#great new english words for me to learn xD

[gabrielle-writes]

Walking On My Grave - Demo Launch

It's already past midnight and Friday 30th of June, where I live, what does this mean?

That's right, TIME FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER TO FINALLY BECOME AVAILABLE TO YOU ALL! (I couldn't wait anymore to share it xD)

LINK FOR DEMO | PLAYLIST

It is with great pleasure and happiness that I announce that the demo for "Walking On My Grave" is live on Itch, with the first chapter, "Electricity and Honey", uploaded (and hopefully more chapters soon). The chapter has, including both paths,code, and variations regarding abilities and personality traits, 36.4k words. For the Undead, the total sits at 17.7k, with 18.7k for the Necromancer. 

In the first chapter, you will:

Choose to play as the Necromancer or the Undead

Name your character and define their appearance and their pronoun

Meet people that are and will be important in your life.

As the Undead, understand better this second-life, its duties and risks, and be officially welcomed into it.

As the Necromancer, be present for the Vesselling of a relative and breath in the traditions of your people.

Have access to a short vocabulary, updated alongside chapters, of specific terms and words as they appear.

The demo will be updated as new chapters are written. The whole game, once written, will remain free. Maybe in the future, as the game is update and so on, I'll activate for donations if one desires to do so, if I manage to set up Paypal and such (I've never had need of it before, so yeah... lol)

Please, warn me of any bugs or typos you find, be through the comments in Itch or here, through asks, whatever means suit you :) Specially typos and such, because I did my best to review grammar and related things, but English is still not my first language, so it's easy for something to pass me by.

Also, I haven't had the opportunity of truly testing it on mobile, so that's why I haven't put android as an availability on itch. If you do try it on mobile-android, please let me know your impressions and everything else about it, I'll try to improve the UI for it as I learn more the code side of things :D.

AND, about the Spotify Playlist: it will be updated alongside chapters, with songs that I judged hit the right mood for it.

I hope you all like it! Have a great weekend, take care and stay safe!

LINK FOR DEMO | PLAYLIST

#walking on my grave #interactive fiction #twine wip #if wip #womg

[k-s-morgan]

Hello Morgan! I've just seen your latest update. Thank you for letting us know what's happening in Ukraine.

This is the first time I've left a review on your blog, and I also want to let you know how amazing you are. You've written one of the best Tomarry stories I've ever read - or I should say, the BEST "Harry raises Tom" fic I’ve read.

English isn't my first language, and to be honest, I wasn't used to reading English fan-fics, but I couldn't stop reading WGBTB because this story is genuinely EPIC. The relationship between Tom and Harry is powerful and intoxicating; I couldn't put the story down until the final chapter. (And thanks to your fantastic tale, I've been reading English fics ever since.)

I was genuinely sad to see such a great story come to an end, but you ended it very well. I also want you to know that your ATLWETD is incredibly intriguing. I held my breath and literally forgot to breathe for a few seconds when Tom was trying to murder Harry. For Merlin's sake, how do you come up with so many brilliant ideas and plot twists for your stories? You are truly a talented writer.

Honestly, it saddened me when I learned that you're from Ukraine - I discovered it from your notes in WHGTB. I'm truly sorry for what's happening to you and the people in Ukraine, and what the Russian government has been doing to your country is outrageous and pure evil.

There are indeed far fewer news reports on Ukraine than a year ago; however, I've been concerned about the current development of the war and am grateful to learn about it here on your blog.

I've just realised that I've left a really long message here - maybe I'm just too excited to speak to one of my favourite writers! XD

Please always remember that you are amazing both as a gifted writer and a strong person who remains optimistic even in such a difficult situation. I was truly surprised and moved to learn that you've persisted in writing all those amazing stories right under the shadow of war.

I wish you all the best, and I'm looking forward to your latest work :)

Hello! Thank you so much for your amazing words, this absolutely made my evening! I'm delighted that you enjoyed WHGTB and that you already like the new Tomarry. I'm very excited about the new chapter, I have a lot of it done already and I can't wait to share it. Tom trying to kill Harry so early on was an arc I was very curious to portray because this dynamic differs from the one I spent so much on building in WHGTB, and it's interesting to write Tom who is not infatuated with Harry yet. It's all coming, though. The current Tom cannot imagine how much his life and his priorities are about to change :D Harry will turn the world he's used to into hell, but he'll also bring the brightest kind of happiness into it.

I don't envision myself ever abandonining this story becaucase in a way, it is my war letter. The romance will hold the central stage, but war will play an important part, too, and I want to express and explore lots of feelings, big and small, that I've been experiencing myself in it.

Your English sounds very fine to me, but I definitely encourage you to keep reading fics! This is how I learned English, too - I read everything I could find in my first language and I was forced to make my way through the English fandom :D

Thank you again for your wonderful ask <3

#my fics #tomarry #personal #atlwetd

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

🍓🕯️🛼 🎲 🍄 📚 🔪 🏜️ 🦴🌸 🧩

(or just as many as you feel like doing 😁)

how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I never really put much thought into it; it just sorta happened 😅

I’ve always been an avid daydreamer, and it seemed like the moment I learned how to spell and read, I started writing. It was a way to make the mental images in my mind a reality of sorts, and make them physical and real—things I could actually look at and see.

So it was the same way with fanfiction, more or less! I wanted to make the things I saw in my mind a thing I could see on a page, so I started writing :) And that’s still how it works to this day!

on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

Hmm… I feel like I used to like editing a lot more than I do now. I’d probably give it… a 4? A 5, maybe?

Spell checking and grammar checking are easy for me, and it’s kinda fun to go through and fix little things like that :) It’s the more thought-provoking things such as reworking sentence structure, cleaning up paragraphs, and making sure the text flows together that’s much harder to figure out. I guess I don’t feel like I’m all that great of a judge when it comes to my own work; I either see a story as bad and something that can’t be fixed, or as something ground-breaking with no corrections needed. And I feel like both of those are Not Good, and don’t help me edit at all.

I’d definitely enjoy editing a lot more if I felt like I had a good grasp on what I could actually do to improve a story 😅

describe your latest wip with five emojis

:0

👥🗣️🧠💙🐑

what stops you from writing more in your free time? 

I don’t feel like writing 😅

I’m very much a feeler, and if I don’t feel like doing something, I’m probably not gonna do it—at least not willingly. And the same goes for writing! I absolutely love doing it, but I gotta wait until I’m in the right headspace for it, y’know? And I’m just not always in that wonderful headspace.

share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Ooooh!!

Honestly, the only ship I really have are Loki x Sylvie! I’ve fallen hard and fast for those two :)

A headcanon, hmm… oh! Sylvie would absolutely love horror movies, and always wanna go see the new ones in theaters. Loki, on the other hand, is very much afraid and disturbed by horror (though he’ll never ever admit it, even when it becomes painfully obvious to Everyone).

She makes fun of him relentlessly, while he stubbornly denies being scared at all. She finds it equally annoying and endearing XD

what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

Lemme go check…

It’s a bit of a story I recently started!

“Technoblade, look! It’s Friend!”


“I’ve looked at Friend like, seventeen different times, Ghostbur. You keep telling me to look at him.”

There’s a pause.

“Technoblade, Technoblade! Aww, look at Friend! He’s very happy right now. If he could speak English, that’s what he would say.”

Techno shakes his head, trying very hard to focus on the potion he’s brewing.

Aka, Techno’s patience is tested severely and continuously when Ghostbur decides to visit XD

Their relationship is very sweet, because Ghostbur loves Techno and always wants to help him out, and Techno clearly cares about Ghostbur and wants to protect him, but at the same time… Ghostbur is definitely one to test patience XD And exploring that dynamic is super fun!

what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Hmm… I’ve definitely been sort of… morbidly interested in drowning. I’ve researched a ton on that.

Random, but morbid is a very fun word to say XD

what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

Definitely the ones talking about the characters being in-character :D It’s pretty much my biggest fear that I’ll mischaracterize people, so hearing people say that the opposite is true is just… really great :D :D

And also the comments talking about how the story affected them!! Like, there’s been several people who have CRIED because of my fics?? Which is just insane to me. Every time I get a comment saying that I do this but with more hearts:

The fact that my writing can touch people so deeply is incredible :’D

is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Dream SMP 😅 I’ve been pretty much exclusively writing fanfic for this fandom since June of last year—and the story ideas just keep coming lol

But I did get a little inspired by the Loki series just recently :)

do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

YES THIS IS SUCH A YOU QUESTION

Here’s my dog, Ginger:

That last picture is one of my favorites of her :’)

Ginger is absolutely the sweetest dog I’ve ever known; she’s a very sleepy girl who gets so very excited whenever we return home after being out for errands and such. She’ll do anything for food (especially broccoli and butter) and has yet to catch a squirrel (though she’s never stopped trying).

She’s definitely an introverted dog, and gets overwhelmed pretty easily in loud/crowded environments. She also wasn’t socialized much as a puppy, so she struggles to interact with other dogs 😭

She’s deathly afraid of hula-hoops and freaking hates baths/swimming lol

She’s the best dog ever <3 She just turned eight, and I can’t imagine what life will be like without her. She’s very special :’)

Then there is Miles (who’s currently in the bed with me as I type)

All these pictures are from completely different days XD He sleeps a lot.

I’ve got a bit of a love-hate relationship with this boy. He’s an extremely mean cat—in fact, just a couple days ago he attacked Ginger for no reason and scratched her nose! He has it out for her (for some unknown reason. She’d never hurt a fly so I don’t know what he’s on about).

He’s also very fussy, and if he’s not fed at a specific time every day, he’ll get mad and start crying/biting/scratching XD He’s super high maintenance.

He’s… very. very lazy. He is not a skinny boy.

I don’t like him too much most of the time, but sometimes—like in the pictures shown above—he gets softer, and will come up to my bed and curl up and purr and make biscuits with his paws. He’s very very cute when he does that.

what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

NSFW/sexual content, for sure. I’ve never read a smut fic and never will 😅 I’ve got no interest in that sort of thing.

As far as smaller things go, it’d be…

1) poor formatting, with big blocks of text instead of line breaks

2) mischaracteriztion. This is a big thing for me when it comes to fanfic; if you’re gonna make the characters so blatantly unrecognizable, just come up with your own characters!!

3) badddd dialogue. This is a big pet peeve of mine XD I am a lover of realistic/natural dialogue mmhmm mmhmm

#ask #ask game answers #Deathy thank you so much!! I got excited when I saw all the emojis XD

[thebarefootking]

Francesco Akira 🤩💚🔥

Oh, you picked one I have complex opinions on. But you probably knew that already. xD

Akira is one of my favorite juniors on the New Japan roster. The things he does well are things I really value, and he does them in ways I find aesthetically delightful. I love the way he moves in the ring. His (very consistent!) crossbody is one of my favorites in Japan, possibly anywhere, and I popped so hard when he did one off the balcony and onto most of the War Dogs and UE together that one time that I didn't even notice how he got up there in the first place, and had to rewind. He has pretty awesome ring chemistry with Despe, who is one of my favorite faves. (It's hard to genuinely fuck up wrestling with Despe, but Akira makes it look especially good, at least for a non-luchador.) The latest UE arc shows he can really carry a story when the ball gets passed his way. His cleverness in leveraging his work experience against his gimmick to create emotional tension absolutely takes me out. A woobie young babyface who also has the willingness and know-how to let the heels make a mess of him for our sympathies absolutely has my vote. And even what it looks like he doesn't have a lot of experience with in the ring, he figures out pretty quickly, and improves on in leaps and bounds for the next time. He makes it look decent, and then he makes it look awesome. As a monolingual person, I feel like a shithead commenting on his English diction on the mic. He has the chops to make a promo look good, and even to make it sound convincing and genuine (which are really the more important parts to me), but I'd be lying if I said that my inability to understand what the hell he's trying to say hasn't left me very confused on occasion. My auditory processing isn't great at the best of times, but with his accent, somewhat-broken English, and difficulty finding the words he's looking for, it can be a serious challenge for me to follow what he's saying. He's gotten better over time, especially in the form of speaking a little more clearly and loudly. But, as someone without much experience in learning other languages I don't know how much improvement is realistic for me to hope for from someone who has already been working in a primarily non-Italian setting for as long as he has. Like. I'm not learning a second language because it's more or less cognitively impossible for me to get to a functional level in speaking one. Languages are fucking hard. So I don't hold this against him on, like, a personal level.

But if he can improve on this, I think it would help his career a hell of a lot, and would be a really good place to focus some attention. I also don't know how compelling I find his current gimmick as a standalone. He's clearly still working on hitting his stride and walking the line between 'fiery ass-kicker' and 'adorable woobie' (and it's very funny when TJ has to visibly pull him back when he strays a little too far). Unless he can *really* nail that balance, which isn't a simple one, I don't know if the gimmick is sustainable as a solo endeavor. And I would love for him to achieve solo success.

#wrestlebloggin #wrestling asks #(i should go back and tag all these) #francesco akira #thank you <3

[historia-vitae-magistras]

SCARLET = You have influenced my decision/thoughts on something.

Honestly, your version of everything is the canon for me. I appreciate other interpretations, but my go-to is yours.

MAROON = You taught me something new.

Your dedication to research is unparalleled and I have learned a lot about Canadian history especially!

CINNAMON = You’re a really cool person and admire you from afar.

Not necessarily "from afar" (since I keep sending you asks) but I very much admire/look up to you. You've done a ton of really cool stuff and you're really smart and skilled.

PERIWINKLE = You make me laugh.

Sort of self-explanatory - you have a serious knack for humor! The jokes and the timing are always on point and can make me laugh even if you had me on the verge of tears before.

MAUVE = You are really talented

You've also clearly worked ridiculously hard to develop that talent, but seriously, your level of skill does not come without a natural aptitude. You're amazing.

BLUSH = Seeing you on my dash makes my day a little better.

Change that to "a lot". There have been multiple bad days that became good days because you posted. Your work has given me moments of happiness even on some of the worst days of my life. You're definitely on the shortlist of my favorite authors of all time.

INDIGO = I’ve been following you for a long time

I remember you being draw-a-circle-thats-the-foxhole!

FUCHSIA = Your blog content is gold

Both actual gold and blursed-Tumblr-gold. I have seen extremely cursed (and amusing) takes next to stuff that should seriously be in the canon of great literature.

VERMILION = You make me feel passionate

If you published this stuff I would switch to English literature and spend my life evangelizing about your writing. (Well... not literally. My brain doesn't do good with literary analysis. But I'd want to!)

RAZZMATAZZ = I would share my favorite food with you

Self-explanatory. And also, the way you describe food and culture makes me nostalgic for things I've never experienced, and I would like to be able to do that as well. But I don't have your skill with words so I'd have to stick to actually cooking.

SAFFRON = I love your ideas

See Scarlet XD

TIMBERWOLF = I trust you

I struggle with reading sad/angsty stuff - I can and have gotten really bad stomachaches from it (and crying makes me feel sick.) As a result, there are very few writers I trust enough to read it, and you are at the top of that list. Both because I trust that if you're doing it to me it's important, and because something about the way you specifically do it hits my brain just right so I get catharsis instead of pain.

PLUM = I’d like to chat with you

You intimidate the hell out of me, but I would love to sit down with you and talk about literally anything.

SAGE = You make me cry

See Timberwolf - I hate crying, but it's worth it for your work and it's generally not as bad as other cases.

BURGUNDY = I get excited when I see posts from you

See Blush - I have alerts set because "Maggie posted" is a highlight even on good days, and anywhere from a pick-me-up to a complete reversal of fortune on bad days.

You're great and I'm super glad I follow you <3

Putting my head down and tearing up because I can't. I don't deserve it but I'm so glad it hits this good. Honoured and overjoyed doesn't cut it 😭

#the ask box || probis pateo #why i write #naxos

[piracytheorist]

TWO German dub episodes in one day!

And I did other stuff today too, huh. Look at me being proactive on a Sunday.

After Twilight does a recap of the previous episodes, he finishes with a bit of encouragement to himself.

"Chin up. It's too early to give up."

He says "Kopf hoch" which literally translates to "Head high". It's interesting to learn new phrases through this. Yor repeats that later to him when she tells him Anya thinks of him as a great father.

"Meanwhile, I've already gotten used to this family life."

The English subtitles (and the translation of the manga) say "we" here. But there's something about him focusing on how he is getting used to this life, if you consider that he's never done anything like that before for a mission.

"Please don't forget to apologize to Damian, okay? Promise me."

Again, that "promise me" was added by the dub.

ASHDGFGS I'm not sure because the subtitles said something different, but I'm pretty sure the girl on the right called Anya "That mafia girl" XD

While Damian was thinking how Anya punched him and how dare she, there was some interesting acting in his lines. He was like "She did this to me, this... (derogatory), this... (furiously derogatory), this... (affectionate)"

I just checked the original version, and it's pretty much the same, only a little more subtle. In the dub the last one was full-on besotted.

Also, Damian thinks to himself something along the lines of "I am number two in succession in the Desmonds" or something, and later on Anya refers to him as "Number two". I wonder if that's what her nickname for him will be in later episodes. It's a little funny, albeit a little sad considering how much it hurts Damian to know he's never put first by his family.

When they have their reading lesson and Anya sees that her book has the different ending to the story that Loid put in to encourage her to apologize (also love the lengths he went to because he didn't know that Anya knew how important that apology was to the mission and how committed she was to giving it), she said "Somehow, Anya's book is broken." And yes, that means she called it kaputt XD

We have OUR FIRST "SCHEIẞE!"

He says it at his outburst to Anya, right before he says that he'll never accept her apology.

It came much earlier than I expected, and I hadn't expected Damian of all people to be the first to say it. I mean, he gets angry and bold, but he is still a kid.

(For those of you who don't know, "Scheiße" means "Shit" and it's the equivalent of that swear word in German)

Loid's German VA does a good job giving him overdramatic reactions. His reaction to Damian rejecting Anya's apology was always a funny moment to me, and the dub delivered in the despair in his voice XD

Yor: Have you asked Anya what she wants?

Loid: Not directly...

Mah dude whatchu talking about you haven't asked her shit

(This is not a dig either at the character or the dub, I just found it funny lol. He still has to keep up the pretense that he's Anya's biological father, after all)

Loid's ending line in this episode was "What would it feel like, if this one was my real family?" and it just hit me so much differently, you know? Because you just want them to stay together, you want this family to be a real one. You don't want Loid/Twilight to find just any family, you want him with them. And him referring to the Forgers in particular in that moment just hit harder. I love it.

#nette watches sxf #sxf

[bengalaas]

A Year In Review: 2022 Writing

So I’m weeks behind the usual end-of-year memes, but whatever. The past year has not been too great, although good things happened too. Anyway, here’s how it compares in terms of writing: 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |

Writing

I wrote a measly 7600w for A Different Kind of Courage, making 2022 the... third (?) year in a row when I’ve been planning to finish the fic, but then life happens and everything flies out the window. But those were quite solid three chapters and I’m rather proud of them, as the story reached the crash-and-burn end point of an arc. It was terribly satisfying to write. So many things coming finally together, mmm.

In the beginning of last year I randomly started Poludnica / Midday Shadows, a Shadow & Bones fanfic, of all things, and got some 16k words in before Russia’s war in Ukraine made me kinda unwilling to continue writing in a setting/aesthetic based on romanticized Tsarist Russia. But it was very fun while the inspiration lasted and maybe someday I’ll pick it back up.

I also wrote a small ‘Tasertricks in Thedas AU’ oneshot Dancing In the Ruin; a tiny M!Lavellan/Josie drabble Air; a similarly tiny Matt/Elektra ficlet Trade it all in for a lifetime of smelling your skin; and translated two fics: People Caught in a Storm (American Gods) by @spaceinthecage and Leave Barefoot (The Punisher) by She is Hale, which is a prose poem and I’m pretty proud of that one too :)

So that’s 38,600 words writing and 2145w translation.

Somehow, I apparently have had less productive years. (how...??)

Beta thanks

@serial-chillr is still as awesome as ever, she knows the craft, and she also just holds my hand when I haven’t posted anything in a while and suddenly start doubting every single damn thing I know about English grammar XD

Progress

I think Poludnica was the most important learning exercise, as I cut myself some slack and just let myself get some writing done. So there’s some time-jumping, cutting of boring scenes I didn’t want to write, there’s short chapters, there’s more summaries and less descriptions than usual, etc. But apparently the pacing still works okay. So yeah, I guess I now have experience consciously writing an average fic just for fun :D

I also discovered that prose poems are a thing, and that I love them. There should be more of them.

Community

I’ve kinda drifted away from DA and The Hobbit; blazed through Shadow & Bone, and then @sausagesquirrel dragged me into the Daredevil/The Punisher fandom. So I’m making some new friends like @youwouldneverbreakthechain​  and appreciating the ones I’ve known for years, like the excellent @cafeleningrad, @serial-chillr, @vyrridiana, @dafan7711, and other pocket friends (and @dorianpink came back to tumblr!!) ♥

Comments

Unexpectedly many, on a fic I didn’t give much of a damn about :D So fandom is weird.

But also I’m so impressed by Serial and Squirrel and @valla-valla who have kept reading my fics even in new fandoms: you are so lovely, and your support means a lot to me ♥

2023

Honestly, I just want to finish something by this point lol. I’m hoping to have more free time this year, but I think that, for a while, at least, if I’ll be writing anything, it will be behind the scenes until I’m sure I can carry on. I really don’t want to update and then disappear again.

So that’s the most important plan. Sort out this inconvenience called depression, and fall in love with writing again :)

#beng's writing #bengruminations

[alatismeni-theitsa]

One of the most frustrating things about being Greek diaspora and learning the language later in life is when someone who isn’t Greek AND who isn’t fluent tries to correct you. Like I was talking to a classmate about how certain words have more syllables in Greek than they do in English (ex. “μαλακάς” and “bitch” or “ψάρι” and “fish”), and some random ass teacher came up and was like “oh I lived in New York with a lot of Greeks and you aren’t pronouncing it right.” I don’t know why but I got really frustrated at this, even though I think I did pronounce it wrong, because it was this feeling that this man simply isn’t Greek and therefore had no right to comment on my Greek. However, I know my Greek is awful and I appreciate constructive criticism from those fluent in it, so I was like “oh! Μιλάτε Ελληνικά?” And he said, I kid you not, “im not fluent in Greek, but I might be a better Greek than you!” In this joking manner. Man when I tell you I was PISSED! Anyway, I just wanted to ask if this is common for anyone else and how I should respond because I basically just stormed off.

Thank you for everything Θείτσα!

Aaaaaahhh ewwwww that man wasn't polite at all! Personally, I wouldn't mind being corrected by a non-Greek speaker if they are certain about a pronunciation BUT they should definitely be polite about it! I shiver at the thought of doing this to someone else because I happened to know a single word better than them 😮

[keep reading]

He could very well say "hey, I heard you speak Greek! That's awesome! Can I ask you something? I lived in NY alongside many Greeks and I've heard them pronounce it differently, like X. Is it something I misheard? Do you know if it's pronounced that way indeed?"

And then I imagine you'd be more comfortable saying "you know what? I'm not entirely sure. I'll ask someone in my family and get back to you. Thanks for letting me know!" And you'd both be happier! Plus, depending on the word and the occasion maybe he didn't know better so he should be cautious and courteous.

And the "I might be a better Greek than you" statement??? Quite rude! It's seemingly a "small thing" to get pissed about, but it hides many other statements behind it. Identity in the diaspora is a sensitive thing and, generally, it irks me when people say in any context "I am more [nationality] than you".

Because, first of all, how can one measure that exactly, secondly because it doesn't matter. It's clearly something that one says to be boastful at the expense of someone else. If he simply wanted to share Greek experiences with you he could be more like "I danced zeimbekiko a few times, I've cooked some Greek dishes, I really like Greek culture! So nice to meet another Greek!"

I believe it was all said in good fun and that if that person knew your feelings on it beforehand, maybe he wouldn't have the same approach. Now, I live in Greece, where we usually let things bottle up and use passive aggressiveness for our long-time disputes xD BUT you'll do well to speak to him if you are comfortable with it! You can start the conversation in a light manner, like "oh, hey, about this word, I asked my family and said it's pronounced this way, so you were correct/I was correct..." and be first polite yourself.

Then, politely let him know on a surface level how it is to grow in a diaspora house and hear such statements. For example "May I say something? To be honest, the statements you made, I am sure you meant no harm with them, but they weren't helpful to hear as a Greek diaspora kid who is trying to get to know their culture at a later age. You probably meant to say you had great exposure to my culture right? In this case, I am happy to exchange experiences! But please understand my situation, and how would you feel if someone else said these things to you about your nationality."

-- reconstruct according to your own circumstances and style.

The reason I am advising politeness is that in situations like this aggressiveness makes people less accepting of our circumstances. And your goal is to make him understand, not chastise him about what he did. I wouldn't like to urge you to begin a fight. Of course, I also don't mean that you shouldn't be more persistent if the need arises. If he doesn't understand and if he insists on being stubborn and boastful, don't sweat it. If he doesn't hear you, he'd be just another annoying person in the world and goodness knows there are many around. Focus on your own journey, and don't spend your energy disagreeing with people who will only make you mad and will be no help at all.

That's what I'd do at least. If anyone has other suggestions, let us know!

#answered #greek diaspora

[an-asuryampasya]

scream

termites are, in fact, the fucking worst.

They make me feel so useless.

We have- had, now- this Telugu-English dictionary. Always called it the 'Brown dictionary' at home, because it was by Charles Philip Brown and it had to distinguished from the host of other dictionaries dotting the shelves (my grandfather has an extensive collection of books and that includes multiple Telugu-English dictionaries, as well as English-Telugu, Sanskrit-Telugu, Hindi-English, English-Hindi, and probably a bunch of others my kid-self couldn't be bothered about. Well now I very much can be bothered and I'll go check on them in a bit, but first, back to me moping about a dictionary. Also yes, my grandfather really likes collecting stuff. It's a goldmine that I'm only now beginning to appreciate as my interest in archives, conservation, and history grows. Also if you're new here (and my url doesn't make sense to you), hi, I'm Very Telugu on main sometimes and ramble about languages occassionally. Right, back to moping).

I'm stupidly fond of that dictionary. I rarely use it of course - probably why this even happened, it never seeing any sunlight - because I google shit like any other person. But just, growing up and having a rare moment of seeing my dad stumped by a word and us pulling out the Brown dictionary to look it up made me oddly excited? It's a nice memory (-I say, ignoring all the times when I'd have been groaning as he sent me to hunt it down because I'm certain those times happened too). Mostly though, the dictionary amuses me for a different reason. That book is wayyyy older than me, and I've been aware of it right since a time when I read books, but was young enough that I didn't really understand the need for author names. I mean, if I like a book and need to identify it, I need the title of the book itself. What do you mean it's possible to like an author and seek out more of their stuff? What good does knowing the author do? What do you MEAN dictionaries have authors??? The Oxford dictionary is just the Oxford dictionary??? And yeah, dad calls this one the brown dictionary, but that's because the cover of the book is brown, see? [Note: it was not, in fact, brown. The cover was orange and white. It was the other Telugu-English dictionary that was brown in colour, but I couldn't care less about that one at the time.]

[I eventually learned why it was called the Brown dictionary when my dad once asked for it and I grabbed the brown coloured dictionary and my dad was all ???]

So y'know, the title of that dictionary always makes me laugh when I remember why it's called that, and yeah I'm kinda emotionally attached to it now. Except today I decided it's time I look up my url on there because sure, I know what it means, but it's the brown dictionary. For old times' sake and all.

[side note: if you're wondering, my url means "she who never beholds the sun" (as my ideal state is me being holed up in my room). It's a Sanskrit word too, but Sanskrit dictionaries tend to carry only the figurative meaning of "part of a king's harem", so I'm particular about clarifying that I mean the more literal Telugu meaning when I use it. Bonus fact! I was delighted to learn of this word for the first time when my brother's ENT called him an asuryampasya. xD Great doc, that one.]

And well. That's when we discovered that the termites had attacked. They got some of the other stuff too, including somthing my mum is inordinately fond of and aaaaaaaah. I tried looking up online to see if we could buy another copy of the dictionary at least, but a used copy is priced at some forty fucking thousand (INR, that is. But still too expensive to buy just for old times' sake when technically I can just google the words I want.)

So that's it, then. The book is not so badly damaged that it's entirely useless so I can't even throw it out without feeling guilty, but large swathes of it are too messed up to use (the entry of asuryampasya is half eaten, with what's remaining reading 'she beholds the sun'). And I just. Feel so helpless. I read up on conservation practices and study the theory of how light ruins books and what chemical treatments are done and stuff but what is the point of me hoarding all that theoretical knowledge when the ONE book from my grandfather's collection I'm actually fond of got chewed up right in front of me, and I did nothing. Just. Scream. I feel very sad and useless. I should go check on the other books and stuff but I'm too upset to do it right now.

I'll get to it eventually, but until then it's moping (and making that the internet's problem like this) I guess. :(

#placeholder tag

[a-non-ymouswriter]

Hello!

I want to tell you that I actually learned a ton of new words from Rewind and your other fictions, when i was reading Rewind, I spent like 20% of the time on Google.

It is the first fiction I read in English that has over 200k word. :0

ps: Sorry if this looks a bit chaotic, I am just bad at writing in general, no matter what language I write in. (つД`)

I just want you to know thatI love your writings! I even wrote a long bookmark on ao3, tho it isn't in English.

By the way, surprisingly, your Vindictive Care got me back into UT Fandom again after leaving for 1 year.,xD

sorry this is a bit late but i'm glad i've managed to expand your vocabulary XD

the fact that rewind is 200k+ words is still a matter that i'm proud of. along w the fact i managed to end a story at all! granted there's an unfinished wip sequel in the making but i'm still so proud of myself :D

hey! it's all good, i think you did great. your only misspelling is 'thatl' so yeah!

awww, thank you!!! i'm pretty sure every writer loves it when there's a long bookmark about their story, no matter the language.

pfpfpt i'm glad?? sorry?? both?? it's been a while since i've been back into the ut fandom and i'm still a bit sorry for putting vindictive care in hiatus.

#ask #but hey who knows #i might continue it again #i get the urge to reread it from time to time #it might happen #but for now #i'm embroiled in the dsmp fandom

[mammonprotectionsquad]

hi!!! sorry, i got busy yesterday lol

thank you so much for all the recommendations!! its difficult to test new waters without knowing what im getting into for each new channel so i really appreciate how much you shared :))

i actually found a video this morning that gives me vague tingles lolol. it was with that "unnamed lady" i mentioned (Angelica, i think?), she has this hypnosis video and fsr that works for me. although trying to keep my eyes on a moving object is quite the challenge ngl qwq. is that normal or is it just my adhd 😂

unrelated side bar: b/c im most fluent in french out of the languages ive been learning, (and its my favorite for several reasons lol), thats the bank my brain grabs from when the english word doesnt immediately pop into my head, or if there is a word that is a cognate, sometimes i'll say it the french way just for fun (when talking to myself lmaoo)

so... i just realized that this whole time i've been internally pronouncing your username like that — basically saying "maman" instead of "mammon" 😭😭💀

i mean for all i know that *is* how you say it but i just realized it cos i said it out loud... 💀💀💀

[417]

Don't worry about that! Something that I always tell my friends and mutuals is that they never have to apologize. We all get busy and whenever they don't (you included 💕) have time to respond tm quickly or whatever that's totally okay. I don't want anyone to think they have to answer me asap :3

And you're very welcome :D honestly always glad to be able to talk about stuff like that without being labeled as a weirdo xD

But the tingle thing is great! And tbh I can't always do those following movements videos. Because I either get distracted at some point or I just fall asleep xDD

Ooh French is a pretty cool language! Funnily enough, I barely ever remember the word "oregano" even tho it's the same in English and German. But my brain is always like "no. Neither of those. Only Greek. So no one besides your family understands what you mean" 😂

I meeeean I think the pronunciation of Mammon is really not too far off? xD plus sometimes stuff sounds better in different languages ooooor with accents 👀

Fun fact, in German it's pronounced the exact same way it's written xDD

#becky rambles #[417]

[starchild--27]

post 10 gifs of my fav tv shows and tag 10 people ♡

ok, these are 6 but tbh there simply are no more series (i didn’t even mention TV series only xD this is a mess) i watched and that i still like (on the other side, my yet-to-watch-list is endless... oooff). and one of my favourites is actually missing because it’s a rather unknown german series (to my german followers: if you have a bit of an interest in law, i recommend “Schuld nach Ferdinand von Schirach” - tw: sensitive topics are part of most of the episodes, so please inform yourself about the episodes and what they contain if you want to be safe). 

i still thank @heartcravings​ for tagging me (also because i definitely want to check out some of them ^^)

i tag everybody who’s up for it and wants to share some of their favourites (pls tag me then, bc i want to see of course :D)

#tag game #10 gifs of my favourite tv shows #gilmore girls #gosh i love love love this series so much #rory is still my rolemodel today #my so-called life #which i only know bc my english teacher borrowed me her dvds of the series #and i loved it #the mandalorian #i'm i star wars geek ok this needs to be here #chilling adventures of sabrina #witchy stuff always caught me #even if the plot is wild at times - i love the vibe of the show #anne with an e #this show is just straight up heartwrenching and beautiful #beautiful scenery beautiful words #great new english words for me to learn xD #game of thrones #a true classic now #there is more to it than sex and violence - really #even tho some character arches were shitty in the end - sansa's was the best of them all

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

heya, I would really like a match up if it's not a bother! :3

I'm a trans masc polyromantic asexual who uses he/him pronouns and is questioning his romantic orientation. The only thing I know about it for sure is that I'm demiromantic.

Anyway, I'm a pretty open, creative person or try to be, even though it's pretty hard with my social anxiety. When I overcome my fears and feel comfortable with friends, I'm very energetic and loud with a very stupid humour XD I also play an instrument (the flute lol), like to practice art, read and write things like storys or poems and play videogames! The most current video games that I play are stuff like Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Animal crossing and Sims 4, but if I would have the money I would definitely also play doom or similar. Flaws of mine are my huge insecurities and me being a people pleaser who always puts others needs over his. I also have the bad habit of bottling up my emotions due to past trauma and mental illness, what lead to me being so distanced of emotions that I feel uncomfortable near highly emotional people.

I would like an significant other to be at least somewhat understanding and being able to deal with my abandonment anxiety and constant need for reassurance, they also should be able to laugh with me over the stupidest shit and open to just enjoying the presence of each other while both do their own thing, especially when my social battery runs out. Things I hate in people are arrogance, ignorance and not willing to communicate properly because I think communication is the most important thing!

Okay, I'm sorry it got so long, I'm almost done I promise ;-;

Deal-breakers would be not being able to communicate, overstepping boundaries and purposefull triggering, anything else doesn't come to mind :)

Since I don't know what pet peeve means because I'm not a native English speaker, I'll just skip that question lol

I also never thought about my future, since mental health is kinda bad right now, so, uh, I guess alive and somewhat successful? xD

I. LOVE. BIRDS. I swear to god even as a child I obsessed over them and I love every single one of them. On a close second place are rats, I have two that are named Frisk and Chara (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

My favourite food is ramen, especially if it's spicy! I live for spicy food and can barely enjoy a meal without it at least burning my tounge XD

I hope you can get somewhere with this vague description and I hope my English wasn't to bad, have a great evening/day :D

An akward german

Heya !

The choice was quite complicated! There's a lot of people you could have had : UT Sans, UT Papyrus, OT Sans or even Ink. But one got a better score with two more points and it's....

DISBELIEF PAPYRUS (Delta) !

He's also very creative, energetic and loud, despite being a little shy at first. He has bad social anxiety too due to past traumas and his entire relationship is based on communication. After what he lived with Sans, he has a need to know when something is wrong. Delta is a good listener too and his advices are usually very pertinent. He is highly empathic, sometimes emotional. He is kind, gentle, patient, and knows when he needs to shut up or give space to someone.

He's a very supportive boyfriend and loves culture. He doesn't like reading very much, but music is more his thing. He likes to give motivationnal tips to help you getting inspired, even if he can be a little playful if you're ignoring him for too long. He's a casual video games player, and matches your interests since he likes peaceful games where you can build things.

He always find the good words when you need reassurance or when you have insecurities. He tries his best to be here for you and he is happy when you're happy. He doesn't even ask anything in return, he thinks it's just a normal thing to do and he doesn't want to be a bother with his story.

He's not good with arrogant people either, so it's fine on this point. He can sometimes be ignorant, but he loves to learn new things and can get funnily really exciting about details. He's less close minded that the classic version on humor, and if you're really pushing him, he can let go really good puns too. He likes birds and spicy food, even if they are not his favorite, and he has things to make you discover too. However, he's really observant, and if you're really passionate about birds, he might surprise you with safaris and nice spots when you can watch them.

He's a nice peaceful guy and he will be happy to share some time with you!

#match up event #disbelief papyrus #undertale ask blog #undertale asks #undertale imagines #undertale headcanons

[sinsbymanka]

Writing Tag Game

Okay listen I’m on vacation XD hence why I’m ignoring everyone’s tags/taking forever to respond. But I’ve been tagged in this A LOT and I really liked it/wanted to do it so thank you to everyone who tagged me (oh my god I’m so sorry if I missed one of you there were SO MANY): @noire-pandora, @in-arlathan, @thevikingwoman, @morganlefaye79, @elveny, @kunstpause, @pikapeppa

I’m not tagging anyone because I’m tagging everyone since I’m too lazy to find my tag list (I’m on VACATION). If you’ve not gotten tagged and wanted to do this, say I tagged you. 

How many works do you have on Ao3?

147 - I have 145 linked to my profile and two in the anonymous collection. 

What's your total Ao3 wordcount?

1,468,248. Almost 1.5 million!! 

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Miracles and Heroes (FenHawke, Cadash/Varric, Varania/Blackwall): 269

Interspecies Relationships Have Their Ups and Downs (Shakarian): 145

Don’t Make it Hawkeward (Varric/Hawke): 135

The Ambassador’s Vices (Josephine/Adaar): 111

The Girl with the Arrow Tattoo (Cadash/Varric): 101

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do (but - to be honest - it takes me FOREVER). I love comments. It’s so much easier to not leave comments than leave comments, so every time someone leaves one I’m blown away. I feel like - for leaving me a comment - you’re definitely owed an answer! I do apologize that it takes me awhile though - I am very bad at answering because they mean a lot to me and I get easily overwhelmed by the AO3 inbox I don’t know why. Blame anxiety. 

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I’ll be honest, I don’t like angsty endings so I don’t have many of them. By far the angstiest ending I have is Flowers, Lies, and Forgiveness. This is a Bianca Davri/Varric Tethras fic set during the final act of DA2. I wrote it from Bianca’s POV - showing Varric unraveling under the pressure of Kirkwall and Bianca’s complicated feelings about infidelity to her husband who clearly cares about her as well. I wrote it for @hollyand-writes who always lets me lean into the tragic “fucked upness” of the pairing when I’m feeling like making Varric suffer.  

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending

I prefer happy endings so almost EVERYTHING has a happy ending. My favorite endings, so far, are for Cheating the Dread Wolf, which is my Varric/Cadash/Solas polycule (or as I like to refer to it - Solas has a dwarf kink) and The Viscount’s Mistress which is my Hurt/Comfort Cadash/Varric Trespasser bullshit. 

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I have not written crossovers - but I am very into AUs in another setting that belongs to a different fictional universe. Most recently I got back into my Downton Abbey bullshit and wrote Flappers for Fen’harel which is basically a Downton Abbey AU Solas/Cadash and I’m not taking comments about the outrageousness of it. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yep. Honestly though? Over the two years I’ve been active in Fandom, the shitty comments can be counted on one hand and usually came from the same people over and over again, who are easily blocked, and should stop seeking out clearly labeled content they don’t like. Me and my work are not for everyone - that’s REALLY okay. I’ve blocked people for no other reason than making things I don’t like - that doesn’t mean they’re bad people. 

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

GOD DO I.

I am extremely sex and kink positive. Because of this - a lot of my work involves sex in some way or another. I think sex is a beautiful part of many (although not all) relationships, and that it’s frequently glossed over in mainstream media (particularly queer, kinky, and polyam sex). 

This ranges from sort of vanilla slow burns (My Cole/Bea fic, Compassion for an Assassin, has smut which hasn’t been posted yet. It’s Cole’s first time and is fairly vanilla and romantic, and occurs approximately 40k into the fic) to some pretty dubious consent near 24/7 dom/sub dynamics with BDSM kinks (I’ve written JUST as much of the Sereda/Gorim problematic smut as @jarakrisafis has in our series Forced Moves). 

There’s very few kinks I’m not willing to touch at least to try out - even if I end up not liking them. And the ones that aren’t for me are 100% allowed to exist and I will fight for them to the bloody end. My only recommendation is CLEARLY labeling your shit and not being afraid to add a tag if someone asks you to. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of? I’ve seen ideas I’ve tried on picked up by other people - but I don’t consider that stealing and it’s hard to trace “who has been inspired by who” because we ALL have been inspired by thousands of other people and frankly more stuff for me when I pull you over to my weird AUs and rarepairs. 

I also think that’s a huge part of not getting stolen - I’ve got so much weird niche shit that only a couple people read that stealing from me is going to most likely be caught IMMEDIATELY the audience is so small. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t believe so!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! I’ve got some co-written secret smut with @blarfkey which almost nobody has seen, I’ve borrowed @tightassets Hawke, Lavellan, and Shepard for fics that she has illustrated, borrowed @tuffypelly‘s Adaars for some great fics, and my most ambitious project - the Forced Moves series with @jarakrisafis. It started out as us just exchanging gifts back and forth but we’ve wrangled it into Gambits and Countergambits, an Aeducan-origin prequel, that I’m VERY proud of. 

I love co-writing very much, but it’s very important to find the right partner and for it to be someone you trust completely. 

What's your all time favourite ship?

This is a stupidly hard question because I am, at heart, a multi-shipper. 

I love Varric/Hawke and Varric/Cadash. I’m also a sucker for Solas/Cadash. My fandom pool noodle is Varric/Cadash/Solas which I adore, and I’m very fond of Cole/Cadash. 

Most recently I’ve been DEEP in Aeducan/Gorim Saelac, Bhelen/Rica/Vartag, and Aeducan/Brosca feels. Dwarf origins are the best origins in my opinion and those characters are PERFECT. 

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I fully plan on finishing everything. My writing style changed a lot, for the better, in a short period of time. I need to integrate my old style/new style and had to get a pep talk about how to do that. Now I’m ready to try as soon as I finish Compassion for an Assassin. 

What are your writing strengths? 

I write very sexy, hot smut. I also really like playing with character voice and making sure I get them “right” so I do a lot of experimenting before publishing a new character for the first time. 

I struggle to write action scenes - it’s like pulling fucking teeth - but people really LOVE my action scenes and they read well. So that’s something I’m proud of even if it feels like doing fucking pull ups. 

What are your writing weaknesses?

I never learned anything. My experiences with English and writing teachers were overwhelmingly negative. I’m unsure if I’m just not cut out for classes or if they were that bad, but I always left feeling like there was one “right” way to do it, and everything I liked was “bad”, so what was the point of “learning” anything? 

It turns out there’s this very pompous, pretentious thought process in writing where people “assume” things must be done, but GOOD writing teachers teach you the rules and then how to break them. I either never had a good writing teacher or got too intimidated to give them a chance before bouncing. 

So I’m exceedingly self-taught. I lack the vocabulary to discuss plot structure, characterization, grammar, etc. I instinctively know most of these things based on trial and error and reading, but I didn’t learn them and I miss a lot of nuance in the rules, but until recently I was still too intimidated and unsure of myself to admit that or take it seriously. 

So - my defense mechanism is NOT taking ANYTHING seriously. If my writing is a joke to me, it’s gotta be a joke to everyone else, but that’s been a shield to hide behind instead of being thoughtful about things. I’m here to have fun, yes, but there’s nothing wrong with learning a technique to the art. 

I’ve learned - mostly thanks to @blarfkey who is an amazing person and a wonderful teacher - that I am a good writer based on my self-teaching. And being intimidated of people who throw around impressive sounding words is a weakness that I am working on. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

Use sparingly and with good reason. It should be short and explained later or clear from context. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter on message boards back in the fucking day. Thankfully none of it exists anywhere anymore. 

What's your favourite fic you've written?

This is such a sappy answer and I’m so sorry. My favorite things have been written for and because of people I love and care about. When I read them, I’m not just reading the story, but remembering the relationships I’ve made and how important they are. 

So, my top three fics for THAT reason: 

1. Cheating the Dread Wolf - written for @blarfkey who inspired the idea and ruthlessly encouraged me to make it happen. This fic was so healing for me because it heavily features Fatherhood within it - and I lost my father in June 2020. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it without her and it was so important for me to do. 

2. Gambits and Countergambits - written with @jarakrisafis and the culmination of a years worth of gifting shit back and forth and crafting a shared universe. The worldbuilding, smut, relationships, EVERYTHING about this fic is so deeply and passionately cared about by both of us and to our knowledge it is completely, totally unique.  

3. Relentless, Ridiculous, and Rakish - one of my only primarily gen-fics focusing on a forming brother/sister relationship between Maria Cadash and @tuffypelly‘s Otsar Adaar. I very much enjoyed writing it for her <3 

And then my overall favorite fic: 

The Viscount’s Mistress: I have a lot of opinions about how fanfiction treats the anchor’s meltdown and the aftermath. It’s one of the things in DAI that resonated with me SO much as someone who lives with chronic pain and a disability. I loved the fact my OC was in the same shoes and STILL saving the world. This is very much a fic that explores all the dark sides of trauma, pain, and the mental health effects of it. But it ends on a happy and hopeful note.  

#manka writes #writer tag game thing

[here-we-blog]

Fic interview tag

tagged by @clarasimone (thanks a lot! ^^)

Name: Mia

Fandoms I write for: Game of Thrones and currently also Loki (Jorleesi & Lokius xD)

Two-shot: (had to google that one, thanks urban dictionary) so, a two shot is basically the same thing as a one shot but with two chapters? cool. I don't write two shots, sorry to disappoint xD BUT I do have a favourite one written by someone else (@fanoftheknight) it's called Come Fly With Me (it's on Ao3) and man, it's great. the perfect Two Shot haha

Most popular multichapter: Jorah's curse - Daenerys Targaryen (also obviously on Ao3)... looking back it's not THAT great, just me writing my first fic ever and having to use a lot of translators and stuff because English is not my native language hA - BUT I must say, that I am indeed proud of it. It's SO LONG and I managed to stay motivated! I didn't only write the whole thing, no, I also translated it, so that's kinda cool yk (took me one year and a half but it was fun, so it was worth it xD)

Actual worst part of writing: Hard one, I never thought about writing having a bad part but right now I'd say finding the right words and formulations? because I sort of stopped writing stuff in German and then translating it, I simply write it in English right away. and that's really hard because my vocabular isn't that big (yet) and I just sometimes need to look words up - but then I can't remember the German word either and... ugh it's horrible lmao

How you choose titles: Me choosing titles is the most random thing ever. Usually it's one of the first thing I do when starting a new WIP. I basically get the idea and then I think of a fitting title. then I start taking notes. and sometimes I start writing after that xD

Do you outline: I know that there are apparently outlining methods but I usually just take notes of whatever comes to my mind and connect those ideas with more ideas? does that count?

Ideas I probably won't get to but it would be nice: ... a Jorleesi Pirate fan fic😶 seriously, I'm obsessed with that idea but I probably won't write it because I literally don't know anything about pirates or ships or how things worked back then... so... hmm :')

Best writing habits: I take notes on EVERYTHING. I'm a person who forgets a lot but thanks to those notes, I usually remember all my ideas. Oh and I'm very good at finding time to write. Doesn't matter where I am, I will find the time to sit down and write a bit as long as I really want to.

Spicy opinions: Ohhhh good question, this has been on my mind since days but I never made a post about it: I don't know that much about genderfluidity YET (currently questioning my entire existence which includes my gender identity and I think I might be genderfluid myself, anyway, that's not the point, what I mean to say, I still have a lot to learn and really don't want to offend anybody with this) but as soon as someone starts using different pronouns for the same character each sentence, I'm off. I mean, I get if you use different pronouns for each chapter or whenever a new day in your fic starts but PLEASE don't use them randomly, it's so confusing! don't get me wrong, I'm so here for pronoun appreciation and all, but it seems so forced (and unnecessary!) when someone shuffles the pronouns for a character every minute. Firstly: it's confusing and off putting. Secondly: As far as I know that's not how genderfluidity "works"? at least not for everyone xD But then again, write whatever you want, I'll read whatever I like, case closed

Tags: I once again don't know who to tag, sorry 💀

[sunscreenstudies]

hey ik this is random but I was scrolling thru the leaving cert tag and saw your post abt your results. Firstly congrats (even if it is 3 years late haha), secondly I’m currently in 6th year and was wondering if I could ask for some English advice? I’m looking to go up a grade (h3->h2) and was wondering if you have any particular tips for studying english, the exam, technique, or for literally anything relevant to the subject. There’s no pressure to answer this, ty either way :)))

Hey! Thank you so much for the ask and i am so sorry i’ve only gotten round to it now XD

LC English tips below!

Okay so it’s been a while since I did the LC but if things are more or less the same, then you’ve got your three texts to answer a question on.

Tip #1: Even though there is an awful lot to learn, you just need to remember key words, and you’ll sail through! 

In the comparative, you need to compare your texts in every. single. paragraph. You could write a fantastic essay, but if you don’t say “In comparison to this…” “Text 2 however differs from this…” “Similarly…” “The two texts are different in the sense that…” etc. you will get zero marks at all.

When answering your poetry question, you need to keep referring to the style of the poet. Every past poetry question can be broken down into two simple questions: What did the poet write about? and how did they say it? If you can answer both these questions on every poem you learn, you’ll do great! 

Also, do not learn any more than 5 poems per poet and don’t learn any more than 5 poets to begin with. This covers you completely no matter who appears on the day!

Tip #2: Please please pleaseee remember that for the comphrehension section, you must answer one question A and one question B from two different texts! If you answer from the same text you will get 0 and worse than that, this section is worth 12.5% of your total paper which means you will be down an entire grade immediately.

The length of your answer needs to correspond to the marks going for that question. In question A you usually have three parts, worth 15m, 15m, and 20m. Your 20 mark answer must be longer than your 15 mark questions.

For every 5 marks a question is worth, you need 1 A4-page pararaph. Unless you’ve got tiny writing, this is usually 5 to 7 lines of the page.

Your teacher has undoubtedly told you all about timing and “don’t spend any longer than 40 minutes on your question A” and yea they have a point, to an extent. I spent about an hour answering my question A and then sailed through question B because for me, I found the second question a lot easier to answer. Don’t panic if you don’t stick to the “recommended time” because every single person is different and what you find easy might be difficult for someone else.

In saying that, if you are spending loadsss of time on one particular section and you can feel the clock ticking, then move the heck on. Take a deep breath, leave a blank page for yourself to come back to that question later, and start your next part. Every question has a finite amount of marks, so no matter how brilliant your 20 mark answer is, you can only ever get 20 marks for it, and if that answer came at the expense of not getting question B done at all, then you’re down a grade already.

Tip #3: They want your opinion. Let me repeat that. They want your opinion. No matter what the heck they ask you, whether it’s about poetry or your novel or a Shakespearean text, the examiner will be checking to see what you thought of the text. I know firsthand how weird writing things like “In my opion...” or “I believe that...” but this is how you get the marks. Don’t lose the H2 you’re aiming for cause you’re feeling a bit awkward. After the exam, that feeling will never matter again, but your grade will!

Link every single paragraph in every single answer. This doesn’t have to be complicated, you don’t even need to write an entire sentence. Just start every new paragraph with phrases like “However...” or  “Therefore...” or “In contrast to this...”. If you don’t link your paragraphs, the examiner will think that you don’t know what you’re talking about and that you have no opinion of your own (see Tip #3) so use those joining phrases!

Tip #4: For that letter/article/diary entry question B, make sure that whatever part of it you answer, you know the layout for that style. Reports must have a title, introduction, work carried out, findings, suggestions, recommendations, and conclusion sections. Essays need to have a clear introduction, 5+ paragraphs, and closing. Even diary entries should begin with ‘Dear Diary’ which physically causes me pain to write, but it’s what gets you the marks!

Letters are the most asked question B but the most diffuclt to get good marks in. First things first: Figure out if it’s formal or informal. Formal will be editors, principals, government, or anyone that you would address as “sir” or “ma’am” in real life. Informal will be your friends, close family members, penpals, or anyone you’d hug goodbye and laugh with in real life.

Formal letters begin with your own name in the right hand corner of the page, with your own address directly below it. Skip a line, and then write the date below it, always in the format of “01 January 2020″ and be sure to check the question for any hint about what this date should be. If you’re writing a letter to your boss asking about organising a staff barbarcue for staff morale, then you wouldn’t date it in the middle of December, right? Sign off with something professional like “Kind regards” or “Thank you for your time”

Informal letters begin with your own address on the top right-hand corner of the page but do not write your name! It’s an informal letter to your friend; they know who you are.  Skip a line, and then write the date below it, always in the format of “01 January 2020″ and pay attention to the time of year again. Sign off with something casual like “see you later!” or “talk soon!”

Tip #5: Section 2′s composing section is worth an entire 25% of your paper. If you want to get a good grade, you need to get a good grade in this. If you’re aiming for a H2, then you need to get a H2 in this section minimum.

Your essay  should be between 4 to 6 pages, or 1000 to 1250 words. At least.

Always open with a quote, a rhetorical question, or a shocking statistic. I went online the night before my Paper One exam, and wrote down 10 quotes from well-known people about the most popular topics in life, eg. Education, Love, Money, Travelling, Death, Youth & Aging, etc. and just learnt them off in half an hour. I ended up using three of them on the day, and you have no idea the relief you feel when you’re guaranteed that at least one thing in your composition will get you marks!

Take an entire A4 page and plan your essay before you start. Not only is it just common sense and super helpful to get all your ideas down before you forget them, but if you run out of time for whatever reason, then the examiner will be able to see what you were planning to write, and will give you an extra mark or two. Your plan doens’t have to be complicated and you definitely shouldn’t spend any longer than 5 minutes on it. Just throw down a few words, organise them based on paragraph, and then start writing.

And finally (i’m so sorry that you had to read all that) remain calm! No matter what happens, whether you get a H1 or a H7, as long as you do your best then no one can say anything to you! You are more than your grade and you are more than some English exam that won’t matter in ten years anyway. Stay calm, always put your mental and physical health first, and remember that this paper is not the end all be all of anything. You’ve got this.

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