#ramblings of a mad them

[helenstudies]

Burmese/Myanmar 1st Person Pronouns

Talking about burmese yet AGAIN. I promise I'm not a nationalist, it is just a deeply interesting language and no one else is talking about it.

Let's talk pronouns. Burmese is a status-centered language. Who you are and what you do is incredibly important in conversations. I'm here to talk about first person pronouns. (btw if you're a mandarin chinese speaker, these rules might be very familiar to you!)

Equivalent of "I" (1st person singular pronoun)

ငါ (ngar) - informal. Used only for friends or people younger than the speaker. Incredibly rude to refer to yourself like this to older people or strangers. ကျွန်တော် (kya-naw) - formal. Mostly used by men or masculine people but it was very commonly used by women from Mandalay or upper Myanmar. Now women from other regions use it as well. Age of the person you're speaking to does not matter but it is implied that the speaker thinks you're older or deserving of respect. ကျွန်မ (kya-ma) - formal. Used by women or feminine people. Queer men or effeminate men will use this ironically or sincerely. Age of the person you're speaking to does not matter but it is implied that the speaker thinks you're older or deserving of respect. ကျုပ် (kyote) - formal. When used by older people, it's neutral but if it's used by people of your age or younger, it's only a little bit less rude than ငါ (ngar) ကိုယ် (ko) - formal but intimate. It is a gender neutral pronoun but if you're a masculine person, it hints you really care about the other person and sometimes have romantic connotations. If you're a feminine person though, it is similar to အိုင် (I). This is pronounced the same as ကို (ko) which means older brother OR someone's male/masculine lover but it is not the same word. အိုင် (I) - informal. Yes, the English word "I" has been adopted into the language but it is only used by women who are talking to people of their age or younger. As you can see, masculine pronouns are actually also gender neutral pronouns. Now, we're gonna talk about status-centred 1st person and 2nd person pronouns. Like I said, it is important to be aware of your own age and your status or occupation when you're conversing with someone. Burmese people will use family pronouns or their occupations to refer to themselves. And the person you're talking to will repeat the 1st person pronoun you used and also use it as the 2nd person pronoun during your conversation. The family pronouns can be used even on complete strangers. It's just a way to be polite.

သား (thar) and သမီး (tha-mee) - it means "son" or "daughter." သား (thar) or son is used by both masculine and feminine people but သမီး (thamee) or daughter is only used by women or feminine people. Instead of "I'll do that" they'll say "(this) son/daughter will do that." It is implied that the speaker things the other party is older than them, if not as old as their parents at least as old as their aunts or uncles.

Just like son and daughter, any role of a family member can be used here. You can call yourself many words including but not limited to အမေ (amay - mom) အ‌ဖေ (aphay - dad) အန်တီ (aunty) အန်ကယ် (uncle) အစ်မ (ama - older sister) အစ်ကို (ako - older brother) ညီ/ညီလေး (nyi/nyi lay - younger brother) ညီမ/ညီမလေး (nyima/nyima lay - younger sister) and so on. And yes, just like mandarin chinese, we do have words for uncle on mother's side or aunt on father's side et cetera but it's mostly in Upper Myanmar regions.

So then how does occupational 1st/2nd person pronouns work? It is exacty what you think it is. If you're a teacher or a mentor you use the word ဆရာ/ဆရာမ (sayar/sayarma - teacher (male)/(female) for yourself. တီချယ် (which is pronounced teacher and meand teacher) is a word solely reserved for female teachers and educators, and by that I mean school teachers. But ဆရာ/ဆရာမ (sayar/sayarma - teacher (male)/(female) can be used in any occupation as long as you're a mentor or a boss of the person you're speaking to. There are occupational and personal pronouns for monks/nuns as well.

So let's say you're going up to a stranger to ask for directions. You have to look at a person and decide how old you think they are, what gender you think they are and how polite you think you need to be before saying anything. Because you can be saying "older brother, (this) younger brother wants to know where x is" or "uncle, (this) niece wants to know where x is." As you might have guessed by now, it is easy to offend people in Burmese, intentionally or not.

And another feature of Burmese language: you can use your name or your nickname for yourself. It would be like speaking about yourself in 3rd person if you're in another language. Since my name is Helen, I can say "Helen's not hungry. Helen just ate" and it's completely normal. Although using your own name as a 1st person pronoun is a statement in itself. It is normally used by younger people talking to an older person.

I can go on and on about pronouns, especially the way it interacts with queer community at large. You can immediately get someone's personality by just hearing the pronouns they use for themselves in various settings. People will change their 1st person pronouns at a whim to better suit the situation at hand. It is amazing to see people code-switching pronouns in real time, and even more so when they come out. This is also why "pronouns are who you are" thing never made sense to me.

On a personal note, I use ကျွန်တော် (kya-naw) for myself on nearly all occasions except at home where I use my nickname instead. In English, my pronouns are they/them/he/him but in Burmese, my pronoun is simply my name. I always tell people to call me "Helen" instead of "You" or other gendered/status-oriented terms. Calling someone by their name is considered rude so people struggle with this a bit because they feel like they're being mean but I always insist on it because I don't wanna be called gendered pronouns.

[arowitharrows]

I fully support Pluto as an aro symbol (x) but as a space scientist I cannot support any arguments that claim it's because Pluto should be a planet. The true reason Pluto is an aro symbol is precisely because people tie the amount of love and care this wonderful celestial body receives to which label it has. Just because a relationship with someone is not labeled as romantic should not mean that this relationship has to be treated as less worthy of time and care and effort. Just because Pluto is not labeled as a planet does not mean it is less worthy of our time and care and effort.

Here is another reason Pluto is aro: Pluto has a heart shaped region called the Tombaugh region:

[ID: an image of Pluto and it's heart shaped Tombaugh region, with the moon Charon in the background. End ID]

Now, Pluto and it's moon Charon are tidally locked, meaning they always face each other with the same hemisphere. Pluto's heart is always facing away from Charon. Some articles have phrased this as being tragically romantic, but I disagree! Here are two celestial objects orbiting each other for billions of years, and they are doing this while Pluto keeps it's heart hidden. Because in this case, love is not part of the equation that makes up their bond, romance does not play a part in their gravitational pull towards each other. That's aro as fuck, in my humble opinion.

[evilrobotalienclown]

kiss alts and cast commentary my beloved

[dootznbootz]

Penelope is also Athena's pet/blorbo/special little mortal/etc. and if you think otherwise you're straight up wrong.

You're also wrong if you think Athena only likes Penelope because of Odysseus and/or Telemachus. As if Athena didn't see a young Penelope pull some shit and immediately think "Oh! Another mind to mold! C'mere you! Let's do some riddles and weaving!". Athena was happy that two of her favorite pets have met and fell in love!

[lazylittledragon]

so uhhhhhhhh. not to be cryptic and bitchy on main but congratulations to everyone in my messages for like 5 months on being right i guess

[lucabyte]

"So what's the weirdest possible first (second) impression Loop could make on the party in postcanon?" "Yeah, that, probably."

+ Bonus

theyre just standing there in direct party order while this happens. normal tuesday.

[gatoburr0]

you ever get so FUCKING MAD that you want to draw a character but CANT because for some FUCKING REASON YOU CANT GET THEIR FEATURES RIGHT AND YOU CANT STYLIZE THEM AND YOU CANTDRAW THEM WIUT YOUR FUCKIGN HEADCANKNS GEFEGE FRAERREREBRHRRRRRRRR GRRRRRRRRAAAghheGARRARAAAAARRuUeue😭😭💦💧EHEUeueUethyU. Uee 😭😭💧💦UEweue this is so frustraitng I’m gonnacrywyueyueye😭😭😭💧💦💧💦

[opikiquu]

my life a movie (PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR)

[whatsjulietslastname]

HEY GUYS REMEMBER WHEN CHLOE WANTED MAX TO BE THE LAST THING SHE EVER SAW BEFORE DYING. BTW GUYS. REMEMBER WHEN CHLOE SAID “i’m never leaving you” AND “that’s okay we will, forever” AND “Max, i’ll always be with you”. GUYS GUYS GUYS HOLD ON REMEMBER WHEN CHLOE SPENT YEARS TALKING TO MAX IN HER DIARY BECAUSE SHE COULDN’T LET HER GO GUYS. AND WHEN SHE TOOK MAX BACK IN A HEARTBEAT BECAUSE SHE MISSED HER TOO MUCH. OH AND BTW REMEMBER HOW THEY WERE CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS AND GREW UP TOGETHER AND FELL IN LOVE AND ARE NOT LINKED ONLY BY A ‘trauma bond’. DO WE REMEMBER THAT. COLLECTIVELY.

[jules-ln]

Tbh every time I think too much about Viktor and Jayce's relationship I just want to cry lmao

Because, Jayce must've felt lonely, an outsider, that nobody could really understand him or his dream of magic.

He must've spent all those years in the academy just living for the sake of his dream coming true. And while he wasn't completely alone, he must've felt so lonely

Then he found Viktor, and how would he not absolutely adore this man as soon as he met him? He not only gave him back his dream and his hope, he also believed in him when nobody else did and was willing to risk everything for Jayce, after meeting him just a few days ago

But then as years passed he became used to Viktor being there, Viktor consoling him, picking up the pieces of him and putting him back together, so without realizing it, Viktor just became the sole support he needed in his life, because Viktor understood, and if Viktor understood then he no longer was lonely

But then Viktor started dying

And you know what, I watched s1 again recently and it really surprised me how much Jayce isn't with Viktor, even after he knows that Viktor is dying, it seemed like he was avoiding him, and maybe he was

For Jayce it was easier to avoid completely the topic, he didn't need to think about a world without Viktor, a world where he would be alone again, he didn't need because he didn't want to

And everything would be fine! Jayce somehow would find a way, there should be a way! So he didn't even thought about Viktor not being there because a life without his partner wasn't even a possibility for Jayce, it just couldn't

But, then think about how Viktor felt

I dislike Christian Linke as much as everyone else, but I think he was right when he said that Viktor wanted something Jayce couldn't give him. I know everyone took it as meaning that Viktor was in love, but I think what Viktor wanted was comfort

Just think about when they talked together in Jayce's destroyed apartment, he said that nobody believed in him; he probably was as lonely as Jayce if not more. Then he believed in Jayce in the same way he would've liked someone to believe in him. He decided to be there for him. And he probably thought that from there on Jayce too would be his support, but he wasn't

Jayce took and never gave back, probably he never realized what he was doing, and so when Viktor needed him the most, he wasn't there

"It was affection that held us together" like I just imagine Viktor alone at night; thinking that he could do so much more if he just went down to Zaun and did his thing without asking for the council's permission, without Jayce

But he never did so because he knew he would hurt Jayce so much if he left, so he stayed

"It was affection" it was, not it is. Viktor probably thought that Jayce didn't need him anymore, that whatever feelings he had for Viktor were over. And how could he not think that?

Viktor was alone against his illness, and the only thing he asked of Jayce, to destroy the Hexcore, he didn't do, more than that, he used it to keep him alive. "The mutation must survive" he felt used in that moment, nothing more than a scientific experiment. A thing for Jayce to play with. There was affection between them, was

Of course Viktor didn't understand how deep Jayce's love for him was, Jayce himself probably didn't understand either

Then think about Jayce in that cave. I know a lot of people have say that it mirrors Viktor's story, but really think about it. Wouldn't Jayce felt the exact same way as Viktor did when he was dying? Desperate for a solution, not knowing if he was going to survive to see the next day, full of pain he couldn't treat, and so, so, lonely

Jayce must've understand then his mistake. Because in s1 he had a lot going on as well, having the person you love the most in your life being terminally ill isn't a nice experience, but Viktor needed him and he didn't see that

So when he returned, he was finally ready to give Viktor what he needed, he was ready to hold him and tell him it was going to be ok, that whatever it happened, they would go through it together

And now I'm just crying 🥲

[helenstudies]

Had a weird multilingualTM moment today. I saw a graphic novel "Burma Chronicles" that I'm sure I downloaded in french. I'v already read it so many times in Burmese so I was like "let's give the french version a try!" and started reading it.

But then as I continued reading I was like "wait... why can I actually read this? Why do I understand this? My french knowledge is obsolete by now. What's going on." So at page twelve I finally took out google translate to see what's going on.

Spanish. It was in Spanish, the language I dedicated to for like six months of my life and then ditched. I didn't even know I still remember it but I remember it well enough to confuse it with french, which I also studied for like six months.

[jinmukangwrites]

I had a debate with my coworker about the Jedi not being crib robbers, regardless of the outcome of our argument, it has got me feeling ill about the parents who gave their children to the Jedi before or even during the Clone Wars. I'm watching Rebels and Kanan sounds so sad when he says he didn't know his parents. And then replaying Survivor, Cal has a conversation with Mosey about parents, and I remember that Cal is from Coruscant.

Like, imagine you're a parent. You probably live in the more poverty stricken levels of Coruscant. It's only a few years before the Clone Wars, but there's no way you could know that. All you know is that you have a baby in your arms, and there's Jedi in your home telling you that your baby is gifted, and that if you are willing, you can give your child up to a higher purpose. You'll probably never see your baby again, never see him grow, but... he'll grow up on the surface of Coruscant, in the Jedi Temple. He will not suffer poverty like you and your family, he will grow up to understand the mysteries of the Force and he'll become a peacekeeper of the galaxy and for whatever reason known only to you... it seems worth it.

You give your baby up.

And you wonder about him. Visiting the upper levels, you do the math in your head of how old he must be, and then you look out into the crowd made of trillions and wonder if you'll ever see a shock of red hair.

You never do, but that's fine. Your son is a Jedi, and maybe that's enough for you.

But then the Clone Wars come. And, not only do you see the Jedi join and lead their side of the war, but you begin to see the adult Jedi bring their young children with them on to the battle field.

Do you feel nothing? Do you feel anger? Acceptance? Do you think your baby is a hero? Do you go to the protests?

You watch the news, and perhaps you feel sick wondering if your baby will ever show up as a corpse.

But you never see him. And you're not sure if that's fine.

Years pass. The Jedi are branded traitors.

You hear about the masses of deaths, even the children are not spared from being branded as traitors and marked for execution from your new Emperor. Your baby is 12, or perhaps, was twelve. Perhaps 12 is the oldest he got, if he's lucky. That sticks with you.

You carry on.

Maybe you make a life for yourself within the Empire. Maybe you suppress the grief you must feel for the baby you gave to the Jedi all those years ago. Maybe you wallow in it. Maybe, on dark nights, surrounded by the never ending sounds of Coruscant, you think back to those simpler days, when there was no war, and you held your baby for the last time, and you think about what if. What if you held him tighter, and told the Jedi to leave. What if you worked harder to give him a better life yourself. What if you watched him grow, and he wasn't made a soldier, and he didn't die before he could become a teenager.

What if.

Years pass. You continue.

There's rumors of rebellion. You have your opinions on the Empire, on the rebels, some are deeply buried secrets, a bias you cannot escape, no one can know but that connection to the Jedi lingers.

Years pass. About a decade.

And you walk out one day, and you stop in your tracks, because you did not expect to see anything continue from your grief, the end of his story you told yourself.

A billboard shines in the darkness of the Coruscant lower levels, which isn't new, but this billboard stares at you.

A head full of red hair. Eyes that remind you of your partner. Scars scratch his features but his cheek bones remind you of your father.

Jedi terrorist.

About 22 years old.

Wanted by the Empire, and you don't know what to think but you know exactly what you're feeling.

And time moves on, and you're not in his life, but he's alive. Fighting against the Empire, while you continue to exist under the ruins of the Jedi Temple you gave him to, glancing up every once in a while, to see his face staring back in the light of wanted posters.

[falling-star-cygnus]

sometimes a family is an eccentric Knight of Beauty, a spray paint Ninja, a traumatized Dragon, and an alcoholic Cowboy

[i-have-no-soul]

where the fuck are all these misogynistic trans men some of y’all keep talking about cause i don’t think they actually exist. and if they do they are a statistically insignificant minority in our community

[dootznbootz]

Odysseus: "I need her to be Mine~" Athena: "...I can introduce you two." Odysseus: "What? Really?! Wait, you know her?" Athena: "Uh, yeah? You think you're my only pet trickster? You just said she was the 'smartest girl in the game', you think I'm gonna ignore that? I'll be right back."

Meanwhile~

Penelope: "...So...The guy who has been watching me from around corners before running away is also one of your favored mortals?" Athena: "Yes, I'm sorry, he's usually a lot smarter than this." Penelope: "...Eh, You know I've had stupid moments too. I'll go say hi."

[vvildside]

HELLOOOOO WHAT THE FUCK HOW DARE MADANCY SELFIE WITH POSE LIKE THIS WHEN THEY'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING LIKE HANNIBAL AND WILL MORE THAN EVER THIS IS LITERALLY GIVING HANNIGRAM THRIVING MARRIED POST FALL SEND SELFIES TO JACK JUST TO FUCK WITH HIM AAARRRGGGHHHHHHH