#I mention here and there that I “i blog about Japanese culture as seen in KnY” but I don't actually want to share it

[demonslayedher]

This is not happening any time soon, but if I were to write a Wordpress blog about oni, would you guys follow me there

[chevelleneech]

semi-live blog

They are immediately the cutest fucking people when together. So soft, so giggly.

I know it’s part of their social culture, but they drink a lot. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink, but dang.

“Jungkook is currently doing his skincare.” They add to the screen after panning away for scenery, yet leaving the sounds of *slap slap slap*😭

Jungkook cycling through multiple pairs of sunglasses, and Jimin swanning in and picking the first pair is peak! They’re so similar I yet so different, lol.

Another thing I’m sure is part of their culture, is the way they pay for stuff, but I find it interesting still that we’ve seen Jimin buy almost everything during their trips, since as far as we know they have pretty lax hierarchy rules between the two of them normally.

Jungkook is in the most romantic moment of his life, lmao! “I love it here!!!” said a million times. That man was experiencing a real life Hallmark movie in his head.

I also thought they spoke/understood way more Japanese than they apparently do.

“Come on everybody!” I understood that reference.

The way they chose to animate over everything to avoid having to blur a billion people in the station is HILARIOUS!

Jimin is too funny bro.

This train ride is so peaceful, it’s selling me on visiting Sapporo despite being broke and not speaking a lick of Japanese.

Can we also discuss how “My man, my man, my man.” Jungkook is? Yet Jimin is too, and somehow both is more than the other, lol. They are perpetually on some, “Jimin will like this.” “Where’s Jungkook?” *films food, pans to Jimin* *films the outside world, pans to Jungkook* *cuddle even while walking* type stuff. Just lovesick.

Girl!dad Jimin confirmed🥰 He’ll be such a sweet dad too, I think. He’s so patient and kind, which is heavily required to raise another human.

I loooooooooe Jimin’s jacket dude.

The way Jimin immediately pivoted to making JK laugh when he tried to downplay himself. Like I said, “My man, my man, my man.” Don’t talk bad about his man, even if you are his man.

My most delusional Jikook theory you’ll ever hear from me: “Are You Sure?” actually became the title because they were asking it if each other, because they in looooooooooove.

Also, to answer my own question from my previous list… yes, the bubble is back.

Role play Jikook strikes again!

Jungkook is it slick! He played with that sip of whiskey the entire time, but the minute Jimin left he downed it.

Them forgetting to pay would’ve been me. And JK initially sending Jimin back to do it would have also been me. You got it, extrovert! Take the embarrassment for the both of us!

They’re so cute! This snow fight makes me want to be somewhere cold for the holiday☹️

The food always looks so damn good! Lord I’m jealous.

I need someone to compile all the times JM and JK go out to eat together, and let me know if Jimin is the one with his back always to the door? It’s a thing in America at least, that the “protector” tends to sit where they can see the door, and I don’t know if that’s a thing in SK as well, but it’s cute, because it matches their dynamic either way.

“Your fingers were all over it.” SIR!? You’ve had his sweaty ear in your mouth… he’s had his mouth on your neck… you’ve also had his fingers in your mouth before and vice verse… AND y’all constantly eat and drink off each other… in fact… yesterday he bit the very sausage you were in the middle of eating and then you continued eating it… before that you gladly allowed him to put his TOES next to your face while you were BRUSHING YOUR TEETH. Stop playing with me, Jeon Jungkook!

Jimin legit being ready to beat Tae’s ass over a dumpling is too crazy, lol. And folks be acting like he some docile helpless baby. Meanwhile, JK is a mediator. They definitely made for each other.

End of the episode. It was fun. Felt like the start of a holiday special. And I didn’t mention it up top, because I decided to “live blog” thoughts like ten minutes in or whatever, but Jungkook softly and sweetly saying he wanted to come back to Japan because it reminded him of their first trip together… SOBBING! He’s such a sentimental guy, with an equally as sentimental guy on his arm.

They truly do vibe so well, and I understand with each passing episode why them enlisting together was a non-choice choice. They click. Like they said themselves, they’re one person split into two bodies, and it’s clear as day they thrive off of being around one another.

Not to get too sappy either, but it’s insane they feel that way about their bond and dynamic, on top of all the things that already just so happened to bring them together. Not just born in the same country, but same city. Auditioned for the same music group. Actually made it into the same group… they were destined to meet, and even they feel that way. All that’s missing is them being the same age, and they’d be the same person. That’s an insane thing to say, but really tells you how deeply they value their connection.

[illym]

Hi, hello, if you like reading about localization choices be sure to check below the cut because I Had Fun Here (not being sarcastic. It was enjoyable learning about vinegar in Japan).

Translation Assistance: @masked-and-doomed + @solradguy

ID in alt.

Cleaned and original comics below the cut.

Specific Assistance:

@.masked-and-doomed: transcribed what I couldn't pick up.

@.solradguy: Verified the translation of what the npc was saying in panel 4, offered a line for it.

Fun fact: The Japanese department of a college all got together to work on this one.

I hated redrawing the back of Ky's head. I'm glad I was able to hide most of it behind the text (lol).

Anyway, let's get on with the localization (and process) discussion!

In the original text of this comic, Ky was drinking vinegar.

"But Illym," you ask, face twisted in confusion, "Huh? Who drinks vinegar as a drink for fun? Is the joke that being compared to Robo-Ky made him go mad and believe that vinegar is delicious? Did you change the joke? Why are you writing me to be so verbose?"

I'm a very verbose person. To answer the rest of your questions, here's what DeepL gave me when I put the transcript in.

[

npc:

Captain… it's only the body that gets soft from drinking vinegar.

ky:

I… This is for your health!

npc:

If you drink it without diluting it, you'll get a stomach ache.

]

At first, I assumed that DeepL has misinterpreted some other drink as vinegar, such as cider, sake, or general alcohol. In this example, even, it translated Ky as saying "For your health" when within context he should obviously be saying "For my health".

I went to [ https://jpdb.io/ ] to check the line. Lo and behold, it still translated as vinegar. Hm. By this point, I'm fairly sure it's a cultural thing that I'll have to localize, but I try to be thorough in these things as, again, I don't understand the language and rely on machine translation. I search up vinegar in English in jpdb and find the Japanese character there immediately. So it's obviously the same word, not a messy translation.

My next course of action is to look up "drinking vinegar japan".

To summarize, according to the articles/blog posts I read, the process of making vinegar is just adding an extra step to the process of making sake. After that, if it's to be drinking vinegar, it's blended with sweeteners such as honey or fruit.

It's an extremely old drink in Japan, and it's seen as a health drink there (along with, I assume, being pretty tasty). You should go read up on it yourself.

But in the western world, drinking vinegar is... Not a big thing. While I could leave it as is and just write a translators note explaining the drink, I decided that given that Ky is French and Japan has been exploded for ~100 years, it would be more lore accurate to have him drink something else. If it was Anji or Baiken, I would have left it.

Also, it's more enjoyable and easier to understand to make it ambiguously alcohol instead of requiring a 4 paragraph explanation.

So to localize, I removed mention of vinegar and made the joke into Ky drinking too much alcohol. The NPC's worries apply to alcohol as well as drinking vinegar (drinking it makes you soft, it affects your body poorly, drinking too much is Seen as bad for your health) so it made for the smoothest change.

As I write this, I'm debating whether to add a translators note between panels saying that the bottle reads 'vinegar'... It'll get people curious, at least!

Original translation of the comic below.

[thebrookesnook]

Here's the discussion for Umemiya's deity representation as seen in the latest chapter. If you haven't seen my thoughts on Takiishi's yet then I've provided a link to that post as well.

(I hope you appreciate the better quality & organization of the post from my well-rested brain cells)

Part 1: Takiishi Chika and the Karura

Spoilers for Chapter 150!

In my last post, I discussed my theory that the bird-like deity depicted for Takiishi was a karura. With Umemiya, I believe the deity to be Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王, ふどうみょうおう) who is also known as the Immovable Wisdom King (Skt. Ācalanātha).

[Fudō Mask was sourced from the Japanese Buddhist Statuary: A to Z Phot Dictionary; (Wooden) Seated Fudō Myō-ō Statue by Kaikei created in 1203 sourced from Isumu (360° view available)]

Fudō Myō-ō is THE central deity among all of the Myō-ō (warlike or wrathful gods) groupings, but is most prominently featured among the Godai Myō-ō (五大明王, Five Great Kings) who are manifestations of the Five Transcendental Buddha. He was given the title as the Immovable One due to his unwaivering commitment to the protection of Buddhist teachings.

Orginating as a pagan deity from India, Fudō's conversion to Buddhism began with humble beginnings. He was assigned as a servant and messenger of Buddha himself and later achieving higher positions and later becoming a manifestation of the power and virtues of Dainichi Buddha, one of the 5 Transcendental Buddha I mentioned previously. (Source: MetMuseum)

In regards to their appearances, Fudō shares a remarkable resemblance to the deity depicted in Chapter 150. From his adornments, eyebrows, hair style, the prominent scowl etched into their faces and the long side braid (?) to the left of the face.

Aside from looks, let's talk about the prominent parallels between Umemiya and Fudō Myō-ō:

Origins. Both Ume and Fudō had to start over with their life, with Ume losing his family due to a car accident and Fudō being stripped of his former godhood after converting to Buddhism. Despite these, they were able to work their way up to be strong enough to protect what they valued the most.

Their roles. According to Schumacher in his page about Fudō,

"Fudō converts anger into salvation..."

- Schumacher, M., "Fudō Myō-ō"

"converts anger into salvation", that seems familiar- Oh wait.

Fudō and Ume are guides to enlightenment AND protectors. They themselves are symbols of safety in the eyes of those under their care.

Connections. While the Godai Myō-ō (Five Great Kings) aren't closely related to the Shitennō (Four Heavenly Kings) as the former rank far above the latter, there are similarities to be found. One is that both groups are in charge of the five directions, and yes five. The Shitennō is commanded by Taishakuten (帝釈天) who is the Lord of the Center. Relating this back to Ume and his Four Kings, it's interesting to note that the mangaka choose a higher ranking god to represent Ume rather than use Taishakuten. Perhaps to differentiate the power gap between Umemiya and his Four Kings?

Conclusion: I'm confident that Fudō Myō-ō is definitely the god representing Umemiya with the evidence I have gathered as well as several others have come to similar conclusions to the fact. It was really fun deep diving into this research for both Takiishi and Umemiya and with a clear headed than the previous post, perhaps I'd like to make another one but of Tomiyama and Togame (The Hare & The Tortoise) or Sakura and Sugshita (The Tiger & The Dragon). No promises though.

(P.S. I am not Japanese but I have been deeply interested in the culture and history. I do my best to use credible sources (both ENG and JPN) and give credit accordingly. However, I'm prone to slip ups so if there is anything that requires correction, notify me throught the post via reply/reblog.)

(P.S.S. I have a blog specifically made for wbk content for further post like this so feel free to visit me there @transient-winds )

[transfemme-sys]

Addressing A Racist Issue In The MOGAI Community (TW : discussion of racism, sexualization, and mentioned SA)

hey. this blog isn't active, and the part behind it isn't active in my system either, but i do still exist. this used to be a MOGAI blog, as i am someone who considered myself (and still do consider myself) a part of the MOGAI community. unfortunately, i kept losing motivation to make flags and the blog has since been abandoned.

that's not what i'm here to discuss. i'm here to talk about an issue i've noticed in the community that has been irritating me for a while : yandere related genders.

for those who don't know, a yandere is a japanese anime trope used to a describe an individual (most often, a woman) who is madly and unhealthily in love with someone, often going to extreme lengths to try and achieve that person's attention.

i am a japanese trans woman with BPD. those who self identify as yanderes most often claim its a label exclusive to those with BPD or OLD, but this is where i see an issue begin. out of everyone i've seen 'reclaiming' this label, *none of them are japanese*. they say the term yandere is harmful against those with BPD and OLD and romanticizes the disorder, which i don't even necessarily disagree with, but here's the thing; the term yandere, most often, is used to sexualize, oppress, and stereotype japanese women. i have experienced things like this myself, firsthand, and i'm sure i'm not the only one out there.

we are fetishized, treated like objects of nothing but attraction. every white weeb wants a yandere anime girlfriend, it'd be so cool to be loved like that to them, but they see a japanese woman on the street and catcall her and call her slurs. asian fishing white women love to cosplay yanderes, but constantly steal and appropriate japanese culture without a second thought to it. the white man may joke with his friends about his new japanese girlfriend, calling her kawaii and yandere and unique for showing even the slightest bit of affection and love for him.

i have never been called a yandere for my BPD. i have seen myself and plenty of others be called yanderes for being japanese. it is, in my opinion, not your term to reclaim. you are not viewed inescapably as 'nekos', 'lolis' 'anime girls', and yes, 'yanderes' in the way that we are. you are not sexually assaulted and harassed and hatecrimed for your BPD like we have been.

i ask, respectfully, that non japanese people stop self identifying with this term. please help spread awareness to this issue with me, share this post in any way you can. i am tired of experiencing constant racism even in safe spaces like the MOGAI community, and i ask that you help me bring an end to it.

thank you, and please be mindful of your actions.

[luigitimecritique]

I love names of art.

No, seriously. I don't think this part of art gets enough recognition, but it really should. Just think of it, one short phrase is the literal DEFINITION of your piece of art. The words culminate into a meaning, but you make that meaning your own. It is what people call this [thing] that you've created, or depending on who you are, created a gateway to. A good name can entice people to consume media they might not have been too interested in before, and a bad name can do the opposite. Honestly I just wanna ramble a little about some of the best names for media I've seen, that I particularly love (and some that I just find funny, bad, or notable in any other ways).

[SPOILERS FOR LIKE EVERYTHING IN MENTION IN HERE LOL]

La La LandI don't think I've actually talked about this yet on this blog, but La La Land is my favourite movie of all time, for reasons that I WILL discuss for reasons at length some other day.  But let's discuss the title. "La La Land." Firstly, let's get the obvious thing that everyone knows about this one first. Yes, the movie takes place in LA, so it's literally LA land. It's incredibly cute, I love it. But other than that, just remember, what is a "La La Land"? A place that you imagine, often as some form of utopia, when in reality, it's nothing but. A place of harshness, masked by a surface level beauty. Sound familiar? This is the exact world of Hollywood (I wonder where that is?), the world of celebrity culture, and stepping into the world of commercialized art. Whether it be acting or music, both Mia and Sebastian have been hit by nothing short of whiplash. Both enter this field, imagining this amazing, beautiful world where they can express their creativity, their selves, and their loves. Inspired by past movies, inspired by past musicians, they practically waltz into this beautiful "La La Land", before figuring out. Whoopsie daisy. Both struggle hard, neither can find suitable long-term careers for years. Then, they meet each other. As their dreams, and their love clash, they find themselves questioning, what is their paradise? Ironically, although they could not have each other, they both led each other towards their dreams. In the end, they were able to achieve a perfect La La Land, just without the other. The epilogue scene, obviously, showing this off beautifully. The epilogue IS just the paradise that both dream of, where everything goes perfect, where they love each other, where there are no blemishes, it is a true La La Land, not in the sense of the realistic view of the world, no, rather the view of this elusive paradise, this world that says "yes, you've made it. Good job". But in the end, as the final notes to their song play, the two remain in a real world, that ultimately separates them apart, a true La La Land.

A Silent Voice

This is good, and I don't think I need to say why it's good. The Japanese name is Koe No Kotachi (The Shape of Voice), and I'm ngl, I think I like the english name for this better. Obviously "A Silent Voice" fits in very well with the themes of the movie (Nishmiya LITERALLY having a "silent voice"). The movie literally explains the title at the end man idek what to say it's great ok moving on.

Fullmetal Alchemist 

I love this name with a passion. Combining this very modern, almost violent word, “fullmetal”, with this very mystique and sorta magical word “alchemist” pretty perfectly tells you quite a bit about the story as a whole. One of the major themes of fullmetal alchemist is the intersection between the mystical and the scientific. Beyond that, the name refers to Ed in a pretty ironic fashion, but that’s obvious and not really worth noting. Not much else to say, I’m not smart enough to dissect Fullmetal Alchemist.

The Legend of Zelda

Oh my goodness gracious this is perfect. I don’t know how long I can gush about four words but everything about this just fits. Let’s start from the end, the name “Zelda.” To be fair, I’m not fully sure if this is just because I’ve associated the name Zelda with the game Zelda practically my whole life, but the name just sounds mystical. The name apparently takes its roots from old high german, and it just… inexplicably sounds like the perfect name to me. Calling it “The Legend of Zelda” just adds to this amazing sense of mystery and adventure that this game did bring (kinda, I know it was flawed as fuck but ykw it was 1986). Just hearing those words tells us of what this game will be: an epic adventure, likely involving swords and magic, to beat up some big bad and live out a literal legend. This is HONESTLY a perfect name for this series. In four words, “The Legend of Zelda” tells so much more than other games could tell with their entire 50 hour stories. 

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask/Wind Waker/Minish Cap/Skyward Sword/etc.

I have a bit of a problem with these names that just use a gameplay (and/or story) element and slap it onto the Zelda series name. This doesn’t really tell me anything other than the fact that this item will be in the game. The only one of these that is kinda ok is the “Wind Waker” because I guess to an extent Link does a bunch of sailing which is like wind haha! Otherwise, these are names that are only remembered so fondly because they’re Zelda games. Just think of a game, without a series tied to it, called “Ocarina of TIme.” It tells you almost nothing about the game. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Last Zelda title I swear. Like how the game captured the original magic of the fantastical open world, this title tells us everything we would need to know about this game. The fantastic sense of adventure and sheer freedom that this game brings is honestly amazingly conveyed with this title, breath being a large symbol of freedom, and, well, nature. The entirety of this game is essentially about Link's, or rather, your, journey through the wild. The majority of the game is you taking in the breath of the wild. It still feels like a legend, an adventure, but it helps sell the idea that this is your legend. I honestly struggle to put it into words but there is so much to just take in in this title god I love it.

The Guilty Gear Games

These are fucking stupid and honestly I love them but they're not objectively that good. Guilty Gear itself is a decently catchy name. The alliteration fucks. Otherwise, what does this say? Guilty Gear could frankly be the name of any genre of game. Beat 'em up, visual novel, MOBA (hey this one's true), shooters, hell it could be a fucking rpg for all I know. If it stopped there, it might be fine. But it didn't. The first game isn't that bad, the subtitle in Japan is "The Missing Link", which is ok honestly. Next one is called Guilty Gear X. The Roman Numeral for 10. But ok, that's forgivable, X is probably the cool letter that people use to signify being cool or whatever (re: Mr. Musk). The next game was then called Guilty Gear X2. I do not understand this in the slightest. If Guilty Gear X was, say, a reboot of the franchise, changing fundamental, core ideas and themes of the original, I can understand that you're considering Guilty Gear X as almost it's own thing, as a do-over from the OG Guilty Gear. But it's almost the same. They are both fast, anime fighting games. They both have the exact same characters (with some additions ofc), and the same team and the same everything so why is it even considered a reboot. But ok, let's just call it an reboot from here, I get it, maybe the director just wanted a fresh start, because to be fair, I believe the game didn't sell too well (not sure about this, but it did receive some criticism based on some gameplay and balancing issues). Ok but I'm not moving on yet. Guilty Gear X2 received numerous updates and their names get stupider by the title. First one, is actually ok. Guilty Gear X2 #Reload. I like what they did with the #, and it is pretty indicative of what the game is. Next one is called Guilty Gear XX Slash because it was called Guilty Gear XX in Japan because consistency’s a bitch anyways. Slash is,,, an ok subtitle. I don’t like it as much as #Reload. It’s just slapping on one of the names of Guilty Gear’s attacks. It doesn’t tell me anything about like. The fact that it’s a re-release but other than that, it’s whatever. The next three games end up being named variations of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, the final being called Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R. I haven’t the slightest clue how ANY of those come together to form like. Meaning. I do like how long the last name is. But that’s the last Guilty Gear XX game.

The next game is called fucking Guilty Gear 2: Overture WHAT. The fourth game in a series is called the 2nd. It’s like Double Dragon or something. Whatever (Funnily enough, Double Dragon and Guilty Gear are owned by the same company). It, to be fair, is a vastly different game to its predecessors. Nothing like the original Guilty Gear so it’s not exactly a sequel but. Sure. We can exclude it from the “X” series. Next game is an actual fighting game again called Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-. I don’t know what the sign is either. I actually always liked the subtitle Xrd though, it’s a neat way to say that it’s the third game in a series. Even though it’s the fifth. It’s also a bit stupid. Like if you hear “Xrd” (pronounced Ex-zerd), how are you going to spell that. It, of course, got an update that ended up booting the -SIGN- from the title and replacing it with “Revelator”. I actually think the name of “Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator” is neat, but my gripe with it is solely in that, again, this does not tell you in the slightest that the game is a re-release. The final update to this game would be Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 which is a little better and also a lot worse. It sounds more like a sequel to a series of games called “Guilty Gear Xrd Rev.” Though I guess if you were even a bit in the know, you could tell that this was a re-release so props. But the fact that this game has two whole “clever word plays that are just the short form of the word” makes it just a bit stupid. Rev being the short form for revelator and the whole Xrd shtick means that, if this was your first time hearing of this game, it means almost nothing to you. And again, the phrase “Guilty Gear” doesn’t say jackshit either. Compare this to, say, “Street Fighter 3: Third Strike.” If you haven’t heard of this series before, the “Street Fighter” part tells you that this is a game where you fight people, probably in some urban environment. The “3”, tells you that this is a bit of a series, and “Third Strike” is a clever tag that reiterates the “fighting” aspect and the fact that this is the third game in the series (see this is actually a lie, but shhh). It’s why I believe the latest Guilty Gear name, while not solving many of the problems, is much better than the ones in the past. Guilty Gear Strive, doesn’t say much about the game, but it certainly does not confuse someone. It’s a decently generic name for a game (although I can’t put my finger on why, I will say that I feel the name has a bit of style to it), and it manages to sneak in a tiny bit of wordplay. Since Strive is the fourth game in the X series of games, it fits that IV is within “Strive.” If I recall correctly, this was featured in a trailer, but I can’t find that trailer at the moment unfortunately. All in all, I think the fact that it’s simply called, “Guilty Gear Strive” was a significant, not necessarily the most significant, but still a significant reason for Strive’s success. “Guilty Gear Strive” has so much more widespread appeal than “Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R.”

I’m not even sure what I just wrote.

All in all, I believe that names of media, for better or for worse, are really interesting to explore. I’ll talk about more names at a later date, but for now, I’m finishing off with that… weird Guilty Gear rant. I sincerely doubt anyone is going to read to the end of this. Rather, this is just an immortalization of my stupid fucking thoughts. Amen.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

I posted 3,298 times in 2022

That's 2,152 more posts than 2021!

2,719 posts created (82%)

579 posts reblogged (18%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sugaaz

@millenialfanfictionaddiction

@darkcloakedinfinitevoid

@we-are-so-close

@rae-is-typing

I tagged 2,816 of my posts in 2022

Only 15% of my posts had no tags

#my lovely bbys - 2,369 posts

#live action headcannons 🤣 - 396 posts

#gen z anon - 344 posts

#maycat - 193 posts

#haikyu! - 180 posts

#tendou anon - 179 posts

#haikyuu!! - 173 posts

#haikyuu - 155 posts

#haikyū!! - 152 posts

#haikyu - 134 posts

Longest Tag: 70 characters

#but i probably know more about them then they know about themselves 🤣

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

🦊 Being Inarizaki's Manager 🦊

Manager Being s Foreign Exchange Student

Inarizaki x foreign manager (English as a 1st language)

Warnings: Swearing

AN: This is an Anon request! Update: my neck is slowly healing but I'm managing to write 1/2 headcannons a day! I'm thankfully about a week ahead so I'm hoping this gives me enough time to heal and keep ahead!

🌠 Please Like, Reblog and/or Share to help support my writing 🌠

Ok I just imagine being a foreign exchange student would be scary enough

But like being a foreign exchange student, managing the boys volleyball team AND attending Inarizaki 👀

Oof 😬

First off, Aran and Kita are so accepting

Aran definitely questions why you came to Inarizaki of all places 😅

Kita is totally one of those people that the school places new students with

Like he can walk backwards and direct attention to things without even a second thought 🙌🏻

I forgot to mention that this is your third year, which thank god 🙏🏻

Imagine if Atsumu had gotten ahold of you first 😅

Anyways, Kita begins to show you the lay of the land

Basic customs and etiquette that is practiced daily in school and in Japan

It's all very interesting!

Where you come from is very different from your new surroundings and a bit intimidating honestly

Kita will introduce you to Michinari and Omimi next

He's slowly integrating you yn 😊

Michinari is super interested in comparing cultural differences

Please he watches public television daily and his favorite shows are the travel shows ✋️

Omimi is more interested in you personally

Your likes? Dislikes? How you ended up here?

It's honestly a great introduction to high-school in a different country

Unfortunately for you YN, you can't have nice things 🙃

Now you are pretty fluent in Japanese but let's just say English is your first language

You have a basic knowledge and understanding down but it's different in practice

See the full post

687 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

#4

UPDATED: VISUAL CHAT ADDED 🙌🏻

Team Japan's Group Chat: Someone's Following Me

A/N: I promise I'm going to learn how to do text and social media posts 😅 when I reopen requests, there will be a text or headcannon option! Just bare with me, I still hear the dial tone internet connection in my head daily 🤣

YN: Guys 👀 hey can someone come get me?

Yaku: what's wrong YN?

YN: So I just left the coffee shop and there's someone following me

Komori: what coffee shop?

Atsumu: Bokuto, Hinata and I are already in the car!

Sakusa: You don't even know where she is!

Ushiwaka: are you on a public street YN?

Aran: YN you can FaceTime us if you need too

Iwaizumi: if anyone messes with my girl istg!

Sakusa: hold up 🤚🏻your girl?

Hinata: just about to say that 🤨

Iwaizumi: I said what I said 😐

YN: Jesus christ I'm over here trying to dodge a potential kidnapper and you are arguing over me

Kageyama: if we don't save YN now she'll probably go missing

Habuka: RIP YN

YN: WTFUDUCJSJDHDB KAGS 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Hakuba 😫😫😫😫😫😫

Kageyama: what? Haven't you ever seen Law and Order: SVU

Yaku: I mean, he has a point YN

Hoshiumi: what did I miss?

Komori: YN's got a creeper following her, iwaizumi said she's "his" girl and Kageyama is convinced YN's going to be the next victim of a serial killer

Atsumu: seriously Hoshiumi keep up

Hoshiumi: I hate it here 😒

Hyakuzawa: did we all just forget YN's in danger??

Yaku: oh yeah...

Aran: YN, are you near a police station?

Ushiwaka: if you need help, just scream YN

Bokuto: YN WHERE ARE YOU

See the full post

715 notes - Posted April 25, 2022

#3

🦅Being Shiratorizawa's Manager 🦅

Our Adorable Manager Falls Asleep on Ushijima

Ushijima Wakatoshi featuring Shiratorizawa x GN manager

Warnings: Swearing, fluff

AN: This is an Anon request and THE LAST REQUEST!!! It's taken 2 months but here we are 👏🏻 I'm going to be opening requests for chats scenarios and headcannons in June so be on the look out!

Please Like, Reblog and/or Share to help support my writing 🌠

First off, can we just talk about how big this man is ✋️

Seriously, he's 6'3" and like bulky

Yet he just glides thought the air like a freaking flying squirrel

I mean, COME ON 👇🏻

See the full post

800 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

#2

🦊Being Inarizaki's Manager 🦊

😍Miss Manager is Adorable 😍

Inarizaki x Female Manager

Warnings: Swearing, fluff

AN: This is a request from @times-new-roman-in-pastel! This was requested in addition!

🌠 Please Like, Reblog and/or Share to help support my writing 🌠

How does one describe Inarizaki 🤔

Hmm words like scary, intimidating and strong come to mind

The essence of a power house

Plus Atsumu 😅

Please I'm barely starting and I can't resist 🤣

Let's be honest, they are blunt, loud, outspoken and super intimidating

Kita says whatever is on his mind, Atsumu and Osamu have no filters

Suna is essentially the Tsukishima of Inarizaki

Omimi is just like Ushijima 😐

There is literally nothing soft about Inarizaki

That is 👀 until they met you 🥰🌈🌸

Being a new student at Inarizaki is hard on its own, but when you are the most adorable, softest human on earth 🥺

Well it's extremely difficult

Their uniforms are dark colors mixed with some white

Nit really your style but thankfully there is some room to accessorize 💅🏼

Some adorable tights with hearts or bows

A colorful hair ribbon 🎀

Maybe a colorful necklace or undershirt 😍

Sorry YN but you stick out like a sore thumb

But hey, sticky out isn't all bad right?

Definitely not 🤩

You get alot of attention for both females and males in your class as well as above and below you

You're a second year- forgot to mention that 🙃

See the full post

809 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

🦊Being Inarizaki's Manager 🦊

Inarizaki 2nd Years

Being Protective of Miss Manager

See the full post

852 notes - Posted April 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[hmerus]

literally jaw-dropping (and in a bad way) at how many manhwa and webtoon involve an incest sub-plot. WHAT R THE STORY WRITERS THINKINGGG 😭 I know in some cases the artist and story author are different people and sometimes i can't help but think that these poor artists just have to put up with drawing incestuous themes for the sake of a paycheck 💀

on a more srs note tho, I'm from America so I'm gonna be honest when I say I dunno much about other cultures, let alone Asian cultures. so feel free to correct me or call me out on anything!!! but is incest like ???? not seen as illegal or as taboo (as it is here) in some asian countries ??? because i know America has some seriously effed up literature and I know, even here, that incestuous themes r very popular amongst.. certain categories (and states. looking at u Alabama 👀) 😭 but the amount of manhwas/mahuas/webtoons we've discussed on your blog that involve incestuous themes is astonishing tbh. and we've only talked about the more popular ones 💀

ALSO THIS ISNT LIKE, HATE OR ANYTHING. some of the series you and your anons have mentioned do actually have some good plotlines n whatnot, but it's the more concerning themes of the storyline that make it iffy.. but again, I don't mean to sound hateful at all, because I'm sure the author/artist(s) work hard on these so I can only praise them for their efforts but .. yeah 😭

Hi anon!! i'm not American, and neither am I Asian (specifically korean nor japanese), so I don't know if it is taboo, but japan probably doesn't see it as taboo for the fact that they have a surprisingly decent amount of incest/stepcest animes and manga.

and for the latter, I don't see it as offensive, don't worry!! i totally agree that the artists work hard and should be applauded for it, but some of the manhwa's I mentioned that do have incest but isn't the main ship is generally just a warning for people who want to read those manhwa's but don't know what some of it contains, as incest can be a triggering thing for some people, and in no way am i trying to misinform anyone that certain manhwa's have such triggering things that are painted in a good light!!

thanks for sharing your opinion, I really appreciate it!

[carissimipaixao]

─ i. FAMILIAR

[ sixth entry of the thirty themes challenge ]

published on: january 10, 2023

pairing: okabe rintarou & reader

summary: being about as lucky as a black cat, you are able to sign up for an internship, landing in tokyo denki university.

word count: 1.2k

soundtrack: as the world caves in (matt maltese)

entries: i. | ii.

note: this will be a multiple-chapters fanfic, and each entry will be numbered accordingly on the top of the story. if you are reading this from a reblog, don’t forget to check the original at my blog, due to broken or missing links!

second note: link to the masterpost!

third note??: small changes, but definitely changed the pov!

There is something fascinating about the way the snow falls upon the streets of Tokyo. It lands softly on the ground, not unlike a butterfly’s kiss, and it covers the busy streets in an angelic whiteness that strikes your heart with a sense of nostalgia and longing. It reminds you of childish wonder, curiously enough. Though, as much as you would love to lose yourself in Tokyo, as much as you would enjoy getting to know more of its culture and people, you have to firmly remind yourself why you are here in the first place.

It had been joyful news when you received two lone letters, inside the otherwise empty mailbox — a letter announcing the final results of the internship program you had signed up for, and another, from the university she wished to temporarily study at. In fact, upon receiving the results, you had barely given it any thought, rushing to pack your bags and daydreaming about the moment you would set your feet inside that plane and fly across the globe. Back home, your teachers had always mentioned — in the highest of regards — the university’s long partnership with Tokyo Denki University, and it seemed obvious, from the start, why they would be so proud of that relationship. After all, Tokyo Denki is one of the biggest universities there is when it comes to engineering and biology courses.

However, despite your excitement, you should have known better ━ things never went your way. And, it had become glaringly apparent once more when you began your first day at school by waking up much later than you had initially expected and by, consequently, arriving ungracefully late to class. You had missed the train you were meant to catch and had to wait for the next one, while the thought of walking over twenty minutes loomed over your head. When you finally arrive at the University, with a very long and profoundly ashamed apology planned out — and recited — in the back of your mind, you proceed to nearly enter the wrong classroom, just a few moments before something in your mind clicked, telling you that hey, maybe, you should check your schedule, just in case.

A good start, as always.

But, this is not entirely your fault, right? You try to reason with yourself.

You’re only a foreigner in an unknown country, by yourself and with no one else to look after you. No Mommy or Daddy to pack your lunch and remind you of which bus or which train you have to pick and at what time. You are aware that you should have studied the schedules in advance, but having focused solely on unpacking your bags and trying to live through the jet lag had been stronger than you. Additionally, you know you ought to talk to someone, preferably someone from your own class, so that you can learn more about the public transportation that is available to your liking, as well as the University itself.

However, a much bigger part of you is against that idea.

Making friends — as embarrassing as it is to admit — has never been your strongest point. You have always been in your own corner, away from everyone, fearing what they would think of you. But, now? With the threat of being scolded right in your first day at the Japanese university (as you have seen your own professors do before)?

I already know I’ll be known as this girl who always arrives late, who is irresponsible, who━

Lost in your thoughts, as you rounds the corner, you collide into something—

No, someone.

Your eyes fall immediately on your belongings, scattered across the floor. You huffs lightly, but murmurs a quick apology as you kneel to grab everything as fast as you can. ‘I’m so sorry.’ Why, oh why, am I so clumsy, again? The man mirrors your movements, an apology coming out of his lips as he, too, begins to gather the papers and the manual that had fallen. You spare a glance around the ground, looking at the papers you have already gathered in your hands, and you finally watch in increasing anxiety as the stranger takes hold of the last papers.

All of your personal information, including your new schedule and internship declaration, are in those papers; it’d be best if they were not lost. It is not really necessary to carry all that documentation around, but you prefer to. Prevention is better than cure, after all (especially when one’s biography is filled with incidents that could have been avoided if you would have just listened to that proverb).

The stranger in front of you exhales a sigh, lining up the papers in his hands so that they are neatly organized. Both of you stand up in a nearly comedic synchronicity, reaching for your fallen books as you do, and your eyes meet. His breath catches in his throat, as whatever words he has planned to utter refuse to come out. His eyes widen and, just as his body appears to freeze, you feel your own tense. Suddenly, that feeling — your insecurities — begin to surface, your head ringing once again. You feel like an outlander, out of place, and you remind yourself that you are only a foreigner — simply and forevermore an outsider. You have always played that part, anyway.

You spare a quick glance at the clock in the wall, ignoring how your fingers twitch, beat by beat, and turn to the man, avoiding his gaze altogether. As if not wishing to alert a tiny, vulnerable animal, you reach for the papers in his hands. You force a polite smile — perhaps the equivalent of a dog’s, attempting to mimic its master — and bow your head.

‘Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.’ Not wasting any second, you walk around him, continuing on your journey to the classroom. Your pace is slower than before, and you take deep breaths to calm down your heart, to shut away the fears and insecurities that had creeped in your brain and taken over. The classroom is near, you tell yourself and mentally prepare yourself for whatever punishment the professor decides to give you for your lateness, as well as for the curious and amused — outsider, outsider — stares of your new colleagues.

Yet, you can’t brush off the uncomfortable feeling that is crawling up your skin — a sensation left behind by the widened stare of that stranger. Something about it pulls on your heart’s strings. You saw a storm of emotions in them, in just those short seconds. Fright, surprise, confusion, chaos unleashed. It was perplexing, but you decide not to pay it any mind.

Hopefully, you think to yourself, we won’t see each other ever again. And then, I can sleep peacefully at night.

Much to your dismay, however, the sight of a red book on top of your desk promises otherwise. The written name on the very first page of the engineering manual seems to be laughing at you, mockingly, because, after all, the Universe has an unique and twisted sense of humor. By either fate or just plain bad luck, you know you will be seeing Okabe Rintaro again.

[squaresoneastasia]

Mormonism in Japan

By Elizabeth Mueller

I write this blog with little previous knowledge about the Church of Latter-Day Saints. In high school, I had a teacher who converted to Mormonism, a couple years ago I watched “Murder Among the Mormons” on Netflix, and I always catch a glimpse of the gated LDS temple driving to this one restaurant in San Antonio, TX. I wanted to continue my blog trend of writing about subcategories of Christian religion in East Asia, so I decided to read into Mormonism in Japan.

According to most accounts, Gordon B. Hinckley of the LDS Church is responsible for fostering the Church’s engagement in Asia in the 1960s. While this wasn’t the first time the Church had tried to work in Asia, it would be their most successful mission that still continues today. Hinckley felt a need to replace images of war that dominated Western perceptions of Asia with images of faith. He wrote about his vision for the Church in Asia in an Improvement Era article in 1964. At the time it was written, the article helped overcome prejudice and increase international unity in the Church.

You can read the full article here:

Page 192-193 of Improvement Era showing the three major missions in 1964.

As I mentioned, the story of the Church in Asia began with an initial mission established in Japan in 1901. Four missionaries led by Heber J. Grant set out to spread their gospel and baptize Japanese. On March 8, 1902, a former Shinto priest named Nakazawa Hajime became the first person baptized in Japan.

When the mission closed in 1924, the Church had only converted 166 Japanese in 23 years. Slow progress and the anticipation of international war were only a couple of the reasons for the Church’s pause on mission work in Japan. Japan was swept up in a wave of nationalism following major defeats of China and Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. Japanese expressed this nationalism through feelings in opposition to the West and a return to ancestral religions. Not aiding Japan’s view of the West, the U.S. Immigration Act of 1924 aimed at excluding Asians resulted in anti-American demonstrations in Japan. Furthermore, the actual doctrine of the Church was seen as a threat to Japanese culture and the Meiji

society’s ideals of civilization.

Missionaries constructing meetinghouses and temple steeple.

World War II reopened the door to missionaries with the help of a Christian boom ignited by Allied occupation. Missionaries returned in 1948 led by Edward L. Clissold of Honolulu who had been a naval officer during the war and knew many Japanese from extended time in Hawaii. Upon return to Japan, the Church found a small group of Japanese converts from the first mission retaining regular meetings. With renewed optimism, the Church grew quickly. By 1964, there were more than 7,000 members of the Church in Japan, which 1,500 entering in 1963 alone. Missionaries still found proselytizing difficult across cultural and political barriers, but they distinguished themselves from other foreigners by “sleeping on the floor, eating rice with chopsticks, and speaking Nihongo” (from Improvement Era).

In the 1970s, a temple was constructed in Tokyo—the first temple in Asia and the first in a non-Christian country. This is an image of Tokyo Japan Temple today.

Today, the LDS Church in Japan has over 130,000 members spread across 251 congregations. Cultural obstacles are still main barriers to entry for most Japanese. Shinto and Buddhism deeply affect the worldview of many Japanese. Confucian ethics value the group over the individual, which is in direct conflict with Mormonism’s emphasis on individual agency and a personal, individual relationship with Jesus Christ. I also found an interesting connection to our class and discussion of the Japanese salaryman stereotype in reading. As I learned in class, typical Japanese salarymen leave their home early in the morning and don’t return home until at least 10 p.m. Supposedly, the Church is so demanding, that only a handful of Japanese members can balance a job at a top corporation and be able to serve in a leadership position in the Church. Therefore, many of the Church leaders in Japan are self-employed or work in education. In the face of natural disasters, including a record 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Western Mormons have made it an integral part of their mission to provide extensive relief supplies to include industry support, education, and employment to damaged areas.

Sources:

[pkalunge]

BLOG 3: Sources- Intertextuality and Transmedia 

Life and art of Vincent van Gogh 

In the third session of the Sources and Significance Module, our focus was on Intertextuality and Transmedia. It got me thinking – could the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh be viewed as a Transmedia Object, and would it involve a capitalist approach, potentially creating opportunities for creative artists to enrich the narrative? So, here, I'll elaborate on my viewpoint based on what we covered in the third lecture on Intertextuality and Transmedia.

Delving into Van Gogh's masterpieces, I see them as Visual texts. Looking into the intertextual aspect of Van Gogh's work has been an amazing trip. It reveals deep links and conversations between his art and the vast creative and cultural fabric that moulded his amazing life and accomplishments. Van Gogh's early works show the influence of Realist painters, which can be seen as a form of visual intertextuality. In this (self-)conscious engagement,  he interacted with historical art movements, other artists' works, and cultural influences such as Japanese woodblock prints. But later in his career, he became interested in symbolism and began to include symbolic aspects in his paintings, as seen in "Starry Night". He built his distinctive artistic style that was uniquely his own. I consider these masterpieces to be texts that people around the world widely use.

In my perspective, "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" qualifies as a transmedia work, embodying a holistic engagement for the audience. It involves the concepts of multimodality and radical intertextuality. As Jenkins (2011) describes, it involves 'movement across texts or across textual structures within the same medium,' this transmedia approach is visible as the exhibition builds a story about Van Gogh's life and paintings across several media forms. As the site mentions,  They have 4 major elements in the exhibit featuring, a 360-degree projection of iconic works with sound, a VR journey exploring inspirations behind eight masterpieces, and a unique studio where visitors let them step into Van Gogh’s shoes to create paintings and project them on walls. A Rediscover Art place, this reinvents the museum concept, offering an unparalleled understanding of Van Gogh through storytelling and cutting-edge technology.

As a passionate fan of Van Gogh's art, I've observed how transmedia projects, like Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, operate within a capitalist framework, aiming to generate revenue through ticket sales, merchandise, gift shops as souvenirs and other products associated with the project. As Jenkins aptly stated, “The current configuration of the entertainment industry makes transmedia expansion an economic imperative'”(Jenkins, 2007). Beyond financial goals, this project cleverly turns its audience into active promoters by encouraging social media sharing. Through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, Fans become ambassadors, creating a sense of FOMO among art enthusiasts. This dynamic engagement mirrors Jenkins' (2007) insight that 'a transmedia text does not simply disperse information but rather provides roles and goals for readers to assume in their everyday lives. My personal connection with Van Gogh's art took a tangible form during the lockdown of 2020 when I expressed my admiration by painting 'Starry Night' on my guitar bag. Moreover, the global tour's remarkable success since 2017, attracting over 5 million visitors, underscores how the immersive world of Van Gogh is promoted on a monumental scale, aligning with the broader economic forces influencing transmedia ventures.

In order to meet the demands of the market, there are also some skilled transmedia artists who seize the opportunity to craft more immersive and expansive stories. For example, "Loving Vincent" is an animated film that explores Van Gogh's life and art through a unique technique of animating each frame in a style reminiscent of his paintings. The film offers an immersive visual experience and tells the story of Van Gogh's life and mysterious or tragic death.

And On a smaller scale, independent artists on social media, like Ira (Instagram: bloomingdaythings), contribute to this transmedia landscape. Ira promotes her captivating embroidered pieces, showcasing the enduring impact of Van Gogh's artistic style in contemporary creations, which she sells on Etsy shop.

Gesamtkunstwerk vs Transmedia

In my exploration, In "Gesamtkunstwerk," a single narrative creates a unified artistic experience. In contrast, the Van Gogh immersive world, representing transmedia, expands across diverse media for a more interconnected story. While "Gesamtkunstwerk" relies on a singular creator for cohesion, transmedia embraces complex authorship like the Van Gogh experience. Numerous contributors collaborate across platforms, fostering a multifaceted approach to storytelling. Jenkins (2007) notes that transmedia texts with encyclopedic ambitions may introduce elements that are not fully told or details hinting at more than can be revealed. This intentional strategy creates gaps and excesses in the unfolding story. In the context of the Van Gogh immersive world, consider the introduction of immersive experiences, virtual reality journeys, and interactive studios. These elements may hint at aspects of Van Gogh's life or art that are left open-ended, inviting the audience to engage and elaborate on these story elements. For example, an interactive studio where visitors create and project their own paintings may leave certain narrative aspects open for personal interpretation and contribution.

In conclusion, when executed well, transmedia storytelling enriches the narrative experience by strategically leveraging various media components. The Van Gogh: Immersive World exemplifies transmedia principles, featuring a narrative expansion and complex authorship. The intentional introduction of elements, aligning with Jenkins' encyclopedic ambitions, sparks audience engagement and encourages further exploration and interpretation.

References:

Kristeva, Julia. "The Kristeva Reader." Edited by Toril Moi, Columbia University Press, 1986, p. 111.

Jenkins, H. (2011). "Transmedia 202: Further Reflections." Confessions of an Aca-Fan. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html

Jenkins, H. (2007). [Title of the specific work if available]. Publisher.

Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience (no date). https://vangoghexpo.com/.

Vincent van Gogh: 300 Paintings Analysis & Complete Works (no date). https://www.vincentvangogh.org/.

Instagram (no date). https://www.instagram.com/bloomingdaythings?igsh=ZGc1ejMwNTY2ZnF2.

[syncrovoid-presents]

ooo I just saw the formatting on your blog, and it looks so cool!!! My ask: since you say you know random knowledge, what is a fun fact you could share? :D

Aa thanks!! I caught myself some HTML and CSS for the formatting of my desktop blog. I still need to update it but there's a few hidden secrets @:o)

HMM I have so many I would like to share! It depends on what sort of knowledge you seek and how much detail you want! Like how butterfly wings have scales or how mummies are rare because they were used in paints and consumed.

BUT because it is something I have been thinking about, I shall tell you some funny coincidences and the cycle of time (it is fun and curious! I find it very fascinating)

There is something quite interesting about how centuries ago and ranging to thousands of years (depending on the culture and how well it was documented) there were many mentions of not-quite-human people. Like for instance (I shall talk about Scottish folk lore here, for it is one I am familiar with) there are the Fae folk.

The seelies and unseelies and how there were ways of telling disguised Fae apart from regular old humans (count the teeth, check the fingers. Are the ears unusual? Is the voice unusual?) If I'm not mistaken, there's also a form of this with some Japanese Yokai too? I am not 100% sure. There are similarities too with certain Slavic and Native Americans beliefs too, and African if I'm not mistaken. But regardless, this is something that exists in all sorts of folk lore from all around the world.

(I will briefly mention that some of this could stem from when certain illnesses were a lot more serious (consider rabies for instance) or from ableism. So it isn't all fun and interesting, but I thought I should add that!)

It is interesting how as society (mostly western for I am not 100% knowledgeable about how other societies have evolved over the centuries) has evolved towards a greater understanding of the world through hard sciences and generally separated from folk-belief how this has transitioned into aliens.

Aliens that could walk among us but act a little funny, or their smiles don't look right (count the teeth, check the fingers), how they come at night and leave mysteriously, with lights and colours and technology like magick.

(Again, I shall mention that sometimes these beliefs are used to defend various types of bigotry. I do not support that and find it quite gross)

And then now, another hundred or so years after the rise of aliens (there is still more people are finding! More mysteries, more unexplained phenomenons!) those same rules now have transitioned into AI artwork.

Have you seen some realistic AI artworks of humans? You must count the teeth, check the gands. Are the joints all wrong, bending too far or there are too many? How many fingers are there? You must count them! Check the ears, check the faces. Are they humans or something just pretending?

Of course it isn't quite the same, it never is and never will be, but I can't help but find it fascinating that certain beliefs from centuries or decades ago can now transition into practical advice for something that absolutely would have been considered magick to those folks. How science and folklore beliefs don't have to be pitted against each other, and how time can be quite cyclical in nature.

Plus not to mention the similarities between the "Hitchhiker Effect" and the curses of various folklore creatures of millennias past, both coming from worlds beyond our own but in different ways, both explanations of the impossible through the lens of current knowledge.

And who can say how this could change when AI develops further? Though AI isn't truly intelligence, the name is actually quite misleading, when programmed right and given the correct uses it can be a wonderful mimicry of such. Imagine AI generated realistic 3d models, using generated voices and generated dialogue. Would you count the teeth? Check the hands? Would there ever be a point in our lifetimes where that would even be possible?

Regardless, I find this all quite interesting!! I can talk further but I shall limit myself to this. I don't quite know if my ramblings about the roundabout nature of time and humanity and the development of belief falls into a fun fact or not, but it was very fun to answer this ask!!

[doom-nerdo-666]

This is a repost of something i wrote once but edited a bit.

I just wanted to repost something i wrote about the Mick Gordon situation (It's also because of what's happening with Reddit as a whole).

If it feels outdated, it might be because of how long it's been since people talked about it.

I always wondered if with videogames, there's a sort of push against "video game stars".

Specially because videogames are made by teams of various people, but there's usually a director or someone that is seen as the main force, even if he's an "ideas guy".

You can see that specially with indie devs like Toby Fox and Japanese devs as well (Taro, Kojima, Kamiya, ZUN, Nomura, Harada and so on), which i think it's because of videogames' reception as a medium (And all these arguements about games being art or "just mindless toys").

There are also names that people drop out, but mostly to either make fun of or to point out some negative aspects of the industry like David Cage or Randy Pitchford.

id is notorious for this: Not just names like Romero or Carmack, but with the new games, you had Hugo Martin.

I expect Mick Gordon's popularity and following had something to do with this: The "guy" people associate with the games became the music composer and not an actual dev.

This can be farfetched because we're not sure if Hugo Martin was as aggressive and demanding to Mick as Marty Stratton was.

But also because, if Bethesda/ZeniMax wanted, they'd tried to downplay Hugo's involvement as well and make id a "team": Something that at first promises to highlight the numerous people that worked in the game, but may result in dehumanizing the studio as this faceless blog that just makes stuff.

Specially because people view game publishers like that; Specially those with controversies and dark history, but people still name some CEO's or anyone as examples.

Because it made me think of movies as a medium: They take a lot of people to make, but there's still a director or producer or someone "in charge".

This is part of Martin Scorsese's complaint in regards to MCU movies: Most of them don't feel "personal" because the "directors" are irrelevant and the "studio" (Or Disney) is the one in charge.

Like a restaurant where there could be "too many cooks" because they are not the ones in charge.

I think Disney Star Wars is more like this: Most movies released with dates too close to each other, barely any planning except for coming up with different endings and choosing one with the best test audience approval, had multiple directors, had actors of both new and past generations disappointed with it and interviews that made it seem like executives and others were blaming each other.

Whereas the 6 other movies had larger gaps between release dates and were mainly George Lucas' project, even if he needed people (Be it actors or his wife) to step in and help him, because of his potential misfires.

We're in an age where pop culture continues to be more special to people, even if they know little of it: It's why it's always worth looking into the history of things and the people behind them.

And speaking of history: I guess it's also worth mentioning what Bethesda did to Prey 2, how id somehow had Tim Willits for that long and how Romero wanted to share unused Doom assets but was told to stop.

I think one main reason why people are sad over Mick Gordon's abuse is because of how Doom and id Software were seen in the industry: They were seen as exceptions and most praise came in the form of "unlike other games/devs" etc.

With r/Doom and Twitter, there can be repetition of information and people missing out on more interesting details or insights.

It's why i also had to keep up with Doomworld threads because older internet forums can have a more helpful format that modern internet sites don't (Partially due to being made with phones in mind and the internet being among "normal people" who don't invest much on some topics as much as nerds did).

One can argue that people are ignoring what Mick said in regards to starting an "harassment campaign", even with the counter arguements of costumers voicing concerns.

But i think it's moreso how the information itself is deliverd and/or reacted to.

I just had something in mind and felt like sharing it, even if i misworded some shit or whatever.

And here's an addition:

I keep saying that a new Doom game should take a while to come out because Doom should not be Call of Duty/Assassin's Creed/Pokemon in terms of releases.

And i kinda think Eternal releasing at least 3/4 years after 2016 might be part of the issue with Mick, since he already had other projects like the new Prey, Wolfenstein 2 and Borderlands 3.

[thebleedingwoodland]

Someone on private message said thankful to me for posting the “EA Misinterpretation of China and Chinese Culture in Shang Simla World” that my post was informative and felt sorry for Chinese simmers for bad representation.

I'm sorry too for very late publishing the post to spread the information. It was actually critics I was supposed to complain to EA from year 2015, I did not make my Sim visiting Shang Simla afterwards due to disappointment and forgetting that world. When in 2020 pandemic, I decided write on tumblr. Writing in English language was quite difficult that was why it was long time to write and revise a lot in year 2021, then "forgotten", due to CC publications and uncomfortable incidents happened on my blog. Decided to publish on public to share knowledge to Simming community who are not familiar with Chinese culture. 

I decided to not mention who the person is to protect the person's identity. Glad that to hear the person (from U.K. and said has no Asian ancestry) said already realized the Shang Simla icon is Japanese gate from beginning playing TS3 World Adventures, wondered from long time ago why EA made that mistake.

I tag @yorithesims​ What’s your opinion as Japanese seeing your country’s building icon Torii Gate as icon symbol for Chinese country. Weird, right?  

The person asked again whether the clothing is accurate or not.

For clothing... I do wear Tang suit on Spring Festival or Chinese New Year in real life. Tang suit is for men and although it was from Qing dynasty it's also applicable for usage in modern time with more modernized design.

I use EA's Tang suit for dressing my Sim, Ridwan (he is Indonesian, ethnically Han Chinese descended from Hokkien speaking ancestors from Fujian, China). EA-made Tang suit with short sleeve here is modernized. Traditional Tang suit has long sleeves. 

And for traditional Tang suit with long sleeves converted for child version is HERE.

I have no problem so far with the clothing because TS3 style is cartoony, low poly, yeah I kind of understand the clothing don’t have too much detail with wrinkles. I don’t expect EA TS3 team too much for clothing because I know the employees were too overworked with tight deadlines, working other 2 worlds as well. If it's historically accurate or not, I will say the hanfu is.. too ordinary because its worn by poor peasant in ancient dynasty time but the sleeves are not long enough to cover wrist. 

EA employees must be getting the design from Hong Kong movies they had watched which showing scene of ordinary peasants. If you need more accurate ancient Chinese clothing, better download from actual Chinese CC creators. Hanfu differs in every dynasty, elegant, has complex design and patterns, definitely not resembling simple kimono robe after taking bath. 

Better ask to Simmers from China, Taiwan, Hongkong if you want to know more about hanfu and more traditional Chinese clothing. @pitheinfinite​​ Just in case you come back again to Sims community, please help explaining about traditional Chinese clothing, as you are woman who knows more about female clothing and Chinese history. Thank you in advance. 

As you know, Cheongsam (Cantonese language) or Qipao (Mandarin Chinese language) tight dress showing curvy body you Westerners see actually is modernized/Westernized version. The original Qipao is from Qing dynasty is HERE.

Made by Taiwanese creator, Paulean-R. 

I notified Western CC creator  @murfeelee​ because I've seen her made compilation of TS3 Qipao. Just in case if she needed more information about traditional Chinese clothing, I gave the explanation here.  

Qipao made by EA (No sleeve, long skirt) is too outdated to be honest. I've seen the most popular Qipao among girls has sleeve and short skirt.

Martial arts clothing made by EA is quite alright, that is wushu clothing. Unlike Japanese & Korean martial arts, wushu does not have standard uniform. Usually wushu clothing does not have sash, some have sash on waist. Colors are variable. Japanese & Korean martial arts do have strict discipline policy, must wear white uniform, belt must be worn properly and must obey the teacher. If do not, you will get punishment from the teacher.  

Wushu vs Karate 

Just for your info, Chinese martial arts (wushu) do not implement belt colour system for ranking levels. It's Japanese and Korean martial arts that have white, yellow, green, blue, red, black belt colour. I'm former Taekwondo practitioner. Sash on wushu clothing is just a sash, not belt with ranking levels. 

As bonus here are Misua (Fujian-style wheat vermicelli), Sichuan-style noodles and oolong tea from Fujian I recently bought, they are imported straight from China. 

Real Shang Simla foods are supposed to look like this. I bought product from Taiwan too but because Shang Simla is supposed to depict Mainland China, Taiwanese product is excluded. Hehe. Peace, no war.   ✌️

[succubratty]

Calling out a pedophile

CW: pedophilia/lolisho mention/tons of bad words.

Seriously, if you have a humiliation kink, this post might be for you? Idk.

This happened a week ago; I apologize in advance for this huge ass post that is non-kink related, but tbh I came here to relax and express my kinks and some other thoughts. There’s always some idiot who wants to give you shit, and this happened to be a very disgusting one.

I’ll put a “read me more” because it is a very long post; if you read the entire thing, I’ll thank you in advance too.

Okay, so this asshole came to my blog and made the following comments on my Miss Kobayashi post/review:

Ok pedophile… 

First and foremost: 

You're fucking ridiculous! We were like this with my gf reading your comments:

Second:

Let me say a few words before destroying this twerp: 

A person who gets so upset because I criticized the sexualization of kids in an anime show is a pedo or a pedophile apologist. If you deny this shit, you have a severe problem, and I encourage you to seek medical care, go see a shrink or something; I don't care.

I knew some dumbfuck would give me shit for something like this, but I didn’t think It would be so soon; honestly, the post doesn't even have a month since I wrote it?.

I'm freaking disgusted with your comments. Do you insult and make assumptions in every person's posts about an opinion you don't like? Because that was just my opinion, and you got upset because I called out the pedo culture in anime and manga?

Be thankful that I didn’t touch on the topics of big tits and the objectification of women in the same anime/manga because I also have an opinion towards that, and spoiler alert based on your comments, you’re not going to like it.

You don’t have your age in your bio, so you don’t deserve more attention than these things I’m going to say.

And finally, third:

Let me analyze your two comments piece by piece.

First comment:

“If you hate lolisho/moe culture so much Go to Western Animation!. Wait, you don’t because your fellow neurotics neutered it of much its former charm and creativity.”

What the actual fuck is “lolisho/moe culture!”? You shady motherfucker, a culture that sexualizes little kids? the fact that it is animated or inside a manga doesn't make it less severe, so yeah, if you refer to that as “lolisho/moe culture” I fucking hate it! And it is disgusting how weeb/otaku and western culture had normalized this shit that is seen as “normal” or as a “trope” and that you have to put in your anime to make it work.

Also, as I said in my original post, I blame the sexist and misogynistic Japanese culture too because they let this shit happen over and over; I mean, they banned gay marriage weeks ago. Still, you can marry your Hatsune Miku pillow? (no intention to shame Vocaloid fans here just made an example), but something is not right when nonsense like that happens.

“(...) Go to Western Animation!. Wait, you don’t because your fellow neurotics neutered it of much its former charm and creativity.”

It’s impressive your poor intent of sarcasm, trying to assume that you know me and what kind of animation I consume. I mean, who are my “fellow neurotics”? Me and who “neutered it“ what? In your own words, “Its former charm and creativity”? Can you even elaborate? No, you just dare to leave that shit in the air; you insignificant slag! Like you aren't even able to tell me what is that “charm” and “creativity”?

You talked so much shit in such a small sentence. Still, I assume that the “charm” and “creativity” you refer it has some relation with “lolisho/moe culture.”? Hence “my fellow neurotics” (that I don’t know who they are) “neutered” western animation from their former sexualization of kids? Is that what you are trying to tell me? Ew! You sick bastard.

Second comment:

“And don’t bring your trans status to justify your power-hungry, woke mindset. Your love for ugliness (literal shit and piss) and hatred of cuteness (in this case, lolisho) is your individual problem, trans people can enjoy Moe as much as anyone else.”

Again you’re so freaking pathetic trying to make assumptions like if you knew me, suddenly you, a complete stranger, defined my whole personality based on a post. You better watch out for who you throw hate at because you’re not going to get this free.

“your trans status to justify your power-hungry, woke mindset” 

I’m laughing so hard at this because I receive the same hate from bigots, transphobic and fascist scumbags like you every single day. 

Oh yes! I’m so “power-hungry” that I didn’t even tag the original post with labels from the show, so “power-hungry” that before your two comments, the post only had two likes, give me a break. 

I just wrote my opinion on a matter that disturbs many people who watch anime, and I did it in the best way I can analyze this, which is from a gender studies perspective.

“Woke mindset”? Sure, why not? If your bigoted ass like to call “woke mindset” a call-out on pedophilia and the sexualization of kids in an anime that is one of many others like that, you think you’re so freaking smart, and you don’t have fucking idea what you’re talking about.

“Your love for ugliness (literal shit and piss)” 

First, you came to my post and blog, trying to kink-shame me? So you realized this is my kink blog, and you get to decide what is ugly and beautiful? Because of my sexual preferences and kinks? No FUCKING way! I will not tolerate your stupid rants on my blog, you miserable cunt. If you ever want to make a serious argument, you better find some original ideas and don’t fucking do this.

 “(...) and hatred of cuteness (in this case, lolisho) is your individual problem, (...)” 

Now lolisho equals cuteness? Are you fucking serious? You make me sick because, in my post, I criticized this exact thing.

Lolicon and shotacon are literal a whole genre dedicated to the sexualization of minors; again, the fact that it is designed in a “moé” style doesn't make it less severe.

I never made a rant on the character design or the “cuteness” aspect (the moé style), but it seems you completely IGNORED the: “sexualization of minors” part.

You focused on the idea that I hate cute stuff because I have these kinks. A bold assumption, I must say, because I love cute stuff; what I don’t love and I do hate is:

THE SEXUALIZATION OF MINORS DISGUISED IN CUTE DESIGNS TO MAKE IT MORE BEARABLE/PASSABLE!.

Did I make this clear?

Or do I have to use more giant capital letters for you to understand?. 

“(...) your individual problem (...)”

Besides being a redundant phrase, do you live with your head stuck inside your ass or something?

PEDOPHILIA, IT'S FUCKING WRONG! YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT! 

And the fact that these things are so normalized between some anime and manga consumers is a BIG fucking problem!

If you think this kind of shit doesn’t affect people, maybe you have to start getting out, pop your weeb bubble, and learn some empathy; the only ugly thing here is you and your dumb comments trying to defend the sexualization of minors in an anime show.

“(...) trans people can enjoy Moe as much as anyone else.” 

This last phrase is so fucking funny because you assumed that: 

“As a trans person giving my opinion and criticizing this, I am now a spoken law.” 

Like yeah, sure, champ, now because I gave my opinion on the internet about a Dragon’s Girls show that depicts the sexualization of minors (and that has two likes, no tags, etc., etc.), trans people cannot enjoy this?, because I never said this, what I said and I quote myself:

I'll always be against it; as a trans woman (that often gets seen as a walking fetish), as a transfeminist, as a sex worker making content, and as a professional animator working in this medium, I will always call these things out, and be as consequential as I can.

And yes, animation is my day job, you dim-wit; I know a freaking lot about this industry and how it works; not only it's my day job, I work in politics. I know how pathetic bigoted haters liars like you think; I can fucking destroy the arguments of a bigoted congressman in an IRL situation, and I’m not going to ruin yours?.

Do you think I was born yesterday or something?

So trans ppl can enjoy moé as anyone else? If you refer to moé as a synonym of cuteness and the way character design works in modern manga and anime, of course, they can, you asshole!.

I never said something against that and made an imperative sentence saying such things, so again you’re putting words in my mouth that I never said.

Now, if you refer to “lolisho” stuff, do I have to answer this again?

I didn’t make my point clear already?

Or do you need Windex or some shit to read it more clearly?.

And if you dare to make dumb assumptions about me, my fetishes, and the things I like, you came to the wrong neighborhood, you scumbag!.

I will not tolerate the presence or interaction with people like you on my blog. I erased your comment and blocked you because this issue is not up for debate; not going to allow you to “defend” yourself. I have zero tolerance for losers like you who come here talking shit, and do you think you can get away with it? You’re not outsmarting anyone; even a clown has more dignity. 🤡

So if for some reason you came across to this, and you dear to answer me back, I’m going to delete your puny arguments because you don’t worth the time and effort. Take this post as an example; I was freaking angry with something else, and I just used you as a punching bag; you were a sparring session; you’re nothing.

And this will apply to anyone who dares to do the same.

And I hope this will be my last word on the matter; it is disgusting trying to make an argument with pedos/maps and scumbag like that.

If you are a dear follower/mutual and you read this till the end and agree with most of these things I wrote above, I appreciate it so much.

SuccuBratty

[0aurelion-sol0]

I'm legit starting to wonder if Will could be able to fly in the scenario where he gets or reveals his powers.

Because he literally has characters as inspirations or linked to him that in a way can fly or has flown in some way.

Superman (obvious), [both have a Zombie Boy arc and are connected to American culture. Superman can literally fly at least as fast as the speed of sound.

Their main colors are red and yellow. There's a post about their parallels here.]

Neo (The Matrix), [literally can fly in the simulation and via a ship in the real world (rainbow ship for Will (even more funny when you consider that the Matrix can be interpreted as a trans/queer allegory, now link that to the fact Will might be gay and how his story represents all the hardships that comes through with it 😏🤡.) There's some kind of Superman feel with the way Neo flies.

And of course the color red which is very important in the Matrix is something that represents Will a lot. And of course yellow too for a specific thing 😏. I've already mentioned some of the parallels and aspects to this here and here and I'm not finished.]

Sora (Kingdom Hearts, which literally means "sky" in japanese)

[can fly or levitate via magic and has a literal space ship (rainbow ship). Again the color red and yellow, which are very much present in both Sora and Will. Again mentioned some of the parallels here.]

Ellie Williams (The Last Of Us), [has a dream of flying on a plane even though she has never been on a plane before. Unfortunately, the plane crashes and she wakes up.

Also mentioned some of the parallels here. And multiple others you can find if you search my blog about Ellie and Will.]

Harry Potter

[Can fly on a broomstick, was in a flying car and has a pet owl which can fly and represents wisdom (Will The Wise, in the first episode an owl can be seen behind Will when he is playing D&D with Mike, Lucas and Dustin.). He also flies on Buckbeak, a creature that is called, hippogriff.

Let's also mention Apparition, even if it's more teleportation, it has some sorts of "flying" elements to it. There's also the scar and neck parallel, where Harry is hurt by it when he remembers something traumatic of senses something connected to Voldermort very similar to Will with the MF.]

Bran Stark (Game Of Thrones) [He is a skinchanger, which means he can enter the minds of animals and control them. He often use that with ravens, animals that can fly.

He also had dreams called green dreams, prophetic visions where he was flying. It's quite similar to "truesight" which is what Will has.)

Bastian (The NeverEnding Story). From what I remember and from what I've looked on the internet, Bastian flies on the back of Falkor who is a luckdragon and the first dragon in the series of films. Falkor even helps Bastian in the film to get revenge on his bullies who gave him problems since the beginning.

@kaypeace21 already talked about it in her blog and some of her posts so go look there if you want more information on how this relates to Stranger Things.

William Hope (Outlast) William "Billy" Hope was a patient in an asylum who took part in experiment controlled by an organisation who used the research of an old german scientist for their own project. Through lucid dreams, he can control a shadowy being called The Walrider who can fly and levitate. It even control groups small insects that can fly when they are together.

[I've talked about some of the parallels here.]

And if we have to believe the ST and Netflix crew on Twitter:

Iron Man. [He can literally fly with his armored suits.

Which are most of the time red and yellow, colors associated with Will. There's other parallels with Iron Man, like his relationships with his parents (and their ominous deaths, "car crash" in the MCU, @kaypeace21 this one's for you 😏, the "cave thematic" which relates to Hopper and the whole hurt and trauma aspects to it.]

Doctor Strange. [Well a wizard. So there's that, and he can literally fly and levitate. He's cloak is called Cloak of Levitation.

Can go through dimensions kinda like Will with the Upside Down, and his main color is red just like Will. Strange also controls time and Will has a curious habit of foreshadowing stuff in the series.]

There's probably more but I have not found them yet. If you have any more characters you know have inspired or might have inspired Will's character let us know, let us know.