#any native jp speakers out there please correct me if i messed up on some part bc omg ajfjsjfjs these are just my brainworms atp

[solifloris]

throwing brainworms out there bc i did a little comparison with the japanese translation, and the result is that this has been picking at my brain since this afternoon... bec idk if it's just me??? but i think it was written so beautifully 😭✋

okay so.

— 繋がれた凧は、遠い空へ飛べないものだ。永遠に。

AS A SIDE UPDATE NOW THAT THE ANECDOTE IS OUT, BTW— NOW WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A DIALOGUE THAT CALEB SAYS HIMSELF. HE S AY S I T HIMSE L F. i think that hits hard. like really hard. like.. truly. makes this more heartbreaking 😭😭😭😭😭

to my knowledge.

and i say this as NOT a native speaker and someone who just studies the language casually from time to time SO THIS IS TOTALLY A DISCLAIMER... and also that if any native japanese speakers find this please correct me where im wrong omg ajcjjsjf

but... to my knowledge, okay.

the translation kinda goes "a tethered kite can't fly so far into the sky forever, that's just the way it is."

or more literally, "a kite that's tethered/restrained (heavy emphasis on restriction), flying far into the sky is something it obviously/naturally can't do (or shouldn't be able to do) forever."

and that's just the literal translation but the explanation of it kinda just goes SO HARD???????? its such a BEAUTIFUL way of putting it too, you have to hear me out.

and it's, fundementally, the same thing.

"a tethered kite will never reach the far sky" — absolutely nothing wrong with the english translation. in fact i think they did a pretty good job!!!! the point gets across nevertheless!!!!

but also it's super simplified? you have to make more of an effort to Read Between The Lines to Get It, because you can just take the sentence at face value.

but in jp it carries a different weight... cause it kinda frames it in this delicate way that's also in-your-face about the fact that it implies something else.

LIKE HEAR ME OUT OK to the best of my ability i'll try to,,, break it down,,,,, ahfjannf because that's where the meaning of it truly shines through!!!!!

the first part of the sentence, before the comma, has "繋がれた凧は" or "tsunagareta tako wa". essentially this refers to the tethered kite, with the particle "wa" there to indicate that the tethered kite is the subject of the sentence. this is important because of how the words "monoda" (naturally) and "eien ni" (forever) are used later on.

which, also—"tethered" is a great word for the translation of "tsunagareta" actually. tsunagareta comes from "tsunagu" which (in my understanding, at least.....) generally means link/fasten/connect/similar words. it can mean tying two objects together or two people or even two emotions, so it's kiiinda abstract? but also it can be heavy on the implication of being tied.... with the intention of restraining/restricting. kinda like tied by a leash, those vibes? and then the word "tethered" in english, according to google, means to "tie (an animal) with a rope or chain so as to restrict its movement". which fits in with what tsunagareta is trying to convey in this sentence!

the next part of the sentence is 遠い空へ, with tooi+sora+e. "tooi" for far/distant and "sora" for sky, and then the particle "e" to signify direction.

so like,,, the subject of the sentence—the tethered kite—is moving towards the direction of the distant sky.

but then the next part of the sentence is 飛べない, "tobenai", from "tobu" to fly, +"nai" a negative modifier, to overall mean can't fly.

so then— the subject of the sentence, which is the tethered kite, can't move towards the direction of the distant sky.

BUT THERE'S MORE!?!?!??!!!

becAUSE THE NEXT PART OF THE SENTENCE. IS. ものだ. MONODA. I YELLED AT THE USE, BECAUSE IT'S GENIUS.

generally the sentence is fine without it.... like, "a tethered kite can't fly towards the distant sky." IT'S FINE, IT WORKS?? IT MAKES SENSE? YOU COULDTOTALLY LEAVE IT AT THAT AND ITS BASICALLY THE SAME THING ANYWAY—

BUT THEY CHOOSE TO STRENGTHEN IT.

without monoda, the statement works as like........ a simple statement. like it's just, eh. yeah that exists, whatever. flippant vibes? casual vibes i guess? (<- bc i don't know how else to explain it 😭)

BUT WITH MONODA????????

so, "mono" means "thing" usually, but like in this case it kinda turns a verb ("tobenai"/can't fly) into a noun. so it's becomes kinda like... a state of being? like "the state of being unable to fly"? it's no longer a verb, but the verb turns into a noun— which is why the particle "da" is there, because it then links the tethered kite (the main subject) with this added descriptor (the state of not being able to fly).

(the main subject: the tethered kite) is in (the state of not being able to fly).

and it's important, because in the japanese language when you put it all together, it kinda implies that like... this is something that occurs naturally. 'obviously, it's like this.' or, 'yeah that's just how it is.' or, 'this thing is unavoidable.' or, 'this is a universal understanding.' it's like an assertion, like it just really emphasizes that this thing is so, so normal that it can't be anything else.

so like— "it's normal for a tethered kite to be unable to fly to the distant sky".

AND THEN

THERE'S MORE.

永遠に。 eien ni. forever.

it took me a while to understand this, because when the eng translation says "never" but jp says "forever".... it doesnt click you know?

but then "eien ni" signifies something eternal, something permanent. its essentiallly that the passage of timestretches on eternally, or for a time that doesn't end.

and god did it take a while to understand how it fits here but i think i GET IT. like. now the way i understand it is that using this at the very end of the sentence modifies the whole damn thing and emphasizes the permanence of it.

as in, the whole sentence becomes, "as it should, and as it is meant to be, a tethered kite cannot fly into the distant sky. this is a permanent fact."

implying that nothing will change it.

nothing will change it.

it's going to stay like that... forever.

and it feels like it's a delicate way of saying "never", because like— it could've been, like, kesshite tobenai, or something, which would've been more "never able to fly". it'd be kind of a more aggressive assertion of the absolute finality or impossibility that this won't happen, just like how the word " never" in english also puts out a very aggressive finality to the sentence.

but instead, this sentence goes through all this, to delicately lay over that, yes. a tethered kite can't do this. it's a fact, that we all know, and it's going to stay that way forever. so obviously it's just never going to reach the far sky. that's just the way it is.

and then like, also,,,, "monoda",,,, apparently it's used in a lot of proverbs? so it's known to add a sort of Extra Layer to the sentence. like, that Extra Layer is hinted at in the way it's WRITTEN. it says hey this thing you read just now isn't what it seems at first glance, read it again, between the lines this time.

AND WHEN YOU RELATE THAT?? WITH CALEB??????

this entire sentence emphasizes lack of freedom.

it's the nature of a kite to fly. but because it is tethered... then, it's also the nature of a tethered kite to not beable to fly anymore. it can't reach the far sky—it can't reach its full potential. and then it goes so far as to add "forever"? like it cements in this loss of potential? that it's permanent?

because now it's going to be like this forever.

there's an element of loss, something hopeless. because it's already like this, then there's nothing that you can do.

i feel like that hopelessness is something that the word "never" isn't going to convey as accurately.

and for the caleb that we know... all his restrictions, and the toring chip—all the desire there is for the people around him to control him...

it implies that he's never going to have that full sense of control anymore.

it implies that it's just like that, it's going to just be like that from now on.

and what can he do about it?

nothing.

he can fly, a little. he can do what he wants, a little. but not to the distant sky. not to his full potential. and that's something that he will never, ever, ever get to do again. something he will never, ever, ever get back again.

that's just how it is.

and now that we know this is caleb's dialogue.......

do you see what i mean when he... he says this himself... he perceives it himself that... he can't... do anything... about it.. .anymore... he sees... he's stating this as a universal fact... he......