#And that's all it is an accent not a full on dialect or language like Scots

[tacticalprincess]

OMG OMG this hasn’t left my mind all week but imagine könig finally getting his hands on you and breeding you, telling you how he’s going to get you pregnant and he switched out your birth control pills for placebos!! But he’s speaking in german and you can’t understand him :(( even if you can speak german, it’s in some regional dialect and his accent is too thick!!

it’s times like this where könig is more appreciative than frustrated by your slight language barrier. in his mind, it’s not like he’s keeping his plan a secret from you. technically he is telling you, just not in a way your naive mind can understand.

it’s a win-win situation — you love how deep and husky his voice gets when he speaks german, how dehumanizing it is that he’s talking in a language he knows you can’t understand, and he gets to fill your fertile little womb with his potent seed guilt-free. you don’t suspect a thing, whining out pleads for his cum while his thick tip pierces through your squishy cervix, trying to reach deeper inside you than humanly possible to make sure it takes, your legs locking tightly around his waist. you’re only spurred on by the way he’s gritting out confessions in his mother tongue through clenched teeth, his heavy, full balls slamming against your ass in a way that’s almost painful. come on, maus, it’s like you want this just as much as he does…

he tells you he’s doing you a favor, getting rid of those nasty hormone disruptive chemicals you call ‘medicine’. there’s no reason you should be interrupting the natural way of life, especially not when you have a man so capable and willing to go through it with you. dreams of having you be the mother to his brood, watching you get full and round with his babies, ensuring his place in your life and body forever, infiltrate his mind daily, he can’t focus on anything else. which is why he’s confused about why you’re so distraught when you come to him later, complaining with glossy eyes about a late period. he can’t hide how over the moon he is, and will guilt trip you if you suggest alternative options. why would you take away his right to be a father? don’t you love him?

you’re going to be the best mama, schätzchen. don’t you think so?

[mishkakagehishka]

I just . Repeating "characters are tools" you end up erasing so much about arashi's character and motivations and interactions with other characters if you avoid using her pronouns aka avoid showing she's transgender. It's on the same level of frustration with the translators i had when i saw they had Mika speaking standard English, there's a LOT that gets lost if you don't show those little things.

[ladylooch]

Strictly Pleasure - [Timo Meier]

A/N: So color me stunned when I went to the roster of Team Switzerland in 2019 and did not in fact see Timo on it……. Because the Sharks were in the playoffs…. LMAO But you know my entire AU timeline is built on 2019 so we go with it. As promised, the full fic for our unanimous poll winners 🥹

As a warning, I literally was clawing my fingernails into the bench seat editing this morning. Holy fuck. Apparently I was feeling extra smutty this weekend.....

Word Count: 4.3k

The coolness of my white wine glass chills my palm while I bring the liquid to my lips. I take a sip, lips curling up in appreciation of both the wine and the stunning sunset before my eyes. I sit on the patio of a cafe in Bratislava, Slovakia awaiting the arrival of my little brother. I am the only member of my family who has been able to make it over to Slovakia in time to see him compete for our country at the IIHF World Championships. His previous international experience has been at the U18 level, but this year he is competing in the big leagues. We are so proud of him and I feel honored to have the flexibility to see him live his dream this week.

Crowds from various countries line the streets of the capital city, surrounding Ondrej Nepela Arena. Various teams are represented- the three crowns of Sweden, the lion of Finland and one man with the red and white of my home country. I smile at the familiar crest on his chest. He wanders down the sidewalk with sunglasses on, hair perfectly styled in a swoop to the left. Mirrored aviators hide his upward gaze to the awning that spells out the restaurant. He flips his sunglasses up, looking down at his phone, then at the name of the restaurant again. Once confirming, he puts his phone back in his pocket, then stalls his footsteps at the podium explaining the menu options for tonight.

“Go Swiss!” I cheer in my native language at him. He looks up from where he had been studying the menu, nodding in my direction. 

“You from?”

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

“I assumed so. You have the accent.” 

“You… kind of do?” He chuckles, questioning. His head tilts to the side slightly, thick eyebrows pulling lower over his eyes. “Where are you from?”

“Close to Bern.”

“Ah… that southern dialect can be troublesome.”

“Maybe you just haven’t heard it enough. Should get out of the big city.” He quirks an eyebrow. “Zurich. Clearly.”

“St. Gallen.”

“Same difference.” 

“Okay.” He chuckles, shifting as he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “This place any good?”

“Wine is good.” I cheers my glass in the air at him. “But other than that, I don’t know. My brother picked the place.”

“Yeah, I am meeting someone here too.” 

“Would you like to wait with me? I can buy you a drink.” For some reason, he laughs. 

“Buy me a drink?” He nods. “Sure, if your boyfriend won’t mind?”

“No boyfriend. I’m sure your girlfriend will not be much longer though?”

“No girlfriend. If I did, sitting next to a beautiful Swiss woman would likely get me into big trouble.” He murmurs, reaching for the back of the empty chair across from me. As he pulls it out, my brother comes hustling up next to us.

“Oh great! You did get my text about Timo joining us. I’m glad you found each other.” We both pause, connecting the pieces of who we are to each other. I would not have pegged him as a hockey player. He presents so different from the others I have interacted with over my brother’s playing career. “Timo, this is my older sister Emma.”

“Nice to meet you.” He murmurs as he shakes my hand. Our hands fit perfectly together in a polite shake. His fingers drag along every inch of my palm as he pulls his hand back, creating an electric jolt up my arm.

“Yeah…” I trail off, answering my brother. I gulp down a sip of wine. “He was easy to spot.” Nico grins as I stand, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. “Hi.” I haven’t seen Nico for a few weeks. He came home to Switzerland after his season ended, but was running off with all his friends with his new found freedom.

“I am glad you could make it. Mama and Papa are coming tomorrow?”

“Yes, it was the earliest they could get here. I was able to get on a flight from my conference in Berlin.” 

“Good. More time together.” I laugh, glancing at Timo who studies the menu across from me.

“Seemed you liked the way the last few weeks were.” I murmur. “Your big sister always coming in last.”

“I’m sorry.” Nico sighs regretfully.

“It’s okay. As per usual, your time is pulled in every single direction.” 

“Yes, but you’re important to me. I’ll do better.”

“Good! You can start by buying me dinner. You make the big bucks now!” 

“Yeah, you can buy mine too. You make 1st overall money. I’m slumming it down at 9.” Timo and I share a look, chuckling together at Nico’s red, embarrassed cheeks.

“With a flick of a pen, you instantly made more money than your sister has her entire career. You can buy my dinner.” I pile on.

“Stop.” Nico shakes his head with a shy smile. “I will buy you dinner because I love you and that’s it.” I shake my head, looking over at Timo.

“Nico always has to be so sweet to make me feel bad for teasing him.”

“You need to get meaner Nico.” Timo laughs. “Your sister is more intimidating than you.” I scoff at him, then smirk.

“Certified man eater.” I confirm. “You better be careful.” He sucks his cheeks in for a moment, scanning his eyes along my body. Then he shakes his head.

“I like a challenge.” He winks. I pause, recognizing his interest, sliding my gaze over to my little brother who seems to be contemplating between two entrees. I lick a drop of wine off my lips after taking a sip. Timo’s blue eyes stay there, then fall back down to the menu in front of me.

The rest of dinner, these small, wordless interactions happen. He brushes my hand while handing me back my filled water glass. We steal looks at each other whenever Nico isn’t looking. Most of the conversation is driven by us towards each other. Nico seems content to listen, happy to see us getting along so well after inviting a stranger to sibling bonding. I am thankful he did. Timo and I are vibing, conversing and joking like we have known each other for years, not less than two hours. 

Nico pays the bill, making a huge show of treating us with his black Amex. 

“Flaunting your wealth is tacky Nico.” I scold. He scoffs at me, waving me up out of my seat. I toss my arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a forced hug. “I love you. Thank you.”

“I love you, buddy! Thank you!” Timo says too, coming in to the other side so Nico is sandwiched between us. I giggle hard, tilting my head back towards the dark sky while doing so. Timo’s hands grip my sides as we squeeze Nico harder. I fold my fingers over his arms too, feeling the soft material of his sweatshirt. When I open my eyes all I can see is Timo. His beautiful blue eyes sparkling with joy. His big smile and scrunched nose indicating how much fun he is having with us.

“I could use another drink.” I hear myself say to him directly. He nods immediately, releasing from our packed hug.

“We have a bar in our hotel. Are you staying there too?” Timo asks casually.

“Oh! Yes! Let’s go.” I exclaim. “Neeks?”

“Maybe. I’m tired, but I’ll see how I feel when we get there.” 

“Okay.” I shrug. No offense to Nico, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if he didn’t come.

“How are we feeling about the game tomorrow?” I ask the boys as we walk the cobblestone walk way. 

“Good. We’ll get it done.” Timo says confidently. Nico echos that though a yawn.

His yawning continues through our first round of drinks until he is almost falling asleep sitting up in his chair where we sit at a space in the bar, backing up to the lobby.

“Nico, just go to bed.” I chuckle.

“Yeah I am going to head there.” Nico sighs after a yawn. He looks over at me. “You too?” I bite my lip, shaking my head. 

“I’m not tired. I stay up late for a living.” Nico shrugs his shoulders. “Goodnight.” He stands up.

“Goodnight baby brother.” I tease him as he heads across the lobby to the elevators. “Sleepy good!” I take a sip of my wine, then settle my brown eyes on Timo who still watches with those interested eyes. “Are you tired?” I wonder.

“No.” He says then takes a sip of his drink. “A lot more interesting things are happening down here than in mine and Fiala’s room.” A shiver runs from the base of my neck down my spine pulling my chest tight with flattery. 

“You like to stay up late?”

“Mhm.” He answers around another sip of his drink. He licks at his top teeth afterwards, bringing my eyes back to his lips. “Kinda have to in this job. What do you do?”

“I own an event planning business.” 

“Oh fancy, Ms. Entrepreneur.” 

“I went to college and everything.”

“Impressive. Maybe I should hire you to run my charity golf tournament.”

“I could do that. But it depends.”

“On?”

“What happens between us tonight.” A slow and sexual grin rolls across his lips. He likes my boldness. My heart fluters excitedly in my chest. I love this part, getting gorgeous and powerful men to give into what has been brewing between us. “I have a strict line between business and pleasure. I’m sure you can understand that in your line of work.” Timo nods, looking lost in a previous mistake. 

“That is fair.” He tilts his head. A few teammates walk through the lobby, shouting a hello at Timo. He gives a brief wave, then focuses back on me.

“Any chance I could convince you to go somewhere private to discuss further your personal and professional qualifications?” There is nothing professional about his request.

“Where would you suggest?”

“Maybe your room?” I pretend to contemplate, leaning back in my chair while studying him with scrutiny. 

“What would we do there?” I ask him, dragging out the vowels in my words. I slowly run my tongue along my lips, gathering his attention there.

“You can tease me some more with that mouth.” 

Forward. Bold. Going in for the kill, just like I hoped. 

“Our drinks?” He pulls his wallet out, tossing cash onto the table. He stuffs his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and stands. He holds his hand out for me. I stare at the warm, welcoming skin of his palm. I know what taking that hand means. I know this is dangerous territory, but Timo is a temporary teammate of my brother. It’s not like he is in New Jersey with him full time.

I slide my fingers gently into his hand, then clasp it as he lifts me into a standing position. He weaves our fingers together, palms cupping each other as we walk silently to the elevator. He pulls me in behind him, then turns expectantly at me.

“Four.” I tell him. He presses the button and the doors close. 

“You do this often?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Plenty.” His eyes drag ravenously from my face down my body. He nods in surprised appreciation. “I won’t tell you I love you after, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He chuckles. 

“You look harder to get than that. What are the rules?” He asks as he turns towards me. His hand drops mine, so he can pull my hips flush with his. My eyes flutter at what I feel. Big. Hard. Ready. 

“Wrap it up. Don’t you dare finish before me. No butt stuff. And…” I insist, stepping closer. “Nico never knows.” My foot goes between his, rubbing my thigh against his zipper. He exhales a little heavier, hinting at the desire building in his body. The elevator doors open and we step out. I lead the way, sliding the key through and pushing the door open. I walk in first again. He shuts the door behind us then crosses the slim space between us. He whips me around by my wrist, crowding my space immediately. My heartbeat skyrockets in dangerous and needy passion.

“Anything else?” He asks, sliding a hand to the side of my neck. He holds it tight, thumb stroking my cheek. His blue eyes are fierce, ready for whatever waits for us on the other side of my answer. 

“What are yours?”

“I don’t want anything serious. You understand that?” He strokes my cheek as he says it as if to soften the blow. He’s clearly had this conversation before with other women. He’ll figure out I’m not like them soon enough.

“Completely.”

“Are you on the pill?” 

“Yes.” I laugh. “Are we going to fuck now or keep playing 20 questions?” I slide my hand down to the button on his pants. He laughs too, pausing as he bites his bottom lip. 

“What are your thoughts on cuddling?”

“Hell no.”

“My kinda girl.” He whispers then closes the gap between our faces.

His lips on mine create an explosion that rocks me to my core. I exhale into his mouth in a moan. He runs his hand through my hair then down my body. It wraps around my waist and he lifts, practically tossing me up onto the hotel desk. The lamp shade rattles against the wall. His hands come to my shirt, lifting. Our lips part for a moment, then reconnect with tongues. Wetness pools in my panties, almost soaking them through. 

One of his hands comes up to my breast, squeezing it, then finding my nipple and thumbing it over my bra. I sigh happily into his mouth, then fist his shirt in my hand. His shirt joins mine on the floor, then I reach for the button on his pants. It snaps apart easily. I jerk his zipper down until it’s completely open. His cock is hot and seeping in his underwear. I pull back from his mouth, looking down as he unclasps my bra. The straps slack along my arms. He pulls them the rest of the way off, then takes me in. 

“Beautiful.” He mumbles, tugging my hips so I slide closer to him on the desk top. “So, so beautiful.” He repeats against the warm skin of my chest. His lips kiss down vertically, until he gets to a tight nipple. He makes eye contact with me as he sucks it into his mouth. His tongue strokes upwards too, making my jaw unhinge for a moment. “You had so much to say earlier, now you’re quiet? Gonna have to change that.” He whispers, then sucks my nipple deep into his mouth, working it over, sending darts of pleasure to my clit. It aches to be touched, missing out on his skilled mouth and fingers. 

“Oh.” I pant. He smirks into my breast.

My fingers find the waistband of his underwear, tugging it back from his skin so his cock rises to rest on his belly. His red tip is oozing down the edge of his head. I bite my lip, then my head knocks back into the lamp as his tongue strokes my other nipple into submission.

Fuck, this is incredible. He knows exactly what he is doing. When to push, when to pull away, how to tease and reward. He will be worth any future punishment. My hands shove at the waistbands of his bottom layers until they work down his strong hips. He steps out of them, grabbing a condom in his jean pocket, then kicks them off to the side. I lean back on one palm grinning. He lets me take him in, every delicious curve and edge of his muscular body made perfect from hockey and hard work. His big hands cup my breasts, rolling his thumbs over the stiff peaks in unison. 

“Oh that feels sooo good.” I moan appreciatively. I run my free hand through my hair. He watches my face, playing with me more until I am embarrassingly close to coming without him even being inside of me. “I need you to fill me up.”I demand breathlessly. He bites his lip.

“You’re so fucking sexy. You can tell me what to do all night, Emma.” 

“Just call me Em.” I laugh. “Emma is so formal.” 

“Whatever you want, babe.” 

He unbuttons my jeans, then pulls them off my legs. He admires my black, lace panties, seeing the creamy wetness pooling there just for him, then he works them off my body so we are both naked. He picks me up, setting me to the very edge of the desk, then he hands me the condom. I rip the package open with my teeth, gripping the tip, before easing it down his shaft. His eyes close and he sways slightly forward at my hands on him.

He crowds my space, our breath combining together, still smelling like the minimal alcohol we had tonight. One hand goes to my left hip, then the other goes to grip his shaft. He rolls his head through my folds, collecting my soaking juices before he nestles his head at my entrance. Together, we watch him disappear between my swollen lips. He lets out a shaky exhale. He grabs my wrists, putting them on his shoulders, then he lifts me slightly up off the desk, beginning to pump into my pussy. 

Tingling explosions burst out down my body. Gooseflesh covers my arms and legs as I take each hard thrust with enthusiastic greed. I kiss along his jaw, grinning at the way I jerk in his arms with each pump. He isn’t handling me like a fragile doll, he is fucking me just like I knew he would. Hard, fast, deep, showing he was built with power and strength for a reason.

“Fuck, Em, your pussy is so good.” He growls into my neck. The sound of skin slapping together increases, becoming disgustingly obvious in the room as he rocks hard into me. “So wet and tight.” He hisses through gritted teeth. My nose bumps into his jaw as I moan on his throat. He turns his face, capturing my lips then fucking up harder and faster into me. My whole body goes tight and rigid, then I fall into my orgasm. Timo fucks me through it, not wavering in his thrusts at all until I collapse onto his chest in surrender. He slows then, kissing my neck as he takes me to the bed. He lays me down, then work himself out of me. I look down at the condom, wondering if we are done.

“Your turn. Show me what you got, Hischier.” I laugh loudly. He sits down on the bed, then falls backwards. He takes my hand in one of his, fingers folding together, helping me maneuver to straddle his lap. I work my hair to one side, then reach behind me to grab his cock in my hand. He hums, then sighs happily as I swallow him whole in one press of my hips. Timo’s eyes literally roll back into his head as I start to move. His hands come behind his head fingers lacing together on the pillow below.

“That’s right. Just lay there princess.” I smirk, throwing my hips back on his cock. 

“Funny… gorgeous… talented… where has Nico been hiding you?”

“Practically under your nose.”

“Ah, that’s why I didn’t see it. It’s a little big.” I giggle, then set my hands on his shoulders, rolling my hips.

“Ooo. You know how to fuck.” He praises me. “So good….” He bites his lip, exhaling heavily. “Little more, gorgeous.” He encourages. I comply and he groans. “Mmmm.” His hands snap away from the back of his head. He grips my hips, feeling the roll of them on him. Then two fingers find my clit. I shutter. His other hand comes to my breast, pinching my nipple. “Fuck me until you cum.”  He whispers. I moan shakily, then keep bucking my hips down into him. When he senses I am about to release, he works his hips up in little thrusts to help me over the edge.

“Oh!” I cry out, pinching my other nipple.

He gently eases me down, pulling his feet up closer to his butt so his thighs create support for my back. I slump into them. I pant, looking at him on the pillow as he smirks. 

“Shit.” I hiss as he forces his cock up deep into me, lifting my weight with his hips like it’s nothing. 

“Doggy?” He asks, wiggling his large eyebrows. I nod eagerly.

I’ve never come so hard or had so much fun with a one night stand before. Usually, it’s awkward, bumping into each other and trying to find the right tempo. Not with Timo. It truly feels like we were made for each other. Gone is the insecure way I try to move my body so my partner can see the best angles. Usually, I stay away from doggy. But I am desperate to feel the hard slapping of his balls against my clit. 

We both stand. Timo kisses me, tongues flirting within my mouth. Our lips are puffy and red by the time we pull apart. He twists my hips, working his cock between my legs as I bend over in front of him. He lines his latex covered head with my entrance, then pulls me back on his dick. We both groan loudly this time, appreciating the stretch and arousal of each other. 

“Gonna be dreaming about this pussy tonight.” He groans, starting to buck his hips again. The delicious slapping has me deliriously groping the bed sheets. His thick cock crams into me thrust after thrust, feeling like he is rearranging my internal organs. A big hand comes to the back of my neck, forcing me down. I groan loudly, shrieking an inhale at how good this angle feels. 

“Please.” I hear myself beg.

“Please what, baby?”

“Please make me cum. Please. More. Um! That! Yeah!” I yelp out as his hips snap harder into me. My ass shakes with his powerful thrusts. I turn my face into the comforter, then scream hard into it as a powerful orgasm grips my core and turns me inside out. 

“Fuck… I’m gonna cum. Feels so fucking good when you cum.” I shake against his thighs as he finishes in the condom. His hand releases from the back of my neck. He grips the edge of the condom then works his way out of me. Wordlessly, he heads to the bathroom, striping himself and cleaning off. I collapse forward into the bed sheets, curling into the fetal position while my heavy breathing continues. Timo brings a towel back with him, tossing it to me. Afterwards, I throw it onto the floor while he lays back next to me in bed. 

“Good job.” I murmur, holding my hand up. He slaps it firmly, then sighs happily.

“That was amazing.” He turns to look at me when he says it. I nod, meeting his gaze. “Any chance you’re available for more of that this summer?”

“No strings?”

“No strings.” He agrees. 

“Then yeah. I’m available.” He chuckles. 

“We make a good team, tho. Damn.” He rubs a hand over his head. He turns his wrist, looking at the time on his expensive, silver watch. “I gotta go. It’s almost curfew.”

“Yeah, I want to go to sleep.” I admit, stretching out, pushing at his thigh under the covers to move him off the bed. He dramatically rolls off like I kicked him full on. I giggle as he rests his chin on the bed from the floor. His blue eyes soak me up. His hand comes up, poking at my left cheek.

“Your dimples are cute.”

“Thank you.” I murmur. 

“How long are you here?”

“Wanna see me again already?” He laughs.

“Yeah. Sex that great is rare. I want you again tomorrow.” Butterflies erupt in my stomach. I roll my bottom lip in my mouth, watching him pull his clothes back on. His last article is the Team Switzerland sweatshirt he zips up to the middle of his chest.

“Okay.” I agree. He smiles gently, then walks towards me. 

He kneels one knee on the bed, hovering over the body he wrecked tonight. He kisses me quick, then pulls away. He smells seductive and sultry, like his expensive cologne and me. 

“Sweet dreams.” He whispers.

“Goodnight.” I respond. He walks out of the room, closing the door softly during his exit.

I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling above me. The butterflies in my stomach expand up into my chest until it feels crammed full. I put my hand over my face, watching back the reel of the night against my black eyelids, ending with the mutual agreement of more. 

More this weekend. More even this off-season too. More, more, more because it will be months before I will have had my fill of him.

I’m not sure how we will make it all work. Sneaking around once is one thing, but doing it continuously is another.

I guess this planner is going to have to figure it out. 

Because It’s going to be a long, hot summer with Timo Meier.

More Timo and Emma can be found here.

[thewarmblanket]

@anxious7sami gave me a great idea about western frontier clans' dialects/accents and it's sad that it's only my headcanon and we can't actually hear NPCs in game speak na'vi :(

Zeswa

Starting with my favorite clan! I immediately thought that their kx, px, tx, ts could sound more like Xhosa clicks?? (which makes sense since they are inspired by several African tribes)

It makes them sound more loudly and pronounced to communicate on long distances and shout over the howling of the winds. And Zeswa are just loud in general, speaking loud is in their blood and it's making other clans uncomfortable x)

Kame'tire

Unlike Zeswa, Kame'tire are very soft and quiet, they hide in the fog and are used to almost whisper while talking to each other. They rarely use their full voice. All hard sounds that are in the na'vi language are softened even 'rr sounds more like purring. (cozy :3)

Also they might shorten sentences and words to communicate faster or just to speak less lol

Aranahe

This might be just my personal view of Aranahe but I can imagine them using a lot of slang and like make up new words all the time just to forget them on the next week?? They have at least twice as many names for colors as it is in other clans. As for pronunciation, I don't think it's very different from other forest clans, except for PASSION! They speak with feelings! Very emotional very open.

[hobiebrownismygod]

Researching Characters so you don't have to Part 2: Pavitr Prabhakar & His Dialect

NOT MY ART! Click on it for the link! <3

Pavitr Prabhakar's accent is basically non-existent in writing. Its not like Hobie's where you make some letters silent and enunciate specific parts of the words. Indian accents, especially Pav's aren't shown through writing, which is perfectly fine. The difficult part of trying to write Pavitr Prabhakar is his dialect, not his accent.

Like I explained in my last post, dialect and accents aren't the same thing. An accent is the way someone pronounces things while the dialect is an accent along with vocabulary and grammar. Pavitr's dialect would be heavily influenced by Mumbai dialect, considering the fact that he lives in Mumbattan.

First off, Indians speak English. Like if you go to India, I guarantee that 90% of the people there under the age of 40 will speak fairly fluent English. Schools in India teach multiple languages, one of them usually being English, and Indian children are almost fluent in English by the age of 10-13. Its basically a necessity.

So if you're going to write Pav, don't butcher his English and make him sound like he doesn't speak it well, because thats not true. Most Indians speak English really well, and you shouldn't feed into the stereotypes with your writing.

However, he would speak a mixture of languages together. Think of it like Spanglish, where you use English grammar for Spanish words. Its the same thing with Indians. They often toss a couple of English words into a sentence using the grammar of whatever language they're speaking, whether its Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, etc. They would also do it the other way around, tossing Hindi/Marathi/etc phrases into English sentences. So if you're going to write Pav, writing him tossing in Hindi phrases is going to be a lot more accurate than writing broken English or even full English, Especially if you're going to be writing him with his aunt, uncle or Gayatri, because they are all going to be speaking the same, if not a similar language, even if you're going to write them in English.

There's not much else to say, besides the fact that Indians tend to use some English words much more than they do in the west. For example Indians say the word "bro" a lot. Its seen in movies and just in general as well. Teenage boys and young adult men say "bro" almost all the time, usually referring to their friends, classmates, cousins, etc. But, they wouldn't say it to someone older to them or someone they need to be respectful towards, like a boss etc.

Some other phrases (Hindi) that Indians tend to use a lot are:

Bhaiyya (older brother - used to refer to boys older than you)

Achha? (really? - often used sarcastically but can also be used normally)

Arre! (Hey, hey you! - used to call someone, used to get someone's attention)

Yaar (friend - light/friendly slang term for a friend)

Like always, research is going to be your best friend, so if you want to find more of these phrases you can search them up on Google. Hopefully this helped <3

[writingraven]

Characterization

Giving Your Character a Unique Voice

✭

⤠ elements to keep in mind

↠ age, background, birthplace, culture, education, social class

⤠ attitude / traits

↠ how does their attitude affect their voice? sarcastic? sincere? suspicious? confident? ambitious? impatient? silly? determined? kind? honest?

⤠ author voice vs character voice

↠ your descriptive writing shouldn’t sound like your character’s dialogue; you are your own person as the author and your character is their own person — you would speak differently (an exception is if you’re writing in first person and it’s your primary character speaking)

⤠ bad habits

↠ interrupting? finishing other people’s sentences? improper grammar?

⤠ catchphrases

↠ what do they say often? what’s their usual greeting?

⤠ concise or wordy

↠ do they rant? do they explain in detail? do they just get to the point?

⤠ don’t rely on accents

↠ your character’s voice should be more complex than simply accents or dialect

⤠ how often they talk

↠ do they say everything on their mind? do they keep to themselves? only say important things? does this change depending on who they’re with?

⤠ humor

↠ what does your character find funny? what kind of jokes do they make, if any? how often do they joke? who do they joke with?

⤠ identify personality type

↠ personality affects speech; consider these types: leader (leads conversation), follower (less vocal / agreeable), antagonist (antagonizes/bullies other characters), questioner (disrupts flow of conversation / questions ideas and intentions), peacemaker (agreeable / finds common ground between characters)

⤠ profanity

↠ do they curse? how often? when do they curse? when they’re angry? being sarcastic? scared? nervous? what curse words do they use?

⤠ realism

↠ your character should speak like a real person; don’t worry as much about grammatical matters; for example, real people don’t always speak in full sentences or use ideal words

⤠ slang

↠ what slang do they use? how often? does this change depending on who they’re with?

⤠ speech quirks

↠ do they stutter? do they hesitate? do they talk fast? or slow? (‘um’, ‘uh’, ‘well’, ‘like’, etc.)

⤠ vocabulary range

↠ how extensive is their vocabulary? do they utilize it in conversation? vocabulary should reflect education

⤠ practice responses (how would your characters respond to these?)

↠ “I have a problem.”

↠ “I don’t like you.”

↠ “Do you like them?”

↠ “What did you think of the show last night?”

↠ “Give me your money and no one gets hurt!”

⤠ tips to know if your character’s voice is effectively unique

↠ if you take away all dialogue tags, could you tell which character is speaking?

↠ could your readers tell the character’s body language based solely on speech?

↠ if you say your dialogue aloud, does it sound like a natural, realistic conversation?

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi! I have an perhaps silly question!

I am currently reading volume 4 & 5 of the official translation. Up till now, I didn't have that many problems with it (mostly because it's been years since I read the fan one and since I don't speak Chinese and English isn't my first language the only thing I noticed at first was that it... read ? Better if that makes sense? It was easier at least.

But I have. Concerns. Does Wei Wuxian truly say fuck (or whatever equivalent there is in swear words) all the time? Because I noticed it in vol 4 and now I keep seeing it! I know he's supposed to be pretty informal, but that + the way he speaks sometimes ("I know I've got a bad rep" ??? "What are you doing on my turf"???) keep taking me out of the story xD idk if it's because I took a break in my rereading and got used to fics modifying his speech patterns... but given that when I'm writing mdzs fics I usually make sure to... idk adapt the speech patterns so they're not too modern sounding? Am I overthinking this? Should I let wwx say fuck all the time?? XD

Hope this doesn't bother you and thank you in advance for your answer!!

Hi! Hello again! How’s it going?

So full disclosure I have not read the official translation in full yet, but uhh… yeah I’ve seen more than enough of Suika’s prose to know that there’s something off about the way she translates WWX that just eliminates an important element of his character.

For what you’re saying between ExR and Suika’s translations with Suika being easier to read, I get that. ExR has a lot of trouble with tenses and plenty of times they use a word that’s not quite what they actually want it to mean, so it takes more work to read what they intend to say over what the text says, but Suika’s text only really is improved by being cleaned up, @kimalysong and @jiangwanyinscatmom have a lot of posts on text either vastly altered from the intent or lines just flat out missing, if you’re curious about going down the rabbit hole of the official translation.

Now WWX does swear on occasion, especially when he’s younger and using the rougher Yunmeng dialect, but the other lines you’ve quoted tend to have Suika’s usual problem of making lower class characters speak roughly and often with southern accents regardless of how they sound in Chinese or with consideration to the character at hand. Wei Wuxian has an incredible grasp of language and literally switches linguistic registers depending on who he’s talking to and what the situation is and given some of his lines that I’ve seen in the official translation compared to stuff in exr or that my friend has translated for me, it seems like Suika has flattened all of that out in favor of her usual style of handling lower class characters.

I think you’re noticing it because it’s at odds with everyone else’s translations and grasp of WWX. While ExR has its own troubles with grammar at times, you can still see the strength in his language usage, to say nothing of Fanyiyi and Taming Wangxian’s translations which are much more solid on that front(@mxtxfanatic has posts comparing the language uses between exr, Fanyiyi and Taming Wangxian if you’re curious) and really lay out a well spoken character who can adjust his speech as needed (and drop the occasional precision fuck strike when needed).

I am not impressed by Suika’s way of translating characters speech especially as it pertains to Wei Wuxian, and I think you’re right to say that it feels weird. Don’t follow her style of speech, continue to write a WWX who absolutely understands the tangled web of a world he lives in and adjusts his language for the person at hand consistently.

[avissapiens]

Jockbull Summer Week 1 (12/11/23-18/11/23) - Set A

Model used is Tsonghan Wu

1 & 2.

I don’t typically train with push ups all that often, but I picked this as my personal goal because there’s such a potent jock energy about being able to show off and crank out effortless reps of push ups. Massive high school sports star energy. But we started small. Only managed 22 on my first day. Granted it was immediately after a Push session.

The second attempt however I integrated the competitive element. I went to one of my best friends from back home, K. Total stud who i’ve always envied and idolized. I expect he’ll come up a few more times before this is over so might as well give him some designation. I asked him to make it a contest to beat his score. He hit 30 in one go. I pushed myself so fucking hard because I would not lose to him. I was gonna kick his ass. And I did. I hit 31 and then spent a good minute on the floor unable to get up. It felt so fucking good tho. Increasing by so much. Pushing and winning against my bro. It made my night. 3rd attempt i hit 32. If i keep increasing. Keep pushing. Maybe i’ll get to 100 by the end.

3.

The first step is an important milestone. Obviously as a Self-employed writer/full time student in a different country I don't have a MASSIVE collection of clothes to chuck out (you all can change that). But there are definitely a few that I already know are going to get the boot when the time comes. The reason this one was so important for me and Jockrs is because we both felt that as long as those old clothes were an option, I’d keep defaulting to them out of habit. Over-sized, drab, boring. Hiding the gainz and the new person i want to become. So the first piece I threw out was a fairly cheap ugly grey long sleeved shirt that I bought when I first moved to NZ. 6XL. Bought 3 sizes too big for me at a time when I was 3 sizes too big for me. And as I've leaned down and put on muscle, all this shirt does is wash me out and make me swim in fabric. It had to go. But I still feel indebted to it. It was a go-to piece of clothing on my worst Dysmorphia days when I felt like a fat, disgusting piece of shit. It helped me deal with the anxiety of being in a new place where I clearly didn’t look like I belonged. It helped me hide when I needed to hide. But i don’t need to hide anymore.

4.

Unfortunately I couldn't really work on this as much as I wanted. Jokers was still in exam mode so some of the shared tasks that required him were a bust. That said, I did slip a few more "dudes", "mans" and "bros" into my chatter with gym bros. And I went as far as coaching some dudes through my leg day workout. This is one I'm eager to make progress on because it's so antithetical to what I've always been. My speech has always been a weird indistinguishable hybrid. I’ve been mistaken for American, British and Canadian. I’ve had my voice described as “trans-Atlantic”, Despite coming from the Caribbean. I was always discouraged from indulging too much in dialect and slang when I was young. “Speak properly”. Combined with being fairly bookish and advanced, maybe that led to some good things in the long run. My skill with words, language and voice are unique. They’re why you all love me. But it did mean that by the time I was in secondary school I was a little alienated from my peers. I didn’t talk like them. I didn’t want to either but it was rough always being mistaken for a foreigner on soil you have never left in your life. In a sense, me picking up an even more exaggerated americanized accent is taking that full circle. Developing a bit more control over my speech to inhabit an ideal I have always longed for. Sounds cool, rite brah?

5.

Again, one restricted by Jockrs being in exam mode. I didn’t want to get too far. But we finally watched the first episode of the 2018 series. One of the rare occasions where the dub is notably better than the sub. But god. What a wild ride. 10/10. No notes. It's just pure gas. And that first episode really struck a chord with me. Something visceral about being palpably perceived as a threat. Emanating danger from you that lessers can sense in their bones. Actually being a weapon in human form. I get such a thrill from that concept. I understand why the toxic tik tok gym bro crowd latches on to this show so much. I think I will too.

[cassynite]

Tagged by @undyingembers and @the-raging-tempest for this prompt! I'm probably going to double tag so apologies but I'm tagging @dragonologist-phd @tenmillionbees @spyridonya and @dmagedgoods as well as anyone else who'd want to do this!

Sparrow

BASICS

- NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES >>1.5 (Taldane and remnants of a rare Mwangi dialect common around Dehrukani, as well as snatches of Celestial. She can also read some elvish and infernal.)

- TONE OF VOICE >> high / average / deep (low and rather raspy)

- ACCENT >> yes (very slight Cheliaxian accent--thank you to Siren for the Cheliax lore and Italian/Venetian influences in Westcrown as well as how it would have changed after Thrune took over. Earth equivalent would be similar to Latin spoken in like the Vatican, wit hints of Venetian)

- DEMEANOR >> confident / shy / approachable / hostile / other (stoic and distant)

- POSTURE >> slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed (Sparrow tends to stand at attention, always aware and alert)

HABITS

head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair or clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at a distance

(Sparrow tends to be very still and her mannerisms present hesitancy very often--she's used to not looking people in the eye when speaking, thinking through her words, and keeping her distance from others. When very stressed, she will clasp her hands together, but that is the only real "fidgeting" mannerism she possesses.) 

COMPLEXITY (Fill in the circle’s as you wish)

- VOCABULARY >> ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️ (While Sparrow is not verbose, internally she has a very broad vocabulary--she became extremely well read in the Arvanxi household and her inner monologue reflects this.)

- EMOTION >> ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ (She will only very rarely show even slight emotion in her voice; most often, her tone does not relay her actual feelings in conversations. Most people need to look for minute tells in her body language or expressions instead.)

- SENTENCE STRUCTURE >> ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪ (I've seen people interpret this as how formal someone speaks, which would be full bar for Sparrow, she's very formal when speaking except in the most relaxed of situations/someone she is extremely comfortable with. I interpreted it as how detailed/layered her actual sentence structures tend to be--if they're long and winding or short. Sparrow tends to speak in very short sentences, trying to get as much information out in as little words as possible. In relaxed situations, she will sometimes become more verbose, her speech reflecting her inner thoughts, which tend to be much more detailed and long-winded.

PROFANITY

- FREQUENCY >> ⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ (I am genuinely not sure if Sparrow swears at all. When she becomes angry or stressed her first reaction is to clam up.)

- CREATIVITY (in regards to profanity) >> ⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ (If she does swear, it would probably be very typical name-calling, like "bastard" or some such.)

BOLD THAT APPLY

arse / ass / asshole / bastard / bitch / bloody / bugger / bollocks / chicken shit / crap / cunt / dick / frick / fuck / horseshit / motherfucker / piss / prick / pussy / screw / shit / shitass / son of a bitch / twat / wanker

THIS OR THAT

straightforward or cryptic? (If Sparrow is cryptic it tends to only be in what she does not say at all; she hides the most in how she presents information. However, she rarely if ever outwardly lies or acts obtuse on purpose.)

finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind? (Sparrow is an incredibly deliberate speaker who almost never speaks without intent.)

masculinity, neutrality, or femininity? (Wasn't totally sure what this meant to be honest, but Sparrow doesn't really present much either way in terms of gender, especially in her speech; her mannerisms are meant to make her disappear.)

formalities or with abrasiveness? (Sparrow is excessively formal)

praise or equivocation? (Sparrow equivocates a lot, avoiding committing herself to anything unless absolutely sure she is correct or able to do it. If she does commit, she follows through.)

 frankness or flattery (Again, Sparrow rarely outright lies. She'll avoid or obscure, but will be very direct when actually confronting something.)

excessive or minimal hand gestures (Sparrow tends toward stillness as a general rule)

name-calling or magnanimity? (Name-calling is incredibly pointless in Sparrow's mind, she almost never outright insults someone unless she's really riled up. Sometimes in her head she will be rude to people but she doesn't let that effect their actual interactions if she can help it.)

friendly or blunt (Sparrow is very cold and blunt typically! She shows a softer, friendlier side as time goes on but her reserved nature always means she comes off colder than most)

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

- DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHARACTER? almost always / frequently / rarely / never (She speaks softly)

- DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never (Blunt and to the point)

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / never (only if needed)

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS?

almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never (She doesn't linger in conversations and will cut things off as soon as it's needed/polite to do so)

- WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE?

yes / no / only ironically 

- YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE?

but / though / although / however / perhaps / maybe

- HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS?

walk away / ask if that’s everything / say that’s everything / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they're done here / remain quiet / they don’t

- WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK?

upper / middle / lower (that fake nobility rizz)

- IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS?

accent / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t (Most people would describe her as someone who speaks softly but who is listened to if she does speak)

Anything else not touched on?

The strength of Sparrow's accent depends on whether or not she's expected to be Evaethi. She learned how to pass with a near-flawless upper Cheliaxian accent when she works as a noble, and will instinctively start to speak like that again when she's in the presence of someone who sees her as Lady Evaethi.

During the Crusade this means she abruptly started speaking in a far stronger accent once her "true identity" as Evaethi was revealed, and then it slowly softens again over time once her actual past is revealed.

[birchbow]

I don’t know if this was previously asked but how would the troll language sound like to the human ear? I was also wondering if there are different dialects depending on the caste.

In most of my fics I don't really go into it, so everybody's speaking Space English lmao. But in the fics where Alternian as a language is actually a point of note, I like a very insectile vibe. I kind of like the idea that it's difficult and uncomfortable for humans and trolls to learn to make the noises for each other's languages--trolls do a lot of work with parts of their throat/chest/thorax that humans don't actually have, and are bewildered by how much jaw, tongue, and breath human languages require. Humans aren't physically able to make some of the noises trolls use for language, because they don't have the parts, and learning to make imitations of the various clicks, rattles, chirrs and trills is quite a learning curve.

RE: dialects, I could probably ramble for 1000+ words about,,, actually let me bullet point some thoughts because this paragraph is massively rambling.

my god though, the conflicting linguistic possibilities of a race that's apparently pretty aggressively homogenized overall, but also has incredibly disparate lifespans between very clear castes

do seadwellers speak an older version of Alternian? did shorter lifespans and rapid generational turnover among warmer-blooded trolls lead to "low class" vs "blueblooded vernacular", ie "load gaper" vs "toilet"?

Does the social pressure to stay on top of all the castes below you lead to more heavy enforcement of that divide??

ALSO the concept of like, the vocal posture of USING a "highblood" word being considered a dominant posture or power move--either just because of the associations of it, not using the most respectful language, making it clear "i'm a lowblood, a lower blood than you, I respect that", or for practical reasons! Saying this simpler (more archaic??) highblood word shows your fangs, the longer lowblood terminology developed partially to avoid that sign of disrespect! AHH

And also how much regional dialect DOES one want to write on Alternia?

I think I've written once or twice that Gamzee's got a "seaside accent", because I was thinking that rather than a certain section of land further on-shore, lots of purplebloods might gather spread out along the coast, as the caste right on the border of land- and seadweller. divides along location, but also along bloodcaste and color...

Does Alternia have countries? Does one assume those countries or continents have their own language and culture, when the population apparently only lives there for some short period of years/sweeps before being shipped off into space?

On Beforus we have evidence that other languages are a thing, but Alternia has apparently done away with all sorts of things in the name of the empire--conflicting languages seems like a liability in the march of conquest, so it seems reasonable to me that the language would all be the same--and how does it effect localized dialects and accents, if grubs are all hatched in the same place and then shipped out to different cities, continents, etc?

Or out to different planets/ships! Apparently the empire is ludicrously huge--do settlements on ships far from Alternia develop their own linguistic drift??

Or only if they're colder-blooded trolls, maybe, since trolls as we get them in canon can't reproduce amongst themselves and have to send back to the home planet to create a new generation--so therefore warmer bloods who die or get culled more quickly don't have much chance to develop and pass on new culture before a fresh wave of younger trolls from Alternia come in the follow them?

Does the new generation that's shipped out have its own weird culture drift in a DIFFERENT direction, as Alternian youth culture goes one way and a ship full of adult trolls far from their central civilization goes another?

The concept of a version of PoF where I went in with this as a focus is fascinating to me--Meenah whose mode of speech is written exactly the same but when younger trolls hear it they note that she sounds to them like she's speaking some ancient like, vintage dialect, ala someone who talks like a fancy victorian vampire. Kurloz is hard for the baby clowns to understand sometimes because he's speaking Old Clown and the slang and terminology has shifted over the hundreds and hundreds of sweeps he's been alive. a mix and match of his own speech and hundreds of sweeps of evolution along the way. Young trolls sometimes use terms/slang/dialect that even the generation shipped out before them don't recognize.

Relatedly though it feels like it would shake out to some degree ala various German dialects versus Hochdeutsch, but cranked up to a million--one Technically Textbook Correct version that a person could speak and be understood, maybe that you'd learn in schoolfeeding and that hasn't changed since basically forever, and then whatever billion personal little spins

just, holy shit, the subtle indicators you could get on someone's color, age, location, the amount of time they've spent with their elders off-planet, how old those elders have gotten, the linguistic habits they have--and the linguistic habits they enforce, what's considered polite, how rigid those rules are

I need to go to bed but holy shit man, there are so many axes you could fuck around on, I'm so damn feral thinking about this shit. it makes me into a wild raccoon. I am turning the concept of alien culture over in my pink little hands and splashing it in the water so I can consume it for power

[himehikoshrine]

The Central Nation of Kielce - a History

[I/D : Screenshot for Sissia of the Central Nation showing Levi, Adra, and Crowley on the wall. Crowley is saying "Hahaha! How have you been, little wall?! It’s like you’re a part of our origins!"]

Having now read through every route's game script of the Central Nation of Sissia, I figured I'd tried to put together all the Kielce lore across the different routes into one. If you want to read them yourself, you can do so either on the game menu if you've finished the game, or [here]. This will contain details unique to most of the routes, so technically, there are spoilers, but they are discussed entirely within the world of the play. I will edit in a few minor clarifying details with no route plot information from routes as I find them now that I'm going through things with a finer tooth comb. It will spoil some things that are in the stage script only epilogues too, so please read at least one of them before reading this, or you'll be really confused. Two, ideally, especially if the first one you picked was Crowley's.

Don't ask me why a rather big piece of character information, that is kind of a twist, is hidden within epilogues only on the stage script in the menu. We're nearly the full year into Havenna Lore drops, apparently this is just how Neji writes. (And given all the lore hidden in weird bonus material, also how Ishida and Towada write.)

The Nation of Arbine and the Republic of Quatra, which is to its east, were at war for 77 years. Many lives were lost on both sides, and there were plenty of children made orphans in the process. We know little about Quatra before the end of the war, but Levi describes it as having "warmth" and Crowley says it had a very strong culture in the arts, including song and dance. After Arbine wins the war, 20 years before Sissia joins the troupe, Arbine begins calling the 77-year-war the 'War of Joy.'

They force the people of Quatra into servitude, build a wall around the country, and mark them with a tattoo of a horse on their shin. The hostility gets so bad in the upper military ranks of Arbine, that they begin calling Quatra "the nameless country" or "the nameless servant country." The culture of Quatra is stamped out within the nation, possibly beyond simply forcing everyone into labor for the sake of Arbine, and anyone in Arbine who even discusses it with anything but scorn is suspected of treason.

Arbine is ruled by its "commander and king" (always said together like that) who has the surname "Arbine" like the nation he rules. His top advisor, confidant and strategist is Major Azur Hybird. The military elite make up the aristocracy of Arbine, and their positions are expected to be passed down.

Arbine is a strict military state, with border patrols and street patrols in addition to a standing military that citizens are quite acquainted with. They are able to freely interrogate and detain anyone, but murder seems to be considered a crime in Arbine, regardless of the nationality of the person killed, even, seemingly, for low ranking patrol officers. (We only have Crowley's potentially joking word here, though). The high ranks can order and carry out death sentences sans trial of any kind, of course.

The military aristocracy is also the high society of Arbine, and they attend parties and engage with what they consider 'high culture' including national dances - Arbine does have a national dance troupe.

Arbine's language is called "Arbine". It appears to be different than the language of Quatra or at least a different dialect, though one suspects they have some degree of mutual intelligibility. Carlo says the further east one goes in Arbine, the simpler the pronunciation of its language gets. Accents are shared to some extent in the border region, as well as words. Carlo says Arbine has 'a certain roundness' and that the first letter of Carlo is pronounced 'more elegantly' than Sissia's accent usually does.

Carlo illustrates the linguistic drift with the word Kielce - which is the Arbine term for Circus, a word used in Quatra. Carlo says no one but a historian or a suspected traitor would know that word these days, so maybe once it was also used in Arbine, or maybe a historian would merely be more familiar with the arts from Quatra.

So, 20 years ago, the war ends. As for the future members of Kielce at this time, Chance, at least, wasn't born yet.

Levi Caineman, who was born to Arbine parents, was orphaned by the war and was taken in across the then-wall-less border when he traveled there in search of food. Once the war ended, he was taken into an orphanage on the Arbine side of the wall, while his foster mother, a Quatra, was left behind it.

At some point, Levi will meet Crowley. Crowley is, though it's unclear who knows this but him, an illegitimate son of the 'commander and king' of Arbine, so his full name is, in fact, Crowley Arbine. It's never explicitly stated in the play if Crowley creates Kielce as a troupe or not, or the origin of its name "The Central Nation of--" but in the practice dialogue it is confirmed that Crowley and Levi are the founding members of the troupe.

As for when it was founded, Crowley considers the first Border Performance, which takes place ten years before the present of the play, and thus ten years after the end of the war "part of our origins." It is likely the name, too, partially a form of protest. Given the troupe's founders - an openly avowed revolutionary with a personal connection to the throne, and a fascination with Quatran arts, and an Arbine boy raised for a time by a Quatran foster mother, I'm sure this was very much part of their motivations.

Crowley is, after all, enthusiastically a traitor. (He maintains everyone in Kielce knows this, and no ones statements fully discredit that assertion in other routes. No one ever quite says the first performance WASN'T an act of rebellion or treason.)

Crowley says he's the one who brought Levi in and raised him up to be ringleader. At some point, Kielce, including Crowley and Levi, ends up performing at a party for military aristocrats. How this happened or how it went down, we don't know, other than apparently everyone was thoroughly amused. At this point, they aren't suspected of anything treasonous, but are considered 'low' entertainment.

In attendance is Major Azur Hybird's son, Adra Hybird. At this point, Adra has already been dancing for most of his life. It is unclear how old he is. But he decides that this is the kind of dancing he wants to do. He leaves the life of a Military Aristocrats son behind and runs away to join the circus -- Kielce.

(It is not implied Adra is younger than the other two - on Levi's route, Adra remarks that Levi has grown into quite the man, which, if anything, implies Adra may be a bit older than Levi.)

By the time of the first Border Performance, which is ten years before the present, Adra is a well established member of the troupe, enough that he is involved with choosing to do it. He seems to be one of the senior members in the troupe.

Fan Carlo Albus, on the other hand, is a newcomer to the troupe ten years ago. It seems she joined enough after Adra that she's talked about as another sort of 'generation' - when talking about Kielce's style being a talent showcase, Crowley says its more pronounced now that Carlo and Chance have joined.

Carlo watches the border performance from the side, not on the wall. Also watching that day is Isaac Bazmaz, an Arbine child from the border region who lives near the wall. He is watching with a friend of his. On Isaac's route this friend is explicitly Sissia, a girl from Quatra who he met through a crack in the wall. Isaac talks about the wall as having always been near his house, suggesting that he is under 20 years old, or at least, not much older. Chance Orlando, as stated, is under 20. He doesn't watch the border performance, but hears rumors about it as a kid in Arbine that later inspire him to join.

Crowley is one of the leads in the performance, which he also wrote. This is, to him, intentionally an act of rebellion and revolution. The fact that it doesn't overthrow the nation makes it kind of a failure in his book. Adra says his motivation is sort of to stick it to the military aristocracy and their backwards ideas, both about Quatra and discrimination and their authority and control in general. Adra is also quite annoyed at their elitism. Levi doesn't give an explicit reason for it the first time, but when asking to do it again, he mentions love of theater and love of freedom as absolute principles he leads Kielce by. One imagines his foster mother on the other side is a motivation, as well.

The performance is seen as treasonous and puts the entire troupe on a watch list. According to Major Azur, the 'commander and king' of Arbine has pushed to imprison everyone in the troupe since that day. (It is completely unclear if either the Major or even the 'commander and king' himself have any idea who Crowley is.) Every member who was around at the time tells Sissia that it was quite the controversy and ordeal, and caused a lot of trouble.

Isaac makes a promise to his friend to one day stand on the wall with Kielce together. Sissia, watching from the Quatra side, is already being forced into labor, despite seemingly being a child. Sissia dreams of one day standing on that stage, too. Both Isaac and Sissia will eventually follow that dream to Kielce.

It seems that despite the displeasure of the ruling elite, Kielce continues to operate and have many fans. Their popularity is seen both as a threat, and, one assumes, a bit protective, as it's quite clear that Arbine is aware of the precarity of it's absolute control.

Adra notes that even members of the military attend the shows. Not all the fans share their ideals, of course, and will report things to the authorities.

Kielce has a standing theater within Arbine, but their base seems to keep a very 'traveling circus' aesthetic. It is possible they are both a traveling company and one with a home base. It's unclear when this was built.

Chance and Isaac are recruited the same day by Crowley. Isaac says that if it weren't for Kielce, he'd 'still be working at a factory'. They are still considered relative newbies by Carlo by the time Sissia is recruited, but they seem to have been around long enough to be pretty established as staples of the troupe.

[techmomma]

Bitty Baby Arabic Lessons

If you’re just tuning in, I want to make simple, informal posts for those who know very little about MENA and SWANA cultures, to help give people a jumping off point in their own research. See here for details.

1. Al or el (depending on where you live):

it's an article. It's literally just "the."

Examples:

Al-Quds: THE Holy (the Arabic name for Jerusalem)

Al-kitaab: THE book

Al-Jazeera: THE island

Funfact! "Algebra" comes from the Arabic word "al-jabr," which means "the operation" or "the equation" ("the equation to restore or to balance," in full).

"Al" is also incredibly common to find in last names in Arabic. For example, "masri" means "(an) Egyptian." So the name "Ahmed Al-masri" translates to "Ahmed the Egyptian." You can also find last names derived from an ancestor's job, much like you can in English. "Yakob al-Jarrah" translates to "Yakob (Jacob) the Surgeon."

There is also another variation of "al," pronounced more like "awl," that denotes a clan or tribe or family. So "Al-Saud" can mean "of the Saud family."

2. Arabic is written right-to-left.

You weebs should be familiar with this.

To use Al-Quds from earlier, written in Arabic it looks like this

القدس <- and you start from this end and work to the left. sduQ-La, if we translate it letter for letter.

3. Arabic letters change form depending on if they're in the beginning, middle, or end of a word.

Before you worry, just remember that we have a very similar thing in cursive. For example, if you are writing the letter F in cursive, it will look just a little different depending on where it's positioned in the word (and if it's capitalized).

Farm. offer. brief. f

See what I mean? It's the same letter, but how exactly it's written depends on where it is, and if it's alone. Same thing in Arabic.

This can look a little drastic to someone not used to looking at it, but I mean. Look at the difference in English between a capital F and a lowercase f. Or worse, capital G and lowercase g.

4. Misc. notes I didn't know where to put

Quranic or Classic Arabic (Fushya Arabic) is the standardized form you will see taught in school. There are hundreds of regional dialects and variations though. Please look up any map of "Arabic speaking countries" and you will see how fucking enormous the range is.

Arabic is a sister language to Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician, Syric, Akkadian, and Sumerian. All are thought to descend from an early proto-Semitic language.

Arabic has gendered nouns, but also gendered verbs! This is one of the myriad of reasons Arabic is so incredibly nuanced. What can seem like a very easy, simple two-word sentence can have volumes of meaning behind it just by changing the verb gender.

In fact you can have the subject, object, verb, tense, pronoun, quantity, and gender of a sentence easily understood in a SINGLE WORD. For example, يلاعبونهما (Youlaebounahouma) means "They are playing with both of them." One word!! ISN'T THAT COOL??

Egyptian Arabic is sort of considered the Hollywood Accent of the Arabic world, since many popular movies are produced in Egypt. In the same way that a lot of Californians sound like people in Hollywood movies, because Hollywood is in, you guessed it, California.

English (and many other Western languages, ESPECIALLY Spanish) have so, so, so, so, so, SO, SOOOOO many loanwords from Arabic. "Algebra" was mentioned already, but the list includes but is not limited to: Albatross, chemistry (alchemy), admiral, apricot, artichoke, average, borax, candy, caravan, caraway, checkers, chess, coffee, cotton, elixir, garble, gauze, gazelle, ghoul, jar, jasmine, jumper, kohl, lacquer, lemon, lime, macrame, magazine, mattress, mummy, muslin, nadir, orange, popinjay, reem, rook, safari, saffron, sash, sequin, serendipity, spinach, sugar, syrup, sorbet, talc, talisman, tamarind, tariff, tuna, typhoon, vizier, zero, to name a few of thousands more.

Words are written right to left, but numbers are written left to right!

One of the reasons there are so many variations in spelling is because Arabic developed primarily as a verbal language and was only codified (turned into a written language) later, with some of the earliest examples being poetry. Arabic poetry as a tradition dates back at least 1600 years! (And of this, love poems are the most popular!!)

Classical Arabic is most often what Arabic is written in rather than spoken. Modern Standard Arabic is the version you will hear most often spoken.

Arabic does not use capitalization or contractions!

There are seven main styles of Arabica calligraphy: Kufic, Dewani, Thuluth, Naskh, Rayhani, Muhaqqaq, and Reqa. There are many regional variants and forms of calligraphy as well, including the tughra, which is a calligraphic monogram/seal/signature.

Hope you enjoyed this infodump and learned some things! Arabic is an incredibly beautiful and underrated language! I highly recommend learning even the smallest bit about it!

[ayeforscotland]

Hey, I just saw a post where you were talking about highlander novels and saw in the notes Scottish authors talking about how people (who read those highlander books) telling them (the actual Scottish authors) that they need to "work on their accents" when they write outlander type books. As an aspiring writer in America (who doesn't read the "Highlander Romance" type books, and I only mention that to say I don't know how the accents are written in the american-written fetishized books compared to books written by actual people from Scotland) I was wondering if you had any opinions or advice for writing Scottish characters in regards to their accents? I ask because I've seen others give advice that you shouldn't write out accents because it "others" other cultures, but I've also seen others say that writing the accent is okay as long as it's done right (and in some cases might actually be insulting not to write the accent, because it implies "good" english is the only valid way?) and I'm unsure which is correct. Sorry for the long ask, I just didn't want to risk writing my Scottish characters in an unintentionally insulting way by following possible bad advice, if that makes sense. (Not sure if it matters or not, but the book isn't going to be a romance lol)

Hey, cheers for the question, it’s an interesting one but I think there’s a few issues needing addressed.

It really depends what you’re looking to do with a Scottish character. I speak English with a Scottish accent. I speak Scots Standard English with a Scottish accent. I speak Scots with a Scottish accent.

The accent never changes. And I think what a lot of non-Scottish authors do when writing dialogue is write what they think a Scottish accent sounds like phonetically.

AND I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH - that you shouldn’t do this. Good authors avoid doing this with any of their characters.

For an extreme example, imagine you used the racist stereotype of an Asian character who struggled to pronounce the letter ‘L’ so you replaced all instances of it with ‘R’ in all of their dialogue. That’s insane, right? No one should ever do that.

Again that’s a super extreme example, but there’s a reason it’s not all that common to see dialogue written phonetically. Some authors may get away with doing it for regional English dialects but it’s different when it comes to a separate language.

For using actual Scots language, it’ll all come down to how good your research is and if you want people from Scotland to beta-read anything.

Good things to avoid - don’t go full “Tumblr during Scottish Pokemon Trainer”

[dingo-ate-my-hot-lettuce-crazy]

Scripting Template [2]

+=+=Scripting Template=+=+

☐ General

☐ Appearance

☐ Characteristics

☐  Likes/Dislikes

☐ Relations

☐ DR Setting

☐ Cloning + Affirmations

[1] General

Name:

Origin:

Nickname:

Pet name (sweetheart, baby, etc):

Sexuality:

Gender:

Pronouns:

Age:

Mental Age:

Birthdate:

Zodiac/Chinese Sign:

Birthplace:

Current Residence:

Past Residence(s):

Languages:

Accent/Dialect:

Ethnicity:

Race:

Nationality:

[2] Appearance:

[photo]

Hair:

Color:

Length:

Texture:

Cut: [photo]

Eye:

Shape:

Color:

Body/Facial Hair:

Facial Structure:

Height/Weight:

Body Figure (pear, hourglass, etc):

Breast Size:

Body Details:

Scars:

Dimples:

Tattoos:

Piercings:

Birthmark:

Ring Size:

Jawline:

Blood type:

Clothing/Style:

Casual:

Pajamas:

Work Attire:

Exercise:

Party:

Hot Weather:

Cold Weather:

Date Night:

Jewelry:

Rings:

Necklaces:

Earrings:

Other:

Appearance Affirmation:

•I am irresistibly attractive.

•iI have prominent muscles (abs, biceps, etc)

•My hair looks perfect straight, curly, or wavy.

•I never get a bad haircut

•My lips are never chapped.

•My breath is always minty and smells nice.

•My voice is raspy/honey-like/angelic/etc

•My skin never has any pimples, or cysts.

•I have perfect hygiene and smell like ___.

•I have a clear nose and never have earwax.

• My smile is contagious and sweet.

•My smile lights up a room.

•Im immune to lice, greasy hair, and dandruff

•My closet has endless tops, bottoms, underwear, bras, accessories, jewelry, etc

•All my clothes fit me perfectly/just the way i want them to

•My teeth are white

[3] Characteristics:

IQ:

Myers Briggs:

Talents:

Traits:

Hobbies:

Habits:

How do people feel when you walk into the room:

How do people talk about you: How do people perceive you:

How do you perceive yourself:

What do you value in yourself:

Insecurities:

How do you view the glass (half full, half empty, etc):

Fears:

[4] Likes/Dislikes

Color: EXAMPLE Like: red/dislike:green

animal:

food/dish:

dessert:

drink:

alcoholic beverage:

taste:

smell:

season:

place:

holiday:

plant:

book:

literary genre:

movie:

movie genre:

tv show:

tv genre:

actor:

artist/band:

song:

music genre:

clothing style:

game:

game genre:

[5] Relations

Family:

Father(s):

Mother(s):

Sibling(s):

Children:

Extended Family:

Pet(s):

Who Raised You: Who do you favor:

Family Background/History:

Who is alive/deceased:

Work:

Employer:

Employees:

Coworkers:

Friends:

BFF:

Close Friends:

First meeting:

Friends:

Acquaintances:

Love:

First Crush/Love:

Past Partners:

Current Partner(s):

Sex Information:

Marital Status:

[6] DR Setting

First Shift:

The Date:

CR to DR Time: (1 hour in CR: 1 month in DR)

When I shift I…

Feel:

Physically:

Emotionally:

See:

Smell:

Hear:

Wear:

House:

Layout: [photo]

Address:

School:

Primary:

Secondary:

College/University:

Work:

Address:

Coworkers:

Shifts:

Experience:

Book/Movie/TV Timeline:

[this is where you can set up a specific outline if you were shifting for exact media events]

Before:

During:

After:

Memories:

Headcanons:

Events:

[7] Cloning + Affirmations

Safe word/action:

Clone: 

-My clone is always safe. 

-My clone always acts like me. 

-My clone will keep my personality. 

-My clone will remember whats happens in my DR after I return to my CR. 

-My clone will carry out any normal tasks that were left for me in my Cr. 

-My clone will not die. 

-My clone has great mental health. 

-My clone is like me in every way possible. 

Other Affirmations:

misc affirmations:

•I cannot die

•I will not get trauma.

•I will return back to my CR anytime I say my safeword + action.

•I can stay as long as I want in my DR.

•I am not sexually assaulted by anyone.

•I won't forget my safe word/action.

•people in my DR do not notice me shifting when I say my safe word.

•All of my memories from my DR before I enter are automatically there so I know what is going on when I arrive.

•all memories from my CR stay intact when I arrive back.

•I always come back from my DR safely.

•i remember what's happened when i come back to my CR after i shift

•I do not feel severe pain.

•My body is healthy and I never get any diseases aside from the common cold or allergies every so often.

•I never throw up.

•I cannot get pregnant unless i want to

•I have fast metabolism.

•Bodily waste never causes any issues.

•I don't have a period.

•I have a high pain tolerance.

•People in my DR do not know Im shifting.

•no one is in my DR that does not belong

•i can easily run a mile in ___ time.

Shifting Affirmations:

1. i can shift

2. i can shift easily

3. i can shift realities easily

4. i believe i can shift easily

5. i have successfully shifted

6. i have the ability to shift

7. i am focused on shifting

8. i will shift successfully

9. i can shift successfully

10. i am able to shift successfully

11. i am confident in my ability to shift

12. i am in my desired reality

13. i am already in my desired reality

14. i know i am in my desired reality

15. i am in my desired reality already

16. i live in my desired reality

17. i can shift whenever i want

18. i can shift realities whenever i want

19. i believe i can shift successfully

20. i know i can shift whenever i want

21. i know i can shift successfully

22. i’m shifting

23. i know i’m shifting

24. i’m shifting right now

25. i believe shifting is easier than breathing

26. i know shifting is easier than breathing

27. i believe shifting is easier than blinking

28. i know shifting is easier than blinking

29. i believe shifting is easier than moving

30. i know shifting is easier than moving

31. shifting is easier than blinking

32. shifting is easier than breathing

33. shifting is easier than moving

34. i shift everytime i breathe

35. i shift everytime i blink

36. i shift everytime i move

37. i know i have successfully shifted

38. i believe i have successfully shifted

39. i believe i am in my desired reality

40. i have succeeded at shifting to my desired reality

41. i have succeeded at shifting

42. i know i have succeeded at shifting

43. i know i have succeeded at shifting to my desired reality

44. i believe i have succeeded at shifting to my desired reality

45. i believe i have succeeded shifting

46. i know i can shift

47. i have successfully shifted to my desired reality

48. i have successfully shifted to my desired reality because i deserve it

49. i have successfully shifted realities

50. i know i have successfully shifted realities

51. i believe i have successfully shifted realities

52. everything is perfect in my desired reality

53. i am a master at shifting

54. i’m the best at shifting

55. i will shift realities to my ___ DR

56. i can shift realities to ___ DR

57. i can shift realities to ___ DR easily

58. i’m happy to be in my desired reality

59. i’m grateful to be in my desired reality

60. i’m thankful to be in my desired reality

61. my desired reality will follow my script

62. i know shifting realities will work

63. i know shifting realities is real

64. i am shifting to my desired reality

65. i can shift to my desired reality

66. i can shift to my desired reality easily

67. i will shift to my desired reality

68. i know i will shift to my desired reality

69. i have the power to shift

70. i know i have the power to shift

71. i believe i have the power to shift

72. i know i have the ability to shift

73. i believe i have the ability to shift

74. i will wake up in my desired reality

75. i will wake up in the ____.

76. i have shifted realities

77. i know i have shifted realities

78. i went to my desired reality

79. i can shift realities with ease

80. i am going to go to my desired reality

81. i have faith in shifting realities

82. it is easy to shift realities

83. i know it is easy to shift realities

84. i know i am going to go to my desired reality

85. i know i can shift realities with ease

86. i know i have shifted realities

87. i am capable of shifting realities

88. i know i am capable of shifting realities

89. i’m finally in my desired reality

90. i finally live in my desired reality

91. i am a master shifter

92. i look like my dr self

93. i am in my ideal reality

94. i live in my ideal reality

95. i will wake up in my ideal reality

96. i am prepared to shift

97. i know i am prepared to shift

98. i am safe in my dr

99. i am protected in my dr

100. my shifting process will go smoothly

101. i can shift using any method, including ones i make up.

[littlelordalphinaud]

I love writing characters that communicate differently, because my verbal ability varies wildly from day to day and I like giving my characters parts of me.

Adya mimics and mimes. They repeat back the last word or sound they heard and gesture with their hands to communicate.

Ihzi can speak in full sentences but that exhausts her and makes her feel uncomfortable and unsafe, so she uses her own dialect, and just uses the single words to get her point across.

Sai communicates with sign language, or by her Esteem, Sana, taking over their body and speaking verbally.

Raza has so many accents and languages and dialects crammed into them that they struggle to sound like they're from one place and people often struggle to understand them when they get excited and talk fast.

Tola understands Eorzean but only speaks Drivanian, relying on Ysayle to translate what's necessary to the people around them.

Nergui has a very intense stutter, so often tries to shorten her sentences so she can get them out quicker, avoiding words with W or S sounds as they make it worse.

All of these characters have varying education and intelligence levels. Nergui is an Archon, Ihzi stopped getting any education at age 5, but none of that is related to their methods of communication.

Sometimes I get self conscious, as when I've written characters with alternate communication in the past, people have accused me of ableism and mockery, when I'm only trying to give voice to my own experiences.

If you have characters that communicate in unique ways, please let me know! In replies or reblogs, I'd love to hear about them!