#most common australian accent too.

[aardvaark]

Hope you’re enjoying the librarians, who’s your favorite character so far?

hey! yes i am, thank you!!

ooh it’s tough to choose. honestly i like jenkins a lot because he’s hilariously snarky, but of the "core four" characters… hmm, probably ezekiel. gotta root for the home team lol (im australian) but also, he’s funny, he’s cool, he’s calm. he doesn’t mind too much that the others think he’s "bad" or worry about his supposed evilness lol, and i like that he either doesn’t let stuff get to him, or that he at least doesn’t let it show when it gets to him - i haven’t seen enough to really know about that yet. he’s a thief and frankly that’s just a consistently awesome character concept haha. he’s just rolling with the whole "magic is real" and "evil magic stuff keeps happening" thing and i admire that lol. i would completely freak out if i saw the stuff they saw, tbh!

unfortunately it is also GRATING to hear my own accent on tv. i do not sound like thattttt (<- lying).

[korshrimpski]

WHAT CHAOS: Jordan Spence has the NHL's most interesting backstory

my favourite moments from this podcast [Youtube] [Spotify]

First of all they open the podcast like this: "You are the only player from Manly, Australia. Do you feel pressure being the NHL's only Manly man?"

One of the big reasons why the spence family moved to canada was too see what jordan could do playing hockey at a higher level because Japan's big sports is baseball (which he used to play) so hockey was kinda in the background

Spenny mentions how he got into hockey because his dad used to play it growing up. And he also explains where his passion for hockey outgrew baseball is when he would go visit Prince Edward Island in the Spring to play Spring hockey tournaments.

Jordan talks about youth hockey in Japan and how he played people older than him and when he moved to P.E.I people would ask him if there was even hockey in Japan, which was a very common question.

The host asked, "Have you ever crossed paths with Aito Iguchi?" who is a very popular japanese player and used to make hockey content on youtube. And this is another common question spenny is asked (btw the answer is no, he has never skated with him)

They asked if spenny ever had to do early morning training in japan and spenny didn't have any morning practices and the host find that wild

SPENNY TRIVIA #1: he had to travel an hour to go to his team in Japan

There is apparently a lot of Canadian hockey players that live in japan to play pro there so spenny found it cool growing up focusing on their skills and all that (ik i'm terrible at writing and explaining things, please forgive me)

He was not a chirper when he was younger

Part 1 of my favourite part of the podcast: context; when spenny moved to canada he didn't know english. And something that helped him understand english he asked his teammates "what are some bad words i can say" and in return he would teach them bad Japanese swear words

Part 2 of my favourite part of the podcast: when spenny was first trying to learn english he would speak in 3rd person and to quote, "so i would be like, 'oh Jordan hungry' or like, 'Jordan go to bed.'" LIKE?!? that isfucking beautiful i love it so much

then the host actually makes a funny joke saying that it's devastating spenny's english progressed from there because it would be intimidating if he said something like, "Jordan dropping 'em."

they ask about him being trilingual and this is his reaction (please he's so funny)

14. He would like to think he is trilingual but he kinda isn't? Like he can speak japanese and english.

15. But with french he would like it to be known that when Phillip Danault speaks french to him he can understand it, he just finds it tough speaking french.

16. he picked up french because of school and in the Q a lot of people speak french and when he was traded to Val-d'Or (north quebec),everyone spoke french so he had to learn.

17. he called phillip danault 'the man' twice because they were talking about how he was so popular in quebec and montreal

18. he also found it funny that people would speak french in front of them thinking they won't understand it but spenny would (i wish they delved into this more but sadly they didn't)

19. he found the australia experience very awesome and mentions how a lot of content was around him and how that was cool. But at the same time it was weird for him because he doesn't really feel connected to australia because he was only there for a year and a half and has no memory of it, so he felt like an imposter being called australian (I an australian dub the, Jordan Spence, to be a honorary aussie)

20. spenny wishes he had an aussie accent and him saying this made me feel very powerful like yes.... hehehe we are amazing.. hehe

21. then one of the host says, "Imagine if you were out their still having not finished learning English also speaking in an Australian accent." spenny cuts in and says, "third person as well." then the host continues, "third person as well... but doing like 'Jordan hungry' in australian accent, man you'd be, you'd have outrageous endorsement deals." | Like i'm so sorry i found this so funny because now i'm imagining spenny with a mangled aussie accent saying "jordan dropping 'em" and its beautiful 😭😭

22. then spenny does an... okay ish aussie accent. Idk it sounds the same as all the other non-aussies saying "good 'ay mate"

23. QUINTON BYFIELD MENTION 🗣️ (context: the host mentions how spenny learn qb was german through their podcast)

24. also this moment, "I had no clue (context: qb was part german). And you know, I'm really close with him... You know we hang out all the time." Like physically i am well, emotionally my heart has swollen 2 times

25. then they move onto talking about fantasy football and i'm sorry i don't understand fantasy football (i simply cannot comprehend NFL, so this bits going to be with the things i do understand) which is: qb and spenny have been team owners together for the past two year and so far their top guy isn't doing well

26. "whats [qb] like as a buddy?" 27. "he's such a goofball, it's actually crazy." JORDAN SPENCE DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW UNWELL YOU JUST MAKE ME "he's such a goofball" SPENNY AAHAHAHHA

28. hold on the answer continues, "He's such a goofball, it's actually crazy. It's funny for me you know, cause like I know how he is around the boys and like a great guy like he loves fooling around with the guys, you know pranking guys, joking around. And then you'll be- I'll be beside him, he'll just be doing the media and he's like dead serious. And it's like so funny to me cause like that's pretty much the only time he's serious is if he's doing something for the media or obviously when he's playing. So like he's you know, everyone loves him and he's a great player and you know, i'm, we hang out all the time and it's a lot of fun but it's, that's like on of the biggest thing that's kinda funny is the only time he's serious is like when he's playing hockey really." LIKE YES SPENNY!! ramble about your bestie (he's like me fr i will talk about my friends all day long)

29. One time qb and spenny were spotted on an ebike together and the host ask if doubling up on an ebike is a regular occurance and spenny says, "um yeah i think." and the host is like me fr saying, "fuck yeah." to the info

30. they ask about halloween and if spenny and qb have a couples costume planned and they don't. and spenny explains last years costume and how quinton suggested it and how it was very last minute.

31. also spenny is wearing a mets hat but he's not a mets fan he's just a fan of cool hats

32. then they start talking about baseball... i do not understand baseball either,, sorry. I'll try my best for this bit.

33. spenny likes baseball but doesn't have any teams and he usually watchs games for japanese players. and he would love to mention shohei ohtani

34. they ask him his relationship with drew doughty because spenny's family dog is named after hi. Because growing up jordan didn't really root for any team he mainly had players (his top 3 players were, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and Drew Doughty (doughty being his fav))

35. spenny calls drew a "goofball" in his rant about how cool drew doughty is and can i just say i love spenny describing people as goofballs

36. after the draft he is asked a questionnaire and one of the questions is "do you have a pet if so what is their name" and jordan was sitting there like "shit this is going to look so bad, because people might think i just got the dog and named it doughty." like my man was stressing

37. but it wasn't until 2 years ago when drew actually found out about the dog because spenny's roommate alex turcotte (a little tidbit: alex and spenny have been roomates for the past 3-4 years) and jordan is pretty sure turkey is the one that told dewey and dewey just starts laughing (thank you turkey for your service to the cause of embarrassing spenny)

38. Now spenny doesn't think to much about the dog being named after drew but when that happened he was so embarrassed

anyways hope you all enjoyed my incoherent rambles :3

[pyxilatezero]

An Honest Review of Mean Girls (2024)

I have seen so many negative reviews of this movie, and I have to say one thing to you guys: you obviously weren’t the target audience if you hated this movie.

First, let me break down some of their complaints, and then I’ll give you the rundown of my personal opinion.

Common Complaint Number One: Renée Rapp’s acting was bad.

Do I need to explain to you why you’re stupid, or are you going to see yourself out the door? If her acting was bad, I’m the next Queen of England. Not only did she bring life to a different version of Regina George, she clearly put some effort into portraying that character. She was probably the second best actor in this movie.

Common Complaint Number Two: Angourie Rice was miscast as Cady Heron; Her singing is bad, her acting is flat, ect.

If I was someone who had just moved to America from another country, I would be reserved too. I would show my emotions less, and I would probably try and do things to fit in with other people I wouldn’t normally do. While I admit her performance can’t match up to Lindsay’s, I also say: can YOU act that well? No. These are professionals. If you think that you can act better, then I’d better see you when they make a musical version of Mean Girls 2. And your complaints with the singing are unfair. She’s Australian- do you know how hard it is to sing with an accent? Oh, well she could just keep the accent when singing- DO YOU KNOW HOW DIFFERENT AN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT IS FROM A KENYAN ONE? The door is to your right.

Common Complaint Number Three: The Fashion is bad. (WARNING: Long segment)

This is… wow. I’m disappointed. Honestly, I am. While some of the choices are questionable, do you know how much effort was put into these outfit designs? The first time we see Regina, for example, we see her in all black. Black can represent power, but it can also represent hatred, as another thing; a reference to Cady being told she should hate Regina by her friends. Later on, at the end of the movie, she wears black, all the way up until she gets hit by a bus (which, contrary to what some people say, was not left out of the movie). To show her hatred for Cady. While the outfits may not be perfect, they are quite fitting. To introduce Cady in school, she wears blue- colors associated with sadness, but also nerves. Throughout the movie, Cady is nervous- first to be at school, then to lose her friends, and then to topple Regina, take her place, and be in power. Just because the fashion isn’t perfect and doesn’t make the characters look like models doesn’t mean the acting is bad. (Also, Regina would never use ELF? I am friends with someone who is essentially Regina George but less mean and not as rich, but still pretty up there, and I assure you, she uses ELF)

Complaint Number Four: ALL OF THE SINGING IS AWFUL

…

Are you deaf? Actually, no. That’s insulting to the deaf people. If you seriously think that all of the songs are awful, you need to never listen to music ever again because you are a disgrace to this society. I will admit, not all of the songs were bangers, but I still have What-Ifs stuck in my head (I agree with one thing, Stupid With Love, both the movie and musical versions, can go with Regina by that bus through)

Complaint Number Five: It’s too much like the original movie but not close enough to the original movie

This is the most common thing I see. People stating that it’s ’trying too hard to be the original movie’ but that it ‘left out key details in the movie that would make it more like the original movie’. Seriously, SHUT UP. Nobody wants to hear you being all ambivalent about your fake reason for hating the movie because someone else told you it’s bad.

Common Complaint Number Six: The acting is bad.

Look me in the eyes and tell me the actors did not pour their heart and soul into this film. You can’t. There’s the door. Go outside. Touch grass.

Common Complaint Number Seven: It wasn’t marketed as a musical!!!

Do you… not see the music note? Okay, you’re blind. Got it 👍 But if you’re so blind, then almost none of the previous complaints are valid because you couldn’t see the movie.

But in all honesty, this one just legitimately pisses me off, because it just means that people can’t be bothered to pay attention to something that is made obvious to them. Sure, the first trailer didn’t include singing, but it was to get you hooked on the idea, not to advertise the movie. Wake up sheeple.

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

I have my own flurry of complaints. Well, no I don’t. Just two or three. 1. Cady’s entire personality was liking Aaron. I’m sorry, I can’t like a main character who is, in effect, like half the people who dislike this movie, a sheep. And I will admit, there were a FEW times the emotion shown by Cady wasn’t as perfect as it could have been. But it’s not a movie killer. 2. I don’t think the movie addresses very well that Janis was also mean. The ‘At least me and Regina KNOW we’re mean’ gave Janis’s treatment of Cady more effect; made Cady come off less as a villain and more as a victim, whereas the new one completely glosses over it and makes it seem like Janis was the one in the right all along. And three, Cady should have kissed Regina at the beginning and none of this would have happened. If you’re going to give us gay Janis, GIVE US OUR CADINA DAMMNIT.

Otherwise, this movie was amazing! I am a lesbian tho so maybe that’s not objective :P

FINAL RATING: 9/10

LESBIAN O’ METER: 6/10 (Kinda Gay, NGL)

[rebelangelsims]

OC Deep Dive

Thank you for the tag @stargazer-sims

Edith Rose Rollins

What uncommon/common fear do they have? Being Unloved, forgotten and vampires; after her ex Nathan it became one of her fears being forgotten and not being able to make a huge difference scares her then vampires well they are part of the reason why her mother died.

Do they have any pet peeves? People butting into conversations or interrupting someone mid sentence

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom? BTS and BT21 Merch, a cherry blossom bonsai tree, her magazine covers

What do they notice first in a person? Eyes and their smile along with their body language

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance? 8

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? Fight mode you do not wanna mess with mama bear Edith, most times she can shut you up with one look.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person? Edith is an only child and at the time it was only her mother Selene and herself later Nari adopted her; Edith does want to have a big family one day.

What animal represents them best? Whale or maybe a cat and I don't know why.

What is a smell that they dislike? Lynx deodorant, most men drown themself in it (I hate that smell too and it's the strong one, gives me a headache when they put too much on)

Have they broken any bones? Yep broke her ankle when her foot went to the side while walking causing her to fall and break her ankle when she was a child

How would a stranger likely describe them? Enchanting

Are they a night owl or a morning bird? Edith is more of a night owl I mean she is a moon witch after all but if she needs to can wake up early

What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love? oyster sauce she doesn't like and she loves anything spicy

Do they have any hobbies? Edith loves to play piano and loves to cook/bake plus she likes learning Kpop dances

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises? Most of the time she knows about but she'll act surprise and she loves it makes her feel loved

Do they like to wear jewelry? Yep most of the time it's earrings, her moon necklace and her engagement/wedding ring

Do they have neat or messy handwriting? It's funny but Edith's signature is like super neat and if she really focuses on her handwriting it's neat but if she's being quick it's messy.

What are two emotions they feel the most? Love and Confidence

Do they have a favorite fabric? cotton and faux mink (like that blankets)

What kind of accent do they have? Edith is Australian so she has an Australian accent but she's been living in Seoul for five years so she's got a mix of a Australian and Korean accent.

I'm tagging @midnightsquartz @stillgotme @cautiously0ptimistic @salemsimss @seyvia

[changelingsandothernonsense]

1, 3, 6, and 10 for sydari?? :3

1) Does your OC have a voice claim, if so who? Sydari has had her throat slit and it makes her voice a little hoarse at the best of times. She has a heavy Windhelm accent though I have given my Dunmer very Australian sounding accents within my fic (just how it goes i guess). She sounds most similar to Jessica Marais.

3) What song describes your OC? Sydari's music is a little softer, I feel Linger works so well.

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day? Oh Sydari would fall into politics eventually, she's ingratiated herself with the elites of most holds and runs the underbelly with one hand and greets the public with the other. She'd be a bit of an Al Capone style of character- feed the public and hold them to ransom whilst using her connections to get away with everything.

10) How does your OC handle their mental health? Do they take care of themselves?

This is where she and Josh have a lot in common. She simply doesn't. She pushes the emotion down until it turns to sludge and buries it in finery and status. After she lost her first baby and her husband, Brand Shei discovered her identity and kicks her out she developed a skooma habit. It ends with her getting locked in a cell by some weird vampire cult. She hasn't touched it since. Sydari pushes that shit down until she explodes. It's something she and Teldryn do all too often and they both have to learn better coping strategies like "using ones words" and "being honest about things".

The two grow through each other.

[oliviax727]

I finally gotten to it, I am finally going to start learning a language (Spanish)

Wait, why should I care?

You don't need to care at all. I just want to keep a public record of my progress and see if I can pull off the effort for long enough to achieve my goals.

If you're not interested, there's no shame in scrolling past this post once a month. And dw, these posts will be at most monthly. So if you're here for something else, this won't clog things up.

If you're concerned about the physics, reminder this is my personal account, and there's another one exclusively for those who just want the science without the shitposting/personal/political stuff.

Though if you're like a linguist or something - or are interested in language stuff in general, I'm sure you can find some value in this post perhaps.

What language will it be?

tl;dr Spanish

Also I love putting all this colour in my post. It satisfies my autism so much.

Now, I've come from a very multilingual background. I learned mandarin between age 5 - 13, and latin in grades 7 thru 8.

Mandarin was a language I could never get the hang of.

It probably had to do with some child-like racism combined with a lack of motivation.

Buuuuut it most likely was a consequence of when I moved from Hong Kong to Australia, my new school did not accomodate the fact I was already experienced.

Nevertheless, I feel as if my Mandarin skills have been overshot, and I don't think I'd be motivated to re-learn it unless I overwhelmingly succeed in this.

Latin was just a dud - I decided to do it because I thought it would be interesting, but dropped it after I realised I had too much on my plate heading into 9th grade.

But Spanish on the other hand, well, there are three better reasons why I choose to learn it:

I never really got an opportunity. I stopped wanting to learn from my abuela when I was 3-5 yo, and my Australian high school also didn't offer it either (my high school's curriculum was dogshit)

A big portion of my relatives are tied to Argentina, with my mum being born from Argentine immigrants. She spent her high school years doing ESL as Spanish was her second language

Aspiring to do Astrophysics is likely going to land me in Chile, as the Andes is home to telescopes-a-plenty

I could've also gone with other languages I'm interested in, like:

German (because my abuela was born from German immigrants - no they were not Nazis, they actually fled in 1936 to avoid conscription)

Croatian (my abuelo was born in Yugoslavia and fled in the 1950s)

Greek (I don't know why it was my "latin is cool" phase, so I guess I wanted to do ancient greek but I don't know how much drift there has been over the last 2000 years thanks to the romans)

And thus I go with Spanish.

But what about regional dialects?

I am very aware that there are various dialects of Spanish within Latin America, and generally, most online methods of learning will teach you Spanish Spanish.

But I think it's more important to first learn a bit of basic vocab, and the grammar, before worrying about my regional dialect. I'm still pretty sure that the most common and important grammar conventions are still shared between languages.

And I already know that people will tell I'm a foreigner, because I'll have an "English"-like accent to it. Learning a specific dialect will only make it harder to tell, not eliminate being "language clocked" entirely.

So what's this going to look like?

Every month or two I'm going to personally report, to myself, via tumblr, my progress in learning. I'll list what I learned, what I still need to work on, and what I wish I could do next.

Effectively this is going to be a public journal of sorts, to make sure I feel like I'm doing this productively.

What's the weather like now?

Given that I've already attempted to learn Spanish twice previously, and being exposed to cultural influences, I already know a bit of Spanish.

Most of it is just random bits of vocabulary, that sound a lot less impressive if you were to try and make me say a sentence:

Custom greetings "Hola", "Buenos Noches"

Expletives "¡Ay caramba!"

The basic conjunction "y"

"Niño, niña, hombre"

Agua (with the "con gas" or "sin gas" tacked on too)

Counting from "uno" to "treinta-nueve"

Some month names like "Mayo" or "Diciembre"

Some colours like "Rojo"

Some utensils and tools like "Boligrafo"

Other stuff that I won't be able to recaly suddenly

And I mostly only understand the pronunciation, most of the spellings I had to look up on google translate. Extra I's like in December or thirty, or that there's no "ph" in pen.

There are other simple grammatical rules that I know of:

Gender i.e. words that end with a you tack on a "La" and for o's you tack on "El". More generally you have to pay attention to grammatical gender

As an educated guess from knowing a bit of Latin, I'm sure there are noun and verb declensions that interact with gender as well

Word order, much like English, is SVO

Clearly, I have my work cut out for me. But I also have a head start over a lot of people primarily because I have experience in other languages related to Spanish, which can help inform me on grammar and common vocabulary. I also have some (minor) knowledge in linguistics.

Another one is that I don't just assume that Spanish is a 1:1 translation of English, where you can just swap words for others. This seems like a trivial fact. But you'd be surprised at how much "English-speaking privilege" can blind people who don't require learning second languages.

It can be much more effective to learn a language when you know your expectations.

What are my Goals?

Well, in the spirit of a SMART goal, I don't really know. Because I don't actually know how long it will take me to get to a desired level of fluency.

Sometimes a language can take years to learn, sometimes it can be picked up in just one. And there are so many different "levels" of acheivement.

Which is why my goals in the long term will be more vapid:

At some point, I want to have a semi-fluent conversation with my abuela in Spanish

I want to be able to speak and understand a proper, unbroken sentence within a few months or a year

Now, what I mean by "Sentence" is really finicky. I don't mean "Las mujers leen; ¡Soy una de las mujers!" (see I'm already learning ha ha). I mean a sentence you'd normally say like:

"Hey X, I'm gonna go to the store, what do you need me to buy? Ok see you in half an hour."

That will be a bit difficult. It requires a lot more vocab to get to that level. But of course, I know it's do-able because millions of people have done it already!

What are my short-term goals? And how will I learn?

For the short term, my goals are a little more simpler. Primarily because there will always be a course or an app that will help me learn.

And for the first few months, my goals are most likely going to align with whatever the app has designed for me to do.

The problem is that I feel like most apps will act as if they can take you from no-knowledge to fluent speaker in like 5 months tops, which for an adult sounds a little fishy if you ask me.

When reading through the recommended applications, I came across two that were appealing:

Duolingo, which is more fast-paced and short-form. It gamifies language but may not be great for formal education

Rosetta Stone, which is advertised as better for natural language learning. And requires more effort.

I decided to use both, mainly because I'm lucky enough to afford it ... for now. I don't have much other means to spend my money regardless.

The reason I choose to use both is simply because I want the best of both worlds, and that I can't tell which one is better until I try it. Duolingo makes it entertaining, Rosetta Stone makes it serious. Sort of the balance I'm looking for.

At some point I hope to stop using at least one or the other. But for now I have nothing better to do.

Anyways, that's all I gotta say on the matter for now. Wish me luck!

[arcadekitten]

Lol I have quite a handful of questions about the Noisrevverse here 😆

Do Noisrevians have pets, or would that be kinda weird considering the majority of them are/can turn into animals themselves?

Since Halloween exists in the Noisrevverse (like in Tricks n Treats), is there also a Noisrevian equivalent of Christmas (and/or any other popular holidays)? (Personally, I think it'd be pretty cool if said equivalent of Christmas also had a Santa who'd be a (red-nosed? 😛) reindeer.)

Does everyone in the Noisrevverse speak the same language, or are there different languages per location there, like we know different languages per country on Earth? In case everyone speaks the same language, are there also accents/dialects per region or area, like how we have British, Australian, Southern, etc. English?

I will try to answer to the best of my ability!!

Depends on where we are!! In a game like Cemetery Mary, Mary can make note of having had a pet tarantula in the past. --

I think there's some winter holiday equivalencies! Santa is also real, but he's not a reindeer. He actually recruits reindeer (and other lead animals) for his team! --

I think there's some different languages, but similar to a game like DND there's also a "common" language that most everyone speaks--so most people probably get along like that. People also have accents, too! I think characters like Gunter and Jaxter, who both come from snowier regions, share an accent for example.

[a-solitary-sea-rover-backup]

The Greatest Sailing Movie (N)Ever Made

Discussions of sailing movies online tend to circle around the same dozen names or so. How many errors did you spot in All is Lost? Was Master and Commander just too jargon-heavy to be a hit? Wind— love it or hate it? And just how bad is Waterworld?

But a recent discovery in the archives of Universal Studios revealed how close we almost came to having another name— or two?— in Hollywood’s somewhat dubious pantheon of the sport. While sorting old personnel files for digitization, archivist Tasha Durak discovered extensive material in the files of now-retired Universal screenwriter Avril Debile related to a project called Sunny Sets Sail. The documents suggest that Debile first got the idea for the story when visiting San Diego in 1991, during preparations for the following year’s America’s Cup competition.

Sunny Sets Sail (some documents use the title Sunny: America’s Pup) was to be a children’s sports comedy in a style common in the 1990s, combining cameos from real pro athletes with the hilarious antics of a fictional group of children— and, naturally, their adorable dog.

The story centered around Hannah, a young Navy brat recently moved to then-contemporary San Diego after spending most of her life overseas. Trying to help her feel more at home, Hannah’s parents give her a Newfoundland puppy named Sunny for her birthday and enroll her in lessons at a local sailing club. When Sunny tags along with Hannah to her first lesson, the instructor reluctantly allows the dog to accompany Hannah and her friends Jenny and Robby, noting the Newfoundland breed’s famous swimming abilities.

As the weeks pass by, Hannah, Jenny, and Robby discover Sunny is a natural crewmate, following commands to shift weight and pull on lines with her mouth. As there is nothing in the sailing club’s rules to prevent canine crew, the three compete in a junior racing series with Sunny onboard, and end up winning.

The prize is presented by Robby’s parents, Frank and June Arnold (apparently based on Peter and JJ Isler), who are both sailors for an American syndicate preparing to defend the America’s Cup. Sunny and the kids are invited to come watch the racing. They meet both the American team and the challengers, the usual sports movie band of villainous rivals, this time wearing an Australian coat of paint. (One draft which badly attempted to write out their dialogue phonetically was rejected by an editor for its potential to cause an international incident, as it sounded closer to a hideous mix of Cockney and Bostonian accents.)

The worst of them, of course, is challenging skipper Charlie “Crusher” Mackenzie, a bleach-blond meathead in sunglasses, introduced stepping on Sunny’s tail during a visit to the American compound and barking “Bloody mutt, I outta throw you overboard to the shahhks!” when she whines.

(Although few concrete references to the history of the America’s Cup are made during the script, Robby’s comment “The Australians. They won once before and they want it back.” seems to indicate a recent history vaguely like the real world’s.)

After Sunny jumps onboard the American IACC boat during a practice session and proves to be as adept at following commands as big boat crew as she did on the kids’ dinghy, Hannah and Robby suggest she become part of the American crew. At first, the skipper says no, but after losing the first two races of the match to the Australians, he relents.

Sunny, in a dog-sized windbreaker and ballcap with earholes, assists the Americans in the Cup match, and performs a traditional Newfoundland rescue when Mr. Arnold falls overboard during a maneuver. (In the first draft, she improbably swims fast enough to bring him back to the racing boat itself, in later drafts she more realistically drags him to a chase boat.)

As we might all hope, there indeed is a protest room scene where a white-haired old yachtsman adjusts his reading glasses, clears his throat, and declares “Nowhere in the America’s Cup Deed of Gift does it state that a dog cannot be part of a racing crew!”, followed, according to stage directions, by “swelling, triumphant music”.

Champagne being not-quite G-rated, the final victory scene features the spraying and guzzling of orange soda, and Sunny being showered with kibble poured out of the America’s Cup.

Avril Debile visited the 1992 and 1995 America’s Cups while researching the script, making connections with most American teams involved. The file contained a transcript of a research interview with the Islers and an educational brochure from the PACT 95 syndicate. Both Dawn Riley and Dennis Conner expressed interest in playing themselves in the film, although Conner wrote to Debile to request more lines.

While the commercial failure of Wind initially caused Universal to doubt the project, eventually Sunny Sets Sail was set for a tentative Summer 1996 release, a year after the America’s Cup, to help keep enthusiasm high for the next edition in San Diego. However, with Team New Zealand’s victory in the 1995 competition, the plot suddenly seemed dated, and production was shelved. A story with the heroes traveling to New Zealand as challengers was judged too complex for young audiences to understand. This was still the pre-Lord-of-the-Rings era in which American knowledge of New Zealand, among both children and adults, was judged to be nil. Avril Debile moved on to other projects, but the only one of note to sailing fans was the similar Tsunami: Extreme Cat. This film, created with input from Cam Lewis, would have covered a cat named Tsunami who stows away aboard a trimaran attempting the Jules Verne Trophy in her owner’s seabag. Although charming and with fewer scenes that strain belief, this script had the misfortune of being submitted to the studio in August 2001, just weeks before the 9/11 attacks changed national concerns. With the 90s extreme sports fad now out of fashion, Tsunami was also cancelled.

It’s easy at a distance of a quarter-century to look on these projects with regret, thinking of how they might have raised the public profile of sailing in the USA. As cheesy and corny as the plots sound— surely if they had been made, “Sunny the dog” and “The Deed of Gift does not forbid dogs!” would be as much of a running joke on Scuttlebutt as “The Whomper”— they could have made the sport of sailing part of the childhood of an entire generation of young people.

Our cold comfort is that it is widely suspected that the scripts for Sunny Sets Sail that were passed around Hollywood in the early-mid 90s could have inspired other films of the era about improbable animal athletes, such as Air Bud, Racing Stripes, and MVP: Most Valuable Primate.

“Avril” is of course French for “April”, and “Débile” means “Stupid” or “Foolish”.

[thenewwei]

Here are some thoughts on Germany/Italy/Austria and my European trip generally:

In general, I had a great time. Everyone I met was friendly, and I did make new friendships. Hopefully they’ll last.

Here are some questions and answers, from good to not so good:

Do you like Europeans?

Of course, I love everybody! Whether they love me back or not, depends.

Do Americans travel in Europe?

Yeah, they do. I met quite a few Americans on my travels in Europe, and most accents I heard were American.

Is the system better here?

I would say in general, it is. Food and general costs are pretty much the same as in the US, gas is a little higher (I actually thought it was significantly lower until I realized it was in liters!), rent is usually lower than NYC but like everywhere it depends where you are.

But your food costs are in-built, there’s no extra sales tax or tips. Universal health care, longer vacations and not paying for an active military helps a lot. I doubt there are too many law suits in Europe either. It was ethnically diverse everywhere I went, even in smaller cities I could get Thai, Vietnamese food, whatever. Nowhere is the quality as good as NYC, but they have it.

Train strikes are common, there was another one in Germany on this trip and it cost me an extra night of rent and I had to change my plans. Public transportation is easy to navigate, though it’s generally more expensive than NYC. Can’t say anything about tolls, parking etc.

And despite staying in plenty of “poor” neighborhoods, I never really felt unsafe, except for once in Turin, and I just avoided that area.

The one major positive we have is texting. Texting is expensive in Europe, and almost everyone here uses WhatsApp (ironically, an American company). Almost everyone texts in America if you have a smartphone, it’s usually included.

Do Europeans know anything about Americans, and what are misperceptions?

Their knowledge is nearly totally based on anti-American propaganda and movies/Netlix shows (almost all of which are set amongst wealthy Californians). They know basics, usually negative, but rarely specifics.

The first question I was asked by multiple Europeans (and an Australian) when I mentioned I was from NYC was the “homeless” problem based on the belief that homeless shelters are either expensive or non-existent. Homeless shelters are free in NYC, last I checked, though you do need to create a plan with a case worker to ultimately get out of one. We also have Section 8 housing, rent control, Mitchell-Lama apartments, a rent moratorium during the pandemic and a million other programs to assist with admittedly crazy housing costs.

Yes, we have had a significant homeless problem since the pandemic, but that was mainly due to closed mental hospitals during the De Blasio admin—it wasn’t a significant issue in the 20-25 years before the pandemic, though we did always have some homeless people, including entire families and children—I mean it’s a city of 8-10 million people, some people will always fall through the cracks.

Granted, the average NYer doesn’t know anything about these issues either, but it’s significant that almost every person, mostly educated young people, mentioned this issue to me as soon as I said I was from NYC. Also, I saw plenty of homeless people in European cities, especially Salzburg, even as it was claimed that wasn’t an issue here.

The real issue in NYC now is crime, gang shootings, crazy people pushing people in front of train tracks and punching people in the face, and house fires, but no one mentioned those to me. Also not significant issues before the pandemic, though they’ve always been there to an extent.

The other constantly mentioned issue is the lack of universal health care. True, the system is horrible on multiple levels and ideally should be made universal and reformed, but I have comprehensive coverage through my employer, and most people do. Poor people have Medicaid, seniors have Medicare, the disabled have Social Security disability. A terrible, greed-based system for sure that could put you in the hole if you have to individually buy coverage, but it’s also not like no one has coverage.

The border/migrant crisis—complex for sure, but their general perception of an American is a tall muscular white guy with an AK-47 shooting migrants at the border, and that’s not exactly true. But then, most Americans don’t know anything about the complexities of our immigration system, whether legal or otherwise.

Gun/school shootings. Of course true and horrible, though there was a shooting in Belgrade, Serbia, while I was there, and there have been shootings in Germany and Norway, I think. There are also riots all the time in France. Also almost all shootings in NYC occur using illegal guns. But yeah, there’s no other country on Earth where mass shootings happen regularly, yet we’re politically powerless to stop it (assault weapons, etc.).

Americans pay low taxes. Scandinavians always mention their 32% tax rate that pays for everything. I pay nearly 50% in NYC and I don’t even make that much. Or get that much. But most of my salary is paid through taxes, so I’m not complaining. But tax rates depend on where you are in the USA. Sales taxes are added everywhere and property taxes are a killer too.

Our tax dollars also help defend Europe’s security, and nearly all of Germany’s security. Things are easier when you don’t have to pay for bombs.

Almost no one knows that the USA is one of the most ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse nations on Earth, a nation of immigrants, and the most charitable people too, by far. In NYC, more than 800 languages are spoken, and we have tons of social programs. Apparently, Americans are Bible-toting idiots who can only speak English, and badly. Plus we hate immigrants.

Everyone hates America, but no has any particularly logical or fact-based reason for it.

Do Europeans love India and Indians?

Yes, they do. The trend of wanting me to identify with India over America continued on this trip.

Are Europeans socialists? Are Europeans nationalists?

I noted on my last trip in 2015 that nearly all Europeans I met worked in marketing of some type (among Germans there were also engineers and academics/potential academics). This time, I mostly met people in various teaching-based professions, or at least people who are in and out of it.

What they do constantly market are their countries. Their number one goal is to sell their country to you so you will hopefully move there. I mean I don’t know many Americans who are constantly pitching America. Maybe because we’re constantly told by our media how horrible our country is, but more likely it’s because we’re a country that values individualism over patriotism.

European women are almost universally like this, men are definitely more critical. One German waiter in Augsburg told me he thought Germany was “hopeless” because Germans aren’t welcoming. He contrasted this with Ireland, where he apparently visited, and where they will welcome you into their homes and give you tea. He was happy because I was the first person to speak English to him in weeks. I certainly do not think Germany is hopeless, but it’s another example of how European men tend to be more negative and realistic about their countries, and less wedded to them, culturally and otherwise.

Germans will ghost you

Yes, it’s not just an American phenomenon. I was ghosted by a couple of women who I’ve corresponded with for years and thought were my friends/acquaintances who would at least meet me or show me around their respective cities while I was in town. Nothing romantic or anything. I think ghosting is disrespectful and dishonorable, but I’m pretty old school, and it is what it is, moving on. But I wasted a couple of days this way when I could have done other things or gone to other places. Whatever.

Will you be back?

Probably not so soon, though I do love both Berlin and Milan. I would definitely go back to both locations, and I do want to explore more of northern Italy specifically, esp. Bologna and cities around it, and the beach towns around Genoa. I realize I definitely prefer the urban though. I had an allergic reaction in Italy and a cold in Germany. Next year, probably back to the Greek Islands and Turkey/Istanbul.

[philosophicalparadox]

Ok but honestly I disagree (well for the first one. The second one is just…well it speaks for itself.)

Why? Because British English is WAY more dynamic and it translates better than American English

Yes, you heard me. Using various dialects and phrases that exist in British English actually conveys a more accurate translation of Japanese in particular, because one of the biggest cultural differences between the US and England specifically is the concept of Directness

In the US, for the most part, (this is true of Australia too) if you mean to say something, you say it. Straight out. It’s right there.

But England went through an odd period of cultural change during the Victorian period, infamously introducing a very indirect way of communicating (which doesn’t actually play nice with the English language, which didn’t evolve with indirect speech in mind, is why some of those things seem so long winded) that has kept its shadow lurking around in even modern English English.

Why is this important? Because Japanese is very fundamentally a language and culture that is very Indirect. If you want to say something in Japanese, there’s a million and one ways not to say that thing but still imply it. Everything in Japanese is implied. Nouns, pronouns. Subject. Object. Verbs sometimes. You can drop nearly any part of a Japanese sentence and the message will still be more or less conveyed, because it’s all based on the assumption that whoever you’re talking to already knows what you’re talking about.

English fundamentally doesn’t work this way, but damn if the Victorian high society didn’t try. And even to this day there are many more ways to say a thing without saying a thing in European English, because the English broadly have a culture of politeness, much like Japan. So when a thing needs to be said and not said — a very very common occurrence in Japanese — English English actually offers you more phrases and vocabulary to accurately convey what’s being said (and not-said)

MOST the time this doesn’t matter one way or another. But that depends on the genre. Lord knows the English version of the Bakemonogatari series would of benefited immensely from being translated by a Brit using the colorful array of poetic word-play they’ve used for centuries to better and more accurately portray the similar type of features in that novel series. (Though nothing beats reading it in Japanese truly)

Similarly there is something to be said for how a character speaks being a fundamental part of their character, all the more so in Japan where how you speak is determined by your class, age and sex. A lot of that is very hard to translate into modern English regardless, but it translates better in some cases using British English.

Also Japan is very…divisive about its own ethnic minorities. And class. Classism is quite alive and well there thank you. And one of the things that can automatically lower the social status of a person is whether they speak a different dialect, or have an accent in Japanese. England once had similar issues and there are SO MANY dialects of English that could be used to help better demonstrate this feature when it matters. Some anime and manga did in fact try that. Yu Yu Hakusho got some interesting flak from American fans when the anime was released here by using an English, American Bronx, Irish and Australian accent VA for different characters that were supposed to be speaking a different dialect of Japanese each. I still personally consider this very clever if done maybe not as well as it could have. As an example.

And I get that 90% of English VA are Americans so they gotta pick and choose, BUT we are talking manga too here. The ability to use a broader and more suitably vague language to accurately translate when it matters, I think is wildly underutilised.

As for when is does matter — a good many confusingly translated Slice of Life, Romance, (uuuuuugh) Shoujou (especially shoujo good lord), sometimes Shonen moments, and more complex politically-flavored Seinen would benefit most from being able to actually describe the saying-what-we-are-not-saying thing.

[manhattanreviewglobal]

Overcoming IELTS Listening Section Challenges: Advice from Hyderabad's Top Coaches

Are you preparing for the IELTS exam and feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of the listening section? You're not alone! Many test-takers find the IELTS listening section to be one of the most daunting parts of the exam. But fear not, as Hyderabad's top IELTS coaches from Manhattan Review have some valuable insights to help you conquer this challenge. In this article, we'll explore the common struggles students face during the IELTS listening section and provide expert advice on how to overcome them.

Understanding Different Accents

One of the major stumbling blocks in the IELTS listening section is the diversity of accents presented in the audio recordings. From American and British to Australian and Canadian accents, test-takers must be prepared to decipher a range of speech patterns. This can be particularly challenging for non-native English speakers who are more accustomed to a single accent.

To overcome this hurdle, Hyderabad's top IELTS coaches recommend immersing yourself in diverse English media. Regularly listening to podcasts, watching movies, and engaging with different accents will help your ears become attuned to various speech patterns. Additionally, Manhattan Review's coaching programs include exposure to different accents during practice sessions, providing students with the necessary training to tackle this challenge confidently.

Effective Note-Taking Strategies

Taking efficient notes while listening is crucial for success in the IELTS listening section. However, many students struggle to strike a balance between writing too much and missing out on essential details. This is where effective note-taking strategies come into play.

Manhattan Review's coaches suggest focusing on keywords and key phrases rather than attempting to transcribe the entire conversation. Train your brain to identify and jot down essential information that captures the main ideas and supporting points. This approach not only improves your note-taking speed but also ensures you remain engaged throughout the audio recording. With practice, you'll find yourself becoming more adept at capturing the essence of the conversation without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.

Manhattan Review's coaching programs are specifically designed to provide ample listening practice. Through simulated IELTS listening tests, students can familiarize themselves with the format and pacing of the actual exam. The coaches emphasize the significance of active listening—paying attention to tone, intonation, and context—while honing your skills. Regular practice not only boosts your confidence but also helps you manage time effectively during the exam.

Conclusion

In conclusion, tackling the IELTS listening section might seem challenging, but with the right strategies and guidance, you can overcome these hurdles. Hyderabad's top IELTS coaches from Manhattan Review recommend immersing yourself in diverse accents, adopting effective note-taking techniques, and dedicating time to consistent listening practice. By following this expert advice and enrolling in Manhattan Review's coaching programs, you'll be well on your way to conquering the IELTS listening section and achieving your desired score.

To know more: https://manhattanreviewglobal.com/what-is-ielts/

[thatabitcryptic]

Undertale head cannons?

Omg where to begin?!?!

I think asgore and chara were very close and loved growing plants together and having tea time :)

Majority of the main cast is autistic :))

Following that last one Flowey/asriel is particularly face blind and that’s why he mistakes frisk for chara

Uhh a pretty common one but sans and alphys are besties and they talk about space for hours,,, one of the first things they do on the surface is go stargazing :-)

Asriel and toriel used to go bug hunting based off the fact that toriel offers to take frisk when they are in the ruins,,, the whole family would also frequent blook farm and cheer on the snails, asriel would always win bc he knew just the right way to cheer his snail, chara would always lose bc they were too enthusiastic and their snail would get overwhelmed LOL

Bc of this sometimes flowey goes and hangs out with the snails and talks to napstablook despite them not know who he was

I like to think the surface is set in Aotearoa, was going to set it in Australia bc that’s where I’m from but I’ve decided that’s where I have deltarune set

Also bc of this and following the theory that sans is from deltarune and was transported to undertale sans has a slight Australian accent :o)

Frisk is mainly non verbal, tho they only really speak when on the phone (I’ve also seen ppl hc that they speak ‘with their soul’ and I really like that)

Sans and paps can understand most languages, they are fluent in nzsl and teach everyone else so they can communicate with frisk :-)

Before falling into the core gaster was semi verbal but post core he uses nzsl bc his speech has become so garbled that no one but his sons can understand him

Grillby is similar to gaster where his speech is distorted (bc he’s made of fire) but if he focuses he can say a few clear sentences like in the pacifist route

Gaster used portions of his hands to make sans and paps - his main goal was to create a being with a human soul (that’s why I draw them both as human skeletons as opposed to bird guys like gaster) so they could cross the barrier but instead he got 2 kiddos lmao (also VERY SOFT AND FULL OF CALCIUM isn’t completely just papyrus being silly, at certain times of the year he and sans get that baby bird fluff on the surface of their bones, it comes off pretty easily tho so it’s not really noticeable)

Undyne and paps are gay lesbian solidarity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frisk doesn’t really understand their gender yet and bc they are so young they describe it based on their surroundings, after entering papyrus’ room and seeing his do not enter signs when asked for their gender they reply ‘papyrus’ <- idk where that one came from I remember seeing a post about it but I love it to bits

After their plan failed chara’s ‘spirit’ went dormant until frisk arrived, they have no idea what happened to asriel but after the neutral route (after flowey says he doesn’t understand why frisk is sparing him) they start to really recognise that flowey is in some way somehow asriel

Mettaton overheats when he is embarrassed/flustered and his internal fans are very loud LOL

Chara and asriel’s combined soul is gone, I feel like after souls are ‘used’ they fade away - the same happens to the human souls after flowey/asriel absorbs them

Toriel, asgore and gaster are old af and have been around since the barrier was created (ummm thousand year kingdings slow burn anyone?? SJDNDJJDNX)

Undyne is like asgores daughter and asgore is sometimes reminded of chara bc of how outgoing and determined they both are :-)

When they get to the surface toriel teaches papyrus how to cook ‘properly’ but some of his habits brush off on her instead lol

I’ve probably got more but here are the ones that popped into my head!!!

[who-is-this-weirdo]

I'm gonna cheat and use the three tribes of my Wofsona (Still starting with my fav):

Skywings:

Feathers, feathers on the back, behind the ears like a frill, feathered wings (feathers can be typical Skywing colors but also Black, Grey, White and Brown)

Ruby outlawed killing Firescales

Ashscales (Fireless Skywings) are never killed unlike their siblings, at least it was never an actual law

Pink/Purple/Yellow Skywings are a thing

Sometimes, more often with Firescales and Ashscales, Skywings can have some blue markings

Love birds, eating any birds is outlawed, eggs are okay tho

They discovered wine-making

They can have : Spanish, Italian, French or Scottish accents depending on the region (Spanish near the Sandwing border, Italian near the Mudwing border, Scottish in the center and French in the northern (Quebecker here specifically) and sea-side borders)

Rainwings:

Feathers but only on back, frills and wing are not feathered, those feathers can change color

Close relafive of both Skywings and Leafwings, all dragon species descent from two tribes who breed and adapted to their environment but Rain, Sky and Leafwings are especially close, they all have feathers)

Can change eye and horn/spikes 's colors because why not (second eyelids + keratin on top of bones)

Hybrids with fire often can change the color of their fire (different colors in fire can be caused by burning certain materials or specific molecules, so fire + venom = colored fire)

More of a Au thing but Glory isn't confirmed to be related to Grandeur, Tamarin is (by saving Kinkajou)

Family groups often have some colours in common, Glory used to imitate Kestrel as a baby dragonnet, maybe hoping that it would make her be loved

Tattoos are rare, as tattooed scales looses their ability to shift colors, more often Rainwing can choose to just "make" a tatoo by shifting the color of their scales, they also do that to support sports teams because yes they have those

Mostly Brazilian, Australian or Indian in term of accent, depends on the region (Brazilian towards borders, Indians in center and Australian near the seaside-south)

Mudwings:

Some Mudwings, especially without siblings or separated from their siblings end, up being more bossy around those even slightly younger then them, in multi-tribe friend groups they are often the "mom friend" or the "leader" of the group

Lots of body paint, the pattern always match between the siblings, though you can choose a different color (think the eyeband/masc the ninja turtles wear)

Matching accessories are also very common, thus, in poorer areas, there's often molds being made for some jewellery pieces, as making each jewelry pieces custom claw made would take too much time

That's also because Mudwings will be violently polite when it comes to paying fairly, they are the best clients to have even if they sometimes can seem to be tightwads since they usually won't buy something before having all of the informaction needed to put a price on it, they often tip or pay things at higher prices (A mudwing living in modern times would 100% be the best clients to have if you do commissioned art of any kind)

They love cooking, that is one of the most common pasttimes and it's seen as very important to have good, nutritious food ready for guests, even if the place in uncomfortable and cold, a Mudwing can look past it if the dragons are nice and the food is good.

No place is designed for only one dragon in mind, it was kind of implied in the guide but it is so obvious why didn't I think of it sooner, yes that means that even singular chairs, beds and other furnitures are either tailored or buyed in bulks to make sure no one is lonely

They, along with Skywings and Leafwings, are the tribe with the most Bathhouses (Think Spirited Away)

Northern Chinese, Afrikaans, or Texan accents, they always end up with one of them, it's decided by village, a long time ago it used to be by region but as time goes on, more villages appear and disappear, meaning that the accent is usually the one from the founding members

Reblog this as an excuse to infodump your headcanons about your favourite tribe

go on.

[ggukkiedae]

miya

[9:52pm, wc:453]

(all dialogue here is done in english except for the conversing with yoongi)

Yoonmi enveloped herself in Chan's hug, basking in his warmth. The comfort would be gone for a while since they'd both be busy soon. Her with a comeback and him with a tour. Her brother chuckled while parting her head.

"You know," he began, "Yoongi hyung said we have to get you home soon, right? You're pushing it by staying out even after the family's gone back."

"I know," she mumbled. The day was well-spent with her family, especially since it was the first time in over two years that she was able to see most of them in real life again. She was tired, but she was comfortable. "Can't I just sleep here? Then we can call Felix oppa and have an Australian sleepover."

He chuckled at that. "You're not Australian."

"I might as well be, since my family is Australian."

"You are somewhat developing the accent..."

The two of them laughed at that. It was no secret that, when talking to her Chan, Felix, and the rest of her family, she'd end up speaking with a more Australian accent. The first time it happened, she panicked and immediately called her biological brother to 'get her geordie accent back'.

The two were wrapped in silence for a while, Chan tapping a light rhythm into her back while she just laid there. It was a common occurrence before either of them have overseas schedules for over a week. Even with Yoonsung. She would sit in their comfort for a long time just to imprint their sense of comfort in her mind. She loved her brothers to bits.

"Hey," Chan chuckled, "we're not leaving until next month, Little One. And shouldn't you say bye to Jeongin, too?"

"The 01z are going out tomorrow," she laughed. "And I know. we're both gonna be quite busy, though. So can I please sleepover?"

Before she could say anything, a loud "Yeah you can!" was yelled behind her, followed by a weight jumping on top of her and her brother.

"Felix oppa," she wheezed out while laughing, "can't breathe!"

"You're gonna get cuddles!"

Chan laughed at the two before turning his phone to show them. Yoongi was on screen in a video call.

"She'll be fine with us, hyung," Chan reassured him.

"Alright," Yoongi relented with a fond smile, "Princess, we'll pick you up after lunch tomorrow."

Yoonmi smiled at him. "Love you, oppa!"

"See you tomorrow."

With that, Chan ended the call and gently shoved the two youngers off of him.

"If you two are gonna watch movies again, at least don't connect it to the speakers?"

She met Felix's eyes with a mischievous smile before they turned back to Chan and spoke in sync.

"No promises!"

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer (taglist/s open, just drop an ask or a dm <3)

[ilovejevsjeans]

Daniel Ricciardo on his passion for combat sports, a walkout song and the time he asked Lewis Hamilton to ‘fight’

McLaren Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, who currently sits seventh in the driver standings heading into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, is among the world’s best behind a steering wheel. But how would he fare if he swapped his racing gloves for boxing or MMA gloves?

“I’d love to do a charity boxing match or something just to feel that adrenaline of walking to a ring,” Ricciardo said. “It’s on my to-do list for sure. At school I had a few little fights but nothing crazy. Nothing I’d brag about here.”

Ricciardo says he learned the sport of boxing from a friend who fought as an amateur growing up. However in recent years his love of combat shifted more toward mixed martial arts, a sport that is “quite beautiful. It’s an art form and I was just taken by it.”

The Australian — who boasts 4.6 million followers on Instagram — rarely misses a fight night, whether that’s a small card or pay-per-view. Every Monday he gears up for multiple MMA podcasts to hear analysis on what just took place in the cage.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Ricciardo opened up about his love for fighting, which driver would make the best opponent and why Lewis Hamilton turned down an opportunity to get in the ring against him.

You’re an avid fight fan. How did this passion for the sport start?

One of my best friends growing up, when he was growing up, he was doing amateur boxing and got very good at it. I was then doing my racing and he was doing his boxing. We were both on a bit of an unconventional path — both individual sports, not really the typical sports the kids at school were doing. We had that in common. Once I started taking my racing more seriously I began taking my fitness more seriously. So I started going to his gym to just train. I really enjoyed doing it. But the truth is — I don’t want to lie to anyone. I’m not a fighter. As much as I would picture beating the bully up at school, it’s not me. But I just fell in love with not only doing it but also watching it.

I enjoyed watching boxing but it was really when I got exposed to MMA … It just had me. It was back in 2011 when I started properly getting into it. It was the quickest sport I had ever been absorbed by. I was all in.

My whole YouTube feed is just all MMA shows, whether it’s press conferences, interviews, podcasts. It’s just full of MMA stuff. I’m a full nerd now.

Being in Australia and traveling a lot, are you forced to get up at weird times for fights?

The beauty was I was in LA when (Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2) was on so it was prime time and I was happy. But normally in Europe, it’s 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., which isn’t as good. Any kind of sporting event that you look forward to, it’s always cool when it’s in the evening because you have all day to get ready and talk about it. If you wake up at 4 a.m. it’s like “ugh,” and then you’re straight into it so there’s not as much of a build-up. But it’s all good.

So do you still train at all?

No. To races, my trainer carries some pads and gloves just to stay a little sharp and change it up. If I’m getting my reflexes with some tennis balls, maybe I throw in a bit of a boxing combination or something. Again, I’m not saying I’m good or anything. But I just enjoy the whole movement part of it.

Boxing was cool and I enjoyed watching it growing up. But there was something with MMA where there’s just so many different disciplines and the matchups … as a contest it was so much more open and for that, exciting. I feel — I know it’s not always the case — you can kind of tell in boxing if someone is getting momentum, the advantage. It’s like “this guy is going to win the fight.” But in MMA, it’s like “this guy is winning standing but if this goes to the ground, it’s back to square one.” So I just loved it. I was really immersed by it all.

Did you have a particular fighter or fight that got you hooked early on?

One of the first events I watched was UFC 116. Chris Leben was on the card and I think he was losing the fight. And then he got a triangle with probably 20 seconds to go in the third round, so that was really exciting. Stephan Bonnar was also on that card and he got a really cool finish on “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski. That was a card for me where I was very taken from that. Then I discovered “The Ultimate Fighter.” I just binge-watched all of those (seasons).

In terms of fighters, Leben was a character, I liked him. Carlos Condit. I’d say Condit and Cub Swanson were two guys I got behind early on. Condit, I love his style and the way he carries himself.

Have you been to a lot of cards in person?

The very first one I did was the best for me personally. To this day, it’s my favorite sporting event I’ve ever been to: (Conor) McGregor-(Chad) Mendes. Vegas in July 2015. Obviously McGregor, but he wasn’t yet a champion and still kind of on the rise. It was the energy and atmosphere. It was just wild.

The whole event too. (Robbie) Lawler-(Rory) MacDonald, which had the fight of the year. Every fight on the main card I think was a finish, so I got very lucky at my first event.

I’ve done (Michael) Bisping-(Anderson) Silva in the UK. That was a great contest as well.

There are a lot of great fighters from Australia and New Zealand like Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker. Have you had a chance to meet any of them?

I haven’t met them. A couple of them I’ve had interactions with on social media. But I love Whittaker, obviously Volkanovski is killing it. I’m fairly patriotic to the Aussie fighters. If they are fighting, 99 percent of the time I’ll be supporting them. But one of my good buddies is roommates with Luke Rockhold, so I got to know Luke the last couple of years. I was trying to do some training over Christmas with him but it didn’t end up working out.

I know you’re a big shoey guy. What do you think of Tai Tuivasa doing it after wins?

I’ve had a bit of contact with Tuivasa as well. It’s obviously great. But one thing I can’t get behind is spitting. That’s a little extra.

Plus he’ll grab some random fan’s shoe.

He definitely takes it to the next level. It’s cool that — as disgusting as it is — we have some traditions like this.

Shifting a bit to F1, have you ever gotten into any big fights on the track? What was the worst fight you’ve gotten in?

Earlier in go-karting there was a bit more. Unfortunately in F1, I guess because you’re on the world’s stage, even if you push someone you probably are going to get a fine or get penalized. At times it’s a little too clean. But I’m still waiting for the day that someone confronts me and I just lay them out (laughs).

You also just seem a lot more laid back than a lot of other drivers, so you’d probably not be my first choice of someone getting into a fight soon.

I’m all talk, it would be nice obviously to not have to fight anyone. But no one would expect it from me. Even when I tell people I’m a fight fan, people are like “oh really? You’re into that? You seem too nice to like that.”

But to get where I have in the sport, you need a bit of a killer streak in you. I do have it, but don’t always show it.

What other driver would make the best fighter?

I know some guys have done — for fitness — hit some pads. Randomly, he doesn’t have a seat this year, but Daniil Kvyat started doing quite a lot of boxing last year for his training. I saw a few clips and it started to look like he knew what he was doing. I would say he would be the guy who has the most idea. I’d put him and myself up there. The rest I don’t think stand a chance.

So if you had a charity event, you don’t have anyone in particular you’d want to go against?

To be honest, I actually asked Lewis Hamilton. At the beginning of 2016, he posted a video on his Instagram hitting pads. I was as well at the time, so I was like “hey, let’s do a charity fight.” I asked him in person. But he didn’t bite on that one so I was a little sad.

I might re-ask the question.

What about Max Verstappen? For people who watched the first season of the F1 show “Drive to Survive” on Netflix, I’m sure they would love to see you guys throw down at some point.

That would have been cool as well (laughs). Max would be a good competitor in the ring. The way he drives, he’s quite stubborn. He’d be a hard guy to put away. He’s probably the guy that you’d choke him and he’s going to sleep and not tapping. That would make an interesting one.

In contrast, is there an MMA fighter you’d like to race on the track?

An obvious one would be Conor McGregor. To hear in his Irish accent all kinds of things, that would make pretty good television. And he loves his cars. It’s obvious, but that would probably be the best.

How often would you say you watch fights now? Not just PPVs, right?

Unless I have something like work or another commitment, I’m watching it every week. Mondays I’m getting ready for every podcast. I sound like a real nerd but it’s just an addiction. I love it. Anyone doing that for Formula 1, I’d be like “you’re such a nerd,” but here I am doing it with MMA.

Is it hard to follow everything during the race season?

If I can’t see it live, then 100 percent I’m going to watch the replay or buy it later. But it’s also a good escape. If I’m traveling and I’m in between races, to get my mind away from my competition, I like to watch it. I also try to pick up things as well. Whether it’s from a mental point of view … I’ll look at the walkouts and how they are behaving. I try to figure out if they are really as calm and collected as they are portraying or if it’s a bit of a facade. I’m trying to work out what I can use in my events.

Do you have a walkout song prepared if you were to fight?

I’ve thought about it. The short answer is no. You typically have to have something heavy and fast, but I fell in love with Chris Weidman’s “Won’t Back Down.” It’s not typically a song that will pump you up but it’s so iconic and now it’s his, it’s very fitting.

I’d go for something more lyrically powerful as opposed to instrumental. I loved Max Holloway’s, I think it’s called Mount Everest (by Labrinth). (X)

[longitudinalwaveme]

The CW Rogues: My Biggest Gripe With the 2014 Flash Show

In many ways, the CW Flash show is what got me into comics. While I had watched (and loved) Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and read loads of DC guidebooks as a kid, it wasn’t until I saw a clip from the 2014 CW Flash show that I really got invested in the DC Universe. While I had already started watching B:TAS (and loving it), Batman wasn’t what got me into comics. No, that was the Flash...or rather, it was Captain Cold. While watching a clip from the Justice League episode Flash and Substance on YouTube, I saw a link to a clip from “Family of Rogues” (from Season 2 of CW’s Flash). Intrigued by the premise, I found the show on Netflix, watched the entire episode, and was hooked. Not only was the Flash just as nice as he had been on Justice League, but two of his Rogues were siblings, and they actually cared about one another. I wanted to know more, so I looked Captain Cold and the Golden Glider up. My research into Cold and Glider led me to the other Rogues, and soon I became a Flash fan. I watched the show, I re-watched “Flash and Substance”, I read articles about the characters from the comics...and eventually, I started reading the comics themselves. I loved the characters and the lore, and I enjoyed the generally lighthearted tone of the books even into the modern era. Unfortunately, as I learned more about the comics, I grew less and less interested in the 2014 TV show. It made too many alterations to character I liked in the comics...and eventually, I basically stopped watching the show out of frustration. Ironically enough, by getting me into comics, the show alienated me from itself....and a big reason for that was the way it handled the Rogues. Here’s a rundown of the CW Rogues, and why I was frustrated with most of them. 

1. Captain Cold. I actually enjoy Captain Cold on the CW show; he’s recognizable as Len Snart and his sarcasm game is on point. (It doesn’t hurt that Wentworth Miller is really attractive, either). His relationships with Lisa, Mick, and Barry are fantastic, and it’s a relief to have him be treated as a competent threat. That being said...he’s a bit too suave for Captain Cold, isn’t he? Silver Age Cold thought he was suave, but he wasn’t; and modern Captain Cold is middle-aged, grouchy, and very rough around the edges. His smooth, suave nature reminds me more of classic Sam (the original Mirror Master) than Captain Cold. 

2. Heat Wave. Dominic Purcell did a great job with the role he was given, and physically he’s an excellent match for Mick. That being said, CW Mick is very different from the Mick in the classic comics, who was a bit dim-witted and rather gentle and sweet for a supervillain. CW Mick, by contrast, is, as I think @gorogues put it, “Hothead McAngryman”, which wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t seem to have bled back into the comics themselves. Villains with fire powers being hotheads is a bit overdone, so I’m not thrilled to see comic Mick being put into that role. 

3. Golden Glider. Hands down, Lisa is my favorite of the CW Rogues. Despite the fact that her costume and power set are completely different than they were in the comics, they managed to get her personality down pretty well; making her just as dangerous and competent as the boys. Flirtatious, crafty, devious, and yet still at least somewhat sympathetic, the CW version of Lisa Snart takes home the gold for the best adaptation of a Rogue. If only they hadn’t completely forgotten that she existed. 

4. Pied Piper. Note that I have not seen his Season 6 appearance, so I’m just judging this based on his appearances in Seasons 1 and 2. Piper is disappointing; in his first appearance he wasn’t as fun as Silver/Bronze Age Piper or as sympathetic as modern Piper, and I’m not crazy about the idea of him being motivated primarily by revenge on Wells/Thawne, since that wasn’t his motivation in the comics at all. I also don’t remember him being able to puppet or hypnotize people with his music, which is too bad, since that’s his main schtick in the comics. What’s more, if you want to reform a character, don’t do it offscreen via reality warping and then forget about him for four seasons. It sounds like his Season 6 appearance was better, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it. Also, “the Pied Piper” is kind of a nonindicative name if he doesn’t play a pipe/flute. 

5. Trickster II (Axel Walker). Axel was actually decent in the CW show. I still like comic Axel better, but they got the gist of his character down and even made him a bit sympathetic. In fact, he’s probably in the top three best Rogue adaptations that the CW did. 

6. Trickster I (James Jesse). I love watching Mark Hamill play CW’s Trickster...but man, he is not playing Giovanni Giuseppi on the CW show. He’s playing the Joker with a different name. It’s especially weird since we know from JLU and that one short where Mark Hamill plays himself, the Joker, the Trickster, and Swamp Thing that Hamill can do a non-Joker Trickster and do it well, so my suspicion is that it was just because Trickster was also the Joker in the 1990s Flash show (where he was also played by Mark Hamill). Regardless, murdering random people and threatening to blow up small children during Christmas is not something the Trickster should be doing. 

Although this does prove Mark Hamill could do a live-action Joker. I’d pay money to see that. Mark Hamill is a great Joker. 

7. Weather Wizard. CW Weather Wizard isn’t egregiously bad. He’s not out-of-character like Trickster, and he’s not boring to watch, but at the same time it feels like there’s something missing. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t quote Twain. Maybe it’s because there’s not the sense that he was a loser before he got his powers. Maybe it’s because they changed his origin completely (and also made him older than Clyde for some reason). It could even be because he’s not wearing a green leotard with a huge collar, puffy sleeves, and ridiculous elf boots. Whatever it is, though, he’s just missing that spark that makes me like comic book Wizard so much. 

8. Mirror Master I (Sam Scudder). I don’t know how you make Sam Scudder more boring than New 52/Rebirth did, but somehow the CW version of the character pulled it off. Granted, Cold had already stolen some of Sam’s characterization, so that didn’t help, but they could’ve leaned into his skills as an inventor or his love of showmanship or something. Instead, we got a generic thug with what was basically Evan McCulloch’s power set. Boo! Boo I say! 

9. Top (Roscoe/Rosa Dillon). The Brave and the Bold Top is more interesting than the CW version, and he doesn’t even have spoken lines! That’s how boring this Top is. Also, the gender swap was pretty pointless. I wouldn’t have minded a female Top if she’d been intelligent and creepy and snobbish in the way that Roscoe is, but why even bother changing the gender if the character is going to have such a minor role? They also substantially depowered the CW Top, since Rosa can’t spin at super speed and isn’t telekinetic. A massive missed opportunity. 

10. Mirror Master II (Evan/Eva McCulloch). I can’t comment on how good of a character Eva is, since I haven’t watched any of the episodes with her in them, but I will say I am disappointed that the character does not seem to be Scottish, does not have Evan’s weird sense of humor, and lacks his tooth gap. 

11. Captain Boomerang (George “Digger” Harkness). Not only did he not actually appear on the Flash, but he was also boring and didn’t even seem to have an Australian accent. I was very disappointed with his role in the CW. 

And now for characters who aren’t Rogues: 

-CW Eobard is really good. I have no real complaints about him. 

-CW Grodd is also really good, though I do wish he was from Gorilla City as per the comics rather than a lab experiment. 

-CW Magenta got most of the important character beats down but felt a bit out of place with Barry as the Flash. 

-CW Shade was possibly even more boring than CW Sam, which is saying something. 

-CW Zoom didn’t really feel like Zoom at all. Not only was it weird to see him fighting Barry and not Wally, but he was just a generic serial killer and didn’t have Zolomon’s unique outlook on the world. The loss of his time manipulation powers was likewise disappointing.

-CW Jay is really good. I love him. 

-CW Jesse Quick has very little in common with her comic book counterpart; I like the comic version better but don’t actually mind the CW version all that much.

-CW Wally is decent enough, though I don’t see why they couldn’t have kept him as Iris’ nephew rather than making him her brother. Also, they didn’t use him nearly as much as they should have. 

-CW Barry I generally like a lot; Grant Gustin is a good fit for the character. That being said, I do wish they hadn’t given him the dead mom origin, which was a retcon I am not fond of. 

-CW Iris is quite good (in the first three seasons, at least); she’s intelligent, loyal to Barry, dedicated to her job, and quite independent. The fact that she and Barry were foster siblings in the CW universe is kind of weird, though, since it makes their romance kind of awkward. 

-Joe West is not Ira West (Iris’s father in the comics), but I actually don’t care. Joe West is made of awesome. (I like Ira too, but I like Joe enough that I don’t mind having him replace Ira.)

-The Fiddler on the CW had very little to do with the comic Fiddler. 

-I’ve never been particularly invested in the Thinker (comic or show), but I will say that the CW’s version of the character was very different from his comics counterpart. 

-CW Ragdoll was just as creepy and unsettling as comic book Ragdoll, though he had a very different backstory. 

-I never expected Baby Josh to make it into the CW, let alone as a gender-swapped teenager named Joss who wanted to kill Weather Wizard. It felt like they never knew where to go with her character, though, so it was a wasted opportunity. At least she didn’t die like poor Baby Josh, though. 

-Big Sir in the CW show is a MASSIVE improvement over the comic version. This is probably the only character I will say this about. Though I will say that I kind of wish he’d gotten his stupidly ugly comic book costume even though it would’ve made no sense. 

-Peek-a-Boo is a pretty solid adaptation of her comic book counterpart. 

-Rainbow Raider (Prism) is much better in the comics than on the CW show, where he only existed to be a boring plot device. 

-Linda Park dating Barry was weird, but they actually did a good job with her character before she vanished.

This is not intended as a criticism of anyone who likes the show or its characters; it’s just me musing about my personal problems with it.