#Definitely not inspired by my recent pickup of Duolingo again

[vaulthistorian]

If Duolingo existed they'd...

Joshua:

Fight it. There is no better translator like him. Although I think he would learn some new languages, he'd be on it all day acing everything.

Daniel:

Enjoys it, but keeps losing hearts and can't afford premium. Is committed to his streak even if he isn't the best at times.

Caesar:

What is the point of learning a new language when you can just wipe out the people that speak it so you don't have to?? Safe to say I don't think he likes Duo, and does not have a good streak.

Boone:

If you do it he might. He's more about sticking to his guns and patrols, and reminiscing the loss of his wife. If anything Duo becomes a therapy bot of sorts. You still can't figure out how that worked.

Follows-Chalk.

What's Duolingo? Why would I care to use it?

Lanius:

Unfortunately I don't think he'd use Duolingo any more than Caesar. Case in point.

Vulpes:

Hear me out. He would. He'd only ever care to learn one language, if anything to insult people in said language. But when you're wandering around the Mojave nearly alone, you've gotta have something to do.

Ulysses:

For a time. Would he learn a full language? Possibly. I feel like he would be more inclined to learn a few languages that aren't from the past. Something that isn't dying out. Or, maybe he would and he'd flex on everyone that he knows a language no one else does and he's so so cool... And stuff...

Courier Six:

Duolingo streak of 169 days 🔥🤘🏻😈

[muggle-writes]

10 Questions Tag Game

tagged by @julesruleswrites 

before I answer your questions, may I just comment that “hissed” is totally valid for describing phrases without enough sibilants. It’s the cross between wanting to yell and trying to whisper where it comes out all breathy and forced. Absolutely a worthwhile descriptor, even for regular sentences, imo.

1. Who would you dedicate your wip to, if you ever wrote a book dedication for it? (Or if you’ve published, who have you dedicated things to before?)

Ooh. I’ve published fic, which doesn’t really get a dedication section, but I’d probably dedicate my book to whichever friends/partners/metamours were most helpful in the editing process, and the ones who let me inevitably ramble at them nonstop about the book while it was in progress.

2. What car does/would your OC drive? Can be as specific or vague as you want; I know Finley drives an old Civic, but who knows what the heck Logan drives.

boring answer, but Mason is 12 and shouldn’t be driving. In an emergency he might attempt to drive the vehicle of whichever adult he is spending time with, which at the moment would be an aging pickup truck. Better hope it’s automatic because he’s not going to figure out how to drive a manual transmission car without guidance, and especially not while panicking.

Erin is a Hogwarts student and also doesn’t exactly have access to cars. She’s happy to fly the school Cleansweep broom, but she isn’t all that enthusiastic about Quidditch or racing brooms, so she’ll take what’s available for transportation.

3. Do you prefer to do your writing in the morning, afternoon, evening, etc?

I do my best work between approximately 10:30 am and 3pm, but unfortunately I’m usually at work during that time, so evenings are a tolerable substitute. If I succeed at getting up on weekends and I’m not drowning in other commitments I’ll take that midday block for writing and that generally feels rewarding.

4. If your wip got a movie, what would that be like? Animated? Or nah?

animation is very underrated, and I wouldn’t mind an animation of anything I made, but given most of my actual WIPs are fanfiction, a true movie of them would likely match the original canon adaptation where relevant. Some animated, some live action.

5. What’s the most recent change you’ve made in your writing process/style?

Idk if this counts, but my resolution this year is to not let previous failures prevent me from following up on things I want to do. I haven’t actually pulled out Duolingo or my other language learning apps that I previously lost motivation for when I broke a streak, but this applies to my writing too. for example there’s a #jewishjanuary event that has daily prompts, and I’ve been letting myself write for whichever ones inspire me without getting stuck on “oh but I haven’t written for _____ yet.” In theory, hopefully, this will encourage me to write more consistently, at least this month, and if I’m really good about it, that habit will stick when I go back to my “usual” WIPs in the absence of daily prompts.

6. Please tell me about your most beloved side/minor character, even if they don’t have a name or have had a different name every time they appear.

Again, writing mainly fic complicates my answer to this question, but looking at what I’ve created recently, I really like my OC Erin Fawley (from my #jewishjanuary prompt fills, since in many of them, I’m depicting Hermione being unapologetically Jewish at Hogwarts and in the magical world in general) Erin is a Gryffindor prefect, in the same year as Percy Weasley. She’s also a half-blood, which she will claim proudly. Erin most often shows up early in the golden trio’s first year, before Hermione is friends with Harry and Ron, and not only checks on Hermione for being the outcast of her social group (there’s always one, usually for no good reason), but when she realizes they’re both Jewish, she helps Hermione feel a little more welcome by not having to fumble through rituals alone at boarding school. Erin is a good balance to Percy, because she has the mentors’ instinct of who needs her help, and in fact she occasionally lets her homework slide in order to help younger years with theirs or with other settling-in needs. Most teachers are understanding, and when she turns in her work on time, it averages EE grades. When she turns it in late, it could otherwise earn an A-EE but, depending on the teacher, gets marked down for lateness. Anyway, all of Gryffindor house besides Harry’s yearmates and the Weasleys and the Quidditch team are a blank slate and I enjoy slowly filling that in.

7. What scene are you most excited about writing right now?

When I get all the in-between written, I’m looking forward to, in my fic Eavesdropping, writing Kaito and Akako interacting, with him putting aside his mistrust in magic to ask for advice, and her being slightly less cryptic than usual, in sympathy.

Also, I’ve half-finished yesterday’s prompt fill for Sukkot (for #jewishjanuary) and I’m looking forward to finishing that, and showing the origin of Erin and Hermione’s friendship, and also depicting the struggle of making do when the people running your school have never heard of your traditions, let alone know what to provide. (etrog? You think they have an etrog in scotland? they probably substitute a lemon unless Erin got one in August and had a family member put a stasis spell on it and brought it with her. Willow branches are definitely from the whomping willow - Erin asked McGonagall, who asked Hagrid, who collected them)

8. What font do you like to write your wip in?

I don’t go out of my way to set a font, so I’ll tend to use whatever’s the default in whichever program I’m using at the time, but I have something of a preference for serif fonts. 

9. What and when is your next self-imposed deadline? Ex: mine is to finish this draft by May. How’s progress on that?

I would like to finish my Sukkot prompt fill before the other High Holy Days prompts roll around in the #jewishjanuary list, since I didn’t succeed in writing it day-of. (I’ve been aiming for finishing each prompt day-of, but again, this year I’m not letting lack of progress towards daily goals prevent me from continuing. That’s my goal) I uh... didn’t make any progress on it today and I haven’t checked the prompt list to remember how long I have until I miss this deadline...

10. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

Hot chocolate! Sometimes tea if I’m in the right mood (or if it’s a good spiced chai from the Indian restaurant across the road from my office. I will never turn that chai down). But in general, I haven’t acquired a taste for coffee or alcohol or black tea (without enough milk and sugar) or anything else in the category of “vaguely bitter adult drinks”

My Questions and tags under the cut (also, feel free to answer and tag me back even if I didn’t tag you)

In your WIP, how many other people face equivalent struggles to the protagonist? How many others are on equivalent journeys that the audience may or may not hear about?

What is a worldbuilding detail you are proud of but that you haven’t been able to include in your WIP?

What is your method for coming up with names for OCs? How often do your characters’ names reflect the journey they will take?

Music, white noise, or silence while writing?

What’s your routine for writing (if you have one)? Which part of it is the hardest to stick to?

What is your OC’s biggest weakness? Do they realize it?

Do you hoard notebooks? When you write in them, do you prefer pen or pencil? (classic vs mechanical pencil? ball point vs fountain vs gel pen?) Or is everything just digital for you?

Tell me something good about an OC you dislike (or about an antagonist, if you love them all)

Which sense (touch, taste, smell, balance, ...) do you most like writing descriptions for? Are there any you leave out, intentionally or not? (I’ve sent out this question for STS before but it’s one of my favorites to ask)

What accomplishment are you proud of right now?

And my very short tag list (lmk if you’d like to be added to or removed from my general tag games list, or for any particular WIP or fandom) @writebusofdoom​ @bexminx​ participate if you’d like, and you have the time and energy to.