#to carry nuance in words and phrases

[s-e-v-e-n-38]

I hate drawing Prime designs so much but I am plagued by visions

[mashkaroom]

Translation thoughts on the greatest poem of our time, “His wife has filled his house with chintz. To keep it real I fuck him on the floor”

It’s actually quite tricky to translate. Because it’s so short, each word and grammatical construction is carrying a lot of weight. It also, as people have noted, plays with registers. “Chintz” is a word with its own set of associations. Chintz is a type of fabric with its origins in India. The disparaging connotation is from chintz’s eventual commonality. Chintz was actually banned from England and France because the local textile mills couldn’t compete.

Keep it real” is tremendously difficult to translate -- it’s a bit difficult to even define. It means to be authentic and genuine, but it also has connotations of staying true to one’s roots. Like many English slang words, it comes first from AAVE. From this article on the phrase:

“[K]eeping it real meant performing an individual’s experience of being Black in the United States. As such, it became a form of resistance. Insisting on a different reality, one that wasn’t recognized by the dominant culture, empowered Black people to ‘forge a parallel system of meaning,’ according to cultural critic Mich Nyawalo...The phrase’s roots in racialized resistance, however, were erased when it was adopted by the mostly-White film world of the 1970s and ’80s....Keeping it real in this context indicated a performance done so well that audiences could forget it was a performance.This version of keeping it real wasn’t about testifying to personal experience; it was about inventing it.”

One has to imagine that jjbang8 did not have the origins of these phrases in mind when composing the poem, but even if by coincidence, the etymological and cultural journeys of these two central lexemes perfectly reflect the themes of the poem. The two words have themselves traveled away from the authenticity they once represented, and, in a new context, have taken on new meanings -- the hero of our poem, the unnamed “him”, is, presumably, in quite a similar situation.

Setting aside the question of register, of the phonology, prosody, and meter of the original, of the information that is transmitted through bits of grammar that don’t necessarily exist in other languages -- a gifted translator might be able to account for all of these -- how do you translate the journey of the words themselves?

In my translations, I decided to go for the most evocative words, even if they don’t evoke the exact same things as in the original. The strength of these two lines is that they imply that there’s more than just what you see, whether that’s the details of the story -- what’s happening in the marriage? how do the narrator and the husband know each other? -- or the cultural background of the very words themselves. I wanted to try and replicate this effect.

Yiddish first:

זייַן ווייַב האָט אָנגעפֿילט זייַן הויז מיט הבלים

צו בלייַבן וויטיש, איך שטוף אים אופֿן דיל. zayn vayb hot ongefilt zayn hoyz mit havolim.

tsu blaybn vitish, ikh shtup im afn dil

This translation is pretty direct. There is a word for chintz in Yiddish -- tsits -- but, as far as I can tell, it refers only to the fabric; it doesn’t have the same derogatory connotation as in English. I chose, instead, havolim, a loshn-koydesh word that means “vanity, nothingness, nonsense, trifles”. In Hebrew, it can also mean breath or vapor. I chose this over the other competitors because it, too, is a word with a journey and with a secondary meaning. Rather than imagining the bright prints of chintz, we might imagine a more olfactory implication -- his wife has filled his house with perfumes or cleaning fluids. It can carry the implication that something is being masked as well as the associations with vanity and gaudiness.

Vitish -- Okay, this is a good one. Keep in mind, of course, that I’ve never heard or seen it used before today, so my understanding of its nuances is very limited, but I’ll explain to you exactly how I am sourcing its meaning. The Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (CYED) gives this as “gone astray (esp. woman); slang correct, honest”. I used the Yiddish Book Center’s optical character recognition software, which allows you to search for strings in their corpus, to confirm that both usages are, in fact, attested. It’s a pretty rare word in text, though, as the CYED implies, it might have been more common in spoken speech. It appears in a glossary in “Bay unds yuden” (Among Us Jews) as a thieves cant word, where it’s definted as נאַריש, שרעקעוודיק, אונבעהאלפ. אויך נישט גנביש. אין דער דייַטשער גאַונער-שפראַך --  witsch -- נאַריש, or “foolish, terrible, clumsy/pathetic. not of the thieves world. in the German thieves cant witsch means foolish”. A vitishe nekeyve (vitishe woman) is either a slacker or a prostitute. I can’t prove this for sure, but my sense is that it might come from the same root as vitz, joke (it’s used a couple of times in the corpus to mention laughing at a vitish remark -- which makes it seem kind of similar to witty). I assume the German thieve’s cant that’s being referred to is Rotwelsch, which has its own fascinating history and, in fact, incorporates a lot of Yiddish. In fact, for this reason, some of the first Yiddish linguists were actually criminologists! What an excellent set of associations, no? It has the slangy sense of straightforward of honest; it has a sense of sexual non-normativity (we might use it to read into the relationship between the narrator and the husband) -- and a feminized one at that; it was used by an underground subculture, and, again, the meaning there was quite different -- like the “real” in “keeping it real” it was used to indicate whether or not someone was “in” on the life (tho “real” is used to mean that the person is in, while “vitish” is used to mean they’re not). It’s variety of meanings are more ambiguous than “keep it real”, which can pretty much only be read positively, and it also brings in a tinge of criminality. Though it doesn’t have the same exact connotations as “keep it real”, I think it’s about as ideal of a fit as we’ll get because it’s equally evocative of more below the surface. I also chose “tsu blaybn vitish”, which is “to stay vitish”, as opposed to something like “to make it vitish” to keep the slight ambiguity of time that “keep it real” has -- keeping it real does< I think, imply that there is a pre-existing “real” to which one can adhere, so I wanted to imply the same.

The rest is straight-forward. “Shtup” is one of a few words the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary (CEYD) gives for “fuck”, and I think it has a nice sound.

Ok, now Russian

женой твой дом наполнен финтифлюшками

чтоб не блудить с пути, ебемся на полу

zhenoy tvoy dom napolnin fintiflyushkami.

shtob ne bludit’ s puti’, yebyomsya na polu

In order to preserve, more or less, the iambic meter, I made a few more changes here -- since Russian, unlike Yiddish, is not a Germanic language, it’s harder to keep the same structure + word order while also maintaining the rhythm. I would translate this back to English as:

“Your house is filled with trifles by your wife. To not stray off the path, we’re fucking on the floor”

So a few notes before we get into the choice of words for “chintz” and “keep it real”. To preserve the iamb, I changed “his” to “your”. This changes the lines from a narration of events to some outside party to a conversation between the two men at the center. Russian also has both formal and informal you (formal you is also the plural form, as is the case in a number of other languages). I went with informal you because I wanted to preserve the fact that his wife has filled his house not their house, as someone pointed out in the original chain (though I don’t think that differentiation is nearly as striking in the 2nd person) and because it’s unlikely you’d be on formal you with someone you’re fucking (unless it’s, like, a kink thing). I honestly didn’t even consider making it formal, but that would actually raise a lot of interesting implications about the relationship between the speaker and the husband, as well as with what that means about the “realness” of the situation. Is, in fact, the narrator only creating a mirage of a more real, more meaningful encounter, while the actual truth -- that there is a woman the husband has made promises to that he’s betraying -- is obscured? that this intimacy is just a facade? Is there perhaps some sort of power differential that the narrator wishes to point out? Or perhaps is the way that the narrator is keeping it real by pointing out the distance between the two of them? there is no pretense of intimacy, the narrator is calling this what it is -- an encounter without deeper significance?

Much to think about, but I actually think the two men do have history --  i think the narrator remembers the house back when it was actually only “his house” and was as yet unfilled with chintz. We also don’t know what they were calling each other prior to this moment. This could be the first time they switched to the informal you. 

Ok moving on, I originally translated it as “твой дом наполнен финтифлюшками жены”. Honestly, this sounds more elegant than what I have now, but I ultimately though removing the wife from either a subject or agent position (grammatically, I mean) was too big a betrayal of the original. The original judges the wife. She took an active role in filling the house. If she were made passive, that read is certainly a possible one -- perhaps even the dominant one -- but it could also read more like “we are doing this in a space filled with reminders of his wife and the life they share” -- the action of filling is no longer what’s being focused on. Why do I say the current translation is inelegant? I feel you stumble over it a little, because it’s almost a garden path sentence. This is also an assset though. “Zhenoy tvoy dom napolnen” is a fully grammatical sentence on its own, and it means “Your house is filled by your wife” -- as in English, the primary read is that the wife is what the house is full of. If the sentence makes you stumble, perhaps that’s even good -- we focus, for good reason, on the relationship between the two men, but in a translation, the wife is able to draw more attention to herself.

Ok, chintz: I chose the word “финтифлюшки” (fintiflyushki), meaning trifle/bobble/tchotchke, because it, allegedly, comes from the german phrase finten und flausen, meaning illusions and vanity/nonsense. Once again, I like that the word has a journey, specifically a cross-linguistic one.

Keep it real: this one, frankly, fails to capture the impact of the original, in my opinion, but allow me to explain the reasoning. “Stray off the path” implies, again, that there is some sort of path that both the narrator and the husband were on before the wife and the chintz -- and one they intend to continue taking, one that this act is a maintenance of. It brings in a little irony, since the husband very much is straying from the path of his marriage. “Bludit’“ can also mean to be unfaithful in a marriage (as, in fact, can “stray”). The proto-slavic word it comes from can mean to delude or debauch -- they want to do the latter but not the former.

As for register -- “shtob” is a bit informal. I would write the full version (shto by) in an email, for example. The word for fuck, yebyomsa, is from one of the “mat” words, the extra special top tier of russian swears, definitely not to be said in polite company (and, if you are a man of a certain generation or background, not in front of women; it’s not that the use of mat automatically invokes a male-only environment, but if we’re already thinking that deeply about it. But while we’re on the topic, i will say that in my circles in the US, women use mat much more actively than men (at least in front of me, who was, up until recently, a woman and also a child).)

Ok i think that’s all the comments i have!

[pikahlua]

Hi, Pika. Saw a post on my feed about how the "rest of our lives" quote by Katsuki from the last chapter of MHA means something similarly close to a marriage proposal in Japan/Japanese. Linguistically (culturally?), is there truth or basis to that claim? You never fail to provide the cultural nuances that most translations of MHA offer so I thought to ask you about this. Thank you for your response. Have a great day.

I don't know the post you're talking about, so I don't know what points they were trying to make, but if it helps, Katsuki doesn't say "for the rest of our lives" in Japanese. He says "zutto kono mama" which means "[stay] like this forever." The word choice particularly emphasizes that Katsuki's belief was that their present circumstances--their competing with each other--wouldn't change. The fact that things are changing, that Izuku is losing One For All, that they can't compete in the same way going forward, is what he's lamenting. He dreamed of always continuing on the way they had before.

As for the linguistics of marriage in Japanese, sure, there are formal or traditional ways of popping the question, but those don't include this phrase from Katsuki. That said, proposals can be just as creative in Japan as anywhere. It just depends on the couple and their history together, their way of being with each other. Those things will ultimately determine how the proposal will look and sound. There are proposals based on popular song lyrics about marriage, and there are confessions of love made to be more indirect and poetic than "I love you," but people also do sometimes say "Shall we get married?" and "I love you."

There's nothing about Katsuki's declaration that says "This is the Japanese way to propose," but that's partly because there isn't one Japanese way to propose in the first place. There are some customs many people are likely to follow, but many other couples will be just as likely to break from some of them and do things in a way that makes sense to them. And in THAT sense, Katsuki's declaration is profound. We're not meant to think "marriage marriage marriage" here. We're meant to think "This is a huge acknowledgement by Katsuki of his relationship and desires with respect to Izuku, and it is so quintessentially THEM." It's specific. It's cathartic. It's satisfying. It's special and unique to the characters they are. It's something Katsuki can say that carries such meaning but that also cannot have the same meaning when applied to any other two people.

[haru-dipthong]

My Utena Fansub Ep 1 (link & translation discussion)

There were a lot of important decisions to be made in the first episode, since much of it is re-used in later episodes. In this post, I'll discuss some of the translation choices I made around the fairy tale opening, and the use of 様 (sama).

王子様が呉れた指輪はやはりエンゲージリングだったのでしょうか。それは良いとして、お姫様は王子様に憧れるあまり、自分も王子様に成る決意をしてしまったのです。でも良いの本当にそれで？

Was the ring from the prince meant as an engagement ring? That part was good, but because of the strength of her admiration for the prince, the princess made up her mind to become a prince herself! But is that really good for her? (from ohtori.nu)

Perhaps the ring from the prince was meant as an engagement ring? Casting the thought aside, and overcome by an idolisation of the prince, the princess instead resolved to become a gallant prince herself! But is that really what she wants? (my translation)

「それはいいとして」 is an idiomatic phrase which, if taken literally, looks like it means “considering that good” or “that was good”. In reality, it means something more like “be that as it may”. A Japanese thesaurus gives synonyms such as 「それを置いといて」, which means “putting it aside for now”. It seems as though the translators from the ohtori scripts didn’t pick up on this nuance, which is surprising because they are usually quite accurate (if a little unnatural sounding).

憧れ (akogare) is a difficult word to translate here. It’s important that the translated word can’t be misinterpreted as the princess being infatuated with the prince. “Admiration” is ok, but it’s still sort of synonymous with love. 憧れ (akogare) contains notions of aspiration, it carries the implication of wanting to become like the target of their admiration, not simply being with them. This is why I chose to translate it as “idolisation”.

I see 「でもいい��？本当にそれで」 as a VERY important line in Utena. To read Utena as queer, this line from the narrator echoes words from straight cis people lacking understanding of someone’s desire to transition. This line is something you’d say to someone who came to a party and when you offered them a wide variety of options of drinks and food, they only took water - “Are you sure? Is that really what you want?” It’s suggesting that what she really wants, what she should really want, is to marry the prince, not become a prince. This line represents the world’s resistance to Utena’s gender non-conformity — even the narrator is questioning them!

girl: あーーーーー！ウテナ様ー！ girl: ウテナ様、あたしのタオルを使って下さい！ later… Anthy: 私は今、西園寺様の花嫁です。

girl: Aaaaaah! Utena is the master! girl: Master Utena, use my towel! later… Anthy: I am currently Master Saionji’s Bride.

One goal of my translation is to make it as accessible as possible to non-anime watchers, which means finding a good translation for 様(sama).

Why master? One good thing about it is that it’s vaguely masculine without being explicitly masculine (which 様 (sama) is not, but I like how this aspect assists with delivering some of the themes of the story). But more important than that, it can be used in the two critically important contexts 様 (sama) is used in — 1. as part of the Rose Bride’s obligation to show deference to the person she is engaged to, and 2. used by the schoolgirls who idolise Utena as a fun, affectionate nickname.

The Utena-sama nickname already exists among the girls at school before Anthy starts calling Utena that. Then the girls use it, they’re using it to jokingly emphasise how skilful and cool Utena is — a “basketball master”, a “master of cool”. This has a totally different connotation to the way Anthy uses it — she uses it sincerely, to show extreme deference to her literal master.

To establish this double meaning, I made cheeky use of what is essentially background dialogue. When the girls rush the basketball court to congratulate Utena, they scream “Utena-sama”, but I translated it as “Utena is the master”, which is then followed up with the first actual use of “Master Utena”.

[ranwanmaxxing]

the significance of the term “monkey” in Jujutsu Kaisen

when engaging with a show or work from a different culture, it’s important to approach it with an open mind, as words and symbols often carry layers of meaning specific to that culture.

this is especially true here since most people are reading the story through a translation, and a lot of linguistic and literary nuances and philosophical references may be lost in translation, not coming across in English as they were initially intended to in Japanese.

historical background to those who enjoy it:

the philosophy behind the “Three Wise Monkeys” (三猿 romanized: ‘sanzaru’) is rooted in Confucianism and came to Japan from China during the 8th century (Nara period).

by the 17th century, it became a popular depiction on Japanese Buddhist temples, with the most famous one found on the third panel of an eight-panel sculpture on the sacred stable at the Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan.

you can read more about the shrine here.

-end of historical background-

now, here comes the question:

why was this philosophy depicted by monkeys?

it’s actually a play on words, in Japanese the proverb is

“見ざる、聞かざる、言わざる”

見ざる (romanized: mizaru) literal translation: see not

聞かざる(romanized: kikazaru) literal translation: hear not

言わざる (romanized: iwazaru) literal translation: speak not.

‘zaru’ which is present in all 3 words: mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru— is an archaic suffix used to negate a verb. it sounds very similar to the Japanese for monkey, which is ‘saru’ (猿).

while the literal translation is “see not, hear not, speak not” the Buddhist concept behind the phrase is “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” which emphasizes the Buddhist ethics and teachings on mindfulness, right speech, right action and right livelihood.

the Three Wise Monkeys— iwazaru, covers its mouth, speaking no evil; mizaru covers its eyes, seeing no evil; kikazaru, covers its ears, hearing no evil;

Geto’s take on this—

Geto takes the literal meaning of the proverb and applies it on non shamans. non sorcerers are unable to see curses (mizaru— see not), unable to hear curses (kikazaru— hear not) and naturally, you can’t speak accurately of what you can’t see or hear, so they speak not (iwazaru.)

he uses ‘monkey’ as a term that references the Wise Three Monkeys, to refer to non shamans’ ignorance about their world.

the monkey who’s covering its ears in the panel, is haunted by a cursed spirit but it’s ignorant of what that is because it can’t hear or see it (can also be seen as a sign of fear since naturally, people tend to be scared of the unknown.)

in JJK0 he says “those monkeys want to avert their eyes from the existence of those who are better than them” which can be a direct reference to the ‘mizaru’ monkey.

Toji’s take on this—

it’s worth pointing out that Toji was the first to refer to himself as a ‘monkey’ and Geto got it from him.

Toji here was pointing out the irony of defeating the “strongest duo” even while being unable to see or hear curses (he was able to “sense” them thanks to his HR but not “see” them like a regular jujutsu sorcerer, which was the reason he was rejected from the jujutsu society.)

now this is how i personally see it, i think Toji parallels “Sun Wukong” from the classic Chinese novel “Journey To The West”.

Sun Wukong was known as the “Monkey King”

[note: Journey To The West is a classic Chinese novel, it’s significant in the context of Buddhism but its importance is more cultural than doctrinal.]

the story of Sun Wukong:

Sun Wukong possessed many abilities, he had supernatural strength and was incredibly fast. he was a skilled fighter and was capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven.

Wukong was seen as lesser than a monkey but he was still stronger than most gods. the heavens gave him the lowest position just in order to keep an eye on him and monitor his activities.

when Sun Wukong found out about that he wanted to surpass the heaven and rebel against them. and he succeeded in doing so, he was stronger than them all but despite all of that they continued to look down upon him.

no one was able to stop him, except the Buddha.

doesn’t all of this sound familiar?

due to Toji lacking CE, the Zenin clan and the whole jujutsu society looked down upon him. even though with his HR, he was stronger than most sorcerers, and was able to defeat Gojo and Geto, the strongest sorcerers at the time. he acknowledged this by referring to himself as a “monkey.”

Gojo was able to gain a new understanding of CE, to reach enlightenment because of his “first” death.

“throughout heaven and earth, only i am the honored one” is a direct quote from the Buddha that Gege gave to Gojo.

Gojo was the Buddha who defeated the Monkey King, aka Toji.

fin.

[archivalofsins]

Mikoto's Advertising Secrets

So, today Star and I are going to talk about Double. Yep, it’s another team up to tackle one of the most difficult characters in Milgram. Today we’ll be discussing the Japanese and English lyrics of Double provided by the staff. Along with some fun facts and observations we’ve made from them. 

Preface

This will be going over the use of (MeMe) in the official French and English translations of Double along with the use of and etymology of the term “Newborn”. Due to the focus on these phrases since the release of Double and how the fandom has treated official translations in the past… Star and I believed it only fair to give the same scrutiny given to past translations to Double. It cannot only be a mistranslation when it’s inconvenient to how one personally views the character then absolutely correct and unquestionable when the translation (regardless of how many creative liberties it takes) supports what one personally wants to believe. 

If anyone has problems with having these topics scrutinized fully and objectively then this is not the post for them. If anyone is interested in finding out more about linguistics both English and Japanese, MeMe and Double parallels, and a lot of things about Mikoto Kayano then this post might be for you. The way I word things has always been incredibly direct and that won’t be changing over the course of this post.

This post wouldn't be possible without the discussions and help I received from not only @apatchworkstar but @tsuwmya and @doctorbunny.

With all that out of the way- Are you ready? 

Okay, well let’s jump into it!

This may have spelling errors and may be edited at a later date to add more context. Just like Mikoto's song lol~

Hi, this is Star here- Starting off this post! Gunsli and I were discussing some of the information floating around about Mikoto- them with more people than me. I was mostly bitching discussing how I found it interesting that people were taking a step away from their habit of brutally eviscerating the official translations of songs to hyper focus on the wording of Double. 

Now, Gunsli and myself have been very open about how we both believe the original lyrics and the translations both help add necessary context to all of the songs and that neither is less than the other. However, it is a bit… Irksome for people to just pick and choose what they consider a valid conversion of information. Especially since translating is already something that can be hard to carry nuance over. It also hasn’t escaped my notice what the official English translation is being used to support. Which is also aggravating, with everything else into consideration.

So, I took out my copy of Double and did what fans have been doing for most of trial two- looking at the Japanese lyrics within the cd pamphlet and comparing them to the translation. And boy was that interesting!

Don’t worry~

Mikoto is an honest man, guys~ Come on, would a guy with such tiredness in his eyes lie to us~?

…So, his song's translation has to be the pinnacle of accuracy; all with little to no artistic liberties taken, right? Well- no. 

Literally, there wouldn’t be any point of making this as a post if it was.

(Gunsli: Don’t mind the underlined parts in the english lyrics for now. That comes in later.)

Firstly,

“I’m Double (MeMe)”

“Double” is the only line actually said in this statement. “(MeMe)” is never said within the lyrics of Double. However, given that it is in parentheses (something that is meant to add additional context to a statement), “(MeMe)” technically does not have to be said within the song in order to be put into the lyrics in this way. This isn’t a case of the english lyrics being inaccurate per se, but a case of the staff using english language and grammar in order to add context to what is being said. Something that’s not only done with the English translation, but the French one too.

So this is additional context; a rare treat for fans in the west! Now, when Gunsli and I were discussing Mikoto’s second trial CD cover-

Gunsli speculated that they added in (MeMe) to hammer in that there were, in fact, only two of them. Especially given how prevalent trikoto was/is as a theory. However, neither of us thought the staff would go so far as to just present this as something that had been said when it never was just to drive in the point further. 

In every other instance during trial two when the prisoners have referenced their previous trial songs, it’s been verbally- i.e. within the lyrics themselves. Anyone can hear it, and the lines are noted in their cd pamphlets + the inside of the cd case, even if they aren’t translated as literally the lines that are said to be there are there.

Mikoto is the only one who’s official translated lyrics reference his first trial song without him verbally referencing it. 

Making this a literal instance of, “He did not fucking say that.” Musical edition~ 

I guess you could say that Mikoto is the creme de la creme- or, to phrase it better an outlier even among other outliers. Which I find amusing as hell, considering how Mikoto is being treated in Milgram currently. Because, despite the fact that he does not verbally reference his previous song in any way throughout his trial two song, the staff still chose to frame it as though Mikoto had within these translations and visuals. Like how are you gonna call yourself an honest man, then be a bigger liar than Kazui Mukuhara! At least the text that comes up in Cat is actually sung by him!

But this is something that adeptly draws attention to Mikoto’s previously stated skills and hobbies-

Q.04 Are you picky when it comes to fashion?

Mikoto: Of course I am. Nobody would want to ask for anything from an unfashionable designer, right?

Q.07 What are your hobbies?

Mikoto: shopping / darts / photography / cycling

Q.08 What’s the most rewarding part of your current job?

Mikoto: I mean, it’s the top advertising agency in the industry? Anyone would be proud to be a part of it. I put a lot of work in just to get here, too.

Design, photography, and advertising. All things that require people to know, not only how to conduct and present themselves, but how to present others and concepts to people in a way that will be favorable and hopefully increase revenue and sales. 

So, why wouldn’t Mikoto pull out all the stops to present himself in a way that would get him a more favorable response after the train wreck that was his first trial? 

To be fair, when we were first discussing it, I didn’t really understand how tacking on (MeMe) after Double would make Mikoto look any better. Then Gunsli stated that outside of the meta viewpoint, we’d tackled already (which I had to bring to her attention)- That there was a second thing that made this translation decision interesting. 

The fact that it served to connect Mikoto back to the song at all. As though Mikoto is trying to haphazardly put his name or presence on someone else’s work. Gunsli put it best,

“It’s a great visual example of Mikoto tacking himself onto John’s pain. Connecting himself to his suffering in order to justify his actions and avoid taking accountability. Really homing in on one of the core questions Milgram as a facility and project has continued to pose to those that participate in it- Is one’s anger justifiable when they are getting angry at something that did not happen to them. Or is it simply a case of know-it-alls not being able to mind their own business? Or in the words of Mikoto from MeMe, “This isn’t too much is it?”. At what point does defending another person become too much? Can it really be considered protecting yourself if the self you’re protecting is their own person in their own right? Or is this just a new layer of self-justification that Mikoto has created in order to downplay how much agency he had over the situation. “I’m probably not to blame, it’s probably nothing. I’m probably just having a bad dream, I need to wake up soon.”.”

“All I did was dream, and that’s what you found GUILTY?”

(Gunsli here- This line isn’t even the only one they do this with when it comes to the translations. They also do it again with the word us at the start of the Double. “Just the two of us, relieved, aren’t you? I’ll protect you (us).” Once again using parentheses to give further context or emphasize unstated things.)

Now, I’m gonna leave the second half of this to Gunsli-

Secondly,

"The “newborn” other you."

Gunsli here and-

Man, I really didn’t think we’d be taking the metaphorical as literal. Especially after all the fuss around the visuals of I Love You but- I guess things are only metaphorical or literal based on how convenient it is for things to be that in the moment. If we took every instance that the word baby is used in any song as literally as newborn is being taken here music would be rather complicated to say the least. 

Yet, I guess since this is a Japanese phrase it’s a bit more specific than that. That this phrase is only applicable when discussing newly born beings and nothing else. Well, not exactly. Regardless of how specific a language is there are still instances where words and phrases will have different meanings based on the context they are said in. A good deal of people like to poke fun at English for being a mutt language and incredibly indirect, but every language has room for miscommunications or misunderstandings to occur. 

Because every language is the sum of a culture's collective history. All languages are always building off of themselves and evolving and certain terms that meant one thing to the last generation can mean an entirely different thing to the next. This is true in the instance of not only the Japanese phrasing of this line but the English one as well. 

So, let’s start with the English one. 

“Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.”

Firstly, me in this instance is ore in Japanese. In the context of Milgram we know ore is used when John is referring to themselves. At least this is the pattern that has been presented. However, it is not always the case. Ore and boku can be used to refer to each of them respectively and collectively. However, for the sake of this example, let’s say it refers to John.

Me (John), the newborn-

Okay, we’ve gotten to the main offender in this sentence. Newborn. In English newborn is no longer contextually used to refer to a baby/infant or someone who was just born. Also, it never only referred to that to begin with and has not been colloquially used in this way for some time unless one is referring to someone they know very little about having a child. 

For example,

“Where’s Janice from accounting? I haven’t seen her in a good while.” “Oh, you didn’t hear? She had a newborn. So, she’s on maternity leave.”

Even then this is still rather formal and outdated. An interaction like this is more likely to go. 

“Where’s Janice from accounting? I haven’t seen her around in a while.” “Oh, you haven’t heard she just had a baby. She’s on maternity leave.”

Alright but they’re translating from Japanese to English and using baby or infant in the context of the sentence presented would be odd. Yeah, that’s right, it would be odd. That’s why in the beginning, I found it strange to even look into this line in this context as though it could in some way even tangentially be related to birth or children. 

If it would be odd to add the word baby in this context, chances are that this probably has nothing to do with them or birth in the conventional organic sense of the word. 

But born is in the word. 

Okay, let’s do what we did with Neoplasm. Because, clearly the internet only taught some people one meaning of these words. 

So, bear witness to this real quick-

Bear: To support or hold up.

Gif made by Star

Double: ““No, I need to do more…”, say what? You’re gonna break. Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.” 

This is rather self-explanatory. To say that one will take it all on is to state their intentions to take on the burdens, issues, or stressors of another person or of a specific event. For example to take blame and face punishment for a crime one did not commit in order to protect another.  Mikoto is also shown in Double using the bat for support.

Bear Down: Proceed forcefully toward.

Gif made by Star

While making the gifs Star pointed out that the word next to the three arrows pointing at the assailant here is "Savior" in sloppy English. This is emphasized by having "Save you" appear next to the figure as they continue to walk forward.  Showing that (whichever one of them this is) believes themselves to be their savior and that what we see them doing here isn't an attack or them hunting the other down but them going to save the other.  Adding more meaning behind these lines, "Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, that’d be good." - "Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, so why?"

Alright, all of that is very interesting Gunsli. However, bear is not the word that we’re here to discuss today. The word is “Newborn”. What possible bearing could this word have on that? That’s a good question. It just so happens that one of the root words of “Newborn” comes from bear. 

Since the word comes from both New and Born. 

New (Old English Niwian, Neowian)

Fourth Definition: Bring forth. 

MeMe

“Why?” 

““I” will save “me”.” 

“Switch, shake up that brain.”

“Why am I here?  It must be a mistake right? Take a good look at me until you find me.”

Double 

“I’ve got you, leave it to me!”

““He’s a liar”, you said, and made me out to be a scoundrel, why?”

“Hey, I just wanted to save you, so why did it come to this? Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, so why. I don’t remember a thing, it couldn’t be helped, I’m DOUBLE (MeMe). I was having such a hard time, I was trying so hard.”

This is not self-explanatory. So, I’m going to take the time to explain what was going on in my mind when I decided to highlight these lyrics. I was interpreting bring forth in the context of switching. Mikoto is shown throughout MeMe to be looking for himself. Throughout the lyrics and the visuals. This is something reiterated through Double in a more chilling way. As it starts with what seems to be John being forced to the forefront due to Mikoto becoming too stressed. Something we see occur in Mikoto’s first and second voice dramas. 

John even making it clear from the beginning that he’s not out because he wants to be yelling,

“AaaAAAGH! Fuck… Fuck… STOP PISSING ME OFF!” While audibly stomping around and possibly messing up his hair the same way we see him do in Double. Basically, throwing a tantrum.

Couple this with his first cover song expressly stating that feeling ashamed which can cause stress and anxiety will open a role for an idiot to play (something we’ll go into after this) gives us a good understanding of what occurred in response to Mikoto's verdict. 

Something that if we didn’t catch onto John was more than happy to bluntly state to us in their second voice drama.

Neoplasm Voice Drama

“I (boku) might be trying to disappear.”

“Evidently, the time I (ore) have been fronting has been getting longer, so this “me” has been able to stabilize. Isn’t that the reason we can talk properly?”

The mental stress caused to Mikoto due to his previous verdict has led to him not being able to properly cope with the circumstances and drawing inward more as a result. Now fronting less and less as John (the one portrayed as being more used to stressful circumstances and better at holding things down) takes the forefront. 

MeMe

 “Hurting it, holding it down, it doesn’t change anything, does it?”

Double

““No, I need to do more…”, say what? You’re gonna break.”

Neoplasm Voice Drama

“Yeah. I… probably come out to ease the stress Boku experiences. The fact that I come out for longer just means that Boku is constantly under extreme stress.”

"The fact that you judged against forgiving Boku is causing a lot of stress.”

Depending on which of them has memories of the crime this could be a good thing. 

"That’s why he’s entrusting me with his heart."

This leads well into the next definition-

Ninth Definition: Substitute.

Double: “Leave it to me.”- “I’ll take it all on.”-”Relieved, aren’t you?”-“I’ll protect you (us).”

These are again things I find self-explanatory, but I’ll explain for the sake of clarity. These are all things one says when taking on another’s responsibilities or substituting for them. Usually someone is given a substitute when they cannot fulfill their duties for one reason or another. How John describes the current circumstances in Neoplasm makes it sound as though he is substituting for Mikoto because as he said in his second cd trailer,

“I can’t take it anymore…”

Monopoisoner: “As for who is acting strangely, look here, it’s already been decided that I’m the normal one, OK?”- “Do you have a preference for plundering? Because what’s being stolen away right now is your life. “How’s this? How’s this? What do you think?” Even though the outcome was understood from the start… The foolish you is already done for “nothing to see here, move on, pay no heed”.”- ““Please, bring to an end this world today” but that hole opens up a role for me to play. “Please, feel ashamed of this self from today” but that hole opens up a role for an idiot to play.”

gif made by @apatchworkstar

“You’re overdoing it, you’re already broken. But if you persist, I guess it’s my job to keep things on an even keel. Me, the other you, I’ll take it all on.”

In my opinion the Milgram staff could not make it clearer who the actual killer is at this point outside of the third trial just blatantly telling us if Mikoto gets as cocky as Mu did in response to his Innocent verdict. (Remember those underlined parts from the beginning of this post? Yeah, that comes in now.)

Literally each time he says the other you in this song Me comes before it.  Plus like Star established earlier the staff literally choose to shove (MeMe) in here when again it is not said to further highlight this more subtle aspect to oversea viewers. 

They basically made it so if you line up every time this phrase is said you just get-

“Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.”

“Me, the other you, I’ll take it all on.”

The title of the first trial song and they only put this phrase in twice within the lyrics to give this effect. Like this isn’t even a stretch at this point. They’ve gone above and beyond to highlight that Mikoto did that shit but we’re focusing on “newborn” right now. Moment of appreciation for the best translated lyrics of trial two. Like honestly the amount of information they had to shove directly into this man's lyrics due to his rather disjointed mv (that they still managed to get a lot of information in as well by the way) and still managed to get in is impressive. 

It’s actually jaw dropping when one takes the time to look into it.  

So, now that we have a bit of the history of the word “Newborn” how does it apply to this sentence,

“Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.”

Well given the etymology of Newborn we’ve learned a few things. One of them being that newborn is not only used to refer to recently born things but newly discovered concepts. Yet to reduce my own point a great deal we only need one source and one source only Merriam-Webster. Well, that and an understanding of English grammar.

Are you getting it yet? Well, if not here’s an English refresher in a form most Milgram fans should be used to music-

Now, I'm assuming you’ve watched both of those great videos. So, how is “newborn” being used here exactly?

“Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.”

That’s right baby, that word is being used in its adjective form not its noun form. Newborn is being used to describe the Me in this sentence the newborn other you. That is what the pronoun me is being described as in this sentence. So, what does that mean folks? Well, it means that Me in this context is not a newborn individual but instead a recently born or born anew construct or in this case self. Definitively showcasing that the newborn being referred to here cannot and never could in this sentence be defined as a newborn individual. At least that would not be the only meaning in its adjective state. 

There’s a difference between referring to a newborn and describing someone as a newborn. Be it oneself or another person. I know this is very confusing. I’m sorry and it doesn’t get any easier going into the Japanese. Something that even I am going to need help with and luckily can get help with. 

That’s later though all one needs to know for now is yes, the adjective state of the word may be used to refer to things that are not infants or newly born. Think of it like the word discovered. You know in the sense that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. The word is kind of like that. Yeah, that’s the type of shit we’re getting into later. Yet, for now let’s keep things simple. 

A better way to explain this is by showing the synonyms and example sentences for the adjective state of this word,

Know who the adjective form of newborn perfectly describes out of the two? Could it be the tired, bags under the eyes, lethargic John or Mikoto Hypnos’ favorite human?

Man, is it “I’ve slept for twelve restful hours” Mikoto or John the one displayed as being soooo tired he passes out on public transport. Literally one of the most dangerous things a person can do.

I wonder who it could be…

If only we had a clue or a hint? (Or a bed for John.)

Ah well too bad. There’s nothing like that… I guess we’ll never solve this conundrum. It’s not as though newborn can be used to describe someone who has been reinvigorated or has come across a new sense of purpose or direction. It’d be incredibly awkward if that were the case. Because even ignoring everything else that would be a very nice and subtle way, still open enough to be interpreted a myriad of ways, for this series to highlight even further that Mikoto did that shit without blatantly saying he did. 

Luckily that English word only refers to organisms that have just been born and nothing else and no one will find any sources stating otherwise ever. So, it’s best to not look and we should all just do what Mikoto- I mean John said,

“Come to know me as an honest man, eat your words, gulp them down.”

Okay, but what about the Japanese lyrics?

“産声を上げたもうひとりの俺が、全部背負うから”/ Ubugoe wo ageta mou hitori no ore ga, zenbu seou kara.

One rough interpretation of the phrase in english could be,

“Born again, I (ore) alone will take responsibility for everything.”

So, why use newborn instead of born again?

As we discussed before, no language is that easy to grasp. There are multiple ways for various translators to interpret this phrase. Not all of them will give the same exact perspective on a phrase and their translations are prone to be influenced by not only their own personal experiences but their relationship with the work being translated. For example I had DoctorBunny help me out when it came to getting a grasp of the Japanese in this instance. 

During the process he said this,

“Trust me this is a very newborn invoking line. It's a saying basically used synonymously with being born. A favourite of foetus musician Mao Sasagawa.”

However, the example he gave was musical. This isn’t problematic or anything but it’s kind of easy to form a rebuttal against it. Something I’ll illustrate now- while answering that question I posed earlier with this song.

Born again in the west has a very religious connotation and even though the word savior is used within Double the staff probably didn’t want to tie Mikoto’s character that heavily to religion. Because as Mikoto has stated repeatedly he views himself as his on “Savior” and-

Q.19 Do you believe god exists?

Mikoto: I don’t believe, no. I don’t feel so strongly that I’m gonna deny the possibility but- Like, what do I gain from believing?

Taking into consideration how synonymous with religion the term born again is and Mikoto’s characterization thus far, would it really be contextually appropriate for them to translate it in that way for a western audience?

Definitely not. 

Especially considering the timing of his second song's release. Ya know- Being right after the most religiously involved character in the franchise. Those are the type of things a staff has to take into consideration when translating information into other languages for vastly different cultures. Again, the consideration and care put into the translation of Double in particular, is apparent in every line, every word said or not that they added in order to make sure regardless of the language one spoke everyone was getting not only a unique but as accurate as possible experience. 

Personally, I believe that the effort put in in this instance should not only be respected but lauded. For now though let’s give the Japanese lyrics some much due attention. Because they are just as good. 

Believe it or not that idiomatic expression is what led to this entire post. When I saw this I couldn’t help but think of a phrase in English that is the exact opposite of the one highlighted. 

“This will never see the light of day.”

To see the light of day is a common phrase that on top of being another synonym for being born means,  To come to existence or be made known.

It’s a rather colloquial way of describing something becoming known or one's desire to let something be known. Like in the example I previously provided. This is what caused the idiomatic definition to catch my interest. 

So, what is an idiomatic expression, well it’s a colloquialism basically. 

Idiomatic means to use, denote, or contain expressions that would be natural to native speakers. Meaning that to first see the light of day is a common way of using this expression to native-speakers. 

Yet, the technical use of the word is still related to the first cry or children. 

As a native English speaker when I say, 

“Things I hope never see the light of day again.”  “Man, I hope someone sheds light on your actions one day.” 

I and other native English speakers know I am not hoping for someone to get a light and shine it on that person or their actions but instead I want what they’ve done to either be known or ignored. This song is a perfect example of the concept.

Now, what made this way of viewing the information even more interesting is how Mikoto’s second trial mv plays with light in general. Double does this through its day and night cycles. Unlike MeMe that takes place during the night only and displays Mikoto sleeping through the day in Double, we see John up during the day and taking a backseat at night.

As Mikoto is shown to literally be committing these attacks at night again through the dark lighting on his side of the train. The visuals go out of the way to show his side of the train remaining unlit while John’s has light during the very first attack.

Double quite literally doubles down on playing around with lighting as a visual storytelling method. Perfectly illustrating to us that there’s something Mikoto did that he never wants to let see the light of day. Yet, it does see the light of as you can see from above. What was once happening in the dark comes closer and closer to light until the two are basically overlapping. 

As though looking in a mirror

Light becomes dark then Dark becomes light and eventually inevitably the two overlap-

As we see them face each other at the climax. One facing the reality of what they’ve done while the other isn’t even capable of facing themselves fully let alone their role in this.

“I’m probably not to blame, it’s probably nothing. I’m probably just having a bad dream, I need to wake up soon. Why am I here?  It must be a mistake right? Take a good look at me. Until you find me- Why, hey why, I’m nowhere to be found.” - ““He’s a liar”, you said, and made me out to be a scoundrel, why? All I did was dream, so you find me INNOCENT, it’s that simple right? Come to know me as an honest man, eat your words, gulp them down.”

Then there’s these meanings for the phrase as well (which should seem pretty familiar after all this)

2. To be burdened with; to take responsibility for.

So, remember Bear? If not, here are some of the meanings for it applicable with this definition here. 

Bear: To carry. To endure without resistance. To support, hold up. Carry a burden.

3. To have (something) in the background; to be in front of something.

Bear: Bring; bring forth.

With this we’ve gone full circle. Yet, that’s not the only interesting thing about this meaning. Applying the third meaning to Mikoto’s characters specifically could make this sentence a very artistic way of describing fronting. As we discussed before with Bear. (Can't believe I've got to quote myself from earlier in this post right now.)

“I was interpreting bring forth in the context of switching. Mikoto is shown throughout MeMe to be looking for himself. Throughout the lyrics and the visuals. This is something reiterated through Double in a more chilling way. As it starts with what seems to be John being forced to the forefront due to Mikoto becoming too stressed. Something we see occur in Mikoto’s first and second voice dramas.” 

That’s it we’ve done it that’s everything that’s a full fucking language loop. So, hopefully from this we’ve all learned a bit more about not only Mikoto but language in general. My hope with this is that it gives people a newfound appreciation for not only linguistics but the tremendous effort the Milgram staff have put in over the course of trial two. Now, with all that out of the way. I can finally say (in my opinion)- 

This case is closed.

Also, John in Double be like-

second gif edited by Star

Well, that's all if you made it through all of this congrats. Hopefully you've learned some new interesting things.

[velvetures]

May I RQ a reader who is trying to learn their language to help them feel more comfortable, but feels insecure due to them not really being fluent? They mispronounce and misuse the slangs in context, but hopes they can make the boys see the effort they are trying to go through for them.

Lessons In Miscommunication

A/N: Hi doll, I hope you don't mind me using König for this one. I've got a lot of experience with Spanish irl, but that's not super applicable here, haha. To anyone who's German... please forgive me. 🤍 Summary: You're on comms during a mission getting a small lesson in König's language while waiting for your next orders from HQ. Things get complicated, and there's a language and culture barrier that makes things... challenging. T/W: canonical warfare, cursing, non-fluent use of German, flirting, feelings, and some other stuff probably. Not proofread, as always.

To put it simply, you didn't expect just how difficult it would be to learn a new language in your twenties. Sure the science spoke to the provable trouble you would have compared to a much younger version of yourself, but for all meaningful purposes, you really didn't think it would be this nuanced. And while Spanish, French, and other languages were of great importance, there wasn't anyone who could teach you those. The one person around was König, and he spoke German.

When you'd approached the topic nearly eight months ago, he'd been honestly shocked and surprised that you'd come to him in the first place and secondly that you thought he would be a good teacher. He was often thought of as reliable as a Colonel, but giving you suitable enough tutoring in German to be conversational was nothing short of uncharted territory for the pair of you. This made for very interesting moments in and outside of missions as well as a few times where it would've been better if you'd used an online app or something to keep from unintentionally embarrassing yourself.

Posted almost two miles away from the Colonel on a rocky outcropping overlooking a small encampment of a radical terrorist group, you laid on the hillside with a rifle and radio trying to pass the time between now and when you'd get the call to secure the site. The men and women down below were only one small stop-off point for a far larger caravan of armored trucks and a few tanks carrying supplies and weaponry toward the closest city of Almazra. It was a threat that couldn't come to fruition if the buildings and people still living there were to be left standing by the end of the week.

On the other end of the two-mile distance was König and a selected squad of men who were waiting just as impatiently as you were to not only get this mission over with but to get out of the damn desert heat. For security's sake, you knew you should be keeping the airways clear for any kind of information about the insurgent's movements, but König had insisted that this would be a perfect opportunity for you to get some practice in without losing focus of the task at hand. Your job at the moment was to keep eyes on the encampment through the lens of your sniper rifle and report anything that looked to be of importance.

König's definition of what was important could be easily debatable, yet it did ensure that you could make simple connections between real-world objects and the German words or phrases that matched. Whether or not the Colonel realized it or not, both of you had slightly gotten off the target of what you were supposed to be talking about and wandered into the more... personal aspects of things. Specifically just how bad you wanted to be home after nearly a full month away from American soil and your personal home.

"Ich habe für immer Fernweh," Your accent was certainly progressing, at least in the Colonel's mind, but he wasn't quite sure exactly what you meant by that.

"Was meinst du damit? Kannst du es dieses Mal auf Englisch sagen?"

His voice sounded a little confused and more than a tinge humored at the way you'd sounded so... formal. Even diplomatic to a degree. It was one of the more difficult parts of teaching you. Dialects, slang, and even simple English-to-German translations didn't always have a very direct or clear answer. Often it meant that you would say something with full intention and innocent honesty, and König would have to keep himself from chuckling. Most of the men he worked alongside didn't speak for one reason or another, so getting to hear at least one person -especially you- made the near and far miscommunication more than worth the effort.

Looking through your scope at a group of five sitting around a small fire, you sigh a bit, trying to think of how to explain yourself.

"I meant I'm feeling homesick," You mutter a little more quietly than necessary, almost as if saying it in English was broadcasting your secret while German somehow kept it from being found out. "What did you hear me say?"

König chuckled, his laugh vibrating in the speakers of your comm quite nicely. "You said you have wanderlust forever," You could hear him smiling from the other end. "It's okay, sometimes the words don't always mean exactly what you think they do. I had the same problem when I learned English." For a moment he paused, laughing softly again. "I still can't say Squirrel... properly."

"Vielleicht habe ich doch Lust auf etwas..." You mutter a bit frustrated and somewhat skarkily under your breath, making a small jab at wordplay not thinking that König could hear you over the radio or that he'd be more shocked to hear you say such a thing.

The radio stays silent for a long few minutes, almost tricking you into believing that you'd been safe in making your comment under your breath without any audible witnesses. Only on the other end, the Colonel was struggling between the actual meaning behind your words, the way it sounded so damn sexy... and how he was supposed to actually answer you without sounding too affected by something as simple as your voice.

"Se-Sergeant..." His voice sounded a little weak, much in the same way it did when he was in an uncomfortable social situation. "What did you just say?"

Instantly your body tensed up from fingers to toes and you felt a shock of heat roll through you. König heard you. Right away you assumed by the growl in his question that you were going to be in for some kind of punishment. Maybe even a good ass-chewing in front of the rest of the squad for saying something so easily considered lewd and totally unprofessional to utter in the presence of a superior officer. Your best bet was apologizing, and hoping he'd just let it go...

"I'm sorry, I was just frustrated and-"

His voice deepens over the radio, almost like he's got it pressed right up against his mouth. "Say it again." The command felt heavy in your stomach. "Now."

You repeated the phrase, staring through the lens of your scope with bated breath. waiting to hear what the Colonel would say in response. And the last thing you expected was to hear an almost pained sort of growling sound vibrating in your ears. It made you shiver and despite König being almost two miles away, it felt like he was breathing down your neck.

"Du klingst so hübsch, wenn du das sagst..." A noticeable static over the radio took your attention, but when it didn't get worse you had the mental capacity to translate what König said word by word until you had the full sentence running through your head.

The time between his praise and your response was nearly indistinguishable between seconds and years. Had it not been for you watching your targets moving in real-time through your scope, you would've thought the whole world had come to a stuttering halt in anticipation of your response. Yet it seemed that the world still had to do other important things which included bringing the key turning point of this mission right to your front door with the sudden sound of an approaching squad tailing the convoy of insurgents giving information and callouts for how to proceed forward. Of those, orders for König and his men to begin working down the side of the mountain to intercept the meeting of the convoy and the small ground sitting in tents around a high-burning fire.

"Ich werde später herausfinden, wie hübsch man klingen kann, wenn man schmutzige Dinge auf Deutsch sagt." The Colonel's voice growled lowly, almost threatening in a sense.

There was no telling what would happen after the mission ended and there wasn't a threat of being shot or failing to secure Almazra. What you could count on was König finding you and testing out his theory of all the things you could say in his language they may or may not have been provocative - on purpose or not. Something in your body shivered in delightful nervousness and anticipation of just how he planned on getting that kind of information out of you. A couple of ideas swirled in your mind, but the movement of the incoming convoy didn't allow you the luxury of daydreaming about your Colonel or how your mistaken words and German lessons had landed you here.

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[nihongoseito]

「準備」と「用意」と「支度」の違いは？

these three words, 準備 (じゅんび), 用意 (ようい), and 支度 (したく), are all defined as "preparations" or somehow "getting ready," but they each have their own nuance. if you're interested in the (native japanese) source for this info, see the end of the post!

準備: the broadest

「準備」は、「用意」「支度」に比べて広い範囲で使えるため、迷った場合には「準備」を使うと考えて良いでしょう。具体的なものをそろえるほか、企画や計画をすることも対象に含みます。

the word 準備 is very common. you've probably heard it in phrases like 「準備いい？」, meaning "are you ready?" you can use 準備 pretty much anytime you're not sure which word to pick, since it can be used for physical as well as mental and emotional preparations.

旅行の準備で忙しい。 = i'm busy getting ready for my trip.

スピーチの準備を注意深くした。 = i prepared my speech carefully.

心の準備をしなさい！ = steel yourself!

用意: halfway in between

「用意」は、「準備」よりも狭い使用範囲で、具体的な対象がある場合に使われることが多いです。そのため「準備」とは異なり、具体的な対象がない、「計画を用意」「心の用意」とは一般的に言いません。

unlike 準備, the word 用意 is usually used for physical, material preparations, rather than mental preparations or plans.

出発の用意をしてください。 = please prepare for departure.

パーティーの用意はいい？ = is everything ready for the party?

お風呂の用意ができた。 = the bath is ready.

支度: the most specific

「支度」は、主に衣服や食事、荷物に対して使用され、より限定的な表現として使われます。「準備」「用意」よりも、必要なものを揃えてから物事を実行するまでの時間が短いことが特徴です。

lastly, 支度 is like a more specific version of 用意 in that 支度 usually refers to preparations involving food, clothes, luggage, etc. this word has the nuance that the window for preparation is very slim: as soon as the necessary things are assembled, their intended usage will soon or immediately be carried out.

夕食の支度ができた。 = dinner is ready.

子どもたちに散歩の支度をさせた。 = i got the children ready for their walk.

すぐに旅行の支度をしなさい。 = get ready for the trip at once.

so there you have it! when in doubt, use 準備, and remember that 用意 and 支度 refer to physical preparations with varying specificity. feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions :) お疲れ様です！

source: blognihongo

[maristelina]

Milgram Side S

⚠️100th Post, wowwie.

⚠️This is secret content available only through purchase of physical Milgram Novel 2 + Milgram manga books from Animate. You will get a username and a password to enter on the site to access the secret PDF. Please buy the novels to support Milgram! Please don't reblog or share if you can!

「ジャッカロープ、ミルグラムは様々な形式で行われているといったな」

"Jackalope, you said that the Milgram experiments have been carried out using various methods, correct?"

看守エスは膝に乗せた私を、少し青みのかかった瞳でまっすぐ見つめる。私の操る身体はとても小さくか弱い。160センチ弱のエスであっても、そこそこに圧迫感を覚えるものだ。

Sitting on the Warden Es's knee, they stare straight at me with their slightly bluish eyes. The body I inhabit is tiny and weak. Despite Es being just under 160 cm tall, I feel an immense sense of pressure from their gaze.

「あぁ、そうだぜ。常にあらゆるパターンを試行してきた。その集大成が今のフォーマットだ」

"Yeah, that's right. We've tried all sorts of patterns. The culmination of that is the current format."

「ふぅん……」

"Hmm…"

「なんだぁ、その冷めたリアクション。光栄に思ってくれてもいいんだぜ。そんな最高なタイミングでミルグラムの看守に選ばれたこと」

"What's with that lukewarm reaction? You should feel honored, you know. You've been chosen as Milgram's warden at such an opportune time."

「あぁ、そうだな」

"Yeah, sure."

いまいちピンとこないようで、私の言葉にもつれない素振りだ。

My words don't seem to resonate with them. Their reaction remains unenthusiastic.

「それより今興味があるのはこれまでのミルグラムについてだ。以前のフォーマットは何が駄目だったんだ？　その理解は何かのヒントになる気がする」

"More than that, I'm interested in the previous Milgram experiments. What was wrong with the earlier methods? I feel like understanding that could offer some insight."

「はー、勉強熱心だこと」

"Haー, you're quite the eager learner, aren't you?" (TN: Studious is the word exactly used but I changed the phrase to eager learner since the idea comes across better in English.)

「茶化すなよジャッカロープ。これだって看守としての仕事だろう」

"Don't tease me, Jackalope. This is part of my job as the warden."

「まぁ一言でいうと『美しくないから』だ」

"Well, to put it simply, they were not beautiful." (TN: Elegant is also a good alternate)

「……それ、真面目に答えてるか？」

"… Are you being serious?"

「何言ってんだ。大真面目さ」

"What are you talking about? I'm completely serious."

数えきれないほどのミルグラムを脳裏に浮かべる。幾千の看守、幾万の囚人――そして幾億の苦悩。思い返すだけで、口角が上がる。

I recall the countless Milgram experiments in my mind. Thousands of wardens, tens of thousands of prisoners— and hundreds of millions of torments. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.

「言えばキリがねぇけどなぁ。とにかく最適な形を探すために色々やった。男限定のミルグラム、女限定のミルグラムなんてのを試したこともあったな」

"I could go on and on. Anyway, we tried various methods to find the optimal one. We even experimented with Milgram prisons that were exclusive to men or women."

「……それは、思想に偏りが出るから駄目なのか？」

"…So, is it bad because it leads to a bias in the thought process?"

「まぁ、そんなトコ。あとは看守が２人なんてのも試したことがある」

"Well, something like that. We've also tried having two wardens before."

「……へぇ、それは良さそうな気もするが」

"Hmm, that actually sounds like it could be a good idea."

「いーや、全然ダメだね。選択を相談して決めやがるもんだから、ぬるっーと進んじまった。もっと看守自身の、罪に対する感性が影響してこそミルグラムだ」

"Nope, it was a total failure. They'd consult each other on decisions, making the whole thing lukewarm. Milgram should be influenced by the warden's own sense of sin."

「そういうものか？」

"Is that how it is?"

「そりゃそうだろうよ！　人間の罪だぜ！　ひとりの人間として判断しなきゃあよ！」

"Of course it is! It's about human sin! Each person needs to make their own judgment!"

「……言わんとすることはわからんでもないが」

"……I get what you're trying to say, to some extent." (TN: The phrase "言わんとすることはわからんでもないが" is a nuanced way of saying that the speaker understands what the other person is trying to say with some reservations. The "でもないが" part indicates some level of understanding, while the "わからん" and "言わんとする" parts indicate the subject matter.)

私の言葉に戸惑いの色はあるものの、深く考えこむエス。

Although my words confused Es, they gave it some deep thought.

今回のエスは模範的なまでに真摯な看守だ。私の言葉の真意を深く考察し、意図を読もうとしているのだろう。この姿勢こそミルグラムを体現している。

In this current Milgram, Es earnest nature has proven themself to be the ideal warden. They appear to be carefully considering the underlying meaning of my words, possibly trying to discern my intentions. This attitude embodies the essence of Milgram.

「あとはそうだなぁ。例えば看守と囚人が全員友人知人、というフォーマットもあったな」

"Another example would be a format where all the wardens and prisoners were friends or acquaintances"

「全員ヒトゴロシなのか……？」

"So they all knew each other beforehand…?"

「あぁ、ウケんだろ。記憶を消去する処理を入れて、まるごとミルグラムに持ってきたんだが……ありゃあオレ様に言わせりゃダメだった。元々の関係性があると、ヒトゴロシだけに焦点を当てて見ることができねぇ」

"Yeah, pretty crazy, right? We tried erasing their memories and throwing them into Milgram. But in my opinion, it didn't work. If there's a pre-existing relationship, you can't focus solely on the crime itself."

「そのバイアスが不要というわけか」

"So you're saying that bias is undesirable."

「そう、やっぱり看守と無関係の他人じゃなきゃならねぇよ」

"Exactly, ideally the warden and the prisoners should be unrelated strangers."

――そうだ。人間が罪について思想するには、無関係である方が好ましい。

――That's right. When contemplating human sins, it's preferable to be uninvolved.

ミルグラムの前の関係性から判断するのは美しくない。それは不純物だ。　

Judging based on previous relationships in Milgram is not elegant. It's an impurity.

罪だけに純粋に向き合うためには、無関係の人間をアトランダムに集めてくるのが美しい。

To purely face the sin, it's elegant to randomly gather unrelated individuals.

ふと、エスから向けられている視線に気づく。

Suddenly, I notice the gaze directed at me from Es.

「――記憶を消去する処理といったな」

"—You mentioned a memory-erasing process."

「あぁ、それがどうした」

"Yeah, what about it?'"

「僕にも、それを施しているのか？」

"Did you also apply that to me?"

「…………」

"…………"

気分が良くなり、思わず口が滑ったことに気づく。エスになんらかの不信感を持たれるのはあまり良い結果を生まない。しかし、ここに来ての虚偽は逆効果だと判断する。

I realize my mood has lightened and I've inadvertently said too much. Es developing any distrust towards me would not lead to good results. I consider the possibility that lying now would only make things worse.

「あぁ、その通りだ。ショックか？」

"Yeah, that's right. Are you shocked?"

エスの返答は私の想像と違っていた。

Es's response was different from what I had imagined.

「それがミルグラムの判断ならば従うよ。どうせなら僕は美しく看守でありたい。看守にとって記憶が不純物だというのならば不要だ」

"If that's Milgram's decision, then I'll comply. I want to be a beautiful warden if that's the case. If memories are impurities for a warden, then they're unnecessary."

「…………おいおい、最高じゃねぇかよ」

"……Hey, hey, isn't that just great?"

目の前の看守エスは歴代でも最高の仕上がりであることを強く確信する。

I'm strongly convinced that of all previous wardens, the Es before me now is the most finely crafted.

私が長い時間追い求めたミルグラム史の集大成である今回の大仕掛け。その『器』として完璧と言って良い程、真摯であり、責任感があり、看守適正があり――絶望的なまでに自分がない。

This grand undertaking, the culmination of the Milgram experiments I've pursued for so long. As the "vessel" for it, they are as close to perfect as one can be - sincere, responsible, qualified to be a warden - and hopelessly devoid of self.

「くくく、エス。オレ様気分がいいからよ。勉強熱心なお前のためになんでも答えてやるよ」

"Heh heh, Es. I'm in a good mood so I'll answer anything for a diligent student like you."

「それはなにより。そうだな、じゃあ逆に今までのミルグラム。お前が言うところの最も美しくない形は何だったんだ？」

"That's great. Alright, then on the flip side - in the Milgram experiments up until now, what was the least elegant form, as you put it?"

エスの問いは、とても簡単に答えることができるものだった。

Es's question was one that could be answered very simply.

「一度だけ、囚人経験者から看守を選んだことがある」

"There was one time we selected a warden who had been a prisoner before."

「……二度ミルグラムに選ばれたということか？」

"……So they had been chosen for Milgram twice?"

「あぁ、オレ様は反対だったんだがな。当時の部下が強く押してな。ＯＫしちまった」

"Yeah, I was against it but one of my subordinates at the time pushed hard for it. I ended up giving the OK."

「結果は、どうだったんだ？」

"What was the result?"

「そりゃあ、もう。ミルグラム史上最悪の結末を迎えたよ」

"Well, it was the worst ending in Milgram's history."

「最悪の……」

"The worst…"

「――あぁ、今でも後悔してるぜ。やっぱミルグラムは一度きり。ネタバレ禁止なのさ」

"Ah, I still regret it to this day. Milgram should only be done once. No spoilers allowed."

END

[xunzilla]

Having resolved to investigate the dubs vs. subs question, the DYEWSPH2TER SOCIETY watches the new Dungeon Meshi.

IZUTSUMI (DUB): The name of your race is pretty strange. I heard it came from your kind getting one of their legs chopped off for committing too much thievery!

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: She would not say that.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: Why not?

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: "Committing too much thievery"? She's a slave bought from a freak show and she speaks fluent Ciasslcal English?

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: Is the language of the island diglossic?

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: They're ruled by the elves. But let's not get into translatology. (A horrid, ill-formed word: two parts Latin, one part Greek.) The manga renders Senshi's dialogue in an atrocious fantasy accent, but it makes clear a nuance of the original: he's a weird foreigner who lives alone in a cave and his only friends are orcs.

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: Does Izutsumi's country have a different language?

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Izutsumi's country is fantasy Japan. Look at their names. "Shuro" is a mispronunciation of a name Laios is unfamiliar with.

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: The dwarves' names also fit Japanese phonology. Senshi, Namari...

DICTIONARY: 鉛 なま̅り̅ nàmárí, lead (chemical element). Perhaps related to Goguryeo 乃勿 *namur; cf. Korean nap, OC (Zhengzhang) ra:b.

TYPESETTER: U+0305 COMBINING OVERLINE should render above the characters ま and り, but on some systems may display as spacing characters following them. We apologize for our inability to reliably display simple linguistic text without platform-dependent markup in 2024. 😔👎💩

ENCYCLOPEDIA: Vowel length in Zhengzhang Shangfang's reconstruction of Old Chinese represents Type A syllables.

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Izganda?

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: Is that an official name? The scan thought Laios and Falin Touden were Laius and Farlyn Thorden.

ENCYCLOPEDIA: Lajos is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to English Louis. People named Lajos include Lajos Kossuth, who in 1849 presented the Hungarian Declaration of Independence. A bust of Lajos Kossuth was added to the Small House Rotunda of the United States Capitol Building in 1987.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: 1987?

ENCYCLOPEDIA: "A Gift to the People of the United States from the American Hungarian Federation"

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Did you think he was more important? At any rate, he was a nobleman.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: It sounds Greek to me.

HANPHECIUS HUMBUG: Hungarians don't have saunas.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: Didn't you think he was Faroese? It's a fantasy west.

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Why would Japan care about Hungarian names? But this is a stupid diversion. Where were we?

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: Dubs vs. subs.

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Of course! A critical matter. A noble pursuit. In this fallen world, in which the noblest by nature are forced to toil in drudgery while petty-minded merchants build generational fortunes that their mediocre heirs piss away, many are unfortunately unable to read Japanese. So we debate dubs vs. subs.

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: I grew up on 4Kids. I can't stand the English VA voice. The Japanese one is bearable.

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: Thank you for your valuable contribution.

VRISKA: why do you all have the same voice

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: We live in a bourgeois republic.

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: Let's grant that Izutsumi's country speaks a different language. "Committing too much thievery" is a clumsy phrase. "Thievery" sounds silly compared to "theft". And it's a vague Latinate verb that lets the noun carry the meaning - very indirect! We don't live in the kingdom of nouns.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: Why couldn't Asebi, Toshiro's retainer, have been taught to speak like that? Toshiro went to the island for training. But would they pay real islanders to teach them the nuances of the language?

SIMPLICIO J. RHETORICUS: She was bought at the age of six; even if the circus had the same language as the island, that's well within at least the tallman critical period.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: She would've been taught out of dictionaries, which don't say anything about connotation.

VRISKA: okay not to be rude but can i say something about some of the papers i've read

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: I didn't pay that much attention to "thievery". It's simpler, more regular. For all I know "theft" might be too hard a word to put in a mass-market translation. "Committing too much theft" would still sound too classical. It seems like the wrong intent.

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: Why couldn't a slave learn the acrolect?

GIANLUCA D'BOVRIL: How broad-minded. Would your escaped slave also write her own sermons?

VRISKA: oh my god shut up

VRISKA: what does the sub say

IZUTSUMI (SUB): That odd name for your race. I heard it's because lots of you got a foot lopped off for stealing.

VRISKA: the manga?

IZUTSUMI (MANGA): I hear that the reason your race got that name is because a bunch of halflings got punished for theft by having one of their feet cut off! Guess they had to deal with having half as many, huh?

VRISKA: yea the dub is bad

ZEPHANIAH EZEKIEL THUD: It could be a deliberate choice. I personally think that "thievery" is awkward, but it's a possibility to keep in mind. We'll see if what follows bears it out.

VRISKA: marcille sounds like a college republican horse girl

VRISKA: #notwrong

[dollofdeath]

[ENG Translation] Wisdom Thinks District Story #1: The Excitable Youngest¹

i care them 🥺

(translations under cut)

Soun: Tomorrow's appointments… are fully booked, hm? There's quite a bit of overlap in assignments, so I'll adjust the schedule --

Hayate: Soun~! I'm all done cleaning the floor~!

Soun: Very good, thank you.

Hayate: What'cha doing? Oh, checking tomorrow's appointments? So tomorrow~ Those three regulars are gonna be here~!

Soun: Is that so?

Hayate: They contacted me earlier. They said something good happened at work, so they'd be happy to celebrate with us~

Hayate: We were talking 'bout having a nice bottle of wine. Tomorrow's gonna be lots of fun~!

Soun: …

Soun: …It looks like you've had one too many drinks tonight.

Hayate: Heehee, you think so?

Soun: Yes. You're more troublesome when you've drunk too much.

Hayate: Aw, isn't "troublesome" mean?!

Soun: The undeniable truth is what it is.

Hayate: Okay, but like, I can't refuse if they're all like "Hayate-kun, let's make a toast!", now can I?

Soun: Indeed not, but… You tend to misjudge your limits from time to time.

Soun: You wouldn't conduct yourself in this manner in front of our clientele, would you?

Hayate: Don't worry 'bout a thing! I'm a total professional through and through.

Soun: So you say, though… You'll be drinking more wine tomorrow with your customers, no?

Hayate: Ahahaha! Soun, you gotta stop worrying so much, it'll be A-OK!

Hayate: I barely get hangovers, y'know?

Soun: …It's not the hangovers I'm worried about. All I'm saying is don't overdo it.

Soun: Let's think back on tonight. Were these customers likely to drink in excess? If I remember correctly, I believe they were not.

Hayate: It's just that as the talking goes on, so does the drinking. For sure, that might've been why I ended up drinking too much…

Soun: …I see. I suppose that goes to show how much our customers enjoy talking to you.

Hayate: Talking with them's a lot of fun, and them having fun makes me happy~

Hayate: If it means helping out Wisdom, then I'm even happier -- and you are too! Everyone wins!²

Soun: …You really are drunk, after all. You're running your mouth more than usual.

Soun: However, it's good to know that you care enough to keep the lounge in mind.³

Hayate: I'm care-care-caring~!

Soun: Yes, yes… Moreover, Hayate.

Hayate: Yeah?

Soun: I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you find yourself feeling unwell tomorrow, go get one of those lattes you enjoy before coming to work.

Soun: Caffeine is effective against hangovers.

Hayate: Ahaha, aren't you sweet! Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Soun!

Soun: Mhm.

¹ the original title is お調子者の最年少, with お調子者 meaning "person who gets carried away easily." i won't lie, the title was the hardest thing for me to translate here and i'm still a little iffy on it wgKJKJGH 😭 but i did my best to make it work

² the original line is [...] つまり最高ってことだね, which is literally like "that's why it's the best" but i feel like that sounds awkward in english, so i tried to phrase it in a way that conveys a similar meaning

³ the particular word used here is 想ってる (想う) which can mean "to think," though it has a more heartfelt connotation, so i tried to corporate that nuance as best as i could

[hebrewbyinbal]

Comfort is like a sanctuary for the soul, a safe space where you can take a deep breath and exhale your worries, if only for a moment.

We've all been there - facing moments of sorrow, times of emotional turbulence, or seasons of mourning. Comfort serves as a life raft, doesn't it?

Think about the people who've been pillars of strength in your life, lending an empathetic ear when you were overwhelmed. Maybe it's a loved one whose mere presence is like a soothing balm, someone who intuitively knows when you're in need of emotional backup.

Or perhaps comfort comes in the form of a treasured family tradition, a comforting meal, or even a favorite book that transports you to another world when this one gets a little too heavy. These are the things that remind you, "It's going to be okay."

In learning Hebrew, you might find unexpected layers of comfort too. The language itself is steeped in ancient wisdom, with each word and phrase often carrying deep, multifaceted meanings. As you grow more fluent, you'll begin to unlock these nuances—a little like finding hidden gems that were waiting just for you.

May you always find what you're looking for when you need it most.

[vivididreams]

What Do We Learn About Ourselves as We Learn Other People's Languages? 🌍🌀

Learning a new language is not just about memorizing words; it is an exploration of the depths of the self and a window into the worlds of others.

Language as a Mirror of the Self

When we embark on the journey of learning a new language, we begin to notice details within ourselves that we hadn’t previously recognized. A new language requires us to learn patience, challenge our fear of making mistakes, and embrace flexibility to adapt to new ways of thinking and expressing ourselves. For example, if you are learning French, you’ll find yourself diving into a new tone that highlights subtle details in pronunciation, like the difference between "é" and "è," and how these small details can convey nuanced meanings.

Learning French taught me a lot about the importance of discipline. The rules are strict, but they hold a form of structured beauty. For instance, sentence construction depends on a specific order of verbs and pronouns, which made me more attentive to how I arrange my thoughts when speaking my native language as well.

Language as a Window to Other Worlds 🌎✨

Each language carries its own soul and unique culture. French, for instance, reflects romance and precision in expression, with precise phrases to convey thoughts and feelings. Phrases like coup de foudre (which means "love at first sight") showcase the richness of the language in expressing emotions in striking ways.

But learning a language like French opens doors to understanding an entire culture, from the classic literature of Voltaire and Balzac to the appreciation of aesthetics that pervades everything, from food to fashion. This gives us a different perspective on life, where we start to see beauty in the small details we might otherwise overlook.

Tips for the Journey of Learning a New Language 🌟

Listen more than you speak: Listen to French films, podcasts, or even songs like Edith Piaf’s music. Listening helps you absorb the correct pronunciation and natural phrases.

Read simple literary texts: Starting with French children’s stories can be helpful, as the language is simpler and helps build your vocabulary.

Be patient with yourself: Mistakes are a crucial part of learning. Don’t be afraid to say something wrong; people appreciate your effort more than you fear.

Find a learning partner: Speak with native speakers if possible. Apps like HelloTalk or Tandem provide opportunities to talk with people from around the world.

Enjoy the process: Watch French films like Amélie, or try cooking using French recipes, it adds fun to the learning experience.

A Lesson I Learned with French 🌀

In one of my attempts to speak French with a friend, I wanted to say "I’m very grateful," but I accidentally said Je suis pleine instead of Je suis reconnaissante. I realized that the phrase I used actually means "I am full," which was quite strange and out of context! It was a moment full of laughter, but it taught me the importance of understanding context along with words.

What Do We Learn About Ourselves?

Language is not just a tool for communication; it is a journey of self-discovery. We learn patience as we try to grasp sentence structures. We learn humility when we realize we’re only at the beginning. And we learn to celebrate progress, no matter how small. Every new word we memorize, every phrase we use confidently, adds a new layer to our understanding and creativity.

Conclusion: Languages as Bridges Between Souls

Learning a new language is not merely an added skill; it is a window into a different world. It is a means of understanding others more deeply and understanding ourselves more clearly. When we speak a new language, we are not just communicating; we are showing respect and confidence in connecting with others.

So, what has your experience been with learning languages? How has it changed your perspective on yourself and the world? Share your story with me! 💬

[haru-dipthong]

Magic the Gathering’s new set has a lot of difficult to translate card names - names with puns in them, subtle double meanings, or concepts that don’t translate cleanly. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of them, review the translation, and suggest alternatives for the ones I don’t think are very good.

仔狸寝入り（こだぬきねいり）// Kitnap

Kitnap is an incredibly hard pun to translate! It’s obviously a pun on “kidnap”, since the card steals an opponent’s creature. But it also puts the creature to sleep for 3 turns, and the art depicts a raccoon, and baby raccoons are called “kits”. So it’s literally a kit-nap as well!

At first glance, this seems like a clumsy direct translation: 仔狸 being “baby tanuki”, then 寝入り meaning “going to sleep”. But there’s actually an existing japanese phrase that this name is evoking: 狸寝入り, meaning “pretending to go to sleep”. The 仔 (meaning baby) at the beginning seems to have been added to 1. mirror the english pun and 2. (similar to the changing of “kid” to “kit”) call attention to the fact that it is literally a tanuki taking a nap (ok, ok, it’s a raccoon not a tanuki, but whatever).

The meaning of the name even carries some mischievous/deceptive connotations that totally fit the control magic effect. Maybe you’re enchanting the opponent’s creature so that they pretend to sleep, slacking off before betraying their original controller. 10/10 translation!

マネドリ // Mockingbird

This card is an example of a classic effect in magic - a “clone” creature, that copies another existing creature. This one is a spin on that effect, but keeps its “Bird” type and flying ability no matter what it copies. Love the english name!

Interestingly, the word for “mockingbird” in japanese is 真似しツグミ (lit. mimicking thrush) so why didn’t they just use a direct translation? It still would have included the “mimic” pun.

I think the reason is that 真似しツグミ is not a well known bird in japan. It wouldn’t have scanned as well to japanese readers, so they made up a simpler bird name that everyone would understand. An interesting choice, but I still really like how the english card name is a real animal name reinterpreted under magic pun-rules, and I think I would have preferred the translation to have preserved that and just gone with 真似しツグミ.

腐敗口のバイパー（ふはいぐちのばいぱー）// Rottenmouth Viper

Rottenmouth Viper is an obvious pun on “cottonmouth viper”, but the translation doesn’t really acknowledge this, naming the card as if it weren’t based on an existing animal. 腐敗口のバイパー just literally means “rotten mouth viper”. I want it to preserve some of the original animal name!

The japanese name for cottonmouth viper is ヌママムシ (lit. swamp pit-viper) which already kind of fits well - it’s a black card (you need swamp lands to cast black cards), and it uses “blight counters” to bog the opponent down and deal damage. If they wanted to change it up just a little bit, they could add ドロ to the beginning of the name to make it ドロヌママムシ (泥沼 also means swamp/bog, but feels a bit stickier and grosser, and also has a second meaning — a bad situation that you can’t get out of)

ポイ捨て（ぽいすて）// Take Out the Trash

ポイ捨て literally translates to “littering”, with the nuance of throwing the garbage away carelessly. I really like this translation. It’s a beautifully clean name — ポイ捨て is a common word, and it preserves the flavour of the card (dealing damage by throwing garbage at a target) while avoiding a wordy direct translation.

オタマジャクシパンチ // Polliwallop

Not a big fan of this translation. オタマジャクシ is literally “tadpole”, so it’s just “tadpole punch”. A polliwog is another name for tadpole, sure, but I don’t think the “polli-” part of the english name specifically means “the larval form of a frog”. I think it’s just being used here to mean “of or pertaining to frogs” while sounding cool. There’s nothing in the art or card effect that would suggest the name refers to a baby frog.

This is a hard translation, but maybe 「けろりと殴り倒せ 」? Which means “completely knock out” but uses the adverb けろりと which is similar to the onomatopoeia for a frog croaking （けろけろ）.

[roxannarambles]

okay I don't think I ever posted this, so here!! just a scene between edgeworth and maya discussing magisteel fanfic. 👀

Edgeworth decided he had been far too harsh with his previous assessments of Wright's investigative partner. At first, he had considered the younger Fey sister to be nothing more than a loud and clueless distraction for Wright and a feckless obstacle to court proceedings. He felt offended that Wright had actually allowed her to tag along to his cases and even to trials, and that he treated his solemn duty in the courtroom as something that could be twisted into a childish public spectacle.

However, the more Edgeworth interacted with Ms. Fey, the more he learned about her; and the more he realized his snap judgments had been formed in ignorance and arrogance. His respect for her had quickly grown, especially after the incident with de Killer, and he came to gradually befriend the young Ms. Fey. He admired her strength and fortitude. And he came to learn she was actually quite clever in her own right. She was often . . . exuberant to the point of excessive, it was true, and her outbursts made her sometimes seem far younger than her true age, but she could also be very serious and dependable, when the moment demanded it.

Also, as it turned out, she shared with Edgeworth an obsession with the Steel Samurai. He'd grown accustomed to discussing the show with her, once it became clear she had no intentions of shaming Edgeworth for his interests. It soon became a point they could bond over, as surprising as it had seemed.

So it had gone on one soggy Thursday afternoon, during one of Wright's court recesses. Edgeworth had dropped by to observe, at Wright's request; after they'd had their discussion in the hallway, Wright's eyes bright and his smile wide at Edgeworth's advice blended with wry teasing, he found there was still a few minutes to kill. He fell into conversation with the young Ms. Fey about the third season of the Steel Samurai (which was, by far, the brightest point of the entire series' substantial run, in his humble opinion) and Wright made a dramatic groan and wandered off in boredom.

Without really meaning to, Edgeworth had ended up gushing about one of his very favorite aspects of the show, the deep and incredibly complex relationship between the Steel Samurai and the Evil Magistrate. Maya Fey was agreeing enthusiastically with his character analyses, so he could hardly be held to blame for getting a little carried away-- after all, it was a rare moment indeed when he actually had the chance to express his thoughts on this matter. Ms. Fey was nodding along and beaming at him with a grin while he carried on,

". . . and no matter how much time has passed, or how much has changed, they inevitably are drawn together once more, almost as though compelled by some invisible force; as though golden chains of fate bind them together."

"Ohmigosh, exactly! God, you word it so perfectly, too. Haha, that actually sounds kinda familiar, I'm trying to remember but I swear I've heard it from somewhere before . . ."

Edgeworth gave a slight shrug of one his shoulders and replied mildly,

"Merely a metaphor I felt suited them. The amount of nuance that is present once you begin to examine the subtext is actually very admirable--"

Maya had look distracted while he carried on talking, as if still trying to think, and then she screwed her eyes shut for a moment. She made a startled noise, her eyes popping open, and then tilted her head, looking at Edgeworth as though she was seeing him for the very first time.

She opened her mouth, uttering a short phrase in a tone of surprise and accusation:

"Magisteel_Master92?"

Edgeworth's blood ran cold at hearing the familiar screenname spoken outloud. He opened his mouth to reply, but only managed to emit a strangled noise. Maya's eyes widened and she gasped,

"Holy crap, Mr. Edgeworth--"

No no no, this could not be happening, he had to regain his composure-- Edgeworth swallowed the pitch-black feeling of dread and interrupted her, forcing out,

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, M-Ms. Fey--"

But it was already too late. Maya was pointing at him, sheer glee sparkling in her eyes, and in a loud voice, she cried,

"You're Magisteel_Master92?! Seriously?! I thought I recognized that flowery prose! I've read all your fanfics, they're really good! Boy, they're pretty thirsty, though--"

Edgeworth cringed and shot a panicked glance around the hallway, praying there weren't any witnesses to this catastrophe. Mercifully, it seemed that Wright had already returned to court, or at least he had hoped, but a few passer-bys were casting them curious glances. As though their lives depended on it, Edgeworth grabbed Maya's shoulders and hauled the two of them into a corner, hissing harshly through clenched teeth;

"Ms Fey, a little discretion, if you'd please."

Maya didn't seem fazed by being shoved around, or by the look of pure terror in his eyes. In fact, she had the gall to giggle. Like some schoolgirl who'd just heard the most marvelous piece of gossip.

"Aw, Mr. Edgeworth, you don't have to be embarrassed! I've written some fanfic too, y'know, it's perfectly normal. Well. I mean, mostly normal. I guess it's pretty nerdy, but I mean, I already knew you were a nerd. Oh!"

She suddenly pressed her hands together and grinned,

"What if we did a collab sometime? Wouldn't that be cool? Man, I can't wait to tell Nick--"

Edgeworth gave her the look of a man on death row (an expression she certainly should be familiar with) and rasped,

"I beg that you refrain from uttering a single word of this to another living soul."

He gave another paranoid glance around and then added hastily,

"Especially not to Wright."

Maya's expression fell into one of disappointment.

"But why? You know Nick wouldn't judge you. I mean, he likes to tease sometimes, sure, but I know he actually thinks you're, like, the coolest guy in the world. When you're not around he's always gushing about you."

Briefly distracted from his emergency, Edgeworth blinked and then asked,

"What . . . exactly does he say about me?"

Maya thought a moment, tapping her chin, but then admitted,

"Actually, now that I think about it, I think he probably asked me not to tell you all that stuff."

Edgeworth plucked his glasses off so he could pinch at the bridge of his nose, heaving a sigh.

"I suppose that doesn't bode well for your record of keeping secrets."

(Blurry) Maya smiled up at him.

"Oh, now don't get your cravat in a bunch, I won't tell him, I promise. Pinkie swear?"

She held out her little finger, and Edgeworth replaced his glasses and stared, puzzled.

"Pinkie . . . what?"

She raised a brow.

"You're not aware of the most solemn, binding verbal contract a person can make? Tch, some lawyer. Stick out your pinkie."

He was still mystified, but did as she requested. Maya reached out and entwined their fingers and said,

"I, Maya Fey, pinkie swear I won't tell Nick about Mr. Edgeworth's really spicy Magisteel fanfic, even though it would be really, really funny."

When she released her grip, a scowling Edgeworth commented,

"Somehow I don't feel particularly reassured by that."

Maya laughed.

"C'mon, you know you can trust me, Edgy."

"Don't-- don't call me that."

"But Larry calls you that."

"Larry is not a person that anyone should be taking social cues from."

". . . yeah, all right, I'll give you that."

[loquaciousquark]

this is a jade love post

Y'all, I have to take a second here and extol the praises of @jadesabre301 as an editor. Not only is she flawless at the straightforward grammar checks and spelling and the base level objective editing, she has a true gift for high level structural analysis. That's some of the hardest stuff in editing, I can say from experience, but she's consistently excellent at it all the same. She can sit down and look at the raw bones of a scene and how it's built and identify the places where it's weak, and then she can step back and look at that scene as it fits into the overall narrative and do exactly the same thing on the entire work's macro scale.

That would be plenty. Like, in a free hobby that we do out of nothing but love of the characters and love of sharing, that would be more than enough. But one of the things she can do even on top of that is to... I don't know quite how to say it. She can hear the music of a text. She can pick out words that technically are correct but don't carry quite the needed nuance for an image or a feeling or a thought. She can look at a clumsy idea, see what you meant to say, and reword it in a line more cogently and precisely than the entire paragraph you used trying to get there. I know she'll read this and say, as she has for years, that she has no visual imagery ability, and that may be true, but the shape and form she gives to my clumsy clay drafts is the difference between a kid's first ashtray for their non-smoking parents and one of those elegant turned vases in a home and garden magazine.

It's not just rewriting, it's guidance and direction when I'm lost. Even if the direction is just, "this isn't right," she can always pick out what is not right about it, whether it's a word choice or a particular image or the base conceit of an idea, which is enough to lead me the right way when I'm waist-high in mud and completely blind.

I'm saying all this because I got her notes back on the revisions for the princess AU fic last night, and as always, she has taken something nice and made it right instead. She figured out the themes before I did and made them strong; she found the weakest places and showed me how to shore them up; and in one of the most rewarding things to me every time we do something like this, she just gets so darn excited in her notes. There's cheerleading and screams and gasps and "how are there tears in my eyes at this??" There's capslock and frank rejections of dumb phrasing and that crying ASCII face where the mouth is an underscore, except there are 25 underscores in a row. She feels so strongly when things go right and things go wrong for the characters and she shares that excitement every single time and in my opinion, it's truly one of the kindest things an editor can do.

Man. I'm just so stinking lucky, you know? She's so good at what she does and everyone should know it. Lord knows she makes me a better writer, both by example and by force, and it's one of the greatest gifts this hobby ever gave me. I hope everyone has someone on their side to do the same. ❤️