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ms0milk · 1 year

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dog tired and destined to drown

shinsou hitoshi x (fem)reader

cw MDNI, established fwb, thoroughly whipped shinsou, reader is exhausted and in need of some assistance. pent up tears, not quite dacryphilia, fingering + oral (reader receiving), soft dom!shinsou, praise + reassurance, "my girl," and "pretty girl" used throughout. not sure how to tag -> "reader bursts into tears and gives shinsou a heart attack." two dopes lie to themselves about having casual feelings. 3.7k

He doesn’t stumble so much as melt into the dorms, after wrapping up a midnight patrol that’s made him contemplate eating his hero license. It’s fucking finals season.

Shinsou drags himself through the second round of glass safety doors and into the common room, empty, save for you. Hunched over a splay of books and colored pens on the round center table. Your head perks up at his entrance. His fingers tighten around the strap of his bag.

You’re sitting sleepy and so goddamned pretty in your favorite sweater and the ridiculous headband you never remember to take off after washing your face, a pretzel in your chair. One knee up (a round red imprint of it on your cheek) and both arms laden with paperwork too complicated for a sidekick. Shinsou imagines dropping his equipment on the common room floor and filling his hands with you. Kissing your forehead and stumbling stupidly off to bed hand in hand.

He doesn’t do any of that but does smile the way you both know is always only for you and rumbles with a quirk-worn voice, “Why are you awake?”

Nonchalance is attempted but as always it comes out cloying.

When Shinsou approaches your sticky note-highlighter-spiral bound workbench, you still haven’t answered the question and he notes that your dark circles might be competing with his.

“Hitoshi,” you sag– and the exhaustion is so unlike you it's worrying– and crawl out of your seat, abandoning both slippers, to meet him. Before you can thud against his chest, Shinsou catches you with a palm to the forehead and drops his bag to the floor.

“Hey– Y/n?”

If you weren’t dead on your feet you might’ve clicked both heels at the sound of your first name tumbling, finally so comfortably, from Shinsou’s lips. It took you getting knocked unconscious on a mission two months ago for him to even dare speak the word and while today was significantly less life threatening, it didn’t feel much better. As it stands, an IV drip might even do you some good.

“Bad day?”

Instead of answering, you slip your face from the worried hero’s hold and bury it into the shoulder of his sweatshirt.

You agreed, you both agreed to keep your arrangement a secret from your friends. You both agreed it was just casual, a way to let out stress in the unrelenting chaos of third-year sidekick work. Nothing special, zero stakes. Although casual certainly does not mean crumbling into your fuckbuddy’s chest after a horrible day and you feel ridiculous before any words even manage to leave your mouth.

Shinsou practices saying your name, testing it over tongue and tooth under his breath, everyday, all day long. He considers inflection and emphasis, your foreign accent, and the way his own accent might fuck up the beautiful shapes. He’s a civilian in love, he doesn’t think you’re ridiculous.

“Are you hurt?” He rumbles, uninterested in who might walk into the common room and catch you both like this. You shake your head, the last shake landing your face against the warm skin of his neck to nuzzle the pulse there, irregular, and take in the smell of his post-patrol shower. He holds back chills when you exhale against him.

He tries again, “Then what’s wrong?” and pushes your thick headband back far enough to pull it from your hair. He smooths down the frizz he caused with two big hands along the sides of your head, keeping up the slow and heavy strokes long after he’s tamed your flyaways. “Y/n?”

“Civilian got hurt on patrol today.”

You don’t need to explain. Hero work doesn’t always feel triumphant.

“And I bombed my practice exam, and, and I just can’t fucking focus.”

Shinsou, worn-out in his own ways, wilts as he realizes how much deeper your exhaustion is than a failed test or injured civilian. It's been weeks for both of you, of mismatched patrol schedules and shitty sidekick busywork. Agencies across town, overnight shifts, and class in the morning. Worse than all that, your shoulders start to tremble from where he’s tucked you inside of him.

“Are they safe? The civilian.”

“Yeah,” you murmur, mostly muffled by his own collar, “just a short hospital stay.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Itsuka made dinner.”

“Is that a yes?”

You clutch at the sides of his jacket and nod again, punctuated by more chills and he simultaneously can’t watch and (more importantly) cannot stand just letting you cry silently against his shoulder. Shinsou brings his hands from your hair to your cheeks and pulls your face up to look at him from where you’ve hidden it.

No tears drip from your lashes. You just stare through him, more exhausted than anyone he’s ever seen save for Aizawa or a trip to any mirror. The usually aggressive twinkle in your eyes has dulled and suffice it to stay, Shinsou’s heart breaks a little bit more. You’re so pretty so close to him even under unflattering dorm lighting and the gutwrenching bite of your lip, holding back everything he’s sure overwhelms you inside.

He brushes both thumbs under your eyes and hopes that the very not-casual and actually quite unrelenting love that threatens to spill from him like honey, doesn’t seep into your skin from his touch and give him away.

“I’ll help you with work in the morning, think you should call it a night.”

For a second you continue to look at, through, and over him and then you lean forward for a kiss.

It’s warm and minty and Shinsou’s endlessly embarrassed by how easy it would be for your lips to kill him, but you’re needier than you should be considering the burden of your dark circles. He struggles to lean away and succumbs to the hungry tilt of your chin and the cloy of your tongue three more times before managing a staccato, “I don’t think–”

“I can’t sleep,” you breathe. You’ve dipped back far enough to speak and Shinsou knows he shouldn’t, but he cups your jaw– cradles your neck in either hand and sinks forward to press your lips together again. He’s so, so tired, and his head bobs lazily, but you cling to his sleeve and tuck your nose under his to follow where his mouth guides you.

In just a few seconds the pair of you are lost, Shinsou with his forehead pressed to yours and you with the unshakable urge to strip off his stupid jacket. Any classmate studying late or in need of a midnight snack might not have the strength to do anything but crawl back up the staircase at the sight of you.

You lean away earnestly this time and press your thumb into his swollen lip. It slides easily over saliva your tongue left behind and the hero watches every flicker of your eyes so sincerely it makes your ears hot.

“m sorry your day was so terrible.”

“Honestly, I’m so tired I can’t even cry. Toshi I’m–” This close, your eyes can’t focus well enough to see each other clearly but you still get butterflies under his gaze, “Can you help me fall asleep tonight?”

He slips his palms back up to your cheeks and tilts your head slowly, side to side to study you. In a bustling school morning or family dinner with class 3-B, Shinsou treats you as he would any other teammate. No touching save for a spar, no gifts or surprises, and certainly no sweet words. He does watch you though, from his desk beside yours. And says yes too quickly when you ask for help. He smiles every time he sees you, just slightly, and no one, none of your classmates and least of all you, has the heart to point it out in case he stops self-consciously.

Privacy is what makes Shinsou so touchy and if you could have seen the glaze over his eyes from this close, you would know there isn’t a thought in his head except for you.

He takes his time quietly tracing your jaw with his fingers and tucking your hair behind your ears. You know he’s worried about you, and you can feel in the lightness of his touch the way he’s sorting out how to tell you that you’re just gonna have to go to bed. For your health and safety and all those sappy things.

But Shinsou just watches you quietly for a few more seconds. He drinks in the sight of you after so many days apart and whispers, “Yes. Yeah, okay.” Processing your request in real time. He blinks back down to you, “My room?”

Practiced hands remember every cleft of your body even in dim lamplight. Shinsou’s chest is bare, warm– hot even and soft when you steady yourself against it. He’s real, there’s give in his skin when you squeeze him and a heartbeat in every vein under your fingers. You’re on your knees straddling his lap in an equally warm bed and trying your hardest not to make a single sound.

“Can I take this off?” He murmurs through hair in his spot behind your ear. Shinsou bites kisses up your shoulder while one hand flits at the clasp of your bra. Patient, steady. The other presses up each dip of your spine in the chill left behind by your long abandoned sweater. You nod. A flick, then two and your own chest is finally bare against his, nipples pert and pressed from how close Shinsou holds you.

It’s agonizing how gentle he is.

“You’re warm,” he whispers as you pull away to cup his face and roll your clothed hips over his own.

“Use me hero, I'm yours tonight just–”

He silences you in dim light with a kiss, more of a touch of lips, and leans his forehead against yours, “Slow down.”

He can’t trick you though, your words always send him to the brink. The tent of his briefs is a bulge between your legs now, easy to slide against and hot enough to warm you through your underwear. Faces pressed close Shinsou kisses you again, resting one hand on your ass and drawing the other up your back so lightly it sends chills feathering out in every direction.

“Not treating you rough when you’re so tired,” he breathes, “‘s not safe.”

You consider headbutting him and decide against it, opting instead to pull his lips back to you with your teeth. You’re allowed a few rough kisses before Shinsou presses one of his hands flat to your stomach with fingertips so cold that your gasp breaks the seal between you.

He hums as your body trembles, cursing and shivering all while the sleepy hero takes his time warming himself up against you, in the dips of your cleavage and thighs. Shinsou, as always, wants to eat you alive.

“You work so hard Y/n, it’s my turn. My turn to make you feel good, yeah?” He drags a knuckle down your stomach, further and further until he grazes a spot too sensitive for you to keep still. Cute, he agonizes when you buck against his fingers and he smiles into your cheek when he finds the pooled wet waiting for him through your underwear.

Nodding wildly, you catch his lips again and grind your hips deeper into his, only relenting when Shinsou slips his hand under your waistband and truly gives you what you want. You gasp with his feathertouch at that sensitive bud, just the circle of two fingers before he presses deeper into your folds.

As your body pours into his too gentle touches Shinsou keeps you close, “C’mon, tell me.” A heavy hand slides up your spine, one notch at a time until his palm cradles the back of your neck. He’s wrapped around you, he’s supporting you at every angle and it’s allconsuming.

Shinsou doesn’t ask, he instructs; he doesn’t want to hurt you. The days he uses his quirk on you are rare and no matter how hot you’re convinced it is or how much effort you put into begging, he still makes you explain to him, with every detail you can imagine, what you want. You’re in love with him. You hope he can’t tell.

“Tell me.”

“You Toshi– inside of me, please, can’t wait–”

You must be blind if you can’t see how quickly he gives you everything you ask for.

With you straddling his lap, Shinsou presses two fingers at your quivering entrance and sinks, knuckles deep, finally inside of you.

It’s the deepest, hungriest ache. The hero’s digits drag wet with the slightest hint of a curve. Smooth and steady, Shinsou begins to pump his wrist, keeping those fingers you know so well hooked against the spot that fills your head with static.

You think you’ve said something– made some kind of sound in your haze because Shinsou’s chest rumbles with laughter as you melt so pretty for him. Finally unable to form a single exhausted thought.

“My sweet girl.”

Wet drips from his wrist and pools in his palm as he holds you steady over his thighs, rolling and suckling and pulling the fear and the fight from your body with his thick fingers. It’s all a dream. Spreading you open and kissing you better– his dream. He draws you tight against him with a hand at the back of your neck as he fucks you gentle, pressing your cheek to his shoulder and smiling when your fingers shake and tremble at his biceps, failing to clutch any part of him. There’s nothing but the sound of your gasping breaths, a hiccup and shaking whimper, but still he knows you’re sensitive tonight.

“Still with me?” He cooes with a voice rasped from patrol work, and when you whine, press a palm flat to his chest for some semblance of response he leans forward to tip you over his knees and flat onto the bed.

You gasp and he thinks you’re going to ask him why, but he can only look at you like this– laid out bare, warm exhaustion and half lidded eyes begging up at him– before pressing forward to kiss you. As you reach up to run fingers through his hair, he rocks his messy fingers against the ache inside of you he knows so well, huge flat palm hooking you there and grinding circles over your clit.

It’s too much and not enough, Shinsou Hitoshi. Don’t get closer, don’t read my mind.

God, tongues folding, teeth clicking, Shinsou always falls apart when you kiss him. Dies a little in fact. He wants to taste more of you before he goes, before you kill him.

“Toshi, don’t–” you choke when the hero pulls away but as he slips farther between your legs, you have to bite your own hand to keep from making any sound someone might hear. Shinsou, with a cheek at your thigh, licks a fat wet strip from the dripping hole his fingers never stop pumping, all the way to a tiny aching bundle of livewires.

“Don’t what?” He breathes into you, freezing every movement. But you can only manage, – don’t stop– from between your fingers before he melts and starts back up again.

It’s a gentle lap first, kitten kisses meant to taste the wettest parts of you, before he hooks his free hand around your thigh and presses heavy under your stomach. The happy dull warmth of his working fingers becomes lighting again as he fucks into the pressure and your hands fly to his hair.

It’s not even a noise you make so much as a broken song. Ragged shallow breaths to stay quiet. Even with your thighs quivering tight against his ears, Shinsou hears your lopsided gasps and knows he should remind you to breathe– but when his fingers pull gently back on the hood of your pulsing bud he can’t do anything but cling to you. Jaw rolling, tongue lapping like a starving man.

You can’t help it. Shinsou hums with joy and tears flood your eyes immediately. Pleasure and exhaustion are going to tip you over the edge too quickly– embarrassingly, flatteringly, fast. Your heart is a comet filled with too many things. It’s impossible to stay still. You press the balls of your feet to his wide shoulders and try not to buck so hard, grinding your hips into the hero that won’t let you go.

Wet rolls down your cheeks and over the bridge of your nose when you tilt your head to muffle the cries that come with a shudder. He can taste how close you are; he’s almost drowning in it. He won’t change a thing. Shinso’s bicep flexes with every curl of his fingers inside of you and he moans with his mouth full, growling subconsciously, at the friction between his clothed cock and the lip of the mattress where he’s sunk inside of you hundreds of times.

“H-Hitoshi–”

Your chest shudders and heaves and there’s no stopping it. You want to hear him say your name, praise you, pretty girl, but if his tongue stopped now you might burst into tears. You’re halfway there already.

One more hum from him and your weary composure snaps. Heat burst from your chest and melts fuzzy into your fingers, broken vowels off your lips try to form the shapes of his name as you tumble from consciousness and into panting lilting whimpers. He lets you. Usually he’ll kiss you quiet or cover your mouth with his too-big hands and smile as your fucked-out saliva drips between his fingers. Today he only holds you tighter.

Hero work, homework, hospital stays, fear and isolation, love– blurr together in your tears as Shinsou works you down from your high. His grip gives way to something softer like a cradle, and he slowly rises to all fours so he can kiss a sticky path up your stomach.

It’s unspoken but expected, the few minutes you get when one of you is too sensitive, where you’re allowed to pretend you’re in love. This is the best part. Stroking his jaw, kissing his cheeks, twirling his curls with your finger. Laughing about the state of the bed, falling deadly silent and giggling into each other's eyes when footsteps creak past the door. Stopping just short of I love yous. Not today.

Today you don’t want him to look at you.

“Y/n,” He whispers into your breast when he kisses the valley there, half distracted by his own exhaustion and the fluttering of your pulse under his fingers, “Y/n?”

You’ve brought both arms up to cover your face but no one would be stupid enough to mistake your shudders for pleasure.

Shinsou’s heart plummets, “What’s wrong?” You’re laid out beneath him still catching your breath but the tremble of your lips isn’t fooling him. No more questions, he demands it now just to be safe, “Let me see.”

You’re in no mood to fight, You’re in no state to work, or think, or be in love with him, and when you lower your arms, fat tears roll wellwetted tracks down your cheeks. Shinsou pounces. He’s quick to sit you up but slower to touch you. What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Why wouldn’t you say anything? “Y/n–”

“Felt so good Toshi,” you stutter and after a night of trying to be so quiet you finally let a sob take you. Blood returns to Shinsou’s body and the adrenaline melts into his sheets. He reaches forward to cup your teary cheek with wet fingers as you blubber and whimper and try to curl back in on yourself, not paying much mind to the cum still sticky in his palm.

“Pretty girl,” he smiles wry.

Shinsou tugs your waist gently to guide you into his arms and it doesn’t take much strength. You melt into him.

“so tired, Toshi–”

“I know baby”

“– hands felt so good– I’m– I–” you can’t quite finish the thought as another bout of tears takes over and both you and your hero smile against each other. You, albeit fitfully. You love him. He loves you more. There’s too much to be filled with at all times, and sometimes when you start to cry you just keep finding reasons not to stop.

You want to keep him forever. Only yours, not a national hero, not a symbol of peace, not even the fucking class president. Graduation is coming too quickly– the day you have to wish him luck as a hero and not a sidekick makes you sick. The thought of him getting hurt–

“You’re thinking too hard, ‘can feel it,” he rumbles, “Thought you were tired?” He wants you to know and hopes you can’t tell, that he can only hear his smile when he talks to you, “Or d'you need me to make you cum again?”

For some reason this makes you moan with heartbreak and Shinsou’s hands shoot up– his eyes go wide with worry, before you groan, “..there’s cum on my face,” and the sobbing starts earnestly again.

The hero’s head falls back in laughter, no longer afraid of disturbing the dorms as you let yourself go against him. Let them find you, let them find him perfectly happy. His sticky fingers draw adoring circles up and down your back.

“m sorry pretty girl,”

“should be,” you cry and whimper and laugh along with him.

How long were you holding it in? How much longer can he?

Shinsou leans back on his hips a bit to rock you gently through your trembling. He knows how much you like his hand on the back of your neck and so he uses his other to pull the blankets up over your shoulders. Warm and rhythmic and perfectly dark in your little piece of the world tonight.

At the edge of tearful sleep his voice rumbles through his chest where your cheek is pressed so soundly, “Can I clean you up?”

You nod, breath coming a bit easier now.

#a gentle dom to eat me out until i cry PUH LEASE #shinsou x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #hitoshi shinsou x reader #hitoshi shinso x reader #shinso x reader

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neo-my-geo · 11 months

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Hey gang, it’s your old pal Neo here. If you know me, it’s probably from one of the several very stupid TF2 comics I’ve posted to Tumblr.

However! I am also an English major (unfortunately). One who has read millions of words worth of fanfiction in their life. I have been part of the Sherlock, BNHA, Disco Elysium, and, of course, TF2 fandoms; I’ve been around the block.

The further I’ve progressed into my English education, the more I’ve noticed which mistakes are the most common in fanfiction. Many of them are easily fixable; writers just need to be pointed in the right direction.

“Neo! Does this mean you think people shouldn’t be allowed to post their works online without a background in formal English education?”

Of course not! I can explain why if you’d care to venture below the cut with me!

Yes, I will explain how to use commas.

It’s important to note that this is NOT a post about formal writing. You aren’t writing an essay. Please, for the love of god, do not write fiction like you’re writing an essay.

There are no stakes to writing fanfic. No one is going to get hurt if an author doesn’t know what a dangling participle is. One of my favourite things about fanfiction is that it’s one of the only art forms left that’s done exclusively for fun! You should write what you enjoy, and share what you make with like-minded people.

What I want to do is provide assistance as best I can to writers who want to improve their fundamentals without having to take the same university courses I did. Nobody is going to be getting a formal education to write fanfiction unless they’re ridiculously dedicated, and I’m not expecting that of anyone.

The point I need to stress is that knowing these grammar fundamentals can instantly improve the flow of your writing. Punctuation is a ridiculously important tool for writers, ESPECIALLY in fiction. Commas, semicolons, and full stops (including periods, exclamation points, and question marks) steer the pacing in the reader’s mind; did you notice how your brain stopped for a second after that semicolon? I can show you how to do that.

You may be wondering why I’m going through so much effort to teach all of this to strangers on the internet. The answer is that I enjoy sharing this knowledge with others and helping them grow. By seeing this, my goal is to help you become more proficient at self-editing. Showing this to people who actually want to learn will, hopefully, benefit the community as a whole, and I think that’s very worth it.

Also, while this post is obviously themed around TF2, the points I’m making can be applied to any fiction. Grammar is for everyone, and the church of the semicolon always has room for more initiates.

Also also, as an edit, I should clarify that this is meant to cover the more objective facets of self-editing, which is why I'm mostly covering punctuation. Maybe I'll do another post about using adjectives someday.

With that out of the way, let’s get going!

I’ve teamed up with several English teachers (real ones! One of which may or may not be my mom!) and an editor to gather a list of the most common problems we see in amateur fiction. This post is going to be split into three broad sections: apostrophes, commas/semicolons, and other common problems.

The apostrophe

This section is short, but it holds weight. Other than commas, apostrophes are the most typoed grammatical tool in any fanfiction I’ve edited. This is because, much like the rest of English, the rules surrounding them can be annoying and inconsistent.

Apostrophes have two main uses: possessives and conjunctions.

A possessive is a word that denotes the ownership of one thing over another. The vast majority of the time, this is done using an apostrophe and an S.

There is, however, one glaring exception to this rule, and it’s the bane of my existence.

When denoting possession of an object over something else while using the pronoun ‘it,’ you do NOT add an apostrophe before the S.

A conjunction, on the other hand, is when a writer uses an apostrophe to combine two words. The following are examples of common conjunctions:

What’s (what is)

They’re (they are)

It’s (it is)

Conjunctions are not often used in formal writing. Thankfully, we aren’t dealing in formal writing. Go crazy.

Time for a lightning round of the most commonly mistaken for each other possessives and conjunctions!

Your is possessive. You’re is a conjunction of ‘you’ and ‘are.’ When you can’t decide which one to use, imagine replacing it with ‘you are’ and seeing if it makes sense. If it doesn’t, use your.

Their is possessive. There indicates a location. They’re is a conjunction of ‘they’ and ‘are.’

The comma and the semicolon

You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. It’s time to talk about commas.

Commas and semicolons are far and away the biggest grammatical hole in the toolset of fanfiction writers everywhere. They’re often treated like the rules surrounding them are complicated and difficult to understand, but the exact opposite is true!

The big issue I’ve heard time and time again is that the rules of commas are often explained through metaphor instead of example; this means that writers everywhere have slightly different ideas of how you’re supposed to use them. The fact of the matter is that, yes, there are correct and incorrect ways to use commas. Knowing when they’re appropriate and when they aren’t is easily the fastest way to bring your writing from looking amateurish to sounding professional and experienced.

In order to know how to use a comma, you must first understand the difference between a dependent and an independent clause.

An independent clause is a section of writing that functions perfectly well as its own sentence. It MUST have both a subject and an action/verb.

A sentence without an independent clause is known as a fragment, and they’re the bane of English teachers with highlighters everywhere.

A dependent clause is a section of writing that does not have both a subject and an action; it does not function as its own sentence.

Now, let’s say you want to combine the two. When joining a dependent clause to an independent clause, the order in which they are placed is crucial to whether you use a comma or not.

When joining a dependent to an independent with the independent clause first, you do not need to use a comma.

When joining a dependent to an independent with the dependent clause first, you MUST use a comma.

Keep in mind that, if one strives for total grammatical perfection, all narrative sentences MUST have an independent clause. This, however, does not apply to dialogue. Human beings do not think about whether what they’re saying is a dependent clause, and neither would the vast majority of fictional characters. Don’t be afraid to break the rules of grammar as long as it’s contained within quotation marks.

Alright, that’s the easy part. Time to learn about joining two independent clauses. It’s semicolon time, baby!

If you join two independent clauses without properly using a comma or a semicolon, it is a run-on sentence. You do not want these in your writing. They’re awkward to read and mess up the flow.

When joining two independent clauses, you can use EITHER a comma or a semicolon. You just need to follow these rules:

If you’re joining two independent clauses with a comma, you MUST use a joining word (and, but, so, etc.) AFTER the comma.

If you’re joining two independent clauses with a semicolon, you do NOT need to use a joining word.

Did you know that a sentence with a comma counts as its own independent clause? This means that you can make a sentence that includes a mix of both without it being a run-on! Just make sure that, no matter what, the semicolon is between two independent clauses.

Still, try not to write more than two clauses in a sentence too often. Sentences with a lot of punctuation are very attention-grabbing, but shouldn’t be overused. Full stops aren’t your enemy and variety is the spice of life.

It’s also important to remember that you should avoid using more than one comma in a clause (with the exception of the rule below). That part loops back to the 'avoiding run-ons' bit.

It’s really that easy!

Commas are also used in informal writing to inject a separate thought or descriptor mid-sentence without breaking the flow by adding a period. This is often used when describing the perspective of a character experiencing something in a story, but not (usually) when using omniscient perspectives.

The final issue I frequently see with commas in fanfiction is in regards to dialogue. Sometimes you end it with them, and sometimes you don’t. What gives?

Well, my friend, the answer is, thankfully, much simpler than the previous section.

When following dialogue with a dialogue tag, use a comma instead of a full stop. If you’re continuing the previous sentence after the tag, use a comma after it as well.

Note that a dialogue tag is a short phrase that identifies the speaker. It isn’t a complete sentence on its own.

When following dialogue with an action that does not serve as a dialogue tag, use a full stop instead of a comma.

Other common problems

This section is dedicated to putting specific grammatical errors into words, along with how to solve them.

Not sticking to the chosen point of view

Always choose your point of view before you start. Is it in the first, second, or third person? Is it omniscient or limited? Does the point of view switch during the story?

First person perspective is told as if the POV character is directly describing their experience to the reader. The character uses I and we to describe their own actions.

Second person perspective is told as if the reader is a character in the story and their actions are being described to them. This is the rarest, and the most difficult to write.

Third person perspective is the most common and the simplest to write. The events of the story are a separate entity from the reader altogether and the narrator uses they/he/she/it pronouns for characters.

Omniscient perspective means the narrator of the story knows all, including the thoughts and feelings of each character.

Limited perspective means the narrator of the story only knows what the POV character knows.

Past and present tense

When you decide between writing a story in past or present tense, it is crucial that you do not switch between them unless it is narratively intentional. Reading a past tense story that mistakenly switches to the present tense is like being pulled out of the room someone is telling a story in and suddenly taking part in it yourself. It’s disorienting and gives the reader unwanted pause.

Overly-long paragraphs

A common adage spread by English teachers is that most paragraphs should be at least eight sentences long. This is great advice for beginner essays. You’re writing fiction.

If you have a new thought, start a new paragraph! A concise and well-read single-sentence paragraph is infinitely better than one that drags a thought for too long. Aim to have a blend of paragraph lengths when you write, alternating between the descriptive and the punctual.

Dangling participles

A dangling participle is when a word is used to describe a noun that isn’t actually present in the sentence. Much like how a sentence without an action isn’t grammatically correct, neither is a sentence without a subject.

Malapropisms

A malapropism is when an author mistakenly uses one word or phrase instead of another similar-sounding one. I’m not about to list every single malapropism ever made, but these are the ones I notice most often:

To comprehend is to understand something, to apprehend is to arrest someone, and to be apprehensive is to be anxious or fearful of something bad happening.

Could care less means you do care. Couldn’t care less means you don’t.

A lot means a large amount of something. Alot isn’t a word and you shouldn’t use it.

The only real solution to using malapropisms is to make sure you fully understand any words you use in your writing. Never guess, and make sure you always google it. Having beta readers also helps.

If you made it this far, congratulations! You now know the most common errors in amateur fiction and how to solve them! Thank you for listening to me complain for two thousand words.

The most important thing to remember is that it’s okay to make mistakes. First drafts are always gonna be a little bad. The real key to success is knowing what your end goal is, and how you plan on achieving it. Here’s hoping this was a helpful tool for that!

Shoutout to @salmonandsoup for helping me think of the list of issues to address! You're a real one. Also shoutout to my mom, who doesn't have Tumblr. Also the third person. You know who you are.

#grammarposting #tf2 #grammar #educational shitpost #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #writing advice #fanfiction writing advice #team fortress 2 #tf2 fanfiction #bro your participle is dangling

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sgiandubh · 7 months

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Legit dumbfuckery

I have mentioned this person in the comments of my last post, she did not disappoint, Thus, I shall make an exception to the rule I set myself and mention her handle:

In doing so, she confirms what I have been thinking from the very start, that she probably was BIF's Anon. An Anon trying to make her claim more credible by closely copying Getty's legends of their pics.

The pic she showed this fandom is not, however, included in the Getty database:

It comes from another source, as yet undisclosed.

The pic comes complete with the usual shite slinging to the shipper community. This time, after explaining C was splendiferous (she was, but that left eye did betray stress, LOL) and McElusive was invited as well, she starts ranting about shippers being 'much more insecure with the narrative they created, thus bringing us much fun.' Plus of course, 'SAM HEUGHAN" (no need to shout, lady, this is not your favela), the real obsession at stake, 'who is at home, only thing is we don't know whose home, since nobody does for months or years'.

In the process, she calls shippers jumentos. This means donkey, but it also means:

... jackass, imbecile, stupid. Wow, really? Wow.

And then, karma is a bitch:

Somebody pops in, with a common sense 'that doesn't look like T. to me...'?

The answer is monumental: she was in doubt, you know, but hey, 'based on the glasses' she thinks it's him. But 'even if it's not him, he's still her husband'.

Please take a bow. I mean, you have to, it's mandatory. It is, after all, based on the glasses.

A model that millions wear everyday.

We could try this universally acknowledged truth to other life situations:

Based on the glasses, the Sun revolves around Earth.

Based on the glasses, a river runs through it.

Based on the glasses, everything's going to be alright.

From now on, every time I am in doubt about anything, I'd pick the most convenient choice, based on the glasses.

I was just about to push the publish button and I saw this:

Ahem:

Thank you, Gods of Coincidence. Or, perhaps...?

You know, based on the glasses...

#fandom #shitshow

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curator-on-ao3 · 3 months

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As a PikeUna shipper I must say I'm aghast at how Batel and Pike's relationship was handled. No chemistry, no growth, simply a line thrown about how she knows him so well (like really? Since when?), I'm not sure how they fit together and what their relationship is actually like? What's the vibe? What makes you tick *for* eachother?

*pats sofa* Come sit next to me.

— 🚨 warning: rant incoming that thoroughly agrees with @acuriousmindsblog 🚨 —

Okay, so, as a Pikeuna shipper, I don’t like the Batel/Pike relationship for everything you said and more including that I absolutely do not like the way Pike treats Batel, which makes it more difficult for me to ship him with anyone.

That being said, looking wholly at story, I cannot stand the Batel/Pike relationship with my Pikeuna shipper glasses firmly set aside. I don’t like Batel (which makes me sad because she has the building blocks of a character I should like), I’m big mad that the clutch point episode for their relationship was utter shit, and I do not comprehend what canon would make me root for them. Batel saying, “So where are you gonna find another gal who gets you like I do?” was just plain weird. Especially with previous lines establishing that it’s really captaincy that they have in common. It felt like gaslighting that these characters would need to have the same job to be able to “get” each other enough to date. (Not gaslighting by the characters. Gaslighting by the writers.) As I mentioned in one of my other posts, show me Pike and Batel talking about the trial and how it affected their feelings for each other. Show me two adults trying to be their best for each other. I can work with that, even if it’s not my preferred ship. But what we saw? It made Pike a generic pile of shit whom I do expect (hope?) will mention next season that part of the reason he’s not nice to Batel is that he’s not telling her about his fate — which is not her fault and, while I sympathize with and can believe headcanons about why he’s behaving the way he is, Batel knows Pike is lying to her and that’s painful to watch.

And another thing — I will never forgive the writers for hanging the Batel/Pike relationship on captaincy and care for their crews, then when Batel’s ship is destroyed and she sees Christine alive, Batel doesn’t even ask about her crew. We’ve seen injured captains from Rachel Garrett to Rudy Ransom immediately ask about their crew. But this captain (who also expected a promotion after blowing an open-and-shut legal case because, hey kids, the character who exists to up Pike’s emotional stakes shows up in the darnedest places and has … what motivation exactly?) didn’t ask about her crew. And I don’t believe that. Not for a second do I believe that any Starfleet captain wouldn’t ask about their crew. So I’m mad at the writers because they could have, with dialogue changes alone, made this character better, made this relationship better, made whatever story they’re trying to tell better because, goddamn, what a mess.

#i love asks #acuriousmindblog #curator rants #anti marie batel #a character with the building blocks of a character i should love but the writing has been so so bad #anti christopher pike (in this context)#anti batel x pike #star trek strange new worlds #more of my opinions:#the romantic relationship handled with the most care all season was la’an and jim #he was so lovely to her when he talked with her about his feelings and his situation #i found that really charming and loved that it was his choice - no singing

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stardust-sprinkler · 1 year

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i loooveee ur college! touya headcannons sm. they make me so happy he would be the best boyf ever. In one post u mentioned how often he gets into fights for u (which is so true) so i'm also thinking it's the other way around. like if any girl tried to flirt w/ him knowing ur together or hookup with him, obv he is rejecting them immediately but i'm imagining reader see's and just backhands the girl so hard 😭

Oh my god, I’m so happy my hcs make you happy!! 💖 I’m honestly feral for College!Touya, my personal pet project over here! Lol

Such a good prompt too! Enjoy~

College!Dabi AU

“Bad Boy Who’s Always Good to His Girl” Series~

• You’ve only felt jealous a few times in your long term relationship with Dabi. Once was when an old flame of his got a little too friendly with him in public. The way they looked at him and tried to tease him despite your boyfriend brushing them off every time—it p!ssed you the fuck off.

• You spent the evening stewing in your thoughts before he pried it out of you in the common area of his dorm. When you finally told him, he blinked twice, shook his head, and hoisted you up to wrap your legs around him. You were complaining and telling him to put you down right now, and he just positively ignored you.

• Boy carried you to the elevator and up to his room before tossing you (safely—this man is obsessed with protecting you so he’s not about to let you crack your head on the headboard) on the bed. He rustled through the top dresser drawer before throwing you a silk rope that he usually used on you and told you to do whatever you want to him for the night. Stake your claim however you want.

• Our boy ended up with bites and hickeys trailing from his neck down to his Adonis belt and claw marks on his back and thighs. No complaints were heard.

• Another was when you were far less restrained. It was a Friday night, this time the party was actually being hosted at the Todoroki’s goddamn mansion—his younger brother was throwing it while the old man was away, and Dabi thought it would be funny as fuck to crash it (maybe cause some property damage, maybe commit some arson—the possibilities were endless).

• Well, eventually (read: inevitably, considering the venue) something had pissed him the f*ck off and he stormed to an outside patio for a smoke. You followed, kissed his cheek while he grumbled & fished a cigarette out of a carton, and then left with the promise of returning with some more drinks.

• It was then that some hot shot spotted Dabi alone and got real up close and personal while they flirted, despite him telling them off several times in a row, “Holy shit, are you stupid or something? I said screw off!” His drag was deep after what he considered his final warning, but they unexpectedly pushed themself up against his chest and immediately his hands shot up into the air and he stumbled back slightly, determined to communicate to anyone who might be watching that he did NOT want this dumbass touching him.

• Fucker made him drop his cigarette.

• He didn’t end up having to do anything further, because next thing he knew, you had your fists balled up in the back of their jacket and yanked them backwards, letting their own weight knock them back on the sprawling lawn. By this point, a small crowd was forming, but you had tunnel vision.

• “Touch him one more time, dipshit, I dare you. I’ll shove this stiletto so far up your ass that I can lace it up through your goddamn mouth, y—!! Hey, where are you taking me??”

• Dabi was grinning like a crazed lunatic as he hoisted you up onto his hip, pleased as gd punch that you were getting in a fistfight over him. The only reason he stepped in was because he wanted you safe more than he wanted to see the mf get their ass handed to them. He never let you as much as bruise a finger if he could help it.

• “C’mon, Matchbox, let’s go steal something out of my sperm donor’s office.”

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dailydragon08 · 5 months

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Hey queen! Would love to know how the main ot gang (Han, lando, Chewie, Luke, and leia of course) would react to you asking to hang out, and in turn where they would each personally take you/what you would do together. I’m Intrigued to know what you think, because you understand all of them so well xx

Thank you, that’s so sweet! I’m having so much fun with these and might be opening up my asks again soon for more (not sure yet). I realized after I finished this that there’s a lot of swimming mentioned in this one—it’s starting to get hot where I live, so I guess that’s where my brain is going?

My masterlist and a list of fandoms I write for are available in my pinned post on my page. If you liked this, any reblogs and/or comments would be greatly appreciated! Please let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist as well!

When you ask Leia to hang out on her off day, she keeps her cool as always, but is elated on the inside. Growing up royalty, she didn’t always have the chance to just make friends with anyone and run around like other kids from her planet (even though she would go against her parents’ wishes whenever she could anyway). Similarly, as an adult, she was always so concerned with matters of the senate, and then the rebellion, and afterwards getting the New Republic off the ground while also fighting off remnants of the empire, that she never really had time to just have a day with a friend who genuinely wanted to spend time with her. Of course, she’s spent time with plenty of people who wanted her for her money, her status, etc.—and of course, there’s Luke, Han, Lando, Chewie, and the droids. But they’re also always so busy, she hardly gets time with any of them. So, a day to hang out with one of her favorite people with no obligations, no rigid timeline for the day, no expectations that she fulfill some superficial status transaction—yes, please.

Honestly, she kind of strikes me as the type of person that likes to constantly be in go, go, go mode. She likes feeling productive, so anything she does to relax is also productive in a way – playing some sort of logic game like chess or a card game, learning something new, or even playing some sort of low-stakes sport. Growing up on Alderaan, I can really see her having a love of swimming, too. Privacy is probably something she really values, so maybe she takes you for a little morning swim with her, followed by a breakfast full of fruits and foods from her home planet. Afterwards, you dry off in the sun while reading your own books, then in the afternoon, go to a museum she’s been dying to explore with you – incognito, of course. She relishes having chances to walk around like anyone else without being in danger or ogled by passersby and actually enjoys the simplicity of “common” clothing and even makes a little date out of picking disguises with you. Afterwards, she insists you pick where they eat—still in disguise, of course—and finds herself pleasantly surprised by your pick, which becomes one of her favorite places. After, if you’re still up for hanging out and are into this sort of thing, she takes you back to her private quarters to do face masks, make some tea, and she may even braid your hair in a style that’s easy to sleep in, and will still look sleek and smooth in the morning while you relax and watch videos on the holonet.

Although Luke grew up having more typical kid experiences, he still grew up on a farm and was bullied within his friend group. Biggs got busier the older they both got, so one-on-one, harassment-free hang outs with him were few and far between. Now with the rebellion, jedi training, and even rebuilding the jedi and trying to figure out which parts of the order to keep and which to reform, he has an immense amount of pressure on his shoulders and constantly feels like he’s got so much to do and so little time to do it. For this reason, convincing him to even take a day off at all—let alone spend it for pleasure vs work—might feel a bit like pulling teeth at first. But once you start listing off all his favorite activities, you see him start to crack a bit. The more activities you list, the more his blue eyes start sparkling with excitement and the more he’s fighting the urge to smile. Eventually, once you promise to help him get caught up the next day and tell him he deserves a day off after all he’s been through and done for the galaxy, he caves with a quiet laugh.

Similar to his sister, he also likes learning new things and doing an actual activity to wind down, but at a slower pace. He always starts the morning off with a meditation and is elated when you seem interested in learning. Even if you aren’t Force-sensitive, Luke’s never had an opportunity before this to pass the jedi teachings down and is very excited about it to the point that you have to contain your laugh. Later, he’ll home-make you two a nutritious breakfast he used to have many mornings on Tatooine, insisting that it gave him lots of energy to work the moisture vaporators for hours. You spend most of your day with him outside, and if you’re in a sandy place, he’ll tell you all about games he used to play with his friends growing up and maybe even demonstrate some of them for you. If you join in and it turns into the two of you playing the exact same game, he’ll have the biggest smile on his face the whole time. After growing up on a desert planet, he also became so interested in plants and fauna that thrive in more tropical environments, and might enlist your help in caring for some he has either in a pot under a sunlamp in his room or a garden he’s trying to start outside. Leia also got him interested in all things water and swimming, but hasn’t had much time to hone his skills, so asks for your help if you’re a good swimmer. If you’re just as hopeless as he is, he’s happy to just splash around with you instead. After, he’ll also curl up with you with a good book and maybe even lay his head in your lap and take a little snooze once you start stroking his hair. Once he wakes up to both of your stomachs growling, he’ll cook dinner together with you and eat it outside if possible before ending your day with a stargazing session where he points out all the different constellations with you tucked under his arm.

Han looks at you like you just grew a second head when you ask if he wants to hang out. “You wanna hang out with me? Well…I mean, I’ve got some good alcohol stowed away on the Falcon if you want some. If Chewie hasn’t drank all of it,” which of course gets a very disgruntled growl from the Wookiee—but whether that means he resents the accusation or the fact that he didn’t know about this alcohol in the first place, you’ll never know. Han isn’t the most emotive person, so he’s a bit harder to read, but does seem happy you’re there with him.

He gets you onboard the Falcon early in the morning and flies the two of you to this small town (if it can even be called that) in the middle of nowhere that at first, doesn’t look too promising. He quickly leads you inside a 24-hour pub that is the most hole-in-the-wall place you’ve ever seen. At first, you wonder what he’s even thinking—until breakfast gets there. You’re not sure how this unassuming place has some of the best waffles, eggs, bacon, pancakes, you name it, that you’ve ever had, but it does. As you’re leaving and you realize the line is out the door and around the building, you now understand why Han was so insistent you get up at the crack of dawn. Through a few alleyways and around the back of another building, he leads you through this ominous door to reveal an arcade complete with a faux shooting range. When you ask him how he finds all these places that look completely unappealing from the outside, but hold the best little hidden gems inside, he just shrugs and says “part of the smuggling job, I guess. You gotta be willing to go through the crusty outside to get to the juicy middle—just like me.” Of course, when you then point out that his “outside” is anything but crusty, he just scoffs and insists you’re trying to get more free food out of him, but you can tell he’s happier and more relaxed than he has been in a long time. You spend the afternoon playing all the games he explains were staples of his childhood before moving to the shooting range. When you ask to go back to that same 24-hour pub for dinner, he laughs, slings his arm around your shoulders, and says “see? Sometimes I do know what I’m talkin’ about,” before indulging you. The two of you head back to the ship and enjoy a few drinks (maybe get a little tipsy in the process; but if you don’t drink, he has some non-alcoholic drinks stored there as well, just for you) before he flies you back home. Despite his rough and tumble exterior he likes to preserve, he does insist on walking you to your door—or if you’d rather just tumble into one of the Falcon’s bunks, he’ll gently lift your head onto the pillow and put a blanket over top of you before crashing next to you.

I’m fully convinced that despite Lando’s more refined reputation (or slightly rougher one, depending on who you ask from his past), he can actually be very excitable and is prime best friend (and more) material (I haven’t read the EU or seen the Han Solo movie, please don’t come for me). When you ask him to hang out, he can’t stop his huge grin and “yes, of course!” He, however, strikes me as an “I like a plan” kind of guy, even on his off days—and he may or may not want to impress you and make sure he takes you to all the best places ahead of time.

Lando gives me strong “I like just about anything if I’m doing it with my friends” kind of guy, so is down for just about anything and lets you take the lead a bit more when it comes to planning. However, if you ask to be shown around Cloud City, this man is soooo excited. Especially once the New Republic takes over, he’s put so much time and effort into really making his city a fair, clean, one-of-a-kind, modern, and welcoming place for any who want to call it their home and spares you no expense—no matter how outlandish you think your requests are. What started off as just a day together quickly turns into him pampering you in all the best ways possible. He’s not even trying to impress you, he’s just 110% convinced you deserve all the pampering in the galaxy. You want to eat breakfast and drink artisan coffee/morning drink of choice in a hot tub? You got it. You’ve never swam in an infinity pool before? Oh, he’s going to fix that—and his infinity pool has a perfect view of the clouds and sky. He insists you won’t fall over the edge if that’s what you’re worried about, but lets you cling to him just the same, and tells you all about all the birds that fly by. He’s happy to either have dinner catered to his private home where you two eat in front of full floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the rest of the city, or take you out to one of the best restaurants nearby. You’re 100% getting the five-star treatment, whether you don’t mind being out in the open or want to remain a bit more inconspicuous, before settling down for the night with some wine (or a non-alcoholic cocktail of choice) and a board/card game.

Chewie (platonic) can be scary when he wants to be, but to those he loves, he’s the biggest softie. When you ask him to hang out on your day off, he vigorously nods before letting out an excited string of Shyriiwook, followed by his usual crushing bear hugs. If you’re fluent in his language, it makes the day all the better—but if you’re not, it’s no big deal to him, since he’s learned to communicate well without words out of necessity.

I think like Luke, he’d want to spend most of the day outside and just enjoy walking around and exploring with you. He strikes me as the type who doesn’t really make a plan for his off time, but would rather wander around some sort of town center with you and just walk into any places that pique either of your interests. But he’s also happy to even just roll around in the grass with you and is surprisingly good at making flower crowns. Because of his line of work and the rebellion, he values survival skills and if you’re lacking in any department, he insists on teaching you—especially fishing. Apparently, that was something he used to do frequently on Kashyyyk and got quite good at it—well, good at it Wookiee style anyway. He waits by the bank of a river and stays so still, someone could almost mistake him for a tree trunk. Right when a fish swims close enough, he dives his hands in and grasps it with his two giant paws, showing it to you with a triumphant growl before teaching you how to cook it over a campfire. You can’t help but laugh when he proudly pulls some seasonings out of his bag. The fish is actually delicious, and you spend the rest of the evening enjoying each other’s presence and chatting—whether you can understand every word he says, or whether he does his best to pantomime (or maybe use 3PO as a translator if you were able to pry him from the twins’ sides). At the end of the day, you two work together to clean up the campfire and before going your separate ways back home, he gives you a parting hug and affectionate pat on the head.

Taglist: @kaleidoscope1967eyes @masterlukessaber @coffeeorsomething-irl @eveningserenityyy @victorian-nymph @lxstfathier @rogue-kenobi @lavandula-ipsum @sonofthedunes @pomplalamoose @lex-the-flex @ilovemarkhamill

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that-ari-blogger · 8 months

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Psychology of... Willow?

When I set out to do this series, I had a few episodes noted down where I would use the analysis of that post to look into one specific character and their psychology, writing, and the cinematography surrounding that character. For example, I still plan on my analysis of Labyrinth Runners delving into Gus.

But one such episode that I had noted down was Understanding Willow. I planned on examining its eponym's struggle with bullying and how that impacted her mental health.

But this episode is more complicated than that, and I'm not entirely sure that it's about Willow.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

One criticism of The Owl House is that it starts slow, and while my contrarian streak leads me to disagree with that, it is difficult to argue that the series doesn't abruptly gain speed with Understanding Willow. The animation, visual metaphors and storytelling, and the direction all skyrocket.

This is the episode where the series brings its complex storytelling to the forefront, and a key example of this is that this is about Amity as much as it is about Willow.

The premise of this episode is memory. What if memories are tangible? Maybe they are tampered with, or damaged? What if memories could be seen by others? What power does a picture have? Put a pin in this.

In February 2022, Steam Forge games released the Dark Souls Role Playing Game, and bear with me, I promise this is relevant. It is based off the Dark Souls series and the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition system. But I would argue that it pales in comparison to Emanuele Galletto's Dark Souls Unofficial Role-Playing Game.

Galletto's system is a fascinating take on the series it is based on, and is surprisingly balanced, but I'm not here to give a review. Instead, I would like to focus on the rules for humanity and their implications.

Essentially, because death and rebirth are common in the game, in order for stakes to mean anything, Galletto implemented an idea called Sparks of Memory. When a character dies, they lose their memories. These can be sacrificed in exchange for abilities upon level ups, or they can be established through the game and through the adventure itself.

"When you die, you lose a Spark of Memory: a piece of your being will be forever lost, and you will be a step closer to losing yourself... With time, you might become an entirely different person, driven by a strong will but completely changed by the trauma of death and reshaped by your journey throughout this accursed land."

This system is called Humanity, the passage above is taken from a page literally entitled "Loss of Humanity", which means something, right? But weirdly enough, this is a system that forces optimism. Pessimism and fear that the world will only get worse are not particularly good motivators. Anger and grief at specific moments are all well and good, but at the end of the day, when they leave your character, why are you still moving forwards? Hope.

When I was playing this, I genuinely watched the power of friendship develop into a major force in the campaign, as the characters reassured each other and formed these memories together. If memories are who you are, then people who remember you are equally important in keeping you in check. These were people who developed into relentlessly determined heroes, with a grim focus on making the world a better place, together.

I have never really cared about the science fiction debate of what constitutes humanity, but this is a genuinely interesting take on the question that I highly recommend experiencing yourself.

But why have I just spent almost 400 words talking about Dark Souls? Because Understanding Willow displays some of the same ideas. Memories are what makes Willow who she is, and when those get damaged, she runs into problems. What is fascinating, is how much of Willow's memories were formed in relation to others. Her fathers (hey, gay male representation in cartoons, don't see that often) feature often, but so does Amity.

Bullying is one of those almost universal experiences in life. If you haven't been a subject of it, you have probably witnessed it.

Studies have been trying to ascertain the impact of bullying on mental health since at least the 1970s, with the oldest source I could find being Dan Olweus' 1973 Victims and Bullies: Research on School Bullying, although that was written in Swedish, and I haven't been able to find a copy of that original book. It was allegedly published in English in 1978, retitled Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys, of which the internet archive has a copy that is available.

Research into the subject has continued into the modern day and has been updated to modern scientific and psychological practices. For example, this study was published in 2021, and concluded that: "Reports of mental health problems were four times higher among boys who had been bullied compared to those not bullied. The corresponding figure for girls was 2.4 times higher."

What this means is that it is important to understand Willow in the context of Amity, and it is important for Amity to witness that effect directly in order to change herself.

Sorry, wrong image. How did that get in here? That's from a game called Melatonin, by the way.

There we go.

So, memories in the Owl House are tangible. They can be changed, or erased artificially, and "artificially" is the key word here, because memories can change naturally. A rare few people are infallible in that regard. But Willow is making an attempt to forget her life with Amity, she turns it away and avoids talking about it, rather than confront her past.

"That's my motto after all. Out of sight, out of mind."

It's notable that the illusion teacher governs the memory system, meaning that memories in this series use the same rules as the rest of illusion magic. I have another post going into detail about that, but TLDR: Illusions have an impact on real life in the same way that anything else can. They aren't representations of lies, but consequences. You can change yourself to match your true self, for example, but you need to understand what that means for everyone and everything around you.

So, memories associated with consequences? What a strange correlation, I wonder if that means anything.

You would think that the tragic memory would be of the bullying, right? A single moment crystalised into something awful, but what Willow wants to escape from, and what scares Amity the most, is the simple fact that these two used to be friends. It becomes a betrayal.

I think that the Inner Willow was a master stroke of the writing, because it gives agency to Willow's subconscious. It says the quiet things out loud in a way that Amity cannot get away from, and it is a creature that she will have to confront. It acts as a personification of consequence.

"Love, sadness, fear. I used to be a being made of all emotions. But ever since you set Willow's mind on fire, all I've been able to feel is anger."

There is a neat little double meaning here. Amity literally started burning Willow's memories of happiness accidentally, but she also did it figuratively a long time ago. The betrayal poisoned every other memory that Willow had of her and turned it sour, their relationship was shattered, perhaps permanently, and Willow suffered.

This actually links back to Galletto's Dark Souls. In the same passage where the mechanics are explained, Galletto gives this explanation:

"A Spark of Memory is something that keeps you human: funny thing is, they are rarely happy memories. Turns out pain, anger and regret take deep roots into our hearts, and the strength of these emotions can keep us going even when our body is broken"

Galletto isn't entirely false here, pain and suffering are powerful motivating forces, they can keep propelling you forwards. The Inner Willow would certainly agree with that sentiment. But I don't, and I don't think The Owl House as a whole, or even this episode, do either.

I mentioned above that gameplay displayed a contradicting view on powerful emotions, but Understanding Willow also argues this point. Anger is strong, don't get me wrong, but love can win out, and it does so through empathy. The thing that saves Willow in the end is Amity's declaration of understanding and desire to do better.

The strongest emotion that you will ever feel, is hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better today, or hope that a relationship that you had thought doomed might be reconcilable. Hope will win out. Light, do not falter.

But, I said that this was an episode about Amity as well, and if you have seen this episode, you know exactly which scene I am going to talk about.

This scene pulls zero punches. From the fading away memories of young Amity and Willow to reveal their cynical, older selves; to the dialogue and the acting; to the construction of Amity's conversation with her parents. This is phenomenal.

This is the memory that started it all, this is the betrayal. Whoever did the expressions on the memories needs a prize because that is half of why this works so well. The other half of why this works is the lines, both what is said, and how it is delivered.

"I just... I just can't get the spells right" "Well, yes. That... that is why. Because you're a weakling."

I keep saying this is a betrayal because it is. Friendships are built on trust and if that gets broken, good luck getting it back.

"Then you let your new friends pick on her, all because you thought she was weak."

It's important to understand what the Inner Willow is saying here. She's not complaining about the belittling or ambition, she's holding Amity accountable for her inaction. When Amity stood by and did nothing while Bosha bullied Willow, she was complicit in that bullying. Just because she didn't say anything doesn't make it any less her fault, for encouraging it by laughing, or by not standing up for Willow when she needed it.

Actions have consequences, but so does the choice to do nothing.

The camera pans back into the door and gives just a smidge of context, and there are some bold visual choices going on here.

First up, the limiting of the space makes amity feel boxed in and trapped, and it evokes a feeling of looking through a keyhole. You only see a fraction of what is going on, but it is enough to know what is happening.

Second, Amity is the only thing in colour here, meaning that she is still the centre point of the frame, despite being tiny.

Third, the Blights aren't shown in detail, only their shadows. It is their legacy that they leave behind on display, the shadows that they cast. But its also not the point. Showing the visual designs of the Blights would take away impact from what they are saying. This is a simple shot so that you understand exactly what is happening.

"Good children don't squabble, dear. Sever your ties with Willow, and if you don't..." "Then we will."

Once again there is some reframing of Willow's life. Where Amity's betrayal tainted the memories of their times together, the Blights' words reframe everything after that point as out of her control.

"We'll make sure she never gets admitted into Hexide."

Amity is trying to protect Willow, and the actions that cause this episode's conflict become reframed as well. Amity wants Willow to forget her but doesn't comprehend how much of Willow's life was centred around her. She doesn't yet understand the consequences of her actions.

Final Thoughts

Willow and Amity are fascinating characters, and the depth that this episode brings to their actions and interactions sheds light on the series up to this point, and the series going forwards.

Willow has such a low level of self esteem that she is willing to hurt herself to support others, and this episode goes into why. But to that, I offer some advice. When I was researching this, I came across a motivational image by yogaspace.com. I had to search for the message's original source, which ended up being Penny Reid's Beard In Mind, but it reads as follows:

"Don’t set yourself on fire trying to keep others warm.”

Take from that what you will.

Next week, I will be looking at Enchanting Grom Fright, so stick around if you want my thoughts on that.

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holycatsandrabbits · 3 months

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Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: Will-o'-the-Wisp: Ghost Light

A will-o’-the-wisp is a type of ghost light, which is a flickering or moving light visible in the wilderness on dark nights, without any obvious source. Will-o’-the-wisps specifically refer to lights glowing over marshes or bogs. Sometimes people get the urge to chase after these lights—possibly to an unexpected death by drowning.

But guess what—unlike some of the other paranormal topics discussed on this blog, ghost lights are actually real. So what the heck are they? Let’s look at some theories:

Sometimes the Earth just makes lights

Let’s get reality out of the way first. There are different explanations for ghost lights, depending on where they are, including bioluminescence (living things glow), chemiluminescence (chemicals glow), piezoelectricity (earthquakes glow), and reflections of human-made lights. (Some people add ball lightning, but that’s a weird topic all by itself.) A will-o’-the-wisp, which glows over marshes or bogs, is probably common gasses which ignite easily from natural causes and can move with the wind. So that’s very cool! But folklore’s got some fun stuff to say too:

Putting the “ghost” in ghost light

In some traditions, ghost lights are death omens: if a light is seen, someone is going to die. Multiple lights? Prepare for a mass funeral. Sometimes the person who sees the light is doomed, and sometimes it could be anyone who will be in the area in the near future. Closely related and somehow even more creepy are you’re-going-to-find-a-dead-body omens: for example, a ghost light might mark a hidden burial, or appear on a beach right before a drowned sailor washes up there.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some ghostly writing prompts, such as:

Bring out your dead. Death omens are common in folklore, as are supernatural signs that point to the undiscovered body of a murder victim. But a flame marking a place where a dead body will arrive in the near future is super creepy. What on earth would someone do with that information? Call the coroner to be on standby? Tell the police to stake out the place in case a murderer shows up with a corpse? Have paramedics hang out in case some random guy has a heart attack? The question is the same as always when dealing with death omens: can the future be changed? Is the purpose of the omen to give some supernatural forewarning that only serves to panic people who can’t do anything about it, or is it meant to be a last-ditch effort to save someone’s life? Sounds like a horror story in the making.

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

Image credit

#Dannye writes #Weird Wednesday blog #writing prompts #writing inspiration #horror prompt #scifi prompt #fantasy prompt #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writeblogging #writing community #blogging #horror #scifi #fantasy #will o' the wisps #ghost lights #jack o lantern

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writingquestionsanswered · 1 year

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Hey! I’m trying to write a murder mystery novel and while I’ve got the broad lines laid out I’m not sure how to write a relationship like it’s already established. Not a romantic relationship, mind you but a mentor/friendship type of thing between my main character and someone higher up in the company (she’s an intern and he’s a chief editor). I really feel it’s important to make them close and make my readers like him because that will make the plot twist a lot better and painful, and believable.

Giving Weight to an Already Established Relationship

Regardless of whether the relationship is platonic or romantic, or what kind of relationship it is, if it's already established when the story begins, you need to find other ways to give the relationship weight so the reader will understand its importance. And, if there's a limited amount of page time before the two characters will be parting ways for whatever reason, it's all the more important to give it that weight as soon as possible. Here are some things you can do:

1 - Illustrate their good rapport by showing how well they get along. Show what they have in common and what they agree on. Show how their differences compliment each other, and how their disagreements aren't monumental. Show that they get one another, they both understand what makes the other person tick. Illustrate their empathy for one another, their easy communication, their in-jokes, and how they have fun together. Even if there has to be a lot of seriousness in the relationship for whatever reason, you can let the little smiles, smirks, and jokes show through in the right moments.

2- Establish their history by working in important details of their past, such as how they met, their early interactions, and pivotal moments early in the relationship. This can be done through narrative exposition, through character thought and memory recall, through dialogue with each other or other characters, through dreams and flashbacks (when used sparsely), and with "props" such as the character looking at the photo or video of them together early on. This allows the reader to be "present" during some of the moments they missed.

3 - Let them show how much they matter to each other even if it's only one moment. For example, maybe the mentor gives the mentee their father's watch and says they want them to have it because they're like the child they never had, and they're super proud of them, and love them to bits. And this prompts the other to say equally nice things. This gives the reader a direct window into how much these two mean to each other.

4 - Illustrate the stakes of the relationship beyond sadness if they were to part. What else is lost? Having a mentor? Beloved Friday night barbecues? Someone to walk the character down the aisle when they get married? A person whose knowledge or skill is valuable to the character's mission? By illustrating the full weight of what could be lost if the other character isn't there, you give the reader a deeper understanding of how important this person and relationship is.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Learn more about WQA

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

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#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

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badlibbing · 2 years

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Initially I was gonna talk about this in my fandom list post, but figured it needs its own separate post because it's a doozy.

Have you heard of Mortasheen? Now you have! The official website is here, but if you're short on time I'll give you a rundown. Think D&D plus Pokémon, but with wacky mutant monsters and way fewer rules. It's an open-ended RPG with endless possibilities. Take your squad of weirdos across a surprisingly ecologically diverse world in the distant future, and try not to die while doing it. (No pressure, though; if you die you can just come back as a zombie, although there are some downsides to that...)

And now for a summary of each monster class!

Bioconstructs: The absolute base class of monsters, this is a broad category encompassing man-made abominations that don't fit into the more specific man-made classes. Just about every function you can think of is covered here— it's got fighters, sentries, laborers, livestock, entertainers— you name it, there's probably a Bioconstruct for it.

Arthropoids: Bug people!!! Possibly the best class overall, everyone else go home. But yeah, it's exactly what it sounds like. This specific category of man-made monsters consists of arthropods (and sometimes panarthropods) combined with human genetics, resulting in some versatile and badass creatures.

Vampirics: Ah, our first class not spawned by human shenanigans! These ancient abyssal assassins have risen up to stake their claim on our world, and they're not nice. But who knows, maybe you'll get one on your side?

Botanicals: These odd organisms of man-made origin are mixes of plant, fungus, and animal. Their unique physiology makes them quite resilient to physical damage, but be sure to keep them away from fire.

Ectosaurs: Powerful ghostly entities of uncertain origin. Most of them will only see you as prey, but if you play your cards right, they can make great allies.

Zombiespawn: Remember those zombies I mentioned? Sometimes they try to make babies, and usually that doesn't go too well, and we get these gross things as a result. What else would you expect from a barely-functioning body in a state of perpetual decay and regrowth?

Jokers: Despite not having man-made origins, these guys have a conspicuous resemblance to our idea of clowns and related goofy concepts. Oh, I'm sure it's just a coincidence... still, these gas-filled tricksters are a force to be reckoned with! It's better to have them as allies than enemies.

Unknown: Hey, where did these come from??? Nobody really knows, but they're strange and often dangerous. Watch your back.

Devilbirds: Ancient relics modeled after common human vices. Personally one of my least favorite classes due to (in my opinion) a lackluster execution of an interesting concept. Eh, they can't all be winners. In any case, don't get your hopes up for recruiting one of these monstrosities; most of them are pretty heartless!

Biomecha: Plain old Bioconstructs are sooooo last millenia... combining flesh with machinery is where it's at! That's what some monster trainers are saying, anyway. Time will tell if they're right.

Wormbrains: Now, this one is my actual least favorite class. It's just flesh puppets controlled by brain flukes. Credit where credit is due, the designs of some of these monsters are really cool (there's even some Junji Ito references in there)! I'm just not a fan of the concept.

Fectoids: These neat little guys are the ultimate bioweapons, able to shift between multicellular monster and microscopic swarm, taking on whichever state best suits the situation. It's fascinating! Hard to appreciate the ingenuity when you're being infected, though.

and last but not least...

Garbage: Well, some people would say they're the least, but I for one have a special place in my heart for these children of pollution and experiments-gone-wrong. We don't have mistakes, just happy accidents! Besides, this class holds perhaps my favorite Mortasheen monster of all time...

the Agblap! Lookit this little guy!!! Ain't it just the cutest thing?

Now that you're familiar with the basics, why not take a look at the website and see which monsters are your favorites? You can also check out the creator's main website for all kinds of interesting content! I don't know how to wrap up this post lol bye

#bogleech #mortasheen #monsters #weird #character design #creature #things #fiction #rpg

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lunzoic · 2 years

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After finally beating the game...

Big spoilers for Scalet/Violet ending!...

I think I'm echoing a lot of other people's sentiments when I say 'Huh, so that's where half the budget went'. I don't even mean that in a salty way, I'm just kind of baffled that there's such a strong contrast between the effort that went into this final area and the rest of the game. I seriously underestimated how much there was going to be too since the Pokemon tradition is that post Elite-Four content is kinda lacking, and the only hint that Area Zero was not 'postgame' was that credits had not rolled yet. I was really expecting Area Zero to just be an afterthought, similar to the usual optional postgame dungeons. Or like Ultraspace, in which: you go there, leave after having one big fight, and optionally come back later to find more ultrabeasts. And instead we got a fairly expansive dungeon that both contains the really cool paradox pokemon as well as like, the game's entire narrative weight, interesting character interactions, a big fight I was definitely not expecting, and all the actual intriguing plot elements in one ultra-concentrated dose. I actually prefer a fantastic ending to mediocre game rather than the other way around, it's just very surprising to see it happen when the opposite is so common. And yeah some of that perception is filtered by the bar of expectations being set so low by the rest of the game, and of course it was by no means a perfect ending. The jank still allows you to accidentally skip if you jump off certain cliffs, the scripted encounters with paradox Pokemon are just ok, and navigating Area Zero without Ko/Miraidon can be a pain if you take a wrong turn. But the pacing, the dialogue, the way the characters play off each other, the gradual reveals, and the whole final fight was actually incredibly well done. And it makes me feel a little sad to see that the dev team was clearly capable of making great story-driven game segments, but that it was only at the very ending of the game that they really got to flex those creative muscles. I feel like it's also created a weird dichotomy of people who could not abide the jank and put the game down or decided not to buy it in the first place/refunded it and the people who stuck it out to the end and got an unexpectedly quality finish. Good for us I guess? I definitely would have lost interest a lot sooner had friends who finished the game not given clues that they really enjoyed the ending...

More specific ending spoilers and commentary: Having an AI character being aware of having their own will being overridden was equal parts fucked up, heartbreaking, terrifying, and really effective. The way they're clearly fighting against it even as they taunt you, their whole speech about freedom and treasure, that moment when they seem to intentionally succumb to the programmed will in order to sincerely tell Arven that the original professor loved him (oh my FUCKING god)... Now THAT'S how you break the mold in terms of creating a different narrative hook than the usual formula! For me it really did retroactively change the feeling of the entire game, knowing that the 'professor' who started you on your whole journey was actually patiently waiting for you to become strong enough to venture into area zero and do what but their programming did not allow them to do. That they were vicariously enjoying every step of your adventure along the way, because their very nature as an area zero anomaly meant they could never leave themselves. Their final decision to send themselves to the past/future in order to disable the time machine, while kind of cheesy and nonsensical, was something that they willed with their own heart and wholly defied the original professor's wishes. That in their vast intellect they decided to stake the future on a bunch of teenagers is still pretty goofy but hey, it's Pokemon. Like a lot of people I did suspect that there would be some sort twist with the professor, but I did not expect THIS, nor did I expect a Pokemon game to handle a sympathetic AI character in a really emotional and interesting way. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised given that Pokemon as a franchise has had various created/artificial beings who are treated sympathetically? But it does also kind of highlight once again that the game feels kind of hodge-podge in regards to what audience it's catering to, due to the entire game feeling hand-holdy and kid-friendly in its appeal and then... that entire ending happens. I can imagine some kids not even being able to finish the game, not even due to difficulty spike but because of finding the Arven and robo professor story too scary and sad. On the other hand, Pokemon at its roots has always some pretty damn heavy themes, so I guess this could also just be considered a return to form? Pokemon themselves being fully sentient creatures forced to serve their masters no matter what, the entire arc of Mewtwo being created and then destroying its own lab... I remember finding those too sad to contemplate as a kid so I kind of just. Didn't. But those aspects were never really explored to the depth they could have been within the main game's stories (I do know the movies/anime/comics have darker storylines, but those are all 'extended lore' as far as the games are concerned). So this is the first time where elements like the death of a main character and having the villain be a human (in appearance) ally with explicitly programmed loss of will who doesn't want to turn against you are THIS front and center in the story of a main series game. And it was actually done pretty emotionally and effectively, so I do applaud the decision to take a risk and make a more mature storyline happen at all.

And yes, it is not lost on me that both a reluctant final boss and the subtle use of the menu interface in the finale are reminiscent of ah... a certain other game? I might be seeing stronger connections than I should due the killer music contribution by Toby, and I don't really care if it was intentional or not, but I'm just really happy to see any game make use of those tropes to great effect.

#Pokemon #Pokemon spoilers #Pokemon scarlet and violet #Pokemon scarlet and violet ending #Professor Turo #Professor Sada #Area zero #Pokemon review #Lunz plays #I forgot I had this in my drafts oops #It's more me getting hyped about the brief moments my narrative hyperfixations appeared in the final act #than a comprehensive review lol

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aberrantmood · 7 months

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A little bit about me! (That isn't already on my carrd) WARNING: I'm a multi-paragraph texter. This introduction may be a bit longer than common intro posts you'd come across, which is something that some people enjoy more than others. With that in mind, if you aren't willing to read at least my opinions/stances or carrd, you won't have the best time here. 🍵 What's my general "vibe?" Grew up catholic, now I'm someone the priests I grew up with want burnt on a stake. I also often put my filter on the back burner when it comes to sexual topics. Although, because of that, I'm proud to say that various friends of mine have become more open with not only talking about their sexual thoughts and/or experiences, they've also become more comfortable and―dare I say―confident with themselves. I'm the one they come to if they're unsure of which toy to buy and if they're too scared to order/buy one themselves. I'm the one they come to if they need sexual advice, I'm the one they (specifically my writer friends) come to when they wanna ramble about their OCs sexual preferences and interests. Hence, I will absolutely be that same friend towards anyone who decides "Hey, her blog is pretty chill. I'll stick around."

🍵 Why am I on tumblr? To talk about sex and, hopefully, help break the stigma a little bit behind it. I'm hoping my frequent talk about it will help not only others out there feel more open―just as it did with my friends―but at least relieved to know that they aren't alone in any kinks they may have (and that they're completely valid, at that). I actually highly recommend Evie Lupine if you're looking for further and more in-depth kink education. She's asexual, too! Kinky asexuals aren't commonly known of nor talked about, and she plans to break that. So, despite not being asexual myself―she taught me a lot about the asexual spectrum community, and helped me immensely with fighting the common guilt that comes with being kinky. I highly, highly recommend her. I'm also here to spread education about LGBTQ+―specifically us Aromantic Allosexuals, which I am. "Aromantic Allopansexual," to be specific. I don't only post about sex and my sexual identity, though. I also may post about my personal interests/hobbies, which you can find on my carrd. Main topics might be about horror, as I've been a huge fan of it since toddler age.

🍵 What am I into (NSFW wise)? In short, I'm a "pillow princess" submissive. A sub is self-explanatory. For pillow princess though―to me, "pillow princess" means I'm all for receiving oral, but have an uncontrollable repulsion to giving it. I used to beat myself up for that, thanks to the common "give what you get" expectation when it comes to oral, but came to accept it. That I not only can't help my repulsion, but shouldn't "have" to do anything in sex I'm not comfortable with. That it does not make me boring or selfish. To anyone who's similar: I hear you. I understand you. And I promise you, there are many people out there entirely into it. Though I am curious to try out deepthroating a dick or strap-on, as I frequently do in my fantasies―a real dick would have to fit my personal bill of attractive to even want to touch it. As said before, though, there are people entirely into it. Hence, I prefer only sleeping with partners who don't want their own genitals touched. As I'll admit that giving-oral-repulsion guilt still lingers from time to time. But if I'm with a partner who doesn't want their genitals touched in the first place, it really shuts that inner guilt off. (Stone tops, we stand in solidarity). And as you can probably tell, I'm more than open with my insecurities. Please feel free to be on my blog as well. Kink wise and a more in depth list? Here's a document, if you're curious. 🍵 Tags? • #askLeda for my asks and answers. • #nsft for "not safe for tumblr/not safe for work" related posts. Mainly humerous/not so serious posts. • #sexualfantasy for, as it says, posts related to my fantasies. • #aromantic or #aroallo for Aromantic related posts. • #sexualeducation or #ethicalkink for, also, just as it says on the tin. Educational and encouragement, and potential ramblings/rants, of healthy practices when it comes to sex of all kinds. Be it vanilla or kinky. • #toyrec for adult toy recommendations and reviews.

• #Ledastunes for songs I'm either currently listening to on repeat, and/or just wanna recommend. 🍵 Some opinions/stances? • Sex and romance are not inherently bad. While the way that society, at large, interacts with them is flawed (e.g: toxic monogamy/amatonormativity)―completely getting rid of them is far from the solution. • Sex repulsion/aversion is not an excuse for sex negativity. (e.g: "Eww! People have sex?! Y'all are disgusting!") • Children shouldn't be sheltered from the topic of sex. And around teenage years, they should feel comfortable enough to ask you for a toy or advice. If your child grows up fearing you'll be disgusted by them, then I firmly believe you fucked up there. • As kinky and kink positive I am, kink should never be a replacement for therapy. • But with that in mind, kink (especially edgier/violent leaning ones) are far from inherently misogynistic and are a sign you need your head checked/of mental illness. Anti-kinksters and radical feminists tend to have this viewpoint. So, and I say this as respectfully as possible, leave my blog if you fit any of those bills.

• “Virginity” is not medically real. It’s not a medical term, and it’s not based on any scientifical evidence. Instead, virginity is a social and cultural concept that is more important in some cultures and religions than in others. Particularly, purity culture. • Doms using safe words/hand signs/etc is absolutely necessary. The sub isn't the only one in control―both (or all) parties are. Each person in a power play dynamic absolutely deserve, and need, a safe word/hand sign/whatever. Including sadists. Far too many people (especially newcomers) in the BDSM community either aren't aware that doms, too, need check-ins and tap outs. Then once some people/subs do learn about/experience that, they scoff. This all goes for aftercare, too. • You aren't "sex positive" as you may think if you're anti-kink. I don't care if it's for personal reasons (in that case, that's called projection)―if your argument is "I support x because x is better than y" then you actually don't support x, and should maybe reconsider your stances and views. "Oh, have as much sex as you want! That's totally great for you! So long as it doesn't involve any kinks like masochism or anything. That's for brainwashed and gross people who are just inherently harming their mental state or are inherently abusers, haha :)" We've been told that sex is degrading and takes away a person's value one way or another, and we’ve finally come to recognize that that's an awful viewpoint to hold. But instead of saying "no, that's not true" and instead saying "yeah, it's true, but not under these conditions" and you think you've made it better? Once again, I would highly recommend sitting back and listening to those with different experiences and thoughts. • You aren't supportive of aromantics and "all complex queer identities" until you learn and accept that not every aromantic is asexual. Neither that all aroallos are bi/pan/lesbian/etc―some are heterosexual, yet still absolutely belong in the community. Aromantic, in of itself, is a queer identity. 🍵 QUCK NOTE: Trans women, you are absolutely loved and welcome here, and it will be kept that way. I say that as not only a promise, but a threat towards any transphobes reading. Mark my words, I will not tolerate any hate towards my trans sisters on my fucking blog. 🍵 Rules for asking/interacting: Here.

#introduction #intro post

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monocytogenes · 2 years

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Hey! For the hard mode meme, how about 10, 12, & 35? For Pravin in both SWTOR and DA verse :D

Finally getting down to this one, lol. Thanks for all the asks!

I'm actually going to do this for SWTOR and break out the DA stuff in a second post because, well, once I start getting sociological about shit I go off.

10. Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

Soo, let's start off by talking about Imperial fashion from a cultural standpoint.

I talked a bit in my forms of address post about how I see Imperial society as being extremely hierarchical and a culture with a strong public life/private life distinction. In public life, your position in the social hierarchy--as defined by your species, your job, and the circumstances of your upbringing--is something you consciously communicate to others; there are norms that you conform to in the way you dress and behave, and deviating from these norms tends to be met with confusion or outright derision. (This is true even among Sith; you may have more leeway to look like an edgelord, but being too much of a dramatic asshole as a freshly minted apprentice is going to toss a wrench into your advancement prospects.) You want to put your best foot forward within the bounds you've got to show that you're a respectable citizen, that you're worthy of what privileges you have now and those that you're eligible to earn in the future.

Fashions in the Empire thus tend to walk an interesting line between conservatism and theatricality: they tend to follow well-established patterns while also exaggerating features in ways that express admirable traits like physical fitness, strength and an appropriate degree of sensuality. Not a lot of skin is shown on the regular--there's a time and place for that, such as in women's evening wear or garments worn for exercise. Padded shoulders, big sleeves, lifted busts and cinched-in waists are common; clothes are heavily tailored to hide one's imperfections, and walking around in something ill-fitting is apt to make people wonder if you're impoverished or a slave. Everything is, of course, extremely polished, starched and clean.

This brings us back to Pravin.

Pravin's honestly not comfortable cavorting around in public in, say, shorts and a sleeveless shirt. This is not because he dislikes his body (quite the opposite; he knows he's fit and attractive) but because it makes him feel not put together. He's found a subversive little medium between full neck-to-boots Imperial garb and the sort of undress that strikes him as slovenly; he's got a thing for collared shirts worn partly open, slim-fit trousers and loafers worn without socks. While shipboard or wherever he happens to be calling home, he's often in sleep pants and a robe, because that's a private space. He'll look a little grungy to sell the whole 'ah yes I'm totally a shady mf and not a former Imp' thing, but not to the point of wearing clothes that aren't flattering (unless it's for very specific concealment purposes.)

So, in short: he's actually towards the 'more clothes' side, all things considered, because he grew up in a society where people dress very intentionally and that kind of socialization is hard to shake.

12. In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

This is kind of awful, but I think Pravin had some episodes of sheer dissociation during the mind control arc that he'd probably interpret as 'calm' but that were really more like 'feeling absolutely nothing.' Not the high-stakes moments, mind you, but he was running errands for the SIS team at points where he was totally checked out. He can recall those instances in kind of an analytical way, but they also have kind of an unsettling dreamlike quality since he was so numb.

(On a lighter note, I think he's touched something along the lines of 'totally contented/untroubled' post-sex before. He definitely did when he and Shara slept together after the whole Eradicators thing; it's part of why he wound up just passing the fuck out in her bed, lol.)

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

Probably the surest sign that Pravin genuinely really likes someone is that he'll get playful with them/give them a hard time: he tends to be personable and friendly by default, and doing that--actually ribbing them--is him being a tad vulnerable, revealing himself as a little less than polite (see, for instance, him flirtily teasing Lana in the Prana fic, lol.) It's a means of allowing himself to be known, and among people that he isn't totally warm on, he'd really rather they not view him as anything less than pleasant.

In general, I see him as leaning towards the quality time/acts of service end of the love languages spectrum; he's not super physically affectionate outside of sexy situations, and doesn't particularly enjoy naming feelings. Helping someone with tasks or just setting aside time to chill with them are how he's more inclined to express genuine care, and he can get a bit embarrassed about it if someone really gets to praising him for his altruism and sympathetic listening, haha.

#ask meme #pravin winscliff ii #swtor #star wars the old republic

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astriiformes · 2 years

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Hello Owl House fans!

Are you a fic and/or meta writer? Do you love Raine Whispers? So do I! And as a semi-professional musician who’s been playing strings for almost 15 years, I thought it would be fun to put together a handy info post on orchestral stringed instruments for people to use when writing fic, meta, or anything else about Raine, with a specific focus on things that I could see being useful to writers, including questions like:

What instrument does Raine play? (Surprise! It probably isn’t a violin!)

How do you take care of a stringed instrument?

What are some useful words to describe the different parts of an instrument or the act of playing one?

Is it possible to injure yourself while playing strings?

Wait, hang on, what was that about it not being a violin? (No, really!)

And more!

(Also, if there’s anything I don’t go over in this post but you’re curious about -- or something that I do, but you find confusing -- please feel free to send me an ask. I love talking about playing strings, and would love to be a point of reference for other TOH writers!)

So, without further ado:

Q1: Hey Nate. Back up please. Why did you say Raine’s instrument might not be a violin?

So, there are actually two different modern orchestral stringed instruments that are a similar size and shape to Raine’s. The violin has a slightly bigger, much less-famous cousin called the viola. People like to make fun of it -- and viola players, called “violists” -- for being a little weird and awkward, but almost any famous piece of orchestra music you can name has parts for violas in it too!

I have some stake in pointing this out because I’m a violist myself, but I also bring it up because I noticed something pretty cool in “Follies at the Coven Day Parade” that actually suggests Raine might be a violist, too -- not a violinist!

It’s in the sheet music in Eda’s file on them:

While the music itself is fairly nonsensical, it’s clearly written for the viola. How do I know? That fancy, curly symbol at the start of the line! It’s a symbol called an “alto clef,” and you almost exclusively see it in viola music.

Clefs are sort of like “languages” that music is written in. If the notes are the words, the clef tells you what they mean.

These are the most common clefs:

(Really, I should say that treble and bass are the most common -- alto is extremely uncommon, and you don’t see tenor too often either.)

The quick, basic reason that different clefs exist is because some instruments obviously make higher or lower sounds than others. If you were going to try to write music for, say, all the high notes a violin plays in the same notation as all the really low notes a bass plays, you’d have to use lots of “extra” lines above or below the staff (what musicians call the set of five lines you write music on) to reflect them accurately. By writing music for high instruments in treble clef and music for low instruments in bass clef, musicians can stick to much simpler, easier-to-read notation.

So why does this suggest Raine is a violist? Well, like I said, violas are seen as kind of weird by a lot of musicians, and one reason (among others) is because while most instruments fit comfortably into either bass or treble clef, violas play in a sort of awkward, in-between zone that isn’t quite low enough to write in bass clef, but isn’t quite high enough to write in treble. This means that viola music is usually written in alto clef, which is in the middle of the two. Not a lot of instruments play in alto clef -- and the rest of the ones that do are much rarer than the viola. And while viola music is sometimes written in other clefs if it’s high or low enough (and most violists are usually able to read in multiple clefs), violin music is never written in alto clef, because violins don’t play low enough to need it. Hence, if Raine plays sheet music written in alto clef, their instrument is probably a viola, and they might primarily be a violist!

Q2: So, if Raine is a violist -- what makes a viola different than a violin?

Well, like I mentioned with the clefs, violas sound lower. This is both because they’re a little bit bigger (which means there’s more space inside the instrument for the string vibrations to bounce around and resonate) and because they have slightly different strings than a violin. Each string on both instruments is tuned to a specific note. On violins, the four strings are tuned to G, D, A, and E. Violas also have G, D, and A strings, but instead of having an E string, their fourth string goes below G, and is tuned to the note C -- which actually makes them more like mini cellos than big violins! Having the bigger size means that violas also tend to sound somewhat richer and more resonant (think a “deeper” sound) instead of the really bright, high notes violins play.

This video is a really nice illustration (and you can see even from the thumbnail how much bigger the viola is than the violin, too!)

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There’s also a lot that’s different about them culturally. Historically, in our world (although I can’t speak for the Boiling Isles), violas have often been looked-down on and made fun of, because they’re a little weird and awkward to play (being bigger makes it harder to hold, and mean you have to stretch your fingers a lot more to hit the right notes), and composers tend to write the big, showy, fancy pieces for violins instead. People in orchestras like to tell “viola jokes,” teasing violists for being less talented players or for playing what’s considered a “weird” instrument. It’s often still in good fun, but speaking as a violist it does get a little tiring sometimes, as does having to constantly correct people when they compliment my “violin playing.” You could decide the history of the instrument is totally different in the Boiling Isles -- or maybe you could work some of these ideas into a story about Raine! Personally I think the idea of someone playing sort of an “underdog” instrument becoming head of the Bard Coven is super cool and compelling, especially considering Raine’s stage fright and anxiety. But maybe I’m biased as a violist.

(Another fun fact that could work its way into your characterization of Raine, but violists tend to be very defensive of the instrument -- often comically, but we love the viola, and we’re so used to correcting people and putting up with jokes all the time that we tend to get pretty snappy about joking right back.)

In fairness (SIGH) since I have mentioned them a bunch, here are some examples of “viola jokes”

(All taken from “Viola Jokes: A Study of Second-String Humor” in the journal Midwestern Folklore)

Anyways, now you can all join me in imagining Eda decking someone in the face if anyone tried making too many -- or even any -- of these around Raine.

--Seriously though, I think there really is something very charming about interpreting Raine as a violist exactly because it’s an instrument with a reputation for being a little weird, and out of place, and awkward, which seems like a very compelling fit for a character with bad social anxiety who’s also a bit of a rebel. Famous violist Lionel Tertis liked to call the viola the “Ugly Duckling” or the “Cinderella” of the orchestra, and while I may be biased as a violist who loves Raine, there are a lot of things about it that really thematically suit them, and I’d love to see more people embrace the fact that it seems like it’s canonically the instrument they play anyways!

And yes, maybe I’d love for us violists to get our day in the sun for a bit :)

Q3: What are the different parts of a stringed instrument?

Starting from the top, the thin, curled end with pegs in it (although the top of Raine’s instrument, unlike most modern strings, is actually shaped like a little animal of some kind, which I love) is called the scroll. On the side of the scroll are four pegs, called tuning pegs, because they’re attached to the strings and can be used to tune the instrument. There is also another set of four smaller fine-tuning pegs at the other end of the strings, for fiddlier (pun intended) adjustments. The skinny part of the instrument is called the neck, on top of which is the fingerboard, the dark wooden part (although on Raine’s, again, it’s actually lighter in color) where the player’s fingers press on the strings. In the middle of the instrument, the strings go over a small piece of wood called the bridge that keeps them raised up. To either side of the bridge are the f-holes, where the vibrations we hear as sound “escape” the instrument.

Also, the bow has fewer parts, but the primary ones to know are the hair (the part that touches the strings) and the frog (the base of the bow, where the musician holds it).

Q4: How do you take care of a violin or viola?

Very carefully! The thing about orchestral stringed instruments is that they are basically held together by tension (specifically, the tightness of the strings). Some of the parts -- like the bridge, or the wooden peg on the inside of the instrument that helps with keeping it in place -- aren’t even attached in place. They stay where they are because of the strings. While Raine’s magical viola might be tougher than a real-world one, all strings players know the terror of dropping or even roughly jostling their instrument, and we’d definitely give you points for authenticity for working that in somewhere. 😅

The importance of the tension of the strings can come up in other ways, too. One is if you break a string! It’s most common for this to happen while tuning, because turning the tuning or fine-tuning pegs increases the tension of the strings (in order to change the sound they make when you play them), so if you tighten one too much or it’s gotten worn enough that it can’t take the tension, it can snap. But it IS also possible for strings to break when you’re playing! It’s honestly a little scary -- especially with big instruments, like cellos and basses, where there’s a lot more force stored in the strings; the one time I had a string snap while I was playing my viola, it was mostly just startling -- but it usually happens if they’re particularly worn out and/or somewhat over-tightened.

The other time string tension is important is when replacing your strings, which musicians might do for a variety of reasons -- when a string has broken, replacing old, worn-out strings with new ones or ones that offer a different sound, etc. When you replace strings, you have to do so one at a time, because otherwise, if you tried to replace them all at once, there wouldn’t be any tension left to keep the instrument together! I find this makes replacing strings a little nerve-wracking, but it’s not too difficult to do properly.

Being made of wood, stringed instruments are also sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature. If you bring one from a cool, dry place to a wet, warm one, or vice versa, it’s very likely that you’re going to need to adjust the tuning a lot more than normal, because the tension on the strings is so different. Winter is an especially precarious time for the care and keeping of instruments because it’s so cold and dry many places, and you never want to leave an instrument outside for too long when temperatures are extreme (although the low humidity is actually the bigger danger).

Tension is important for the care and keeping your bow as well, but in a somewhat different way. There’s a little peg at the bottom of the bow that you can use to tighten or loosen the hair, and when not using their bows, musicians keep them loose so as not to put too much strain on the bow. Raine’s bow is actually really interesting -- you may have noticed that instead of being a relatively straight line, it curves more like a bow-and-arrow. Standard modern bows actually do have a very subtle concave curve to them, but Raine’s much more dramatically convex-curved bow is more evocative of the bows used during the Baroque era, which some musicians -- particularly those who play a lot of Baroque music -- still use today. (This is incredibly ironic to me because most Baroque era viola parts are either incredibly boring or non-existent, but I’m pretty sure Raine’s is for Bard Rule Of Cool, and maybe a bit of a nod to the very Early Modern aesthetic influences in TOH). But even Baroque bows, while constructed a bit differently, still operate on this same principle.

One of the last “care and keeping” of points I want to touch on has to do with something called rosin. Rosin is a small, hard “cake” of, essentially, treated sap from pine trees that you rub on you bow so that the hair has a better grip on the instrument’s strings (which is what draws noise from them). Invariably, rosin will then come off the bow as you play, in the form of a fine dust. You don’t want to let this dust build up on your strings or the body of the instrument, so strings players will often keep a soft cleaning cloth in their cases, to clean off the rosin dust after playing.

(Another note about rosin -- while some violists prefer rosin similar to the kind violinists to, others prefer somewhat softer, darker rosin closer to the type used by cellists, since it can be better for gripping larger strings.)

Q5: How do you take care of yourself while playing a stringed instrument? Is it possible to get hurt if you aren’t careful?

Yes, it’s definitely possible to get hurt! Being a professional musician has some risks in common with being a professional athlete, like needing good technique to make sure you’re using the proper muscles to avoid straining them, injuries from repetition or overuse, and playing demanding some unusual positions that aren’t particularly natural for the human (or, presumably, witch) body.

Violists actually have to be extra careful with some of this stuff, because the larger size of the instrument forces you to stretch your fingers further to hit the right notes, as well as to adopt a somewhat more awkward playing position overall. If you watch the video above comparing the sounds of the two instruments, you can see the slight difference in posture pretty clearly. This awkwardness is yet another reason people sometimes have a lower opinion of the viola and violists -- the instrument is, objectively, a bit more difficult to play, which in turn contributes to the perception of violists as “less talented” when they get compared to violin players whose instruments are more natural to hold!

One way to prevent injuries is to make sure you play an instrument that’s the right size for you. This is especially important for violists. While violins, cellos, and string basses all have what’s called a standard “full size” -- the size played by adult musicians, as opposed to smaller ones for kids -- violas don’t. Without going into extensive detail, this is due to another weird quirk of the viola -- while other stringed instruments have a standard size that best complements the tone and resonance of their strings, a true “full size” viola would be too large to play properly. As a result, violas are made in different sizes, measured in inches, and adult violists play the largest instruments they can comfortably and safely play. For most people that’s a 15.5″ or a 16″ (which isn’t the full length of the viola -- it’s the length of the body, minus the neck and scroll). What size you can play depends mostly on the length of your arms and the size of your hands. For example, I’m short, but I play a 16″ because I have pretty large hands. Raine seems to be pretty short as well, so I would guess they either play a 15.5″ or, if they play a 16″, it's because they have longer arms and/or fingers that make it the right choice.

Aside from using correct posture and making sure your instrument is the correct size, the other best ways to prevent injuries as a strings player are doing quick warm-ups (like scales) and taking appropriate breaks, much like with any physical activity. As far as the most common consequences go, musculoskeletal overuse injuries like tendonitis and nerve issues like carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome are among the things musicians watch out for in the elbows, wrist, and fingers, and often a mild case will be cared for with careful stretching and maybe a heat pack, depending on what’s going on. Violinists and violists are also at risk for hurting their shoulders, neck, and jaw, given the position of their instruments between their chin and shoulder. Lots of modern musicians use clip-on shoulder rests to help hold their instrument in the proper position (although Raine doesn’t).

Even if you take proper care of yourself and manage to avoid any injuries that are too serious (though any serious musician that plays as much as Raine does almost certainly gets some aches and pains from time to time), playing an instrument is a physically demanding activity, and your body responds accordingly. Strings players usually develop significant callouses on the pads of the fingers that are used to hold the strings down (the first four, minus the thumb, on your non-dominant hand; from their playing, Raine definitely appears to be right-handed). We also try keep our fingernails very short, to keep that same part of the pad hitting the string (which helps with quality of sound and also some other fancy little tricks). Strings players also tend to build pretty significant strength in their arms, fingers, and even core from playing regularly.

Q6: Can you give some advice on how to describe someone playing a stringed instrument in writing?

Yes! This is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to make this post! I love that so many people are writing about Raine, and since I know it can be a challenge to describe something with as much specific, technical vocabulary as playing strings as a layman, I am so into the idea of helping folks do it more confidently. I won’t throw a ton of words at you here, but I will try to give a very basic rundown.

Before playing, a musician tunes their instrument. These days, this is often done with the help of artificial tuners that produce the right note, so you can match your strings to the notes they’re supposed to be set to (I can think of MANY funny Boiling Isles equivalents to this, including someone just screaming it out). But a professional musician like Raine probably also has a pretty decent ear for the proper notes and some ability to match them even without prompting. Often then you’ll play a couple strings at the same time, too, to listen to the harmonics and make sure they sound right together. Tuning is done, like I mentioned earlier, mostly with the fine-tuning pegs, although if an instrument has just been restrung, has experienced significant changes in temperature or humidity, or has been knocked around some, the big tuning pegs at the top may need to be used.

If a strings player is using their bow, it’s fairly safe to describe them as bowing. When bowing, they are probably playing just one note at a time, although it is possible to play a couple notes on adjacent strings (doing this is called playing double stops) at once. Bowing is actually really significant to playing -- whether you’re moving your bow up and down, or playing a phrase of a couple notes before switching (called a slur -- I know, I know) vs switching the direction of your bow on every note can significantly change the sound and character of a piece. Not the actual notes, but the vibes, if you will. Musicians actually use different symbols to mark slurs, up-bows, and down-bows in their sheet music because of this. Other symbols mark different kinds of bowings -- for example, a dot above or below a note means you play it really quick and short, giving it a more abrupt sound, called staccato. A line over a bunch of notes means you play the notes smoothly and elegantly without breaks, or legato.

There are other things you can do to change the character of a note, too. Pressing harder or softer changes the volume of the note (called its dynamics). Wiggling your finger extremely fast on a string as you play a note gives it a beautiful rich, layered sound, called vibrato. A note being marked with three thick lines means you do a similar wiggling/trembling movement with your bow hand instead, to produce an effect called a tremolo. Touching a string extremely lightly instead of pressing down all the way can produce unusually high-pitched, eerie-sounding notes called harmonics. And placing a little rubber mute on the bridge of the instrument can give your playing a dampened, muffled sound.

You can even play without your bow -- plucking the notes out with the fingers of your bow hand when instructed to play pizzicato (although you also keep holding your bow, since most pieces that have you do this switch between bowing and plucking) -- or, hilariously enough, with the back of your bow, in a technique called col legno, bouncing it on the back of the strings to produce a really weird sound that’s honestly hard to describe. I will instead link to my favorite piece that features it, Gustav Holt’s “Mars, The Bringer of War” -- that ominous sound at the beginning that sounds like drums, or marching footsteps? That’s all the strings players in the orchestra bouncing the backs of their bows on their strings!

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Hopefully that gives you a place to start when thinking about describing strings playing! There are a lot of technical musical terms that you could employ in your writing, but honestly, having just a couple in your writer’s toolbox, maybe pairing it with some of the other info found here, and watching a video or two of someone playing to get a good picture in your mind will go a long way.

To finish, I’ve pulled a couple quotes from a fic of my own (called “What Resembles the Grave But Isn’t”) which features Raine giving a short music lesson that might give you some idea of how to put all this information together. If you’ve read through even a couple chunks of this post, there are probably more than a few things that will jump out at you here. Hopefully it can offer you some parting ideas about how you might put all this information together in your own stories!

Raine lifted their viola to their shoulder and began playing a few long, open notes, occasionally frowning slightly and adjusting one of the pegs near the bridge of the instrument.

“Sorry,” they apologized. “Just want to make sure everything is in tune.”

Hunter shrugged and started picking at his hands slightly, too uncomfortable in his own skin at the moment to really care about the hold-up. Raine’s tuning shifted to testing dual strings, in harmony, and eventually they seemed satisfied.

“I’m going to play a scale,” they said. “Just a simple one. That’s eight notes, in a pattern you probably recognize – in this case, D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D.”

Stiffening their posture, Raine closed their eyes and set their bow to the viola once more. Sure enough, the simple pattern the other witch bowed out on their instrument did sound kind of familiar, even without Hunter having much of an ear for music. Natural. Like all the notes fit together the way they were supposed to.

And, a tiny bit later:

Shakily, he put the bow to the string, trying to imitate the way Raine always held the instrument. When he moved it experimentally, there was barely any sound.

“You have to press on the bow a little more,” they explained. “Don’t worry, I know you’ll be careful with it. Put some force behind the strokes.”

Frowning, Hunter tried again. A clearer – but much scratchier than any of Raine’s playing – note rang out. Hopping up and down at his side, his palisman cheerfully sang the same note.

Sing! Sing together! the bird chirped.

“There you go!” Raine encouraged. “Now try the others. Just a simple scale.”

Hunter took a deep breath, then tried playing the same eight notes Raine had. He’d watched their hands enough to know that they’d switched to another string halfway through, but other than that he had no clue where his fingers were supposed to go. The first note, without any of them pressed to the fingerboard, came out okay enough. Just scratchy. But the rest were a disaster. He wasn’t even sure if he’d even switched strings at the right point.

“Happy?” he snapped at them, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He shoved the bow and instrument back their direction.

If you’ve enjoyed this post and have any other questions, I would love to hear from you, and would love to talk more about music, strings, violas in particular, and of course, Raine. Happy fic and meta writing, and thank you for letting me ramble on like this on a topic I’m so passionate about!

#the owl house #toh #raine whispers #hello everyone can i teach you FUN THINGS about MUSIC and STRINGED INSTRUMENTS?#this is a wall of text i know (i am..... verbose) but i tried to put question headings in to make it more navigable #and am. of course. always happy to answer questions #can we talk about the alto clef. i'm dying to talk about the alto clef #f: us weirdos have to stick together

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