#it was 40 pages on a google doc when i finished writing it

[ghostsandmirrors]

just so yous know, i haven’t died, i’ve just been sucked into a new hyperfixation. i’ve also been editing a fanfic for the past week. help me.

[subwaytostardew]

▽ Subway to Stardew - Emmet 8-Heart Event ▽

This plays after getting at least 8 hearts with Emmet and entering the Railroad between 9AM - 4PM on a Thursday after viewing his 7 heart event.

You recieve this letter when you reach 8 hearts with Emmet!

Commentary and progress under the readmore.

▷ Station Steward Thylak

I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THIS EVENT WOULD BE THAT LONG... I could have sworn it was around 14 minutes max! I was worried that the battle stuff went by too quickly! It's almost 30 minutes long! And that's with me clicking away faster! Emmet really meant it when he said he wanted to spend all the livelong day together...

I thought it was going to be roughly 18 minutes. NOPE. WOOPS. This what happens when you write possibly too much.

We are bad at making short events. Vanilla events are around 1-3 minutes long. A day in Stardew lasts 14 minutes and 10 seconds. I would not recommend trying to play this mod spoiler free on multiplayer because time does not freeze and you will die if you don't skip the events. I wouldn't want to shorten the events either... Cutting down their infodumps would just be wrong.

We had a few requests to have a battle event which made me 😅 because I personally couldn't imagine that going well (truth over ideals...). This event was partially made to shut that idea down. The whole tunnel scene is mostly me trying to write an in-story reason as to why there won't be a battle with the farmer against Ingo... Emmet is competitive! This is not just limited to battles but extends to being your best friend! Behind the scenes... I'm just too tired to write out more battles. I actually really dislike single battle format. I'm not making an Ingo battle event. You already have three games to battle him in. I refuse to make more battle events for the time being.

I say that but there's another half-finished double battle event between submas that I switched tracks from to work on Emmet's 8 heart event... I'll finish that eventually.

Anyways... the creation process did not go by quickly at all either. I sure do have a lot to say on that matter. I do all my coding in google docs (terrible, I know) and so far we have had to make 3 seperate documents becuase things start to break at around 40 pages. The document before Emmet's 8 heart event made it to 64 pages before I abandoned it for a new document.

The longest document we have is around 80 pages along. Which usually contain the draft scripts of multiple events. code documents however take up a lot more since it's basically a giant wall of text. So when Emmet's 8 heart event started to slow down the current code document (the third iteration). We had to give the event its own space.

Emmet's 8 heart event ended up being 36 pages long alone! Also if you didn't know, Stardew's event format doesn't allow for line breaks so I have been staring at a 36 page wall of text for weeks. I plan to upload a video compiling all the different options later because I feel like all of the "good" options for battle... don't quite make sense in the context of the rest of the story. The farmer is supposed to not be good at battle and lose because they got overwhelmed with information. As the one writing out all the battle options though, I can't bring myself to act like I'm bad at battling. The winning options are extra silly just to justify a loss and because I couldn't bring myself to lie about Wild Charge not being a guaranteed OHKO on Archeops either. Especially since Emmet brings out damage calculations in a few of the options.

On that topic, all of the battle options play out accurately in a real double battle! I tested. Every. Single. Path. In Pokemon Showdown between the halves of Emmet's team.

I had nightmares of reliving this same battle over and over because that's all I did when I was awake. Make it stopppppp 😭

The lines about them practicing were references to me actually simulating everything in Showdown! Emmet's frustration is also based on how making this event took over my brain so now I struggle to comprehend how someone who doesn't know what to do in this battle would feel... Thank you Kade for helping me with that part ^^;;;

Your welcome =3

I actually enjoyed the Pokémon Showdown part - when it comes to Pokémon Battles, I have dabbled a little bit into the competitive side of things. Or at least the massive game of 4D Chess... trying to predict your opponent etc. Bait them into making a mistake, etc. There was a good time where we did nothing but Pokémon Battles for a night. And it was fun.

I am in no way good at competitive side of things - (I lose lot but that's okay.) especially in the double battle format. Single Battles I could do. (Though once again, I'm average at best) However I think the most memorable battle I ever had was back in Pokémon X and Y, where I managed to chip away and stall a Mega Aggron with a Umbreon.. And I think Umbreon was my last Pokémon but I kept using Moonlight to keep my health up. My kid self was super surprised and ecstatic that I beaten the odds... but whenever I do Pokémon Showdown I'm either testing battle stuff or making teams. I'm addicted to team compositions and doing a combination of different Pokémon even if it's not the competitive Meta....

I have the choices sorted into good/bad routes in my mind so in most of the routes, Emmet criticizes the player's decisions based on type advantage, STAB, and target. I was torn between the best and worst options for this recording but thanks to Kade's input, you get to see Durant ramming into Emmet instead of him getting mad at you for conducting Shadow Claw on Galvantula.

Battling Emmet as a first time trainer is not going to go well! Not only is he too competitive and he refuses to let you win (unlike Ingo), he pretty much sets you up for failiure. I'm sorry Emmet but Galvantula's stats are not intended for making her a physical attacker (emphasis on the Egg Move at what cost...).

Not to mention... Emmet is a Battle Facility Head. And you don't get to battle the Subway Bosses in the mainline games unless you have a somewhat decent team halfway through the game. Even still! They can both wipe the floor with you if you're not aware that they are using battle items...

Though I interpret Emmet not going easy on someone as him challenging them to push themselves and exceed expectations. Both Ingo and Emmet as characters encourage others in their own way, Ingo through words and Emmet I believe through his actions. Though he also can say some encouraging things.

Not the most encouraging if you compare their quotes pages... Customer service and communication isn't exactly his forte... But Emmet wants you to do your best and win against him! He likes seeing serious battlers like him! He just won't let you win unless if you push yourself to do your best. You'll have to. He doesn't really have the most beginner-friendly approach...

Considering you the Farmer, have no idea what a Pokémon even is. (You're practically learning everything from Ingo, Emmet, Elesa etc.) The fact you get challenged to a Battle because Emmet wants to share his interests with you - to have you better understand Pokémon.

He just struggles with the fact that, he is essentially challenging someone with no real battle experience and it's a Double Battle at that. Controlling two Pokémon at once?! Think about the effort it takes to command one Pokémon. We all seen the Anime and how trainers struggle to connect with their partners because they're new. They're just starting. They aren't going to be Battle Facility levels of skill.

Not to mention that Emmet is a little deprived in the valley and hasn't really battled any other new passengers in quite some time. At most, he battled Iris once when she came to visit, Ingo (who's Pokemon are optimized for countering/pissing him off), and himself (I had the mental image of him sitting in the field practicing for this event like an old man playing chess against himself in a park). He's a little too far gone to fully understand what a beginner would think in this situation other than mayyyybe it would take a moment to catch them up to speed. (I would know... I swear those option paths rewired my brain...)

After inputting all of their data into Showdown, I had actually forgotten that Galvantula and Durant are Emmet's Doubles Line team while Eelektross and Archeops are the Super Doubles Line team when deciding the matchups. (Been a while since they were in the Battle Subway huh...) Story-wise, I was thinking that Emmet should be with his ace and that he wouldn't really trust anyone else with Archeops since... he has higher support needs (depression bird 💔). Eelektross and Archeops are paired up because of Gastro Acid and Defeatist. I was thinking that Galvantula and Durant are a bit more beginner-friendly; they can take a loss a bit more easilly (a little less so in Galvantula's case... she's a hater). The farmer had already met Durant earlier in the 4-heart event so he'd volunteer to return the favor of fighting for you. Once you win his trust, he's more than happy to help. As for Galvantula... She's testing to see if she can trust her clingy child with you.

I'm excited to dive into the Pokémon NPC stories... Durant and Excadrill especially.

Durant was originally going to have Choice Scarf instead of Quick Claw to help narrow down the options. It was a pain reorganizing my notes and options all over again to lump not only move choices but turn order in mind. My notes were a mess.

Durant and Galvantula are a very luck-based combination so it was ultimately easier to write the different option paths with that in mind since Stardew's event format is verrrrrrrrrrrry linear. All of the options need to merge back into the same event (well... besides the option to refuse his friendship/battle which ends the event in the tunnel). Durant has lowered accuracy while Galvantula has higher critical hit ratios, I could write the battles based on their luck which is great because I wanted to force a loss.

I thought it would be a little too... reductive (it sure would reduce the amount of content >.>) and unrealistic for the player to impress Emmet with a victory on their first battle. Emmet sees this battle as a test on if you can follow his train of thought and be a good match for him because he's a little bit dependent on you for emotional regulation. He kind of expects you as his favorite passenger to have twin telepathy like Ingo since that's his standard operating procedure. You won't. Because you're not Ingo. You're just some weird farmer he got attached to. With the setup of a battle, I wanted this event to develop the farmer and Emmet's relationship to show that they aren't exactly perfect for each other (and Will say things that can be wrongly misinterpreted) but ultimately they will put in the effort to communicate and make things work. They won't have the best communication! But it's there.

While Ingo has a proper library confession, this event doubles as Emmet's "confession" of sorts. Emmet is already pretty openly affectionate by this point and I wanted to make it somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not his attachment to you is romantic or strictly platonic. To him, it doesn't really matter, but he does want you all to himself. He's not fond of sharing!

But... While Emmet's event may be more platonic in intent, you can still reject him. It's a lot harsher than Ingo's because refusing to even let him try to be a better friend for you is pretty harsh in itself. Ingo's is mostly the choice of whether or not you want to send him back to 6 hearts for more dialogue variety (it's really easy to miss dialogue when you try to max out their hearts as soon as possible! We're making lines for every day, season, and heart level.) Rejecting Emmet sends you back to 2 hearts and overrides his daily dialogue for the day with him asking if you're still friends, apologizing, and then getting too upset to say anything more.

Anyways!

From the start, I wanted Emmet to be like Nemona; awkward in their attachment, somewhat intimidating in their obsession/competitiveness, and thinks of the player as their savior from loneliness. He wants to be the best friend you have because you're the best friend he has. It's only fair. Best rival for life, favorite passenger, same thing.

The mountain pass events were actually made because Emmet's original schedule included him waiting around near the bushes there like Nemona stalking the player on their gym journey. NPCs actually can't path there so when he did, he was just deleted from the save!

I also stumbled across a bug back when I made the very first introduction event where a question loops unless if you pick a certain option. I kept that with Emmet forcing you to keep battling with him in mind as a slight reference to how Nemona doesn't let you say no to being her "best rival for life". This question also makes SMAPI hate you!

Gotta love Pokémon's false sense of 'Sure you have a choice. Your choice is always YES.'

There's probably a more fitting flower for Emmet outside of poppies. I just looked up every flower in Stardew (some of them aren't real...) and their meanings in flower language to come to the conclusion of poppies. The meanings in Emmet's event refer to the white poppy in particular. White. Rest. Oblivion. It fits. Good enough. It was a bit difficult to find more on the flower language of poppies in English (particularly the "Oblivion" part) so I resorted to Japanese sites for more information.

In English, the meaning of "Rest" seems to precede every other meaning. Poppies are used in death memorials. Emmet and the farmer did accidentally develop a shared theme of dying (overwork exhaustion, slimes, the mines, etc... Emmet can't get a break. I'm sorry.) but I wasn't sure if Kade was okay with the theme of death being emphasized. With that in mind, I was stunned when I that saw that her first battle map draft included a graveyard. The implication that Emmet picked flowers from a memorial site...

In my mind - the area is an old train stop in between the desert area and the forest/mountains that lead into Pelican Town. Also figured there would be an abandon farm - considering how Pelican Town is struggling it makes sense that potentially other places are not in best of shape either.

The graveyard is possibly dead relatives of whatever family or farmer made their life near the rails. Of course a lot of time has passed... So much so that nature has taken back what was theirs in the first place.

I always make up stories when having a location in mind and this area parallels with the tunnel Ingo takes you through to stargaze around 10 hearts. That area being an abandon coal mining operation.... Coal, Wood, etc. was used to powered steam trains so makes sense for there to be a source for it. I'm not the best when it comes to filling up Tiled Maps with decor - but I at least put down enough for Thylak to come in and make it more fitting for Stardew

The battlefield underwent quite a few revisions, one was having the battle area be more centered, and changing the old warehouse/worker area to be more like a train repair station with a water stop. I wanted it to feel like a place where Emmet goes to keep himself busy when he's told to take a break from working on the station.

Here's the final map! The battle area had to be shrunken down to fit in an event. More grass was added because I kept losing track of Joltik in the dirt. There's more flowers for Emmet to observe the quality of and pick tge best ones as gifts that he's too nervous to give the farmer until they wilt and dry. Poppies by the gravestones, of course!

I also did attempt to make a proper scrapbook sprite for when I eventually have Emmet give you his gift, but I never got around to implementing it properly since... I'm not familliar with adding custom items and its implementation changes in the 1.6 update.

Despite having access to the modding alpha, I've been procrastinating on migrating to 1.6 since HD Portraits isn't supported yet (I know... 1.6 releases in 3 weeks...).

WOO 1.6 WE ARE NO WHERE NEAR READY FOR ALL THE STUFF THAT POSSIBLY GOING TO BREAK. LOL.

Until next time! Thank you for reading!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

i have a confession

recently i had some trouble and had to delete an email

problem is, i used the google docs there to write my fics. and i thought i downloaded them all, but only one of my major ones did, and i lost everything else

literally all of it

i am anonymous because i lost my tumblr acc but on ao3 i am veetheree, and i had this longer dilemma regarding my potterlock fic (pretty disillusioned with rowling and all.that, unsure whether to continue) but even so i saw that a lot of people subscribed to it and i wanted to at least see where the story leads, i had over 300k words apart from the 40k i published

and i domt hve it anymore :') i didnt check the process because it seemed okay and i had other uni and work stuff to take care of, and now i check it and :') it's gone :')) im not doing well, and i am going to delete the fic i think

i dont have the energy to maintain it and i dont want it to be left in the dust either - i have lost all hope for it, and this is just a punch in the gut. and i was proud of the plot and how i intertwined the 2 worlds too

this is mostly just a rant because i dont really have anybody else who can relate to the pain of fic writing and the challenges that come with it

also, as to why i had to delete the email - it's complicated, hacking situation and such, but it happened over 2 months ago so im not able to retrieve it and neither do i really feel like looking into it, im done with that fic for good 😭

that's all, thank you for being a safe space for me to go to, and i apologise to anyone who was waiting for that fic to be updated :(

Hey Lovely *HUGS*

OH GOODNESS, I'm SO sorry you had a garbage time with your email, and even more so, accidentally deleted fics from your Google Drive without saving all of them. I'm TERRIFIED of losing my own fics from my G-Drive all the time (I do actually write and have about 15 "snippets" of fics on there) and back them up religiously.

That said, I can understand how life can overtake literally everything and just make being online Too Much™ – happens to me all the time 💜🖤. And I know how disheartening it can be to just... not have the motivation anymore to continue on with something, heaven knows I've done that plenty in my 40 years, LOL. And Lovely, we have to remember to do what's best for us in the long run.

When I was a teen, I wrote a fairly popular Sonic fanfic series that I never completed, literally left it on a cliffhanger. This was back before even FFNet, and fics were distributed in the Sonic fandom on our Geocities pages via Webring, LOL. After life took over, it still remains unfinished over 20 years later. I recently found the original word docs of all 9 of the stories (with the 10th one half-finished) and while I cringe at my bad writing from back then, I still love immersing myself in that world. One of these days, maybe I'll finish it, because I do think it was a great concept and intriguing storyline that dealt a lot with humanity and sentience, just obviously written by a teenager, hahaha.

The point of that anecdote? We can still love the things we wrote, and still want to engulf ourselves in that world from time to time and not feel bad about it. And if you decide to come back to it a decade from now, that's okay too. You're only human.

And never EVER hesitate to come here for a friendly eyeball to vent to. I try my best to make y'all feel not so alone. Glad to see you are okay, Vee, truly. That's what's most important.

*SNUGGLE BUGGLE HUGGLE* I hope you have a beautiful, prosperous day. And I'm sure your fic-fans understand <3

[mine-sara-sp]

Hey! I was rereading some old fics I’d saved and rediscovered The Memory Of The Observer and I just wanted to tell you how much that story means to me. I particularly loved chapter 4 and the way you wrote how Grian is trying to put his thoughts together through the book. I thought Mumbo’s idea to use building as a medium to try and remember what he’s familiar with was very clever too, I was really looking forward to seeing where you were gonna take the story. I wanted to ask, if you don’t plan on finishing the fic, is there a chance you could share the outline? I’d really love to know how the story was supposed to go, even if it’s just a summary

Hello! I'll admit I still haven't entirely given up on the story ^^ as much as I struggle to write in general I would still love to get back to it one day.

I had a lot of things planned, but working on that fic was a ton of work since I was constantly rewatching old Evo videos and rereading what I had already written (Since there were many disjointed thoughts coming from Grian I had to be careful not to repeat stuff when not meant to or forget to include something) also when I was writing that the area 77 arc was still going. I had a very clear image of where everyone was and what they were up to which I really liked, now I wouldn't have that, I would have to go back and rewatch a lot of videos, even if the events of the story move away from canon.

I actually wrote a scene for the story not too long ago (I woke up at like, 4 am, with the need to write Keralis and Grian interacting because BOI do I like what I had planned for Keralis's character in that story) in the scene Grian wakes up after Keralis bonked him on the head with a bottle because he was doing the thing again and then proceeded to offer him a sangria, they are wonderful and Grian has a headache.

I'm kinda scared of trying to get back to it fully, my old google doc is like pandora's box but with like 40+ pages of notes and unusable scenes and also reading my old writing sometimes irks me so I would have a hard time rereading the old chapters (maybe I could edit/rework them, I don't know). Welcome to my little personal Hell I go through whenever I get a kudos on The memory of the observer xD

[thesnug]

I have been on a bigger-than-usual archiving kick.

First I typed up all my journals, from 2004 - 2022.

I started this project on Dec 4, and finished it Feb 23rd; 43 days total.

11 journals in all; It came out to 250,771 words, 627 pages.

I timed myself at one point at 94 words a minute, so that calculates to about 46 hours total typing.

And what's hilarious is that a big chunk of those words is me talking about how I … don't … write … enough.

Ben: Dude Ben: That is the most insane "task" I think any person has ever embarked upon Ben: Wait are you working on developing a KatieAI???? Chat transcript: BEN: hello KatieAI please tell me about yourself KatieAI: hello, yes well, I would probably say that I should be writing more

Then I contemplated collecting all the correspondence with a particular ex; and, when I searched my Gdrive, I found a 103 page word doc where I'd already started doing exactly that. (Why am I so creepy. Why.) So obviously I had to finish that project. Three days later I had a complete chronicle, 641 pages long, with a surprising number of "AITA?" moments to ruminate over.

And THEN I was like, well, my archives need to pass the Bechdel test, so shouldn't I also do all my correspondence with my best friend? Four days later, I have a 304,508 word, 730 page document of all emails we've exchanged over the last 18 years. (Except, it turns out Google docs cap out at 1.2 million characters, so it actually ended up in two documents.)

So, where do I net out at the end of this?

Part of me is thinking, Can you imagine if I put this kind of energy into something saleable? Which is, quite frankly, the tagline to my entire life. But I have to say, as I stand on the cusp of my 40s, it has been interesting and informative to do this whirlwind tour through the last two decades. I've discovered I'm a good friend, a chaotic girlfriend, and an overly harsh and largely ineffective self-critic; so maybe I should just chill out on the self recrimination a bit. I think that's a pretty good takeway, honestly.

And: at least I'll always have something sensational to read in the train.

[hush-writes-preg]

Commissions

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Hello, everyone!  In case it’s not apparent, I’m a writer by trade, and I'd love to use my skills to bring your belly-related fantasies for any gender or sexuality to life.  Each commission is customized to your preferences, and I am willing to write just about anything within reason.  Whether it’s sweet, spicy, happy, or dark, I’ve got you covered.  It can be something that’s posted here on Tumblr, or sent in a private document if you’d prefer to keep it between us.

A commission ensures a quick turnaround, and you can provide me with a lot more of your necessary details than the prompts I normally accept on my blog.  So it’s a win for you!

I price my work by length in 500-word chunks, with 500 words equaling approximately one page single-spaced.   ❧ 500 words/1 page: $15 ❧ 1,000 words/2 pages: $20 ❧ 1,500 words/3 pages: $25 ❧ 2,000 words/4 pages: $30 ❧ 2,500 words/5 pages: $35 ❧ 3,000 words/6 pages: $40 ❧ 3,500 words/6 pages: $45 ❧ 4,000 words+: Let’s talk!

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If you’re curious and wondering if I’m willing to take on your prompt, please drop me a message! I promise I won’t judge. The worst that can happen is that I say no, though I pride myself on my flexibility. 

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[foreveralwaysanauthor]

This morning, I decided that I would answer an ask that I got about two days ago. It will take me some time to work on that one so, before I get around to that, I decided I would make a post about what could have happened in my latest AU, much like I did for Glory and Gore, but with a lot more information and detail toward the end. Buckle up!

This AU was going to be about 7 parts long with an epilogue to round off any loose ends, but I decided I didn't want to push myself into that again because I knew it would end up far too long and I'd be mentally drained from it. 40 pages and not even a full month later, I don't know how I thought this would be any easier than separating it into parts! 🤣

My very first outline was one I wrote just after finishing Glory and Gore and didn't include Vivien at all as it was going to be told from either Miles' POV or a 3rd POV. I was just going to use the Murphy boys, the Teen Beach gang, and have Mick's family in place of Vivien's. I'm very glad I didn't go that route tbh

If I remember correctly, I had answered a question back in December as to which AUs I could see my characters in, and, as this was my answer for Royce's, I was going to follow along with just what I had written and keep going from there. Here's the snippet:  "I can see Royce hiding Bentley in Ravenclaw Tower during the Battle of Hogwarts since Miles was helping fight and told them to stay put, but he was going to go help fight regardless. Miles sees Royce in the midst of the battle and tells him to go back inside before they get separated during the fight. Royce fights his hardest, firing off whatever spells come to mind until he’s cornered in the rubble of the castle, a Deatheater’s wand pressed to his throat..." I'm glad I didn't go with this, but, at the same time, I'd kind of like to see where that one would have gone.

According to my notes, I was going to have the Battle of Hogwarts be its own part. I had done a lot of research into different spells and what they were used for. I think it's mostly because of this that I just talked about them using spells instead of describing them since there are quite a few spells that only say what they do and not what a wizard/witch has to say in order to cast it or vice versa.

When I decided to use Royce to tell the story, I had planned on putting him in the same year as Harry and the gang, but I kind of wanted Royce's adventure to be one of his own, apart from the usual storyline - just an average Hogwarts student trying to survive. I was going to do all seven years of his schooling as well, but it would have been difficult for me as there's no information available as to what Hogwarts was like after the Second Wizarding War apart from the fact that McGonagall took over as Headmistress.

This AU was going to have a very emotional story, especially toward the end. I really wanted to dabble with my dark side for this AU. The original name for it in Google Docs (as a joke to myself, mostly) was "The One Where They All Die" and was going to have a lot of death, hence the name. On the list of the dead, we have Mick, Bentley, Vivien, and Miles. I was also on the fence as to whether or not to kill off Lela, but I never could decide. Now, just for fair warning, I have used the next few paragraphs (until the next bullet) to go deeper into the deep, dark pit that was my brain when I was writing this out.

Bentley's death probably wouldn't have been written out in detail, but he would have been the first of the group to die as Royce would have tried to hide him in Ravenclaw Tower or the Room of Requirement. In the films, Ravenclaw Tower can be seen on fire during the battle and we all know that the Potter crew + Malfoy's gang set the Room of Requirement on fire with Fiendfyre as well, meaning Bentley would have either been trapped in either room, and been killed, or he would have escaped, only to be found dead later on. Royce wouldn't know he was even dead until after the battle when more bodies were brought in and he was one of them.

Mick would have died while they were fighting off the seven Death Eaters in the west wing, making it even more heartbreaking as Miles, Carrie, Butchy, and Royce would have seen it happen when they got there. Whether she would have died instantly through the Killing Curse or if it would have taken just a little bit of time was something I hadn't decided on, but I wanted it to be a very sudden thing where they didn't even get the chance to say goodbye or tell her they love her one last time before getting pulled into the battle once again.

Vivien's death wouldn't have been written out like Mick's or maybe even Bentley's. In my opinion, she would have been fighting with the Gryffindor team and would have been hit trying to protect someone else. She died a hero's death, something any Gryffindor would be proud of... right? She would have been brought into the Great Hall by Oliver Wood and Katie Bell when they brought in the injured. Vivien would have been lined up with the rest of the bodies where Royce would eventually find her during the one-hour intermission.

Miles would have died before the intermission as well, without Royce knowing. In fact, much like Bentley's death, Royce wouldn't know until after the entire battle was over. Miles' death could have gone one of two ways - heroic or accidental. I had been leaning toward accidental and I hope you can see why. In the heroic route, Miles would have been protecting either Carrie or Butchy when it happened. The spell was aimed at one of the others, but Miles jumped in front of them, a Shield Charm on the tip of his tongue. He never would have gotten the chance to say it before getting hit. In the accidental route, Miles would have died just after Royce's group met up with him and Mick in the upper west wing. When they went around the corner, into the hallway, he would have been separated from the group by a curse that had blown part of the wall into the hallway. He'd tell everyone to keep going and that he'd see them later, only to die the same way Fred Weasley did in the movies - getting hit by an explosion.

Now, this is where it goes a bit darker, something I didn't think was possible for me until I began writing this AU.

I had such a vivid scene in my head of Royce finding Miles and Bentley in the Great Hall, so here it is. He'd search the Great Hall until he found Butchy, Lela, and Carrie, hugging them as tightly as possible before asking them if they'd seen his brothers. They hadn't, so they go looking for them, only to find them next to each other in the row of dead people on the floor.

As much as I don't want to, I can imagine the pain they'd all go through in that moment. The crying, the screaming, the agony they'd all experience. After a while, they might force themselves away to get their emotions under control or push themselves to the side to let everything out in a rage. All the while, Royce would sit on the floor between his brothers, holding their hands and trying to convince himself it wasn't real. After all, they weren’t dead. They couldn’t be. His brothers would wake up eventually, right? Right?

After a while, the others would try to convince Royce to eat something with them so the bodies could be brought away, but he would adamantly refuse unless Miles and Bentley would be there too. Instead of arguing with him, the group would sit together on the floor. They'd all lost so much that day that arguing when they were all grieving, seemed pointless. After a while, Uncle Tommy would come, trying to move Royce from the spot he'd been in for hours, only to have to physically pry him away from his brothers, getting kicked and scratched and screamed at until Royce finally collapsed and allowed himself to cry for the first time.

The summer would be too quiet for Royce to handle. There would be no letters from Vivien to scratch out responses to, no calls from Mick about the wedding she would have been planning with Butchy, no humming from Bentley's side of their shared room while he created more artwork to hang on their walls, no late-night talks with Miles by the fireplace about anything and everything. Royce wouldn't be able to sleep in his room much as there would be no soft breathing coming from Bentley's side of the room anymore so he would usually make his way to the living room before passing out on the couch.

According to my notebook, the very last line of this version would have been, "Suddenly, for the very first time in my life, I knew what Bentley meant when he used to say that he was scared of being alone because, now, I was the one who felt truly and completely alone."

Now, I don't want to leave this post on that heavy of a note, so I'm going to give you some light at the end of that very deep, very dark tunnel. If I were to write an epilogue for this AU, I would do the same thing we all got in the ending of Deathly Hallows - a time skip. This skip would bring us about 15-20 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Miles and Carrie would have gotten married and probably had some kids who were Hogwarts age by then, as would Mick and Butchy and, probably, Tanner and Lela.

Royce and Vivien would have probably gotten married around 2003, two years after their graduation from Hogwarts and I could see them waiting a few years before trying to have kids, if they ever did. If anything, I think they'd offer to help everyone else with their kids as more and more kept coming. In my personal experience, helping their family members raise their kids would give them a taste of what they could expect if they were to have kids of their own and they could just decide not to have them and stick to being the 'cool/fun aunt and uncle' to all of the little rugrats.

If they'd decide to have their own kids, just imagine how spoiled they would be when they'd go shopping for Hogwarts stuff! Imagine Royce and Vivien are too busy to go back-to-school shopping, so they ask Miles and Carrie to take the kid instead. Big mistake! Miles would buy them all sorts of crap they don't need and Carrie would have to drag him out of every store in sight to try getting him to stick to the list Royce and Vivien had given them. Butchy and Mick would be no better. Mick would be doing her damndest to get the kid stuff while Butchy would be trying to corral them into following the rules, but I think we all know he'd agree to whatever if given Mick's Puppy Dog Eyes™ mixed with a "Please, Uncle Butchy!" from the kid.

The fondness I have for this idea is immense, but I don't know if I'd ever get around to writing it out any further than this. These are just some ideas and outlines I've had either in my head or in my notes/docs. It feels really good to have them all typed out for you to see, honestly! I can't wait to start on the next AU but I'm giving myself a little bit of time to do some research and stuff before I start writing it all out. Hopefully, I'll be posting again soon, whether it be a prompt, an AU, or an answer to that question I was sent. Anyway, have a great day!

[isabellehemlock]

Fic Writer Interview

Name: Katharina, but I'm Isabelle Hemlock on AO3 and yup, there is a story behind that ("Isabelle" because had I had a daughter, I think I would like to have called her that 💕 and "Hemlock" is a play on my last name)

Fandoms: 95% The Old Guard, but crossing over into the Luca/Marwan Cinematic Multiverse with Crossover AUs (one already posted, another one planned). And got one planned for Trust FX.

Two Shot: I actually don't have any 👀 I either write one shots or long winded mutli chapters haha. There's no middle ground to my writing it seems.

Most Popular Multi Chapter: hands down, Endless Ocean (accounts for like 40% of my hits). Very, very humbled that it has resonated with people 🙏🏻❤

Actual Worst Part Of Writing: trying to write when you're mental headspace is floating over there somewhere 🙃

How You Choose Your Titles: varies! Usually I write a chunk first and the title somehow comes out along the "pages". But I also enjoy a good analogy that sort of hints at the overall theme, and sometimes poetry

Do You Outline? Always, and my Google docs, boy I like lay every chapter out haha

Ideas You Probably Won't Get Around To, But Wouldn’t It Be Nice: This was an interesting question that took me a moment to contemplate over. I think, the Fairytale AU series I made moodboards for about two weeks ago. Like, they sound super cute to have various Luca characters as fairy tale characters, and yet I am booked through September in WIPs and not sure if I will really ever dive further into them.

Call Outs At Me: finish the Bingo fic, and the three other WIPs so you can draw more 😏

Best Writing Traits: I think I usually tend to write a lot fairly consistently, but the most common comments about my writing that I've received on my fics, seem to be writing pwf decently, and like interweaving feelings/therapy speak/communication into the story/characters (always very humbled to hear something in my writing helped someone feel seen)

Spicy Tangetial Opinion: like about my writing? Or fics/fandom in general?? . . . Hm. For my writing, my tangetial opinion is that my demisexuality bleeds into my stories, in that I seem incapable of writing about the physical aspects of a relationship without deep feelings involved. As for fics/fandom - my tangetial opinion is that you don't age out of fandom, and I'm a proud fandom mom.

No Pressure Tagging: @kiaya @theresatvjoe @sholeh675 @shadyhideoutreview @boudoirwriter @pigsinablanketfort @silvyri

[jetaime-jespere]

G, L, R for the fanfiction asks! ❤️ Your writing!!

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? 

Oh gosh. 🙃 So. I do not write anything sequentially within a chapter. I also have things written for WSNE that haven’t happened yet, but we just haven’t gotten to in the storyline. One of the very first things I wrote for the story at all was the trip to Paris in chapter 7, and the Allison/Aaron/Emily in chapter 4. I start with the scenes I know are a definite - usually the ones centered around what absolutely has to be included, and I fill in the gaps along the way. With WSNE, I would normally write the “big” parts of each chapter (or sometimes the smut first, if I’m being honest...ha) and go from there. I’ll also start with the quotes/lines that come to me and base things off of those. In chapter 40, one of the first things I wrote was the convo between Aaron/Dave in Vegas, for some reason. I have things bolded and highlighted depending on what I need to do (edit, add more, revise completely). I sent my ch 40 draft to another author the other day to tell me it wasn’t a total flop (in one of my many moments of doubt) and had to send a whole paragraph explaining the method to my madness. 

L: How many times do you usually revise your before posting?

I’m laughing at this one, because I was just thinking about it earlier today. Not nearly as much as I should. Normally by the time I post it, I'm so damn tired of reading it I just want to get it posted. I would say I revise as I go - I’m constantly rereading it as I’m working on it, so things do get changed fairly often. I usually do one read through as it’s in a google doc and then once I put it in ao3, I read through as I’m reformatting (because I still haven’t figured out how to not have the huge spaces between paragraphs, so I delete those by hand each time.😭 When chapters are close to 30 pages, it can take forever. I should be better with revision. Spelling and grammar are a personal thing of mine (I'm a teacher, lol) so I should really practice what I preach. 

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

There are many I am inspired by, and I WISH they were on Tumblr so I could tag them to tell them this. DeeJayMil has some incredible stuff out there (Small Things is a must if you ship Hotchniss) and I wish I could do things the way they do them because they are sublime. No one does angst & darkEmily like AtLeastWeWontBeLonelyInHell, and I remember finding her on ao3 in early summer and being unable to put my phone down for hours afterward. She is a master at her craft and I cannot say enough good things about her stories. TangledUpLies is also amazing (on ff).

Thank you for the ask ♥️, and for the compliment. You are so kind to say that!

[stargazerdaisy]

RESTAURANT AU

Oh, Restaurant AU!  How I love this story.  How I want and need to finish it.  I need to finish it for myself as much I need to finish it for @vesperass-anuna and all the other readers.  It really is one of my favorite pieces.  It’s a hard one to write, because I’m trying to develop it properly, but then it just keeps adding layers and length.  And it takes me awhile to get in the right headspace.  But I love love love it.  And I will finish it.  Maybe by the time I’m 40.

Here is one of the very first (if not actually the first) scenes I wrote.  Geez, that was like 3 1/2 years ago.  Anyway, I LOVE IT.  And because this fic is SO LONG (92 pages in the Google Doc alone) and only half of it is published, you get a nice long snippet.

From My Hands, I Could Give You  “Listen, Skye's….. been through a lot in her life.” Kara hesitated with just how much to reveal. “I don't want to see yet another person hurt or leave her.”

Ward nodded, understanding what she meant. Skye hadn't told him her entire life story, but she'd told him enough between the story with Miles and bits and pieces of her childhood that what Kara was saying made sense, even if he didn't know every detail. 

“If you're going to be one of those people, do her a favor and back out now. She deserves better than that.  Don't get me wrong, she's strong as hell and even I can't understand how she is still so-” Kara paused trying to find the right word “-kind. But she's not invincible. I really don't want her to find out what will finally break her. Do you get what I'm saying?”

“Kara, I'm not out to hurt her,” he said warily. 

“No, I don't think you are,” Kara agreed. “But I don't know if you're really ready for what it means to be part of Skye's inner circle. When she cares about someone, she's all in; they get her whole heart. I just want you to be sure you can handle that.”

Ask me about a WIP

[veridium]

could you tell us about your writing process? you're incredibly fast, and equally talented, and that's just so impressive!!

Oh my gosh, anon, you flatter the hell out of me! It’s always a bit strange to get asked stuff like this for me because I still feel like I’m just a simple ol’ fanfic writer. But, I will answer it and I hope that I am helpful!

Generally, the bulk of my process happens before I even sit down to type a chapter or ficlet out. I hike and walk a lot for my chronic pain, so I spend a lot of time daydreaming and stringing together scenes/dialogue in my head. Typing it out is pretty much the last step in the process. I know not everyone daydreams as much as I do – it is truly a nauseating amount, lol pisces problems – but it helps me a LOT. The imagery, senses, and descriptions of my writing are better when I spend time rehearsing it in my mind’s eye.

Usually with my sagas or multi-chapter fics, there’s one amazing scene that I want to write/show in my head, and from there I work my way backwards chronologically and then work my way after it happens. That scene idea gives me my momentum and my purpose – it’s kind of my working thesis statement within the story. 

When I finally type it out, I cannot start and stop. I have to get it all out in one swoop, which usually takes me about 30-40 minutes for a Chapter, less if it’s a vignette. I then spend another half hour or so editing and going through. All-in-all, the physical writing process for a Chapter from start-to-finish takes about two hours typically. My Chapters are on average anywhere between 2,500-3,000 words, and I try to keep them between 5-8 pages in my google doc. That helps me pace out the story so that I’m not just doing everything in one bulk chapter, and I spread out the fluff/filler more.

I do not always have time for it, though! As much as I produce, I am not just constantly writing fic. I have a job, friends that I go out with regularly, and other responsibilities. I am an introvert, though, so that is how I usually find time and energy to write. I also am a nocturnal writer; usually I don’t fall asleep before 11pm-midnight on weeknights. The bulk of the time I have for writing is from the fact that I really don’t date, or have a relationship going. As of late, my life is pretty full both literally and emotionally with friends, my job, and my creative hobbies. So, that is where it all comes from. 

I also just straight up enjoy writing, so yes, I share my work because my community is wonderful and they are invested in the stories I’m telling. But, first and foremost, I do it for myself, because I love telling stories and writing queer, womxn characters who are strong, complex, vivacious, and soft at the same time. I write what I wish to consume and see, and it’s so much fun. 

Thank you for asking, and I hope I have answered it enough! Sending love and light your way, anon.

[trashyocstash]

oh god, okay, so it’s finally here...the part 2 to my julie lives au. now i just gotta finish the afterlife fic..and i just need to write a few more scenes for that one.

this one took up 12 pages on google docs, not as much as the first one which was 17 pages, but that’s still pretty long for me.

part 1

ao3 link

warning for nsfw content.

otherwise, this is pretty fluffy.

Rick opened his eyes, blinking a bit due to the rays of light coming through the window. He groaned and turned over to the side, smiling upon seeing Julie, who was fast asleep.

It was hard to believe, even after all this time, that she was still here with him. He could remember the time after he and Julie had reunited, they’d been very affectionate with each other, spending most of their time together. After all those years of being separated, they had only wanted to be together, afraid that if they turned away for just a second that the other would be gone.

He remembered having a nightmare one night that involved him losing her. Rick had woken up in a panic, and had shed tears of joy when he’d seen Julie again. She’d comforted him as she always did. But even Julie had suffered through similar things too, she’d been just as scared to lose him as he’d been scared to lose her.

The years they’d spent apart were the worst years of their lives, they knew that without each other, they were incomplete, feeling empty and hollow inside. The misery and loneliness they’d felt without each other had been unbearable. When they’d reunited, their relationship had returned to what it was like when they’d first gotten together: very intimate, filled with affectionate and adoration for each other, but also they were very clingy too.

As the years had passed on, this slowly faded, and Rick and Julie’s relationship was now relaxed and mature again. But sometimes, the fear of losing each other could still enter their minds.

Rick let his fingers trace over her gentle curves, before moving his fingers up to run through her white hair. Julie may be in her late 60s by now, but Rick still thought she was so beautiful, age hadn't withered her beauty away from her. Though her hair was no longer it's ginger colour and had fallen out a bit, turning it from long to medium in length, she still appeared gorgeous in his eyes. Julie had been upset about the changes to her hair, but had styled it a little differently to accommodate for it. Though Julie's self-confidence had increased due to Rick, sometimes she still felt insecure about her looks. But he would always be there to remind her he still loved how she looked.

Her eyes opened, and upon a seeing Rick, a smile formed on her face. “Morning Blueberry...” She said sleepily.

“Morning Gingersnap.” He replied, giving her a gentle look back.

“Do you want me to go make breakfast?” Julie asked.

“Mmmm...nah...I wanna stay here with you…” Rick told her.

“Alrighty then…” She snickered. “Just don't fall asleep on me.”

“I won't.” He laughed, then proceeded to kiss her lips.

Julie let out a moan as they kissed, and when they pulled away, Rick got a devious idea and began kissing her neck, making her let out a few soft moans. He continued kissing down her body until he reached the tops of her breasts, making her whimper.

“Aw what's the matter my little Gingersnap? You need something to fully wake you up?” Rick teased.

Julie pressed her nude body against him desperately. “Please take me baby. Take me right now..” She begged.

“Needy little thing aren't you?” Rick chuckled. He too was also very, very naked. Her movements were getting him hard, so he stopped laughing and moaned a little. “Fuck…” He hissed out.

Age also hadn't withered away their passion nor their lust for each other. They still had just as much of a libido as they did in their youth. At this rate, it would never fade.

His cock was twitching and throbbing with excitement, eagerly wanting to thrust into her warmth. But first, he needed to get her ready.

Rick pushed her down on the bed and spread her legs open. Already was Julie a little wet.

“Wet already? Damn, you really are needy..” He teased.

“Just do it..right now...” She whined.

Rick laughed, and positioned his mouth against her slit, letting his hot breath brush against it. Julie quivered in pleasure. She wanted more, she wanted to feel his tongue on her pussy, licking it with that wicked tongue of his. “Please...lick me..” She begged, thrusting her hips up towards his mouth. “I want you Rick..”

He decided he couldn't tease her anymore, and let his tongue begin to lick her pussy.

“Uhhh Rick!” Julie cried out. She gripped a hand on his spiked blue hair, gently brushing her fingers against his bald spot as he pleasured her.

It didn't matter how many times he did this, it always felt amazing, he never failed to please her and make her cum, which she still did so easily. In fact, Julie thought he'd actually gotten much better. She also thought he was still so attractive. Sure, he had a bald spot now, but she didn't mind. In fact, Julie had playfully teased him about it too. Rick's hair was styled differently as well, it made him appear more like a stereotypical mad scientist, and she really liked it.

His tongue continued to trace over her soft pussy, and Julie was losing herself in the immense pleasure. “Rick! Don't stop...don't stop baby..” She moaned. Her moaning increased when his tongue finally moved onto her clit.

With all of the pleasurable feelings building up inside her, it didn't take long for Julie to cum. “Ohhh Riiiick!” Her cries filled the air as she came. Rick didn't stop licking her, making her cum more. When Julie finished, she felt drained and was heavily panting.

Rick moved over top of her and began rubbing his cock against her slit. She had already just came, and the feeling alone of his cock pressed against her pussy was enough to make her cum again.

He bit his lip as he watched her. His erection was painful, pulsing desperately, wanting inside her. Rick growled and shoved his cock into her warmth, making Julie moan in pleasure.

With that, he began to thrust into her roughly, his hands resting on her curvy hips. Rick couldn't stop staring at Julie, the way her large breasts bounced, her face contoured in ecstasy with her tongue hanging out, and the sounds of pleasure she made only added to it.

In their nearly 40 years of marriage, they'd still managed to be able to satisfy each other sexually. Rick particularly enjoyed spicing things up, being more of the kinky type over Julie. Regardless, she loved how kinky he could be, and despite being such a sweet and soft girl, loved whenever he was rough with her.

There was a new bonus now that came with age, Julie had already been through menopause, and now there was no way she could get pregnant. It eliminated the need for birth control, and they were both pretty happy about that.

Rick let out a low growl, feeling his orgasm coming. He looked down at Julie, hearing her soft moans, and couldn't take it any longer. “Fuck!” He yelled, filling her pussy to the brim with his hot cum.

He didn't stop though, wanting Julie to cum too, and after his own orgasm, it didn't take her very long. “Rick!” She gasped, cumming all over his throbbing erection.

Rick pulled out, his cock was soaked with cum, as was her pussy, which he saw was dripping with his cum. Julie's legs were shaking and she looked up at him, her face showing how satisfied she was. “That's...one way to wake up in the morning…” She giggled.

“Mmmm...take it you liked it?” He asked.

She sat up and wrapped her arms around him. “Of course I did, I always do.” Julie then pressed her lips against his cheek, giving him a sweet kiss.

Julie could still remember how needy and possessive Rick used to act during sex, back after they reunited. She never blamed him really, she'd been pretty needy too, and still kinda was. He'd been so upset back then, so clingy, but it wasn't that bad really.

She had a fond memory of when she first showed him some video games she bought while he was gone. In particular, Julie had known that one of their favourite video game franchises was Legend of Zelda, and she'd bought him some games for it. When he'd seen them, he'd gotten really excited.

--------------

“Is that…?” Rick's eyes widened.

“It sure is.” Julie confirmed while giggling.

Rick picked up both the games and grinned. “We have to try these out, right now.”

He then put one of the games into the system and turned it on. When it got to the screen showing the saved games, Rick noticed there already was one there. “Did you make that one Julie?” He asked. “Cause if you did, it looks like you got pretty far.”

She blushed. “Yeah…that was me.”

Rick chuckled. “Then I-I guess you can teach me how to play this huh?”

“Rick, you're so smart! I'm sure you could just figure it out on your own..” Her blush increased.

“Yeah but, I'd like your help anyways. I'd really appreciate it you know..”

Julie gave in. “Well..okay then..”

“Great!” He beamed as he started making his own save file.

She smiled as she watched him. Julie sat down beside him and rested her head against his shoulder. She remembered when she had been playing the game all by herself, and it had been pretty lonesome. But now Rick was back in her life, and they could play the game together, and Julie didn't have to feel lonely anymore.

They spent some time playing the game together, while Julie sometimes told him what he was supposed to do, which he really did appreciate.

----------------

Julie still smiled while thinking of that memory, and even now, they would still catch up with the games.

She looked up at Rick, and pressed a hand against his chest. “Do you want some breakfast now?”

His stomach then growled, making them both laugh. “I think I do.” Rick grinned.

When they went into the kitchen, Julie made them both some eggs and sausages, pouring them both some orange juice as well.

She smiled as she watched him eat. Ever since he’d came back into her life all those years ago, he’d been doing so much better. He had been a bit of a wreck initially, but with her help, Rick had regained his happiness, and was healthier too, he was eating better than ever, which Julie was grateful for.

Julie had also noticed Rick wasn’t getting involved with as much criminal activity as he used to. When she’d asked about it, he told her he was just sick of running around and the people he loved being in danger constantly, these were his final years and he just wanted to spend them peacefully. This had made Julie also really happy, she’d never minded him being a criminal, but it made her feel glad he wasn’t constantly getting hurt and wouldn’t be straining his body anymore.

Today, she thought they could go visit their family again. Julie wanted to spend some time with them of course, and like any good grandmother would, she also wanted to bring them over some food. She had the idea of baking some chocolate chip cookies, and wanted Rick's help as well.

He'd gotten better at cooking over time, and she loved it. Julie recalled one morning when she'd woken up and saw Rick standing beside her with a plate of pancakes on a tray, and they didn't look like a disaster either. That morning, she'd happily ate the food he made, and insisted he eat something too. Rick had refused, but she ignored that and made him eat some of the pancakes he'd made.

“Rick, do you want to help me make some chocolate chip cookies?” Julie asked sweetly.

He looked up from his food. “What for?”

“Well, I want to bring them over to our family, and I think bringing them some food would be nice, especially for Morty and Summer.” She explained.

“Aw, y-y-you know they got plenty to eat ri-right?” Rick laughed.

“I know, I know! I just can't help but worry for them, I want to make sure they're eating enough.” She replied.

Rick smiled, she was always thinking of others, so easily worried for them, even now. “Alright, I'll help.” He agreed.

Julie squealed in delight and hugged him. “Thank you my Blueberry Muffin! I'm sure everyone will love the cookies we make!”

Hearing her squeal made Rick chuckle a bit, she never stopped being so cute in his eyes.

With that, the two began making the cookies together. They worked together, and had a lot of fun. Rick decided to pull a harmless prank on her, letting the egg yolk land on her hand. She simply smiled and cleaned herself off with the kitchen sink. In retaliation, Julie got some of the vanilla extract right on his fingers. He had just laughed and cleaned them too.

When the cookies were being put on the tray, Rick had asked to eat some cookie dough, which he always did every time she made cookies. Julie had just nodded, a smile on her face, and watched as he ate some while the cookies baked in the oven.

The cookies had finally finished, and now it was time to bring them over. Julie covered them up, then Rick got out his portal gun, and they carried the cookies off to the rest of their family.

--------------

Knocking on the door to their house, they were greeted by their daughter Beth, who smiled upon seeing them.

“Hey Mom! Hey Dad!” Then she noticed the cookies Julie was holding. “You brought cookies?”

“Yep!” Julie beamed. “Can we come inside? I'm sure Morty and Summer will love these.”

“Of course! Just set them on the counter.” Beth replied.

Julie and Rick walked in through the door and headed into the kitchen, where Julie happily set the tray down on the counter. She saw Summer sitting down, staring at her cell phone, and gave her a smile.

“Hi Summer!” Julie greeted.

Summer looked up from her phone and smiled back. “Hey Grandma.” She then noticed the cookies on the counter. “You brought cookies?”

“Eat as much as you want, but don't forget to save some for Morty!” Julie teased playfully.

“Speaking of M-M-Morty, where is he?” Rick asked.

“In his room.” Summer replied nonchalantly.

“I'll go get him.” He shrugged.

Rick walked upstairs and opened the door to Morty's room, and found him sitting on his bed with his laptop in front of him.

“Hey, quit jacking off ding dong, your grandma and I brought cookies.” He told him in annoyance.

Morty looked up and was momentarily surprised. “Uh, y-yeah sure! I'll be down in a sec.”

Rick then started to walk away, but saw Julie, and  she didn't appear very happy with him.

“Don't be mean to Morty!” She scolded, and then started pulling him by the ear. “Apologize!”

“Okay okay! I'll apologize! I-I swear! Just let go of my ear!” He pleaded.

Julie smiled. “That's better.” She then promptly let go of his ear.

Morty walked out of his room, and saw the scene before him.

“Grandpa has something to say.” Julie told him.

Rick sighed. “I'm sorry I was an a-ass to you, okay?”

Morty was surprised by this, but knew Julie had definitely forced him to apologize, the look on her face said it all.

“It's okay R-Rick, I'm just gonna go eat the cookies you guys brought.” He grinned, and headed off downstairs.

Julie watched him go, looking pleased, before turning to Rick.

“You shouldn't act rude to your own grandson you know.”

“Yeah..I know…”

She went over to him and kissed his cheek softly. Julie loved her husband dearly, but sometimes she still had to keep him in line, she never liked when he acted a jerk towards people after all, especially their family. Julie knew Rick still had a tendency to bottle of feelings up, and pretend he doesn't care for others even though they both know he does.

“Don't worry about it,” Julie assured him. “Let's go back downstairs.”

At this, Rick nodded and they went back into the kitchen, were they saw Morty and Summer eating a few of the cookies. Julie was glad to see her grandchildren eating, she always liked knowing that they were eating. She figured it must be her natural instincts as a grandma after all.

---------

After both Morty and Summer were feeling full, the cookies were stored away in the fridge. Julie and Rick wanted to stick around for a little while longer, happy to spend time with their family.

Beth walked over to Julie, looking pleased. “Thanks for coming here with Dad by the way. It's always so great having you around, I don't know what I'd do without you.”

“Oh it's nothing really. I love you and the rest of our family dearly, of course I want to be around here.” Julie replied.

Beth's smile faded. She often still felt guilt for how she had always treated her mother in the past, how cruel she'd been. She never felt like she deserved her love or forgiveness.

Beth sighed. “I don't deserve your love Mom. I still find it amazing that you've forgiven me...after everything I said and did towards you..”

Julie gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh sweetheart, don't keep beating yourself up over that all the time. How many times have I told you, it's in the past? Just because you did something wrong in your past doesn't mean it defines who you are. You've already apologized, and I've already forgiven you. It's time to forgive yourself.”

Beth didn't know what to say to this. Her mother was naturally very forgiving, maybe a little too forgiving. But in truth, she was grateful. She would be even more guilty if Julie hadn't forgiven her.

Tears began to well in her eyes. “I just...I really do love you too Mom, I always have. I was just an angsty teenager taking out my anger and problems on you.”

“I know, and I don't blame you for being upset.” Julie replied as she wiped a few of her tears away. “Come on, let's go over to the rest of our family okay?”

“Sounds good..” Beth smiled through her tears.

----------------

Julie and Rick both continued to spend time with their family. Later on, Morty decided he wanted to talk to his grandmother about something.

“H-Hey, Julie can I-I ask you about s-something?” He asked.

“Go ahead Morty.” Julie smiled.

“Well..I know you're the romantic type and all, so I thought...that m-m-maybe you could help me with this. There's this girl at my school that I have a huge crush on, but I can barely even say t-two words to her..” Morty explained. “What should I d-do..?”

She thought for a moment. “I know how you feel, being shy can be really hard. But the important thing is that you must gather the courage to talk to this girl, and just be yourself. If she likes you for who you are, then I'm sure she'll be good for you. You can get to know her better, see if you have anything in common. And even if things don't work out, you'll find someone else eventually, even if it takes a while. When I met your grandpa, I was 27 and he was 31. Besides, you're a sweet boy, that girl is very lucky that you like her.”

Morty blushed a little. “R-R-Really? You think so?”

“I know so.” She said as she “booped” his nose, making him giggle.

“Thanks Julie, I f-feel a lot better now.”

“I’m glad.”

Julie always loved being a helping hand to her grandchildren, giving them advice and being there for them when they needed her. In the past, she’d comforted Morty about his lack of friends and the bullying he dealt with, telling him that everything would be okay and that she understood his pain, recalling her own youth. He’d been surprised, but was glad that he had someone who understood his feelings of isolation and loneliness, it brought him a sense of comfort. Julie had also been there for Summer too, advising her not to be so concerned with popularity, and trying to help comfort her and after she found out Jerry and Beth were planning on having an abortion. When it came to her family, Julie did her best to put up a strong front, and show them just how much she loved and cared for each of them(she was even nice to Jerry too). But she didn’t have to be that way with Rick, she could let out all her feelings of insecurity and doubt within her, and he’d be the one comforting and being there for her.

Speaking of Rick, Julie and Morty turned over to see him as he walked up to them. “What are you t-two talking about?”

“Morty here was just asking for advice about a girl has he a crush on at school.” Julie informed him.

Rick chuckled at this. “Look M-Morty, just go up to her and oh...I-I don’t know...say something about how p-pretty she is or whatever, no big deal.”

Julie laughed. “Oh, like that’s what you did to me when we met. If I remember correctly, you were really rude to me when we first met.”

“Yeah but I won you over anyways in the end didn’t I?” Rick teased playfully.

She rolled her eyes while smiling. “You sure did.”

-------------------------

The two left soon after, saying their goodbyes to their family before returning home. Upon their arrival, Julie started making supper while Rick headed into his lab to work on something.

Julie found herself reminiscing on her happy memories with Rick, how lucky she felt to be with him, how glad she was that he was back in her life. She went to the fridge, and saw an old picture of them in their younger years, when Rick had taken her to a festival in town and they’d taken pictures at a photo booth. The first picture was of Julie hugging him while they both had big smiles on their faces, the second was of Rick giving her a surprise kiss on the cheek, and the third was of them sharing a kiss on the lips.

She stared at the ring on her finger and then at the necklace she wore almost all the time. Both had been gifts from him, she still remembered the day he'd given her the necklace, it was a thank you gift for always being there for him, but it grew in importance after they got together, and Julie considered it a symbol of their love. Rick had also made a necklace for Beth, but it was brown instead of lilac coloured like her's. The ring was her wedding ring, a symbol of her devotion to him, she wore it all the time, just like he always wore his. He was everything to her, and Julie knew she would always love him. Getting to grow old with him was so romantic in her eyes.

Upon finishing supper, she put some of it on a plate and walked towards the lab he had set up in their house. She remembered when they'd first moved in together and he'd just made a new room in the house for it. Sometimes he could spend so long in there, staying up all night working on something. Julie would check up on him, and if he fell asleep, she’d put a blanket over him and kiss him good night. She worried for him when he stayed up late, but at the same time, she did admire his passion and dedication for his work.

Julie knocked on the door and Rick opened it. He grinned when he saw the plate of dinner and grabbed it.

“Maybe you should come and eat dinner in the kitchen with me...it might be a bit dangerous to eat in your lab..” She suggested.

He chuckled. “Y-Yeah...you’re r-right, I got some pretty dangerous chemicals in there right now, don’t want any of it getting on my f-food.”

The two ate their dinner together, talking and laughing all the while. Julie loved that even now, Rick still never failed to make her laugh and smile.

But after dinner, Rick could tell something was up with her. “You okay Gingersnap?” He asked worriedly.

“I'm fine. It's just..well..I'm worried about Beth..even after all this time, she still can't forgive herself for how she used to treat me.” She confessed.

“Aw it's fine, don't worry about it. At least she feels sorry about it, it's better than if she didn't. She'll get over it.” Rick assured her.

“But how long will it take?”

“Eh, it's been about 14 years or so...so...I would assume it might at least take a couple more years. She won't feel guilty about it forever. Beth is just stuck in an unhappy marriage, and is just making her problems worse. You should just tell her to get a divorce, she'll listen to you.”

“I don't know Rick...I really want them to try and work things out but-”

“They've tried, we both know that. I even got that them to go the best couples counselling in the galaxy and look how that turned out. It's just not gonna work. I don't want to have to deal with them arguing all the goddamn time w-w-we go over there.” He complained.

Julie sighed. “If you really want me to say something, I will.”

“Yes!” Rick cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

She giggled a little and handed him a messy plate. “Now come on, it's time to do the dishes.”

Rick didn't really like doing something as mundane and boring as washing dishes, but he did them because she wanted him to. If he was going to do this, he decided he’d at least have to find a way to make it fun. He got a devious idea and “booped” her on the nose, covering it in bubbles. She giggled and “booped” him back, then they started flinging bubbles on each other.

After they finished doing the dishes, Rick went back to his lab and Julie headed into their room to read a book.

Later on, Rick came into their room, and Julie looked up at him and smiled. She patted her hand on his side of the bed, gesturing for him to come over to it. Rick took off his lab coat and shirt, then sat on his side of the bed, grinning at her. Julie blushed and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

“I’m so glad you’re back in my life again, I love you so much Rick..”

He kissed her back. “Love y-y-you too Gingersnap.”

Julie truly was glad to be with him again, he was so important to her, she was incomplete without him. He was her other half, her soulmate, the fact they’d managed to stay together for so long and still be so happy confirmed this in her mind. She knew he needed her just as much as she needed him. Rick had given her everything she’d ever wanted, she found true love with him, she’d married him, she’d started a family with him that she loved and cherished, and he’d even given her the courage to apply for her nursing job. She’d retired a few years ago from it, and now she was satisfied with her life. Julie was content to just spend the last years of her life in peace with the man she loved.

As they fell asleep together, Julie felt his warmth against her and slowly, the sounds of his breathing and his heartbeat lulled her to sleep...

ok...now that that’s done, yes this would take place during the show, so that’s why i referenced beth and jerry going to that couples therapy place in the episode “big trouble in little sanchez”, the episodes would just be a bit different with julie’s existence. the unity episode wouldn’t even happen lmao.

and i love writing their relationship when they’re both old, there’s something very sweet about two old people who still are in a happy, healthy relationship.

everyone in this au is happier, even though beth and jerry still don’t have a good relationship, beth isn’t drinking wine. rick isn’t drinking alcohol either, this is why he still doesn’t burp. and i thought julie being nice to jerry and not treating him like the family punching bag made sense too.

[mygoateecreation]

Top Rated Text To Speech Software For Mac?

The Best Free Text-to-Speech Software app downloads for Mac: Voice TextSpeech Pro Elements Toau SpeechMirror Speechissimo Listen Later. The Best Free Text-to-Speech Software app downloads for Mac. There are many free text to speech software available in the market. Most of these software work almost the same way – basically convert to speech. They differ in the type of documents that they support, and in ease of conversion from text to speech. If your OS of choice is Mac OS X, and all you need is basic but extremely solid text to speech (TTS) functionality, you don’t even have to bother with a third party software application, as the OS’ native Text to Speech feature has you covered.

Top Rated Text To Speech Software

Mac Text To Speech Online

Free Text To Speech Software

In years gone by, text to speech software was rather expensive, but these days there are excellent text to speech tools available free of charge. We're here to help you find the very best tools that will make converting written documents to audio files as easy as possible.

Text to speech software can be enormously helpful for anyone who's visually impaired, or has a condition like dyslexia that makes reading on screens tricky. It can also help overcome language barriers for people who read a language but don't speak it, or are in the process of learning.

Text to speech software is also ideal if you want to listen to a document while doing something else, if you find it easier to retain information you've heard, or if you want to sense-check something you've written.

Here's our pick of the best free text to speech software for reading either individual paragraphs or whole documents aloud.

1. Balabolka

Save text as a spoken audio file, with customizable voices

Lots of voices to choose from

There are a couple of ways to use Balabolka's free text to speech software: you can either copy and paste text into the program, or you can open a number of supported file formats (including DOC, PDF, and HTML) in the program directly. In terms of output you can use SAPI 4 complete with eight different voices to choose from, SAPI 5 with two, or the Microsoft Speech Platform if you download and install the necessary files. Whichever route you choose, you can adjust the speech, pitch and volume of playback to create custom voice.

In addition to reading words aloud, this free text to speech software can also save narrations as audio files in a range of formats including MP3 and WAV. For lengthy documents you can create bookmarks to make it easy to jump back to a specific location and there are excellent tools on hand to help you to customize the pronunciation of words to your liking.

With all these features to make life easier when reading text on a screen isn't an option, Balabolka is best free text to speech software around.

2. Natural Reader

Free text to speech software with its own web browser

Choice of interfaces

Natural Reader is a free text to speech tool that can be used in a couple of ways. The first option is to load documents into its library and have them read aloud from there. This is a neat way to manage multiple files, and the number of supported file types is impressive, including ebook formats. There's also OCR, which enables you to load up a photo or scan of text, and have it read to you.

The second option takes the form of a floating toolbar. In this mode, you can highlight text in any application and use the toolbar controls to start and customize text to speech. This means you can very easily use the feature in your web browser, word processor and a range of other programs. There's also a built-in browser to convert web content to speech more easily.

3. Panopretor Basic

Easy text to speech conversion, with WAV and MP3 output

Top Rated Text To Speech Software

Exports in WAV and MP3 formats

As the name suggests, Panopreter Basic delivers free text to speech conversion without frills. It accepts plain and rich text files, web pages and Microsoft Word documents as input, and exports the resulting sound in both WAV and MP3 format (the two files are saved in the same location, with the same name).

The default settings work well for quick tasks, but spend a little time exploring Panopreter Basic's Settings menu and you'll find options to change the language, destination of saved audio files, and set custom interface colors. The software can even play a piece of music once it's finished reading – a nice touch you won't find in other free text-to-speech software.

If you need something more advanced, a premium version of Panopreter is available for US$29.95 (about £20, AU$40). This edition offers several additional features including toolbars for Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer, the ability to highlight the section of text currently being read, and extra voices.

4. WordTalk

An extension that adds text to speech to your word processor

Customizable voices

Developed by the University of Edinburgh, WordTalk is a toolbar add-on for Word that brings customizable text to speech to Microsoft Word. It works with all editions of Word and is accessible via the toolbar or ribbon, depending on which version you're using.

Mac Text To Speech Online

The toolbar itself is certainly not the most attractive you'll ever see, appearing to have been designed by a child. Nor are all of the buttons' functions very clear, but thankfully there's a help file on hand to help.

There's no getting away from the fact that WordTalk is fairly basic, but it does support SAPI 4 and SAPI 5 voices, and these can be tweaked to your liking. The ability to just read aloud individual words, sentences or paragraphs is a particularly nice touch. You also have the option of saving narrations, and there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that allow for quick and easy access to frequently used options.

5. Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader

A great choice for converting text from websites to speech

Good file format support

Despite its basic looks, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader has more to offer than you might first think. You can open numerous file formats directly in the program, or just copy and paste text.

Alternatively, as long as you have the program running and the relevant option enables, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can read aloud any text you copy to the clipboard – great if you want to convert words from websites to speech – as well as dialog boxes that pop up. Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can also convert text files to WAV format.

Unfortunately the selection of voices is limited, and the only settings you can customize are volume and speed unless you burrow deep into settings to fiddle with pronunciations. Additional voices are available for a US$25 fee (about £20, AU$30), which seems rather steep, holding it back from a higher place in our list.

Update (July 2018): Please refer to our full article on free speech to text softwareThe Best (Free) Speech-to-Text Software for WindowsThe Best (Free) Speech-to-Text Software for WindowsLooking for the best free Windows speech to text software? We compared Dragon Naturally Speaking with free alternatives from Google and Microsoft.Read More.

I’m writing lots, and frequently getting arm ache. Are there any free good speech to text software programs available to download? I just want to up notepad and start talking, and have my voice translated into text and typed into notepad.

Free Text To Speech Software

What is the best stt software then?

good

Windows 7 has speech recognition which is good.

Great Question. I am looking for the same thing but I don't have windows 7 or vista. Or any money.

Free text editor for mac free download - VideoPad Free Video Editor for Mac, Plain Text Editor, MovieMator Free Mac Video Editor, and many more programs. The Best Free Text Editors for Windows, Linux, and Mac Lori Kaufman April 28, 2012, 12:00pm EDT We all use text editors to take notes, save web addresses, write code, as well as other uses. Free text editors for mac os x. How can the answer be improved? The best free and paid text editor programs for Mac whether you're a web developer, programmer, technical writer, or anything in between! Text editors are an entirely different story. Text editors are much more helpful if you're editing code, creating web pages, doing text transformation or other things for which a word processor is just overkill.

just found this i hope it work as well as they say, [Broken Link Removed]

I'm no big Windoze fan but the speech to text in Windows is every bit as good aS Dragon as I use them both. In ANY speech to text you have to be aware of mic positioning and extraeous noise. Work on those two things and the text will take care of itself.

i found the speach recognition software on my computer, but i need the speech to text and now i can only find text to speech! someone can help?

Dragon naturally speaking software is the best one.

I'm a special ed teacher who needs a Speech to text software (hopefully free) for 12 students with great ideas but few or no writing skills (K-1).

I haven't read where anyone has mentioned Talk It Type It yet. It is very economical. I bought the basic software about 6 years ago. I paid aprox 20.00 for it. Much cheaper than Dragon. TITI does have higher priced editions but I only needed the basic. I had to train it to recognize my voice, but you will have to do that with any of them. Google them to ck them out. I haven't checked recently to see if the co. is still in business. I say that because I haven't heard any ads about the software like they had a few years back. It could be worth checking them out? I like mine.

Just started using the Windows Speech Recognition and it seems to work well, but needs a lot of patience in training the computer to recognise your voice. Wanted a free option to start with and didn't know I had this on my computer all this while.. Anyone know how I can access the dictionary so as to add a few words? Or does it work with the standard windows dictionary, so I edit my words there. Still getting used to it..thanks to all who recommended this!

Of that I'm not certain, but it may be a great question to ask on MUO Answers..

Text plus for mac. With textPlus for smartphones and tablets, get a FREE number and start texting and calling today! With textPlus for smartphones and tablets, get a FREE number and start texting and calling today! Home Features News. Free unlimited text. Calls for 2¢ / min. TextPlus for PC is a free video, voice & text messenger. Free download Text Plus for Computer/PC Windows 10/8.1/8/7 & Mac Laptop. Textplus for PC is now available and can be easily installed on a desktop PC/Laptop running Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10 and MacOS/OS X. Let’s learn a little bit about this all new app and then have a look on the installation method via BlueStacks or BlueStacks 2.

Fortunately, this is MakeUseOf Answers. :)

What Ryan means though is, please ask a new question! The above is many weeks old and it will take a while to get an answer. If you post a new question, however, you will receive an answer within hours.

Beware Dragon, works fine but when you upgrade from say XP to Vista or Vista to 7, the version of Dragon no longer works, and they want you to buy it again.

If you have a reasonably fast computer running Windows 7, the speech recognition which comes with windows works pretty well.

The latest stable version of Google Chrome 11 has been released sporting the new flat icon with improved security and with the speech-to-text support through HTML speech input API. The first official Google service to make use of this service is Google Translate.

Once after downloading and installing Chrome 11 you can head over to Google Translate page to check out Speech-to-text translation. Right now Google supports only English to other languages. If activated you will see a microphone icon turn blue when you hover over it and the Speak Now speech bubble appear. When you have finished speaking and Chrome 11 speech input API has successfully converted voice to text, Google Translate service steps in and translates language. Hit listen button to heart the translated word.

I'm in Australia and they didn't have the icon you described. Maybe this feature is only enabled in particular countries? Just a thought.

Make sure that you have the source language set to English.

Replying to Bill in reply to Robert Aussies have to be careful to recognize that Strine is not English, which is not spoken in Aussie except by English-Speaking visitors -- and that they tune to International (IE: American) English. <]:^)-<

and you, mr. or ms. anonymous, should be careful as well, since strine is as 'english' as 'american english', both a dirivative of the TRUE original British english, which when you come to think about it is closer to strine than it is american english.

Thanks, it works..

hi, can You help me? I need from my phone iPhone from voice recorder translate it to the text in word. It is somehow possible? And it will be perfect if is for free. Thank Ypou so much. I am not talent for technology so I do not know how to do it.

What about any speech to text for Windows XP?

Marylou above recommended Dragon Naturally Speaking. Did you try that one, yet?

It's a bit pricey and I haven't tried it yet

Try using a bit torrent site with peerblock installed and running.

stop going on about dragon

does not work very well on windows 7 home premium thats what i have and it didnt get one word right

that is for windows 7

Dictating textWhen you speak into the microphone, Windows Speech Recognition converts your spoken words into text that appears on your screen.To dictate textOpen Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Windows Speech Recognition. Say 'start listening' or click the Microphone button to start the listening mode.Open the program you want to use or select the text box you want to dictate text into.Say the text that you want dictate.

Might try [Broken Link Removed]. There is a zip file installer available at [Broken Link Removed]. The trial is fully functional, and I tried this on Windows 7. It seemed to act as a front end for MS Speech Recognition, but I am not sure. Worth a shot, though.

free good speech to text software programs available to download http://www.tazti.com/

Thanks for this info although, the term, 'if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is'. I checked out the website in your comment & found that it is free, but for only 15 days. After that, it's $29.95. which is a good price but, I'm afraid the term, 'you get what you pay for' may apply.

So Harry, you went on to check some free software, it wasn't free, and now you're complaining that it's too cheap. Did I sum it up correctly?

I use the Microsoft inbuilt version and it works fine. The trick is to slowly train the program to understand your voice and practice until it does. Accuracy for me is now about 85 to 95%. Its no good expecting speech to text software to work out of the box, although dragon is faster than the others to do that as I have used both. I will upgrade to Dragon 11 later but for now I am using Microsofts version and I write articles from it, so it does work.

Andy

People just don't seem to understand the English language anymore do they??? HUGE difference between 'text to speech' and 'speech to text' .. But if you're reading carefully and not just jumping in because you think you know what you're talking about, it's pretty easy to catch..

Did u guys just use google to find this website : hope it will help u ppl ;) http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.htm from : softlogik

you did not read carefully. they are looking for speech to text NOT text to speech. BIG difference.

i,m in a fix guys. i dont have a card yet and cant buy any? isnt there any freeware?

I have just switched on Windows Seven speech recognition and am trying it out for the first time. With a bit of juggling it seems to be going quite reasonably, but I can see that there is a pretty steep learning curve, especially as I have a quite pronounced lisp (and wasn't that fun to have to spell out).

Still for a first try it's not going too badly and I can see me having some fun playing with this to see if I can get anywhere near my not very impressive typing speed. One interesting thing that I have noticed in my short acquaintance with this program is that less common words seem to be recognized easier, a not unsurprising result all things considered. One thing, I am using the microphone built into my web cam, perhaps with a better quality microphone there would be fewer errors, although I'm not sure if a better microphone would be more susceptible to ambient sound. A secondary issue, and one that might not bother others, is I like to have music playing in the background whilst on my computer, either from my sound system or the computer itself, and that would have to go if I were to use speech recognition as more than an occasional thing. tempersfugue

I use a MacMice Microphone with Vista and it's great. I also use it with my favorite MacBook Pro and one of the newer versions of MacSpeech. The mike is a goosenecked usb item that works well up to 2 feet from my mouth. I can use headphones if I don't want music to interfere as ambient sound. Works with PC or Mac. I've been trying and using speech programs for years. The Vista one trains in about 7 minutes. What has to be done though is corrections, otherwise if it practices mistakes, it gets better at them. My son also uses Dragon Naturally Speaking on his XP and just likes it better every time he uses it. Mike is plug and play, look here: [Broken Link Removed]

I use Google Voice, a free service, when I want speech to text. I use it with my Android cell phone and call my own phone number to leave a message. Google does a good job of transcribing my voice message to text and emailing me the text to my Gmail account.

How to edit text in a pdf. I'm pretty sure Google Voice works with any phone. You don't need to own an Android phone to use it. The service is now out of beta and is open for anyone to use.

Hope this helps.

The built in speech recognition works reasonably well IF you have the right mic and sound card. Wrong mic or sound card and you won't get good results no matter what software you use.

Dragon is better than the built in software, particularly Dragon 10 & 11. I use it all the time. I blogged about it here: [Broken Link Removed]

Wade Hatler

if you have broadband, use [Broken Link Removed], just copy/paste your text and hit the play button. (it was mentioned in makeuseof directory)

the question is about free 'speech to text' software. not 'text to speech'. that's a whole different question. but a useful piece of software nevertheless.

SPEECH TO TEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SPEECH TO TEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT TEXT TO SPEECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yo y u wearin a rag, n wat color is dat.. looks lik dark brown, i wanna say blacc.. u folk?

Irrelevant, Jonathan P.

Hi Massey Speech Project [Broken Links Removed]

possible it can do what you want, mostly freewares will not be good and sharewares like viavoice and dragon are little expensive

It also looks like Dragon is for 32 bit computers. mine's 64bit.

If I ever get a copy, i will be sure to post here and give my verdict, but still think the price is too steep.

this topic is best FREE SPEECH TO TEXT dragon is not free and all the other crap is not speech to text like what theyre looking for not just for commands but to write with

Mango - I'm in the same boat as you, I've been searching for not only a good speech to text program, but also decent API to use in some of my programming. But it appears that speech technology is one of those things that's a bit too advanced to get for free. I'm leaning toward Dragon as well, especially now that a couple people here say that it performs well. My own fear was buying it and then seeing that it doesn't perform any better than the free ones!

If you do buy a copy, let us know how you like it!

Tried Dragon and it did not work well at all

Dragon is great! Here is ver10 and $ 59.00 @ [Broken Link Removed] It is the last version but performed very well. Hope it helps.

@Eduardo I just found the inbuilt voice recognition software in windows 7, and tested it out. it is very poor quality, and even with a microphone, it's unable to get sentences right, so I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that one.

@ha14 I don't have microsoft office installed. i use notepad++ or openoffice.

@Aibek, dragon looks ok, but far too expensive, I was hoping for something completely free. have you had any experience using dragon?

I tried for a few days about 5 years ago. Back then I was mainly looking for a program that would let me use my PC using voice commands. Dragon did fairly well but required user to train it first. Because I wanted something quick I uninstalled it:-)

I heard lots of positive feedback about Dragon Naturally Speaking, http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm Mac os find file.

Unfortunately it's a bit pricey.

Hi

[Broken Link Removed]

If you are using Windows Vista or 7, you may have access to the built in voice recognition program. Look for it in the Star menu. Note: I think you have to be running Home Premium or superior to use this feature, though I'm not completely sure.

isnt this just for voice commands to mover around on your computer????we are looking for somethiing that takes your vocals and types them into text!!!!!!!!!

Windows 7 speech recognition does both - controls the computer, and takes dictation. Like most speech to text programs there is some learning to be done on your and the computer's part. If you want punctuation you'll need to say that (period/stop, comma, etc.) If you have a decent microphone then you are all set.

I guess almost all Vistas, Windows 7 and higher specification XPs have speech recognition. In Vista, go to control panel, then Ease of Access, Follow, Speech recognition and you are set.. The tutorial is easy and the best adive is do not get a cheap microphone.

more punctuation does not the answer change -_-

Sublime text 3 for mac. Sublime Text is available for Mac, Windows and Linux. One license is all you need to use Sublime Text on every computer you own, no matter what operating system it uses. Sublime Text uses a custom UI toolkit, optimized for speed and beauty, while taking advantage of native functionality on each platform. Sublime Text 3 may be downloaded from the Sublime Text 3 page. This is the recommended version of Sublime Text to use, and is available for Windows, OS X and Linux. This is the recommended version of Sublime Text to use, and is available for Windows, OS X and Linux.

dear Eduardo, lot of merit to you. I was looking for voice recognition software without knowing it is with me installed in computer. thank you

nanda

Btw y has no one noticed that there is no such thing as Windows superior

read better, he meant windows home premium or better!

Ha, that was funny.

I think he just meant home premium or better

there is actually windows superior. its just not a 'legal' copy of windows 7, the product has been modified to suit the user and the pc in usability and response times. my supervisor was talking about it in work when we were discussing upgrading the OS's in the office computers.

Hi, have experience using the Microsoft Speech to Text software built into Office XP/2002. First computer was Compaq AP200, PII400, 512MB PC100 SDRAM. Headset with boom mike turned out to be the problem. Changed it to Logitech USB set. Ran nicely on USB 1.1 at its rate. Worked amazingly better on the new OptiPlex 745 with its Pentium D dual core and 2 GB of specified RAM - 533 MHz. End of buzz and fuzz, beginning of virtually perfect translation of speech to text paragraph after paragraph. Customer agreed to invest her time and effort in training with her 19' LCD monitor. Good luck, dc

Thanks for sharing your experience, Dick!

[vivalalluvia]

1. Are you going to learn Greek, Latin or French? French. After finishing my A2 Spanish exam I’ve planned to take Deutsch but it isn’t in the option above.

2. Will you drink coffee or tea as you read trough old books? Nah I drink water. I lowkey hate caffeine and I’m very picky when it comes to tea (I only drink Earl Grey/English Breakfast/Chamomile)

3. Running through the dark, mysterious forests behind the school at night or early morning walks around the school? I love stargazing so you know what option I will choose.

4. Will you read Kill Your Darlings or The Picture of Dorian Gray? Oscar Wilde for the win.

5. Will you read The Secret History or Dead Poets Society? Dead Poets Society!!!

6. All-girls school, all-boys school, or going to a school for everyone? A school for everyone. What is so interesting in one gender type of school?

7. Will you tell your friends about Oscar Wilde or Edgar Allan Poe? Edgar Allan Poe. I’ve just finished reading his book lately and even though I am not a big fan of his way of telling stories, I still enjoy the twists and turns.

8. Will you tell the rough truth or the sweet lies about what happened last weekend? Sweet lies. In fact, I tell lies 24/7 and people still believe me hahaha I think I should win an oscar

9. Will you prefer the sound of the crowded library (flipping pages, pencils meeting paper, soft whispers) or your shared dormitory at night (snoring, fire crackles, rain tapping against the window? Shared dormitory at night. I hate crowds, at least waking crowds. I prefer being around with people when they are asleep, or when they die.

10. Running in the rain or laying on grass during summer? Running in the rain. I have no further explanation for this, just a personal preference.

11. At night, when they ask for a scary story, will you tell of true crime or urban legends? True crime. Ghosts can’t kill you, people can.

12. Will your old radio play classical or jazz? Classical. I am not a big fan of jazz.

13. Will you take history or English class? History.

14. Will you dance in the moonlight, or play the piano, softly? Play the piano. Been playing this instrument since I was 8 years old. I can’t dance at all.

15. Will you prefer an old countryside manor, or a big city house? I prefer a penthouse. I mean, at some point it is very quiet like an old countryside manor (because it’s always at the top of the apartment) but on the other hand it’s still accessible and not completely isolated from the city life.

16. In an empty classroom, will you solve equations on the blackboard, or search for answers in an old forgotten book? Search for an answers in an old forgotten book. I always be that kind of ‘ok google i want to find something’.

17. Will you sit on a bench, in silence, with the person that you love, or dance at a ball with the same person? I. Can. Not. Dance.

18. Will you write music or poetry? Poetry. Say no more.

19. Will you go to a crowded reception, or spend the night telling horror stories to your friends? Oh you know what my answer is.

20. Will you be a student at a boarding school in the countryside, or at a prestigious university? Prestigious university.

21. A quiet and desired solitude or a group of friends with whom to break the rules? Solitude

22. Will you play Hamlet or Othello? Hamlet. I love it since I was a middle school student.

23. Will you pledge allegiance to the gods of science or literature? Yeah Mr. White, Yeah, Science. (If you know the reference pls contact me immediately, we’ll be a good friend!!!)

24. Will you be forced to abandon love for ambition or ambition for love? Love for ambition.

25. Will you visit rainy London or gloomy Paris? Rainy London

26. Will you experience a forbidden love, because homosexual, or because incompatible with the social differences? The latter suits me well I think.

27. Will you play the piano or the violin? Piano.

28. Will you study late at night, or from early morning? Early bird wakes early morning.

29. Will you be crazy about old novels or old movies? Old novels. Been reading a lot of old novels since forever.

30. Will you visit an abandoned chapel, at night, or a hidden library? What are you looking on an abandoned chapel? I prefer a hidden library.

31. Will you wear tweed blazer or a trench coat? I got a really cool trench coat so yeah I prefer trench coat

32. Corduroy or plaid pants? PLAID!!!

33. Oxford shoes or Doc Marten's boots? Oh this is hard. But if the question is Docmart’s oxford or Docmart’s boots, I’ll choose oxford.

34. A beige blouse or a black turtleneck? Depends on the season. If it’s summer then beige blouse, but if it’s cold then I’ll wear black turtleneck.

35. A pocket watch or metal glasses? Pocket watch.

36. Will you prefer the sound of dead leaves crunching under the feet or the feeling of the sun on your skin on a winter day? The warmth during winter never disappoints me.

37. Will you smoke a cigarette on the terrace of a cafe, reading the newspaper, or drinking red wine at night, a violin in your hand? which option involves the likelihood of me meeting the fewest people?

38. Will you spend hours in a museum, starring the same piece of art, or typing an essay on a typewriter? Typing an essay on a typewriter.

39. Will you wear your hair tied by a ribbon, or braided? Tied by a ribbon.

40. A hazy graveyard at dusk, or a wild horse running in a field? Wild horse running in a filed.

41. Will you prefer a Gothic-style building (high windows, towers) or neoclassical (columns, sober)? Gothic-style building vibrates within me, ironically.

42. Will you meet your love in secret between two shelves in the library, or behind a chapel? Between two shelves in the library.

43. Will you read Jane Austen or Henry James? Jane Austen!!!

44. Will you wear the portrait of your loved one as a medallion, or place one of their letters against your heart? None of those above.

[cosmosogler]

today i got almost everything done!

my mother woke me up at about 5:45, and then again at 6:20. i was super angry. then my brother and sister were in both the upstairs bathrooms so i had to go all the way downstairs and across the house just to go to the bathroom before i went back to sleep.

i dreamed that i was getting annoyed with a conspiracy theorist. “video games are downloading scientific theories into your brain!!!” it was the science that scared them apparently. and the computers. the person wasn’t even present, i was just hearing their voice as i played dream mario, which is only slightly like nintendo mario. i told the voice that video games are just another way to tell a story. i pulled a children’s book out of somewhere, i think it was “goodnight moon” actually. except the cover was wrong. but i was telling the voice that there wasn’t nothin wrong with telling a cute or simple story.

sometimes the story is “i got really good at jumping over hills and across floating spinners and on turtles.”

i only put on the snooze for five minutes because i really, REALLY didn’t want to get up with less than like seven and a half hours of sleep. i got up anyway and showered. i didn’t get to spend long in the shower though... i really need to shave but i haven’t had much time at all the last five, seven days. i shower every other day since it’s a little better for your hair and skin...

anyway as i was heading out to go to therapy dad decided to start asking me to do some chores. i sort of started one, i let eve outside, but i seriously didn’t have time to wait for her to take a sunbath and let her back in. then someone (not naming names, because i’m not 100% sure) decided to park their car in a way that made it impossible for me to pull out of the garage. so i had to go back inside, get that car’s key, move it to the other side of the driveway, go back inside to drop off that key, and then i could get in “my” car and get going. then people on the freeway kept cutting me off without using their turn signals and also were generally going below the speed limit so i would have to stand on the brakes. this happened more than once. then i almost hit someone trying to get over to the exit because as i passed them apparently they sped up while passing through my blind spot so they were farther up than i thought they would be when i started changing lanes. cool!!!!!!!!

in individual therapy i brought up a bunch of emotional problems i had started to explore a little bit in group therapy. i ended up talking for the whole 45 minutes straight basically. like, my therapist asked a few questions, and reassured me a few times, but it was like a huge information dump so hopefully in the coming weeks i can start addressing each problem individually. i also got my semester refund paperwork sorted out with her. i’ll be able to pick it up next week. i mostly focused on how none of my problems feel “big enough” unless they are unsolvable since i really didn’t get to talk about it in group yesterday. i said one thing that i kind of liked though. i said “i feel like if i didn’t have so many problems, i wouldn’t have so many problems.” 

what i meant to say was “if i didn’t have so many mental and personality problems, i wouldn’t have so many life problems,” but the vagueness was silly enough that my therapist made a face and laughed. i said i didn’t know what to focus on first and she said “you’re already working on everything.” i had listed the multiple projects i am trying to keep up with therapy wise... i dunno. i feel like if i can get over that big “problems have to be impossible” hurdle things will start feeling a little more manageable and i’ll be able to make progress more quickly.

guess i gotta spend more time thinking about that. i’ll keep you posted as things come up.

after that i picked up my paperwork from my physician’s office since i was on that side of town and got the number for the radiology lab that wants to do the last test. when i got home i shoved some leftovers in the microwave and called the lab and scheduled my “hida scan,” which is a gall bladder test i guess where they put a bunch of glowing stuff through your digestive system and see if it goes through normally. the scheduler said it normally takes two hours unless they find something, in which case it will take longer. luckily my next therapy appointment is 4 hours after my procedure... i hope that will give enough time. i will have to let her know. i definitely wouldn’t be able to do it on a group therapy day and the lady seemed pretty keen on doing it as soon as possible. and i can’t do it in the afternoon in case it goes long and dad isn’t able to get to work.

so 8 am next tuesday it is.

so i had my ravioli and went upstairs and then after a short break i watched the iron giant with oz. the movie is even better than i remembered. then we talked about physics stuff while i worked on gathering study materials with my classmates. i had a great time, and i hope oz did too. it felt nice to do an activity with someone that took up all our attention, so i didn’t have to, like, feel self conscious about not baring my soul or something.

i think when asher gets back i will talk to him about maybe spending an afternoon at the pottery lounge thing by the amc. it’s not cheap, but last time i checked i didn’t think it was too expensive at least. and i still have the ceramic dog i painted like 15 years ago so the stuff lasts. basically you pick out a little ceramic statue and you get to paint it using a selection from like 200 different shades. and i think you can stay as long as it takes to paint it. the smaller stuff wasn’t too bad cost-wise.

got sidetracked. after i hung up with oz and got all my emails and google docs in order i went and got groceries for mom. she was making quesadillas for dinner. i unfortunately had to pay for them with my own money, and it felt weird buying meat after all these years. but i guess i buy dog treats often enough that it’s not really, like, a compromise of my morals or something. i noticed that the dogs really went wild over the chicken strips i bought last time, so i tried to expand to “turducken.” (spoiler: they loved those too.)

so i dropped off the vegetables and stuff with mom, checked on the cactus mouse, and watched a couple of the videos i had loaded up while talking to oz. i try not to spend too much time reading or watching videos while talking to people because i get super focused on what i’m looking at and don’t hear what they say any more haha.

then i went downstairs and had my veggie quesadilla. it was... ok. i was still a little hungry afterward, but i also felt kind of ill so i didn’t want to eat any more. eating with mom was the WORST. she breathes loud and chews with her mouth open so it’s just a constant avalanche of awful squishy mouth noises. it made me so angry and annoyed that i think that’s what made me sick more than the food. i kind of abruptly stood up and put my plate away and took the dogs outside after trying out the new treats. i tried to play fetch with wiley but he was having none of it today. which is very odd... maybe it was just too hot for him to want to run around. 

i have been experiencing kind of horrible pain between my shoulder blades. i’m pretty sure it’s not my bra pinching anything because it’s way above the strap... probably a pinched nerve. i tried stretching my arms and shoulders and that seemed to help a lot, so i’m thinking i slept in a bad position.

then i went back upstairs and whined to myself about my therapy homework. i did more “self care” research and added a few more posts to my queue. and i talked with some discord guys a little bit. then i caught up on my self esteem journal and picked out one of my “short term goals” from my hospital-issued treatment plan. i used that as a base to expand on for my goal worksheet. i finished all that around 11 so then i got started on the owl picture for 40 minutes or so. now i am 35 minutes into my journal entry, which puts me at a comfortable time to finish up and try to sleep. i got another 10 minutes before i hit my target “get ready for bed” time.

my group mates and therapist expressed interest when i let slip that i like to draw on monday. the therapist asked what i draw. i wasn’t sure how to answer... “furries” isn’t really something i wanted to get into. and i haven’t drawn my own characters except for a reference for one of the art trades in a long time. i suppose i should post the uncolored version of that since i scanned it in and haven’t worked on it with the tablet yet.

so i just said “characters and people.” i like landscapes, but i have trouble spending enough time on them to really get into the details. i’m hoping the coloring pages will help loosen up my patience so i might start feeling like spending a million hours on one picture again. it’s been a couple years since i did anything complicated.

i’m thinking about maybe taking my sketch book... but i don’t want to spend a lot of time on explaining what the picture is of when i have more urgent things to work on.

tomorrow i have more things to do! i NEED to work on the welcome packet for ufl. i need to scan in a bunch of stuff, like my immunization records and my doctors’ notes for my refund file. i need to send an email to the preliminary test coordinator to figure out how to proceed with my studying... i need to know how much to panic about this. then after group therapy i need to drop off my sister’s old prescriptions at the police station. that won’t take too long. if i got energy i’d like to organize my desk and maybe also tidy up my room a little bit. write some things down to put in the jar. then i will work on my self esteem journal, continue reading through the self care resources i’ve got open in a million tabs, and work on the coloring page a little bit. that sounds good. and at some point i need to write my 1- to 2-paragraph essay for the refund. and also i gotta email my apartment complex about stuff like the bed size and some cupboard dimensions and whether there’s a microwave and stuff like that. some of those things i’m pretty sure i can just look up somewhere.

i think i can manage those things. the student orientation videos might have to wait until thursday but i can compile the paperwork and read the faqs and stuff. none of these tasks take long by themselves. so as long as i remember to take little breaks and stay motivated i think i can get it done and not have to worry about it so much any more.

ok, it is 12:30, which is only 5 minutes after my target time! i’m gonna do the daily pokemon stuff for 2-3 minutes and then get ready for bed. gotta practice giving myself credit for reaching/working on goals and stuff, even when i don’t want to.

[mightybigpill]

UPDATE.

HEADS UP AF. I know I’ve had a post I’ve been queuing and reblogging in regards to the fact that I’m lowkey on a mini hiatus until I finish my commissions just because things have been so chaotic lately. Once I do return however, I’m going to be putting a lot of changes into place and ideally, I would very much like to throw the following things into gear. 

PRIVATE & EXTREMELY SUPER EXCLUSIVE. As much as I want to write and interact with everyone, I legitimately cannot do it. It stresses me out. I feel bad not following people back, or not being able to take on threads, but I am a very fickle writer. I need to have chemistry with someone, and be interested IN their character and the plot at hand. Too often things can fall flat and they become obligations. And... I have the things I enjoy most with people I talk to often, so even if I am digging something sometimes, but we don’t talk or plot, it’s easy to lose track and I feel bad about it, but sometimes I need that friendly little reminder (which typically is triggered tf when I’m talking to my peeps). 

I MIGHT UNFOLLOW YOU. Okay real talk, I follow under 40 people and it’s way, way too much. If I’m following you RIGHT now however, there is literally no one I’m following out of obligation/to not start drama, therefore if I unfollow you, PLEASE DO NOT THINK I HATE YOU. This community is hella dramatic and chances are, i’ll probably end up following you on one of my other blogs, but when it comes to who I actually INTERACT with on here. Given recent circumstances + shit that’s been going around, I feel like this NEEDS to be said because guys, seriously nothing against any one of you. But if we don’t have threads, or it’s been weeks/months since we talked, I DO purge. (It’s not you, it’s quite literally me and my OCD.)

REFRESH THE FUCK OUTTA SHIT. That’s what I’m going to do. I need to get a new layout on here, hopefully a new commissions page (aka @nocturnedesigns) if I can finally get it updated because when I moved blogs, that was LITERALLY the purpose of keeping things separate, but alas, I’m trash once again. It’s coming, and I’m not going anywhere. 

GOOGLE DOCS OR BUST. Memes aside, I’ll be doing EVERYTHING on Google Docs. I can’t be bothered with icons, or super fancy formatting, or keeping track of who owes what. Let’s face it, shit ends up in the drafts 98% of the time with me, and in the drafts it will remain. GD allows me to focus on purely writing, and since I’ve made the switch, I am literally so much happier, and have been writing far more than before. It’s nice to not have an audience and people scrutinizing, because sure, some things get posted once they’re complete, but I’m not writing for followers. I never have, and I never will. Another one of the reason I switched blogs because my former was approaching 700 followers and that was CRIPPLING to me. I fucking HATE it. It’s pressure, it’s not fun. I know some people put their worth and validation into the amount of followers they have, and that just makes me so sad because... Fam, if you’re not a shitty af human being; you’re dope and don’t ever let a GD number define you  (Not only that but your follower count is never accurate because deadblogs, porn accounts, ect, like why does this number matter so much?)

VERSES GOTTA GET A FACE LIFT TOO.  I’m going to actually try and get a verse page set up for Negan. I’ll still keep the one I have and link to it for ref, but the main verses I’m writing in constantly are going to get updated af, bc I love them way too much. I’m also going to be ditching a lot of the old ones.