Before this it was Ming, before that it was Manchu clans I think?

[petronia]

Now my parents are onto a Spring and Autumn period drama (read: I have trouble picking up plot threads on the fly the way I usually do because the characters' mindset is too long-ago, like Renault's Ancient Greece). Pretty sure this is what paleaswater was talking about, unless there's another one this season that's like IN YR DAILY CHINESE HISTORY LESSON, DEPLOYING BL FICTION PLOT TWISTS. >_> Could always go upstairs and check the back of the DVD box but that involves walking which is just silly.

The production values and acting in these TV series keep getting better and better... I wish someone would sub them, they'd be fun for the Rome crowd I think. (In English that is, they're always subbed in Chinese as it's a bit like watching Shakespeare only not as readily comprehensible. XD;)

A note on the FFXII Ultimanias, before I start translating: these things do ratify certain pairings in their character/script analysis. Vaan/Penelo is treated as canon (Penelo->Vaan, rather, nothing's said about the other way around =_=), Balthier/Ashe is sort-of canon (in a "We'll always have Paris Phon Coast" sort of way), Balthier/Fran is the exact same big fat MAYBE provided in-game. None of the other possibilities are on the radar.

(Randomly, the one pairing that's a total gimme from canon that I've yet to see anyone write: Vayne/Cid. Yes, I realize this is because it exceeds the creepiness cutoff of basically everyone in the world.)

Comments

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

I get relatively more Balthier/Fran out of the J-script than the E-script, though. Also (not that I've uh actually read it yet) the novella seems to skew toward Balthier/Fran.

Was pleased to see it ratified that Larsa did accost the gang in Bhujerba because he noticed Basch and was like !! y halo thar.

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

The J-script also has the advantage of Ashe's seiyuu being able to scream LIKE A HUGE GIRL at the end there. I missed this in the English.

[canis-m.livejournal.com]

I wasn't thinking of the screaming so much as stuff like:

バルフレア：フランは男を見る目はあるぜ。
Balflear: Fran has a good eye for men, all right.
O.Smith!Balthier: Nobody knows men like Fran.

To me at least the O.Smith line makes Balthier sound more like a dick, whereas the J-version is more like "Fran recognizes quality, I mean hello *v-sign v-sign*" which is kinda cute.

PS TAIKI ASS ICON A+

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

Good catch. It's odd having read the pre-Smithian script transtations, because I tend to collapse both versions into one. For instance, I have the distinct memory of it having been the first line ALL ALONG. Maybe it's just the v-sign factor.

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

I'd always have thought it was Vaan --> Penelo if there were ARROWS to be had instead of CROSSES. Huh.

I am delirious with the thought that you are doing translations, just saying in AN FYI/TMI thing manner.

[ayabai.livejournal.com]

lols i was more of a balfleur/ashe than balfleur/fran because i thought he and fran were more BUDDIES FOR LIFES than kinky lovers but i guess everyone's mileage varies. not that i even finished ff12, so i wasnt rly invested in ANY pairing, but you know XD

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Hmm, what's the title of this drama? Sometimes they do sub chinese dramas, but mostly the wuxia/Jin Yong or modern comedy stuff.

[mithrigil.livejournal.com]

The idea of Balthier being any straighter than a paper-clip perplexes me.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

He doesn't even strike me as all that gay! I guess because it's Japanese media, and the Japanese really push their metrosexuality. XD (One doesn't even realize how many unspoken cues one relies on until, say, one is shopping for clothes in Asia and keeps getting confused because being surrounded by a sea of pink is no guarantee that one is in the women's section.)

[tongari.livejournal.com]

conversely my parents are simply into any kind of wuxia drama that involves fighting (for dad) and crying (for mum) xD;

I sort of imagined the ultimanias to be like, iunno, lashings of fangirl bait in the HMM MAYBE MAYBE NOT sense, sort of to wind us up and make us all buy Revenant Wings (and DS lites aughhh).

[paleaswater.livejournal.com]

Haha, but naturally. Are you watching it? :P The Japanese have quite a few of these subtitled, apparently they're quite popular. Figures, not sure if that's of help to anyone though.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I am, though I only started paying attention around episode 11. ^^; My parents get through several episodes every evening, and I usually sit and watch with them for a while when I arrive back home. We're up to ep 20 now.

It's just a primally dramatic story I guess! My history is spotty so I'm actually surprised by plot happenings, whereas my parents scoff loudly whenever their TV shows take any dramatic license. XD

[paleaswater.livejournal.com]

Same here -- everything I know I learned from these series. Very sad. But 20 is where it starts to get interesting. Don't miss ep 26 though, it's quite... interesting.