#free yourself!!!! get out of there!!!! or at least read about the mistranslations instead of following the bastardized version of your faith | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

impossiblelibrary · 3 years

Text

Today's rant brought to you by: Queer Eye Japan, can we all just try to be as kind as they try to be?

After watching the Queer Eye Japan super short season, I wanted to google to see the overall reaction to the show, make sure that my western eyes were correct in seeing the care that was given to the culture. Were cultural taboos, other than being outwardly gay, crossed? So I find this article in the top results and other than the perspective, why tho? Tokyoesque.com had an article with a higher reading level, with surface level appreciation but at least better written.

I can't get over this hate article though. Unfounded, dumb, wrong and incorrect. Do not go forward unless you like that blistering kind of anger from me.

But the reasons just get weaker as the article extends: "Hurts the country it set out to save?" Looking for white savior much? They did not go to save Japan, they gave some free shit to like 4-5 people, think smaller.

Their culture guide wasn't gay enough.

You want to suggest any lgbt insta models or celebrities, use your platform to raises some up?

"There is a growing sexless culture in Japan for married and unmarried people, and it is perilous watching Queer Eye present this without any context behind what is driving this behavior."

Sexiness is what the fab 5 embrace, unfortunately and it was probably discussed behind the scenes of how much talking about sex was allowed or polite and the conversation of not having sex is closer to the tip of the tongue rather than the feeling of sexiness. The West is not the ones blasting that information. It is across multiple Japanese printed newspapers and online stories by now and the "context" is still being discussed and debated amongst Japanese. So I don't think any outsiders should be weighing in or "explaining" this phenomenon. We can repeat what we have been told but guessing at the reasons is not our place. The reasons illustrated by the author of the article seem lacking, a take but not the only one, but who am I to speak on that being in a sexual relationship with someone who pulls from that culture?

Kiko begins to lecture Yoko-san on how she “threw away her womanhood” (referring to a Japanese idiom, onna wo suteru) by going makeup-free and wearing drab, shapeless clothes.

The mistranslation by the subtitles fixed by this author was necessary information. But Kiko didn't lecture her on it, it was brought up by Yoko before any of them arrived, that was her theme, that was what she had decided to focus on. Meanwhile, if you watched Jonathan, he understood there was no time to spend on makeup and skincare so provided her a one instrument, 3 points of color on the skin to feel prettier. That and the entire episode being the 5 treating her like a woman on a date, not trying to hook her up, which is what they did in American eps.

"In teaching a Japanese woman, who already struggles to find time for herself, how to make an English recipe, Antoni is making great TV and nothing more."

So Antoni shouldn't have taught her apple pie because it's too exotic for a Japanese woman. (Can you smell the sexism?)

He didn't make an apple pie, altho Yoko did mention her mother made that for her when she was a kid. He made an apple tartine after going to a Japanese bakery who makes that all the time. Then highlighted the apples came from Fuji in true Japanese media fashion. Honey, American television doesn't usually highlight where the ingredients come from. A Japanese producer told him to do that. So all worries handled within the same ep. She got Japanese ingredients, had the recipe shown to her and then made it for her friends in her own house. Did the author actually watch this show or nah?

"beaten over the head with his western self-help logic. “You have to live for yourself,” he says."

The style of build up the 5 went for was confrontational but in a "I'm fighting for you" way. It's hard to describe, but the best I can say is, a person has multiple voices in their head, from parents, siblings, society, and maybe themselves. By being loud and obnoxious, American staples right there, they are adding one more voice. You deserve this, you are amazing, you are worth it. I know this is against most Japanese cultural modesty, but maybe it shouldn't be.

Sarcasm lies ahead:

Apparently: mispronunciation is microaggressions, not just someone who had a sucky school system. Yea okay, They're laughing at the language not at how stumbling these monolinguals are with visiting another country. Mmhm. Japanese don't say I love you and don't touch and that should stay that way instead of maybe, once in awhile, feeling like they can hug. Yeah, let's just ignore Yoko's break down that she had never hugged her lifelong friend after hugging strangers multiple times. Maid cafes are never sexualized in Japan ever, just don't go down that one street in Akihabara where the men are led off by the hand sheepishly blushing. Gag me. And Japanese men love to cry in front of their wives and would never break down once the wife leaves. I have never seen a Japanese movie showcase that move. Grr.

"I identify as many cultures."

So you're a Japanese man when it's convenient for you to get an article published? Are you nationally Japanese or just ethnically or culturally?

Homeland is an inherently racist word?

"After the Bush administration created the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Republican consultant and speechwriter Peggy Noonan urged, “the name Homeland Security grates on a lot of people, understandably. Homeland isn’t really an American word, it’s not something we used to say or say now.”

Yes, let's use a Washington Post article rather than a etymology professor. Yes, the google search results increased after 2001 Homeland Security was used but the word has been around since the 1660s and I've read multiple turn of the century lit on white people returning to their homeland, i.e. the town off the coast they were born in.

"But" is not disagreeing. I think the repeated offender for the author is the not acknowledging the makeover-ees feelings. But, that is how LGBT have decided to deal with the inner voices that invade from society. They are just that, not our own, they are the influence of society, and we can choose, we have to choose, to be influenced by someone, anyone else.

Karamo can't speak about being black when an Asian is speaking about being Asian, even though the Asian gay man was feeling alone. It's called relating bitches, and I'm done with people saying that is redirecting the conversation, it's extending the conversation. That's how we talk, the spotlight is shared, especially when someone's about to cry and doesn't want to be seen as crying, time to turn the spotlight.

The gay monk wasn't good enough, you should have invited the gay politician.

Yeah, causes I'm sure a politician has all the time in the world for a quick stint and cry. They picked a Japanese monk who travels to NY because they had a guest who travels to the West too. Did you want him to stop traveling back and forth? Did you want a pure, ethnic and cultural Japanese gay man who has no ties to the west to talk to this Western educated young man? Seriously?

This is just not how it works in Japan.

Being in a multi-cultural marriage between two rebels, discussions on facets of culture are plenty in my household. Culture should be respected enough to be considered but not held on a pedestal like we should never adjust or throw some things out. LGBT being quiet and private for instance. "Being seen" was Jonathan's advice, and a good one especially for a Japanese gay man that was called feminine since he was a kid. Some gay men can hide, but as Jonathan said, he couldn't hide what he was, he couldn't hide this. So fuck it. Don't hide. It's actually more dangerous for a feminine man to come off as anxious rather than gay and proud. It makes you more of a target if they think you won't fight back. Proud means, Imma throw hands too, bitch.

This is also from the civil rights playbook going back to Black America: never hold a protest or a fight without the cameras, without being seen. LGBT have found the more seen they are, in media, in the streets, the better off we are. When LGBT Americans were being "private" about our lifestyles, we died, a la 1980s. They won't care if you start dying off if they never saw you to begin with.

And hence why I think the author's real anger is from these 5 being seen dancing flamboyantly in Shibuya, in Harajuku, afforded the privilege of doing this safely because of their tourist status, cameras and very low violence rate in Tokyo, loud and obnoxiously. Honestly, they wouldn't have been invited or nominated if they didn't want that brash American-ness coming into their home, just for a taste, at least.

Here's my real anger, my own jealousy: Japan's queer community currently does not have marriage or adoption rights. US does, so we have progressed further. But we are also not that many years from being tied to cow fences with barbed wire, beaten with baseball bats and left for dead overnight. If things are so bad over there, maybe take a few pages from the civil right playbook we took so much time to perfect and produced by the Black Americans who fought first. But so far, I only hear loss of jobs and marriages, which we still have here too. Stop trying to divide us, we are one community, LGBT around the world and we are here to try to help. Take it or leave it, it's not like we're going to go organize your own Pride parade for you.

Rant over? I guess. Is this important enough to be put in the google results along with his. Hell no, anyone with half a mind can see he's reaching more than half the time. And any argument about: this wasn't covered! There are a shit ton of conversations that are not covered in the 45 min they have. They are not a civil rights show, it's a makeover show, doing their best in that direction anyway. Know what it is.

Next blog post, what research I would guess was happening behind the scenes for each of the 5? I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan doing Japanese style makeup there...

#queer eye #Queer eye Japan #original #rant

38 notes · View notes

toraonice · 7 years

Text

You know, some people criticize my translations, but is there anyone else willing to translate pages-long interviews for free? You’d think there is considering how big the YOI fandom is, but no, there’s almost no one else doing it because it requires a lot of free time and you don’t really get money for it. You just get some thanks and some hate. Most of the people will just translate the “juicy tidbits”, and I’ve seen so many adapted translations using completely different words from the original, but often no one complains because you know, all is fine if it sounds more shippy!

I don’t even have all that many followers, there are translations out there that reach probably 100 times the people I reach, because lots of people probably don’t want to read through walls of text and prefer a short Tumblr post or a tweet that highlights the “interesting” part. There are mistranslations like Victor saying “I am his now” in the stage drama (which he never said) that are all over the net and used in fan comics etc, but no one complains because it sounds shippy so who cares? And this is of course not related to only the stage drama. I have never seen any of my translations used in fan comics or having 10000 reblogs like many others, so I don’t even get people who lament that I have such a huge effect on the fandom. I don’t think I have, seriously.

Also, at least if someone asks me a question about the translation I reply and explain, which is not something everyone does. By the way, since it’s impossible to translate all Japanese text into English literally, every translation is going to be adapted to an extent, no matter who does it. But yeah people only care about adaptations that don’t suit their tastes, they are perfectly fine with the ones that suit them. How come I see posts about a random caption saying “love call” (which in Japanese has a different meaning and usage than in English) but I see almost no one speaking about all the long-ass interviews Yamamoto released recently? Maybe because she mostly talked about the figure skating aspect of the series and didn’t really delve into Victor and Yuuri’s relationship? (Except for saying in basically every single interview that she based their relationship on the concept of “relationships without a name”, but I guess this impairs the way some view their relationship) Some people only listen to creators when they say something that’s convenient to them. When Kubo says “soulmate” about the rings everyone is squealing, but when she says the rings were like “members of a circle” suddenly it’s all silent and some people even said “well we don’t have to believe everything she says, she said it herself”. I even remember someone saying not to translate an interview because its contents would “make the fans sad”…

It’s FINE if you want to think that Yuuri and Victor are engaged or whatever, but some people basically only read interviews to look for even the smallest hint of that, as if that’s the only thing that interests them in YOI. Which is FINE too, because everyone is free to enjoy a show how they prefer, but please remember that this is a show about figure skating and its purpose is to spread the love and appreciation for figure skating. Even if it has two characters of the same sex that are portrayed as potentially having romantic feelings for each other, it doesn’t meant that it will become a manifesto for LGBT+ rights. Actually, I think it’s great enough that they are depicted as something natural instead of stressing on what their relationship is or is not. That’s something important in Japan. So far none of the creators have said anything more than “you can interpret their relationship as you prefer” (if they had said something more you’d see that all over the Japanese twitter in 2 seconds, if you don’t see any comment for an interview it usually means the contents were not something to squeal about). It’s ok to have your own idea of the show, but again, please don’t impose it on others. And if you don’t like my translations, then convince someone else to give up their precious free time and translate all these long interviews integrally (not just the most interesting pieces) in an easy to access text format, instead of having fun or using the time for themselves. It’s easy to spit on someone else’s work, less easy to do the same work yourself.

Final note: It’s really sad that the word “homophobia” and “homophobic”, which are absolutely serious real life issues, are used as easily as “idiot” to offend people only because they don’t share the same view. I’ve received messages from other people who have been called “homophobic” for something they said about YOI, and some of them are homosexual themselves, so how can they possibly be homophobic only for something they said about the show? If you ask all the people who know me in real life they will tell you that I’m as close to homophobia as the North Pole is close to the South (not to mention I love Victuuri myself) and I feel very strongly for LGBT+ rights, yet people call me homophobic online just because I don’t think two characters are officially engaged? Please chill out.

#just for who wants to read

159 notes · View notes

seigyokus · 7 years

Text

4.4 - A Fight Between Adults

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 4.4 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Nanase Riku: But it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if we all lived separately, huh....... Yotsuba Tamaki: Stop it, Rikkun! I'm not gonna leave! Rokuya Nagi: That's right! I won't be leaving either! Nanase Riku: Me neither! Osaka Sougo: I see.... In terms of income, we could all support ourselves though. Yotsuba Tamaki: What the hell, why won't you say 'I'm not gonna leave' like everyone else did!! Rokuya Nagi: Way to be insensitive, Sougo! Unanimity is important! Nanase Riku: Sougo-san, please don't leave...! Osaka Sougo: I'm not leaving either! That's not what I meant when I said that. I do agree with everyone! Osaka Sougo: It's just that.... Yamato-san might use this as an excuse to move out of the dorms.... Yotsuba Tamaki・Rokuya Nagi・Nanase Riku: ……. Nanase Riku: I.... I'm gonna try calling Iori.

Izumi Mitsuki: Momo-san! Don't leave meat in your freezer for over a year! Just toss it out! Momo: Never! You can still eat it! It was in the freezer the whole time so it's still edible! Izumi Mitsuki: You're overestimating how well freezers can preserve food! When was this fish from? Momo: Um, let's see.... It's from last spring when I went fishing-- Izumi Mitsuki: Into the trash it goes! Momo: My fish...!! ....... Izumi Iori: ......It's from Nanase-san. Izumi Iori: Please excuse me. I'll go answer the phone.

Izumi Iori: This is Iori speaking. Nanase Riku: Ah.... This is Nanase. Nanase Riku. Izumi Iori: I know. How are things on your end? Nanase Riku: Everyone's really lonely. How about Mitsuki? Is he still mad...? Izumi Iori: Nii-san isn't angry. If anything, Nikaidou-san's speech and conduct were by far more unreasonable. Nanase Riku: Well, Mitsuki was the one who swung first. You can't just blame Yamato-san. Izumi Iori: Nii-san apologized to Nikaidou-san about that issue. As such, Nii-san didn't do anything else wrong. Nanase Riku: You keep siding with Mitsuki, Iori. If you keep saying stuff like that, it's only gonna make it harder for Yamato-san to come back! Nanase Riku: Instead of stopping him from leaving, you just followed Mitsuki out....... Izumi Iori: Of course I'd follow Nii-san. Isn't that obvious? We're brothers, after all. Nanase Riku: But you see, I didn't follow Ten-nii. Are you saying that I'm wrong because I didn't chase after him? Izumi Iori: You're going on a tangent. Nanase Riku: Don't you feel sad that everyone's apart? Izumi Iori: See.... You keep arguing based off of your emotions. You ought to be looking into the root of the cause, and the issue at hand-- Nanase Riku: You're not sad at all.... I bet you're happy because you're with Mitsuki. It's just you and your brother! Nanase Riku: You brocon!! Izumi Iori: Just who are you calling a brocon!? I don't want to hear that from you! Nanase Riku: I called because I wanted to talk to you about how to mediate things, but all you've been done is cover for Mitsuki and get mad at me! Izumi Iori: Of course I'd cover for him! We're brothers, so that much goes without saying! Nanase Riku: If you say that, then it's like you're dissing me for being mad at Ten-nii!! Izumi Iori: Get a hold of yourself! This conversation is only going in circles!! Nanase Riku: Isn't that because you keep giving the same answers, Iori!? Izumi Iori: Isn't that because you keep responding with the same thing!?

Nanase Riku: Haa....... Yotsuba Tamaki: Rikkun, how'd it go? Nanase Riku: ....... I fought with Iori.... Osaka Sougo: I figured.... Nanase Riku: I wonder if Yamato-san and Mitsuki will make up when we go to our next job as seven....

Izumi Mitsuki: Good morni-- Woah! Rokuya Nagi: Mitsuki! Iori! I've missed you so! Izumi Iori: ...Please don't hug me at full force! You'll ruin my stage outfit! Yotsuba Tamaki: Mikkii! Iorin! Nanase Riku: Mitsuki! Iori...! Izumi Mitsuki: Ahaha! Not you guys too! We're not at the airport, for crying out loud! Izumi Iori: Why couldn't you have been more honest like this from the start, Nanase-san? Osaka Sougo: Mitsuki-san, Iori-kun. Izumi Iori: Are you also going to hug us too, Osaka-san? Osaka Sougo: I've finally learned how to face people, after all. Come here. (1) Izumi Iori: I feel nervous, for some reason.... *click* Nikaidou Yamato: Morning. Woah-- Rokuya Nagi: Yamato! I missed you! Yotsuba Tamaki: Yama-san! Nanase Riku: Yamato-san! Osaka Sougo: Yamato-san. I'm glad you look well. Nikaidou Yamato: Haha.... What's with you all? It's like you're greeting me at the airport or something. Rokuya Nagi: They responded with the same thing...! Hurry up and notice that you two are 100% compatible! Nikaidou Yamato: Morning, Mitsu. I look forward to working with you today. Izumi Mitsuki: Good morning. Is your face doing okay? Yotsuba Tamaki: They're talking to each other! Nanase Riku: They're talking to each other just fine...! If they continue on like this, then they can definitely make up!! Yotsuba Tamaki・Nanase Riku: Yay! Nikaidou Yamato: I guess so. ......Ah. *thunk* Izumi Mitsuki: Oh. You dropped your magazine. Izumi Mitsuki: 'Properties for rent'......? Nikaidou Yamato: ....... Yotsuba Tamaki・Nanase Riku: Wait, what!? Izumi Iori: He's looking at leasing information......!? Osaka Sougo: Does Yamato-san intend on moving out of the dorms? Izumi Mitsuki: ......Oh? So you're thinkin' of moving out, eh? Nikaidou Yamato: ......Well. Kinda, yeah. Nikaidou Yamato: I mean, I used to live alone. I'm not a busybody or hot-headed like you, Mitsu, so I've never really liked living with a bunch of people. Izumi Mitsuki: Oh, is that so? I see.... Nikaidou Yamato: Thanks for picking it up. Izumi Mitsuki: You're welcome. Nikaidou Yamato: Alright. Let's get filming over with.

Izumi Mitsuki: Welcome to "A Lovely Night with IDOLiSH7!" We'll be in your care tonight too! Izumi Mitsuki: Now, let’s see. We're usually the ones helping out with challenges, but today we'll be the ones doing the challenging instead! What's something you've challenged recently, Yamato-san? Nikaidou Yamato: Going to yakiniku by myself. (2) Staff: Ahaha! Izumi Mitsuki: You went to yakiniku by yourself!? Come on, at least invite your members! Nikaidou Yamato: I've been eating nothing but vegetables lately, so I just had to have meat. You should try it too sometime, Mitsu! You can grill the meat at whatever pace you want. It's great! Izumi Mitsuki: For real? So you can start off with something other than beef tongue for once? Nikaidou Yamato: You're free to do whatever you want! Going to yakiniku alone is the best! Onii-san loves being alone. Izumi Mitsuki: But you can eat a wider variety of things when you're with more people. Invite us next time! I'll leave my wallet and head on over! Nikaidou Yamato: Ahaha! So that's what you were trying to do! Hey now, I'm not gonna pay for you! Staff: Ahahah! Yotsuba Tamaki: This is scary… This is so, so scary.... Nanase Riku: So this is what a fight between adults looks like, huh.... Rokuya Nagi: ......? I guess they reconciled? Izumi Iori: Rokuya-san's the only one who looks happy, but that's just because he doesn't understand that Japan has a culture of putting up a front regardless of what your true feelings are.... (3) Osaka Sougo: I have to do something.... I have to do something about this....

To be continued....

TL Notes/comments:

thank you @kuriiii for betaing!!!!!!

(1) went w/ the more literal tl bc it was kinda vague (2) yakiniku - lit. grilled meat, but if you're familiar w/ kbbq it's pretty similar to that setup. you get a bunch of raw meat (usually pre-seasoned), and you do the grilling yourself. uhhh google it if you don't know what it is!! (3) honne & tatemae is a deeply cultural thing hence why I decided to explain it in-line sorta this time. here are a few articles you can read to learn more!

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

#idolish7 #アイドリッシュセブン #story3:text #story3:tl #translation

76 notes · View notes

simplemlmsponsoring · 5 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/copywriting/the-17-deadly-sins-of-outsourcing-link-building-for-agencies/

The 17 Deadly Sins of Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies

For most marketing agencies, link building is a necessary hassle. It’s practically impossible to improve your clients’ SEO rankings, or earn them respectable referral traffic, without an ongoing link building campaign. But without the right staff, the right knowledge, or the right investments, link building can be both time-consuming and fruitless.

That’s where outsourcing comes in; it’s a convenient way to build links that relies on a link building specialist. But as I wrote in The Agency SEO Pro’s Guide to Link Building, if you aren’t careful, even your best link building efforts with an outside agency could wind up hurting you.

The Advantages of Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies

I want to start by clarifying the advantages of outsourcing your link building, because there are many to be had (assuming you’re avoiding the “deadly sins” I’ll be covering in the next section). These are some of the most powerful:

Convenience. When an external agency is handling your link building, you won’t need to hire someone internally to do the work. That can spare you hours of time and effort, which you can then use to improve your client relationships in more productive ways. Expertise. Link building agencies have spent years building their businesses to master the art of link building. It’s only natural that they’d be better at navigating this terrain than most general marketing agencies. As a result, their links tend to be higher-quality, with better results. Accountability. If something ever goes wrong with the campaign, you’ll have someone external to hold accountable. It will be on them to find the mistake, take corrective action, or suggest a new strategy to make up the difference—and they might even lend you special services for free to make it up to you. Affordability. Though you might be reluctant to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars a month on an external service, the reality is, most link building agencies will be far less expensive than trying to do the work yourself. Hiring someone in-house is almost always more expensive, and you might get inferior quality work as well. Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies Gone Wrong

If you want to see these benefits, you’re going to have to avoid these deadly—yet common mistakes:

1. Picking a cheap provider.

Most marketing agencies looking for a new link building provider want to save time and/or money. Accordingly, they act rationally by shopping around for the best price.

But in the link building world, the lowest price isn’t always the best price. In fact, it tends to skew in the opposite direction: you get what you pay for.

By paying less for an agency, you’ll probably get one or more of the following:

Cheaper labor. Writers and editors who get paid less for their work tend to have lower standards, or less experience overall. That means your off-site articles and link building portfolio are going to suffer. I covered this deadly sin in my article at VentureBeat titled Getting a good deal on SEO? Think again! Fewer checks and balances. Reputable agencies tend to cost more because they have more internal positions to account for; they might have a team of writers, a team of editors, a team of reviewers who examine the work before publishing, and a team dedicated to managing publisher relations. If you try to pin all this work on one or two separate teams, the end result will be more mistakes, lower quality work, and less consistent work. Fewer guarantees and assurances. Cheaper agencies aren’t as dependable because they may not have account managers who truly care about your brand. They may also rely on quantity of clients rather than quality, and therefore may be willing to lose your business over a disagreement. Lower-quality publishers. The more authority a publisher has, the more valuable it is. Unfortunately, that authority comes with a cost; it takes more time and effort to establish and build that reputation, and much more work to maintain it. Low-cost agencies can’t possibly afford to maintain these systems, and may instead favor low-authority publishers, which can damage your campaign.

Does this mean you should seek out the most expensive link building agency you can find? No. But you should consider far more than just the price of the agency you’re working with. Get quotes from multiple providers, and figure out exactly what you’re getting for each price point. Treat this as an investment, rather than an expense, and optimize your strategy accordingly.

2. Working with non-native speakers.

Before I get too far in explaining this point, I want to note that it’s entirely possible for non-native English speakers to be competent, or even gifted writers.

However, speaking generally, non-native English speakers tend to write inferior content, when compared to native speakers. They may mistranslate certain phrases, be unable to use slang or idioms in a natural way, or use clunky phrases that make the content seem less fluid. People won’t want to read this content, and top-quality publishers won’t be willing to accept it, which means it’s practically impossible to build a successful campaign on it.

Why would a link building agency work with non-native speakers? There are two main motivations here. First, it’s because they’re cheap. Agencies can get away with paying writers far less in developing countries, which means they can charge their clients lower prices (or, in some cases, pocket a bigger profit). Second, they’re created and managed by people in developing countries, who want a shot at making higher profit margins by working with companies in the United States.

Some link building agencies make it a point to acknowledge that they work with non-native speakers, but for the most part, you’ll have to do some investigating to be sure:

Check their website. Most of the time, agencies that use non-native speakers will also use them when writing their own content. Accordingly, you can check their website for any strange, low-quality content that indicates it was written by a non-native speaker. Examine their past work. Link building agencies often like to show off some of the work they’ve done in the past, so check it out. Ask for samples if you have to. The quality of the writing should indicate the linguistic histories of their writers. Ask them directly. You could also just ask your prospective vendor directly if they use any non-native English speakers. Some agencies may try to hide this fact, but if asked point-blank, they’ll probably give you a straightforward answer.

Make sure you’re working with an agency that employs native speakers exclusively for the services you’re targeting.

3. Shooting for quantity over quality.

Outsourcing links usually means studying packages that are primarily distinguished by the number of links they offer. For example, you might be forced to decide between 12 links per month, 50 links per month, or 500 links per month.

It’s reasonable to consider this as a factor, but it strays into “deadly sin” territory when you start using the number of links as the sole determining factor for your decision, or as the most important factor for comparing two companies’ offers. For example, if company A offers a link package with 12 links for $1,200 per month, and company B offers a link package with 50 links for $1,500 per month, you might lean toward company B. you might also go into the selection process with an idea for a minimum number of links you want to build.

But you have to remember that not all links are created equal. If you put too much attention on the number of links a company can provide you, you’ll neglect factors like how those links are built, and what kind of return you can expect from those links. After all, if a single link can net you 1,500 new monthly visitors, it’s inherently more valuable than 500 links that, together, can only net you 1,000 new monthly visitors. What’s more, if a company is promising you a seemingly-too-good-to-be-true amount of links, then those links are probably of very low, spammy quality, thus subjecting you (or your clients) to the horrors of a manual or algorithmic Google penalty which can be hell to recover from.

Assuming all quality factors are equal, more links do have the potential to give you higher returns. And realistically, quantity and quality should both enter your decision-making process. But if you favor quantity over quality when signing with a new agency, it’s bound to compromise your results.

4. Treating all sites as equal.

Along similar lines, you need to be thinking critically about the sites where your link building agency is going to acquire those inbound links. If a link building provider doesn’t publicly disclose which publication sites they use to build links, it could be a sign that they treat sites indiscriminately. Instead, look for a link building provider with multiple “tiers” of publishers, or at least a wide range of publishers that they let you choose from (***hint*** at AudienceBloom, we let our clients choose their publishers because we value 100% transparency!).

There are several qualities to keep in mind here:

Domain authority. Each site has its own domain authority (DA) value—a rough measure of how authoritative Google determines it to be. Though the methods of calculation here are complex, in general, you can rely on DA as an indicator of how much authority a link will pass to your client’s site. In other words, the higher the DA of the link, the more your client’s DA will rise, and the higher their site’s rankings will climb. Traffic. DA shouldn’t be the only consideration for the discerning agency, however. You should also consider how much traffic the publication gets—after all, links are just as valuable for generating referral traffic as they are for improving rankings. The higher the traffic for a source, the more traffic your client will stand to receive from a high-quality link. Reputation. Though not as objectively measurable, you should also consider each publisher’s overall reputation—especially if your client is getting a brand name mention. A publisher with high journalistic standards and universal acclaim will benefit your clients’ reputations more positively than a site that publishes any material that comes their way.

This doesn’t mean that you should only target sites with the highest possible value in each area; instead, you should have a diversity of different sources pointing to your clients’ sites. Instead, the mistake here comes into play when you fail to differentiate between sources. Spend some time talking to your prospective link building agencies to learn which types of publishers they use, and strategizing to use those diverse sources to your advantage.

5. Allowing link exchanges (or other schemes).

This mistake can be tricky to avoid, since link schemes come in many forms, and no link building agency would make the mistake of publicizing that they utilize schemes.

The disadvantage in using link schemes is clear; Google explicitly forbids the use of link schemes for the purposes of improving a site’s rankings. Link schemes include, but aren’t limited to:

Buying or selling links. Working with a link building agency that uses high-quality content and established relationships to build links on noteworthy sites is perfectly acceptable. In fact, leveraging relationships with the media to acquire coverage for clients is what PR agencies have been doing for over 100 years. Bribing publication sites to include links for the sole purposes of promotion, on the other hand, is not (according to Google, anyway). Excessively exchanging links with a limited number of sources. Link exchanges are one of the most common types of schemes. If an agency seems to use the same few sources to build links pointing to each other, it’s a bad sign. Any automated programs to build links. There aren’t many steps of the link building process that can be effectively automated without risking the integrity of the campaign. If an agency uses bots to publish links across the web, you should probably stay away from them. Low-quality directories and bookmark sites. Link directories and bookmarking sites exist to host links and direct traffic, so Google doesn’t take them seriously. In fact, your clients might get penalized for being featured there. Hidden links. Though not a common practice anymore, embedded links that have been hidden in widgets, comments, or websites are heavily frowned upon. Spammy forum comments. If employed cleverly, forum and blog comments can be used to build high-quality links. But for the most part, comment-based links have no place in a modern campaign.

Since you may not be able to discern whether or not a link building company uses link schemes as part of its services, the best way to evaluate a prospective vendor is to ask them about their practices. Ask them to walk them through their process, and judge it for yourself.

6. Offering no direction.

One of the biggest motivations for seeking the help of a link building agency is to save you time. So shouldn’t you be able to just hand off the reins and stop worrying about your clients’ campaigns?

I get this mentality, but if you pass off your clients’ campaigns without direction, it’s bound to cause chaos. For starters, your link building agency should know what other SEO strategies you’re currently using, and what your history with the client has been like. Only with this information will they be able to work with you to create the right campaign. Though most link building agencies offer different packages with standard features, most expect at least some degree of customization before starting work.

At a minimum, you should be willing to provide the following information:

A description of the brand. A brief understanding of your client’s brand is important for building links properly. The industry, character, and target demographics of the brand should dictate which publishers are used, how links are placed, and a variety of other considerations. The ultimate goals of the campaign. Is your client looking only for increased rankings? Or would they prefer improving referral traffic? What about reputation benefits? Link building agencies work better when they know what your clients’ goals are. Past and present SEO efforts. Link building is just one ingredient in a successful SEO campaign. Knowing what else has been going on—both past and present—is useful for tailoring the specifics of the campaign. Anchor text preferences. Anchor text probably isn’t going to make or break your campaign, and relying on it too heavily can make your links seem spammy. However, targeted anchor text can probably push a keyword or two over the edge. Publisher preferences. As I mentioned earlier, not all publishers are the same. Working with your link building agency can help you ensure the right publishers are used for your clients’ campaigns.

Setting these expectations early can ensure your client gets what they need, and maximize the efficiency of the campaign.

7. Failing to capture your clients’ needs.

Providing direction to your link building agency is good, but only if you have a good understanding of your clients’ goals—and use that understanding to inform your direction.

Too often, marketing agencies make the assumption that they know everything there is to know about their clients, or otherwise treat all their clients the same. In reality, each of your clients will have different needs, goals, and expectations for how their link building campaign is handled.

On one level, it’s important for you to explain to your clients how link building works, why it’s important, and what kind of results they can expect. Setting these expectations early will help you contextualize the results you get later on, and ensure your client relationship isn’t damaged by missed expectations.

On another level, it’s important to convey accurate information to your link building agency. For example, you might be perfectly comfortable allowing a brand mention of your client’s company in a given publisher, but your client may feel it’s a breach of their values (especially if the publisher is controversial in any way).

The most important thing to remember here is the need for transparency and understanding between you and your clients. Without that, no link building agency will be able to ensure you receive adequate services.

8. Making too many demands.

I’ve already mentioned how important it is to provide your link building agency with direction, but the other end of the spectrum can also be problematic. If you make too many demands of your link building agency during the process, things can go very wrong.

For starters, if you’ve chosen a link building agency with a strong reputation and lots of expertise, you should trust that they’ve had more experience than you have—and more authority on the matter. If you set too many standards for how the work should be completed, you may prevent the company from providing you with their own direction and expertise. Make yourself open enough to hear the agency’s recommendations; they’ve done this for many clients in the past, and may have insights or ideas that you haven’t considered.

Excessive demands may also make your working relationship more complicated. If your account representative has to constantly go back and forth with new requests and demands, the total amount of time spent on your campaign will increase. In extreme cases, this may put a strain on your partnership, or even result in the agency charging you more for the extra work.

You should also know that there are some limitations to what can be done from a practical perspective. Demanding that a link be published within 24 hours is not realistic, for example, because of the many stages of the process (including writing, editing, submitting for publication, editorial review, revisions, and final publication). And if you’re publishing with a site not aligned with your client’s industry, you might have to compromise on the way the link is mentioned. Expecting perfection will set you up for disappointment, and may not allow your agency to produce their best work.

9. Escalating too quickly.

Marketing agencies usually seek link building help under one of two circumstances. Either they’ve taken on a new client and want to delegate a portion of the work to an outside firm, or they’re looking for a way to boost a client’s results.

In either scenario, it’s tempting to escalate as quickly as possible. These agencies want their clients to see results, or at least work, as soon as possible, and in their mind, that means publishing as many links as possible in the span of a few weeks to a few months. The problem is, this excessive link building activity can be counterproductive; if Google notices too many links being built too quickly, it may consider them to be unnatural, earning your client a penalty rather than increasing their rankings.

Most link building agencies know this, and set early expectations with their clients that links should be built gradually over time. However, if you pressure them to churn out more work, they may give into your requests, and publish an excessive number of links at a faster pace than they’re used to. And if you’re using multiple link building services, or are building links on your own, your agency may be unwittingly contributing to a link building strategy that’s growing way too quickly.

Patience is a virtue here. Instead of opting for the biggest or boldest campaign a link builder has to offer, consider starting with a smaller campaign, gradually scaling up as you start seeing more results. While you’re at it, keep your link building agency in the loop about any other link building strategies you’re utilizing; that way, you can work together to ensure that your link building campaign scales at an appropriate pace.

10. Treating all your clients the same.

Too many marketing agencies treat link building as part of some massive, uniform assembly line. They get a new client, onboard them, and sign up for the same link building package they’ve used for past clients, with no new instructions, goals, or modifications, expecting to see the same results.

In many cases, you will see similar results; the same number of links, from the same range of sources, across the same time period will almost certainly increase your new client’s DA at the same pace, and earn a similar amount of referral traffic. However, you could be missing out on some serious advantages by making simple modifications to the core link building program.

Even if they come from the same industry or have a similar background, clients can differ in many ways:

Goals. One client may only care about referral traffic, while another would prefer to see an increase in search rankings. One client may want a general rise in DA (and overall rankings), while another might only care about increasing in rankings for a specific search term. You can’t use the same tactics for two different clients and expect to see two different sets of results. Brand character. Different brands tolerate references in different ways; some prefer specific types of publishers, some want to be mentioned specifically, and others would prefer to be mentioned only passively. Current authority. Clients that start with a higher authority will need higher-DA publishers, more intensive action, and (usually) more new links to see results. You can’t use the same package for a well-established industry authority and a newcomer who’s just starting out. Expectations. Client expectations should also play a role in how you shop for link building packages. Though the experts (either you or your link building provider) should be shaping those expectations, a client who expects faster results will need different care than one who’s ready for a slow-burn campaign.

These (and other) differences will, cumulatively, respond to your strategies in different ways. For example, some clients may tolerate a more aggressive link building..

Read more: audiencebloom.com

#agencies #agency #building #link #links #should #their #they #work #your #COPYWRITING

0 notes

onlinemarketingcourses · 5 years

Text

The 17 Deadly Sins of Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies

Published 09/27/2018 by Jayson DeMers | 0 Comments

The Advantages of Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies

Expertise. Link building agencies have spent years building their businesses to master the art of link building. It’s only natural that they’d be better at navigating this terrain than most general marketing agencies. As a result, their links tend to be higher-quality, with better results.

Accountability. If something ever goes wrong with the campaign, you’ll have someone external to hold accountable. It will be on them to find the mistake, take corrective action, or suggest a new strategy to make up the difference—and they might even lend you special services for free to make it up to you.

Affordability. Though you might be reluctant to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars a month on an external service, the reality is, most link building agencies will be far less expensive than trying to do the work yourself. Hiring someone in-house is almost always more expensive, and you might get inferior quality work as well.

Outsourcing Link Building for Agencies Gone Wrong

If you want to see these benefits, you’re going to have to avoid these deadly—yet common mistakes:

1. Picking a cheap provider.

Most marketing agencies looking for a new link building provider want to save time and/or money. Accordingly, they act rationally by shopping around for the best price.

But in the link building world, the lowest price isn’t always the best price. In fact, it tends to skew in the opposite direction: you get what you pay for.

By paying less for an agency, you’ll probably get one or more of the following:

Fewer checks and balances. Reputable agencies tend to cost more because they have more internal positions to account for; they might have a team of writers, a team of editors, a team of reviewers who examine the work before publishing, and a team dedicated to managing publisher relations. If you try to pin all this work on one or two separate teams, the end result will be more mistakes, lower quality work, and less consistent work.

Fewer guarantees and assurances. Cheaper agencies aren’t as dependable because they may not have account managers who truly care about your brand. They may also rely on quantity of clients rather than quality, and therefore may be willing to lose your business over a disagreement.

Lower-quality publishers. The more authority a publisher has, the more valuable it is. Unfortunately, that authority comes with a cost; it takes more time and effort to establish and build that reputation, and much more work to maintain it. Low-cost agencies can’t possibly afford to maintain these systems, and may instead favor low-authority publishers, which can damage your campaign.

2. Working with non-native speakers.

Before I get too far in explaining this point, I want to note that it’s entirely possible for non-native English speakers to be competent, or even gifted writers.

Some link building agencies make it a point to acknowledge that they work with non-native speakers, but for the most part, you’ll have to do some investigating to be sure:

Examine their past work. Link building agencies often like to show off some of the work they’ve done in the past, so check it out. Ask for samples if you have to. The quality of the writing should indicate the linguistic histories of their writers.

Ask them directly. You could also just ask your prospective vendor directly if they use any non-native English speakers. Some agencies may try to hide this fact, but if asked point-blank, they’ll probably give you a straightforward answer.

Make sure you’re working with an agency that employs native speakers exclusively for the services you’re targeting.

3. Shooting for quantity over quality.

4. Treating all sites as equal.

There are several qualities to keep in mind here:

Traffic. DA shouldn’t be the only consideration for the discerning agency, however. You should also consider how much traffic the publication gets—after all, links are just as valuable for generating referral traffic as they are for improving rankings. The higher the traffic for a source, the more traffic your client will stand to receive from a high-quality link.

Reputation. Though not as objectively measurable, you should also consider each publisher’s overall reputation—especially if your client is getting a brand name mention. A publisher with high journalistic standards and universal acclaim will benefit your clients’ reputations more positively than a site that publishes any material that comes their way.

5. Allowing link exchanges (or other schemes).

This mistake can be tricky to avoid, since link schemes come in many forms, and no link building agency would make the mistake of publicizing that they utilize schemes.

The disadvantage in using link schemes is clear; Google explicitly forbids the use of link schemes for the purposes of improving a site’s rankings. Link schemes include, but aren’t limited to:

Excessively exchanging links with a limited number of sources. Link exchanges are one of the most common types of schemes. If an agency seems to use the same few sources to build links pointing to each other, it’s a bad sign.

Any automated programs to build links. There aren’t many steps of the link building process that can be effectively automated without risking the integrity of the campaign. If an agency uses bots to publish links across the web, you should probably stay away from them.

Low-quality directories and bookmark sites. Link directories and bookmarking sites exist to host links and direct traffic, so Google doesn’t take them seriously. In fact, your clients might get penalized for being featured there.

Hidden links. Though not a common practice anymore, embedded links that have been hidden in widgets, comments, or websites are heavily frowned upon.

Spammy forum comments. If employed cleverly, forum and blog comments can be used to build high-quality links. But for the most part, comment-based links have no place in a modern campaign.

6. Offering no direction.

At a minimum, you should be willing to provide the following information:

The ultimate goals of the campaign. Is your client looking only for increased rankings? Or would they prefer improving referral traffic? What about reputation benefits? Link building agencies work better when they know what your clients’ goals are.

Past and present SEO efforts. Link building is just one ingredient in a successful SEO campaign. Knowing what else has been going on—both past and present—is useful for tailoring the specifics of the campaign.

Anchor text preferences. Anchor text probably isn’t going to make or break your campaign, and relying on it too heavily can make your links seem spammy. However, targeted anchor text can probably push a keyword or two over the edge.

Publisher preferences. As I mentioned earlier, not all publishers are the same. Working with your link building agency can help you ensure the right publishers are used for your clients’ campaigns.

Setting these expectations early can ensure your client gets what they need, and maximize the efficiency of the campaign.

7. Failing to capture your clients’ needs.

Providing direction to your link building agency is good, but only if you have a good understanding of your clients’ goals—and use that understanding to inform your direction.

8. Making too many demands.

9. Escalating too quickly.

10. Treating all your clients the same.

Even if they come from the same industry or have a similar background, clients can differ in many ways:

Brand character. Different brands tolerate references in different ways; some prefer specific types of publishers, some want to be mentioned specifically, and others would prefer to be mentioned only passively.

Current authority. Clients that start with a higher authority will need higher-DA publishers, more intensive action, and (usually) more new links to see results. You can’t use the same package for a well-established industry authority and a newcomer who’s just starting out.

Expectations. Client expectations should also play a role in how you shop for link building packages. Though the experts (either you or your link building provider) should be shaping those expectations, a client who expects faster results will need different care than one who’s ready for a slow-burn campaign.

These (and other) differences will, cumulatively, respond to your strategies in different ways. For example, some clients may tolerate a more aggressive link building campaign than others. Some clients may benefit from specific anchor text more than others.

11. Making a transaction instead of building a relationship.

Most link building agencies offer monthly package deals as well as a-la-carte link ordering. This makes it easy to view the link building process as a transactional one; you spend a fixed amount of money, get a fixed number of links, and move onto the rest of your campaign.

However, it’s much more effective to treat your relationship with your link building provider as an actual relationship, and not just a one-time exchange. That means working with the same account rep as long as possible, having occasional meetings, and establishing a precedent for a long-term partnership.

This is advantageous for several reasons:

Better client understanding. The longer you work together, the more your link building agency will get to know your clients’ brands, needs, and expectations. That understanding will lead to more efficient work, and better recommendations for what to do next.

More effective communication. The more time you spend in meetings with your link building agency, and sending material back and forth, the more efficiently you’ll be able to communicate. You’ll pick up on each other’s subtext faster, and will be able to anticipate each other’s needs and concerns.

Discounts and favors. If you stay on good terms, your link building agency may extend special discounts or favors to you, in return for being such a loyal client. This is especially valuable since most link building companies offer peripheral and related services, such as conversion optimization or social media marketing.

Consistency and expectations. Long-term business partnerships also give you more consistency, which is important if you want to set firm standards for what your clients can expect.

If you treat the relationship as too transactional, you’ll end up spending more time and more effort for inferior results.

12. Not negotiating the contract.

Most link building agencies offer a standard contract when you sign up for their services, but you should consider negotiating certain elements of this contract. Consider these factors:

Price. The first thing you’ll probably notice is the bottom-line price. Most agencies charge either a monthly rate or a per-link rate, but you may find some that charge a variable rate, or some that offer different rates for extra services, such as admin fees or research fees. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting charged for.

Length/volume. It’s also a good idea to examine the length or duration of the contract; for example, if you sign up for a monthly link building service, there may be a minimum contract duration (such as one year), with a fee for early cancelation. Most link builders will disclose these terms proactively, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

Service stipulations. How exactly are these services going to be rendered? Ideally, your contract will state exactly how and when your links will be built, and what recourse you may have if those links aren’t built within the specified parameters.

Other terms and conditions. What other terms and conditions are there? You may be required to sign an NDA, and if you’re utilizing a white-label solution, you should check to make sure the contract specifically defines this relationship.

You may not be able to get a strictly better deal, but you should be able to rebalance the contract to better suit your needs. For example, you might be able to secure yourself a lower per-link price in exchange for extending the terms of the contract. In any case, make sure to review the wording and sections of the contract carefully.

13. Treating link building as the only solution.

Naturally, I’m a major proponent of link building. It’s an invaluable source of referral traffic, domain authority, and reputation benefits. But at the same time, it isn’t a perfect or comprehensive solution for your client’s marketing needs.

Link building is best suited as one of several complementary strategies. It works exceptionally well when paired up with content marketing, on-site SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing, and can take brands even further with a PR campaign or advertising campaign. If your link building agency can provide some of these services, consider providing them. If you can supplement some of these services on your own, consider supplementing them. If all else fails, you can at least set the expectation with your client that they’re going to need more than just link building if they want to grow their presence online.

This is important because it prevents link building from becoming the sole focus of any of your clients. Ultimately, a multifaceted campaign with multiple different strategies working together will offer better results, a higher ROI, and greater risk mitigation should any of those independent strategies fail.

Obviously, utilizing more strategies means investing more time, more money, or both, but those are the costs of a well-orchestrated, interwoven marketing strategy. Don’t put all your clients’ eggs in one basket.

14. Not checking live work.

Once you’ve found a link building agency you trust, it’s natural to assume that the work they produce will match the quality standards you’ve come to expect. They might have glowing reviews, you might have seen some compelling examples of their recent work, and you might have a fantastic relationship with your account representative.

But even so, it’s foolish to assume that a link has been built without checking the live result.

Here’s why:

Trust, but verify. You can usually trust that the work was done effectively, and in accordance with your contract and expectations—but it never hurts to check. You might find that the link was finalized with the wrong publisher, or that the link you were sent was broken. Mistakes like these are usually honest, so catching them early can ensure they’re fixed with haste.

Check for errors. Sometimes, errors can make it through the editorial process and wind up on the finished article. This is your last chance to check for them. Give the finished article a thorough scan for spelling mistakes, inaccurate statements, and broken links. Even the best agencies may slip up from time to time, and it’s far better to catch a mistake on day 1 than day 100.

Get inspired. This is also your chance to view a finished guest post and client link in a live environment. Not only does this put you closer to the process (which can help you manage client expectations in the future), it may also help you brainstorm link building tactics to use in the future, such as a new topic, or different wording or positioning.

Always take a few extra minutes at the end of any order or monthly submission to ensure the work has been completed satisfactorily. It can save you lots of headaches later on.

15. Compromising on data.

Data is the only way to tell if your campaign is working, and the only objective source to tell you what needs to be improved. Your link building company is responsible for proving their results to you (and by proxy, your clients) with objective numbers, and this isn’t up for debate or compromise.

At a minimum, you should know:

The number of links built. This one should be obvious, and might already be in your contract, but it still pays to know. If your link builder is outstanding, they’ll also be able to generate a report for how many total links your client has pointing to them, including ones that weren’t built as part of this contract.

The DA of each link source. Each publisher’s relative domain authority should be public knowledge. That way, you can quantify the value of each link.

Your clients’ DAs. Over time, you should expect your client’s domain authority to grow. If it doesn’t that could be a sign that something’s wrong.

Incoming referral traffic from each source. Referral traffic is another handy measure to gauge the value of each link. The more traffic you get from a single link, the more valuable it is.

If your link builder can’t give you these numbers directly for any reason (such as not having access to your clients’ Google Analytics accounts), they should be able to provide you with the direction and resources necessary to get them. Don’t assume that everything is working—let the numbers show you the way.

16. Failing to calculate ROI.

Most link building agencies provide raw data to their clients, but it’s on you to help your clients understand their ROI from those efforts. If you want to ensure you’re getting adequate results, you need to take things further by calculating your total return on investment (ROI).

There are a few different ways to calculate this as a middleman. You can start by calculating your agency’s own ROI (which is simple). Just take the amount of money your client is paying you (or the portion you’ve allocated for link building) and subtract what you’re paying the link builder. A positive result means you’re making money on this deal.

But perhaps more importantly, you should know whether your client is getting what they’re paying for. Work with your client to figure out the value of the average visitor using metrics like average transaction size, or conversion rates combined with traffic figures. Then, determine how many new visitors are coming from link-related sources (including referral traffic, organic traffic from search engines, and perhaps increased direct traffic from increased passive knowledge of the brand). The goal is to give your client more in value than they’re paying for services.

The only caveat here is that link building is a gradual, long-term process; you might start out with a low ROI that grows over time, so don’t get upset or give up if you aren’t positive in the first few months.

17. Accepting mediocre results.

Even if you’ve had an amicable working relationship, or if you’ve been partners for many years, there’s no reason for your marketing agency to accept mediocre results. You have the data. You have the ROI stats. Now it’s on you to take action if you (and your clients) aren’t seeing the results you want.

If your relationship is in good standing, you can start by having a conversation about your expectations and how they aren’t being met. From there, you can work on a mutual plan to escalate things, and see better results in the future. If your agency is unwilling to make concessions or take extra steps for you and your clients, it may be time to find a new link building partner.

Otherwise, treat this as an ongoing experiment. Work with your link building vendor to make a change, see how it affects your results, then keep the positive changes and reject the negative ones. Once you’ve read and accepted the weaknesses of these critical mistakes, you’ll be ready to start outsourcing your clients’ link building needs.

vimeo

When you feel confident you’re ready for the next step, make sure to contact us here at AudienceBloom. We have some of the best marketers, writers, publishers, and analysts in the industry, and many of our biggest clients are agencies working with us on white label link building services to get better results for clients of their own. Reach out today, and let’s start a conversation about how we can get you (and your clients) better results through better link building!

What can we help you with?

Jayson DeMers

Jayson DeMers is the Founder & CEO of AudienceBloom. You can contact him on LinkedIn, Google+, or Twitter.

Looking to grow your traffic?

Our managed SEO and social campaigns and high domain authority link building will increase your presence and organic search engine traffic.

Request a rate card

Want more great resources?

Check out our new Resource Library, with over 100 expert articles spanning all aspects of online marketing, divided into 16 chapters.

See our Resource Library

Source link

Share to Unlock Contentimage/svg+xml

Share this article for get Money Making Websites List

ShareTweet

Click for get it: Money Making Websites List

0 notes

coffeeonthebrunhild-blog · 6 years

Text

SolidS Unit CD Vol. 2 Translation

[Disclaimer: I did not write the content of this drama CD myself; I only translated it into English. I worked hard on this translation, so please do not re-post without my permission. Copies of these CDs can be purchased from wonderful sites like CD Japan or Animate International.

When it comes to Japanese I still have much to learn, so if you notice a mistranslation, please kindly let me know.]

Track 1: You’re Not Allowed to Object (異論は認めない)

Shiki: That being said, I know this is sudden, but after today’s job is finished, we’ll all be moving into the dorms.

Tsubasa: Haah!?

Dai: Yessir.

Rikka: Roger. I’ve been expecting this for a while, so I’m pretty much packed… But telling us in the morning that we’re moving tonight already really is sudden, Shiki.

Shiki: It seems there was a miscommunication between the dorm and the agency. Sorry, Rikka. They just sent me the dorm’s address along with a map. I have the keys for each of our rooms. This one is Dai’s, Rikka’s, and then Tsubasa’s. They’re already furnished with the bare necessities, so there shouldn’t be a problem staying there tonight. You can pick up your clothes and everyday stuff tomorrow morning. If there’s anything else you can’t live without, buy it yourself tonight. Don’t forget to keep the receipt. Beyond that, any large furniture or personal items can be moved at a later date, and you can arrange that with the person in charge at the agency. It’s up to you to discuss scheduling with the manager. That’s all. Any questions?

Tsubasa: Yes, me me me!!

Shiki: You’re not allowed to object.

Tsubasa: But I haven’t said anything yet!

Shiki: *sigh* What, then?

Tsubasa: I don’t wanna move into a dorm.

Shiki: I’ll say it again: you’re not allowed to object. Now then, everybody get your things—

Tsubasa: Wait, wait, wait!! Don’t decide all this for us! At least talk to us about it first!

Shiki: It’s written into your contract.

Tsubasa: Eh?

Rikka: It’s certainly in there.

Shiki: On top of that, I mentioned it myself when I explained your contract. But you just said, “Yeah yeah, got it, you handle the details,” and left it at that.

Dai: You just wanted it over with.

Tsubasa: Geh!

Shiki: Therefore, you have no right to complain. Hopefully this will teach you that you should read a contract carefully before you sign it. That’s what adults do.

Tsubasa: Gehh! Damn tyrannical producer!

Rikka: Now, now, Tsubasa, calm down.

Shiki: I’m sorry we couldn’t give you more notice. But, when we took into account our upcoming schedule and the timing for Tsubasa’s exams, today was the only day it worked out.

Tsubasa: Can you not make this my fault!?

Dai: “Idol Repeats a Year…”

Tsubasa: It’s not that bad yet! Don’t turn me into the latest scandal!

Shiki: We’ll each have our own room, and the agency covers the dorm’s utility costs. It’s located in the Tokyo metro area, with good public transportation access. Your commute to school shouldn’t be bad. So what’s the problem?

Tsubasa: I have loads of ‘em!

Rikka: Could it be… your parents won’t approve?

Tsubasa: Uh, nah, that’s not an issue. My folks have a noninterference policy, so I’m on my own. And even if they didn’t, I’m already an adult. Actually, I’m living alone right now.

Shiki: Then what is it? Do you think you’ll be homesick?

Tsubasa: Don’t make fun of me!

Shiki: What don’t you like about this?

Tsubasa: To start with, your attitude.

Dai: How childish are you?

Tsubasa: Shut it, Dai-chan! You know how much I hate it when people go over my head!

Dai: Don’t call me Dai-chan! What’s wrong with the dorm? It looks like it’s close to your college.

Rikka: Ah, so it is! This seems like it’d be pretty convenient for you, Tsubasa.

Dai: In the first place, these days you only go home to sleep, right? You’re only changing where your bed is.

Tsubasa: That’s a huge problem, though! He’s arbitrarily dictating what our lifestyles should be! Doesn’t that bother you, Dai?

Dai: Not particularly. We knew this when we signed.

Tsubasa: You traitor!

Dai: I don’t remember being your ally.

Tsubasa: Usually, everybody thinks dorm life is depressing!

Dai: We won’t know that until we try it, right?

Rikka: That’s right, this will be Dai’s first time living alone.

Tsubasa: What about you, Rikka? Are you okay with the dorm?

Rikka: Me? Yup! I don’t really mind it. If anything, I’m grateful. With my schedule getting so busy, going back home in between just means more trouble.

Shiki: Also, there’s lots of merits to living in the dorm. I’ve been in a Tsukino dorm since I debuted. It’s nice not having to worry about being ambushed by fans or harassed by haters.

Rikka: Ah, that really is nice.

Tsubasa: What’s with those celebrity-like lines…

Shiki: We are celebrities. And you two are part of us now, right?

Dai: Shiki, I just want to make sure: what do you mean by harassment?

Shiki: Hm. Some mundane examples would be stalking, and sneak photography.

Rikka: There’s also, let’s see, fishing through your garbage to steal things, and leaving various items in your mailbox, yeah?

Tsubasa: Gehhh.

Dai: Seriously?

Shiki: You’re pretty lucky if that’s all you have to deal with. When it gets more complicated, things can escalate into police incidents.

Tsubasa: Gaaah, stop tryin’ to scare me!

Shiki: It’s the truth.

Rikka: Also, when you keep coming home to a dark, empty apartment night after night, it can really take a toll on your spirit. I hate that feeling, so I’ve been staying at the agency a lot. I’ll welcome the move.

Shiki: At the dorm, there’s always somebody else around.

Tsubasa: Urrrgh, but, you know! You can’t have much privacy in a dorm. I really hate how everything we do will be controlled. I can feel my free spirited mentality screaming!

Shiki: I could care less about your privacy or your mentality.

Tsubasa: That’s my biggest issue!!

Dai: Since when are you so delicate?

Rikka: And you, Dai? Is there anything you’re worried about? I think Shiki explained everything to your parents, but… if there’s anything else, you should tell us now.

Dai: There’s not particularly. My mom said it’s fine, too. If anything, she’s happier not paying my food expenses.

Rikka: Oh really? That’s a relief. If there’s ever anything bothering you, you can always talk to me or Shiki.

Dai: Yessir.

Shiki: Mm. Well then, shall we get to work?

Tsubasa: Ahh, I worked hard today! But after this day of honest work, I’m going to a dorm instead of my own home… Awww.

Rikka: Hehe, good work, Tsubasa. The dorm will be your palace soon enough. We have a full schedule tomorrow morning, so maybe you’ll appreciate being so close to work then. Um, Shiki. Our first interview tomorrow morning is pretty early, isn’t it?

Shiki: Yeah, it’s at 7. Oi, Tsubasa. Even if the dorm is close to the agency, don’t oversleep.

Tsubasa: Ehh? Darling, you’ll wake me up, won’t you?

Shiki: You’re better off not sleeping, Honey.

Dai: Oh, I should’ve brought my pillow.

Tsubasa: Huh? Dai-chan, are you the type who can’t sleep with a different pillow?

Dai: I can sleep, but if the pillow’s too fluffy my neck’ll hurt.

Rikka: To prevent that, you can roll up a towel and use that for a pillow.

Tsubasa: Oooh, as expected of Rikka, the celebrity who can sleep anywhere! Nice advice. *Gasp* Crap, I forgot something too! Clean underwear! I planned to buy some while we were moving!

Shiki: Is that a word you should say so loudly?

Tsubasa: Argh, all the stores’ll be closed this late. Dammit! I figured I’d at least start my imprisonment with some super expensive underwear!

Dai: What kind of underwear is that? The expensive ones can’t be that different, right?

Tsubasa: Some top brands go for around 10,000 yen.

Dai: Seriously!?

Shiki: You can endure for another day. The convenience store will have some.

Tsubasa: Underwear, underwear… Ah, here we go.

Dai: Can I get this t-shirt to sleep in?

Shiki: Yeah, that’s fine. It’s pretty cheap.

Dai: Thanks.

Tsubasa: Yuck, they only have white shirts.

Dai: You complain too much.

Tsubasa: But I’d never wear this again. It’s too much of a waste.

Dai: The agency is buying, so it’s fine.

Tsubasa: Ugh. Ah, Rikka? You need any underwear?

Rikka: Nah, I’m okay.

Shiki: Hm? No need to hold back.

Rikka: No, that’s not it.

Tsubasa: *Gasp* Oh my god… are you a nudist?? Rikka, are you the type who sleeps naked!?

Rikka: I’m not! I just already have my underwear.

Dai: Just how well prepared are you?

Rikka: I thought we’d be out late tonight. When going home is too much trouble, I stay in hotels sometimes. So when it looks like a late night, I pack ahead of time.

Tsubasa: So you carry yours with you…

Dai: That’s a model for you.

Rikka: Um, if you’re that impressed, it’s actually embarrassing…

Dai: Ah!

Tsubasa: Hm? What’s up, Dai-chan?

Dai: This song…

Tsubasa: Ooh, it’s our song!

Shiki: The agency is really promoting it, after all.

Dai: This is the first time I’ve heard it outside. … It’s a weird feeling.

Tsubasa: Ehh, really? Aren’t we cool?

Shiki: Obviously.

Tsubasa: That’s surprising. I thought you’d be more modest.

Shiki: I have complete confidence in all of you. There’s no way you wouldn’t be cool.

Tsubasa: !! … R-really…

Dai: … Yessir.

Rikka: Hehe!

Dai: I wonder how many people are hearing this right now.

Rikka: It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? To think we really did have our debut…

Shiki: It’s no big deal.

Tsubasa: I’m not sure if you really are that self-assured, or you just can’t read the mood.

Rikka: Hehe, that’s how Shiki is. Compared to him, I’m sentimental. Making our debut, moving to the dorm, starting everything in earnest… It’s such an exciting feeling. When I think that the story of SolidS—our story—is finally starting, it makes me happy.

Shiki: Well, it’s true we met our starting conditions. … Once again, all of you, *bows* I’m looking forward to working with you.

Tsubasa: Shiki…

Rikka: Mm. That’s our line. We’re counting on you, Leader. Everyone, I look forward to working with you.

Tsubasa: Heh! Roger! Let’s all be open with each other. We don’t need any stuffy pretenses between us, okay? Let’s face each other, fight it out, and have a blast.

Dai: Sounds good. … I’m looking forward to it.

Shiki: Well, shall we head to our new home?

Track 2: Cohabitation, Start! (共同生活の始まり)

*opening a box*

Dai: Somehow, I ended up with a ton of stuff. After I told her not to pack that much… I’ve already been here a week, huh. It’s about time I finish unpacking, but… with all our jobs, I can only work on it at night. It’s gonna take a while.

*Knocking*

Dai: Come in!

Rikka: Dai. Are you busy right now?

Dai: Nah, not really.

Rikka: Did you do a little more unpacking? Wait, huh? Is this all you brought? There’s so little…

Dai: I was thinking this is plenty, though. We’ve got the furniture, and there’s a convenience store nearby. I don’t need to bring much else, right? Uh, well? Did you need something?

Rikka: Ah, yeah. If you want, will you come to the lounge? I was thinking we could eat some snacks and rice porridge[A1] .

Dai: Didn’t the cafeteria close at 9?

Rikka: That’s why I’m going to make it. They said we could use the kitchen in the common room, so that makes me want to try it out. Though, that’s just an excuse. Unpacking my things just made me hungry.

Dai: You eat a lot for how thin you are.

Rikka: Haha! I’m told that a lot.

*Crash*

Tsubasa: Whooa!! Oww….

Rikka: That was… from Tsubasa’s room, wasn’t it?

Dai: *sigh* What’d he do now?

Dai: Hey, Tsubasa, you’re being too lou— Geh! What’s with this disaster scene?

Tsubasa: Oh, Dai and Rikka! Perfect timing! If you’re free, could you help me clean up?

Rikka: Ummm, you have… quite a few things here.

Tsubasa: Ah, really? There’s so much stuff I forgot to bring, though.

Rikka: A guitar, a folding bike, a CD tower… What’s this ball?

Tsubasa: My personal futsal ball! It’s really big at my college right now.

Dai: What’s this Mt. Hakone-sized pile over here?

Tsubasa: Just what it looks like—shoes.

Dai: How many feet do you have, octopus? Throw out half of ‘em.

Tsubasa: What’re you saying? To be ready for any occasion, I need at least that many!

Dai: Yeah, yeah, I get it. Before you pull out anything else, let’s at least get all these clothes off the floor. Ugh, geez. Aw, look here! Since you put all this stuff on top, it’s become a foundation now…. *Starts cleaning*

Tsubasa: I woke up Dai’s inner mother-in-law!

Rikka: I’ll help too, so you make sure you do your part, okay Tsubasa? Though even with our help, this is just… It doesn’t look like we can clean this up in one night.

Tsubasa: Right? Gaah, what a pain! This is why I didn’t wanna move!

Rikka: Now, now. You’re tired too, right Tsubasa? Let’s clean up this corner, and then take a break for some snacks.

Tsubasa: Yeah, let’s eat! But before that, I wanna see your room, Rikka!

Rikka: Huh? But, it’s still a mess?

Tsubasa: It can’t be worse than my room!

Rikka: Well, there’s nothing I wouldn’t want you to see, so I don’t mind…

Tsubasa: Awright, it’s decided! Let’s observe a model’s habitat! *Leaves*

Dai: He’s never cleaning all this up. I’ll bet you anything.

Rikka: Haha…

Tsubasa: Pardon the intrusion~ Ooooh!

Dai: Ooh!

Tsubasa & Dai: This is a model’s room!

Rikka: You two really won’t let that go, huh…

Tsubasa: Like I thought, there’s lots of cool stuff!

Dai: Right? There’s a lot of stuff, but it doesn’t look cluttered. Why is that?

Rikka: Hmmm… the balance between the things I do and don’t show off, maybe?

Tsubasa: Ooh, that sofa looks expensive!

Rikka: Ah, that was a prop for a shoot I did once. I felt strangely comfortable sitting on it, so I splurged and bought it afterwards. I’m too attached to get rid of it.

Dai: Rikka, can I sit on it?

Rikka: Go ahead.

*Dai sits*

Dai: Ooh, it’s soft and fluffy. It really is relaxing.

Rikka: I’d prefer to have a tidy room like yours, Dai, but it’s just too hard.

Tsubasa: Hey, hey, Rikka! Can I look in your closet?

Rikka: You’re both really into this. Go ahead.

Tsubasa: Tada! … Whoa, how stylish!

Dai: Lemme see. Whoa. Are you the Fashion Banchou?

Rikka: Banchou!? I got interested in clothes because of my work, and I buy a lot of the items I’ve modeled, so it just keeps growing. Now! If you two are satisfied, shall we have our snacks?

Tsubasa: Ahh, I’m starving!

Shiki: Oh, it’s you guys. You’re still up?

Rikka: It’s Shiki!

Dai: Sir.

Tsubasa: You’re done with your meetings?

Shiki: Yeah. I just got back.

Rikka: Good work. It must be rough being both leader and producer. If you’re up for it, wanna join us for a light snack?

Shiki: Hmm. I could go for something spicy.

Rikka: Okay! Coming right up.

Shiki: Want some coffee?

Tsubasa: Ah, I do! Hey, are you done unpacking your room?

Shiki: Yeah. I was already in a dorm, so I just moved everything as-is. It was easy since the floorplan is the same.

Dai: Heeh. There’s other dorms, then?

Shiki: There’s several. It’s mostly about security, so they’re all built the same way. The guys you met at the agency recently, from Gravi and Procella, live a little closer to Shibuya.

Dai: Heeh, near Shibuya?

Tsubasa: Ah, I exchanged e-mails with everyone! Dai-chan, let’s go hang out at their dorm sometime soon! They have a huge pet rabbit that’ll eat anything!

Shiki: Tsubasa. It’s fine and good to make friends, but those kids are our agency’s precious top sellers. Don’t teach them anything weird. Their managers and the President would kill me.

Tsubasa: You don’t trust me at all!

Dai: You reap what you sow.

Rikka: Everyone, the food is ready! Eat it while it’s warm.

Track 3: Irritation (苛立ち)

Rikka: Mm… *stretching* Today’s a photo shoot, right? What time is it…? Good, I still have plenty of time. Okay! *gets up*

Shiki: Rikka.

Rikka: Oh, Shiki! Morning. You’re up early.

Shiki: You, too. Want some coffee?

Rikka: No, sorry. I’ll have some later.

Shiki: That outfit means… you’re going for a run?

Rikka: Yup! Just for a little. Since we’ve been out all day lately, I don’t know the area well yet. I’ve been getting some exercise while looking around.

Shiki: You shouldn’t push yourself too hard; just look at the guy who lazes around all day.

Rikka: I don’t run every day. When it’s raining, I stay home.

Dai: *yawn* Good… morning.

Shiki: Morning.

Rikka: Morning, Dai. Did you sleep okay? The snacks didn’t give you a stomachache?

Dai: Nah, s’fine. I slept so hard I didn’t even dream. I got my pillow yesterday.

Rikka: Oh good! I’m happy for you. Well, I’m heading out. I’ll be back in less than an hour.

Shiki: Got it.

Dai: We were up super late last night, but he’s still running… Is he a monster?

Shiki: Must be his routine. He’s always been worried about staying in shape.

Dai: Isn’t he fit enough as it is?

Shiki: He’s not the type to cut corners. You wouldn’t think he wanted to quit, huh?

Dai: How diligent is he?

Shiki: Well, it’s true you can’t survive on looks alone.

Dai: So he’s talented, and a hard worker? He’s really something. He’s been in the industry longer than you have, right?

Shiki: Yeah. From that perspective he’s my senpai. Anyway, what about you, Dai? You don’t have a workout routine?

Dai: I did before, but lately, not really.

Shiki: Really? Well, you just changed your entire lifestyle. Don’t overdo it.

Dai: Eh?

Shiki: You look like you want to start running too now.

Dai: Nah, I… don’t really… Probably…

Shiki: Pfff. Compete with Rikka if you want, but you should give yourself a little more time to settle into your new life. Don’t rush it. Hurting yourself won’t accomplish anything.

Dai: … Yessir.

Shiki: By the way… is your partner still sleeping?

Dai: Please stop treating me and Tsubasa like a set.

Shiki: I need you to help keep him in line. Please. He always butts heads with me, but he seems like he’ll listen to you and Rikka, to an extent at least.

Dai: *sigh* I’ll go wake him up, then.

Shiki: I appreciate it. I’ll make us some tasty black coffee.

Dai: … For mine, could you… add a little milk?

Shiki: Pff. Understood.

Tsubasa: *yawning* So sleepy…

Dai: But you slept as late as you possibly could!

Tsubasa: I can’t help it if I’m sleepy. *yawns* Wake me when we get there…

Shiki: Oi! Look sharp! If you’re half asleep in front of the camera—

*Tsubasa snoring*

Shiki: That was fast!

Rikka: Haha…

Dai: Well, in his case, I think he’ll wake up the instant you point a camera at him.

Shiki: *Long sigh*

Rikka: He’s quite a showman, our Tsubasa.

Dai: He just likes standing out.

Rikka: But that’s a valuable talent too.

Shiki: Well, it helps that nothing fazes him, but…

Dai: Can’t we just throw him into some kinda variety show? That, or a comedy show.

Rikka: Haha, good idea! He’d get us more fans either way.

Shiki: Worst case, if he screws up today’s job, I’ll seriously consider it

Dai: Shiki raised your death flag. Do your best on the comedy show, Tsubasa.

Tsubasa: Mmm… what’re ya sayin[A2] ’… *snores*

Shiki: Well, let’s go over today’s schedule. First, we’ll go meet with the recording company. A lot of big shots will be watching you, so be prepared for that.

Rikka: I’m getting nervous…

Dai: Don’t give me that, Demon Conman.

Rikka: That’s quite a nickname!

Shiki: After that, we’ll be shooting all afternoon.

Rikka: They mostly want solo shots for our next single insert, right?

Shiki: Yeah. We’ll do a few pair and group shots too, but mainly solo. We’ll do different pictures to go with each song, which should give us the freedom to show off each member’s individual charm as well. Photography is your arena, so show off to your heart’s content, Rikka.

Rikka: But this shoot is for SolidS, not just me.

Shiki: I’m saying the rest of us will benefit if you go all out. You better not hold back on us.

Rikka: Hehehe! Roger.

Dai: But, solo shots? I have such a bad feeling about this…

Tsubasa: *sleeping*

Rikka: Tsubasa should be full of energy for the shoot.

Shiki: Hrmph.

Photographer: Okay, now let’s take a few test shots for the solo photos!

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Uh, Tsubasa-kun, do me a favor?

Tsubasa: Yes?

Photographer: Could you go for a more natural look? Right now it feels a little fake.

Tsubasa: Okay! Natural? Natural, huh… Got it!

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Ah, that’s great, Tsubasa-kun! And could you tilt your head a little more to the left? Just relax! Yeah, that’s it. Ahh, eyes on the camera. *camera clicking* This time look away, toward the ceiling… Ahhh, perfect! And now look straight at the camera and give me a little bit of a glare. Like you wanna burn a hole through the person on the other side!

Tsubasa: Roger! A burning glare… That’s it! Excuse me, can I make a request?

Photographer: What is it?

Tsubasa: Can we have Shiki stand behind the cameraman?

Shiki: Huh? What’re you saying?

Tsubasa: If my eternal nemesis is there, I’ll get way more into it.

Shiki: Your eternal nemesis?

Photographer: Haha, okay. Shiki-kun, can you do it?

Shiki: Bring it on.

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Oh! Perfect. Just like that, as provocative as you can. We’ll try out some pair shots next.

Dai: That’ll just make them scowl even worse.

Rikka: Haha. The sense of tension comes out nicely, though?

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Okay, that’s enough! Good work, you two. Go ahead and take a break.

Shiki: Okay.

Tsubasa: ‘Scuse me, can I look at the shots we just took?

Photographer: Yes. They’re all collected on this iPad, so be my guest.

Tsubasa: Thanks! Oooh! I really am cool!

Shiki: You’re such a narcissist.

Tsubasa: You were scowling way too much though.

Shiki: Worry about yourself.

Photographer: Now, while they’re resting, let’s take a few of Rikka and Dai-kun.

Rikka: Okay. I’ll be in your hands.

Dai: Yessir.

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Ooh, that glance is as cool as ever, Rikka! You’re giving me chills! If you show me a face like that, I’m gonna get greedy! Could you sweeten it up a teensy bit? Yes, yes, yes, yes! Perfect, just like that!

*camera clicking*

Tsubasa: Wow! Rikka’s all out.

Shiki: That’s what a pro looks like. Watch him closely.

Tsubasa: When he’s in work mode, Rikka’s lady killer style really is sinful, huh? He’s got that devilish vibe. He’s such a nice, normal guy inside, though.

Shiki: That contrast is his selling point.

Photographer: Great, all done! Do the real shots just like that, too.

Rikka: Yes! I’ll be relying on your direction.

Photographer: Now, last but not least, Dai-kun. You’re up.

Dai: Thanks.

Rikka: *Sigh*

Tsubasa: Sup, Lady Killer?

Rikka: I’ve got nothing on you, Tsubasa.

Tsubasa: Ahaha, don’t try to act modest.

Rikka: I’m not acting modest at all. No stuffy pretenses between us, right? Look. I really like this expression of yours, Tsubasa.

Tsubasa: Really? If you say so, Rikka, I suddenly feel more confident! I think this one is pretty cool too; your thoughts?

Rikka: Mm! That one shows off your strong will. Shiki looks…. Pfffff!

Shiki: What?

Rikka: Ah, sorry, sorry. It’s this one you took with Tsubasa. It’s really good.

Shiki: Don’t tease me.

Rikka: I’m not teasing you! You’re really making a great face! It brings out an unexpected side of you. Like, ‘Ah, Shiki can make that kind of face too.’

Shiki: Seriously, stop teasing me.

Tsubasa: As for you, Rikka, aren’t you too sinfully seductive? I kinda feel like I’ll get turned on if I look at this too much. How can I produce pheromones like this?

Shiki: Wasn’t there a better way you could have said that?

Tsubasa: Eh? That was a mega compliment, though?

Rikka: Um….. Thank you… very much….

Tsubasa: Ugh, seriously, how do you do this?

Rikka: Hahaha….

*camera clicking*

Photographer: You’re still too stiff, Dai-kun. Could you liven your face up a bit more?

Dai: !! Sorry.

*camera clicking*

Shiki: Dai is struggling, huh.

Rikka: It looks like it. If he gets stuck now, he’ll only get more nervous. I’m a little worried.

*camera clicking*

Photographer: Pretend you’re on stage, and give us some impact!

Dai: Okay….

Photographer: I saw the tape of your first show. You were making a great face. Try remembering how you felt then? With the heat of the venue, and the fans’ excited faces…

Assistant 1: Man, even though he’s got the looks…

Assistant 2: We just need to cure this awkwardness.

Rikka: Um, why don’t we take a breather? A change of pace might help.

Photographer: You’re right. Let’s do that.

Dai: Um!! I’m… fine. I’ll keep going!

Tsubasa: Yes, yes, good work! *throws arm around Dai* You’re way too stiff, Dai-chan. Relax!

Dai: *throws Tsubasa off* Shut up.

Shiki: Well, not everyone thoughtlessly nails their first shoot like Tsubasa did. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Don’t let it bother you.

Tsubasa: If you’re gonna praise me, could you do it more directly, Producer?

Shiki: But, I need you to master this. Get used to it. This is another part of the job.

Dai: ! … Yessir.

Rikka: Don’t worry. You can definitely do it, Dai.

Dai: That’s easy for you to say.

Rikka: Huh?

Tsubasa: Hey now, Dai!

Dai: !! …. Sorry.

Rikka: …. No…. I was a little insensitive, too. Sorry.

Dai: ….. Bathroom. I’m gonna cool my head.

Shiki: Dai’s especially nervous today.

Tsubasa: Rikka, sorry about that? That’s not how he really feels… He was just taking his frustration with himself out on you. Unlike me, Dai-chan is really responsible and hard-working, you know?

Rikka: Ah, yeah, I know. Thanks, Tsubasa. I don’t mind. Even when you’re used to it, standing in front of the camera can be stressful, and it’s even worse when you’re not. I just forgot about that.

Tsubasa: Hm? Does that mean even you get nervous, Rikka?

Rikka: Yes! Of course I do.

Tsubasa: While making that sexy face?

Rikka: Umm….

Tsubasa: Really? That’s surprising. I’ve never really been nervous before. Sometimes I shake when I’m really worked up, though. Like, trembling with excitement?

Rikka: Haha, that sounds like you.

Shiki: If you and Dai could balance out, that would be perfect.

Tsubasa: What’re you saying? If we did that, we’d both be average and boring, right?

Photographer: Haha, that’s true.

Shiki: Director! Good work.

Photographer: Good work, Shiki. Well, we planned an extra day of shooting in case something like this happened, so don’t worry. There’s no need to rush. We got several decent shots, and compared to when he started, he’s doing much better. Getting a good expression out of him is my job.

Shiki: We really appreciate you saying that.

Photographer: I think Dai-kun has a lot of potential. That’s why I couldn’t help but ask for too much. Ah, Rikka. I’d like to take a lot more shots of you like we did earlier. I wanna capture that same atmosphere from before. Can you pose again?

Rikka: Ah, yes. I understand.

Dai: What’s wrong with me? I’m being such a brat.

Track 4: I Don’t Wanna Lose (負けたくない)

*Dai enters his room & shuts himself in the bathroom*

*Water running*

Dai: *sigh* … I thought they’d never leave me alone. *sigh* In the end, I couldn’t finish the shoot. They said we’ll try again tomorrow, but… I’m the only one who’s not done. … He said to liven up my face, but… how am I supposed to do that?

Tsubasa: *enters Dai’s room* Dai-chan! Huh, that’s weird. I thought he came in here… *Enters bathroom* Ah, here you are! *Snaps picture*

Dai: Wa—! What the heck!!

Tsubasa: It’s a candid pic of Dai~.

Dai: Quit the pointless crap!

Tsubasa: It’s not pointless! They told me to do this. *more pictures*

Dai: Haah?

Tsubasa: They said to take a bunch of candid pics. They’ll use ‘em in fan club releases. And if we take lotsa pictures of you, Dai, you’ll get used to the camera.

Dai: *sigh*

Tsubasa: Oi!

Dai: *flops down on his bed*

Tsubasa: O~i. Dai? Dai-chan?

Dai: What?

Tsubasa: I’m warning you now: don’t you dare say things like being an idol isn’t your style, or you’re not suited for it.

Dai: I won’t say that.

Tsubasa: Oh yeah?

Dai: Don’t belittle me. Once I decide to do something, I won’t back down that easily.

Tsubasa: Ahh, that’s a relief. If you said something that lame, I’d hafta beat the crap outta you.

Dai: Stop thinking you can settle everything with your fists. We’re not living in an old TV show. We’re all human, so we should try talking it out first.

Tsubasa: Ha! You look tough, Dai, but you’re more the mature, pacifist type, huh? But, wouldn’t a punch get the point across faster sometimes?

Dai: Never. And anyway, if we pulled that crap now, Shiki’d be super pissed.

Tsubasa: Uwa, what a pain.

Dai: If you get it, restrain yourself. *covers himself with his blanket*

Tsubasa: Joking aside, you’re pretty discouraged, right?

Dai: … Not particularly. Not discouraged. I never thought I’d be good at this from the start.

Tsubasa: So you were expecting this?

Dai: At least, I know there’s no point comparing myself to you.

Tsubasa: Ha! Well, yeah. If I do say so myself, I’m a natural. I’m taking to it like a fish to water.

Dai: You said it.

Tsubasa: But, becoming a fish is your specialty, right? Since you were a swimmer!

Dai: Were you trying to say something clever there?

Tsubasa: Wasn’t it clever?

Dai: It wasn’t. If you came here to nag me, you suck at it.

Tsubasa: Hmmm, close, but not quite.

Dai: Huh?

Tsubasa: I’m looking out for you as your elder. C’mon, Dai-chan, tell Tsubasa-onii-chan all about it! I’ll listen to all your complaints!

Dai: *sigh* Get out! *starts to drag Tsubasa out*

Tsubasa: Whoa, w-w-wait, wait!! I get it, I get it! I’ll stop, I’ll stop, so don’t pull me, you’re stretching my shirt! This t-shirt is a premium brand, you know!? And Dai-chan, aren’t you a pacifist!? Are you listening!?

Dai: I’m not listening!

Tsubasa: Then listen!! *Dai shoves him out* Oi, Dai!

*Dai locks the door*

Tsubasa: Geez, you’re so obviously down. I’ll tell you this—ever since you bit Rikka’s head off earlier, he’s been way more depressed than you are! You better apologize for real later, okay? That’s it for your Onii-chan’s lecture!

Dai: *sigh* Who the heck is my ‘onii-chan,’ dumbass?

Rikka: *sigh*

Shiki: Rikka! *approaches* There you are. You weren’t in your room, so I was looking for you.

Rikka: Oh… sorry.

Shiki: Can I sit here?

Rikka: Mm, of course. *He moves aside so Shiki can sit* Um, Shiki…

Shiki: What’s up?

Rikka: I’m sorry… about today. I ruined the mood at the studio…

Shiki: You didn’t do anything wrong. Dai is responsible for his own attitude.

Rikka: You’re really harsh.

Shiki: It’s not that I’m blaming Dai. We’re asking him to do something completely foreign to him, at a professional level. Of course he’s going to feel nervous.

Rikka: Mm… that’s true.

Shiki: By the way, Tsubasa is an exception. He’s all kinds of abnormal. Comparing the two of them is idiotic.

Rikka: Very true.

Shiki: Everybody’s like Dai when they start. He won’t give up after one little setback. He’s a tough kid. But, if you get depressed over this, too, how can we help him?

Rikka: … I guess you’re right. I get your point, but… Sorry. Somehow, I can’t help but make this personal.

Shiki: You mean Dai’s problem?

Rikka: Mm. Yes. A really long time ago, when I was still a small child… When I had only just started modeling, and people kept telling me to smile, there was a time when I stopped knowing what kind of face I should make. I thought too much into it, and it got to a point where I couldn’t look at the camera.

Shiki: Hmph. That sounds like you. You’re so earnest that you always end up overthinking things.

Rikka: Heh, right? Watching Dai today, I found myself remembering that time. So, I got anxious for him and selfishly interfered, even though I know I should just watch over him. I shouldn’t have said those things.

Shiki: Even though he looks so strong and collected on the outside, our Dai is actually really sensitive, right? I understand. You two have more in common than you’d think.

Rikka: Eh? Do we?

Shiki: Yup. Neither of you has a personality to match how you look.

Rikka: Heh! I see.

Shiki: But, how did you get past it?

Rikka: Huh?

Shiki: You couldn’t smile anymore, right? But even so, you overcame that. That’s why you’re here today.

Rikka: Oh, right. That was…

Now he mentions it, what did I do back then…? I wasn’t even in grade school yet. The staff were all adults, so I got nervous and froze up… and I couldn’t follow their instructions. The more we tried to re-do the shoot, the more I panicked… and we couldn’t accomplish anything at all. When that happened… what did I do? Did I just get used to it after trying over and over? At some point, I just got over it? … No…

Shiki: Rikka?

Dai: Hey. What’re you two whispering about?

Rikka: !! Dai!

Dai: You’re talking about me, aren’t you?

Shiki: Yeah, we are.

Dai: If it’s about all the things I did wrong today, please tell me too.

Shiki: That’s not what this is about.

Rikka: We were just going over what happened today.

Dai: Isn’t it weird for you to go over my problems?

Rikka: Mm… that’s true, but… Dai! I’m so sorry about today! It might have seemed like I don’t believe in you, and maybe you thought I brushed over your feelings, but that’s not it! I wish I could have said things a little better—

Dai: Hold on! You don’t get it at all, do you?

Rikka: Eh?

Dai: I was just down on myself cuz you’re so damn cool!!

Rikka: !!! Dai…!

Dai: Don’t make me spell out something so embarrassing! Dammit… It’s not like I wanna stand out like Tsubasa. I like listening to music, but I never cared about singing myself. I don’t think I’m particularly talented. I’ve known from the start that I’m not suited for this job.

Rikka: That’s not—

Dai: Just hang on and let me finish!! In my wildest dreams, I never thought of becoming an idol. But that day, when Shiki scouted me… I suddenly wanted to try it. I don’t understand it myself. But I knew I wanted to do this! So I said yes. Even knowing I’m not suited for it, I still said I’d do it! I didn’t come here with half assed resolve. So don’t look down on me! … I’m still a beginner, so I’m not anywhere close to the rest of you, and there’s a ton of stuff I can’t do, but I won’t be the only one you go easy on! I don’t hate working hard, and challenging myself. That’s just fine with me. Honestly… it’s really fun. I don’t wanna lose to Tsubasa, or Shiki, or to you, either, Rikka!

Rikka: Don’t wanna lose…

Shiki: Dai. That’s enough for now.

Dai: !! Sorry. But sometimes when I look at him, I get so freaking pissed off. So please let me say this while I have the chance. You’re so much more capable than I am, and yet you act like you don’t have any self-confidence, when you’re the one I wanna surpass, Rikka!

Rikka: Surpass… …AH!

Dai: !!! What!?

Rikka: That’s it! I just remembered!

Shiki: Remembered what?

Rikka: Shiki, there’s something I want to try for Dai’s shoot tomorrow. Could I talk to you about it?

Shiki: Well, if it’s something I can help with.

Rikka: Will you trust me with this, Dai?

Dai: …. Huh? Uh, I don’t really get it, but… of course.

Track 5: 「Grin」

Photographer: Ok, all done! We’re ready for you.

Shiki: Sorry for the sudden request.

Photographer: If the first attempt doesn’t work out, it makes sense to change your approach.

Rikka: Thank you so much.

Photographer: This was your idea, Rikka?

Rikk: Yes. I remembered when I did a shoot like this in the past.

Photographer: I see.

Tsubasa: Ooh, this is an interesting set-up.

Dai: ? How do we shoot like this?

Rikka: Dai, c’mere! You sit right here.

Dai: *sits*

Rikka: And then I’ll sit here across from you.

Dai: And?

Rikka: Let’s chat for a little while.

Dai: Chat? What about the shoot?

Rikka: Don’t you worry about that.

Dai: Don’t worry..? But that’s not gonna work. We have to finish today!

Rikka: And we will! When you make a good face, Dai, I’ll snap a picture myself.

Dai: … Huh?

Rikka: Hehe! This thing I’m holding is called a “release.” It’s like a remote switch for the camera. See how this cable connects to that camera over there?

Dai: Ah… It really does!

*camera click*

Rikka: You have a really cool profile, Dai. Your figure is really nice and masculine.

Dai: !! What’s with the shameless sneak photography!?

Rikka: Sneak photography? I guess you’re right! But isn’t it fun? Dai, you’re much more expressive when you’re talking casually, rather than freezing up in front of the camera. When I thought about how to capture those expressions, I came up with this. This way, you don’t feel like you’re being photographed, right?

Tsubasa: Hey hey, Dai-chan, look over here! S-mi-le!

Dai: You go away!

*camera click*

Dai: !! Oi, Rikka!!

Rikka: Haha! But that was such a cute face. You and Tsubasa really are close.

Dai: No we’re not.

Tsubasa: D-Dai-chan! Aren’t you being meaner than usual?

Rikka: You never make that kind of face for me, though. Maybe I’m a little jealous?

Dai: Huh!? D-don’t be stupid!!

*camera click*

Rikka: I think we’ll get lots of great shots today. Now, since we have the chance, I’d like to hear all about you, Dai. Is that okay?

Dai: … Do what you want.

*camera click*

Rikka: Yup! I plan to. Let’s take our time.

Photographer: Well, well. This is pretty interesting.

Shiki: It really is. We’re all used to seeing these expressions, but they’re completely different from what he showed on our music videos and single covers so far. His fans will love it.

Photographer: Having Rikka do the shooting is interesting from a technical standpoint too. You can really tell how experienced he is by how well he times the camera.

Shiki: It’s only… These pictures will look really out of place next to all the shots we took yesterday.

Photographer: That is a problem… Dai-kun might feel more comfortable after this, so we can try shooting his again, but…

Tsubasa: Can’t we just re-shoot all of them?

Shiki: Hmph. Don’t ask that so easily.

Tsubasa: What’s this now? You can’t do it, Leader?

Shiki: … Is there any chance you’d consider it?

Photographer: Hmmm… Okay. Let’s give it a try! To make it work, in case we can’t finish today, we’ll use both yesterday’s and today’s pictures on the insert. It’ll be hard work for all of you boys, though.

Tsubasa: No prob, no prob! Just leave it to us!

Shiki: Thank you so much! Let’s do that.

Photographer: Okay, it’s settled! Let’s get to it then. Oi! Can you set up the same system over here too? Chop chop!

*camera click*

Rikka: You used to swim competitively, right Dai?

Dai: Well, yeah.

Rikka: How long ago did you start?

Dai: I went to a swimming school when I was little. I can’t remember what started it. Maybe my parents wanted me to.

Rikka: And did you like swimming?

Dai: I mean, if I hated it I wouldn’t’ve keep going, right? I was good at it, so… !!

Rikka: What’s wrong?

Dai: Nah… Maybe I just did it because it felt good to do something I was good at, and not because I actually liked it.

Rikka: Hm. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Dai: Really?

Rikka: They say to truly enjoy a sport, you need to be better at it than anyone else. You achieve the best possible feeling once you can keep moving without conscious thought, and control your body as well as you want to.

Dai: I think I kinda get that.

*camera click*

Rikka: What did you think about while you were swimming?

Dai: Nothing really… It felt good when there was nobody in front of me. That’s all. Because the water was peaceful. It felt like my own personal space, all alone with the water sparkling from the sunlight around me. In that space, there was nothing to think about but moving on, further, and further, carving my path through the water. Further, and further. It was an amazing feeling.

*camera click*

Rikka: See? You really did love swimming.

*camera click*

Rikka: That was your best expression yet!

Dai: I forgot about the camera.

Rikka: I’m glad to hear it. Just as planned, right?

Dai: Agh, screw it. *gets up*

Rikka: Huh? What’s the matter?

Dai: Outta the way. It’s my turn.

Rikka: Eh!?

Dai: Let me take some pictures of you! It’s not fair if it’s just me. This time I’ll take ‘em, so make that face from just now again.

Rikka: You’re being unreasonable. Just now, what kind of face was I making?

Dai: A super evil looking smile.

Rikka: Evil looking? Pfff, really? I can make a face like that?

Dai: Don’t act so innocent. You always look like that when you’re feeling good!

Rikka: Eh, do I really? I had no idea. Nobody’s told me that before.

Dai: Oh yeah? Well now’s my chance to show it to the rest of the world. C’mon, move. Swap out. And then… let me hear all about you, too.

Rikka: Gladly. I’m all yours.

~End~

[A1]Zousui: rice gruel containing vegetables, fish, etc., and seasoned with miso or soy sauce.

[A2]I can’t quite hear this, but I think he might be doing a manzai-type tsukkomi line, as one does in a comedy show.

#tsukipro #SolidS #drama cd #translation

0 notes