December Challenge 28 - Lost in Translation
Title - Lost in Translation
Author - unwritten_ideas
Rating - PG-13 (language)
Word Count - 550
Pairing - Gackt x Jon
Characters - Gackt, Jon
Disclaimer - don’t own squat and if I did, I’d be posting this with pictures
Summary - sometimes, things just do not translate correctly....
“Have you finished those lyrics yet, Jon?”
Jon looked up from the piece of paper in front of him. It was covered in black ink and was full of jumbled words and crossings out, but amidst the chaos that littered the page were the lyrics Gackt was asking him about.
“Yeah,” he replied, “I just need to type them up.”
“Don’t bother,” Gackt said, “I want to check that they make sense first.”
Jon noticed that Gackt had an electronic English dictionary in his hand and was slightly taken aback. He could understand if Gackt wanted to check that they flowed with the Japanese lyrics or matched the theme of the song, but checking that they made sense? “I’m a native English speaker, G. Of course they make sense.”
Gackt sat down next to Jon and placed the dictionary on top of the messy page. “Remember when you translated the YFC documentary?”
Of course Jon remembered. For an entire month he’d seen nothing other than the faces of Gackt and the old YFC staring at him from his TV screen as he translated their comments. It had been a hard task for him as despite his Japanese proficiency, he was no translator and had never written subtitles before. “Yes.”
“All of your subtitles made sense, right?”
“I think so,” Jon said nervously. He hadn’t known Gackt for long, but he knew that Gackt always had a goal in mind when he asked these leading questions and Jon was becoming worried about what that goal might be.
“Even the one about the ‘hot throbbing cock’?”
Jon’s eyes went wide. “That was an honest mistake…”
“Was it,” Gackt said. It wasn’t a question, more a sarcastic and dead pan statement. Gackt had been becoming increasingly sarcastic since Jon had known him and Jon wasn’t entirely sure he approved.
“You used the word ‘chin-chin’,” Jon explained, “I know that it can mean heat and the sound of a kettle, but it’s such an old meaning. Cock is so much more…”
“…inappropriate for what I was saying at the time,” Gackt said.
“…modern and popular,” Jon said finishing his sentence. “I’d never heard it used to refer to a kettle before.”
“I don’t believe you,” Gackt said. “I think there was another reason why you used the phrase you used.”
Jon looked puzzled. “And what reason is that?!”
“You were watching me, and couldn’t help but think of hot, throbbing cocks.”
“I…what?!” Jon spluttered.
“It’s okay,” Gackt said, leaning into Jon so that his breath ghosted over Jon’s ear, “I have that effect on a lot of people.”
“I wasn’t thinking about your cock,” Jon exclaimed.
“I don’t remember specifying that it was my cock you were thinking of,” Gackt said. “And even if you weren’t thinking about it then, I bet you are now.”
The slight reddening of Jon’s cheeks was all the answer Gackt needed.
“It really is okay though,” Gackt said softly, moving closer so that this time, his lips actually did brush Jon’s ear, “I don’t mind if you think about my cock.”
Jon sat in stunned silence as Gackt stood up, picked up his electronic dictionary and also the lyrics Jon had been working on, and simply walked away in silence.
It was going to be a long tour.
~owari
Notes
1) Everyone remembers that "mistake" on the YFC Europe tour documentary, right?
2) For those that don't, Gackt was giving a pre-show pep talk and was talking about the audience and the venue. He used the word チンチン (chinchin) which can mean both the sound of a boiling kettle (so, it would infer that the crowd were boiling hot) but it is also (children's) slang for penis. Jon translated Gackt's speech as hot, throbbing cock, when it should probably have been the other meaning...
Author - unwritten_ideas
Rating - PG-13 (language)
Word Count - 550
Pairing - Gackt x Jon
Characters - Gackt, Jon
Disclaimer - don’t own squat and if I did, I’d be posting this with pictures
Summary - sometimes, things just do not translate correctly....
“Have you finished those lyrics yet, Jon?”
Jon looked up from the piece of paper in front of him. It was covered in black ink and was full of jumbled words and crossings out, but amidst the chaos that littered the page were the lyrics Gackt was asking him about.
“Yeah,” he replied, “I just need to type them up.”
“Don’t bother,” Gackt said, “I want to check that they make sense first.”
Jon noticed that Gackt had an electronic English dictionary in his hand and was slightly taken aback. He could understand if Gackt wanted to check that they flowed with the Japanese lyrics or matched the theme of the song, but checking that they made sense? “I’m a native English speaker, G. Of course they make sense.”
Gackt sat down next to Jon and placed the dictionary on top of the messy page. “Remember when you translated the YFC documentary?”
Of course Jon remembered. For an entire month he’d seen nothing other than the faces of Gackt and the old YFC staring at him from his TV screen as he translated their comments. It had been a hard task for him as despite his Japanese proficiency, he was no translator and had never written subtitles before. “Yes.”
“All of your subtitles made sense, right?”
“I think so,” Jon said nervously. He hadn’t known Gackt for long, but he knew that Gackt always had a goal in mind when he asked these leading questions and Jon was becoming worried about what that goal might be.
“Even the one about the ‘hot throbbing cock’?”
Jon’s eyes went wide. “That was an honest mistake…”
“Was it,” Gackt said. It wasn’t a question, more a sarcastic and dead pan statement. Gackt had been becoming increasingly sarcastic since Jon had known him and Jon wasn’t entirely sure he approved.
“You used the word ‘chin-chin’,” Jon explained, “I know that it can mean heat and the sound of a kettle, but it’s such an old meaning. Cock is so much more…”
“…inappropriate for what I was saying at the time,” Gackt said.
“…modern and popular,” Jon said finishing his sentence. “I’d never heard it used to refer to a kettle before.”
“I don’t believe you,” Gackt said. “I think there was another reason why you used the phrase you used.”
Jon looked puzzled. “And what reason is that?!”
“You were watching me, and couldn’t help but think of hot, throbbing cocks.”
“I…what?!” Jon spluttered.
“It’s okay,” Gackt said, leaning into Jon so that his breath ghosted over Jon’s ear, “I have that effect on a lot of people.”
“I wasn’t thinking about your cock,” Jon exclaimed.
“I don’t remember specifying that it was my cock you were thinking of,” Gackt said. “And even if you weren’t thinking about it then, I bet you are now.”
The slight reddening of Jon’s cheeks was all the answer Gackt needed.
“It really is okay though,” Gackt said softly, moving closer so that this time, his lips actually did brush Jon’s ear, “I don’t mind if you think about my cock.”
Jon sat in stunned silence as Gackt stood up, picked up his electronic dictionary and also the lyrics Jon had been working on, and simply walked away in silence.
It was going to be a long tour.
~owari
Notes
1) Everyone remembers that "mistake" on the YFC Europe tour documentary, right?
2) For those that don't, Gackt was giving a pre-show pep talk and was talking about the audience and the venue. He used the word チンチン (chinchin) which can mean both the sound of a boiling kettle (so, it would infer that the crowd were boiling hot) but it is also (children's) slang for penis. Jon translated Gackt's speech as hot, throbbing cock, when it should probably have been the other meaning...