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absolutebl · 2 years

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Asian Honorifics & BL - a quick & dirty guide, with examples

You ready for another one of my long broad brush linguistics in BL posts? (As always check the comments for people better than me correcting or adding content. Also I will be updating this post as long as Tumblr lets me fiddle with it.)

Codicil: I’m a dilettante who loves the cultural side of linguistics, and loves to help people understand BL better via language. I attempt to explain things using very simplistic terms and an anthropological approach, I am aware that it’s a lot more complicated. But I’m doing my best.

Codicil 2: This is meant to help BL watchers, not to guide tourists who in intend to travel to these countries.

Honorifics in General - the concept

Honorifics = a title or word implying or expressing status, politeness, or respect.

Many Asian languages employ honorifics in a filial manner (distinguishing status along generational lines with regards to birth year, professional relationship, and parental state). Basically calling someone who is NOT an actual blood relation “older brother” (e.g. Korean hyung or oppa) or “younger sibling” (e.g. Thai nong), or auntie (see many Indian or Latin American cultures). These can also be a kind of endearment in romantic relationships.

The closest most westerns can think of this is that the honorific is used as a way to delineate an intimate relationship/friendship across an age gap, but its implications are not always intimacy. (Except when they very much are, see oppa.)

You may be familiar with a phrases like “we’re so close she’s like my sister” or “he’s like a brother to me.”

However, because most westerners exist in relationships to peers only under the broad umbrella term friend, we will only use “like my sister” or “basically my brother” when someone is particularly dear to us but not sexually.

In most Asian languages, honorifics are more codified. So there is a status conferred by age which dictates honorifics be used. They’re mandatory for communication. Intimacy levels between individuals CAN impact this, but are not the primary decider on what honorific is used under most circumstances. Position in society is.

So these terms are often defined (or even translated) with sibling language. See early Thai BLs translate phi as bro, but that’s not strictly correct.

There are also often honorifics for larger age gaps (so more like auntie or uncle, delineating relationships like adult neighbors or a friend’s parents, or parents’ friends).

And there are honorifics for people in authority positions (like doctors, teachers, bosses) who are usually older (but not always). These honorifics are employed in the arenas of education, hobby activities (like ceramic classes or martial arts) and the workplace.

For many, informality of older to younger will be characterized by use of casual (or rude) language and lack of honorifics (from the older person to the younger one). So the older character will have one mode of address and way of talking, while the younger character exists in a more formal register when they are speaking back to someone older.

In other words, an older person can speak informally to a younger one, but not the reverse. (Yaja time excepted...)

Complexity of Honorifics as Elements of Language

Honorifics can function as titles:

Honorifics can be translated as/like titles. This is is the kind of thing we are most familiar with: Mister, Mrs, Mz, Miss, Master, Mistress, Sir, Madam, Ma’am are all, technically, honorifics. So are certain forms of address and royal titles, “The honorable” for example. Anything you might put in front of a name to add formality in English probubly qualifies as an honorific.

Honorifics can function as pronouns:

Or modes of address. For example the title boss, in English can also be used to call or refer to someone directly. “Hi, boss!” or “my boss” or “the boss says.” Honorifics serve the same function. In this way they can become pronouns. You can, in Korean, just call someone “hyung” it acts as the you pronoun for direct address. And often they can also be used in the 3rd person. So my “hyung” did such and such. This is why hyung = brother in a lot of translations. Because English uses brother in much the same way, it can act as both a 2nd or 3rd person pronoun. (Rarely first, but that’s an issue with English, that our first person pronoun is so inflexible.)

In Thai you can refer to a friend as phi (you pronoun in direct address, or use it as a she/he/they pronoun in third person) or you may refer to yourself as phi (using it as an I pronoun). In other words, phi can entirely replace a person’s name in all linguistic uses.

He/She/They goes to the store = phi goes to the store (when talking about my older friend to someone else)

I go to the store = phi go to the store (when talking to a younger person about my own actions), and

you go to the store = phi go to the sore (when talking to an older friend about something they are going to do - direct address)

Honorifics are also suffixes:

In Korean and Japanese honorifics are also attached to names in the form of suffixes. See the Japanese section. (Also sometimes prefixes, argh.)

Honoring is also attached to particles:

In Thai, polite particles confer respect levels as well, which means they also contain within them certain aspects of status and honorifics. See the Thai section.

The best way to understand honorifics in BL is by example.

Ready?

Korean - Honorific titles: Hyung, Noona, Oppa & Beyond

I’m starting with Korean because it is the most spoken and understood by westerners these days. I can only address this as a layperson who watches too many Kdramas.

Korean names in brief:

In Korea names are said family name first (what we call surname or last name) and then given name second (what we would call first name). Usually the family name is single barreled or one syllable, but the given name is double barreled or two syllables. So: Chu Sang Woo = Chu (family name) Sang Woo (given name, always said together). This is why I will usually refer to BL characters by their first name as a combo, e.g. SangWoo. In formal address, however is would be Chu SangWoo-ssi. Usually the entire name is said (see comments). Even when JaeYoung is being rude he usually says “Chu SangWoo.”

Korean honorifics you’ll hear:

Hyung | hyeong 형 - is said by a younger male when addressing an older male. I will use the term Hyung Romances for BLs that feature a younger seme pursing and older uke because...

Noona | nuna 누나 - is said by a younger male when addressing an older female and is responsible for the accepted series category “Noona romances” which are dramas that feature a younger boy pursuing an older woman.

Oppa 오빠 - is said by a younger female when addressing an older male. Also used by girlfriends addressing their boyfriends, or wanna-be boyfriends. Under a romantic context oppa is considered somewhat cringe/cheesy/cutsie.

Unni | eonni 언니 - is said by a younger female when addressing an older female.

Sunbae | seonbae 선배 - is said by a younger person to an older person (gender neutral) and is more formal. It can be used in the workplace and it mostly about seniority and less familial.

Hoobae | hubae 후배 - is said to/of a younger person, either across a generational gap, or within a workspace environment, again this one is about seniority and less familial.*

Although an older person’s filial and social responsibility to a youngster is always in play.

In Kpop you’ll hear sunbae used a lot by younger (say 4th gen) groups when referring to older groups within the industry. Or when talking about Kpop idols who they don’t personally know (or are so big they’re nervous about any assumption of intimacy). On reality shows like Queendom or Kingdom it’s particularly telling. Some of the funniest moments of Kingdom Legendary Wars is any time Penal (an American from BTOB - an older v established group) tries to convince the youngsters, some of them 10 years his juniors, to use casual language (drop honorifics). The poor things get SO confused.

BL Deeper Meanings behind Hyung

Okay so the best show to watch for this one is Semantic Error.

SangWoo starts out calling JaeYoung sunbae and rarely goes less formal. Technically sunbae is polite, but also slightly insulting in a university narrative of this type. Let me try to explain. Because as they become more intimate, combative or not, friends or frenemies, SangWoo should switch to using hyung, but he pointedly does NOT.

JaeYoung, on the other hand, always uses extremely informal (to the point of rude) language with SangWoo. (Culturally, he allowed such informality as he is SangWoo’s senior both at university, and in age). But you can watch him get annoyed that SangWoo insists on sticking to sunbae, to the point where he demands SangWoo use hyung.

Then after that, anytime SangWoo does use hyung JaeYoung totally melts for it, because it was hard fought and won, and it means something powerful and significant is shifting in their intimacy as a result.

During the mutual kissing at the bar scene, Semantic Error drops yaja time on us. Yaja time is a sanctified reversal of honorifics that essentially allows for a younger person to speak their mind informally and without repercussions (or supposedly so). It’s a kind of way to flirt and tease, but also somewhat taboo and titillating as a game to play when tipsy. You get yaja time in bars/clubs sometimes, like happy hour. If you watch the final episode of Kpop reality show I-land you’ll see a real word example of yaja time in action amongst the contestants, it’s adorable and very funny.

Semantic Error uses yaja time as an opportunity for drunk SangWoo to finally talk about his real feelings, without the pressure of linguistic formality.

They also use it for JaeYoung to drop the sluttiest most flirtatious hyungs in the history of all hyunging. Seriously, the boy is dripping seduction with that one world. Why? Because HE CAN. He is making the formality itself a kind of kink.

You can watch these two on the promo circuit attempt yaja time and even though they have an easy brotherly relationship, you can still see how uncomfortable it makes Jae Chan in particular.

Other honorific play in Semantic Error:

The girl who is interested in dating SangWoo calls him oppa, and ALSO requests to use a nickname+oppa with him (the nickname means lettuce). That is pretty blatant flirting. But note she specifically asks if she is allowed to do so?

Later when JaeYoung confronts her and stakes his claim, notice the thing he really wants corrected is her language with SangWoo? He wants her to go all the way beyond sunbae to formality by using the honorific suffix 씨 (ssi). But there’s also more lettuce wordplay here (I think) because he isn’t insisting she use SangWoo’s full name.

“You should call him Chu-ssi” which is translated into English as “Mr Chu.”

A word on oppa and queerness.

Because the implication is that the person saying oppa is female, you will rarely hear boys use this term for their boyfriends (even if they are out gay, unless they are femme and/or cultivating the association for a very specific and culturally subversive of kinky reason).

Exception: non native speakers who are happy to fart around with us and the Korean social structure. So early on, NCT’s (Kpop monster group) Mark (Canadian) would refer to Yuta (Japanese) as oppa. I’m not gonna unpack their relationship, but trust me when I say, no native Korean idol would have ever done this, not right now in Korea’s current social state. Well... maybe Holland but that’s a whole other discussion.

To complicate matters Korean also uses honorific suffixes, but I’m not gonna go into them here. (Read more about Korean honorifics.)

Instead I’m gonna use Japanese to talk honorific suffixes. Ready?

Japanese - Names & Honorifics: suffixes & titles

Like Korean, Japanese uses both suffixes and title honorifics. But I find the suffixes much easier to hear in Japanese than Korean, probubly because I’ve more experience with the language.

Note: As a foreigner in Japan I’ve alway found it best/easiest to refer to someone using surname-san.

Japanese names in brief:

Names are said family name first and then given name. But actually, given names are rarely, if ever, said AT ALL (after an initial introduction).

In BL dramas almost all character’s names and everyday use name will be the family name. (Children are different, but not many of those in JBL.) Teachers may refer to their students by given name-kun.

So in Old Fashion Cupcake Togawa is his family name (not given name). Nozue (also a surname) who is both older and Togawa’s boss, refers to Togawa simply as Togawa, with no honorifics, probubly because they are both adult characters and have been coworkers for so long, Togawa-kun would be... odd.

Togawa on the other hand, ALWAYS refers to Nozue as Nozue-san. Even in times of EXTREME intimacy the honorific -san is ALWAYS used.

We have no idea what the given names are for these characters because we never got to that point of intimacy in their relationship. In Japanese romances the given name is usually the ultimate intimacy and is not exchanged until well into a relationship, sometimes after sex or even after marriage. You can watch the delicate maneuvering around this aspect of intimacy in the kinky het drama Sweat & Soap (it’s not BL, but I still love it, on Viki.)

Japanese Suffixes you hear the most in BL:

-chan = is intimate and cute for children, or amongst female friends, or female family/intimates (like your grandma)

-kun = is for respected juniors, younger or junior co-workers, or young boys, and amongst friends

-san = is formal/polite and for general use, amongst friends, equals, strangers, and acquaintances

The best BL to watch to hear all three of these in constant use is Minato’s Laundromat.

Shin always calls Minato, Minato-san and gets very annoyed when anyone doesn’t do this who should (he want’s his man properly respected). Note that he puts Minato-san into his phone as Akira, tho... daring boy.

Asuka calls Minato: Akira-san, which he shouldn’t as a kid a generation younger than Minato. He gets away with it because he and Minato are from the same neighborhood and have similar open, friendly natures.

Minato, on the other hand, struggles with what to call Shin. Technically he should use Katsuki-kun or even Katsuki-chan (which is what he uses on Shin’s sister). Which is Shin’s surname + the suffix for a junior. But Minato is a causal person, so he never bothered with a suffix even at first. Now, informal language is fine from an older person to a younger one, if they have the right personality. But under BL circumstances, Minato’s lack of honorifics kind of gave Shin license to flirt. The moment Minato asked if he could use the nickname Shin he was a goner.

As Shin becomes more aggressive in his pursuit, Minato hops desperately between different suffixes to try to control the situation:

Shin (informal and friendly),

Shin-chan (diminutive, under this context = somewhat demeaning, considering what Shin wants from him), Minato is intentionally lowering Shin’s status and emphasizing his youth when he applies -chan,

Shin-kun (when he thinks Shin is mad at him, or in public, or when he is annoyed and wants to add formality and distance)

I talk quite a bit about this in my squee watch of this series.

Putting someone who should be (or is usually) address by one combo of name (first or last) + suffix into another, by changing either the name of the suffix or both, always has narrative significance for character development or plot or both in Japanese romances. Which is why you get more from the story if you train your ear to listen for these.

In the picture above, Takara is using -san for sarcasm and to gently chide Amagi. Usually he just uses Amagi with no honorific (they are the same age, and he is a curt characters) or Amagi-kun in public of for call/response address. He has moved to a higher level of formality for emphasis and to make a point in this scene. Communicating properly and avoiding conflict is a hallmark of his character, also (as the seme) he wants to control Amagi. This is all wrapped up in that personality and attitude. He is being teasing and sarcastic, but he is also stressing that this dialogue is important to him.

Read more on Japanese honorific suffixes here.

Japanese honorific titles you hear the most in BL:

Senpai (先輩、せんぱい) - senior colleague or classmate, roughly equivalent to the Korean sunbae or Thai phi

Sensei (先生、せんせい) - refers to teachers as well as people who are experts in their respective fields, like doctors, artists, professors, martial arts instructors, or lawyers

The best BL to watch for use of honorific titles in Japanese is... bet you thought I wasn’t gonna manage to shoehorn it in.... Seven Days!

*insert wild cheering*

Sereyo (younger) seems to relish and very much enjoy and flirt by using the honorific senpai with Yuzuru. It’s hard to explain, but the way Sereyo says "senpai” whenever they meet is very very... cute.

You can hear these characters use sensei when in archery practice. And you can hear use of some family suffixes and honorifics since we follow both characters back to their respective homes.

Sereyo calls Yuzuru, Yuzuru-san, which is Yuzuru’s GIVEN NAME + the honorific. This is unexpected because Yuzuru is his senior. He should call him by his surname + honorific: Shino-san.

But Sereyo has an issue, which is that Yuzuru has the same last name as his ex-girlfriend, who was also older. So in his previous relationship, Sereyo called his lover: Shino-san, and he doesn’t want to use the same exact name with his new lover, Yuzuru. So despite Yuzuru being his senior, he asks to use Yuzuru’s first name as a mode of address. Yuzuru being the kind of casual blunt personality he is, doesn’t mind the inherent informality and permits this right away.

More on Japanese honorifics here.

Mandarin Chinese Honorifics

Ho boy am I not going to climb into this one. But I will point out that to confuse matters many Chinese honorifics are actually also blood relation titles - 哥 ge (older brother) 弟 di (younger brother) - (like phi/nong, par/ar, hia/jay in Thai). In other words, the honorific actually is both brother (honorable title) and brother (actual word) AND will be applied to cousins. As in: the word for cousin is ALSO the same word as brother.

In Thai to clear up this relationship a character will often have to state it blatantly: "my real actual older bother, by blood, and not an older male friend” (since phi means both) and not a lover. See this grappled with as a jealously plot point in Star in My Mind.

But in some Chinese BLs they will also have to explain and distinguish actual blood relationships as different between cousins and siblings. You can watch Addicted deal with these nuances.

It should be noted for the BL crowd that Mainland Mandarin and Taiwanese Mandarin are ALSO different. So there are language nuances to Taiwanese BL that do not exist in Mainland BL (when it was around) and vice versa. And because Taiwan recognizes equal rights, there is also a whole adapted Chinese linguistic set around queerness.

I’m mentioning Chinese in this post mainly because it will come into play with Thai honorifics: hia & jie/jay 姐. Personally I struggle to even distinguish names let alone honorifics, I find Mandarin a particularly difficult language.

Thai - Honorifics, Pronouns, Particles & beyond phi/nong

I have quite a bit on Thai honorifics and their complexity plus how it relates to BL.

Thai Honorifics Between Ages in BL and real life

More on Thai Linguistic Registers - Particles & Honorifics

Thai Pronouns & Honorifics when Seme/Uke is Flipped

Sarcastic use of honorifics & polite particles in Thai

Linguistic Fun In Thai BL - couples

The Nu Diminutive in Thai

Touch & Daisy in Secret Crush On You - Queer Coded Language and 3rd Gender Identity

The most important thing to know, and how it’s different from Korean, is that phi & nong are gender neutral.

Also honorifics and politeness in Thai plays into both pronoun use and polite particles. Thailand does not have honorific suffixes like Japan or Korea, instead particles (which are kind of like spoken punctuation) come into play.

It’s complicated, in that there are a lots of ways to indicate relationships in Thai. But less complicated in that, at heart, gender doesn’t impact it as much as in Korean or Vietnamese. Instead, like Japanese’s -san, you can default to formal register by remembering to use khun (+ polite particles).

Loosely?

Phi = hyung, noona, unni, oppa, sunbae, or senpai, and its gender neutral.

Nong = hoobae or -kun or -chan, but is rarely used in direct address. Instead, informality in Thai is characterized by use of casual (or rude) language and lack of honorifics (from the older person to the younger one) + rude or informal particles. Nong is also gender neutral and can be used as you pronoun (rarely as I), or as a third person pronoun to refer to pets, or as a diminutive attached to a name, it’s... complicated.

Actually episode 10 of Love Mechanics plays with this. Vee whispers in Mark’s ear the equivalent to “Phi’Vee loves cute nong Masa.” Masa is Mark’s given name and it is Japanese because Mark is half Japanese.

But then, to tease him, Vee lowers his voice (Japanese men speak from low in the chest) and says: Masa-kun. Kind of the Japanese rephrase of the above.

Hia = hyung/oppa (it may be used by a younger male or female but is only use on an older male) and specifically ties to Chinese heritage.

Jie/jay = noona/unni (it may be used by a younger male or female but is only use on an older female) and specifically ties Chinese heritage. It has also been coopted by the queer community and may be translated as “sis” under those circumstances. More about hia here.

Khun = -ssi or -san, and is a gender neutral formal address. It can be a title Khun + Name (first or last), an I/you pronoun, and also a proper name (ya, know, just for s&gs). Also in families that are more formal it is a mode of polite address for parents, Khun Maa for mother, Khun Paa for father.

Vietnamese Honorifics

Vietnamese honorifics and modes of address are not my bailiwick but the amazing @squeakygeeky has been blogging a series around VBL linguistics and it’s queer struggles with pronouns because of bifurcation around gender.

Oh boy was this a lot. And I am sorry to @timelesstoothfairy who originally asked this question, I don’t think they realized what a can of worms it opened up.

Language, how is it SO MUCH FUN?

(source)

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gyuwoncheol · 3 months

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Vantage Point | Meet the Characters & Series Masterlist

Status: Begins tomorrow (January 20)!

Pair: Mingyu × f.reader

Summary: Pulling off the "No Strings Attached" arrangement with his best-friend-turned-best-friend-with-benefits was easy, but when a new condition is added onto the mix, Mingyu didn't realise just how much he held onto you when you finally let go.

Genre: College au. BFFs to FWB trope. Fluff, Humor, Angst, Smut [chapters with smut will be indicated and will contain the necessary warnings]

Author’s Note: Please take time to read this before starting the series ☺️

Hello, my darlings! Finally getting round to posting this after missing the commited date last time due to covid. But welcome!!! 🥳 This is the first story to my Snap Shoot universe! Before you get into it, let me just point a few things. This is the first time I'm ever creating a universe with interwoven stories, and while I've done SMAUs before, this is the first one I've done for SVT and the first time I'm also this adventurous about it. It's definitely very different from what I post on here but I'm having lots of fun putting it together. I know it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, this is very much a work of fiction. This is an AU. While Korea may be the assumed setting for this series, it is not explicitly defined. I'm also trying to avoid using lots of Korean cultural references (maybe except for food) such as use of honorifics like "hyung". While many of my other works refrain from over-describing oc's physical features, you may find that in this series (and universe), oc's features will inevitably be defined. You'll find that the visuals of the characters and the aesthetic of the photos/social media posts will be Korean/ Asian. It's a SMAU, so i'll have to place photos and these photos must maintain consistent. I absolutely do not mean any ill intention of being non-inclusive (I don't even fit the same aesthetic as oc).

Again, it's a work of fiction, while I want you to relate to oc, kindly also allow me breathing space to build the character. If you feel uncomfortable at any point in the series, you are very much welcome to stop/unfollow. As mentioned, this is a SMAU, but it contains several chapters which are purely written narrations. All edits (texts, social media posts, etc.) were done by me, however some photos (esp those of Y/N) are from the web, if they are yours, please let me know so that I may credit you or remove the photo. The texts are all done on light mode. Deal with it. This follows a FWB trope, expect lots of smut and suggestive content— specific smut warnings will be available in chapters where they are present, along with other necessary warnings. This series will have lots of fluff and lots of crackhead nonsense humor. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Biggest shoutout to my dearest friend @wongyuseokie who has been nothing but supportive through all of this and through all my dramatic Mingy-induced meltdowns. I love you more than you’ll ever know ♥️

Meet the Characters

Mingyu: Sophomore, studying Film & Photography, yn/Camie's best friend since childhood

Yn: Sophomore, studying Film & Photography with Mingyu, Mingyu's best friend since childhood. Nicknamed "Camie" by her group of friends for her highly concerning camera collection/obsession.

Seokmin: Sophomore, studying Film & Photography, same friend group as mingyu and yn, Mingyu & Wonwoo's housemate

Soonyoung: technically a year older than the 3, but currently a Sophomore with Gyu, Cam and Seokmin after shifting into their major

Wonwoo: Junior, studying Film & Photography as well, Mingyu's guy best friend and housemate in The Man Cave, a brotherly figure to OC, Soonyoung's former classmate in highschool

The Man Cave: shared house near their university where Mingyu, Wonwoo and Seokmin live, and Soonyoung often crashes.

✨Other characters/members will come as the series progresses.

Series Masterlist

To be populated as each chapter is posted. There is no posting schedule. Chapters will just get uploaded as they come.

Teaser

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five 🔞

Chapter Six 🔞

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Tag List!

@strawberryya @idyllic-ghost @septemberskies @ladyblablabla

If you want to be tagged as each chapter comes out, do send me an ask or reply to this post so I could include you in the tag list 😊

#paula writes ✨#Vantage Point #Snap Shoot Universe #svthub #mingyu smau #mingyu fic #mingyu x oc #mingyu smut #mingyu fluff #svt smau #svt fic

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sirwolficus · 11 months

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The Name

infodump abt usagi yojimbo/samurai rabbit names under cut

listen i always thought it was really weird that in samurai rabbit, yuichi is the given name and usagi is the surname, while in usagi yojimbo, miyamoto is the surname and usagi is the given name. it always gave me big tmnt 87 vibes, where they kept calling miyamoto “usagi yojimbo” which was, you know, the name of the COMIC, not the CHARACTER.

though characters in usagi yojimbo do regularly call miyamoto “usagi”, instead of going by surname, and usually dont have any honorifics. i personally dont know if this is for simplicity? (usagi yojimbo was created in america, by stan sakai who is an asian american, so maybe he simplified it for the western audience?) or for some other reason, but miyamoto isnt used as a given name (atleast not the articles i read) BUT i was looking into it, and while yuichi is a given name, i also found scant instances where its been used as a surname too. obviously this is on the internet so i very well COULD BE WRONG i am fuckin white canadian

anyhows i thought it would be cool if yuichi and miyamoto shared a given name, so in samurai rabbit, the gang is always calling yuichi by his given name bc theyre friends!! :] gennosuke is also a given name, so it makes sense that gen (in both yojimbo and samurai rabbit) is called by his given name similarly to usagi

#my art #usagi yuichi #samurai rabbit #samurai rabbit: the usagi chronicles #the usagi chronicles #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #leonardo #raphael #donatello #leochi #leoichi

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saltyyetbland · 3 months

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ngl im fucking terrified of how the fandom will act when the asian ccs get added and they are confronted with asian customs such as honorifics, asian cultural norms, and the language itself (ie words that are common in one language that sounds like a slur in another) and i know most of the fandom will be open and welcoming but idk im probably being way too pessimistic as someone who is asian and has seen the bs that people can spew esp regarding things like stereotypes

#qsmp #im being really negative rn cause im just really scared #im excited to see asian representation and i really hope to be proven wrong in my pessimism #but i will dropkick anyone who purposefully tries to misinterpret or villainize or sexualize or whatever my culture #its on fucking sight for those kinds of people #even people that just associate one thing for one culture ie japan with anime or korea with kpop #like i swear these countries and cultures are more than just that so please be open to learning more and not just make assumptions #also i am so very scared when it comes to cultural norms esp because qsmp is so damn western ethics and morality focused #i have many thoughts about this in particular but theyre way too complex #but yeah i really hope this event goes well and the new members feel welcomed

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inourtownofhawkins · 1 month

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ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜰɪʀᴇ, ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪ (ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ)

Summary: You are part of the biggest girl group on the planet, Eddie is the face of the biggest rock band of the century. A chance meeting at Coachella sends both of you into what would be the biggest love affair in music history; if only people knew about it.

Pairing: Rockstar!Eddie x K-Pop Idol!Reader

Author's note: My love for K-Pop and Stranger Things/Eddie Munson in one fic? It's more likely than you think. If you don't know much/anything about the K-Pop world, not to worry, I'll be going over some of it in this fic! I'll try to keep the Korean honorific names to a minimum but I do wanna try to keep things as plausible as possible.

Disclaimer: In this fic, I have specified that Reader is not Korean or Asian. As someone who is white; I didn't feel it was right to write a POC character. Please be respectful.

CW: 18+, mentions of unhealthy eating habits, obsessive fan behaviour, toxic work environments, swearing, a little NSFW content, sexting, no use of Y/N but Reader's stage name is Luna.

Tagging: @munsonsbtch @impmunson @binickmiller @ali-r3n @stevesjockstrap

Word count: 2.6k

Any hate will not be tolerated, constructive criticism is welcomed.

APRIL 2019

Coachella was the biggest music festival in the world and playing there was an honour and a privilege; and while Eddie knew this, he found a lot of the hype around it insufferable. He never felt like his band belonged up there with the lights of Beyonce and Justin Bieber, even when Corroded Coffin had exploded with popularity, the larger venues they’d play out would never compare to the smaller shows.

Disliking Coachella when you perform there is one story, disliking Coachella and ending up in the crowd of one of the most talked about acts of the whole festival another matter entirely. But somehow, Gareth had convinced him to leave the tour bus to watch one performance. Only one.

“Why are we even here?” Eddie yelled into Gareth’s ear, trying to make sure he was heard over the screaming and cheering fans that surrounded them. The show hadn’t even started yet but the crowd was already at deafening levels.

“I thought it was high time you experienced a new genre of music,” Gareth yelled back, giving him a smug grin. “Plus, I hear one of the members of the group is a fan of ours.”

Eddie shrugged, knowing that Gareth was right in saying it was time to experience some new music outside of his usual comfort zone. And given the way the stage was set, the flags and lightsticks people were waving and demographic of the crowd; this was definitely outside of his comfort zone. “Who even are they?” he asked, grabbing his phone from his pocket.

Before he had a chance to type a single letter into Google, Gareth took his phone and pulled up a Wikipedia page for the group. “This is them. And before say anything, don’t judge the group before you listen to them.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at his bandmate before looking at the page, giving Gareth even more of the side-eye.

Chain Reaction is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Yoohyeon, Luna, Dahyun, and Yuqi. The group debuted in August 2016 with the digital single “Whistle”.

“K-Pop? Really, Gareth?”

“I said not to judge!” Gareth shrugged, just as the music began starting, causing both of them to look up. Eddie’s ears were already beginning to ring from how loud the fans were screaming; he was used to hearing fans through his in-ear during shows, but this was on a whole other level. Eddie didn’t pay much attention until he noticed the cropped t-shirt on one of the members, recognising the design and logo.

His heart skipped a beat, his mouth dropping open as he looked at Gareth who took the words right out of his mouth, leaning over to shout directly into his ear. “Yup, that’s a Corroded Coffin shirt, she’s a massive fan.”

Eddie chuckled a little to himself, shouting back into Gareth’s ear. “Maybe this won’t be so bad.”

After a couple of songs, the group began their introduction, all speaking in perfect unison and bowing to the still screaming audience. “Hello, we are Chain Reaction!”

A girl with dyed dark blue hair spoke up first, clearly showing her leader position. “Hello, Coachella, my name is Yoohyeon and I’m so thankful you all came out to see us!”

The crowd screamed as a response, causing the group to laugh and clap long. Then you spoke up, your long blonde hair making you stand out against the other members. “Hello, everyone,” you began, and Eddie’s heart instantly melted at your soft voice, especially at your accent. “My name is Luna, and I hope you enjoy the show.” You bowed a little, pulling down your shirt a little to make sure it wasn’t exposing too much.

As the other members introduced themselves, Eddie could hardly focus on them, he was far too interested in staring at you. He vaguely knew Yuqi had natural dark brown hair and Dahyun had dark purple hair – the only way he knew he could remember to tell them apart, probably a move from their manager so people could tell the difference.

Gareth noticed him staring, giving him a nudge. “Somebody’s got a crush.”

He glared back. “I just think she’s cute, completely not my type.”

Gareth gave him the look of “yeah, we’ll see about that”, already knowing that Eddie would at least attempt to hook up with you after the show. It was inevitable, it happened at any event or show he attended. The only thing Eddie Munson loved more than music, was women. It was rare if his hotel room didn’t have a groupie in it; and being the biggest rock band in the world meant there was an abundance of them wherever they went, Eddie would always have one on his arm by the end of the night.

Although the idea of you and Eddie together was adorable – a rock legend and a pop princess together? You’d be media darlings – although Gareth knew it would be like playing with fire. The fans of both of your groups would rip both of you and the relationship apart, the constant invasion of privacy from fans and the press alike would be almost unbearable.

But that’s the downside to being a public figure and dating someone just as well-known as you are.

Eddie wasn’t known for long term dating, either. The longest relationship Gareth had ever seen him in was his “high school sweetheart”, Chrissy Cunningham, only ended up lasting less than a year. Every other girl he’d been with wouldn’t last longer than a few weeks, he’d always blame it on his career, but Gareth knew that in reality, Eddie just didn’t want to be tied down to one person.

You, on the other hand, had no public relationship history. Being a K-Pop idol left almost no time for dating or even much of a social life outside of groupmates; and if a female idol was seen with a male idol outside of activities, fans would go wild and instantly assume they’re dating and usually boycott the idols for “betraying” them.

Once the group finished their final song; the crowd screamed and cheered, causing almost every member to look as if they were ready to burst into tears of happiness. The four of you joined hands to bow towards the audience as a thank you before you spoke up. “Coachella, we have been Chain Reaction; thank you very much and goodnight!”

Eddie kept his eyes on you, almost unable to take his eyes off you. You gave one last smile to the crowd, waving as you turned to lock eyes with Eddie. Even through the pandemonium that surrounded both of you, it all seemed to dissolve as if you were the only ones there.

You had to be almost dragged off the stage by your bandmates otherwise you would’ve spent all night just staring at Eddie. But even while you were being dragged off stage, you were desperately trying to find Eddie’s eyes again. You hoped you would be able to properly talk to him, even if you had to do it behind your manager’s back.

Backstage, the staff were cheering and applauding you and the band, giving their congratulations, and offering fans and water. You sprinted towards Yoohyeon, wrapping your arms tightly around your senior. The pair of you hugged tightly as you both broke down in floods of tears.

“This is all we ever dreamed of, unnie,” you sobbed, taking a tissue from a staff member to dab at your eyes, being careful not to ruin your makeup. Yoohyeon took the tissue from you and began trying to stop your tears. “I’m so proud of you.”

Yoohyeon laughed through her own tears, not caring if they ruined her makeup. “I’m proud of us, we’ve worked so hard for this, and you were perfect.”

You laughed a little through your tears, turning to the other two members and motioning them to come over and join in a group hug. Although there was only about a month between the two of you; Yoohyeon was definitely the older sister and mother of the group, and you were the baby sister who needed looking after and a lot of hugs.

You’d always been extremely close, even since your trainee days. Every night, you would tell each other that you’d debut together, no matter how hard you’d have to train or what you had to sacrifice.

But every member had sacrificed so much even to just get past the first audition; you’d given up school, friends, family, any chance of a normal life for one tiny shot at making it. But in that moment, all four of you knew that all the blood, sweat and tears you’d all poured into training was worth it. You’d all made it.

Walking arm in arm with Yoohyeon, the pair of you walked down the stairs to the artists area away from the stage, always looking back every few moments to check your younger bandmates were following behind both of you. You tapped Yoohyeon’s arm to stop her to let your members catch up, so all four of you could give your manager, Steve a celebratory hug.

As soon as you stepped into the artists area and saw Steve, you couldn’t control the excitement and relief of the performance; you screamed and sprinted towards him, jumping into his arms, and barely giving him enough time to catch you. You got on well with Steve, he became like a big brother to you and your fellow band members, even if he was a little strict with the four of you, but it certainly came out of a place of love and wanting the best for all of you.

“You were amazing out there,” Steve hugged you tightly, pressing a kiss to the side of your head as he slowly let you down out of his arms and handed you a water bottle with a straw in the top.

“Think we won ‘em over, boss?” You asked, smirking as you placed the straw in the side of your lips.

“Won them over? You guys have done more than that, Twitter is exploding, you’re the top five trends on Naver, you guys are all anyone’s talking about,” Steve grinned.

“We’ve made it!” You shouted in unison with your band mates, before all of you laughed and hugged. Sure, Chain Reaction was very successful in South Korea, but this was a whole new level of success and recognition. All eyes were on your group and despite that new level of pressure, you all thrived under it; the challenge was exciting to all of you.

Your bandmates took their seats and chatted excitedly amongst themselves, while you leaned against the wall, taking in every moment around you. You hadn’t even realised you’d zoned out until Eddie was stood in front of you. “I know I’m beautiful, but you could at least take a picture if you’re gonna look that much,” he smirked.

You blinked a million times in a second, partly to snap yourself out of your zoned out state but also partly because you could hardly believe your eyes that Eddie Munson – the Eddie Munson – was stood in front of you. You’d been starstruck almost ever since you arrived in California several days beforehand, but this was on a whole other level.

The memories of listening to Corroded Coffin late at night during your trainee days flashed through your mind a million miles an hour, how much their lyrics kept you going when you thought you might quit and how you’d spend so much of your free time watching their performances, hooked on Eddie’s stage presence.

And now he was here in front of you, talking to you.

It was all so surreal.

You blinked again, clearing your throat. “Sorry, I completely zoned out.”

Eddie laughed, nodding his head. “Happens to a lot of people, did you wanna get out of here? Go somewhere a little quieter?”

You nodded and before you could even say a word, Eddie took your hand and led you out of the area and around the back of the crowds of staff and tents, towards Corroded Coffin’s tour bus. You somewhat wanted to protest but you weren’t about to stop this once in a lifetime chance to talk with Eddie, so you kept your mouth shut as he opened the door for you to get inside before following you inside.

“Don’t worry, everyone else is enjoying the festival, they’re not gonna be back for a while. Can I get you a drink?” He asked, moving past you towards a small fridge.

You bit your bottom lip as you walked through the bus, taking a seat at the table. “Just some water… or a Coke if you have it.”

“Lucky for you,” he pulled the fridge door open and pulled out a water bottle and a small can of Coke, placing both on the table before sitting down opposite you. “I have both.”

You smiled softly as you took both drinks, taking a long sip of the cold water. “I suppose I haven’t really introduced myself; everyone calls me Luna,” you held out your hand towards Eddie.

Instead of shaking it, he took it and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand. “And what’s the name your mother gave you? Not the name the company gave you.”

Blushing darkly, you whispered out your birth name. It had been so long since anyone had even asked your real name that “Luna” more or less became your real name. But Eddie seemed to actually want to get to know you, the kiss on the hand was just a cherry on top.

“Beautiful name,” he mused. “It suits you better than the crappy stage name they gave you. How’d you even allow it to happen?”

You laughed softly as you took your hand back, wrapping it around the Coke can. “I was sixteen and very naïve when I came to Korea.”

“You were only sixteen?”

You nodded. “I auditioned for the company when I was about sixteen and then I moved to South Korea a few months later, it all happened pretty fast when I look back at it. I debuted when I was twenty.”

He sat back in the chair. “Looks like we debuted at the same age, I was twenty when our first album came out.”

“I never realised that! I listened to you guys throughout my whole trainee period, it really helped keep the passion for music alive for me.”

He smiled softly. “Well I’m glad it helped at least one person, that’s all that matters honestly. So… tell me more about you.”

You smiled back at him, leaning forward in your chair to get closer to him, beginning to babble about yourself, all the while he just looked at you with such care in his eyes, hooked on your every word.

After almost an hour, talk got to your company and just how hard it was being an idol. “Under contract, we’re not allowed to; drive, buy a car, smoke, drink, date, go clubbing, get plastic surgery, get tattoos, travel for a holiday, write and produce our own music, have control over our own money or our image. We can’t even show our faces in vlogs our friends have made.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure that’s slavery.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Trust me, this is heaven compared to how contracts used to be.”

He chuckled a little, placing a hand over yours. “Listen, I should let you get back to your members or your manager might have my head, but could I get your number and we could do this again sometime?”

You smiled, nodding. “Of course.”

#spilled ink #playing with fire #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson #eddie x reader #eddie munson x reader #rockstar!eddie x reader #rockstar!eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #joseph quinn #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader

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respectthepetty · 1 year

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Lost in Translation

I saw this image recently, and instead of hijacking that perfectly good post, I thought it best to write my own.

Because this a very real issue, even when watching a show or movie.

Mostly when it comes to watching queer media that already incorporates a coded language due to the topic.

Many people watching Portrait of a Lady on Fire in another language didn't realize the significance of the final scene between these two because they didn't understand French.

The entire movie, they used the formal form of you basically referring to each other as madam, but at the end, they use informal you, and it shows the intimacy that has developed between them. If you didn't understand French or romance languages, you probably missed it!

It happens often in Asian dramas as well because they use honorifics that don't get translated with the same significance.

These two in Ghost Host, Ghost House skipped over the traditional honorifics and instead opted for you and I. It was important because even when they were fighting, they still saw each other as equals.

This was a big moment in Semantic Error, but if you watched it with just the translation on one streaming platform

You would have missed the urgency of the scene because he finally showed respect for this person and the relationship they had developed.

And often, the translations of colloquialisms (slang or informal language) are literal so context is omitted.

I would pay $$$ for annotated subtitles (like from Viki, depending on the team, Idol Factory does a good job, and Lazy Subber, please come back!) because they explain the context we would miss in the literal translations.

In Thailand black bean is (derogatory) slang for gay sex, so asking if someone wants black beans is coded language.

When Knock asks his girlfriend if she is itchy in Together With Me, if the audience doesn't speak Thai, they understand the flow of the conversation as being logical since Knock's girlfriend just mentioned getting bit by mosquitoes and wanting to go inside. However, the show does a strange sequence that indicates this moment meant something...more.

Because asking if someone is itchy in Thai is asking if they are horny. Knock is asking his girlfriend if she is horny and if that's why she wants to go inside. That's missed in the translation.

This happened in Love Mechanics as well. Vee asks Mark if he wants him to come inside to watch a series. It seems innocent enough, but Mark's reaction is aggressively upset.

It's because this is equivalent to America's Netflix and Chill or Korea's Wanna Eat Ramen?. Vee is asking Mark if he would like to YouTube and Lube. Vee is asking Mark if he wants to have sex! That is missed in the translation.

Big Dragon had this issue with different translations on different streaming platforms in regards to this scene:

Some platforms translated Yai as saying "You're a pain in the ass, really" while others used "You're a pain in the ass, literally." It's a small change, but Mangkorn smiles afterwards because he gets what Yai is saying and is a literal pain in the ass. Yai had to visit a doctor after their first sexual encounter because Mangkorn was so rough it caused Yai pain...in his ass, and they just had sex again.

Language is a cultural tool, so although it incorporates a lot of implied knowledge, it's subtle. If the audience is missing the cultural context, an entire narrative can be easily missed.

This is also the case with intonation aka the rise in pitch when speaking or emphasis on a particular word - Why is this here? vs. Why is this here? - One is asking why this specific item is outside instead of another item, while the second asks why that specific item is outside instead of another location. If we don't know the language, it's hard to decipher when the intonation causes a change in meaning.

So the next time you are watching a series in another language and think the dialogue is lacking, understand it's probably because you don't speak the language. Sometimes the substance is lost in translation.

It's okay, but ask questions, do some research, and try to learn, so the next time someone asks if you want ramen, you can smile and say enthusiastically "YES!"

EDIT - Adding more links from others that show examples:

Extraordinary Attorney Woo - The cat's butler scene

My Engineer - Cool Kid Nickname

English in KinnPorsche as deception

#portrait of a lady on fire #ghost host ghost house #together with me #love mechanics #big dragon #semantic error #lost in translation #words mean things #language is a cultural tool #so sometimes we are missing context #translators are doing the Lord's work #but sometimes we need annotations #I want to know every language #and every cultural reference #I want to be in the know of inside jokes #I want to understand everything all at once and all the time

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gentleharu · 1 year

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Akihiko's polite speech during the confession scene is such a sweet detail in Japanese, especially given how Akihiko and Haruki normally speak with one another.

Asian languages tend to have polite versions of speech that sadly can get lost in translation when translated to English. Japanese is even one of those language systems that officially have so-called "polite speech" as opposed to "casual speech".

In this scene, Akihiko uses words and phrases like "ii desu ka" and "kudasai". "Ii" means "good" and is a neutral word. The "desu ka" part is formal/polite. "Desu" is something like the English "is" and can be used in casual speech, but "ka" is a polite speech question marker—that is, it tells you that the person is asking a question regardless of their tone (if the person is speaking) or punctuation ("ka" is usually punctuated with a period). The casual version of this question would have been, "Sawatte (touch) mo ii?" without the "desu ka" part, basically meaning, "Is it good/okay to touch [you]?"

Likewise, "Ore to (with me) tsukiatte (go out/date) kudasai (please)" is politely asking someone to go out with you. Technically, you can ask someone to do something in casual speech by dropping "kudasai" and just using the imperative version of a word ("tsukiau" is the verb meaning "to go out with", and "tsukiatte" is the form it takes if you're telling/asking someone to do that action) would be the casual version.

All of this is very different to how Akihiko and Haruki usually talk with one another. For example:

Here, Akihiko is saying, "Warui (my bad) ... kyou (today) omae'nchi de ii (is it okay if I go to your house)?" Note that it's in casual speech. In fact, Akihiko has a lazy way of talking so he tends to slur words together like "omae no (your) uchi (home)". He does this a lot with Haruki.

And here, Haruki is asking, "Akihiko, ocha (tea) o katte (bought) kureta (did do [for me])?" The question is also in casual speech.

And then their text exchange, Akihiko asks, "Mada okiteru (still awake)?" and Haruki responds with "Okiteru (still awake) yo", with "yo" even being like a casual/light/friendly ending to his statement. Politely, this would have been, "Mada okite imasu (awake still /polite form) ka," and "Hai (yes), okite imasu (still awake /polite form)."

Akihiko's later, "Tometekun'ne?" is once again like a shortened version of "tometekunai (won't allow to stay over) ne?" like, "Won't you let me stay over?"

Basically, Akihiko speaks very casually with Haruki. He doesn't even use honorifics with Haruki even when Haruki is older and a senior in the same university. (Likely he might have used one before? But at some point dropped it when he and Haruki became friends/bandmates.)

But during the confession scene, Akihiko had been working hard to be someone Haruki would approve of. He wasn't just asking out a friend; he was asking out somebody he admired, whom he hurt and who had every right to refuse him. He was on his knees, humbling himself in front of Haruki, and he was shaking with nerves.

In fact, Akihiko legit had an entire speech going, but Haruki spoke as usual—he probably found Akihiko and his tone to be too intense lol—and reverted their exchange back to something less formal.

Here's their full scene:

Haruki goes, "Ii yo" and it's his usual way of speaking with Akihiko (see: text messages exchange). Akihiko, surprised presumably by how easily Haruki agreed after everything that happened between them, dropped the formal speech and just goes, "Maji (serious)?"

And honestly, same.

#meta #akiharu #confession scene #nakayama haruki #kaji akihiko #given #given anime #oh haruki #way too easy

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room-surprise · 8 days

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Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 2, Episode 16 review

My darling Kabru returns again...

Another good episode!

Kabru's English voice actor does a better job in this episode. I still think he sounds like he's congested or like he's talking with a sock stuffed in his mouth (nasal? muffled? mumbling? it's hard for me to describe what this vocal quality is and why it grates on me) I'm excited to hear his performance in the next episode, maybe he'll impress me with his range once things get more serious...

This episode had a few cuts that were sad! Some internal dialog, and the moment where everyone in the party pats Chilchuck on the head and tells him he's a "good little lad"

Cutting thoughts out isn't new though, Trigger's been mostly excluding thoughts from the anime whenever it's been reasonable... and the cuts in this episode aren't too egregious.

We'll see if they keep in some of the more essential mental dialog in the next episode or not.

This episode is very talky but I like it a lot, I kind of wish there was more time to slow down and appreciate all the things that are happening... but I know they need to keep things moving. The great thing about manga is you can read it as slowly as you want, and take your time to absorb it.

Laios is being soooo cute about Toshiro. He likes Toshiro so much, it's so adorable and so sad lmao.

They kept in the bit where Maizuru calls everyone else something rude but calls Rin O-Rin... kind of annoyed that they didn't translate it as Lady Rin or something, since that means viewers that don't know O- is an honorific won't understand that Maizuru is only treating Rin, who is Asian-looking, with respect. A minor but important clue/foreshadowing for later!

I think unfortunately it's much more obvious that Izu's a catgirl in animation, since they made her head covering move with her ears... would have liked for it to be more of a surprise.

Dub specific thoughts:

I really don't know what to think of Bang Zoom's casting choices... They've clearly gone out of their way to cast minority characters with minority actors, and they are clearly trying to keep things somewhat accurate...

But then you have Kabru, an Indian-coded character played by a black American actor.

And then you also have all of Toshiro's party played by East Asian actors... except for Toshiro and Izutsumi. The two characters who are actually the most important to the story, the two biggest roles.

(I could of course be wrong about the ethnicity of Toshiro and Izu's English voice actors.)

I of course understand that things happen! Sometimes the person you hire for a role is mostly based on schedule availability! But still... Seems weird, seems a little sus.

Especially with what they did with Leed.

Despite all of this, the performances are still great! So now I'm looking forward to the next episode...

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #spoilers #review

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akookminsupporter · 1 year

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Rosie, new fan and follower here. Really like your rational approach. Not an ask, but just a thought: I have been around shipping Jikook from 2018 or so. And as I watched yesterday’s live, I exactly imagined for this to happen. The largest shipping fandom being thrilled about J being Jungkook, the Vkook live being the epitome of true love or even a stepping stone to their coming out defying Hybe and Jkkr folks fully having a meltdown because J above M isn’t for JM.

I have nothing to say about Vkookers. I don’t mind any ships really, I find some of them adorable actually- like Taegi makes me crack up and Minomoni energy is so FREAKING cute. Ship whoever man. It’s a fragment of your imagination any way. What we think isn’t influencing reality in any way. But I draw the line at hating on another person to make your ship valid. So if you are gonna tell me JM is the reason Vkook isn’t together and you have to paint him in the most horrendous paint to sustain your ship, miss me with it. I can’t stand that. They have all been friends for a decade. And while I agree that they might not be as thick as they were once, they still are what you call second family. You don’t live together for 7 years and not have some kind of fondness for the other person. None of them are actively trying to cause damage to each other.

My bone to pick with is with JKKRs: I am sorry what? What did you all think he will do when he started explaining his tats? Even if it was meant for JM (which it isn’t from what he said), he would scream it out to the world? Yes, I am mentally married to my bandmate from the biggest music group that’s responsible for at least tens of billions each year? My country(which is extremely homophobic) thinks of us as the proud sons of Korea and we are considered a national treasure, we are a part of the President’s convoy, our everyday life is deeply intertwined with bureaucracy, business and even national GDP, but screw it, let’s throw caution in the wind? I am a south East Asian dating an East Asian in a very Queerphobic country. I live in Asia and I can promise you, despite how powerful you are, you just can’t ever admit to being Queer publicly without ultimately getting your ass whopped. In this case, there are 5 others and a whole ass company they love and want to protect? What’s with these expectations? Do we all think coming out as typically as you would see in a Netflix movie is the way it works? This isn’t a western centric situation where you get out pours of support when you come out. I don’t think the fandom even fathoms the scale of reaction that would erupt if any of them announce they are queer. I come from a very progressive family, they still don’t know my sexuality. Only my closest friends know, that’s it. Unless I am moving to a a country where queer relationships and marriages are legal and is safely tolerated, I will never be able to say it loud. I can get lynched, mobbed, honour killed. I will for sure be an outcast, I will lose relationships over this. I know BTS will never face any of these, they will get protection and all that, but man, I can’t believe that’s what we are expecting. Sure he could have not talked about his J tattoo, would that leave more room for confusion though? That boy wanted to show off his tattoos. Let him live Jeez.

We don’t know a 100 percent if they are/were together. We see some things that we relate to and make our assumptions. I love them together. They are my comfort space, I appreciate that they share little nuggets of their lives with us. But that’s all we have, little crumbs they left that has since been edited , proofed and vetted. Or things that slip out of them while on lives. We don’t know the full picture, we don’t even know one hundredth of it. They don’t owe us anything, they don’t do things to appease us. That man sang Vibe and only knew JM’s part (lol me), he did the signature move, dropped honorifics with JIMIN when he saw the poster and said he was cool. None of this registered, we couldn’t be happy because he didn’t tell us his tattoo on his ring finger stands for his supposed partner? Let’s please do better. Also the whole bunch complaining about he lives alone with Bam. Yes, folks have their own places that they can go back to routinely, because they are adults? Especially in a country where property ownership is public information? Also, you saw an empty room with hangers and a karaoke machine. How do you know he’s alone? I truly believe we will never catch them together in their houses or whatever reflections on TV. If they are together, they would be SOOOOO very cautious about even remotely creating suspicions. They know to tread the line of carefully of being implicated and deniability. Please just chill y’all and enjoy the moments. Not everything they do is to validate what we think. Please let’s just take a breather and be sensitive yeah?

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. I am tired of them being treated as drama characters who need to have an ulterior motive for everything they do. They deserve to just exist.

Anon, THANK YOU for your ted talk. More than one needs to read this. Welcome to my blog, we are cool over here, I promised.

Please just chill y’all and enjoy the moments. Not everything they do is to validate what we think.

Yes to this and to everything you said, thank you!

OPINIONS.

#anon #ask #JK #JM #JKJJMP #jkkrs #insecure jkkrs #jikookphobics #wlive

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dark-nimbus · 7 months

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My Opinions on Anime and Manga in Western Countries

CW: fetishization, oversexualization, racial stereotyping, as always lmk if I’m missing anything

Everytime I tell someone I'm not an avid fan of anime or manga, the usual response is shock and confusion, paired with "how?? But you're Asian!"

What hasn't occurred to them, I assume, is that those kinds of stereotypes are part of why I'm not a huge fan

Do I hate all anime and manga? No, not at all. In fact I do have a few books and shows that I enjoy, my favorite manga of all time being Arslan Senki (go check it out, the series is criminally underrated). However, I'm very picky about which ones I read and watch, and for very good reason. To be more specific, I'm not a fan of anime and manga as it's been generally received by Western countries

For the record: if you're from the Americas and like manga and anime, this is not me dogging on you. Everyone has the right to enjoy what they do, as long as they aren't harming anyone or their integrity

Now unfortunately, in my experience I've had to deal with the not harmless enjoyers more often than not

Take the first sentence of this post as an example. People always expect me to be largely enthusiastic about East Asian-originating media, despite knowing I've spent the vast majority of my life living in the middle of the US and was raised by people who are the furthest thing from Asian. I know next to nothing about my heritage or my culture and have grown up completely in American society, but even with this knowledge I'll still be met with shocked expressions when I say I've never watched whatever show or how anime isn't my favorite thing in the world. All because I look a certain way

That stereotyping attachment of race to media is just one of the many reasons I don't like anime or manga, and it unfortunately goes deeper than that

Japan already has an issue of oversexualizing women in their media, and you can see it in the skimpy outfits, big boobs, giant eyes, petite forms, and overall simping mannerisms they have towards male characters. This is by no means found in every show or book, but it's present in most. Even Arslan Senki, my favorite manga, favors putting Farangis, a priestess, in a sexualizing outfit over living up to the rest of the story's historical authenticity. With anime and manga growing more popular in the West, the impact of how women are portrayed is reflected in how people interact more and more

I can't tell you how many times I've had to hear about how people, from first dates to classmates to random strangers have fetishized Asian women because they wanted someone to live out their weird anime fantasies with. Hell, I have some stories of my own too. I've known Asian content creators who've been left creepy comments from viewers, some of which asking for them to talk in a high-pitched whiney "anime girl" voice and say a sexualized line using Japanese honorifics in a fetishizing manner. Asian cosplayers will constantly get demands to dress up in a maid outfit or cosplay certain anime characters for them to "simp" over

Even other cosplayers aren't safe from fetishizers. Other PoC cosplayers, black cosplayers especially, are consistently put on blast for cosplaying anime characters because those characters "aren't black." If it's not an Asian cosplayer, the creeps' fetishizing fantasies can't be lived up to, so they give black cosplayers shit instead. But gods forbid they do the same to white cosplayers, since being white is always the default to them apparently. How dare anyone try to give a white cosplayer shit for cosplaying a Japanese character when all anime characters are Japanese, that's unfair to them, right? But it's okay to have a double standard because the characters look white enough, right?

There was even a Japanese boxer from a few months ago that people latched onto, because apparently any East Asian guy with messy blond hair looks like Bakugo. MHA fangirls, many of which being minors, went crazy on him, making comments that are far from appropriate for that kind of interaction and fully reimagining this completely real human being as a fictional character for their own fetishizing purposes

If we're not stereotyped, we're being sexualized. The spreading influence of fetishizing Asian people only grows with the popularity of anime and manga in countries further west. It's been used to thirst, hit on, even threaten East Asian people, women especially. Our safety and comfort has been royally screwed by anime "simps" and it only continues to worsen, even more so for Asian Americans and content creators

One of the worst things about being Asian and growing up in America is how anime was the closest thing to connecting to my culture, and what did anime tell little me about being Asian? That my skin had to be pale, my eyes wide, I had to be short and curvy, and I had to sound ultra-feminine. Those were the values that the world expected out of me. Cassandra Cain was there to be my saving grace, thankfully, but the impression anime girls have on others will never be a positive or realistic one unless Japan re-evaluates its media as a whole and non-Asian viewers can find the maturity to not implement the same things on other people

#nerd shit #anime #anime / manga #misrepresentation #fetishization #stop fetishizing asians #asian representation #arslan senki #manga #rant post #mha #mha bakugou #cosplay #nerd #nerd talks #bipoc #stereotypes #anime and manga #star scrivening

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