#specterthief

[ancient-day]

obligatory goro akechi for the blorbo blingus

Can't help being a Gemini! [ x ]

[beyondplusultra]

@specterthief has spoken and you should all listen

It's funny how Akechi had resentment, envy and love for Joker as well and wanted to stay dead. But Maruki thought "Two for the price of one" with both Sumire and Akechi.

Maruki never went into Goro's head as far as we know, at least not in depth. But he knows that Akira cares about Goro, and that this could be used as leverage (Maruki can say he didn't intend for it to be blackmail all he wants but WHAT ELSE WAS BRINGING AKECHI BACK FOR). Maruki holds a sort of respect for Akira and wanted him to come over to his side willingly. Goro came back not because Maruki thought it would be what's best for Goro, but because he knew that's what Akira wanted.

[specterthief]

The "just not the dub" in your tags, thanks 🙏. (I do think the dub has its place and it's got some stuff but it's not necessarily the same show. And the original is just superior when it comes to the emotional beats. The dub I think tried too hard to be "funny" and it kinda took away some of the characters' good qualities (esp Reki imo).)

tbh ironically reki is the one character who i think suffers least from the dub because when the script is good his performance is generally really good on a technical level and pretty fitting to the character's original tone, and he seems to have suffered from the least like... active material changes to his characterization, i guess because no one really had any problems with reki lol

but saying "when the script is good" is kind of fraught in the first place, because untangling the absolute mess of the general scriptwriting from the intentional character changes from the actors improvising with no oversight is such an overwhelming task i've tried to break it down and given up multiple times already, so even generally feeling like reki was the character who had the best transition to dub he's still held down by being in this dub

i do think it can have some entertainment value just to watch a bit here and there to hear the characters speaking english but the fact that they self-admittedly completely rewrote characters and altered the script to the point of changing the actual plot and themes of the show just kind of supersedes the few praiseworthy things it's got, because it's treated as an equal and equivalent way of enjoying the story and it's just... really functionally not the same story. and now the fandom is full of people going solely off the dub and thinking it's the same story and projecting that back on the original text or gleefully praising the dub's (again, admitted) efforts to "improve" the source material and "make it gayer" by adding fanservice while censoring the actual text. it doesn't even hold up for a theoretical accessibility use case, before you even get to the story changes, because important information in the visuals that's conveyed in characters' dialog and tone in japanese gets completely cut or lost in english.

i can't stop people from enjoying it obviously but i wish there could at least be an understanding that it's not the same show and shouldn't be discussed as if they're interchangeable, and i'm always going to put disclaimers like that on any kind of recommendation because the original story is what i'm recommending and the dub isn't that. i love the original show and i want people to experience that as nearly as they possibly can, not someone's smug fanfiction pasted over the original animation.

[raidouversusthesoullessarmy]

Is it the sideburns

[vashtijoy]

Idk if you’ve talked about this before, but in the event where ren and akechi are playing that shooting game together there is a very funny interaction and my fellow shuake fans and I are unsure what it means.

In English, Akechi jokes that he’s practicing gunplay to take ren out. Clearly this could either be a murder joke or a date joke. In Spanish, he apparently uses a phrase that can only mean a date.

What does he say in japanese? Was it ambiguous there too or was it clearly a murder joke or date joke? Again, sorry if you already explained it lol

…also this is kinda awkward but was the usage of the term gunplay intentional or does it have multiple meanings and fanfic has just ruined me orrr…

Hello! I am so happy to be able to go over this with you. Many thanks to @platinumdream, @minkhollow42, @somethingpersonarelated and the r/spanish subreddit for verifying this one for me.

This line stands out because the Japanese and English (and also the Spanish) translations are all radically different—different enough that what we have here is a stellar example of "the Xerox effect".

Let's take a look.

the scene in japanese

Akechi 気付いた? そうだよ、いつか君も懐に忍ばせたこれで⋯ kizuita? sou da yo, itsuka kimi mo futokoro ni shinobaseta kore de... [lit. you noticed? that's right, some day <see below>...]

Let's take a quick look at the grammar of this line, which I think is dual-meaning in Japanese just as it was in English (and if any of this seems like bullshit please get in touch, as it never ends well when I try to produce sentences of my own):

Akechi does not finish this sentence—he's left off the verb. So, as often happens with him, his meaning is ambiguous. Let's take the obvious one first:

いつか君も懐に忍ばせたこれで【��る】 itsuka kimi mo futokoro ni shinobaseta kore de [aru] Some day you, too, will have one of these concealed in your pocket.

Short and sweet: "I carry one of these, concealed, and some day you will too". Note that there's nothing here about practicing, as there is in the English.

But there's another possible meaning here:

いつか君も懐に忍ばせたこれで【撃ってあげる】 itsuka kimi mo futokoro ni shinobaseta kore de [utte ageru] Some day I'll [shoot] you, too, with this thing concealed in my pocket.

WELP. Like I say, I'm not entirely sure, but I do think the strong likelihood is that this dual meaning exists in Japanese.

I should say I don't think there's necessarily a suggestion here that he carries an illegal gun (though since Naoto has one in P4, it's very possible)—I think it's a metaphorical pocket, his inventory in the Metaverse.

Though I don't think this is really what's going on, there are also a startling number of idioms with futokoro that suggest embracing....

but what is the futokoro?

Idiomatically speaking, 懐 futokoro often translates pretty cleanly as "pocket". But something else is going on: your futokoro is explicitly your breast pocket.

Originally, it was the flap in the front of your kimono where you tucked things away. And so it also appears in a lot of idioms relating to the bosom, or the heart. 懐に飛び込む futokoro ni tobikomu is to throw yourself into someone's arms. 懐に入る futokoro ni hairu, for instance, means to worm your way into someone's affections, or to win someone's confidence—sound familiar at all?

But there's something else going on, of course, with Akechi concealing a weapon in his breast pocket:

Yep. Here's the payoff for this line in rank 5. Akechi tucks that silencer away in his breast pocket—just like he told Joker he would. And then he laughs. So did he know at rank 5 that this was going to happen, or did he bring this up for some other reason? Well, you decide.

By the way, here's Joker's question about gunplay:

Joker 撃ち慣れてる? uchi nareteru? Are you used to gunplay?

The Japanese just means "Are you used to shooting guns?"—I'm not sure it has any of the more, er, fanfic connotations of the English "gunplay". @specterthief agrees there doesn't seem to be any innuendo to the Japanese line.

the scene in english

Akechi: Ah, you noticed? Well, I'll need as much practice as I can get if I'm going to take you out.

Let's look at what's happening here, because it happens very often. Like much of Akechi's dialogue, this line in rank 5 was originally a double entendre—it has a very obvious, and relatively innocuous, meaning, but if you squint, you can see Akechi is hinting at something far less innocuous.

Wordplay of this kind takes a lot of time, thought and skill to translate. So what happens in practice is that the translator has to choose one meaning to put front and centre. The English translator has decided, very reasonably, that Akechi's implied "I will kill you" is more important than the joke about the concealed weapon.

To be clear, this was probably the right call. I love the relative subtlety of the Japanese and the 11/20 callback, but it's important that people playing the game understand what's going on—even if, over here in blorboland, it's clear that He Would Not Fucking Say That.

the scene in spanish

Do sit down.

Akechi: ¿Te has dado cuenta? Bueno, tengo que practicar todo lo que pueda si quiero invitarte a salir.

Now, I need to be as up front as I can possibly be about the fact that I do not speak Spanish. But I know a lot of people who do, and they have responded with one voice:

...

"Ask you out"? "ASK YOU OUT"?????

This is what is meant by "the Xerox effect".

We start in Japanese, with the relatively subtle "I have a concealed weapon", which becomes "I'm going to shoot you with a concealed weapon" if you think about it a little more. Then, in English, we become more blatant, with "take you out" having the up front meaning that Akechi will shoot Joker; rather than being subtext, it's now the point of what he's saying. And it's introduced something new—the alternate alternate meaning, of "take you out [on a date]".

It is possible that the Japanese line has a third meaning, very similar to this reading of "take you out"—you would have to torture the context here to get dating from the English, in the same way you'd have to torture the Japanese to get embracing from it.

But there's no torture in the Spanish. Oh, no. Spanish Akechi, as they say, just fucking goes for it. and why the hell not.

but what happened here?

The Spanish localisation is an indirect translation, translated not from the Japanese original, but from the existing English translation. It retains any and all errors in the English script because of this. And when the Spanish translator looked at this line of Akechi's, they saw not the original Japanese dual meaning, the one the English translator saw, but the one the English translator introduced—the dual meanings of the English "take you out".

And the Spanish translator, again, had to choose which of Akechi's seeming dual meanings to keep. Should they keep the line about shooting Joker? Or should they keep the line about taking Joker on a date?

Just like photocopying a photocopy, detail and accuracy are progressively lost, and errors accumulate. Of course, these indirect translations are not without their positives—translating from English allows for a far wider range of translations to be done quicker and more cheaply. Without them, far fewer languages would see official translations at all.

Also, it's really funny and that Spanish translation is a gift.

revision history

click here for the latest version.

v1.1 (2024/01/11)—confirmed no innuendo on uchi nareteru.

v1.0 (2024/01/10)—first posted.

[traitorszine]

CONTRIBUTOR LINEUP 🖤 🐦 

At last, here is our wonderful lineup for BLOOD OF A VILLAIN! Please look forward to seeing their versions of the Black Mask shine in this anthology ♥️

Please view under the cut

Thank you for the boost! 🖤♥️

@zine-scene @zinewatch @fandomzines @zinefeed @welovezines @zinecenter @zinefans @zineforall @zinesunlimited @personacalendar

Cover Artists: strzh88 (@strzh88) ✧ Alex Siple (@alexsiple)

Page Artists:

Vio (@vio-draws) ✧ succulentul (@succulentul) ✧ rienri (@rienri) ✧ franklyshane (@franklyshane) ✧ Nicki (@thiscatisonfire) ✧ Apollo (@apollogies-all) ✧ Alba (@mafuwara) ✧ Sen (@senblades)

Lynn (@shadowmatcha) ✧ TheFunkyLime (@thefunkylime) ✧ Sniper (@snipescythe) ✧ Theo (@draconicdeityarts) ✧ chocoda_jib (Twitter: chocoda_jib) ✧ minkidoodles (@minkidoodles) ✧ Ame (@ameamedraws) ✧ Inu no Ami (@inunoami) ✧ Horrorosa (@la-horrorosa)

Siemingly (Twitter: sieminglyy) ✧ Akittyk (@akittyk) ✧ Alex (@emikumaarts) ✧ okenki (@okenki) ✧ Kas Flowers (@monstroustea) ✧ Roach (Twitter: tsururoach) ✧ AuroraBM (Twitter: Kaysa21) ✧ doulbedo (@juusbox)

Fleur (@onionglitter) ✧ Lode5tars (@hand-painted-5tars) ✧ Ceramic_Avocado (Twitter: Ceramic_Avocado) ✧ SpellStruck  (@spell-struck) ✧ lunemoths (@lunemoths) ✧ Leoninai (@leoninaiart) ✧ KIELLUSTRATIONS (@KIELLUSTRATIONS) ✧ Wooly (@woolydemon) ✧ Nottheeconomy (@Nottheeconomy) ✧ coffeerekohai (@coffeerekohai)

Merch Artists:

Kiipio (Twitter: Kiipio) ✧ ARYLL (@aryll) ✧ Khrisz (@saewokhrisz) ✧ Ore Kitsune (Twitter: ore_kitsune) ✧ Arbor (Twitter: Grumblecorn) ✧ vv (Twitter: yxnki_) ✧ Eve Freaks (Instagram: eve_freaks) ✧ LostKimin (Twitter: LostKimin) ✧ thel0llip0p (@thel0llip0p) ✧ crocrubies (@crocrubies)

Writers:

Zaura (@emanation-aura) ✧ flowersforthemachines (@flowersforthemachines) ✧ pyrotechnicalities (@yikes-its-pyrotechnicalities) ✧ KupoWonders (@KupoWonders) ✧ specterthief (@specterthief) ✧ Nao (@naometry) ✧ Kitty (@glittrcrittr) ✧ Liv (Twitter: rebeiiionblade) ✧ Ned (@hoarderofliterature)

Trouble (@troublewriting) ✧ Rin (@rindomness) ✧ calm (@forceofcalm) ✧ Kip (@joulethieves) ✧ Zoe (mintcookie.bsky.social) ✧ Daxie (@daxieoclock) ✧ Myaami (@myaami) ✧ Rio (AO3: gorokiichi) ✧ Ace Swervey (@swervey-silks) ✧ afterreign (@afterreign)

[doodlesdreaming]

“Silver Currents” by @specterthief

This was a comic project I started on, back towards the end of last year. But unfortunately a combination of c0missi0ns and life’s lemons killed the spark to complete it. Nonetheless the less, I’m a bit impressed with myself to have pumped out this many page back then.

More importantly, I highly recommend giving the fanfiction that inspired this a read. It’s one of my personal favorites ^^

[mikami]

what’s your opinion on 10-hour long “a world without Light dn analysis video”. Have you watched it? Do you agree with everything there? Is it a good analysis?

Honestly, the phrase "10 hour long Death Note analysis video" put the fear of God in me.........

I don't like watching video essays about topics I know a lot about, because if the person is wrong then there is nothing I can really do about it except live with the knowledge that misinformation is being spread. Video essays are just such a 'creator+audience' genre rather than collaborative and communicative like most of fandom... it bothers me, which is why I only watch stuff about topics I am not very familiar with yet.

That said, I have looked up the video and it's.... mostly recap? Like, he is literally just narrating the plot of the manga chapter by chapter for 10 hours? Skimming through, I didn't even find any actual analysis.

My friend @specterthief dug a little further and found ONE nugget of analysis... which was instantly wrong.

The video makes the claim that you cannot control people with shinigami eyes via the notebook, which... We literally see Light control Kal Snyder, who had the eyes, so like. Instantly disproven.

I'm gonna guess the rest of the analysis isn't reliable either, then.

[fantastic-rambles]

Last Six Lines

I was tagged by @tellmewhatyouc

Share the last 6 sentences that you wrote + tag 6 friends

"Between the training for priesthood and my family, that was enough for me. Of course, I'd thought about having a family of my own eventually, but it wasn't something that I was seriously considering at the time." Miles nodded, but he wasn't entirely sure where this was going. He had an idea, though: with another man, Scar wasn't likely to achieve that family he wanted. And it made sense: in his position, he was expected to have children and ensure the continuance of his family and his country. Still, he appreciated the other man taking the time to explain.

I still don't have enough friends that I'm comfortable bothering to fulfill the brief 🙃, but I'll tag @meli-r @specterthief and whichever other of my followers want to do this!

[kivaember]

🥤🧃🧩

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

I'll recommend several fics that I really enjoy:

Letters to Monsters by beccadbuss, an OC-centric Naruto fic about a girl during the Warring Clans era.

never gonna give you up by owlings, an AC6 fic about Rusty finding out more than he wants to about O'Keeffe.

Reprise by Elfpen, a Star Wars fic where Obi-Wan travels back in time - as his own person, while his padawan self is still around...

Dirt and Ashes, or: The One-and-a-Half Body Problem by Tozette, which is a Sakura-centric Naruto fic about her going on a road trip with Hiden that results in a lot of dismembered legs (makes sense in context).

SATOKO by quantumghosts, a Naruto fic where an OC-insert is Naruto, it's really well-written and planned out, I highly recommend!

every shot you don't take by specterthief, a Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha fic set after the events of the manga that goes into Narumi's backstory a little and his relationship with Raidou.

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Does this question mean personal lore about me or about my characters...? Well, I try not to talk too much about myself online so I'll go with some character personal lore, let's see...

Oh, I know! When I was planning out 621's backstory, I did originally plan for him to be ftm, but after some thought realised it didn't really click with the backstory I had constructed for him for multiple reasons, so instead I hit Walter with the trans beam bc it fit a lot more with his whole identity issues in a contrasting sort of way - that he has so much baggage about his lineage and his father yet he's decisively confident about the fact he's a guy (even if his father issues creep into the fringes of that from time to time).

Also bc ftm Walter is hot. I am a simple person sometimes.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Having been forged in the crucible of 2000s ff dot net and LJ anon kink memes my tolerance is very high when it comes to fic. I've found plenty of fic where the story is amazing or the character interactions are fun, but poorly written, or amazingly written fic with a flat plot/characters, and I'm fine with it majority of the time. I'm always willing to give fic a chance even if its not the best upon initial read bc you can find some real gems out there.

Like, I genuinely can't think of anything that'd have me click out of a fic immediately... not even untagged noncon, bc that shit was rife on ff dot net. I usually just scroll past it and see how the next part of the story is handled...

Ask game link!

[annaofaza]

🎶✨️when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool)🎶✨️

"Two Birds on a Wire" - Regina Spektor

"TOMBI" - Kvi Baba

"The Night We Met" - Lord Huron

"Closer to Fine" - Brandi Carlile

"Lovefool" - The Cardigans

Tagging: @bavariansugarcookie, @nebulous-squid, @tomatocages, @revenantghost, @specterthief, @iammistressofmyfate, @cruelisblue, @monstersinthecosmos, @kittywritesfic, and anyone who wants <3

[elmaxlys]

babe wake up new specterthief's paradise chapter dropped

[beyondplusultra]

mango hiii!! do you have any fic recs? my trust in your taste is absolute after you've obliterated me with your 2/2 comic with that war of vaslav nijinsky quote <3

Hello hello!! First of all, I'm glad you liked the comic! It was a joy to make, and an even greater joy to see how people have reacted to it :)

As for fic recs, here are a few of my all time favorites!

2/2 fics that will make you stare at the ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time as you contemplate life:

you've got me seeing through different eyes by futuresoon - this is the First Ever Shuake Fic I ever read and I immediately spiraled into the abyss from which I've never managed to crawl out. It's a very popular fic, so chances are you've read it already, but it's absolute peak 2/2 bad end content and I'm obligated to put it in every rec list

One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy by telekinetics - cries

Last Night on Earth by TzviaAriella - CRIES

Long fics that made me read long fic:

Black Star by HassouToby - This is pre-Royal, and for the longest time was what I accepted as my headcanon for what happened after vanilla's events. Not akeshu, but has some of my favorite characterizations of all the phantom thieves I've ever read, and honestly just a completely wild ride that WILL suck you in.

The Brigverse series by TzviaAriella - Akeshu pirate AU. Do I have to say anything else here. The third installment of the main series is currently ongoing as of this post's writing!

The Liminality series by MistressEast - NG+ with a twist. It's. It's so good you guys.

The Next Time Around by chashmish - No powers AU, this fic is about Akechi and Akira reuniting and rekindling a relationship during the events of Makoto and Ann's destination wedding in Italy. It's a fic I always fall back on when I want a feel-good time!

One-shots that rewired my brain chemistry:

you have to let it breathe, my love by ThirtySixSaveFiles - No powers AU, an akeshu love story that starts when the two of them meet in a wine shop.

hold my hand by relationshipcrimes - Gen fic, Akechi and Futaba bonding time, because Akira left Tokyo, and on this particular day Akechi is her only key item choice.

(don't shoot) the messenger by shouldbeworking - Ryuji is the center of a misunderstanding. This one never fails to make me laugh!

before midnight by specterthief - You guys know how during third sem, Maruki wired Sumi's parents to think she was at gymnastics boot camp or whatever? Yeah what the FUCK was up with that.

anywhere, i would have followed you by shantealeaves - MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. I've only read this fic once. One time. Ever. It's imprinted into my brain. Mind the tags!

[specterthief]

Rules: Make a poll of your favorite female characters, as many or as little as you want, and see who your followers like the most!

stolen off the dash from @ancient-day

10 seemed like a good even number, mutuals feel free to steal and say i tagged you if you want!

[tricksterlatte]

I posted 328 times in 2022

That's 328 more posts than 2021!

45 posts created (14%)

283 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

naometry

specterthief

pickles4nickles

theexistentiallyqueer

beyondplusultra

I tagged 328 of my posts in 2022

#persona 5 - 240 posts

#p5 - 239 posts

#persona - 185 posts

#akeshu - 114 posts

#p5r spoilers - 36 posts

#fave - 34 posts

#my stuff - 31 posts

#goro akechi - 30 posts

#p5r - 28 posts

#persona 5 spoilers - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 120 characters

#or everyone just. staring at zenkichi who is clueless and maruki is sweating like a popsicle left on overheated sidewalk

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I couldn’t stop thinking about Akira trying to explain the Velvet Room to any of his teammates prior to them all meeting Igor...

582 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

#4

It’s still totally them...

791 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#3

See the full post

851 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#2

The Phantom Thieves: Akechi is planning on assassinating you. Joker: I know. He also threw his glove at me and said he hated me. Anyways, we’re going to Jazz Jin every night this week. The Phantom Thieves: WHY?! Joker:

1,100 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The human members of the Phantom Thieves, defined...

1,670 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[haejjoon]

Have you played Synthesis? The VN made by @/specterthief ?

If yes, thoughts? Has it affected your AU in some way?

i HAVE NOT…… IVE BEEN MEANING TO PEOPLE KEEP TELLING ME TO PLAY IT </3