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astercontrol · 3 months

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Latest news from the Asterbrain Pattern-Recognizer: How a butt joke led to a religious analysis of the whole TRON 1982 cast.

So, today, for… strange and mysterious Aster-specific reasons… I was looking for a character who could be written as Catholic.

And because Tron is always on my brain, I went straight for those characters.

Now, though I was technically raised Roman Catholic, my own family's faith and customs were pretty secular, and I certainly never developed any notion that I could know other Catholics on sight.

And, while TRON leans heavily into religious themes from the Program viewpoint, the Users don't say or do much that would indicate their own religion. All I can think of, offhand, is a few references to Christmas-- so brief and vague that they might not even be enough to imply anyone being Christian.

So, we might just have to go by character names... and the associations that an audience familiar with stereotypes and archetypes would have with them.

Alan Bradley: Both given name and surname seem to be British in origin; could be coded as Anglican or Methodist or some other form of Protestant, but in the absence of other clues I don't think viewers would give much thought to his religion or his ethnic background. He's basically designed to look like 1980's American audiences' idea of the most normal, standard everyday guy.

Lora Baines: Probably also of British origin, though that spelling of the first name is uncommon. Like Alan, there might be some vague assumption of Protestantism, but not a whole lot of thought given to it.

Walter Gibbs: Last name, again, seems to come from England, and the actor's accent sounds to me like maybe it's attempting to be British… but that might just be how older Hollywood actors had been trained to talk, back then. I hear similar voices in old movies a LOT. Again I'm not sure audiences would immediately think anything about his religion (although his line about programs and their "spirits" ties very closely into the… animism of the whole digital-world side of things).

(Wow, so far lots of names from England, and lots of reinforcement of the idea that those names are so default as to go unnoticed. Probably says something about society, and/or about me and my viewpoint on it. ...Moving on.)

Ed Dillinger: that surname seems to have originated separately in both Germany and England; going by his accent it's clearly England, so audiences would probably guess Anglican. (If they thought anything about that name at all beyond the 1930's gangster connotation.)

Roy Kleinberg: very unambiguously Jewish name, thank you Legacy and The Next Day! (as of 1982 we only knew him as Popcorn Coworker, which could have been anything, since there is, to my knowledge, no religion with dietary restrictions against popcorn.)

Kevin Flynn: ...okay! this is the most Irish name I have seen in a long time! We may have our Catholic-coded character, folks. (Although he might be primarily "luck of the Irish" coded, LOL.)

(they found him under the rainbow, like a leprechaun on his pot of gold)

And, completing this analysis, I've found that it felt much more worthwhile than the joke I had in mind when I started.

Truly, the journey outweighs the destination here.

Yes, my idea did require a Catholic and someone else unfamiliar with Catholicism-- the joke itself remaining agnostic on which of them, exactly, was being made fun of.

But it was such a silly, throwaway joke that could have been a two-line shitpost, and certainly did not NEED to be about Tron characters.

My mind, though, will go off on whatever tangents it wishes.

....the butt joke, in case you wanted it:

"So, you Catholics only listen to the Pope when he is… talking out of his ass?" "His seat, man. Cathedra means seat."

#tron #tronblr #tron 1982 #kevin flynn #headcanons #humor

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qwanderer · 8 months

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As I'm reading through the Vorkosigan saga this go-round, I can't help but imagine how I might read it aloud, even though I almost certainly won't; it's so long and it's such a complicated prospect. The question of accents alone is just boggling! I can only read consistently in three accents, maybe fudging it to four because I can go a little bit up and down the plumminess scale with my English accent. Obviously there are a lot of different accents going on throughout the books, but I have to pick and choose where to assign my three to go with where differences would be most impactful and realistic.

The evidence is that the vast majority of the dialog in the books is spoken in some futuristic variety of English. When word origins are discussed, they line up with the true English word origins; when the MCs visit Earth, they are in London, and they can communicate easily with the locals; at the embassy in London, translation technology is required for conversation between people speaking other languages, and similar technology isn't mentioned often in other settings. Beta Colony is pretty North American coded (religion is common, but liberal ideas are dominant) and Barrayar is pretty Europe-coded; it's mentioned the empire has four official languages, and we see people speaking Greek, not expecting to be understood by the nobility. Based on the feel of the naming conventions and a mention of the Cyrillic alphabet being used, I'm guessing the four languages are (or have evolved from) English, French, Russian and Greek, but that English is pretty dominant in the cities.

Other nearby places in the galaxy seem to be able to speak to the MCs without translation more often than not, but they are mentioned to have accents. I have an idea what an Escobaran accent might sound like, based on implied name origins, but I wouldn't want to attempt to reproduce it myself. I imagine there are a lot of places in other parts of the galaxy where other languages are more dominant, but that we don't see much of those areas in the series (at least in the parts I've reread so far).

I imagine from the description of a Betan accent as "flat" and a Barrayaran accent as "guttural" that using my inherent mid-atlantic American accent for Betans is probably pretty spot-on, but the Barrayaran accent would be more of a pan-European beast that I wouldn't dare approximate. I'd sub in various English accents instead, from plummy for the Vor to more cockney for the lower classes. And American and English are my two most solid accents, and the most important contrast to make plot-wise. It's a pretty obvious choice.

I also have a solid-ish Irish accent, and I think the way to use that to best effect would be to assign it to the Komarran characters. I don't know how it fits with the actual background of the Komarran settlers, but it's very much appropriate to their galactic political role.

That leaves every other place we see to a default American accent, as well, but I think that makes a fair amount of sense, given how Barrayar's history played out in terms of instilling their differences, while allowing Betans and other "galactics" to sort of marinate into a more uniform culture, at least linguistically.

So that's how I'd assign people their accents, broadly speaking! Of course that leaves Miles wildly swinging between American and English, and Mark probably a muddy combination of all three, unless he's focusing. But deciding how that works on the fly would be the fun part!

#vorkosigan saga #reading #language #meta

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dextivestudios · 8 months

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Gender neutral in Italian: It’s messy.

Introduction

Since I was given the “keep it basic” answer when I said I don’t know how to refer to someone in a gender-neutral way in Italian, I decided to do a little digging, mainly on Reddit as forums are extremely useful and a good resource when you have a question about someone else’s culture, since you’re likely to get answers from people who live there

But before we go into how Italians are shaking up the language to make it more inclusive, let’s talk about the femminielli

The Femminielli

From Naples, the femminielli are historically males who present themselves in a feminine way since first recorded in the 16th century book de humane phsyiognomonia. Although, today they include gay men, transwomen, and nonbinary people. The historical famminielli were considered channels of God, due to not being seen as male or female. As a result, they were also considered good luck and took gambling by Neopolitans. The femminielli came from poor communities, especially The Spanish Quarter, so health conditions such as an enlarged goitre.

While some transwomen and nonbinary individuals identify this way, it is incorrect to call the femminielli identity transgender. It is its own category, considered a third gender and is one of many examples around the world that such a concept is not a modern day American invention. (As many Italians believe it is.)

Gender Neutral Italian

Now with a small bit of history out of the way, we can get into the mess that is trying to shift the Italian language. It is difficult to find any answers, due to Italy being a more conservative country, leading to the idea of adding inclusivity to the language being “extremist” in the eyes of many. That, or people just have a “that’s just the way the language rigidly works” attitude, despite the observable fact that languages change and evolve. Just look at the constant adoption and dropping of slang terms, or even do a small bit of research in etymology.

So, what are the proposed solutions?

There are a few proposed solutions to this concern, albeit most of them have not gone anywhere. There is the singular “loro,” but it just doesn’t work. There is -u, but it’s a masculine suffix in certain dialects. There is dropping the suffix and replacing it with an asterisk, although it’s only online and currently unpronounceable. Shwa is another internet-born solution, an upside-down lower-case e (or a 3 symbol for plural). While shwa is technically pronounceable, it’s considered awkward as it’s a new letter, and it sounds like you have a certain accent and can reach communication issues there. They’re all controversial for their own reasons.

A final solution, which appears to be the best one currently, is referring to someone as “questa persona” or “quella persona.” While it means the rest of the sentence will be feminine, you’re not calling someone a man or a woman. You could back it up by simply not using pronouns, as pronouns are often dropped anyways in Italian.

Conclusion

The technically correct way to go about it is to just use the masculine form, as it’s the default way to refer to people and is used in mixed-gendered groups. I don’t know if it will still be in like ten years, and I don’t have any say on if it changes at all as an English-speaking American. I simply wanted to find an answer that fits in the rules of the language and respects the culture I wish to someday visit.

It turns out that it’s a complicated mess with no perfect proposals that not even the people from the concerned culture know for sure what’s best. I’m not going to make any suggestions on what anyone else should do, as it’s not in my place to do so.

Sources

Italy and Non-binary : r/NonBinaryTalk

Unknown Gender : r/italianlearning

Any Italians using they/them in the native language? How do you translate it? : r/NonBinary

Italian equivalent of singular “they.” : r/italianlearning

A Simple Guide To The Complex Topic Of Gender-Neutral Pronouns

How to be gender inclusive in Italian ? : r/italianlearning

how to refer to non-binary people in Italian ? : r/italianlearning

Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender - Wikipedia

The Femminielli of Naples - Are We Europe

This 18th-Century Italian Painting Proves Gender Nonconformity Is Far From a Modern Invention

New evidence of ‘third gender’ people in art | by Marina Viatkina | Hidden Gem: Art Treasures through the lens of History | Aug, 2023 | Medium

#italian #language learning #italian culture #italian politics #lgbtq+#nonbinary #gender stuff #romance languages

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good--merits-accumulated · 4 months

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I'm gonna go slightly off track but I promise it has something to do with your question and I think it offers useful background (I also like ranting). When I was deliberating in my head when I was going to sleep yesterday what to say (yes very normal before bedtime activity) I was thinking that I'd tell you I don't really know how I got back into deadpoets from the fandom side, but I was racking my brains and I remembered, and I thought it was pretty funny. Apologies for dipping into my life but here we go. Basically I was in chemistry club and I came there and there was this boy and I immediately thought wow he's cute. This doesnt happen very often (twice a year maybe I don't find people attractive much) that's why I was like damn. And he reminded me of someone on telly and I was like hmmm, and then it hit me! That dude from Dead Poets Society!

Now at this point I had watched DPS like 3 years ago and I think it must have been before I had my sort of gay awakening and also before I was in fandoms bc when I googled Todd (that's what the guy looked like-well it turns out not as much as I thought bc I have a weird memory for faces but still quite a bit) I had the bright idea of looking on the fandom on tumblr where I was introduced to anderperry and I was like. yes. I continued looking at some posts like this and I was like yes this is so gay. Now I was so sure it was before I was gay (I'm bi but you get it) bc I think if I saw that now I would be like- that's gay. Then I didn't at all. Its a nice show of what perspective can do. Anyway I click on a clip (yk the one which is like I can take care of myself-no-what do you mean no-no*said in the flirtiest way possible*)and the record screeches stop. Just for a moment bc like wow they are american.

Now finally I get to answering your question. I think I mostly just forgot about the accents and the default accent in my head is british, but on top of that, the boarding school, but more importantly- the old boarding school, now that is a trope that isn't often american. On top of that you have the scenery, that type of nature which I don't associate with america at all. (I think the reasons behind why I thought they were British is probably just- I forgot, it was a long time ago and that's my default, and maybe a bit of the rest, but there is a reason why it feels very american). So I think hearing them there accents ofc that's a reason. But even though their opinions can very much be British, I think their attitudes and they way they voice there opinions is very not british.

And I also had a thought that maybe, the very reason they seem so american is because the things they do are so british(as well as the scenery) it feels jarring they are so american about it, and that's the very thing that makes it more so. That's just a thought tho. I think its certainly a bit about the whole freedom thing being very american and all that.

That's all the thoughts I have for now, if I'll think of something I'll share, I hope it's ok to write this through asks. And sorry for the LONG ask it's very interesting to talk about.

Thanks for the splendid ask, and feel free to write in with any more thoughts! (No such thing as a too-long ask, btw. Go right ahead.)

That is another thing I think DPS has done, in that it seems to be connected to lots of people's queer awakenings in some form or another? I had an experience a little similar to yours, where I obsessed over the film a lot when I was 12, came back when I was 15 and had figured out I was a guy, and was suddenly Very Cognisant Of Things I Had Not Been Before. (Also, that particular scene... yeah. Yeah.) Not sure exactly what it is - maybe just its status as a cult classic/ a family movie I think lots of families throw on, but yeah! Very neat. (Also, another sidenote - the average fandom age here /is/ very teen! Not necessarily a bad thing - also not surprising, given general fandom trends + this being a teen movie - but pretty fun! I came straight from DMBJ fandom, which felt much older, so it was a cool change.)

That is a VERY nice point about the way they voice their opinions. Big agree! [Insert "haha repression is a core British value" joke here], but yeah. Not to play into yet more stereotypes here, but the lack of self-deprecation in the dialogue really comes across a lot in making it feel American! And linked to that, the sense of dumb teenage confidence. I'm not sure if we get much of that in British media (or maybe I'm talking out of my arse...)

I like the idea of what you said, it being a British film with British "events", inhabited by American characters! Okay, that's going down a WHOLE new spiral about metatextual tragedy. (Maybe Neil dies because he tries to play by American rules in British conventions................ goes a little. Ah. You know, it's literally called New England!)

(And adding on to that - if Neil dies because he's playing by the "wrong" cultural norms that is SUCH a goddamn tragedy, but it also adds some weight to the ending... it's sadder, because everyone else is doing the same and in a system that doesn't appear to be changing no matter the changes THEY have undergone individually. immutability of the setting etc. etc. Sometimes The Setting Shapes You!)

Not a very coherent response, sorry (it is almost 11!). tl;dr: DPS is queer, nobody is self-deprecating enough to be English, and the placement of American characters in a British narrative is making me go a little crazyinsane. Also congrats on finding real life Todd Anderson (sort of)!

#this could all be like total nonsensical crap idk #just got off two hours of analysing a streetcar named desire. cut me some slack #but OH - i am going to be thinking about the narrative vs. the characters for a WHILE #mmmm. good food. etc.#dead poets society #ask

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weirdgotham · 8 months

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The Toreador Primogen of Weird Gotham

Erich Zann is a mute German man of approximately 55 years of age. He was born in the 1860s and was an accomplished orchestral violinist. His avant-garde solo performances were what led to him eventually being stalked by a sadistic Toreador, who took pleasure in alternately terrifying and gaslighting Erich while having no qualms about feeding from the object of his obsession. Concerned that he was losing his mind, he eventually fled to Paris to be free. Unfortunately, he was given away one night by the unmistakable sound of his music, and the stalker captured and turned Erich. He was soon freed from his bondage when they were discovered by the Paris Camarilla and his sire was harshly punished for multiple violations of the Traditions.

He has lived quietly at the artist’s colony of Kingsport since just after the first World War. Recently, the Beckoning has left him as Toreador primogen by default, and he has been well-received by both his own clan and others. He is generally well-liked and notoriously trustworthy, partly due to lacking any apparent ambition beyond ensuring his clan is fairly treated in any situation.

While mute, Erich is an accomplished telepath and is assisted by his childe John “Johann” Votto. John is an Italian American with a thick New York accent who acts as a “translator”. Despite his American upbringing, John sometimes refers to himself as Johann and slips into a slight German accent due to the ever-present voice of Erich in his mind.

They both can be found residing at the "High House", an old and oddly constructed manor house overlooking the Kingsport bay, or aboard the “Rosewood”, a modest yacht left to him by a fellow Toreador and the former Keeper of Elysium when she met her final death recently.

#vampire the masquerade #weird gotham #Erich Zann #toreador

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haesunflower · 10 months

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i just connected two and two together that youre from the Philipines, but if you dont mind me asking how and where did you learn english so well? i saw your face reveal video and your accent was quite good

TIME FOR HISTORY LESSONS WITH TEE!

the short answer to your question is that i grew up bilingual! in fact, most Filipino kids are! I've won multiple spelling bees, was put in an advanced english essay writing class, and have given so many english speeches during my school lifetime i can't even count anymore lol

the long answer to this question is:

The Americans colonized the Philippines for 48 years, they introduced formal schooling to the country and consequently, ingrained the english language to every aspects of education. Today, all private schools use english as the medium of instruction.

There are over 7,107 islands in the Philippines, and so many languages and dialects! it's quite common for other Filipinos to converse in English especially when you don't understand each others' dialects

If you didn't know this already, a lot of east asians come to the Philippines to learn english. It's so heavily spoken here, so it's easy to pick up + a way cheaper option since we're in Asia as well. At malls, restaurants, customer service - the default is English unless you already start speaking in Tagalog/Filipino.

#tee posts

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spider-xan · 1 year

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Okay, so I finally got around to watching the first episode of Watchmen, thanks to @antidisneyinc, years after it aired, and I haven't read the graphic novel since whenever the film adaptation was released, but I'll jot down my initial thoughts, possibly more to come later and subject to change as I watch future episodes; if context matters, I only read some meta commentary about the show when it was released, and I do like the graphic novel, some of Moore's usual issues aside, and think it's important and timely politically.

I'm going to default to reading commentary by Black people, re: the Tulsa Race Riots opening scene, so I don't have anything to say other than that it was extremely harrowing

Really hoping this is something that gets subverted later on bc regardless of whatever other issues Moore has, he's definitely not a pro-cop authoritarian, so it weirded me out that the show has heroic cops fighting white supremacists when they would be on the same side IRL, and considering part of the commentary of the graphic novel was the problem of superheroes backed by the government/state, yeah, I'm curious where this is going, and I have vague memories of criticism of the show being, 'copaganda, but make it progressive', so I'm guessing I'll be disappointed

The mirror mask is very cool, especially in the pod scene

I think this is the first time I've seen Regina King in anything, and she's fantastic, even when she's given not so great dialogue to work with, but she definitely has presence and star power

There were so many references both big and small to the comics that it was fun identifying them at first, but after awhile, it was really distracting, like, we get it, it's a Watchmen sequel, there doesn't need to be a clock or smiley face in every frame

In relation to the above, the owl ship cameo just confused me bc I was like, wait, so are these two cops supposed to be an elderly Dan and an absurdly youthful Laurie, though I guess not

It was obviously telegraphed right from the opening scene, but I'm not sure what to think about the Hooded Justice reveal, and I remember the show's interpretation being polarizing and controversial for several reasons, but I'll see how it works out

I guess Jeremy Irons didn't want to bother with an American accent, but Adrian is an English aristocrat now? Or he's playing that role for some reason, like faking his death?

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airedelalmena · 1 year

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“What is cultural cringe? If you’re from outside Australia, or the Commonwealth more generally, it’s probably a foreign concept to you. It ties into the ideas of national identity, of cultural identity, and of the condescension that non-normative, culturally authentic media faces when it’s exposed to the wider Western world. It manifested as a response to anti-intellectualism levelled against creators and thinkers from outside of the American and European media bubbles, as an attempt — conscious or not — to force an inferiority complex upon us, to punish non-conformism.

It’s about power dynamics. In contemporary culture, creators cannot succeed financially without catering to Americans.”

Yes, these are very good points.

But I SERIOUSLY wish that the people who wrote these considered that…there are many many people who live in the US whose cultural experience falls outside of these norms too. Based on either directly being born in another country, or being descended from people who were and keeping your family’s own cultural norms that they inherited from their culture.

And we don’t get representation most of the time within our own country.

that is, we’re just as alienated as you.

And so, when you talk about “all Americans” as having these tastes, values, beliefs, views on life, ways of interacting, ways of living — that fir within “conformism” — you’re acting as if we don’t exist and that, my friend, implicitly agrees with the people who ARE represented in this country. Because they know that we exist, but they think that we shouldn’t, so they pretend that we don’t — by excluding us from all media representation.

So the end result is that all so-called “American” media that you see ONLY CONTAINS THEM AND THEIR LIVES.

And by agreeing with and acting as if THEIR depiction of this country is at all “accurate” i.e. they really ARE the only people to exist here, the only culture in this country — what this does is give them what they want. Our total erasure.

I feel like only people who are part of minority groups of any kind, within their own country, are going to be capable of understanding this.

Any time I see “mainstream” fiction from different countries, I always wonder — “Who is being suppressed by this? Who is not being seen, who is not getting a voice within their own country?”

Why aren’t you wondering that about people who live in the massive multi-cultured country that is the US?

Why aren’t you asking yourself “Who am I not hearing or seeing from here?” when you watch so-called “American” media?

If you aren’t constantly asking those questions…

…then ironically, you yourself are contributing to the silencing that you’re complaining about experiencing yourself.

There is a dominant voice and then there is the rest of us, hidden.

Hell, there are entire massive regions of the country that never even get to see actors with voices that sound like theirs, unless it’s the butt of a discriminatory/classist joke. Let’s not even get into the regional accent conversation, or the fact that MOST if not all American regional accents come from immigrant accents from different countries. America has its own “RP/Received Pronunciation”.

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

America is not what you think, based on what limited amount you are given to see, on a screen

and this applies to anywhere. but I feel it when I read “pssht, those Americans” and it’s clear they think of one dominant voice only when they think that, and that’s who their annoyance is for. (i.e. “those racist Americans, we’re so much better here” racist against who? aliens from another planet? no, literally other Americans! unless you somehow don’t think of the other side of the equation as being “as American” as the other which you think of as, or have been shown as, ‘the default”…? and if you don’t then why? could go on and on)

#queued #cultural differences #within the same country #shocker! that film being written about was about…….white australians………………#hmm funny that.#mixed thoughts #like…there are people of various backgrounds and experiences in most non homogeneous countries #not only is there not one world experience period but not one us or one nz experience i mean. just…thoughts

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daedalmirage · 2 years

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borage ♥ marigold ♥ r.e profiling

"Oh my god, can we all just- can you all just stop being cowards already?"

It was a very quick outburst from Mari, who had spent the last round of conversation unassumingly picking away at the meal in front of her. She underlined her words by putting down her utensil with much more clatter than was really necessary, huffing and running one hand through her hair in an exasperated fashion to tousle it accordingly.

"I mean, sure, we could just keep going round like the really terrible police dramas my dad watches, like-"

Mid sentence and without pause for breath, Mari's words bundled themselves up into an accent fairly different from her usual Southern English. It was a very passable American accent- you might struggle to pick a specific state if you were in the know, but it wasn't grating even with her dramatic exaggerations.

"Well sure, bud, she probably was strangled right there on the steps with only the mountain as a witness, but our killer had to be a tough one, huh? People don't just stop and let themselves be strangled, no, she'd be clawin', but did you see any blood under her nails to show an injury? Cause I sure didn't."

Back to her default with a roll of her eyes.

"-But if you guys are gonna keep dancing round this profile thing, okay, fine. I'll do it, you've already made the list super small. We're looking for a woman that wears lipstick and has small hands but is bigger than Bella and could row a boat comfortably, yeah? So that cuts us down to probaaaaaably..."

Oh god.

"Sonia, me or Nina, if we wanna go for the obviously wearing lipstick stuff and ignore like, Ray and Inkyo and whoever else may own some but not be wearing it. That all kinda gets mixed up if you consider some other stuff in the boat we found about the rower, but I think that core list is still pretty much the same? And that is not a big list, sooo we might wanna start digging ourselves out of that hole a bit faster if we're boxing ourselves into assumptions too quick to get to that."

Given that she didn't elaborate about what she meant regarding the boat, however, Mari seemed quite content to let others scavenge from the scraps she put out on the table bar one parting shot.

"As for being pushed down the stairs, couldn't she have just tripped from being, I dunno, dizzy from being strangled or whatever? If it was someone else's fault that she tripped, wouldn't that... still be murder? If I remember right, her... the mark looked like it'd been painful recently too."

(A little more subdued, that bit.)

#daedal mirage #ch1 #ch1 trial #marigold

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therealvinelle · 2 years

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So Carlisle talk in a English accent or no?

Well, that's an interesting question.

In canon, Carlisle is never described as using an English accent, and I do think that's something Bella would have remarked upon. His vocabulary is very American as well, there's no Britishisms that I'm aware of coming out of him, at any point.

As it is, Carlisle's human life was a long time ago, and these days he is passing himself off as an American doctor with a very American family. An unexplicable British accent would only make him stand out all the more. He's gonna have to accent it up.

Which, given @gisellelx's reblog to this post that I rather agree with, should be very easy for him.

So, Carlisle has very good reason to speak American English without a foreign accent, by all accounts appears to do so in canon, and it should be very easy for him to do so.

So far, so good.

But then the Guide has this to say:

He has a slight English accent from his youth, although he can speak with a flawless American accent.

By the sounds of it, Carlisle defaults to an English accent.

(Which... I'm not even going to touch on how Carlisle's "English accent from his youth" would have been a lot less like the modern British English we know and love, and a lot more like this. Which makes "English accent" and "from his youth" an oxymoron. Maybe Carlisle practiced medicine in England later on. Or maybe Twilight exists in an alternate universe where everything is the same except for accents of the English language, in which case, disregard this entire post.)

Except... we have him on record in private as speaking in what appears to be American English. Apart from Bella's first meeting with him in the ER in Twilight I don't think we really see him in action as Dr. Cullen, American Man From America. Bella doesn't see him again until after she knows what he is, and from there on out his human facade adventures are off screen. With the exception of Charlie in Breaking Dawn, he never again has speaking lines around people he has reason to put up a front for.

And yet, Bella doesn't describe a change in his accent, nor does anyone else. There are no British English words used, either, not that I detected.

All I can do in the face of this contradicting information is come up with two theories.

When Edward announced that he was bringing home his human girlfriend, Carlisle's behavior indicates that he did not want to scare her off. He went out of his way to not approach her first but wait until she moved, he moved slowly, and vacated within minutes so that Bella and Edward could be alone. He was there to introduce himself, and no interference beyond that. The theory: he decided to stick with the fake American accent to be less overwhelming. If he'd opened his mouth and a new accent came out, Bella would have wondered who these people even were. The realization that they were not just lying about what they were, but who, could have gotten very uncomfortable for her. Then the baseball match of doom and the trip to Florida happened, and suddenly some time had passed. The Edward Speed Debacle 2.0 happened, as Carlisle found himself having unintentionally lied to this girl about his accent for long enough that he decided to just stick to it. There was no non-awkward way to switch back, as his options would have been to A) do it without warning, overnight he starts talking in his English accent. He'd wait and see if she asked him about it or if they both just never said anything, Bella likely assuming Carlisle is a bit nuts, B) sit her down for a serious talk, and whatever Bella's expecting, she gets Superman revealing his secret identity to Lois instead as Carlisle reveals THE ACCENT WAS FAKE ALL ALONG. Bella concludes that he's a bit nuts. Carlisle decided it was too late, there was no natural way to segue back into his normal accent, and has been speaking American English ever since.

Carlisle found that switching back and forth, American with the humans and English with the vampires, wasn't working out. After forgetting himself one time too many, and having no excuse for why he'd do a fake English accent when breaking the news that a woman had just lost her only son, he decided to committ to American English.

Both of these theories are completely ridiculous.

But, Meyer says he has an accent, one we never see in canon, so... I'm open to suggestions. (And, for once, to saying "Screw you, author! You don't know your characters like I, an internet person, do!")

#carlisle cullen #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #twilight

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evanescentjasmine · 4 years

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I’m going to talk about a little pet peeve of mine with regard to portrayal of poc in fic, TMA specifically since that’s what I mostly read and write for.

I suppose I should first start by saying that, of course, poc are not a monolith, and I’m certain there are other poc who have many different views on this issue. And also this post is in no way meant to demonise, shame, or otherwise discourage people from writing poc in fic if they’re doing something differently. This is just a thing I’ve been noodling on for a while and have had several interesting conversations with friends about, and now that I think I’ve figured out why I have this pet peeve, I figured I’d gather my thoughts into a post.

As a result of the fact we have no canonical racial, ethnic, or religious backgrounds for our main TMA cast, we’ve ended up with many diverse headcanons, and it’s absolutely lovely to see. I’m all for more diversity and I’m always delighted to see people’s headcanons.

However, what often happens is I’ll be reading a fic and plodding along in a character’s PoV and get mention of their skin colour. And nothing else. I find this, personally, extremely jarring. In a short one-shot it makes sense, because you’re usually touching on one scenario and then dipping out. Likewise if the fic is in a different setting, is cracky, or is told from someone else’s PoV, that’s all fine. But if I’m reading a serious long-fic close in the poc’s head and...nothing? That’s just bizarre to me.

Your heritage, culture, religion, and background, all of those affect how you view the world, and how the world views you in return. How people treat you, how you carry yourself, what you’re conscious of, all of that shifts. And the weird thing is that many writers are aware of this when it comes to characters being ace or trans or neurodivergent—and I’m genuinely pleased by that, don’t get me wrong. Nothing has made my ace self happier than the casual aceness in TMA fics that often resonates so well with my experience. But just as gender, orientation, and neurodivergence change how a character interacts with their world, so do race, ethnicity, and religion.

As a child, I spent a couple of years in England while my mother was getting her degree. Though I started using Arabic less and less, my mother still spoke to me almost exclusively in Arabic at home. We still ate romy cheese and molokhia and the right kind of rice, though we missed out on other things. She managed to get an Egyptian channel on TV somehow, which means I still grew up with different cultural touchstones and make pop-culture references that I can’t share with my non-Arabic-speaking friends. She also became friends with just about every Egyptian in her university, so for those years I had a bevy of unrelated Uncles and Aunties from cities all over Egypt, banding together to go on outings or celebrate our holidays.

As an adult who sometimes travels abroad solo, and as a fair-skinned Arab who’s fluent in English, usually in a Western country the most I’ll get is puzzled people trying to parse my accent and convinced someone in my family came from somewhere. When they hear my name, though, that shifts. I get things like surprise, passive-aggressive digs at my home region, weird questions, insistence I don’t look Egyptian (which, what does that even mean?) or the ever-popular, ever-irritating: Oh, your English is so good!

At airports, with my Egyptian passport, it’s less benign. I am very commonly taken aside for extra security, all of which I expect and am prepared for, and which always confuses foreign friends who insisted beforehand that surely they wouldn’t pull me aside. Unspoken is the fact I, y’know, don’t look like what they imagine a terrorist would. But I’m Arab and that’s how it goes, despite my, er, more “Western” leaning presentation.

This would be an entirely different story if I were hijabi, or had darker skin, or a more pronounced accent. I am aware I’m absolutely awash with privilege. Likewise, it would be different if I had a non-Arab name and passport.

So it’s slightly baffling to me as to why a Jon who is Pakistani or Indian or Arab and/or Black British would go through life the exact same way a white British character would.

Now, I understand that race and ethnicity can be very fraught, and that many writers don’t want to step on toes or get things wrong or feel it isn’t their place to explore these things, and certainly I don’t think it’s a person’s place to explore The Struggles of X Background unless they also share said background. I’m not saying a fic should portray racism and microaggressions either (and if they do, please take care and tag them appropriately), but that past experiences of them would affect a character. A fic doesn’t have to be about the Arab Experience With Racism (™) to mention that, say, an Arab Jon headed to the airport in S3 for his world tour would have been very conscious to be as put together as he could, given the circumstances, and have all his things in order.

And there’s so much more to us besides. What stories did your character grow up with? What language was spoken at home? Do they also speak it? If not, how do they feel about that? What are their comfort foods? Their family traditions? The things they do without thinking? The obscure pop-culture opinions they can’t even begin to explain? (Ask me about the crossover between Egyptian political comedy and cosmic horror sometime…)

I’m not saying you’ll always get it right. Hell, I’m not saying I always get it right either. I’m sure someone can read one of my fics and be like, “nope, this isn’t true to me!” And that’s okay. The important thing, for me, is trying.

Because here’s the thing.

I want you to imagine reading a fic where I, a born and raised Egyptian, wrote white characters in, say, a suburb in the US as though they shared my personal experiences. It’s a multi-generational household, people of the same gender greet with a kiss on each cheek, lunch is the main meal, adults only move out when they get married, every older person they meet is Auntie or Uncle, every bathroom has a bidet, there’s a backdrop of Muslim assumptions and views of morality, and the characters discuss their Eid plans because, well, everyone celebrates Eid, obviously.

Weird, right?

So why is this normal the other way around?

Have you ever stopped to wonder why white (and often, especially American) experiences are considered the default? The universal inoffensive base on which the rest is built?

Yes, I understand that writers are trying to be inoffensive and respectful of other backgrounds. But actually, I find the usual method of having the only difference be their skin colour or features pretty reductive. We’re more than just a paint job or a sprinkle of flavour to add on top of the default. Many of us have fundamentally different life experiences and ignoring this contributes to that assumption of your experience being universal.

Yes, fic is supposed to be for fun and maybe you don’t want to have to think about all this, and I get that completely. I have all the respect in the world for writers who tag their TMA fics as an American AU, or who don’t mention anyone’s races. I get it. But when you have characters without a canonical race and you give them one, you’re making a decision, and I want you to think about it.

Yes, this is a lot of research, but the internet is full of people talking about themselves and their experiences. Read their articles, read their blogs, read their twitter threads, watch their videos, see what they have to say and use it as a jumping-off point. I’m really fond of the Writing With Color blog, so if you’re not sure where to start I’d recommend giving them a look.

Because writers outside of the Anglosphere already do this research in order to write in most fandoms. Writers of colour already put themselves in your shoes to write white characters. And frankly, given the amount of care that many white writers put into researching Britishisms, I don’t see why this can’t extend to other cultural differences as well.

#the magnus archives #tma #poc in fanfic #representation #tw racism #long post

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alatismeni-theitsa · 3 years

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I have no idea when you posted asking about the experiences of Greek diaspora / Greek heritage but I just saw it so I thought I’d send in my stuff.

I am so disconnected from it because my grandma didn’t want to pass the language into her children so she could have adult conversations they wouldn’t understand. And she didn’t pass on the culture because her husband was Jehovah’s Witness. And so I just feel an intense feeling of grief over a culture that I’m apart of but know very little about. I have some recipes my Yiayia made, a cookbook by women from the Greek Orthodox Church in NYC, and two lullaby’s. (We lived in the US with my great grandma so we had more interaction with Greek culture than our cousins who’s lived with my grandma in Ireland)

And there’s not much out that I’ve found where I’ve been able to learn about my culture and not felt like I’m intruding. Especially because I don’t “look Greek” like some of the other greek kids at my school. I look Irish. I don’t have a Greek name and I don’t speak any of the language. The only way I’ve found to connect is through food but I’m limited to the cookbook because if you look online it’s hard to find recipes that aren’t just trendy mediterranen inspired health food. My mum is starting to reluctantly tell me a little about my family from Greece. And my grandmas cousin and her family is very very greek. So if I fly down to see her she’ll teach me stuff (though she’s the matriarch of the family so she’s pretty intimidating). Anyway. That’s my experience with my my greek heritage.

I just sent the long-ass ask about Greek heritage but I forgot the bit where I was Greek enough to get bullied over Greek food. Yay. Dolmades are good though I don’t care if they “look little poop”

___________________[END OF ASK] __________________________

Hey and sorry for the delay 💙 I asked some time ago but that doesn't mean newer answers aren't welcome anytime!

Dear, I am grieving with you for the loss 😔 I can't say the reasons the language wasn't passed on seem very logical to me. There are things that didn't get passed on to me because my grandparents thought I would automatically know, or they didn't bother teaching, so I can relate to that feeling 😔

You are definitely NOT intruding! I can understand why it feels this way after what you told me, but it seems to me you have every right to know! Greek culture welcomes anyone from Cameroon to Japan, so, realistically, nothing should stop you from having access to it. Plus, it's your own family!

Oh damn, the "I don't look Greek" plague 😩 As everyone knows there's no specific qualifier of appearance for being part of Hellenismos. On this particular occasion, I'll go one step further and say that, unless you have raid hair, you probably look like a lot of Greeks.

There are Greeks whose appearance is rare for this ethnicity, but "looking Irish" is a thing that 1/4 (at least?) of Greek people relate to. One thing Greeks of diaspora often hear is that "they don't look Greek enough", aka they look "too white". Your surrounding Greeks might not look like you but if you go through my tag #Greek people, which has hundreds of videos, portraits, and photos of Greeks from all eras, you might realize you look like many Greeks.

Again, appearance doesn't matter in the slightest when it comes to culture, but I sensed your appearance issue was the flavor of "too white looking" and it's the most infuriating thing to me because many, many Greeks look "too white looking" for the standards foreigners have made for them!

Anyways, on to the food! I am so happy you are trying some of the recipes :D (And that you are doing everything to connect to your heritage if it brings you joy!) How dare they speak badly about dolmades??? 😭 Many countries close to Greece also have that dish and we must find them so we can have a dolmades alliaaaaanceee!

I'd also like to add, don't feel pressured to get too much into the culture if you don't want to. Many Greeks in Greece keep different types of distance from their tradition and that should also be your right. Again, do and learn whatever pleases you! Just keep in mind that you are valid in your current state without going the extra mile to learn every Greek thing possible.

People across the globe can have various degrees of Greek heritage and if that "amount" of heritage is "less" then it's okay and natural because it's what happens when people immigrate. The more generations pass, the more this old part is left behind. For example, many Greeks in Greece can also come from other backgrounds (Austrian, Egyptian, Slavic (various countries), etc) and they, too have many parts of their older heritages lost. They practice Greek customs almost exclusively now.

There's a cultural plane that shifts all the time in countries around the world and families assimilate to a new culture as they adapt to a new place. At this moment you are also part of a US regional culture and there is no shame in *also* identifying as part of it. That won't erase any Greek part of you.

The above doesn't aim to discourage you in any way on searching more about Greek culture! It's only a general disclaimer. People from inside a culture (usually in diaspora) tend to judge those who participate less, as if any person with X heritage is in a place to keep the same amount of touch with it 🙄

Sure, tradition is very important but nobody should be forced to practice it if they don't want to - or if they just can't. Tradition is people, and some traditions change or die naturally because many individuals from the inside wanted it to.

It's hard being caught in between - not "American enough" and not "Greek enough". The paradox is that you must first feel secure in this position. Granted, it's easier said than done but mentally it will save you the mindset of needing to be "more American" or "more Greek". As you understand, you don't need to feel apologetic to Americans for who you are, and you don't need to feel apologetic to Greeks in America or anywhere else for the exact same reason.

Some Greeks of diaspora feel distressed about their accents in Greek (or they don't want to admit they have an accent) or for not being perceived as Greeks automatically by other Greeks when they visit the country. But that's unavoidable because these differences exist and people raised in Greece can spot them. Therefore, people in the US whom you are afraid might feel superior to you for knowing more things about Greece, may come to Greece and feel like foreigners.

So they shouldn't make this a race beacuse it's not one they would normally "win" by their own standards. Chances are, after you learn anything you can, you will also have distance from what is considered the "default" Greek culture. It's part of the organic process of time + distance from the country, and Greeks with half a brain won't look down on you for that.

What I mean to say is that there is no certain bar an ordinary person can ever pass to be given any prize of the "ultimate Έλληνας". Not even Greeks in Greece know where that bar is when it comes to their own touch with tradition. There is no golden standard, no finishing line!

I encourage you to continue your journey on learning Greek things and while you are at it, know that objectively you have nothing to prove to anyone, even though you might feel otherwise. I say, fly to your grandma's cousin and let her teach you stuff!

You know that the intimidating demeanor Greek aunties and grandmas have doesn't necessarily reflect their love for you. You might also know that older Greeks are more reserved in showing appreciation. And in the hypothetical scenario where they don't really like you that much, they are still bound to you because you are family, so feel free to use their expertise 👀 If they don't give their knowledge to their family, whom are they going to give it to?? The neighbor??

If they throw any shade at you for now knowing enough take a deeeeeep breath, remember this isn't a race, and continue learning from them. (And you will feel the Greek experience of not deemed worthy enough by your relatives 😂 It's a win win!) If you haven't, check the poem Ithaca by K.P. Kavafy! I think it applies to this situation in a way!

You can always come here and browse thousands of posts about Greece! (In the Desktop version the most important show up on the left of the main page). I have #modern Greece #Greek custom #Greek tradition #Greek dance #Greek cuisine #Greek literature and whatever else your heart desires!

If you want to slowly learn Greek, Greekpod 101 and Easy Greek channels on YouTube have great content! I also have my tag #learn Greek on this blog with sources and explanations. (#Greek language and #Greek word can also be useful!) They are all accessible to English speakers!

You now have a distant Greek auntie who is at your disposal for any type of question (even the "stupid" questions)! Literally, ask me anything and I will try to answer it or find more info for you! You can DM me if you don't want to leave an ask. You are not intruding and it's my pleasure to help!

#thank you for your message <3 #it's hard for me to give tone in text - i hope i wasnt too intimidating either :p #the blog is here for your questions about greece so dont hesitate to ask!#answered #greek diaspora #greeks in the us #greek speaks

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hallowed-nebulae · 3 years

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On Shinomiya Rina's accent and home region

Shinomiya Rina is one of the more well-known characters from the Digimon World series; if you follow me, it'll be no surprise that I care about her a particular amount, as I've made a large amount of fanart and fanfiction featuring Rina. However, those who follow me will notice that I tend to mention, from time-to-time, Rina having a Tohoku accent, or being from the Tohoku region. This isn't a made-up bit of headcanon - it's actually supported with canonical information presented in the Re:Digitize Decode game, Re:Digitize Encode manga, and Rina's brief appearance in the Story: Cyber Sleuth games.

Now, after reading the title of this meta, the first thing you may be wondering is "what accent?"

The answer to that is that Rina has a Tohoku accent. Now, a Tohoku accent isn't as commonly shown in Japanese media as the Kansai accent (known as Kansai-ben), but it does still appear and it does have its stereotypes, regardless of how people from the region are in reality. The stereotype is one of "laziness or clumsiness", which, while not necessarily applying to Rina entirely, does describe a few of her actions.

This is particularly noticable in the dialogue when we see her in Cyber Sleuth, where she complains of having to re-train V.V. back up to the previous level of power and states that she would much rather watch TV or read manga than actually train her V-mon partner.

Additionally, the accent itself partially relies on translators to make it apparent; to clarify, because the Western audience for the Digimon games will as a majority not know Japanese, and thus would not be able to particularly identify one accent from another, the translators would have to be relied upon to know the difference between the accents, and be relied upon to translate those accents into a close English equivalent for preserving the "feel" of the dialogue, so to speak.

This is the case with Rina - the Cyber Sleuth translation did not give her any noticeable accent, rather giving her a speech pattern similar to other characters as a generic, "regular" English accent. The most hint we get as to her accent comes with the voiced Japanese lines that she speaks - particularly, the "jye-jye-jye" sound she makes, which Cyber Sleuth translates as "woah". (A side note: this is actually a "correct" translation, as "jye-jye-jye" is an equivalent to "woah", used in the Tohoku region. It's actually become a real-life meme in Japan.)

The fantranslation for Re:Digitize Decode, however, happens to translate the accent fairly well. While it's not immediately identifiable, the accent given to Rina in the translation is fairly similar to a Rural Brittish Accent, or a Hillbilly American Accent. (Examples found here, here, here, here, and here.)

It should also be noted that, prior to the fan translation (and, as of this post, on the current article), Rina's English Digimon Wiki page made note that she had a habit of "mispronouncing her words". This also aligns with the Tohoku regional accent - part of the Tohoku accent is using "da" after verbs, which is considered a mistake in other parts of Japan.

Now that we've established the fact that Rina speaks with the Tohoku accent, let's look at her living situation itself. Rina is disconnected from the rest of the cast for a good portion of Decode, and while she does appear somewhat through the Digitter messages, it's only as that - messages. In trailer screenshots, we don't see much of where she lives, mostly restricted to the inside of her room. and the one shot we do get to see of the city outside of that is pretty vague and doesn't really tell us much about where she actually lives.

However, it's reasonable to assume that due to her accent and being farther away from the other members of the cast, Rina does indeed live in the Tohoku region. Thus, when creating my works, I default to Rina living in some part of the Tohoku region, and having the accompanying accent to match.

There's actually a way that this could be used to explain her outfit choice, as well - though that will be saved for another meta.

(The Decode dialogue is from Wrath of Zalis' English playthrough of Re:Digitize Decode, while the Cyber Sleuth dialogue is taken from Rebellion's Cyber Sleuth playthrough. The screenshot of Rina's window looking into the city comes from GundamFinalGames' Re:Digitize Decode playthrough.)

#rambles #meta #shinomiya rina #rina shinomiya #cyber sleuth #re:digitize decode #wasn't sure where to start this but hey the meta has been written at least #anyways! that's where my whole ''rina is from tohoku'' bit comes from #queue content #digimon

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thehollowsoldat · 2 years

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐓 ―― Repost, don’t reblog;

tagged by @griim

tagging:

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒 ――

FULL NAME. James Buchanan Barnes, Jr.

NICKNAMES. Bucky, Buck. Only his sister can call him Jimmy.

HEBREW NAME: יַעֲקֹב‎ “Yaakov”

ALIAS(ES). Bucky (616), Winter Soldier, Asset, Captain America (616), The Man on the Wall (616), Jakob Cassidy, Yakov Balabanov

SEX. Male

SIZE. 5′9′‘ (616), 6'0" (MCU)

AGE. 96 (616), 107 (MCU)

ZODIAC. Pisces

SPOKEN LANGUAGES. Speaks without an accent, Moscow, or American (Midwest - natural in 616, learned in MCU. Brooklyn is natural in MCU), depending on what's the most convenient. English, German, Russian, French. His Yiddish and (modern) Hebrew is fluent in MCU but only knows short phrases in 616, until he picks it up in modern day.

Programming filled in the gaps to make him fluent in the non-English languages and gave him: Arabic, Spanish, Farsi, Dari, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese.

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 ――

HAIR COLOUR. Brown. Length is important.

Bucky: Short to mid-length. Keeps it maintained without electric clippers. If it gets in his eyes or anywhere close to halfway to his shoulders and he doesn't cut it? He's in a bad mental state.

Soldier: Long, after 1958 to 20XX. Occasionally shaved for surgery.

FACIAL HAIR: Clean shaven or stubble. Occasionally grows a short beard. Not a mustache guy.

EYE COLOUR. Brown (616), Blue (MCU)

SKIN TONE. Pale, tans when he’s got time to be in the sun.

BODY TYPE. Athletic/muscular. His body is a tool, a weapon. Keeps himself in very good shape. The Soldier was given a very set diet (high protein, very little carbs/junk. Bland, mostly liquid after 1991 in MCU) and was a lot more built than Bucky. Bucky can and will destroy you but he has a life outside of training and missions.

616: small enough to climb in air vents, despite the bionic arm.

VOICE. Low. Pre-Soldier/with friends after (initial) recovery: cocky, loud, confident, dramatic. Soldier/Default Deprogramming: quiet, flat, dry, sarcastic. His work voice. The Soldier didn't talk much so the Soldier's voice is usually raspy/quiet/rusty.

DOMINANT HAND. Right hand but ambidextrous

POSTURE. Murder strut. Head up, eyes on a swivel. Stands straight. Tends to lean on things with arms crossed or hands on hips.

SCARS. Quite a few from gunshot and knife wounds (slashing and stabbing), whips. Surgery marks from attaching the prosthetic. Claw marks from reacting to the improper fit of the limb.

MCU: Burn marks on his temples and mouth - old and not noticeable unless close or he's spent recent time in the chair.

Piano Boy: left knuckles from a botched butterfly knife trick, cigarette burns on his footsoles.

Cold Blooded Nights: two bite marks on the left side of his neck, near the middle.

TATTOOS. Star(s) on his bionic prosthesis. Otherwise, none

BIRTHMARKS. None

MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURES. bionic prosthesis.

𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 ――

PLACE OF BIRTH. Shelbyville, Indiana (616). Brooklyn, New York (616)

HOMETOWN. Shelbyville, Indiana (616). Brooklyn, New York (616)

SIBLINGS. Rebecca Barnes (Sister), JL (Clone, little brother)

PARENTS. Winifred (Mother), James Barnes, Sr. (Father) - deceased.

A𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 ――

OCCUPATION. Fixer. Intergalactic Assassin Not for Hire. Adventurer. Spy. Soldier.

CURRENT RESIDENCE(S). Several apartments and safe houses in New York City. House in Shelbyville, Indiana.

CLOSE FRIENDS. Obviously, Steve and Natasha. Toro, Namor, Fury, and Logan. "Steve's friends" that became his friends - especially Sam and Sharon.

FINANCIAL STATUS. Fine.

DRIVER’S LICENSE. Yes, plus motorcycle, aircraft, and boat licenses (or at least training) for traditional and combat roles.

CRIMINAL RECORD. Running contraband, fighting, stealing, gambling. Treason, assassinations, sabotage.

VICES. Anger, impulsiveness, recklessness, alcohol, smoking, gambling

𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ――

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. Bisexual.

PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE. Loves to flirt and compliment. When he’s serious? Partners. Tries to provide emotional and other types of support.

PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE. Switch. Very picky about who he subs/bottoms to.

LIBIDO. Very high as himself. Very low as the Winter Soldier

TURN-OFFS. Humiliation

LOVE LANGUAGE. Trust, Quality Time, Acts of Service

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.

Before the Soldier: cocky, dramatic, flirty.

As the Soldier: cold, The Professional. People use him, he uses people. Natalia is the only one who could reach the passionate, real person inside him.

After: Self-sacrificing, slow to trust. Prefers to work alone. Tends to shut everyone out to get the job done if he’s handling Winter Soldier stuff.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 ――

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG. I'll Be Good - Jaymes Young

HOBBIES TO PASS TIME. Training, Piano (MCU)

MENTAL ILLNESSES. Complex and Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), Anger issues, Depression, Depersonalization, Anxiety.

LEFT OR RIGHT-BRAINED. Irrelevant

SELF-CONFIDENCE LEVEL. High.

#shades of me #headcanons

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kyndaris · 3 years

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Braving Tried and True JRPG Tropes

When Bravely Default II was released, one of the first reviews I stumbled upon spoke about the person’s disappointment. Some of it came down to personal taste: the art style. Others were a bit more valid: the weak narrative and carbon copies of protagonists from other games. While the fan in me wanted to contest many of their claims, the more I played of the latest Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) from Square-Enix, I could not deny that there was a lot of tropes being used to prop up the strong gameplay loop and to give players the chance to try out the different jobs on offer. Still, many of these grips failed to deter me too much from my playing of the game. After sinking a hefty amount of time into it, I was able to push my way through the multiple endings and give Seth, Gloria, Elvis and Adelle the happy ending that they deserved.

As the faithful readers of my blog, you should know that I bought Bravely Default II while on a road trip with family. Though I should have been luxuriating in the February sun, I was much too engrossed in my Nintendo Switch to pay much mind to my surroundings. And even if Zac Efron or Chris Hemsworth had walked past, I’d probably barely bat an eyelid.

The first few hours of Bravely Default II had me busy reengaging with the mechanics that I knew from the first two games on the Nintendo DS and Octopath Traveler. Considering my familiarity with old-school JRPGs, it came as no surprise that I quickly managed to level up Freelancer as I cut a swathe through the grass surrounding the starting city of Halyconia. In fact, I realised quite quickly that the best way to get good items without paying a cent for them was to play the game like Link, eager to find rupees in the bushes. By the time I fought Dag and Selene and Horten, they went down like flies even though I hadn’t even bothered to change from my default jobs.

Truth be told, when I read about the difficulties many people supposedly had with these earlier battles, I was scratching my head. Perhaps it was simply the method I play the games - grinding out each job to my satisfaction that had simplified what should have been difficult. On a side note, I thought that the job levelling was much better balanced than Yakuza: Like a Dragon and an infinitely more fun experience because of it. It allowed me to experiment with my team and find the best balance for taking on the various mobs in a given area.

The only time I actually prepared properly for a fight was when I took down Adam and the last few bosses. But even they were a considerable breeze when one had access to so many abilities. Paralysing everyone that stood in my way, inflicting poison and contagion, then having a maxed out Freelancer with Thief skills using Godspeed Strike? Child’s play.

Now, onto the weaker elements of Bravely Default II. The various plot-holes and unexplored characterisation of the heroes and villains. While Elvis and Lonsdale stood out to me, many of the others could have been interchanged with someone else and I would have barely been able to tell the difference were it not for their individual Asterisk attire.

Let’s start with Seth, shall we? Our main protagonist despite the ensemble set-up could have been ripped from any Japanese role-playing game. The ones he reminded me strongly of were Tidus and Vaan. Tidus, because he was a fish-out-of-water that had fallen in love with the woman that would have to sacrifice her life to bring peace back to the world. Vaan due to the fact that he never truly stood out and was simply part of the story just because of Wind Crystal shenanigans. Later on, he was made a bit more special due to his status as someone that had come from the Outer Seas.

In a way, it was a clever voice direction for Seth to be the only character with an American accent. This helped paint the fact that he was different from the others. Still, it would have been much better if we could have seen what his life had been like prior to the events that brought him to waking up on a beach in Halyconia. And while there are scenes in several sidequests that explore a little of Seth’s backstory, there’s little to sink one’s teeth into.

Gloria, on the other hand, is very much a stereotypical princess of a mystical kingdom. Though the voice actress is very good at expressing the pain she has gone through as one of the sole survivors of Musa’s destruction, I feel like it would have connected better with players to have seen the invasion and perhaps played a small part in controlling her escape. Though these things are just little nitpicks, it adds to the characters and allows people to emotionally invest in the happenings of the world.

That, in and of itself, is probably Bravely Default II’s key problem. The fact that it tells rather than shows.

Elvis, of course, is the star of the show. His quirky traits, affable nature make him a clear favourite and much more human than his other counterparts. The narrative around Wiswald was also great example of fleshing out his past and the people he knows. It is much more personal, pulling on our heartstrings to learn about the death of a young child, and thus carries more weight than the water shortage in Savalon or the fairy hunting in Rimedhal, which was clearly meant to mirror witch trials.

While Folie, the main antagonist behind the happenings in Wiswald, could have been better written and with a more tangible tie to the people of Wiswald, the fact that she manipulated Roddy, Lily and poor Galahad with visions of the dead Mona meant that a bit of pathos was achieved when she was finally brought down.

Adelle, a little cliche, was still an intriguing character that rounded out the team (I still can’t place her accent). The reveal that she was actually a fairy was a delight. It was also nice that her goals also aligned with the main narrative of stopping the Night’s Nexus, instead of being as superfluous as Elvis trying to solve the riddle of a book he had in his possession or Seth just tagging along for the ride.

As for the foes that we faced? Most of them seemed like excuses to dress up how players obtained their Asterisks. Many of them seemed like caricatures. And honestly, Martha’s excuse to fight the Heroes of Light was abysmal. But, of course, the developers needed a way for players to experience what it might be like fighting a foe that had the Dragoon Asterisk before they could use it for their own.

I will admit, the story just felt like a vehicle to pick up each Asterisk along the way. Oft times, I had to wonder why so many of these people felt compelled to stand in the way of the Heroes of Light. And while it would have been much better to have a more personal reason for why we fought these enemies besides the fact that ‘Oh, they have an Asterisk and something, something Crystal!’ I still managed to push my way through.

Still, the fact that Dag and Selene managed to snag more character development in the sidequests was great. Gladys’s attempt at atonement and her brother’s grief was also good ways to delve into topics that might have been a little too dark for a title that had such gorgeous backdrops and adorable character models.

Now, to the meat of the matter. The plot holes and the things that were never truly explained. Edna’s descent into madness though Adelle often insisted her sister had always loved humans. How and where Lady Emma found the book that actually contained the memories of the Night’s Nexus? Where does Seth actually come from? How did he die? Why was he chosen by the Wind Crystal? Why was Adam so invested in trying to conquer the world? Did he experience something bad in his past that informed his current need to stop war by starting it? Where did Folie come from? Who is she and why did she feel the need to torment the people of Wiswald for her art?

So many mysteries. So little explanation.

Overall, Bravely Default II has quite a few flaws and missteps. Yet, despite that, it’s a sum greater than its parts. The narrative might not have been captivating, but it managed to keep pulling me through until I saw the true ending. Anticlimactic as the final boss battle might have been, I still felt a certain satisfaction in seeing Gloria tackle Seth to the ground. And honestly, who doesn’t want to Godspeed Strike their way to victory?

P.S. I will say that after witnessing Adelle save Martha, I had hoped for a blossoming romance, but the dialogue between her and Elvis during the second bad ending got to me. It may not be my one true pairing, but Elvis x Adelle was an arrow to my heart. My only question is: how old is Adelle? She looks like a child and yet, because she’s a fairy, she could be like a century older. Maybe better not to think too hard, eh? After all, why sweat the details?

#bravely default II #video games

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