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[javorinaart]

I don't really post my art here, but I did illustration of the meme I did so here it comes. My art is here: https://cara.app/javorina

[haru-dipthong]

Did you know that the english word “star” and the japanese word 星（ほし）don’t actually mean the same thing?

Language does not simply name pre-existing categories; categories do not exist in 'the world'

— Daniel Chandler, Semiotics for Beginners

I read this quote a few years ago, but I don’t think I truly understood it until one day, when I was looking at the wikipedia article for “star” and I thought to check the Japanese article, see if I could get some Japanese reading practice in. I was surprised to find that the article was not titled 「星」, but 「恒星」, a word I’d never seen before. I’d always learnt that 星 was the direct translation for “star” (I knew the japanese also contained meanings the english didn’t, like “dot” or “bullseye”, but I thought these were just auxiliary definitions in addition to the direct translation of “star” as in "a celestial body made of hydrogen and helium plasma").

To try and clear things up for myself, I searched japanese wikipedia for 星. It was a disambiguation page, with the main links pointing to the articles for 天体 (astronomical object) and スター（記号）(star symbol). There was no article just called 「星」.

It’s an easy difference to miss, because in everyday conversation, 星 and star are equivalent. They both describe the shining lights in the night sky. They both describe this symbol: ★. They even both describe those enormous celestial objects made of plasma.

But they are different - different enough to not share a wikipedia article. 星 is used to describe any kind of celestial body, especially if it appears shiny and bright in the night sky. “Star” can be used this way too (like Venus being called the “morning star”), but it’s generally considered inaccurate to use the word like this, whereas there is no such inaccuracy with 星. You can say “oh that’s not actually a star, it’s a planet”, but you CAN’T say 「実はそれは星ではなく惑星だよ」 (TL: that’s not actually a hoshi, it’s a planet). A planet IS a 星.

星 is a very common word, essentially equivalent to “star”, but its meaning is closer to “celestial body”. I haven’t looked into the etymology/history but it’s almost like both english and japanese started out with a simple, common word for the lights in the sky - star/星 , but as we found out more about what these lights actually were, english doubled down on using the common word for the specific scientific concept, while japanese kept the common word generic and instead came up with a new word for the more specific concept. If this is actually what happened, I’d guess that kanji probably had something to do with it - 星 as a component kanji exists inside the word for planet, 惑星, and in the word for comet, 彗星, and in the scientific word for “star”, 恒星, so it makes sense that it would indicate a more general concept when used standalone.

This discovery helped me understand that quote - categories don’t exist in the world, we are the ones who create them. I thought that the concept of “star” was something that would be consistent across all languages, but it’s not, because the concept of “star” is not pre-existing. Each language had to decide how to name each of those similar star-like concepts (the ★ symbol, hot balls of gas, twinkling lights in the sky, planets, comets, etc), and obviously not every language is going to group those concepts under the same words with the same nuance.

Knowing this, one might be tempted to say that 恒星（こうせい） is the direct translation for “star”. But this isn’t true either. In most of the contexts that the word “star” is used in english, the equivalent japanese will be simply 星. Despite the meanings not lining up exactly, 星 will still be the best translation for “star” most of the time. This is the art of translation - knowing when the particulars are less important than the vibe or feel of a word. For any word, there will never be an exact perfect translation with all the same nuances and meanings. Translation is about finding the best solution to an unsolvable problem. That's why I love it.

[superbkryptonitecrown]

Bengal tiger ! Moran / King cobra! Moriarty

*used animal photos for references

[nicol378894]

My thoughts and feelings about Sebastian Moran after the end of The Empty House. Contains spoilers!!

Aright. So.

I feel like they ruined Moran in this adventure. At first I was being positive, he was a big bad before the big bad. Shooting John was... interesting choice, but I enjoyed what we could all take from this situation about Sebastian's character - excellent shoot, very dangerous, working closely with Moriarty, almost a hunter.

That was until he said John was dead in third part. This one bit ruined him for me, and I can't find my way around it.

If Sebastian really was shooting to kill, and just got unlucky, then well. He's one of the worst shots there is. Because what do you mean he was standing meters from the man, shoot him in the chest and managed to not hit any vital organs? You have to either be very very good or very very bad shooter for this.

And if he didn't shoot to kill, why talk about John being dead? It just make him look silly when Sherlock and Mariana both knew well John was alive. The taunting could work, but in very different scenario - while John was in surgery, or if Sherlock and Mariana didn't know about his state. Now it just made Sebastian look like he didn't know what we was doing or what we was talking about, and he ended up as over confident asshole who thinks he did something.

Which brings me to my next point, why Sebastian didn't know John was alive? If he works with Moriarty, it would have to imply James also didn't know about John's state. And we know this is not true - James left a voice note for Sherlock as soon as John was in hospital bed, "this should be a reminder to stay out of my business. Moran sends his love". So Moriarty knew John was alive, he didn’t want him dead, and this makes sense. Why Moran though he was dead then? Did Moriarty lied to him? Or kept him in the dark? But that would show that they are not so close, which doesn't make sense in another way - why would Moriarty risk so much just to save a random employee of his from jail? And compare John and Sebastian, suggesting they are two sides of the same coin?

And the ending - is Moran dead? If he is, I can't see John just having a BBQ with his friends on newly found rooftop taras - he barley could handle putting down a dog. You might say he was in the army and killed people before, but he doesn't strike me as a type to just kill without remorse, even if Sebastian was actively threatening Sherlock's life. But if he didn’t kill him, what happened to Moran? Will he go back to prison? Will Moriarty break him out again? Then the stakes will become meaningless - no action will have real consequences if we all will just keep falling back into the status quo. But what else they could do with him, fake his death? Its sound's tiring, there is already too much death faking in this universe, and it would have the same outcome as the previous option - everything looses it's meaning, because it's just faking someone's death over and over again.

I don't know, I don't like what just a few lines of dialogue did with the whole character and everything surrounding him. Not only it made Sebastian look bad, but also James. I really can't come up with a solution to how they can save it right now.

And that is not even mentioning John, fresh out of coma and at risk of never walking again, waking up, momentarily deducing what is going on, somehow getting himself to 221B, seeing Sherlock's wax figure at the bottom of the stairs (and apparently not panicking like Mariana did, even though he figured out they were being hunted down), dragging said wax figure up the stairs, waiting for it to be shoot and then running to the empty house and shooting Moran. All hours after waking up from coma with a shoot wound. Like. What? This all sounds ridiculous even for this podcast's standard. Writers keep putting themselves in more and more difficult positions with their writing choices, and I am slowly losing hope about all this having a coherent conclusion

[thehauntingofharrenhouse]

the real villain of asoiaf is the 500 middle-aged men in positions of power whose egos you must appease in order to accomplish anything at all lest they side against you. and euron greyjoy

[nekoqueenalice]

PSA: AO3 Bots Are Getting Worse (And Here's What You Need To Know)

Alright so if you're active on AO3, you've probably heard about the bot problem. It's been going on for years but it's gotten way worse lately, so here's a breakdown of what's happening and how to protect yourself.

What Are AO3 Bots?

Basically spam accounts that leave comments on fics. They're automated and they've been plaguing the site since like 2021, but they keep getting more sophisticated.

Types of Bots You Might See:

Praise Bots - These leave super generic compliments that could apply to literally any fic. Stuff like "This is pure genius, I'm in awe of your world-building" or "This deserves all recognition." The dead giveaway is when someone praises your "heartwarming" fic when everyone literally died and the earth shattered around them lmao.

Hateful/Cruel Bots - These are the really fucked up ones. They scrape REAL AO3 usernames and attach them to horrible, cruel comments. So innocent people get their names attached to hateful shit they never said. If you see a mean comment, check if the username is clickable - if it's not linked to an actual profile, it's a bot.

Kudos Bots - Some authors have woken up to like 30-60 fake kudos dumped on their fics all at once, with no corresponding increase in hit counts. This completely destroys the metric system especially in smaller fandoms.

AI Accusation Bots - These accuse authors of using ChatGPT or other AI tools, sometimes on fics that are literally older than the AI programs they're being accused of using. Some link to "AI detection tools" which are likely just trying to get you to feed more fics into AI training databases.

Misinformation Bots - A newer type that showed up in May 2025 claiming AO3 was removing works to "conserve server space" and telling authors to delete their own work or risk being banned. Complete bullshit - AO3 has never done this and never will.

Mary Sue Bots - Accuse your OCs of being Mary Sues, even when your fic only has canon characters and no self-inserts at all.

Art Commission Scam Bots - Leave praise then offer to make comic/art commissions of your fic. They get you off-site to Discord or Instagram, take your payment, then either send AI-generated garbage or ghost you completely.

How Do They Work?

The bots comment as unregistered guests and scrape real AO3 usernames to attach to their comments. The username shows up but isn't clickable and has no actual profile associated with it (unless you search for that name directly, which makes it look legit at first).

The newer ones are getting smarter too - they scrape your fic's tags and use them to make the generic praise seem more personalized. So if you tagged "angst" they'll specifically mention emotions and tension.

How To Spot Them:

Username isn't clickable/has no profile

Generic praise that could apply to any fic

Comments that make zero sense for what actually happened in your story

Multiple comments hitting your fics really fast (like 7 comments timestamped over 9 hours)

Sudden spike in kudos with no matching increase in hits

Anyone trying to get you off-site for commissions or services

The Emotional Impact:

This shit genuinely hurts authors. Some don't realize they're bots at first and think the hate comments or AI accusations are real criticism of their writing. There's also concerns from neurodivergent and ESL authors who worry their real comments will be mistaken for bots because their writing style might seem stilted.

And if your username gets stolen? You might have to track down authors and explain that hateful comment wasn't actually you.

What You Can Do:

As an author:

Delete bot comments as soon as you spot them

If it gets bad, lock your comments to registered users only (Settings → Privacy → "Only show your work to registered users")

Report the comments if you can

As a reader/commenter:

Don't panic if your username got stolen - reach out to the author and explain it wasn't you

Keep leaving real comments! Authors need to know there are real people who love their work

Maybe make your comments a bit more specific/personal so authors know you're real

Everyone:

Spread awareness so people know what to look for

Don't feed fics into "AI detection tools" that bots link to

Why Are They Doing This?

Honestly? Probably to keep AI brands in the "fandom news" cycle and create controversy. Some are straight-up scams. Either way, they suck.

Stay safe out there and keep supporting your favorite authors with real comments. We need that genuine engagement now more than ever. 💜

Tagging all my mutuals @ruinationz and @turbotasticnumberone and @cartoon-cat7241 and @cru5h-cascades and @seleyaaaa and @mono-squamblo and @strayfelinez and @strangelilangel and @yukihirop and @rivertheemoo and @meatmedallion and @drownedsilverforever and @senpaipaws and @cartoonlover999 and @byronicmoron and @resolutelymadvermin and @wanka-wanky and @looksmokin and @justwatchedsometv and @oakwoodvida and @human-n0-l0ng3r and @glooberousgoon and @goddess-of-lov3 and @lucifersdog-luci and @casethecreep and @aoihibiki247 and and @klyju and @fleshistic and @golshi-sweetheart and @femmesagemoon222 and @4ggravatez and @resonanthideoutruin and @saddmyths and @homestuckyaoi413 and @blueloky and @divine-vxnity and @ace-productions7 and @fiberopticemoweeb666 and @cryptedlullaby and @3veryth1ngstays and @blossomletters and @alpheiaa and @juniizhq and @sapphicavocado and @bloodybigirl and @yanderehiro and @dnplicoricenutttt and @russkiy-american-dreams and @2catnip4me and @miracle-winkel and @mickyx-x and @biblicallyunhingedtheo and @the-only-good-ai and @prettirei and @unhinged-pink-espresso and @patchofglass

[violetdawn001]

Reblogging this because for some reason, these bots are getting vicious around this Christmas season 2025.

Now to add my two cents as an fanfic writer on Ao3:

These comments will always be unnerving and leave you wondering why the bots are attacking you. The feeling doesn't really go away.

These bots want 3 things: A) Your peace and sanity, B) your bank account, and/or C) your fanfic.

For this end, DO NOT DELETE YOUR FANFIC!!!! Do NOT respond to their comments!! Delete the bot comments instead after reporting them!!!

No, seriously. Don't delete your fanfic. You are just giving those bullies what they want: free license to use YOUR WORK without paying you to feed the AI slop machine. (At least that's the scam right now. There were plenty other scams.)

Once you delete the bot comments instead, go pat yourself on the back for writing such an awesome fanfic that people felt the need to steal it. That your writing is so amazing that people wished to tear you down. This resistance is a sign that you are doing well.

This is not what I expected to post for Christmas, but here we are. Have a blessed day and be safe. Remember, your writing is a gift and thank you for sharing it, even if bots attack you.

[superbkryptonitecrown]

Some tma memes, most of them are Peter-centered.

P5: Jonahlias bets+Panopticon Peter

Plus my lonelyeyes doodle (P6) of Dalmatian pelican! Peter pecking Eurasian eagle owl! jonah

[superbkryptonitecrown]

Hope no one has done this before.

I have no excuse