#maybe it's bc i'm not english first speaker

[ukulelegodparent]

Still can't get over the fact that my cousin sounds like a Kiwi

[lee-laurent]

T'es ben chix - Luke Hughes

Summary: Amélie decides Luke Hughes is the cutest boy she's ever seen, but she doesn't know how to tell him.

wc: 7k

content: fluff, a little bit of angst, kissing, panic attacks, anxiety, quick make out session, a couple dirty jokes, long distance relationship (let me know if missed anything!)

notes: don't let the title fool you, this fic is still in english!! i realized the other day while doing schoolwork that i don't have a fic that discusses being french-canadian. so... here we are! this fic was super fun for me to write and i incorporated experiences and challenges i have faced over the last few years. a lot of the mistakes that amélie makes are mistakes that i have made or that other french speakers make when speaking english bc sometimes we try to directly translate things and it just does not work lol i reallly hope you guys enjoy!!! and to any other francophones out there: let's be friends!!

just finished writing and it's about 5k words more than i was planning

Amélie honestly wasn't the biggest fan of going out back home, so going out in a place where she could barely speak the language was even worse. But a few of the girls she'd befriended had convinced her it was a good way to get to know more people and to let loose. She sat with the three other girls at a small table, her fingers drumming against the glass of her cocktail.

"Yeah, what did you think of that guy that presented today, Am?"

"Hm? He did... good."

"No, silly. Did you think he was cute?"

"Oh, um, he's... how do you say... not my type?"

"Not your type? Then what is your type, Am?"

"Probably that guy she's been making googly eyes at all night," one of the others teased.

"Who? The tall, curly haired guy in the corner?"

Amélie blushed, sipping at the alcohol for courage.

"Ooo, she's totally into him!"

"You should go talk to him, Am!"

"No... I tell you... no American boys," she waved them off.

"Well, that's too bad. Cause it looks like he's comin' over here. We'll be at the bar if you need us."

"Guys..."

But it was too late, the other girls were already up and headed towards the bar.

"Calisse," she mumbled, trying to ignore the tall figure approaching her table.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked. She looked up at him, her lips pursed. He had the same curly hair and boyish smile that her friends had been teasing her about. She really hadn't planned on talking to anyone tonight, let alone any boys. The girls knew her rule: no falling for any boys while she was in America.

"Uh... sure," she replied, gesturing to the empty chairs across from her.

He smiled, sitting down casually, rubbing his palms on his pants. "I'm Luke. I, uh, I thought I'd come introduce myslef since we, uh, made eye contact so many times."

Amélie bit her lip, nodding as he spoke. She barely knew enough English to follow what her friends were saying, and now she had to talk to some random guy at this bar she didn't even want to be at. "I, uh, I am Amélie."

"Amélie? That's a really pretty name. Did I, uh, did I say it right? Amélie?"

Her cheeks flushed, her eyes flickering down to her drink. "Yeah... that is right. Thank you." Her fingers tightened around the glass, trying to think of something to say next, but everything just came in French.

Luke could sense her hesitation, suddenly becoming way more nervous about coming over. Maybe it had been stupid. Maybe he was making her feel uncomfortable. "I just thought... I don't know. You seemed nice. Do you, uh, want to talk, or...?"

She met his gaze, taking a deep breath. He was trying and he seemed nice, like he really wanted to talk to her. "I... my English, it is not very good," her accent thickening as she spoke. "It is... hard for me."

Luke nodded, leaning forward slightly. He had teammates that didn't speak English as their first language, so he kind of knew what to expect. "That's fine. I'm sure it's better than my French. That is your first language, right? French? Sorry, I just assumed cause your name-"

"Yes, French," she cut him off, giggling at his rambling.

"I can barely say anything in French, so you've already got me beat."

His attempt to make her feel better worked... a little. "It is easier... to write. But speaking... more pressure, I forget the words lots."

"I get that. But we can just... talk slowly."

She sipped at her drink, waiting for him to continue.

"So, what brings you to Jersey? Not a lot of French people here."

"Exchange... at Rutgers. I am from Québec. Saguenay. But I come here... and I work on my English."

"That's super cool. It's awesome that you're pushing yourself to get better. I, uh, I went to Umich for a bit, but-"

"Umich?"

"Oh, right. University of Michigan. I lived in Michigan before I lived here."

"You move here because..."

"For hockey. I play hockey."

"Oh... that's cool. I like Les Canadiens. You play in the LNH?"

"The NHL? Yeah, I do. You like hockey?"

"Everyone in Québec likes hockey. Very popular."

"But you didn't know who I was," Luke teased.

"Only like Les Canadiens, sorry," she shrugged.

"Well, that's fair, I guess. The Habs are pretty big in Québec, huh?"

"Yes! My family... all big fan." She felt comfortable talking about her family, talking about home, the things she liked. Her dad watched every Habs game on TV and sometimes he'd even drive down to Montréal for a weekend to see them play.

"My family loves hockey too. Everyone plays. My mom, my dad, me, and both my brothers. It's like in our blood... or something."

"They play for... the same team?"

"One of them does. Jack, he plays with me. My other brother, Quinn, he plays in Vancouver," Luke tried to keep it casual, not wanting it to seem like he was bragging.

"Ah! The Canucks!"

"See, you know a bit about other teams," he teased.

"Shhh," she giggled. "Your family... they seem very... what's the word... talented."

"Guess you could say that."

She took another sip of her drink, her mind buzzing with questions to ask, but none of them coming to her in English. She wanted to ask more about his brothers, about how he started playing hockey, but her mouth just couldn't keep up with her brain. She also didn't want to come off as rude or obsessed with him because of his title, so she just nodded.

"You don't have to worry, you know. I'm not judging you," Luke comforted. "So, what do you do when you're learning English or watching the Habs? You got any other hobbies?"

"I like to... read. And bake... when I have time."

"Reading and baking," Luke mused. "What do you bake?"

"Everything," she giggled. "Tarte au sucre is my preferred. My mom... she always bakes with me."

"Tarte au sucre? What's that? Sugar pie?" Luke's eyes lit up. "You'll have to make me that one day. I've never had it."

"Maybe. You will have to see."

"Challenge accepted."

Amélie went to respond, but her phone buzzing stopped her. It was her friends calling, probably ready to head on to another bar. She didn't want her conversation with Luke to end, but she knew she couldn't stay there all night.

"I have to go. My friends... waiting," she sighed.

Luke's face fell a little but he nodded. "Yeah, I get it. But I, uh, this was fun."

"Me too."

There was silence for a little, neither of them wanting to be the first to say goodbye. "You should give me... your phone number. So you can try my tarte au sucre."

"Sounds like a plan," Luke said, handing his phone over for her. She typed in her name and phone number, adding a '<3' next to Amélie.

"Text me," she giggled, waving goodbye as she joined the other girls at the bar. Luke watched as the four of them started talking amongst themselves quickly, giggling as Amélie told them about her conversation with the hockey player.

He finally stood up, making his way back over to the table where his teammates were sat. Curtis raised an eyebrow at him, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Well, how'd it go, Romeo?" He leaned forward, failing to conceal his grin.

Luke rolled his eyes, "Good, actually. Really good."

Nico raised his pint, "Told you. You just had to go for it."

"So... what's next?" Curtis nudged him. "You ask for her number?"

Luke nodded, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, we'll probably meet up again."

"Probably?"

"Okay, fine. Yeah, we'll see each other again. I'm going to try her sugar pie she was talking about."

"Sugar pie? Is that what we're calling it nowadays?" Nico teased, causing the whole table to erupt in laughter.

Luke shook his head, letting the teasing slide. His mind was too focused on the girl with a French accent and promises of baking him pie. He had to see her again.

~~

Luke found texting Amélie way easier than he'd imagined. She wasn't lying when she said her writing was better than her speaking. Her texts barely ever had mistakes, in fact sometimes they were worded better than his.

They texted back and forth constantly, which earned Luke some teasing from his colleagues. In writing, Amélie was much more confident, returning his flirting with practiced ease. Her personality really shone through in a way it hadn't at the bar. She'd occasionally crack jokes, usually about how he didn't know any French and that she'd have to teach him. Their conversations flowed, talking about their days, sharing stories, discussing the schoolwork that Amélie had, and sometimes sharing pictures of their meals. Although Jack did most of Luke's cooking, he'd never admit that to the girl.

You have to come and try my tarte au sucre soon! Only if you're brave enough though ;)

Luke grinned at his phone, his fingers furiously typing back a reply.

Oh, I'm brave enough. Just let me know when, and I'll be there.

I will. Maybe next week? I need to make sure it's perfect first.

Deal.

~~

Amélie paced her apartment, making sure that everything was in order before Luke came over. She was even more nervous than she had been in the bar. She really wanted things to go well. They had decided to label the event as their first date, and although a bit informal, she was still shitting herself.

The pie was sitting on her kitchen island, untouched. She didn't want to eat any of it until Luke was there to eat it with her. She was worried he'd get in trouble because it wasn't part of his meal plan for work, but he had reassured it multiple times that it wasn't a big deal if he had a little pie.

Just as she was about to rearrange her throw pillows for the third time, there was a knock at her door. She froze mid-step, wiping her hands on her jeans as she made her way to the door.

It was just a pie. And it was just Luke. Nothing to be too worried about.

She hesitated for a moment before she pulled the door open, tilting her head back to look up at Luke. He was standing there in a Devils hoodie and some track pants, a baseball cap covering his curls. He looked relaxed, his hands tucked in the pocket of his hoodie. Amélie hated how nonchalant he looked in comparison to her.

"Hey," he greeted. "I brough my appetite, as promised."

"Good. I hope you are ready," she joked, stepping out of the way to let him in. He pulled off his shoes, taking in her cozy apartment. He laughed when his eyes landed on the big Québec flag hung behind her couch.

"I'm sure it'll be amazing. I'm looking forward to it, don't worry."

She nodded, though her nerves didn't disappear. She led him into the kitchen where the pie sat waiting. The smell of it filled the small space, warm and sweet.

"Wow, looks good, Am. Guess you weren't kidding about being a good baker."

"It's like you with hockey. My talent," she giggled, blushing as their eyes met.

"I don't know. Your baking skills may be miles ahead of my hockey skills."

"Don't lie. Let's see if it tastes as good as the smell," she grabbed a knife, finally cutting the pie into pieces. She placed a generous slice in front of Luke, taking in how comfortable he looked in the situation. She really admired how easygoing he was compared to her. It was their first date, but his demeanor made it seem like they'd been seeing each other for months. Meanwhile, her heart hadn't stopped racing since she opened the door minutes before.

Luke picked up his fork, flashing her a grin before taking his first bite. His eyes widened and he let out a pleased hum, "Holy shit, this is so good."

"You like it?"

"Are you kidding? This is like the best dessert I've ever had... don't tell my mom I said that. But really, Amélie, you've ruined all other pies for me. Can I take some home to show Jack?"

"Of course! I'm glad you like it. Is my mom's recipe."

"You should probably teach me how to make this, so I don't have to beg you every time I want some."

"I wouldn't mind," she giggled, taking a bite of her own slice. The taste reminded her of home and she suddenly felt a lot less nervous about messing up her English in front of Luke. They continued to eat their pie as they talked, shifting the conversation to more personal topics, wanting to know everything about each other.

Luke told stories about growing up with his brothers, sharing embarrassing moments from their childhoods and the occasional hockey-related mishap. Amélie found herself laughing more than she had since she'd arrived in America, her body filling with warmth.

"And that's how Jack ended up chipping his tooth. Our mom was furious, but Quinn and I thought it was hilarious," Luke explained, shaking his head at the memory.

She laughed, her shoulders shaking. "You and your brother... troublemakers," she teased, resting her chin on her hand as she listened to him talk. God, she could listen to Luke talk for hours. His accent was the cutest thing she'd ever heard and his smile curved up more on one side than the other, almost like a smirk. He was so perfect.

"Yeah, we were. Still are, I guess. But what about you? You got any fun stories about your family?"

"One time my dad, he take us to Montréal for a Habs game. And my older brother he had... he liked one girl he saw. But she was anglophone, no French. He goes up to her and he tries to talk English. But it was soooo bad. Even worse than me. He only knew maybe like three word. I think he said like 'Hey, you pretty, drink?' and she looked at him like he was... insane! He... he panicked and ran away. We bullied him for years after. Our dad, he will still talk about it at dinner sometime."

"That's brutal," Luke laughed. "Glad our first conversation didn't go like that."

"I am just better than him."

Luke shook his head, flashing his lopsided smile that made Amélie swoon. "Clearly. You've got the charm, no doubt about it."

"Maybe a little. But still I get nervous. When you arrive, I think maybe that I would die."

"You hid it well. I didn't even notice. I was the nervous one."

"You? Nervous?" she raised an eyebrow, placing her fork between her lips .

"Yeah, you were... well you are, like the prettiest girl I've ever met," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't want to mess it up."

"Is that a joke? You did not... mess up. I like talking with you."

"I like talking with you too, Amélie"

~~

It was their fourth date and they were back at Amélie's apartment. Luke was sprawled out on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he playfully scrolled through one of Amélie's French-to-English learning apps.

"Come on, give me a word," Luke teased, turning to look at the girl sitting beside him with her legs tucked under her.

"Alright. Alright. Um... try... 'papillon.'"

Luke squinted, trying his hardest to translate it. "Papillon," he reapted slowly. "Uh... sounds like pasta, maybe? Wait, no, wait... um, balloon?"

She let a burst of laughter, learning back against the arm of the couch. "Non! It's butterfly!"

He groaned dramatically, throwing his head back in mock anguish. "Butterfly?! That doesn't even sound like butterfly! What?!"

"You are needing more practice," she giggled, comfortly placing a hand on his thigh.

Luke's eyes widened at her touch, but he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, clearly I need a lot more practice. You might have to become my full-time tutor."

Amélie smiled, her fingers lingering on his thigh, sending a warmth through both of them. They'd been spending more and more time together, and things were less awkward, but still full of nervousness. The banter between them was easy, but there was an ever-growing tension gnawing at them both.

Luke reached for a throw pillow next to him, lightly tossing it at her. "Give me another one. I swear I'll get it this time."

She swatted the pillow away, but her focus had moved on from French. The space between them had slowly been shrinking and she had just noticed how close they were. She tilted her head, her eyes flickering up to meet Luke's. "I think... maybe you are better at other things than French."

Luke's grin faltered, his breath catching in his throat at her new tone. He glanced down at her hand still resting on his thigh, then back at her face, then back to her hand again. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Like... this."

Before he could question what she meant, she leaned in, her lips brushing his, testing the waters. The kiss was soft, hesitant, but the second their lips connected, everything they'd been holding back snapped into place.

Luke's hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer. The kiss deepened quickly, no longer hesitant, but instead filled with the feelings they'd been dancing around for weeks. Amélie sighed against his mouth, her hands sliding up to his chest, gripping his shirt in his fists. Luke groaned softly, the sound muffled by her lips.

Their kisses turned hungrier, more urgent, as the tension in the room built. Luke shifted, gently pushing Amélie back against the couch as he leaned over her, his body pressing against hers as their kisses grew sloppier. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, and Luke's hands slid up to cradle her face, his thumb brushing her cheek as the kiss deepened.

Neither of them wanted to pull away, not wanting to be the first to end the kiss. Luke realized he couldn't hold his breath any longer. He gasped for air before kissing her again, harder this time, his lips moving with more urgency than before. Amélie let out a soft, breathless moan in reponse.

They pulled away again, their foreheads resting against each other as they tried to catch their breath. Luke brushed a strand of her hair, that had gotten stuck between them, out of her face. His eyes were still half-closed as he whispered, "I've wanted to kiss you for so long."

Amélie smiled, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to fill her lungs with air. She looked up at him, her lips still tingling. "Me too. I... I did not expect it to feel... like that."

"Good or bad?"

"Good," she whispered, her fingers tracing the back of his neck before pulling him in again, her lips finding his once more. There was no hesitation this time, just unfiltered desire as they gave in to the kiss.

~~

"Where you goin'?" Jack asked, pausing his video game as he heard Luke head for the door. He turned around, noticing his brother wearing his Michigan backpack. "And why do you have a backpack?"

"Amélie's place. I'm spending the night."

"Damn, Lukey boy's finally getting laid."

"Shut up, Jack... there's no confirmation that that's what happening. She just asked if I wanted to sleep over."

Jack smirked, leaning back on the couch with a knowing look. "Uh-huh, sure. You don't pack a bag just to sleep over, bro."

Luke rolled his eyes, adjusting the straps of his bag. "It's not like that. We're just hanging out, maybe watching a movie or something."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, lover boy. But just in case, be safe."

"It's not like that," Luke groaned, grabbing his keys off the counter, trying to escape Jack's teasing.

"I'm just saying! Good luck, bud!"

Luke mumbled to himself as he stepped into the hallway, heading for the elevator to the parking garage. His heart was racing more than usual, not just because of Jack's teasing but because tonight did feel different. Spending a night together was a big step in their relationship, especially since they weren't officially official yet.

They hadn't even discussed labels yet, and although they were very close, there was an unspoken worry of figuring out where things were heading. Luke really, really liked her, but he didn't want to rush anything. If Amélie wanted to take things slow, then he would take things slow.

He sat in his car, getting ready to leave when his phone buzzed.

Just picked out a movie. Hope you like rom-coms ;)

Only if we watch it in French so I can practice

Deal.

When he pulled up to her building, he practically leaped out of the car, taking his backpack with him. He knocked on her door, his heart in his throat.

Just go with the flow. No pressure

Amélie giggled when she opened the front door, dressed in one of Luke's Devils hoodies and a pair of shorts he couldn't see from under the large sweatshirt.

"Hey. You look cute," he leaned down to kiss her.

"Hey! Missed you."

"It's only been three days," he laughed, allowing her to wrap her arms around his waist, propping her chin on his chest. "You ready for my horrible French?"

"Ready for anything," she giggled as he ran a hand through her hair.

They stood in the doorway for a few moments more, before she grasped his hand and pulled him into the living room. They settled on the couch, a blanket thrown over their entwined legs.

"Am, I've been thinking..." his thumb brushing lightly against her thigh. "I don't want to overthink it anymore than I already have, but... we've been spending lots of time together. And I really like you."

"I like you too, Luke. A lot."

"Good. Because... I want this to be official. I mean, us. I want us to be official. I don't wanna be just 'hanging out' or 'seeing where things go' anymore. I want you to be my girlfriend." His voice softened at the end, his heart out on a silver platter just for her.

"You really want that?" she gushed.

Luke nodded, "Yeah. I want you. I want... us."

"I want that too," she smiled, shuffling impossibly closer to him, pecking his lips.

Luke pulled her back in for a deeper kiss, relief flooding his body. When they pulled apart, Amélie rested her forehead against his, her fingers gripping the front of his hoodie.

"So, it is official?" she whispered.

"Officially official. You're my girlfriend now."

She kissed him again, laughing into his mouth. "Well... now that we have... figured that out. You have French to practice... boyfriend."

"Let's get started then, girlfriend."

~~

"So... when do I get to meet her?" Jack grinned, knocking Luke's shoulder.

"Oh, um, I can ask her."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You can ask her?" he teased. "What, you haven't mentioned me?"

Luke sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have, Jack. I just... didn't think you'd be so excited."

"Dude, of course I'm excited! My little brother has a girlfriend now! And you know I've gotta approve, see if she's good for you. Duh."

"She's not a test subject, Jack. I'm not bringing her so you can interrogate her."

Jack snickered, loving how flustered his brother was getting. "Relax, I'll be nice. In fact, bring her out with us and the guys this weekend. Some of the other girlfriends will be there."

"I can ask her. Just... don't be weird about it. She get's nervous."

"Me? Weird about it? Never. I'm charming."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Come on, it'll be fun. She'll get to meet everyone, and you know the guys will love her. Plus, if she can survive a night out with us, she's a keeper."

"Look, I'll ask. But I know she's been busy with schoolwork. I'll ask her tonight. But seriously, Jack, don't freak her out. Please."

"Scout's honour, man. I'll be on my best behaviour."

"You're not a-- never mind. I'll let you know what she says."

~~

Luke laid next to Amélie in her bed, his arm draped over her waist. She was scrolling through TikTok, laughing at French words he didn't know yet. He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, peeking at the screen where some girl was speaking rapid French while doing her make up.

"Hey, Am."

"Hmm?"

"So... Jack and some of the guys are going out this weekend, and a few of the girlfriends will be there too," he paused, thinking over his next words. "Jack was, uh, wondering when he could meet you. He kind of suggested you come along."

She blinked, "Meet... all of your friends? This weekend?"

"No pressure! If you're too busy with school, I totally get it. I just thought it might be fun. Only if you want to, of course," Luke quickly added.

She bit her lip, thinking it over, and Luke could tell she was weighing her options. "I'm nervous. I would... like to meet Jack. To be... part of your world."

He pulled her body closer to his, pressing more kisses to her shoulder. "You're already part of my world, Am. And trust me, Jack's been bugging me about meeting you since our first date. He's... well, he's Jack. But he means well."

"Okay. I will come. But if Jack, he makes me feel awkward, you owe me a very good dinner."

Luke laughed, "Deal. And don't worry, I'll be there the whole time. Plus, survivng Jack means you can survive anything."

~~

"C'est très cute, non?" Amélie asked, showing her outfit off to Luke.

"You look like a millon bucks, baby," he replied, leaning down to kiss her.

"What?"

"It's... it's a saying."

She tilted her head slightly, repeating the words back to herself. "A million... bucks."

Luke thought her accent made it all the more adorable. "It means you look beautiful. Like super, super beautiful."

"English says, they are so strange. First you tell me it rains cats and dogs... now I look like I am money. You explain me all of these sometimes, yes?"

"Of course, baby. But I mean it, you looks amazing."

"Thanks, Lu. We should go?"

"If we have to," Luke pouted, leaning down to give her another kiss.

~~

Amélie gripped the straps of her purse so tightly that her knuckles were white. She had never felt so nervous in her life, not even on their first date. She had so many people to impress tonight and probably less than half the words they had in their vocabularies.

Luke was quick to notice her anxiety. She usually walked with so much confidence, but her posture was slumped and her lip was held between her teeth. "Hey, you okay?"

She nodded, but her choked voice betrayed her. "I... I don't know if I can do this."

"You'll be fine, Am," he whispered, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "Jack's going to love you, I can promise you that. And it's just a few of the guys--nothing big. And hey, some of them aren't even native English speakers themselves."

Her eyes were still full of uncertainty, her fingers busying themselves by picking at the skin around her nails. "But maybe I will say something wrong. Or they ask me things, and I do not understand them? Or they will all laugh at me."

"You've been doing so well with your English, love. And if you're ever feeling stuck, just squeeze my hand and I'll come to your rescue."

The bar was pretty empty for the most part, just a few tables of friends talking and sharing drinks. In the back corner, Jack was sitting with a few of the other guys and their better halves.

"There they are!" Jack cheered as soon as he saw them approaching, standing up to greet his brother as if he hadn't seen him in weeks. His tone was loud and confident, and Amélie could feel every set of eyes at the table move towards her and Luke.

Luke gave his brother a quick bro-hug before turning to his girlfriend. "Jack, this is Amélie. Am, this is my brother, Jack."

Amélie felt like all the moisture in her mouth had disappeared, her hand gripping Luke's with a vice-like strength. She opened her mouth to speak, but all her words got stuck. "I, uh, I... hi."

"Nice to meet you, Amélie," Jack said. "Luke's told me loads about you."

She gave him a tight lipped smile, her mind scrambling to find a response, but nothing came. She felt like the weight of everyone's expectations were holding her down. She wanted to wow everyone with perfect English, but all she could do was stand there, frozen.

"She, uh, she's a little nervous," Luke interjected. "Amélie's from Québec, she's here in Jersey to learn English. But her French is like the most impressive shit ever."

"No worries. We're just happy you're here," Nico spoke up.

Amélie forced a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She sat down beside Luke, her hand still gripping his with immense force. The conversation around the table picked back up, but she remained quiet.

The guys were easygoing, laughing and joking with each other, and the other girlfriends seemed just as relaxed. The more they spoke though, the harder it became for her to follow. She could pick up on bits and pieces of what was going on, but she couldn't seem to form a complete sentence in her head.

"So, how do you like Jersey so far?" one of the other girlfriends, Lexi, asked with a warm smile.

"It... it's very different. But I... I like it," she replied, her eyes not leaving Luke's hand in her lap.

"She thinks back home is wayyyy prettier. Right, babe?" Luke helped to direct her.

"Yes. Québec is very beautiful."

"So what brought you here?" Jack asked, desperately wanting to know more about the girl that had stolen his brother's heart. "School?"

She bit her lip, trying her best to think of how to reply in English. "Yes... I.... study at Rutgers. Exchange."

"That's awesome. What're you studying?"

Her mind went completely blank. She'd even rehearsed answering that exact question, but now, with everyone looking at her, the words were gone. Her hand tightened around Luke's again, taking a sip of water to clear her throat.

"She's studying communications and media. But the point of her exchange is to work on her English skills."

"That's sick," Jack nodded along.

The conversation around her continued, a few questions being tossed her way but her responses were usually just a few words, the gaps being filled in by Luke. The group eventually moved on to a story that Nico was telling, and Amélie used the shift of attention to shrink into herself further. She let Luke rest his hand on her bouncing knee in an attempt to calm her nerves, but his touch felt foreign in the situation.

After what felt like hours, but had most likely only been half an hour, she leaned close to Luke, whispering in his ear. "Je vais aux toilettes." She stood up before he could respond, scurrying off to the bathroom.

Jack shot Luke a curious glance, but he just shrugged, trying to mask his own worry.

Amélie slipped into the bathroom, pressing her hands against the sink as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She felt like she was suffocating, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She hated feeling like an outsider, not being able to connect with Luke's world outside of her.

She wiped under her eyes, praying that her mascara didn't run. She didn't want anyone to know she'd been crying in the bathroom. She just wanted to be like the other girls at the table--relaxed and confident, going with the flow of the conversation.

With one last deep breath, she made her way back to the table. Luke looked up at her as she approached. He could tell something was off.

"Everything okay?"

She just nodded, falling back into her silence at the table. She laughed when everyone else laughed, smiling politely when someone made a remark towards her. Luke had never seen her so quiet in his life, not even on the first day that they met. By the time everyone had left the bar, her anxiety was so bad she thought she might puke.

Luke opened the car door for her, and she slid in, staring blankly out the window. The silence between them was heavy. Luke could feel it too, his fingers tapping nervously on the steering wheel.

"Am, what's wrong? You've been quiet all night. You barely said a thing."

The tears that she had been fighting so hard to keep at bay finally spilled out. "I... I feel so stupid. I-I couldn't even talk to them. I couldn't even... act normal."

He reached out, placing a hand on her thigh. His heart clenched at her words. "You're not stupid, Am. You're doing amazing. You're learning a whole new language, that's huge."

"But I had to have you help on everything. I could... not even answer Jack's questions. They normally think... I'm dumb. Not good for you." She wiped at her eyes, frustrated with herself for crying.

"Amélie, baby. No one thinks you're dumb. And you are more than good enough for me--don't you ever doubt that. Jack loved meeting you. Everyone did. I could tell. They don't care if you need some help speaking English. Hell, some of those guys could use the help speaking English."

"I wanted... to be better. To show I can do this. But I feel...lost."

"You don't have to show anyone that you can do anything. Not to me, not to Jack, not to anyone. I love you for--"

"You love me?"

"Of course I do, Am. I... I didn't want to admit it like this. But... I am so in love with you, Amélie."

"I love you too, Luke. Sorry if I... embarrass you tonight."

"You could never embarrass me, Am. Never ever."

"I-"

"Nope, that's enough out of you. Let's go back to yours and watch that stupid cop show you like."

"Mensonges?"

"If that's what it's called, then yes."

"I love you, Lu."

"I love you too, Am."

~~

"I don't know, Jack. She was so nervous last time..."

"But last time there were other people there too. Just tell her you've got the place to yourself for the night and then I'll walk in a couple hours later and be like 'Oh! Sorry, my plans got cancelled.' And then we can all hangout," Jack suggested.

"I'm not going to lie to her. I'll just ask if she wants to spend the night."

"Come on, Rusty! You know I'm just trying to help her relax around me. You're making it sound like a big deal. It's not! She's your girlfriend, and I want to get to know her. Plus, I'll make it fun! I'm good with people."

"I appreciate the thought, Jack. But I want her to feel comfortable, not tricked. So I'll just ask her if she wants to come over and spend the night. No tricks."

"Fine, fine. Let me know what she says."

"I will. Just... don't be an idiot."

~~

Amélie followed Luke into his apartment, her backpack thrown over his shoulder. She looked around, noticing how painfully obvious it was that two men lived there.

"I'm just gonna put your bag in my room. You wanna go make yourself comfortable on the couch?"

"Sure."

She sat down, curling her legs under herself, glancing around the living room. She picked up the remote off the coffee table, fiddling with while she waited for Luke.

"You good?"

"Yeah. Just... taking in. It is very... you."

"What, you mean messy?"

She giggled, then tension in her shoulders disappearing. "Maybe... un peu."

"Hey, it's organized chaos, baby. I know where everything is. Well... most of the time."

"I like it. Feels... comfortable. Like you."

"That's all I want, babe. For you to be comfortable."

"Where's Jack?"

"Probably in his room. Why? Wanna talk with him?"

Amélie quickly shook her head, her eyes widening. "No, no... just wonder. I don't want to... bother him."

"You're not bothering him. He's probably playing video games or doing some stupid shit. He'll come out here eventually."

The last time she'd been around Jack, she hadn't been able to shake her nerves. Tonight, she was determined to make a better impression, even if she still felt like puking.

Luke gently nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, you're good, Am. Jack's chill. You don't have to be nervous."

"I know... just... want him to like me."

"He already likes you," Luke reassured, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "He wouldn't shut up about how cool you were after the last time."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I wouldn't lie to you, silly."

"Love you, Lu."

"Love you too," he leaned in to kiss her when footsteps pulled them apart.

"Aww, did I interrupt a moment?" Jack's teasing voice came from the doorway.

"Relax, Jack. We were just talking... about you."

"Oh yeah?" Jack pushed himself off the wall, making his way to the couch. "All good things, I hope."

"Duh," Luke squeezed Amélie's hand, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. "Amélie was just asking what you were up to."

"Probably nothing interesting compared to you lovebirds. Was talking to Trevor--can't let Luke get ahead of me in the whole having a life department."

She tried to think of a quick response to his joke, but came up with nothing she deemed funny enough.

"Luke tells me you like studying here cause it's different. How so?"

"Um, everything... is feeling bigger here. The city, the campus. And obviously... English. There is like... zero English in my town. We use some words... but not lots."

"Well, seems like you're doing great. Don't stress it. Plus you've got this guy," he gestured to Luke, "to help you out, right?"

She blushed, "Yes, Lu is... super."

Luke grinned, leaning in and whispering, "Told you he likes you."

~~

"I don't know how I'm gonna survive without you, Am," Luke admitted, wiping the tears from his face. His usually calm, relaxed demeanor was gone, replaced with a raw vulnerability.

Amélie had told herself she wasn't going to cry, but seeing Luke cry made that impossible. Her tears had started as soon as his had. "You will, Lu. You are so strong. And... I will not be gone forever."

He shook his head, intertwining their fingers. "I know, but... shit's gonna feel so different without you here. I'm used to having you here all the time. And now I won't see you until summer. I don't know how to do that."

"You'll have Jack, the guys, your family. I'm just... a plane away. We will FaceTime, and before you know... I am back. And I will meet Quinn... and your parents."

Luke rested his head in her lap, letting her run her fingers through his hair. She could feel his tears soaking the fabric of her jeans. "I'm gonna miss you so fucking much, Am."

"I'll miss you too, Lu. So, so much."

They stayed like that for a long time, just wrapped in each other's embraces. Neither of them wanted to let go. Neither of them wanted to admit how hard the next few months would be. They just wanted to stay together... forever.

~~

Amélie was sitting at her desk, her phone propped up against her water bottle as Luke's face filled the screen. His hair was a mess and his eyes drooping. She could tell he had just gotten home from practice.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted.

"Hey, you," she replied, resting her chin on her hand. "How was practice?"

"Exhausting," he groaned. "But seeing your face makes it better."

Amélie blushed, biting her lip as she smiled. Before she could respond, she heard her brothers' voices coming from down the hall.

"Ah, c'est qui, Amélie?" (who is it, Amélie?)

"Son chum?" the other laughed. (her boyfriend?)

"Ahhh, mais Luke, t'es ben chix." (Ahhh, but Luke, you're so hot.)

"Ferme ta gueule!" Amélie shouted. (Shut your mouth!)

Luke burst out laughing at the look on his girlfriend's face. "What're they saying?"

She huffed, rolling her eyes. "They're being idiots. Teasing me about you."

"Teasing, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "What did they say? Come on, tell me."

She sighed, getting closer to the camera with a small smirk. "They said you're... how would that translate.... that you're 'hot.'"

"Oh, did they know? You must have good pictures of me hanging up then, huh?"

"They're just being annoying. They think it's funny to tease me because I love an American."

"Well, tell them I appreciate the compliment. And tell them I say 'hi'," he teased.

Amélie shook her head but shouted, "Luke dit bonjour!"

From the hallway, her brothers responded with exaggerated greetings in their broken English, making the couple laugh.

"They're something else, huh? I can't wait to meet them one day."

"They'll probably want you to ask Cole for free Habs tickets. But... in a few weeks, I'll be back and I'll get to meet all of your family."

Luke's eye lit up at the thought. "I know! I've been counting down the days, baby. I can't wait for you to be here again!"

"Me neither. Excited to meet Quinn and your parents."

"Yeah, my mom's super excited to meet you!"

"I'm a little nervous though."

"Don't be! They are gonna love you so much, Am!"

"I love you, Lu."

"I love you more, Amélie. Only a few more weeks, then we'll be together again. I can't wait."

"You promise?"

"I promise. And I'm gonna spoil you so much. Just you, me, and the lake."

"Can't wait."

[translatingpostsintoitalian]

What free or paid apps would you recommend to learning Italian?

Disclaimer: the following are just general app recommendations, they're not specific to Italian because I have never had to learn Italian (bc I'm native) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So take them with a grain of salt

First and foremost. My most beloved, the light of my life, the apple of my eye, the diamond in the rough, the one and only, the I've run out of flattering phrases... WordReference. No ads, completely free, extremely high quality content, lists all meanings of a word with at least one example for each meaning, also has phrases, AND has a forum.

I really liked using the free version of Clozemaster a couple years back (IM PRAYING that it stood the same and that they didn't add 728237 AI features. PRAYING). I *think* it was ad-free. I fell in love with the learning method and the UI stripped down to its bare essentials. It had no extra stuff that distracts you, no gems, no streaks that I recall, nothing of the sort. Just vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary. I think it's worth it to pay for the VIP version, but *only* when it's 90% (IIRC) discounted which happens for sure on Black Friday, and maybe some other times of the year; otherwise I find it expensive. Or you could just get the cracked APK for free hehehe

The biggest disadvantage for me was that in the free version you couldn't skip to a certain knowledge level, you could only start from the basics. For me it ended up being tiresome because my level was already intermediate and I really didn't want to "learn" basic words again. But if you're a beginner then it sounds good to me.

As I said, it's only for vocabulary, not for grammar or pronunciation. Italian grammar is very complex and I'm not sure if there exists an app that tackles grammar out there. Maybe one of the people reading this can help me on this one!

Polygloss is a nifty little app that I would recommend as halfway between beginner and intermediate. Basically you match with a totally random person, and you take turns doing a little game. The game is: you pick a stylized picture, describe it (with as little or as many words as you want, though you're encouraged to use many). Then the opponent sees 4 pictures and your description, and must guess which picture you were talking about. That's it. That's the whole app. But it's very fun and the comment/correct function is very fun to use. You can correct a sentence the opponent has said, and/or you can give them a little award for being creative, funny, and stuff.

Beelinguapp is one step higher in that it presents you with full texts. The main thing about Beelinguapp is all the texts are bilingual, so in two languages. So you're being shown the same text in Italian and English (I don't know if there are other options for the "home" language other than English), and also the texts are read aloud and the sentences light up as the speaker reads them (so you're practicing listening as well as reading!!!). You can stop the speaker at any time and, in the paid (or *cough cough* cracked) version, quickly highlight and annotate a new word that you don't know, before resuming. I find it terrific.

Tandem is a great app in general, it's basically a chatting app but tailored to match people who are learning each other's native language. I didn't like the pressure it gave me though, and I wouldn't recommend it to girls and femmes because some people treat it as a dating app... Ugh. But it's still fun and worth trying in my opinion.

Sorry for getting so verbose lol

[baphometsss]

I can't say that this is a Dragon Age specific rant because it's something that bothers me about writing in North American media in general, but Dragon Age is guilty of it as well, especially the Veilguard. Before I get into this though, I want to be clear that this isn't anything to do with the game being ~woke~ or whatever, it's more about the underlying issues of the writing in general

It really grates on me when these characters constantly drill home this idea of "we're a ~team~" or "this is a ~family~" etc. For one thing, it's unbearably corny. I get that having value systems for your characters is important but there's something about these buzzwords that irritates the hell out of me. It's very Disney. Atp I'm used to letting it go over my head because it is quite literally everywhere in North American writing, to the point that you just have to let it go at a certain point if you're going to engage in English language media.

It feels so... contrived? I mean it's fiction so technically it's all contrived, but it just goes overboard so much with the virtue signalling that it feels like it breaks the fourth wall. It's unnatural. Nobody really says that stuff in normal conversation unless they're trying to sound like a motivational speaker. (I mean, maybe they do in North America ig, but they don't here.) I felt like I was playing corporate buzzword bingo with the dialogue half the time

This goes hand in hand with the overuse of therapy speak in media. I write a webcomic and a few years ago I got very into reading other webcomics/indie comics, one of which was Heartstopper because everyone was raving about that one post-Covid. To be fair, it is meant for teenagers so I am obviously not the target audience, but that comic and the Netflix show seriously have some of the clumsiest dialogue I've ever seen. It's full of shit teenagers just wouldn't say. Idk if I would say it's all therapy speak as such but it is still incredibly awkward and twee. It's very obvious that it's an adult writing what she thinks a teenager would say as opposed to what they would actually say.

Very few webcomics are even read by more than a handful of people, and a lot of them are just shounen-inspired slop pumped out by studios to make a quick buck through advertising. Getting one published by a mainstream house is rare, and having one adapted for screen is unheard of. A lot of the success of Heartstopper was built on the fact that Oseman was already a well-established YA author--she got her first novel published when she was 17. Yet the quality of Heartstopper pales in comparison to some of the other indie comics I've read over the years.

To be totally fair, I haven't read anything else in the Osemanverse bc it's not my thing, so it might just be this one title that's like this. But I remember thinking at the time that it's a good example of not having a strong enough voice for your characters, and a writer who is so afraid of being wrong that they write something which feels inorganic and clumsy. In my own writing, I try to basically live in my characters' heads and embrace all their flaws--this is much easier to do with original characters, which is why I think original content is important to pursue. It gives you free reign to decide what is 'in character' instead of worrying about a fandom's subjective interpretation of an established one. There's also a lot to be said about the influence of genre and audience; my comic is very adult and deals with themes of abuse, incest, murder, drug use, cults, etc. My characters are hardly going to sit in a circle and discuss their feelings, but I digress.

Much of this problem could be remedied by not prioritising virtue signalling over framing, and daring to ask questions of your reader while resisting the temptation to give them the answer right away. I use a lot of technical terminology and so on when I'm writing meta, but that's because it's meta, not prose; I'm coming at it from an analytical point of view. For prose, I try to avoid that; I want to write characters that feel organic and complex, and that means you have to be bold enough to pointedly avoid virtue signalling at the risk of making it feel contrived. Otherwise you fall into this absolutist dichotomy of good/evil and the conflicts become more oversimplified. This isn't good when weaving together various story threads because it means there are less places for those connections to be formed. It's also problematic because it can become inaccessible to anyone other than those who are already in your corner, already having the same conversations. And if you're writing with some kind of moral message you want to get across, the most important people you want to engage with are the ones who are not already on board with your message, with people who disagree with you or who are unsure of their position. Unfortunately, many writers don't want to compromise, are too comfortable in their echo chambers and/or don't want to reflect on their own shortcomings and biases, so they sacrifice doing the one thing that might actually get the message across to the right people.

Veilguard is definitely guilty of all of this and I don't doubt for a minute that it's because this is the same dev team who couldn't or wouldn't take any criticism when they were called out for racism on Twitter. Gaider has also said some shitty things and I don't agree with all he says, but I have to concede that he is a damn good writer. He's one of the few video game writers out there with the artistry needed to weave themes through the narrative with the finesse it requires, a finesse that is sorely lacking in Veilguard. It feels very first draft-y, as others have said--which is unforgivable when you consider how long this game was in development for. DA2 was also very first-draft-y, but that game was made in like 15 months and it still has better writing.

Dragon Age is a story where there is a lot of found family tropeyness present in all the games, but I don't think any of them pushed it as crudely as this game did. If anything, the previous games push back on this trope by exploring how shittily people from such wildly different backgrounds would actually behave towards each other in their situations. Despite growing to trust each other over time, things are not all resolved neatly and tied up with a little bow like Davrin and Lucanis's brief squabble was. By Veilguard, some of the former companions still hate each other. In DAO and DA2 you can outright kill companions. Sera even demands that they kill Solas for what he did to Varric if she's romanced, which is not something I think they'd be brave enough to do with the Veilguard companions--aside from letting them die for narrative reasons or by the player not collecting enough coins or whatever. DAI also poses some big questions about the forced conformity that characterises organised religion. Yet because Veilguard is used as a vehicle for this Disney MCU-ified virtue signalling, all that complexity is lost and we get hit over the head with tropes like a blunt object instead.

It's immersion breaking, which for an RPG, might as well be a death sentence.

The worst part is that I see it in fanworks more and more too these days. I have noticed in various fandoms that people don't really write for themselves as much as they should. It feels performative, like they're not really writing because they feel passionate about the story, but because they get into these little cliques and want to get kudos and comments more than they want to create something that's honestly from the heart. There's also an increasing amount of AI slop out there too, for which there's no process at all. It's a dopamine addiction thing. I've always loved the process more than the outcome. I feel bereft when I'm finished with something and can't wait to get my teeth into something new. What is lost with AI is also lost when you don't write authentically, bc it's not coming from your creative core, it's coming from your need for validation

A lot of fan creators unfortunately fall into the trap that corporations force video game studios into. It's sad because no fan creator is beholden to this aggressive marketing strategy, and yet they commit themselves to it anyway: make something that sells big whatever the cost, even if that cost is the heart of what made you love making it, or what made people fall in love with the franchise in the first place.

[loca4moony]

Six months

Hi! Like a month ago I watched a tiktok of a reddit story of a gf that didn't want his bf to support his bff through a rough time and I thought it was insane, so I decided to use that concept, but with actual support. I'm very excited about this one bc I tried something new for me (hurt-comfort and not relationship-centered) and I really liked the end result. I have more ideas to explore this or continue it. As always, you're more than welcome to request fics (please do!) because sometimes I need outer sources of inspiration. Also, I'm so sorry if I've made spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my first language!

Pre-established Barty Crouch Jr. x reader | 1.4k words

The one with Evan and Pandora panicking and the group supporting them.

CW: hurt-comfort / overthinking and signs of anxiety / a relative leaving for a period of time / Barty, Evan and Pandora can relate to desperation and we love them for it / like one or two cusswords / me loving Pandora very much / Barty being lovely.

Masterlist <3

A phone ringing in the middle of the night is one of the scariest things that can possibly happen to someone. The mental checklist of who it could be or what could have happened is inevitable. Barty is here and safe. Was someone in the hospital wing? No, I don’t think so. Was everyone okay during dinner? I didn’t see anything different. Could it be my parents? What if-.

“Hello?” Barty cut the train of thought when he mumbled groggily and put the call on speaker. After repeating himself two times and only being answered with sobs, he checked who was calling. “Ev? Is everything alright?” Nothing. “Evan? What's going on?” he pressed.

“She's leaving, Barty.” Evan sounded like a kid who just lost his favourite toy and will never get it back. 

“What? Who is leaving? Did you have a nightmare?” Barty pushed, his protective side shining through. “Relax, love, he’s getting there. Don’t pressure him.” You said as calmly  and sweetly as you could manage.

“Oh my god, I woke you both up. I’m so sorry. Of course I was going to wake you both up, I’m so stupid. Go back to sleep.” Guilt was laced in Evan’s words. 

“Rosier, can you stop apologizing and explain yourself? Or so help me, Salazar, I will go to your room and kick your arse.” Anyone who knew Barty would know immediately that wasn’t real but the desperation was.  

“Pandora. She got the scholarship, her letter got lost and they just told her. She’s leaving tomorrow at 3 p.m.”

“What?” you both said at the same time.

“Yes, for six months. What am I gonna do, Barty? Panda is leaving for six months. Six—a whole half year without her. I’ve never been away from her that much time. What if she hates it? What if people think she’s weird and hate her for it?” Evan paused like something clicked in his head “I won’t be able to defend her, she might get hurt!”

“Rosier, breathe. You’re gonna faint.”

“Evan, sweetie, are you alone?” You chime in the most ‘mom voice’ you can muster.

“Yes,” it broke your heart how broken and little he sounded.

“Why don’t you come sleep here then? I can leave you boys the room to yourselves. Maybe Panda is still up; I can go and help her if she needs anything. That way you know someone is helping and taking care of her while you process this and, hopefully, get some sleep. How does that sound?”

“Are-are you serious?” You could tell by his voice that was exactly what he needed. 

“No silly, Sirius is Regulus’ brother. Hurry up because Barty does not like to sleep alone and he gets really cranky if nobody is lying next to him.”

“C’mon, Rosie. You heard the lady, get your ass over here.”

Ten minutes after you hung up, when you were about to leave, you heard a knock on the door. You greeted Evan with a hug and Barty did the same. “Ev, I left you a pair of fuzzy socks warming up over there, a blanket and your favourite tea ready for you to boil. If you guys need anything, except calm Barty down from a temper tantrum, he’s your problem now Evan, you call me, okay?” At that, Evan looked lost like he wasn’t expecting to be taken care of, but he thanked you anyway. You didn’t miss the slight tremble of his hands or the tears in his eyes, but decided not to mention it. Instead you gave him another hug and ushered him out of the freezing halls and into the warm room. 

Barty walked to the door to kiss you goodbye for the twelfth time in the last three minutes. Once more, he made absolutely sure–just to be safe–that you were okay walking alone all the way over to Pandora’s room (it was a five-minute walk, of course you were okay).

When you got to Panda’s door, your phone lit up with a message from Barty that read: “Thank you for taking such good care of him, he doesn’t know how to say it but he really appreciates it. He hasn’t stopped telling me that you’re great and what am I doing with my life that I haven’t married you already. Love you, treasure”. You responded: “Tell him that we're here for him for whatever he needs because we love him. And also, that he's right. I don't know either what you're doing with your life that you haven't married me already jk. Love you, too”.

As soon as you knock three times, the door opens to reveal a very out-of-control Pandora. This was so not like her. You couldn’t move for a second, your lovely, quirky and go-with-the-flow friend was not going with the flow, but going to be bald if she kept pulling and running her hands on her head like that. “I don’t know what to do,” she barely got the words out. She didn’t look ethereal as usual, but broken, confused and was that guilt in her eyes?

“It’s okay sweetie, nobody expects you to. Why don’t we try to relax for a second and then we can think of a plan? How does that sound?” Pandora didn’t let one second pass after your last sentence and just threw herself to your already awaiting arms. “Does Evan hate me?” Her voice sounded just like his had just some minutes before on the phone, full of pain and childlike, “This is my dream…but I don’t want it if it makes me lose him. Oh my god, I have to say no, I can’t lose my brother”. At that you take her head very carefully and lovingly from your shoulder and stroke her cheeks with your thumbs to hopefully stop the overthinking. “Sweetheart, is there really something that you could do to lose him? You could kill somebody for all I know that he would help you hide the body and defend you from anyone that dares to accuse you of such a thing.” A tiny smile forms on her lips at that, she knows it’s true “He could never hate you for fulfilling your dream, of course he’s gonna miss you, we all are, but he has and always will be your number-one supporter. I’m sure he’s already ordering ‘My sister is a genius and yours isn’t’ t-shirts, if he does, please tell him I want one that says ‘my friend’ instead of ‘my sister’ and I want mine with a picture of your face on it, okay? My point is: we have to get you ready and pack so you can go, humiliate everyone with your knowledge and come back to us, your proud and annoying family”. You cleaned her tears, pecked her on the cheek and took her to the wardrobe to finish the bags. 

In the morning Evan, Barty, Regulus and Dorcas found you asleep with the packed luggage on the foot of the bed, woke you up with breakfast and rushed you out the door. In the blink of an eye, all five of you were watching Pandora on the train waving your final goodbyes, throwing her kisses and shouting your pride. Cassie and Reg had even made themselves ‘Pandora merch’, as they liked to call it, with a ‘PANDORA IS BETTER THAN YOU’ and ‘HOT GIRLS GET SCHOLARSHIPS (like Pandora)’. Once the train left, the moment you’ve been expecting since you saw their outfits finally came, “Seriously? You couldn’t have told us? Or made one for us, too? You made it look like you love Fairy more than us?” Barty had been calling Pandora ‘Fairy’ since they were kids because when they first met, at 11 years old, he thought she was an actual fairy and asked her for a wish. He had even brought her to Evan saying he “found a fairy in the woods so now they could make friends with her and get everything they ever wanted”, let’s just say that Evan laughed at him for a whole year and the nickname stuck.

“Well, maybe we do”

“Fuck off, Meadowes” He wanted to sound angry, but the thought of his sister being so loved kept bringing a smile to Evan’s face.

Those would be six very long months, but none of you could be any prouder of her.

Thank you so much for reading <3

[typewritingyip]

Here we are, new chapter, just in time for dinner. 😌

Sorry if this is excessively large, I may have gotten a little carried away (○.○)

"No pilot would be sent on this mission if they were deemed stable enough to maintain the fight till the end of their estimated lifespan."

Fuckers, the fucking bastards guess what u hoes now you have like most of what is high command of a bunch of traumatized old mechs with the specific thing you are doing going for your heads.

"He hadn't noticed the buzzing feeling that was running over his skin, stopping at his bare shoulder while still covering him"

Uhhhhh 👁👁

"Like pupils after a concussion, the dent in his head wasn't exactly pretty."

"You feeling okay Raj'?"

Ofc, like, you have a concussion, and the first thing you do is go and look for your BF, lovely, peak romance. Hound is no better.

"Steady, we're almost back then Knockout or one of the other medics needs to get a look at you."

Knock out is going to kill you, Hound, if he had the chance and if they're still at war.

'they all looked like the walking dead"

Far more literally than you probably thing.

"You threaten my life again and I'll kill you.

Oh, there is it.

"Knockout stood frozen after that, staring down at his hand and flexing his fingers lightly. After all, humans hadn't been known to have EM fields."

Will he try and get a glimpse of BD EM after this revelation? Let's see in future episodes. ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ)

""Sir, look, it was just an overly long mission." He winced again when the light swept across his vision again."

Oh boy when I read this I was like "Oh he's hallucinating again, don't he"

"you might have a concussion"

Now you two can have matching concussions, congratulations 🎊

"My wife is expecting me for dinner after...

...you're lucky to have found one who saw the appeal.""

Oh Hound 😔 at least you actually found someone.

"Shockwave was the beast of all MECHA pilots' nightmares. His own included most nights."

Shockwave mention ≧ヮ≦ and ofc he's this messed up.

"along with the hard drive looking thing he'd pulled from the Quintesson ship,"

Nuh uh, I'm not forgetting this, never, even if is not that important.

"to Mirage and the bot's arm came around him far too easily, shell-shock."

That cybertronian need to grab your human and just *hugs*

"Years of fighting side by side when comms were down meant the subtle changes were obvious to him. They both were fighting their own demons. Of course today would get to Simon, things like this always did"

Idk why I have the impression I have read this before. Im probably going crazy or having a deja reve 🧍‍♀️

"He'd been there and Sideswipe had been at school...Sides knew what it felt like when the ceiling came down on top of him."

Bye, Im gonna cry.

"A mix of MECHA stamps and military imprints peeking out from under the normally painted plating"

Oh, so that quite explains Knockouts insistence, like, is not a nice thing to see. They genuinely need to have a talk about this, from both point of view, bc for more annoying and disrespectful(not the word but english is just not englishing) the humans may find their behavior, I think they are undestimating or can't simply being themselves to comprehend the horros made pre-war, like, they are ignoreing the mechanical part of it (this depends on what would implement in your story)

"This sucks." Breakdown almost cracked a smile, American slang was always fun to hear, reminded him of movies he'd watched with his brothers"

Such a mood, sometimes it's so surreal but in the way I thought "Oh is a movie, maybe the insult can't be that heavy" and then realized Americans just don't have that much swear words. (●´⌓`●)

"A nearby speaker bleated out something that sounded vaguely like English and they all whipped their heads towards it staring before starting to laugh."

Yipi ≧ヮ≦

"MegOp, and Megatron and Hound interactions again! Yay"

LETS GO MORE OLD MAN IN LOVE YEAAAHHHHH

"last five parts of part one are going"

Oh girl I will be waiting for this and enjoy each one of them as if it was the last one 🗣

Thanks for posting new chapter, take care <3

Here we are! I love going over your little analysis, it’s so joyful to me.

Ok.

I mean.. yeah. And there is still so much we don’t know about Arcturus.. ☺️

Yep.

Mirage is so soft in this moment, he doesn’t really know where he is, but he’s soft.

I mean, yeah. Knockout and Hound will butt heads till they grown an understanding. Which will takes a while.

Hehehe. Honestly though, Hound saw they all looked grey and said “fuck”.

With a scalpel!

Tune in next week for the conclusion, Woody’s finest hour!

Yeah. I’m glad that the hallucinations are still like.. confusing, cause they’re meant to be.

Lol. Hound has had many over the years, but not rn. Love that tho.

Now maybe.

Shockwave mention in main Arcturus! 😱

☺️.

Just.. hugs except like.. Hound thinks Denial is a river in Egypt.

I’ve honestly probably written that same thing before. 🤷‍♀️ It’s been like.. 150k words just in Arcturus One.

Hehehehe ☺️ I try to get you to that point.

Oh yeah, Arcturus is meant to be a story of cultural misunderstandings. Like.. actual living mechanicals v organics are going to have these VASTLY different views.

Yeah. One F-Bomb per PG-13 rating. ._. Arcturus could never.

Hehehe. Yeah.

MORE OLD MAN LOVE!

Well. I have like.. 7 parts before things get crazy.

And I’m glad you loved the new chapter!

[ghostsinmachine]

well I have to admit that I was pretty obsessed with Will’s cute little fangs from the first time I saw it,glad Mack did that too(whaat?) The whole work is fascinating I had to stop couple times in the middle of reading to roll on the ground, the progression of vibes were so subtle,you worded it in a beautiful way that is very engaging even for a non-English speaker,definitely love it 😘 Maybe there's no sequel but IF we got one,like,would they bring up the kiss someday？meanwhile still calling each other dude lol

tysm for reading!!! so glad to hear you liked it and that it was still a good read for a non-native English speaker :) will smith hockey fang enjoying surpasses all barriers :)

so there is no sequel in the works bc i actually never thought that far, and also i'm indecisive. HOWEVER, after having thought about it a bit, a hypothetical sequel would probably go either one of two ways, which i'll go into after the cut to prevent clogging up people's TLs bc i have can't-shut-up disease lol:

Scenario 1: they start fucking

this is a scenario in which they start regularly "hooking up" except it's just like. giving each other bad handies on the road as roomies and also kissing in the grossest way possible. they like it but also it's just that neither of them are good at it, so c'est la vie. and both of them are like. this is fine. this is just buddies. [smitty voice] we will stop this when we get girlfriends, which theoretically should not be hard bc we're like. famous athletes now or whatever. except they kind of have no game, and also aren't trying very hard to HAVE good game bc sometimes u nut so hard from ur buddy's too-tight handy that it's a little mind-blowing and like u know what. not thinking about it. this is fine. everything is so normal.

and they're also not idiots so they're a little self aware about the fact that this is very weird, but they both refuse to say anything about it bc it's like [if i put it into words it becomes real] and so sometimes they make eye-contact in the middle of it and will thinks they have a moment of understanding pass between them, except mack is rlly just like [wow look at that he came before me that's ten-seven to me i think i'm winning at sex??] and it doesn't become real to mack until he sees will all giggly with one of his like. 80 other boyfriends (idk like zeev or leno or gabe or musty take ur pick) and he's like. wait that feels soooo bad. and he gets all sulky about it. and so all the while will's like wtf is wrong with mack, mack is having a come-to-jesus moment like [mack voice] maybe my desire to stick my fingers in will's mouth is like. emotional horny in addition to regular horny!!! and somehow he ends up communicating this to will in the clumsiest way possible who tries to play it cool but can't, and then they live happily ever after having bad sex for the rest of time.

Scenario 2: they do NOT start fucking

this is a scenario in which mack tries really hard to play it cool after the fact, and will's sort of just there, really smug about the fact that now he knows mack's like. into him. and so bc he's a teenage boy who ostensibly has seen a Lot of porn, he's like. [will voice] hey what if i start putting things in my mouth suggestively, like this popsicle, or this pen. and it's actually like. deeply unsexy and honestly kind of cringe, except mack is also a teenage boy and he's like [mack voice] Into It. also he's incapable of hiding anything he's feeling in his face so he looks at will all clearly hard-up and dismayed about it.

except a couple of days go by and mack isn't doing anything about it, and will is getting kind of sick of the whole playing it cool thing, because okay maybe he's just misreading everything. maybe mack doesn't want this. okay. okay. so he stops doing all that (thank god). but then one day while he's just like. idk. sitting in his car waiting to pick mack up for morning practice he's got his necklace chain in his mouth kind of thoughtlessly and mack gets into the car and is immediately so hard that he gets nauseous and is all like. [mack voice] dude Why Are You Doing This To Me. and will is like. what do u mean, because this time he actually has no idea what he's doing, and also he's kind of worried about how hard he's flopping on the team and wondering if mack is going to like. drop him as a friend bc he's flopping so hard.

and mack hooks a finger around the chain in will's mouth and sticks his finger back in there without asking, and now will's hard in the driver's seat of his car at eight in the morning and they have really long awkward eye contact before mack eventually withdraws his hand silently and wipes all the spit on his pant leg. and then will turns on his driving playlist which is just like. katy perry's "roar" and they drive to the rink in silence.

then after practice mack gets will to drop him off at jumbo's and is like. okay i think WE need to get this out of our systems. [mack voice] maybe it will be good for our hockey. except wil knows that he really means maybe it will be good for YOUR hockey, so you can stop flopping so hard. and so he's like [will voice] well if it's for hockey. and they have bad sex about it and nut so hard that they sees stars. and nothing gets resolved emotionally!!!

The End.

SO YES. these are the two ways that that could have gone i think. of course in both scenarios there are constants: they are bad at sex, and also emotionally unintelligent. and also they do continue calling each other "dude" and "bud" and it's all very tender.

sorry for rambling :") and who knows, never say never about a sequel. i DO plan on writing more for willmack at the very least!

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Bayverse Headcanon: What kind of music do they like?

Idk why I had to do this, but I just had to.

Also, one day I might make more detailed versions of these scenarios.

Warning: Long af, spelling bc I'm dyslexic.

—----------------------------------------------------------

Leonardo:

There are a few sides to the leader in blue. The part that sits in the dojo for hours, meditating in complete silence. Probably one of the few things he had to practice on - meditating with noises all around him. And then there’s the part of him that listens to music, while doing mundane things. Whether it would be cleaning his room, taking a shower, a warm up before training or just chilling in his room or on the rooftops. Leo do enjoy music a lot, he just has clear rules for when he can hear it. No modern music in the dojo! Martial arts should be honored, and to do it in other that silence would be an insult to the arts and the old masters. But outside of the dojo, it would be possible to find Leo with a pair of headphones on every once in a while.

Leo is a rock kid. Not heavy metal - no - that is just not Leo’s kind of music. But old school rock and maybe even glam rock. It was usually music with prominent guitar or bass that he often found himself listening to. It kind of fitted the way he saw himself. Th stoic leader on the rooftop, fighting with an edgy soundtrack in his head. Edgy and cool being the way he described it in his own head. It gave him a slight tingle in his stomach, when he jumped from roof to roof with his headphones on, listening to certain rock songs. He felt like a true leader, jumping high over people’s head, listening to “Zitti E Buoni” by Måneskin. When really feeling it alone in the shower, with the same song booming from his blue bluetooth speaker, he would channel his inner Damiano David, singing along to the fast part without any mistakes. Now, Leo is not usually the one to sing along to songs. He doesn't even hum that often, but when he does, it is usually in the shower. But there was this one time Raph walked past the bathroom, while Leo was screaming his heart out to a Måneskin song. Usually Raph would find a way to make fun of his brother for such a thing, but this time Raph decided not to, mainly because it didn’t sound near as bad as Raph though Leo’s singing would do.

Another artist Leo would be singing along to in the shower is Micheal Jackson. He might even do a few dance moves, but he would NEVER IN HIS LIFE, do them outside of a locked bathroom.

One of Leo’s favorite bands had to be Blur. He really liked Damon Albarn’s voice and the guitar of Graham Coxon, and would often find himself listening to them before going to bed. At one point, Leo even tried to sneak out to see all of Blur play live. Did he get in? Yes. Did he watch them from somewhere just below the roof? Yes. Did the bassist spot Leo, blink in confusion, only to look back up to find the spot Leo had been hiding in empty, with Leo having fled the scene? Yes, and that’s why Leo doesn’t do concerts anymore. But he never told his brothers. Mikey would not be happy to know that Leo had sneaked into a concert, while having told Mikey time and time again that he wasn’t allowed to.

Leo has a thing for languages when it comes to music. He grew up in New York City with English as his first language, with Japanese from Splinter following right after as his second. He decided to learn Spanish, just in case it would get useful, and since he had an Italian first name, he also learned Italien. That would probably explain some of his love for Måneskin. But Leo just really liked languages. He doesn’t have to understand the lyrics in order to enjoy it. One prime example of that is the song “Stefania” by KALUSH and Kalush orchestra, even though it is hip hop in genre. Did Leo understand any Ukrainian? Nope. But did he have a general idea of what the song was about, and found the Ukrainian language beautiful and interesting? Yes, very much. He found the courage of Ukraine inspiring, and would often use that inspiration in his training, which is why this is one of the very few songs he will actually train to outside of warm ups.

A true bedroom song for Leo is “Demoni” by Joker Out. He wouldn’t do much while listening to that. He would just lay in bed with headphones one, eyes closed while either bobbing his head or right foot to the beat. Leo isn't much of a dancer, but more a bobber. That was usually how his brothers knew if he liked a certain song; he would bob his head slightly to the beat. That only fueled Mikey’s imagination, creating a picture in his head of Leo head banging in his room to heavy metal, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Stoic Leo didn’t head bang, but he did move at least his head or foot lightly.

Now, what does Leo’s brothers like about his music taste? Well, to be honest, most of the time they weren’t too sure what kind of music Leo liked. They did know that he was into rock, and they knew very well that at this point that he liked Måneskin and Micheal Jackson. But there was this one time while driving the garbage truck, that Leo somehow got in charge of the aux. None of the guys really knew what to expect, but “Gladiator” by Jann wasn’t it. Mikey even said something along the lines of; “emo Leo doesn’t listen to My Chemical Romance”, causing Leo to remember once again, why he normally didn’t want to be in charge of the aux, and liked keeping his music to himself.

Raphael:

Raph listens to music quite often. Probably not as often as Mikey, but still at way more than Donnie and Leo. One of the main reasons why Raph listens to so much music is - you probably guessed it - training. He would often lift his weights to the beat of the music, in a way that most humans could only dream of doing. But he would also listen to music on his own, either riding his motorcycle through the streets of New York City at night, or while knitting in his room.

A favorite song of Raphael’s to ride his motorcycle to was “Would You Ever” by Skrillex and Poo Bear. Swerving in and out of traffic, causing people to yell in anger in his direction, or causing groups of girls to giggle and point at the mysterious bad boy that just rode past them. Covered in a helmet and covered in a big leather jacket and cloves, he looks like a big hunk of a man, showing off his motorcycle. But would Raph play his music out loud while riding down the street? Normally he would not. But there was this one time he just couldn’t help himself. Stopping at a red light, Raph found himself beside an open roofed car, filled with giggling human girls. Most of them were tipsy, and Raph wouldn’t be too surprised if the girl in front of the steering wheel was too. Obviously, they had something for big guys, as they started asking about his name, how old he was, where he lived, or if they could get a ride on his motorcycle. Or if he would come ride with them. Raph didn’t say anything, he just pressed a button on his motorcycle, causing the music to disconnect from his helmet, and started playing from his motorcycle speakers. He saluted them, just as the light turned green, riding away while the girls stared at him in awe. In his opinion, it was very much worth it.

Raph has quite a few songs he liked lifting weights to. One of them being “Hello” by Will.I.Am. When Raphael is lifting weights, he will do it proud and loud, playing his music on a red speaker, much to the annoyance of Leonardo, who very much wants to meditate. When it came to boxing, Raph would often listen to Eminem, hyping himself up with the music or the angry lyrics, causing Mikey to ask him what the hell Eminem had done to him, since he would get the need to hit something whenever he heard his voice.

Raph would almost always find a reason to listen to Eminem. When Raph was angry and wanted to hit something; “Kamikaze”. Should Raph ever find himself mad at a woman; “Farewell”. Was Raph ever in a good mood and just wanted to dance and have fun; “Shake that”. But somehow, when Raph was sad, he wouldn’t listen to Emniem. If he was sad and decided to box, he would listen to The Weeknd. Mikey caught on to that pretty fast, and would do his little brother duty to bring up Raph’s mood, whenever he would hear the voice of The Weeknd from Raph's room.

Like Leo, Raph would also listen to music while showering. But it was while being alone in the bathroom, that Raph would listen to much that wasn’t often associated with big angry muscle men like him. It would often be more pop than electronic or hip hop. And god, how Raph hoped none of his brothers would hear him sing along to “i don’t wanna talk about love”, by Micheal Medrano. Raphael could just shut up and shower in silence, but nope, a man got to groove in the shower. Luckily for Raph, only Donnie had heard him once. Had Donnie laughed his ass off as soon as he got to his room afterwards? Yes, oh my god yes he had. But did he tell Mikey and Leo about it? Nope, he did not. But he did tell April and you about it though, and what a laugh you guys had over the phone.

Raph would never admit it to anyone, but he did listen to Madonna, and he did enjoy it. It started with “Future” by Madonna and Quavo, and before he knew it, he was sitting in his room enjoying both “Like A Prayer” and “Like A Virgin”, which led to him singing “Hung Up” in the shower. Madonna would lead to Dua Lipa, and before Raph even realized what was happening, half of his playlist would be pop power women. Loreen, Lady Gaga, old Miley Cyrus songs. And did he know the lyrics? Oh yes he did. And one time, his brothers would catch him listening to at least one of them.

It was one of those days where each turtle seemed to be doing their own thing, which left Raph alone with his work out equipment and his speaker. As usual it started out with Eminem, Juicy J, Kanye West and others, before suddenly “Rendez Vouz” by INNA. That caught Mikey’s attention, and once he heard and saw Raph dance and sing along from his hiding spot, he went to find Leo and Donnie. And oh, how they fought to keep from laughing when Raph started feeling himself too much, working out to “Work Bitch” by Brittney Spears. After that, the phrase “get to work bitch”, was used quite often around Raph.

Donatello:

The purple scientist is very straightforward with his taste in music. If he likes it, he listens to it. He often has music playing while doing stuff in his lab. Sometimes calming lofi music in hopes that it could get him sleepy, but that usually didn’t work very often. Instead Donnie would often find himself listening to music from the indie scene, or what some people on the internet might call vibey music. Aesthetic music. What aesthetic, you might ask? Well, Donnie had no idea, and he most differently thought that the internet had no idea either. One of these so-called vibe or aesthetic pop songs was “HEAVEN AND BACK” by Chase Atlantic. Tapping away on his computer or connecting whatever hard drive, he found that the music helped him concentrate at the task in front of him.

Though Donnie didn’t seem to notice, his brothers did. Most of the songs he listened to had some not so happy lyrics. Often quite depressive, covered over with bass, keyboard, drum kit and sometimes even a saxophone. At one point Leo had brought this concern up with Donnie, causing the purple turtle shrug.

“Music is music. I listen to what I like”, he said, making another cup of coffee, before going back to work in his lab.

Those few times Donnie finally left his lab to relax in his room, he would read a book, listen to songs like “Quite Quitting” by NOT A TOY. To Donnie, music was mainly background noise, helping him to shut out his loud brothers so he could focus. What the lyrics said didn’t bother him too much. But there is one thing Donnie notices in most of the music he listens to; a smooth bass. It didn’t have to be a loud bass, often becoming part of the background with the drums, being overshadowed by smooth special effects or the singing. Donnie really like bass, but he also like smooth keyboards. There had been times where he had thought of getting a bass or keyboard, or maybe even make them himself. Mikey had his drum set, so Donnie might as well get a few instruments of his own.

Like Leo, Donnie liked to listen to music on the rooftops every once in a while. But unlike his brother, Donnie would usually stay at the same roof, remembering the names of stars, plants and constellations on the sky above him, while listening to songs like “ALIENS” by The Griswolds and Transviolet, wearing big soft headphones. Comfort over looks was important for Donnie, and being a mutant turtle hiding from the people of New York City, he didn’t give a crap about what his headphones look like. He thought they were nice, and he likes to wear them, and that was enough for him. His brothers, on the other hand, thought they were chunky and strange, to which he could only say it was good they were his headphones and not theirs. And it was at nights like those, that Donnie thought of how, maybe his brothers were right about his taste in music. He might be a little different from them, like how the alien was described in the song he was listening to. Not that he worried too much about it. He liked his head and the brain inside it, and with that came being different. That’s just how it was.

But not all the music Donnie listens to is filled with sadness and depression. Songs such as “Strange Clouds” by ufo ufo were a good morning song according to Donnie. When he woke up after finally having had a full night's sleep, he would listen to songs like that, while making breakfast or making his coffee. But then later in the day, sitting in front of the computer screen, once again not being able to sleep, he would listen to stuff like “Numb” by 8 graves. It was the lyrics from that song that had made Leo’s alarm bells ring. Mikey on the other hand wasn’t too worried. He just called Donnie’s music taste “calm edge lord, that doesn’t need to try hard”.

Now, if there was one artist Donatello had to say was his favorite, it would probably be Mystery Skulls, especially “Stronger”. A nice bass in front and center, backed up with synth all around. But Donnie also really liked Luke Black. Way different from all the other music Donnie would listen to, yet he really liked it. He would probably never admit it to his brothers, but he did listen to the lyrics of Luke Black, and he did find it more than a little interesting.

Michelangelo:

Mikey - or as he like to call himself; DJ Mikey - listens to music all the time, every day, everywhere, rarely turning down for the sake of any of his brothers, blasting it oh so loud on his orange speaker, only putting headphones on if his brothers threatened him. Or if Master Splinter asked him to.

He sang along, danced along, sometimes even to the embarrassment of others, like the many times he would scream along to “Turn It Up” by Oliver Tree, Little Big and Tommy Cash.

Mikey likes big, loud and up beat music. Something he can move his body to and be his little happy self. It could be anything from pop to hip hop, maybe even electronic or EDM. It would usually consist of him listening to the same few songs over and over again, until he is getting slightly tired of them, while his brothers are ready to rip their heads off, or maybe dig into their skulls to rip their ears out.

With Mikey being his small ADHD self, it wouldn’t be strange for him to listen to music made by people with ADHD for people with ADHD, making a big deal out of it. One of those songs being “Irresponsible” by Emei. There was this one time he almost made Donnie deaf by blasting the song into his ears while scream: "This song is made for me!"

Much to Leo’s annoyance, Mikey didn’t follow his rule of “no music in the dojo”, since Mikey often found it easier to train with music. This man can do all of his katas perfectly, if only “Hypnodancer” by Little Big is playing in the background.

If there is one thing Mikey likes, it is listening to “Pac-man” by Gorillaz, and making eating pizza into his own version of pac man, in which his brothers are the ghosts, and he has to steal pizza from them. At this point, his older brothers know to keep a good eye on their food as soon as that song starts playing... Or if he just plays Gorillaz at all.

Another thing Mikey likes when it comes to music, is when his brothers somehow enjoy what he’s playing. It had happened before, and it would most likely happen again. Mikey sat in the middle of the lair, happily dancing where he sat while reading comics, playing “Go Bananas” by Little Big. Raph didn’t growl at him from his bench press, but instead started to lift the weights on every other beat. Donnie sat at his computer, pressing the keys of his keyboard in beat with the song, probably without noticing. And Leo was bobbing his head ever so slightly while sharpening his katanas. This had Mikey over the moon, which only caused him to want to play more music for his brothers. Every once in a while they would let him do it, just to make their little brother happy. That was the main reason why Mikey is the aux guy.

When Mikey decided to skateboard, he would most often do it with old school hip hop playing. As a turtle in the sewers of New York, that only made sense to him, which is why he often would skate up and down the sewers, vibing with “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. And of course Mikey could rap the whole thing. Now, this was one of those few songs that Leo, Raph and Donnie didn’t mind Mikey playing over and over again.

But then there were those times on patrol where Mikey just would start singing out of nowhere. When he started breaking into “Sax” by Fleur East, complete with thought out dance moves in the way only Mikey could do it, Raph was ready to throw him off the roof and down to ongoing traffic.

It would be no surprise to tell you that one of Mikey’s favorite artists is Little Big, and that he also loves Gorillaz. But he would also quite often listen to the music that his brothers were playing. He very well knew that Leo loved listening to Blur, and that most of Raph’s playlist was made up of power women, and that Donnie’s secret favorite was Luke Black. And of course Mikey could sing every single word to the songs of his brothers' favorite artists, being the little attentive brother that he is. And because his music taste had room for more than theirs had.

—----------------------------------------------------------

You can tell I’m European, can’t you?

[standgrand]

hiiii!

i just want to remind you that your "i love you" + landoscar christmas daily writting challenge's such a bold move bc i just can't with such quality and consistency! Kudos 2u, i really mean it

just have 3 questions for you:

1 - after the challenge, do you still want or have plans to continue the plot further or we should expect some closure?

2 - how hard do you think it's to write some of the spicy scenes? As a non english speaker myself, what kind of obstacles that's expected during this kind of development?

3 - can i dream of a chapter (even if its one) when lando takes full charge of oscars' desires? asking for a friend (the friend is me who imagine the switch of their dynamic for a day)

I'm sorry for the overwhelming ask, maybe i'd been carried away......

Hiiiii omg thank you for the ask I've been dying to talk about my work like this !!!

I'm reaaaally really glad you like it thank you

Sooo firstly ! This little Christmas challenge takes place in the whole serie I started for Zandvoort so I'm almost 100% I will continue to expand the plot further with the upcoming season. I can't imagine closure for now at all. The whole story (the serie) has a timeline :)

Then, I was so scared about writing spicy scenes at first because, for sure, English isn't my first language (but I'm still speaking and writing it fluently) but I think the only thing to so is just to write how you want it first, without changing or upgrading thing and then you just read what you wrote amd change it until you like it. I do think the obstacles are, first and foremost, the scary feeling of messing the writing, but I genuinely think that it's proper to each one of us. It's just a challenge you take, and you might surprise yourself. That's what I did !

And finally ! I was thinking of doing it, a change of dynamics, but I wasn't so sure because I've had Oscar as a top since I started, but it might be a great thing to try in the future though! I don't think I can make it fit in my Christmas challenge, but while writing this answer, I can definitely picture it in the next thing I planned !!! So yeah, why not? I'd like to try and write this !

Thank you for all your questions ♥️ ❤️

[codename-adler]

Oohhh a French speaking AFTG fan!

Can I ask what’s the general opinion on the Marseille accent? What do Canadians think of it? Is it fancy? Or rough?

ouhh what a question anon! i'm tagging @givemethedamnflowers so she can help me out too if u want to <3

also i don't speak for all Franco Canadians / Québécois. fiy. ya know.

as a Québécoise first and foremost (Canadian comes 2nd in how i view my identity), and as someone WHO HAS A MOREAU FROM MARSEILLES in my close family, i love the accent. to me it's somehow much less grating than the Parisian accent (not the international French accent, that one's ok) despite being much more pronounced and how do you say... quirky? not weird, but like it's definitely peculiar. special! i like it a lot. it also makes me love Jean Moreau even more because it adds character, an edge, another area of fondness. i personally think it's very easy to spot, but contrary to the north of France, it's easier to understand.

i would say the most northern accents are much rougher, more difficult to understand than Marseilles or Paris, also because of the disparity in colloquialisms and regional expressions. but i do love them so. Bourgogne?? Normandie?? oh how lovely. and then down down down down south, neighbor to Marseilles, l'Occitanie (a fave)!!! oh and la Corse!!! so so beautiful to me. music to my ears. maybe bc, as Québécoise, like i said, i feel a little kinship with those regions' accents, bc the Paris/Île-de-France spit upon our accents as shitty, ridiculous, "not real French" or generally make fun of us, like we're somehow less smart bc of the way we pronounce things and speak with our accent. in my experience! and trust me, i've had a lottttttt of 'em. so the little scene where Jean keeps being annoyed by Thea calling him 'Paris' when he's from Marseilles? ACCURATE & GOLDEN! made me smile.

that being said, as it has been discussed many many times in the fandom, characters like Neil, Kevin and Jean, and even Andrew and Nicky, have such wild backgrounds, with how much they move around geographically + their mixed heritage, that all of them must have unique accents you can't really pin down. Jean left Marseilles at 14, was homeschooled, then forced to learn Japanese then English, in West Virginia, from native Japanese speakers. he doesn't have the Marseilles slang, the refs; his French is stuck at that level and it can't progress, and he also probably loses a lot of it, breaking down over time. finding his words must be a a nightmare. imagine trying to translate a word that isn't even considered French nor translatable outside of Marseilles' region!!! also, how old were his parents? what generation of slang has he picked up by default? or was he, sadly, taught international French?

SO MANY QUESTIONS! UGH! aftg & languages, French specifically, give me a headache (and heartache) every time.

i would say, watch films and series! please! from every part of the Francophonie around the world! Belgium, Louisiana Cajun, Acadia, Québec, Marseilles, Niger... it's a beautiful language, despite his devastating shameful hand in colonization and racism. the way the people forced to learn and speak it to survive have all found ways to make it theirs in infinite ways that help the language evolve and become richer. French is as much theirs now, if not more. French is much more that than the Republic. French is not Paris.

thank you again anon for allowing me to go off on a tangent, and apologies if there are any mistakes, misinformation or harmful things. please let me know kindly and i'll own to it and correct anything that needs correcting!

[ranahan]

i've been pondering how mando'a-as-first-language speakers might tend to parse [θ] and [ð]... we know <x> = <sh> thanks to ryan kaufmann (which i'd say must be canon enough since traviss didn't contradict it) and [f ~ p] and [z ~ s] from Traviss, (and maybe <vh> = [f] at least dialectally a la Vhett -> Fett, but I'd prefer to think that's more a matter of Basic speakers parsing [ɸ] as [f] than [ɸ ~ f] being widespread in mando'a) but I don't think we have any data on how they'd tend to parse [θ] and [ð]. I like the idea of th-fronting where [θ] becomes [ɸ] and [ð] becomes [v ~ ʋ] (Kiwi English is allegedly developing this phenomenon), but since mando'a phonotactics don't seem to allow [ɸ] outside of a syllable-initial position (of course since vhe- words are the only example we have of <vh> the data is a biiit limited, but if we assume it's true) I do wonder how likely mando'ade would be to parse, for example, the [θ] in "cloth" as [ɸ], or if they'd be more likely to parse it as [t] or [s]. Tho I do also like the th-fronting bc I wanna distance <vh> from <f> as much as possible :') Not a cipher! 🗞️

On the other hand I'm a bit charmed by [θ] -> [s] as well, mostly bc I associate it with the Askie pronunciation of ת‎, historically [θ] which has in different regions either remained as such or become [t] (Modern Israeli) or [s] (Askenazi). But then the lack of [z] for [ð] (since [s] and [z] are not readily differentiated among mando'ade) makes it less ideal imo. I mean ofc they could be mismatchy, it's not like [ð] and [θ:] were replaced with other sounds neatly and evenly in Finnish (and there's that variation across dialects, which of course would be a thing among mando'ade as well--) But yeah, [ð] could be, if not [v ~ ʋ], then [d] or even [ɾ] or [l]... for obvious reasons I find the idea of the [ɾ] realisation pretty charming :')

anyway, uh, thoughts?

(yes i am thinking abt this bc loan words mostly)

(also. while generally i prefer [f] -> [p], ~kevhe [or whatever final vowel would be best...] for caf is much nicer than kep, lol...)

I’m afraid your ask is going to be better thought out than my answer!

I did think about the same thing, then thought about the option of ð being loaned as dh in Mando’a, and then got hung up in determining what the heck Mando’a phonology even is, and what do the dh etc. spellings stand for. And then never really got back to loanwords.

But now that I’ve found an answer that satisfies me, I do have a whole bunch of things I’d like to loan to Mando’a actually, because I for one don’t buy that a language of an empire, itself a creole (if you subscribe to that headcanon), does not have many loanwords. You know that joke about English mugging other languages and riffling through their pockets for loose vocabulary? I think it would be more realistic for people to make similar jokes about Mando’a, and how Mandalorians plundered half of the galaxy and half of the dictionaries too. (Yes, this is the hill someone else will die on.)

Anyways, yes I do have thoughts. Sorry this is going to be very long and rambling because these are more of immediate thoughts rather than something I’ve formed a considered opinion on.

Like you, I’ve also noted that vh only occurs in syllable initial position in the Mando’a dictionary. But! There’s a Mandalorian world called Ceravh, which as far as I can tell comes from Traviss. I’d give that even odds of being Mando’a or being (perhaps a Mandalorianised version of) a native name of the colonised world, which could indicate that Mando’a could use syllable-final vh in loanwords at least.

But anyways, another option I have thought about is that a word-final φ could get loaned as v. Even if Mando’a doesn’t allow a syllable final φ, the voiced counterpart v is very common in that position. So e.g. caf > kav. Or heck, how about h? > kah. Idk how sensible h would be, it just popped into my mind as something that could sound similar and is allowed in the coda.

Another option of course is that Mando’a could insert extra vowels into loanwords, like e.g. te reo Māori which basically keeps all of the original sounds and adds vowels until the word conforms to te reo phonotactics. So e.g. caf > kavha or kevhe or whatever the vowels would be. There’s this quote, which has a different context, but be used as a precedent if you wanted? “Pronouncing terminal consonants varies in songs. They often become extra syllables. For examples, tor becomes to-rah and tang becomes tan-gah to maintain rhythm and meter.”

On the other hand, loanwords, especially old ones, could also be subject to Mando’a’s habit of contraction. Which tbh seems as much fanon as canon to me in that canon shows some contraction and elision (especially in compound words), but fanon has observed that pattern and taken it as a licence to go an extra mile. I kind of love that kind of an emergency and it’s what got me interested in Mando’a in the first place. I digress, but I’m trying to say faithfully borrowing every single sound is not necessarily the way I’d go for Mando’a. Maybe borrowing syllables as the closest equivalents would feel better? Idk, maybe I’ll try a couple of different approaches with some test sets of loanwords and see what happens.

I do generally like f > p, but… Idk, the results don’t always compel me? They don’t sound unlike Mando’a, but also not exactly like Mando’a either? I mean kav feels more like Mando’a than kap to me. Same for vhervhek vs perpek (although for obvious reasons, perpek does appeal as a curse). But on the other hand, fan > pan vs van vs vhan? Not much of a difference. And Fi > Pai, Felucia > Pelucya/Pelusha, even Falleen > Palin/Paliin do sound good to me. This is probably because while there are words that end in p (like kotep, taap), they are pretty rare. While words ending in v or beginning with a p are a dime in a dozen.

I agree that Vhett being spelled as Fett is a transliteration from Mando’a to Basic, and not necessarily indicative of how Mando’a L1 speakers would adapt loanwords from Basic to Mando’a.

Re: θ/ð, I’ve previously considered t/dʰ, but I like both s and th-fronting better! Those would be the closest fricatives, wouldn’t they.

Mando’a doesn’t seem to have /z/, which seems to be an allophone of /ts/ rather than /s/, if you go by Traviss’s recordings. Or maybe it’s an allophone of /s/, if you go by some comments. Heck, maybe it depends on the dialect. So perhaps you could go with s/ts, or level them both as s? I guess it would depend on whether z gets loaned as ts or s?

Or go with th-fronting (θ > ɸ, ð > v) in syllable initial positions, and for the coda, either voice the θ > v, or add an extra vowel after it, or allow φ in the coda for loanwords. I think that at least for dialects that realise <v> as [β], th-fronting sounds really close. I like it!

And since some Mando’a dialects seem to have [b ~ v] (or perhaps more likely [v ~ β], or maybe some dialect has /β/ which is heard as /b/ in some others…), after making the rounds in Mando’a dialects, a loan word might even end up with ð > v > b.

Full disclosure, I also like how either would make loanwords a little less immediately recognisable. But on the other hand, loanword phonology is also affected by the speakers’ understanding of the donor language, which might bias e.g. /t/ over /s/. Idk though how much we need to nitpick realism in an artlang though. Enough to ground it, not so much the art goes out.

And then we of course have the loan words Traviss picked from English:

besom /ˈbiː.zəm/ > besom /ˈbɛ.sɔm/

Bergen /ˈbəɹɡn/ > birgaan /bɪɾ.ɡaːn/

TAB /tæb/ > taab /taːb/

hyem /jɛm/> yaim /ʝaɪ̯m/

charva /ˈt͡ʃɑːvə/ > chaav’la /ˈt͡ʃɑːv.la/

chebs /tʃɛbs/ > shebs /ʃɛbs/

scran /skɹan/ > skraan /skɾaːn/

scunner /ˈska.nɐ/ > skanah /ska.nah/

(Geordie) way aye /ˈwaɪ.eɪ/ or (Pompey) weee /wiː/ > wayii /wa.jiː/

dinny /ˈdɪ.nɪ/> dinii /dɪ.niː/

jack /d͡ʒæk/ > jag /d͡ʒaɡ/ ?

(I’m not counting mhi and kando from that linked post, since they—or at least kandosii—are pre-Traviss Mando’a.)

Bit of a guess at the pronunciations because I’m not a Geordie and Traviss doesn’t do IPA, but I’m getting the feeling that the vowel qualities don’t match up that well. I might have loaned Bergen as *bargen or *begen instead. Besom i > ɛ I can excuse as levelling the vowels to the same height, which seems like something Mando’a is prone to. ɛ > aɪ̯ is interesting. But generally, I’m not sure what I’m looking at here? Maybe just artistic licence?

Of course if actual historical loans, we’d have to consider that those words might’ve been loaned from a dialect or at a time when the pronunciation differed from modern/RP pronunciation. Plus I at least like to think that Mando’a itself has many different dialects, so I’d be willing to excuse a degree of artistic licence and inconsistency, especially when it comes to vowels which are more fluid to begin with. Afaik it’s also not weird for natural languages to exhibit even considerable variation in loan word adaptation.

Ch is loaned both as ch and sh. Syllable-final r seems infrequently loaned (birgaan) or not (chaav’la) or loaned as h (skanah)—perhaps this reflects the (non)rhoticity of the dialect from which the loans came from, because Mando’a does have syllable-final r’s. Otherwise the consonants in these words seem unremarkable.

Talking about r though, I think there are some words in Mando’a where n > r in certain environments (or at least that could explain some etymologies). I guess it wouldn’t be too much a stretch to extend that to d and maybe ð. You can hear [kote], [kode] and [koɾe] or the Republic Commando OST. Imo this is simply the effect of singing on pronunciation (I was a trained singer once upon a time, I could go on about this), but Traviss seems to have taken it as t and d being interchangeable, or /kode/ being the archaic pronunciation and /kote/ modern.

Also as an aside, I kinda want to work out the phonetics of Huttese, because clearly Huttese (or trade/pidgin/creole Huttese, whatever they speak as a lingua franca in the Outer Rim) has lots of Basic loanwords, and I think that many Basic loanwords would probably arrive to Mando’a via Huttese rather than directly from Basic.

tldr: You have seem to have thought more about this than me. Do you have more thoughts? I’m not sure how much sense my reply made; it was bit of a brain vomit. I’ll probably go read some things and come back to this later with hopefully more sense, but I wanted to reply now because I’m not sure how busy I’ll be in the near future.

P.s. you wouldn’t happen to remember where you read about <x> = <sh>, [f ~ p] and [s ~ z]? I mean I remember reading some of those same things, but it was at least a year ago and I don’t seem to have saved the source (whoops). I can probably look up the source myself if you remember where it was. Might it have been this forum thread? “So, Xaga might have been "Shaga" (incorporating that "sh" sound the Mando like) and Zuka could've been Suka.”

[rusofobnikocourek--check-bio-byi]

wanted to post this on my twt before trying sharing it here but that damn website is broken again[UPD: at least it WAS broken when i started writing this], so i'm uploading it here.

there are a few Ukrainian songs that kind of remind me of GDCG characters/ships. i really wanted to share those songs with someone but since they're in Ukrainian (and none of my Ukrainian friends have read gdcg.......) i decided to translate the lyrics and share it here/on twt.

NOTE: i didn't try to make translation rhymed because i wanted to preserve the meaning as much as possible. also the parts that are written in square brackets [like this] weren't in the original lyrics but they are obvious for native speakers because of how our language works. but i added those parts so that it's easier to understand + put them in brackets to indicate that they weren't the part of original lyrics. also note that there may be some minor mistakes bc English isn't my first language & i have attention problems which result in me not noticing mistakes even after checking text several times (i often notice smth AFTER it's been posted)

anyway.

the first song is "я знаю, чому ти плачеш"("i know why you're crying") by туди-сюди і смерть. and for me it sounds really Brausol(/Brsol?)-coded, with Brown(/Braun) fitting a role of a narrator-raven and Soleum being a guy who's struggling with his life(and whose struggles are being narrated) + is bothered by the said raven-narrator (who, surprisingly, knows a little too much about the guy's situation^^ just like someone in ch.120-- ahem.)

here's a link to the song:

(also for those who don't have spotify(maybe?) here's a YT music link⬇️)

and here goes translation of lyrics:

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

the second song is "втома і сміх"("fatigue and laughter") by після дощу. it's about a person who lost their way home. sounds familiar, right? so I don't think that i need to explain why i think that it's deeply Soleum-coded.

the song:

(YT music link just in case⬇️)

and translation of lyrics:

there are some more songs but i'm not sure whether i'll manage to translate them so for now i just post those two.

thank you for your attention and i hope you won't find my post annoying.^^

[uriekukistan]

hi i trust ur translations so i was wondering in 266 the first panel which is more accurate for what fushiguro says? “that's enough” or “you've done enough” ?

hi omg first of all thank you 🙏 actually i'm really glad to talk abt this bc it's such an interesting line. it's a very tricky translation honestly (megumi said the same thing in 251 and there were like 5 translations...), so this will be a bit long.

he says it twice in the chapter, but the meaning shifts due to context & a grammar structure that doesn't exist in english, even though he says the same thing. i'll put my translation first, and the explanation after bc idk who wants to read all that 😭

on page 1: "That's enough." on page 2: "But I've had enough."

also i HATE the "you've done enough" translation. i'll explain why in the rest of the post, but essentially, the focus of the sentence is megumi's feelings, not anything yuuji is doing...also the verb "to do" isn't even present here so,,,,,idk maybe that's just me.

basically what megumi says in japanese (もういいんだ), word for word translates something like "it's/i'm good already" or "it's/i'm good enough" (japanese omits pronouns often, so it's/i'm is up to context).

the thing that makes this translation tricky is the particle ん. it can be used for a few things, but in this case, it places an emphasis on how the speaker is feeling, which leaves the phrase up to interpretation a bit more, since it could be expressing a lot of different emotions. for megumi, i'd say it's defeat/resignation.

that's why there's so many discrepancies in translations, because translators are trying to find a way to carry that contextual emotion over into a language that isn't built to hold it. word for word translation here doesn't really do the phrase justice. it sounds very detached in english, comparatively

like megumi said the same phrase in 251, and it was translated several ways, but because of the very personal nature of the particle ん, i prefer "i've had enough," as a translation for this because it centers megumi and his feelings of defeat.

at the beginning of 266, i can see "that's enough," as a good translation because he's addressing yuuji directly and telling him that he can stop, basically. again, it's still very personal, so i don't really understand the "you've done enough" translation. the original sentence honestly doesn't have anything to do with yuuji. it's solely about megumi's feelings.

the second time, he actually says でも、もういいんだ (でも means "but" or "however" - not sure why it wasn't in the official translation 😀). the context has shifted to him talking about what he wants and what would make him happy, and the conjunction links the phrases together in contrast (then i'd be happy, but...), so personally, i'd go back to "but i've had enough."

hoping i didn't yap to much or that this wasn't boring.....i think things like this are a really interesting feature of the japanese language, and one of my favorite parts about it sjfkgh. unfortunately, it does mean a lot of things get lost in translation, or at least the full weight does.

thank you for asking tho omg i've been DYING to talk about this specific phrase

[kaybl]

Wally himself (Sailor Wally)

The hat is behind his pompadour, and yeah, he is somewhat the captain, but in the end Home is the one controlling the boat, since home IS the boat, but they get along, so Home practically does everything Wally asks him to.

What else can I say about him? Maybe that he is focused on the care of sea animals and species, the main objective of the show itself is to spread awareness of the sea life and all types of things that can be found in oceans in a more kid friendly way (I'm not a professional at writting so this might have no consistency sometimes, if it does, pls let me know 😭😭, plus my way of writting sucks aaaozksknwns)

Sailor Wally likes blueberries

Sailor Wally sometimes groups the entire tripulation to have the dinner, it's now a daily routine for them all to gather together and have a lovely dinner 👍

Sailor Wally is basically the leader, but since he isn't... the most ideal one for the role, he mostly leaves Frank in charge, this is kind of a joke in the show, where Frank arguments about why he think that decision is correct, and Wally agrees with him, making everyone think Wally was the one who tought abt the idea first (idk if I explained it correctly I suck at English 🤓🤓)

Sailor likes talking with Home when he is alone, which is most of the time

Sailor doesn't have the :3 face, this is for artistic purposes n bc I don't like drawing the :3 face, if you want you can still draw him with the :3 face tho

I'm still writting abt the au so this may have at least some stuff that doesn't fit, so sorry if it does

SAILOR SPEAKS RUSHIAN AND GERMAN LMAO, for every Russian and german speaker, I will not understand anything u guys make him say, so pls do it, I won't even have the chance to translate it with Google translate, so go on, no one will judge you guys 🗿🗿🗿🗿 (this is incredibly random but yeah, that's right)

[ravangie]

To your post about languages: YES! Very much so. I think it has to do with the fact that English feels less personal, because I didn't grow up speaking it. I realized I had an easier time expressing my feelings in English too, because it almost felt like there still was a wall between me and my feelings and it felt safer. In Russian, it feels like I literally rip my chest apart and fall naked to other people's perception. And it's definitely why you were first comfortable with the English "lesbian", but not Russian "лесбиянка". The English word doesn't have the same connotations to you because you didn't grow up with it and didn't live in the language as a kid, and so you take it only at its most basic denotative meaning: a homosexual woman. Whereas native speaker of both languages always feel the sexualized and negative connotations with which other people use the words.

(I studied linguistics so it's all really interesting to me)

This is also why I'm writing my story not in Russian, but in English (and also bc it would reach more people like that). When I tried writing a little snipped in Russian, it felt so... Cringe? Like too open, again. Too close to home.

Ok ok, GREAT to hear that it's a common thing! Definitely agree with you on the feelings thing. The wall analogy? Argh, YES!! Even though my vocabulary is much poorer in english, expressing my feelings is still easier, because it almost feels artificial that way. Like I'm speaking through someone else? Because it's not my native tongue.

Also agree with you on the connotations of words take. The first few times I was met with the word for "lesbian" in russian were either insults or pornografic terms. For the longest time I couldn't even SAY the damn word because of it. It felt like a dirty word. And of course I couldn't even fathom calling myself a лесбиянка :(

Again, because a second language feels like it doesn't come from me directly, all the words in it also feel like their literal meaning and nothing else. No personal expiriences added onto them. You are absolutely right.

I almost went into studying linguistics, so it's all very interesting to me as well, thank you for the food for though!!!

And to that one person who wanted a fic from me: maybe I should try writing it in english. I might turn out good at it hahah

[obsidianpen]

speaking of ai and the way that it's sort of, distinguishable from the human work... anon that works in digital advertising (if i remember correctly) pointed out that ai has a specific writing pattern and splits the “posh/overly peculiar” adjectives and words that sound unnatural. this isn't related to greyana (?) in any way, (and i'm sorry if this sounds a little out of context but i'm the anon on whose ask you responded with voldemort's character chart <33 MADE MY NEXT FEW WEEKS LITERALLY) but i just wanted to ask— since i've been reading fanfictions ever since i've gotten a phone, basically, and i've seen numerous amount of them in past couple of years that i've been reading them, but your specific style of writing is so.. i loathe that i don't know how to describe it, but it's so refreshing, somehow. because you have flawless words for everything, your sentences never seemed nonsensical or just thrown-in, and from reading your work alone i can tell that you're literate ASL. like— quality's immaculate, but at the same time i understand everything because the themes and the emotions are so brilliantly depicted, and don't even get me started on the characterisation, like i said.

and i'm so sorry if this all sounds so so confusing but 😭 what i wanted to ask is do you maybe have any advices on how you started out, how you manage to do it so well, is it all just pure practice?

since part of the reason why i mentioned AI writing at the start is because i feel like what i write can be considered as something an AI would write, because my first language isn't english so whenever i write, it often happens that i search “[word] synonym” and then i use a synonym of a word because i don't want my sentences to sound too— idk simple? like i feel like without doing that, the fanfic would sound like it's written by a 13 year old since my vocabulary's not really all that yet, but simultaneously sometimes the synonyms i use instead aren't really appropriate to be used in the context of the word that goes afterwards, sentence as a whole, etc.

all this confusing mess aside–

i really hope ur doing okay and taking care of yourself bc you're taking care of us lots these days in a way <3 (since i've seen lots of people who basically live off of reading the asks you respond to so frequently despite having loads of responsibilities in real life as well WHILE writing for us at the same time + under sm sm pressure. like. you're awesome literally idk how you do itt 😭i've never, not once seen you respond to anybody rudely no matter the question and no matter how insistent people are that you update to the point where it's overwhelming. ur literally my comfort author <//3 )

🥹 I love everything about this submission, thank you anon (though I am certain I have been rude to some people, mostly in jest, but these things happen when prodded) 🖤 and thank you for the comments about my writing, I do try really hard 😭

but in your case, since English isn’t your first language, I would say you should find a beta reader who is a native English speaker to be your proof reader, sounding board, etc! A real person to talk things through with. Much more helpful than anything AI can do, because they can help brainstorm about the plot too!!