#there are people outside of america that can speak and write english

[novadoesartforfun]

Your joke offends Asian.

Bitch, I am a mother fking

⭐A S I A N⭐

[tac-the-unseen]

I love all ur blog sm!! Can I ask abt something with the slashers (specially Thomas <3) with an foreigner!reader that don't quit speak english very well and normally forget words?

(Sorry if something is spelled wrong, English is not my native language lmao)

Absolutely, I can!

And because the request didn't specify, this fic will strictly be about speaking a foreign language.

Sorry if this is inaccurate! I'm a native English speaker and don't know many who aren't. Sorry in advance!!

Slashers x Foreigner!Reader

Micheal Myers:

•This man will act like he doesn't care but in reality he's so intrigued. (It might be why you're still alive) 

•He’ll spend his time watching you practice your pronunciation and recognition patterns, like it's a movie.

•Is he a bit mean about it? Yes. Will he laugh? Probably.

•If you find yourself not knowing what certain words are and stumble around until you find the right word, You'd be surprised at how patient he is. 

•If you are very new to the English language he'll secretly get you flash cards and stash them into a place he knows you'll find them

•Despite everything, if you ask him for help, he will help. He might be mute but he can write and use TV to aid you.

Billy loomis & Stu macher:

•Stu is already romanticizing your language, but instead of using the actual name of your language, he calls it “Talking pretty to me”

•Billy asks if you want any text books or study equipment to help you on your English speaking journey 

•Both boys are a surprising help! Stuttering trying to articulate what you mean? They've already jumped in to, A) help save you some of the embarrassment, and B) give you time to think about what you're trying to say. 

•Someone making fun of you? They're either dead or a social outcast by the end of the week. 

•Are you struggling to remember a certain word? These boys are willing play charades until you figure it out. And they won't drop it either, Stu says ‘It’s bad to give up when you've already come so far.’ 

•Over all it's not so bad (Stu 100,000,000% uses Google translate to figure out how to say ‘i love you’ in your native language) 

Thomas Hewitt:

•When both of you met, he had never met an actual foreigner before.

•He knew people travel around and occasionally some valley girl would end up in their small town, But someone from a whole different part of the world?

•His interest in you spiked the moment he heard your accent 

•Thomas has so many questions but doesn't know how to ask you

•With him being mute and your struggles with English, It's not the easiest relationship. In the end both of you just end up pointing at things and making noises to get your point across. 

•Absolutely loves to listen to you speak in your native language, Even if he'll never understand it. 

•When he's first trying to court you, he leaves you slightly damaged flowers (he struggled to pick them) to communicate his affection. 

•even with a language barrier, he's gonna love you like no one ever could 

Bubba Sawyer:

•He had no idea people outside of America existed 

•When You fell into the palm of Texas and his brothers found you failing to remember the word for your favorite snack, They knew you would be an easy target.

•When they kidnapped you and brought you to the basement so Bubba could chop you up, he was fascinated by the way you desperately tried to beg him not to kill you. 

•It ended in a huge fight in the family, But he got everyone to let you live a bit longer.

•Sits Criss Cross applesauce while you speak for your life. You could babble about anything and he would listen intently. 

•He pulls out his alphabet soup machine and spends hours typing with you. (You help him finally get past the clown level)

Bo Sinclair:

•absolute meanie, stinky poopy head about it >:(

•will mock your stutters and say stuff like “Oh come ON! The word is Cat! C. A. T. CAT! What's so hard about that?” 

•If you speak your native language around him, He thinks you're insulting him or intentionally hiding something. 

•”If you could say it to my face in your language you can say it to my face again in mine!”

•The same sentiment is not shared when it involves bedroom fun

•Will eventually apologize, But that's going to take a while 

Vincent Sinclair:

•As another non-speaking fellow he takes his time to make sure you two can understand each other 

•He’ll mostly use body language and and little doodles to get his point across 

•Stuttering over a word? He doesn't care, he'll let you work it out without any judgment!

•Want his help? He has several books, Vincent will just pull out a book he knows as the word in it, flipped to the page, and point at the word. 

•Love listening to you talk, In English or not. He'll happily let you yap his ear off. 

Lester Sinclair:

•Poor boy was lovestruck when he first heard you talk!

•Full on heart eyes while you explain where you're from and how you ended up here 

•If you end up fumbling on a word he'll start shouting out potential words for what you're trying to say. 

•Example: “and then I had too…uh…um..” “Run? Pee? Eat? Were you hungry? Are you hungry right now?” 

•So helpful, I know

•But the guy is already googling restaurants based off your native cuisine. He's got the date set up. 

•”It's no biggie, I'm a native English speaker and I still can't get it right!” 

Billy Lenz:

•Billy 100% understands the struggle of finding the right word to say 

•He can't stop stuttering himself, so when you start stuttering you kind of reinforce us in his brain that you were meant to be together 

•He feels like he can bond with you over it, and even feel safer around you knowing that you also mess up 

•the thing is if you start stuttering, he'll start stuttering. If you can't get it by God he will.

•”W-we can't bo-oth be wrong.” 

Brahms Heelshire:

•this man will 100% try to learn your language as soon as he finds out you're a foreigner

•That man has a huge library, there's bound to be at least one book written in your mother tongue 

•He spends a lot of time practicing your native language so he can speak to you more comfortably

•You already know he has children's learning books he'll pull out if you ask. 

•Can't find the word you're looking for? He's already 10 books deep, he'll find it for you. 

•Brahms is a well-educated man and he intends to use His years of learning to help 

•If you want to take classes to better your English skills he will 100,000% throw money your way to do so.

Hannibal Lecter:

•Now Hannibal really understands 

•He's a Lithuanian who learned English as a 10 year old

•He didn't struggle as much, But for the first couple of months you bet he was stumbling. 

•If you're struggling with a word, He has a process of teaching you so you don't forget it again. 

1) Identify what you're trying to say 

2)Slowly begin to sound out the word 

3)Have you recite the word a few times 

4)He'll either teaches you a little tune to remember or he'll do something so you remember the moment 

•Does it feel a little condescending? Yes. But it works 

•He's also willing to pour an ungodly amount of money into your English education if you ask 

•He'll even teach you himself in his spare time

Will Graham:

•Doesn't really know what to do, He's a bit awkward about it 

•He'll also identify the word and repeat it a few times so you can get a better handle on it.

•He thinks it's a bit funny and a bit cute when you stutter or mispronounce something 

•He will gently correct you and move on like nothing happened 

The Lost Boys:

•holy fucking shit this is a cluster fuck, let's do this one by one 

•David

-David, having been around a while, has picked up a couple languages.

-If he does know the language you're speaking he'll speak it back to you and guide you into English better than the other boys could 

-If not, he'll just read your mind and tell you what you're trying to say. It's by far the easiest way to articulate what you mean. 

•Dwayne

-Dwayne being just slightly younger than David has also picked up a couple languages 

-It's really the same if he does know your language But with a little more verbal teaching 

-If he doesn't he'll patiently wait until you figure out what you're trying to say. 

•Paul

-as soon as you start to stutter over yourself Paul starts shotgunning words off 

-some slightly related to the situation and others wildly out there 

-”Drink? Food? Ocean? Horse? The unforgiving eyes of God and His kingdom???” 

-he'll do this to confuse you and have a nice laugh 

•Marko

-Marko speaks English and Italian, so if your language isn't one of those two you're kind of shit out of luck 

-”Come on babe, you'll get it” 

-He finds it a bit funny but still tries to help in little ways 

Thanks for reading <3

Sorry if this seems hastily written together, I haven't had the request in a while so I kind of jumped at the opportunity.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Writing Advice #?: Don’t write out accents.

The Surface-Level Problem: It’s distracting at best, illegible at worst. 

The following passage from Sons and Lovers has never made a whit of sense to me:

“I ham, Walter, my lad,’ ’e says; ‘ta’e which on ’em ter’s a mind.’ An’ so I took one, an’ thanked ’im. I didn’t like ter shake it afore ’is eyes, but ’e says, ‘Tha’d better ma’e sure it’s a good un. An’ so, yer see, I knowed it was.’”

There’s almost certainly a point to that dialogue — plot, character, theme — but I could not figure out what the words were meant to be, and gave up on the book.  At a lesser extreme, most of Quincey’s lines from Dracula (“I know I ain’t good enough to regulate the fixin’s of your little shoes”) cause American readers to sputter into laughter, which isn’t ideal for a character who is supposed to be sweet and tragic.  Accents-written-out draw attention to mechanical qualities of the text.

Solution #1: Use indicators outside of the quote marks to describe how a character talks.  An Atlanta accent can be “drawling” and a London one “clipped”; a Princeton one can sound “stiff” and a Newark one “relaxed.”  Do they exaggerate their vowels more (North America) or their consonants more (U.K., north Africa)?  Do they sound happy, melodious, frustrated?

The Deeper Problem: It’s ignorant at best, and classist/racist/xenophobic at worst.

You pretty much never see authors writing out their own accents — to the person who has the accent, the words just sound like words.  It’s only when the accent is somehow “other” to the author that it gets written out.

And the accents that we consider “other” and “wrong” (even if no one ever uses those words, the decision to deliberately misspell words still conveys it) are pretty much never the ones from wealthy and educated parts of the country.  Instead, the accents with misspelled words and awkward inflection are those from other countries, from other social classes, from other ethnicities.  If your Maine characters speak normally and your Florida characters have grammatical errors, then you have conveyed what you consider to be correct and normal speech.  We know what J.K. Rowling thinks of French-accented English, because it’s dripping off of Fleur Delacour’s every line.

At the bizarre extreme, we see inappropriate application of North U.K. and South U.S.-isms to every uneducated and/or poor character ever to appear in fan fic.  When wanting to get across that Steve Rogers is a simple Brooklyn boy, MCU fans have him slip into “mustn’t” and “we is.”  When conveying that Robin 2.0 is raised poor in Newark, he uses “ain’t” and “y’all” and “din.”  Never mind that Iron Man is from Manhattan, or that Robin 3.0 is raised wealthy in Newark; neither of them ever gets a written-out accent.

Solution #2: A little word choice can go a long way, and a little research can go even further.  Listen carefully to the way people talk — on the bus, in a café, on unscripted YouTube — and write down their exact word choice.  “We good” literally means the same thing as “no thank you,” but one’s a lot more formal than the other.  “Ain’t” is a perfectly good synonym for “am not,” but not everyone will use it.

The Obscure Problem: It’s not even how people talk.

Look at how auto-transcription software messes up speaking styles, and it’s obvious that no one pronounces every spoken sound in every word that comes out of their mouth.  Consider how Americans say “you all right?”; 99% of us actually say something like “yait?”, using tone and head tilt to convey meaning.  Politicians speak very formally; friends at bars speak very informally.

An example: I’m from Baltimore, Maryland.  Unless I’m speaking to an American from Texas, in which case I’m from “Baltmore, Marlind.”  Unless I’m speaking to an American from Pennsylvania, in which case I’m from “Balmore, Marlin.”  If I’m speaking to a fellow Marylander, I’m of course from “Bamor.”  (If I’m speaking to a non-American, I’m of course from “Washington D.C.”)  Trying to capture every phoneme of change from moment to moment and setting to setting would be ridiculous; better just to say I inflect more when talking to people from outside my region.

When you write out an accent, you insert yourself, the writer, as an implied listener.  You inflict your value judgments and your linguistic ear on the reader, and you take away from the story.

Solution #3: When in doubt, just write the dialogue how you would talk.

[spanishskulduggery]

Just discovered while talking to someone in Spanish that "Adiós" is more of a permanent goodbye, something you might say to someone you expect to never meet again, like a stranger. Instead, he said I should use "nos vemos" when speaking with people I know, which makes sense. I was wondering what other goodbyes I could use that aren't permanent? Obviously there's "hasta luego" and "hasta mañana."

I wouldn't go that far necessarily, but yes adiós can be used for people you don't expect to see for a long time (possibly never again like sayonara means in Japanese)

Literally, adiós is "go with God" which would have been a lot more impactful in the time of needing to journey days/weeks/months to meet some relatives, and possibly having to deal with war, disease, wild animals etc

A lot of Western langauges have something similar, even "goodbye" is "God be with you/ye"

Some people do use it for a permanent goodbye. Others use it for an indefinite but probably long period of goodbye

And some people just say adiós as a standard goodbye with no deeper meaning other than "bye"

Note: You can also say adiosito which I wouldn't necessarily recommend outside of friendly conversation since it can sound sarcastic; it's like "toodle-oo" but it's literally a little goodbye

Note 2: If you vehemently hate someone and you hope to never see them again, you can say hasta nunca which is like "see you never" and I think that's beautiful

-

Today people do use adiós just as "goodbye" though it can read as "we won't see each other for a while"

The more short-term is nos vemos "we will see each other"

Another variation is a direct object version rather than reflexive. You can say te veo pronto "I'll see you soon" for example, instead of nos vemos pronto "we will see each other soon", that sort of thing

-

There's also hasta pronto "see you soon", hasta la próxima "see you next time"

And a lot of people have adapted certain words into Spanish like bye/bai or chau/chao for goodbyes

chau/chao in particular comes from ciao and is super common especially in South America

Another common one I say is cuídate "take care of yourself" / cuídese for polite, cuídense for plural

Depending on context you can also say ¡Suerte! "Good luck!" (or ¡Buena suerte! or ¡Que tengas mucha suerte! "Hope you have lots of luck" or te deseo mucha suerte etc)....

Another common one I say is ¡Ánimo! which means something like "Chin up!" but literally it's "energy" or "cheer"; if you're saying ánimo with someone you're essentially saying ¡Aguanta! or ¡Resiste! which is like "Hang in there!" or trying to pep someone up, where animar is "to cheer someone on" so it's all related there

-

Also I know you said spoken but just in case, if you're signing off on a letter/email there are some basic phrases you can use:

saludos = (a generic kind of goodbye) [lit. "salutations" or "regards"] un cordial saludo = (something like "kind regards")

atentamente = "yours truly" / "sincerely" [lit. "attentively"]

estamos en contacto / estaremos en contacto = "we'll be in touch"

And if you're writing a friendly letter you can say abrazos or besos for "hugs" and "kisses" respectively; it's very common to say something like te mando un abrazo "I'm sending you a hug" or something like that

-

Also, if you're at a party or something, you can say something like ya me voy or me largo or something like "I'm heading out"

I tend to say something like hora de irme "time for me to go" because in my English-speaking brain saying me largo feels awkward like I'm storming out but I know that's not what that always means

Additionally you can say debo irme "I should go", something along those lines is pretty standard

-

If you're being funny, I think me piro vampiro is somewhat used in Spain (but maybe not so much now)... it's just there for the rhyme. Literally "I'm out, vampire" or "I'm leaving, vampire" [pirarse is an idiomatic way of saying "to leave"]

For Latin America, more common would be chao/chau pescao which is literally "goodbye seafood/fish" since pescao is an informal spelling of pescado where the D can kind of be aspirated

You may also see/hear chao/chau bacalao "goodbye cod"

Again, all for the rhyme. The equivalent of "see you later alligator" in English. Everyone loves a rhyme

But obviously only do this among friends because it's informal and a bit childish

[phoenixinthefiles]

Times like these I really wish this app had a text to speech function:

I’ve been thinking about citzenzhip a lot when it comes to the Batfamily, HEAR ME OUT.

Disclaimer: I am not part of an immigrant family so if anything I say is offensive please let me know

So Dick, Damian, and Cass, were obviously born outside the U.S, WHERE’S THE CHARACTER EXPLORATION FOR THAT?

Like Damian and Dick knew English before coming here but there are still other experiences they definitely would’ve gone through.

Damian probably hated/hates the U.S. He was raised on “you do things perfectly-good-you slip up-punishment” (that’s obviously horrible) but the U.S. and all its systems are oftentimes OVERLY complicated. Can you imagine how hard it would be to go from an abusive, perfectly, structured environment, to one that’s constantly divided over the simplest things?

Not to mention that if we’re going with the backstory of him having lived in the desert for the majority of his childhood, there’d be a massive climate change. Like he’d probably have allergies, and maybe eczema.

Can you imagine finally getting to meet your father and you breakout and nearly asphyxiate because of the air pollution. (Slight hyperbole)

Ra’s Al Ghul is a horrible, abusive man but he’s relatively environmentally conscious (still horrible and abusive)

And with Dick?

If we go off Haly’s Circus being an European traveling circus, and his mother possibly being a French-speaking Roma, we can understand why it’d be difficult for him to adapt to life at Wayne Manor.

You travel 3 hours from London and you end up in Paris. A kid who’s used to that type of learning environment would HATE the American school system. He’s sitting in an uncomfortable desk chair listening to a teacher drone on about something he will never use in his life. When he used to be taught physics, while doing a handstand on the railing of the freaking Ponte de Rialto.

Regardless of potentially having ADHD or not, he’s still fidgeting in his seat—yearning for recess. But because this is America (and likely around the early 2000’s or so) his teacher rudely points out his fidgeting and the rest of the class see the boy that looks different from them, acting differently from them as well. And Children can be cruel.

I can’t imagine the experience of being an extroverted child who is used to forming connections with children, who look different from him, BECAUSE of his talents and uniqueness, being thrust into an environment that discourages that,WHILE HE’S GRIEVING HIS PARENTS.

Also Damian and Dick are both tan/brown skinned, and they’re likely going to a rich private school without a lot of people that look like them. (Gotham Academy did not start gaining a more diverse population until Jason came around and that was the reason he wanted to go to public school[I stand by this headcanon…bcus fiction imitates life])

Not to mention the unreasonable amount of prejudice towards Arabs in this country and others. That’s a rough time for a 8-11 year old who JUST moved here and already has a disconnect with his peers due to his abuse and forced maturity.

SO, SO much I’ve said and so, so much I still haven’t. I haven’t even BEGUN to talk about Cass and how difficult it had to be to come to THIS country not being able to understand spoken language at all? She was a teenager when she met Bruce but that just makes different, not better.

Once again I am Black, so while I have experience as a minority in this country, I have no experience with being an immigrant so if I have said something offensive do NOT hesitate to let me know.

Also does this count as me writing something? Probably not huh?

@vhscity idk if you want to read my rant with horrible grammar mistakes.😭😭

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

I HAVE AN obsession with the color green. It’s a color of opposites. Green is life, growth, and health. It’s also sickness, greed, and envy. It’s good and bad at once. And it’s everywhere this afternoon as I sit down with actor, producer, author, and entrepreneur Sam Heughan — most recognized for his starring role in the Scotland-based time travel drama “Outlander.” His shirt bears a green tartan pattern, somewhere between jade and emerald. To my right, the glass bottle of his new gin is a transparent seafoam. Above my head is the leafy expanse of a tree, planted in the courtyard of New York’s Crosby Street Hotel. The gin we sip tastes green: grassy and alpine, fresh as menthol and bright as a sour apple. Most vividly is the green in my mind’s eye: the wet, rich, misty green of Scotland, a place Heughan speaks of with rapture.

Missing home is what drove Heughan to launch his spirits brand Sassenach, after the Scottish Gaelic word for an English person, or rather, an “outsider.” “When I was in London away from home, a jobbing actor, missing Scotland, I remember my first time trying a single malt whisky and I had such an emotional reaction,” he recalls from across the table, his bright blue eyes wide. “It reminded me of Scotland.”

I remark on the gin’s legs, thick and viscous, streaking the sides of my glass. Heughan nods, “I increased the strength. It just gives it a bit more weight. I love a bit of weight on my tongue.” Toasted oats give a creamy feel to the cornucopia of flavors present in the liquid: pine resin, heather, blackberry leaf, blaeberry — and, again, that sour green apple. “There’s no citrus in Scotland. That’s why I chose apples,” Heughan explains. “I remember as a kid, picking them and throwing them at people, eating them, then being really ill because they’re so sour.”

Heughan’s family — his mother, brother, and uncle — still live in Scotland. His uncle used to have a ceilidh band. “[Ceilidh is] a traditional Scottish dance,” he explains. “It’s madness. Everyone’s drinking whisky and the dancers get faster and faster and there are lots of spinning people around.” Heughan listens to a lot of Scottish music. He later sends me a song called “Blackbird” by Martyn Bennett, known for mixing dance tracks with traditional Celtic music. I tear up at its aching slants. “It makes me homesick for a home that’s not mine,” I message him. “That’s Scotland,” he writes back. “It does that to people.”

Sam Heughan Is in Good Spirits Image Float

Heughan was raised by a single mother in the south of Scotland — the rural stretches of Dumfries and Galloway. “Spent a lot of time on my own pretending I was a knight or Robert the Bruce.” The land’s botanicals now flavor his gin. Courtesy of Sam Heughan.

“It’s one foot in the present, one in the past,” muses Heughan about his country, adding a splash of tonic to my gin, whose flavor now reveals a pleasant salinity. “The castles. So many great battles. You

can feel the history. I think that’s what makes it so magical.” This history is inextricably linked to ritual, observed in Scotland to this day. Take Beltane, a pagan ritual beginning serendipitously on Heughan’s birthday, April 30. “You’re supposed to stay up all night and wash your face in the fresh dew when the sun rises, then go to bed and dream of your future spouse,” he describes. “It’s all about rebirth and nature.”

We talk about other parts of the world that have shaped him, as I remark on his fusion accent: a bit Scottish for sure, but mixed with something else, sort of American and British, too. America’s opportunity and diversity captivate Heughan. He came here for the first time at 18, hostel hopping in San Francisco. “I remember looking at the Golden Gate Bridge for hours, playing my cassette of ‘(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay’ by Otis Redding over and over. I was living on $5 burritos — one a day. It’s all I could afford.” He speaks of Hawaii with reverence — the local culture’s connection to wildlife and the sea. He spent time with a fisherman and his family there who taught him the Indigenous way to fish: “Gut it straight away. Take out the heart, say a prayer, and throw it back into the ocean immediately to allow the soul of the fish to live on.” New Zealand also moves him. He was there recently and learned about tā moku, the art of Māori tattooing. “You sit with an artist and tell him your story. He chooses where it goes on your body and makes it there and then. He stuck [the initial sketch] on my left forearm here, and it was all about my mom and my brother and the absence of my father.” He wants to return to New Zealand and get the tattoo next time.

My gin has opened up even more, spreading out into softer, aromatic florals as Heughan uncorks a bottle of his whisky. “People have called you a global heartthrob.” I begin, “Is that a role you’re —”

“Who has?” His eyes grow bigger in feigned shock. (Fun fact: the Sam Heughan fanbase even has their own name — “Heughligans.”)

“Someone I talked to in the subway.”

“Right, right,” he nods gravely, pouring new glasses.

“Do you,” I continue, taking a sip, “feel comfortable in that role?” The whisky tastes like a spicy Werther’s caramel.

“My character is what some people aspire to, and I understand why. He’s this incredible human being who’s just so in love with his wife and does the most romantic things. Selfless. People then think you might be that person. I’m certainly not. But it’s something to aspire to.”

“Are you comfortable,” I press, “being an object of desire?” Heughan shares that in earlier years, he was treated in a way that would no longer be tolerated. “I’d be asked, ‘What’s under your kilt?’ or ‘How do you get your abs?’ I wish I did have abs! We were just in a different industry. I don’t have resentment or a grudge. But I would like to be seen for the work that I do, rather than my looks.”

While he’s still based in Scotland, Heughan also has a house in LA, a city he’s not exactly sold on. He toys with the idea of New York as his next home base. He loves it here. “The cocktail bars. Cycling along the West Side. SoHo. The river. Getting a ferry. I’m so into ferries! I’ll go to Staten Island, then come back again. We got a helicopter the other day back from the Hamptons — I don’t like helicopters. They’re not meant to fly. However, seeing the Statue of Liberty from there, it’s so good. New York could be my city.”

I show Heughan around some local spots that evening. We sit at the bar of Superbueno for mezcal drinks and tacos. The music gets louder and so do the crowds. Mouth full of al pastor, I semi-shout a question in Heughan’s direction, asking if he ever gets overstimulated. “No, not really,” he replies simply, between chewing. At 6 feet, 3 inches, Heughan towers over seemingly everyone. Maybe it’s calmer up there. There’s an overall good-natured quality to him; it’s soothing to be around.

We head to another bar, Mr. Fongs. The air is thick with the smell of trash and rats dart to and fro. A subway thunders overhead as we walk below a bridge in Chinatown. “This is awesome,” Heughan murmurs. We order the bar’s specialty: salty plum old-fashioneds. “I want a place where the second I walk out my door, I’m right in the center of all of it,” he says decidedly, whistling a little at the (notoriously strong) drink. “Right in the middle.”

Heughan is noticeably unadorned. I suggest some rings and an ear piercing for his New York era. A candle light flickers against his cheek, evoking another world — someplace old and rural and rugged. At this moment, I see his character, a fantasy projection of the leading man. But really, we’re just in Chinatown, weighing the pros and cons of earrings on men. “Sadly I don’t think I’m quite cool enough,” he sighs, “to pull that off.” ▪️

Our Contributors

Sophie Mancini Writer

Sophie Mancini is an editor at Departures. Born and raised in New York City, she holds a degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and has a background as a writer in brand and editorial.

Diana Markosian Photographer

Diana Markosian (born in Moscow, 1989) is a Russian-American photographer of Armenian descent. Her work explores memory and place through a layered, interdisciplinary process that uses photography and video. Her photographs have been published in National Geographic, the New Yorker, and the New York Times.

Robert Ormerod Photographer

Robert Ormerod is a photographer interested in telling stories. He is based in Scotland, working across the U.K. for titles such as National Geographic, The Guardian Saturday magazine, The New York Times, T Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Tom Craig Photographer

Tom Craig is a photographer and director whose work has been featured in Vogue, i-D, and Vanity Fair. His work is driven by a desire to tell stories and the urge to travel. His work often blurs the line between fashion photography and straightforward reportage.

**Full article from @departures www.departures.com

[godlizzza]

I was torn between Coffinshipping and Danbert but I'm gonna choose Danbert because it convenient for you "Imagine Me & You" fic~

Can i request a possessive fic of Danbert? And Herbert is the one who being possessive here.

Thank you so much and plz write whenever you can or have time, I am super appreciated! 🥰

Herbert was gone all of two minutes.

He left Dan with their bags while he went inside in search of someone who could tell them what to do now that their bus had been delayed. His German was rusty but he had a hell of a lot easier time than Dan loudly repeating himself in English, using more rudimentary words with every attempt to get the non-English speaking Swiss workers to understand him. Their travels through Bern were proving to be more working and less holiday.

Herbert paced back to the terminal, their new itinerary scribbled down in his notebook. He glanced up from the page and nearly got run over by a family trailing bulbous suitcases. He barely noticed; he was too busy seething at the sight of a woman chatting animatedly with Dan, smiling up at him and touching his arm. Long blonde hair spilled out from beneath her pageboy hat, which she kept twirling around her finger as she laughed at whatever Dan was saying.

Dan looked slightly bewildered, no doubt having trouble following her broken English. As Herbert stomped closer, he could make out the tail end of her sentence.

"-so cool. I love America." She accentuated love with a squeeze to Dan's bicep, and Herbert nearly chewed right through his tongue.

"Oh, yeah, it's great," Dan replied, scratching at the back of his neck but still keeping his smile in place. "This is my first time outside of America."

Gretel or Heidi or whatever the fuck her name was, grinned at Dan. "You come with me? I can show der Schweiz you-"

"Why are you bothering him?" Herbert barked at her in German, finally slipping up to Dan's side and into her field of vision. "Go find some other tourist to proposition."

She blinked in surprise at his sudden appearance, then frowned as she swept her gaze over him. Doubtless, she was trying to piece his non-European appearance with his crisp German.

"And who are you?" she asked rudely, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Herbert bared his teeth in a feral grin and hugged Dan's arm, tugging him close to his side. "I'm his client. He's a hooker I'm paying to fuck and follow me around. So, unless you've got a few spare thousand Euros, I'd back off."

All the haughty snark instantly vanished from her face, leaving behind only mortification. She slowly backed away, eyes darting between the two of them, before she murmured an apology, turned tail and ran, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Herbert smiled after her, keeping his grip on Dan's arm, satisfaction filling him like a glass of warm milk.

"What just happened?" Dan asked, head whipping back and forth between Herbert and the shadow of the girl. He narrowed his eyes down at Herbert. "What did you say to her? She was just being friendly."

"I didn't say anything," Herbert replied sweetly, nuzzling his cheek into Dan's shoulder. "I just told her we were very busy."

Dan sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "I hate not being able to understand everything. You could be saying anything. Telling people I'm a drug dealer or something."

"I would never do something like that," Herbert said solemnly before releasing Dan's arm and squatting down to grab his suitcase. He started off in the direction of their terminal and nodded for Dan to follow. "Now, come on. We've got a bus to catch."

"As soon as we get to the apartment, I'm taking a nap," Dan groaned as he paced after Herbert, his roller suitcase sliding along the linoleum floor.

[starrclownshazbinblog]

can we get more general angst :3 i breathe off angst

When I was writing that post I was thinking that no one would even like that post because why would you wanna know sad facts about my rewrite.

It's one of my top liked posts.

Ya'll really like sad stuff huh. Good thing I'm a artist!!

TRIGGERWARNING: GENERAL DISGUSTING TOPICS. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Henroin did everything he could to help Angel when his wife died. Angel, Molly, and Arackniss's mother also died in child birth because she was a POC. Angel cried over his shoulder multiple times. He didn't shame him, he just helped his baby.

Husk's father was extremely abusive to himself, his mother, and half brother.

Considering Vox is Jewish and lived during World War II he never got to be as out there as he wanted too. Yes he had his own small TV show but if he wasn't Jewish, he would have more funding.

Most people didn't like Velvette's fashion brand when she was alive. Velvette is a chubby girl, no one liked the chubby fashion designer's clothes for plus sized people. (This was me just venting at this point.)

Madame Pentious struggled alot as a human woman. She is a undiagnosed Autistic person. This caused issues in her life because she didn't know how to fix the internal problems she has. She was also around alot of things that triggered her sensory issues.

The smudgy dark lines that run down Mimzy's face us runny makeup. Mimzy was crying pretty hard when her manager chocked her up. Hell decided to remind her she died crying.

Valerie's limbs can break off VERY easily considering she's a porcelain doll. If this happens when she's alone or outside she can't do much about it because she can't speak. This causes her to panic. At one point this happened and Valerie tried to scream for help. 2 hours later Angel found her exhausted on the ground from screaming and crying. It wasn't pretty.

Considering Nifty has undiagnosed ADHD, she runs around alot and can forget things easily. This lead to other school girls calling her stupid for being so clumsy and forgetful. They told her no man would want her. This only strived her obsession to getting married and being wanted.

Valerie was bullied pretty heavily in school. For a matter of reasons, being Salvadoran, being lesbian (no one knew yet, they were just assuming, having a accent, being incredibly skinny. School was hell, so was home. The dance studio was her only safe place.

Angel used to struggle really bad with English. He's not from America and his family only spoke Italian so he didn't learn English when he was a child. He had to adapt pretty quickly so his family would fit in. Angel still gets upset if he messes up a English word.

Both Angel and his wife Carmilla are queer. Angel is gay and Carmilla is a lesbian. They were friends so they decided to get married so they can fake being straight. They didn't want to be kicked out of the mob or worse, murdered. They then had their daughter Isabella because of social pressure. They didn't want Isabella but they worked through it together. Isabella never got to meet Carmilla.

All three of the Spider Siblings died from suicide. Angel went first, then Molly, then Arackniss. They couldn't stand being away from each other.

Lucifer has the ability to take the magic out if Charlie. If this is too happen then Charlie falls lifeless, like if you cut a puppets strings. This happened once when Charlie and Lucifer got into a bad fight about her hotel. Lilith demanded he bring her back to life. He did very quickly, it was just a mistake. Charlie still hasn't forgotten it.

People rioted when Alastor's radio broadcasts began to take off on air. They weren't comfortable with a black man having unapologetic and truthful radio show.

Cherrie is obsessed with being strong enough to defend herself because she used to get the shit beaten out of her.

I could list more but I wanna be silly 😋

Asks are open, art is here, feel free to follow, reblog, ask questions, and things along those lines.

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

[bobbybutterfly]

You know what. I chose to draw something completely different from what I usually post here. I kind of feel like I’m pigeon holing myself by only posting on here what I know other people will respond to. Not getting new people who respond to different things. Thus I decided to take the plunge today and draw fanart of the 2000s web icons, the Zodiac Girlz.

I have no nostalgia for them as I was born in 2005. But I watched the Li Speaks video on them and was like free real estate ya’ll. Off to draw some redesigns and make rewrites. Mainly of the more problematic ones. Such as the Gemini twins. This is tumblr after all baby. For real though there was a comment on the video that inspired me to remake them.

So the problems with the original ones are that they wear school uniforms although none of the other girls do, their superpower is telepathy so they don’t communicate with anyone other then themselves and they don’t even get different names to separate them. In the video Li suggested to give them a different superpower and separate personalities. And the comment that got me to draw them suggested their superpower should be cloning.

There’s only one real Gemini in my illustration and that is the loose blue bow one. The purple eyeball one is her clone. The way clones work in my rewrite is that they’re pretty much meat puppets Gemini moves around with her mind. Everyone who sees them assumes they’re twins. Thus Gemini.

Gemini is from China. She moved to the US when she was 10. Her parents divorced and her mom moved there. Gemini had great difficulty learning English so she got homeschooled. Even though she’s now 15 and intermediate in English she still refuses to speak it outside of when it’s necessary. Like a 911 call. She doesn’t talk in mandarin either because only her mom can understand her. So everyone thinks she’s just mute.

She created her clone out of a deep sense of loneliness. The clone itself isn’t sentient. As I said. It’s a meat puppet. Non the less she made up a personality for it. The clone is a fun loving, extroverted prankster. The opposite of her. Gemini is a pessimistic introvert that’s obsessively studying every chance she gets. She wants to be a journalist one day. Occasionally she writes a gossip blog under a pseudonym. Kind of like Lady Whistledown from Bridgerton. She of course rigorously spell and grammar checks it before putting online. Like I should do with my tumblr posts LOL.

Originally I thought her clone would disappear as she becomes a part of the Zodiac Girlz friend group. But now I think her clone should slowly become her own person. After all Gemini are supposed to be twins.

Lastly I want to mention that Gemini is a code name. She’s a crime fighting superhero after all. She uses her clone as a distraction. Additionally she can use her clone to get to out of reach places as she can make it fly. I suppose she could also make it carry her and fly, but not very far as the clone isn’t very strong.

And that’s it ya’ll. If you yourself are a Chinese person who immigrated to America I would love to hear your opinion on my rewrite of Gemini. I am a white European so I might be ignorant of some things. And also if you just like what I did with Gemini then comment. I just love getting responses LOL.

[nexility-sims]

what's something you'd like to see more of on royal simblr?

the timing of this was brilliant, actually, because i had been thinking for several days that i would like to make some sort of entirely uncalled for, roughly edited psa post about What I Think Royal Simblr Needs To Prioritize More :^) anyway, you also touched on this in your own answer, so it’s an echo of that too :^) it's very long, but i had a lot to say about the topic i've chosen. i should also preface by saying that it's not meant as a blanket negative statement or even an objective prescription; it's just based on my own observation and anecdotal experience.

in short, royal simblr needs more cultural diversity !

there are two big reasons why i feel this way: one, the entire premise is suspect because it so easily verges into uncritically reproducing and whitewashing an awful institution; and two, cultural diversity is actually more engaging and interesting than a community that feels monocultural (esp when said culture is a hegemonic colonial product whose dominance is based on plunder, oppression, and destruction of both entire peoples and the planet itself).

personally, i want to be part of a community where folks are 1) actively curious about the wider world and its cultures and 2) comfortable incorporating their own cultures in their stories. it’s true that the bias is perhaps partly because many royalty references in the real world may not have great english sources for a predominantly english-speaking community to use. but, i don’t think that’s a get-out-of-jail-free card. i am absolutely not a person who likes to consciously write myself into my stories, to be clear. that being said, i do ask myself, “what experiences or knowledge do i have that deserve representation?” we write our stories for ourselves but, frankly, i would venture many of us have internalized messages that make us devalue our own backgrounds or doubt others will be interested in content outside of the often white, often western mainstream. in my experience, the royal simblr community places high value on researching and replicating the norms of contemporary western european royalty—particularly the british royal family. the truth is that same care and respect could be put into other histories and perspectives, if the motivation existed to do so.

so, another approach, beyond drawing on your own experiences, is doing the research to respectfully depict or be inspired by a culture that isn't your own. the onus for representation cannot be squarely on the most marginalized of us, even if we'd likely produce the best version of it. if i had chosen to write a story about a fake british royal family, i'd have felt guilty about not writing a story full of brown people from the americas; that representation wouldn't really exist if i wasn't making it for myself. consequently, culture shifts require everyone to do their part, whether as creators, collaborators, or readers. i'd also venture that most of us appreciate when outsiders believe our cultures are valuable and beautiful—when they want to know or experience our clothing, food, and music in ways that are not fetishizing, exploitative, or appropriating. that's part of why tumblr is filled with guides and tutorials to writing characters from all walks of life, from ethnicity to disability to gender; the resources exist, and people want to see them used. it doesn't even have to be your entire story ! individual characters or plot lines can give good representation if you make that a priority.

in my own story, i've blended the two approaches. i think about my own, my family's, and my friends' experiences of indigeneity in what's currently the united states; i've also blended it with my interests in iberian and latin american histories, especially indigenous mexico, among other elements closer to u.s. history. my story isn't a direct replica of any real world place or people, but the culture is based on imagination, research, and feedback. if someone has a critique or feels offended for whatever reason, i want to be humble enough to accept it and make changes. one of the amazing things about this corner of tumblr is that our community loves to help others. learning in public—experimenting, sharing parts of yourself, being creative—is never easy, but it's easier to do when you're part of a community that offers grace and encouragement. my opinion is also that people are more willing to share their expertise and welcome your work if you demonstrate, not just good intentions, but that you've done your homework to the best of your ability.

i want to be clear, too: there's a place for storytelling as conscious critique of the institution, and there are storytellers in this community whose cultures happen to be the ones that are overrepresented. this isn't an indictment of the good stories and good fun people are having. i'm just taking this as an opportunity to offer constructive criticism and give people the encouragement or permission to try something different. why not use your creativity to incorporate other sources of inspiration—or to imagine a different and better world, even?

at the end of the day, everyone can do whatever they want with their hobbies. we can't all be doing social justice on simblr dot com and, frankly, probably shouldn't be ! it is nonetheless true that some of us don't get to enjoy our hobbies uncritically. we can't log onto tumblr and scroll through sims stories and be blissfully unaware of the politics of representation. "royalty" doesn't just connote pretty tiaras and fancy titles for all of us. people who are marginalized in the real world are part of this community. its representation signals to us how welcome we and the stories we have to tell really are.

most or all of us are imagining our countries to be part of the same fictional world. it's just my personal opinion, but i don’t think that world should be mostly fake europe plus specifically the settler colonial parts of fake non-europe. my challenge to everyone would be to think about whether your story could or should meaningfully contribute to a fuller, more realistic representation of the world we've created as a collective within this community.

[catboymoments]

Hello. I am not from America, and English is also my third language. I would would also like to say that I was not the original anon who sent the nickname ask, so as to clarify. I also apologise for any bad English, I still struggle with writing in it sometimes 😅

Most people, I think, do not know that that term had a history of being used like that. It is the same with the term "cowboy", as that also has ties into racism towards specifically black men at the time, and most things in America derive from some form of racism and/or discrimination to minority groups.

Alongside this, the word is commonly used in halloween-themed things, and is scarcely associated (nowadays) with what it once was.

It is also used in other languages and can mean different things. I have noticed a lot of Americans dogpiling or slandering foreign people such as myself for saying words in our language that sound (to their ears) like something offensive, when it just means something casual. For example, I have a friend from a Slavic country, and their word for "book" is pronounced similarly to the n word in English. However, they are not remotely related.

You cannot expect everybody to know certain terms, and alongside this the word is so generalised that in current English it is used to (when you look it up) refer to ghost-related things, referencing nothing racist nor offensive in the first 3 definitions.

I actually had to go to Reddit of all places to look up the term, because it has long been disassociated with the original term.

It is odd to me that you automatically associate the word with that, and maybe it is a cultural difference (which I respect, as I did not mean for this to come off as aggressive in any way), but it still strikes me as odd. Until today I did not even know the term was for that.

You cannot expect those outside of the USA to know what certain terms, cultural things, alongside historical things.

I do not mean to come off as rude, but I am simply confused to your reasoning. Also, I would appreciate you not mocking, berating, or doing anything like that with this ask, as it is a genuine query of mine and it is difficult for me to express myself in English sometimes.

ok so

I understand that not everybody knows about the history of that slur- yes it hasn’t been used in a very long time in that way, but it’s still not good to use. The word “spooky” is okay, but anything besides the one that ends in “y” is something I wanna avoid. It’s the same as shortening the word “raccoon” by removing the first three letters- yes it’s not as well known as a slur nowadays, but it’s still something I wanna be aware of. The history of anti black racism in this country runs so deep that in order to unlearn it, I have to be hyper aware of my position as a white person and speak up on things with that history when I see them. It’s not enough to be “not racist-“ you have to be anti-racist. You have to be active. So I’m sorry if me being uncomfortable with the nickname in that first ask came as a shock to anyone or didn’t seem legit, but historical slurs are still slurs.

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

I used to be kind of a fan of Lily's videos. Like, I never really subscribed to her but I did watch her videos kind of often, even though I've been a huge anime fan for way longer. I'm also currently learning Japanese (so obvs can't claim to know as much as a native speaker) and I've pretty much gotten over my... like, I guess, of Lily's videos through sheer force of will and how utterly goddamn hilarious both her Spy x Family and list of anime she likes videos were. As someone who has been watching anime for 10 years now, and someone who actually is a big fan of Spy x Family, every single thing she says about it is laughable. First of all, she's absolutely fucking clueless about shows that anime fans actually like. Anime fans LOVE Spy x Family because it's wholesome and fun. But also, the most popular manga and anime in recent memory – Chainsaw Man – is a deep and purposeful exploration of trauma and abuse and the author of Spy x Family used to work as an assistant to the author of Chainsaw Man. She's also utterly clueless about the author's feelings on his own manga. Endou Tatsuya does not hate or "feel nothing" towards Spy x Family. He was surprised that it became as popular as it did, but he doesn't dislike the series at all. The most baffling thing to me is that she claims she knows what Japanese people enjoy but has literally zero sources on that. Not to even mention how utterly racist and offensive she is about the Japanese language. She states in one of her videos that every Japanese word has a direct equivalent in English – something that is horrendously untrue to the point that, when attempting to translate, I often have to write entire paragraphs in English trying to explain what one word means and its connotations – and that honorifics and titles are the same or have the same meanings. Again, utter fucking nonsense. God, it pisses me off so much. Sorry I ended up going on a rant here. Just wanted to talk about how fucking deranged she sounds. Lily get your fucking shit together. Either stop talking about anime and how much you hate Japanese people/the Japanese language or do your fucking research before you open your mouth and let whatever fucking nonsense is holding your brain together slip out.

Since we're on the language train, she also doesn't seem to grasp that puns translate horribly. Because they're a play on words, and what might work in one language might not have an equivalency in another.

And that happens in Japanese a lot. You can tell sometimes where translators had to take liberties to just convey a joke because it just couldn't translate otherwise.

Oh, and that's not even getting into popular idioms!

It's really annoying listening to her act like languages aren't a reflection of the cultures that speak them, and just shows how little she knows about the world outside of North America.

[femmesandhoney]

hey, just rambling here - do you think there's a pattern of white boys and girls who use tumblr/discord/twitter that grew up in middle income families becoming trans? I was on online communities more often back in the day and I noticed this a lot, plus I only know two people in my life who are trans and they meet that pattern too. I'm interested in knowing your thoughts, thanks! :)

do u mean identifying as trans or actually transitioning? and to both, i think it can be correlated to a lot of things, i would need to see data about it to be sure of anything and don't think relying on the internet is very helpful. i know many non-white and non-middle or higher class people who have identified as trans and/or transitioned. i think a lot of people grasping for a gender identity w/o gender dysphoria has become more common amongst white americans, at the least, who want to make sense of something in their lives or gain a chip in the online identity politics world so many are drawn into. but idk i won't write off whatever u meant by "becoming trans" as solely a white middle class thing, im not sure thats wholly supported by data but i do think there's a strong prevalence of these people certainly claiming these identities online. this mostly begs the question of 1) are these identites they use outside the internet and thus "real" to them in a significant way and 2) how many of these people have geninue dysphoria. i think u have good hypotheses at the very least, but i would nees to see more actual data from other countries to compare america (and english speaking american internet spheres) to, if thats whom ur comparing?

[snoozefestalert]

Message to usamericans

This will be divided into multiple talking points. I am posting this mostly anonymously to avoid harassment.

This a message to US American's from a US American.

"Why are you posting such a serious work on the gay porn writing website?" Because it is a prime example of minorities banding together in order to achieve one large thing, I've seen Archive reach its annual goal of thousands of dollars within a DAY. Additionally, we can do something small to make difference, hopefully this can be a part of that. At the very least, I just want to get you thinking and at the very most, I want you to get your feet on the ground.

Before you jump in my ass, again, I am American. Don't play with me.

It is often we see that American's are called selfish, stubborn, lazy, entitled, stupid and inconsiderate. And I understand that it is difficult to not become upset when someone is making a judgment about who you are without having met you personally, especially if you are a minority or your circumstances are less than ideal.

However, understand that great privilege comes with being American, we benefit from imperalism. It is an ugly truth, but everything and every comfort we have is from the blood and tears of the innocent, many from the people slaughtered our own soil and many many more overseas. The American government is not deserving of such graces, we all know that, but it holds great power, regardless if we want it to or not. And people's frustrations with America and American's comes from a great and old rage of being oppressed by the American occupation.

Secondly, and quite frankly, selfishly. If you not want be labeled as a "Stupid and Selfish American" Do not act like one. I understand this may cause controversy but please hear me out.

How do you treat people who speak English with an accent, which could very well be their second or even fifth language, in private? How many languages do you know? Do you automatically assume someone is from the states when you speak to them in an online space? Did you even bother to ask?

Do you understand what people say when they speak of US centrism? Have you heard of the term, and if you have, how deeply do you think it goes?

I see other Americans online make these statement's:

"America is many counties in a trench coat."

- I know 50% of us say this in jest, know that 50% genuinely believe that. No, it is not. States vary in many things like laws and accents and what is considered to be polite. This is also the case, literally everywhere else. What made you assume that we were the only one's to do that? America is big, yes, but I beg of you to know, the rest of the world is even bigger.

"People outside the US can't even name all 50 states! They can't even name the capital of every state!" —

- First of all, can you? Can you name the capital of any country outside of the US that isn't in Europe? Name all the Canadian provinces and territories off the dome! When was the last time you REALLY looked at a world map? And I mean REALLY looked at it. Do you own a map, a globe, anything? They are not expensive. When was the last time you went out of your way to learn a culture that was not your own without it being in an academic setting?

"Our education system is bad!"

- Yes. I am aware. I was born and raised in one of the most dangerous cities in the country. My elementary school doesn't even exist anymore. I remember playing on the playground during recess and then my classmates and I had to lay flat because a shootout had begun and our one teacher couldn't rally all thirty of us inside in time without risking any of us getting hurt. Do you really think we are the only one's who suffer from education not being prioritized? Do you think we suffer the most? Why do you think that?

- Yes, there were many things I was not taught in school. There were times where I would be in an online space and people were making fun of Americans for not knowing who a recently deceased public figure was. My initial response was to be offended, but then I sat and I thought about it. And I had no-fucking- clue who this person was or what atrocities he had committed. They were right. So you know what I did? I liked the post for later and went and researched it myself. I didn't leave a comment talking about how poor or education system was or how it wasn't my fault I didn't know. The internet is at your fingertips, please, it is your greatest tool in more ways than one. The man in question, by the way? Henry Kissinger. The wealthy American man who bombed Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos in the name of American power, money and greed.

- When I said the internet was, is, your greatest tool, I meant it. Why do you think your schools didn't teach you that? Why do you think everyone outside the US knows about that but you? Understand that ignorance is a temporary state of being. You can always be learning. The American education system does not foster curiosity, that is why I am. Always ask questions. Always research on your own. Be curious and implore others to do the same. Always look up names, histories and actions of people. ESPECIALLY, if they sit comfortably on our wealth while we fight over their scraps. When we fight each other, we cannot fight or question our politicians, our governors, our senators or our police. They do not care about us. They care about their money and don't you ever, ever, forget that.

"You can just ignore American politics if you don't want to hear about them!"

- Take a look at this post really fast for me: https://www.tumblr.com/zzoupz/757516050990530560

- I am speaking in broad strokes here, naturally, people outside the us have every right to not want to hear or give a fuck about our maniacs in the oval office. They have their own issues to worry about as well. But please know, generally, people do not have that luxury. American oppression has sunken its claws so deep in so many other people's flesh that they have no choice but to pay attention. Why? Because usually some way or other, our politics impact them.

- Remember when I mentioned US centrism? You can afford to ignore the issues of other countries politics because they do not affect you personally. That does not mean you SHOULD NOT care. But this is a prime example of US politics impacting the rest of the world while we are granted the luxury, and quite frankly, the comfort of not knowing.

- Yes, I know it is not your fault. I know you did not make it this way. I know many of you are also upset at this reality. So when other people talk about their cultures, their criticisms, their politics, thier history and so on. Please listen. Listen to learn.

- It is not right that people must suffer for our comforts. We must change that.

"We are not our governments."

- True. People are not their governments. I hope that while you ask for this grace to be set upon you, you also extend it to others? Do you honestly think every app made in China is spyware out to steal your data and spy on you? What on EARTH would they even do with it if they had it? Facebook/Meta, Apple and YouTube steals and sells your data nonstop and you don't say anything about that? You have to ASK and app to not track your data, you cant even putright say no. Have even SPOKEN to someone from China or even a Chinese American? Do you TALK to people outside of your own ethnic group?

- Do you think every person who critiques the US government is automatically a bot? A spy? Did you ever stop to think that perhaps this person may be impacted by the American government and NATURALLY has opinions to voice about it? Are you listening to learn from them or are you just listening just to respond to them?

-If people are sharing their frustrations about America/its government/American tourists/ etc, this is not your place to go "But!" Or tone police/" I agree but you could've said this nicer" Why? Because you must understand, America IS the oppressor. It always has been.

- Some of you say this and will then go out and literally suck the skin off some cop's dick. Stand up.

"A person from outside the US gives a critique about American's or America and your first response is to go "Yeah, we suck." or "I'm sorry, we hate us too."

- Listen, I understand you want to go "We're not all like that." But your words mean nothing if your actions do not reflect them. You do not need to apologize or belittle yourself, when you do that, it makes the person have to comfort YOU rather than the other way around. Intentional or not, you are making this about YOURSELF. It's like when POC talk about white supremacy, their experiences with racism or living as women of color and some white person goes "Haha yeah I hate white people too! I'm sorry for being white." Please, read the room.

- Instead you can simply, AGREE. You can go, "Yes/Exactly! | I see where you're coming from! | Yes, that is unfair/unjust! | " OR! you can say nothing. You can nod, like/share the post, remember it for the future and adapt accordingly.

- I understand the desire to want to defend yourself but in most if not all cases, these criticisms are valid! They are coming from someone who is STILL heavily impacted and they aren't even from the US! Do you see how insane that is?

- Please try to understand and begin to try to take your "L" in silence. Just keep these criticisms in mind, try to become better accordingly, listen when people speak and for the love of god, stop embarrassing the rest of us in the comment sections of social media posts.

"Yank/Yankee doesn't offend me. It's a baseball team too."

Please shut up. I don't even have a valid talking point on this one but I am begging you to keep this one to yourself. The rest of the world already doesn't like us do not add fuel to the fire buddy.

Do you want the rest of the world to come up with another deragatory term for us???

"People outside the US don't know how our government works!"

- I PROMISE you they do. They are in fact, smothered by it despite their best efforts to ignore it.

- Do YOU how THEIR governments work? Name the president of Mexico without looking it up. How long is a presidential term in Mexico? Name a country with a King/royal family outside the UK?

- If you are curious about a countries politcal climate, culture, etc, please look it up online! And if someone of said place is interested in sharing/telling you where to look, ASK! (If they say no, that is fair! They dont HAVE to say yes. You should try your hardest to research online anyway)

"X term is offensive/ doesn't make sense!"

- Additionally, possibly controversial, these terms could be considered polite/sensible WHEREVER THIS PERSON IS FROM. For example, In the states, it is considered extremely offensive to refer to someone who is black or brown as "Colored." However, in South Africa, it is the most appropriate term!

- This goes for queer labels/titles as well! These terms and identities go by many names by many different groups. They are not wrong or better than the other, they are different and have been shaped by many different walks of life/experiences. (Additionally, not quite the same, but there are people who mean well, WHO ARE IN YOUR CORNER, even if they are not up to date on the terminology. )

"Americans face/suffer X issue!"

- Yes. We do. We are not the only one's . Please do not tell people, "You guy's don't understand because America oppresses us." Because YES, if America does oppress it's own people, imagine what the fuck it does to everyone else.

- It is not a competition, that is not what I'm trying to say. What I AM trying to say is, people understand. Do not assume that they do not. Do not "What about ME," on someone else's post, comment, conversation, etc.

- Listen to me, you are not a bad person. Bad people do not try to become better. But you must TRY to become better. You cannot learn if you are talking. And your talking means nothing if you actions don't mirror your words. You cannot make people NOT hate America/Americans, it would be foolish and selfish to try, especially knowing what this nation has done and is doing. My friend, YOU hate America(ns) and you're FROM HERE.

- Undoing Amercian centric thoughts, actions, conversations etc, isn't going to make peoples thoughts, emotions and histories go away. People are still going to call Americans selfish, lazy, cowards, annoying, etc. You must try to be better anyway.

I'm not trying to get on here and saddle on my high horse, to be like "Oh I'm one of the good one's." That is not what Im trying to do. I am telling you what I have learned and I'm trying to share that with you.

More to take away from this. (This can most likely apply outside the US as well but I'm staying in my lane. If you are not US American, do with this what you will. )

The rest of the world IS NOT JUST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA!!!!!! THE WORLD IS A BIG BIG BIG PLACE! Yes, these countries have rich and deep cultures and histories you should learn about but there are dozens more you should learn too.

As an American, your elected officials are not your friends. I don't care how much they talk themselves up, if they look like you or anything else. They are simply that, elected officials. You vote for them so they can do their jobs. And if they say their job includes giving a fuck about people, that they give a fuck about YOU, then you BETTER hold them to that. Say it with me, do their words reflect their actions?

More on elected officials. Who is your mayor? Your Comptroller? Who is the representative of your district? When and where is your town hall meeting? Do you have a library card? When and where is your farmers market? What's your neighbors name? Is there a community garden? Are they any local shops, events happening near you? How can you find out? I live in a city on the East Coast as well as the north, so I understand this may be harder if you are in a Southern/Mid-western/Etc part of the states but I am BEGGING you to try looking before you give up. And, if you have the resources, do it yourself too! We need each other, we must build our communities again brick by brick.

What do I search for/ Whats a good jumping point? I think its SO snobby when people tell you to do better and then provide NO resources, so here are just a few things to get your gears turning. I am speaking to American's, so understand these will be US based links, if there are resources you know of outside the US, please share and I can edit this to add.

-

Nonprofits near me

Burn music on the CD's, mod your old gaming consoles and print out your photos for a scrapbook again. These companies have gotten too comfortable putting simple shit behind paywalls and ads. If it is not in your hands, it is not real. And they will take it from you when they can no longer profit anyway.

If you want to connect to people across the world, there are things like discord for language learning groups or, A Pen Pal! Apps such as Hellotalk may also be useful to you!

Khanacademy.org (American nonproft oraganization deigsned to teach with short videos and even lessons, 100% free, you just need an account)

Black/Latine/Native/LGBTQ+ advocacy groups near me

Can I start a community garden in X State? / Zoning Laws of X State

Local election dates/candidates

Food not bombs (Locations outside the US as well!)

How do I get a library card?

https://openlibrary.org/ (online library)

http://web.archive.org/ (online archive)

Is X library partnered with Mango? (A language learning website in the US that lets you learn languages for free if you have a library card!) Or Rosetta Stone/Udemy

Language learning groups near me (There may even be one on discord/tumblr/etc!)

Brief history of X country.

Soup Kitchen volunteers

You can always look up a world map, but I STRONGLY recommend having a physical one on your wall/work space. Allposters.com has cheap one's that are 36in x 24 inch. Pick a country to learn about, any one, anywhere, even if its only for like an hour.

BDSmovement.net (If you have not already, please joint the fight in the Palestinian liberation/freedom. Boycott products from Israel/companies that support Israel and share/donate any fundraisers for Palestinians. These fundraisers are in USD, EURO, CAD AND MORE )

Look in to the hashtags of Free Palestine, Free Congo and Keep eyes on Sudan. Atrocities are happening across the globe in the name of Western comfort/goods, we must do our VERY BEST to help as many people as we possibly can.

https://www.tumblr.com/newsfrom-theworld/754997875427115009/list-of-campaing-resources-for-countries-in-need?source=share (This link provides a master-list of resources for countries/people in need including Sudan, Palestine,Yemen, Haiti, Congo, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Tigray, West Papua, Uyghur, and Hawai'i.)

If you are making a post about history/historic figures, resources, links, etc Please specify that these are US based and that they may or may not work in other countries. You can encourage people to add to it and re-share it once additional resources are added. (This will not dimish the fact that SO many things are us based and will still cause frustrstion for many people, but at the very least people can know what to expect)

When people who are not American are critiquing America, listen, especially if they did not ask for your input. Do not speak. Listen.

If you order something online and make a mistake on your order information. Please specify all the details of your order, including that you are in the US. Georgia the STATE and Georgia the COUNTRY both exist. Mail does not just come to the US.

Practice being humble and kind. Not just in person but online as well. You will be wrong, misinformed and fall victim to American propoganda. Apologise, reflect and do better and move forward.

If you can make your own stuff, do it. Keep as much money from these corporations as POSSIBLE. Or even shop small!

^ This includes, gardening, book binding, paper recycling for books/crafts, recycling, having reusable items, buying second hand like in thrift shops/depop/mercari/facebook mp/yard sales/clothing swaps

^ there are entire youtube and tiktok channels dedicated to teaching you how to do these things on your own. Just search the topic and go! The internet is what?? Your biggest tool!

^ if you interested in this one as I am, please look into homesteading skills/traditional skills

Your fight for equality must include everyone. Black people. Brown people. Gay/queer/transgender people. Disabled people. Fat people. Women. Men. Children. Nature in all its forms. From all 4 corners of the world.

Do not give the president or the vice president money? LIKE EVER?? AT ALL?? I cannot believe I have to say this but I'd rather say it than not. Donate to ANYTHING else. Donate to Wikipedia or Adblock or something!

The American government will steal even the skies from you. But only if you let them. Do not let those fuckers rest for even a MOMENT, until they do what they said they would do. There are more of us then there are of them.

Hold your vote hostage against elected officials. Do they fucking want it? Of course they do! They have got to earn it. Make your demands and if they can meet them, then that's when they can have it. If they fail too, drop them like a sack of bricks. There are no second chances when people's lives are at stake.

https://www.tumblr.com/fairuzfan/757294690366357504?source=share Read this post.

Wear a FUCKING mask.

Kill the cop in your head.

Create, build community and love. Joy is resistance. Your apathy will not save you. Fighting in the comment sections online is not going to change the world, you must go out and do that on your own.

None of us are free until we are all free.

"I am severly disabled/cannot leave my home due to a disability/ I am a child/minor, but I still want to help and make a difference! What can I do?"

A few of the tasks listed above require very little physical activity like a pen-pal, library card, wearing a mask, etc. pick whatever you can do. If there is something I didnt think of, share it with me! And i can add.

You are never too young or too old, to big or too small, to make a difference. We need eachother. We always have.

I'm sure there is so much more. but I am just one person. I cannot do all of the work for all of us. But I can do some of the work and you can meet me halfway. And that is how we make a difference. If there is an issue in your community that troubles you then I suggest you share what you can on it and lay the foundation because if not you, then who? If not now, then when?

I hope this is helpful, I apologize in advance if I've gotten something wrong about other peoples countries/homes and if there are any errors.

[k1ngj0ve]

random headcanon

I think Serfetta knew very minimal english when Skwisgaar was a kid and she was the type to laugh at him for his mistakes (even when she was wrong aka 'he is your dad' and utterly denying shed said the phrase wrong) combined with his dyslexia made his ability to learn english Really suffer.

He also has that issue where his english is okay when hes distracted but if he becomes self-aware then his anxiety makes him completely choke and freeze up.

A big reason Skwisgaar is quiet so often in group settings is because he doesn't understand what people are saying waaay more often than he lets on. A lot of time the best he can do is just 'also being there and laughing when everyone else laughs'. He tries his best! But sometimes hes just not in the write headspace/mood and he stops listening because its tiring. Its just like a cyclical issue of not being able to improve, especially since pointing out he is saying something wrong really embarrasses him.

Toki meanwhile probably came to america barely able to read and write (in his own language! i think his dads church/cult discouraged learning of any kind or reading anything that wasnt in the bible) and learned english by talking to people (and people sometimes encouraged him to speak incorrectly as a joke). Skwisgaar tried hard to teach him english which is why they have the same 'incorrect pluralization' quirk, and toki is actually much better at english than skwisgaar by now but still defers to Skwisgaars authority on the matter (even though they often try to decide amongst themselves what words are, how they are said and what they mean, habitually without asking for outside help)

and honestly once Toki became confident enough in his english to no longer seek to improve it Skwisgaars english got worse because he kinda no longer had his judgement-free learning-buddy.

[tonyhentai]

The Inversion of Melisma

“This isn’t spoken word. It’s the reinvention of Sugar Hill.” - Sole

Originally posted at bluevelvetreview.com

You can’t discuss recitation in America without interfacing with Rap music. I mean. You can. But it would be disingenuous to do so. Not that I’m totally opposed to being disingenuous. There are times when being disingenuous is totally necessary. Just not in this particular case. When I’m discussing music theory and shit.

But what makes rap Rap exactly. No. Let’s. Just this one time. In the service of actually discussing the purely musical components of what deem quote-unquote “rap.” Let’s strip the subjectivity from the equation completely. Subjectivity is. Honestly? It’s so 20th Century to me. This notion of so-called personal experience. Ugh. It’s so sterile. This is perhaps post-subjectivity.

Anyway. What makes rap Rap? Musically? Well it’s obviously speed. It’s tempo. I mean. Okay. To some extent it’s rhyme. It’s the concept of the bar. These are true. But it’s mostly tempo. It’s speech. But contracted so that it operates at an accelerated pace. Obviously the speech needs to be stylistic. In one way or another. It needs to be good. But beyond that. What chiefly distinguishes rap from. For example. Spoken word poetry. Is that it has an increased tempo. And that tempo has a relationship with a piece of music. Even if it’s an electronic loop (most of the time). Now. Sure. You can make an argument that a slower paced delivery. With a temporal relationship to a beat. That that’s still rap. Sure. I don’t disagree. That’s a valid exception to the rule. People can and do rap and slower tempos.

But what about melisma? Isn’t melisma. From Byzantine chant to the Qurra of the Islamic world to the Gospel singers of America. Isn’t that what people generally view as an apex of sorts? An ecstasy of sorts? Where the signifier of the syllable within the grammatical structure of language gets stretched into pure sound? Becomes perhaps unintelligible. Or at least less intelligible. But. Isn’t the inverse of that process double. Triple. Quadruple time rap? Except rather than an expansion of the signifier into (relative) unintellibility we have the contraction of the signifier into (relative) unintelligibility? Doesn’t that. Make perfect sense conceptually?

I think it does. The most quote-unquote technical rappers are the ones who. Generally speaking. Are on the faster side. Big Daddy Kane and Myka 9 started this like over thirty years ago now. And the realm of rap is. Whether you like it or not. Where the most advanced recitative singing and/or vocalization is done in the English language. The English language. With its 44 phonemes. And. What? Eleven vowel sounds? Is preternaturally disposed to the contraction of itself. As opposed to the expansion that the Romance languages are. Consonants are everywhere in English.

Yet one place where Rap has. At least very rarely. Dared to go is outside of this concept of bar. The vast (vast!) majority of rap is constructed on this concept. That the relationship between the vocal and the music is one of syncopation on the bar level. This is in the vernacular. The line of the rapper is supposed to match up with the bar of music. Obviously you should rhyme too. But the rhyme should always. Ideally. Land on the same snare. Or kick. Of each line of music. This is essentially a spatial relationship. The lines extend the same length. Length resides in space.

But you could have a temporal relationship too. Right? My idea is that. I don’t know. Maybe you write unequal lines of text. But the vocal and the music exist in a temporal relationship. Now that relationship doesn’t necessarily need to be 1:1. In fact I think it’s better if it’s not. But if you have a 4/4 beat at 90 BPM then you could equate each syllable of text to. Say. A 16th note. Which at 90 BPM would impute 360 syllables per minute rapped. So if you’re rapping at or around that rate. Then you’re in a 4x temporal relationship with the beat.

It’s really that simple! You could increase the BPM of that 4/4 beat to 180 BPM. The vocals can stay static. You’d be at a 2x relationship. Or syllables would be essentially 8th notes. This is audible. Even as the signifier becomes less. Yet in this instance there’s another inversion. There’s an inverted melisma. But compositionally. Realistically. You’re probably setting the BPM based on the vocal. As opposed to selecting a beat and then constructed a verse to rap over it at that set tempo.

But to fit these many syllables into a verse? How uneven should they be? I’d personally say they should occupy the 8th interval of the Fibonacci sequence. Sitting somewhere between 34 and 55 syllables. Each line. That gives each line enough variability. But not too much variability. And it packs enough syllables into a single line that velocity can be reached. But there’s still room to. You know. Breathe?

Melisma is the. Extended technique? That brings the signifier of language into. As Charlie Looker notably said. Not into abstraction. But into raw material. Raw sound. There is no longer any representational reference. This is done by slowing. Expanding. By assigning many notes to a single syllables. The inversion of this is the opposite. But circuitously ends at a very similar results. By assigning many syllables to a single note. Quadruple time. The Ison and Byzantine cantor. The text. Of course it’s textual. But it’s. Via melisma. Or the inversion of melisma. It achieves a breaking with the signifier. A text as raw sound. As opposed to signifying representational items. It’s not a coincidence that the inversion of melisma has achieved popularity in America.

In the English language. Melisma never sounds as good in English as it does in. Literally any other language. But especially the Romance languages. The Latin languages. Or the Semitic languages. But rap. The inversion of melisma. It never sounds quite as good in those Romance languages. The vowel-based languages. With fewer phonemes. They can’t stylize the inversion of melisma the way English can. Just as English. With 87 vowel sounds surrounded by infinite consonants. Can never get melisma to quite the technical level or Italian. Or Greek. Or Arabic. Yet this inversion of melisma. I mean. Melisma isn’t a bar-based style. Rap as we understand it today? It’s incapable of truly reaching appropriately unhinged levels of inverted Melisma. Melisma is naturally uneven. So to truly invert melisma. It requires a method to make the lines uneven. But still somehow relate to the specific music as well. Which has been shown here.