#and my brain is tired

[pricechecktranslations]

Out of curiosity, when you do translations, do you change up sentence structure (as in rearrange, combine, or split) as well? Sometimes I read parts that have a nice flow in the original JP but when I mentally translate them, feel very clunky and unnatural in ENG. Especially when it comes to spoken dialogue!

I do. I think the tendency for newbie translators and those generally unfamiliar with Japanese is to try and keep the exact phrasing intact (I know this was my inclination in the past, and some of my older translations are much more awkward as a result), but this simply doesn't work in English.

Like, Japanese sentences can structurally fit a lot more clauses than English sentences can, and their syntax is pretty much opposite of each other. There's also of course "omitted subjects/objects" where Japanese can cut out many extraneous parts of a sentence that English NEEDS to have in there. Even if we leave aside that translating all of this literally makes things sound awkward and hard to read, it also frequently will result in misunderstandings of what exactly is being said.

I don't remember where I read this, but one of the sentiments of translating is that if it's not meant to be significant or noteworthy in the original, it shouldn't be made so by awkwardness in the translation.

This does unfortunately sometimes result in the poetic impact of a line being lost (ex, sometimes the thing that goes at the end of the sentence in Japanese HAS to go in the front in English), though translating literally will usually ruin it anyway. I think a skilled translator can do both--make a translation flow well while keeping its artistic integrity--but this is subjective and I don't think I can comment on it.

This is part of why I'm more comfortable translating genre novels, where there isn't as much critical emphasis on which words are on what line, so long as you are making clear what information the line is trying to convey and what it's putting emphasis on.

[microvibing]

Hermes and Aeolus watching the ody-poseidon showdown

[corkinavoid]

Tim, internally: I need to make sure my family doesn't start the shovel talk the moment we appear, I can do this, I just need to introduce him the right way

Tim, walking into the dining room, hand in hand with Danny: Bad news, Damian's grandfather stole my spleen four years ago. Good news, my boyfriend of six months returned it to me yesterday and even installed it back!

Danny, the picture perfect image of innocence: Hi!

The Batfam, who knew nothing about the missing spleen or the mere existence of a boyfriend in Tim's life: wh-

[xxplastic-cubexx]

[right to left]

STILL thinking about drunk chess actually

stupid as hell bonus:

[flwrkid14]

Casual Chaos: Tim Drake’s Makeup Stream

Danny, known to the internet as Nebula, had been teasing a special stream for weeks. Fans were buzzing with excitement and theories, especially when the announcement popped up: “Doing My Boyfriend’s Makeup!” Naturally, the chat erupted into chaos. Danny was pretty private about his love life, so this reveal had the fandom on edge.

When the stream finally went live, Danny greeted his audience with his usual laid-back grin. “Okay, today’s the day. Let’s see if I’m any good at this,” he said, spinning a makeup brush between his fingers. “But first, let me introduce you to my boyfriend.”

The camera panned, and there he was—Tim Drake, sitting there as if this was the most normal thing in the world. No big introduction, no fanfare. Just Tim, giving a small, nonchalant wave.

“WAIT. IS THAT TIM DRAKE???”

“Like… THE Tim Drake??”

“No way he’s dating Nebula, what is happening???”

Danny, fully aware of the chaos brewing in the comments, didn’t even acknowledge it. He just turned to Tim. “Ready for your makeover, babe?”

Tim shrugged, totally calm. “Let’s do it.”

As Danny started applying makeup, the chat kept freaking out, but the two of them acted like it was just another Saturday. In Gotham, though, it was a different story. The Bat's group chat was blowing up:

Dick: “TIMOTHY JACKSON DRAKE-WAYNE, EXPLAIN YOURSELF.”

Jason: “How does a nerd like you land Nebula of all people???”

Steph: “I AM CRYING. HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!!”

Damian: “This is unacceptable. Drake, I demand an explanation.”

Bruce: [Typing…]

But Tim? Unfazed. He ignored the constant buzzing of his phone and sat still as Danny carefully lined his eyes and added a touch of mascara, keeping up casual chatter with the stream.

“You know,” Danny said, holding up a shade of lipstick, “Tim’s got this effortless model thing going on. I’m just enhancing what’s already there.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, smirking. “I didn’t exactly sign up to be your runway star.”

“Wait… he’s actually REALLY pretty??”

“Tim Drake is hot, confirmed.”

“LOOK AT HIS CHEEKBONES OMG.”

As Danny finished the look, adding some extra blush and a light gloss, the reaction was immediate. The chat was losing it. Tim glanced at himself in the mirror, barely reacting. “Well… I don’t hate it.”

Danny leaned back, admiring his work. “Not bad, right?”

Meanwhile, back in Gotham, the bats were still going wild.

Steph: “Tim, you better show up to every gala looking like this from now on.”

Jason: “You’ve been holding out on us with this face, man.”

Dick: “This is ICONIC.”

Bruce: “We’ll need to discuss this later.”

Tim finally glanced at his phone and snorted at all the messages. “They’re never going to let this go, are they?”

Danny just grinned at the camera. “Probably not. So… next time, you'll do my makeup, right?”

The chat, of course, exploded all over again.

[danielcalmdown]

my take on kim as a trans guy, with body shape that makes passing a bit troublesome, even on t. (i used myself as a reference xD) + some silly doodels

[ruporas]

biting throughout october + halloween costumes (ID in alt)

[humuhgod]

pov: ure the pizza the delivery guy and u somehow alw deliver to the apartment w this clingy as fuck couple who cant seem to detach frm each other while payin in front of u (jus some mini poolverine doodles b4 i crash)

[vriskan8or]

let her go

[cable-salamdr]

They proceeded to recreate all of motm. Geo got to dress up as the munce queen and felt very smug about it.

(We are pretending it is still Halloween for me and not past midnight since an hour. Thank you.)

[mx-lamour]

I'm afraid of disappointment

Money is bad and awful

I can't trust people

And I don't know what's causing my vulvitis

How are you today?

[noodle-artist]

Hi my name is Hobie Brown 🎸

I’m not a role model ❌

I was briefly a runway model ✨

I hate the AM! 🌅

I hate the PM!!! 🐖

I hate Labels!!!!!! 🏷️

[jackklinemybeloved]

[…]

Percy’s warning to fellow half-bloods in the audience, across different mediums.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005) The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (2017) Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series Teaser (2023)

[hinamie]

so just know, I'm healing / even though it don't feel like it

insp

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

anyone else have multiple traumatic memories associated specifically with holidays/family vacations? because that is a topic I never see discussed in all the So You Had A Shitty Childhood, Now What? self-help books i've been reading. but for me, it was a significant thing. and the more i think about it the more it seems like this would be an (unfortunately) common experience. would be grateful to hear if this matches other peoples' experiences...

[cynicallyneutral]

Day 1: Soulmates