Origins

He comes from the Deep beneath the Atlantic, a place which, to hear him tell it, has concerns of its own and needs someone to speak for them. Beneath those waters lies the hidden nexus that is the Bermuda Triangle, a doorway to an Astral Gate. The things that escaped through it were, for the most part, always benign, Nessie herself among them; only when the dark thing known as “The Adversary” began to stalk the seas did the ocean’s denizens come to live in dread. It was out of that fear that Viscous came ashore.

He says he has come to represent the concerns of the Deep, and that he put on this surface-dweller’s suit only in the hope that people would take the problems of the Deep seriously. Whether it is working, he isn’t sure himself.

“I was hoping that this suit would make people take the problems of The Deep seriously. I'm not sure it's working.”

“我本指望这身装束能让人们认真对待深海的问题，可我不确定它管不管用。”TL

He once complained that the needs of the Deep had been ignored, and the way he said it suggested this was not the first time.

“Once again, the needs of The Deep are ignored.”

“深海的需求又一次被忽视了。”TL

The body is not his own; it is only borrowed. He has fretted that he can’t pilot it better; and after a few victories he declared, rather pleased with himself, that even in a borrowed body no one can stop him.

“Even in a borrowed body, no one can stop me…”

“即使借用他人的身体，也没人能阻止我…”

His culture is worlds apart from the surface’s. He can’t read: when Murder on the Orient Express was put to him, he answered frankly that he can’t read. Hearing big words like “apotheosis” and “shell corporation,” all he could think was that they were big. He learns about human society by eavesdropping and people watching, and so he always gets it a little wrong.

“I can't read!”

“我不识字！”

Old Friends and Foes

Holliday: Warmth and Revenge

The moment he met Holliday he complimented her hat and asked whether he could wear it; half in jest, she agreed: if they win, sure. Later he set the warmth inside the Cube beside her revenge, and asked whether revenge felt warm too. It doesn’t feel warm, she said; when he pressed on, asking whether it feels good, she answered no, it really doesn’t; and last of all she said it was because there was nothing else she could do about it.

“Can I wear it?”

“我能戴吗？”

Saved by the Cube, she said she owed him. When they met in battle, he sighed that he hates fighting a fellow tourist.

“I owe you, Viscous!”

“我欠你一份情，魔液！”

Abrams: Self-Declared Family

He punches people with goo, and Abrams punches people with his fists, so he declared that they are family now. Later, passing him on the zipline, Abrams told him not to die on him.

“We're family now.”

“我们现在是一家人了”

“Don't die on me goo boy.”

“别倒在我面前，粘液小子”

Solomon: Courage and Honesty

Solomon taught him that being brave means accepting that whatever you are afraid of is less important than what you need to do. When Viscous asked whether he knew about The Adversary, Solomon answered: I do, and that’s why I’m standing with you today.

“Being brave isn't about not being nervous or scared, it's about accepting that whatever it is your afraid of is less important than what you need to do.”

“勇敢不是不紧张、不害怕，而是明白你所畏惧的事，没有你该做的事重要。”TL

Another time, Viscous asked him: why do people like to talk to you so much? Because, Solomon said, he gives them his honest opinion; you can be honest without being cruel. Kindness takes more effort than indifference; hearing that, Viscous found it simply sad, and Solomon said he agreed.

“Kindness takes more effort than indifference.”

“善意比冷漠更费力气。”TL

Haze: Taking the Deep Seriously

Viscous thanked Haze for taking the problems of the Deep seriously, and she said: we don’t live in a vacuum; if there’s a problem in the Deep, it’s only a matter of time before it’s a problem on land. She has also marveled that the OSIC was ever worried about his kind.

“Thanks for your help Haze, not everyone takes the problems of The Deep seriously.”

“感谢你的帮助，岚梦，不是每个人都认真对待深海秘境的问题”

Seven and Venator: Frightening Companions

When Viscous said hello to Seven, he got “it’s talking to me” in return, and a disgusted “This could be a nightmare.” Yet once he had heard Viscous’s reasons, Seven allowed that there was more to him than he expected. Viscous, for his part, has never stopped being afraid of him: he says outright that he can see why they tried to execute him, then adds that Seven is on our team, so it’s a good scary.

“This could be a nightmare.”

“这可能是一场噩梦”

“Seven's scary. But he's on our team, so it's a good scary.”

“柒很吓人。但他是我们队的，所以是那种让人安心的吓人”

Venator prayed to the “Lord” as he went to fight alongside this barely sentient pile of goo.

“Lord protect me as I fight alongside this barely sentient pile of goo”

“主啊，求你保佑我与这团几乎没有灵智的黏糊并肩作战。”TL

Rat King: Stay Close to Me

Rat King began with a foul-mouthed warning not to get that goo on his fur. The moment he heard the goo heals, he changed his tune: Viscous was to rub that goo all over his fur, or he’d kill him dead. Hearing what had befallen the rat folk, Viscous said only that no one had told him, and that he hadn’t known rats were so cuddly. Rat King said Viscous reminded him a lot of his subjects, and told him: stay close to me, and I’ll try to keep you safe.

“You don't rub that goo all over my fur I'm killing you dead.”

“你要是不把那黏液涂满我的毛，我弄死你。”TL

“It is, goo boy. Now stay close to me and I'll try to keep you safe.”

“是好事，黏糊小子。现在跟紧我，我尽量护你周全。”TL

Bebop and Kelvin: Making Friends

Viscous worried over Bebop’s sick Miss Shelly, and asked whether she would like being in the Cube. She might, Bebop said; after the ritual, come over to say hi, and he’ll make biscuits. Viscous cheered: I made a friend. Bebop is not organic, yet the Cube healed him all the same; to that, Viscous answered only: we don’t question the Cube.

“You know what, she might. After the ritual, come over to say hi. I'll make biscuits.”

“你知道吗？她可能真的会。仪式结束后，过来打个招呼。我来做饼干”

“We don't question the cube.”

“我们不质疑立方。”

Kelvin hopes to explore the Deep one day, and Viscous promptly offered to be his guide. When Kelvin said he no longer knows whether he is even himself, Viscous told him frankly: that doesn’t sound confusing; that sounds scary.

“That doesn't sound confusing. That sounds scary.”

“这听起来不像困惑，是可怕。”TL

Lash: A Contradiction Seen Through

Lash said people suck, and Viscous asked him: if you hate people, why do you want to be cheered by them so badly? Lash hemmed and hawed for a while, then said let’s not unpack that one right now. Viscous answered only: OK.

“If you hate people why do you want to be cheered by them so badly?”

“你要是讨厌人，为什么又那么想得到他们的喝彩？”TL

Later, having knocked Lash down, he went so far as to say that his apology was sarcasm: he wasn’t actually sorry.

“Sorry, Lash. That was sarcasm, I'm not actually sorry.”

“抱歉啦，劳什。我那是反讽，我可不是真的感到抱歉”

Lady Geist and Vindicta: Hearts That Won’t Open

He told Lady Geist that they were friends, and she answered with a single “No, Viscous.” Still, when he said her hair must smell like flowers, she admitted that it does. Vindicta he invited into the Cube, where, he said, no one is angry; she said: maybe later. Afterward, when the two got to talking about not looking like New Yorkers, she left him with a wish: good fortune, as far away from her as possible.

“No Viscous.”

“不，魔液”

“Maybe later, I have people to kill”

“以后吧，我还有人要杀。”TL

Paige and Vyper: The Worries of Others

In others’ eyes, he is far too easy to take advantage of. Paige urged him to pick better friends, saying they are taking advantage of him; Vyper, for her part, said quite openly that he doesn’t know better, so he will definitely trust her later.

“Viscous, you need to pick better friends.”

“魔液，你需要结交更好的朋友”

“The thing I love about Viscous is that he doesn’t know better so he'll definitely trust me later.”

“我喜欢魔液的一点就是他不懂事，所以他以后肯定会相信我的”

Violet: The Would-Be Painting

Viscous first complimented Violet’s ink, then told her he has a friend with ink too, a cephalopod named Barry. He asked whether she was going to wish to be famous; no, she said: if fame were wished for, it wouldn’t be earned. He took “catch lightning in a bottle” literally, until she had to explain it was just a saying, and he said that made more sense. Later she asked for some of his goo, wanting to try making art with it, and he announced in delight that he was going to be a painting. Yet when they met in battle he knocked her down, and afterward he only apologized, joking at his own expense that maybe he just doesn’t get human art.

“Maybe I just don't get human art.”

“也许我就是看不懂人类的艺术。”TL

Nurse Harrow: The Stranger in White

As Nurse Harrow climbed onto the zipline, Viscous looked her outfit over and asked, in all earnestness, whether she was actually a nurse or on her way to a costume party. Another time he told her that it’s not a contest, the Cube is just better, and that she would see. When they met in battle he stopped her, still muttering that nurses were supposed to help people, yet land walker nurses aren’t very nice; and at the end he even felt sorry for her: if she had had the Cube, maybe she wouldn’t have died.

“If you had the cube, maybe you wouldn’t have died.”

“要是你有立方，说不定就不会死了。”TL

Anecdotes

The Cube. The Cube is where he goes when he is sad, or injured, or just wants to be there. He has recommended it to Grey Talon, Holliday and Vindicta one after another, and urged Drifter to spend more time in it, so he would spend less time murdering people.

“Do you want to spend time in the cube? It's where I go when I'm sad. Or injured. Or just want to be in the cube.”

“你想待在那个立方里吗？我难过的时候会去那里。受伤的时候也会去。或者只是想待在立方里的时候也会去”

To the Letter. When Apollo said “you should attend one of my father’s galas,” he said OK on the spot, and insisted it was an invitation. When Dynamo said he would love to pick his brain, he replied: please don’t stab my face.

“Ok.”

“好。”TL

Figures of Speech. He loves to explain his figures of speech with a perfectly straight face. He is going to metaphorically punch them, he says, and the metaphor is goo; he wishes he could roll in this all day, and that is hyperbole.

“I'm going to metaphorically punch them. The metaphor is goo.”

“我打算狠狠地揍他们一顿，是比喻。这个比喻是粘液”

Kindness. He does not give up even on his enemies: come back, surface dweller, I want to be friends… but first I have to shoot you. After hurting Pocket, he asked whether they could still be friends.

“Come back, surface dweller, I want to be friends… but first I have to shoot you.”

“回来吧，地表居民，我想和你做朋友… 但首先我得击倒你”

Tourists. New Yorkers call him a tourist, and Baba says she hates tourists. He, for his part, calls Holliday a fellow tourist.

“I hate tourists”

“我讨厌游客。”TL

Fear and Courage. He has said: I sound happy, but I’m scared; and: I never should have left the Deep. Yet after a few brawls he marveled that he never realized violence would be so exciting, and oh, the things you can do with arms and legs.

“I sound happy but I'm scared.”

“我听起来很高兴，但我很害怕”

“I never realized violence would be so exciting…”

“我从未意识到暴力会如此令人兴奋…”

The Surface. New York is a scary place, he says; and also, there is so much to see in New York.

Open Questions