#I have a lot of opinions about translations in general tbh but this is not a semi clear case like in Crime and Punishment

[cozymochi]

Hi Mochi! First off, I just wanted to say I love your art and OC'S! They are beautiful and very cool! Cecil kind of radiates baby girl energy in my humble opinion.

But I had a question about Nyoka. It's mentioned in his notes that he covers the scales on his face and arms with makeup or an undershirt, and the only visible ones are on his neck. Was this just for design reasons, or is he like self Conscious of them?

I'm just curious about the answer! 😊 Anyway, have a great day!

thANK YOU FOR READING THE NOTES ACTUALLY AAAAA 😳😭

It’s nothing too deep. Good news, he’s not self conscious of them 👍 He just covers the ones on his face to blend into the background a little more. He is a reptile amongst mammals and just wants to be left alone. Design wise, he already has quite a bit going on already on his face (the glasses, the specific eye makeup etc.), it’s just simpler to work with. I don’t really like too much busy-ness, and I do want people drawn to his eyes first. (does it work who knows idk) Though if I were to keep yapping I’d end up doing a dissertation on the trials of translating and evoking a cartoon snake into this guy. [dies]

Otherwise without the makeup the scales on his face are comparable to Snake’s face in Black Butler. If I bothered refining Nyoka’s refs more, then that detail on the main post it would’ve been clearer. SO HERE IT IS:

Though, someone like Snake in general is a lot more simpler looking (positive) compared to Nyoka, so him having little details like that on his face already adds a little more flair to make him stand out. I think for Nyoka it’s fine to omit them given how much he already has going on and my priorities. (But they’re there 😳. I still think they’re cool looking.)

As for the undershirt, that’s just me pointing out that scales are there but just happen to be covered as a result.

It’s just a a design thing and a visual shorthand attempt on my end to register a more “diligent book-type” student amongst a dorm of primarily athletes. Also he looked kinda weird to me in the standard dorm uniform without it. Kind of in that same way Ruggie would look kinda weird if he wasn’t wearing the dorm uniform in the way he does that fits his character more. (For reference: the default Savanaclaw uniform is how Jack and other NPCs wear it. It just looked weird on him is all.)

But I suppose in-universe It could also be read as a means of Nyoka once again just trying to blend into the background. He just dresses like that willingly. 😩 He just doesn’t want attention. He’s not wearing heels in his dorm uniform, I didnt show it but trust me.

He has scales lining the sides of his entire body length, but unless I were to show off his base mannequin, no one would really be able to know lol 😂 Having them peek out around the neck was just a more subtle visual indicator of what he is and neat looking to me. Adds a lil’ bit of spice that was lost in the shuffle. That’s really it. Just pointing out that they’re there.

UHHHHHHUNNGH I LOVE answering stuff like this thank you 😭😭 Anything that involves me explaining design choices tends to make me act a fool since it’s pretty rare so I might overdo it a bit. Literally even the tiniest aspects have paragraphs worth of reasonings behind it so i uhhsgdhdghs i promise all this stuff is intentional. And im only scratching the surface tbh. 😭👍 but thank yooou💃💖💖

[longagoitwastuesday]

So so indebted to u for posting those lovely illustrations from Cyrano <333 & even more so for yr tags!! I'm completely in love w yr analysis, please feel free to ramble as long as u wish! Browsing through yr Cyrano de Bergerac tag has given me glimpses of so many adaptations & translations I'd never heard of before! I'll be watching the Solès version next, which I have only discovered today through u ^_^ As for translations, have u read many/all of them? I've only encountered the Renauld & Burgess translations in the wild, & I was curious to hear yr translation thoughts that they might guide my decision on which one I buy first (not necessarily Renauld or Burgess ofc). Have a splendid day & sorry for the likespam! 💙

Sorry for the delay. Don't mind the likespam, I'm glad you enjoyed my tags about Cyrano, and that they could contribute a bit to a further appreciation of the play. I loved it a lot, I got obsessed with it for months. It's always nice to know other people deeply love too that which is loved haha I hope you enjoy the Solès version, it may well be my favourite one!

About translations, I'm touched you're asking me, but I don't really know whether mine is the best opinion to ask. I have read... four or five English translations iirc, the ones I could find online, and I do (and especially did, back when I was reading them) have a lot of opinions about them. However, nor English nor French are my first languages (they are third and fourth respectively, so not even close). I just read and compare translations because that's one of my favourite things to do.

The fact is that no translation is perfect, of course. I barely remember Renauld's, but I think it was quite literal; that's good for understanding the basics of the text, concepts and characters, but form is subject, and there's always something that escapes too literal translations. Thomas and Guillemard's if I recall correctly is similar to Hooker's in cadence. It had some beautiful fragments, some I preferred over Hooker's, but overall I think to recall I liked Hooker's more. If memory serves, Hooker's was the most traditionally poetic and beautiful in my opinion. Burgess' is a whole different thing, with its perks and drawbacks.

Something noticeable in the other translations is that they are too... "epic". They do well the poetic, sorrowful, grief stricken, crushed by regrets aspects of Cyrano and the play in general, but they fall quite short in the funny and even pathetic aspects, and that too is key in Cyrano, both character and play. Given the characteristics of both languages, following the cadence of the French too literally, with those long verses, makes an English version sound far too solemn at times when the French text isn't. Thus Burgess changes the very cadence of the text, adapting it more to the English language. This translation is the one that best sets the different moods in the play, and as I said before form is subject, and that too is key: after all, the poetic aspect of Cyrano is as much true as his angry facet and his goofy one. If Cyrano isn't funny he isn't Cyrano, just as he wouldn't be Cyrano without his devotion to Roxane or his insecurities; Cyrano is who he is precisely because he has all these facets, because one side covers the other, because one trait is born from another, because one facet is used as weapon to protect the others, like a game of mirrors and smoke. We see them at different points through the play, often converging. Burgess' enhances that. He plays with the language itself in form and musicality, with words and absences, with truths masking other truths, with things stated but untold, much like Cyrano does. And the stage directions, poetic and with literary value in their own right in a way that reminded me of Valle Inclán and Oscar Wilde, interact with the text at times in an almost metatextual dimension that enhances that bond Cyrano has with words, giving them a sort of liminal air and strengthening that constant in the play: that words both conceal and unveil Cyrano, that in words he hides and words give him away.

But not all is good, at all. Unlike Hooker, Burgess reads to me as not entirely understanding every facet of the characters, and as if he didn't even like the play all that much, as if he had a bit of a disdainful attitude towards it, and found it too mushy. Which I can understand, but then why do you translate it? In my opinion the Burgess' translation does well bending English to transmit the different moods the French text does, and does pretty well understanding the more solemn, cool, funny, angry, poetic aspects of Cyrano, but less so his devotion, vulnerability, insecurities and his pathetism. It doesn't seem to get Roxane at all, how similar she is to Cyrano, nor why she has so many admirers. It does a very poor job at understanding Christian and his value, and writes him off as stupid imo. While I enjoyed the language aspect of the Burgess translation, I remember being quite angry at certain points reading it because of what it did to the characters and some changes he introduces. I think he did something very questionable with Le Bret and Castel-Jaloux, and I remember being incensed because of Roxane at times (for instance, she doesn't go to Arras in his version, which is a key scene to show just how much fire Roxane has, and that establishes several parallels with Cyrano, in attitude and words, but even in act since she does a bit what Cyrano later does with the nuns in the last act), and being very angry at several choices about Christian too. While not explicitly stated, I think the McAvoy production and the musical both follow this translation, because they too introduce these changes, and they make Christian as a character, and to an extent the entire play, not make sense.

For instance, once such change is that Christian is afraid that Roxane will be cultured (McAvoy's version has that infamous "shit"/"fuck" that I detest), when in the original French it's literally the opposite. He is not afraid she will be cultured, he is afraid she won't, because he does love and appreciate and admires those aspects of her, as he appreciates and admires them in Cyrano. That's key! Just as Cyrano longs to have what Christian has, Christian wants the same! That words escape him doesn't mean he doesn't understand or appreciate them. The dynamics make no sense without this aspect, and Burgess (and the productions that directly or indirectly follow him) constantly erases this core trait of Christian.

Another key moment of Christian Burgess butchers is the scene in Arras in which Christian discovers the truth. Burgess writes their discussion masterfully in form, it's both funny and poignant, but it falls short in concept: when Cyrano tells him the whole discussion about who does Roxane love and what will happen, what they'll do, is academic because they're both going to die, Christian states that dying is his role now. This destroys entirely the thing with Christian wanting Roxane to have the right to know, and the freedom to choose, or to refuse them both. As much as Cyrano proclaims his love for truth and not mincing words even in the face of authority, Cyrano is constantly drunk on lies and mirages, masks and metaphors. It's Christian who wants it all to end, the one who wants real things, the one who wants to risk his own happiness for the chance of his friend's, as well as for the woman he loves to stop living in a lie. That is a very interesting aspect of Christian, and another aspect in which he is written as both paralleling and contrasting Cyrano. It's interesting from a moral perspective and how that works with the characters, but it's also interesting from a conceptual point of view, both in text and metatextually: what they hold most dear, what they most want, what most fulfills them, what they most fear, their different approaches to life, but also metatextually another instance of that tears/blood motif and its ramifications constant through the whole text. Erasing that climatic decision and making him just simply suicidal erases those aspects of Christian and his place in the Christian/Cyrano/Roxane dynamic, all for plain superficial angst, that perhaps hits more in the moment, but holds less meaning.

Being more literal, and more solemn, Hooker's translation (or any of the others, but Hooker's seems to love the characters and understand them) doesn't make these conceptual mistakes. Now, would I not recommend reading Burgess' translation? I can't also say that. I had a lot of fun reading it, despite the occasional anger and indignation haha Would I recommend buying it? I recommend you give an eye to it first, if you're tempted and can initially only buy one.

You can read Burgess' translation entirely in archive.com. You can also find online the complete translations of Renauld, Hooker and Thomas and Guillemard. I also found a fifth one, iirc, but I can't recall it right now (I could give a look). You could read them before choosing, or read your favourite scenes and fragments in the different translations, and choose the one in which you like them better. That's often what I do.

Edit: I've checked to make sure and Roxane does appear in Arras in the translation. It's in the introduction in which it is stated that she doesn't appear in the production for which the translation was made. The conceptualisation of Roxane I criticise and that in my opinion is constant through the text does stay, though.

[hymn-to-mercury]

✨🪐Astro Notes and Observations #2🪐✨

These observations are all based off my own personal experience and are mostly generic - don't take it to heart if you disagree <3

✨Since I realised how much Mars influence translates into a persons physical appearance, I’ve been looking for evidence of this in other signs and planets, and I’ve namely found it in people with a lot of Moon influence in their chart! I’ve noticed they tend to have big, round features - especially in the face, think big, round eyes. Elsewhere it could mean a round body shape or big belly, even a decent bunda or pair of boobs tbh 😂 but that’s not a total given. There’s just something about them that’s quite… smoooooooooth, and soft looking.

(Zawe Ashton, Princess Diana, and Lana Del Rey are all Cancers!)

✨I find Taurus placements NOTORIOUS for giving unsolicited advice - what sucks most though is that 99% of the time it’s usually quite helpful so it’s hard to complain 😭

✨I know Aquarius’ are often seen as the activists of the zodiac, but in my experience a lot of them aren’t really all about that life. They might be quite forward thinkers, but they don’t usually care to argue - they’re not going to try and convince you about their opinion if they don’t think you’ll actually listen. They are probably willing to have a civil conversation, they’re GREAT conversationalists, but as soon as there’s any heat? They’re out. 

✨If you struggle to identify with your birth chart, try calculate it in Whole Signs according to traditional rulership, as opposed to Placidus with modern rulership! I switched recently, and it’s been a total game changer for me. I resonate with my house placements so much more now. 

✨Cancer Moon and Mars get the biggest ick from rudeness; the quickest way to get on these guys bad side is by being ill mannered. They are ALLL about good manners.

✨Scorpio and Leo in a chart together makes for the least mysterious scorpios ever LMAO just all the angst and non of the mystery - plus they reallyyyyy like to bask in their own misery, and trust, you will hear about it. 

✨Taurus stellium are always putting other people’s needs before their own, truly the mother of the friend group. 

✨Cancer and 4th house placements as the homebody nurturing mother archetype is suchhhh a lazy and reductive take - just because someones got cancer placements doesn’t automatically mean they want to be a parent and launch babies out their vagine till it doesn’t work anymore. Why does no one ever point out the way that Cancers absolutely do NOT play about their parents or their siblings? Or how much Cancers take pride in their home/living space? How inseparable they are with their pets? Or that they’re just as much foodies as Taurus! Especially with sweets, anything from Haribos to pastries. Cancers are more than just breeders.

[lu-is-not-ok]

On your mention of how Chesed and Hong Lu are likely to sync up - I bring a question of what Sin it'll end up representing? Given how so far it seems to represent their vices of the past their moving past.

Hokma and Heathcliff had Sloth in Pigrata

Binah and S had Pride in Superbia

And I'm of the opinion Chesed and Hong Lu shall then share the sin of Lust in Luxuri - with a secondary pick of Gloom in Morositas though I am not as confident in that assertion.

It's honestly a bit hard to choose tbh. The previous two Saplings show that it doesn't have to be a Sin that the character in question has in their Base kit, so it's a lot harder to predict.

Plus, are the Sins actually representing their past, or are the Sins the ones their resolution embodies? The Sin they have to learn to wield to keep moving forward? That would fit with what we see as well...

Both Heathcliff and Hokma have to learn the Sloth necessary to step back from trying to hold onto the past that's not here anymore and simply accept what has happened.

Both Sancho and Binah have to learn the Pride necessary to believe they have the ability to go against insurmountable odds and achieve something impossible.

It would also explain why they're not Sins they have in their Base kits, as they're not Sins they actually commited in their past, but ones they have to learn to utilize in the first place!

So... let's look at Chesed a bit closer to try and figure out what Sin his resolution would fit.

Chesed is introduced as someone who has lost all hope for things getting better, he's shown to feel like no matter what he does, he won't be able to change anything. So, instead of trying to break the cycle, he hides behind a mask of faux kindness and perpetuates the violence within Lobcorp. He continues to follow Angela's orders, and lies to both himself and others, as he feels like no matter whether he's truthful or not they'll all die anyway. He's cornered, feeling hopeless.

The lesson he learns during his meltdown (which takes the form of him trying to rebel and throwing a tantrum in the process), and the one he imparts onto Roland in Ruina, is "knowing shame" as he phrases it. The idea that simply knowing shame for one's actions, knowing that one is a coward perpetuating violence through obedience and deception, is enough to begin the change for the better.

After his meltdown, Chesed knows he's a coward. He knows he won't be able to always be brave the way he was during that outburst. But the sole fact that he knows that is enough to let him start improving, to have hope for things getting better, and to stop lying to himself. He becomes one of Those who are Faithful and Trustworthy.

So... How exactly does one translate this concept into a Sin? What would the realization that knowing one's flaws and shame for one's actions is what can help one begin to change count as?

...I have two possible options. One which focuses more on the knowing shame aspect, and one which focuses more on the inspiring change aspect.

The first option is Envy - Invidia.

Limbus Company potrays Envy as a Sin of a lack of self-worth, a sense of self-consciousness so debilitating one begins to covet what other has, to act and mimic whoever they see as someone who has what they don't. It's shown to be the opposite of Pride, which is a Sin caused by an excess of self-confidence rather than a lack of it.

The act of knowing shame for one's shortcomings, and thus being pushed to try and become better can be read as a heavily Envy-coded act. In fact, it could even be read as just a positive interpretation of how Envy in general is potrayed in Limbus!

Then there's the second option, one which also carries a major caveat with it. Wrath - Ira.

Wrath in Limbus is a bit all over the place, but it's primarily about change. About feeling trapped or restrained in some way, and wishing to break out of that at all cost. Notably, while it's not directly associated with anger, frustration and impatience are both common themes for it. It's shown to be the opposite of Sloth, which is a Sin caused by resignation and unwillingness to change.

Chesed being potrayed as Wrath would symbolize two things - one would be the initial act of rebellion, the initial moment of running out of patience and the decision to no longer by trapped by the cycle one perpetuates. The other would be the following strive to change, to keep becoming better, that one will be able to break out eventually no matter what it takes.

This is, however, where I have to touch upon a caveat about this interpretation - Gebura. Gebura is very likely going to be the Sapling that directly follows Chesed's, and it's exceedingly straightforward - it's about knowing where to direct one's anger, to learn to use wrath in a productive manner that doesn't just destroy, but also protects. Gebura literally uses the word wrath when describing what Roland has to learn in Ruina.

To let Chesed be represented by Wrath, Gebura would have to somehow end up being something else. This, I realize, is a very difficult assumption to make... But also not impossible.

While thinking this caveat over, I figured out what possible Sin Gebura could represent instead in this situation - Lust, Luxuria. Limbus characterizes Lust as a Sin of wishing of desire for something unattainable, often used to mean a desire for a connection with another person. One could spin Gebura's lesson to be about utilizing Lust, that even if protecting someone might not be possible, it's something one must always strive for when directing their anger.

It's... a bit of a stretch, I will admit. But it is an option.

And, an important part of all this is that not only does Base Hong Lu lack both Envy and Wrath, his Base E.G.O is fatal to both. I just think it'd be neat if one of those turned out to be a correct one.

[urboynoah]

How the ES!Autobots would react to you singing a love song in another language

that silly idea just arrived in my head listening to "Mon Amour - Remix" because, idfk, it has such a good vibe. I KNOW i haven't written shit for literal years but transformers got the best of me! Link of the song as the end, ASKS OPEN!!

The terrans part is NOT ROMANTIC!!! IT'S YOU ASKING THEIR OPINION ON SINGING IT FOR YOUR CRUSH!! don't make this weird pls

(Also I know I'm bad at writing. I just do it for fun so no judging pls!! Apologies for any spelling mistakes, english isn't my first language!)

Bumblebee

Would look at you like that exact emoji : “🤨”

The fuck you mean you can sing?

THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU CAN SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE-?

He ends up loving it and even vibes a little, tapping his feet on the beat

Still confused about the meaning of the song

He asks you so many questions when you finish singing, since when you started learning the language, what does it mean, blablah.

You explain to him you were born and raised in Mexico, your parents would always talk to you in Spanish. You learned english by yourself when you changed country.

He's actually amazed at how good you speak both languages

He still hasn't forgotten about the meaning tho.

He begs you to know, but you don't give in, and let it as a mystery, because you're just silly like that. :b

Optimus Prime

If I had to also use an Emoji for his expression, it'll probably be : “😲”

He didn't expect you to sing at all, considering how shy you are

He even less expected you to sing WELL.

Not to complain.

He thinks your voice is very soft and even if he isn't too found of music in general, this one sounds strangely soft and optimistic.

Is it because you sing it? Maybe

It took him a few seconds to realize that if he wasn't understanding what you were saying wasn't because you were stumbling on your words, but because you were speaking another language.

He's very gently surprised by that fact, it makes him smile.

Not only because it only makes you look smarter to him, but also because he realizes you two are similar, both talking multiple languages.

He softly asks you what it means, not pushing too far.

He looks at you SO SOFTLY you cannot bring yourself to say no

You explain to him it's a love song, and he tries his best to fight the need to give in and kiss you. (He's a cutie patootie real no fake)

Starscream

Judges you at first. I'm not sorry.

Like why did you randomly start singing??

Why can't you even do it in THE RIGHT LANGUAGE

He seems annoyed tbh

You chuckle and tell him it's a love song, but you hold a strong bond to Spanish language

He relaxes and rolls his eyes, because he can't admit that it's actually sweet.

Thrash

You go up to him and asks him for an advice or two.

He immediately accept, staring at you like, bro/gurl, you got his full attention.

You explain to him you want to sing a song for a person you like, with a twist. It's a love song, but in another language.

He seems both interested and curious

You start singing it to have his opinion on the vibe, and when you're done, he aggressively nods. Approved by Thrash.

He seems curious on how you know Spanish, tho..

You explain to him your story real quick, that your parents come from Mexico but you changed country. You know the language by them.

He's amazed. You're such a cool person.

Will ask you a full translation of the lyrics!!

Twitch

You find her completing the chores to earn stars, she seems so focused and flying everywhere, it's hard to get her attention.

You have to tell her you'll give her your star if she helps you out.

It didn't take a lot more for her to sit on the floor, focused on what you're about to say. (Make it quick, her adhd head isn't going to hold for long :3)

You explain to her you want to impress your crush by using the little things you know the best.

Singing, and your ability to speak another language.

She immediately agrees, it's sweet and unique!!

She doesn't ask any questions and just tells you to go for it, like what are you waiting for??

Don't forget her star. :3

[sandrockianblues]

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of talks about the sandrock builder customization and how people been wanting more body types, although I’ve seen people being rude about it tbh, just the way talk about the female builder’s body is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. how do you feel about this?

Hi anon, thank you for asking me my opinion on this 💜💜

While it’s been more than a year of people vocalizing their desire in having sliders/ options/ different presets- only recently has the female builder’s body been complained about to the extent where I think a larger issue needs to be addressed.

Body shaming is still body shaming.

To pull some quotes I’ve seen:

“…small and childlike”

“…body types are definitely something that looks like an adult.” (In ref to Grace and Heidi bodies)

“…give us more mature body types too”

“I’m a baby.”

“…really awkward”

“Downright comical”

“…would love my builder to look more adult.”

“my builder looks like a toddler being walked to school by her husband haha.”

“I’m not a fan of looking like a child.”

“general proportions” (in ref to what the “issue” is)

“currently is kinda twigy”

And in discussion for future installments or advancements within the game:

“it’d be great if they got rid of that look.”

“I do hope they move away from it in the future.”

*this is about the female player body- I cannot speak on behalf of the male player body completely*

As someone who is personally significantly shorter than the builder myself and has a petite or smaller frame- this was very degrading to read comments of.

While I’m a huge advocate for any sort of character customization implements that can be involved such as height sliders/presets/ weight sliders/ whatever else, and I believe that you should have the right to vocalize your wants-

What I don’t believe is that it should come with mocking and criticizing the current female body of the player.

And I truly hope that this look isn’t just scrapped and gotten rid of.

Those under 5’2” are already misrepresented or just not represented enough as adults in games a large majority of the time. We often get stuck with characters that have larger or more curves than we do. Characters of average or taller height. Modelesque to curvaceous characters.

I’m not saying these physical wants for characters shouldn’t be implemented or that they should be ignored. I’m saying you can ask or wish for them without putting down those who do have smaller builds. Those without an hourglass figure or who legitimately are a foot or two shorter than the person they choose to become romantically involved with.

While this is something that me, family, friends, etc have dealt with our whole lives- those of us who have fallen on the very shorter side of the scale, I’m not going to standby and watch it be incorporated into a game that has quickly become one of my top two favorites in the past year of playing it.

Criticizing- not critiquing, there is a huge difference- the female player body as it stands right now and making harsh jokes about it is seen by those who happen upon these posts or threads and can identify with the body themselves. I know a number of short and petite people who are playing My Time at Sandrock, and if I’m being completely honest, this may be the first time we had a more comfortable experience with a character that can be customized for ourselves.

The builder is in their early 20s and also created by a small Chinese indie game company called Pathea. Think of how many of those who are more prone to those heights or body frames have been criticized alone. This game is possibly more prominent in China right now given that they have an online website we ourselves can’t translate. They’re aware of new merch and such we’ve yet to receive official news on.

Also for reference:

Yes, average height.

It may be fun to joke about how it looks to you, but for some people… this is our reality.

No, not all short people have dwarfism. No, not all petite people are just not eating enough. And yes, some of us may not have the ample assets that most women do have. And it’s something we’ve had to deal with our whole lives.

Implying that a taller height and a curvy figure or an incredible bust size is what makes a “mature” and “more adult” look is beyond insensitive. To imply that it is “what makes a girl a woman” is horrifically humbling to read.

And I do mostly see this body shaming of short or petite stature and height coming from mostly women. One cannot preach for body positivity if they continuously exclude and demoralize a body type. It’s hypocritical, it’s demeaning.

Comparing the female player body to the likes of Grace or Heidi or Jane- beyond saying it’s just the type of build one may want, as in, using them as a comparison to further degrade the current body, is yes, still body shaming and something a lot of us have worked hard to try and not compare ourselves to.

Does this have to do with me writing short female characters? Beyond the fact that I am short myself? Yes. Because it’s gotten to the point where if it’s not body shaming, it is fetishizing or glorifying the idea of being smaller than the average short height. And I want some readers to be able to read of a short character that isn’t “gremlin” or “closer to hell evil” or “feral” sometimes. Because that’s stereotyping. And we’ve been stereotyped our whole lives.

The female builder is in her early to mid 20s, around 5’2”, taller than some characters (that aren’t children), has a notable ass and chest- and yet while that’s how some of us look or it’s a bit more, “she’s not a woman”?

I have dated and befriended men from 5’ to 6’5”- and shockingly, men have been less prone to making me feel as less of a woman than the comments from my own gender have. I have shown and read these comments to my father, male friends, brothers and such only to see them become irritated that women are body shaming this body type. Pointing out the hypocrisy and some of the shallow remarks.

This is akin to a post I saw:

Unrealistic and far fetched right? How do you think we felt- those of us who were 5’2” or below.

Someone who is quite literally the same exact height as Andy irl and in my twenties.

I could go into the whole aspect of having to reanimate or rig the characters and players for cutscenes and interactions. I can dive into the whole deal with the “baby face” expressions (and yes, some people just do have a “baby face”). I can stand on Pathea’s side who has worked tirelessly and with several issues they had to work past. The deadlines and due dates they’ve had to push back while early access fans still cheered them on for support. Or I can point out that this game is rated with an E10+ rating.

But this post isn’t about that.

Preach for what you want or options you’d like to see. But no, let’s not make callous remarks and harsh jokes on the player’s body. Let’s not just suggest they get rid of it entirely.

Women are supposed to support women. How about we stop deciding bust size and height is what makes you a “real woman”?

[neptunedivine]

midheaven observations pt. 1

hi everyone! I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to talk about some midheaven observations I’ve made mentally. I know these aren’t all of them, but these were on my mind at the time. I hope you enjoy the read! :)

aries midheaven ✧ People with this angle either want to be/are the first to do something in their profession or the best at their profession (actually I feel like this could be said for all prominent Aries placements, but I digress). As someone with the placement, I feel like it’s very important for natives to be passionate about their career. Unless they will not want to pursue it.

ex: Celine Dion ✧ Celine Dion has this midheaven and she’s regarded as one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Also, have you heard her sing other songs other than My Heart Will Go On? There’s nothing wrong with that song, it’s a classic for a reason. But I don’t think it displays how fiery her voice is when she sings. Listen to Treat Her Like a Lady, she sounds incredible.

taurus midheaven ✧ Those with Taurus ruling their midheaven will most likely find careers in beauty/beautifying, the arts, and finance. Sidereally, people who have Taurus placements are commonly Aries placements in sidereal astrology (as someone who has her moon in Taurus tropically, but her moon in Aries sidereally). I think the passion and “all or nothing” attitude Aries midheavens have toward their career comes through for Taurus midheavens, but instead of translating as impatience, I see it as stubbornness. Like they won’t get up and storm off if they don’t like what they’re doing careerwise, instead they might do it but they’ll complain the whole time. They also won’t put as much effort into their profession as if they cared about their work.

ex: Tyler the Creator ✧ Have you seen the Jimmy Kimmel interview where Tyler talks about his two jobs before fully committing to music? (I’ll link it below). Not only is it hilarious, but Tyler also explains that he wasn’t happy at either of his jobs. At most he did the minimum to make an income, but he didn’t really care for it. Comparing this to how he talks about his music career, there’s a wild difference. He looks so happy and not only that but excited for the work and projects he gets to do not only in the music industry (which in itself expands past making albums and singles as he scored for a fashion show and for The Grinch film in 2018) but for his brand Golf le Fleur that expands into beauty with fragrances and fashion with the apparel and shoewear he creates (he also has some collaborations with Converse I believe). And, he’s very invested in his collections. I think I saw him geeking over this very rare Gucci or Cartier watch that’s really hard to get but he was gifted it. He’s very proud of his collections and he cares about them a lot (makes sense with Taurus not only being the traditional ruler of the 2H which rules over personal wealth, finances, self-worth, possessions, etc but is opposite Scorpio in the natal chart which in my opinion, I view as very possessive and those traits can be seen in its sister sign). It warms my heart tbh.

scorpio ascendant + leo midheaven ✧ How much do you guys like the spotlight? Like actually? (no, I’m not talking to the Sagittarius risings with a Leo midheaven, I know you guys want that limelight 😂). I feel like it’s not too much, though you always end up getting the attention. I wonder if this is more of an emphasis on the Scorpio Pluto generation than the Sagittarius Pluto generation. I’m not saying this still won’t apply, but I question if it’s to a lesser extent since the Scorpio Pluto generation would have Pluto in their first house rather than their second house. That air of mystery and isolation could be stronger. I feel like I only see you guys when you’re pursuing your profession, almost to get it over with? Like “dang I got to walk this red carpet it’s a part of my job”, you could mask it well but I don’t think you guys really want to be there. As much as you guys may not like it, you’re very talented at what you do.

ex: Frank Ocean ✧ This man casually dropped diamonds (not gems, DIAMONDS) and then he dipped. I feel like his “prime” (I don't like using that term because I have hope he’ll release something again) is regarded so highly. All of his very limited performances, releases, and interview(s?) are put on pedestals and watched over and over again. It almost doesn’t feel right to say he’s one of the greatest in the music industry, in my opinion, because his career lives in its own domain. I haven’t seen a songwriter really compare to him since, other than SZA (i love them both so much it’s insane).

aries ascendant + capricorn midheaven v. capricorn ascendant + libra midheaven ✧ I think all cardinal midheavens have the advantage of having their placement because it allows them to stick to their plans and achieve their goals (the same can be said for fixed midheavens too). But to what extent, depends on what sign is ruling.

ex: Ariana Grande ✧ If we were to look at Ariana Grande, for example, she has a Libra midheaven and a Capricorn ascendant. So she’s set up well for career success and achieving her goals (which is true, she doesn’t have that many fame indicators in her chart, but she does believe in manifestation and has put in the hard work to achieve a lot of her success in the music industry and the perfume industry. Yes, I know she has well-off parents, but do you know how many nepotism babies have the money and still sit on their a**? Yeah…). But, I don’t know if being a businesswoman is as strong of a desire for her as presenting a beautiful aesthetic (which there’s nothing wrong with that!). This can be seen recently with how people feel about R.E.M beauty. Yes, it’s pretty, I’m a sucker for the space aesthetic. But I’ve seen on many occasions where people are not satisfied with the quality of her products.

ex: Rihanna ✧ Now if we look at Rihanna, she's also a very successful woman in the music industry. (I looked them both up on Spotify and Ariana sits at 4th in the world for the number of monthly listeners she has and Rihanna sits at 10th, that’s amazing omg). I think other than Fenty Beauty, she had one perfume launch and a clothing brand that she abandoned…anyway. Fenty Beauty is the most commercially successful celebrity makeup brand, with revenues grossing $570 million. I think with Aries in combination with Capricorn here, paired with the business mindset and goals, there’s again the need to be the first and/or best at what you do. Rihanna shows this with Fenty Beauty and the Fenty brand not only with its massive success but with its inclusivity, from the models she chooses and the shade inclusivity of her makeup products.

✧ I think the difference in these ascendant and midheaven combinations is that with Aries and Capricorn, if the first goal doesn’t work, they’re quick to realize that, ditch it, and move on to the next plan for their success. I feel like that’s what Rihanna did with her fashion brand. With the Libra and Capricorn combination, there’s still a high rate for success, but I don’t think the need for success and winning especially is as strong. I feel as long as everything looks pretty and is going well to their standards, these placements are content.

that’s all for now. if you want to send me a placement that you’d like my observation on, you can leave your requests in my ask box! Please only send three placements per ask, but you can send multiple asks. It just makes it less overwhelming for me. see you later! 💕

[a-pop-of-korean]

hello i have a question about learning korean ^^

i started ( self ) studying it about two years ago but discontinued due to college and all, but now i want to pick it up again and i don't know where to start from? i know how to read and write, but i have issues reading in one go— basically i lack fluency in reading and i often stutter. is there any way to improve?

secondly, i do know some basic stuff however my vocabulary isn't vast enough. besides, i would like to understand the sentence structure, or how they write phrases and sentences since it's very different from english. i've referred to so many sites but there's always a question— do i work on vocabulary first or sentence / phrasing structure first? or do i study both of them along side?

this sounds like such a mess and it is because i'm so lost ┬┬﹏┬┬ my main goal is to understand korean shows without subtitles and i do pick up a few words and phrases here and there but there's a lot still left to learn and idk where to start from. moreover, i've noticed that the textbook korean and the one that's spoken in everyday life is way different ( this applies to almost all the languages tbh ) and i'm having a bit of a trouble trying to figure out how a native would say it?

or example, do this thing where i come up with a sentence and try to translate it just to check what it would be in korean and check in the translator to see if i'm right, and most of the time im not. whether it's about the formalities or the conjugations. basically a whole lot of issues so please if u can help ＞︿＜

Hello! If your goal is to be able to understand Korean content without subtitles, then I think self-studying grammar and vocabulary is a good idea. I know you said you already have some knowledge of Korean, so I would refer to my masterlist and start from wherever you feel appropriate. I also recommend diversifying your study material and looking at other resources on Tumblr, YouTube, and on the Internet elsewhere. There's a lot out there!

As for your second question, I think it makes more sense to study vocab and grammar at the same time. As I've said before in previous asks, I was never that disciplined with my studying, so I can't really give you concrete study techniques. I think I got where I am today by regular exposure (on top of taking Korean courses and studying abroad lol). But if you don't have those opportunities, using whatever resources on the Internet can get you far. As you get comfortable with both grammar and vocab, I recommend exposing yourself to content like webtoons in Korean and K-dramas. These will help you with your reading and listening comprehension. There are plenty of webtoons at varying levels of difficulty, and K-drama actors have clear diction that is easy to understand. Again, I don't exactly have concrete techniques for how to eventually ween yourself off of subtitles/translations (since I myself still use them), but in my experience, exposure alone is enough to at least allow me to read webtoons and watch K-dramas without relying super heavily on the translations. Consuming this content will also teach you how natural Korean is spoken by natives. I hope that makes sense!

If you're concerned about speaking, the best way to get better is to converse with others. You might not know other people who speak Korean, but you can still practice with others for free on Hilokal, where I used to teach live lessons. It's a nice, low-pressure environment that can help you get more comfortable with speaking and learn alongside other people just like you!

Also, I generally don't recommend using translators to help you learn a language, especially if you're an English speaker learning Korean. It's more useful for you to understand the meaning of the Korean itself than it is for you to get the perfect translation. Korean is especially difficult to translate into English (in my opinion), so a translator might not give you a clean, accurate, and natural translation. Unfortunately, I can't think of other ways to fact-check your sentences otherwise lol. But I think that looking at enough sample sentences will help you become better at constructing your own. And something that helped me feel more comfortable writing and speaking when I was abroad is that, even if I make minor mistakes, chances are that other people can still understand me. Maybe keeping that in mind can make the learning process a little less stressful :)

Maybe this advice isn't new for you, but I hope it was still helpful! Thanks for the question and good luck! 화이팅!

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hi! I hope you’re doing well

for the ask game,how about higuchi?

Higuchi, my beloved!!

Favorite thing about them: She's just... Very funny and messy and relatable. She has SO NOT her life together. It's nice to see a character that feels human once in a while.

Least favorite thing about them: She's so dismissed by the author, and yet she feels like she has so much potential... I really wish the narrative would explore her character more. Not only, I wish she was treated with more sensitivity and respect. You can write about abuse; I dare say, it's a good thing to write about abuse! But you should be respectful about it, and DEFINITELY not treat it as a gag. A lot of Higuchi's character - the physical abuse she faces, her infatuation with her abuser - make very interesting themes you can explore in literature; just do so in a way that doesn't stripe the character of dignity, you know? Which a lot of times feels like what's being done to Higuchi.

Favorite line:

brOTP: Pretty much Higuchi and any pm member, Gin, Tachihara, Hirotsu (Gin especially, I find the whole “call me onee-san” thing Higuchi has going on with her very endearing). I really like the tough front she assumes when facing the ada, and I've found her interactions with Atsushi really cute, I'd like to see more of them. Also, I totally believe Higuchi and Kunikida are online friends who don't know they actually know each other irl. I really like to explore her relationship with Akutagawa, I wish once Akutagawa has matured to be a decent human being they could be like. Cordial coworkers.

OTP: I really wish she would stay single tbh. Right now I find it hard to imagine her having an healthy romantic relationship with anyone? Which is what I wish for her, to be healthy and happy, a lot more than for other characters lol. She's just very easy to sympathize with.

nOTP: I've talked about how I'm not a big fan of higu/gin, but I don't take issues with it either, it's not that deep.

Random headcanon: About how she ended up in the mafia. She and her sister were raised by a single mother; when she died, Higuchi had to struggle to find a way to sustain the both of them. Stumbling on the streets, at some point someone posed a threat for her sister, and Higuchi assumed a very aggressive and violent stance to defend her. Akutagawa was passing by, and was struck by Higuchi's ardency, as well as her determination to protect her little sister even with her bare hands; so he took her in.

Unpopular opinion: I wish her romantic feelings for Akutagawa were acknowledged a little more. In general, the fandom openly discusses Akutagawa and Dazai's relationship, while the Higuchi and Akutagawa one, who mirrors it for the most part, gets largely dismissed. On one hand, I get it's unpleasant to talk about, since it evokes concepts of work harassment and women domestic abuse that are often disturbing to talk about since more often than not hit close to home. At the same time, that just translates in not talking about a big side of Higuchi's character that makes her complex and realistic, which is sad too.

Song i associate with them: Melt by ryo, perhaps? It's one of my favourite songs :)

Favorite picture of them:

Favourite panel from the manga:

Favourite illustration:

Favourite illustration in the anime art style:

Favourite Mayoi card:

Send me a character?

[torchickentacos]

21 and 22 for drew? or may if you’ve already been asked those ones about him!

From this ask game! LONG, under cut. Various off-topic musings included.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Ok so disclaimer for the few people who read what I write- this may or may not translate into my end product. I try to keep it in mind but ultimately my fics kind of write themselves and I have minimal input tbh. I'm not steering this car, I just put my foot on the pedal. I make it go but the characters are the ones driving with reckless abandon.

Also these are all just my opinions and if anyone hates them, please don't let me know.

Something that I like doing when writing Drew is leaning into how much he thinks. I enjoy leaning into his internal dialogue, his hang-ups on every little thing, his propensity to dwell (in my characterization of him, anyways, which is, ehhh, give or take maybe 85% taken from canon and 25% bullshitted. My math is wrong but I'm not changing it, there's just an extra 15% of my own bullshit and we'll pretend it was intentional).

When writing him, there tends to be a lot more going on internally than when I write, idk, May or Ash or whoever. Drew's always attuned to the situation, picking things up and filing them away. He's always formulating opinions and thoughts and emotions that rarely make it out of his head. He feels a lot of things but generally they stay inward, whereas when writing someone like May, if she's feeling it, she's probably also expressing it regardless of if she should or not. No filter vs too much of a filter for his own good.

I think that, in a related vein, he's always holding himself back. Both vocally and just... kind of in general? Maybe not career-wise, but emotionally, he'd rather get close and then dart away over and over again instead of making any leaps. He's careful. He'd rather balance on a tightrope than take the fall USUALLY *(this is how I write him, and other portrayals are ones that I love! this is just what I do, not what I'm saying is the right thing). We see it in canon- he gives May roses but hides behind excuses. He starts conversations but leaves just as quickly. He's mercurial and never builds up the bravery that he needs. He's careful to the point of cowardice- and not just ship-wise. This can be used for any number of things, which I find fun. He likes being in control, and if he doesn't feel like he has a steady grasp on a situation, he leaves. And you can't control people's emotions, so that's scary, so he dips out from emotional moments unless something stronger keeps him there. It's a constant push-and-pull between his own mind and emotions. One's always trying to rein the other in and break free of the other at the same time.

He likes certainty. This contrasts well with a certain someone whose entire battle style features assist and metronome, which is built in uncertainty. She challenges him. But that's for another post.

Something I dislike writing is leaning into how much of a jerk he actually is in canon sometimes tbh. Canon can keep that- I do enjoy it situationally but overall I leave that to writers who are better at showing that side of him without making him grating. I prefer watering it down some and making him be annoying in different ways lol, which admittedly does actually close off a few interesting avenues and facets of him. But I think given the tumultuous nature of rival ships and fandom's current... propensity for tossing out words like 'romanticizing' and 'idolizing' and whatever else, I'd rather just leave well enough alone with the worse aspects of him and avoid being called a verbal abuse apologist or whatever 😭 I don't want any avenues for some jackass to be like 'oh ew you write m/f relationships where the man is mean and dominant over the poor woman' or whateverthefuck. TLDR, I'm a people pleaser with worn-thin patience for rival ship discourse.

I also lean towards AU/slice-of-life stuff where his rival jerkassery is less applicable to begin with, anyways. I am FULLY guilty of watering him down and making him nicer, but I'm self-aware, so... there's that, I guess, lol. I also think he'd chill out as he gets older, anyways, leaning more towards 'vaguely prickly and sardonic' than anything else.

Anyways, it's kinda weird to answer these when I never actually share my writing on this blog, but oh well. That privilege got revoked after someone was mean about my writing around me without knowing that it was mine, lol. It wasn't even good criticism (which baffles me because god knows they had material to work with), it was just general bitching about ship fics that aren't as complex as War and Peace. God forbid some people enjoy fluff. Send me to the corner of shame along with the few dozen people who liked my writing and the people who left kind comments. Anyways, it's funny now, but I still won't share writing here. The best way to support me is to support writers in general.

So! General call to action. Go find a fic for your favorite ship (or just any fic in general but I'm being petty and saying 'ship' since the rude person seemed to take issue with shipping) and leave a (NICE. 🔪) comment. Just a heart emoji if you feel like it. Tell writers when you reread their work, just a 'Hey! rereading and remembering how much I liked this one :)' or something. It'll keep them going for a week, I'm telling you. I still think about and reread every single comment that I have ever received. I keep them all copy-pasted in a google doc. It's 24 pages long and 11.2k and it makes me cry (in a good way).

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

This is going to sound so fucking backhanded but I LOOOOOVE reading fics where he has friends. I love reading him talking to Solidad or Gary or Ash or May as a friend or whoever else!!! Make him socialize!!!! it's fun! Lord knows that he doesn't do it enough and it shows. I like reading fics where he gets to interact with people that he doesn't talk to often in canon. So anyone but May pretty much. I love his horrendously down-bad tunnel vision where he only acknowledges May and literally nobody else, funny as hell, but also it'd have been so fun if he actually spoke to other people. I read a fic several years ago where he and Paul were sorta-work-friends, it was some 2014 assassin AU PS/CS/IS fic. but I remember that Drew would intentionally play coldplay songs around Paul to annoy him or something like that. They had a frenemies-bromance-coworkers thing going on and it was just DELIGHTFUL, if a little odd! That shit's hilarious! Let me see Drew bothering other people on purpose and joking with friends!

So. Things I don't like. I personally disagree with the early 2010s FFN portrayals of him as a casanova womanizer, BUT I also kind of love those portrayals for their sheer absurdity and the camp factor lmao. It's not even an ironic enjoyment, it's a genuine affection for that whole era of fics. It's the opposite of how I write him, but it's nostalgic to look back on old fanon. I also don't care for fics that break him and May up but that's obviously a personal bias that I've literally gone against myself on, lmao. It can be done well but sometimes it skirts into ship-bashing territory, usually at Drew's expense. Just because it's not a preference of mine doesn't mean that it's a bad thing to write! I'm just not the audience and that's okay, it's not a failing of the writer. I mentioned the person who disliked my fics and said so publicly, and that doesn't reflect on me. It reflects on their tastes. Same goes here. It's just not to my taste. It's subjective and not at all a statement on the quality or validity of a fic that includes those things.

[olderthannetfic]

This might be a somewhat controversial opinion/rant, but as a black queer woman (i really id myself as being more genderqueer, but since i'm afab there are just things about womanhood growing up that has just stuck with me as formative experiences.), I find it really difficult to build community with queer men, even in fandom. I've tried to have friendships with transmen, but so many just feel the need to ramp up misogyny to 1000 to validate themselves as men, and then with gay men, some will say the most out-of-pocket, misogynistic things but because they're not attracted to women, it's somehow okay, I guess. But lately, there's been this trend among queer men of saying and doing misogynistic things but justifying it by stating they're talking about white, cishet women. But the thing is, there's nothing in what they said that can be specifically applied to only white women. It's a target to all women (I refuse to play the oppression olympics of who has it worse). And now I see other queer women in fandom saying the same things to each other. I typically stay in anime/manga and danmei fanbases because that's where a lot of my interests are now, and I don't have to deal with USAian nonsense as much. But now that 7 Seas has unfortunately decided to translate more danmei into English that's changed. A queer male fan of a popular series has been unfollowed en masse by danmei fans for saying wildly misogynistic things about the author. Everyone all week has been scrambling to figure out where this came from. "He only ever said these things about cishet white women," but you guys... he was always talking about us the whole time. Now, I just don't know. Now I see why men aren't generally welcomed in or are common within romance-genre circles. It's just really frustrating to see the same thing over and over again. I'll add on that the only genuinely cool queer men in fandom I've met have come from yuri circles. The ones who try to talk about BL are, from my experiences, generally misogynistic, toxic, and feel as though everything should center around them because they're men and in BL the characters are men, as well. But when other women don't want to form community with them, they scream about 'homophobia' and 'fetishizing gay men.' No, you're just an annoying, awful person to be around, and the queer male yuri fans didn't want to deal with you either. Has anyone else, or you specifically, dealt with this? Is there a way to become friends with more queer men in BL spaces who aren't... like That? Or are there specific things/patterns to look for as far as who to avoid?

--

God, so much of this sounds so familiar.

I've known a sad number of trans dudes who overcompensate in dickhead ways. A lot of them do calm down a few years into presenting publicly as male, but it's infuriating to see that crap even if it's temporary.

I will say that two of my close circle of offline friends are trans men, including one who came out during the time we've all been friends. The defensive tomfoolery is in no way inevitable. Both of these dudes are nonwhite and have experience in various other geeky and queer spaces beyond BL (gaming, drag queens, etc.). Maybe that broader perspective helped, or maybe they're just nicer and more mature people than a lot of the little jerkfaces I run across online.

TBH, I often have better luck in offline meetups because to show up at all, people have to be a little more comfortable with getting along with others and behaving themselves. It's also sometimes easier to detect the people you want to back away from slowly when you can see how they treat people in person.

One of my neighbors is a cis gay guy. White, able bodied, middle class, yadda yadda. Exactly the demographic you'd expect to be the worst in certain spaces. He and his partner have lots of queer friends, and plenty of them aren't fellow cis gay guys, which is basically my litmus test for non-annoying cis gay guys offline. (Toxic cis gay dude culture is its own kettle of fish with a different set of issues than defensive trans boy culture, but I've encountered it plenty too.)

This neighbor is interested in geikomi and was delighted to find out I'm a fellow nerd and eager for all my nonfiction book recs about queer Japanese stuff. We don't necessarily overlap in our manga tastes, but there's still a lot we do share. When I ramble on about how AFAB queer people and/or bisexuals study history that's presented as cis gay men's history because that's all we have for most historical periods, he's like "Yeah, that makes total sense!" and not "Mine and not yours!"

I think the key here is that this is a dude who is secure in his identity, who's getting both his media and queer community needs met, and who's in his 40s, so he has some god damn perspective and doesn't need to pretend BL is aimed at him.

A lot of the little jerkfaces make me think "Did your preschool teacher not teach you how to share your toys?"

--

To be honest, there seem to be plenty of dudes hanging around my tumblr. A few cis. Many trans. But they're not going to bring it up incessantly in some defensive "you know I'm not a cootie-having girl, right?" way because who does that?

It comes up when there's a discussion about trans shit or BL as #ownvoices or whatever. (And, in general, any dude worth hanging out with will not think BL as an industry is, or should be, anything of the sort—even if he's expressing his own sense of queerness by writing some.)

On the flipside, I have seen some pretty extreme "no boys allowed" clubhouse nonsense in fandom. It's less common than it was, and past shitty dudes have often been the inspiration, but it can still be a bit much. The nicer class of fandom dude is often pretty hesitant in certain spaces because he's expecting to be met with hostility and is trying to figure out how to participate without tromping all over everyone. (TBH, the guys worrying about this are rarely the problem, but you know how it is.)

I've had dudes send me private messages being like "this thing you said seems kind of stereotypical and anti-man", but in the adult capable of conversation way, not in the tantruming 5-year-old way. And we had a conversation, and they stuck around.

I think having a very clear "It's not #ownvoices, fuck off" stance deters a lot of the more pestilential set. Being equally clear that everyone is welcome and that male yuri fans and female BL fans are pretty equivalent makes the guys worth knowing come out of the woodwork.

In 99% of spaces, I do not give a fuck if some man has his precious feelings hurt by a double standard or default suspicion of men... But fandom is a little unusual because of the demographics and relative power here being so different from in most spaces.

I've definitely seen some people who think women liking BL are fine because we care about characters' personalities, while male fans are all predators or all write f/f that is just fetishy porn or m/m that sounds like Nifty.org and not other fanfic or whatever.

And, yeah, I'll shut down the dumbasses crying in my inbox because I made a joke about Nifty and "coke can dicks" (the kind of guys who have clearly never read m/m that's aimed at dudes outside of fandom spaces), but at the same time, we should extend a little benefit of the doubt to our fellow fandom members of whatever gender. There are usually plenty of men facepalming right along with me at these inexperienced young fools who cannot bear to share.

I think you're just running into the problem that the loud people whose identities you know are often using those identities to browbeat other fans on social media.

--

There are fewer men in BL spaces than women or nonbinary people, so one will typically end up knowing fewer men.

Honestly, I think you find the reasonable people and get rid of the unreasonable ones in the same way regardless of gender: Gatekeeping bullshit is a red flag. Very Online understandings of oppression are a red flag. Enthusiastic and clueless blanket endorsement of own voices as a concept is a red flag. Lots of talking about "fetishization" or even "appropriation" in a very online way is a massive red flag. Monetizing fanfic or seeing other pro authors as competition instead of peers is another. (Professional jealousy and fear about earning potential are behind a lot of bad behavior.)

A lot of it is down to whether you're willing to make yourself a target by publicly telling annoying people to fuck off.

If others can tell what you stand for, they can figure out if they want to hang out with you. Most people keep their heads down a lot of the time, so it can be hard to even hear of them, let alone know if they're your sort of person.

--

tl;dr – Be nice to nice men. Tell shitty men to take a hike. Making friends with men is really as simple as that.

There are larger issues here with what kinds of queer spaces exist and whom they prioritize and with toxic understandings of what representation even means and what should be demanded of whose art. But as you say, a lot of women are also promoting toxic-ass understandings of these things.

The bottom line is that we must resist social media clout-driven understandings of justice. The loudest assholes in the room are rarely worth listening to.

[messrsrobyn]

hiiii i adore all your stuff!! (very demure 🙂 very mindful 🙂‍↕️) just wanted to ask ur opinion on something i saw on tiktok about the marauders fandom using diversity amongst characters like a checklist of things to tick off and not actually doing that representation justice as a result? like, for me, i feel like i’d rather people have a go at including diverse characters than simply having everyone be cis, thin, and white, but i do also understand that there can also be harmful portrayals of these things. i’ve written fics (mostly wolfstar) and i still include things like james being desi and dorcas being black, and try to incorporate this into their characters rather than only appearance but also, when they aren’t the pov characters of the fic it can be difficult to go in depth into their representation. obviously, i can go and write a james centric or dorcas centric fic and go more in depth, but that’s just not possible in every single fic. i don’t want my portrayals to be seen as tokenising or anything, but a lot of the fanon identities have become canon in my head. (even like welsh remus and french sirius (which people in the comments of this tt were getting mad about authors using google translate for bc it’s inaccurate and saying that we only included it bc french it “hot” even though the black family motto is literally in french??)) idk, just wondered your thoughts since you always seem to say everything so well! xxx

sorry this is so long!! i love your yaps on tiktok if this warrants a spoken reply lmao <3

HIHI

literally the least relevant part of this but remus is welsh !! she-who-must-not-be-named confirmed it !! also that's,,,, so silly. yeah the motto is french??? and yk what yes the french accent IS hot but i don't think that's why we include french sirius. more so bc,,,, he's french,,,,??

MOVINGGG on i think the most important part of this is that diversity does not necessarily mean that everything is represented to the same depth every single time. one of my friends (hi rachel) phrased it as:

"diversity is a salad not a melting pot"

i think it's incredibly unrealistic to look at every individual work and expect them to go in depth about every single part, especially with side characters.

when we talk about diversity in fandom (or diversity in media in general tbh) for me at least, it just means the diversity being there as a whole. we can find fics that center around desi james and his experiences, we can find fics that center around dorcas' race (thtf is incredible here for example), we can find fics that center around the trans experience - salad pot. everything is available, you just have to find the parts you like the same way you dig in a salad bowl and take what you want.

diversity also means normalising the fact that representations are made. to have them there without necessarily needing to expand upon it??? just normalised. (like trans reg fics obviously go in depth from his pov but BACKGROUND trans reg will just be like "two cresent scars on his chest" 🙂↕️ normalised 🙂↕️). big conversations are necessary as a Whole, but not in every individual work imo.

i don't think it's "tokenising" to not go in depth about them, i think this is,,, a hobby. LIKE MAYBE THAT'S BAD TO SAY BUT i wouldn't call it tokenising to include desi james in a fic without necessarily going into detail about it because that's a very popular hc in the fandom. i think it's worse to say that diversity needs to be perfect or it shouldn't be there at all.

if the pov isn't focused around the character in question then i think it's perfectlyyy fine to just throw in a few things. this is a fun hobby. we don't expect perfection and the fact that this fandom is drawn from the veryyyyy undiverse core material and we've got this!? incredible.

generally i just don't think many people on tiktok get how fandoms work because they've joined when it's become popularised WHICH IS OKAY!!! welcome !!! have fun !!! but fandoms have ALWAYS been about adding diversity and creating queer ships and it feels like recently there's a lot of people policing on what to do when that's just Not How It Works.

i don't think diversity is being treated as a checklist, i think the in depth works are out there, there are people who write in depth povs of experiences and there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of fics. we can't expect every single one to have big conversations about it, especially not with side characters. sometimes it's nice to be represented without them making it your entire personality.

i can only speak from the trans and disabled side of it but i KNOW that there's plentyyyy fics that go in depth about that, and i don't expect every fic ever to go in depth. if i want a disability focused fic? i'll find one. other than that yeah it's fine to just say that remus is using a cane rn and not go into detail about it. esp if he's a background character.

does this make sense?? i hope soooo i just woke up and this is the first thing i did xxx

[ac-liveblogs]

i have not played natlan act 3-4 so uhhhh i wonder how natlan's middle act stacks up to other middle act archon quests (i.e. sumeru and fontaine) in your opinion? my twitter timeline hypes the fuck out of act 3-4 but i really can't trust fandom atp ...

Heya!

Tbh, every time I see someone hyping the fuck out of Genshin, especially Fontaine, I really do just… LMAO, bc the Fortress of Meropide was a chore and Sumeru's middle act was absolutely blatant filler. I think Natlan is better than both, but like, that's because those were bad, not because Natlan is good.

I think the best way to describe the Acts3-4 of Natlan is "straightforward, but boring". Act 3 mostly consists of trying to find Ororon and figure out why he's with the Fatui - that translates into Genshin's traditional "walk a short distance to the glowing light" type gameplay and I think one generic mob fight? Act 4 is... lots and lots of mob fights.

I think Act 3 is the best showing in Natlan - it does an okay job establishing Citlali and Ororon's characters and dynamic and why Ororon is working with the Fatui, but it resolves so quickly and uneventfully I really struggle to care about it. But at the end of it, the emotional payoff for this act is Ororon getting a sudden cutscene that gives emotional closure to the character arc Citlali described to us maybe 20 minutes before. "This is Ororon's tragic backstory" > "instant, easy resolution via relatively chill monologue". I mean, it wasted less time than Furina's, but it's clearly Mavuika they really want us to care about here. She's already had 2 extended playable segments about her past, Act 5 is gonna suuuuck

There's no actual combat or more than a couple of seconds of peril or anything, it's all totally cutscene based. Injecting combat into this sort of thing usually helps raise the stakes, but it's totally absent here… we don't even get to fight Capitano. His plan gets interrupted by Ororon having his Moment and then he just gives up, which is really cool payoff for the guy that's been hyped as the strongest member of the Fatui Harbingers.

An anon described Ororon as a more competent Scaramouche-Irminsul, and while I think Ororon's character works better and it fits the story here more than in Sumeru, at least with Scaramouche he…. god I can't believe I'm saying this, but at least Scaramouche actually… did something… stuff happened that we had to deal with as opposed to stuff ALMOST happening… thhat sucked too, but like… it's… stuff?

I think HYV sometimes forgets how videogames work…? Using combat to convey tone really helps... whatever...

Act 4 was pretty tedious. I know a lot of people got emotional about the war arc, but I've seen it done better elsewhere and I really wasn't impressed. That mostly manifests as bouncing between a bunch of generic mob fights for about 30 minutes, again with no boss. Throwing generic mobs at you in very standard numbers does nothing to enforce any kind of threat, and it exhausted me.

However, it is still better than bumming around the Fortress of Meropide, which I absolutely hated - especially Fontaine Act 3, which was a completely irrelevant timewaster. Natlan's Act 3 and 4 seem to be leading into Natlan's endgame a lot better than Sumeru and Fontaine's did (I think you could excise almost everything from Sumeru and Fontaine Acts 3-4 and end up at Act 5 just fine tbh), and it did feel like there's a bit less yapping than usual...?

There's an effort to show you that "war... war is hell..." with a bunch of dead NPCs, but I don't care about nameless NPCs. Chasca and her sister had very little time put towards getting the audience to care about them (Chasca has some of the least focus out of all the Natlan characters), and she realises she's a hero when her sister dies and goes berserk off-screen, so that didn't work for me.

Also, I cannot get over reaching the end of things, being told BIG ENEMIES COMING, thinking "oh good maybe they'll reuse one of the mat bosses at the very least" and getting confronted with a couple ruin guards.

(Tbh, I think Citlali dying and Ororon reacting to that would've worked better given they spent the ENTIRE PREVIOUS ACT ON THOSE TWO. Or like, Kinich and Ajaw's thing? god. Why put in the thing about Ajaw getting Kinich's body if Kinich dies if you weren't gonna- never mind. It's fine. never mind)

The 6 heroes were underutilised as expected, and it seems like their role concluded this patch. So. Eh.

Overall - I did not get so bored I can barely remember what happened (Sumeru) OR want to bash my head against a wall at any point (Fontaine), but I did get pretty annoyed during Act 4 but overall feel pretty "well that was whatever" about it, so. Natlan 4/10.

[louissatturi]

Ok so, hello, new Ordem Paranormal fan here, I'm not Brazillian so I apologize if any of my questions are stupid, and if you do not want to/don't have the answer to any of my questions, I will not be offended. I've just finished O Segredo Na Floresta (That ending man...fuck) and while I know some spoilers from later campaigns, I generally don't know the context around them. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I have way too many questions, so feel free to pick and choose. 1. I've noticed that the artist between the second and third campaign changes, or at least I think that's the case because the styles are incredibly different. I'm assuming that it's because Cellbit wanted more realism, but I was curious if that was it or not because I can't really find anything on my own (the wiki, sadly, doesn't seem to have pages for the artists :() (I'm just curious about this, I like both art styles) 2. Have you ever had a llonguet or coxhina? Not entirely related to Ordem Paranormal but they mentioned those foods a few times so I was curious as to how good they were, they both look good tbh 3. It only gets worse from here doesn't it. (This next question is more so Desconjuracao and Calamidade than either of the ones I've watched) 4. I know about the relics, do they all work differently? I mean, yeah they do but like, the human in that body dies when they take over, right? But like, can they make the body immortal or does the body still age? I assume not with the God of Death because...yeah just saw that, but it could still decompose I guess. Idk, the relics fascinate me and I'm really excited for Desconjuracao to get translated 5. How many times does the system change? Because the first campaign was a d6 system, the second is a d100 system, but the wiki says Ordem Paranormal is a d20 system. Does it get more finalized by Desconjuracao? Or will it take til Calamidade for me to see the current system? I'm really hoping the rulebook gets translated someday, I'd love to play or gm, and I'm curious as to what campaign would be a good reference for what it might be like. 6. Do you have a favorite character? I don't have many people to talk Ordem Paranormal in depth with so I'm curious as to what other fans opinions are. Also, are there any characters that generally people really dislike? 7. Not sure if you read fanfics or comics, but do you have any you'd recommend? Even if it's for later campaigns I could put it on the backburner, I'd love to see more fanworks than what I've found on my own Ok so, that's a lot so I'll stop asking stuff for now, thank you so much for letting me ramble hahaha

1- well you are a minority because people really hate the old artist (Rafael da Hq) well it was changed because the new artist (Orenjiro) did beutiful fanart and cellbit decided that he would do the art for ordem ever since! (Minus o segredo na ilha, that was bonees), but the main reason why the fandom does not talk is because he did tracing and was exposed for pedophilia, also i did not know that there wasn’t any wiki pages for the artists like what? They maybe will do some soon!

2- because of your grammar i unfortunaly dont know what you ment by what you ment by llounguet but i already had many coxinhas in my life lol, they are a pretty popular "salgado" (salty food) and i really like it, the ones filled with chicken are the best (i mean its pretty rare a coxinha be anything BUT filled with chicken but WHAT EVER), i hope you get to taste coxinha, is pretty good

3- Oh honey, you didn’t even get to see the worst deaths in ordem paranormal history lol

4- i mean you won’t get much about the calamity relics since they are more important in calidade but basicly the human body that the relic is inhabiting dosen't age and is pretty much imortal (unless other relic kills it) bur when the human body of the relic dies, they just poof like the human body dosen't exist anymore and they go to another human to continue doing their elements Jobs

5- Oh honey the only season that they play 100% from the ordem paranormal rpg rulebook is sinais do outro lado, this system had a fuck ton of changes and rewrites especially because the comunity was very involved in it

6- Oh i have a bunch of them but my main favs are liz and my baby joui 💜, so the fandom is fascinating because the character can be very loved with a very toxic fanbase but also very hated with a bunch of toxic haters (joui's case lol) but most of the time the really hated character's are from the villans side, mainly npc's but this hatred is generely only really prevelent for character's with players when the season is airing yk? But for me is kinda hard to tell witch character is the most hated for all fandom because it really depends on your fandom circle because is pretty commun to get a bunch of comments of "OMG WHY DO YOU HATE THIS CHARACTER" for pretty much evey character in ordem

7- about fanfics... i unfortunaly don’t have much recomendations because i do not read much ordem fanfics (especially because the fandom is kinda dead right now and all ordem ficwritters became spiderbit/guapoduo ficwritters) well the fanprojects are kinda dead right now unfortunately, but there is official comics of ordem paranormal that adapt the first season and the first part of season 2 translated to english that you can buy it officially in e-book form! I also have a project for myself in adapt ordem seasons in manga form (and rewrite some stuff that dosen't make sanse) and make a silly self indulgent fanfic adding two oc's of mine as character's living the happy horror's that is the ordem paranormal universe, but i little idvice if you want to see ordem content

Go to Twitter, there is more people there the here unfortunaly

I hope my answers helped and any questions just hit my ask box!

[soulsxng]

If my oc's were misinterpreted by fanon, pt 2:

Ezra

Sweet sunshine baby that can literally do nothing wrong ever. They'd completely glaze over the whole addictive personality thing, or only make it a thing if it only gave him cute, palatable little quirks that are going to have absolutely no effect on his health and wellbeing.

Would probably be portrayed as a pillow princess.

I can also see people portraying him as a crybaby, just because he's always been pretty open about his feelings. And that apparently translates to being an overly emotional crybaby to a lot of people?

His curse is another thing that would be severely downplayed, or used for kink fuel. Or it would be just be forgotten about entirely, because it doesn't fit the sunshine baby mold.

Jaspern

Stuff about Jassie would be pretty mixed, I think-- mostly because of his relationship with JJ. There'd be a lot of people that paint him as an unfortunate single father that has never done anything wrong when raising JJ...and then there's be the opposite, where people say that Jas is/has always been abusive toward JJ, and is a terrible person because of it.

Him being a recovering alcoholic would probably be mostly ignored or erased.

Less sarcastic, more asshole. But people say it's fine because "It's hot" when he's mean.

I don't even think I would be capable of listing all the ways people would screw with his marriage to Kalliah. Or even his friendship/familial thing with Nel. Probably a lot of erasure, or a lot of people complaining the the girls are "in the way" of whatever other ships they wanna push. Would probably also say that his relationship with Kalliah was toxic or abusive in one way or another.

JJ

This one is tough. I can see him being a character that the fandom really loves, but gets him all wrong at the same time. Painting him to be this completely selfless, "gives anyone a chance", bordering on naive at times type of person is one way I could see it going.

Sort of "happy-go-lucky" protagonist syndrome type of thing. Completely undaunted and able to accomplish anything he sets his mind to easily.

Would completely ignore the fact that a lot of the things he does/has done is because he feels like he doesn't know who he is. Yes, there's the whole wanting to protect his loved ones thing, but beyond that, he feels like he's always lived in a way that other people have needed or wanted or expected him to, and wants to figure out where he wants to be. That would all be tossed aside for the most part for the false confidence that he usually tries to show, instead.

Possible Mimi erasure, because again, "he gets in the way of shipping" Unforgivable tbh.

Lerato

He'd either get the "He's so misunderstood!" treatment, or the "He's absolutely psychotic and bloodthirsty all the time" treatment. A lot of his curiosity, and the sheer amount of knowledge and wisdom that he has would probably be thrown by the wayside.

Never Without Joseph (@sansloii). And if he ever is apart from his beloved husband, he's a complete wreck the whole time, unable to function in any way that matters. They're one and the same, don't you know? They never have conflicting opinions and beliefs, or disagreements, or anything like that.

I feel like a lot of people would ignore his paternal side, too. Or if they didn't, it probably wouldn't be to say anything good about it. I can already hear people saying that the reason Ber's the way he is, is because Lera neglected or abused him in some way, or that he was just a bad parent in general.

...Another one that I'm not sure why, but I just get the feeling that there would be at least one group that would try to paint him as being unfaithful to Joey at some point.

Meinyr

There would be one group that plays up his drug addiction and makes him seem like a wild, out of control playboy that's constantly chasing his next bed partner or his next hit.

There would be an opposing group that downplays his addiction to the point where it is, or is almost completely non-existent. Because it's not "pretty". Because Mei could also be painted into the "Princely" type of person, the addiction wouldn't really fit nicely with that image.

Alternatively, his whole character centers around his mommy and daddy issues, and it ends up woobifying him a lot. Gives him a more "damsel in distress", or "Needs someone else to fix him" sort of vibe, almost

On top of any of those tropes would also be the dumb blonde trope. He's got no thoughts in that pretty head of his at all, whatsoever. Who knows how he manages to run an entire kingdom of Hell like that. His family probably does it for him, or he got lucky when hiring workers.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

What are your opinions on The Untamed? I got into MDZS by stumbling upon the donghua whilst the first season was premiering and devoured fan translations of the novel and kept up religiously with the manhua. I found out I think a year and a half ago that a live action existed and tbh, I'm not that interested. I think it's because of all the changes I've heard were made to the story and the themes and tbh, I'm not very into the graphics 😅 But my primary gripe is it supposedly not being a faithful adaption and instead a very loose one. Since on Ao3 it's somehow impossible to escape the grasp of The Untamed and I've seen so many silly fanons floating around accepted as canon due to the influence of CQL, my feelings towards it are even less generous. So many fans take CQL as the canon story instead of the novel, and its like we've read two different stories, because in many ways, we have. Still, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan look gorgeous, and so do the rest of the cast so I'm a bit torn.

I LOVE the Untamed! (I say as I write up essays on why it's dumb and ruined themes and STUPID)

I only recommend it as a VERY loose retelling of what Mo Dao Zu Shi is. The Disney Ariel to the Hans Christen Anderson unrequited gay love letter to the world. So to speak. My one glowing compliment to it is that thankfully after fan pushback, the director, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were able to give us the scenes that stood out finally. And probably why we get the whole "Uncut" version of it that is solely focused on their scenes alone.

I don't recommend it as the first foray into the MDZS universe as it changes about all points of importance for a sanitized story. Themes and arcs are vastly lacking in the Live Action that the novel closes very neatly. Don't get me started how pairing Jiang Cheng with Wen Qing makes him EVEN MORE of an asshole regarding the entire Wen massacre and him letting her be burned to death. And somehow despite being an equal love story to the canon on screen Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan and the implied Wangxian, that just gets dropped from relevance??? BAD WRITING YANG XIA.

A lot of people of course came to fandom from the Untamed as of 2019, the book was very niche since it originally finished in 2016 and was issued physically and officially by Pinsin in 2018. A year before the Untamed aired. It was culturally a HUGE DEAL... due to it being danmei and so known as being such for it to be such a cashcow. But not for the West. For the West it was one of the biggest things since probably Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for the genre of Xianxia and Wuxia to be renewed as an interest, or spotlighted once more. But a lot of its initial spark was because it was such an inversion of the usual standard xianxia and wuxia tropes. It places emphasis on the human of the genre over the fantasy.

CQL, tried to make it more in line with typical xianxia and wuxia out there. Doesn't quiet work as well when you have the original source turning all of these tropes and character arc expectations around and the Live Action drops those essentially for on air compliance.

The good the bad, can't be taken as the same between either because the intentions were different. Thematics cannot be scrubbed out from the original and the adaptation claimed to be the true source. The book is what the original intention was for, and worked. Sometimes adaptations lose out the canonical intention of the original but it is not the be end of it when it was reproducing what is already there.