[FFML] Gundam Storm, Ch. 3

[Mythril Moth]

>I generally prefer not to use Japanese in fanfics as well.  In this case, I
> considered using "mistress" or "milady", but neither of them had the
> implication that the person being spoken to was a YOUNG upper-class woman.
> AFAIK, there isn't really an English word with the same meaning, so I 
> chose
> to go with the Japanese in this case.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially if the characters 
in question WOULD, in untranslated dialogue, go with that.

Of course, it's all about context and usage comfort. In this case, there's 
not really even an issue--apart from the reader being too lazy to take 2 
seconds on Google to find out what "ojousama" means, or failing to pick up 
on it from the context. Reading isn't a passive activity. Effort must be 
applied by the reader's brain.

(Granted, I have a tendency to use amounts of Japanese in my work so 
excessive it requires a hotlinked glossary AND a re-edited version for FFML 
posting, so my opinion has a decided lean to the east...)

But I see nothing gratuitous about "Ojousama". It's a proper form of 
address, and the basic rules of dialogue are on your side. :)


==================
Mythril Moth
www.mythrilmoth.net