#feel free to send follow up questions!

[my-deer-friend]

Hii I have a bit of personal question, if that is alright. I am very interested in the American Revolution but I do not live in America. I would like to become a historian or researcher of that time period one day. As a student do you think it is difficult to be a historian of the American Revolution when you are not American? I get a lot of books and information online, but I do not think it is the same as being in a place? Do you think your school program a good stepping stone to get into an American graduate school? Is that something you want to do one day?

Sorry for all the inquiries, you are just the only person on here who is in a similar situation as myself! Best wishes to you!

Hi Anon! This is a really good question, and I'll do my best to answer it as both a history student and a university professional.

(First, I'll note that my interest personally is not primarily in the American revolution, but rather in the 18th century more broadly. That includes lots of angles that I can pursue in Europe, not least looking at relations in the Atlantic world, the "republic of letters" and the enlightenment, and thematically I'm interested in queer history, which can be studied everywhere. I also have no desire to live in the US. But, yes, let's assume AmRev is the focus.)

There are different considerations for undergrad vs postgrad.

Undergraduate

At undergraduate level, it doesn't matter too much where you study. At this point in your journey, broadly speaking, the focus is on developing your academic skills, learning established content about your topic, and exploring a range of scholarly interests (not just the topic itself, but how to research that topic – i.e. methodologies). As long as your university has a department for American history, or even better a major, you're fine.

While you're busy with your degree, you can supplement your learning about the period in a lot of ways, including:

Using your own library to access books, journal articles and databases (and getting materials through inter-library loans if need be)

Using the vast and ever-growing online resources on American history provided by institutions like the Library of Congress, American universities and libraries (e.g. NYPL)

Where something isn't already available online, contacting the archive that has it and seeing if you can get a copy (I wrote a post about that)

Talk to your history prof about your interest, and they will probably be able to suggest some avenues to pursue. One very useful tool is to look up the AmRev curriculum or syllabus from other univerisities and see what readings and topics they cover (just google: "american revolution" syllabus). Here's one that came up.

And then – and I'll put this point in bold because it's the most important thing I'll say here:

👉✨Attend conferences✨👈

Conferences are where you make invaluable connections with like-minded scholars, hear about new research, find out about opportunities (scholarships, programs, funding, etc.), discover what a career in academia actually looks like, get advice from people already doing the job you want to do, and so on. There are even conferences specifically for undergrad students, or there might be a track at a generalist conference that allows emerging researchers to present on a topic. Lots of these take place online (hence, cheaper), or you might be able to apply for funding from your university to attend (or idk you have a fabulously wealthy great-aunt).

Postgraduate

While undergrad is more about learning, postgrad is more about finding out. The higher up the ladder you go, the narrower your focus becomes, and you start to need more specialised guidance. To get the most out of your learning, you need to go where the experts are, and naturally, many of the most cutting-edge scholars on American history are, well, in America. You'll want to be surrounded by a community of like-minded scholars. And yeah, "being there" can be important not just for better access to primary materials, but also for insights that come from physical, social and cultural proximity.

That said, I don't think it's impossible (or inadvisable) to study the American revolution outside of America; it's just trickier. Doing that successfully comes down to 1) finding the right advisor and 2) choosing the right topic.

By this point, you should know who the leading scholars are in your particular niche of interest. Nobody really studies "the American revolution" writ large; rather, they (and you) will focus on the political or racial or sociocultural or regional or culinary or-- whatever aspect of it. It might just happen that the people in your field are located near you.

You can also approach the topic from a different angle – start from a local point of interest that you can to relate to the AmRev. (Maybe you're Italian, and you know about Italian History Blorbo who went to fight in the war, and there's a story to tell there. Maybe you're Dutch and you have things to say about the intricacies of the financial and political support the Netherlands gave to America. And so on.) This might, in fact, lead to novel insights and perspectives that haven't been explored yet.

Good luck to you!

If anyone wants to share their own experiences, please feel free!

[nighttimenothings]

Hi!! I know this is random but how do you feel about pillow princesses or inexperienced girls?

hello lovely! thank you for the ask :) i'm a huge fan of pillow princesses! personally, i'm very much more of a giver, so pillow princesses are absolutely perfect! As as inexperience goes, there's nothing wrong with being inexperienced—everyone's got to start somewhere, right? so, really, it's all about creating a safe environment that everyone can have fun and a good time in. hopefully that answers your question; thanks for popping by <3

[rriavian]

According to your universe, which feeling Corinthian feels most towards Dream? Is it Desire or devotion or anything else?

And which feeling Dream feels most towards Corinthian? Is it affection? Or Desire? Or possessiveness or something else?

It is not necessary to mention one answer only. You may write a paragraph on what range of feelings they have for each other

Jessamy, my dearest—you have been incredibly patient thank you so much for this question! I’ve been thinking about this for weeks (it’s been sat in my drafts since before I went on holiday) but spent a while trying to get the wording right. I hope you enjoy my answer <3

I do think it’s love! Just perhaps not a human love.

The Baiting the Trap ‘verse works on the premise that after hundreds of years of sexual tension the Corinthian finally gets the chance to act on it as well as his anger at his creator. He was pretty certain Dream was going to destroy him afterwards so decided to just go for it. He’d been cool and collected for far too long and the lid was not going back on that box now it’s open. Dream is no less interested (he did initiate after all) but though far more unhinged when it comes to love/jealousy his sexual desire is a bit more chill. Idk, maybe it’s because I’m ace but I see him as being like ‘eh, depends on the sex so you better make it good’ when it comes to taking someone to bed.

It’s the devotion in observable/tangible actions that I think reels him in, that I think is the real lure, the single minded focus of another all for him is something Dream doesn’t bother trying to resist. He'll never see it as a weakness either. I think it stems partly from a unmet need to feel entirely accepted, entirely wanted, when so often there are parts of him that others find too extreme.

Too sharp.

So Baiting the Trap is still only just entering the second ‘arc’ which means there’s a lot more to some but…

The antagonism, the extremes, the spectrum of morality and the acceptance/competition of each other’s sharpness…it’s always going to be a large part of their relationship. Though I would add that I think the Corinthian’s greedy possession is a grounding force, which I’ve mostly implied up to this point but there will be some more explicit confirmations coming up in the series. Dream likes how fiercely he’s claimed, how intent his nightmare is on knowing him. Yeah it's the Corinthian figuring out weaknesses too but…it’s looking beneath. Trying to see him as he is.

It’s wanting to.

And it’s wanting to put his fingerprints all over him.

Dream made the Corinthian (which gives us all the wonderful facets of a creator/creation dynamic) but…to him there is something unique about being chosen. About laying the bait and having the Corinthian decide to take it every time. Even if Dream knows that he will, knows that he can offer himself, he isn’t forcing it. As much as that prods at the Corinthian’s desire for agency, stings his pride, it also gives to it. In a way BTT Dream is soothing the original wound of the Corinthian’s betrayal for them both. He rebelled by turning away, by leaving, but this is him deciding to act that frustration out while also no longer denying how much he wants Dream.

So just by being so obsessed with defeating him in such a deeply personal—up close and incredibly intimate—way, the Corinthian is effectively giving Dream all the attention he could ever want.

Promising a constant supply of the devotion I think Dream requires to feel satisfied by a lover.

Though it’s by no means one sided. The Corinthian gets a taste of looking at the bigger picture, at Dream’s responsibility for the larger scale, and that’s compelling to him in this context because understanding it allows him to enjoy what it means for his creator to turn away for even a little while. Disgruntlement over Dream’s commitment to his responsibilities has always been (and always will be) a source of tension in their relationship. But this is also a manifestation of the Corinthian’s canon need to prove he was made right—that I also tend to interpret as his wish to prove he is the most worthy believer, the only one to do it correctly—so now he dares blasphemy so he can worship without distance.

While Dream is enjoying the novelty of being the singular object of another's focus, the Corinthian gets to enjoy moments of having what is essentially a universe stare him down without blinking. And that fulfills his own need for attention, his own desire to feel wanted. It’s like sauntering right up to a god busy answering prayers and grabbing them by the hand.

It’s saying ‘reply later I want you now’.

Of course possessiveness and obsession often appear alongside an additional dynamic of ownership that borders on objectification. But with these two I’ve always seen it differently.

Above I mentioned Dream finding the Corinthian’s possessive nature to be a grounding force, and this is really just a continuation of that point because the Corinthian feels the same way about Dream. I don’t think dehumanisation/objectification really works the way we’re used to conceptualising it with characters that have never been human in the first place. We can’t take humanity away from them but what we can take is personhood. Which I think is something both Dream and the Corinthian value incredibly highly. To be honest, I think that in many ways they both use what we might see as objectification to affirm identity in/to each other, to affirm personhood.

It’s a return of self, not a denial of it, humanity the real box when the Corinthian and Dream have always been Other.

It might sound odd but I see a lot of their relationship through this lens. The Corinthian is a ‘thing’ in the same way as Dream is, an object of the same kind, with a function and a role, but that doesn’t deny a sense of self. They don’t need to be in conflict.

So I suppose in BTT that’s really what it’s about. How their relationship supports a reaffirmation of both of their identities. The Corinthian is Dream’s creation, his nightmare, his masterpiece, but that doesn’t mean he’s just a thing to him. To me the creator/creation dynamic adds identity, adds agency, contributes to the fullness of character rather than taking away from it. Neither of them have to scale themselves down. They don't have to make themselves smaller. So that's another part of what these characters can find in each other, part of the balance I like to write, part of how they ground themselves while also enjoying testing their own extremes.

It’s love and possessiveness and you help me keep my balance. It’s I can be me to the fullest, it’s no part of me is ugly to you. It’s nothing will make me look away. It’s I will fight with you forever and you will let me, you won’t burn out, you can take all that I am.

You want all of what I am and that is love.

[housewifebuck]

Do you have any unpopular and/or strong opinions about car care? Products people get or don’t when they should?

I’m in the freaking out about getting a cat soon stage lol

🩵💜🩵💜

hiiii<3 congratulations you have pressed my special interest button! I have extremely strong opinions on proper cat care from the perspective of a rescuer since every day I am faced with cleaning up the messes of people who do NOT take care of their cats properly. I am putting everything under the cut since this will include mentions of animal abuse/neglect etc. And also it’s going to be very long I fear.

First and foremost as I’m sure you will soon be able to tell animal welfare is something I am very very passionate about. Rescue work is my entire life. These are all things I have had to repeat over and over to people who just don’t care/don’t get it and so if some of it sounds aggressive that is NOT directed at you (Michal) 😭 I’m talking to the royal you here since this is advice for everybody.

the most important thing in the world is to make sure your cat is FIXED. if she is coming from a rescue she likely already is, but if shes not, make sure you have an appointment set up to get it + rabies and FVRCP vaccines done asap (I also recommend getting the feline leukemia vaccine, which is not usually done in house by rescues). I would even make the appointment now if you know when you are bringing her home. on top of preventing countless health issues down the road, it will also keep her from reproducing if she ever accidentally gets outside. not only is that awful for the mom cat but we already have enough homeless kittens out there tyvm. PS this is just as important for male cats.

speaking of which, do not let your pet cat free roam outside*. Ever. here is a handy article outlining just a few of the many many reason why it is a terrible and irresponsible thing to do. I dont care if you think you live in a low risk area, or if your cat seems to want to get outside, or if you've had outdoor cats before with no issue. I have had to scrape countless dead cats out of the roadway after being hit by cars because their owners let them outside. Rat poison (very commonly found around peoples houses and in trash cans), if ingested, will literally cause an animal to exsanguinate and die in agony. Other stray cats in the area could be carrying FIV/FeLV or worse. If any of your neighbors grow lilies and your cat brushes against one and licks the pollen from their fur, they will die. There’s just so many reasons to keep your cats indoors I could go on about this forever. if you absolutely must take your cat outside either leash train them (properly, dont just take them out on a leash for the first time and expect them to be okay with it) or get a kitty stroller. But there are PLENTY of ways to keep your cat enriched and entertained indoors. Cat trees, shelves, bird feeders outside, interactive toys, treat dispensers, just to name a few. Go on chewy.com and just browse. They have an excellent selection and great customer service. Another alternative is building a catio! Just make sure your cat receives regular flea/tick treatment year round.

avoid the hell out of those backpack carriers with the clear plastic windows. those are terrifying for cats to be in they feel completely exposed and the ventilation is shit. get a proper hard sided (plastic) carrier. I recommend one with two doors (one on the front and one on top, otherwise known as a top loading carrier). When you travel outside or in the car be sure to cover the carrier with a towel or blanket. This calms them down a lot. The reasons I recommend against soft/mesh carriers are: they are impossible to clean or sanitize if your cat has an accident (very common in the car) or contracts an infectious disease, they provide no protection in the event of being dropped or if you are in a car accident or if you run into a cat-aggressive dog in the vet waiting room, and especially anxious cats can and will fight their way out of them and having a terrified cat loose in your car on your way to the vet is extremely dangerous for both of you.

Expect your new cat to be scared and shy for a few days-to-weeks, minimum. This isn’t always the case, but it is more often than not. I have had so many cats returned for not being friendly enough right away because adopters were too impatient to wait. It takes cats time to decompress in a new environment. I recommend keeping your new cat in a separate room like a bathroom or small bedroom for the first few days so a) it is less overwhelming and b) once you allow them access to the rest of the house, that room will be their “safe space” to retreat to. Also normal when a cat has experienced an environmental shift are: mild vomiting and/or diarrhea (I recommend keeping the cat on whatever diet they have been fed previously and doing a slow transition to your food of choice, + add in probiotics. Proviable and Fortiflora are two brands I like, both available on chewy), hiding in one place for the first 24ish hours, and occasionally stress induced urinary issues such as UTIs. To best avoid the latter make sure their litter box is somewhere they can get to easily without encountering any human or animal traffic. But don’t put it next to their food/water obviously.

And speaking of food/water! Cats tend not to like their food to be right next to their water. I recommend placing the dishes a few feet away at least if not in separate areas of the room. Also, cats by nature do not drink enough water usually so some amount of wet food in their diet is pretty important, and water fountains/bubblers also help get them to drink more. Chronic dehydration can cause urinary issues and more. Dry food is better for their teeth but higher in carbs and a dry-only diet often leads to an overweight cat, and wet food can cause plaque buildup faster but has a much higher moisture content. A balance of both is ideal. Avoid raw diets as well as these food brands: Hartz**, kit & caboodle, meow mix, friskies.

If you keep houseplants, be very very careful. Cats are curious and love to chew on anything that smells like nature and will go out of their way to do so, but a LOT of common houseplants are toxic to cats (for example, every part of the Lily flower, if ingested and not treated immediately, will kill your cat within a day). The ASPCA has a database online to search for plants and see if they are toxic or not.

The rule of thumb with litter boxes is 1 per cat +1. So if you have one cat, you need a minimum of 2 litter boxes, preferably in separate rooms of the house. Corners and secluded areas with little foot traffic are ideal. Make sure the box is the length of your cat standing up + about 6 inches for ideal comfort. Avoid “lightweight” litter; it’s super dusty and very fine and can irritate both your lungs and your cat’s lungs.

Stay on top of your annual vet exams. Even if your cat seems perfectly healthy it’s better safe than sorry, and having a good rapport with your veterinarian makes it much easier to deal with them in the event of an emergency. And on that topic, make sure you know where your local ER vets are + their hours and phone numbers. Cats are tough and resilient but they are also fragile and stupid.

*obviously different rules may apply if your cat is feral or semi feral and cannot live happily indoors. It is not typically a good idea to try and force a feral/working cat to be strictly indoors before they’re ready. But a regular domestic pet cat does not ever “need” to be outside, nor is it cruel to keep them in. This doesn’t always stop them from being interested though, so be careful around doors until you know how your cat will behave around them.

**while the other brands are just low in nutrients, high in filler byproducts, and just overall not super healthy, Hartz brand products (especially their flea and tick medication and shampoos) have been known to straight up kill peoples pets. Like, a LOT. I have seen this happen countless times. Everyone I know who’s ever used a Hartz product has a horror story about it. Do not ask me how they’re still in fucking business.

Honestly that’s all I can think of off the top of my head but I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff. If you have any specific questions you can hit me up, I don’t mind! Part of my job as a rescuer is educating the public so this is information I am very happy to share. Congrats on your new kitty and good luck!!!!

[altruistic-meme]

if you could... describe aftg in 5 words

oh this is not as easy a question to answer as it should be akfhsdkf bc like. i could describe its plot, or my thoughts on it as a fan, or how it makes me feel, or just make a joke, or or or and bc idk why you're asking it makes it harder :'))

but let's see...

plot: gay sports mafia found family.

fan: drama, familiarity, trauma, comedy, home

feelings: love, understanding, chaos, joy, comfort

joke: you know, i get it-

(as you can see, i couldn't pick which one to go with, so choose whichever 5 words you want lmao)

[crucibleknight]

can you explain the directioner->hockey pipeline, please?

yes i CAN thanks for giving me an opportunity to take a break from my homework.

so, this won’t be a very long story but it is a funny one (to me). when One Direction broke up, the girlies were lost. adrift. i wasn’t among their number, so i’ve only heard secondhand accounts, but the boyband megafans needed a new place to direct their specific type of fandom.

some of them went to kpop, pretty understandably. but a LARGE chunk of them went to the NHL. why? because every year there is the NHL draft where a fresh band of young (18-20) and (sometimes) attractive guys are paraded around like show ponies and snapped up by NHL teams. I just went to double check and the 2015/2016/2017 drafts are FULL of guys that this specific subset of hockey fandom is fixated on. the timing lines up. those draft years had a lot of decent looking guys too, which helps.

i will add that hockey coverage leans on storylines—individual players and their stories/friendships with other players/relationships with their team/achievements (source: i was a hockey reporter). this is perfect for RPF fans, because there’s a basis. two guys that are really close friends on a team are ideal for writing about. two guys who are close friends despite being on different teams provide an alternate type of story to tell. people also like to fantasize about having a relationship with a player they like, just like people fantasize about other celebrities. there are hot guys in hockey, it’s just a fact (source: i’m gay and have eyes).

so the result of this is that the hockey fanbase now consists of a lot of old-timer white men who are set in their ways and fairly conservative. and then a new incoming fanbase of young women and young queer people, who like hockey for very different reasons. i fall into the second demographic, technically, though i didn’t come to hockey through the same channels. the two are often at odds. a lot of ‘traditional’ hockey fans think that being attracted to players or having an investment in more than one team means you’re a fake fan. this is, obviously, bullshit. a lot of the directioners i knew when i was active on hockey twitter knew the game like the back of their hand.

if you look up the one direction to hockey pipeline, you’ll find a lot of tweets about it. it’s pretty established in hockey circles and it’s a point of pride for a lot of people! i don’t like RPF at all and avoid engaging with it, but i do like the fact that a huge demographic of young progressive fans can push the NHL in a better direction. it has some issues too (look up the booktok & seattle kraken drama if you want to see an example), but at the end of the day i would prefer to talk hockey with a 21 year old who’s gonna use my phone number for harry styles early access tickets (real story) than with a 60 year old ‘superfan’ who thinks the NHL shouldn’t have pride night.

[sadgoonette]

What are obvious signs that someone is suffering silently ?

I am going to assume that your question is in regards to a mental health struggle, so I will answer it as such.

V IMPORTANT: I’m not a mental health professional so I am not the best person to ask about this, tbh. This is merely my lay person’s opinion:

If someone is suffering silently, like you say, then it may not be super obvious! I think the best way to look for signs is to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. Some questions I might ask myself are:

- have they changed their habits?

- do they still connect with friends and family?

- are they engaged and interested in conversation?

- are they struggling to maintain personal hygiene or household chores?

- have they stopped participating in hobbies or other things I know they love to do?

I have learned that being honest, vulnerable, and genuine with my feelings has typically yielded the best connections with others. If I am worried about someone and I am concerned they may take it the wrong way, I will tell them just that. I don’t find too many people are offended if you soften the blow by telling them that you are worried about saying the wrong thing but that you care about them and are worried because you have noticed x, y, and z.

Try to reflect on your observations about someone and make sure they are not coming from a place of judgment, but rather from a place of care. Ask yourself how you can show up for that person in a way that will best support them instead of a way that makes you feel good inside.

We need to look out for each other, and it’s important to recognize the limits of your knowledge, comfort, and expertise.

Make sure you take care of yourself so you can take care of others. If you feel like you don’t know enough on the subject, then get informed where and when you can from qualified mental health professionals so that you can best support those around you, and also recognize when your loved ones need support that is beyond your scope. Sometimes the best thing you can do to support someone is to help them find professional help.

If you are suffering in silence or need someone to talk to, please connect with your local country/province/state/city mental health hotline or other appropriate resources.

Connect with a counsellor, a doctor, psychiatrist/psychologist, community organizations, elders, friends who may have similar experiences and can point you in the direction of their care providers, etc.

(I will also say that I live in a place where there is “universal healthcare” and so this will look very different in other countries.)

Health and wellness does not always need to look the same for every single person. Community, however, is important for every one of us.

[guardian-of-time-if]

What is Alya a seer/prophet?

I'm sorry Anon, I'm not sure who you are referring to.

[recorded-anew]

Just found out that your Elias is only partially possessed by Jonah because they only have one eye replaced instead of both of them! That is such a fascinating concept! How do the two get along? Can Elias see Jonah's ghost floating around or is he just a voice in his head?

As far as control goes, The Best Way I can think of describing it is like fusion from Steven Universe. They Both share control over the body and can talk in their mind together and out loud. Mentally though? It's a tad like when Elias lost his eye half his "self" went with it and was replaced by half of Jonah. They're kind of just One Guy now. Sometimes they fight and there is an obvious split between their two personalities, but the majority of the time they act as one. Practice helps. This is also why I refer to Jonah and Elias with singular pronouns unless there has been something like a fight, because most of the time it's just One Guy.

[queenlucythevaliant]

📚 A song or album you could write a term paper on

I think I could write a fantastic paper on Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 as an adaptation of War and Peace. That would be super fun. A lot of the lyrics are pulled directly from Tolstoy's text, but I have thoughts about which lines are used and which are left behind, who gets what narration, which scenes and characters and details stay, characterization, etc. Also translation thoughts, in spite of the fact that I don't speak Russian. I have read a fair bit about how Tolstoy reads in the original languages and different translation philosophies, and I have Thoughts about how that translates to Dave Malloy's very distinctive style of music.

If you want a specific song, I think it would be cool to write about "No One Else," not only because I sang it for a voice recital once (wearing my fur-edged Tolstoy coat and pearls, yes it was awesome) but also because the passage it pulls from comes a lot earlier in the book than the rest of the events being adapted.

In the book, Andrei is there under the window listening to Natasha exclaim to Sonya about the moon and she doesn't realize that he's listening. Yet it's a really significant night for Andrei in terms of his love for Natasha. I think it's really interesting and beautiful how Malloy weaves text from the window scene into a song about Natasha missing Andrei and the (almost sort of implicit) dimension that it gives to their relationship for those who haven't read the book. I remember explaining/gushing about all of this to my voice teacher while I was preparing the piece, so I definitely think I could get a good ten pages out of "No One Else" alone. Probably a darn thesis on Great Comet as a whole, although I'm never gonna have time/reason/academic position to wrote it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[spwinter-holiday-exchange]

I just wanted to ask for the Request/Offers, are the characters/relationships/additional tags more like requirements, or suggestions?

two answers for this, since requests are handled differently from offers!

so, for requests, the tags that you add are sort of requirements? i hesitate to use absolute words, but they're things that should be priority for you writer to include in your gift. the optional tags are second priority after those!

with the offers, the tags you put down there are letting us (the moderators) know what you're willing to write. due to the nature of the event, there's no way we can match you with someone who has the exact same tagset as you. if someone requests ashes o'reilly, and you've put down that you can write them, then we might match you two together! (this, of course, is grossly oversimplified and the matching process is more complicated than having a single match/similarity, but for the sake of simplicity that's the example.)

think of requests as the detailed ingredients to a fic you want to read, and then the offers as a list of recipes you know how to make! you won't be asked to make every recipe, and your writer won't come up with the exact item you're asking for (unless you get really incredibly specific in your sign-up) since you're only providing the ingredients for them.

[significant-narratives]

please explain ‘the sea is a drop’ and ‘letters sent in exile’

okay anon the dash is hopefully asleep now. this got kind of long so. explanation below the cut.

you see. sometimes you Perceive a hockey player. and you're like hm. this Compels Me. and then you proceed to put said hockey player into situations you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. out of love. so both these tags are uh. references to AUs that currently solely exist in the DMs (everyone say 'thank you bes' for quarantining me and my wretched thoughts away from the dash)

'the sea is a drop' is a line from a longer piece by adélia prado:

"Night! Make yourself useful and cover me with sleep. Me and the thought of death just can't get used to each other. I'll tremble with fear until the end. And meanwhile, everything is so small. Compared to my heart's desire, the sea is a drop." ― Adélia Prado, The Alphabet in the Park: Selected Poems

this is in reference to the two central characters of this AU learning to confront their own desires for their lives but also for each other. anything tagged with 'the sea is a drop' will likely have some sort of reference to desire / yearning / confronting your own wants / the mortifying ordeal of being known.

'letters sent in exile' is a reference to metaphorical letters sent between two characters while one of them spends several years in self-imposed exile, trying to heal from a super fun combo of life-altering bad choices + heartbreak + trauma + self-loathing + repressed anger. despite their years long separation, there's still a very real and very profound bond between them and they both occupy the other's thoughts in their own unique ways!

things tagged with 'letters sent in exile' will likely be more melancholic, or reference devotion, healing, deep and abiding love, regret, anger... it's a bit of a mixed bag.

[elderscrollsconfessions]

Hey there, love the blog! Just curious, how many confessions do you typically get, of you had to estimate, or just how many do you have in the inbox at the moment? I want to start a confession blog of my own for a different but similarly popular franchise and I want to know how much engagement I can expect (of course, I know that it all depends on how many people know about the blog and have something to share, but it would be nice to have a point of reference). Have a lovely day xx

It's hard to pinpoint an average, but I'd say that one-per-day is pretty normal, but it obviously goes above that (given the backlog spanning several weeks at best . . . though some of that can be blamed on me for missing days). I'd say that there are at least a few dozen to process (it's faster when I don't need to find a new screenshot -- I have so many but they're not always helpful) and this blog is approaching two years of activity

I really appreciate the Confessions, likes, replies, reblogs, and follows from all of you. Anon, I'm sorry that I didn't answer your question sooner.

[fuckmeyer]

Hi! I’ve been reading Come Nightfall and have a few questions. Because English is not my first language, I found some parts hard to understand. I’m mostly fluent, but things that are more poetic/ambiguous confuse me. Would you mind explaining this sentence? “Considering everyone of consequence is either drunk or strung out on opiates, I’m assuming we have the run of the place for now.” I know what it means in pieces (for example, I know drunk, strung out on opiates, and run of the place), I don’t understand the semantic meaning (I think). Are the Volturi “drunk” on blood? Why would that mean Edward and Bells have the run of the place? Also, and I think this one is probably dumb, but in the reunion chapter, why is she wearing a dress - was that just something that I missed while reading? Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it. I hope it’s not annoying! I love your fic a lot and want to make sure I understand everything I’m reading. I hope it’s okay for me to ask for this help!

hi anon, thank you very much for reading & sending me a message!! no need to worry!! i have an L2 too, so i've been in your shoes. i'm also a certified Teaching English as a Foreign Language instructor, so it's always ok to ask me for help! no judgment :)

“Considering everyone of consequence is either drunk or strung out on opiates, I’m assuming we have the run of the place for now.”

sounds like the confusion stems from an unexplained change in canon's lore! Meyer says vampires cannot get intoxicated from drinking an intoxicated human's blood. in my version, they can. so, yes, the Volturi are drunk on blood. they gave a bunch of humans wine & chocolates laced with opiates & drank them.

(the opiates were hinted at but never stated, so maybe that was confusing too. Giannia mentions "oppiaceo in chocolate” in chapter 27, Alec mentions "special chocolate" in 28, & we see the woman with the rosary pass out after eating one at the end of the same chapter.)

because everyone in the Volturi - guards, kings, etc. - was impaired, the odds that anyone would catch Edward & Bells committing a crime in Volterra (i.e. breaking into the pharmacy) was very slim. hence E&B "had their run of the place"

in the reunion chapter, why is she wearing a dress?

Alice made Bells change into a dress to make her more presentable for the Volturi. there was a line in chapter 26 where Alice asks Bells to grab a black dress from the trunk of the Mercedes. but the reason why was deleted during editing! so, that one was my mistake :) thank you for letting me know

tl;dr for both questions - it's not you, it's me!!

if you ever have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! i'm always happy to help :) thank you again for reading. cheers!

[toburnup]

I apologyse for my English because it is not the first language. Is your light on, the secrets have more secrets to say now they move apart. they say secrets but they have no more but now new secrets in more chapter. It is make each jelos or jeulos. I read the word easy but not put down good sorry the word I mean like arngry like for me word. I am sorry. I try ask if more secret or no more

don't apologize, it's completely fine and i think i get what you're asking - there's this line in an earlier chapter:

"I don't think I have secrets anymore." Eddie finally says. "You could - you could ask me anything. And I'd tell you."

eddie isn't being literal about not having secrets. this is an invitation for steve to ask, because his main secret (at this point in the story) are his feelings toward steve. and he wanted steve to ask (he doesn't).

there are always more secrets! they haven't shared too much with each other, yet.

the 'secret for a secret' bit is especially important for steve, who feels like he's not honest with other people. so that opener is like him being real.

i'm not totally sure what you're asking about the jealous bit, so feel free to send in a follow up if i'm way off! as for making each other jealous, eddie is definitely the jealous type (irrationally so). it actively bothers him to see steve with other people. steve feels jealous but is more logical about it - knows he doesn't like it, but also knows he can't say shit.

[elektroblues]

nyway yea im still alive n will get to answering tag games/longer messages soon !