the drama is dramaing i havent been this invested since the bricks and minifigs thing apparently the character's chinese name was a slur and there were references to war crimes ??
realizing that the online sphere and especially tumblr is NOT a good sample for ‘what everyone thinks’ is so, so, so good for your mental health and moral OCD. i swear to god. realizing that you don’t have to live your actual life like you’re being hunted for sport because the average tumblr user will hunt you for sport for wording something slightly weird or engaging in the wrong stuff or whatever is so incredible. like no you’re actually not fucked up and evil for not donating or for watching that one indie cartoon or questioning a post that everybody is agreeing with. that’s just tumblrs georg making you feel that way
image: tweet. "another blissfful day ignoring the fact that 75% of my peers on this site have been rejected from offline society for pretty good reasons". end ID.
Do Pokémon understand humans? Or only certain stuff like “hello” or basic commands? Do Pokémon have their own language that they speak to each other? Does each type have its own language?
Depends on the pokemon. It's pretty common that pokemon raised by humans can understand some human language, though not enough to be able to understand everything perfectly. Thats how they're able to understand their move commands, but not the complexities of taxes, no matter how much you explain it to them.
Then there's pokemon like Alakazam or Lapras that are able to perfectly understand humans and be taught languages. It has caused some ethical questions, which can sometimes be funny. A Kadabra was put in jail in one region for aiding with a bank robbery. He didn't do anything and reports say, "he sat in the car and ate crackers while watching a cooking channel on his trainer's phone", but the court claimed that he was still smart enough to be able to understand what was happening and he aided in a crime. (Both him, his trainer, and his trainer's friend were released on parol after three weeks because of no prior criminal charges and they only robbed eight dollars from a family member).
Sorry for the court case ramble, I just thought it was a funny story.
Do pokemon have their own language?
Yes, they do actually! Though it's not a universal language - each species has their own way of communicating. Much of their languages aren't as complex as human languages and they rely mostly on simple commands, body language, pheromones, etc. Mightyena packs are incredibly intelligent, but they obviously don't have a complex of a language as humans do. Still, they're able to give commands and understand what they need to.
Then there's pokemon that do have complex languages. Lapras is my favorite example of this. Their language varies from region to region, but it's made up of various songs and whistles. Them having complex languages of their own is how they're able to learn human languages so well.
Weavile and Bisharp are also examples that I love, mostly because the fact that each pack has their own written language that they make from carving symbols on rocks or wood. The languages are more symbol based and don't seem to have alphabets, but still very cool! In general, Bisharp rely heavily on both vocal commands and physical ones. Their vocal commands are primarily grunts while Weavile's are meows or hisses.
Then there's some pokemon that are difficult to categorize. Researchers think that pokemon like Alakazam and Orbeetle might have a complex language via psychic communication, but it's more possible that they're reading intentions or emotions. I believe this since I have an orbeetle and, even though he understands some of what I'm saying, I've never heard him repeat words back to me in my mind. It's always just images or intentions.
I love making lists, so here's my list of pokemon with complex languages below the cut
Bisharp line (vocal and physical)
Weavile line (primarily vocal and written but they have physical commands like pointing)
Beeheyem line (they communicate through light patterns from their body)
Jynx (vocal)
Lapras (vocal)
Wailmer line (vocal)
Malamar line (lights on their body)
Mismagius line. (Vocal) It's really creepy because it sounds like gibberish incantations
Kricketune line (vocal). Hearing them communicate and have conversations is very pretty <3
Golurk line (vocal, psychic, lights on their body, they're a mystery to researchers)
I've seen a bunch of "fandom etiquette" posts on my dash today and I'm going to say something that is maybe going to be unpopular but;
The absolutely pervasive mentality that unwanted criticism or critique shouldn't be given and should be ignored is why fans of color don't stay in fan spaces.
And I am not going to mince words here:
A lot of you are racist. A lot of your fan works are racist.
That might have been difficult to hear. And if it was, you should probably reflect on why that was.
"Fandom etiquette" has created a space where fans of color either bite our tongues and eventually leave or say something, get dogged on, and then eventually leave.
So much of "fandom etiquette" seems to be about insulating creatives from Feeling Bad and hostility to any kind of negative feedback is a pretty big contributor to why bigotry festers in these spaces.
#imo the potluck analogy applies- it would be rude to critique someone's icing technique at a potluck bc it wasn't as good as at the bakery #but if they had decorated their cupcakes w hate symbols it wouldn't be rude to tell them that's gross and gtfo #in fact it would be inappropriate to NOT say anything in that situation #or to complain that another guest who did point it out was 'ruining everyone's potluck' #and pointing out racism in fan works is 100% the second thing not the first! (via destructions-daughter)
There's also a tendency to conflate anyone who critiques general trends with bad faith randos. Like, there is fandom behavior that is 100% racist and should be talked about, but there are also trends of racist/sexist/ableist preferences.
If I say "I am uncomfortable with fandom's tendency to write trans men as feminine and submissive" I do not mean "I think every person who writes feminine submissive trans men should be chased with pitchforks". I don't even mean "any cis-person who writes feminine or submissive trans men should be chased with pitchforks". I mean "I would like writers to seriously think about why this is so common, why they write that, and if it fairly and genuinely engages with what it means to be a trans man, or if they just think it's hot when submissive people have vaginas and didn't want to write omegaverse of m/f".
Similarly, when people say "fandom is systemically less interested in black characters, less willing to give flat black characters rich fanon than flat white characters, and less interested in black characters in ships", the response is not to explain why you, personally, just happen to like popular white guy in that fanon. Your job is to look at yourself and ask if you tend to "just happen to be more interested" in the popular white guy across fandoms, be honest, and start unpacking that. Sometimes it's easier to love the flat character who's already getting 10,000 fics with headcanons and art and meta.
If somebody says "I wish there were more gluten free options at the potluck. I hate always showing up and not finding anything I can eat*", they are not asking you to throw your cake in the trash and weep. They do not want to hear your long speech about how actually this is your grandmother's recipe, and you've tried it with rice flour actually, but it just didn't work. You think about what you can do, and you listen to how they feel.
*The metaphor here not being that you can't read fic that isn't "good rep". The metaphor here is that it can be isolating to be in spaces where nobody is trying to make sure people like you are welcome.
The problem with studying the deep ocean is that humans need light to look at things, the depths of the ocean are extremely dark, and what lives there is accustomed to spending most of its time in that darkness. So when we go down there with submersibles and turn on Big Lights to see, we invariably and dramatically alter what's going on, in the same way that it's generally difficult to observe the natural behaviors of terrestrial animals if you whip out a megaphone and shout HEY GUYS WHAT ARE YOU DOING at them first.
I put this in the comments but feel it needs a reblog- Check out some of Dr Edith Widder’s work on light in the deep sea! Among other things, she used the bioluminescence of stoplight fish to deduce wavelengths which most deep sea animals can’t perceive and used that to create light filters to be able to film with minimal disturbance! And that’s how we got 25 minutes of giant squid footage!!!!
