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jesncin · 3 months

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Do you have any favorite books or comics that you'd recommend?

Superhero comics or in general? I'll go in general, haha:

Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

This is the book series I'm most obnoxiously recommending people. It's influenced me ever since, Lunar Boy is a direct homage to this short series in many ways. It talks about the lived realities of being queer and Japanese in Japan- the queerphobia, the mental health struggles, the relationships (romantic and platonic) in an in depth way. It opened my eyes to what the queer narrative can be, and I'm forever grateful for it. This story is so good it actively ruins all other queer media for me, haha.

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Yang and Gurihiru

This is the book I most successfully recommend to people. What can I say that I haven't said many times before? A reimagining of the classic Klan of the Fiery Cross arc from the classic Superman radio show, empathetically revitalized. A story that actually acknowledges and understands Superman as a direct immigrant allegory?? Where he relates to a Chinese American family being targeted by the Klan?? I love it, and many people have picked up how I'm influenced by it! You don't need to know anything about Superman or his lore, this is a very accessible story for newbies. If you want to know why I love Superman, this is it. This story is so good it actively ruins all other Superman media for me, haha.

Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

One of my recent all time favorite graphic novels!! This story is everything I love about fairytales perfectly told in the graphic novel format. When a mysterious woman curses a family farm by turning their water supply into entirely undrinkable salt water- Vonceil must embark on an adventure to uplift the curse that hangs over her family history. Also Rebecca Mock's art is INCREDIBLE.

Homunculus by Joe Sparrow

Shortbox, the publisher for this comic, is retiring soon so order this book now! Or any books from them that you fancy (discount code here)! From the indie scene, Homunculus is a beloved short comic about a machine with growing sentience witnessing the end of the world, and what comes after. The style is lovely and the story is deceptively simple! It's heartbreaking by the end.

Berrybrook Middle School Series (Awkward, Brave, Crush, Enemies) by Svetlana Chmakova

This series is the reason I wanted to make middle grade graphic novels, and is in my humble opinion- the best in the business. Each story is self contained, with a cast of recurring characters that all go to Berrybrook middle school. It covers a wide variety of young experiences in an empathetic way that doesn't feel like you're being talked down to. It's a book series that nurtures the children it's for. I cried reading Brave, and Crush is such an important book that I'm ecstatic that kids get to read.

The Weight Of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

If you liked my Who Is Superman: A Private Interview with Lois Lane comic and want to learn more about the historical context behind it- I recommend The Weight Of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf. It doesn't cover the same history (this book is about the 1969 race riots in Malaysia), but it's such an eerily similar incident that I felt myself reflected in it. Hanna is an incredibly vivid writer, and she handles so many topics with sensitive care. She highlights that historical events like this need to be remembered, and how fictional stories can breathe new life into an increasingly forgotten history. Also Hanna is so nice.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (original idea by Siobhan Dowd)

One of my all time favorite novels, with hauntingly beautiful mixed media illustrations by Jim Kay. I love how this book covers grief in such a messy and fantastical way- showing how its young protagonist has larger than life feelings he's trying to contain from the looming eventual death of his mom's illness. This book is special because it was conceived originally by Siobhan Dowd as she was going through terminal cancer, in collaboration with her editor and Ness. It feels like an intimate experience, and this heavy feeling of grief carries the whole book in a memorable way.

Those are my fav books off the top of my head! Happy reading :>

#askjesncin #booklr #longish post #i miss having time to read novels i should do that again before work piles up #[proceeds to read cape comics instead]

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gogojetters · 2 months

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GJ Families - Headcanon Mini-Post

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but because I’m very busy at the moment, it’s hard to find the time to make big posts. So, I’m trying my best to be okay with making smaller, more simple posts, and this is kind of testing that format. And what better than sharing some headcanons about what I think the Go Jetters’ families are like?? It’s been a long time coming, haha.

For now, I’m only doing the Funky Five (Xuli, Kyan, Lars, Foz and Tala), but maybe in the future I’ll drop a thing or two about the others. Each character has their own little section, with a mini-Drabble about what I think their family structure is, and maybe even some little HCs about some of the members. I hope you like this layout, and feel free to ask questions ! Any rude comments will be deleted.

XULI

Xuli is adopted! She has two mothers, Alejandra and Lina, who adopted her when she was two. Additionally, she has an older brother, Sol, age 19- who is her biological brother- and a younger sister named Aurelia, age 12, who is also adopted. Xuli’s family is upper middle class, her Mum (Alejandra) working as a lawyer, and her Mama (Lina) working as a hairdresser. Xuli’s family is very loving and supporting of her endeavors, and she has her Mum’s stubborn personality and her Mama’s love for sightseeing !

KYAN

Kyan was raised in a multi-generational household, living with both his parents and his grandparents in California. His grandparents and parents are all immigrants from China, with Kyan being the first of their family to be born in the states. His Father, Mako, along with his grandparents, run a popular Chinese restaurant on a boardwalk, which Kyan used to work at as a child, while his mother, Daiyu, works as a dentist. Kyan is particularly close with his grandparents, who were very supportive of his athletic dreams in particular.

LARS

Lars grew up in the countryside, on a small farm, with his single Dad, Dominic, Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Benjamin, as well as his little sister, Juno, and his younger twin cousins, Aria and Piper. While living on the farm instilled a love of animals early, his love for machinery came from there too, watching how the different machinery there worked, and learning to fix tractors and farm gear by watching his uncle- and quickly becoming better than him at it! Lars is very close with his family, but has a specially strong bond with both his sister and cousins.

FOZ

Foz is from a richer family, and is an “age gap” kid- meaning that there’s at least 10 years between him and his siblings. He lives with his Mother and Father- the owners of a jewelry company, and an emerald mine, while his three older siblings, Stephanie (27), Andrew (23) and Austin (23), have already moved out of home to peruse their own careers. Foz isn’t particularly close with the rest of his family, having attended boarding school before the GJA, and not growing up alongside his siblings.

TALA

Tala’s family is very well off- after all, with a family history as incredible as the Glitches have, how couldn’t they be? Tala lives with her father, Gabriel Glitch - who is Grandmaster Glitch’s twin brother, and her mother, Reagan Cade-Glitch, as well as her half-brother on her mom’s side, Callum Cade, in the Glitch Estate, which has been in their family for years. Tala spend much of her time as a child in the garden, talking with the family’s gardener about new and fun plant or bug facts.

Thank-you for reading all the way through !! Again, I hope that you guys find my personal headcanons fun and interesting! I wanted the GJ to all have different kinds of family groups, as opposed to just having “nuclear” families, because I think that it’s just boring if they’re all very similar, and different kinds of family representation is important to many people, including myself !! Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments, and I’ll try my best to answer them ! (:

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dragonsandphoenix · 2 months

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A Bit of Appreciation for Voice Actors

Initially wanted to post this on reddit, but for some reason I can't so what the heck.

It's a well-known fact that many Cdramas, usually period dramas, are dubbed by voice actors. I'm probably an outlier here in that I'm not a diehard Cdrama fan (have only watched NiF, TU and Empresses in the Palace to completion, great shows btw) and I'm more of a Chinese audio drama listener. So while there is overlap in these industries and fandoms, I'm way more interested in the voice actors than the live action actors. And since they don't get as much recognition here I'd like to give a shoutout to them.

I like to joke that there are like 30 people in the Chinese voice acting industry. Once you recognize some of them you'll start to hear them in everything. According to an AvenueX video it's apparently a bad habit of Cdrama land to cast the same popular voice actor to all the leads, thereby making their voices indistinguishable. I initially noticed this with Bian Jiang for a time, who voiced Lan Wangji in The Untamed (and the MDZS donghua) and the ML from Ten Miles of Peach Blossom among other things. I remember just noticing him in nearly everything I watched from then on.

Another standout voice actor I've noticed recently is Gu Jiangshan who voiced Zhou Zishu in Word of Honor and Jin Zixuan in the MDZS (aka TU) donghua. Didn't really take note of him in those roles until I listened to him as Yuan Yang in the Beloved Enemy audio drama (there's also a Cdrama but he's not in that). He's really good in that. Like really good. I would have hated the red flag ML way more if it weren't for his voice acting. Side note, an Indonesian fan sent their regards to him during a fan signing and he was so surprised to learn he had overseas fans, which I think is so cute given that I am now one of those fans.

Another thing is I don't think live action dramas are the best medium to bring out these voice actors' skills, though I am happy it keeps them employed haha. It's not really to do with acting ability, but different mediums require different skills, and for voice acting, matching their performances to the actors must come with its own challenges. This is why I prefer audio dramas, as they have more freedom. A go-to example I have is that one devastating scene from The Untamed (I know, there are so many). Keep in my mind that Wei Wuxian in the live action and the audio drama are voiced by the same guy and just listen to the difference. I wanted to cry the first time I listened to the audio drama.

All in all, I'm not uplifting one style of acting over another, though I do have my preferences. I just like good stories and appreciate those stories being delivered in the best way possible.

#mdzs #danmei #cdrama #audio drama #gu jiangshan #bian jiang #the untamed #beloved enemy #word of honor

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ghostiiess · 1 year

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[NSB HEADCANONS] - darren being your boyfriend

*＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿��**＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿

pov: darren is your bf!

warning: none!!

type: wholesome and fluff

members: darren liang (lildarbear)

so how darren would be if he was your boyfriend?

he would probably make fun of you

like "ayo y/n, you are so short that i have to use a magnifying glass to see you!"

but don't worry, it's just one of his way to show his love and appreciation towards people he appreciates

he would be super sweet and caring towards you

he would hold your hand even if he don't have a reason to

"can't i hold my gf's hands? is it not allow?"

if he see you're sad, angry or not in the mood to laugh, he would tell his corny jokes or flirt with you, like he do it with every nsb members

"though you are sad, you are still hotter than the bottom of my laptop after 5h of gaming"

he would literally try to make you smile by telling corny things just he could see your smile

"like a broken pencil, life without happiness is pointless.. this is my quote of the day. they're better than regie's-"

listen.. darren is a really funny guy who love having fun with the people he appreciate! you see.. you're one of his people so expect A LOT of funny memories with him

going on date with him to korean bbq

being bestie with char <3

darren is so caring towards other people. we know how happy he is when he meet stars so i'm sure, darren would make sure everything is okay and good for you, if you're comfortable, if you're not sick...

backstage in his nsb's concert

HIS VOICE GOD DAMN---

did you guys already heard his singing voice??

he's amazing

i'm sure, like jp, lildarbear would sing you to sleep and make song about you (like his video's outro is one of his song he created! at least, i think so?? i can't find it anywhere so i guess it's a unreleased song he wrote lol)

darren love doing skincare!! in his morning routine video (skincare), he said "baby lotion" was helping a lot with his face and all and.. i tried? lol, it's kinda working, although i did some researches before to avoid acne or things like that, since my face composition is a bit messy, and my researches' answers said it's a good product to apply on our face! so if you guys wanna have a little skincare tips, here is it! anyways, what i'm trying to say is that he would make you discover new products or selfcare tips to help you with your face composition, new facemask… selfcare tips and ideas, baby! (and you guys would take a lot of pictures together)

lildarbear would give you his hoodies

sometimes you'll have kane's on you but because it smell like darren, you would keep it

yeah because darren stole clothes of the members haha

he would dye his hair with you while watching animes with toasty!!

if you want to and are comfortable to do it, he would love to dye his and your hair to do a matching? like i feel it's something he would do with you :)

he's super sweet :(

he would get you a plushie

"this is toasty and *name of your plushie*"

like we know, darren is a little bit sus towards his best friends..

so expect these kind of things (he'll still do it with the members, but less, since he'll mostly do it with you)

going to the gym with him!

"let's go baby!! you can do it!!"

touchy hands on you...? 😏 (if you're okay and comfortable with it, ofc!! otherwise, if you're not, he'll stop and apologize)

as we know, darren love going to omegle so expect to go on this website with him!

he'll talk with you in chinese and will make you learn it if you're interested in that kind of thing

it would be his type to come see you and say something flirty in chinese and make you try to know what it mean

"我爱你，Y/N"

if i'm correct, it mean "i love you, y/n" in chinese

going to a crystal store with him!!

discovering new food places with him

"hey baby.. wanna eat to this place? maybe we could discover new food that we could like?"

"i ain't need deserts when it's in front of me.. if you know what i mean 😏" (this is so darren, i'm sorry)

as we know, dar' is really good to insult people? like he have comebacks? so if someone insult you or make fun of you, he'll do this kind of thing to the person and smile innocently

he doesn't mind if the person is hurt. if someone hurt his friends or family or close friends, he would make them regret it

nobody hurt them.

sleeping and cuddling with toasty and darren

darren wouldn't be too jealous, but... if he see a guy who's flirting with you, he'll make sure the guy do not ever do that again :')

if you did something that made him jealous, he'll stop talking to you for like 20 minutes and he'll be right back after because he just can't stay mad at you 😭

you guys would talk for hours about everything

"remember the last time you spilled all your hot chocolate on me?"

darren and you would definitely jam music together

sleepover with him!

liang would try his best to make you know you're important to his eyes

he would bring you flowers times to times just because he wanted to give you some

"i was walking with the boys today and i saw a little stand selling flowers.. so i though, i would have just pick some for you"

h-mart shopping with him <3

face mask with him!! you guys would watch movies or tv shows while doing each other's face mask!

he'll cook for you!! darren is a real chef who love cooking and making food for his best friends // loved ones! so, he would cook for you, for sure :)

he'll woke up earlier just so he could make you breakfast before you do it

he'll make you know you're perfect just the way you are!

to conclude, darren liang would be a super fun boyfriend who would always be there for you and always cheer you up when something's not working, not okay or just because you aren't smiling

hope you guys liked it!!

if you have any requests (who's not on my masterlist) you would like to see or have any questions towards my imagines or / and my preferences, please don't hesitate to tell me in my request box :) i read everything and it would be a pleasure for me to write an imagines / headcanons for you! <3

#headcanon #headcanons #soft headcanon #boyfriend headcanons #dating headcanons #him as a bf #him as a boyfriend #northstarboys #north star boys #nsb #darren liang #darrenliang #lil dar bear #lildarbear

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mielkexnn-miraculous · 9 months

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F. Fathom (aka Argos) Headcanons :)

Haha he’s so stupid (affectionate). I honestly think of him as a pathetic little kitten sitting his butt out on the sidewalk in the middle of the pouring rain that is actively being picked up by Adrien and wrung in a towel and tossed a saucer of boiling hot milk when it comes to his social skills. Ok, dumbass speedrun 3, 2, 1, go!!

He likes oranges but not really the color orange.

Also, not a fanatic but he thinks sports cars look cool.

A naturally good swimmer. When around other people, he’ll often dive under the surface and swim around to where he wants to go that way to avoid disturbing anyone.

His kind of humor is watching Jaws for a night time pool party and diving under the water to pinch people’s ankles.

Honestly a big softie for his mother and the sweet blonde women in his life generally. Yes, this includes Rose.

He bites the middle of his lip and scowls when thinking.

He has drawn blood previously; now has a small linear scar.

Looking for it is one of the only ways to tell him and Adrien apart appearance-wise.

He has severe rbf that Adrien somehow avoided.

Really good at drifting. No one has yet unlocked his Backstory on this topic.

Talks rlly formally w/ his hands behind his back; will cuss you out tho.

Too Tired For This.

He gifts people w/ books/coffee when they meet up sometimes.

Rlly likes greco-roman mythology and astronomy.

“an orange warms the stomach.”

Likes classic/heavy rock + hyperpop. He gets his like for Jagged Stone from his mother.

He’s English, Italian, and American.

A committed polyglot by hobby.

English, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Greek, Latin, and German. Don’t ask how.

He watches k-dramas on the living room tv whilst eating chips and calling the characters cusses and cliche/cringy in Korean like that one meme of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing from his seat with a glass in his hand though, so there’s that.

No Shame.

Nearly aroace but not quite. He made an exception for Kagami :).

Also retconning the way they got together in canon bc that was fast and kinda weird idk. Let’s just say they take a lot more time than that talking at Rich Events ok.

He straightens/styles his hair every morning.

He likes ferrets.

He wakes up at nearly 5a every morning/early bird.

Theater kid trash.

Knows how to play basic guitar.

He takes like 1 college class every six months.

Still graduating in 4 years somehow.

Burnout hit him hard though. Now, he can only rlly ever focus on things if they genuinely interest him.

Unhinged. But, like, slightly (12%).

He likes crosswords and word games and stuff.

He’s got a Vibe Check system for talking to people. Don’t pass the Vibe Check? Bye.

So far, only a good nine people have ever really passed the Vibe Check—Adrien, Kagami, Marinette, Luka, Juleka, Rose, Alix, Nathanaël, and (strangely enough) Chloé.

(I guess she’s just persistent like that, idk, but he lets her hang around.)(She’s still an annoying lil whiny brat though.)

Auto Lila DNI. He can’t stand her tbh.

Don’t try to say they’re anything alike. At least he thinks of someone other than himself from time to time. Or has a personality other than being a nasty snake.

Expert gambler.

Firm believer that cream soda is to die for and has a designated spot in the fridge. Nerd.

He started eating a scoop of orange icecream covered in three scoops of mint to keep people *coughcoughchloécoughcough* from stealing it. He now eats it and enjoys it unironically.

He has tyramine sensitivity :(

He has outbursts similar to Adrien. Like Adrien, he too learned it from his father.

This guy is literally the best wingman.

(When he wants to be, that is.)

He does everything with such sleight of hand to make sure his ships sail.

Felix is the resident babygirl. Everyone calls him that, but if anyone new tries to he’ll slit their throat ok.

He’s incredibly good with young children; no one knows how or why he attained the knowledge he has.

Then they hit the age of three and he’s trying to teach them tax evasion. No.

Zero genuine social skills. He has them when he’s being fake and then he tries to do it for real and they go poof.

He’s just that good at magic huh.

Also has a deeply engrained fear of trusting people with knowledge of his interests thanks to trauma from his broken relationship with his father :)

You just have to understand that this man is a pathetic, sopping-wet-cat of a man. That’s, like, the message here.

Ok bye.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #mlb #felix fathom #felix graham de vanily #headcanons #felix fathom headcanons #felix graham de vanily headcanons #dumb little corgi boy #probably threw up a lot as a kid too #drinks tea like a true brit #seriously though who’s your dentist i need him #zero social skills dumbahh

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bunnieshoneys · 2 months

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Hii! Im the anon that asked about watching F1, thank you for the lengthy answer I really appreciate it!

Karting is so fun but I never realised before going how hard it was on your body. It’s difficult to imagine how these F1 drivers do it tbh, it’s crazy!!

I ended up watching the Suzuka race live after sending in the ask and you’re right I did learn a lot just from watching it (also crash almost gave me a heart attack, was not expecting anything like that to happen..). I really love learning about the strategy, I never realised how much really goes into racing before this. I read a few more chapters of the fic too and learned a lot from that. Actually I really love learning about racing in general just from the fic it makes it a bit more digestible when there’s so much to learn.

I have adhd too so I totally get not being able to like things normally haha.. I’ve spent all of today so far reading about F1 and I’m looking into tickets for the British GP since it’s somewhat close to where I live (which is funny bc less than 48hrs ago all F1 is to me is cars go zoom..). I blame your fic but in a good way! I’m really glad I started reading it, I already feel like this is gonna be my new obsession.

And as it turns out one of my friends used to watch a bunch of races at the Shanghai circuit so I’ll have someone to annoy with questions for the Chinese GP, I’m really excited to watch that! I still don’t know in what ways the track influences the race technically, but what an interesting looking track! It looks like it’d be fun to drive on that.

Also can I ask why you like and support Ferrari and Leclerc in particular? And do you think they could win this year? Since from what I see Verstappen/Red Bull Racing have been stuck in the top spot the past 3 years

Thanks again for your answer!

so many opportunities to yap about f1….

lap 1 incidents are pretty common, but suzuka in particular has a very high rate of safety car use (ie crashes occuring) because its so technical and driver heavy. its one of my fav tracks for this reason!

silverstone is a brilliant track and the atmosphere is amazing - its one of the classics! however what i will say is that the prices are EXTREMELY inflated. if ur european (even if you live IN england) its cheaper to go to races abroad if thats an option because silverstone is SOOO expensive. ive never been to a race bc of money but if you can spare it silverstone is definitely one of the best especially in terms of the racing.

tracks influence a couple of things : drivers and cars. mostly cars, since f1 (unlike f2 and f3) is equally a constructors series. there are a bunch of concepts that effect how a car will perform on a certain track, but the main ones are downforce and straight line speed. downforce mainly effects cornering. diff tracks will have corners that are taken at different speeds (high speed v low speed corners) and different cars will be weak or strong through corners depending on their characteristics (RBR last year was weak in low speed corners, hence singapore being SO bad for them, and mclaren was in incredibly strong in the high speed corners (qatar, japan) but lacked straight line speed, making them weaker in other places.

why ferrari? the legacy. micheal schumacher won 5 of his WDCs with them, the iconic red, the passion. it feels like a cult and i love it

leclerc… oh my god leclerc. first of all i just think hes a little bit funny in an insane way. but aside from that, he won f3 as a rookie, then won f2 as a rookie. that is RARE. only Rosberg (WDC 2016) Lewis Hamilton (7x WDC), Nico Hulkenberg (uuh), George Russell and Oscar Piastri have won the support series as a rookie, and of those only hamilton, russell, piastri and leclerc won f3 / f2 or their equivalents back to back. (f1 fans u can correct me if im wrong on this)

his f2 performance is the most dominant of all time. the sprint win in bahrain 2017 (f2) was genuinely one of the most jaw dropping pieces of racing ive ever seen. he went to sauber (midfield/backmarker team) in 2018 for his first year in f1 and scored the vast majority of the team’s points - 39. 39 points in that car was insane. he signed to ferrari in 2019 as a second driver to 4x WDC sebastian vettel. instead of backing down and playing nice, he then proceeded to outqualify him over two seasons, and outrace him too. his win in monza 2019 is POETRY in motion. verstappen rates him very highly and said in 2018 that he hopes theyll have a rivalry like hamilton and vettel. god he makes me INSANE

as to whether ferrari/leclerc can win this season… i wouldnt be a fan if i didnt say yes. RBR bought a major floor update to suzuka and they still didnt run away as much as last year (at least perez, verstappen is inhuman). despite having a couple of poor qualifying runs, leclerc is racing at an incredibly high level and is on pace with verstappen. with a strategy generally considered slower (and definitely much more difficult) he advanced from P8 to P4 today. vassuer (the ferrari team principal) has said hes optimistic about the upgrade trajectory, and that it can be developed aggressively. those first upgrades will come in Imola.

basically the season is long. max had a dnf in australia and leclerc is still within touching distance of perez. i think we need a little luck but it could be possible if the upgrades go well. leclerc couldve fought for P2 today with a decent quali. (charles also seems to do really well on sprint weeks. and china is a sprint week) :)

tbh though i think the real battles will come in 2025 and 2026. leclerc v hamilton in equal machinery, and then ferrari v RBR:3

thankyou anon<3

#bunny answers #bunny talks f1

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purplesurveys · 2 years

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1479

When was the last time you watched a show for people younger than you? My sister and I watched the newest edition of Blue’s Clues - the one with the Filipino host! - a few months ago.

Have you ever snuck someone into your house before? Nah. My mom always has a way of finding things out, and with her it’s better to spit out the truth then play with her on a game you’re bound to lose anyway.

Would you rather have long or short hair? Shorter hair is fine, but I’m not a good look of just short hair, i.e. bob cuts and all that, on me.

Is there something your significant other does that bothers you completely? I don’t have a significant other, but the previous one was extremely selfish. Like, it’s unbelievable the lengths she would go to put herself first.

Do you get embarrassed easily? Not as much as before. In the past, the slightest discomfort would cause me to turn red and endlessly wince and replay the thing in my head. Nowadays, I can for the most part find the humor in embarrassing situations and make everyone feel less awkward.

When was the last time you changed your bed sheets? It’s been a couple of weeks but I do want to change it as soon as possible because Aki...baptized it a little bit last night, hahaha.

Have any of the wishes you’ve made, came true? Yes.

Would you rather eat something sweet or sour? Sweet, omg I hate sour anything.

Do you think Manwich is amazing or completely gross? Ok well, I definitely feel like I’ve taken this before but I’m too lazy to find another survey to start again haha, so off I go. Anyway, I remember not knowing what this was before (and subsequently looking it up), but this time around I really don’t feel like Googling whatever this is again.

Do you ever watch Degrassi: The Next Generation? I never watched it but I used to have a couple of internet friends in my teens who were super into Degrassi so I knew a thing or two about the show and like, who died and stuff hahaha. I wonder how Day and Lauren are doing now.

When was the last time someone kissed you on the cheek? Earlier today when I was at my grandma and cousins’ place.

How many best friends do you have? I have two, Angela and Andi.

What are two instruments you’d like to learn to play? Piano and violin.

What is your favorite letter? I don’t have a favorite letter.

Did you ever get bullied as a child or were you the bully? I was on both sides of the coin, to be honest. I started as a bullying victim, because apparently having a unisex name as a child is the magic recipe to being bullied to near oblivion...but when I got to grade school and started to learn how to like, stand up for myself, that’s when I learned I could get back at people if I wanted to, so I did.

Did you ever pretend you were a superhero as a child? To an extent. I liked wearing my blankets as a cape and fantasized about flying, but it never went anywhere beyond that, i.e. I didn’t make a superhero name, didn’t associate myself with any superpowers, etc.

When was the last time you watched fireworks? New Year’s, 2022. We have Chinese New Year in February too but I don’t recognize that holiday, so I didn’t bother watching the fireworks that could be seen from our house.

When were you last disappointed about something? A few hours ago. It wasn’t a major crisis lol – I just learned that my cousin’s girlfriend is not into sushi, so I can never get to have a sashimi date with her :((

Have you ever accidentally caught something on fire? Well I’ve never done this, but I’ve watched somebody else as she accidentally caught a table on fire.

Would you rather eat grape or strawberry jelly or jam? I dislike jam to begin with, but if I didn’t have a choice I’d pick strawberry. I’ve had strawberry jam in the past when I would order a croissant at Starbucks and I learned that I was fine with the taste *in the very slightest* lol so I’ll survive.

Do you like canned tuna? Like it’s nowhere near being a favorite food, but I have nothing to whine about.

Which would you rather have as a topping: mustard or mayonnaise? Mayonnaise. Unless it’s honey mustard, you’ll never see me trying pure mustard.

How many pictures are in your room? There are a handful. There a few prints, two posters, and one framed photo.

Have you ever had a pregnancy scare before? Nope.

How many children would you like to have in the near future? Two kids is ideal to me, but idk if I’ll still ever have them.

Are you a smoker, drinker, pothead or none of the above? I’m a vaper. I drink too, but not nearly enough for me to label myself as such.

Have you ever cried about something completely stupid? Of course. I’m sure everybody has at least once.

Do your parents ever send you to do their grocery shopping for them? No. I’ve volunteered in more recent years, but they’ve never gotten around to taking the offer hahaha. Thanks for reminding me! – I’ll raise it again soon; grocery runs sound more and more exciting to me as I get older LOL

What’s your all-time favorite song? I’ve never made it a goal to pick one. That’s just impossible for me...I go through different phases and interests and favorite artists in life, as I’m sure the next person does - and pinning my favorite down to just a single song would drive me crazy.

Would you ever think about getting your nose pierced? I’ve considered it many times in the past but my fear of anything sharp stomps any possibility of getting a piercing.

Do you know anyone who has a speech impediment? Yes.

Have you ever wanted someone to just go ahead and die? Uh, sure.

When was the last time you broke up with someone? I’ve never broken up with anyone, but I was broken up with last 2020. It’ll almost be two years.

Have you ever cheated on someone or been cheated on? Neither has happened. When was the last time you locked yourself in or out of somewhere? I lock my bedroom door on the days my mom is home, because she never knocks and I’ve had enough of it.

Has anyone of the opposite sex ever hit you before? Yes, my brother slapped me across the face before and he has not heard from me since then.

Do you have a cousin who gets everything you want? I’m past the age of ‘wanting’ stuff, to be honest...but no, I don’t seem to have any cousins who are spoiled rotten to the point of being ridiculous.

What’s your favorite gaming system? I don’t really have one.

When was the last time one of your friends betrayed you? It was in like 2019 when Patrice started this conspiracy/rumor thing about me...the details of that I no longer feel like going over because it’s stupid, but the move took me aback. It’s like, are we really still conspiring against other people in our 20s???? Lmao. I never even considered her a friend before that, so that instance only helped cement my already-not-so-kind feelings for her.

Have you ever wanted to just jump off the top of a building? Yes, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had that urge. Fortunately, it’s been a while since it last visited.

What is your favorite kind of fruit? Avocado.

When was the last time you thought someone was completely pathetic? Every day I encounter a Marcos supporter. Relatives very much included.

If you have your ears pierced, when did you get them pierced? When I was a few months old.

Is there something you want more than life at the moment? A month-long leave and if possible, I want a new job but get to retain the people I work with.

Have you ever had a significant other who hit you? Nope.

Has anyone ever called you stubborn? Yeah, many times. What is the meanest thing someone called you? Being called ‘useless’ really fucks with you for years.

Have you ever been paid to build something for someone? Nopes.

Are you a decent singer? Nah.

What color is your favorite hoodie, if you have one? Navy blue.

Would you rather wear hoodies or jackets? Hoodies.

When was the last time you were asked on a date? Ages ago.

Who is the one person you trust the most? Angela.

Who is your favorite comedian? I don’t have one. I’m not a super big fan of comedy.

Have you ever been so hungry you could eat anything at all? Sure. That’s what happens when you only eat one dish a day, hahaha.

Do you own any exercise machines? My mom does, but I never borrow those.

Where was the last place you went? I’m at a Starbucks now waiting for Andi so we can head to Ateneo and watch an indie wrestling show; but before this, I was at my grandma’s place.

#survey #surveys

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kafkaoftherubble · 7 months

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那数学民调让我忆起了小学的事

I actually heavily favor statistics (because of its sheer range and usage across different fields. It also complements other important 21st-century skills like critical thinking and media literacy). But out of all the math stuff in this list, I'm only genuinely best at set theory.

Honestly, my License-to-be-Chinese card is often at risk of being revoked (according to my Supa Chinaman Dad) because one of the Chinese benchmarks we consistently failed to meet is "be good at math," so I'm sure we only excelled in set theory because it's easy.

I couldn't even do arithmetics well enough when I was a kid, haha! Which especially obfuscated the hell out of that prodigy kid sitting in front of me, but then again this little shit could perform multiplication and division at 4 years old and was learning calculus at 9.

I really appreciated him trying his damnest to help me learn math, though. It's extra hard to teach others when you're that naturally gifted. And he's a 9-year-old boy (with the patience and self-control of that age) who simultaneously felt superior because everyone, including the teachers, was too slow so he relished in being the Know-It-All-Proving-Everyone-Wrong... and felt inferior because everyone saw him as a trouble-making, socially-idiotic freak and ostracized him. That's a lotta baggage for a kid, and he still tried to be my math tutor. Bold-italic-underlined "tried." I think I fried his brain with troll logic instead.

I wonder how he's doing now? He transferred out of our school probably because the isolation—both from classmates AND teachers who are either sick of his shit or find him way beyond their capabilities to teach—had gotten too bad...

Punishment by lashes (several rattan sticks, bound with elastic bands, was still common) was still bog-standard at school back then. There had been at least two incidents when my stressed-out teacher hulked out at the boy's antics and lashed at him hard enough to draw actual blood.

In one of those incidents, the teacher chase him around with a rattan stick. Most of us would never run when we had to be punished; we gritted our teeth and braced for the pain. Running risked making the teachers even more mad, and the lashes even more painful. But he was so scared of pain and so bad at following the norm that he couldn't help but run every time.

And you could always tell how everyone felt about him by how much aid they were willing to give him. Since he would weave in and out erratically within our classroom—cutting from behind our chairs and in front of our desks, to throw off our teacher—those who really disliked him, or thought he deserved to be punished, would deliberately close off the gaps between their chairs and other people's tables so he had fewer routes to run.

Those who were either neutral or didn't like him, but also too empathetic to withstand the sound of rattan lashes, would only frown or tell him to stop running without obstructing his paths. The guy I had a crush on did that, I remember.

Finally, those who pitied him were either the guys who had been punished enough to know it hurts and just wanted to save him from that regardless of their personal feelings, or... me. We would let him through behind our chairs and then deliberately block the teacher from squeezing in after he passed.

I don't know why I helped him. It's not because of the math lessons; I was certainly not getting any better at that, and he kept saying I was a hopeless case despite trying again and again to teach.

Maybe it's because we found him interesting, but then again, we find everyone interesting. Maybe it was because we found him more interesting than most people? Maybe Fionn, that softie and his compassionate ass, couldn't bear it and made me do it? Maybe it was because we are told to see teachers as the top in the hierarchy based on merits—like life experience and wisdom and knowledge and maturity and all that—and yet at that moment all I saw was a bigger kid mad-chasing a smaller kid, and I couldn't help but think it wasn't skillful nor creative nor cool nor wise nor fair nor justified, and that made us want to rebel? Maybe it's because he was crying?

In the end, the teacher caught up to him. She was so apoplectic by that point that she lashed too hard. It caused a gash across his arm. We were all horrified, but none more so than both the teacher herself and the boy. His injury was addressed in the teacher's office by the teacher herself and the class monitor. I don't remember if he returned to class or went home straight away.

I still remember his mom showing up at school and telling us the news that his son would be transferring to this well-known school for gifted children (at least, that's its reputation). His son was already absent by then, and I couldn't believe when the class cheered. The mom sniffled and thanked us for letting her sons (he had a conventionally smart and a lot more well-adjusted twin brother in the same class) be one of us for a while. But the class just cheered.

Hmm... He was really, really good at math. So now sometimes math makes me think of him.

I wonder what he's doing now?

... Or maybe I'm good at set theory because sKanDha meAns aGgrEgaTes ahahahhahaha

#a piece to the rubble

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akane171 · 2 years

Text

Nooooo😰😰🙈 I didn't and wouldn't 😰🙈 Honestly, kinda thought I might have finally annoyed you enough or you're just busy🤷🏻‍♀️🙈 Sorry🙈 I really didn't think the Tumblr Secretary would start erasing messages to you, too🙈🙈

Haha, yes, very smart of you😊🙈

Only one sushi restaurant?😯 Huh, amazing... Tho admittedly, I haven't eaten it either (yet?)😅😂

😂😂😂 Understandably😂😂

...Possessed? I just wanted to become FRIENDS with demons...😶🙈 But ohh, the more I think about it, the cooler getting possessed and being able to just take a backseat from life is starting to sound 😉😉😂😂

😂😂 "dumb fucks" 😂😂😂

...I doubt it, but okay... Tho I can't shut my cake if I don't have any cake?🤔😉😂😂😂

😂😂 Ohh, this reminds me of a clip from a concert where Brendon Urie "introduced" a song by explaining how his Mom likes it when he curses and proceeds to swear "like fuck and shit and ass and bitch and dick and balls and goddammit" perfectly in rhythm😂😂😂

Awww, they go to a restaurant?😍😍☺ Okay, Yeah, I'm definitely reading those when I have some real time to read again😍🙈😂

Well, I guess he really WAS A replacement for Winn and Mon... And they did kinda jam Winn's brilliance with Mon's space-puppy alien-ness into one in Brainy's character from the little bit I've seen of Post S3😅🙈 And yup, last scene sucked...🙄

Maybe they really just didn't like Kara as a character...😖😫

Haha, yess, and just imagine all the other lines they could use!😍 Oh, btw, I remembered the original bad chemistry pick-up line I came up with, it went like this: "Are you a catalyst? Cause you certainly always get me started" 😂😂🤣🤣 Oh, or imagine this: "Are you an exothermic reaction? Cause you are hot"🤣🤣🤣 Oh, oh, or back to an English Literature pick-up line: "Are you my zero focalizer? Cause I feel like you know me inside out, more so than even I myself do"😅🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♀️ And ohhh, their students shipping and trying to set them up would be GOLDEN!😍😍😍😍

yup, they could definitely learn a Lot from each other🤔 And HAHAHAHA, sounds accurate, esp. since Max is probably absolutely doing it on purpose cause he doesn't like Kara and no way in hell does he want his baby brother fraternizing with her😉😉🤣🤣 But hey, Karamel can hope Sam ships them and keeps Max away so they can spend time together🤔🤔 Oh god, Max and Cat? That's quite terrifying and amusing, not sure if that pair would be a good idea tho if they don't want the Multiverse to end😅 Ohhhh, Max and Cat fighting over Mon and Kara would be GOLDEN😂😂😂 Just imagine the arguments about 😂😂😂 Poor Sam&Eve who will have to deal with THAT chaos tho😅🙈

Samesies☺🙈 Sorr, again about the confusion😰🙈🙈🙈

PS: 🤣🤣🤣 Why do I feel like she might murder me for telling you about this?🤣🤣😅🙈🙈

PS2: Oh, you mean the ones from the Musical? If you mean those, then yess, I did😍😍😍😁😁🤗 (Thanks to you actually🤣🤣😉) At first I thought that style looked kinda weird, but the more I see it, the better it looks on him🤔😂 (Tho short haired him with a little bit longer stubble still is his best look IMO🤔🙈🤷🏻‍♀️)

XXX

Oh cool, so we are both in the "I'm afraid I annoyed that person too much and she/he has enough of me" xD

Also, you suck Tumblr Secretary!!!

Girl, I live in a 12k people town, the fact have one good sushi restaurant is like a miracle. No Chinese restaruants, btw.

But I kind of miss my friends, some classes and almost no responsibilities xD

...now you sound like Stephen King and I'm starting to get really worried about your storylines =='

What? Sad facts. And the fact they rule so many societies from the backseat is even sadder

Cake HOLE, HOLE, ok?! I forgot to add it. But you can always BUY some cake and problem solved! Even better, you can shut your mouth on the cake and be forever happy!!!!

lol, I guess his mom was very proud? x'D

DO IT!!!!!

And i guess that annoyed me so much, becasue here we were, once again with the same charatcer just in a different body. The scene when he prepared bed breakfast for Nia and tried to be a perfect boyfriend and i was just rolling my eyes so hard I saw the insides of my skull. And the fact is they totally ignored his comic book canon. I get why they didn't make him LI for Kara and make him and Nia a thing, but the rest? He's an idiot? 12th level genius? Where?

That or they had no idea what to do with her character. Aside of the fact they made her just Kal's clone with longer hair, ignored her whole comic book canon that makes her different and special, they had no plan for her character development. I feel they later just fell in love with their human charatcers they made (aka Alex and Walmart Witch) and deeloped them, while ignoring Kara. The titular hero. UGH

One of the reasons why the humanphilia pissed me soo much in this show :/

I see you liked the idea xD Add Eve as sex ed teacher, Winn as IT, Alex PE and biology?, Nia something with English, Brainiac math, Lobotomizer physics, John history, Lex the principal, Kelly as the school psychologist. Plus, dunno, M'gann, Cat, William, Imra, Sam, Siobbhan, and other bad guys as bad teachers xD Could be a fun fic xD

Or even better, imagine Cat promoting Kara as CatCo's superhero, while Max promotting Mon-El as Valor as his company and both them fighting which is better, while Kara and Mon-Elbeing done with them, and one day just openly, in fromt of cameras making out to make them shut up. LOL

No prob, not your fault!

PS She probably will, sorry! xD

PS2: yes, same. He really digs that look. I think I liked most his Kai-back-from-the-dead look and s3 Mon-El, when he was wearing black Legion uniform. This or that, I'm aroace but I seriously think he is aesthetically very hot and handsome. Lucky Melissa xD

Stay safe!

#ReFail #my fam

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writingwithcolor · 3 years

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Iam wanting to write a story about a girl who has asthma, a learning disability and is considered by society to be less than average. She is also a little over weight. When she has been given immortality other immortals shun her and want her dead. To escape from this she goes to a martial arts temple in China. She is also an American. I was wondering how I could incorporate both cultures in my story?

Overweight Chinese American girl with asthma & learning disability, martial arts, & China

Disclaimer: I’ve written this response assuming that the main character herself is Chinese or Chinese-American.

Some stuff I’d like to discuss point-by-point:

Being an Asthmatic

Asthmatics don’t exactly have the best representation in media, so I’m worried about a non-Asthmatic writing a story where the main conflict is centered around the MC’s method of coping with ableism.

Especially considering how we’re portrayed as stereotypical nerds/geeks for not being absolute athletes (haha maybe because pushing ourselves that far will literally result in an asthma attack-)

I have a feeling that in addition to the point where Chinese people are already stereotyped as nerds, having her be asthmatic as well does mean you’ll have to be more careful in how you present her. We already have the whole “model minority, East Asian = nerd” thing going for us.

Being “overweight”

America’s definition of “overweight” looks different for all kinds of people!

Someone who’s statistically considered “overweight” by American standards might pass as being “average” (in American standards once again) and vice-versa! The existence of the word actually insinuates the existence of an ideal weight-- pretty fatphobic.

If you mean to say that she’s fat, chubby, and/or plump, then do so. Don’t dance around the term just because it’s deemed ‘undesirable’ by our Eurocentric beauty standards.

(Additionally, being chubby is associated with the nerd trope as well. More to watch out when developing her character.)

Mod Rune mentions the specific way you’ve phrased how as a result of her being overweight and asthmatic, she’s “considered by society to be less than average” and she’s shunned/wanted dead specifically for these two reasons.

Being disabled =/= incompetency or being less than an abled person. Once again, an OwnVoices situation would make sense; However I would still worry about infantilizing Asthmatic/chubby people this way.

The plot… oof.

I’m worried that your method of combating the already-delicate conflict (that she’s looking for a way to cope with her feelings of inadequacy induced by ableism/fatphobia), is pretty insulting. You specifically word her trip to China as an “escape” which I feel could have a much better reason-- your excuse as is sounds to lead into a story of “refinding myself at the home of my birth culture” or something like that- especially with the fact that she’ll be doing this at a martial arts temple. A very cultural aspect of China.

Martial Arts?

That being said; Even though a Chinese martial artist does feel rather stereotypical, it does help with asthma (source: me and Taekwondo)

Specifically, according to this study from NCBI on the correlation between asthmatic children and Taichichuan, results have shown that “12 weeks of Tai-Chi-Chuan could improve the pulmonary function, decrease airway inflammation, and improve quality of life in children with mild asthma”.

However Northern Shaolin, Hung Ga, Wing Chun, and other Chinese forms of martial arts could work as well! Please do research on the specific techniques and differentiate between them. Appropriating Chinese martial arts on top of the fact that it’s already rather tropey- very bad.

A different plot?

Perhaps don’t send her off to China to quote, "escape from how other [immortals shun her and want her dead]".

I think a better motivation for this change in landscape would be “She wanted to train to get stronger and improve her health with how it was negatively impacted because of her asthma.”

The thing with a lot of disabled people is that-- we don’t want to have to “keep up” with abled people. We don’t want to need to take all these extra measures just to be able to function ‘normally’ (or at least the one defined by society). I feel that the motives in your original plot panders to that idea that she must get stronger or else she’ll never be accepted by the other immortals. A Chinese-American asthmatic myself, I’d much rather see her self-worth measured through her own growth as an individual than how well she ‘fits in’ with non-asthmatics.

Marika mentions that people also often do martial arts for culturally-relevant exercise-- so this could also be a way for her to reconnect with her birth culture.

Sophia also mentions that being overweight has little on one’s skills as a martial artist; So it shouldn’t be used as an argument as to why someone shouldn’t be taking on a certain expertise. (Seconded, as someone who did kendo: some of the better kendoka were overweight and had more precision than I did --Jess)

Incorporating TCK Culture:

Look for stuff written by actual Chinese-American third-culture kids!

Every little part of life- from the stories parents tell their kids before bed to the kind of food we eat daily- is 100% influenced by both our caregivers and the community we live in. For me personally, we’d have hotpot dinners with other Asian families during the Lunar New Year and I’d typically be sent to Chinese school on Sundays as well.

Mods Jess and Lesya touch up on some TCK elements in this ask as well! (Wanting to Learn More About Culture Because of Chinese Name) However your MC celebrates her cultures will also depend on how assimilated into America her family is.

Like I said earlier: look for materials that Chinese-American TCKs and immigrants have written! There’s no better way to learn about certain customs than getting them from the actual source.

My ending thoughts!

These are honestly traits that I’d love to see more, as an asthmatic Chinese-American myself who has done martial arts in the past, haha.

Be extra careful when a ton of your character’s traits are found in East Asian (Chinese) caricatures! Be sure to flesh her out as a three-dimensional character as this description that you’ve given us (regarding her conflict) makes me go >.>-- I don’t like it as is.

Give her motivations for herself that aren’t purely to conform to others (per the submissive Asian girl trope). Having a bullied Asian girl does feel like it plays into this, so please don’t have her measure her worth as an individual based off of the standards set by abled people!

Do tons of research on Chinese martial arts! Marika mentions huge points below that I want you to consider when giving her a specific speciality-- just saying “a martial arts temple” doesn’t cut it.

(As always, any reader feedback/additions would be appreciated!)

~ Mod Emme

These are my thoughts as someone who has practiced various styles of Chinese martial arts.

While the quality of the instructor and the student’s efforts are crucial, I think you need to be clear on the following:

The style of martial arts your character will be doing

Their physical limitations

The type of learning disability they have.

Different fighting styles suit the limitations of different body types in different ways

A person who is overweight may find styles with explosive movements that put weight on vulnerable joints like the knees to be painful. Styles that favor stable stances may be more feasible than those that emphasize movements with lots of air time, crouching and jumping.

A person who is inflexible will need a style that encourages them to keep limber to avoid getting hurt.

A person with diminished lung capacity will need a style that safely challenges their endurance.

Different learning disabilities might make certain styles more or less difficult to learn

ADHD may favor fast fighting styles with complex move sets and a wide variety of weapons.

Issues associated with memory retention may make styles that emphasize sparring easier than those that focus on memorizing forms

Make no mistake, the culture of a style will be as much of a consideration for your character as the Chinese and American cultural influences. Do your research, and inquire with practitioners as to what styles would work well for your characters.

The tumblr blog How to Fight Write would likely be a good resource on the physical logistics of different styles.

- Marika

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realmofgold · 2 years

Text

Lemonade-IF MC

@lemonade-if I’m curious which RO you think would be the best fit for her! This would be too long to fit in an ask, haha.

Name: Liangyu Shiratori

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: panromantic asexual

Ethnicity: half-Japanese, half-Chinese

Nationality: Japanese

Height: 173 cm

Voice Claim: Yoimiya from Genshin Impact (Kana Ueda) example

Appearance: Liangyu has warm beige skin and dark brown hair, her upturned eyes an amber color. Her hair is straight and shoulder length. Strands of hair from each side are pulled back and united to form a small ponytail. She has a rectangular body shape with a lean build. There is a mole on her left hand.

Personality: Easygoing and vibrant, Liangyu Shiratori always knows how to have fun. There is always something new happening with her, as she loves to learn and try new things. Her enthusiasm is evident when something captures her interest. Creating new memories and experiences is one of her goals in life. She’s a carefree person to be around, easy to talk and banter with. Although she can be a bit chatty, Liangyu also likes to hear what others have to say and the things that going on in their lives.

Liangyu is also someone who gets easily amused by other people’s antics. Teasing others and joking around are some of her favorite things to do. She never runs out of witty retorts or quips to make. Always up for a competition, if things play out in Liangyu’s favor, she will be quite smug about it. Constant bets or challenges are made with her friends where the winner gets a prize and the loser has to do something. She tends to have a flair for theatrics since it’s funny to see how others react.

As an optimistic person, Liangyu does quite well under stressful situations. Even if she makes mistakes, she will not doubt herself. An open mind allows her to view and evaluate things from different angles. Flexibility is one of her strong points, as she can effortlessly go with the flow and make decisions accordingly. So if something goes wrong, the person recovers and gets right back on her feet. Of course, there will always be times she feels insecure, criticized, or that her values are being threatened. At her worst moments, she will ignore her true feelings and appear more logical and argumentative than usual as a defense mechanism. Instead of exploring new possibilities, Liangyu develops a focus on routine, order, and a strict demand that everything is done her way.

Strangers are often surprised by Liangyu’s ambition and determination since they assume she is non-committal and flighty. Liangyu is also a warm and thoughtful person. Whenever you need it, she will be a good listener, and won’t hesitate to lend a hand. Despite being a cheeky brat sometimes, Liangyu is a genuine and sincere person. In the end, she just wishes for her friends to live their best lives.

Hobbies: biking, aikido, playing the piano and pipa, scrapbooking

RO: TBD

Friend Group: TBD

Club: Music Club

#lemonade-if #oc #mc #oc info #mc info

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circlique · 3 years

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China? For the ask game

favorite thing about them

So admittedly this is probably just me ignoring canon and projecting my own headcanons half the time but I feel like he could be such an incredibly complex character if hima and the fandom could give him the attention he deserves? like you've got a character that's canonically 4000+ years old and bears the scars of the betrayals of people who were close to him. you've got canon character songs of him longing for simpler times and to repair relationships that have since gone bad, who still manages to maintain a cheerful exterior and keeps trying to repair those relationships even though geopolitics inevitably get in the way of the nations' human relationships with each other. like man you could really go deep with the whole immortality thing and how that actually takes a toll on a person...

least favorite thing about them

...but then he gets boiled down to haha funny crossdress joke which as much as I support gender ambiguity and breaking out of typical gender roles and stereotypes??? i gotta agree with some other people who have answered china for this ask game already that this coming from a japanese man about a chinese character has some really unfortunate vibes.

favorite line

so i hate the dub but i gotta admit dub china has the BEST one-liners. "suck ball!" and "white people, sheesh" kill me every time. as far as the comics though I think "screams in chinese" was pretty good.

brOTP

America/Russia/China they are sUCH a diSASTER who don't deserve the power they wield.

OTP

RoChu with RomeChu and NiChu vying for second.

nOTP

ChuViet and ChuTai, both because of the history/politics and also I just have a REALLY hard time seeing Yao with women for whatever reason.

random headcanon

Rome was China's first love. Also, they were pen pals. They were fucking sexting before it was a thing.

unpopular opinion

Apparently seeing him as ace is an unpopular opinion, but actually I think I see people get more militant about their gender and sexuality headcanons for him that any other character? Like because if you see him as ace apparently that means you're desexualizing Asian men, or only see him as some ageless, sexless being. Yet if you see him as gay you're being inaccurate to modern Chinese society, and if he's straight you're ignoring historical Chinese same-sex literature and art. also if he's trans you're playing into gender role stereotypes and saying feminine men must actually be women, but if he's not trans you're transphobic or at the very least unsupportive of people being gender non-conforming--like just chill and let me hc him as ace and let other people have their headcanons for his sexuality and gender too without turning it into this moral crusade. I've legit seen people argue about all of these things. You can disagree with a headcanon without trying to make out the other person like they're intolerant just because their headcanon differs from yours.

song i associate with them

Who We Are by Welshly Arms vibes really well for nationhood as it exists in hetalia in general, but especially so for China because he must have lived through and survived so much

And every day will come to pass Each one quicker than the last We learn from each mistake With every bone we break That it leaves us stronger in the end

favorite picture of them

Both of these, which were in a series of sketches speculated to be the actually canon male 2p designs. Regardless, what is he doing in the one on the right? Is he a pirate? a Prince? he looks so elegant and mysterious aaaa.

#hetalia #aph #hws

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sketching-shark · 3 years

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I think we should start a protection squad (although they don’t need it because they can protect themselves) for Sun Wukong and Guanyin

“Begone monkie kid fandom trying to down grade these really interesting characters with interesting personality’s and backstory ( the both of them like seriously Guanyin backstory is so cool) to a villain wile trying to justify your angsty backstory (that are no where near as cool as monkey who fights gods and Person who has 1000 arms and heads to help people in need) for the actual villain”

So who wants to join

Me:*raises my hand*

Ps: sorry if I got Guanyin backstory wrong am not an expert on it.

Haha okay so some critiques on the jttw & associated media western fandom & fandom in general coming up, so please skip this upcoming text wall if you don't want to encounter my undoubtedly ~devastating~ words (i.e. don't like don't read as people love to say, & if I have to be inundated with images of my notp every time I go into the sun wukong tag then I imagine people can be chill with me expressing my opinions & giving people fair warning that I WILL be critiquing common fandom trends, but no need for you to see that if you don’t want to. Cool? Cool.)

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PFFFFFTTT oh man there are many times when I feel like signing up for such a protection squad...when it comes to the current western jttw & Sun Wukong fandom I do feel like I'm often swinging at a rapid pace between "well it's fandom & people are allowed to make the stories they want" & "I am once again begging my fellow monkie kid enthusiasts (& sometimes creators) to do more research into the og classic/show it more respect so you can avoid any potentially offensive/off-the-mark misunderstandings of the status & cultural context of the characters in their country of origin (I promise it's super interesting & I can provide you with links to free pdf copies of the entire Yu translation, i.e. the best one ever created, so feel free to ask!) & maybe also stop constantly stripping away all the nuance of Sun Wukong's character for the sake of either making him an entire asshole so your little meow meow can look completely innocent in comparison and/or making the monkey king's entire life & character revolve around said meow meow."

Like I get that fandom's supposed to be a kind of anything-goes environment, but one thing that honestly seems to be true of a lot of fandoms--and the western one for Sun Wukong & co. is certainly not immune from this--is that there often seems to be a kind of monoculturalization at work in what stories are created & what character interpretations are made popular. Across a multitude of fandoms, you frequently see basically nothing but the exact same tropes being made popular & even being insisted on for the canonical work (especially hasty redemption arcs & enemies to lovers these days), the exact same one-dimensional character types that characters from an original work keep getting shoved into, the exact same story beats, etc. And I get it to an extent, as fandom is generally a space where people just make art and fic for fun & without thinking too hard about it & without any pressure.

This seems to, however, often unfortunately lead to the mentality that it’s your god-given right to do literally whatever you want with literally any cultural figure without even the slightest bit of thought put into their cultural, historical, and even religious context, even (and sometimes especially) when it comes to figures that are really important in a culture outside your own. For such figures--even if you first encounter them in a children’s cartoon--you should be a little more careful with what you do with them than you would with your usual Saturday morning line-up. It of course has to be acknowledged that there exists a whole pile of absolutely ridiculous & cursed pieces of media that are based on Journey to the West & that were produced in mainland China, but for your own education if nothing else I consider it good practice for those of us (myself certainly included) who aren’t part of the culture that produced JTTW to put more thought into how we might want to portray these characters so that at the very least (to pull some things I’ve seen from the jttw western fandom) we’re not turning a goddess of mercy into an evil figure for the sake of Angst(TM), or relegating other important literary figures into the positions of offensive stereotypes, or making broad claims about the source text & original characterizations of various figures that are blatantly untrue, or mocking heavenly deities because of what’s actually your misunderstanding of how immortality works according to Daoist beliefs. Yet while a lot of this is often due to people not even trying to understand the context these figures are coming from, I do want to acknowledge that the journey (lol reference) to understand even a fraction of the original cultural context can be a daunting one, especially since, as I’ve mentioned before, it can be really hard & even next to impossible to find good, accessible, & legitimate explanations in English of how, for example, the relationship between Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque is commonly interpreted in China & according to the Buddhist beliefs that define the original work.

That is to say, I do think it’s an unfortunate, if unavoidable, part of any introduction of an original text into a culture foreign to its own for there to be sometimes a significant amount of misinterpretation, mistranslations, and false assumptions. There is, however, a big difference between learning from your honest mistakes, & doubling down on them while dismissing all criticism of your misinterpretation into that abstract category of “fandom drama.” The latter attitude is kind of shitty at best and horrifically entitled at worst.

Plus, as I’ve discovered, there is a great deal of interest and joy to be drawn from keeping yourself open to learning aspects of these texts & figures that you weren’t aware of! I can say from my own experience that I’ve always really enjoyed & appreciated it when individuals on this site who come from a Chinese background--and who know much more about the cultural context of JTTW than me--have taken the time to explain its various aspects. It often leaves me feeling like woooooaaaahhhhhHHH!!!! as to how amazingly full of nuanced meaning JTTW is like dang no wonder it’s one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels.

And I guess that right there is the heart of a lot of my own personal frustration and disappointment with the ways that fandoms often approach a literary work or other piece of media...like don’t get me wrong, a lot of the original works a fandom may grow around are just straight-up goofy & everyone’s aware of it & has fun with it, yet the trend of approaching what are often nuanced and multi-layered works in terms of how well they fit and/or can be shoved into pretty cliche ideas of Redemption Arc or Enemies to Lovers or Hero Actually Bad, Villain Actually Good etc...well, it just seems to cheapen and even erase even the possibility of understanding the wonderful complexity or even endearing simplicity that made these works so beloved in the first place. Again, I feel like I need to make it clear that I’m not saying fandom should be a space where people are constantly trying to one-up each other with their hot takes in literary analysis, but it would be nice and even beneficial to allow room for commentary that strives to approach these works in a multi-faceted way, analysis & interpretations that go against the popular fandom beliefs, & criticism of the work or even of fandom trends (yes it is in fact possible to legitimately love something but still be critical of its aspects) instead of immediately attacking people who try to engage in such as just being haters who don’t want anyone to have fun ever (X_X).

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Anyway, I know I didn’t cover even half of the stuff you brought up in the first place anon, but I don’t want any interested parties to this post to suffer too long through my text wall lol. I was asked to try my hand at illustrating Guanyin, but as with you I’m nowhere near as informed as I should be about her, so I want to do more research on her history and religious importance before I attempt a portrait. I’ll try my best, and do plan to pair that illustration with my own outsider’s attempt to summarize her character. From what little I do know I am in full agreement that her backstory is so incredibly amazing...just the fact that she literally eschewed the bliss of Nirvana to help all beings reach it, and even split herself into pieces in the attempt to do so (with Buddha granting her eleven heads and a thousand arms as a result)...man, I can see why she’s such a beloved & respected deity.

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As for what western fandom commonly does with everyone’s favorite god-fighting primate...I can talk about this at length if there’s interest, but for this post I’ll just say that I guess one lesson from all of this is that for all the centuries that have passed since Journey to the West was first completed, literally no one drawing inspiration from the original tale in the west (lol) has come even slightly close to being able to equal or even capture half the extent of the nuance, complexity, religious, historical, and cultural aspects, and humor that define Wu Cheng'en's story of an overpowered monkey who defied even Buddha.

So thank the heavens we'll always have the original.

#journey to the west #jttw #guanyin #sun wukong #monkey king #monkie kid #fandom #fandom critical

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sae-midori · 3 years

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How did you learn to draw? How long did it take you to reach where you're at?

Art is something I loved from an early age and just did on my own because I loved it through and through. I'm very self-taught, haha, because the passion to genuinely learn new things all the time is there in everything I do. Looking back, I can pinpoint how each new subject or medium I dabbled in for fun or at school all came together to lead me to where I am today. And it wasn't just art mediums either! I figured out how to tell a visual story in my art and create interesting compositions from my time spent learning photography and filmmaking. I also learned how to analyze and apply thematic structure to my art from the principles of theatre design. Even the digital brushes I currently use to make my nature scenes are the result of an idea I found from reading a book about classic Chinese and Japanese ink brush painting techniques. It's all added up to the art skills and art style I have right now, and it's something that'll continue to carry me into the future.

If there's one thing that's been consistent throughout learning how to draw, it's that I've always been a keen observer of details in the world. Things like blue shadows in autumn. Really! If you ever look at the shadows on the ground in autumn, they look blue. I told my mother this once and she didn't believe me. Then when autumn rolled around, she was wide-eyed and astounded that shadows on the ground really did take on a blue hue compared to the rest of the seasons. It's little observations like this that help me find more and more ways to improve my art. Blue shadows are something I still draw in all my autumn scenes even today.

The learning never stops, and the time it takes to get there is never all that important. Some people can learn how to draw without breaking a sweat, and for others, it takes years. Neither type of person is lesser or better than the other. I've been learning how to draw all my life, and I'm still learning with eager sparkling eyes of curiosity. Everyone can learn to draw well. People think it's limited to natural talent, but that's not true in the least. The talent part is only 5% at most, and the rest is all honed skill and being open to trying new things. That's it. Improvement too is nothing more than mindful practice, patience, and just having fun. I think so many people forget to have fun, but art should be just that.

So have fun. And don't worry about racing to be as good as someone else - that's their path and you have your own beautiful irreplaceable one to walk along. It can be challenging at times. But keep at it, remember not to rush yourself, and always try your sincere best. And soon enough you'll find you're making art that shines without comparison and brings both you and others a great sense of happiness. ♥

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yuexuan · 3 years

Text

Fiction recommendation 21

Time for some more fic recs because its been awhile since I did them!

1. 幻想农场 (Fantasy Farm)

Author: 西子绪

Farming/slice of life, food fic, supernatural, mythology

Summary [taken from novel updates]:

After being fired, Lu Qingjiu finally decided to return to his hometown to farm.

At first, he started raising a pig, and then he found that the pig could solve more high-level math questions than he could.

After that, he started raising a flock of chickens, and then he found that his own fighting ability was one-tenth of that of a single chicken.

Finally, Lu Qingjiu finally realised that this old home wasn’t quite right… Especially a certain person by his side who constantly stared at him day in and day out.

Lu Qingjiu: “Are you drooling because of the spicy stir-fry I’m holding or because of me?”

Bai Yuehu pointed at the stir-fry.

Lu Qingjiu: “Then can you let go??”

Bai Yuehu reluctantly glanced at Lu Qingjiu’s arm, before loosening his teeth.

Comments:

My first thought is: don’t read this fic when you’re hungry. Every chapter is filled with delicious descriptions of food that’ll make one’s mouth water. The novel makes a lot of references to creatures from the Classics of the Mountains and Seas, which is a delight to learn about. An easy-to-read, fun novel.

Novel | Novel [Eng] Translation

2. 全球高考 (Global Examination)

Author: 木苏里

Infinite flow, suspense, action

Summary [taken from novel updates]:

One day, You Huo and his famiIy was puIIed into an exam caIIed the GIobaI University Entrance Examination. Going through exams together with other unfortunate examinees, their Iives are put at stake and they can only Iive by passing each exam. However, something about these exams and the system controIIing it didn’t seem right — lt seemed to be trying to trap the examinees with ridiculous ruIes and strange questions…

There, You Huo meets lnvigiIator 001 who seems to hoId a key to the past he no Ionger remembered and, together, they go through the exam, unravelling the mysteries behind their past and the system.

Tldr: A pair of chaotic madmen work together to go against the examination system while feeding the readers dogfood.

Comments:

I admit that I didn’t like the story when I first started reading it. But as the story progresses, the rules of the examination fall into place and the different examinations got very challenging and interesting. The whole power couple and stranger-to-lover tropes are an added highlight.

Novel | Novel [Eng] Translation | Audio drama | Manhua

3. 全球上线 (Earth Online)

Author: 莫晨欢

Infinite flow, suspense, survival, action

Summary:

Six months ago, tens of thousands of huge towers appeared all over the world, floating over cities. No one could do anything about them.

Half a year later, people are used to the towers and learned to ignore them.

One day Tang Mo saw a bug fly towards one of the towers and hit it.

The next day, a child's voice announced to the entire world: Ding dong! 15th November, 2017, the earth went online.

The three iron rules of the towers: (1) The towers shall explain everything. (2) The game time starts from 6:00 - 18:00. (3) All players please try their best to attack and defeat the towers.

Comments:

Another suspenseful infinite flow stories. I love the smart power couple dynamic, how the two of them become powerful when they collaborate, but are also equally capable of defeating the towers’ levels by themselves. Moreover, all the characters don’t have your typical “oh let me be a hero and save everyone” complex. They all weighed the benefits and costs at each turn and are capable of making decisions that best maximize their chances of survival - whether that is ruthlessly killing other players or extending a saving hand. All the powers and items that the players received and the world-building are very unique (especially Tang Mo’s and his book haha). This one is gonna challenge your brain a bit, but definitely worth a read.

Novel | Novel [Eng] Translation

4. 不要在垃圾桶里捡男朋友 (Don’t pick up boyfriends from the trash bin)

Author: 骑鲸南去

Infinite flow, transmigration

Summary [from novel updates]:

Chi Xiaochi: fourth-rate citizen at birth, three-time award-winning film emperor, second-rate temper, first-class looks. He crawled his way out of hell on hard mode to become a winner at life.

Then, he was smashed into a vegetative state by a chandelier.

061: Hello, here’s a brief rundown on the scum gong reconditioning system. This system measures the regret level of the scum gong. Every time their regret level reaches one hundred points, you will be able to leave the current world. A friendly tip, usually, through dedication and self-sacrifice, our employees slowly foster a sense of dependency in the scum gongs, gradually making it so the scum gongs can’t live without them.

Chi Xiaochi: How many regret points is a complete loss of reputation and standing worth? How about a fall from grace? Or wanting something but never being able to obtain it?

061: ……

Comment:

Don’t let the title fool you. I entered the novel thinking it’s some meet-cute modern-day slice-of-life comedy, but it turns out to have some really good angst and adventure moments in there. Heck, it’s been awhile since I cried for a novel. :’)

There are ten arcs (i.e. worlds) that the protagonist enters, each with its own backstory, so this novel might feel longer than the usual danmei. Nevertheless, I enjoyed all the details placed into each world and all the side characters. I also like that the protagonist is very smart and cunning and he grows throughout the different worlds. The only con I’ll say to this is that everything proceeds a bit too smoothly, especially with the golden finger of 061, so the protagonist can come off as being too OP. Nevertheless, the ending and last world are just huge tear-jerkers.

Novel | Novel [Eng] Translation

5. 迪奥先生 (Mr. Dior)

Author: 绿野千鹤

Comedy, fluff, romance

Summary [from novel updates]:

One day, Zhang Chenfei met a car accident. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any serious physical injuries. However, due to the impact of the car crash, his brain’s perception of the real world had turned into that of the novel that he was reading prior to the accident. The thing that horrified his wife, Jiao Qi, was… the Smart Brain, Louis XIII downloaded a series of books which meant that his husband would turn into a different character each time!

How will our adorable little wife deal with this kind of husband who seemed to suddenly suffer from multiple personalities?

This novel’s plot focuses on Zhang Chenfei’s changing personality based from the characters in the books, and how his wife, Jiao Qi, deal with every character as he will have to act in sync with whoever his husband’s character is. This is per the advise of the private doctor since treatment of this special condition was still under research.

As they act out their roles, they will gradually discover and learn more about the other, which they’ve never known in their seven years of living together.

Comment:

The amount of second-hand embarrassment and cringe I got from this novel is huge and I love it lol. If you are curious about how cheesy and cliche Chinese romance can get, please do try reading this. It includes some of the worst and most dog blood tropes in a comedic and satirical way, while advancing the main pairing’s relationship at the same time. Truly a fun read!

Novel | Novel [Eng] Translation | Manhua