#Don't be an asshole

[mudwerks]

don't be an asshole

[wtaacde]

As a bilingual person who's been reading way too many fanfics with bilingual characters I reeeaaallly need to make a statement on how our minds work most of the time so people stop getting it wrong!

It's making me cringe so much 🥲

So I'm making a list of what I think is important to know when it comes to writing bilingual characters.

I've seen some simmilar posts on this topic, so some things might be repetitive but others are not, so stick with me. I'll be adding some personal examples to make it easier and more comprehensible.

So let's get started!

Master list to writing bilingual characters!

With no especific order os hierarchy.

1- This is the biggest mistake I see people making when writting bilingual character, so let's make this crystal clear: Bilingual people rarely mix their languages by accident!!!!

Especially if they've been living in a place where no one speaks their mother tongue and have little to no contact with their original culture.

Now, for the moments we do make those mix ups, it'll usually be with expressions we use all the time on our day to day lifes.

Let's work with examples!

I'm fluent in English, but my original language is Portuguese. In Portuguese, whenever someone is in a conversation we make this "éééééé" sound while we're thinking or unsure of what to say. It would be similar to the "uuuuhhh" people use in English.

I find myself and a lot of other Brasilian people saying "éééé" all the time even when speaking English, because that comes more naturally to us. It's an instict reaction that doesn't pass through the language shift that happens in our brain.

This also happens with more especific expresions. I don't talk to any foreign people, but when texting I catch myself trying to call people "amiga", which translates to "friend" and is normally used as an endearing term to call your friends or even strangers in a way to show friendliness. Now, not everyone in Brasil refers to their friends as "amiga", but I do, and I use it so much it slips in my vocabulary in English.

So, to summarize, there are expressions or words from our mother languages that come out almost as an instinct, but there usually aren't many of them and the frequency in which it happens is proportional to how much contact we have with speaking our native language.

2- Next up (and this is a funny one to me): it's easier to make math in our first language. If we were schooled in our first language, obviously. This could happen conciously or not.

So if you want your characters to have a funny moment, just have them do some math in their original language. This happens because we learned math and nurmbers in our mother language, and math is the same everywhere, so when we're learning another language we don't go through the same process with learning to use numbers practically like we do with words. So despite knowing what the numbers are called, it's still easier doing math in our language because our thought process is a lot faster and smoother in it.

3- We will revert completely to our mother language if we're emotional.

This could range from seeing a cute puppy and having a cuteness overload and instantly calling them cute pet names in our language to getting so mad that the only acceptable way to express our anger is to curse in our own tongue.

This sudden change happens naturally but they are intentional. We could totally curse and fawn in a different language but we choose not to because of the next point on this list.

4- Words are more meaningful in our own language.

I'll go straight to examples, because I know fic and romance writers are gonna have a field day with this.

When my dog was alive, I always talked to her in both English and Portuguese. But whenever I complimented her or told her I loved her in English, it felt fake. So I always repeated what I said in Portuguese and then I felt like I properly expressed my feelings.

So if i said something like "You're the cutest little baby in the world! I love you so much!" I always had to follow it up with. "Quem é a coisinha mais fofinha desse mundo todo? É o amor da minha vida? É, você é o amor da minha vida! Eu te amo mais que tudo nesse mundo!"

Only then did I consider she understood the depths of my love for her.

This also works in more angsty ways:

My parents were always very distant, so during one especific Father's day, when I was a kid, my school, as usual, had us making DIY presents for our fathers. We were supposed to write messages on the gifts and all my classmates were writing "eu te amo" on theirs. I couldn't write it, but it still felt like I had to or it would be weird. So I wrote "I love you" instead, because it felt less like a lie. Now, let's focus on the fact that I was a child. I had barely started learning English. I was nowhere near fluent. But it still felt easier to write "I love you" than "eu te amo". I never said "eu te amor" to my parents again.

Now, we had some fluff and some angst. Now let's get to humor!

Swearing always feels better in your own language. Do with that what you will.

5- On the subject of swearing, we will talk shit about anyone right in front of their face in a language they don't know and use different languages to mess with people.

This doesn't even need to be done with our first language (although it would feel more satisfying). Any language would do as long as the other person doesn't understand it. Bonus points if we get to do that with a friend/group of friends.

When I was a teenager I had just one friend that was also fluent in English. We used to talk to each other mostly in English for three reasons: the first one was obviously to practice, the second was to gossip with each other without people understanding and the third was so we could pretend we were foreigners and see people's reactions. We were two little shits that talked about the craziest stuff and no one bat an eye.

6- Now, let's finally look in the correct and conscious ways in which we change languages in the middle of a conversation.

First one and the one that happens the most is when we forget a word in one language.

I do this all the time and it sucks! I constantly forget how to say "concealer" in Portuguese and go around asking my family what's the translation even though no one speaks English in my house. I can't even remember the translation right now! A few days ago I couldn't remember how to say "pulseira" in English. It means "bracelet". It's an easy word. I still forgot it. Although I would recognize it if I saw it somewhere or if someone told me, my brain wasn't willing to do that work on its own.

So when this happens in real life, we'll always ask the people around us for the translation, even if they don't know the other language we speak, just in the hopes that they will understand the ✨ vibe ✨.

It's also really funny when this happens and the other person does speak both languages and also can't remember the translation. And sometimes we forget the word in both languages and have to resort to describing "the thing", which usually leads to a lot of misunderstandings.

Another way in which we change languages is when we want to use a very especific expression or memes in another language.

I'm gonna use Brazilian expressions for this because they're pure gold!

One that I find really funny (and somewhat family friendly for this post) is "o que o cú tem a ver com as calças?" which literally translates to "what does the asshole have to do with the pants?". If you think a little bit, you can still understand the meaning, but not all expressions work like that. If anyone's confused, the expression means that the other person is trying to talk about two different subjects that aren't at all correlated. You're basically asking "what does one thing have to do with the other?" with more crude language.

When we do this we can either just throw the expression in a different language and not elaborate on it, or try and explain it to the people around. It can vary.

7- If you have friends or family that also speak the same languages as you, you'll be shifting languages all the time without any warning.

I have a friend that most of our hangouts consist of watching K-dramas together. We live in Brasil, so we speak Portuguese, but we watch the k-drama in Korean and the subtitles are in English. During out binging marathon, we will speak all three languages with each other, even if none of us speak Korean. Sometimes we mix the words in all the languages, sometimes we have a full conversation in one language then switch to another on another point in time. Forgeting words in one language doesn't mean a thing in situtations like this. We'll just say the word in the language we remember and move on with the conversation.

This is everything I can remember for now. If anyone remembers other quirks of bilingual people, feel free to add on. If I remember more I'll keep adding to this post.

If you read all the way to the end, thank you and congratulations!

[highbrow-hepcat]

[im-adrienne]

Schedule your new Covid-19 vaccine!!

Scheduled my appt for the new COVID-19 vaccine (and flu) for this week before September 1st. I'm poor and have been benefiting from the COVID-19 Bridge Access Program that is ending on August 30th.

If you're like me and have been using the Bridge Program then try to find a pharmacy near you that has the newest vaccine before September 1st. I scheduled with CVS. All of the Walgreens near me will not have it until after the deadline.

I do not know if the federal government is doing anything like the Bridge Program again. They cut funding for this so who knows what else they're going to cut.

[amelianeek]

TRANSGENDER WOMEN IN SPORTS & BEYOND Amelia the Neek | Prose: Informative Article

The outpouring of hate directed at Olympic boxers, Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, is completely unfounded. Firstly, being transgender is not a crime nor a moral deviation. Furthermore, neither of these remarkable athletes are transgender women. They were both born biologically and identify as cisgender women. This reproveable viral controversy stems from misinterpreted blood test results, not any slight on their part.

In Imane Khelif's case, she has differences of sexual development (DSDs), which involves genetic, hormonal, and reproductive variations. While Khelif has XY chromosomes, she otherwise develops and identifies as female. As for Lin Yu-ting, her high testosterone levels could easily be attributed to common factors like medications or intense physical training, not gender identity.

Once it was determined that the initial test results were inaccurate, the International Olympic Committee confirmed the athletes' eligibility. Yet "some" news outlets continue to push the false narrative, demonstrating the need to verify facts before spreading harmful "opinions". Athletes deserve respect, not uninformed attacks.

The claim that transgender women have an inherent physical advantage over cisgender women is often oversimplified. The reality is more complex. While some transgender women may have certain physical attributes that provide a competitive edge, this is not universally true. Athletic ability varies greatly among both transgender and cisgender athletes and is influenced by a complex interplay of factors beyond just biological sex. Many cisgender women have outperformed not only trans competitors but cisgender men as well, demonstrating that genetics and reproductive anatomy are not reliable predictors of athletic prowess. Additionally, the effects of hormone therapy on trans women's muscle mass and physical capabilities can negate any purported advantages. Each athlete should be evaluated as an individual, rather than making blanket generalizations about trans women in sports.

Take Dana Linn Baily for example. She is a prime example of a ciswoman at her absolute physical peak. How many men have you met who can match her level of muscular development? Importantly, Baily has never once tested positive for steroids over the course of her entire career. While not all women may be able to achieve a physique like Baily's, the facts are clear - she can bench press 225 pounds and squat 300 pounds. In contrast, most cisgender men cannot bench more than 165 pounds, and trans women often have less muscle mass due to the effects of estrogen, which limits muscle growth. This suggests that Baily's physique is the result of her dedication, not any gender-based advantage.

Ignorance and trans bigotry aside, the logical fear behind all of this is the potential dangers of seriously mismatching competitors in terms of weight class. Typically, the larger and stronger person will defeat the smaller and weaker one. However, there have been real-life David and Goliath situations (photos above) in which the smaller opponent arose victorious due to greater skill and wits. These situations have also included instances where cisgender women have defeated not only trans women but cisgender men as well, proving that size alone does not determine the outcome… but it does help.

Despite what you may believe, being transgender is not a choice. While individuals can choose to alter their bodies to match their internal sense of gender, being transgender is a fundamental aspect of one's identity. Research has shown that the human brain is a sex-typed organ, with distinct neural structures and connectivity patterns that vary between males and females. However, these differences are inconsistent. Once adjusted for head size, the sex-based distinctions become even less pronounced.

Some sex-associated behavioral and cognitive differences do exist but are not absolute. These variations are influenced by a complex interplay of factors, including cultural influences, hormone levels, and sex chromosome combinations. It is crucial to recognize this nuance and avoid oversimplifying or reinforcing gender stereotypes when studying these differences. Not all individuals conform to the general trends observed between men and women. Ultimately, recognizing the natural variations in the human brain is an important step toward greater understanding and acceptance of transgender identities.

The claim by some less-educated Republicans that transgender people are a new phenomenon created by the political left is simply incorrect. While the term "transgender" was first used in 1965 and gained widespread use in the early 1990s, gender-variant individuals have been documented throughout history, dating back to ancient times. Records show the existence of Scythian (Greek) and Galli (Roman) priests who were biologically male but chose to live and identify as women, with some even opting for self-castration. Similarly, the Kathoey of Thailand and the recognized "third gender" individuals in various Native American tribes are examples of gender diversity that predate modern terminology. Evidence of gender variance can also be found in the ancient cultures of Scandinavia, Japan, Egypt, and beyond.

There are some truly amazing transgender people in this world, some of which I greatly admire, including a great number of public figures such as Laverne Cox, Elliot Fletcher, Nicole Maines, Leo Sheng, Alexandra Billings, Elliot Page, Indya Moore, Scott Turner Schofield, Sophie, and Brian Michael Smith.

The truth can be quite fascinating… if you're willing to learn.

[sootchild]

draw a fat person i dare you

I was going to ignore this but.... OK so like fuck you?

I will admit to liking to drawing slimmer characters but I have my plus sized characters and drawing studies. I myself am like 240lbs and I'd like it if I could motivate myself to get down to like 180, so yeah I draw a more ideal body type for MYSELF. I draw my comfort zone for artwork.

If you want more plus sized character art there are so many great artists you could follow like @sergle , @hermitcraft-daily , or @haraatsume

Instead of harassing me. If you want me specifically to draw something then put your money where your mouth is and COMMISSION me or tip me on my Ko-fi and request stuff for me to sketch. Or even be polite and go, "I'd love to see more plus sized characters in your art." Instead of doing the equivalent of coming into my house and kicking over my coffee table in an attempt to shame me.

[fruityedge15]

I just some some gurlie on tiktok saying, that since the marauders fandom is "dying", she really disliked and never cared for genderfluid Sirius and trans Regulus.

And you know, to each their own, but maybe it's because you are cisgender.

Maybe, just maybe, genderfluid people, like me, would like to see more of themselves in the media, because there are barely any genderfluid characters, so yes, some of us took it upon ourselves to headcannon Sirius as genderfluid because it makes us feel seen and represented when the media doesn't. The same thing with trans Regulus. If people want to see themselves in characters when the media censors and limits trans characters, then let them. If you dislike certain headcannons, then you dislike them. Just like if you maybe dislike certain ships. But you don't need to put that on blast and diminish other people's views just because you are cis and you can't understand why we are headcannoning certain characters as certain genders.

If you don't like something, that's fine. But you don't need to openly complain about it, especially when it isn't doing anybody any harm and it actually means a lot to other people. If you, a cisgender person, are going to go onto tiktok and bash non cisgender peoples views of characters, just because you don't get it, then why even associate with the fandom in the first place if you are going to complain about harmless headcannons.

[ostriches-because-i-said-so]

DON'T BE TRASH

T - Transphobic

R - Racist

A - Ableist

S - Sexist

H - Homophobic

[bones-on-skin]

Negative Comments will get deleted!

Just as a warning! My blogs are suppose to be a safe space for POSITIVITY!! No negativity towards the topics/ships I am drawing allowed😤 You don't like what I am drawing? Don't follow, block me and let's part ways peacefully 🤝 You don't like other people opinions on ships and/or headcanons? Do not make a comment against their or my opinion. I will instantly block you without any hesitation!!!

It's simple as that. Let's share our love for certain things and don't spread hate! Just look away if you don't agree and feel the urge to trash talk 👍✨ It's as simple as that 😌

[animatronic-assistant]

It's your fault Titan got hurt!

Elara was too busy throwing up to hear you.

[randonauticrap]

I just spent TOO FUCKING LONG in the comments of a video talking about periods where men in the comments said they don't need to learn about periods cause they'll never have them, and being real dicks about it too.

Well you'll never have girlfriends either, hope you're fine with that. 👋🏻

.

Men who are sympathetic to period struggles and actually want to learn things, I love you. We, as women collectively, love you. YOU are the green flags.

[unsolicitedadvicecatlady]

I'm going to make a prediction:

Within the next two decades, Machiavellianism is going to be a diagnosable disorder.

That way, people with Chronic Asshat Syndrome will be able to hide behind their latest PDF copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and say, "The Devil made me do it!"

[katarinahoe]

if you're being weird over kittyuri, stop being weird over kittyuri please.

ik it's being idk 4 days? but what a effort to make them seem to be a bad choice for the future seasons of xo, kitty.

i mean, i don't know if you know it but since kitty's a BISEXUAL girl, she can easily chose minho and that won't be a issue, because, oh what a surprise, SHE'S BISEXUAL. kitty liking girls is not stopping this ship to be a real possibility.

some of you keep acting like the fact the sapphics are supporting a sapphic ship (in which both characters are canonically sapphics too, and one of them has CANONICAL FEELINGS over the other) is so bad because *put here some dumb reason*. let us fucking have our ship and go live your own, because minho still a good option at the end, and will be valid as same (again, kitty is bi !!!!)

but it really is upsetting and seems like a lot of people are mad because the women are having something and suddenly it comes with comments like "kitty as bi doesn't make sense" or maybe "they don't have chemistry". like???? besides all the poor excuses like "yuri doesn't like her back" and well... kitty doesn't like minho either. or "you're erasing her girlfriend" no, we're actually not, and i really hope they can give her some good writing on [ hypothetical ] season 2.

again, it's not canonical kitty's bisexuality or her canonical feelings for yuri that will stop, if jenny han, the creator, or the writers of the show, will really want to make kittyminho canon — so...

[postwarlevi]

If people want to self ship, let them. It is NOT hurting you. If it's not your thing, don't interact. If it upsets you that bad, don't follow them.

Don't show up in their inbox and go around making fun of them. It's enjoyable for some people and even groups of people.

Literally you are here reading fics and looking at art of fictional characters. You are putting these fake characters in situations that you like reading about/seeing.

If I want a relationship with one of them, don't go around trying to ruin my fun. We're all here to have a good time.

[cards-on-skin]

Negative Comments will get deleted!

Just as a warning! My blogs are suppose to be a safe space for POSITIVITY!! No negativity towards the topics/ships I am drawing allowed😤 You don't like what I am drawing? Don't follow, block me and let's part ways peacefully 🤝 You don't like other people opinions on ships and/or headcanons? Do not make a comment against their or my opinion.

I will instantly block you without any hesitation!!!

It's simple as that. Let's share our love for certain things and don't spread hate! Just look away if you don't agree and feel the urge to trash talk 👍✨ It's as simple as that 😌

[cryptid-artha]

This needs to be said

Cancel culture is wrong. End of.

Picking out reasons to hate a person and put them down, is wrong. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Tearing someone down over you not liking something, no matter how justified you think you are, is absolutely and completely wrong.

"But this person did this problematic thing therefore they are a bad person!" Yes, they did. They did something you deem problematic. But they are a human being. There is nuance. There are ALWAYS more sides to a story. There are always nuances, and reasons. And cancelling that person is not going to make anything better. This world is not black and white. There are numerous lies that go around online. People love to focus on the negative, and the news, articles, and others will home in on the negative. They will even lie to get those precious views, clicks, and money. Even major news outlets, so you can’t even trust the news! And, in all reality, you can’t even trust a lot of people because when you decide something is bad and start picking it apart, other people are going to be influenced to see this as worse than it is. And before you know it, somebody who made a mistake is being ripped apart by a dreadful mob mentality tearing apart all the improvement they have done. 

I saw it happen, years ago, here on Tumblr. There was somebody who used to be an abusive person. They were manipulative, attention seeking, and generally treated people like shit. They wanted what they wanted, and guilt tripped and the whole nine yards. They realized what they were doing wrong, so they took a hiatus off the internet, worked with therapy, and went through some massive self improvement, and then they came back. They were doing well! They made friends! Their mental health was better. 

But then, somebody brought up their past. And they got harassed so badly that… rumor has it? They committed suicide. Now, I don’t know if they actually did, but I do remember they were contemplating and feeling like they shouldn’t even be alive and these hateful people were actively encouraging them to do it and telling them they were a worthless abuser and would always be a worthless abuser.  Making it worse and bringing up every bad thing they ever did. And yeah! They dropped off the face of the internet. And I have never, ever seen them again. Now, I am not saying that you shouldn't warn people if somebody is actually unsafe. Like if they are a known abuser, or a pedophile, or there's something else they have done that risks harming real people in the present.

This needs to be handled with care. You absolutely can warn folks about their actions, to keep people safe, without adding in extra stuff just to get people as angry with them as humanly possible. Warn other folks about the harm they have done and could do, but do NOT turn around and pick every single thing about them apart. 

Don't go digging into their past and bringing up stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with what you are warning folks about. This should be done with great care, only taking the most recent proof of actual, real harm. 

It is tempting to let emotion take hold. It is tempting to try to make everybody else think you are so good and virtuous for taking that villain down like some comic book super hero, a mighty warrior behind a screen, tapping away at a keyboard. 

But, really, is tearing down another human being really something to be proud of? What if what you are accusing them of isn’t true? What if the sources are wrong? What if you are getting the wrong person? What if they’ve learned and grown and become a better person?  What if you are only seeing part of the story? Try to think of how you would feel if you fucked up in the past. Say, for example, you were an abuser. You manipulated people, hurt people. Maybe you were a bully.  But, over life, you have learned that those actions are wrong. You apologized, did what you could to make it right, then removed yourself from the people you hurt. You grew and learned, you became a better person. You found new friends, using what you learned from your mistakes to keep them and be kind to them this time. You still struggle with shame over what you did, but you are proud of the progress. You are proud of the growth you have gone through, and you are doing your best to continue to learn and grow. Now. Imagine it is years later. You've healed and become healthy and happy, treating people the way they should be treated. Maybe sometimes those old habits come up, but you always push them back down. You apologize when you mess up, and make an effort to learn from your mistakes. It’s slow going, but you’ve come to learn that growth is a slow process. A seed does not become a mighty oak tree overnight.

... And somebody digs up your past because of something or other you did that they deemed problematic. Maybe it was something you did wrong. Maybe you messed up. It wasn't intentional, but what’s done is done, and all you can do is try to avoid that mistake again. Maybe you didn't realize what you did until it was pointed out. Old habits die hard, after all. And no matter how hard you try, sometimes you will slip back. Healing and learning and growing is a slow process. People make mistakes, humans are humans! We are complicated creatures, after all.

But none of that matters. More and more of your past, every little mistake, every little thing folks deem "Questionable" is dragged out and paraded in front of others. All of the past you have worked so hard to grow and learn from is shoved back in your face, a dark shadow you can never escape. The shame, the pain, all of that effort feels like it was for nothing. You become nothing more than the mistakes you made in the past. Maybe those shitty things you did in the past were part of a cycle. Maybe it was learned behavior. Maybe you didn't know it was wrong at the time. That doesn’t change what happened, it doesn’t unhurt the people who were hurt, but you can learn from it and become a better person.

Or, maybe, you didn’t even do anything that bad, or didn't do the thing you are being accused of at all, or it was blown out of proportion with more lies than truth through the grapevine. Or really important details were cut out that make the story sound so much worse than it really is. 

Nobody cares about the real story. Nobody cares about your side. Nobody cares about everything you’ve done to move past it, how hard you’ve tried, how much you’ve grown. All they care about is every single bad thing you have ever done in your life, and any other reason they can find to hate you.

It sure does hurt, doesn’t it? Yeah, there are people who are legitimately bad people. People who really have done bad things, or are still doing bad things. People who hurt others. People who don’t care, don’t learn, don’t grow. 

But that does not give you the right to tear them down. Because when you tear them down, they don’t even get the chance to actually pick up, learn, and better themselves.

What it all boils down to is that we are all human. We are all confused and confusing furless apes living in an indifferent world making mistakes and screwing up and learning and just trying to make it in life.

Tearing other human beings down does not make you a hero. It does not make you virtuous. It does not make you rise above anybody else. It is cruel, needless, and actively makes things worse. 

By all means, make sure folks are informed if somebody is dangerous, but otherwise? Just let it be. Let them live. Let them learn. Avoid them yourself, maybe warn friends about them if you see friends potentially being harmed, but that’s it. Just block and move on.

DON’T attack their livelihood. Don’t attack their friends and family. Don’t attack them. Let them be. Even if that means letting them be somewhere other than near you. 

Every single human being alive on this planet has fucked up. Often times, they have fucked up MAJORLY. Sometimes they have done things that hurt other people. Sometimes they have made a string of terrible decisions that ended up leading to a tragic end. But… they’re still human.

What this all boils down to, is this simple thing.

We are not our mistakes. Who we are as a person is not defined by what we do. When you fuck up, you want the chance to improve yourself, right? The chance to make it right. Do you want to be defined by that series of bad decisions you made for the rest of your life? Do you want that to be brought up time and time and time again, and used to drag you down repeatedly?

I didn’t think so.