#sorry this turned into a rant

[mxtxfanatic]

I hate that 7seas is "the eng danmei" publisher now because they fucking suck. They've always taken a heavy editorial hand with their works and have even censored a queer relationship before. Tor almost got the publishing rights and I mourn every damn day for that.

I’m new to reading danmei translations from official publishers like this, but my stake is just the complete disrespect of authors that happens when translators take liberties with others’ writings, especially Black creators and creators of color.

I’m remembering how it came out that a lot of Rumi’s poems translated into English were actually translated by a someone who only pretended to know the language. So it was mostly made up sayings now ingrained in a lot of English-speaking readers’ minds. I’m remembering how poet M. NourbeSe Phillip had to put up a petition to have a butchered translation of her Zong collection removed because the Italian translators erased the intentions behind her forms to create gibberish. I’ve seen people speak fondly of old fan translations before anime became big where translators would just throw anything in without knowledge or care for the language, which really isn’t cute. And this doesn’t even account for how if something isn’t popular enough, no one thinks to even translate it, let alone translate it faithfully.

Translation is so hard, but the way I rarely see these problems pop up for mainstream white creators with a ton of money behind them but I can list and list and list this happening to nonwhite creators of all walks of life, across all mediums and popularity, officially published or fan-run is absolutely a problem that 7seas is only a part of. And the way that there are translators who care for the works and creators, who would have translated faithfully, who I can list at least five of them who would have done better for mdzs just from tumblr, but none of them are getting paid to do this? This is an industry problem and a cultural problem around translations.

I’m not giving money to 7seas for shoddy translations; they are not the only avenue in which I can monetarily support mxtx. But the bigger problem is lack of respect shown to certain creators and the works that they put into the world when it’s time to translate them.

[eelpatrickharris]

Following up on the Lacey Act expansion, I'm not as convinced it will be worse for threatened species. Aren't the number of responsible, species-saving captive-breeding hobbyists dwarfed by average-to-poor keepers who just want a unique pet? The international exotic pet trade is one of the worst contributors to species disappearing from the wild. From what I can see, this would actually benefit wild populations and encourage trade in captive-bred individuals instead.

Thanks for the question! That's a valid point and I'm glad you've brought it up. A few people have shared that sentiment when discussing this with them.

For those reading this, I want to quickly reiterate why the amendment has been introduced: it's meant to prevent any potential injurious species that could harm agriculture or the environment by implementing a whitelist of approved ones. It isn't aimed at protection of non-native organisms, it's a extreme prevention measure. (The Lacey Act itself was created to prevent poaching and illegal harvesting, so piggybacking this onto it is odd. The Presumptive Prohibition should really be its own Act.) This new amendment is likely trying to prevent any more incidents like brown snakeheads in the Potomac or micropopulations of tropical fish in Florida. However, it's perfectly fine and accepted to introduce peacock bass and clown knife fish into open waterways so fishermen can target their populations as they grow.

So, the amendment itself is meant for the safety of the US environment, but conservation is what me and others are truly concerned about here. There are two sides to the declining populations thing. On one side, we have things with stable habitats but large levels of overfishing for the pet trade. Pea puffers are a huge one here. The juveniles have a low survival rate in captivity, they're hard for the average person to feed, keeping more than one in a tank runs the risk of them killing each other (they're often recommended to be kept in groups), and they CAN be captive bred. This is a fish that we can clearly point at, say "this needs more protections and a heavier focus on captive breeding," and put on a list that states this. Same with clown loaches and denison barbs.

The other side is species with rapidly depleting habitats and wild populations. This is where it gets complicated. If an animal's native range is disappearing, the focus should be on creating the most diverse possible gene pool in captive populations. Zookeepers do a fantastic job of this with avians and mammals, but when it comes to the cold-blooded things, hobbyists are the main people driving the car. I have seen exactly one zoo with a certain species of extinct-in-wild snail and about 25 hobbyists. The wildly diverse mini-ecosystem peat bogs of Southeast Asia are being bulldozed for palm oil plantations at an alarming rate, and the rainforests of South America are also being destroyed for the logging industry and agricultural use. SEA is of importance to fishkeepers, and SA to amphibian lovers. The general consensus from conservationists is to get all the healthy specimens from areas in the line of fire while you can. If you don't, they're just going to be swept away, they don't have a chance.

I rarely, rarely ever see people keeping fish that are going extinct in the wild as solo trinket pets, unless they already have stable populations, like some species of wild bettas and asian arowanas. Their habitats are often tricky to replicate, and you'll have a tough time finding specialty fish stores offering them in anything less than breeding pairs or groups. Parasphromenus, wild bettas, obscure cyprinids, peat bog spiny eels, and tiny specialized catfish/loaches are all in those peat bogs mentioned above. Most people are aware of these in some capacity, and know that you shouldn't keep them as a unique pet. Pretty sure other hobbyists would bite your head off for that, honestly.

Then we have things such as Chitala lopis. Ever heard of them? Nope, me neither, until a couple months ago. They've been declared extinct by a few scientists due to overfishing and habitat destruction. However, I met a guy who has one that came into the USA in a shipment of clown knives as bycatch, and he's taking excellent care of it. If he can find another and there's a way to breed them, I'm sure he'll find it out. Hobbyists who respect endangered species are dedicated. The little freaks who find an unappreciated animal to obsess over are the future for that animal. See: those extinct snails.

In a sensible world, there would be a proposed committee that does risk analyses on potentially harmful fish, then bans them, and reevaluates down the line. It's incredibly backwards to ban everything and assume guilty until proven innocent. Same with species that are threatened by poaching. We have the ability to analyze what is actually declining their populations and what we can do about it.

However, the flipside to that is that once things go on the Lacey Act for good reasons, they... might just live on there forever. They're plentiful due to captive breeding, you can buy the juveniles for a $10 USD equivalent, 99% of Asian arowana are bred on farms, and any bred on farms are microchipped. There are very, very few being poached from the wild these days, and those that are are being distributed around Asia to the people who actually are willing to pay the insanely high prices for the wild-caught clout. And yet, they're firmly placed on the no-entry list with no plans for removal. The USA is notoriously bad for banning things and never accepting critique or revisions. I don't see a sweeping ban on everything going well, because a lot of those organisms will fall through the cracks and never be reconsidered.

Tl;dr: I do support stronger protections on species that can be captive-bred and have a great chance of continued survival in the wild. I would love to see this amendment revised in a more sensible manner for the sake of those species! Same with invasive species, please put together a committee to identify them and implement protocol to prevent disasters. But I do not support the current whitelist ban in HR 4521.

[amlovelies]

any mutuals who also have to suffer through the us healthcare system have any tips for how to get antidepressants? I don’t have a primary care physician, the last time I went to the doctor was the free clinic in like 2010, and I’m a  bad adult and have no idea how to actual use/navigate insurance but at this point I just want some damn pills because this shit aint getting better and I’m so damn tired

[hiyaluronic]

Just started playing Gotham Knights and my first thought is how good this would be as a Batman movie.

This is why DCEU is so far behind Marvel in terms of a cinematic universe. It doesn’t really expand their heroes. Batman is great as a solo character but his kids and the extended batfam are where he really shines. (even when he’s not present physically. Bat!dad!bruce is best.☺️Just look at Wayne Family Adventures) imho I think we’re all collectively tired of the repeated origin story films. Throw us right in the middle of Cataclysm, follow it up with No Man’s Land. Or, Court of Owls was a great story line and a pretty recent one that new fans would be able to find and read up on. Give us Under the Redhood, even with Jensen being out of the age range to play Jason now I would still love to see that story brought to the big screen. Just stop rebooting and recasting and STOP the origin stories, unless it’s a lesser known DC character that most people will need some background info on.

I have hope James Gunn knows how to turn the DCEU around because I have been a DC fan girl since I was a teenager and have been sorely disappointed in the movies as of late.

[myladyofmercy]

did u see edvin wore a zara handbag to school what do you think abt it??

i think i even commented this under another post about this but I'll say it again:

let the damn boy live his life in peace!!!

omar too!!!

and btw clothes don't have a gender!!!

accessories don't have a gender!!!

let them wear what they want without being ridiculed for it!!!

and so should we all!!!

fuck societal standards!!!

[amyriadfthings]

Yesterday I read comments on twitter regarding Omar’s Q/A being like: he answers a question per hour, max. 🙄

And then your tags: „The way he just keeps going and going <3“ That warmed my heart, ngl.

Aw, well, that´s actually my new busy boy omar tag, especially after this amazing compilation, so it was more about what he was saying in his answers about new projects and another album than the speed or number of q´s he was replying to. But you know what, keep reading it that way, because I´m firmly on team he can reply to however many questions at whatever speed and frequency he likes and we´re not entitled to shit, especially considering the nonsense or worse he probably has to wade through to pick out what he wants to answer.

EDIT: and just saw he answered some more today. I personally like getting his replies a little drawn-out like that. Very much for slowing down. (And not to sound too much like your elderly neighbor you chat with over the garden hedge, but I do wish people would learn to be less impatient and entitled and more grateful for what they are getting. Complaining and whining about stuff you can´t influence does nothing for you except make you more grumpy. Maybe that insight comes with more life idk)

[aliza---e]

Thinking about how Rosegarden is slowly but surely becoming one of those big stable m/f in the fandom (kinda like Renora and Arkos) i see so much fanart of Ruby and Oscar with 1000+ notes and its so surprising coming from a predominantly f/f fandom. It means people are generally starting to see the appeal or really just the possibility that Ruby and Oscar bear in canon. Specifically i see so many more Bees openly liking the idea of rosegarden (Nuts and Dolts too of course). I just think it's neat!

I also think that's pretty neat!

I wasn't in the RWBY community at the vol5 times but I hear that people were hating a lot on rosegarden back then so seeing it become more popular and hearing that other shippers like BB and N&D are being openly to like it and that other people start to see that it has a possibility to become canon really makes me happy!

In my opinion

I don't care what you ship I'm just happy you like it!✨

I believe in ship and let ship and I know I'm not the only one

And of course you can like more than one ship⭐

P.s don't go hate on other ships just because you don't like it that doesn't mean you can go and ruin other people's day. Please keep it to yourself.

[evieebun125]

i would like it stated for the record that i

1. still have 40 minutes left of this episode because i’ve stopped to draw every 5 minutes

and

2. that i can’t not draw a Hamid based scene at least once per episode

[navybrat817]

Genuine question. What about (fanfic writers in general) posting on AO3 but choosing the option of only people with accounts able to read and comment on the fic? Like still being on tumblr but anons can't read or hate if it's there since it won't be anonymous?

Hi, lovely anon. I'm slowly moving all of my works over to AO3 and haven't used that filter, but I know some people there choose to do so. I know a few others make a post here that directs people to their AO3, so they can't see the full fic here.

The hate in general is just insane and I'm tired of people I care about receiving it. And if isn't direct hate, it's dictating how their blog should be done. If it isn't one thing, it's another. It's exhausting, disheartening and wrong. And it's to the point where some want to deactivate their blogs and leave completely. Some have.

Anyone who sees my blogs can tell that I try to create a fun, positive vibe. Life is tough. I want people to be happy or at least enjoy their time here. I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant. I just want things to be better. We deserve that.

Thanks for the ask! 💖

[thanksforthemanatees]

Came back on tumblr for the first time in ages to find other Loki x Sylvie shippers only to find the tag flooded with people shaming me and anyone else for liking it. 🙄 I shouldn’t be surprised.

No matter the year, Tumblr is gonna Tumblr. Whatever you’re happy about there’s someone out there to shit on it and tell you you’re problematic for liking it.

[bardengarde]

Your comment about Longarce was so specific that it made me laugh out loud this morning. 😂 what was he saying that bothered you, if you don’t mind me asking??

I'm reading his book about Chamberlain currently- Joshua Chamberlain: The Soldier And The Man and..... I'm having problems with it.

I've never read any other books from this guy so I don't know if his writing style is always critical of his subjects, but there have been several comments in this book that have just rubbed me the wrong way.

First, I want to say that I can appreciate how his style puts things in simple terms and I'm getting through the book quickly because of that. I also saw in the preface this book kinda combats against Alice Rains Trulock's "In The Hands of Providence" which is another book I have been reading and enjoy, and Longacre is looking to combat against the "hero worship" and "legendary status" Chamberlain achieves in Trulock's book.

Which.... OK fair , I get he's viewed as "overhyped" by some civil war historians. I've seen some passages in Trulock's book that are a bit biased, I get it. He wants to write a more critical biography about Chamberlain, by all means.

But not even before we get to first page of the biography he states that other Chamberlain biographers rely too much on his writings and says on the very first page "He learned the value of legend not only as moral example but as historical record. ... He learned to infuse the past with a romanticism that quenched his thirst for adventure and fantasy. And he learned the superiority of symbolic truth over literal fact."

And like.... OK yes, a lot of Chamberlain's writings from the war, especially in later years, become very dramatic, but I really don't like the implication I think Longacre is trying to make that Chamberlain lied about what he saw or what he did.

Going forward there was a random comment about his family and Longacre said his brother John was like the favorite of the family and I thought that was weird because Tom was known as "his mother's pet" so like that wasn't right, and once again weird.

Then when Fanny comes into the picture he straight up calls her ugly and that crossed a line for me because what he goes to say is just mean and uncalled for. "The dark-haired, dark-eyed 'Fannie' was not a beauty; a prominent nose and a weak chin detracted from an otherwise pleasant appearance. She was handsome enough, however that Joshua was smitten almost from their first meeting."

And then he goes on to say Lawrence was interested in her because of her ancestry and I have not seen that claim anywhere else so I don't buy it. And there was another section during their courtship where Longacre dissects a letter that Lawrence might not have actually sent to Fanny, but essentially he was having a breakdown in the letter because Fanny was in Georgia at the time and they were going to be separated for three years and he had fallen into a state of depression because he missed her. Longacre basically calls the letter purple prose and made some claim afterward that some parts of the letter had sexual overtones which made me angry again because 1. What the hell??? 2. No?????

Basically, I don't know if I'm going to like this book. Like I said, Longacre has a simple and easy to read style and there's some entertaining anecdotes, but every couple of pages he says something that just doesn't sit right with me or flat out insults Lawrence or Fanny, and stuff like that is making it difficult for me to enjoy it or believe him at times.

[the-kneesbees]

MY FRIEND AND I HAVE THE SAME LUNCH TOMORROW

[dreamofstarlight]

Did you know that Conor also went to Harvard?….the way I would’ve walked up to Harvard if I were a Kennedy lol.

Of course he did. I'm sure a lot of the Kennedy kids are smart and they definitely went to very prestigious private schools their whole lives but if their dad or mom or grandfather/mother weren't who they were would they have gotten in? I don't know. This has been sitting in my mind as someone who thinks the whole idea of Ivy Leagues is a bit old and worn down and people think about it way too much about it especially in high school, you can get just as good of an education at a state college. When I was a senior in HS applying to colleges I made a joke about applying to an Ivy League just to see if I got in with my B average grades and membership to the National Honor Society. There is a girl from my HS class that goes to Yale and the campus looks great and all and I'm sure she's getting a great education there but I think it's a system that is a bit archaic and pushes the narrative that someone is inherently better based on the college they went to which isn't true.

[yaz-the-spaz]

Just popping in real quick to let everyone know I'm okay...I know people may have been worried knowing I live in DC but I am thankfully fairly far away from the danger zone (aka downtown) and am safely at home with my family watching the madness play out on tv. This is absolutely insane and terrifying and while I am praying that everyone that was inside the Capitol and the surrounding buildings is okay, I am also sincerely hoping that this serves as a wake-up call for the idiotic retrumplicans that let things get this far. This is the most insane, unpatriotic thing I have ever witnessed and the audacity of these asshats to be out here proudly waving American flags like they're exerting their most patriotic duty--all while busting through the Capitol windows, storming past security with loaded guns, swinging down from the chambers balconies and commandeering the House Floor, sitting around with their feet up on people's desks as if they own the goddamn place--speaks volumes. All along they've been trying to claim that BLM and Antifa were the ones to worry about, demonizing people fighting for equality and good change while they were lying in wait scheming to dismantle our government piece by piece, and ALL of it was incited by the goddamn president (and his cronies). But make no mistake, this is TREASON. This is TERRORISM. This is the literal definition of a COUP and it is happening in the very country (THE quote on quote "first world" country to top all first world countries) that has always claimed to be a beacon of hope and freedom. I don't know how we come back from this, especially in the middle of a pandemic, because there is no question in my mind that our country will never be the same. Not when nearly half the population supports a man and a movement that continues to do everything they possibly can to tear apart the fabric and foundation of this government and this country. But I am sincerely hoping and praying that something gives soon because I don't know much more we can take. I am angry, I am hurt, I am scared. But I still believe in justice and I can only hope it prevails even through this chaotic insanity

[fratboyintraining]

thoughts on zabuza and hakus death

Asdffgghjklgdd wow @fors4kes ya hit the hornets nest point of my naruto thoughts on the first try.

SO FIRST OFF THE ABSOLUTE ZERO NARRATIVE PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN! Like holy fuck yeah naruto gets his first taste of the unfairness of the shinobi system, but is it utilized? NO! WE GET ALMOST ZERO CONSEQUENCES OR MENTIONS IN THE ENTIRE SERIES ABOUT IT!!  

Yeah they both die next to each other and maybe end up in the same afterlife which is nice i guess? But does naruto personally discuss with others later on ‘oh hey the fact that this kid barely older than us gave his life to protect the man who cared for him and it was ultimately futile because the cause they were fighting for was useless in the end and what does this mean since it’s the product of the shinobi system we live in?’ NO! I can’t even remember them being mentioned till the War arc that’s how little they mattered in the long run. Which is, in my opinion, horrible writing since this arc was supposed to be the full introduction to the world and the basis for most of the themes that the story would explore. 

Kishimoto in the manga sets up an amazing introduction to the wider world that he created and what was got me interested in the series in the first place, but nothing is done with it. 

Mei and Kisame who would not have only known, but have worked closely with Zabuza in the rebellion or seven swordsmen respectively? Don’t mention him. The genocides that killed Hakus clan? Barely scratched upon along with the rebellion. How Kirigakure would react to their sacred sword just being shoved in the ground in a backwater country for thieves to just take? Never even discussed. How exactly Kirigakure, compared to the other countries, could have genin death matches and still be a world power? Doesn’t exist as far as the story matters.

 WHY THE FUCK WRITE CHARACTERS THAT ARE GENUINELY ENGAGING TO READ, EXAMINE WHY THEY ARE NOT VILLAINS IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, AND THEN PERFECTLY ILLUSTRATE HOW NO SHINOBI IS INHERENTLY MORE MORALLY SUPERIOR TO ANOTHER IN THE SYSTEM THAT THEY OPERATE IN, BUT THEN SOMEHOW NEVER DO ANYTHING WITH IT!

Sorry this is not an analysis of their deaths in the Waves arc, but this is a subject that’s so infuriating to me since while their deaths made me cry when I first read it, I can’t fully appreciate it now without being reminded it didn’t matter.

[lesbesitos]

every day i text my gc, go to sleep, wake up, and delete the message bc no one has read it yet and i feel stupid