~(=^. .^)

this blog might have linguistics and pretty ladies on it and here, have a kitty cat

[prokopetz]

Expectation for playable Zelda in Breath of the Wild 2: Badass warrior-princess defeats big gnarly monsters with style and grace.

Reality of playable Zelda in Breath of the Wild 2: A trending YouTube video of Zelda ragdolling all the way down a mountainside and hitting every rock on the way; the top-voted comment simply reads “let Zelda say fuck”.

[chibigaia-art]

watched the entirety of Utena last month so here’s some fanart!!

[dykeactually-deactivated2021061]

@touzen

[ankle-beez]

[mockiatoh]

Okay but while I love y’all’s sad girls crying over a guitar genre, I really do, riot grrl still holds the title for unhinged women and I would die for them. Unfortunately much of the music isn’t very, how do you say, good. But I’d still die for them

[mockiatoh]

Sad girls crying over a guitar in the 20teens is definitely better music but they’re not gonna fuck shit up.

[tanatola]

the princess witch last arc made me love her so much 

[ryuuna]

WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD

[thenib]

Gemma Correll.

[hyrude]

shout out to the hot girl in my playwriting class who responds with “yeah, but that’s derivative of neon genesis evangelion” every time somebody brings up some artsy film i’ve never heard of and they immediately shut up and can’t argue without admitting they’ve seen nge. us regular-looking people could never get away with that. THAT’S what we mean when we say “use your privilege for good” 

[xenosagaepisodeone]

the longer I'm parenting-aged the more I realize how disciplinary oriented parenting styles are significantly more deranged than initially assumed

[xenosagaepisodeone]

me as a teen watching a parent storm across a room to scream at a child for accidentally spilling paint: hm. This is not good.

me as an adult watching another adult storm across a room to scream at a vulnerable and still developing child for accidentally spilling paint: This is my villain origin story

[elderly-scrolls]

dishonored really has the sexiest aesthetic ever. there’s assassins. there’s witches. there’s whales. there’s steampunk tech and shit. a beating heart that tells you peoples darkest secrets. a spooky-looking twink that won’t let you sleep. swarms of rats. it’s just undeniably sexy.

[karshmallow]

sometimes its hard to see the bright side of these difficult times so here's one of god's small mercies 😌🙏

[artemisfowlblog]

Some villain: Hello, Artemis. Artemis: Holly is right outside; one girlish scream from me and she goes into combat mode.

[writingwithcolor]

As a white woman writing PoC characters, I wanted to use AAVE with my two African-American characters but I don't know how well that would translate with my readers. I know I'll have to do a lot of research to understand how to write the language correctly (as with most of my writing), but I would like to know your opinion on this. Should I use AAVE when my characters are code-switching when they are by themselves or with their families? Or should I leave it out of my writing so I don't offend?

Non-Black Writers: AAVE & Code-Switching in Story 

I’m going to present you with two sides. 

My factual opinion with advice on preparing to do this well.

And my personal one, which is to use AAVE sparingly in stories if you’re not a Black writer.

Doing this well

Execution is everything. Approach this as you would adding any secondary language within a story that has a different primary language. In this case, it’s adding African American Vernacular English to a story written in prescriptive, standard English. AAVE may use English words, but syntax (word order), context and so on follow its own rules. Those rules should be respected and there’s not much room to play if you don’t know AAVE. That’s how you get blotched AAVE from people outside of the culture throwing stuff together and making little sense. 

To write AAVE how you think it sounds vs. how it is quickly looks like a mockery or racist stereotyping. 

So the decision to include would truly depend on:

If you research it thoroughly

Have a Black, AAVE-speaking person to check over it 

Research

Our tags as well as Google has plenty of resources for learning, so i’ll avoid being repetitive here. 

Beta readers

As for the importance of having someone read it; just like you wouldn’t use google translate as your sole source for correct translation, you should not rely on what you think you know. There’s nuances that are hard to learn on paper. Plus, as AAVE is almost always spoken along with Standard English, most wouldn’t speak completely in Black English. It could easily be 1-2 sentences in a paragraph of dialogue in which it slips out. 

My personal opinion

Instinctively, I want to say no. Use it sparingly to little as a non-Black writer, because if it’s done poorly, it’ll distract and put me off as a reader. I’d feel betrayed reading this great story with a Black character only to come across poorly-written AAVE. Even done well, in theory, it’s pretty easy to mess up. 

Also, how it is spoken, how often, and to whom varies regionally, within families and even individuals. Just another point of research and decision to make if you do include it! 

For this in particular, I don’t consider it erasure leaving it out, especially if you make it clear the character is African-American in other ways, and include other pieces of culture and representation. Hair and skin care, decor, family life, culture, and cultural events, to name a few things.

Another reason I feel more protective of AAVE is from how commercialized it has become. Black language is under near constant scrutiny, used by non-Black people on the same breath that it’s disrespected. It is seen as a “cool misuse” of English or considered universal “Teen speak.” Sometimes it’s praised, but often made fun of or seen as speaking improperly.

Again, just my perspective and probably differently than how I felt when I started this blog in 2014! I encourage Black readers to share their own.

–Mod Colette

[blst-moved84973478489]

happy 4/20 there’s still black men in jail serving unnecessary jail sentences for marijuana possession 

[jitterati-deactivated20190311]

womanhood and having a voyeuristic relationship with your own pain

[jitterati-deactivated20190311]

“am i suffering beautifully?” “is my agony lovable?”

[24ozsteak]

you ever just hand things to ur pet to sniff so they can feel included

[theradioghost]

when the times get rough and I lose sight of the goal i just. reread “the orange” by wendy cope again & remember. that’s where I’m going folks. sooner or later, whatever it takes.

[theradioghost]

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange— The size of it made us all laugh. I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave— They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange, it made me so happy, As ordinary things often do Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park. This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy. I did all the jobs on my list And enjoyed them and had some time over. I love you. I’m glad I exist.

– “The Orange,” Wendy Cope