#This isn't edited and probably has a lot of grammar mistakes

[nightcrawlersimpblog]

Imagine a Christmas party with the X-men, and Kurt teleports next to you with a mischievous flirty smile, and you then notice his tail holding mistletoe above the two of you. 🥰 ~ 🦊

Got me kicking my feet and twirling my hair over this one 🤭🤭

Wearing the UGLIEST Christmas sweaters that you guys made together. You thought you could be creative with fabric puff paint (It stuck together and became malformed) and he has candy canes and tinsel hot glued to his.

The group has already settled for the night and there's wrapping paper all over the floor. Jean and Scott have already retired for the night and Logan is on the lazy boy in the corner drinking spiked egg nog.

You both are drinking hot chocolate with every topping Kurt could find in the cupboard. You're sipping the warm liquid as the fuzzy blanket over your shoulder shifts awkwardly. Looking over at Kurt you see the dumbest look on his face, his eyebrows wiggling. You glance up to see the white berries tied with a ribbon to his tail. You roll your eyes, but before you can even say anything he kisses the peppermint whipped cream off of your upper lip.

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Haven

I am back with my BS AGAIN :D @spotaus You know the drill friend come over :D I can not be stopped. I have grown too powerful!! (just played dnd. Checked the chapter to upload tomorrow for my main au and i wrote a bit on a new story. I AM POWERFUL!) <- says the woman who will probably crash in under an hour lmao.

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

We got no beta and no editing as we just go! maybe that is why these drabbles for going so well. me just kinda going and not worrying too much about the in between bits or mistakes or grammar. I just write and say that is done.. huh... writing lesson i guess. ANYWAY! back to the family :3

*---------------------*

Cross hums as he finishes cutting another wood board in the right size. He puts it with the others on the pile before checking the list he made before hand.

Cross nods as he looks towards the house "Got them all ready for the downstairs!" Cross grins as he takes a moment to just look at the house. Their house!

When Horror had returned with the news their new acquaintances had secured them a house they had all been sceptic at best, Dust had been downright suspicious.

But it was the truth! aparently they had managed to build up a good enough reputation that they had been trying to figure out a solution. An empty and abandoned farm and ground? That was too small for most to do anything with? hidden mostly by a forest?

Perfect for them!

They had gone to check it out and it is amazing! It is secure and easily to defend! Sure it is an old building but Cross and Horror can fix up the house easily enough! Dust had handed Nightmare over to Killer and had started looking around the house to inspect it.

long story short? He thinks he can fix most things.

With a hopeful plan they spend the inspection day also cleaning. That had been yesterday.

today? They took most of the old construction wood Crop and Straw had stored away and they got to work. Dust is cleaning and fixing what he can while Horror and Cross himself did contruction work.

Killer is on Nightmare watching duty. Mostly because Killer doesn't have nay skills in construction. Neither of them mind as they had been exploring their new area and territory together. Hoenstly it was adorable to see Killer walk by with Nightmare on his shoulders.

Horror walks out of the house as he takes the planks "Thanks. Walls?"

Cross grins proudly "All of them. Including the walls and the new banisters for the roof."

Horror blinks before grinning "great. thanks Oreo." nad he chuckles as Cross sputters.

May be because horror isn't wearing a shirt. Which kinda makes sense! Becuase horror is pulling a lot of old wood away and rebuilding stuff. the chances of him ripping his few good shirts is rather high. Still Cross is trying very hard to just focus on his face and skull. it is fine! No one notices!

Cross turns back to the pile he still has. it has been reduced quickly which sucks. He looks through it with a frown.

Crop stops by him with a knowing smile "Hey Cross!" he grins wider "Getting heated?"

Cross glares at him "Well the late autumn sun is rather warm!" and he goes back to shifting through his pile.

Crop nods "It is it is..." then the grin falls and he frowns "You guys already that low?"

Cross shifts through it more "Yeah but it is okay! I can probably use this to make the cabinets for the kitchen still..." still they will need to get more materials for everything else.

Crop frowns and must have made the same conclusion "Hopefully Straw gets back soon with more stuff."

Cross rubs his neck "You guys really didn't need to help this much... we already own you big time..."

Crop shrugs "That is how a community works Cross. We all help each other. We will eventually pay it back with helping them back." he smiles "We are only a tiny town and only have ourselves to count on. You heard how the deal with the repair service from the big city went. People are quick to think off us as dumb or naive. We gotta stuck together."

Cross shoots him a grin "We will try to ffigure something out... eventually." he groans "we don't even know what type of farm to make yet!"

Crop shrugs "You guys will have to test some stuff. See what works for you and your land..." he grins again "I don't think a diary farm fits you guys though."

Cross glares at him "Not funny. I swear Betty knew she freaked me uot."

Crop nods "Oh absolutely! Cows are really smart."

Just makes them more terrifying in Cross's opinion and he has no doubt that thought is clear on his face.

Crop laughs but a honk of a car pulls them out of their conversation. and. That is a giant truck. much bigger than Straw and Crop's truck.

Crop blinks "Dani and Ellie?" he raises to his feet and waves.

The truck stops and Ellie leans out "Hello! Your lovely neighborhood lesbians have brought you." she puts ahand under her chin and wiggles her eye brows "the wood."

Dani chuckles as she jumps out "Straw told everyone around town. Most people are grabbing their stuff but this was all stuff we were planning on giving to the community anyway." she shrugs "tree farmers after all."

Ellie grins as she waves them over "Come! lets see what you need! We have all types of trunks with us. They will still need some work and treatment but Dani is amazing with her magic!"

Dani grins as she gives a thumbs up "figure out how to treat wood with magic instead of the slow treatment. Most still want the traditional work but i figured you guys would be okay with this help."

Cross is unsure how to react. People don't just help them. People hate them and what they do. Tehy hadn't expected this much help and it is overwhelming "I... I... I don't know how to... We don't have money?" he is lost.

Dani shrugs again as Ellie smiles "Hey. We have been where you guys have been... well not exactly but people werent'exactly welcoming of us either... as soon as we graduated we grbabed my old car and just left. we foudn thsi place and people were nice enough to take a chance on us." she grins "We now pay that forwards. We are doing this!" she grins and winks "Will just have to invite us over for a prime tour of the farm once you guys are all done!"

Dani nods as she starts untying the many trunks "What Ellie said. the Danielle's are at your service. Now what do you need?"

Cross is still lost when Horror joins them curiously. no doubt hearing all the noise. He pauses as he takes in the sight before tilting his skull "What?"

Cross just kidna waves at the two "We... euh.. got help? And thinks? Do you know what we need?" his mind is in shambles at the moment.

Hroror sees it and smiles as he walks past. patting his shoulder before going over to the dog and bunny and having a short conversation. Horror hears their whole speech and smiles. he thanks them and explains what they need for what. The two woman listen closely before nodding and starting to organise the brought materials with practised ease.

Horror joins his side again and grabs Cross's lists. He takes a pencil and writes some tree names by a few of the items before handing them back "They will help prepare the materials. They are nice." and he disappears back inside.

Welp!! If Horror says that that means they are nice and most likely trustworthy! They get over to him and Cross explains the system he had and what they had calculated to need for each area. The two monsters nod and ask if they should start on the porch while cross continues preparing stuff for horror. Which Cross thanks them and agrees wiht.

They are hard at work when Killer nad Nightmare return. Killer laughs "Criss Cross! you are not going to believe this! The like east area just has a tiny field at the edge of the forest and part of that forest is still in our little area! better yet that means some of the forest animals are like right there!" then he notices the guests and grows quiet "oh... hello." His hold on Nightmare's leg tightens.

Ngihtmare tilts his tiny skull at the two monsters "Dani and Ellie... right?"

Ellie coos as Dani grins "Good memory. I can't imagine remembering all the new faces you meet only once is easy." and she finishes her spell on a piece of wood which Ellie pulls over to cut.

Nightmare shrugs as he hugs Killer's skull "good memory..."

KIller nods as he glances at Cross "Sooooo... Hello Lovely ladies!" he grins "What brings you here?"

Dani raises a piece of wood "Neighborhoodly friendliness." and she continues with her task.

Killer stares at him and Cross grins "They brough over some wood" he ignores the eye brow wigglign "after they heard from STraw that we are getting the house fixed up. aparently it is a community thing that everyone helps everyone." he shrugs at the doubting look "Don't look at me. it is new for me too. Horror said it is fine though."

Killer blinks "I mean... if Horror said it is fine..." he looks at Nightmare "What do you think tiny boss?"

Nightamre shrugs and hugs his skull.

Killer nods "notion accepted. Got it." he grins at them "We are going to look at some of the other stuff Straw and Crop brought along. See what is in there."

Cross nods "Good idea!" and he watches Killer walk off with Nightmare.

Dani chuckles and looks over "Not good at construction?"

Cross groans loudly "Killer is good at a lot of things... not construction." he shrugs "It is fine. We don't want Nightmare near this stuff anyway." he is too small to lift everything and could too easily get hurt. it doesn't matter he is technically a god he is not going to have to work. They don't agree with child labor.

Dani nods "I get that. best to have a child safe corner for them to sit in." she turns back to the next trunk and gets to work as Ellie cuts pieces.

They work for a long time and the sun is well past midday when more people come by. They deliver some older looking furniture and more tools and items for them to use.

Most don't stay for long aside from dropping things off or asking if they needed anything specific. Some brought over some premade food for them and other snacks because aparently 'breaks are important!'.

Crop and Straw, when he returned, work on clearing the road betweent eh main road and the farm and getting some clear markers on where to go.

Dani and Ellie leave later in the afternoon and by the end of the day their group of skeletons looks back at their progress. They aren't done yet but it starts to look more like a house than an actual falling apart piece of junk.

Dust is covered in ashes and when they look at him he just says 'fireplace' which probably means he found a challenge of somekind. Then again Cross thinks he spotted Dust on the roof once or twice but each time he had looked back to check he hadn't been there.

They are packing up when Killer and Nightmare return. Killer looking very proud and Ngihtmare looking a bit more nervous as he fidgets.

Horror and him share alook as Horror looks at them, now once again fully dressed "yes?"

Killer grins "Remember how we were told most farms have a name?"

Cross give shim a look "We are aware. we also agreed we would take time to think about it."

Killer grins "True. But! Nightmare thought of one and I figured it was perfect and fine!" Ngihtmare shoots him a glare and crosses his tiny arms.

Dust tils his skull "fact. Waht is the name?"

Cross wants to disagree but also if nightamre wants to clal it something specific he is fine with it. Nightmare never complains about them deciding stuff so why would they complain about this.

Nightmare mutters something but when he sees everyone looking and waiting he speaks louder "It was just an idea... Killer got excited..." still staring and he rubs his arm looking embarresed "It is silly... I thought... I figured Haven would fit. Haven Farm."

Cross stares at Nightmare and feels a bit of tears try to form as the meaning sinks in and what it implies and means. He can't stop it as he picks nightmar eup and hugs him close. Purring much too loud as he speaks "I agree it is perfect!" their home. their safe place. their hide out. their haven.

Killer grins wider and nods "Which i agreed with. So!" he pulls out a board from behind his back.

It is a name plate. It spells Haven but the letters are a bit croaked and nailed to the backboard. it are all different sizes and different colours nad Cross fucking loves it!

Killer grins "We made it together." he rolls his eye lights "don't worry i did the cutting and nailed it all together. Ngihtmare was my supervisor."

Dust looks appeased as he nods "Seems good."

Horror nods as he takes the plate and puts it by the door, too hang later "Will need a bigger one for the gate at the enterance."

Cross grins as he feels ngihtamre relax at the approval and start to purr himself. Cros sjust nuzzles the babybones.

They still have a lot of work ahead of them but that is fine. It will be all so very much worth it once it is done and they have their house to finally just be them.

*--------------------*

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

[spongeyspot]

Poly Relationship HCs (SFW +NSFW)

(John Marston x fem!reader x Abigail Marston)

(A/N): A little longer than I anticipated. Also, I'm terrible at editing things so if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please don't bite me. I'm just a wee baby

Content warning: fluff, small mentions of infidelity, polyamory, female reader, you/she pronouns

SFW

- The relationship itself had probably started when either John or Abigail had started to catch feelings

- It was probably Abigail considering how distant John was from her in the beginning

- Quite honestly would probably keep your relationship a secret during the very early stages.

- She saw how much you cared about her and her family, so it was only natural for her to start to fall in love. She fell in love with John pretty quickly, too, though he was a bit slower to warm up to the idea of having a family

- You, however, love Jack as if he were your own, which makes Abigail swoon even more. Plus, another parent figure to Jack (Who he also really likes) because her husband is kinda useless half the time? Jackpot!

- When she brought up adding you to their relationship, John was probably pretty okay with the idea, even a little excited, though if she told him that she had been seeing you secretly before that, he'd probably be a little pissy.

- After adding you to their family, things seemed to move a lot smoother. John warmed up to the idea a lot quicker than both of you had anticipated

- You usually act as a mediator for a lot of Abigail and John's fights, but knowing John he'd probably say some shit like "Look, even she's on my side!" and Abigail would get pissed at you too.

- Abigail LOVES to hold you by the fire. John usually has his arm around the both of you with you sitting in the middle.

- Would take turns having you sleep with them at night because their bedrolls weren't really big enough to fit one person, let alone three.

- When the gang moved to Shady Belle, things were a lot easier with lodging. John loses his mind every time he gets to cuddle the both of you at the same time. He's a sucker for physical touch, really.

- After chores are finished, the three of you are usually found sitting under a tree, Abigail cuddled into your side while you read a book, and John lays on his back beside you, his head resting on your thighs. His hat is usually covering his face, but when it isn't, you or Abigail absentmindedly play with his hair or massage his scalp.

- Abigail loves it when you spend time with Jack. It makes her heart swell to see him having so much fun.

- You tend to encourage John to spend time with him as well, which she also appreciates.

- Family game nights end with You and Jack teamed up and absolutely wrecking John at dominoes while Abigail watches

- Says something like "I let you win." with a roll of his eyes before sulking away

- Pet names!

- John calls you 'Baby', 'Darlin'', 'Dollface', and even 'Sugartits' if he wants to get slapped

- Abigail calls you 'Honey', 'Sweetie pie', 'Honey Bun', or 'Pretty Girl'.

- Both John and Abigail enjoy physical affection.

- John likes to kiss your hair and squeeze your thighs.

- Abigail loves to kiss you on the cheek and hold your hand.

-If John walks by you, he will throw out an affectionate compliment or two

- "God, you look pretty today, (Name)."

- Also probably pinches or slaps your ass on his way by

- He secretly loves it when you slap or pinch his ass too, though he'd never actually admit it.

- Abigail is a bit more sultry with it, then goes back to normal like she didn't just blatantly hit on you

- "Damn, well look at you, Pretty girl. Don't you look fine this mornin'... Coffee?"

- Also pinches and slaps your ass, but also gives it a good squeeze, and will sometimes hold her hand on your ass instead of on your hip if you stand side by side.

NSFW (MINORS DNI)

Content Warnings: oral sex (m + f recieving), mean!dom!abigail, dacryphilia if you squint, edging, masturbation, voyeurism, cucking if you squint, risky sex, brat tamer!Abigail, spanking, biting, hickeys, marking kink, Mommy kink, praise, breeding, creampies, cum eating

- John and Abigail are both switches.

- John tends to be a top when it's just the two of you, but when Abigail is also part of the fun, he's most likely on his back, letting you both use him however you please.

- His favorite is when he's laying on his back and both you and Abigail take turns sucking his cock, occasionally pulling away to kiss. It makes him rock hard. Never mind how it feels... he could cum from the sight alone... his favorite girls worshipping his cock with all their enthusiasm and love.

- Abigail is a Dom/top a lot of the time. She can also be pretty mean about it.

- Abigail edges you to the point where sometimes, you'll cry out for her, begging her to let you finish. Every time she finally lets you, you always feel like you cum so much harder than you ever had before.

- John loves to sit back and jerk off, watching the two of you in bed together.

- Abigail sometimes does the same, sitting aside whilst rubbing and fucking her pussy with her fingers as she watches John fuck you into his bedroll

- Abigail loves it when you act like a brat - She likes to leave your ass red and sore from spanking you, and often orders John to do the same when she watches.

- Abigail also probably bites you a leaves hickeys to stake her claim on you. Makes sure to put them where everyone can see.

- John does the same, but it's usually below where your clothes would cover them like your breasts, stomach, or thighs

- John LOVES biting you. He loves making you squirm

- Abigail lowkey has a Mommy kink

- Abigail likes to call you her Pillow Princess, pulling beautiful noises from you as she makes you cum multiple times in quick succession with just her hands. Sometimes even her words.

- "Look at you, sweetie pie. All pretty and spread open, just for me. Oh, I know you just came... but... How's about one more, huh? Can you do that for Mommy?"

- There have been times when it's been just the two of you, and she's shown far more vulnerability than she's used to. During those times, she's on her back, a hand covering her mouth as you work her open with your mouth and fingers.

- Please praise the hell out of her during these times. She really needs it.

- Even when Abigail is vulnerable with you, she is still in control almost 99.99% of the time.

- John and Abigail are both certified munches

-John loves when both of you are on top of him, riding both his dick and his face.

- He eats pussy like his life depends on it. Fr like it's his last meal.

- He also loves to watch you eat pussy.

- He loves to fuck you in the doggy style position while Abigail buries your face between her legs.

- John usually likes to have sex in the privacy of his tent/room, whereas Abigail likes risky sex. She likes the idea of there being a possibility you could be caught

- there have been numerous times when she's stuck her hand into the front of your skirts while you sat the the dining table during mealtimes. As far as you both knew, the other people sitting there had been oblivious.

- John knows. He always knows. He was watching the whole time.

- He was usually the one to instigate it, always letting Abigail know whenever you forwent bloomers. (he would hide them so you couldn't wear them)

-Though he'd probably never participate himself, he loves to watch you come undone on Abigail's fingers in public.

- John fantasizes about getting you pregnant too.

- He brought it up to Abigail as a joke, saying how nice it would be for Jack to have a sibling to play with.

- From that point on, John was told to cum inside you every chance he got, not stopping even after you're swollen and round with his baby.

-Abigail enjoys eating you out after John has cum inside you.

[broodparasitism]

Everything I've Learned About Querying from Talking to Agents (And Traditionally Published Authors)

Disclaimer: I'm UK based, as was everyone I spoke to. I didn't include any country specific advice, just what I think is applicable regardless of where you live, put it might be useful to know this is from a UK lens.

As part of my course I was able to go to a lot of talks with literary agents (a mixture of literary, genre and nonfiction) and I picked up a lot of useful information - a lot of it not quite so bleak as I feared! - and thought it might be helpful to compile it for anyone looking to query agents in the future, so, here goes, under the readmore:

Querying

Remember that agents want to find and publish new authors. They're not at odds with/out to get aspiring authors. They want to work with us. This is someone you're working with, so don't pick an agent you won't get along with.

Manuscripts should be queried when they are as close to finished you are able to manage. There are a few agents that are open to incomplete manuscripts, yes, but many more that flat-out refuse unfinished work. Manuscripts generally go through about ~15 rounds of edits before landing an agent.

Send query letters in batches - around five or six at a time. There is no limit to how many agents you can contact, but you can't contact more than one agent from the same agency, so make sure you've selected the most suitable one from each.

In most cases you can't submit the same manuscript to the same agent twice - so having it be as finished as possible is all the more vital.

Some of them will take a long time to respond. Some never respond at all. If it's been three months of nothing, it's safe to assume that's a rejection.

One agent said she took on about two new authors a year, which likely isn't true for them all but is probably a reasonable average. For all of them, the amount of queries they get can be in the three digits a week. I can't emphasis enough just how many they get. I take a lot of authors to mean that means it's a 0.001% chance and despair, but that assumes each manuscript has an equal chance, and they don't. Correct spelling and grammar, writing in a genre that appeals to the agent, quality sample chapters and respecting the submission guidelines (more on this later) improve the odds by a significiant amount.

One agent said he rejected about half of his submissions from the first page due to spelling and grammar mistakes and cliches, for perspective.

You'll need to pitch your book. If your book cannot be pitched in three sentences, that's a sign it has too much going on and you'll need to do some pruning.

Please don't panic if you cannot come up with an accurate pitch for your book on the fly - you're not supposed to be able to do that. A pitch takes many edits and drafts just like a manuscript.

Send your first three chapters and a synopsis (this should be a page, or two pages double spaced. It should not include every single plot point though, again, if major things end up not there at all, question if they're necessary for the manuscript).

Three chapters is the standard - as in, if the agent web page doesn't specify how many, that's what to opt for. If they say anything else, for the love of God listen. If there was a single piece of advice that the agents emphasised above all else, it was to just follow each submission requirement to a T.

There needs to be a strong hook in these chapters. If your manuscript is a bit of a slow burn, that's fine, but you can cheat a bit with a 'prologue' that's actually a very hook-y scene from later on.

Read the agent's bio page throughly and make a note of what they like, who they represent, and what they're looking for, and highlight this in the query letter.

Your query letter has to say a little about you. It doesn't have to be really personal information (but say if you're under 40, because that's rare for authors and they like that), and keep it professional but not stiff, they say. If you have any writing credentials, such as awards won or creative writing degrees, include them, as with any real life experiences that pertains to the content of your book. But no one will be rejected on the basis of not having had an interesting enough life.

Apparently one of the biggest mistakes for debut authors tend to be too many filler scenes.

In terms of looking for comparative titles, think about where you want your book to 'sit'. Often literally - go into bookstores and visualise where on the displays you could see it. It's really helpful if you can identify a specific marketing niche. Though you want to choose comparisons that sell well, but going for really obvious choices looks lazy. A TV or film comparison is fine - as long as it genuinely can be compared.

Do not call yourself the next Donna Tartt. Or JK Rowling. They are sick of this.

Don't trust agents who request exclusive submission.

Or any with a fee. Agents take a percentage of your advance/royalties - you never pay them directly.

In terms of trends (crowd booing), there's been a boom in uplifting, optimistic fiction, but more recently dark fiction has been rising in popularity and looks to have its moment. Fantasy and Gothic are both huge right now. Publishers also love what's called upmarket/book club fiction - books that toe the line between genre and literary.

But publishers aren't clairvoyant and writing to trends is a futile effort, so don't let them shape what you want to write. Some writing advice I got that I loved was to not even THINK about marketability until draft three or four.

If any agent requests your full manuscript - this is crucial - email every other agent you're waiting to hear back from and let them know. This will take your manuscript from the slush pile to the top, and you are more likely to get more offers of representation.

The agent that flatters you the most isn't necessarily the best. Be sure to ask them what their plan for the book is, and what publishers they're planning to send it to - you want them to have a precise vision. It might be that their vision misses the mark on what kind of book you wanted to write, and if so, they aren't the right agent for you.

Research like hell! A good place to start is finding out who represents authors you love (the acknowledgements pages are really helpful here). if you can, getting access to The Writer's and Artist's Yearbook is very helpful, as is The Bookseller, the lattr for checking up on specific agents. (I was warned the website search engine is awful, so google "[name] the Bookseller" to see what they've sold. That said, only the huge deals get reported, so it's not indicative of everyone they take on.

I also want to add Juliet Mushen's article on what makes a good query. I owe a lot to it, and I feel like it's a useful template!

Once Agented

Agents send a manuscript to about 18-25 publishers, typically. Most books will end up having more than one publisher interested.

It can be hard to move genres after publishing a debut novel, especially for book two, not only because it means it takes longer for you to establish yourself, but the agent that may be perfect for dealing with manuscripts for book one might not have the skills for book two.

Ask the agency/publisher about their translation rights, their rights to the US market, and film and TV rights. Ask also what time of year the book is going to come out, if being published.

It's less the book agents are interested in than it is you as an author. You will be asked what you're going to write next, so have an answer. Just an answer - you don't need another manuscript ready to go. One author said she flat-out made up a book idea on the spot, and she got away with it - just have an answer. (This is also useful to put on the query letter.)

Caveat that this is, of course, not a foolproof guide to getting a book deal, nor is it in any way unconditional endorsement of how the industry works - I just thought it would be useful to know.

[crimson0lake]

BSD characters as parents! Pt5 (I'm somewhat still manage to keep doing these-)

Pt1 - Pt2 - Pt3 - Pt4 - Pt5 - Pt6 - Pt7 - Pt8

Masterlist

A.n: yeah, probably a lot of you wait for these ones till now, images from BSD manga

Characters: Fyodor and Nikolai please don't come for me in the comments if I accidentally mischaracterized them. I didn't watch past early parts S3 and I'm trying my best-

Warnings: mentioned gun, knife, and dead. Mentioned manipulation.

Edit: I updated and fixed some grammar mistakes and my own mistakes in some parts since I forget to add some things

Fyodor:

Marriage or not? Both is possible. Like with the mafia members, Fyodor is also can consider to get in a physical relationship if needed or he wants to gain something. Adoption would still be a choice but it most likely not since we know why Fyodor most likely would take an orphan out of blue, either use them in his plans or they have relation that would be use of him

Still if an abandoned child keep following him or they are somewhat interesting to him (via eye colour, their expressions, their actions, etc) he maybe could take the child with him.

If they are from a physical relationship, he probably question the mother in his mind: if he come to conclusion of that the mother is not good/abusive/in a bad state to look after the child, he is taking the child with him; if the mother is in good state and not abusive, he is leaving the child. Even then, he probably send plenty of money to mother to stay silent and take care of the child

He is pretty religious (as for what I see and read about him) so he probably raise his child like that.

I'm not entirely sure about his religious self and I don't like to make, accurate or not, points to the things I'm not sure, so onto next topic-

If the child is a girl: he would treat his daughter as like a princess, even teach them etiquettes. If it's a boy however: he would still treat them good: but more like a knight/strong prince I hope it explains except those two, he won't act different fully.

He loves his child, probably would have a smirk or at least have his lips sides curled upwards when his child near him. He isn't the best at showing emotions however so it can easily seem like he doesn't care about his child

Yet he would be slightly protective inside as well, making sure everything would go smoothly when his child is around. Also, he probably strict too, making rules for his child like bed time, forbidden rooms (his office, the places that he put the people who go against him or he captured, etc) yet he won't be too strict, in the end he knows what his child is doing and thinking by just looking them.

He would put the drawings his child made to in his desk's drawers, he sometimes would take them out, looking through them and take every detail once again

He is has his own fears even though he don't shows them. Losing his child is one of them, he would act like he don't care about losing them and that they are just tools he use for his plans. But those would not be true, his fears of losing his child locked deep inside his manipulative heart.

Nikolai is the first play friend of the child, Fyodor probably had to warn him to not to give his child a gun before he let Nikolai baby sit them but he still gave them a toy gun as a gift-

Nikolai is the kind of a uncle/brother to the child, who would teach them how to make things disappear and make illusions

But for the babysitter part, he is letting his child alone with Sigma. Nikolai isn't the best one not only to his child but any child. He don't want to visit versious of countries in a week to find his child and Nikolai.

Anyway- Sigma is the second friend of the child, who he likes to play. He himself didn't have a childhood, so seeing a child and experiencing things with them makes him feel less nervous about his lack of experience.

Fyodor most likely teach his child how to use manipulation but not too perfectly/fully so he would still be two steps ahead of his child.

He probably wants his child on his side. Not bad, not good. Just on his side. Yet he won't be disappointed or angry of his child goes to either of those sides. He would only mad if his child decides to go against him.

If his child decides to be on good: he is fine. At least he would make his child to be in somewhere and in a position that he can gain something, maybe information or power over that organisation or people.

If they are on the bad side: still, it's not the worst. He would make sure and help his child in secret to get them into the Por Mafia and in a position he can get information to use against the Mafia as well.

Only bad thing would happen if his child go against him: He would be very disappointed and mad inside. He won't look the fault in him but find the blame in his child. Even though he would see it coming if his child found what he did and doing, he is still disappointed in them

He would always fight against his child if the fight necessary, if not he won't even bother to fight.

In fights he would remind them who raised them, who taught the manipulation to them and keep making them fall into his manipulations, cause we all know this man probably raise his child between his manipulations in case he need to manipulate them.

He would make them lose their colleagues, fall in the despair before taking them next to him again. No, he won't let them keep fighting against him if he can't take any gain from that.

Overall he is strict, calm, and looks like he is not caring for his child. Which is not true, but he won't admit even himself. He won't show his love to his child that much, but he can't deny that he would do anything to stop the harm ever touching his child.

Nikolai:

Marriage or not? Both is possible as well for this man. Like in Fyodor's part, Nikolai can consider getting in a physical relationship with someone if he would gain something or for a mission. Or he would simply take a child he found abandoned and take his interest by their anything.

If it's from an physical relationship, he probably don't care. He loves the child and probably would take the child with him. If the mother cares for the baby as well? Sure thing, he can just, yoink a ring and boom! Now a family-

He probably doesn't care about the gender. Girl? She is learning how to do illusions. Boy? Still learning that.

His child probably at least has one desk of cards in their room since they are Nikolai's child.

Fyodor probably would let the child alive as he can use the child to keep Nikolai under control or keep manipulating him (I'm not sure if Fyodor's manipulating Nikolai or Nikolai's just crazy/acting like crazy in BSD.)

Pretty fun dad actually. He is calm and let's his child do anything almost. ALMOST. Cause he still won't let them get seriously harmed. I said seriously cause he probably won't get into his child's mess if they arent seriously injured. He probably things this would help them with going in life.

Random desk of cards everywhere in the house. His child would even find cards in their clothes and hair. They would at least once question where their dad find this much of cards..

He is his child's first friend. First play friend as well.

He probably leaves his child with Sigma as well. He won't leave them with Fyodor cause.. He don't want his child dead. I don't think he would even find other members of DOA's safe to leave his child with. Yeah he can be crazy (or act like crazy) but he is not completely crazy to risk his child.

Sigma is their first babysitter and probably first friend after their father (and mother if she is there). Tbh Sigma would question himself and be nervous around child at first few times till he get more comfortable. Still it's the same for him, it would make him feel at least more good to be with someone probably less experienced than him.

He wants his child in his side. But if they aren't? Not a big problem as well. At least it's away from the government's works or the people against DOA, he is good (cause you know, I read DOA arent good with government completely)

He is scared to lose his child, he would show it from time to time. So he wants them away from serious fights.

If his child is on good side: he is fine with that, he can still randomly visit and bring them small gifts or deserts. He would want them leave if they are working for government however. He don't want government to learn about his child and try to use them against him. I'm saying again: He won't risk his child's life.

If they are on bad side: sure thing. He probably been on the bad side before as well. Only he would make them not to get in big fights or at least call him if they get in a big mess.

If they are against DOA however, he would be shocked probably. Yeah, he knew his child would probably hate him when they learn about what he did and doing.. but he wouldn't expect them to turn against him.. he would be disappointed and mad.

He is mad that his child leave his side after all those years, it would still hurt to see his child in pain, laughing, crying, and simply living their Ife while he can't go and join them. He probably felt the pain if his child hit what he done to his face. He probably made the hero and good guy image in his child's eye from the childhood, so breaking that image would hurt

He would avoid the fighting sometimes, while other times he won't hold back. Still carefull to not to hurt his child seriously though.

Even if his child is against him, he won't want them to leave him completely.. He dont and didn't want that to happen..

Overall, he is fun and energetic father. Who would bring (teleport?) his child around the world with him and do the most of the things most parents won't let them do. Like eating ice cream in winter or getting in the sky casino (only with him till they are adults though).

[lucapizzelles]

There were some mistakes in the original post which @sixteenthtryry pointed out, so I've edited this a bit! (a lot of the analysis was based on a small grammar thing that i misheard so :,,,D but still fun to me)

(Okay I spent like half an hour trying to find a specific post because brunosaderogatory made a post about how the Italian subs for Luca are different from the Italian dub, and also that the Italian subs are done by AI while the dub is actual human translators, but I can't find it. So jsyk that's the inspo for why-)

I've been transcribing the Italian dub for Luca and I noticed some really silly things already, but one in particular made me laugh/eyebrow raise/"jesus christ, Daniela."

In the lunch scene at the beginning of the movie Daniela says (parentheses are direct-ish translations (hence why it may seem a bit choppy). Disclaimer Italian is not my native language + I'm not super good at it, but I have some Spanish background + a friend who IS good at Italian that helped me translate):

English: Nope, nope! The end! Shut it down! [...] Well, the curious fish gets caught! We do not think, discuss, contemplate, or go anywhere near the surface. Got it?

Sub: No! No! Fine! Dacci un taglio! [...] Beh il pesce curioso viene pescato! Qui non si nomia, invoca, contempla, o sfiora mai e superficie. Intensi?

(No! No! The end! Give it a rest! [...] Well, the curious fish gets caught. We do not name, invoke, contemplate, or ever graze the surface. Understood?)

Dub: No! No! Fine! Dacci un taglio! [...] Sì, pesciolino curioso, finisce** in padella! Qui nessuno nomina, brama, invoca, contempla, o sfiora mai e superficie. Intesi? 

(No! No! The end! Give it a rest! [...] Yes, the curious fish finish in the pan! We do not name, invoke, yearn, contemplate, or ever graze the surface. Understood?)

under the cut for a crazy syntax analysis

**(said small grammar thing that I misheard, under the cut is analysis of if she had said "finisci" instead of "finisce," where it would have translated to a more direct "you" instead of being more general.)

A couple things I want to point out:

The sub is obviously a much more direct translation from English. Which is why the dub is important, there's certain nuances that non English speaking Italian readers of the sub wouldn't catch. And vice versa with a non Italian speaker reading English subs of the Italian dub. Namely, and you probably already saw it:

Daniela straight up tells Luca, directly speaking to and about him, that he, the curious fish, will be put into a pan if he goes near the surface. lmfao.

English has what's called a "generic you," which you're probably implicitly aware of, just maybe didn't there's a term for it. English speakers like to replace saying "one" (as a pronoun) with "you." I asked my friend Alex about this, if Italian has a way to distinguish this "generic you," and they do and it's the normal way of saying it:

my friend (shoutout): "The 'understood' you is called the 'impassive si' in Italian. ie: 'you (understood/generic) don't eat eggs with ketchup' -> 'non si mangia le uova con ketchup.' The Italian translates DIRECTLY to 'one does not eat eggs with ketchup.' The way it's formed is by just putting 'si' in front of the lui/lei conjugation of whatever the verb is. (me: so they have a way of distinguishing it? what's more common?) The 'you' thing is a translation thing specifically for English people. When talking specifically to someone you use 2nd person conjugations. When talking about everyone or the "understood/generic someone" you use 'si' + 3rd person singular. The way we say 'one' in English, which seems too formal/isn't used often, is the exact opposite in Italian, essentially."

TLDR: Italian has a specific way of saying the "generic you," like how English has the pronoun "one," which is primarily used above saying "you (generic)."

In an informal setting like at a family lunch, Daniela would not be using a "generic you." There is a specific way to say "one will finish in the pan" and she doesn't say that. As my friend put it:

The use of "finisci" is specifically saying "YOU finish." It's the present, 2nd person tense of finire (to finish). In English, she just generally talks about any fish that is curious being "caught." The curious fish is implied to be Luca, but she doesn't really say it is.* The audience, understanding context, just picks that up, but if you (one) were a robot, one might not. In Italian she uses 'curious fish' as a title for Luca specifically, she is talking to him directly, the curious fish is EXPLICITLY him. Even a robot, lacking contextual skills, would get that, given the nature of the language and syntax used.

This whole thing is super instinctual, and we don't necessarily think about it when speaking or comprehending language. BUT it is a very fun thing from a syntax analysis/language localization perspective.

* also, it's a play on the proverb "curiosity killed the cat." Italian doesn't have this saying afaik, and if it has a similar one, then the translators chose not to use it. (unless the pan thing IS the Italian version, but iunnow, I doubt it, considering context)

And finally, a PAN?? Instead of just a generic "caught," she straight up tells him they'll eat him. damn.

She also specifically adds "yearns" when listing the things they don't do about the surface, something not present in neither the English version NOR the subs (of course). I just found that cool and silly and funny.

Sorry if I drilled in the finisci thing too much it's just like. HA that is so brutal. I love it.

[olderthannetfic]

I've found in my own writing, when checking for SPAG issues without a beta that's good at that kind of thing, TTS tends to catch a lot more than grammar/spellcheck. It doesn't just catch the mispelled words, which aren't really as much of an issue for me (though they do still occur), but it also catches a lot of the stuff that gets mistranslated from brain to fingers as I'm typing. I have a brainweirdness that can cause odd speech patterns, and one of the things that sometimes happens is I'll type (or speak) a word that my brain thinks is the right one, but isn't, for example:

Killed -> killing/killer/kills (brain mistranslates one version of a word into a different one with the same root.)

Sing -> sink/singe/sin (brain mistranslates one word to another that looks similar at a glance, but isn't what I was trying to say.)

No -> know (brain gets mixed up with two words that sound the same in the inner monologue since they're homophones and sends the signal to type the wrong one [this example in particular is one I have done multiple times!].)

TTS isn't really helpful for the last one, but I have certainly avoided a number of embarrassing mistakes using it that, for some reason, didn't get caught by the checker? Even though I don't think that's an unreasonable addition to make to your average grammar/spellcheck?

However. I have still definitely had to use my best judgement with it, because if a character has a name that is even slightly less than recognizably English it WILL butcher it. Without fail. And if you're intentionally doing something grammatically incorrect, like doing thiiiiiiiiis in character dialogue, obviously it's not going to pronounce that right. And some words, like fang, it just pronounces incorrectly, at least with mine it consistently mispronounces that word.

Still though! I've also noticed that it helped in an area I wasn't even expecting, which has to do with how it pronounces punctuation. I was apparently using the wrong dash, which was causing the TTS function in my writing program to fuck up with one of my favorite ways of writing dialogue (characters getting interrupted/interrupting themselves with an action in the middle of a sentence, my beloved). (I don't use that specific one super often, but I do love putting actions between two parts of the same character's dialogue.)

I've also found that it helps when editing for other stuff too, areas where my eyes kinda glossed over and missed a bunch of repititions of the same word get caught by TTS, areas where the phrasing feels awkward or clunky but sounded nice in my head also get caught by it, and just in general, when I've been staring at a piece for too long it catches a lot of stuff I missed, which makes sense given that common editing advice is to read your writing out loud.

Anyway. I don't know if this would be helpful to anyone else since I've been using this tool mostly as a disability aid (if in a different way than it was probably intended for...), but if your program has a TTS function, it can't hurt to try it out. Bye!

--

[kvalenagle]

It's a chaotic week, and there's no better way to greet a grumpy Wednesday than with this @merteazy Blinky art <3 It's a week of doctor visits and medical tests, which always leaves me grumpy because I can't always get any editing done. Pridelord is mostly through line edits, which are going fairly fast, but I needed to take a break to add in a new Whisper scene. I'll avoid spoilers, but there was a subplot I considered taking on to Saberbeak before finishing it, and when I was doing my line edits, I realized that I had the perfect moment to pay it off right then. It just required a few nudges. Most books don't get scenes added in the line edit phase, but the large ones like Ashen Weald or Crackling Sea had the same thing come up. If you're new to book creation, everyone is a little different, but my novels usually go through the following phases. Story-related ones are slow, the rest can be as fast as a single day or two. 1. I write the book. This is actually the first and second draft. Before I start writing for the day, I read and edit what I wrote yesterday. That helps keep it fresh in my mind. I ran a test early on when it took me an hour to write a thousand words, and I found that if I had just read/edited the last thousand words I wrote, it took about 30 minutes, and the writing went twice as fast. So this turned out to be a 'free' second edit as I went along. 2. I read through it in Scrivener (the most common novelist word processor) and make changes. My goal here is to fix story issues, foreshadowing, etc. 3. I read through it out loud with my spouse. My brain will often leap from A to D, and his brain needs B and C to be there. If I'm reading it out loud, he can tell me what he needs to make sure the logic flows, and I can usually find a way of saying it that works perfectly for me, too. And reading aloud catches some errors that I wouldn't normally find. 4. I hand it off to my developmental editor, Dustin Porta, and my beta readers. These steps used to be separate, but there's a lot of redundancy here. It's also a case where sometimes Dustin has a feeling but we need data from how fans think. A lot of Foultner and Henders scenes get saved here. I'll go through his feedback (~500+ fixes, some bigger than others), and go through beta feedback. Beta reader probably deserves its own post, but the biggest problem with editing isn't finding problems... it's the author editing out the good parts. Beta readers are flagging their favorite bits first, before the mistakes, so I don't delete, say, Cherine from the novel. 5. I print it out and do a line edit myself. This fixes prose, pacing, language, imagery, and echoes. This is about making sure the language compliments the story and doesn't detract from it. 6. It goes off to Tim Marquitz, my copy editor. This is spelling/grammar/etc. He catches the grammar things that're invisible to me. 7. I do a final printed read-through with a green pen (things I want to fix but probably shouldn't so I don't introduce new errors) and red pen (things that if I saw in someone else's book, I'd consider an error, and must fix.) There's usually a proofreader in here, too. You expect to catch 95% errors from each pass. This is often when the Patreon supporters get their ebook version =] Though it gets updated with the release version if typos are found after here. 8. The audiobook narrator, James Scott Spaid, begins recording the book. He'll always catch some things that got past everyone else by virtue of saying them out loud and doing the sound engineering. Once he finishes, I listen through, suggest changes if any come up, and an audio proofreader comes in. Usually once I've listened, Patreons get the audiobook. And during this phase, the final formatting and printed proofs are happening since the page count is finalized even if a typo or two gets fixed. And that's it =] Eight big steps from start to finish. The first steps are by far the slowest because they involve story changes.

[nana-luvy]

Okkkay heyy, hi, didn't think anyone would see that but hey love <3

So I'm Anna, student in IT, born in 2005 and canadian french ~ So english isn't exactly my first language, sorry for my incoming grammar mistakes heheh

I am someone who's life revolves totally around momentary (or sometimes not, depends) obsessions, like i haaaave to have a month revolving around this one artist like my life depends on it, or I haaaave to learn all i can about red pandas (btw their fur glows in uv lights if anyone wanted to learn a fun fact today), you know what I mean.

So discovering I can actually write ? And edit ? Epitome of happiness to me. So yeah, think i started.... a little over a year ago ? On and off yeah..

I started by writing a Neteyam fic that currently has about 50k word, 8 chapters only and will probably never see the light of day heheh, when my Avatar obsession came flying back right in my face. Then of course i started writing one-shot stories about Jamie Flatters (who plays neteyam, i became hard obsessed w some man 5 years older but hey), started a lot of them, finished.... less.

And now i finally satiate my need for Luke Castellan works of fiction, and I thought 'why not post them on tumblr, people could maybe like it' and boom, now you're reading this.. butterfly effect much (not at all but anyway-)

Hmmmm well, just wanted to thank you for your support as a person, and believe that my requests are open for everything. Like, EVERYTHING. I'm an og weird girl (ok maybe not og but you get me), i like soooooo much stuff you can talk to me about anything and i'll like it <3

Well, that's my cue, love you sweetie <3

(pov i apparently love using grandma petnames but anyway-)

[stepswowdsen]

JuAli Comic Idea: Pink Rukh (2022)

Ok I'll just put the rest of my rambles under the cut

EN Version

JP Version (Without Furigana)

JP Version (With Furigana)

Text Version

Full Version

Being a Magi, Judar notices the rukh turn pink around Alibaba when he kisses him.

I wrote this in my comic idea dialogue script files before ^^

I'm mainly a visual person so I mainly just wrote the dialogue itself. It's to help guide my future art ideas

Since I've been adding to my JuAli dialogue script ideas lately

My first language is technically Vietnamese (Viet), so excuse the English at times… I try to make my dialogue scripts flow as well as possible

Wdym your cat bf isn't cute~~ /lh

Drew this back in 2022. I think I wanna redraw it again when I'm free (unfortunately I'm not free from assignments yet)

I'm practicing my hand at writing in JP~ If y'all see any typos or mistakes (grammar, etc.) then feel free to tell me! I'll fix them

I recently downloaded manga fonts used in official EN localizations, but I need to download more JP fonts tbh

I think having furigana above kanji is really cool for accessibility and for JP learners like me~ I love how shounen and children's manga typically have it

Thought Rambles

Revamped an old JuAli idea I had (Potential comic idea/dialogue script)

Thought about a JuAli thing (Judar/Alibaba) dialogue script…

I recently added to it. And I did some quick edits

J: Alibaba's accessories have such good contrast with tanned skin in your edits <3

Me: YEAHHH IT HAS SUCH NICE CONTRAST AGAINST HIS HAIR AND ACCESSORIES <3

C: Oh valid

(Magi: Ch. 288 - Ch. 111)

POV: You're Alibaba and you pull back from the guy you were making out with, just to see him looking at you like this

(Magi: Ch. 267)

Me: I imagine Judar just looks at Alibaba all smug like this, until he gets the tables turned back on him.

C: Oh that's cute

LMAO seems right

Me: The smug sense of satisfaction that Judar gets when he realizes that Alibaba's rukh are all pink, and teases him about it… It's so cute. Since Judar's a Magi, he would notice that all the rukh around Alibaba turned pink.

Me: LMAO yeah Judar being annoyed by Alibaba is cute. He gets flustered when Alibaba tries to imply that he likes him back (that he also enjoyed it)

C: Cute :")

C: Aaaa yeah makes sense

C: Aaa cute!!

Me: I forgot where it was, but I think I vaguely remember Aladdin tell Hakuryuu that his rukh was turning pink when he was blushing. I think in some early chapter panel.

C: YEA I THINK YOU'VE MENTIONED THIS

Furigana

Intended meaning is kanji, but the speaker verbally says the furigana out loud.

Furigana = Small symbols alongside or above the original characters, usually written in hiragana or katakana (but sometimes kanji) that denotes the pronunciation of a word

The alternative reading provides the same purpose - you can read them both, since the writer considers them both equivalent and relevant. The reader takes the meaning of the furigana.

They can use a different word to emphasize the speaker's tone (or character), or add a certain nuance to the text.

Furigana (Continued)

Furigana is also widely used in manga, but not all of them have it. From what I've noticed, shounen manga typically has it, because the audience will also include young kids and teens. Which probably explains why it's in the FGO: Shimousa manga. Biggest pro of kids' manga in general is that they have furigana alongside kanji~

I prefer furigana for accessibility reasons (ex. so I don't need to search up a kanji, or it makes it easier to search up a kanji if I don't know a certain word)

I also hate how a lot of animanga LNs (light novels) don't have it. Like I got the KHR LNs and ROTRK LN recently but each KHR LN is like 300 pages, and the same goes for the ROTRK LN. And it doesn't have furigana, bruh (except for a few specific words). I'll read it in the future, but not now.

I just checked the KHR LN previews out of curiosity and no furigana except for specific words (though a bit more than the ROTRK LN), and really… Why do LNs do this to us... It's so much easier to read kanji when there's furigana, man. Shounen manga typically does this.

That's why I'm gonna try to include furigana for all my fan-comics in JP in the future~~

Official Manga Localizations

Also god bruh Viz's way of translating things/prose makes everything sound so samey and generic DKLAKLDSKLDKLS

Like in the above panels? It stands out to me as someone bilingual who can read JP

So I attached the Magi: EN fan-TL as well. Sense Scans was doing a really good job with Magi's EN fan-TL.

I think it's the same fan-TL team all the way through (and they eventually correct character name spellings as the series goes on)

I feel like Viz just makes individual characters' speech styles just sound the same bruh

Though I get they have to shorten the dialogue to make things fit in the speech bubbles, in terms of typesetting

Usually, fan-TLs are almost always more accurate in terms of meaning, but official TLs sound more natural in English. Such a shame that Viz always gets the rights to shounen series.

Viz's Magi official EN TL is decent thankfully. Thank god cuz they botched the EN TLs of my other fave series like KHR, MMBN/EXE, and for my friend, PokeSpe, etc.

I'm a Viz hater cuz they did my beloved KHR soooo dirty. Viz only translated 16/42 volumes of KHR, a quarter of the series, and then tried to hide that they ever translated the series and was super shady about it. But their ROTRK official EN TL is actually really good. I'm surprised

I think I would've hunted Viz (/lh) (/hj) if Magi got a terrible (and incomplete) official localization like KHR did

But I wish Yen Press did the translation. Out of the 3 main manga localizers, Viz, Kodansha, Yen Press, in terms of translation (TL) quality, it goes like this, imo

Yen Press >>>>>>>>> Kodansha >>> Viz

Yen Press did the Kagerou Daze (KagePro) Manga and LNs, Pandora Hearts, Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), etc. Their TLs are so good and their translation quality tends to be on par with and/or even surpass EN fan-TLs.

Misc Rambles

I first started using CSP in 2016! I've been using it ever since ^^ I like its wide array of brushes, access to 3D models, CSP Assets, etc.

CSP's Text tool was so dog shit for the longest time I'm glad there's finally been improvements to it within the last few years

I like how CSP allows you to input Ruby text. Furigana is a type of Ruby text.

Though I think the tool needs an easier process cuz you have to highlight a kanji, go into the settings, and add the kana characters as furigana, manually. Tedious process tbh... I hope they make it easier someday

Though I'm glad it includes the Ruby text feature

Notion

I love using Notion to type my AU ideas, dialogue scripts, OC documents, and school files in general.

Notion still needs more features (ie. lack of auto correct, lack of different fonts, Notion pages lag with bigger files, etc.) but it's so cool.

I like the pros though like there are unlimited pages, it can embed links/videos directly, can import peoples' templates, and is generally really nice for formatting things. I prefer it over Google Docs for that

[distress]

hii sorry if this is an annoying question but i was curious how you went about learning japanese. are you self taught or did you take courses? any tips or things you wish you knew or did?

Not annoying at all, this is literally the first ask I’ve gotten in over a year LMAO. If anything I hope my response isn’t annoying. But I do wanna clarify that I am absolutely not fluent, I am just pretty good conversationally & pronunciation-wise. That being said I have dabbled in a lot of learning methods though I haven’t formally studied in quite a while (but keep trying to get back into it). This is going to be probably not great advice but pls feel free to ask for clarification/specifics

How I studied at first was self-study over a summer to reach intermediate level because the elementary level classes were always full at my college. When I did that, I used the Genki Textbooks, which I bought at that time since studying with a physical book & workbook is a LOT easier IMO, but you can find them for free online.

Over about 2.5 months I made it through all of Genki I. IIRC I made sure to do 2 chapters a week, all their workbook pages & textbook exercises sans listening. I was on a time crunch, which helped my motivation and is the only reason I did it so quickly.

I then took Intermediate Japanese I & II at my college, and my teacher was not very good, so I didn’t gain much from it outside of the kanji quizzes. Most of my classmates were a bit behind me (like bc they took the elem with the same not great teacher) or literally fluent and taking an easy A lmao.

If you want to self-study, definitely “shop around” to find what method works best for you. A physical textbook & workbook has always been my preferred method. DuoLingo is really good for the absolute basics & REALLY good for learning hiragana and katakana but is dogshit for grammar. Also finding an ideal study environment is super important.

If you are going to self-study but need a concrete goal/motivator, I would recommend signing up to take the JLPT IF IT IS ACCESSIBLE FOR YOU. It is only offered once a year in specific cities however. Here are the US locations for this December: https://www.aatj.org/jlpt-us/ (other locations https://www.jlpt.jp/e/application/overseas_list.html) I live in Florida, and I’m still a 5.5 hour drive away from the nearest test site ( which I will go to -_- )

ANYWAY, if you are starting from the beginning, I would definitely recommend focusing heavily on Hiragana & Katakana until you can identify them (even if you can’t write them all from memory yet). When you start studying vocab and grammar, you should avoid relying on the romaji. Don’t be scared of making mistakes. If you already watch anime, slice of life can be really good for listening practice to hear non text-book language & general pronunciation (beware of anime accent). Kimi ni Todoke is great if you want to test your progress with listening comprehension.

I also follow a lot of Japanese tiktokers, both randos and people doing Japanese lessons. A lot of these accounts are really good for brief lessons on how the language is actually used vs how it is taught.

Finally, don't be too intimidated by Kanji and the alphabet in general. It is the hardest part of Japanese, but it isn't as hard as it seems. Kanji are basically made up of a bunch of stylized/combined katakana, so if you master katakana it will be easier to remember Kanji. I think my biggest regret is not mastering katakana early like I did with Hiragana. I feel like it stunted my ability to learn Kanji. Also, textbooks will make it seem like it isn't used as much as it actually is. Japan has an insane amount of loan words and many of them are only recently being the common use vs non loan version.

cjdidhfjdkdjfjg

Edited to add I am a firm believer that the most important part of using language is being understood. So if you find a place to speak or a conversation partner, don't stop speaking or refuse to speak if you aren't sure you're correct. Like, if you're at a restaraunt and say toire wa koko desu ka (is the toilet here) instead of asking toire wa doko desu ka (where is the toilet), you're probably gonna be understood and you'll be practicing speaking. If you get embarrassed just question if you have ever judged anyone for fumbling your native language. You probably have never paid it any mind! Embarrassment is a HUGE, massive part of why adults do not learn languages as quickly as kids.

[ehldritchblast]

RULES:

CREDIT: The PSD I’m using for my edits is “ENHANCE ABILITY” by Jaynedits.

ONE. This blog will likely be a low-activity blog, but I will usually be available through IMs if anyone wants to chat (and you can feel free to ask for my discord if we're close enough). JUST A HEAD'S UP: i am INCREDIBLY new to the dnd scene. i'm still learning and doing my best to get things right, but if anyone has any advice/critiques, please feel free to let me know! i just ask that you be nice about it, thanks!

TWO. I have ADHD and as such, I will answer asks / respond to threads as I get the muse for them. It's nothing personal if I don't get to something of ours right away, it's just hard for me to focus at times!

THREE. Sometimes I will drop threads without warning and it's nothing personal, I just lose muse. I'm more than willing to start up a new thread. The best way to write with me is from sending memes or writing starters. I also like to plot and find that I'm more invested in threads this way.

FOUR. I will only follow 21+ blogs on here and will block any minors who may follow for my own comfort. I have the right to follow or unfollow you whenever I please. That being said, I will not follow back personal blogs, or a RP blog that I couldn’t see my muses interacting with. Please don’t take it personally.

FIVE. I only ship with chemistry and I'm open to discussing shipping with our muses so long as there's chemistry and the you're willing to discuss / plot ship dynamics with me. I'm also duplicate friendly and love that other people love these muses too!

SIX. THINGS THAT WILL MAKE ME NOT FOLLOW / UNFOLLOW / SOFT/HARD BLOCK YOU:

+ you are under 21, are racist, transphobic, homophobic, antisemitic, ableist, pedophilic, harass others, etc. + you write an original character with little to no information, as I need something to go off of to think of how to interact with your muse. + post an excessive amount of ooc (enough to constantly spam my dash; i don’t mind if you post more ooc than actual rp most days bc i do the same), have constant poor grammar / spelling mistakes (though i'll be more lenient if english isn't your first language), partake in petty, pointless drama, or write in a lot of purple prose / overly format your posts. + don't tag triggering content, write a lot of incest, child death, and any form of abuse (i.e. domestic, sexual, etc), or focus heavily on pregnancy plots. + you follow me first and make no attempt to interact with me, are absent from your blog for long amounts of time (without posting a hiatus warning), disrespect people's boundaries, vague blog, or post a lot of callouts. + if you are a personal blog, follow and unfollow me to try to get my attention, send me things (i.e. memes / rp stuff) when we aren't mutuals, harass my friends, just use me as a number for your follower count, ignore the things i write for you (especially if it's me answering a meme you sent in or writing you a starter), or don't put in the effort for a ship that i have grown invested in. + if you follow me to write / ship with my male muses and ignore my female & oc/tav muses.

SEVEN. I do not deal with ooc drama. If I see it happening on my dash I will not get involved in it, and if it reaches a certain point, I will probably block the person(s) in question.

To add to this: I do not view certain ‘callouts’ as ‘drama’. If someone is bringing attention to harmful behavior, that’s fine. I won’t hesitate to heed that person’s warning and acknowledge / reblog that post if I feel that it is necessary. The types of ‘callouts’ I find unnecessary are the ones where someone is just being petty and talking shit because they don’t like someone and/or are bullying them. That’s something you could handle privately and doesn’t need to be on the dash and/or just block the person and move on. I will not tell you who and who not to write with. I would much rather simply block anyone I wish not to see on my dash. That said, please do not hesitate to inform me if I'm interacting with someone who is a genuinely toxic individual.

[loyalpromise]

RULES:

CREDIT: The PSD I’m using for my edits is “ENHANCE ABILITY” by Jaynedits.

ONE. This blog will likely be a low-activity blog, but I will usually be available through IMs if anyone wants to chat (and you can feel free to ask for my discord if we're close enough).

TWO. I have ADHD and as such, I will answer asks / respond to threads as I get the muse for them. It's nothing personal if I don't get to something of ours right away, it's just hard for me to focus at times!

THREE. Sometimes I will drop threads without warning and it's nothing personal, I just lose muse. I'm more than willing to start up a new thread. The best way to write with me is from sending memes or writing starters. I also like to plot and find that I'm more invested in threads this way.

FOUR. I will only follow 21+ blogs on here and will block any minors who may follow for my own comfort. I have the right to follow or unfollow you whenever I please. That being said, I will not follow back personal blogs, or a RP blog that I couldn’t see my muses interacting with. Please don’t take it personally.

FIVE. I only ship with chemistry and I'm open to discussing shipping with our muses so long as there's chemistry and the you're willing to discuss / plot ship dynamics with me. I'm also duplicate friendly and love that other people love these muses too!

SIX. THINGS THAT WILL MAKE ME NOT FOLLOW / UNFOLLOW / SOFT/HARD BLOCK YOU:

+ you are under 21, are racist, transphobic, homophobic, antisemitic, ableist, pedophilic, harass others, etc. + you write an original character with little to no information, as I need something to go off of to think of how to interact with your muse. + write an animated character / use an animated fc without having a live-action fc available to use instead (realistic animation (i.e. animation that looks very close to real life people) is fine though, and i don’t mind if you are a multi that has animated fcs on your blog), use youtubers, models, singers, or any other non-actors as your fc. + post an excessive amount of ooc (enough to constantly spam my dash; i don’t mind if you post more ooc than actual rp most days bc i do the same), have constant poor grammar / spelling mistakes (though i'll be more lenient if english isn't your first language), partake in petty, pointless drama, or write in a lot of purple prose / overly format your posts. + don't tag triggering content, write a lot of incest, child death, and any form of abuse (i.e. domestic, sexual, etc), or focus heavily on pregnancy plots. + you follow me first and make no attempt to interact with me, are absent from your blog for long amounts of time (without posting a hiatus warning), disrespect people's boundaries, vague blog, or post a lot of callouts. + if you are a personal blog, follow and unfollow me to try to get my attention, send me things (i.e. memes / rp stuff) when we aren't mutuals, harass my friends, just use me as a number for your follower count, ignore the things i write for you (especially if it's me answering a meme you sent in or writing you a starter), or don't put in the effort for a ship that i have grown invested in. + if you follow me to write / ship with my male muses and ignore my female & oc muses.

SEVEN. I do not deal with ooc drama. If I see it happening on my dash I will not get involved in it, and if it reaches a certain point, I will probably block the person(s) in question.

To add to this: I do not view certain ‘callouts’ as ‘drama’. If someone is bringing attention to harmful behavior, that’s fine. I won’t hesitate to heed that person’s warning and acknowledge / reblog that post if I feel that it is necessary. The types of ‘callouts’ I find unnecessary are the ones where someone is just being petty and talking shit because they don’t like someone and/or are bullying them. That’s something you could handle privately and doesn’t need to be on the dash and/or just block the person and move on. I will not tell you who and who not to write with. I would much rather simply block anyone I wish not to see on my dash. That said, please do not hesitate to inform me if I'm interacting with someone who is a genuinely toxic individual.

[mozzaremi]

finally working on the ghost hunter au that i started a few months ago (?), but i did a complete rehaul on the concept

INFODUMP:

(okok, english isn't my first language and i'll probably edit out grammar mistakes when i'll find them, so please bare with me lol)

Initially, Aubrey and Kel meet as internet pen-pals, both share an interest in horror and all things creepy (tho aubrey prefers the creepy but cute stuff). While Aubrey is more of a casual fan, Kel is a full on enjoyer of anything and everything that's spooky: horror movies, creepy stories, and especially the ghost stuff.

Kel would always share to Aubrey about his fantasies of being a professional ghost hunter and maybe having a tv show all about his and Aubrey's adventures in the paranormal world.

Aubrey and Kel both live in the big city, tho Aubrey often visits Faraway as that's where her mother resides. She would often meet up a friend of her's named Basil: a shy guy who's really interested photography and everything related to plants. While hanging out with the flower boy, Aubrey would frequently do Basil's hair and makeup, later on he picks up some neat beauty tips from her that allowed him to explore his style. The visits to Faraway wouldn't last long, only being there for the weekends and holidays before she'd have to go back to her dad in the city.

Eventually Kel and Aubrey make a blog for Ghost hunting. Their content on there is amateur at best, but they gain a loyal following of other ghost enthusiasts, and non enthusiast, mostly just people who really enjoy kel and aubrey's friendship dynamic and their banter.

In their endevours, they would earn a loyal hater, who goes by "The Maverick" who would nickpick any and all instances of paranormal activity. Although sounding pompous and theatrical, he always finds reasonable proof to debunk all their findings.

Skip a few years, Back in faraway basil has to deal with the grief of his grandmother's passing, he would often stay at the graveyard just to mourn. The graveyard in faraway was infamous for having an unknown being living there, no one knowing if it's human and harmless or something paranormal and dangerous. No one has ever been able to get photo evidence of the entity, so they are more often percieved as an urban legend.

One foggy evening, Basil was back at the graveyard, doing his usual mourning session, when something sat besides him on a bench. Eyes full of tears, he didn't dare to face the person, so he continued with what he was doing. Eventually the person(?) starts asking questions to get Basil to vent to him and maybe calm him down and it works. Felling a little bit better Basil faces the person to see a guy his age in a very strange outfit. Once he got a better look at him, he jumped off the bench realising it's the fabled ghost boy of the graveyard. He runs away, but notes the fact that guy he talked to was very nice...

After that, he starts believing in a life after death, and his grief lessens knowing that possibly his grandmother is in a better place

Basil finds out about Aubrey and Kel making a ghost blog, there the two would film themselves searching through abandoned areas to find ghosts... or something, anything really. While they never found anything scary, they had a very good duo dynamic and Basil became somewhat of a fan of theirs. Basil noticed the poor video quality due to it being recorded on a crappy phone (android lol) and it inspired him to purchase a video camera.

When Aubrey visits Faraway again, he offers his cameraman services to her and she agrees. She introduces Basil to Kel and they all hit it off.

One day, when Aubrey and Kel are feeling hopeless of their Ghost Hunting adventure, Basil tells them the time he met a ghost in the graveyard back in faraway. They both take his word for it.

They get Hero to drive them to faraway, Hero who is a Uni dropout, he really doesn't have anything better to do besides taking up odd jobs to pay rent. He has saved a lot of money throughout the years of being uni-free and working at basically every retail job in the city, so the though of having a road-trip didn't bother him.

Once they are at the town of faraway, Hero hands them a packed lunch, and the gang is off to find a ghost! Being in the graveyard, things felt fruitless, not a lot of things were happening besides the fog that started to form. Kel got tired and started reaching for his bag to get the sandwich that Hero packed him. But there was a problem... there were no sandwiches to be found in his bag... Suddently his eyes meet the figure of the faraway ghost boy who was snacking on a BLT...

Kel alerts his friends to come grab some footage of the ghoul right in front of him, but an issue arose... the video camera wasn't working and couldn't get Sunny in the shot without the device glitching out.

The ghoulish boy named Sunny sees how restless, but persistent the ghost hunter crew was, he found their antics humorous at best, but once the big brother Hero comes to check up on them is when Sunny is on full guard

He summons chains from under the ground, binding the 4 visitors in place. Aproching them again he threatens to suck all the life out of them. They start pleading for their life and a idea accured...

Sunny gave them an offer to help him find his long lost sister...He is unsure if she's still alive or not, but he still feels the presence on her in the living world through the Something chained to his foot. In return he would spare their life and let them film him for their ghost blog. The gang agrees to his offer and just so they don't double cross sunny, he lays a curse on them that if they leave him behind on purpose, they would have their souls taken away from their bodies, turning them into lifeless husks.

AND SO THAT'S HOW THEIR ADVENTURE STARTS! they have this sorta mystery gang adventure going on, traveling across the US to find Mari while also having wacky high-jinxs and sunny allerting the others of ghostly presences in the area for Aubrey, Kel and Basil's ghost hunting blog content, just so they would get enough blog donations to keep traveling!

[luwritesomething]

if you're still taking requests, protective dodge mason I beg of you..... I went thru all your writings and I love them so much and I love my boy

Protective Dodge Mason Headcanons.

Warnings: cursing, as always.

Edited?: No, sorry ;/

Reader pronouns: not stated.

Summary: Dodge headcanons about his protectiveness.

Author's note: Thank you for requesting and sorry for taking so long! I'm very glad you like my writing and THANKS FOR THIS REQUEST BECAUSE protective Dodge Mason has been stucked in my mind ever since he got that individual challenge where he thought Dayna was in danger and he went batshit crazy. I decided to do ths as headcanons because your request wasn't that specific so... Also, I decided to make it as Dodge and Reader already have an established relationship :) . Anyways, here goes nothing. This isn't too long but I hope you like it, excuse any grammar or vocab mistakes since I wrote this in a rush!

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okay so we all agree dodge mason is a protective mf, great

dodge had a very specific plan, alright? getting a romantic partner and kinda falling in love wasn't in it

but how could he not fall in love with the person with the prettiest smile and sweetest soul?

accepting that he wanted to be with you was kinda hard for him. because that meant he was dragging you into his revenge plan.

but you're dating so hurray!! he made it.

your biggest argument was probably when you told him that you did want to play panic (if it was for the money or the thrill that's up to you)

1. it was in conflict with his plan (the one he hadn't told you about just yet because he's still testing the trusting waters) and 2. it put you in danger, actual danger.

listen, dodge doesn't scream

but when he's concerned about your safety it shows that he's mad.

you just couldn't understand what worried him so much

and he wasn't able to say that you were one of the very few people that made him feel like he was truly there.

losing you would be the third tragedy of his life, and he couldn't risk it --- he wouldn't take it

and seeing you hurt was a living nightmare

i feel like im blabbering, sorry

dodge just carries too much weight on his shoulders, and once he starts dating you, more weight is added.

i mean, you aren't a burden, but he worries --- a whole lot, to be honest. dodge is always making sure you're feeling okay, listening to you when you're not, reassuring that he cares about you if you needed

if you get hurt, he sees it like its his fault --- you have full autonomy on your decisions and actions, but dodge is a caregiver and he feels like he should be there to protect you

but then again he has this complicated relationship with his feelings (i mean, how many times have you seen him talking about them openly?) and he's unable to say all those things when you first argue about that

so the argument remains still for some days and things are tense between you two.

it's you who forced the subject back into your conversations, and it is you who promises him that you'll be careful enough to not get hurt, that he has to trust you.

relunctantly, dodge ends up agreeing and easin up to the idea --- it's not like he can or will forbide you for participating, it's your choice.

so he starts worrying x1000 when panic begins.

when escaping the cops in the second challenge, you hurt your knee and scratched it when you fell to the ground, pushed by all the people trying to escape. and although dodge is the one who had almost fallen from a very high height, he's so pissed (not at you) that you've gotten hurt. even if it's the smallest thing as a scratch.

say that it was ray who accidentally pushed you to the ground --- it takes everything for him not to fight ray right then and there. seeing how little he likes ray it just gives him more reasons to want to punch him in the face (and dodge is not really a violent person).

your safety during panic will probably be the reason to all of your arguments, given he's not jealous at all.

he also hates the whole 'i'm trying to get you jealous' so don't try it, please. dodge doesn't deserve that. if you try to get him jealous, he WILL, and it will hurt him. he learns to trust you wholeheartedly, that's why he knows you won't do dumb shit, but if you're the one who is trying to make moves to other people just for fun... bad thing.

anyways so he ends up, probably, telling you that you're not his responsability but you kinda are. not exactly like that, but he opens up.

it takes a lot of reassuring from your part to make him see that he can't carry so many responsabilities and that he basically needs to chill.

communication, people !! i bet communicating for him it's hard, given how quiet and reserved he is, but he grows very into it.

also on another protectiveness note,,,

romantic partner or friend, dodge is that one person that will text you to tell him that you've gotten home safe.

he's also willing to walk anyone home if they feel uneasy going alone, even if he doesn't know them too well.

he'll pick up if you call him because you need someone to talk to while walking home late at night, and if you think someone is following you he'll run to wherever you are. he's not taking any bullshit.

dodge can hold your cup while you go to the bathroom --- and you can be damn sure no one will put anything on your drink if he's watching it.

going back to romantic partner, if you need reassurence during a challenge or a social situation where he's present, you can bet he's going to surround your waist with his arm to keep you grounded. reassuring touches are his specialty (and also his need).

[jecook]

A Guide to Beta Reading and Editing

For those new to reading other people's work through a lens of providing constructive criticism

I have been editing and beta reading for a long time, for friends, peers, classmates, etc. I made a lot of mistakes and embarrassed myself quite a bit, but I think I've gotten pretty decent so I'm writing this as a series of tips based on what I find personally helpful to receive myself and to do for others.

This isn't going to be a step-by-step thing, more of series of things to consider. I can't impart onto you a laundry list of literary terms and devices, the entire system of how we write in English and how every last dialect or accent might break convention, nor can I make you understand every way that narrative and sentence structure can affect tone and pacing. What I can do is help you think about how you engage with someone else's work. I think what makes people so nervous to beta read is the idea of responding critically to another person's work. Often, a lot of beta readers are unsure how to suggest edits for fear of upsetting the writer. This makes sense! You're just being compassionate! But most everyone asking for a beta reader is looking for feedback at some level, so the best thing you can do is give them that. If you read fic, if you read books, short stories, essay, you could try beta reading. Everyone has some level of discernment for what they think is good and for what they personally enjoy, and that is a lot of what casual editors do.

Who should I beta read for?

Friends, authors you enjoy, stories for fandoms and especially characters and/or ships you enjoy. When you see someone in your community asking for a beta reader, they are looking for someone who is already in their audience. If it's work you think you will enjoy, you will have fun getting to dive into their work on a deeper level. Especially if it's an author you already read, you will be more familiar with their style and able to provide better feedback for them. If you are nervous about getting into beta reading, working with an author who you are already comfortable with, like a friend, a peer in the fandom, or someone who you follow can be a good way to try out beta reading. You will already have some comfort with their style and probably them as a person, too, so it'll be easier to break the ice and be ready to communicate about their work

What does beta reading look like?

It goes like this: usually you read a piece, maybe once through just to get a general idea, then going back through to make suggestions. Usually an author will let you know what they want you to look out for. You might notice some spelling, punctuation, and grammar elements that could use adjusting. These things are often missed because of writing quickly while in the zone and usually hard to catch because an author is already familiar with what the words should say, so the brain fills in mistakes with what it knows it should be reading.

As well, you might see some things you personally think could use improving. Seeing a name several times when maybe a pronoun could be used, too many pronouns being used and needing more clarification, some sentence structure feeling too similar and needing variations, etc. These things are smaller details that you might or might not notice when reading normally, but as a beta reader, you can suggest changes based on your opinion and experience as a reader. The idea here is that if you read, you probably understand what makes for decent writing that you enjoy. Therefore, you can help someone else to get a reader's perspective on what works and what is not yet working. This also applies to broader things like pacing and overall structure. Could a scene be placed earlier? Was an emotional scene rushed? You might feel these things intuitively, like if you have ever read something and wished you could linger on a moment just a little longer. These things are helpful for writers to hear before publishing a work.

But how do you make these suggestions?

Seems hard but is actually very straightforward so don't overthink it! You had a thought process for why you wanted to suggest something, so just say that. Explain your thinking, otherwise, the writer can't understand why you have made a suggestion. This is very important so people can feel like they are understanding of suggestions and don't feel insecure about a bunch of unexplained edits that will just come off as demands for them to change. Explaining your thinking also gives the writer room to disagree, which is important since it is still their work.

This also has added importance if English is not the writer's first language because you can help them understand your perspective. Assuming ofc that you speak English as a native language--I am writing this guide from that POV, but many people will beta read who are not native speakers (or maybe you are beta reading a fic in another language! That is cool as heck, please carry on!)

Constructive criticism vs just... criticism

It's important as well to mind your tone in all comments and suggestions. You want to help a writer improve their work, not make them feel poorly about it. Beta reading is all about helping each other grow--you as a reader and editor and they as a writer. Since this is fandom and (probably) no one is getting paid, the mood should be considerate, friendly, and overall strive to be helpful. Meeting an author where they are at is the most important part. Think about what is going to be valuable to them at this time and don't recommend stuff that is going to be too much work, like overhauling a whole fic, unless the writer is down for that level of work. What level is their writing at and what level of editing are they interested in? If someone is just looking for flow and SPaG (spelling, punctuation, and grammar), they probably don't want to hear that you think the structure should be completely moved around. Conversely, if they say they are looking for someone to help them cut out 500 words from a 4,000 word fic, they might want to hear how flipping the structure could cut down their word count.

Another thing to consider when suggesting politely is to suggest alternatives. If you think there is a plothole, suggest how it could be fixed. If you think a sentence is awkward, what is a better way of phrasing it? If a word is maybe being misused, what is a better word? This gives the author more things to consider, so even if they don't use your suggestion, they might utilize your idea as a jumping-off point for a different way to adjust their work.

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be

Beta reading is more than just suggestions for changes. Constructive criticism doesn't just mean changes, it also means positive criticism. Tell authors what you liked and what is working well! When a twist makes you gasp, say so! If you can, maybe even say how they built up the scene or narrative to elicit that gasp. If you think a sentence was really well written, say so! If you can, describe what elements made it come together so well. Authors want to know what is working, what you are enjoying, just as much as they want to know what can be improved upon. Leave little "awww"s and "lololol" and reactions all over! Building up an author is very important when making other comments on their work. Creative work, especially what we do for free out of love and passion, is a tender place and it's easy to hit someone right where they are most insecure. Be compassionate when beta reading.

For Authors

Sometimes beta readers are not perfect. If they say something that you feel might be a little blunt, maybe they just were moving fast and not thinking about wording. It happens sometimes. Maybe they made a criticism or suggestion that you disagree with or maybe even made you feel bad about your work.

My best advice here is to ignore it. You wrote what you wrote and are happy with it! Good for you! Just because a beta reader had a different opinion does not make them the be-all and end-all. Or maybe you feel that they are right but their suggestion is more work than you want to do. Great! So remember the advice for next time and keep moving forward. It is fandom and people are thirsty for more all the time, so I promise your work will be loved and most people probably will not notice nor care about whatever it was that was pointed out. Seriously. A beta reader has their opinions and you have yours, but as the author, you will always get to choose what is best for you and your work. So be proud and confident!

If you don't think you can handle possibly having unwanted suggestions or criticisms though, maybe forego having a beta reader. It is also absolutely fine to edit for yourself and publish that way. Alternatively, ask a trusted friend and give them an exact idea of what you do and do not want feedback on.

Some final bits of advice

Ask the author what exactly they want you to look for. Maybe also ask them what they don't want feedback on. They might be looking for flow but not SPaG, or maybe plot help but not want to hear about characterization. Make sure you are both on the same page.

Always remember that everyone in this equation is a person who is doing this work in your free time for fun

And lastly, please don't be afraid to try out beta reading. If you read, then you can help beta test a fic. Just remember to be polite and encouraging and you too can help provide a little bit of fan labor <3

Always remember, above all things, to make sure you are having fun! Happy editing :D