Love Love Tenshi interview translation #8: Zephel Coulthard

[indigozeal.livejournal.com]

- Please to meet you, Zephel. I'm looking forward to the interview.

Zephel Coulthard. Nice to meet you.

- How would you like me to call you, Zephel?

......Well, you're already caling me "Zephel," aren't you!? So use that! Quit screwin' around!

- I guess so; sorry! In what country do you currently live?

Canada. Montreal, Canada - I'm a grad student.

- What kind of research do you do as a grad student?

Engineering. Aerospace engineering, specifically. ...You heard about it?

- Ummm...I don't really understand it, but I'm interested in it.

Is that so? Well, I guess you can't help it if you don't understand it, since it's not your area; if you have the attitude that you really want to learn, then I haven't got a problem with that. Me, I got a little somethin' that I wanted to do, so I got out of college ASAP, and here I am.

- I understand you've skipped some grades. You must be really smart!

It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that once I've decided I wanna do something, I wanna get it done ASAP. You can't help wasting time sometimes, though.

- And there are rumors that you're already starting your own business?

Well, I have plans. Haven't got any obligations 'cept to put food in my mouth, and I can't feed off on my parents forever.

- You're really determined! I hear that you're the son of the head of a global corporation...

Huh? So? What's my family got to do with you?! You got no idea how screwed up people who care about those kind of things are!

- I'm sorry......

......Talk about something else.

- O, of course. Tell us about your daily schedule, Zephel.

I don't really have a regular schedule. I'm up all night, so I don't really get up that early. If I have some sort of meeting, then that's different, but. There're times now and then when I just don't sleep, I guess. Right now, when I get up, I go to school, do research in the lab. There're times where I'll just shut myself up in the server room, too. I eat meals while I'm working, and when the time's right, I go back to my apartment and sleep. My apartment's close to the campus, so if I get the idea that I want to test something in the middle of the night, I can just go to the lab and do research till dawn. Ahh, well, the stress can pile up with this routine, so I'll occasionally go and play some sports to relax. ...That what you were lookin' for?

- Thank you! Is there any one thing on which you just won't compromise?

My research, I guess. My research is just the stuff I wanna do. I won't let anyone get in the way of that. I think that's pretty straightforward.

- Well, tell us about your fashion hang-ups.

Clothes that're easy to move in. I also don't care for clothing that's all formal.

- If you were on a date with a lady, where would you take her?

What?! H, how should I know?!? Why the hell do I gotta answer a question like that?

- Well, then, if you had to give a present to a lady?

W, well, I wouldn't really know exactly till the time came, would I? How the hell should I know what kind of presents girls want!?

- (He's really flustered!) I understand. Well, then, Zephel, what's your idea of a perfect woman?

C'mon; why're you askin' me about this stuff? You're really stickin' to your guns about this. You got kind of a nerve.

- Ha ha! We've finally arrived at our last question! Do you have a message for the ladies?

Really stickin' to your guns...... ......Well, I don't really know if you're a "lady" or not, but...to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to meeting you. I kinda think you'll be different from other women. I dunno what you'll be to me, but...well, what'm I sayin'. I hope we get on well. I know I'm me 'n' all, but I hope I'm able to be some use to you. I think I wanna watch out for you...I mean, be at your side, I guess.

Comments

[guardianrandy.livejournal.com]

I'd probably get flustered talking to Zephel, too. Hahaha. Especially knowing that I had to ask questions about romance, I'd be bracing for impact as soon as I got to any of those questions.

I've been trying to carry this same kind of attitude for Zephel across in my Sweet Ange translation (which I've been seriously slacking on lately)

[indigozeal.livejournal.com]

It's tough translating for Zephel, isn't it? It's tough getting his attitude and way of speaking across without overdoing it. I don't envy you having to balance that and work with space constraints.

[guardianrandy.livejournal.com]

It really is. The space constraints make it especially hard. I'm just glad Charlie isn't in Sweet Ange. Translating Zephel's text (even moreso when written only in katakana and hiragana) is difficult enough as is. Haha