what i like especially about the pronouns in the goblin emperor is that this language doesn't just have the T-V distinction (aka informal vs. formal second-person pronouns, in this case 'thou' vs. 'you'), it also has informal and formal first-person pronouns. having BOTH of these distinctions in the same language lets you fine-tune your tone by mixing and matching. with only one axis of formality, when you use informal pronouns, are you being familiar in an intimate way, or in an insolent or dismissive way? when you use formal pronouns, are you being polite or standoffish? you can't tell just from the pronouns; there's ambiguity. but a language where you can use a formal first-person pronoun in the same sentence as an informal second-person pronoun allows you to distance yourself (via the formal first) while also being familiar (via the informal second), thereby achieving the conversational tenor known to linguists as Fuck Thee Specifically.
[Damian in the Minecraft server excitedly showing Jon his extensive (and ethical) farms that he made while Jon was banned from Minecraft to focus on studying for tests at school]
Jon: ... yeah, you're so shit at Minecraft. Looks nice though!
Damian: ?! what do you mean? I worked hard on these????
Jon: *sigh* I'll show you what a real Minecraft farm looks like!
[Jon brings him to his "farm" and proudly shows off the fact you cannot tell the pixels apart as there are so many animals in one spot]
Damian: I....... have no words for this. Our friendship is about to end over this. Think of their feelings.
Jon: but this is how you play Minecraft 😭😭 next you're going to tell me you don't even eat the animals at your farm and they're just decorative 😭
Damian: I'M A VEGETARIAN. 😡😡😡😡 I MAKE BREAD. 😡😡😡😡😡😡 LOG BACK OUT. 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
An AU where Izuku is just an ordinary boy. He never meets All Might and has his application for Yuuei's entrance exam rejected because of his quirkless status. He still wants to be a hero, but then again, he's just a normal kid with a mom who works two jobs, and since he failed to get into his dream school, he still has to get into another one, he doesn't have time. to go to the gym or learn to fight, or whatever. And yet, he wants to be a hero, so he grabs a pair of old skates and a stick. And he sneaks out the window at night, intending to be a vigilante.
But like a normal boy, he's a bit of a coward, so when he encounters his first crime, instead of getting involved, he calls the police. He calls the police and hides and is delighted when a police car arrives a few minutes later and does its job. And then he repeats that, goes out, finds a crime and calls the police. And repeat. And the next time, he identifies himself as "Good Citizen" when the person on the line recognizes his voice. And the name sticks. And Izuku keeps it, thinking of it as a way to keep his identity safe. But one day, 'The Good Citizen' calls the police on a group of men beating up a guy. And next he stops a man from harassing a girl.
The mens who beat the guy are part of a powerfull gang and their high-rankers discovers that the person who reported them was the same person who has been making several reports. The old man who harassed the girl was an important member of the HPSC, whose arrest creates a huge scandal
With this he successfully angers the villains and the HPSC all at once. Next week there's a bounty on 'snitch's head. And an arrest warrant for the vigilante who is 'an enemy in the making for the society of heroes'.
Then a race begins, villains and heroes mobilizing to kill/arrest one (1) well-intentioned green bean.
And, out of nowhere, this all becomes Aizawa Fucking Shota's problem.
So! Below are several links to programs and foundations that promote adult literacy! Hundreds of millions of adults world wide were failed by their education system and now must fend for themselves while trying to read contracts and hospital bills and infographics from the CDC. But they don't have to be alone, and it is never too late to learn!
ProLiteracy: A network of educators, researchers, and advocates which provides research reports, learning materials, and other support to adult education programs. They assist with connecting volunteers to local programs and provide guidance and support to community leaders trying to use their programs' findings to advocate for social and political change.
Adult Literacy League: An adult education program in Central Florida, which aims to provide students with one on one attention to foster growth and confidence. It also offers English Second Language courses and job skills training, and each new student receives a comprehensive assessment to determine the best plan for them.
Saint Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center's Foundational Skills Program: A 100% free adult education program aimed at adults reading below a fifth grade level. It operates year round and is either in person or remote, and they now have a GED testing center that is open to students and the public alike.
Washtenaw Literacy: A free network of trained tutors for adults in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
Adult Learning Program (Las Vegas/Clark County): Free education classes to those lacking a high school diploma, those seeking to learn ESL, and adults who read below an eighth grade level. Also assists in students' search for gainful employment. Nevada got so fucked by COVID and the education/literacy numbers in the South West are grim. Please help these guys.
Hawaii Literacy: In addition to helping adult residents of Hawaii Island learn to read and write AND bridging the education gap in Hawaii's underserved children, they offer computer literacy classes, ESL classes, and a bookmobile. 1 in 6 Hawaiian adults struggle to read and write.
Giving a complicated tragic childhood backstory to your favorite character is all fun and games, until you realize you need to account for how old all the other adult characters would have been at the time and realize that scenes that would work perfectly if one character was twenty three and the other was fourteen stop working when you need other characters who are played by adult actors clearly younger than they are to be in college at the same time so your story beats line up thematically.
How did my ass rawdog getting a tramp stamp as my first ever tattoo, two hours of face down, ass up, didn't drink anything, didn't eat anything and then stumbled my way to Tesco's to get me some sour Jolly Ranchers to get my blood sugar back up once I was done, and it barely even HURT, but I'm genuinely scared about getting my ears repierced for the third time 🧍
So, Mr. Jenn's grandma is in her 90s, and has been in the early stages of dementia for a while now. She's still coherent, and still able to take care of herself and live independently so far, so there's been no move to put her in an assisted living facility. But this does mean we hear some kind of wild stuff. She has a lot of paranoia and has been complaining about people in her attic (she lives in a one-story apartment), and recently she told my MIL (her daughter) that the people who were out to get her are also after MIL and FIL's new Labrador puppy. The people in her attic have also attacked her with some kind of ray gun? (Not actually sure if that's what she called it, but her descriptions of it basically sound like some kind of sci-fi weapon that they're apparently using to knock her down.)
Anyway, the latest now is that my FIL and I have back-to-back birthdays (me on Monday, him on Tuesday), and we always celebrate together with a dinner on whatever the closest Saturday is when our birthdays fall on weekdays. He called Mr. Jenn today (they talk every day when Mr. Jenn gets off work) and tells him that grandma will not be at the birthday dinner tomorrow, because 'no one loves her.' As a specific example of this, she said 'Jenn hasn't spoken to me in two years.'
We have a family get-together at his parents' (grandma included) for every major holiday, plus every birthday (hers included). She's seen me multiple times in the last few months. She just saw me two weeks ago, for Mr. Jenn's birthday. I remember talking to her at his birthday. My FIL told Mr. Jenn he specifically remembers me talking to her at his birthday.
No idea why she has decided that I specifically have not spoken to her in years (we get on well because she was a bit eccentric even before the dementia, and I go down enough weird rabbit holes that I can hold a conversation on lots of things without judgement because when you've sought out the parts of the internet I've sought out, you can't judge), but dementia is really a bitch if it makes you turn down a free dinner.
Being a hater towards the ed today, shit’s super fucking dumb. What am I planning to achieve with this???? Literally like it doesn’t even go the way your ed-brain wants you to think, like you get to ur ugw and suddenly everyone is jealous & wants to look lik you. Like nah, you’ll just get pity & weird looks from strangers bc everyone can see you’re not doing well and they’ll treat you as if you’re dumber than you are (the infantilization of ed ppl is so real out there (whole another topic but in short: I hate it)), what the actual fuck am I doing this for ?????
my family being the poster child for divorce is interesting because on the one hand there are several people who child me considered just regular family members who are now no longer in my life in any capacity which was really destabilizing but on the other hand now as an adult the concept of relationships changing and ending is so normal to me and i feel like that's actually a really useful outlook to have. also, the fact that several of my relatives' current significant others annoy the crap out of me is more bearable because it's like, wellllll, just give them a few years and they'll be outta here. lol.
5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP
“I have to say, Blanche,” Rose says, settling back against Blanche’s side, “I know you explained it to me, but I still don’t get it.”
18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic
I don't really keep deleted sentences/paragraphs, unless they're full concepts for a scene that I might want to use in another WIP, but I did find a couple of sentences from an early draft of i would have said impossible [...] that got heavily edited by the final cut. I'll bold the parts that got kept in the final work:
"She likes to think she hid it well. She tried to, at least; bit back the most acidic jokes, tried to keep a hold on her sarcasm. It's not her roommates' fault if she's had a bad day, is it? So she tries. She listens, and she's patient, and she's affectionate -- and they seem happy. That must count as a success.
And yet, when she's finally alone in her room and ready to call it a night -- then Rose comes, carrying tea and cookies on a tray.
It's strange. She told Ma earlier that she'd like to be alone tonight, and before the door opened she only wanted to get into bed and forget everything until tomorrow morning. Then Rose came in, and she'd be lying if she said a single hint of her perfume and a single glance at her reassuring smile aren't enough to calm her nerves."
The gist of the passage remained more or less the same, but I hope it counts anyway!
19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic
I'm not sure I can choose the most interesting one -- I love learning and I've had a lot of fun with every rabbit hole I've found myself in for a fic! The most charming one, though, was definitely the little ornithology detour I went on while I was writing sonata for trio, which was a classic case of 'I only needed to find the right simile to add in this sentence, how the hell did I end up on the Wikipedia page for the American Robin?'. I learned a lot, and birds are so cute -- especially robins!! I had a great time reading about them :)
(I'm not counting my research on karst and sinkholes as a valid answer for this questions, because I already knew the topic well enough, but I did spend a lot of time fact-checking what I wrote. I don't want to spread misinformation!)