#i didn't remember the vibes being QUITE this blatant

[markantonys]

rand, mat, and dana having ✨vibes✨ (feat. rand trying to shut down the vibes but actually just contributing to them in his role as the wide-eyed innocent ingenue offering to work off his debt)

[pikahlua]

Thoughts on the official translation of 405?

Yeah, thoughts abound.

1. Is the official translation of the final line in chapter 405 accurate? No.

2. Regardless, some people think it's inaccurate in really blatant ways that it actually is not. For example, some people think the official translation is changing some explicitly used pronouns around. If there's EVER anything about Japanese that isn't completely clear, it's what the pronouns should be--because the vast majority of them are implied.

3. Re: the "yeah yeah" line, I can conceive of a delivery of the line that does not sound disrespectful. That doesn't mean that's how the translator meant it, and this translator does have a habit of translating Katsuki's rude language with a certain *VIBE* that I don't always agree with--but that doesn't change the fact that Katsuki does speak very rudely and the translator clearly tries to capture that in the way they seem to think is best.

4. It's quite a leap to claim that this official translation is inaccurate due to deliberate malice, which I see a lot of people doing. From what I can tell, the translator just didn't realize the final line is a callback to chapter 322. Without that context, yeah, I can see how it'd be difficult to fully understand what's being said there, because enough of the words are vague or implied that it'd be confusing what Katsuki's talking about without that realization. Katsuki doesn't say "I (ore)" in the line, he says "kocchi (this/here)," which depending on the context can mean "I, we, us over here on this side (of the line, of the argument)." He also doesn't say "Izuku/Deku/that nerd" specifically, he says "aitsu (that guy over there)" with the kanji reading as "One For All." Without the context of chapter 322, it could easily read like "we'll wipe the floor with you where those One For All guys couldn't."

5. Building off #4, we need to be a little more self-aware as fans. When you are a big fan of something, you're gonna be more likely to remember specific lines and notice callbacks and be keyed into the little details. First of all, not everyone is capable of that, especially with respect to a long 405-chapter-and-counting manga. This line is referencing something that the translator hasn't necessarily seen in over two years. Should the translator have to comb back through the entire manga every week just to be safe? Is that really feasible? Of course I'd love for the official translation to be as accurate as possible, but when you're translating something on a weekly basis that isn't even finished yet, it's just a fact that there will be times you miss things. You don't always have the luxury of time to go back and check for things you've missed that need to be tied together. I've messed up lines in my translations before too. Please keep in mind this is the translator's JOB, not necessarily their PASSION. They're likely translating multiple projects at the same time for a meager paycheck. They've got a lot of stuff to remember from various projects at the same time, and they're gonna miss stuff on occasion. Did the translator "not care" in this case? I think it's far more likely the translator cares enough, but if they're not in the fandom they're not gonna care more than the fans nor should we expect them to.

The proper response is NOT TO ATTACK THE TRANSLATOR'S LIVELIHOOD like I see MANY people doing, holy crap.

Translating is often a thankless job. No one writes Viz telling them how good of a job the translator is doing when they get 99% of the translations right. The most obsessive fans often jump on mistakes as if those mistakes are personal attacks. But we're complaining about 1 or 2 lines out of the whole chapter. The rest was pretty good. That's the case for most chapters. It's hard to justify claiming malice when the translator far more often than not gets it right. But goodness, attacking the translator is not going to endear you to anyone who matters. If the translation is something you truly care about and you want to foster nontoxic fandom spaces and have good relationships between the fandom and the producers, a more proper response would be something like:

"Hey Viz, I think the translator missed this key bit of context which could have helped him with this line's translation. I love Horikoshi's work and want the best for it, and I think the translator cares about doing a good job. Would you please let the translator know about this and have him look into it for the official print tankoban release in English?"

The more you alienate and dogpile the translator, the less they're gonna care about doing a good job.

[starship-imzadi]

S2 E18 Up The Long Ladder

This is another episode I mis-remember as season 1 because of the TOS vibes. More and more I realise when I say "TOS" I think of low production values, embarrassing or overdramatic acting, overt sexism or racism, or bad pacing.

Worf looks like he's going to throw up, and Riker is sitting just beneath him.

Wow, I think that's the first use of "Terran" to refer to Earth in TNG. I love the term. It makes me think of the mirror universe (Mirror, Mirror is my favourite TOS episode and I loved the Disco mirror episodes.)

Pulaski making fun of Worf's bravado is fabulous, it's a dangerous job but someone's got to do it.

How does Worf get a Klingon disease when there aren't any Klingons around to transmit it?

In surprised Pulaski knows anything about Klingon culture, she's had such disparaging remarks about Klingons before. I guess she really has improved.

"Aye, aye" typically it's just one "aye"

I hate that these characters are blatant stereotypes of Irish culture. The anti-Irish sentiment is long enough passed in America that perhaps the stereotypes are easier to accept an innocuous. Lucky Charms is a great example of accepted Irish stereotypes in America, and even if no one is offended by it, it's still unacceptable. I have read that Colm Meaney greatly disapproved of the depiction in this episode but wasn't in a position of sufficient power to get it changed.

Much like "The Royale" it feels like these costumes and set pieces were just pulled from stock.

I bet that straw was a pain for the film crew. Stuff like that gets everywhere. It's not a whole lot better than glitter.

This post makes a good point; why was the straw trasported in?

Riker asking "what about the men" isn't a line of great consequence but it's a welcome attempt at egalitarianism.

"the ship will clean itself" the one line answers a lot of questions about the ship, and brings up a whole lot more. I have no idea how the ship cleans itself....

This is either Riker's third, second, or first dalliance depending on how you'd like to interpret "Justice" and "Angel One". However this feels like a first because it's normal circumstances. "Justice" was a hyper sexualized environment and "Angel One" may or may not have been diplomatic manipulation. However between this and "Angel One" it seems pretty clear that at this point Riker is characterised as liking women with a strong sense of identity and self. (Again, I'd exclude Minuet as a slight outlier since she was built for him. Though she too had a note worthy personality and charisma.)

I feel like there should be some sort of metric or scale for Riker's interactions with women. Some he just flirts with, some he kisses, some he has sex with, and some he has an extended romantic relationship with, and each of these are separate activities he enjoys. (And then there's Troi). To some extent Riker seems to be written as a foil to Picard who only has a few, reserved relationships. I'm not sure if Riker's development in this vein is to play to a different "masculine" dynamic from Pocard or if he exists this way directly because of Kirk's behaviour.

I like Riker's honesty in assessing Brenna for the overbearing woman she is. She may light a spark but she is not his equal in demeanor. For what it's worth I'd like to point out that she initiates their little fling. However, it's only at this episode that Riker fianlly feels realised (i.e. developed) as the controversial flirt that everyone loves or hates.

This drunk "comedy" acting with the crossed eyes is part of what makes this episode feel TOS.

That beam down shot is different enough from all their other beam down shots it looks like they didn't get the group shot and had to make do with a different one.

Weird sculpture

Fun fact: the chances of spontaneously conceiving identical quadruplets is between 1 in 11 million and 1 in 15 million.

Also, Dolly the sheep was born July of 1996

"the entire concept of sexual reproduction is a little repugnant to us" *cuts to shot of Riker leaning back in his chair* Pulaski asked about them repressing their sexual drive...this is so far past 1960 haven't they separated sexual reproduction from sexual pleasure? Surely contraception isn't an issue. With Riker's career ambitious I'm sure he's not really into reproduction right now either.... It feels like the editing is trying to make a point that I'm not willing to accept.

Riker clearly has some strong feelings about being unique (so WTF happened in "Second Chances"?)

[This makes me think of Warped TNG Season 8...a planet of Rikers; Picard has to negotiate peace between beared and non-bearded factions. I've loaned my copy out so I can't check the details]

Jonathan either staggers or has a little swagger as he walks away from the table.

Such over dramatic needle work. Also, they're all wearing gloves but then put the sample needle right through the polyester space suit... Hello contamination.

Consent is important kids whether it's surgery, sex, drinking a cup of tea, or cloning.

(I can't actually tell that's Riker and Pulaski but I can suspended a bit of potential disbelief.)

Also, pro choice.

"unfortunately it will have to be a shotgun wedding"

It feels like accepting this ending is a shotgun wedding. I read a critism of this episode on reddit that I entirely agree with: it's a terrible episode. Not only is this a vapid ending glossed over by an empty speech by Picard but there are stupid loose ends (as pointed out in reddit) what happened to Worf's measles and what happens with Riker's fling with Brenna? She's quite happy to drop Riker for three husbands who may or may not be rich...

I'll just end by saying: what the fuck was that? It was some confused, xenophobic pile of rubbish is what it was. It wasn't 100% garage but all the shit made the parts that were acceptable reek too.

[discordisagoodnoodle]

Ok ok so @anonymouslyangsty requested I go into detail about my feelings on Dungeons and Discords SO here I go. Excuse any possible ramblings or disconnectedness, my brain is tired.

So like...I'm gonna start with the technical aspects of it (or I guess, what I think is the technical since that can also be subjective sometimes) and then go into my personal feelings.

TECHNICALLY:

-Discord's ego was exaggerated a biiit too much. Like, he would just randomly make one liners out of nowhere about how great he is and I don't remember him doing that before? Like...I guess that one time in the maze with Rarity (my beautiful face) and when he rebuilt the lamp in his image, but it was like. One little joke compared to it being the whole episode in Dungeons and Discords, and in Dungeons and Discords it just felt...unnatural.

-The disconnect between Discord's dialogue, actions, and the lesson he learns at the end.

Discord starts out the episode talking like he's better than Spike and Big Mac and that he doesn't want to hang out with them. This is supposed to set up the moral that you shouldn't think yourself better than others and that's the conclusion the episode has. Ok, makes sense...

....except for the fact that the second Discord "found out" that Spike and Big Mac were doing something he found interesting, he literally dropped all pretense of acting like that. (except for a one liner, of course, because that's the theme of this episode) and then it was only when he found out for real what they were going to do and realized he had ZERO INTEREST WHATSOEVER did the conflicts actually begin. Like...maybe I'm missing something here? But it just kind of feels like the moral at the end should have been more about being open minded instead, because Discord like...was totally down to hang out with Spike and Big Mac, despite his bravado and one liners which suggested otherwise, *granted they were actually doing the thing he was interested in doing in the first place.*

Discord also like...instead of leaving when he got frustrated and bored, just showed Spike and Big Mac what his idea of a fun time is, so... Idk like...I can kind of see what they were going for...? But I don't think it actually like...worked fully....

PERSONAL THINGS THAT MAYBE AREN'T BAD BUT KILL MY VIBE:

-watching Discord not get the game and then get laughed at for doing the game wrong (especially as a new player, tbh) just made me cringe. I don't like that type of joke at all and I can't enjoy it. Bonus that I, like Discord, did not find the humor in his claw being turned into a parsnip.

-Having this be like...another episode with the same formula of Discord just completely being in the wrong just like...blows. Like, at this point Discord's already had so many episodes about being wrong, it would have been better to see something a bit...different in formula. Sometimes...I wanna see the characters I like...succeed....

SOMETHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY CONSTITUTE AS PERSONAL BIAS TBH BUT IT STILL KIND OF BUGS ME

-It just... didn't feel like Discord to put down something that's not real, or like, something that's seen as kind of weird i guess? Idk like,,, Discord's kind of a huge fuckin dork and it just kind of feels...off for him. (The comics actually had him as an O&O player already, and like...yeah that tracks) Also Discord is kind of like...a character that embraces the weird, but like, I recognize this could just be,,,my personal biases getting in the way so I put it here.

-Discord getting like, legit violent in the episode? Like...the guy has shaky morals but I'm pretty sure we've never seen something so blatant? Usually Discord does more roundabout things, like trying to send Tree Hugger to another dimension, or manipulating ponies. This could also be a bias though, tbh I can't really tell.

THE MORAL:

This is quite possibly one of the worst aspects of the episode for me, and it's partly personal, but partly just like...eugh. Like, I've already talked about how Discord's actions didn't actually seem to line up with the moral, okay, whatever, but then we get to the moral itself and like...I really hate the way it plays out. Like, the moral "don't put down others or think of yourself (or your tastes) as better than others" is a good one, yes...but the way Discord learns it and the way it plays out is...eugh.

Like, Spike and Big Mac saying they felt sorry for him, was like, fine, but when Spike and Big Mac called Discord a "weirdo" and that's supposed to be a "reality check" for Discord, and it's supposed to "knock him down a peg" because other characters actually see him as "weird" it just...erghh. Especially when like...Discord is SUPPOSED to be different and yes, weird. It's supposed to be a part of who he is as the spirit of chaos, and it's supposed to be a good thing that he's not like everybody else, and his differences are supposed to be seen as positive. But Spike and Big Mac were putting him down not for being a jerk, not anything related to his actual actions, past or present, but for being a "weirdo." And that just leaves such a sour taste in my mouth it ruins any possible shred of enjoyment I may have had of the episode in one single word.

It basically comes off as "you shouldn't think of yourself as better than others because somebody might actually think you're a weeeirdo, and that's the worst, isn't it?" And that's not even getting into the fact that Discord is written in a way that aligns with how neurodivergent people act in a lot of ways, and the idea of him being a spirit of chaos that's supposed to fundamentally think differently from most creatures is a pretty big metaphor for neurodivergency if u ask me and that calling that character specifically a weirdo feels like some cute lil ableism right there, whether intentional or not.

I...think that's it? This post is kind of getting long already, I guess if I think of something later I'll just have to make another one, lmfao. Feel free to add anything or any personal takes of your own (even if they're different, hearing different opinions is good for ur brain,,,when it comes to something like analysing a cartoon, at least)

When Spike and Big Mac laugh at Discord in Dungeons and Discords, I physically cringe,

I'm just not one for that type of cringe humor, makes me go oof :/