technically main blog | i dont post original content here LEAVE ME ALONEE | brainrot farms -> danmei blog: @unreliable-narratoe | art blog: @blocky-dunots
there's probably already a name for this but it's a trope i coined for a very specific type of dynamic that im consistently obsessed with. give me two people who grew up together and played together and were each other's best friend and then Something Happened and now everything's fucked up but they're still friends. or they want to be at least. you look so different now and everything is so much more complicated now than when we played in your backyard but literally who else knows me better than you. who else could i ever call my best friend
So this is from 30,000 Miles From Chang’an, which is a 2 hours 47 minutes(!!?) long Chinese animated film that is basically an actually legitimate historical epic and historical biopic (think Gladiator & Amadeus) made into animation, and also passionate tribute to classical art and culture, similar to something like Miss Hokusai or Millennium Actress.
I heard it was decent before, but was not expecting it to be This Ambitious. The Criminally Underrated Champ of 2023 Animation
no bc what DO the other miraculers know about ladynoir’s Situation™ anyway. luka’s one thing but like alya aside (and even she only knows about ladybug’s relationship status),, like. did they. did they… tell…? them…? that they’re dating other people in their personal lives? did it ever come up, in between all those constipated training sessions to stop transforming back, or whenever ladybug randomly called them up to help in an akuma fight. like. do they. notice…? things…? do all of them think the same thing about their. relationship status…? has anyone… asked? do any of them pretend not to notice. or did they NOTICE back in the day as civilians only to officially join the team and be like. huh. that’s weird. they’re repressing something there. i swear i saw them outside my window once flirting on some rooftop. now they’re like. taking the trash out together at noon. like the sunlight casts an innocent platonic glow on them or something. what’s that about.
watch movies that make you uncomfortable read books that make you uncomfortable go to plays that make you uncomfortable watch tv that makes you uncomfortable look at paintings and sculpture and artwork that makes you uncomfortable. it is spiritually and morally and ethically and artistically really really good for you. think about why you are uncomfortable. what biases do you bring to art? what biases does the art bring to you? how do you reconcile this? how does your worldview grow and expand and change? all this and more will be answered and available to you if you just engage with art that does not coddle you and treats you like an intelligent human being that can sit through discomfort
A small list of random ass sites I’ve found useful when writing:
Fragrantica: perfume enthusiast site that has a long list of scents. v helpful when you’re writing your guilty pleasure abo fics
Just One Cookbook: recipe site that centers on Japanese cuisine. Lots of different recipes to browse, plenty of inspiration so you’re not just “ramen and sushi”
This comparing heights page: gives you a visual on height differences between characters
A page on the colors of bruises+healing stages: well just that. there you go. describe your bruises properly
McCormick Science Institute: yes this is a real thing. the site shows off research on spices and gives the history on them. be historically accurate or just indulge in mindless fascination. boost your restaurant au with it
A Glossary of Astronomy Terms: to pepper in that sweet terminology for your astrophysics major college au needs
Cocktail Flow: a site with a variety of cocktails that’s pretty easy to navigate and offers photos of the drinks. You can sort by themes, strengths, type and base. My only real annoyance with this site is that the drinks are sometimes sorted into ~masculine~ and ~feminine~ but ehhhh. It’s great otherwise.
Tie-A-Tie: a site centered around ties, obviously. I stumbled upon it while researching tie fabrics but there’s a lot more to look at. It offers insight into dress code for events, tells you how to tie your ties, and has a section on the often forgotten about tie accessories
Types of High Heels: A page describing twenty five different types of high heels. It gives a description and pictures. Shake it up from just “stilettos and kitten heels”
Random Job Generator: Exactly as it says. The site offer more generators like characters, plots, or town names.
Glossary of Hosiery Terms: Figure out what is what on a pair of stockings.
Men’s Dress Shoe Guide: A quick guide describing the eight most common types of men’s dress shoes. Pics included.
Types of Women’s Coats: Descriptions and pics of various different types of coats.
Oh, this? This is the 2000 masterpiece Titan A.E., the master animator Don Bluth's bold venture into the world of Science Fiction. Boasting script treatments by the increasingly-famous Joss Whedon and the voice talents of Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, and Nathan Lane (among others), it was also one of the first ventures of a fresh new sub-studio at Fox called Blue Sky Studios!
It boasted a terrifying premise of a future where alien invaders not only overwhelmed, but physically destroyed the entire Planet Earth--dramatically depicted in a trailer that ran before every single screening of 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Boldly fusing 2D animation with 3D ships, environments, aliens, and camerawork, it was a tremendous fresh step in the world of animated cinema. Creed's "Higher" was the theme song for the trailers and TV spots.
It made negative seventy million dollars at the box office, bankrupted Fox Animation, and killed animated films forever
Disabled people can be complete and utter assholes btw. They can have the absolute worst opinion ever and that doesn’t not give you the right to speculate on the validity of their disability. Disabilities aren’t some god given gift only granted to those with pious hearts or some shit. Anyone can be disabled, no matter what horrible takes they may have.
Terms You Might Want To Know For Your Wuxia/Xianxia Fic
MXTX's danmei are getting increasingly popular, and the fandoms are getting more fic-happy. I've noticed that some writers seem interested in writing their own fics but are concerned of making mistakes with niche honorifics and titles. I've noticed some that have jumped right in, but have made innocent errors that I'd like to correct but fear coming off as rude or presumptuous. And so I've made this list of terms that covers the basics and also some that are a little more niche since they're usually directly translated in cnovels.
DISCLAIMER: This is by no means a comprehensive list of everything one needs to know or would want to know concerning ancient Chinese honorifics and titles, merely what I myself consider useful to keep in mind.
Titles
Shifu: 'Martial father'; gender-neutral
Shizun: 'Martial father'; more formal than 'shifu'; gender-neutral
Shimu: ‘Martial mother’; wife of your martial teacher
Shiniang: ‘Martial mother’; wife of your martial teacher who is also a martial teacher
Shibo: elder apprentice-brother of your shifu; gender-neutral
Shishu: younger apprentice-brother of your shifu; gender-neutral
Shigu: apprentice-sister of your shifu
Shizhi: your martial nephew/niece
Shimei: younger female apprentice of the same generation as you
Shijie: elder female apprentice of the same generation as you
Shidi: younger male apprentice of the same generation as you
Shixiong: elder male apprentice of the same generation as you
Shige: elder male apprentice of the same generation as you, specifically one who has the same shifu as you or is the son of your shifu
Zhanglao: an elder of your sect
Zhangbei: a senior of your sect
Qianbei: a senior not of your sect
Wanbei: a junior not of your sect
Zongzhu: Address for a clan leader
Zhangmen: address for a sect leader
Daozhang: Daoist priests or simply a cultivator in general; gender-neutral
Daogu: Daoist priestess or a female cultivator; not as commonly used as 'daozhang'
Xiangu: Daoist priestess or a female cultivator; not as commonly used as 'daogu'
Sanren: a wandering cultivator
Xianren: 'Immortal Official'; a title of respect and power like 'General'
Xiuzhe: 'Cultivator', can be shortened to 'Xiu'
Xianjun: 'Immortal Master/Lord'
Xianshi: 'Immortal Master/Teacher'
Dashi: 'Great Teacher', address for monks
Xiansheng: Teacher/Sir; in ancient China, the connotation is very scholastic
Houye: address for a duke
Jueye: address for a noble lord, ei. a duke, marquess, earl, etc.
Wangye: address for king/imperial prince
Daren: address for imperial officials
Furen: Madam; the wife of an imperial official/nobleman OR a married woman granted a rank by the royal family
Nushi: Madam; the counterpart of 'xiansheng', connotation is scholastic
Taitai: Madam; address for an old married woman of the gentry, either wife or mother to head of household
Laoye: Old Lord; Address for an adult man with adult children of the gentry; possibly head of household
Nainai: Madam; Address for a married woman of the gentry, possibly wife of head of household
Ye: Lord; address for an adult man of the gentry, possibly head of household
Shaonainai: Young Madam; address for a woman married to a young man of the gentry
Shaoye: Young Lord; address for a young man or boy of the gentry, generation lower than head of household
Xiaoye: Little Lord; can be a synonym for ‘shaoye’ OR the son of a shaoye if ‘shaoye’ is already being used within the family
Xiaojie: Young Mistress; address for an unmarried woman or young girl of . . . the gentry and only the gentry, I believe. Correct me if you know for certain this is incorrect. (WARNING - It's an archaic term that should really only be used in an archaic setting if being used as a title instead of a suffix, because the modern vernacular has it as a term for a prostitute in mainland China. [Surname]-xiaojie is fine; Xiaojie by itself should be avoided.)
Gongzi: ‘Young Master/Lord/Sir'; ‘Childe’; young man from a household of the noble or gentry class
Guniang: 'Young Master/Lady/Miss'; ‘Maiden’; an unmarried woman or young girl from a household of the noble or gentry class
Laozhang: 'Old battle'; polite address for an unrelated old man of lower status than you
Laobo: polite address for an unrelated old man of a higher status that you
Laotou: 'Old man'; informal but not derogatory, implies fondness/closeness
Laopopo: 'Old woman'; informal but not derogatory, implies fondness/closeness
Please note that all of these listed above can be used as stand-alone titles or as suffixed honorifics.
Strictly Prefix/Suffix
-shi: 'Clan'; the suffix for a married woman, essentially means 'née'. (ex. Say Wei Wuxian was a woman and married into the Lan clan through a standard marriage. She would be called 'Wei-shi' by her husband's contemporaries and elders when not in a formal setting. It implies lack of closeness; used by acquaintances.)
a-: A prefix that shows affection or intimacy.
-er: A suffix that shows affection or intimacy; typically for children or those younger than you
-jun: 'Nobleman'; a suffix for a greatly respected man
-zun: 'Revered One'; a suffix for a greatly respected man
-ji: A suffix for a female friend
-bo: A suffix for an older man of your grandparents' generation
-po: A suffix for an older woman of your grandparents' generation
idk it really bothers me when people make fun of women and try to justify it by saying White Women or Straight Women or Cis Women or whatever because 85% of the time theyre not criticizing white supremacy or heterosexuality or anything to do with harmful gender stereotypes, they're just making fun of women who Happen to belong to a specific group & are trying to justify their misogyny (intentionally or not) by slapping CISHET onto it
This is also a fast track to telling a black woman directly to her face that no she's white actually. In Spirit or sth. Or just lying about being black. Swap out any other modifier as appropriate.
I think my coworker's fucking the IT guy bc we normally have to submit a ticket and they'll get back to us in 2-3 days unless it's crazy urgent. But he showed up like 1.5 hours after and went "Tanya... you miss me already?" And she giggled and went "omg stop Daviddd" meanwhile I'm sitting here like
He was like "You sure you're not just coming up with excuses ;)" and she was like "Nooo my mouse really keeps dying" and he was like "Haha I believe you" and I felt awk so I blurted out "It's good of you to like, validate her fears" and they both looked at me like I just appeared in their bedroom
Sometimes I do ship something and it's not unpopular its just that fanon harbors enough popular misconceptions to make the content frequently unreadable. So I will be like "can I have my ship please" and the internet will go "sure! here are a thousand results!" and I will go "is it actually my ship or is it some guys who are basically totally different characters in all meaningful ways that someone is having masquerade as my blorbos?" and the answer is yes often enough that I give up
