#i am AWARE that it only works with one pronunciation but it's MY pronunciation so there

[nathaniacolver]

you guys i think i just made an original joke:

what's the most scholarly tree nut?

macadamia

[mana-jjk]

Do you think Inumaki has a lisp or some kind of bad pronunciation because hes used to saying a limited ammount of words? (Idk how those actually work lol)

omg hi anon !! 💞

this question has single handedly led me to vampire reddit and lisp quora and now i’m getting the weirdest recommendations in my emails (；ω；)

so i’m far from being a speech therapist, and this is based off of the little research that I’ve done and my own headcanons lol.

i think that if toge does have a lisp, it would be because of his fangs. vampire reddit has informed me very helpfully that due to fangs, the consonants in english would be limited due to how the teeth would interrupt the movement of lower lip. so f and v sounds might be impacted, however that is in english ! i am not entirely sure how it would translate to japanese.

i tried to mimic the words he uses, and can’t notice any movement that might be impacted in that case. but i also read that s sounds and th are likely to be slurred.

the only case in which we hear a slur is during this iconic scene -

i don’t think gege intended to convey that toge has a slur, more than likely this scene was a mixture of damage to his throat, blood loss, confusion, exhaustion, and hesitance. especially since they took his fangs away <\3

but canon is merely a suggestion to me lol

personally, i do think toge would have a slight speech impediment when combining his prominent fangs and lack of speech.

it’s a personal headcanon i have that toge’s clan limited his speech by limiting the language taught to him. he’s been speaking in his onigiri language since before he could remember and does have an understanding of his cursed speech. but if they wanted to limit accidents, it would be in limiting the words he knows.

the research i found also showed that if someone has difficulty interchanging with the t and d sound, it’s likely due to confusion. toge undoubtedly knows japanese, however he’s probably out of practice in speaking it outside of his cursed speech and safe words.

when you listen to him using both, his voice is very clear and particular in enunciating the sounds. in the case with yuuta, his voice was muffled, broken, and slurred. maybe even with a concussion that affected his speech.

so yes, i do think he has a slight impediment, but one that’s only noticeable when he speaks words outside of his cursed and safe vocabulary.

otherwise, everything he does is with clear intent, something you need to have when fostering something dangerous.

toge is probably aware of that, maybe even a little embarrassed of it. probably refrains from trying new words, partly because he doesn’t have the consistency or clarity to ensure there is no misinterpretation.

yuuta’s name was the exception, and continues to be the exception. he says it softly every time, and even though he could correct it, he doesn’t. saying it with a soft drop at the end seems to fit far better than the correct click of a t.

i’ve seen some interpretations of toge giving pet names to yuuta in the forms of potential safe words, but i think the way he says his name is the term of endearment.

the careful manner he sounds out in every syllable, the almost reverence he has, the quiet whisper of his voice as if it was meant for yuuta’s ears only.

there’s a gentleness to the cruelty of his circumstances, if only in the the way his words hold significance far beyond just any understanding.

any way, i think reddit thinks i want to be a vampire now and i’m just imagining yuuta googling this question and blushing at all the emphasis of fangs.

i hope this answered your question !! feel free to keep sending these asks so i can convey the full extent of my insanity <3 ! ( *｀ω´)

[local-badass]

hey lol was just skimming the notes on swimz’s “what do you call this” post and noticed that in your tags you mentioned that your family kind of twists the pronunciations of italian words (as a facet of being nj italian). was curious then how you pronounce “sfogliatelle” because speaking as someone who works at a bakery that sells them. ive heard so many different pronunciations

my nj italian voice is not the one on tv, and is more the white suburbanites who still make sunday sauce without a recipe. however pennylvania and virginia people have informed me you can hear it.

here is a list of italian things I say bad:

sfvee uh tell / sfvee uh dell = sfogliatelle

stroo fuh luh / stroo foo luh = struffoli

zepp oh la = zeppole (to be fair this is just that I say the singular instead of the plural like people saying "fish" over "fishes.")

tatos = totos/tetus which are apparently also meatball cookies

rih-got = ricotta

pro shoot / pro zhoot = prosciutto

min eh strohn = minestrone

pasta fazhool = pasta fagioli

cappa cohl / capp ih cola / cappy = capicola (I only say gabagoul ironically)

m uhtz a rell = mozzarella

ny oh key = gnocchi

bru shette ah (sometimes dropping the "ah")= bruschetta

pin yoh lee = pignoli

I am super aware most of those are incorrect in my time learning actual italian, but has just kind of stuck. I get the gist that's true for a bunch of people in my town and surrounding areas bc other people say it that way too. I also think this is regional bc when I finally met my dad's (staten island and brooklyn italian) family, they say it similar but different. i worked in an italian skewing deli / sandwich place and

it may be important to note I am slightly hearing impaired and also said "gannoli" for cannoli until I was both old enough to read and tall enough to read the sign.

[zhuzhudushu]

I just found your blog (I am learning Chinese so I keep getting the blogs of other language learners reccomended) and while scrolling through it, I ran across that other ask about being a speech pathologist. If you don't mind a question from an absolute stranger - do you happen to have a book rec for understanding American accents & pronunciation geography? I'm a native English speaker, but my foriegn friends keep asking me English pronunciation questions and I can't answer them - I generally want to answer "well, in some cities they say it that way, but in other cities they say it that other way, so both are fine". But their textbooks say it has to be one way, and that just confuses me so much. (one recent example was when to pronounce "the" as "thee" vs "th-uh" "Th-uh apple" and "thee apple" Both sound natural to me but "th-uh apple" is my normal. But apparently that is "wrong" for most of the USA?) I'd like to get a better understanding of what defines mainstream English and what parts of my own speech are a geographic quirk.

Also, I feel like the thing making my friends sound foriegn isn't pronunciation details like that, it's more rhythm and tone or something, but I don't have the vocabulary or background knowledge to figure out what part of their speech sounds off or how to fix it, so if you have a rec for a basic "how speech works" book I'd love that too. (I'm not asking for a book that will magically give me all the knowledge of your profession- that is obviously impossible. But I'd like to learn at least a little since I get asked these types of questions so very very very often and I feel like I am generally exceptionally unhelpful, to my dismay. (I have tried some random linguistics books and they were a) very dense and difficult and b) not really covering what I was looking for.)

Any advice is appreciated! (But there is absolutely no urgency and it's not very important, so don't feel obligated to like, do research or even reply if you can't think of something appropriate for laymen off the top of your head.)

OMG Longest Ask Ever Award??

I have also come across foreign speakers who were told they Had To Pronounce Things This Way, but in my experience, if they get snippy with me about it when I tell them that's not true, then I will send them to videos or TV shows to show real speakers pronouncing it a variety of ways. Once I sent a friend an Appalachian accent video and she couldn't understand it at all which was funny.

When I was in grad school, unfortunately the only real resources we had were for AAE (African American English) dialect, because my field has a horrible history of diagnosing Black children (especially boys) with language disorders for "incorrect grammar" that was really just a dialect. This was really the only dialect we studied.

But really, in my experience with intermediate+ English learners, they are VERY aware that words have multiple pronunciations. I mean, especially in Chinese, they should know that's true because those with Taiwanese and Beijing accents can struggle to understand each other (for just one example). Also, many of my Chinese friends learn British English, and are very aware that different English-speaking countries have different vocab and pronunciation.

I also agree that for the most part, if non-native speakers are difficult to understand, it's less about pronunciation of individual sounds, and more about the flow of the sounds together. We combine sounds, we skip over some, we connect them, and also - especially for tonal language speakers - their intonation doesn't sound natural and it throws native English listeners off.

But unfortunately I don't know of any good accent book resources. But to help you search yourself, the Normal (white i mean what) dialect is formally called Standard American English in educational settings. If you google that you might be able to find some books on it. This also goes for Standard British English and Standard Australian English.

I haven't watched them but WIRED on youtube has a whole set of videos about a US Accent Tour lol You could check those out?

[kulliare]

tagged by @pretty-thief, thank you

1. Were you named after anyone?

no, my real name is based off how easy it would've been for my grandma to say, who doesn't speak english. my parents kind of failed on that basis haha (there are 2 pronunciations of my name and i prefer one rather than the other!) but my name's alright

2. When was the last time you cried?

december 2022/january 2023 was my big cry era but i probably shed like one tear after that over something like film / tv / animal video that was too cute etc

3. Do you have kids?

no. i don't think i'll ever want to but idk what me 10 years down the road will say lol

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

...yes, kind of accidentally? i think i just use it for emphasis rather than like the ~sarcasm is my only language~ type. irl my voice and tone is very blunt/firm/dry so a lot of people think i'm being sarcastic when i'm serious/just talking etc!!! and i have no control over it!!!

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

i played badminton as a kid. i did ultimate before i realized that would be too much running and now i do spikeball, which is excellent for people who hate sports. but i seriously do love spikeball because as someone who doesn't really Sport it's not too hard (minimal amount of running, focus on hand eye coordination and reflexes) so it's accessible to people who aren't athletic (me)

6. What's the first thing you notice about someone?

i don't know. vibes? if i think i would like them? i'm wary of people at first so it's probably vibes. ngl i'm the type to be very self focused so i'm usually just focused on introducing myself and getting them into the Group so they don't feel uncomfortable

7. Eye color?

brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

happy endings 24/7/365 i can't do depressed shit man

9. Any special talents?

i mean there is probably something but i don't have an icebreaker answer to this i'm sorry

10. Where were you born?

this is like a security question man i can't answer this one. i am canadian is the most i'll offer.

11. What are your hobbies?

drawing / posting on tumblr.com about carmy / spikeball / video games are probably my main 4 right now. i keep thinking about getting more hobbies but i go out for spikeball a lot and it's eating up my life lol

12. Do you have any pets?

no! i desperately want a cat though. a russian blue is probably like the ideal cat for me but i don't have my own place and it's doubtful i'll get one anytime soon! i'm also open to other hypoallergenic cats but i don't know how much better they'll be in comp to a russian blue bc i met one before and my allergies weren't as bad-- unrelated but i am seeing a cat today everyone plz cheer for me. i really hope that cat likes me but i will respect his personal space bc apparently he's shy

13. How tall are you?

like 5'0-5'2... i'm never sure haha!! wish i was taller

14. Favorite subject in school?

english!!! to my great detriment!!! but i loved her then and i would never take that back from my hs self

15. Dream job?

rotting! but not really because i would probably get stressed. uhm. i'm at the point where i don't know what i would want. i strangely feel like editing for a tv show/film would work very well for me because i hate drafting stories out but i love refining shit that's already there and i imagine being able to edit stuff has a similar feel. if i was good at it i would write for a tv show or whatever but writing for fiction is incredibly difficult for me and i'm aware that i'm not the best at it

tagging @halfagod @scoundrels-in-love @bartonbones @haydenchrlstensen @egirlgarak @sweetmilkbread

[hidden-tea-party]

Hi #witchgang XD Just started listening today, I'm only on episode 5 but I'm thoroughly enjoying the podcast so far! I love the theories everyone is coming up with during the early episodes, and I cannot hear anyone shout "BEATRICEEE" without imagining Genji under the desk. So I have a couple of questions/requests/suggestions for discussion on the show if y'all don't already have them in your peripherals... 1. Have you guys seen the Umineko abridged on youtube? Feel like you would enjoy them. It's old shitty youtube humour, but it makes me smile in places - my personal favourite is Natsuhi (or Natushy depending on your pronunciation) holding the shotgun during the Eva/Natsuhi faceoff yelling "I AM NOT A MURDERER AND I'LL PROVE IT BY BLOWING YOUR ****ING BRAINS OUT!" I was listening to I think episode 2 and could just imagine you guys saying something similar when discussing it. 2. I'm curious, are you guys aware of the alternate theory to solve the murders? I'm personally a fan of the alternate theory as it's the same two culprits and one accomplice for every scenario, and not the... well I'mma just say I have a lot of problems with the official explanation, but idk how much to say without giving it away to anyone that hasn't finished the novels yet. I'd love to hear what you guys think about the alternate theory.

Keep up the fab work! I'mma go see Genji for a while.... BEATRIIICEEEE *Genji rolls his eyes a little bit under the desk*

hey friend! glad you're enjoying our little nonsense show!

we've tried to steer clear of anything that might include spoilers so I haven't seen the abridged series but once we're done I'll be free to explore the memes to their fullest extent 😈

I haven't heard the alternate solution but then we've only just finished episode 7 and I agree the 'solution' was ummm... I'll ask the all-knowing courtney witch about it

if you liked the BEATRICE-gasm, oh boy are you going to enjoy the Christmas special episode 😉

[evelyne-am]

April 4, 2023

day 22.

Remember when I said that Sir didn’t say a single word after our run through. Even though it was real shit, he just told us to have a good weekend. But I knew in my heart as everyone else did, that there was more to that, and that we found out as soon as we entered in our fourth week. Sir has been in a horrible mood because he hais revealed that that Run broke his heart and now he wants to change everything again. This will be the 5th change, and the third draft. I don’t know who read this but our first draft was so different with multiple first persons, I second draft was one first person and three third person is describing it. Second draft also included switching the protagonist from different ages so somebody would play the young age and somebody would play older. in the third version I did have a small speaking role, the smallest one but I was playing it for the purpose of rehearsal for the past two weeks. But today it is announced that the Messyness of multiple roles and multiple dialogues is getting too much he is cutting it out to be simpler and and the multiple actors for one role is possibly going to be cut. Before the acting and casting things happen, though, Sir changes the entire choreography that we have been working all over the last couple of weeks but actually we were almost getting down. Remember the Burpee‘s thing that’s already gone don’t know if that’s good or bad I was kind of getting fond of it. But God damn do I love it when he changes things. I get to see how his mind works when he adds suctracts and move things around. The intro is now absolutely stunning and lovely and subtle and beautiful. Spoiler alert, the first person you will see on stage is me. As we are doing the entering sequence The director is reminding me without saying anything that there were issues raised when I opted in for the play. Two things were mentioned about me being able to be in the cast; number one my posture, I have absolutely horrible posture something that I’m so ashamed of. 2 number is my pronunciation because Bangla is not my first language, but having said that I have been singing this language my whole life, even though I don’t read and write so fluently I do know how to pronounce words on stage and so I think that part is not the issue. But Sir asked me if I am to be the first person the audience sees walking onto that stage if I can retain my straight posture for the duration of the entire opening sequence which is very long. I of course say yes, and I take it as a challenge to myself to make sure that every moment of the opening sequence anyone stares at me. In fact every moment of that play anyone stares at me they will not know that I am actually hunched in person. I am painfully aware that the new changes means that many of us will be cut from our speaking scenes. The two young girls who are playing the young girl roles are not doing very well today, one of them burst of tears when Sir was point-blank asking her to commit. The other one passed into tears when she was unable to do something that he was repeatedly asking her to do. The problem with that is that Tears are a very natural reaction to biologically female beings however in a work situation it really is not acceptable. So the director was not being able to accept it, but these young girls for the lack of a better world I think this generation, is an able to take Harher commands. What happened was due to the two of them messing up, sir I got angry and said the play will be done by one person per character only. That kind of implies that my small part is also given to the protagonist who will do the play like a monologue. But truthfully as sad as I was to have that in the inevitable reality, watching him change the play so absolutely beautifully is even more thrilling than being sad about me not making a big theatrical debut.

Despite my wondrous ways of looking at this production, some of the girls were feeling very disheartened because the director was really unhappy with the way things are fairing so vibe at rehearsal is very tense right now. A part of me realises that because I have a small role I don’t have a lot of feedback, so maybe I don’t understand what they are going through, but another part of me thinks that This is what I do best, not take work things personally not take fame and fortune personally but value the art value the talent value the creation and value the absolute magic of being able to do something like this. And I feel really blessed, maybe it is because I have achieved other things that another’s eyes have deemed successful, but I don’t feel anything I’ve done is achievement worthy yet I am yet to set my actual stage. I’m still learning. And I think that’s why I can enjoy this life in this career because I know that I’m not at my peak. Wrote my first poem since I started and shared it with M, she seems to really like her. There we are so different we do share that similar passion to give up everything for work. And so we are becoming closer.

Ps this is my front door now.

[captainhowlreportingforduty]

14th of February 1976

((AN: Day 5 (tales of the unexpected) for the back to school challenge by @cursebreakerfarrier ! I honestly love this couple so much, I just had to choose them for this! Even tho they aren’t really a “tale of the unexpected”, they’re that one couple everyone saw coming from miles away. Pronunciation tip: Myfanwy = Mavanoui))

"You got a Valentine's letter." Céléste told her sister instead of a proper greeting as Myfanwy sat down right next to her at the Slytherin table. 

"You know, if you had asked me why I overslept, I would have had an interesting anecdote to tell, but your loss I suppose."

Céléste took in Myfanwy's appearance, from her straight platinum-blonde hair, to her ironed pants and polished shoes.

"I have other questions. For example: Why are you in your school uniform? It's a Saturday. And: who puts on lipstick before breakfast?"

"First of all, while I'm aware that this technically is formal school clothing, it is my informal uniform for days where we don't actually have lessons. I exchanged the usual skirt for pants, didn't you notice? Besides, a Prefect and Head Girl is never off duty."

Myfanwy fixed the pins on her sweater vest.

"And secondly, it's Valentines Day and I have plans today, but since I overslept a bit I won't have time to do my Make-Up after breakfast. Besides, it's a quality brand, of course. Magical 12 hour no-smudge policy."

"Okay, I get your point. Maybe open the letter, since I for one am curious what's inside and have plans too, technically I even have plans right now."

Myfanwy just smiled fondly as she picked up the envelope. It was of a pinkish colour and smelled like roses. She used one of her long and sharp fingernails to rip it open, careful to not completely destroy the paper or damage the fresh coat of nail polish on her nail. 

As she finally opened it, a rose coloured mist came seeping out of it. It was glittering softly in the daylight, warm to the touch. It curled tenderly around Myfanwy, almost like an embrace, making her blush and giggle. Finally, it formed a cloud above her head and...

"Oh, Merlin, Céléste look! It's raining hearts!" She cooed.

And truly, dozens of tiny magenta paper hearts were flirring through the air, burying themselves into Myfanwy's blonde hair, hanging onto her clothes. She extended her hands, trying to catch as many of them as possible, as the other students watched amusedly.

Nearly the entire Slytherin table cooed at the not-so-subtle Valentine's gift, but even students from other tables had noticed the pink cloud. Sirius Black honest to Merlin wolf-whistled all the way from the Gryffindor table.

Céléste, still seated next to her sister, blew a strand of hair out of her face. A few of the hearts had made their way into her brown hair as well.

"Someone has truly outdone himself this year." She commented as the cloud above Myfanwy's head slowly dissolved, leaving nothing behind but the hearts the blonde was carefully picking up to save in her bag.

"Seriously, this is only rivaled by the time he made that letter serenate you with your song, "Oh Myfanwy". He now officially has the sisterly stamp of approval."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean! We've been dating for four years now, and have danced around each other the years before that! How is it that he has earned himself the 'sisterly stamp of approval' only now? I approved Evan Rosier the second you introduced me, and you two aren't even dating!"

"Oh hush, technicalities. I just wanted to see if he'd manage to achieve his seven-year-streak of getting you adorable Valentine's Day gifts. But he delivered, so now I can approve him. I really have to rush off now though, Severus and I are meeting in the Dungeons to do some extra credit for Professor Slughorn. I would have rather worked with Lily Evans, but oh well."

Céléste scrunched her nose as she packed her things, her golden and starshaped earrings glinting in the light. 

"Apparently a lot of people are busy on Valentine's Day, including Lily Evans and excluding Severus and me. Have fun on your date."

Myfanwy laughed lightly as her sister hurried off, no doubt about to argue with Severus about potioneering techniques for at least the next three hours.

She was still brushing some last stray hearts into her bag when familiar strong arms came to wrap around her waist, a familiar weight leaning against her back. Curly hair brushed against her cheek, and as he raised his voice to speak, she felt the vibrations humming through her entire body, down to the bones,

"Blimey, looks like Miss Helyg here has a secret admirer!"

His voice soothed her like the wild honey at home, dark and smooth as always. Myfanwy laid her hands upn the ones around her waist, tipping her head back to be able to see William's face. She saw it mirroring the fond expression on her own face. A smile played at her lips.

"Well, Mr Reed, whoever it might be, they have earned Céléste's approval."

"What an honour!" William laughed, before capturing Myfanwy's lips in a soft kiss. 

"Happy Valentine's Day, sweeatheart." He mumbled, Myfanwy just kissing him once more for good measure.

Their tender moment was interrupted by someone across the table clearing their throat.

"Hey, maybe take it elsewhere. You guys are gross." Duncan told his cereal, red in the face.

Myfanwy and William shot each other amused looks, but decided to have mercy on poor Duncan. She had seen him write a note the day before, in a secluded corner of the Slytherin common room. Maybe it hadn't turned out as he had imagined.

Someone else, however, seemed to not have the word "mercy" in their vocabulary.

"Ugh, shut it Ashe, they're adorable and in luuuuuuuuve!" Galatea singsonged, climbing onto the bench next to Duncan in a whirl of long curly hair, flailing limbs and the difficult task to not lose any of the cards from the big stack in her hand.

She had obviously dressed for the special day, adding a pink longsleeve undershirt to her usual dark t-shirt and black skinny jeans combo.

"He has no right to talk anyway! I saw him with a note!" 

Duncan was in luck that Galatea was going for secretive in her performance, since she was stage-whispering the sentence towards Willaim and Myfanwy instead of crooning it out into the world in her usual no-think-all-talk manner. The boy was still trying to become one with his breakfast, but of course Galatea hadnt't just stopped by to accidentally humiliate him.

"Now, pick a card, Dun-Dun! Valentine's Day special, this reading's on the house because I like you!"

"Oi, Tea!" William half-heartedly called out from where he was resting his head on Myfanwy's shoulder.

"What did I say about exchanging Divination for goods or money or however you collect your debts?"

"To not do it where you, our beloved Ravenclaw Prefect and Head Boy, can see it. But I am doing this for free and it's a bloody Saturday, so shoo! Go snog your girlfriend or something."

Myfanwy burst into laughter as William pulled her on her feet. 

"Lucky for you, Tea, we do have plans!" He guided his girlfriend along with him, putting a hand on her waist.

"Your cousin is shameless, she really is!" He mock-complained once they were out of earshot, so he didn't have to fear another retaliation from the snarky Ravenclaw.

Instead of responding, Myfanwy pulled him into another kiss just outside the Great Hall, a proper kiss, not just a peck like at the table earlier, hands on her boyfriend's shoulders to steady herself.

But of course, they were again almost immediately interrupted by a student.

"This is, like, really weird. But also oddly sweet. Like when you see your parents kiss and don't know if you should gag or coo."

Myfanwy snickered as William sighed.

"Did you want something, Jakob?"

"Uh, sure." The young boy extended them a box of chocolates.

"I got these, and I like checked if there was Amortentia in them already and there isn't. So I did not find out what it's like to be drugged. I did find out that I like neither nuts nor marzipan in my chocolate, so here. Happy Valentine's Day!"

Myfanwy took the box, finding the gesture sweet despite the fact that there were apparently already some chocolates missing.

“Diolch, Cyw. Who sent these, by the way?" 

Myfanwy wouldn't lie, she was curious about what "her" kids got up to when she wasn't around to keep them from certain death. To her disappointment, Jakob just shrugged.

"If I ever find out, you'll be the first to know. I thought you knew that already!"

And with that, the boy pushed into the Great Hall, no doubt to meet his friends. He did yell a last "Tea's doing Valentine's Day readings and it's hilarious, by the way!" at them before completely disappearing.

"You never have a calm moment with these gremlins, do you?" William said, the fond expression on his face betraying his true feelings for the students they were responsible for.

"You tell me." Myfanwy agreed. "You know who I caught sneaking around yesterday, trying to fix a giant glitter dungbomb to the Slytherin common room door?"

"If I would have to guess, I suppose it was our favourite group of Gryffindor troublemakers."

"It was them! Merlin, they are going to get me into an early grave. Lupin is a Prefect, for Merlin's sake!"

She hooked her arm under William's.

"But lets relax a bit, maybe take a day semi-off-duty."

"Wanna go to Puddifoots and make up stories about the other couples there?"

"You know me too well, Sweetheart. Let's stop by the Slytherin common room beforehand though, I got you some flowers."

Myfanwy knew very well that the flowers weren't as high maintenance as the gift William had made her today, hell, as any of the gifts he had made her in the seven years they have been together here at Hogwarts.

Besides, she had been a bit busy the last weeks, talking her mam into getting her a family heirloom fixed up, so it would be properly restored when they would graduate this summer. 

As they walked towards Hogsmeade together, laughing and kissing, she wondered if William would like the rings.

[the-light-of-stars]

talk about your conlang plz i am looking

hell yea !

alright so I don't have my own conlang, however I have been thinking about how I'd approach making one so here is what I would do and hopefully that can help anyone that sees this and wants to make their own language too:

[explanation under the cut]

ok so preliminary:

1.: Before starting to make your own conlang I think it is important to have already figured out at least part of your general world building. you could ofc also start your worldbuilding with the conlang but personally I think that makes it more complicated since languages are directly influenced by things like the culture they developed in, the societal needs of their speakers, biological prerequisites (like what sounds the speakers can make, which is important if you have different species speaking) and relationship to other languages. for example what words a language has depends on what needs their speakers have and under which circumstances they live. a populace in a medieval fantasy setting might not need a word for airplane or electricity, and a populace that lives in an ocean might not have a word for precipitation like rain since they would never witness it (if we assume they don't live anywhere near the surface). similarly languages will also be influenced by the languages around them, so the ocean people might not have had a word for rain originally but after decades of trading with land-living people they have integrated a loan word for rain from the land language into their own.

2: which means: be aware of Loan Words. cultures are not monoliths but rather tend to have fluctuating borders to other cultures. neighboring cultures - even if they are mostly distinct (usually neighboring cultures will have noticable overlap though) - tend to share bits and pieces with eachother. this might be due to immigration or other types of cultural exchange like trade or tourism, due to marriages between people from both (or more) cultures, or just because people from city A saw a cool thing in city B and wanted to do their own version of it (the latter can be a matter of cultural appropriation - keep in mind that cultures and their languages can also be influenced and altered by that or other issues like colonization. if there ever has been a war in your worldbuilding there will have been effects on the cultures involved). either way though, because of this it is highly likely that the languages of your world (and there probably will be multiple, with multiple dialect versions of themselves) will take loan words from eachother or otherwise develop their own versions of words from other languages.

Ok now to the proper approach for language building that I'd do:

1.: I'd suggest starting with Phonetics. This is because imo it will be easier to figure out the phonemes (= smallest meaning differentiating particle of a language) and their rules first, and only then move on to Morphology (the part of linguistics that contains the study of the building and flexion of words) , since a) that way you are working from the ground up and b) phonetic rules are important for how words are pronounced and written so figuring that out first will make building words easier since you already have some sort of guideline.

What phones (= sounds) your language will contain depends on what sounds the speakers of that language can make - for some examples of sounds in human language here a link to a partial pronunciation chart of the IPA (international phonetic alphabet) . As is noted on that site those aren't the only sounds humans can make and they aren't always pronounced exactly like that but for the sake of examples this should suffice. And mind, if you make a language used by non-human beings they probably will have an array of other sounds they can make but humans can't.

2. If you have your phones, phonemes and phonetic rules sorted out, I'd suggest to continue with the morphological aspects of your language, specifically with word building. Morphology is the study of the smallest meaning carrying particles of a language (morphemes) . For this you also have to figure out the semantics of your language, that is how and what meanings your language assigns to its symbols, so for non-human languages you might have to consider how they experience their world and how and why they would assign meaning to morphemes etc. (this would be harder to do if you haven't done any world building yet and plan to start with your language, thus the point further up). At this point you are only building your words and coming up with phonemes and rules for them, however

3.: once you have your words and the rules for building them, you'll have to figure out the rules of their flexion - this means conjugation, etc. - and how they are applied in daily use of the language. Maybe your mermaid language has another noun case that does not exist in any human language, maybe you have talking bees in your world and their verb conjugation works with a special 'hive first person/ swarm' option.

4.: if you have done this then you'll have to figure out the overarching grammatical structure of your language. How does this language build sentences? Does it have build on sentences? Does it have only nominal phrases? Are there certain kinds of sentence build that sound stilted for native speakers of the language and if yes, which? etc

5. Lastly you might want to consider the history of your language and how it interacts with other languages in your world, wether there are dialects etc. to make sure it fits into the context of your wolrd building

I would love to explain more in depth about any of these parts (particularly about morphology, so parts 2 and 3) but I have a headache and am really tired rn so if you want me to go more in depth feel free to send an ask or a message and I'll get to that later vsbdb <3

for now I hope this helps at least a bit, I'm sure going more in depth will help a lot more but like I said. am seepy. <3

[saiilorstars]

Ch.23:  The Rogue Reporter

Pairings: Barry Allen x OFC

Current Masterlist | Previous Story

Pronunciation of OC: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​ @antonybridgertons​​​​​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​

[If you’d like to be part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!

Belén felt like time was passing incredibly slow, and she would know something about Time considering her boyfriend was the Flash. She checked the clock in the office set right behind her editor's desk, and saw that it had only been about three minutes. Four, max. It feels like an hour, she thought.

She was anxious to know what Evans thought about her newest article. It had to be something special because he hardly ever required his reporters to sit in while he read the pieces. He'd called her into his office almost immediately after she clocked in. He said a couple words about her article she submitted to him last night but nothing concrete about whether or not he was going to publish it. So, there sat Belén, waiting for him to finally finish.

"This is a good article..." he began suddenly, making her heart thump anxiously. She straightened up in her chair as Evans lowered the hard copy to the desk. "But I won't be publishing it."

Belén's heart stopped. Her face fell at the news and yet...she wasn't all that surprised. In fact, she was surprised that she was surprised about Scott's decision. She knew from the start that this article wouldn't be easy to pass, so why was she so shocked to hear it come true?

"It's a good article," Evans repeated as if that would lighten up his decision. "I can't publish it and much less with your name under the byline."

"But...why not?" Belén pushed her chair closed to the desk, leaning forwards over it to touch her hard copy. "You've said it was good, twice!"

"And I stand by it but I've noticed something about your work: there's a clear bias for the metahumans in this city."

"Well, considering it's because of those metahumans that I live, I like to show my support for them," Belén picked up her article and skimmed through the paragraphs again. There were no mistakes in it - she proofread it so many times that in the end Barry had to pull her away to go to sleep - and there were no marks from Evans which meant that it really was a good article.

"And there lays the problem," Evans puts his hands together on the desk. "And it's not just you. West has the same issue."

"Well, if we're being honest, you seem to have something against metahumans too," Belén pointed out, recalling what Iris had mentioned to her days ago. "You don't like them and I don't think it's fair you're putting that towards my work. I did all the research for this article, I got interviews with metahumans that this city doesn't even know about yet. It's meant to unite a specific group of metas that are terrified of Datura."

"I know the intention of this article, I do, and I think it's very noble of you to try to do something like this...but I can't have all my workers showing nonstop support for metahumans. You, especially, are geared towards the Flash and the Azalea. Take a break."

"With all due respect, this article has nothing to do with my support for them," Belén kept her tone calm despite the bubbling anger that was growing inside her. "This article is not meant to glam them up. It's meant to offer information to other metahumans, let them know that they can get support from the Azalea, from this place called the Green...it's supposed to help."

"Again, I admire your drive for this. I am aware of your passion for your work, but this is one work that I really don't think will bring any good to this place."

Belén so badly wanted to shout that it wasn't meant for 'this place', but that it was meant for other botanical metahumans. He was missing the entire point!

"Why don't you try re-writing this and gear it towards the public in general?" Evans suggested, but it only served to further agitate Belén more.

"What—"

"Try to make it as a support platform for everyone in general," Evans continued. "You have the right idea, I just think—"

"No!" Belén shook her head, her ombre-blonde curls bouncing with her. "I can write another article about that but it's not what I want for this piece! This—" she snatched the article off the desk and raised it in the air, "—is meant for botanical metahumans! They are the ones in most danger right now! It's part of the first page - did you read it!?"

"I'd watch your tone, Miss Palayta," Evans' voice sharpened as did his gaze on her. "I understand your upset with this decision—"

"I don't think you do," Belén's humorlessly chuckled. "I wrote a good piece and more importantly, I wrote it thinking about a community that, up until now, hasn't gotten a lot of support. They're being hunted down and I want to help them. This article can do it!"

Evans did not falter. "I'm sorry. Either rewrite the article using my suggestion or move onto a different subject."

Belén gritted her teeth behind her lips. Her hand gripped the edge of her article but for all the anger she felt, she managed to keep her mouth shut. She whirled around and stormed out of the office.

~ 0 ~

"I shouldn't even be surprised," Belén shook her head after telling her friends what happened to her. There she stood in the middle of the cortex, hands flapping as she got angry all over again. "I knew he wouldn't publish it and I still went ahead and wrote it! Twice!"

"Bells," Barry walked over to her, reaching for her arms that were once again all over in the air. He was angry himself with that editor had turned away the article. He had read it each time Belén showed it to him and each time it was fantastic. How could Evans turn it away?

This was just the tip of the iceberg for them. None of them were in their best states considering they only just discovered Jay was actually Zoom. It was more than difficult to process that once again, they'd been duped by their enemy. Barry had done all the screaming a few days ago and while it passed, it didn't mean he was done. He was holding himself together because everyone else managed to clamber onto some type of state that didn't make them want to scream all day.

"It's my fault," Belén walked over to the desk where Cisco and Caitlin sat. Shivhan stood off to the side, taking sips of coffee. "I knew it and I went ahead and did it anyways." She swiped her article off the desk and headed towards the trash bin where she dropped her article in.

Shivhan nearly choked on her coffee at such a terrible sight.

"Bells!" Barry exclaimed but before he could even move for his girlfriend, Shivhan dashed forwards.

"Nu-uh!" she quickly dove a hand into the bin and pulled out the article. "You did not make us all help you with these interviews for you to just throw it all away!" Belén frowned at her like a child, but Shivhan wasn't done there. "This wasn't just your work! A lot of us put our words there to help you! And you're not going to let some guy—"

"My boss," Belén reminded her.

"—ruin all your work!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do!?"

"Publish it yourself!"

Belén paused to look at Shivhan. Everyone else exchanged reluctant looks with each other. None of them were sure that was the best idea, but Shivhan was always a bit more out there than the rest of the group.

"I-I can't..." Belén was shocked by such an idea, and yet there was a itty-bitty part of her that wondered...

"Shivhan, Belén can't go doing something like that," Cisco pushed himself out of his seat. He blinked suddenly then looked at Belén. "Right?"

"I don't think so," Barry said as he watched Belén grow silent, as if she was truly considering the idea. He didn't ever want to tell her what to do about her job, but it did worry him that she might make a rash decision because of her anger. "Belén?"

Shivhan seemed to get the social clue that she'd overstepped. Caitlin was pretty good at her expressions. "S-sorry, Belén. You're upset and I'm not helping - Iris might be right about my people skills."

"No, it's..." Belén reached for her article in Shivhan's hand. She took it back and gazed at the front page, sighing. "I don't know, I'm just..." She couldn't even put together the right words to describe how she felt.

Shivhan decided to move away before she made things worse.

As she moved away, Barry moved in and took Belén into a tight hug. "Can I take you home?" he suggested to her quietly.

Belén gave a small nod of her head. He brought them back to her apartment in just a minute but from there on, he didn't know what else to do for her. There was already so much on their plate that this was just the tip of iceberg.

"I can bring you some of your favorite pasta," he offered after getting settled, or rather after he'd persuaded her to settle in. She'd taken her shoes off, her jacket off, and she was sitting on her bed. "Oh, and we can watch Netflix all day. I think it's been a while since we had a date, right?"

Belén smiled appreciatively at him. "It has."

"So, pasta?"

"You're trying to appeal to my Italian side..." Belén tilted her head, the growing smirk on her face making Barry laugh.

"Caught me!"

"I love it. E ti amo per questo," the Italian language rolled perfectly off her tongue.

Barry would never get over how good she sounded speaking her beautiful Italian language. "No idea what you said but feel free to continue."

Belén laughed. "And I love you for it," she translated and scooted closer to him. "Your attempts to cheer me up."

"Oh...you want to say something else?" Barry asked and made her laugh again. "No seriously. I'd love an Italian lesson from you."

"Something tells me you're not very interested in learning the lesson."

"Maybe so," he admitted with a careless shrug. "I just think you sound incredibly hot speaking Italian."

Belén rolled her eyes in an attempt to be casual but the truth is she was blushing as if it was the first time he said that. He always said that to her. She would say a few sentences in Italian at random moments. Sometimes they would come out when they were having meals together, or when she was mad - they were no strangers to when they were engaging in...certain activities. At those points, Barry would love it even more. Remembering that caused Belén's blush to deepen. It was not the time to remember such things.

"I'll go get you that pasta, then," Barry brought her back to the present with a kiss on the lips. "And maybe a couple for me."

"Thank you," Belén said softly as he climbed off the bed. She knew he was giving his free day up just to cheer her up.

Barry stopped by the bedroom door to look back at her with a smile. "I'll be back," he promised and left the room. Just as he was about to speed out of the apartment, his phone started to ring. He fished the phone out of his pocket and saw Iris' name over the screen. "Hey, Iris."

"Hey! Just calling to make sure we're still on for lunch today," Iris said, immediately confusing Barry since he had already made his plans with Belén. "I told Wally we'd do 4 o'clock and I really hope that you won't be late. Actually, I'm placing all my faith on Belén because I know your track record."

"Lunch?" Barry repeated, scratching the back of his head. "With you and Wally?"

"Yeah, why are you asking me? We agreed - all of us - to do lunch today!"

"Right..." Barry closed his eyes when he remembered that they had. "Um, listen Iris, I think we'll have to—"

"Barry?" Belén's whisper caught him off guard. She had come out the bedroom and leaned against the door. She heard the entire conversation and remembered that they did make plans with Iris and Wally. "Tell her we're still coming."

Barry pressed his hand to the phone as he turned to Belén. "But you're not feeling—"

"I'm fine," Belén offered him her best smile. She leaned off the door and took the few steps necessary to take the phone from him. "Hey, Iris. We'll be at Jitters at 4."

"Make sure Barry's ready," Iris chuckled.

"Of course, don't worry." Belén hung up the call and turned around to face Barry, holding his phone out to him. "Iris doesn't know what's going on. It was her day off and she's sort of seeing him."

"She's what?" Barry blinked.

"Yeah so I would really like to keep my personal troubles away from her, at least for now."

"I get that but are you sure that you don't want to stay at home? You're not feeling up to it—"

"Iris is waiting for us," Belén took his hand and placed his phone on his palm. "I'm going to go get ready." She made sure he held onto his phone and headed back for her room.

~ 0 ~

An hour later, both Belén and Barry were at Jitters having lunch with Iris and Wally. If one looked at Belén, no one would be able to tell that she was upset. She was laughing and keeping up with the conversation just like she always would on any other day. Barry didn't know if he should be happy that she could pull such a stunt or be upset that she felt like she needed to pretend to be happy.

"Honestly Wally, sometimes you make me miss college," Belén said after hearing Wally retell a story about a frat party he'd gone to just last week. "I used to go to some of the sorority parties myself and they almost always ended up going wild."

"You went to those parties?" Iris threw her a disbelieving look.

"Yeah, well, sometimes my friend Hilary used to make me but they were so much fun!"

"I didn't go because I wanted to, my friend took me," Wally chimed in before Iris got the idea that he was wasting time at college. He didn't need that getting back to Joe.

"Right," scoffed Iris. She crossed gazes with Barry and wondered why he was so quiet. "I guess you and I are the only ones who didn't go to those parties, huh?" she had asked in hopes of getting him to join the conversation, but all he did was nod and mumble a 'yeah'. His awkward smile didn't help either.

Belén studied Iris and realized she was beginning to notice Barry's odd behavior. She was just too smart to fool sometimes. "Hey Barry, you think you can get me another matcha tea?"

Of course he would. "Be back," he excused himself as he got out of his stool.

"Is he alright?" Wally asked, having noted Barry's strangely quietness throughout their lunch.

"Yeah, um...just things about work," Belén quickly dismissed it and changed the topic of conversation. She wasn't interested in throwing the blame on Barry when he was like that because of her.

"I'm gonna get another refill," Iris excused herself a few seconds later and grabbed her mug off the table.

"So, uh, Iris told me you were working on a new article about metas," Wally said not a moment after his sister was gone. Belén almost choked on her own saliva but managed to pass it off as a regular cough. "I thought it was a pretty cool idea what you were trying to do."

"Yeah, um...yeah," Belén shifted awkwardly in her stool. Leave it to Wally to bring up the very thing she was trying so hard to forget. All this time she shouldn't have concerned herself with Barry and Iris, she should've kept her eye on the quiet one!

"Do you actually know them?" Wally purposely lowered his voice. He leaned on the table a bit, his eyes eagerly looking at her for the answer. "Like...like the Azalea and the Flash?"

"Well, uh...I wouldn't say p-personally..." Belén wasn't sure how much she could say without sounding suspicious. None of them had really talked about whether or not they wanted to let Wally in on the STAR Labs secret.

"The things you've written...you pretty much establish that you know both of them."

"Is that what I established?" Belén awkwardly chuckled. "Oh me..."

Wally gave her a look asking her not to treat him like he was stupid. "Seriously. It's not like I'm going to ask who they are. I just think it's cool that they would let you constantly interview them for your work. Kind of makes them sound...normal."

"Normal?" Belén couldn't help the genuine laugh that came out of her mouth.

"Everybody sees them like Gods - you should hear the students at my school. Most of them claim that they're in love with them and others put them on these high pedestals saying that they can't be beat."

"And you think they can be?" Belén asked, choosing not to focus on the fact some people were out there saying they were in love with the Flash. He's mine so back off, she almost rolled her eyes at herself.

"They're humans, aren't they? I don't know, I thought they were kind of lame but after reading your work...it sounds like they actually care about people like us. You know, the non-metas?" Wally smiled at her. Belén almost felt sorry that he was thinking they were part of the same club. "And then Iris told me that you got the Azalea to do this big-deal interview along with other metas like her? That's cool! I can't wait to read it when it comes out."

Belén's smile slowly became strained. "Yeah..."

Barry and Iris had just finished ordering their refills at the counter when Iris turned to him demanding to know what was wrong with him. Sometimes it was just too scary how she did that.

"Nothing," the speedster tried playing it off but he forgot that he basically grew up with her. She saw right through him.

"You haven't said two words back there," Iris gave a nod at their table. "And you have a face..."

"It's not about me, alright?"

It then took Iris only two seconds to change gears. "What's wrong with Belén?"

"How do you...?" Barry looked at her like she was some psychic because sometimes it felt like she wasn't just a regular human.

Iris rolled her eyes at him. "Barry Allen you better tell me what is going on right now." There was a sharpness in her tone that always, without fail, made Barry wince as if he'd just gotten in trouble.

"I really can't. Belén said it would upset you and that editor of yours. The one you're apparently dating - thanks for letting me know, by the way!"

"What?" Iris didn't seem as surprised as Barry thought she would be considering no one knew she'd been seeing the editor. Instead, she looked confused. "I'm not dating..." she shook her head with a sigh. "I'm not dating Scott."

Now it was Barry's turn to be confused. "What? Bells told me you were having coffee dates with him."

"Yeah, like 2 or 3 times but that's not happening anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Iris looked away. She didn't want to get into that right now. She had only just recently decided to stop those little dates and if she explained it to him or even Belén, she would have to bring in the reason. She didn't know if she was ready to talk about him yet. "That's not important right now. I want to know why you're so quiet and why Belén is, apparently, pretending to have fun right now."

"Iris—"

"I swear to God if you don't tell me I will embarrass you in front of your girlfriend. I do have untold stories. Shall we go back to freshman year?"

"Stop!" Barry ordered her instantly. "It's that...that article you helped her rewrite, remember? Apparently, your editor decided not to run it because Bells has some bias towards metas, specifically the Azalea and the Flash."

"Oh no," Iris sighed. She knew that would always be a risk, they all knew it, but like Belén she had hoped that Scott would see past his own bias against metas to realize how helpful Belén's article could be.

"I'm pissed, honestly," Barry admitted and it felt good to be able to express it too. He hadn't done much because he wanted to help Belén and the last thing she needed was an angry boyfriend. "I read that article and if it did get published, a lot of botanical metas would benefit from it. The Azalea could potentially bring together an entire community. And Scott—" he spat the editor's name viciously, leaving Iris stunned that he could even be like that, "—decides that Belén has a problem. He has the problem if he can't see what this article could do."

"Calm down," Iris said, patting his arm and nodding to the barista who was now a bit nervous to approach them with their refills. Barry turned away to gather himself up. He rarely went into states like that in public. Usually it was around STAR Labs or by himself, but like Belén he was tired of everything going wrong for them.

"It's not fair, alright? And the only reason I haven't marched down there myself is because I know how much Belén loves her job." He grabbed his mug from the barista.

"We'll find a way to get it published," Iris assured him.

"Hey," Belén suddenly joined them at the counter. She took her mug from Barry's hands and looked between them. "Wally and I have been waiting for you two. How long do refills take?"

"Drop the act Annah-Belén," Iris promptly said, startling Belén for a moment. "I know everything."

"Dammit Barry!"

"I couldn't help it!" the speedster raised his hands in defense. "Plus, she's not even dating the editor anymore."

"Oh, it doesn't - wait, how come?" Belén fixated a concerned, yet puzzled, gaze on Iris.

The reporter groaned, throwing her head back. "That's not important right now!"

"Yes, yes it is. What happened?"

"It doesn't matter!" Iris ultimately snapped to silence them both. "I don't want to talk about it, alright? But what I do want to talk about is this article. We need to figure out a way to get it published."

"Well you never know, I might just end up publishing it on my own," Belén muttered, earning herself wide-eyed looks from the two siblings. "What?"

"Bells, I know that's what Shivhan said but even she realized that wasn't a good idea."

"I just don't know, Barry. Maybe it's time I stopped acting so much like me and pick up a little something from Datura. She wouldn't take this crap! Why shouldn't I publish my article on my own?" she waited for one of them to answer her, but neither could come up with a decent response. "Exactly. I work hard every day to make sure my articles are good but something always goes wrong with me. I can't catch a break and I'm tired of it." She gazed down at her mug and shook her head. She moved up to the counter and left the mug on it. "I think I need to go home. Tell Wally I'm sorry, I...got a headache or something."

"Bells..." Barry couldn't even touch her arm with how fast she moved away from them. "Great!"

"We'll figure it out," Iris promised him again. They always figured everything out and this wouldn't be an exception.

~ 0 ~

Belén had planned on going directly home after such a lunch, but her mother called her midway asking her to stop by her place instead. Even if Belén wasn't sure she could take more conversations, she changed directions. Her mother wouldn't be accepting 'no'.

"Auntie Belén, look!" Axel called her over the moment she walked into the house. He was sitting at the dining table, animated over a drawing he was working on. As she walked over, he flashed a picture of a bright orange fish inside a fish bowl. "I made it for show and tell tomorrow."

Belén laughed as she studied the drawing. "It's wonderful."

Axel beamed with his aunt's compliment. He stood on the chair and leaned on her so he could tap a finger over the paper. "It's my pet fish - Goldie."

Belén had to suppress her hard laugh at the name. Goldie. "So, um, why don't you bring in the actual fish to school instead?"

Veronica emerged from the kitchen, loudly clearing her throat and making a cutting motion across her neck. Belén didn't understand what she'd said wrong until she noted Axel's entire mood changing. He glumly took his picture back and sat down on the chair again.

"Grandma says I can't because I could break the fish bowl glass…"

"Way to go, Belén," Veronica muttered.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Axel," Belén kissed her nephew's head. "Maybe we can find a better fish bowl for your next show and tell."

"Axel, go upstairs while I talk with your aunt," Veronica promptly ushered the boy off his chair. Axel grabbed his crayon box and went towards the stair case.

"Belén," Veronica said as soon as Axel had gone. Belén immediately noticed her mother's strange expression. "I've been thinking about our situation with Zoom and Datura..."

"You and me both," sighed Belén. She collected all the sprawled papers on the table that Axel left behind.

"I decided that this place isn't safe for Axel anymore." Veronica watched her daughter freeze in the middle of shuffling papers in her hands. "I know it's hard to actually believe it but-"

"No, it's not," Belén said quietly. Of course she knew that Central City was no longer as safe as it once was. It was just one of those things that she would push to the back of her mind.

Veronica was relieved that she could at least slip the arguing concerning the safety levels of the city, but she wasn't sure if she'd have the same luck with the next part. "Leaving Axel with Mrs. Andrews doesn't really make me feel secure. I could potentially be putting an old woman in danger."

Another valid point, Belén sighed at. She could see her mother struggling to put her next words together, probably assuming that she would get angry at her for it. "Mom? What is it?"

Veronica exhaled and went for it. "I want to send Axel away...to your father's family in Italy."

Belén's eyes widened like dinner plates. "To Italy!?" she exclaimed louder than she'd intended to, but the idea was a bit much too handle easily. "You want to send him to Italy!?"

Veronica had prepared herself for this type of reaction. She wasn't going to yell at Belén to listen to her, but she would make a damn good argument on why it was the best option for Axel. "I know it's far away—"

"Try 'on the other side of the world'!" Belén exclaimed, turning away from Veronica. Tears were stinging inside her eyes. Their family was already separated enough and now Axel would be in Italy!?

"I know that it's far but that's the point. Zoom and Datura wouldn't waste their precious breaths trying to find a four year old in Italy. They'd forget about trying to use him against us. He would be safe, Belén. Isn't that what we want?"

Belén's legs seemed like they wanted to stomp but she controlled herself and instead turned back to face her mother. Of course that made sense. It made absolute sense. It just didn't mean it would be easy. "Italy...?"

Veronica nodded her head. "I can call your Nona and set it all up. I just want you to be on boars with this. I won't send him if you don't agree. No more fighting."

Tears rolled down Belén's face but it wasn't all for Axel. Time was she had battled it out for Axel's custody with her mother and now, despite having full custody over him, Veronica was giving her the power to decide his fate.

"I'd love to argue to keep him here but you're right. It's not safe for him to be around us," Belén sniffed. A deep anger crossed her face when she remembered all those times they allowed Jay to be around Axel. They couldn't let that happen again. "Italy will be good for him. He'll have fun and-and he'll be around the family."

Relief filled Veronica's face hearing Belén agree. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Belén wiped the tears off her face. "Kind of jealous. I haven't been to Italy in forever. Miss my Nonno Maxi."

Veronica chuckled. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"Alright," Belén exhaled with resignation. She nodded at her mother. "Let's do it. Let's send Axel away to Italy."

"Thank you," Veronica walked up to her and hugged her.

"It's just so hard having to let him go," Belén hugged her mother tightly. She didn't want to keep losing family members.

"I know," Veronica sighed. "But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. It might not be easy, it might bring some problems, but if you're doing it for the right reasons...then it has to be done."

Veronica's words struck a chord she hadn't intended on. Belén started thinking about her article. It would never see the light of day even when it was really meant to help many people.

Do what you gotta do.

~0~

When Barry came back to the apartment, he expected to have some trouble persuading Belén to talk to him. Instead, she had shouted that the door was opened and the moment he walked in he was met with the sweet scent of chocolate. It took him a moment to realize that she was making cookies.

"Hey!" she emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of chocolate cookies. "Want a Chocolate Amaretti?"

"Wh-what? How...what...you're making cookies!?"

Belén nearly laughed at Barry's adorable confused face. "Yes, I am. My Nona Enger used to make these for me when I was younger. She taught me how to make it—" she took a bite into one of the cookies, "—but I don't think I could ever make them taste the same."

If Barry was confused before, now he was bewildered. "I thought you were..." his hand gestures didn't exactly make sense but Belén knew what he was trying to say.

"I was upset, but I fixed it," she set the bowl on the table, along with her half eaten cookie. "I visited my Mom today. We, uh...we decided to send Axel away to our family in Italy."

Barry blinked, his body lurching forwards as if his feet forgot how to stand. "What?"

Belén looked up with saddened, but resigned, eyes. "It's not safe for him anymore, Barry. We all know that Zoom and Datura will eventually come back and when they do, I'd rather not have Axel around. Mom's arranging things to send him as quick as possible."

"Bells, I'm sorry," Barry walked over to her and kissed her temple.

"No, don't be. It's the best thing we can do for him. He's four, you know? He shouldn't have live surrounded by our meta troubles. Where my Dad's family lives...it's a small town, it's lovely. Axel will love it there." But as she spoke, Belén's tears pooled in her eyes. It was truly going to be so hard to let her nephew go, even if it was for a temporary period.

Barry wrapped an arm around her waist. "You are making a good decision. I know it hurts—"

"It does," Belén turned to him, taking in a deep breath for what she was about to say next. "I agreed to it because it was something I had to do, something that I needed to do...just like my article." She licked her lips nervously and stepped away from him. "I...published my article."

Barry stepped towards her but she quickly retracted the same step back. "You got Evans to publish it?"

"Not exactly. I...published it on my own. I, uh, made a blog - like the one Iris used to have - and I published my article there. With my name and everything."

"Wh-wh-why...what!?" Barry exclaimed, giving her a look that begged her to take it back, to say that it was just a joke. "Belén, tell me you didn't actually-"

"I did!" Belén raised her head high, making it clear that she wasn't ashamed of it. "I had to do it—"

"You didn't have to—"

"I did!" snapped Belén as she moved past him in a determined stride. "And I didn't do it as a rash decision, like some little girl who was mad! I did because I had to! I needed to!"

"But you could get into trouble with your editor!" Barry turned around and watched her pace to and from him. "Belén!"

"I'm listening!" she stopped pacing to face him. "I had to! Datura is coming back and when she does I want every botanical metahuman that's afraid of her to know that they're not alone!" Her shouts increased in volume each time she said something new. " That there's so many of us out there! I needed them to know that so they won't be as scared as I used to be!"

Silence hung in the air afterwards.

Barry stood in his spot and watched her try to calm herself down. Her chest heaved up and down until she was able to speak in a normal volume.

"I used to be so afraid of Datura back then. I still am but with reasonable amount. Back then, before I knew about the Green, I thought it was a lost battle," she swallowed thickly. "And when I finally learned that I wasn't alone...Barry you have no idea how I felt. It was..."

Barry strode up to her for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her so tightly one would think he was afraid that she'd slip away. "I didn't know," he murmured over her head.

"Of course you didn't," Belén moved her hands up his back. "I didn't even realize it myself. I thought it through, Barry, and I know the risks that I'm taking. I needed to do it so that others won't have to live in fear."

"You are incredibly brave, you know that?"

"Hardly, they're words."

"Still. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did, and no matter what happens...I'll be here for you."

Belén smiled up at him in relief. She'd been nervous to tell him what she did. It wasn't something to take lightly but she wouldn't backtrack. "Thank you," she kissed him on the lips.

"Always together, right?" Barry tilted her chin upwards, giving her reassuring smile.

"I'm really lucky to have you," she sighed and leaned on him. A little part of her wondered to herself how Datura had gone on the way she had without her Barry. Maybe that's why she went psycho. She couldn't imagine what her life would be if she couldn't be with Barry. She wouldn't go 'psycho' but she definitely wouldn't be able live happily either.

"Sooo...we're making cookies tonight?" Barry let her go to turn back to the table. They smelled really good.

"Well since Axel's leaving to Italy, I'm kind of nostalgic for my family. My Nona Enger used to bake these with me."

"If this is our dinner then I'm definitely sleeping over," Barry drifted towards the table and grabbed a cookie from the bowl. Belén watched him happily munch on her cookies, almost laughing when he moaned on the second bite. "Oh yeah," he said in-between bites, "I'm definitely staying tonight."

A new thought suddenly popped into Belén's head. It made her feel stupid for not thinking about it before, and she meant way before. "Why don't you just stay?" she asked.

Barry was too engulfed in the pieces of heaven that were the cookies to understand Belén the first time. "If you continue baking these, I'll stay here for days!"

Belén rolled her eyes and tried to make her words more clear. "I meant, why don't you just move in?"

This time, Barry understood. He stopped just as he was about to drop the last bit of cookie into his mouth. "What?"

Belén would ignore the heat in her face as she went on with her proposal. "You're here for most of the week anyways. I mean, really, you're only at Joe's and Iris' to do like, laundry or something. I'd love to have you here every night with me, all day with me. Wouldn't you?"

Barry didn't need to think twice on the answer. "Of course!"

It was easy to become excited with that kind of answer. "So...so you want to move in? For real?"

"Yes! I'd love to."

Belén beamed and rushed up to him for a hug. Barry caught her with a laugh and gave her a little spin. When he set her back on the ground, he reached for another cookie in the bowl.

"But you're going to have make more of these," he warned her before dropping it all in his mouth.

Belén laughed. "Moderation, Barry!" He tried to say something along of 'I'm trying' but Belén couldn't understand him. "So, you obviously can't stay in Axel's room because he's, well, four…"

"Obviously…" Barry said after swallowing.

Belén cupped her face, chuckling as she cleared the crumbs off his lips. "So...I guess you'll just have to stay with me in my room…our room."

"That sounds fair," a roguish smile etched across Barry's face. "I should get my stuff, then..." With his speed, it'd only take a few minutes after all.

"Nah, let's wait until tomorrow," Belén grabbed another cookie and held it to him. He gladly took another bite and watched her drop the remainder in her mouth. "I've got another batch in the oven..."

Barry's eyes widened as a gleeful expression took him over. Belén dared say it almost won over his reaction about moving. She burst into laughter, having to move away from him to really get it out.

A part of her realized, in the midst of everything, that she truly wouldn't be able to live without her Barry.

[wardenmages]

for that meme, any oc you like: 2, 14, 27, 38, and 49

thank you friend :D I'm going to answer for Beckett, my RK800-60 oc for Detroit Become Human who has YK500/child android parts and software installed in him as part of repairs post-Peaceful Ending <3 this got very long very quickly and I am So Sorry about that but also I will do it again next time I talk about my oc's

(there is some talk of abuse in a few sections since Beckett's story is largely about trauma and recovery, but I'm going to try keeping out the more explicit details)

------

2. Their mother? How do they think of her? What do they hate? Love? What influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?

The closest Beckett has had to a mother would be June Taylor, an android repair specialist at Cyberlife. After the revolution, only a handful of people knew about Beckett's existence or that he was being held in Cyberlife Tower, and June was one of them. She was kinder than the other employees on the research team, though it was more in the way a person is nice to their PC - she believed androids could deviate and feel things, but not that Beckett could, so for her it was just chatting with the equipment. June is the one who gave him the name Beckett; after Camden removed the name "Connor" from his registry, she started using "Beckett" (after a childhood dog) when Camden wasn't around to differentiate him from the other android shells she worked on.

He feels a lot of conflicting feelings about her, once his memories of her are unblocked. She was nicer than everyone else and always made sure he wasn't damaged, but she also enabled the abuse he endured and (for lack of a better word) dehumanized him. Either she was willfully ignoring what was really happening to him and lacking any self awareness, or she was actively aware and complicit, and he doesn't know which would be worse.

14. Were they involved at school? Sports? Clubs? Debate? Were they unconnected?

He doesn't go to any formal school. Most YK500s are given a choice to attend android-specific schools within New Jericho for socialization and trauma-informed care, but Beckett is a unique case so he kind of skips past all of that. He does attend a support group run by Simon for androids who need a lot of extra care and support (most dealing with extreme trauma and/or the android equivalent to disabilities) where he does a lot of work learning how to identify and express his emotions, preferences, and things like that. He doesn't socialize quite as much, he's a very shy boy, but he hangs out with Marin, one of my other oc's, and he loves working with Simon :>

27. How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality?

He does not care What his clothes look like, only how they feel. Soft, flexible, not too tight so it doesn't compress his skin projection, easy to put on or take off as needed. When he first moves in with Hank and Connor he ends up borrowing Connor's clothes the first few days, and he literally only wears huge sweaters and leggings.

His favorite thing to wear is Hank's old DPD hoodie. It's pretty soft just from years of wear and tear, but also, it's from Hank, who is his favorite person in the world. :')

38. Are they basically negative when facing new things? Suspicious? Hostile? Scared? Enthusiastic?

Absolutely terrified. While he has Connor's memories from that week before the revolution, he never experienced any of it himself besides the short trip to kidnap Hank before deviating, so literally everything is a new experience, and he Hates It. He Is Very Stressed All The Time. His instinct is to freeze like a deer in headlights. It's not as bad if he has Hank, or anyone from the Polycho 5

49. What about voice? Pitch? Strength? Tempo and rhythm of speech? Pronunciation? Accent?

I think about this a lot since android voices are very uniform until deviancy and that's fascinating to me

I imagine Beckett's voice as very similar in tone but just a little higher in pitch compared to Connor, with a layer of static underneath from prior damage to the biocomponents that control his voice. He also stutters sometimes either due to that damage or from his verbal processors getting tripped up, so his speech tends to be a bit uneven and slow. This changes a little bit once Markus helps him install the auto-caption software he uses for his own disabilities, as it helps distribute the auditory processing load so he isn't as overwhelmed.

(So much of Beckett's story is me finding ways to work disability into my robot game lol)

[flamingwell]

2, 21 and 29 for the podfic meme?

Thanks for asking! (Oooh, I’m very excited!)

This is from the 30 Questions for Podficcers meme, which anyone is very much encouraged to ask me more about, I love gushing about podfic!

2. Is there a trope, style or technique you really want to try?

I would like to try soundscaping! I've done opening soundscapes a few times (I'm thinking about Loyalty and Three Months, but One Day Shy, beware the tags), but I've never done soundscaping through the entire fic. I have one that I am very very very slowly working on tho. Maybe I'll even finish it one day. Soundscaping is so freaking hard, y'all!

21. Is there a podfic of yours you’d like to remake from start to finish?

Honestly, not really. I don't post things that I'm not happy with, and even my earlier stuff (which isn't that long ago!) I'm still quite pleased with. Yeah, my equipment wasn't as good and I'm learning new editing skills every day, but I don't think it detracts for me and I hope it doesn't for my listeners. Besides, I'm not sure I would have the patience to redo something. I get really excited about applying new things I learned to future projects, but I wouldn't have the same excitement about redoing something I've already done.

29. Talk about your current wips.

Well, in terms of wips that I've already started recording, that's surprisingly thin on the ground atm. I usually am only actively working on a small number of projects at the same time, but I'll generally have at least 2 or 3 in progress at a given time. Right now, just after Voiceteam? I've only got one. That's the soundscaping project that I mentioned above! It's Night Bus by @suspiciouspopsicle , and the first time that I read the fic, I swear to God I heard an entire soundscape in my head and I desperately want to bring it to life. But holy hell y'all, did I mention that soundscaping is hard?? Like I have A Vision (what's the audio equivalent of a vision?) that I want to bring to life, but even finding the sound effects that sound exactly (or even somewhat) like what I have in my head is Very Very Difficult, much less actually adding them to the podfic. It's sure going to put all of my editing skills to the test, and require me to grow a bunch of new ones! Which is obviously part of the fun! Plus it's just such a good fic you guys, seriously, go read it!!

Then I have a few that I am actively prepping scripts for (even when I'm not working with others, I make sure that all my pronunciation notes and tone markers are in a script, so I can count that as an active wip, right?). One I'm working with a partner on, so I won't say anything about that one since I'm not sure how secretive we are being, but the other is the devastating Drowning in the Sun by @overzelos , aka what if Jiang Cheng was aware but paralyzed during the core surgery? Suuuper up my angst and Yunmeng feels alleys, I'd been working up the courage to ask about that one for a while, and then fate threw me in Zelos' path and who was I to say no? And Zelos said yes, so I'm very excited to get that one started!

[scottishkitty-arts]

Gaeleath Lhanger - D&D Character / BG3 Tav

Here's my precious little boy! I made this guy for a wizardry campaign that never really got off the ground, but for some reason he's really stuck with me. He's a cold, outwardly antagonistic half-elf prick with a heart of pure gold.

Also, just to note: I am 100% fine with whichever pronunciation of his name you make up- and I'm sure he wouldn't either!

If you want details of his backstory (that nasty lookin' hand), check below:

Gaeleath Lhanger is a half-elf cleric of the life domain, serving under Kelemvor. Currently, here's around 24-26 years old.

However, when he was younger (~19-20), he was sought after by his close mentor, a priest within his chapel, & informed that his aid was required. His mentor had heard word of a blighted village on the outskirts & rumours of it being a power play from occultists of Talona, with the hopes the plague would slowly creep into the city.

In an instant, Gaeleath agreed, knowing he would both be looked upon favourably by the clergy & the people should he be victorious.

Upon arriving, the duo found that the blight was leagues more twisted & dangerous than either could have predicted. It rotted flesh & ate through bone, turning the poor villagers practically into walking cadavers. The duo worked tirelessly, both in attempting to alleviate the blight & find the occultists behind the outbreak. When they were on the verge of a breakthrough, however, Gaeleath's mentor was murdered.

The Cleric subsequently fell into tempest of outrage, grief, and desperation- and it was in this tempest, that he heard a low, sweet whisper:

"I can bring him back to you..."

With not even a moment of hesitation, Gaeleath agreed. The voice spoke of the preparation for the ritual & Gaeleath busied himself- so much so he missed the brief mention of the cost.

Once the ritual commenced, the corpse began to writhe with new life. The voice commanded the cleric to raise his forearm. Toxic magic sprang from the corpse & entangled his exposed flesh, searing deep & poisoning the muscle, tethering his life force to the newly-risen. Gaeleath cried out in agony, but the magic did not slow it's pace. Only when- in desperation -Gaeleath kicked away one of the ritual conduits did the magic relent.

His left arm now bore deep, toxic scars, following his veins right up to his shoulder. But just as reality was beginning to settle, to his dismay, the corpse before him began to rise.

Gaeleath was berated by the defiled corpse of his once-mentor. Insults & curses spilled from his loose jaw, & the half-elf accepted all of them. The reality of his actions finally settled on him. He finally understood the gravity of what he had just done.

He fled, abandoning the town, his mentor, and the life he once knew. However, despite his lack of prayer, his clerical powers remained- a point that Gaeleath does not question out of fear of retribution.

Now, Gaeleath wanders the land, learning & doing what he can to heal, while maintaining a frigid exterior. And, with each passing day & sleepless night, he is agonisingly aware of his mark; the tether to a living corpse who's whereabouts are entirely unknown.

[toadeyes-miqote]

FFXIV Fanfest Japanese seiyu session

My Japanese isn't strong so I won't attempt to translate.

Was watching the Japanese Cast interview session because a good chunk of the cast exist in my other game. Granted I played the game with Eng cast unless Junichi Suwabe voice cutscene. Trying not to let either JJK or FGO brain rot take over too much

- There is something funny about Ryne wondering if G'raha is what Exarch currently looks like and wanting to let Lyna know

Thancred and Ryne technical reunion

Hearing Y'shtola and thinking Murasaki Shikubi

... Adventurer...Hilari/Yami no senshi... Tataru's way of refering to WoL... a pity there isn't a pick your name's pronunciation thing available in game. Based on Japanese katagana. But then poor Hylnyan's heart would break if she's only refered to by her title by close friends all the time

Hearing Yuuichi Nakamura's natural voice, his tone is neither Thancred/Renguko, David/Shigure Sohma or Gojo. and then he went and change voice for Soroban

Japanese Estinein is Sicard too

Is a work day so catching up the rest of day 2 slowly

Yuma Uchida - G'raha VA. Is also Megumi Fushiguro. He brings shadows, he be shadowbringer

Thancred's voice is closer to Renguko than David. Renguko is Okita Alter's sword... Am sword simp.... Apologies to Okitan for rolling her just for her sword.

I liked how Alisaie notice Ryne is here and interacts with her. The two of them did hangout more than with Alphi. Probably a being girls thing, Alisaie being more people aware instead of being a one note hot head.

[amikye]

Following up on my previous post, I feel like I should clarify my feelings on French.

I don’t hate French people. They have an interesting culture and history, with many things to be admired. What I absolutely cannot stand, is the French language.

Am I aware that this is irrational? Yes. Do I care? No.

I don’t know when my hatred of French began. Perhaps I was English in a past life or was killed in the Revolution/ Reign of Terror (if so it was definitely in Paris). Regardless, everything I have learned of this language has been against my will and if I could, I would delete it from my brain.

The problem is that on paper, it looks very similar to Italian and Spanish. More Italian, which I’m fluent in, than Spanish, at least grammatically. So in theory, I should be able to understand someone speaking French to me, based on my knowledge of two other Romance languages. But no. It had to be obnoxious.

I’ve been to Montreal, where they speak Québécois. And I could at least get the gist of what they were saying. But the stupid French Academy (I refuse to use it’s proper name) that decides what is French and what isn’t, doesn’t consider Québécois official. Cause it’s a different dialect. So it doesn’t count.

(Side note: I do find it fascinating how both American English and Québécois are technically older forms of British English and French, with some of the accents going back to the Middle Ages (Appalachian) but both evolved separately and changed in different ways. That’s not the point of this post though).

I have been to France as well. I was in Paris for about 32 hours and spent pretty much all of it angry. Mostly because I had to deal with Parisians, who I knew were snobs, but none of the people I was with believed me until our waiter at dinner was rude to their faces. So yeah, maybe I do have something against Parisians,* but generally I don’t hate French people.

While in Paris, I ended up ordering a coffee in Italian, which worked because again, the languages are similar enough that the barista could understand me. That was the nicest interaction I had there. Possibly because I started with Italian instead of English.

I felt better once we left Paris and went to Versailles. I really do believe that something happened to me there in a past life, as there’s no reason for me to just be constantly on edge/ angry simply because I was in a city. It didn’t do anything to endear French to me though.

That’s more/ less my vendetta against French. It’s a bastard language that doesn’t make sense.

I know there are rules to French pronunciation, I however absolutely refuse to learn them. It’s one of the only things of which I am willfully ignorant.

I also agree that English is a bastard language, but in a different flavor. However, I can’t really have that much of an opinion on it as it’s my native language, so I’ve always been biased towards it.

*I know this is wrong and prejudiced. That’s kinda the whole point. I don’t have any good reasons for this dislike other than that French makes no sense & I hate Paris/ interacting with people there, which are not good reasons.

[willowwhispersspeakeasy]

Hello! I really am enjoying your blog, especially because I am also neurodivergent can relate (Dislexic)! I dont know if your requests are open as I couldnt see any particular status for it but I was wondering what your headcanon would be for:

A Dislexic MC who often reads words or names and pronouncing them wrong. Possibly being embarrassed when having to read aloud things.

Thank you!

hello fello dyslexic! I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier! I've added a lot of my own experiences here so I hope that helps broaden the spectrum since dyslexia can be very different for each person.

OM! demon bros w/ dyslexic MC

warnings: gender neutral reader, some ablism mention

Lucifer

he was aware of your dyslexia from the very beginning. as it could pose a complication to your ability in the exchange program, accommodations were made. Lucifer insured you had a second person available to you if needed, able to read quizzes or homework aloud to you if required.

he is unlikely to ask you to read anything aloud. as the natural leader he is, he will step in and read something to you in casual settings. weather its reading a menu item, signs, whatever common object that you could have a problem with. he is adaptive, and will change his behavior to cover your weaknesses.

Lucifer if familiar with dyslexia and how it works, fully aware it is not simply a "weakness". he is more likely to ask you to explain three dimensional concepts to others, be that offering directions, moving furniture, what have you. your ability to think in perfect three dimensions is a valuable asset to him, and rare among demons.

Mammon

what do you mean "you can't read"??? you are going to have to explain it to him, and at first he only sees it as an annoyance. Mammon will complain whenever you ask him to read something for you, but he will also be upset if you ask someone else.

once he actually understands just what dyslexia is, that it is why you never seam to get lost, as you can render a perfect 3D map in your head as easily as he can mentally picture a coin, hes shocked. finally understanding why you mix up your letters or numbers because your outside the box brain flips them around.

he laughs at you at first when you misread things, but as time goes on he starts to just naturally step in. he will see you squinting at a menu and slide over, casually asking you if you'd like one item or another, already knowing you were struggling to read what they were.

Leviathan

"that's like, the dumbest superpower ever."

he laughs about it, he also knows what it is and how it works. he recommends you games with full voice acting so you don't have to worry about the subtitles as much.

Levi is to shy to read for you, at least in public. he is willing to in the privacy if his or your bedroom though. hes not very good at reading aloud either, often stumbling over words or pronunciations.

he won't really make fun of you for it but he will tease a little.

Satan

at first hes put off by it. reading is essential to gaining knowledge in his mind and your disinterest or full on blatant dislike is insulting. he will scoff and roll his eyes whenever you stumble while reading aloud. loudly correcting you when you misread something.

Lucifer tries to take him down a peg but he obviously doesn't listen. Mammon has to step in and call him out for being a dick about your learning disability. he will pause, the idea of a complication being the reason for your dislike and behavior having not accrued to him.

upon doing his own research into dyslexia he pins you down to apologize. hes quite frankly embarrassed by his own behavior. he will offer to tutor you, and if you'd like is the most likely brother to be the one studying with you to read for you whenever you ask.

Asmodeus

hes confused at first, but just brushes it off as you not being very... educated. it doesn't take him long to catch on that that surely can't be it. you are far to eloquent in your speech, ideas flow for you easily. you are remarkably intelligent, so why do you lack in such an area?

he will read for you if you ask him to, hes not bothered by it. he likes the attention anyway. once he catches on about just how your brain works hes intrigued and excited.

has you stage and take his Devilgrams photos, you always get the perfect angle for just the right the background!

Beelzebub

unbothered, of course. he won't ask questions, he'll notice, but he doesn't want to pry. hes happy to read small things for you, but reading aloud long paragraphs he can stutter and stumble a little like Levi.

Beel has a hard time expressing himself sometimes, especially with words. he relates and understands any frustration you feel. unlike many of the others Beel understands that you have to work harder to achieve the baseline of success that others have easily.

he supports you he really does, he just wishes he could be of more help.

Belphagor

hes no good at reading, it puts him to sleep. of any of the characters I think Belphie could have dyslexia himself. hes an abstract thinker, with little interests in taxing academics. he sees the value in stories but he'd much rather watch a movie then read a book.

Belphie will ask you about your mind, your power of imagination is uncommon for demons but very well familiar to him. he asks you if you dream in three dimensions as well, perhaps asking your consent to see them for himself.

he will never ask or expect you to read aloud. rather then stepping in to help you read he will opt to avoid the situation entirely if possible.