the restraints wrapped around his limbs.

ミコト　「なんか久しぶりな気がするなぁ……元気してた？あれ、なんだ……鎖？やだな、外してよ」 MIKOTO: It feels like it’s been a while… How have you been? Wait- What’s this… Restraints? Oh no- Please take them off! エス　「却下。オマエは危険すぎる。物理的な拘束は必須だ」 ES: Rejected. You are too dangerous. Physical restraints are necessary. ミコト　「ん、えっと……はは、こんな人畜無害な人をつかまえて何言ってんの」 MIKOTO: Oh- Ah…haha. What are you saying, restraining someone who can’t even hurt a fly, right? エス　「やはり、自覚がないんだな」 ES: As expected, you’re still not self-aware, huh? ミコト　「いや、さ。さすがにわかるよ。僕は寝てる間に暴れちゃうんでしょ」 MIKOTO: No- Well… It’s kinda expected that I know. 𝗜’m… the one acting violently while I’m asleep, aren’t I? Everyone’s been telling me Kotoko and I traded blows a lot. T/N: This is the first instance of any first-person pronouns being used by MIKOTO. "I (boku) am the one acting violently while I'm asleep, aren't I?". Only the kanji boku (僕) is used in Neoplasm, unlike in MeMe where both kanji boku (僕) and katakana boku (ボク) were used. エス　「……」 ES: … ミコト　「みんなが教えてくれた。コトちゃんとドンパチやらかしたとかさ」 MIKOTO: Everyone’s been telling me Koto-chan and I traded blows a lot. エ ス　「そうらしいな」 ES: That appears to be the case. ミコト　「夢遊病的な、そういうヤツなのかなぁ……最近眠くなる頻度も高くなっちゃって、いや、はは。困っちゃうよねぇ」 MIKOTO: I wonder if it’s some sort of… pathological sleepwalking thing, y’know? I’ve been sleepy more often recently. Geez… Haha.. It’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it?

さみしげに笑うミコト。 MIKOTO smiles somberly.

エス　「ミコト……」 ES: Mikoto… ミコト　「みんな僕を怖がってる。態度見たらわかるんだ。空気読めちゃうから、僕……」 MIKOTO: Everyone’s afraid of me. I can tell by the way they look at me ‘cause I’m usually always reading the room. 𝗜... T/N: Mikoto says 空気読めちゃう (kuuki yomechau) which has a nuance of "accidentally/completely reading the room" and a feeling of regret. エス「……」 ES: … ミコト　「やんなっちゃうよね、はは。ココに来てからずーっと訳わかんないよ」 MIKOTO: Getting so so sick of it, you know? Ahaha. Ever since I came here, nothing has been making any sense. T/N: This is spoken with a full lean into Kanto dialect, specifically the syntax/phrasing of the younger generation's Tokyo dialect. When he says "here", ココ (koko) being spelled in katakana implies a sense of dissociation from the "here"; the prison location MIKOTO is in at the moment. エス　「……お前は、本当に苦しいときに笑うんだな」 ES: You…You really do laugh when you’re in pain, don’t you? ミコト　「え？」 MIKOTO: Huh? エス　「怒ったり、叫んだりしないんだ。困ったように、笑う」 ES: You don’t get angry. You don’t scream. You don’t understand, grasp things as they are, in difficult situations. You awkwardly smile and laugh like it’s a minor inconvenience. ミコト　「あー。いや、そうだね。僕、そういうとこあるかもね」 MIKOTO: Ahh… Huh- Yeah, you’re right. 𝗜- Maybe that’s just the way it is. T/N: Depending on how boku pronounced, it associates a different image upon its speaker. Mikoto says 僕 (boku) with a falling pitch (boku↘) in this line which gives a childish vibe. Normally, guys his age would use 僕 (boku↗︎) with a rising pitch as it sounds more mature like in previous instances of 僕 (boku). エス　「……」 ES: … ミコト　「たいてい笑って誤魔化してりゃ、上手くいくじゃん。そういうとこ器用だからさ、それなりにこなしてさ」 MIKOTO: Usually, if you just laugh it off to take your mind off of things, it all works out in the end, right? I’m pretty good at that sort of thing. With the kind of place this place is, that’s one way to deal with it.  T/N: Mikoto speaks with a gobi, an ending particle, which demonstrates voice (a way to express how the speaker wants their vibes to come off as. Ex. masculine, feminine, tough, cute, etc.). Here, the particular gobi is "-teri" which makes him come off as cute; sounding adjacent to high school girl speak. エス　「そうか……」 ES: I see… ミコト　「はは、でも、終わらないんだよね……ここじゃ。身に覚えのないことでずっー」 MIKOTO: Haha, but… it never ends, does it? All of this. Things I’ve never even heard before, being accused of things I have no recollection of— エス　「？」 ES: ?

会話が不自然に途切れる。 The conversation is unnaturally interrupted.

ミコト　「ずっと……！イラつく思いをしなきゃいけねぇ……！」 MIKOTO: —all. the. time. Can’t help but be irritated all the fucking time. T/N: From henceforth, MIKOTO starts speaking in an Edo dialect, otherwise known as "roughspeak". People who speak in this are typically seen as delinquents, uneducated, gruff/rough, etc. エス 　「……出たな」 ES: …Look who’s out.

ミコトの表情が歪んでいく。 MIKOTO's expression begins to twist.

ミコト　「おう、まだボコられたりねぇみたいじゃん。看守のガキ」 MIKOTO: Ha? Looks like someone hasn’t had enough of a beating from me. Isn’t that right, warden brat? エス　「……」 ES: …

暴力に対しての恐怖に息をつまらせるエス。 ES holds their breath in fear of violence.

ミコト　「あ。ビビってんのかよ？」 MIKOTO: Ah. Are you getting cold feet? エス　「コトコにやられたくせに」 ES: Saying that like you didn’t get beaten by Kotoko-! ミコト　「ハツ、ありゃ不意をつかれただけだ。お前が寝てる間に やりあったが、別に負けてねぇ」 MIKOTO: Heh- It wasn’t anything special, she just caught me while I was a bit exhausted. We went at it again while you were off sleeping and, besides, it’s not like I lost. エス　「……多重人格。今喋っているお前はミコトの別人格という理解でいいか？」 ES: Multiple personalities… Am I correct in assuming that the you speaking right now are another personality of Mikoto’s? ミコト　「まあ、そうなんじゃねえかあ」 MIKOTO: Well, I guess that’s about right. エス　「そうか、お前のことはなんと呼べばいい？」 ES: I see. Now, what would be a good thing to call you? ミコト　「あ？随分普通に受け入れるじゃねぇか。多重人格なんて眉唾モンだろ」 MIKOTO: Ha-? You’re accepting this awfully well. Aren’t the authenticity of things like “multiple personality disorder” suspicious? エス　「あぁ、僕もそんなものが実際にあるとは思わなかった」 ES: Mhm. I never thought that such a thing could actually exist in reality. ミコト　「だよなぁ？オレもそれがオレでなきゃ信じねぇよ。ヒトゴロシが罪を逃れるためのウソだとしか思わねえ」 MIKOTO: Figures. If it wasn’t 𝐦𝐞, 𝙸 wouldn’t have believed it either. I only see it as a lie to escape guilt for murder, y’know. T/N: This is the first instance of this MIKOTO using "ore" with the katakana spelling オレ in the voice drama. In John Doe, the previous voice drama, as well as in Double, "ore" is spelled using the kanji version (俺). エス　「だがミルグラムがお前をそうだと認めている。僕は事実として受け入れ、考えを進めるだけだ。で、なんと呼べばいいんだ名前」 ES: Nevertheless, MILGRAM judges that you appear to be an authentic case. I simply just accept that as truth and develop my thoughts from there. So, what would be a good name to call y—

ミコト　「知らねぇよそんなの。好きに呼べや」 MIKOTO: Don’t know, don’t care. Call me whatever. エスは少し考えたのち、 After thinking for a moment, ES says

エス　「……お前を便宜上ジョンと呼ぶ」 ES: Hm… For the sake of convenience, you’ll be called “John”. ミコト　「犬みてぇな名前だな」 MIKOTO: That’s a dog’s name, isn’t it? エス　「身元不明の人物を指すジョンドゥから来ている。気に入ったか？」 ES: It comes from “John Doe”, referring to an unidentified or unknown person. Do you like it? T/N: The name "John Doe" also is associated with unidentified or unknown corpses. ミコト　「知識ひけらかしてるみたいで、いけすかねぇ」 MIKOTO: Can’t say I’m very fond of the way you’re flaunting your knowledge. エス　「……しかし今日は随分と落ち着いている方じゃないか。僕はお前を怪物みたいなものだと思っていたぞ。ここまで話が通じると思わなかった」 ES: …Anyway- You’re acting rather calm today, aren’t you? I’d been thinking that you truly were just some kind of monster. Until now, I didn’t even expect that the conversation would get this far. T/N: "Until now, I didn't even expect that the conversation would get this far" was also alternatively translated into "Until now, I didn't think you could talk this well." ミコト　「調子乗んじゃねぇ。この鎖さえなかったら今頃顔面潰れてんぞガキ」 MIKOTO: Don’t get carried away. These chains are the only thing keeping your face from being smashed in, you brat. エス　「おーこわいこわい」 ES: Ooh- Scary, so scary. ミコト　「フン」 MIKOTO: Hmph. エス　「ジョン、お前はミルグラムの四人ではない。ミルグラムの拘束が効果を発揮しないのが何よりの証拠だ。ミルグラムはミコトを囚人と判定し、別の人格であるお前は例外となっている」 ES: “John”, you are not a prisoner of MILGRAM. The ineffectiveness of MILGRAM’s ability to regulate and restrain you is important evidence of this. MILGRAM judges Mikoto as a prisoner, and you—an alternate identity—are an exception. ミコト　「はあん。なるほどね。それでお前の中で多重人格が確定してるわけか」 MIKOTO: Ahh~ I get it. So you’ve already decided in your head that I have multiple personalities. エス　「だから今日はお前を重要参考人として話を聞ければと考えた。まともに話ができそうでなによりだ」 ES: That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to talk to you today as a key witness. I’m glad to see that we can have a proper conversation. エスの言葉に眉をひそめるミコト。 MIKOTO frowned at ES’ words.

ミコト　「……だけどな。これはいいことじゃねぇぞ。多分」 MIKOTO: But you know what? That’s not a good thing. Probably. エス　「どういうことだ？」 ES: What do you mean? ミコト　「僕が消えようとしているかもしれない」 MIKOTO: Maybe I am trying to disappear. エス　「？」 ES: ? ミコト　「明らかにオレが表に出てる時間が長くなってる。そのおかげでオレという存在が安定してきてる。ちゃんと話せるのはそのせいじゃねえか」 MIKOTO: Clearly, 𝙸 am spending more and more time out in the open. And that influences the stabilization of 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 as an existing being. It might be why I’m at this nature able to talk properly. T/N: When he says "Clearly, I am spending more time out in the open", there's a nuance that オレ (ore) feels like he doesn't quite have control over when he exists due to the が (ga) particle. "Clearly, I (ore) am spending more and more time out in the open. And that influences the stabilization of myself (ore) as an existing being." エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「オレが怪物のままの方が、良かったかもしれねぇな」 MIKOTO: Maybe... it'd been better if 𝙸'd remained a monster. T/N: "Maybe... its been better if I (ore) had remained a monster." ミコトの物言いに目を丸くするエス。 ES' eyes widened at MIKOTO's manner of speaking. ミコト　「なんだよ」 MIKOTO: Oh- What? エス　「思いの外お前が理知的な物言いをするもので驚いている」 ES: You’re more articulate than I expected… I’m impressed. ミコト　「大卒だからな」 MIKOTO: I’m a college graduate. エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「多重人格は何故生まれるとされてんだ？」 MIKOTO: What causes multiple personalities to be born? T/N: MIKOTO is translated here as using the term "multiple personalities" as he likely wouldn't know nor be aware of any other phrasing. The term he uses 多重人格 (tajuu jinkaku) is a derogatory term meaning "multiple personalities" which carries a connotation that personalities/personhood/self-states/egos/etc. are discrete objects that can be stacked and ordered, or a commodity of one's volition. It's a phrase that makes it sound like a person has masks that can be taken on/off/stack. A lot of people (including persons with DID) still do use 多重人格 (tajuu jinkaku) because either (1) they don't know any other term or, (2) it's easier to say and convey the concept of a very long clinical term for DID: 解離性同一性障害 (kairi seidou itsusei shougai). However, some people write it as "DID" instead as it's shorter/easier and also respectful and accurate. エス　「正確には解離性同一性障害という。一般的には苦痛やストレス、トラウマなどから自分を守るためにもうひとつの人格を産み、切り離しをはかるとされているな」 ES: Accurately, it’s called Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s generally believed that alternate self-states are formed into existence in an attempt to protect oneself and dissociate from pain, stress, trauma etc. ミコトがうなずく。 MIKOTO nodded.

ミコト　「多分。オレは僕の受けたストレスを解消するために出てきてる。オレが長く出てるってことは、それだけ僕が強いストレスを受け続けているわけだ」 MIKOTO: Hm. Maybe 𝙸 have been out in order to reduce the stress 𝗜 have been undergoing. The longer 𝙸 am out, the more stress 𝗜 am under. T/N: Whenever MIKOTO says オレ (ore), the "I" is formatted as "����". When 僕 (boku) is said, the "I" is formatted as "𝗜"; the closest thing to a Helvetica Neue font (one of the most common sans serif typefaces used in design) capable of being placed in a tumblr post. Why format it like this? First off, author's intent- Yamanaka's intent. Yamanaka could've written オレ (ore) using the placeholder name ES gave him, "John", as a valid first-person pronoun when MIKOTO (ore) is referring to himself, but for some reason MIKOTO (オレ) refers to himself with オレ (ore) and not "John" which could mean that he doesn't personally identify with "John" thus not use it to express his self, or for some other unlisted reason. Why doesn't he use "Mikoto" (ミコト) instead of 僕 (boku), a first-person pronoun, when referring to his other self? Maybe he still identifies with "Mikoto" that he doesn't use the name "Mikoto" as a third-person pronoun or however else it can be interpreted. This is a translation, not a media essay, but still requires media analysis in order to deliver a decent translation that attempts to retain the original author's intent and deliberation as per translation theory. Using a name as a first-person pronoun directs a lot of attention towards the existence of that person as That Person (especially in a high-context language like JP where you often omit pronouns since it's already implied in context, unless you want to deliberately direct attention to a subject), yet Yamanaka deliberately decided to write 09 with only variations of "I"— a subtle way to indicate the different states of self a person identifies with to express themself. In order to translate over that deliberate writing choice into English (where no alternative first-person pronouns exist), different "fonts" were used. An unformatted version of what MIKOTO's line says is: "Hm. Maybe I (ore) have been out in order to reduce the stress I (boku) have been under. The longer I (ore) am out, The more stress I (boku) am under." When MIKOTO says “The longer I (ore) am out…”, there’s a nuance that オレ (ore) feels like he doesn’t quite have control over when he’s “out” due to the が (ga) particle in オレが長く出てるってことは、それだけ僕が強いストレスを受け続けているわけだ

エス　「ストレス。ミルグラムの環境のことだな」 ES: Stress… You mean MILGRAM’s environment. ミコト　「あぁ、特に『赦さない』という判決にな。僕は多大なストレスを感じている。だからオレに預けるんだ、心を」 MIKOTO: Yeah. Especially with the Unforgiven ruling, 𝗜 have been experiencing an enormous amount of stress. That’s why 𝙸’m taking me—heart, mind, and soul—into my care. T/N: *It's not said if there's a specific "Me" that he'll take into his care. Unformatted version: "Yeah. Especially with the Guilty ruling, I (boku) have been experiencing a tremendous amount of stress. That's why I (ore) am taking me*—heart, mind, and soul—into my care." エス　「なるほどな」 ES: I see. ミコト　「無理もねぇ。本人からすりゃ自分に記憶のない罪で責められてんだ」 MIKOTO: Is that too much to ask? The person in question is being persecuted so much of crimes oneself has no memory of. エス　「それが真実なら……実際にヒトゴロシをしたのはお前か」 ES: If that’s the truth, the one who truly did the murder was you? ミコト　「あぁ、オレだ。オレがぶっ殺した」 MIKOTO: Oi. It was me. 𝙸 killed. T/N: When MIKOTO says “I killed” he says オレがぶっ殺した (ore ga bukkoroshita) instead of オレはぶっ殺した (ore wa bukkoroshita). Using the particle が (ga) has a nuance that the speaker feels like they don’t have control over オレ (ore), ore-who-killed. 当然のように話すミコトに絶句するエス。 ES is left speechless by MIKOTO speaking as if what he was saying was obvious.

エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「だから本当に僕はやってねぇんだ」 MIKOTO: So, in reality, 𝗜 didn't do it. T/N: "So, in reality, I (boku) didn't do it." エス　「……何故殺したか聞いていいか」 ES: ...Can I ask why you did it? ミコト　「ムシャクシャして」 MIKOTO: I was pissed. エス　 「……誰を殺した」 ES: ...Who did you murder? ミコト　「そこらへん歩いてたヤツ」 MIKOTO: Some guy walking around. エス　「……何人、殺した……」 ES: …How many people did you murder…? ミコト　「記憶にねえ。オレはそのとき初めて生まれたもんでな曖味だ」 MIKOTO: I don’t remember. 𝙸 was a newborn then so it’s fuzzy. T/N: "I don’t remember. I (ore) was a newborn then so it’s fuzzy." エス　「よくも、悪びれずに言えたものだ……」 ES: How dare… How could you say that so calmly- without an ounce of guilt? ミコト　「……」 MIKOTO: ... はぁっと短くため息をつくミコト。 MIKOTO lets out a short sigh. ミコト　「法律でいうと、僕はどうなる？」 MIKOTO: Legally speaking, what’s going to happen to 𝗺𝗲? T/N: "Legally speaking, what’s going to happen to me (boku)?" エス　「精神鑑定で減刑される可能性もあるだろうが、殺した人数によっては死刑は免れない」 ES: There’s a possibility of a reduced sentence through psychiatric evaluation, but, depending on the number of people killed, the death penalty may be inescapable. その言葉に少し焦るミコト。 MIKOTO becomes flustered at those words. ミコト　「いや......やったのはオレだ！僕は寝ていただけだ！」 MIKOTO: Wha- No- The one who did it is 𝐦𝐞! 𝗠𝗲, I was just sleeping! T/N: "Wha- No- The one who did it is me (ore). Me (boku), I was just sleeping!" エス　「......そんな都合良くいくものか」 ES: …It doesn’t work like that. ミコト　「僕の身にもなってやれよ！僕はただストレスに耐えていただけなんだぜ！一人でじっと耐えていたんだ！爆発するまで！誰かを傷つけようなんて考えてなかったんだよ！」 MIKOTO: Try to put yourself in 𝗺𝘆 shoes! 𝗜 endured all of that neverending stress all alone, ironically enough. Patiently enduring and enduring all by myself as one person... until I, in all that I was, exploded. I wasn’t thinking of hurting anyone! T/N: "Try to put yourself in my (boku) shoes! I (boku) endured all of that neverending stress all alone, ironically enough. Patiently enduring and enduring all by myself as one person… until I, in all that I was, exploded. I wasn’t thinking of hurting anyone!" エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「そういうことができないヤツなんだ！気使って、空気読みで、周りの顔色伺ってばっかで……そういうことができないから、爆発しそうだったから、オレが生まれたんだ……あんまりだろ。何もしてねぇんだぞ……僕は」 MIKOTO: I'm the kind of person who can't do that sort of thing. I'm the kind of person who can't do that sort of stuff because I'm too busy being sensitive, reading the atmosphere, and trying to see how everyone around me looks at me. 𝙸 was born because of that. That's not too much, is it? 𝗜 didn't do anything— T/N: "I'm the kind of person who can't do that sort of thing. I'm the kind of person who can't do that sort of stuff because I'm too busy being sensitive, reading the atmosphere, and trying to see how everyone around me looks at me. I (ore) was born because of that. That's not too much, is it? I (boku) didn't do anything—" エス　「そうだったとして……ミコトの意思ではなかったとして、人の命は失われている」 ES: Even if it was or if it wasn’t Mikoto’s intention, human life was lost. ミコト　「……」 MIKOTO: ... エス　「中身がジョン、お前だったとして、それを証明する手立てはない。少なくとも裁判で完全に通ることはない。虚言だと判断されることだってー」 ES: Even if the substance of the case was you, John, there are no methods to prove it. At least, it will never pass completely in a court of law. After all, it will be judged as a falsehood, a false statement. エスの言葉を聞いていたミコトが身を乗り出す。鎖にジャマされて、近づけはしない。 MIKOTO, who had been listening to ES' words, leans forward. Hindered by chains, he can’t get any closer.

ミコト　「……お前は！」 MIKOTO: You! エス　「！」 ES: ! ミコト　「お前はどう思うんだ！」 MIKOTO: What do you yourself think?! エス　「僕……」 ES: I... ミコト　「やったのはオレだ！僕はやってない！お前はミルグラムによってそれを知っている！刑法なんてどうでもいい！オマエはどう思うんだよ！」 MIKOTO: It was 𝐦𝐞 who did it! 𝗠𝗲, I didn’t do it! All that you know and are aware of is according to what MILGRAM is saying! Who gives a shit about their alarms and litmus tests for judgement?! What do you think? T/N: "It was me (ore) who did it! Me, I (boku) didn’t do it! All that you know and are aware of is according to what MILGRAM is saying! Who gives a shit about their alarms and litmus tests for judgement?! What do you think?" エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「僕を赦してやってくれよ……やったのはオレなんだ」 MIKOTO: Please… forgive 𝗺𝗲. 𝙸 was the one that did it, okay? T/N: "Please… forgive me (boku). I (ore) was the one that did it, okay?" エス　「すぐには、判断できない」 ES: I can’t bring myself to make a judgement immediately. 自分に言い聞かせるように喋るエス。 ES speaks as if trying to convince themself. エス　「そう簡単に放すと判断できることではない。事実、ミコトの心象風景はあまりに残虐なものだった……『赦さない』そう判断した」 ES: It’s not so easy to be able to decide [judge] to forgive. In fact, the scenery from Mikoto’s mind was so brutal… I couldn’t forgive him. That is what I judged. ミコト　「それは多重人格がフェ��クの可能性があるからだろ！僕は本当に悪くない！殺したのはオレだ！」 MIKOTO: That’s because there’s a possibility that multiple personalities could be fake! 𝗜 really am not evil! 𝙸’m the one who murdered them in cold blood. T/N: "That’s because there’s a possibility that multiple personalities could be fake! I (boku) really am not evil! I’m (ore) the one who murdered them in cold blood." エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「オマエなら納得できんのか！朝起きたらヒトゴロシになってるんだぜ！！」 MIKOTO: Wouldn’t you agree if you woke up in the morning and suddenly you’d had become a murderer?!! エス　「オマエを生み出したことが罪といえるかもしれない！」 ES: What you’ve given birth to may be called a sin! T/N: Alternative translation of this could be "What you've wrought forth may be called a sin!" or "It could be said that birthing you into existence was a sin!" The 生み出した (umidashita) gives birthing imagery. ミコト　「なっ……」 MIKOTO: Huh... ミコトは言葉を失い、しばらく考えた後。 MIKOTO is at a loss for words. He thinks for a moment. ミコト　「……多分、オレは僕にとっての理想の自分だ。屈な理不尽や、ストレスに泣き寝入りしない、やり返せる自分だ。オレという人格が生まれなきゃ僕はきっと限界がきて壊れてた……」 MIKOTO: 𝙸’m… probably the person 𝗜 wish I was. A version of myself that doesn’t cry themself to sleep because of stress, someone who doesn’t suffer in silence from injustice, the one who fights back— If this 𝐦𝐞 hadn’t been born, 𝗜 would’ve reached my limit and completely broken… T/N: "I’m (ore)... probably the person I (boku) wish I was. A version of myself that doesn’t cry themself to sleep because of stress, someone who doesn’t suffer in silence from injustice, the one who fights back— If this me (ore) hadn’t been born, I (boku) would’ve reached my limit and completely broken..." ミコトの気落ちした口調に、少し心配になるエス。 MIKOTO's despondent tone makes ES a little worried. エス　「ジョン、お前……」 ES: John, you… ミコト　「たしかに、全部ぶち壊してくれる存在を願ったのは僕だ。一人で立ち向かえなかった僕の弱さが原因かもしれねえ」 MIKOTO: If I remember correctly- Yeah… It was 𝗺𝗲 who wished for a being that could destroy everything. Maybe because of my weakness of not being able to face it all alone. T/N: "If I remember correctly- Yeah… It was me (boku) who wished for a being that could destroy everything. Maybe because of my weakness of not being able to face it all alone." エスを見つめるミコト。 MIKOTO met ES' gaze.

ミコト　「でも、それだけだ。それが罪か？」 MIKOTO: But that’s all. Is that a sin? エス　「……それを考えるのはこれからだ」 ES: …I’ll think about that moving forward. ミコト　「お前と話して、オレがやったことが赦されないことだというのはわかった。それには納得だ」 MIKOTO: I know from talking to you that what I did was unforgivable. That I agree with. エス　 「……あぁ、そうだな」 ES: Oh, is that so? ミコト　「……ミルグラムの判断対象は僕......ミコトだな？オレ、つまりジョンではねえ」 MIKOTO: MILGRAM is judging 𝗺𝗲… Mikoto. Not 𝐦𝐞, that is to say “John”. T/N: "MILGRAM is judging me (boku)… Mikoto. Not me (ore), that is to say “John”." エス　「その通りだ」 ES: That’s right. ミコト　「僕を赦してやってくれ。そうでなければ、僕はきっともう耐えられねぇ」 MIKOTO: Please forgive 𝗺𝗲. Otherwise, I’m sure 𝗜 won’t be able to bear it anymore. T/N: "Please forgive me (boku). Otherwise, I’m sure I (boku) won’t be able to bear it anymore." エス　「別の人格が起こした罪は、罪ではない。そう判断しろと言いたいんだな」 ES: The crime brought about by an alternate self is not a crime; that is the judgement you’re trying to tell me. ミコト　「あぁ、僕を赦してくれるなら、オレは消えてやる」 MIKOTO: Mhm. If you could forgive 𝗺𝗲, 𝙸 will go disappear. T/N: Alternative translation that retains the nuances of 僕を赦してくれるなら、オレは消えてやる (boku o yurushite kure nara, ore wa kieteyaru) is: "If you could grant the favor of forgiving me (boku), I’ll (ore) proactively make myself vanish in order to prove my use". In this context, the “-te yaru” (てやる) in 消えてやる (kiete yaru; to disappear) adds that extra nuance of “to (proactively) perform an action so as to prove one's ability to others” エス　「……！」 ES: …! ミコト　「そう、最終的にオレはいなくなきゃならない。全部、全部引き受けていなくなる。オレは僕を守るために生まれたんだから」 MIKOTO: Well- Eventually I’ll have to. I’ll take it all– bear it all, everything and anything, and I’ll be rid of it– Troubles and myself.  𝙸… was born in order to protect 𝗺𝗲. T/N: “I (ore)… was born in order to protect me (boku)." エス　「……そのために、生まれた……」 ES: …born for that purpose… ミコト　「ああ。僕を守るためだったら、オレはなんでもやるんだぜ」 MIKOTO: Yeah. 𝙸 would do whatever it takes to protect 𝗺𝗲. T/N: “Yeah. I (ore) would do whatever it takes to protect me (boku)." 部屋にある時計から鐘の音が鳴り、尋問室の部屋の構造が変化していく。 The clock in the room chimes and the structure of the interrogation room begins to change.

エス　「ジョン……」 ES: John... ミコト　「……何、犬の名前？」 MIKOTO: Mm... What-? Is that a dog’s name? T/N: MIKOTO is no longer speaking with an Edo dialect/roughspeak. エス　「ミコト……？」 ES: Mikoto…? もとに戻っているミコト。 素っ頓狂な顔をしている。 MIKOTO has returned to his previous self. He has a silly look on his face. ミコト　「看守くん、犬飼ってんの？犬種何し？いや、待って。当てさせて」 MIKOTO: Warden-kun, do you have a dog? What breed? Ah- Wait! Lemme guess-

エス　「……」 ES: ... ミコト　「トイプー？いや、意外とブサカワっぽいのが好きかも？フレブルとか？」 MIKOTO: Toy poodle? No- Maybe you like those that are surprisingly adorable and ugly at the same time like a french bulldog! エス　「……違う」 ES: …No. ミコト　「じゃあパグ？」 MIKOTO: That’s it- A pug! エス　「犬の名前じゃない！」 ES: It’s not a dog’s name! ミコト　「ええ……じゃあ何よ」 MIKOTO: Eh? Then what is it? エス　 「……お前の、友の名前だ」 ES: ...It’s the name of your… friend. 一瞬間の抜けた顔をしたミコト。 すぐに笑って、 MIKOTO looks stunned for a moment, then quickly laughs. ミコト　「そんな人知らないよお～」 MIKOTO: Pfft- I don’t know anyone named that∼ ミコトの言葉にどこかさみしげな笑みを浮かべるエス。 ES smiles slightly—somberly—at MIKOTO’s words. エス　「そうだろうな」 ES: Of course you don’t. ミコト　「⁇」 MIKOTO: Hm?? 帽子をかぶりなおし、ミコトに向き直る。 ES adjusts their hat and turns to face MIKOTO. エス　「囚人番号9番ミコト。お前の罪を歌え」 ES: Prisoner number 9, Mikoto. Sing of your sins.

[fleshwerks]

With regards to thinking being able to recognise AI text from authentic text

You might not be realising that AI also writes like a non-native English speaker whose fluency is high. I gave been called AI a lot, because my speech tends to be more formal, I tend to repeat sentence structure to stay within the confines of what I find comfortable, and my vocabulary is diverse, but not wide, so I tend to use more uncommon words and phrases, and I tend to repeat them in proximity. All that's really giving me away to a knowledgeable reader are typos and occasionally my native Estonian syntax bleeding through. On better days, neither of these things happen, and that's where accusations of AI come in because native speakers also mistakenly think that even a competent non-native speaker cannot be eloquent. Native speakers also tend to vastly overestimate their own skill in the formal version of their native language. I am very good with formal English because that's what I was taught, whilst native speakers are better with colloquial English, but often struggle with formal, just like a non-native speaker struggles with colloquial because they lack the geography, culture and immersion that colours. So, to a native speaker, competent but somewhat stilted English reads as AI, when it's just written by someone who doesn't speak English as a native tongue.

Needless to say, I don't use LLMs. For anything. Not knowingly at any rate.

[twelverriver]

heyy :) so I saw your post about the new willemijn podcast interview and the translation thing and was wondering if you could dm it to me cause I really want to know what she said and I don’t have Apple Music cause I’m poor lol 😂

hello :)

I decided to just write a whole transcript of the thing because there are probably more people wanting to read it so I put it in a google doc and also down below if u dont wanna open links i hope this doesnt crash my post <3 tell me if there's any problems with it ! anyway i ALSO dont have apple music i was able to create a free try month so i don't have to pay for it 🙏

link to the episode + the translation below!

Notes: The Interviewer’s name is Jenny btw bc I will be using her name instead of Interviewer in the transcript :) Also WIllemijn mostly talks in like one really long sentence with pauses in between and I’ve tried to stay true to that, but sometimes it just works in German, but not really in English when you’re trying to make it make sense of it with the different syntaxes, so I added more periods to the sentences. Sometimes, her flow of speech is not exactly how I put it down here but I tried my best to convey it like she said it! 

Jenny: Hey, my name is Jenny and welcome to a new episode of “...listens to” today with Willemijn Verkaik, and I’m very happy you all tuned in for it. You know how this works, we always ask our favourite musicians what they listen to privately, and I’m very excited about today’s guest. Hello!

Willemijn: Hello, I’m happy to be here.

Jenny: I’m going to introduce Willemijn now for everyone who might not know her. She’s a real power woman, and she’s truly one of the best voices in the musical scene of our time. She already charmed audiences all over the world in Wicked and in her iconic role as Elsa in Frozen, and she’s not just fantastic on stage, but she’s also a great inspiration for everyone, who dream big themselves. Now you can be excited for exciting/thrilling insights and especially into the music she listens to most in her own life. I’m excited to hear what you chose for the first song, what is it?

Willemijn: Something that maybe no one expected, and thanks for this introduction, that was really kind, thank you. What many people don’t expect from me, just a very happy song from Wham! I grew up with that, and I’m a big fan of George Michael and this is “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” 

Jenny: That’s definitely a song everyone immediately knows and everyone knows it just gets you in a good mood, so I would suggest just starting with the song before we say too much right now, and then we will talk about the song more later on. Here is Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!

The song plays -

Jenny: What a song! What does it make you feel when you listen to it?

Willemijn: I want jump up and get on a chair and dance… I was nine years old when it came out, and it is so fun, it gets you in such a good mood and energizes you, and yes, now that I’m a few years older, I still want to jump up and dance to it. 

Jenny: Amazing. Which song from your list is next?

WIllemijn: Next is a really special song, that is “Annie’s Song” from John Denver and I chose it for this list because it’s very close to the heart. We always went everywhere with the car with the whole car, really everywhere and my dad always put on this song, this music on the radio and I think John Denver is such a special musician and has such a wonderful, warm voice and then this song, Annie’s song, that is very special to me because I am also a person who loves nature and these metaphors that he’s always using, to compare love and life with nature, that is just so beautiful and with such a fantastic melody, I can always listen to it, my heart feels warm, and I get … what is it called? Tingles over my skin (she was looking for a German word here) 

Jenny: Chills 

Willemijn: Oh yes, exactly, I get chills all over and I can always listen to it, every day, every hour. 

Jenny: I’m very excited because we all also want to feel what you just described. Get ready because here is Annie’s song by John Denver now.

Song plays - 

Jenny: I immediately knew what you meant with the way your heart grows warm, the song is so…-

Willemijn: Yeah 

Jenny: so comforting somehow when you listen to it-

Willemijn: Yes.

Jenny: and I can totally feel what you feel, what you described. 

Willemijn: Very good, because the song is a bit older of course, because the youth of today hasn’t listened to it, doesn’t know it as well, but I would recommend listening to a few songs of his because they’re really… really beautiful. (she’s using a really informal tone of voice/language here, like she’s talking to a friend when she addresses the audience here)

Jenny: The next song you brought with you is one that has a special meaning for you, I think, I believe, and it is from a musical that made into the cinema again-

WIllemijn: That’s true (but more used like an agreeing yeah here).

Jenny: and it has fans over the whole world and it’s a really big thing, it’s a song from Wicked - the Witches from Oz. (that’s the German title for the musical)

Willemijn: Exactly.

Jenny: Tell us more about it, what song did you choose, why did you choose this song and what meaning does it have for you?

Willemijn: Yeah, the song is called “Frei und Schwerelos” in German ((Defying Gravity German Version. The translation of the German title would be “Free and weightless/gravityless”), the song has so much meaning for me because in 2007, I heard that I will play the main character in Wicked, the main character, Elphaba, a girl who was born green and was ostracized and hated because she was born green, from her family but also her environment, and she decides anyway to fight against wrong doing and yeah, it is an unbelievably beautiful story that she tells and now there’s a movie in cinemas and I really hope Wicked gets a boost again, also in Germany, because it is a very beautiful story with amaaazing music by Stephen Schwartz and Defying Gravity is at the end of the first act, where she says Hey I’m strong enough, and I can fight against injustice and I feel free and weightless, and I will fight for that.

Jenny: Yeah, and I really like that Wicked is now on the big screen and Wicked gets a boost and people are enchanted again [by it], so let us listen to it now, here’s “Frei und Schwerelos” (Defying Gravity German Version) sung by you. 

Song plays -

Jenny: It feels immediately like you’re in a different world, like I totally forgot that we’re here recording an episode because you’re immediately so immersed in such a magical world. Do you still remember all the words to this song, that it’s just so powerful that you’ll never forget it or are you more a project-to-project and then the lyrics are gone person?

Willemijn: I’m actually more of a project-to-project focused person because I feel like it’s better for my brain, but just this song I have sung so many times, not just in the musical but also on concerts and I still remember these lyrics well, yeah, I think. 

(They laugh)

Jenny: That song will probably always be a part of you and a part of your being and-

Willemijn: Yeah, exactly.

Jenny: the next song has equal importance because I just think it’s a song, a play/musical, a movie that has excited people all over the world, and it’s Disney’s Frozen. I think it has captured so many little girls and women and boys and also adults, the whole story, and what does the song mean for you and which song is it? 

Willemijn: It is, of course, Lass jetzt los (German Let It Go) and I am incredibly proud that I was allowed to sing Elsa’s voice back in 2013. When I sang it in the studio, I knew hey that’s a beautiful song and it’s going to be successful, but that it is going to be SO successful and that children who can’t even speak their own language yet can already sing the song… and that is captivating young and old people the same, that is so beautiful and I’m so proud of being a part of that, it’s really great and that I was in Hamburg last year on stage in the Theater an der Elbe playing Elsa on stage was a full circle moment and kind of the cherry on top, I would say.

Jenny: Let’s listen to it again and here it is, Lass jetzt los by Willemijn Verkaik. 

Song plays - 

Jenny: I think the song is so touching, you’ll cry instantly when you listen to it, I don’t know what it is about, can you explain that or what the song makes you feel?

Willemijn: I hear the song in a different way, I hear myself sing, and I think about different things of course (they laugh), but I could never really explain it, because many people ask why is this song so… why is this song, this movie so successful and I uhh.. I also don’t know. I once asked the writers what is your magic, what is this and they said we just started writing and that is so beloved is a gift for us as well. They’re just brilliant, the authors who wrote this. 

Jenny: For the last song, I think it’s really crazy that we’re almost through because the time runs so fast, and I think we learn so much about your career alone from your playlist because it is so insane to see what you’ve done. You have one last song for us that relates to your current musical, what is it and what are you doing now?

WIllemijn: I play Anne Hathaway in the musical & Julia right now, that is a feel-good music, a party and I get to play the role of the wife of William Shakespeare, her name is Anne Hathaway, and she thinks, hey, the Romeo and Juliet, it could deserve a better, more beautiful ending, and what happens if Juliet doesn’t kill herself, what happens then? I start with this idea and William and I write that story during the musical, we write that while the show plays, and it is really fun and emotional, it’s really beautiful. 

Willemijn: I sing this song in the second act and I try to reassure Juliet, hey, maybe living is not that easy, and it doesn’t always go your way, but we get through it, and we can do it, us great power women. (She laughs) 

Jenny: And the song we will listen soon, in which part does it appear or in which situation can we imagine it? 

Jenny: That’s great! Here’s That’s the Way it is by Celine Dion.

Song plays -

Jenny: That’s a really nice song to end with, a song that gives you a push and really gives you power. Do you have some advice for us for the new year, something that’s like That’s The Way It Is because I think you as someone who lives their dreams, who goes through life with a lot of power, you can give us some advice. 

Willemijn: (she Laughs) It is really nice to be seen as a power woman and I am really proud of that, but I really think it is just important to be true to yourself and know that power is not always necessary to be a power woman and I think that’s really important. Sometimes you can just be very sensitive and very bescheiden and then you still have a lot of power and thats really important for the new year.

Jenny: Yeah, that the power is in vulnerability and being true to that and not pretending when you don’t feel like it. 

Willemijn: Yeah, exactly.

Jenny: Thank you for being here and sharing your songs, I feel like i learned so much about you and I really like the songs you chose for this and thank you for being here.

Willemijn: I really liked being here.

Jenny: See you soon, bye!

[choicesficwriterscreations]

April Creator of the Month: Aallotarenunelma

Each month, CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers or artists, and this month’s creator of the month is the lovely @aallotarenunelma! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page. Past COTM's can be found here.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog My Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? 

Aallotar is fine. I am agender. My pronouns are they/them.

More below...

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I saw the app being highlighted a lot in Google Play in 2017, but it was only at the end of February-beginning of March 2018 that I downloaded it. It was when Perfect Match 1 started releasing and shortly before Bloodbound 1 began releasing. Time is flying!

There were already a lot of books, and it was a bit overwhelming. I chose the series that was being heavily advertised: The Royal Romance.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined the Choices sub-Reddit in July 2019, then the Tumblr fandom in April 2020.

I first joined the sub because I wanted to discuss the books and the characters, and hopefully befriending other players. It was lonely to read the books, and having no one to share my opinions and theories with. Then, I took a step back from it and after lurking a bit, I joined the Tumblr community. 

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

When I joined Tumblr, in April 2020, it was initially to be a Writblr. I was writing a story about a heroine named Aallotar. Its title gave my blog’s URL. My blog’s title is its English translation: Aallotar’s dream.

In the end, my blog turned into a bit of everything.

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

This is my very first post. This is my original writing, conveniently mentioned right above. :)

5- Do you write fanfiction, create fan art, or are you one of those really gifted people who do both? 

I define myself as an artist because I create. This is how I express myself. It doesn’t matter if the pencil I use is to write or to draw as long as I create. Before I started learning how to draw, I was always saying that I was drawing with words. To me, this is what writing is. I draw and paint with my words to depict stories that my characters want me to tell.

I mostly write, but I also create fan art, such as sketches and various kinds of edits: quotes, sprites, moodboards, etc. 

6- How long have you been creating for Choices and for any other fandoms?

For the defunct app Lovestruck, from December 2020 to October 2021.

For Choices, since April-May 2020. 

7- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to create for?

My all-time favourite Choices book is Veil of Secrets. I adore it!

I heavily create for the It Lives Anthology - the three books - and also for Immortal Desires. I love these books so much that I made a crossover, and most of the characters from the Anthology and from ID have met and even befriended each other.

8- Share your first Choices fanfic or fan art that you posted with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were creating it today?

My first Choices fiction is a Blades one: Of Stardust and Light.

I still love it and I wouldn’t change anything - except the typos and the clumsy grammar/syntax, due to the fact I am not an English-native speaker.

For a long time, I thought it was my masterpiece, that I wouldn’t write something as good or even as better than this. But I proved myself wrong in the end.

The other reason why I wouldn’t rewrite it now is because I have definitively stopped writing for my Blades pairing, Tyril x Soile. I made it official a few months ago, and this decision is final.

9- What is your favorite piece of fiction or art that you created? 

It’s really hard to choose only one, but I do have a soft spot for Répondez, S’il Vous Plaît ! #3 because this is where I tell about my OCs’ Ash and Skylar’s meeting. It was a story I wanted to write for a long time and I love it.

Chronicles of a Crimson Summer deserves to be mentioned as well. This is the longest story I have shared here, and it’s a real balance of angst, fluff, and funny moments. Also, because its birth was extremely painful, so for all of these reasons, I am glad I wrote it and shared it.

10- Do you have a fic/art that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to do well but found it could use a little more love?

I never expect anything I share to be well received, whether it’s a fiction or a drawing. I’m only sharing it, hoping that at least someone will find it and enjoy it. Even better if it helps the person in any way.

That said, sharing my art remains a lot more difficult than sharing my writing, so any art reblog is leaving me a bit confused, due to my imposter syndrome.

Most people here who are familiar with my stories have read some of the funny stories I have shared, as well as the fluffiest stories I have ever written - sometimes too fluffy for me. 

However, this isn’t only what my writing is about. Darker Than Night has generated so much indifference that it saddens me.

This series really shows what my writing is, minus the layer of humour that you can usually expect. It truly deserves better, just like In Joy and Sorrow, that actually gives a good idea of what my writing really is.

11- (WRITERS) If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

I usually share a lot of fluff here, because the world outside is hard, so I want to uplift people with sweet and funny stories. However, my original writing is usually angsty with some funny and fluffy moments to alleviate all the angst a little. So, I’m choosing angst. Definitely. To me, writing angst is comforting.

11a - (ARTISTS) If you could only draw one style or type of art for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? 

I could easily do oil pastels for the rest of my life. It’s an easy technique to learn, it’s very forgiving, it’s calming, and I love how it looks.

12 - Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

I am agender and aspec, so in any non-binary and/or aspec MC / OC of mine can be found parts of me, regardless of how they define themselves on those large spectrums. Representation is highly important to me, so this is one of the recurring themes in my writing.

Also, the witty/sarcastic and playful characters are easy to write because I know them too well!

13 - What element of writing/art do you struggle with most?

Finding the right word is difficult, either in English or in my native tongue. I always want to capture the emotion, the feeling, the landscape with the perfect word. I’m still learning in my daily life.

Regarding my art, at the level I am right now, that would be shadows. Sometimes, they look great, but they often don’t. Practice makes perfect, so this is what I do whenever I can.

14 - Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

I tend to have only one WIP that I see to end. One reason for this is that I usually write my stories in a notebook, before I type them down to share them. The state of the notebook is not always great; I even sometimes struggle to re-read what I corrected!

If it’s about my original work, then, yes, I want to finish that one novel’s second draft.

15 - If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to see your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you show them first? 

It has actually happened with one of my siblings. At that time, I was only writing for Blades and had maybe like five stories posted. I let my sibling read them because we are close. For other people, I think it would be on a case-by-case basis, but most likely not. I'd rather make them read my original writing, if my shyness isn’t getting in the way.

16 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing or art? Are there any artists that influence you?

Émile Zola and Arto Paasilinna are my all-time favourite writers.

I am learning from every fanfiction writer I am reading. First, because I read in a foreign language. Second, because I believe you learn from everyone every day.

In terms of art, I don’t think I have a particular influence. I am still exploring my style.

17- (WRITERS)  Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

It would be In Joy and Sorrow. I created this It Lives in the Woods AU series to give a life to my first MC, Riikka. The one she couldn’t have. In this series, I talk about close friendships, coming outs, being bilingual/bicultural, how to navigate a romantic relationship as an aspec*, how to deal with bullying/harassment, etc. I talk about timeline collapse and time-travelling as well.

And because there’s the most delightful OC ever, my all-time favourite: Ash. He truly is one of a kind and his friendship with Dan is really something special.

*aspec: a person on the aromantic and asexual spectrums.

18 - (ARTISTS) Which one of your creations would you like to see a fiction written about? 

I don’t have any yet that would justify the honor of having a fiction being written about.

19- Do you write original fiction or create non-fandom art? 

I started writing when I was 10 years old. It was thanks to an assignment for my native tongue class when we were studying the structure of a fairytale. I really enjoyed writing one, so I kept writing over the summer. Little stories about everything and nothing.

I wrote my first novel when I was 13, but never dared to send it to a publisher. I kept writing novels - and not sending them, I have a nice collection, now! - and branching out in other forms of writing, in hope to develop as a writer: rpg forums, poetry, (fan)fictions, creative writing course, etc. I took a ten year break from writing (fan)fictions before returning to them.

I am working on the second draft of a novel about grief, and I have three other different novels already outlined.

Regarding art, I mostly create non-fandom art.

20-  What other hobbies do you have?

Except writing and drawing; I paint murals and do oil pastel; I do theatre; I design and crochet my own clothes.

I enjoy watching old films, Hollywood era and silent ones included, but modern films as well, if they are excellent.

I love learning foreign languages, listening to music and going to gigs.

I am also a true race car enthusiast, preferably Formula races - F1 to F4, Formula Regional included.

I also enjoy going for walks in nature and travelling.

21: Tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

I want to thank CFWC for highlighting me, and giving me the chance to talk more about my characters, my stories, my writing and my art. This means a lot, especially as this month is also when I’m celebrating my 4 year Tumblr Anniversary.

Thank you for your support throughout these years!

I want to thank so many people, but I’m also scared to miss any of them!

Thank you to my friends, old and new. 💛

Thank you to everyone who has read and reblogged my stories and left kudos and comments on them. It has been helping me so much in believing in myself and my writing.

Thank you to everyone who has reblogged my art and my edits and left comments on them.

Thank you to every talented person who has gifted me a piece of their beautiful art, written or not, anonymously or not.

Thank you to everyone who has asked about my characters and my stories.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me positive and uplifting messages.

Lastly, thank you to every single person who has supported me these past months, in many different ways. Your kindness and your presence have made a difference, and I am grateful for those and for you all.

And a special shoutout to my fellow rainbow creators! 🌈

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

While I agree with most of your posts

I think bringing up grammar in song writing is just kinda weird

Like as long as a song isn't as egregiously grammatically incorrect as 'I'll do what I should have did' (thank you deacon blue) it just isn't a relevant criticism?

Even the song writer you respect most probably doesn't write their songs like an essay they can lose marks for. And that's a good thing! Songs would be a lot worse if writers were worrying about these things

It's just such a bizarre thing to bring up- and unfortunately it kinda makes your other points look less valid because it comes across as weird and petty and like you'll drag Swift for anything (Plus obsessions with 'correct' grammar is just rooted in abliesm, classism and racism- so yeah not a good look)

Plus bringing up your literature degree... like you never studied poetry? Which famously plays with grammar and sentence structure? Like that's inherent to the genre and while very little of TTPD is poetic, lyrics are still most similar to poems then they are to essays or journal articles

Sorry you just really hit a nerve here cos it's just such a ridiculous thing to bring up.

Okay, yes people don't write songs like essay's. However, they often still use determinable grammar rules in art.  

You are keying into the difference between prescriptive and descriptive grammar rules. 

The prescriptive rules are ones that you are most likely to find first listed in dictionaries or textbooks. Descriptive grammar rules contend with the dialectal differences and slang. In either case, rules and stipulations or exceptions are noted in various linguistic analysis of the demographic's dialect. Both subgroups of grammar are consistently evolving as the use of the English language changes over time.  

Before I move on, I just want to say that I am well-aware of the deep history surrounding the debates on proper grammar. These debates, of course stem, from sociohistorical issues surrounding class, race, and ableist attitudes. You are correct. However, the academic conversation on grammar and linguistics has advanced dramatically into the subdivision of grammar-practices with respect to dialectal and cultural differences. I judge Taylor Swift's grammar as similar to my own, since she claims to be from my “neck of the woods.” Thus, I feel it is entirely appropriate for me to throw metaphorical tomatoes at her.  

 In the juncture of this difference on prescriptive and descriptive, I want to make that point that people who utilize the difference well often take prescriptive rules and bend them to fit their specific thematic point, thus the lyric forms to its set of descriptive grammar rules. These artists do it with such finesse and precision, unlike Taylor Swift, that it’s nearly awe-inspiring.  

For instance, Kendrick Lamar uses many AAVE typical syntactical structures to make his music personalized art. He won a Pulitzer for it. Take, as an example, the intro to his song “Humble” in which he writes, “Nobody pray for me / It been that day for me” (2017). This is not grammatically correct according to the prescriptive grammar rules laid out in the 1940’s. However, linguistic scholars do not operate on so strict a pendulum anymore. Notice, too, that Lamar is not actually breaking any grammatical rules, only playing with the purpose and form of his syntax, when we take into account the dialectical intention with which he uses “it been” as a poignant use of the past participle form of the verb “to be.” Thus, the simple sentence of “it is” changes into the “it been” as a subjective call first to his cultural dialect and to the thematic gesture of the song. As the phrase “it been” leaves out the helping verb “have” which would put the phrase into present progressive tense should it be present; however, it’s noticeable absence as a stiff detraction from prescriptive grammar rules, focuses Lamar’s thematic point on moving the audience to mediate on the past as it intrudes on the present time. His use of language discrepancy between prescriptive and descriptive rules focuses recognition on his dialectal culture and on his main thematic point as it hinges on making sure to notice where you’ve been in life in order to stay humble and live with authenticity. He is a masterclass on descriptive grammar being used in such a beautifully artistic way that I am damn near in tears for his music.  

Okay, moving onto to your point about poetry not being grammatically correct. You are quite wrong here, because poetry "plays" with syntax but it does not throw the rules out. Much like the example I laid out above, poetry does the same thing wherein it plays with prescriptive grammar in a thoughtful way that often ties into the moral or theme of the work. Poetry centers on a different form of syntactical methodology... yes, you are right. However, the emphasis is still on the necessity of understanding grammar structures like poetic feet, meter, rhyme scheme (etc). It's not a free-for-all. The best poets of the last 6 centuries have been some with the most linguistically precise sentence structure that I've ever read. I can give you examples, but if I do that this answer will become a million words long.  

I am, however, sorry to have struck a nerve or come-off like a know-it-all. I was only expressing my frustration that Taylor Swift is apparently one of the biggest artists in the world and she doesn't even bother to ask a friend if the meaning of her phrases gets lost in excessively languishing grammatical structures. For instance, in her song “Chloe or Sam or Marcus or Whatever” she is stacking so many phrases hinging on coordinating conjunctions that the meaning of the phrase itself loses any poignant message. She writes:

Named Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus And I just watched it happen As the decade would play us for fools And you saw my bones out with somebody new Who seemed like he would've bullied you in school And you just watched it happen (Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus).

In this stanza alone there are 6 coordinating conjunctions stacked together, interspersed with additional prepositional phrases and 2 extra relative clauses. It is the most egregious run-on sentence I have ever seen published before. I've seen better, cleaner prose in the work I've graded from High School freshmen. Not only could she have said it in less words, but the way she is writing it makes it drag on and on. The meaning gets lost, and any emotional impact is shut down because people get lost in the wordiness.

It’s a failure on her part, and it’s clear how just writing a run on sentence with no meaning is so much different than the way that someone like Lamar is masterfully arranging language to fit his purpose.  It's offensive that she gets to make a million-billion dollars off so little effort. 

Sorry, I wrote you an essay, but I am so incredibly passionate about writing. Also, I’ve been listening to Lamar a lot today because of his recent diss track, and it just reminded about how much of a lyrical genius he is. Sorry, I detoured into a rant about how cool he is too. And I need people to understand that I am not critiquing Swift because I need to dunk on someone in order to bolster my own sense of self-worth. I just want better mainstream art, and I want people to have better, stronger art with which to engage.  

I did not mean to hurt your feelings.  You are quite right that obsession with "proper" grammar is bullshit; however, I am not looking for some old fashioned "proper" nonsense. I want people to write like Lamar, with intelligence and passion while he bends the notions of grammar, not like Taylor Swift with obvious run-on obfuscated and stupid phrases.

edit: Also, good writers do actually worry about grammar. It has to do with illocutionary forces behind the phrases. The best among us knows the language inside and out, and that is why they are the best writers.

Edit 2: Also, I've been thinking about this, but what do you think literary and poetry critics do? You say it's bizarre to critique Taylor Swift’s poor grasp of the English language? Of course, I'm critiquing that... she's the one who calls herself a writer. I don't go around checking everyone's grammar, but if you call yourself a "good" writer and a poet, obviously expect people to analyze the words on the page.

[synticity]

why do we call them nouns and not substantives like everyone* else

i am having some kind of reaction to this ask that i am gonna go examine and do a dbt worksheet about lol. but okay i have some various responses

who's "we"? like... english speakers? linguists? me and my friends?

sometimes - actually especially when I'm teaching introductory syntax - I actually don't call them nouns, and kinda ban my students from calling them nouns. i'm like "call them flurms or whatever" because i am trying to get my students to stop relying on the schoolhouse rock definition that relies on semantics, and start actually looking at the morphology and syntactic distribution of the things they've been calling nouns. so like, i recommend that

from etymonline, "in grammar, "a name; word that denotes a thing (material or immaterial)," late 14c., from Anglo-French noun "name, noun," from Old French nom, non (Modern French nom), from Latin nomen "name, noun" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). Old English used name to mean "noun." In old use also including adjectives (as noun adjective). Related: Nounal."

i'm intrigued by "substantives" - who calls them that? I've never seen that in any english sources but would totally buy that that's a (cognate) term in nearby languages. i think it has a similar problem of implying "person place or thing" type semantic criteria that really don't align with my morphosyntactic definition for what a noun is. (events and actions can be nouns all the time! "destruction" or "orgasm" or "morning.")

different people use terms (like "noun") very differently. the thing i'm talking about when i'm talking about "nouns" in a syntax class is so so different than what a lot of people mean when they use that word. i mean something that's doing a very specific syntactic job - "noun" is a position that stuff can find itself in, whereupon nounful phenomena can happen to it. i don't think "words" can "be" nouns. this is not what most people mean! so my question then is what "everyone else" "means" when they are using a word like "substantives" - are they using the same technical definition as me? i can't know until i talk to someone who uses this word, which as i say, i have not encountered!

anyways sorry that's more questions than answers and i hope it doesn't come off as super defensive. i do genuinely want to know more about what you mean!

[max1461]

I have a lot of thoughts about epistemology and the nature of procedural knowledge. Studying linguistics really impresses upon you just the sheer amount of human knowledge that is procedural and implicit. Languages are these huge, ridiculously complex systems, and even when it comes to the most thoroughly documented language in human history (English), you can still make an entire career documenting as-yet-unknown minutiae of some corner of a corner of the system. It's very difficult to impress upon non-linguists just how big and ill-understood languages are.

There is no book which explains the whole of English grammar. No one on earth knows the complete rule-set of English grammar. Not even for one dialect, not even for one single speaker. No one on earth could write a comprehensive treatise on English pronunciation. We do not know how English works. We do not know how any language works.

And yet, these systems are, in their entirety, already stored in the mind of every native speaker.

When it comes to synchronic information, I literally already know everything there is to know about my dialect of English. I know the timing of every articulation, the exact rules for verb and auxiliary and quantifier placement, the phonology, semantics, syntax, the lexical variation, the registers, all of it. I can deploy it effortlessly while I am thinking about something else. I can form reams of perfectly grammatical English sentences without a second thought. I can deploy the most arcane rules of wh-movement and quantifier raising and whatever else. With no effort at all.

Tens of thousands of people having been making careers trying to document these things, not for my exact dialect but for varieties essentially the same as mine, for 60 years in earnest. And they aren't close to done. And I already know it all. And so do they! They already know it too! The hard part is accessing it, putting it down on paper. That requires experimentation, systematic empirical investigation—science.

So what this has really impressed on me is how much of human knowledge is procedural. How much of it is known only in the doing. I'd wager that's the significant majority of what we know.

This is related to two thoughts that I have.

The first is about the value of unbroken lines of cultural inheritance. With language, the difference between native speakers and second language learners is stark. I think it's safe to say, per current research, that someone who learns a language in adulthood will simply never have the same command of it as someone who learned it in childhood. There are a variety of tests which consistently distinguish native from non-native speakers. You can get very good at a language as an adult learner, good enough for basically all practical needs (except being a spy), but there's a bar your brain just cannot meet.

The unfortunate fact about language is this: if the line of native-speaker-to-child transmission is ever broken, that language is lost. You can try to revive... something, if you want. Like was done with Hebrew in Israel. But it will not be the same language. And not just in the sense that, by the passing of time, all languages inherently change. In a much stronger sense than that. No matter how big a text corpus you have, no matter how well documented the language is, there is an immense body of implicit, undocumented, procedural knowledge that dies when the last native speaker does. And you cannot ever get it back.

I think, often, about the fact that so much human knowledge is procedural, is used and understood and passed on in illegible, difficult to codify ways. I think about the effect that a rapidly changing world has on this body of knowledge. Is it going to be essential for human prosperity? Probably not. But that doesn't mean that losing it will harmless. Certainly I expect much of it to be missed.

The second thought is about an epistemic distinction that I've had in my head for a long time, a distinction I'd like to refer to as that between a science and an art.

An art is any endeavor for which there is an established methodology, an established set of procedures and rules. These rules can be explicit and codified, like the rules of a game, or implicit, like the grammar of a language. They can be absolute or they can be mere guidelines. But in essence, an art is anything you can get good at. Math is quintessentially an art. Football is an art. Ballet is an art. Painting is an art. An art is any endeavor in which procedural knowledge is acquired and channeled and refined and passed on.

Art contrasts with science. A science is any endeavor in which one is shooting blind. Science is the domain of guesswork and trial-and-error. Sciences are those domains that do not lend themself to practice, because... what would you practice at? You cannot get better at science, because science is not about skill. Science is about exploration. It necessarily involves forging your own path, working with odd and faulty tools and odd and faulty ideas, trying to get them to work. Science only exists at the frontiers; when a path is well-tread enough that a body of procedure becomes known and practiced, that path is now art and no longer science.

This distinction is not a taxonomy. Everything we do involves a little bit of art and a little bit of science. Everything involves both a refinement of known skills and an exploration of new avenues. Of course there's a little bit of science in painting, there's quite a lot of science in painting. Every modern and contemporary art museum is full of it! And there's science in math, every once in a while. And there's art in biology and chemistry. Art and science are two modes of engagement, and different endeavors demand them of you in different ways.

Perhaps science is like a glider (you know, from Conway's game of life?), traveling ever outward, and with enough passes over the same area leaving art in its wake. And I think in some sense that all real human knowledge exists as art, that all endeavors capable of producing true insight are either arts or sciences buttressed by a great many supporting arts. Although maybe I'm wrong about this.

I think history is mostly science, and in large part history as a field seems to be on quite solid epistemic footing. So I don't want to convey the idea that science is inherently dubious; clearly from the above description that can't be my position. Nor is art inherently trustworthy—for instance I think jurisprudence is primarily an art, including religious jurisprudence, which of course I don't place any stock in. But I do think I'm getting at something with the idea that there are a range of epistemic benefits to working within an art that one lacks access to in a totally unconstrained science. This is also closely related to my ideas about abstraction and concretization schemes.

Language is an art, one of the oldest arts, but modern linguistics is more or less a science. Like any good science, linguistics has certain arts unique to itself—fieldwork and the comparative method come to mind—but the most vibrant parts of the field at present are science through-and-through. It's a science whose objects of study are arts, and I think maybe that's part of why I've become so aware of this distinction. Or, language is the ur-example of an art, the art from which (if I were to conjecture wildly) I think the cognitive machinery for very many other arts has been borrowed. But I don't really know.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

[cassiopeia-grimm]

A new beginning

Explicit 🔞 NO minors allowed

⭒❃Summary - After realizing her mistake, she returns to him to try and make amends. But is it too late to make amends?

⭒❃Pairing - Davis Mitchell x F!Reader

⭒❃Contents - Fluff, Angst, bestfriends to lovers, smut

⭒❃Word count - 1611

⭒❃ A/N - English is not my first language so if you spot any mistakes just bare with me. I'm sorry if I've made any syntax, spelling or tense mistakes.

This fic doesn't really follow the plot. I'm making my first attempt at writing a fic.

⭒❃ Credits - photos (pinterest) (edit by me)

For an autumn refreshment, the air isn't too bad. It's even mild. People are playing with leaves on the ground and children are running around laughing. But here I am, in front of my best friend's house. Well, former best friend…

I wonder if he's sitting on the couch right now, watching our favorite movie by the fire. Or playing video games.

I loved these little moments with him, it was relaxing and there was no judgment or criticism, we were just ourselves. Thanks to these moments, I had a crush on him, I actually fell in love with him. How could I not be in love with him, he's adorable, helpful, loyal, funny, a little destructive around the edges but he's also incredibly sexy.

I remembered that in high school all the girls were crazy about him, everyone wanted to be him. He was one of the best quarterbacks in our high school and I was proud of him, just like he was proud of me when I passed my science report.

I remember he often won games and I was in the stands cheering him on. I wasn't ashamed to shout his name so he'd know I was there for him. Those were the best years of my life.

Even though all the girls wanted his attention, he stuck by me. He once told me that I was more interesting than any of them. I remember blushing and hiding my face on his chest. Just thinking about it made my heart beat faster. I miss her touch, her warmth…

I wish I could go back in time and tell her I loved her. If I hadn't been such a coward, I'd never have lost him. Instead, I went off to see someone else. Still, I kept thinking about Davis, how he'd managed to hold my heart in his hands.

I was stupid…

The door opens, snapping me out of my reverie. He's standing there, his gaze soft and sad at the same time. Did he know I was coming?

“(Y/N), you came?” “Wh-what? How did you…” “Come on in.”

He stepped aside to let me in, I stood there skeptical, but finally entered after his nod.

Why, did he let me in? He should hate me, though. His house was simple but very warm, everything inside was comforting. If I looked carefully, I could see that he had always kept our things in common. It brought tears to my eyes.

As if reading my mind, he approached me and smiled.

“I couldn't let any part of you go so I kept them.” “Why?” It was all I could manage to say. “Because you're part of me and I can't live without them.” “What do you mean?” I said, puzzled.

He looked at me as if it were obvious, as if all the pieces of the puzzle were in front of me.

“Come on, shall we sit down for a bit?”

He guided me to the small living room, and I sat down next to him on the sofa opposite the fireplace. There were already two mugs of hot chocolate on the base table. Was he expecting someone?

“To answer your question, I was waiting for you.” “I know you're mad at me…” “Who told you I was mad at you?” “After what I did you should be!” I exclaimed. “But I'm not and do you know why?”

I nodded so he could continue. Deep inside, my heart knew why, but it wanted to hear it from his lips. Even if the other side thought otherwise, how could such an incredible man love a woman like me.

“Because I've always loved you and even now you drive me crazy, and have since we were little. Every time my parents and I came to your house, I had…No I needed to see you.”

I couldn't help but blush at his statement, it was as if I were dreaming at that moment. I lowered my head with a smile on my lips as I realized it was real after all. “Tell me why you left with Ryan?” He gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger to force me to look at him.

“I left with him because I thought you'd never want me.” “That I'd ever want you?” Davis questioned.

The more we talked, the closer our bodies got, until our knees were pressed together. This sudden closeness gave me butterflies in my stomach and then his gaze on me drove me crazy. How had I not noticed all this before?

“I was madly in love with you and I still am. But I want to know one thing, do you have or still have feelings for me?”

I saw in his eyes that he was looking for an answer, an affirmation. So all I could do was offer him a tear-filled smile. He wiped away my tears with his thumb and brought his face close to mine, until our foreheads touched.

“I'm still in love with you, Davis, but I was too afraid you'd reject me.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He put his hand behind my neck and tried to pull me closer as if he still had distance.

“I could blow up the world for you, (Y/N). Oh lord, you know how much I love destroying things, but not you, you're far too precious to me.” We couldn't help but laugh at this simple sentence, admittedly cute, but a little psycho.

Standing next to him, I take in his features. His storm-blue eyes, his thin, pink mouth, his muscles trapped in his plain shirt and freckles dotting his face and little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He had become even more handsome.

“You know, I like it when you look at me like that.” He smiled wryly. “But stop!” I could bet that by this time, I'd gone all red.

I put my head in his warm chest and hugged him tightly. Meanwhile, he started laughing out loud and I felt his hand move up from my neck to my head to caress it. He always knew it calmed me. “I've always loved your laugh.” “I know.”

“That's a pretty pretentious thing to say, you know?” I laughed “I'm only pretentious with you.” “But seriously, what do we do now?” I murmured, intrigued. “We could start by taking our time and then see?” “You're probably right, only time can help us.” “When you have doubts, (Y/N) come to me, okay? I don't want to lose you again.” I nodded to let him know I agreed. “I'll also come and see you if I'm not well or have doubts too.”

He took me in his arms and tightened his hold on me, as if afraid of losing me again. Before I knew it, he lifted me onto his lap and caressed my back with his two large hands.

I felt something thick and hard against my crotch and knew I was close to his cock. I never imagined it would be big and hot. I know he told me to take our time, but after three years of not seeing each other I couldn't resist another minute.

I began to discreetly rub my clothed clitoris against him. This new sensation was driving me crazy and I wanted more. I felt his hands squeeze my buttocks and push me even closer to his erection.

“Please, (Y/n) don't stop.” He moaned

He kept asking me not to stop and that's what I did, I didn't stop. I rubbed myself even harder. His grunts and groans became very loud. He couldn't stop making these obscene noises, worthy of a porn movie. The fact that it was him having this effect made me even more excited.

He suddenly took my head in his hands and kissed me with such force. It was as if something had awakened. The grip of his hands was harder but softer at the same time. After open-mouthed kisses, we pulled back to breathe. Her eyes had become darker and more intense. I'd never seen that kind of look coming from him.

“Fu-Fuuuuuck, I knew you were meant for me, darling.” My hands survey his body, touching his pecs and bulging abs, until they reach his big erection. I cup it and start making circular motions around his cock. “FUCK! If you don't stop now, I'm going to cum in my pants.” “Oh yeah?” I smiled wryly. “Please, baby go slow, you're making me super sensitive.” “Don't worry, honey, we've got plenty of time.”

I placed my lips on her neck and began to suck the soft one below her ear. I could feel shivers run through his body, smiled in victory and continued with more determination. He started moaning and grunting again, but it was more desperate envy.

“Shall we continue into the bedroom?” “I'll follow you.”

I never thought my best friend would become my boyfriend…

[xuexishijian]

Multiple uses of 你

Aside from its normal use as the second-person pronoun, Mandarin 你 has several other meanings it can take on, depending on the context.

Normal (propositional) use: 你 refers to the addressee

我好像见过你。 'I seem to have seen you before.' (Biq 1991: 308)

Impersonal use: Doesn't refer to the addressee, but to a generic person (English and many other languages have this as well)

那些小孩子恼得叫你不能专心做事。 'Those children make such a noise, it makes you (me, one) unable to concentrate on work.' (Biq 1991: 309)

Speaker-oriented use: The speaker uses 你 to refer to themself or to a group associated with the speaker (note that the reverse situation can occur with 我 referring to the addressee)

Context: An actor discusses his experience with a director 他每次比如说我在演的是手，他会跟你讲这个应该怎么样。 'He gives comments when I am acting, he will tell you (me) how it should be.' (Hsiao 2011: 805) (Note the switch from 我 to 你: The speaker is inviting the listener to put themself in his situation.)

Metalinguistic use: Not used as a pronoun at all, 你 calls on the address to pay attention to the speaker's next point

Context: A and B are talking about the importance of education A: Once education is developed many more doctors can be trained. Uh, this is one point but if not, ah? B: This is medical education. A: 就是医药，对吗，你整个儿的学校也多了，诶，上小学上中学的人都多了，那么上医学院的人也多了。。。 A: 'Just medicine, surely, <NI> the number of schools on the whole increases, eh, the number of people going to grade schools and middle schools increases, then the number of people going to medical schools will increase, too...' (Biq 1991: 314-5)

I just think it's neat how this little pronoun can serve a variety of purposes, and it really goes to show just how creative speakers can be with the tools available to them in their language. I recently saw a presentation by a fellow grad student, Tian Xinhe, who formalized these uses of 你 from a theoretical syntax perspective. If anyone's interested in more details about that, I'd be happy to talk more. :) References & further reading:

Biq, Yung-O. (1991). The multiple uses of the second person singular pronoun ni in conversational Mandarin. Journal of Pragmatics, 16, 307-321.

Hsiao, Chi-hua. (2011). Personal pronoun interchanges in Mandarin Chinese conversation. Language Sciences, 33, 799–821.

史金生 & 王璐菲. (2022). 虚拟对话与立场构: “你”在互动中的移指用法 [Virtual dialogue and stance interpretation: The reference shift of "ni" in interaction.]. 中国语文, 6, 671–683.

Tian, Xinhe. (2025, March 28-29). The multi-functionality of the second person pronoun in Mandarin Chinese: a study on syntax-interaction interface [Conference presentation]. CHAMP3, Barcelona, Spain.

[uncertainturquoise]

Six the musical – Japanese MegaSIX: transcript and translation!!

Photo credits: https://x.com/sometsur/status/1885304606261137766 (cropped, Meimi and Sonim are so cute)

I haven’t seen anyone make one on Tumblr… but I absolutely love it! I watched many videos to get the transcript right haha

Transcript and translation are mine (source: I’m Japanese, but I have no academic experience translating from Japanese). Please credit me / tag me if you use it! Notes at the end.

Japanese

Are you ready? 東京、行くよ！

旦那が 私を追い出すなんて、Baby ありりりりりりりえない

別れられると思うなんて、本当にあり (夫婦関係を取り消すなんてあげない)

りりりりりりり　りえなかったわ！

悪かったわ悪気なくて、楽しけりゃいいじゃん！　ありえない！

頭、頭冷やして傷付けたくはないのー

でも　マジで　でも　嫌なら　私を壊せない

やりたいように　変えるだけ　ブレない　この心　おおー

椅子に、一人、ここ私のお城よ　

やりたい事は　好きにするわ、そう

クイーンは私だよ、跪きなさいよ！

やりたい事、やりたい事、なんて声を合わせて歌おう！

やりたい事、やりたい事、ならば愛して　ああー

愛はもう良い、愛されなくても良いわ、乗り越える時だわ

愛されなくてもー　それだけじゃない！

離婚！

打首！

死亡！

離婚！

打首！

死別！

そう！

SIX！

Romaji

Are you ready? Tokyo, ikuyo!

Danna ga watashiwo oidasunante baby aririririririenai

Wakarerareruto omounante hontouni ari (fuufukankeiwo torikesunante agenai)

Riririririri rienakattawa!

Warukattawa waruginakute tanoshikerya iijan! Arienai!

Atama atama hiyashite kizutsuketakuwa naino

Demo majide demo iyanara watashiwo kowasenai

Yaritaiyouni kaerudake burenai kono kokoro ooh

Isuni, hitori, koko watashino oshiroyo!

Yaritaikotowa sukini suruwa, sou

Queen wa watashidayo, hizamazukinasaiyo!

Yaritaikoto, yaritaikoto, nante koewo agete utaou!

Yaritaikoto, yaritaikoto, naraba aishite aah

Ai wa mou ii, aisarenakutemo iiwa, norikoeru toki dawa

Aisarenakutemo ooh soredakejanai!

Rikon!

Uchikubi!

Shibou!

Rikon!

Uchikubi!

Shibetsu!

Sou!

SIX!

Translation

Are you ready? Tokyo, let’s go!

My husband is driving me away? Baby I can’t believe it!

You think that I would leave you? / You think you are capable of leaving me? I really can’t believe it! (I won’t let you revoke our married relationship)

I couldn’t believe it!

I’m sorry I didn’t feel bad! As long as I’m having fun! I can’t believe it!

Keep a cool head! I don’t want to hurt you / I don’t want to hurt it

But – for real – but – if you don’t want to – you can’t break me

I’ll change it as much as I want, this unwavering heart

Alone, on a chair, this is my castle!

I’ll do what I want, however I want, yes

I am the queen, kneel before me!

What I want to do, what I want to do, is for us to raise our voices and sing!

What I want you to do, what I want you to do is to love me

I don’t need love anymore, I don’t need to be loved, it’s time to overcome it

Even if I’m not loved, that is not it!

Divorced!

Beheaded!

Died!

Divorced!

Beheaded!

Bereaved!

Yes!

SIX!

Notes (very long I know, read what you want, I’m just passionate about linguistics)

Okay, Japanese is a tricky language to translate due to its grammar and syntax, which is very different from English. I did my best to show nuance, but it’s also 3 AM lol. If you have questions or remarks, I’d love to discuss them!

Aragon: heard 2 versions, the one in parentheses is probably a mistake, a different line in the main song (not 100% sure, as there are no recordings that I know of) – but it gives us an insight into No Way! For the second line, I gave 2 possible translations. Japanese is very much a context-based language, and sometimes things can be interpreted in different ways (the agglutinative language and homophones combo is strooong). Here, I like that both Henry’s and Aragon’s points of view are included! Japanese being syllable-based makes it sometimes hard to put a lot of meaning in a short line, but here the ambivalence works great imo.

Boleyn: the Japanese version kept Boleyn’s playfulness, which is so cool. Love how they also used an idiom “Atama hiyashite” – followed by, once again, an ambiguous syntax which gives us 2 very funny interpretations: I don’t want to hurt you (Henry’s feelings), or hurt the head! The repetition is for “head”. The transition is a bit clumsy from Aragon’s part, but tense change is great (Aragon is old news to Boleyn!)

Seymour: I feel like this is the closest meaning-wise to the original English. The emphasis is on heart (kokoro), which is meaningful ofc.

Cleves: okay, “chair” instead of throne is UGLY. But it is a chair. I guess the rhythm won over lyricism here. I like that “get down” was translated into the specific verb “to kneel” (which I learnt translating this). It makes up for the chair lol.

Howard: another case of agglutination galore. Even though the proposition “yaritaikoto” (= what one wants to do) remains the same, meaning changes with morphemes, hence the different forms when translated. She’s also nicer lol, it’s not your favourite queen song, but she wants us to sing together. I like that the transition with Parr is with A for Ai, love.

Parr: I’m being repetitive once again, agglutination + context and all that here. Great use of love as both noun and verb, which remains the same morphologically in Japanese. “I don’t need to be loved”, while remaining the same, becomes even if I’m not loved… uniting all six queens 🥺❤️

TL;DR I love SIX, I love translation, I hope there will be an official recording of the Japanese version (highly doubt it) or someone is brave enough to bootleg it (please lmk)