#but the jokes depended so much on context I don't think they translate well

[amostexcellentblog]

Hangman: Roo, I'm going to skip breakfast, I've got that early meeting... Oh, good morning Admiral.

Iceman: Bradley, you really should come with us tonight, the flyboys haven't seen you in ages and...

Rooster: Pops, Jake said "Good Morning."

Iceman: Who?

Iceman: *Turns* Oh, him. Now Bradley, we can pick you up tonight, or you can meet us at the restaurant.

Hangman: I'll forgive your rudeness Admiral, I know you're just being yourself.

Maverick: Ignore him Hangman, he's just living out a childhood dream of being Agnes Moorehead from Bewitched.

Iceman: Is that anyway to talk to a superior officer, Derwood?

[sleepumy]

Tag Game! (I found this randomly on my dash)

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers:

I legit found this randomly from someone I don't remember following, but y'know. Here you go

How many works do you have on AO3? 126. I might have a slight issue. Most of them are MHA.

What's your total AO3 word count? 294,834.

What fandoms do you write for? My Hero Academia mostly, Doki Doki Literature Club, OMORI, Miraculous Ladybug once and I have two Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom fics.

What are your top five fics by kudos? N°1: Eraserhead Fanbase (Or How 1-A Grows), N°2: A Child's Spark Light Up The Night, Constant Search For Approval, Suffocated By Refusal, N°3: Don't Blow Until The Wind Does, N°4: Safety, N°5: Moonlight. Apart from the first one, these aren't necessarily my favorites because they're older, but y'know. I might rewrite them a bit, since people apparently like them.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to, I often do not. I don't have the mental strength to do it consistently and I don't really know what to say anyways. I'm trying to answer a bunch of them right now though. I do look at them and notices regular commenters.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh boy. Probably one in my Dead doves (to eat) series. And then in here... Talking only about what happens and how many people are fucked up by it in the end, Poor Crazy Hitoshi, I'm Choking On Stardust, Becoming a Carcass and save me! (walk away) are probably the worst ones.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Well that's harder. Open, bad or unsatisfying endings are what I do (please don't run away). But I guess Happiness is warm, I'm not dead! And Other Such Entries and a hood and wings might be contenders.

Do you get hate on fic? Maybe once, I think. I delete comments that I find disrespectful, but I don't delete much, so I guess I must be okay.

Do you write smut? Occasionally. Or well, I post smut occasionally. I write a lot of it.

Do you write crossovers? I do not.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I hope not, oof.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Don't think so?

What's your all-time favourite ship? I'm a chronic multishipper, but according to my works on Ao3, it's bkdk, and according to my bookmarks, it's erasermic. Do with that what you will.

What's a wip you want to finish but probably won't? Oh boy. Do you want to know how many wips I have? Me too. It's more than a hundred. I have no idea.

What are your writing strengths? Uh. Dialogues? Maybe? It's the thing I write the most easily. Maybe mental breakdowns. Someone tell me.

What are your writing weaknesses? I can't write multichapter fics for the life of me.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Depends on the context. If it's a hidden message, a joke, or ultimately unimportant (as in, the goal is to see a character is talking another language and not what they're saying), leave it untranslated in the body of the fic and either put the translation in the notes or don't. Otherwise, I guess either just say X character is talking a different language at Y point, or put the text in italics to signify it's being said in another language but translated in English.

First fandom you wrote for? My Hero Academia, most likely. Or actually, maybe Gravity Falls.

Favourite fic you've written? Ehehe. The author's favorites.

@sillypilled-friendcel @lollybliz @any writer who might see this, feel free to try.

[mamuzzy]

Hi ! For the not from the us ask game, could you do 4, 10 and 24 ?

Thank you for the ask <3

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

Fisherman's soup (Halászlé)

It's a typical christmas soup here made from carp or catfish, and depending on which part of the country you live in, it's served with noodles OR bread. I prefer it with noodles AND bread. There. I said it.

Depending on taste and the type of hungarian red pepper you use, it can be mild or really spicy too. But also this is a dish you can ruin multiple ways and the result is often decided at where you buy the fish. It's on my bucketlist to learn how to make this dish but first I need to learn how to prepare a fish for consuption and I'm still scared of that. .___.

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

The amount of time I want to yell GECI (slang for cum) in the tags!!!

It can be used for various situations, you can call - but not recommended unless you are friends, and sometimes even then it is considered rude - people that, you use it as conjunction, dramatic interjection at the end of the sentences, or when you want to emphasise something. Depend on context it can be used for positive interjection too but not in formal situations, of course. It's similiar when you use "fuck" in english, you can use it quite creatively. Because of its derogatory nature personally I don't like to use it in smut unless it's for dialogue and dirty talk.

Here is some example.:

Gecire fáj a fejem. - I have a big headache. (EDIT: I accidently quoted Echo here in english and I'm laughing my ass off, him saying something like this XDDD)

Takarodj a gecibe! - Get the fuck out of here!

Geci, nézd már azt a csajt! - Oh fuck, look at that girl!

GECCCC!!! :DDDD - Your cat has the zoomz on, misses a jump and in their really clumsy way of holding onto something, they make the whole living room descending into pure chaos.

I just looked into the origins of the world and... holy shit it used to be petname for the name Gergely (Gregory)??? XDDD I think the verb-form "gecizik" existed before using it as a derogatory noun, in the context of "a person who pesters someone", so definitely not someone pleasant to be around.

My other favorite form of swearing when you don't say a single swearword but curse people to the other end of the galaxy. My Commander Fox is very much like this actually, only he curses you AND swears a lot, but I just don't have the adequate vocabulary in english to translate the energy well. :((( No unhinged chaotic Fox for the fandom. :((((

Thank your coming my very important hungarian language lesson, I hope I represented our people well. :DDDD

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

Hmm... I really have mixed feelings about this question due to our recent political affairs and how our country transformed into it's very worse self in tha past decade. I don't think our country has the right to make joke of the "rotten west" when we are the cess-pool of Central-Europe with our armchair fascist dictator. Those aren't even jokes anymore because people are complete serious about them and it makes it even scarier.

[ultra-raging-ghost]

I'm so confused were his comments sexual/flirty jokes or sexual/flirty advances with intent? obviously both are bad and gross but they're also two different things and I think depending on which one it was it changes things a bit

(note: not me defending Forever)

I do not speak portuguese so i cant comment on his tone or intent in his messages, but i can point you towards a brazillian blogger on here who has more information and the proper document of whats going on and english translations, and a couple other posts with more context on the situation, and actual statements in portuguese regarding this particular part of the situation

and this is a pretty good kinda masterpost i think with a lot of links, im not sure how much of it is translated vv

there's definitely more posts with more evidence out there that i just dont have on hand so i really suggest looking for it in the tag yourself. Also keep in mind this drama is also mostly happening on twitter so information gets translated to english and posted on here much later than we would like <3 try not to stress over this too much, drink water touch grass etc etc.

[lilliesforya]

Mid September ~

Today I understood something but I don’t know what

I’ve been helping the students prepare for their speech contest for the past week. Sometimes they understand my corrections but usually the teacher translates for them. We all rotate the privilege of understanding someone speak. However, every so often I understand something beyond inferred information and context clues. I’ll understand what’s being said in Japanese but won’t be able to translate it fully. It is just understanding appearing in my head. It reminds me of Spanish class in high school. Some stuff I translated in my head and other phrases and sentences I just understood. It would happen way more in Spanish than in Japanese but the random bits of understanding Japanese help lighten the mental load of never knowing fully what’s going on. I remember when it happened in speech contest practice because it was the first time I noticed it.

9/14 The kids did well in the contest but I wish I could have seen them perform. Some ALTs are allowed to go to the contest but not my city. I did get to see them leave for the contest and I must have scared them a little when I said “good luck!” in English. Some of the material was unfairly hard for some of them so as much as I could help with pronunciation, it may still sound awkward. One kid had a poem and I was like even an American student your age would have trouble performing that effectively, so don't feel bad.

Next week, some of the teachers are taking a group of the older students to their sister city in America. I have never been to that part of America so I'm excited to hear what they think of it. I saw the schedule and it looks very packed, so I hope they can enjoy some free time. I told the class with the students to visit Walmart if they really wanted to experience America and I was only half joking. (I was being sarcastic but mostly talking to myself. I'm sure no one heard.) I wish they were visiting a more diverse area of America, so they could see different people and hear different languages. That sort of synthesis of cultures makes America really distinctive, especially in comparison to Japan. I'm hoping at the very least they encounter Spanish once or see a non-white person. I told them to take many pictures! I’m awful at recording memories with images and I regret it only afterwards. America is thought of as one collective country here because that's what most other countries are but its not easy to generalize. When people ask me questions I'm very quick to specify on the east coast, or in my state, or in my general area.. etc, because I have no idea about the other places in America. I'm from the east coast, and some of the other jets are from the midwest, and west coast. There are few questions you could ask all of us where the answer would be the same. Just today, I told the kids in one class that I liked fall because the weather gets cooler. They were younger so I said America (and nowhere specific) but that statement isn't true for like half the country. It's only half true now for my hometown too with global warming and all.

Articles and Prepositions

I haven't been in school for long. Barely a month at that. But something I have noticed is the absence of articles and prepositions when the students speak or write English. This makes sense- there aren't articles in Japanese and their prepositions (particles) serve a different purpose in the sentence structure. Sometimes two different prepositions are translated the same way/ non distinctive ways in Japanese. While I'm sure there are ways to get specific, because Japanese is so contextual and it just doesn't have the same amount of words English does (to mean basically the same things) it is really hard for students to understand. I don't blame them, if someone told me that one word in my native language had maybe 5 different translatable words depending on the specific sentence in English, I'd be pressed. Also, most English prepositions are like either 1 of 2 particles. There's always 5 ways to say something in English for every 1 way to say it in Japanese. It goes both ways though. Sometimes, I don't know how to say something in Japanese because I'm stuck on a specific word and it ends up that the word I needed is actually a word I knew- I was just thinking too specifically about what I was trying to say. I also tend to express myself with metaphors, similes, and other flowery language that isn't accessible to me in Japanese. And sarcasm. It is like going to war but war is communication and I have no ammo. The gun by itself doesn't do anything.

[idrellegames]

hii omg i love wayfarer so much and i was wondering, how do you like determine MC’s personality considering we don’t have like a section for “personality stats” like most other IFs? for example, my MC is sarcastic and cracks jokes and is labelled a troublemaker in the text, would it be the same for other people as well?

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the game! 💕

My approach to the player character's personality comes down to creating a baseline and then giving as many flexible options as possible within that baseline. Think more like the protagonists of the Dragon Age series (specifically DA2 and DAI) than personality-heavy IFs. I'm giving you a role to play (in this case, a hardened mercenary/warrior) and that will always be the starting point.

There are limitations to this. Not every possible character you can imagine will fit that starting point. On the other hand, the player character has more tangible characterization, particularly in the moments in-between choices, without having to constantly do personality-based flavour text flags. It's also much easier to craft an actual character arc for the player character when they are somewhat pre-defined.

So, with this system, the player has to keep track of their own character's personality. You're encouraged to roleplay your character how you see fit, and select the dialogue and action options that best fit your character in the moment. If you imagine your character as stoic and quiet, you can select the "don't say anything" or reserved options. If your character leans more towards cracking jokes and sarcasm, you can select the more talkative or sarcastic dialogue options. These choices, in turn, shape how the narrative unfolds around you and how other characters respond to you.

Full disclaimer, I don't like personality stats, which is why I don't use them. I personally don't think "personality" translates into stats very well. It is always more complex than "are you more this than that?" How a person reacts to a situation is extremely context dependent (speaking as an introvert, shy people aren't always shy). My approach is based on keeping the player's choice active and in the moment, rather than reactive.

[docidoci]

I was wondering, you know how ike depends on soren as much as soren depends on ike in both games, right? but is it more noticeable in the japanese version? just curious since it's more or less subtle in the english location

If you allow me, I'd like to answer in a roundabout way. This question touches on the fundamental issue of translating mostly anything but technical texts: languages existing not in a vacuum, but in a cultural context.

So when we (as someone translating for someone else to read) ask ourselves: is this detail noticeable? is this word meaningful? — we also have to add the main caveat to the questions: TO WHOM and WHEN. Without keeping that in the back of our minds, the translation can become accurate yet not truthful.

You and I, we are outside the bulk of cultural context that created the Japanese language. We are quite a bit removed from 2005 already, as well. We operate on different concepts of subtlety. We may or may not think that a hug is a big deal, even between cultures speaking the same language.

With all that said… I can only relay my impression of PoR which I have not read fully to the end as of writing this, although I'm familiar with key moments of Soren and Ike's interactions.

The localisation team tries very hard to make their interactions unambiguously friendly, even going so far as to add the word "friend" several times, when they don't use it at all originally. I think the native impression is more on the side of "commander/commander's right hand", "the people who trust each other completely", although the level of politeness/address suggests that they are equals. Therefore, I would say that the impression that Ike relies on Soren and "pursues" him, in a way, is more prominent originally, at the localised cost of going through "friendliness" motions. Ike is said to be not a talkative person, not even in "wow, this is awful to hear" way, and there is not much pure textual info I can glean from him. But as I've said… context.

One easy example off the top of my head that rings differently is Ike's introduction of Soren and Mist to Tibarn (who, in his infinite lack of perception, considers Soren a kid, not a branded, unlike most other laguz). On paper, nothing changes.

"This is Soren. My tactician. And this is Mist. My sister."

Which sounds completely throwaway, but introducing "your" (not your group's) tactician in the same beat as, and actually before, your only real family member, is supposed to be a bit funny/rude/noticeable, a display of Ike's attitude. It's a bigger deal for the native speakers to just go ahead and say "mine".

I don't want to be misunderstood here. Ike and Soren are at ease with each other and can joke with each other, even if the games don't give them a lot of space to do so (what with all the time spent sending Soren into an existential crisis or two). They are bantering in the audio drama. They are de-facto friends. But the original sort of presses more on the loyalty and reliance bond, as this is something that is culturally understood and expected by native players to go beyond "mere" ties of friendship.

[rainbowsky]

Did DLS Out DD During a DDU Recording and Make Him Cry?

This has been making the rounds on Twitter and YouTube and even Tumblr, for a while now. Fancam footage of DLS making a boyfriend joke and then leaning in to a supposedly upset DD and trying to smooth things over.

This whole thing is based on fancam footage taken during the recording of the DDU 20190825 episode. In this episode dating was being discussed using four beautiful young women, DD and QF along with two handsome young guests as a backdrop.

The subtitles of the fan cam present a scenario where DLS supposedly refers to DD as ‘not needing a girlfriend because he already has a boyfriend’ and then leaning into a supposedly emotional DD and apologizing, trying to calm him down; saying viewers won’t understand what was said.

Let’s take a look at the video:

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The full fan cam footage that this out of context clip was taken from can be found here.

If you watch the episode and the complete fan cam footage, you’ll see that this happened during the segment where they were being asked to comment on various dating scenarios. An announcer would present each scenario in a multiple choice format, asking the women to choose between four options based on the type of guy they’d most like to date. For example:

How would you like the boy you like to invite you for a meal on the weekend?

A] Save your weekend for me. Do not say no.

B] You had breakfast at 7:50 this morning and lunch at 12:30. It’s already 7pm now. You have to eat meals on time. Why don’t I take you out for dinner?

C] I tried to explain my thoughts when I look at you, but I failed. So do you have time for dinner with me this weekend? Let’s talk about it.

D] Get out. Dinner.

My opinion

We should always, always be suspicious of anything that is presented without context. 99.9% of the time, when someone removes context they are doing so to mislead audiences. This clip is a perfect example of that. The video creator appears to have removed important context in order to make the clip better fit the narrative they’re trying to sell.

In this segment of the episode, the hosts and guests were seen commenting on the options as they were being read out. The comments DLS is making appear to be in response to something the announcer has said. I don’t think the comments have anything whatsoever do to with DD.

I also don’t think DD looks even remotely upset. Certainly not near tears. Some fans seem over-eager to claim DD is crying. We’ve all seen DD cry, but it’s exceptionally rare and only happens in very personal situations. This doesn’t qualify. It wouldn’t qualify even if everything the video creator claimed was true. DD would be more likely to get angry than cry in such a situation. He isn’t doing either of these things.

Whoever made this video simply doesn’t ‘get’ DD’s personality at all. The people who buy this are similarly unfamiliar with him.

I invite everyone to use your own eyes and your own judgment. Ignore what’s being claimed, ignore the framing you’ve been given of the scenario by me or the video creator, and instead just watch the clip. Does that look like a man on the verge of tears to you?

Second and third opinions

I asked the indispensable @potteresque-ire and @knivescharade what they thought of the clip. I didn’t tell them anything about my opinion, but simply sent the clip and asked their thoughts - are the subtitles correct, what do you think of the lip reading, etc.

@knivescharade

wow, for this person to put this analysis in i would say that lip reading is a very difficult skill. and to try and lip read someone like DLS, who speaks like a bullet train and doesn't really enunciate SUPER well (unlike Han-ge, for example) ... i would say the interpretation is only very vaguely possible at best.

i know both the cand int fandom have a major something for how WYB keeps swallowing around XZ, but honestly. WYB tends to get throat issues. i think swallowing has become one of his habits at this point. so... in conclusion... there are already lots of major, amazing, and irrefutable candies in the fandom already, let's not bother with such iffy ones :D

he is indeed saying that "this man has a boyfriend", but i cant quite remember which part of the show that was in. i watched that episode, it was something to do with love and having 4 guys paired with 4 girls or something like that, and listening to 'types of guys responses to etc etc' so DLS wasnt saying that WYB has a boyfriend - he was saying that 'this man', the one whose voice was playing in the audio, has a boyfriend.

That tracks with my interpretation of what was happening.

@potteresque-ire

Unless people have learned the dialect, Mandarin speakers cannot understand Cantonese, and vice versa. This is why I don't support or wash auditory candies, especially if it involves someone from Northern China (such as DLS, who is a Beijing native). Their local accents make their Mandarin even more difficult to understand.

This dialect restriction is actually not specific to a me, or other Hong Kongers. Someone whose family is entirely from Northern China would be equally prone to making mistakes if they're asked to lip read southern Chinese.

Lip reading also removes tonal consideration, which makes everything that much more uncertain. Have you heard of the Mr Shi Eats the Lion story? This is why, even if I hear some similarities, I'd hesitate to say X has to be saying ABC. Context is important.

Cantonese speakers are especially picky about tone. Mandarin have 4. We have 6 or 9, depending on who you ask. So... I may be more picky than I should be that way too. And I don't want to spoil anyone's fun 😊

The translation was correct in the sense that it was faithful to the Chinese words in the clip I saw, which replicated what DLS said accurately. But the video itself was from a fancam. Where that fancam happened (and got cut off) was at Q3 at the Q & A segment, starting ~9:34 of the official YouTube clip.

DLS said what he said half way through the voiceover of Option A (very precisely, right after the words "I'm the only one"). Technically speaking, therefore, he wasn't talking about DD.

However, it was also a little strange why DLS said what he said. If you watch that segment, all options have a certain personality attached to them. C was very talkative / pretentious. D was connected to DD because it was blunt and direct. A was the so called "overbearing CEO" personality... which is common in het romance dramas but isn't one that has been connected to the gay stereotype. And so, DLS's timing of saying that ... is curious.

Dd did look a little ... I wouldn't say upset, but tense after DLS said that. Maybe it's because that comment kinda came out of nowhere (because of its curious timing), and so it would be read as hinting at something. But that comment is harmless, wording wise.

Alternate theory

I’ve seen some talk from fans about a different theory for why DLS said what he said. Fans say the announcer for option A was Bian Jiang, the actor who did the voice of LWJ in The Untamed. They say that DLS was making a joke about LWJ not needing a boyfriend because he already has one. That actually makes a lot of sense to me as well, and if that’s really Bian Jiang, then I’d say that’s the most likely explanation for this entire thing.

Conclusion

It’s my firm opinion that DLS was not talking about DD having a boyfriend, nor was DD ‘near tears’ in this clip. Whatever DLS said to DD after that, it almost certainly wouldn’t have been ‘words of comfort to placate an upset DD’.

The Bian Jiang theory fits best, but we don’t need to know why DLS said what he said to be able to conclude he wasn’t talking about DD.

Cute DD candy from this episode

If anyone wants a better candy from this episode, look no further than when he emerges from “door #2″, chosen by one of the women as someone she’d like to date based on the food he’d picked out, and immediately launches into “I want to take a man back to my place and hide him.” A LWJ reference (which DLS and Wang Han clarify with him because they appear baffled by what he just said), but still a tactful, perfect rejection of this woman he’s being paired with. 😅

[daisiesonafield-blog]

As It Was promo radio junket Apr 1 2022

Summary of main points and narrative in the Capital FM interview, Apr 1 2022.

About the kid voice opening the song As It Was:

"It's the voice of my goddaughter. She used to try and call me before bed time every night, so one time idk it didn't ring or something, and she sent me that. And I kind of dug it out at some point while we were in the studio and put it in front of the song for some reason, and I fell in love with it, so it stuck."

Roman: "She's officially a recording artist now. You've got to share a Grammy with her now"

H [joking]: "Yeah she was asking for a big fee! It's all gone down hill!"

About Harry having anything weird and wonderful in his house:

H: "I'd say at the moment it's just kind of piles of things that I'm just sorting thru

Int: Have you just moved?

H: No I haven't. I just got piles of things I'm trying to empty out and kinda clear the space that I'm living in a little bit. I like it a little bit clearer.

Int: Are you a messy person then?

H: I don't think I am. I'd say yes and no. I don't really know what that means when it comes to messy. But no, I don't think I am. I think I'm messy to a point, and then I'm like 'oh this is too much', and then I go for a BIG clean.

Roman: I like to imagine you do live in a house that's upside-down like the album artwork

H: Yeah, and I just wear those sucker cups [to walk around]."

About his accent:

"Well I don’t think [I picked up a transatlantic accent] in the time I just got here cause I just got in yesterday, Coachella rehearsals, so in the space I've been here this trip I think I’ve survived. I think it’s a little bit all over the place, I’m from up north, and I've lived in London for 10 years, and spent a lot of time in America and stuff so... I think when I’m with Americans they don’t think I sound American at all. And then I think sometimes when I’m with English people they expect me to sound American, I don’t think I do but, you know, maybe I, pick up some couple bits along the way, but I try to translate for whoever I’m with!‬"

About him being an artist first or actor first:

"I think I'm a musician first. I feel really lucky to get to do a job that I love, and I feel very grateful to have been able to explore acting, something I did when I was a kid when I was at school, I always really loved it. In this context it's been a great opportunity for me to get very much out of my comfort zone. And start again. It's been a lot of fun."

About which film you can safely watch with your parents, My Policeman or Don't Worry Darling?:

"I don't think you can watch either with your parents. I'm gonna have to do another one."

His experience filming sex scenes, and whether you're naked, wearing nude clothing or have a net ball in the middle:

"I personally had no experience with a net ball. I think it depends very much on who you are working with and what the situation is. All I can say from my own experience is that I was very lucky to have a very trusting relationship within the people we were working with. And that kinda came first. It was all discussed, and above the filming, above anything that's happening with the cameras, it's me and you, we're doing this together and we trust each other. And if at any point, you know, we can stop whenever and all that kind of stuff.....but yeah I'd never done that before, on camera at least, I don't think."

Watch the whole interview here:

For all other interviews in the As It Was promo junket click here.

[neuxue]

if it's not too much trouble, would you consider translating the chinese TU memes? It seems like they're funny... but I don't know any Chinese and I tried looking them up but I still don't get it 🥺

I assume you're referring to this incredible post (and not to, like, Chinese CQL memes in general). In which case yes I can try, because it’s hilarious.

(Usual caveats: I'm not Chinese, and my Mandarin is far from fluent)

(And a request: I'm just explaining the jokes to the best of my ability - if you find them funny all the credit belongs to the OP so go like/reblog that post instead of this one!)

Okay, so all of these are basically puns/wordplay, based on various forms of swapping out a character (Hanzi) from the name of a character (fictional) for another one that sounds the same but means something different.

In order:

1. Wei Wuxian: The first image is just his name, 魏无羡, and in the second one it swaps out both characters of wuxian (无羡) to get youxian (有线). The joke is that 无 is a negation roughly meaning 'without', whereas 有 means 'to have' and therefore functions as an opposite (i.e. 无 denoting the absence of something and 有 denoting the presence), and 羡 (xian) from Wei Wuxian's name means 'envy' but sounds like 线 (xian), which means 'string' or 'thread'. So if you're reading it aloud, it sounds like 'Wei without a thread, Wei with a thread'.

2. Lan Wangji: This is playing on 'Lan Zhan' - 蓝湛, where 湛 (zhan) is pronounced the same way as 站, which means 'to stand'. So the first image is just his name, but aloud also sounds like 'Lan stands', and then the second two are 蓝坐 (lan zuo) where 坐 means 'to sit', and 蓝躺 (lan tang), where 躺 means 'to recline' or 'to be lying down'.

3. Jiang Cheng: Playing on his courtesy name, Jiang Wanyin - 江晚吟 (individual characters meaning river + evening + song). The play here is specifically on 晚, 'evening', replacing this in the first image with 早 (zao) - 'early morning', and in the second image with 午 (wu) - 'afternoon'/'midday', before finishing with his actual name where of course 晚 (wan) is 'evening'. That the images go chronologically and also frame a kind of dawn/noon/evening of his life, starting with the brightness of morning and ending with the evening of, er, mourning, is just added genius and it hurts me.

4. Lan bros: Okay so ‘vacuum cleaner’ is ���尘机 (xichenji), where the 吸尘 (xichen, literally ‘inhale dust’) has the same pronunciation as 曦臣 (xichen) in Lan Xichen’s name. So that’s the first image. The second plays on the fact that the 机 (ji, ‘machine’/’device’) of 吸尘机 is the same ji as in Lan Wangji’s name. So the second image is just 吸尘机 and is thus playing it as Xichen (same pronunciation as Xichen but different characters) and Wangji (same 'ji' as in his name) and thus the two Lan bros.

5. Wen Qing: I love this one. I love her name. Wen Qing is 温情 (warm + ...情 has many shades of meaning depending on context and/or the word it's in, but in this context along the lines of sentiment/emotion/feeling). The wordplay is mostly off of 温, in kind of a similar form as the Jiang Cheng set - it goes from 冷 (leng - 'cold') to 温 (wen - 'warm' and also her actual surname) to 热 (re - 'hot'), with expressions to match.

6. Wen Ning: Playing on his rarely-heard courtesy name Wen Qionglin - 温琼林 (individual characters are warm + jade + forest). But 琼 (qiong - fine jade) is homophonous with 穷 (qiong), which means ‘poor’ (as in impoverished) or ‘to exhaust/use up’. The first image is captioned with his name, but the second plays on 琼 sounding like 穷 by replacing 琼 in his name with 富 (fu), which means ‘wealthy’/’abundant’/’prosperous’. Oof.

7. Jin Guangyao: Man this one works so well. Jin Guangyao is 金光瑶 (individual characters are gold + light + jade), and the play is on swapping 光 (guang), which means ‘light’, for 暗 (an), which means ‘dark’/’dim’. But also 光 has connotations of honour/glory/goodness (and is the same guang as in Hanguang-jun), and 暗 has connotations of secret/hidden/clandestine. (Also I always think of Wei Wuxian on the rooftop in ep22 describing his three months in the Burial Mounds to Lan Wangji as 暗无天日的日子 - literally something like dark, sunless days but as an idiom 暗无天日 can mean total darkness but also an absence of justice. Anyway I digress. Or do I).

8. Jiang Fengmian: His name is  江枫眠, and the character this one is playing on is 眠 (mian) which means ‘dormant’/’asleep’, which in the second image is then swapped for 醒 (xing), which means ‘to awaken’.

9. Xiao Xingchen: The first image is just his name,  晓星尘 (why is his name so pretty - individual characters are dawn + star + dust). The joke is that 晓 (xiao), which means ‘dawn’ or ‘daybreak’ sounds the same as 小 (xiao) which means ‘small’ (or ‘young’). So the picture of him is small... and then then in the second, larger image the first character of his name is swapped for 大 (da), which means ‘big’. Why is this so fucking funny.

10. Wen Ruohan: lfaksjerlskjerj okay so his name is 温若寒 (individual characters warm + like/as if + cold/winter), and the play here is on 若 (ruo - ‘like’ or ‘as if’) sounding similar to (though in this case not a perfect homophone of) 肉(rou), which means ‘meat’. So the second image is just... Wen Frozen Meat.

[hobixboo]

Autumn Leaves Appreciation

PREFACE

There are four themes for this month’s Words By Bangtan: Self-fulfilment, Memories, Festival, and Victory. Once again, while I am sure there are plenty of other words spoken and/or sung by Bangtan that conveys this message, I am going to be focusing on the song “Autumn Leaves (Dead Leaves)” from their 2015 album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2. This is just a paper expressing my appreciation for the themes and messages in the song, and so if my thoughts and connection seem confusing, I apologize. As before, I will try to stay as formal as possible and if anyone has any challenges to what I am going to say in this paper, please reach out to me.

Kennedy (Ken)

@hobixboo

Autumn Leaves is a song produced by SUGA (and Slow Rabbit) and was released in their 2015 EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Part 2. It could be that the most beautiful moment in life is youth since the album is a part of the Youth Trilogy, but it is also possible that the most beautiful moment in life can happen at any moment, even in the present (a very important theme to be talked about in this paper). My mention of SUGA being the producer of this song is important to the meaning of the song, whether intentional or not, the connection still exists.

Min Yoongi was born on March 9th which makes his birth flower a larch. In RUN BTS episode 99, when talking about Yoongi’s birth flower, the larch, they obviously bring up that it reminds them of the song “Autumn Leaves/ Dead Leaves” (00:06:01). At first, I was confused as to why they brought up the song Autumn Leaves. Since I don’t know Korean, I thought it was just because Larches are deciduous conifers; plants that normally shed in Autumn. It was not just because larches are literally “autumn leaves” but because in Korean “Larch” translates to 낙엽송. 낙엽, meaning falling leaves (which happens during autumn), and 송 which is konglish for “song”. The joke seems to be that it was fate for Yoongi to make a song about dry, autumn, falling leaves. According to Genius’ title description of the song “the actual title, “고엽 ” (ko-yeop), literally meaning dry dead leaves, is not a commonly used word. It sounds very formal, and very gloomy, and reminiscent of few dry brown dead leaves remaining at the end of autumn”. The term reminiscent was used so naturally, I looked more into that word as well. To reminisce means to indulge in enjoyable recollections of past events. Revisiting memories for the purpose of improving current mood and gaining optimism is what the song Autumn Leaves is about. The song is also about being able to go back in time, before you completely lost every bit of yourself so that you can enjoy that time, because in the present you may be barely holding on, like leaves on a tree before the end of autumn.

The song uses the connection that leaves have to a tree and almost personifies it to refer to a relationship that a person may have with most likely a significant other (indicated by the terms of endearment: “baby”, and “my/ this love” in the post-chorus). It is unknown who the significant other is but using the context that BTS has made this song, it’s possible that ARMY being an endearing significant counterpart to the lives of BTS, might be the relationship that is being referred to here, but this can have many other interpretations such as general relationships between people or the relationship within oneself. Despite the interpretation of who the speaker may be talking to, the lyrics express how hard it is to hold on given the inevitability of falling.

The reason I say falling is inevitable is not only because all leaves fall eventually in Autumn but because in BTS’ 2017 hidden track song “Sea”, there is the repetition of “wherever there’s hope, there’s despair” (doolset). Although the majority of the song pleads to not leave and to not fall, to hold onto positivity even if it is fading, Namjoon acknowledges that “my love must fall in order to rise”. I could connect this to the theme “Self-fulfilment” because this line could be saying that some relationships might need to be broken in order to improve oneself but again, the “love” being referenced in the lyrics could depend. Could the love talked about be their love of youth? Is it that letting go of the baggage from youth could make you more prosperous? While there may be hope that holding on can turn out to be worthwhile in the end, there will always be despair to tag along, but it may be more straining and stressful than letting go.

The most obvious connection that Autumn Leaves has to the Words By Bangtan themes is to the theme “Memories”. It is a word used explicitly in the lyrics (“inside my memories I become young again”- RM) but the idea of a memory is said implicitly as well (“The subtle (ambiguous) difference from how it was before”- SUGA). The song is not just about memories, but more so, positive memories that come from a particular season: Autumn Nostalgia. Nostalgia, as defined by David Ludden, is the “bittersweet emotion we experience when we think back to a past experience that was better than the life we’re currently leading”. It is possible that the fall season serves as a “retrieval cue” to bring about feelings of nostalgia (like the weather changing from hot to cold or the smell of pumpkin spice in the air). The reason I say Autumn Leaves is more positive in its recollection of memories, despite the lyrics talking about a lack of strength to hold on, is because the lyrics acknowledge that the past was better. With lines such as “I can’t catch you anymore”, “your words and expressions that become cold… our relationship is fading”, “Compared to before, tonight is much quieter”or “I want the you that wants me again”, the speaker is longing for the relationship that was warm and full of life, like the season before (relationship again being left up to interpretation (ie. longing for a self that is more full of life, whose words were less cold towards others, etc)). While remembering that there are good things in the world (and in yourself) is a good thing, it is not what Namjoon is saying we should let go of (since those memories can be self-fulfilling).

I believe Namjoon is saying not to dwell or hold onto things you know you are supposed to eventually lose. We shouldn't let our past, whether good or bad, stop us from living in the present and making new beautiful moments. This could also be why the last line of the chorus is saying “Don't go far away” instead of just “Don’t go away”. It accepts that one may have to leave but as long as they don't go far, they will be able to return. By revisiting memories and not getting caught up in them, one may be able to catch themselves from hitting the ground and completely shattering. Nostalgia can be a good thing if it makes you happy when you are feeling low, but being stuck in an unchangeable past, or on a “branch that does not shake”, one may “constantly fall on their own”. All nostalgia can do is “dampen sadness” momentarily but life still goes on. Even if life were to continue on as bad, it won't be as bad (Ludden) and like the lyrics suggest, even if you fall, you won’t fall far.

It is almost as if after acknowledging that one may need to fall in order to rise again, the repeated “never fall” at the end takes on a new meaning. Towards the end it seems more self-encouraging, almost to say “even if the present is difficult, never let yourself get to the point of shattering. Remind yourself of the most beautiful moments of your youth, but don't stay there”. With a message like this, it makes more sense as to why the song was included in the Young Forever Compilation album but also why it was placed as the second to last song on the original album (House of Cards being the outro surrounding what happens after this realization in Autumn Leaves). Right before the end of youth, BTS are reminding others (and themselves) that while youth may be over, and trials in life may seem like they are getting worse, never fall and keep yourself together a little more (House of Cards) as there is another season to look forward to.

[crackinglamb]

You Have Chosen Nydha To Be Your Companion!

Hopping off @little-lightning-lavellan's idea to take a DA:I OC and turn them into a companion, may I present Banal'ras Nydha (from Hope Is a Fragile Thing) and her wiki page.

General

Banal'ras Nydha looks human, although there is something that doesn't seem quite right about her. She has dark hair and skin and startlingly green eyes, and speaks with a low, raspy voice. It is often difficult to find her in a room. Nydha first appears, and is available to recruit, in the Temple of Sacred Ashes before attempting to close the Breach. She offers knowledge and combat tactics against demons. If dismissed, or never spoken to, she will then be spotted in Haven behind Solas's cabin. She will not be available to recruit at that time, although once the Inquisition is relocated to Skyhold, she will make an offer to travel with the Inquisitor. If dismissed again, she will become a non-interactive NPC in the Rotunda, usually found near the mural or atop the scaffolding. If she is never recruited, she will disappear from Skyhold after the final battle with Corypheus.

Nydha is not romanceable by any Inquisitor, but can engage in a relationship with Solas if a female Dalish Inquisitor has not done so. She is friendly and bonds well with most of the other party members, especially Cole, Dorian and, of course, Solas. She prefers diplomacy and tends towards mediation rather than confrontation. If a Dalish Inquisitor has romanced Solas, and has high approval, Nydha will offer comfort and sympathy upon termination of the relationship. If low approval, Nydha has nothing to say.

She has strong opinions on the plight of elves, slaves and mages. She is supportive of any measures that would improve the lives of them. Her early banter with Dorian revolves around debating Tevinter's practices and trying to get him to see a better way. She will also speak with Iron Bull about the shortcomings of the Qun, although never with the same level of disdain as Solas. While she never openly mocks the Chantry or Andrastianism, she isn't a strong supporter or believer and has no opinion on who becomes Divine.

Location

In Haven, Nydha can be found behind Solas's cabin, usually in the darkest corner. Once the Inquisition relocates to Skyhold, she can be found in either the Arcane Library or the Rotunda.

Approval

Nydha's approval level is based upon empathy. An Inquisitor who is helpful, respectful and curious will gain approval. Nydha has no opinion on quests such as Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts or the outcome of Here Lies the Abyss, but approves diplomatic resolutions to judgments. She will greatly approve allying with the Free Mages, and only slightly approve conscripting the Templars. Conscription of the Free Mages or allying with the Templars will result in full disapproval. She will greatly approve Iron Bull becoming Tal-Vashoth and keeping Cole as a spirit. Actions that are ruthless or cruel will lose approval.

A high approval Inquisitor will learn that Nydha was born in another world and 'crossed over' through the Veil when the Breach opened. She will tell the Inquisitor that her name was given to her as a gift from someone she met in the Fade. She does not, however, say that it is Solas (see below for unique Trespasser dialogue). She will say that her name means 'Shadow of Night', according to her translation. A Dalish Inquisitor can have special dialogue to recognize the name as being Elvish and can question how a human came to have it. Nydha will answer that it is because the native language of the Fade is Elvish, a remnant from when elves held all of Thedas before human arrival.

A low approval Inquisitor will not learn this part of her history and she will remain an enigma. If approval falls to zero, she will refuse to speak to the Inquisitor, although she does not leave and is still available as a companion.

Quests

Survivor In the Shadows – the quest for meeting Nydha initially at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. It begins upon speaking with her, and ends with either recruitment or dismissal.

From the Ashes – only available after either In Hushed Whispers or Champions of the Just, but before completion of In Your Heart Shall Burn, Nydha will ask the Herald to accompany her back to the Temple of Sacred Ashes to search for her few belongings. The Herald will find a journal, a bundle of unusual clothes and a single unmarked vial. Nydha will approve completing this quest.

A Better Form – Nydha will ask for help in stabilizing her corporeal body if Dagna is brought into the Inquisition. Resolution of this quest will involve having Dagna create a unique amulet that will act as a permanent grounding source, rather like a lightning rod. Components for this amulet are: 1 blank rune stone, 1 wisp essence, and either 5 dawnstone or 5 volcanic aurum (both imbue constitution bonuses). It will act as an Amulet of Power, granting Nydha an extra skill point. This is the only time such an ability will be available to her. This will also allow her to wear other amulets throughout the remainder of the game. She, and Solas, will greatly approve completing this quest.

Twice-Born – available during the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. Nydha, if in the party, will ask to speak with the Augur of Stone-Bear Hold once relations with the hold have been established. If she is not among the Inquisitor's party, she will be found in the main scout camp near Professor Kenric. What the two speak about will be unknown, but at the end of the quest, Nydha will inform the Inquisitor that she has been given the legend-mark Twice-Born from the hold's 'gods'. Cole will greatly approve completing this quest, regardless of whether or not he is in the party.

Note: This quest is not dependent upon approval, but is the only time she will speak with a zeroed out Inquisitor, should that level of low approval be reached.

Ability Tree/Specialization

Nydha is technically a rogue, and can utilize either a bow or double daggers. She has an autolevel preference for the Subterfuge tree, and has an additional, unique starting skill in Fade Cloak. This does not require further leveling to be active. It is the only skill that cannot be deactivated from her skillset.

She can specialize in either Tempest or Rift Mage, due to her nature as a being from the Fade. She is not otherwise a mage. Her decision on specialization can be influenced, as she will ask the Inquisitor's opinion. If no opinion is given, she will default to taking Tempest.

Combat comments

“Come get some!”

“Catch me if you can!”

(If specialized in Tempest) “Burn, baby, burn.”

(If specialized in Rift Mage) “Ooh, the stuff of nightmares.”

Kills an enemy

“Another one bites the dust.”

“Cool story, bro.”

“Then perish.”

Low Health

“This was not on my agenda today.”

“A little help?”

Low Health (Companions)

For all general companions: “I have your back.”

If in a romance with Solas: “Take a breather, fenorain.”

Fallen Companions

For all general companions: “I'll make them pay!”

If in a romance with Solas: “NO!”

Location Comments

Ferelden:

Hinterlands: “Why is it so big? Why is everything so big?”

Fallow Mire: “I have mud in unmentionable places. Can we go now?”

Storm Coast: “I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky.”

If companions question her: “It's just from a poem I once read.”

Orlais:

Exalted Plains: “So much death. Can't you feel it?”

Emerald Graves: “This forest is old. Very old.” [laughs] “I always wanted to say that in proper context.”

Emprise du Lion: “Stay away from the bloody lyrium. And wear a hat.”

At Suledin Keep after Imshael, if Solas is in the party: “Ir abelas, lethallin.” (If romanced) Ir abelas, fenorain.”

Solas's reply (only translated if the Inquisitor is Dalish): “Ma serannas. Ea lam'an.” (It is in the past)

At the Pools of the Sun, regarding the trio of dragons: “Can't we just leave them alone? They really won't hurt anyone if we keep our distance.”

Hissing Waste: “You know, if you ignore the endless vista of sand, it's really quite beautiful. In a bleak kind of way.”

Western Approach: “Hot. Hot and blighted. I need a drink.”

Forbidden Oasis, upon reaching the second camp: “That's it, I'm never leaving.”

Arbor Wilds: “Mind your footing. This place is full of secrets.”

In Val Royeaux: “Pretty place.”

Frostback Basin: “I could stay here forever. Even with the varmints.”

The Descent: “Nice and dark, just the way I like it.”

At the Wellspring: “Wow...that's amazing.”

Trespasser: “Now it all ends, my friend.”

If the Inquisitor questions the statement: “You'll see soon enough.”

Companion/Advisor comments

Varric – Gotta watch out for Spooky, there's something about her I can't put my finger on.

Cassandra – She is an able fighter, but I would not trust her out of my sight, which is far too often.

Solas – She is secretive by nature, but I would assure you that she means no harm.

Iron Bull – She's a tricky one. Good fighter, lotta secrets. Good at keeping them too. I don't think I've cracked a single one that she didn't tell me herself.

Dorian – She's fascinating. I am not at liberty to say why, of course, if you don't already know.

Cole – Bright as the sun and scattered as the stars. She wants to help, just like I do.

Vivienne – She seems capable enough, my dear. But I would not dare to trust her. She is an accomplished player of the Game, for all her smiles and good cheer.

Sera – She's as bad as Creepy, although she's better at jokes. She's better at hiding than I am!

Blackwall – She knows something. She knows too many somethings.

Josephine – She keeps to herself and has caused no diplomatic incidents. I wish I could say the same for some of the others gathered here.

Leliana – I find it curious that I cannot find any solid evidence of her existence before the Conclave, but that does not automatically mark her a spy. However, her nature makes me no more inclined to trust her. I would be wary of her.

Cullen – Who? Oh, the...shadowy...person. I hear she can handle herself. I can't say I've spoken with her, so I don't have an opinion.

Trespasser

There is a unique dialogue tree available to the Inquisitor while speaking with Solas if Nydha was recruited as a companion.

“Did you know about Nydha?”

“Yes, I am the one who gave her her name. I found her while I yet slept, and she became corporeal after the Breach.”

(First branch) “Is she one of your agents?”

“No. She has only ever been my friend.”

(Special, if not romanced) “Your friend? It seemed to be more than that.”

“In another world, perhaps.”

(Second branch) “Is she joining you?”

“No, I would not wish her on this path.”

(Third branch) “She knew this whole time. Why didn't she tell me?”

“She had her reasons for not telling you. (If high approval) I hope you will not hold them against her.”

Regardless of approval, Nydha disappears after the Exalted Council. She settles in the Frostback Basin among the Avvar. A high approval Inquisitor will receive correspondence from her from time to time, but she will refuse to come back to the 'civilized' nations of Thedas, preferring privacy and isolation.

Trivia

If in the party during Here Lies the Abyss, the Nightmare demon will speak to her in Elvish. Her reply is a scoff and nothing else.

Nydha can be a third option at the Vir'Abelasan if she is in the party. If she is chosen to drink from the Well, Abelas does not object, although he will still point out that she will be bound as they are. If Nydha drinks, she will summon Flemeth and work with the Inquisitor to tame the dragon for the final confrontation with Corypheus. If she is in the party during Trespasser, she will be able to provide the password to the spirit guards, preventing a fight.

If Morrigan is allowed to attack Abelas, she will attempt to defend him and will argue that the witch is not worthy of the knowledge she seeks if brutality is her only way to get it. If there is a peaceful alliance with the Sentinels and Morrigan is chosen to drink, Nydha will slightly disapprove but hold her tongue on the matter.

If the Inquisitor drank from the Well, and succeeds in finding enough clues to determine that Solas is Fen'Harel, Nydha will appear saddened when the Inquisitor rebuts to the Viddasala that they already know. She will state that this was what she'd been waiting for. The Inquisitor will have the option to accuse her of knowing the whole time. She will answer yes, but she won't explain.

If Nydha is never recruited, and remains an NPC in the Rotunda, one will hear her occasionally speak with Solas. These conversations range in topic from books they are reading to the mural. Never about Inquisition business. There is a slight chance to hear them speaking in Elvish, and their words are not translated, regardless of Inquisitor's race. Solas's replies appear to be noncommittal.

Nydha will remark upon the Inquisitor's romantic choices, usually with something supportive and a hope that they are happy together. She will also comment something generally pleasant about each companion if asked. The exception to this is if Iron Bull remains Ben-Hassrath. Nydha will caution the Inquisitor to be careful of telling him too much since his loyalty is now unknown.

It can be implied from various interactions and from high approval conversation that Nydha was in fact aware of everything that would happen during the course of the game. She never gives a reason for keeping her silence on matters pertaining to what foreknowledge she had, although any input given during the game events is sound and often given in such a way so as not to risk suspicion.

It can also be implied that regardless of what Solas says during Trespasser, Nydha has actually left the Inquisition to join his ranks, or at least does not stand opposed to him. This is not confirmed, however, and according to her epilogue card, she is enjoying a quiet life in the Frostback Basin with no intention of ever interfering with Thedosian politics or events again.