#just because of the differences between Chinese and English as languages and the differences in background context

[fluffypurpleglitterdemon]

Hmm. Putting a pin in "The one coming to find you will die before your very eyes!"...

[sarshles-cheescake-li]

Lu Guang's love language: Words of attack

The English subtitles for Link Click, from what I can see, universally translate Lu Guang's various insults towards Cheng Xiaoshi as "idiot." There may be a "moron" and "fool" or two in there, but I will be honest when I say that I don't really want to re-watch the entirety of seasons one and two to check. However, there is a little bit of subtlety in the exact words for "idiot" that Lu Guang uses.

Mandarin has… a lot of words for "idiot." Ones I can think off of the top of my head are 傻瓜，白痴，笨蛋， 蠢货，biao (an insult in the Muping dialect which I don't know the character for)，二百五，傻子，无脑，傻逼. For your reference, those are just the insults that specifically mean "stupid." If we get into other insults, we'd be here all day.

So the conclusion is that insults in Mandarin are an art. And man, does Lu Guang master said art perfectly. The insult he most commonly uses for Cheng Xiaoshi is 弱智 (ruozhi, weak intellect) which is one that allude to disability (please take this with a grain of salt! I really, truly don't know anything about the disabled Chinese community, so it's possible that it doesn't really carry the same meaning). This particular insult is interesting, because it's a really hard-hitting insult. Like, if I call someone 笨蛋 (bendan, stupid egg), it's a pretty weak, sometimes even affectionate term, frequently used by children. But ruozhi is an actual, legit insult, that someone will punch you for calling them. It's also something I would categorize as kind of an adolescent-young adult insult -- you would hear older folk using 蠢货 or 白痴 more often for "idiot." But Lu Guang calls Cheng Xiaoshi that like it's his second name.

The way Lu Guang uses the term, it takes on its own affectionate feel to it. He uses it whenever Cheng Xiaoshi's done or said something he's not happy with, even when the action isn't necessarily [being an idiot]. It's got a similar feel as a resigned sigh, or perhaps frustration.

But there are times when Lu Guang uses an insult that isn't ruozhi. During episode five of season one, while he's comforting Cheng Xiaoshi after a dive, he calls him 傻瓜 (shagua, stupid melon). Shagua is probably one of the most gentle of all the "idiot" insults, tied with maybe bendan. It's frequently used as a term of endearment, especially between couples (make of that what you will). The "stupid" in shagua also means a slightly different type of stupid than the one in bendan. If I had to define it, sha is stupid in terms of wisdom, and ben is stupid in terms of intelligence, in D&D terms. Like, if I failed my physics exam, I would be more ben. If I didn't read through my insurance policy before requesting my medication and had to cough up forty dollars for them (totally didn't happen just a few hours ago), I would be more sha. So Lu Guang, here, is calling Cheng Xiaoshi something like "unwise" or "naive," which is very fitting for the situation.

Interestingly, during Cheng Xiaoshi's flashback to Lu Guang in episode one of season two, Lu Guang cycles through three different insults: baichi, chunhuo, and bendan. Of these, baichi and bendan are within the "yeah couples call each other this sometimes" group, and chunhuo is a more genuine, demeaning insult. The fact that three of the nine different Lu Guang dialogues Cheng Xiaoshi flashes back to include Lu Guang calling him an idiot in various affectionate ways is pretty funny, I won't lie to you. There's also that a vast majority of the remembered sentences, even the ones that don't explicitly say "idiot," are basically Lu Guang clowning on Cheng Xiaoshi. As a side note, it's interesting that the last thing memory-Lu Guang says is bendan -- the softest, most childish insult, and the one with the most explicitly affectionate connotations in general use.

Lastly, in the twelfth episode of the second season, when the two are in the tunnels fighting and Cheng Xiaoshi tells Lu Guang to not push himself, Lu Guang responds with "baichi, you're not doing much better than me." In this case, he switches from ruozhi to baichi likely because it's a more serious situation, where the almost joking ruozhi wouldn't have been as appropriate. The stupid in baichi (the chi) is more of a "dim-witted" connotation, akin to calling someone slow or head-in-the-clouds.

In conclusion, Lu Guang's insults for Cheng Xiaoshi are:

弱智 (ruozhi) -- basically his nickname for Cheng Xiaoshi at this point, commonly used when he's annoyed with him or wants to make fun of him. Appears to be the default when Cheng Xiaoshi does something he doesn't like in a dive. 白痴 (baichi) -- the most commonly used alternative to ruozhi, I can't see any patterns of its usage. Seems to be the one he defaults to when the mood isn't right for ruozhi. 蠢货 (chunhuo) -- used only once (that I could see) in a sentence without context, so… /shrug 傻瓜 (shagua) -- a rarer insult, seems to be the one he uses when he's trying to comfort Cheng Xiaoshi but still needs to insult him. 笨蛋 (bendan) -- a more teasing, casual insult, one he flings out when he just wants to insult Cheng Xiaoshi in a non-serious situation.

[agwic]

What is Shampoo's name in Ranma 1/2?

...and Cologne and Mousse I guess, but they're not as important and I didn't wanna bloat the title.

Now, there is not one answer to this question, as you probably know if you've read more than one piece of fanfiction for Ranma 1/2, of if you know that they are Chinese characters in a piece of Japanese media with English words as names. So, in this post, I will attempt to provide every answer I can find, primarily as a resource for other Ranma fanfiction authors.

Starting with a disclaimer, I am not fluent in any of the languages I'll be discussing here, my only qualifications are that I am studying both linguistics and Japanese, and also studied Mandarin for a while in elementary school. If any native speakers have any corrections, I would love that!

Answer 0: English

Well, in basically all official Ranma media, her name is Shampoo, her grandmother and Cologne, and her childhood friend is Mousse. So, problem solved, right? Well, not really. Those obviously aren't their actual names, there's no way that can be the case!

Answer 1: Japanese

In Japanese, their names are シャンプー, コロン, and ムース. There are numerous ways to romanize Japanese, but I'd romanize those names as Shanpu, Koron, and Musu (if you want alternate romanizations, you can look them up, because I don't want to bloat this post with every possible romanization of everything). These are also Japanese words for shampoo, cologne, and mousse, and were borrowed into Japanese from English. And, シャンプー is pronounced almost identically to the English word Shampoo, with only the first vowel being different (the others are a bit more different though). So, translating these names as Shampoo, Cologne, and Mousse is probably a better translation than just romanizing them, but you can also do that, I guess. But, well, these three aren't actually Japanese, are they? So really we should figure out what their names are in Chinese.

Answer 1.5: Chinese Phonology

Well, Ranma 1/2 is in Japanese, so we just have to guess as to what their names are in Chinese, right? I mean, I don't remember ever seeing their names written down in Chinese in the anime, so we'll just have to take their names in Japanese, and translate them to Mandarin phonology. With this strategy, their names are Xianpu, Koulong, and Musu. However, since we never get surnames for them, maybe they should be split into two characters, with one being their surname? I mean, probably not, but most people who use this strategy call Shampoo "Xian Pu" rather than "Xianpu", so who knows. Regardless, this strategy isn't necessary, because despite me not remembering it, we do in fact have the Chinese characters for all three of these characters' names, which means we can figure out what their names are in Chinese properly.

Answer 2: Chinese

Their names, with Mandarin romanizations (since Mandarin is in fact the primary Sinitic language spoken in that area), are 珊璞 (Shānpú), 可崘 (Kělún), and 沐絲 (Mùsī). In English, standard practice is to leave off the tone diacritics, but otherwise those romanizations are standard. You could put a space in between the two syllables, but that would imply that they all only have one syllable as a given name, which is pretty rare, and that they all have different surnames, despite Cologne and Shampoo being family, and all three of them being from the same clan, and it seems like the standard practice in China is for rural clans like the Joketsuzoku to adopt a single surname. Speaking of which, the "zoku" in Joketsuzoku and the "zu" in Nüjiezu both just mean clan, and I feel like a much better translation of those names would be Joketsu clan and Nüjie clan. Anyways, rural clans in the region of China where Joketsuzoku is typically just use their clan name as a surname, so all three of them would have a surname of Nǚjié/Nüjie (the umlaut on the u is not a tone diacritic, so it isn't nearly as optional, but Nuejie should work if you must), which, in both Japanese and Chinese, goes before the given name.

Answer 2.5: Kanji

There's a minor problem with the above strategy, which is that most people don't suddenly switch to a different language when saying someone's name. In English, we usually approximate names as best as we can with English phonology, and for that strategy applied to Japanese, see Answer 1. However, with Chinese names being said in Japanese specifically, there's an alternate strategy. Because names in Japanese are usually written with the same characters as names in Chinese, you can often just read Chinese names as if they're Japanese names! Honestly, it's kinda weird, in-universe, that all the Ranma characters call them by adaptations of their names into Japanese phonology. Out-of-universe, it's not weird, because their names are a joke which wouldn't make sense if they did the normal thing.

However, if you're writing a fanfiction, and you find the joke of their names tasteless and bad, you can make characters do this instead, without changing the character's names! Because there are multiple readings of every Chinese character in Japanese, there are multiple possible readings of their names, but I picked the readings that seem to be most commonly used in names to determine that they could be called Joketsu Sanbaku, Karon, and Mokuito. These names are a bit weird, because their names in Chinese are a bit weird, because they needed to be to accommodate the joke.

Okay, wait, but why is the Sinitic language spoken in the area where they come from Mandarin? Aren't there, like, a ton of languages in China? And Southern Qinghai is kinda far from Beijing, and really rural, so you'd think they'd speak another language there. And you'd be correct, they just don't speak another Sinitic language.

Answer 3: Tibetan

So, given where Joketsuzoku is, if it were a real village, they would almost certainly speak the Rwanak dialect of Amdo Tibetan. Unfortunately, I could not find any English-language resources on the naming practices in Amdo Tibetan as a whole, much less Rwanak specifically. However, I could find some stuff on the naming customs of Tibetan in general, primarily Lhasa Tibetan, though it did note that Amdo Tibetans typically use their clan name as a surname (which, like Japanese and Chinese, goes first), as mentioned previously. Anyways, Tibetan given names are typically two words, each of which is two syllables, so four syllables total. This is obviously not anything like the names we have been given for these characters, so unless we just wanna make something up, we're gonna have to assume that they're just being referred to by the first part of their given name, which does seem to be somewhat common.

Now, there does not seem to be any romanization of Amdo Tibetan in common usage besides the IPA, nor can I find a sufficiently comprehensive list of words in Amdo Tibetan (and it goes without saying that neither of those exist for Rwanak either). Furthermore, I could not find a list of words even in Lhasa Tibetan which was written in the Latin alphabet, and I do not have the time to click through all 3000 Tibetan words in Wiktionary to check the pronunciation of each one. And, none of the most common Tibetan names look anything like Shanpu, Kelun, or Musi. So, I'm basically gonna do Answer 1.5 again, but Mandarin -> Tibetan instead of Japanese -> Mandarin.

So, the best approximations of their Mandarin names into Lhasa Tibetan, written in the Wylie transliteration because it's the most common one, with me arbitrarily picking one possible spelling based on which one looks best because Tibetan can spell the same word in many different ways, would be: Hranphu, Kholan, and Musi. My best attempt at listing every possible spelling of those names is as follows:

Shampoo(6 possible spellings): Hran{ph/'ph/b}u(r)

Cologne(108 possible spellings): {Kh/Khw/Mkh/'Kh/G/Gw}o(r){kl/gl/bl/rl/sl/brl/bsl/l/lw}an

Mousse(240 possible spellings): {Rm/Sm/Dm/Smr/M/Mr}u(r){s/sr/sw/gs/bs/bsr/z/zw/gz/bz}i(r)

As for their surname, I doubt "woman hero clan" is what they call themselves, and I have no idea where to even begin looking up how to come up with a realistic sounding Amdo Tibetan clan name, so I'd just avoid referring to them with a surname if I was going to use these names in a fic.

Now, am I suggesting you use any of that? No, probably not. It's pretty clear that Shampoo's native language, at the very least, is Mandarin, and while it is possible she grew up bilingual, given the lack of anything pointing towards Joketsuzoku being Tibetan in canon, it's probably best to assume Joketsuzoku switched to speaking Mandarin recently, since doing otherwise would likely require changing a lot of canon. This wouldn't even be unrealistic, since as far as I can tell, the Tibetan language has been declining in Qinghai for a while. Still, there's a lot of interesting stuff you could do, especially with regards to Cologne, with the fact that Joketsuzoku is likely historically Tibetan.

TL;DR: In my opinion, the best names for Shampoo, Cologne, and Mousse are Nüjie Shanpu, Nüjie Kelun, and Nüjie Musi, but you could probably do some interesting stuff with making them Tibetan.

[boxeom]

Insane Character Analysis/Rant About Caleb/Mahiru/Xia Yizhou

Okay so MAJOR SPOILERS for Caleb's storyline/Myth/Cards, cw. incest/pseudocest, cw. religious themes.

As much as I love Caleb's eng va, I do have to say that the moments where he's being y'know- insane- don't hit as well as they do in the JP/CN versions. Since the english localization is bending over backwards to remove the pseudocest that is straight up a key part to mc/Caleb's entire relationship, there are a lot of moments that don't really make much sense in terms of tension when you go with the whole "childhood friend" context. I've listened to both the JP and ENG versions of cards I've found the most significant for mc and Caleb and the differences are insane to say the least.

The amount of times "nii-chan/san/gege/big brother" is removed from the english captions is honestly hilarious to me. As long as you don't understand some basic Japanese or Chinese, it might go right over your head. But even as someone who isn't fluent in Japanese, I have a good enough grasp on the language to know that there is a VERY different story being told- so much so that it's gotten to a point where I consider Caleb, Xia Yizhou, and Mahiru three entirely different characters from each other because of how vastly different their writing is by each localization.

Caleb and mc's obvious symbolism is the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit- a story of man's first sin being temptation and receiving enlightenment at the cost of falling from God's Grace. The apple is well known in literature to represent the Forbidden Fruit. It's a theme that commonly alludes to sexual liberation, forbidden knowledge, lustful temptation (not just in a sexual sense), and a physical representation of sin. I have some thoughts that the chip also plays a part in being a more literal version of the Forbidden Fruit, since it lowers previous hesitations and exacerbates more obsessive, possessive, and impulsive qualities of mc AND Caleb as well as their sexual wants for each other.

Now, to me, having the imagery of the Forbidden Fruit in the trope of childhood friends makes little to no sense. There is no taboo to shy away from, no reason for mc and Caleb to feel as clearly conflicted as they do when they start toeing at certain lines- if anything, I feel as though it would be something to be encouraged. But when you take the time to look at and listen to the JP/CN versions, well...it becomes MUCH more obvious why the apple is there in the first place.

Acknowledging the fact that mc and Caleb do and have always seen one another as siblings and developed a codependent bond founded in trauma ties every missing thing that the english localization just can't piece back together while trying to do a "boy next door" theme for Caleb (I mean they literally grew up in the same house, had bedrooms across the hall from each other, saw the other grow up in the closest way anyone possibly could- there's nothing "boy next door" about that).

Below are just a few examples that I've collected that I think both show how the childhood friend angle just doesn't work with Caleb and how much his and mc's relationship is reliant on something forbidden, something that they both know is wrong between them but keep managing to indulge in no matter how hard they try not to;

Now there are DOZENS of more moments like this littered throughout Caleb's entire story and what we have between him and MC so far. And in particular the second row does NOT have mc say "childhood friend" in the JP version (can you guess what she refers to him as instead?). These "dangerous thoughts", the "cushion that stays between", the fear of rejection that Caleb possesses is so much more than just something between two people who grew up together in the context of childhood friends.

The first and last screenshots in particular are some of my favorites (taken from Intertwined Gold and Exclusive Aftertaste). For Exclusive Aftertaste, it's not only a cute moment of mc silently confirming Caleb's suspicions that she was waiting for him but, on a deeper level, acknowledging that she will always love him no matter what happens between them. And at an even DEEPER level, it's mc knowingly partaking in Caleb's favorite forbidden fruit- his favorite sin. They BOTH took a bite from it. And though we never get to SEE what happens, we HEAR the bite they take in unison. It's safe to assume what happens. There's a damn reason the card is called "Exclusive Aftertaste". And then they proceed to never talk about it again.

Meanwhile, in Intertwined Gold, mc is literally expressing that she wishes they'd met differently so that they could be together without having to lie to themselves about what's happening. Like COME ONNNN. Why would a childhood friend EVER need to say this?

In my opinion, getting rid of this intended layer of Caleb and mc's relationship doesn't do his character justice at all. Caleb/Mahiru/Xia Yizhou is an incredibly well written and complex character- he's deeply flawed, traumatized, and in desperate need of connection in any form he can get from the one person in the world he's ever loved with all his soul. It mellows out the moments of desperation, manipulation, and intensity he has during his darker moments that just don't convey the tragedy and bittersweetness of mc/Caleb.

There are a billion more things to say here but it is seven in the morning rn and I've been up writing this in one sitting since six. I will definitely add more when I'm not running on fumes and the crack that is Caleb's character. 🙏🏽

[prettyboykatsuki-moved]

caleb is quite literally not mcs brother and it's not in any way reductive to his character to say so. they use brotherly terms bc it's just common in some cultures to do that— including chinese, japanese and korean, where those words that might be literally translated as "brother" are just as commonly, if not more, used as regular terms of endearment that don't exist in english. mcs weird feelings about it also makes sense if she just SEES him as a really close figure, stop tryna twist ur weird ass incest agenda as if you understand the source material better when ur literally just a slow ass westerner who doesn't understand the cultures ur tryna write within 💀 you guys just need to be euthanised i think

okay so. when the game, in canon text, has caleb's companion viper in all three languages except english localization, call him a siscon what do you think that means? what kind of relationship does someone having a sister complex indicate to you?

on another note and i do mean this genuinely: you don't have to interpret the story as incest if you don't want to. just like you don't need to read my fic or be annoying in my inbox about it 💀 telling me you think i need to be euthanized because you're uncomfortable with a very overt narrative theme that i expand on is insane bc you're doing that over pixels but well.

i didn't feel like this was worth answering but you 1. accusing me of being a westerner like im not literally asian disapora is insulting to me and 2. caleb and mc quite literally are adopted by the same person, and are canonically raised under the same roof. they refer to the same woman as grandma. if this does not read to you like a familial relationship ... 💀💀. all of my characterization is based on cn since its the original language the game is written in.

i don't think there is like. any reason to argue over the logistic use of honorifics. i come from a culture that uses honorfics. i know the way older brother can be used affectionately between people. but this is still SO questionable given the actual specifics of how caleb calls mc

it is additionally questionable because caleb also uses 家人 "jia ren" during bigger scenes which explicitly means family member (thank you mao for the translations). this kind of explicitly familial dialogue is also found again the original cn version of chapter 9. the localization butchers the original meaning and completely gets rid of the tragedy aspect. caleb essentially implies in that dialogue that their entire family was a lie, that the memories they had as a family were a farce and caleb did not feel the bond at all. this is the source of her devastation. go watch the cn translation done by a native speaker if u dont want to believe me 💀💀💀

your main argument seems to be that there is some great distinctive line between older brother figure and straight up older brother. and potentially if caleb was a neighbor or someone from a different family with a different guardian then this maybe would hold water.

but they are canonically raised in the same house, by the same person, adopted together. so either - you don't view adoptive siblings as a legitimate form of incest because it's not blood-related incest and you think that's somehow less taboo.

or you're genuinely implying that a person that you view as a sibling, who is raised with you, is on paper canonically adopted together with you from the same orphanage to the same person is, who you call your older brother and all of your friends view your sibling as affirmed in several cards in the original cn... is not actually your sibling but your childhood friend?

incest between people who are step-siblings or adoptive siblings is still incest. its taboo because the nature of the relationship is familial. the story literally uses forbidden fruit? do you think someone whose merely a vaguely older brother like figure warrants that level of intensity? like im crying.

no offense but i do understand the source material better than you also. like. sdkjfjfsdkldmfnksdfksjan

[neuxue]

10 books to read in 2025

(tagged by @hunxi-after-hours)

Let's ignore the fact that it's already 1/3 of the way through the year, shall we?

I'm narrowing this down by keeping it to non-webnovel fiction only (I keep separate lists for webnovels and nonfiction, both of which are long enough on their own). I'm also excluding anything I've already started reading (which eliminates another uh... more than I'd like to admit). Anyway, that puts us in the part of my reading list that I vaguely structure by language, so:

The Iliad, trans. Emily Wilson - I found her translation of The Odyssey (and her commentary on it and the translation process) to be an interesting read, so I'm curious to see what she does with The Iliad. Also I just really like the story and will happily take the excuse to 'reread' it.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - I heard such good things about it and then never got around to reading it.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky - I went through this phase when I was younger where I thought I hated all scifi, and then I realised I just hated a lot of the 'classics' of the genre written in, like, 1950-1980, and that there's a lot of the genre I do actually quite enjoy. I have read a fair bit of it since, but I still have some catching-up to do.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski - I just feel like I should have read this by now. My excuse was that I was waiting until I was in a place to acquire more physical books but really I've just been kind of scared of it.

《长安的荔枝》 (The Litchi Road) by  马伯庸 / Ma Boyong - I recently read another of his novels (《太白金星有点烦》 / The Annoyance of the Gods, about the overworked gods who coordinate the whole Journey to the West behind the scenes) and very much enjoyed it, so went looking for more. I like the premise of this one as another behind-the-scenes take on a well known story, and am looking forward to seeing where he goes with it.

《三国演义》 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) attributed to 罗贯中 / Luo Guanzhong - I've read abridgments. I've read adaptations. I've read poems and commentaries and inspired-bys and let's not even start on dramas. But I have let the OG unabridged version gather dust on my shelves whilst I stare at it like a coward.

El Problema de los Tres Cuerpos (三体) by 刘慈欣 / Liu Cixin, trans. Javier Altayó Finestres - This is a project of sorts that I kind of stumbled into, where I'm trying to read this novel in every language in which I am literate. I first read it in the original Chinese and then went straight to Ken Liu's English translation (The Three-Body Problem) because I had heard such good things about the translation, and wanted to study it under a microscope. Then I happened across a translation into a different language with an interesting-looking foreword, and picked it up on a whim. And it spiralled from there. I wouldn't call this a favourite novel, yet here I am, reading it for the 5th (and last, unless I learn another language or decide to torture myself with Italian) time. But it's been interesting seeing how the translation differs between target languages, and I will definitely try something like this again with other novels.

Les fiancés de l'hiver (A Winter's Promise) by Christelle Dabos - I'm well-read in the French classics but woefully out of touch with more contemporary novels, and have read almost no original French speculative fiction at all, which felt like an oversight. So I asked for recommendations at a local multilingual bookstore and came away with this one.

La plaça del diamant (The Time of the Doves) by Mercè Rodoreda - for reasons of trying to get a good grade in immigrant.

Permagel (Permafrost) by Eva Baltasar - I was browsing the indie bookstore near me for language reasons and it was featured prominently on the queer lit recs shelf.

Tagging @redbelles, @kelsiers, @veliseraptor, @venndaai, @stripedroseandsketchpads, and anyone else who has a reading list you feel like sharing (if you think 'I want to do this but I wasn't tagged' please do it and say you were tagged by me so I can steal recommendations from your lists)

[amanhashisneeds]

High Concept: Girl Script

alright, someone has to say it: there is a practical problem in making your fuckdoll completely unable to read or write.

don't get me wrong! the idea is VERY hot. i love the idea of stripping away language from a slut because language is just so human, and stripping away someone's ability to speak, read, or write, partially or fully, is in essence turning that person into an animal.

but this is the real world. and as much as i actually want to do that, it'll make doctor's visits, using the internet (for porn, of course), and, frankly, living in the modern world very difficult to navigate. and yet, it remains extremely important to control her information diet. you can't have your toy just being able to read or write anything. that would be chaos!

my solution: girl script. girl script is a hypothetical english writing system to be used only by bimbos. only pro-bimbo content is allowed to be written in it. any content which doesn't reinforce their submission or sexual objectification is kept in the regular latin alphabet -- which girls should ideally not be taught in the first place, but, if necessary, girls can be forced to unlearn it.

girl script should ideally be clunky and unwieldy. it should be difficult to write in in order to discourage intellectual activity. i propose a system of ideograms, somewhere in between emojis and sitelen pona, so that writing anything takes a lot of physical effort and pushes the limits her already tiny memory. additionally, using an ideogramic system means that every symbol has to be individually taught. therefore, your slut can't write down words she isn't allowed to know, and she can't easily create new words in order to try and get around this limitation. for example, you could entirely remove her ability to write non-degrading words; she doesn't know how to write the word for "vagina" or "boobs," but she does know how to write "cunt" and "tits."

it would still represent english words, so it should be very easy for a man to learn it and translate. however, for convenience, programs could be written which automatically translate from girl script to the latin alphabet and vice-versa. it could also be used as a sort of international bimbo auxiliary language, like how simplified chinese is used for multiple languages across china. though differing grammar may make this difficult, if the system is simple enough, that may not be a serious obstacle for comprehension.

i'm open to iterations on this blueprint or any other ideas on how to make a closed information ecosystem for bimbo girls. it's important to me that our dollies never come into contact with any thoughts we don't want them to have, so that they can't even think of anything other than pure obedience.

[axuanmii]

admit you ship incest dude. the cn/jp shippers say its incest. pick up a book and translate it, it says kaeya is adopted. .. and heres a long paragraph about how incest is only between biological families and more disrespect to people who are adopted...

no idea why my inbox didn't give me this notif until now, but now's a better time than any to talk more about this.

i'm chinese. i speak fluent mandarin chinese. i've consulted other native chinese speakers about this, both genshin players and unrelated. i play genshin with chinese audio and english subs specifically to catch and complain about inaccuracies. i'd reveal more information but then i think it'd be trivially easy to doxx me if one knew what they were looking for.

fundamentally, the issue of incest lies in physical reproduction, yet i find adoptive incestuous relationships discomforting all the same. it's why i didn't like or finish go ahead (以家人之名) because i felt that it laid too much into the siblings aspect for romantic relationships to be feasible, and it was super contradictory from the initial general message of the first bittersweet yet wholesome episode.

however, personally, i just don't think kaeya felt like a part of the family until crepus's death and he really reflected on crepus's actions towards him (hangout). and even after beginning to view crepus as a father figure, he wouldn't have so shallowly made the transition for diluc to be his brother by adoption and consequently changed his entire mind about the guy (which you can see with the way he chooses to refer to both men with different terms, one adoptive and familial, one very clearly 'sworn', very consistently throughout the whole game. if that ever changes in chinese, well, at least you can know that i'll make a post about it if i still care about genshin by then.)

the localization team does make plenty of serious mistakes, and it's of my opinion that as a result, it has very clearly skewed character relationships with those mistakes, (cynari and collei, eulamber, some npcs in liyue, sumeru) some from cultural differences, some just from lazy translation overall. there's layers of complexity in how chinese utilizes honorifics and affectionate terms, as well as contextual consideration between fiction and reality, and sometimes i feel like the english localization team just threw it all into google translate and called it a day.

i don't even ship kaeluc that much. i like to call it the secret third thing where they can't get off their asses to talk about anything ever so they exist in an undefined space and to have them return to any semblance of a healthy relationship, platonic, familial, or romantic, would require a novel's length worth of development that hoyoverse will probably never write, and so my brain has made up novels of all three kinds and more.

however, i also don't care about people who do ship kaeluc or treat any other fictional media in an incestuous or otherwise problematic manner, regardless of language or culture. this is because i operate on a "don't like, don't read, don't interact" mindset. it makes being in fandom more fun; you should try it.

my disappointment wasn't aimed at the fact that i think too little people ship kaeluc. it just sucks to see people claim that that's what's wrong with the fandom and spin this evil gross imagery around the ship over a misunderstanding, especially when that's not how i view it. it's also the only thing vehemently regularly repeated ('klcers dni') when there's so many other issues with the game and the fandom.

(off topic but what's the worst thing that'll happen if a kaeluc shipper likes your fan stuff. it's not like they come into your tumblr asks to bother you with an "oh btw you're wrong about how you enjoy this media and this is what's right"-- oh wait that's what's going on here right)

including the fact that people like you purposefully go around searching in the kaeluc tag (which you probably did, because nobody is scrolling that far back in my blog to find this one specific post to complain about) to police and pick fights with people over a stupid issue from 2020/2021. i guess tumblr isn't a safe place to talk about kaeluc either lmao.

and to think i left anon asks on in the hopes that it could be an inbox for anyone who wanted to ask me art questions or just leave something positive and not feel too awkward (where do i get the confidence in thinking anyone would ask my incompetent brain for help lol).

to be fair, it's going to be my fault for continuing to draw attention to this by responding to such an ask instead of just deleting it and moving on but fuck it we ball.

this ended up pretty long but i feel like it would've been too rude to just say "会说中文的干嘛要翻书 :P". probably would've been funnier though and saved me a lot of time. kudos to you if you actually read this and read through everything.

final note:

[alfredosauce50]

Ok I think I’ve thought of my birthday headcanons (they’re lowkey not even good 😭) but IDC. None are character specific so go with your gut 🩷 (also side note: idk if you remember back in like 2015 when authors would do that thing where ppl give brief descriptions of themselves and then they’d give a character to ship you with or not but I feel like that might be a good idea for engagement. But idk I’m also stupid so maybe not 💀 It’s less effort than headcanons and one-shots methinks. ANYWAY)

1. Learning a different language (español?? 🥺) to impress you 😛

2. Idk how to request this but just one where I’m a zookeeper 😓

3. Date where they try to teach you how to drive but it kinda goes wrong (I’m so bad at driving 💔)

4. Being the foil (or enabler) to shopping addicted gf

Ik these are kinda specific to me but… IT’S FOR MY BIRTHDAY 🥺 you’re also a day ahead of me so if you get it done Thursday then I won’t even know the difference 😽

OK TY 🫶 MWAH

Learning a language for you

Alfred

In the beginning, he’ll learn simple phrases and say them to you for shits and giggles. But as the relationship gets more serious, he’ll want to get fluent to connect with you on a deeper level. Alfred will study regularly and hold conversations with you in your native tongue to practice his speaking. He’s a natural at learning languages to the point that it’s shocking. He can even nail the four Chinese intonations, so imagine just how easy Spanish is for him as an English speaker. Fast forward a few years, and he’ll be speaking rapid-fire Spanish with you like a native.

Mathias

Like Alfred, he’ll start with beginner-level words before eventually going pro. It may take him a little longer to get it down pat, but he needs to be a part of your culture to feel close to you. He will sit down with you and repeat sentences for you until he gets it right. He also finds Spanish very sexy, so if you ever talk dirty to him he wants to be able to understand you. Mathias may want you to learn Danish for him in return, and if you do, he will be on his knees. You could even say he’s very sex-motivated, but if you asked him, he just wants to be the perfect partner for you.

Allen

Believe it or not, he’s already fluent in Spanish. He just never talks about it. Apart from knowing his native language, he’s always lived around Spanish-speakers. And as a person who is deeply involved with his community, it’s a given that he will eventually catch onto the local lingo. After learning about where you’re from, he’ll randomly come up to you one day and drop a whole-ass sentence in Spanish before walking off again. Allen does this to get your undivided attention, and it works like a charm even after the first time. Otherwise, he will occasionally speak Spanglish.

Matt

He’s terrible at learning languages, and it’s even harder for him when it’s not one of his special interests. So he may just like other aspects of your culture, i.e., the food, but he won’t put a lot of effort into it. You can take advantage of this by talking shit about him in Spanish in front of him. Matt may not understand what you said, but he’ll know you’re mad at him. But as the years go by, he’ll want to take it seriously and study in secret. He doesn’t want you to know just how much he’s trying for you, and also because he might not even get good at it. But he’ll get it one day.

When he falls into a zoo enclosure

I have no clue how to do this one but here’s one with Matt 💀

Matt

He’s too clever and self-aware to ever fall into a zoo enclosure, but he would no doubt try and save someone who did. Especially a small child. He will jump over the fencing, swim across the moat, pick them up and run to safety, but more importantly, before an innocent animal gets put down. He will literally put himself between a bear and armed men like Owen Grady from Jurassic World. After the situation simmers down, you’re treating him for the few injuries he’s sustained, and it’s the most interesting conversation you’ve ever had. He’s clearly got a few screws loose, but he’s the one who thinks everybody else is crazy.

When he teaches you how to drive

Alfred

He’s not a perfect teacher, but he really does try. Some days, you pick up on things fast and well, but on other days, he’s like Noah teaching Allie how to drive a truck. You two are screaming at each other and he doesn’t care to hide how he feels about your lack of driving skills. Alfred can have short fuse when it comes to what he can’t relate to or empathize with, but at the same time, he’s sensitive toward what he can. Needless to say, he will apologize and encourage you to keep learning from him because he has faith in you. If you can do everything else, you can drive a car.

Mathias

He’s very patient when it comes to teaching you how to drive. He understands how hard it can be because he struggled a little in the beginning too. If you break suddenly, stall, or run over a curb, he will just tell you calmly what you’re doing wrong. He also has really fast reflexes when the situation calls for it, so he’ll steer you back to safety. Mathias will spend an hour or two instructing you before taking over and driving home. If you don’t make a lot of progress, he’ll always say that he can be the driver in the relationship and you can be his passenger princess, so don’t worry.

Allen

He’s a safety first kind of guy. He’ll get you to tick all the boxes, even when he doesn’t always do that himself. For that, he’s also really patient. Allen would much rather sleep soundly knowing you’re safe on the road and not getting into an accident. In the event of minor collision, he’ll take the blame (he’s the one with a full license) and speak with the person you just crashed into, then get back in and sit in silence for a while. As much as he loves you, he tells you that it might be best that you take a break from driving. He can afford only so many repairs, so he’ll just make it so that you won’t need to go anywhere without him.

Matt

He isn’t the best teacher in the world, especially when driving comes so naturally to him. He just doesn’t understand why you can’t do it like him. So it’s no walk in the park when you’re sitting in the truck, listening to him yell at you after you make the same mistake again. You might end up crying by the end of it, but he’ll make it up to you by kissing you for hours back in his cabin. Matt will tell you that he’ll keep teaching you even if you’re bad at driving, because there’s no other person around to. Even then, he eventually gets you to improve despite his unorthodox methods.

When you go shopping

Alfred

He may not look like it, but he does enjoy a good shop. He’s just more selective about it. Alfred will give you some helpful advice if you ask him if you should buy something. But if it makes you happy, he wouldn’t hold it against you. After all, he has a a niche and expensive hobby himself. Collector’s items. Film and video game memorabilia. He’s up to date on all the pre-orders of exclusive merch he wants, and he’s won a few auctions. He enjoys the thought of owning items that someone else wanted but missed out on. He finds it hilarious as he runs off of punitive measures of success.

Mathias

He’s an enabler because he has just as bad of a shopping addiction. When you’re together, you burn through your money twice as fast. He has a bad habit of buying things he finds cute and not necessarily useful, but he can’t resist the rush of dopamine he gets from an occasional splurge. Mathias doesn’t see an issue with pampering himself every now and then, and definitely not you. At the end of the day, you two will have a giant stockpile of unused and decorative goods somewhere at home. Is this a sign of the end, or just the beginning of a long and comfortable life?

Allen

Allen is a bit of a mixed bag. First of all, he wants to spoil you, and anything you wanna buy, he will want to buy for you. He won’t question the things you like, nor make you feel bad. But the problem is, he’s not very liquid. Allen will feel super guilty because of it, especially when he has to talk you out of a store. It’s not his fault for not being able to afford everything you want, but he takes it to heart because he feels like it’s his responsibility to provide for you. Just for his sake, you might consider being a bit more conservative so he doesn’t stay up all night thinking about it.

Matt

Matt has probably gone shopping in a mall four times in his life. But online? Never. If you need something, he’ll just tell you he has it at home. And if not, he’ll just make it for you. If you need a pencil, he’ll sharpen a piece of graphite for you. No more expensive Japanese stationery. He’s the most frugal and resourceful person alive, so even cheap prices will turn him away. Anything that costs money will cost too much because you’re selling your soul and turning into a mindless consumer. He doesn’t eat processed food either, so he’s out here living like Captain Fantastic.

[drdemonprince]

This is kind of late re: the culture conversation but I feel like I have a kind of weird perspective on this general idea of cultural appropriation re:embodiment. I’m Italian American, and indigenous South American but I was born in the US and when we immigrated to the US my South American ethnic group is so small and my parents were in Japan so long they culturally assimilated and I was raised in the Japanese immigrant community and literally went to Japanese day school.

This tension between who is “allowed” to participate in a culture or identity has always been deeply fraught for me in a way that has kind of bulldozed my understanding of cultural ownership. Not being “ethnically” Japanese has led to many people deciding for me what the appropriateness of my cultural participation is. And being indigenous South American complicates my relationship to standard cultural alignment with latinidad more broadly.

I have a lot of friends who are white USAmericans who are progressive but also deeply concerned about the boundaries between themselves and the cultures they studied in college and the countries they taught English in as migrant workers. I had a conversation with one of my friends who worked in China and he was talking about how he didn’t mind being legally disenfranchised because he was a white American migrant and didn’t feel it was necessary for him to have the same legal rights as Chinese citizens. And I had to point out that he was living in the same disenfranchised conditions as any other immigrant and there was no reason for him to downplay it. I don’t think it’s disingenuous or appropriative for him to have Chinese art in his house or cook Chinese food or participate in Chinese culture. Not because he lived there or had a complicated legal status in the country or somehow crossed some imaginary threshold of true and genuine cultural appreciation but just because culture is what you do its not a given fact of who you are. It’s a seamless part of his life and just because he sought it out doesn’t make it less genuine to me.

I think because of my complicated upbringing I have spent a lot of time with people between cultures, reconnecting, adopting new ones and feel very strongly that if there is no biological tie to culture people can incorporate whatever they want into their lives and it’s a VERY US American perspective to be so self critical and political about it.

And this isn’t to say cultural exploitation doesn’t exist but when it does happen it’s usually underpinned by a capital motivation to sell an idea of a culture and not a weird white guy who got really into Buddhism or a several generations totally removed Italian American incorporating Panettone into their Christmas celebrations. When people cross the line it’s cringe and inauthentic but it rarely goes beyond that.

When I was in college I had a professor who studied my indigenous ethnic group and I took a couple of his classes. Once I brought my grandmother and mom to campus to speak with him in our indigenous language, and my grandmother spoke to him for three hours straight. He was a white man from Michigan but also one of my only connections to my culture, a person to practice and share my language with, to connect with my family. And all because he thought South American indigenous groups were interesting and got a job with Amnesty International to investigate the dictatorship to get down there. He is the kind of man people wag their finger at and he was one of the most important cultural elders I had.

This is a long way to say basically I just really believe we are allowed to make our lives whatever we want and make ourselves whatever we want. The phenomenon of white Americans in search of culture exists for the reasons you listed below and outside of these political discussions about its appropriateness and its moral boundaries there are just people doing and embodying that cultural fluidity and exchange for a million different reasons that aren’t worth litigating. The small town gay kids who move to big cities and hang out in the leather scene, getting into punk or hardcore or goth scenes, even converting to a new religion function under the same mechanism of the kind of cultural immersion that gives you access to the community and membership in the culture that weebs who immigrate to Japan to teach English, or international students coming to America, or inter cultural or inter faith partnerships undergo.

Anyways thanks for listening to my treatise. So to whoever’s reading this take the dance class or the traditional craft class or learn a new language or learn to cook new kinds of food make all different types of friends and make new traditions out of old ones or old traditions out of new perspectives. Culture isn’t a sacred part of who we are it’s a sacred form of the things we do and embody and connect with others through :-) <3

this is an incredible, wise, compassionate message. Thank you so much for sending it. You've said so much here about the problems of tying cultural identity to a race, ethnicity, or blood, or to regard it as static or isolated. And how much the standard racist American conceptions of racial and ethnic identity make structural discussions about disenfranchisement worldwide hard to have. Said so so much far better than I could, thank you!!

[hetaliahyperfix]

Hetalia Headcanons: Why Human Names Exist

Now, a popular theory of why nations have human names is that the nations use them when interacting with humans. My personal headcanon is the opposite: it is for each other.

One of the things I found while researching history is that nations often go through many different name changes. Just look at China. He went from Xia to Shang to Zhou to Qin to Han... ect. Imagine how hard that would be to keep track of?

India: "Hello, Qin. It is good to see you again!"

China: "Oh, I'm not Qin anymore, I'm Han."

India: "Wait, you've changed your name again?! How many civil wars are you going to have?"

This isn't even getting into the fact that different languages call countries different things. For example, the citizens of China do not call their nation "China," they call it "Zhōngguó." The name "China" is the English version of the native name Zhōngguó. As you can see, even if a nation's name remains the same, it can be totally different depending on the languages

So, I personally headcanon that human names are something nations can call each other that will always remain consistent, even through language barriers and even if the name of their nation changes.

China will always be Wang Yao (or Wong Yue), even when his nation is called Song or Zhou or Qin. If nations are talking to each other, and one doesn't know who "Zhōngguó" is, the other can just say, "I'm talking about Wang Yao. Zhōngguó is the new name he is going by now."

These human names are universal and, for the most part, don't go through nearly as dramatic of changes as their nation names when it comes to language variation. For example, for English speakers, the People's Republic is "China." To Chinese speakers, it is "Zhōngguó." Meanwhile, "Wang Yao" remains "Wang Yao" across the languages, it just varies in pronunciation between English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that nations having human names is both a simplicity thing and a matter of convenience. A singular name that will never, or barely, change no matter how much time passes is very useful for immortals whose other names are constantly changing.

Of course, besides simplicities sake, I think there could be other reasons too.

For example, I think it could also be an exercise in autonomy. They can't control what their nation is called, but they sure can pick their human name.

They do this to pick human names that they think reflect who they believe they are, or perhaps because they simply think a name sounds cool and they want to be called it. Regardless, they get a choice in this name while they get no say in their nation one. This isn't to say they hate their nation names, most love them! But there is just something different about a name you chose for yourself.

You can see with China, for example, that his human name is actually very reflective of him. The first character in his name "王/Wang" meaning "king," and the three lines in it represent heaven, earth, and people, which represents the king's rule over China. The last character "耀/Yao" means "shining" or "glory," which feels like the type of name China would call himself. He wants to let everyone know he is heaven's gift to the world, lol.

Another reason they might have human names is that it makes them feel more... human.

They have a sort of twisted existence. They exist because of humans and their continued existence is entirely tied to humans, but they also can never really be connected to humans. It is canon that, if a nation spends too long with a human, their immortality will rub off on the human and drive them insane as the human mind can't comprehend immortality. This isn't even mentioning how short human lives are compared to them. See: Davie.

So, nations live in this limbo of existing because of their connection to humans but also never being able to truly connect with the very humans that make up their existence. Because of this, their use of a human name makes them feel artificially closer to humans, even when they know they aren't.

Now, do I think they would use human names all the time? Do I think it would be rare? How much would they use their human names compared to their nation ones?

This sounds like a cop-out, but I think it totally depends.

I believe it would totally depend on the culture and also the relationship between the two nations. In general though, I think that the closer nations are together, the more likely they are to use human names. Or, if the nation doesn't stress over the use of names as a sign of respect and are quite laid back, they might also be fine with anyone using their human name.

Also, culture plays a part. Americans, for example, are much more laid back about names than compared to East Asia. Ergo, I think America would be totally cool with people using his human name. Heck, he might even insist as proof he and that person are "buddies."

On the other hand, some nations might absolutely expect to be referred to as their nation name only. Yeah, they have a human name, but that is reserved only for the people most precious to them. If they are a conqueror, then they expect the conquered to refer to them with a nation name. They are a nation, dammit! Not some measly human, so don't use the measly human name. Use their great nation name, instead! They didn't become the greatest empire in history to not be referred to with the name of this great nation!

I know I have been using China as an example of why it is good to have human names, but I personally headcanon he was actually a pretty big stickler of making others refer to him as his nation name only, especially his vassal states. Yeah, knowing what to call him got confusing, so what? He is worth the effort.

(Though, I do think he relaxed on it as he got older, especially after the communist revolution.)

On the other hand, nations he saw as equals and/or was close to, he would allow them to use his human name. Like Ancient Rome, Russia, and India, for example.

One last thing I want to add is that I think the biggest reason nations all have human names is just plain, ol' peer pressure.

It sounds a bit silly but, I think when a bunch of nations started using human names, other nations saw this and thought, "Crap, everyone is getting a human name! Do I need one too? Will I fall behind if I don't adapt to this new trend?!"

Eventually, it got to the point where all nations had human names and all the nations that came after them just saw the universal usage of human names and assumed that they had to pick one, that it was just part of being a nation. Now, by modern times, very few nations even know there was a point where human names weren't universal. Having human names even got to the point where nations were bestowing these names on younger nations the way a human parent would name their child (like my headcanon of England giving America his name "Alfred" after Alfred the Great).

Honestly, this is a really long headcanon for something that probably isn't anything more than an easter egg in canon. But, tldr: human names make it easier for nations to speak with each other when their nation names are always changing.

Anyways, here's a fabulous China gif since I talked about him so much. Thanks for reading!

[accio-victuuri]

xiao zhan describing guo jing ( china news network ):

XZ: friends of china news network. hello everyone i'm xiao zhan.

🎤: "chivalry" is from the inside to the outside.

XZ: "chivalry" is from the inside to the outside. "chivalry" not only requires you to have a skill. the stronger your ability then the greater the responsibility on your shoulder.

🎤: "how he makes a choice?"

XZ: guo jing has a powerful presence. he grew up in a such complex environment. how will he make a choice between a national identity and righteousness will weigh up this role. his faith and persistence unconsciously has given me a lot of support and beliefs.

🎤: "becoming" guo jing.

XZ: from the early stage to the end of last shot. i have been striving to get closer to this role. throughout this process i'd go to the character training class for more than two months, and martial arts training will design different moves according to roles. my most common move is slay the dragon's eighteen palms. and the most important thing in my opinion is that the exploration of mongolian's language, because this indeed a new language for me. i needed to quickly master it in a short period of time. i want to perform it in guo jing's language so all i can do is to keep communicating with my mongolian's teacher. it’s just like learning english when you were a child, my teacher said. so i would put on my headphones then i would follow it and recite every sentence first, grasp the intonation and the speed of the language. regarding the script again, it’s in mandarin then i'd go perform it once, then make some note out of it and mark it. for example, at this moment i should be more intense in my emotions, convert to mongolian's again. it's quite complex so it's actually a very fulfilling process.

🎤: "understanding" guo jing.

XZ: understanding of heroes is that they are highly skilled in martial arts and have a strong sense of justice. but after i finished filming loch, i actually have a new understanding of heroes. i think a hero only requires you to possess a set of skills, the stronger your ability, the greater the responsibility on your shoulders. so i think heroism is coming from inside out. guo jing has a very powerful existence. whether it's his martial arts skills or his spiritual core and he is a very intelligent person. he knows what things he doesn't want, when learning a skill he will devote himself wholeheartedly to it. there are no distractions around. so i think this is the highest level of intelligence instead of playing some clever tricks.

🎤: "hero" guo jing and actor xiao zhan.

XZ: i think every character actually leaves something on me or take something away. of course the role of guo jing — his steadfastness and persistence, the subtle movements behind it gave me a lot of support and belief. i think the similarity between me and guo jing lies in our seriousness towards things, i often want to do everything well, and then focus on the present moment like guo jing.

🎤: xiao zhan still has something to say.

XZ: hello everyone, i'm xiao zhan who played guo jing in loch: the gallants. i hope everyone can also come to the cinema on the first day of the chinese new year to support our movie. thank you once again everyone. i wish you all a happy new year, all smooth and healthy!

[starcurtain]

I guess it's because his Warp is called 'gilded imprisonment', and the phonecall with Jade where he says 'I don't wanna bet anything just to escape your clutches'.

Kinda makes him a foil to Robin and warped parallel to Sunday in a way I think if you see him as thinking of his job as a gilded cage. It may not really be true, maybe he can walk away anytime he wants I'm sure he has the power and ability to even if hed be up for silencing if he left the Stonehearts, but he has nowhere else to go so he may just be trapping himself there with his own apathy. Hope that made sense lol

Always enjoy reading your thoughts ty for the food 🙏

(Will answer the part about the character foils in a different post because that is a whole long thing of its own!!)

See, I definitely think this is the issue, because I have had people say that exact thing to me "Well his warp is called gilded imprisonment so that has to be referring to the IPC!" Like... Do people think the IPC has a monopoly on the word "gilded" or something? Or that "gilded" can only refer to literal gold coins and not any of the many, many metaphors for being a prisoner to destiny that are swirling around Aventurine?

"To gild" means to "cover thinly with gold." It doesn't mean to create wealth, to imply actual money, or even to relate at all to the concept of "golden handcuffs" (which is what people seem to be mistaking it for). Gilding could more accurately be described as a process of taking something cheap--like low-quality nickel--and plating it over with the thinnest layer of gold, to try to make the item seem much better than it is. Gilding something is often like dressing up a pig--you can make it look pretty on the outside, but on the inside, it's still a pig.

Just the thinnest layer of gold over a darker interior...

There's nothing about "gilded imprisonment" that automatically has anything to do with the IPC, unless you're already coming in with the impression that Aventurine is a prisoner of the IPC. If you start with a preconceived notion of what "imprisonment" means for Aventurine, then and only then do we make the jump to "Oh, this must be in reference to the IPC." Take that preconception out and there's zero connection lol.

Even the Chinese name of the warp, "囚石铸金" (lit. "Prison stones cast [in] gold") and other languages' translation of the banner name (like German's "Stein zu Gold," lit. "Stone to gold") imply that the most important element of the banner is "coating over something bad with something good"--i.e., turning prison walls into gold, turning the "stone" of his dark past into something shining. (This actually makes a nice irony in several languages, because he turned the rocky desert of his homeland and the stone walls of a prison into gold by... earning a Cornerstone and becoming a "Stoneheart"--or, that is, he himself is a "worthless" stone that has been thinly coated over in shiny wealth.)

But personally, if we really want to go by the English name of the banner, I would argue that it is much more likely Aventurine's banner name is a reference to his own troubled relationship with the concept of "blessings" and "destiny" than anything to do with the IPC.

From the beginning of his life, Kakavasha was told he was "blessed" and that he was the "chosen one." He was favored by a goddess, born on the day of her rebirth, and told that he will be the savior of his people. So, we can literally say he's the Avgin "golden child," which is further supported by the constant connection between Aventurine and gold colors (his golden-haired appearance, his mother's gold accessories with him since his birth, the word "Avgin" itself even meaning [golden] honey). So as the "golden child," we have this perception that his power of incredible luck, gifted to him by a goddess, must be a blessing, a good thing.

And yet that's not how it plays out for him. What his family tells him is a blessing ends up functioning more like a curse for Aventurine, when it becomes clear he can't use that luck of his to protect those who mean the most to him. He might be the goddess's golden child, the chosen one--but no one else is chosen with him. He's a failed savior, an incapable hero, and there is no escape from the destiny which has been decided for him.

There's a reason his lightcone is called "Inherently Unjust Destiny." His own destiny, decided when he was born favored of an aeon, makes him a prisoner of the suffering that he can survive but never avoid.

We see how much this haunts him constantly throughout his experiences in 2.1...

To me, I would interpret the English banner name "Gilded Imprisonment" as much more related to how Aventurine's blessing, which is supposed to make him the favored, lucky, golden child, is actually nothing more than a thin veneer over the terrible destiny that binds him, continually costing him everything and everyone he loves.

On to the other point entirely, I think people might also really be misinterpreting that sentence about "escaping Jade's clutches." Again, I think this relates a lot to the fact that people are coming into Aventurine's character with this preconception of him as a prisoner to the IPC, so they're interpreting this sentence in the most literal way possible ("I want to get away from you"), but that is actually not what Aventurine is saying at all there.

Jade's rank in the IPC is P46. If Aventurine is promoted to P46, he would no longer be her subordinate. Therefore, when he says "I don't want to bet anything just to escape your clutches," this is actually a (vaguely snarky, to be sure) compliment. Aventurine is saying "I don't want you to think I'm engaging in a bet [that I know I'll win] because I dislike working for you."

It's supposed to be flattery. He's saying "Don't think I'm trying to get away from you, oh great Madam Jade. I wouldn't try to make any bets just to get out of being your underling."

I think it's got a healthy dose of sarcasm to be sure, because Jade herself would have trained Aventurine to snatch every chance to get ahead. So now he's in the hilarious situation of having to balance the expected respect to his mentor ("Of course I would never want to leave you! You're the best boss!") with the fact that his own mentor wants him to be cut-throat at all costs lolol.

It's irony-laced flattery for sure.

That's why his next line is "Well, if it's just a friendly bet though, then sure, I'll engage." He's saying "So long as you know I'm not betting because I dislike working for you, sure, I'll play along." Because he knows that's what he's supposed to do--as a Stoneheart, he should be seizing every opportunity to advance. He virtually has to make this bet that he'll be promoted just to demonstrate the desirous personality that Jade would be expecting.

And honestly, it's supposed to be a callback to their first scene together too. They literally add that to text so people can't miss it. Kakavasha came to Jade as a person "hungry" to rise up the chain, to change his circumstances. He's making the same bet again to suggest to her that he hasn't changed in the slightest even after his experiences in Penacony.

(Now, why he's trying to act like he hasn't changed in front of Jade is another story, and "Aventurine is out to destroy the IPC" conspiracy theorists can run wild with this one for sure.)

But yeah. That line... really does not mean what people think it means, apparently.

Anddddd I'll get to the character foils in another post; this was already long enough as-is! 😂

[satsuha]

another scene i'm very ??? about in the english localization of 4-3... in this scene apollo originally gets coffee instead of water. he's a coffee drinker!! i also like the subtle differences in ema's lines here so rough translations below

EDIT: i've been told that this is most likely because the US/western countries don't sell coffee in vending machines! that makes a lot of sense but it's still a bit of a shame those versions missed out on canon coffee drinker apollo

JP

Apollo: Come to think of it, I'm feeling thirsty. I should drink something. Ema: Tea for me. Apollo: ...... I think I'll go with coffee. Ema: Tea! Apollo: Please buy it yourself. *ka-tonk* Apollo: (I got hit by a karintou...) Ema: Tea.

KR

Apollo: Come to think of it, I'm feeling thirsty. I should drink something. Ema: I wanna have tea. Apollo: ...... I'll have some coffee. Ema: I said I want tea! Apollo: Please buy it yourself. *ka-tonk* Apollo: (I got hit by a karintou...) Ema: It's tea, not coffee, alright?

these two are mostly similar but i really like how blunt ema is in japanese lol she doesn't even say "i want" or anything it's just. tea. tea! meanwhile in korean i think it's cute that she specifies that she Doesn't want coffee...

really wonder why they decided to change up apollo's choice of drink tho... there is a big difference between someone who decides to drink water and coffee (?) so i think it's a bit of a shame... just for fun i decided to check the other languages since i've heard that the european localizations follow the english localization and sure enough, they do in this scene as well! both traditional and simplified chinese have coffee just like in japanese

[room-surprise]

do you have any thoughts on where rin could be from? I've seen ppl say she could be Chinese or Malaysian but there's barely any info on the eastern archipelago other than Wa

This is a fun question! We have very little information to go off of, that's true, but we do know some things!

(This is an excerpt from a map of the Dungeon Meshi world I'm working on for my essay.)

This is what the Eastern Archipelago looks like, minus the one medium-sized island that is populated by dwarves.

Wa Island has a culture similar to the Sengoku period of Japan.

Izutsumi is from the large island to the northeast of Wa.

Izutsumi's succubi turned into a woman wearing Central Asian clothing similar to a Mongolian deel, and Izutsumi thought that this was an illusion of her mother. Though we now know this isn't exactly true, the succubi is a psychic monster, so it must have pulled the clothing from Izutsumi's memories, something that she recognized from her childhood, and would expect her mother to wear. Since clothing like the deel doesn't seem to be worn in Wa, we can assume that this type of clothing is worn on the island that Izutsumi is from instead. So this island may be similar to Central Asia, which consists of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan.

We know that ogres used to control the Eastern Archipelago, and on the ogre race illustration page, Kui shows the majority of the ogres wearing clothing that could be influenced by Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Mongolian clothing. 7 of them have Asian-inspired clothing, 4 have indistinct but not-Asian looking clothing, and the rest have no visible clothing.

We don't know what any of the other parts of the archipelago are like, but I think it wouldn't be crazy to assume they resemble other parts of Asia, such as China, Korea, etc.

The far eastern side of the Archipelago is neighbors to the Western Continent, a region that appears to be home to Greek, Roman, and South and West Asian cultures. So it would make sense if some cultural influence from the West naturally migrated across the ocean to the far-far East.

Now, what do we know about Rin?

The beginning of her bio reads: 両親は東方群島 東地方からの流民だが. This translates as: "Her parents were refugees from the eastern region of the Eastern Archipelago." This is interesting because it's different from the official English translation by Yen Press. Their translation skips the second mention of the east, and also calls her parents wanderers instead of refugees: "Her parents were wanderers from the Eastern Archipelago." The original Japanese says east twice, 東方群島 (Eastern Archipelago) and 東地方 (Eastern region). I think the translator, a contractor who doesn't have time to fact-check, maybe didn't understand why Rin's bio said east so many times (the sentences before and after also mention "east" many times) and just didn't bother including what seemed like a redundant mention of it.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

What it means is we actually know what part of the Archipelago Rin is from!

Obviously this is only speculation, but I would guess her family originally came from one of the islands I've colored in dark gray here, since they are the furthest east part of the Archipelago.

WHAT CULTURE COMES FROM THOSE ISLANDS?

(I talk about some of this in chapter four of my Dungeon Meshi essay in the section about Rin.)

We don't know! However, remember what I said about how the far-east of the Eastern Archipelago is neighbors with the Western Continent?

The Western Continent is a region dominated by western elven culture. Therefore it makes sense that this part of the Archipelago should have had the most contact with the elves, and foreign tall-men who are a part of elven culture. There should be cultural mixing between the two groups... And there is! Rin's name is evidence of it!

Rinsha Fana (رينشا فناء), is an Arabic name. Arabic is one of the languages Kui associates with the Western elves, which would mean that in-universe, Rinsha Fana is an elvish (or at least Western) name.

THE SIMPLE ANSWER

It's possible that there is a fusion culture in the far eastern islands, and it's the natural result of contact between the West and the East.

Since Rin's name is Arabic, we could theorize that the far-east of the Eastern Archipelago is similar to various Asian cultures in the real world that were influenced by the Arabic world historically.

The ones that I could find are Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.

So the Fana family's home island might be similar to any of those! It's a long list, but it does narrow things down a little bit!

THE COMPLICATED ANSWER

In addition to the fact that the far-eastern islands are physically close to the Western Continent and there being some cultural fusion there, we also know that there are groups of elves in Dungeon Meshi who behave similarly to missionaries in the real world.

There may or may not have been a religious component, but these elves felt it was their moral duty to spread elven culture and knowledge (including elven style magic) to the short-lived races, and improve their standard of living.

Since the far eastern islands of the Archipelago are the closest to the West, it makes sense that elven missionaries would have had a presence there, just like it makes sense that they would have had a presence on the far western coast of the Eastern Continent.

It's strongly implied that Rin's parents may have practiced elven-style magic, since if they had practiced Gnomish magic (the dominant style in the Eastern Archipelago and the Northern Continent), they might have been able to join a local organization (a church, a school, a royal court) in the Northern Continent and not been lynched. Something about their magic was "foreign" and scared the people of the Northern Continent.

The original Japanese text explicitly says they were lynched (私刑).

Kui also explicitly tells us that Rin’s family was lynched in the Northern Continent, using the word 私刑. Lynching is an extrajudicial public execution by an in-group against someone who is outside of their social circle, who has somehow “transgressed” against the in-group. Usually the “transgression” is something like being a foreigner, being of a different race, different ethnicity, practicing a different religion, or behaving in any unusual way (being neurodivergent, gender non-conforming or homosexual).

The Fana family fled the Archipelago, didn't change their family name, and then gave their daughter a western/elven personal name as well. This implies that they are unwilling to give up their culture, even under circumstances where it would be safer to assimilate. This suggests that the culture is very important to them.

WHY DID RIN'S FAMILY LEAVE THE EAST?

We don't know exactly, but the original Japanese text says they were refugees. This implies that they left their homeland due to some kind of danger or threat to their lives.

We know that the Eastern Archipelago is constantly at war with itself, and that could be enough reason for a family to flee. But because of the history of Christianity in Japan, Rin's name, and her family's behavior, I think there may be something more to it.

We know that there are treaties between the nations in Dungeon Meshi that prevents the long-lived races from colonizing the Eastern Archipelago. The nations of the Eastern Archipelago most likely consider any influence from the long-lived races a threat to their sovereignty, and they are probably making an effort to keep long-lived races and their culture out of the region.

This sounds very similar to Sakoku (鎖国 Literally "locked country") an isolationist foreign policy in Japan that began at the end of the Sengoku era (the era that Wa appears to be in the middle of). Under this policy, relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and nearly all foreign nationals were banned from entering Japan, while common Japanese people were kept from leaving the country.

The sakoku policy was enforced in order to remove colonial and religious influence from European countries, which were perceived as posing a threat to the stability of Japan.

Japanese people who had converted to Christianity were seen as traitors, and missionaries were foreign enemies trying to undermine Japanese society. Conversion to Christianity, the dominant religion of Europe, was seen as the first step of European nations trying to colonize Japan.

Part of the sakoku policy was the Japanese government officially persecuting, torturing, and executing somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 Japanese Christians and foreign Christian missionaries. This forced Christians in Japan to either go into hiding, flee the country, or renounce their faith in order to survive.

I think an attitude like this towards foreign culture would logically be common throughout the entire Eastern Archipelago, and not just the island of Wa.

So local people like Rin's family who might have adopted Western elven culture (magic, names, clothing, etc.) may have been seen as a threat, and may have been pressured to renounce their ways, or leave.

The cultural backlash would be extreme, and could easily cause civil war and instability, especially in any areas that have a large Western cultural influence, like I've theorized the Fana family's home island to have.

In the end, I think no matter which way you choose to interpret the information, it's clear that Rin's family has a connection to both East Asia and Arabic culture... So start there, and see what cool ideas you can come up with!

[renshengs]

Hi!! I see you post occasionally about cdramas. I went to China this summer and I learned a little Mandarin (like enough to say, “I don’t speak good Mandarin.”) Would I be able to muddle through cdramas with captions? (Also any suggestions on which ones to watch and where to watch them?). Thanks so much <3

ooh i hope you had lots of fun there! with subtitles i think you could absolutely make it through most cdramas; it depends on how good the subs are, honestly, because alas translating mandarin chinese to english (or any latin-based language, for that matter) is i think one of the most difficult language translations possible because the chinese language is just so rife with chengyu (idioms).

as for recs, i do have a handful i watched recently enough that i feel more confident in trusting my own taste LOL. i almost exclusively watch historical dramas, so these are definitely going to be very skewed to my personal preferences.

also, this will be long because i love my cdramas. bear with me!

word of honor/山河令 (2021)

episodes: 36

genre: wuxia (chinese martial arts fantasy; think of crouching tiger hidden dragon), dangai (cdrama adapted from a chinese gay romance novel), adventure, political intrigue

arguably the most explicitly gay cdrama that's come out in the last decade despite censorship issues in chinese tv broadcasting

a lonely ex-assassin retires and begins a slow 1-year suicide by poison, but his death plan is interrupted by a flirtatious (& dangerous) man with a mysterious background + a newly orphaned kid he accidentally becomes responsible for. cue politics and drama!

if you don't mind dealing with low-budget CGI—though the show is so immersive it hardly makes a difference—the story features: fascinating & subversive themes about life & morality, a well-written cast of bloodthirsty women, an incredibly charming found family, and an absolutely fantastic, dramatic, devoted slow burn between the two male leads

if you prefer more mature romance—lots of flirting & sexual tension between two highly intelligent & capable men who are 1) attracted to each other from the get-go 2) constantly trying to outmaneuver each other & figure each other out... this is the one!

if it means anything, i am recommending this one first because it's my all-time favorite cdrama! especially if you are queer like me :)

you can watch it subtitled on netflix or fully free & subtitled in HD on the official youku youtube channel

the double/墨雨云间 (2024)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, political intrigue

if you too are tired of stories about shallow, badly-written girlbosses with no dimension... this is the show for you!

protagonist is a happy woman who gets framed for adultery & buried alive by her husband—she survives and returns to enact revenge upon those who hurt her & her loved ones by assuming the identity of the young woman who died saving her. she makes many enemies and allies along the way + catches the attention of the emperor's notoriously cold & keen-eyed right hand man, duke su, who eventually becomes her very supportive love interest <3

high stakes & a plot that makes you hold your breath, GORGEOUS cinematography

a long list of complex and important female characters, most of them nasty and corrupt, all of them sympathetic and interesting. the show is good at making you assume at first that their characters won't be done justice, but just wait :)

from your resident het romance skeptic: excellent dynamic! protagonist and her duke are both confident, calculating schemers always trying to outsmart each other, but eventually join hands against common enemies. extremely slow burn with lots of tension and a refreshing lack of miscommunication

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, youku, and definitely some p/racy sites for east asian dramas

mysterious lotus casebook/莲花楼 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: wuxia, adventure, mystery

a heroic & famous swordsman suffers a defeat at the hands of his nemesis and vanishes and is widely presumed dead. timeskip a decade, he's been living in disguise as a doctor to escape the burden of his identity when the past he's been hiding from starts to catch up to him when he scams a talented & stubborn young swordsman whose past is connected to his

if you like sly 30 yr old protagonists, identity shenanigans, & mystery-solving with gay polycule undertones, this is the one for you!

as for potential shipping: if you like age gap stuff and/or devoted puppyboys and/or "A has idolized B (adult) since they were a child; now A is grown-up and wants to protect B" trope. OR if you like 30 yr old nemeses who act divorced. the 3 main guys all have chemistry; pick and choose your ship at will!

to save text, last year i made a passionate powerpoint post explaining the whole show, spoiler-free, in more detail!

you can watch it with subtitles on iqiyi for free or on aforementioned [redacted] sites

love between fairy and devil/苍兰诀 (2022)

episodes: 36

genre: romance, xianxia (chinese high fantasy), adventure

high budget CGI? in MY cdrama? it's more likely than you think!

please ignore the horrendous english title. a translation of the original chinese would be "the parting/goodbye of canglan", canglan being the main characters. the story is tragic but ends happily!

on the surface appears like an old-fashioned good girl x bad boy love story, but is far more emotionally interesting & 100% deserving of its sheer popularity

brave & kindhearted low-ranking 1,500 yr old orchid fairy spirit accidentally soulbonds with a 30,000 yr old demon lord war prisoner who just happens to be the nemesis of her realm, except she reaps all the benefits and he just suffers (hilariously)

very star-crossed, VERY funny bodyswapping, & with far more heart and consistency than many people assume. the romance is difficult in ways that make sense! genuinely thought my picky ass would not be charmed by this show and found myself fully crying by episode 8

oh, and gloriously stunning costuming. everyone looks good, all the time, even when they're covered in blood <3

if you're interested, here is the powerpoint post that convinced me!

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, or iqiyi & viki for free!

a journey to love/一念关山 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, adventure, political intrigue

also female-centric! an infamous and deeply complex assassin protagonist hellbent on revenge against the people who framed her finds herself making a deal to train a timid princess into becoming a political force of nature, ft. her supportive and equally capable male love interest, his group of incredibly lovable and memorable best bros, a gorgeous cutthroat young marquis with an oedipus complex & a complicated backstory (who absolutely steals the show whenever he shows up), & a headstrong tomboy princess with a sweet and loyal heart

a fast-paced plot that never drags + excellent soundtrack + incredible action scenes + a genuinely convincing crossdressing plot where the female character actually passes as a man

unreasonably funny considering the political drama. i truly cannot understate how Fun this was to watch, especially if you like deadly domineering women who are badly socialized and hilarious, and female characters establishing positive and meaningful bonds with each other.

if you've never watched a cdrama, i will warn that most of them Do Not Pull Their Punches when it comes to making viewers cry. this one has shakespearian tragedy levels of death, including of major characters

you can watch with subtitles on iqiyi, and i'm sure some [redacted] sites also

hoping this list can be of help to you, anon! i cannot state how happy it makes me to see anyone express an interest in watching cdramas. i grew up on them, their long dramatic storylines and star-crossed romances, and they shaped my taste in fiction in more ways than i can say. if at any point you get around to watching any of these, feel free to yell in my inbox about it, and most importantly have fun and enjoy! <3