#Grammar Vs. Communication

[learnsimple]

Navigating the Grammar Maze in Language Learning: A Balanced Approach

Grammar: the very word can evoke a range of reactions among language learners, from curiosity and respect to fear and frustration. It’s the scaffold upon which languages are built, providing structure and rules that guide effective communication. Yet, in the journey of language acquisition, the role of grammar remains a hotly debated topic. Should it be the foundation of learning, or is it better…

[gossippool]

YOU'RE. YOU'RE. YOU ARE = YOU'RE. NOTICE THE E IN ARE. YOU'RE = YOU ARE. THE APOSTROPHE COMBINES THE YOU AND THE ARE TO MAKE IT YOU'RE. FUCK

[coldnutparadise]

pov:u go into blue pe/riod goin haha i too went to art school n then u come out of the otherside holding ur head at "why did u choose art sen/sei" "i just chose a hell i could live with" and "do you even like art?" and "everybody is telling you about closure and how to move on from grief, but there's nothing wrong with holding that grief forever for the rest of your life" and "if u give it ur all and still fail, you should off urself?" and "does it even matter if your work is popular - isn't it enough for it to resonate with just the one person bc it moved them so deeply-"

[milfbro]

@shhdontlook replied: I legit have an easier time understanding English than a Portuguese person

The accent definitely doesn't help.

btw the current linguistic consensus abt why the portuguese and brasilians think and speak so differently (it's really frustrating for everyone involved despite the language being the exact same, trust) is that in Brasil, the language established itself because the miscellaneous african ethnicities they kidnapped were taught portuguese as a main language when in brasilian soil, not from the upper class

So what this means is that the mechanisms of language and communication are primarily imported from Africa while the grammar is portuguese. We have the same language but not, it's very cool but it means talking to the portuguese hurts my brain

[what-even-is-thiss]

There’s a lot of questions out there about learning a language vs acquiring a language so let me explain it this way

People say they’re learning a language when they’re doing both things. However, when people bring this up they’re generally talking about differences in method/philosophy.

When people are talking about learning a language in this sort of context they’re talking about treating a language like a series of facts you can memorize. Think vocab lists, memorizing grammar charts, crying while using duolingo.

When people talk about acquiring a language they’re treating language like a communication system to be installed in your brain. Like a software rather than a series of facts. But because the human brain is kinda slow it takes like two to ten years of watching sitcom and listening to podcast and embarrassing yourself in front of bartenders for the download to mostly finish.

Children acquire language by watching Dora the explorer and watching mom point at cars and go “that’s a car” I think but as an adult that’s not usually an option.

I mean it might be but it depends on your particular mom and personal tolerance for watching Dora the explorer

[evilmedian]

perennial reminder about the word "plural"

here's the original blog post, from the 90s, that introduces 'plural' as a purposefully non-medical alternative to 'multiple'

[image text: "This is one reason our clan encourages use of the word "plural" rather than "multiple". "Multiple", even standing by itself, brings to mind MPD/DID, "multiple personality disorder", "dissociative identity disorder", which are specific diagnoses created by the medical/therapeutic community. "Plural" is a much more neutral word, more commonly heard in the context of grammar than psychiatry. (The other reason, of course, is that plural can be construed to have a broader meaning, applying to anyone(s) anywhere on the continuum who experience themselves as plural in some way. )"]

the concept of plurality was always deliberately inclusive. it has been for more than 20 years. there is no diagnosis that makes you plural or not plural. having a trauma history or specific symptoms cannot make you plural or not plural. there is no "real plurals" vs "fake plurals". it is an opt-in community and identity. plurality is not mutually exclusive with psychiatric diagnoses, but as a label, it is intentionally disconnected from medical terminology.

[opashoo]

Hi again! I'm making a Yongasabi sentences generator to practise and make sure I have a decent grasp on things before I move on to more complex things.

I've recently been toying with sentences like the following:

meikiga yong munmok sa

But I don't know if this is the proper way to negate the subject, or if it would be more appropriate to say meiki yong'ag munmok sa? Though, in the example taw yong'ag hanoltakwa sa, the implication here is that someone who is not the speaker is at the hunting grounds. I guess that's kind of true in all cases where you negate the subject though, because it has to be implied that something is made of fruit, otherwise youd just say meikiga munmok sayong.

Since negating the subject can be communicative in some cases i.e masin yong'ag hanitaemok kaniwa sa, I want to keep these sentences in where possible. But (as you can tell) I'm struggling a lot with the grammar.

The most correct way to do it would be to negate the whole sentence like in your example meikiga munmok sayong.

One way to convey your intended meaning is meiki yong'ag munmok sa, which is technically grammatically incorrect, but understood and acceptable.

There's a reason you can't negate the subject marker, which I'll elaborate below.

So this is a sort of complex interaction. yong can negate verbs, nouns/adjectives, and case markings other than the subject marker -'ag/-ga and the focus marker -hei. This is because the subject and focus markers' function to denote what the sentence pertains to. You use the to mark the most important thing in the sentence, the thing you're talking about, and all other information gets attributed to it.

If you negate that, the meaning becomes nonsensical because of the way Yongasabi parses the information and the role of the subject. Compare:

sattokubiga koddim sa. Artificer is red. literal On the topic of Artificer, there is red vs sattokubiga yong koddim sa. intended It is not Artificer that is red. literal This sentence does not pertain to anything, which is Artificer, there is red

Meanwhile, negating the noun directly, while grammatically incorrect, conveys the intended information without interfering with the mechanics of the language.

sattokubi yong'ag koddim sa. intended and understood It's not Artificer that's red. literal On the topic of that which is not Artificer, there is red.

I hope that makes sense. While all the other case markings convey some kind of role or function that can be subverted with yong, the subject and focus markers expressly perform a purely grammatical role whose subversion really fucks with how the information is meant to be understood. Someone could understand sattokubiga yong koddim sa, but it's just one of those things where it would feel innately wrong to a speaker compared to sattokubi yong'ag koddim sa.

Of course it's the way of language that if people started negating the subject marker often enough that people got used to use, then it would be acceptable and understood, but as it stands, it is just not done.

[enchanted-wildflower]

On animism

One of my teachers at university told us something today, that I believe to be relevant to animism and therefore also witchcraft:

He explained that in the West we see everything as occurences, whereas in some languages the same happenings are described as actions. Meaning that in the West we tend to imply that there is no agency involved in whatever happens, while some other languages tend to imply that someone activily causes things. His example was that in the West rain is understood as something that just happens, no one causes the rain. Whereas in Mesoamerica it was believed that it rained because some god was crying.

While the idea of a literal crying god causing it to rain on earth might be outdated, I find it really interesting how these two perspectives - events vs. actions - might shape our relationship with the world. If rain is not just an occurence, but someone acting with agency, rain becomes another part of the community we live in. The community then doesn't only consist of humans anymore, but of everything that surrounds us. Suddenly there are all these new players that actively affect your life with their actions. Other-than-human persons that you can interact with and with whom you have to keep a friendly relationship. If the tree in front of your house isn't just an object, but a being with agency, you actually have to be at least respectful and might even want to build a relationship with them, get to know them, learn from them.

I think that's really the core of animism. Descriptions of animism are often reduced to the believe that everything has a soul, but I think believe doesn't even factor into it. You don't need to believe that there is a non-physical aspect to rain, mountains, stones. It's about how we interact with them. I don't even have to ask myself the question if the tree in front of my house has a soul in order to learn about and from them or to interact with them. In my opinion animism is something that is done, not thought or believed. It's a perspective.

Listening to my teacher also reminded me of the following part of Braiding Sweetgrass (great book btw) which explains all this really well:

A bay is a noun only if water is dead. When bay is a noun, it is defined by humans, trapped between its shores and contained by the word. But the verb wiikwegamaa - to be a bay - releases the water from bondage and lets it live. "To be a bay" holds the wonder that, for this moment, the living water has decided to shelter itself between these shores, conversing with cedar roots and a flock of baby mergansers. Because it could do otherwise become a stream or an ocean or a waterfall, and there are verbs for that, too. To be a hill, to be a sandy beach, to be a Saturday, all are possible verbs in a world where everything is alive. Water, land, and even a day, the language a mirror for seeing the animacy of the world, the life that pulses through all things, through pines and nuthatches and mushrooms. This is the lan- guage I hear in the woods; this is the language that lets us speak of what wells up all around us.

[...]

This is the grammar of animacy. [...] In English, we never refer to a member of our family, or indeed to any person, as it. That would be a profound act of disrespect. It robs a person of selfhood and kinship, reducing a person to a mere thing. So it is that in Potawatomi and most other indigenous languages, we use the same words to address the living world as we use for our family. Because they are our family.

To whom does our language extend the grammar of animacy? Naturally, plants and animals are animate, but as I learn, I am discovering that the Potawatomi understanding of what it means to be animate diverges from the list of attributes of living beings we all learned in Biology 101. In Potawatomi 101, rocks are animate, as are mountains and water and fire and places. Beings that are imbued with spirit, our sacred medicines, our songs, drums, and even stories, are all animate. The list of the inanimate seems to be smaller, filled with objects that are made by people.

[...]

The language reminds us, in every sentence, of our kinship with all of the animate world.

- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (2013), p. 78-80.

[thecomfywriter]

✨👾 thecomfywriter’s guide to self-publishing 👾✨

navigation post get my book, Throne of Vengeance! TNV anthologies ToV community!

hi, fools! this was long overdue. forgive me—i got distracted. anyhow! welcome to the official guide to self-publishing, as requested by satoh (@@satohqbanana). i’m going to give you tips based on my own process, but by all means, feel free to deviate and add/remove steps for your own process. some steps are mandatory though. no skipping 😤

okay i’m not going to yamble too much, lets get into it.

1.0 finishing the draft

2.0 the editing process (copyediting vs line editing vs beta reading)

3.0 the latent period (!!!)

4.0 pre-publication marketing

5.0 the cover + blurb

6.0 the final read-through

7.0 pre-orders and marketing

8.0 publish!

1.0 finishing the draft:

stop procrastinating and write, dodohead. words on the page. it doesn’t have to be perfect. you don’t have to agonize over that one line for an entire afternoon. stick to the vision and get the words on the page.

if you’re wondering why i’m saying it doesn’t have to be perfect when we’re talking about publishing a (hopefully good) book, it’s because there’s still the editing process later down the line to worry about typos, grammar issues, beta reader feedback, and all that jazzy good stuff. right now, you need to have your vision and get it down. this isn’t your polished copy. but you need to have your draft completed before you go anyways. so stop moping over whether “elucidate” is the word you want to use in that sentence and finish the sentence.

lol. with love <333

2.0 the editing process:

now you can worry about elucidate and its purpose in the sentence. the editing stage has many sub phases. copy-editing and the line editing. you can hire someone to do this for you or do it yourself. maybe get a friend to help. doesn’t matter. you just have to be critical and thorough. no sugarcoating. no, “oh ill just let this slide” or “i don’t wanna be mean so i won’t give real helpful feedback” editors. proper editors who will say it as it is.

copy-editing (as i understand it) is big book concept editing:

are there plot holes? is the lore consistent? does it make sense? is it unclear? is the story even interesting? how’s the pacing? what about the characters? too many? not enough? the voices aren’t distinct? the style is inconsistent? none of the characters feel like separate or fully formed people?

this is the phase where all those questions are addressed. once the overall concepts and structure of the book has been editing, constructively analyzed, and you’ve gotten feedback for it, go back to step one and revise your draft based on the critique. you don’t move on until those big concept issues are addressed.

done? okay, now it’s time for line editing.

exactly as the name implies, you’re going line per line, word per word, and catching any typos, grammar errors, punctuation—all that jazzy good stuff. REALLY BE THOROUGH. get a fresh pair of eyes on it. hire someone. put it through an editing software like grammarly. but be THOROUGH.

do the words you use make sense? are you using british or american english? slang? are you writing too much purple prose? do the sentences flow? are you using too many commas (stop that. don’t be afraid of periods).

you really need to understand the grammar and syntax rules of the english language to do this step on your own. otherwise, get help. or learn. whatever works with your budget lol.

done line editing? great! send it to a beta reader/ a friend, a writeblr mutual, someone you hired—just make sure they aren’t dancing around feedback and they give it to you as it is. i had a friend straight up tell me one of my drafts was ass LOL because the characters voices were too blurry and she never knew who was talking. there were some slow pointless chapters and the pacing was inconsistent. thus, i went back to step 1 and revised based off her feedback and came back with another draft.

don’t be afraid of critique. you need it to grow.

3.0 the latent period:

this is where you take a step back from the draft, preferably for months, and avoid interacting with it to give your mind a break and reset your eyes. this is a huge stage because this is where i want you fools to get your copyright and isbns in order.

GET. YOUR. BOOK. COPYRIGHTED.

do not share it until it is copyrighted. you can copyright unpublished materials. technically it is your intellectual property even before you copyright it, but that little ©️ is your legal shield. COPYRIGHT YOUR BOOK.

it costs ~$60 to make sure no one can steal your shit. this is nonnegotiable. do this.

i also got an isbn for my book so i could publish it with other services apart from KDP and expand the market. hence why some people were able to buy it off barnes and noble, for example. i highly recommend.

this is also the phase i started looking at platforms i wanted to publish on/with and reading the contracts. i’m being serious. read the contracts. make sure it aligns with what you want and what you’re comfortable with. don’t skim. don’t just accept. you’re putting your signature on that, bro. read it properly.

the publishing platforms i used were ingramspark and KDP. you’re gonna need to know your book dimensions too. so have an idea so you can estimate the printing costs.

the settings i did for mine were off white, 6x9 paper with the recommended gutter margins (used KDPs excel calculator to determine) and black and white ink (no colour) to get the lowest printing cost per book. ingram spark was similar. only thing with ingram spark is you need your page number to be even (no 575–it has to be 576) and KDP has a 600 page limit. so bear that in mind.

4.0 pre-publishing marketing:

you have to generate hype for your book. now that its copyrighted, its safe to share excerpts, little quotes, make edits for your characters or oc profiles to generate an audience. i did this mainly on tumblr vis tag games and whatnot, but honestly? that's the BARE MINIMUM lol.

don't be like me. i hate social media so i honestly did not market my book the way i know i should have (and still should). i still don't market my book because lol... i dont wanna 🥲

BUT! like it said--dont be like me. make an author website (a proper one. pay for the domain if you can, otherwise use the free domain, but make a professional author platform for yourself and your biography. you'll need this to set up a goodreads author account and claim your book on there). use instagram and make an author instagram profile (i technially have one here, but i never use it lol womp womp i just hate instagram sue me) and promote your book with the teasers. go on pinterest and make moodboards or "book trailers" through a carousel of images. USE TIKTOK. i know it's a plague platform (i dont like it, clearly), but it is where you will find the most fruits for your marketing.

this stage is all about generating hype for your book. why? so when you set your book up for preorder (and, yes, you will be doing that so you have a general idea of market demand and interest), you have people who are genuinely invested and want to buy your book.

marketing ideas because apparently i'm your free publicist:

oc edits

character moodboards

quotes and excerpts

that one trend on tiktok where you give the vibe of the book and a soundtrack // song to it

oc / book soundtracks

"would you read a book about..." [list the themes / enticing tagline elements of your story] -- it's a trend on tiktok

platforms to promote your book:

tiktok (#booktok)

instagram (#books, #readers, #bookstagram)

tumblr (#readers, #bookblr, #writers of tumblr, #reading, #writers, #book reccs; don't just use writer hashtags, is what i'm saying)

wix or the like to make your website

twitter (a lot of authors have official twitter accounts. once again, i never bothered OOPS)

youtube (making videos talking about your book--the ogs of this blog know LOL-- compiling playlists, etc)

also, don't be afraid to make or commission art for your ocs. speaking of which...

5.0 the cover and the blurb

you can't avoid it anymore. you need to make a cover and write a back of the book blurb // synopsis for your book.

YES i know its hard to describe your book in a non-spoilery, enticing way. work on it. struggle through it. get help. but get it done. you can't finish your cover until it is done.

NOTE! if you are making your own cover, the dimensions are only going to be .25" longer than your page dimensions if it is hardcover. ALSO you gotta make it a pdf file. one pdf file that contains the back of the book, the spine, and the front of the book laid out as one page. this is why you need to get the blurb down.

if you're making it by yourself: play around with fonts, use canva + photopea // photoshop. add chrome, but not too much chrome. use references and easter eggs of important plot elements for your visual pieces. current book trend is text-dominant covers with interesting font and stylistic elements. i.e. tov has the title "throne of vengeance" as the main eye-catcher, in a metallic, legible but stylistic font, BUT there is the dragon ouroborous ring and the iron-rose dagger on the cover as well. the colours are intentional. the entire cover is an easter egg for the book, almost like a spoiler for those who know. make it engaging. enticing. you wanna draw readers in, but also make fans hyperanalyze and interpret the elements you chose.

another thing--you'll need to know your page count to know how thick the spine should be. so bear that in mind.

commissioning an artist may be expensive. i actually did commission someone for tov. i probably wont for the remainder of the series since this was the most expensive part for me. depending on who you get, it can range from $300 - >$1000. so just keep that in mind. i queried a lot before i commissioned the artist for my cover. and she was very in tune with the books themes, the symbolic motifs, and the general aura of the story when she created the cover. that is a good cover artist. don't pay someone if they dont take the time to learn about your book before making the cover.

resources to use:

photoshop/photopea

canva

reedsy (for finding artists to commission)

i can't think of anymore on the top of my head oops. ALSO if you're gonna use images, pay attention to copyright. you can't use copyrighted pinterest images for your covers. just saying.

6.0 the final read-through:

it should have been some months by now. time to read through your own book, start to finish, and see how you like it. catch any last minute errors, see whether you're satisfied with the end product, make any final revisions. this is the draft you're going to submit for preorder. the pdf cover will be your cover. the blurb will be your blurb.

also, in this phase, add your dedications, your acknowledgements, and your author blurb. oh yeah babes you need a headshot. i just used a picture from vacation LOL oops i dont like taking headshot pictures i got lazy womp womp.

anyways, your author blurb should describe you in a tag line (G.K> Multani, otherwise known as Naveena Khedar, is a pre-med student with a passion for writing... or something like that). then describe your credentials. have you written before? doesn't have to be same genre, but you want to represent your portfolio. list other books, articles, or journals you've written. then you as a person--hobbies, interest, etc outside of writing. finally, list your socials or where people can find you.

7.0 preorders and marketing:

publish the draft on KDP and ingram spark for preorder. announce that your book is available for preorder. it should take about a week for it to be approved and the preorder link to go live. and then repeat the marketing steps from step 4, but this time with your cover and a link to shove down people's throats :)

8.0 publish!

the date it goes live, make it an event! host a live-publish session! do something fun! have a party! do a book signing! go buckwild go crazy!

i did a live-vc session and unboxing.

oh yeah, also... while we're here. go buy/read my book.

Throne of Vengeance Official Synopsis

Buy my book, Throne of Vengeance: Volume One

Read Throne of Vengeance: Volume One PDF

lol :)

--

okay i have to go back to studying for exams. let me know if i missed anything.

COPYRIGHT YOUR BOOKS.

okay cheerios bye!

[disregardcanon]

this probably seems like a weird question from your end,but why do fanfic writers care so much about comments? aos already tracks hits and likes, sorry ""kudos"", so why are comments such a big deal to the point that people will stop writing?

okay, so i'm going to take this question very seriously and i promise it's not to make you feel bad. this is a comprehensive explanation of reasons that comments are important for me, both as a writer and as a reader

engagement vs numbers game

seeing trends

buy-in

community building

engagement vs numbers game

let's look quickly at two different fics of mine. this is the kudos count for a fic called Of First Kisses and Burnt Lips

it's old. it's been up on ao3 for almost 11 years now. 258 people liked it enough to leave a kudos, 12 people liked it enough for a bookmark, and it's been clicked on 3,859 times.

i have no clue what almost any of these people on ao3 THINK about it. beyond "huh. sure. i'll kudos that". compare this to its crosspost on ffn, where i got 5 reviews

3/5 mention it being cute. 3/5 give appreciation to me for taking the time to write it. 2/5 praise the writing itself from the attention to detail with grammar to the craft. 1/5 is an "um..." which is hard to decipher but appreciate and 1/5 is a silly reaction, but it's a reaction! look, someone felt a felling reading my thing! that made me giggle!

looking at the stats here from a purely numbers perspective, my fic DID better on ao3. it got a lot more kudos than it ever got faves or reviews on ffn. but those ffn comments are still what i think about when i remember this fic.

sure, a shear number like hits or kudos can be comforting and motivating. i'm definitely not telling you to NOT leave kudos! but the fics that i've come back to, recently, are the ones where i don't have a lot of kudos but i do have a few people who are invested in the stories and leaving comments to tell me

2. seeing trends

lets look at a few of the comments on my fic The Maid of Honor Made Them Do It

so just in these two comments, we see both commenters hone in on the same detail: my choice to include a special christian music playlist that this characters' friends made for her. a few other people in this thread mentioned that same detail, so i know this bit really worked well! it's great feedback that lets me know that a good chunk of readers agree with my characterization here.

these readers zoom in on specific details that they really liked! things that made them laugh, the absurdity of the concept, enjoying reading it, and that they could see it staged, which is a HUGE compliment for a work in a fandom for theater.

i've always had trouble with imaging where characters are in a space, how they're occupying it and moving, and how to use that for characterization purposes. however, i got more than one comment on this fic about how people could see it staged! that means that i'm improving in an area that i've always struggled with. that's huge. it makes me want to keep working on this thing! it makes me feel like what i'm doing here matters, because lots of people are picking up on similar things! they're invested enough to give me a comment! and it makes me want to keep writing for the hatchetfield fandom because some people are invested in my work here. that is BIG! seeing trends in the way that readers experience your story helps a lot with writer buy-in for a project and also for writers self-analysis.

as a commenter: this helps me JUST as much. when i really dig into what i enjoyed about a fic to tell the writer about it, that helps me analyze and articulate the strengths and things i might want to take away from the storytelling, and that makes my writing better too!

3. buy-in

this is a comment on a series that has less than 100 kudos across three fics, but has thoughtful, appreciative comments on each work. it's called Melting Pot

the commenter deleted their ao3 account. they may be one of the people who commented on the next fic, which i posted recently. they might NOT have been! honestly, it doesn't matter that much to me. this person gave me a gentle and nudge about a fic that matters to me and mattered to them at the time, and they were part of the push i needed to get back to it.

from a commenter perspective, i know that hearing a kind word can help someone keep up their motivation to write, even when i can't write in depth comments the way that i like to!

just recently i only had the time to comment "nice update" on a favorite fic of mine called Teeth That Turn. but they know that i come and i read and they know and talk to me by (user)name. because they know i care about this thing they care about! and it's way more fun to do something like this when i know i can chat with the author about theories and thoughts and ideas. and this isn't a "wow aren't i so cool other writers like me! tehehe" bragging thing, it's just evidence for the case of why comments matter?

if i didn't want this to be a two way buy-in, i'd ONLY read published fiction, you know? we're all playing in the sandbox on the playground and i like what they made. they like that i like what they made :) we're scheduling a play date to fight with sticks after school my mom said it's okay!

4. community building

now i know that i just mentioned above here why i like being a commenter and how it helps authors, as well as why i like HAVING commenters as an author. i'm still arguing those things as a lead up to this section, where i have two other points to make about community building here too.

1. you can comment on OTHER comments! if you go through and read to see what other people are saying, you can agree with them. you can add some commentary! sometimes you can make a joke! and i've only ever had fun responses from something like that. authors tend to love that their fics are getting such a response that people are talking to each other about it! like look!!!!!! my thing got you to talk to someone else about it holy shit?!??!

2. commenting on fics in your fandom builds you a good reputation and makes other authors you comment on more likely to read YOUR fic. i'm not going to post any screenshots on this one because it would be embarrassing for everyone involved, but there have been authors that i really admired who gave my stuff a try after i commented on theirs. and they've told me that's why they tried it! like obviously it's not just networking or whatever, but it's really nice to have someone give your stuff a try because you've been enthusiastic and thoughtful about theirs.

and you make friends this way! fandom friends! who want to talk about your blorbos! you get to go on little play dates in cyberspace with cool people who like what you like. you don't ever HAVE to be a writer, of course. if you don't want to throw your hat into the ring or make art or edits or gif sets or anything, that's cool. no one ever has to participate in fandom outside of their comfort zone! but if you want to, you know that you'll feel more welcomed if you have some people in your corner for it, and making friends in a space, screaming about how much you love the characters you love, and remembering that fic authors especially are just fans too will help you feel like you "deserve" to exist in the space. maybe you don't write, but you go here too. you've got a space in the fandom and your comments don't have to be, like, perfect literary essays for authors to appreciate them and get a motivation boost from them still existing and us being able to go back to them and go!!! look!!! i don't suck!!! this person liked what i did so i'm okay! :)

[transmutationisms]

hey ! i was wondering if you had any thoughts on dissociative identity disorder or more specifically the "theory of structural dissociation" that says DID is 'caused' by going through heavy dissociation-causing trauma before the ages of ~9, (that number might be different depending on who you ask, i've seen 6--12 as well) which causes a fractured sense of self due to not having an integrated personality until ~9+ and experiencing disruptions to the development/integration due to the trauma+dissociation/amnesia. the whole theory feels a little silly to me, but it seems to be the only largely accepted one? how do we know a personality is integrated around age 9, what even is a 'personality' in this context–how do we measure/define that, what is considered integrated vs not integrated, etc. there's just a lot that seems to rely on assumptions and norms and doesnt make sense to me. and almost all of it falls apart when you consider the 'culturally normal' forms of multiplicity that cannot be diagnosed bc they are typical within a culture or community, but multiplicity is still being experience regardless. ie: if meeting the TOSD's terms is the way multiplicity is developed according to clinical perspective, how do ppl in cultures where multiplicity is a norm develop it? what abt ppl who develop multiplicity later in life, after the age of supposed identity/personality integration?(in the DID community, they largely just say these people aren't real or are incorrect about what they think theyre experiencing or have experienced–often a trauma history is superimposed on the subject and told 'you DO have trauma, you just can't remember it bc of your condition). the theory only (and barely) seems to make sense in a vaccum. yet the DID community seems really strict about adhereing to this theory. my thought is that its a very 'validating' (see, my trauma is bad enough, it was *so* bad and occured at *such* a young age that it literally fractured my entire psyche/sense of self/personality/whatever--proof!) theory so many who have been through complex trauma cling to it as some sort of evidence of their hardships and validation of their reactions, and any other theories feel 'invalidating.' i think DID (and more broadly all multiplicity) has long been a highly stigmatized and debated condition in psych circles, it is way outside the norm of what is considered allowable or even sometimes possible, and this has caused the definition and cause of the condition to become stricter and narrower to rationalize and 'corral' it in a sense, which is validating and ?possibly helpful? to the ones who can meet that criteria, but fails and punishes those who cannot but may still be living with some kind of multiplicity. ntm the founders of the theory all have a bit of controversy for patient abuse, i think that's relevant but often goes dismissed. i'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject and the broader treatment and discussions of multiplicity from a psych abolition perspective.

sorry for any typos/grammar errors!

so in terms of professional discourse i think what we see more accurately is that definitions of 'dissociative' (not really a defined term itself lol) conditions were broader and tended to get described under different diagnostic umbrellas (including sometimes hysteria) before the schizophrenia diagnosis was reframed in biomedical terms in the early 20thc. then schizophrenia is redefined and widened in a few ways throughout the century, and many psychiatrists turn out to really prefer dxing schizophrenia, which is like a professional concept that comes from them, over dxing (old terms for) DID, which has long been associated with sideshow and medical demonstrations like hypnosis, & is depicted as sensational and splshy in pop culture and often learned about that way.

in the 90s there was a brief boom in anglo medical literature about DID but in truth i would not say it has ever been an uncontroversial dx among The Professionals. generally more of the psychiatric field thinks this is iatrogenic/culture-bound performance-interpretation of distress than thinks it is a traumagenic disease and i think that has largely always been true & will probably always be true as long as they are working off professional diagnostic schemata that have other, more 'scientised' descriptions of 'dissociative' presentations to funnel patients into. you see you can certainly get psychiatrists to challenge their own field but they have to believe that they're excising a diseased little local bit in order to legitimate the whole. they try to do this when anyone mentions the chemical imbalance theory too and they act like they all obviously already know it's bunk and they weren't just personally hawking it to you five seconds ago because they do Science doncha know.

as far as DID itself yeah i basically agree with what you've said about multiplicity. i wouldn't exempt this dx from anything i've said re: psych in general. there's nothing magically more pre-discursive or pre-social about it.

[octopodeez]

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐨 + 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚

Feat. Robin and Nami

⚔️Zoro - Accidental instagram fitness influencer. He posts essentially the same shirtless mirror selfie in the same pose every day and everyone flocked to him. Hasn’t even posted a video of him working out, he’s just that jacked and hot. Only on instagram. Captions are three words at most and always end with “#gym”. Doesn’t know your vs you’re (Sanji corrects his grammar in the comments every time).

🍖Luffy - Chaotic streamer/mukbanger/memelord. Other Straw Hats collab w him a lot especially his roommate Zoro who is always passed tf out in the background of his streams. Has the most followers out of everyone combined.

💛Sanji - Slutty cook who spanks dough when he’s kneading it and all that shit. Zoro comments “yuck” on every post.

🌸Robin - Seeks out factually incorrect videos about historical events/ancient cultures and rips them apart. Her video essays are at least three hours long each with super professional production quality. People shit themselves if they see she has stitched a TikTok bc they know it means they’re getting dragged through the dirt. She has a deep hatred for that ~yo ho hoist the colors high~ song every fucking ocean TikTok uses.

🍊Nami - Travel influencer who has deals with every luxury brand ever. Venmo handle in her bio. Thrown hands with everyone in the makeup influencer community at least twice.

Bonus: Zoro and Sanji are always shit talking in each others’ comments. Entire accounts are made dedicated to speculation about whether or not they’re secretly dating (they are).

[yourwitchygoblin]

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ What is tarot? ♥

Hey guys so sorry for not updating I kinda was going through some things and now that school break has started and I'm a few days in I'll be compiling a bunch of posts on my two accounts to then schedule out so that they can be uploaded in a timely manner

Anyways hope you guys find this helpful!!

Tarot is one of the most well-known forms of divination, or the practice of seeking insight through spiritual or intuitive means. It uses a deck of structured cards to explore questions, situations, emotions, and potential paths.

Let’s break it down:

🃏Tarot Basics🃏

A traditional tarot deck has 78 cards:

22 Major Arcana cards, which reflect big themes, lessons, and turning points

56 Minor Arcana cards, which deal with everyday events, thoughts, feelings, and challenges

Minor Arcana are split into 4 suits (like playing cards):

Wands – Passion, creativity, energy

Cups – Emotions, relationships, intuition

Swords – Thoughts, conflict, communication

Pentacles – Career, home, material life

Each card has a meaning—and those meanings can shift based on the question, the position in the spread, or even whether it’s upright or reversed.

💡So What Is It For?💡

People use tarot for a bunch of reasons:

Self-reflection

Gaining clarity on a situation

Exploring possibilities

Spiritual guidance

Working with deities or spirits

Creative inspiration

Journaling prompts

Fun and curiosity!

It’s not about predicting the future with 100% accuracy—it’s more like holding up a mirror and seeing what comes up.

🌟Tarot vs Oracle Cards🌟

Tarot and oracle cards are not the same thing, though they’re both tools for divination.

Tarot follows a set structure (Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, suits, etc.)

Oracle decks have no standard format—each one is different depending on the creator’s design.

Think of it like this: 🔮 Tarot is like learning a language with grammar rules. 🌈 Oracle is like free-form poetry.

Both are valid, powerful, and can even be used together!

🛠️Last Notes for Beginners🛠️

You don’t have to be psychic to use tarot

You can read tarot for yourself

It’s okay to use guidebooks and notes when learning

There’s no “one right way” to read—intuition plays a big part

You don’t need to be a witch or follow a specific path to read tarot

Whether you’re using it for spiritual connection, decision-making, or just exploring your own mind—tarot is a beautiful and flexible tool. Trust yourself, take your time, and let the cards speak.

[cripplecharacters]

oh yeah another question abt intellectual disability: what do people with moderate id speak like? i assume they wouldnt be perfectly articulate but i know making them talk like cavemen would be bad too. i do want it to be clear that they have language difficulties, but im not sure how to do that realistically. so what kinds of grammar errors are actually common? would it make sense to have them mix up words with similar pronunciation, or have difficulty discerning the differences in implications between words with similar meanings (like "pretty" vs "attractive")? do people with id ever 'imagine context' the way people(well, me) do when half-asleep where the brain mishears a statement as something completely unrelated? would spatial and situational awareness be impaired? also this is kind of a different question but if you can give advice on what to do with game mechanics for an id character in an rpg, that would be nice! i already have the stats figured out for every character and theres no stat that i think would be strongly affected by id but in terms of depicted fighting style and other mechanics maybe thered be some stuff informed by it (i cant do anything too complex though, im using rpg maker vx ace). idk! im spitballing here. main thing i need to know is how to write dialogue for a character with id ^_^

Hey, we have a post somewhat about this that you might find useful, I'll try to go over the other questions below.

Keep in mind my ID is mild (and on the milder side of that) so my answer will be all second-hand knowledge from talking to people with moderate ID in my SPED years.

A lot of it will depend on what condition causes they have. People with Williams syndrome have very “normal” verbal skills majority of the time, and you can't really tell in my experience. On the other hand if they're autistic you can potentially guess from the tone of the voice e.g. they speak in a very loud and monotone way. People with Down syndrome are very likely to have a speech disorder, someone with cerebral palsy might slur their words, etc.

A lot of people with ID might be less talkative than your average person (there's definitely exceptions). So your character could use shorter sentences, simple sentences (in the grammar sense), prefer to use other forms of communication for things that don't require speech (e.g., nodding instead of saying “Yes, I agree”, or doing a thumbs up, etc.), or have to be prompted to actually answer/take part in the conversation.

I personally don't recall ever hearing the “mixing words with similar pronunciation” in someone's actual speech, maybe unless they learned the language from reading rather than hearing it. If that's the case, then ID could affect their speech more than if they didn't have it, otherwise I'd assume that the character might have brain damage or is maybe hard of hearing and simply mixes them up because they can't recognize/hear the difference between them.

Mixing words based on specific meaning makes much more sense in my opinion (probably because I do that myself). Synonyms or words that might make sense in one context but not the other are the worst. Your example here is great. When someone has ID they might take away the wrong meaning out of a word and use it incorrectly because of that. E.g., their parents used to take them camping to a forest with lots of bugs, they don't like bugs, they can later call something “foresty” to mean “with lots of bugs” even if it doesn't have much to do with an actual forest. This might make more sense for a character with more severe ID (or if they're just young) but using “attractive” when you'd normally say “pretty” makes sense for someone with moderate ID in my opinion.

Something that can also affect speech of someone with ID is word repetition. Not really in the echolalia sense (though it can be that too) but just using stock phrases that get repetitive over time. I try to edit it out from my posts, but you can still kinda see it. For some people it will be ending most sentences with the same word, for someone else it will be starting two paragraphs with the same three words without realizing even though they're right next to each other or overusing “maybe” and “if” to start sentences.

As for the “imagining context” while mishearing something, I'm not sure if I know what you mean by it, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I don't do it.

Situational awareness is definitely impacted for all people with ID but to different degrees. I don't know if it's part of the diagnostic criteria, but it might as well be. When the person's ID is mild it might look like someone who's just kinda unaware of what goes around them, maybe don't recognize that they're doing something that could end up badly. The more severe the intellectual disability the more obvious it is, the person might elope (wander off) and not be able to find their way back, not be able to use cooking utensils safely because they don't recognize the risks in real time (not really in the “not realizing that the knife is sharp” way if they have moderate ID, more like “not realizing that you need to be careful when putting things on hot oil, or you can get burned”), assuming that people are automatically safe to be around, things like that.

Spatial awareness doesn't affect everyone, but one of the biggest comorbidities of ID is dyspraxia, which does affect it a lot. There are people with mild ID with severe dyspraxia, and severely ID people with no dyspraxia. It varies.

Unfortunately I have never played any RPGS, and I'm not really familiar with the mechanics. Here's an old ask about intellectually disabled characters engaged in combat, hopefully it's useful?

If you want some real-life resources for hearing how intellectually disabled people talk, I really recommend this playlist. It's a bunch of interviews with people with Down syndrome and you can see that they're all very different from each other despite having the same disability.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[slayingfiction]

Masterlist

Tips, Tricks, and Advice

These are things I have picked up over the years. I am by no means an expert, and I will forever continue my learning journey, so these are simply something for you to keep in mind, and hopefully they help. If there is anything incorrect please let me know ASAP so I can update the post.

Basics

Just Starting Out

Conceptualizing A Story

Plotter VS Pantser

5 Narrative Writing Types

Story Elements

3-Act Story Structure

5-Act Story Structure

7-Act Story Structure

Writer’s Life

To Those Starting Out

Sparking Your Writing Fire

When I’m Not in the Mood to Write

Storytelling Craft

Character

Character Flaws

Character Deaths in Storytelling

Worldbuilding

What is Worldbuilding?

Weaving the Story

Crafting the Perfect Opening

Writing Craft

Foundation

Story Pacing

Writing Cliffhangers

Diversify Your Writing

Vibrant Alternatives for Movement

Dialogue

Mastering the Art of Dialogue

Using Dialogue Tags

400+ Dialogue Tags

Grammar

That VS Which

Sentence Structuring

Parallel Construction

Integrating Realism

Body Functions

Body Pain: Basics

Body Pain: Headaches

Communication

Conlang: Creating a Fictional Language

Nonverbal Communication: Proxemics

Emotions

Feelings Wheel

Editing and Publishing

Editing Process

Preliminary Editing

Self-Evaluating and Refining Your Writing

Types of Professional Editing

Developmental Editing

Structural Editing

Line Editing

Copy Editing

Proofreading

Weak Words to Cut

ARC (Advanced Reading Copies)

Beta Readers

Questions to Ask Your Alpha and Beta Readers

Publishing

Literary Agents

Traditional Publishing

Extra-diegetic

Crafting the Perfect Title

Original Writing

These are my own original writings. Each post will have the genre stated at the top, and they will be further separated into categories below. Be sure to let me know what you think!

In The Beginning

In the Great Beyond

It’s a Magical Life After All

In the Wake of Spies and Assassins

The Guardian’s Oasis

Living is Hard Enough

Writing Prompts

Inspired by the song Karma by T Swift

[shyfoxsky]

Label Rankings!

Been seeing this trend make the rounds on here so I thought I'd give my list. I'm going to be considering myself a fox here for simplicity, since I'm still questioning.

Therian - 9/10 I like this label, it's the one I've been using for myself since I awakened, but it loses a point because of the connotation it comes with. I've never once met someone IRL who knew this word beforehand and had a positive opinion on it, and that's only gotten worse with TikTok. If this label was still as obscure and unknown to the general public as it was years ago, it'd easily be a 10.

Otherkin - 6/10 I simply don't feel like this label fits me. I tend to associate it more with non-earthen creatures as identities, even though I know it's an umbrella term. Plus I also just don't like how known it is, similar to Therian. I'm too scarred by all of the YouTube videos badly explaining what Otherkin is back in the 2010s specifically to make fun of people.

Alterhuman - 8/10 I'm pretty comfortable with this, it's just not my main label. It doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as Therian does for me. I like using this as an updated umbrella term and to connect with the community.

Nonhuman - 7/10 It fits, its good, gets the point across, and most people don't think about the community when they hear this word, so it's easier to get away with, but I also don't like it as much as Alterhuman for that reason. Not bad, just not my favorite

Human - 3/10 I can use it, I consider myself human enough to not be super upset when it's used for me, but it just sounds so pretentious. "You know you're a HUMAN, right?" I can only hear this and think of middle schoolers online having to use a restrictive word to avoid me just swerving their comment through grammar loopholes.

Animal - 9/10 Similar to human in that it's just awkward to say sometimes, but yes, I am an animal, thank you for noticing. I love calling myself an animal in front of people and then using the whole "well, humans are technically animals" thing to avoid suspicion.

Being/Thing - 7/10 Pretty solid, but also feels a little dehumanizing (for lack of a better word). Like, I guess? But at the same time, there's other terms you could've used. Just feels like I'm being insulted.

Creature - 8/10 Love this one. It gives mysterious cryptid vibes, which is always a plus as someone in the alt community, but though it's similar to animal in that it's easy to use and get away with, I rarely use it since it just really never naturally comes up in conversation.

Person - 9/10 The better version of Human. Love this one. Gives me autonomy and personhood and individuality in a way that works with my nonhumanity. Where Human feels more physical, this one feels more conceptual, and I love that.

Fox/Foxkin - 10/10 Yes please. This is part of my username on most sites so I get called it a lot. Everyone around me accepts it without question and I'm very used to and comfortable with it. It rolls off the tongue well and just sounds pleasing to the ear. I think using the customized label of my species with "kin" at the end vs just Otherkin helps distinguish it and drop prior opinions others might have.

Vixen - 8/10 More obscure than Fox, I rarely get called it, but I like when my mate uses it for me in a complimentary way. It plays into my femininity and nonhumanity at the same time in a good way.

Canine/Vulpine - 5/10 Not bad, nothing wrong with it, just one I rarely hear. I think if someone called me this casually I'd be confused just because if you know I'm one of these, then you know my species, which is also easier to say and remember. I feel like the only time this would apply is if I needed to be called by my genus or family for some reason.