#i’m thinking abt writing a fiction podcast | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

drawnaghht · 1 year ago

Text

Usagi is a given name (part 2)

I had a confusion abt a recent(ish) post in the Samurai Rabbit tags, but then after writing a reply, realized, it was about an AU they were writing and not the series itself directly. So I scrapped my reply and revised it a bit to put it here separately. (general spoilers for Samurai Rabbit: the Usagi Chronicles and minor spoilers for Usagi Yojimbo) Also posting bc I keep seeing old info circulate that keeps confusing the name thing further so lol. general reference for u fans who haven't read the UY comics or watched the SRTUC series. Even if you change things in your own fic, even if u dislike the SR show, it’s good to keep in mind what the original work might mean.

Summary:

Miyamoto Usagi is based on historical samurai Miyamoto Musashi, so Usagi is always his given name. In japan, names are written [surname][given name]. Usagi Yojimbo is Stan Sakai’s life work, inspired in the early 80s by samurai films, namely Samurai trilogy about the real life Miyamoto Musashi.

Based on how the Samurai Rabbit show treats it, Usagi is the given name of Yuichi Usagi as well - it's more familiar, what you would call any other characters in western shows - their first name. We do not know the in-world or our-world reasoning for it (yet). But safe to say that the SRTUC crew were big fans of UY or else the show would not have been made.

Although UY predates it in the US, Usagi is usually considered a given name thanks to the popularity of Sailor Moon, so it is not used as a surname. Maybe it's more of a Kira Kira name in real-world japan. Cute but harmless.

Usagi means "rabbit" so it makes sense as a fictional name because all these characters mentioned are rabbits or rabbit-themed. In the Usagi Yojimbo book, many characters have names based on what species of animal they are (Inukai (Stray Dog), Nezumi, Zato-Ino) so there are just a lot of name puns.

but you can use Yuichi when wanting to differentiate while speaking of both of the Usagi's (Stan himself switches between using Usagi/Yuichi and "My Usagi"/Miyamoto Usagi when he starts talking of both of them in the same answer in this CBCC podcast interview). Usagi is still a given name for both.

So you can use both names when talking about him as a character, but in-story people would probably address him as Usagi regardless of if they've just met him or known him for a long time.

Yes, it makes things confusing, but it’s like having two people in the same class with the same name. You don’t rename the classmates, you give them nicknames.

Since he is so friendly, he would probably let people use Usagi from the first time they meet (and we see this in the show itself too haha) but in other contexts, maybe he would let people address him as Yuichi-san, for example, but we never really see anyone refer to him in this way. And to all strangers he meets, he is just “Rabbit” - the friendly farmboy descended from samurai.

edit (14.06.23): after writing this I realised, even more likely that both Yuichi and Usagi are meant as given names and the family doesn't have a surname anymore... lets think about it more below! ^^

= Intro =

So I thought that maybe making a long reply would be rude, so I’m making a separate post about it. This post was confusing to me at first, bc I thought, “ahh, more confusion abt the names” then “but wait they’re not Father and Son…” and then realized omg, this post and poll is for OPs AU! (lolol sorry for misreading it, i’m still sick and very slow on the uptake for a lot of stuff this week ^^;)

I had a bit of trouble at first too with a new Usagi and his names. Yuichi is very commonly known as a given name in japan. After seeing the series, I even tried to rationalize that maybe his friends are using Usagi respectfully as a family name after they get to know him... but in the show itself, his aunt calls him "Usagi" so even tho Yuichi is a common first name, it is intended in the show that he is called Usagi, whatever way "Yuichi" is meant to be used.

(Usagi and his Auntie. Shot from the 1st episode. "The Big City" )

Usually an aunt who raises you, does not use your second/family names. I'm not Japanese or Japanese-American myself (I am mixed Asian-European) so I deferred to the show to give me info. This show seemed a bit better to me than other american shows based on asian cultures. So the naming kept confusing me but I guessed that maybe I just don't know enough info and it must be some pun or simpler nickname like many characters in the comic (like general Oyaneko, Lord Hebi, or Zato-Ino)

(Yuichi Usagi and Miyamoto Usagi. screenshot from the 18th episode. "The Chizu Stands Alone" )

So I tried to consider some time ago, that maybe the team who named him, just decided on it based on something else (maybe the meaning "heroic first-born (son)" (via Japanese-Names.org)) and that Stan went with it as the one overseeing everything for the show because the name stuck. It's a fairly catchy name.

I’ve also heard from other fans that they kept calling him Yuichi during production and then added Usagi for the connection to the original Usagi and vice versa, that he was always called Usagi, but then needed and secondary name to differentiate him among both the crew and in the text.

We don't really know as fans. Maybe there's a long story behind it that the crew didn't have time to include as they tried to finish the 20-episode order... but I digress. His first name is Usagi. Lets say that it's a namesake to his ancestor.

Miyamoto Usagi from Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comics is well-known to be based on Miyamoto Musashi, a real-life samurai. The fact that his first name is Usagi, is sorta like Stan making a joke about how he's a rabbit also. It's a fun juxtaposition of serious and funny, because it's a very well-researched comic about Edo-period samurai, but everyone is animals. So that's why the comic is also titled Usagi Yojimbo, because, Rabbit Bodyguard. It's just a good title that makes sense when you start reading the first story.

Usagi Yojimbo is the TITLE of the comicbook series. The folks who made the 1987 series made a mistake naming him (and there's prob history there but I won't go into it). In the comic, Mr. Sakai uses the japanese naming convention of [FAMILY NAME] [given name]. This is consistent in the cartoon as well. Usagi itself is a common given name in manga/comics since Sailor Moon.

Yuichi Usagi in this way, sounds like two first names then. But...

Yuichi can actually be a last name too irl, it is just much less common.

There's also name-explaining sites. I can’t quite take sites like these (Forebears) at face value, but it has some vague statistics on Yuichi as a surname around the world. Again, vague for me personally, bc how do they collect this info.. but they’ve been active since 2012 and some of the info on other names is correct so maybe it’s correct here too.

And of similar names:

Lets take sites like these witha grain of salt though, since they don’t have concrete sources.

Another fan (@/vagabond-pinky) asked about this name confusion 3 months ago in march and got some interesting replies in the notes so I'll leave that here too: "we found 2 historical people with the last name Yuichi, case closed. his first name is Usagi"

= Usagi Yojimbo: Senso connection =

I already made a longer post looking into the name some time ago, trying to analyze a possible reason for why the crew named him Yuichi Usagi and not something else. I went and read Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, which, in addition to the main comic, is what the crew based the concept of the show on, in large parts. I also found after writing this bigger post that Miyamoto Yuichi is a really common name. So maybe they also didn't want to name him something that wouldn't be as memorable or show up in an internet search. But that's my speculation as a fan as is what I wrote before. There is an article in the Pachific Citizen that actually calls him Miyamoto Yuichi by accident and it does have a nice ring to it.

Maybe it’s an issue of how the name was researched. When looking up the name and any historical base like with Stan’s Usagi and Musashi, I found that many EN language wikipedia redirects/directory lists had JP names either first-name–last-name (western) or last-name–first name (japanese), without consistency across the site. Maybe the crew researched a name, but it was listed wrong. Maybe they based the name also on something historical, mimicking Stan in their admiration of his work, but ran out of time to actually reference these isnpirations in the work itself because of time restraints? I do not know yet, because we have not had any interviews from anyone in the crew about this. Usually animation productions, especially for TV series are on an incredibly tight schedule. The actual production of the show started in 2020 (Comic Con 2021 interview with Stan, crew and cast - this is where I first heard abt the show if I remember right) and the show premiered its first season on March 28th 2022. They might have even been finishing up some details on the second season between this and the 2nd season airing on September 1st. So logistically, it's possible they couldn't include more lore and explanations except what was deemed important e.g. the yokai storyline, Chizu's story arcs, Miyamoto Usagi's Ki-stone flashbacks and storyline, the alien storyline. So basically maybe they just ran out of time for us to see Yuichi's backstory, as the show tries to be a bit different in this regard. We even see Gen's backstory a bit throughout s1, but miss out on Kitsune and the younger Usagi. Going by the Comic Con interview with Stan however, Stan is really proud of the series and pre-production had already been going on for a year or so before this interview, so they must have worked out something between pre-production and post-production.

= The japanese dub =

In the japanese dub, his name is spelled ユウイチ (雄一) うさぎ - Yūichi Usagi, so by naming conventions, again things are fairly correct. Usagi is the given name to call him by, but then by the spelling both are technically given names? When you search this name in japanese, you will get children's books listed in both the site results and the image results.If I really wanted to infer meaning from this, I could say that “hey, maybe this is a common children’s nickname for an old book series or fairytale, or something!” Except I do not actually know that. That would be my assumption to make based on a surface-level detail.

Now, since I'm not japanese or japanese-american myself (and probably neither are many of the online TMNT and Usagi fans), I can only learn from others about this culture. While I am european-asian, that is kind of totally different no matter how many living relatives I might have in japan or not. I might know slightly more about some japanese culture and history than say, the average northern or eastern-european here? But I am still quite clueless about many things about the language and history itself. So whatever I try to search in japanese will have some human error in it because I am not fluent in japanese. So, if we try to expand beyond the show, unless we are actually close to these communities, we will not know about japanese culture unless we've learned about it beforehand. So we can only refer to the comicbook series and the show itself to give us more info, or more context, to look up and research. But if I find anything else, I can really only use it as a point to sort of expand my existing theories on, but not quite “hard canon” as what the show itself and the comic are.

One other thing I find of note to mention: both the original EN language cast and crew had actual Asian-American members in important roles. The art director is Vietnamese-American. Yuki Matsuzaki reprising his role as Miyamoto Usagi and Darren Barnet, who is half-japanese, playing Yuichi Usagi. Darren is fluent in japanese btw, so that's why you might hear a slight "accent" when he speaks japanese as Usagi - he is actually pronouncing the japanese words correctly. And that was so nice to hear. You have no idea how many cartoons and other media I've seen where the asian language pronunciations are completely butchered. Sometimes it is intentional from a production i.e. game localization from a chinese game to english - because english pronounciation of names has different rules from other languages, so some names and words have to follow those rules more closeuly so people know what word is being said and recognize it. But it's still grating to hear. So the fact that names and food or other terms are pronounced in a way that seems correct (again, not fluent, but it's better than I hear in non-researched productions), is very nice to hear.

Additionally, it seems from just the way the crew talks about it that they put a lot of care into making sure they don't mess things up regarding the culture and the comic. So I refuse to believe that research was not done on the show, including the names. It comes down to the quality of research, but also their time restraints, what was actually left in the show and what was deemed viable to keep, what would have added more time crunch or work on top of existing work. Again, blame netflix, not the crew, not the producers (all supportive of the show, bc who knows what netflix upstairs things about cartoons anymore.

= Conclusions =

Thinking of all this, the most likely reasons for Usagi’s names like that that they had considerations for other names and more lore behind it, but focused more on getting the show finished and done in a way that the most important plot and info got into it. So a lot of things might have been cut for time reasons, including a consideration for a different surname, because again, for time and quality reasons, this was not as important as the rest of the show.

It might be that my theory linking Senso to the creation of the show could turn out to be true - that the name Yuichi is more a title than a traditional surname.

Extrapolating on this Senso theory, since the show borrows just as heavily from Edo time aesthetics, history and ideas, it’s possible the crew also built on the idea of a samurai family losing their surname and becoming farmers over time... Something we also see in Usagi Yojimbo, with a general in hiding who has become a farmer and having a new family... it’s interesting to consider then that perhaps the whole line after the Ki-stone incident with the shogun, lose their name over time as history changes. So Usagi and his auntie perhaps don’t really have a real surname, but his parents wanted him to have an honorable family name anyway, so they think of the name Yuichi, because of it’s meaning. That’s my fanon idea over all this speculation, but hey, it’s a possibility.

Regardless, we don't know exact reasons for the naming without asking a crew member directly, and that's usually a bit rude out of an interview I suppose? Neither can we ask about the naming of the show, that's usually a long process for shows in general. I do wonder what alternative names they had for both Usagi and the show, but, I’m not really up for asking directly myself. Like the crew seem like nice people so I would not ask any of them abt this randomly. So what I’ve done instead, is to try and speculate in my earlier post about it in general, based on what Samurai Rabbit is based on (the UY: Senso book), some of the interviews and context clues within the show (Usagi’s auntie calling him by his given name, and his friends keeping the nickname Usagi once they get to know each other more, we can assume).

Because we don't know exactly, we mostly just have the show itself + those other aforementioned sources to go on, and there might be more possible reasons than I could speculate in the future. So we'll probably never find out.

In your own fanfic, theories etc, u can do whatever, but it’s just good to know abt some stuff abt these series as a reference point, even if u change things. If you love TMNT as a series/concept, maybe you can learn to respect UY/SRTUC as series too. I know it’s just silly fandom stuff most times, but it’s good to be mindful about this if it’s your interest or something you like even a bit.

So to summarize:

Miyamoto Usagi is based on historical samurai Miyamoto Musashi, so Usagi is always his given name.

Based on how the show treats it, you can use Usagi for Yuichi Usagi - it's more familiar, what you would call any other characters in western shows - their first name.

his aunt who RAISED HIM, calls him Usagi. Even if it’s only at the request of him (like say, it’s a namesake he got and not his birth name), that’s still the name his family calls him

If his pursuers/new friends really were calling him Usagi (family name) out of respect at first, then they would have to do the same to each other too. Maybe even switch to given names later. But they all call each other by given names right away. This seems to be a generational difference (Nochi and Fuwa, adults but also enemies/adversaries to the main cast, are adressed via family name throughout)

Although UY predates it in the US, Usagi is usually a given name in Japan thanks to the popularity of Sailor Moon, so it is not used as a surname. Maybe it's a Kira Kira name just like we have it in real-world japan.

Usagi means "rabbit" so it makes sense as a fictional character name because all these characters mentioned are rabbits or rabbit-themed. In the Usagi Yojimbo book, many characters have names based on what species of animal they are (Inukai (Stray Dog), Lord Hebi, Nezumi, Zato-Ino) so there are just a lot of name puns.

it’s possible it would have been confusing to switch the names around during the production of the show - losing the connection with his ancestor, his namesake + the idea of every character meeting him and then mistaking him for Miyamoto Usagi, but also, the idea of everyone just calling him “Rabbit” in comical anger.

While the show follows the same conventions as the comic re: [surname][given name], it also wants it's viewers to feel more familiar with the characters, so same as Stan's original work. Similar to the comic, the show is written with a western/US audience in mind. In an old interview from 2010, Stan says it better himself: "Usagi might be about Japanese history and culture, but it's told from a distinctly western perspective".

So you can use both names when talking about him as a character, but in-story people would probably adress him as Usagi regardless of if they've just met him or known him for a long time.

Whatever the reasons, Usagi is meant as a given name for both.

Since he is so friendly, he would probably let people use Usagi from the first time they meet (and we see this in the show itself too haha) but in other contexts, maybe he would let people address him as Yuichi-san, for example, but we never really see anyone refer to him in this way, he is just “Rabbit” - the friendly farmboy descended from samurai.

#yuichi usagi #senso spoilers #uy senso #lol i usually try and not reply unless it seems like the post is open for replies #bad at reading tone as i am #samurai rabbit #srtuc #the usagi name debacle #lol that was my tag for this #anyway good luck with the designs and story OP #aghhtreplies #aghht srtuc post #samurai rabbit the usagi chronicles #spoilers #aghhtpost #that first image is a spoiler sorry #for what it's worth I use both depending on context but Usagi when other characters are more familiar with him #his aunt would not call him by a family name in any case #miyamoto usagi #auntie usagi #UY lore #cuz all the name and comic sources are also lore and this is smth i'd like to know #maybe it really is 2 first names as I made a point abt in my prev post #would be kinda sad if the family doesn't have a name anymore but it would also make sense considering the show's own lore #this post has so much sunnk-cost fallacy lol but come and read it anyway if u confused like i was #texty #sobbing i have had this in my drafts since may and june 2023!!!!!#long post #sorry lol i write long even when short

7 notes · View notes

ardentpoop · 1 year ago

Note

hellooooo i may or may not have just left two super long and praiseful comments on one of your succession fics and i cannot wait to read your latest one. then i notice you’ve also written 4 tmg fics …… which is my kinda niche , VERY strong hyperfixation since 2019 …. (i watch the podcast everytime i eat) so i felt like popping in here as well and personally thanking u for 1. becoming my favorite author of all time 2. writing 4 whole fics about my two most favorite people in the world <3 this is like christmas to me. even if you’re not into tmg that much anymore idk but i’m really glad you wrote for them because i know rpf can be a tricky field to navigate and a lot of people steer clear from it. i personally think its fine as long as the people involved never know of its existence. ANYWAYS i’m fully rambling here sorry. i just see you as a kindred spirit now. i hope you have a great day :) or atleast as much as that’s possible right now

you are literally an angel omg thank you so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

and yes rpf shame is frankly boring to me lol it's always been no deeper than borrowing public personas for fiction, as far as im concerned. if i find it compelling im writing abt it! it's not meant for anyone besides likeminded weirdos 🙆‍♀️

i am indeed not into t/mg anymore but i still watch cody's button vids from time to time when i need a pick-me-up lol

thanks again kindred spirit 😌 you gave me something to smile about today

#asks #anon #''favorite author of all time'' 😭 stop #saved letters

1 note · View note

blysse-and-blunder · 2 years ago

Text

in lieu of a commonplace book

8pm, monday, august 15, 2022

once again writing this on my phone in the background while waiting for my turn during dnd, as god intended; nature is healing, we were the virus, etc. since i can’t do a read-more on mobile, this will just be a quick one!

reading another week finishing things— TGCF vol 2, xiran jay zhao’s iron widow, getting into the last few chapters of perdido street station. glad to have finished iron widow and been able to return the loan, it felt like an accomplishment— aside from that, it… felt like a first novel. huge vision, very pointed messages, two or three ‘plot twists’ that i either suspected or outright called well in advance. i don’t love first person narration for a novel like this, the struggle btw ‘believably unreliable’ and ‘observant / objective enough to actually provide descriptions and context’ is super hard to get right (this is also what bugged me abt the hunger games, don’t @ me). there’s one particular choice in iron widow that i did quite like (predictably, the handling of the love not-triangle), but that didn’t quite outweigh some of the stuff that made me uncomfortable (not bc they were problematic, just bc i’m very suggestible and a weeny about physical discomfort).

listening my buddy @pep-squad-lizzie dropped a link to the defector podcast ‘Normal Gossip’ in the group chat a little while ago, and i’ve just about finished both seasons. i like the host’s voice and manner, i’ve really liked most of the guests—as the question is posed each episode, i have been asking myself ‘what is my relationship to gossip? do i consider myself a gossip?’ i think what i like is the reflecting on / analyzing / sharing emotional responses on the stories, empath- or sympathizing with the participants. i like emoting about people, places, and things with people i trust not to pass on the news of how i feel about those things! i really value and respect a Cone of Silence when a friend imposes it; i live and work in communities too small not to, we need places to be candid with no fear of it getting back to the people involved. that said, we also live by sharing stories abt professors not to work with, people looking for roommates or with interesting syllabus examples to talk through— so it’s a judgement call. i like the anonymized gossip on the podcast, but i might like the guests’ editorializing and reacting best? especially when they take an unexpected stance or are willing to sympathize with someone at first. i like thinking the best of people at first, until they prove they don’t deserve it, and it’s nice when the guests do too. i quite liked the josh gondelman episode.

watching my house watched master & commander: far side of the world this week, a rewatch for all of us i think. i’m pretty much incapable of being impartial about this one, but it’s a good damn movie. the visuals, the soundtrack. i like how the plot is almost entirely character-interaction driven, despite it being a war movie; i like how the emotional beats have only gotten more real and painful as i’ve gotten older; i do actually now notice and feel irritation abt the fact that sophie and diana and any of the female characters from the books who could have been included are totally not there even in flashbacks or memories or…anyway.

playing more stardew. @leadfeathers made a post a little while ago about relaxing in the tub listening to news podcasts and playing stardew, and that was me this weekend if you make the soundtrack strangers’ gossip and also i couldn’t take my laptop in the bath i have finally expanded my cottage! ive started the mysterious qi quest! my irritation about how little the game internally does to help you out *as a person playing a video game* as opposed to a fictional farmer is balanced against my ongoing awe about how the game expands and adds elements or allows you to deepen and expand what you’re doing.

making garden pics as things start to bloom and ripen! the little leaf in the black plastic pot is a lemon seed i’m delighted to see making a go of it; the big yellow squash blossoms are probably zucchini.

#in lieu of a commonplace book #ilcb #weekly roundup #harvested the first tomato yesterday I am SO proud of it

11 notes · View notes

tailoredjade · 3 years ago

Text

books recs <3

Literary fiction

Giovanni's Room

the kind of book that’s best if you go in blind. just know that baldwin remains a classic for a reason. his writing makes me want to gnaw on my own wrist (affectionate). his use of motifs makes me want to pull out a cork-board and pin up snippets of pages just to connect them with bits of red thread. devastating, raw, heart wrenching, tragic, other adjectives of the sort

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

gilda is a deeply mentally-ill atheist lesbian who’s ends up getting hired as a receptionist in a catholic church when in search for free therapy. subsequent shenanigans ensue and by shenanigans i mean she’s just … spirals. this novel is sharp, funny, deeply relatable (isn’t that reveling), and at it’s core utterly human

Fantasy

A Marvelous Light

ok hear me out: for fans of our flag means death, i found the perfect edwardian fantasy romance for you. god this book is such a delight. robin gets the thrust into magical society after he mistakenly gets declared a liaison. obviously he falls in love with his magical counterpart, who’s prickly and obsessed with libraries. it’s quite possible that i am a tad in love with him. super interesting magic system + lush setting (also the author is a host of an absolute banging podcast called ‘be the serpent’)

The Poppy War (and subsequent installments)

where do i ever begin. the world building is brilliant and rooted within chinese history. it’s gritty and dark and so bloody smart. rin is the epitome of the post that’s like ‘i’m a girlboss, i’m a war criminal, i’m the next virgin mary, i will defeat god’ (paraphrased clearly). i simultaneously love her and want to shake her vigorously by the shoulders. she is my little meow meow. oh right plot. to clarify, rin is poor orphan who manages to gets into sinegard, an prestigious military school, and there she discovers her connection to shamanism. discusses the harsh realities of war and explores the depth of relationship formed because of it

The Midnight Lie

YA fantasy that has surprisingly complex conversations about class, compulsive heterosexuality, exploitation, and toxic relationships. still tbh the relationship is what kept me reading. every interaction between nirrim and sid had me giggling, twirling my hair, looking way abashedly, the works. the lines “Nirrim, I can’t be good to you. / Then be bad.” make me want to scream into a pillow like an early 2000s disney movie. i’m so tired of love interests in romcoms being describe as swoon-worthy when they’re just some guy. sid on the other hand; she’s this delightful butch who kisses girls’ palms and compares them to indigo flowers and — jfc moving on.

Non-Fiction

In the Dream House

memoir recounting an abusive relationship framed through vignettes of narrative tropes/literary devices. so fucking devastating and haunting. dream house as: queer villain, ambiguity, choose your own adventure, and death wish; all really suck with me. really think everyone should get this a read if you’re in the right place for it

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

brilliant collection abt racism, sexism, class, homophobia, and the ways they overlap “Guilt is not a response to anger; it is a response to one’s own actions or lack of action. If it leads to change then it can be useful, since it is then no longer guilt but the beginning of knowledge. Yet all too often, guilt is just another name for impotence, for defensiveness destructive of communication; it becomes a device to protect ignorance and the continuation of things the way they are, the ultimate protection for changelessness.“

Poetry

Crush

if you haven’t yet read a richard siken quote yet while scrolling through this hell-site i commend you because how. is there really anything else to say. wishbone is a particular favorite of mine but every single word in this collection makes me feral

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

the only time i will ever be willing to frolic is after reading an oliver poem. i come out of the experience feeling rejuvenated? compassionate? with the understanding that yes rocks do, in fact, have feelings, why wouldn’t they?

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

big fan of this specific translation. should be considered the lesbian master doc. that’s probably problematic. well anyways. the bit when she describes very literally fainting after hearing a woman’s laugh from across the room. slay! she’s just like me fr

#can’t believe i just compared myself to sappho #reading

11 notes · View notes

oftenderweapons · 4 years ago

Note

hi! i just started reading your series particularly the storyline around namjoon x vixen and i’m really enjoying their dynamic so far bc it’s also what i’m personally interested in. but that being said i felt that it was necessary to mention that the book lolita specifically (which i saw was mentioned a couple times in their canon) shouldn’t be taken lightly as it’s been skewed from the authors intent by our society and has had ramifications that were still seeing today namely pedophilia. i’m not sending this ask to make u feel bad i only sincerely mean to educate as i recently learned about it too :// a friend of mine showed me ‘the lolita podcast’ which is on spotify and i was mortified to learn about the true depth of the book so yeah. while i personally am into certain kinks and am totally fine with other people having their own, i thought i would just warn abt that book in particular and how it’s unfortunately been misinterpreted by so many for so long

Thank you for making this clarification. Apparently I thought that the subtext was clear to everyone and I thought that I had transposed Vixen's character well enough to let everyone understand that she reads Lolita for what it is: a book that denounces disgusting, despicable behaviour and that every person that is involved in DDLG content and dynamics should read in order to understand the darkest, most dangerous sides of such topic. I am glad we can face this controversy.

If anyone would like, under the cut there is an in-depth analysis.

TRIGGER WARNING: discussion of controversial themes of Lolita, namely sexualisation of minors and pedophilia.

What is Lolita

Lolita is a novel written by Vladimir Nabokov, one of the most important authors of the 21st century.

The content

Basically, within the fiction of the novel, the book turns into the diary/defense of a criminal, who is undergoing trial as a pedophile after he became physically attracted to his step-daughter — who is a minor — and proceeded with running away with her after her mother's death, in an attempt to marry the girl. It is set in the USA during the mid-20th century. The man and his underage step-daughter explicitly get involved in sexual intercourse within the book. Through the book the man offers several excuses to pedophilia, even explicitly saying that it was the girl tempting him.

My statement on the book and its relevance within Namjoons' Love Talk

As a person who has read Lolita and has studied specifically the power dynamics in that book, I do not condone IN ANY WAY the sexualisation of minors, or ingaging in sexual acts with them, may them be consenting or not. Just so that we're clear.

I don't think that reading or studying Lolita means that one condones pedophilia, and a person like Vixen has surely read that book specifically because she thinks it's an important part of her culture that she needs to be aware of, just like one person would read books about the Holocaust to be aware of tragedies of the past and make sure that they do not repeat themselves. Lolita is not romanticised or idealised by Vixen. She is very aware of the content of the book. She read it because you need to know the good parts and the bad parts of your culture: knowing the bad parts allows you to know the risks and dangers of it and helps you stay away from acts and behaviours you do not condone.

Personally, I want to clear things up. Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian intellectual, reader and writer. It means he had a Russian perception of the role of literature, which is that of openly dealing with injustice and denounce acts that weren't all that uncommon back then. Lolita is a book that shows how despicable and how deprecable the mind of an abuser is. It was written to disgust people and to raise awareness against pedophilia, to improve regulations (the author openly names American States where at the time you could legally marry a minor. Nabokov wanted those states to be shamed! And many publishers didn't publish his book because they were afraid of political repercussions! They were afraid to show that their Patriotic, Free, Enlightened Country, aka America, The Land Of The Free, allowed and condoned such disgusting behaviour).

I am solidly aware of how much pedophilia and DDLG dynamics have often been brought in the same conversation.

I am glad this blog can be educational, after all. The important subtext here is that Vixen is an adult woman. And Namjoon is aware of that. Vixen thrives in her maturity and her wits and knowledge and confidence, which are traits of an adult woman. Namjoon knows that his partner is a grown up adult. The connotations of DDLG here are based exclusively on the power exchange between the characters, where one occupies an empowered, educational, caring space, while the other occupies a vulnerable, less empowered space. However, Vixen occupies this space with the maturity and the sexuality of a grown woman. And if I'm not mistaken, there are a few scenes in which she shows that although Namjoon is pretending to teach her something, he and she are both aware that she doesn't need such lesson. She simply feels like she needs a kind of guidance, and the first figure of guidance we meet in our lives are parenting figures, therefore the "daddy kink".

Now, regarding owning several translations of the same book: Vixen has lived abroad. And when you live abroad and you like reading, your key to the country is reading in their language. Vixen is a polyglot. She was brought up speaking three languages. Lolita is an interesting book for a polyglot because Nabokov himself was a polyglot. In my mind I can really see Vixen buying a text she knows — because she has read it carefully without any sort of lightness of heart — and reading it in her non-first languages once she goes abroad. I can see her reading it and confronting the different words that were used, the weight that every translator gave to the different statements and crimes that Humbert Humbert — the protagonist — has committed.

Now, the similarities between Vixen and Lolita begin and end in one thing. They are brats.

When Namjoon asks her about the books and the movie posters, Vixen says "are you asking me if I have a daddy kink or if I like owning multiple versions of the same book", and the reference to the daddy kink is her joking about the public perception of the book; still, this does not mean that that is her perception of the book. I do understand that her using irony as a coping machanism could be misinterpreted, but this doesn't affect her awareness on the themes of the book.

Vixen is moody, mercurial, playful once she gets into subspace — she toys around things like a girl, but she does so with the awareness of a grown woman; she decides to act childlike, coquettish and playful. She fools around like any of us do, and Namjoon likes the idea of conquering her, reassured by the fact that he has a grown woman in front of him, who has all the tools to tell him that she is not interested in starting a scene or behaving sexually in a specific moment. When she is in a bratty mood, she teases and provokes but never really follows through with her taunts. She needs Namjoon — her figure of guidance and responsibility — to actualise her empty threats. That is all she has in commons with Lolita. What is important is that they are two consenting adults, incredibly aware of how dangerous their games could be if they were even a bit less morally and culturally aware or even slightly less prepared.

I hope this gave you all you needed to know, nonnie. If you — or any of my readers — would like to discuss more about the issue, my DMs are open.

Honestly, I was waiting for this conversation to happen. I have been writing Namjoon and Vixen discussing the topic in one of the pieces but unfortunately that prompt hasn't been selected yet. As soon as I'm done with my exam, I will release a specific piece to explain Vixen's relationship with the text since it's part of the character's back story and her past with with her first boyfriend.

Thank you for bringing up the issue.

#anna vents #ask:anon #introducing vixen

5 notes · View notes

punkwixes · 4 years ago

Text

didn’t make a new years retrospective really, haven’t ever done it in the past. but now that i’m almost 5 days late, i’m like, sure! what the fuck! here’s what’s happened in my life in the past year for anyone who might be wondering where i’ve been:

weirdly, the pandemic didn’t affect my life too much, except that my job was different for about six months. it was fine. increased risk of getting covid but that’s basically everywhere [i could get a job] these days, so i don’t regret trading retail for a nursing home back in 2018. at least the nursing home is really responsible about it all.

march-june didn’t really exist for me lmao

went back to college. majoring in social work and gerontology rn, Maybe That’ll Change, we’ll see.

the pandemic affected that. everything’s been online, my first in-person class is two weeks from today.

got diagnosed w adhd because of The Above Reasons mostly

got a 4.0 for my first semester. i think i ended my freshman year at onu with a 2.8 or some shit so this is pretty good!

honestly doing Okay with depression and stuff. still struggling with executive dysfunction, juggling chores and cleaning w/ life, and i’m sure working full-time while doing full-time college isn’t, like, helping.

just been busy, mostly.

haven’t done a lot of art and shit, but i’m proud of what i did do!

i AM (as of, like, three days ago) writing fic again, though. so... we’ll see. it’s been three years since i’ve published something that wasn’t original! wrow.

i think my practical resolution is to be better about cleaning & keeping up with chores, do things before i get overwhelmed b/c i HAVEN’T done them. this includes homework.

other resolution is that i really do want to publish fic this year! i want to put whatever bullshit i want out there on the internet! i’ve mostly been writing original fiction for Exactly Two People over the last few years & it’s a very lonely existence.

i guess... the only other thing i wanna say is that i was thinking abt how i haven’t been here b/c i, like, escaped my Shit Family in 2017 and moved states (OH -> NC) and that was hard! it still is hard! it was a weird transition to go from, like, “what i do when i come home from college is listen to a podcast and write fic” directly to “what i do when i come home from work is lie facedown on my air mattress and think about doing dishes and worry about what time i have to take the bus tomorrow”. luckily, things have improved since then, and i’m glad for it!

so i’ve been posting less and less just because i have a lot of irl stuff to do! (and also because, i’m living with the person i usually reblogged stuff for on here, so, like, when i want to show her a post i just slide my phone over)

but now that i’m three (???) years out, i can safely say that it’s worth it. i was talking about this with laura the other day, i think? there’s something about being An Adult (lmao) that i never thought about, which is the freedom to just... do what i want. this can be good or bad, obviously, but it’s been three years and i’m still getting hit in the face with the fact that i make my own money and i can do stuff like buy new clothes without needing to justify it. that’s something i didn’t feel when i was in college the first time, and i wish i could go back to december 2, 2017 and tell myself that it’ll all work out.

#this is under a cut because it's long! but also because the summary is '2020 was... fine.'#man it's weird. looking back on my posts from 2014-2017 and thinking 'oh i was worried about that?'#not bc i WASN'T but bc my life has changed so much!

4 notes · View notes

kingjasnah · 4 years ago

Note

i saw that you were posting on your main about juno steel and penumbra, that's my favorite podcast! i think juno has big adolin energy tbh

!!!! wow im still really early on I literally started yesterday and just finished prince of mars but GOD i hope roshar doesn't have an equivalent of the detective noir genre. gotta hit up that one romance novel ardent from the OB interludes bet she'd have something to say abt it....excited to see the adolin in him to come out

and yeah I'm......really vibing..... the writing is way funnier than i thought it would be considering that my last forray into noir fiction was. oh my god this is so cursed. dresden 🤢. and im like. brainstorming urls for a podcast sideblog now that ive blasted through wolf 359 as WELL as tma so we're truly stuck in it

#that post that compared juno steel to jon tma ans also dalinar???? dont see it yet but then again im literally two stories in #but im VIBING.......like i didnt want to put the effort into making a sideblog and im having a hard time thinking of like.#a niche enough w359 meme cause man the love i have for that podcast.#so yeah yall got url suggests hmu lol #asks

11 notes · View notes

remnantglow · 5 years ago

Note

3, 7, 19, 24, 36 from speedyshepherd?

(36 answered!)

3. Name three of your favourite flowers.

forget-me-nots, orchids and daisies

7. Talk about your favourite TV show or podcast or comic or book.

“into the drowning deep” by mira grant is one of my favourite books that i’ve been thinking abt a Lot recently (bc i finally got my hands on the prequel novella) and that i dont talk about enough!!! it’s a horror about an expedition trying uncover what happened to a ship that set out to film a mermaid mocumentary at the mariana trench and was found drifting with everyone on board gone. and goddd this book! it’s my absolute FAVOURITE interpretation of the mermaid myth in existence, it’s so terrifyingly believable and the merging of science and fiction in it is flawless. i’m gonna reread it soon but i desperately wish i could read it for the first time again, bc the building dread and suspense is. SO fucking good. plus it’s one of the most diverse books i’ve read the past few years. i love it so much. seanan mcguire please write a sequel challenge

19. What do you like to do for fun on rainy afternoons?

sit in a beanbag by the window with a tea and a blanket and read 🥰

24. Describe your ideal dress style.

dont think i have a specific one.. just. comfy.

#ty river ily!!! 💕#cirth-ithil #ask

4 notes · View notes

flying-elliska · 5 years ago

Note

Hey Ellie! I jope you're doing good 🌞 I just wanted to tell you that I love your Story 'les diamants sont éternels' so fucking much! I just wish I wasn't so weird when it comes to my emotions (I get really emotionally invested in things I like). I really want to read the last two chapters of your story but I don't know if I am emotionally stable to do so yet but I already known that it's gonna be great! I wish I could write like you! But I am still learning. (1/2)

I'm struggling a lot because English isn't my mother tongue and I wondered if you have any tips to improve? (I tend to talk myself down when I am writing). I can't wait to read your latest chapters in the near future! I hope you're having a wonderful day! 💕💕💕 (2/2)

Hello darling anon ! Don’t worry I totally understand what it is to get overinvested in something and I put off watching/reading stuff until I’m emotionally ready alllll the time. If anything it’s very flattering, so no pressure. And the most important for me is that you take care of yourself and read in the best conditions ! The last two chapters have been like, very very intense too, so yeah, it’s a good thing I think that you’re waiting a bit if you’re not in that mood.

And thank you so much for complimenting my English ! Yours sounds pretty good already !

Here’s what I did to level up in English (taking into account the fact that i was lucky enough to be raised bilingual and Dutch is pretty close to English so it was easier for me) - my advice is pretty basic tho lol

1) binge watch a ton of shows in English with the captions also in English because it helps to read a word and see it written at the same time so you can expand your vocab.

2) just read a lot of everything...like fanfic sure but also newspaper articles YA thrillers fantasy literary fiction romance non fiction....to me it’s having that breadth of ways to use words in your head that helps a lot to progress

3) surround yourself with a ‘soak of English words’. Listen to podcasts. Think in English. Write your diary in English. Find people to talk in English with Make it part of your daily life as much as possible for a while. Engage your brain w it.

4) really to me the core thing is establishing an emotional relationship w the language. I became obsessed w English because i wanted to read Harry Potter before it was translated in French lmao...and then it was another obsession...finding authors where you are absolutely in love with the way they write and analyzing their stuff, picking it apart, why it works, asking yourself why you like it so much, what your style is, make a collection of your favorite expressions and the context in which they are used...to me being passionate abt it is so much more effective than any dry grammar book bc then it really roots in your brain

5) and well find stories to tell and just go and be kind to yourself honestly...like sometimes i read my own writing and i am soooo dissatisfied with it for real i find it bland and messy and unprecise...and i know part of it is my inner perfectionist needs to chill...and the other is just that i know i still have room to grow. i think when you get better you also get more aware of your flaws and that’s part of the process so a good mix of self-analysis and compassion will get you far. you have to start somewhere and let yourself the possibility to bloom, which isn’t possible when you expect perfection at the start. it sounds cliché but you get to know your own voice by using it, often failing, and trying again.

#diamants!au #ask ellie

3 notes · View notes

partygeist · 3 years ago

Text

SUP FAM, it’s been at least a year since i’ve done something like this, so why not!

hi, i’m Lyra (i used to go by Alex, some of u might know me by that?). i’m 29, prefer she/her pronouns, and i usually can be found playing two elven twins around here, but i’ve been going thru some changes in my life and this monster dating game has been keeping me afloat. it’s been two weeks. i’ve played it for almost 100 hours. but i’ve been writing since i was six, writing fanfic since i was seven, and rping since i was like, 11 on MSN Instant Messenger bc i’m a dinosaur, though i’ve only dared to join a mfrpg in the last year. a pandemic is a hell of a time to go outside ur comfort zone, eh?

let’s see, what else. well, i’m physically disabled and have Cerebral Palsy, so i use a wheelchair to get around. i’m autistic and have c-ptsd, whose ass i am constantly trying to kick thru therapy and bettering myself!!! i DO have chronic migraine, which i manage as best as i can w medical marijuana, though i’m hoping to get into my hospital’s treatment program. i might b a bit sporadic bc of that last thing esp, since sadly it’s hard to rp when Screen Hurt.

that said, when im not in pain and lying in bed i am known to listen to a shitton of podcasts (usually true crime, sometimes science or comedy or, y’know, some rly good fiction shit), music is one of the best things to discover on earth (esp pop music <3), and once in awhile when Halley’s comet goes by i write a fanfic or two! hot pink is my fav color, i’m a huge (ace) lesbian, i have social anxiety, i’ve always been That Dolphin Girl in your class, lemon is the best flavor and all citrus wins, uhhh...

idk, tbh. polly might seem like an odd character for me to pick up, but i think abt this poltergeist p much 24-7, and it’s been like a year or something since i rped in isola proper!! hopefully this is a good time. i’m sure it will be. ;3 see u nerds around!! <3 i’ve made a lot of friends thru this group, so reaching out can only b a good thing.

PEACE, HUGS, N COCOA PUFFS.

#isola mun intro #good lord i wish i knew how to introduce myself properly LMAO #HI I LOVE WRITE?#HI I LOVE GHOST?

0 notes

butchtaurus · 7 years ago

Text

When will i shut up abt this tbh? hopefully after this… god damn.

Now that it’s been days since the supergirl sdcc incident. i wanna try talk about it more comprehensively? I’m not so good with words or expressing my feelings but i feel like i need to try and understand. I’ll probably forget things i want to say lmao. It’s probably gonna be SO LONG, I’m so so so so SORRY!!!!!!

So, people are mad at Jeremy and Melissa for “making fun of a popular f/f ship.” And while on the surface it seems exactly that, it partially was. But i don’t think the words yelled at us, and it was at us because he looked directly at he camera while doing it, “THEYRE ONLY FRIENDS” was the problem. It was that a fanbase made of many young LGBT people were singled out. Now the intent on Jeremy or Melissa’s part may not have been homophobic or meant to hurt in anyway, they felt they were joking around. But they still did hurt a lot of people.

My interpretation of this “joke” felt like they were poking fun at me for believing two female friends could more than friends and that it was silly to think that. In Jeremy’s first apology he says how its valid how he interprets their story. Which is absolutely correct! He can view them as only friends, no one’s gonna make fun of that. Cause… thats canon? lmao. Part of fiction is allowing the consumer to interpret the work however they see fit because whats the fun in being told what the fiction or art means?

Maybe the cast was tired of being asked about Supercorp, but why was it brought up unprompted in this song recap like that? Jeremy could’ve sang something like ‘Kara met Lena and they became best friends!’ done, perfect, move on. Everything woulda been chill. But instead he faced the camera, which breaks him apart from the interviewers and his cast mates to talk to us the fans, and yelled to the camera.

Onto the rest of the interview because that song was not the only thing that made me disappointed and/or angry.

The interviewer asks about shipping (Kara and Lena). Jeremy chimes in and says “I feel like I’m gonna get destroyed for what I just did…. I’m sorry. I just debunked supercorp.” And Melissa says “That was pretty brave.” And I THINK, that’s where others got really mad at Melissa. I do not think Melissa was saying Jeremy was brave for “debunking supercorp” but that it was brave he just said any of that shit, because the cast has to know how insanely loud this fanbase as a whole is, usually not in a good way. (I’ve never seen it, but i just know people have to be sending death threats to multiple people in this cast, or insulting them in some way when its none of our business. Valid criticism aside.)

Then, the interviewer asks a weirdly worded question towards supercorp as a ship. “Are you caught off guard when you hear about, sort of, [what] fans are making of relationships, seeing stuff that is or isn’t there or might be there, et cetera? Like what do you make of it at this point?” Which, since listening to that fandomentals podcast, does throw me off because it puts everyone in a weird position to answer the othering(?) type question.

Now after Melissa answers the question, i have no problem with her answer there tbh, Katie chimes in with a very thoughtful response on how we can interpret art how we want. I also wanna talk about what people thought Mehcad was saying during the end of Katie’s response. I think everyone was feeling very hurt and sensitive since the song etc, so people were very analytical of everything being said. So people thought Mehcad was either saying “zitta” or “take that”, and since re-listening to the actual interview I hear “take that” as in ‘yes, take what you want from fiction’ AND NOT zitta. Take that (haha) for what you will and if you still think it was zitta I would urge you to re-listen and check after you’ve calmed down a bit? Not to be condescending to/dismissive of your feelings tho! ahhhh

After Katie has said her response. Chris says “Yeah and sexuality is all about others perceptions of yours, right? [cast laughter] Am I right?! …. That was sarcasm!” Yeah… okay. Maybe it was sarcasm, but it was a shitty thing to say at all. And also makes no sense for what they’re talking about. I mean… we’re talking about fictional character here aren’t we? So, what? why? what..?

Jeremy replies to Chris’s comment: “Hey listen, I went to musical theatre school I know all about other peoples perception of sexuality.” So… uh, we aren’t talking about fictional characters? Honestly, who cares what other people think about your sexuality? Did/do people think your gay? Why is that so bad? (Maybe I’m still a little sensitive about that part for some reason…)

Now, I think that was all from THAT interview specifically. There was definitely more ugly stuff that happened with Supergirl at comic con, at least to me. Maybe I’ll make another post because this is so fucking long, I’m so sorry…

The cast may not have meant to hurt anyone with all of this, and they definitely aren’t homophobic like how I think people mean? I really do think its in bad taste to just call them homophobic for this incident. What they did was like a micro aggression and in the grand scheme of things very little. Though large in the aftermath unfortunately. They just couldn’t understand the intracasies to LGBT fandoms or shipping, or even LGBT people, since they aren’t. Basically it was ignorance on their part. So, for me personally, I’m not gonna go all out and hate them. I do have a distrust that I can’t ignore though cause i felt made fun of. :/

To people who think “yeah well supercorps deserved it for how they treat the cast.” I can not control what other people do with their social media. I do not see whatever everyone else fucking does. I sit here in my bubble liking the things I like. I can only say that, I do not condone any ugly person that sends death threats, tells someone in the cast to kill themselves, insults the cast, or bring up personal things to be gross to the cast. I do not like that and think it’s stupid. I could only hope anyone 18 and older would know better and that anyone younger would please think of the cast as actual human beings. It doesn’t matter how much you hate any of the cast. Take your time to do anything else.

And listen, feelings are not invalid. No matter how many people think it’s an overreaction. People don’t get to tell you what you feel is stupid. You were hurt, that is the end of it. You’re allowed to be angry or upset or sad or disappointed but before you think to write something angry or rude, take a few minutes or a few hours and try understand why you’re angry and be respectful if you want to express those feelings. Cause when I look back to those words I said right after I was hurt by theirs… I know that I didn’t hurt anyone else. But, if I did? I’m sorry. D:

If you didn’t get offended or hurt? That’s great I’m really happy for you! :)

ALSO AGAIN IF YOU READ THIS WHOLE THING OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY YOU USED YOUR TIME ON MY WORDS AHHHHHHAGDHJFK

#sg mess #personal #long post #jesus this was so long #ALSO ME? INSULTING THE CAST ON MY BLOG? never done idk what ur talking about #okay maybe a little #i only reblogged chip would stuff before i just... i can't w him I'm so sorry its only a joke :(

1 note · View note