#e004

Firstly, his home had never quite been the pinnacle of holly nor jolly. There wasn't much festive around the holidays – a winter dinner, of course, but for a family of atheists, they generally got away with just setting up a tree in the foyer and giving gifts to each other on December twenty-fifth. He remembers when he was young, receiving small wooden toys; then when he grew, creations more like knick-knacks or statues, beautiful works (most of them now sitting forgotten back in the bottom drawer of his dormitory, which he hasn't set foot in for months – where his feet currently carry him now).

Secondly, there was no home to return to. Milo had moved on campus immediately upon admittance to Blue Ivy, and the grounds had been his home for nearly the past decade. Aside from a holiday or two spent with Clem, or potentially a visit to a friend's house, he can't remember the last time he spent the night in a building that wasn't the halls of the university. Tainted as they now are, there's an itch in the bottom of his gut, a fear: where does he go from here? Blue Ivy has been his home for nearly half his life. What does he do after graduation?

Thirdly, there was no one to spend it with – not unless he wanted to catch the train back to the cemetery in London and spend a night as frigid as the marble in his old house with two gravestones. Frankly, that seemed about as interesting as spending the holiday with his actual parents. But rather than spend the night in his room with his books as he usually would, tonight he does have an actual goal, small as it may be.

Fingers thumb the small item in his pocket, footsteps tracing his way back to the familiar door. His keycard still works – somehow; he'd half-expected it to be invalid for the semester, though he's certain he's set off some sort of trial alarm or something. Every move you make is seen – let them. At the moment, he can't bring himself to care. The door opens, and he peeks into the room.

It's empty – thank god, Theo's out. He doesn't need to hear the complaining from his former roommate. Silently, he slips inside, immediately crossing the floor to the nightstand next to the folded bed. (Covers drawn; hasn't been used in months.) Squatting down, he slides open the bottom drawer. Wooden knick-knacks clack together softly as he does so.

From his pocket comes a small wooden creation of his own, a crow, beak tucked under one wing as it grooms itself, frozen in time. It nestles in, fitting perfectly amongst the other creatures and toys – the difference between craftsmen is almost impossible to see. "Nollaig shona," he whispers, sliding the drawer shut, closing them away once again. Usually, it would be until next year – however, he has a feeling he'll be getting them back out again soon.

"Cathy." He nods to the barista; she nods back. They've grown intimately familiar over the past few months, that careful, selective, limited relationship formed outside of an active death game. Hard to really give your all to someone when all you can think about is the fact that someone in your circle is a murderer. Without another word, the coffee maker whirrs to life, starting a drink he's ordered nearly every day for the past six months. The white noise is almost helpful, and he spaces out for a moment, mental gears turning as he tries, once again, to gnaw through all the information he's received. Starting from the beginning, trying to condense it all down. What is he missing? It should be obvious. Who's slipping through the cracks? What else can he use for process of elimination?

When you have eliminated all which is impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Even if it doesn't make any sense.

She calls his name – for what he suspects is not the first time, though she doesn't say anything about it – and that gets him to snap out of it, accepting the drink with a nod. Somehow, she's snuck whipped cream onto it, and at the raised eyebrow he gives her, she just grins. "Merry Christmas," she shrugs.

Neither asks the other why they're still here; why one stands behind a counter at a job, why the other carries a research notebook. For now, it's enough that they aren't completely alone.

Gakuto’s characterization

RoadRush:

“I am supposed to be stopping their chaos [...] How could I do such a thing?!”

Original Japanese: 「遊我くんたちの暴走を止めるべき立場にありながら [...] 私としたことが…」

The original RR subs make it seem like Gakuto is appalled at the fact that he’s been going along with the crew, but in reality the original Japanese points to Gakuto being appalled at his lack of responsibility (as in Gakuto himself is frustrated that he, himself, has not done anything despite the fact that he should).

The bolded Japanese from above is what I’m highlighting as the key to understanding him here.

立場にあり = someone in (my) position 私としたこと = someone like me

The translation I decided to use instead, and which I felt conveyed his inner turmoil better, was “I’m someone who should be stopping them, and yet... [...] I, of all people...!”

Gakuto is very concerned with his position and duties, which is the main focus for this episode. He is a character who is hyper-aware of his place and what kind of person he should be (that is, someone who strictly follows the rules and enforces them). The conflict he feels here is because of that hyper-awareness, not (primarily) because of the fact that he’s been “having fun” or “swept away” by Yuuga’s antics, it’s that someone like him shouldn’t be “swept away” in the first place.

I hope this makes sense and that this translation gets across his characterization a lot better.

Further Gakuto characterization

RoadRush:

“I have to draw the line somewhere!”

Original Japanese: 「きちんとけじめをつけなければ｡」

This is actually a translation I liked a lot, with “draw the line” being something very clear and also easily got across his newfound determination. It’s the reason I decided to keep the “draw the line” phrase in my final translation.

However, there is one important part of his sentence: けじめ, which I bolded above. It means “distinction”.

My final translation was “I must be decisive and draw the line somewhere!”

Gakuto uses the word “decide” and “decisive” a lot. You’ll see it the most in his summoning chants, where he keeps “deciding” not to stop, or “deciding” to follow a road, or “deciding” to find something new, or that he alone must “decide” his resolve, etc. At this point, being “decisive” is a huge part of his character and who he is as a person. The main theme of Sougetsu Gakuto is being able to lead, to decide, and, as we see in episodes 24, 33, 50, and 57, to be someone worthy of the Sougetsu name and inheritance by making these “decisions” and having the power to do so.

For this reason, I decided (haha) to put in his keyword here and tie this line further to his characterization in future episodes.

“Yametekudastop”

“Does Gakuto actually say this?” No, but he makes a pun just as bad as this one. This is a great pun to convey just how weird his “Yameruler” pun in Japanese is as well.

Thanks English!

トイレには神様がいますからね “Since a kami is always in the restroom, you should...”

This is a fragment of the full sentence, though its implied that Gakuto is trying to say “[I cleaned the restroom with care,] because a kami is in there”. To make this sound more natural in English, my final translation was the sentence you see above in bold, which adds a “you should” for context.

This sentence may seem strange to a lot of people, even more so if you don’t know what exactly a “kami” is. I wanted to elaborate on that in this translation note, and also the reason why I left “kami” untouched.

A “kami” does not uniformly mean a “god” or “deity”. In some contexts, yes, someone can be referring to such a being. In others, a kami can also be seen as a “spirit”, not necessarily of divine origins, who exists in a myriad of spaces for a myriad of reasons.

The “kami” Gakuto says exists in the restroom is not a god in the way English speakers would see it, but a spirit that has found a home there. However, I felt that the word “spirit” did not really encompass the importance of the word kami and why Gakuto was so careful with it, while the words “god” or “deity” placed too much importance on it.

For further context, I’d honestly just recommend the kami wikipedia article, which goes a lot more into detail than I can here. For heavier reading, and if you’re interested in this sort of stuff, I recommend the books Shinto - A Book of Prayers and The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart.

黒子 (くろこ) Kuroko / “stagehands”

Wow, Kuroko Tetsuya himself from the acclaimed basketball manga and anime, Kuroko no Basuke! Okay I’m joking.

A “kuroko” in Japanese means a “stagehand”, though they have very a specific job in Japanese theatre that is different compared to what you might know of stagehands in Western theatre.

The job of a “kuroko” is to be invisible, which of course is not a literal thing. This simply means they help move things along on the stage, appearing center at times, while still not being perceived by the audience. This is where the “kuro” part of “kuroko” comes from—traditionally, they wear black clothes and cover their faces with a black sheet on stage, so that when they appear, the audience will not focus on them and instead blend them in with the background.

A kuroko does such things like moving scenery and props as a normal stagehand, however they may also play non-human parts in plays sometimes, being something like an animal or spirit when needed (usually with the help of a minor prop, not with a costume). They are the “invisible stagehands”.

Gakuto’s entire aesthetic themeing with Ranze and Rinnosuke is basically kabuki, a form of Japanese theatre that places more emphasis on aesthetics than on story.

A popular genre of kabuki is known as jidaimono, or historical plays, which dramatize a major historic event (like a war), which is how Gakuto’s various “Rulers” tie into this theme. Of note, Yameruler’s defense position animation is very much like how one in kabuki would try to “disappear” off stage (by holding a fan in front of his face), Kimeruler has elements of kabuki makeup in his design (though heavily watered down), and Semeruler’s summoning animation is a very common kabuki pose for combat.

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For people interested in the raw BDMV vs encoded final video comparisons, click here. (Click the image in the center to swap between “raw BD” and “encoded”).

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Credits

Translation, timing: entame Proofreading: angelthinktank (Yona) Encoding: PelvisBass