#but also could apply to most of my japanese fandom interests tbh
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savcir-faire Ā· 1 year ago
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who will punish english localization and subtitling teams for removing japanese honorifics and terms of endearment in the media i consume!!!!!! the subtext an interpersonal dynamics that have been obliterated by having everyone address one another by their first name is unforgivable!!!!! there is nothing more delicious than when a character is pissed off and suddenly changes their form of address from firstname-kun to surname-san!!!! except maybe the thrill of when an excessively formal character accidentally reveals their affection for another character by calling them by their first name no honorific!!!
itā€™s pride and prejudice without the hand flex!!! itā€™s succession written by **r*n s*rk*n!!!! you have stolen my joy and my peace and you will pay!!!!
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mymelancholiesblues Ā· 3 years ago
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No, Mia isnā€™tĀ  "low-tier" compared to Ada (morally speaking, or w/e) ā€“ a measured answer?/essay
So, a couple of Ada haters tried to put up a false symmetry between both of these characters there on twitter, and it inspired me to put my own thoughts down in a more articulate essay as to why that's (Ada's somehow being morally worse than Mia) not sustained by canon in Resident Evil.
standing there, killing time
can't commit to anything but a crime
all the good girls go to hell
'cause even God herself has enemies
and once the water starts to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the Devil on her team. ā•
First things first: let us debunk the false symmetry that they tried to establish between these two characters with extremely distinct archetypes ā€“ and worse, the following replies to this false symmetry and its poor arguments trying to validate it, pointing out that, in fact, no, character B (that would be Ada, btw) ā€“ which is so evidently and ridiculously different from character A (and that would be Mia) ā€“ is, in fact, WAY WORSE than character A, and then proceeding to assert some unsupported propositions about misogyny in Resident Evil (which, tbh, definitely IS a recurring problem in the franchise, but that in this case particularly, little or does not apply AT ALL) and how Ada contributes to "the perpetration of a biological cold war".
Starting with what differentiates Mia from Ada grotesquely: we know NOTHING of Ada's true alliances in RE's world. Mia, however, canonically worked for a group that participated in the importation and exportation as well as the manufacturing, testing and marketing of biological weapons: "The Connections", a CRIMINAL SYNDICATE which, amongst other things, was also involved in money laundering, assassinations as well as weapons and drug trafficking. I don't care at all about Mia, so I don't intend to waste much of my time going on about her role in the plot, but people should've already realized by just that much how infinitely dishonest is to try to put these two characters as "similar" ones, or argue that Ada is somehow worse.
Another detail that shouldn't escape anyone's attention too, are the origins and nationalities of both ā€“ and yes, I intend to briefly bring up racism against eastern-Asian looking characters (a silent plague that takes form by each passing day in all fiction fandoms) and anti-China xenophobia, but for now, hold this tea there just before I drop it: Mia is canonically American, and previously a Texas-state resident; meanwhile, we have no confirmation of Ada's nationality except for her pretty evident Chinese ancestry. But, as I said, hold it there for a while.
i) espionage ā€” the job
red so silent
wait a minute
or just a little while.
what are you looking for? ā•
At all times that Ada's "job" was brought up in this franchise, in ALL of her cameos, she has NEVER been called a mercenary in the original Japanese. She's always referred to as a SPY. Even in RE2R, the most recent title in which she's featured in, the original text of the game makes a point of labelling her as a SPY (and not a mercenary) in the dialogue that transpires between Annette and Leon.
It's the North-American translation and correspondent localization that now and then falls for the equivocal use of this other term. This distinction is important since espionage NECESSARILY implies operating in an organized service for, perhaps a country, or a political cause, or a class/group, or a corporation, or whatever. While a mercenary is someone who's acting per their self financial interests, indiscriminately selling their specialized "labour" and skills to anyone who'll offer more.
Ada's not a mercenary, she's a spy. But Mia, in addition to being hired to a canonically criminal company, was also the handler personally assigned to Eveline. I don't care how exactly Mia got in that predicament but the fact is: Mia was canonically employed by a company that profited over illicit activities and directly watched as a family was destroyed and toyed with by this new killing machine (Eve). Yet, we can't state for sure that we know to whom or to what Ada is truly affiliated with.
ii) sources ā€” check them
who's a heretic now?
am I making sense?
how can you make it stick?
and I'm on a trial
waiting 'til the beat comes out. ā•
This fandom should put a little more thought into which translation and localization of the game texts, dialogues and files they are using to support their arguments. I know that in some cases the United States people have a bit of an inclination to think of themselves as the owners of the planet and deem English as the only language that matters in this world, but let's not forget that RE is a Japanese franchise (wow, insane, right?!). Therefore, the most valid script, with the greatest amount of details, and highest credibility, is the Japanese original. Throughout these years, there have been several errors in translation and localization of the Japanese original to North-American English. And, believe me, curiously enough, plenty of those concern Ada, since she's often mentioned or referred to in a very vague way ā€“ without the use of pronouns or adjectives or adverbs that could help in indicating gender. This ended up causing those details and mentions to her to get overlooked, even though in the Japanese text it was a clear reference to her character (per observation of context).
iii) the good guys ā€” one of
head in the dust
feet in the fire
labour on that midnight wire
listening for that angel choir
you got nowhere to run
careful son, you got dreamers plans
but it gets hard to stand. ā•
Yes, as much as haters try to minimize it, it is SIGNIFICANT that Ada saved so many important characters and stood for unquestionably heroic actions in so many moments - like stopping everything she was doing so she could help completely random Chinese civilians with the helicopter she managed to pilot in that chaos in China (yeah, I know you haters love to forget about this, but it happened, it's there in canon, and no, it wasn't her direct OR indirect responsibility what was going on in China: REPLAY RE6 and for the love of GOD, never again argue that what she did was somehow "the equivalent of evacuating a city after selling a WMD to destroy that same city". It's a case of pure intellectual dishonesty to say such a thing. It's canon that Carla was the one who caused what happens in China, PLEASE, PLAY RE6).
Furthermore, Ada shows compassion on some occasions even for characters who are directly putting her in harms ways, like Annette (in RE2 OG, right after - in order to defend herself - she slaps Annette leading her to lose balance and collapse over the sewers fences, Ada makes an effort in trying to pull Annette back and prevent her from falling) and Carla.
Replay RE4 and pay attention to it, pay attention to her solo campaign: getting involved with Leon's journey in Spain hasn't brought any real benefit to her mission or herself: Ada deviates from her main path several times due to worrying about him and trying to help him and almost ends up dead in several of these occasions over her insistence in doing so: by saving him from Bitores Mendez, by helping him and Ashley against Sadler, by confronting Krauser and stopping him.
It's so lazy to only read/listen to a file in which she says in English that "Leon might be useful to her plans" (this is way more nuanced in the Japanese original of Ada's Report), and ignore everything that was SHOWN in the game: every effort she made to ensure that Leon could rescue Ashley, remove the parasite from his and her bodies, and escape from that hell-island.
The jet-ski she left for their escape was ALREADY there before she was captured by Sadler (or you think she arranged it while she was caught?). Leon having to intervene and save her from Sadler WASN'T her plan. It WASN'T her plan to take the sample from Leon's hands. She wanted to help him get out of there with Ashley and she guaranteed he could do so, she wanted to get the sample by herself and escape too while sending that hell to kingdom's come. But, because she chose to help Leon rescue Ashley right in front of Sadler, she ends up captured.
On her end, Mia never did anything minimally compared to that, and all of her "selflessness" or self-sacrificing actions involved a much, MUCH smaller scope than Ada's: wanting to help her husband and HERSELF is not at all comparable to saving a few dozens of unknown Chinese civilians. So no, they aren't "cut from the same cloth". They don't come from the same place, nor do they share the same intentions or goals, and their contributions to the RE storyline are quite different.
iv) unknown true purpose (shades of grey)
lining up in the background
waiting for the crowd shot to be seen
in the shadow of the big screen
everybody begs to be redeemed. ā•
In databooks, Ada is recurrently described as "a Chinese spy with extraordinary physical abilities, vigorous health and composed mind and spirit, capable of coping with grim situations and handling even the most difficult requests without losing composure". If we are paying attention to the storytelling ingame, however, we know that this isn't always the case: Ada did let her mask of unswerving emotional and physical strength fall and showed a very fragile side under strenuous circumstances a couple of times already.
Also, in these databooks, they often point out that "she has her own 'true purpose' and has FREQUENTLY betrayed organizations and clients to achieve it". Huh, we can AGAIN, by this only, see how completely different she's from Mia, who personally watched an entire family being driven to insanity by Eveline's hand.
Furthermore, in these databooks, it's often said that "this true purpose is still obscure and whether she truly cared for anyone or simply used her charms to manipulate people that crossed paths with her isn't ever clear". If people are willing to be open-minded and exercise their text comprehension skills, though, they'll see that in multiple occasions of emotional confrontation it has been established time and time again that yes, Ada DOES care. She wasn't capable of shooting Leon and there has been a couple of other times that failing to choose a cool, sociopathic calculation and pragmatical demeanour over empathy and humanity towards others has put her in harms ways: nonetheless she still chose it.
v) positive impact
I'm gonna break the cycle
I'm gonna shake up the system
I'm gonna destroy my ego. ā•
To this point, RE's plot systematically leads us to believe that Ada has been covertly acting behind the scenes of multiple biological incidents COLLECTING INFORMATION (the job of a spy, who would've thought! lmao), that is valuable to numerous organizations, companies, groups and different contexts, but at the same time of allegedly offering to handle this knowledge for the right price to the big players involved with bioterrorism and clandestine trading of bioweapons, she's also working to sabotage said players.
This is evident throughout the franchise: she intended to hurt Umbrella's business. She outwitted and deceived Wesker multiple times. She even undermined Simmons, someone who was in a position of power in the US government and actively using that position to lead bioterrorist ventures on the parallel side.
There's no concrete evidence or hint as to what she does with the information she collects, and for all purposes and effects, I can presume that she's gathering this knowledge to assist in the discovery of countermeasures and vaccination studies. I might as well argue that she is a Chinese spy who is working against European and North-American capitalism and the imperialism that creates such monsters like the biochemical and bioweapons industry and that her real objective is to dismantle the market for bioweapons and bioterror supported mainly by the USA (see: Simmons and The Family).
That is, as long as it is unclear what her true purpose is, I have the freedom to surmise whatever the heck I want and that all of what she's been doing was for the sake of the greater "good" - and I'll even have canon moments to support this reasoning as it's clear that she regularly sabotages her customers (customers that are unquestionably established as playing for the "evil" side, with perverse intentions) - throughout the franchise. She did this on RE2, RE4, RE6 and Damnation. It's there, transparent in canon, people just choose to ignore it.
She laughs in the face of whoever she's talking to by the end of Damnation, saying she doesn't intend to deliver the Plaga; she scoffs at Simmons; she betrays Wesker and kills Krauser. She had been sabotaging Wesker for so long, that he sent Krauser to be the main agent in the mission in Spain, and Ada was just a "side effect" that he didn't have in control and had to keep an eye on, so he ordered Krauser to keep tabs on her. It's not a mutually beneficial dynamic. Ada doesn't want Wesker to succeed, she despises him; this is clear in the games in which they interact. There are even files that indicate that she was trying to double-cross and get in the way of his plans for at least 2 years before Spain, and he was constantly catching up with her. See here and here.
On her end, Mia was employed by and consciously working for a criminal syndicate.
vi) a (secretly) helping hand
oh, I'm a master pretender
just felt more alone
the further I'd go
but I'll stick around
I'll be your master defender
yeah, I'll stick around. ā•
Ada approached characters such as John Clemens and Luis Sera, and both had a canonical intention to, in addition to putting an end to their connections with the criminal companies and organizations they've been working for, also expose and denounce them for their crimes. It's in this context that Ada comes into contact with them. And why is that?
Check John's background: he had made up his mind about disclosing Umbrella's crimes to the public. Check Luis' background: Ada went to Spain to assist in his extradition since he feared for his own life if he resolved to turn his back on the cult of Los Illuminados, and also dreaded the consequences of the liberation of Las Plagas on an international scale.
Keep in mind that Ada handed over to Wesker a USELESS Plaga sample. Wesker only got the sample currently circulating in the underground market because he went after Krauser's body. We don't know what Ada did with the master Plaga sample she obtained. We only know from Ada's Report and the Plaga Recovery file that she didn't deliver it to Wesker, and he needed to go out for a plan B to get it.
Even the G-Virus sample that fell into the hands of the clandestine business, it's possible to argue that Ada's involvement in it was flimsy, since Simmons CANONICALLY made over a thousand laboratory tests in Sherry, and, as we know, he was a leading figure in bioterrorism and bioweapons trading with the aid of his position in the US government.
But, guess what, Ada clearly is a non-white character with obvious Chinese heritage and Mia is white, so of course, OF COURSE, someone can so nonchalantly affirm that Ada, this "vile bitch", is somehow WORSE than Mia. The same Mia who watched the Bakers being destroyed. Right.
Also: trying to validate one's point by claiming anything related to the misogyny present in RE franchise, while IN THE SAME BREATH AND TWEET reducing Ada's entire character arc to that of "a sociopathic bitch cured by the magic dick of her love interest" is supposed to be a joke, right? No, really. Joke.
conclusion and a word against misogyny
we are waiting on a telegram to
give us news of the fall
I am sorry to report
dear Paris is burning after all
we have taken to the streets
in open rejoice, revolting
we are dancing a black waltz
fair Paris is burning after all. ā•
To any Ada fan that has been reading this so far: PLEASE, I ask to consider refraining to use the "oh yes, Ada did some bad shit, bUT" take to defend the character because that isn't sustained by canon in RE, lmao. She didn't do anything evil that had an indisputable bad impact on the plot and other characters arcs. For one, I myself do love some villains, but that isn't the case with Ada.
She did do some unconventional shit yes, since she's a morally GRAY character and an anti-heroine, but by the end of the day, each and every action of hers had a positive impact on the journey of other characters and main plot. Just pay attention to it.
Like idk man, Black Widow, Elektra Natchios, Scarlet Witch and Black Cat from Marvel, Catwoman from DC, Yennefer from The Witcher (some pop culture examples that come to mind).
Saying that this is an "extremely selfish prototypal bad bitch except when it comes to the magical redeeming dick of her love interest" it's a grotesque reduction of a complex female character, and, in its attempt to critique the misogyny present in RE's franchise an expression of misogyny in itself.
Remember: Ada has actions and impact on the franchise ASIDE and IN ADDITION to her romantic involvement with Leon.
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obsessivedilettante Ā· 5 years ago
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20 in 10: A Drama Retrospective
Since Iā€™ve been all quiet on the drama front this year because of life reasons, I thought it would be fun to go back and pick out 20 of the most memorable dramas of the last decade. Maybe not necessarily the bestĀ dramas or even my favorites (although some are!), but two dramas each year that were somehow notable moments in my drama-watching timeline.
2009: Gateway Drugs
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Boys over Flowers (KBS)
This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a good drama. It is not one I think I can ever really rewatch (although I will happily revisit the 2005 Japanese version, and I had a hellava fun time watching the latest Chinese version). But! It was the first kdrama I remember watching, and the first step on the slippery slope of eventually becoming a Drama Addict. I mostly remember it being crazy popular on places like mysoju (RIP), and so I checked it out due to curiosity, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or, should I say, almost paaaaradise!
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Youā€™re Beautiful (SBS)
This one I also watched because it became crazy-popular online, and curiosity got the better of me. I really didnā€™t know much about k-pop prior to dramas, so I had no idea until after this drama that k-pop was more about pretty people in crazy fashion, dancing in syncopation in bizarrely lit rooms, rather than playing instruments. Because it was thanks to this drama that I got my crash-course on k-pop as a phenomenon -- both the fandom side, and the crazy things that artists have to go through to claw their way into the publicā€™s view (nevar 4get the glorious ramen dance). Since Angel was a group that played instruments, and Hongki and Yonghwa were also from groups that played instruments, I assumed that allĀ kpop were groups that played instruments. Oh, sweet summer child...
But it did get me started on my k-pop journey, first falling in love with FT Island and CNBLUE, before falling into the rabbit hole of the other prominent groups of the day. (SNSD! The Wonder Girls! Super Junior! DBSK! SS501! Kara! 2PM! 2AM! Shinee! BEG! Epik High! U-KISS! All the debut groups, like 2NE1, MBLAQ, B2ST, 4Minute, f(x), T-ara, After School... basically 2009 was a magical year in k-pop.)
If I had just watched Boys Over Flowers, I donā€™t know that I would have become a Drama Addict. But Youā€™re Beautiful pushed me closer to the edge, with the zany humor of the Hong Sisters (and the desire for a pig-bunny of my own!). It would really be Coffee Prince that would push me over the edge, but that aired in 2007 so it doesnā€™t count for this list. But I had to mention it anyway, because, well, itā€™s Coffee PrinceĀ and where my love for Handsome Oppa began.
2010: More Than Candy
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The Woman Who Wants To Marry (MBC)
A lot of the dramas I watched at first had that typicalĀ ā€œCandyā€ character, the poor-but-scrappy girl who would somehow be saved by the guy and become the Cinderella she never knew she wanted to be. So it was a delight when I encountered women who were not only older than high-school-age or early twenties, but in their thirties, with rich full lives! Plus, this was one of my earliest introductions to the concept of theĀ ā€œnoona romanceā€ (a concept that Iā€™ve since heartily embraced, of course). I started it primarily because Kim Bum was my favorite of the Flower Boys, but I stuck with it because I fell in love with the women (and I still have a girl-crush on Bu-ki).
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Harvest Villa (tvn)
This show is insane. But in the good way, the way that the writer intended, and not in theĀ ā€œare a bunch of monkeys typing this script?ā€ train-wreck way. There was basically no buzz about this show, and I feel like I somehow accidentally stumbled over it, but it was love at first sight. Iā€™ve never forgotten the late hours binging it, being so sucked into the story that I absolutely had to finish it as soon as I could, disappointed that there wasnā€™t more of it to enjoy when I finally finished, bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, but satisfied.
I then later gobbled down this writerā€™s next drama, and her next drama, and the next, until everyone else finally realized thanks to Signal that Kim Eun-hee was as amazing a writer as I kept insisting to anyone who would listen (aka no one).
2011: To Binge or Not To Binge?
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White Christmas (KBS)
I did not watch White Christmas in 2011. I actually watched it in 2013. I was always a steadfast binger, preferring to wait until the buzz about a show would sway me into spending my precious free-time watching something that would be worth my while (not that my drama choices were always good, but at least I tried to avoid the duds). I still prefer to binge, since waiting weeks for new episodes is vaguely frustrating when I want to know what happens next, right now! Plus, Iā€™m very good at forgetting that Iā€™m watching a show in the week-long wait for new episodes, and then just... never picking it back up again.
Despite watchingĀ White ChristmasĀ a couple years after it aired, it remains one of my favorites, and one I love to rewatch, even though Iā€™ve already experiencedĀ  whodunnit cliff-hangers and psychological rollercoasters. It became a tradition of sorts here on tumblr for a bunch of us to rewatch it over the holiday season -- alas, I havenā€™t joined in that tradition for the past couple of years, but I hope that somewhere in this blue hell hole that there are a loyal few keeping the tradition alive.
At least we have this drama to thank for bringing us all the model-actors that were new and clueless in White Christmas,Ā but would later go on to be leading men in their own right. Of course, some of them havenā€™t exactly made the best drama choices (*cough*SungJoon*cough*), but then there are others (*cough*SooHyuk*cough*) that Iā€™m impatiently waiting for to pick up a new drama so I can see those post-army abs.
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Tree With Deep Roots (SBS)
This is the first drama that I recall live-watching. I vaguely remember regretting it at the time, since it was agony waiting for new episodes, but it was also fun to have a week to speculate and ponder the show. And what a beautiful show to ponder! This was also one of the few sageuks I actually watched, being generally intimidated by anything longer than 16-20 episodes, and my historical knowledge was a little shaky (before embracing my inner nerd and diving into mundane historical stuff just so I could better understand whatever drama I was watching at the time).
I donā€™t think I intended to continue live-watching shows, preferring the ease of binging at my own pace and schedule. But that was when I was still a casual, innocent addict, and not someone who would eventually make dramas a huge part of her life.
2012: The Joy of Overthinking
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Gaksital (KBS)
Having had a taste of live-watching, I started to live-watch enough dramas to the point where I began to make notes about the premiere weeks. It was only a couple at a time, and binging was still my preferred way to watch, but now I was delighting in being part of the fandom, sharing in speculation each week, posting my thoughts on dramas and analyzing them to my heartā€™s content -- even though I knew no one except me would read my ridiculous essays.
But I started to feel more comfortable sharing my opinion with the world, interacting with fandom and not merely content to be a consumer, but gradually becoming a producer as well.
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Reply 1997 (tvN)
This is it. This is when I went full-on Drama Addict. This is the tipping point from casual fan who quietly kept to herself, to becoming someone who stood on the mountain top yelling about ALL THE DRAMAS ALL THE TIME. I began to interact with other fans! To swap theories and share squee-worthy moments! I even watched episodes RAW just because of how desperate I was to know what happened, and even though the Busan accent stumped me more than once, it made me realize that my casual study of Korean was something to take seriously since I understood more than I gave myself credit for.
It was also the first time any post I made got more than a handful of notes, since Iā€™d mostly hovered in the ā€œless than 10 notes per postā€ category at the time. I was so proud of myself back then!
(This drama also notably marks the start of my Hoya obsession, which continues to this day.)
2013: Tumblr Friends (and Foes)
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Flower Boy Next Door (tvN)
Having made myself comfortable on tumblr as a Drama Addict, I then discovered some other dedicated fans -- many of which I still follow to this day and who are now just a permanent part of my dash, no matter what their current interests may be -- in the FBND squad.
But I also discovered Kim Seul-gi as the Webtoon Editor (who I still love and adore and continue to use as my avatar), and her adorable romance with Dong-hoon remains one of my forever OTPs. As much as I enjoyed the drama romances, Iā€™d never fallen so deeply for one to be so obsessed by it as I was Webtoon Editor and Dong-hoon. And tbh I still am. Theyā€™re just so adorable and pragmatic and she buys him a bag. Ugh. I love her so much, you guys.
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Heirs (SBS)
Ah, yes. This hot mess.
I donā€™t know what possessed me to live-blog each episode. But I did. With snarky commentary and terrible screencaps. And suddenly I went from maybe 200 followers to over a 1000. That was a total shock! I met a lot of people because of that (and made some friends, as well as a few enemies who didnā€™t appreciate my opinion of certain characters), and ensconced myself as part of the drama-blogging crew.
It was from this that someone suggested I apply to be a minion at Dramabeans. Back then, I had a lot more free time than I do now, and I was watching a lot of dramas that Dramabeans didnā€™t cover, and wished they did so I could read more opinions about those shows. So I thought,Ā ā€œEh, why not? It canā€™t hurt to submit something because the worst that would happen is Iā€™d waste their time making them read my take on episode 10 of Letā€™s Eat.ā€
I fully expected them to turn me down. No one was more surprised than I was when I found myself agreeing to dive into the world of recapping.
2014: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
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Trot Lovers (KBS)
Recapping. It seems so easy when youā€™re reading the recaps. But actually creating them is a bitch. Hours out of my life were spent on this disaster of a trope-laden show with no plot. This was the third show I worked on for Dramabeans, and I hatedĀ it to the point where I seriously considered handing in my notice. (Immediately following up this show with the mediocreĀ My Secret Hotel certainly didnā€™t help matters!)
However, it turns out that what I actually hated was being forced to watch a terrible rom-com and pretend to come up with insightful-or-at-least-neutral thoughts about it (since we were still new and couldnā€™t go full-on snark yet).
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Misaeng (tvN)
This is what saved me. Being given the chance to immerse myself in such a unique, ponderous, thoughtful show restored my faith in dramas and the drama community. I loved spending hours on this show, soaking up all the little details, and then sharing that love with the world.
Misaeng made dramas magical again.
2015: Fight Me
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Valid Love (tvN)
Realizing that I only seemed to enjoy rom-coms at arm-length, I discovered that my tastes often ran counter to the general drama-viewing public. Not allĀ the drama-viewing public -- Iā€™m not aĀ ā€œnot like other fansā€ kind of fan -- but enough that I began to realize the whether a drama was popular or had good buzz was not necessarily the primary reason to watch it.
I began to have more faith in my own taste, based on past experiences with various writers and directors. Even if the premise (or first couple of episodes) seemed kind of weird and out-there, I at least wanted to give these artists the benefit of the doubt that I would enjoy their work, like I had previously.
So many people seemed to hate Valid Love, but I adored it. Still do (and still desperately wish Kim Do-woo would come out with a new drama -- it has been too long, writer-nim!). There were a lot of opinions about this show, even among people who seemed to enjoy it, but I vividly recall having to repeatedly insist that it wasnā€™t about the romance and argue thatĀ Ā the knee-jerk infidelity-is-BAD opinions should make space for something more nuanced.
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Ho-guā€™s Love (tvN)
DramaFever was a pretty great site. It brought together so many drama fans and gave them a place where they could legally (and without fear of downloading random viruses) watch dramas to their heartā€™s content. Yes, there may have been some lingering resentment that they were the primary reason that so many amazing other sites were shut down (RIP mysoju and daebaeksubs), but dramas were more accessible than ever!
Eventually, DramaFever started to sub shows themselves and upload them weekly (instead of just using fansubs and uploading older dramas), and while they werenā€™t the bestĀ translations, they were at least better than machine translations from the Chinese subs. As I became more and more familiar with Korean, I found myself more likely to migrate to Viki since I liked the extra detailed translations. I could get the gist of a show without any help -- I wanted to instead delve into the nitty-gritty of the language.
But I never really hated DramaFever or felt they were particularly awful. Until they mistranslated something so terribly that it changed the entire meaning of a scene and ruined peopleā€™s perception of a drama, forcing me to continually defend the true translation.
That was the molehill I died on that day, and never again did I touch DramaFever. I feel bad that it eventually got unceremoniously shuttered. But I donā€™t think Iā€™ll ever forgive them for the ā€œcondomā€ incident.
2016: Free Solo
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Dear My Friends (tvN)
For two years Iā€™d been happily working on one episode a week, sharing a show with someone else, until I was asked if Iā€™d like to tackle a show by myself. I wasnā€™t sure how I could handle it, but I had the time in my schedule so I said,Ā ā€œSure, why not?ā€
I was originally going to recapĀ Another Oh Hae-young, but there was a last-minute switcheroo, and Iā€™m so incredibly glad because this is perhaps my favorite recapping experience of all time, even more so than Misaeng. There was something so special about the luxury of having an entire show to myself, especially one with such a fantastic cast of characters and thoughtful themes. I didnā€™t have to try and figure out if I agreed with another personā€™s take -- it could all be my opinion.
Is that arrogant? Perhaps. But it was also therapeutic, as it reminded me once again how incredible and amazing dramas could be, and the privilege I had to share such an exquisite and thought-provoking drama with the rest of the world.
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The Good Wife (tvN)
Surprisingly, this was what I had really wanted to recap that year, and the true reason I got Dear My Friends, since it aired just prior in the same time-slot as The Good Wife. I was desperate to have this show, willing to do anything to get it because I needed to see Jeon Do-yeon back on the small screen, to see Yoo Ji-tae smolder, to know how Korea would adapt such an ambitious show.
And I wasnā€™t disappointed! This is, perhaps, my favorite adaption of another work of art that Iā€™ve seen in dramaland. It remained true to Korean sensibilities, but it also properly felt like The Good Wife. The cast was phenomenal. The costumes were exquisite. I wished I could spend more time in that world.
But I was also thankful, because without The Good Wife, I would have never have had Dear My Friends.Ā 
2017: Serial-Killers Are Cool
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Voice (OCN)
I canā€™t remember how I got assigned to this. Maybe it was a scheduling thing. I do know that I really, really wanted it, since it would be Handsome Oppaā€™s first drama appearance in three years.
But it started me down a road of recapping a lot of serious and serial-killer-centric shows. Except for the times when Iā€™d beg for a break and tackle something lighter, I was generally assigned the darker mystery shows with meaty plots, since apparently I had a knack for condensing complicated shows into something that made sense. (Also literallyĀ darker, and I eventually learned to automatically brighten every screencap I posted. Youā€™re welcome.)
Not only did I love working on something with Handsome Oppa, I also had fun recapping the start of what would eventually become OCNā€™s stock-in-trade -- creepy serial killers. At the time, Voice shattered OCNā€™s viewer ratings (which would then be shattered again and again as more people would tune in to OCN shows). But Voice really helped put OCN on the viewership map -- as well as catapult Handsome Oppa into the public eye and lead him to a path of getting to choose whatever script he wanted to work on.
(Okay, maybe I made that last bit up, but he did begin to garner a larger following and remind everyone that just because he was gone from dramaland for so long, he hadnā€™t lost his acting chops -- or charisma -- or cheekbones.)
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Black (OCN)
Oh, this show. It was basically my whole life while it was airing (well, the non-day-job part of my life). Each episode was over an hour long and jam-packed full of details that were pertinent to the story, and I had to somehow condense that all into 3000 words or less (I was not always, ah, successful...). It felt like I was back in recapping bootcamp, but the dial had been turned up to 11.
Iā€™m weirdly proud of what I produced (although youā€™ll never get me to reread my old work). It was one of the most challenging shows to work on, but in the goodĀ way, not the Trot LoversĀ way.
Until the ending, that is. Sigh. That ending will live in infamy. I still, to this day, will get a few comments on the finale from people who watched it on Netflix, went searching online for an explanation of the end, and then discovered that they were not alone in being confused by the utter wtf-ery of the last twenty minutes.
2018: Fighting For My Love
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Misty (JTBC)
So, Dramabeans kind of disappeared for a few months. Well, the site was still live. There were a handful of recaps. But... it basically just... stopped.Ā 
Those of us on the other side know about as you do as to why that happened. Minions are kept in the dark just as much as anybody, it seems. All we knew is that we werenā€™t being assigned anything and we seriously wondered if the site was going under, since adsense has become worthless these days.
But Mary and I kept talking about how much we adored Misty and were sad that we couldnā€™t talk about it with the world (and convince them to watch it with us), so we pleaded and begged and got the go-ahead to do a kind of chattyĀ ā€œopen threadā€ which has apparently been a spring-board format for other shows. We didnā€™t get paid for this, and we were totally fine with that. We just wanted to provide some kind of content (while swooning over Kim Nam-jooā€™s pantsuits!).
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Letā€™s Eat 3 (tvN)
This was my first real assignment after the dead period, and I once again got to do full recaps (with pay!). I started watching, thinking Iā€™d merely tolerate the show (since I loved the first season vastly more than the second season), but it turned out to be my favorite of the three. Plus it felt fortuitous that the series I had submitted my application would be a series Iā€™d work on four years later.
Sometimes itā€™s nice to spend time with a character you met years ago, to see them grow, to see how they became what they became. Drama trends (and love interests) will come and go, but Goo Dae-youngā€™s love of food (and love of explaining the proper way to eat food) will never change. It was a really comforting drama for me to spend my summer on, and Iā€™ll remember it fondly, even if Iā€™m forever sad that it had to suddenly wrap-up two episodes early.
2019: Ten Years Later
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Item (MBC)
This was the Trot Lovers of 2019. It was a nonsensical disaster.
I also had the added chaos of my real-life job -- one very different from the one I had when I was working on Trot Lovers -- as it began to increase exponentially in responsibilities and in stress. I reached a breaking point where I began to hate opening my computer where Iā€™d have to spend hours attempting to explain a show that I wanted nothing to do with. I was miserable and depressed and couldnā€™t do it anymore. I never before asked to be taken off a show because I hated it so much, but thereā€™s a first for everything.
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Her Private Life (tvN)
I actually havenā€™t finished this show -- Iā€™ve yet to watch the last two episodes. But Iā€™m including it because, well, I didnā€™t finish anyĀ other show in 2019 except for Item.
As some of you may know, this has been a difficult year. It started with the unexpected stress of my job, when we suddenly lost one of our directors who passed away, and another director was let go (in a complicated situation that is ongoing, but the important thing is that it was during our busiest time when we really couldnā€™t afford to lose anyone), and another director left for a different job and I was basically the one to pick up all the pieces she left behind. It was exhausting and we were all past the breaking point but somehow miraculously holding it together.
I was looking forward to finally getting a much-needed vacation in September, and then, well, you all know how that went: the first night, on our layover in New Zealand before what was supposed to be three weeks in Australia, my father was taken to the hospital, and then, two days later, he passed away. Life has gotten even moreĀ chaotic and stressful and bizarre since then.
So no, I havenā€™t finished this drama, but it was one of the most wonderful moments of the year for me, watching this fizzy rom-com with my favorite actor, where he got to be charming and handsome and charismatic and finally kiss the girl he loves and have her love him back (and not die or be dumped, as he had been in so many dramas that had gone before). Lion Oppa was everything my heart could desire, and living in his world helped me endure the insanity that I wish Iā€™d known would seem so much more tolerable than what would eventually befall.
Her Private LifeĀ reminded me of when I first fell in love with dramas ten years ago, when I would giggle and be delighted by the charming nonsense on screen -- of beautiful people falling in love and fighting against the obstacles between them (some more ridiculous than others, perhaps, but there are always obstacles), and ending up happily ever after. Pure escapism, of the frothiest kind.
A Drama-filled Decade
So, after ten years of dramas, what is the takeaway? What have I learned?
I suppose Iā€™ve learned to trust my instincts and put more faith in writers and directors than actors. That analyzing dramas is fun, and itā€™s even more fun sharing it with others, and sometimes even moreĀ fun if you get paid to do it -- but everyone eventually reaches a breaking point. That Iā€™m too earnest and optimistic to embrace a life of snark. That I want every drama to be good but most of them arenā€™t, except sometimes they are. That Iā€™m not even sure which genres are my favorite; I just know what I donā€™t like.
That dramas are best as escapism, and not as work.
I donā€™t know how many dramas Iā€™ll watch in 2020. I havenā€™t paid any attention to whatā€™s airing, and Iā€™m okay with that. Perhaps Iā€™m entering a new phase in my life, or perhaps I just donā€™t have the capacity to escape right now.
But I am pleased to have had dramas in my life, and to have eventually made them my hobby. Iā€™ve met a lot of amazing people and made some genuine friends through a shared love of dramas (or, at times, a shared hatred). Iā€™m honored that all of you are still here and following me, even during this period of fandom silence.
May 2020 treat us all better, and may Kim Do-woo finally write another script.
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jujyfru1t Ā· 7 years ago
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hello my name is *yells about Furuba*
I dunno what Iā€™m doing but I have Feelings so let me rant about them, by me.
Some of y'all may not know that Fruits Basket is my favorite series on the planetā€“ well you do now. That comes with a caveat of favorite manga, not favorite anime (that honor goes to either Noragami or Chihayafuru, with Madoka Magica as an honorable mention). I do also love the anime dearly! But comparing them is like apples and oranges, horses of different colors, etc etc, not least because the anime was made before the manga was barely halfway through. futile hope springs eternal for a full remake. So most of my feels rant will be manga-centric although the general feels apply to the anime, and uh there may be spoilers idk itā€™s been out for a long time???
The first volume came out in the US five days after my *deep breath* 15th birthday. I got it for the next yearā€™s bday present from my big sis, aaaand that was when the gates of otaku/manga hell swallowed me up (I was somehow unaware that Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh were also Japanese pop culture, go figure.) I have no memory of how I found the animeā€“ my anime-bittorrent-whateverthefuck knowledge was nonexistent but I donā€™t think it was airing live. I got the box set for some Christmas but that wouldā€™ve been after I was a massive fan so *shrug*
Anyway I watched the dub first and holy hell if I wasnā€™t planning to marry Yuki Sohma before then I definitely was after that, thanks Eric Vale. (I still have huge love for the dub cast fight me). Yun-chan was my first 2D crush and tbqh Iā€™m still in love with him. Also I stg heā€™s the whole reason why pretty boys are a Big Thing of mine. And wait omg Shigureā€™s first appearance?! Like, thatā€™s probably why dudes with glasses are also My Thing wow I just blew my own mind but moving on
Fun fact I couldnā€™t choose between Kyoru or Yukiru bc they were both cute (present me@young me: u will realize eventually grasshopper) but I was 100% cool with Kyoru happening because of course then I could be with Yuki. Cue me dabbling in a few paragraphs of self-insert fic.
uh lemme cut this itā€™s becoming a novel
Random things (this whole thing is random wtf):
I was blessed enough to get my hands on the entire Tokyopop run, plus the fanbooks!!! before they shut down. Iā€™ve been warring with myself for ages over whether to start collecting the Yen Press specials but. my resolve is weakening. I also have all of Takaya-senseiā€™s other stuff yeet (Phantom Dreams, Those with Wings, Songs to Make You Smile) except for Twinkle Stars which Iā€™m def gonna get and OBVIOUSLY THE INSTANT FURUBA ANOTHER COMES OUT IM GRAB meanwhile if I remember to check out the scans
been a while since I reread it(itā€™ll be my third one~) but off the top of my head some favorite arcs etc are: obviously the major one at the end of vol 6. The Red Cap. Hatori and Kana (RIP ME) The Summerhouse (Jason the bear jfc). Akitoā€™s reveal. Kyoko and Katsuyaā€™s entire thing obviously (EXTRA RIP ME Iā€™m crying just thinking about it). ā€œThe plum on your backā€ scenes. Kyo and Kyoko. THAT FIRST NEW YEARā€™S WHEN YUKI AND KYO RACE BACK TO THE MAIN HOUSE BECAUSEtheir girlfriend MY DAUGHTER IS SAD AND LONELY AND THEY MAKE WISHES ON THE ROOF heck me uppppā€“ also literally all roof scenes (karate kid Tohrutm) BUT THAT ONE HHGBNCCSV!!! Also my fav episode along with the AU-ish final 2.
Furuba fandom is my biggest fleet of ships by far which is hilarious bc I have a lot of fandoms and a lot of ships and you can see them bc iā€™m a derp but since nobody looks at that and nobody will read this (?) Iā€™ma talk about them here. I DO WANT I WANT YO
but seriously I support
literally all the canon ships except HanaxShishou, pardon me Takaya-sensei but why. Wtaf.
a metric fuckton of non-canon ships bc of COURSE I DO
my low-key ships include
MomijixKagura. pairing the spares if you will XD
KaguraxTohru
RinxTohru. yes I have bi Tohru headcanons mmkay
Future!Kisa/Tohru (blame this fic)
KyoxUo.
YukixHana. all symmetrical-like (but wow i forgot i highkey shipped it for a while untilā€¦)
GurexAaya. like, come on. Also poly Mabudachi Trio
MomijixTohru. theyā€™re super hecking cute ok, edging into high-key
my high-key ships include
HanaxUo. ok this??? is a big OTP, and 99% why Iā€™m hella salty over HanaxShishou (at least KurenoxUo had an actual subplot!!). They are Tohruā€™s adoptive moms and I will forever protec (and yet. HanaxTohru and girls OT3 are also Good Ships but tbh super low-key) also I MADE SOMEONE SHIP IT
YukixTohru. see the start of this post way up there somewhere
KyoxYuki. my first rivalshiptm
HaruxYuki. ā€œHe was my first loveā€ one cannot simplyā€“ have a character say this and not expect fans to ship. Also bi Haru is canon. lotta bi folks up in here imo
KakeruxYuki. CUTE GODDAMN DORKS WOW
But my flagship, my OTP to end all OTPs and my polyship to end all polyships in any fandom is the SS Yukyoru. KyoxTohruxYuki.
Iā€™ve had polyship predilections for 6-7 years now, though itā€™s more recent Iā€™ve started polyshipping every love triangle i encounter bc Iā€˜m so done with themā€¦ there wasnā€™t really any lightning-bolt moment when I realized I shipped them much more together rather than apart. but like, I ship all three permutations so at some point my brain went HEREā€™S AN IDEA which tbh is how a lot of my polyships happen, i mainly have OT3s (if I ship 2 outta 3 thereā€™s a good chance ima poly it)
but anyway! thereā€™s absolutely no way to convey how much I adore this ship and ITā€™S A HUGE EMPTY YACHT I NEED CREW MEMBERS PLZ
I am building it up one fic at a time and if youā€™ve made it this far and have any interest at all plz read my shit and general Furuba screaming is appreciated as well of course!!! (also look at the most beautiful piece of fanart ever)
More fic! have my mixed bag of bookmarks (Sure For The Axis is my absolute fav, 2nd is Little Prayer) u can also find my Yukyoru stuff on AO3 ehehe~ and oh look HanaxUo!
and holy whoa iā€™m done. TLDR FURUBA IS THE BEST MANGA EVER AND YUKYORU IS THE PUREST RARESHIP EVER
THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT
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boku-no-family Ā· 7 years ago
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My request got so stuffed that the word limit was reached yet here i come as a message to you: Even tho this blog is relatively new (i assume?) it's already one of my fav bnha imagime blogs bc of your writing skills and u just seem so sweet idk? Bless your soul and if u have time, answer this msg with some random facts about you (examples) what u do, how life is going and more! I bet ur followers would also love to get to know you. Feel me throw my appreciation at you!
OH MY WORD šŸŒŒBless your soul, anon šŸ’•
If you are really interested, Iā€™m happy toshare some random trash about my life.Ā 
Iā€™m going to start with the basics, so if itgets tooboring or too creepy, you can always stop šŸ™ˆ
Iā€™m a 22 years old hobby author, currentlyliving in Japan. I major in Japanese Studies, so I decided being an abroadstudent would be a good opportunity to improve my speaking skills. Actually,Iā€™m from Germany, so neither English nor Japanese are my first languages, thereforeI apologize for any future mistakes. I consider myself the most fluent inEnglish and Japanese though. Further, Iā€™m also able to understand French andSpanish, but I canā€™t really communicate šŸ™ˆ Itā€™s been such a long timesince I spoke either of them.Ā 
My hobbies include (surprise, surprise)Ā writing, reading anddrawing. Ā Before I began with Japanese Studies, I wanted to apply at anart school, but my lazy ass kept me from doing a portfolio šŸ™ˆ My favorite writers are Kafkaand Dazai Osamu and my favorite book isĀ ā€œNo longer humanā€. I know a lot ofpeople who donā€™t appreciate his writing, but I canā€™t really understand it, tobe honest.Ā 
I also do sports a lot, but I donā€™tparticularly consider it a hobby. I might be addicted, but Iā€™m not really a fanof itšŸ˜‚ Iā€™m doing it mostly because ofhealth related reasons.
By the way, speaking of Kafka, Iā€™m going towrite my Bachelorā€™s thesis about the motifs of Kafkaā€™sĀ ā€œMetamorphosisā€ inthe manga Tokyo Ghoul.Ā 
Manga and Anime are a huge part of my lifeand like most people, Iā€™m a multi fandom person. This might take a littlelonger, so Iā€™m just gonna list themĀ 
Yuri on Ice - Iā€™m a slut forViktor Nikiforov šŸ’• you only need to mention his name and Iā€™ll fangirl forhours. Makkachin makes literally my soul happy, I mean, I own a smartphone casewith him and every time Iā€™m depressed I look at it and feel way better. Viktorcomes for me as a pair with Yuuri, so they are my babies ā¤ and notforget to mention my smol, angry kitten Yuri Plisetsky. I love him to theextend, that I own his jacket and Iā€™m actually wearing it as a normalone.
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Bungou Straydogs - I started to watch itbecause I have a thing for Japanese authors and there are really some greatreferences in both, manga and anime. I fell in love with Chuuya and Iā€™mmentally married to him. I love Akutagawa because heā€™s ugly šŸ˜‚ I own a lot of BSD merch,particularly Chuuya stuff.
Touken Ranbu - but itā€™s more thegame than the anime šŸ˜ƒ and Iā€™m a sword fanatic, thanks to them šŸ™ˆTwo of my most treasured figures are the two most beautiful Jijiā€™s in theworld, Mikazuki Munechika und Tsurumaru Kuninaga
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Tsukiuta - not really the animeeither, this is all about the voice actors. I really love voice actors and inthis project there is like a compilation of the best. For example KimuraRyouhei, I adore him so much, I bought the fanclubā€™s bracelet of his Tsukiutacharacter Shun and I wear it constantly. I also own a huge collection of DramaCDā€™s, most of them delicate ones and I hope no one will ever touch them, orIā€™ll die in embarrassmentĀ 
OF COURSE BNHA!!!! ā€“ One of mybest friends recommend it and itā€™s one of the best shounen Iā€™ve ever read andseen. I instantly fell in love with Deku šŸ’• every time I see him, I just wanna hug him andruffle his hair. Heā€™s my son šŸ˜ and Shouto is my sleepy boy ā¤ all I wantto do is hug him all day long and beat the shit out of his scum of a father.Kiri and Baku are my Baeā€™s and I low key want to get laid by them? OMGā€¦ did Ijust really write this? Tbh, I really love all of the characters in the seriesbecause every of them is so thought through!
I mean, bnhais the reason why I started this blog, itā€™s such a huge inspiration for me šŸ˜
Talkingabout inspiration, when Iā€™m looking for some writing inspiration I always check @goddamnitdazai ā€˜s blog. She doesnā€™t know, but Em is a huge role model for meand I adore her writing so much! Her style is like really smooth and it alwayshits 100%
Other randomfacts about me, my life depends on coffee šŸµI call my best friend Shithead or Taichou, depending on the circumstances. Shecalls me Yuri because of my jacket.Ā Fun factabout me and Taichou (btw sheā€™s from France, keep that in mind for what is aboutto come) Last vacation we went on a trip to Korea, no one of us speaks any Korean(My Korean friend lied to me, when she told us we could use English or Japanese,my ass, you canā€™t) and we ended up in one of those demonstrations for/oragainst the president (Iā€™m still not sure which side) and people pressed someKorean flags into our hands, putting us on a screen and celebrating. We fearedfor our lives because we were the only foreigners and didnā€™t what was happeningšŸ˜‚ every time we bring this up, our Korean friends are starting to laughthere asses off šŸ™ˆ
My favorite placeto write for this blog is on my bed, with my tablet on my legs, and my 707mysme pillow in my back.
Anyways, I thinkthis is enough of my lifeā€™s garbage and Iā€™m kind of sorry for everyone who readthis šŸ™ˆ I also realize that I sound like a huge otaku?! Iā€™m actually notšŸ™ˆšŸ˜ƒ
Sending you lots of loveĀ 
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celebistar Ā· 8 years ago
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@a-rumbly-in-my-tumblyā€‹ said if we're interested we can and I'm shirking work (when am I not lol) so yay? Idk who to tag, honestly I feel that creates a negative atmosphere b/c then the people who aren't tagged are like wtf. So feel free to do if you like talking about about yourself!
Whatā€™s your age? A lot older than most people probably think I am; I have mentioned it here and there casually, but as of this post, I'm 27.
Whatā€™s your current job? I am a UX (user experience) researcher, but with an emphasis on data privacy/security in the future. I also do UI/UX design sometimes, though I am not terribly great at it. Some of my work also goes into data science territory.Ā 
To those outside the field it probably sounds super boring and technical, but I've discovered that I actually enjoy doing research and I'm pretty good at it. Also, my boss is really cool and let me deck out my office with all my otaku stuff (he himself actually spent his middle school years in Japan so he's bilingual, and has a fondness for the 80s era shounen shows, like Fist of the North Star)
What are you talented at? Hmm, well drawing fanart/writing fanfiction? I dunno if that's really a talent or a hobby considering only a small handful of people only actually give me feedback so *shrugs* I would probably put writing a bit higher than drawing though. Other than that, I've been told I can bake uncannily well; several of my classmates in college commented that they would legit shell out money for my baked goods...
What is a big goal you are working toward (or have already achieved)? Material-wise? Publish my own anthology did that twice already (woo hoo), next up maybe making a cosplay photo book?? Perhaps going to Comiket one day WITH cosplay... also I connected with the Hisa-works cluster in Japan and I got the chance to meet several of them in Japan and now we're friends and it's awesome. Also meeting Masato Hisa sensei for the autograph session and events for the last Nobunagun volume...that definitely ranks up there as a 'once in a lifetime chance'.
Philosophical-wise, it's probably to learn to be kinder to myself and love myself more; I think it's only been recently have I really been aware of my own thoughts and personality type, and I know that often I freak out over the smallest things and stress when I really don't need to. So, I'm working on that...
Whatā€™s your aesthetic? When I was in high school/college it was like Japanese goth/punk (yeah, Hot Topic and all that...) Then I was briefly into lolita for a bit, since my sister got really into it, and I used to twin with her (either ouji or goth), but nowadays I honestly can't be bothered to dress up beyond a (decent) t-shirt and fitted jeans. If it's cold, I'll likely be wearing some sort of practical outwear like The North Face and a scarf. Basically, I'm practical. Like, really, that's it. Of course part of it is that I work in the super-casual Silicon Valley and tbh nobody gives a shit what you wear so long as you can do your work.
If I have to go to a fancy meeting with a client (especially the government), then I'll usually wear dress pants with a nice top and blazer jacket. You will almost never catch me in skirts/dresses unless it's a special occasion (and even then not guaranteed). Also 75% of my wardrobe is black.
Do you collect anything? Oh god...I always joke that I am a hoe for Miku Hatsune, but it's true. I literally collect like every single nice PVC scale figure that comes out...okay, not that many, but quite a few. For example, I have every single Racing Miku except for the very first one (which I seriously might get just to complete it) and so far most of the Snow Miku nendroids. Basically, I have a serious figure collecting problem and it ain't going away anytime soon. Especially since I much prefer scales to Figmas, the costs can definitely add up...
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(this is a pic of my office btw; well, part of it)
Whatā€™s a topic you always talk about? Nobunagun (laughs) if you're willing I could talk your ear off about it. But other than that, I'm alway interested in otaku/fandom communities, and specifically the social constructs that revolve around that. Yeah. Considered getting a PhD in "virtual communities and societies"...that's still not out of the question yet.
Also I can talk to you about my cat.
Whatā€™s a pet peeve of yours? Having things repeated to me like 3+ times, especially verbally. I mean look, I get that you just want to make sure I understand, but the thing is, I grasp things pretty quickly, and being told the same thing over and over again makes me think that you are either an indecisive fuck or you think I'm stupid. Nothing gets my blood pressure higher than being told the same thing, and then having it repeated to me 5 seconds later when I just told you my answer/response.
Good advice to give? Hm. Perhaps to love yourself more. I think many of us are so used to being beaten down and striving for perfection that we forget that it's ourselves who matter the most, and should come first.
Also, especially for those youngen's out there, pleaseĀ know that yes life is hard and it sucks, especially in your 20s, but as someone who has gone through a lot of it (and is still going through it) you gotta trust me when I say it will get better. Because in the future, you are 100% for sure going to deal with more painful, much harder decisions and so the struggles you face now are to help you get better at dealing with them. If you give up now, I'd hate to think how you're going to handle those events later in life.
tl;dr: I graduated college with a degree that I don't even use and basically became a NEET for a year before finally landing a job through a friend, got laid off after 2 months, decided then to apply to graduate school in a completely new field with 1 month before the deadline (so I studied/took my GRE/wrote my application in the span of a month), got my job back, got accepted into graduate school, and after 2 years of schooling managed to put myself on the track I am now. So yeah. Don't think you're the only one who struggles.Ā 
What are three songs youā€™d recommend?
"Big Machine" - Goo Goo Dolls
"feel the wind" - Janne Da Arc (I have too many Janne songs to choose but this is the first one I heard and it pulled me in ever since. Also how I discovered @a-rumbly-in-my-tumbly because she used to do translations and I was always like 'ommggg y dis lyric so gooooood')
"Time & Confusion" - Anberlin
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