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normal-person-i-promise · 8 months

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I'd just like to clarify that i do NOT know how old nightmare was when he ate the apple, i simply assumed he was older. like not a minor if he indeed is a child then please tell me i will take this down

god i am so sorry >.<

Blood tw!!

Bad Apple

dreamtale belongs to jokublog

cross-posted to ao3! -> https://archiveofourown.org/works/51085057

As Nightmare finished off the last apple, his painful shriek split the air as four great tentacles burst from his back: thrashing, physical manifestations of negativity, his body too full of hate, anger, envy, and...

Love.

He loved you, he realized. Loved you a lot more than he thought he did. And when he realized he finally had enough power to scare the townspeople and have you all to himself, he was ecstatic.

* * *

He was just a boy. He just wanted friends, he just wanted people who cared about him.

They shunned him. Called him a monster, called him the devil.

Then you came along. You talked to him, you played with him, you sat with him, you smiled at him — and all these things combined would have made his SOUL flutter if he had one. He treasured you, savouring the moments when your eyes met his, the short seconds when his rough bone met your soft skin, those special times when the sun would hit your eyes just right and make them sparkle in the sunlight.

You were delicate.

Fragile.

Day after day he would talk to you — talk to you until the sky grew dark, until the only sound was your voices — until sleep took over and you dozed off in each other's arms. He would talk to you about the stars' grace in their eternal dances across the night sky, their steps never halting; about the moon's beauty, her soft glow guiding travellers in the night, protecting them from harm; about the sun's light, ever shining, bringing warmth to your world — about how nice it was, just the two of you.

Sometimes, he would take a black apple from the tree, place it gently in your hands, and let you marvel at it. The apples had such intricate swirls, designs so winding that you could get lost in them — like a maze — if you stared too long.

He'd let you sit by the tree with him, the both of you tracing the ancient bark's ornate patterns with your fingertips under the moonlight, admiring its beauty.

He'd tell you stories of his mother, the original guardian; he'd tell you of how he remembered her face, her eyes full of kindness, a smile gracing her lips. Her hands were always warm and welcoming, almost beckoning, and her touches were ever so gentle.

The memory was vague and distant.

And as the leaves fell from the tree and the sky grew dark, Nightmare looked at you. He looked at you with sockets open wide, regret and guilt swirling within them; he stared at you, right through you, gripping the once-golden apple in a hand clenched too tight, held by a form too tense.

The townsfolk were angry. After all, why wouldn't Nightmare do something like this? Why wouldn't he doom them all? They were practically waiting for this to happen, practically waiting for an excuse to kill him.

So as a last-ditch attempt to stay alive from the violent townspeople, Nightmare listened to that voice. He sank his teeth into the black apple in his hand, the perfect blend of sweet and sour flooding his senses — he became addicted to them, like a drug, eating them one after another.

But as he bit into apple after apple, the townsfolk started to back away as things started to happen to him.

Black muck as thick as tar began to pool and flood from any openings they could, blocking his right eye, coating all the surfaces it touched. The substance itself had a putrid smell, like a rotting carcass or spoilt fruit.

His emotions started to distort, hate and anger being prevalent among them, souring his mood. He could feel himself getting bolder with each bite he took, his confidence soaring, his mind unhinging.

But even though he had such hatred to the townsfolk, he never once had a negative thought about you. You were someone who cared about him, someone who kept him company when his brother went off to help the townfolk, someone who talked to him, someone who would love him. You alone had done more to help him than all of the town combined, and he wasn't willing to let that go unrewarded.

Love.

He loved you, he realized. Loved you a lot more than he thought he did. And when he realized he finally had enough power to scare the townspeople and have you all to himself, he was ecstatic.

Vaguely, Nightmare could see their scared faces, eyes wide and fearful, or hear their screams, full of terror — but it all seemed far away to him.

He was thinking about you. How you were too soft, too easily broken; how your skin seemed to glow in the gentle light of the moon, the way you would smile contentedly, — and how he would protect you from this moment onwards.

What could they do that he wouldn't?

They never talked to you, they never helped with you, they never even looked at you, too disgusted by the fact that you talked to Nightmare, the living embodiment of bad emotions.

Not like it mattered.

He could love you, alone, and you wouldn't need anyone. You wouldn't have to work, you wouldn't have to cook, you wouldn't have to do anything.

He would do it all for you if you loved him.

He ran to you, tentacles eager to feel your skin, hands reaching for a warm embrace — but the closer he came to you, the more scared you got, tears starting to pool at your eyes as your whole body tensed.

When Nightmare realized you weren't running to him, he stopped, his wide grin dropping, outstretched arms and tentacles falling. His change of emotion was near instant; he bared his teeth, almost growling, his shoulders raising while his single socket narrowed, crumpling into a look of utter rage.

"WHY WON'T YOU COME TO ME!?" He roared, voice echoing and hackles raising, hands balling into fists. Fear and anxiety were climbing up your throat, threatening to spill — your body was shaking as you struggled to keep your knees from quaking, your eyes too wet with tears blurring your vision.

This wasn't him. You both knew that.

Still a little far from you, he reached out a jet-black hand — and almost immediately his tentacles surged towards you, black sludge falling off them like rain from clouds. They wrapped around you, tightening, suffocating you while pulling you towards Nightmare faster than you could react — stopping just in front of him, inches away from his outstretched hand.

It was when he lowered his hand that you saw that his glowing teal pupil was a SOUL, looking straight through you.

Upon seeing you up close, his grin widened, showing one too many teeth and splitting his face in half. He was quiet for the longest time, just staring at you, greedily drinking in your fear as the tentacles wound about your skin uncomfortably, though softly — as if you were made of porcelain — leaving trails of black sludge.

The villagers, curious about the silence, came from where they hid. They found the perfect excuse in front of their eyes: a horrible monster, primed and ready to kill an innocent civilian.

"Monster!"

"Beast!"

"Devil!"

You whirled around (what little you could, at least) to face the villagers who said those horrid things, begging them to stop. He didn't hurt you! He's fine, really! Don't make it worse!

They paid you no heed.

When you turned back to what was once Nightmare, sweet Nightmare, he was livid. His eye socket was brimming with anger, his teeth were bared, and his hands were balled into tight fists.

The tentacles first released you, gently — stilling for a moment — then shooting out in all directions, elongating, killing any villager in sight in all the ways you could name. Tears pooled at your eyes as your hands covered your mouth in shock.

"What's wrong, darling?" A voice sounded, smooth and collected. Calm. It was him who spoke.

When you looked back at him, you saw that thing staring at you through, SOUL-shaped eye light almost appearing to beat, his grin thin and sly.

You couldn't speak.

"Is it not beautiful?" Holding your hand, he gestured with his free one, surveying the village: the strong smell of copper in the air, the blood staining the green grass red, the countless severed body parts littering the floor. You could hear cries of pain and shouts for help, begging for the pain to stop, begging for their families back, begging for forgiveness.

"Did they not get what they deserved?"

You looked into that socket, brimming with madness, hatred, anger — but also love, adoration, infatuation — as if he expected you to be proud of him for punishing those who had wronged him. He looked at you expectantly, awaiting your answer.

"Th-this isn't r-right." You stumbled through your words as your soft voice wavered, your cheeks wet with tears.

"Oh? And why is that so, my love?" He leaned into you, pulling you closer to him, tentacles caressing your skin. You were soft — so soft — and no matter how many times Nightmare touched you, he could never not be awed by your delicate skin. You grow uncomfortable, and try to put some space between the two of you to no avail.

"Th-they didn't h-have to die." You tried, in vain, to keep your voice steady and to stop hiccuping.

He glared at you, single socket narrowing.

"What did they do that I didn't to garner this much attention from you?" You could tell that he was becoming aggravated by the way he tightened his grip on you, his teeth grinding, a voice that wasn't Nightmare's struggling to get out from behind them.

"A-ah! Um..." You stutter, tears falling to the ground as you squirmed uncomfortably in his grip. You pointedly avoid his gaze, opting to look at everything else, making you cry even more.

"ANSWER ME!" Tightening his grip on you, you could feel the black sludge staining your clothes, weighing you down.

"I-I don't like them m-more!" You weren't lying; you didn't like them more than you did Nightmare (what with all the things they've done to him, done to you), but whatever he was now... It was a different story.

Still, he seemed to believe it, judging by how he visibly sagged, loosening his grip.

He pulled you into him, trapping you against his body in a web of arms and tentacles, promptly sitting down on the grass and pulling you with him. Bringing you into his lap and caging you against him, he kissed your head more times than you could count, muttering and mumbling sweet nothings into your hair. He basked in the scent of you, a sweet, alluring fragrance, and relished the fact that now, if only for a moment, you would smell like him.

You could feel a rumbling from within his ribcage getting louder and louder the more he kissed your head to the point where it was all that you could hear.

Chuckling.

Then, a strangled,

"You drive me mad—" Then he was squeezing you, his arms wrapped firmly around you, pinning yours to your sides. Preventing you from leaving. He continued to kiss your head softly, murmuring, when a shout came from behind:

"Leave her alone!" It was quite clear that it was Dream that spoke, judging from the voice and by Nightmare tightening his grip on you as he halted his affections.

When Dream spoke again, asking to let you go, Nightmare growled. The sound echoed through his hollow ribcage, reverberating through yours from where you were pressed up against him, sending shivers down your spine as footsteps approached.

"This isn't you." That was clear, alright; the voice was close enough that you knew for certain it was Dream, and you could tell by the tone that he wasn't all too pleased.

Nightmare got up, tangling you in his tentacles, impeding your escape.

"Your brother is gone." The way that Nightmare uttered those words sent shivers down your spine, your skin tingling as goosebumps rose from beneath your skin.

Dream summoned something — it was hard to tell, black sludge coated your vision — but then you were gently put down on one of the taller cottage's roofs, allowing you to both not be hurt and to be able to observe what was unfolding before you.

They were fighting.

Truly, if it was to be attempted, their battle could not be captured by words, no matter how hard one could try.

Although it won't be easy, there will be an attempt to describe what cannot be described.

Nightmare was the graceful one — he was almost like a dancer, feet barely touching the bloodstained grass, his form never still: every one of his movements smooth and calculated. Dream, on the other hand, appeared inexperienced — his motions were hesitant, too fast here, too slow there — and though he could dodge the sharp black tentacles that came for him, slicing through the empty air, the way he moved didn't look nearly as effortless as his opponent's motions.

The fighting went on for quite a while, from what you could tell, but you weren't really paying attention. You were mostly praying that Dream would be the winner, since he would likely have some way to fix this, and who knew what Nightmare wanted with you.

You were sitting down on the roof comfortably, your crying having subsided, when the fighting noises abruptly stopped. You tried to see who won, craning your neck, before a glowing teal eye light looked right through you.

There were no signs of Dream.

Nightmare smiled at you, his thin grin splitting his face in half.

"There's no one left."

His low baritone rang out through the quiet village, the only sound for a thousand miles; confirming your suspicions as you choked back sobs, Nightmare making his way towards you, his grin victorious, his stride prideful.

He scaled the cottage wall, tentacles grabbing at each and every little imperfection, using them as grips to get closer and closer to you.

He lowered himself onto the roof, gently making contact.

His grin impossibly widened before he slowly walked towards you, each step making the wood creak as your anxiety heightened.

You looked behind you — the drop wasn't far enough to kill you, but it definitely was enough to leave you with a broken leg or two. Seeing as you had no other choice, you turned on your heel and bolted.

"Oh, I do love a chase."

You couldn't see what Nightmare was doing, but you didn't hear any footsteps as you leapt from where you stood.

The fall was quite quick.

There was a wet crack when you collided with the ground, but before you could register what it was, you heard something behind you. Adrenaline can be powerful, you realize as you get to your feet, barely feeling any pain as you made a break for it.

Where you were going was secondary, the strong urge to get away overpowering your senses and clouding your judgement.

Occasionally, you'd hear his laughter, full of mirth, and would glance at him for only a second. A grin split his face every time he caught sight of your's, his tentacles' movements growing erratic, almost excited.

You'd face the front again quickly.

You ran for at least an hour before you couldn't anymore, intending to stop for a short break to get your energy back.

Looking behind you and seeing that Nightmare was gone, you made your way into one of the abandoned houses, sitting down on the floor. Your legs were burning, feeling like they could give out at any moment, and you were so thirsty that you couldn't think straight.

I'm just going to lie down for a while...

...

Nightmare looked through the broken glass and peered at your form, sound asleep.

Now was the perfect time to go in there and take you. But...

He had heard something when you collided unceremoniously with the ground.

...

Ah. You had broken a bone, most likely your tibia on your right leg, judging by the way you slept on the cold, hard floor.

That was no good.

He turned, calmly, and made his way to the clinic to collect bandages, water, and a long piece of wood.

He walked through the empty town, surveying the area with a lidded eye socket for anyone who was still alive.

He regarded the felled tree with little emotion as he cut it up even further, carving a piece into the exact length of your leg to act as a crutch to make sure your it healed right.

Once he got the supplies he needed, he walked back to the cottage you were sleeping in and slowly opened the door, careful not to make too much noise, lest he rouse you from your slumber. Kneeling beside you, he gently took your injured leg and put the piece of wood next to it, securing it tightly with the rolled-up bandages.

He leaned back to inspect his work, humming in approval.

His eyes drifted to your sleeping face, wanting nothing more than to feel it under his phalanges — to caress your delicate skin. You were so pretty, just like a doll, soft skin almost glowing as your chest rose and fell.

He took in a breath through his teeth.

His tentacles itched to feel your skin, soft and smooth; his hands twitching to hold yours, small and breakable.

He stared at you again, watching, as you adjusted your position and felt the wood on your leg. Your face scrunched a little, brows furrowing and mouth pressing into a thin line as you tried to move your broken leg before failing and grimacing.

Your eyes shifted beneath your lids before they slowly fluttered open, hazy eyes looking everywhere before settling on him. You just languidly blink your sleepy eyes before looking down at your leg, noticing the wood, and waking up a little bit more.

Your hands slowly came to the plank tied to your leg, before you quickly retracted them, whipping your head up to look at Nightmare.

You were more awake now, evidenced by your wide and fearful eyes looking up at him while he drank it all in, single socket open wide, staring into you.

Stars above you were cute.

Your face went through several emotions in a few seconds before you ultimately decided that your best course of action was to try and get away from him again. Before you could make any moves, though, Nightmare's black, bony hands gripped at your upper arms tightly, grin widening and waning as his one eye socket narrowed in delight.

"Where are you going, love?" Your eyes widened, form stiffening as his intense teal eye light bore into you, the SOUL shape it had taken appearing it beat, like a cheerless imitation of a heart.

You swallowed.

"You are aware that resistance is futile?"

He said those words with such glee, such elation that it made your stomach drop.

His eye light flickered down to your injured leg.

"You are in no condition to walk — let alone run — my dear." He brought his hand up, gently brushing a sludge-covered finger across your cheek before promptly shoving the ink-black hand beneath your knees, the other snaking behind your back.

He lifted you with ease, black, slimy hands gripping your soft body as he began walking, ignorant of your struggles. He was very gentle — gentler than you thought he would be. The way he handled you reminded you of how one would treat a porcelain doll: with tremendous care, like you would break if he so much as breathed on you wrong.

He walked through the village with little difficulty, occasionally checking on you, peering into fearful eyes with a fondness too great to describe.

He made his way to somewhere near the tree, although it had already been cut to pieces smaller than a hair. He stopped, and his tentacles came forward and picked a large stone from the ground, and upon closer inspection... It was Dream, petrified, a look of terror forever etched on his grey face.

You held back tears as Nightmare nonchalantly picked up the statue without any of the care he had given you, and you watched in horror as the pain became too much and things started getting fuzzy, eventually making you lose consciousness.

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bleeding-hart · 2 months

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some sketches

based on @theicarusconstellation's writing

I keep thinking of details I left out and stuff I need to fix but if I let myself do that I'm going to go insane so we're leaving it at this

Also some Sirius because they're a fucking king and we love them (I very strongly hc them as genderqueer and using any pronouns, but specifically he/they/she/it)

The dress was a bit of a failure but hey it looks like fabric at least I think maybe

#fanart #marauders era #fanart of fanfiction #Sirius #A form of jegulus #Not sure if reg being an animagus is widely accepted Canon but I fucking accept it it's mine now and i will die on this hill #I DO however know that Sirius is generally accepted to have tattoos but unfortunately I'm shit at coming up with tat designs #I don't think there's a generally accepted list of what tattoos they have but if there is I would love to hear it #If not ig I'll just make something up #She probably has like. At least one wolf and dog one somewhere #Then definitely canis major #Idk how sappy they are but I want them to be one of those people who gets their friend group to draw hearts or stars and gets those tattooe #Also skeleton designs v much. I want them to have a cat skeleton on their hip in that curling position #Like the floaty cat #Maybe with a moon or star in the center #No real reason I just think he'd look fuckin awesome with it #He also probably has a really cool stylized semicolon on his wrist #I can't give him a koi/sun one cause that's mine and it doesn't fit then anyways #But definitely the top piece is the full moon symbolizing Remus #The bottom idk about but like maybe a squished up dog? Not like disproportionate I'm sure I could figure something out #Honestly they probably also have tats for each of their friends #I'm thinking a stylized deer under a full moon with the rat on it's head #or just prongs and moony w/ little bro between them #Brainstorming idk #If u read all that congrats I don't know why or what you got from it #Welcome to the live stream of my consciousness (you're missing not strong enough fucking BLARING in the background of all my thoughts)

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padfootastic · 1 year

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Last Line Tag

tagged by @gracelesslady23 @ambrxsiaa @soopsiedaisies and @spindrifters!! thank u <3

The moment Sirius settles Harry in his arms, a sort of calmness falls over him, despite the caterwauling going on much closer to his head now. He’s missed this, the clean scent of powder and baby lotion; the soft weight of Harry in his arms that just felt so right; the way he slotted perfectly against Sirius’ neck.

tagging…@jmagnabo92 @narcissa-black-supermacy @in-flvx @benjamin-ovich @the-chaosbringer @casquecest @leogichidaa!!

#no matter how tardy i am w these #i love doing these writing and ask games sm #keeps it fun and fresh and interesting ykwim?#i made this draft like. 5 days ago and it seems like for every couple days it remains there i gain another tagger #amazing #technically #this is two lines but the commas and semicolons r doing some heavy lifting #as they always do really

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aeide-thea · 1 year

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em dashes: the edc multitool of punctuation y/y

#like dgmw i love semicolons and colons and parentheses etc etc but in a pinch an em dash can often do the job of one of those #whereas there are things it can do—aposiopesis!—that none of them can #punctuation

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bigcats-birds-and-books · 1 year

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two lil driscollisms that are sending me, today:

1. the understated responses to Absolutely Horrible Things (ex.: child, “seems unwise” is absolutely NOT the right magnitude for how bad that idea would be); and,

2. how i can just. slap semicolons onto basically anything, and it’s probably Fine™. (don’t get me started on colons, i love those also, but!: semicolons are the ones i can’t/don’t really use for anyone else lol)

#text #personal #in btw #driscoll #writing #i'm trying to finish these inputs so i can print them tomorrow so i can take the clean copy to the brewery lol #anyway i do love the power of semicolons it's Very Nice #love that that's In Character #and i do feel like the Understatement is where driscoll gets most of their humor points so i'm fond of that.#i don't know if it reads as Funny to anyone else. but. i think it's funny so....

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that-bitchdanni · 1 year

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hello i love writing and i love introspective looks into the Self and i love conversations with no real conclusions or winners and i miss school i miss education and sitting down and writing a piece within a set of rules and restrictions no matter how loose or confined they may be and it makes me sad to think that university would be such a fun place but the pandemic really ruined me academically and now unfortunately i’m in a place where any amount of stress at all sends me into a downward spiral where i close myself off and crawl into my bed and want to die (or bounce off the walls and go insane) and it’s just kinda unfortunate yk? we’re working on it though

not the point. i wrote this about a year ago and i’m sure it was several days late or more and i really agonized over it. because i didn’t like myself, yk? like genuinely deep deep down i thought i was a miserable unlovable deeply vile unlikable cruel bastard of a person. and it agonized me. because i’ve always been nice. i’ve always wanted to be nice. and happy. and lovable. my entire existence screaming into the void one way or another “love me! like me! take care of me! don’t leave me” alas. we’re moving through it. but at that point i had been coming to terms with this new and unfamiliar but right way of being. it was strange. but as one does i can’t just have one strain of thought oh no no it was spring! spring means hope if only a sliver. recently the thought that maybe i wasn’t such a miserable unlovable bitch after all. it was strange. i was trying but i didn’t really know how. but i wanted to. so i have this

it’s really fun writing an assignment and finding yourself in it a bit. whether it’s a piece about the self or of a purely academic genre. i miss it. reading it back i feel a sort of ache i think. of the person i was. of the person i am now. agonizing in the dark. living with being content. with trying. who i was when i wrote it, who i was trying to be. that sort of clarity of thought that comes when you have to get it out in a legible logical markable sense. i was in highschool and i was hurt and sad and sheltered somewhat from most indépendant life experiences and it carries a somewhat juvenile tone, but i still enjoy it.

And i also think it’s very good (excluding some minor word and punctuation choices) so there’s that too

#ok #i would’ve added so much semi colons #semicolons my beloved #do i know how to use them?#does anyone really?#beside the point i love them they love me and there should be like 10 more in this #and *taking time specifically to spend #and ig the “egyptian myth” couldve been worded better #but lemme tell you the agonizing i went over to word that even as it is #i think i’ll let it slide #writing #*deep shuddering weary age old heavy thousand year sigh*#anyways

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hoperays-song · 1 year

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Human Johnny’s Tattoo Explanations

First Tattoo: Sun, Moon, and Star

Ash gave it to him only a few months after meeting so he was 17

The moon is shaded in on his, the star on Meena’s, and the sun on Ash’s

On right wrist

The Moon Theatre Trio has matching ones

Second Tattoo: Ten Birds across his back

Got it right after he turned 18

Inspired by his mum’s nicknames for him (Songbird, John-Bird)

One bird for every family member

Does eventually add one for Ryan and then five more for the rest of the Willis family and Nooshy

Third Tattoo: Semicolon

Got on the same day as the birds

On left wrist

Marcus started crying the first time he saw it (they’re both doing much better now)

Treble Cleft design

Fourth Tattoo: Roman Numeral Dates

Right over his heart

Inspired by his dad’s that is really similar (only the last one is different, it’s johnny’s birthday for marcus)

His mum’s birthday, the day his dad met his uncles, and the day of the talent show audition

In the future he adds his wedding date

----

He got all of these before his dad was released from jail and didn’t tell him about them (or the 6 new piercings but that’s another story). Marcus nearly had a heart attack when he saw the edge of the tape thinking it was part of a bandage and another one when he realized that some of his tattoos were not done professionally in the slightest. (Yes, he got yelled at for that bit).

#sing #sing 2 #sing johnny #sing characters as humans #johnny has tattoos and piercings #why? because i said so #marcus does too but I'll talk about that another time #please get your tattoos done professionally and in a sterile environment #do not follow johnny's lead #the boy pierced his own ears when he was 14 ok #he does not make the smartest decisions when it comes to how to do this kind of thing #anyone who knows what a semicolon tattoo means please know I love you and am here for you

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sleepy-stitches · 5 months

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having nasty gay sex with my beautiful wife the semicolon

#post brought to you by realising how frequently i use the semicolon #theres a lot in what im working on. and i keep having to go hold on i cant put Another one in. someone is going 2 notice #but i just truly do love her. and my other wife the em dash #who ive been a little neglectful of. i should change that #original post placeholder tag #i was going to leave this in my drafts. but you know what. i was right

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lonely-dog-song · 5 months

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i want to read my book but fanily is having a religious discussion that is too distracting. >_>

#im reading skeleton man i love the visuals #the dream scenes n the uncle are so spooky #lonely dog speaks #when i was reading varjak paw i was thinking hmmm idk why i don't like this very much.....#and then i realized it probably has something to do with the fact that i'm an adult reading a book for 8 year olds #LOL so i was worried i wouldn't like this other juvenile book but i do #this and varjak paw make me want to read their sequels #the writing style of skeleton man is kind of hard for me to like #but i also like how it doesn't adhere to the writing style i would've been graded on #it has short sentences and sentences that start with 'and'. i think my teachers would tell me to cut that out #but it reminds me that you can do pretty much anything as an author #me? i write big ass sentences with comma and semicolon and dash. i love going 'AND ANOTHER THING-' basically

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pearlean · 2 months

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mango - a gshade preset

initially made to be reminiscent of stardew valley, i messed around and ended up making mango - resembling a child’s oil pastel project, mango offers a warm retro feel for your virtual escape!

more previews here

download + info under cut ↘

download: patreon (free)

notes:

untoggled effects = not recommended for gameplay

adjust dither if deeper tones are hard to see

disclaimer:

- incompatible with edge smoothing as it conflicts with some effects

- if the preset looks off -> check the repository for missing fx, here is mango's fx list & order (order does matter!)

toggle keys:

depth haze + fog: 7

halftone + dither: O

mxaos: L

chromatic aberration: numpad 5

relight: numpad 6

blooms: numpad 8

adof + cinematic dof: semicolon

comic: colon

tou:

feel free to use it as you please - please do not steal/claim this as yours, place it behind any kind of paywall, or use it as a base.

tag me in your posts i love seeing them!! thank you to @literalite @kopimoss @cozyypyxils & @machinegrl for playtesting mango (っᵔ◡ᵔ)っ♡

#ts4 #gshade #ts4 gshade #ts4cc #dl #1.3k follower gift <3

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stringyworm · 2 years

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I could learn the little idiosyncrasies and memorize everything about my friends but my memory is not good and sometimes it feels like I know nothing about the people closest to me. I have a perception of you that isn't entirely accurate despite how many late night talks we've had.

Humans long to be loved and understood but I find that too difficult a task for me; to understand and know someone so thoroughly that I can read the emotions that paint their face when I don’t even understand what I’m feeling sometimes.

Is it not enough that I check in on you and send you photos I think you’ll like? Is it not enough to talk about our days and tell each other when it rains wherever we are? Is it not enough that I'll answer your calls anytime even though we haven’t talked in a few days?

When I ask you about something you were talking about before can you hear me say I love you in between the lines? Even when we get things wrong about each other, even when we find we don’t fully understand each other, can you still hear me say I love you when I agree to play a game with you? When you fall asleep on call while we watch something together can you hear me say goodnight and I love you before I hang up?

Understanding human beings is so difficult. But all I know is you are my friend and I want you to be happy. Is that not enough?

#pgra2am #omg me posting this actually at 2am like the tag suggests????#you can find more of my wirting on ao3 at stringyworm winky smily face #my memory may be terrible and ill never fully understand you but i love ypu #stories always talk about reading the other person so easily #predicting their wants and needs because of how much time theyve spent together and pay attention to each other #but i dont think i can do that. its different from the stories #i sometimes feel like im doing it wrong. i sometimes feel like im not loving them well enough or dont love them in general #i dont feel different and coulndt even tell you if ive ever felt love #but even if i feel dissasitfied with that i know i still care #im not aro i dont even know if im faking being ace or not but love (any type) is too hard a feeling for me to grasp #aaggghhh whatever #did i even use a semicolon correctly? i dont remember any of the grammar and english classes #i walways just power through and try to survive them and get decent grades miraculously

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fluff-n-cookies · 3 months

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Hey!! I was wondering if you are taking requests.

If you are, then. Couln you please write and Father Aizawa x daughter in which she is like really really depressed and he is sick worried for her?

Thankss 🤍🤍

Hello! thx for requesting! I'm not sure if you wanted a little story like a drabble or headcanons so I'm just going to default to do a mix of both. I also wrote it with clinical depression in mind I hope that's okay.

TW; clinical depression, angsty shit, I wrote about the symptoms of depression here: if you have multiple of these symptoms please consider getting diagnosed by a doctor. Aizawa had depression, fem reader.

Aizawa never was good with emotions, he was never the one to express his feelings because he never exactly needed to. Aizawa wouldn't exactly talk to her at first, instead opting to see it as her having an off day.

however, the weeks flew by and he saw less and less of her around the dorms, her friends who once talked to forever never seemed to see her anymore, and her smile. her smile had now been replaced with dead eyes and a soul corrupt.

another week, when disrupted she would bite back. her usual reply to the question "how are you today?" was once "wonderfully really!" about now it was either a comment overflowing with sarcasm or a harsh "leave me alone."

she then start to bounce her leg a lot more, scratch her arms, and doom-scroll on her phone like a life line rather than train to be a hero like she would during her previous years at UA or read her favorite book genres.

and the dead look in her eyes told him everything.

he too had that look in his eyes in his life too.

he had the tattoo of a semicolon with a heart to show for it.

it was the dead of night when he finally approached her, the sun had set and the stars that night felt as dull as her mind. the blinding white lights of the kitchen remain on as she wept amongst her sorrows. sleep deprived eyes turned redder than they already are from the sting of her never ending tears.

she did not deserve this.

the air was cold in that room, clammy hands shaking didn't help much either.

Aizawa said nothing when he saw the slight before him,

he had done the same at one point too.

this situation was delicate glass, for the person before him was not the strong girl he "knew". this was the soft, misshapen, confused, and scared blob that no longer had the hard and heavy armor to protect her.

he wanted nothing more to hug her when she looked at him with scared eyes and a tear stained cheeks.

"Aizawa Sensei I-" she started, the voice cracks made it all the more pitiful.

"I came to get water." his voice unwavering, there was only room for one mentally unstable person in that tiny kitchen and he loved her too much to take the position of being the one crying.

he felt bad, he knew that feeling of either being empty or being overridden with that burden in your heart you don't know the name of. a constant reminder of doom that has your heart in a choke hold.

but this was still as fragile as anything.

he poured himself a glass of water,

the tension was thick and odd.

he sat down,

he could practically feel the labored breaths she took, the shaking, the empty feeling in her chest. like she was dying and from the inside out. the crying must have taken a toll on her too for her cheeks were red from the tears.

he sat next to her, sitting in front of her may make her feel like he was going to scold her.

"would you like to talk about it?"

"...please... no... I don't think I can..." it was hard to believe this was the voice of the girl he remembered so fondly as his favorite student.

I suppose even the moon has a dark side.

"okay, you need to though." voice steady like a rock you trust never to crumble.

"what?" her voice quivering.

"It know it's hard,

I know it's going to take a while,

but you can succeed,

just please let me help you."

the room went silent for a moment, he passed you the glass of water.

"drink, tomorrow, you are spending your day with Hound Dog, you don't have to talk with him about this specifically, just talk with him until we can understand what is actually happening. you need someone to talk to. you can bail at anytime."

"what is happening to me though? I- I don't know anymore."

he knew that feeling so well.

"I'm not entirely sure," those words came from his heart. "but I'm willing to help you through it. we can take you to a psychiatrist to know for sure."

"...okay."

Aizawa got up, pushing the glass towards you again, excessive crying often leads to dehydration. and he started doing what his mother would do, he started prepping fruits, in this case it was oranges. he lined them all up on a plate, smiling a little at the thought of waking up from a nightmare as a child and defaulting to devouring blueberries.

he put them in front of you, started speaking as a usual person would, about stupid criminals he had recently put behind bars and crazy super fans that created elaborate photo shopped photos of him and them for social media.

for the first time in a while

the phrase

"are you okay?"

wasn't even mentioned.

for the first time in a while

she felt human.

----------

edit: while writing this I noticed I had a lot of the symptoms, so I went to the doctor and turns out it wasn't just burn out it was severe depression! and asthma apparently...

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chronically-eepy · 5 months

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Pjo incorrect quotes using my friend group quote book, part 2!

Piper: I feel like it’s justified to bodyshame Christopher Columbus

Annabeth: Why are there two semicolons in the same sentence!!!

Grover: Is that Percy? ... No that's a leaf.

Leo: l have to take a shower and I'm really nervous.

Piper: I remember sucking tits, it was the best moment of my life!

Leo looking at a lizard: Is that a Weiner dog?!

Nico: Kill yourself.

Will: That’s negative!

Piper: Leo wants to see me strip.

Shel: I wanna see you strip!

Percy: Do you ever wish that you could wish for a wish?

Piper: Women don't need rights! *slams fist on table*

Piper about Leo: He gets no bitches cuz he's chronically on feet finder.

Jason: Okay, okay, let's role play here!

Percy: This is a VERY kinky “I got trapped by a guard” role play.

Nico in dead silence: Jason is Joe Biden.

Leo: I'm not completely naked, I probably have my socks on.

Will: Gay sex is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

Thalia: Scientist barbie… slut barbie!

Leo :I can do the stripper thing!

Annabeth: Calm your tits.

Piper: I don't have tits.

Annabeth: That is obviously a lie.

Piper: Spiritually I don't have tits.

Piper: PROSTITUTES WOO!

Nico about mythomagic: Just because I talked about a game for 10 minutes doesn't mean it's my whole personality.

Apollo: You reshuffle while I give my child drugs.

Piper: No one cares about Leo... I love you Leo.

Leo about Frank: He's my discord kitten.

Jason: I'm glad i got a job.

Percy: A hand job!?

Jason: Yeah.

#percy jackson incorrect quotes #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #annabeth chase #nico di angelo #will solace #piper mclean #leo valdez #jason grace #frank zhang #shel pjo #percy and grover #grover underwood #grover pjo #percabeth #solangelo

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neo-my-geo · 7 months

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Hey gang, it’s your old pal Neo here. If you know me, it’s probably from one of the several very stupid TF2 comics I’ve posted to Tumblr.

However! I am also an English major (unfortunately). One who has read millions of words worth of fanfiction in their life. I have been part of the Sherlock, BNHA, Disco Elysium, and, of course, TF2 fandoms; I’ve been around the block.

The further I’ve progressed into my English education, the more I’ve noticed which mistakes are the most common in fanfiction. Many of them are easily fixable; writers just need to be pointed in the right direction.

“Neo! Does this mean you think people shouldn’t be allowed to post their works online without a background in formal English education?”

Of course not! I can explain why if you’d care to venture below the cut with me!

Yes, I will explain how to use commas.

It’s important to note that this is NOT a post about formal writing. You aren’t writing an essay. Please, for the love of god, do not write fiction like you’re writing an essay.

There are no stakes to writing fanfic. No one is going to get hurt if an author doesn’t know what a dangling participle is. One of my favourite things about fanfiction is that it’s one of the only art forms left that’s done exclusively for fun! You should write what you enjoy, and share what you make with like-minded people.

What I want to do is provide assistance as best I can to writers who want to improve their fundamentals without having to take the same university courses I did. Nobody is going to be getting a formal education to write fanfiction unless they’re ridiculously dedicated, and I’m not expecting that of anyone.

The point I need to stress is that knowing these grammar fundamentals can instantly improve the flow of your writing. Punctuation is a ridiculously important tool for writers, ESPECIALLY in fiction. Commas, semicolons, and full stops (including periods, exclamation points, and question marks) steer the pacing in the reader’s mind; did you notice how your brain stopped for a second after that semicolon? I can show you how to do that.

You may be wondering why I’m going through so much effort to teach all of this to strangers on the internet. The answer is that I enjoy sharing this knowledge with others and helping them grow. By seeing this, my goal is to help you become more proficient at self-editing. Showing this to people who actually want to learn will, hopefully, benefit the community as a whole, and I think that’s very worth it.

Also, while this post is obviously themed around TF2, the points I’m making can be applied to any fiction. Grammar is for everyone, and the church of the semicolon always has room for more initiates.

Also also, as an edit, I should clarify that this is meant to cover the more objective facets of self-editing, which is why I'm mostly covering punctuation. Maybe I'll do another post about using adjectives someday.

With that out of the way, let’s get going!

I’ve teamed up with several English teachers (real ones! One of which may or may not be my mom!) and an editor to gather a list of the most common problems we see in amateur fiction. This post is going to be split into three broad sections: apostrophes, commas/semicolons, and other common problems.

The apostrophe

This section is short, but it holds weight. Other than commas, apostrophes are the most typoed grammatical tool in any fanfiction I’ve edited. This is because, much like the rest of English, the rules surrounding them can be annoying and inconsistent.

Apostrophes have two main uses: possessives and conjunctions.

A possessive is a word that denotes the ownership of one thing over another. The vast majority of the time, this is done using an apostrophe and an S.

There is, however, one glaring exception to this rule, and it’s the bane of my existence.

When denoting possession of an object over something else while using the pronoun ‘it,’ you do NOT add an apostrophe before the S.

A conjunction, on the other hand, is when a writer uses an apostrophe to combine two words. The following are examples of common conjunctions:

What’s (what is)

They’re (they are)

It’s (it is)

Conjunctions are not often used in formal writing. Thankfully, we aren’t dealing in formal writing. Go crazy.

Time for a lightning round of the most commonly mistaken for each other possessives and conjunctions!

Your is possessive. You’re is a conjunction of ‘you’ and ‘are.’ When you can’t decide which one to use, imagine replacing it with ‘you are’ and seeing if it makes sense. If it doesn’t, use your.

Their is possessive. There indicates a location. They’re is a conjunction of ‘they’ and ‘are.’

The comma and the semicolon

You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. It’s time to talk about commas.

Commas and semicolons are far and away the biggest grammatical hole in the toolset of fanfiction writers everywhere. They’re often treated like the rules surrounding them are complicated and difficult to understand, but the exact opposite is true!

The big issue I’ve heard time and time again is that the rules of commas are often explained through metaphor instead of example; this means that writers everywhere have slightly different ideas of how you’re supposed to use them. The fact of the matter is that, yes, there are correct and incorrect ways to use commas. Knowing when they’re appropriate and when they aren’t is easily the fastest way to bring your writing from looking amateurish to sounding professional and experienced.

In order to know how to use a comma, you must first understand the difference between a dependent and an independent clause.

An independent clause is a section of writing that functions perfectly well as its own sentence. It MUST have both a subject and an action/verb.

A sentence without an independent clause is known as a fragment, and they’re the bane of English teachers with highlighters everywhere.

A dependent clause is a section of writing that does not have both a subject and an action; it does not function as its own sentence.

Now, let’s say you want to combine the two. When joining a dependent clause to an independent clause, the order in which they are placed is crucial to whether you use a comma or not.

When joining a dependent to an independent with the independent clause first, you do not need to use a comma.

When joining a dependent to an independent with the dependent clause first, you MUST use a comma.

Keep in mind that, if one strives for total grammatical perfection, all narrative sentences MUST have an independent clause. This, however, does not apply to dialogue. Human beings do not think about whether what they’re saying is a dependent clause, and neither would the vast majority of fictional characters. Don’t be afraid to break the rules of grammar as long as it’s contained within quotation marks.

Alright, that’s the easy part. Time to learn about joining two independent clauses. It’s semicolon time, baby!

If you join two independent clauses without properly using a comma or a semicolon, it is a run-on sentence. You do not want these in your writing. They’re awkward to read and mess up the flow.

When joining two independent clauses, you can use EITHER a comma or a semicolon. You just need to follow these rules:

If you’re joining two independent clauses with a comma, you MUST use a joining word (and, but, so, etc.) AFTER the comma.

If you’re joining two independent clauses with a semicolon, you do NOT need to use a joining word.

Did you know that a sentence with a comma counts as its own independent clause? This means that you can make a sentence that includes a mix of both without it being a run-on! Just make sure that, no matter what, the semicolon is between two independent clauses.

Still, try not to write more than two clauses in a sentence too often. Sentences with a lot of punctuation are very attention-grabbing, but shouldn’t be overused. Full stops aren’t your enemy and variety is the spice of life.

It’s also important to remember that you should avoid using more than one comma in a clause (with the exception of the rule below). That part loops back to the 'avoiding run-ons' bit.

It’s really that easy!

Commas are also used in informal writing to inject a separate thought or descriptor mid-sentence without breaking the flow by adding a period. This is often used when describing the perspective of a character experiencing something in a story, but not (usually) when using omniscient perspectives.

The final issue I frequently see with commas in fanfiction is in regards to dialogue. Sometimes you end it with them, and sometimes you don’t. What gives?

Well, my friend, the answer is, thankfully, much simpler than the previous section.

When following dialogue with a dialogue tag, use a comma instead of a full stop. If you’re continuing the previous sentence after the tag, use a comma after it as well.

Note that a dialogue tag is a short phrase that identifies the speaker. It isn’t a complete sentence on its own.

When following dialogue with an action that does not serve as a dialogue tag, use a full stop instead of a comma.