#i added punctuation for readability but

[probablymoons]

i was trying to find a place to stream Monkey Man last night and came across this beautiful blurb:

"From heartfelt songs to buoyant humor, this genre-bending work explores the power of friendship to uplift Monkey Man communities during troubling times. Directed with nuanced color and vivacious animation, lighter moments are blended seamlessly with touching introspection. Cinephiles and casual fans alike will find their spirits Monkey Maned by this inspirational story of diverse characters joining in solidarity. Why not spend an evening immersed in the vibrant world of Monkey Man?"

[padfootastic]

Saudade

You can also read it on Ao3

x

Remus knew he was a coward.

It’s why he always preferred to blend in. He couldn’t afford not to. It’s also why, to his eternal shame and regret, he’d never bothered to even question the circumstances of Sirius’s imprisonment. His betrayal.

Because he knew if he looked even slightly below the surface, it’d shatter.

(He’d shatter)

Because he wasn’t just a coward, was he. He was also helpless.

No.

Powerless.

He was powerless.

It didn’t matter if he knew Sirius was innocent, if not of the murders then definitely the betrayal (because he knew, didn't he, that Sirius Black would never—as long as he had breath in his body, magic in his veins, life in his heart—do anything to hurt James Potter. It was a fundamental truth of life. There were five exceptions to Gamp’s law of elemental transformation, the sun set in the west, and Sirius was unfailingly loyal to James. Isn’t that how it's always been?)

Because even if the truth was not what it seemed, he couldn’t do anything about it.

So he lived his lie. Didn't bother to look past the newspapers blaring the inevitability of a Black turning to the dark side. It validated his own feelings, his mistrust, his circumstances.

It was a profoundly selfish act, but it was all Remus could do.

x-x-x-x

There was…one moment when he tried, just the bare minimum, really, in hindsight but it was enough to, if not soothe, then push down the constant guilt gnawing at him.

“Mr. Lupin.” Dumbledore looked down at him through his half moon glasses. “What can I do for you?”

Remus didn’t know whether to appreciate the even tone or not. In the past month, his entire life had collapsed around him. He’d gone from being part of a whole, one of four, to completely alone. Even putting one step in front of the other was getting too much for him and on some days, he forewent even that small action. Laying in bed, contemplating his entire life and how it went so wrong in less time than it took to blink—that was all he had the energy for these days.

So to hear Professor Dumbledore refer to him like that, almost pleasantly, as if they were still back in school and Remus had just bumped into him in the corridor—it was equal parts relieving and maddening.

He chose to ignore that for now, though. He had enough going on without discovering new things to be bothered about. Not like he had the energy for it, either.

“Headmaster, I—“ Remus gulped nervously. Now that he was here, it felt much more daunting than he could have imagined. What would he even say?

“Yes?”

Remus took a shaky breath and tried again. “Professor, are you—is it completely without doubt that Sirius—“ He couldn’t finish the sentence but he knew the other man understood what he was trying to say.

“Mr. Lupin…Remus,” Dumbledore started gently, and already Remus was regretting this little excursion. “I know the past month can’t have been easy for you. I wouldn’t even presume to understand how bad it must’ve been. None of us thought that Mr. Black could…” He trailed off, eyes staring at a door behind Remus. He didn’t think he’d imagined the sadness that flashed in his eyes, a meagre reflection of his own agony.

It was only a momentary slip, though, as his eyes hardened and steel coated his next words. “But what’s done is done, despite the tragedy of it all. Mr. Black made his choice, and now it is time for you to do the same.” He gave a sad smile, a damning one that spoke of his finality in the matter. “It is always harder to be the one left behind, Mr. Lupin, and your fate is one I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. I can only hope that you find the strength I know you have in you, and use it to move on from this episode.”

Remus could only sit there, stunned and numb and feeling like his skin was tearing itself apart from the inside, the way it did on full moons except worse.

An episode, Dumbledore said, as if he wasn’t talking about his family, his entire life. As if this was a schoolyard skirmish, an encore of that horrid ‘prank’ in fifth year, one he could forget if he so wished to. As if it was that easy to carve away the parts of himself that were entwined with the rest of his brothers (which made up most of him— mind, body, soul, and magic). As if he would even want to.

Remus didn’t try again after that, not with Dumbledore and definitely not with anyone else. If the man who was their leader seemed so sure, then who was Remus to go against his word?

(He’d never regretted anything more in his life, perhaps with the exception of the belief that caused this in the first place)

x-x-x-x

They didn’t talk about it.

At first, there was the whole thing with Pettigrew and being on the run and everything that came with it. Once that got sorted, though, there was no excuse other than it was easy.

Easy to ignore the ache in his heart when the distance between them reared it’s ugly head.

Easy to turn away when he saw the way Molly and Dumbledore treated Sirius in his own house, because isn’t that what he’d been doing so far?

Easy to stay away, altogether.

Sirius never brought it up either. Perhaps on purpose, too, because the pain in his eyes never lessened. Remus could pick out multiple instances where he opened his mouth to say something before abruptly shutting down.

That was another difference. Pre-azkaban Sirius wouldn’t have hesitated like that, not with Remus.

It only drove the knife further in. But did he have anyone to blame but himself?

It was just after Hogwarts had closed. Harry, who’d finished his fifth year, had gone back to the Dursleys but not for long because in a turn of events no one could have predicted, Sirius’ case had completely upended itself in the aftermath of the DoM debacle. Remus still didn’t like to think about it, how close he—they’d come to losing Sirius (again) and how it was only sheer dumb luck—a rock that made him stumble sideways instead of back—that saved him from falling into the Veil.

Perhaps the only positive of the evening was the Minister seeing Sirius Black fighting unequivocally for the Light and against the Death Eaters. In Remus’ opinion, it would be quite some time before anyone forgot the image of escaped inmate Sirius Black laughing at Bellatrix Lestrange in a strange parody of his actions fifteen years ago. The cold laughter juxtaposed with the deadly spells he’d been aiming at his cousin was enough to stun everyone not in the know and that was how an enquiry had been conducted into the case, leading to where they were today.

Remus, however, had spent every minute he could hiding away, even more than before. He couldn’t bear to show his face at Grimmauld Place—the idea of seeing Sirius actually sent a wave of shivers down his spine.

But, as he’d always known, his time did run out.

x-x-x-x

“So are we talking about this then?” Sirius’ voice is tired, perpetually exhausted as it seems to be these days.

They were sitting at the dining table, cups of tea long gone cold in their hands. It was the first time in months Remus has allowed himself to be in the same room as Sirius (it shouldn’t be like this. it never was before. how did it all go so wrong) and the other man wasn’t stupid. Even if Remus hadn’t initiated the conversation, he knew they’d have it. Of course it was Sirius who poked the sleeping dragon. He had always been the braver of the two. Of course, if it was a competition, then James Potter would’ve come leagues ahead of either of them, his passion and intensity unmatched.

(But James isn’t here right now and that’s really the cause of half their problems, is it not?)

Sirius was…quieter, more focused, but plenty brave enough. If Remus allowed himself to think about it, it’s no surprise he brought it up first. In fact, it’s more surprising that he hadn’t so far.

Still. “Talk about what?” he regrets the words almost as soon as they slip out of his mouth. Sirius only looks at him steadily.

Of course he knows what this is about but it’s easier to cling to what you’ve been hiding behind all this while, is it not? But is it fair, to him? More importantly, is it fair to Sirius? Does he not deserve an honest answer, an honest friend?

It’s that which pushes him to try again.

“I-I didn’t mean that.”

“Sure you did, Remus.”

“Alright,” he amended. “I shouldn’t have meant that.” And that at least is true. It gets a wry smile out of Sirius.

“There’s a lot I shouldn’t have done,” he continued, which neatly drives the mirth away. Remus looked down, at his fingers, the bitten down nails and ink stains, so he didn’t have to stare into the consequences of his actions.

‘I should—apologise.”

“Do you want to?”

His head snapped up, the sting of the comment settling under his skin like an itch. How could he think—? One look at Sirius’ face, however, devoid of any malice or cruelty, and the indignant feeling in him dies out as quickly as it rose.

It was a fair question. He hated the fact but couldn’t deny it.

How would Sirius know about the hundreds of hours he’d spent screaming and crying and begging someone, anyone to turn back time, to make things better, to give him a second chance?

Sirius couldn’t know about the time Remus hadn’t been able to get out of his house for seven months, two weeks, sixteen days straight, surviving only on dry crackers and tepid tea and stale bread and feeling guilty for doing so. He’d spent the entire time staring blankly at the sickly green wall of his bedroom, living in a haunting loop of his memories and wishing he was back in them.

Sirius hadn’t seen any of that.

(Would it have made a difference, if he had, Remus thinks. They weren’t indicative of anything but his own guilt, certainly didn’t stem from any moral conviction in Sirius—and what value did it have for someone who was being tortured day and night? living with the knowledge that he’d been left behind without so much as a second thought?)

It’s not something he’s thought about before—in those fantasies where everything is as it was before. Sirius apologises, Remus apologises, they hug it out and it’ll all be better again—but now, now he can’t help but wonder about the efficacy of platitudes.

He hated Sirius’ matter of fact resignation even more, like there was no other way for Remus to react except defensively. (It wasn’t always like this. The Marauders, James & Sirius, they’d always been his biggest believers. They’d made him capable of touching the sky and the stars and everything in between and Remus has been untethered ever since that fateful halloween. There was a time, when anyone expecting any less of Remus—even himself—than they should would’ve gotten all of Sirius’ hackles raised—‘our Moony’s worth a dozen of you and you should only be so lucky to get to see that’—so it stung particularly bitterly when it was the same man expressing this apathy.

The juxtaposition of the two Sirius’ in his head was enough to give Remus a headache at the best of times, let alone now.

So he takes a deep breath, lets the feeling wash away, and nods.

“You don’t have any reason to believe me, and I don’t blame you for it, but I do. Want to, that is.”

Sirius didn’t reply but Remus continued, undeterred.

“I didn’t for a long time. I didn’t want to, not at all. Because it would be my fault, you know? And I was so tired, Sirius, god. I was exhausted trying to keep up this pretense. I just needed to get the burden off.”

Sirius just looked at him, silent. Remus could see the way his eyes flick around the room, however, and how his fingers trembled ever so slightly. He might’ve been out of Azkaban but the signs would last a long time.

“What made you change your mind, then?” There's a note of curiosity in Sirius’ voice and Remus cannot articulate the relief that fills him at hearing it. Anything, even anger or blame, was better than that bland apathy that made his skin itch.

The question itself makes him pause, however. Because he’s guilty, nay, he’s ashamed of the answer he’s about to give. He contemplated shutting up, or perhaps leaving the room altogether, and it takes longer than it should for him to banish the thought.

“Remus?” Sirius asked again and it’s the knowing look in his eyes that made him close his eyes in defeat. He should’ve known he couldn’t have avoided this. This was a man who knew him better than anyone else who’s alive right now—how could he ever have thought he’d be able to hide things from him?

So he takes a deep, fortifying breath. Releases it slowly, grounding himself in the process.

“When I came to Hogwarts.”

“The time I broke out?

Remus tilts his head in the barest hint of confirmation. Sirius nods like he’d expected that.

Again, Remus wanted to be offended—but how could he?

“How’d you—“

—know?” Sirius finished. Remus nodded, a sharp, jagged thing that’s barely an answer.

Sirius smiled ruefully. It looked wrong on him, like a shirt stretched out and shrunk back down with a charm. “Because I know you, Remus. And though it hurt, I always knew you didn’t believe in me, at least not at the end there.

I’ve had nothing but time all this while. Time to think, to wonder where it all went wrong, what I could’ve done—time even to curse James out,” he lets out a hollow chuckle at that, one that Remus echoes because just the idea of Sirius cursing at James is so absurd, there’s nothing you can do but laugh at it, morbid though it may be in the moment.

“And the only thing I can think of is how bad we messed up. I don’t— you know the worst part about this, Remus?” Sirius asks, in his tired, broken voice. Just hearing it makes him want to flinch and hide away. Instead, he brings himself to give another shaky nod.

“I wouldn’t have cared one bit if you’d thought I was a mass murderer. Hell, even being a Death Eater could be believable under the right circumstances and you were away so long, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d entertained the thought.”

Remus waited for the ‘but’ with his heart in his mouth, tasting ash and regret and guilt. He knew what was about to come, had wondered the same thing hundreds of times, going round and round in circles with no relief to be found.

“But how could you ever, even just for a second let alone 12 years, think I could do that to Ja—“ here, his voice broke, unable to even finish the name. Sirius’ trembling hands clenched into fists, hard enough that he could see the knuckles losing color. The words were just as devastating as he could have imagined, if not more. Coming from another’s mouth and not just whirling in his thoughts, it seemed even more damning in the light of day.

And that was just it, wasn’t it. It was this that confirmed what Remus had known from the moment he’d been made aware of Sirius’ innocence.

There would be no forgiveness here. The most he could hope for was closure, perhaps a chance to clear the air, as it were, and that was only if Sirius was feeling merciful. Which, when it came to James, he seldom did. Remus would know; he’d seen the aftermath of what happened to those who dared touch James Potter.

And Remus? Ne hadn’t just hurt Sirius—that was almost inconsequential in the larger scheme of things—no, Remus’ biggest mistake was besmirching the legacy, the honor of James Potter.

Sirius had destroyed people for far less.

It was this realisation that weighed heavy on him, head bowing until his chin touched his chest, unable to hold it up anymore, not knowing what to say and unsure whether he should.

“I can forgive you almost anything, Remus, you know that. I wouldn’t have cared one whit about anything else but that you could think that—that anyone who knew us could—it was that, more than the dementors, more than the crazed prisoners, more than the taunts and insults and torture, that’s what almost broke me in Azkaban.”

A sob broke out from Remus’ chest, ugly and desperate and entirely unfair on his part. Sirius didn’t need his guilt, nor his despair. Remus didn't deserve to be unhappy in front of him. He had made his own bed and now he was to lie in it. He couldn’t even be happy about the hint of steel he could hear underlying Sirius’ words, a faint echo of his past self. Because the implications it held for him were devastating. Remus knew he wouldn’t lose Sirius completely—they had too much history for that, but he’d lose everything that made Sirius him. He’d been spoiled, allowed into the small, small circle of people Sirius truly let in, and he knew there would be no going back. There would be perfect civility, and amicable conversations, but he’d never have his Sirius back. He’d get the Sirius Black the rest of the world saw, the one with the impeccable masks, who was always in control—but not Padfoot, never Padfoot anymore.

And that was to be his penance.

“I am—I truly am sorry, Sirius. You’d never know how much. I just—I couldn’t—I don’t think I’ve taken one full breath since that night, everything was too fast and I couldn’t think and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t used to being alone anymore,” he said, leaning forward desperately, wanting to explain (not justify, never justify), not wanting Sirius to leave thinking this was—this was what Remus wanted. because he didn't, never could’ve imagined things ending up like this.

It was almost humbling, this ignoble end of the Marauders. They’d considered themselves untouchable, rulers of the world, sitting atop a throne only they could see. So many promises, a seemingly unbreakable bond, the best of the best.

And look at them now.

All of them in varying stages of decay, dead and dying.

“And I know, dammit I know that doesn’t count for shite. But please, I just—you have to know—“ his hands pressed together, pleading, as the words came out in a defeated plea, “I never meant for it to be like this.”

“The worst part of that,” Sirius smiled, small and broken and not even worth a shadow of his usual brilliance. “is that I know you mean that, Remus. I believe it too.”

A second passed, then two, before he delivered the final blow.

“I just wish you’d fought for us the way we had for you.”

[riverofrainbows]

I'm seeing more and more of that autism level stuff (apparently it's coming up in the USA) and I haven't done much research in it, so not really a propee analysis, but I'm not a fan.

It's obviously better than aspergers etc which i think it's trying to replace, and i like the support based differentiation. But in my opinion, any labeling of autistic people into groups is still dangerous and can easily get gross and eugenicist, and I don't think you can actually meaningfully define those levels, besides the fact that support needs can vary over time.

Also if the support needs stuff is applied based on masking skills then that is fucking stupid but I'm bringing it up because i think this is likely to happen to at least some degree (because i don't trust most people in the autism related medical field in the slightest as well as systemically and those are afaik gonna be the ones assigning levels because autistic people couldn't possibly know their own needs/sarc).

[jesperweidemann]

Master the Comma

The comma, a seemingly simple punctuation mark, holds significant power in shaping the clarity and flow of written language. Its correct usage can transform a piece of writing from confusing to coherent, making it an essential tool for any writer. Understanding the various roles of the comma and how to apply them effectively is crucial for enhancing readability and ensuring your message is conveyed with precision.

The Role of the Comma in Lists

One of the primary functions of the comma is to separate items in a list. When you enumerate three or more items, commas help to distinguish each element clearly. For instance, consider the sentence: “For breakfast, I had eggs, toast, and orange juice.” Here, the commas separate the items, making the list easy to read. The comma before the conjunction “and” is known as the Oxford comma. While its use is optional, it often helps to prevent ambiguity. For example, “I dedicate this book to my parents, Oprah Winfrey, and God” is clearer than “I dedicate this book to my parents, Oprah Winfrey and God,” which could imply that Oprah Winfrey and God are the parents.

Setting Off Introductory Elements

Commas are also used to set off introductory elements in a sentence. These elements can be words, phrases, or clauses that precede the main clause. For example, “After the meeting, we went out for lunch.” The comma after “After the meeting” signals a pause, helping the reader to understand that the introductory phrase is separate from the main action of the sentence. This use of the comma enhances readability by clarifying the sentence structure.

Joining Independent Clauses

When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), a comma is placed before the conjunction. For instance, “I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining.” This rule helps to avoid run-on sentences and maintains the flow of ideas. Without the comma, the sentence might feel rushed or jumbled, making it harder for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought.

Nonessential Information

Commas are also used to set off nonessential information—details that add extra context but are not crucial to the meaning of the sentence. For example, “My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting us next week.” The clause “who lives in New York” provides additional information about the brother but is not essential to the main point of the sentence. Removing it still leaves a complete thought: “My brother is visiting us next week.”

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Despite their importance, commas are often misused. One common mistake is the comma splice, which occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. For example, “I love reading, it’s my favorite hobby.” This can be corrected by adding a conjunction or changing the comma to a semicolon: “I love reading, and it’s my favorite hobby” or “I love reading; it’s my favorite hobby.”

Another frequent error is the overuse of commas, which can disrupt the flow of writing. For instance, “The cake, was delicious” includes an unnecessary comma that interrupts the sentence. Conversely, omitting necessary commas can lead to confusion. Consider the difference between “Let’s eat Grandma” and “Let’s eat, Grandma.” The first suggests cannibalism, while the second is an invitation to dine.

Advanced Comma Usage

Beyond the basics, commas can be used in more sophisticated ways to enhance writing. When two or more adjectives equally modify a noun, commas are used to separate them. For example, “She wore a bright, colorful dress.” If the adjectives are not equal, no comma is needed: “She wore a bright summer dress.”

Transitional phrases such as “however,” “therefore,” and “for example” should also be set off with commas. For instance, “I wanted to join the team; however, I was too late.” This helps to clarify the relationship between ideas. Additionally, when addressing someone directly, commas are used to set off their name or title, as in “Thank you, Dr. Smith, for your assistance.”

Conclusion

Mastering the comma is essential for effective writing. By understanding the basic rules and avoiding common mistakes, you can use commas to enhance the clarity and flow of your writing. Whether you are listing items, joining clauses, or setting off nonessential information, the comma is a powerful tool that, when used wisely, can significantly improve readability. Remember, the key to mastering the comma is practice and attention to detail. With time and effort, you can become proficient in using this versatile punctuation mark to enhance your writing.

[mixelation]

okay. weirdly i keep seeing solutions for the problem where copying a google doc to ao3 creates huge gaps between lines, but NONE of these solutions are as easy as what i do. okay here goes

in the google doc, click the "line & paragraph spacing" button (the one with the double arrow and three lines)

next, from the drop down, select "add space after paragraph." bam! now whenever you hit return, google docs will automatically add a double space between lines without you having to hit return twice. it will copy and paste into ao3's rich text editor without adding more space, and the formatting will be readable in google docs.

unfortunately you cannot retroactively add this into a document you've already written because it will double the space you already have, in which case i will direct you to a script to fix formatting issues for you. (i've never used this script so i can't vouch for it.) although sometimes i forget to set up my doc for a few paragraphs, and it's not hard to change the setting and then manually delete the extra spaces.

another tip: sometimes for italic script, ao3 inserts a rando space before punctuation, so it looks like this:

Huh, that's weird !

The key to fixing this oddity is that the punctuation also has to be italicized. So it needs to be:

Huh, that's weird!

(I picked an exclamation mark because the difference is easier to see what I'm talking about, but his happens to me most often with periods because there's no visual difference between an italicized period and a non-italicized one until ao3 has randomly inserted a space.)

[chronicallyaunline]

Rating Autism Shirts

I got a targeted ad for one of these and it sent me down a rabbit hole of the weird world of autism shirts. There's a pretty huge range in quality, so I have three metrics:

Is it good autism representation?

Is it well made/ aesthetically pleasing?

Would I wear it?

This is about what I expect from autism merch. We've got puzzle pieces, we've got dabbing, we've got an image that's photoshopped onto a photo of a person wearing a different shirt. It's bad, but almost compelling because it's so so bad. Representation: 1/10, aesthetics: 4/10, would wear: 6/10

Overall: 4/10

This is a masterpiece. Really weird, not infantilizing, acknowledges autistic people can experience the full range of the human experience (including being dtf). Representation 10/10, aesthetics 10/10, would wear 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Now this is a worst-case scenario. It centres the feelings of caregivers rather than autistic people, assumes autistic people are all going to be male children, uses puzzle pieces, is super hard to read, and it's just worst kind of millenialcore design. Representation 0/10, aesthetics 1/10, would wear 0/10.

Overall: 0/10

This has a lot of the problems of the previous shirt, but look at that sweet dinosaur wearing sunglasses. I know it's bad. It's got the puzzle pieces, it's got light it up blue, it's got that unreadable colour choice for the font, but something about this is really funny to me. Representation 4/10, aesthetics 6/10, would wear 10/10.

Overall: 7/10

I'm torn on this one. Is cringe culture still dead? I think whether or not I like this shirt would depend on who's wearing it. Like, autism mom puts it on her son? 0/10 for the mom being embarrassing and pushing compulsory heterosexuality. Queer autistic woman wears it? 10/10 humour. I'm just going to call this one un-rateable.

Overall: ???/10

This joke is too on the nose to not have been made by and/or for autistic people. The drawing is cute, the font is readable, the leaning into stereotypes is whatever you make of it. Representation 8/10, aesthetics 10/10, would wear 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Holy fuck they're bad. The dad one is terrible. Your kid is disabled no matter how great of a parent you are, and buying your kid something like this is the parenting equivalent of sucking your own dick. Bad.

The mom one is also terrible in a different way. If you can't read the image it says:

They whispered to her, "you cannot withstand the storm." She whispered back, "I am the storm."

I added punctuation to help it make sense, but the "storm" you're referring to is your child. You're advertising your bravery at "withstanding" an unchangeable aspect of your child's being. How is your kid going to feel if/when they see this and realize how you feel about them? Parents are allowed to feel their feelings about raising their kids, but maybe don't show the world how much you resent the human you're supposed to love unconditionally.

So bad they broke the rating scale.

Overall: -10/10.

We gotta end on a high note. Look at how perfect this is. Something about fake-edgy autism skeleton shirts just hits so right. We've got a blurry skeleton with two guns and the word "autism" is on fire. Not a puzzle piece in sight. Just the strange joy of being. We've got ourselves another 10/10 across the board.

Overall: 10/10

[neonfretra]

how i write alt text/image descriptions

these are written descriptions of media attached to posts, for those who may be unable to view them (primarily screen reader users, but this is also helpful for when images arent loading, explaining what is happening in an image, and so on), while fairly dauntin startin out its honestly a fairly simple process! :)

alt text can be added by clicking the meatball menu on attached medias (3 horizontally oriented dots, lower right corner of media in post editor), typically these would be a brief summary of the most important aspects of an image. alt text is embedded in the image.

image descriptions (sometimes shortened to id) are written in plain text like a caption. these may be longer/more detailed than alt text. typically, these are formatted with brackets to indicate when descriptions begin and end (i personally preface with "[Image description:" and close with "End description.]")

typically i focus on these 4 elements:

media type photograph, tweet, art, scoreboard, news headline, etc important for me as someone who posts photos alongside art to specify this difference because i dont want to be responsible for implying my drawings are reality LOL other details about the type of media are helpful if relevant, like quality (poorly drawn, run through with jpg artifacting) or stylization (realistic, monochromatic, minimalist, significant color choices)

text a piece of advice i saw was that you wanna just transcribe all text in an image, this works for stuff like tweets and dialogue but this is a sports oriented blog, sometimes you will come up on text that is just completely incomprehensible to transcribe. a game clock, any score readings? i approach it like reading it out loud and instead structuring the information in sentences (the score is this, in favor of this team. probably the one that isnt the sharks LMAO)

subject usually this means naming players and sharing relevant information about them (are they on opposing teams, is the position they play significant)

action the whats goin on? again, as a sports oriented blog, this tends to look like a brief play by play. goalie makes this save, player dodges around another player. these guys are kissing nasty again. this can also include emotion and tone. this person is angry, this action is particularly noteworthy, this situation is funny.

its kinda like takin notes, i only focus on the important stuff! you dont really gotta the avatar of a user, what ad is on the boards, what color is the background for every single image.

when writing your alt text/image, it helps to keep in mind that these are intended to be read out loud. use punctuation, avoid excessive emojis. if something in the original text does something that affects readability, it helps to just type it in plain text and note what stylization is missing.

because its meant to read out loud, you also gotta order your stuff in what makes the most sense. group things in chronological order, what order the viewers supposed to be seein things in. i tend to write things in order of media -> subject -> action -> text myself!

and when in doubt just copy someone else LMAO of course theres always someone smarter than you out there, check out what other peoplere sayin on how to do it if this isnt doin it for you

happy description writing! :) its okay if you are unable to write your own descriptions for any reason, i for one skip some posts just because theyre wayy too much to write out HAHAHAHA

accessibility is a group effort and were all here to help each other out <3

[blindbeta]

Hello! I'd like to ask how to do image descriptions for tags. I always get confused when I do them. Should I keep the #? Should I do exactly how the person wrote, like no upper case letters? What should I do about emojis and emoticons?

Image Descriptions For Tags, Including Hashtags, Lowercase Letters, Capital Letters, Emojis, and Emoticons

The hashtag is usually not needed unless it is an actual hashtag reference such as to a Twitter hashtag. If you would like, you can separate sentences with periods. If it is a list of individual words, you can write something like ‘Image Description: a series of words separated by hashtags written by user x. The words are as follows: disability, accessibility, accessible.’

When I write #disability #accessibility #accessible it is read as “hashtag disability hashtag accessibility hashtag accessible.” This means that while writing # might be okay for separate words or one sentence, writing it for a whole paragraph can make it difficult to understand. This is why my suggestion is to exclude the hashtag for tags that include sentences rather than a few individual words.

I think excluding the # helps with readability for screen-readers and for those who have other difficulties processing images. Using typical punctuation also helps with preserving tone and pacing. Perhaps using other symbols such as bullet points or commas could help to create natural pauses for screen-readers, depending on what is being conveyed. If you would like, you can include notes such as that you excluded the hashtags or replaced them with periods to increase accessibility.

Similarly, you can add notes about capitalization. Screen-readers will read ‘i love cats’ [lowercase] and ‘I LOVE CATS’ [capitalized] the same way. You can include notes about if everything was written with lowercase letters for style or in all caps for emphasis. Here is an example, perhaps someone has shared a picture of a cat with helpful image description. Someone who thought their tags were cute includes a screen-shot of the tags.

[Image Description: A screen-shot of tags in reference to the above picture of a cat. The tags say: ‘I love cats. So. MUCH. [Much is in all caps for emphasis.] End Image Description]

Emojis can be read by a screen-reader, such as voiceover, but if you want to write that there is a cupcake emoji, feel to write ‘cupcake emoji’. Screen-readers read cupcake and 🧁 the same way. For emoticons, it depends. Some emoticons can be read by a screen-reader, but more complicated ones cannot. It may be more helpful to describe the emoticon and what it is trying to convey.

Does anyone else have suggestions? How do you prefer to write image descriptions for tags? What makes them easier for you to read?

Edit: User @solarishashernoseinabook added the following:

I sometimes transcribe tags on separate lines

(usually when I’m on a computer) [in parentheses]

I start off with “tags that read as follows” beforehand

@solarishashernoseinabook explains that introducing punctuation could perhaps change the meaning, which is important. I think this is also an excellent option that maintains meaning while increasing accessibility.

Anyone else want to share how they do it?

[conchiferrous]

rip cohost i liked it for posting bullshit like this with no elaboration

[ID: Crude drawing of Chopper in his heavy point driving a car with Luffy in the passenger seat. Chopper, with a straight face, is saying: "Oh my god, is this your first day on Earth you dumb shit sniffer? I hope you get into a car accident so bad your loved ones don't recognize you after they recover your mangled corpse which is what you deserve for being an absolute danger to the entire road on account of your abhorrent driving skill. It's appalling, really, how easy it is for just any old ass wipe dip shit dog kissing, snake licking, dickless, hopeless son of a bitch to just get a license. Jesus fuck. Sorry about that. Luffy, can you be a dear and change the station? If I have to hear Radioactive again this week I'm going to fucking kill myself." Luffy is staring at Chopper with big surprised eyes. He's holding a cup labelled: "Biggest fucking drink ever: you will piss yourself. Luffy's sun visor is down, and it says: "If you put a baby in this chair it'll die! So don't put a baby in this chair!" on the back. Punctuation has been added to the ID for readability. /END ID]

[ikementally-deficient]

Guide to Semi-Colons

Yesterday I posted Advice on Writing. It’s extremely high-level and generalized; helpful to a person who really wants to know how to get started on getting better, but less so to the writer who’s already well on their journey. Today I’m going to get extremely specific, and talk about how to use semi-colons, because I fucking love semi-colons.

The semi-colon (or semicolon, if you’re writing in American) is quite possibly my favourite punctuation mark. I use it more than any writer of my acquaintance.

(Yes, I do understand exactly what flavour of complete nerd I need to be in order to value semi-colons so highly and in fact to have a favourite punctuation mark in the first place.)

Disclaimer: This only covers how punctuation is used in English, in prose. It does not cover programming, math and logic, academic citations, or any other edge case you’re about to come at me with. By necessity, this guide will also touch on commas and colons because they all serve similar functions and are frequently confused.

What is a semi-colon? What’s it for?

A semi-colon (;) is a combination of a colon (:) and a comma (,). It exists to link two independent sentence clauses together. This differs from the comma, which exists to link dependent sentence clauses to their parent independent clause.

What the fuck is a sentence clause?

Okay, let’s back it up. A sentence clause is your basic simple sentence.

“I’m wearing a red shirt.” This is a single thought, a complete sentence. Subject, verb, object. You, the speaker, are wearing your red shirt, full stop. This is your independent clause. It stands alone, requiring no previous information.

Let’s give it a dependent clause.

“I’m wearing a red shirt. It’s itchy.” It’s itchy is your dependent clause. While this can be two separate sentences and stay readable, the statement “It’s itchy” is meaningless without the information that you’re wearing the red shirt. If “It’s itchy.” gets too far away from “I’m wearing a red shirt.” on your page, it’s quite possible your reader will have no idea what’s itching.

“I’m wearing a red shirt, it’s itchy.” Ta-da! Comma links dependent clause to independent clause, reader is safe in their understanding that itchy is in fact referring to the red shirt. 

Now we’re going to work in a semi-colon. Back to our independent clause.

“I’m wearing a red shirt.” Once again, a complete sentence. It can stand on its own. But it’s still itchy, and you think it’s the red dye’s fault.

“I’m wearing a red shirt; I think I might be allergic to the dye in this fabric.” What just happened? 

You went on a tangent! “I think I might be allergic to the dye in this fabric.” is another independent clause, but it’s still closely related to the sentence before it. It’s not meaningless on its own like “It’s itchy.” would be, but it’s definitely referring back to “I’m wearing a red shirt.”

You have probably seen commas used to do this! It’s what’s known as a ‘comma splice’, using a comma to link two independent clauses. It’s considered incorrect in formal English writing. It can be used as a stylistic choice in less formal writing or fiction, but it’s something you should be doing with intention, to highlight a contrast of ideas or give a feeling of speed or abruptness, not because you don’t have another tool to take control of this runon sentence.

The semi-colon’s primary purpose is to take an idea on a tangent, without changing the subject completely. It’s the punctuation equivalent of “That makes me think of – “ or “Wait, hear me out.”

But wait, isn’t that what colons do?

Not quite. A colon is for drilling down on an idea: adding more detail to clarify or expand.

For example, coming back to our red shirt:

“I’m wearing a red shirt: it’s in honour of the security guards on Star Trek.” (and probably still itchy)

This example uses a colon because not only is “it’s in honour of the security guards on Star Trek.” a dependent clause, it adds additional information to the independent clause. 

For a really quick and dirty aide-memoire:

Semi-colons can be used where someone might say “And also –” or “Which makes me think of –” (or to replace a parenthetical aside like this one)

Commas can be used where someone might say “And –”, “But –” or “So –” (or in cases of dialogue, just pause for breath)

Colons can be used where someone might say “Because –” or “To be more specific –” or "For example –”

Or, to make an unwieldy and possibly unhelpful metaphor: if your sentence is a house, the comma leads to your attached garage, the colon leads to the rooms inside the house, and the semi-colon is the winding path through your garden. Your garage can be made to stand independently with some extra work, your garden would be fine if your house disappeared, but the presence of your house is what gives it context, and the rooms would, of course, cease to exist in the absence of house.

These marks are not interchangeable, but they do serve similar functions. Most sentences that use these punctuation marks can be rearranged or rewritten to use one of the other two, or as one or more independent sentences without too much contortion.

“I’m wearing a red shirt that is itchy.”

“I’m wearing a red shirt because it’s Star Trek day.”

“This shirt is itching the hell out of me. I think I’m allergic to the red dye.”

“I love old Star Trek, so I’m wearing my red shirt.”

“Those poor redshirts; I’m wearing this in honour of them. Itches like hell though.”

Do you need to use semi-colons? No, not at all! (Unless you’re writing in academia or some other context that follows a style guide, in which case your style guide will tell you exactly how they should used and you can ignore me.) But they are another implement in a writer’s toolbox, patiently waiting for the day that you really don’t want to end a sentence but that comma just doesn’t look right.

Further resources on my favourite punctuation marks:

For Love of the Semicolon – Insights to English

Using Semicolons – The Writing Center – UW–Madison (wisc.edu)

Colons - Punctuation - Academic Guides at Walden University

Harry Potter’s World Wide Influence - Google Books - this is an essay on comma splices, using Harry Potter as an example (sorry about that). It starts out very prescriptivist (also sorry about that), but is an excellent analysis of why comma splices are considered incorrect, and also why you might choose to use them anyways.

Confused and/or angry? Excited to talk to me about Oxford Commas and unnumbered lists? Really want to hear my thoughts on [insert thing here]? Send me an ask!

[psalm22-6]

Reading the screenplay for Les Misérables (1917) by Frank Lloyd and Marc Robbins

So the 1917 American film production of Les Miserables (starring William Farnum, directed by Frank Lloyd, and produced by William Fox) is not lost per se but it isn't readily available to watch either. According to @melancholyarchivist's research, a version is preserved by the Filmoteka Narodowa and can be viewed on-site (Is there anyone in Poland who's interested in visiting?) and we may some day get a restored version. In the meantime, I found that (most of) the screenplay is available through the Library of Congress, where it was submitted as part of the studio's copyright claim. I will tell you straight away that it itsn't complete. It ends right at the story's climax, which was incredibly frustrating to me but there's still lots of cool info. Here were some high/low lights for me: The film begins with a forward displayed through intertitle cards:

1. In the realm of prose Victor Hugo’s immortal classic shows that if sin dims the Divine Image, conscience disturbs the soul with sore discontent. 2. We see how God uses conscience to waken a dead soul and “plague the sinful man with dark despair,” until the conscience, that first made a coward of a bad man, at last makes a hero, of a good man. 3. In “Les Miserables,” Victor Hugo portrays the worst man as having a Diving Spark that no injustice can extinguish, which God guards and feeds, making it incorruptible in this life, and immortal in the next—SLOW FADE

That is not a great start but okay. Then we see Napoleonic soldiers walking triumphantly through the streets (the year is 1796.) Contrast this with scenes in Jean Valjean’s household, where children are fighting over a scrap of bread. Valjean sees the baker's window full of cakes and bread. He breaks the window and reaches over the cakes in order to take the bread. He is of course immediately caught, and the baker rejoices smugly. For context to this next part, an iris shot was a common technique in silent films where the camera’s “eye” opens and closes to direct the viewer's attention. (Also I have added punctuation to a lot of these quotes to make them more readable.)

SLOW IRIS in on loaf of bread on Judge’s bench. Open full on Judge, looking off and talking sternly, pointing to loaf of bread

This makes it sound like the bread is on trial. The bread on display in the courtroom is present in the 1935 American film production as well and like in the '35 production, 1917 has Jean Valjean dragged out of the courtroom while dramatically reaching for his sister. In Toulon, we see Javert as a prison guard. Although Valjean is repeatedly referred to as a "galley slave," he is not shown working on a ship (as he will be in the '35 film). He demonstrates his strength by saving a prisoner in a quarry. There is a lengthy scene of Jean Valjean attempting to escape prison (which was eventually cut down according to what I've read. Notice how the title page says "a film in 10 reels." It was later cut to 8.) Jean Valjean strangles a guard to death. Bloodhounds chase him across a marsh. When Valjean is released from prison, instead of being chased by the dog out of the dog house, there is a scene where Jean Valjean asks a man for food. The man refuses but Jean Valjean then sees him give his dog steak. He exclaims “I am denied food–when even dogs are fed.” A nun directs Valjean to the Bishop's. After the classic Bishop's Candlesticks sequence, we do see Valjean steal from Petit Gervais. Cut to the bishop praying in front of his empty cupboard. Then cut back to Jean Valjean, who sees the coin. Cut to the bishop. Back to Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean has a vision of himself: beside him fades in images of him as a prisoner, which are slowly replaced by a vision of the Bishop surrounded by light and looking at him sadly.  The police are looking for Valjean but they don’t see him because he is on the ground sobbing. Then he goes to the Bishop’s house and prays outside it.  There is a very sad scene of Fantine leaving Cosette with the Thenardiers but this scene was later cut. After Fantine is fired, an “old hag” tells her “Why should you starve when you are still young enough to attract men?” (This intertitle was cut by the Chicago board of censors.) In horror, Fantine holds up her hair and has a vision of Cosette as a baby, which dissolves into the hair. We see Fantine go to the hairdresser to sell her hair.  Immediately after this she encounters the Bamatabois character and remembers what the old woman told her (that intertitle was also cut by the Chicago board of censors). She smiles at him, and touches his arm, and he pushes her into the gutter, telling her it is where she belongs. When Javert arrests her, the money she got for selling her hair is left behind in the gutter.   Meanwhile, we see Valjean coming into the homes of poor families to give them money. He arrives in time to see Fantine's arrest and orders that she be freed, leading to this direction:

Very dramatic. I'll try to limit my use of screenshots though, since the typeface is a bit hard to read but one thing that's very charming and at times hilarious are the typos. See for example this scene where Javert tells Mayor Madeleine that he has denounced him:

Interior Madelein's room-- He writing at desk. Door opens. Housekkeper announces Javert. Javert enters. Stands looking at Madeleine. Housekeeper exits. Madeline turns around, asks Javery his business.

Even ignoring "Javery," they just spelled Madeleine three different ways.

Closeup Javert-- Her looking at Madeleine with resigned expression says: "I WISH TO TENDER MY RESIGNATION." Closeup Madeleine-- He looking at Javery in tense manner, suddenly controls himself, quietly says "Well."

As Jean Valjean decides what to do about Champmathieu's arrest, he sees visions of prison and of the bishop. When he arrives at the court in Arras, he is transfixed by the doorknob, which transforms into the face of prisoner 24601 (I thought that part sounded pretty cool). In the courtroom, no one believes that Madeleine is Jean Valjean. He addresses the prisoners and reveals that he knows Valjean's prison number. Then he lifts up his sleeve.

Closeup Madeleine left arm and shoulder. Letters T.F.P. and numbers 24601 is seen branded there

Of course, the musical would later do this but what other early adaptations show Jean Valjean with a brand? Fantine dies, Simplice lies to help Valjean escape (a fair amount of emphasis on Simplice actually.) We see Madame Thenardier send Cosette out to get water. In the woods, witches and ghouls haunt Cosette. Valjean buys her Catherine, shows the Thenardiers the letter from Fantine and gives them money in exchange for Cosette. Cut to 1832 (funny, this is basically just like how the musical abridgesthings). We get a birds eye view of Paris and the

Closeup Courfeynac-- He surrounded by men, who are eagerly questioning him. Marins enters. They greet one another in friendly manner. Courfeynac tells Marius he wants to speak with him. They exit from friends. Long Distance-- Men gathered in knots whispering as Courfeynac and Marins go to table, sit and start to talk. [...] Interior room at coffee house-- Marins on stall, addressing men in earnest manner. He finishes speech, is congratulated by Courfeynac and others. IRIS OUT.

Yes, Courfeyrac is called "Courfeynac" for half the script, until they switch to "Courferac" which isn't as bad. Marius is always "Marins," except once when he is called Marius and I swear that "Marius" is the typo. We also get a short scene of Gillenormand, who receives a letter from Marins saying that he won't accept his money. Meanwhile...

Long Distance Garden-- Cossette out of sight. Valjean enters, sees her gone. Registers surprise. Cossette creeps out behind him, startles him. He turns, sees her. They exit together.

It's not super egregious but Cosette is always called "Cossette." Marins leaves Courfeynac. Cossette and Valjean go to the park.

Long Distance-- Valjean and Cossette seated on bench Closeup Marins-- He looking off, registers fascination. Closeup Cossette-- She reading book, slowly raises eyes. Sees. Closeup Marins-- He looking toward her, fascinated.

He looks at her like she's a bug.

Long Distance-- Marins walks past Cossette and Valjean. He exits past camera. Closeup Cossette-- She peeping over top of book after book after Marins. Very interested. Pathway-- Marins going from camera, turns and suddenly walks back.

Freak behavior.

Long distance-- Valjean speaks to Cossette, who is shyly looking toward Marins. They both rise and exit past camera. Marins comes to bench, picks up Cossettes handkerchief, gazes after them, registers facination.

I don't think that there is any payoff to the handkerchief, it seems to really be Cossette's. Cut to the Thenardier's. There is no Azelma, Azelma is replaced by Gavroche (sometimes spelled Gavroch, Gavranche, Bavranche or Gavrouche.) Eponine comes to Marin's room and he gives her money. Then that very afternoon, Valjean comes to give the Thenardiers alms. Gavroche actively participates in his parent's schemes (he breaks the window with a rock, not his hand.) Thenardier recognizes Valjean and decides to rob him.

Outlet of Sewer-- Low barred arch gate in background, river seen beyond. Thenardier come to outside of gate, opens it with key, enters, close gate behind him as he comes to foreground toward camera. 4 men creep past camera and join him. He starts to whisper to them.

I love that Thenardier is meeting Patron-Minette (unnamed though) in the sewer and that they introduce his key here. Meanwhile, Marins goes to the police:

Police Headquarters-- Javert with back to camera, listening to Marins, who is telling of plot. Javert suddenly swings around, full face to camera. THE SUBLINE IRONY OF FATE. JAVERT NOW ATTACHED TO THE PARIS POLICE TAKES CHARGE OF THE CASE.

I bet that that reveal was awesome! Javery gives Marins a gun. Then Valjean arrives at the Thenardier's house and is forced to write a letter luring Cossette there. But before he can be made to give the address, he escapes and burns his arm. Marins fires the pistol and Javert arrives. Valjean then knocks over the candlesticks and escapes in the dark. He goes home and Cossette tends to his wound. Eponine and Gavroche see their parents arrested.

Closeup Eponine and Gavranche-- Gavranche turns to Eponine and says: SISTER DEAR - I AM GOING FAR FROM HERE.

Meanwhile Marins is distraught because he can't find Cossette

Interior Meeting Room, A.B.C.'s-- Room crowded with men. Marins seated alone at table. Courfeynac addressing men. Marins does not pay much attention.

Eponine finds Cossette's house and leads Marins there.

Exterior Valjeans house-- Eponine enters followed by Marins. She turns, points to garden gate. He joyfully starts toward gate. She stops him. He turns to her. She wistfully says: DO YOU LOVE HER? Back-- She finishes line. Marins nods yes, then eagerly exits to gate. Eponine looks after him and sighs. Garden at bench-- Cossette gazing out dreamily. Marins enters quietly behind her, stands looking at her with great love. She suddenly feels his presence, sees him, rises, stands staring at him. They look at one another. Marins registers great love, starts to speak to her. She turns away from him, registers great confusion and emotion. Close up Eponine-- She leaning against iron fence, registers dumb suffering.

Unlike in the book, where iirc Marius and Cosette embrace straight away and then never again until they are married, Marins and Cossette do not embrace as first but after many meetings, they embrace A LOT. One night Valjean looks out his window and he just sees them making out. Then Marins leaves. Cosette goes inside.

Interior living room (night)-- Cossette discovered arranging flowers in old fashion vase and lighting candles in happy manner. Valjean enters to her, stands looking at her in silent anguish. She turns, sees him, goes to him lovingly, asks him what's the matter. He quietly says: FOR REASONS WHICH I CANNOT EXPLAIN WE MUST LEAVE THIS HOUSE TONIGHT FOR ANOTHER I HAVE CHOSEN.

So yeah the reason they leave is because of Marins. Meanwhile, Javert gets a message:

Interior Police Headquarters-- Javert discovered writing. Gendarmine enters, hands him letter. He opens it, read INSPECTOR JAVERT A MALE PRISONER NAMED THENARDIER ESCAPED TONIGHT FROM THE LA FORCE PRISON. ACT ACCORDINGLY. LEBLANCC

This letter makes me laugh. MEANWHILE, Cossette is distraught at leaving. She sees Eponine (Marins had previously pointed out his friend Eponine) and gives her a letter for Marins.

Insert note-- DEAREST MARINS FOR SOME UNEXPLAINED REASON MY FATHER HAS SECRETLY TAKEN ME TO NO 7 DE L'HOMME WHICH IS TO BE OUT FUTURE HOME. COSSETTE

That also makes me laugh. Then a riot breaks out for no reason except that it is 5 June 1832.

Street near coffee house-- People seen hurriedly entering homes, all in state of alarm. Courfeynac at head of 35 men marching toward camera, old man and Gavranche at side of him. They all singing revolutionary songs.

Eponine is there in men's clothes and she gets the idea to give Marins (who has discovered that Cossette's house is empty) an anonymous note telling him to go to the barricade.

Long shot-- Shooting barricade in foreground, fight in progress. Red flag which is attached to pole at top of barricade suddenly falls, shot away. Old man grabs it, starts to climb to top of barricade. Close up top of barricade-- Old man starts to put flag back into place. Close up soldiers at end of street-- Officer gives command, they fire volley. Close up old man-- He trying to fix flag, suddenly his body sags, clutching flag, he falls. Long distance-- Old man falls from top of barricade to ground. Courferac goes to him. Close up Courferac andold man-- Courferac raises the dead body, registers strong emotion Close Up Marins-- He gazing off, exits toward Courferac Behind barricade-- Marins with Courferac laying dead man on matress, Marins has dead man's coat in hand, suddenly rises, calls off, raises hand, says: "LET THIS DEAD HERO'S COAT BE OUR FLAG."

They continue to fight the National Guard. Marins strikes a soldier senseless. Eponine gets shot, gives Marins the letter, and asks for a kiss. Marins kisses her. She dies. Then he writes a note to Cossette. Gavroche delivers the note to Valjean. Valjean is about to rip it up when he has a vision of the Bishop.

Sub title-- KNOWING THAT COSSETTE'S HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON MARIN'S SAFETY, VALJEAN GOES TO THE BARRICADE TO WATCH OVER HIM.

The next morning, the insurgents are still fighting:

Iris in on old man's coat-- Top of pole at barricade. Open full, showing long distance shot of street, men in barricade being served with coffee, fighting going on. Valjean in background, tending wounded.

Couferac tells them that they are going to run out of ammunition and Gavroche goes to get more. Valjean yells at him to come back. When Gavroche is shot and killed, Valjean retrieves the body and the ammunition.

Interior coffee house-- Courferac followed by Marins and Valjean leave body of Gavrouche. Courferac sees Javert and in terrible rage points to him and says: "YOUR FRIENDS MURDERED THAT BOY FOR WHICH CRIME YOU DIE."

I forgot to mention that Javert had been caught and tied up earlier. Marins is horrified but Courferac agrees. Valjean secretly lets Javert go. The barricade is attacked by cannons. Marins is shot. Valjean takes Marins and leaves. We see Courferac fighting terrifically. Shots of Valjean carrying Marins through the sewers are interspersed with shots of Courferac and others fighting. The insurgents retreat into the coffee house. The others die until only Courferac remains. He runs into another room, slamming the door behind him. The soldiers follow. The screenplay ends there! Don't you wish you could read the rest??! I feel certain that we were going to see Thenardier again, since he had escaped from prison, plus we saw him use that key. And I think we would have seen Gillenormand too. Also obviously Jean Valjean dies, but I read that his death scene got cut down in the final version.

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Types of Editing Services

With the launch of my freelance editing business, Gentle Sea Editing, tomorrow (1 June 2023), I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the different types of editing. 

Some of these services are only applicable to creative writing works, but services like copy-editing and proofreading are relevant for any piece of writing.

1. Developmental Editing

A developmental edit evaluates the big picture and addresses issues at story level.

It looks at things like plot structure, character development, pacing, chapter and scene structure, descriptions, adherence to genre expectations, clichés, and overused tropes.

Usually, this type of editing service won’t take the form of actual changes to the manuscript. Rather, it comprises an editorial report addressing the strengths, weaknesses and issues of the work, as well as suggestions. There may also be some margin comments if necessary or if that is the specific editor’s style.

According to the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), the average rate for developmental editing is between $0.03 and $0.039 per word. That means that the developmental edit of a 90 000 word book would cost between $2700 and $3510.

I offer developmental editing services at $0.017 per word. So, the developmental edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $1530.

2. Line Editing

A line edit addresses writing style and craft on a line-by-line level.

It looks at things like voice, language use, word choice, tense, point of view, clarity and readability, filtering, filler words, show vs tell, pacing, and flow.

Usually, this type of edit takes the form of comments in the margin of the manuscript. Because this service involves stylistic changes, most editors won’t just amend the text; they’ll add a comment highlighting an issue and providing suggestions.

According to the EFA, the average rate for line editing is between $0.04 and $0.049 per word. That means that the line edit for a 90 000 word book would cost between $3600 and $4410.

I offer line editing services at $0.025 per word. So, the line edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $2250.

3. Copy-editing

A copy edit focuses on technical errors at word and sentence level.

It looks at things like spelling, punctuation, syntax, grammar, usage, paragraph structure, repeated words, typos, and style inconsistencies.

Usually, this type of edit involves the editor making actual changes to the manuscript and adding comments where necessary. Additionally, most editors will keep a style sheet as they work in order to maintain consistency. I give clients this style sheet along with the edited manuscript. If your editor doesn’t automatically do this, ask them for it. It’ll help you to keep your grammar and usage consistent if you make any subsequent changes, and it will help your proofreader.

According to the EFA, the average rate for copy-editing is between $0.02 and $0.029. That means that the copy edit of a 90 000 word book would cost between $1800 and $2610.

I offer copy-editing services at $0.02 per word. So, the copy edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $1800.

4. Proofreading

A proofread is the final review of a project. It focuses on proper formatting, layout and catching any errors not corrected during the copy edit.

It looks at things like punctuation, spelling, hyphenation, word use consistency, headers, chapter styles, scene breaks, paragraph styles, formatting, typos, repeated words and page layout. 

Because the changes are mechanical, the proofreader will usually make them to the manuscript itself without adding comments. However, I would recommend that the proofreader still use Track Changes, so the author can make the final decision on the changes.

According to the EFA, the average rate for proofreading is between $0.02 and $0.029 per word. That means that the proofread of a 90 000 word book would cost between $1800 and $2610.

I offer proofreading services at $0.01 per word. So, the proofread of a 90 000 word book would cost $900.

Let’s face it: Editing is expensive

Each freelance editor decides their own rates, usually with reference to their experience and qualifications. So, you can get editing at cheaper-than-average prices; just make sure that the editor is still adequately qualified and good at their job.

Additionally, most editors offer combos, which allow you to get two or more types of editing at the same time, usually at reduced cost.

I offer a developmental, line and copy edit combo for $0.05 per word, which is 20% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $4500 for 90 000 words.)

I also offer a developmental and line edit combo for $0.036 per word, which is 15% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $3240 for 90 000 words.)

Finally, I offer a line and copy edit combo for $0.038 per word, which is 15% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $3420 for 90 000 words.)

I firmly believe that the same person should not edit and proofread the same manuscript.

Which edits do I need?

Unless you are traditionally published, the editing services you choose is up to you.

If you are publishing a piece of writing, especially commercially, you need at least one type of edit. Trust me, your product won’t be up to scratch if you are the only person who’s looked at it.

I would not recommend skipping the copy edit and proofread.

However, you might decide not to have your work edited developmentally if you have been crafting stories for a long time, and have enlisted critique partners and beta readers.

How do I choose an editor?

If you are having a novel edited, look out for someone with some sort of fiction/creative writing experience. It’s preferable to have an editor who knows something about storytelling and plot structure, especially for a developmental edit. 

Try to get an editor who has obtained a qualification in editing itself, not just in the English language or creative writing. Editing is a whole different ball game and it requires specialized training.

Ask for testimonials if you don’t find them on the editor’s website.

Look at the person’s website and any communication you exchange with them. Are there errors and inconsistencies? Decide whether this is someone you would trust with your writing.

Editors should offer a free sample edit. This allows you to submit a small extract for editing in order to assess the editor’s competence and style. You should never have to pay for a sample edit!

If you would like to use Gentle Sea Editing, you can request a quote and a sample edit now.

[describe-things]

The original post was deleted so I'm just gonna remake it and have it just be regular text the whole time instead of screenshots. because that's a thing.

spockgirl said, at some point on or before June 6th, 2022:

A lot of people took the phrase "women's rights are human rights" to mean "the issue you think of as women's rights also affect other more important stuf"' rather than "women are human".

The post had 1,037 notes total.

[redacted] said on June 6th 2022:

I saw about a 50:50 split of queers and terfs reblogging this and y'all????? this is exactly what people are talking about when they say Radfem Lite. I'm just gonna drop these here cause my friends summed it up better than I could.

This was followed by two screenshots of text that read, with punctuation added for readability:

The thing being that we need those things said, because the words used in laws etc matter, and if it exclusively says "women", then people who can get pregnant but aren't women can and will get refused help on the basis that they are not women.

It's weird because intersectionality is a staple of actually productive feminism. And all activism. You have to be cognizant of how things you would classify as "women's issues" will affect certain other identities and subsets of identities in order to make any headway on addressing them. Bringing up how an issue affects trans men as well as cis women or bringing up how the Roe overturning will affect Black women systematically more than white women, because they traditionally receive more poor care in regards to pregnancy and have a ridiculously high birth mortality rate, is not shifting the focus off of "women are people". It's. Just being accurate and encompassing the full scope of an issue.

[redacted] then commented:

Use your brains please. Don't drink the koolaid.

[pythianoracle]

PSA About Some Shady Shit on Tumblr

This post is to bring light to some shady marketing on tumblr. This is not about an individual, but rather as a company posing as an aesthetic/meme account in order to get people to buy from their shitty drop shipping company.

I am making this post because I am sick of covert marketing and drop shippers over charging for the same stuff that can be found for cheaper and by the actual company. I am also concerned for the possible hazard of drop shipped items that need to be food safe in order to use.

Tumblr user @/my-kawaii—world is a drop shipping company pretending to be an aesthetic blogger who happens to “find” links to all the products in posts. All these links lead to the same drop shipping company website: Lavender Constellation. Under the cut is evidence to support my claim.

Alt text has been added for accessibility.

Hey, so I’m really not one to make posts like this, but I saw something that rlly sketched me out that some people may want to be aware of.

So, someone I follow reblogged this really cute teapot that my-kawaii—world posted!

[ID: a screenshot of a tweet reposted by user my-kawaii—world on tumblr. The post reads “losing my mind over this frog teapot my best friend gave me”. Attached to the tweet are two images showing a green frog teapot with two black tadpole cups. ID END]

Seems innocent enough, right? But then you scroll to the end of the post.

[ID: A screenshot of the bottom of the previous post by my-kawaii—world. Attached is a link to a storefront in green and pink text that reads “**Update For the people asking I asked her and she bought the frog tea set HERE🐸. ID END]

I thought “dang, a ton of people must have been asking them if they went to all that extra effort”, so I decided to check the tags.

[ID: A screenshot of the post reblogs with the user names blocked out in red to respect privacy. From top to bottom, the tags read: #cat #basically #cats and #haha. ID END]

Why would people be tagging this with cats if it has nothing to do with cats? Looking further, if you open up a reblog, you see this.

[ID: A screenshot a reblog that shows a different tweet. Punctuation has been added to alt text for readability. The tweet reads as follows: “Me: Invents a device to talk to cats. Cat: Oh god, finally you understand me. When ever I meow for hours it’s because I want wet food. I know this was so opaque for you. Me: No no, I knew you want wet food the whole time, but you can’t have it whenever you want. Cat: (blank space) Me: (blank space) Cat: first of all, fuck you,”. ID END]

They’re retroactively editing their high note posts to give more credibility to the shit they’re selling. Here is the listing on the linked website

[ID: a screenshot of a website called “Lavender Constellation”. The website has a light purple background with darker purple text. The listing image is of a green frog teapot with two black tadpole cups on a pink background and labeled “TEA SET FROG & TADPOLE”. The item’s original price is listed as $149.95 USD and is listed as on sale for $79.99 USD. ID END]

Wow isn’t it so cool that it’s on sale right now? Save over $60 USD? What a steal! They also offer free world-wide shipping and have a coupon code you can use. Crazy.

Upon further digging, the real teapot is the frog from the サンアート aka sunart brand, specifically from their parent and child collection. And guess what? You can get it on Amazon for less than half the price, even after the “sale”.

[ID: a screenshot of the same green frog teapot and black tadpole cups listen on Amazon. At the bottom are options to select, including Frog Parent, Elephant Parent, and an additional one that is cut off. The frog parent is $32.96 USD and the elephant parent is $26.22 USD. ID END]

I looked into the brand and they seem to specifically make ceramics additionally, the options to pick less popular options that I don’t see nearly as many bootlegs of make me pretty confident this is the actual product.

This is far from the only post they’ve done this with. Looking at their blog, you’ll see a sea of ads for their original posts, all linking to the same store:

[ID: A screenshot of a post by my-kawaii—world. The post is cut off due to the size of the device it was taken on. In the screenshot, there is an image of a silver sword ring with a skull on the pommel and a chain connecting the pommel to the cross-guard. Below the image is a link that red, bolded, and underlined text that reads: “OMG, I FINALLY FOUND THE RIGHT WITH FREE SHIPPING!!!!”. ID END]

And then following the link, we get taken right back to the Lavender Constellation website:

[ID: A screenshot of the same Lavender Collection Website from before with a pale purple background and darker purple text. The listing photo is of a person’s hand with a silver ring in the shape of a sword. It has a skull on the pommel and a chain connecting the pommel to the cross-guard. The listing is labeled “STAINLESS STEEL GOTH SWORD RING” in purple text. ID END]

If you go to their page, you will see a ton of other examples of this. Hell, I have even more examples, but I feel this post is long enough as is. I’m frankly fed up with people doing this shit, especially charging over double the price of an original product for a shitty knock off.

I’m not going to comment of the safety of these products (i.e., if the knock off teapot is food safe or not) because I don’t plan on buying one to test for lead, but that is a genuine risk you have when buying drop shipped products. For example, counterfeit makeup is well known for containing chemicals that can be harmful to the skin due because they’re much cheaper than the skin safe stuff. Here is a research article that discusses some of the harmful effects that unregulated, counterfeit makeup can have on your skin. The article is open access, so don’t worry about being blocked by a paywall.

Again, I don’t know if the counterfeit teapot is food safe or not, I haven’t been able to find any posts discussing the bootleg, or even Lavendar Constellation as a whole, but with stuff like this, it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

I am positive my-kawaii—world and Lavender Constellation are not the only people running operations like this on tumblr, I’m sure there are a shit ton more. Most will probably run the same way as my-kawaii—world. Essentially if you go to a page that posts a ton of cute, aesthetic products and they link to the same website for every single thing, it’s probably a drop shipping scam.

I’m not someone who thinks I’m “morally superior” for buying only name brand stuff, hell I own a few bootleg plushies, but items that need to food safe are not something I personally would fuck around with. And even if these bootlegs are food safe, the fact that they are charging over double the price of the original is so ludicrous and inexcusable.

Personally, I recommend blocking the @/my-kawaii—world account. Don’t micromanage people who have already reblogged from them unless they’re a friend, mutual, etc. Basically, don’t harass strangers who happened to reblog the original post or the edited post. Just get the word out there about this account.

Do I think my post will shut down their site and drive them off Tumblr? Probably not. But the more people that know about this specific scam and scams like it, the better.

[lovelyelbowleech]

omg the Ask Game has got me SO HYPED.

#s 3 and 8 please!

Hello! Thanks for the ask! ❤️

3: Whose your favorite character for this chapter?

Azula probably, her section has been very fun to write so far.

8: What is the last scene you’ve written?

A scene with the boys, but half of it is only written as bare bones, no punctuation (yes my first draft is just like that lol) and limited dialogue. But I am about to move to the next stage of adding stuff in and making it readable to your average person 😂

[spookykittenwrites]

Screen Reader Accessibility for AO3

tldr;

don't manually double space (as in hit enter an additional time between paragraphs)

don't excessively use italics and make sure to include all punctuation in the italics (if the last word in a sentence is in italics, the period should also be in italics etc.)

don't use a bunch of symbols to show a page break (either add a horizontal line or a single symbol)

explanation:

Screen readers are an accessibility tool that allows people who cannot look at/see their screens to access their phones by touch gestures such as swiping and tapping. I have talkback (which is the android screen reader) so this is written with that in mind, but I'm assuming most work relatively the same way.

When you're reading something like a blog post or article with a screen reader, it kind of works like text-based video game dialogue; you are given a chunk of text and need to click/swipe/tap/press a button to advance the text. (Not all sites are coded the same way, so the following information pertains to AO3 specifically.)

Text is typically split into paragraphs, however when you leave an empty 'paragraph' (as in, you hit the enter button twice to create an empty line between your paragraphs instead of changing your paragraph spacing with your word processor) the screen reader still considers this a chunk. So imagine you're playing a game and every other text box is just blank. Irritating, right? Keep in mind, too, that AO3 automatically inserts a space between your paragraphs if you paste it as rich text, so it's not necessary to do this for readability.

Also, any use of italics is considered a paragraph break, as is returning to regular text from italics. If you want to use italics for emphasis, that's fine, but try not to do so excessively because having to swipe to see one word is annoying but can add meaning if it's once and a while, but if its every paragraph it doesn't feel like emphasis anymore.

On that note, if you are adding punctuation to a word in italics, make sure the punctuation is also in italics because otherwise the screen reader will consider it a separate paragraph and read it aloud to you. If you choose to show a scene break etc. with a series of symbols it will also read this out loud, so try to only use one symbol or insert a line (ie: use the horizontal line function in ao3's rich text editor or simply write "-" or something like that. otherwise, we get "tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde" for your "~~~~~~")

Example:

"This is an example of a conversation," she said bitterly.

"An example?" the man asked, "But why do I have to give an example?"

"Because," she grumbled, "Some people don't know that this is incredibly annoying for people with screen readers."

on a screen reader, the process of reading it would be this (I've added what the screen reader would read aloud in square brackets):

"This is an

(swipe) example

(swipe) of a conversation," she said

(swipe) bitterly

(swipe) ["full stop"]

(swipe)

(swipe) "An

(swipe) example

(swipe) ["question mark quote"] the man asked, "But

(swipe) why

(swipe) do I have to give an

(swipe) example

(swipe) ["question mark quote"]

(swipe)

(swipe) ["quote"]

(swipe) Because

(swipe) ," she grumbled, "Some people don't know that

(swipe) this

(swipe) is

(swipe) incredibly annoying

(swipe) for people with

(swipe) screen readers

(swipe) ["dot quote"]

if written according to my guidelines, the process would be more like:

"This is an example of a conversation," she said bitterly.

(swipe) "An example?" the man asked, "But why do I have to give an

(swipe) example?"

(swipe) "Because," she grumbled, "Some people don't know that this is

(swipe) incredibly annoying

(swipe) for people with screen readers."

Obviously this example is incredibly exaggerated, but I hope it makes sense. All I hope is that this can inform a few people about how format affects accessibility and, if you care to make small adjustments, they are certainly appreciated.