#albedo birthday

[unu-nunu-art]

Happy Birthday Albedo ✨

To celebrate, I made some silly stickers and emotes, FREE to use for everyone. 2 Stickers, in 3 different edits each. You can download a zip with all pngs on my Ko-Fi page

>>> Ko-Fi Link <<<

[tricksrabbit]

Art by @_tomei_trans

https://x.com/_tomei_trans

[xyria-moon]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALBEDO (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

[dkniade]

Translation: Albedo’s Birthday Letter 09/13/2023

Game: Genshin Impact

Developer: HoYoverse

Fan Localization: Dusk

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I will again try not to make it sound choppy while still maintaining Albedo’s character…

(Requested by @ai56, and by my own interest.)

I remember how flustered I felt when I first read it, calling him something like a “poetic bastard”…

“(as an artist) so you understand!! ...WHY IS THIS GUY SO SMOOTH. Whoever wrote for Albedo’s birthday message this year KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE DOING. you poetic Dragonspine bastard is this what living in the City of Poetry does to a person (affectionate)”

“Oh but, the idea of adding a few strokes upon an old work’s cracked dry paint… Brings to mind Albedo doodling around his imperfection (star mark) which in theory sounds cute but it is the neck we’re talking about

“But, adding a few strokes… Hmm, how inspiring. I’ll have to try that sometime with my art too. Of course it doesn’t quite feel the same on a digital artwork but… I guess for too long I’ve held the belief that physical artworks are prone to destruction.

“No, actually, an artist I knew in real life has also told me the same thing about adding new strokes to old artworks—or even painting over them completely.”

It will be in this order: original Chinese text, my rough-ish translation, my more polished translation, official English localization, layers of metaphor, and translation notes.

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Original Chinese Text

完成一幅画作之后，每隔一段时间我就会将它取出，再次欣赏一番。

人们说，作画的目标就是将一刹那的美景化作永恒。然而质量再好的颜料也会��裂，那一刹那的美景早已老去。

不过，我并不反感这种变化。

发现旧作的颜料干裂时，我偶尔会循着裂纹补上几笔，如此竟能得到一幅新的得意之作。

就像人们喜欢的定期小聚，确认了岁月在彼此脸上留下的风霜后，心生慨叹，却也让彼此的情谊更加醇厚。

或许对于画作来说，时间本身也是颜料的一种。

如果你有时间前来一聚，这副名为「你我」的画作，也可以新添几笔了。

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My Rough-ish Translation

After a painting is complete, I like to take it out once in a while to admire it again.

People say that the goal of painting is to capture a fleeting scenery and render it eternal. Yet even paint of the highest quality would crack, with that fleeting scenery long gone.

But I’m not displeased by such change, actually.

When I find that the paint on an old work is cracking, occasionally I’ll follow the cracks to add a few strokes. To think that it would even end up as a new favourite work of mine…

It’s like those rendezvous that people enjoy. After identifying the hardships—like frost left by the winds of time—on each other’s faces, they sigh in regret, yet this deepens the affections of both parties.

Or perhaps for a painting, time itself is a type of pigment.

If you have the time to meet up, this painting called “You and I” would also receive a few more brushstrokes.

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My More Polished Translation

When I finish a painting, I’d take it out once in a while to admire it again.

People say the goal of painting is to capture a fleeting scenery and render it eternal. Yet even paint of the highest quality would crack, with that fleeting scenery long gone.

But I’m not displeased by such a change.

When I find that the paint on an old work is cracking, I’d occasionally add a few strokes while following the cracks. To think that it would even end up as a new favourite work of mine…

It’s like those rendezvous that people enjoy. After seeing the hardships the frosty winds of time left on eachother’s faces, they sigh to themselves in regret, yet this deepens the affections they have with each other.

Or perhaps for a painting, time itself is also a pigment.

Should you have time to meet, this painting called “You and I” would also gain a few more strokes.

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Official English Localization

After completing a painting, I like to take it out from time to time to admire the work.

People say that the purpose of a painting is to capture the beauty of a moment for eternity. But even the highest quality paints will crack with time, and that moment's beauty will long have begun to fade.

However, I don't mind this change at all.

When I find that the paint has begun to dry and flake, I will often brush over the fissures with new strokes, and the new piece thus created is one I can continue to cherish.

Just as people enjoy regular gatherings, seeing the wrinkles left by long years of hardships, worries, and lament on one another's faces thickens the bonds between friends.

Or perhaps for a painting, time itself is a kind of pigment.

Should you have time to come for one such gathering, we will be able to add a few more brushstrokes to the painting called "You and I." .

A raw translation will not do. I need to understand what Albedo is feeling at this moment. 

Reading at it again, he’s possibly alluding to the Japanese pottery-repairing technique of kintsugi, where you piece together a broken object with lacquer dusted with powder gold, putting it back together while allowing the cracks to become part of the artwork. 

……Doesn’t it symbolize him perfectly, with his “pontil-mark” star mark of imperfection and humanity?

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Layers of Metaphor

finished artwork has cracks so he mends the cracks with paint strokes following the cracks’ shape 

This is like how hardships endured by a person over the years shows on their face

The adjusted painting is a new work worth admiring

This is like how seeing resistance to hardships over time deepens the bond between friends

Different events caused by the flow of time change people, like how different pigments change an artwork

Meeting with Albedo again would allow him to see how time (and travel across Teyvat) has changed the Traveler and himself, like adding strokes to the artwork he calls You and I

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T/N 1: The second line in the original says 将一刹那的美景化作永恒, juxtaposing 刹那 (chànà, instant, moment, split second, etc) with 永恒 (yǒnghéng, eternity). I’ve chosen to render this as “to capture a fleeting scenery and render it eternal”. Such is the nature of painting, and of course Albedo has the patience for it.

T/N 2: In the original’s fourth line, “如此竟能得到一幅新的得意之作” seems to suggest some slight surprise at the result, hence my choice of “to think that it would even end up as a new favourite work of mine…”, instead of the sureness in the official loxalization’s “and the new piece thus created is one I can continue to cherish.”

T/N 3: 风霜 (fēngshuāng) refers to hardships, and the literal translation would be wind and frost. Quite poetic for a dweller of the snowy mountain, Dragonspine, in the Anemo Archon’s region. Frost left by the winds of time here (more surface translation of the 岁月在彼此脸上留下的风霜 section would be hardships left on echother’s face by time) was my attempt to preserve the image and not an intentional nod to the Ad Oblivione (“the wind that flows forever” or “the thousand winds that return to one” described by Aranaga in the final part of the Sumeru World Quest “The Final Chapter”)… I think. Perhaps Albedo was referring to it discreetly?

T/N 4: 心生(xīnshēng) means to feel (an emotion) in one’s heart (directly, an emotion being generated in one’s heart). 慨叹 (kǎitàn) is a verb meaning to sigh (with regret) however, so it’s strange to use it after another verb that takes a noun phrase… I suppose 心生慨叹 could be an over-the-top way to mean sigh in regret.

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Overall, the official English localization is very good. Some subtle differences are perhaps not caught (mostly the feeling of subtle surprise about reworking an artwork, and the line about hardships and the imagery it brings), but in the end, it’s just as poetic as it is in Chinese.

[aiolose]

Happy birthday Albedo

[themicrose]

The Alchemist & The Psychiatrist

Happy birthday Albedo & advanced Happy Birthday to Vyn Richter! 💗🎂

[Do not reupload]

[agent404-storm]

Albedo is such a mood

Paimon is like "We got you this flower from Sumeru! It's called a Padisarah!"

and the boy just "Ah...! exquisite! Yes! I will eat this. Thank you."

[aixeko]

On my lunch break and I'm gonna choke, I forgot it's ALBEDO BIRTHDAY STOPPP HE'S SO PRETTY FINALLY THE BABY FACE CURSE IS GONEE😭😭

The character that made me play and enjoy genshin, my male soulmate, muse and kin 🙏

[soaopy]

happy birthday albedo!

this reminds me of the birthday art i posted the same time last year

i haven’t been playing much or at all these days, but i will always be forever attached to this guy

[genshin-impact-updates]

Happy Birthday, Albedo!

Dragonspine is one of my favorite places to visit and collect inspiration during my leisure time.

Just like now, the skies have cleared after the snowfall and birds are chirping lively. Setting up an easel here is bound to capture a remarkable scene.

However, the snowy landscape can be too serene, and painting just the scenery might leave the composition feeling somewhat sparse. If only I could add a figure to it... Hmm, you'd be willing to model for me?

Alright, then come over here. Fret not, just stay in your most comfortable, natural state.

[nikkipettt]

Finding magic in all the smallest things~

[genshinimpactresources]

Genshin Impact | 2024 Birthday Artworks & Character Shorts: Albedo

Download Link (Google Drive)

[tricksrabbit]

Happy birthday Albedo

Art by @_tomei_trans

https://x.com/_tomei_trans

[florsial]

Sirius' birthday party except it's Regulus trying to smash his big brother's face into the cake every minute. He always has a large slice of chocolate cake in hand with a smug smile, Sirius's eyes darting back and forth at every conversation, torn between the person he is talking to and Regulus's smug smile and the looming threat of chocolate cake.

At the end of the night, he thinks he's safe so when Sirius and Regulus go in for a hug, that's when Regulus pushes the plate into Sirius' face.

[charmzero]

omggg it’s national albedo day

[meldelmew]

happy birthday, Albedo