#in the jp version she seems to say she feels the same

[randomnameless]

Ooh!

I really found that reading of the card to perfectly represent Shamir in the various routes where she leaves Garreg Mach and the Knights of Seiros -

As you pointed out, from her supports with Alois and obviously, Catherine, despite being the "goth badass #nostringsattached" mercenary archetype... Shamir became pretty much involved with Garreg Mach and its people, and enjoys her life there with those new companions of hers.

She became "partners" with Catherine, was impressed and grew a soft spot for Cyril and is also one who always supports Alois, even if it's in her own tsundere way, citing him as one of the reasons why she felt so "welcomed" and at ease in Garreg Mach, away from her land and alone in a country that basically wants her dead. Heck, if you don't recruit her in CF, when she dies, she is upset because she "let her emotions get in the way" aka dropped the "emotioneless merc" act because retaking Garreg Mach was something that really mattered to her, and if he dies before her, she mourns Alois' death.

Add to that the pause she has in the JP version of this line "Don't worry, I won't hold back. I owe an old ally the courtesy."

I also found it interesting how, even if in this battle dialogue, Alois (if Shamir joined CF) mentions how the knights are ranting about her - Shamir is always the first one to bring how she didn't betray Rhea because she repaid her debt :

In Nopes :

I owe you a lot, but the debt's been paid. If you expected more, that's on you. Yes, your debts with me are settled, Shamir. Your actions now, however, are another story.

The datamine doesn't have the JP audio so I can't check, but imo, the fact Shamir is the one talk about her debt being repaid first, without even letting Rhea suggest that Shamir betrayed her, is imo telling, just like this in House :

The idea of defeating Rhea is beginning to feel more like a reality. Some may say that I'm returning her goodwill with betrayal, but I believe I've worked off my debt.

Why is it so important, to Shamir, to make sure that no, she's not betraying anyone but repaid her debt? Is it auto-persuasion? Maybe, maybe not.

(Another Pat moment for those lines : いよいよ現実味を帯びてきたか。 レアさんを討つ……のが - even without hearing the audio, with the "..." we can see that she was supposed to have doubts/pause/apprehension at the idea of killing Rhea. Coupling this hesitation to her need to spell out for... totes no one in particular! that she already repaid her debt so it's not a treason, imo, paints Shamir as someone who is much more conflicted about her allegeance in CF than her role as a "stoic merc" would suggest).

And then we have her "partnership" with Catherine : in Nopes, Cat is furious because Shamir left "without saying goodbye" - is it because Shamir too, didn't want to have to say goodbye? Coupled with the, uh, very peculiar way she's recruited in SB - but completely forgotten in the following chapters because what is even a plot - Shamir values Cat's life and presence in her life a lot, and regrets having to fight her in CF, in her own way.

Her supports with Hapi in Nopes reveals she apparently didn't like all the rules and regulations the KoS had to comply with, when Dagda was "freer" than Fodlan, even if it meant "freer" to have more conflicts too - and yet, maybe Shamir at least willingly left Garreg Mach to seek something else, something that she couldn't get/obtain with the Knights because, on a surface level, she could say it wasn't "fulfilling" for her...

And yet, with all those things I pointed out - it's ultimately a dud, Shamir walks away from Garreg Mach and its people, and misses them.

Eight of Cups & FE3H

Eight of Cups represents disappointment, emotional setbacks, betrayal, and injury. It is also a card of paradoxes. In the sky the sun and the moon stand side-by-side, suggesting that our conscious mind and subconscious mind are both wrestling for control over decisions and narratives. Additionally, there are an extraordinary amount of cups, all stacked together. But all of them stand empty, and their arrangement highlights the lack of cups as opposed to their abundance. 

The Eight of Cups can represent misplaced trust and how unguarded vulnerability can lead to drastic consequences if others are cruel. It can also represent a disappointment of expectations, and the importance of walking away from something that is just not fulfilling you. 

I choose Shamir Nevrand choosing to remain in Fòdlan as the connection to this card. She had lost her long-time partner and was forced to work in a strange land for nobles who did not care for her. All of these circumstances underline a lack in her life, despite her various skills and accolades as a sniper and warrior. Shamir herself is also guarded against emotional connections after the losses in her life. 

However, on most routes, she finds emotional fulfilment and connections at Garreg Mach, showing that her walking away from her position as a warrior of Dagda paid off. On the other hand, if recruited on Crimson Flower, Shamir becomes the betrayer and empties her own cups, walking away and destroying all that she cared about. 

Either way, Shamir shows the difficulties and the rewards that can come about from walking away from the known into the unknown.

Previous: Seven of Cups

Next: Nine of Cups

[rassicas]

I’ve been wondering since I encountered this line in one of my first runs through side order and was absolutely jaw dropped that nintendo actually left this casual bomb for pearlina fans just in random elevator dialogue

Acht: “Hey Pearl have we met before? You seem familiar.” Marina: “What?! Acht, come on! You can’t seriously be hitting on Pearl in front of…”

Do you know if it’s a localization thing or in the original Japanese version too? Thank you if you answer!!! and super sorry if you’re not sure or you don’t want questions about translation / localization things in side order (Also sorry for the long winded ask) (also also sorry if these lines are in the wiki already i only took a quick gander and didn’t see any dialogue stuff there yet)

It's essentially the same in JP. I saw someone (a pearlina hater) suggest (reach) that when Marina trails off in english, "in front of...", there's a sense of ambiguity if she's gonna say "me" there or "eight" and therefore making the pearlina ambigious. lol in JP she says something to the effect of "Huh?! Wait Mizuta, have you really been planning to hit on Senpai" with the part that trails off likely being じゃないか which. How I read it in this case is that it adds to the feeling of her shock? This is hard to explain. Doesn't matter, point is that the JP further confirms that Marina is expressing her personal shock at Acht hitting on pearl. English version conveys it quite well.

[yumeka-sxf]

Today's new chapter was so intriguing 👀

First off, nice to see the Authens again. Guess we're sure now that Endo will make them reoccurring characters! Yor's embarrassment about being called "Mom" ("okaa-san" in the JP version) was really cute.

They managed to translate this joke very well; in the JP version, the word "ebento"(event) makes Sigmund think of "obento"(lunchbox). Using the word "function" for "luncheon" was clever!

But the main highlight of this chapter for me was seeing the ever enigmatic Melinda again after so long!

She's a really a tough one to figure out, and this chapter only brought up more questions than answers. She seems extremely nice here, being very forgiving of Millie despite her harsh accusations against her husband. She also mentions that she'd be very resentful if anything were to happen to her family...which is kind of contrasting to her thoughts about Damian from the end of the bus hijacking arc.

I also loved the scene of Yor sticking up for Millie. Her expression was so blank yet so deep at the same time. It actually reminded me of Anya's expression when she punched Damian - in both cases, their blank expression doesn't match their action, but it makes sense because they're still unsure of how to act and what emotion to portray in many seemingly "normal" situations. Anger and annoyance aren't feelings that come naturally to them.

In Yor's case here, having to defend someone against such accusations isn't something she's had much experience doing (at least not for someone who isn't family), and at the same time she can't just outright kill the hostile party like she would on an assassination mission. So despite being in such an awkward situation, especially for someone like her who struggles with social interactions, she managed to remain remarkably calm. As usual, Yor gets easily flustered when it comes to her own feelings, but if she sees someone else being threatened, her capabilities shoot up to maximum! That unpredictable expression should be feared from both her and Twilight!

We also learn that Yor lost her parents in the war, which is something I always suspected. Her words in the below panel reminded me a lot of the thoughts she had during the end of the cruise arc. As I've mentioned before, despite her naivety about many things, she understands the tragedies that go on in the world, especially in terms of war - that it's not just soldiers who suffer, but the children and everyone else left behind. It makes sense that someone who understands that kind of loss and hardship has such outpouring empathy to others the way Yor does...

...which is actually contrasting to the way Millie deals with her loss, by lashing out at others. It's said that those who have suffered can become either very sympathetic or very resentful. It was interesting to see that subtle contrast between Yor and Millie here.

Speaking of Millie, it was nice to see her get some redemption and backstory. Like Camilla, I still don't think this makes up for all the mean things she's said to Yor before, but it's something!

Good to see McMahon again after so long. Don't think he's made an appearance since the cruise arc 👀

As usual, it's hard to say if this chapter is leading to a new arc or not. I'm sure things mentioned here, especially about Melinda, will come back later, but who knows if it will be right away or several chapters from now. I know we were all expecting something relating to Anya's backstory based on the previous short mission, but I still think there's a chance that what happened here could tie into that. We'll see! We're close to chapter 100 so I wonder if Endo is planning something special for that 🤔

[daezedglownut]

I thought I’d already found all the possible little hints in XI that Sylvando/Sylvia is trans-coded.

There’s the throwaway party chat line at the French private school:

Ah, to travel from place to place collecting mini medals, learning all about the world and blossoming into lovely young ladies! The students of this school are so lucky!

If we find any mini medals on our travels, we should bring them back here right away so that we can blossom into lovely ladies too! Wouldn’t that be wonderful, honey?

There’s the fact that Sylv in Act 2 bends down to pick up items in the exact same way the girls at the academy practice with mini medals, echoing the statue at the gates of ‘La Collectrice’ - “an elegant young lady picking up a gold medal in a distinctly dignified fashion”.

Very demure. Very mindful.

There’s also the name angle to consider. Though it could be argued that if you leave home and don’t want news of where you are getting back to your dad, you’d probably go by a pseudonym or a stage name. So I don’t think that Sylvando/Sylvia not going by Norberto is a very strong piece of evidence at all.

Adding to that, the fact he ran away from home could yet be seen as a gay young man running away because he didn’t feel accepted at home. But it could also be a trans character doing the exact same thing, so I’d say it’s still very plausible. Not to mention Sylvando inadvertently following in his mother’s footsteps during Act 2 with his gang of gay little ducklings, as mentioned by the Ringmaster is actually a really cute detail, however you want to slice it:

I saw her when I was just a child. She was simply the most incredible performer… She led a parade of people out of a kingdom destroyed by monsters, and on to a new home and a brighter future. And she kept them smiling from start to finish! You can’t imagine how inspirational it was for those of us who were lucky enough to wave them on their way.

You remind me of her, you know. The look on her face as she proudly led all those people out of danger, spreading joy and laughter wherever she went…

Then there’s the fact Sylvando/Sylvia goes by female pronouns in the JP version of the game. Again, not concrete evidence based on the fact that “extremely flamboyant gay male characters” in JP media are often (sadly) treated in the exact same way, reducing them to a comic relief sort of “hodgepodge mix of everything queer” Okama stereotype. This doesn’t erase their cisness or their homosexuality. But I can see why from a western viewpoint it might seem like really strong evidence of their transness when it’s something particular to Japan that got lost in translation. The closest comparison I can think to make to “make it make sense” is in the west where gay femme—but entirely cis—males call one another “she” and “her”.

However, I found what could be the most concrete “HEAR ME OUT” evidence completely by accident:

Boxer shorts are a common suit of armor in the Dragon Quest series. They are generally considered a gag piece of equipment notable for their low defensive properties and they can only be worn by male characters.

And wouldn’t you know it, only the Luminary, Erik, Rab, and Hendrik can equip the boxer shorts in XI…

I checked.

Now. I don’t want to say this is canonical or 100% proof by any means. Sylvando could just be a flamboyantly gay man who has too much self respect than to be seen dead in those striped monstrosities. After all, I can’t imagine someone like Jasper would deign to equip them either lol

What I love most about Sylvando/Sylvia is how open to interpretation the character is. I’ve seen so many conflicting theories that are all written beautifully, and all hold merit. (I myself enjoy dabbling with how I interpret the character depending on the needs of the story I’m writing, and whatever tf my gender is doing on any given day…)

And the best thing about Sylvando/Sylvia is the overwhelmingly positive reception to the character from fans. How Sylv could’ve been a cheap throwaway gag without substance, yet arguably became the character who ‘stole the show’ at every turn and got some of the best storylines.

In the end, I didn’t want to save the world for the rest of Erdrea - I just wanted to do it so Sylv could go home and make up for lost time with his adorable, crotchety dad! 🥺💕

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 7 - filial piety, and meryl

my alternate readings/translation/interpretation of jp lines are for triangulation purposes and nothing else.

ch 10-12. a more general scattershot of a post than over analyzing the japanese texts this time round. i think meryl in these 3 chapters is the most interesting character for me. but mainly bc she seems to be carrying a baggage: her struggle with filial piety.

^OH's version

ソレが普通ですわよ That'd be the most common sense thing to do. それにもともと家訓からして『自立せよ』ですからね But our house's motto is to first be independent above all. ドライといえばドライなのかも Mine would just be dry beyond dry...

me: hm. an office lady in the context of being written in 1990s by a japanese guy. i understand.

(i actually prefer OH's version bc the implications of what shes saying is the exact same, but more importantly leads into this page)

いきついて見れば When I realized all that 何か大切なものを忘れてるのかも… Realized that perhaps I've forgotten something (filial piety) so important... 私… I...

(you can see how this raw translation fucking sucks. I'd reword it in a way that's along the lines of 'feeling so ashamed as to forget getting angry', but OH's version is a downright banger. 11/10 the implications of what she feels is still the exact same. love it a lot!)

right so.

filial piety.

filial piety for a lot of asians is... kind of hard to break down. but perhaps can be explained as "abandoning ones' parents is the worst sin one can do".

not being filial is an invitation to the most extreme judgement from relatives and outsiders in a society which upholds it as the absolute virtue. at least, for the most part. (late stage capitalism fucked it all up yayy)

abandonment can be in the form of presence and/or financial. if a child doesnt make bank to pay back for their parents raising them up, they're not filial. if a child is absent and not there to take care of their parent, thats not filial.

and not being grateful, not being filial, equals shame and warrants divine punishment. (check out folklores like momotaro and kaguyahime that touches on these themes)

meryl i think struggles with that bc shes likely an only child who is expected to work an office job after studying super hard for it, and is now living independently away from her parents. meaning, she is technically not present to take care of them, which in this context makes her feel immensely guilty.

to make matters worse, it sounds like shes one of those types where her parents possibly had to work a lot to pay for this and that, resulting in a severe lack of communication. so this compounds, and she can only write dry stuff in her mind.

milly, by the way, does not have this problem as much:

she has a lot of siblings who can shoulder the weight of it all together, so in terms of that filial piety stress shes not doing so bad.

Badwick, the focus of this arc, by the way, faces the same struggles with meryl:

i mentioned the financial part bc from how chill the parents are with him, i think its possible he was trying to sell the land for large sums of money for his parents to retire. theres an added level of resentment going on that complicates their dynamic, with a dead brother and a land that means too much to sell for any sum of money.

and also his parents are... too nice and understanding, jeez.

i dont think meryl has the resentment. i think her case was similar in that her parents worked hard to provide and kinda neglected her in the connection part.

ofc this might then bring up the question of, 'isnt filial piety kinda transactional?', and, yeah. it... frankly can be. some parents have weaponized it, knowing that a society which forces unconditional love and financial support from a child is a good retirement plan. and it sucks. nightow must have realized this and sidestepped it.

whether bc it will not be well received by the then jp audience or if he just doesnt want to tell a story about this, i dont know. there could also be the fact that the 90s was a bad time to be talking about securing retirement for parents when the economy was circling the drain.

trigun gets dark later. we are getting love and peace above all else, at least for now.

...hm something seems to be rising over the horizon. but we can deal with that later. domestic violence

also i think vash is the kind who would also be a filial son to rem. this aspect of him is just lurking silently in the background in hindsight. in a barrel.

(incidentally i think this is also why luida and brad got promoted to surrogate parents position in stampede. much to ponder ponder...)

[project-sekai-facts]

Asking this because I genuinely need an explanation, not as a counterargument.

I'm 100% aware of the queer erasure going on in JP → EN translations. The shameless hiding of LGBTQ+ subtext is ridiculous. However, some examples have been bothering me lately ("bothering" as in, I've been thinking about them a lot), these examples being the lack of usage of the word "love", especially in one of Minori's.

In one of Minori's dialogues, she states that she loves Haruka (originally using "daisuki", if I recall correctly). The expression "love" in this case gets translated to "have feelings for", which is considered to be erasure. That's what bugs me: why would it be queer erasure?

In my first language, Spanish, we have the expression "te quiero" (literally "I want you", though it has no possessive connotations and it's a more toned version of loving), and the stronger "te amo" ("I love you"). The latter is generally used romantically, though it can be used in other contexts (I tell my deepest and closest friends both "te quiero" and "te amo", for example). From my understanding, English doesn't have an equivalent to "te quiero", so "I love you" can apply in any context.

However, and again, to my understanding, "having feelings for someone" is only ever used romantically. Maybe it's weaker than loving someone in a sense, but still, you wouldn't say you have feelings for someone who you wish to have/maintain a platonic relationship with (correct me if I'm wrong).

So, to my understanding:

"daisuki" → [strong] loving someone, with vague connotations (generally interpreted as romantic)

"I love you" → [strong] certainly used romantically, yet it can be platonic or familial too

"I have feelings for you" → [weaker] used romantically.

Does that make sense or am I being ignorant?

Ah sorry if I confused you with that example from the MMJ main story. I don't think it's erasure because the EN translation keeps the pretty much the same meaning, I pointed it out because of EN's refusal to translate the words suki/daisuki as love in certain instances.

EN seems to be willing to translate suki/daisuki directly when it's being used to talk about things or aspects of a person, like in these instances:

However, when it's used directly about a person, the translators always find some way around it, like in these instances:

(An/Kohane are an exception and iirc siblings are too?)

(Also in the Asahi example he uses a conjugated form of horeru but it means pretty much the same thing)

Whilst most of these convey the original meaning to some degree and don't really count for erasure, it's still odd that EN will not let the characters say they love each other. It's not even like it has to be interpreted romantically. Like it's firmly established that Leo/need are childhood best friends from the start, I don't think a lot of readers are going to jump straight to romance if the girls said they love each other. It's like they're removing it as a "just in case" so that no one can view it as romantic at all.

Yeah, you're right that "having feelings for someone" is by far more commonly used in a romantic sense. Whilst some people irl probably use it platonically (most likely aspec ppl), in media you're really only going to hear it used romanitcally. It's not weaker than "I love you" imo, but it depends on who you ask because to other people it might be weaker/stronger.

[moritakathedrawer-leonaguilez]

Support differences of the Hoshidan siblings from the Original script vs the English localization

They say that in the Original Japanese version of Fates there are many changes that were different from what we got in the English localization. So I wanted to see for myself if that was true, however, I don’t know Japanese yet, I’m still starting. Very fortunately, I found a translation mod and this is the closest thing I could feel to the original.

And when I played it, I did not expect differences in the script and supports, they are not just mere translations or rewording. And the whole time I was like “WHY DID THEY REMOVE THAT?! It makes more sense and flavour for the story, and without it, there would be gaps in the story. But on the flip side there are things I like in the localization and funnily it added more flavour too.

Thus, I would like to share what I noticed with the support differences with the Hoshidan siblings in my Birthright run.Mostly the main theme of the supports are the same however the mood, feeling and tone would be changed if some lines are removed or changed, I notice the changes could affect  Corrin/Kamui’s relationship with his siblings.

--Very long post ahead--

Note that I would use Corrin’s Japanese Hoshidan name, Kamui interchangeably for flavour. I would use Corrin for the EN while Kamui for the JP.

Let’s start with Hinoka, because I noticed a few differences.

 Hinoka’s support’s seems to be the same in both version but in the localization it feels worded better since in EN she felt relieved and proud to be Corrin’s big sister but in JP she still feels guilty of what she did with Mikoto and doesn’t feel she deserves to be Kamui’s big sister. This is one of the few times I prefer the EN version, however this is one of my least favourite supports so I can’t impartially look at this.

For the rest of the siblings,it is way longer and I will go through every little detail I noticed.

Sakura and Kamui

C SUPPORT:

Besides some changes in the wordings and such, I could not notice major differences in tone or mood of the script that changes the flavour of the conversation even though the Japanese script seems to be longer.

B SUPPORT:

In the EN version, the conversation starts with Corrin asking Sakura questions right away about why she wanted to become a priestess, it’s more like an interview. However, in the JP version it is longer and feels like a conversation— Kamui starts by discussing a book on History and gods which was cut out in EN, here Kamui tries to connect with her anxious and awkward little sister.

This may be minor or not, and the localizations may not be translated word for word, but I noticed the differences between the portraits of the two versions. It seems that Kamui is more direct and Sakura is more anxious or uneasy in the EN ver than in the JP where Kamui is more patient and Sakura is calmer. We can also notice these portrait differences with other supports.

A SUPPORT:

This part is very noticeable, the EN version is so condensed than the Japanese version that it lost meaning than the original where it shows a lot why Sakura she is now— the causes of her anxiety and overthinking. The JP version expanded Sakura’s overthinking that shows her scenario of what-ifs, like if she was the one who was actually kidnapped, Big brother Kamui would be the one would be worried, and she really feels bad about Kamui’s kidnapping and fears Kamui would not be kind to her which this leads to her more anxiety. Kamui reassures his little sister Sakura that it’s all okay and he will always be there for her.  

You can see that the EN is awfully shorter than JP. And JP Kamui’s words are more caring and worried while EN Corrin feels pity.

MY THOUGHTS:

As you saw,the EN version is awfully short and many parts were cut/condensed that it paints that Sakura is just very anxious and Corrin is direct with his words and looks at her with pity making her more anxious. Compared to the JP version, it gives full context and story why she’s so anxious, socially and mentally. It shows the whole story why she is an overthinker, and the whole reason why is scared of facing her lost sibling knowing she was originally planned to be taken according to rumours and she feels guilty to be not taken. I also like the flow of their conversation because it shows Kamui is trying to connect with Sakura and not scaring her too much with questions compared to the EN version. I especially love the last part of their A-support where Kamui says that he will protect her as a Big brother and never leave her precious little sister’s side. Most of all, I love the JP version because it made me appreciate Sakura a lot more because honestly when I first read the EN version it felt lacking.

The EN version is so short that I suspect: Do they have a word limit counter?

Takumi & Kamui

C SUPPORT:

In EN Corrin wants to connect to Takumi, but his response is hostile and they’re being sarcastic with each other due to Corrin’s background with Nohr. Corrin wants to learn archery to prove his loyalty and dedication to Hoshido, to gain trust and give him a chance to prove himself in battle his loyalty.

In JP, Kamui wants to connect with Takumi like in EN BUT because he wants to bond with him. Takumi isn’t fully trusting him but he is open to bond with Kamui unlike his reactions in EN. As Kamui didn’t grow up with Takumi, he didn't know what to talk about and it became awkward. As Kamui sees that Takumi is into archery, learning through him would be a good place to start bonding.

Comparing the two versions, you will see that EN’s theme is all about loyalty, while the JP version is about sibling bonding. [Skipped lines means they are exactly the same]

Like I said, EN Takumi is more sarcastic and hard on Corrin versus the JP version. Also take note of these closing lines of the JP version because it will appear again in their A-support and it’s worth mentioning.

B SUPPORT:

In this support, it shows Takumi teaching Corrin archery, then taking a break. When EN Corrin says that Takumi makes it look easy, he does not take this well and sees it as sarcasm and when talking about archery they both just brush it off as effortless. But in the JP,when Kamui expresses that archery is harder than it looks. JP Takumi gives his insights about the beauty and effort of archery which was cut out in EN. Kamui praises Takumi how amazing Takumi is and Takumi didn’t expect such praise that it caught him off guard other than the sarcastic remark in EN.

You can see how the EN version again condensed the JP script comparing the two. In short. The EN version shows Takumi doing it effortlessly while the JP version shows beauty and perfection in archery.

A SUPPORT:

At the end of the B support Corrin injured his hand and in this A support he still strives to learn archery despite his injuries.  

In EN, Corrin says that Takumi is a strict but a good teacher and he hoped that Corrin was worth his time. Then Takumi admits that he is good but doubts him. This shows that he’s truly dedicated and loyal to Hoshido and wants to continue to train him.

But in JP, the whole time Kamui is genuinely excited to learn, you could tell he wants to bond with his little brother Takumi, and compliments him how amazing he is. And in turn, Takumi is liking Kamui and sees what a gentle and kind person he is and now sees him as a sibling and enjoying his company. This recognition makes Kamui very happy.  

The major changes in themes you would notice is that in EN Corrin is doing it as an obligation/business to prove his loyalty and dedication. And in JP that Kamui wants to connect and know more about Takumi who once was hostile to him, it is a true sibling bonding and to have connection.

Remember those final lines in their C-support, it’s cute in A-support there’s a call back to that in the JP version: “Please treat me well, big brother Kamui”.

MY THOUGHTS:

 Takumi and Kamui’s relationship is interesting because it had a rocky start. I always find their dynamic interesting and I am curious how their support would play out. When I first read the EN supports, it didn’t feel like they’re connecting, it felt more like a business relationship and just doing it to resolve things. When I read these supports in JP, I LOVE IT! It mending their relationship, it felt more meaningful than the EN version, and it felt like a genuine sibling bonding.

 The whole time I was reading the JP version , I was like “WHYYYY???????!!”. Why the heck the localization team rewrote this from a nice bonding/connecting to just doing it to prove loyalty. In the original Takumi is more receptive and I love the final lines of Takumi, “please treat me well, Big Brother” because he also said that in C-support too, I love that call back it shows that Takumi has trust with Kamui as a sibling. The JP version shows Takumi’s passion and love for archery through expressing the beauty and striving for perfection.  While EN Takumi is just reactive and too proud. Dammit localization team! 

In short EN version made it about duty, dedication and loyalty vs JP version’s sibling bonding and connection.

Ryouma and Kamui

C SUPPORT:

In this support Kamui wanted to know about his Hoshidan siblings when he was taken away and wanted to connect. In JP Ryouma looks forward to talking and excited to connect with Kamui and he even has a gift that has a lot of meaning to him. It felt more sincere and warm . He is accommodating, and even tells Kamui that they, his siblings,  have a good opinion on Kamui. However, EN Ryoma tells Corrin’s situation is just sad or unhappy and his conversation felt short, and he is too busy that they’ll talk in another time.  

As you can see again that EN is shortened and condensed again than the original which loses the meaning and expression of desire of Ryouma to get close with Kamui.

B SUPPORT:

In this support Ryouma is describing his siblings, both versions felt the same but EN Ryoma is shown to be very busy again and when he talks about his siblings it’s brief and it seems that his mind is somewhere else. But in JP he is very eager to talk to Kamui and takes his time. You can see in the first part of this conversation he does not imply he is busy unlike in EN, and when talking about his siblings it felt more detailed. However it’s too long that I couldn’t add the screenshot here. The huge difference can be noticed in the last part of this support.

 When Kamui feels left out from Ryouma’s stories, it feels more depressing with his reply in EN where he reiterates that his background is troubling and sad— “Your story is troubling one”. In contrast to JP Ryouma, He comforts Kamui and is very thankful and happy that Kamui is back to them safely and he values his moments with Kamui — “I am grateful you treasure our moments together”. 

Notice the contrasts with their portraits:

A SUPPORT:

Corrin felt left out and melancholic when Ryoma was talking about their siblings, in JP version the way he handle it that he is more caring, concerned and brotherly which makes Kamui very happy and comforted, which the conversation again is longer and meaningful than EN, which is short and condensed.

Little detail I noticed comparing the two: It felt out of place with the Ryoma shouting in this part which didn’t happen in the original version.

Later in the support, Corrin is given a ring from Ryoma and their siblings. In JP there's additional information, the ring is a prayer ring for self-defence particularly. Comparing the two it seems lines in the EN  are condensed vs the original with Corrin’s reaction when given a ring. Also take note of the closing part of the JP version it says that link as siblings vs ties of EN.

Again, I noticed a little detail with the differences with the portraits:

 “Happy to have you”, frown portrait lol

MY THOUGHTS:

The EN version seems to lean more about Corrin’s background and more of how sad his situation is while the JP version is more on sibling bonding and connection. The JP version is what I had expected of their supports,as the long lost sibling I am sure the eldest brother would be very hyped to connect with Corrin/Kamui, but in EN and it doesn’t feel that way and I even didn’t like their supports at first in EN  as Ryoma felt a bit distant and  it felt something was missing and now I found out that many was cut out from the original. Now I love their support more, especially that in JP that it felt more caring and there is brotherly bond and connection that was lost in the localization.

Also another thing I noticed, it seems JP Ryoma seems calmer and nicer than in EN, in the supports and in the main story. In EN it feels like he’s rash, tempered or temperamental. I have a conspiracy theory that the localization team is trying to do a character assassination attempt with Ryoma. Though I have no solid proof at the moment but if ever in the future when I am fluent with Japanese, I’ll do a deep dive into how they changed the characterization of Ryoma and the rest of the cast.

CONCLUSION:

I always thought that there would be few differences between JP vs EN but now see is that is not the case, there are many changes made for the international audience, both little to huge. I didn't even expect that they would change small details like portraits that would make subtle changes.  

Is there a word count limit for the localizers?

As you can see time and time again,  EN is way shorter than JP that results in meaning and sincerity gone, and warm interactions become cold. Cutting the script made it bad. Are they lazy?! Or were they rushed?  

Most of all. Why am I fussing about these? About Corrin’s/Kamui’s relationship with the Hoshidan Siblings?

Because I was expecting that the siblings would be very welcoming to Corrin especially as a long lost sibling and eager to reconnect . I was so disappointed in the EN version that it seems that they aren’t much interested and Corrin doesn't feel welcome. It is upsetting especially that’s one of the reasons for choosing them and to be at their side and the whole theme of the plot is which family would you be with.

When I played the original/ JP version, albeit with translation mod, I am so happy to find that in the original JP version that they are warm, welcoming and want to connect with Kamui, and it feels like they have a genuine sibling bonding, making choosing them very worthwhile. It did improve my opinion of them and I love them more.

I have a hypothesis, why EN toned down the sibling bonding due to S supports. Probably it would be awkward with all that sibling talk, afterwards to marry them. Personally I really don’t like Corrin marrying the siblings, it ruined the story for me. I pretend that those S-supports never existed and that is why I didn’t include those in this write-up.

So does this mean I’m one of those “the Original is better” persons, NO. I’m more into good writing, it so happens most meaningful interactions are in the JP script. And to be fair with EN, there are things I like with the changes like Corrin’s supports with Hinoka, Rinka, which surprisingly feels better than the original.  

I could go deeper if only I knew Japanese so that I could notice the nuances and subtleties which were lost in translation. For now I’ll make do with these translations and hope that the translations are accurate. And hopefully someday I could look back with this write-up and make improvements.

 That’s all and THANK YOU!! Thank you for reading this long essay. This took me months to write and I truly appreciate you taking your time to read this. I hope it sees the Hoshidan siblings in a better light. 

[xx-psych0-rabbit-xx]

anyways heres some misc info on the jamba cults development from the artbook, note these were google translated through lens n might not be accurate lol

-the original set characteristics for the mages were francisca would be girly, gentle n introverted, flamberge sporty n passionate n zan mature n sincere, these would be reflected in their designs where the shapes of their weapons appeared behind their heads (frans would resemble a bow, berges a ponytail n zans long free hair)

-flamberges dialogue indicated she had less faith than the other 2, so its noted her hair covering her hats symbol in one of her betas (the ponytail one) would fit that, in the final (unclear how long it was. between beta n final for this, but personally i doubt much was altered) dialogue this lack of faith is kept (she only fights you for hurting francisca n later on slacks on the job (from the jp screen, translated in english shes just taking a lil break)) but the hair covering symbolism is lost

-while looking through the sisters many betas, youll likely notice that flamberge sometimes has the leaders hat:her final design page confirms she was considered for the leader, but they decided her personality would shine best if she wasnt

-youll also notice there once was a beta design where zan seems to have been one of those excited super happy characters.this depiction would age soon after.

-zan had an initial short beta name that lens is saying translates as "paruza", later on in her final design page its mentioned her name was actually gonna be even longer, but the UI couldnt show all of it, meaning technically, her full name ended up still an abbreviation

-hyness final character is meant to be a religious version of a mad scientist, essentially

-occasionally lens will translate hes related to buddhism, n sometimes just say magic, its v likely magic is the intended word of the sentence ("but rather a high ranking leader who is skilled in magic" in relation to the scientist thing) but do you see why i dont trust lens that much those r WILDLY different implications

-the cults symbol present in the sisters hats is an eye in the middle of an heart, which mixes both of the cults associated symbols together, this is much more obvious in older designs for the symbol

-the jambastion is designed after a katar, an indian dagger, interestingly, wikipedia notes cerimonial katars have been used in worship, going from the source being a book discussing tamil culture, this is likely from hinduism, this continues the trend the cult has references to multiple religions

-jambandra in the meantime, is designed after the holy grail, a religious treasure from the arthurian legends, its usually associated w christianity, though its debated if the grail trope couldnt instead be celtic or from yet another religious origin, again, the multi religion references

-in the interview section w some of the staff at the end of the artbook, its confirmed by kumazaki himself its meant to be up to interpretation if the mages r adoptive sisters or sisters as in nuns, the only info set in stone is they were taken in as children

-in that same section its also said outside of the drawing of the cultists at the beach, its up in the air whatll happen to them after KSA, this fits it being ambiguous if theyre still together as a cult or not in the mages playable screens

-ALSO in that part of the interview, its explained they had a beta backstory where they were animated weapons given life by hyness, n at the end would go back to being lifeless objects, this made kumazaki feel bad however, so he let them be real girls who live at the end in exchange their backstories r now traumatic

none of the void pages had anything new or that you cant immediately tell from looking at it, sooo nothing from there lol

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 74: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Here we are, welcome back everyone!! End of the month, time for another chapter leading us into this exciting finale for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!! I want to start this post with a little foreword before diving into the chapter itself and the eventual translation differences ✨ I just wanted to say that I write this post with a sense of pride but also with even more sense of responsability compared to the previous months. You've probably stumbled upon my recent report of the latest CLAMP Space, where the authors have talked about CCS Clear Card, and their support/blessing to "people addressing the translation differences in their monthly posts on their blog, because they felt uncomfortable about them". Although they never straight up gave names, I certainly feel like they were talking about blogs like mine. And so I'm humbled (and even a little nervous) to be able to keep doing this, since I've wondered multiple times if it was even proper for me to write these posts every month, as if I was leading a crusade against the official English translation. In fact, I'm not. And I hope that's clear enough. When the ENG translation respects the vibe and original intention coming out from sensei's words in the manga panels, like this time around, I always make sure to say positive things about it. But try to understand me, the irritation runs deep because these are years of translation differences accumulating and at times even changing the perception of the story. And then, you stumble upon English speaking fans on the internet who got the gist of the story wrong or disrespecting/failing to appreciate it because of such translation mistakes (we go from Sakura calling Syaoran "Li-kun" in one of the earliest volumes, to Kaito saying that he wanted to give magic to Akiho, wtf??). And I think it's such a pity. It's not fair. The fandom deserves to know what the script is trying to say with a meaning as closer as possible to the original one. I hope I'll be able to help in that regard, for what's in my possibility and with my limited skills, till Clear Card will be over. ✨

OKAY, now let's cut the chatter and see what happened in this chapter!! I'm happy to say that this time around, translation-wise, we don't have anything impairing the correct understanding of the plot, just nuances! As usual, before starting, we can't skip the gif of the month!!

The Color Page

Oh my gosh! Sakura! You look amazing here!!! Such a fierce stare!! She looks just like a powerful and respected magician and OMG THEY GAVE HER A BLACK OUTFIT!! JUST LIKE I'VE BEEN ASKING EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING! I don't know, maybe the veteran followers of this blog can remember, but I've always wished to see Sakura in a black costume/dress in Clear Card 😊 She looks stunning...and what's more, she's once again with the gears and clocks decorations, just like in the period of the Clockland play. But, heheh, this time the clock looks different. The big clocks that were featured during the Clockland chapters (with Sakura + Syaoran, Akiho and lastly Kaito) were often "strange". They all had the same design, the one with SyaoSaku was "regular", but the ones next to Akiho and Kaito had their numbers either in messed up order, or straight up wrong (what kind of clock got '0' as the only number?). I had already assumed by then that they had a significance we had to decode along the development of the finale. This one in this color page, however, really looks like the most classical clock with roman numerals. The order of the numbers and their position seems correct. So could this be a sign that Sakura is about to restore order into this mess that Kaito's desperate wish created? The text on the JP version is the classic incantation to release the Dream staff from the key (we haven't heard it in a looooong time because she manifests her staff immediately, by now!) I also want to point out that we *still* don't have any announcement of "Clear Card ending in next chapter" or "Clear Card ends in 2 chapters!" like it's custom in these serializations, so I can say with confidence that Sakura won't surely be over in chapter 75 (at the beginning of July) but probably not even in chapter 76 (at the beginning of August). Are they aiming at chapter 77 (beginning of September)? Double 7, it's a lucky number for CLAMP ✨ For those worried about "3 chapters aren't enough to finish this!!", please consider that it's not so much about the number of chapters, but the amount of pages. This chapter for example is already longer than usual, 35 pages. That's what really matters, and we could get even an epilogue or some additional pages in the volume version! And now onto to the actual chapter!

An Important Discussion

Yukito, Nakuru and Touya are leisurely spending time at Yukito's home, with a funny scene of Yukito feeding some mikan to Nakuru (and she seems delighted by the cozyness of Japanese kotatsu!). Suddenly, Touya announces that Sakura is coming over. Yukito worries about how it's getting dark and that maybe it'd be better to go pick her up along the way, but a grumpy Touya says there's no need for that: along with Sakura are also coming Syaoran, Akiho and even Tomoyo. Yukito and Nakuru can't help but being surprised, and Nakuru wonders "The all-stars are coming? What's going on?" 😂 I found so hilarious the use of the term "all-stars", which in Japanese usually indicates a whole cast of a performance composed of famous actors, and sometimes it's applied to sports team too. But the room temperature drops immediately when Yukito looks at Touya, with a very pensive face, and it's immediately clear that something serious happened and Sakura is coming to discuss that. Touya might not know exactly what, but as we can see, he's already got a feeling.

Sakura and the kids arrive, apologizing for coming so suddenly, and they sit down, all with very serious faces (save for Tomoyo. Tomoyo never loses her calm composure 😆). Sakura starts dropping the bomb immediately: "I want to talk to you about something very weird" and "I want everyone who knows about the Cards and magic to hear this". Sakura is dead serious, and she informs Syaoran (sitting at her left side) that she's just told everything to Akiho shortly ago. She also tells Kero and Suppy to come out of her purse, for the second time (since the first was halted by the rewriting of the forbidden magic) putting an end to the farce of Kero constantly needing to act like a plushie in front of Touya!! Remember when the fandom used to point out that it was weird that Kero kept hiding from Touya, despite saying himself at the end of the Sakura Card Arc (after Touya gave his powers to Yue/Yukito) that he was perfectly aware that Touya knew everything about them? That really felt like a "plot hole" (maybe at this point the only REAL plot hole) for the longest time, and I am honest when I say that I had already given up hoping to see an explanation for it, wanting to treat it like a "glitch" in the narrative and using suspension of disbelief to overcome it! Well well well, CLAMP surprised me again! Cause in this chapter they actually tried to give an explanation to that "discrepancy"! And of course, being this about Kero, the explanation is rather silly (confession - I didn't understand Kero's reasoning very well, but I'll give my interpretation of what he said): Kero saw that even after that event, Touya didn't try to interact with him and thought that maybe he didn't consider him a cute and gorgeous magical creature, but rather something else....(was he butt-hurt?) Suppy of course is spitting fire cause why the heck did we need to keep pretending to be plushies?? and Kero's reply is "Because I thought it'd be fun pretending to be plushies together when you came over!". Now, if you remember how difficult and taxing it was for Suppy to force himself to stay still, you can understand why he's so mad! 😂 Touya says, quite annoyed, that he simply didn't try to interact with him because he thought that Kero was getting a kick out of acting like a plushie! I feel like sensei have quite reached and almost broke the 4th wall with this scene, because Sakura here says something that I'm pretty sure many of us have thought in regard to this "discrepancy": "I did wonder at some point why you kept that up despite I was telling you multiple times that I had the feeling my brother was onto you". And it's true, we've seen that in volume 4! Well, to me it felt like a stretch, but eventually we got an explanation for that situation so I guess it's better to leave it behind us! 😂

Cause we have more important matters at hand. Sakura places her phone on the table, showing Eriol & Kaho in videocall!! NOW all the "stars" of this show are present! 😂 So Sakura starts her recount of the most recent events, saying "It's really weird...but I swear it happened". After everyone listened to Sakura, of course they're all surprised. Nakuru wonders if there's any magician who can really have the power to "rewrite" a world...Eriol says that as far as he's heard, there isn't any magician among the living ones who has that degree of power. However, if said magician had access to a "medium" able to use the "forbidden magic", then it's another story. And that's the Book Sakura told them about. Sakura confirms that the one who told her all of this is the Guardian of the book herself. And then, to Akiho: "The plushie shaped like a bunny that you cherished so much was the temporary form of that Guardian. You named her 'Momo' ". Here I have to point out that the way the ENG translated it infers that Akiho remembers about Momo ("You know that stuffed bunny you loved so much?"), but actually in the JP version it's mostly Sakura informing Akiho that she used to cherish a bunny-shaped plushie, cause Akiho has no recollection of it. In fact, right after, she answers "But that's the title of a book I really love so much!". THERE IT IS! I've mentioned this many times in my social media accounts, and even lately in my "literary references" post here on Tumblr, but it turns out this simple answer by Akiho kinda confirms that she might really have named Momo after that book. And it's not only a beloved book because of its story, but also the one she was reading when she met Kaito for the first time. I've always thought that having her most beloved plushie named that way, and having precisely that book when they met for the first time couldn't have been unrelated. So I'm really happy for this scene here and I hope it'll get eventually confirmed better later.

Sakura takes Akiho's hands (she'll do that a lot this chapter and I simply love it) and reassures her about something that I was SURE she was going to say:

JP: "The fact that we became twins is an effect of the rewritten (world), but the fact that you are an important person to me didn't change at all, Akiho-chan"

I've preferred putting the JP version here because once again we have the usual stuff that I complain about lately: Sakura in JP used 大切なひと (important person) to describe her relationship with Akiho, and this is absolutely coherent with all the previous times. In ENG they used "you're special to me", but the adjective "special" in Japanese (特別な) in relation to a person has been consistently used in the latest chapters to describe the person Sakura is in love with (and not only Sakura). So they shouldn't have used that adjective in particular. They should stick to the literal translation. Especially cause that "special person" will come up in a few pages. I know I sound pedantic with this separation between "important person" and "special person", but I mean, CLAMP sensei are consistently keeping that distinction so I'm convinced the translation should do its best to keep it, because it's a guide to lead the readers among the relationships of CCS. Which sometimes can be quite complex.

Touya teases Sakura again with the sis-con joke, and Yukito teases him back by saying "Are you talking about yourself now?" (I love how Yukito always teases the big and grumpy Touya 😂they're really made for eachother). Tomoyo comments that it's been "a sight for sore eyes" (the term used in JP is 眼福, ganpu, and it's used when you see something precious) to see Sakura in the role of the big sister and Akiho in the one of the little sister. Akiho is moved by the fact that, despite everyone knowing the truth now, nobody shunned her or rejected her presence, and exactly like I imagined, I'm 100% sure Sakura will keep thinking about her as a sister (not a blood-related sister maybe, but surely with the same importance of one) even after everything will be solved later. Cause the bond between her and Akiho was never a fabricated thing, but always been genuine from day 1. Even if they got close in such a short period of time, it's just what happens normally in real life too. Sometimes you bond very tightly with people over a short period of time, cause you feel you're so compatible.

So Sakura continues. She says that for this reason, she wants to bring (someone) back. She's convinced that what the Record Card showed to her is not everything. She feels like there is someone who is missing from both what the Record Card had shown to her and from this rewritten world as well. Syaoran is confused, "they're missing, and yet you're sure they're there?". Sakura understands that confusion and says "It's weird, right? I can't really explain how I know it, but I just do." And then, towards Akiho: "That person....is your special person, Akiho-chan". There it is, the infamous "special person" again. It's clear what Sakura is meaning here. "This is the person you're in love with, Akiho-chan". Of course Akiho's face cannot be any other than a dismayed one at hearing that. And then the pain comes, all at once, piercing her heart and leaving her speechless. Sakura says that the Record Card wasn't showing anyone with Akiho in one of the scenes, and yet she saw her extremely happy. That was enough for Sakura to know that someone was indeed there with Akiho.

I'm Always Searching For Someone

We're shown one of the most important scenes for anyone liking Akiho and Kaito (and their bond), the night that Akiho was so brave to confess her feelings to him through a covert (and very local) way, claiming that "the moon is really beautiful". And in the same occasion he accepted to spend some time strolling and talking to her. It was clear from the moment that scene happened that it would've become important later. And the readers who know what happened and what we lost are feeling probably the same pain Akiho is feeling right now, only that she's unaware of what is causing it. Akiho says "I'm really happy to live with you, Sakura, and everyone in the Kinomoto household, but...I've been in pain. Because I'm always looking for someone who's not there...". So Akiho did feel the effects of that void. The void that only your most important person can leave when they're gone. It's just that, we've seen her being so happy with her "new" family, and yet exactly like most of the fandom imagined, that didn't really work to fill the void Kaito left. It's impossible to fill that void because that person is just irreplaceable. This scene of course stabbed my heart but I had imagined that we would've seen it sooner or later. Sakura gets more confident with the confession of what Akiho's been feeling, and tells her that she thinks the one she didn't want to lose and the one who rewrote their world are the same person. "So I'm going to bring them back". Sakura announces with a smile, but Kero just wonders in dismay how she's going to do that. Sakura believes that the pocket watch in Akiho's possession will show her how. As if on cue, Akiho takes it out of her purse and places it on the table in front of Sakura's phone, where Eriol and Kaho can see it. They recognize it's a magical artifact specialized in time magic, but they also recognize that in order for a magician to be able to use it, they would need to have a tremendous amount of magical powers. Akiho suddenly panics. It dawns on her. I think the mental connection she's made is "if Sakura wants to use this to bring my special person back, she would need to achieve an amount of magical powers that could put her in harm's way". Aside, of course, from all the other dangers that a "mission" like that could pose to our heroine. And of course she'd never be okay with that. But Sakura reassures her. "You aren't making me. I want to." Sakura explains that both when she was dealing with the Clow Cards (and we see a scene of the Final Judgement, the one where Kaho gives her the Moon Bell) and when she was transforming them into her own Cards (they show us a scene from the last battle with Eriol), she was able to overcome her troubles thanks to all of the people who loved her and cared about her.

Sakura, JP: "Therefore I want to do what I can for my important person, too"

Again the use of 大切なひと (important person) in relation to Akiho. I think this panel in particular is pretty important (and the big font indeed suggests so). I feel like it's the core, the heart of Clear Card Arc. Sakura, whom until now was accustomed to be cherished and pampered in a protected environment by her loved ones, is starting to take the first steps towards self-assertiveness and maturity. Sometimes those loved ones would overdo it with the loving, and ended up depriving her of her own agency. Sakura is finding herself, she's starting to trust her instincts and capabilities more and more, and that leads inevitably to a question: "what do I want to do with these gifts life gave me and blessed me with? What can I do to give back to the Universe all this love I'm receiving?" Searching for her self-identity will inevitably make her step out of her comfort zone. She'll take risks. Even on herself. She'll need to assess situations, make decisions. And here she decided that she wants to use her natural gift (her magical powers) to help someone in need. Someone important to her. Someone dear who lost someone irreplaceable and lacks the means to bring him back. Sakura decides to step in, help her "sister", doing exactly what she herself told her during last chapter: if I happen to be good at something that you can't do, I'll help you out. That's the beauty of being all unique and different.

I've seen people often wondering what's the purpose of Clear Card Arc, if we really needed to this arc and such. Well, to me the answer was made manifest in this chapter. 🙂

But back to our story, Tomoyo understands that moment has finally come, so she says that maybe she can't use magic, but she felt it was best to bring along with her a certain big bag (that we all know what contains, right??). She also says that she had the feeling she had made an asymmetrical costume before, but when she went to check, she realized she hadn't made it yet...

Listen to me well, because this is the solution to the mystery of the cryptical thing Ohkawa sensei said in relation to one of Sakura's costumes, during the latest CLAMP Space! Basically, she hinted that there was a reason why we hadn't seen Sakura wearing officially (for a Card battle) this costume yet, and that we would find out why soon. I know the ENG translation here talks about "complementary outfits" (referring probably to how Tomoyo will later reveal complementary outfits for both Sakura and Syaoran), but that only shows that they misunderstood the word アシンメトリー (lit. Asymmetry). Tomoyo here was literally talking about asymmetry because the "costume she thought she had made, but didn't find in the end" was precisely the one Ohkawa was hinting at during the latest Space, the one Sakura was trying on in chapter 36 and 37! Tomoyo had a sense of deja vu, about having made an asymmetrical outfit before, but actually couldn't find it because...well, the forbidden magic had removed any reference to the Clear Cards! (including, apparently, the costumes!) So that goes to show that Tomoyo, despite not having a crumble of magic, was also subjected to the deja vu and weird feelings of "discrepancy" that such rewriting of the world would cause. But hold on tight, cause another reference is on the way!

Tomoyo continues saying that while she was sewing the sleeve of the outfit, she had the strong feeling that this costume would turn into a very special one. And what do we have here? OH YES, it's THAT sleeve, the one we've been waiting for so eagerly! The one that Sakura saw in a dream with MCF once! Sakura back then asked to MCF if they would meet outside the dream when she'd be wearing that outfit, and MCF only cryptically said that it would be "the beginning of the end". Considering now we know that MCF has been mostly a byproduct of Lilie trying to communicate with Sakura and inadvertently messing things up, I do wonder about that MCF. Was Sakura, by any chance, actually was supposed to see Kaito and she saw the robe instead, because of Lilie? Or is that an actual member of Akiho's clan? Only this finale can tell us the truth. Sakura will certainly meet someone, with that costume.

Sakura thanks Tomoyo, always so ready to show her support, and she does something very sweet, as a result of regaining all of her rewritten memories: she tells Tomoyo that she'll do her best to come back without getting the costume dirty, but if it eventually starts fraying, she knows that Tomoyo will be there to repair it.....yeah....doesn't it remind you of something?? Of course I bet any Tomoyo fan knows very well what scene Sakura is referencing with this line....

When Sakura told Tomoyo she repaired her torn costume with the Repair Card in chapter 40, Tomoyo expressed the wish to be her the one repairing those costumes, with her own hands. Because she had created them specifically for Sakura, so she would also want to be the one to repair them in case they'd get damaged. Basically telling her "I made these with all my love for you, and I'd prefer that a Card didn't take my place even when needing to repair them. I want the costumes that you wear to be made completely by my own hands". Always reminding us that making something with your own hands for your loved one is the greatest proof of love for any character in CCS (which is something I find truly wholesome and beautiful). Sakura here shows to have understood and accepted that wish fully, therefore acknowledging Tomoyo and her feelings. Tomoyo is uncharacteristically surprised for a second, and then with the happiest smile she confirms that of course she'll be there to repair it!

Sakura looks at her brother Touya, who only grumpily tells her to respect the curfew. Sakura is confused because they never had a curfew time at home, but her brother replies "Come back before dad gets worried. That's our curfew". (in ENG there's an additional part here, I guess to fill in a bubble that would be left empty) Sakura confidently replies "Got it".

Nakuru is all giddy, excitedly announcing that they decided to go to war and they need to decide the formation!! Suppy mocks her, telling her she's talking as if she were playing one of her warring states games (in JP the term used here is 戦国ゲーム - sengoku game - and I've found there's a specific game called indeed Sengoku, but it seems the same term extended to indicate all the war games set in the Sengoku era), but that doesn't deter Nakuru, who says that if she gets chosen, she will certainly participate actively (here the ENG uses game language from what I can see - not an expert - but good job!)!!

Sakura's plan is different, though. She says that tonight she'll be going only with Syaoran. She knows that if everyone could go with her, she'd feel more confident and reassured, but...

Sakura, JP: "If I want to find Akiho-chan's most important person, I have the feeling that it'd be better for me to go with my most important person"

Here we go. We temporarily leave aside the "special person" terminology to go back to the more famous and loved "my most important person" term, to indicate THE ONE person someone loves the most. 一番大切なひと (ichiban taisetsuna hito). The term we all learned because it's been so crucial to indicate the person someone was in love with during the old arcs of the story. The term Sakura eventually used for Syaoran at the end of CCS volume 12 to finally give a "definition" to the love she felt for him. Now she uses it to define Akiho's feelings for Kaito. This is "the" term that takes precedence over all the other terminology used, and also goes to show how important and solemn the moment is. Sakura's intuition tells her that in order to find Kaito, Akiho's most important person, she should go with Syaoran, her own most important person. This is probably because her magical intuition (let's remember that Sakura got the power to see the future) grasped that her bond with Syaoran will be absolutely pivotal in order to have a positive outcome for the mission they're about to embark on. They will probably have to put that bond at work....maybe to explain, show, help someone understanding something that he still doesn't seem to grasp perfectly? Or rather, a stubborn refusal to understand it, which caused them all to be in this situation they're in right now? What's for sure is that if Sakura and Syaoran manage to find Kaito, and if they'll also manage to free him from the Seal of D. + the artifact with all the magical books that Akiho had engraved in herself, their job won't certainly be over like that. Kaito needs to talk to someone. He needs to understand many, many things. Some of those things, Sakura and Syaoran can at least try to introduce them to him. Because while it's true that Sakura wants to bring him back for Akiho, she also needs to make sure that coming back is also Kaito's wish. Because they can't force him if he isn't 100% convinced himself. I'm sure this is a very important thematic for CLAMP, respecting someone's self-determination. And since his state of mind, last time we saw him, was that he was perfectly expendable and that he was absolutely not necessary in Akiho's life, they need to change that perception. And there's also the fact that, despite being so different, Kaito and Syaoran are pretty similar in several aspects too. So maybe the role Syaoran can have in "communicating" with Kaito could be very important and impactful. Maybe that's what Sakura's intuition was trying to tell her.

Here, the ENG translation decided to translate that "most important person" with "favorite person". I have definitely turned up my nose at seeing that (why not leaving the iconic term?) but in the end I decided to relax because, at the end of the day, the result is similar. It indicates a person for whom your preference and importance is above everyone else. What really *mattered* in this scene - and lo and behold, it seems ONLY the English and Portuguese versions got it right (let me know about the Chinese one, cause I can't read that one) - is that Sakura used the same term to describe what Akiho feels for Kaito, and what SHE feels for Syaoran. "I am aware that this missing person is for Akiho an existence of the same importance Syaoran-kun has for me. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to bring them back, because I fully understand that kind of bond and I understand the void they leave in your life when they're not there" She knows, to some degree, what it feels like to miss your most beloved person, due to the period she had to spend apart from Syaoran. And they could still have phone calls and writing letters. Akiho's situation can only be worse. Sakura's understanding of that bond is also what causes her intuition to suggest her to go only with Syaoran. It's all connected. So it's of utmost importance that the translations use the same term when both talking about Akiho and Sakura. Then, about this scene, we could also say that it was a beautiful demonstration of how much Sakura (but also Syaoran) has grown up, now fully confident to declare in front of everyone that Syaoran is THE most important person in her life. Without blushing and without any drama. It's just a fact. After all they've been through, I think Sakura can feel confident enough in her relatinship with Syaoran, and there's no shame nor embarrassment in stating that aloud.

The people present here can only accept and show their support, and Eriol encourages Sakura to follow her intuition (remember the whole discussion about listening to the stirring of your heart, the so-called intuition? Yeah, a great lesson from Mama Yelan which will also be applied to another character soon). Sakura tells Kero that if she needs him, she will certainly call, and the guardian beast reassures her that he'll certainly hear his master's voice, same for Yue.

Then, lastly, Sakura takes Akiho's hands and holds them tightly. They share another sweet forehead touch (seriously, I love them so much ❤️). Akiho is worried, so worried, but also very resolute. She wants this as much as Sakura does. Sakura tells her that there'll surely be a moment when she'll request Akiho to do something only she can do, and asks her to please wait here with everyone till that time comes.

I'll admit it, I was really disappointed when I've read this scene the first time around. Not only because I had imagined all kinds of scenes in my head (included Akiho wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes) and they shattered that possibility (but oh well, I am prepared to that), but also because I feel like this isn't a good choice from a character development POV. I understand it, I really understand it, this is Sakura's story. She's the one who gets to shine in the finale. And we've talked about it before, there's no doubt that Sakura in this story goes through a journey to find her identity and what she wants to do. So now it's time to let her do that. But Akiho has been slandered for the whole manga, accused of all kind of things because of prejudice, and one of those was "she's weak and passive, she does nothing". Seeing her "on the sidelines" once again, when we're talking about rescuing her most important person, feels extremely off. Letting someone else do "the job for her" doesn't even feel like Akiho.

Then, as hours passed by, I thought...

Maybe Sakura wants to take care of the first part of the mission, because it'll certainly be the one where it's most likely to encounter some magical danger (dragon-chan???). And Akiho wouldn't be able to defend herself from that, devoid of magical powers as she is. She could potentially end up risking her own life. And then all of this would've been for nothing. And then I thought, wait, maybe Akiho knows that. She knows it very well, since she's a girl with a pretty good understanding of herself and her own limits. And this is certainly a limit she does have. So what she can do is to wait safely at home, as hard and painful as it can be, for the REAL, big moment when her presence will be absolutely necessary. Sakura said it with great confidence so it's 100% sure it will come. Therefore, as an Akiho fan, I will swallow this pill and wait together with her. 🫤

But the chapter isn't over yet, as Touya and Yukito go outside in the garden while Sakura and Syaoran get dressed for their departure! Yukito teases once again Touya, telling him that his face is scary and that Sakura's earlier statement ("most important person") must have caused him "damage" (still seemingly talking in game language). Touya of course doesn't reply, so Yukito continues, giving finally confirmation to the suspicion I've been having ever since this "rewritten world" started: Touya did notice something was off. He didn't know precisely what, but he knew it had something to do with Sakura. Yukito also gives us the opportunity to see just how kind and generous Touya is: he purposely didn't go back home often because he wanted to reduce his presence around Akiho as much as possible. Not because of negative feelings, quite the contrary: he was worried she'd get even more hurt if she established a bond with him, only to end up finding out that they weren't really brother and sister. (Meanwhile, we see a very cute panel of Akiho talking to Kero, Suppy and still in videocall with Eriol and Kaho!) And then, to follow the leit-motiv of this chapter, very centered on calling back stuff that had already happened in the original world, Touya says that he won't allow anyone to hurt his close ones (they used "family" in ENG, but the word 身内 can indicate also friends and such, the common characteristic is that they're very close). Got the feeling you've already heard these words, especially with the use of the word 身内 ? Yes, of course, it's vaguely the same threat he made to Kaito back in chapter 54, during the double date! 😂 Hmmmm, I have the feeling that if they manage to bring Kaito back (of course they will!), someone will want to have a word or two with him....let's hope he'll just stick to words! 😂 Jokes aside, it's very heartwarming to see how even Touya warmed up to Akiho, and took her under his protective big brother's wing! In fact, Yukito can't just miss the new opportunity to tease him (stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us, Yuki! 😂), telling him he's so overprotective for his sisters!!

The two lovebirds have finished changing their clothes, and we're all left staring at them agape, together with Nakuru: they look stunning, in their complementary outfits!! Sakura even got heels ❤️ And yes, dear readers, as already hinted when Tomoyo was speaking, this is IT, THE costume with THAT sleeve that appeared in Sakura's dream! It is the biggest indication that it's finally time for the last confrontation. Both Sakura and Syaoran look so resolute and ready to make a mess of space and time to bring Kaito back!! 😂 As many have noticed, Sakura got her Dream Staff with her, despite the Clear Cards have disappeared: my theory is that the Key was never removed by the forbidden magic, only the Cards, or maybe that the key came out now that Sakura got her memories back.

And this is where the chapter ends, with another huge cliffhanger!! Will we see Kaito, next time? Being a chapter number ending in -5, and being in the very last volume, I expect big things from it! Chapter 75 will be published on CLAMP's Youtube channel on July 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on July 3rd (by the way, we'll have Sakura ONCE AGAIN on the cover and ANOTHER Sakura furoku!!). As usual, when I have less translation mistakes to talk about and more space for my feelings towards the chapter, I go overboard! Another freaking long post 😂😂 So I'll just leave you here, as usual I'll wait for your asks in my inbox! Bye Bye!!

[pascaloverx]

Invisible Bonds: The Power of Destiny

Author's Note: This fanfic contains possible strong language and explores themes of unconventional love. The relationship between the protagonists will be handled with sensitivity, without explicit scenes. If there are explicit scenes, readers will be warned. This fanfic focuses on the reader's relationship with Jungkook and Taehyung, separately.

previous chapter final epilogue

EPILOGUE (TAEHYUNG'S VERSION)

Karaoke night with the boys is just what you need now that you're single. That's right. You and Jungkook couldn't make your relationship work. But at least you preserved the friendship. But tonight it will be just you, Yoongi, and Hoseok.

"Are you sure you want to waste your couple's night keeping me company?" you ask Yoongi and Hoseok as you finish closing the door of your apartment, which is no longer in the same building. Living next to Jungkook while he's dating other people seemed too hard.

"Sweetie, you're not a bother. Namjoon asked me to tell you that you're invited for afternoon coffee at his place tomorrow. I know you've been avoiding everyone since your fallout with Jungkook, but I won't let you distance yourself from us," Hoseok says as he waits for you to close the door. Yoongi is beside Hoseok, gently holding his hand.

"I think we should tell you that Taehyung will be at karaoke too. He's been sad about the divorce, and we thought it would be a good idea to bring him along to sing a bit. Who would have thought that the first to get married would be the first to divorce in the group? But we should have guessed that he and Haewon wouldn't work out. Soulmates aren't always destined for each other," Yoongi says as the three of you head down the stairs to Yoongi's car. Hoseok lightly smacks his arm.

"As if you know how to deal with soulmates. You ended your bond with your soulmate and will never know if you would have preferred staying with her instead of me," Hoseok says, a bit annoyed. They started dating when Hoseok gave up on finding his soulmate, and Yoongi seemed to really like that idea.

"My experience and Taehyung's are exceptions. Namjoon and Jin are married to their soulmates. Jimin is dating his. And you two don't even know if you weren't soulmates yourselves. But let's get to karaoke, and try not to act weird around me and Taehyung. I know he and I had a brief romantic relationship, and I avoided him while he was trying to work things out with Haewon. But you don't need to act like it's a big deal," you say as you get into the car. They look at each other as if they have no idea what you're talking about.

"What songs are you guys going to sing tonight? I was thinking of singing something by Beyoncé. But I think I need a drink before deciding," Hoseok says, changing the subject as you head to the karaoke, with Yoongi driving.

"I don't know about Yoongi, but I'm going to get drunk and watch you guys sing," you say as you watch the route the car is taking.

"No, if I'm singing with Hoseok, you're singing too. Everyone's singing, even if it's just one song. Got it?" Yoongi says as he parks the car. You arrive quickly. From inside the car, your gaze meets Taehyung's as he stands at the entrance of the karaoke, looking well-dressed. There's something shining about him when your eyes lock.

"You took your time getting here," Taehyung says as soon as you lock eyes. Yoongi and Hoseok are in front of you.

"It's Y/N's fault, she took forever to choose what to wear today," Yoongi complains as Hoseok gives him a stern look. You feel a bit embarrassed.

"Easy to blame me for being late when you guys picked me up almost an hour after we agreed," you say as everyone enters the karaoke. You notice Taehyung standing a bit apart from the group.

"How are you doing?" Taehyung asks, inviting you to sit beside him. He looks at you with sweetness.

"I can't complain. I definitely tried to find my happy ending but it didn't work out. Since then, I've just been searching for peace," you reply with a touch of sadness. Taehyung seems to empathize with you.

"What's the point of having peace without company?" Taehyung asks as you settle into your chair. You look at him as if you don't have an answer, which you really don't.

"You can't force anyone to stay by your side. All you can do is try to be happy on your own," you reply, trying to convince yourself that you should feel content alone.

"Sometimes we're alone because we missed the chance to be with someone," Taehyung says, and you meet his gaze. It's clearly an indirect reference to you. Or rather, to both of you.

"We had to give a chance to people we thought were our destiny, only to realize they were just passing through our lives," you say, trying to justify your separation. You ask the karaoke bartender for a drink.

"And what if I want to give us a chance now?" Taehyung asks, taking a sip of his drink almost like it's water. You take a sip of yours.

"Don't you think it's a bit late to give us a chance now? Doesn't it cross your mind that there might not be any feelings left between us?" you question him, feeling indignant. Does he think it's that easy to pick up where things left off?

"I spent two years convincing myself that you would be happier without me. That we would be better off apart. But the truth is, being with you was one of the best moments of my life. And I really tried hard to be happy without you," Taehyung says, looking at you as he declares his feelings.

"So why did you wait until now to say this? It's been at least three months since you got divorced, and only now you thought to tell me you still wanted me?" you question him, but Taehyung's words are certainly having an effect on you.

"Hey, not to interrupt the lovebirds, but you're at karaoke, not at home. Go sing and stop arguing about your love life," Yoongi says, handing you both microphones. You and Taehyung exchange glances, then stand up to sing. Someone chose 'If the World Was Ending'; a duet. You both sing as if you were singing to each other. At the end of the song, still looking at each other, it feels like Taehyung can see into your soul. Your hand almost touches his.

"I didn't know if you would take me back. Or rather, finally accept me. You chose Jungkook. I respected that, just as you respected my attempt to reconcile with Haewon. But I think we both know our destinies are intertwined," Taehyung says as you two step outside the karaoke. Discussing this in the middle of a crowd seems foolish, and Yoongi already seems to have run out of patience for you two.

"Let's try again then. You and me," you say as you both stand at the exit of the karaoke. Taehyung smiles but seems a bit hesitant.

"But I don't want to just date you. If you want to try with me, you have to know that one day, I want us to get married. Or at least commit to living together until old age," Taehyung says, as if making a solemn promise to you. In that moment, a flashback of all your good times together passes through your mind, from when you first met as university students to when you realized you were more than friends.

"I want to try, knowing what it means for both of us." You step closer to Taehyung, hoping he will take the next step. Then, Taehyung kisses you passionately. You feel complete, as if you've found the missing piece of your happiness.

END

[rubiajieun]

🥀Silver Twin Theory🌟

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Spoiler for Chapter 7 and Twst JP and spoiler's in general proceed with caution

-few notes I want to go threw

-the first things first you do not have to agree with this Theory nor do you have to like it if you don't like it or you just don't agree then that's just your opinion and your feelings I will respect that I will not tolerate any rudeness just because you don't like it

-second this was just me purely out of my brain rioting this was mostly done because I felt like it and because I liked it

-Third just enjoy, This really isn't hurting anyone I've already seen people on Twitter give me shit just because the don't like it

Ps I may or may not have added something because either I thought that they were either unimportant or did I just forgot so I might edit this later

Without further due let's get into it

So for starters we already are fully aware that this Silver's backstory is actually full of mystery so with that in mind I will start with what Silver and What Silver or Lilia have said about him, his childhood and origins

-Silver's Version-

Most of the information we have gotten on Silver and his childhood life was mostly either based on him saying it himself or lilia

Mostly what we have gotten from Silver from his childhood was that Lilia told him that he was in abandoned orphan and that he took him in when he was younger and basically raised him in an abandoned cottage

From that pretty much silver grew up (mostly implied) that he was raised and isolation despite coming from Briar valley

And that he pretty much never left his home unless to go to the forest or anything

And as far as what has been revealed is that instead of silver mostly going it was people instead of coming over to Silver's home by that would be Malleus, Sebek and His family

Other then that it seemed Silver never really got to talk to people outside of Lilia's personal circle

Silver also explains that in some parts of his childhood he was actually alone while Lilia would go traveling

He also mentions that Lilia always taught him to be like a prince to be kind to people and that fighting is never an answer

She also mentioned that on a special day when he found out that he wasn't Lilia's actual son that he ran away from home and Lilia went looking for him and I pretty much showed him just how much devastated silver was to find that out that he wasn't even the person that he believed was his parents child

-Lilia's Version-

Lilia's version of pretty much how raising silver was it's pretty much the same as just silver himself but other than that here's something I want to say and I want people to think about it real good

Obviously silver told us that Lilia raised him and all the things that he was told about himself that he was an orphan that he was abandoned yada yada yada that he was raised by Lilia himself

But here's the thing I want people to think about that is what silver was told by Lilia that's what Lilia told silver but for all you know that could be a lie he could be lying to him about his true origins either for the sake of protecting him for the sake of a mission

And for people who are about to say oh no there's no way Lilia would do that to Silver he loves silver as his own son oh please you act like he probably at the beginning it wasn't a mission and that he later on how to change of heart because he grew to love Silver

So again I'm going to repeat what I just said from the beginning this is what Lilia told silver what he told him for all we know it could have been a lie or maybe there is some truth and then maybe there is some lies into it

And then here is what I'm also going to say even though Lilia and may love silver now remember that Lilia wants hated humans or seem to dislike them in a sort of way so for all we know that could have literally baby crib snatched him from his family as an act of Revenge for what's potentially happening in chapter 7 AKA what happened in the past

-Twin Theory-

Again I mentioned above that there is some things I'm probably not going to mention because I'm either saving them up for a different post or I plan to add them on later when I can word them better

My theory starts with the small fact that obviously silver seems to instead of just being based on the sword itself that he is a mixture of Aurora ,The sword and the spinning wheel

And basically just been hinted since like the very beginning that he may be a prince

So let's just say this is actually true he is royalty and something did happen to get him to be where he was today

So here's something I'm going to mention if you guys remember in the Original sleeping Beauty by that I mean like the original original book you will know that Aurora ended up having twins in her sleep whom she named Sol and Luna translation is Sun and Moon

So then let's just imagine this what if if silver had a twin silver would be the moon because obviously his hair and his Aurora eyes while the other twin would be the sun blonde hair like Aurora

Which could lead Silver to find or meet his birth family?

I love this thought because it could have either been possibly an older sibling or an actual twin before he was taken

And this is actually very good potential for Angst and more info on chapter 7

So if twins but not identical twins but like Aurora twins

Sol/Sun= Silver's Twin, Blonde or Brown(like the sun) hair with the same eyes as Silver and is based off Princess Aurora

Luna/Moon= Silver, Silver hair(like the moon) and Aurora eyes and is based off Briar Rose

And he was probably the younger twin or maybe the older twin I mean if the reason they took him it might be because he was older twin and maybe he was the heir to the throne and then that also makes me to believe because he has so many similarities to her that when I was Researching to make more theories I remembered that on the original Aurora had twins and she names them basically Sun and Moon so I thought what if silver had a twin and that's why they both have these aspects and instead of being Aurora he's actually Briar Rose and his other brother is Princess Aurora

maybe that's what he couldn't go and maybe every time he tried to approach silver Lilia was somehow like distract him or take them away so that he couldn't actually approach him I feel like it it's a bit farfetch but let's be real about it he was a guard for the Royal family of Malleus potentially the enemy of Silver's Family

then I also had a thought that what if this brother silver does know that he was taken when he was young and maybe he does know that he goes to night Raven college but because you know how they you're not allowed on campus unless we're special events and stuff? Yea maybe he tried or maybe his parents saw him as VDC on TV or something and wanted to see whether or not the child that looks exactly like the child they lost is Silver

And maybe they talked to Crowley to get to meet him and maybe that's one of the reason's why Lilia was leaving other then losing his magic (talk about that in a different post once made)

Maybe He thought it was time to let go or he didn't want to be found out the man that "stole/kidnapped" the lost prince of another kingdom

Also a good friend brought this up (@windblume-wishes )

You can read here!

And that's it for now if I decide to re-edit!

[coredrill]

perhaps my most insane collection of brvn thots yet

do we think lulu is from the moon. i think this for three reasons. one: when she told superbia she was going to ride him the moon was quite large and prominent in the shot. symbolism. two: when she got her fancy hairdo, she had two little buns that looked like moons. three: “lulu” could come from “luna” the same way it could come from the first syllable of smith’s name. why would she become spanish? don’t worry abt it. also if she’s from there then maybe the “final battle” which obari allegedly said would take place in an unexpected location will indeed be on the moon (pls dont ask for a source on this bc i don’t think i could find it again but it was one of the like. EARLY early interviews iirc. or it was just a rumor. this part of the post is a joke anyways LMAO). however this IS a super robot show so i feel like the moon in general is actually a more expected location for me than like. idk. cleveland

everyone pointing out the animation differences maybe indicating different timelines is so funny to me cause like. if it’s NOT intentional, the fans are putting together a list of fixes to make for the bluray on a silver platter LMAO. also god i hope we get a western bluray release, i honestly am considering getting the jp one if it somehow winds up w eng subs though just cause i know it’s such a long shot for CRUNCHYROLL of all motherfuckers to put one together 🥲 discotek ur our only hope………………

i keep thinking abt the like. pacing of the previous fight scenes being reused in ep9 in such a smart way…………like with smith/lulu v superbia - isami/bravern v cupiridas AND with smith/lulu v knuth - isami/bravern v pessimism/vanitas they kept doing the quick jumps between each of the two fights in a way that made it clear that isami and smith were in conversation even if they were doing completely different shit, and then bringing that completely to the forefront this ep while isami is asking smith why he died and at the same time smith is refusing to die bc of his promise with isami. BLEW MY FUCKIN MIND to see the pattern reused like that, i swear to GOD everyone talks about how fun and hype this show is but it’s so damn GOOD too 😭😭 and then after that the fuckin. symmetrical docking ass cut and then later the gattai which has been held off for SO long bc they are no longer separate conversations. JESUS

called my shots too early tho w smith not melting ppl’s minds in a kaworu manner where they convolute the story x1000 to try to make him seem straight 😭 congrats white boy, your days are numbered until ppl start saying you love isami like he’s your pet dog……….also in a related fashion the giant naked smith fanarts are taking me out LMAO

you can tell idk shit abt fuck when it comes to time travel fuckery cause i rly am just here like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ atp LMAO, the serious theorizing is GONE. i trust the show to finish out in a satisfying manner and also in a way that my pea brain can understand and i’m rly looking forward to savouring these last 3 episodes :] and then rewatching the whole thing from the beginning once the remaining twists have been revealed and i Know :3 like not to get way too sentimental w 3 whole episodes left but we are so lucky to be following this story in real time you guys 😭 like i’m just gonna put the same post i made back after episode ONE here cause it’s true but times a million with what we’ve seen so far, truly this is such a special experience to have and i’m so glad this show waited until i got into mecha to get made so that i could like. Understand it yknow. anyways good for january 14 2024 version of me, you are so excited andyet still have NO idea the kind of treat you are in for 😭

“lewis” jumpscare tho omg. i forgot it took me like a week to figure out what the hell was goin on with all the characters first and last names LMAO. anyways everybody go look at sumiisa sekiha love love tenkyouken right now i am no longer asking

[sirenjose]

Sorry to bug you again but when reading one of your theories, the one with Lady 13 and Sparrow, it highlights an aspect of Norton's personality that I don't think is covered often. When someone treats him kindly and respectfully, he's loyal to them to a tee.

I know there is Benny, and whether it's bias from some of my old theories from my 1st Norton analysis, I've always viewed Benny as primarily focused on/obsessed with finding gold to escape the "dumb" that is hospice. Mostly due to the language Benny uses in Norton's 1st letter (not to mention even before Norton's father died, based on Norton's 4th letter he was still thinking about finding gold back then too). It just feels a bit like Benny might be more concerned with himself than Norton (the language used in Norton's 1st and 4th letters could back this up). Losing his son Colin likely didn't help his personality either. Not saying Benny didn't care about Norton at all, but I think it might've not been enough, that maybe he didn't prioritize Norton enough.

Even Norton's live action backstory trailer that came with AoM2 didn't really change my opinion or suspicions/questions.

(I mean, how much did Benny help or provide for Norton after Norton lost his father? He still looks pretty lonely and having to be self-sufficient. And Benny still seemed focused on roping Norton into his gold scheme. But like I said, maybe I'm too suspicious due to a lack of info and thinking too hard on language.)

Honestly, I don't quite know how to phrase my thoughts right now, so apologies if this is nonsensical.

The issue with Norton is there are very few if any that have treated him kindly. Not with the environment and poverty he grew up in, and not after the mine incident, which gave him scars that scare off a good number of people, not to mention how it caused his mental state to further deteriorate and/or worsened his depression. Then there's how someone's hounding him with questions about the incident (and it's still possible Norton doesn't even remember everything that happened, but that's a separate theory). And now he's in a game competing for money that could help him escape poverty, but the other participants are all rich or better off than him, which only frustrates him further.

Another time Norton was actually loyal and trusted someone else like Sparrow to Lady Thirteen, is Ronald to Mr. Inference and Smarty Pants. Smarty Pants being the person who helped prove his father's innocence, even though he died before that could happen. And Mr. Inference is someone who he knew and grew close to due to both of them being in the military at the same time. Issue with that last one is we have very little information about what happened during their time in the military. Just that Ronald trusts him enough to say "If there's one good person left in town, it's either Smarty Pants or you", while Inference in other versions of Atropos' Ropes (not the English version) describes their friendship as "valuable" (he apparently says something along the lines of "But I guess I should thank you for a valuable friendship" in the JP version).

The only other time I can think of is in COA 4. Highway Cavalier starts selfish, but later changes, to the point as we see in the COA 4 trailer he tries to save his friends even though it gets him killed in a number of loops. And they were loyal to him back, as we know Reflective Mirror trusts him after he saves her (based on the COA package it says she fell off a cliff but he saves her from Molten Hound), potentially sharing her secret knowledge of the shortcuts in the race, while Pumping Tires actually sacrifices himself for Highway Cavalier to be able to defeat Molten Hound.

(And I still think COA 4's story is a hint towards what will happen with Norton in the main story, with Melly and Alice, to go against Orpheus/Nightmare)

[codenamesazanka]

There's not as much level of hate in JP spaces because they read the original dialogues in the way as intended by the author and not the shitty localised version by a biased translator. Idk if you are on twitter but the translator has ruined the last 2-3 chapter translations. And also when Tomura escaped AFO's control and when Hawks lost the quirk. And that's why JP fans understand the themes better than the English fans.

Not gonna say Caleb Cook has never gotten anything wrong, but I generally think he gets it right more often than not. I've seen when fans try to correct the translations, and sometimes the nuance is captured, sometimes not at all. And as if fans can't be biased as well.

I distinctly remember when English-speaking fans tried to claim that Dabi in chapter 306 was saying something along the lines of 'the exposure of Endeavor's abuse was not enough for people to care'. That was completely wrong. Caleb's translation of Dabi saying 'he didn't go far enough/Endeavor needs more bullying' was the correct one. I know this because I took a look at it myself. However, my translation could be flawed too. So I look to the Japanese tweets that quoted that sentence saying things like “Dabi-kun, are you taking lessons from demons (in sadism)?" or "You've tortured your family enough... stop it," or cheered him on, wanting to know what horrible moves Dabi will think of next. What the author intended here was to show Dabi wants to completely break Endeavor's spirit and soul, but English-speaking fans point blank said 'no, that's not how I want it'.

Meanwhile, English-speaking fans are very eager about Caleb's translation of Yoichi saying Shigaraki was groomed to be full of hatred, or Shigaraki telling AFO that he knows AFO groomed him. The original japanese is actually "that was how he was raised/brought up," and "that was how you raised me/brought me up". With context, yeah, Yoichi and Shigaraki is saying that AFO raised him up in a negative way, he was raised in malicious conditions - 'groomed' is indeed one possible translation, but I personally think that word is loaded with connotations that makes it more charged than the original japanese. I would've gone with 'brought up', maybe 'trained'.

I'm not defending Caleb here, exactly. I think he did a disservice when he translated Toga's line about Saito thinking she's not human as 'Saito will think I'm a freak'. The gist is the same - Saito will be repulsed by her - but for me, 'not human' better fits the context of Toga's life's journey to be seen as normal, as a regular human being. I have no idea what he was thinking when he translated Spinner's 'Shigaraki-tachi' (Shigaraki and the others/Shigaraki's group) as only 'Shigaraki' when Spinner woke up Kurogiri.

For the most part, Caleb's just trying to capture the feel of things, then make sure it's convey in a natural sounding manner. Lots of potential for disagreement in the process. As someone once puts it, you are guarantee to fail when translating, so what you're doing is deciding how to fail. And failure also means different things to different people.

Caleb gets things right, and gets things wrong. From my observations, English-speaking fans think Caleb gets things right when the translations fits into their pre-existing conceptualizations and never question it; and English-speaking fans think Caleb is so terrible he should be fired when translations don't fit their pre-existing conceptualizations. Where does the bias come from? Trick question, it's in everyone.

So is the hate because Caleb's translation isn't accurate and people misunderstood bnha's themes? I gotta say, not really. Is the hate because people have a vision of what bnha should be like in their head, and get angry when canon goes a different path? I think this is more likely. I don't think it's the whole reason. But its contribution is there.

Whether or not this is the reason why Japanese fandom spaces seems - to me - to have less hate than English speaking fandom spaces, I don't know. Like I said, maybe the hate levels are the same because I'm just looking at the nice things that floats at the top as I wade through Japanese fandom, but haven't dive down into the deep sea hate, while I enter a submersible to be crushed by the high pressure hate every time I return to the English speaking fandom.

Thanks for the ask!

[randomnameless]

@pandp-author

I'm glad I helped even if I wasn't intending to write a meta piece lol, but simply note how the few maps/convos worked very well to depict the character.

TBH, after browsing stuff here and there on redshit, I was expecting a different character than the one I ultimately end up with, and I started to wonder if this wasn't another issue of "Rhage" case : aka, being sold a character with certain traits that are praised or flanderized in fandom, when those traits are... not that present in the game, or straight up added by the loc.

Granted, without access to the JP script, I can only compare with mine and the tone/direction of the JP audio.

I already noted it with the line to Aubin, but why the frick the loc decided to make her ruder?

Like,

Virginia meets Joseph to discuss about the plan he had, to basically wait until her nemesis leaves his fortress to take it while it's empty, because what is most important is taking the fortress, not killing the bastard general.

But for Virginia, it's personal and she wants her revenge against the dude, thus she doesn't want to let this chance to rekt him slip away.

Now, she's much more incisive and rude to Joseph in the US version :

Sure the French script isn't the jp one, but with the jp audio there's no condescending tone or insulting the plan, she's just resuming it.

I'm in no way fluent in Japanese, but whatever Virginia was saying here was definitely not "spineless old man" to someone she respects and deep inside knows is right and reasonable when she cannot be in this situation.

I'm wondering if she wasn't thought to be a "#badass woman" and localised as such aka being unecessarly rude and haughty when upset.

Rapport convos are not voiced so I'm a bit more blind when it comes to them, but the "vile temptress" to Scarlett introducing her to a caterpillar seems odd (unless "temptress" means something else than the accepted meaning of someone seducing others?) just like the "loathsome ingrate" to Aramis after his prank (why "ingrate"? Was he supposed to be grateful for something?), but I'll need to check them out too.

Much like the Jugdral era and its characters, usually I wouldn't complain about minor change X or Y of a word or two, but when the characters don't have a lot of script/lines... well, we're supposed to work with scraps, and each word becomes important so...

Tl;DR : when it comes to some characters, I feel like trying to talk about Fodlan like are we talking about the same characters...

or not?

[dnangelic]

UNCHANGING IDEAL DRAMA CD POST

AWRIIIIIGHT so here's the big ole translation post of what i got from the brand new drama cd. there are 3 tracks, two longer (each around 20 min) and one short, (around 10, more or less a dramatized version of this particular 4 page manga chapter short,) making up three tracks, which i won't be uploading in their entirety to this blog or anything because this came out like literal just months ago. disclaimer that a lot of this is me going by ear with my fairly basic jp knowledge and being largely hand-held by machine translations, if anyone wants to type up a more accurate translation please feel free.

on that same note and while i'm talking about it, a real quick initial translation note that i consider important/useful before anything starts: the jp term for 'admiring,' 'aspiring,' and 'longing/yearning' (憧れるよ) can all be the same and are used interchangeably throughout the tracks, (compared to english which has very different inherent connotations,) so keep that in mind for understanding's sake!

also final disclaimer that this cd uses the anime cast, whereas my portrayals use the voices from the wink series, not the ones you'll find in here. i can't stand okiayu dark i'm an onosaka dark first n foremost awoijakfjlkgj okay enough about that let's go!!!!

TRACK 1.

< starts off with a generic heist(tm) for intro flare (25 years and canon dark is still homophobic awpoiadklj 😭) then skips to a schoolday. the track takes place during daisuke's bday, one year after his very first transformation, which would in fact make him 15 compared to 14 like he was at the veeery start of the series (and also where i'm writing him). out of the whole cast riku was the only one who didn't know it was his bday because daisuke never talked about it much, and it's also considered a special anniversary day because it's also the day of dark's reappearance.

< emiko has set out a warning card, to daisuke's chagrin and dark's own obliviousness. cue this funny little exchange:

daisuke: ahh, how did this happen?! hiwatari: you always seem so busy. dark: (whose fault is it always making me busier?) daisuke: hiwatari-kun's not...! (lit: 日渡くんじゃない) hiwatari: as long as somebody doesn't do anything, i won't have to get busy.

hiwatari continues to say that tonight's target isn't a hikari, but the product of 'those who yearn and obsess' over it. daisuke goes huhwhat to which hiwatari continues saying: 'when the emotion of longing is too strong, it can sometimes become a powerful curse and eat away at people's hearts.' he also tells dai that he wants dai to be careful 🥺

daisuke's a little late for the meet-up, (and dark takes the blow) but he and riku have a talk over things like their opinions over each other and wanting to get to know each other some more little by little. riku expresses how kind and gentle daisuke is that he'd even be nice to a 'bad person' like dark, and also brings up how daisuke always seemed tired and spaced out in the mornings (thanks to having to escape his mother's traps,) but riku would've never guessed that he was actually so strong and surprisingly a little cool. daisuke gets so happy that he starts to suddenly haul ass after thanking her and riku complains that he's always leaving right in the middle of important conversations.

with daisuke now lamenting that he almost transformed right in front of her, dark laughs and wonders what riku would think if he had. daisuke says that he'd definitely, definitely be hated, and risa shows up. daisuke gets scared wondering if she saw him transform, but dark says that it doesn't seem like she had, so things should be fine. he's still in daisuke's school clothes though, and risa comments on the fact--- daisuke sobs 'i knew it, we're out, dark!' before dark asks why she thinks he's dressed like this, then goes on and plays along with her guess of it being preparations for the heist - the museum for tonight's close to the school.

risa says that today's a special day for her too since it's the first day she fell in love with dark, to which he says that he thinks every day he meets with her is special. risa goes for a kiss and daisuke freaks out, forcing dark to say just kidding and see ya before she stops him one last time - she asks about dark's birthday, says nevermind, then says that she was happy to at least be able to convey her feelings on a day that was special to her. men with secrets are more attractive to her, and she's sorry for stopping him, but she promises to come see him and wishes him the best. daisuke transforms back, to which dark tells them to get moving so they can ask why emiko was interested in idea - the target artwork for the night.

TRACK 2.

dark asks if daisuke's ready - it's already been a year since they've been together, to which daisuke says that he feels weirdly self conscious when it's brought up. a year ago, he was told that if he stole the saint tears, his transformations would be cured, but in reality, he had to somehow make his first love come true.

dark laughs, saying daisuke's surprise was a masterpiece and that he misses it, to which daisuke comments again --- dark misses a year ago, even though his life's extremely long. dark says that even if a year was like the blink of an eye and someone's been around for a long time, they don't always stay in the public eye, and from the time a niwa turned 14 to the time their love bore fruit, he'd use his time. 'for the past 40 years, from grandpa to me, dark's been sleeping, huh? ' dark says that thanks to all the things happening with daisuke, the year's felt strangely long and he's starting to get nostalgic.

dark: (besides, you're by far the clumsiest of all the niwa in history.) daisuke: what's with that?!

the two laugh together; daisuke thinks it's a little weird to be talking about the past, and he was a little happy that even risa told him it was a special day. dark tells him to shut up and hurry up and get moving so they won't be late--- daisuke rushes off.

he apologizes to riku and everyone else for being kept waiting, and takeshi chides him calling him a dumbass, (leaving dark teasing him as one too,) but it couldn't be helped and was dark's fault anyways; he was busy preparing for his encounter with inspector saehara. takeshi's been staking out the place since school ended. riku does an amazing impression of risa fawning over dark, to which she snaps that of course she'd be lovesick, today was a special day! daisuke asks about hiwatari, who pops out saying he's right here--- causing everyone to jump and scream at the top of their lungs.

inside of daisuke, dark suggests hurrying up and running away early, but daisuke doesn't want to because it'd be suspicious. dark insists it'd be suspicious anyways, and it'd be trouble if hiwatari stayed here anyways. daisuke finally relents, and takeshi asks him what's up- he's even more absent-minded than usual, so daisuke says he's a little nervous and going to the bathroom. takeshi asks if he's got diarrhea (lmao) and risa calls him gross, while hiwatari only lets out a sigh. daisuke hides in some bushes and leaves his cover to wiz, who transforms into him while he transforms into dark. dark tells wiz to come back to him as soon as hiwatari leaves the group, and the heist is officially on.

inside the museum, hiwatari has appeared in front of idea as expected, and shouts for dark not to run. krad soon appears and begins to attack and pursue dark, saying that dark must want to settle things with him today- to which dark says that he had no interest in doing so and hadn't been the one to invite him out in the first place. daisuke and him start to fret; if krad's appeared, then hiwatari must be in a desperate situation today. krad, meanwhile, has been calling the artwork a fake and says he has no interest in it or its obsession. to him, the artwork is a piece of junk that has no value and should be destroyed.

dark dares him to try something if he can, and krad starts to destroy it, promising to destroy as many 'fakes' as they liked, until hiwatari starts holding him down from within --- the artwork's dangerous, and once broken, begins emitting a strange and magical light. daisuke tells dark to let go of it, and hiwatari curses that it's too late to fix it properly now. in the end daisuke ends up pulled away from dark and gets absorbed into the artwork alongside satoshi, who asks what the hell krad must have done, but not even krad had done anything. krad disses idea some more as an ugly artwork, but the fact there are no more interruptions makes everything juuuuust right- he attacks dark, who begs for daisuke to hurry up and exit the artwork already.

inside of idea, daisuke wakes up with hiwatari. he asks where he is, saying his surroundings feel like the inside of a kaleidoscope - hiwatari deduces that due to the mysterious light of idea, they were probably inside of it by now. the two of them were in fact separated and absorbed. hiwatari remarks on how calm daisuke is to which daisuke brightly replies that there's a good thing - (hiwatari:what is there good about this situation?!) since he isn't alone and hiwatari's with him, there's still something good about their circumstances. (hiwatari: you're being awfully optimistic.)

daisuke changes the topic to recall that hiwatari had told him something about this artwork in school, and asks if hiwatari knows anything about it. hiwatari explains that it's also a 'kind of seed of light',(hikari) and brings up a woman's eyes - 'this piece, named idea, was created with a longing for light.'(hikari) daisuke recalls hiwatari's earlier description: an admiration so strong it became a curse.

hiwatari concurs and elaborates: its creator longed for the hikari (light) and idea was the only one of those works that had survived, the closest to the original. the others were destroyed by the hikari, and hiwatari wonders if it wasn't krad who had actually done that. daisuke asks why only idea was spared, but hiwatari himself doesn't know why; even if it was approved of, it still would have been such a 'distorted' work. daisuke asks if that's how hiwatari himself feels, to which hiwatari asks what daisuke means. idea doesn't feel so bad to him: admiring someone and thinking they're amazing, isn't that a positive thing? he wants to believe that the inside of idea is something similar. hiwatari acknowledges that must be how daisuke feels, but for himself, it's too dazzling for him to look at.

hiwatari: please don't make that face. it's just a difference in perception. krad: that's right. it's a despicable thing for imperfections to be forgiven, hikari. and satoshi-sama, are you also cursed by the blood of light that makes you attracted to imperfect beings?

hiwatari immediately recognizes krad's appearance as a hallucination caused by idea, but the daisuke from before must have been real.

idea: where's niwa? is it real? is it fake? who decides what is what?

having been so suddenly separated from hiwatari, daisuke calls out for him- because hiwatari had disappeared so suddenly, he can only hope that hiwatari's okay. immediately after, daisuke's confronted by dark saying: ' i don't care about him, anything's fine, isn't it?!' daisuke's relief at dark's appearance is immediate, and he says that it's an emergency, but before he can continue, dark cuts him off and says he's going to get out of here and go home. daisuke insists that they find hiwatari before they do that, and dark asks why --- he's the enemy! wouldn't it be better to keep him locked up here? daisuke says he can't be the only one to get out; hiwatari had to still be somewhere around somewhere. if dark was getting out, then he'd have to go with daisuke.

dark: what the hell do we care about that hikari brat? daisuke: hiwatari's a very important friend to me! you know that! dark: he's a dear friend to you, but maybe he doesn't think so.

cut to hiwatari and krad .

krad: satoshi-sama, you want niwa daisuke, but is that the truth? satoshi: what? krad: isn't that boy too dazzling for you? admiration is something that is so dazzling that it's painful to look at. aren't those words the real truth? satoshi: you talk a lot for a fake.

cut to dark and daisuke.

dark: you've never heard hiwatari's real feelings before. so, he might be a fake friend. daisuke: it ... can't be like that. dark: how can you say that? daisuke: because i know. dark: what's that supposed to mean? you don't know anything about the hikari. how beautiful and fascinating the hikari artworks are, attracting people to the point of being violent and demonic. daisuke: ...yeah. i don't really understand anything about the hikari. dark: see? then-- daisuke: but! i know hiwatari-kun! and --- i know dark, too. dark: what do you mean? daisuke: you ... aren't dark. dark: --- ?! daisuke: it's true that dark dislikes hiwatari-kun, but he sees him as an individual, not as part of the hikari clan... at least in front of me. to be obsessed with the hikari's art, you must be... idea, right?

the fake dark transforms into idea, who calls daisuke quick to have noticed things and pretty smart despite only being a 'human niwa.' daisuke asks why he and hiwatari were absorbed into this place, but idea vents at him for only continuing to steal hikari artworks while his only goal was the hikari clan.

idea: shut up! you have the answer! i keep reaching out, but even if i do, i can't reach it! but even so, i still feel a burning desire to reach out, so i reach out again, but i still can't reach it! daisuke: ... idea: i admire the hikari's works and want to reach that height. do you understand the pain of being possessed by a desire and losing everything?!

switch to krad!

krad: that's right. you don't know anything. you are a special being, a member of the hikari family. you... hiwatari: yeah, i don't want to understand the lamentations of those who have given up and gave up trying. krad: correct. that nobility is what makes you so attractive, but at the same time, it makes you lonely. hiwatari: shut up! krad: that's why you don't try to understand others. at the same time... you are not understood by others. here... it's lonely. hiwatari: ngh... krad: that should have been fine for you before. not attached, not possessed, your heart never ached for others... hiwatari: ... krad: even though i've done so much for you, you just look away. hiwatari: you don't see me! krad: satoshi-sama's feelings are mistaken. hiwatari: shut up! what do you know? you don't know anything either! krad: you can't understand others, and you're not understood. you are, for eternity, lonely. hiwatari: i'm ... not lonely... !!

switch to daisuke.

daisuke: it's true that i don't understand you... how much you've yearned for the hikari and how much you've despaired, but... is yearning really just such a bad feeling? idea: what? daisuke: after i spent a year with dark, i started thinking, 'i wish i could be like dark...!' i don't know what i was thinking. idea: that's what i long for. a longing that can never be fulfilled and disappears into black despair! in the end, the shape of the work is like a crack. daisuke: --- but you know, i don't want to drown in admiration. the desire to become something and to know more about it, gives me the courage to take a step forward.

cue a flashback to riku saying that she was getting to know daisuke little by little.

daisuke: this is also about moving forward. if i move forward, the person i admire is waiting for me. that's what i believe.

cue another flashback of riku remembering seeing 'daisuke as dark for a moment.'

daisuke: i want to catch up with him someday. that's what i aspire for.

switch to krad.

krad: that feeling is usually comical and not beautiful, even though i and satoshi-sama are connected by a bond of fate. hiwatari: you ... krad: you are the giver. what else can you be? hiwatari: ... krad: he is in this idea, a tether that confines him forever. and you too will continue to watch here, forever suffering the pain of what you cannot obtain. you can only look at the artworks of the hikari. daisuke: don't be fooled, hiwatari-kun! hiwatari: niwa---?! krad: impossible! from where---?! daisuke: that isn't krad! you knew that, right?!

hiwatari agrees - although the tone is just like krad's, there's a crucial difference: he'd never give up on the kokuyoku.

hiwatari: show me you would never even think of locking me up to die in a piece of art like this... idea!

glass shattering sound fx, whatever was separating daisuke from hiwatari crumbles and daisuke says he's glad hiwatari isn't hurt. idea fumes, hiwatari begins to speak.

hiwatari: it's true that there's a dazzling admiration inside of me, but not everyone is crushed by it. the answer is not to become the same as your idol. you can just hold it close to your heart and use it as a guidepost, like a brother. daisuke: hiwatari-kun... hiwatari: first of all, i can't become a niwa. he's too soft-hearted. daisuke: ...eh? i-i don't know if i'm that good-natured ... hiwatari: yes. in fact, he wants to save this artwork without destroying it. am i wrong? daisuke: mhm... you're not wrong! idea: you're just rambling on and on! daisuke: hey, idea... why don't you let me steal you? idea: wh... what? hiwatari: it's not a bad suggestion. idea: what are you on about?! hiwatari: the reason the hikari ancestors didn't destroy idea was because there was a secret in its name. 'the maiden's eyes, idea.' that means the viewer. daisuke: the viewer... always following what they admire with their gaze. hiwatari: the hikari didn't tolerate imitators, but they did forgive the gaze that was fixed on them. idea: the light that had destroyed their brothers so much... that's how it should be, i'm sure, but ---! daisuke: the creator of you gave you that name with a wish in mind. hiwatari: "i want to continue watching these light-hearted works and admire them even after i die." idea: that... i didn't understand the meaning of my birth... daisuke: then... take a look with me! hiwatari-kun's feelings... the hikari's feelings! idea: why you steal... isn't that like a hikari's work? daisuke: yeah, that's right! hiwatari: what you said didn't sound bad. daisuke: but... is it okay? you'll be helping me steal it. hiwatari: as long as it isn't a hikari artwork, then there's no problem if i step back. idea: (laughs) it can't be... being stolen by a niwa! how do you like that?

daisuke: well then, looks like the deal's done! let's go back, hiwatari-kun. hiwatari: yeah. even so... your bottomless kindness--- daisuke: hm? hiwatari (whispering): i admire it.

^ ooooh that delivery was CRAZY thank you akira ishida HOLY MOLY!!! ZOOWEE!!!

TRACK 3.

cut back to krad and dark. the real ones this time! krad tells dark they're finally going to become one. dark says he doesn't give a shit about that and some glittery magic sound fx cue daisuke and satoshi's return to their respective angels within them --- dark says he was getting tired of waiting and daisuke begs dark to steal idea. dark says he doesn't know what happened while daisuke was inside the artwork, but that (idea) is the Great His (ore-sama's...) thing.

krad also welcomes satoshi back with an extremely formal greeting, (one reserved for partners) to which satoshi says it's dangerous for him to keep his eyes off of things. krad calmly calls it a conundrum, only, too bad for sato, "it's his time."

krad starts blasting, dark flies off towards the water while saying if the whole museum's destroyed there won't even be anything for him to steal, but he also tells daisuke to leave things to dark-sama when daisuke asks where they're trying to go. inside of krad, satoshi holds krad back to give dark an opportunity to attack- dark goes all phsew!!! and krad lets out dark's name at five thousand reverbeating decibels; maiden's eyes (idea) get. krad runs out of power, but dark's completely beat too- daisuke starts falling and lands in some water, while hiwatari says he was cushioned by some trees and soil. daisuke thanks him, and hiwatari says he was only paying back what he owed. daisuke looks for idea, but hiwatari says he doesn't have it anymore and that he dropped it somewhere.

risa and riku appear, with risa guiding everyone towards the crash and riku wondering what in the world they'd do if dark was really there. the two end up surprised to see daisuke and hiwatari together. while daisuke fumbles for an excuse, hiwatari speaks up to tell them that they both came all this way after chasing dark, but he had escaped at the very last moment.

risa: awww, it's such a shame! hiwatari: that's right, such a real shame. i'll catch him next time. daisuke: i-is that so?

riku gives daisuke a loooong stare then lets everything go - it's fine as long as daisuke's safe. plus, it's his birthay so she can give him a special pardon. since dark ran off, there was nothing left for everyone but to go home, only risa wants to keep searching just in case dark turns up. riku says no, it's getting late and cold, and hiwatari asks if they aren't forgetting someone? cut to takeshi sneezing all alone - everyone's left him, but he's still hoping to stake out the scoop, so hurry up, dark, no, dark-sama, and show up to give him the chance to take a picture! pl-ea-se!!!!!

cut to daisuke flopping into his bed. dark says their birthday flew by, but daisuke suddenly asks for the time, then sits right back up and starts doing something despite dark's concerns over his sleep --- daisuke ends ups finishing a picture of dark as a present from him, because it's their anniversary, as risa called it.

dark: daisuke... daisuke: how... is it? dark: pfft. no good! daisuke: ehhh?! ⤴⤴⤴ ngh, i don't know if it's because maybe it's not all that good, but --- dark: no, that's not it.

dark explains that he just doesn't want to receive any presents from men and daisuke asks what the heck that's supposed to be. dark'd be happy to get anything from a girl, but he won't be happy in the slightest if he gets something from a guy. daisuke pouts: he thought he'd celebrate dark's birthday, but that's enough! dark instead announces he's going to steal it, and daisuke asks what happened to not accepting presents from guys? dark says as a legendary phantom thief, treasures weren't given as presents, they were stolen --- daisuke says dark's not really being honest.

dark asks what the title of portrait is, and daisuke says that there isn't one, to which dark retorts that receiving an artwork with that kind of noise is a real turn off. he tells daisuke to call it something, to which daisuke thinks to call it his aspiration: dark hesitates, and daisuke asks if it's no good. dark calls him a huuuuuge softy for giving his picture a title like that and starts to laugh, to which daisuke says he's had enough--- he hates dark and he's going to bed! he falls asleep in a solid three seconds leaving dark to himself. he starts using daisuke's body while he's asleep, telling wiz to hush so that daisuke doesn't wake in the middle of anything. before daisuke, dark had never received a gift from the niwa before- this was the first time.

dark: "my aspiration," huh? (*clocktower ringing*) dark: the date's changed. i forgot to say it, but happy birthday, daisuke. a birthday is a day that tells us that time is definitely moving forward, and you're moving forward with aspirations in your heart. just like you admire me, i've often thought i wanted to have you. so maybe we're becoming the same. hey, daisuke... ... is it alright if i can be you?