#also fixed up some details and grammar errors

[valiant-if]

3/1/2025 Public Demo Update

The public demo has also been updated! You can find a list of changes in the cut below or read them here. Find the update here:

3/1/2025 Changelog:

This update includes the completion of Chapter 2! That's right, you can now enjoy Chapter 2 from start to finish. Barring any potential bugs that I haven't found yet, all branches are finished.

Since the last public demo update, I have also added in the codex system. Please note that, for narrative reasons, the codex is not meant to become available until Chapter 3. However, I've made it temporarily accessible from the start of the game for testing purposes. This means that, if you view the codex early enough, some information might appear odd, empty, or incorrect as the corresponding variables have not all been set. If you want to get the most out of the current codex experience, the best time to look at it is toward the end of Chapter 2.

Change List:

Completed Chapter 2

codex system added

improvements made to menu pages

Previously, certain dialog pages that were too long could not be scrolled through. This issue has now been fixed with a different implementation of dialog pop-ups

Spelling and grammar fixes throughout

general bug fixes

IMPORTANT: Some variables have been added to the game since the last update. It is very likely that you will need to start a new save to avoid any errors. Apologies for the inconvenience.

COMING NEXT: I've started work on Chapter 3. By the time I update the public demo next, I will include a quick-start option that lets you go through some choices to skip to Chapter 3. I will give you more details when this has been implemented.

[peachyhoolagan]

“And you would’ve loved it.”

P1

-

[vanteguccir]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤTIKTOK TRENDS⁴ * CHRIS STURNIOLO

SUMMARY　::　4 times that Y/N and Chris made a couple's trend on tiktok.

FEATURING　Chris Sturniolo x reader　REQUESTED?　yes.

WARNINGS　::　none.

AUTHOR'S NOTE　::　that is my work, I DON'T authorize any form of plagiarism; copy, "inspiration" or translation! | english isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

A/N²　::　part 1 || part 2 || part 3

1. Watch my boyfriend for me

It was a balmy summer night, and the city lights glistened off the glass walls of the charming Italian restaurant where Y/N and Chris were dining. The restaurant's facade exuded rustic elegance, adorned with hanging green plants and softly twinkling string lights that created a warm, romantic atmosphere.

Y/N had come to the restaurant with a playful plan in mind. She had seen a viral TikTok trend where people left their partners alone at the table with a recording camera, asking viewers to "watch" them while they went to do "something." It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have some fun with Chris.

While they enjoyed their meal, Y/N discreetly took her phone from its spot on the table. Unlocking it, she quickly opened the TikTok app, which was prominently displayed among her most used apps. With a mischievous grin, she hit the record button.

Her eyes flicked to Chris, who was engrossed in his pasta, before she propped her phone against a glass Coca-Cola bottle, adjusting the angle to frame him perfectly.

"Hey guys, can you watch my boyfriend real quick while I go to the bathroom?" Y/N said in a low tone, trying to suppress a giggle as she stood up and headed towards the bathroom, not glancing back at the bewildered Chris.

Chris, mid-chew on a hefty forkful of pasta, looked up, watching her walk away with a puzzled expression. He then shifted his gaze to the phone screen, his brow furrowing.

He delicately set his cutlery down, adjusting his black cap in a nervous gesture.

"Hey guys... I think Y/N is making some kind of video." He muttered after swallowing his food, resting his right elbow on the wooden surface of the square table and laying his chin on his palm, his blue eyes fixed on the screen. "Caught me with my mouth full, sorry about that."

Chris glanced around the restaurant, a hint of nervousness replaced by curiosity.

"So, since you're here, let me tell you what we're up to. We're at this new Italian place in Los Angeles. The decor here is amazing, really cozy and authentic." He gestured with his free hand, indicating the charming details around him that the camera couldn't capture. "We had bruschetta to start... Did you know it was originally a way to use up old bread? They toast it, rub garlic on it, and top it with tomato and basil... Delicious."

His eyes lit up as he described one of his favorite appetizers.

"Now, about the main dishes, since it's Saturday night, we figured we could indulge a bit." He continued with a chuckle. "Y/N ordered lasagna. Classic choice, right? Pasta, meat, tomato sauce, cheese... You can't go wrong." He pointed to Y/N's plate, observing momentarily the remaining piece of lasagna. "I got the carbonara, one of my all-time favorites. Loads of bacon, so good."

Chris picked up his fork, filling it with the food from his plate and twirling some carbonara for the camera to see.

"I've had a tradition on Saturdays of taking Y/N out to dinner since the beginning of our relationship, and there's something special about going out to dinner in a new place, you know?" Chris commented warmly. "It's a little gastronomic adventure. Oh, and the music! They're playing something in Italian."

He paused, pointing his fingers upwards, letting the camera pick up the soft, melodic tunes playing in the background. He began to sway his head to the rhythm, clearly enjoying himself.

"Cool, right? Also, we always order different dishes so we can share and try more things." He added, laughing. "Though I usually end up eating half of Y/N's, and she always gets mad at me for it." His eyes sparkled with affection as he spoke about her, shaking his hear jokingly. "Talking about her, her food's going to get cold if she takes much longer."

He lowered his head, frowning as he looked between his plate and hers, refusing to eat until she returned.

"She just said she was going to the bathroom and left you with me. Not sure what she's up to." He shrugged, eyes darting back to the screen. "But tell me a little about yourselves..."

He pretended to listen to the viewers' imaginary responses, nodding thoughtfully.

"I think this is a TikTok trend. Y/N's been obsessed with these lately." Chris said, changing the "topic" abruptly, rolling his eyes playfully.

Just then, Y/N returned to the table, quickly grabbing her phone and trying not to laugh at Chris's expression.

"Thanks, guys. I hope he behaved." She said happily, smiling and waving at the camera.

"Hey, I'm the best boy around, alright?" Chris retorted, grinning widely.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

2. Serving myself a little bit of food and telling my boyfriend that's all we have left

The house was a haven of quiet on that early afternoon. With Nick and Matt away on business for their channel, set to last all day, Y/N and Chris found themselves with a rare stretch of time alone. Deciding against the hassle of preparing a new meal, they settled on enjoying the leftovers from the previous day's lunch.

"I'm going to put the dishes together, honey." Y/N called, already making her way to the door of their shared bedroom after hearing Chris’s stomach rumble in protest as they watched a random and new action movie.

"Alright, I'll be there in a few." Chris responded, not taking his eyes off the screen, where a heated scene of racing cars and guns shooting occurred, his hands reaching blindly for the remote on the bedside table.

With Chris still in the bedroom, Y/N seized the opportunity to record a new TikTok trend that had been flooding her For You Page in the last few days. She fished her phone out of the front pocket of her Fresh Love hoodie, positioning it strategically on the wooden surface of the dining table to capture both the plates and Chris’s reaction, as well as her own figure. Her fingers worked quickly to unlock the device, find the app, and start recording, lowering the screen brightness to its minimum.

While waiting for Chris, Y/N prepared two plates: Chris's, as usual, was generous, laden with a large portion of each meal item. For herself, she placed just a few spoonfuls of each, creating a stark contrast between the two.

When Chris finally appeared in the kitchen, he moved with a relaxed grace to his usual chair, his stomach growling in the quiet of the room, sitting down.

"Finally!" He exclaimed, rubbing his palms together in excitement as he watched Y/N place the plates on the table and sit down beside him. "I was so-" His sentence cut off abruptly as he noticed the disparity in the amount of food on their plates. His brow furrowed as his eyes darted between the two servings.

"I hope it's still good." Y/N said with a small smile, lifting her right arm to reach for her cutlery, her fingers closing around her fork.

"No, wait." Chris stopped her, raising his hand to hover over her plate, his concern evident. "What?"

Feigning confusion, Y/N put down her fork and looked up at him, frowning.

"What what?"

"Weren't you starving?" Chris asked, his voice tinged with worry as he looked her over, his eyes searching for any signs of discomfort.

"No, babe, I'm not that hungry." Y/N shook her head, offering a reassuring smile.

"Are you feeling sick?" Chris's concern deepened, his blue eyes scanning her figure anxiously.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." Y/N insisted, her tone light.

"Babe, this isn't normal." Chris pointed to her plate. "Even on days when you have no appetite, you don't eat this little."

"I need to reduce the amount of food I eat." She invented, using the first excuse that her brain could think of.

"Tell the truth, Y/N. Do you want to go to the hospital?” Chris's worry was palpable as he prepared to stand, but Y/N quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping his next movements.

"Why, Chris? I told you, I'm fine-"

"Then why did you put so little food on your plate?" Chris interrupted, his concern mounting.

"Babe, we just... It's because that was all that was left from yesterday. We ran out of food." Y/N finally revealed, looking down in false shame.

"What do you mean? Is the food gone?" Chris's disbelief was clear. Despite his bigger appetite, he would never allow his girlfriend to go without. "Baby, stop it. Are you crazy? I'm not going to eat all this while you have so little just because our food runs out."

He stood up abruptly, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor echoing sharply in the quiet room. His large hands moved quickly to switch their plates, placing the larger serving in front of Y/N.

"No, Chris! That's all that's left, really! I want you to eat what I gave you." Y/N protested, curving her spine above the wooden surface, her hands hovering in the air.

"Babe, you're hungrier than me. I already ate, you didn't." Chris lied, sitting down again, receiving a surprised look from Y/N. She knew he hadn't eaten anything, just like her.

"What did you eat?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"I had one of those Bold protein bars you always eat." Chris claimed, pointing towards the cabinet above the sink behind his back.

"But, there's no more bar-"

"Of course there is, or was, I ate the last one." Chris interrupted, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

"Babe..." Y/N's heart warmed, her eyes softening. "Let's split it then, okay?"

"No, petal, I want you to eat all of this." He insisted, pointing at the plate that was once his. "How did all the food even run out?"

"I needed to go to the grocery store today, but I wanted to spend the day with you." Y/N explained, her tone tender, her bottom lip jutting out in a little pout.

"It doesn't matter, babe. Just because the food is gone doesn't mean you should eat this little. It looks like bird food." Chris's voice rose with worry, his hands moving to adjust his cap nervously.

"It's no problem, honey, I promise." Y/N argued, moving to switch the plates again, but Chris stopped her.

"Babe, wait, no! Let's go out? Let's go out to eat, hm? Where do you want to go?" Chris's desperation was clear, his blue eyes searching hers. "Let's go out, like a date, yeah?"

Y/N's features brightened instantly, a smile spreading across her lips as small drops of tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, her heart fluttering inside her chest, feeling like she was falling in love all over again.

"A date, babe?" Her voice sounded airy.

"That's right, let's go out for lunch somewhere special. You choose the place and the food, okay?" Chris asked softly, watching her closely, pushing the plate of food in front of him away.

"Yeah." Y/N looked down, her cheeks heating up with a rosy blush.

"Great, I'll get my wallet," Chris said, rising from his seat calmly this time, curving his upper body so that his face was close to her head, sealing the top of it with his lips momentarily, exhaling the soft smell of shampoo. "You heard me?"

"Yes, okay," Y/N nodded quickly, sniffling softly, observing her boy step away. "I love you."

"I love you more, bunny. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

3. Testing my boyfriend if he was an Uber driver

Chris adjusted himself in the leather driver's seat, trying to keep a straight face. His eyes flicked towards Y/N’s phone, checking if it was recording him. A few seconds later, the sound of the back door opening echoed inside the vehicle, and Y/N appeared, sliding into the seat where Nick usually sat during their car videos. She did her best to look like a complete stranger.

"Good afternoon! Are you Chris from Uber?" she asked, adopting a foreign accent. Her head lifted, catching Chris's upper body twisted towards the back seat, his eyes fixed on her. "Why are you looking back like that, Chris?" Y/N yelled, playfully smacking the back of the driver’s seat.

"But I was just-"

༻

"Hey!" Y/N’s voice cut through the brief silence, settling back into the leather seat with a dramatic sigh.

"Good afternoon! Would you like some candy or gum?" Chris greeted, taking his right hand off the steering wheel and reaching towards the car’s console. He pulled out a small box of mints from the cup holder, lifting it up with a flourish.

"Why are you offering candy to the girl, Christopher?" Y/N crossed her arms, her eyes darting from the box to Chris's face and back again before she rolled her eyes and turned around, pretending to get out of the car.

"Sometimes people have bad breath, babe-"

༻

"Hi! Good afternoon. How are you?" Y/N chirped as she got into the car again, a broad smile lighting up her face.

She adjusted herself in the seat, but as she did, her head bumped against the roof of the car.

"Ouch! I hit my head." She burst into laughter, her right hand instinctively reaching up to rub the sore spot, her eyes closed as giggles escaped her lips.

Chris quickly turned back, his eyes wide with concern and amusement. His lips trembled as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"Do you want me to take care of you, miss-" His sentence was cut short by a loud slap, Y/N's free hand playfully hitting his shoulder. "Ouch! Sorry!"

༻

"Hey, good afternoon!" Chris began this time, his eyes fixed on the garage door in front of the car. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, swallowing hard.

"Hi, how are you?" Y/N adjusted herself in the seat, leaning forward so that she was perched on the edge. She leaned her upper body against the back of the driver’s seat, raising her right arm and resting her hand lightly on Chris’s shoulder, giving it a sensual squeeze.

"Do not touch me!" Chris raised his right arm roughly, trying to shake off Y/N’s hand without success. "If you knew my girlfriend, ma'am, you wouldn't dare. She could be nearby right now, you know?" He pretended to look around desperately, finally managing to push Y/N’s hand away. "She's going to kill you."

༻

"Hi, good afternoon! Can I sit in the front?" Y/N asked, already sitting in the back seat, leaning over the console and pointing to the passenger seat.

"You can’t, ma'am." Chris shook his head quickly, keeping his eyes fixed forward.

"But there's no one there. You must feel so lonely." Y/N pouted, looking into the rearview mirror, trying to catch Chris’s eyes.

Chris moved suddenly, lifting his right leg over the gear lever and resting his foot on the floor of the passenger seat.

"Don’t worry, miss, that’s not a problem. I take both seats, you see?" He glanced at the rearview mirror, losing his balance and accidentally pressing the horn, its loud sound echoing through the garage.

༻

"Excuse me, sir, there's a little thing in there! Let me clean it for you." Y/N, already inside the car and leaning between the passenger and driver seats, murmured. Her right hand lightly grabbed Chris's chin, turning his head towards her.

Chris let her, his blue eyes meeting hers. His pupils dilated as he watched her face, his lips parting slightly as he felt his heartbeat increase its pace. He tilted his head closer, their mouths brushing for a brief moment.

"Christopher Sturniolo, are you going to kiss your passenger?!" Y/N suddenly pulled away, hitting his shoulder hard.

"It was an accident, babe-"

༻

"Sir, do you like brunettes?" Y/N asked, leaning over the back of the driver's seat and laying the side of her face on the headrest. She kept her eyes fixed on Chris, biting her bottom lip lightly, trying to convey an air of seduction.

"No, miss, I like bald ones." Chris quickly responded without looking at her, causing Y/N to burst into laughter.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

4. I can't go out

"I can't go out."

Y/N lay sprawled on the bed she shared with Chris, the soft, inviting sheets cradling her body. Her phone hovered above her, capturing her every move as she began to lip-sync to the familiar audio. The screen’s glow bathed her face in a gentle, almost ethereal light, accentuating the gleam in her eyes and the subtle curve of her lips, painted with a delicate pink gloss.

"Cough, cough." She murmured as she feigned illness, her free hand coming up, fingers curling into a delicate fist that she brought to her lips, a playful, exaggerated expression dancing across her features. "I'm sick." She finished, the mock severity in her face making her eyes sparkle with mischief.

She shifted the phone slightly, widening the view just as Chris’s strong arm snaked into the frame. His biceps, taut and defined, flexed dramatically, the play of muscles under his skin evident and undeniably captivating.

His skin was warm around her neck, the faint scent of him - a mix of his natural aroma and the lingering trace of his Dior cologne - intoxicating her senses. The pressure of his bicep against her cheeks made her bite down on her lower lip, her teeth digging into the soft flesh to stifle the smile, threatening to break free.

Her body responded instinctively to his closeness, a shiver of excitement coursing down her spine. She tilted her head slightly, her hair cascading over his arm like a silken waterfall, each strand catching the light in a mesmerizing display.

She was so lucky.

© vanteguccir

[physalian]

Beta Reader Checklist! (Suggestions)

Beta reading is highly, highly subjective, so take this whole post with a massive grain of salt. IMO, in short, more feedback is always safer than less feedback, unless the author states otherwise.

Like, if they ask you to do a final read through for any lingering issues, you can speed-read your way through the manuscript for general vibes and enjoyability. If this is the first round of edits and beta reads, the more you can give them, even if you think you're over-reaching, the better.

Thank you to all my betas thus far, absolutely no shade meant with this post. Everybody's got different expectations. This is meant to help anyone who's unsure about the task before them.

So I'm going to use some snippets from my seasoned beta reader's feedback from my upcoming novella for the variety of commentary you can give.

Positive vibes/reader reaction

Even if the manuscript is a hot mess, sending back a beta read with 0 good things to say is going to demoralize the author. Even if all you can say is "this is a cool concept that can benefit from a better execution," letting the author know that they've written something salvagable helps, especially if you can do it in the first few paragraphs.

Grammar and Syntax

You are not a line editor and should not be expected to line edit someone's first draft (and this beta got the ~7th draft). However, if you do see something while reading, there's no reason that you can't leave a suggestion.

Fun commentary

We authors like to know that the reader is connecting with the story. These comments tells me absolutely nothing helpful about bettering the manuscript, but they're human responses from a human reader and it's just nice to see. Beta readers are casual, you should be allowed to stay stuff like this.

Developmental edits

Beta readers generally come before the big expensive editor (if you ever hire one at all) which means the goal is more big picture, developmental commentary over splitting hairs about punctuation. This comment got me to add about half a paragraph's worth of extra narrative to expand upon, because I liked the suggestion.

Continuity and reader comprehension

This novella happens to be about a niche subject that not every layman reader will understand, so I have to find the line between overexplaining to those who know, and underexplaining to those who don't, without reading like a textbook. The top line I ended up leaving as I didn't think the risk of confusion was worth the added technical detail. The bottom line was a continuity error that I did have to fix.

Repetition and style

I'm an author who will always look for ways to lower my word count. Sometimes cutting a random line is better for the narrative than doubling down and trying to justify it with extra details. In this case, I over-used a motif, and happily saved myself 7 words.

Potential for extra detail

If you struggle with lengthening your word count, you can ask your betas to focus on where the narrative is thin and can benefit for more immersion and backstory. This beta leaves me comments everywhere suggesting places for extra sensory details, as I write very lean narratives with little fluff, and my consistency with sensory details varies widely.

All told, over 21k words of story, this beta left me exactly 100 comments, and a couple quick line edits within the text itself. It shows me, at the very least, that she was engaged with the story. The only time she doesn't leave me comments is when a scene is so intense that she forgets to make one.

The Reader Report

The reader report is a separate document from the manuscript copy that compiles and condenses the beta's thoughts into a much shorter format so the author doesn't have to scroll up and down constantly for a big picture takeaway. It also expands upon any commentary the beta had, but didn't want to put in a single tag within the narrative and is typically written after most of the manuscript has been read for overall thoughts.

This beta in particular knows what I like, which is breaking down the report by chapter (or parts in this case). The only thing missing from her delivery is a final conclusion that will answer the three big questions:

Did she like it?

Would she buy it?

Would she recommend it?

But it was also done in a rush and in her email she said I made her cry so I count that as a yes for all 3.

—

I did not implement every suggestion from her, but I did acknowledge where other readers might feel the same and weighed the pros of trying to satisfy everything vs maintaining my clear vision.

The benefit of the beta process, if you work with multiple betas, is having more than one reader's opinion, and why I don't think anyone should pay ridiculous fees for a developmental editor. My betas all had different opinions on this manuscript, and I can treat their feedback like a scatterplot, deciding on revisions with an average throughline.

At the end of the day, you write for yourself, not to please any one beta reader. They're suggestions, not rules, and even if your beta tells you they hate it, you at least learn who your target audience isn't, and what naysayers wouldn't like.

[s1xthirty]

the smallest man who ever lived

pairings : aleksander morozova x fem!reader

summary : someone from your past come back from the dead and knocks on your door with no warning and empty promises.

warnings : rules of wolves spoiler! slight details of the reader being a metamorphmagus.

A/N : please please pleasee, ignore all the grammar mistakes and errors! english isn't my first language. Buy me a coffee!!

He didn't know where to go. He hadn’t thought past the need to become whole again and finally return to himself. He doesn't exactly know who he is right now. He doesn't even have a plan yet—he doesn't know what his purpose is, but his mind keeps echoing your name.

He had pushed you away and left you behind back when his mother meddled with his plans to expand the fold. Maybe he doesn't want you to see him as the black heretic, but that's no excuse because you had seen him evil and you never once blink an eye on the way he did things for Ravka and its people. Yet somehow that wasn't enough for him because you are not what he was looking for—you are not the sun summoner.

What was he thinking abandoning you like that? You were the only one who understands his ways—the only one who understands him. You stayed when nobody could, but yet he still left you once his sun summoner tried to fight against him.

Something painful stirred in his ribs, a feeling he once knew all too well.

Without knowing it, his legs carried him to a beautiful cottage deep in the woods. Many winters ago, you had told him that you wanted to live somewhere far away from the world, somewhere peaceful. You've always believed that you'd be more than content with your own company.

A lot has changed since the last time he visited. The plant has caught up in time, it has sprouted and covered some spots of the stone wall of the cottage. Aleksander also doesn't remember the wildflowers being so lush, he can barely see the pathway to the front door.

His feet were already approaching the front door, but something in him hesitated.

Are you even gonna let him into your home after all these years?

A creek sound of the door snapped him out of his thoughts and his heart raced rapidly in his chest. He doesn't know why he was so anxious to see you. He was the one who left first.

The sight of a familiar man in front of your door made your heart almost leap out of your chest, making you drop the basket in your grasp. "Saints!" You gasped and froze on the door seeing Aleksander standing before you.

For a moment, Aleksander was starstruck. Your face was still beautiful just like the day you both met, it's like you haven't aged a bit. Though, your hair is darker— what happened to your blue hair?

Your eyes roamed through Aleksander's body, making sure you haven't seen a ghost. The last time you saw him, his face was covered in scars. He was weak and wounded, begging for a fix and once he was, he's back on his feet to get his little summoner and you haven't seen him since. You eventually stopped waiting for him.

"Ma?" a voice of a little girl came from inside the house, "Who's at the door?" the little girl came up to the door hiding behind you.

Aleksander could see a glimpse of the blue hair he'd always known but then it turned back to black when the little girl saw him at the door.

"Oh, it's just an old friend, dear." You managed to say, but Aleksander could sense the shake in your voice. "Would you mind collecting the strawberries for me, today?" You picked up the basket on the floor.

"Really?" the little girl lit up in excitement, her hair turning to yellow but then she quickly shook it off again to turn it to black.

"Of course!"

The little girl immediately grabbed the basket and left you alone. Once you were inside, Aleksander sat down by the couch. The atmosphere of your home doesn't change at all. The first thing Aleksander smelled when he first came in was sage and cinnamon. He would always ridicule your old-fashioned ways, but maybe it has rubbed off on him because right now he felt at ease as if he knew he'd be safe inside of your home.

You sat by the armchair facing him with eyes shooting daggers into his very soul. Aleksander could sense the anger that's boiling inside of you, but he knows you know very well how to keep it at bay.

"I thought you were dead."

"Everyone does."

"Exactly, Aleksander. And you're supposed to stay dead!" You hissed, not wanting to shout knowing your child was outside. All these years you thought that you were over him and you've made peace with whatever reason he left you for, but after seeing his face again, you can't help but be angry at him.

"You know I'd do anything to—"

"Save it. What do you want?"

Ravka back in his hand, people kneeling over the starless saint, the throne, to be feared. But that one voice somewhere inside of him said your name. "I wanted to see you," said Aleksander.

"Me?" You chuckled, "I thought you're busy changing the world with that sun summoner of yours."

“I was wrong.” Aleksander said firmly, “I was blinded with greed. I shouldn't have left you.”

“And how am I supposed to believe your words after everything you put me through?” you seethed. “That day, I was planning on telling you, but you left so sudden without telling me a single thing. You could've told me you wanted to go after your summoner—I would've told you right then immediately. Instead, I had to pull myself together while also carrying a baby, all alone!”

"Was that little girl.. ?"

You said nothing, only looking out through the window trying to ignore the way your throat is starting to tighten up. That little girl is Aleksander's child. You haven't been able to tell the kid about her father yet. You couldn't. Not when his father is now resurrected from the dead.

"What is her name?" asked Aleksander,

"Lea."

“She's beautiful.”

“She looks so much like you, it makes me forget how much I hate you for leaving me.” Hell, was he so fixated on being feared than seeing what was actually important in front of his eyes?

Maybe Alina was right, it's not too late for me. Maybe Aleksander could make up for lost times and actually do better—not for ravka, but maybe for Lea.

“Does she know?” He asked,

“What do you think?” You snapped, “She can't know, Aleksander. How do you think she'll react after knowing her father is probably one of the most hated men in the country?”

“I'm willing to stay. For her—for you.”

“No,” you shook your head, “I'm not falling for your stupid games anymore.”

“Please,” He begged and you almost melted from how sweet your name was on his lips, but you know you can't. You've made a promise to yourself that you'd never go back to whatever you had with him. You'd never put yourself in that position again. This is the last time.

You shook your head, “Get out of my house.” The words came out a little more sharper than you intended, but to your surprise, Aleksander didn't fight anymore. He just looked into your eyes for one last time and left.

Buy me a coffee!!

[dr-spectre]

Splatoon - Callie 101!

I have gathered EVERY Callie analysis and ramble I've done and complied them together into one post for your viewing convenience! I go over all the different aspects relating to Callie's arc in Splatoon 2, diving deep into Hypno Callie and clearing up ALL of her misconceptions. Some of these posts are just me rambling and some of them do have overlapping information, but these posts still provide valuable and important information regarding Callie.

In the posts i go over the following:

Clearing up wrong info (She was kidnapped and brainwashed)

Pre-hypnosis

During hypnosis and her behaviour

Explaining hypnosis and it's differences compared to brainwashing

Her being flung out of hypnosis

How she remembers the Squid Sisters

Why she put the shades back on

I love this character to death and i only want the best for her, i hope more and more people come to learn about her true arc and i hope i can inspire some change in the community. Either via more people in the community saying the right terminology across social media and changing the wording from "brainwashing" to hypnosis.

PLEEEAASSEEE!!! reblog and share with others in the Splatoon community because I really do want some change and i want this wonderful character that i love to death to be treated with some more respect. Although she may not seem that important, Callie is one of the most important and significant characters in the franchise and i want more people to treat her as such, rather than some airheaded idiot.

Hearing people say the same stuff over and over again like "Oh she was kidnapped, overpowered and then brainwashed, losing all of her memories, etc." Genuinely gave me a lot of discomfort and i avoided consuming Splatoon 2 content because i was actually scared of seeing Hypno Callie and hearing those words.... That was until i actually did research and began making all of these posts that i shall link.

So here you go and i hope you learn something new about Callie Cuttlefish! (Press Keep reading to view the posts.) 

[evelhak]

Would anyone be interested in beta-/proofreading my KnB fic series?

(Spreading the word helps too. 🙏🏻)

Unfortunately I lost both of my beta-readers due to dramatic life changes a couple of years ago, and I've been doing my best to manage on my own but it's becoming a struggle.

There must be someone out there who craves for the same kind of intense longfic as I do, to get immersed in, and would like to be a part of it.

Plus there are some new/returning KnB people around recently, so who knows? Maybe one of you, who would already be interested in reading an insanely long fic for your own enjoyment, would like to devote, probably a few hours a month or so (I don't have a strict schedule), to relieving the writer's anxiety before they post a new chapter? I'm not looking for anything super in-depth. Basically just another pair of eyes to help me fix:

1. Scenes/sentences/word choices that are too confusing.

2. Factual errors.

3. Typos, grammar mistakes etc.

Low pressure, basically just anything that catches your attention as out of place or needing clarification. Definitely not asking for perfection or anything that you wouldn't catch on the first round of reading. I'm just looking to reduce mistakes I can't catch on my own.

I guess the chances of me finding anyone who is already reading the series (since to my knowledge my long-term readers never came from Tumblr in the first place) are pretty low, so

What will you get if you take a chance on me/The Other Things series?

Aside from a devoted friend (who will also always be ready for in-depth KnB talk)...

🏀 basically a lifetime supply of KagaKuro, seasoned with AoMomo, MidoTaka and other less prominent and at times rare ships (Stay tuned for Yagi Yuuta/Male OC) and also a lot of supporting OCs who exist for reasons other than shipping, including several characters' family members

🏀 one detailed and elaborate version of the main KnB characters' life journeys/basically an enormous character study

🏀 a very psychologically explicit story <- a pair of words (reader approved xD) I recently came up with to describe the emotional intensity that sometimes takes people by surprise

🏀 so much slice of life, so much dialogue, so much angst and fluff, so, so much character development that is definitely earned the hard way

🏀 snail speed slow-burn, I am not kidding, but intense love scenes and also no smut for over a million words but once we get there I promise it's worth it

🏀 so much intertextuality, myths, fairytales, analogies, symbolism that you can reread and reread if you want and I'm sure you'll keep finding new connections

🏀 a lot of fun stuff like our dorks in a group chat, disaster house parties and basketball idiots playing quadball, tons of everyday silliness

🏀 heart wrenching stuff and psychological depiction of hardship, personal growth as well as different kinds of relationships

🏀 deep-dives into topics including mental and physical health, dysfunctional family dynamics, a variety of queer experiences, neurodiversity and more, and particularly characters struggling with how complex things are

🏀 at times counterintuitive interpretations of canon but everything is in one way or another, canon-based or canon-inspired

🏀 to read seven fics before you actually get to beta-read the new stuff😇

Send me a DM if you're interested! 🩵

You can also try and decide it wasn't your thing. The series can be found here on AO3.

[chains-of-destiny]

I really love your IF but there seems to be some grammatical errors and did you switch up the way you write ? Because the way the characters speak now are different and seem a little off. Also on a smaller tidbit Juna refers to MCs dad as Lord instead of saying MY Lord, the latter just makes the sentences roll better.

Thank you for the feedback! I'll go through the text again today and tomorrow to fix any grammar errors.

Also on a smaller tidbit Juna refers to MCs dad as Lord instead of saying MY Lord, the latter just makes the sentences roll better.

You might be right, I’ll take another look at it.

did you switch up the way you write ? Because the way the characters speak now are different and seem a little off

Well...maybe, I didn't intententially write differently. Could you DM me with more details on what felt different/off to you? I’m always working on improving my writing and would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions/critiques because there are a million ways to make something like this better.

[santaclaushohoho1]

writing blog 4 you little bitch:

i got a lot of worldbuilding and basic plotting done in my head. motivations, archetypes, names, landscapes, architecture, races, culture, and images are swimming around in my head. most have been written down

tomorrow i am hoping to draw a map and start expanding on races and cultures in my notebook. writing draws ever closer. the cultures will probably change as i move on through the story, as i am sure the (college (subtle brag 😎 (shut up xxprogamerxx)) anthropology class i am taking will give me so many ideas i want to include.

george r.r. martin, stephen king, and andrzej sapkowski are providing a large amount of inspiration but it is not a crossover fan fiction where Jon Snow fucks Geralt and a mother, mother, daughter, son, and weird fucking uncle relationship forms between yennefer, sussanah, ciri, jake, and eddie (i listed them in their respective roles).

this is entirely original

i swear

i plan for the map to be super detailed and i would like to start tonight but i am wiped out so instead i am going to watch the click in bed, sleep, and start on it in the morning

if i dont wake up early enough to do mapping before i start school i will work on basic plotting and maybe design a couple languages

some will be ancient and out of use, but somehow still relevant to important things (fucking latin) and others will be used regularly, though most humanoids will speak my version of common

i also have 12 religions to create

this will be a lot of fun, and considering how much of my time i spend thinking about this stuff, i am hopeful i finish quickly

i ALSO developed a schedule that i will do for writing when the time comes around. my goal is 95,000 words, and i have mathed it out so that if i can write 3,750 words a week (not that much, 750 words, 5 days a week or 536ish words a day) then it will be completed in in less than six months. this is doable and also gives me a LOT of wiggle room, both to get extremely ahead of schedule (if i get really into it) or really behind schedule (if i can only bring myself to write 500 a day for a week, i have another 2 days to write that extra 1250) (for context, this is over 400 words, so i will need to write less than 2 of these a day, this only took me maybe 20 minutes but that's including going over a couple times with my eyes and with Grammarly to fix any spelling mistakes and grammar errors (as well as adding tags and this side note, we are more like at 547 in this whole thing, including the tags), i will not be doing that on my rough draft because that shit is supposed to be rough and editing it will kill my motivation so hard)

i got my shit together raccoon!!! woohoo!!!

[salty-professor]

Degree Mills

The Department of Education defines a degree mill as a school that has fake accreditation and where the students do not have to do any work. That is certainly true.

However, insiders, that is me, and a lot of other folks who do the work in higher ed agree that a degree mill is a place where the fix is in from the moment the student walks on campus. They find it sick to know that regardless of performance, as long as the student has a pulse and is in good standing with one or twenty student loan services (this is the real key, students=$$$), that student will graduate with a legitimate degree even though the student will not have learned a fucking thing.

It is gross. I hate it. Blech.

I have a confession to make…

I accidentally got a job at a degree mill. I didn't mean to. I was looking to pick up some summer teaching. Teaching full-time doesn't pay all the bills and sometimes, we get sick of teaching the same few classes over and over, so, while we don't want to leave our full-time teaching posts, we pick up adjunct jobs at other schools.

So, I saw this ad for an adjunct job at a BIG school. This is one of those schools that is so big that it will survive the coming edpocalypse without so much as a blink. When the small, liberal arts schools fail, and shut down these mammoth, too-big-to-fail schools will roll on until there is just one monster Hydra University. It is an online job so I didn't have to commute. It pays better than what I would make doing overload work at my current job. Most importantly for me, the school is a non-profit and accredited, so I wasn't going to be doing garbage…or so I thought. I did my training and was impressed. I mean, they use an online learning management system designed by sadists. Still, it wasn't the end of the world. I've used it before. It isn't my full-time job. I could suffer for a few hours per day of this bullshit. No problem. I signed the contract. I read the text. I whistled a merry tune.

Then, I saw the course shell.

I have zero ability to change anything. I can't alter the due dates to meet my schedule. I can't close the discussions after they are graded. I can't even change the late policy. OK. So, I guess this is all about quality control. They need to be sure folks are doing it "right" so OK. I can give good, thoughtful feedback and do some teaching on the back end. Individualized learning is awesome anyway. Then, I saw the rubrics. They are already filled out with approved written feedback and they only have three levels. The student either gets all the points, most of the points, or NONE of the points. Really? Really? Who would EVER give a student a zero unless there was a missing assignment? No one who isn't a total fuckhead, that's who. I am not, for the record, a total fuckhead.

Thus, even when my students totally miss the point, like swing and miss, I have to mark that middle row on the grading rubric. That means, as long as the student turns in something, even if it is crappy and has a grammar error in every sentence, the student will earn a C. The school is accredited because every week the faculty clicks the pre-made rubric and thus the students get regular, substantive feedback. Also, as long as they submit something, the students will pass. The retention and graduation rates put me through the roof. Student satisfaction must be sky high because when asked if they like the place and if they feel the teacher was engaged, students will say yes. After all, how could they not?

I can't change the system. It is a massive school with lots of lawyers and I assume, one or twenty lobbyists as well. For now, I am taking detailed notes. I have videos and screenshots. I am building a file that I will send to the DOE and the regional accrediting body. They will likely not give a shit, but I give a shit and it is all I can do. I am not going to walk away from the students I currently have. I can't quit on them. That isn't fair. They can still learn some good stuff. I will fight the good fight within the virtual confines of my classroom. I will give different feedback. I will push them to do better. I will make audio comments or video comments and I meet with them and I try, and try, and try, to get them to learn. To be better. I will explain that while they are going to pass, that isn't the point. Grades are pointless if they don't learn anything.

I know there will be students who care. I know there is some great information they can take from my class. I can do the work. The extra work. I can be the shining light in the degree-milled darkness. I will work hard because I care.

#educationisaright, but it must be earned.

I need to take a shower.

[dennisboobs]

How could a guy get involved in helping out with the wiki? I've never done it before and I don't think I'd necessarily be any good at writing the content (I'm too biased and I know it) but I love doing repetitive organisational stuff like linking pages together and keeping an eye on formatting and stuff.

We all started somewhere! The nicest thing about wiki work is that every little bit helps (and nothing is ever catastrophic, the rollback and page history features are a godsend, and I have a bot set up in a private server to give me live updates for the wiki). Even if you don't think you'd be great at writing, someone else could come along and spiff up the stuff you wrote, edit it down, change your wording, etc. In many cases, it's better to have something on a page than nothing at all, even if you don't feel it's adequate. Trust me when I say that starting from scratch is worse for someone like me, especially when the subject has fifteen seasons you're now faced with recapping because at some point someone decided Dennis' page should be full of jotnotes detailing his sexual exploits instead of an actual per-episode or even per-season summary.

If you think you're biased, stick to facts, cite your sources, and don't extrapolate a ton; it helps to work on pages you don't have any particularly strong feelings about too (though this isn't always the most motivating, it might still be a good place to start out).

I'm going to work on writing up a style guide for the wiki, probably something similar to the one I wrote for the Disco Elysium wiki, but until then, small edits and just doing what you can (fixing spelling errors, watching for consistency - US English on the Sunny wiki is a bit of a struggle for me because I'm Canadian, I slip up - with grammar and regional spelling), and if you're familiar with how interwiki links should be handled (something like... [[Dennis Reynolds]] or [[Deandra Reynolds|Dee Reynolds]] or ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', only first mention on a page should be linked, first mention should be the full name/title, etc.) my suggestion is just going to the topnav and hitting "random page" and seeing if you hit on a page with a glaring problem that you can tackle.

Right now, most pages have lazy and unnecessary templates like this: {{Dennis}}, {{S8}} that I'm working on getting rid of and replacing with the standard links: [[Dennis Reynolds|Dennis]], [[Season 8]], so if you're up for the task, that might be an easy place to start, and should also serve to get you acclimated to the wiki and the editor (speaking of, I'd suggest using the actual source editor - not the VisualEditor or the VisualEditor - source mode, but the actual Source editor - which can be found in My Preferences > Editing.)

If you need anything at all, you can hit me up on my profile's talk page, on Discord @ Literally Satan#3262, or here on tumblr, and I'd be happy to help. Thanks for your interest!!

[serxa]

About my Blog

I'm still a new user here, fresh from wattpad, (I haven't opened my wattpad in ages) and I do like writing fanfics in my notes, so half of these are from my notes app.

Some of the stuff I write are NSFW, and I write detailed smut, so if you're not a fond of certain kinks like degrading, knife and gun play, and mentions of murder, please don't visit or read anything here on my blog.

This is just my blog for writing, I do reblog here sometimes, but I have a whole different account for my reblogs cause I reblog too much. It's here.

I apologize if my english isn't as good, English isn't my first language, so if there are any errors or grammar corrections, please do tell.

Since I'm still a new user, I'm still writing new stories, and fixing up old stories I have in my notes, so it will take me a while to update new stories, and take requests.

If you like my work, you can ask requests and I'll take them as soon as possible. The best you could do it go to my profile and ask there, or message me here on Tumblr.

Most of my stories are also Fem!Reader, so if you'd like certain ships, or a Masc!Reader, you can also request!!

Feel free to interact as much, and thank you so much for the support♡♡

[fromdevcom]

The tech industry is growing so fast you can just put the developer in the email subject line and you’ll get a job in Silicon Valley, right? Easy there, Mr. Robot. Demand for software developers is the highest ever, but so is competition. You’re no longer up against local talent. You’ll have to face off coders worldwide. Writing the perfect resume is paramount—and this includes picking the right resume formats. Sure, coding skills can be easily verified. Then again, recruiters aren’t into talent assessment, they’re into talent acquisition. If you want to get one of those unicorn jobs, you need a perfect resume. You can make the resume-building task simpler by utilizing a resume maker. Use our resume writing hacks to make your resume read like Quake 3 source code. Beautiful but efficient. Follow this advice and you’ll get a job faster than you can say Fast InvSqrt(). How To Write The Perfect Programmer Resume? We sorted our tips b the impact. Ignore all and you’re stuck in the recruitment black hole. Get the first one right and your resume will survive the first brute-force test. Apply all and you’ll be tired of winning. Fix Grammar And Spelling Errors The Issue About 58% of employers auto-reject resumes that contain typos. If you’re not a native speaker, you might get some leeway, but for everyone else, language skills are unfortunately treated as a pretty good proxy for general cognitive ability, attention to detail, and how serious you are about the job. Another study, by Aline Lerner, revealed that spelling mistakes and grammar errors matter more than anything else on a coder’s resume. The effect is larger than that of the prestige of a college or previous employer. Let that sink in. Typos are a greater turn-off than MIT is a turn-on. Sure, correlation doesn’t imply causation and I’m pushing the conclusions to their extreme. Feel like tempting fate, though? The Fix Hit F7. Run a basic spell-check. Follow up with tools like LanguageTool and Grammarly. Ask friends to proofread your programming resume. Reread your resume every now and again. You can also hire a professional resume proofreading services company like ServiceScape to do perform the job. Don’t List Responsibilities, Talk About Achievements. If you’re a car salesperson looking for a job selling cars, employers know what you did. They only want to know how well you did it. But you’re not a car salesman, you’re a hacker. Employers do want to know what you did. They also want to know how you did it. And, how well you did it. The Issue Being vague. Don’t make your work experience section read like a laundry list of duties and responsibilities. The Fix Use the Problem–Action–Result method to talk about your experience, e.g., Reduced X by 50% by implementing Y. Here’s an example for you to compare Right Created and implemented a service that scrapes product opinions and recommendations from discussion boards. The service used [technology X] to find relevant threads, removed off-topic comments with 90% accuracy, analyzed sentiment through [technology Y], and created structured SQL databases with opinions for each product. Wrong Responsible for creating a software application for data collection. Tasks included: architecture design, integration with relevant applications, UX design, database management, and data modeling. The right example gives the employer what they need: the what, the how, the how well. The wrong example is pretty much a collection of words: you kind of understand each word but, in the end, it’s impossible to imagine what the candidate had in mind. Pro Tip: Always use active verbs (or, power words) to talk about each job. Quantify whenever possible. Numbers speak louder than words. Need to learn more? Have a look at this programmer resume sample. Tailor Your Resume To Match The Employer’s Needs As Expressed In The Job Ad. The Issue Resumes that are generic and don’t seem personalized for the position are rejected by 36% of employers. Without blinking an eye.

The fix You need to tailor your resume to the position you are targeting. A generic one-size-fits-all resume will get you nowhere. You need to read the job description, highlight the most important keywords (these might include programming languages, skills, years of experience, etc.) and mirror the language of the job ad on your resume. Don’t Over-Optimize Your Resume To Beat The ATS Test Resumes that copy a large amount of wording from the job posting are rejected by 32% of employers. The Issue Going too far with tailoring your resume. Yes, resume keywords matter a whole lot. There’s a chance your resume will go through an applicant tracking system which sieves out non-relevant applications. Use too few and your candidacy is non-relevant. Use too many and your resume will be treated as spam, not ham. Remember, the end reader is human. The fix No brainless copypastas. Pick the most important keywords from the job description. Work them into descriptions of previous jobs. Don’t worry if you can’t showcase a particular job-specific skill. Include a substitute and sprinkle your resume with a few position-relevant keywords you find in similar job postings. Include A List Of  Skills. In the end, programming is a pretty level playing field. It’s all about skills. Make hiring you a no-brainer by providing the employer with a skills list that delivers the goods. The Issue Hiding what you can do. The Fix Don’t just plonk whatever skills come to mind on your resume. Remember to tailor the skills list, too. Mention the most important skills listed in the job when you talk about the previous jobs you’ve done. Repeat them in the skills list. Finish the list off by adding the remaining skills you possess and were noted in the job ad. If you’re an entry-level programmer, self-taught coder, or a computer science graduate, you can mention what languages and technical skills you covered at university and learned on your own. However, the longer the list, the less credible it is. Pick them wisely. Pro Tip: Here’s a rule of thumb. Say you’ve dabbled in making websites. You kind of covered HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and Python in college. If you simply dump all of them—and then some!—in your skills section it won’t look credible. It will scream, “Lack of specificity!” Here’s a quick sanity check. Take the number of languages and tech skills and divide them by years of experience. See that example in the pro tip? Assuming that candidate did three years of college, he’s spent no more than half a year doing each. And that’s being generous! Focus on your strongest skills and don’t flood recruiters with stuff you’d fail at in the interview. Use A Professional-Looking Email Address That’s right, the days of being l33th4c3r@yahoo.com have ended. It’s time to kick things normcore—john.smith@gmail.com. Why? Because 31% or employers will reject applicants with inappropriate email addresses. Include Exact Dates Of Employment The Issue Thirty-one percent of employers will auto-reject resumes that don’t include exact dates of employment. Why? That looks fishy. Like you were hiding something. And let’s be honest—that’s exactly what you’re doing! The Fix Add specific start and end dates for each position you’ve held. Month/year works fine: Junior Front-End Developer | Code Conductors, Inc., New York City February 2015–December 2017 Transparency first. Be honest and you will find the right job. That goes out to you, in particular, rookie! Don’t Include A Photo On Your Resume Sure, job hunting feels a lot like Tinder—mostly swipes left with the occasional match here and there. But let’s get things straight: you are not trying to get a date, you’re trying to get a job. Skip the photo. About 13% of employers reject applications with photos. You’re not a model, you’re a hacker. The state suggests that only a dozen of employers out of a hundred have a problem with photos. However, the number is about auto-rejections only. Plus, it’s probably underestimated.

For legal reasons, few employers will accept resumes that include photos. It’s not worth the risk in terms of potential charges of discrimination. Plus, if they really want to know what you look like, they’ll just google you. Don’t waste valuable real estate on photos, use it to provide more information on your background. Skip Your GPA Unless the job ad clearly states you have to disclose your grade point average, don’t do it. It doesn’t carry that much weight. Plus, you’d need it to be above average. Otherwise, you’ll get pwnd by anyone who’s got .01 on you. However, if your GPA is damn close to a perfect 4.00 score, you might break this rule and try to leverage your academic achievement. Just bear in mind that graduating with honors would work better anyway. The Ultimate Hack: Get Experience I know you rolled your eyes. I get it, it’s a vicious circle—it feels like you need the experience to get experience. According to the Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report 2016, employers look for this information on your resume: Job Experience - 67% Cultural Fit - 60% Cover Letters - 26% The prestige of College - 21% GPA - 19% NACE’s Job Outlook 2017 suggests that, in fact, nearly 91% of employers prefer that their candidates have work experience. And 65% of the total group prefer their candidates to have relevant work experience. Aline Lerner’s study cited before, shows that the prestige of working at a top company (positive) comes in second, just after typos (negative), in terms of impact. It’s clear that what employers mean by experience is a blend of what you can do and who you did it for. You really need to get your work history and skills sections right! You know what makes writing a resumed way easier? Having something to write about in the first place. Doing internships matters a lot. Especially, if you’re doing an industry-relevant internship. Personal projects won’t necessarily take you from zero to hero, but a +1 here and there add up. There’s plenty of open source projects you can work on. Get active on GitHub. Reach out to industry insiders. Do some freelancing. There’s a lot to think about. But hey, there’s an app for that. Use the online resume builder by Uptowork and stop worrying about bugs in your resume—bugs you didn’t even know about until now. The Uptowork builder will guide you through the writing process step by step. It will provide you with tips and hacks from hiring experts to help you make the most of each section. Downloadable resume pdf? Check. Online resume? Check. Application tracking capabilities, 20+ templates, and a matching cover letter? Check, check, and check. You rock at creating code. Up to work rocks at creating resumes. No need to worry about learning everything on your own. Automate.

[desklib72]

How AI Tools Can Help You Meet Deadlines and Excel in Your Assignments

Will I Finish My Assignment on Time? How Can I Ensure My Work Stands Out and Meets Expectations? These are some of the many questions students face when academic demands start to mount. AI paraphraser As deadlines draw nearer and expectations increase, it feels overwhelming. But what if you could make it easier and achieve great results without all that stress?

AI tools for academic success are fast changing the way assignments are approached. From AI-powered paraphrasers to sophisticated plagiarism checkers, such solutions are revolutionizing academics in ways hitherto unheard of. They help heighten productivity while making for polished, high-quality submissions that meet the expectations at the highest academic level.

Let's dive deeper into how these AI tools help students achieve academic excellence.

AI Paraphrasers

AI Paraphrasers help you change the existing content into some new one without losing the actual meaning. Be it avoiding plagiarism or changing the tone and style, the tool gets it done in quicker time with increased efficiency and creates well-constructed content out of it in no time.

Benefits:

Creates new versions of existing content in no time.

The professional adapts the content to suit a specific academic tone or requirement.

Reduces plagiarism risk by rephrasing sentences effectively.

Plagiarism Checkers

Plagiarism can be the undermining of academic integrity, but Plagiarism Checkers ensure your work is original. These tools scan extensive databases for similarities and provide detailed reports to keep your work unique.

Benefits:

Scans thoroughly for duplicate or plagiarized content.

Issues flags provide originality scores.

It avoids accidental plagiarism.

AI Detectors

Seeing it where AI-generated content is entering the mainstream, educators watch with much more interest: AI detectors check if written work is machine-generated, or if it's in fact written by a real living, breathing human to reinforce maintaining academic integrity.

Benefits:

Detects the presence of patterns typical in AI-generated writing.

Helps maintain a natural, human-like writing style.

Ensures originality criteria are followed.

Grammar and Style Checkers

Well-written content is the backbone of academic success. Grammar and Style Checkers go beyond correcting errors; they also offer suggestions to improve tone, structure, and clarity.

Benefits:

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors fixed.

Suggests better word choices and sentence structures.

Improves clarity in your writing, besides giving it more professionalism.

Citation Generators

Accurate citations are the backbone of any academic work. Citation Generators go one step further and make the process easier with automatic formatting of references to approved styles, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Benefits:

Automatically create multiple-source citations.

Ensures consistency in format and accuracy.

Organizes references for easy revision and consistency.

Research Assistants

Good research is not only important but also vital for academic success. AI Research Assistant saves your time in finding reliable sources, summarizing efficiently, and organizing your research project.

Benefits:

Finds credible academic sources much faster.

Summarizes content to provide an overview of key points.

Organizes research and sets up references for easy access.

Mind Mapping Tools

Mind Mapping Tools are web-based applications that create visual maps of your ideas, clearing up the process of working out essays, presentations, and projects.

Benefits:

Visualizes concepts and relationships to help with organization.

Helps in the preparation of structured outlines for academic work.

Encourages the ability of thinking together in group projects.

Text-to-Speech (TTS) Tools

The tool of text-to-speech is great for those who are audio learners or have any challenges in reading. It converts written information into audio for better review and comprehension.

Benefits:

Transforms text into audio to facilitate understanding and retention.

Listens to your work to help in proofreading.

Allows flexibility in learning and studying on the go.

Why AI Tools Matter to Student Success

Academic life is often filled with tight deadlines, complicated material, and high expectations. AI Tools for Academic Success simplify all of these challenges through their automated processes and increased quality in work.

These can let the student spend more time with their creativity and critical thinking, yet without compromising a shred of academic standing or grade expectation. The portal will integrate Desklib platforms like these all in one for the betterment of their academics.

Incorporating AI tools into your routine not only boosts efficiency but also equips you with the skills needed to thrive in today’s competitive academic landscape.

for more info: click here

[engrammonline]

Is a Grammar Master Course Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know

In today’s world, effective communication is a powerful skill. Whether you’re drafting an email, writing an essay, or simply conversing with colleagues, understanding grammar can make or break your ability to convey ideas clearly and professionally. As a result, many people consider taking grammar courses to sharpen their skills. But is enrolling in a Grammar Master Course worth it? Let’s explore what such courses offer and whether they’re truly necessary for everyone.

What Is a Grammar Master Course?

A Grammar Master Course typically provides comprehensive training in English grammar rules and usage. It covers a broad range of topics, including sentence structure, punctuation, tenses, parts of speech, syntax, and common grammar mistakes. The aim is to help learners master the intricacies of the English language to communicate effectively, whether in writing or speaking.

These courses often come in a variety of formats: online classes, self-paced courses, in-person workshops, or even private tutoring. Some may be offered by universities, while others are available through independent platforms or language schools. The appeal is undeniable—imagine finally grasping all those confusing grammar rules and being able to write without constantly second-guessing yourself.

Benefits of Taking a Grammar Master Course

Improved Writing Skills

One of the most obvious advantages of a grammar course is the impact it can have on your writing. Whether you’re crafting an academic paper, a professional email, or even a social media post, good grammar ensures that your ideas are conveyed clearly and without confusion. A grammar master course helps you identify and fix common mistakes, such as subject-verb agreement errors, misplaced commas, and sentence fragments, which can undermine your writing.

Boosted Professional Image

In many professions, particularly those that involve communication, having strong grammar skills is essential. Well-written emails, reports, or proposals often reflect positively on your attention to detail, intelligence, and professionalism. On the other hand, frequent grammar mistakes can make you appear less competent. A grammar master course can elevate your writing and help you make a lasting positive impression on colleagues, clients, and supervisors.

Confidence in Communication

Grammar can be intimidating, especially for non-native speakers or those who didn’t grow up with formal grammar instruction. A grammar master course can demystify the rules and help you feel more confident when speaking or writing in English. Knowing that you’ve learned the rules can reduce anxiety and improve your communication, both in formal and informal contexts.

Fewer Mistakes in Everyday Use

In our daily lives, we are constantly using written communication—texts, emails, social media posts, and more. Small grammar mistakes can slip by unnoticed, but over time they can add up and affect how you’re perceived. A grammar course gives you the tools to recognize and correct mistakes before they happen. Whether you’re chatting with a friend or submitting a job application, knowing your grammar inside out ensures that you come across as polished and articulate.

Improved Language Understanding

A grammar course can deepen your understanding of the language as a whole. You’ll not only learn how to avoid mistakes but also develop a more nuanced understanding of sentence structure, word choice, and tone. This knowledge can be applied to more advanced writing tasks, such as creative writing, academic essays, or even public speaking.

Is It Worth the Investment?

While the benefits of grammar mastery are clear, you may be wondering whether a grammar course is truly worth the investment. The answer depends on several factors:

Your Current Skill Level

If you already have a solid understanding of grammar and rarely make mistakes, you may not need an advanced course. For people who have a strong grasp of grammar, self-study or occasional grammar check tools might be enough to fine-tune writing. However, if you struggle with grammar rules or make frequent mistakes, a grammar master course can provide the structured learning and practice you need to improve.

Your Professional or Personal Goals

If your career requires a lot of writing or communication, investing in a grammar course might be essential. For example, if you’re in a field like law, marketing, journalism, or academia, strong grammar skills are non-negotiable. On the other hand, if you’re not frequently writing or communicating in a professional setting, you might be able to get by without a formal grammar course.

Alternative Learning Methods

Grammar courses can be expensive, and not everyone can afford them. However, there are plenty of free or more affordable resources that offer grammar instruction. Websites like Grammarly, Purdue OWL, or BBC Learning English provide grammar tips and exercises that can help you improve. YouTube channels and apps like Duolingo or Khan Academy also offer lessons that could serve as alternatives to formal courses.

Time Commitment

Grammar master courses can take several weeks or even months to complete, depending on the depth of the course. If you’re someone with a busy schedule, you might prefer more flexible learning options, such as self-paced courses or bite-sized lessons. Make sure to consider how much time you’re willing and able to commit before signing up for a full course.

Alternatives to a Full Grammar Master Course

If you’re hesitant about enrolling in a full grammar master course, there are several alternatives to consider:

Online Grammar Tools: Tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, or ProWritingAid can automatically check your grammar as you write and offer explanations for corrections. These are helpful for catching mistakes, but they won’t teach you the underlying rules.

Grammar Apps: Apps like Duolingo and Babbel can be helpful for improving grammar in a more interactive way. They offer exercises and quizzes that help you reinforce your knowledge on the go.

Books: There are many self-help grammar books available, such as The Elements of Style by Strunk and White or English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy. These resources allow you to study at your own pace and focus on the areas you struggle with most.

Workshops and Webinars: Some local libraries, universities, or online platforms offer grammar workshops or webinars that are more affordable than full courses. These can be a great way to get targeted help on specific grammar issues.

Conclusion: Is a Grammar Master Course Worth It?

Ultimately, the decision to take a Grammar Master Course depends on your individual goals, your current skill level, and your budget. For those who struggle with grammar and want to improve their writing or communication skills quickly, a formal course can provide structured learning and expert guidance. However, if you’re simply looking to brush up on a few areas or don’t have the time and money to invest, there are plenty of free or low-cost resources available to help you on your journey.

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Why New Writers Really Need To Learn Grammar

Is it worth taking the time to learn grammar for new writers?

Today, you have online tools to correct, rewrite, and even auto-generate text.

But writing is more than simply being correct. It’s about developing your style, voice, and clarity and learning what works with your readers.

The best way to achieve this is to have a basic understanding of grammar, but you don’t need to be an expert.

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Why bother learning grammar?

Grammar is to writing what recipes are to cooking.

When you know about the ingredients and techniques, you can cook better.

The same goes for grammar and writing. The more you understand about the building blocks of language, the better you will write.

But don’t worry about trying to learn everything. However, if you are curious, you can add a little to your knowledge almost every day.

It might sound strange, but when I was studying to become an English teacher, I was concerned about the depth of my grammar knowledge.

One of my tutors gave me a great piece of advice.

“Don’t worry. Your students will teach you!”

It was true because, during my first couple of years of teaching, it was questions from my students and marking their assignments that helped me improve my grammar knowledge at a rapid pace.

The same is true for writing, as long as you are willing to ask yourself questions.

The more you write, the more mistakes you make, the more errors you fix, the more you will learn.

What is grammar?

Grammar is a set of rules governing how we use language and construct sentences.

In essence, grammar defines the proper order of words and the relationships between them.

It also gives you guidance for the correct use of elements like nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions.

For example, you capitalize nouns when you start a sentence.

Another is that when you use prepositions, they are always followed by nouns or pronouns.

Grammar also includes some other general guiding elements.

Syntax (sentence structure).

Morphology (word formation).

Semantics (meaning).

Register (formality).

Grammar helps organize words and phrases into meaningful, coherent sentences for more effective communication.

Do you need to learn all of this? No, of course not.

However, taking the time to learn grammar at a basic level always helps new writers improve their writing skills.

What are the basics?

You probably know a lot already, so you’ll only need to brush up on a few grammar points.

But here are the five key aspects to always keep in mind.

Parts of speech: The different types of words you use, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Sentence structure: The way you combine words to form sentences.

Punctuation: Use commas, periods, and question marks to help organize and clarify your writing.

Agreement: The words you use in a sentence should agree in number, gender, and case.

Usage: The correct use of words and phrases within a sentence.

Let’s look at some of these in more detail.

Here are what I believe are the most essential grammar points for new writers to master.

1. Subject-verb agreement

This is usually very easy to get right.

The dog barks whenever someone comes to the door. (Singular) 

The dogs bark whenever someone comes to the door. (Plural)

My manager was not much help. (Singular)

My managers were not much help. (Plural)

But some subjects can sometimes be more challenging to get right.

One is with entities, groups, or teams. In this case, the correct verb agreement is singular.

My team are winning! (Incorrect)

My team is winning! (Correct)

Neither-nor sentences can also be problematic. Look at these two examples.

Neither the boss nor the employees seem satisfied with the situation.

Neither the employees nor the boss seems satisfied with the situation.

As you can see, the correct agreement can change depending on the order and number of the subjects.

2. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Check that a pronoun agrees in number and gender with its antecedent, which is often the subject of a sentence.

Here are two quick examples.

The cat chased its tail. (Singular agreement)

The cats chased their tails. (Plural agreement)

3. Commas

We use commas to separate independent clauses, items in a series, and nonessential information.

While there are a lot of comma rules, most of them are easy to learn.

The only one that causes confusion is the Oxford or Serial comma. It is the comma before the last item in a list.

Some style guides recommend using it, while others say no.

It’s up to you to decide, but then to make sure you are consistent in your use.

4. Understanding parallelism

Parallelism in grammar is using similar grammatical structures in a sentence or phrase to create balance and emphasis.

You can use it to join two or more words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Words: She ran quickly and quietly.

Phrases: He ate breakfast, grabbed his coat, and ran for the bus.

Clauses: I like to swim, play tennis, and sing.

Sentences: The cat jumped on the table, knocked over the vase, and ran away.

Errors with parallelism occur when you mix structures.

She likes to swim, running, and dancing. 

The verb forms are not parallel. Swim is the infinitive form, while running and dancing are gerund forms.

5. Active voice

Identifying the grammar structure of the passive voice will help you find it and change it to the active voice.

When you use active voice, it makes writing more concise and forceful.

Of all the grammar points in my list, this is the big one for new writers to master.

Passive sentences are usually less engaging for readers because they don’t know who or what is actively performing the action.

The meeting was canceled at the last minute.

In the phrase above, we don’t know who canceled the meeting.

A quick fix would be to add the operator, by. However, it makes the sentence much longer than necessary.

The meeting was canceled at the last minute by the managing director.

The best solution is almost always to use active voice.

The managing director canceled the meeting at the last minute.

Now, the sentence is clear, direct, less wordy, and informative.

6. Identifying adverbs

Adverbs are a necessary part of grammar. We use them to describe verbs in a similar way to how we use adjectives to describe nouns.

I walked past a store in the high street and noticed an unusual teapot.

In this example, past is the adverb, which is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

But too many adverbs can dilute a piece of writing. Stephen King called them weeds.

You usually find them directly after a verb; however, this is not always the case. You can see how adverbs can move in these examples.

I very quickly ran to the store.

I ran to the store very quickly.

Very quickly, I ran to the store.

In most instances, you can remove an adverb by using a stronger verb.

I dashed to the store.

When you learn to identify adverbs, you can easily make changes to improve your writing.

Summary

You don’t need to aim to be a grammarian.

All you need is a basic understanding of some of the critical elements in grammar.

For new writers, taking the time to learn grammar is a step-by-step process. You won’t do it in one day.

The best way is to want to learn and stay curious about grammatical elements that can improve your writing.

Yes, use all the online tools at your disposal, but learn from them.

Before you do a one-click correction, take a moment to analyze why.

Online writing correctors are not 100% accurate, so it’s up to you to make the right decisions.

I use Grammarly a lot, but I only accept around 60-70% of its suggestions because many are either wrong or inappropriate.

For new writers, when you take the time to learn a little about grammar, it helps put you in charge of your writing.

Related Reading: How To Edit There Is And There Are Sentences

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