News, fannishness, etc.

[petronia]

Interpol is playing at Club Soda on the 16th. Naturally, by the time I get down to the box office they'll have sold out entirely, but it's worth a try.

Am halfway through the next chapter of GB#22 [for those in a hurry]. There's a fic there somewhere regarding Himiko's psychology in playacting, as she is cognizant and purposeful with regard to the effect achieved, but... dear saints, it's hard to write for this thing. I keep stumbling over foggy grey patches marked "We Haven't Decided What Goes Here Yet, Wuv, Authors". Now I know why I never considered writing any X-Files fic.

While researching Ban's entirely fictional occult powers (for value(research) == "desultory keyword googles"), I came across this, which has got to be the funniest thing I've read all week. (Actually no. The funniest thing I've read all week is a dj short from the antiquated SD anthology I bought at Book-Off, by Tokugawa Ranko of all BNFs people, in which Sakuragi runs afoul of a trenchcoat exhibitionist while gallantly attempting to save a couple of female classmates from same. But the link above comes close.) I'm so tempted to just use it - hey, Ban *is* technically speaking the host of a blood-thirsty reptilian from outer space, isn't he? - but that would distract from the main point of the story, to wit a ripoff hommage to Cortazar's nightmare shorts like "The Night Face-Up" or "Continuity of Parks", only with Toshiki being angsty and Juubei being unnaturally talky. Currently I only need Ban as a plot device.

Wank? You intrigue me. What is this thing you call wank?

Am beginning to recollect the lesson I learnt while translating Ozaki Minami, to wit: with great power comes great responsibility. Translators - and I don't mean just manga scripters of course, but fansubbers as well - have probably the subtlest and most pervasive influence on fanon slant of any animanga fengroup, and 95% of the time it's entirely inadvertent. OTOH that's why I decided to translate rather than burble on happily about what I just read, because in that case my subjectivity is all you'd be getting.

Comments

[wrenlet.livejournal.com]

... urgh.

Can we get a "creepy pseudo-mystical conspiracy" warning for the link, please? I think I hurt myself and scared the boy with my amazed laughter.

[tsutanai.livejournal.com]

It's very very true about the translation thing. (We were just talking about this the other day, my college friends and I. My translator friend is very frustrated with fanon, and how people judge her work by it, though she's a pro and a native speaker. What I'm not sure I agree with, is that Tokyopop is very very bad for the industry because it pays crap, and produces the illusion that if fans whine enough, they get what they want. Even though Initial D is proof against same, but. Um, tangent much....)

[ayabai.livejournal.com]

wen: "i encourage you to make the official getbackers translation as gay as humanly possible <3"
official getbackers translator: "....i... uhm.... uh..... LOOK OVER THERE. *flee*"

i'm thinking about forcing him to help me with the recent chapter translations. "you're going to have to do it eventually anyway, why not get a head start now? >D"