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I think most of you have gone to sleep at this point, but idgaf. I'm having so much fun. I'll return to being "responsible" tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to be obnoxious.
Thread of my Jakuramu / Ramujaku thoughts in this chapter:
Thread of my Jakuramu / Ramujaku thoughts in this chapter:
Preface: While I can get kind of loosey-goosey with throwaway lines to make them more interesting, I treat potentially shippy lines very carefully since I know they'll be scrutinized well. I know I also tend to interpret Jakurai as more piney than the writers probably intend -
- so I usually tone him down a bit. (Example: "he has a fondness for odd people, and he used to have an interest in Ramuda" became "his interest in the eccentric made him curious about his teammate Ramuda") That being said. Hoo baby. We have been canonically fed. Let's get to it.
While I did add the "I can think of" part to sound natural, he really does say that it's more fun than anything else. Okay. I see. That's cool, Jakurai.
There's a joke to be made in this.
I have a feeling he's saying this more out of politeness than anything, but Jakurai canonically does start enjoying rapping (and seeing it as more than a means to an end) because of Ramuda. Okay. I see how it is.
Fwiw, he just says "tea" in Japanese (tea ceremony is implied tho) and Jakurai's canonically a big tea drinker, so I think it's hella cute that his introduction to it is with Jakurai. Bless.
Jakurai hits his head on a doorway because he's too busy looking at Ramuda. This is a thing. That happens. In canon. Bro.
This isn't innuendo, it's just how Japanese works, but I had a nice little snicker at the wording "Your body's big. Of course you'd hit your forehead on that narrow entrance!" There's another joke to be made here.
He offers to sing a little kid's song about making the pain go away in the original. @zeebotgogo , who is a true intellectual, wrote this as Ramuda offering to kiss it all better. I wish I had your nerve, but I figured that would be TOO irresponsible.
I couldn't explicitly word this in English without it sounding like crap, but it's implied that Ramuda input the location into the car's GPS and Jakurai's just following it. I love how Jakurai's so utterly trusting.
In the drama track at this part, Ramuda loudly wonders out loud if Jakurai goes to the gym. (Okay, Ramuda.) There's also a discussion about what Jakurai looks like fresh out of the shower.
One of the things I love, love, love, LOVE about how Ramuda shows affection is the way he takes care of people. Ramuda's always doing stuff for Jakurai and taking care of Jakurai without Jakurai ever asking. It's no wonder Jakurai trusts him.
I also want to point out that while Ramuda initially befriends Jakurai on the Party's orders, I refuse to believe "take Jakurai out to have fun, towel off his hair, and buy him a hot drink" is anywhere in his orders. He wants to do this - plain and simple.
Ramuda's interactions with his loved ones are the most powerful scenes for me because they're some of the very few actions Ramuda performs under free will. This scene is a choice on Ramuda's part, and it demonstrates that when given free reign, Ramuda chooses to be kind.
Additionally, this is a scene driven by emotion (affection - be it platonic or otherwise) which is something Ramuda rarely feels safe enough to express. Jakurai allowing Ramuda to take care of him is allowing Ramuda to be himself in a world that otherwise rejects him.
Anyway. This line fucking broke me, and I don't think I can adequately express the way I'm reading it. More literally, it's "Let me accompany you until the very end" or "Let me follow your lead until the very end". (I think the latter wording is a bit more appropriate here)
I'm pretty damn sure he means the end of their day out together, but someone promising to follow you to the bitter end sounds like someone is promising to have your back, to be with you through thick and thin, through sickness and in health, to have and to h- oh excuse me
Also that verb can mean "to date" (although it doesn't here), which amuses me to no end. I like reading otherwise normal scenes with that interpretation. (Doppo and Hifumi use it a lot, bless their gay asses)
This is how I felt bullshitting papers in high school.
Is this Jakurai vision? Jesus christ, the man has it bad.
This line was originally "Being here with you now, doing this, gives me a mysterious feeling." A hurr hurr. Once again, this isn't so much an innuendo as just how Japanese works. But I can dream.
I had to get pretty creative with this exchange due to the difference in how verb tenses work in English and Japanese, so the original exchange is more like "What'd you enjoy?" "I'm now enjoying the swings". But this is what it looked like in the TL doc:
I originally wrote this as "Goodness, Amemura, you truly are one of a kind..." and then decided that might be a little too chaotic to count as responsible translation.
On a similar note, I wanted to write this line of Gentarou looking at Dice, "A face only a mother could love" before deciding that was far too chaotic too. This was before the Otomom reveal, so I didn't know the nature of their relationship.
"Spending time with you all day made me confront my heart and accept my preferences, however atypical they may be. I never could have learned this about myself if not for you." I feel like I've said this word-for-word at some point. How the fuck is this canon?
Ngl I hate this line whenever it appears because it doesn't sound like natural English, but Ramuda uses this whenever he's comfortable with people (like FP), so it's a biiig thing for him.
Also notice the "way, way more". I think this is in reference to this line which is Ramuda clearly lying. Ramuda doesn't want to keep "smiling and laughing like this". He wants to live a genuinely happy life or at least a life of freedom and without danger.
This line isn't just a throwaway Ramuda-ism, it's a cry for help. He trusts Jakurai enough to ask for help and for them to work together to make a world in which Ramuda can be his true self - the true self that Jakurai already saw, accepted, and praised.
First off - oh my god, that facial expression. Secondly - This one is also a challenge for me to express in English. "Yes, I have a feeling that if you are with me, it can be done." The emphasis in this line is on "if you are with me".
It also implies that it can't be done WITHOUT the two of them, especially Ramuda. Jakurai clearly believes that the two of them are strong enough to create a real difference, which is why he buys into Ramuda's TDD plan later. He trusts in Ramuda's strength and Ramuda's vision.
Jakurai is following up on his earlier promise - he's ready to follow Ramuda to the very end.
In conclusion:
Thanks so much for coming along on this adventure with me. :) I'm surprised I lost only two followers or something from this. Thought you guys would be leaving my annoying ass in droves.
