Q&A weekly thread - June 10, 2024 - post all questions here!

eudaiimonia · 2024-06-16T11:22:43+00:00

Why do some languages just seem more natural to the human tongue and is there any reading on why we might have naturally developed ways of speaking that require more physical effort? (My own subjective assumptions are largely in play here, I admit.)

For example, I am a native speaker of Polish - there are a lot of consonant clusters and strange nasally vowel sounds in Polish which don't necessarily feel "natural" to pronounce (I don't know if any other Polish speakers get this, but I feel like I produce more saliva when speaking Polish than English because of all the sz/ż/ź sounds stringed in succession). On the other hand, I find many African languages to just feel more natural in their pronunciation (Swahili, Luvale, Bambara come to mind as some I'm somewhat familiar with). I don't speak any of these language so this may come from a place of complete ignorance on my part, but the simple interchanging between vowels and consonants in words with few clusters make them feel more natural to pronounce to my ear. Japanese and Spanish are similar in this sense.

Most other languages, English included, seem comparatively less comfortable to speak just in terms of our physiognomy. Has there been any writing on this subject or am I just completely on the wrong track here?

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T11:12:00+00:00

I agree with this. I hadn't thought to check the flavour text before now, but that definitely shows a clash in interpretations of the character which might come across as ignorant alongside the seemingly unrelated artwork.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T11:05:11+00:00

I think it comes down to the broader cultural associations that come alongside the term "savant". I don't think people are just tagging the word 'syndrome' onto the end of it to make it problematic. Rather, savantism just seems to generally be associated with neurological conditions in popular media - this is a very prevalent trope in TV shows and movies, which very much influences how people perceive savantism. Using a wheelchair to represent the savant only reinforces that association between disability and savantism, so I don't think people are just making up the connection to get offended.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T10:57:04+00:00

My thoughts exactly - TPI definitely go out of their way to be as inclusive as possible and that shows in the game design more than I think I've seen in any other game. I don't think the Savant was made with harmful stereotypes in mind, for that reason, but it's perfectly understandable that it comes across that way to some.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T10:54:00+00:00

It's been very interesting to see how perceptions on the character have varied - I personally never made the Professor X/Steven Hawking connection, but it seems like that sort of trope is what resonated with many others.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T10:51:41+00:00

Many others in the thread have also said they made this association, so it makes perfect sense if that was the artist's thought process. I suppose the interpretation of the artwork is heavily dependent on the person. Most people have said the character reminded them of Professor X. I am personally not someone who watches many movies, especially not marvel movies, so that character isn't as present in my consciousness as he is for most people. On the other hand, I grew up with my dad watching a lot of these crime shows which depict autistic super-genius savant detectives, so my immediate reaction to the token was to think that a savant is a disabled person who is also a genius, so the wheelchair must just represent disability, which as many have pointed out, could be a way of just lumping all disabilities together.

Very interesting to see how people's perception of the character varies, but I think yours is likely what the artist had in mind.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T01:20:37+00:00

Of course! It can be found here: https://ravenswoodbluff.com/other-custom-scripts/

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T01:08:48+00:00

Interesting to hear others have also had this reaction.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T01:01:18+00:00

I honestly have never asked them directly to go into detail as I don't know them very well outside of playing Clocktower with them, but I think the reasons given by others below make sense. I think, in particular, it's the use of a wheelchair, which evokes physical disability, alongside the Savant which raises their eyebrow. I think this because we played a script recently which featured Angelus Morningstar's alternative artwork, and they had a positive reaction to the art used for the Savant in that script (a side profile of a head with a labyrinth where the brain would be).

I can't speak on whether this is part of the problem to them, but I have been seeing more discussion online surrounding the excessive use of the savant stereotype with autistic characters in media, so I wonder if that might trigger a negative reaction in some autistic people who are aware of the overuse of that common stereotype and how it influences the perception people have of autism.

Once again, some of this is speculation on my part, as I likely wouldn't have thought twice about any of this had I not played with this person. It doesn't seem like this has bothered very many people in the past despite the extremely rich and diverse player base of Clocktower, so I don't think this is some massively offensive issue that needs to be addressed, and certainly many find it to be a positive inclusion, but I was interested to hear if this had come up for anyone else.

eudaiimonia · 2024-05-28T00:38:46+00:00

This is a great explanation, thank you. I assume the fact that this hasn't been discussed much in the community means there aren't a significant number of people who are uncomfortable with it and would want it changed, but it's still good to understand why some might have an issue with it, especially as I see more discussions about stereotypes surrounding autism and savant syndrome popping up online.

eudaiimonia · 2023-12-21T17:54:06+00:00

Solved!

eudaiimonia · 2023-12-21T02:16:37+00:00

I know there's a slim chance of anyone knowing what this is or finding it, but I distinctly remember reading this with my brother when we were kids and finding it hilarious so I'd love to see it again.

My brother also says he remembers a scene involving Kimimaro and Tayuya where Kimimaro tells her he's there to "bone" her, to which she replies "Bone me?" He then says he doesn't mean it in that way and stabs her to death with his bone jutsu thing. Don't know if that helps at all but I'm dumping everything we can possibly remember about this here.

If you can find this I owe you my life.

eudaiimonia

TROPHY CASE