#I know stories aren't 'necessary' but they are like 50% (if not more) of the fun for me

[kingsbride-moved]

I'm having Such a hard time deciding on a story for Nerine 😭 I decided to shift away from my initial concepts a little bit but haven't been able to come up with anything else Satisfying to me

[skayafair]

Monty's Study

I haven't been to the fandom tag in a while, so maybe this was already discussed, but I want to talk about Monty.

First off, I've been reading what others say regarding his cage and connecting it to what he said himself.

the cage is too small for a crow (literally for any bird, actually)

the door is open, nothing that we could see was holding him in place

Monty still didn't try to get out and fly away

he said "being in the dark like that - it was... hard, not being able to make my own choices" about his previous life as a crow

Which makes me think Esther never cared much for her familiar and even left him alive after he failed her plan only because he could still come in handy in future but either cast a will-binding spell on him or simply trained to be tamed. In any way, he couldn't leave - neither before his human time, nor after.

Which still doesn't mean he should like being human.

Every time I see the takes about "Monty come back in s2", I can't help this thought scratching me even as I smile at the jokes and headcanons. Not to yuck anyone's yum, I'm all for shifter Monty, it's a very interesting idea that can unravel in soooo many ways, just give me all of them, - but at the same time I can't get rid of this uneasy feeling.

Here's the thing: I take a particular liking to the characters who aren't human but were forced to become one without their consent, and the way they feel about it and cope with it. Call that a projection, they're very relatable as an allegory, whatever. Says Skaya as an ND.

Some of them like the change, find new meaning in it. Some are 50/50 and uncertain. And some hate it. They never asked to be human, what the hell!

Malevolent podcast and some RK900 fics are partcularly good at exploring this

Since the first moments Monty was turned human, I've been looking forward to whether this question was going to be addressed and how. The show was going exactly in all the directions I liked the most, so I had hopes it will consider this, and suspected it would happen exactly the way I wanted the most.

And yay, that actually happened. The way I wanted the most. Added sad circumstances of Monty basically sacrificing his newfound life and self were really not that necessary okay q_q

Throughout the episodes I could see how initially all smiley and loyal familiar Monty felt more and more uneasy about the whole Esther's plan. He didn't like it. He liked his new friends. He actually fell for a guy. It was so fucking complicated and confusing but there was also joy in it! Until certain point, that is... Anyway! Being human is difficult. Monty didn't ask for it.

And he actually says that!

We don't know if he liked being a crow better, if he wanted to stay human longer - he doesn't talk about any of it. He liked the ability to make his own choices he couldn't make as a crow though - so maybe he would like to try this human experience to some extent again.

But we know he wasn't very fond of all those complicated human feelings. Crows are very smart, but it's a different kind of intellegence. Being a bird isn't necessarily simpler or easier than being a human, especially now that he's lost his owner and is probably out in the streets? I'm suddenly very much concerned, crows are very social and territorial creatures, what if they don't accept this boy?! But it's different. And it's natural for him. It's familiar, hence it's easier just by this fact. And no confusing emotions.

Maybe the fact that Monty liked making independent decisions so much and developed his rebellious side to some extent was what made him retain some memories and attachments when he was back to his crow form, helping Charles with his backpack.

I don't think he'd enjoy being fully human again, though. I think he likes being a bird, as he initially is. Hence why all the "Monty should come back in s2 and have a happy love story!" make me feel uneasy.

Still... since he liked some of it, maybe being given an ability to shapeshift at will and somehow merge a bird mind and a human one which should really be ONE HELL of a process into some comfortable chimera, he'd use it?

[canonicallyobserving911]

Several Sentences Sunday

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Season 7 FANON Speculation: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapter 26 will be posted soon.

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Currently 25 chapters completed: 973.1K Words; Rated: Mature

One chapter will be posted at a time.

___________

I'm excited to finish writing Chapter 26 because at the end of Chapter 25, the Diaz family had just returned to the U.S. and after they made it home, Eddie checked his voice mail and there was a message from his cousin about an attempted delivery of a SpedEx package for Buck. Buck had no idea who it was from and he worried about it all weekend into the New Year.

They attended Maddie's and Chimney's New Year's Eve party which turned out to be an engagement party for them but they told their found family they got married while they were in Italy and that Buck adopted Chris on Christmas morning. Everyone questioned them regarding why the didn't tell anyone about their nuptials but they reassured them they're going to have a vow renewal ceremony in May of 2024 so they can all celebrate with them. But they didn't tell them they put a bid on a house in Italy and they aren't planning to until they believe the time is right.

On January 2nd, Buck accepted the package from the SpedEx delivery driver and after he opened it and viewed the contents, he collapsed and became unresponsive and unconscious right after Eddie entered the room.

___________

Here's a snippet from Chapter 26 of Eddie panicking and calling emergency services.

___________

Even though Eddie doesn’t have an ECG machine in his medical bag, he knows the signs and symptoms associated with a bradycardia event and that’s exactly what he believes Buck’s experiencing.  It’s been more than a minute and a half since his eyes closed and he’s worried out of his mind. He’s been counting the seconds ever since he put the pillows underneath his head and his ankles and he’s still counting but now he’s reached two minutes and Buck's entering the danger zone and he needs to get help fast.

For a brief moment, he considers lifting him up, carrying him to the truck and driving to the hospital but he knows that’s his heart talking instead of his rational mind which is filled with LAFD protocols and his paramedic training.

He doesn’t have any of the necessary equipment needed to revive him and if his husband dies on his watch, he’ll die too and that’s not an option.  He's already lost one spouse and Chris has lost one parent and him and Buck promised each other they're going to die on the same day at the same time 50 or 60 years from now, so he has to act quickly. Instead of continuing his mental debate about if he should call emergency services or drive Buck himself, he removes his phone from his pocket, dials 9-1-1 and waits for what seems like an eternity.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“Yes I’m at 4995 S. Bedford St. and I have an adult male, 31 years of age whose unconscious and unresponsive and I need medical response.”

“Ok sir, can I get your name?”

“Eddie Diaz!  I’m a firefighter and a paramedic with the 118.”

“Eddie!”  Linda asks.

“Yes!  Linda, I’m so glad it’s you.”  He heaves past the sob lodged in the back of his throat that feels like a ping pong ball and continues.  “Listen, it’s Buck… SHIT!”  He stops talking because he remembers he's supposed to follow protocol for her recording and he tries again.  “I mean you need his first and last name for the call.  It’s my husband Evan Diaz and he’s also a firefighter with the—the 118.”

“Ok Eddie, I’m checking to see which RA unit is the closest to that address but can you tell me what happened?”

“I—I came into the living room; he was swaying back and forth and I caught him before he—he hit the floor.  I manually checked his vitals by doing the ABC method… I opened his airway, checked his breathing along with his circulation then I—I grabbed my medical bag and I checked his pulse, his blood pressure and his heart rate but all of them are still low which is why I believe he might be having a bradycardia event.  Linda… oh my god, whatever is happening to him is more serious than a syncope event because he’s still unresponsive.”

“Can you tell me how long he’s been down?”

“It’s been more than two minutes but I didn’t start counting until after I caught him.”

“Ok, Eddie, our closest unit is about 6 minutes away.”

He frowns and loudly asks, “Six minutes?  Why?!  I’m sorry please—please forgive me for being loud but I... I—I’m asking because there’s a firehouse less than 4 minutes from here.”  He feels like he’s about to jump out of his skin because the proximity of their home to the closest fire station in this area is one of the reasons he decided to purchase it.  He wanted to be close to one for Chris just in case they ever have to call.

“You’re right Eddie there is but they’re returning to their station from a call and they’re caught in a backup on the I-110 and…”

He interrupts her.  “Linda, I—I can’t wait any longer so… I’m going to pick him up and drive him to the hospital myself…”

“Eddie?!”

He keeps talking and he thinks he can hear Sue talking in the background too but in this moment, he needs to get his husband the help he needs.  He says, “Linda, I need to…”

“EDDIE!”  She calls his name again but louder this time because she needs to get his attention. 

The panic he feels is threatening to escape his lungs and he wants to scream but he swallows it again and responds, “Yeah?”

“Eddie, listen to me.  I know it’s hard but I need you to remain calm.  Are you listening?”

Eddie’s practically hysterical but what is he going to do next? 🥹

Will he listen to Linda and follow protocol or will he pick Buck up and carry him to the hospital himself? 🤷🏽‍♀️

___________

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

__________

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Will be posted soon.

__________

Read chapters 1-25 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

Chapter 26 will be posted soon.

[piercemybluesky]

Post-Vol 0 & S2, I don't understand how anyone can ship Gojo with anyone else but Getou (or even believe Gojo's a hot daddy playboy snatching girls left and right???)

I know it's personal preference but they are so implicitly canon, whether they actually were tgt or not before it all went to hell, they care so so so deeply for each other, it can't be called anything else but love.

I wonder if it's culture diffs and tropes? Love is displayed differently on media (via paper or screen); western has a more outwardly explosive festivalistic idea of love, while eastern tend to incline towards the silently deep but strong image of love.

For example : proposing/confessing in public (actually doing it, not just watching it). There's so many cases in western media (even during concerts & involving the artists) and it is indeed, generally cheered on by the surrounding public making it a momentus occassion and seen as a managnamous gesture; whilst in the east the plan would barely even come to mind, - imagining it probably - but in reality, carrying the action itself would hardly ever come true (most would prob feel embarrassed/cringe/awkward).

JJK is literally made in Japan, so obv it leans more to the eastern media image, and the Gojo & Getou storytelling is one such example of that "eastern love" idea (also Muta & Miwa, Hakari & Hoshi), implied in many ways, without the actual kissing/sexual actions etc [and eastern's general iffy hush-hush on non-straight couple displayed on official media, so they gotta make it super lowkey too].

Seriously, the kissing scenes are always so dramatized in eastern media cuz they do it like ONCE in 50 episodes or smth, and by then you're just begging for it on ur knees, BUT it puts so much meaning in the moment actually happening like the characters reached a great milestone. So the eastern official media generally just don't display couply acts on screen, much less explicitly (but books are more flexible I think).

P.S btw chinese bl dramas are experts on being lowkey highly implied

yes!!!! as someone who only likes shipping canon/implied canon i get you a lot lol. like why would i play with other stuff when i have this...

i definitely think it's both a combination of cultural differences in media and homophobia. in western spaces it's an expectation for confirmed couples to be very physical like kissing on screen etc. you're right, even other couples like mutamiwa and kinkiras affections are generally quiet. it says a lot when our kisses in the stories are either cut-to-black or well. a roach wwwww, satosugu's actions are very well on par to what the couples i mentioned above do (especially with that soft romantic back and forth in this chapter!!!!! what!!!!!!!)

their love is so deep at this point i don't even think a kiss is necessary.

i also think it really is not just personal preference anon, as long as you look past the surface of it it's really clear what the intent between these two are :) and even now with everything that has released this year from the anime to manga to promo the romantic implications are on the surface now.

(on the topic of western/eastern tropes and depictions i think no one would be debating about the romance if the opening and ending lyrics were forced in non-JP audiences faces. it's really easy to search it up and both musicians have provided official translations but music lyrics aren't in everybody's interest. i wish the subtitles included lyrics 🥲)

[randomnameless]

Localization discourse has started to rear its head again because of some Funimation localizer defending a line from Dragon Maid but it really got me thinking, I feel like so many people are so quick on demonizing anyone who doesn't like localization changes as pro-GG when it's much more simpler. People don't hate localization changes because of the message itself but rather because it's not what the character is saying 9/10 and it comes off as calculated and cynical. I feel like it's kind of a direct consequence of transformative fandom, with the whole "I'm going to write the story the way I want it to be and fill up the spaces" but instead of a fanfic it's with the original source material.

Pro GG?

What is GG? AI?

I remember this argument of the "it's not what the character is saying" and people being pissed because they couldn't get the "right" script - and tbh, after reading some arguments here and there, localisation always comes with necessary changes/adaptation to the text, let it be grammatically or to convey ideas from a language to another, so if you want a 100% faithful script then... better start to learn the language lol

With Funimation though...

The Shinchan earlier post was telling enough of my opinion about drastic changes that aren't used to transcribe a meaning or convey an idea to a foreign audience, it's just... erasing the source material and swapping your own ideas on them.

Like, uhhh

Funimation acquired the Shin-chan US license in 2005. Funimation's dub takes many liberties with the source material and was heavily Americanized. Many sexual references, dark humor, and references to then-current popular American culture were added, including many jokes about subjects such as Jews, terrorism, and Viagra. Characters were given significantly different personalities and new, previously non-existent backstories. For instance, Shin is refused an allowance, on he basis that he could use it to buy drugs (crystal meth), his schoolmate Kazama ('Georgie Herbert Walker Prescott III' in this dub) was an absurdly hawkish ultra-conservative Republican, the unseen father of Nene (known in the dub as "Penny") was suggested to be physically abusive towards both his wife and daughter, Principal Enchou was rewritten as a half Romani, half Peruvian man with a complicated, checkered backstory that includes a stint as an accident-prone magician, The kids' teacher: Yoshinaga-sensei (known in the dub as "Miss Polly"), was rewritten as a kinky and often domineering nymphomaniac,

The earlier Vitello and Phuuz dub also edited some jokes and/or what was considered indecent exposure like shin's buttocks and tried to "occidentalise" a few references, but it wasn't like straight up changing what a character is or their personality!

No doubts funimation was "authorised" by whoever had the rights of the franchise to lolcalise and edit it as they did but it just comes out as a "why did they rewrite that stuff like they did", to make more money, to make another "mature cartoon" like Family Guy expy, idk.

And to be honest... I don't really care, because I grew up with the Vitello Dub and read some manga chapters of Shin-chan, so I know what the manga/anime (sure, the dog wasn't named lucky but shiro!) is supposed to say and/or be about.

I don't agree when you say those "lololcalisations" are a consequence of the transformative fandom in general, transformative works have existed since... forever lol (some dude wrote in the early middle ages (grégoire de Tours?) how Franks are descendans of Achilles or something to explain how kickass his king and his people are like, at this point, he's writing a self-insert OC story, right?)

But in modern times, there used to be a clear (?) divide between what was transformative work and what was canon - 50 Shades of Grey sort of started as a Twilight fanfic, but it became its own thing and no calls it a Twilight adaptation or "Twilight" anymore.

The Aeneid? Despite what devoted fans wants the world to believe, is "just" a fanfiction, aka someone writing about the characters he """loves""" no matter how OOC they are. It's a Fodlan fanfic and treated as such. Or should lol.

Still, if in a fanfic, Flayn can apologise for being born as a lizard because having lizard blood means she's automatically evil and oppresses humanity due to the fact she exists, it's only a fanfic. It's not something I like, OOC as fuck, but okay, moving on. Rhea eating ketchup is my own hc, also OOC since we don't see her eating any in the games, same thing - but fanfics are OOC by essence because they're a transformative work !

As I said, okay, moving on.

But when what is supposed to be as close as "canon", albeit translated, dips in the same "OOC" territory?

Sure, Eng!Raphael will say "I" instead of "ore" to refer to himself - and yet, imo, if professional localisers (at least the people picked by the company to bring games to an international audience!) have some sort of leeway with canon, their work is inherently transformative - since they're localising -they are still bound by some rules, unlike a fanfic author, because the aim of their work is not the same.

When you write a fanfic, you write it for yourself, to tell the story you want.

Of course it depends, like the funi shin chan dub showed, but usually, I think, when you are a professional localising something (a manga, anime, book, tv series, myth, story, anything!) you are supposed to only bring "necessary" changes to the source material to bring this source material to the "targeted audience".

And it's kind of hard to determine at what point is a "change" necessary or not - back in the 2000, "Jonouchi" had to be changed in "Joey" because, supposedly, non japanese children wouldn't be able to understand/connect/watch/idk a show with a foreign name (even here in France, we got "Petit Coeur" aka Small/Little Heart for... Piccolo in the early 90s!) - but now in the 2020s Midorima isn't dubbed "Mike".

(even if 2013 saw a localised Fates edit "Suzukaze" to "Kaze" for reasons as foggy as Fodlan's 10k years of lore)

And we of course have the notion of "targeted audience" - here in France, in the 90s, basically any "animated cartoon" was supposed to be targeted for children, like 3 to 10 years old. Which is the reason why we got lunar dubs for Hokuto no Ken and City Hunter (no "brothels", but instead, "vegetarian restaurants"!).

Yugioh was dubbed for a younger audience than, I guess, what was the targeted audience for the manga (even the original anime, regardless of the dub or not, feels like it was made for younger "children" than the ones who would read the manga!).

And this is where I wanted to come with the modern "transform the source material!" lolcalisations - are they "heavily" edited because they target a specific audience?

Like... the funimation Shinchan dub was obviously not aimed at children the manga, or even the original anime, hell even the Vitello dub, were targeting.

It's almost as if we're not talking about "bringing this definite thing to random people", but "finding/tweaking random things to definite people".

Take Fodlan's lolcalisation, especially Treehouse/Pat's.

NoA was the only regional branch to have, on the official website, something like "the Church controls Fodlan".

Through the 4 (already 4!) years of coverage, some people are still finding dub exclusive lines that portray the CoS as "BaD" or in a more negative light than the original text. Pat completely missed (or was it on purpose?) Rhea's character, so Leigh had to dub Rhage, when Supreme Leader was scrubbed off her most, uh, dubious personality traits (tfw no information campaign anymore :( or calling Rhea a Nabatean as an insult :()

Why? Why those changes? Is it because Pat/Treehouse didn't want to bring the game to the US, but wanted to bring this game to the "Dany revolution yas slay kween" crowd + the "organised religion especially catholicism BaD" crowd? Or because they thought bringing "a game" to this crowd would bring more money than to bring "Fire Emblem Three Houses" to the general US crowd? So they "reworked" FE16 to have messages that would attract this certain crowd ?

(and apparently it worked, iirc the US sales made up for 50% of FE16's sales, so it was very popular (and profitable!!))

The Pat/Treehouse changes weren't "necessary" to understand the source material, or try to find similar references (a trip to a hot spring in Shinchan was replaced with a trip to Paris, because children who might not be familiar with japan might not know what is a hot spring, or what a "trip to the hot spring" is supposed to be), so why were they made?

Is it like the Funimation dub? To reach specific people, even if the meaning and essence of the original material is lost?

In a nutshell, I don't think localisation companies (Treehouse or Funi) work in a vaccum, if they can lolcalise so much, it obviously means they got the authorisation of whoever has the rights to the original source material (maybe even the creator themselves!) to "edit" the content...

But that's what I came to regret the time where localisation, even if they had westernised names and more westernised refs, wasn't that "free", as in, Funi and Pat/Treehouse write their fanfic of Shinchan/FE16 ? Sure, why not, I mean, everyone can write a fanfic. Can I get a peak at the original source - edited as necessary because i'm not reading in the original language and I might not catch all references - please? No, because the only thing available is either something I cannot understand, or a fanfiction that takes liberties, as fanfic do, with canon.

Take Shinchan.

OG : Shin is a preschooler who has a dog named Shiro - meaning white - because his dog is white.

Vitello dub : Shin is a preschooler who has a dog named Lucky.

Funi dub : Shin wants an allowance but his parents are afraid he will buy meth and he has a dog named Lucky.

Remove the "old school" Vitello dub, and either Shin is a preschooler who named his dog "white" because the dog is white, or Shin is... a young child who receives money but lives in an area where he could buy drugs.

I can't understand the OG material, and I know the Funi one is a fanfiction, so what should I do? Treat this fanfic as canon, or, learn the language/try to understand the material by myself using dubious tools like translating apps? Or am I cursed to forever miss on Shinchan, even in the 2000s, aka an era where people can translate and localise movies from one language to another, but apparently for this one manga/anime, it's not possible unless it's lolcalised? Snowhite was turned into "Blanche-Neige" but the story is mostly the same than the one told in the US, but for Shinchan, I can only get the "Family Guy" version that isn't told in Japan?

I remember there was a controversy about localisation (when the thing that sparked that controversy wasn't even localisation related!) where some people, annoyed with the "liberties" they have with their dub version, became intense and rude and want to see localisers as "mere" translators...

And it escalated to have some localisers basically saying a game they localised is "their take" on a story - which is true, because each translation/localisation works with the bias of the translator/localiser, even if they try to be as neutral as possible, they can't completely remove themselves from their work -

Still, in FE16, Pat'n'Treehouse removed the "Supreme Leader uses propaganda" mention. Why? Is it their bias talking, they don't want her to "look bad"? But the script, the game wants the player to know she uses "information campaigns". Pat's "take" is she doesn't use it, but as a player, can't I be offered the choice to make my own take after seeing the script that mentions it, or not? Is Pat the one who directed the script, and wrote it as the "main thread" that links everything in the game (regardless of Fodlan's consistency lol), or was it Kusakihara/someone else?

If pat arbitrarly "removes" this part of the script, but I see it because I play in Japanese/Chinese/Korean/heck maybe other languages whose dub wasn't overseen by Pat, can it be said I played the same game as the players who played with the Pat dub/script?

Pat's CF!Felix calls Dimitri a monster, OG CF!Felix calls him a man -> thankfully we can count on fans to find stuff like this out but, again, why this bias against Dimitri in CF - that comes here from the lolcalisation, and not from the original text?

Why is it there? What if someone wants to play, and hopefully, understand, not Pat's "take" on their relationship in CF, but the writers/developer's? Is that someone fucked, or kindly asked to learn japanese (aka to do Pat'n'Treehouse's job?).

I don't really have The Perfect Solution (tm) anon to the general localisation discourse, at one point I was on the "just translate" fence, but when you understand a pun or a reference, and how it connects to something else, the game/book/anime/movie you're watching takes another level and it's much more enjoyable!

And yet, growing up with 4Kids and seeing shit like Treehouse butchering stuff, or hearing about Funimation Shinchan is... disheartening.

The only thing I can say is I'll always be rooting for dual audio, let it be for preferences but also to get at least what is easily understandable to everyone (I mean intonations, shocks, laughs, etc etc) and a glimpse at what the game/moving/anime is supposed to be enjoyed, especially with story heavy scripts like the FE series - while reading subs, because even the script is translated/localised, at least with the audio, it's easier to spot "lolcalisations".

And let's not forget the most important lol

The Fandom itself!

Let it be for FE, Tales or anything else, what I find fascinating (on Tumblr but even on redshit and SF once upon a time!) is how fans will be able to compare scripts, people familiar/fluent/who know a language will be able to spot the changes, and inform anyone who wants to be informed in the community that, say, Xander and Marx are pretty different characters, just like Jp!Effie and "I love to eat"!Effie.

Of course sometimes there will be misinformation (remember the Dimitri is rude because he uses the omae pronoun?), but I still find fascinating how, faced with ridiculous lolcalisations, fandom itself - aka part of the people who were supposed to be the targets of said lolcalisation - tries to "correct" and remove the unecessary edits. There are still people who dgaf about what was lolcalised from what wasn't, but even if it's just a consequence of the lolcalisation growing more and more unrestrained/unchained to the source material - it makes fandom engagment all the more precious and fascinating.

Like, you have real people basically combing the script and/or providing a translation - for free! - to help other fans, when some lolcalisers are paid to... edit and "lolcalise" the script some fans want to see.

And so, we're back to square 1 : who is the targeted audience of Funi's Shinchan or FE Treehouse?

The players/watchers?

FE Fates was, I suppose, ultimately lolcalised for a """western"" audience", aka an US one because no one gives a fuck about the rest of the world - and yet, assuming a majority of fans are from the US, said lolcalisation was mocked/ridiculed and ultimateld decried by part of that audience from who the game was lolcalised.

Some people (I've seen a redshit post about it today!) claim the lolcalised changed aren't made for the audience, but, much like a fanfiction, those changed weren't made to be more palatable to an audience, but were made for themselves - aka to push some agenda (see redshit's theory about funi pushing a "woke" agenda in their dubs and subs when it doesn't exist in the og scripts).

And to be fair, with FE16's US exclusive "Church BaD and controls the world!!!" + "Dimtri is not a man but a monster!", idk what Treehouse was trying to do, push their "organised religions BaD" agenda and "Supreme Leader is right so let's make her opponents BaD to highlight how right she is" bias? - but I can't help but wonder if it was indeed the case, and given how Pat sucked as a voice director, if the localised!version wasn't just some sort of trolley Treehouse used to convey their ideas, regardless of what the game wanted to say.

I mean, it's still fascinating, to this day, nearly 5 years after the release of the game, that we still find "Treehouse exclusive" lines, or how FEH who's still running, also has "Treehouse exclusive" lines for Fodlan characters that absolutely don't match the non global, aka, jp lines, let them be written or spoken - putting on the tinfoil hat, I wonder if Treehouse or whoever oversees the localisation isn't deadly afraid that if they don't pay extreme attention and/or rewrite anything related to Fodlan, global!players will realise that they were fed "Pat's Fire Emblem Treehouse", instead of FE16, thus takes extra care to comb and/or rewritte every line/dialogue that could make a global player think twice and note that this thing they're reading/hearing of in FEH (or even Engage!! See Dimitri's lolcalised line about people of different races living together!) is completely different from "Pat's Fire Emblem Treehouse".

Tl;Dr because I ranted and disgressed and idk where am I anymore with this post lol :

I think there's a difference between fandom's transformative works - done for fun, as a hobby! - and some lolcaliser's transformative works - they're paid for that and aren't supposed to bring a fanfiction to the audience, at least not as localisers ; so I wouldn't blame "fandom" for the fuckery that happened (Funi's shinchan is more than 17 years old!) and is sadly still happening.

On the contrary, given how fandom (at least some part of it) actively refuses to accept the lolcalised "fanfiction" - to the point of doing translation work! - I think fandom is the reason why this discourse is happening.

[sage-nebula]

I've decided to make my own post because I am not an idiot, but full disclosure that this post is 50% based on thoughts I was having while I was driving home from the auto repair shop yesterday and 50% a response to a post I saw just now that conflated "redemption arcs" (things fictional characters go through in fictional stories) with "community support" (things real life people offer to other real life people in real life) and how this relates to "fixing people" (making someone who mistreats or abuses themself or others not mistreat or abuse themself or others anymore).

Read my words very carefully.

In fiction, it is more than okay to like whatever type of toxic or fantastical relationship you want. If you like to read stories about toxic, codependent people who are absolutely horrible to one another and will never, ever change, you read those stories. If you like to read stories about a tortured man who just needs The Right Person to teach him to be better, and then he is, sometimes exclusively only to them though, then you read those stories. Sometimes you want to read stories where the main character says "I can fix him" and fails spectacularly, and sometimes you want to read stories where the main character says "I can fix him" and succeeds spectacularly, and either way, you read whatever stories you want, whatever makes you happy, I'm sure it's somewhere in this vast Archive that we call Our Own.

However, in real life?

First of all, "arcs" aren't things real life people have. An arc is something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Real life people don't have those, because our stories don't end until we die. Unlike a character, whose life presumably continues even after their story ends (except in circumstances where they die at the end but you know what I mean), we have to keep living day by day, with all the rises and falls that come with it. Now, this does not mean that a person cannot change, or that a person can't get better and learn from their mistakes; but it DOES mean that we can't have a "redemption arc" where we complete a checklist of story beats and then suddenly we're a better person who has experienced the necessary growth to be forgiven. First off, no amount of growth or change ever requires any victims to forgive. And second, that's just not how life works. That's not how change works. Change and growth are baby steps taken each day, and sometimes you go backwards, and you get angry with yourself, but then you pick yourself up and you try again the next day, and the next, and the next. It's an ongoing journey that does not end until you die. That's life.

But second and more importantly, the real idea that I think the original post was trying to get at, but missing the mark on was . . . okay.

So, the original OP of the post (and the person who replied to OP) got angry at the idea that the strawman they had invented (the person who had theoretically said "you can't fix him!") would deny support to someone who needs that help to grow and change as a person. The person who had replied in support of OP added that the strawman clearly believed in punitive justice over rehabilitative justice as well. On the surface, I can see where they are coming from. After all, on the whole humans are a social species and do need support networks in order to not only thrive, but survive. People such as drug addicts need support and assistance in order to get into better places in their lives, and the prison system has been proven to be far less effective at preventing repeated offenses than rehabilitative programs. This is all true.

However.

The reason why "you can't fix them" is still true, and needs to be said and understood particularly by those who are susceptible to falling into abusive relationships (e.g. people who have been abused before, particularly in childhood or adolescence) is because of free will. Specifically, the free will that each of us has, but specifically the other person. Person A can want so, so, so badly to "fix" Person B so that they stop being an abusive alcoholic 75% of the time. But if Person B doesn't actually want to stop being an abusive alcoholic (even if they say they do during the 25% of the time they aren't smacking Person A around), and refuses to put in the work that it takes to become sober and be a better person, then guess what? Nothing Person A does will ever make them be a sober, non-abusive partner. They will be unable to fix Person B. It doesn't matter how much time, energy, money, or commitment they pour into that person. It doesn't matter how much they genuinely, honestly, earnestly love them. Because unless Person B wants to change, and will put the work into doing so, then they will not change, and Person A, for their own health, safety, and sanity, needs to exit that relationship.

Now, does that mean that if, ten years down the line, Person B decides they are ready to put in the work to get their alcoholism under control, no one should help them? Of course not! They should absolutely be put in touch with sober counselors, support groups, medical professionals, friends and family who can help them. Person A could potentially forgive them, if Person A chooses. But that willingness to change and put in the work has to come from within Person B first.

I've been in the position where I've seen people in awful situations just tanking their lives, people I loved and cared about, people I begged to just listen to me and get help, only for them to not . . . and ultimately I had to accept that I couldn't fix them. I could be there to offer support when they were ready to fix themselves, but the core work that needed to be done had to come from within themselves. I couldn't provide that. Not because I was inadequate, not because I didn't love them, but because I couldn't force them to do anything they didn't want, or weren't ready, to do.

So at the end of the day, "you can't fix them" isn't about not giving support. It's about recognizing your limitations as a human being. It's about knowing that:

You cannot force someone to do something they do not want to do.

You cannot force someone to do something they are not ready to do.

Not being able to help or save someone is not a moral failing of yours.

Not being able to help or save someone does not mean you do not love or care about them.

Providing support should never come at risk of your own health and safety, physical or otherwise.

When you love someone, it can be really hard to accept this. You think, "I know I can make them want to try. I know I can inspire them to want to change. I know they love me, so if I just love them a little harder, they will want to change." Nine times out of ten, though, that is just not true. And if someone is abusing you, it is not worth the literal risk to your life to keep trying. You are worth more than that. You are more than just someone else's band-aid.

Keep yourselves safe in 2024.

[gittetj]

Ooooohh that's a fun ask game! Oh man would it be too much to ask about 5 characters? I'll try to make it short anyway

Could you do 1 for Nagata, 4 for Iida (listen. i know it's completely out of left field to ask this about iida. but we don't know anything about him. so can i at least have the courtesy to know what he likes or used to like OR IS THAT A SPOILER TOO??) 45 for Satsune, 46 for Himiko (mainly i'm curious about what makes her listen lol) and 51 for Yuka if you have the time?

.....actually would it be even mucher to ask for 50 about Higashio? He's hardly a "newer oc" but I have a sufficient argument. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLE

Hey, I asked for questions, no need to worry about giving too many of them.

My mind has been very far away from my stories in the last couple weeks. Life kind of drags and I've run out of plants to dig up from my garden (my new coping mechanism, apparently), so thanks for giving me something more creative to focus on for a little while!

1. Nagata: What’s the lie your character says most often?

Hmm, hard to answer without spoilers. Nagata doesn't tell little lies much. She's earned her current position by being rigorous, hard working, and brutally honest anywhere she can get away with it. She doesn't like to lie, it's risky and potentially harmful, but sometimes she thinks it's necessary, and she is very good at lying, so she'd rather take that task on herself than entrust anyone else with it. In other words, I guess most of her lying is done to help or protect someone else.

4. Iida: What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?

Oh man this is hard. Often, the way I get to know my characters is to sort of interview them in my mind, or ask other characters about them if they don't want to talk to me (Iida is not chatty), and I think you could ask anyone about him and they would have no idea.

Iida has spent a Lot of time alone, so obviously he must have ways he likes to pass the time. I've been mentally glaring at him to make him speak up, but he only informs me he likes watching baseball. This is the best I can do, sorry

45. Satsune: What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

People commenting on her appearance. Mostly if it's meant in a positive way. She will resent you for calling her pretty or cute, but she won't care as much if you call her gross for emerging from the forest covered in mud and leaves like the cryptid she is.

46. Himiko: Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

Big big talker. She often bulldozes over other people in conversations, interrupts them, dismisses the points they try to make, etc. She's pretty bad at picking up on social cues, but if someone starts crying or lashing out in a way where it's obvious something's wrong, she will shut up and focus on trying to understand the problem so she can help.

51. Yuka: What’s a phrase they say a lot?

Hmm, I haven't given her any, have I? The main speech quirk I keep in mind for her is that she laughs a lot.

I don't like to put pop culture references in the things I write, but if I did and if she was better at English, I really think Yuka would love Tumblr (Moblr?) She could recite all your favorite Tumblr memes for you.

50. Higashio: What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you personally don’t agree with?

Higashio is frustrating because I really like him and find him relatable in some aspects, but he's also so... old fashioned? Misinformed? Like, there's clearly things other people have knocked into his head so hard that he's internalized them and isn't even aware of it. He's the kind of person who'll tell someone who's struggling that they aren't trying hard enough, the kind who'll tell them to stop being lazy and get a job, who'll call them ridiculous for being upset about something he doesn't understand, EVEN when he genuinely feels bad for them and wants to help. My patience with stuff like that got used up a long time ago.

Weirdly specific character building questions

[verkja]

Happy STS!

When you make up a character, how many details do you note down before you drop them into your work? Do you stop at the basics, how they look, their personality? Do you think about details, even if they might not come up, like a birthday, an exact age, likes and dislikes? Do you make up more stuff on the fly while you're writing?

Thinking of all the ask games going around, do you care about your characters' favorite colors and fruits?

Thanks - happy STS!

It varies. I don't always note down anything; as long as I have an idea of the character in my head, that's all that's really necessary to start writing them! Because my stories are character-based, I don't feel any impetus to start writing until I know my characters pretty well anyway.

That said, I like to note down details as I write for the sake of consistency. Some things which aren't that important to the characters themselves, like precise ages, can become important in the context of a plot. E.g. if I know I want my characters to continue adventuring for about two decades after the story begins, it suddenly makes a lot of difference whether the oldest of them is 40 or 50; 'around middle-aged' is no longer enough.

At the moment, I have age, height, weight, approximate appearance, voice, equivalent birth month (equivalent because the story's setting has its own way of dividing the year), and one-paragraph personality/backstory noted down for the protagonists of my ongoing story. There are also miscellaneous other notes scattered throughout my documents. For my as-yet-unstarted story, I just have a few descriptive paragraphs.

I don't particularly care about favourite colours and fruits unless they're relevant in some way beyond being character trivia. Colours are more likely to be relevant than fruits, because they might affect the way a character dresses, how they decorate their living space(s) if applicable, what sort of ornamentation they might prefer on their possessions, etc. It's relevant that my character Mures' favourite colour is black, for example, because it explains why he continues to prefer black robes even after he stops trying so hard to fit a particular folktale-inspired archetype.

[sunset-a-story]

5-7 and all of the creator asks for oc pride? - @void-botanist

ohmygoodness, if I'm understanding your ask that's like 10 questions so I'm going to put it under a cut for scrolling. Thank you for giving me so much space to ramble!

5. I have answered here

6. How does your oc feel about labels? Theirs, or in general?

Most of them are quite comfortable and find them helpful. Reeve feels iffy about labels because he feels like the brain is too complex and contradictory for it but he keeps that to himself. (honestly, I just think he's flabbergasted by people who know themselves well enough to pick a label)

7. Is there something that could cause your oc to question their identity? What?

For sexuality, I'd say love, across the board. For gender, eh, just their own shifting experience. Creator asks- 14. Do you have ocs on the aro or ace spectrum?

Yes, answered elsewhere.

15. Do any of your ocs use neopronouns? Which ones?

Stormy uses they/them and Echo (in Arc 3) uses all pronouns.

16. Did you ever change an oc's identity when they were already established? Why?

Rarely when they've been established. I think just Hannah. The character was originally a guy but reading what we'd written of them, it was more like a woman we'd mislabeled. She also didn't start out as ace but they were created in 2006 or so before we had heard of asexuality as a thing. Still, whenever I tried to ship [him and then her] it gave me the ick so once we learned a word for it, it all made sense.

17. Do you share identity with any of your ocs? Which ones?

Sure. There are lots of bi/pan folks for me and Echo is genderfluid like me. Austin and Gage are both transmasc like my partner and my partner is also on the ace spectrum like Hannah.

18. Do you prefer to give your ocs specific labels, or keep it unspecified? Why? If applicable, do you change their labels depending on circumstance?

I try to give them if they would provide them/it's necessary, but not automatically. Reeve doesn't identify himself as queer for 50 some-odd pages because it's not relevant. And their labels change if they change.

19. Do you have preferences about depicting homo/transphobia in your stories? What, and why? Does it vary by story?

Okay, we have big feelings about this. While the story is not free of queer-phobic shit entirely (it's the world after all), we are not interested in portraying hate crimes. It's important to us that queer/trans people have stories and conflict and victories and losses that are unrelated to their gender and sexuality. Austin's life isn't fucked up because he's trans. He's just also trans while his life gets fucked up. As readers, we wanted stories about incidentally queer people who aren't being oppressed for plot or being self-hateful/shaming/struggling with their identities. Just comfortably queer people getting into shenanigans. So that's what we try to write.

They're here. They're queer. And nothing else is ever going to go right for them again but that's unrelated.

20. Have your ocs helped you in self discovery? How?

I'd say yes. We started developing the cast in our early 20s in college while we were also trying to sort out our own sexuality/gender stuff in a time before we had the sort of language/resources that exist today. I would say that sticking my brain into the POVs of different characters on the gender/sexuality spectrums certainly helped me find out where my head feels at home.

21. Free ramble card wee

I. Feel. Like. I. Just. Rambled. So. Much! I'm out of fuel lmao

Thank you again for the ask! You're awesome.

[ffxiv-resources]

Level 15 - Out Of [Nation]

Congrats! There are a number of things that unlock here at level 15 that can be fun, exciting, or otherwise helpful. I'll start with the things that unlock with level and then the things that unlock only once story takes you out of your starter city. (I will be making a separate post in a bit about glams and dyes which also fall under this category.)

Hall of the Novice

if for no reason other than gear, please do HotN. the gear it gives you is solid through at least level 20, and still plenty usable up to 25-30 if you get nothing better from MSQ or job quests (tho you should be getting bits from both) and completion gives you a ring that gives you passive exp boost until level 30 plus it gives you exp in and of itself.

Okay I've pleaded, but what is it? HotN is a series of mini tutorials that teach you how to play your class type. there's Tank, Physical DPS, Magic DPS, and Healer classes and the gear for casters (magic dps) is the same as for healers so if you pick up a secondary class of the same basic type (being tank, magic, or physical dps) you can share gear but of another type you'll wanna go in to do the classes again if you want the gear. Which isn't so bad if you want/need to learn it.

You can pick it up the moment you hit level 15 in the adventurer's guild in your city state from the smith. They'll be wearing a light green robe with a special symbol above their head. Like this:

[Image ID: a hyuran man wearing a light green robe and skirt with white pants and boots. above his head is a large sprout symbol on top of a darker green background with a gold border /end ID]

All smiths are dressed similarly because that's the outfit you get from completion (although yours will be grey and undyable. there is a dyable version at level 50, however) and MSQ points you towards an actual physical place in game for the Hall later but you don't need to go there nor is anything there remotely necessary for doing the Hall via these guys.

The Dances

Each nation has a free dance that unlocks at level 15 with no other prerequisite. The emote loops and they're all kinda silly and cute, which is my theory as to why when parties idle in dungeons they often become dance parties.

There aren't a lot of dances or otherwise looping emotes in the game that you can get for little to nothing (most are cash shop now, and others have significant time investments) so if you want a fun dance these are the best option. You're not locked into only one either; you can get each as you go to each nation.

[Image ID: three screenshots of a quest synopsis and the quest's giver. From left to right there's Eral with the quest Saw That One Coming; "Eral has noticed a rare bit of excitement within the serene city-state and would share with you what he knows." Then Dodozan with Good For What Ales You; "There is a hectic flush of panic on Dodozan's face as he looks wildly about Hawker's Round." And then P'molminn with Help me, Lord of the Dance; "When P'molminn approaches, beware, for the impetuous Miqo'te always leads a merry dance." /end ID]

Gridania has the Harvest Dance (chat commands: /harvestdance or /hdance) with the quest given to you from Eral in the adventurer's guild near the door. This is a fun little side to side shuffle.

Limsa Lominsa has the Step Dance (chat commands: /stepdance or /sdance) with the quest given to you by Dodozan in the middle of Hawker's Alley (the markets). In my opinion, this is the silliest of the three quests and all the more reason to do it. It's a fun little, like, simple barrel dance (without the barrel of course).

and Uldah has the Ball Dance (chat commands: /balldance or /bdance) with P'molminn's quest in the Ruby Road Exchange. P'molminn has a soft spot in my heart for this quest and the quest says frankly bonkers shit about Ishgardian noble dances. The dance is a silly stationary little jumping thing.

Post Envoy

here starts the things you can only get once the Envoy quest has been completed but they show up immediately after: The Challenge Log, The Aesthtician, and The Gold Saucer.

The Aesthitician

[Image ID: A picture of S'dhodjbi next to the quest synopsis for Beauty Is Only Scalp Deep; "Rumors of a dangerous madman about town have S'dhodjbi ill at ease." /end ID]

This is unlocked in the Drowning Wench in Limsa Lominsa and gives you access to limited character tweaking for 2K gil (or a Jandelaine token of which there are only two of, counting the one from this quest). You can change hair color and style, face paint and a handful of other options but you can't change race, gender, skin or eye color, height, and the like; those are fantasia only changes.

Also? This man is batshit nuts and I love him so so very much. i'd suggest picking up this quest while you're in Limsa for It's Probably Pirates because it will make you hit all three nations- but MSQ will also do that via the next few quests so just keep it active and take small detours for it.

Challenge Log

While we're in Limsa, and in the Drowning Wench no less, we should also grab the Challenge Log from I'tolwann

[Image ID: screenshot of I'tolwann and the quest synopsis for Rising to the Challenge; "I'tolwann is ill pleased with the carelessness of the Wench's customers." /end ID]

The challenge log has a list of weekly challenges to meet organized by type. They're all pretty reasonable things that even the most casual player can still generally hit a few. The rewards are things like exp and gil which makes it a decent way to start building a bit of gil early on. Challenges get added to it as you get further in the game and/or unlock different things so feel free to check it periodically.

Again this is weekly. Weekly reset is Tuesdays at 12AM PST. That's 3AM EST/ 8AM GMT / 9AM CEST for easier calculation. For most people that means once you wake up on Tuesday the new week has started and the exact time doesn't matter (however I'm not included in that most and I'm sure plenty of others aren't as well.)

The Gold Saucer

This is basically your in game casino. Or your free airship to Ul'dah at the cost of an extra load screen if that's all you use it for. It unlocks from the Well-heeled Youth across from Ul'dah's aetheryte plaza

[image ID: Screenshot of the Well-heeled Youth next to the synopsis for It Could Happen to You; "A well-heeled youth on Emerald Avenue appears to have been the beneficiary of some good fortune, and may not be adverse to sharing it..." /end ID]

There is a lot here and I'mma make a series of posts for it in it's own right but if you are likely to collect glams or emotes you need to unlock it bc there is a lot sold for MGP (Gold Saucer currency) that you cannot get elsewhere but it's important to note that while the GS is modeled as a casino it is near impossible to lose more than you pay.

How the gold Saucer works is basically as a collection of minigames, a few of which have a cost for entry and the payout will at least get you your money back, if not money back plus some, even on a failure. And there is, frankly, a lot of different ways to earn MGP, so I feel like there is something everyone could enjoy, if they wish to engage with the GS.

However, even if nothing in the GS appeals to you, it is a free airship ride from anywhere in Eorzea, and from the GS you can airship to Ul'dah for free. So if you're a penny-pincher like me you can set your home point to Limsa or Gridania and be able to get both there and Ul'dah for free if you don't mind a couple extra load screens.

[sputnikodin]

re: the watcher anger

i know $6 a month isn't a lot in the united states, but they have a pretty international audicence and with currency exchange, $6 is a lot. like in hong kong that's $50 a month, mexico its 102 pesos a month, in the phillipines that's 345 pesos a month, in argentina that's 5,221 argentine pesos--you get the idea. hell, i live in the us and i can't even afford to spend an extra $6 a month 😭

i agree on paying creators fairly, and i know watcher has 25 employees who deserve to paid. but the channel already pulls in over $100k a month from patreon alone; they also make bank from all their sponsors and merch sales. i mean, one of their main series is steven lim eating expensive food like gold flaked beef. i mean, he has a new tesla!

idk it just feels like that ceo thing where they aren't happy with consistent success, it needs to be increasing success. but ofc idk them, i'm just an outside observer so idk the full story, etc.

first up -- i actually think $6 a month IS a lot for some people in the US & have talked in private w friends about how i wish they'd started at like, $1-$3/mo or smth because even that would make it more affordable for a lot of their fans :-) just to clear that up! $6 is a lot when most streaming services that offer way more than 2x as much content cost like 2x as much on average (i think? the only streaming service i have is for baseball, i pirate everything else so idk). $6 a month is also a lot, Period, for many people, regardless of context. it's the principle of paying for it at all that was my main point in that post

to everything else -- great points and i appreciate the info and your perspective. re: money i know $100k/mo sounds like a lot + they have the other revenue sources you mentioned but i think it's important to keep in mind that they're not just paying for their own/their employees' lives but also funding the shit they make -- travel, gear, production costs, everything they need to buy for the videos etc. like it's not JUST 28 paychecks that the money is going towards but also the necessary costs of the job itself. not to mention that at least shane steven and ryan live in a super HCOL area ($100k/yr for a single person is literally considered "low income" in san francisco lmao & i dont even wanna know what it is in los angeles). they could still be making bank, idk! i have literally no idea what their finances look like, i'm spitballing the same as everyone else. but i think shit costs more than a lot of people realize

i have zero argument with the frustrations with how expensive this will be for their non-usamerican audiences, i'm really sorry that they didn't roll out different prices for different locations or like ... seem to take that into consideration at all. like i said in the original post, i have no beef with anyone who is personally upset about getting priced out of content they love. honestly my only point here is that i do not doubt at all that everything they release on watcher will be uploaded to piracy sites by people w accounts & that everyone anywhere who is capable of piracy (ik some countries are harsh about it but # of countries where it faces strict repercussions < # of countries where watcher's pricing is prohibitively expensive afaik) will be able to access it, and i bring that up more in hopes that it's encouraging for people worried about getting to still watch their content than bc i'm trying to argue anything

ultimately i still think this was not an outrageous thing for them to do & i empathize with people who are pissed and sad with the Way this is going down but i still at the end of the day think we gotta adjust to artists wanting & requesting to be paid regularly and directly for their work cuz that is the world we live in rn. it sucks but i can't get mad at them for it

[scentedchildnacho]

He said he felt guilty for being first in line with like 50 people behind him so I told him because his dental work wasn't done that not having your teeth repaired is something noticed as a feminist issue so if you have been weakened to bisexual status that I would vouch for him I saw him arrive first thing and these people arrived after so it's okay it's all the same wait time....

I also explained to him that restaurant unions in San Diego are pretty much terrorists all the time and California is good people though....they to survive brit phobia...like you have to do everything at home they need their garden or that would drive them sick and crazy

Brit phobia the black white civil wars in London were actually a lot more conflagrated and violent then the states that's California it's creepy bitch all the time working reg instead of sometimes that lady was a real michael brown fuck bitch to me

Im not joking about those restaurants they have tried to call cops to shoot old ladies on sight they use turkish nation tactics

Im not joking it's good to see you those restaurants could have at any time with those men called them a cabrones and given them a work voucher in big agriculture and none of it does anything or takes any of them or ever displays a greater competence

There are necessary reforestation projects and none of it finally gives the line a day of work and let's them have a meal out with a beautiful Mexican singer just mean creep shameful all the time

War man if peace bitch thinks there can be a real fag party all the time and den of slack I'm sorry but no you cannot slit your throat they have to go trade and be hygienic

That's guilt for the restaurant unions I'm sorry but it's not us that withholds property if you go in line at least people behind you will eat

Ashoura Osaka I don't know if they ever got him the way they got sadam hussein or Osama bin laden but a lot of hygiene terrorism follows his manifesto of how to be no one and fuck everything into slavish conformism of ones basic mediocrity

Cousin Josh and Aaron the molestive things those people did to me to fuck my conscience into slavish acceptance of status quo I don't enjoy the creepy japs in my family

laTin....I don't define the island as Japan...to me the people there are a native entity I use Japan as a militaristic position

Molestation yonism consciousness you have to read ku Klux klan stories to figure out how the actors have meaning and plot....not marxism I mean like people who use satanic

My yoni yoni isn't okay till a zappatistas doll

I told him I read the Atlantic on it and they claim nothing like a mass of nothing that figures out emotional manipulation to keep oppressing working class wage lack of improvement though upper classes did bounce back from the 2020 COVID crisis they claim it is like a traditional continuity of if your not a white extremist than you can't go anywhere and you have to get locked up under blitz protections all the time

They claim they can figure it's politic and philosophy....like if you aren't the type of white with a certain body fat percentage or family manner then the situation would kill you but if you let them do their privilege burden and apology it will eventually work out okay

Well God I'm tired of having to dislike people....San diego is kind of nothing but a town and its people claiming their a way better people then the parochial aspects of life and thats just not humble ethics....

All the time now the British want to give natives their rez because they shouldn't have to investigate or tolerate the white financializing

White and black wars....well south of the globe pride western consciousness and people afflicted by it the way white is sometimes is just an inferior compared to the Haitian revolution so it can be around black people very very disrespectful in their own selfish drives to get the most out of life

So if you ask me if ever recieved help to not just get straight killed in black areas those black people were more african centric and could experience some call to hospitality....or free white issues could resonate with their conscience in some way....others more confederate like dont get in their way they earned certain titles that are questionably white....

Otherwise they act really Italian in bad girls not white so gertrude stein about European emigration sees no single actor that masters conditionals but a political expression that isolates people into life conditionals and it's here her jeans at least have a well made smell compared to how distressed Europe can get

I think one is white and images of her showing off people wouldn't know that she could understand the circus gothness of life and never was all that intoxicated or distressed

Harvard in some way produced it because out of nowhere a real historic time had to occur with a white bouncer pushing and trying to restrain a black ladies arms

Random morbid fascination with fascism and sex gender change to claim attraction between issues that are like family now she is like your sister in life how could you do that to her

So after that I was like this is not fantasy programming that frees me from my life and I'm not going to watch something that shows me what I know about life already everybody wants to get their time on camera as a notoriety blip of football dances....random...

All she did was tell some guy he shouldn't rub up to heavy on a lady he doesn't know it's just common sense....and they freaked out at her

[thatmcgwords]

So what if Johnson didn’t have a best friend? She would be their best friend, taking them everywhere, and accepting all their little quirks. If her grandson wanted to wear cowboy boots instead of sneakers, so be it.

“I love all of you,” Nanny would say to her grandchildren. “But I love you all differently. Because each of you needs different things.”

That resonated with Johnson. It still does.

What a difference it makes when a child has at least one supportive family member, and an example of unconditional love.

That should be the norm, of course. But unfortunately, it’s not. 

Johnson’s childhood wasn’t perfect. But all things considered, they feel fortunate to have a family who accepted them. If only all queer children and teens could be so lucky.

Having some kind of support is crucial. So, if necessary, young people should aim to create their own support system.

And another thing – according to Johnson, LGBTQ+ youth shouldn’t believe the fable “It gets better.” How, exactly? Things don’t get better without action. 

We need to make it better, and tell other people – particularly those who aren’t Black or queer – the same thing: “Make it better.”

Still, although Johnson has reached a place where they’re able to have empathy for their cousin, they want to reiterate – it was abuse. And finding empathy for an abuser is not a requirement.

Instead, our priority should be holding abusers accountable.

By sharing their story, Johnson hopes to help someone – any other victims who might be holding onto guilt.

Telling the truth can be freeing. No more shame, no more secrecy

This is one of the reasons Johnson feels so passionate about sharing their story – so other young queer people can learn from these mistakes.

Just consider the statistics: Queer people tend to have a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. According to the CDC, 50% of Black men who have sex with men get HIV at some point in their lives.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Young people should have proper sex education, and have access to the resources they need.

Johnson knows that this part of their story is going to get pushback. And yes, it’s a little embarrassing sharing such intimate stories.

But if it helps queer teens navigate their own experiences, it’s absolutely worth it. Johnson has no regrets

coming out and exploring their sexuality was a slow, and, at times, painful process, mainly due to societal stigma, lack of education, and a discriminatory culture against LGBTQ+ folks.

Luckily, as an adult, Johnson feels they can define their identity on their own terms and hopes that by sharing their story, they can give a voice to marginalized communities, and help queer teens.

If someone sees themselves in this story, they’ll realize that they’re not alone. And hopefully, just like Johnson, they’ll be able to grow and thrive.

[lilbasthet]

OK, I have no clue if anyone has talked about the discussion on period products in Germany and recent developments. So let me do this here.

I think it's kinda nice of Druck to address this issue even if it's just in order to make Lou look like a bad influence (I'm not buying it) and to show us that Constantin has a job now.

Not only in Germany but also in other European countries people with periods have petitioned and demonstrated for free period products. In Germany period products were taxed at 19% because they were seen as luxury items(!) until 2020. After a lot of fighting feminist groups got that lowered to 7% (that's the tax on all necessary items like bread and stuff). But there was no reason to celebrate. Because all producers of such products (except for Einhorn Period which is kinda run by feminists for feminists) just raised the prices so that in the end all period products cost the same as before. Now we're just paying "pink tax" on them just like we do on loads of other products that are specifically marketed to women. (who of course aren't the only people with periods, but a big chunk of them)

So, I get it. Period products and their cost are a legitimate issue, and I'm glad we're getting a character like Lou who makes young people aware of the fact that this shit isn't fair. I didn't even dare think about such things when I was her age.

Another thing for all those people trying to say she's not stealing from big corporations and only hurting the shop assistants. I don't know how this works in your country, but I know enough people who work in retail (and specifically in one of our 2 big drugstore chains) in Germany. And believe me, the shop assistants usually don't get in trouble for people stealing from the shop (especially not if it's tampons rather than 50€ worth of makeup). The store has insurance for that. Loads of products aren't sold and have to be thrown out or taken home by the people who work there. That's why many shop assistants (at least in Berlin) don't even bother going after thieves in their stores. Too much hassle for a job that gives you a living wage and no more for a product that might be thrown in the trash anyway...

So believe me, the only thing Constantin should be worried about is the shopping baskets that fell over because he has to clean that up. And those were still neatly stacked so that's like a 5 minute job.

And don't get me wrong I don't condone stealing, but I'm also in the privileged position where I never had to steal to get by. (not saying that Lou has to steal)

I've been out of money for necessities like food, but I always had friends or family that could help me out. However, I have friends who don't have that luxury who sometimes steal from shops because they have to. And I know they're not hurting the workers with that (and usually not even the corporations). So I refuse to hold that against them.

So, long story short, I wouldn't praise Lou for stealing some tampons for herself and people from her school, but I also wouldn't demonize her for it. (Especially not when we see other crimes like underage drinking, smoking weed, trespassing and vandalism in Skam and Druck and celebrate it.)

[morlock-holmes]

Ages ago I read a hot take on tumblr that said, in the original D&D context, “good vs. evil” only makes any sense if you interpret them as political factions or parties, particularly in light of how “balance between good and evil” is important because the “good guys” get corrupt when in power and need the evil guys to temporarily take over. I think his comparison was Christian (good?) vs. libertarian (evil?) Republicans.

I'm not very well versed in either Dungeons and Dragons or the Fantasy literature that the game draws from.

There's been nearly 50 years of new editions, settings, supplements and magazine articles laying out the ideas of the game, and of course the assumptions of one edition or setting don't necessarily carry over to the others, and even within a single edition or setting things aren't necessarily that consistent, since you have a bunch of different writers creating material.

Notice that my notes in that post have gotten people saying, "Evil races like you're describing aren't really a major part of D&D lore" as well as, "Evil races like you're describing are one of the most important parts of D&D lore" so, like... Beats me.

I can tell you that in the "Red Box" Basic Dungeons and Dragons set the available alignments are only Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic; I'm told that these come from fantasy stories by Michael Moorcock and the idea of a necessary balance between Law and Chaos is a bit more immediately reasonable than positing that we need to have some evil to make sure all the good doesn't get out of control.

Early editions also featured "Alignment languages" meaning that, say, all intelligent Lawful Evil creatures speak a common language, which was compared in the first AD&D to either church latin or the thieves cant, which is somewhat perplexing but seems to suggest that alignment isn't so much an objective description of your nature as it is, like... A kind of religion?

AD&D is one of the most incomprehensible things I've ever read so I don't really know.

[gayahithwen]

Man, I know capitalists want there to be some inherent order to the world that makes things make sense, but the truth is that history has shown us time and time again that the only order in this world is the one we collectively create and enforce.

When you allow vital necessities to be capitalized upon, you're formally sanctioning a form of highway robbery - it is literally "your money or your life", which of course most people will give up their money, because the vast majority of people don't actually care that much about money, we just want to be able to live close to friends and family, do something useful with our time, like building or researching or making things or teaching others or even just devoting time to ethical questions and intellectual debate or creating stories and art pieces and music and monuments to tell future generations who we were.

The vast majority of us aren't lazy. The vast majority of us want to contribute in some way. And you know what? We actually have all the technology and infrastructure necessary to get going, right now. All we need is for rich people to contribute their fair share by actually paying taxes that we then collectively steer into actually useful fields, like medicine and education and infrastructure.

From my viewpoint, it looks like the people who are actually lazy are the capitalist-sympathizers. They're the ones who just want to sit back and whine about how everyone else is so lazy (projecting much?), while doing absolutely nothing to improve anything. Meanwhile, socialists are literally begging for rich people to just give up a tiny percentage of their stolen money (because you know no one deserves to make $13 million/hour like Bezos does), but rich people have gotten so fucking entitled that they think their wants are more important than everyone else's needs, and just.... fuck that.

Also, they complain about how communism would force people to live here or there, or to do a job mandated by the state, blah blah blah... meanwhile ignoring the fact that capitalism forces people to live places they don't want to live, and capitalism forces people to do jobs they don't want to do - and capitalism does it by threatening you with death (you need money to pay for food and shelter and medicine, or you die), while socialism would at worst do it by cutting you off from some extra privileges if you didn't comply (like being able to go on vacations).

Capitalism is fascist individualism, and I'm honestly just not OK with that.

I want engaged democratic socialism. I want us to guarantee housing and food and clothes and utilities and infrastructure and education and medicine for everyone. The things we all actually need. None of those things should be compromised on. We should all have a basic standard of living (and ideally, all politicians would need to live solely on the most basic standard of living provided by the state, to make certain that they have the interests of the majority truly at heart) that's actually truly decent.

We have the resources to guarantee it for everyone. And once nobody is forced to be in a constant scramble to survive, all we need to do is to stay educated, engaged and compassionate as new issues come along, and I truly believe that collectively we can make it work, as long as we maintain high levels of personal integrity and political transparency, and maybe invest in some massive educational campaigns on media literacy and how to tell fact from fiction and how to tell which studies are actually good science and which ones are fraudulent bullshit paid for by some asshole who doesn't care if the world will still even exist in 50 years.

But some people would rather just wallow in misery forever than try to do anything about it, I guess. Fuck that shit. Let's change the world for better.