#what if they were characters? or if someone moved from mexico or argentina or japan to north america or australia

[enbeemagical]

I love the translation thing also, and the Door Trek system oh my goodness it's wonderful

ok screaming about ever after school: i just think the construction of the series is SO GOOD like the build of all the characters is perfect, each of their arcs is amazing, and the plot itself? like the climax? it fits for both the story AND the fairy tale element it's SO GOOD the fourth book is like. in my top 3 of finales for middle grade fiction

yES and their TALES are so unexpected (mm maybe not the right word but no one in the story expects some of these and I remember being surprised the first time) and so well set up and so PERFECT I am so looking forward to Chase being angy over his Tale XD

I'm at the poisoning part of book 2 now and omfg how has Ben not Realized HES ALEEADY IN A TALE YIU GREAT MORON STOP MAKING EYES AT MIA

[just-antithings]

I understand queer own voices are important but I can't understand why you'd (general) give more credit to someone and believe someone can do a better job just because they are from a certain group or identity? Sure they might've lived through experiences shared in the story but it's not always like that. You can't put everyone under the same hat and call it a day. Even within the same communities people aren't a monolith and have different experiences with the thing that unites them or how it has affected their lives. For example, some of the worst trans characters I've read about were written by a trans person of the same gender as the character. Every single one of them was... Not great... Or another story with trans characters written by a different trans author had a very transphobic narrative which made the rest of the story very unpleasant to read because of that.

No one ever speaks for the while of their group. That's why I never try and speak as a Person Of Color. Because well our experiences are so extremely varied. It's also a big part of why the characters I write are either Japanese people living in Japan (they arent experiencing racism in their home country), Hispanic-American characters or white. I try and avoid discussing any sort of racism, I know I won't be able to do it justice, I try and replace it with a different dynamic if I think it'll come up (hard class divides, gender divides, magic divides, ect.) Because you can't lack conflict in your story especially not social conflict. No society can be perfect, your story can't take place in utopia (unless that's what you're going for but even then they typically have an underlying issue). You cannot please everyone I want to make more characters of color but I can't rightly make them leads when I don't understand their struggles and I don't want to hurt people by doing it wrong so I won't do it at all. Even if I try to follow every guide in the world about 1 ethnicity, they will undoubtedly at some point contradict eachother. So, who do I listen to? No matter what one group will say I did it wrong.

Like honestly some Bisexuals would probably dislike how I write bisexuality, even as a Bisexual. I'm sure plenty of Hispanic-Americans would hate how I write that too! My grandfather came over from Mexico, his father met his mother their after he moved to Mexico from Argentina, and I was practically raised white, went to school with a lot of mixed and non mixed people of color and a lot of them were socialized white as well. Part of it was just where we lived. But most of us knew very little about our cultures and certainly couldn't speak for them.

Uh before this gets too long tho

Point: umbrellas are nice for huddling together and keep ourselves safe, but no one owns or is in charge of the umbrella so none of us can make choices for the group, because you will never get everyone on your side.

[pokefan531]

My experience with the Pokemon fandom part 2

Ok, so I made my fun experience of how I got into Pokemon and what I did in the last 16 years. They were fun topics to cover about. While I mostly covered the positive stuff, I want to extended it a bit here, just to explain about my other part of the fandom, even if it's a place I don't look as often, but it's considerably long enough that it just fits as its own page.

Do I follow the Spanish fandom?

As a matter of fact, I do, but not as often as the English one. I'm not fluent with Spanish, despite being with my family who knows Spanish well enough. Besides that, I do check on the Spanish fandom from time to time, and I mostly follow the Latin American fanbase, but I also pick up a bit on Spain's fandom too. My first time being involved with the Spanish fandom was me going to Costa Rica in late 2005, seeing one of Pokemon Advance Challenge episode, Winona's first introduction. At the time, I laugh at how the Spanish voices are so different, and they can be funny as a kid. It wasn't the first time I had this thought, it was seeing Nickelodeon Latin America when I was in Peru in late 2003, seeing my favorite cartoons. But yeah, also on the same day, I watched Mewtwo Strikes back on that same day after my trip from the airport. It was few hours after the main series from Cartoon Network, and I first saw the first movie alone, in Spanish. I didn't understand what they were saying, but it was still fun to watch and I could kinda see what was going on. I also then saw Pokemon Chronicles there, when it was ongoing there as new episodes, starting with the Gary episode. I saw a couple of them, and I did not even knew that spinoff existed, as it wasn't shown in the US yet back then. Seeing Misty have Luvdisc, and Casey saving a Charizard, and also, Christmas special with Ash and his friends appear faceless for some reason. LOL. I even saw more of it on another trip, and also saw English Dub around the time before another trip. While I had cousins who are quite friendly, they were not into Pokemon unfortunately, so I don't really have someone I know who can directly tell me the experience of the LA fandom. I also seen a couple of episodes on other trips in my life so I saw some LA dubbed episodes. I even went to a Spanish Anime website where you can download episodes that are in the LA dub. There was one for Season 13 where someone used a Japanese recording that contains Japanese audio, English dub, LA Spanish Dub, and Castilian Spanish Dub, all in one MKV file. As what I can see by searching the fandom myself around 2011-2012 from finding those episodes, they are really active. I remember they were really happy to get Pokemon B2W2 on launch day. LA countries share the same release date as North America. Well, Nintendo products are distributed by a third party company called Latamel. Well, even though they're not first party markets as Nintendo does in European countries, Pokemon games are still profitable. I mean, the hardware and games are more expensive in those countries, like nearly twice the price, usually. Well they would mostly get English imports as there was a lot less support for Latin America in the gaming industry.

Pokemon games in LA and its problems:

Right now, they're getting more support, Legend of Zelda already got its LA dub since BotW, and Nintendo's most recent franchise to have LA translation is Animal Crossing since last year. Sadly, no Pokemon games have LA translation yet, except for Pokemon GO. Despite LA Spanish fandom being really active, The Pokemon Company never had an actual support with Latin America for the games yet, and even if they added language support since X and Y, the Spanish Translation is a complete import from Spain, which means the moves, the character names, and the dialects are pretty different and some fans may not like that approach. Playing a game that only has Castilian Spanish is still common and not really an issue as long as you understand the translation pretty well. For Pokemon specifically, it has a couple of problems. You would think since X and Y release, that they would start using the Spanish names for characters, attack moves, and city names for XY anime's LA Spanish dub, right? NO! They still decide to stick with just use the English character names and cities, translate their own Attack moves if the moves are new or use an existing one from most recent dubs (Some moves have multiple names throughout the anime, as the show got five different dubbing studios), which doesn't match with Castilian Spanish game translation at all. You will be confused about who's name is that person or attack move of you watch any available Spanish translation of both anime and the games, which is why LA Pokemon fans want the games to finally have the LA Spanish translation being made. It's likely that TPC decided to have the anime to not change even when X any Y came out with language selection. The fandom think it's best if the player knows a good level of English at least and just play the games in English. There's also a Reddit thread about why the games should have the translation for LA Spanish audiences, as this persons went a bit more detail as to why Castilian Spanish translation may not work for LA audience as a Kids game, like certain words can be considered vulgar:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TruePokemon/comments/jcf7ix/pok%C3%A9mon_in_latin_america/

  More example of LA fans seeing some words being common in Spain is vulgar:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/1ogdln/vulgarity_in_the_spanish_version_of_the_game/

  And to give you another example how TPC has less support for their fandom, none of the anime game trailers, Pokemon Generations, or Twilight Wings got LA Spanish dub at all, as none of the games as of now have the LA Spanish translation. TPCi would instead use the LA spcial media accounts and LA Pokemon websites link the Castilian Spanish dub. I do believe TPCi really needs to take a look at the LA Spanish fandom as they are really big. Peru of all Latin America is one of top 5 countries where they have most Pokemon fans. It's really interesting that one of my family's country was the top 5 largest fandom, and as a matter of fact, I do see Pokemon merch being made there. I only see images of the merch. But yeah, I so hope TPCi decide to include the LA Spanish translation as a lot more games in 2010s decide to give more supports to LA Spanish audience. This isn't the 90s or the 2000s anymore, when it was where most video games's only translation was Castilian Spanish, and pirated stores sell bootleg disc that are taken from PAL games to play the games in Spanish. It got a lot better in last couple of years. Crash series got LA translation, and so did most of Sony's and Microsoft's franchises too.

Overall:

So all in all, despite the games lagging behind, Manga doesn't have all volumes translated, and TCG only getting English cards, the LA Pokemon fandom is one of the top biggest communities in the world. I still think the top 3 are Japan, US, and China, based on the statistics, but yeah, the LA fandom is pretty active, and they still play the games and stuff, and most of them watch the anime. The anime was dubbed in Mexico, Ash's first VA was very popular as he voiced Ash, and his got changed by Season 13. Only Jirachi and Deoxys movie was dubbed in Argentina, having sets of different VAs. I see merch everywhere relating to Pokemon, hearing about the games launch day being celebrated in cool areas, and seeing the fans of the anime. I may not be fluent with Spanish, but I do see the fandom are still enjoying Pokemon. I know they would also have an issue with Dex Cut from Sword and Shield just like the entire world does, but still, I do see a couple of fans enjoy the franchise. I even saw a relative who has a boy who had a Pokemon birthday party for the last four years, which seems interesting.

Castilian Spanish?

And if you ask me about Castilian Spanish, I don't mind seeing CS dubs of any anime. I remember watching Mermaid Melody in Castilian Spanish as there was no subs for all episodes at the time and English Dub never made it. I actually liked the Spanish dub, and as for Pokemon, when I got the episodes a decade ago, I finally hear what the dub sounds like. It's interesting how Ash's VA is still voicing him, even to this day. I find it interesting that the games give characters different names, and in most cases, I prefer English names. Meowth's voice sounds really close to his current English voice, which is funny to me. I don't have much experience with Spain's fandom as I do with Latin American one. I prefer LA's first theme song over the Spanish one, but I do prefer Advance Battle Castilian one over LA Spanish one, even if I like both of them. Oh and also, Johto Journeys one, as LA one was badly edited, not using the TV version and use full theme song that is just cut down and missed some lyrics. But yeah, I don't mind the Castilian Spanish translations. I find them to be interesting.

Next:

My part 3 will just be discussing about my other experiences in the fandom and compare it with other ones, and it's gonna be concerning and stuff, but I do want to get into it as I had friends who had different experiences, each of them.

[whispelanix]

Suicide “Masterpost” By A Suicidal Person

Hi everyone. I’ve decided to do something different with my time today instead of posting dumb memes and mediocre art. I think I’ve made it clear based upon the title of this post.

Now you may be thinking – “Why are you doing this? What events occurred to make you suddenly want to talk about such a topic!?” Allow me to explain:

I personally, am currently experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts and it’s been going on for years, the suicidal part being more recent. Today Australia held an interview this morning on the topic of teen suicide and how we stay silent on the agenda. As someone who is struggling, I thought that instead of contemplating my own life, I could help spread awareness to save another.

Continue on further if you shall since I will dive into sensitive topics. The choice is up to you entirely, but if you want a better grasp of understanding, I will do my best to explain different areas of this situation.

So read on if you may, as I give you a “Suicide Masterpost Presented by a Suicidal Person”.

Let’s start with the basics. First of all: What is depression?

Depression is a common medical condition which can be often described as being in a really dark place that’s difficult to escape from and can create the feeling of numbness. Naturally, everyone can feel sad or low from time to time. It can last for months to even years and a lot of the time, occurs without reason. Depression is more than just that – it’s a serious condition that affects your mental and physical health.

How does this relate to suicide?

The links between depression and suicide are generally quiet strong. In fact, about 2/3 of people who commit suicide are depressed at the time of their death. Here are some more statistics…

·         One of every 16 people diagnosed with depression eventually go to end their lives through suicide

·         The risk of suicide in people suffering major depression is 20 times that of the general population

·         People who have experienced multiple episodes of depression are at greater risk of suicide than those who have only experienced one episode

·         Those with dependence on alcohol or drugs in addition to being depressed are at even greater stakes for suicide

Does self-harm have anything to do with this?

Absolutely. A lot of people cope with depression this way as it usually gives the person a sense of feeling against the emotional numbness. Self-harm is generally a coping mechanism, but can become a habit as they search for a relief from the stress. There are many different names given to self-harming. Some of them being:

·         Cutting

·         Self-mutilation

·         Self-inflicted violence

·         Parasuicide

·         Self-abuse

Cutting isn’t the only form of self harm, however. Many other behaviours are:

·         Overdosing of medication or drinking poison

·         Burning your skin

·         Scratching your skin which results in bleeding or welts

·         Picking your skin

·         Pulling your hair

·         Hurting yourself with fists or other objects

·         Punching walls or objects to hurt yourself

Keep in mind though, not everyone who is depressed hurts themselves, just like not every suicidal person is depressed. But self-harm can eventually trigger suicidal thoughts, as simply hurting yourself might eventually not be enough to cope with the emotional pain.

What are the common signs of depression and suicidal thoughts?

No two people experience depression or suicide in the same way. Multiple events can cause a person to feel like they’re not worth anything and that the world is a better place without them.

Common signs of depression are constant tiredness, being annoyed by small things, too little or too much sleep, eating too little or too much, chances of physical pain, lack of self-care, isolation, lack of interest, numbness, beating yourself up, forgetfulness, lack of concentration and suicidal thoughts.

Signs of suicide are threatening to hurt oneself, searching ways to end their life, or just having someone generally talking or writing about suicide, especially if the behaviour is very out of character for that person.

Many of these signs are experiences that should not be ignored, even if it’s just one of them.

How many people commit suicide annually?

Approximately one million people commit suicide each year worldwide. This equals to about one death every 40 seconds or 3,000 suicides per day. For every individual who takes their life, at least 20 of them attempt. The global morality rate of suicide is if 16% for every 100,000 people.

Who can I talk to if I’m experiencing depression or suicidal tendencies?

Here is a compiled list of suicide hotlines from around the world. I’ve included names of the country/continent/city in their main languages as well for non-English speakers (despite the fact that everything has probably been translated depending on where you currently live):

Argentina: +5402234930430

Australia: 131114

Austria (Österreich/Avstrija/Ausztria/): 017133374

Belgium (Belgique/België/Belgien): 106

Bosnia & Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina/Босна и Херцеговина): 080 05 03 05

Botswana: 3911270

Brazil (Brasil): 212339191

Canada – Inside Montreal (Dans Montréal): 5147234000

Canada – Outside Montreal (Hors de Montréal): 18662773553

Croatia (Hrvatska): 014833888

Denmark (Danmark): +4570201201

Egypt (مصر): 7621602

Finland (Suomi): 010 195 202

France: 0145394000

Germany (Deutschland): 08001810771

Holland: 09000767

Hong Kong (香港): +852 2382 0000

Hungary (Magyarország): 116123

India (इंडिया): 8888817666

Ireland (Éireann): +4408457909090

Italy (Italia): 800860022

Japan (日本):  +810352869090

Mexico (Méjico):  5255102550

New Zealand: 045861048

Norway (Norge): +4781533300

Philippines (Pilipinas): 028969191

Poland (Polska): 5270000

Russia (Россия/Росія/Rusiya): 0078202577577

Spain (España): 914590050

South Africa (Suid-Afrika/Iningizimu Afrika/Mzantsi Afrika): 0514445691

Sweden (Sverige/שוועדן/Ruotsi): 46317112400

Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera): 143

United Kingdom: 08457909090

USA: 18002738255

Who else could I talk to for further assistance?

If you need to talk to someone you can get to know, one of the best options would be a psychologist or a counsellor. That way, you can get to know one another and hopefully not have to repeat the same story over and over again. Talking to a parent or a friend can help in situations as well for when you have no one to talk to. Remember that getting problems off your chest is more effective than bottling them up.

I’m too afraid to talk to anyone. I’m scared no one will want to listen. What should I do?

Take a few deep breaths and try to calm yourself before talking to someone about your problems. Depression can stand in the way of seeking any assistance and that alone is very risky. A good website to check out is Students against Depression. I’ll provide a link to all of my sources in the end.

What can I do about medication?

NEVER put yourself on antidepressants without guide from a professional. Different medication can put you on a high at first, but slowly bring down your mood even more then you wanted, further fuelling your depression and/or suicidal thoughts. Visit a psychiatrist who can help with the diagnosis and give recommendations of the best medication suited for your needs. Always do research on side effects of your prescribed medication as well so you know what you’re in for.

No one will miss me. Why bother?

NEVER say that. That is the biggest lie you could ever get yourself to believe. Suicide isn’t just squashing another ant on the face of the earth. It’s the removal of an entire existence of a being. The most tragic thing a person can do is end it all. When you go ahead and kill yourself, that’s it. It’s over… forever.

Let’s say someone you know decides to “leave this world” so to speak. You don’t get to see them again. A whole personality has been wiped off by a preventable situation. Everything that person has went through – from taking their first steps, the birthdays that were celebrated, the moments they laughed, the moments they cried, the people they met and the sights they saw. It’s vanished all with that one person. Each experience of life is unique – no two people are the same but everyone should be treated equally. Whether you know a person or not, the knowledge that someone you’ve made contact with has killed themselves is horrific. Having to wake up one day knowing you have to move on whether you like it or not is heartbreaking. Depression and suicidal thoughts make you blind to how much people actually care, which is devastating. The effect is has on the world around you is permanent. Don’t ever let yourself think that way.

How can I distract myself?

Find things you enjoy doing, whether it’s watching a movie, listening to music or reading a good book. Anything as long as it makes you happy.

Sources:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression

https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/clinical-resources/depression/what-is-depression

http://www.211palmbeach.org/links-between-suicide-and-depression

https://www.youthbeyondblue.com/understand-what's-going-on/self-harm-and-self-injury

http://www.health.gov.au/mentalhealth

https://www.healthyway.com/content/common-symptoms-of-depression-that-shouldnt-be-ignored/?param4=hwy-google-ppc-aunz-de&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=signs%20and%20symptoms%20of%20depression&utm_campaign=998820936&adgroupid=48935477723&network=g&creative=235821275988&device=c&devicemodel=&matchtype=b&adposition=1t2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8iz-6fC2QIVmQgqCh26wwGXEAAYAiAAEgKxVvD_BwE

https://save.org/about-suicide/warning-signs-risk-factors-protective-factors/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/234219.php

http://ibpf.org/resource/list-international-suicide-hotlines

http://studentsagainstdepression.org/get-support/building-support-networks/whats-stopping-you-getting-help/