#to be clear this isnt me feeling bad or inadequate

[narelleart]

I have such a hard time putting my research interests into words - strange for me, given how much I write and how wordy I am.

I see other students in my position that can rattle off very impressive niches they want to be working in within their field. Nice little one-liners that can wrap up their interests in a neat little bow. I want one of those.

I think part of my problem is that in my field, you just can’t be quite so specific? I was questioned for having possibly too narrow of interests because I want to study Southeast Asian fishes - a broad, speciose region comprised of many countries and habitat types. And I recognize that part of that is because people are moving more and more away from studying fishes by region or even group and often more into techniques. But my research interests aren’t motivated by the techniques I’ll be using, otherwise I’d be a more general biologist and not an ichthyologist specifically. I’m in it for the fish. Their physiology and behavior are what draw me, and wow is that broad.

The closest I’ve gotten to explaining my interest is focusing on adaptations in response to environmental conditions, particularly in the case of extremophiles? (Wow do I want to get lost in studying acidophiles in peat swamps - some quick, not at all thorough literature searches suggest we still don’t really understand how they manage to live in those conditions??? Beyond the levels of acidity where most species would cease reproduction and die.) But that’s pretty much me going “idk fish evolution is neat,” with a dash of “I really like those little guys that should be dead but are still making it happen somehow.”

It feels incredibly broad compared to my peers, who are pinning down super specific physiological mechanisms to study, and similar topics.

#i want to be able to include little blurbs about my research interests on my academic profiles #but you have to be able to write the blurb to do that #and im not satisfied with anything ive put together so far #to be clear this isnt me feeling bad or inadequate #i am frustrated that i cant find the words #the comparison to peers is just referencing the standard i want to reach #counterpoint #i just drop the fish evolution is neat i like those guys that should be dead lines in all my bios #professionalism out the window but an accurate description of what i want to be researching

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 4 episode 1 (Truth)

(Yes the real review this time)

Spoilers below

-So the only way someone can fix a miraculous is if they are rich, F***ING FIGURES

-Marinette's guardian box has unique surprises.

-TIKKI IN TINY HATS IS EVERYTHING!

-KWAMI PARTY

-Trixx called dibs on Alya.

-The Kwami were adorable.

-Luka gets sent a pic of Marinette's room, the one side with all the Adrien posters. And he is okay with it? Dude.... no.

-Okay so Tom and Sabine know that marinette is trying things with Luka. I wanted a bit more dialogue, but it was cute.

-I am no lukanette fan, but them quizzing each other on Jagged stone facts was kind of adorable.

-The guitar pick, I wonder how THAT will be used later

-And they are gonna kiss... NOT! Cause terrorism. (I am not joking.)

-Chat noir is chill with Ladybug being guardian as long as they are still cool.

-And she arrives back JUST as the movie ends. And Luka aint even mad? How?

-Did they really just make a montage of every time Luka got C-blocked?! That's hilarious and tragic.

-Is Luka actually annoyed? HE IS! Look at that folks, HE DOES HAVE FEELINGS. An excellent day for character development.

-Okay the Le Seine scene was dumb in the first half.

-Did... Did Luka just confirm he is a cuck? I am not kidding. "I don't care if you are still in love with Adrien? I just want you to tell me the truth." He just wants the truth. He wants to know he is getting cucked.

-Luka getting some character development 'Is all about Honesty' Gotta say, great trait for him. It adds some lovely depth to his character.

-WOW, HE LOOKED SO BROKEN THERE.

-Shadowmoth look ugly. But that conversation with Luka? TOP TIER.

-THIS IS THE LUKA AKUMA EPISODE WE HAVE BEEN MISSING.

-So all of marinette's friends confirmed she is in love with Adrien.

-"THAT ISNT A SECRET!" Luka... are you okay? I am starting to feel bad now.

-I KNEW IT! I KNEW ANARKE BANGED JAGGED STONE. LUKA IS THERE SON?!

-Ladybug getting saved by Chat noir.

-So thats why she had the belt over her lips.

-Also, Truth is a legit threat to the heroes. Can we take a moment to appreciate that.

-Jagged pulling a reverse Micheal Jackson and confirming that Anarke was his lover.

-Jagged confirms he left his family because he felt inadequate. But then turned it into a song. THATS HILARIOUS AND TRAGIC!

-Ladybug and Chat noir distracting Pharo (who is my new favorite sentimonster).

-Alright, I often complained about the choreography of akuma fights. But I REALLY liked this fight with Truth. It had good flow to it.

-CONFIRMED! Ladybug loves Chat noir's humor.

-Also top tier Ladynoir banter today.

-Alright folks and the final verdict.

-ITS OVER! MARINETTE AND LUKA BREAK IT OFF BEFORE EVEN GETTING OFF THE GROUND!

-Look Luka, buddy. I feel like you knew this was coming before it even happened. And I kind of feel bad.

-Luka meeting up with his father was touching, Jagged, raise your son!

-Marinette needs comfort. Kwami group hug.

_____________________________________________________________

WOW! That episode was really something. First episode of season 4 and so much emotion jam packed into it.

I was skeptical. I didn't want to believe. I didn't want to get my hopes up. But it delivered pretty well.

Now it isn't flawless, there are some clear plot holes and some cringe.

But for an ML episode. I would rate it on the higher end.

This is what Silencer COULD have been.

9.5/10

#ml #miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #ml season 4 #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #truth #ml season 4 spoilers #such a good episode

[apprenticeofcups]

i cant tell if its just me but isnt it kinda busted that nix has only said anything abt asra being nonbinary Outside of the game? bc im kinda mad that they make money off of a shirt that says gender is fake w asras face on it but never actually talk abt their identity anywhere other than their blog/social media. as a nonbinary person, i am Tired

As a trans person, I’m conflicted. Because as nice as it would be to have some kind of “explicit” reveal that Asra’s nonbinary so people would stop arguing about how canon it is, “coming-out” scenes have an othering quality that tend to make me feel less represented. On top of that, given that gender roles, homophobia, transphobia, et al. don’t exist in the in-game world, there aren’t as many avenues to slide it in subtly - no one really assumes anyone’s gender, so Asra really wouldn’t ever need to assert his identity, unlike real-life nonbinary folks. If there’s no stigma against gender-non-conforming, there’s really no reason for a character to be Loud And Proud. It is canon, no matter what anyone says, but it’s a toss-up: do you keep it subtle and risk it being inadequate representation, or do you go overt and risk it looking like you’re singling out your nonbinary LI? 

NH has been clear & consistent with Asra’s identity in supplemental content like the official Twitters, AskArcana, and the artbook, and it does come through subtly in the text - he does use predominantly neutral epithets (person, child), whereas the other LIs have gendered ones (Julian & Nadia refer to themselves as a man and woman respectively, but Asra usually sticks with “magician” 😂). It is tough, though, because while those are the kind of subtle cues other trans folks will pick up on, they’re a little too subtle for cis people to buy, sometimes. 

Personally, I think adding a “pronouns” line to the LIs bios would be a good compromise? Since we know Asra uses he/they, and it would be a more concrete, incontrovertible thing for folks who don’t interact with the supplemental content. But I don’t want to say he’s bad representation, because honestly, with the kind of representation trans people get in media being things like dysphoria angst and misgendering from other characters that are squicks at best for a lot of trans people, I think it’s a relief to see a nonbinary character just kind of Exist without his gender identity being “controversial” or something he has to explain.☕

#mod cups #the arcana asra #asra the arcana #the arcana game asra #asra the arcana game #asra alnazar #asra the magician #asra asks #asra meta #nix hydra #nb representation #nonbinary representation #my meta #cis people can rb but don't add stuff #Anonymous