#first name as a pronoun

[plague-of-insomnia]

Kuro First-Person Pronouns: Layla & Al

Unlike English, Japanese has many first-person pronouns ( “I”). These often will give you information about the type of person the character is. Are they very feminine or masculine? Polite or brusque? Young or old? Are they higher or lower in the social hierarchy? How close, psychologically, are they to the listener?

It’s not uncommon for one person to use different pronouns in different situations, and that is sometimes the case in the manga, depending on the character.

These ofc get lost in translation and are something I find very interesting. So this series will go through some of the Black Butler characters and show you which pronoun(s) they tend to use in Japanese and what that says about them as a character.

[More about Japanese pronouns]

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

Layla | Al : “レイラ” | オレ*

Used By: Young Girls/Children/Adults wanting to sound cute | Casual or Polite: Casual

Used by: Men | Casual or Polite: Casual

[*Also used by Bard and Doll]

I wasn’t going to do a post on Layla originally, since I can barely even use her real name and not call her merely Lolib*tch for attempting to kill my man, but someone mentioned her and “Al,” the other personality inside her, wondering about their pronouns. I got curious, since I couldn’t remember paying much attention to this ~2 years ago when Bard’s arc started.

Lolib*tch has two personalities inside her: Layla and Al.

Layla seems to be the dominant personality, and it’s possible the body is hers (his?). She’s unique as far as the characters I’ve reviewed for this series so far in that she does not use a personal pronoun at all, but instead consistently uses her own name (レイラ ) when she needs to refer to herself.

In other words, instead of saying, “I killed him,” she’d say, “Layla killed him.” In English, this comes off as annoying and arrogant, which is probably partly why the official translation just used “I,” for her, but it has a very different association in Japanese.

In Japanese, it’s common for very young children who haven’t learned to use personal pronouns to use their name instead. So a young kid might say, “Jake wants drink” in Japanese the same way in English a younger kid might say “Me want drink” or “Want drink” bc they’re still learning how to properly use personal pronouns, too.

Because of this association, though, some girls (especially) will copy this because they feel it makes them sound young and cute, like a little kid. It’s possible Yana wanted to tie into this idea with Layla, while also cleverly disguising that she’s actually only one of the personalities in that body. Because Layla as a loli in a manga wouldn’t come off as odd using such language.

However, once Al is introduced, not only does he get a different font, but his manner of speech is very different, including his pronoun. Like Bard (and Doll), Al consistently uses オレ (ore), a hypermasculine pronoun, and his speech aligns with this.

Al seems like a stark opposite to Layla; she’s small and cutesy, he’s much more brusque and masculine. It isn’t clear whose body it is, and whether or not it’s a male body or not. The collie class appear to be all male, so it’s possible Al is actually the body’s owner and Layla is the transplant; we have no way of knowing now.

Perhaps we will see what happens to them when they’re brought back to the reaper HQ.

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

This is part of a series. More to come!

Sebastian | Our Ciel | Bard | Mey Rin | Finny | Lau | Grelle | Undertaker | Real Ciel | Blavat | Doll | Agni | Soma | Snake | Layla & Al

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

[ X ]

[artvaris]

Practice sketch on Procreate

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The Quest Continues...

(part 1- part 2)

[zecoritheweirdone]

hey do you guys wanna see a comic for a msa au me and my friend ascel came up with? trick question yes you do. anyway- hehehehehhhoo body swap au <3.

okay quick context for this rq- this is an au where it diverges after freaking out- instead of possessing the truck, lewis ends up chasing the gang for a while, maybe a week or two? arthur and vivi don't know why this random ghost they met ages ago keeps going after them, but one things for sure- he really, really wants arthur's head on a spike.

cut to the present- arthur got separated from vivi and mystery, and lewis ends up chasing him into the woods!

[serpentface]

WARDI TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

emense [ɛmɛnse] (eh-mehn-say)

Has meaning close to 'beloved' or 'darling'. "Ya emense" (meaning 'my beloved'/'my darling') is often contracted "y'mense".

bubuch [bubuk] (boo-bookh)

Somewhat of a nonsense word, basically ‘big-big’. Tends to either be used for small children or flirtatiously between adults (kind in between 'baby' and 'big boy' in functionality, though without gendered implications of the latter). Sometimes instead used as a form of intense condescension.

ya mache mes [ja mɑke mes] (yah mah-kay mace)

Functionally means "my other face", using the figurative word for face describing a concept of fundamental nature rather than anatomy. Very intense term of endearment, expresses the recipient as a core part of one's identity. Kind of equivalent to 'my other half' but not exclusively romantic.

ya tsitsima [ja ͡tsi͡tsimə] (yah tsee-tsee-muh)

Means "my blood". This term is used more broadly to denote familial relations, and is more of a term of endearment when used outside of actual biological relationship (calling your sister 'my blood' is just an intense way of saying 'my [relative]', calling a non-relative 'my blood' is VERY pointedly affectionate).

ya ungande [ja ungɑnde] (yah oon-gahn-day)

Often contracted to y'ungande, dead literally means "my liver" as in the organ. Ungande alone is also used as a food-based term of endearment, similar to 'honey' except instead with delicious organ meat.

anuje [ɑnudʒe] (ah-noo-jay)

Food based term of endearment, referring to a tree sap that is the most commonly used form of sweetener. Functionally identical to 'honey' in usage.

anu tlansekoma [ɑnu tlɑnsekoʊmə] (ah-noo tlahn-say-koh-muh)

This one actually means 'honey' (dead literally 'bee sweet'). Less common than 'anuje' as a term of endearment due to general cultural preference for anuje as a sweetener and the relative rarity of beekeeping.

inyagit [injəgit] (een-yah-geet)

Diminutive form of 'sun'. 'Ya inya' (my sun) occurs as well, but is less common.

y'mit agai [j'mit ɑgaɪ] (yuh-meet ah-gai)

Contraction of 'ya amit agai', 'my blue moon'. This specification is more common than a general 'my moon(s)' and is fairly loaded, given this particular moon is the site of the afterlife for the most honored dead. The phrase both suggests a sort of celestial beauty and a sense of being honored and finding rest in the recipient. This is a VERY intense and almost exclusively romantic term of endearment.

coutomara [koʊtoʊmɑrə] (koh-to-mahr-uh)

Means 'handsome' or 'beautiful', implies masculine attractiveness. (Dead literally closer to 'strong face'/'strong featured').

jaimara [dʒaɪmɑrə] (jaim-mahr-uh)

Means 'pretty' or 'beautiful', implies feminine attractiveness (dead literally close to 'beautiful face'/'beautifully featured').

katsuy [kɑtsui] [kaht-soo'ee]

Sexually charged description of physical attractiveness, basically calling someone 'sexy'.

ya katsuymen [ja kɑtsuimɛn] (yah koht-soo'ee-mehn)

Related and also sexually charged, close in meaning to 'my desire'.

at akmatse yachouy [ɑt ɑkmɑtse jɑtʃɔɪ] (aht ahk-mat-say yah-choi )

Sexually explicit term of endearment. The dead literal translation is "one who makes me flower". The word "flower" here is not as euphemistic in context and is rather the nicest sounding possible way to say "makes me cum (HARD)". Not considered vulgar, rather cloyingly romantic if anything.

gan(ne) ama [gɑn(e) ɑmə] (gah(-nay) ahm-uh)

Means 'bull'. When used affectionately, implies masculine strength. Usually used in conjunction with an adjective (ie 'handsome bull') or more teasingly gannit ama (little/baby bull))

jaimeti [dʒaɪmɛti] (jai-meh-tee)

Means 'gazelle' (the name for the animal itself is close in meaning to 'beautiful horn'), heavily associated with grace and beauty. Also tends to be used with adjectives ('lovely gazelle' 'handsome gazelle' etc) or with a diminutive.

ansiba [ɑnsibɑ] (ahn-see-bah) or ansibit [ɑnsibit] (ahn-see-beet)

Means 'duck' and 'duckling' respectively, specifically refers to the animal and implies cuteness. Ansibit is a very common term of endearment for children.

"Wannaukoma such datse anmo" [wɑnaʊkoʊmə suk dɑtse ɑnmoʊ] (wahn-now-koh-muh sookh daht-say ahn-moh)

Means 'an ant could swallow you', implies cuteness (ie the recipient is so small and tiny an Ant could devour them whole). Usually used on children, occasionally used on adult women (in a way that feels intensely patronizing to many). 'Datse' (you) may be replaced by the recipients surname or honorific in the rare case that someone would dare calling someone this without being on first name basis with them.

wannaukomit [wɑnaʊkoʊmit] (wahn-now-koh-meet)

Means 'little ant', a term of endearment that borders on insulting even to babies.

OTHER:

-it [it] (eet)

This is a diminutive modifier, which can be added to a name or other word/term of endearment to denote affection (can also be condescending). It lacks internal meaning in everyday use and is closer to the English -y or -ie (billy johnny rosie susie puppy kitty ducky etc).

hippe [hipɛ] (heep-peh) (some dialects drop the h sound entirely)

Means 'small' or 'little', can be spoken with other words/names as an affectionate diminutive.

Other epithets-

Various epithets used in the language are not exclusively used as terms of endearment, but can be contextually. Most commonly, this will be the -machen epithet of the recipients zodiac birthsign (particularly those considered auspicious). Someone with the lion birthsign could be respectfully and/or affectionately called 'odomachen', or VERY affectionately called 'ya odo' ('my lion'). There's also a good variety of poetic epithets that have worked their way into common language as affectionate compliments/descriptors- ie ganatoche (dead literally 'cow-eye', more prettily 'ox-eyed') is a complimentary descriptor for brown eyes, anaemaitsa (dead literally 'river-haired', more prettily 'flowing-haired') compliments wavy hair.

Given name basis-

In Wardi culture, full names are spoken with the family name preceding the given name. When respectfully speaking to a stranger, peer, or authority figure, you refer to them by their family name, title, and/or an honorific. Being on an accepted given name basis with someone is generally indicative of closeness and affection.

datse [dɑtse] (dah-tsay)

This is the word for "you". Similarly to the use of a given name, actually referring to someone as 'you' (rather than a surname, title, or honorific in place of the pronoun) expresses familiarity and intimacy.

[tobibius]

rolling my sleeves up. making memes for my own fic

if you want. 'before the first light' can be found at your local ao3 at a big discount of free forever. bonus confused oscar for your enjoyment:

[softcryz]

You guys seemed to really like the eclipse dude so I drew aum again [this time with colour]

[whatudottu]

Hello I put way more effort than I needed to into this, but have it anyway :P

Boniface meets Bonifire, what will they do :P

A version of this page without text because technically this was the first page I drew and put all my effort into that one first lmao-

[i-really-like-phrogs]

Franken-Lyds I conjured up a bit back. I loved this look—Well— to peices! (Bwahahaha)

[adairtrashart]

im counting it in the cotltober stuff because i consider the mushrooms to be somewhat a different character and sozo ate the mushrooms so plot (also ive been working on this for a while and just now got it done so theres that too)

(also the mushrooms dialogue is literally just the mushroom tumblr post)

day one you are who you eat

[remnantglow]

so normal about the gender fuckery of the Polish murderbot translation (lie i am on the verge of tears)

[pigswithwings]

queer discourse has seemed so damn bad lately does anyone have like. nice moments of being queer theyd like to share with the class

[mars-ipan]

it's pride month of course i'm going to push my transfem komaeda agenda

[thecatundertheladder]

So with my Fsm lives au (which you can find here) I've decided the logistics of Wu and Garmadon and how Fsm might appear to them.

Basically a few decades (?) before Lloyd is born the Fsm disappears completely from Ninjago. Prior to this they tell Wu and Garmadon that he has something to take care of and as a result won't be overly available to talk to them or meet in person. Wu and Garmadon then don't see or hear from them until Lloyd is born where he makes a brief appearance to meet baby Lloyd, after which they fuck off again.

Now Wu and Garmadon don't see this as concerning at all. I mean they're immortal beings, a few decades isn't all that long to them (and I hc that the Fsm has really poor time management when it comes to other people so Wu and Garmadon are probably used to this sort of thing).

Fast forward to Garmadon getting banished and Fsm is trying to his best to not interfere with his children seemingly fighting to the death (they know that can't and won't kill each other, I mean he knew something like this was going to happen after all, but those are his babies! why do they have to let this happen) so when Garmadon gets banished to the underworld he's immediately relieved because it means they've stopped fighting.

(Later as they start to think over the implications of Garmadon getting banished he has a panic attack because there's no way this guy doesn't have anxiety)

After the fight he goes down to the underworld to find Garmadon unconscious and heavily injured from the fall and the lightning strike. Fsm stabilises garmadon, triggering a partial transformation into his Oni side, and then immediately fucks off again because 'oh shit the prophecy's beginning'

(Garmadon is vaguely aware that someone healed him after he fell. He has his suspicions as to who but nothing is ever confirmed)

Later when Wu's wallowing in sadness Fsm goes around and cleans the monastery and puts meals out for Wu to eat and generally helps him out but since Garmadon's banishment to the underworld was prophesised they can't really talk to Wu about it and comfort him. But Wu is aware that he is there and they'll talk about random things together.

He does, however, leave again once Wu shows signs of being able to take care of himself again.

Fsm starts showing up and talking to Wu again soon after he finds Cole, but it's never to comment on what might be coming next or even about how his student's training is going (that doesn't stop Wu from bragging about their accomplishments though), it's always inane stuff like 'Mystake's making me go therapy Wu can you believe it' or 'Kai fell in a ditch while trying to impress a girl. No I'm not stalking them Wu I'm just making sure they're safe'.

The ninja can't see them full stop though.

But the point of this long winded post was that Wu, being slightly less involved in the prophecy is fully aware that his father is just kind of there sometimes, but Garmadon, who is a key player, is not (he does have some suspicions however).

[totaleclipse573]

New character obsession just dropped‼️‼️ it’s my oc again