Just Fiction

To me, someone who can and will argue the smallest details for essays for fun, it honestly wasn’t that different. It kind of feels like people are talking it up too much. Like both translations felt the same, imo. The differences are almost negligible.

I almost wonder if this is a thing because many of these fans see the fan translation as better “morally”? Often it’s oh no Jinshi doesn’t seem as bad or creepy or rough in the Better Translation.

Of course his initial reaction is shocked (or not so shocked) anger that she would pawn off his gift, but the very second she admits she’d given it to Loulan—to Shisui—he backs down immediately. He doesn’t linger on the topic, and in fact redirects the conversation before she can feel pressed to say more.

If anything, I think he switches tactics almost too quickly to be casual. Because I think he inferred, by this admission alone, how much Loulan actually meant to Maomao.

He’d only ever asked her how she felt about Loulan once before, and she’d answered honestly, albeit through the haze of shock.

This answer, by itself, may not give Jinshi much to go on, but emotional intelligence is one of his greatest strengths. After Maomao admits she gave Loulan his hair stick—the token of his affection that he outright asked her to wear for others to see—I think Jinshi accurately read between the lines.

Iroh: *sees Maomao drinking tea from said plant with a pleased face* oh, it's the delicious tea! I see!

Maomao: No. It's poison.

Iroh: then why are you drinking it?

Maomao: tastes good.

Iroh: fair enough. Can I drink it?

Maomao: As long as you're ok with the burning sensation, dizziness, difficulty breathing and having to drink this other drug that'll make you vomit your insides out, go ahead.