(and I do genuinely mean conversation, I’d love to hear other people’s input on this, because I did just write a long-ass post about the subjectivity of interpretation in translations)
So when I started interacting with the fandom and reading people’s fics, I got really confused by the way some folks were writing dialogue for Lan Wangji; he often sounded super awkward, spoke in fragments, and sometimes exclusively in third person. To be fair, all of those are elements of his speech at various times, but like, seeing it in English-language material felt like a really heavy-handed way of rendering it in translation?
I guess when you use third person within the first three episodes of the show, it makes a pretty big impression on the audience
This is not at all intended to be a criticism of people who are 1000% writing and creating wonderful work, which is more than I can say for myself, but I want to poke and prod and tease at some linguistic nuance here.
Take a deep breath, grab a pot of tea (this’ll take more than a cup), because we’re going to take the scenic route on this one–
i’m watching mdzs and i was just reading the comments on the episode of the archery match and wuxian took wangji’s headband off. someone said “he metaphorically stole lan zhan’s virginity” and i can’t stop thinking about that
Lan Qiren: Wangji, do you still remember Lan Sect’s rules? Don’t make noise. Don’t push, fight / chase. Don’t be unhappy today. Happy Birthday!
Lan Xichen: Wangji, Happy Birthday! I’m glad to see your growth today. Hope you can smile so happy forever.
Lan Sizhui: Sizhui wishes Hanguang-jun Happy Birtheday. Happy and peace will always be with you, and smile will always be on your face.
Lan Jingyi: Hanguang-jun, Happy Birthday! The most surprising thing for me this year is Hanguang-jun, such a cool man would smile. Wish Hanguang-jun will always be happy.
Wei Wuxian: Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, look at me, look at me! Today is your birthday. These Gentian flowers are for you. Hope you can be always smiling like this. Because you’re really good-looking!
