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gra-sonas · 4 years

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I didn’t mean to be “silent”, this just took me much longer to write than I had planned.

First of all, I’d like to point you in the direction of a very good post @adiwriting posted a couple of days ago, that sums things up in a very articulate way, you can find it HERE.

~*~

In short: in his most recent interview with the Pretty Little Wine Moms Podcast, Tyler - who’s playing a character who’s half Native American - revealed, that he did a DNA test with a company called 23AndMe during the filming of season 1 of Roswell, New Mexico, and he test didn’t detect Native American ancestry, even though his grandmother had told him in 2010, that his paternal grandfather Harold's great grandmother was Cherokee Indian.

Below the cut is a transcript of that part of the interview, my opinion on this whole thing, and I answered a couple of asks I got about it. This is a VERY long post.

I’ve already watched the video of the interview, and it shows, that they edited the interview quite heavily. There are several cuts throughout the episode, and some things that can be heard in the audio version, didn’t make it into the video either.

TRANSCRIPT [I didn’t transcribe every laugh or random words, but I’ve tried my best to make it as accurate as possible]

LESLEY: Did you audition for any of the other roles on PLL?

TYLER: No, Caleb came in halfway through season one. I remember, it was supposed to be a 4-episode stint, a guest starring role. What’s funny though, I lived right by Warner Brothers [studios], so I would drive […] past Warner Brothers and there was a bill board of Pretty Little Liars before it came out and I was like “I could probably be on a show like that.” So, anyway, I auditioned for Caleb, yeah. I never read for… […] No, I didn’t get the role at first because they were like “we really think he needs to be like really ethnic. We need some ethnic diversity. And I was like—

LESLEY: What are you? You’re like “hello”! Part Native American, i mean.

TYLER: Well, no, I’m actually not. I’m actually not, I found out.

HOLLY: Whaaaat? Yes, you are. We did talk about this.

NIA: I thought you were.

HOLLY: We talked about this on set.

TYLER: Do you know when I found out that I wasn’t is when I got Roswell, my character was also supposed to be Native American, half Native American. And I was like “great”, because the pool was like so small. You know, so this is great, you know. I’m shooting season one of the show and do a 23AndMe [DNA test] and I have literally not even 0.1 % Native American.

HOLLY: That can’t be possible.

NIA: No, no, no, no, let me explain how that works. That’s not right.

HOLLY: Nia has some things to tell you.

NIA: The information - I know these things, every nationality in me—

TYLER: Okay, tell me.

NIA: 23AndMe is pulling from— if you do 23AndMe and then you do… what’s the other one—

LESLEY: AncestryCOM

HOLLY: AncestryCOM

NIA: —they’ll come up different. And the reason they’ll come up different from each other is, they’re pulling from the people they already have in their database. So, if there’s not very many Native American people doing 23AndM—

HOLLY: Which there isn’t.

NIA: —it’s not gonna show up.

TYLER: Oh god.

NIA: Yeah.

[INFO: There’s a clear CUT at this point before the interview continues, they even cut Tyler’s “Oh god” you can hear in the audio from the video. So they must’ve talked about this some more before the official version of the interview continues.]

TYLER: Okay, so this is what happened, going back [to being cast as Caleb]. They said “thank you so much for the read” and I really thought I was gonna get it. Because Gayle Pillsbury [PLL casting director] - I’d never even read for her before - and I went in and auditioned, and her response was literally everything you want in an audition. She like lost her fucking mind and was like “where did you come from?”, you know, that sort of thing. I mean, I’m a TERRIBLE auditioner and I get so unbelievably nervous, so for that to be the response—

LESLEY: Wow.

TYLER: So that response… I was like “oh my gosh”. And you even audition and you’re like “I booked it. I booked it!”, you know what I mean? Even though it’s not up to her, you know, but anyway. Then they told me “thank you so much for the read, it was so good, but we want more ethnic diversity”. They came back to me, I don’t know, three weeks later? And they were like “What is your background?” And I was like “I don’t even know.” I called my dad, he tells me “I don’t even know.” He’s like “Call grandma.”. I call my grandma, she tells me her side and then… My dad’s dad passed away before I was born, I don’t know his side of the family at all. So my grandmother talks about his side of the family and says “You know—“ - it was Harold, Harold was my grandfather’s name - —“Harold’s great grandmother was Cherokee Indian. And I was like “Really?” I was like “This is good!”

WINE MOMS, LAUGHING: “This is good!”

TYLER: So, then I told casting “I’m Native American.” And so they thought it was enough to cast me as, you know, ‘ethnically ambiguous’ or whatever.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

~*~

I’m not an expert on DNA tests. Nia’s comment that tests from different companies come back with different results bc they pull their data from different gene pools makes sense, but I can’t verify whether that's actually the case. Neither do I know whether her claim that 23AndMe pool lacks Native samples for reference is correct.

If it is, it would mean that 23AndMe DNA tests in general wouldn’t be able to detect Native ancestry in any sample. Maybe a test with a different company would come up with a different result, in any case, it would be a very small percentage, given how many generations are between Tyler and his Native ancestor.

The result of the test is only one piece of the puzzle tho, and not the relevant one.

The question isn’t whether the result indicates that what Tyler’s grandma told him is false. The question is, if one Native ancestor 5 generations back and no tribal affiliation of any kind entitle Tyler to play POC characters.

The answer is a clear no, and yet he’s been cast as non-white characters (and in one case as an explicitly Native character) twice in his life.

That’s unfortunate at best, and ignorant at worst.

~*~

Tyler auditioned for PLL in 2010 when he was 23, turning 24 that year. Initially he didn’t get the role bc they wanted someone “ethnic”. They called him 3 weeks (!) after the initial rejection and asked about his background, and by talking to his grandma, he found out about this Native ancestor.

2010 was a mere decade ago, but it was also a different time. Discussions about diversity and representation on screen, the question whether it’s okay for male actors to play trans women or if shows should pass the Bechdel test were all topics that weren’t discussed as “aggressively (and I mean that in a very positive way, hammer it home that all these things matter!) as they are discussed today, and structures in the TV and movie industry ignored most of it anyway (still do way too often, lbr).

Looking back, it’s easy to condemn what happened as vigorously as we would condemn it if it happened today, but applying today’s standards to 2010 is still a bit unfair. (I’m not saying that what happened is okay, just that back then the level of awareness for it to be wrong wasn’t the same as it is today).

Sure enough ABC execs were all too happy to accept that minimal partial Native ancestry as “enough” to cast him, probably also because Tyler looked “ethnically ambiguous” to them, whatever that means. (Holly also mentioned that they talked about Tyler’s Native ancestry on the set of PLL, and apparently not a single person pointed out that maybe it was a questionable decision...).

Tyler was trying to get his career started back then, and an opportunity like PLL would be any young actor’s dream. When they told him “you’re ethnic enough, you’ve got the job”, he lacked the tools and the awareness to question their decision, neither did anyone ever question Tyler’s decision to accept the role. It was considered to be “okay” by all sides. Which is a systemic problem.

As far as I know, Caleb’s supposed “ethnically diverse” background was never explored on PLL, so they were just happy he looked “ethnic" but never gave a fuck about actual representation. Welcome to the club of most TV shows ever made. Even in 2020, too many shows and movies still try to pull that shit. The difference is, that nowadays they are called out, and people speak up.

~*~

Fast forward to 2017 when Tyler got the script for Roswell. 7 years of him believing that this partial Native ancestry made him part Native, not half like Alex Manes, but it probably felt like it was “enough” - it had been enough for PLL after all.

He got cast because he’s a great actor, but also because he supposedly had the required ethnic background. This is also on the studio tbh. I assume he was asked about his background and he must’ve told them the same story (since he didn’t have a DNA test he could’ve shown them), and for The CW “one Cherokee Indian ancestor 5 generations back” was also “Native enough”...

~*~

It’s quite a bit of a mess tbh. Fans have been hit rather hard by this revelation, some are angry, some are disappointed, some feel uncomfortable, some probably don’t know whether how they feel is how they should feel after applying all our new-found 2020 ~wisdom and awareness to the situation.

Opinions on the matter differ. Vastly in some cases. Some people feel betrayed, some have “cancelled” Tyler, for others it’s not ideal but also not that big of a deal. It’s a mixed bag, really.

As for me: 2010 Tyler gets a pass from me. It was a “different time” with different industry rules in place, and ABC’s higher ups, who should’ve known and done better, didn’t. Neither did anyone in casting, nor his management, colleagues, or anyone in his personal life. And he clearly lacked the experience and awareness to question the decision, or himself for accepting it because it never was questioned! Not even in the years following.

2017 Tyler only gets a partial pass. 2017 wasn’t 2020 and too many things were still not all that different from 2010. He’d been on a show for 7 years where this partial Native ancestry was “enough”. Hence he probably felt like auditioning for the role of Alex was okay, and everyone involved in the casting process thought so, too.

He never pretended to be Native American to get the role, he never pulled a Scarlett Johansson. However... he probably should’ve questioned a bit harder whether a Native ancestor 5 generations back makes him “Native enough” to play a (half) Native character, or any kind of POC character for that matter.

So yeah, definitely putting some blame on him for the lack of awareness, but I’m also side-eying The CW and whoever was involved in the decision making.

~*~

What I hope for and expect fromTyler now and in the future is, that he won’t ever allow to be cast as any kind of “ethnic” character ever again.

He’s worked hard and has very much earned the career he’s made. He’s an amazing actor, but the circumstances that gave him the opportunity to have that career are based on racist structures in the TV and movie industry, and he directly profited from a system, that cast him - for all we know a white man - as a man of color. Twice.

Imo Tyler’s well aware of these things now. 2020 in particular should’ve been a pretty good eye-opener. It’s good that he has someone like Jeanine to look up to and learn from (not her job to teach him or take him by the hand or anything, but I think she’s a great example of someone who’s already made a name of herself, and uses her influence to help others, and the way she talks about diversity and elevating marginalized voices is very powerful), and I hope that in the future he’ll use is voice and “weight” as an established actor, to elevate minority voices and push for their stories to be included.

Answered your question in part above already.

It’s important to note that there’s a difference between criticizing someone’s actions, and openly hating and/or dissing them. This is a messy situation, and while Tyler can’t change the past, he has to do better in the future. Saying that doesn’t make me (or anyone else) a hater. Tyler’s amazing, but he’s also not perfect. And he doesn’t have to be. No one’s perfect.

When I look back at my life, dear god, I grew up in a very liberal family, we travelled places, I had access to all the books and education, and still. At 23? I was somewhat anti-feminist and a slightly conservative leaning liberal. Not a bad person per se, but also quite ignorant (compared to today’s standards anyway). Thankfully that’s changed over the years. And it keeps changing. Because getting complacent and thinking “I know it all” is BS. I’m working on myself every day, and I’m still prone to fuck up occasionally bc the system is rigged in my favor, and I might not even be aware of it in that moment.

I’m not cross with Tyler, because I can’t say for certain I hadn’t done the same if the circumstances had been similar. I’m actually quite sure I had done the same, bc society and the industry made it okay. AND NO ONE EVER QUESTIONED IT! He never claimed more for himself than a Native ancestor 5 generations back, and society at large and the TV/movie industry in particular said “that’s fine, you have that ancestry, you can go for diverse roles”. So in part, he fell victim to a system that pretended it was okay.

With MeToo and the Black Lives Matter movement, that “it’s okay” mentality is finally questioned and challenged, and more and more people speak up whenever someone tries to pull this shit. But it still keeps happening and there’s a lot more work to do.

No one can claim ignorance anymore, though. And he has to do better in the future.

I feel you, nonnie. It’s a messy situation. Imo it’s most unfortunate that this information came out the way it did. In a heavily edited podcast episode with inexperienced (and dare I say “industry-biased”) moderators. We don’t know what else he said or for how long they talked about this.

The podcast hosts were clearly not the most qualified to handle that kind of revelation. There were no follow-up questions, there was no criticism, and the way the interview was edited, the whole thing was treated as a non-issue and “fun” anecdote. Which doesn’t do Tyler any favors tbh.

But imo it’s also unfair to condemn him solely on what they decided to release. We don’t know what else he said, whether he expressed remorse or whatnot. I don’t know whether his publicist okayed the interview prior to its release. If they did, he should get a new publicist...

(I’m not implying he should’ve kept it a “secret”, but as a publicist I would’ve made sure this revelation had been handled differently, and Tyler hadn’t been made to look like he was just laughing it off).

I don’t know Tyler personally, but going by everything I’ve seen from him and know about him, I’m certain he won’t take on another POC role. And even if another DNA test should come up with a different result one day, and a certain percentage of Native ancestry would be found, I’d expect him to handle things differently. And imo that’s something he expects from himself, too. He’s a good man. <3

I don’t think he should, but I’m white, so my opinion on this isn’t really relevant. If Native groups would call for him to step down (which I don’t think they would), I’d support it because THEIR opinion on this actually matters.

One option could be that they do a storyline where it’s revealed that the woman Alex believes to be his mother isn’t his biological mom and it turns out he’s not Native - but that’s probably a far stretch, idk.

If he’d give up the role (which he clearly isn’t doing, considering he’s found out during S1 and is about to begin filming S3), I doubt The CW would recast the role with a native actor btw. Alex’d just be written off the show.

What I hope for is, that he’ll join Jeanine in her efforts to push for more Native and Latinx representation and stories on the show (Jeanine talked about that in her recent IG live with congressman Castro, @lambourngb made a post about it), and you can watch the entire IG live here.

Fandom’s a large group of many individual people. There are several people who have addressed this and talk about it. And while not every single person in fandom’s talking about it, it’s not swept under the rug either.

And how does this whole thing make Malex fans (another large group of many individual people) look toxic? Malex fans are not a hive mind. I have seen several Malex fans talk about this, and talk about it critically.

I’m sorry that you’re disappointed, nonnie, I’m just not sure what you expected?

#this got very long #i wrote and rewrote this several times #and reading through it again after i publish it will likely make me feel like i should edit it some more #there's not one 'right' answer here #it's a messy situation #nonnie asks #tjb discourse

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ohiou-digital-collections · 3 years

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Beyond the Archives: How Remote Projects Benefit OHIO Researchers, Libraries Collections, and Staff

There is an endless amount of work to be done in the digital archives field. When most of the country faced job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online transcription provided Ohio University Libraries was able to pivot to remote work for staff and student workers with tasks that could be accomplished remotely. Contributing to the Libraries’ Digital Archives allowed the libraries to continue contributing to the access and discovery of library collections even when the library itself was closed.

The University Libraries’ Digital Initiatives unit (DI) has long relied on the work of student employees to enhance the digitized primary resources with transcription of cursive materials and correction of auto-recognized printed text. Already accustomed to engaging with the Digital Archives, many of them demonstrated versatility, pivoting to online transcription within a couple of weeks of the initial COVID-19 shut down in March of 2020. Utilizing the web-based software platform designed for collaborative transcription called FromThePage, DI quickly transitioned from using on-site software to working from home. “Before long, participants grew to include not only students within our department but staff and students interested in remote work options throughout the library,” Digital Imaging Specialist and Lab Manager Erin Wilson says.

Without the experience of working with Archives and Special Collections materials — both analog and digital — it might be difficult to fully understand the hidden labor that preserves and makes accessible those contents. “Transcription is vital for accessibility and discoverability of online resources,” Wilson says. “Particularly for handwritten materials, where the text is not easily detected with software.”

University Libraries’ Digital Archives include a range of materials from past and present-day eras, such as the Don Swaim Collection, which includes nearly 900 recorded interviews and radio broadcasts with contemporary authors. “I think some people might assume that archival collections are strictly for old books and documents or that they’re most relevant to someone studying history,” Wilson says.

Library Support Specialist Jeff Fulk particularly finds transcribing questionnaires from the Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers satisfying. The questionnaires bring to life the first-hand accounts of soldiers during World War Two. Transcribing audio collections, such as the author interviews in the Swaim Collection, can be intimidating for him. “I'm more of a visual person,” he says. Luckily, the Libraries offer a variety of transcription projects, allowing transcribers to pick and choose between projects.

As a photographer herself, Library Support Associate Sandy Gekosky appreciated the opportunity to create descriptions for the Peter Goss Photograph Collection, which contains the 1960s work of OHIO alumnus and architectural historian Peter Goss. Although different from transcription, description is another time-consuming hidden labor that some remote library workers have been offered the opportunity to work on. According to Wilson, description “involves tagging and assigning metadata, such as titles and locations, to image files so they can be more easily discovered and understood by users.”

In the Goss collection, Gekosky loves seeing photos of how Athens, her home of 30 years, has changed over time.

“Did you know there was a railroad once that went through Athens?” she asks.

Transcribing since 2019, John Higgins, a Federal Work-Study Student Assistant in the DI unit, has learned just how important transcribers are, especially those who, like Gekosky, take extra time to provide the most accurate transcripts. “It may be easy to go online and look for these documents and sources, but the process by which they get onto the internet is one that is filled with precision, accuracy, awareness, and real passion by the people who do it,” he says. Although many people using the transcripts will not understand the hidden labor that Higgins and others have contributed to the archives, he takes pride in knowing that he took part in documenting history.

Prior to the pandemic, sophomore Kathleen Tuley worked for the Collections Assessment & Access department through the Federal Work-Study program. The amount of work she was able to do onsite in the department decreased with the pandemic; however, she was able to continue her job through the remote transcription projects offered by DI.

Tuley completes the final step in the transcription process. She reviews, or proofreads, completed transcripts from the Ryan Collection, making sure “every word matches perfectly,” she says. As they are completed, the corrected transcripts are then added to the Libraries’ public collections in batches. It’s critical that transcribers provide accurate transcription for future users, which is why Tuley says reviewing is more difficult than it may appear.

Library Support Specialist Kim Brooks began transcribing in the early days of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brooks says that deciphering handwriting, although atrocious at times, is a satisfying accomplishment. She particularly enjoys transcribing the Board of Trustees minutes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. “They are not at all easy to read,” Brooks says, “So I feel a great sense of accomplishment in learning to decipher the handwritten documents.”

Although at times the material is challenging to work with, transcribers work diligently to improve University Libraries’ archives collections so that students, faculty, and researchers everywhere have access to these accurate, valuable resources. “I found safety and security and stimulating work that produced hundreds and hundreds of digital files online of valuable information for researchers at Ohio University to access in the future wherever they may be,” Gekosky says.

Written by Digital Initiatives Social Media Editor Ellie Roberto, Journalism Strategic Communications major and Marketing minor, expected graduation 2022.

#ohiouniversity #ohiou #ohiouniversitylibraries #archives

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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972

survey by karla-babyy

Do you know any Asians with American names? In my nationality’s case, nearly all of them. It’s a more common trend than this question makes it out to be. Spanish and Italian names are also common. Filipino names died out for a very long time with only much-older people having them, but it’s slowly seeing another surge over the last few years. Still mostly rare to find, though. Have you ever cut your own hair? I’ve trimmed my bangs with my mom’s help, but not my whole hair. What is something you're avoiding right now? Trying to cry. It was either getting distracted by this survey or staying in bed breaking into tears, so if this survey ends up getting posted it means I made the right choice for myself. What was the reason for your last detention? We don’t have that. I never got in trouble except in Grade 4 when I was caught snickering loudly at the back of the classroom with a friend. Do you eat your vegetables? Yeah, I’m not 5.

Have you ever taken Flintstone's Gummy Vitamins? I’m not sure we have those here, so I doubt I’ve tried that in particular. But I’ve taken plenty of gummy vitamins throughout my childhood and teenage years. Do you get side-tracked easily? Personal shit can sometimes affect my pace and my focus while at work, but I’m always able to shake it off in the end and choose to be more professional. But it does happen, and it can get really hard to like, fix a spreadsheet or do a Powerpoint or write up a cheery email while thinking about my trauma and continually swallowing lumps in my throat lol. When was the last time someone laughed at you, and for what? Cooper was being feisty in my arms last night and my dad laughed at how silly we looked. Do you know anyone who can play the violin? Yes, Ate Alyanna and JM’s sister. JM has also been taking up lessons, but I don’t know of his progress anymore. I haven’t talked to him in months. What's a word you do NOT like, one bit? Faggot/fag sounds so dirty to me. Are you taking or did you take any foreign language classes in high school? I didn’t. I think they offer them now but during my time they didn’t, so it wasn’t like I had the option to take them. As for college, foreign language electives also weren’t required for journalism students so I never took any. When was the last time you took a nap? Last Saturday. Does it piss you off when your parents treat you like a baby? They can be pretty overbearing, like the time they forced me to wear an extremely, painfully corporate look for an interview with a PR agency whose dress code was anything but. That grinded my gears quite a bit. But otherwise, I really do prefer them looking after me. Have you ever swallowed something you shouldn't have, like a quarter, etc? Some weird oil leaking from a battery. Do you know any Russian people? I don’t think so. What was the worst comeback you have ever received? I don’t know. It’s hard to be put on the spot and answer superlatives like this. Do you like Ed Hardy clothes? I don’t know how they look, but I’m guessing that I don’t. What shampoo did you use the last time you washed your hair? Dove. What was the last story you told someone? Dealing with a clumsy co-intern at work. I got tasked to transcribe a 30-minute audio file - which would’ve been no problem to do on my own, since taking up journalism made me transcribe a shit-ton of interviews - but I was doing other tasks for other superiors as well which meant that I had to use a lifeline and tap a co-intern for help. I split the file up and told her I would transcribe the first 20 minutes, while she can take care of the last 10 minutes. I breezed through mine and finished in 45 minutes while multi-tasking, while I never got updates on her end. I kept waiting, and after an hour I asked for her progress and she said she was only 4 minutes in. At that point I was pretty annoyed at myself for giving away a task I thought I was too busy to finish on my own. A little later she messaged me and said she couldn’t understand what was said at the “7:25 minute mark” I was aghast. I was like, “Do you mean 27:25? I said I was going to take care of the first 20 minutes,” and it turns out she never even read my message of me splitting up our parts. I was pissssed as fuck, because she took so fucking long transcribing and it wasn’t even the right part I assigned her to, and because she committed my pet peeve of people not reading directions. Knowing full well how slow she is with transcribing at that point, I just offered to do the rest of the file. Do you like surprises? And no, I dont mean presents. Just surprises. Pleasant ones, yeah. I don’t like surprises meant to scare me. Do you use mascara on your bottom eyelashes? Nope. I can’t remember the last time I used mascara. Do you pick at your fingernails when you're bored? Sure, if they’ve gotten kind of long. When was the last time you played a board game? Sometime last year would be a safe guess. I’m pretty sure I haven’t this year. Do you know anyone named Paul? Yeah, an alumnus from my org who comes around every once in a while. Who was the last person you touched? Not sure, I haven’t had any physical contact with another person in a while... maybe my sister, idk. Name someone who is younger than you. Laurice, Jo, Kate, and Blanch are all younger by a year. Who was the last person you kissed? Gabie. Does your best friend have her/his ears pierced? Yes. When was the last time you received something in the mail other than bills? A few weeks ago when one of my dad’s orders got delivered, and we had to receive it for him. Listen. What do you hear? There’s a new house being constructed in front of ours so there’s a lot of construction noises that we have to hear every day. The workers are nice though and they like seeing my dog and they haven’t cat-called me, so there’s little to whine about. Do you enjoy prank-calling? No. Who was the last person to annoy you? Gabie. Can you recite the alphabet backwards? Nope. I had it memorized at one point, but I guess my brain didn’t find it significant enough to want to remember. Do you own more than 10 pairs of earrings? No. I do want lots of earrings, though. I’d love to buy a few pairs once I’ve gotten my allowance, heh. Is the room you are currently in messy? No, it’s very organized now after my mom and I cleaned it up and redesigned it a bit during the weekend. Do you like correcting people when they say something wrong? If they’re being an asshole about their argument that turns out to have some errors, yes. Otherwise I don’t correct people every single time. Who was the last person to kiss your cheek? Not sure. A good guess would be Gabie though. Do you call people "babygirl"? I’ll use this to refer to my close friends sometimes. What was the last yucky thing you smelled? Cooper’s business. Is the time on your computer clock wrong? No. It has always been accurate from the time I started setting my laptop up when it was new. What should you be doing right now? I’m not required to start working until 9, so I’m good taking this survey for now. Does it bother you when girls talk about tampons in front of boys? It will only bother me if said boys start to feel genuinely uncomfortable for some reason. But if they’re just boys that are being childishly whiny about periods, then those girls can talk their ears off about tampons as much as they want. Is in front one word, or two? Two. How many syllables are in the word "Koala"? Three.

#survey #surveys

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royal-writer · 5 years

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Anywhere you go

let me go, too

- - - -

In the deepest dark she’d ever known, no sound was ever so ghastly and hair-raising as that of the unnatural echo of Penimra’s words. They were less words and more horrifying sounds; whispers that clawed at the back of her mind and made Essätha shudder as he read aloud the alien runes upon the pillars and walls in the corroding labyrinth. He had stopped entirely translating them in the common tongue; for which she was grateful. Hearing the twisted language of Deep Speech was enough. Knowing the incantations he murmured were gruesome promises of torture ahead was even more unnerving.

As each gnarled turn lead to more dead-ends, damp corners, and overgrown areas where deadly plants had taken over and the decayed bodies lay stacked, her hope began to fade further and further into away.

They would not be leaving this hellish place alive.

“We should stop to rest,” Ravamora insisted, her sleeve covering her nostrils to block the stench of mildew. “I haven’t smelled any decaying bodies lately. Maybe no one has gotten this far in?”

“Or maybe whatever abominations may yet reside in this hell devoured their victims whole,” Abernathy concluded. Essie had to side-step to avoid a drip of blood falling off the end of his axe from the fiend he had cleavered in half not but just a few turns and twists ago. Or what felt like a few turns and twists. She felt hopelessly lost in the depths of the chaos of the winding maze.

Lingering behind her; still adjusting the darkvision goggles upon their face with discomfort, Sulhadur added in: “Unless anyone is feeling unwell with fatigue, I agree we should keep moving forward. I’d like to get out of this place.”

“I don’t think I could sleep here even if I was exhausted,” Adela choked, wrapping her tail firmly around herself like a security blanket.

“Let’s just keep moving,” Pen stated; his voice hoarse from uttering the harsh ancient language. “There’s more of these scriptures to read.”

Hoping the mental health of their warlock wasn’t becoming obsessed in the texts, Essie shuddered and without argument, pressed on. Her wary legs were tired; feet dragging sluggishly. The walls felt cramped the further they got themselves lost within the realms of tunneling walls. Every second felt endless; spiraling further into nothing with no result.

The scurrying of Pri’cha’s small limbs bounded in random spurts to catch up to them. Glancing back, the Yuan-Ti woman noted the helpless bug trying to make sense of their surroundings. Within their clawed digits they held a journal, which they were scribbling notes on direction and flipping through tirelessly to try drawing an accurate map should they become lost.

Too late for that, she thought sourly. Not wanting to upset the fluffy innocent Thri-Kreen though, Essie didn’t snark her bad mood upon the distressed looking cleric. They were only doing the best they could, in uncertain circumstance.

As something brushed by her right side, Essätha shuddered and flinched warily. With a squint of her gaze, she glimpsed over to where the nobleman, too, had jumped in surprise. His boots scuffled against the slick cool ground, trying to give her space in the cramped quarters.

“Difficult to breathe,” she rasped, her lungs feeling constricted from the stale air and pungent odor.

“Mmm,” Lord Amon agreed in a rumbling echo. His mouth was only parted enough to breathe through; not daring the smells to enter his nose. She didn’t blame him.

A slight haze continuously covered at the lenses of his nightvision goggles, and he wiped at the condensation with irritation from the hot puffy air of his breathing with the linen tightly grasped in the hand baring his shield. As he reached up to repeat the action for the dozenth or so time, she reached for the handkerchief to gently wipe at them herself.

He smiled. “I can do it; I’ve got two hands.”

“And the other is carrying a sword,” she reminded him. “I’m still waiting for you to bonk yourself on the head with the shield every time you raise your hand to do this.”

To her amazement, he rasped a chuckle despite their dire circumstance.

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered by your gesture, or offended on the blow to my common sense.”

“To be fair, I’m considering my own intelligence when I say this, not your own.”

He huffed at her remark in a way that said he disagreed. With no further response however, she turned her attention back to the front of the group as Penimra lead them onward further into the black void of passages.

Through the crooks and bends, snaking past crumbling walls and stumbling over cracks and risen blocks, the party trailed along the silent corridors. Only their boots and breathes echoed like an eerie symphony. Essätha felt as though she was going mad, listening to the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

“Hurmph,” Penimra paused, swaying their rounded hips in place as they stood before what appeared to be another dead end. He tilted his head slightly, the mask upon his face adding to the comical bird-like gesture.

“What is it, nister Peninra?”

Ignoring the hushed inquiry from their devoted cleric, the warlock raised a gloved hand to rest upon the stone. The rune upon this one didn’t appear inscribed, so much as scribbled on with ink.

“This one’s different,” the high-elf remarked. “It’s newer; not written like the others.” The transcribing smeared a bit beneath his touch. The Yuan-Ti’s stomach knotted as it revealed a reddish tint beneath the aged oxidized brown.

Blood.

The verse letters began to glitter faintly, and the wall began to part before their very eyes. Everyone shuffled a few steps back warily, as the opening yawned open before them. The transaction was smooth; timeless as though built yesterday. The walls did not groan, and barely any dust stirred from the settled structure.

“Oh thank Torm,” Abernathy brightly explained. “Finally; a way out.”

“I don’t trust it,” Adela whispered. “Pen, what did that rune say?”

With one foot already slid over the threshold, the paladin orc came to an abrupt halt. They appeared torn between running through, and remaining a statue in place from the sorceress’ words.

“Enter,” Penimra validated, standing curiously still. “All that rune meant, was ‘enter’.”

“What do you suppose we do, Adela?” Essätha spoke up; her voice dry and croaking. “Continue wandering in hopes for a better way out?”

“There’s no reason for attitude-”

Sighing, Essie crossed her arms, ignoring the red Dragonborn’s lecture. She was achy, thirsty, and fighting hunger purely through her disgust for her surroundings She didn’t trust to eat or drink a drop here, without something dripping from the ceiling into her food and contaminating it.

“Allow me to go first,” Abernathy politely offered. “If this is a chance at getting out, I think we should take it. I will protect you, Adela, I promise.”

She worried for a moment that the pink Tiefling would reject this notion. Chewing on her lip, her jewelry jingling quietly in the dead silence. But Adela finally and thankfully accepted after a few moments pause, bobbing her head up and down, and with no further argument from the tired remainder, Abernathy proceeded onward through the new gateway.

A light shoulder brushed against hers as they squeezed through the doorway. Essie leaned away instinctively, trying not to suffocate anyone with her presence. With a glance, she spotted the green filters of the darkvision goggles on Amon’s face, stealing away the dark blue of his eyes as he looked back at her.

The contact was not accidental. His hand grazed along hers; the shield to his back. A touch so light it was easy to consider she was only imagining it.

She took his hand and squeezed with a demure smile.

He appeared unsettled.

“M’lord?”

“We’re going to follow the instructions painted in what could arguably be blood at a dead end stone wall?” he contended unhappily. “Does this really sound like the best course of action?”

She sighed uncomfortably. “No. But what if it does offer us a sustainable exit? We don’t know who, or what, made this entry, let alone if it’s still alive.”

“And if it is how it appears: a trap?”

“We’ve had to behead, burn, and assault various monsters so far in this labyrinth,” Essie pointed out. “If it’s just one more, I think we should be able to handle it.”

A long, tired sigh escaped the nobleman. He flexed his hand around hers as he murmured to himself, “Are you sure about that?”

Those had to be some of the most eerie words she’d ever heard. They plagued doubt into the mind like a scavenging infection, raging on the mind. It was the whispering uncertainty of a god’s mockery in the back of the mind, and it made her feel much less certain about her enthusiasm in running headlong into what she hoped to be freedom.

The single path seemed to take them deeper and deeper into the unknown, and further away from the maze left behind them. She began to question the length of the open room, and it’s security, when something crunched beneath Abernathy’s boots ahead.

Everyone came to a deafening halt, to examine what he’d stepped on.

“Rat bones.”

An exhale of relief echoed amongst them.

“You’d expect vermin, right?” Adela laughed almost hysterically with fear. “There’s nothing strange about rat bones scattered around the room, right?”

“Scattered?” Sulhadur breathed. “They’re all pretty uniform to me, Adela.”

“No,” she corrected, her voice showing her confusion. “There’s more, right over here.”

“… And here,” Ravamora whispered. “And here,” Pri’cha chirped.

Sure enough, as Essätha followed their pointing fingers, her eyes zeroed in on the random other pieces of bone. They all appeared mostly small, but none appeared to be part of the skeleton of the rat Abe had stepped on. These were random pieces. Part of a rib here of some small creature, a femur from what looked like another there, and then there was a finger bone there…

“Are they all parts of rats?” Penimra asked almost hopefully.

The tightness of Amon’s hand against hers increased. “Let’s keep moving, quickly.”

There was no disagreement to investigate. In a burst of energy, the cautious footsteps that had began to take them through the new passage began to pick up speed. As it did so, the air temperature; which had been unnoticed to them as growing chillier, began to change. It grew colder and colder the deeper into the rabbit hole they fled. The air seemed to have a draft; or perhaps it was simply them, rushing, feet clamoring, the sound of their footsteps like thunder in the bleak silence.

Walls began to open further and further, revealing a chamber’s space. The air was misted with hanging crystals of moisture. It caused Essätha to shiver not just from the biting cold to her sensitive nerves, but from the liquid suspended in the air. It was almost artful; rain frozen in time, you could almost make out the visible microscopic snowflakes drifting as the air escaped lungs in clouds.

“There’s a door!”

Essie followed the bubbly, sob-like relief in the jeweler’s voice. Sure enough, there was what appeared to be a half-collapsed threshold on the opposite side of the room. It looked like a tight squeeze to pass through for some of the party members, but it was a promising change to the dreary room and nightmare tunnels far behind.

As they stepped inside the misty terrain, a growing sense of paranoia enveloped her. Static seemed to sizzle and crackle in the air; or was it just the chill in her goosebumps? Her eyes moved around the room, and she quickly realized she was not the only one to recognize the charge as some of the others began to gaze around.

To her deepest regret, Amon released her hand to retrieve his shield.

“What are all of you pausing for?” Sul asked, oblivious. He scanned the area like the rest of them, taking up his impressive shield to offer cover towards anxious-looking warlock near him.

Essätha held her breath as she turned in a tight circle. Amon’s attendance shifted from her side, to angular; giving her partial cover with his body and shield as the group formed a loose ringed circle with each other. His breathing was relaxed compared to her own; more ragged, adding to the haze of white swirling around them.

To the right, just out of sight between the fog and darkness, a boulder quivered and moved. It’s bumpy, discolored surface flexed like a quivering egg ready to hatch. It rolled to one side, and then the other.

“I can’t see shit,” the warlock whined.

“Shush,” Abe growled. “Look. Listen.”

Essätha squinted through the darkness with her superior darkvision, seeing something floating independently in the air. It’s shadows moved; a spherical orb of milky flesh white.

A singular crimson eye turned towards them and hovered.

Instead of words, a horrified and breathy hiss burned through her chest as she raised a hand; a flurry of magic sparking in violet hues along her fingers.

The words barely spat out of her mouth, and suddenly, the mound of cancerous looking skin flew in their direction. Her Chill Touch missed the erratic movement of the hovering creature as it twisted out of the way, and her companions all turned their attention in the direction she was.

Emitting curses in the Deep Speech she only recognized the sound from Penimra’s repetitive translations, the creature launched itself at them. Some of the ridges and bumps on its bodies suddenly extended. Arm-like appendages exploded outward; further, and then further still, and the collective screams of half the startled party filled the room in a unified echo as tentacles came swatting upon them from the monstrosity.

The one directed towards her was quickly adverted; slamming against Amon’s shield as he flung it up protectively. A second limb smashed against Sulhadur’s thick armor, doing effectively nothing. The third slapped Penimra, looping itself partly around his waist.

The high-elf let out the most alarming screech; their beak-mask opening to reveal rows of gnarled teeth. As disturbing as the cursed elf’s face was, Essie had seen it before. Seeing the rows of teeth at the end of the alien creature’s appendages; their color red and pulsing with life-blood, pierce through his clothes and into flesh however was a whole new kind of terror.

Gushes of red swelled around where the tentacle planted itself, and like a vampire to prey, it fed in horrifying gulps from its toothy limb like a ritualistic death kiss.

“Let go of my boy!” Abernathy suddenly roared, lifting the axe from his shoulder as he charged forward. His arms reared back, his legs braced, and Essätha watched as the weapon came down upon the monstrosities rounded, ugly body.

It screeched; the sound coming from seemingly every direction. As it howled and writhed, it’s many-limbs flinging themselves wildly around, Abernathy too let out a startled cry. Arcs of static seemed to burst from the wound; lightning coursing up the paladin’s arms and leaving dark scorch marks and the smell of seared flesh stinging the air.

She sucked in a breath as Amon stepped forward on one side, Sulhadur on the other, and the pair raised their swords to bring them down upon the appendage wrapped around Penimra. The creature bellowed and thrashed further as blood oozed and spurted; the limb nearly detached from the furiousity of the two blows. Unlike the previous blow directly upon it’s body, there was no after-shocks of electricity to catch on their weapons like lightning rods.

Fear overwrote all reason.

Adela casted; a flurry of fireballs zipping past the floating orb of the creature’s mass as it jerked from side to side. Pri’cha, quick as their little feet could manage, barreled to the front to raise their lit candlestick and utter a cry to Pelor. To the utmost misfortune; it was thrown off entirely by the beast’s movements.

Another lashing of its limbs, and the beastly abomination flung its limbs around once again. One struck Abernathy this time; finding nothing to latch to than armor, which cracked a few of its ‘teeth’. The second hurled towards Pri’cha, finding it hard to make purchase on the cleric. The third, still weakly squirming, turned redder in color as it sucked a massive surge of blood out of the warlock.

In a single violent shudder, Penimra collapsed.

Run.

Her legs were stuck. She could not urge the muscles to move. It was as if she was turned to stone.

Essätha watched, transfixed, as Adela howled in terror for their high-elf companion. She flung herself to grab at him, falling with the man as he slumped down. Another rise of their weapons, and Amon and Sulhadur hacked into the squirming limb, leaving it hanging by only tendrils. Almost as soon as they were lifting their weapons again, Abernathy let out a curse of his own as a sneaky tendril throttled him; physically knocking the man- the towering figure of their impervious paladin- flat on his rear and failing to suffocate his arm in a vise-grip.

Ravamora; who had taken towards running for the exit, lifted their bow to fire an arrow towards the orb, missing entirely. “Come on!”

The creature’s eye locked on to Essie, meeting her gaze.

Run, little girl.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She could run.

How far, though? How fast? Would her legs fail her, or would they never stop; never halt, never give her a chance to look back, to see what she left behind, to see the slaughter, the massacre, the failure, the devastation in wake of a lifetime of mistakes.

Amon grabbed hold of Penimra, grunting heavily as Sulhadur’s sword came down once more to detatch the remaining repulsive limb. No sooner, he turned to grab Pen’s legs to help carry him out; a shimmer of magic emitting from his hands.

“Niss Essie, help us!” Pri’cha urged; lifting their candle. The source of light was vanished in an instant; just like their lives seemed to be. A wriggling limb slapped the candle, breaking it, and swatted the tiny bug hard enough to make them trill sharply in agony.

Adela tripped over her own tail, yelping as she lifted her hand. A blast of fire erupted; searing the chilled air and making condensation rain drops drip mid-air. One ray pelted the monster’s body and it recoiled, leaving a guttural sound of pain and anger. Abernathy in turn winced, trying to hack at the creature as embers rained down upon him, spots of blood appearing where the teeth gauged into the side of his neck.

She felt like a detached entity. Her hand raised, the snake-shaped magic missiles warping into existence and volleying across the span of distance. Two seemed to blankly be dismissed, striking limbs, a third to its side, and then the final hit just below, infuriating the beast further.

As Ravamora fired off another arrow; the end jabbing a limb, the monster lunged. One limb pulsed with Abernathy’s blood, and two more came flying out towards her braced position.

Run.

She did not even flinch as the extended body part hit her. One struck her squarely in the face; and she gasped with surprise more than anything. The other hit her abdomen, the winding of the limb dragging against her stomach as it latched on to soft skin beneath her shirt.

It was like being bitten and having electric currents bursting into your blood vessels all at once.

Essie shrieked; her brain screaming at her to function, to release the tension in her legs.

“Follow Rava; we’ll see if we can’t blockade the exit!” Abernathy gurgled, thrusting his axe downward in an arc. Between the pouring blood that spurted out of the wound, and the visible charge of electrical fields zapping outward, the paladin of Torm cried out in astonishment.

Adela, way ahead of Abe, was already with the other two gentleman carrying away Penimra. She said something; something Essie’s muffled eardrums could not make out, before gesturing with her hands and casting yet another bombardment of pluming fire. They sporadically went everywhere in her panic; one lighting Abernathy’s pants leg on fire and another coming dangerously close to Ess as she physically grabbled with the strength of the appendage draining her of blood.

“Sir Adernathy!” Pri’ weakly exclaimed, raising a dagger. They seemed to hesitate with the physical embodiment of a weapon, before bringing it crashing down upon the beast’s limb, and throwing yet another at it’s body.

It roared with fury, twisting and lashing it’s limbs.

Boots and clawed-feet clamoring, Sul joined the bug-cleric in raising his sword to hack at another limb. Another arrow followed; puncturing the animalistic being’s side with a warbled sound of pain. It flung out more of its tentacles, one smashing into Sul’s horns uselessly, another slapping at Pri’, and it’s third and fourth draining blood from its captors.

The color in her cheeks was pale as Essie struggled. Her head felt like it was full of cotton.

Run.

The limb had all but ensnared her waist, and she could feel her vitality faltering.

Flee now.

A blade came flying down at full force, severing the limb nearly in two in a single swipe.

“Run, Essätha!”

She gasped for breath, her head spinning. Pools of crimson dots on her shirt, and growing. She barely staggered in place, disoriented. Abernathy and Sul were yelling distantly; trying to gather the beast’s attention as the remainder of the party headed for the exit, violently waving arms to come.

Lord Amon’s face broke through the surface waves clouding her. He was close, the smell of blood, sweat, and pine lingering on him.

“Essie, we have to go, now!”

The blade came down again, piercing through the limb and forcing it to detatch helplessly, barely in one piece. Amon swatted at it, grabbing her by the hand.

She was a dead weight, and nearly fell against him as he dragged her forward.

One of its limbs not assaulting in vain upon the armor of the paladins was barely deflected from either of them as the nobleman raised his shield.

“Essie, please!”

His voice was helpless. Terrified. She could see the fear in his eyes through the tunnel-vision.

When he pulled at her again, her legs found themselves. Every step felt like an agonizing mile in strained calves.

Another lashing of its legs as fire and arrows came hurtling at it across the room. The beastly thing cursed them some more in the foreign tongue, and a limb came within inches of missing Amon, only to circle back and strike her as she lagged. Her legs stumbled, and she fell against the Illiad heir.

He hit his knees, biting back a groan as she nearly toppled over him.

“Almost there,” he panted, sheathing his blade to take her hand. “We’re almost there, Essätha, come on.”

As he scrambled to his feet, he grabbed her hand and surged her along with him. She was almost dizzy with the vertigo of standing so swiftly, her entire body felt like it was on an entirely different plane than her mind. She sucked in violent gulps of air, fumbling to keep up with his pace as Amon hurtled them through the tight, narrow space to squeeze into the next area.

Sul and Abe broke through seconds behind them.

Slamming weapons and magic into the crumbling gateway, two limbs managed to shoot through before they were trapped. A wall of stone came tumbling down, breaking the monster’s limbs. A distant shriek could be heard as it’s twitching, blood-sucking mouth-ends fell limp on the floor mere inches from them all.

With heavy panting the others turned to glance among each other. A murmur of words, and Sul and Abernathy were busily exchanging the divine healing granted from their God’s to Penimra and each other from glance blows. A dazed Penimra sat on the floor, Adela and Rava on either side of him as they murmured encouragingly to the confused-looking elf with droopy ears. Only Pri’cha, interested by the new and unexplained, cracked open their notebook with a muted ‘fascinating’ as they began to sketch the creature from memory and it’s crushed limbs, jotting down notes.

Essätha breathed out a held breath. Her body visibly shook; grabbing at herself; her chest, her limbs, any part of her she could reach. Her legs felt lead-laid again. Her mind was still in a viscous cycle, screaming at her to run, over and over again. Tears danced in and out of her vision as she tried to comprehend the urgent sense of fight or flight rearing up like a phantom memory.

A hand reached out for her, gently grasping her own. “You’re hurt. Let me-”

Before he could finish his sentence, stepping closer, she jerked away with a winded, wheezing gasp. Her arm fell away from the tender gentleness of his grasp to be held against her shirt, now spoiled with dust and rows of tattered shirt, shredded skin, and blood.

“Essätha, it’s only me,” Amon urged, his voice gentle, but raised to be hurt. He reached for her once more, slower this time, letting her see that it was just his hands, and nothing more.

“May I see, please? Would you let me-”

Another raspy breath, and she ignored him entirely. Run. Run the voice repeated, over and over again. She was afraid and her body hurt; her legs hurt, her tummy especially hurt, she hurt.

Run.

“Essie?” he murmured, more confused as his hands gently, gently, folded around hers.

She met his gaze this time, wordlessly.

His expression was filled with pleading. Worry etched in the lines of his face; drawn deeper than ever. The window to his soul was naked in his gaze. Bruised feelings of worry in those dark blues.

“What happened, back there?” Amon whispered. “Why didn’t you run?”

Warmth like the sun trailed from his touch. She’d forgotten entirely this new magic. The healing artistry of his touch, even before the magic, was pure in just the soft ways he held her hands. Usually it made her so calm, but now, her thoughts were rampant. She wanted to dive her fingers into his hair and fall into his chest and promise it was nothing; and smile up into his endearing face and watch the ways his smile grew. She loved that, most of all; the transition, the way his eyes squinted every so slightly, the softness of his mouth pulled, tugging, trying to restrain himself from a full-blown grin, the tenderness in him and the ease of his expression.

Still trying to find enough air to breathe; it felt so thin and unfulfilling, her eyes could not settle anywhere. Not on Amon; the worry in his face making her insides fidget further. Not on his hands, as she impulsively wanted to ask him to cradle her instead. The floor, mostly, was the safest option.

“I wanted to,” she explained hoarsely. “More than anything.”

“But I was afraid if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I promised you I’d be there. I promised you I’d stay. I couldn’t live with myself, if I broke that promise. I couldn’t live with myself, hurting you.”

Her voice cracked and broke into a faltering silence at the end. The wash of light from his hands extinguished; healing a great deal of the worst of the puncture marks in her chest. It made her breathing no less easier. In fact, her lungs felt more constricted now, than ever.

“… Oh Essätha.”

The wavering notes of her name were so painstakingly drawn out on his tongue. It sounded so beautiful, such a simple thing as a name. It brought her attention up to him, drawn by his voice; a call in the dark.

His eyes were even more lovely than his voice. It was strange to see herself reflected in the dark pools. The center of his attention, and she was unafraid. Quite the opposite in fact; she felt safe, and warm, and special as he wrapped his fingers tighter around her own, taking a step closer into the circumference of her space.

She caught her breath all at once.

“There is no place I wouldn’t follow you,” Amon remarked; his voice thick. “I’d find you, if only to be sure you were safe; and if you never wanted to hear from me again, I would understand, and never bother you again if you desired. If your spirit tells you you need the room to roam free, run until your legs give out, and I will find you if only to assure you that there is still a place for you, at my side.

“But if you ever need to run because you were scared, or in danger, or the world was too much to carry, or you were hurting, you can always run to me. You can always run to me. I will always have room for you, in my arms. I will always take you in; to be your shelter, your shield, your friend, whatever you may need me to be, I will be for you. I am always here for you, Essätha; always.”

He paused, his fingers weaving between her own. “Anywhere you may go, let me go, too.”

With her mouth hanging speechlessly open, she clung to his fingers. They were careful, even in his strength. The returned affection of his squeeze was pure gentle affections.

“… You would chase me, if I fled?” she cautiously inquired, licking her lips.

“To the very ends of the earth.”

“Why?”

His smile was almost pained. “To make sure you are comfortable, and that you are safe.” He paused to take a breath. “I would leave the moment you asked, but I… I would have to make sure you are okay. That you are living the sort of life you deserve, wherever that may be. That you’re happy.”

“I am happy,” she blurted out; all attempts to refrain nonexistent. “I’m happy when I’m with you.”

“I just- I have bad habits; I get frightened and it’s like an impulse, it’s how I’ve… survived so long-”

He held her hands fiercely. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Essie.”

“I feel I owe you that,” she barely breathed. He was so close; the weight of his lashes were half-mast.

Amon gave the smallest shake of his head. “You don’t need to do that, anymore than I wish for you to drag yourself through memories that may hurt you like fresh wounds trying to explain. I understand all I need, and that is enough. You owe me nothing; you haven given me more than enough kindness, and I trust you. You are entitled to yourself and your privacy.”

Her heart squeezed. She loved him so much, her body ached with longing.

She took the last two steps into his chest, and his arms found their way free of hers and around her as hers did to him. He was filled with the suns rays; warm, inviting, homey. Her body relaxed; melting entirely into the embrace.

“Thank you, m’lord.”

The broad sweeps of his palms rubbed the length of her spine in soothing circles as he nestled beside her ear. “You owe me no thanks, Essie.”

Oh but I do, she wanted to cry. For all the gentle ways you nurture my heart, I owe you that and so much more. Everything. I owe you everything for your kindness.

Stay, her heart whispered.

Stay, her brain echoed in agreement.

For what felt like the first time, a peaceful, coherent agreement. The pair of them, surrounded by their crumbled walls of fear from a lifetime of solitude and agony. Now they were sharing the sun, dancing in the wild unknown, interlocked. His breath tickling against her ear so she shivered. A yearning more profound than any words echoing through her in an endless cycle; filling the chasms of her voided soul.

Stay.

The idea was tantalizing. Tempting. Filled with want.

Gods, I’ll stay the rest of my days, if he’ll have me, her thoughts mused. A flutter in her chest, and her heart twisted and hummed and raced with agreement.

Home is where the heart is, they said. And that was all the reason she needed to stay.

#royal writes #essamon ship #amon illiad #Essie rw #ooohh the sweet sweet fluff my heart

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talkagency · 6 years

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What is the Best Audio to Text Transcription Software in 2018?

If you are looking for a way to turn your audio and video content into written text, then you have two options available to you. The first is manual transcription, which involves someone typing out the words they hear from your audio. The second is automated transcription, where software does the hard work for you. Both have their own pros and cons, so let’s take a closer look at your options.

Manual Audio to Text Transcription

Manual transcription has been around for decades. It is a trusted method of accurately transcribing audio to text and allows extra information to be added as required. However, manual transcription is time-consuming, expensive and labour-intensive. Of course, where manual transcriptions truly shine is the human touch. Text can be transcribed in a natural and targeted way with as few errors as possible. This is particularly beneficial if grammar and punctuation is important, such as when transcribing a recorded interview.

Automated Audio to Text Transcription Software

Automated transcription software can be a powerful tool to make use of. The software effectively listens to the audio content and then converts it into written text. This can save hours of work compared to manual transcription. However, the text output will only be as good as the software permits, words may be misheard and misspelt, and the final result will generally still require proper proofreading and editing. Depending on how much audio you have to transcribe, this approach can make life much easier.

What Audio to Text Transcription Software is Best?

In this section, we are going to take a look at the best audio to text software available on the market. For fairness, we have run an audio file through the software to check the results and to perform an accurate comparison. Each piece of software will be rated out of 5 for its accuracy.

Google Web Speech API – ★☆☆☆☆

To use Google Web speech API, you first need to install Virtual Audio Cable. Google Web Speech API allows you to automatically transcribe any audio that is playing on your computer in real time. Once you have installed Virtual Audio Cable, you can open the Google Web Speech API page, hit record and watch as it types out the audio that it hears. There is no denying that Google is able to keep up with the fast-paced speech. But how much does it actually understand? And is it able to write an understandable sentence?

Original Audio – Now, while it’s true I always have a jar or a tin of cookies or biscuits in my kitchen, at Christmas I wanted to have more or a kind of grotto feel. So, that does mean my Christmas chocolate cookies.

Google Web Speech Output – How watts it’s true I’m always have car or for of 10 cookies of pissed kits in my kitchen that Christmas i wanted to Have more of eight kind of gross a field so that does me my christmas got to get cookie.

Okay, so we can see from the text above that the transcription by Google Web Speech API is kind of disappointing. If you were looking at saving time on content output, then this method may actually take you twice as long. All of the edits and corrections will make for a hard task. In fact, over 70% of the text output is wrong. Maybe the audio was too challenging, so let’s try another snippet from Nigella Lawson’s Christmas Cookies recipe.

Original Audio – Now, when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish. But I love that. It makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Google Web Speech Output – How then you takes the briskets shout for the open you will to say that day had a father cracked finish but I love that if naked then look so home maid and conspiring.

So that really didn’t improve matters. While the foundations for a great transcription tool are definitely there, at this point in time you would be better off manually typing out what you hear. Trying to edit the text after will leave you scratching your head wondering what it’s actually supposed to say. Another issue is that the software randomly decides it’s not going to type anymore and then kicks back in when it feels ready. Out of the full transcription, it made 212 errors out of 283 words.

Due to the poor transcription and the tool being stubborn/erratic it gets 2/5 stars

Trint ★★★☆☆

Trint is an audio to text transcriber that is available both on computers and phones. When first signing up, you are offered a free trial with 30 minutes of audio to be used. Unlike Google, Trint allows you to upload files, URLs, and videos to transcribe instead of simply listening to what is being said. But how well does it actually perform? For the reason of fairness, we will use Nigella again to compare the text output.

Trint Output– Now while it’s true I always have a jar or a tin of cookies of biscuits in my kitchen at Christmas I want it to have more of a kind of grotto feel. So that does mean my Christmas chocolate cookies.

Wow! That first bit of audio is almost spot on word for word! The only errors are “want it” instead of “wanted” and “of” instead of “or”. Uploading audio and video files is quick and easy. The interface allows for drag and drop and takes seconds to upload. The software also automatically detects the language and accent, along with starting new paragraphs when more than one person speaks. So let’s see how it goes with a little more of the audio.

Original Audio – Now, when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish. But I love that. It makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Trint Output – Now when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish. But I love that it makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Again, the audio to text output hits the mark. In fact, it even puts periods in at the right places. Of course, no software can add in punctuation at this point in time. Trint is feature rich, allows you to record and transcribe video simultaneously and does what it promises. The free trial lets you test run it for yourself, which is always a good thing. In the full transcription, it made 14 errors out of 283 words.

Fairly accurate transcription and fast processing gives Trint 3/5 stars

Happy scribe ★★★★★

As with Trint, Happy Scribe provides a 30-minute free trial so you can sample the software before subscribing to a plan. Also, like Trint, the software is available online rather than needing to download software to your computer. So, we will use the same audio file again to compare the software and see how well it performs.

Happy scribe Output– Now while it’s true I always have a jar or a tin of cookies of biscuits in my kitchen at Christmas I wanted to have more of a kind of Wrotto feel. So that does mean my Christmas chocolate cookies.

The first thing to note is that the transcription process took approximately twice as long as Trint did. However, it actually transcribed the audio almost perfectly except for one word. So far, so good. Let’s now compare the next part of the transcription as used in Trint.

Original Audio – Now, when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish. But I love that. It makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Happy Scribe Output – Now when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish because I love that it makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Again, there is only one error. All in all, Happy scribe is possibly the best transcription software we have tested to date in this post. While Trint performed well, in the rest of the transcribed audio, it changed bowl to ball. Sprinkles to pink holes, and saucepan to source pain. Happy Scribe, on the other hand got just 2 words wrong out of 283 words! The accuracy is almost equal to human transcription.

The accuracy is through the roof and it is easy to use so receives 5/5 stars

Sonix.ai ★★★★☆

The final audio transcription software we have checked is Sonix.ai. As with Trint and Happy Scribe, there is a 30-minute free trial to use. The software is also 100% online and requires no separate tools. The UI is clean and easy to follow and files can be dragged and dropped. Once you select the language and country, your file is transcribed and an email is sent when it’s ready. So, let’s test old Nigella’s audio again.

Sonix Output– Now while it’s true I always have a jar or a tin of cookies of biscuits in my kitchen at Christmas I wanted to have more of a kind of Wrotto feel. So that does mean my Christmas chocolate cookies.

Again, it changed grotto to wrotto but other than that it is pretty accurate. We love the fact that this software shows its confidence percentages. It tells you that it is confident with 92% of the text, not sure with 8%. The fact that there is a play button that plays the audio while highlighting the transcribed audio makes the proofing easier. You can read and listen as you go and correct errors in real time. But how does it fare against the remaining sample text?

Original Audio – Now, when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish. But I love that. It makes them look so homemade and comforting.

Sonix Output – Now when you take the biscuits out of the oven you will see that they have a rather cracked finish because I love that it makes them look so homemade and comforting.

The same errors were made in the second part of the sample as were seen in Happy Scribe. In fact, weirdly every error was exactly the same between the two. Perhaps they use the same transcribing software behind the scenes, who knows? Regardless of that fact, Sonix is perhaps a little more feature rich and easier to work with. However, for the full audio transcription of 2.02 minutes, the error count begins to rise ever so slightly. Out of 283 words, it made just 5 errors! Again, a great piece of software that will ultimately save you hours of time.

Almost error free and simple UI gives it 4/5 stars

Which is the Best?

It is surprising that a web giant such as Google is so far behind when it comes to Audio to text transcription. Out of the three that actually deserve to be on this list, the one that we found to perform the best with the highest degree of accuracy is Happy Scribe. Ultimately, it would be a good idea to try all three out for yourself and see how they perform for your audio and video files.

Disclaimer: Before we forget to say. We are in no way affiliated with any of these software providers. Nor do we make any revenue from them. Out of 9 different tried and tested types of transcription software, these were the only three that actually made life all the more easy rather than creating work. So, what is your favourite audio to text transcriber? And how do you feel it measures up to our top 3?

Article first published here: What is the Best Audio to Text Transcription Software in 2018?

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