Free Web NovelChapter 34: Chapter 34: Homelander Still Cares About His Approval Rating (Translator’s Note)
I got a few comments about the dialogue sounding unnatural. Do you think I made it a little too literal for the world of The Boys?
People usually don’t complain about my translations, but a few comments did mention that, so I’m not sure if I missed the tone here... What do you think?
...
The motion-sensor lights in the hallway flickered on one after another under the weight of those heavy footsteps.
Homelander was not flying. He was walking.
He had just come out of his apartment, Madelyn’s blood still on his hands.
Madelyn was dead...
Homelander’s feelings for Madelyn could never be summed up in a few words.
Madelyn had been like a mother to him.
She had once been the person closest to him in this cold tower, the one person who could give him warmth, even if that warmth was fake.
She was the woman who had always stood in the front row below the stage and nodded at him whenever he gave his standard smile for the cameras...
He knew it was fake.
He had always known.
In fact, Homelander’s Super Hearing had caught the moments when Madelyn’s heartbeat sped up countless times.
When she lied, when she was afraid, when she schemed against him, that heart pounded like an engine with the gas pedal floored.
Every time, he heard it clearly.
Every time, he chose to tell himself it was "excitement."
Because she was the only mother Homelander had.
Even if she was only his mother in form, he needed a mother too badly.
A person without a mother was like a ship without an anchor, drifting at sea, liable to be blown away by any gust of wind.
...
But now, he had killed her with his own hands.
Even in her final moments, Madelyn had still been lying. She had still been throwing mud on his father, trying to make him believe a traitor would not care about those hundred-plus lives.
She had treated him as a tool right up until she died.
And he had finally stopped being that blind, gullible wimp.
A false mother who had always deceived him, or a real biological father who genuinely wanted what was best for him.
Homelander knew exactly which one to choose.
Even so, he was still sad.
In Vought Tower, the lights were still on in the Office of the Supe Executive Director.
Homelander pushed the door open.
Benjamin was leaning back in his office chair with a glass of Coke in his hand.
He looked up and saw Homelander standing in the doorway, his cape hanging crookedly, his eyes red as if they had been scraped raw with sandpaper, and a few drops of dark red liquid staining the cuffs of his Supersuit.
Benjamin set the Coke on the desk and looked him up and down.
"What the fuck is this? Why do you look like your parents just died?"
Homelander ignored the thunderous insult from Benjamin, even though Benjamin had cursed himself in the process.
"I killed Madelyn," Homelander said slowly.
Benjamin picked up the Coke and took another sip, his expression barely changing. "Why?"
"She came to see me..."
Homelander still stood in the doorway without coming in, as if waiting for permission.
His voice was hoarse, and he spoke very slowly.
"She brought files. She said you were a traitor. She said you were a Soviet spy. She said the reason you came back was to replace me. She said... you never raised me, that you and I are strangers. She said my approval rating dropped because of you."
He paused for a moment.
"Then I asked her whether Vought was behind my approval rating falling. I asked her whether Vought had been involved. She said no, and then her heartbeat sped up... so I killed her. That’s all."
Benjamin set down his Coke. "So you killed her because she lied?"
"Not only that. Because of you, too."
Homelander said it slowly.
"She wanted to slander you. Vought wanted to slander you too. I wouldn’t allow it. You’re my family."
Benjamin leaned back in his chair and fell silent for a while.
Homelander killing Madelyn had been unexpected, but it also made sense.
Madelyn was going to die sooner or later. Even if she had not died now, she would eventually have died at Homelander’s hands for deceiving him.
Homelander had already changed because of his arrival.
"This whole thing is obvious."
Benjamin spoke slowly.
"That damn Vought chose to hurt itself just to drive a wedge between us, father and son. They lowered your approval rating, then tried to use Madelyn to control you while you were vulnerable. Going this far with self-sabotage, they really went all in. Looks like my return scared the company. It scared Edgar too..."
"I understand all that."
"Come in. Don’t stand in the doorway."
Homelander finally stepped inside and sat down on the sofa.
His posture was still the same habitually straight-backed one, both hands resting on his knees.
But he was not as stiff as before. He let his back settle slightly against the sofa cushion.
It was the first time he had truly relaxed while sitting in his father’s office.
"But you did well."
Benjamin’s voice softened a little.
"I was worried that damned old whore would get you under control again. She didn’t. You chose to resist. For you, that’s progress. Good progress."
Homelander raised his head. His eyes were still red. "But my approval rating..."
Homelander had begun to stop grieving for Madelyn, but he was still grieving over his approval rating.
Homelander still cared about his approval rating. He still cared what the public thought.
"Six percentage points, right?"
Benjamin cut him off, then suddenly laughed.
"Do you know why your approval rating has always been lower than mine? Even when you were at your peak."
"Why?"
Homelander had always treated Benjamin as an idol.
Not only because Soldier Boy was powerful, but also because Soldier Boy’s approval rating had always been the highest, far higher than Homelander’s even at his own peak.
"Because... you soft little bitch, you’ve never shown people who you really are."
Benjamin spoke slowly.
"Except in those recent interviews... aside from those few times, every single thing you said was according to the PR department’s script. I’ve seen it. Your smile was rehearsed. The angle of your wave was designed. Even the pitch of your ’I love you’ was probably adjusted by some sound engineer. When you’re that fake, pathetic, and weak, it’d be a fucking miracle if your approval rating were high."
Homelander said nothing.
His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to argue, but he could not find anything to say.
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Benjamin leaned forward slightly, his voice suddenly dropping.
"Only when you stop caring about those bullshit numbers, stop caring about some fucking approval rating, stop getting upset because one or two reporters give you a hard time, stop losing sleep because someone on Twitter calls you a stunt, will you become stronger and get what you truly want. Otherwise, for the rest of your life, you’ll be controlled by Vought, by rich people, by those in power, and even by the very people who support you. You’re a real superhero, not some puppet being controlled all the time, and not like those whores who spend every day trying to please men, sleeping with one man after another, only to end up dying miserably from disease."
A real superhero...
Homelander froze for a moment. It was the first time he had heard anyone put it that way.
To be his real self, not a fake version of himself.
Vought had never taught him that.
Then again, the people at Vought... were not his family.
In their eyes, he was probably just an excellent product.
"I understand."
Homelander looked at Benjamin, his gaze gradually becoming serious.
From this day forward, he would become his true self, not a puppet controlled by Vought.
"Good. Then remember that. Be your real self."
Homelander stood up from the sofa.
He walked to the door, then stopped and glanced back at Benjamin.
...
Homelander opened the door and walked out.
The footsteps in the hallway no longer had the heavy, dragging sound they had when he came in.
Benjamin sat alone in the office.
He leaned back in his chair and suddenly remembered something.
In fact, even in the original show, Soldier Boy’s approval rating had always been higher than Homelander’s. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
It was not because Soldier Boy was better at managing his image. On the contrary, it was because he never managed his image at all.
It was not until the original show, after Homelander completely abandoned his approval rating and stopped caring about those things, that he delivered that classic line in a speech: "I’m stronger. I’m smarter. I’m better."
Only then, with that completely unconcerned attitude, did his approval rating soar, even surpassing Soldier Boy’s highest approval rating.
After Homelander left, the system notification sounded in Benjamin’s ear. Benjamin was looking forward to it. He desperately needed Super Speed and Flight.
[You allowed Homelander to experience a father’s education and guidance.
Although he still cares deeply about his approval rating, your teaching made him understand that only by being his real self can he break free from Vought’s control.
Homelander envies you for being able to completely break free from Vought’s control. He envies you for having no personality flaws...
But while he envies you, he also loves you.
Reward obtained: Anesthetic Immunity Lv6.]
[Current Abilities:
Nuclear Blast Lv4: Can release high-intensity radioactive energy, incinerating everything and erasing compounds within the target’s body.
Super Strength Lv6: Possesses the Super Strength of a top-tier Supe.
Super Defense Lv5: Invulnerable to blades and bullets, immune to conventional firearms and most superpower attacks.
Self-Healing Lv5: Extremely high cellular activity, capable of rapidly repairing fatal injuries.
Radiation Resistance Lv5: Completely immune to nuclear radiation and all harmful rays.
Super Speed Lv1: Possesses the speed of an ordinary Supe.
Anesthetic Immunity Lv6: Immune to the vast majority of toxins and anesthetics, including Novichok.
Ageless Longevity: The body remains forever at its peak state.]
"Where the fuck are my Super Speed and Flight? Fuck you, system. Fuck you!"
Benjamin’s face was icy as he kept cursing.
Still, at least one of his weaknesses had been patched. He would no longer be knocked out by Novichok, the military nerve agent used in the original show to put Soldier Boy under.
From now on, aside from flight and speed, he had no weaknesses left.
