*jaw drops* Oh my gosh, Lupine, I feel the exact same way about anime/manga obsessed non-Japanese people! It makes it worse because when I went to school, a.) everyone was either asking me about anime and then getting shocked when I didn't know anything about it, b.) everyone seemed to feel that somehow I wasn't Japanese enough because I don't like it somehow, and c.) I would eat natto or something like that and they would literally argue over how disgusting it was. Or what they would do not to eat it. I mean, I think it was meant as a joke, but AHHHH! Oh my gosh, I always want to say this, but a.) nobody around me really gets it and b.) I feel like I'm just getting too upset and c.) there are a few people who could be considered such on the CB who I don't want to be mean to. But thank you so much for bringing it up.
And I totally agree about the "blonde hair blue eyes" thing. I mean, I don't have any Japanese characters in any books whatsoever other than certain ones I might mention, so at least give me Japanese media with people who look Japanese. Please.
To make it worse, I'm used to feeling "not Asian enough" because I'm actually biracial (white and Japanese) too. I usually just say I'm Japanese because of that (and the fact that I thiiiiink???? I look more Japanese? In any case, I don't think anyone who says "itadakimasu" before eating can really be considered white by others, except in the rare case they're Asian, in which case I'm not Japanese enough). Luckily I do have Hawaii, where there are a lot of multiracial people, but nonetheless. And honestly I don't feel white at all. I just don't have a connection to it. I totally feel you on the "white people seeming to think they're more Japanese than me just because they watch *insert some anime set in fantasy Europe*.
Also, I'm really interested in Shintoism, but whenever I find a forum about it or whatnot, guess what? It's mostly anime-obsessed white people who just think kitsune are cool. Look, I love yokai. But at least do more research than that before deciding on a whole religion. And other things, they aren't usually tied to a country as much as Shinto is. (I could give backstory on my family's religious background, but that's actually kind of long and I'm not 100% sure on everything.)
This is really long and probably really rambly and overly angry. But I've wanted to say this for so long and I'm so glad that you brought it up. I might post more later, but I don't want to overwhelm the Admins : )
0
submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat (March 3, 2022 - 8:14 am)
Hi Blackfooted Bobcat and Lupine, I am so sorry I haven't been posting. I wanted to get on and say I am still here, and I will post a reply to your comments. Most likely not this week, but definitely the next. I understand it's hard to have a conversation with someone who never responds. I still enjoy reading your posts!
*gasp* Peregrine! Hi! I hadn't seen you around much and I had been a little worried you weren't going to come back *shudders* I hope you haven't been too busy :D And don't stress out about posting if you can't for a bit, but I do look forward to reading what you do post!
0
submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat (March 5, 2022 - 5:16 pm)
I am still around! I will let you know whenever I leave Chatterbox. I
have no plans to right now, so if I stop posting it will most likely be
because I am busy with life outside of Chatterbox. I wouldn't say I am
overwhelmingly busy, just my schedule is full.
I was able to get
yarn for the mittens, and I am happy with how they turned out! They are
finished now, and the thumb is only a little bigger than the other
thumb, and the color is near exact.
That's nice you were able to
get some Japanese books! Finding resources can be hard. I am quite
lucky as I have a good amount of resources available to me for learning
languages. The thing I am always looking for are finding books in
Mandarin that are simple enough for me to read that have content I am
interested in. I can only tolerate so much of "Bob has a hat! Bob gave
cat the hat!".
I can understand a lot more Mandarin than I
can speak. I get frustrated sometimes because I don't always have the
vocabulary I need to say what I want to say. I know it is something I
can work towards, but when I have English it is so much easier to switch
over and abandon Mandarin. I really do want to achieve fluency in
Mandarin, I just need to spend more time on it.
I am really happy
to hear you are writing a book that doesn't focus on the fact that the
main character is of a monority race all the time. I think you don't
need to worry about Kalili Pumaqhawa being too marginalized. Focus on
writing a unique, relatable and enjoyable to read about character, with
an interesting plot. A book with characters people like and can relate
to is a book that will sell, in my opinion. I am not experienced in
publishing, but my favorite books, and the books I buy, are the ones
with characters I relate to with story lines that draw me in.
I have only had little amounts of time to get a post out, partly why it has taken me so long to respond. So, instead of writing long posts, I am going to write little ones. Hopefully I can keep up better with our conversations with this strategy! I will be back with Part 2, replying to more of your preivous comments.
I hope you both have a great day!
0
submitted by Peregrine, Weathertop (March 14, 2022 - 11:18 am)
First off: Peregrine, I'm really glad you're not leaving the CB yet! I would really miss you if you left. And I don't plan to leave either : )
And yep! Aer race/gender/disabilities are really not important to the plot at all. I mean, technically aer disabilities are, but I mean, it's not about overcoming ableism or anything. Obviously because ae's blind in one eye (did I mention this? I think I was having trouble finding enough sources for research and as such was deciding to take that out, but I found more resources) and has bad balance and has autism and ADHD, things are going to be different. But it's fun to weave those things into the narrative, where it's not overpowering but definitely there.
I hope my plot will be good by the time I'm finished working on it. It's really hard to make the internal and external conflicts the same. I can't fully sustain a book series on relationship arcs, is all I'm saying.
I definitely want to achieve high fluency in Japanese. I want to learn to write and read and critique books in Japanese and also to be a violist/violinist in Japan. So I'm doing a lot of studying. I'm also starting to take up Spanish again. It's honestly much easier than Japanese, but there are a lot more irregular verbs.
I suggest learning a few vocabulary words a day, and reading as much as you can if you have the resources. I really wish there were more Japanese people around here.
Oddly, we actually do have this one Asian restaurant around here that covers a lot of different places in East and Southeast Asia but actually has takoyaki. Unfortunately I can't have it because of gluten *sobs* I doubt many people actually eat it around here XD
@Lupine, I totally agree about MG being underrated. I mean, there are definitely lots of badly-written MG books, but that can be said of literally every age range. I think people are missing out, because I can list off a lot of really good MG books.
Oh, and happy belated Hinamatsuri as well! I was actually sick on it, but we made some mochi and I made onigiri for dinner maybe yesterday? Oh, and also, I hope your trip to Hawaii will go well! Make sure to eat yummy food :P
We got some things for drawing on windows. I promptly wrote "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware" in red marker :D
This is really long, thanks for reading through all of it @Admins!
0
submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat (March 14, 2022 - 5:38 pm)
Hi! Sorry it took me so long to respond. @Peregrine, it's good to see you again!
@Blackfooted Bobcat, in response to your two-posts-ago post, I totally agree! I'm also part Japanese, and when I was little I wished that I had black hair and darker skin and more "Asian" eyes, because I wanted to be full Japanese. And it doesn't help that there's very little representation for mixed-race people in the media.
@Peregrine, those mittens sound awesome! What color are they? And it's cool that you're learning Mandarin; it looks really difficult, but also really interesting.
As for me, we went to Hawaii (the Big Island) for spring break and it was great! We got to spend some time in the town of Hilo, which was fun because there are a lot of Japanese people there and we went to this really good mochi place. Whenever I visit an interesting place, I'm inspired to write something with that setting...so I'm thinking about doing a short story/book set in Hawaii with a Japanese American protagonist.
My friend and I also made a haupia (not sure how to spell that) pudding/purple sweet potato pie (on Pi Day!), which was good. Unfortunately, one of the people we were staying with contracted COVID, so we had to leave early...and then when we got home, I figured out that I have COVID too. So I've been quarantining for the past few days. :P
Also, I'm trying to find a good solo to play for an upcoming recital, but I can't think of anything! I was going to do the Romanian Folk Dances but I got really fed up with them because I've been working on them on and off for months and they're not really improving. Do you guys have any suggestions? I'm looking for something fun or pretty but not extremely difficult, since I only have 2 months to prepare.
(I typed up almost all of that and then my wifi died and it all got deleted--so this is the second try! Hope it works!)
My CAPTCHA says "ebeckr". Maybe it wants me to play a John Becker piece. I'm not even sure who he is.
0
submitted by Lupine, age she/her, Flourish & Blotts (March 23, 2022 - 11:33 am)
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I decided to do Meditation from Thais, because it´s really pretty :) I had heard it before but I´d never listened to the whole thing or played it.
*jaw drops* Oh my gosh, Lupine, I feel the exact same way about anime/manga obsessed non-Japanese people! It makes it worse because when I went to school, a.) everyone was either asking me about anime and then getting shocked when I didn't know anything about it, b.) everyone seemed to feel that somehow I wasn't Japanese enough because I don't like it somehow, and c.) I would eat natto or something like that and they would literally argue over how disgusting it was. Or what they would do not to eat it. I mean, I think it was meant as a joke, but AHHHH! Oh my gosh, I always want to say this, but a.) nobody around me really gets it and b.) I feel like I'm just getting too upset and c.) there are a few people who could be considered such on the CB who I don't want to be mean to. But thank you so much for bringing it up.
And I totally agree about the "blonde hair blue eyes" thing. I mean, I don't have any Japanese characters in any books whatsoever other than certain ones I might mention, so at least give me Japanese media with people who look Japanese. Please.
To make it worse, I'm used to feeling "not Asian enough" because I'm actually biracial (white and Japanese) too. I usually just say I'm Japanese because of that (and the fact that I thiiiiink???? I look more Japanese? In any case, I don't think anyone who says "itadakimasu" before eating can really be considered white by others, except in the rare case they're Asian, in which case I'm not Japanese enough). Luckily I do have Hawaii, where there are a lot of multiracial people, but nonetheless. And honestly I don't feel white at all. I just don't have a connection to it. I totally feel you on the "white people seeming to think they're more Japanese than me just because they watch *insert some anime set in fantasy Europe*.
Also, I'm really interested in Shintoism, but whenever I find a forum about it or whatnot, guess what? It's mostly anime-obsessed white people who just think kitsune are cool. Look, I love yokai. But at least do more research than that before deciding on a whole religion. And other things, they aren't usually tied to a country as much as Shinto is. (I could give backstory on my family's religious background, but that's actually kind of long and I'm not 100% sure on everything.)
This is really long and probably really rambly and overly angry. But I've wanted to say this for so long and I'm so glad that you brought it up. I might post more later, but I don't want to overwhelm the Admins : )
(March 3, 2022 - 8:14 am)
Hi Blackfooted Bobcat and Lupine, I am so sorry I haven't been posting. I wanted to get on and say I am still here, and I will post a reply to your comments. Most likely not this week, but definitely the next. I understand it's hard to have a conversation with someone who never responds. I still enjoy reading your posts!
(March 3, 2022 - 11:22 am)
*gasp* Peregrine! Hi! I hadn't seen you around much and I had been a little worried you weren't going to come back *shudders* I hope you haven't been too busy :D And don't stress out about posting if you can't for a bit, but I do look forward to reading what you do post!
(March 5, 2022 - 5:16 pm)
(March 7, 2022 - 8:24 pm)
(March 8, 2022 - 5:31 pm)
(March 11, 2022 - 5:31 pm)
(March 13, 2022 - 11:12 am)
(March 13, 2022 - 11:12 am)
~ Part 1 ~
I am still around! I will let you know whenever I leave Chatterbox. I
have no plans to right now, so if I stop posting it will most likely be
because I am busy with life outside of Chatterbox. I wouldn't say I am
overwhelmingly busy, just my schedule is full.
I was able to get
yarn for the mittens, and I am happy with how they turned out! They are
finished now, and the thumb is only a little bigger than the other
thumb, and the color is near exact.
That's nice you were able to
get some Japanese books! Finding resources can be hard. I am quite
lucky as I have a good amount of resources available to me for learning
languages. The thing I am always looking for are finding books in
Mandarin that are simple enough for me to read that have content I am
interested in. I can only tolerate so much of "Bob has a hat! Bob gave
cat the hat!".
I can understand a lot more Mandarin than I
can speak. I get frustrated sometimes because I don't always have the
vocabulary I need to say what I want to say. I know it is something I
can work towards, but when I have English it is so much easier to switch
over and abandon Mandarin. I really do want to achieve fluency in
Mandarin, I just need to spend more time on it.
I am really happy
to hear you are writing a book that doesn't focus on the fact that the
main character is of a monority race all the time. I think you don't
need to worry about Kalili Pumaqhawa being too marginalized. Focus on
writing a unique, relatable and enjoyable to read about character, with
an interesting plot. A book with characters people like and can relate
to is a book that will sell, in my opinion. I am not experienced in
publishing, but my favorite books, and the books I buy, are the ones
with characters I relate to with story lines that draw me in.
I have only had little amounts of time to get a post out, partly why it has taken me so long to respond. So, instead of writing long posts, I am going to write little ones. Hopefully I can keep up better with our conversations with this strategy! I will be back with Part 2, replying to more of your preivous comments.
I hope you both have a great day!
(March 14, 2022 - 11:18 am)
First off: Peregrine, I'm really glad you're not leaving the CB yet! I would really miss you if you left. And I don't plan to leave either : )
And yep! Aer race/gender/disabilities are really not important to the plot at all. I mean, technically aer disabilities are, but I mean, it's not about overcoming ableism or anything. Obviously because ae's blind in one eye (did I mention this? I think I was having trouble finding enough sources for research and as such was deciding to take that out, but I found more resources) and has bad balance and has autism and ADHD, things are going to be different. But it's fun to weave those things into the narrative, where it's not overpowering but definitely there.
I hope my plot will be good by the time I'm finished working on it. It's really hard to make the internal and external conflicts the same. I can't fully sustain a book series on relationship arcs, is all I'm saying.
I definitely want to achieve high fluency in Japanese. I want to learn to write and read and critique books in Japanese and also to be a violist/violinist in Japan. So I'm doing a lot of studying. I'm also starting to take up Spanish again. It's honestly much easier than Japanese, but there are a lot more irregular verbs.
I suggest learning a few vocabulary words a day, and reading as much as you can if you have the resources. I really wish there were more Japanese people around here.
Oddly, we actually do have this one Asian restaurant around here that covers a lot of different places in East and Southeast Asia but actually has takoyaki. Unfortunately I can't have it because of gluten *sobs* I doubt many people actually eat it around here XD
@Lupine, I totally agree about MG being underrated. I mean, there are definitely lots of badly-written MG books, but that can be said of literally every age range. I think people are missing out, because I can list off a lot of really good MG books.
Oh, and happy belated Hinamatsuri as well! I was actually sick on it, but we made some mochi and I made onigiri for dinner maybe yesterday? Oh, and also, I hope your trip to Hawaii will go well! Make sure to eat yummy food :P
We got some things for drawing on windows. I promptly wrote "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware" in red marker :D
This is really long, thanks for reading through all of it @Admins!
(March 14, 2022 - 5:38 pm)
(March 20, 2022 - 6:01 pm)
(March 22, 2022 - 7:03 pm)
Hi! Sorry it took me so long to respond. @Peregrine, it's good to see you again!
@Blackfooted Bobcat, in response to your two-posts-ago post, I totally agree! I'm also part Japanese, and when I was little I wished that I had black hair and darker skin and more "Asian" eyes, because I wanted to be full Japanese. And it doesn't help that there's very little representation for mixed-race people in the media.
@Peregrine, those mittens sound awesome! What color are they? And it's cool that you're learning Mandarin; it looks really difficult, but also really interesting.
As for me, we went to Hawaii (the Big Island) for spring break and it was great! We got to spend some time in the town of Hilo, which was fun because there are a lot of Japanese people there and we went to this really good mochi place. Whenever I visit an interesting place, I'm inspired to write something with that setting...so I'm thinking about doing a short story/book set in Hawaii with a Japanese American protagonist.
My friend and I also made a haupia (not sure how to spell that) pudding/purple sweet potato pie (on Pi Day!), which was good. Unfortunately, one of the people we were staying with contracted COVID, so we had to leave early...and then when we got home, I figured out that I have COVID too. So I've been quarantining for the past few days. :P
Also, I'm trying to find a good solo to play for an upcoming recital, but I can't think of anything! I was going to do the Romanian Folk Dances but I got really fed up with them because I've been working on them on and off for months and they're not really improving. Do you guys have any suggestions? I'm looking for something fun or pretty but not extremely difficult, since I only have 2 months to prepare.
(I typed up almost all of that and then my wifi died and it all got deleted--so this is the second try! Hope it works!)
My CAPTCHA says "ebeckr". Maybe it wants me to play a John Becker piece. I'm not even sure who he is.
(March 23, 2022 - 11:33 am)
Just here really quickly with some piece suggestions for you, Lupine. I hope you get better quickly! I will be back with a longer reply.
Maybe: Hungarian Dance #5 by Brahms, Sicilienne and Rigaudon by Kriesler, Czardas by V. Monti, Meditation from Thaïs by Massenet.
Let me know if you would like any more suggestions, or if you are looking for a specific style/feeling.
(March 24, 2022 - 10:41 am)
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I decided to do Meditation from Thais, because it´s really pretty :) I had heard it before but I´d never listened to the whole thing or played it.
(March 27, 2022 - 4:54 pm)