#except that it was the trickiest one to write yet

[rykno-j]

Ignorance (j/jk)

Summary: a new AC is installed to their shared dorm, and g/eto is (unfortunately) sensitive to the cold temperature

Ship: s/atos/ugu- they sleep together so its pretty established

Notes: i noted s/hoko calls g/ojo and g/eto by their surnames in the anime so i'll be keeping it the same way here.

the fic was just supposed to be g/eto falling sick due to the temperature, but it took a turn at the end where g/ojo experiences what a cold is for the first time.

3.2k words.

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"Waahh- It feels so much better in our room now.. Seriously, why didn't we ask for this sooner?"

"We never needed it before, it never used to be this warm."

"Ahh, ah yeah. It's because of global warming."

Geto opened his mouth to argue that it was due to them sleeping huddled together, buried in each others embrace that caused the heat, but he decided to keep quiet.

Satoru has recently invited him to sleep over permanenly, and after a few weeks, they decided to send in a request for an aircon.

In all honesty, Geto was fine with the temperature. But Gojo would wake up and complain about the heat, ending their hug. Geto was getting annoyed with it.

So now it whirled overhead.

Geto had not been able to sleep well, he admits this to himself only. He had never been too good with low temperatures, with the way his nose would start to run and with the way an itch would form at the back of his increasingly dry throat.

Tonight was no different. Despite being under the blanket and cuddled from behind, Geto found himself shivering.

It wasn't violent enough to wake Gojo up, though. Geto doubted anything would wake the other up anyway. They had tired each other out after a whole night of activity, the weight of Gojo's fingers still somewhat lingering over his wrists.

Geto stares at the small green light of the aircon. Too cold. It was way too cold.

He inhales sharply as gojo hugs him tighter from behind. Right. Satoru had a habit of doing that.

Unfortunately, the wave of cold air that entered his lungs was quite unwelcomed. Geto could feel it tickling his airways.

"..hih-N'Gxt!!"

He didn't remember it being this bad the first day the aircon got installed. It had to be his lack of sleep. More than that, his throat had been uncharacteristically dry since a few days ago

Geto swallowed as a way to test the waters. No pain. He was fine, at least for now.

Pulling the blanket up to his chin, Geto exhaled, feeling the warm of his breath against his cheek. He's fine.

Morning rolled around much faster than he had anticipated.

----

"Ohayo Suguruu--"

Geto felt Gojo rubbing his head against his chest, bright blue eyes staring straight at him. He looked so endearing like this, Geto couldn't help but place a kiss on his forehead.

"Ohayo, Satoru.."

His voice had come out scratchier than normal, but he was sure it was overlookable due to it being early in the morning.

Gojo leapt out of bed, stretching himself awake. His hair poked out of his head from all different directions. To that, Gojo quickly ran a hand down his scalp.

Geto smiled to himself. Waking up like this everyday was pure bliss. Now if only he wasn't as tired as he was..

"Suguruu- c'mon, we need to go for our morning run before Sensei comes for our throats again."

Not waiting for Geto's response, Gojo takes off his shirt, bending over to dig through the drawers for his school track uniform.

Geto watches from where he was, still lying down, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. Satoru looked so damn good just by doing absolutely anything.

"Suguru? Aren't you getting up? We have to go."

"Mm, I'll catch up later.. wna lie down a little bit more."

"Ehhh..? Something wrong? Did I tire you out too much last night?" Gojo looked over to him, slight mirth in his eyes.

"Yeah, exactly that."

"Ahh, I'm sorry, heheh." (he was not sorry). "I'll see you at the track then. Half an hour max, alright? You need to run at least a round to make it convincing."

"Mm.."

Gojo turned to leave the room, before he changed his mind, scrambling over to where Geto was, leaning over to press a kiss against his temple.

"Okayyy, byeee-♡"

Geto huffed to himself. Seriously, who was the older one here? Still, he would do anything for the other. Anything.

"..hiH' hitchh-w!! hah'tzchh!!"

Anything. Even at the expense of himself.

Geto knew sooner or later he would come down with something. He always did, whenever the temperature got a little low. During the winter seasons, it was absolute hell. But at least he could dress warmly then.

In their shared dorm? Not so much.

"..hAH'dZzchh!! ..snff-"

The back of his wrist was already coated with a layer of mist. Nothing he couldn't handle. Some sleep would get rid of it, he was sure.

Geto blinked at the green light of the air-conditioner. He should.. he should really switch that off..

Curling into the warm pocket of space that Gojo had left behind, Geto drifted off once again.

-----

"Suguru- SUGURU-!!! Oiii, I thought I told you half hour max?!"

What was going on?

Geto was shaken awake, bright light invading his eyes as he opened them. The warm blanket around him was then yanked off roughly. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Satoru-"

"QUICK! HE'S GOING TO MAKE US CLEAN THE STOREROOM AGAIN!"

Geto felt his wrist being pulled as he was lifted off the bed. Another tug sent him flying out of the room, Gojo pulling him towards the shared bathing area.

He felt cold water splash onto his face.

"?!"

"Water. We have to make it convincing that you ran a few laps." Gojo stepped back, analysing him for awhile. "Alright. You look tired enough to pass, let's go, quickly!"

"Satoru.. I'm still in my sleepwear.."

"Heh? ..Eh?? EHHH-!!"

Gojo led him into the courtyard after a quick change of clothes. The sun had barely started to rise. Added with the consistent evaporation of the water on his skin, Geto couldn't help the light quivers that ran down his frame.

Really.. every morning with Satoru was sure to be an entertaining one, albeit tiring.

-----

Lunch was no different, say for the dull throbbing that had started to form throughout his head. Beside him, Gojo was talking on and on about how ugly his piece of lettuce looked.

"Shoko-!! I'm telling you! It looks juuust like the curse we exorcised last week. This part is its arms, here's the head.. Suguru- oi Suguru, it looks like it, doesn't it?"

Geto felt a jab to his rib.

"What-?" (his voice broke)

"It looks like it, right? Right?"

"Mm, yeah, yeah it does.." What was Satoru on about this time?

"See?!!" Gojo leaned back happily, waving the food item in front of Shoko, who looked extremely unamused.

Geto stared at his own tray. Inbetween closing his eyes, rubbing his temples and trying not to sneeze, he swore he had eaten more than what was left on his plate.

There was still time before the next lesson. If he took a rest now, his body might just make it in time. With that, he stood up.

"I'm going back first."

"Hahh? Suguru- I thought we were supposed to play basketball later?"

"Mm, yeah. I'm going to go get ready first."

Gojo flashed him an OK! symbol before he turned back to the table.

Now it was just a matter of how long he could keep up this guise.

Geto slid open the doors to the dorm, a wave of cold air 'welcoming' him. If he hadn't been gripping onto the door frame, Geto was sure his knees would have given way.

Shit. With their hurry this morning, they had forgot to turn off the aircon. Geto swears that if he pours water on the floor, it was going to freeze over.

The controller. Where was it? He had to turn this monstrosity off.

Geto fumbled through the mountain of Gojo's belongings on the table. Seriously, Satoru had to learn how to tidy up after himself.

Admist the searching, Geto accidentally knocks off one of their long metal rulers, and it hits the floor with a loud clang.

There goes the rest of his headache.

Finger pressed against his temple, Geto gave up looking for the controller. He wouldn't be surprised if Gojo had accidentally stuffed it into his school bag, which was currently on his person.

Well whatever.

Geto pulled open the cupboard with an effort, pulling out a few of his thicker jackets meant for winter. Throwing them onto the bed, Geto joined them shortly.

He would keep them before Satoru came to bug him for the game of basketball. He would keep them before- before..

Geto's eyelids felt heavy. He'd finish that thought later.. later.

-----

Back at the lunch table:

"Gojo.."

"Mm?" He pauses mid-bite. "What is it?"

Shoko sighs, playing with the lighter between her fingers. "You need to be a lot more sensitive, you know that?"

"Sensitive? You mean to cursed energy? My eyes already do that, don't worry."

"Idiot. I meant that you should be more sensitive to Geto."

"..Suguru? My eyes can tell apart his cursed energy from others."

Shoko sighs again, pressing her lighter onto the table. "Not that."

"Then? You mean I should be less rough with him when we-"

"Not that! I Do Not want to hear about that!"

Gojo smirks. "Alright, alright."

"..Anyway, didn't you notice anything wrong with him?" Shoko says instead.

"Mm? Ah.. I guess Suguru hasn't insulted my intelligence today."

"That's why I'm doing it right now."

Gojo feigns hurt as Shoko pulls out a cigarette.

"Cutting to the chase, Geto seemed barely able to stay awake just now."

He supposes she does have a point. Suguru had been exceptionally sluggish today, but he was sure it was nothing to be worried about, nothing a sugared drink can't fix.

"..Seriously Gojo, didn't you notice how tired he looked when he left the table?"

In all honesty, he had not.

"..So, do I really need to spell it out for you?"

Gojo sheepishly looked away as Shoko shot him a look that screamed "you suck!"

"I'll go check on him."

"Mm, thank me later."

-----

In the hallway:

Gojo made his way quickly to their dorm. Now that Shoko had mentioned it, he couldn't get it out of his head that something had indeed been up with the other.

Firstly, what was up with that whole 'sleeping-in' episode? He knew for a fact that Suguru was always the one chasing him to get changed and leave.

And Geto hadn't asked him to stop playing with his food during lunch, not once. Even though he was normally the one who ensured that Gojo's food actually made its way into his mouth.

Not to mention leaving the table alone. Suguru almost never went anywhere without him.

Picking futher, Gojo remembers how tired Geto looked in the morning, as if he didn't get a wink of sleep.

Had he really not noticed before?

Thinking about it now would do him no good. Steadying himself, Gojo slides open the door.

----

"Suguruu- are you there?"

Even in the dim room, Gojo could make out the mess of blankets on their bed. He could hear Geto's shallow breaths. They sounded.. rough.. for someone who was supposedly asleep.

Something was definitely wrong. Hadn't Suguru said he was heading back to the dorms to get changed for basketb- oh. Oh of course. How could he have been so dense? The other had probably said that in an attempt to escape the lunch table.

Gojo closes the door behind him, afraid the light from outside might wake Geto up. He clenched his fist. Open, close, open.

Dammit.

How was he supposed to approach the other?

Gojo had never been in a situation like this before. In his eyes, there was nothing wrong with Suguru. His flow of cursed energy was stable, though muted. But that normally happened when he was asleep.

What was wrong, then?

As Gojo neared the bed, he saw the edge of the blanket get tugged upwards.

He reached over, tugging the blanket back down.

"Suguru, are-"

His eyes widened.

Gojo remembers how his teachers would drill into his head the concept of "searching for signs of curses using their residuals" when he first joined Jujutsu High.

Of course, he could already do that naturally with his six eyes.

But this. This was something else entirely.

What he saw in front of him was not something that would ever have been written into any mission handbook.

Gojo's eyes traced over what was presented to him when Geto looked at him hazily, as if he just woke up from restless sleep.

Cheeks flushed.

Eyes unfocused.

Nose tinted pink.

Small quivers in the fingers gripping the blanket.

"Sa-toru..?"

And when he spoke, it was as soft as ever, with an added edge of roughness that made Gojo's heart run laps around his ribcage. His voice sounded like a running river that had flowed over a particularly rocky path.

If residuals showed signs of curses in the area, what did these show?

Gojo reached out gently. He wanted to know, needed to know.

"Sugu-"

Before he could finish the sentence, however, Geto turned sharply to the side.

"..hh' w-wait.. I.. hH'gNxXt!! ..hAH'nGxt!! .. snff-!! ..m'sorry.."

"Aahh- no. It's okay- are you okay?" Gojo felt his voice catch in his throat. He had never seen Geto like this before. It scared him.

But a part of him subconsciously made his hand move to Geto's neck, pressing in softly.

He was warm, extremely warm.

In an attempt to help, Gojo tugs the blanket off Geto's body.

"..Suguru, you're going to give yourself heatstroke, take the jackets off.."

"N-No, you don't g-Hh'!! ..get it.. it's c-chH'!! hah'Ngxtt!! hih'dNxggt!! hH'gNxx-chh!! ..it's cold.."

"It is?" A genuine question.

Gojo turned to the messy table, digging through the mess of papers and unopened sweet packets. When he came up with nothing, Gojo turned to another messy pile on the floor.

"Why didn't you just say something?"

Geto watched as Gojo fished the remote out from under a discarded mission file.

The aircon went off with a beep, leaving behind a sudden dense feeling in the air. The shift in pressure placed a fuzzy feeling in Geto's sinuses.

"..hh'nGx-tch!! hH'gNxxt-iw!!"

Gojo tilted a curious head in his direction.

"Why are you still sneezing? I turned it off."

Geto shot an annoyed glance at him. "That's n-not ..hH-! ..h'Ngxt!! ..not how colds work."

"Oh." Gojo replied, dumbfounded.

"..Do you even know what that is?"

To that, Gojo nodded. "Yes, but I was told that colds are a sign of weakness, that I shouldn't get them, because I'm supposed to be the strongest, so I don't have much experience with them."

"Who told you that..?"

"The people who raised me, of course."

Geto was suddenly glad that they no longer had a hand in raising his friend. Seriously, driving these thoughts into the head of a child was wrong, even if said child was the bearer of two of the most broken abilities.

"Anyway.." Gojo continued, "Suguru, you sure it's a cold? You're strong too, so I didn't think you could.. get colds."

Geto sighed. One step at a time, it seems.

"Everyone can get them."

"Ah, really?"

"..Surely you've gotten a fever before?"

"Fever?"

Geto sighed again, reaching out to grab Gojo's hand, pressing it against his forehead.

"Tryna tell me how hot you are?" Gojo smirks slightly. "Seriously though, isn't that because you've literally dressed yourself for winter?"

He points at the jackets Geto had sitting around him.

Geto exhales slowly from his mouth. Just how was he going to explain this?

"..When someone falls sick, they get a fever, and that makes them feel cold, because of the difference in temperature between the body and the surrounding air."

"..Then why didn't you just turn the aircon off just now?"

"Because I couldn't find the damn remote through all the mess!" After raising his voice slightly, Geto turns away to cough softly into his fist. Ah, he shouldn't have done that.

Next to him, Gojo reaches for the half empty bottle of water across the table before uncapping it, passing it to the other.

For someone so seemingly oblivious to the things happening around him, Satoru was surprisingly considerate at times, Geto notes with a smile.

"That doesn't explain why this is all pink though," Gojo says suddenly, stepping up so he can press a finger to the very tip of Geto's nose.

"Sa-hH'!! hIH'dZtcHH!! haH'EhkshH!! ..Satoru! Don't..dohH'!! ..hi'tgNxtt!! ..don't do that.."

"So that's how your sneezes sound like without you pinching them away!"

Geto froze in place. Ah.. the fit had set on so quickly that he didn't have time to stifle. He hadn't even realised. A blush creeped up onto his cheeks.

"Seriously though, why do you always do that?"

Geto looked away, hoping the flush wouldn't deepen. "It's not.. well, it's not-"

"..Everyone does it, right?" Gojo interrupted. "Just like you told me everyone can catch colds, everyone sneezes too, so why are you so shy about it?"

"..Well yes, but using that same logic, you won't just change your clothes in front of anyone, would you?"

Gojo went silent for awhile, as if he was contemplating something deeply. Seconds later, he turned to Geto with a small smile.

"So I'm special then!"

"Hm?"

"Because you sneezed in front of me."

Before Geto could calm himself down enough to give an answer, Gojo bent down, pressing his lips gently against the edge of Geto's eye.

"Suguruu, was the aircon really bothering you that much? You've got eyebags."

"Mm."

"Why didn't you say anything then?" Gojo asks again.

"..You were enjoying it, so I thought I'd-"

"Sacrifice yourself for me??"

"..It's not that dramatic, Satoru."

"Yeah but still," Gojo pouts a little before speaking. "I would have suffered through the heat for you."

Yet again he proves to be considerate. How was he to respond to that?

"But then you always.. always-" ..always break the hug when it gets too hot. Geto catches himself before the rest of that sentence slips out, but the other seemed to get its implication.

"I didnt want us to wake up all sweaty, that's all. But if you're okay with it, I won't let go."

Geto opened his mouth in an attempt to deny the fact he liked being hugged, but Gojo quickly circled around to his side of the bed, leaning forward to kiss Geto's temple.

"I heard sleep helps to make colds better."

"That's what I was trying to do before you barged in and tugged my blanket off."

"Heh, a consequence of moving in with me."

"Mm. I'm not backing out, though."

"Hah! As if I would let you do such a thing."

Geto couldn't help the soft laugher that escaped him, even if it made him bend over with a light coughing fit.

"Alright alright.." Gojo said, patting Geto's back gently. "Take off the damn jacket, I wna hug you."

"..As you wish."

----

The rest of the day was spent lazily in bed, with Geto occasionally waking up just to dissolve into rapid fits that left him exhausted and clinging onto Gojo for comfort.

Seriously, if colds made Suguru this touchy, he wouldn't mind helping the other through a few more.

-end-

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

Finishing notes:

Filling up plot holes: the teacher cancelled lessons for the rest of the day, since it was hand-to-hand combat. with geto sick and gojo having no partner to spar with, the lesson was postponed. that's why satosugu could just stay in bed. ofc, they would have either way.

Yeah gojo caught geto's cold after this, and experienced his first sick, yay!

Sorry for the once again plot>snz fic, but that's normally how my stuff goes

Also at the beginning of the fic i wonder if anyone got the global warming reference hahsvagj

tysm for reading agshhs

-- 2 weeks to Shibuya --

[feedthefandomfest]

I have a question because I want to comment but I feel nervous. It is very foolish but it is seriously something that prevents me from commenting-

So English is not my first language and I suffer from a disease known as 'fuck you all English leaves your brain when you tap on the comment box'. Like I'm fluent enough to write a fic but the comments break me and I can only do basic 'subject verb complement' and forget half my vocabulary because I'm so nervous, so it often ends up being broken English.

I back out of posting comments except 'i love this this is amazing thank you for writing I love it' because I'm too scared the author will take it badly ? Like, what if they find it annoying ? What if they believe I think they write bad English and I'm mocking them and they don't want me to ever read their works ever again ?

Anyways, my question is : Does it actually bother anyone to receive broken English comments? Do people find it annoying ?

I would never be annoyed by such a thing and I'm positive that's true of others as well. On the contrary, it kinda blows my mind whenever I stop to think about how members of fandom for whom English is not their first language are so often working in translation. Like the trickiest barrier I have to contend with when writing anything is sleep deprivation and your average writer's block 😅 so to imagine also rendering those words in a different language?? 🫠

To varying degrees, the tragic disease of "empty comment box = empty brain" can strike anyone, regardless of language. On the plus side, some of the tricks to break through the blankness are also broadly applicable, such as

drawing from a list of sentence starters like the ones offered here or here (the beginner bingo card also has similar tasks!!)

installing this handy script that generates a positive comment on demand, which you can modify or expand on as needed

using the floating comment box to track moments or quotes you want to compliment specifically, even with just a string of emojis 💕💕💕

I can recall a couple comments I've gotten where the person apologized or gave a sort of disclaimer that English wasn't their first language, and honestly it just made me even more appreciative of the comment? Because there are so many reasons that a reader doesn't comment, and a language barrier is the most understandable!! And yet here they are, making me smile with their words. I always want to reassure them in my reply that an apology/disclaimer isn't necessary, but I don't always know how. (And there's nothing wrong with acknowledging something you're self-conscious about, after all.)

The concept of "broken English" has also got me thinking, though... And since it turned into a bit of an essay I'll leave it under the cut. 💛

Because the term "broken English" has a lot to unpack, seeing as it's always unfairly positioned those who speak English as a second language imperfectly as lesser (broken = defective). And that strikes me as a bit ironic, considering the degree to which English is a Frankenstein's monster of a language—this conglomeration of every language it encounters and subsumes. In that sense, English itself is a broken language? Or rather the shards of numerous languages held together with duct tape and gum and a whiff of imperialism. Its usage is always in flux, always evolving as speakers adapt it to new circumstances, and those adaptations become dialects in and of themselves. There is no one English language.

I teach high schoolers, and I'm consistently struck by the growing chasm between the kinds of English I can speak and the kinds of English they can speak. And technically my job is to train them in how to use American Standard English and read literature written in American Standard English, but really I find that pretty limiting.

Take the tone of this response, for instance! The more I've leaned toward trying to articulate these complicated issues of language, the more formal my speech has become. Contrast that with the first paragraph, where I'm trying to get across this awkward earnest admiration for the extra effort required of some fans just to engage in fandom, and so I ended up using more casual phrasing and emojis in a way that (hopefully) conveys a certain warmth and self-deprecating humor and whatnot.

If I were to leave a comment on a fic that blew me away, left me in a state of awe or delight or anguish—just a puddle on the floor—I'd find American Standard English quite lacking. Downright restrictive. The unique jumbled babble of fandom-speak functions on breaking the standard rules in order to evoke an intensity of emotion that meets the demands of the moment.

Another thing about commenters who really commit to throwing the rules out the window in favor of vibes is that I get such a strong sense of personality beaming through. A distinct voice that's generated, an intense impression of there being an individual on the other side with a particular shape. And there's something delightful about that.

...I suppose this is all a very roundabout way of saying that if there's anywhere to just unleash, vocab and mechanics be damned, where it's more than okay to string together whatever words you can in service of how you're feeling, it's the AO3 comment box. 💛

[gentleseaediting]

To Comma or Not to Comma

THE CORRECT USE OF THE COMMA WHEN JOINING CLAUSES

Should you use a comma before and? What about before yet, then or if? This is one of the trickiest rules of punctuation to apply correctly: whether to use a comma when joining clauses. But do not fear; I am here to help by providing eight tips on this very subject.

Because this is a complex topic, I’ve created a handy flow chart to assist you. You can download it for free, and I would recommend having it at hand as you read through this post.

You can also listen to this post on YouTube or read it on the Gentle Sea Editing website.

FIRSTLY, WHAT IS A CLAUSE?

A clause is a group of words that includes a verb and a subject. So, Sarah writes books is a clause because it includes a verb (writes) and a subject (Sarah). Sarah is my favorite author is a clause, but my favorite author, Sarah is a phrase, because it does not contain a verb. In today’s post, we’re focusing on clauses.

1. COMMAS WITH INDEPENDENT CLAUSES: THE GENERAL RULE

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) indicates that “when independent clauses are joined by and, but, or, so, yet, or any other coordinating conjunction, a comma usually precedes the conjunction.”

Now, you might be asking, “What the hell does that mean?” Don’t worry, I had the same reaction the first time I read it.

An independent clause is a clause that makes sense on its own. It is a complete sentence. It does not depend on another clause to give it meaning. In the sentence Damon drinks blood, because he is a vampire, Damon drinks blood is an independent clause. You can remove the rest of the sentence, and it would still make sense.

Coordinating conjunctions join clauses or phrases of equal importance. So, if you want to join two clauses and show that they are on equal footing, you would use a coordinating conjunction. The list of coordinating conjunctions is represented by the mnemonic “fanboys”: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

So, according to the general rule, if you want to join two independent clauses, like Taylor wrote the impactful lyrics and Jack produced the beautiful song, with a coordinating conjunction, you should add a comma before that conjunction. Here are some examples:

Taylor wrote the impactful lyrics, and Jack produced the beautiful song.

Taylor wrote the impactful lyrics, but Jack produced the beautiful song.

Taylor wrote the impactful lyrics, so Jack produced the beautiful song.

Taylor wrote the impactful lyrics, yet Jack produced the beautiful song.

This general rule also applies to imperative sentences—sentences that give the reader an instruction, make a request, or issue a command—in which the subject (you) is not expressly stated but understood. Here are some examples:

Help Queen Charlotte climb over the wall, or tell King George to spend time with her.

Buy two tickets to Barbie, and wait for me at the corner of Cornelia Street.

It also applies to questions, for example: Do we want to save Wallachia, or are we scared of Dracula?

2. COMMAS WITH INDEPENDENT CLAUSES: THE EXCEPTION

The English language is a wonderful thing; for every rule, there are plenty of exceptions. The general rule above is no exception.

If the independent clauses you are trying to join are very short and closely connected, the comma preceding the conjunction may be omitted, unless the clauses are part of a series. (See, even the exception has an exception.)

So, if you want to join two independent clauses, like Billie sang and Finneas played the piano, with a coordinating conjunction, you can do so without a comma, because these two clauses are short and closely connected:

Billie sang and Finneas played the piano.

Billie sang but Finneas played the piano.

Billie sang so Finneas played the piano.

This exception also applies to imperative sentences where the subject (you) is omitted but understood, e.g., Get up and stand tall.

However, a comma would still have to precede the coordinating conjunction if you are joining more than two clauses. Here’s an example:

Billie sang, Finneas played the piano, and I watched the show.

So, essentially, you should follow the general rule unless you are joining two very short and strongly related independent clauses.

3. COMMAS WITH COMPOUND PREDICATES: THE GENERAL RULE

According to the CMoS, “a comma is not normally used to separate a two-part compound predicate joined by a coordinating conjunction.”

Just one question: What??? Let's break it down.

What is a predicate? It is the part of a sentence or clause that describes the action but not the subject. So, in the sentence Oppenheimer created the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer would be the subject and created the atomic bomb the predicate.

A compound predicate occurs when two or more verbs share the same subject. So, if a single subject is shared by two or more clauses, and that subject is not repeated after the first clause, you’re dealing with a compound predicate. In the sentence I gambled with Jesper and ate waffles with Nina, the subject of both the predicates gambled with Jesper and ate waffles with Nina, is I. However, I is not repeated after the first clause. So, we’re working with a compound predicate.

Therefore, the general rule is: Do not use a comma when joining a compound predicate with a coordinating conjunction. Here are some examples:

Joe broke up with Taylor Swift and divorced Sophie.

Yennefer wanted to be a mother but could not have a baby.

You should join Jinx or listen to Vi.

4. COMMAS WITH COMPOUND PREDICATES: THE EXCEPTIONS

However, a comma may be necessary to prevent misreading or confusion even if you are joining a compound predicate with a coordinating conjunction. For example, in the sentence I recognized the man who attended the concert, and fainted, the comma before and is necessary to indicate that it is the speaker who fainted, not the man attending the concert. Here are more examples:

He loved the girl who rode a dragon, and wielded shadows.

She dislikes the man who has titanium teeth, but wears Yeezy shoes.

Additionally, you should also use a comma before the word then if it is being used as shorthand for and then even if that comma separates a two-part compound predicate. So, you would write: He attended her show and then gave her a friendship bracelet or He attended her show, then gave her a friendship bracelet.

Finally, the CMoS indicates that “compound predicates of three or more parts treated as a series are punctuated accordingly.” So, if you have a single subject performing three or more actions, you would use a comma before the coordinating conjunction. For example:

Selena attended the Golden Globes, released new music, and became a billionaire.

Victoria published a book, increased her Instagram following, and announced a book tour.

5. COMMAS WITH INTRODUCTORY DEPENDENT CLAUSES

Now that we’ve gotten independent clauses out of the way, let’s talk about dependent clauses. A dependent clause cannot stand as a sentence on its own and is connected to a main, independent clause. So, in the sentence Damon drinks blood, because he is a vampire, because he is a vampire is a dependent clause, since it does not make sense on its own. Subordinating conjunctions—like if, because, whether, or when—are used to join dependent and main clauses.

According to the CMoS, “when a dependent clause precedes the main, independent clause, it should be followed by a comma.” So, when the dependent clause comes first, you separate the clauses with a comma. Here are some examples:

If Sokka trains with Suki, he will become a better warrior.

Because Kim is a successful businesswoman, she gave a lecture at Harvard.

When Nyx is older, he will train with Cassian.

6. COMMAS WITH DEPENDENT CLAUSES THAT FOLLOW THE MAIN CLAUSE

If the main clause is followed by the dependent clause, you have to determine whether the latter is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

The CMoS clarifies that a dependent clause is restrictive if it is “essential to fully understanding the meaning of the main clause.” For example, in the sentence Sokka will become a better warrior if he trains with Suki, it isn’t certain that Sokka will become a better warrior. The dependent clause if he trains with Suki adds information that is vital to understanding the main clause. Therefore, it is a restrictive dependent clause.

If a restrictive dependent clause follows the main clause, you should not place a comma before the conjunction. Here are two examples:

Nyx will train with Cassian when he is older.

Kourtney wasn’t mad because of the fashion show; she was mad because of the timing.

A dependent clause is nonrestrictive if it is not essential to the meaning of the main clause. For instance, in the sentence Margot is a good actress, whether you like her or not, the dependent clause whether you like her or not can be omitted without changing the meaning of the main clause.

If a nonrestrictive dependent clause follows the main clause, the subordinating conjunction should be preceded by a comma. Here are two examples:

I’d like to watch Mean Girls, if you don’t mind.

He arrived hours later, when the movie was already over.

However, sometimes this can be a tricky differentiation to make. Take the sentence Kourtney wasn’t mad because of the fashion show. Without the comma, Kourtney is still mad, just not about the fashion show. Add a comma before because, and the fashion show becomes the reason she’s not mad. The CMoS’s advice? “If in doubt, rephrase.”

7. COMMAS WITH INTERVENING DEPENDENT CLAUSES

When a dependent clause is located between two other clauses, meaning that the two conjunctions are right next to each other, the conjunctions don’t have to be separated by a comma. Here are some examples:

Violet tried to decipher the journal for days, but if Dain had not given her advice, the truth would have remained concealed.

Zuko stood up for the soldiers, and when his father ordered him to fight back, he refused.

They decided that if Percy didn’t return the lightning bolt, he wouldn’t see his mother.

Technically, there’s nothing wrong with adding a comma in between these conjunctions. In fact, it might even be preferred in certain cases for emphasis or clarity.

8. COMMAS WITH RELATIVE CLAUSES

Finally, let’s look at relative clauses. A relative clause provides information about a noun. For instance, in the sentence The book that she wrote years ago was published this year, that she wrote years ago is a relative clause, because it tells us more about the noun (book).

According to the CMoS, “restrictive relative clauses are never set off by commas from the rest of the sentence.” As with dependent clauses, a relative clause is restrictive if it provides information that is crucial to understanding the rest of the sentence. In the example above, the reader wouldn’t have known which book the author is referring to without the relative clause that she wrote years ago, so no commas are used. Restrictive relative clauses are usually introduced by the pronouns that, who, whom, or whose. Here are some examples:

I prefer to support politicians who stand up against genocide.

The joke that he made at the Golden Globes was sexist.

The author whose work I like the most has just released a new book.

This rule applies even when these pronouns are omitted:

The movie I just watched won an Academy Award.

The people we follow on social media have a big impact on our lives.

A nonrestrictive relative clause, on the other hand, is not essential to the identity of the noun to which it refers. In the sentence Sarah’s House of Flame and Shadow, which I finished last night, is a great book, the relative clause which I finished last night can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence. So, it is nonrestrictive. Nonrestrictive relative clauses are set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. These clauses are usually introduced by which, who, whom, or whose. Here are some examples:

I prefer to read about scholarly characters, who are less likely to be ignorant.

Madelyn Cline, whose most famous movie is Glass Onion, was seen with Pete Davidson.

The talk show, which recently featured Sydney Sweeney, has celebrities eating spicy food as they answer questions.

So, to sum up (TL; DR):

• If you want to join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, you should add a comma before that conjunction unless the two clauses are short and closely connected.

• Do not use a comma when joining a compound predicate with a coordinating conjunction unless:

o a comma is necessary to prevent a misreading;

o then is being used as shorthand for and then; or

o a compound predicate of three or more parts is being treated as a series.

• If a dependent clause precedes a main, independent clause, add a comma after the dependent clause.

• If a restrictive dependent clause follows a main clause, do not add a comma before the subordinating conjunction.

• If a nonrestrictive dependent clause follows a main clause, you should add a comma before the subordinating conjunction.

• When a dependent clause is located between two other clauses, meaning that the two conjunctions are right next to each other, the conjunctions don’t have to be separated by a comma.

• A restrictive relative clause is not set off with commas.

• A nonrestrictive relative clause is set off with commas.

There you have it; those are the rules for comma usage when joining clauses, at least in terms of the CMoS. In the wise words of Neil Gaiman: “It’s that easy, and that hard.”

For professional editing and proofreading services, head on over to gentleseaediting.com

[orcelito]

Ok on why ITNL 15 was so technically difficult.

Under a cut for ppl who haven't read it & wanna keep it a surprise

So writing traditional action ends up feeling like choreography. I plan out the steps following the motion that feels the most natural. It can be tricky sometimes, but mostly in figuring out how to describe an action I see in my mind. Overall, I end up writing traditional action really quickly actually bc it's Fun and Exciting and it Flows

What went down in ITNL 15 was not traditional action. Really, it was an unconventional torture scene.

So the trickiness came from multiple things. First & honestly one of the hardest things was getting into the head of a madman. Someone who will gleefully kill a lot of people just to hurt someone psychologically. Someone spiteful, sadistic, and just having so much fun with it (but also not Actually having that much fun, bc he was also just Really Angry)

First time writing him, too. So I had to find a new character's voice On Top of exploring the whims he would follow when literally torturing someone.

And then we get to the actual actions of it. There was no choreography because there was no dance to it. No flow of motion. There was a Burst at the start of the interaction, but then it all just Stops. Vash is forced to take it at Legato's pace as he toys with him.

That was a huge part of how tricky it was. Following the thread of where Legato was taking it & being unable to push things along with Vash. Vash was just along for the ride, existing just to be toyed with. Falling right into Legato's expectations with his reactions...

Except for two parts. And these were some of the trickiest.

When he managed to break out of the control Just A Little Bit. And then when he's on his knees, emotionally stripped bare, and decides to go for the one jab that he knows will Hurt Him just as a stubborn "fuck you", since he didn't have any other way to take autonomy in that scene.

He pays for it. The paragraph where Legato broke Vash's nose was the one that took me 50 fucking minutes to write. Which, on that note, I can show a screenshot of my working through it!

Final paragraph: Legato's face twisted in instant fury. His hand tightened harshly in Vash's hair, using it as a grip to bash his nose into his knee with a sickening crunch.

And the progress pic ^ lmao. Something I do while trying to puzzle out wording is push the old version down & start working on a new version, but not deleting the old yet in case I wanna switch back or otherwise re-use any of the wording.

There ended up being about 15 of these discarded lines. 111 words of discarded text. Until I finally settled on the version in the thing.

Another thing I focus on a lot while writing is the motion of the words, and that was so much of the struggle here. Such a simple moment, you would think. He's just breaking his nose. But describing it in a way that is Concise while also communicating the gravity of it AND the motion of the words themselves. It's a lot to consider. And it's such a miserable moment for Vash, it was so hard to get it to a point I was satisfied with.

I'm pretty proud of how the scene turned out, in the end. Maybe not 100% perfect. There are definitely a few points that feel held together with duct tape and tooth picks. Then other parts where I'm just like "holy fucking shit, I wrote this???" An interesting combination, but I feel like that's writing in general.

And! It seems like my work paid off! People seem to have enjoyed the chapter, which makes all the work feel a lot more worth it. It's a nice feeling to know all that time is appreciated.

Yeah . A Lot went into this scene. Definitely out of the bounds of anything else ive written before. But I think I can confidently call this a success 😌

[monstersinthecosmos]

Last Rashid-anon here. I have no knowledge of Christianity or Catholicism other than the basics. But given the political climate, Islam is the trickiest Abrahamic religion to bring into the discussion (of orthodoxy and religious trauma) in an LGBT fandom. Armand-Rashid's backstory is going to be another can of worms. Speaking of religion, Mr. Molloy, as a journalist of his caliber, should have known that "Ashura" is a part of Hinduism, not Islam.

So I've been discussing this topic in DM with @hekateinhell a ton since the Rashid rumors started LOL because I have no religious background at all so sometimes these topics REALLY elude me. I ran your ask by her, too, and she shared this with me about the meaning of Ashura vs the Hindu asura.

BUT THE POPCORN I AM EATING AS WE UNTANGLE !!! !!!

The show has made a big deal about peoples backgrounds and identities and intersections but it's also an American show so it makes me wonder like where the sensitivity and awareness is going to come in. Calling it tricky is good! I'm also really curious about the role of religion in this universe at all since it's been extremely neutered thus far, which is, for me, one of the biggest tonal departures from the books.

But even on screen, Rashid's religious practice feels a little murky. I'm trying to figure out if it's like a sort of independent, unaffiliated Vampire Version of his faith or if it's. ... yknow. Bad writing? The "a god" comment is strange. I'd also hope that a show taking this much care with people's identities would've noticed things like Rashid's fuckin shoes on his prayer mat but maybe it's part of a larger picture about his relationship with his faith????????????? also why is he even wearing shoes except to hide his vampire toenails i guess

Cause I also thought Mr. Molloy's behavior was a bit sus here, too. Like he's worldly enough to pinpoint Rashid's language/dialect but not worldly enough to not fucking walk in on him while he's praying?!?! Wow rude, okay. ((UNFORTUNATLEY THIS REALLY TRACKS FOR ARMAND/DANIEL FUCK.)) It's also interesting that his observations about language and religion didn't make it into his Rashid notes, so I wonder if this is Daniel truly not noticing/caring or the writers not noticing/caring. And I don't think we have enough information to know the answer to this yet, due to said murkiness.

But yeah like whether he truly is Armand or whether he's a rando OC like, I'm really curious what they're doing by taking the time to show us these things; I think one of my overall complaints is the show's pacing and which parts they're picking and choosing to be patient with. For a show rushing through so many important moments it's interesting that they gave Rashid & his faith this much screen time.

[stygianflood]

Hideaway (Ethan x F!MC)

Summary: As promised, a very canon-divergent version of Ethan’s... dark mood. 3.8; Ethan’s PoV

Words, rating, genre, trope- 1.5k, General, Fluff (but the tone is angsty); hurt/comfort

A/N- It bothered me that Ethan’s demand for consolation was an either-this-or-nothing sort of scenario, when we know the real Ethan Ramsey would never! In this universe Ethan just leaves refusing MC’s offer to help. Much like Book 1 ❤ Also, I really tried to make sense of whatever PB is making Harper do. And there might be an Easter egg near the end.

The amber liquid sloshes down his throat, trickling into the more labyrinthine crevices of his mind, sharp and biting. Somewhere in a sky not veiled by the havoc of civilisation, a forlorn sun pours itself in a steady drip. 

For each of the last fifteen minutes, his finger has been teetering on the brink of a call he knows he’ll make.

I don’t need you to follow me, Aparna. I knew there could be consequences. 

I made my bed... The least I can do is lie in it.

She stood before him, under the lurid new lights of the revamped atrium. Face contorted in worry, and something else he is no longer a stranger to.

That doesn’t mean you have to weather them alone. 

I care about you. Talk to me.

And she looked no older than she did in her first year. 

In those days the atrium housed the trees planted in his intern year, and some even older. And Aparna had implored him to stay. Because the patients needed him. Because she needed him. 

Ethan was not brave enough to admit he needed her more than she would ever need him. That part of them remains pitifully unaltered.

This time however, it’s different from letting her in. It’s about beating the devil at his own game. Wrestling his slippery self on a rock face. 

He wonders what it’s like on the other side of the tunnel. The darker side that the likes of Bloom inhabit. The one that doesn’t have its throat slit by the glare of street lights. More importantly, how do the likes of Dr. Ramsey beat him at his own game and remain unscathed.

He’s being reckless. Dangerously so. But whatever else he might tell himself, he is lonely too.

Cloistered in an apartment that never felt emptier, he can almost hear her terrible joke on fingers of scotch. When did the notoriously single Ethan Ramsey become this dependent he wonders.

After four arduously long rings, he almost disconnects the call.

‘Ethan?’

‘Hey.’

The silence stretches into a long and restless twilight across his windows, and he thinks he ought to ask about her day. She beats him to it.

‘Do you want me to come over?’ 

‘That… That would be nice.’

She definitely rolls her eyes on the other side of the line. 

***

‘Do you ever wish you’d settled for someone… less complicated?’ He avoids her eyes fixing his own on the ceiling. 

The fingers massaging his forehead stall for the briefest quarter of a second before resuming. The slight shift finds his head even more snugly settled in her lap.

He feels stifled by an all-consuming sense of helplessness. And it’s different from the trickiest diagnoses when he knows he’s giving his all and failing. It is a plethora of all that is wrong with the system. The one he has been pitted against all his life, and mostly managed to thwart.

Ethan Ramsey never settles for half-measures. Not when he can help it. And with Bloom, he cannot. 

Not unless he tips the scales in his favour. And it has taken the last morsel of his sanity to plot it.

No loose ends. Or second footprints for that matter. One more ethics hearing and her career would end before it began, and Naveen himself could do nothing about it.

Yet here he is. The irony of it biting, as the one person he needs to protect by all means is the one being implicated. If Harper, one of the most level-headed people he knows-

‘Besides the fact that I’m nowhere close to being settled?’ Aparna interrupts his thoughts from somewhere above him. 

Oh.

‘Sorry, I didn't mean-’ 

Of course she is grinning. Annoyingly smug and utterly distracting. 

He could kiss her senseless and wipe the smirk off those lips. Make her moan right here on the couch. 

He almost does.

‘Did you wish you weren’t involved with someone whose medical license was about to be revoked?’ She asks.

Her fingers rove about his temple, right where he has recently seen specks of silver. And he awaits a joke about his age that never comes.

‘Ethan…’

God, he hopes he doesn’t look that miserable.  

‘I need you to know I’d go anywhere with you. And I mean that-’ She holds his chin to turn his face. ‘I mean that in every sense of the word. Thought you’d know by now.’

She looks strangely composed. 

It could be the immensity of her proclamation. Or the ease with which it has rolled off her tongue. But it alarms him. Not because he isn’t ready, because make no mistake he is. It alarms him because she is doing it again. 

In that moment all of his life could flicker past him like the tedious crackle of an old television set, and he’d still be enraptured by the unwavering intent in her eyes.  

And she looks no older than she did in her first year. 

He raises a hand grazing the softness of her neck. Her cheek. And the corner of her parted lips. 

Come here is all he manages before drawing her face to his own.

He only vaguely remembers the drive back home when he wanted to be in control of his life. He has never felt more disarmed. Or more- he discerns the lump in his throat- in love.

Beads of crimson settle on the horizon, and in the abandoned dregs of his whisky. The natural order of things calls for day and night. Much in the same way it summons droughts and downpour.

And as for him, he’d come undone for her again and again.

***

The stillness of the air is riddled by his own ragged breaths mingling with hers. And the deluge in his mind almost subsides. 

‘Glad that I stayed?’ She props herself on her elbows and lazily smiles down at him.

‘Always.’

She peppers the column of his neck with a final drizzle of kisses before burying one languid hand in his hair and settling against him. Just as the silence is splintered by the buzz on his coffee table.

Thankfully it’s not her pager. Just her phone. And her fingers resume their stroking of his hair.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Pleasantly spent.’ It’s his first genuine smile in hours. ‘But really, several things at once.

‘And I’ll talk to Harper as soon as I can.’

‘I appreciate that, but… I think we need to talk to each other,’ She says. ‘For the team, but also for ourselves. 

‘I need to be able to forgive her. Not today perhaps. But I need to do it.’

He agrees. But he is baffled that Harper should accuse her now. Especially when she was willing to wait for evidence when Aparna had actually breached ethics as an intern.

Is it his tactlessness he wonders, as she loops his arm around herself. Speaking over her inputs, denying the credibility she has earned in the team by sheer hard work. 

Creating the impression that she’s still just an intern with history.

As her breath cools the sheen of sweat on his chest, he instinctively gathers her even closer. And not for the first time that evening, he feels he doesn’t deserve her.

Damage control, the interminable mutterings in his mind suggest. He needs to ensure Harper has not spoken to anyone outside the team. And Tobias has not prattled. Perhaps give Naveen a heads up.

‘Check that,’ He remarks as her phone buzzes again. ‘It could be work.’ 

But just as he is about to disentangle himself to make the calls, he sees them.

Just wanted to check on you. 

Hope you’re not beeting yourself up over it.

Not a saved contact on her phone he realises. But it’s familiar. A little too familiar. He decides against asking.

She shakes her head with a faint half-smile before replacing the phone and curling up to him. She loops an arm about his chest as he strokes rehearsed patterns on her back. 

It’s minutes before they startle the peace.

‘Thank you for being here tonight, Apu,’ He almost whispers. ‘For helping me work through this.'

‘I meant what I said, Ethan,’ She says. ‘I’ll always be there for you. 

‘Even when I don’t agree with you.’

And it’s there again. That frightfully alarming calm on her face every time she promises to leap.

When he takes her bottom lip between his teeth, it’s with the ardour of a disciple who did not just invoke her minutes ago, or this morning, or into the wee hours of the night before. 

‘And I hope,’ He manages breathlessly. ‘I hope I never take that... Take you for granted.’

She doesn’t respond. Except for the immutable glimmer in her eyes. And he knows.

He decides he will call Naveen and Harper once she’s asleep. He’ll not unsettle her. Not when it might never happen. 

‘What happens when we go back out there?’

If he only knew.

‘Let’s get you to bed.’ He smiles, lacing his fingers with hers.

His life has long stopped being the neatly stacked manila folders he’d once sorted it into. For all he knows, it could be dipped and bent in all directions tomorrow. 

But he also knows she will be right there on the promontory with him.

Thank you all for reading this!  A special shout-out to @starrystarrytrouble​ because I had the inspiration to write after ages solely because of our chat ❤

Let me know if you’d want to be added or removed.

[maximoff-pan]

Just Faking It? | Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: When you and Peter enter a fake relationship, what does that do to your friendship? Can you keep yourself from breaking the one rule you set? Do not fall in love. Can he?

Character: Peter Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Fandom: X-Men

Word Count: 2.9k 

A/n: It’s been a hot minute since I posted, but online school has been Kicking. My, Ass. AnyWAy....I am back now! I’m really nervous to post this and I knowwww the ending is trash but it just kept getting worse so (please bear with me). Hopefully my writing will get better. Despite my shitty scribe, I hope you can enjoy this, and maybe, even possibly like it???

Comments and feedback are also very much appreciated! A girl needs inspiration to write (if ya know, ya know).... 

You’re minding your business (in your room mind you) when your door flies open, and in comes a flurry of grey. As quickly as the door is opened, it’s slammed shut. You know exactly who the culprit is, that part is particularly evident to you, but what puzzles you is the absence of a reason for his dramatic entrance. It’s like he thinks you can read his mind or something....(you can, but that’s besides the point). That’s not really what you’re supposed to be using your mutation for and Peter knows that.

“I really fucked up.” He eventually breathes. But it leaves you with more questions than answers.

You tilt your head towards him, squinting your eyes as if to challenge a response from him. So?” You ask.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Widening his eyes, he appears in a minor panic. “I come rushing in here, telling you that I fucked up, and your only response is: ‘so?’”

“Peter, if I had a dollar for every time you told me you fucked up, I’d certainly be the richest telepath in this mansion, and Charles owns this damn place.”

He cranes his neck in frustration, a sigh falling from his lips. “Well this time, I really fucking mean it.”

He’s fidgeting a lot more than usual, and when you glance at him, his eyes dart from yours. If you know anything about Peter, and you like to think you know almost everything about him, you know that based on the way he’s acting, that he didn’t just fuck something up for himself, he’s also fucked something up for you.

Disappointed, but not at all surprised, you ask, “What did you do? And how does it involve me?”

*****

Peter Maximoff has always had a way with words. No matter what he says...nor how fast he says he it, he can always manage to get you to do whatever he wants. Sure, to the average person Peter may be incessantly annoying, but to you, he is overly charming. He’s always just been so....perfect...for a lack of a better term.

And it’s not like you haven’t tried to bury those feelings. You really really have. But every time you’re near each other, your heart beats a little bit faster and your eyes just fixate on him. He draws you in with his infectiously upbeat, care free - who gives a shit it’s the end of the world, let’s just have fun - kinda vibes. It’s intoxicating as fuck....and so, extremely bad for you. But it’s what you need. You actually need him.

So unfortunately (maybe fortunately...it really depends on the day), Peter Maximoff has you whipped like the fucking whiplash he’s always warning you about...and whether he knows that or not is the real question. You hope to God he doesn’t; you’ve tried so damn hard to hide it. It....Them...Your feelings....And this is the trickiest part. You’re not sure when you came to this realization, but: You’re in love with your best friend.....

And honestly....shit...what the fuck feelings??? That is not a good revelation to be having. That’s never a good revelation to be having. And that’s for many fucking reasons, including but not limited to:

He’s your best friend

He’s your best friend

He’s your best friend

Did you mention he’s your best friend? Did you?

To top it all off, your anxiety about what is justifiably a crapshoot of a situation (being in love with your best friend is no cake walk friends...don’t try this at home) has risen ten-fucking-fold. Because you’d do anything for him.

And that’s how you’ve gotten yourself into the inescapable shit storm you have now: fake dating Peter Maximoff....

Look, in all respects, it could be worse. You’re not really sure how, but that’s just what you’re telling yourself to make this whole thing feel a little better. Damn you and being a good friend...You should’ve just said no. But how could you have possibly said it without giving yourself away?

‘Sorry Peter, I’m too busy being in love with you to be your fake girlfriend. Maybe later.’

You just couldn’t do it to him. He needed your help, and there was just no way you could say no to him. He’s your biggest weakness yet your greatest joy in life. He’s your kryptonite.

*****

Peter feels like shit. He thought dating you would be the best thing in the entire fucking universe....and it is. Except for the fact that it’s not real.

When Scott and Jean had called bullshit on Peter for telling them he in fact, does have a girlfriend, (when he really, really doesn’t), he panicked. So he told them the name of the first person he thinks of, the first person he always thinks of: you.

If Peter’s being honest with himsef, the whole conversation was stupid to begin with, and he should’ve just kept his mouth shut. But Peter lives for laughter, particularly making his friends laugh, even sometimes at the expense of a couple of his other friends.

It started off as a slow bit of teasing, and Peter was getting laughs fromJubilee and Kurt, who were both quite enjoying his little comedy fest. Peter in his carefree manner, jabbed joke after joke about Scott being whipped by Jean, mocking their incessant pda and need to be around each other, when Scott threw it back at him.

“Have you ever even had a girlfriend Maximoff?”

And that’s when Peter fucked up.

That’s when he proceeded to say: “Fuck you Summers. If you must know, I have a girlfriend.”

I have a girlfriend...present tense. Which is nothing but a lie. A blatant, blatant lie. But it just slipped out of his mouth, and while Scott and Jean both called bullshit, he couldn’t back down at that point. It was far too late, and would be far too embarrassing to try and weave himself out of the web he had created. So he told them he was dating you, which...fair. You already act like you’re dating 99% of the time, and you are in love with each other (not that either of you knows the other’s feelings on the matter), so it would seem very believable....But the big problem with this blurting of words (as Peter had called it later), laid in the fact that Peter had to do this without your consent. You had no idea nor a choice in being brought into this, and that’s why Peter feels like he’s fucked up so much.

Because as much as he wants to date you, and as much as he loves dating you (even though it’s all pretend), he can’t help but fear that you resent him for bringing you into his problems. If you do resent it, you’re doing a pretty damn good job of hiding it. Every person that has passed by you, the news of your relationship spreading fast, has told you: it was only a matter of time. And then they’d smirk at you, seemingly proud that they had predicted this all along.

And yet, it’s all fake, and all your classmates and teachers, (except Charles...because he knows the both of you too well and honestly is too fed up with your shenanigans to intervene), are wrong. They’re being fooled...but Peter can’t help but wonder if he’s the one being fooled. Because it feels so real. Too real.

*****

He holds your hand in the halls, swinging your arm back and forth teasingly, telling himself that he’s only keeping up appearances, and yet his whole aura brightens. Peter’s not acting, and the fact that you are genuinely scares him. Because you’re so believable, and it hurts so much to have you, but to know it’s all a lie.

“I guess I owe it to you Maximoff.” Scott sneaks in between you two, breaking not only your hands apart, but popping the blissful bubble you had been in. “I’ve never seen two people so right for each other.”

The smile drops from Peter’s face, but like always, you’re there to save him. “I know.” You send Scott a sly grin. “You never should have doubted us.”

Us, Peter thinks. He knows you mean it, in the sense that you’re best friends, but it only hurts him more. The frown on his face tightens, as he attempts to avoid your gaze. He can feel you pulling him into your side, wrapping your arms around him. This action snaps an automatic response, and his lips pull into a soft smile, his face relaxing.

“Never will again.” Scott smiles fondly at the two of you, seemingly genuinely happy for you.

You place a kiss on Peter’s cheek, nearly grazing the corner of his mouth, and in that moment he wants you to kiss him, for real this time. It’s an urge he’s had before, but never as innate as this.

On instinct, he turns your body so that you’re facing him, and he kisses you. It’s instantaneous and it feels so so right. Your initial shock fades away and you lean into the kiss, your arms gracefully resting on Peter’s shoulders, slowly wrapping loosely around his neck. You raise onto the tips of your toes, desperately yearning for more. It feels like a tidal wave washing over you, soaking you in a plethora of feelings.

This has to be something, you think. What you have...it must mean something. Because you can feel his energy, his thoughts and desperations pouring into your mind. His exact thoughts are blurred, but you can feel the emotions that are flooding through.

“Jeez. Message sent.” Scott mumbles with a slight joking tone in his voice. “I’ll never make that mistake again.”

By the time you let each other go, Scott is retreating down the hallway, and you stare sheepishly at each other, both of you wondering: what the fuck was that?

*****

Nearly half an hour later, you’re once again sitting on your bed, when Peter comes barging through your door. A strong sense of déjà vu washes over you, your eyes quickly darting to his. To Peter, that half an hour feels like multiple. You should have remembered that his internal clock works a lot differently than yours.

The expression on his face is pained. “I’m sorry.” He blurts out. “I know I fucked up.”

“Peter-“ you try to interject, but it’s no use.

“I don’t know what I was thinking (Y/n). I just...I didn’t mean to. It was a mistake and I didn’t mean to drag you into my shit...”

It was a mistake. Your heart drops. You could have sworn that there was something between you, that it wasn’t as one sided as you had once thought.

“Do you regret it?” You’re trying to convey a front on neutrality, but it feels like it’s faltering.

“Of course.” He replies, and your heart shatters further.

“Oh.”

Your voice sounds so dejected that Peter has to rewind the tone of your ‘oh’ in his mind. Did you think it meant something? Did it mean to you as much as it means to him?

“(Y/n).” His eyebrows raise in conflict. “I didn’t mean-“

“It’s alright Pete...I understand.” You’re warm with him. You think he’s just turned you down, and you’re being so kind to him, trying to make it easier for him. Little do you know about the war he’s fighting in his mind. Just how much he wants to tell you how he feels. “It was silly of me to even entertain that it meant anything.”

But it did! But it does! He wants so badly to say, but the words won’t come out of his mouth. Blurting words before he could think of the repercussions was what had gotten him into this situation, and now that he needs to blurt what he’s thinking, his mouth can’t seem to move.

You can see the look on his face. He feels guilty. He doesn’t want to hurt you. It was foolish of you to say yes to him, to being his fake girlfriend, when you knew this would happen.

“Peter, I’m sorry.” You’re really trying to demonstrate to him how much you hope this hasn’t ruined your relationship. “It’s okay. I’m so okay, as long as we can still be friends.”

“No!” That’s the one fucking word that Peter is able to get out of his mouth? No?

Your eyes drop to the floor, and you avoid his gaze. Just a few days earlier Peter had been talking about just how much he’d fucked up, now you guess it’s you who’s the one that fucked up.

“Oh.”

And there’s that dejected ‘oh’ again that has Peter reeling. “That’s not what I meant!” He pushes the words out.

You’re becoming more and more flustered, embarrassed, and confused by the moment. “I don’t know what you want from me Pete! Just be fucking straight with me. That’s all I ask.”

Your frustration is understandable and Peter knows it...does he ever. He’s thinking, trying to get the words to come out when an idea comes to him, and he finally is able to calmly state: “Read my mind.”

Now this is a complicated statement for a number of reasons. The first reason is quite simple. When you became friends, you and Peter had made a set of rules, promising to always be open with each other, and to never use your powers on each other. And that was Peter’s biggest rule: never read my mind. Now he’s telling you to, pleading you to, because it’s the only way he can tell you how he feels. His thoughts could never lie to you, they could never hide from you if you didn’t want them to.

And second, breaking that rule would mean breaking that promise. It goes against the very foundation of your friendship, and so for Peter to ask this of you, it must mean that he has something very important to say. You’re just not sure you’re brave enough to hear it...

“Peter,” you question, tilting your head in absolute confusion, as if to say to him, are you sure?

“Read my mind.” He affirms. A look of panic crosses your features, and when he sees the distressed you are, he nods gently. “It’s okay. I promise. You can do it.”

You nod your head, signaling to him that you’re going to do it. “Okay.” You say timidly, entering the complex of his mind.

You’re flooded with memories of the two of you together, laughing and beaming with happiness. Pushing through the visuals, you reach his thoughts, allowing your mind to hear them clearly. After years of blocking them out instinctively, it feels so foreign to open that door.

‘I love you.’ It’s Peter’s voice in your mind. It’s unmistakable, yet so surreal that you almost miss what he says...almost. ‘I’m in love with you.’

Your eyes blink open in shock, pulling yourself so suddenly out of his mind, the door to his thoughts slamming shut once again. He’s watching you patiently, waiting for your response. But Peter’s never really been one for waiting.

“I never wanted it to be fake you know.” He breaks the silence for you. “If I had known just how hard it would be to fake our relationship, I never would have thought of saying your name in the first place.”

A chuckle of relief bubbles from your throat. “You better not be fucking with me...”

“I’d never do that.” He says.

“I beg to differ.” You joke, eyes staring softly into his. “The amount of times you’ve fucked with me on shit is insurmountable.”

“Hmm.” He grins menacingly. “And yet, I’ve never fucked you.” He raises one eyebrow in a mockingly seductive manner. Only Peter would make a sex joke to lessen the tension...or to ruin what would’ve been a perfectly romantic moment....you’re not really sure which.

You nearly choke on your own laugh. “Already jumping to third base Pete? Last time I checked, you were only on first.”

“That’s cause I’m so fucking fast baby.” His wink sends you into an internal conflict. and you don’t know if it’s really funny, or really hot. His eyes are pouring into yours, as if daring you to just kiss him...

...So you do. Your arms fly up to wrap around his neck as you pull Peter’s lips onto yours. He melts into your embrace almost instantly, a giggle bubbling in your mouth as he moves his hands up from your waist.

He pulls away with a dumbstruck smile on his face, his silver hair flopping in all directions. “I want to make this real.” He places a hand softly on your cheek.

“I do too.” You reply, hopefully.

His eyes soften at the sight of you. “Be my girlfriend? For real this time?”

“For real this time.” You nod, a grin stretching across your face.

And it’s truly the most at peace you’ve ever felt in your life. Which will probably last all of five seconds before Peter comes running back to you, telling you he’s fucked something up again, but that doesn’t matter to you, as long as you have each other.

“Maybe, for once in my life,” Peter’s voice is low and calm, “I didn’t fuck something up.”

Maybe for once in his life, Peter Maximoff had gotten something right...

*****

Tags:

@idjitdestiel @what-the-stories-have-foretold @lucyqueenofthestars @justsomerandomjunk @cherikxstucky @scorpionchild81

[karolinarodrigueswrites]

🍓Can't Fake This

All of the charecters sound so interesting i couldnt pick one!

Thank you for the ask! I'm going to mix in a bit for every oc in the main cast.

☕ Max: his most remarkable words so far in their original canon (Can't Play Dead) is "You will succeed where our parents failed to make me a better murderer", and "You always were smarter, but I am stronger". Most of his "sweetheartness" personality in CFT comes from the fact that without the supernatural, his family is not some kind of murder cult, but the fact remains that if he were to snap, it wouldn't end easy.

🌹 Althaea: as the oldest of the four, and in the status of [unwilling] minor celebrity, she's the one the others already knew about, and had some form of opinion. Max has a celebrity crush on her, Jaehyun saw her around his high school once for donations talk, taking note of how people spoke of her appearance, and Alessandro's mother is fond of Althaea's family as clients of her jewelry craft.

❤ Jaehyun: he's the trickiest character to write of the four due how much he has to figure himself out yet, even if he was the second character created for CPD, though something very persistent in him is feeling out of place, without belonging anywhere.

🐍 Alessandro: in CPD, Cassandra is his familiar snake, in CFT, Cassandra is his adoptive mother, except she is only 10 years older than him, so their dynamic is more alike siblings, and she goes as far as having him call her wench rather than mother -- but they do get along, and are protective of each other.

☕ Max: his huge role in CPD and in CFT are entirely accidental; I created his sister first, then him as second thought, by the 20th thought, his place in the bigger picture started growing rapidly.

🌹 Althaea: I reflect a lot of appearance topics in her, and in Max; as in, how people react to you based on your looks, and how they extrapolate their opinions based on the context of your existence.

❤ Jaehyun: his theme would be "beware of the beauty", but it's been difficult to figure out how to make him dangerous since CFT is much more lower stakes than CPD, and maintaining Max's burn scars alone reaches for a lot of melodrama.

🐍 Alessandro: every time I write him and Althaea in CFT, I remember how in CPD they spend like 2 months killing each other and ressurecting, but here we are, bonding over a frappuccino, for Thea, and some monstruosity of a coffee that could land a normal person on the hospital, for Alec.

Anyone who wants to know more about my wips can drop a 🍓 in my askbox along a character, a definition (the clean freak, the math genius, the master chef etc), or a wip with a cast that interests you, for some random facts.

[wildbootsappeared]

Continental Divides Chapter Discussion #13: Three Small Things

One of the trickiest chapters of Continental Divides to write so far has been Chapter 13: Iron Fist. Chapters 12 & 13 were originally one grotesquely large chapter, so the first problem was finding a way to split them. This sequence also included a couple of conversations that I had to rewrite, multiple times, all the while swooning and languishing on top on my keyboard.

Fitting, then, that I’d be conflicted about what to write for this chapter reflection! This one is going to be a little more fast n’ loose than some of the others have been. Less “hello welcome to my Ted Talk, please sit down” and more “fun facts.”

I’m also including a special treat at the end ...!

First, let’s kick things off right with some actual, live footage of metagross from this chapter:

Choo choo, motherfuckers.

Three Small Things:

1. I don’t remember exactly when or why I decided that Mark’s hometown was Virbank--I think it just seemed like enough of a grimy, gross city that someone would be hype to leave there in favor of Hoenn. But! Once I was there, I decided to use what it offered. That refinery (Virbank Complex) made for easy connections to my version of DevCo. AND, a refinery in my city ALSO exploded recently. Yet another shameless copy-paste from real life. Don’t worry: the news has reassured me that all the pollutants just “dispersed into the atmosphere.” It’s probably fine.

2. Since he was mentioned briefly here, I want to talk about Tabitha. Since Mark occupies the same narrative space that RSE Tabitha normally would, I decided to differentiate him by making him into a subterfuge/media maven character instead. (My mental image of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and my mental image of CD!Tabitha have a lot of overlap.) He’s got a ninjask not just to add a little more variety and type coverage to the team but also because I took some inspiration from Acceptance, the second booth in Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy: where bugs (spyware) and bugs (literally creepy crawly, sign of the end times) and people who bug you (verb: annoy, bother, pester) intertwine. I figure if you’re trying to take down a corporation and maybe the government itself, you need both some rowdy hard-hitters and someone who can pick locks. That’s why Tabitha is mentioned hacking the mainframe in this chapter.

3. You might remember me mentioning that my mom reads CD. As you might imagine, her understanding of pokemon is ... limited. And CD really is not written to help out on that front. 

One of my biggest pet peeves is when fic writers over-describe a pokemon to the point that it becomes an unintelligible guessing game. Y’all. Come now. We know who we’re writing for, and it’s people who don’t need to be told that grovyle is a “green bipedal lizard with leaves on its arms.” Stop that. Good writing is not a contest of who can describe a thing in the most mind-numbing detail.

Regardless, Mom usually manages alright, except for one time when she implied that she thought metagross might be a bird. That time I did lovingly explain that, no, Mom, it’s a metal space spider of death but I usually just let her imagine whatever she’s going to imagine. It occurred to me recently that she might be picturing ... some weird shit. She’s never seen pictures of these guys. So I asked if she’d be willing to try to draw what she was picturing, and this is what she came up with:

.

.

.

.

.

She did stress that this is not necessarily what she’s picturing, just what she managed to draw. But let’s appreciate, please, that she drew not one but four spiders.

I am truly blessed.

Here’s some Chapter 8 music (with links to Spotify):

- Lights Out by 3TEETH, Ho99o9

- Earth Death by Baths

- Cowboys or Indians by UNKLE

- Jaded by Doomtree

- TRUMPETS by _BY.ALEXANDER, 070 Shake

[alwaysupatnight]

⭐Giving up the Ghost⭐ and ⭐Losing My Cool⭐ for the Directors Cut!

Giving Up the Ghost

This fic happened totally by accident. I had been discussing sethkate vampire AUs with @thespianreveur and was saying how nobody had actually written a story where Seth gets turned at the blood well, and stumbled upon this idea in her inbox. XD It’s become an absolute monster fic now and idk if I’ll be able to handle it, but I have so many ideas for it. I’m hoping I can pull it together in some coherent fashion. There’s still so much to do…

The thing that makes me the happiest when it comes to this story has gotta be the title for the first chapter. XD I totally stole it, ngl. It’s actually the name of the song playing at Jacknife Jed’s when the culebra band is playing. I just think it works so well for the first chapter with Seth going in all hot and things of course not going according to plan. But I’ve been really proud of the titles I’ve come up with for this fic so far (with the exception of chapter 3… I kinda hate that one). :P

My favorite bit that I’ve written so far (of what’s been published anyway) has to be Richie in chapter 2. At the time I wasn’t so sure I was writing him too convincingly because I’d only written him a couple times before that. He’s probably the trickiest one for me because I just don’t feel like I know him that well. But that bit of him kneeling by Seth and whispering to his dead brother was really different. Idk that he displays a lot of affection… I think it takes a lot to affect Richie, and losing Seth would definitely destroy him. I just like the idea of him acting kind of out of character, because he often seems so apathetic.

There’s A LOT more to come with this fic, and I have several chapters outlined and ready to be actually written. I’m sorry this fic takes me so long. >_< It’s hard to be in that mindset when so much of it is depressing. lol But things start looking up. Not in the next chapter, but soon. lmfao The smut I have envisioned for this fic is probably also some of the filthiest I’ve ever written. Yes, some of it is actually written in some form. XD I CAN’T WAIT TO GET THERE.

Losing My Cool

This began as another prompt from @yossariandawn. XD It was supposed to be ONE PARAGRAPH. But somehow has turned into a monster. I intend to write two more chapters, the last of which may be from Kate’s pov... I just had the idea yesterday to make Kalinda be the one who helped Kate pick out an outfit for the dinner… I want to write a little scene in there somewhere. lol I haven’t actually written the chapters yet though because of course.

But if y’all have read my author notes you’ll know the inspiration came from Madie’s 1883 Magazine photo of her in the black dress!! And if you’ve ever discussed Seth with me, you’ll know I think he’s an absolute dork. XD HE IS NOT THE SMOOTH MF-ER HE THINKS HE IS OKAY. And yet, he is somehow able to fool people into thinking he’s cool. lol WELL, HE AIN’T.

And lbr, they aren’t fooling Richie either. lmfao He is NOT impressed with either of them. XD

Ask Me: Fanfic Director’s Cut

[bluefox-den]

I just BARELY finished my entry for Xylax’s contest on time... I heard about the contest ages ago but completely forgot about it until yesterday.

Anyway, here it is if anyone wants to read it! While the two wolves in this story are not related to my pack, the Spirit is part of my lore and I’m glad I had a chance to write about it.

———

The forest was cold, the snow glittering like the stars above as it crunched under the paws of the two wolves. The branches of the surrounding trees were coated in a layer of ice, sounding like chimes as they danced in the frozen wind.

Tonight was not a good night to be so far from the den. This deep into winter, the weather could shift at any moment, and a snowstorm would be disastrous. But it was the only night that would work, unless the wolves wished to wait for the moon to complete another cycle.

That was what the stories said, right? That of all the old Spirits that had once ruled this world, this one was the trickiest to find? One of the elders had claimed that it could only be found on moonless nights, when it left its position in the sky to walk the earth until it returned to watch over the forest from above.

Karva thought back to the rhyme the elders had taught her and her siblings as pups. “On moonless nights, the Spirit roams. Find a clearing far from home. Offer skulls and sun-bleached bones, and ask it what you wish to know,” she murmured out loud.

Aila glanced over at her, speeding up in an attempt to match her pace. Karva felt a twinge of guilt seeing her sister struggling to keep up, but if they wished to do this, they had to travel quickly. Judging by the position of the bear constellation, the night was more than half over.

At last, they came to a large clearing, the slender trees forming a perfect circle around the two wolves. The world seemed black and white, nothing but snow and starlight interrupted by dark trees. Aila lowered her head and gently placed the skull she had carried here on the snowy ground. It was small, much smaller than her own head, but similar in structure. She gazed down at it, looking withdrawn, and Karva leaned in to comfort her.

Out of the corner of her eye, the pattern of light and dark in the woods appeared to shift. Karva spun around, staring into the shadows where the movement had been, but there was nothing. And then— a quiet swish from her other side. She turned, just in time to see… something come into view.

The creature was impossibly tall, and as skeletal as the trees around it, with a mane of long, dark fur. It had no eyes, no face at all, really. Just a skull for a head, though it was black instead of white. From within the eye sockets and between the ribs came a soft white glow, gentle and warm and almost welcoming. Slowly, it lowered its head, bending to half its height and wrapping long-fingered hands around the nearest two trees, bending them carefully out of the way.

Its jaw opened, revealing a mouth that glowed with the same strange light. “What knowledge do you seek, mortals?”

Karva could feel Aila trembling, her ears pinned back and her tail tucked. But Karva felt no fear. “You are the Spirit of death, yes?”

“Among other things,” the creature answered. Its voice was much quieter than one would expect for a being so large, barely above a whisper, yet the sound wrapped around Karva like the wind. “Some call me the Spirit of death. Others, the Spirit of the moon. I call myself Tenas.”

“Tenas,” Karva repeated to herself. She had not heard it before, and the name felt strange in her mouth. And yet, it seemed right, as though the universe had long ago decided that it was indeed the name of the being standing before her.

Glancing at her sister, she remembered why they were here. “We need your help.” She considered her next words carefully. “Our pack is struggling. It has been a harsh winter, and Aila’s litter came at an unfortunate time. Only one was born alive, and even she did not last long.” Karva gestured to the skull on the ground. “Bring her back. Please.”

“I cannot.”

Karva’s hackles rose, and she took a step towards the Spirit, undaunted by its size. “How dare you?” she snarled. “You said yourself, you are the Spirit of death. You took my sister’s pups, you took her mate just days before that, you took so many wolves from our pack. Are you truly too cruel and uncaring to return this one life?”

The being had backed away as Karva had spoken, the furious wolf advancing with each accusation. Tenas bowed its head, and while its skull-like face showed no emotion, there was a sense of sorrow emanating from it. The light within it had dimmed slightly. “I cannot,” it repeated. “I am sorry.” Its voice was nearly too quiet to hear.

“Why?” It was Aila who spoke this time, still trembling but now holding her head high, though her eyes were shining with grief.

Tenas was silent for a moment, the sound of branches clattering in the breeze once again becoming audible. And then, it answered. “I do not control when a mortal dies,” it said. “I do not take lives, and I do not have the ability to return them. I simply guide them on the journey from your world to mine.” The being studied the tiny skull. “If I controlled death, I would not take lives this young. They are too attached to the things they leave behind. It is very difficult to guide them. They usually refuse to follow. They try to wait for their mothers.”

Aila too stared at the skull of her daughter, before looking up to meet the Spirit’s eyes. “Is that so terrible? That a pup might choose to stay in this world longer, even after death?”

Tenas returned her gaze. “The dead cannot interact with the living. While they stay in this world, they are alone. But from the stars, they can watch over their loved ones.” It turned its head skyward. “Do you never wonder why the stars are so comforting? Do you never stop to think about why it is that the ones you have loved appear in your dreams? The dead become the stars. Though they are always there, their presence is stronger at night, with the moonlight, my light, helping their own light reach your world.” The Spirit’s jaw opened in some imitation of a smile. “That is what makes my job so important.”

The being’s words put the two wolves at ease, their posture becoming more relaxed. It was strange, that such a horrific-looking creature could be anything but a monster. But its presence was almost soothing, and Karva was inexplicably reminded of the feeling of entering a cozy den after a day spent out in the snow. Tenas radiated a feeling of comfort, of warmth and familiarity.

Aila seemed to feel the same, no longer trembling. “You say that you guide the dead,” she said. “If my daughter cannot come back to me, then perhaps you are right. She should go with you.”

Tenas crouched down further, its front limbs bending to allow its head to rest on the ground, the end of its bony snout nearly touching the skull. It looked even tinier next to the enormous creature. The Spirit exhaled, its breath visible in the cold air as it enveloped the skull. As the cloud of breath disappeared, a faint glow could be seen. A white spark of light, no bigger than a firefly, now hovered just above the pup’s skull.

The two wolves stared in awe as the flickering spark slowly drifted closer to Tenas, stopping next to its left eye socket. The Spirit once again smiled, its jaw creaking open to reveal a row of pointed white teeth. Ever so slowly, it raised its head from the forest floor, the spark rising with it.

“I do not normally guide the dead when I am in this form,” Tenas said to the wolves below. “That duty is reserved for when I am back in my true form, when I have all of my light to lead them.” It paused for a moment, considering. “I will make an exception for this one. She can travel with me until I return to the sky.”

It began walking away, slow, silent steps carrying it back into the trees. Karva watched, but it disappeared quickly, becoming one with the pale snow and dark branches. She and Aila waited, huddled together for warmth, but there was not another whisper of its presence. It was time to return home.

The next night, as Aila tipped her head skyward to howl to her nearby family, something caught her eye. The moon was back in the sky, just a sliver, and a new star had appeared next to it.

[dent-de-leon]

some things from the Dragon Prince Q&A that caught my attention:

It seems there are elves for all the elemental magics!! Except “Dark Elves” weren’t mentioned, so if they exist at all, they’re probably the result of some spoilery unnatural corruption

Elves only have 4 toes on each foot!! also hinting at Half-Elves was teased 

They still haven’t heard back about whether they’re greenlit to air more seasons yet, but they’re very hopeful based on the reception so far ;;

Callum and Ezran are both biracial

Aaron: “General Amaya is deaf and I agree she is amazing! We are so happy that the audience and community loves this character so much. We spent a lot of time talking with people we know who are deaf or HoH and we also followed up with several organizations that raise awareness around deafness or support deaf people. It made a big difference helping us understand and shape Amaya’s character in an authentic way.” ;;

Viren, Claudia and Soren were some of the first characters conceived, as a focus on Dark magic was one of the initial interests for the show’s story 

Aaron: “For me, it's always character first. We think about who they are, and how their growth and development will connect with and resonate with and play off of our overall epic arc. Then usually Justin and I have some sense of a general arc for the story, etc. From there, we spend a lot of time with the writing team fleshing out details, planning each storyline, thinking about the characters and who they are and what they might do etc. We talk a lot and we spend a lot of time making sure it feels right.”

A Dragon Prince video game is already in the works! 

Aaron: “I think Giancarlo put in [Rayla’s] Naruto-run, with encouragement from Lulu Younes!”

Giancarlo: “I was speculating what D&D class our characters would be, and Ezran's is the trickiest. I think ‘ranger’ is closest because of the ability to communicate with animals, but it's not like he's got Corvus-level tracking skills. (Corvus is more obviously a ranger).”

Giancarlo: “As far as more Harrow-Ezran scenes: It seemed to me Ezran was more in denial of the danger that was coming from the Moonshadow Elves. But we do know he was very close with his dad. We all see Ezran as an equal ‘main character’ as Callum and Rayla. Maybe Ezran can be more useful in combat if he levels up in Ranger skills with dual wielding or something. But first he has to read the Player's Handbook.”

Aaron: “We do imagine a pretty deep backstory between Rayla and Runaan, and I agree it would be cool to learn more. We know from the end credit image that Runaan has known Rayla or Rayla's family for a very long time. I suspect he has seen her potential and her talent since she was quite young, and probably was the one who vouched for her and brought her on the mission that starts the show. He has a professional relationship with her but also clearly has been a father figure...”

Aaron is a fan of Korra and called it “daring and beautiful”

Giancarlo: “The fun thing about doing NYCC is it's the first panel where people have (presumably) watched the series beforehand! So we can answer more questions about the show and less ‘the show MIGHT be about this....’ Now we can actually have a juicy conversation about the world!”--I’m even more excited for NYCC now! fingers crossed I can get into the panel 👀

Aaron: “I have done way too much thematic thinking about the ‘uneven towers’ that you see symbolized in the Katolis crest and the crowns of the king and queen. To me asymmetry and imperfection are a ‘human’ theme, whereas in Xadia perfection and timelessness and symmetry would be more typical. I have a lot more to say on this topic...”

Aaron: “Magic in our world always has a source, it doesn't come from nowhere. Primal magic comes from the six primal sources. It's difficult to attract, channel, and focus. Dark magic is a quicker dirtier kind of magic--you're consuming a magical creature or magic material of some kind that contains (primal) magic in it, and then releasing that magic with purpose. Hope that helps--please do not try at home!”

Aaron considers Ezran’s ability to talk to animals as “deeply empathetical” rather than magical, but “it might as well be magical.”

Justin: “In Xadia, all the creatures and elves are born connected to a primal source so they are inherently at least a bit magic. Humans aren't born with magic, and thus have invented a shortcut with Dark Magic. There is no inheritance to Dark Magic.”

[chibimyumi]

Do you have any advice on translating interviews?

Dear Anon,I personally do not know what exactly you are referring to, so I will just write down a few tips per category that is generally useful in translating Japanese to English (assuming that these are the source- and target language you are referring to).

1. Tricky tricks

In Japanese, there are transitive and intransitive verbs, which despite their great similarity mean something entirely different. Also, depending on what particle is being used in the sentence （に、を、が、で Etc.）the sentence can bear yet an entirely different meaning again.Homophones too are rather tricky. 厚い and 暑い for example, are both read as ‘Atsui’, though the former means ‘thick, heavy’, the latter means ‘hot’. And yet, there is another ‘Atsui’ that means ‘hot’, namely 熱い. 暑い is used to describe hot weather or a hot place, while 熱い is used to describe material or substance that is hot. These Kanji are not interchangeable.

If you happen to be proficient in Chinese, beware of false friends!! Always check and double check whether your proficiency in Chinese is hijacking your interpretation of Japanese!!! The most eager translators of Japanese are often Chinese speakers, because with a Chinese language background, learning Japanese is much easier. Still, many fall into the trap of these seemingly identical words known as ‘false friends’. Just one small example. In Japanese you have the word ‘Yuka’ (床), meaning floor, while in Chinese it means bed. Though…… in Japanese context, the difference between the floor and bed comfort wise is very subtle, but that is a very personal opinion. I am truly no fan of futons.

2. Null-subject language

Japanese is a null-subject language, which means that a sentence does not require to have a subject. In English, we say “I drink tea”. You cannot simply say “drink tea” without it becoming imperative. In Japanese however, it is even considered rather unnatural to include the ‘I’ in the sentence.

私はお茶を飲みます (Watashi wa ocha wo nomimasu)

(Adding the ‘Watashi wa’ will in effect sound like: “It is I, who drinks tea!”

✨🍵~(￣＾￣)つ ～～ ← cape blows in wind

Usually when Japanese speakers talk, we omit the subject. However, we do not just omit any subject, we only do so if we can assume the recipient of the message will be able to understand whom we are referring to. Usually the subject is only included into the sentence when the subject is being emphasised or when there is a change of subject. セバスチャンはお茶を飲んでいない、主が飲んでいる (Sebastian wa ocha wo nondeinai, aruji ga nondeiru)“Sebastian is not drinking tea, his master is.” A very good example from the Kuroshitsuji manga is Sebastian’s infamous first line “He is calling for me”, 呼んでいる (Yondeiru). It is clear that the speaker is the one whose words rang through dimensions which called Sebastian forth from Hell, which is why Sebastian did not need to explicitly say “He is calling for me”, 彼が呼んでいる (Kare ga yondeiru).

Not only is the subject often omitted, so is the verb (if assumed to be obvious). お茶を (Ocha wo) for example is a construction we use very often. When there is the particle of を, it is clear to the listener that something actively is being done with the tea. There are exceptions of course, but usually we automatically assume that the tea is either being brewed or drank. So as a host, when I walk away from my guest and I say お茶を, you can assume I will go make some tea instead of drinking it, or for god-knows-what-reason, go walk my tea like a dog.

More often than not, when either a subject, object, or even an opinion is omitted, I have to interpret it using the existing context however vague. In this case, I have no choice but to write down my personal interpretation between [square brackets]. For examples where I had to abuse the […], please click here or use the #translation tag on my blog. The trickiest part comes in when opinions are being omitted in Japanese, but cannot be left out in your target language. Because that is when you need to speak for the original speaker…(It’s like real life god-modding O.o) But alas, that’s Japanese for you. When you do, make sure to always put any blanks you filled in yourself between brackets! Always make sure YOUR reader knows what part of the translation can be traced back, and what cannot!

3. Endless sentences

Because Japanese is a null-subject language with many, MANY adverbs, sentences tend to run on and on. When translating to English, beware of legibility in your target language. Do not be scared to chop the original sentence into sections in your translation. As Japanese is a subject-object-verb(SOV. e.g. Sebastian tea drinks) language as opposed to English (SVO. e.g. Sebastian drinks tea), also make sure you swap around the sentence order when need be. Any reader would feel most grateful for this.

あそこの青いベンチに座っていて、スマホをいじりながらスタバで買ったカフェラッテを嬉し気に飲んでいる人は、昨日、私がネットで知り合ったファンの方です。 (Asoko no aoi bench ni suwatteite, SmaPho wo ijirinagara StaBa de katta Cafe Latte wo ureshige ni nondeiru hito wa, kinou, watashi ga Netto de shiriatta Fan no kata desu.)

Don’t Do: There on the blue bench sitting, while swiping the smartphone whilst as though in an air of happiness drinking the cafe latte bought at the Starbucks person, yesterday, I met that fan person on the internet.

Wut? ﾉ(￣０￣;)＼？？

Do: Yesterday I met a person on the internet who is a fan. [FULL STOP] It is that person with the smartphone sitting over there, on the blue bench, who seems to be happily drinking a Starbuck’s cafe latte.

ChibiMyumi Approved (*^ーﾟ)b

That’s about it for now I guess.I hope this long ramble helps. (That is why one should not give me any opportunity to talk about my passions, because there’s not brake to it!)

[sabbathism]

People don’t like season 2, and here’s what they have to say :

tl;dr: I answer the web’s most vehement complaints about season 2 of American Gods. If you happen to recognize yourself in one of those, then I suggest thinking about it really really hard and, perhaps, giving the show another chance. If you recognize yourself in several of those, please drop the show. It’s not worth wasting your time and especially not ours. (I put a list of helpful cast and production related facts at the end.)

Hi, Nelle here, I’m but a humble fan who wishes to have fun seeing gods bicker and argue among mortals, complete with the craziest of situations, stellar cast and great visuals. And yet I can’t help but hear things when I start browsing this hellsite in quest of juicy fanworks.

Although I’m no Joan Of Arc, I hear voices from above and here’s what I have to shout back (lest I get burned at the stake)  :

“The pacing is all over the place ! It’s too slow !”

Is it tho ? Pacing has been “all over the place” (really meaning: different from what we avid show-viewers are accustomed to) since season 1, we’ve never gotten straight answers out of anything unless we started listening and paying attention to details. 

The book (you know, the source material) has four parts, the fourth serving as an epilogue to the whole story, season 2 is most definitely meant to close part 1 which, allegedly, had the slowest of pace to begin with. And it doesn’t even have half the new narratives the show has been creating. So no, it’s not slow. I promise you things are happening.

“It needs to follow the actual book more !!”

What’s a good adaptation ? Is it something that is 100% truthful to the source, down to every word ? Is it something that should offer something for people who don’t know the source ? Or, on the contrary, be something inseparable from it ?

American Gods as a TV show offers new things for people who have read the book and for those who haven’t, while keeping the beloved moments and aspects from the original material.

Why add or change stuff ? Well because, if you’re a book reader, you get welcomed into the state of existential dread that comes with not knowing what happen next, I promise it’s part of the fun. But also because author Neil Gaiman believes that he can do more, do better, with something that was written 20 years ago and needed the changes in a lot of places. He’s aware that he has, in fact, a show to make, and not a carbon copy of the book, as well as a fanbase that deserves to be challenged and entertained.

“Why taking the focus off Shadow ? He’s barely the protagonist anymore !”

Because there are..... characters ? who are also part of the story ? Like, actual stories need characters ? But alright, I know it can get confusing when you have a lot of those, here’s how you can still tell Shadow is the protagonist : months of advertising and the entirety of season 1 which was spent following Shadow with only minor breaks allowing other characters to breathe. Trust me they need the development too, or then we’ll really have reasons to complain.

You want a narrative focusing solely on staying in Shadow’s head ? Alright. Try the book. But here’s my take on its narrating choice, as a graduate in english literature : it’s boring. To the point where Neil Gaiman himself got sad that he couldn’t follow other characters.

“They’re not giving the POCs enough space ! Where are the coming to america segments ? At least they gave actual insights.”

Out of every piece of fiction, I truly don’t think you want to get angry at American Gods for how much room it’s giving POCs... (a 20% white cast ensemble, POCs and especially WOCs writers and directors on production, ethnically accurate casting and writing, diversity positive messages, etc) Really I’m sure there are many other places in the fictional industry were the question of diversity is more than legitimate. American Gods has yet to be one of them, by far.

As for the Coming To America stuff, well, there’s not that many in the book to begin with. There are a whole bunch for sure, but we’ve got over quite a few of them in season 1. If there’s more believers you want, we’re served with the latest episode 4, with humans worshiping both Old and New, and interacting with gods. I’m sure we can review that point again once the season is over.

“Those white directors don’t even know how to read or write POC characters !”

*cough*

here’s a list of the POC directors and writers on episodes 2 to 5 of season 2 only :

Deborah Chow (director)

Aditi Kapil (writer)

Salli Richardson (director)

Rodney Barnes (writer)

Orlando Jones (writer)

That’s half the entire director-writer team for these episodes, with Neil Gaiman being involved. You’ll have to point out to me exactly what you mean by “not writing right”.

“New Media ? 1. she’s a bitch, 2. her actress is just plain bad, 3. she’s a hurtful stereotype.” 

And here comes perhaps the trickiest one of all... I’m gonna have to bear with you, as much as you’re gonna have to bear with me :

1. Yes. 2. No. 3. Yes, and it’s a problem, but not for the reasons you think.

First of all, and let’s get it out of the way : actor =/= character nor writing. You think the writing is bad and/or that the character is annoying ? Well, it’s certainly not on the actor. You wanna know the actual level of Kahyun Kim’s acting ? Starring in an Alan Cummings play alongside him. We’ve got a lot to discuss but please keep her out of this.

Second, New Media is an absolute bitch of a character. She’s mocking, manipulative, and too ambitious for anyone’s good. A lot of people seem to love her tho and to that I say good ??? I mean, great if you like her, because she’s got as much potential as the rest of these crazy characters, I’m not here to tell you who you should hate and who you should love.

But there’s a problem you shouldn’t ignore, and that its so far she’s not well written. It’s a terrible thing to say in such a show but she’s really not : because we barely see her talking, because we barely got any scene with her (remember what I said about letting character breathe ?), and because what we’ve seen of her so far is the stereotype of the hypersexualized naive asian girl. Complete with tentacle porn scene. (Whether you felt weirded out, amused or utterly disgusted by this is your own valid opinion.)

The character has been officially described as “the goddess of global content”, “a cyberspace chameleon” and “a master of manipulation.” In recent addition to that, actor Bruce Langley (Technical Boy) has said : “New Media’s willing to be perceived as naive because if she’s being underestimated, when she does make her move, you’d never see it coming, but she knows way more than she lets on.” He then goes on to compare her to Gillian Anderson’s Media.

This proves that the way New Media comes off isn’t a problem of intent (the naive part is calculated and they want the character to be duplicitous, falsely seductive), but of handling, and it’s just as bad. Sure, Gillian’s Media also knew more than she let on for about as much screen time -I’m sure New Media will get to her four scenes in one season-, but she had been grounded in the narrative as her own character, she’s had her exposition speech and time. (See her meeting with Shadow in S01E02) We’ve yet to see that much of Kahyun’s New Media.

Because they do not give her what she needs to be more than a two dimensional character, we find ourselves with a shallow character who doesn’t give too many signs of the thought process everyone seemed to have put into crafting her beforehand, including Kahyun’s acting. This is a serious issue that needs to be handled before the season ends, or she will just stand out like a nasty spot in an overall incredible piece of fiction. Hell even Laura (another very unlikable character) manages to be a great addition to the narrative. Come on people.

You can of course argue that they could have gone for another type or personality for her, other than naive and sex-oriented, for a korean actress to play. You’re right, there’s a lot of aspect of social media that could have been put to work, but not only are we gonna need more than two scenes (at least the tentacles aren’t a regular occurrence so far), but it’s just like they could have not made the Technical Boy hang Shadow. 

The New Gods appear as the ‘general bad idea’ we promote through and associate with their element. Mr. World is gonna be the creepy looking government dude, Tech is gonna be the lanky rude geek, they’re gonna be cold, insensitive and selfish. They’re gonna be the things we don’t like. Throughout season 1, Tech Boy was in the same place we find ourselves in with New Media : he was the loud white racist teenager hating on anon on the net, he was unlikable from start to finish, and it’s only once we got inputs from his actor, the writers, and then now that they’re showing more of his story and personality well after season 1 that we see him as the fully complex and interesting character he is.

Let’s all keep our wits about us, not engulf ourselves in blind hate or love, and encourage the writers to prove us all that this character is worth the while like her actress says.

(I still won’t forgive the bitch, but at least she won’t stick out like a sore thumb.)

(if you want Kahyun’s input on her character and experience, here’s a lengthy interview)

"They don't even know how to write their own character, period !"

By all means, tell me your basis of characterization to declare that characters who didn’t even have enough screentime to have much substance in season 1 (except Shadow, but strangely no one complains about him) aren’t written right when their creator is literally hovering over the writers and actors shoulders, because he wants them to be developed and written right.

It’s not Harry Potter, Neil isn’t making up facts about them to make himself look better, maybe accept that the vision you had in your mind wasn’t entirely accurate to the truth of the characters and that’s okay ? You can still write them yourself however you want, tell the stories you want to tell, Neil has made it very clear that he doesn’t consider fan ideas less valuable than his.

“Bryan has such as specific, unique vision ! They’re just trying to copy it and they’re failing.”

Definitely. No really, you’re right, I’m a big fan of Bryan’s work, I lost my mind like everyone else when he said he wasn’t giving up on Hannibal season 4.

But you know who else has a unique vision ? The seven directors who took over (four of those are women) and the show-runner who had already worked with him beforehand. They’re not trying to copy his style, they’re trying to make a smooth transition so fans like you don’t have a hard time mourning the terrible loss of Bryan and Michael. And for every person who noticed the changes, there were just as many who haven’t even paid attention to it.

Concept : some people may watch shows/movies for the story and the characters, not just for who’s behind the camera. (As far as I’m concerned, I actually like the image better. Everything was killer in season 1, and I think it’s even nicer in season 2.)

“Bryan gave us Salim and the Jinn, and now they’re just gonna be cast aside because those directors lack the LGBT+ sensibility Bryan has !”

Alright, yup, sure. As a member of the community myself, I totally recognize that someone who’s also part of it will know firsthand of the subtleties and details to give the best representation possible on screen. The example of Salim and the Jinn is perfectly fine, since the entire segment was indeed beautifully made. But if we cannot allow people from outside to ponder and think about our lives through writing (which is probably the best way for them to start understanding and broadening their mindset), how can we expect wide representation to improve in any meaningful way ? Especially considering that the show has been casting LGBT+ actors, in an environment where the cast is listened to and solicited on their opinions. 

And especially when Bryan was not the one who gave you Salim and the Jinn. (Because I’ve seen people genuinely believe it.) Neil Gaiman did. He wrote a gay muslim couple in his book 20 years ago, way before it was considered a political statement. He’s also the one who gave strict and specific directions as to how these very characters should be handled. Because if he expanded Salim and his fire boyfriend Jinn’s story from a one-shot to a full story integrated into his entire narration, then it’s certainly not to pull a “bury your gays” or make them miserable. No need to be LGBT+ to be a decent writer and human being.

“Production was a mess anyway, I knew it’d turn out like this. It sucks without Bryan.” 

Define “mess”. Because all the incendiary reports we got throughout early production had been utter bullshit.

Showrunners being “fired” ? Bullshit. “Disastrous” organization ? Bullshit. “Screaming matches” between directors and actors ? Bullshit. Actors “refusing” to come back ? Bullshit.

Every report that wasn’t made through direct input of the cast or production team was not only wildly exaggerated, but also fake ? But please, hear it from Neil himself :

It was weirder for me to read some of the stuff online that said, “Oh, my god, American Gods, behind the scenes, is all falling apart.” I was going, “But they just shot four episodes, and everything is fine. They’re doing some re-shoots, but they’re doing less re-shoots than they did in Season 1.” [...]

I was reading Steven Bochco’s biography on the tube, going into work on Good Omens, every morning, and learning about what went down on Hill Street Blues, and then on NYPD Blue. That was worse, by a factor of thousands, than anything that happened on American Gods. A showrunner came, and a showrunner left. That’s not even an unusual thing. [...] The weirdest thing for me was putting out a thing on Twitter on Season 2, and having a bunch of people go, “We thought this was canceled.” No, it’s not canceled. In its own mad way, it’s on schedule.  

(Source)

The show was never in any danger, much less in jeopardy. It's overreactions to false rumors and dramatic assumptions that can kill a show faster than a showrunner leaving. You want to be critical of a production ? Go ahead, and check your sources and facts. Please. I promise most of the time it’s not worth the worry, much less losing all hope.

“Bryan cared, they’re just ruining what he’s built.”

I dare you to watch any cast interview and tell me these people don’t care about the show, and that they do not value the work everyone else (from hair department to makeup artists, producers, writers, directors and costume team) puts into it as well.

I’ve watched my fair share of shows, I’m curious about production and behind-the-scenes material in general, and I’ve never seen a group of people being so genuinely happy and passionate about what they do and create together.

Neil took time out of preparing Good Omens (which he was showrunning himself) to be more active because he knew things would be different between season 1 and 2. Ricky Whittle (Shadow) had his contract reviewed to better accommodate shooting and planning. Orlando Jones (Nancy) contributed to writing episodes (especially regarding Black history and representation) and brought inputs on characterization. Ian Mcshane (Mr. Wednesday) participated in directing when he explicitly said during season 1 that he wasn’t interested in working as a director on this kind of show.

And that’s for the well-known names only. Go on the American Gods hashtag on instagram, you’ll find all the various artists who participated in crafting all the details found in new episodes. They’re out there talking about how excited they were to work on it all, how they did it, the love they have for the show and crew. They’re active and positive in every way you can be, please tell me how much they don’t care.

Production made the choice of taking its time making this season rather than rushing it when it’s been very clear that delaying can cause massive loss of viewers, because they care more about how the show comes out than what people actually think. They took in stride whatever problem a show of this magnitude could naturally encounter (again guys, no disaster happened) and worked to solve it the best way they could because they were perfectly aware that we fans care. And somehow that’s what made some of yall disappointed ??

If you seriously think Bryan (and Michael, some people forget about him smh) cared more about American Gods than these people -when he, in fact, cared just as much-, then by all means, leave right with him.

(Also uhm, idk if you noticed, but they’re both still credited in the fucking opening. Because, you know, they’re going by the bases they’ve settled.)

Some (hopefully) helpful facts :

+ Bryan and Michael weren’t fired, they walked out of the show after mutual understanding with the rest of the production that they weren’t agreeing on budget and realization. They concluded that pushing it would just be harmful to the show.

+ Likewise, Jesse Alexander (second showrunner) wasn’t evicted but stepped out once disagreements rose as to how to handle the end of the season. Again, they found a solution fairly quickly.

+ Gillian Anderson had only signed for season 1. Whether her character will ever be seen again (probably in flashbacks) is entirely up in the air. No promises, no impossibilities.

+ Both Kristin Chenoweth (Ostara) and Chris Obi (Anubis) have not been able to contribute to season 2 due to conflicts in their schedules.

+ Neil Gaiman has been much more involved in the production of season 2 as he had finished shooting Good Omens, something which took up most of his time when season 1 was produced.

+ Taking time producing a show =/= production being a disaster.

+ Always go for the reports/articles involving interviews and/or inputs of the persons actually working on the project (cast members, producers, writers, directors). Those are the most reliable sources you can fight. (Just remember that there’s always a possibility for fake news/drama online !)

[travelingxsong]

1, 3, 9, 11

[multimuse q’s - accepting!] @dilapsum

1. is there a muse that you wish gets more attention?

Lady Jane Franklin

She’s such a fascinating battle-axe of a woman that I’m excited to throw into more situations !! Pre-Franklin Expedition when she’s governor’s wife of in Tasmania? Or when she’s newly married to Sir John and traveling the world?? Or throwing her with some Jane Austen peeps and when she’s still Jane Griffin and so in love with Captain Franklin who’s only recently been paying attention to her?? (And I’m sure when I finish reading her bio and get to the chapters Post-Franklin Expedition that list will grow lmao.)

But to give the other muses a chance, Irving always deserves more screen time, and I haven’t really gotten the chance to explore Collins or Hartnell’s personalities at all yet. (Collins has gotten some attention, but Hartnell is a completely blank canvas)

3. which muse is the trickiest to get into character for?

Tied between Sir John, Collins, & Hartnell!

NGL, Franklin-Expedition-Sir John is a challenge because I’m not used to writing a character who’s an old exploration hero with wounded pride still recovering from losing his post as Governor of Tasmania and making bloody awful hubris judgment calls w/o his wife around. XD

Additionally, Henry Collins I feel I have to be in a certain mood to get his character. And that’s just normal scuba diver Collins. Him post-carnival is a whole ‘nother beast to itself.

And then Hartnell is tricky because I still have yet to fully grasp his character!

9. why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

I didn’t even really notice Lady Jane at first viewing of the TV show except for when she roasts the Admiralty and that sweet flashback scene w/ Sir John. It wasn’t until someone on tumblr said: “the REAL Lady Jane Franklin…” that I suddenly got all “Wait srsly?? WHO IS THIS LADY??” And then once I started reading up on her, she instantly clicked as a more ambitious more mature more badass and more adventurous version of my mainblog OC. And reading her biography only solidified it!

Sir John ironically didn’t draw me at all. But now he just suddenly showed up thanks to Jane! XD

Specifically, the scenes of Irving with Jacko and him singing at the carnival drew me to Irving lmao. He’s such a sweetheart, and apparently, the TV show made him out to be more on the assertive side compared to historic Irving or excerpts of the Terror book where he is literally sweet as sugar! (And described as : “… the bulky mittens, Welsh wig, and layers of cold-weather slops make young Irving look something like a saluting walrus…”) xD

Collins because he’s such a tragic figure and I want him to enjoy happier times and really enjoy his scuba diving for a change.

Hartnell, for the same reasons as Irving & Collins. Such a sweetheart and deserved better!! (And deserves a happy life with his new brother Jopson and dad Crozier)

V Adams & Eveline Johnson were actually the original muses of this blog before the Franklin Expedition peeps took over… oops! But they’re from a great mobile video game called Lifeline: Whiteout that I wanted to write it’s sequel to and someday I will finally get around to it! :)

11. Is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who?

Oh wow, there’s so many!!

Lt. Hodgson, but he’s by far the most difficult out of everyone to get into character. Dr. Macdonald is another cuz he’s such a precious bean. And also Jacko/Neptune/Fagin. Once I thought of Goodsir but there’s already a lot of great Goodsirs here on Tumblr. And of late sometimes even Sir John’s daughter Eleanor has crossed my mind a couple times!

[khruseosold]

3, 9, 11 and 30 from the asks for mun with a multimuse!

3. Which muse is the trickiest to get into character for?

Though I haven’t properly gotten to her yet (I’m taking this multimuse thing one muse by one, writing one new muse for a while before moving onto the next one so that they can settle), I’m going to place my bets on it being Cersei, just because she is quite unique in her mindset, perspective and approach, but that’s also exactly what I enjoy so much about her character, that she is vastly different. There are no other female characters currently quite like her. But because she is so different, there a very prominent level of complexity to her. So while I’m very much looking forward to attempting my hand at her, I know she’ll prove a challenge.

9. Why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

Initially, I’d thought I’d give an explanation for every single muse, but since that’d make a relatively long, though not always consistently so, list, I instead opted to elaborate only on a few of my favourites. All in all though, I don’t add muses lightly or easily; I need to feel passionate about them. I don’t need to be able to relate or identify to them by any means, but I need something that makes me feel very strongly about them, something that renders me passionate, something that I understand, can admire or think is exceptional, be that positively or negatively so (as some villainous characters can be incredibly interesting, after all). All of them tick that box for me, I can talk about them somewhere and I’ll soon find myself caught in a tangent or I’ll feel my eyes watering a little or I’ll find that warm feeling in my chest— something.

Oberyn Martell: This one was whispered in my ear by @wineinthewidow​ roughly two years and some change ago. He’s always been in the back of my mind ever since, and I’m glad he’s at the forefront of this multimuse of mine. I’ve realized I’m so weak for characters that have such a deep-rooted cause that stems from nothing but an intense sense of loyalty, exactly like Oberyn Martell’s for his sister, his niece and nephew. There’s something incredibly powerful about giving it all up if needed, everything, to be able to obtain justice. Beyond that, he’s progressive in ways that I wish this world was a whole, in all areas of the spectrum. His view of equality in every sense within life resonates very loudly and is incredibly inspiring, that no lines are drawn for anyone (even if it is easy for him to say this, considering his status). I live for his passion and utter devotion to his family, his House; I live for his passion in all his endeavours and I love his overall demeanour. I will write this guy for an incredibly long time to come, with a very happy heart.

Milady de Winter: A female character that I still think to this day, to be absolutely exemplary and I’m saddened that she’s not used as inspiration for other female characters more often. I’ve always been drawn to her (and I think BBC did a very interesting take on her as well) in the sense that she uses, what many believe to be a woman’s weaknesses, to her utmost advantage without demeaning and in that, shows how dominantly brilliant of strengths they actually, truly are, instead.

Francis II: My French heart beats very strongly for this one. And while that may come across as bizarre to French history-knowledgeable folk as my Francis is very Reign-based, instead of historical, but that’s exactly why I was so drawn to him. Because they remade him with incredibly strong French values. And with that, I mean French values that you will find within the hearts of many French among the country’s general population, opposed to what you found among the royals. Which is why he struck such a strong chord with me, it was why I was drawn right in and knew I wanted to write him two years ago. He doesn’t approach his rule like many French kings in history did. He was flawed, made his mistakes very clearly, but his principles were right, he understood what people deserved and had a right to. Francis, to me, personifies the patriotism of the French that I will always fail to find the words for explain to people. He understands, preaches and most importantly, practices equality and fraternity as is so important to us; commanding courage among the soldiers that pledged to fight for him by fighting beside them, putting himself on quite literal equal footing with everyone else when it mattered the most. There are many reasons as to why I’m absolutely head over heels in love with Reign’s Francis, but we’ll be here forever if I don’t stop myself.

11. Is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? Who?

There’s a lot of A Song of Ice and Fire muses on the horizon, more so than anything else. Current prospects include Jon Arryn, Petyr Baelish, Khal Drogo, Barristan Selmy and even possibly Melisandre; but I’m sure that list will only grow as I continue on in the books.

30. Most importantly, are you having fun playing each one of your muses?

This being the last question put a definite smile on my face. Yes, I’m very much having fun playing and writing for each of my muses; in fact, I’m having the time of my life on this blog. And honestly, it’s only bettered by people like you, sending things like this in, showing interest and being supportive, but most of all, being so delightfully welcoming. Thank you for sending all of these in, Mona.

Asks for muns with a multimuse // @marblecarved // Accepting