Some people think the word "gringo" is a slur. It literally means something like "foreigner", someone that comes from another country. But I just realized that when a Brazilian says "gringo!!!!" like they are genuinely happy to see you it's really because they are glad you're here and they want to teach you stuff about Brazil and integrate you to the culture and learn about yours and make friends with you, we are just really extroverted and we love other cultures.

Like, last week I was at a Buddhist temple that had all types of Asian culture related things (even though Buddhism isn't prevalent in every country in Asia, here you will get white christians praying on the temple because historically we incorporated so many religions into our own culture and people think "well, what if it works?" and sensible people don't think it's heretical). It was a also a celebration that incorporated a Brazilian festival called "June parties", that became so popular that they start in the end of May and go until August instead of actually lasting for only June and it was based on catholic beliefs but people from all religions go just to have fun, dance and eat. And then we were doing that, but adding multiple Asian cultures in a Buddhist temple. All at the same time, same place, everybody having fun.

Anyway some gringos were there and they were a bit overwhelmed but really happy to see all the different cultural things going on, when to us it is just another year's festival and sometimes we forget this doesn't happen everywhere. And people were trying to explain to them why we do that, what you can do at those festivals and they were sunburned and everyone just wanted to integrate them to the festival. English was not even their first language and everyone was struggling a bit to communicate but we tried because it's so fun when someone is genuinely interested in the mix up culture/faith/ethnicities we have here.

In some rare occasions, if people say "gringo." and it sounds too serious and they say it with a bit of a condescending tone, you just did something racist or disrespectful and then it becomes something that means "this person thinks they are so superior and they haven't even tried to get to know us", kind of like when people say in English "this is white people stuff" right after they said something racist that shows lack of awareness and privilege. That's what I think might come closest to an English expression in that context.

If you get offended by someone's "very excited that you're here" tone of saying "gringo!!!" then you might get offended by the monotone "gringo." which basically means that you were going racist/xenophobic. Most people will try the "welcome" tone of the word, and they might give you "gringo" as a nickname and it usually means that you are well-liked. Just make sure you are the type of person that will continue to get that happy emphasis on the word and don't say racist shit.

Tldr: it's not a slur and people are usually genuinely interested in you and trying to integrate you into the culture and happy to see that you wanted to come here in the first place. But if anyone is openly racist, and people get irritated, then the very monotone way of calling someone a gringo serves as a warning to other Brazilians that you were saying racist things without even trying to get to know the culture or the people in it. The word exists in both Portuguese and Spanish but I am talking about Brazilian Portuguese since that's where I'm from. It's all in the tone and it's never a slur, and in its negative meaning it just serves to tell other Brazilians that you are saying racist stuff, but it usually has a sort of "hey, it's cool that you're here and I wanna show you some nice stuff to do around here".

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Mostly spoiler free summary of my viewing experience

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

ngl, I'm beginning to take issue with how in conversations about anti-intellectualism almost automatically, the face of girls and women will be slapped on the problem.

favorite Angus Tully's quotes, The Holdovers (2023) dir. Alexander Payne

anime Mob not being as sassy as manga Mob was truly a loss

look at these

it even looks like he’s kind of grinning

between the ancient spires.

find me on instagram!

I love you albums. I love you songs connected by similar themes. I love you listening to songs in a specific order picked by the artist. I love you reoccurring motifs throughout the same album. I love you album covers. I love you albums with extended editions. I love you songs that reference each other.

Look it is very important to me that everyone knows that Sophie is also fucking nuts in the book. Everybody always talks about how absurd Howl in the book but Sophie is right there with him.

She's so determined to be the normal sister that she's just actually convinced herself that the magic she is clearly, visibly, blatantly performing happens to everyone. Just. You know. Not anyone around her. The curse wore off weeks ago and she's just totally sure she's happier as an old woman. Her sisters have initiated some complex long-game tomfoolery to switch lives and Sophie also thinks that this is the most logical choice.

Sophie does not move in with a romantic mythic man who treats her right, she moves in with a runaway doctoral candidate who immediately dates her sister and drags her into his family drama. She and Howl are both so afraid of romantic commitment they accidentally trick themselves into becoming life partners. They kill the witch of the waste mostly on a whim, and they argue about which one of them is more impulsive for doing so the whole time.

important imodna-isms / references from tonight’s episode 🖤💜

…and a bonus callowmoore :)

me, randomly, with fire in my eyes: I'm going to draw a fanart that is SO niche and self-indulgent

I'm from Rio, and it's almost carnaval soo.... behold: Crowley and Aziraphale in one of our famous street parties/parades (bloquinhos de rua)!! obviously, they did their best to dress the part (or maybe each other's part actually... 😆)

lots of glitter, confetti, and silly costumes appropriate to the infernal summer heat (halloween?! idk her)... I'm sure they would have a blast! 🇧🇷🎉✨

oh, and fun fact: aziraphale unknowingly is really in fashion with his hair, bc as of late it's been really trendy (especially for men/boys) to bleach their hair white in summertime/carnaval! we call it "nevou" (literally "snowed" lol)

so... here's a bonus:

All of Young Justice has a running joke where they address each other with the softest, mushiest terms of endearment (and totally mean them as well) and it stuns the fuck out of the Batfam that Tim, the guy who wouldn't talk to anyone for a day after calling Bruce 'dad' out loud, is so willing to proclaim Anita his soulmate and call Bart the love of his life whenever he introduces him to anyone

A bunch of sketch order requests that wound up being 3/4 views to the right…. except for that last Jin Guangyao for some reason ,,

"I thought this was an exterior wall..."

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Feeling a little conflicted about this piece but i'll post it anyway lol

happiness today and tomorrow (ID in alt)