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I got curious, so I did a bit of “research”

The most popular fic in English is an NSFW (incredibly raunchy, wow) Guardians of the Galaxy fic with 128.179 kudos.

In Mandarin, it is a mature RPF fic of the actors from The Untamed that resulted in AO3 being blocked in Mainland China. It currently has 26.916 kudos

For Spanish, the prize goes to an explicit omegaverse & mpreg The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System fic with  3.245 kudos

Indonesian gives us a BTS college AU with 1.569 kudos and French stays on the bandom vibes by giving us an explicit One Direction dystopian story. But the band rpf award goes to Filipino, with their first page (sorted by kudos) being all Kpop (ENHYPEN, EXO & SEVENTEEN) and no-fandom.

(For those curious, Korean has a low amount of Kpop rpf on their first page. I assume they publish it somewhere else)

Egyptian Hieroglyphics (which, yes, is an option on AO3) gives us a beautiful song translation with an impressive 495 kudos. I really recommend everyone check it out; it is incredible. Welsh (160) and Old English (222)  also had their most popular work have an English translation. Latin (124), on the other hand, is just fully in Latin. There are a few translations, but they are provided by other people and not the original author.

Greek has a lot of Greek political RPF. Like, a lot. 

I was incredibly surprised by the fact that you can write fanfiction in Quebecois sign language. I was not surprised at all by the fact that Sindarin was an option.

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A few of the languages had their most popular stories not be in that language and just be a case of mislabelling (or, in some cases, people using less-used languages on AO3 as dumping grounds for tests or personal notes.) Also, there were a couple of languages with no stories at all. 

If you have been thinking about writing fic in a language other than English, take this as a call for action. There are a lot of people out there reading in all sorts of languages. Even in languages with only a couple kudos, those are a couple of people who are incredibly happy to find a story of a media they love in a language they love too.

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It’s the weekend and I’m in the office and after having a sort of breakdown yesterday + driving so much in the morning, orange tea is soothing my soul

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progress can come in so many forms.

forming a routine. getting more sleep. showering more often. eating more than one meal a day. finishing an assignment on time. allowing yourself to take breaks when you need them. drinking more water. going outside more. spending more time socializing. not going to events that are draining. cleaning the dishes before they pile up.

some things seem like little steps that we barely acknowledge, but every one of them is a part of progress.

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My thoughts on Spy x Family — tropes and subversions

(This is all just my opinion) The reason I got sucked into the manga in the first place was because I liked the tropes it advertised (fake marriage, spies, secret identities) and boy did it deliver. However, while the characters might appear to have common tropes, some of the tropes are also subverted, which makes the characters refreshing without losing familiarity, if it makes sense?

The Forgers are a parody of the quintessential nuclear family: a father, a mother, a child, and their pet (most commonly a loyal dog). Instead of introducing all components of said nuclear family in one go, the manga does it one by one— first Loid-Anya, then Loid-Yor and Yor-Anya, then Bond-Anya, and then Bond-Loid/Yor. This gives each character / dynamic its own place to shine so the readers can watch their bonds develop naturally.

Loid and Yor are both typical and atypical. Loid is a classic spy with good looks, possesses many talents, operates coolly and efficiently etc etc. However, he is also a classic “family man” who clearly cares for his family. He even has the trope of thinking childcare is the most difficult thing in the world, and he absolutely cannot understand Anya (typical fatherhood lmao). While Twilight may appear to be cold and emotionless (reinforced through Fiona’s perception of Twilight the spy vs Loid the father that readers are used to seeing), readers can see when he slips up. An example is the scene when Yor gets drunk and Loid falls unconscious in front of her, then wakes up on her lap. When faced with the idea of Yor liking him romantically, Loid looked shocked before instantly activating his Twilight mode. Loid was also very stunned by how easily he fell asleep around Yor. A flustered Loid is rare, but it’s the little scenes that add depth to his character.

Yor again has several tropes condensed in one character: the caring housewife, badass assassin, the clumsy, well-meaning, almost “comic relief” character etc etc. Yor’s irrationality acts as a foil to Loid’s rationality. Personally Yor is a refreshing character because while she can be violent and badass, she is also somewhat of a dork (seen as when she was like “oh noo I jammed my finger :c” after she killed a bunch of people). Yor acts as the housewife but her horrendous cooking is a running joke. She is freakishly strong, but also embarrassed about it at the same time. Yor might be committed to her job, but she also shows a sensitive and “normal housewife side” of being afraid of “not being good enough for Loid”. The different sides of her work together perfectly.

Influenced by the famous Mr and Mrs Smith, people would probably expect the two to be working against each other in secret while falling in love. WISE and the Garden are not direct enemies, and this trope is used for Loid and Yuri instead. We don’t get the “lovers feuding in secret”, but we get the “brothers-in-law from rival factions have to act nice in front of the sister/wife”, which is arguably a refreshing twist on this trope. This also adds to the trope of “concerned brother thinks husband is not good enough for his precious sister” as Yuri is fighting against Loid as both a brother and a SSS officer. Yuri falls into the trope of “younger brother who loves his sister a little too much”, plus he and Yor have the “smart younger kid / klutz older sibling” dynamic. However, Yuri is also shown to be an intelligent man who is dedicated to his SSS work, showing he is not as “dumb” and “Yor-obsessed” as he might seem.

Fiona is similar to Yuri in the sense she also embodies tropes of “cool emotionless character” (rationality as a foil to Yor’s irrationality) “in love with male lead” and “determined love rival”. What makes her refreshing is that by the end of her first appearance, Fiona has acknowledged Yor is superior and has a respect for her, while Yor is completely clueless about it. What could’ve turned into a petty catfight or dramatic love triangle just… never happened. (Or at least it was just one sided rivalry). Fiona knew she had lost and left. Also, Fiona’s passion for Loid is in direct contradiction to how she usually behaves like, which adds a new side of her and is quite funny.

You can also do this with the kids. I really adore Anya's character because she was an abused kid who was experimented on and gained superpowers. One would expect a character like her to be withdrawn and stoic, but she's the opposite of that. Anya is bold, fearless and curious. While Anya is clingy and has abandonment issues, she isn't shy either and isn't afraid to throw temper tantrums (even though that might anger her parents). Anya is simultaneously smart and dumb- she is very witty, has street smarts, and quite perceptive of her surroundings. However, she is shown to be struggling academically (probably because she's learning things 1/2 years above her level) and jumps to unrealistic conclusions (eg. helping Damian would immediately save the world). Lots of other mind-reading children would be tortured by the thoughts of others and end up being really mature and intelligent. Anya, however, acts like her age. She subverts the trope of "abandoned kid finds new family" "experimented child escapes from facility" but also fits right in the trope of "hilariously blunt comic relief child" and "matchmaker kid".

Reader's first impression of Becky (polished, cutesy rich girl with recognisable design) is that she'll either be 1) Anya's best friend or 2) the Mean Girl. Initially, we lean towards the latter. Becky snubbed Anya and Anya didn't care much about her. However, the "Mean Boy" role is very quickly filled in by Damian and co, then Anya punches Damian (in defence of Becky). Becky instantly transforms from "rich girl looking down on commoner girl" to the "best friend who is a huge romantic" trope. Then we receive a glimpse into Becky's backstory of how she struggled to make friends, and how she latched onto Anya. Readers already know Anya just wants to be loved and feels slightly misplaced in the upper-class Eden circle, so she also latches onto Becky. Their friendship may have developed quickly, but it's realistic for 5/6yos. Their friendship is continuously reinforced, with Becky somewhat acting as a "guide" to Eden and the upper class. Becky also supports Anya in her crazy schemes to get Damian's attention.

Damian again is full of tropes. He's the "tsundere bully" "rich, spoiled, smart kid" "second son syndrome / just wants Father to notice him" aka. a mini Draco Malfoy. Compared to everyone else, Damian is possibly one of the most typical characters. He has major daddy / older brother issues. He's spoiled, but he has a crush on Anya, so he alternates between acting like a jerk and being nice. He's in constant denial about his feelings. He is academically talented. He's like a baby version of a typical 2000s shojou manga "rich tsundere boy" love interest. However, what helped to characterise him is that chapter when he and his buddies went on that field trip. There, we see Damian without the context of both his father and Anya (aka. main plot characters). He's just a kid, having fun with his friends, being scared of worms, etc etc. This makes him more likeable.

Another note about Damian and Anya is that Damian embodies the very, very classic trope of "boy has feelings for girl but doesn't know how to deal with them so he bullies her!!". And the boy's crush justifies the bullying somehow. However, that is cleverly dealt with in the manga. Yes, Damian has a crush. No, his mean actions aren't justified. Multiple characters call him out whenever he's being a jerk, from Anya, Becky, teachers, to random classmates (eg. a girl during the arts and crafts chapter was concerned when Damian made Anya cry). Nobody says "boys will be boys" or something. Bullying is not romanticised. In latter chapters, you can see that Damian actually isn't as mean towards Anya, and most of the insults are said by his goons. (Damian doesn't stop them, thus making him a bystander, but also I don't expect much from a literal 6yo spoiled kid) There is some slight and slow character development. However, Damian's character is built on the fact that he switches between "modes" quickly (concerned mode for Anya, spoiled brat mode due to his upbringing, obedient son mode because his father doesn't care), so even though it might appear that he hasn't changed because he is still constantly switching being mean and nice, I personally feel like he has matured slightly. I was very relieved when for ONCE the good ole crush/bullying trope isn't heavily romanticised by the manga and its characters.

As a last point about Anya, I think her mind reading powers acts as an excellent plot device to help readers know more about the thoughts of characters. Usually this is delivered in the form of monologues, but Anya's live reaction/ commentary to said monologues (live Anya reaction anybody?) makes it funnier and more interesting. We can visibly see Anya's shock when character tropes get subverted (eg. Fiona declaring her love for Twilight while putting on an emotionless facade, Damian suddenly being "not a jerk").

I do really enjoy the character design and the first impressions we get, only for said impressions to be somewhat subverted. When characters show their different sides, it's usually quite funny but it also makes sense. In my opinion the characters (or at least the main cast) in SxF are all charming and memorable.

[tinted-neuro]

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hey guys. this is my invention. check it out

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Study Motivation for the week ✍🏻

For more follow @abookishdemon

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Reading on the train today wearing my new Vivienne Westwood ring, which is a graduation present.

ig: rhiharper

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this makes the early mornings worthwhile 💕

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february arrives like a train and runs over the bones of January, and just like that- the death of a new year.

-Ritika Jyala, excerpt from The Flesh I Burned

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27-01-22

my notebooks that i use for studying, sans candle :(

guys i'm so sorry that i didn't post as much as usual! i've just got a couple of exams and editing photos takes a while. don't worry, i'll go back to posting as normal soon!

also, my economics notebook isn't pictured because it's the ONE subject that i use a different notebook for (since i couldn't find another blue one) and the fact that it looks different to all the other ones irritates me SO MUCH.

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27/1/22

Last day at work before I take a few days off! Somehow had a burst of productivity so not only did I get my ethics form sorted, I edited my review draft and finally sent it off to all my supervisors. I’m dreading the comments but whatever, I couldn’t look at that draft anymore.

I have my degree graduation in two days (EEK!) and my worry is that I will trip on my new pair of heels while on stage 😖

Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating!

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I got 4 and almost died