Thirty Years Later (Bus Memory #37) [Loveless, Ritsuka, OFC, mentioned Ritsuka/Soubi, G, 150 words]
“Where are you heading to?” The young woman sitting next to him asked. Ritsuka was still not used to perfect strangers striking up conversations with him on public transportations.
“W University. I’m a guest speaker for a Japanese class.”
“Kamijou-sensei no kurasu desuka?” She smiled brightly. “I’m taking his class right now. Arisu to mou shimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”
“Aoyagi desu. It’s nice to meet you,” he answered warmly. “Alice-san, your Japanese is very fluent.”
“No, not at all. Aoyagi-san, when did you come here?”
“I’m only visiting for two weeks. My partner was going to come at first...”
This fresh-faced student with her open demeanor reminded him of Yuiko, and Ritsuka found himself opening up. “We’re not getting any younger; it’d be nice if he retires.”
Alice nodded in tacit agreement.
“Alice-san, if you don’t mind, can we take a picture together? I want to share this memory with him.”
A/N: I blame my sudden inability to write 100-word drabbles on studying Japanese. The language is so verbose/maze-y compared to straightforward English. My brain probably got rerouted a bit.
Japanese semi-translation of the characters' conversation:
(If, say, Alice has had 2-3 yrs of Jps under her belt. I see Ritsuka as switching back and forth between Japanese and English when talking to Jps-speaking foreigners depending on how difficult he thinks the vocabulary is. And yes, I'm amused by Ritsuka referring to Soubi as "wife" in Jps.)
アリス: 上條先生のクラスですか。I’m taking his class right now。アリスと申します。よろしくお願いします。
青柳立夏: 青柳です。It’s nice to meet you。アリスさんの日本語はぺらぺらですね。
アリス: いいえ、まだまだです。青柳さん、いつかシアトルにいらっしゃったんですか。
立夏: 二週間に遊びに来たよ。妻は一緒に行きたがっていたけど…
立夏: We’re not getting any younger; 退いた方がいいと思う。
立夏: アリスさん、よろしかったら、写真を取らせてくれませんか。 I want to share this memory with him。
Am not fluent (never been to Japan, etc.) so Ritsuka's speech pattern is probably all over the place...I picture Ritsuka as being polite to strangers/people younger than him even when he's in his forties. I've only watched up to Loveless ep. 8 and read up to Loveless v 7 ch 3 =3
(Relatively) quick explanation about Loveless:
(Or, thank you thank you thank you that Loveless anime is somehow someway allowed to pass U.S. censors)
1a. The main character, Aoyagi Ritsuka, is a 12-year-old boy who lost his memories/underwent a major personality change when he was 10. His real name is Loveless.
1b. Because of his past memory loss, Ritsuka is obsessed with "making memories" by taking pictures with people that he likes/deems important.
2a. His older brother, Aoyagi Seimei (17), died a horrific death shortly before the series start. Seimei's real name is Beloved.
2b. Their mother has been verbally and physically abusing Ritsuka because he's not "her" Ritsuka. Seimei is no longer there to protect Ritsuka.
3a. Agatsuma Soubi, a 20-year-old art student and Seimei's 'friend,' shows up one day and claims to love Ritsuka (following Seimei's orders). They kiss a lot, etc.
3b. Soubi wants Ritsuka to dominate him and give him orders.
4. ...I don't even know how to start explaining #3b. Let's put it this way: I have yet to see a single Loveless fic on AO3 where Soubi is the seme.
5. Virgins in that universe have cat-like tails and ears. You become earless and tailless when you have sex, and you become an 'adult.' Ritsuka and Seimei still have ears; Soubi lost his ears at a young age.
“W University. I’m a guest speaker for a Japanese class.”
“Kamijou-sensei no kurasu desuka?” She smiled brightly. “I’m taking his class right now. Arisu to mou shimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”
“Aoyagi desu. It’s nice to meet you,” he answered warmly. “Alice-san, your Japanese is very fluent.”
“No, not at all. Aoyagi-san, when did you come here?”
“I’m only visiting for two weeks. My partner was going to come at first...”
This fresh-faced student with her open demeanor reminded him of Yuiko, and Ritsuka found himself opening up. “We’re not getting any younger; it’d be nice if he retires.”
Alice nodded in tacit agreement.
“Alice-san, if you don’t mind, can we take a picture together? I want to share this memory with him.”
A/N: I blame my sudden inability to write 100-word drabbles on studying Japanese. The language is so verbose/maze-y compared to straightforward English. My brain probably got rerouted a bit.
Japanese semi-translation of the characters' conversation:
(If, say, Alice has had 2-3 yrs of Jps under her belt. I see Ritsuka as switching back and forth between Japanese and English when talking to Jps-speaking foreigners depending on how difficult he thinks the vocabulary is. And yes, I'm amused by Ritsuka referring to Soubi as "wife" in Jps.)
アリス: 上條先生のクラスですか。I’m taking his class right now。アリスと申します。よろしくお願いします。
青柳立夏: 青柳です。It’s nice to meet you。アリスさんの日本語はぺらぺらですね。
アリス: いいえ、まだまだです。青柳さん、いつかシアトルにいらっしゃったんですか。
立夏: 二週間に遊びに来たよ。妻は一緒に行きたがっていたけど…
立夏: We’re not getting any younger; 退いた方がいいと思う。
立夏: アリスさん、よろしかったら、写真を取らせてくれませんか。 I want to share this memory with him。
Am not fluent (never been to Japan, etc.) so Ritsuka's speech pattern is probably all over the place...I picture Ritsuka as being polite to strangers/people younger than him even when he's in his forties. I've only watched up to Loveless ep. 8 and read up to Loveless v 7 ch 3 =3
(Relatively) quick explanation about Loveless:
(Or, thank you thank you thank you that Loveless anime is somehow someway allowed to pass U.S. censors)
1a. The main character, Aoyagi Ritsuka, is a 12-year-old boy who lost his memories/underwent a major personality change when he was 10. His real name is Loveless.
1b. Because of his past memory loss, Ritsuka is obsessed with "making memories" by taking pictures with people that he likes/deems important.
2a. His older brother, Aoyagi Seimei (17), died a horrific death shortly before the series start. Seimei's real name is Beloved.
2b. Their mother has been verbally and physically abusing Ritsuka because he's not "her" Ritsuka. Seimei is no longer there to protect Ritsuka.
3a. Agatsuma Soubi, a 20-year-old art student and Seimei's 'friend,' shows up one day and claims to love Ritsuka (following Seimei's orders). They kiss a lot, etc.
3b. Soubi wants Ritsuka to dominate him and give him orders.
4. ...I don't even know how to start explaining #3b. Let's put it this way: I have yet to see a single Loveless fic on AO3 where Soubi is the seme.
5. Virgins in that universe have cat-like tails and ears. You become earless and tailless when you have sex, and you become an 'adult.' Ritsuka and Seimei still have ears; Soubi lost his ears at a young age.