#even alternate spellings with the same pronunciation look wrong

[pisceancryptid]

au ra xaela names are hard

[pricechecktranslations]

someone said that catherine and zellana could be translated like "catorine" or "zelerana"

I’ve written a lot here because this is sort of a pet peeve of mine, so apologies if I’m reacting to things this person never said or believes.

Technically you can spell them however you want because these are names and not nouns, and thus don’t have definite spellings (and mothy hasn’t given any official translations for them as far as I’m aware), but this feels like a misunderstanding of how loanwords and foreign name translations work. They are usually not direct 1-1, “we must romanize it so that our imagined pronunciation (because Japanese is often pronounced slightly differently than a lot of non-speakers think) still fits”.

First, Catherine. The Japanese is “katoriinu”. Now, I can see why some people might argue a more accurate spelling to make the pronunciation clear is “Catorine” or “Katerina” or something like that. But the thing is that a lot of loanword translations are based on precedent--existing spellings for historical figures, for example. Sometimes the Japanese name translation will not come from an English pronunciation, but another language entirely. Sometimes it won’t even sound the same as what it’s being based on because Japanese syllables don’t work like that. And sometimes it’s very old and established, so even though it really doesn’t sound like the word/name it’s based on, it’s just the official way to spell it in Japanese.

All that is to say, when you look up カトリーヌ, you see that it is how many Japanese websites, including Wikipedia, write the name “Catherine”. I won’t say that the others are wrong, because again, there is no official translation, but that doesn’t change the fact that mothy gave her a name that is very very commonly a translation of the name “Catherine”.

Zellana’s name is written in Japanese as “zerarana”, and how I spell it in English is closely linked to how the name of her sister, “eruruka” is translated to Elluka (given that they are sisters). This was an issue with Elluka as well (the whole “Erluka” nonsense, where someone had the audacity to say that mothy, a Japanese man, didn’t know how Japanese worked when it came to translating her name to English).

Japanese has consonant doubling, as I’m sure most people are aware (like ccha, kka, ssha, etc). When it comes to l/r consonants, however, the only way to do this (at least for my understanding) is to double the syllable itself, because it’s pronounced closer to the letter “d” and thus can’t really be extended. This is something I have seen native speakers do from time to time (ex, Otojya from 2Bro was yelling the name of a character named Harry and he pronounced it as “Harurururruiiii!”). So, yes, while it is certainly possible that it’s actually “Zelerana”, I really doubt it (especially because I’m pretty sure it would be written more as “zererana” if that was the intention). I mean, if we’re being strict here, you would write it Zelalana or somesuch. But I imagine this person knows that’s a sillier looking name and less believable as an alternative.

TL;DR Just because you can write them that way doesn’t make it more accurate.

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Came back wrong for Cole

@precious-cosmos-lurks also requested this prompt, but with a different character. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

@badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: came back wrong

Fandom: Ninjago

Character: Cole

Trigger Warnings: major character death, brief suicidal thoughts, self-harm, murder

Spoilers Warnings: this fanfiction is an alternate aftermath of March of the Oni

The ladder snapped.

Jay’s scream ripped out of his throat, eyes wide and arm reaching out, but it was no use. Cole’s body plummeted through the air. Their eyes met, and for a few, sickening seconds, all Jay could hear was his blood rushing and nothing more. Cole’s eyes were wide, wider than Jay’s could have been, but no sound came out of his mouth. The darkness swallowed his body whole, and Jay could only breathe again when he realized that the Bounty was flying away.

Distantly, he heard Kai screaming, arguing with Nya, trying desperately to get her to turn back. He heard Nya, sobbing, telling him that they couldn’t, that they had a responsibility to the people, that it wouldn’t do them any good.

Weakly, Jay made his way up his own ladder, wondering if it would do him any good not to jump.

Kai was trembling, head in his hands. He was on the floor, wailing with such hurt that it made Jay’s heart ache a million times worse. Nya was holding the steering wheel with an iron grip, staring straight ahead despite the tears pooled in her eyes.

The ache numbed, and for a moment, all Jay could feel was stone-cold fury. How dare Nya not go back for Cole? They could have saved him!

As quickly as it came, it dulled. None of them could survive in the darkness, trying to go down there would have only doomed Ninjago as they knew it. On the off chance that the fall hadn’t killed Cole, the darkness would have cursed him anyway. There was nothing they could have done.

This revelation caused a new wave of pain to wash over Jay, dragging him under and drowning him. He fell to the floor beside Kai, shaking. Cole was—he was—the hurt in his chest was too much, he was going to burst, the emotions were too much, how was he going to live?

***line break***

It was only thanks to Garmadon that they’d defeated the Oni. The cloud was gone, the citizens were awake, and—Jay had to know.

He left the first chance he could sneak away, getting to the Ninjago News Station building in record time. He searched the area around the building thoroughly. Outside, there was no trace of the earth ninja, which could only mean he was inside the building, somewhere.

Breath held, Jay entered the news station. Looking up, he saw that the glass portion of the roof was absolutely shattered. He didn’t want to look. If he didn’t look, he wouldn’t know, and in a way, wouldn’t that be better?

He looked. There on the ground, mangled body surrounded in a pool of dark red, was Cole. Shattered glass lay under him, lacerating his skin. Jay swallowed, hesitantly approaching. This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t be, he’d seen Cole just a little bit ago, he was alive, he’d been okay, how could this be happening?

He dropped to his knees beside him, weakly taking Cole’s limp, cold hand in his. No pulse. He didn’t know what he expected.

He squeezed his hand.

“Dammit…” he whispered, tears threatening to spill. “Dammit!”

The feeling was familiar and foreign all at once. He remembered something like this, descending on him like a plague, after Zane died. But something about that was… less real. He’d never seen the body, then. And that specific instance, wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have done anything, then.

But here, today, his best friend’s blood was practically on his hands. He could have — oh, he didn’t know, he could have grabbed his hand, caught him, something!

Thinking about Zane’s death directed his thoughts to Chen’s tournament of elements, which in turn, made him remember Clouse’s spellbook. Which they had.

The cogs in Jay’s mind were turning, a plan forming. He didn’t even know if a proper spell would be in the book, but maybe, even if there wasn’t, he could rest easy knowing he’d done everything possible to fix it.

***line break***

Getting his hands on the spellbook was easier than he thought it would be. It was locked in the same place the Golden Armor had been, which was easily accessible after Garmadon and Lloyd had gone in.

Jay paged through the book, watching carefully for the spell he needed. He hoped beyond hope that it would be there. If it wasn’t… 

Well, he’d figure it out if it got to that point.

“Oh wow…” he whispered, as the spell of his needing finally presented itself to him. He read through the page three times, nearly shaking. Shaking with what? Excitement? Terror? Maybe a dull mix of both.

The others would never, ever approve. That’s why he couldn’t tell them. Hell, he couldn’t even tell Cole. He’d have to convince him that he’d passed out from the pain, or something.

If he didn’t hurry, though, they’d find him doing this, and then they wouldn’t let him go through with it.

The spell called for something the dead person had been connected to, five candles, and the body.

Jay made quick work of collecting these items, nabbing Cole’s sketchbook for the personal item. Cole protected that thing with his life, and he hardly ever let anyone look at his drawings. Jay had to stop himself from looking through it and focus instead on the matter at hand.

He placed the candles in a circle, with the sketchbook inside. Said circle was right next to Cole (whom he’d cleaned up before transporting, because nobody wanted a trail of blood everywhere).

Jay took a deep breath, then began to recite the magic words. He wasn’t sure he was pronouncing them correctly, but when Lloyd had used the spellbook to banish Garmadon, his pronunciation had been pretty trashy, so.

When Jay said the last word, nothing happened, at first. The flames on the candles danced, illuminating Cole’s pale face, but that was it.

For a dreadful moment, Jay was sure that it hadn’t worked.

And then a breeze came from nowhere, flipping the pages of Cole’s sketchbook from cover to cover. The candles’ flames went out.

And then a sharp intake of breath.

Cole, eyes open, sitting up, alive.

Jay couldn’t help himself. He wrapped Cole in a hug, practically jumping on him.

“Never do that again,” Jay sobbed, squeezing Cole tighter.

Cole just buried his head into Jay’s shoulder.

***line break*

“Cole!” The ninja screamed, rushing to him as Jay carefully led him into the Monastery’s courtyard.

They engulfed him in a group hug, all talking over each other.

“What happened?” Lloyd asked once everyone had finally calmed down.

“I… don’t know,” Cole said, looking at his hands. “I remember falling… and then the darkness, I remember it was cold, colder than anything I’ve ever felt… and then I woke up, and Jay was there.”

“I went looking for him.” Jay said, “I needed to be sure. I’m just so glad that you’re alright, Cole.”

“We all are,” Kai agreed, “I don’t know what Jay would have done without you.”

“Oh, like you weren’t broken up over it too.” Jay shot back.

“Indeed,” Sensei Wu said, stepping in. “We are all grateful to see you well, Cole.”

“We need to get you looked at!” Nya cried. Cole didn’t even try to protest as Nya took his hand, guiding him inside, and presumably, to lie down.

Jay didn’t know what he’d been so worried about, nothing had gone wrong in the slightest.

As the days passed, Cole stayed relatively quiet. He talked almost exclusively to Jay, but would talk when someone spoke to him first. Jay was pretty sure it was just because of the shock of death. Not that he knew he’d died.

The other thing was that Cole was growing more and more… well, twitchy. Jay knew a lot about being twitchy, but this was almost excessive. However, Jay was sure it was perfectly normal in a scenario like this. 

The biggest issue, however, was that Cole’s powers weren’t functioning properly. When he called upon them, nothing would happen. When he didn’t call upon them — well, they would practically go haywire.

Speaking of Cole, Jay hadn’t seen him in a while.

Cole liked to train, though, so that would be a good place to start. Opening the door, Jay stepped out into the training yard. Almost instantly, a kind of surreal chill buried itself deep into his bones. Something was wrong.

He could hear… scuffling. He hurried in its direction, then freezing at what he found. Kai, on the ground, Cole practically on top of him, hands wrapped around the former’s throat. Kai was kicking and prying at Cole’s hands, mouth moving like he was trying to scream. No sound came out other than a few choked whimpers. Cole was staring down at him with cold, lifeless eyes.

Jay snapped out of it, sprinting over. He barreled into Cole, knocking him off of Kai. The pair rolled on the ground, then finally got to their feet. Jay stood between Cole and Kai.

“What’s gotten into him?” Kai asked, rubbing at his throat. “I mean, we were training, like regular, and then he just started attacking me! Well, more than training calls for. I’m not above getting a little banged up, but it was like he was trying to kill me!”

Cole just stared at Kai, his face void of emotion. Jay was pretty sure that if there was any kind of look underneath that, it would be a glare.

“Maybe he’s…” Jay racked his brain, trying to come up with a plausible answer. “Having a panic attack! Maybe he started hallucinating or something! Here, I’ll just take him back to his room, you can just, uh, keep training. Oh! And maybe try to keep this quiet, I’m sure that once Cole comes to, he’ll feel really bad.”

With that, Jay grabbed Cole’s hand, leading him back inside. Once they were firmly in Cole’s room, the door shut, Jay pushed Cole onto his bed in frustration.

“What the hell, Cole?”

Cole blinked, but other than that, offered no reaction.

“Why did you attack Kai like that? I mean, I know he can be annoying, but you can’t just try to kill him! What do you have to say for yourself?”

Cole shrugged.

“Cole,” Jay said, trying very hard not to absolutely scream. “I love you, buddy, but you can’t just act out like this. If you don’t take it down like ten notches, somebody’s gonna wanna take a look at you, and then they could find out—” Jay barely cut himself off in time before he could reveal the secret he’d kept so carefully hidden. “That you uh, have been hiding that one injury! On your back, yeah.”

Cole stood, the movement stiff. Jay felt incredibly small, with the expression Cole was giving him.

“You brought me back.” He stated, as if everyone knew. Jay didn’t want to ask how he knew in the first place. “For that, I’ll give you a single warning.” He stepped closer, getting into Jay’s personal space. “Stay. Out. Of. My. Way.”

And with that, he left, leaving Jay shell-shocked. Maybe something had gone wrong after all.

***line break***

It had barely been an hour before Jay heard Lloyd’s weird prepubescent scream. He had a pretty good idea what had caused it.

He rushed to the kitchen, where he was pretty sure the sound originated. He was right.

This time, Cole was slashing at Lloyd with — oh shit was that a knife? Lloyd was blocking him with nothing but a cutting board, growing more frantic with his breathing.

“Jay!” Lloyd yelled, batting at Cole once again. “Do something!”

Cole didn’t look so expressionless this time. There was something in his eyes akin to anger, but not quite.

“Use your powers!” Jay yelled back.

“I don’t want to hurt him!”

On that note, Cole threw the knife, sticking it firmly into the wall, nabbing Lloyd’s shirt with it.

“Cole!” Jay yelled, jumping in front of the boy and throwing his arms out, hoping he would stop. “You need to stop!”

Behind him, Jay could hear Lloyd struggling with the knife, attempting to pull it out. Apparently, Cole had exceptional knife-throwing skills.

Cole full-on growled, shoving Jay to the side with his super strength. Jay slammed into the wall, slumping down to the floor.

“That wasn’t very nice…” Jay muttered, grabbing the counter to help himself stand again.

Lloyd finally yanked the knife free, holding it out at Cole. “I mean it, Cole, stop.”

Cole cracked a smile, but it was anything but friendly. “You think making me bleed will make a difference?” He asked, his voice darker, more sinister than Jay thought he could be capable of. Cole shook his head. “I’ve bled out, Green Bean.” He laughed, as if he’d told some sort of joke. “And if you would hold still, soon you will too!”

“Enough!” Apparently, Sensei Wu’s voice was enough to take Cole’s attention away for just long enough for Jay to hit him over the head with Zane’s favorite frying pan. Cole slumped to the ground.

“Jay,” Lloyd said, his voice low, “get the vengestone cuffs.”

Jay, his skin burning, complied.

They put Cole in the med bay, cuffing him to the bed he lay in. It didn’t take long at all for the remaining ninja to file in.

“He attacked Lloyd?” Kai asked, fists clenched and face burning red.

“I’m fine, Kai,” Lloyd assured, putting a hand on the former’s shoulder.

“No,” Kai shook his head, resisting the urge to bat away Lloyd’s hand. “He attacked you. With a knife! He’s lucky I won’t kill him!”

Jay shrank in on himself, hoping that nobody would notice him.

“He attacked you, too!” Lloyd all but yelled. He exhaled, massaging his temple. “Okay, we all just need to take a minute, okay? Let’s think about this rationally. Cole would never do any of this on his own, so maybe… the Oni! Maybe one is possessing him, or something!”

Jay wrang his hands, staring a hole into the floor. If he didn’t look then he wouldn’t spill.

“I don’t think Oni can do that,” Zane replied, scratching his head.

“Umm…” Jay said, laughing awkwardly. “Sensei, I have a, uh, hypothetical question.” Oh God, why did he open his mouth, again?

Sensei Wu raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue.

“If Cole, you know, happened to like…” he swallowed harshly. “Die… and then someone like, brought him back… would that um… affect anything?”

“Jay…” Lloyd began, eyes alight with a sorrowful fury. “What did you do?”

“I…” he was going to drown under all the shame and guilt, wasn’t he? “I couldn’t just let him… I had to… I… I…” Jay slid to the floor, finding himself unable to breathe. He’d done it to help, he couldn’t just let Cole die, he’d saved him!

“Jay,” Sensei Wu said, kneeling beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I understand why you did it. But you do not know the evil you’ve unleashed.”

“Cole’s not, he’s not, he’s just scared, he’s not dead, I saved him,” Jay whispered frantically, shaking his head back and forth. 

“While bringing lost souls back from the departed realm is not unheard of, it cannot possibly end well. The departed soul ends up damaged beyond repair when you create the tear between the realms; it begins to unravel. The only way Cole can find peace is to send him back.”

This, of course, resulted in an absolute uproar.

Jay couldn’t make out hardly anything his friends were saying, only that they were all yelling over each other. All he could do was bury his face in his hands and try to block it all out.

All at once, everything went silent. Curious, Jay brought up his head. Instantly, he saw the reason why. Cole was awake.

His face was deathly pale, his eyes were dark, and his hair was an absolute mess. It was like the First Spinjitzu Master was trying to drag him back to the Departed Realm himself.

Belatedly, Jay realized that that may have very well been exactly what was happening.

“Cole,” Zane said, taking a step forward, hands held out non-threateningly. “I do not wish to harm you.”

Cole sat very still, hands by his sides. Zane seemed to take this as a positive sign, and continued on closer. As soon as he was within range, though, Cole snapped at him, clawing and growling, much like an angry dog.

Nya yanked Zane back by the elbow with a gasp.

“Sensei…” Nya said, shaking her head. “There must be some other way.”

Sensei Wu looked down sorrowfully. “I’m afraid there is none. Cole must return to the Departed Realm.”

Cole screamed with such utmost rage that it sent Jay scrambling to get farther away from him. He began to yank at the handcuffs with complete disregard for his own well-being, ignoring the red that began to stain his ever-paling skin.

“Cole, stop!” Lloyd yelled, tears in his eyes. Everyone knew that Lloyd couldn’t bear seeing someone he loved being hurt.

This only seemed to make Cole angrier. He slammed his head backwards against the wall, then again, and again.

Zane burst forward, wrapping his titanium arms around Cole. Somehow, it worked. Cole struggled, but Zane was more composed, more determined, and maybe even stronger.

“I cannot bear to see you like this, brother,” Zane whispered. If Cole wasn’t struggling so harshly, it would have been a tender moment.

“Who’s gonna… you know…” Kai asked, arms crossed and slumped against the wall.

“I’ll do it,” Jay said, surprising even himself. “It’s my fault we’re in this situation anyway, so I’ll… I’ll do it.”

“Jay, you don’t have to,” Nya said, but Jay shook his head.

“No, I do,” he said, giving his love a watery smile. “Can you all please just… give us a few minutes?”

After a tense moment, the group agreed. “We love you, Cole,” Lloyd said. “Remember that.”

The others expressed the same opinion, until finally, the only two left in the room were Jay and Cole.

Cole was glaring at Jay with such a hatred that Jay wanted to run and never return. But he had to do this.

“Hey, Cole,” Jay whispered, scooting as close as he could get without being quite within Cole’s reach. “I dunno if you’re even you anymore, but… even if you’re not, I hope you know I love you. So much, Dirtclod, I love you so much.” he wiped his eyes, forcing himself to keep going.

“Hey, remember that time me and you fought over Nya? Heh, that was pretty dumb, huh?” he forced out a bitter laugh. “We wasted so much time arguing, didn’t we? Remember when you sacrificed yourself for me in the tournament? God, that feels like an eternity ago…”

The storm in Cole’s eyes began to calm, somehow.

“And remember when you sacrificed yourself to get the scroll of airjitzu for Lloyd? You were devastated, but we all know you would have done it again. It’s who you are, you know? And remember when—” he cut himself off, belatedly realizing that, technically, the whole Nadakhan thing hadn’t happened in this timeline. “Oh, what the hell. I know you don’t remember this one, buddy, but trust me, it happened. You saved my life. You know that? You saved my life, and if you hadn’t, Ninjago would have fallen. It’s all thanks to you that any of us are alive.”

Cole cocked his head curiously. 

He looked so… innocent.

Jay had never known that something so pure looking could bring so much sorrow. “I love you so much,” he sobbed, not even bothering to wipe his free-flowing tears this time. “You’re my best friend, Cole, you’re my brother. I’m sorry I did this to you.” he swallowed. “I’m so, so sorry… this is all my fault. If I’d just managed to catch you in the first place, I never would have thought to bring you back. I never would have needed to. I don’t know how I’m going to live without you. I don’t know how any of us are going to live without you. God, your dad is going to be so sad…”

“You remember when we were stuck in the First Realm, and you and Little Master Wu had to save me and Kai and Zane from the Dragon Hunters? Did I ever properly thank you for that?”

When Cole offered no response, Jay just continued on. “Well, I mean, thank you. Thank you so much, for everything. I’m sorry, Cole, I really am. I can’t even… God, I can’t even express how sorry I am. I don’t want to do this.”

Cole remained still, for the most part.

Jay decided to risk it, and wrapped his brother in a tight hug.

“I love you,” he muttered.

He took a deep breath, he readied himself, and he allowed his fingers to spark with electricity.

The electricity leaped from his fingers to Cole’s body. He watched as what light there was left in his brother’s eyes snuffed out. He watched as his body hit the floor. He watched as Cole exhaled for a final time.

Jay let out a wail of despair.

[saiilorstars]

The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 10: A Witch’s Secret

// Story Masterlist //

Fandom: The Originals

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

No real warnings for now!

Requested tag: @queenmj10​ 

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: Maleny and Klaus go on a hunt to discover the purpose of Kieran's key. On the other side, Cami and Elijah embark on their own hunt...but for a witch.

A blonde Maleny sat on a lonely tree stump in the middle of the forest. It was dawn out and the wind was light as only small wasps of her long hair seemed to move. Maleny's face was covered in tears, her blue eyes red and puffy from the crying she'd been doing for some time now. But that was all she could do after the awful argument she had with Klaus earlier.

"Little girl?" she heard a woman's voice call to her. Maleny turned her head to both sides for the source of the voice, "Little girl?" a middle-aged woman with long brown hair and brown eyes emerged from the trees.

"I'm not a little girl," Maleny declared as she rose to her feet, "And whoever you are, you need to go or-"

"Or what?" the woman raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face, "You'll use your nonexistent powers on me?"

Maleny eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "H-how did you know that? You're not from the village," she hadn't been able to identify the brunette as someone she recognized.

"I am on my own, child," the woman walked towards her but Maleny quickly moved behind the tree stump. The woman lightly chuckled, "I have not come to harm you, I have come to help you."

"How?"

"I know what Esther Mikaelson has done to you. I believe I can help."

"Why would you want to help? And how do you know what she did?" Maleny remained still, not daring to run for the woman was clearly a witch by the garbs she wore around her neck.

The woman flashed a knowing smile that gave Maleny chills, "The Mikaelsons have made several friends-"

"Enemies," Maleny corrected, the term no where near scaring her, "But those are enemies within the village. You are not from there so how do you know about them?"

"I have family in your village," the woman gave the brief explanation, apparently having no intention to elaborate more, " My name is Lilith, and I would like to help you get back what is yours."

Maleny's seriousness faltered at the reminder of her powers, "I...I can't get them back," she quietly sniffled, "I can never get them back."

"But that's not exactly what you want, is it?" Lilith raised an eyebrow, Maleny too engulfed in her feelings to question the knowledge of the woman, "You want to change who you are - for one of them."

Maleny shut her eyes, stifling another sob, "I just want to turn. But Klaus won't do it. He's too scared or something. And his mother isn't helping either."

"Esther is a selfish woman," Lilith declared, "I have been told all about her and believe me, you are not the first one she's wronged."

"I can imagine," Maleny whispered.

"Her children are in the dark about their mother's action and they believe they are sparing you the monstrosities they have become," Lilith moved for Maleny and came to stop in front of the stump.

Maleny looked up from the ground, "H-how do you know this? How do you know Esther stole my magic?"

"Child, that's not important. What is important is you doing what you want but no one will do."

Maleny frowned, not even realizing she was blurting out her story, "I helped her turn her children under false knowledge and she used it to take my magic..."

Lilith shook her head, "The worst thing a witch can do to her own kind."

Maleny was near tears again, "She's an awful being...but even now I ask her to use my own magic and turn me as well...but she declines."

"There is a way to live on for centuries without being what the Mikaelsons are," Lilith smirked, "There is a way that you will retain your youth, your beauty, and, most of all, your love for all of eternity."

The offer seemed attractive which brought Maleny to ask, "How so?"

"There is a spell, a spell only my hands can conjure. I will gladly help you be what you wish to be."

"And what's the price?"

"Upon granting the spell, your magic will return in bits and pieces, I ask that you allow me and my family to channel that power," Lilith explained, "We are in trouble and we need all the magic we can get. Please, allow me to channel your powers and I will give you what you want."

Maleny glanced back in the direction of the village, the place she knew Klaus was probably waiting for her. They had an awful argument where he explicitly swore to her he would never turn her. What future awaited for them if she would inevitably grow old while he stayed young? Esther had already told her countless times she would never do the spell again. Lilith's way seemed the only alternative that would guarantee an eternal life.

Lilith anxiously waited for an answer, "What do you say? Do we have an agreement?"

Maleny studied Lilith, trying to see anything that would give a motive to distrust. But there was none. Lilith just seemed hopeful, like there was a grand necessity for her. Maleny thought of it as a deal where both of them could win. Lilith would save her family and Maleny would garner immortality.

And so, after carefully thinking it one more time, Maleny held out a hand for Lilith, "I accept," she declared boldly.

Lilith grinned, taking Maleny's hand and leading her away from the stump, "Then we must get started. I promise you everything will change after this."

Maleny shot up in her bed with wide eyes, her mind quickly replaying that dream of the night. The sunlight emitting from the room's window made her realize it was day. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table to see it was noon. She had slept more than intended but what reward she'd gotten then.

She had willingly gone with that woman who had been the 'curser'. Slowly, Maleny reached for her journal on her nightstand and opened it up, reaching for a pen to write down her horrible revelation.

~ 0 ~

Cami was walking down the tomb rows of the cemetery with a small, white notepad in her hand and a pen in the other. After listening to Maleny she had decided to investigate on her own for the moment. There was someone Maleny had wanted to look more into and with everything that had happened lately, Maleny never got the chance. Cami was more than willing to start investigating Emily Cordera. She had been at the cemetery for a good thirty minutes or so looking through the graves until...

Emily Gates Cordera

Loving wife and cherished mother and grandmother

Cami's eyes widened at the name on the tomb. Her hand scribbled down the information on her notepad. While the name didn't match exactly, the dates coincided perfectly with the story Maleny had told her. Klaus was wrong, Emily Cordera did exist. The only question that stood was what had the woman wanted with 'Maya Sterling' in the 20th century? And did she meet Maya?

~ 0 ~

Genevieve was fiddling with a couple herbs in her hands when Cami burst in from the shop doors. Genevieve only had time to raise her eyes when Cami slammed the notepad on the counter, "Emily Cordera, who the hell was she? And what did she do to my cousin?"

"Well...I see someone is up to date with the news," Genevieve laid the herbs on the counter and looked at the blonde with a smirk.

"Maleny told me everything, including your little deal which by the way off. She's a bit hung up on the fact there's a mystery murderer on her trail. You told her about this woman, Emily, for a reason. What was it?"

Genevieve felt like throwing out the human from the shop but she knew by doing that she would anger Maleny and therefore make it impossible to get closer to Klaus and Hayley. And after her new orders from the ancestors, she couldn't risk that. She would have to help Maleny and tolerate her human cousin.

"Emily Cordera was a witch. She had family in New Orleans," Genevieve sighed, "In fact, she married in the city, a warlock of great powers."

"And?" Cami raised an eyebrow, "You were an ancestor and by that logic you know a lot more than you're letting on. What did she want from Maleny?"

"Maya, was a witch, an orphan," Genevieve shrugged and looked around the shop, "She had a couple friends but primarily the Mikaelsons'. Emily came into the city specifically for Maya. She never said what she wanted but after I died I got a little glimpse from the other side."

"Like?"

"Maya's prone, dead body was carried in by some group of witches, one of them Emily. I don't know how they did it but they killed her," Genevieve leaned on the counter with a fake, solemn smile, "and they sacrificed her for power."

Cami was stunned but it didn't fog her actions, "My uncle said something about that before dying. How could he know that Maleny had been sacrificed?"

"The hex placed on him allowed the ancestors to mess with his mind," Genevieve gave a shrug, "Something must have stuck."

"So, wait a minute," Cami rubbed her temple, "You knew all this time and you never said?"

"To be fair, I didn't know Maya and Maleny were the same person. I tended to avoid Maleny."

"Why did they sacrifice her? What did they want?"

"Power, it was an old spell they used," Genevieve honestly tried remembering the words of the spell, "A channeling spell, though. It's used, if I remember correctly, to give a family an increase of power."

"None of this makes sense," Cami whispered as she thought, "Sacrifices? Why did Emily come specifically for Maya? Why not any other witch?"

Genevieve honestly didn't know the answer to that, "I have no idea. You'd have to take that up with the current Cordera generation. Though I assume they knew Maya was the current Maleny in their generation."

"How would they know?" Cami asked more to herself than to Genevieve. How could the people know which woman was their target?

"Well," Genevieve honestly pondered on the question for a minute, "I would say Maleny has to be branded with something to identify her."

"Like I mark," Cami realized then, "Like...like a chained necklace?" what if the perception filter placed on Maleny's necklace had been not to necessarily hide but to identify her as the current prey for the cursers?

"Your studies haven't been in vain I see," Genevieve couldn't help her sarcasm which earned herself a glare from the blonde human.

"Okay, okay," Cami started to think about it again, "So the current generation of the curser lives and is hunting Maleny down by a mark she has to have. Who's the current generation now?"

"I can't remember all of them, some of them married, but I do know one," Genevieve smirked before saying the name she knew would cause chaos within the Quarter.

But by doing this, she would instantly garner trust not only from Maleny, but from the entire Mikaelson family. And if it would allow her to get close to the unborn baby, then so be it.

Let there be blood.

~ 0 ~

Maleny was frantically passing the pages of her mother's spell book, trying to figure out what kind of spell could do what Lilith had promised her all those centuries ago. But with the scarce dream it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, or unfortunately, however he would react, Klaus walked into the study room of the compound. As soon as he saw her frantically looking at the pages, he knew something was wrong, "What are you looking for?" he approached her but didn't sit down.

"I had a dream..." was all Maleny mustered while reading words she could barely comprehend.

"Elaborate, perhaps?"

Maleny released a breath and set the book on her lap, "I had a dream last night...of myself, the original me," she looked up at him, "It appeared we had an argument and I ran into the woods or something where I met this woman, Lilith. She knew me, and she...offered me a deal: the deal I'm pretty sure is what allows me to be here today."

"Changing bodies without remembering," Klaus pointed out and made her frown, making him raise his hands in surrender, "Only saying. The deal wasn't that good."

"Well, I was angry at you, my mind wasn't thinking clearly," Maleny rolled her eyes, "Apparently we had some type of argument, and a big one."

"Ah yes," Klaus remembered that argument with a long sigh. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking ahead, "That was the last time I saw you. And you were so...upset," Maleny noticed a distant look was taking him over, "That was certainly not the way I wanted to see you last."

Maleny looked down at the open book and simply could not help but to ask, "Then how would you have preferred to see me? Old and dead?"

"Maleny," Klaus sighed again, letting his head hang low, "Not this again. Please-"

"Well, it's the truth," Maleny shrugged. She didn't intend to start an argument with him about it but she did want him to see the truth, a truth she had wanted him to see centuries ago.

"Centuries later and you still cannot let it go?"

"Well look at me," Maleny gestured to herself, "What ever I did, I thought was right because no one else wanted to turn me."

"So now this is my fault?" Klaus stood up, easily taking the blame as was the custom. However, with Maleny, it...it was not easy, "It's my fault you disappeared?"

Maleny saw the guilt she was willing to bet had followed Klaus for centuries, starting the day she originally disappeared, "No, I don't think it was your fault," she made sure to voice her thoughts, "I did it out of my own choice. I thought if I did it, then..." she felt awkward saying her next words, "...you and I could be together," she cleared her throat as she felt a warm blush rush in her face, "Forever."

"I wanted that too, Maleny, but I just didn't want you to go through what I had," Klaus sighed, "I didn't want you to suffer."

"I get it," Maleny told him, meaning it, "but because of this I actually chose to take this curse. You know, Maya, Victoria, Cordelia and Valerie told me I chose this path...and that's why I ended up stealing their lives. It may not have been intentional but it was my fault. I have been stealing lives for a very long time now. I'm an awful woman."

On that last accusation, Klaus had to openly disagree, "You are far from that. How can you think that?"

Maleny looked down momentarily, choosing to be honest with him as he deserved to know the important detail she'd also remembered, "Klaus, I remembered that...I helped your mother turn you and your family into vampires..." the knowledge left Klaus stunned, his eyes widening for a minute. Maleny took a deep breath and faced him, expressing her guilt in her eyes, "I don't think Esther told me exactly what she was going to do to you but I know I helped her...and in the process, she took my most of my magic. Genevieve was right, it was stolen. I just didn't think it was your mother."

"That..that doesn't make sense," Klaus said, still processing the grave accusation against Esther, "My mother saw you as one of her own..."

"And she turned her own into vampires," Maleny gently pointed out, "If she treated me like her own then of course she had to hurt me in some way. But that's not what I wanted to tell you, well...it wasn't the most important thing I had to tell you. I want you to know that you turning wasn't all her fault - it was mine too," her eyes began to water up as she continued, "I'm sorry, Klaus. I helped her turn you and hurt you. I'm so sorry!"

"I would never blame you," Klaus immediately took her into a hug, his mind reaching to the conclusion that this was one more thing Esther was responsible for.

"You should," Maleny pulled away enough to look at him, her face now covered with tears, "Because I helped her, me," she pointed at herself, "You trusted me and I let you down."

"No, no," Klaus still insisted and began to clear her tears from her cheeks, "I know you, and I know you would have never done something that you knew would hurt people."

"So..." Maleny sniffled and shakily breathed in, "...you're not...you know...mad at me? Don't want to lock me up somewhere?"

"Never," Klaus said then added, "Well, besides this place," he pointed to the room and made her chuckle, "I still don't want you going out on your own."

"I know," she said quietly, no longer upset about it. She learned that spending time with him hadn't been so bad in the end. It had certainly helped remembering more things of their past.

"How about we take another look at that spell book," Klaus suggested, nodding over to Maleny's spell book, "Now that we know a little more of the spell we can pinpoint one in the book."

"Okay," Maleny sniffled again and looked for the book beside her, "but I tried to on my own and it's not easy. There's a lot of stuff in it."

"Well, now it's us doing the job - and we were always a good team, you know," Klaus smirked at her, making her sheepishly smile back, "And, if we can't find it, we could always call your little witch friend. Sure she'll love to hear me asking for help."

"Maybe if you asked nicely," Maleny joked with him and grabbed her book, putting it on her lap, "she would gladly accept."

"Yeah, we'll see," Klaus scooted closer to see the pages, having no intention of asking Davina Claire for something in a 'nice' way.

~ 0 ~

Elijah was confused as he stood in front of a gravestone with the name 'Emily Cordera' carved into the headstone. He, frankly, had a lot to do and so receiving a call from Cami practically demanding to meet with him wasn't a very pleasing task. He could start with the fact witches weren't very content with having a vampire, an Original, standing in the one territory they could call their own. Thankfully, he could see Cami coming from across the row, though her expression wasn't the usual, cheerful one she commonly bore. But nowadays, what other face could anyone have?

"Thanks for coming here," was the first thing Cami said when they stood only feet away from each other, "I know this wasn't, um..."

"My first choice?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, "No, of course not. Any other place would've been good, but then again...you didn't exactly leave time for me to make a suggestion."

Cami didn't look the least bit ashamed of the hurried call she'd given to earlier, "I'm sorry. But I knew that if I told you what I know in the compound, Klaus would certainly hear and then, well...bloodshed would happen," the words made Elijah tense a bit, mostly because he knew Cami wouldn't go to such measures for nothing, "Plus, I thought you would need concrete proof," she looked at the gravestone.

"What is it, Cami?"

"This woman," Cami gestured to the gravestone, "is responsible for Maya Sterling's death in the 20th century."

Elijah glanced at the tombstone, once again confused, "That is impossible. Maya died the day we fled the city. My father killed her."

"You think that's what happened," Cami corrected, "But the truth is Maya didn't die that night. And I have a witness: Marcel. He said that Maya gasped back to life and a couple days later she went missing," all of that was new to Elijah, and with that came doubt.

"Well, Marcel isn't quite the best source of history," he pretended to dust off something from his fingers, "I'm sure you've heard of the attack he caused a couple days ago."

"Yes, but this was before you threw him out of the city," Cami explained, "This was him trying to protect me from what he considered a threat, Maleny. Maya survived your father's attack but she didn't have the same luck with this woman, Emily."

"Cami, all this is-"

"Please," Cami raised a hand and stopped Elijah from continuing, "Just...hear me out, okay? I'm a psychologist, well, getting there, but I'm sure I've cracked something," Elijah nodded and motioned for her to keep going. Cami took a breath, "Emily Cordera, along with her family, sacrificed Maya for power. She killed Maya somehow, knowing just the way for Maya to actually die. But you know what gets me the most? Is how did Emily decide/know Maya would be the witch to be sacrificed? Maleny's been branded with some sort of recognizable mark that allows the enemy to know she's the target - her chained necklace that belongs to her mother. She had to have had it on her in the past, hidden to you all except for the cursers which would then explain the times where she disappeared. She disappeared because the enemy took her to be sacrificed for power..."

"You've certainly got the makings of a psychologist," Elijah concluded after several moments of silence had gone by, "Tell me now, how did you gather this information?"

Cami knew the answer would spark doubts but she still went ahead and said it anyways, "Genevieve told me something and then I put it together."

"What? And you believed that woman?" Elijah stepped forwards, already irritated this seemed like a loss of time.

"I know she isn't a reliable source but I studied everything she told me and it checks out," Cami assured, "She was telling the truth. My theory could be correct, and if it is then that means Maleny is in serious danger."

Elijah had to admit that explanation would fit perfectly with the two attempted murders Maleny had endured. He just couldn't figure out why Genevieve would be so gracious to tell the truth all of a sudden.

"There's one more thing," Cami said quietly, garnering his attention fast, "Genevieve told me the current living Cordera generation..."

"Who?"

"Now look, just because he's part of the family doesn't mean he could have anything to do with it," Cami said first which alerted Elijah and frankly left him suspicious, "It's...Riley. His name is Riley Dawson Gates...Cordera. Emily Cordera was his grandmother - great grandmother or something."

"Do you mean to tell me that, perhaps, all this time the murderer was right under our noses? In our home?" Elijah was horrified to learn he had been that careless...and that Klaus could've been right this whole time.

"Like I said, we don't know if he has anything to do with it," Cami pointed in reminder, "Plus, Maleny said that Riley wasn't even there the two times something happened."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have gotten one of his little friends to do the dirty work," Elijah pointed out, his agitation of himself growing more and more, "Or, that he hid to do the crime."

Cami suspected he would be going into some type of attack sooner or later, making her panic, "I called you because I would think that between you and Klaus, you would be the brother with the least chances of murder."

"Smart move," Elijah remarked and studied her a moment, "We have to tell them..."

"But the first thing Klaus will do is kill that poor guy," Cami crossed her arms, "My theory isn't 100% correct. I don't want Maleny mad with me because I made Klaus kill her friend."

"But Riley is part of the Corderas', meaning we have to pay extra close attention," Elijah countered with, "I believe I can convince my brother to hold off on his actions..."

"You can make him not kill Riley?"

"Oh no, that man's dead either way," Elijah shook his head, surprising Cami with his bluntness, "But we can do this in a smart way, one that'll give us information on how to help Maleny. But first thing's first, Maleny can't know about Riley. I fear her appreciation for him will cloud her judgement."

Cami nodded in agreement, "Okay, but if he turns out to be innocent he's not going to die," she warned, "Just because his grandmother was bad doesn't make him bad as well."

Elijah smiled, "Camille, when you've lived as long as I have, you come to learn the phrase 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' is almost always true."

Cami tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "But your parents weren't exactly 'parents of the year' and I don't think you're all that bad. Maleny's father was also a horrible man and she's the complete opposite. Sometimes, the bad things in life can make you kind."

Elijah's smile grew a little more and gave her a nod of agreement, accepting his loss, "Indeed. Shall we get to work, then?"

"Yes," Cami replied quick and turned to walk off, Elijah moving right behind her.

~ 0 ~

"Nothing," Maleny snapped shut her mother's spellbook with a loud thud and rose from the couch, "We searched through the whole damn book and there's nothing!" she let the book drop to the cushion and walked in frustration towards the threshold.

Klaus reached for the book and opened it up again, skimming more pages, "Then we'll have to go through Esther's," he proposed but that only opened up a whole other mess with Maleny.

"Sure," she turned around, crossing her arms, "right after you take it back from Genevieve," she was still mighty irritated Esther's spellbook had been relinquished to the ginger witch after she'd saved Maleny.

"Mal, I understand you're frustrated but I could use a little less of it towards me," Klaus gave her a look and shut the book again.

"That's what you do all the time," Maleny accused and turned away, taking a breath to start calming down, "We need something else because simply looking for the spell isn't doing much."

"I agree," Klaus stood up and left the book on the couch, "Any suggestions?"

Maleny bit her lip as she began thinking, "Well..."

Klaus knew a plan had formed inside the brunette's mind and immediately pressed for the details, "What are you thinking of?"

Maleny turned around, "Before uncle Kieran died he gave me this key. I told him he should've given it to Cami but he said it was more adequate for me," she gestured to herself, "and then he added it was for 'my kind'."

"So this key has something to do with the witches," Klaus couldn't help but be irritated that he was just finding out about this, "Do you think they're...weapons? Or..."

"I don't know," Maleny shrugged, "but maybe we can find out today - if you're willing to lift my lockdown that is," she added innocently.

"Well," Klaus swayed his head in the manner that Maleny knew would soon be telling her 'no'.

"No, no, don't do the 'well' thing," she waved a hand to stop him, "Whenever you do the 'well' thing it always means 'no' for me. Now, I'm not gonna give you the key if I don't get to go," she warned.

"Alright," Klaus agreed rather easily, figuring he wouldn't be getting far without her assistance anyways, "But," he was quick to lay down the rules, "you stay within my eyesight and hearing at all times."

Maleny rolled her eyes but agreed with the terms, "Yeah, okay."

"Do you know where to start, then?"

"...no," she admitted and rubbed her neck, "Kieran didn't get to tell me what it opened exactly. And Cami doesn't know about any of this so let's not go asking her," she turned and left the living room, heading for her own room.

Klaus was right behind her, and asking the questions that Maleny preferred not to get into, "Why exactly doesn't she know about this key?"

"Um...because I thought it was best not to tell her right now?"

"And you think that'll end well?"

Maleny stopped beside her bedroom door and gave him a look, "Look, I don't know what this key will open. If it's dangerous I don't want her to get hurt. So, please, can it just stay between us until we see what's on the other side?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded and relieved Maleny from her fear. With a small smile, Maleny hurried into her room to retrieve the key for their task.

~ 0 ~

Riley was coming out of a cafe shop holding a drink in hand when he stopped by to chat with a young woman. Across the street, unbeknownst to him, were Elijah and Cami. The two were hidden by the passing people but had a perfect view of the young warlock.

"Okay, so maybe I was wrong about this theory," Cami admitted after a while. They had followed Riley for a good two hours and all the man had done was go into a library and then the shop.

"Patience is a virtue, Camille," Elijah reminded, earning a mock-glare from her. With the two hours passing he had enough time to really think about the idea of Riley being a secret enemy. It made a sense when one really looked into the matter. Riley had arrived a near month before the attacks had started against Maleny. Whenever the attacks occurred, he wasn't there.

"Yeah, or maybe I was wrong," Cami insisted, nervously looking at the warlock across the street.

"Or perhaps you wish it to be so, so that Maleny never has to find out about any of this," Elijah said rather smugly, having known that from the moment they started.

Cami swallowed hard, "Well, I'm not gonna lie and say that wouldn't be nice. Maleny really likes this guy and he's done nothing but help her and even me with our uncle."

"A patient enemy knows when to attack at the right moment," Elijah explained to the young psychology student, "A smart enemy gets close to their target, earns their trust and learns about them."

"She's going to be crushed if this is true," Cami sighed.

For a minute, Elijah looked away from Riley to see Cami, "Do you know if Maleny...has feelings for this man?" Cami's eyes snapped to his in an instant, "I don't intend on telling my brother," Elijah clarified, "I simply want to know where he stands with Maleny."

"Well, does Klaus still have feelings for her?" Cami countered with, unable to help smirk when Elijah remained quiet, "Why should I answer your question if you can't answer mine?"

Defeated, Elijah returned his focus to Riley, "Touche," he said in the end, surprising Cami and frankly himself. It wasn't often a human could outmatch him in words.

Riley had ended his conversation with the woman and moved down the block.

"He's moving, let's go," Elijah said and trailed after Riley with Cami alongside him.

~ 0 ~

Klaus led Maleny into the cemetery and strode down the row of graves. Maleny had the key stuffed in her bag in case Francesca Correa was still looking for it. She didn't want any of the goons of the woman to swipe it off her without knowing.

"You know something interesting about the O'Connell's?" Klaus asked and stopped in front of the O'Connells' tomb area.

"Um, they've surprisingly managed to procreate despite the fact they've lived among your kind?" Maleny looked at him with a teasing smile.

Klaus rolled his eyes at the comment and continued on like she hadn't even answered, "Cami's twin brother never had a proper funeral unlike the rest."

Maleny looked down, "I know, I remember that. They had him buried out with the criminals and the John Does of the city. Cami's parents wanted nothing to do with him anymore."

"Kieran was a smart man and if he wanted to hide something without ever having to worry about it being found out he had the perfect location," Klaus smirked as Maleny wondered just where the location was.

And then she got it.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, her mouth forming into an 'o'.

"There we go," Klaus took her by the arm and led her across the cemetery, coming to stand before Sean's grave.

"I feel bad about this..." Maleny remarked when Klaus acquired a sledgehammer on their way to the grave, "...disturbing the dead..."

"Well, the good thing about the dead is they don't tend to feel anything anymore," Klaus gave a shrug, "Especially when they're normal ole humans."

"I sure hope there's nothing dangerous behind the door because someone's gonna have to explain to Cami why her brother's grave had been broken into."

"I'll leave that to you, love," Klaus was quick to say.

"Oh, and what are you gonna do then?"

Klaus gestured to the sledgehammer he held, "I'm the muscle!" and with that he slammed the hammer to the grave.

In the end, they managed to retrieve a box from the grave. Klaus handed it over to Maleny who quickly tried using the key on it.

"There's nothing," Klaus frowned at the empty box after it was opened.

"Hold on," Maleny brushed some dust off the lid of the box, allowing them both to see a carved code, "I remember this. It's from my implanted memories."

"Can you read it?" Klaus curiously asked her, hoping their plan wasn't over already.

"Yeah, I think so," Maleny looked at the box more carefully, "Kieran taught it to Sean who then showed it to Cami who then...showed it to me. This was supposed to be opened by a true O'Connell," she sighed, "Instead an outsider - a witch with barely any magic - broke into a grave for it."

"Let's skip the whole ordeal of you feeling guilty, shall we?" Klaus took the box from her and took a look at the code himself.

"Sorry I feel guilty," Maleny crossed her arms.

"Sort of used to it, love. It's one of your traits that allowed me to see when you were lying to me," Klaus smirked at her which only made her roll her eyes.

"Well tough because I'm a far better liar now," Maleny snatched the box from him and stuck her tongue out, feeling much like a child but she didn't really care, "Now c'mon, we have somewhere else we need to go to."

~ 0 ~

The code in the box had been an address which led Maleny and Klaus to an apartment complex. Thankfully, the owner had been more than willing to show them to an apartment that apparently belonged to Kieran. After the owner left them to see the apartment, the two started looking around but were mostly disappointed.

"I think you can safely show this to Cami," Klaus shot Maleny a look from the kitchen, unimpressed with the destination of their travel.

Maleny refused to believe this was what Kieran wanted Cami to have had after his death. She sighed, "There has to be more to it."

Klaus continued to look but couldn't really see anything beyond a dusty old apartment, "Perhaps you read the code wrong," he then suggested.

"Word of advice, never tell me I got something wrong," Maleny sarcastically said and walked over to a closet, "I believe that's how you and I got into plenty of arguments in the past."

"That's also because half of the time you were wrong," Klaus reminded and turned to see her looking into the closet.

"And the other half I was right," Maleny didn't fail to point out then pretended to think, "Hm, you weren't the best of boyfriends sometimes."

"Mal," Klaus' voice took a sharp edge, "I hardly think this is the time to point out faults in our past relationships."

"They were your faults," Maleny said casually as she noticed a panel in the back wall of the closet, eyeing the bright yellow duct tape that marked an 'X' on it, "Your ideas weren't always good."

"Are you kidding me?" Klaus walked over, huffing at her accusation.

"Let's remember how our most recent date turned out, shall we?" Maleny teasingly looked back at him, "I was nearly murdered and your friend, Marcel, had other humans murdered that same night."

"Mal!"

"Oh hush," Maleny waved a hand at him then promptly pulled out the panel of the closet to reveal an entire hidden room on the other side, "...woah..." she breathed as she stepped inside.

The room was filled with all type of files, heirlooms and artifacts. Maleny and Klaus were in awe as they took in the entire room, both walking around to see what they could find.

"This is for Cami," Maleny came across a box with a sticky note bearing 'Cami'. She rummaged through the things and found they were some sort of witches objects.

"Dark objects," Klaus spoke up from across the room, making Maleny look up and see him holding shackles, "These are mostly witches' dark objects. How could I have not known about this room?"

"Maybe because they're not ours?" Maleny walked over and took the shackles from him, "These are for Cami and she'll definitely know about this room."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Klaus made a face, seeing all the potential of such objects going to waste with the human, "I can get some work done with these things," as he reached for the shackles Maleny put them behind her back.

"These are not ours to handle, Klaus," Maleny warned him, "And you are most certainly not gonna use any of these things for your fights."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Leave it to you to suck out the fun in my plans," he walked past her and looked through the shelves.

Maleny set the shackles back on the shelf and turned after him, "Well someone's gotta restrain you sometimes," she moved onto some other objects, wondering if there truly could be anything to help her with her curse, "Plus, I don't want to explain to Cami why you suddenly have acquired her dark objects."

"You'll owe me for this," the hybrid declared, already wearing a smirk on his face as he debated just how that would happen.

Maleny scoffed at the idea and glanced at him, "You will drive me home, let me tell Cami about this room, and then get nothing," she teasingly smiled at him, "and you'll like it."

"We'll see," was the response she received before Klaus went into another aisle of shelves. Maleny shook her head and continued to look through her area of shelves.

~ 0 ~

Night was settling over the Quarter and with nothing to report of Riley, Cami had began to convince herself her theory of the warlock was completely wrong. Elijah had taken her all around the Quarter after Riley, apparently not giving up as easy as she had. At the current moment, Riley was picking up takeout from a Chinese restaurant and Elijah and Cami were waiting a mere two shops away.

"I was wrong, completely wrong," Cami was repeating to the Original while they waited for Riley to come out, "I'm sorry I wasted your day, Elijah. Let's just call it a night."

"I don't think so," Elijah stopped her from leaving by putting a hand on her arm, "I am not going to let this possible enemy slip away due to a mistake."

"But he hasn't done anything to prove me right," Cami frowned, wondering if she'd made a mistake sharing her discovery with him.

"Actually," Elijah looked at her with a small smile, "there's one thing that he did today that I'd like to know more about."

"What?"

"He went into an herbal shop today," Elijah looked back at the Chinese restaurant just as Riley was walking out.

"So? Lots of people do that," Cami was still confused on the relevancy of his answer, "I do that."

"Yes, but when you're a warlock you tend to look for specific herbs," Elijah tried to explain quickly as he pulled her into a walk after Riley, "And he bought several of them. Cami, we need to know what those herbs do."

"So what do you suggest, then?" Cami raised an eyebrow, "Steal them from him?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'sneak a peek'," Elijah flashed her smile and immediately Cami knew she would be involved in another plan of the Mikaelsons'. She only hoped Elijah's would be less violent.

~ 0 ~

Now angry with her luck, Maleny pushed a box away from her and it nearly fell to the floor if Klaus hadn't grabbed it. With a smirk, he placed it back on the table and gave her a sharp look.

"I know, I'm angry," Maleny muttered and turned away from the table, looking at the bookshelves instead, "But we have spent the whole afternoon here and there's nothing to help me."

"There's one box left," Klaus pointed to the box bearing Cami's name.

"I doubt a bunch of dark objects is gonna help me break the curse," Maleny crossed her arms, "This is so frustrating!" she exclaimed and turned back to the table only to kick one of its leg.

Klaus watched her hiss in pain from the kick, "Are you quite done?" he inquired, quite amused with her antics. It reminded him of his original Maleny. The blonde woman, while often mature, had her childish moments which always made him laugh. For a minute he could truly see her as the Maleny that had disappeared in the forest centuries ago.

Maleny stalked out of the secret room and went straight for her bag she'd left behind in the kitchen, "I'm done for today, I don't want anything to do with the stupid curse," she growled and snatched her purse off the table.

Klaus calmly walked out of the secret room and closed it all up, "Are you sure that's what you want?" he called to her as the woman now stood by the door waiting for him.

"I think so," Maleny answered sarcastically, "I feel like I want to throw things, burn things, and punch things. So yeah, I think I'm done for the day."

Klaus smiled to himself as he made sure the entrance to the secret room was concealed once more. As he did so, he could hear the things Maleny muttered under her breath. More than angry, he knew she was disappointed they hadn't made progress on her curse. He was upset too but he cared more for Maleny's feelings at the moment.

"Mal," he called to her and turned around, seeing the brunette still waiting for him, "do you mind if we take a detour before going home?" Maleny's eyebrows raised at the question, curious of what he now had in mind.

~ 0 ~

"Riley! Riley!" the young warlock heard his name being called. He turned around and saw Cami hurrying up to him, looking frantic for some reason.

"Cami," he abruptly stopped the blonde in front of him, making him stumble back a couple steps.

Cami shook his arm and accidentally made him drop a couple bags of his, "There's a little kid hurt down the block, you have to help me! I think he's a warlock or something."

Riley quickly looked down the street, searching for the boy, "Who is it?"

"I don't know, he doesn't speak English very well. He doesn't want to come with me," Cami started pulling him down the street, "C'mon!"

As the two left, Elijah emerged from the corner of the street and hurriedly picked up the bags left on the ground. He rummaged through them until he found the one containing the herbs Riley bought earlier. Elijah didn't know a lot about herbs but he had someone who could recognize them. In a quick speed, he headed for Genevieve's shop.

~ 0 ~

Out in the park Maleny glumly stared at a couple performers across her. She was waiting for Klaus to return with something he apparently needed to buy from a shop. He had wanted her to come with but she was in no mood to go anywhere else that wasn't home. So, Klaus resorted to her staying at the park - having a perfect hearing shot of her in case anything went wrong. As she waited, she took to watching the performers and its crowd. They were musicians with two of them dancing around.

She hugged herself and grew even more downhearted with her circumstances. If she couldn't break the curse she wouldn't ever get to fully live. She would never be able to do the simplest of things like ever figuring out if she had natural talents. Could she perhaps learn to play guitar? The violin? Or maybe dancing was a talent of hers. If she didn't break the curse, she wouldn't even be able to take up a career like Cami was doing. Maleny honestly didn't know what she would if she actually broke the curse but she wanted the options. But maybe that wasn't her fate at all. Maybe her fate was to jump bodies for the rest of time, getting killed or sacrificed each and every time. And...to never actually have a true lo -

"You know," Klaus' sudden appearance broke Maleny's thoughts, "in one of your past lives, you adored the piano," Maleny silently turned her head to him, awaiting for more details, "You loved that thing more than anything. And you were good. Exceptionally good too."

Maleny slowly looked back to the musicians, "I don't think I'll ever get to play again, then."

"You could always learn it again," Klaus shrugged, seeing no trouble in that.

"What for?" Maleny's voice took on a cold tone, "So that in a month I can forget it because I was sacrificed again? No thanks."

"Mal, I know you're feeling discouraged, but we will find a way to end this curse," Klaus turned to her, allowing Maleny to see he held a black bakery box in one hand, "I promise you that."

"I believe you'll do everything you can, but there's always a chance we'll fail," Maleny bit her lip, "Just like the many, many times I've failed in the past."

"But there's a difference between then and now..."

"What is it?"

"You're not alone this time," Klaus declared, "You've got me, you've got Elijah, you've got Cami and Hayley - even a witch who hates anything to do with us."

Maleny smiled and considered his words, "That is a big difference..." she agreed in the end, "What'd you buy?" she pointed to the box.

"I hope you still like berries," Klaus handed her the black box.

"I love berries," Maleny assured and opened the box to find a small, rounded, berry-cheesecake inside, "Ooh, and I love them most when they're in pies," she looked up with a big smile on her face, "Is this for me...?"

The doubt in her face made Klaus chuckle, "No, I decided to buy it for myself and show it off to you," Maleny mockingly-glared at his sarcastic response. Klaus laughed again and finally spoke normally, "I figured it would perhaps make this day slightly less bad."

"Look at you," Maleny began, traces of sarcasm lacing her tone, "Klaus Mikaelson, big bad hybrid who everyone fears... buying me pie?" she chuckled to herself.

"Well," Klaus stepped closer to her, satisfied to hear her heart take quicker beats, "To you I was never all that. I wasn't a title holder. I was simply Klaus...and he loved you very much."

Maleny awkwardly coughed then, her cheeks sporting a bright pink tint, "And, um...how's that, um...how exactly does that go now?" her eyes slowly raised to meet his, "I mean...do you still...feel anything?"

"That depends," Klaus perfectly evaded the question, a bit out of his comfort zone as well.

"On what?" Maleny whispered, doing her best not to seem so anxious of his answer.

"If my answer would make any difference in your life..."

"Oh," Maleny stayed quiet a minute, wondering how the hell things had gone from gloomy to awkward and nervousness in less than two minutes.

Klaus could see her face contorting to confusion and decided to keep pressing for a better, clearer answer than the one she would probably come up with, "Can I ask you a question, Mal?"

"Sure..." the brunette weakly said.

"That Riley guy...is there actually something going on with you two?"

"I don't...think you need to know about that," Maleny quietly said, "But I know you and I know if I don't answer then you'll start thinking what's not. Riley is a great guy, and any woman would love to go out with him...except for me," and when she saw the small glimpse of relief in Klaus' eyes she couldn't help smile a little, "He's just a friend. And he's gonna stay a friend. But now it's my turn to ask invading questions," she took on a smirk, "You and Genevieve...did you start that because of what happened with us before Rebekah left? Or did you actually like her?"

Klaus gave her a smile and walked past her, "We should get going."

Maleny playfully rolled her eyes and called him back to her, "Oh no, Klaus, you have to answer me right now," she turned to face him, only he had his back to her, still refusing to answer. With determination, and admittedly curiosity, she walked up to him, turning him by the arm, "Was that serious? Or was it because we fought before that?"

Klaus resigned to tell her the truth, knowing she'd get a kick out of it in the end, "She's a very attractive woman..."

"Oh, we're off to a good start," Maleny rolled her eyes.

"Mal, you know I'm impulsive..."

"Mhm," Maleny gladly agreed with him, much to his irritation. She wasn't making it easy on him, "Kinda picked up on that when we were kids."

"I don't care about her," he spoke honestly, "Never did. She's attractive, but...nothing. There was nothing and there never will be."

"And now? What do you intend to do now?" she motioned to the bakery box she held, "Buying me my favorite dessert? Telling me these pretty things?"

"I would be lying if I said it wouldn't be interesting to see what could happen with us," Klaus surprisingly admitted to her with ease. He once again stepped closer to her, "But right now I only want to see you happy. And if me telling you these 'pretty things' makes you feel anything unhappy then I will stop. Would you like me to stop?"

Maleny opened her mouth but found she didn't know what she wanted then. She looked down, "I..." she began, hoping to know there and then but it seemed she was conflicted, "...I wish to go home right now," she finished with instead.

While it wasn't exactly what Klaus wanted to hear, he didn't go against her wish, "Let's go, then," he turned to the side and gestured for her to start walking. Maleny thanked for his understanding and walked off with him.

~ 0 ~

Upon arriving at the compound, Maleny and Klaus came to find Hayley tending to Davina in the courtyard. The teen seemed a bit irritated to find the two were together - and according to Hayley, they'd been together for most of the day.

"Davina, what are you doing here?" Maleny asked, slightly confused with her presence.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Hayley almost demanded from the two. If neither Maleny nor Klaus knew Hayley well enough to see her last trimester pregnancy hormornes kicking up, they would be irritated for her rudeness.

"We were looking for more things for the curse," Klaus answered her.

"Together?" Davina frowned, "Why?"

"Because that's how teamwork works?"

"Funny, I didn't know you actually knew what that word meant," Davina crossed her arms.

Maleny didn't want to have to break up any arguments between her and Klaus, "Davina, did you need something?"

Davina looked at her with much softer eyes, "I haven't heard from you in a while and I got worried."

Maleny smiled, "I'm fine. Thank you for stopping by but actually, I am kinda in the need for a trusted witch to help me look over my mother's spellbook. You think you can do that with me right now?"

"Yeah, I told you I would," Davina beamed at the opportunity, "C'mon," she sent Klaus a glare, "But alone."

"My spell book's in the upstairs living room," Maleny pointed and so Davina started to walk off for the staircase. Maleny turned to Klaus afterwards, "Thanks for today. But I think Hayley needs you right now."

"No I don't," Hayley defensively said, crossing her arms.

"You're moody," Maleny pointed at her, "and so is he," she pointed to Klaus next, "I think you can help each other."

"Mal, have I told you your sarcasm is completely annoying?"

"I don't ever want to be pregnant," Maleny made a face and started for the stairs, chuckling as she heard Hayley begin to complain to Klaus about how bad she felt with herself.

~ 0 ~

Cami impatiently waited in her house for Elijah to at least call and tell her what those herbs in Riley's bag had been. After tricking Riley into going with her to help a boy who didn't even exist, Cami had gone for her house as had been the instructions the Original gave her. He was going to bring the herbs to Genevieve and get an identification on the herbs to see if they were malignant. That had been over an hour ago and now Cami was plain frustrated.

Eventually, someone knocked on her door and she dashed to go answer it. She opened it up and was relieved to see Elijah standing on the other side, "You took forever," she accused.

"It's only been an hour and half," Elijah countered, disregarding her irritation, "May I?" he gestured to her home. He hadn't ever been to her house and so needed her invitation.

"Yeah," Cami nodded and stepped side, "Come in."

"Thank you," Elijah stepped inside with the herbs bundled up in a cloth given by Genevieve, "We'll need a better plan to capture Riley."

"Wh-what?" Cami blinked as she closed her door, "What do you mean? What were the herbs?"

Elijah turned around waving the bundle of green leaves, "These are meant for knocking someone out for a good hour or so. Riley bought these with an intention on using it on someone."

"Are you sure Genevieve didn't lie to you?" Cami took the herbs from him and gave it a light sniff.

"She's the one that told you this in the first place, plus she did save Maleny recently."

"That doesn't mean she's seeking redemption..."

"Camille you came to me for a reason," Elijah's voice now had a sharpness that expressed the grave situation they were in, "And that was to see if you were right or not. Surprise, you were right. It's time to accept it and find a solution."

Cami knew he was right, but it wasn't easy to accept a person that had helped with her uncle's passing was actually evil. She handed Elijah back the herbs, "So, what do we do?"

"I agree if we tell Klaus he will probably kill Riley and that is something we don't want - for the moment."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"We take care of it on our own," Elijah resolved, "Do you think you can keep this from Maleny?"

Cami nodded quickly, "Yes, if it'll help her then yeah," she only wished this would lead to Maleny's salvation. If they caught the enemy before he tried attacking...that would have to save Maleny, right?

~ 0 ~

As Maleny and Davina overlooked Maleny's spell book, Davina kept glancing at the brunette woman who often took bites of her berry pie.

"So, this whole teamwork thing between you and Klaus, does that include having dinner together?" Davina finally decided to address her big issue, "...and dessert?"

Maleny set down her fork into her box and studied the teen beside her, "I know you don't agree with my past-"

"It's not just about your past, it's what's happening now," Davina sighed, "Mal, I love you, and I don't think that this place," her eyes looked around the quiet room, "is the place you should be at."

"I feel pretty safe here," Maleny shrugged, "I don't see anywhere else I want to be at."

"Do you think there's a chance that your memories resurfacing have maybe...manipulated your feelings?"

Maleny frowned at the bluntness of the question, "What? Wh-what's the relevancy in this?"

"I'm saying that maybe you remembering your past lives are making you feel things that aren't real anymore."

"And just what are these 'feelings'," Maleny raised her fingers to create air quotation marks, "You're talking about, hm?"

"I'm talking about the feelings you used to have for Klaus," Davina made sure to enunciate the past tense clear for Maleny, "Your head is mixed up and what you think you feel may not be true!"

Maleny blinked with wide eyes, stunned by what she was hearing. She would've snapped but Davina seemed honestly frustrated and concerned, "Davina, calm down," Maleny set her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"I can't calm down!" Davina shook her head, "Because you're putting yourself in danger! You can't love Klaus, you just can't! Stop spending time with him, stop letting him take you out, just stop before you get yourself killed!"

"I'm not gonna die because I fell in love," Maleny scoffed at the idea, "And for your information I don't even know what I feel for Klaus right now. So please, calm down."

But it wasn't enough for Davina to feel better. She was terrified for her friend's life, "Mal, get out of this place, please."

"No, Davina, I won't."

"You're going to do exactly what your past yous have - you're going to start something with Klaus and then you're going to die again."

"I'm not," Maleny insisted, "Because nothing is happening right now. I'm focused on my curse and breaking it."

"Look me in the eye right now and tell me you wouldn't even consider starting a relationship with him again," Davina challenged, crossing her arms as she waited for Maleny to prove her right.

Maleny shifted awkwardly on her spot, looking to the side, "I...I don't know..."

"See," Davina gestured and stood up, "You can't do it. You can't stay away from him."

"Well maybe I don't want to," Maleny blurted out, not about to feel ashamed for something that wasn't wrong. She faced Davina and stood up, "Maybe I'm curious to see where it would lead to between us...if things would be...interesting or something."

"Maleny..." Davina shook her head.

Maleny straightened up and gave her final word on the subject, "I honestly don't know what's going to happen between me and Klaus, but if something does happen and it makes me happy...then I will let it happen and no one - not even you - will make me choose otherwise."

Davina deeply sighed and hugged her friend, "I just don't want you to get hurt, Mal. You're my friend, I want you to be okay and with...someone that isn't already dead."

Maleny smiled, knowing that Davina was only trying to look out for her, "I'm okay, Davina. I know Klaus, alright? He wouldn't ever hurt me."

But Davina wasn't so sure about that. Every time Klaus was involved with something or someone, they ended up hurt...or dead. Davina didn't want to see that happen to someone as sweet as Maleny.

[followyourheartontime]

Five simple tips to score in PTE write from dictation PTE academic

Five simple tips to score in PTE write from dictation

PTE academic

PTE Academic is a computer-based English language proficiency test required for non-native English speakers to study or work abroad. PTE Academic has about 308 testing centers around the world. In 2019, about 180 nationalities (including 115 different languages) took PTE Academic tests worldwide.

  PTE Academic English test is a fair exam compared to other alternatives. However, many persons find it challenging to prepare and get high scores in the reviews. 

 PTE Academic test involves three different parts: speaking/writing, reading, and listening. Each piece lasts for 45-60 minutes, and the entire exam lasts for about three hours.

  PTE write from Dictation

PTE writing from dictation is just one part of eight parts of the exam's listening section. It is also the last task during your PTE Academic test. It is also a tiny part of the whole review that can boost your scores significantly. It requires you to listen carefully to an audio voice prompt and type the exact sentence you heard in your response box. You will have only seven seconds before the next audio begins, and you will listen to the phrase only ones. Your PTE writes from dictation score depends on the number of words you can hear and write and their spelling accuracy. These five simple tips will help you ace your PTE write from dictation excellently.

  TIPS AND TRICKS

 1.     Prepare Well Before D-Day

PTE write from dictation is a little bit different from your regular college exams. It is like a sprint race, and you only have 7 seconds to calm your nerves from the previous question before you take on the next one. This exam will engage your brain, senses, and emotions. You need to prepare adequately to handle the adrenaline rush that will follow you during the test. 

The acronym P-R-E-P-A-R-E will help you get ready for D-day.  

Practice!     Practice! Practice!

Many online sites offer exceptional mock tests that will help you feel what you'll be meeting on D-day. Some of these offers go for some bucks while others are entirely free. Some tutorial sites offer complete PTE write from dictation packages that include tutorials, practice tests, sections wise tests, and full PTE mock tests. Use these offers to get familiar with the exam condition and requirements. 

Read     Wide

Reading many English materials will improve your spelling and help you learn new words. It is also essential to look-up your dictionary for words that you don't understand. It is difficult to comprehend the dictations when new talks are used. It is also challenging to construct excellent and meaningful sentences if you don't get the correct spellings. Reading wide will expose you to many words and help you improve your spellings.

English     Everyday

You should also try to communicate as much as you can in English in the days leading to the exams. You can send random emails to your friends in English. You can watch English movies with English subtitles. You can watch English shows. You can take an English class every day. Familiarize yourself with spoken English. 

Podcasts     over Videos

You will be listening to and writing from an audio dictation on your PTE exam day. Therefore, it is better to improve your listening abilities by listening to podcasts and radio shows. Videos will give you cues mouth and gesture cues about the words you hear, and you won't get that privilege on D-day. 

Approach     Information

Get enough information! You are not the first person to write PTE write from dictation test. A lot of persons have taken the test and succeeded. You can approach them to glean from their experience and knowledge. You could find some of these persons in your neighborhood, college, and social clubs. You can also read articles and tips on review sites. You can visit the PTE official website to learn more, or you can contact the PTE test contact/support desk for inquiries. You should focus on familiarizing yourself with the test formats and scoring rules.

Ready     and Early

PTE administrators advise writers to show up 30 minutes before the exam time. You will undergo some checks and sign-in procedures before you enter the exam hall. You also need to show up with the original copy of your registration ID. 

Eat     and Rest Well

Eating well keeps you healthy and improves your mental performance. It also boosts your cognitive ability and helps you maintain the right emotional balance. Eating well implies that you eat the right types of foods in the right amount. You need to also get enough sleep, especially on the last night before the exams. You need to have a clear mind that will help you listen attentively. A good night's sleep will work the magic.

2.     Go with the Audio

The audio prompt will automatically play only once, and each audio prompt will last for about 3-5 seconds. You need to go with the audio to increase your chances of getting hearing and remembering all the words in the audio prompt. These tips will help you go with the sound: 

Use     your Shorthand writing: PTE writes from dictation audio prompts are complete     sentences. Some of the words you will hear will be long, while others will     be short. Shorthand writing will help you go with the audio because you     won't need to type in all the letters of the words you hear. For example,     you can write wt instead of with, 4 instead of for; 2 instead of     two, 4wd instead of forward, etc. It is better to create your     shorthand writings. However, you can also find many of these shorthand     writings on social media. 

Use     your Erasable Note Board: Do your shorthand writing and your first notes taking     on the erasable note board provided. This will help you correct your     sentences and format them properly before typing them in your response     box. 

Use     Phonetics: Some     words may sound new or confusing. When you don't know the name, you just     heard, write it out the way it sounds. You will get some marks for     incorrectly spelled words, but you will get nothing for missing concepts.

Don't fall behind the audio!

3.     Use Your Seven Seconds 

You have only seven seconds between each audio prompt once you start. Many PTE test takers try to use these seven seconds to type in their answers in the response box. This approach makes them miss some part of the next audio prompt, and sometimes they also don't complete the previous sentence. You need about 3 seconds to refocus your mind on the following audio prompt. You can even have up to 5 seconds if you successfully go with the previous audio prompt.

The listening section of a PTE test lasts for about 45-57 minutes. You will have enough time to write from your erasable note board and make all your corrections. Focus on the words, get them down, and use the remaining time to focus on the next audio. Do you want to know of the best ways to practice this? Is to do reverse counting. For example, 5-4-3-2-1-Go or 3-2-1-Go before the following sound comes up. This reverse counting will help you focus your mind on what is coming next.

4.     Find Meaning and Write 

Look at your erasable note board and start writing. Complete your shorthand writings and fix them in the actual words. Check your spellings. You don't get any score for using correct grammar rules in PTE to write from dictation. Using the right grammar rule will help you know the correct spellings of many words that sound the same. For example: 

The     knight rode into the empress hall.

The     night rode into the empress hall.

These words, "night and knight" are pronounced the same way. However, the verb "rode" connects correctly to the noun "knight" than "night." Remember that all the sentences from your audio prompts are grammatically correct. So, try to ensure that what you write correct grammatical sentences in your response box. 

  5.     Review Spellings

Spellings are important, watch out for yours. Every section of PTE Academic has scored for communicative and enabling skills. Communicative skills include your writing, speaking, reading, and listening. However, enabling capabilities include grammar, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, etc. In PTE write from dictation, your enabling skill is spelling. You will not be penalized for wrong grammar, but you will lose marks for incorrect spellings. So, ensure that your spellings are correct. Watch out for the use of "ie" and "ei" and other common inter-change spelling errors. Your tutorial classes and preparation materials will provide more insight. 

  Conclusion

PTE write from dictation is only a small chunk of the whole PTE Academic English test. You need to also do well in other areas of the exams to get your required scores. In 2019, about 4.8 million persons visited the PTE Academic website, and several thousand took the test. You could be next. Kindly read other articles on our sites to prepare for the whole exams. 

[vampire-the-askerade]

A Lacroix theory

Now, this isn’t meant to be taken too seriously as it was just done for fun, and probably has like a million and two plot holes in it. Just something to think about. Also, it’s pretty long and basically rambles, so sorry for that.

So, with that out of the way, here’s the main theme of the theory: the man that we all know as Sebastian LaCroix isn’t actually Sebastian LaCroix. Yeah, I know everyone and their brother has done something like this, but this is just my take on it.

So, one of the first things that everyone points out, and for good reason, is how he pronounces his name. He says it as “Lŭh-crŭ-ee” (approximation, I’m bad at this.) But, the typical French pronunciation( based on what was on Forvo.com) is, “Lah-crŭ-ah” (again, this is as best as I could do. Feel free to look it up yourself to see what I mean.) You would think he’d know how to pronounce his own name right?

Well, there’s always the possibility that he, “Englished,” it to make his company more marketable in predominately English speaking countries as his head quarters seem to be in L.A. Oddly enough, the best example I have of this is the Chef Boyardee Ravioli we have here in the US. So, this guy moves in from Italy and starts a restaurant that became so popular that he started canning his pasta and selling it in store. But, this was back when us American’s were even more thick headed about things that are considered unfamiliar than we are now. So, when they saw the Italian name, “Boiardi,” on the cans, they went, “I don’t know how pronounce that! I’m buying something with a sensible English name!” So, Boiardi decided to change the spelling of his name to, “Boyardee.” And, guess what? Things started to immediately. And, something similar could have happened with the pronunciation with LaCroix’s name. He let people pronounce it in a way they would remember.

You could also question why everyone else says his name the “incorrect” way. Well, It’s the same as what I just mentioned in the Ravioli paragraph above. Most of the people are not only English speakers, but American English speakers. We will drag your grammar/ phonics into an alleyway and beat it with a baseball bat, take it’s wallet, and then ask what we did wrong. As for the other people that might have known how to pronounce his name, such as Strauss and Ming Xiao whom both seem to be highly educated and most likely know multiple languages, probably say it the way everyone else does because that’s how LaCroix introduced himself. The only other person I can think of that addresses LaCroix by name is Bach. It should be noted that he is German which is in the same language family as English (surprise, it’s the Germanic) which means that things are pronounced at least somewhat similar on a base level. This is why he pronounces the name like the others.

Along with how he pronounces his name, his French itself is highly suspect. Let me preface this part with the fact that I do not personally speak French and everything here is based on what I looked up(Forvo/google translate). When playing a route where the main character has to fight their way up Ventrue tower, they eventually meet a guard who is being possessed by LaCroix via the discipline... well, possession. Before leaving the guard’s body, LaCroix says a phrase in French that basically translates to, “See you later.” Everything that I looked up(Forvo/ google) has this phrase as, “A bientot.” But, the cations when he says it in game is, “U bientot.” Again, I don’t speak French, so there might be something that native speakers understand like proper vs. improper, ect. There is also the possibility that this is simply a typo. But, it could be seen as him mispronouncing the phrase.

Which leads into the fact that he does. What I could find on forvo.com the phase, “A bientot,” if pronounced, “Ah-be-yean-too” (kinda, please look it up for better understanding) with three syllables. But, when LaCroix say it, he says, “Ah-bee-en-tow,” with four syllables, and a heavy British accent. Now, this could just be the voice actor keeping the character voice, but wouldn’t the voice direction want to give the Frenchman a French accent when he’s speaking his native language?

The next thing I’d like to point out is Strauss’ suspicions. Strauss says of LaCroix, “LaCroix is a prince, neonate, and a Ventrue on top of that. Even if he weren’t as young and indiscriminate as he’s already proven himself to be... but, I say too much.” We know based on this, Strauss sees LaCroix as a neonate, which for clarification is basically child of the vampire world, (fledgling = baby, neonate = child, ancilla = teen, and elders = adults). You see, the main character is also considered a neonate eventually,(they are called fledgling at first, but later in the game, which based on in game cues seems to be about a week after embrace). A neonate is a kindred within the first 100 years of un-life. If LaCroix is to be believed, then he would be an ancilla, as being embraced in the time of Napoleon would put him around 200 years of un-life.

There are a few possibilities here. The first being that Strauss is using the term to demean LaCroix, the same way that if you thought someone were immature you might call them a child. Or, that Strauss is to the point in his un-life where even people over 200 years old are still young to him. The second possibility is that when Strauss says, “neonate,” in the afore mentioned quote, he was addressing the main character as he does call them neonate. Let’s say that there was an actually name there instead of the title of neonate; we’ll just say Beth. The sentence would go, “LaCroix is a prince, Beth, and a ventrue...” It’s a bit unusual to address the person you’re talking to in the middle of the thought, but not completely uncommon; especially if the speaker id making sure they are paying close attention which totally fits Strauss’ teacher complex.

I don’t, however, think that either of the above options are what is happening. For the option of Strauss addressing the main character, you need to pay close attention to his tone and fluctuations of his voice. When calling the main character neonate the tone of his voice goes down at the end of the word, as in “neonate↓.” Where as when he says in the sentence about LaCroix, it stays tonally the same like he is carrying on the thought, “neonate→.” An alternate way to say it without only the commas would be, “LaCroix is a prince, and a neonate, and a ventrue on top of that.”

So, why should this be such a point of contention? Well, Strauss in a Tremere, and if there’s any clan that knows blood inside and out, it’s them. They even have rituals like Blood Walk where they can tell exactly what type of kindred someone is, their generation, and who their sire is. There’s a high possibility that Tremere, especially one as talented as a regent such as Strauss is, could tell that something was off even if they couldn’t pinpoint it exactly without a ritual. So, Strauss can tell that LaCroix is younger than he claims to be. But, he might not be saying anything because without doing a ritual such as Blood Walk, he doesn’t have any solid proof, and wouldn’t want to do anything to cause scandal for the Camarilla, as well as his own clan.

What we know about this person based on what we have seen so far is that he not only probably isn’t French as he claims, but is also extremely younger than he claims. Not to mention, that the Camarilla elders would have to have known that the man currently acting as the Prince of L.A. was not the person they had decided to send. Why wouldn’t they do anything about it? Well, it seems as though there’s a common agreement that you don’t become the prince of that area unless someone higher up in the Camarilla wants you out of the way a.k.a. dead. They could easily just used this neonate to do their dirty work as they could they actual LaCroix. They also might not have wanted to point out that this was happening due not not wanting to do anything to tarnish their name. But, why not use this young pawn in a more strategic way, rather than just send him to his death? Well, maybe he did something that they considered punishable by death: diablery.

The actual Sebastian LaCroix has to be dead or else he would have come after the man who is pretending to be him. So, what if the young vampire we know as LaCroix is doing this as a way to try to hide the fact that he diablerized the would be prince as he would be looked for if he didn’t show up to L.A. as assigned? Have you ever wondered why he was so eager to do so with the antediluvian? Diablery is a highly addictive act, and those who have done so before will almost always seek that high again. There’s also the fact that two of the L.A. Primogen were highly suspicious of him. There is Strauss, which as mentioned before would know there was something off with his blood due to his talents as a powerful Tremere. Also, and more interestingly, there was Grout, who was so terrified as to what his past sight abilities of a Malkavian had shown him that LaCroix had done, that he locked himself up in his home, and wouldn’t even mention the young prince by name.

So, if the person we know as LaCroix is not truly LaCroix, then who is he? For that we need to look at who could be considered the most revered and most majestic character of the whole game: Officer Chunk. When you first get to Ventrue Tower and tell him you’re there to see LaCroix, he asks, “Would that be Sebastian LaCroix of the LaCroix Foundation, or Dwayne LaCroix of Insurrection Baby Formula Company?” So, LaCroix isn’t LaCroix, he’s LaCroix. Rather, he isn’t Sebastian LaCroix, the man from Napoleonic France that was appointed as a vampire prince, but rather Dwayne LaCroix, a young businessman from England, who in his search for power ended up in over his head because he was too greedy. This is why he’s constantly telling people about himself, not because he’s boastful, but in a way to try to convince them that he’s telling the truth. Why, yes, he was in Napoleon’s army. He has been chased by a family of vampire hunters for over a century. He is the rightful prince of this city. There’s no need to question that. Not, at all...

Here’s how things could go from a more narrative stand point. A ancilla kindred named Sebastian LaCroix was on the run from a vampire hunter (Bach’s father), and ends up in England. While he was there, he sires a young businessman that ironically has the English pronunciation of his name. After killing the hunter and living in the London Area for some years, he receives the news that he has been appointed as the new prince of the L.A. area, and that in order to do so, he has to move his business headquaters over to the newly built Ventrue Tower( when doing an ending where you have to fight your way up the tower, it is shown to still be at least partially under construction.) He also told his childe that was still under his thumb that he would have to move his company there as well. Either because Dwayne didn’t take this news well, or for some other reason, he became angry with his sire and attacked him, which ended with him diablerizing Sebastian,

After this Dwayne somehow convinced the Sheriff to work with him, and assumed Sebastian’s identity, as he figured since no one in L.A. had ever met the real Sebastian that they wouldn’t know the difference. But, he was still somewhat new to the kindred society, he wasn’t banking on people such as Strauss and Grout who could find the holes in his deception to be around. Having to put so much energy into keeping up his charade as well as taking on the pressure of being not only a prince, something that he probably had neither the experience nor training for, but being a prince of the one of the most volatile areas in modern kindred history was what turned LaCroix into the bundle of nerves we see at the start of Bloodlines.

That’s why he’s more than happy to have the main character around, because there’s finally someone around that won’t be questioning his every move. This also explains why he’s so keen on getting to the sarcophagus. if he manages to commit diablery on an antediluvian, then it won’t matter who he actually is or who knows, because at that point he’d be the most powerful vampire around.

Anyways, that’s just a take on LaCroix as a character. Again, this was just for fun, and not to be taken too seriously. If you made it through all of my slightly unhinged rambles here then thank you, and let me know that you think if you want to :)

[luckyjak]

fic: Declaration of Intent (1/5)

“Then it’s settled,” Caleb beamed, pleased with his own cleverness. “We’ve got to find you a husband, before your mother finds you a wife.”

Essik has a problem; Caleb has a solution. Both of them are so good at pretending that their hearts may never recover. 

[The Caleb-and-Essik-Fake-Dating/Fake-Engaged-fic you didn’t know you wanted. Shadowgast. Canon-compliant as of episode 63 but probably won't be for long.]

a/n: This is like, the opposite of a slow burn. This is a fast burn: two characters who get together way too quickly and are way too intimate with each before their feelings can catch up.

The rating may also go up as the story progresses, but I don't want to promise something and not follow through on it.

AO3 Link

There was something wrong with the Shadowhand.

It was subtle; from the outside, the man was as composed and as polished as ever. But Caleb had been spending a lot of time with him, and Caleb was nothing if not observant. He was sharper, more critical than Caleb had ever known Essik to be, and while practicing dunamancy was normally one of Caleb’s favorite activities, the afternoon had made it something of a chore. It was in the way Essik moved: his spellwork was...strained, and his concentration waned. He was irritable, and nothing Caleb could do seemed to help ease the irritability, no matter how flawlessly and fast Caleb learned. They had been at this particular spell for hours, and it was beginning to become a problem that would reach a boiling point soon.

“No no no, you are doing it wrong!” Essik snapped, for the fourth time this afternoon. He ran one hand through his cropped hair and the other along the spellbook, tracing arcane ruins with long fingers. “The pronunciation is el-sol-la-de , not el-sal-la-de , you--”

Caleb snapped back. “I would have done that if you said so earlier instead of just handing me a book written in Undercommon and expecting me to just 'figure it out'--”

“I don’t expect you to just figure it out, I expect you to use your brilliantly gifted mind and--” Essik stopped mid-sentence and rubbed his face with his hand, his eyes scrunched shut. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “I’m sorry. I am being unkind.”

You think? Caleb thought, but didn’t say out loud. Instead, he merely nodded in agreement; Essik had been uncharacteristically unkind towards him all afternoon.

“Perhaps we should take a break. I’ve been pushing you hard, and it’s not your fault. Dunamancy is a difficult school of magic to learn even on the best days, and we’ve been going at it for hours now,”  The gentleman moved to sit down on the couch in the library/lab, and he gestured for Caleb to follow.

They sat together in quiet stillness for a moment; Essik stared out of the window, lost in his own thoughts, and Caleb stared at Essik. The other man was tired, Caleb realized, and clearly stressed about something, but what the young wizard couldn’t hazard to guess.

“You have been off all day,” Caleb broke the silence, sitting down next to the drow on the opposite end of the couch. “Is everything alright?”

Essik brushed him off immediately. “It is a personal matter. I should not allow it to interfere with my work.”

“What bothers you so?” Caleb tried again, his curiosity peaked. It wasn’t often that he saw the Shadowhand as raddled as much as he was.  Essik stopped, his face scrunched in hesitation, which made Caleb wince in sympathy. “If it’s too personal, you do not have to--”

“No,” the drow shook his head. “I should talk to someone about it. And you are a neutral party, from a different culture. Perhaps you could advise me in ways others could not.”

Caleb bowed his head slightly.  “I’ll do my best.”

“Right. I, uh,” the Shadowhand stumbled with his words uncharacteristically, stilling looking not at Caleb but at the dark window, as if it might hold the answer he was looking for. “I’m getting married.”

Oh .  That was unexpected.  “Congratulations?” He said, hesitantly. The thought of Essik getting married was...unanticipated.

Of course Essik would be getting married, Caleb thought with uneasy queasiness. He was a powerful, beautiful young man, with an important career and a lot of political influence. Of course he would have caught the attention of someone special, somebody young and beautiful, somebody not at all like Caleb.

“It is not my choice,” Essik bit his lip, turning his attention away from the window and looking at Caleb’s face once more. “You know I am--young, right? Not compared to you and your kind, but in elvish terms I am barely grown,” Caleb nodded in agreement. It was difficult to comprehend 200 years old as a young person, but when a species lived to be in the thousands, it was easier to acknowledge. “I’ve accomplished a lot in my short life, which is made even more impressive given that my soul is not consecrated, and this is only my first life. But, ah, my amille , my mother, she, ah, thinks I need to wed. For the good of House Theylas.”  The drow shook his head in disagreement. “She’s arranged for me to meet with and betrothed myself to a young woman from Den Olios, and I--I do not wish to.”

“Because you do not like this young woman?” Caleb venture a guess.

“Because I do not like any women,” Essik’s face flushed a darker purple, and he hid his face in his hands. “For a woman who has lived 800 years and three separate lifetimes, you’d think my mother would understand that!”

“Ah,” Caleb winced in sympathy. “Admittedly, I still do not know much about your culture. Is such a thing frowned upon?”

He wanted to ask Essik, since he apparently didn’t like women, if preferred the company of men, but he didn’t want to assume. For all Caleb knew, the Shadowhand was like Caduceus, and didn’t want to be with anyone, no matter their gender. A small part of Caleb--a part he didn’t like to acknowledge--rather hoped that the Shadowhand did prefer men.

Men like Caleb, even, although that part remained wisely unsaid.

He also wondered if Essik’s face would always be such a delightful shade of dark purple. “It’s not frowned upon. Ah, we are a reincarnation society, right? So sometimes a pair of veru come back the same gender as before, or different. My father, he was a man when he married my mother, but when he was reborn he came back as a woman. She and my mother are no longer together, because they never vowed atemay , but they could be together if they wanted to, yes? It doesn’t matter that they are both women.”

Caleb cocked an eyebrow. “But it matters that you don’t wish to marry a woman?”

Essik sighed. “It--it does. It’s--it’s important for there to be children, yes? Especially in powerful dens, there needs to be heirs, because we reincarnate. Because I am the highest ranking member of my family, I’m considered Den Theylas’s heir, despite being my mother’s youngest child.”

It was starting to make sense to Caleb. “Because you are the Shadowhand.”

“Because I am the Shadowhand,” Essik repeated with a groan, leaning over to place his head in his hands. “I could--I could solve everything if I just stopped being the Shadowhand. My sister Meela would be my mother’s heir then, and Meela is already married with two children.”

That sounded like a terrible solution to Caleb. “But you don’t want to stop being the Shadowhand.”

“I love my job,” Essik agreed, with a pained expression. “What I do is important, to the Dynasty, to the Bright Queen, and to the study of dunamancy. I would hate to leave it.”

The thought was curious, however. “What would you do then, if you weren’t the Shadowhand?”

“I don’t know,” Essik answered honestly. “It wouldn’t be this, though,” he gestured around the room to where he and Caleb had spent most of the afternoon training and studying. A lump began to form in the back of Caleb’s throat at the thought of what Essik was implying: if Essik was no longer the Shadowhand, he would not be the person assigned to watch over and guide the Mighty Nein. Someone else would take his place.

Caleb tried to imagine somebody else in Essik’s role as their guide. In his mind, he pictured someone who would be less kind to their diverse group of adventurers. Someone who might have a problem with the fact that they planted a giant tree on the roof, or someone who would take issue with the fact that Caleb and Beau were humans. Someone who wouldn’t teach him dunamancy, and someone who wouldn’t be nearly as amused as Essik often was at their antics.

Someone less attractive, almost certainly, and that was reason enough for Caleb to protest. “Well, we cannot have that, then.”

“But I don’t know what else to do ,” Essik sighed, his head hung down low. “My mother is the Den Mother for all of Den Theylas. She’s an incredibly powerful Warlock and an uncanny politician. More importantly, she’s very good at getting what she wants, and she’s been trying to arrange a marriage for me for years. I’ve outsmarted her before, but I don’t know...I don’t know how to get out of it, this time.”

Caleb leaned over closer to Essik, so that his knee was barely brushing against Essik’s. “Is there anyone else you could get help from? Would the Bright Queen assist you in any way, if you appealed to her? You serve on her Council--surely that must account for something.”

“The Bright Queen and my mother have been friends since before I was born,” Essik shook his head. “If I went to her with this, she would side with my mother, and then I’d really have no hope. The Bright Queen’s word is law.”

“Could you suggest an alternate partner? Maybe the young lady from Den Olias has a brother?”

“She doesn’t, I’ve already looked. And if my mother is the one doing the arranging, then all she will care about is me having an heirs,” Essik rubbed his wrist with concern. “Which means a--a lady, a wife.”

“Which you don’t want.”

“I prefer men,” Essik confessed, and Caleb stomach flipped a bit happily. He had assumed, given Essik’s dilemma, but it was still nice to know he and the Shadowhand had that in common. “Sexually. Romantically. I don’t dislike women. But I cannot imagine myself ever being in a relationship with one. At least happily.”

It was a shame, too, because Essik was quite handsome, in Caleb’s opinion. It would be a terrible waste: Essik, with his beautiful smile and sharp chin, trapped in a loveless marriage, forced to spend--however obscenely long it was that drow lived for--with a woman he didn’t know and didn’t love.

At least if the girl in question were human, he’d only have to wait less than a tenth of his lifespan.

Oh.

A surge of brilliance struck through Caleb as an idea slowly began to take form. “What if you were already promised to another?”

That caught Essik’s attention. “How do you mean?”

“Could your mother marry you off if you were already engaged to someone else?” Caleb asked, his knees brushing against Essik’s on the couch.

Essik paused, his mouth frowning. “No--I, no, she couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, polyamory is a thing here,” Good to know. “But once a bond has been established, no one outside of the bond can decide to extend it, no matter how much influence they may have.”

“Then it’s settled,” Caleb beamed, pleased with his own cleverness. “We’ve got to find you a husband, before your mother finds you a wife.”

Essik smiled at him softly, but it was not the overjoyed ‘ah, Caleb, you are so terribly brilliant’ smile Caleb had hoped it would be. “I wish it were that simple,” Essik shook his head. “But my mother is crafty . She will want to interrogate whoever I’ve chosen to marry, and she would have to approve of the match in order for it to go through. And I have,” he looked outside of the window at the dark day out there, “very little time to find someone.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow at Essik. “Would your mother ever accept a human?”

“You can’t be serious,” Essik breathed, catching on with the finer, unsaid aspects of Caleb’s plan.

“Why not?” Caleb shrugged. “We work well together. Better yet, we can convince the rest of the Nein to collaborate with our story. No one will argue too much with the Heroes of the Dynasty, no?” The red head leaned back on the couch, stretching slightly. “I have no other prospects for the moment. And I live a much shorter lifespan than you.”

“You are serious,” Essik’s eyes grew impossibly wider. “Widogast, that’s insane.”

“Why?”

“ Why?   Lots of reasons!” The drow exclaimed, jumping up from the couch so he could pace the room. “We barely know each other! We’re--we’re from different worlds , two different countries, different cultures, different races--we can’t--we couldn’t possibly convince my mother that we were lovers, much less engaged! I’ve known you less than a month!”

“People do crazy things all the time, especially when they are in love,” Caleb smirked at his teacher. “Haven’t you ever been in love before?”

The Shadowhand turned to glare at him with his arms crossed. “I’m a little less than two hundred years old. What do you think?”

Caleb thought a lot of different things, and could have said as much, but he didn’t. Instead, he stood up and walked closer towards Essik. “It’s just a con, you know? Just a bunch of lies told together, to tell a semi-plausible story.” He stepped even closer towards Essik, until the two of them were face to face. It might’ve just been the atmosphere of their conversation, but Caleb felt taller than Essik for once. “You mean to tell me that you, Essik Theylas, Shadowhand of the Bright Queen, spymaster of the Dynasty, have problems lying?”

Essik flung his arms apart, poking Caleb in the chest.  “It’s not my ability to lie that concerns me, Widogast. It’s yours .”

Caleb couldn’t help but chuckle. “Believe it or not, Shadowhand, but I’m quite an experienced con-artist. Nott and I used to run a con similar to this back before we joined up with the rest of the Nein, actually.”

Essik raised an eyebrow. “You and the little goblin girl used to pretend to be married for an extensive period of time?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly the same,” Caleb blushed, stretching the back of his head. “ I--I, uh, pretended to be her father, actually.”

“Ah. And how did that go?” Essik looked a little impressed, though still a bit skeptical.

“It worked, for a while. Better in some towns than others. Made a decent amount of money at it.  Kept us fed and dry. Certainly worked longer than this particular con would need to.”

Essik shook his head, turning away from Caleb and staring down at his feet. For a moment, Caleb had the strangest thought that the man was about to leave , just walk out of the Xhorhouse and never come back.  But he didn’t. Instead, he turned back to face Caleb, his expression cold and methodical, as if their conversation was a game, and he needed to think 2000 steps ahead of Caleb in order to win.

“And what, exactly, do you get out of this, Caleb Widogast? I doubt you are willing to help me this much out of the kindness of your heart.”

Caleb shrugged. “I figure the Shadowhand of the Dynasty owing me a favor is a good thing to have.”

“None of that,” Essik snapped, stepping closer to Caleb. “I don’t play those games. Be specific about what you want, or stop wasting my time.”

Damn . Caleb had hoped to get by with a favor. A favor could be anything; a favor was negotiable, depending upon what the party in question was asking for.

Well, he’d just have to make due, then. He stepped closer to Essik, until the two gentlemen were face to face, merely breaths apart. “I figure as your husband, I might have access to your spellbook,” Caleb breathed, his face inches from Essik’s own. “You know. What’s mine is yours and all that.”

“Absolutely not,” Essik’s face flushed with what was quickly becoming Caleb’s favorite shade of dark purple. “I have some very powerful, very confidential spells--I could never just give you my spellbook.”

“But you could let me look at the rest,” Caleb gave a counteroffer. “Hide the confidential parts, and let me study at my leisure.”

The drow took a step back away from him, lost in his own thoughts. Caleb could tell he was considering the idea, and he tried not the get too giddy at the prospect.

Conversing with Essik like this was...exhilarating, in a way nothing in his life had been since he had been at the Academy. He had missed this, he realized suddenly. Verbally sparring with someone of equal intelligence was a game he had forgotten he missed.

It reminded him of how he used to talk with Astrid, actually. But that was a thought to analyze at a different time.

“Or you could get married,” Caleb teased, perhaps a bit mean, his thoughts returning from his former flame. He turned away from Essik, running his hand along the table in the center of the room, taking his time as he spoke. He could be terribly patient when he needed to. “You know, if the lady from Den Olios looks anything like the Den Mother Zethris, she’ll be quite beautiful. You’ll have that to work in your favor at leas--”

“The whole book,” Essik interrupted, stretching out his hand for Caleb to take. “Minus the confidential parts. And only while I’m around for you to copy it.”

Caleb grinned, and shook his hand firmly. “It’s a deal, then.”

“And if you blow yourself up with time magic, well, that’s just one less thing for me to worry about,” Essik grimaced, letting go of Caleb’s hand. He turned his back on Caleb, turning towards the table in the center of the room, with spellbooks and scrolls still opened up to various different dunamantic spells. Methodically, Essik began packing up, putting each book and scroll back in it’s case.

“It wouldn’t have to be real, you know,” Caleb offered, his voice quiet as he followed the drow around the room. “The Mighty Nein, we are planning to leave for a bit anyway. Have an errand to run in Nicodranas. You could try and find a legitimate partner while I’m gone, and we could, ah, break up when I return,” Caleb seemed unbothered by the prospect. “Or you said it yourself, that polyamory is a thing here. If you found another whose company you preferred, I would not be opposed. Or we could separate, after a time. When you thought it was safe,” Essik didn’t answer him.

Caleb watched Essik as he meticulously placed several books back into his bag, seemingly intent on ignoring Caleb. “That is a thing here, right? Divorce?” Caleb asked with genuine curiosity. If it wasn’t, perhaps that would be why Essik was so hesitant. “When two married people don’t want to be together anymore, they can separate legally?”

“We call it annulment, but yes, that’s a thing here,” Essik paused his packing momentarily to look back at Caleb. “It’s not terribly common, but it does exist. It--it wouldn’t be out of the question for me to seek an annulment.”

“Then perfect!” Caleb beamed, clapping his hands together. “We get married, you let me copy your spellbook, your mother gives up on finding you the perfect bride, and then we go our separate ways as friends and--”

Essik kissed him.

It was strange, being kissed by Essik. Sure, the drow man was incredibly attractive, but Caleb hadn’t thought to ever do anything about that, beyond a nighttime fantasy or two. What started as a simple press of lips quickly grew more passionate, as Caleb opened his mouth, and Essik opened his. Caleb was pushed with his back up against the table, as Essik had one hand flat against the table and the other crawling across the length of Caleb’s back. Caleb kept his hands pressed in the space between Essik’s neck and jawline, fingers tracing upwards towards white hair and pointed ears.

Essik kissed Caleb the same way lightning came with a storm, sudden and unexpected, a hot surge of energy radiating against Caleb’s skin. Caleb felt like his entire body was on fire; each place the drow kissed or touched left smoldering in its absence.

He didn’t know how long they kissed for. But they had to breathe at some point. Essik pulled away slow, then rested his forehead against Caleb’s own. “Well. That was nice.”

“Were you concerned?” Caleb asked, catching his breath, his back made uncomfortable by the way the table was digging into it, but unwilling to move any farther out of Essik’s embrace.

“Of course. I had to make sure we were compatible in that way,” Essik was teasing him, although it was hard to tell based on how serious his voice sounded. “For all I knew, you were a bad kisser. I couldn’t marry you if you were a bad kisser.”

“Hmm, well,” Caleb grinned, licking his lips where Essik’s had been moments ago. “Glad I passed the test.”

Essik smiled at him, a little coyly, and then kissed Caleb on the forehead. “I would not ask anything of you that you would be unwilling to do.” The drow promised, both of his hands on Caleb’s cheeks. “But my mother has a soft heart. If she thought I genuinely loved someone, she would support me, no matter who they were. We--we would need to convince her that we were in love, though.”

More kisses then. In public, where people could see. Certainly, there were worse things than kissing a handsome man in public. Caleb nodded, and bit his lip at the thought of kissing Essik again. “Ja. I can do that.”

“And--drow society is not always kind to outsiders,” he ran one hand down the side of Caleb’s face. “You would-- I would expect my cousins to be better people, but I cannot promise that they would not be unkind to you. There would be--rumors and gossip, always . My immediate family in particular may not be warm or friendly, especially at first.”

“It is nothing worse than what I have already endured,” Caleb confessed. Given everything he had already lived through, he could handle a few gossiping tongues. “And you are teaching me dunamancy. I feel it is only fair for me to help you given how you have helped me.”

Essik smiled, reaching out and taking Caleb’s hand into his own. “Your hand in marriage, in exchange for dunamacy lessons?”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Well, when you put it that way--”

“I am being serious,” Essik said softly.  “You don’t know how much this means to me. You,” he stopped and squeezed Caleb’s hand. “If this works, you’ll have saved my life.”

Caleb could tell he meant those words. Whether that meant Essik would have ended his own life to avoid a loveless marriage, or if he just meant that his life wouldn’t have been worth living, Caleb couldn’t tell.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Caleb whispered.  “I don’t--I am not always the best at realizing what that is at times, but I know this is right. I would want someone to do the same for me, if I were in your shoes.”

Essik kissed him again, softly this time, and he pulled away far quicker than Caleb would have liked. Instead, he took Caleb’s hands and brought them to his lips, kissing both hands, one, and then the other. “You bring me honor by considering me as a partner.”

His words sounded solemn, like those of a vow, but Caleb didn’t know the context beyond that. It felt important, however, so Caleb remained silent, and let Essik speak. “I promise you loyalty, first to my Den, of which you will become a part, then to my Dynasty, and lastly to our line, that it may be prosperous. I promise you hearth and health, for as long as I am able to provide it, and that you may always have a home in Den Theylas, no matter what life you take on next. Above all, I promise to be your partner, in life and in love, through failure, sorrow, triumph, and joy, so long as you should have me as your husband,” Essik’s face glowed slightly. He then took off his cloth belt, and wrapped the fabric tightly around Caleb’s right wrist.

They were quiet for a moment as Caleb admired the newfound cloth bound tightly along his wrist. It was dark in color, like most of the clothes Essik wore, but it was silk, a nice fabric, and there was a recognizable emblem of Den Theylas sewed on it. The wrapping was tight, but not uncomfortable, and in hindsight, Caleb had seen others with their wrists bound like this that he had passed on the street.   It’s like a ring, he thought, and felt his cheeks color. “I don’t know what to say.”

“ Yes is the preferred answer, given that this was your idea,” Essik kissed his clothed hand again.

“Yes, then.”

“I imagine the Empire has a slightly different traditional proposal?”

“It’s much simpler,” Caleb felt his face flush. “But, ah, seems less romantic in comparison.”

“What’s it like?” Essik asked with curiosity, and Caleb recognized the gleam of someone who wanted to learn as a kindred spirit.

He knelt down on one knee before Essik, taking the other man’s hand into his own. “Will you marry me?” He asked, fully aware of how red his face was. Essik didn’t seem to mind, as he was still smiling at Caleb.

“Oh, much simpler,” the drow grinned, squeezing Caleb’s hand. “Yes.”

“Traditionally, I’d have a ring, too, but you caught me a bit off-guard.”

“Any ring?” Essik asked, taking one off his fingers and offering it to Caleb, who was still kneeling.

“ Nein , not quite,” Caleb laughed, putting the gold ring back on Essik’s hand, the mimicry of an actual proposal. “It should be something we pick out together.”  He stood up and kissed Essik again, softly and quickly, the way he might’ve if he had actually proposed to someone.

For a moment, he imagined that it was real. That he and Essik had fallen deeply, madly in love, in such a short time that they’d known each other, and decided tonight to promise themselves to each other. He could picture it, easily. The drow shly inviting him to dinner, late one evening after a long day of dunamancy practice. After an evening of witty banter and stimulating intellectual arguments, they’d retire to Essik’s private library, where the Shadowhand would try to impress him with his collection. But for once in his life, Caleb would be more distracted by his partner than he would be the collection of books. They’d kiss then in the library, hesitant at first but growing until the late hour demanded Caleb return to the Xhorhouse, alone but gifted with an overactive imagination and the promise of a second date.

After that, their relationship would move quickly; soft, hesitant kisses exchanged for evenings spent in one another’s bedchambers. When they were exhausted, they’d trade stories and secrets to one another. In his mind, Essik accepted every dark thing Caleb had ever done, and promised to help him figure out the dunamatic magic he needed to achieve his goals.

The Mighty Nein would love him; hell, the Mighty Nein already liked Essik, a lot. He was the first invited guest into their home, and Caleb imagined that it would not take much to invite him into the fold, the way they had done with Yeza. He would get teased, of course; “Cay-leb has a boy-friend~” Jester would sing, and Caleb would blush, but Essik would be beside him, squeezing his hand gently, and it would be worth it.

It just made Caleb wish the fantasy were real , that’s all.

“I suppose the only thing left to do is to tell the family,” Caleb smiled, shaking himself out of his daydream. “Mine and yours.”

“Tomorrow night,” Essik promised, suddenly solemn. “My Den is having a gathering tomorrow night. I--if you would do me the honor of escorting me, I thought we could make the announcement there. And you could meet my family, such as they are.”

“We need to talk more before then,” Caleb agreed, leaning down to lace his fingers with Essik’s. “Get our story straight, decide on what we want to tell them. It will be easier if we go in with a plan.”

“I’d love to,” Essik let go of his hand. “But not right this second. We’re hardly alone right now, darling.”

Caleb hadn’t noticed, but at some point in the past few minutes, Yeza Brenatto had opened the door to the library, and was staring at them sheepishly.

“So, you and Essik are getting married?”

“Ja.”

“But not for real?”

“Only...sort of for real?” Caleb shrugged, leaning back against the wall of the War Room. “It’s so Essik doesn’t have to go through with an arranged marriage.”

“Are you in love?”  Jester asked, teasingly.

“If anyone asks, yes.” Caleb winked at her, conspiring. “We are trying to make it look convincing.”

“Because Essik’s mother is terrible?” Beau added. “And doesn’t want him to marry a boy?”

“She wants him to have children, yes. Whether she takes issue to him marrying a boy specifically, that I do not know.”

“That’s real shitty of her,” Beau practiced punching her fist into her palm.

Caleb nodded. “I agree. It’s part of why I’m helping him.”

“Do you even like boys?” Fjord asked, with genuine curiosity in his voice. “I’ve never known you to flirt with... hell , anybody, really.”

“I like boys,” Caleb confessed. “And girls. Generally, I like pretty people. I am not terribly picky when it comes to partners.”

“That’s what Molly used to say,” Yasha smiled sadly.

“Well, he was a smart person.” And a pretty one, Caleb thought but didn’t add.

“But you used to have a girlfriend.” Nott accused him.

He didn’t particularly want to talk about Astrid again. “And now I have a boyfriend. Husband. Fiance. Whatever,” Caleb waved them off. “We’re just pretending, anyway.”

“Cause Essik’s mom is a huge homophobe and we’re not about that?” Beau grinned, spinning around in her chair. “I’m into this plan.”

“Your involvement in this plan is minuscule.”

“Still into it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, Mr. Caleb,” Caduceus smiled into his cup of tea. “I think you and Essik will make each other real happy.”

Caleb frowned at the firbolg. “We, ah, we are only pretending to be a couple, Mr. Clay.”

“Real happy,” Caduceus repeated, and with such seriousness that Caleb wondered if he spoke the truth, or if he knew something about the future that Caleb didn’t.

Yeza raised his hand in the air like a well-trained student, unlike the rest of the Mighty Nein who had talked all at once all over each other. “Mr. Caleb, sorry, but I have a question. Wouldn’t it be better for Mr. Essik to marry both Lady Olios and yourself? You said polyamory was a thing,” he shot a look that Caleb didn’t follow towards Nott. “Wouldn’t that solve the problem better? Then his mother wouldn’t be angry.”

“I believe that he doesn’t want to do that, so we’re not going to. But it’s a good suggestion if everything goes to shit.”

“Follow up question,” Beau raised her hand, mimicking Yeza. “Is Lady Olios hot, and can Essik introduce me to her?”

Caleb sighed. “ Beauregard.”

He didn’t get the chance to chastise her further. There was a knock on the door that then opened, revealing a slightly flustered Essik. “Sorry. I know I said I was leaving, and I am , but I had a thought,” he smiled at Caleb warmly, and walked over and kissed his cheek. “Hi babe.”

Caleb winced. “ Nein . I hate it.”

“Honey?” Essik tried instead while Jester cooed at them.

“Even worse.”

“Alright. No pet names,” Essik shrugged. “I just wanted to know, do you happen to have a cloth of some sort? Something with your family’s sigil on it? It should really have your den’s emblem on it, but I was under the impression the Empire didn’t really have Dens like the Dynasty does.”

“Ah,” Caleb looked down at his Essik’s bare wrist. “For your wrist, I assume.”

Essik raised an eyebrow. “To show that I am promised to another, yes.”

“I thought we weren’t meeting your family until tomorrow night.”

“We aren’t. But I thought wearing a band now would start the rumors going at least.”

Caleb didn’t look up from the floor, feeling his cheeks burn red, as they had so often in the drow’s presence. “I, uh, I do not have a family, Essik. So I do not have any sort of cloth with my family’s insignia on it. I don’t--”

“He has a clan, though,” Fjord interrupted him unexpectedly, standing tall. “ Us . The Mighty Nein. Would that work?”

Caleb felt a surge of pride rush up into his chest. He may not have a family anymore, but he had the Nein, and that was--that was something.

Essik raised a curious eyebrow. “Do you have a cloth with the Nein’s insignia on it?”

The seven individuals (plus Yeza) who made up the the Mighty Nein all shared a look. “Not right now,” Yasha spoke first. “But I can sew.”

That was a little unexpected, but the barbarian was full of many hidden talents.

“So can I!” Jester added.

“Excellent!” Essik beamed. “It doesn’t have to be large. About yea big. You can use mine as an example,” he held up Caleb’s wrist to show the band off, his thumb placing emphasis on the emblem of Den Theylas. “The important part is that people will see it and recognize that I’m being courted by a member of your Den.”

Jester and Yasha shared a look. “We can come up with something, Caleb!” Jester offered excitedly. “That way Essik has something to wear to show off the fact that he loves you and totally wants to be your husband and that you guys are going to get married and adopt like, all of the babies, and--”

Caleb held his hand up to cover his eyes. “Jester, there can be no dicks on it.”

(“What.” Essik asked with disbelief, his eyes going from his pretend fiance to Jester and back again. “ What?”)

The tiefling immediately deflated, collapsing back into her chair with a pout and her arms crossed. “Not even a little one? Just a teeney tiny little dick?” She tried to bargain, her fingers almost pressed together in simulation of the size. Caleb shook his head no, and she huffed in response. “What could we even use as a symbol for the great Den Mighty Nein if not a tiny dick?”

Essik nearly collapsed on the floor, he was laughing so hard. “A tiny dick!” He laughed, his face a dark purple. “How scandalous! Truly, I’m marrying up in this world.”

Caleb scowled, his face still pink, and shoved his pretend fiance towards the door. “Go away. Go, do your job or something. Make enough money to support me and our nine adopted children.”

“ Nein ,” Essik howled, still laughing even as Caleb closed the door to the War Room behind him. (Or maybe it was “ Nine???” like the Shadowhand couldn’t possibly imagine his and Caleb’s imaginary union resulting in nine adopted children. It didn’t make a difference to Caleb.)

“Well, now I gotta sew a little dick on there,” Jester argued, leaning back dangerously in her chair, her arms still crossed sourly. “I’ve never seen him laugh before.”

Neither had Caleb. But he was eager to see it again.

“Are you sure about this, Caleb?” Yasha asked, questioning. “Marriage is a big deal. I know you can separate whenever you want,” she brushed her hand aside, like she didn’t quite believe what Caleb had told her. “But it’s still a big commitment. And it’s a big thing, living with someone. You really get to know them, the good and the bad.”

“I live with you all currently,” Caleb argued. “It hasn’t changed much.”

“It’s different, when you share a bedroom. And a bed,” Yasha continued. “I don’t think you are taking this seriously enough.”

“And I think all of you are underestimating what a boon it would be to have the Shadowhand’s favor,” Caleb glared a bit, leaning over the War Table. “We have been wanting to ally ourselves with the Krynn. This is just another way of doing that.”

Without speaking, Nott stood up and crawled onto the table. She walked across the War Room table, bare goblin feet trending on oak wood, until she stood face to face with Caleb. By standing on the table and with him leaning over, she was eye level with him in a way she normally wasn’t.

She took his face into her hands, and cradled it gently. “Caleb. You deserve to marry for love, sweetheart. Not political favor.”

“It’s sweet that you think anyone could ever love me, given what I’ve done,” he rested his forehead against hers.

“Caleb ,” She admonished, pulling away from him. “ I love you. Everyone here,” she gestured around to the others seated at the table. “Loves you. What makes you think that there isn’t someone out there who could love you, too? Romantically even?”

He pulled away from her further. “Nott. I’m going to marry Essik. I’m sorry if you disapprove--”

“On the contrary,” Nott interrupted him. “I like Essik. I like Essik for you, even. He’s a good boy who has supported us when we’ve needed him to. He’s smart, he’s handsome, he’s loyal. He’s everything I could ever want for you. But,” she reached out for him again. “You don’t love him, Caleb. And you deserve to have someone who loves you, like I love Yeza,” she looked back at her husband, who was smiling at her, full of pride.

“Nott has a point, Caleb,” Jester added, her voice a little sad and a little soft. “You should marry for love. In every book I’ve ever read, love is like, the greatest thing that’s out there, and Nott just made me really sad thinking that you don’t think you deserve to be loved? How could you?”

“Hang on just a second,” Fjord shook his head, a confused look on his face. “What are we even talking about love for, anyway? Caleb’s a grown man, and it’s his decision. He does Essik a solid by marrying him, and gets to learn fancy drow magic and we get in even better with the Bright Queen? I’m not seeing a downside.” Fjord rested his elbows on the table. “Maybe Caleb and Essik don’t love each other, but Essik doesn’t love this drow girl, either, and it’s not fair to make him have to get married to her if Caleb backs out of this.”

“Bingo,” Beau threw her thumb towards Fjord. “Essik’s been good to us. Better than we expected. We should help him if we can. I’m on team marry-the-pretty-drow-boy”

“I was too, until Nott started talking about how he should marry for love and stuff!” Jester argued.

“Regardless,” Caduceus stood up, scooting his chair back, towering over everyone at the table, including Nott who was still standing on the table. “It’s Caleb’s decision, ultimately. And we’ll support you, no matter what you decide.” He walked over to where Caleb was standing, and squeezed his shoulder firmly.

“I have already agreed to this,” Caleb held out his banded wrist for everyone to see, the symbol of his engagement to Essik on display. “I’m going to follow through with it.”

“Good for you,” Caduceus patted his shoulder again. “We leave for Nicodranas in five days. Do you think you’ll still be able to join us?”

“I should,” Caleb removed Caduceus’s hand from his shoulder. “I already told Essik that that was our plan.”

“Excellent!” Caduceus grinned. “I need more tea.”

With that, the large firbolg left the room, and one by one, the Mighty Nein followed, until only Caleb and Nott were still in the War Room.

“Nott---” He shook his head. “It likely won’t be forever. Either I’ll find someone, or more likely, Essik will, and we’ll separate. This is just one way I can help him and further my goals, all at once.”

“I know,” Nott said sadly, and patted his cheek again. “I just hope you don’t get your heart broken in the process.”

You could not break what you did not have, Caleb didn’t say. But he followed her out of the room regardless.

[inthenightskyathousandstarsshine]

Dysleixa vs just hating to read

Now, I’m 99.9% sure I don’t have dysleixa. (For those of you who don’t know, dyslexia is a Learning Disability that makes letters appear like different letters or backwards/upside down and makes it hard for them to read/write) But I’m so fricking surprised I wasn’t diagnosed with it.

I have problems knowing my left from my right at times (okay most of the time) and I looked up if there were other people who couldn’t tell either. One of the results I got for this was dysleixa. (There are others, and sometimes Left-Right confusion is all on it’s own, but when I was first researching dysleixa was right up there) Here are some symptoms(behavior of people who are dyslexic):

Difficulty reading, including reading aloud.

Slow and labor-intensive reading and writing/Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve reading or writing

Avoiding activities that involve reading.

Problems spelling/Difficulty spelling

Mispronouncing names or words, or problems retrieving words/Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and differences in letters and words/Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word

Reading well below the expected level for age

Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears

Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions

Problems remembering the sequence of things

There are more, so if you have these symptoms don’t freak out.

When I was little I hated reading, and I mean hated reading. The words were too close and I got lost between lines and they just didn’t seem to hold weight. They would run together and wouldn’t create a story, just meaningless words stitched to each other. Because I hated reading, when we were required to read out-loud in class, I was one of the slowest readers. A paragraph would take me forever to get through, and I’m a quiet person so I had to raise my voice to an octave I don’t use to be heard.

I once read a book in third grade that wasn’t even an inch thick. It was one of those series where if you didn’t read them, then you were missing out. I don’t even know what it was called, but it had a Composition Notebook cover and that’s the only thing I remember about it. That little book? Took me over a month or so to read. And then I think I barely passed my RLA (STAR?) quiz on it. (I don’t know about now, but before 2010 the school books would have a sticker or something and you were required to take a reading test on that book for comprehension testing)

Because I’m a slow reader and I hate reading, I avoided anything with words at all cost. I could do math just fine, give me all the problems in the book and I’ll hand it in by the end of the week. Ask me to do word problems or read a page of history for social studies? I’m sorry, I’m sick that whole month. Can’t do it.

Now my problem spelling and mispronouncing names/words go hand-in-hand sometimes. Because I mispronounce most of my words, I can’t spell them like they’re supposed to. Or alternatively, because of how they’re spelled, I don’t pronounce them correctly. Pronunciation was also a reason I hated reading out-loud. I was always corrected and had to restart the word and even after you corrected me I would get it wrong.

For most of my elementary years, I was at a second to third grade reading level. I only rose above that level in 6th grade, where I then skyrocketed to college levels because of my teacher. I learned to love reading, thanks to my sixth grade ELA teacher who forced us to read for almost an hour everyday. (Good god did I hate him for the first month or so while I still hated reading) Now I finish 3+ inch books within days of getting them.

Processing took a lot of mental and emotional energy. I would read and re-read the same paragraph over and over again and keep getting frustrated when the words just wouldn’t stick or make sense. (I sometimes still have this problem, mainly when reading something offensive on twitter or tumblr, because the “why” or “how” of the insult just isn’t getting through)

I guess what I’m trying to get at (I might have just wanted to rant when I’m low on sleep, sue me though) is that your child could have all the symptoms of dyslexia and just not have it. They could hate reading because they hate reading. Sometimes it only takes that one teacher, that one book, to spark the love of reading. And if they do have dyslexia, they can still love to read. It just might take them time to find that love with the words stacked against them.

(Though now that I look at all of this, it does make me wonder...)

[battlestar-royco]

because you said not to get you started, now i’m curious lol: what’s the tea on the ac0tar names?

 LMAOOOOO you people enable me too much. Also, shoutout to linguists, if I get any of this stuff wrong, please let me know in a comment or ask or something and I’ll totally eat my words where I make mistakes. This post is gonna examine not just spelling, but also the BALD cultural appropriation and general carelessness with naming people, places, and things. This is gonna be a lot of typing SO.

First of all, let’s look at the names we’re actually given.

F/EYRE: so stupid on so many levels. 1. The average English speaker would think to pronounce this as “Fair,” maybe “Fey-ree” when SJ/M’s desired pronunciation is Fey-ruh. In this case, she should’ve spelled it as Feyra or Faera instead of unnecessarily confusing her readers. 2. This is more of a personal gripe because SJ/M can’t write non-conventionally attractive characters, but “Feyre” is supposedly of Celtic origin, meaning “fair/beautiful.” I know it’s a BATB retelling, but really SJ/M? We know she’s hot, even though Faerug plays coy in the beginning of AC0TAR with the “I was rather plain” [proceeds to describe the epitome of mainstream Western beauty]. Faerug’s hotness is basically a main theme of the books. You don’t need to name her “beautiful.” 3. The name of the main mythical beings is FAE and their lands are sometimes referred to as fucking FAERIE. SHE LITERALLY NAMED HER MAIN CHARACTER AN ALTERNATE SPELLING OF FAERIE. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF BELLA WAS NAMED VAMPIRA, IF SCOTT MCCALL WAS NAMED LYCAN MCTHROPE, OR IF HERMIONE WAS NAMED WITCHEA??? LMFAOOOJFMWIBGOIWRBHOITOUEOTIH

A/RCHERON FAMILY: I don’t take as much issue with the names “N/esta” and “E/lain,” but maybe if SJ/M had stuck with the Celtic originated names, they would’ve all flowed better together and paid more respect to Celtic nomenclature. The “A/rcheron” pun would’ve been kind of clever if it didn’t mean that Faerug’s last name had the word “Archer” in it. This is a crime on the same scale as “America Singer.” It rubs me the wrong way how SJ/M applied the Greek “Acheron” and the iconic H&P myth to horrendous Failsand. They have nothing to do with Greek mythology. They’re just sadistic, egomaniacal sex robots. Don’t bring Hades and Persephone into this!

R/HYSAND “R/HYS”: “R/hys” is typically pronounced “Reese” or maybe even “Riss” lol so that’s fine. But once the -and suffix is added, it changes the pronunciation to RYE-sand, implying that “R/hys” alone is pronounced like “Rice.” The “H” in “R/hys” makes the “Y” soft. However, the “Y” would change into a long “Y” (ee sound –> why/I sound) in “R/hysand” because most readers would assume the two syllables are broken up like “Rhy-sand.” Therefore, now that Y is at the end of the syllable, it becomes long. So what is the truth???? SJ/M should’ve just stuck with R.hys/Reese/Reece or Rheesand.

T/AMLIN: he’s only named as such because SJ/M wanted to market the book as a crossover between BATB and Tam Lin. This book barely has anything to do with the Tam Lin myth. She should’ve gone with an original name for this.

L/UCIEN: randomly French name when the other named Autumn Court characters are Eris, Beron, and Jesminda. None of those are French. Plus it gets worse when you realize he was randomly shoehorned into being H/elion’s son because H/elion is a Greek-inspired name. And then V/anserra (Italian maybe?) is given as his last name when NO OTHER FAE has a last name. Why???

A/ZRIEL: this is spelled in a way that corresponds with the pronunciation but it reeks of cultural appropriation. SJ/M stop using names that “sound hot” 2K18. (Also, how can a name sound hot??? This is something I’ve been very confused about for years.)

MORRIGAN “MOR”: why? Why name her the Morrigan if you’re not going to respect the origin of the name, never explain her powers, and just completely sideline her? grsgrwg?/FEfwagrwtwhns!!

Moving on to the utter laziness of names in this series:

PEOPLE/PLACES/THINGS NAMED AFTER RANDOM CULTURES OR MYTHS: Illyria, Bharat, Ouroboros, Koschei, Veritas. All these names are legitimately ripped from legends and time periods, and plastered into SJ/M’s books. She couldn’t be bothered to make up her own names???? She didn’t even flesh out the places/things she named after them with due attention to detail??? Somehow she’s still renowned as a fantasy queen??????

THEORETICALLY SIGNIFICANT BUT UNNAMED CHARACTERS/PLACES: 1. Papa Arch and Mama Arch, 2. Rice’s entire family, 3. literally any part of the human lands; namely Faerug’s village, 4. the human queens, 6. anyone’s last name, 7. the King of Hybern.

NAMES THAT ARE MEANINGLESS OR STUPID AS FUCK: the Book of Breathings, the Darkbringers.

[rightsidethru]

I don't know if you accept Tumblr prompt requests for ficlets for the your Steter Harry Potter Alternate Universe series. If you do can you write something fluffy and sweet with Stiles, Albus, and Scorpius? Ty!

Autumn was still in full force in Scotland: leaves yellowing everywhere and the air crisp and cool, the bite of frost a promise not yet made good on. With the sun warm upon his face, Stiles could happily spend hours beneath the oak tree that grew at the farthest edge of the school grounds.

Stiles’ shadows, his ‘ducklings,’ too, had taken to joining him—

The press of Scorpius’ head was heavy on Stiles’ shoulder, dead weight as the first year’s steady breaths slowly gave way to soft, barely heard snores. The press of another body against the elder’s side was one that the transfer had grown unused to—familiar, comfortable touching left behind with Scott in America—and while this wasn’t quite the same… it was still good. Different. But good.

Stiles used the flat plane of the boy’s back as a bookstand, propping the current text he had liberated from the Restricted Section on the meat of a shoulder to turn each page with a leisure not often felt: but the weather was still warm, the skies still clear, and Scorpius was a steadying presence in the empty loneliness that had begun to creep up on the sixth year since he had started Hogwarts.

A little bit off to the side, Albus made a low, borderline-snarling sound of frustration—most certainly adopted from his godbrother—and shoved his Charms textbook off of his lap in a dramatic gesture of his bad mood, temper winning in this particular case. Curious at what had prompted such an angry reaction, Stiles quirked an eyebrow at the fuming pre-teen, closing his own book and using a finger as a bookmark.

“I take it that you’re in need of some help?” the older student asked, gesturing towards the haphazardly discarded book. “Unless you’re attempting to set fire to your book through dirty looks alone as an extra credit experiment for one of your classes—in which case: as you were, Al.”

The first year silently stewed in his frustration for a moment or two longer before finally sighing, tension and frustration both slipping from his frame as the air expelled from his lungs. “…I can’t get the stupid spell to work,” the green-eyed boy admitted, tone dejected. “I’ve tried over and over again—and I’ve followed the instructions in the book word for word—but… nothing. It’s not working. What am I doing wrong, Stiles??”

Amber eyes went vague in contemplation and the calloused pad of Stiles’ thumb rubbed absently over the spine of his tome as he thought. Eventually, the older Slytherin spoke: “Show me.”

Albus stiffened at the order, cheeks dusting a light pink at the thought of having to perform a spell he already knew he’d fail at for the transfer student who had already done so much for him. For Scorpius, too. “But…”

“But I can’t see what’s going wonky for you if you don’t show me, Albus,” Stiles gently explained as the youngest Potter son averted his gaze from the elder’s whiskey-hued one. “I need you to do the spell for me.”

It was humiliating: knowing that Stiles regularly read more adult, more complex material on a regular basis, sometimes switching between the texts when the fancy arose for the elder… and here Albus was, struggling to perform the third spell that first years learned, right after Point Me.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Albus enunciated clearly, words followed through with a perfectly executed swish-and-flick: the Potter son had grown up on stories of his dad and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione’s adventures at Hogwarts, handed out as a necessary staple of childhood—a different sort of bread and butter to live off of. The Troll Incident was an oft-told story in both households, playful jibes of It’s LeviOsa, not LevioSA! repeated enough times over the years to remind Albus of the importance of correct pronunciation.

The first year held his breath, staring down with hidden, restrained hope at the leaf he had pointed his wand at: wanting, so very much, for the spell to work this time.

It shouldn’t have come as a disappointment—should have been expected at this point—when the leaf remained still and lifeless upon the ground.

The sound that Albus made in answer was hurt, broken and frustrated and filled with an ocean’s amount of disappointment—in himself, in the importance of the stories tol, in the spell. In his magic. And, as Albus stared despondently down at the dead, dried out life, twist of his mouth unhappy and dissatisfied, Scorpius finally stirred, as if summoned by his best friend’s distress.

“What’d I miss?” the blond boy asked and rubbed at a silvery-grey eye, hiding a yawn behind a proprierty hand. The other first year’s embarrassed flush deepened at the increase of his audience and didn’t answer.

Figuring that a multiple use lesson could always be put to well-use, Stiles gently shushed Scorpius—to which the boy comfortably curled back up against his lankier frame—and turned his attention back to Albus, amber gaze thoughtful as he considered the boy’s potential problem. “How much of your magic did you put into the spell?” the sixth year Slytherin eventually asked aloud as he chewed on a corner of his lower lip.

“…what do you mean?” Albus asked in turn, confusion blatant upon his face. “You just say the word, do the gesture—and voila, magic!”

Voila, magic! —are all of the schools teaching students this, not just Hogwarts and Ilvermorny? Stiles asked himself for a long moment or two, eventually blinking and shaking his head at both himself and Albus commentary. Something to dwell upon later; for now: the sixth year gestured towards Albus’ wand. “Put that down, Al, you won’t need it for right now. I’ll help you with the spell.”

Albus stiffened at the request to put his wand away—how was he supposed to do magic with no wand?—and Scorpius inhaled sharply, softly, also tensing against Stiles’ side to look up at the older student with luminously wide eyes, anger simmering in their clear depths—a warning, useless as it would have been, to not trick Albus or betray his best friend’s trust.

“But—“ Albus protested.

“Wand. Away,” Stiles ordered once more, tone unrelenting.

The order was a confusing one for the first year, but Stiles hadn’t yet led Albus wrong—not from the moment he had stepped into the abandoned classroom and gotten the other students to leave him alone. Still, though, the Potter son’s movements held a trace of wariness as he set aside his wand, Scorpius watching avidly—silently—all the while. Once the elevdn year-old’s wand was out of reach, Stiles’ expression turned contemplative for a moment before asking: “What’s the one spell that you can always do, one hundred percent of the time; something you don’t even have to think about as the words leave your mouth?”

Albus grimaced at that, shooting Scorpius a sidelong look. “…Lumos.”

Stiles just nodded at that, as if he wasn’t surprised by Albus’ answer. “Okay, we can work with that. Now, I need you to close your eyes for me, Al. Then follow my instructions.”

Trepedation heavy in the pit of his stomach, Albus still held on to his new, shaky faith in the older student and allowed his eyes to fall closed; ignoring, too, the way that Scorpius’ gaze had sharpened as it had focused upon him.

“Now breathe deep. Hold it. Hold it. Now let it go, Al, slow and steady. Again: inhale. Hold it… then let it go,” Stiles murmured into the bubble of silence that had surrounded them for hours, providing a sort of intimacy that had coaxed the two younger boys into relaxing around their elder Housemate; as Stiles spoke, his words dipped lower, slowing as Albus unconsciously followed after. It wasn’t long at all before the boy’s chest rose and fell steadily, as regular as the tide. “Now, I want you to focus a little bit inwards. Can you do that for me, Al?”

“…yes…” the boy whispered, and Scorpius’ fingers curled tightly in Stiles’ robe that he had been using as both blanket and pillow.

Ignoring the shrewd, frost-kissed stare that had shifted to settle upon him now, the Slytherin transfer continued: “As you look, you’ll notice a soft of heavy weight in your chest. It’s deep—but it’s there, warm and pulsing softly and familiar: like family; like coming home. Did you find it?”

Albus didn’t verbally answer Stiles’ question, but he didn’t need to; a beautific, ecstatic smile tugged his mouth upwards and a glow began to seep through the layers of the first year’s clothing, situated right over the center of Albus’ chest. Gold and shimmering, the glow seemed to throb in time with every beat of Albus’ heart.

“…good, Al. You’re doing amazing; so good. Now, I want you to pull away a small strand of that shining weight—just a small one, a thread, nothing more, all right?—and think about light as you do it. Sun light, fire light, lamp light, moon light: any and all types of light, a type of beacon to see in the darkest of night. Now, here’s the most important—the difficult—part, Al. Want it. Want it to burn away the shadows, to offer security when you’re alone and in the dark. Want that steady beacon to guide you home.”

Scorpius gasped suddenly, shock stiffening his body as he abruptly jerked away from Stiles. His grey eyes were wide with denial, with disbelief. “No,” the pureblood child hissed, shaking his head jerkily—like a puppet whose strings had been abruptly cut. “No. That’s supposed—it’s supposed to be impossible.”

Stiles ignored him for the moment, instead choosing to remain focused on Albus. “Open your eyes now, Al.”

Lashes slowly lifted over forest-green eyes—eyes that widened and widened further until white showed completely around that vivid color. “Wh-what?” Albus stuttered, gaping at the perfectly conjured—wandless—ball of light, of Lumos, that hovered in the air before him. It was strongly cast, offering up a steady light that chased away the shadows that had slowly begun stretching across their hidey-hole.

“Magic isn’t just waving a wand and muttering nonsense words in a dead language,” Stiles began and both boys’ gazes shot to him. “Visualization’s a part of it, and it’s necessary sometimes. But the heart of doing magic? It’s knowing your core—and intent.”

—the memory of the first time he used his magic, knowingly and with intent, was still one that had always remained vivid for Stiles: the situation had been traumatic, terrifying, and he could still remember the burning within his mother’s eyes—but, oh, the magic. That wonder had never left him.

The older student inclined his head towards Albus’ wand. “Now. Try Wingardium Leviosa again.”

Shakily, the boy reached for it once again, tongue wetting his lips nervously as he kept one eye on the little ball of light that hadn’t yet faded away.

With Albus distracted by trying again at the spell that had previously given him so much difficulty, Stiles finally turned his full attention to Scorpius, eyebrow lifted in inquiry.

(Knowing the hang-ups that the Malfoy heir had about what he had managed to do—and why, as well—but enough of a bastard to make the blond boy spell it out aloud.)

“…that shouldn’t have been possible,” Scorpius whispered, soft enough for Albus to not hear the words—gaze, even now, going shrewd and sharp once more, ever the pureblood heir no matter the leniency Draco Malfoy gave to his son and heir. “No one—the teachings—I don’t understand…”

The smile that Stiles offered in turn was crooked and sharp, shadows pulsing briefly around them—despite the Lumos still hovering in the air—before fading away to the pinpricks from before.

“Magic,” the older Slytherin answered in turn, fingers wiggling mockingly.

Scorpius’ mouth twisted unhappily at the lack of a genuine reply, silver gaze still too knowing for Stiles’ liking—but, after a long moment of silence between the both of them, the blond eleven year-old shifted closer once more and settled against his Housemate’s side.

Stiles’ hand came up, cupping over the nape of Scorpius’ neck as Albus’ surprised, delighted laughter filled the bolthole as his leaf finally took flight.

Different from how things used to be in America.

But yes—still good.

[btzone]

Buck-Tick and Bonji

Apologies for the long absence. I have written many things in my mind but neglected to actually type and post here.

If you’ve ever wondered about the symbols on Atsushi’s arms from the “Sweet Strange Live Film” concert video, read on. (Warning: long post!)

Bonji are characters of Indian origin that are used in Japanese esoteric Buddhism. In English, it is known as Siddham script. Last night, as I was waiting to be tattooed, I was browsing Japanese tattoo books and came across the use of bonji and there was a slight explanation. I recalled that Buck-Tick has used them in the past. I think some fans may have discussed this online but perhaps not in detail in English. I usually don’t try to unravel the mysteries of the Buck-Tick world but I’m sure there are many who are curious so let’s try to peel a layer or two.

Disclaimer: I am by no means any sort of expert in any religion, nor of Japan, and to be quite frank, nor am I an expert of Buck-Tick. I am a music fan and have passing interests in many things. There are a few reasons why I try not to interpret what Buck-Tick does. Mostly, I don’t really do that for any band or thing that I like! I feel it, not think it, if that makes sense. I may make some connections and have some surface curiosities but no pressing desire to write a thesis on it. So if I ever neglect to cover a topic related to Buck-Tick that you have interest in, it could be for this very reason so please don’t be too upset that I don’t touch it.

Secondly, I think it would take a native Japanese or scholar to begin to examine even pop music (and like it or not, Buck-Tick falls into the realm of pop). The reason being that there are many aspects to culture, such as literature and religion, that may be referenced in music. (Atsushi is the main lyricist and an avid reader.) The connections that a native person of a country would make are different than what a foreigner would make. Not that any interpretation of art is wrong, it just may not be as informed and as I am not a true native, I don’t want to steer foreigners down a divergent path. As I’ve mentioned before, I am half-Japanese and lived there for a bit growing up. However, my involvement with Japanese culture is on the pop level. My involvement with literature and religion in Japan is hardly more than what a child would experience. My mother is not a religious person and where she is from was a kingdom colonized by Japan so it has a separate history, language, and religion though by today’s definition it is Japan. So the exotic image you may have of Japan is at times just as foreign to me!

Buck-Tick has used various symbolism as part of their visual presentation and one could argue if a particular use was because it was superficially cool, misinterpreted on their part, or deliberately used for a deeper meaning. (In the early days, Hisashi remarked that he would look through the dictionary for cool words in English.)

Buddhism is not a Japanese religion but it arrived centuries ago and has woven into the culture. One will practice elements or come across bits and pieces even if one is not a practitioner. It is just a part of Japanese culture. Since I did not grow up going to Buddhist temples, there are many aspects I don’t know. The words for elements of Buddhism may also be vastly different in Japanese, English, and Indian languages so it can be hard for my brain to keep up.

For further reference, one can read up on the Wikipedia entries and other sources. I am just summarizing. Again, bear in mind the localization of Buddhism, that the Japanese pronunciation and use of elements may be a little different than Buddhism in other countries.

梵字 is how bonji is written in Japan. The Japanese wikipedia page explains the history and how it is read in Japanese. The English entry is on Siddham script. In use circa 600-1200 but you will see it in Japan to this day, especially at Buddhist sites. There are many sects of Buddhism, even in Japan. The use of bonji is particularly noted in what is called esoteric Buddhism in English or Shingon-shuu in Japanese. Bonji is used to write mantras. It may be written on wooden sticks, stone pagodas, and even merchandise sold at temples. (For example, at one temple I visited, they sold necklaces of the Chinese zodiac animals written in bonji.) 

The most famous deity in Shingon Buddhism is Fudou Myouou (simplified with macrons as Fudō Myōō) AKA Acala. He always has a sword in his right hand, seems to have a bit of an angry face, is often depicted seated but can be standing, and has two servants that he may or may not be pictured with. There are many variations to the elements of his imagery and these each have a meaning too deep to cover here. Below are images of both the standing and seated versions that I took at a temple in Japan.

All of that is a very long intro to what is actually on Atsushi’s arms but I would be remiss to have skipped all the backstory to understanding what is on his arms. The answer to that is it appears to be the same script that is on 五輪塔 gorintou, or a stone pagoda used for memorial or funerary purposes. As Buck-Tick songs and imagery often deal with death, this should be no great surprise. The “go” in this word means 5 so the script is comprised of five. Each section has a script that represents an element that has further associations. To be honest, the Wikipedia entry in English is lacking. The Japanese entry has more info but to be clear and be sure that I as a non-Buddhist do not misrepresent, I would like to refer the reader to other sources as well. But first, let’s break down the gorintou.

From top to bottom, the characters are read in Japanese as Kya Ka Ra Ba A. Their associated meanings, colors (not noted in chart above), body parts, and shapes are: 

Kya = 空 Sky (space), blue, head, pearl shape

Ka = 風 Wind (moving gas), black, neck, half moon/circle shape

Ra = 火 Fire (flames rise or ascending), red, heart, triangle shape

Ba = 水 Water (flowing or descending), white, belly, round/circle shape

A = 地 Earth (ground or firm), yellow, legs/feet, square shape

The A to Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Statuary has a good entry on Gorinto. For further reading, the site also has an entry on the Number Five in Buddhist Traditions.

To further complicate things, it should be noted that these can also have 4 sides/directions (north, south, west, east) and that the reading of the script is different on each side. Each direction also has meaning. This information is summarized as follows and as a non-practitioner, I hope to do it justice. (Japanese source is where the colors of gorinto are listed)

East reading: Kya Ka Ra Ba A (gateway to spiritual awakening)

South reading: Kyaa Kaa Raa Baa Aa (gateway to ascetic practice/training/Sadhana)

West reading: Kyan Kan Ran Ban An (gateway to enlightenment/Bodhi)

North reading: Kyaku Kaku Raku Baku Aku (gateway to nirvana/Buddha’s death)

It appears that what is on Atsushi’s arms is the same but the hands are different. For the purpose of writing this entry, I did not re-watch “Sweet Strange Live Film” but rather searched for magazine photos and screenshots. Thus, I did not find a clear picture of the hands so you may to do your research on this and I hope I have provided a decent starting point.

For a further Buck-Tick connection to all these elements, in the “Picture Product 2″ video, there is a section devoted to each member. For Toll, there are childhood photos and Toll visits those sites and tries to recreate some photos as an adult. One set of photos is taken at Jigen-in temple AKA Byakue Dai Kannon in his hometown of Takasaki, which is next door to Atsushi’s hometown of Fujioka. 

This temple has a giant white statue of Kannon. Kannon is a female goddess known also as the Guanyin bodhisattva. (Perhaps the camera manufacturer Canon rings a bell? It is an alternative spelling of Kannon.) It is possible to go inside of the Kannon statue and ascend many stairs and see various figures of Buddhism, including Fudō Myōō. Also on the temple site is a Gorintou. Below are pictures I took of both at the Jigen-in temple.

Armed with this knowledge now, it is up to you to decide whether or not there is any connection between Atsushi’s lyrics during the “Sexy Stream Liner” era and the script on his arms.

[kaparaonyou]

Hebrew in ~300 words עִבְרִית בְּכְ־300 מִּלִּים

Attention! I made some mistakes on the original post due to how similar the vowel points look on the HTML editor, hopefully enough people will see this on my blog and see that I’ve fixed them. Sorry :(

As a part of this post about beginning to learn a language, I’d decided to translate 300 basic words and phrases into Hebrew.

Note: all words will be written in defective spelling (ktiv haser) and with vowel points for ease of pronunciation

A hyphen (מָקָף) indicates the preposition / conjunction is immediately attached to the next word, and a dot underneath the hyphen is a dagesh, a bowel point indicating change in pronunciation of ב, כ, פ from the expected mid-word soft pronunciations (v, kh, f) to the hard ones (b, k ,p, respectively).

First Verbs

Verbs are given in their simplest form: 3rd person, male, past tense. modal verbs are exceptional in Hebrew, so they are given in their most common form.

be - no equivalent. The subject and the complement are simply put one after the other in the case of an adj. (which is conjugated according to number and gender), and connected with a 3rd person pronoun conjugated accordingly in case of a noun complement (הוּא/הִיא; הֵם/הֵן)

there is - יֵשׁ, past הָיה

have - יֵשׁ לְ־ (there is to subj.) past הָיָה לְ־

do - עָשָׂה

go - הָלַךְ

want - רָצָה

can - m יָכוֹל / f יְכוֹלָה

need - m צָרִיךְ / f צְרִיכָה

think - חָשַׁב

know - יָדַע

say - אָמַר, הֵגִיד

like - אָהַב (same as love)

speak - דִּבֶּר

learn - לָמַד

understand - הֵבִין

Conjunctions

that (as in “I think that…” or “the woman that…”) - ּשֶׁ־ (i think that…, the woman that… all tenses), הַ־ּ (the woman that… alternative to present tense)

and - וְ־

or - אוֹ

but - אֲבָל

because - in decreasing order of frequency - כִּי, בִּגְלַל שֶׁ־ּ, מִשֹּוּם שֶׁ־ּ, (מִ)כֵּיוָן שֶׁ־ּ, etc.

though - in decreasing order of frequency - לַמְרוׁת שֶׁ־ּ, עַל אַף שֶׁ־ּ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁ־ּ, etc.

so (meaning “therefore”; e.g. “I wanted it, so I bought it”) - אַז, לָכֵן

if - אִם

Prepositions

When used with pronouns, Hebrew prepositions are always conjugated with a specific ending for each pronoun.

of - של

to - אֵל (direction), לְ־ (all other uses tbh)

from - מִ־ּ

in - ְבְּתוֹך (inside), בְּ־ (in general)

at (a place) - בְּ־

at (a time) - בְּ־

with - עִם (with a noun), אֵת (with a pronoun, conjugated as ָאִתִּי, אִתְּך, etc.)

about - עַל

like (meaning “similar to”) - כְּמוֹ, כְּ־

for (warning, this one has several meanings that you need to take care of) - בִּשְׁבִיל (intended to)

before (also as a conjunction) - לִפְנֵי/לִפְנֵי שֶׁ־ּ

after (also as a conjunction) - אַחֲרֵי/אַחֲרֵי שֶׁ־ּ

during - תּוֹךְ כְּדֵי

bonus: direct obj. marker - אֵת (used with a defininte noun, conjugated ָאוֹתִי, אוֹתְך but אֶתְכֶם, אֵֶתְכֶן

Question Words

who - מִי

what - מָה

where - אֵיפֹה

when - מָתַי

why - לָמָּה

how - אֵיךְ

how much - כַּמָּה

which - אֵיזֶה

Adverbs

a lot - הַרְבֵּה

a little - קְצַת, מְעַט

well - טוֹב

badly - רַע

only - רָק

also - גַּם

very - מְאֹד

too (as in “too tall”) - מִדַּי (lit. (more) than enough)

too much - יוֹתֵר מִדַּי

so (as in “so tall”) - m כָּזֶה, f כָּזֹאת; or כָּל כַּךְ

so much - כָּל כַּךְ הַרְבֵּה

more (know how to say “more … than …”) - יוֹתֵר

less (know how to say “less … than …”) - פַּחוֹת

than - מִ־ּ

as … as … (e.g. “as tall as”) - … כְּמוֹ …

comparative (more, -er) - יוֹתַר

superlative (most, -est) - הֲכִי

now - עַכְשָׁו, כָּעֵת

then - אַז

here - פֹּה, כָּאן

there - שָׁם

maybe - אוּלַי

always - תָּמִיד

usually - בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלַל

often - הַרְבֵּה, לְעִתִּים קְרוֹבוֹת

sometimes - לִפְעָמִים, מְדֵּי פַּעַם

never - אַף פַּעַם (used with neg. verb / copula)

today - הַיּוֹם

yesterday - אֱתְמוֹל

tomorrow - מַחַר

soon - תֵּכֶף

almostֹ - כִּמְעַט

already - כְּבָר

still - עָדַיִן

even - אַפִלּוּ, אַף, גַּם

enough - מַסְפִּיק

Adjectives

the, a (technically articles) - הַ־ּ, no indef. article 

this - m הַזֶּה, f הַזֹּאת

that - m הַזֶּה, f הַזֹּאת or  m הָהוּא, f הָהִיא

good - טוֹב

bad - רַע

all - כָּל הַ־ּ

some - כַּמָּה

no - שׁוּם

any - שׁוּם

many - הַרְבֵּה

few - קְצַת, מְעַט

most - רֹב הַ־ּ

other - אַחֵר

same - m אוֹתוֹ הַ־ּ , f אוֹתָה הַ־ּ

different - שׁוֹנֶה

enough - מַסְפִּיק

one - m אֶחָד, f אַחַת

two - m שְׁנַיִם, f שְׁתַּיִם

a few - כַּמָּה

first - רִאשׁוֹן

next - הַבַּא (in time), לְיַד, עַל יַד (both in place)

last (meaning “past”, e.g. “last Friday”) - שֶׁעָבַר, הַקּוֹדֵם

last (meaning “final”) - הָאַחֲרוֹן

easy - קָל

hard - קָשֶׁה

early - מֻקְדַם

late - מְאֻחָר

important - חָשׁוּב

interesting - מְעַנְיֵן

fun - כֵּיף, כֵּיפִי

boring - מְשַׁעֲמֵם

beautiful - יָפֵה

big - גָּדֹל

small - קָטַן

happy - שָׂמֵחַ

sad - עָצוּב

busy - עָסוּק

excited - מִתְרַגֵּשׁ, נִרְגָּשׁ

tired - עָיֵף

ready - מוּכָן

favorite - הָאָהוּב עַל …

new - חָדָשׁ

right (meaning “correct”) - (e.g. a right answer) נָכוֹן; (e.g. to have the right answer) צוֹדֵק

wrong - לֹא נָכוֹן, שָׁגוּי; טוֹעֶה

true - נָכוֹן

Pronouns

Conjugated as:

subject

‘singular’ prepositional ending - בְּ־, כְּ־, לְ־, מִ־ּ, עם, את, של, בשביל, etc.

‘plural’ prepositional ending - עַל יְדֵי, אַחֲרֵי, מְאֲחוֹרֵי, עַל, אֵל, etc.

ס stands for the preceding prepostion

I

אֲנִי

סִי

סַי

you m

אַתָּה

סְךָ

סֶיךָ

you f

אַתּ��

סָךְ

סַיִךְ

he

הוּא

סוֹ

סָיו

she

הִיא

סָהּ

סֶיהָ

* it

m זֶה f זֹאת

we

אֲנַחְנוּ

סָנוּ

סֶינוּ

you (pl.) m

אֲתֶּם

סְכֵם

סֶיכֵם

** you (pl.) f

אַתֶּן

סְכֵן

סֶיכֵן

they (pl.) m

הֵם

סָם

סֶיהֵם

** they (pl.) f

הֵן

סָן

סֶיהן

* There is no neuter gender (it), so inanimate nouns are referred to by the corresponding male or female third person pronouns and conjugations

** Many speakers these days make no distinction between male and female second and third person pronouns (you, they), so these conjugations are gradually becoming obsolete.

Nouns

Hebrew nouns come in two genders, masculine and feminine, however unlike many other languages, the definite article is identical for all genders and inflections, therefore it is not included.

everything - הַכֹּל

something - מָשֶׁהוּ

nothing - כְּלוּם

everyone - כֻּלָּם

someone - מִישֶׁהוּ

no one - אַף אֶחָד / אַחַת (used in negation)

(name of the language you’re studying) - עִבְרִית

English - אַנְגְּלִית

thing - דָּבָר

person - בֵּן אָדָם (lit. son of Adam)

place - מָקוֹם

time (as in “a long time”) - זְמַן

time (as in “I did it 3 times”) - פַּעַם

friend - חָבֵר

woman - אִשָּׁה

man - אִישׁ

money - כֶּסֶף

country - מְדִינָה

(name of your home country) - ישְׂרָאֵל

city - עִיר

language - שָׂפָה, לָשׁוֹן

word - מִלָּה

food - אֹכֶל

house - בַּיִת

store - חָנוּת

office - מִשְׂרַד

company - חֵבְרָה

manager - מְנָהֵל

coworker - קוֹלֶגָה

job - עֲבֹדָה

work (as in “I have a lot of work to do”) - עֲבֹדָה

problem - בַּעֲיָה

question - שֶׁאֱלָה

idea - רַעֲיוֹן

life - חַיִּים

world - עוֹלָם

day - יוֹם

year - שָׁנָה

week - שָׁבוּעַ

month - חֹדֶשׁ

hour - שָׁעָה

mother, father, parent - אֵם, אַב, הוֹרֶה/הוֹרָה

daughter, son, child - בַּת, בֵּן, יֶלֶד/יָלְדָה

wife, husband - אִשָּׁה, בַּעַל

girlfriend, boyfriend - חָבֵרָה, חָבֵר

More Verbs

work (as in a person working) - עָבַד

work (meaning “to function”, e.g. “the TV works”) - עָבַד

see - רָאָה

use - הִשְֹתַּמּשׁ

should - הָיָה צָרִיךְ

believe - הֶאֱמִין

practice - הִתְאַמֵּן (practice a skill), פָּעַל (practice one’s beliefs) 

seem - נִרְאָה, נִדְמָה

come - בָּא

leave - עָזַב

return - חָזַר

give - נָתַן

take - לָקַח

bring - הֵבִיא

look for - חִפֵּשׂ

find - מָצַא

get (meaning “obtain”) - הֵשׂיג

receive - קִבֵּל

buy - קָנָה

try -  נִסָּה

start - הִתְחִיל

stop (doing something) - הִפְסִיק

finish - סִיֵּם, גָּמַר

continue - הִמְשִׁיךְ

wake up - הִתְעוֹרֵר

get up - קָם

eat - אָכַל

happen - קָרָה

feel - הִרְגִּישׁ

create (aka “make”) - יָצַר, עָשָׂה

cause (aka “make”) - גָּרַם לְ־

meet (meeting someone for the first time) - פָּגַשׁ, נִפְגַּשׁ

meet (meaning “to bump into”) - פָּגַשׁ

meet (an arranged meeting) - נִפְגַּשׁ

ask (a question) - שָׁאַל

ask for (aka “request”) - בִּקֵּשׁ

wonder - תָּהָה

reply - הֵגִיב

mean - אָמַר

read - קָרַא

write - כָּתַב

listen - הִקְשִׁיב

hear - שָׁמַע

remember - זָכַר

forget - שָׁכַח

choose - בָּחַר

decide - הִחְלִיט / הֶחֱלִיט

be born - נוֹלַד

die - מֵת

kill - הָרַג

live - חַי

stay - נִשְׁאַר

change - שִׁנָּה (for someone to change something), הִשְׁתָּנָּה (for something to change itself)

help - עָזַר

send - שָׁלַח

study - לָמַד

improve - שִׁפֵּר (for someone to improve something), הִשְׁתַּפֵּר (for somthing to improve itself)

hope - קִוָּה

care - הָיָה לְ־ אִכְפַּת (word or word, there-was to-subj. care)

Phrases

hello - שָׁלוֹם

goodbye - שָׁלוֹם / לְהִתְרָאוֹת

thank you - תּוֹדָה

you’re welcome - אֵין בְּעַד מָה, עַל לֹא דָּבָר

excuse me (to get someone’s attention) - סְלִיחָה

sorry - סְלִיחָה

it’s fine (response to an apology) - זֶה בְּסֶדֶר

please - בְּבַקָּשָׁה

yes - כֵּן

no - לֹא

okay - אוֹקֵיִי, בְּסֶדֶר, סַּבָּבָּה (slang)

My name is _____ - קוֹרְאִים לִי _____

What’s your name? אֵיךְ קוֹרְאִים לְךָ/לָךְ?

Nice to meet you. - נָעִים לְהַכִּיר

How are you? - מָה שְׁלוֹמְךָ/שְׂלוֹמֶךְ?, מָה קוֹרֶה?

I’m doing well, how about you? אֲנִי בְּסֶדַר, מָה אִתְּךָ/אִתָּך?

Sorry? / What? (if you didn’t hear something) - סְלִיחָה / שׁוּב?

How do you say ______? - אֵיךְ אוֹמְרִים _____?

What does ______ mean? - מָה _____ אוֹמֵר?

I don’t understand. - לֹא הֵבָנְתִּי.

Could you repeat that? אַתָּה/אַתְּ יָכוֹל/יְכוֹלָה לַחְזֹר עַל זֶה?.

Could you speak more slowly, please? אַתָּה/אַתְּ יָכוֹל/יְכוֹלָה לְדַבֶּר יוֹתֵר לְאַט?

Well (as in “well, I think…”) -  not really one word as in English. טוֹב can be said, but oftentimes simple filler sounds are used (אֶמממ, אֶההה, etc.)

Really? - בֶּאֱמֶת?

I guess that … - -אֲנִי מֵנִיחַ/מְנִיחָה שֶׁ.

* It’s hot. (talking about the weather) - חַם.

* It’s cold. (talking about the weather) - קַר.

* As these are one word sentences, they’re rarely said as is, usually coupled with a preposition indicating who or what is cold. (E.g. I’m cold - קַר לִי; It’s cold outside - קַר בָּחוּץ

[maritzaerwin]

10 Things You Need to Do to Pass IELTS the First Time Around

Did you know that IELTS exams are taken by more than 3.5 million test-takers around the world a year? This is one of the major reasons why you need to get hold of extensive test materials and resources to help your preparations and pass IELTS on your first try.

But, do you think it is enough to spend only a few hours and months studying from books and other online guides?

I would rather say a big “NO” as the chances are high that you won’t feel confident and end up scoring less. So, are you planning to pass IELTS exam on the first go? If you said yes, wait!  Read these 10 things you need to follow before you go ahead.  

 So what should you do to pass IELTS in one shot? Let’s find out below.

Effective Tips to Help You Pass IELTS in Your First Try

1. Check your English Proficiency!

The first thing you need to do is to check your English language proficiency for career prospects. As you are a non-native speaker of English looking to work or study abroad means, you need to be a proficient speaker. 

If you are adept at your language skills then IELTS may come easily to you. But those with mediocre skills in English may have a tough time with the IELTS.

In this case, a self-assessment will give you a good idea about:

Which area needs improvement. 

Where you stand and how far you need to go to achieve your goal.

This allows you to allocate more of your time to boost your weak areas. Further, national lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic are an added advantage. You have more time to restart your IELTS preparation now! 

2. Familiarize With the Types of Questions

IELTS tests your aptitude in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking English. The requirements of each of these sections vary. Knowing the type of questions can help you find smart ways to answer. Now, take a look at the type of questions you will be asked:

Listening & Reading: Matchmaking, gap filling, true or false, short answer questions, sentence completion, classification, table or chart completion, Diagram labeling, and identifying the writer’s views/claims. 

Writing: Letter writing, essay about your point of view regarding an argument, describing visual information in words, presenting arguments, Responding to a problem, and so on. 

Speaking: Communicating clearly about everyday topics, answering questions, speaking at length on a given topic, discussing and analyzing and justifying your opinion. 

3. Practice Listening

The Listening section gives you four tasks. These can be monologues or conversations between two speakers. It’s important to note that these recordings will be played only once and may have a range of accents. So how do you score in your listening?

While at home, listen to English News like BBC radio daily.

Online podcasts and TED talks are other excellent ways to enhance your listening skills. TED talks feature speakers from different nationalities with their unique accents. As a result, you become a pro at figuring out different accents of English. 

Before you start listening to the audio make a mental note of the questions in the beginning. Try to locate the answers as you continue to hear.

Do not forget that you will get to hear the audio, only ONCE! Therefore, you need to become a multi-tasker. 

Pay attention to the order of questions. Answers follow the same chronology of the questions. The answer to the first question can be found most likely in the beginning sections.  

Focus on introductions in the recording to get an idea of the speaker. 

Check for pauses and cue words to know where a particular idea ends or begins.

Never stop listening thinking that you have got all your answers in place. There are chances that speakers might correct themselves later. 

Transferring answers neatly to the answer paper is as important as listening. But what if you have messy handwriting? Then you could use all CAPITALS in your writing making it more legible. 

Avoid making grammar and spelling mistakes. These are easy ways to lose marks.

4. Read Regularly and Widely 

Within 60 minutes you need to read through three passages in the Reading Section. The major focus is to identify specific points or get an overall understanding of the text. Also, identify opinions and the intention of the writer.

Here are a few things to take care of in your Reading subtest:

Reading speed can only improve with practice. Read extensively on any topic of your choice in English. Keep a dictionary to help you understand the meaning of new words and also find their alternatives. 

If you read online news like that of BBC or surf into online magazines like The Economist, you could read and practice with extremely good content. Their articles deal with a variety of topics like business, culture, economy, politics, society, and so on. What more? The extracts given in the IELTS exam closely resemble that of these websites. 

Reading non-fiction or perhaps literary books will also brush up your reading skills gradually. 

When you read long paragraphs, try paraphrasing/ rephrasing it in your own words. 

On the test day, skim through every paragraph in a given text and try to figure out general details like the speaker, topic, tone, style, the speaker/writer’s purpose, and the targeted audience. 

Just like in Listening, have an idea of the questions first and then read through the material. This can save a lot of time.

Getting a general idea of a sentence will do. You need not spend too much time trying to understand the precise meaning. 

5. Write Precisely

IELTS Writing subtest checks your professional writing skills in English. You have two Writing tasks to complete within 60minutes in the Writing subtests. You will be marked based on how well you could achieve and respond to the situation. Examiners also look for coherence and accuracy in the written material. There are several IELTS writing tips to improve your band score.

If writing is your weak spot, check out these easy tips to improve:

While you prepare, try to time your writing and stick to it to improve speed. Reduce the time as you pick up more speed. 

Read good quality content in English, underline grammar structures, and try to apply it in your writing.

Give your writing to be checked by someone good in English. Mistakes are identified better this way. 

The paragraphs you write must be organized. Use linking words and phrases ( Firstly, lastly, besides, to summarize) to ensure a logical flow of thoughts. 

Do not stuff all your ideas into one paragraph. Divide each main idea into different body paragraphs. 

Focus on your language more than the amount of information you try to gather. Remember IELTS tests your fluency with English and not general knowledge. 

Make use of perfect tenses, passive voice, conditionals, past, future tense. 

Repeating sentences and ideas tend to lower your marks

Only write the required number of words.

6. Speak English Frequently

The Speaking test can get you on your nerves. Even though the topics cover home, family, work, or interests you might feel nervous to converse smoothly. Avoid some mistakes in speaking and overcome your fear with plenty of practice. 

Practice speaking English regularly among your friends or anyone willing to speak to you in English. Even while you do this see that you don’t feel discouraged in case your friend speaks better than you. 

Here is an interesting way to learn conversation patterns for your Speaking test. Watch English movies with the subtitles on or simply download their scripts online.  

Do not memorize or prepare a speech beforehand. Examiners can easily make out this and can, in turn, affect your band score.

Try to speak without using fillers like “Uhm, yeah, like, you know”, etc. But make sure you add pauses to avoid running through a sentence. 

Speak standing in front of the mirror concentrating on the pronunciation.

Recording your own speech is one of the easiest ways to self identify mistakes. When you listen to yourself speak you pick your weak areas easily. This also lets you have an idea of how others will hear you speak. 

You need not worry about your accent. Just make sure to get the message across effectively.  

Do not remain silent when you are asked a question. English speakers cannot tolerate silence. It’s not ok to hesitate for more than 5 seconds. In such a case, try using expressions like “That’s a tough question”, “ Let me see”.

Speak facing at the examiner and not the recording device. 

Keep your spirits high. You will be asked to talk about your life experiences in the most interesting manner possible. At most, it’s all about you, then what’s the point in being nervous.  

7. Not Leaving Answers Blank

Avoid tendencies to skip questions and coming back to it later. IELTS is rigidly timed so answering every single question as you go is of utmost importance. It’s completely okay if you are unsure of any answer. The key aspect is to guess the right answer by removing the most likely wrong answers. Who knows you might be lucky at getting it right.  At the same, do not spend too much time on one question. You do not want to skip easy questions by merely holding onto one question.

8. Avoid Some Common Mistakes 

Even while you go ahead with steady preparation it’s important to stay safe from some common pitfalls. Improving your communication is the ultimate motive. But make sure you do not follow the same pattern. Try to bring variations while reading and writing in words, sentence construction, and moderate your tone.

Do not repeat the same phrase from the question in your answer. You will be marked on how well you can restructure the answer in a way that satisfies the question. 

Writing short forms of words should be strictly avoided. For instance, writing ‘info’ for information, ‘asap’ for as soon as possible, ‘wanna’ for want to and many more. 

Avoid using lazy words in your formal writing like ‘etc’, ‘so on’, ‘eg’ for example. These words are insufficient to explain your information.

Do not use pronouns like ‘you, us, we’ too much in your writing. Such usages will make the writing sound very informal. Using first-person ‘I’ is acceptable as in most cases you will be asked to give your opinion. 

Avoid giving yes/no or monosyllabic answers. Nodding your head to answer questions will also give a bad impression. Remember that IELTS checks your English language fluency. So, use complete sentences in your answers. 

9. Do Personalized Preparation

Make your practice sessions lighter by including fun activities.  This includes lessons that would improve your English with minimum stress. 

Watch English tv channels, cookery shows, or maybe travel shows.

Play board games to boost your vocabulary. It is easy, you can access several board game resources online with English instructors. 

Are you fond of music? Then give a try at English songs from the ’60s. While recent songs use many slang words, old songs will help you grasp good sounding words and phrases. 

10. Take Mock Tests 

When it comes to IELTS mock tests, a candidate like yourself preparing for the first time may have a number of questions in mind. 

But do you know that IELTS mock tests are designed to meet the requirements of candidates at any stage of their preparation? On the basic level, a mock test will tell you how an IELTS exam looks like.  

Taking a mock test can help you get a knack of the real exam. 

Time management is another skill you can improve with mock tests. After taking a mock test you realize your strong and weak areas and improve accordingly. 

You can also eliminate your exam-time nervousness. 

Candidates with prior success in IELTS suggests that one mock test per month can shoot up your band score by two marks! 

Most of all, if you are looking to make a straight shot out of IELTS then Practice! Practice! and Practice! There is no secret formula for IELTS success without constant commitment and uninterrupted practice. Push yourself every day to work hard- no progress happens in the comfort zone! Hurry, make all the above-mentioned methods work wonders for you. Let it reflect on your results and make your overseas dream a reality.

The post 10 Things You Need to Do to Pass IELTS the First Time Around appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

10 Things You Need to Do to Pass IELTS the First Time Around published first on https://skillsireweb.tumblr.com/

[her-culture]

Can I Call You Akka?: How I Reconciled My Indian Name With My American Identity

Akka literally means big sister in Telugu. But to me, Akka means so much more. 

Akka is the beckoning call of my little sister when she needs my help with her Spanish homework. Akka is, to me, my cousin’s name, the only thing I’ve ever called her. Akka is what my dance teacher turns around at, and what her children call me. 

And Akka is me. My little sister has only ever called me Akka, and I associate the word, when it comes from my sister, to mean me. 

So when my sister, now a freshman at our high school, asked me if she was allowed to call me Akka at school, I was stunned. “Why would you not be allowed to?”

She shrugged uncomfortably and slinked away, but I knew why. It’s the same reason that I pronounce my name Nick-hee-duh when I introduce myself, instead of the way it should be said, Nick-he-tha, with the emphasis on the first syllable, not the second. It’s the same reason I created a less Indian version of my name—Niki—to give out, for ease—or maybe to hide the Indian part of me. 

Because my name has always been a point of contention in my family. When I was younger, my parents would frown at my Americanized pronunciation of my name. They never understood why I felt the need to give up what they felt was the perfect name. But I didn’t like watching the double takes that people did when my parents said my name. I didn’t like the fact that I had to spell it for every single person I met, and people still got it wrong. I didn’t like that I never found my name on keychains at stores. I didn’t like that autocorrect changed, and still changes, my name, that Google Docs underlines it in bright, glaring red. 

So to me, it was simple. Get rid of the red line. Change people’s expressions. Take away a few letters from my name, and there it was—Niki. Easy to spell, easy to pronounce—I even found it on souvenir keychains.

At home, though, I was still Nikhita. And to my sister, I was still Akka. So the dilemma remained—I had effectively changed my name at school, but now my sister was on campus. What was I supposed to do now?

I’m not the only one who’s thought about this long and hard. I come from an area where almost everyone I know is the child of immigrants. Cultural names are not uncommon for us; almost every single one of us has an American pronunciation and an Indian pronunciation of our names. 

But one day, I was watching Hasan Minhaj, and he talked about how he explained to Ellen how to properly say his name. And she got it! And now he doesn’t have to change his name anymore, doesn’t have to give out an American version.

Now when people ask my name, I pronounce it correctly. Nik-he-tha. And if they have trouble saying it, I still offer up Niki as an alternative. I’ve grown up with Niki, and I don’t mind it at all. But in my mind, I’ve changed how I see my name. It’s no longer a burden, something to deal with at Starbucks. It’s what my parents chose for me, so I’m going to give it its due respect. 

So to my sister, I told her that yes, she was allowed to call me Akka. I’m Nikhita to my mom, Niki to my friends, Akka to my sister. Of course, it took me time to reach this conclusion. But if you have a cultural name, try saying it properly to a couple of people. Turns out, they won’t look at you any differently. Of course, I may not ever find Nikhita or Akka on a keychain—but they’re just as much a part of my identity as Niki is. I’ll just have to change the keychains to match my name, not my name to match them. 

[liz27moore]

Excerpt: 'The Prodigal Tongue'

In 2012 a British learning-disability charity quizzed over two thousand adults on their spelling and found that about a third could not spell definitely. The headlines that followed proclaimed that the population had become too dependent on spell-checkers, which had ruined our ability to spell. Those headlines made me more concerned for the population’s critical reasoning faculties than for their spelling. The fact that a lot of people in 2012 couldn’t spell tells us only that a lot of people in 2012 couldn’t spell. Unless we know how well people in 1972 spelled, we cannot know that spelling skills have worsened. In fact, we should be open to the possibility that spell-checkers help us to learn spelling. If not for the gentle insistence of spell- checkers, I am sure I’d still be spelling accommodation  with one m. Technology can teach.

But people like to blame technology. And so Britain worries about American “spelling imperialism,” which BBC broadcaster John Humphrys says “now stretches via your desk-top through spellcheck,” resulting in “a deep sense of grievance at what the Americans are doing to us.”  I’ve had to listen to this grievance (a lot), but I haven’t seen the damage. Awareness that Americans spell things differently seems to have ignited a newfound sense of orthographic patriotism in many Brits. Sure, you’d probably find more color in Britain today than fifty years ago because there are people who have not figured out how to change the dictionary in their spell-checker or auto-complete feature. But British English has not succumbed to color; it is still considered to be a misspelling.

The case of -ise and -ize, on the other hand, indicates that technology may be moving “correct” spelling in the US and UK away from each other rather than merging them. It’s a complicated situation with a complicated history. The -ize spelling is a way of representing a Greek spelling in English using the Latin alphabet. But the French spell the same suffix as -ise. Some of these words came into English from postclassical Latin, which used the Greek z (characterize from characterizare), some from French with an s (specialise from spécialiser), and some were invented in English by using -ise or -ize as a suffix. For instance, apology gave rise to apologise (and later apologize) and personal got the verb form personalize (and later personalise).

Then in the 19th century, use of the suffix exploded. The Oxford English Dictionary records about nine hundred new -ize words from the 1800s. That’s as many -ize words as had been added to English in the previous six centuries and three times as many as they record for the 20th century.  The year 1825 gave us lionize, minimize, and objectivize. The 1850s were good for euphemize, externalize, and serialize. Most of these new words were British before they were American.  This verbifying suffix-fest coincided  with—maybe even spurred on—the  mid-1800s British shift towards preferring the -ise spelling for both new and old verbs. This shift may have been inspired by the large number of 19th-century -ise words that were borrowed directly from French, including  galvanise, mobilise, and polarise.

The 19th-century rise of the -ise spelling in Britain coincided with its downfall in America. Noah Webster’s shift to -ize makes the spelling correspond unambiguously to the /z/-ful pronunciation (-ise can also be pronounced with /s/, as in promise, anise, and vise). But while the shift to -ize is one of Webster’s most successful interventions, it’s also terrifically incomplete. Americans don’t use a z in the verbs advertise, merchandise, surprise, or compromise, though they’re all pronounced  with /z/. There are historical explanations for some of the exceptions, but the facts of the matter are: Webster’s change made American spelling more stable, in that it reduced the number of spelling options, but it didn’t make the spelling completely regular.

While Americans  had made a firm  decision about how to spell the suffix, the British didn’t feel a particular need to conform. The preference for -ise in the 1800s was reversed (at least for some words) after the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary, starting in 1884. Faced with many words with complicated spelling histories and usage, the OED editors decided to treat all the words the same and to present the -ize spelling before the -ise one for each verb. They chose -ize on the grounds that the suffix goes back to Greek, even if not all the words containing the suffix do. The z spelling became more popular with British publishers after the OED, but the s spelling was still considered an acceptable alternative.

Things went wrong for the British z in the 1990s. In the 1990s, The Times in London and Cambridge University Press suddenly switched allegiance to -ise after preferring -ize for the seventy years prior. At this point,  spell-checkers had been readily available for about a decade, but since they allowed both ise and ize in British English, documents could pass muster while confusingly spelling the same word in two ways. The internet had recently been rolled out to the public, giving people more opportunity to read other countries’  spelling than ever before. These developments led to two lines of thinking:

1.  Spellings should be consistent within a document—no more mixing -ize and -ise, and

2.  If Americans are spelling it -ize, then -ise must be “the”  British spelling.

And so people started believing that -ize is American (perhaps even believing that the spelling was invented in America) and that it is simply wrong in Britain. A spoof “message from the Queen” that does the rounds after US elections declares that Her Majesty is retaking the colonies and “the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise,” as if -ize is not British. There’s even reluctance to use -ize among those who know that the fashion for -ise is recent. A 2011 letter in the British Medical Journal quotes Fowler’s Modern English Usage:

The primary rule is that all words of the type authorize/authorise, civilize/civilise,  legalize/legalise may legitimately be spelt with either -ize or -ise throughout  the English-speaking  world except in America, where -ize is compulsory.

But then the letter writer  concludes:

Speaking purely personally, I think that anything that is compulsory in America should be avoided. 

Our globalized communication culture hasn’t killed off ise; it has strengthened it. -Ise is not just a suffix; it is a badge of honor, declaring to all and sundry, I AM NOT AMERICAN. True to form, when wanting to look not-American, British English looks more French.

from Grammar Girl RSS https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/excerpt-the-prodigal-tongue

[anal29cheng]

Excerpt: 'The Prodigal Tongue'

In 2012 a British learning-disability charity quizzed over two thousand adults on their spelling and found that about a third could not spell definitely. The headlines that followed proclaimed that the population had become too dependent on spell-checkers, which had ruined our ability to spell. Those headlines made me more concerned for the population’s critical reasoning faculties than for their spelling. The fact that a lot of people in 2012 couldn’t spell tells us only that a lot of people in 2012 couldn’t spell. Unless we know how well people in 1972 spelled, we cannot know that spelling skills have worsened. In fact, we should be open to the possibility that spell-checkers help us to learn spelling. If not for the gentle insistence of spell- checkers, I am sure I’d still be spelling accommodation  with one m. Technology can teach.

But people like to blame technology. And so Britain worries about American “spelling imperialism,” which BBC broadcaster John Humphrys says “now stretches via your desk-top through spellcheck,” resulting in “a deep sense of grievance at what the Americans are doing to us.”  I’ve had to listen to this grievance (a lot), but I haven’t seen the damage. Awareness that Americans spell things differently seems to have ignited a newfound sense of orthographic patriotism in many Brits. Sure, you’d probably find more color in Britain today than fifty years ago because there are people who have not figured out how to change the dictionary in their spell-checker or auto-complete feature. But British English has not succumbed to color; it is still considered to be a misspelling.

The case of -ise and -ize, on the other hand, indicates that technology may be moving “correct” spelling in the US and UK away from each other rather than merging them. It’s a complicated situation with a complicated history. The -ize spelling is a way of representing a Greek spelling in English using the Latin alphabet. But the French spell the same suffix as -ise. Some of these words came into English from postclassical Latin, which used the Greek z (characterize from characterizare), some from French with an s (specialise from spécialiser), and some were invented in English by using -ise or -ize as a suffix. For instance, apology gave rise to apologise (and later apologize) and personal got the verb form personalize (and later personalise).

Then in the 19th century, use of the suffix exploded. The Oxford English Dictionary records about nine hundred new -ize words from the 1800s. That’s as many -ize words as had been added to English in the previous six centuries and three times as many as they record for the 20th century.  The year 1825 gave us lionize, minimize, and objectivize. The 1850s were good for euphemize, externalize, and serialize. Most of these new words were British before they were American.  This verbifying suffix-fest coincided  with—maybe even spurred on—the  mid-1800s British shift towards preferring the -ise spelling for both new and old verbs. This shift may have been inspired by the large number of 19th-century -ise words that were borrowed directly from French, including  galvanise, mobilise, and polarise.

The 19th-century rise of the -ise spelling in Britain coincided with its downfall in America. Noah Webster’s shift to -ize makes the spelling correspond unambiguously to the /z/-ful pronunciation (-ise can also be pronounced with /s/, as in promise, anise, and vise). But while the shift to -ize is one of Webster’s most successful interventions, it’s also terrifically incomplete. Americans don’t use a z in the verbs advertise, merchandise, surprise, or compromise, though they’re all pronounced  with /z/. There are historical explanations for some of the exceptions, but the facts of the matter are: Webster’s change made American spelling more stable, in that it reduced the number of spelling options, but it didn’t make the spelling completely regular.

While Americans  had made a firm  decision about how to spell the suffix, the British didn’t feel a particular need to conform. The preference for -ise in the 1800s was reversed (at least for some words) after the publication of the Oxford English Dictionary, starting in 1884. Faced with many words with complicated spelling histories and usage, the OED editors decided to treat all the words the same and to present the -ize spelling before the -ise one for each verb. They chose -ize on the grounds that the suffix goes back to Greek, even if not all the words containing the suffix do. The z spelling became more popular with British publishers after the OED, but the s spelling was still considered an acceptable alternative.

Things went wrong for the British z in the 1990s. In the 1990s, The Times in London and Cambridge University Press suddenly switched allegiance to -ise after preferring -ize for the seventy years prior. At this point,  spell-checkers had been readily available for about a decade, but since they allowed both ise and ize in British English, documents could pass muster while confusingly spelling the same word in two ways. The internet had recently been rolled out to the public, giving people more opportunity to read other countries’  spelling than ever before. These developments led to two lines of thinking:

1.  Spellings should be consistent within a document—no more mixing -ize and -ise, and

2.  If Americans are spelling it -ize, then -ise must be “the”  British spelling.

And so people started believing that -ize is American (perhaps even believing that the spelling was invented in America) and that it is simply wrong in Britain. A spoof “message from the Queen” that does the rounds after US elections declares that Her Majesty is retaking the colonies and “the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise,” as if -ize is not British. There’s even reluctance to use -ize among those who know that the fashion for -ise is recent. A 2011 letter in the British Medical Journal quotes Fowler’s Modern English Usage:

The primary rule is that all words of the type authorize/authorise, civilize/civilise,  legalize/legalise may legitimately be spelt with either -ize or -ise throughout  the English-speaking  world except in America, where -ize is compulsory.

But then the letter writer  concludes:

Speaking purely personally, I think that anything that is compulsory in America should be avoided. 

Our globalized communication culture hasn’t killed off ise; it has strengthened it. -Ise is not just a suffix; it is a badge of honor, declaring to all and sundry, I AM NOT AMERICAN. True to form, when wanting to look not-American, British English looks more French.

from Grammar Girl RSS https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/excerpt-the-prodigal-tongue