#i am also interested to know how well-known it is in english-speaking countries

[treesinspace]

The Quinton Reviews video was actually the first time I ever heard of The Beverly Hillbillies, but Quinton's dad talks about it as if everyone should know it, like the Simpsons. My theory is that maybe it is because I didn't grow up in an english-speaking country, and I'm curious!

If you have no idea what youtube video I am talking about, I would still appreciate your vote! Just vote whether or not you are aware of the sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies"

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

You know, it would be interesting for me to read the gloomy Disney characters. By the type that the Reader accidentally enters the Disney world. Or is already in this world. For example, a man! The Evil Queen× reader. Just imagine that the mirror says that the most beautiful is the reader and the man!The evil Queen was interested.. Well, or dark! A man!A Disney princess who believes in love and believes that the reader is his true love and that the reader should belong only to him.

Sorry for the bad English

Don't apologize

You're perf, babes

Yandere!Genderbent!Evil King x GN!Reader x Yandere!Genderbent!Snow White

CW: Death, obsessive behavior

"Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" The vain king asked his enchanted mirror as he often did whenever his pride was wounded. King Hadewig was the envy of men and women. Cold and beautiful, his features were cut like an ethereal ice sculpture. Intelligent, talented, and ruthless, most everyone either wanted to bed him or be him. However, his power was not guaranteed for long.

Hadewig was King only by responsibility, and not by actual title. His title was, legally, Prince Consort. He married his, now deceased, wife when he was a young bachelor, and she was the only eligible bachelorette of suitable status as a widow. Being so much older than him, it was an "unfortunate", but not "unsurprising" passing of the crown when the Queen died and left her son in Hadewig's care.

The only reason the child wasn't immediately crowned king was because of Hadewig's charm and influence, convincing the court that the young Prince Snow was too irresponsible to rule the country. But it was difficult to continue that lie going, even with Hadewig purposely keeping Snow ignorant of his future kingly duties by treating him as a servant, for now the boy was twenty years of age, and truly should have not only been coronated years ago, but also wed off to the available princess of the neighboring kingdom, a woman as old as Hadewig.

But his potential loss of power wasn't the reason for his low self esteem that day.

"You are, my king. There is one who approaches, but does not yet share with you what makes you fair."

The king slumped in his seat in an uncouth like manner. "Then why does my hunter not look at me like a man?"

King Hadewig's personal hunter, an immensely talented killer that didn't just slaughter animals for the king. And the only person who simply looked at the king. Nothing Hadewig did could change the professional look on (Reader's) face during their meetings. No matter how charismatic he was with his words, how stylish his clothing was, nor the love potions he attempted to spike (Reader's) drinks with, they were seemingly immune to every one of his attempts. In their most recent meeting, the one that left Hadewig depressed, he had offered his hunter a glass of wine, which they turned down, stating that the last drink they had received from the king did not agree with them.

"I can not tell you that, my lord. I only can report what I see, so unless your hunter speaks their secrets out loud while I spy, I am blind to their feelings for you."

Hadewig groaned, upset and broken hearted.

"Show me my hunter, again."

The face in the mirror melted, dissolving into an image of (Reader) leaving the castle. Their strong frame sent shivers down the icy man's spine. His first and only marriage was one of political importance, with no love or warmth between the husband and wife. But in the presence of his Mx. Hunter, the king was set ablaze. The intense feeling of heat was dowsed when he witnessed the bastard he hated most in the world approach his hunter.

At the steps of the castle, Snow had been timidly watching the triumphant hunter from afar, gathering the courage to approach them. He had never known shame, never feeling any sort of embarrassment about the state of his dress, but in the presence of the person who always smelled faintly of iron, he was reduced to two inches tall.

Stepping lightly like a mouse, the short adult snuck up behind (Reader), still debating whether or not he was actually going to announce his presence.

His decision was made for him, however, being noticed by (Reader) almost immediately.

"Good afternoon, your highness." They said, turning sharply on their heel to face him.

The hunter was the only person to address the prince by his royal status.

"Ah- how did you know it was me?" He asked incredulously. A pink blush warmed his entire head, wrapping around the back of his neck and up to the tips of his ears.

"Because I could hear you." (Reader) offered a kind smile to the shy, younger man. They felt sympathy towards him, with the way his cold step father treated him. With what they had done to him.

Snow was impressed by how cool (Reader) was. And a small part of him wished to impress them as well. He tried to straighten out his worn out rags. "What brings you to the castle today?"

"To gift the king a wolf pelt. And also," (Reader) reached into their pouch, pulling out a pressed flower, "to gift you this."

The prince sucked in his gasp, wide eyed and lips pressed tight.

"I apologize for not finding something better for your highness."

"No!" He panicked, grabbing the flower with both hands. "It's beautiful!"

He hadn't received a gift since the passing of his mother.

"Happy Birthday, your highness." (Reader) bowed, then turned swiftly, leaving the young man hyperventilating and sweating.

Only the king and his mirror heard Snow whisper long after (Reader) left: "I love you."

Three days later, and the king was losing his mind over the interaction. Snow was visibly taller, standing straighter as he worked, singing as he cleaned the castle grounds, and it was bothering him.

Hadewig kicked over his chair in frustration. "Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

"The one you fear is getting stronger, the confidence has warmed his winter, and people shall notice his spring awakening. The prince now glows more brightly than you, whose anger has etched lines of hatred into his ice like face."

King Hadewig released a scream, losing his control before quickly sharpening back up, running his hands through his messed hair.

He left his study, storming over towards a frightened servant.

"Send for my hunter."

Before (Reader), the king was disheveled, worrying (Reader) something awful.

"I can not stand for this disrespect any longer." His gaze read cold and cruel as it pierced the hunter's. "You understand that you are mine, correct?"

(Reader) thought about the flower and felt a wave of anxiety. "Yes, your highness."

"You understand that you belong to me?"

"Yes, your highness."

He sighed ever so slightly, before retrieving a wooden box from his desk. "I have another assignment for you.

Kill my son."

Nausea threatened to erupt from the seasoned murderer. "My lord?"

"Take him deep into the woods, and bring me back his heart." He held out the box. It was a test, as though (Reader) hadn't proved their loyalty to the mad man enough.

The empty box was heavy in (Reader's) hands.

"As you wish, your highness."

Prince Snow spun in the field of flowers as he searched for the most beautiful flowers for the hunter. It was the best day of his life! His father had given him a colorful outfit that fit him and the hunter had asked him out on a date! Well, they didn't call it a date, but what else could it have been?

He wove a crown for (Reader) while imaging their wedding day, becoming King and Royal Consort and having a real crown placed on their head.

(Reader), however, was weighing their options, not truly paying attention to the prince, and trying to ignore his childlike excitement.

What would the king do, if he was made a fool?

"Oh, hunter!" Snow ran over, holding out the delicate crown. "I made this for you! May I?"

And that was all it took, for (Reader) to spare his life.

They bent down, feeling the weight of the crown on their scalp. It smelled nice. Before Snow could retreat, (Reader) wrapped their arms around his thin waist. They had killed so many people before, but this was only the second time they felt unbearable guilt.

The first was after they took the life of the Queen.

"(Reader)?" Snow stuttered out, feeling weak in their strong arms.

"You must run, your highness." (Reader) whispered into his ear.

"What?"

"The king has ordered me to kill you. So please, run. Far away, into the woods." They released the prince, and it was only then that he noticed the heavy bags under their tired eyes.

"Why? I don't understand-"

"Leave. It won't be long before that witch discovers my lie."

Snow fell to his knees, holding onto the edge of (Reader's) shirt for dear life, falling apart in front of them. "Please, no! Come with me! If he would kill me, what would he do to you for sparing me? Please, run away with me!"

(Reader) bent down to release his fingers from their hem, planting a kiss on his forehead as they did so. "I hope when I meet you again you will have found a name more worthy of such a warm and kind person. For as of this moment, Prince Snow is dead."

Excitement threatened to crack the King's cool demeanor as he observed the bloody heart in his hands. (Reader) was distant, but that didn't matter to Hadewig, for now there was no competition for his hunter's affection. They would soon be his, even if he had to use force to make it so.

"Excellent work, my faithful hunter." He offered a practiced smile, unnerving (Reader) who prayed that the pig heart made a convincing decoy. At least until they could escape and hide out in the mountains, far away from the King's eyes.

(Reader) gave a deep bow. Then they left, calmly getting on their horse, and leaving, not taking a single glance behind them as they sped off, emergency bag already packed on their steed.

Back in Hadewig's room, he caressed the box affectionately, thinking about his lovely hunter. The stress had certainly caused a frown line, just as the mirror said, but he was working at reversing the damage.

"Magic Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" He dreamily asked, slightly nervous that the rage had permanently ruined his perfect face.

"Hiding deep within the woods, tending a wounded heart, the fairest in the land hides. Prince Snow still lives."

The king scoffed. "I have his heart right here, mirror."

"No, within that box lies the heart of a pig."

The box fell from Hadewig's hands. "A pig..?" His face scrunched up painfully. "(Reader) would never betray- they belong to me! ME! Guards! Where is my hunter?!"

"The hunter is flying towards the mountains, away from the woods they released the prince into."

Hadewig collapsed at his desk, screaming in agony while pawing at his chest. "No! It's all his fault! Find me that little bastard- I'll kill him myself!"

The seven dwarven women listened to the young man recall his tale of woe, his eyes full of tears but a smile still on his lips. "So, if you please, could I stay here? Just until my love returns for me."

Happy sighed dramatically, blushing and twirling her beard. "That (Reader) is so brave~"

Grumpy smacked the back of her head. "That double crosser may have saved the prince, but that doesn't mean they won't double double cross him!"

Bashful stomped a foot. "It's true love! They would never!"

"Well, they never confessed their feelings," Doc said while cleaning her glasses, "they could have saved Snow out of the goodness of their heart."

Snow smiled, trying to calm the fragments of his heart. "I have to believe, to hope, that (Reader) loves me as I love them. To risk death for me.. but, they said we would meet again. And I trust them."

It was painful, knowing that his father wanted him dead, but what was worse was hearing that (Reader) had put their life in danger for him. Despite all the pain and punishment Snow had endured, he never held it against his step father, but now..

A dark, bitter seed had been planted.

And throughout the night as the household slept, Prince Snow could feel it grow, threatening to burst forth from his chest. The dwarven women were so kind to him. So inviting, and trusting.

He wondered what else they would do for him.

The dark haired man knew that the apple was poison from the moment it was placed in his hands. What kind of elderly man would be this far out away from any sort of town, especially if they were traveling to sell produce? He didn't know who the old man was, but knew that he must have been in cahoots with the king.

"Oh, I don't have any money." Snow said quite sadly, placing his head in his hand.

"For such a lovely young man? Free of charge."

"Are you sure?"

The old man was certainly no real beggar. Nothing made sense. It was cruel, what Snow thought to do, especially if he was wrong, but in case he was right.. Snow whispered to a bird before smiling brightly at the stranger, taking the apple in both hands.

"Of course, please take it!"

Snow bit into the fruit, but did not swallow, hiding the chunk in his hand. After a few seconds of pretending to chew, he collapsed, holding his breath.

The king almost immediately dropped his disguise, snarling. His once similarly raven hair had a stripe of grey.

In a voice barely louder than a huff, he said "It serves you right, you filthy bastard. I would have let you live, if you had simply left my (Reader) alone."

He exhaled. There was no movement from the floor.

"Are you dead yet? Can you still hear me? I hope you can." The king smiled. "I hope you can hear me from beyond the grave as I finally get my happily ever after."

But as he celebrated the dwarves rushed home from work, and a small bird was rallying forces to find the hunter and lead them to Snow's body.

As he monologued to what Hadewig assumed was his son's corpse, the women returned from the mines, righteously horrified and armed with pickaxes.

Hadewig heard a woman shout "Grumpy, don't!" before a pick connected with his lower back, piercing his organs from behind.

The pain was excruciating, sending fire up his body as blood poured out of him. He imagined (Reader's) face, finally smiling for him as they cradled him in their arms, accepting his love. Hadewig wanted that to be the last thing he saw before he died.

Instead, he witnessed Snow, smiling up at him from the floor.

(Reader) arrived just a moment too late, having been closer than they had expected due to how deep into the woods Snow had traveled. They witnessed the sobbing dwarves sitting at the door, too upset to enter their own home where the young prince they tried to rescue lie dead.

The hunter pushed passed them, not wasting a second to grab the young man. He was still warm, but wasn't breathing.

Snow kept his eyes closed as he felt the worst pain he had ever known.

(Reader's) hands slammed into Prince Snow's chest. A rib cracked under their strength, but Snow refused to show it.

Then their lips pressed against his.

His nose was held shut as (Reader) forced air into his throat, trying to get him to wake up. They continued the repetitions a medicine man had taught them while blowing air into his lungs.

"God damnit, Snow, wake up!"

They leaned in, and felt him breath against their mouth. His large brown eyes fluttered open, and his face reddened.

His lips curled into a weak grin. "You came back for me.."

Guilt washed over (Reader), hugging him tightly to their chest. "I'm sorry I left, Prince Snow."

Warm hands ran through (Reader's) hair. "Please.. Call me Theros."

The regret and pain kept (Reader) still, allowing the recently "revived" prince to pull them in for a kiss.

After all that (Reader) put him through, a kiss was the least they could do.

But for the born again man, it was just the beginning.

[gemsofgreece]

Man of God: A review

After three years since its release (time flies 😳) I decided to finally watch Man of God and see for myself what all the praise and all the criticism were about. For those who don’t know, Man of God is a Greek - Russian movie about the life of Saint Nektarios of Aegina island.

The information around the reception of the movie has been jarring with most believers speaking of a rare masterpiece while most atheists spoke of one of the most terrible movies full of propaganda they had ever seen etc

Much to my dismay, this was another reminder that in this country atheists / agnostics are not any more reliable than fiercely religious people.

The truth of course is somewhere in between. The film is decent, in no way a masterpiece and in no way the worst movie you will ever see. It can actually keep your attention well until the end. But you must KNOW why you watch it. Atheists complaining for the money they wasted on it, on a movie that was very obviously about a man supposed to have reached sainthood and be venerated as such, I am sorry but it is their problem if they could not figure out they would not be interested in the content.

I could even recommend watching this movie but only if you know why you watch it and only after I will briefly give you its pros and cons.

Pros:

The acting is pretty good. Some people criticised it, however the problem they saw and perhaps misinterpreted as bad acting was different and I will mention it promptly. In any case, the acting is good, the casting is mostly good, Ares Servetalis is generally well chosen as the main character. I also enjoyed Loulis, Karabeti and a very theatrical Stankoglou in their short roles. Mickey Rourke is the international star who makes a very short cameo here and he is also good.

This film is particularly good for the images and insight into Christian Orthodoxy it provides. There is complete accuracy regarding the vestments, the way both a solemn and true but also a deceitful priest typically act, the way the Synod, Ecclesiastical schools, the monasteries operate and so on. From this perspective, it was interesting to watch.

The make up is great. Saint Nektarios starts as a man in his early 40s and we see all the stages as he ages and his health deteriorates significantly very accurately. This is actually where Servetalis’ acting shines the most, too.

The cinematography is nice, it has pretty imagery from rural Greece and a few nice settings in religious buildings. It is nowhere near the level of views Greece can naturally and even religiously offer but it was overall aesthetically pleasing.

Despite its several flaws, the film was able to move me and cause me (suitable) discomfort in certain parts.

Cons:

This movie would be unanimously considered a lot better, had it not been for the frankly crazy idea to be filmed in English. So, you have a Greek movie with Greek actors playing Greek characters in a Greek setting in 19th-20th century Greece speaking English to each other. Even worse is the choice to sprinkle with a little Greek here and there, for example priests speak in English but chant in Greek, Nektarios visits a Greek woman and speaks to her in English but then immediately afterwards speaks to the maid in Greek (???what the hell), a drunken man sings in Greek and then addresses the priest in English. It’s frankly lunatic and I can’t believe how everyone - director, producers, screenwriters, actors - thought that just because the movie would have an international release, this was a justifiable decision.

Like I said, some people accused the movie of bad acting. Here’s the problem: the actors tried their best and mostly were very good, however they gave so much emphasis on the struggle to pronounce English as well as possible (it is a known fact that Greek speakers struggle with the English accents), that this was making their dialogues slow and very cautious which was obviously making dialogue heavy scenes seem very unnatural. It does not help at all that the protagonist has clearly one of the weakest English accents in the cast. Servetalis is furthermore naturally very soft spoken but while it is beautiful in Greek, in his weak English it just sounds weird. Heads up for Loulis though - his English was freaking amazing in my humble opinion. And in general, if you knew how much Greek speakers often struggle with English accents, you’d understand that most of the actors really outdid themselves. Hence, the acting is good.

The pacing and the script of the movie are just bad. The movie starts without giving the main character’s background at all and without giving any insight into how the animosity against him was developed amongst the other bishops of Alexandria. Then it’s mostly dialogue heavy and it’s through the dialogues that we explore the main character and so many people may feel they remain emotionally detached from him. In fact, Servetalis also interprets the character in a somewhat detached, suppressed, “hovering above the ground” way and although I totally understand this approach, it is not assisted with that poor script and the out of place English to make the audience feel connected to him more. The English script is also very unnatural, most of the responses are like “Yes, I will” and “No, I do not” as if we are back to English A1 Class.

I already said the settings were okay, however there was room for improvement. I hoped a Russian director would not follow the same typical preference of Greek directors for narrow frames and a lot of close ups but apparently not. Neither the rich Church funding this nor even Russia could help with the budget and finally get a Greek movie with big sets and wide camera shots?! lol 🥲 I will open a champagne the day we get such a movie.

There are some goofs, i.e Nektarios ages so much and everyone else remains in the same age XD

Regarding the Propaganda claim:

I suppose this came only by biased atheists because, no, there is actually no propaganda in the film. It is a Christian movie made for Christian and Christian-tolerant audiences, who either accept or are open to the established belief that Nektarios had performed miracles in his lifetime. And in fact, the reference to his miracles is surprisingly fleeting for a movie that is funded by the Church. It’s just one small scene and then one very short mention and that’s all. There is also nothing else that would make this movie eligible for propaganda accusations - Nektarios is firm in his faith of course and especially in his Jesus-like selflessness, other people around him express doubt or prefer pure reason. Some are good people and question religion. Some are evil people and question religion. But most importantly, many are priests and are straightforwardly portrayed as foul deceivers, traitors, liars etc. Not only do I not see propaganda in this but I was personally impressed by the Church’s admission of what kind of people often infest it (of course it helps that all these people lived 1-2 centuries ago lol). Of course, the movie does accept that he performed miracles and thus was holy. But it is a Christian movie about an established venerated Christian saint… right? If for example I watched a movie made about a religious figure by the believers of this - any - religion, should I not expect that the figure would be presented as admirable or even holy? I hope you get my point. If you know what you are watching and why you are watching it, there is no case you will find anything problematic in it.

Anyway, these were my thoughts regarding the movie. The general score it gets in IMDb, produced as the median from the extremely high and low ratings of believers and atheists respectively, is fairly accurate and what I feel would be my personal score as well: 7.

So if you are a Christian or a Christian Orthodox and considered watching this (all these three years before I came around to watch it 😅), sure go ahead!

Saint Nektarios of Aegina island

Scene from the movie

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 13: Budding Spring - Episode 22: The Door That Leads To A New World

!! this chapter makes references to the knights of the round iv: the stage event story, you can read a translation of it on yaycupcake!

Local employee A: << The afternoon meeting will also take place here, so please return after your lunch break. >>

Colleague A: << Understood. >>

Local employee B: << By the way, Chigasaki-san, you’re an actor, yes? Feel free to give us your honest opinions regarding this project. >>

Itaru: << I’d be happy to do so if it will be of help. >>

-

Itaru: Whew…

Itaru: (Using English on top of maintaining my professionalism depletes my stamina twice as fast…)

Itaru: — —

Itaru: (A hobby shop… They’ve even got KniRoun figures. I’ve been curious about what they’ve got outside of Japan, I gotta check this out.)

Passerby: << Hm…!? Are you Lancelot!? >>

Itaru: What?

Passerby: << You played Lancelot in the stage play adaptation of KniRoun, right!? >>

Itaru: << Ah, I did. >>

Passerby: << I knew it! I never thought I’d meet you here! I’m so shocked! >>

Passerby: << I watched a stream of it. It was so good! Not only was it faithful to the original, but it was also interesting as a stage play! >>

Itaru: << — Thank you. >>

Passerby: << But… >>

Itaru: ?

Passerby: << I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much is because of your pre-show talk. >>

Passerby: << I’d been a fan of the game since I was a kid, so I was nervous about seeing it adapted into a stage play. >>

Passerby: << But after hearing what you, as Lancelot’s actor, said, I understood that this was a stage play created with us fans in mind… >>

Passerby: << Thanks to you, I was able to relax and let myself be led into the stage play’s KniRoun world. >>

Passerby: << Thank you so much for being Lancelot! >>

Itaru: << And likewise, thank you for watching it. >>

Passerby: << I’ll definitely come watch if you perform here! Good luck! >>

[The passerby walks away]

Itaru: (To think I’d be thanked for playing Lancelot… If the Itaru from back then heard that, he’d get real happy.)

Itaru: (I had a lot of worries during that rehearsal period, but I’m glad I was able to perform in KniRoun’s stage adaptation.)

Itaru: (I should let everyone know about this. I’m sure they’ll be shocked to hear I encountered a fan overseas.)

-

Local employee A: << So, if anyone has any opinions they would like to share regarding the ceremony event for the theater, I would love to hear them. >>

Itaru: << … I do have something. >>

Itaru: << This is about the most important part of the project: Revealing it to the residents… >>

Itaru: << How does creating a stage play based on something that has lots of fans around the world sound? Like an anime or a video game, for example. >>

Itaru: << When young people think of Japan, they think of anime and video games. >>

Itaru: << The video game “Knights of Round” is one such example, it is widely known overseas and has a large following. >>

Itaru: << As a Japanese company has taken on this project, I believe it is expected of us to build a bridge between Japan and this country through the arts. >>

Itaru: << I believe it would make sense for the ceremony event, which could be said to be symbolizing that bridge, to be something related to Japan. >>

Itaru: << However, I think simply introducing Japan to people hoping to liven up the arts field here won’t be enough. >>

Itaru: << I am speaking from experience, but I participated in KniRoun’s stage play adaptation, and earlier today I was approached by a passerby on the street, and it made me realize how highly recognized KniRoun is overseas. >>

Local employee B: << Certainly, as a lot of stage events will be held in the theater, many of them could be directed towards younger audiences. >>

Local employee B: << Conveying that this theater was created with them in mind as well is a good idea. >>

Itaru: << If deemed necessary, we can have a specialized research company look into the demand for each content. >>

Local employee A: << Please do. >>

-

Itaru: Ahhh, I’m exhausted… Having to work overtime even overseas is crazy… I’m an SSR amongst corporate slaves…

[Itaru takes his jacket off]

Itaru: I need to unwind for a bit…

taruchi has entered the chat

Itaru: (... It’s late, so I guess everyone’s sleeping.)

taruchi: i was approached by a kniroun fan today bc he recognized me from the stage play. he said it was great bc he could feel the love for the original work taruchi: i’m happy it had reach overseas too

Itaru: (We’ll need to think about various ways to expand our reach if we’re seriously considering the overseas market.)

Itaru: (There might be something I can use from this support training.)

Itaru: (I used to treat this job as just a way to make ends meet, but I’ve found out that it’s more interesting than I thought…)

Itaru: (Guess the door that leads to a new world can be somewhere surprisingly close to you.)

Itaru: (It’s important to be honest with yourself, huh… Well, let’s get back to work.)

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[black-klok-youth-pastor]

Kloktober 2023: Favorite Headcanon

This was gonna be two separate posts ,but for the occassion I combined both of them. Takes place at a hypothetical point after AOTD ,but the only major spoilers are for Requiem. Enjoy

Skwisgaar: I should has knowns all alongs. Why hasn't I figures this outs sooners?

Charles: Skwisgaar, I know it's a lot to process ,but...these dark secrets I've held for way too long now

...

Skwisgaar: YOU WAS DUTCHS THISK WHOLE TIMES?!!!

Charles: Wait that's what you're worried about? You do realize I...committed actual war crimes even before I met you guys, right? Could at least get the country you're disparaging me for right.

Skwisgaar: I cans excuse murders buts how cans I works with a mans from a country that only hasks three hour of sunlights and and obskessed with windmills?! Most happiests countries in the worlds my asskes!

Charles: Ummm (not sure where to start with that one)

Pickles: Wait a minute, how the f🎸k do you have an American accent? ...And also actually speak English correctly?

Charles: Were you even paying attent- I'll just... Look the point is-

Skwisgaar: Psst Du kan inte ens tala ditt modersmål rätt.

Charles: *sigh* Jeg har ikke tid til det her, du afsporer samtalen mere end normalt.

Nathan: *quietly* The hell's going on now?

Skwisgaar: Det låter som att du suget en spikad dildo.

Charles: Åh som din mor?!

Even if the English-speaking Dethklok members didn't pick up on what he was saying they at least felt the emotion of that one with Skwisgaar and Toki being especially shocked in the "holy shit, did he just say that?!" sense. The latter filling Charles with some regret as Norwegian is the closest linguistic cousin to Danish so it was crystal clear(ish) to him

Swksigaar: Maybes I umm...I mights has takes it too fars...I ams kinds of wish she dids does that sometimes. So like...I ain'ts that offendeds ,but likes...I nevers seens thats before. Likes...wow!

Charles: *deep breathe* I'm sorry I'm just...not immune to stress either. And this has whole thing has been hard for me as it has for all of you.

Pickles: It's cool (the other band members overlapping with some variation of that)

Toki: Why dids you sounds so demons possesseds though?

Murderface: I mean I can only imagine how frustrating it must feel being trapped in that underwater volcano for years…getting all steamy and…populated entirely by men.

Nathan: God it’s pretty much that stupid submarine but like ten times worse because you got that vow of celibacy and shit. Are they also allowed not to jerk off?

Charles: Well ummm you don’t have to worry about that because I uhh…I’m actually asexual.

Pickles: A sexual…what? Deviant? Voyeur? W-what do you mean?

Charles: *just kind of stares in bewilderment*

Skwisgaar: I think he ams just means he cans makes littles tiny Charle by splitting himskelfs in twos.

Nathan: What like if you tear his arm off a while f🎸king guy will grow from it?

Toki: I thinks so?

Nathan: That’s pretty metal if you ask me

Charles: Guys it just means I’m not interested in sex. Alright? Like you were constantly living up to the sex, drugs, and rock n roll but honestly... I was personally into a third of those things.

Murderface: ...I guess that makes sense?

Pickles: How the hell did you put up with us for so long though?

*insert montage of Charles staring at him in the background of various escapades with groupies just looking mildly annoyed at worst*

Charles: Honestly, all due respect: you kind of build up one hell of tolerance for pretty much everything.

Nathan: I guess that makes sense

... (long moment of silence, the sound of frosty winds filling the awkward atmosphere)

Charles: And umm if you're curious we are allowed, just so long as it doesn't end being used for procreation it's fine.

Nathan: Yeah but do you umm specifically umm y'know?

Charles: I can neither confirm nor deny that right now

Nathan: 'Kay umm that's fine.

...

Charles: I missed you guys, I really did

Diversity win! The capitalist war criminal turned cult leader is asexual and Danish

[Also author's notes: 90% of the Swede-Dane conversation was Google Translated, I am sorry (I have a Norwegian acquaintance on Discord ,but I didn't want to bother them especially since...well I won't ruin the joke but it was quite much if fun to write) althpugh I did make human corrections when needed and I did at least translate that last phrase on my own. Could've still screwed up]

[talenlee]

Pride Month 2023

In the major English-speaking parts of the worlds I’m familiar with (which weirdly, is not Nigeria, despite it having four times as many English speakers as my home country and Canada combined), June is Pride Month. This is because a number of inter-linked corporate interests have been able to maximise sharing economic value by treating England, Australia, Canada and America as if we all operate on roughly comparable time scales and interests. For this reason, June is the month where America celebrates Pride, in the ways America does, and the rest of us are already buying your t-shirts, so your rainbows show up on all our soda cans anyway. Happy Pride! Buy something.

The obligatory response is of course, ‘well, why?’ and not just why do we do Pride in June, but rather, why do we need Pride at all? After all, isn’t homophobia solved and fixed and now we’re just kind of tidying up around the edges? Of course not, and if you’re reading this you know that’s not true, because I am not some general access explainer, I’m the blog of a weirdo who likes board games and anime and has somehow captured an audience just barely larger than a really suspect church congregation. But why not talk about it anyway, in the specific vein of Hey I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

Jim Parsons is gay.

You probably don’t remember that name, but here’s a jog to your memory:

Jim Parsons is the 50 year old actor who played Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory for twelve years, starting in 2007. During the run of this series, he was the highest-paid TV actor in the world, earning a rate of 26 million dollars an episode. And trust me I’m trying so hard to not make cheap pops about how much I do not care for The Big Bang Theory. This is just a simple, clearly visible, and extremely high profile actor in a well-known, well-regarded role in the middle-of-the-road, approachable TV slush that everyone knew. I watched a bunch of The Big Bang Theory, certainly enough to have negative opinions about it.

Jim Parsons was outed as being gay in 2012.

That is to say, before 2012, despite being an incredibly public person in a public position, Parsons was not comfortable being openly and presently gay. He was a rich white guy, who in 2012, came out, at the age of 39. And when The Big Bang Theory was brand new, in 2008, interviewers were wondering…

Hey, is Johnny Galecki gay?

In 2010, Galecki responded – very gracefully, in a way – to questions about if he was gay, which was probably tied to the fact that he was probably aware of Parsons being gay and had maybe had a conversation with at least one gay person before. In that, he argued that he didn’t feel a need to address the question, because it wasn’t anything that needed addressing. Being gay was unremarkable. That’s pretty cool, it was a different attitude you were likely to get at the time.

It was 2010.

You might be right now having a thought about how you maybe remember seeing gifs of this. You might be remembering seeing The Big Bang Theory start and realise that you cared about the way it ended, in 2018. 2018, which was five years ago, which means that chances are good, if you’re like me, you blink and go ‘oh jeeze, that was that recent‘ followed by ‘hang on, that was that long ago?’ because our brains are mush and they don’t work right and the things that are familiar come to the memory easily. It feels like The Big Bang Theory is a reasonably recent show, and not something that’s been gone for five years. It won awards that people thought should be going to 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother and those three shows being contemporary should also send a bit of a shiver through you about what the culture was like only a few years ago.

I know it can be hard to handle time right now. There’s a sort of brain rot around 2020 that’s made the already relentless advancement of time get stranger and worse. It feels like we’re in 2020 part 3, but that doesn’t make 2010 nearer than it was now. It was 13 years ago, so if you’re say, 21 years old, you maybe remember when The Big Bang Theory started, and ended, and in your lifetime Jim Parsons wasn’t comfortable coming out. Part of why, though was because he was scared of ocming out to his mother. Jim Parsons isn’t a millenial. He was born in 1973, which means his parents are what, from the 1950s?

The average age of Parliamentarian in Australia is 51. The average age of a Senator in America is 63. The average age of the house of Lords is dust.

I did not expect to spend my forties, as a bi adult, arguing with twenty-five year olds who believed they’d somehow been born into a world where homophobia was over and only the dreadfully old people that didn’t matter was part of their lives. I did not realise that I was going to watch these youths reinvent traditional catholocism from first principles out of misguided pieces of DNI and trigger warning lists. I did not realise at some point in my life, I was going to hear someone tell me that I was bad for mentioning that I’d been called a faggot.

But the fantasy that homophobia and queerphobia and transphobia are things of the past and we just need to sort things out and we’re done is not just fanciful (because I mean, look at the immense threat trans people are under, especially trans youth, especially trans youth of colour) but it also seems to think that at some point since say, oh, 2012 and now, every person older than me winked out of existence and did not in fact spend their time calcifying and corroding and reinforcing and recruiting in the name of maintaining their connection to the things that made them feel okay, and the only thing that makes that kind of person feel okay is power and how to exert it.

We have Pride month because corporations want to sell us rainbows.

We need Pride month because we always, always, always need to be ready to start another riot.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Diary #Meta #Politics #Queerness

[hamsteriffic]

Help @samsimisauser ! I have gone down a rabbit hole, and much like Alice in Wonderland, need to have a good nap or am hallucinating.

I have found a few interesting things regarding the law in France and the hypothetical suing of Felix using Adrien’s image.

First up, there is no precedent law in France. While the US and UK and most other English speaking countries use common law which is based on precedent, the French use civil law, which means that the judges should not have any jurisdiction to make the law, they only execute the law. Seems pretty civil? [1] But since there are no real-life precedents of a possible sentibeing using your image for ill-intent we don’t really know what the outcome would be anyway.

So in the French civil code Article 9, or droits a l’image (Image Rights), protects your image from unauthorised use and covers concepts such as the right to protect one’s honour and the right to control one’s image [2]. The civil code has been extended over time and extends to privacy laws and more recently the use of your image in social media has also been added, which gives you the right to remove your image from Google or other platforms [3]. Other areas this may relate to may be printing of the person’s private life in the media [2].

For well known figures, use of their image is protected. For example, the use of famous French musicians Johnny Halliday and Sylvie Vartan or Gerard Depardieu have been protected. Exceptions for the use of your image may be freedom of speech or if your image is used for the purpose of parody or humour, as defined by Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights or the French Liberty of the Press, however significant hurdles and burdens of proof may be faced in the French court [3].

An example of how the application of the law can differ depending on your legal jurisdiction, Scarlet Johansson had successfully sued a French author for the use of her person in a book. If this was under American law, this would be covered by the first amendment, however under French law personality rights are taken seriously [4]. Since there is no humour or parody involved, this work would also not be covered by the exception.

Another question is if Adrien’s image is a trademark [6]. Natural objects cannot be trademarked, including humans and faces. Unless Gabriel Agreste can give an example as to why Adrien is actually a design and not a person, then that point stands. As such, a celebrity’s person is therefore again covered by personality rights.

Nevertheless there is marketability in being a celebrity and other aspects of celebrity culture, such as endorsements. As such, the US has publicity rights which grants a celebrity to merchandising monopolies, however this is not the case in UK or Australian law [6] and this issue as far as I can tell remains murky under European law and member states [7,8].

As a side note, in the UK and Australia for example, the celebrity may use the tort of Passing off, which can be used in the case of unauthorised use of their image, leading to misinformation and loss of trust in their brand [8].

The exception to this trademark rule in regards to the face lies in distinctiveness. Similarly, the European Union IPO has granted trademarks for the use of photos of people / portraits without text in the past (think Colonel Sanders) [9]. This faces a higher burden of proof to establish if a persons image is a characteristic that gives substantial value to goods. I would say in the case of Adrien’s face and it’s association with the Gabriel Agreste brand that it would be easy to define.

However would Felix’s own face be seen as his own and not Adrien’s? In the case of impersonations, it is recommended that the use of images of public figures must be clearly indicated that these are impersonations to avoid confusion [2]. Moreover, if the private figure has not received consent, the public figure may be liable to receiving compensation [2].

I haven’t taken into account the fact that Adrien is a minor, but his image was used with the consent of his parent(s).

This was fun! Happy to hear any other thoughts on this.

Sources

[1] https://verfassungsblog.de/dr-law-discoverer-and-mr-law-maker-the-strange-case-of-case-law-in-france/

[2] https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1366&context=elr

[3] https://www.mondaq.com/france/trademark/1053964/parody-defense-and-ip-enforcement-in-france

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/14/scarlett-johansson-sues-french-author

[5] https://www.plass.com/fr/articles/marques-et-droit-limage-une-decision-reconnait-la-validite-dune-marque-de-lue-constituee

[6] Weathered, Lynne. (2000). Trade Marking Celebrity Image: The Impact of Distinctiveness and use as a Trade Mark. Bond Law Review. 12. 10.53300/001c.5359. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27828639_Trade_Marking_Celebrity_Image_The_Impact_of_Distinctiveness_and_use_as_a_Trade_Mark

[7] research-collection.ethz.chhttps://www.research-collection.ethz.ch › ...PDFExploiting publicity rights in the EU

[8] https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/3/2/181

[9] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=684d0a57-8d70-4f95-b4f5-cc218c8f6354

[lucysarah-c]

Oh darling don't worry about rambling. I think readers enjoy knowing more about a writer.

The whole procedure sounds exhausting. Wishing you the best of luck in that. And I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

However, I am curious as to why you decided to do a PhD. degree? I am assuming you really like research, I am curious to know why people apply for it. I have been taught that isn't really necessary to pursue, I am not trying to dissuade you, I just want to know your point of view, and I find that interesting.

I haven't had the chance to visit Germany. It is a great country to settle in, If that what you are planning for. I heard a nightmare about their paperwork. God be with you. Will you be taking classes in german or will it be in English? Do you need an English test certification for it?

Also, it is so lovely of you to think of your mom. She is lucky to have a daughter like you.

I hope that you mind me sending you an abnormal amount of questions 😄

when you answer, your Tumblr asks or writes your posts. Do you do it from a pc or from your phone? I found out that I can't send long paragraphs from my pc unless I do it on my phone. I was wondering if it is the same case for you.

I’m not sure what my readers enjoy to be honest hahaha But if you're my reader and want to know more about my personal life haha I don't mind it.

Thank you! I hope everything turns out smoothly too.

About the PhD, I think it really depends not only on the field you're in but also your prospects. For example, I studied Biotechnology and molecular biology, but in my last years of the degree I dedicated myself to nanobiotechnology for oncological treatments. When I joined the nanotechnology team, nano was something that nobody really cared about and therefore it was a really small side of biotechnology compared to other well known parts of it. Once the pandemic hit, the health science field began to have a boom and Nanotechnology was a field that was only being explored for arms industry and cosmetics. Now nanotechnology is being explored in the health industry a lot and, since I'm kinda part of the "teams who were pioneers on it" I've the chances to work and study a field that doesn't have that much "competition" yet but also its "highly demanded". Plus, someone has to do them, you know haha Someone has to investigate the improvements of new treatments. The PhD is the only option for me if I want to keep going with my studies. Like, yeah I could work in the industry without a master or phd and make way more money than the scholarship I'll get. Sorry, long story short, I want to investigate the probabilities of curing Cancer with nanotechnology. This is way too new so they need people to research about it for it to one day be a treatment available for people.

I have also heard that Germans aren't good with paperwork lmao. It seems to be a thing. I visited Germany when I traveled a few years ago. It's a really calm and lovely place. The master is in English and yes I need an English certificate that I already own. Your girl is a C2 or proficient in English like Excuse me lmao jk I don't feel like I'm proficiency at all but the IELTS exam says otherwise lol.

I'm learning German! I'm actually in the middle of my A2 to B1 classes so, careful I know how to say my name lmao. I feel it's a really "boxy" language but a friend of mine, who speaks German said "but Lucy, you speak Spanish as your first language, it's like you speak in cursive. Obviously it feels less "literature '' '' that actually boosted my self esteem lol I've never thought Spanish as a "lovely" language but I guess it is!

I don't mind the questions if you don't mind that I take a while to reply haha

Eh... I've no idea, because I've not send asks is a long while hahah I basically log in to Tumblr to post and I leave because I've like -10 time in my life at the moment. But I mostly post from my computer because the phone app doesn't let me select more than one paragraph at a time and editing is a mess.

But, for example, the tumblr computer web doesn't alert me when I've overpass the 30 tags limit and the phone does. It's weird, tumblr is a mess.

Have a lovely day!

[cfshadows]

( LEO SUTER + CIS-MALE + HE/HIM ) dearest reader, i am ever so delighted to introduce RAYLEIGH , the thirty year old pirate, known among the ton as charming + idealistic but their foes would certainly tell you that they are more crass + aggressive. perhaps that is why many seem to think they had something to do with the ongoings around the ton, but here they are anyway !

name: rayleigh

age: thirty

height:6'2

hair color: brown

eye color: brown

home: england/china

gender: cis-man

pronouns: he/him

starsign: leo

sexuality: pansexual

Family

father: unknown birth father. adopted father: chen zuyi

mother: unknown birth mother adopted mother: chunhua

Biography

an orphan washed up on the shores of an unknown place with no memories, the boy probably only 6 years old, no one knows how he survived but he was found on the shores of an island off of china by chen zuyi and his wife chunhua. an elderly couple who had no children.

he was raised on the island, watching ships into the port and dreaming about one day being on them. a child who couldn't understand his parents, understand anyone around him and who looked different than everyone else. he found happiness in helping on the docks whenever he could. eventually learning the language and how to fit in.

from an early age he was interested in freedom and rebellion, piracy was starting to fade in the western world but it was still rampant in the indian ocean and the sea of china. he wanted that. a boy with a lost past on a poor island and elderly parents. there was little else for him to do.

he took to the seas as soon as he could, joining with smaller crews until he was able to work his way up higher and to more powerful ships.

years at sea and he found himself in europe, where he tried to rob the house of aurelia underwood. instead of a fight he found himself in bed with the duchess and leaving with treasures she gave him as well as a new contact and lover.

any time he was in england he found himself visiting her, finding companionship in her company and having a place to stay out of the spotlight. he continued his life at seas until a message came from him. aurelia's husband was dead and she was inviting him to spend his time with the best of nobility.

a chance to find more treasures, lovers and maybe the family he was taken from.

More

he's non-monogamous, poly pirate king tbh. he could be monogamous but only for someone he really loved.

he's basically acting as a 'guard' for aurelia. though obviously a strange one. he is committed to keeping her safe as not only one of her lovers but with her as one of his closest friends in the world.

speaks fluent mandarin and english,

probably a wanted man in china and some other eastern countries.

Wanted Connections

HIS FAMILY: obviously could be siblings/cousins/aunts/uncles whatever. he was on a ship with his parents when it was caught in a storm and only he survived with no memories. so finding the place and people he actually came from would be great.

bestie: someone who was also a pirate or at sea for some other reason who's come with him to england

friends/acquaintances/people who recognize him.

lovers: please let him ruin your life or just vibe with him and be fun. angst where he breaks peoples hearts, possible actual romance, anything i'm down for it al.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 2: That one time I got robbed

Today marks two weeks of studying abroad in Buenos Aires, and the end of an eventful week. We started out this week of extreme highs and lows with a beautiful little weekend getaway to Mendoza. A city known for its bodegas (or wineries), Mendoza did not disappoint. We arrived Thursday evening and had a nice dinner after a decently long travel day. One of my favorite things about Argentina culture is something known as a "sobremesa," where everyone stays at the table after finishing eating for purely social purposes. My roommates and I stayed at the restaurant for an entire 2.5 hours just talking. This cultural difference helps make every evening enjoyable, even when there are no big plans going on.

The next morning, we woke up early to head to the San Martin Park, which is the largest in Mendoza, and we ate brunch at a cute outdoor cafe. Afterwards, we explored the mini artisan market, where I bought some jewelry. The , we went on a half-day winery tour that we booked through TripAdvisor. Everything went very smoothly, and the tour guide could speak english. We visited three different bodegas and one olive oil factory, and it was a day well spent. The bodegas were absolutely stunning, and it was really interesting to see the intricacies of the various wine cellars and production process. We also got to taste some delicious bread and olive oil variations as an afternoon snack. Our exciting day came to an end with a beautiful sunset that we got to watch from the rooftop balcony of our final bodega.

Life suddenly moved on after our blissful weekend in Mendoza, and I really felt the shock during our 8 am physics class on Monday morning. It was difficult to snap back into a school routine, but playing ping pong and pool every day between classes definitely helped. If you told me two weeks ago that one of the highlights of my experience abroad so far was playing pool (a game that I had never played before) with classmates, I would've thought I went insane. However, playing little games has helped me bond with the other students, and even meet locals who attend the same university. I also spend most of the free time I have at the nearby parks, where there is an abundance of mini soccer (futbol) fields. Soccer tennis is now an essential part of my daily routine, and it is definitely a rewarding activity. It makes me so happy that I was able to incorporate the sport I love into my experience abroad, especially in the most passionate futbol country in the world.

The week picked up again on Tuesday night with a Tango show that was included with our CEA study abroad program. The venue was absolutely breathtaking, and the dancers matched the venue with their immense talent. I wish photography and recordings were allowed during the show because it was truly one of a kind. I will definitely be investing in tango lessons during the remaining time I have left here.

However, the night quickly plummeted after we decided on keeping the party going at a boliche (similar to a nightclub). After a couple hours of dancing, my heart dropped as I noticed my purse's zipper was open, and my phone was nowhere to be found. When preparing for a considerable trip like this one, lectures on preventing your belongings from being stolen are inevitable. I was always incredibly cautious with keeping my bags within sight and within my grasp, which made it even more distressing to find out my phone was stolen. After a brief mental breakdown, I finally calmed down enough to complete the necessary steps: tracking the location, putting it in lost mode, erasing its content, and calling my cell phone provider to discontinue the number. As this only happened less than 24 hours ago, I am still in a state of distress and shock, but I know that this happens to so many students abroad and that everything will be okay. This was a huge lesson (though one I wish I didn't have to learn) about how you really can never be too cautious with your belongings in a country such as Argentina, and I will take this knowledge and experience with me for the rest of this trip and my life. The good news is that it really can only go up from here, and hopefully by next week's Wu Wednesday, I will have things figured out!

[foxstens]

the accent question is actually interesting to think about

bc according to google an accent is ‘a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class’ which is interesting because??? isn’t everything that?

like which language has a universally agreed-upon neutral way of pronouncing it, and everything that isn’t that is then called an accent. i don’t think that’s how languages work considering how easy it is to pick up speech patterns. or. at least i assume it’s as easy for others as it is for me

i guess a lot of people think they just don’t have an accent because they associate the word itself with something, something they don’t think they do. but i had to accept the fact that i have an accent in both of my native languages years ago.

so i grew up speaking both romanian and hungarian, studied in romanian in school so i have a better understanding of the language, but we spoke both in pretty equal amounts in the family. and almost 10 years ago i visited my cousin in hungary, and that’s when her boyfriend of all people pointed out that i have an accent in hungarian.

i was left bewildered, and almost insulted because i had never thought about it, i absolutely did not notice. but i’ve been paying attention since then and it’s fascinating. i have an accent in both languages that’s just due to where i grew up and the area i live in, in romanian we’re just known to speak slower i guess but hungarian is pretty damn different, we pronounce some sounds differently, we use some words differently, we borrow a fuckton from romanian - it’s fascinating

but more than that - when someone is speaking romanian it’s immediately obvious whether they can speak hungarian as well. this is just something i’ve noticed through paying attention to myself, my family, and the people we know and it’s not something huge, i wouldn’t classify it as an accent all on its own because we still speak the local romanian. but it is there, in the way we pronounce some vowels and some consonants in some structures. 

it is noticeable if you know what to look for and i just think it’s so fascinating. makes me wonder if this is a thing in other languages as well. makes me wonder what other unique things we experience as bilingual people which i never noticed because most people i know irl are bilingual. 

it also makes me wonder how much of both languages bleeds into my accent when speaking english. like as far as i know romanians don’t tend to have a strong accent when speaking english, but hungarians do, and i speak both. and as mentioned they influence even each other. and a lot of my english knowledge comes from reading and also interviews with british bands. it’s probably a MessTM

ugh language is so interesting. but i am still of the opinion that Everything Is An Accent

[david5321fan]

Amratva Hindi Book by Kumar Vishwas | benchmark education

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Tell us more about yourself!

I am a comedian turned politician. I want to transform politics into a fun and meaningful experience for everyone. By using humor and satire, I hope to present the Indian political system in a new light that will appeal to every kind of person. Yes, that also includes you!

If you are fed up with the current state of our country, then this book is perfect for you! Let's make our voices heard together so we can create change happen!

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The book is written in a conversational style that makes it easy to understand and includes exercises to help you fully absorb its message. In addition, the following topics are covered:

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With Amratva Hindi Books by Kumar Vishwas, your child can learn and understand the language fluently in no time. Children of all ages will find this book helpful in developing their Hindi vocabulary and speaking skills. They'll also enjoy reading stories that revolve around animals!

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Good to know that the Hindi language is the international language, and you know what? Now your books are in Hindi!

A brand new voice: Kumar Vishwas, will make you fall in love with Hindi. He is a well-known humorist, politician, and Bollywood actor who has written many popular books. He has won several awards for his imaginative writing. Once he says something on paper, it holds for eternity. His writing skills have been appreciated by everyone from schoolchildren to business people who want to learn English.

Take advantage of this chance to learn more about the world via its oldest language, Hindi!

The Hindi language is a beautiful one to speak, but it's surprisingly tricky to master. Kumar Vishwas has written a book to help you learn the basics and make the most out of it. The book is packed with interesting facts about Hindi, and you'll find some fun things you can do with it!

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You are introducing the latest Hindi book by Kumar Vishwas. A comprehensive guide for beginners, Amratva is an ideal resource for anyone who wants to learn the language in a fun and engaging way. With clear explanations and plenty of exercises, this book will help you build a solid foundation while also introducing you to some of Hindi's most common expressions.

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Pick up this book today and see how easy it is to learn a new language!

[joshhurse]

Chapter 6 Field Work

How long has your family lived in this country?

As far as I’m concerned my family (Mother) has lived in this country her entire life, including all my aunts and uncles from her side of the family as well. When it comes to my grandparents (Mother’s parents), they have lived in this country for about over 60 years now. As it comes to me, I’ve lived in this country my entire life. 

Where did they come from?

My grandparents come from the island of Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the major West Indian islands that are known for their interesting way of living and culture. The specific town they came from is called Diego Martin. 

Has your family embraced American Nationalism?

I don’t think my family has embraced American nationalism fully. What I mean by that is that while my family celebrates holidays like The Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, they still do things like speak their native tongue (broken English) and cook dishes from their native land like Doubles, Roti, etc. They do speak normal English and also know how to write papers, read books and know how to pay bills, but this doesn't prevent them from knowing where they came from or their roots as a whole.

If some of your family have migrated from other parts of the world, how do they integrate their American identity with their ethnic identity? 

 I don’t have family that has migrated from anywhere else around the world but from Trinidad. For my family that does come from the country of Trinidad they just keep doing what they do, but also add American cultures while having their original culture within them. A great example is that while my grandmother loves to make Trinidadian food, from time to time she will cook American food like burgers and whatnot. Her and my grandfather know how to keep a pretty solid balance of both things at once and know how to be themselves within the country without having to be criticized for not being “American” enough. 

This is a picture of my grandfather in the year of 1976. This is a man that has migrated from one country to another. From Trinidad to America. This man is still with us today and he is the embodiment of hard work that pays off because as soon as he got to this country all he did was work. He was not only working hard, but knew how to make time for his family because it’s what his people taught him to do best. This man is the reason I am able to embrace and take pride in my ethnicity and am honored to be what I am.

[reanimatedcourier]

How to Write Indigenous Characters Without Looking like a Jackass:

Update as of December 26th, 2020: I have added a couple new sections about naming and legal terms, as well as a bit of reading on the Cherokee Princess phenomenon.

Boozhoo (hello) Fallout fandom! I'm a card-carrying Anishinaabe delivering this rough guide about writing Indigenous characters because wow, do I see a lot of shit.

Let's get something out of the way first: Fallout's portrayal of Indigenous people is racist. From a vague definition of "tribal" to the claims of them being "savage" and "uncivilized" mirror real-world stereotypes used to dehumanize us. Fallout New Vegas' narrated intro has Ron Perlman saying Mr. House "rehabilitated" tribals to create New Vegas' Three Families. You know. Rehabilitate. As if we are animals. Top it off with an erasure of Indigenous people in the American Southwest and no real tribe names, and you've got some pretty shitty representation. The absence of Native American as a race option in the GECK isn't too great, given that two Native characters are marked "Caucasian" despite being brown. Butch Deloria is a pretty well-known example of this effect. (Addendum: Indigenous people can have any mix of dominant and recessive traits, as well as present different phenotypes. What bothers me is it doesn't accommodate us or mixed people, which is another post entirely.)

As a precautionary warning: this post and the sources linked will discuss racism and genocide. There will also be discussion of multiple kinds of abuse.

Now, your best approach will be to pick a nation or tribe and research them. However, what follows will be general references.

Terms that may come up in your research include Aboriginal/Native Canadian, American Indian/Native American, Inuit, Métis, and Mestizo. The latter two refer to cultural groups created after the discovery of the so-called New World. (Addendum made September 5th, 2020: Mestizo has negative connotations and originally meant "half breed" so stick with referring to your mixed Latine and Indigenous characters as mixed Indigenous or simply by the name of their people [Maya, Nahua].)

As a note, not every mixed person is Métis or Mestizo. If you are, say, Serbian and Anishinaabe, you would be mixed, but not Métis (the big M is important here, as it refers to a specific culture). Even the most liberal definition caps off at French and British ancestry alongside Indigenous (some say Scottish and English). Mestizo works the same, since it refers to descendants of Spanish conquistadors/settlers and Indigenous people.

Trouble figuring out whose land is where? No problem, check out this map.

Drawing

Don't draw us with red skin. It's offensive and stereotypical.

Tutorial for Native Skintones

Tutorial for Mixed Native Skintones

Why Many Natives Have Long Hair (this would technically fit better under another category, but give your Native men long hair!)

If You're Including Traditional Wear, Research! It's Out There

Languages

Remember, there are a variety of languages spoken by Indigenous people today. No two tribes will speak the same language, though there are some that are close and may have loan words from each other (Cree and Anishinaabemowin come to mind). Make sure your Diné (you may know them as Navajo) character doesn't start dropping Cree words.

Here's a Site With a Map and Voice Clips

Here's an Extensive List of Amerindian Languages

Keep in mind there are some sounds that have no direct English equivalents. But while we're at it, remember a lot of us speak English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. The languages of the countries that colonized us.

Words in Amerindian languages tend to be longer than English ones and are in the format of prefix + verb + suffix to get concepts across. Gaawiin miskwaasinoon is a complete sentence in Anishinaabemowin, for example (it is not red).

Names

Surprisingly, we don't have names like Passing Dawn or Two-Bears-High-Fiving in real life. A lot of us have, for lack of better phrasing, white people names. We may have family traditions of passing a name down from generation to generation (I am the fourth person in my maternal line to have my middle name), but not everyone is going to do that. If you do opt for a name from a specific tribe, make sure you haven't chosen a last name from another tribe.

Baby name sites aren't reliable, because most of the names on there will be made up by people who aren't Indigenous. That site does list some notable exceptions and debunks misconceptions.

Here's a list of last names from the American census.

Indian Names

You may also hear "spirit names" because that's what they are for. You know the sort of mystical nature-related name getting slapped on an Indigenous character? Let's dive into that for a moment.

The concept of a spirit name seems to have gotten mistranslated at some point in time. It is the name Creator calls you throughout all your time both here and in the spirit world. These names are given (note the word usage) to you in a ceremony performed by an elder. This is not done lightly.

A lot of imitations of this end up sounding strange because they don't follow traditional guidelines. (I realize this has spread out of the original circle, but Fallout fans may recall other characters in Honest Hearts and mods that do this. They have really weird and racist results.)

If you're not Indigenous: don't try this. You will be wrong.

Legal Terms

Now, sometimes the legal term (or terms) for a tribe may not be what they refer to themselves as. A really great example of this would be the Oceti Sakowin and "Sioux". How did that happen, you might be wondering. Smoky Mountain News has an article about this word and others, including the history of these terms.

For the most accurate information, you are best off having your character refer to themselves by the name their nation uses outside of legislation. A band name would be pretty good for this (Oglala Lakota, for example). I personally refer to myself by my band.

Cowboys

And something the Fallout New Vegas fans might be interested in, cowboys! Here's a link to a post with several books about Black and Indigenous cowboys in the Wild West.

Representation: Stereotypes and Critical Thought

Now, you'll need to think critically about why you want to write your Indigenous character a certain way. Here is a comprehensive post about stereotypes versus nuance.

Familiarize yourself with tropes. The Magical Indian is a pretty prominent one, with lots of shaman-type characters in movies and television shows. This post touches on its sister tropes (The Magical Asian and The Magical Negro), but is primarily about the latter.

Say you want to write an Indigenous woman. Awesome! Characters I love to see. Just make sure you're aware of the stereotypes surrounding her and other Women of Color.

Word to the wise: do not make your Indigenous character an alcoholic. "What, so they can't even drink?" You might be asking. That is not what I'm saying. There is a pervasive stereotype about Drunk Indians, painting a reaction to trauma as an inherent genetic failing, as stated in this piece about Indigenous social worker Jessica Elm's research. The same goes for drugs. Ellen Deloria is an example of this stereotype.

Familiarize yourself with and avoid the Noble Savage trope. This was used to dehumanize us and paint us as "childlike" for the sake of a plot device. It unfortunately persists today.

Casinos are one of the few ways for tribes to make money so they can build homes and maintain roads. However, some are planning on diversifying into other business ventures.

There's a stereotype where we all live off government handouts. Buddy, some of these long-term boil water advisories have been in place for over twenty years. The funding allocated to us as a percentage is 0.39%: less than half a percent to fight the coronavirus. They don't give us money.

"But what about people claiming to be descended from a Cherokee princess?" Cherokee don't and never had anything resembling princesses. White southerners made that up prior to the Civil War. As the article mentions, they fancied themselves "defending their lands as the Indians did".

Also, don't make your Indigenous character a cannibal. Cannibalism is a serious taboo in a lot of our cultures, particularly northern ones.

Our lands are not cursed. We don't have a litany of curses to cast on white people in found footage films. Seriously. We have better things to be doing. Why on earth would our ancestors be haunting you when they could be with their families? Very egotistical assumption.

Indigenous Ties and Blood Quantum

Blood quantum is a colonial system that was initially designed to "breed out the Indian" in people. To dilute our bloodlines until we assimilated properly into white society. NPR has an article on it here.

However, this isn't how a vast majority of us define our identities. What makes us Indigenous is our connections (or reconnection) to our families, tribes, bands, clans, and communities.

Blood quantum has also historically been used to exclude Black Natives from tribal enrollment, given that it was first based on appearance. So, if you looked Black and not the image of "Indian" the white census taker had in his brain, you were excluded and so were your descendants.

Here are two tumblrs that talk about Black Indigenous issues and their perspectives. They also talk about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

However, if you aren't Indigenous, don't bring up blood quantum. Don't. This is an issue you should not be speaking about.

Cherokee Princess Myth

"Princess" was not a real position in any tribe. The European idea of monarchy did not suddenly manifest somewhere else. The closest probable approximation may have been the daughter of a chief or other politically prominent person. But princess? No.

Here is an article talking about possible origins of this myth. Several things are of note here: women from other tribes may have bee shoved under this label and the idea of a "Cherokee Princess" had been brought up to explain the sudden appearance of a brown-skinned (read: half Black) family member.

For a somewhat more in depth discussion of why, specifically, this myth gets touted around so often, Timeline has this piece.

Religion

Our religions are closed. We are not going to tell you how we worship. Mostly because every little bit we choose to share gets appropriated. Smudging is the most recent example. If you aren't Indigenous, that's smoke cleansing. Smudging is done in a specific way with ceremonies and prayers.

Now, a lot of us were forcibly converted. Every residential school was run by Christians. So plenty of us are Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Lutheran, etc. Catholicism in Latin America also has influence from the Indigenous religions in that region.

Having your Indigenous character pray or carry rosaries wouldn't be a bad thing, if that religion was important to them. Even if they are atheist, if they lived outside of a reserve or other Indigenous communities, they might have Christian influences due to its domination of the Western world.

Settler Colonialism and the White Savior Trope

Now we've come to our most painful section yet. Fallout unintentionally has an excellent agent of settler-colonialism, in particular the Western Christian European variety, in Caesar's Legion and Joshua Graham.

(Addendum: Honest Hearts is extremely offensive in its portrayal of Indigenous people, and egregiously shows a white man needing to "civilize" tribals and having to teach them basic skills. These skills include cooking, finding safe water, and defending themselves from other tribes.)

Before we dive in, here is a post explaining the concept of cultural Christianity, if you are unfamiliar with it.

We also need to familiarize ourselves with The White Man's Burden. While the poem was written regarding the American-Philippine war, it still captures the attitudes toward Indigenous folks all over the world at the time.

As this article in Teen Vogue points out, white people like to believe they need to save People of Color. You don't need to. People of Color can save themselves.

Now, cultural Christianity isn't alone on this side of the pond. Writer Teju Cole authored a piece on the White Savior Industrial Complex to describe mission trips undertaken by white missionaries to Africa to feed their egos.

Colonialism has always been about the acquisition of wealth. To share a quote from this paper about the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples: "Negatively, [settler colonialism] strives for the dissolution of native societies. Positively, it erects a new colonial society on the expropriated land base—as I put it, settler colonizers come to stay: invasion is a structure not an event. In its positive aspect, elimination is an organizing principal of settler-colonial society rather than a one-off (and superseded) occurrence. The positive outcomes of the logic of elimination can include officially encouraged miscegenation, the breaking-down of native title into alienable individual freeholds, native citizenship, child abduction, religious conversion, resocialization in total institutions such as missions or boarding schools, and a whole range of cognate biocultural assimilations. All these strategies, including frontier homicide, are characteristic of settler colonialism. Some of them are more controversial in genocide studies than others." (Positive, here, is referring to "benefits" for the colonizers. Indigenous people don't consider colonization beneficial.)

An example of a non-benefit, the Church Rock disaster had Diné children playing in radioactive water so the company involved could avoid bad publicity.

Moving on, don't sterilize your Indigenous people. Sterilization, particularly when it is done without consent, has long been used as a tool by the white system to prevent "undesirables" (read, People of Color and disabled people) from having children. Somehow, as of 2018, it wasn't officially considered a crime.

The goal of colonization was to eliminate us entirely. Millions died because of exposure to European diseases. Settlers used to and still do separate our children from us for reasons so small as having a dirty dish in the sink. You read that right, a single dirty dish in your kitchen sink was enough to get your children taken and adopted out to white families. This information was told to me by an Indigenous social work student whose name I will keep anonymous.

It wasn't until recently they made amendments to the Indian Act that wouldn't automatically render Indigenous women non-status if they married someone not Indigenous. It also took much too long for Indigenous families to take priority in child placement over white ones. Canada used to adopt Indigenous out to white American families. The source for that statement is further down, but adoption has been used as a tool to destroy cultures.

I am also begging you to cast aside whatever colonialist systems have told you about us. We are alive. People with a past, not people of the past, which was wonderfully said here by Frank Waln.

Topics to Avoid if You Aren't Indigenous

Child Separation. Just don't. We deserve to remain with our families and our communities. Let us stay together and be happy that way.

Assimilation schools. Do not bring up a tool for cultural genocide that has left lasting trauma in our communities.

W/ndigos. I don't care that they're in Fallout 76. They shouldn't be. Besides, you never get them right anyway.

Sk/nwalkers. Absolutely do not. Diné stories are not your playthings either.

I've already talked about drugs and alcohol. Do your research with compassion and empathy in mind. Indigenous people have a lot of pain and generational trauma. You will need to be extremely careful having your Indigenous characters use drugs and alcohol. If your character can be reduced to their (possible) substance abuse issues, you need to step back and rework it. As mentioned in Jessica Elm's research, remember that it isn't inherent to us.

For our final note: remember that we're complex, autonomous human beings. Don't use our deaths to further the stories of your white characters. Don't reduce us to some childlike thing that needs to be raised and civilized by white characters. We interact with society a little differently than you do, but we interact nonetheless.

Meegwetch (thank you) for reading! Remember to do your research and portray us well, but also back off when you are told by an Indigenous person.

This may be updated in the future, it depends on what information I come across or, if other Indigenous people are so inclined, what is added to this post.

[miedemamadness]

Vivianne Miedema Helden Magazine Interview

You recently starred with Lieke Martens in a peanut butter commercial. Is a new career beckoning?

Viv - Laughing: “My acting wasn't very strong. It was way out of my comfort zone. Oh, those things are included. It's nice that boys and girls who are fans of ours see this on TV."

When you walk down the street in London, are you recognized?

Viv- “That's starting to come now, and it's mainly because I've kind of become the face of the English league. We regularly go to London with a few girls from the team. As a group we stand out a bit more anyway, of course we also look sporty. Then people can put a face to the name. But it is not as crazy in England as it is in the Netherlands.”

Do you think your fame limits your freedom?

Viv- “We were the first to shout: 'We want to make women's football big and known.' It comes with a price. I don't really like that attention, it still takes some getting used to after all these years. Last year I was back in Hoogeveen after the lockdown. I hadn't been to my parents' house for a long time. I went out for a night with my brother Lars and had a beer. Two minutes later it was on the internet. I couldn't play games for a holiday and six months because of corona, is it also allowed once… But yes, that's part of it. Fortunately, it is still not that bad in sports, artists are being monitored more closely. I don't have such an interesting life."

You have been playing for Arsenal for four years, are only 24 and already the all-time top scorer in England and of Orange.

Viv- Laughing: "They say you have to stop at your peak, right?"

You're not going to announce your retirement now, are you?

Viv- Laughing: “No, really.”

Are you someone who remembers every goal?

Viv- “I sometimes forget something because of the adrenaline. The list of goals is also getting longer, thankfully. When we were in lockdown last year because of corona and couldn't play football, I did look back on some special matches, such as those of the European Championship won in 2017 and the World Cup in 2019 when we reached the final. It's nice to see your own goals again."

Do you value those lists?

Viv- "It's not that I'm hugely into it, but I like being at the top of a few lists."

You have also been chosen as Player of the Year 2019 and Best Player of the Decade in England and included in FIFA's World Team of the Year 2019.

Viv- “I have some of those cups at home and a few at the club. It's definitely an honor to be named, don't get me wrong, but I play football because I want to win trophies with the team. I think it's more important that I have developed over the past few years and have not only been a scoring striker, but also showed myself as number 10."

Vivianne the mouthpiece

“I have an exemplary role when it comes to certain topics and I am not afraid to give my opinion to help women's football move forward. I've created the platform for that and I think I've earned the respect of being able to voice my opinion too."

Has that also become some kind of mission for you?

Viv - “I am now one of the most famous strikers in the world in women's football, so I also think I should stand up for what is happening in women's football. We are still so behind in men's football. We must fight for equality. It's not just about money, it's also about opportunities."

It was recently announced that the format of the Champions League is changing. There will be a group stage and the prize money has been increased to 24 million. A step in the right direction?

Viv- "Absolutely. The Champions League in women's football is big, but it wasn't what it should be. The club that currently wins the Champions League is even losing money. Hopefully, clubs will now also have something to do with it.”

Before the World Cup in Canada in 2015, you said in an interview in Helden: 'Hopefully parents will one day say: 'My daughter plays football like Vivianne, that seems very special, if that is ever said.' That is only six years old. ago.

Viv- “And that remains bizarre. I was only eighteen at the World Cup. Two years later we became European champions. In my day there was no figurehead in women's football. I looked at Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie, dreamed that I would stand between them in the field. Now we see girls say: 'I want to play football like Miedema or be like Shanice van de Sanden.' That is a super step. We all contributed to that.”

Every interview you give is about the development of women's football. Do you feel that it is enough about the successes?

Viv- “That development could go a bit faster, you know, then we don't have to talk about it anymore. But we should also consider our achievements. To be so successful with a small country that is relatively new in women's football is special.”

Vivianne the world improver

What does your ideal world look like?

Viv- “That boys and girls grow up in a world in which they are given the same opportunities. Not just in football, but in all of life. That is why I became an ambassador for War Child. There are also many musicians and artist ambassadors. Music brings a lot of joy to the world, but so does sports. Unfortunately I can't travel yet due to corona. Instead, I did a lot online; tried to set up projects with schools in the Netherlands and recorded films for children in distant countries. When life is somewhat back to normal, I also hope to be able to go to war countries and children.”

What do you want to mean for the world?

Viv- “I wish I could change the world, but I don't have that illusion. I have been so lucky in my life, had a great childhood in Hoogeveen. If I can give a little happiness back to children who are having a hard time, it's included. If I can improve a day in the lives of thirty kids by playing football with them so that they can forget for a moment that they are having a hard time, then my goal has already been achieved at that moment. A year and a half ago we were in a township in South Africa with the Orange Women. Every minute we were told by those children how wonderful they were that we were there. Such a day only increases my will to help.”

Where does that feeling of 'wanting to do good' come from?

Viv- “I already had that as a little girl. When I used to watch TV, I was drawn to social topics and my primary school in Hoogeveen worked together on various projects. When actions needed to be set up, I was the first to raise my hand to help. I also made sure that my old football uniforms ended up with poorer children in the Netherlands. I still do.

Every two months we receive five pairs of new football boots. Via Instagram I make sure that my old shoes end up with Dutch boys or girls or they are sent to a good cause via the club. Last year, our entire team's clothing went to children in Jakarta.”

Vivianne the sober Dutchman

You have been playing at Arsenal for four years. Your girlfriend Lisa Evans is Scottish and you study in English. Are you half English now?

Viv- “It's really not that I forget Dutch, that will never happen, but sometimes I make a sentence or I write something down and I think: Viv, what the hell are you doing? In fact, I often hear that I speak English with a Scottish accent. I hang out with the Scottish girls a lot, then you pick that up. I think Scotland is a great country; nature, the way of life and the people.”

And what about your Northern Dutch roots? You played for Heerenveen for three years and grew up in Hoogeveen, in Drenthe.

Viv- “I don't think it's very likely that I'll ever live there again. But the Netherlands has done many things well. So I'm not saying I'll never go back, but I don't think I'll go back to Hoogeveen. I did get the soberness from the Northern Netherlands. I will always keep that.”

You and Lisa have been together for years, and teammates for years. What makes your relationship so good?

Viv- “We played together for two years at Bayern Munich and now four years at Arsenal. We are complete opposites. That seems to work. I'm quite calm and I'm fine with moving in the background. The moment Lisa enters a room, everyone becomes happy and she transfers her happiness to other people. I can enjoy that immensely. She's also crazy. It just clicks between us. Lisa and I have been living together for a while. Some will think: how complicated that you are also on the team together. I don't think so. She makes me better every day. We are the two fastest in the team and I like that I can beat her in sprints every now and then. We develop each other both on and off the field.”

And you don't think: it is sometimes a lot of Lisa around me?

Viv- “Oh, of course you do. Go to the bedroom and keep your mouth shut, I think regularly. But that will also be the case the other way around. I'm actually quite apprehensive that I won't be seeing her for a long time during the Olympics. We are normally together 24 hours a day. But sometimes being away is also part of football.”

Vivianne the thinker

“I'm quite an overthinker in life. I was eighteen when I went to the 2015 World Cup in Canada. There was a ten hour time difference and I could barely make contact with home. I had a really hard time that tournament, I thought everything was terrible. But that tournament made me mature quickly in the football world. First I became big as a football player in the Netherlands, then in Europe and at the moment I am big in the world. I do feel the pressure that comes with that. I always used to think: I don't need a psychologist. But as I got older and started going through things, I realized I can't do it alone and I need help. People I can tell my story to. Football is certainly not always fun. There are definitely moments when I think: what am I doing all this for?

After that first World Cup, I also thought about quitting. If people can't appreciate you, what are you doing it for? I play football for myself, but also to make others happy. Top sport is beautiful, but also mentally very tough.”

Do you find your support mainly in family and friends?

Viv- “The friends I have outside of football are never going to fully understand what I'm going through. The same goes for my parents. My brother Lars also plays football, first at FC Den Bosch and since this year at Vélez C.F. in Spain. He knows what I'm going through, he helps me a lot. But sometimes others don't get it. When I'm at home, I really enjoy talking to my mother about things in life other than football.”

Is the top sport life ever too much for you?

Viv- “Last year's lockdown came at the right time for me. I spent five months with my in-laws in Scotland. I enjoyed not feeling pressure for a while. The first week I thought: what should I do with my life, I have nothing but football. But the second week I enjoyed doing other things; for walking and enjoying nature. And in the third week I felt free. I woke up and could be who I wanted to be, I didn't have to pay attention to anything.”

So that lockdown has been your salvation?

Viv- "Maybe. Before corona, there were nine girls at Arsenal who had to play all games because we had a lot of injuries. There was a lot of pressure on us. I was occasionally in training with tears in my eyes because I had to play football again.”

And how did you feel this season?

Viv- “We football players are in a privileged position, I am well aware of that. We were still allowed to play soccer, while many people couldn't leave their home because of corona. But the mental consequences for girls who could not or cannot go home should not be underestimated either. I have seen my parents once in the past few months, the time before that was in July last year. I didn't go home for Christmas either. Mentally, this has been the toughest season of my football career so far.”

You now hear many stories of athletes who end up in a burnout due to the high pressure and overcrowded schedules.

Viv- “I discussed that with Lisa. During her studies she is now learning about mental problems in sports. Depression is common in athletes. I have the idea that girls are open about mental problems among themselves. But bringing it out also goes a step further. Not that there is a taboo on it, but it immediately leaves a mark on you when you tell your story. Especially in men's football. There, players have to move in a certain box to be accepted. They don't feel the freedom to say: I don't feel okay for a while. I hope that in the coming years it will become normal for athletes to speak out about this and that we can help and support each other in this. When I was still playing for Bayern Munich, I studied psychology at university the first year. I couldn't combine that with football and I stopped, but it's still in my head to do something with that later. I would like to help young girls make the transformation from youth teams to first teams. When I was fourteen, I got into the premier league to play in the women's team who were 32. That wasn't always easy. Hopefully I can help young talents in this area.”

Vivianne De Feyenoord

Feyenoord announced that it will start with a women's team next season. When will we finally see you in that Feyenoord shirt, the club you are such a fan of?

Viv- “It's great that it's possible now. But I'm just a little too young. At Arsenal we have a number of girls who have the club running through their veins. I also think Arsenal is a great club to play for, but I don't feel that intense love. When Feyenoord came out with the news that they will play with a women's team in the Eredivisie next year, I suddenly felt that warm feeling inside. That feeling of club love, of: wow, there will come a day when I can play for this club, the club that I have always been a fan of. Feyenoord needs time to become as good as Ajax, PSV and Twente, but I have every confidence that it will succeed in the coming years. One day I will play for Feyenoord. But for now I can still be found abroad.”

Vivianne the trainer

"I am following the UEFA B training, but I am not allowed to give training now because I am not allowed to get out of my 'Arsenal bubble' because of corona."

You also study Football Business. What are your ambitions after your football career?

Viv- “I have already completed a number of trainer diplomas, a psychology course and I am now studying Football Business. A nice combination that will come in handy later on. In what way I don't know yet, but once I've stopped I'm sure I want to return to the football world after a break."

Is there a national coach in you, a 'Sarina Wiegman plus'?

Viv- Laughing: “We did talk about that. Also with Arjan Veurink, the assistant. Tactically, I assert myself, the staff and the team see that too. Jokes were certainly made: 'Stop searching, we already have Sarina's successor in house.' In women's football there are simply not many top coaches around. And yes, I might want to be one in the future.”

Talking about Sarina Wiegman: she will become England national coach after the Games and Mark Parsons will succeed her. Do you regret having to say goodbye to her?

Viv- “Under Sarina, we became European champions, we played a World Cup final and we are at the Games for the first time. But in the end I think a new impulse, a little refreshment, is good after five years of working together. I think Sarina will do very well as England coach. For her and hopefully for us, it will be a positive development. And of course we will miss her.”

But first to Tokyo.

Viv - “The Games have always been my big dream, even though the World Cup is a bigger tournament for us. Despite the fact that it will now look different than usual, I am very excited.”

Vivianne Miedema in Tokyo group matches

Wednesday 21 July Netherlands-Zambia from 13.00

Saturday 24 July Netherlands-Brazil from 13.00

Tuesday 27 July Netherlands-China from 13.30

Quarter-finals Friday 30 July

Semi-finals Monday 2 August

Battle for bronze Thursday 5 August Final Friday 6 August

[virghogh]

Guessing NCT's rising signs: Huang Renjun as a Cancer rising

Welcome to my first post where I write all about why I think this idol is X rising sign! I don't know how many of these I'll do because it heavily depends on how confident I feel in my guess of their rising lol for Renjun's rising sign, it's something I've been sitting on for a loooong time just to see if anything else comes into my head. At the end of the day we really have no way to know for sure, even if the idols gives us their birth time it still has to be taken with a grain of salt! But it’s still fun theorize and to test your skills while learning at the same time. So for now I feel pretty confident sharing my thoughts on Renjun as a cancer rising.

Let’s ✨explore✨ why:

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧long post! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

✦ Before I even decided to look up his chart layout, there were 2 characteristics of Renjun that initially led me to think he’s a Cancer rising. His eyes and his physique. His eyes aren’t necessarily as big as idols we’ve seen with moon in 1st, but they’re still very notable features of his physical appearance that he’s very well known for. They’re bigger, soft and dreamy, and sometimes look like he quite literally holds stars in his eyes. The biggest physical feature though is his, well, petite frame. Next to his eyes, renjun is also really well know for his smaller build. It’s even a well known inside joke amongst NCT, they all him “big shoulders renjun” (lol) because “for a guy” his shoulders a on the smaller side. Both of these physical attributes can also be identifying characteristics of cancer risings.

✦ So, in general I think he is a Cancer rising. But if we want to be more specific; I do think he is a 3rd decan Cancer rising which is the Pisces/Neptune ruled decan. I initially chose this because his house and planet placements just make so much more sense to me when the rising is in the 3rd decan (I'll get into that below), but after reading about the 3rd decan I also think it fits his personality really well! With the Neptune and Pisces influence, he's more on the open side of Cancer rising but more notably, 3rd decans are a lot more inclined to art/creativity and sometimes, music specifically. These people also have a very dreamy attraction about them. He also has his Venus trine ASC which can further add to this kind of creative vibe he gives off, but is also drawn to! It emphasizes the importance of aesthetics, art and creativity in his life. If you've never been on Renjun stan twt then you might not know that a lot of his fans see him as this incredibly dreamy and ethereal boy (as they should) and I can see why!

*:･ﾟ✧house and planet placements *:･ﾟ✧

Scorpio moon, Sagittarius Pluto in 5th:

✦ yea... just yes. Okay but actually, if you read my NCT Dream Hexaco x Birth Chart analyses, I talked a lot about his chart already because I really like it. As someone with a Scorpio moon, I can't help but be really interested in how his plays out. And I have to say, I am quite attached to this theory because I think his scorpio moon in 5th just. makes. sense. I'm not going to go much into the descriptions of the placements, I'm mostly going to stick to the house influence. We know that Scorpio moons have really intense emotions, they internalize everything and are just highly sensitive people to their environments. Renjun has been incredibly open about his mental and emotional struggles ever since being a kid. I've honestly never heard an idol talk about their struggle like he has. He even opened up recently about how a few years ago he had an art therapist that really helped him and lowkey changed his life. I feel like a lot of this can be reflected in his 5th house. The house of creativity, expression, creation. His 5th cusp is also in Scorpio. 5th house in water tend to be really drawn to arts and music. Having a Scorpio moon, a moon sign that can be quite guarded, in a fire house can also explain his readiness/openness to share his emotions and art. Also let's not forget his chart ruler is his Scorpio moon in 5th! What I've wrote above are big themes in his life, which we've seen.

✦ As for the Pluto in 5th. Because his 5th house is in Scorpio this would mean the 5th ruler is in 5th. I know it might not make sense at first because it's pluto and pluto is misunderstood. But it makes perfect sense to me. Pluto in 5th is a deeply passionate and creative placement. It bring so much energy to this house, and can even create a borderline obsession with themes of this house. With creating and expressing. But I could also see having this and his scorpio moon in this house bringing so much energy, it just kind of adds to the confusion and intensity of a scorpio moons emotions and processing abilities, like, emotionally overwhelming. Scorpio moons always need an outlet and they usually figure that out the hard way at some point in life. The outlet can vary based off the chart, his is without a doubt connected to his art; whatever that may be to him.

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Aquarius Uranus in 8th:

✦ This part is brief because it's more of like, additional details to what's already in his chart. Something that is really well known about Renjun too is how much he is into space and aliens and stuff like that. He, once again, has been very open about it lol on variety shows I've seen him light up every time its briefly mentioned and he'll comment on how much he finds that stuff interesting. The 8th house is weird, it can manifest in a lot of different ways. The biggest point here for me is that the house is in Aquarius with Uranus here. I know someone with this placement too and, while they're open minded to astrology and tarot etc. it's a bit more focused on logic. I can't say for sure because I don't know him, but he kind of strikes me as the kind of person that would fight to death over aliens existing, but draws the line at astrology lol. I actually do think he would be open to astrology and tarot, but he'd need the right introduction to it. Anyways, yea this placement to me explains a lot of his interest in space and things we don't understand. He's expressed his curiosity in it. I think a lot of this is coming from his Scorpio moon and Pisces mercury/venus which is why I think it's just additional support.

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Pisces Mercury/Venus in 9th:

✦ THIS HOUSE right here... so much to say. Firstly, Pisces in 9th is probably one of the main culprits for his creativity, deep thinking and curiosity in the world. And more importantly: his imagination. I've mentioned this a lot when I talk about renjun but, he's very well known for his creativity, but I want to make it clear that there is a distinction between creation and imagination. His imagination is truly... on another level. Well, planet actually since it's pisces! Again, amongst fans it's really well known his imagination is just so unqiue. This is less about the 9th house and more about the fact that he has 2 pisces placements but it still affects it lol. He's very open about his imagination and speaks about it so naturally. He shared his drawing of a bird, hybrid, thing? and how it's an animal that steals your dreams in your sleep. Anyways, Pisces in 9th aren't necessarily the travelers we'd see with an air or fire sign here, but they like to travel mentally. He's also talked about how he's just in general a very curious person and you can tell his thoughts probably travel far and wide in his down time.

✦ What's really interesting to me about this house is his mercury is here and Mercury in 9th is a very specific kind of placement. It almost always guarantees an interest and talent in learning languages. I don't know if languages are necessarily a passion for him but he definitely is interested and cares about learning language and other cultures. He also did pick up on Korean and English with ease. Which also reminds me that, he actually was exposed to Korean at a young age because I'm pretty sure he went to a bilingual school (chinese and korean). This is also a big deal to me because planets in 9th, especially sun/mercury often indicate very early exposure to languages or other cultures... so yea that checks out. This can also be proved by looking at his IC in Virgo, which puts the ruler in 9th. His mercury is also sextile Jupiter. I also wanna comment that he has his Mercury in the 5th degree, I'm not great at degree theory yet but that feels significant to me. Of course we cannot forget his absolutely angelic voice. Renjun is also very well known for his stunning vocals. Not only are Pisces placements musically inclined but Pisces mercury are known for their sweet voices.

✦ As for the venus is 9th, I feel like I have more to say on his venus being in Pisces because that's where so much of his artistic creativity and imagination come from. But venus here adds to a lot of what I've written above, adding to his curiosity of the world. What I find most interesting about venus in 9th though, is it brings another inclination to art! He might really like art from different places in the world, or just exploring all types of art being very open minded to its different forms etc. Venus here also brings ease to language learning, and these people will naturally have other cultures and people from them as a big part of their life. I feel like, in general it's not surprising at all to me that as a foreign member (being from China), that he would have 9th house influence! It can often manifest as like.., travel, other languages, cultures and parts of the world etc. are just very naturally a part of their life. Some people never really contemplate life overseas or in another country. But for 9th housers, it's never not been an option. His 9th house influence can also make him a great teacher, mentor and just overall supportive person. We've seen some of this in the content he's made with NCT. Like trying to teach his members chinese with Chenle, except he was taking it way more seriously lol but was so supportive. He's also tried to get Jeno and Jisung involved in his art making, but keeping the process very open and fun.

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Aries sun, Taurus mars in 10th:

✦ This is the last part I'm going to cover because it is really just the icing on the cake to finish this up. The 10th house is considered pretty important when looking at celebrities/idols because it's very likely a lot of what we see from them is their 10th house influence. In the chart model I'm using for Renjun, it puts his MC in the very last degrees of Pisces, so there's a chance it's in Aries but either way with his sun and mars here they are still playing a big role. So for that reason, I'm opting for Pisces MC. I also think Pisces MC fits though because first it puts the ruler in his 7th house. Meaning he could really benefit and work well in something that involves a group! Because it's Pisces in Neptune, it also adds to his very ethereal vibe and how people just seem to love him wherever he goes. He's very magnetic and can come off as artistic and sensitive. He's known for being dreamy, unreal, artistic, sensitive.

✦ Again, we know he has an aries sun and taurus mars so I'm not going to explain them here, just how they affect the house, but having his these here makes so much sense to me too. Having planets in 10th also influences what kind of "vibe" people get from you, and what you're "known" for. Mars and Sun bring similar energy of being well known for for energy, drive, and even stage presence. Not being afraid to be on stage, being good with attention and spotlight. He's known for his kind of playful and childish behavior at times. He is charismatic, bold, brave, happy and upbeat. With the sun, he is again known for his creativity and creations and also self-expression.

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Thank you to anyone who read all this. I don't really expect many people to because I'm mostly writing this for my own curiosity and to finally just put this theory out there! Anyways, stan Renjun best boy <33

Thoughts and feedback are always welcome <3

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