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jobey-wan-kenobi · 2 years ago

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The Engines as Mentors

Okay but I'm eternally salty that TVS in particular—though it was RIGHT to expand the NWR fleet—failed to use the dynamic of the OG characters from the books all functioning as Mentors and Elder Statesmen to the newer and more obscure and younger engines.

It would have been THE way to effectively integrate the newbies (looking especially hard at you, HIT era). Like, some of the best use of the new characters already are when they fall into a mentee dynamic with one of the established characters. But the TVS writers really only ever let this happen with, like, Thomas? To a degree? And Edward? A bit? And then the best and most beloved BWBA episodes (BWBA!) are when Gordon and, again, Edward get more of this sort of material. And then again, in fuckin' AEG, the most popular thing so far seems to be Gordon's whole Grumpy Dad shtick.

But I think canon and fan writers should have done this with all the classic characters. After decades as The Famous Eight—erm, Ten—(but not Eleven—to me Oliver is in that category of newbie that needs looking after. which is what the rest of the Little Western spends most of his one book doing!) they are all kinda old af and well-qualified and honestly just should be mentoring the diesels and younger steam engines and whatever wide-eyed newcomers are brought to the Island Where Fever Dreams Come True and Culture Shock Is Probably One Hell of a Bitch.

LIKE. Percy. Yes, absolutely Percy! He's inconsistent about standing up for himself or making good decisions in his own working life but honestly his instincts when it comes to others have always been completely on-point. And he never has any hesitation about acting on his instincts so there is a recipe here for big-brother success. He must be so wonderful with uncertain new engines. I think he would have been much better for taking Molly under his wing than Thomas, and he must be a god among many of the newer tank engines. Like the dynamic I tried to paint in my headcanon post about Harvey—Percy gives whiplash as your mentor because he will always support you 100% but sometimes he will suddenly make the most baffling decisions and if you are not, yourself, a natural chaos gremlin, you are just along for the ride and possibly dying of secondhand embarrassment. But again, you also get over it because no one will ever show up for you more consistently than Percy the Caterpillar Engine.

The BWBA era thing where Gordon winds up mentoring Rebecca is... like, fine, I guess. I don't have any complaints about it, but—as I tried to show in my ficlet with him and Derek—I think Gordon's most typical mentorships have two unmistakable characteristics:

it is insanely arbitrary as to whether or not he decides to take you on. if you wind up in his circle of trust you probably weren't trying or even remotely expecting. it is also hard for anyone else to understand why Gordon looked at a new engine and said to himself "Yes. That one." Because the way Gordon makes emotional decisions is utterly impenetrable—this is RWS canon. Why did Gordon one day go from being Pure Unadulterated Jackass Whose Only Thought So Far In His Life Has Been "Me! Me! Meeeee!" to the engine who (evidently? without?? snark???) suggested the Fat Controller let Henry out of the tunnel to take a turn on his train? Honestly we don't know but it remains Gordon's signature style. Why did Gordon do an about-face after James took the express and graciously decide James was his new buddy? Well, to save face of course, but Gordon is also not above a good grudge so it feels like a coin toss. Why did Gordon decide to be super gracious when he rescued Percy and Thomas from their RWS scrapes? No one knows but somehow these moments are so quintessentially him (even though showing up moaning and scolding would have also been quintessentially him). And—most relevantly of all—there is what I regard as his archetypal moment with BoCo. 'My dear engine! You SAVED MY LIFE.' 'I mean, you're welcome for getting rid of them but they were never actually going to kill you.' 'YES THEY WERE. THEY HAD MURDER IN THEIR HEARTS. YOU ARE A GOD AMONG DIESELS, STANDING STRONG AGAINST THE FORCES OF DARKNESS.' '... Sure.' Gordon logic is not the same as earth logic and his reasons for rejecting or accepting others seldom make much sense.

If he does take you on, you may not even notice. Gordon is very stuffy and kind of... emotionally remote. His mentorship style consists of long rambling bouts of relating/boasting about his own experiences and/or advising you, without you able to get much of a word in edgewise—but then, he does this with everyone who is ever stuck with him—and doing extraordinarily nice things for you such as pulling strings to get you the best assignments or upgrades but he'll do it all behind your back, so it might take a while before you realize. (But you'd better, because even though he deliberately decides to do these things in secret, he will also privately feel hurt and hard-done-by if you don't figure it out and thank him. Or at least exclaim happily in his presence and sing the praises of your unknown fairy godfather.)

So yes, mentor!Gordon is a lot like friend!Gordon and worker!Gordon. He is pretty damn high-maintenance but he is also genuinely quite worth it. What his relationships lack in... comprehensibility they make up for in loyalty and generosity. ALTHOUGH. It's worth laughing because I think most of the engines he takes on are decent, polite engines who perhaps have some self-confidence issues. Basically it's like any engine he meets afterwards who is in the Edward mould he is actually magnificent to, which is hysterical considering that one of the keynotes in early canon was Gordon bullying the shit out of Edward. (I still think that wasn't malicious though, and more Gordon did not yet have the remotest understanding of Himself, Theory of Mind, or How to Be a Friend.)

If you have self-confidence issues but you do not win Gordon's capricious favor, never fear! You have James. Who is even more capricious, but that's not to say he's never been the most faaaaaabulous mentor in the world, c'est ne pas? Look. I want to see James as the catalyst for shy newcomers having a glow up. In appearance and attitude. I don't think he does he often but it has definitely happened around twice. I somehow have never actually watched "Rosie is Red" or "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" while paying attention but I've been assuming that's exactly how Rosie's Confident Girl Arc went down. Maybe he could be a similar idol for Neville or Flora. Another thing that has happened twice is James just flat-out corrupting a couple of the Good, Buttoned-Down Boys and Girls. I still want to see James take, like, Porter or Arthur and teach 'em anger. Introduce them to the world of (tiny) rebellions. By the time James is done with them, they are starting to Display Behaviors, and Act In Certain Ways.

Henry, I firmly believe (sticking out my tongue at most of the TVS and magazine writing for him), is actually regarded very intimidating. Like Gordon and James are intimidating too, but they are also known jackasses and the universe is known to have slapped them around reliably when they get too far up their own tenders. Also Gordon usually puts on an air of affability—in RWS it's Henry who is the Grumpy One (and meanwhile James, though he has a foul temper, is just too ADHD to be properly intimidating). I suspect Henry's actually always had the reputation for being extremely snobbish. Which is silly because he's only mildly to moderately snobbish, but there you are. He also doesn't put himself out there socially, but of course if you put yourself out there to him he's perfectly friendly. Anyway newcomers and young engines wouldn't know this right away. I think Henry's specialty is mentees in the mold of Bear and my OC Laura and even Rebecca—extroverted, expressive engines who show him respect. In those cases you see his best side, all kindliness and unstinting support. And Henry's support is really valuable, for the usual reasons that all the OGs have a lot of pull on the railway but also because Henry is surprisingly sage and sensible. He doesn't have the reputation for it the way Edward does, due to some of his notoriously poor decision-making in his earlier years and the way he can still sometimes be a bit literal or naive. But even if he's had to learn most things the hard way, he hasn't lied to himself about it and therefore he's developed a very clear-eyed view on things. Refreshingly simple and sound. We see this already in the RWS Super Rescue—he's got Bear and Spamcan pretty well-pegged long before the story ends. He also values engine solidarity in a really consistent, utterly unpretentious way that shows you he doesn't even think about it, it's just become a part of who he is. I love it. And, of course, he's bold as brass. He once hissed steam at his boss and essentially told him to fuck off for no better reason than it was raining and he just wasn't feelin' it. He had the most horrid wreck in the series and after being rebuilt he just got right back on that horse, pulling Flying Kippers again for the next century without the slightest sign of trauma. So if you need him for something, he won't hesitate to move earth and heaven for a friend. He may be a bit of a hypochondriac and likes to predict doom and gloom but he is fundamentally pretty fearless when it comes time for action. (Cut him a break with the elephant thing—he's allowed to have tunnel-related trauma, okay?)

Of course there was one extroverted engine inclined to hero-worship that Henry rejected in canon as a mentee, and that was Philip. Which brings us to Edward, and I fully agree with the fandom consensus that he is the mentor ever, capable of and inclined to look out for, like, everyone. All I'm saying is that I think the others can also step up in this way... Anyway, Edward's specialty of course is engines who are in the mould of Thomas, engines who are excited and eager to work but who talk a lot and might have a streak of mischief and who are definitely considered Too Much by everyone else. Edward likes energetic gremlins. They've always kept him young at heart. And, more importantly, they trust him so completely. Probably because they can tell he's one of the few who genuinely doesn't mind them at what everyone else considers their Most Annoying. He never tells them to hold still or quiet down or make themselves smaller in any way, so they are incredibly receptive to whatever he does tell them.

But what if you're Too Much and you are not eager? If you are not susceptible to admiring Edward's stellar work ethic? I think this is where Thomas shines. Like I think HIT abbreviated and simplified the conflicts with Dennis and Billy too much but it was such a gold mine. Because Thomas, see. You get these little sneaky rotters who don't want to listen to anyone—and at first Thomas seems like the most out-of-touch engine on the rails. Coz Thomas is a tryhard. He also has that whole "corporate positivity" thing going on. Like, the way I resolve the way TVS massacring my boy is by supposing that, after all, Thomas might have really tried to adopt that persona, especially in the '80s when he was inducted into the National Collection and the, well, television series got underway and Thomas becomes damn near the most famous locomotive in the world, certainly he knows he is an icon for children, and he might have figured that, well, this means I have to be a Good Role Model and Teach Children Valuable Lessons. And so he really did try to do this whole pep-talk, moralizing, sugary sweet encouragement thing (and he has a Word of the Day calendar, lol).

And the Dennises and Billies of the world look at that and—understandably, I think—retch a little. But then they double down. And the thing is, when they push Thomas too far, Thomas forgets to be sweetness and light, and just becomes himself. First of all, a foul-mouthed little drill-sergeant wannabe ("Cinders and ashes!!!!" "Who's been late every afternoon this week?!" "You're too fat—you need exercise!" "IF YOU DIE? IF YOU DIE, MOTHERFUCKER? SO WHAT?! I WOULDN'T GIVE A SHIT COZ I'D BE TOO BUSY FINALLY RUNNING MY GODDAMN TRAIN TO TIME." - all direct quotes from Thomas the Tank Engine, ladies and gents) Secondly, an extremely experienced engine who really has done a bit of everything by this point (he even hitched a ride on the Wild Nor'wester that one time, lol) and who is pretty skeptical so he's hard to fool (Percy was the last engine to really ever get one over on him, during the Ghost Train incident, and that's ancient history by this point). If you try to get away with doing a shitty job he's bound to notice and he will be quite acid-tongued if you've pierced his PR Persona. Third, although he can be kinda self-involved and the last to "get" what's going on with newcomers, he is surrounded by his old friends, who are all pretty good about either clocking an engine's whole Deal, getting all the tea like the gossips they are, or both. So while he was still in his amiable-idiot stage of your acquaintance, you, poor rebellious fool, thought you had the run of things but all the while he was getting up to speed on your whole deal. Which means you won't be prepared, should you really commit to ongoing antisocial behavior, for Thomas the Beacon of Children Everywhere to abruptly cast up your entire life story to you and to read it for filth, telling you the merciless truth about yourself in a way that the other engines pieced together but with which they probably never hit you deadass between the eyes.

Of course, this doesn't mean the would-be punks and malcontents who get onto Sodor are instantly cured, lol (though it has gone down that way a few times—my alternate version of Billy's intro story would feature an end where he's just gobsmacked into submission). Sometimes it just means you are going to decide Thomas is your Hated Enemy for Life, but you know what? You will have to step up your game in order to compete with him or even to gain enough clout to try and sabotage him so you're still playing into his hand (if we accept TVS's idea that 'Devious Diesel' did become a part of the Sodor family, I think this is how he was successfully integrated. At some point Thomas unexpectedly read him the riot act and Diesel was like 'who the FUCK are you?? like i know i already had beef with all the main line engines but where the hell did YOU come from???' but then after decades of competition they are essentially frenemies). But mostly the thing is, you are shell-shocked for just long enough, and you'd probably shift to being a bigger asshole than before... but, during that period where you're still burned, you are also looking at all of Sodor and every engine on it with fresh eyes (because if Thomas the Merchandise Engine could ream you out like that, perhaps you underestimated everything about this place). And you are noticing something else. Once Thomas has scalded you with his bitchery, he's also your friend. It's almost his version of sharing his lunch with you on the playground. (Something something salt and vinegar.) For all he rode Henry so hard from some of the earliest days of canon, I bet you he also beat down any 'outsiders' who took shots at him. For all he and Percy squabble, they are the closest of friends (and they weren't! for decades! but the more they squabbled, the closer they got). Getting into a knock-down fistfight is alarmingly close to Thomas's love language, and by the time he's savaged you verbally he is also invested in you. Once he's told you what he really thinks of you, he's also going to start showing up for you genuinely.

And that's when the little shits see the final side of Thomas. The genuine good humor. Obviously it doesn't win over everyone but there is a real groundedness and humility that I am sure Thomas can show (I tried to show this in the fic I made with @shinygoku based off their artwork of Thomas and Daisy) that is hard to resist. He's also fucked up along the way in every way imaginable so even when he side-eyes you, he's not looking down at you. I can just see him showing screw-ups a lot of grace so long as they let down their guard even somewhat because he's been there. Hoo boy, has he been there. That's why kids actually love him (it's not your vocabulary lessons and beaming smile, Thom, though the effort is appreciated), and it's why young engines can wind up loving him too. He doesn't hold what you've done in the past against you; he genuinely believes in second chances (and third, and...). Plus he knows every engine needs some excitement and responsibility in their lives. He has never forgotten the insanity-inducing frustration of being tethered to Vicarstown station.

Basically, once you cut past Thomas's earnest (and bullshit) attempt to be Perfect Kids' Role Model, he's actually always been great at keeping it real. And that's where a genuine respect can often grow.

#long post #ttte #the railway series #ttte analysis #ttte headcanon #ttte plot inspiration #ttte multiple characters #i'm out of steam #so as usual i'm gonna screw over everyone but the first six <3 #i mean rws actually shows us how toby and all the little westerners do this sort of thing #(which i think is a big part of why they feel so well-developed and intriguing)#it's just that tvs didn't really show them any love at all so it didn't carry over #but we know toby's approach from when mavis arrives #(not sure we're ready to have a real conversation about toby and mavis actually)#and we know how the little westerners do mentorship #as in oliver doesn't and the other three just try to keep him alive lol #and ofc toad actually does most of the work but i can't tackle the rolling stock right now #pragmatic sharp-tongued donald is the most buffers-off of the whole lot #but when he does give a word of advice it's always sound #and taken all the more seriously because it's so rare #douglas doesn't feel he's qualified to preach haha he's action only but ofc that's a language as well #i think FutureRust's 'The Bargain' portrayed that dynamic amazingly #esp in how she has duck and donald respectively look after others #in other 'as usuals' from jobey haha we'll end this with a shameless plug for some fic or another and tonight it's that one #maybe i should have included links to my own stuff in this but i'm too tired off it goes as is

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velvetstrings · 17 days ago

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Oh wow, that comment up there is from my husband!!

I really appreciate your input in wanting to do some personal research into the Japanese version of Deltarune and especially Jevil's character, but if you don't mind, I would like to add a few corrections here and there to your post in places where google translate was unable to accurately translate certain aspects of text/spelling and also add some much-needed context and analysis to the dialogue!!

There are some errors in the translation you presented, not so much in a word-to-word basis but rather a cadence and context basis. The main one I noticed was your translation of his "head" line. You inserted "I/my" pronouns when there originally were no pronouns whatsoever in the Japanese text. My husband translated all of his dialogue as well before ever posting this comment and it should read more like this:

The head. Not "my head". There is an implied disconnect in this sentence. The usage of the word "kireru/キレる" has a double entendre that you may know of, being that it's also the phrase for "to be disconnected/ broken/ to be split", and with the katakana spelling it is almost exclusively used as a way to describe one "snapping" or "losing temper/control", implying Jevil's head/mental state is broken or split and he is aware of this fact. This double-meaning would work very well for the read that Jevil's mind is split, or that he is plural, or even just that his head is literally broken from his body. I think this context is deeply necessary when translating Jevil's speech, and all options and meanings of this world should be considered especially since Toby is known for using puns and wordplay in his translations (see: all of Spamton's JPN dialogue). Secondly, you did well in translating certain words and phrases and adding a bit of clarification, but I couldn't help but notice there wasn't much genuine analysis to the conversational, contextual aspect of these terms. Back on the topic of pronouns...

There is another intriguing analysis to be had here. "My body is locked up as punishment…" is spoken politely. A soft voice calls through the bars (hence the "cutesy"/excited appeal of most of his dialogue that you picked up on already) but then, "I'M fast, don't you know?" is spoken with "WASHI", more of booming voice. It's a pronoun for elders, mostly. It directly contradicts the context of his usage of pronouns like "watashi" and especially "boku."

I would challenge the idea that his constant switching of pronoun usage both for himself and others is simply meaningless chaos, as that's not really how localization works when you are trying to add context; Toby Fox himself has stated very recently that he actually attempts to make the Japanese version less vague. Not to mention the fact that Jevil's English phrasing is literally supposed to read like mistranslated text, while his Japanese phrasing is much more sensible and clear, giving us the idea that Jevil's Japanese is better than his English and it is meant to be interpreted as such, therefore his strange "Jevilisms" in Japanese are deeply intentional. His switching between "you" pronouns such as "omae" and "kimi" are also referential to closeness and feelings towards others when used in Japanese conversation, which actually further implies he is constantly switching between different feelings towards the Fun Gang and it's not out of simple randomness or boredom (again, this wouldn't make a lot of sense to a native Japanese speaker in this context and would add virtually nothing to his character when compared to all of his other speech quirks).

Ultimately, I think Jevil's Japanese dialogue is actually proof that he does care and he chooses his words with great intention and inflicts meaning upon each and every sentence he says, which lines up with not only his character but also a statement Toby himself made during a stream of Jevil's battle: "It only appears random. All chaos is order."

I KNOW! HEHEHE!!

I found this somewhere and it inspired me to analyze some of Jevil's Japanese dialogue on my own! Which includes answering the question to the pronouns thing.

I know only a little Japanese and I mostly relied on Google Translate and research to get the idea of the text, so any corrections from anyone who knows more would be appreciated!

If anyone wants to see the dialogue themselves, you can find it in the Japanese Deltarune Wiki.

🎠🃏🌀🎠🃏🌀🎠🃏🌀🎠🃏🌀🎠🃏🌀🎠🃏🌀

DIALOG!

☆ BEFORE BATTLE

* U~EN HIHIHI~TSUU~ENHIHIHI... / ウェーン　ヒッヒッ　ウェンヒッヒ…

* SO LONELY, AM I? SO LONELY, I AM... / Samishī yo? Samishī ne… / さみしいヨ？　さみしいネ…

* LOOK, IT'S TIME FOR A VISIT. / Hōra goran yo menkaida. / ほうら　ごらんよ　面会だ。

* THE 3 STANDING OVER THERE... / Soko ni tatteru 3-ri wa… / そこに　立ってる3人は…

* WHO COULD THEY BE? WHO MAY THEY BE? / daredaro na? Daredaro ne? / 誰だろナ？　誰だろネ？

* INNOCENT, AM I? INNOCENT, I AM... I WANTED A GAME. THAT'S ALL IT WAS... THAT'S ALL IT IS... / Mujitsuda yo? Mujitsuda ne… boku wa gēmu ga shitakatta. Soredake sa… soredake da… / 無実だヨ？　無実だネ…　ボクは　ゲームがしたかった。　それだけサ… それだけダ…

* THE GAME IS SO VERY FUN! BUT THE KINGS ARE SO VERY BORING. "THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS," THEY SAID AS THEY GOT ANGRY. / Gēmu wa tottemo tanoshī no. Demo ōsama-tachi totemo tsumaranai. `Keshikaran' to okotta no. / ゲームは　とっても楽しいの。　でも　王様たち　とても　つまらない。　「けしからん」と　怒ったの。

* THAT WAS THE WISH OF THE KINGS. MY BODY IS LOCKED UP AS PUNISHMENT. IN THIS CAGE. / Sore wa nozomideshita ō-tachi no. Watashi no karada o batsu to shite tojikomeru. Kono Ori ni. / それは　望みでした　王たちの。　ワタシの体を　罰として　閉じ込める。　このオリに。

* BUT I'M QUITE FAST ON MY FEET! MY HEAD IS ALSO SHARP. MY HEAD SPINS. / Washi wa ashi ga hayai zo yo? Atama mo kireru. Atama ga mawaru. / ワシは　足が速いぞよ？　頭もキレる。頭が回る。

* THE VICTORY OF THE CHASE IS MINE. THE ONES WHO THE KINGS CAPTURED ARE THEIR OWN PEOPLE. / Oikakekko wa bokunokachi.-Ō-tachi ga toraeta no wa jibun no min. / 追いかけっこは　ボクの勝ち。　王たちが捕えたのは　自分の民。

I have no idea why google translated it to that, but it's pretty much the same sentence as the English version.

* IF YOU LOOK AT THINGS FROM THIS SIDE, YOU WON'T SEE IT THAT WAY, LIGHTNER! / Kochiragawa yori mono mireba sō wa mienu zo raitonā! / こちら側より　物見れば　そうは見えぬぞ　ライトナー！

* THAT'S NONE. I'M GETTING LONELY MORE AND MORE. IN THIS SMALL FREEDOM. / Nondesu soreha. Samishiku narimasu dondon watashi. Kono sasayakana jiyū no naka de. / ノン　です　それは。　さみしくなります　どんどん　私。　この　ささやかな　自由の中で。

* SHALL WE PLAY? WE SHALL, SHALLN'T WE? SHALL YOU PLAY A GAME WITH ME? / Asobou yo? Asobou ne? Boku to gēmu o shite asobou? / 遊ぼうヨ？　遊ぼうネ？　ボクと　ゲームをして遊ぼう？

* I WILL TEACH YOU WHAT TRUE FREEDOM IS REALLY LIKE!

(i dont know if shalln't is even a word)

☆ IF "PLAY A GAME" IS SELECTED

* FIND THE KEY, AND IF YOU FIND IT, I'LL SET YOU FREE. / Kagi o mitsukero mitsukereba jiyū ni shiteyaru omae-tachi. / カギを　見つけろ　見つければ　自由にしてやる　おまえたち。

* THE KEY SHOULD BE HIDDEN. FROM THOSE EYES. THE OLD SHOPKEEPER KNOWS. THE SECRET. OF THE KEY. / Kagi wa kakusa rete imashou ne. Sono-me kara wa. Toshioita tenshu ga shitte imasu. Himitsu. Kagi no. / カギは　隠されていましょうね。　その目からは。　年老いた店主が　知っています。ヒミツ。カギの。

☆ AFTER FIXING THE KEY

* U-EN HIHHI U~ENHIHHI... IS THAT THE KEY? IT'S THE KEY, ISN'T IT? / U~ēn hihhi u~enhihhi… kagidesu yo? Kagidesu ne? / ウェーン　ヒッヒ　ウェンヒッヒ… カギですヨ？カギですネ？

* RELEASE IT! LET IT OUT! THE AWESOME FUN! / Tokihanate! Tokihanatsu! Maa~aberasuna o tanoshi mi! / 解き放て！解き放つ！マアァベラスな　おたのしミ！

* NOW, OPEN THE DOOR. FREE YOURSELF. / Sā akeru nodesuto bira. Suru nodesu mizukara o kaihō. / さあ　あけるのです　とびら。するのです　みずからを　解放。

☆ IF "DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR" IS SELECTED

* ALL CHOICES ARE GONE! HAVING COME THIS FAR, THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE! / Nakunarimashita sentakushi! Koko made ki toite sore wa nashi! / なくなりました　選択肢！　ここまで来といて　それはナシ！

☆ ENTERING FREEDOM

* U~EN HIHHI! U~ENHIHHI! VISITORS, AREN'T THERE! VISITORS, THERE ARE! LET'S PLAY! WE WILL PLAY! / U~ēn hihhi u~enhihhi! Okyakuda yo! Okyakuda ne! Asobimasho! Asobimasu! / ウェーン　ヒッヒ　ウェンヒッヒ！お客だヨ！お客だネ！遊びましょ！遊びます！

* I'LL PLAY WITH YOU, THEN I'LL PLAY WITH EVERYONE ELSE! / Anta to asonda sono ato nya hoka no kai tomo asobu no sa! / アンタと　あそんだ　そのあとにゃ　他の　皆とも　遊ぶのさ！

Ralsei: Umm... What are we playing, exactly?

* HEY, IT'S A SIMPLE NUMBERS GAME! / Nā ~ ni kantan'na sūji no gēmu sa! / なぁ～に　簡単な　数字のゲームさ！

* IF YOUR HP REACHES 0, THE LOSS IS YOURS! / Kimi no HP ga 0 ni nattara kimi no make-sa! / キミのHPが０になったら　キミの負けさ！

Susie: I see, so that's what you call a "game", huh... / Naruhodo sore ga omae no iu `gēmu' tte yatsu ka… / なるほど　それが　おまえの言う　「ゲーム」ってヤツか…

Well, then prepare yourself... / nara kakugo shiro yo… / なら　覚悟しろよ…

I'll kill you instantly in a lick! / Name pu de shunsatsu shite yaru ze! / 舐めプで　瞬殺してやるぜ！

* U~ENHIHHI! U~ENHIHHI! THAT'S MY LINE! I'LL MAKE YOU LICK THE GROUND! / U~ēnhihhi u~enhihhi! Sore wa kotchi no serifudesu! Jibeta o name sasete yarimasu! / ウェーンヒッヒ　ウェンヒッヒ！それは　こっちのセリフです！地べたを　舐めさせてやります！

* LET'S GET STARTED! WE WILL GET STARTED! ON THE BEGINNING OF A VERY FUN GAME!! / Sā hajimemashou! Hajimeru yo! Tanoshī gēmu no makuake sa!! / さあ　始めましょう！始めるよ！楽しいゲームの幕開けサ！！

Now, to clarify...

舐めプ (Namepu) means to lick, which is why Susie's line is translated to "I'll kill you in a lick". In this context, it means to underestimate and disrespect someone, not taking them seriously, like "licking" it off as a joke.

Jevil turns this line against them and turns it into something literal to say that he'll utterly humiliate them.

"That's my line" ("Sore wa kotchi no serifudesu" / 「それは　こっちのセリフです」) is a Japanese phrase that means "I should be saying that to you, not you to me".

☆ IF DEFEATED WITH PACIFY

* OH, HOW GLEEING, INVIGORATING, AND UTTERLY REFRESHING! WHAT ENERGETIC CHILDREN, YOU ARE! I'M COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED! / Yukai tsūkai kibun sōkai! Nanto genkina kodomo-tachi! Watashi wa sukkari tohetoheda! / ユカイ　ツーカイ　気分ソーカイ！なんと　元気な子供たち！私は　すっかり　トヘトヘだ！

* I GUESS I'LL NOW GO INTO A DEEP SLEEP FOR 100 YEARS, HUH? / Ware kore yori 100-nen no fukai nemuri ni tsukimasho ne. / われ　これより　100年の　深い眠りに　つきましょね。

* UNFORTUNATELY HOWEVER, YOU GUYS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCH SWEET DREAMS. / Zan'nendesukedo kimi-tachi wa ama ~ i yume to wa go muen sa. / 残念ですけど　キミたちは　あま～い夢とは　ご無縁サ。

* YOU WILL WAKE UP. INSIDE. OF YOUR HEART. A BAD NIGHTMARE WILL WAKE YOU UP. / Mezamerumasu. Anata no kokoro. No naka ni. Warui akumu ga mezamerumasu. / 目覚めるます。あなたの心。のなかに。悪い悪夢が　目覚めるます。

* IN THE SHADOW OF THE EVIL HAND OF THE "KNIGHT" / `Kishi' no ma no te no sono kage ni. / 「騎士」の魔の手の　その影に。

* CAN YOU LIGHTNERS STOP IT? / Raitonā-tachi ni tome rareru? / ライトナーたちに　止められる？

* U~EN HIHHI U~ENHIHHI! / ウェーン　ヒッヒ　ウェンヒッヒ！

* WELL, IN ANY CASE... QUITE SERIOUS THIS IS, SERIOUS. CHAOS, IT IS! IT IS CHAOS...! / Mā izure ni shimashite mo… korya taihen sā taihen. Kaosuda ne! Kaosuda yo…! / まあ　いずれにしましても… こりゃ大変　さあ大変。カオスだネ！カオスだヨ…！

* LIGHTNER! FROM WITHIN YOUR NARROW CAGE... / Raitonā yo! Onore no semaki ori no uchi yori… / ライトナーよ！おのれの　狭きオリの内より…

* BRING THIS OUT! GIVE IT YOUR ALL! THE BEST AND THE STRONGEST! / Kore o mochi dase! Furishibore! Saikō no saikyō o! / これを　持ちだせ！振り��ぼれ！最高の最強を！

ユカイ　ツーカイ　気分ソーカイ (Yukai tsūkai kibun sōkai) is a playful and rhythmic Japanese phrase.

ユカイ (Yukai): means "fun" or "pleasant."

ツーカイ (Tsūkai): means "refreshing" or "invigorating."

気分ソーカイ (Kibun Sōkai): "気分 (kibun)" means "feeling" or "mood," and "ソーカイ (sōkai)" means "refreshed" or "clear." Together, it means "feeling refreshed."

There is no way to give an exact translation to English, so I decided to go with "how gleeing, invigorating, and utterly refreshing" according to the context of this situation.

☆ IF DEFEATED THROUGH FIGHTING

* HAHHAHHA. THIS IS SO FUN!! / Hāhhahha. Korya tanoshī!! / ハーッハッハ。こりゃ楽しい！！

* SO FAST! SO QUICK! YOU ALL SURE ARE VERY STRONG! / Subayai ne! Subayai yo! Minasan tottemo tsuyoi no ne! / すばやいネ！すばやいヨ！みなさん　とっても　強いのネ！

* BUT YOU SHOULDN'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. THERE ARE STRONGER AND FASTER ONES OUT THERE, YOU KNOW! REALLY, THERE ARE! / Dakedo sa yudanhakinmotsu sa. Motto hayakute tsuyoi no ga irukara ne! Irukara yo! / だけどさ　油断は禁物さ。もっと速くて強いのが　いるからネ！いるからヨ！

* THE EVIL HAND OF THE KNIGHT IS APPROACHING. / Semari kuru wa `kishi' no ma no te. / 迫りくるは「騎士」の魔の手。

* SOON, THE "QUEEN" WILL RETURN, AND THE ROAR OF HELL WILL ECHO FROM THE DEPTHS... / Jikini `joō' modora rete fuchi yori hibiku wa jigoku no hōkō… / じきに「女王」もどられて　淵より響くは　地獄の咆哮…

And then he says the same stuff. But yes, "this" is replaced with "me".

THOUGHTS!

So, in English, Jevil speaks in a somewhat poetic manner.

Jevil in Japanese sounds more like an excited child.

He uses a lot of "ネ/ne" and "サ/sa" and such, which gives a more playful vibe. He's also a bit more manic and/or excited maybe, perhaps a little more aggressive, and sometimes makes odd pauses between words, like you would if were trying to correct yourself or elaborate after saying something.

He, to me, overall sounds more like a messed up, childlike villain.

Instead of his trademark repeated words, he does something more unique to Japanese.

For example, "chaos, chaos!" is "カオスだヨ？カオスだネ！/ kaosuda yo? kaosuda ne!" ("ネ/ne" means something as in "isn't it?" to see if another agrees) Not sure how to explain it, probably because of my lack of knowledge on Japanese, but he repeats a word but phrases it in a different way. This is difficult to communicate in English.

Speaking of that, let's talk about pronouns.

As the screenshot on top says, Jevil uses various "I" pronouns to refer to himself. But this doesn't just apply to himself, but everything.

He calls the fun gang "omae" one sentence and "kimi" on another. And he overall just uses various ways of phrasing throughout his dialogue that are unique to Japanese. It doesn't matter what these different ways of phrasing are for or what they mean, whether it be formality or friendliness and such, he just uses whatever whenever he wants and seemingly likes to switch between them, which is pretty fitting for the character methinks. The guy just does not care.

So, no, the clown certainly isn't plural.

#analysis #jevil #i would also like to say my husbands comment up there is taken out of context; he was talking to a video author about they/them pronouns #and whether the usage of such pronouns equates to non-binary expression. it was not meant to be a general read on jevil as a whole!!#it was specifically about temmie's fanart of jevil using they/them pronouns on jevil #again i appreciate this post op!! i just wanted to clear up some errors and open up more room for broad discussion!!#all in all jevil is very interpretive but there are still consistencies to his characters that should be addressed #he isn't just the meaningless nihilist that many see him as; thats just his face value facade. he expresses a lot of emotion #the chaos is less in the lack of feeling and more in the “all kinds of mixed up” feeling for jevil #this shows through most in his japanese dialogue #toby is trying to express a concise character and i dont think there's any harm in making a headcanon #and using dialogue to the advantage of said headcanon!!

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