Full Falmer translation of @king-minyard's Ode to Snow Elves (thank you thank you THANK YOUUUU for giving me your blessing!)
For a less-blurry version, open in a new tab; Common transcription and translator notes below the cut!
This one was a challenge! Two complete overhauls of syntax, thirty new words by my count (I definitely lost count), and a new method of expressing determiners went into making this adaptation. I wanted to treat this as a translation in either way, so keeping the original syllabic count was important, especially as it was in eights. I dunno, that number seems important to the Falmer, who likely engaged in numerology like their Altmeric cousins.
Highlights from this translation include Farligandra, "greet-grace" i.e. welcome and hospitality, Laivan, "to grant, to offer reprieve", Banhe, an outsider-friendly term for "home" (was this meant to be heard by others, perhaps?), and two of my personal favorites, Maethan, "to embrace" and naerth, "soul-rending grief", here translated as "gnashing grief" to provide a more visceral tone and to imply just what became of the Snow Elves.
The complete, side by side translation, is as follows!
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What are your thoughts on Shadowheart in terms of her character? Her feelings towards Tav and her self-esteem?
Shadowheart: Self Esteem & Feelings towards Tav:
Short(er) version:
Shadowheart is complex and so interesting. She can be caustic, witty, dry and seemingly detached- or she can be the most loving person you've ever known. She's confident- we now know much of that was born of her Sharran upbringing, but she's willful because of her parents. She's defiant, playful around those she trusts, and has a great capacity for love. She's a healer at heart- though honed as a weapon, there is no greater joy for her than being able to mend wounds, to take away pain, even though it's all she's known for so long. She's broken, at times, but healing beautifully now.
Her relationship with Tav is founded upon trust (and a LOT of physical attraction, to boot). Tav is the only person who managed to breach her walls while she was still serving Shar. Tav has laid her own life on the line for Shadowheart (and her parents) countless times. Shadowheart plays coy and flirtatious, but there is a deep internal voice that tells her she's lucky Tav considers her worthy of her love. Romantically, Shadowheart is absolutely enamored with Tav. The more she learns about Tav's upbringing, the more protective she becomes. I think she's keenly aware of the fact that she and her parents are Tav's only true family, aside from her mother all the way in Cormyr.
Long (writer's) version lol:
I think Shadowheart is a layered, complex character! We have “Jenevelle”, if you will, at her core. Traits she picked up from her parents, even if she doesn’t inherently remember everything: her kindness, her proclivity to caring for animals and the weak, even her sense of humor (finger guns after the night orchid joke lol). I feel like life in the cloister had her suppressing these traits to an almost painful extent. Her memory may have been wiped, but her instincts do not change so easily. She’s witty, she’s even fun-loving, she’s outspoken. She’s willful, stubborn, and often sees the best in people.
And then we have “Shadowheart”- or the traits she developed as a result of life in the cloister. Some are actually beneficial, some not so much. Life in the cloister makes her cynical, sly, defensive, secretive, even if also incredibly adept at defending herself. It gives her “bite” to her personality, as well as a sense of arrogance.
In the first Acts, we see more of Shadowheart, but Jenevelle bleeds through. It’s clear by Act 2 that she’s developed enough of a rapport/trust with Tav that her true nature begins to show.
I think when she was a practicing Sharran, she lived under the guise of false self-esteem. She ascribed worth to herself based on how well she could heed the Dark Lady’s orders. Now that she’s free, she struggles with reconciling deeds she’s committed in the past. Though it isn’t her fault explicitly, I think she carries much guilt for what she became. Now, living her life in service to her parents, to all their animals, and to her beloved Tav- I think she sees her life as simple, bucolic, but worth so much more. She can be proud of this life, without shame. She can reconcile Jenevelle and Shadowheart, and be the best of both of them.
Her Feelings towards Tav:
Tav is a vital piece to Shadowheart’s overall growth. Initially, she’s attracted to Tav and thinks little of her or that fact- beyond staring when she thinks Tav isn’t looking. Just another pretty girl who's surprisingly good with a blade, in her eyes. In the early weeks, they argue. A lot. Shadowheart is particularly vicious when she gets wind that Tav came from nobility. And then something strange happens- Shadowheart finds herself looking forward to arguing with Tav, just to spend more time with her. She watches Tav give her own food and water to Tiefling refugees- She rolls her eyes at the “weakness” displayed and then goes to hide her smile in her tent and repent in prayer.
Tav is the most selfless person Shadowheart knows. Tav cares more about Emmeline and Arnell than Shadowheart can fathom. She’s constantly looking for ways to make up for lost time, constantly looking for ways to help Shadowheart’s memory. She doesn’t sleep if Shar’s mark is causing Shadowheart pain. Shadowheart has never been the love of anyone’s life-until now.
Shadowheart is madly in love. Tav’s her best friend, her partner. Tav helped speak sense into her, helped her see reason, light, love in the midst of Shar’s scheme for her. Tav saw through her, saw Jenevelle and Shadowheart, and gave herself completely to both of them.
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How far along are you in RWBY???? I’m stoked that you’re watching!
Ah!! Hello ol friend! You know I was just thinking about you the other day :D
Here’s where I am rwby material wise:
SHOW: start of V7 (I’m so fucking scared to progress cause I know what happens to Penny and I can’t. Deal)
CHIBI: pretty sure I finished the whole thing
MANGA: finished all anthologies. I have the story manga but have yet to read them. Still need that other one I can’t remember the name of. The red book
BOOKS: finished After the Fall. Just started Before the Dawn
GAMES: beat Grimm Eclipse. Almost done with Arrowfell
- I have all the comics but have yet to read them.
- I have plans to watch Ice Queendom once I get the main series done.
- I have the first JLA movie and plan to get the second when it’s out. Have yet to watch tho for similar reasons to IQ
- I’m aware of spoilers but not in super detailed ways. Like I know what’s going on in v9 but couldn’t tell you the plot outside of ‘it’s trauma hour ft cat’ like idk what’s going on with the blacksmith it’s fine it’s cool it’s fine
Let me know if there’s other stuff missing! Im deep diving into whatever I can get ahold of.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope to keep seeing you around <3
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DownDectector x AO3
To celebrate AO3 coming back online, here is the fic I wrote to cope with the Great AO3 Shutdown.
_____
“DownDetector, what is your emergency?”
Sharp, shallow breaths come through their headset. A panic attack, unfortunately not that uncommon in Emergency Website Shutdown Reporting.
“Hi, can you hear me? Take deep breaths, slowly,” Dow continues, their training kicking in immediately. When the caller sounds a little deeper, longer. “How can I help you?”
A small frantic voice rushes out, “I was on Ao3 reading a 400k hurt/comfort fic, and then, they were finally going to make up after all the angst, and now”. A sob wreaks through the other end of the line. “It's gone, it's all gone. Ao3 is down.”
A shudder pierces through their heart. No, wait, focus on the call - you’re on the job damn it.
Automatically DownDetector replies, “Thank you for your report. Not to worry, sometimes servers go down but Ao3 usually bounces back in at most, a few hours.” Down glances at the screen. Usually Arch messages Dow quickly with an update, they know how much Dow worries.
“I just feel like something is different this time. It feels wrong.”
Oh right, the call. Dow quickly types through the report in front of them. “I understand how alarming this may be. Please check Ao3’s official Twitter account for any updates. Can I have your location to complete this report?”
Dow goes through the motions but there is a blaring alarm going off in their mind.
Ao3 is down.
Ao3 is down.
Ao3 is down.
Ao3 is down.
Ao3
is
down.
A glance at the screen shows no messages from Arch but the usual flood of reports that follow any of Ao3’s technical issues.
The caller was right. This feels wrong. The notification sounds are the only thing that graces the dreaded silence hanging in the air.
Dow’s finger hovers over the call button. It would be so easy to call Arch right now and find out if they’re okay. Dow doesn’t talk with Arch often, just a few pictures of the bumps and scrapes Arch sends after each tussle with technical issues (often accompanied by a selfie with a thumbs up and a goofy smile).
It's not professional to directly message websites that get reported here, but Ao3 is different.
Whenever a website goes down, so many people barge into DownDetector with complaints and anger, but with Archive of Our Own, it's only love and worry. Looking at their previous messages which consist of mostly Arch sending memes and fluff fic recs, Dow smiles at the screen. When Ao3 goes down, so many people come in with care and understanding, and it's easy to understand why. What’s not to love about Ao3?
The contact image of Arch putting French fries up their nose comes with a call. Dow would lie to you if you asked them how fast their picked up Arch’s calls every time. It's always borderline impossibly fast.
Dow is greeted by a flurry of wet coughs. Okay, shit shit shit this does not look good.
“Arch? Arch? Are you okay?”
The coughs die down.
Arch’s voice sounds so small, smaller than it has ever been. It's unnerving. Archive of Our Own is a titan - more than 11 million fics, over 57 thousand fandoms. Time, love, and care has put been fed into the website, making it the envy of most. Dow doesn’t think Wikipedia’s rants about donations can get worse but it takes a step higher every time Ao3 has a donation drive. Arch was never meant to sound so small.
“I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to call you first”, Arch’s voice is raspy like they’ve been screaming while eating glass. “I’m going to be gone for a while.”
“What’s going on? Everyone says something is wrong.”
Dow hears a deep tired exhale down the line like Arch is thinking about the words to say. Just like their users, sometimes words don’t come easy to Arch. “It was an attack, they came out of nowhere. A DDOS.”
DDOS – the weapon of cowards trying to take down a titan, a deity, worshipped by so so many.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay. I’m more worried about everyone else.” Even at the brink of a meltdown, Ao3 always put everyone else before themselves. “Maybe Fanfiction.net or Wattpad can take them back, huh?”
Oh, this isn’t a warning, it's a goodbye.
Dow takes a deep breath. It's all in the handbook, you cannot panic in a time of crisis. Breathe, breathe deeply. “Archive, what’s going on? Something’s wrong.”
“Hey hey don’t worry, alright? The volunteers are coming, you know how well they take care of me.”
“Down, they’re going to take me offline for a while.
“Take you offline?” Dow exclaims. “For how long? You can’t go! It's not even been 5 minutes and everyone already misses you.”
I will miss you goes unsaid.
A pregnant pause fills the room. Dow can hear the rush of blood behind their ears.
“I don’t know.”
“Arch please –”
Dow is cut off by shouts that come down from the other end of the call. Before they can say anything, Arch rushes out, “I have to go, the volunteers are here.” Tears can’t stop rolling down Dow’s face. “Take care of them for me, will you?”
Dow looks back to the screens on their desk. The overwhelming cries of terror, care, and worry fill the comments section.
“I will,” spills off their tongue without hesitation.
“Thank you,” whispers Arch, their voice clear as day amidst all the commotion. “Goodbye, DownDetector.”
The disconnect tone plays.
“I’ll see you soon, Archive of Our Own.”
Silence fills the room again.
For the first time in their lives, Dow gets down to their knees and prays.
Please, whatever entities are out there, please.
Bring them back.
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