#italian americans think that having an italian grandma means they speak the language and then pronounce pre like pree

[ofide]

italian americans who don’t speak italian trying not to mention that they’re italian apropos of nothing:

[mikauzoran]

La Befana in Retrospect

Hey guys. I’m watching another Series Two episode today. This time it’s La Befana. I like this episode. (I think I say that about most episodes. XD) I appreciate the Marichat crumbs we get, and the Adrienette content is sweet too. Also, I get a kick out of Gina. Her character is a lot of fun.

First off, I love the little dance Tikki does when she’s getting ready to spit out the kwagatama for Marinette. XD Very cute, Tikki.

And then there’s Marinette going up to Nino and pulling his headphones off to find out what he’s listening to. He just looks so taken aback. XD What if he hadn’t been listening to Marinette’s favourite song? What then, Marinette? XD She’s so extra sometimes, and I adore her.

I wonder when that song (the Adrienette slow dance song from Doudou Villain/Despair Bear) became her favourite song. Up until this point, she’s said that Jagged is her favourite artist, so I would have thought one of his songs would be her favourite. 

(I’m aware that people can like vastly different genres of music. I just hit shuffle on my iTunes, and the first couple songs include music from Undertale the videogame, Motion City Soundtrack, popular Latin American Music from my Zumba class, anime J-Pop, and Quelqu’un ma dit by Carla Bruni. There’s stuff in Korean, Chinese, and Russian on there too in addition to my classical and modern instrumental music as well as opera. So, I know people can like different genres of music.) 

...But I wonder if the Adrienette slow dance song only became Marinette’s favourite after the Adrienette slow dance. It just doesn’t seem like something she’d like normally. XD I’m imagining her hearing it before the slow dance and she can’t stand it. She absolutely hates this song...but then the slow dance with Adrien happens and suddenly it’s no longer annoying. Suddenly, she finds all kinds of depth and meaning in it. Meanwhile, Alya’s over there making fun of Marinette for her sudden change of heart about the song. XD

Ahem! Also, I love the little scene with Adrien and Alya talking about the party in the classroom. I love the way Adrien panics and suddenly becomes horrible at acting when he notices that Marinette is listening. XD

I also love Gina. Her character is so great, and I love her accent and how expressive she is. I just really like how she speaks French. It’s interesting to hear accents in other languages. Like, I love Jagged’s American accent too. They have really distinct ways of speaking, and it’s cool to listen to. It’s particularly interesting to note that an Italian accent in French sounds a lot like an Italian accent in English to me.

I got a huge dose of second-hand anxiety when I first watched this episode. ^.^; I’m the kind of person who feels really bad when other people get their feelings hurt or feel embarrassed. I would have been panicking if I were in Marinette’s place and my grandma had gotten me gifts that were no longer age appropriate. I would feel so bad and not want her to feel bad, so I probably would have done what Marinette did and lie to save her feelings. That was really relatable for me.

But Gina seems like a super cool person. It’s nice that she writes Marinette letters, even though she’s not around much. I think it would have been really hard on Tom growing up with a mum like Gina (and a dad like Rolland, but we’ll talk about that when we get there). Gina seems like she would be really interesting as a person, though.

I really like Tom and Sabine working together to get the cake done in time. XD Their teamwork is so cute. I love them as a couple. I can kind of see where Marinette gets her extra-ness. It’s sweet.

Side note: I need to know what this Gabriel Agreste book Mylène got for Marinette is about. XD Did he write it? Is the prose as bad as his Papillon monologues? I need to know, guys. Gabriel would totally write an ego trip autobiography.

Other side note: The tune Befana sings is probably a familiar one. It’s La Donna e Mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto (the link has Pavarotti singing and the lyrics translated into English). I hate this song with a burning passion. It’s so pretty, but if you listen to the lyrics it’s really disgusting and misogynistic, especially because it’s being sung by a playboy who toys with women’s emotions and forces himself on people. ...But, yeah. I hope I have thoroughly ruined your enjoyment of this lovely piece of music. ^w^ The next time you hear it being used in a commercial, pause and frown and wonder if anyone bothered to look up the lyrics because there’s usually a huge disconnect between the lyrics and the product being marketed. I wonder why the creators picked that tune. I wonder if they associate it with some kind of product it was used in a commercial for.

But back to the episode! I love Chat Noir being extra. He’s such a precious baby, and I love him bantering with Befana. Peak Chat Noir content. I’m just glad that Adrien has this outlet to be a goofball. I also like Adrien calling Plagg “mon vieux”. XD “My little old man” (/affectionate). It’s cute.

And bless the Marichat crumbs this episode. uwu

Speaking of Chat Noir being extra, I love how he, unprovoked, starts singing his lines to the tune of La Donna e Mobile too. XD I also love how Ladybug chimes in when he gets stuck on the rhyme. These two are precious. And look at the fond look on her face. She’s like, “You’re so cringe sometimes, but I love you and will be cringe right along with you because you’re important to me”. Also, Marinette, it hits differently when you call yourself his Lady. XD

Befana gets points for making Papillon say “the magic word”. I don’t think Gabriel has said “please” in a looooong time. XD It looks physically painful for him when he’s saying it.

I also love Chat Noir being like, “Oh, crap. We can’t let her get to the Tower. That’s where I hid Marinette!” 

And then the look on his face when he opens the closet door is like, “Marinette, please don’t be in here”. And the huge sigh of relief afterwards. I love it. I love how Adrien just cares about Marinette and wants her to be okay. And then as Befana goes after the descending elevator and Chat Noir is peering over the edge, hoping to catch some sign of Marinette being okay, his worried face is really cute. He doesn’t relax until Ladybug assures him that Marinette is safe. It’s just very sweet. I love how much time he spends this episode just worrying about Marinette. He forgets to flirt with Ladybug for most of the episode because he’s too busy fretting about Marinette. XD

Again, these two dorks are fabulous. I adore how Adrien went out of his way to make Marinette a handmade gift. It’s so sweet because he really could just buy her something expensive that she’d like, but, instead, he chooses to make something himself because those are the kinds of gifts that Marinette gives, so he knows she’ll appreciate the time and effort he put into it. He might not know it, but he’s trying to speak her love language.

I really like how, at the end, Marinette sneaks off to talk to Tikki and swoon over Adrien’s gift. I like how Marinette tells Tikki that Adrien’s gift is no more weird than Tikki’s (with a teasing wink that I missed the first time I saw this episode). And then Tikki pretends to be offended. The interaction between Tikki and Marinette is super cute.

And then we end with Adrien holding his Marinette lucky charm which he carries around with him always because that’s what friends do. XD But I love how he’s at this party (I think it’s only the third one he’s ever attended in his life if we count the one Nino threw for him while akumatized) and he takes a moment to sneak away and gaze fondly at his Marinette lucky charm. Adrien, what are you doing, you sweet child? XD

Anyway. There was a lot of good stuff in this episode. I enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading! ^.^

[foxymoxynoona]

It’s really funny you’re telling me this now, because for this semester I have an English exam and it focuses on English as a global language. Yesterday we talked about the differences between US and UK English and I realized I have no idea what UK English is😂. I have an American accent when I speak because I grew up surrounded by it so I find it waaay easier than any British accent, which is also the reason all my teachers in school made fun of me lol (number one rule in Italian schools when they teach English: rigorously British or else you’re “wrong”🥶).

Sorry for the useless rambling, but I looove American accents and regionalisms! I’ve spent so much time looking up the differences and I *kind of* understand all accents now, but oh regional words buried me💀 please if want to drop here some Texan slang, I would love to lose my mind over trying to guess the meaning😅.

🌸

I'll preface this by saying I left Texas for college a long time ago, and have lost most of my own accent, so some of these might be outdated... Also Texas is huge and different regions of Texas also have some of their own variations...

Hmm, a lot of the Southernisms/Texanisms are idioms, or euphemisms for saying something mean but making it sound nice. I once swore I would write down all the things my Grandma says and I should pick that practice up. A lot of it though is also just in how words are pronounced. Texans exaggerate some vowels and swallow the ends of words and there's a lot of tonality that changes the emotional intention of the phrase. ("Bless her heart" can mean "hope that dumbass gets hit by a truck she deserves what she got" or "she is literally an angel on earth and I can't believe this happened to her" depending on the way you say it...)

Here are some I can recall that my husband actually pointed out to me:

- So like you don't pronounce "ing" it's pronounced "in'", like you might say (as I once unfortunatelly did in a meeting) "We're really scootin' now." (We're really moving now!) I've never heard anyone outside of Texas use the word "scoot" actually (move a little bit.)

- While often Texans pronouns consonants you shouldn't (like Amarillo Texas is pronounced "Aa-muh-rih-llo" even though the LL should be a 'y' sound) but sometimes drop consonants for the sake of a phrase, like "Get 'er done" (get her done... which could mean a task! or... a lady... guys put this on the back window of their trucks when I was in high school)

- Apparently we also emphasize weird syllables (I learned to pronounce the wird INsurance but in New England they say it inSURance.)

-There are some verbs that get used a lot too like "fixin' ta" --for instance "I'm fixin' ta take the trash out" is I'm fixing to take the trash out which means I'm about to take the trash out.

- Southernism, not just Texas, but everything is a Coke. As in, waiter asks "What do you want to drink?" and you say "Two cokes" and they say "ok what kind, we got sprite, coke, and root beer." Unless you mean Pepsi and then you say Pepsi and everyone is unhappy.

-Ain't and Y'all! Growing up I was told they were a Texas thing, but I'm pretty sure Britney Spears used them way back when too in Louisiana (which isn't far from where I grew up). They're both more mainstream now and used in other regional dialects

-Two more examples I just thought of for weird pronounciation: "shit" is pronounced two syllables "shee-it"; clam is pronounced two syllables "clay-yam". Lots of stretching words out to more syllables than they should be.

Damn I should be able to think of more but I'm blanking right now...

One thing that complicates this for me is my parents are actually from Oklahoma, Illinois and Tennessee, so some of my family usage gets muddied and I don't always know where it came from. But some other things i apparently say weird:

- milk (pronounced MEHLK)

- caramel (hot debated one! after so many hot debates, I literlaly just pronounced it different every time but learned to pronounce it originally CARE-uh-mull)

- pin / pen (pronounced identially, yes this includes penguin too, "PINgwen)

My stepdad has some special Oklahoma phrases: "My stars" as a phrase of surprise/disbelief; "over yonder" for over there. Damn, there are more I can't think of right now...

As far as UK/US English goes, the accent doesn't usually cause a problem for us in understanding, it's that a lot of the words are just different (like a jumper vs. sweater.) UNTIL you get up to Scottish accents and then good f'ing luck, it's unreal. Some Australian words are also impossible for me to understand.

Anyway, sorry I can't remember more! If I do wind up going to help my mom, I'll write down all the ones I'm forgetting right now...

[faerienextdoor]

general relationship hcs with (some) pastas

Fair warning, I'm using and hinting at mine and my friends’ writing for these creeps :) enjoy  also as soon as i figure out how to open an ask box, I’ll be accepting requests

Brian:

- oh where to start with this absolute himbo

- he melts around you. like he's your bitch, and you're his.

- he's the type of boyfriend that takes you out in the snow and shoves a handful down the back of your jacket, and laughs until you shove snow in his face

- it is snow war

- it ends with you cuddling him, wrapped in a blanket and content in front of the burning fire he got started just for you <3

- but he also has some weird... habits.

- drinks pickle juice.

- gets his hand stuck in the jar.

- looks at you like 🥺 until you sigh and help him. for the fifteenth time.

- he can cook some basic breakfast foods, and happily breaks out a cookbook to prepare you something as a surprise or to learn something with you!!

- baking with him would be a mess. he forgets flour goes everywhere and now you both look like you took a bath in cocaine

- but the cupcakes are mediocre at best. they aren't absolute garbage, so... cupcake points!

- he worries about how hoodie treats you. he doesn't remember anything when he regains control, but you've reassured him hoodie is just fine.

- and he is

(hoodie)

- hoodie is like a rottweiler or a doberman.

- protective. intimidating. energetic.

- but also a giant fucking baby.

- this large ass man lumbers over and drops to his knees. places his chin on your lap and stares at you from the fabric of his mask until you stop what you're doing and stroke his head awkwardly

- you could swear he does those happy grumbled a rottie does.

- hoodie is silent but shows he loves you just as much as brian does. He strokes your hair silently, even places a kiss to the crown of your head as you sink into his beefy arms.

- he smells nice too. surprisingly.

- but that raises the question: if hoodie showers, does he shower with that damn thing on?

- you won't get an answer if you were to ask.

- brian introduces you to his grandma julia. and she dotes on you.

- the immortal old lady remarks that you’re the best s/o brian has brought to her yet.

Tim:

- a lumberjack man with biceps like a fucking tree trunk

- how'd you land him? give me your secrets (/j)

- he's such a love bug. a tired stressed love bug.

- he finds /every/ excuse to have physical contact with you. it's like a little touch from you reassures him that you're real. you're like a dream to him.

- he's the best for cuddles. He holds you to his chest

- and you get special access to his moobs

- and he gently strokes your head, traces shapes into your back, etc. it's a special intimate moment each time.

- my man's is italian-american but can't cook to save his fucken life

- he always gets your favorite microwave meals though!! he never forgets.

- not feeling good? dw baby he's making it for you <33 shitty low tier bean and cheese burrito coming up

- slowly he learns the basics and surprises you with lunch or even dinner if you're lucky!!

- he loves you so much. and wants you to feel it and know it. all the time.

(masky)

- god where to start with this bitch

- he's not jeff levels of bad ofc, but he's silent and... weird. creepy, some may say. he doesn't mean to be.

- and he's a hard ass. far more strict than tim.

- he follows you around like a giant fucken puppy and will spook you by grabbing you abruptly and holding you tightly

- you can't escape him. he really utilizes his physical strength

- he loves lifting you up and just... holding you. or carrying you off.

- protective and overbearing.

- but tim keeps him under control.

(angst)

- he wouldn't want to lose you like he lost his last wife.

- you find pictures of a woman laying around and a small girl that bears a striking resemblance to her and tim.

- tim goes quiet and questioned but eventually caves and tells you about his family

- or what he used to have

- his wife died and his daughter disappeared.

- it broke him and you're all he has left now

- constantly needs your affection in return to his own

- pls love him

jeff:

- why the fuck would you date him

- he's the absolute worst in so many aspects. But he genuinely tries for you.

- even if his gifts are shitty, it's nice to know he thoughts of you, right? even if it's a half dead flower or a rib torn from a deer caraccas.

- but you get the butt end of his shithead antics. ranch bath, specifically. he smelt like spoiled milk for a week after and you had to cuddle that fucker.

- and don't get me started on mayo bath

- but he still loves finding himself in your arms. or finding you in his. he's demanding affection wise, and will yank you into him for some cuddles. whether you like it or not.

- he isn't one for a lot of pet names, but calls you curse words or "sweetheart" in polish.

- and you get to see the side of him that only shows when he breaks down.

(bit of angst)

- he misses his family and the life he used to have. he'll reminisce what it was like in poland with his mom and family with you, and you sometimes swear you can see his brown eyes gloss over at the memory of her.

- he never talks about his dad, you've noticed.

- don't ask.

- he brushes off heavy conversations with some dumb quip ("wanna see my renegade?")

- he sucks at cooking. god awful at it. but he really tries for you. manages a bowl of oat meal that's edible.

- but he overloads it with sugar and for some reason, salt.

- he's confused. he thinks that's normal (it isn't)

- his idea of a date is napping with you. or rather, forcing you into nap time.

- I mean it when I say this man is strong in a weird fucken way. latches onto you with that iron grip and you won't be able to leave for at least a few hours.

jane:

- ethereal wlw woman.

- could break you with her heels. or a flutter of what eyelashes she has.

- you're lucky to have her, and she's just as lucky to have you!

- she's sweet and charming. very smooth and takes good care of you.

- her love language is a mix of physical touch and acts of service.

- she'll cuddle you all night, and then make you breakfast in the morning.

- she loves showering with you when she's comfy enough around you! it's super intimate and she washes your hair.

- massages the soap into your hair, suds spilling down your neck and back as her fingers scrub circles into your scalp.

- it's heaven on earth. such a domestic life.

- it'll take a while for her to settle enough in the relationship for you to see her without her mask

- you make her feel so loved and wanted

- secure, even.

- she's protective but not controlling or overbearing. shes that type of girlfriend that's just a worrywart and relaxes as soon as you're curled up in her arms. you fit there perfectly, too. like you belong there.

- which you do. at least in her mind

- she has such a gentle touch and hold on you. like she's afraid you'll combust in her arms if she holds you too tightly.

- she loves stroking your hair and having you nap

- using her tiddies as a pillow 👌

(angst)

- she needs affirmation from you when it comes to her scars.

- she thinks that jeff ruined her. permanently marking her once spotless body.

- and she thinks you'll hate her or find her disgusting.

- that's why she freezes if/when you gently slip off her mask.

- she stares at you with those teary green eyes. then leans in and kisses you

- you make all of her worries disappear.

- she's also financially comfortable, but not really rich (on that topic: eat the rich)

- she spoils you every chance she gets. gifts, a nice dinner date, you name it

- she almost spoils you as much as she does her cat Emory

- little shit has the sparkliest fucken collar and acts like he's the shit

- he's your fur baby too now

Helen:

- oh my god this disaster of an art boi

- he's convinced he's the luckiest man in the world (and he might as well be!!)

- he obviously wouldn't have been the one to confess. but it was really obvious by how he painted and drew you constantly, that some feeling for you was lodged into his beating heart.

- he treats you like the finest china. with the most care a man can manage.

- he's the definition of clingy and affectionate from the very start.

- he curls around your sleeping form perfectly when y'all cuddle.

- his hand dances in your hair, soothing you into a dreamless sleep each night without fail.

- he has a magic touch and a gentle voice.

- and he cherishes you so fucken much. (like a simp /j)

- he shies away from kisses at first, but will hold your hand and melts if you hold his face in them!!!

- he's greek, and often speaks sweet things to you in it. he's so comfortable around you that he speaks in his native language to you. that's an accomplishment.

- he loves when you baby him. helen loves being cradled and loved.

- taking a nap with his head on your chest also hits different. he's so in love with you

(angst)

- he's afraid of losing you. who wouldn't be? you're amazing and you love /him/ of all people

- he thinks very negatively of himself. please scold him for self deprecating.

- he always worries he'll wake up and you'll be gone.

- so he holds you extra close at night. and follows you around when you leave for any reason. Trails behind you like a lost puppy in need of a gentle kiss.

- which, is what he essentially is

- and also: pls steal his sweater and wear it. he'll cry over how cute you are.

[elbiotipo]

In a way, I don't think I can really believe and say and claim I know about the legends, mythology and beliefs of peoples I do not belong to, of a language I do not speak.

And yet it does feels disrepectful not to acknowledge them. As a biologist, it feels wrong to enter a forest without tales and without knowing that there is something there, like in every forest in the world, but certainly not the fairies from the tales spread worldwide by Europeans.

I am someone who is of European descent -mostly, though I have no knowledge about my native great-greatparents beyond what my Grandpa knows- but is certainly not European. I was raised in Argentina, in the Litoral, this is my home and identity and I know no other, to consider myself European or just "white" is nonsensical. Yet I was raised in a Latin American culture where the European language, religion and culture was imposed, and yet I was raised with the customs and legends from the original people of this land, from drinking mate to the legends that my dad told me in silent siestas. People that, no doubt, some of my ancestors mistreated. I know so much of the Italian side of my family, to the very villages they came from. From my Spanish side, I know only that my great-great-grandma was born in the boat on the way here "escaping from war", while my grandpa says that "we were always here", because his mother was possibly native. That's all I know, beyond the tales he tells me.

Does all this matter at all? Many people go through all their lives without even knowning who their distant ancestors were, and I'm no exception. Does having native ancestors means anything when I am so far removed from their still living cultures? Am I more or less Argentine that someone whose family has been here before the first European stepped on this soil, or someone who has just arrived by bus looking for work? Does learning Italian because of my heritage makes me more or less European? Does knowing English and writing this in English changes my identity? Is learning about a local legend through a computer screen less 'worth' that having heard it from your family and community? Are those legends really part of my identity? Is there any difference?

Where does culture begins and ends?

[katatonicimpression]

The ask meme for Monet.

do I like them:

She is my wife.

5 good qualities:

She's a genius. Underrated part of her power set tbh.

She's willing to stand up for what she thinks is right. Doesn't just go with the flow because it's easier.

She genuinely cares about others and wants to protect the innocent (when she's written well lol)

She is absolutely hilarious.

She's a loyal friend.

3 bad qualities:

She's mean to people (I love it)

She's uninterested in systemic injustice when it doesn't affect her. She's absurdly privileged in a lot of ways and, while she wants to help individual people, doesn't ever really think about how the system is set up to screw them over. Mainly because she benefits from that system. E.g. she just goes along with the mutant registration act because it's no big deal to her or the fact that she's on board with, like, capitalism because she's always been wealthy.

She frequently escalates conflict at just the worst times.

favourite episode/etc:

Oh look it's my wife doing a reference to my other wife:

otp:

Jubilee.

brotp:

Siryn. That scene when Terry tells her she's pregnant and M immediately offers to help her get an abortion? Idk if it's just me but that felt like such a good friend moment. I miss them together and I hate that they stopped being close.

ot3:

I dunno... you could always throw Everett in with her and Jubes? That's one way to fix a love triangle.

notp:

I just can't with the Sabretooth thing. Nope. Not for me.

best quote:

"You just put six holes in a Louis Vuitton shirt and you expect me to 'wait'? For what? The 'fashion police?"

(She has a bunch of good ones though)

head canon:

Her grandma (Cartier's mum) is still alive and living her best life.

Shes a polyglot. We know French is her first language, and it's what she speaks with her family. We also know she speaks English, Arabic and Krakoan. She lived in Monaco, which means she'd have done some Monégasque at school. I headcanon that she's also proficient at Italian and German, because of that fancy education. She probably learnt Latin too. Maybe she knows a bit of Kabylian? I think she picks up language really fast as well.

When Americans pronounce her name as "saynt croy", she always corrects them. Jubilee does it on purpose to annoy her.

She doesn't mind krakoa. But she still spends a lot of her time away from it (this is implied in x-corp). Partly this is because she's never been into mutant separatism, but I think she also doesn't want to be near her brother. She doesn't like the twins being on the island without her.

Very specific headcanon: at some point between when she was M-Plate and before House of X, she found Penance again. Something happened between them and the twins. Penance died... or did she? The sisters did something to save Penny, offering themselves up as hosts in an inversion of what was done to them before: they've all been trapped in that body, now they're offering up space for her. Because they're sharing Penance between the three of them, none of them are overwhelmed by it. None of them are completely trapped and Penny lives on within the three of them.

Also she's autistic but I don't know if that's a headcanon or just me pointing at my conspiracy board and insisting it's canon

[sleepypeaky]

amore e famiglia

Michael gray x italian-american male reader

request: My gay italian ass self would LOVE a Micheal Gray fic, but like, not sure he would like a guy who's italian after that fucking Luca incident.. and I dont know if you write for mlm..

a/n: ok so i fuckign wrote this BEFORE i wrote amore and i never fucking posted this klfdsgjdlskfgjkldf im such a fuckign idiot

 (original a/n) this is very obviously a projection and naturally i chose a dinner scene to potray this bcs ... italian. I hope you dont mind that i added siblings, i wanted it to have a larger 1920s family vibe. Dedicated to all of my italian american gays ✌️we be lit

Part 1/prequel

1928?

Before you knocked on the door you turned to michael, giving him yet another disclaimer. 

You took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Ma i’m here!” You called.

The door opened into a small foyer area, then up ahead was the living room, kitchen, and around the corner to the right was the dining room and bedrooms. Your mother hurried out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. 

“(y/n) bambino!” She cooed in her light accent as she pulled you in for a big hug and kissed your cheeks fervently. She held you at the shoulders when she pulled back to inspect you for damage. Then she remembered Michael.

“You must be Michael!” She abandoned you and went to make her attack on him, which was difficult considering he was a good foot taller than her. Nevertheless, she gave him a once-over and let out an incoherent exclamation of satisfaction, then she pulled his face down to plant a kiss on either cheek.

“I see you are a good strong boy. You take care of my son!” Then she hurried off to set the dining room table.

You turned to Michael, “Well that went pretty well.”

You helped michael find a hook for his coat and then led him into the living room.

Your father in a chair in the corner, muttering at the newspaper held up to his face.

“Hiya Pop.”

He looked up and seemed to suddenly remember that company was coming over. He folded the paper and stood up, saying a brief hello to you accompanied with a light pinch and slap of your cheek. He held out his hand to michael who shook it. 

“Nice to meet you sir.” He said. You laughed at his formality.

Your father smiled and nodded his head satisfactorily, he clapped a hand on michael’s shoulder. “You see,” he was talking to you “words of respect! I like the look of you Michael.”

“Thank you sir.”

Your father was called out of the room to assist your mother and you had a minute alone with Michael.

“You see, It’s not going so bad!” He said to you and squeezed your hand.

“True,” You sighed “But just wait until my sisters get here.”

-

“Nonna!” You called loudly as you stepped into the kitchen. The small woman was stirring something in a pot that looked twice her size. She let out a cry of excitement when she saw you both. She hobbled over and reached up to pinch your cheek and said an affectionate “faccia brutto!”

[faccia brutto is a term of endearment, but basically means ‘you’re ugly’]

Your grandmother now turned to Michael and pretty visibly swooned.

“This is Michael.” You said.

“piacere di conoscerti.” Michael said in butchered italian. You instantly loved him more for trying to speak your grandmothers language, though, not as much as she was. 

She threw her hands up and squealed with delight, she babbled a bit in italian before reaching up to pinch michael’s cheek. “Faccia Bello!!” She exclaimed triumphantly. 

You laughed, “She says you’re handsome.”

Michael grinned and rubbed the red pinch mark on his face.

-

Shortly after, your older sister arrived with her husband, and one of your younger sisters came shortly after. 

“I have 5 beautiful children,” Your mother explained to michael from across the table. “First a girl, then (y/n) my little boy, then the next 3 girls. But two live too far away for dinner, but we fill space with you!”

Amidst the talking -or should i say yelling- you glanced at michael to see he was clearly unaccustomed to the volume of the conversation.

nonna came out with the pot somehow carrying it before her. she gave everyone a slop of sauce and pasta from the pot, but when she got to michael she gave him more than the others

“Strong boy” she said in a thick italian accent and pinched his cheek again. Your sister laughed. “Looks like nonna likes you michael.”

“So what do you do Michael?” Your sister’s husband asked.

“I, ah...” You smirked into your fork-full of pasta. You liked seeing how michael reacted to that question. “Family business- motor manufacturing, I was just the accountant but now I oversee the New York branch.”

You could feel michael relax as your brother in law took the story- he had no reason not to. 

“Family business you say, I like that. It’s good to keep things in the family.” Your father would say something like that. “Whats the name?”

“Shelby Company Limited- my cousin’s name.”

-

It was over. You leaned agains the door to your apartment and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh come on! It was great!” Michael assured you.

You kicked off you shoes and went to collapse on the couch.

Michael came over and slipped under your sprawled legs.

“You were amazing.” You said and you kissed him.

“But,” You said with a grin. “I dont think i can be with you anymore.”

Michael smiled, “And why is that?”

“Because i think my grandma wants you for herself strong boy.” You mimicked your grandmothers accent on the last words. 

Michael laughed, “well thats too bad because she might not think so but you have a faccia bello.”

You smiled and kissed him again.

“Now,” You said. “It’s your family’s turn.”

[bulletballet-arch]

REALLY LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY. RULES. repost ,   don’t  reblog !    tag 10 ! good  luck ! TAGGED. I took this from Minnie’s archived Bioshock blog. I’ve been looking for this meme all this month. TAGGING. @hammurabicomplex. @bluuxriising. @ Me - for Sal on @bulletsoverbensonhurst​. @immaterialed (charlie) @soypeor (bella) @svmmercmance​. @mrflayed. and you!

BASICS. FULL  NAME :  Eve Delores Littlejohn NICKNAME : Evie, Little Evie (by her maternal side of the family), Delores, Didi NAME  MEANING / S  Eve is from the ancient Hebrew name  חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". Delores is a variant of Dolores, meaning "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary María de los Dolores, meaning "Mary of Sorrows." Littlejohn is a surname that has historically been found in England and Scotland. With potential origins being either ‘to distinguish a beloved child that was not the eldest.’ Or, ‘a contradictory nickname for a large man.’ HISTORICAL  CONNECTION? : She’s named after her grandmother, Evelyn Hollins.

AGE : 42 BIRTHDAY :  June 2 ETHNIC  GROUP : Black-American. Meaning she’s mixed with a lot (Some of her relatives are respectively Creole and Italian) but uses Black as a catch-all term. NATIONALITY :  American LANGUAGE / S : English, Italian, Spanish, Latin, some French SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :   Bisexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :  Biromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS : Verse dependent, usually married -or connected- to Salvatore Scozzari in some way. CLASS : Upper-Class HOME  TOWN / AREA :   Brooklyn. Spent time between Bedford-Stuyvesant - with her paternal grandfather and Park Slope - with her maternal grandparents.  CURRENT  HOME : In her childhood home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. PROFESSION : Ballet Instructor. Former Professional Ballerina. ( Other verses see her as a professional thief. )

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Black. In terms of her natural hair, Eve has springy, 3C hair she seldom shows off because she was raised in a family where straightened hair was deemed presentable and professional.  EYES : Thin almond eyes. Dark brown. NOSE : Straight and small. FACE :  She has a prominent, high forehead, that’s accented with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. LIPS :  Full. COMPLEXION : She has a light brown (tawny) complexion.  SCARS : None major. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 5′4″ BUILD : Eve has a slender build. One of those people who have been small and petite since childhood. Despite this, she also stays skinny because she is obsessively conscious of the food she consumes. The older she gets the more she weighs, however. USUAL HAIR STYLE :  Her hair is cut short. Reaching her shoulders in a neat, even bob. She either curls it in a retro fashion or curls the tips. For work she wears it in a traditional, pinned bun. USUAL FACE LOOK : In public, she appears stoic for the most part. Any emotion shown (such as the length of a smile) is carefully calculated. She has to seem perfect.  USUAL  CLOTHING : Form fitting dresses. Incredibly chic and fashionable for the time. Shoes include heels - never open-toed, unless she has on stockings. Extravagant earrings. Jewelry that can include either necklaces, crosses, pearls, or dainty rings. Prone to wearing black sunglasses in public.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Thunderstorms, airplanes, creatures like weasels, snakes and ferrets, break-ins, men she doesn’t know, harm coming to her children ASPIRATION / S :  Formerly wanted to become a major [black] ballerina in the elite world of ballet, now she just wants to expose more [inner city children] to dance through her job. Personally, she wants her children to change the world in some form or fashion, too. Eve also has good ideas on improving the community, but at the moment has no idea how to go about these ideas. POSITIVE  TRAITS :  Generous, compassionate, patient, protective NEGATIVE  TRAITS : Strict, sullen, hard to read, represses her emotions, secretive MBTI :  Advocate - INFJ-T ZODIAC :  Cancer TEMPERAMENT :  Melancholic ANIMALS :  Lioness VICE / S :  Pride & Lust FAITH : Christian. Grew up Baptist, but Catholic influences have been around her since childhood. Attended a Catholic High School in Park Slope, her grandmother Evelyn was also a practicing Catholic.  GHOSTS ? : Yes and no. She feels that objects formerly owned by the deceased posses the essence of their previous owners and that they essentially live on through these pieces of property. AFTERLIFE ? : Yes. REINCARNATION ? :  No, but it’s a romantic concept. ALIENS ? : No. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :  Democratic ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE :  She likes being where she’s at now. But honestly, being upper class is all she’s ever known. SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION : Bourgeoisie, basically. The Littlejohn’s represent The Historical Black Elite.  EDUCATION  LEVEL : College level. FAMILY.

FATHER :  William ‘Bill’ Littlejohn MOTHER : Linda Littlejohn ( nee Hollins ) SIBLINGS : None EXTENDED  FAMILY : Amos Littlejohn (paternal grandfather) Liza Littlejohn (paternal grandmother) Evelyn Hollins (maternal grandmother) Giuseppe D’Aietti (maternal grandfather) and a wide host of cousins, aunts and uncles.

FAVOURITES. BOOK :  Night Song by Beverly Jenkins. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Some sort of old, French erotic novel that was published before she was born. MOVIE : Eve watches films along the lines of...Waiting to Exhale, Beaches, The First Wives Club and Fatal Attraction. She loves Made-For-TV movies from the time period. In regards to plays, her favorite one is Sunday In The Park With George. 5  SONGS :  Meet Me On The Moon / Essence of Sapphire / No One In The World / People / The First Time I Saw Your Face  DEITY :  Persephone  HOLIDAY : New Years Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving. Major holidays during the colder season. MONTH :  October SEASON :  Autumn PLACE :  The dance studio she works at. WEATHER : Sunny, but cool. SOUND : The voices of Anita Baker and Sarah Vaughn. A skilled hand running over piano keys. Soft trumpets. Running water. Cats making chipper little meows. SCENT / S :  Perfume, floral scented lotions, her partner’s cologne TASTE / S :  Caramel, the tang of dark chocolate, strawberries coated with either chocolate, or sprinkles of white sugar. Light Vinegar.  FEEL / S : Performing in front of an audience. Hot water engulfing your skin after a long day. Satin - whether it be the fabric of her clothes or sheets, your fingers tightly intertwined with another’s, feeling your significant other’s chest raise and lower against your skin with each breath they take. ANIMAL / S : Cocker Spaniels, Afghan Hounds, Cats, Birds - she loves all ( well, a majority ) of animals. NUMBER :  Doesn’t have one. COLOR :  White, Pink, Gold.

EXTRA. TALENTS :  Dance, Eve is trained in ballet when it comes to her main verse. She has attended ballet classes since the age of eight and ever since then she placed all of her focus into it. Similarly, Eve has always had the makings of a good artist - as a child she enjoyed drawing and had informal art lessons with a man who lived in the basement of her grandfather’s brownstone, but she never invested into that half of her. BAD AT : Singing, Being interviewed, Public Speaking (as in Speech Giving), Decision Making TURN  ONS :  Charisma, Leadership Skills, Temperature Play, Phone Sex, Heavy Kissing, Light Roleplay TURN  OFFS :  Public Sex, Tearing [ Her ] Clothes, Threesomes, Cruelty, Senseless Violence HOBBIES :  viewing plays & some musicals, reading romance novels, shopping, working out (she was into the whole celebrity VHS tape exercise trend), playing tennis, decorating AESTHETIC :  Vintage Black Glamour, Black Ballerinas, Champagne and Wine Glasses, Paintings by Melinda Byers and Edward 'Clay' Wright QUOTES :  "I'm bad with words, I hope you're good in reading eyes." / "There are truths I haven't even told God. And not even myself. I am a secret under the lock of seven keys."

FC INFO. MAIN  FC / S : Lynn Whitfield ( A Thin Line Between Love & Hate ) ALT  FC / S : Kylie Bunbury ( Twisted ) OLDER  FC / S :  Lynn Whitfield ( Greenleaf ) YOUNGER  FC / S : N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S : Lynn Whitfield

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own  movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be  filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ?       A1 : Recently I decided that if/when I try to write anything serious about Eve again, it’ll center on her being a jewel thief because it presents me more fun, and emotionally diverse, opportunities. That and I have a very specific cover image in my mind. Ideally, her adventures would be a series of books. I have no title in mind, no idea about how ‘it would be filmed’ ( although a style replicating 90s films would be excellent, film grain and all. ) but, I do have a bunch of plots in mind that I really don’t feel like typing out here.  

Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ?         A2 :  Her score would have a vintage sound (or a jazzy Spike Lee sound, if you will) with instrumentals by Dorothy Ashby (a Jazz Harpist) the Ahmad Jamal Trio, Pharaoh Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Tarika Blue. For music with lyrics, the soundtrack would include the likes of Julie London, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dionne Warwick.

Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ?   + Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ? A3 :  Whenever I make NPCs for my character’s lives I actually can’t just let them just be NPCs. I start thinking about them too much. Developing them too much. And then I’m like, ‘wow! I really like this character!’ Eve was a different character when I began writing her, and likely wouldn’t be considered the same character as she was previously, if I told someone in real life who knows about my writing (like my grandma) about all the changes she has undergone. Originally Delores was a university professor, because I thought it could lead to interesting interactions with college-age muses. And her previous history with the mafia was also something interesting to tap in. But then I started thinking about what was realistic, what wasn’t realistic, what did I feel comfortable/interested writing? What didn’t I feel comfortable/interested in writing?  So as time went on, things would alter about this character. And the new things I came up with attracted me more. 

Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse.         A5 :  I have a love/hate relationship with Eve’s quiet demeanor. On one hand, I think quieter characters need love and the ability to be fully dimensional but on the other hand, writing louder characters has always been more fun for me. But really, Eve’s guarded behavior makes writing her stressful in some cases with others because sometimes...if I’m going to be honest...people don’t know how to carry a thread and interact with someone of her demeanor effectively. 

Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ?       A6 : We’re both black, we’re both into art (although our exact interests and aesthetics with art differ)

Q7 :   how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ?         A7 : Realistically she would think I need to take better care of myself.

Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions with ?   A8 :  We skippin’ this question.

Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ?       A9 : Films such as, “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Kitchen” and “Widows.” Books by Alice Walker, like “The Third Life of Grange Copeland” as well as her short story, “Roselily.” The historical mob figure Stephanie St. Clair.

Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ?       A10 : A few hours.

[allscalliepsds]

RP GUIDE: TIPS FOR WRITING ITALIANS CHARACTERS!

So, from one Italian roleplayer, check this list for creating credible Italians fictional characters. I don’t know if you’re ever gonna read this post, but let’s try. Aaaand, if it works maybe one day I’ll do a list of italian faceclaims, or italian names and surnames. (Obviously, I’m not used to writing in english. Ignore my mistakes, lol)

• We have very different features. We’re not all tanned, with brown eyes and brown hair. My best friend is pale as hell and blonde like a freaking scandinavian. So we have lighter skin, darker skin, we’re tall, very short, redheads. And we have different cultures here! You can use asian faceclaims, black faceclaims, tunisian faceclaims... your character can have any kind of origin and still have the italian citienzship.

• Food is important. And by saying this I do not only mean that things like pineapple pizza or carbonara with pancetta are unacceptable! I mean that we EAT together. Most of Italians families have lunch together daily, same happens for dinner. Eating means spending time with family and friends. On sundays a lot of families reunite and have lunch with other relatives like grandparents or uncles, without even being on holiday time. We do not need Christmas or Easter to have lunch with relatives. Talking more about food: every place has its own speciliaties, so look for them when creating a character.

• Talking about food, WE DO NOT SHARE PIZZAAAA! Okay, maybe we do, sometimes, but it’s different. I’ve seen a lot of American tv shows or movies where they order just one pizza for four family members. Like, what?? Here in Italy most of the times we have one pizza per person. Because Italian pizza is obviously better and lighter, so you don’t get your belly full just by eating two slices unless you’re 5 y/o.

• We might be spending a lot of time complaining about our country and what doesn’t work, but in reality we are very proud and sometimes a lot patriotic. You know what really gets me super mad? Scrolling tik tok and seeing Americans that call themselves ITALIANS just because their grandma’s uncle was from Salento. No the hell no, that’s not how it works. You’re not Italian you cunt. 

• We’re a little bit a cliché, I gotta give you that. Sometimes more than a little bit. When quarantine/lockdown started here in Italy it was sooo hard finding flour and baking powder at the supermarket. And it’s not just a Super Mario thing: we do actually say mamma mia! But we’re not all the same. Please do not consider always the same kind of relatives: conservative religious parents with that grandma that always cooks a lot of stuff and blablabla. Think out of the box!

• Talking about grandmas: if you wanna follow that cliché of the Italian grandma that cooks and makes you eat until you pass out, it’s fine. You can do this. One of my grandma is like this and even though we have lunch in like four people she’s still gonna cook for an entire army. But if you don’t wanna do that, then don’t. My other grandma does not know how to cook and so she doesn’t that much. It’s fine, no one’s gonna revoke your character’s Italian citizenship if you don’t stick to those basic clichés we’re tired of.

• Please, look for a map. Not every Italian lives by the sea, it isn’t always sunny and hot and you don’t always feel in the right mood for a gelato. The northern part of Italy is colder and there aren’t as much bathing areas. Even if your characters lives or is from Sicily ( which is where I’m from ), it isn’t sure that he’s gonna have the beach next to his house. I’m a lucky person, in jenuary from my balcony I can see the sea on my right and the vulcano Etna covered by snow on my left. But it depends, so choose a city and look for it.

• We have dialects. So, let me try to be clear. Italy is a country divided into 20 regions, okay? Sicily is a region of Italy, Lazio ( where Rome is, to be clear ) is another Italian region. The official language is obviously Italian. So since I’m from Sicily, with a girl from Lazio/Rome I’m gonna speak Italian. But, inside the regions, there are dialects. Since I’m sicilian my dialect is called siciliano, and it’s influenced from all the past invasions. Sicily was conquered by arabs, and arabs also conquered Spain which is why some words in siciliano are similar to spanish words. Even though we have dialects we can understand each other pretty well. Southern dialects are all pretty similar, for example. But I gotta be honest, I don’t understand a single words in northern dialects. If you wanna stick to that grandma cliché I mentioned before, then add the dialect to it. Grandparents speak dialects. Generally speaking, old people speak dialects way more than the younger ones. Unfortunately it’s a culture that is starting to disappear.

• Please, dress properly. You’re never gonna see a true Italian walk out of his own house in his pajamas and with slippers, that only happens in nightmares. We’re classy. And by saying this I do not mean that we dress Dolce&Gabbana and Gucci. We don’t. I mean, rich people do, they’re lucky enough. So you do not need to mention important and expensive brands. We’re not all rich. Or at least I’m not as I wish. Last thing: it’s VersacE, not Versaci.

• Italy is (unfortunately) a pretty religious country. You know, we have the Vatican here. The most common religion here is Christianity. Not everyone practise it, and not everyone goes at the Church every sunday. 

• ROME AND MILAN AREN’T THE ONLY TWO ITALIAN CITIEESSS! I know, they’re the most known, Rome is beautiful and in Milan there’s the fashion week, I get that. But Italy is full of beautiful places. Maybe you don’t wanna choose unknown little towns with less then 3.000 habitants, but be original.

• There isn’t a large representation of Italy outside our country, so you might know very few of how we live here and what our habits are. Let me do just a small list of things:

- At 18 years old you are old enough to take your driving license, your car, and to drink. Obviously do not do everything together, lol. But you can buy alcool at 18 and go to the clubs.

- We kiss. If you’re my friend I’m gonna give you two kisses on the cheeks to say hi and to say goodbye. Even if you’re not my friend but you are with my friends, I’ll do that to be polite. And sometimes It can be pretty boring, but If I’m leaving a room with 12 people I (more or less) know I’m gonna kiss all of those 12 people.

- We have school from monday to saturday, mostly from 8 am to 13 pm. So we do not spend the afternoons at school like Americans do, and we do not have all those extracurricular activities and sports.

- We do not use snapchat anymore, while I know that it’s still a thing somewhere else. And for texting we mostly use Whatsapp and Telegram. Not iMessage because not everyone has an iPhone (they cost a little bit more, here), and neither we use Messanger that much.

- We do study a lot of art, history and literature. They’re not optional subjects. And we really praise our artistic patrimony. You can’t live here and study in Italy and then don’t know how to recognize a piece of art of DaVinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli or Caravaggio. If you’re Italian you know who Dante is and that he wrote The Divine Comedy.

- I don’t know how it is in the rest of the world, but when we go out (like, at night??) we have this thing of going downtown. So you can go to a restaurant with your friends for dinner or you can go out after dinner and just meet your friends at a square, grab a beer at the nearest bar and sit on a bench or on the stairs of something that faces that square and even stay there all night. It might sound strange, but that’s how it works and in towns where there are a lot of young people or university students those squares and those bars next to them are always full of people. Here’s an example.

[awed-frog]

I like reading from your blog cause I see all the blqck/white discourse from an European pov and it sounds so crazy but then I read what you can add to those post and I'm like, yes thank you for being the voice of reason here... Like jesus I can't believe people are so hellbent on some things they forget the world is not like the usa and its specificities

Thank you for this message! I’m not sure which posts you’re referring to, but I do try very hard to learn about stuff so I can have an informed opinion - it means a lot that you think I sometimes succeed. 

I think that maybe we were too optimistic about this ‘global village’ thing, and specifically in thinking that widespread knowledge of English would help people understand one another. Because you’re right: in my experience, Americans tend to dominate conversations because a) they speak their native language all the time, b) they’re often a majority in online spaces, c) they’re not used to living with other cultures and also d) they grow up with the idea that being loud and confident is a good thing.

(As a kind of apology: I know the US is a big country, and I’m sure there are endless differences in social rules and stuff like that. I can only comment on what I’ve seen in fiction and IRL, which, to be fair, seems to be pretty consistent.)

As for the race part, yeah, that’s complicated. Every time I think I understand it a bit more, I find out about yet another horrifying detail and I have to start from scratch again. What is universal is that ‘we forgot those nobodies we needed as workers were actual people’ thing - you find it over and over again and it always causes problems. And obviously in the US it took the form of actual slavery, but the schematics are pretty much the same everywhere? You see it in Germany with the Gastarbeiter, in France with people from Maghreb - both groups were invited in because of a lack of workers, with the explicit or implicit expectation that they would keep to themselves, do nothing outside of work and fuck off asap when they were no longer needed. But, of course, people are people. We want to make friends, get married, have kids, be reunited with relatives, and eventually we get used to or come to like the place we’re living in, despite the fact it’s so very different from our childhood home. In the US, of course, the matter is complicated by the fact these workers were slaves and were bought and kept as slaves long after we knew slavery wasn’t acceptable. 

(Because that’s the horror on top of the horror: in the ancient world, you only get the odd philosopher speculating about human rights; but by the late 17th century, those ideas were - if not 100% established - something many countries were using as foundation for their laws and codes of conduct. 

We knew. We all knew.

And yet.)

And as outsiders, I know what puzzles many people here is the degree to which this segregation still exists. Many of us know our ancestors who emigrated to the US faced poverty, abuse and severe discrimination, but those things eased - as they generally do - generation after generation. Unfortunately, it’s easy to hate and distrust a recent immigrant; but once they have children, once those children have children, there is no longer any objective difference between those children and native children. They go to the same schools, support the same teams, watch the same programs. Of course, one house may have a black-dressed grandma lurking in a corner, or different cooking smells, but that is about it. In the US, despite the constant talk of patriotism and the flags and the relentless cultural indoctrination, this process happens very unevely across different communities. 

For instance, one thing I don’t really understand is how African-Americans managed to keep their own specific form of English (truth be told, I don’t actually know whether AAE is the same in every state/family, and how that works exactly?). Because every black person I met in the UK had either a national accent (first generation immigrants and exchange students) or a 100% British accent. The fact an entire community is so linguistically distinct - that must be evidence of a deep segregation that’s still pervasive - in the school system, in the job market, in social circles. I know this must be obvious to any American, but I don’t know how obvious it is to them that in Europe, accent is generally lost in the span of 20 years - even if a community is deliberately marginalized (just watch any interview with an Italian Romani).

(One thing that struck me was an op-ed written by an African-American man who’d grown up on a US military base in Germany. He said that when his family came back to the US, he was actively bullied by the other black kids because he didn’t speak the ‘right’ kind of English and was completely unaware of the rules framing US race relations. Twenty years later, he still didn’t feel part of either community.)

Anyway - I don’t know where I was going with this. I talked about racism before, when someone asked why Europeans don’t use the word ‘race’, and while our system is very far from perfect, I think what’s going on in the US is far more fucked up. People need to live together so it becomes clear that the only real distinction is between those who worry about the next meal and those who do not. Until we sit here and retreat into our own actual or perceived identity, to the point where we refuse to engage with someone who’s not ‘like us’, nothing’s ever going to get fixed; and that’s the same everywhere, isn’t it?

[wearejapanese]

By Yukari Tanaka

One question I have always found difficult is, “Where are you from?” While most people I meet are able to answer it with a single word — Japan, England, India — for me the answer is a lot more complicated.

The question itself is innocent enough, and rolling in multicultural circles also makes it unavoidable. At worst, it can come off as a less polite “What are you?” and, over time, I’ve shortened my response to “It’s a long story.” Here’s the abbreviated version: I was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Italy. My mother is Korean and my father is Japanese. I studied and worked in the United States, but six years ago I moved to Japan and it is the first Asian country I’ve ever lived in. What am I? Well, a little bit of all of these places.

The main thing that makes me uncomfortable about the “Where are you from?” conversation is that my answer tends to involve a lot of explanation, and the process of having to explain makes me feel like I am exposing way too much of myself to a complete stranger. It can sound particularly out of place in Japanese since people don’t tend to go into so much detail when they first meet one another.

When it comes to job interviews, it can be good to talk about yourself but being too chatty isn’t necessarily a good thing. What happens in my case is that, after carefully reviewing my resume and speaking to me in Japanese, my potential employers usually react with astonishment when I am able to answer any of their questions.

“Your Japanese is really good,” interviewers will tell me. “You can speak Japanese much better than we expected.”

I imagine this is also the experience of many kikokushijo, children born here who have returned to Japan after having lived abroad for a chunk of their life.

Though, I have to admit that when it comes to kanji the level of excitement would likely dissipate quickly as I’m still weak in that area. For instance, if I find a kanji that I can’t read on a menu at a restaurant, I either smoothly skip over it or mumble it in my mouth, then throw a big smile at the waiter and leave it to them to figure out what I just ordered.

Osaka and identity

Dealing with the question of where I’m from for my entire life has left me with a different one: Given the highly connected world we live in today, is it necessary to define people by their nationality?

Recent debates on Naomi Osaka’s identity have inspired me to re-examine my own identity. Osaka, the tennis champion who has been representing Japan on courts around the world, is what is referred to by some academics as a “third culture kid.” In their book, “Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds,” David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken define third culture kids such as Osaka and myself as people who have “spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture.” They note that the third culture kid will build relationships with all the cultures they come from, but not assume full ownership in any.

During the U.S. Open last year, Osaka was asked at a press conference about how each of her culture heritages — Haitian, Japanese and American — has affected her.

“Well, my dad is Haitian so I grew up in a Haitian household in New York, and I grew up with my grandma, and my mom is Japanese so I grew up with Japanese culture too,” she replied. “And if you’re saying American, because I grew up in America, I have that too. So I hope I answered your question.”

Hearing that answer, I don’t know if I’ve ever empathized with an athlete so much in my entire life.

Given our multicultural backgrounds, us third culture kids are frequently asked about which cultures we think we identify with most. I suspect that the people asking those questions are hoping that the beliefs and stereotypes they hold about my different heritages will be echoed back to them. For example, more than one of my Japanese acquaintances has credited Osaka’s athletic ability to her black heritage and her well-spoken answers at press conferences to her Japanese one — a problematic assessment that I try to correct when I hear it.

In my case, people don’t usually believe me when I say I speak Italian until I actually speak it, which I guess is understandable considering my Californian English and Japanese name. When I do speak it, I’m met with a lot of surprised faces because I speak it so fluently.

However, I get similar looks when I speak in Japanese because I move my hands a lot when I talk. This is likely something I picked up from being in Italy, and it goes against the stereotype of your typical Japanese woman. That’s when I will mention that I grew up in Italy, which helps the people I’m speaking to feel a little more comfortable again.

This exchange doesn’t just happen with my Japanese acquaintances; my Italian friends will tell me I’m not a “real Japanese” because I don’t like sushi and am bad at math. The former I can laugh along with, but the latter assessment? I feel I need to correct that one, too.

At home, my brother — born and raised in Italy — and I argue in a mix of Italian and English for two main reasons: Firstly, we express frustration better in English. Secondly, bad words — combined with some hand gestures — sound so much better in Italian. Mum sometimes speaks to us in Korean, and Dad’s Fukuoka dialect will come out during debates at dinner. While a conversation that involves four different languages may sound strange to others, to me it’s normal. And, in 2019, I’d like to think this situation is becoming less abnormal in homes across the country.

Citizen of the world

When you grow up in multiple worlds, you are not usually considered “native” in any of them. I can’t speak for all third culture kids, of course, but given my complicated roots I can say that I feel like I belong everywhere and nowhere all at once. I get homesick for a lot of different places, even if I can’t pin down which one I’m from.

Do I know every kanji in the “Manyoshu”? No. But I feel like I have the ability to communicate with people in Japan, the United States, South Korea and Italy. In the world we live in these days, I’d argue that this skill might be more useful in general.

Under Japanese law, Osaka has to choose a nationality by October, when she turns 22. Watching this situation play out in the media, odds are that whatever nationality she chooses will likely be a business decision. In the end, though, I think it is important to understand that just because she represents a certain nationality on paper, it doesn’t mean she identifies with one heritage more than another.

“Everyone is different, and that’s what makes life interesting,” Osaka tweeted last year. “We all have our own backgrounds and stories. Individual things that make us, us.” I couldn’t agree more with her statement.

I’ll continue to answer the question “Where are you from?” to the best of my ability with patience and good faith. For me, however, the more interesting question isn’t where I’m from, it’s where I’m going to go next.

[fandomiseverything]

Pros and Con of Countries - Written by two Americans (Who both live in Minnesota)

Canadia

Pros:

Marriage equality (the gays can get married!) (SINCE 2005!!!!) (YEAH!!!!!)

Free healthcare :0

People are truly friendly

Politics are lighthearted and easily run

Higher wages

They have a town called Regina

Money has little windows that when a laser pointer is shined through it, it shows the value on the wall

They hate Justin Bieber

I’m pretty sure Justin Bieber can’t go into Canada? So that’s good (that is good)

Avril Lavigne

AVRIL LAVIGNE (yeah shes great but why is she a pro 2 times) (cuz she’s a clone) (ohyea)

Its a themepark (what) (their money projects the amount on the wall, its monopoly money, its waterproof, and its a scratch and sniff….. Its a themepark)

GingerPale

Rei & Shane (and Rei’s cats)

Canada is one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world

Change of legal sex available in all provinces and territories

under varying rules without sexual reassignment surgery

Tim Horton’s (YEEEEE, now i want tim hortons, ive heard of it never had it, and now i want it) (it’s gooooood. One day we could drive down to Brainerd and get some) (THEY HAVE TIM HORTONS IN BRAINERD????/!111/1/1?1/1?!?!?!?) (ye) (WEEEENEEEEEDDDTTOOOOOGGOOOGOGOOO!!!!11!!!1!11!!!!!, LEAVE IT TO MINNESOTA OR AS WE KNOW IT, SOUTH CANADA, TO HAVE A TIM HORTONS)

Cons:

Higher cost of living

Snow. lots of fucking snow.

Their money??? Is weird???

Consumer choice is low (especially with Netflix. The Canadian library is half the size of America’s)

Environmental impact (they’re one of the top oil producers in the world)

They spell Canadien with an “e” (its Canadian you matherfeker)

Its kinda hard to get into Canada

*Chloe voice* they are not French they just PRETEND to be for ATTENTION. (wow)

A lot of people only speak French (thats pretty much the same for any country, they speak a different language)

How do you speak French (very difficultly, lots of vowels, slightly similar to italian and spanish)

Its a themepark

It doesn’t exist (vtru)

COLD

Sweden

Pros:

It’s very clean. Like, seriously.

Most attractive people in the world

The locals are anti-social

The Gay has been legal since 1944

Right to change legal gender since 1972,

No sterilization required since 2013

Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression protections

Gays can adopt

Gay marriage legal since 2009

the first country in the world to allow transgender people to legally correct their gender

HomO, was the Swedish office of the ombudsman against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation (i think its a funny name)

after one year of abstaining from sex, gay and bi men can donate blood

Sweden is Europe's most gay-friendly country

Cons

Very high taxes

Can’t ask for directions no one will talk to you :(

The locals are anti-social (so am i)

Germnay

Pros:

Central hub makes it easy to travel to other european countries

Good healthcare

Very active, with fairs and parties

Oktoberfest is pretty lit i guess (you guess?) (I’ve never been to Oktoberfest but my friend from Germnay - fuck you - says it’s great)

Legal drinking age is 16

Rammstein

Furries (i’m not a furry i sWEAR) (are you sure about that??) (i dOnT kNoW)

Legal to be gay  since 1968 East Germany and 1969 West Germany

Gay marriage legal since 2017

Transgender persons allowed to change legal gender without required sterilisation and surgery

Sexual orientation and gender identity protection nationwide; some protections vary by region

Full adoption rights since 2017

gay and bisexual men have been allowed to donate blood, provided they haven't had sex for twelve months

83% of Germans support same-sex marriage

Cons:

Nearly everything is closed on sunday

Legal drinking age is 16

Germans dont get sarcasm

Finland

Pros:

They, unlike the Germans LOVE sarcasm

Very clean air

walk anywhere in nature at anytime

SEALS they have a special breed of seal native to finland

Very clear northern lights

They’re modest?

Extremists

Good heavy metal music apparently

People say they’re kind

Some of the most progressive lgbt laws in the world

Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sterilization

Sexual orientation and gender identity protections

Gay marriage is legal

Legal to be gay since 1971

one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world and public acceptance of LGBT people and same-sex relationships is high (lots of gays!!)

Cons:

CANCELLED, THEY HAVE FAT RARE SEALS

Norway (Richie’s fave country besides Canada)

Pros:

Snow is wet so you can actually do stuff with it (unlike MINNESOTA) (you CAN do stuff with minnesota snow!) (NO YOU CAN’T IT’S POWDERY AND WEIRD) (swhy you wait for wet snow or wait till it melts slightly, cause then its warm and thereswet snow) (NO) (yEEE) >:(

Norwegian elkhounds :0

People seem friendly?

Transgender persons allowed to change legal gender

Sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, intersex status protections

Gay marriage legal since 2009, Gender-neutral marriage has been legally recognized since 1 January 2009

Married and committed same-sex couples allowed to adopt

Gay is legal since 1972

1 year deferral period was implemented, gay and bisexual men can donate blood

generally gay-friendly

Cons:

Shrugs

COLD (VERY COLD)

Russia

Pros:

Furry coats are nice

Furry hats called ushanka

Babushka means grandma but buska means bitch

Vodka

The GayTM, Decriminalised in 1917; Re-criminalised in 1933; Legal since 1993

Legal gender change since 1997

But only after what they call ‘medical procedures’ (idk what they mean by that but i suspect surgERY)

Cons:

No gays allowed

Religion is bAD

Religion is GOOD

THEY CAN’T DECIDE???

ALSO COLD (SO COLD)

Too much snow

They like to destroy things? I saw two Russian guys put a stick of dynamite in the sewer and explode the road? Why? (BAD but thins going boom is fun, but not important things)

Vladimir Putin (yee, but we have sarah palin to watch him) (o shid u right)

Government is weird? You can get killed if you say you don’t like the tsar?

If you gay and live in ‘Murica you can’t adopt from Russia (fuck russia)

Communism I guess (thought you liked communism?) (to a degree. I like the idea of it but it’s also bad? Like you can’t/don’t own anything? Your dog is not your dog it is everyone’s dog? I do not like that my dog is mINE)

No discrimination protections

No recognition of gay relationships

tends to be among the most hostile toward homosexuality

Japan

Pros:

SHIBES!!!!! AKITAS!!!! FLUFFY DOGGIES!!!

Sakura trees :0

Pretty colors

Gay is legal, it was legalized in 1880

Very strict gun laws

Never had a school shooting EVER

2015 opinion poll found that a majority of Japanese support the legalisation of same-sex marriage

sex among consenting adults, in private, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender, is legal under Japanese law

Cons:

Killer bees (we dont like killer beeeees, NOT THEEEE BEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!) (the killer bees will kill you in a heartbeat)(bad bees…. , NONONONONONNOTJAPAN) (they only live in the forests tho. I think)(ILIKEFORESTS!!) (me too)

No nationwide recognition of same-sex relationships

No gay marriage

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands

Pros:

All the gay is allowed

They have their own website you know it’s legit when they have their own website

Government is gay (everything there is gay) (shhhhhhhhhggSTOPITgggg)(NO)

Dingos

Cons:

Im pretty sure you cant permanently live there

It was technically at war with Australia for a while

Dingos (I want,,, to pet them,,, but they will bite me,,,)(i was gonna put them in the cons too if you didnt)

Kangaroos (vdangerous) (they scare me) (THEY SHOULD)

Greece (i like greece)

Pros:

Ruins

Anti-lgbt discrimination explicitly banned (ooo nice)

Food

Ocean!!!!!!! Ocean ocean ocean ocean ocean ocean ocean!!!!!!!!! (SaME)

Goats :0

Male homosexuality has been legal since 1951, female homosexuality has always been legal (nICE)

Hate crimes laws covering all areas incl. sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics

school  sex ed classes include segments on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, homophobia and transphobia (NICE!!!!!)

Pride has been held since 2005, and has been held in most other moderate sized cities since 2010

Trans people's can legally change their gender without having to undergo sex reassignment surgery (NICE!!!!!!)

GAY CULTURE IS VERY VIBRANT

a 1982 law that legalized civil marriage between "persons", without specifying gender, acted as a test-case for same sex marriage

Since 2005, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace is prohibited.

A lot of boat traveling

Cons:

Quality of life is kind of falling apart

A lot of animals roam freely, which means LOTS of poop

Goat farmers (whats wrong with goat farmers) (they won’t let me pet their goats :( ) (really…. Thats why this is a con?) (yes. I’m a petty bich) (......) (i like goats. And i want to pet them. If you do not let me pet your goats I will be sad [and kinda mad because I want to love them])

Lots of fucking goat cheese

Too close to Italy (whats wrong with italy???) (too friendly. It’s suspicious) (OMFG SERIOUSLY???) (YOU PUT THE FACT THAT CANADA SPELLS CANADIAN WITH AN “E” IN THE CONS) (thats because it iS A CON!!!!! CANADIAN IS SPEELED WITH AN “A”) (NOT IN CANADA)

The Netherlands

Pros:

quite strict gun laws, not seen as a right, but a privilege (????) (you wanted strict gun laws, they have really strict gun laws, its a privilege to have guns, and only for hunting and target shooting, not for self defence, or for other things at all) (nice!)

Homosexuality legalized in 1811 (holy shid)(yeeee)

Gay marriage legal since 2001 (i was born in 2001, they knew i was coming) (I was born in 2000)

The first country to legalize gay marriage (I approve)

banned discrimination on sexual orientation on the grounds of employment, housing, public accommodations, and more.

Lesbians can get IFV (???)(in vitro fertilization, they implant a fertilized egg so they can carry their own child, instead of just adopting)

Transgender persons allowed to change legal gender, only after a diagnosis but without surgery or hormone therapy

. Amsterdam has frequently been named one of the most LGBT friendly cities in the world

Homomonument, was the first monument in the world to commemorate homosexuals who were persecuted and killed during World War II (this is so cool)

85% of the Dutch population supported same-sex marriage and adoption as of 2013

Cons:

Cold? I think?

Republic of Ireland

Pros:

Ireland (nice pro) (thanks)

first country to legalise same-sex marriage on a national level by popular vote

Affordable for any budget

Entitled to 20 days of leave

Yes, transgender people can change legal gender by self-declaration since 2015

Safe, with few guns

Less police

Lots of pubs

Speak English (this was a pro on a website) (IT IS A PRO I ONLY SPEAK SPANGLISH) (Spanglish) (YES SPANGLISH , DONT BE A DIC) (I can’t be what I don’t have)

Fear nothing and no one

Gay marriage legal since 2015

Low crime rate

Cons:

In a fight with Northern Ireland because they don’t want to be ruled by England but Northern Ireland does. Now Northern Ireland is a separate country.

The potato famine (I like potatos) (exactly)

Bad weather

Less police

Not much of a non-alcohol social scene

Fear nothing and no one

The Philippines

Pros:

Have to be at least 21, and pass a background check to be issued a Possession License for guns

If you’re a foreigner and you have a gun, you’re going to go to prison.

They are poised to make stricter gun laws

LGB allowed in the military

Low cost of living

GORGEOUS!!! IT’S GORGEOUS!!!

The Family Code of the Philippines says that marriage is “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman,” but The Constitution does not prohibit same-sex marriage

One of the most gay-friendly countries in the world

Is the most gay-friendly country in Asia

Cons:

Can’t donate blood if you gay. You will give them The GayTM. (don’t drink the tap water)

Drug problems

Healthcare problems in some areas

Tagalog is very complicated to learn

Malta

Pros:

Transgender people can change gender with or without surgery

Homosexuality legal since 1973

Gay marriage legal since 2017

ban on anti-gay discrimination in employment

sexual orientation and gender identity protections

the first country in the European Union to prohibit the use of conversion therapy

Cons:

Gay and bi men in Malta are not allowed to donate blood

Though there’s talk to change that law

Poland

Pros:

In Warsaw they have a Hatsune Miku statue

Never illegal to be gay

Transgender persons allowed to change legal gender.

one of few countries where sexually active gay and bisexual men are not legally restricted from donating blood. (give them The GayTM, drink that dam tap water)

Cons:

Apply to high schools

School is weird

Gay marriage is banned (wHAT) (I KNOW! Im sad too) (what if you’re gay married BEFORE moving to Poland) (idk are you planning to get gay married?, also … i dont remember waht i was gonna say) (no i’m just thinking about all the other gays who might move to Poland)

United Kingdom

Pros:

The Queen (YEEEE!!!)

Always legal for women to be gay; decriminalised for men in: 1967 England and Wales, 1981 Scotland, 1982 Northern Ireland

Right to change legal gender since 2005

Gay marriage since 2014, not in northern ireland

All discrimination protections since 2010; some existed since 2003 for sexual orientation and 1999 for gender identity

Tea

Crumpets

Cons:

Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, transgender people who are married have been required to divorce or annul their marriage in order for them to be issued with a GRC. (??????? wtf????) (ikr, its kind of very mean)

The legislation of gay marriage also does not restore any of the marriages of transgender people that were forcibly annulled as a precondition for them securing a GRC

What time is it? ...ITS SEVEN BONG!! (you know they don’t actually tell time like this, right?) (IDONTCARE)

Still #salty about the Revolution (VERY)

BISCUITS (NO!!) (aka cookies in America) (FUCK BISCUITS)

conversion therapy remains legal in the UK (NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO) (IKR LIKE FUCK THAT)

Rains a lot

France

Pros:

Baguette (noice)

DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY THE FRENCH GO EITHER WAY

Legal to be gay since 1791 (no wonder Lafayette was like how he was)

Transgender people allowed to change legal gender without surgery

Sexual orientation and gender identity protections

Gay marriage legal since 2013

amendment to existing anti-discrimination legislation, making homophobic, sexist, racist, xenophobic etc. comments illegal.

gay and bisexual men in France can donate blood after 1 year of abstinence

Transsexuality declassified as an illness

Cons:

Lots of crime? (from what I’ve heard)

Denmark

Pros:

Gay is legal since 1933

Transgender persons allowed to change legal gender without a diagnosis, hormone therapy, surgery or sterilization

Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression protections

Full adoption since 2010

Gay marriage legal since 2012

Gays in military since 1978

Lesbians can get IFV

Laws against hate speech for seual orientation

Lgbt sex ed and relationships taught in schools

Cons:

Iceland

Pros:

Legal to be gay since 1940

Transgender people allowed to change gender without surgery

Gay marriage since 2010

No standing army

Sexual orientation protections

Both full joint and stepchild adoption allowed

2016, Icelandic President participated in the Reykjavik Pride Parade

the first Icelandic President to attend a gay pride parade

Cons:

No standing army

currently unable to donate blood in Iceland

Though they are wanting to remove the ban

Greenland

Pros:

The GayTM has been legal since 1933

Sexual orientation protection laws

outlawed hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation

Gay marriage and full adoption rights since 2016

Cons:

Cant donate blood

trans people cant legally change gender (fACK YA GENDA RULES)

This is all we got for now, but if anyone has any input or tidbits about these countries that wasn’t listed, that you think is important (especially if you live in said countries, send one of us a message, we’ll add it asap! (most likely me, because im on more often and as such am more likely to check my messages) Sorry for the extremely long post!

[so-not-that-cool]

what it’s like being bilingual (to aide in writing bilingual characters)

sometimes i forget a word in my first language and can only remember the second language word. i just stand there embarrassed and try describing what i mean. (just recently called someone “sportif” in english without meaning to and was like “...... Athletic! I mean athletic.” you can tell i don’t use that word a lot)

extremely occasionally do i let a word slip from the wrong language while speaking. like, in a 100,000 word story i would say you could use this once. but i once said “at what time will the [door] be locked?” and the only word in english was door. Why??? why did that happen??

if i am somewhere and there are people talking in the second language, my ear will pick it up and i can’t stop listening. it will be very distracting. the reverse is also true.

other people have told me they get headaches from being around the second language a lot, or from switching between them too often/fast. i don’t experience this as much.

i do dream in my second language, but only very occasionally. it supposedly means you’re at a very high level of understanding if you start dreaming in your second language.

it only took about 2 months of living in another country to start thinking in my second language, but i know there are other people who never stop thinking in their first language. 

it is much easier to learn 3rd, 4th, 5th languages than it is to learn the second. (and the second is much easier than the first, obviously haha)

HOWEVER, when i started learning a 3rd language, my brain would often give me words in language 2 because it thought “well, I know you don’t want english, but the 3rd language is too hard still.” Like i would want to be thinking of an answer so i should have said “Hai...” or “Eto..” but i would slip and say “Oui...” or “Euh...” why??? 

the average person can learn about 7 languages. 

the majority of the world is bilingual (sorry americans!)

even small children are able to differentiate when to speak which language and to whom

i will see something in a language that looks close to my second language and will think for a hot second that i have lost my mind because i cant read it but it looks familiar (like italian to french, or chinese to japanese)

learning one language of a type (romance, slavic, nordic, etc) does not mean you can automatically understand ones of that same type. HOWEVER, i studied some latin in high school so it was easier to read  romanian, and after latin and learning french and knowing english, i can read spanish fairly well for meaning, but absolutely cannot speak or hear it because the accent is so unfamiliar. this has not held over for italian, portugeuse, or any other romance language haha.

accent is usually strongest on cognates and false cognates. French and English speakers have trouble with patienter/patient and passion. your brain and tongue already feel familiar with the word so it’s harder to pick out the difference.

cursing does tend to revert back to the native language. that cliche is true because curses are actually closer to non-language signalling than our other words. (by non-language signalling i mean like laughing, screaming, etc. more hardwired and harder to stop from slipping out) (also they are probably ‘stored’ in a different part of the brain and are almost reflexive! isn’t that cool?)

there is a word for getting stuck at a certain level of language learning and never improving: plateauing. it definitely happens, so don’t assume that all characters must eventually become perfectly fluent with no accent in a second language. (Think Charo, Jack Chan, even Gal Gadot)

typically, people’s ability level for a new language goes, from best to worst: reading, hearing, speaking, writing. There are exceptions though! People who mainly/only learned by speaking and hearing, for example. 

when two people who speak two languages in common speak, they may switch back and forth between them in a conversation. this is called code-switching. like, speaking to your grandma who speaks mainly spanish but knows english, you may slip into spanish because you know she may understand you better or you want to show that familial inclusion that language gives, etc. this is super common and though it may seem involuntary, even to the speaker, it is intentional. 

things that never happen to me (may be still possible, but seems unlikely to me):

saying a whole phrase in the wrong language without realizing it (i’ve never said a whole sentence in english to a french person on accident. rarely more than 1 word)

forgetting what language the person i’m talking to speaks 

getting really angry and saying a big long thing in my native language while no one around can understand. (does anyone really do this???)

assuming new people i meet will speak a given language

forgetting a word and being able to remember it a second later. due to tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, it is actually harder to remember the word the more you think about it.

people say you always “translate” your second language in your head and this is not at all true for me. i might have to think about a specific phrase, but i hear a sentence and the meaning is apparent to me just like my first language. I don’t have to think about it.

general tips:

1. make sure your translation are accurate!! find a native person willing to edit!!

2. i am SO frustrated by words that totally are a thing in one language and there is no perfect equivalent in another. like in english we have creepy, shady, random, and awkward as personality traits for a person, but you can’t really say those things in french??? and like kintsugi, yugen, and koi no yokan have no english equivalents and like whyyyy they’re all amazing concepts that i definitely feel and have felt all my life?? and then for french there is ennui and flâner and l’appel du vide which all kind of exist in English but are not hardly used. Play with these kinds of words in your writing! help move the concepts from one culture to another! I beg of you!

3. it’s no fun to read something you don’t understand, and most people aren’t going to look it up, they’re going to click away. use your context to make things in the second language (not the language of the majority of the piece) VERY clear. use cognates and common words! like:

“Oui,” she agreed. “Exactement.” 

is probably okay. but:

“Je crois que tu as raison,” she replied. 

gives the english-speaking reader nothing to go on, but both are saying like “Yes, you’re right.”

You can always use the narrator, dialogue, or inner thoughts of the character to work as translator if you’re slick about it. 

OR just be Cormac McCarthy and the audience can fuck off if they think you’re going to make your book easy to read. (please don’t be Cormac McCarthy)

(please add to this if you have advice!!)

[lithialetheia]

I was tagged by @queenofkadaara. Thank you very very much!! ❤

RULES: 1. answer the new questions given by the previous person 2. write 11 new questions 3. tag 11 people

I. What music genre do you usually listen to?

Pop, especially Indie Pop, Jazz, Blues and Rock, even classical music. I listen to many genres every day.

II. What words would you use to describe your aesthetics?

I’m not sure… Cats, black, dark blue, flowers, chokers, old books… Mmmm, rain maybe and… Ehhhh… Videogames and classical music. Oh! And skulls, I love skulls.

III. Favorite tea flavour?

Wild berries.

IV. Favorite time period? Why?

I have many: the Renaissance, mostly because of Leonardo Da Vinci, he’s my hero, I admire his work very much. Let’s say that he’s my historical crush. Ancient Greece and Rome, I’ve been all my life studying these two time periods and I am so curious to see how people lived back then. I like the 18th Century too, because of the French and American Revolution. Also, I love the music and the artists from that period (and the clothes).

 V. Favorite motto / quote?

 “Sometimes you just have to die a little inside in order to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you.”

 That’s what I repeat myself everyday.

 And:

 “It is madness to hate all roses because you got scratched with one thorn. To give up on your dreams because one didn’t come true. To lose faith in prayers because one was not answered, to give up on our efforts because one of them failed. To condemn all your friends because one betrayed you, not to believe in love because someone was unfaithful or didn’t love you back. To throw away all your chances to be happy because you didn’t succeed on the first attempt. I hope that as you go on your way, you don’t give in nor give up!”

 VI. Language you wished you speaked?

Polish, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese… I wish I could learn all the languages in the world.

VII. Name of your first plushy / stuffed animal? Do you still have it? And while we are at it, do you still have plushies?

My two first plushies were a little sheep called “Dolly” and a dog (?) called “Lulú” and I still have them both. Yeah, I’ve got lots of plushies!

VIII. What color do you wear the most?

Black.

IX. Favorite ice cream flavor?

Lemon, cookie and chocolate.

X. Most emotional fictional moment? Can be from video games, books, movies, etc.

 The list is very long, so I’ll just choose the most important ones, exclusively.

 The Witcher: when Geralt finds Ciri and he hugs her thinking that she’s dead, but no, she’s alive! The hansa dying trying to help Geralt and Regis appearing in Blood and Wine (I had a fucking heart attack, ask my bro I almost made him deaf).

The Pianist, all the scenes made me cry.

Dreamworks: In The Prince of Egypt when Mirian and Tzipporah sing “When you believe”.

Disney: The last scene of Pocahontas and when Mulan cuts her hair and decides going to war for her father, risking her own life for him. Also, when Quasimodo sings “Out there”. In Moana, when her grandma appears and reminds her who she is. Bless that woman. In the new Beauty and the Beast, the song “Evermore” made me cry!

Wicked: Elphaba singing “Defying Gravity” and “No Good Deed”.

The end of The Phantom of the Opera… Erik is in my heart forever.

The book “The Little Prince” made me cry when I was little and when I see it somewhere I start crying because that book is so special.

When I watched “The Help”, that movie made me laugh and cry at the same time.

XI. If you could make one fictional character real, which one would you pick?

One?? Only one?? How am I supposed to make only one real?? I can’t!! I want all The Witcher characters to be real!! The hansa too, they are coming to live with me at home!!

My questions:

I. What’s your favorite flower? Why? Does it have some special meaning for you?

II. Which song describes you better?

III. Do you like classical music? Who’s your favorite composer?

IV. In which city would you like to live?

V. What’s your favorite mythical creature? Why?

VI. What’s your favorite word?

VII. Who’s the person you desire to meet currently?

VIII. What’s your favorite profession?

IX. Who’s the person you admire the most?

X. If you could be a fictional character which movie, book or videogame would you like to be in?

XI. Can you post a photo of your favorite accessory? It can a ring, necklace, bracelet, piercing, glasses, etc., something you usually like to wear.

I am tagging my favorite people: @ilonavic, @cirillach, @holy-squirrel-of-death, @lunedin, @moonwich, @silnaniewinna, @dandelionandbuttercup, @whitenerine, @vaporeox, @vattgherncirilla, @sarayburnu, and everyone who wants to do it!! You can also just answer my questions for fun. I don’t know if you’ve been tagged before, if so, sorry, and you know, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.

[heartsoftruth]

#reposting: “hi, I’m not from the US” ask setgiven how Americanized this site is, it’s important to celebrate all our countries and nationalities - with all their quirks and vices and ridiculousness, and all that might seem strange to outsiders. 1. favourite place in your country? 2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad? 3. does your country have access to sea? 4. favourite dish specific for your country? 5. favourite song in your native language?

Anonymous said:#reposting 6. most hated song in your native language?7. three words from your native language that you like the most? 8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom? 9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best? 10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language? 11. favourite native writer/poet? 12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem?13. does your country (or family) have

Hi anon!! Thanks for the questions and sorry for the late reply! I will answer the first two asks you send me and the rest throughout the week! It’s kinda hard to answer it on mobile :) 

1. My own house? Or my grandma’s house. I always feel at home with hers as well! If you mean city then Amsterdam! 

2. Abroad! 

3. Yes! 

4. The winterdishes then? Hutspot! Andijviestampot! Kroket! 

5. Ehhmmm currently I’m addicted to the song “werd de tijd maar teruggedraaid - The Passion version” again. I like a lot of Dutch songs from hiphop to the classics from Andre Hazes and Marco Borsato. My music taste is kinda like my blog: all over the place xD 

6. Famke Louise - Op me monnie? 

7. Kut, godverdomme, and enorm.

8. ALL. THE. TIME! Spanish, South American, Turkish, Italian also  haha. It’s all over the place, but they all see I’m mixed but don’t know from where xD Also when people ask “but you’re not 100% Dutch right?” I make them guess where they think I’m from xD 

9. Belgium I know the best, but thats probably because we speak the same language in parts of the country. I would like to visit more of Germany tho. Seen too little of Deutschland!  

10. KUT! 

11. Michiel van Egmond. (dutch people will be ???? He only writes sportsbooks. I’m sorry it’s the only ones I read xD)

12. No idea. Never read one 

13. I don’t know what the question is so I will leave this one! :) 

[peakyblinders-au]

Valeria Masseria

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Tumblr Url & Your Real Name: @peakyfxckinblinders // Merel 

Character Full Name: Valeria Verona Masseria

Nicknames/Alias: Val, Il piccolo capo (the little boss) 

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual 

Age: 19

Birthday: June 11th, 1900

Deathday: Do whatever you want to do

Birthplace: New York

Ethnicity: Italian/American 

Family Members: Her father is Giuseppe Masseria, who is the leader of the Genovese crime family (a New York gang with her roots in Sicily) from 1920 till 1931. Her mother Maria Masseria died when giving birth to her. She has two older brothers: Marcello (age: 24) and Raphael (age: 22)

Children: Nope 

Face shape: Heart-shape 

Eye colour: Green

Hair colour: Blonde

Hairstyle: She has blonde straight hair that reaches her shoulders, but most of the time she puts her hair into a low slick bun 

Skin tone: Her skin gets really tan in the summer time. In the winter, she gets a lot paler but not super pale or anything. 

Body type/Build: Hourglass 

Height: 5’4

Weight: 115lbs 

Breast size: 34C

Facial Hair: Just her eyebrows 

Scars/Birthmarks/Prominent Features: She has a few scars on her body because her father was very abusive and would hit her and her brothers a lot to take out his stress and anger. 

Preferred hand: Rightie

Health: Able bodied 

Addictions: Smoking 

Mental Disorders: Nope

Attitude: Okay she is a boss ass bitch, don’t fuck with her. She is really confident.  She has a really fragile side too, but she almost never shows it. She can be mean, but if you get to know her you find out that she’s actually a sweetheart. 

Expressions: She rolls her eyes, A LOT

Residence: She lives in Camden Town most of the time, but she also has a small place in Small Heath for when she has to do business in that area

Political Affiliation: Feminist 

Friends: In the start she doesn’t have a lot of friends because she just moved to England, but she is friends Tatiana because her father did some business with Duke Leon Petrovich Romanov. 

Enemies:  Basically every other gang is her enemy

Boss: Her father is her boss 

Pets: She has a big Siberian Husky

Finances: Upperclass 

Marital Status: Not married. She doesn’t want to get married. She just enjoys the freedom of being on her own. But girl, she is flirty and does have a lot of flings. Her father disapproves of that and wants to arrange a marriage for her.

Sex Life: Smut smut smuuuuuut 

Lovers: She doesn’t have anyone yet, but be free to pair her with anyone. 

Turn-ons: DIRTY TALK

Turn-offs: She is not into spanking or anything that has to do with beating, because that reminds her too much of her abusive past

Dom or Sub: Sometimes dom, most of the time sub 

Occupation: She is a representative for the Genovese family gang in England. She takes care of the deals and business with the gangs there and tries to find a way to expand their territory to England.

Income: Relatively high 

Work Experience: Used to help out in her grandma’s tobacco shop back in New York. 

Religion: Atheist 

Criminal Record: She’s a bad bitch. Way too much to tell everything she’s done in the past…… but she has committed a few murders

Morals: She doesn’t have a lot of morals

Main Goal: Become the leader of the Genovese crime family gang. 

Ambitions: She wants to become even greater and more famous than her father Regrets: Joining the gang life so early

Secrets: None

Best memories: Her grandma telling her stories about all the ‘cool’ stuff her father and his brothers did (eight year old Valeria loved hearing about people getting murdered). 

Worst memories: Seeing her brothers get beaten up by her father

Hobbies: Smoking, getting drunk and going to fancy parties

Skills: Killing people, getting what she wants, seducing 

Likes: She loves the sun, the ocean, music, parties, cigarettes, dogs and a good hot bath

Dislikes: Fake/rude people

Superstitions: Her father has taught her to trust nobody 

Quirks: Does’t always think before she speaks, talks very fast 

Guilty Pleasures: Cuddling 

Strengths: Smart, independent, dedicated, organized, perfectionist 

Weaknesses: Stubborn, impulsive, impatience, short-tempered, has a hard time trusting people

Languages: Italian, English and a little Spanish 

Accent: American with a bit of Italian thrown in there. 

Speech Impediments: None

Voice: Loud

Reputation: She’s a bad bitch that you don’t want to fuck with, but she also has a soft and loving side. 

Backstory: Okay, Valeria’s mother died when giving birth to her, so her grandma had to take care of her and her two brothers. Her father had a full time job, so he had no time to take care of his children. In 1903 Valeria’s father was accused of murder in Sicily so she, her brothers and her grandma had to flee to the United States with him. They ended up in New York, where her father joined the Genovese gang. They found a small apartment in Manhattan, and that is when their lives began to change. 

On one side, Valeria lived a pretty normal life. She went to school, did her chores at home and helped her grandma out in her tobacco shop. She had a lot of friends and even got to play with them sometimes. But there was also another side to her life, a life that not many got to see. Her father would come home late at night, drunk with blood stains all over his clothes and face. He would beat his children, take all his anger out on them. There was no stopping him. 

When Valeria turned 12, her father introduced her to the gang. He thought she could be useful for the little chores nobody wanted to do. And boy, she was useful. She would smuggle packages, deliver messages and spy on enemies. She wasn’t just good, no, she was great at what she was doing. That didn’t go unnoticed, and soon she got bigger task and even bigger missions. Her father’s power grew and grew, and Valeria followed right in his footsteps. She first killed a man at the age of 15.  At the age of 18, she had gained an important position in the business. Valeria was determined to get to the top and become the leader of the Genovese crime family. 

On her 19th birthday, she got the news that she would move to London to take care of business in England. Three weeks later she arrived, and settled into a nice apartment. A new adventure awaited, and she was beyond excited