For Sailormoon fans (and it's also slightly relevant to Sonata the Drama) · 12:52am Apr 3rd, 2017
In which Moth succeeds at the one thing no Sailormoon fan or translator has EVER accomplished:
The perfect translation of "Maboroshi no Ginzuishou".
"Maboroshi no Ginzuishou" is one of those things that absolutely defies cohesive English translation, because "maboroshi" itself has a variety of interpretive meanings. Steeped as I am in Sailor Moon lore, I don't believe any English translation offered over the last quarter century--official or fan-created--truly, accurately reflects the majesty and romanticism of the name, which is why I usually actively avoid translating it into English in fanfiction. However, the narrative conventions of Sonata the Drama required me to do the one thing I hate doing most in terms of Sailormoon fanfiction, so...
I gave it a LOT of thought. I dug into the recesses of my memory to ferret out every scrap of information and romanticism and lore about the Ginzuishou, as well as every conceivable translation of "Maboroshi", and my own linguistic savvy--the knowledge that direct translations are NEVER as good as contextual translations.
Factoring in all of the above, I came up with my own unique interpretation: "Silver Dreaming Crystal".
Since a lot of readers skip tagged blogs, I'm repeating all this crap in the author's notes of the next chapter of Sonata the Drama, which should be due out later tonight.
Huh. That's very interesting.
Ginzuishou...that's the thing that powers Sailor Moon's later transformations and is super important to the 'Silver Millennium', right?
Huh. I like the implication that the crystal is aware, but normally quiescent. And when awakened, it dreams a new world according to the wishes of the one that wields it.
I like it. I like it very much.
4481606 It is THE most important thing in the entire Sailormoon universe. It's pretty much the central focus point of every single story arc: Beryl needed it to revive Metaria, Death Phantom needed it to power Nemesis and use it to destroy Earth, Crystal Tokyo was left defenseless and with Neo-Queen Serenity in a coma because Small Lady stole it, its power was the only thing that changed the way the Silence happened when Sailor Saturn brought down her Glaive...and so forth, and so on. It's basically a cosmic keystone.
4481610 Exactly!
4481612 Oh yeah, that Silver Crystal, right?
4481612
...so is it going to have some connection to the Monkey Crystals?
4481618 Nope. The only relevance it has for the purposes of this story is that Sailor Moon herself is the "Great Rabbit". Like I said above, this is all purely incidental, but it's something that came up in the writing.
I'm afraid that I've never really delved into the Sailor Moon franchise, but now I'm just wondering about the variety of imperfect translations you've seen...
I think I only watched like a dozen episodes so I can't be considered a fan.