This summer I had been asked by @chibimyumi to make a version of Pawn & Sword Reprise that was singable in English. Taking her translation, and working on it bit by bit over the past 7 months or so, I came up with this version, which conservatively keeps a lot of the original wording, which I felt was rich in imagery and poetic to begin with and added a lyrical touch to better fit the sounds in English.
For anyone interested, yes, I listened to this song on repeat for hours, weeks on end like a fiend to match the right sounds. It’s become one of my auditory stims now. Haha
Japanese poetry and lyrics are for the majority narrative, sparing with images, just enough to give you a feel or sense of the image like smoke.
If I were to elaborate, without keeping strictly to lyrics and only focusing on concepts the imagery would have been far greater. More like page poetry. But not singable perhaps?
I have sung this several times now tweaking it and perhaps it will be tweaked more, now that I have time. But not a lot.
Here are the notes I kept while working on it. If you think these are a lot, imagine the work a translator goes through to figure out how the original should be. Please go lavish @chibimyumi with praise for her translation work and so forth. It’s some of the most tiring work ever.
(I have professional linguist/ translator friends, I hear all about it)
If anyone is so inclined I would very much take pleasure in hearing karaoke or a cover of the song using these lyrics, just to test how well of a job I’ve done. please.
Pawn and Sword Reprise: Annotated transcription - Brooke Nilsson.
(1)Your (2) relentless (3) wishes
(4)surpass your (tiny) form (5) .
(6)Wishful eyes of despair. Greedy soul!
(7) I shall be
the One to grant
Your wish.
I will be your power
Your invincible pawn!
(8)Monochrome dissonance
Plays out on this stage
Until silenced.
———–
1. /Your/ the song needed to open on a similar hard sound to Gouyoku, it’s important that openings and endings sound the same in both languages otherwise it throws the whole song off.
2. relentless: this is synonymous and gives an almost identical image to ‘welling”, it has connotations with swiftness, hard, unending tasks and treatment and is also synonymous with revenge, using it tells you the nature of the wishes.
3. Wishes is the cannon word, it is more specific than desire (this has been used in other translations), which has deeper romantic/sexual connotations and is not specific. The 3 wishes reference.
4. This is a creepy joke going on in the original which is part of Sebastian’s intent, but in English, doesn’t fit the elegance of the rest of the song. I went with the implied image of the wishes being grander than the size of the wisher. Surpass has connotations of fast, upward movement, and mobility both physically and in a class sense. It sounds British. Tiny can be inserted to reinforce the original concept, but it might be cumbersome? try it out.
5. Form vs. Body: A note about Anglo-Saxon origin words vs. Latinate. Anglo-Saxon origin words are rougher and heavier in sound, they add weight to a word, but are notably harder to sing and less elegant. Latinate origin words have smoother flowing sounds and are easily sung. While these two words mean the same thing, the Latinate carries connotations of elegance, education, and sophistication (cold, snobby, sadist) which suits Sebastian. The quickest way to differentiate class and vocal tone in English is to use Latinate vs. Anglo-Saxon. (small vs. tiny: same as described)
6. This is a compounding of the original concept/image described in this line. I moved the mention of greed from the first line to here, as it works better as a form of address and reinforces the other concepts. The same goes for the next line.
7. These two words carry the weight of ownership over a task: /Shall/ indicates “determination, obligation, something owed”. It comes from Proto-Indo-European and is the origin of the word “shield, debt, guilt, blame, fault, it is also proper present tense. (formal British). /Will/ indicates wish/desire, to do something, be used, to choose. It is future tense. It comes from Latin word vel “wish”: to satisfy, be stuffed. will/wish synonymous. (These are all archaic and 19th century Sebastian hunger centric words, for that reason this entire song is one of the best Lord/vassal oath ballads I’ve read, in epic poetry.) The last line is unchanged as it is iconic.
8.I felt that there was importance to this already being in English, so I kept it. Monochrome (ancient Greek origin) doesn’t mean the contrast of black/white, it is the opposite, the sameness. It can be any colour but only one colour, of different shades. In photography it means greyscale. But the archaic form is more precise. This metaphor is used to describe moral ambiguity/hypocrisy. Everyone assumes they have higher/different motivations but in reality, the motives are all the same. (especially in the Madame Red arc) Dissonance is conflict, harshness of sounds. I interpreted this verse to mean the resolution of the conflict, everything suddenly becoming clear and audibly silent. The mention of the stage, it’s a nice sophisticated way of saying everything will be resolved in the next act.
————-
Ciel:
Sebastian Michaelis
Your name affixed
Sealed with our contract
The demon
fallen into my grasp. (9)
Sebastian:
Even if my body dies
your heart’s desire will be fulfilled
For I am your faithful servant.
Ciel:
I do not seek happiness
(10) Not for anyone’s sake or my own
Until my revenge, until that day
I will move ever forward
Sebastian:
Maddening, noble form
exuding that alluring scent
You are my beautiful lord
If it is your wish…
Sebas: To anywhere – I shall guide you
Ciel: To anywhere – at my command
Sebas: Even in dreams, your shadow
Ciel: Swear to me –
Sebas: Secretly
Ciel: Your loyalty
——–
9.The English phrase for this concept is “fallen into my lap”. I took inspiration from Nayuta’s grasping upwardly into the air when he sings this, and felt the concept best understood as “fallen into my grasp” meaning to hold unexpected power over something, to gain power unexpectedly.
10. This line about Ciel’s motivation is often the least well understood. The idea that he is seeking revenge out of principle, duty, despite knowing that it won’t bring him or anyone else happiness. My take is that he is fulfilling a duty, satisfaction coming from the idea that no one thought he was capable of anything, yet here he is doing this task. It can be seen/felt as selfish proving yourself this way. This concept comes up a lot in disability discourse.
——–
Sebas:
(11)Bound by the threads of fate
Between dreams and reality
At the edge of reason
Wanders your soul
While the pages of your story still turn
I’ll continue to light your lamp
(12) Shielding your soul–
Even if your throne should fall
And your shimmering crown, rust away
And the dead pile towers high–
I shall heed
Until I hear your final call!
——
11./The borders of black and white/ in this context I decided that the concept here referred to ‘mental twilight’ or reason/sanity.This gets referred to a lot in the series. The threads of fate concept I rearranged the lines to give them the alliteration of the original and better narrative order in English and make it singable. Ending lines on n/l or a vowel is a professional tip.
12.The concept of preservation being sung of here, /shielding/ is a synonym for preservation and ties back to the original concept of the vows */shall/ being made. The ripening of the soul I left to subtext as this concept is redundant to the rest.
El gatoooo
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Referring to the post from into–the–abyss about the contract seal:
I researched the meaning of the words and its sigils/symbols written in the pentagram. I think it’s pretty interesting, it sounds really familiar.
Abdia: I conjure thee in secret. (Ciel accidentally summons Sebastian; no one knows)
Ballaton: Come forth from thy abode and speak clearly in my speech. (Sebastian speaks English)
Bellony: Put forth thy might and discover unto me the knowledge and power in thy keep. (Ciel uses Sebastian’s power to achieve his goals) Halliy: Answer in the inward silence all of my questions without fail. (Ciel orders Sebastian that he shall never lie) Halliza: Assume and show forth unto me thy form of divine perfection. (Sebastian appears in human form as the perfect butler) Soluzen: Open unto me thy secret door and fulfill me of my purpose. (Sebastian shall help Ciel to obtain his revenge)
In a way, the contract seal visibly holds all the conditions of the contract between Ciel and Sebastian.
There are two main differences between Sebastian’s contract seal and the original pentagram of Solomon:
One is the ring/chain/circle around the pentacle of Sebastian’s seal (that remarkably resembles Undertaker’s scars but that’s another story). It could symbolize the bond/chain between master and servant. And the other is that Sebastian’s seal is turned upside down. Originally, a pentagram with a single point projecting upwards was a Christian symbol for the five senses and protected against evil. Conversely, a reversed pentagram (like Sebastian’s) is associated with evil and occultism.
So what could this mean? The way the contract works in both stories (Solomon’s and Kuro) is pretty similar. The master who holds the contract has power over the demon. Therefore, both seals look almost alike. In the story of Solomon the demon was forced into servitude by the boy who threw the ring (that had been given to Solomon after he had prayed to God) at him. In Kuro, however, Sebastian appeared of his own will after Ciel had lost faith in God and practically forced Ciel to make a contract with him (seeing that Ciel had no other choice (than death) at this point). Maybe this difference is symbolized by the reversed pentagram.
Merry Christmas y’all <333 hope to get a very nice catboy Hunter this year! 🫶
Happy Valentine’s Day from the sergeant of the Bad Batch! ❤️
Dashing the beautiful outfit designed by mochiluxe on Instagram <33 wasn’t exactly planning a drawing for today (Brazil’s Valentine’s Day is in June), but, well I got inspired~
Hunter is forever my most inspiration 🥰
Planet Kashyyyk is still neutral at this point in the war. Yoda travels to Kashyyyk, and his personal battalion is there waiting for him (they had been sent a couple of days earlier before the arrival of Master Yoda himself) and they inform Yoda that the Trandoshans have been doing deforestation in order to drive the Wookiees away to establish Separatists bases there.
The other reason is to intimidate the Wookiees into joining the Separatists or die off. Yoda senses Count Dooku behind this attack. It was the Wookiees themselves who called on the Republic for help, but being a neutral system – only Yoda and Clone Force 99 alongside Yoda’s personal battalion were sent there, with no additional clone reinforcements. Yodas battalion consists of 41st Scout Troopers and regular white clones with Yoda’s face slapped on their helmet.
As far as Chewbacca's role in this arc, we would have been shown his wife and family. Otherwise, the main Wookie Character is Tarfful. Other Wookies such as different tribes, elders, and children would have been shown as well.
Yoda wants to help the Wookiees so they get in contact with the few remaining villages that still live near a part of the forest which hasn’t been destroyed yet but that is about to be destroyed. Yoda advises them to leave their homes, but the Wookiees don’t want to.
The Trandoshans come with a massive force and they drive the Wookiees out forcibly alongside Yoda, who are thus forced to retreat deeper into the forest and up a river which leads them to a water stream. Yoda and the clones then suggest to bait the enemies following them into an area of the forest so they can drive them away from the Wookiee villages.
Echo, new to Clone Force 99, would have become a sort of super-soldier due to all of his bionic enhancements. He would fit right in with the Bad Batch, and his demeanor changed, since he was now more cold-blooded and composed, as opposed to the indecisiveness that he showed in previous seasons. He serves as a foreshadowing of what Anakin would become.
His lobot-attachment would have been used for communications since he has a communicator close to his forehead, which shows him interfaces that were directly projected into his mind, so he would see them with his eyes but no one else around him would see them.
As for The Bad Batch, they were more accustomed to relating with the Wookiees than the regs. Hunter suggests bold strategies throughout the arc which the other clones weren’t really ok with since the followed more strict protocol. The Bad Batch also had their own hover boat, with their "clone force 99" symbol on it.
In Season 8, it was planned for The Bad Batch to execute Order 66, and they would have been treated as cold blooded assassins, a bane to Jedi. Though it likely wouldn’t have been shown on-screen. However, this arc is mostly to show the Bad Batch working with Yoda and the Wookies.
The clones suggest to burn all the trees down in that area of the forest in order to trap the enemy into their own nest. The Wookiees are against it but they then reluctantly agree that this is the best course of action and their only chance at success. They ask for forgiveness from the trees before doing this, and they then give the clones permission to do so.
Similar to the Bad Batch episode in Season 2, there are Kinrath and Maylyas deeper in the forest, and the elements of Wookies being one with nature is similar to how Yoda, a Jedi, believes in the force. The Bad Batch don't understand it, but they go along with it.
As for the Trandoshans, their leader, Babwa Venomor, was working with the Separatists, for Count Dooku. Some Trandoshans would have had night-vision goggles and snail tanks that they could use to tear through the forest.
The fires manage to slow the Trandoshans down for a bit, but it turns out not to be a definitive solution. After escaping the enemy, Yoda and the Wookiees prepare for war. The Wookiees ask for the help of tree spirits. They venture deep into the jungle in order to go warn the other Wookiee clans that the Trandoshans are coming and to sway them not to join the Separatists.
They use what happened to the Wookiees following Yoda as a motivating factor to tell the others that if the Trandoshans were not stopped, they would soon be coming for them too. In the meantime, the Trandoshans are preparing for battle and they are shown to be very tribal with trophies of dead Wookiee heads nailed to the walls.
In the fourth episode, an all out war rages near the river because the Wookiees wanted to get far away from the trees in order not to harm their environment any further; and the battle ends up on a shore similar the one displayed in Revenge of the Sith.
Separatist craft land with Droid reinforcements, but the Trandoshans are the main enemy forces. One of the Wookies would have ripped off a Trandoshan's arms. Commander Gree and his forces would join the action with Yoda and the Bad Batch.
At the end of the battle, Babwa Venomor gets decapitated by Yoda in the same way Yoda kills Gree in ROTS, and he falls into the river along with his tank. When the battle is over, Kashyyyk agrees to allow the Republic to establish clone bases there, and became an ally of the Wookies, as they foresee a larger Droid Invasion coming in the future.
Mpreg Hunter. Any ship. Any of choice. Just Pregnant!Hunter. Smut. Mom smut. Anything.
You challenged me to make Rex/Mpreg!Hunter hot and then I went and wrote 1600 words of pussy worship.... oops?
Rex doesn’t make it to Pabu very often. There are a lot of reasons for that, dangerous ones that seem to crop up around every corner these days. He knows his presence could bring trouble, and he wants to protect those boys and girl as much as he possibly can. But when Echo is insistent about bringing him along for Pabu’s version of Life Day—a day of celebration and sunlight and not a blaster in sight—he can’t say no. Life Day indeed. No one thought to warn him.
All of them are tanned and smiling, even Crosshair has gained a golden hue to his skin. But Hunter? Hunter is glowing. His hair is a little longer now, tied back into a half knot. His skin gleams with vitality and the way his middle is swollen and round makes Rex’s mouth run dry. He wants to rub his hands all over that bump. Wants to feel that little life inside move around. Wants to hang onto this moment for as long as Hunter will let him.
“So, which one?” Rex corners the sergeant after a nice meal out on the beach. He knows he is being impulsive, but he can’t hold the words back.
Hunter doesn’t pretend to not understand the question, “Don’t know. Don’t think it matters too much.” He is relaxed, happy, like this is the kind of question he is used to answering by now.
Rex tilts his head in agreement. This place and these people are a sedative to the nervous energy he always seems to carry around, and it is far too easy to imagine what it would be like to have a more permanent stake in it. “May I?”
That gets him a raised eyebrow but a gentle smile and nod too. Rex gently places one and then the other hand over Hunter’s gravid belly. His skin is warm under Rex’s palm and very quickly he feels a firm push against it, a solid little thump. He looks up at Hunter in amazement.
“She likes you.”
“She?”
Hunter shrugs. He is noncommittal but not unkind.
“What about her mama?” Rex’s eyes meet Hunter’s. They haven’t had these kinds of conversations too often, but he knows which words to use and which to swallow. He’s been well trained for it, same as Hunter. The Batch had offered their bed to him every now and again but he’d never taken them up on the offer. Now all he wanted to do was lay Hunter down on the nearest soft surface and show him just how amazing he really was.
It is Hunter’s turn to be amazed. “He likes you pretty well too.”
It was the answer Rex was hoping for, but hearing it still sends his pulse racing. He looks around, eager to make good on promises unspoken, greedy for what he missed out on this last year.
“Good. C’mon.” He’s careful as he grabs Hunter’s hand and pulls him into the house. He doesn’t miss the way the rest of the Batch smile knowingly.
Hunter is already stripping his shirt off by the time Rex has the door closed behind them. His chest is broader than Rex remembers, skin taut and tan over muscles that catch the evening light. Rex wants to worship at this altar, this impossible creature who he can’t believe is his for the taking. He grabs Hunter by the waist, kisses him hard and deep, feeling the way he melts and gives in to it.
“Rex,” Hunter gasps when he pulls back for air. “You—fuck.” Hunter lets himself be guided to the bed, fingers already working on his pants, but Rex is faster. Rex is determined. Rex wants to see and taste and experience every inch of him.
“Let me,” Rex growls, eyes blazing with a hunger that matches his voice, and he is peeling Hunter open, layer by layer, until every inch of him is splayed out and waiting, all for him. Rex pauses to take in the sight, to let it burn into his memory. Hunter’s skin is glistening with a sheen of warmth, his muscles making shadows in the dim room as he sprawls open. “So kriffing hot.” Rex descends on him with reverence and abandon, lips and hands moving over skin that is impossibly soft and hot under his touch.
He is all-consuming, applying his mouth to every inch of skin he can reach, feeling Hunter shiver and yield. Kissing and nipping at his pulse until it beats quick and sure beneath his lips. He wants to devour and savor him, wants to map him out with his tongue. He works his way down to his chest, teasing and tasting, finding those sensitive brown buds and giving one a tentative lick. That earns him a throaty gasp, a delicious sound that spurs him on. He licks again, more deliberate this time, and the gasp turns to a glorious moan as the lick becomes a gentle, insistent suck. Hunter arches into it, fingers kneading Rex’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Rex uses his hand to play with its twin, pinching and rolling it between his fingers, feeling Hunter’s body twitch and tremble beneath him. He switches sides, eager for more of those sounds, eager for all of it.
Hunter is making a noise he didn’t even know he could make, something between a whimper and a growl, and Rex is undone by it.He trails lower, tongue painting a path down Hunter’s belly, lingering at the line where skin stretches taut over his rounded middle. Rex nuzzles against it, kisses it, marvels at its fullness. “So beautiful,” he murmurs.
Hunter is panting now, eyes dark and wild, wanting and wanting and wanting. Rex can’t get enough of it, can’t get enough of him. He works his way lower, kissing a trail down to Hunter’s hips, his thighs, until he is right there.
Rex takes a moment to drink it all in, every detail of Hunter spread out before him. He is a feast, more than Rex ever imagined, and Rex wants to gorge himself on it. This is a memory he will keep forever, a sight that will haunt him when he’s off fighting battles, a sight he never dreamed he would be lucky enough to see in the first place. He presses his lips to Hunter’s inner thigh, then again, closer this time. He lets his breath fan over Hunter’s pussy. He can’t help the way his own hips grind involuntarily against the bed as he takes Hunter in like this.
“Kriff!” Hunter’s hips squirm and Rex can’t hold back a small smug smile. He is going to take his time, make Hunter feel this for days. With deliberate slowness, he runs two fingers up the outside of Hunter’s lips. Just a soft tease that makes Hunter whine in a way Rex will remember for the rest of his life, tattooed onto his mind. He wants to hear that sound every time he closes his eyes. He parts those slick folds gently, still running his fingers up and down, avoiding the tiny cock that he can see firming up. He takes each labia in turn, savoring the softness, and using his thumb and two fingers runs a gentle massaging stroke up and down before he touches deeper inside. Hunter’s breath catches and Rex knows that for once in his life, he is the one calling the shots. He is going to take Hunter apart, piece by piece, slowly and thoroughly.
“Reeeeex!”
The pleading cry only spurs him on, and he resumes teasing. He wants to keep Hunter on this edge for as long as he can stand it. The inner pink portion calls to him and the clean salty scent makes his mouth water. He lets himself have the tiniest of tastes, a quick, feather-light flick of his tongue before pulling back to drink in the reaction. Hunter’s hips buck and Rex is amazed at how sensitive he is, how much Rex can affect him.
Hunter is panting, voice catching, delirious with the teases. “Please,” he begs.
Rex wants to make a permanent home in that voice, that desperate begging voice. He gives another soft lick, then another, then another, until Hunter’s cries are coming in waves and his entire body is trembling with it. His mouth is everywhere, everywhere but where Hunter wants it most, and he has to hold Hunter’s hips down to keep him still enough not to buck right off the bed. When Hunter is finally keening and breathless, Rex lets his mouth close over the tiny cock and just holds it there, inhaling against Hunter’s skin, until Hunter makes a frustrated noise that has Rex nearly undone. Rex lets his breath ghost over him again, pulling back and then moving in closer, the warmth of it just kissing the edge of where Hunter needs it. He wants to hear every sound, watch every twitch, draw every single reaction out.
Rex can barely stand it himself, the way his dick is straining against his pants almost painfully, but he isn’t going to rush. He wants to savor it, savor Hunter. He flicks his tongue again and this time doesn’t stop, watches Hunter writhe as he slowly, slowly drags his tongue up and down the length of him. Rex is breathless with it, rutting against the bed to keep his own sanity. Hunter cries out again, half-sob, half-gasp, and Rex knows he will never get enough of that sound. He laps at Hunter’s glistening slick, tongue moving with more insistence now, more pressure, and Hunter’s hips buck again, his entire body tensing and quaking with it.
Rex knows he’s going to have to hear Hunter beg for it a thousand more times before he’s satisfied.
First drawing of the year, so Ofc here is my muse 🫶
Love my babygirl to bits. Me thinks he deserves comfortable clothes, pretty too. Pastel pink would look good on him <333
His body too…I might have perfected it. Just thinks 😳
Oh Hunter. My love. ❤️✨
YEAH FR @orionfrommars - I did a small redesign of it with the new armor and the red and black 😭 now I feel like drawing the modified Omega fit
Red and black is just a very good choice for me. It’s two colors that are used with “dark side” characters, but now it’s used by the good guys. I always thought that was metal af. Now it’s just. Perry Platypus
unpopular opinion but i liked his original armor better
More Preg Hunter!! This one from last year so it’s not one of my bestest but this looks so so so cute. Gotta love catboy Hunt
Utterly adorable kitty mama
:3 meow or whatever
Hunter Badbatch my muse which is interesting because he is in fact not my favourite hmm
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Earl of the Phantomhive-Joestar Clone Household & Pregnant Hunter Connoisseur ❤️🇧🇷✨
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