#Regional differences

[treemaidengeek]

I'm fascinated that the poll votes are almost 40/60 but the tags are all with the 60. My commentary below the cut to avoid influencing voters :)

So the comments that specify an American location (as of 7/2 afternoon) are Mid-Atlantic East Coast & Midwest, & all consider it either the end or a calm point in the middle.

I grew up in the US Southeast & went to college in the Midwest. I've heard it used to mean the storm has started, ended, or hit a calmer spot in the middle, & any of these would feel right depending on context.

Asked for a definition absent context, tho, my instinct was "the storm breaks" = "the storm begins in earnest with driving rain and wind."

I think there may be some regional difference here. I used it one way the other day and the person I was talking to corrected me quite confidently that it was the other way.

So I'm curious! Tag where you're from and what your answer was to add more data.

[aethersea]

I’m sick of seeing people complain about the many-eyed spider of the hills. “wah it’s a giant spider that’s so scary” grow up! nature does not exist to be appealing to you personally! she’s an essential part of the ecosystem AND an extremely endangered species. “oh she eats unwary travelers” I hate to break it to you but all wild places eat unwary travelers, often more literally than we really like to think about. the price we pay for HAVING wild places is wariness. she never leaves the hills, she’s fully nocturnal, and if you go into HER HOME then the least you can do is read the safety guidelines on the parks & rec website before you go camping there.

in conclusion the many-eyed spider of the hills is cooler than you, hotter than you, and better at minding her own business than you. leave her alone!!

[wildehacked]

writing in other regions

Okay, here's a question: when writing in the POV of a character from a region that uses a different term from yours (mile/kilometer, zucchini/courgette, arugula/rocket) is it important to use the regionally appropriate term for the setting, even if it's not in first person? (So, a close or distant third or even an omniscient POV, where we're not in the voice of the character directly.) I have a dif question about SPELLING below, so just answer for terms!

[webtomo]

In various regional versions of Tomodachi Life, different holidays are represented in the shops depending on what version you are playing. These go as follows:

(Japanese ver.) New Years Day: On January 1st, shops will be adorned with New Years decorations and shopkeepers will be wearing outfits traditional for the Japanese New Year celebration. You can also buy the New Years exclusive item, Ozouni.

(Japanese ver.) Hinamatsuri: On March 3rd, decorative peach trees and decals of ornamental dolls adorn the shops, in celebration of the Shinto holiday Hinamatsuri.

(Japanese ver.) Children's Day: On May 5th, flags depicting familial carp can be seen in the background of shops for Children's Day, a Japanese national holiday celebrating the personalities and happiness of children.

(Korean ver.) Lunar New Year and Chuseok: Depending on when Lunar New Year falls in a specific year (usually between late January-February) Special music will play, and the shopkeepers will wear traditional holiday clothing.

The same music and costumed shopkeeper will appear during Chuseok, celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month on the Lunar calendar, usually sometime between September-October depending on the year.

(Australian ver.) Australia Day: On January 26th, shops will be seen adorning Australian flags to celebrate Australian Independence Day.

(US Ver.) The Superbowl: in February during the Superbowl, the shops are adorned with various football paraphernalia, while the shopkeepers wear jerseys.

(All versions) Valentines Day: on February 14th, the shops will be adorned with hearts. In western versions they will wear a pink button up shirt, and in Japan and US versions you are able to buy special Valentines Day chocolates.

(US ver.) Cinco De Mayo: On May 5th, the clothing stores can be seen adorned with colorful decorations to celebrate Mexico's victory over France in 1862.

(US ver.) Fourth of July: On July 4th, shops can be seen with floats and posters of soda, barbecues, hot dogs, burgers, kebabs, and other barbecue related delights in order to celebrate American Independence day.

(Japanese ver.) Tanabata (Star Festival): On July 7th, shops are adorned with bamboo, with wishes tied to the leaves of the tree to be heard by the reunited lovers, a tradition commonly practiced during Tanabata.

(UK Ver.) Bonfire Night: On November 5th, posters displaying fireworks for Bonfire Night can be seen, celebrating the failed assassination of King James I via explosion in 1605.

(All versions) Halloween: On October 31st, shops will display various Halloween decorations and shopkeepers will be wearing costumes. Shopkeepers will also greet you by saying "Trick or Treat!" in all versions except the Korean version, where they instead just say "Happy Halloween!"

(All versions) Christmas: On December 24th and 25th, stores will be adorned with various Christmas themed decorations, as well as shopkeepers wearing festive Santa outfits. On Christmas Eve, you will also be able to purchase the holiday exclusive Roast Turkey item from the shops. In the US version you will be greeted by shopkeepers with "Happy Holidays!" Whereas in all other versions you are greeted with "Merry Christmas!"

[randomtheidiot]

[pacificnorthwesterngothic]

Hello PNWG (and followers!) - Burning PDX question. I moved here recently and in many of the shops/restaurants the staff say “Welcome In!” when you enter.

To me this is weird phrasing (not just “welcome” or “hello” for example) and I’ve NEVER heard this phrase so frequently before in my life. Is this PDX specific? Is it new to the region in the last ten-ish years? Am I just hearing it all the time now that I’m paying attention? Also I should say I’m not mad about it. It’s delightful.

Hey, welcome in to the PNW! 😁

I hope our winter is treating you well.

Disclaimer: I have nothing other than anecdotal evidence to back this up.

I have mostly heard people reporting on the novelty of “welcome in” when they move to either the Midwest or the PNW. I have also seen people associate it with Starbucks which is, ofc, a Seattle chain whose employee handbook might have reflected those roots.

So here’s my theory…

The Midwest and PNW are two regions with a lot of Scandinavian settlement:

And how does one say “welcome” in Scandinavian languages?

Swedish: Välkommen

Norwegian: Velkommen

Danish: Velkommen

Icelandic: Velkomin

Faroese: Vælkomin

So my tin-hat theory is that formal/polite speech in these regions maybe has a Scandinavian influence. (German settlement is a possible wildcard factor.)

Formal/polite language tends to not change much over time. If Scandinavian words snuck into common usage because they looked like English, I imagine they could get fossilised as normal “polite” speech because 1.) no one expects formal speech to sound normal and, thus, 2.) no one tends to ask why or where formal language comes from.

Like, we all know “ma’am” having an apostrophe there means that something was shortened… but how many people on the street would immediately say, without hesitation, what the full form of that word is?

But that’s my crackpot theory. I’m excited to hear everyone else’s!

[mug-and-friends]

My friend keeps having this one Kantonian meowth sneak in and sleep on his bed. LOOK AT IT. Eepy creature. Not a care in the world

So small and delicate compared to galarian meowths.... 🥺

[theamphibianmen]

Reblog for sample size!

[athelind]

Thanksgiving By the Clock

I've noticed over the years that there's a great deal of variability in the times that people in the US (and, presumably, Canada) serve their big Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm curious about the details. Is this a regional thing? Is it a matter of family tradition? In the USA, are people juggling meal schedules around football games and parades?

This calls for a poll!

My family tradition was Going Out For Thanksgiving Dinner, so don't feel that Not Doing The Huge Cooking Ritual disqualifies you from this.

Reblog for greater sample size, please!

If you want to include your answer and where you're from/where you live now in the tags or in your reblog, that should produce some interesting results that are probably meaningless by any statistical measure. 😄

[aotearoa20]

somewhere between Rivendell and the Misity mountains

Boromoir: Ranger... theres no sauce on your pasta

Aragorn: (shrugging)

Boromor: You just gonna mainline your spaghetti, no sauce or nothing!?!

Aragorn: theres garlic and oil on it

Boromir: just garlic and oil!

Aragorn: (nods)

Boromir: Our ancestors are look down and doing this 🤌 at you right now

Aragorn: Yeah i read a thing or two about our ancestors

Aragorn: they are likely looking up at us

[haleyhalcyon]

It really seems like the Puyo Pop Fever translators were pretty confused about Arle’s gender.

My curiosity started when I was playing Puyo Pop Fever in Spanish (as one does) and noticed that Arle introduces herself using the masculine form of “nice to meet you” (encantado) instead of the feminine form (encantada).

I figured it was just unique to the Spanish version, since the French version correctly uses the feminine form (enchantée) instead of the masculine form (enchanté). (P.S.: I couldn’t find any gendered forms in the other language versions.)

But turns out, the English version also made that mistake. You see, the DS version of PPF has post-game win quotes like in PPF2, and Amitie’s quote after beating Arle uses “he” for her.

All this confusion is probably due to the fact that, famously, Arle has used the first-person pronoun 僕 (boku), which is usually reserved for men and boys. Klug and Lemres also use that pronoun. It also helps that it’s probably the first time these translation teams have even heard of Puyo Puyo, because of its obscurity before Fever, as well as between Fever and Puyo Puyo Tetris.

The Feeble Western Mind cannot comprehend the bokukko. /j

[sillybayo]

A 700+ Word Essay/Ramble About Sexiness in Tomodachi Life (this is interesting I promise)

I was thinking about history and tomodachi life, and had a bit of an epiphany about a decently discussed piece of localization. If the bunny suit was removed in american and european releases for allegedly being too sexual, then why is the flapper dress in the game?

Bear with me here. I have two theories.

1. The flapper dress replaced the bunny suit (somewhat unlikely).

2. The bunny suit was removed from american and european versions of tomodachi life not because it was sexual, but because it isn't as popular in said regions (likely).

Personally,I don't think its because japan views the bunny suit differently like everyone else says, or at least implies. As far as my research goes, everyone sees bunny suits as at least a little sexy. You can even see the intent here in the description for it.

-Bunny suit description (japanese and korean, translated): "A bunny girl that men are crazy about. The pompom on the butt is cute."

Now I'm sure bunny suits need no introduction. But what about the flapper outfit? Why am I using it for comparison? If you don't know this piece of womens history, then allow me to briefly explain (however, while I'm sure I have a good picture of things, I'm still only a 17 year old yapping about a mii game on the 3ds. So I suggest you to do more research yourself if you're interested).

After WW1, with ladies finally getting higher wages, the rise of jazz clubs, the 19th amendment giving (white) women the right to vote, alcohol smuggling being more common with the passing of the 18th amendment, and younger folks gaining independence via cars, it generally felt like a good time to party. The war to end all wars had ended, after all! So young girls and women decided to rebel by wearing dresses that revealed their calves and necklines, wearing their hair in bobs, using heavier makeup, and wearing bras and lingerie underneath rather than a restrictive corset.

Not only that, but they smoked, drank, danced suggestively, and most scandalous of all, went to "petting parties", which ranged from making out with boys and men to full on fondling.

-Flapper outfit description (american): "Be the bee's knees of the Roaring Twenties in this jazztastic dress."

-Flapper outfit description (european): "Express your individuality with this sultry dress and fabulous headpiece."

The use of the word sultry means that they 100% know that flappers have sexual elements and history. Why its only used in the european version, I have no clue. But no matter how you look at it, flappers are historical icons for womens sexual freedom, and theres no denying it.

You could argue that flapper outfits are a bit more modest than bunny suits, which shows off your cleavage and far upper thighs. But for the time period, flappers were so sexual that state laws were pushed for women to be more modest, women couldn't wear swimsuits at the beach without being shooed away, religious figures HATEDDDD them, and even 1920s feminists argued that they were getting in the way of womens rights! Its still not very daring by todays standards, and no parent is going to freak out if they see their childs mii dressed as a flapper. But I still think the historical context is important to consider here. The devs knew that it was rebellious and sexy, and decided to add it in anyways.

Now, personally, I don't think the flapper outfit replaced the bunny suit. The bunny suit is categorized as formal wear, and the flapper outfit is categorized as a costume. It couldn't have been a simple swap. Interestingly enough though, the flapper outfit isn't present in the japanese/original version of the game, so take that as you will...

Therefore, I argue that the bunny suit was removed from american and european releases simply because its not as iconic in these regions. Sure, its recognizable and loved, but it isn't as widespread and iconic as it is in japan. Meanwhile, the american 1920s aesthetic is more well known to the people who reside there. I see the bunny suits removal as more of a cultural thing rather than it being too sexual. Because as you can see, everyone wants miis to be sexy every once and a while! Its silly, and they look absolutely fabulous!

But those are my two cents. I simply thought that this was an interesting enough topic to bring to the table. Feel free to add more to this if you'd like, I'd love to hear it :3c.

(Sources below cut) (I don't usually put sources below my rambles, but since this is so rooted in real life history and slightly obscure video game localization, I figured to do so)

Editors, History. com (2025) Flappers, History.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/articles/flappers#Women’s-Independence (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Not all women gained the vote in 1920 (no date) PBS. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-not-all-women-gained-right-to-vote-in-1920/ (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Weeks, L. (2015) When ‘petting parties’ scandalized the nation, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/05/26/409126557/when-petting-parties-scandalized-the-nation (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Wiki, C. to T.L. (no date a) Clothing/costumes, Tomodachi Life Wiki. Available at: https://tomodachi.fandom.com/wiki/Clothing/Costumes (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

Wiki, C. to T.L. (no date b) Clothing/Formal Wear, Tomodachi Life Wiki. Available at: https://tomodachi.fandom.com/wiki/Clothing/Formal_Wear (Accessed: 11 May 2025).

[karizard-ao3]

Every time I come to the Midwest (USA) I am enthralled by the random flavors and varieties of otherwise familiar products they have at the store. Like, I had never seen a ranch filled Combo in my life before today

[ranger-rai]

How about Riolu regional differences?

Oh this one is pretty cool.

Their Fighting Style combined with their aura color.

While it's not always likely to be drastic, Riolu from Sinnoh will be your traditional expected form.

However if they come from another region, let's say Unova, we'll their aura might be a different color, perhaps closer to a dark purple or red.

There are many more big cities as opposed to Sinnoh and their deeorr roots in nature, so meditating is harder.

There's also far fewer aura users out there, Mienfoo being the biggest example, but you know what they have a lot of?

So many brawls and brawler style fighting types.

Because of this, Riolu has become a lot more aggressive and sloppy with fighting, but pretty good at grappling.

It's pretty cool to see.

[mysticode54]

My biggest undertaking yet. In this video, I curse you with the ability to look at any clip of the game and know which version is being played at a glance.

[strangledwires]

Here is the original opening (and ending) and the Japanese version of The Urbz comparison. As I've said in the following post, the Japanese models have different styled heads & faces. I thought it would be interesting to upload this as I haven't seen anyone talk about it. Even the Cutting Room Floor only mentions the Create-a-Urb being different in its "regional differences" section -- when really, it's more than just the player's urb that's different.

And here is the Japanese opening (and ending) without the side by side comparison if you want to watch it alone! These are both from my YouTube page where I occasionally upload content like this. :)