AUGBLOG: Call
What do you call that? Revealing some of my local lingo...
| lingo | proper wording | explainer |
|---|---|---|
| vari nasti | variegated nasturtium | too long to type otherwise, but I also love the crass label but it's just a cute plant |
| flowflow | flower | sounds more endearing despite being longer |
| marigo | marigold | shorter AND cuter |
| matchy matchy | matches | sounds more endearing despite being longer |
| crunch | crotch | because of Momga |
| shrump / shrumplets | shrimp / shrimplets | more silly and cute |
| poss | opossum | shorter and monosyllabic, though I know possums are usually the non-North America ones... |
| no daijoubu / no DJB / no 大丈夫 | not ok / not fine | uttered by my non-japanese-speaking Friend while in Japan in response to a Japanese person asking "daijoubu?" |
| WHYST / WHOMST / HOWST | why / whom / how | probably from internet ; used for dramatic emphasis |
| SIN | did a bad thing / mistake | ToulouseTime's videos about worms/woerms on strings ; used for dramatic emphasis |
| binch | bitchy + grinchy | Probably from internet ; these people exist and need a label |
| adding -zo to words with finality, like "byezo" "gonezo" "donezo" | (self explanatory) | IDK I guess it's more fun |
I'm sure there are more but I just can't remember them!
Speaking of flowflows, I HAD TWO POPPY FLOWFLOWS!!!!!!! The seed germination rates (iceland mix) are dismal so this is a rare success story. Matchymatchy with the chamos~
The other one is more orange. The white one already lost its petals by the time this one came out. The petal translucency is so lovely~
On the topic of languages, I get mixed up with words and don't know how to spell and pronounce a lot of things. Perhaps the simultaneous learning of 4 different languages while growing up (note: I have retained none of them) added to this confusion.
Canada uses a lot of similar words and spelling and pronunciation to UK (fun colonial history) and US counterparts, but not always. Similar story with Canadian vs France French (more colonial history).
HTML code uses "color" while I use colour (neighour, labour, rigour, etc.). Most of my clients are based in the US, so everything I write for them usually has to use US-spelling.
Yet there is still some stubborness to revert back to non-US spelling when I can, but more often than not, I forget which spelling is the Canadian one, like specialize (US) vs specialise (UK). I default to using the "z" version more but sometimes it's an aesthetic choice.
Some of my other Canadian friends were talking about the old ABC alphabet song, and how the Canadian pronunciation of "Z" (zed) does not rhyme in the song like Zee (tee, you, vee, double-u, ex, why and zee) so I use Zee more often.
Some US clients could immediately tell that my white Canadian colleagues spoke very Canadian.
With me, they usually say that they only clue in when I say specific words, like Proh-cess vs Praw-cess.
I think due to my work, I got used to using variations interchangeably, and it just depends on the context and what flows out of my mouth (mouth...feel?), haha. Also, my parents' first language isn't English, so most of what I know came from TV and others in my class. A lot of TV in Canada was from the US as well. I feel like the average USian doesn't realize how much of the rest of the world has bent backwards for them due to $ economic and war power $.
A long time ago, I also had a harsh transition between being in French immersion, then going back to English studies. What do you mean , in math are now . but , are still used to denote THOUSAND numeric unit? Where are all my extra letters for scientifique and gouvernement? What do you mean apostrophe isn't pronounced la-pohs-trof? Yes, I have uttered "a-pohs-trof" in an English sentence and people thought I didn't know English. Our food/product packaging here is also dual language, and I constantly commit these pronunciation sins💅🏻.
(I have retained very little French and am just an anglophone)
Anyway, when I meet multi-lingual people, I am always impressed. I can't keep things straight in one language, let alone multiple. There is something so neat when a person can switch their language/speech rhythmn/tone in the same breath. I often wish I had kept up/retained all those languages from my youth, but I have too much learning on my plate already!
The heading image vibe I was going for was something that seemed simultaneously in conflict yet harmonious. I guess that's how I feel about words and languages.
- Outlines: Mitsubishi prussian blue
- Paint: ShinHan PWC Premium Watercolour (probably, they're halfpans a friend filled for me from tubes)
- Paper: Stilman and Birn alpha
- Brush: Escoda versatil 6
Tarot readings
Maiji offered to do some tarot card readings in exchange for pifo donations, so I jumped on to ask about what stuff I might include in future comics/zines!!
Can't wait to figure out stories with a rider delivering a baby, which is the key to the OTP's success 🤣. 🏇🏻🔑👼🏻🫂💰💰💰💰💰💰❤️
Fanarts
As noted in MKISA I became even more of Akame and Watase friendship (headcanon) fan after drawing my comic, so when I found out their bdays were 2 days apart, I knew I had to draw both...! It's fate!!
I don't draw gals super often (let alone colour drawings them!?) so adding makeup is always a bit surprising to me because it makes a big difference (I'm more familiar with the big difference from zero to full facial hair drawing, haha).
Akame has a good relationship with unhoused and encampment folks, so I wanted her to celebrate with them. My thought was that they'd pool money to buy a lot of conbini desserts and then feast together after the bday -haver picks their top choice! Her hat and the confetti are made out of aged newspapers (texture from a public domain image)!
Watase...was hard to draw too. I looked up CIGAR and BUTANE LIGHTER stuff for this. SOFT YELLOW FLAME? BLUE FLAME?! $1.5k + lighter? No big deal!
Ok I did actually spend too much time thinking about whether to use a standard bic-style lighter (because presumably a Watase family member is using it and is not made of money) but eventually I landed on the fact that they probably keep a fancy lighter around for fancy occasions and guests. It took me a really long time to figure out how to draw that flip-hinge cap in "perspective."
I felt like no underling would dare mess up Watase's hair or play tricks, so he doesn't get a hat, haha.
I didn't intend to make a series outta these bday fanarts but it has sorta become one. Shishido's bday is at the end of Aug so I think I'll end it there...
Fishlips
They're level 42 now. Their bday is in October! I put them in the chess tournament for a several months in hopes that they'd get more intelligence points, but they're still baby...!
Reading/looking
There's Yuri Comic Jam Itch event coming (April 1-June 1 2026). I wanna draw some YURI!
Fable, a guessing game for living creatures (somewhat similiar to Anthropeum) but there's a timer and a progressive "zoom out" from micro-macro zoom out of a photo.
Hoopoe, one of the birds that were mentioned from playing Fable that I have never heard of. Such fun plumage and head feather shape!
A tool that measures your digital line drawing accuracy and speed. I am very bad at this. It also gives you a summary of which angle/directions of line you are best/worst at...
Akane-banashi #16: I now have some of the Shiguma lores...!! I like that the whole school really loves their master (sob), reminds me of Yakuza fams, haha...
10 Dance #8: I lost the plot, but ok, we're back to the actual main relationship and the actual 10 dance competition...
Hirayasumi #9: too many lovely and relatable small moments in this comic
Nina the Starry Bride #18: the Beast God situation...felt rather anticlimatic. I didn't understand...
I tried Kraft Dinner cheese ramen.......as a person who enjoys both of these separately, the combination they created, is not very good.
Brainrot report
Yamaguchi is playing a fresh fish shop owner in Match Monde, which is a live action movie adaptation of the comic (same title) by Horiuchi Shogo. I like the slightly unhinged knife-wielding bloody uncle energy he's giving in his role, haha. So confident in his fighting that he's taking a smoke break partway through hehe. It's having its North America debut at Big Bad Film Fest in California.
Congrats on the poppy blooms! They're so prettyyy, the translucence makes them look so ethereal o:
I, too, am very impressed by multi-lingual people. I'm in a similar camp of knowing a few languages but only in a very limited capacity aside from English, and vocab from different languages get all jumbled up in my head :'D so your image vibes resonate with me!!
(Also I was slightly curious about the KD ramen but sounds like it's something I can pass on lol)
yahh the transculency of poppies so so lovely~ makes me want to only grow poppies next time, but they're not easy for me to grow haha.
I do not wish KD ramen on anyone AUGH!!
Do you ever want to re-study/pick up/improve on the existing language you know??
I have to admit I'm still curious about the KD ramen, even knowing it'll be bad LOL... :'D
I've been doing Duolingo French over the last year! I also just picked up a couple manga in French (Apothecary Diaries and Witch Hat Atelier) so hoping to practice more that way. My reading has improved a lot but I'm too shy to practice listening/speaking tho T-T.
omg french!!! That's awesome! They do get manga translations earlier than English side hehe. I also feel like my reading is better than my speaking/listening, though it is still worse-than-toddler-level...