LM?

[Kazie Solo]

I'm playing EBC again, and I'm curious with something I just noticed this time around (after playing it for how many times already). In that part when you first get to Larpa, Ronfar gets a letter from Leo, signed "LM". I know L is for Leo, but what's the M for?

Sorry if this has already been asked, I just haven't read about this yet. ^_^;;

[exigence]

ahh i just started a new game in EBC last month and i remember getting to this part and i figured out what it stood for but, somehow ive forgotten. god i hate when this happens its going to drive me nuts trying to remember what it is.

[Rimmie]

Um, Muari starts with M, and that's the only thing I can think of. What was the letter about?


I have a similar feeling right now, actually; I'm playing EarthBound and the very first time I played it, it reminded me of something. That was 7-8 years ago, and I can't for the life of me remember what it was...

[phyco126]

LM = Leo Mystery!

[ilovemyguitar]

LM = Leo Mystery!

Leo MYSTERE, you mean!

[phyco126]

Yeah, my spelling isn't exactly the best, most especially when it comes to names. ^^;

[Rimmie]

...Oh. I didn't think the story line had gotten that far yet.

[Werefrog]

...Oh. I didn't think the story line had gotten that far yet.

It could be foreshadowing... or something that you just aren't ready to understand at that point.

[Kizyr]

LM is supposed to be Leo's initials. Leo M___.

Unfortunately, since the letter in the Japanese version didn't have any initials in the letter, and no sources give Leo/Mauri's last name, then there's no way to know what the M really stands for. KF

[Kazie Solo]

I was hoping Leo and Mauri were given last names (which I believe what M stood for). Looks like only Lemina actually gets a last name.

[Rimmie]

You know, I think it is supposed to be his last name because they wanted him to sign it with his initials, but he doesn't have a last name, so they made it "M" probably for the Mystere name.

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

I was hoping Leo and Mauri were given last names (which I believe what M stood for). Looks like only Lemina actually gets a last name.

Considering that he's the "savior" of Lunar, maybe Alex's last name is Christ.

[Alunissage]

Most of the cast has last names in the Japanese TSS -- including Alex and Luna, whose last name is Noah. I don't recall offhand whether Alex's father was also called Noah in the Japanese game.

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

So Alex's dad's name is Noah Noah? That's the first video game character like that since Mario Mario!

[Alunissage]

That's exactly what I was saying wasn't clear -- he may not have had a name in TSS, and in the US release and later L1 versions the last names were dropped. Also, it's not that uncommon for men to be referred to by their last names, so Noah could have been the family name. I think his name is only mentioned by that captain in Saith, or something like that, who says that he traveled with Noah way back when, and referring to him by last name (Noah-san?) wouldn't be out of place in that context. Need Kizyr to check this, though I suppose I could play up to that point and start squinting at dialogue.

[Kizyr]

Alex's last name is given as Noah (in Legend and the novels). Not every place follows the same convention for last names, and it's not uncommon for someone's last name to be their father's given name. Just as likely would be for Alex's father's last name to be Noah, or for his father not to have a last name.

Anyway, TSS gives Alex's father's name as Noah several times, but it never specifies first/last name--Japanese version neither. The guy at the Saith docks refers to Noah like an elder brother / close friend (the same way the two kids in Lunar: Magic School refer to Ant).

Calling people with -san/-kun is pretty uncommon in most Japanese RPGs. I've only seen a handful really do it. It's also not universal in Japanese language either (e.g., really close friends). KF

[Alunissage]

Yeah, I was mostly joking about the -san; I don't even know if it's used exclusively with last names or if it's OK with first names too. I do remember hearing a lot of -sama in the drama CDs, that being the basis for a joke I actually got.

I'm also reminded of how Russians will usually have their father's first name + appropriate suffix (the "patronymic") as their middle names, and refer to each other by first and middle names. There was a composer Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich, and I think he was referred to in at least one interview as Dmitri Dmitrievich.

[Kazie Solo]

I remember the name of Alex's father being Noah and his mother Saria, but I can't recall from which version/s. Or maybe I just read it somewhere. *shrugs*

[Kizyr]

I remember the name of Alex's father being Noah and his mother Saria, but I can't recall from which version/s. Or maybe I just read it somewhere. *shrugs*

Alex's mother's name was only given in Lunar: Legend. The UbiSoft translation gives her name as Thalia, however I gave her name as Saria in the Lunar Legend walkthrough.

I think Saria is more accurate, by the way.

Yeah, I was mostly joking about the -san; I don't even know if it's used exclusively with last names or if it's OK with first names too. I do remember hearing a lot of -sama in the drama CDs, that being the basis for a joke I actually got.

-san can be used with first or last names, it doesn't matter. Using given names instead of family names is only done for equals or someone of lower status (e.g., student vs teacher). In real life, -sama sounds funny unless it's used with a family name.

I'm also reminded of how Russians will usually have their father's first name + appropriate suffix (the "patronymic") as their middle names, and refer to each other by first and middle names. There was a composer Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich, and I think he was referred to in at least one interview as Dmitri Dmitrievich.

It wasn't until the previous generation that my family kept family names from parent-to-child. My mother, father, and all their siblings each have different last names than their parents (except for one aunt). So keeping a family name is a relatively recent thing for us. KF

[Alunissage]

That's interesting -- where did the other last names come from? Were they just also given at birth?

I used to work at a preschool, and of course it's not uncommon now for parents to not have the same last name, but it still tends to default to the child getting the father's last name. I knew one family where the son had his mother's last name; his parents were married, but didn't see any particular reason not to give her name to their kid instead of his. In fact, it may be the same reasoning as my husband and I will likely use, that he had a really common last name and/or big family and she had an uncommon name and/or small family so they decided that name needed more people bearing it than his did. I don't know if they had problems with kindergarten registration, but I do know of one family that did -- they had decided to give their son a combination of their own last names. The father was Gasowski, the mother was Popkin, and the kid was Gaskin. (Apparently the father had originally been somewhat opposed to this, but the mother had a really difficult birth and he felt pretty bad.) However, when it came time for the kid to start kindergarten, the mother found it to be such a hassle establishing that he was indeed her/their kid that she decided to change her name to Popkin-Gaskin, or Gaskin-Popkin. I don't know if she actually did, as by that time they were no longer at the preschool, but it was a bit of an object lesson of the dangers of having a child with a last name distinct from those of the parents here. Although you'd think it'd come up more often these days, in step-families where the mother has remarried and has custody.

Just out of curiosity, if the LL developers had intended the name Thalia, how would it have been written in katakana? What about Salia, the singer... well, not like I have to identify her to you.