#the most incorrectly pronounced of the three...

[3liza]

i said this YEARS ago when the 'vibes based literacy" discussion started because i had been reading about dyslexia to try to help my partner at the time, who was undiagnosed: the book about dyslexia that i was reading described precisely the techniques used in the "contextual guessing" reading education system, but as dysfunctional adaptations by dyslexic children. the contect guessing and memorization thing is a way of teaching entire generations of children to be functionally dyslexic, a profound and devastating disability, when they do not have dyslexia and do not need to have it. it's horrifying. it was how my partner read things, and watching him try to read something out loud was extremely demonstrative of the struggle he was having.

ken goodman probably had dyslexia and didn't know it, it's the most common learning disability in the world, an estimated 20% of all humans on earth have some degree of it.

In the paper, Goodman rejected the idea that reading is a precise process that involves exact or detailed perception of letters or words. Instead, he argued that as people read, they make predictions about the words on the page using these three cues: 1. graphic cues (what do the letters tell you about what the word might be?) 2. syntactic cues (what kind of word could it be, for example, a noun or a verb?) 3. semantic cues (what word would make sense here, based on the context?) Goodman concluded that: Skill in reading involves not greater precision, but more accurate first guesses based on better sampling techniques, greater control over language structure, broadened experiences and increased conceptual development. As the child develops reading skill and speed, he uses increasingly fewer graphic cues.

he's completely wrong, this not how fully literate people read. this is how dyslexic people read. fully literate people are using phonics and the alphabet all the time, that's how we read so fast and so easily, even texts that we're unfamiliar with or that aren't in our native language. i can scan a page of italian, french or norwegian and get the gist of it even though i don't speak the languages. i can sound out those words and pronounce them, even if im pronouncing them incorrectly, just by reading the actual letters and phonemes.

relying on context to predict which word comes next is what leads to the kind of aphasia dyslexics often exhibit not only while reading, but when speaking aloud. my partner would swap words that were contextually correct but not what he actually meant all the time. for example if he wanted me to hand him a blue comb lying nearby on a table, he would say "could you please hand me the green brush?" or if he was describing a cat he saw, he would often swap in another contextually-related word, one that sounded the same, like "bat", or one that was conceptually related but incorrect, like "dog". as a result i had to ask him to clarify or repeat himself many times to figure out what he was trying to say. it created profound problems for him and separated him from me and everyone else. the worst part is that he was barely aware of this. when he was driving it was extremely difficult for him to follow or give directions because he would swap out "left" and 'right" randomly.

you cant actually read like this.

She thinks the students who learned three cueing were actually harmed by the approach. "I did lasting damage to these kids. It was so hard to ever get them to stop looking at a picture to guess what a word would be. It was so hard to ever get them to slow down and sound a word out because they had had this experience of knowing that you predict what you read before you read it."

[haveihitanerve]

The Wrong Tesco Meal Deal:

Ok so one of yall made me cry and were terrific and you were anonymous so i cant tag you but i hope you see this you delightful little munchkin who told me you loved my commentary- Anyway i’m not doing the ones you suggest(yet) because I stumbled across this delight and I promise to get to yours because 🤭 you were so sweet and those are such a delight too but anyway to tide you over until then-

We start off with cackling, which is delightful as always- and omg aj and tom are like two fuckin… idk enemies to lovers typa deal- Tom looks at AJ first in an attempt to smile and laugh together and the second he looks away AJ glances over at him… idk why i noticed that but uh. Yea

The wrong meal deal. -whoever said that in the audience sounded genuinely hurt and like terrified and I hope whoever that was is okay now and healed from that trauma because she? sounded very upset

Sam settling in to maybe? stand up, but then sits down again

Tom taking initiative and standing

And waiting. 

Aj’s side glance up at him like “hm?” 

Luke immediately laughing. 

And waiting. 

Captions: [Tom just waiting for someone, ANYONE, to join him for the scene!]

AJ FUCKING LEANING OVER INTO SAM TO LOOK AT TOM BETTER AND NOT MOVING. He kills me, they all kill me. Omfg

And waiting

Sam wanting to get up, but also not ruin the bit, looking at Aj for help

Tom looking at Sam and AJ with positive loathing LMAOOO

Luke cackling and Tom shooting him a nasty look XD

Oh finally! Aj decides not to join the scene but at least help Tom out a lil lol

(once again starting with what is distinctly not the opening line and Tom interrupting him aggressively to correct it- making Aj flinch in surprise lol)

Sam also finally getting to join the way he’s wanted to for a while lol

(they left him alone up there for a full thirty seconds y'all. Thirty. Seconds.)

“Tuna and sweet corn?” With the amount of rage, and the small way in how Aj laughs, I’m assuming that this might just maybe be a jab at one of the other guys who has, in fact, eaten a tuna and sweet corn sandwich. 

“We’ve heard your complaints and we’re sorry!” Tom looking around like he’s unaware he’s in an infomercial 

“You'll have such flavor combinations such as:” and pauses and forces Aj to step in LMAOOO such a beautiful friendly dick move :) i love love love

“Uh, tshuner and pasta.” (im sorry its low hanging fruit)

“Thats right, tuna and pastar.” (sorry but how did they both pronounce the two separate words in the three word sentence so differently and incorrectly[i really cant be sayin this but shhhh])

“Inside a sandwich” sam has revealed to me that nothing is impossible- you can make a mild sentence sound sooooooo targeted and insulting its all about tone!

 “We have option like:” *smacks the side of Aj’s face for no reason* “uh fridges!” *seriously, he could have like tapped his leg or something, he didn't need to blindly swat his face* captions: [tag, you're it :D]

Luke exploding at AJ’s panicked “fridges” is the most relatable thing in the world, i flat spat out my water 

“We’re always watching- every little helps.” so thats terrifying and I will be using it- thank you

“Open the bottle!” *demanding, but sweet* “open the bottle!” *nice, polite, coaxing* “Open the bottle!” *encouraging* “Open the FUCKING bottle!” *unnecessary and mean and hilarious*

Tom: *stagecraft time* pshh. Sam: *boi wtf* thats a can! *still somehow polite and yet a middle finger if i've ever heard one*

Tom: *groan of despair*

“Yes. Its more tuna and sweet corn” seriously who brought tuna and sweet corn to lunch one day and is now never hearing the end of it??

Popcorn

 “Popcorn! Popco-popcorn! Popcorn? Popcorn.” Love how i could every thought behind each different popcorn. Thats a delight. Also the word doesn't look real anymore. 

Also during Aj’s like… mid life crisis over popcorn- luke just tilting his head like “yessss?” and Tom and Sam just cycling through the five stages of grief without bothering to answer

Oh and Tom mouthed “pop-” when it was first asked- i watched that singular second about seven times now. 

Tom is so confident sliding out first thing when they just betrayed him- but luckily sam has got his back oh yea

*offers popcorn to Tom, decides Tom isn't looking, eats it himself, jokes on him Tom was looking oh no*

Captions: [:P…. :-?] this is peak because its exactly right

Poor Tom ���� he needs to do more of these scenes with AJ who is relatively the same height so that his head can actually rest on his shoulder, poor baby his poor neck lol

Aj discovering the mic and Luke watching in interest

“I can feel it! :)” “shush.” Second time he’s been shushed, poor baby :( 

“Dun du dun dun! The Exorcist!” explosions of laughter from all three- oh i adore when AJ pulls a move that makes everyone break- he is uniquely I think one of the main ones to actually get Tom to break on stage and also swipe out Sam and Luke in one go and I love it

Toms slow, growing smile that he fights as Aj builds the “music” because he knows its coming, Sam managing to contain his slightly better, growing amusement shining behind his eyes, and Luke frowning in confusion

Then the way Tom’s shoulders flinch forward and then are forced back as he tries not to laugh and restrain his ribs from popping XD, Sam’s loss of the battle against his smile that he attempts to contain with a tongue movement but doesn't work, and Luke just exploding without any remorse because he’s off stage so he can

“🎶oooOOoooh there was a priest!🎶” oh yea now Tom’s girl character gets to enjoy it- “oh yea!!” “Just gonna have a bit-” *steals popcorn that has been previously denied her, go queen*

“🎶and a devil girl🎶” I love Aj. Please never change. Sing-j!!!!

“🎶and the devil girl could turn her head all the way ‘round!🎶” i don't think aj has seen the movie… just a hunch… maybe

“Before its happened-” *genuine laugh break from Sam again, lovely*

🎶and at the end of the film he jumps out the window and🎶 aj just ignoring their criticism like a king and spoiling the whole movie- and i do believe this means he has seen the film, good good great

Tom already preparing the second he gets cut off to try and not laugh- licking his lips, biting his lip, pulling a face, adorable

(and sam just giving up and grinning away)

Oh this is too much fun- Luke hasssss to join :D 

“🎶your mother sucks cocks in helllll!🎶” Luke, as a first line intro into your part, i love. 

“🎶is a line of dia- *Luke breaks and has to bend away from the mic* -logue thats coming up later-🎶” (i must admit, I, personally, have never seen the film- so please, do let me know if this is a true fact or not. Thank you. )

Tom has discovered the cheat code- if his hand is on his chin, he can cover his smile- genius. 

Tom finally gets his head on Sam’s shoulder!!!! Yay!!!! (albeit still- his poor neck lol)

The way Aj and Luke are watching Sam and Tom’s little bit is everything to me, literally on top of each other just watching like proud parents, adore

“Something wrong with your tongue?” “well yeah but thats separate-” both laughing, joy

Aj- i honestly don't even know anymore- playing the preacher???

“This feels inappropriately sexy.” Yes. yes it does tom. Also the person in the audience who groaned in agreement is my spirit animal

Tom and Sam’s conjoined confusion and concern at Luke mumbling sobbing/moaning???

And aj literally watching him like he’s the love of his life- not a single thought behind those eyes just 0_0

AND SCENEEEE!!!!

Jesus fuck it’s been a second since I’ve done these and I apologize :). Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did, and I hope to see you guys again (sooner, maybe, hopefully, probably not, maybe, I hope, I love you, sorry) and thank you for reading as always

BYEBYE!!!!!

@Dawn-speckled @Snek-of-eden @bewilderednobody @scattered-stardust 

Yall its been a minute so idk… but just in case :) 

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Do you think any of the creeps that are originally not English, still have small difficulties with certain words? Like maybe using the wrong past tense or not pronouncing some words incorrectly?

I feel like the answer to me would be Helen. While he is presently fluent in both French and English (born in France) I feel like he’s probably a little shaky on English sometimes. He was out on his own after killing his parents at 14, and he didn’t meet Slender until he was 17, so he had three years by himself to try and keep learning things.

I feel like he could partially speak English by the time Slender found him, but I think he had to really focus on learning things after being introduced to the mansion, since Slender homeschools all of them if they never finished their education.

I think he’s good most of the time, but he definitely still has a bit of a French accent and sometimes has a hard time saying words, and I do see him sometimes just forgetting what a word is in English. I think the problem for him is if he forgets something in English or messes something up he gets embarrassed and doesn’t want other people to know so he just tries to figure it out himself.

[1kazul]

intro post but i'm a year late

hey! i'm kazul, nice to meet you :}

if incorrectly-capitalised stuff annoys you i highly suggest you continue scrolling now

shoutout to @/forest-fairy-wren. random (yet lovely) person i saw the blog of today who happened to have an intro post which inspired me to finally make one myself.

Important things:

- i'm transmasc! he/him pronouns, any neos (no pref) as well

- i'm a minor, please don't ask me for money or be nasty. you will get blocked.

- it's pronounced "kuh-ZOOL"

- i'm a furry and a questioning alterhuman. if you're remotely against either of these identities please dni

- i was raised on david bowie music and taught that he is love and he is life (/mj) so uhhm thats probably relevant somehow

- please use tonetags when saying something to me that could be perceived multiple ways! if you're not sure if that's the case, use a tag!

Stuff i like v

Music: bands/artists

david bowie (obv) and most 70s/80s rock + new wave bands (ask me if i know ppl you like!)

mother mother

radiohead

alex g

noah kahan

the backseat lovers

boywithuke/chandol (!!)

hozier (!!)

conan gray

sleeping at last

coldplay

billie eilish (sorta)

IDKhow

saint motel

lemon demon

will wood (both with and without his tapeworms)

jack stauber

fleet foxes

the barr brothers

death cab for cutie

all the epic the musical people

specific songs i love (you're seeing into my soul here):

sailor song - gigi perez

world burns - lokel

strawberry wine - noah kahan

unknown/nth - hozier

problems - pinegrove

runaway - boywithuke

Fandoms i'm in (in order of most stronglyness upon making this post):

epic the musical

the x-files

the disastrous life of saiki k.

dead boy detectives

brooklyn nine nine (jake peralta is Literally (/nsrs) Me)

doctor who

dandadan

supernatural

Stardew Valley

good omens

cyberpunk edgerunners (haven't played the game)

helluva boss (not a fan of hazbin hotel, really)

koe no katachi/a silent voice

the wild robot

legend of zelda, mostly botw & totk

bbc sherlock

httyd

[def more that i forgot and will add when i remember]

fun facts abt me because i can't think what to add next:

im not british (or anything non-american). in sixth grade my friend and i discovered bbc sherlock, got hyperfixated on it, and decided to start spelling things the non-'merican way. he's dropped it, but the habit has stuck with me since.

i really like boba tea and fully believe that tapioca is better than the popping pearls (the flavor of the latter is just lost in the tea, and there's barely any texture, what's the point??) (gen confused. /srs)

big fan of the sky. specifically the night sky but i like the sky in general. i love to take pictures of cool scenes in daytime and ones of the stars. sometimes i post them here.

I'm the drummer in a band that's part of an organization in my local place of living. we're called 'God Save the Queer'. it's me (transmasc, remember?), and a lesbian couple. currently we're working on covering Days by mothermother, and we're planning to do some original stuff in the future :3

my favourite emoticon/text face is :}, as can be seen at the top of this post.

i'm working on learning ASL! for funsies, to support the deaf community, and bc sometimes i hate talking. inspired originally by A Silent Voice (movie mentioned in the fandoms section. it's a beautiful anime about a deaf girl)

when writing does not need to be cohesive and understandable, (such as when texting) i love to use strange punctuation and capitalisation: (,,, , blah Blah ,, .example . Text Here.) my friends find it a nightmare. (or at least one has told me so :D)

i usually do exclamation marks in pairs. (!!) three seems too excited and fake, and one is rarely enough.

i really like the movie Fall Guy. the newish one starring ryan gosling. i would mention it in the fandoms section but i don't think there really is much of a fandom for it. i haven't gone looking, so i very well may be mistaken, i dont know. anyways yeah. fav movie atm and probably will be for a while (couple years mb. i'm picky.).

i'm orchidromantic, which means i feel attraction but don't want a relationship. fancy way of saying i have commitment issues :]

I have a scar on my forehead from my brother throwing a spoon around when we were younger. (my villain origin story frfr) (feel free to ask about it if ya care to know more /nf)

My tags!

kazzydoodles <- art stuff ( i barely ever post- i think i have two things on here that i've drawn lmao. but i might post more if i feel like it in la futura) (i don't think that's right.)

kazzyyaps <- my yapping posts! mostly talking about stuff going on in my life, or like random thoughts.

kazzy crashes out <- my vent posts. feel free to block this tag ^^

and that, dear reader, is the end. whether you read the whole post or simply skipped and ended up here, this is where you are now.

have a cookie 🍪. or if you don't want, or can't eat one, then have a wonderful day instead <3 (in fact, if you so choose, you may have both.)

:}

[v171]

English people say most things incorrectly, but I have listened to three audiobooks narrated by British women in the past week, and in every one the word "yogurt" has come up multiple times and the way it is pronounced makes me gag.

[prodigal-explorer]

how to write speech impediments

(this is part of my series, how to write children in fanfiction! feel free to check it out if you want more info like this! though this guide is mostly directed towards writing children, it is also helpful for writing about speech impediments for people of all ages, since speech impediments don't always go away in childhood.)

there are a lot of different speech impediments out there, but the main one i see represented in children in fanfiction is what's known as an articulation error, mostly in the letters "r" and "l". this leads to the child saying the word "playground" and pronouncing it like "p-way-g-wound". while this is a speech impediment that is common in children, there are other speech impediments that are just as common. here are a few:

1 - stuttering:

now, i see a lot of stuttering that is written incorrectly. most of the time, stuttering is not just repeating the first syllable of the word three or four times. stuttering is a condition in which your muscles twitch or move uncontrollably while you talk. a lot of people interpret stuttering as a nervous tic, but the term for that would be stammering. stuttering is a different ballpark. here are some possible symptoms of stuttering:

repeating sounds or syllables. this is the one i just talked about. while it is commonly the first syllable that is repeated, this isn't always the case, and this is only one symptom. here is a bad and a good example of this symptom in writing: -bad: "w-when will my leg f-feel better, d-daddy?" -good: "wh-when will my leg fe-ee-feel better, d-d-da-daddy?" there are a few subtle differences between the bad and the good example. the first difference is that instead of just the first letter being written in the stutter, it's the entire first syllable that is either being stuttered from the get go, or it is being developed through the stutter. this better illustrates for the reader what the stutter actually sounds like to a listener rather than just showing a reader that it's there. also, in the word "feel", the stutter is placed in the middle of the word rather than the beginning. since stuttering is an unpredictable and uncontrollable muscular movement, it is highly possible for a stutter to show up in the middle of the word versus purely in the beginning. this will make the stutter more accurate. the last difference is that there are more beats in the stutter than just one. not all stutters are the same, and sometimes, it takes longer or shorter for the muscle movements to stop. this also adds accuracy. 

holding or drawing out certain syllables or sounds, or pausing for a long time in between words. this one is a little tricky to write, but it is completely possible. this is when the word gets "stuck", so the word draws out for longer than what's intended, or there's a longer pause than what's considered normal. i'm not totally sure of the scientific reason why this happens since i don't see how a muscle spasm could affect the length of a syllable or pause, but if you want to write about it, i think that would make the stutter more rounded out. in this example, let's try combining the first symptom with this second one: -example: "wh-when will myyyy-...leg feel bet-better, d-d-da-daddy?" i changed the example a little bit, because too much stuttering at once can be overkill in writing. though it is possible in real life for stuttering to be word after word after word, it isn't always the case, and too much stuttering in writing can come across as mockery. anyway, in the word "my", the child draws out the letter "y", as their brain is stuck on it as it is trying to figure out how to create the words that follow it. again, this one is a difficult one to put into writing because it isn't a common stuttering trait, and it's hard to place. but if you want to, it would be an interesting one to try out. 

blocking. blocking is very frequent pauses in between words, whether it's a silent pause, or there's a filler word (such as um, or ah), that takes up the space. from my experience with stutters, when blocking is involved in the stutter, it is usually the primary trait in the stutter and the other possible symptoms are either absent or minimized. this means that if you did include blocking, it would probably replace a lot of the other stuttering symptoms that are in place. here is an example of blocking in writing: -example on its own: "when, uh, when will my leg, um, feel better, daddy?" -example mixed with other traits (not impossible, just less common than the former): "wh-when, uh, when will m-my leg feel, uh, better, d-da-daddy?" a common misconception with blocking is that it only appears in speech when the child is nervous, guilty, or otherwise in an anxious state of mind. though this is sometimes true, since emotions affect some speech impediments, this is definitely not always the case. all symptoms of stuttering, including blocking, can occur at all times, no matter how the child is feeling. also, common filler words vary based on location. for example, in america, the more common filler words are "um" or "like", while in western europe, "ah" and "uh" are a bit more common. 

word switching. this is the last specific symptom i will touch on, but i'm sure there are more. feel free to do your own research! word switching is especially common in children with larger vocabularies because they have more words to choose from. word switching is when the stutterer realizes they are struggling to get a word out due to the spasms, so they try to change the word into a shorter/easier one. here is an example in writing: -example: "it's actually a really c-co-com-com- hard thing to do." in the example, the child was trying to say a longer word, "complicated" or "complex", but the stutter was getting in the way, so the child switched to the word "hard" since it's shorter. something to keep in mind with word switching too is that it doesn't always work. and usually, word switching is a sign of embarrassment about the stutter, or frustration with the stutter, or a general rushing in trying to get the sentence out.



alright! now that we know a lot more about stutter symptoms, we can talk about the other characteristics of it:

-stuttering affects the whole body, not just the mouth. the muscle spasms can occasionally "spill over" to other parts of the body such as the face, neck, shoulders, and arms.

-sometimes, stutterers develop physical habits that they do while stuttering such as excessive blinking, avoiding eye contact, making certain facial expressions, or clenching the fists.

-emotions can affect stuttering. though stuttering doesn't only happen when one feels strong emotions such as fear and stress, such emotions can worsen stuttering, making symptoms more prominent. also, fatigue can affect stuttering. usually, relaxed and well-rested stutterers have less stutter symptoms.

-sometimes, stuttering doesn't occur during certain vocal activities such as singing, reading out loud, or talking to inanimate/non-human subjects.

-stuttering can lead to a lot of insecurity, which can attribute to mental health conditions down the line such as depression and anxiety.

congrats! now you know a lot about stuttering! feel free to do more research, this is just a basic guide to it. let's look at some other speech impediments now!

2 - articulation errors:

articulation errors are the most straightforward and common speech impediment traits. the trick to these, though, is knowing that there is a wide range of different types of them. articulation errors occur when people struggle to form certain speech sounds because they have trouble putting their tongue in the right positions to do so. lisping, for example, is a type of articulation error.

here is a list of different sounds that are common articulation errors:

the letter "l". this can make words like "library" sound more like "why-brary" or "i-brary".

the letter "r". this can make words like "tired" sound like "ti-oh-d".

the syllable "th". this can make words like "earth" sound like "ear-f", or words like "that" sound like "d-at".

the letter "s". this is known as lisping, and it can make words like "sit" sound like "th-it".

these next articulation errors are most common in children just learning to talk, so typically under five years old:

cluster reduction, which simplifies a word that has two or more consonants in a sequence. this can make words like "spoon" sound like "p-oon".

velar fronting, which is a complicated thing to describe, but essentially, it is replacing certain consonant sounds that require a certain tongue placement with other consonant sounds that require less effort to access. this can make words like "go" sound like "d-oe" or words like "cup" sound like "t-up".

final consonant deletion, which is exactly what it sounds like, not pronouncing the final consonant of a word. this can make words like "dad" sound like "da".

palatal fronting, which is essentially taking sounds like "sh" and "ch", and replacing them with a sound that is produced closer to the front of the mouth. this can make words like "sheep" sound like "seep", words like "chair" sound like "tair", and words like "bridge" sound like "brid".

there are more articulation errors than just these, but these are more common ones. now that we know a lot about articulation errors, let me tell you how to write them: don't. while for stuttering, it makes sense to write out the stutter, it's unnecessary and slightly offensive to write it out phonetically every single time a child makes an articulation error. instead, my recommendation is to only write it out occasionally, and to mention at a point in the story (not through speech) that the character has an articulation error. something else you can do is simplify the sound of the speech impediment, making it clear that there is one without writing out the exact phonetic errors. here is one bad and two good examples: -bad example:

"mama, my teef hurt! i don't wanna go to bed, i'm not tiohwd!" -good example #1:

"mama, my teeth hurt! i don't wanna go to bed, i'm not tired!"

four year old roman spoke with indignant sharpness, though he clearly struggled with pronouncing a lot of his syllables, leading to words that took a moment for virgil to decipher as he heard them.

-good example #2:

"mama, my 'teef' hurt! i don't wanna go to bed, i'm not tired!"

the key to articulation errors is subtlety. the issue with the bad example is that it sacrificed contextual clarity, flow, and respect. somebody who struggles with reading phonetics might not be able to understand that strangely written out version of the word "tired", and if somebody reading does struggle with articulation errors, seeing their struggles written out in such a way can come across as very offensive, especially when such articulation errors in the context of the story are seen as valid reason to infantilize or coo at a character for how "adorable and childish" they are. it's also just lazy. if the only sign that indicates that a character is a child is a written out articulation error, then you are not writing with specificity or respect.

the first good example is a lot better than the bad example, firstly because it doesn't sacrifice contextual clarity. anybody reading the story can clearly comprehend what the child is saying, and also has it explicitly spelled out for them that the child has articulation errors, so that part of the child's character is not sacrificed either. the only potential problem with it is that a fast reader could accidentally glaze over the explanation, but that is not the writer's responsibility, and a way to help prevent this issue is to mention the speech impediment periodically throughout the story.

the second good example is a good one as well, especially when combined with the first good example. not every word with errors is spelled differently, but the one word that is spelled differently is put in between apostrophes to symbolize that it is purposefully spelled wrong to imitate the sound of the articulation error. i would still be careful of overly offensive spellings, but for a simple error such as the one i wrote, it's a little less obnoxious, and it is clearly just a way to further express the impediment's existence.

i know it's a little complicated, and there's some gray area when it comes to what is or isn't offensive, but a good rule of thumb is to try and put yourselves in the shoes of someone with articulation errors. would you want to read something like this? does it make fun of or infantilize your impediment? or does it simply acknowledge its existence?

3 - other speech impediments

now, the first two types of speech impediments are the ones i went to the most detail to in this guide because they are the most common ones, and they are the most common ones that are written incorrectly. but there are other types of speech impediments that are less common, but i encourage you to research them anyway. i will be posting links at the bottom of this with all my sources, as well as some additional resources!

now, here are some other speech impediments that can be found in children:

-tongue-tie, aka: ankyloglossia. this is a condition that makes it difficult for children to move their tongues, in which the tongue is stuck to the roof of the mouth. it is a congenital condition (people are born with it), and there are different types of tongue-ties that create different difficulties. it doesn't affect speech as much as it affects the breastfeeding process, but it still affects speech considerably. speech therapy can help with tongue-tie, but sometimes, surgery is necessary.

-developmental verbal dyspraxia or apraxia. these two things are similar, but what makes them different is the severity. the cause of this impediment is unknown, but it is essentially when children know what they want to say, but they are physically unable to form the words. developmental verbal dyspraxia is having partial inability to speak with accuracy, while apraxia is the complete loss of the ability. this condition is quite rare, and it requires very intense therapy compared to other speech impediments.

---

if you're still here, thank you for reading all of this and educating yourself about speech impediments! i hope this helps you on your writing journey! i am someone who had a lot of speech impediment issues as a child, and still continues to struggle sometimes with these things, so it means a lot that you plan to do research to make your interpretations of these struggles more respectful and accurate!

sources + additional resources:

speech impediments

stuttering

types of articulation errors

tongue-tie/ankyloglossia

developmental verbal dyspraxia and apraxia

my personal experience with speech impediments

[purplesurveys]

1784

Do you own anything from Victoria's Secret "Pink" line? Do you really think the clothes are worth the price? I don't. And maybe for some people yeah but personally it's not my style so no.

What does your last incoming text say, who was it from, and how do you feel about that person? It was a delivery rider just asking for specific directions going to our house. I don't have any feelings about the guy since I never ended up meeting him as I was out when he texted.

Did you have a New Year's kiss? No, I've always been with family in celebrating the New Year.

Are there any words that you cannot pronounce or that you pronounce incorrectly? For some reason I struggle with enunciating 'beautiful.'

After a long day at work or of doing something physical what tends to hurt more? Your back or your feet? Back and shoulders, which is why I always have a supply of ointment to coat all over my body at the end of the day lol. My legs only really hurt on days I do a lot of walking, which don't happen a lot.

Do you have a smart phone? If so, what's your favorite app? Yes. As for my favorite app, I always find myself checking in on Reddit multiple times a day, even when mid-work.

Who would you say is the overall best person you know, and why? Angela is the most reliable person in my life. I trust her inputs on literally everything – just this morning I messaged her asking for help on how to use Carousell LOL – and apart from that she has the kindest heart and I know she'll always have my back no matter what, whether it's in the form of listening to me or calling me out when I'm on ther verge of doing something stupid.

If you had to choose between being a Nurse or an English teacher which would you choose and why? English teacher. I know I wouldn't be the best with kids/teenagers but I feel like I nevertheless have enough people skills to get by. Plus I feel like I'm okay when it comes to explaining and teaching things, so it'd work out better at least compared to being a nurse.

Do you have a specific gas station you usually go to? Or do you stop wherever? Yes, there's a specific brand I always go to. I'm not good with car stuff so I don't want to risk going to a different station and potentially going with the wrong kind of gas and damaging my car forever.

How much older than you was the oldest person you have dated/had a relationship with? I've only ever been with one person and they are my age.

Is anything stressing you out at the moment? We have a family Christmas party/reunion this weekend and I have not wrapped a single gift. I might just buy a bunch of paper bags tomorrow since there is simply no time to individually wrap everything hahaha.

What is your opinion on dating someone who already had a child/children from a previous relationship? I know it shouldn't be a problem at this age but personally speaking it might intimidate me. I'm nowhere near ready to be a mom/stepmom.

Have you ever actually found a mascara that makes a huge difference for your lashes? I don't use mascara. I like my eyelashes enough as they're naturally long already and don't really feel the need to make it look ~aesthetically pleasing~

Would you rather have one or two great facial features that stand out, or have just an overall pretty face but have no special features? I'd take the pretty face. Pretty privilege is real and can take you places.

Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? Did you do anything last Valentine's Day? I haven't had plans for Valentine's Day in three years and don't feel the need to celebrate it alone.

Do you check your horoscope daily? If so, did you relate to your horoscope at all today? I do not believe in horoscopes.

When you need to remember something, how do you usually go about doing so? I use my Notes app and just note down a bunch of stuff in there, whether it's a dream I don't want to forget, or a random thing a client would say during a meeting that I'd need to remember. That's why I often get confused when I look through my archives haha everything lacks context.

Do you think you're a confident person? In your opinion what makes someone "confident" anyways? I'm confident in some ways, like how I feel comfortable with my own company and am not in an active search for a relationship; or how I'm always ready to bite back if a relative tries to be condescending with me (because Filipino family culture means always trying to find reasons to indirectly insult one another hahaha). But I'm also no stranger to insecurity every now and then.

How would you describe someone that is your type of guy/girl? I like someone no-nonsense, a bit on the serious side and have an air of confidence and being able to take care of themselves. Someone who tries to make jokes every 10 seconds just sounds exhausting. I also prefer a friend than setups or online dating as it's more comforting if I already know the person.

Do you read books often? What is your all time favorite book and author? I used to but stopped reading a very long time ago. I just lost the time for it at some point until eventually I also lost the passion for it. That said I never was able to find my all-time favorite book or author.

Have you recently accomplished anything that you are proud of yourself for? I've been having a difficult time coming to terms with my promotion until literally today when I encountered a Reddit thread of someone who's in the EXACT same situation – got promoted but doesn't feel like they're cut out for the job, and them feeling like they only got promoted because a couple of seniors in their workplace had just resigned, and them ultimately thinking of leaving.

I honest to god thought everyone in the thread was going to be supportive of OP resigning, but it was the complete opposite. People were raising points like "they trust you enough to promote you, make the most of it," "they've seen your past mistakes and still promoted you," "discomfort is inevitable with change, just stick with it and grow from it" and it really felt like they were talking to me. Anyway, I'm for sure still thinking of resigning but stumbling upon that has also helped me start to cope with and embrace (for now) where I'm at.

So speaking of for nows, I'll try to be proud of my biggest achievement this year which is getting promoted to director – something I literally never even strove to achieve since I only ever targeted becoming a manager.

Are you still friends with any of your exes? Do you still communicate with any of them at all? I'm not friends with her and cut off all contact the year immediately following the breakup.

What is your opinion on people that shop at Sephora for makeup as opposed to buying makeup from the drugstore? I don't care.

When you enter a store like Target or Walmart where is the first section you go? We don't have those.

Are you the type of person to fight for someone or walk away? Depends. I used to be the kind of person who would, regardless of the circumstances; but after some things I've been through I'm a little less...dedicated to people in general now.

Is marijuana legal for "recreational use" where you live? Also what is your opinion on the recent legalization of marijuana in certain states? It's not, and I don't have much of an opinion on marijuana tbh since it's never been a hot societal/cultural concern where I live.

Do you live on your own or with your parents/a roommate? Do you think you'd like to live alone? I live with my family, so that's parents and siblings. I'd love to live alone one day, but I'm not in a rush because how the hell can I live anywhere with these condo prices lol?

How often would you say you use Microsoft Word? I use it around 4-5 times a week, but I'm predominantly on Google Docs as it lets me work on files in real-time with teammates at work.

What is the last online purchase you made? Last few gifts for my sister, which includes a Spongebob pajama set and a couple of FNAF plushies. She's into so many fandoms that I just got her something from each haha. Before I checked these out I also had gotten her a few Resident Evil fanmade merch.

Do you usually have bad symptoms around "that time of the month"? I just get very emotional and feel like crying every 0.5 seconds, but as far as physical symptoms there fortunately aren't any.

Is there anyone you have to see on a daily/weekly basis that you really dislike? Not really, no.

Is your hair thick or thin? Would you say it's easy to manage? It's very thick and is quite difficult to manage, especially after I had it bleached. It's always been on the dry and frizzy side and don't think it will ever get to a healthy glowing state.

Have you ever had to deal with any type of long distance relationship, whether it be a romantic relationship or a friendship? Yes, 10 years ago I had a tight-knit group of Internet friends; we were all into wrestling and were pretty much part of the first wave of stan Twitter when it wasn't even a thing yet, lol. We slowly fizzled out when the main two people we were stanning left WWE and went off the radar for a bit.

Are you procrastinating doing anything right now? Yes. Can you believe I still have a deck to work on, so close to Christmas? This is my first December where work is still on a peak. It's gross.

How do you feel about being called sweetie/dear/honey/etc.? It's okay as long as it doesn't come from a man who's being disgusting.

Have you ever had a thing for/relationship with a coworker? How did it end? Never have. Seems a little irresponsible to me.

What type of deodorant do you use? Do you notice any difference between powders and gels? I have a local brand and I've never used powder so I can't compare.

What would you say is your worst habit? Peeling off nails. I've gotten more than one bleeding nailbed because of this.

Do you have a place you go to a lot that you may be considered "a regular" at? Not a restaurant, but I guess the FamilyMart below our office? They already know what kind of coffee I get hahaha.

Do you ever read the articles posted on the home page of Xanga? Has there ever been one that has really stood out to you? I was never on Xanga.

What is the weather currently like where you live? It's sunny and it's started to get cold on mornings and late evenings, but the afternoons are still brutal. I suppose it won't get Christmas-cold until January.

Is there anyone that you text on a regular basis that you do not have saved in your phone? If so, why don't you have their number saved? My mom. I just never saved it before and now it's always just been her number hahaha, and I don't feel like changing it anymore.

Do you have any plans for Mardi Gras? No.

[darraghoconnors]

[ paul mescal | 27 | cis male | he/him ] Hey, look! It’s [DARRAGH O'CONNOR] at [MYSTERY QUEST ESCAPE ROOMS]. Did you know they [WORK] there as a [CHARACTER ACTOR]? I guess they’re from [DUBLIN, IRELAND] and have been in town for [FIVE], living in [SUTHERLAND PARK]. I also heard they’re a little [HOTHEADED], but also very [SOCIABLE] which definitely makes sense. 

tw teen pregnancy, death, abandonment

RAPID FIRE.

Full Name: Darragh O'Connor.

Nicknames: D, Dar.

Pronouns and Gender: He/Him, Cis Male.

Birthday: March 19th, 1996.

Birth place: Dublin, Ireland

How long have they been in Vermont: 5 years, as of Nov 2023.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Neighborhood: Sutherland Park.

Occupation: Character Actor @ Mystery Quest Escape Rooms / Amateur Boxer.

Family: Aishling O'Connor (Mother, deceased), Murphy Doyle (estranged birth father), Cormac Doyle (half-brother), Cian Doyle (half-brother), Caoimhe Doyle (half-sister).

OVERVIEW.

-- Darragh was the only son of a single mother who struggled for most of her life. Aishling O'Connor became a mother for the first and only time at seventeen years old, and was ill-equipped to handle it after being cut off by her family for deciding to go through with the pregnancy.

-- Despite growing up in uncertainty, for the most part Darragh had a happy childhood. They didn't have much, but they had each other.

-- As far as schooling went, he never displayed much of a natural apt for it. He found classroom settings too restrictive and there was no specific academic subject that held his interest. The only days he would definitively be guaranteed to show up at school was when he had P.E. or football.

-- After a number of calls from his principal and run ins with other mothers on their council estate over fights and scrapes Darragh found himself involved in, his mother enrolled him in a local boxing club when he was ten, and it fostered an interest in the sport that has stayed with him through adulthood.

-- He found something of a father figure there in his coach and trainer, Tom. The discipline of the sport kept him on the straight and narrow, even though there were some run ins in his teenage years with the Garda for being present in robbed cars and where drug deals were occurring.

-- Darragh's whole world shifted on it's axis at his mother's death when he was seventeen years old, and then again a few days later at her funeral when he discovered that his biological father was both alive and well and a man that had three other children who were all older than him and a wife to boot.

-- This news rocked the foundation of everything he thought he knew about himself and his ma, and made him question every word she had ever spoken to him. As soon as he turned eighteen, after a few months of staying with the family of his best friend, he set off travelling rather than having to share a city with a man who knew of his existence and chose to ignore it entirely instead.

-- He initially moved to Australia with two school friends who aspired to do the same and lived/worked there for just under a year and a half before deciding it wasn't for him. Leon and Karl stayed on, while he set his sights on the next continent he would search for some semblance of a new start.

-- The United States were next and after spending a few months on the west coast, Darragh eventually found himself in East Haven, Vermont and decided to settle down there a while after deciding he liked the vibe and the people there .

-- To this day, he still keeps a pretty rigid training regime when it comes to boxing and devotes most of his free time to training / improving his skills in the ring as well as taking on amateur fights.

-- To make ends meet, he works as a character actor at Mystery Quest Escape Rooms. He loves to scare the shit out of people where possible and has been known to be a little generous with hints if he watches a group particularly struggle.

SORTA FUN FACTS.

Has heard every variation of his name pronounced incorrectly. His favorite is Darg. "And what's a Darg when he's at home?"

His official boxing stats as of Nov '23 are 9 matches and 9 wins (4 of which are by KO).

Was supposed to be due on St, Patrick's Day but was born 2 days after his due date, which he's grateful for because he likes his birthday being just about him.

Of his half-siblings, he's only met his half-sister and that was just once. It did not go well and there's been no contact since.

Has been known to lie when asked can he speak Irish if he thinks it can benefit him to pretend to.

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

roomate of @sasika-lg

cheated on his ex with @scottienolan, semi-complicated

fan of @pruexcassidy's radio show

frequent flyer to the ER @norasinclair works at

friend of @thesarahruiz

friend of / thinks @samxbradford is the best dj in the bizz

SPECIFIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

former roommate/maybe someone who let him crash with them when he first moved to EH.

recent ex-gf that he cheated on.

a current roommate would be fun.

an older male that he lowkey idolizes / wants to be like.

weed buds. 🍁

would dig someone he was formerly super tight with that now hate each other (reason can be plotted!)

a best friend. probs the only person he would make a sincere effort to make time for.

co-workers! get litty at the escape room lmao

former co-workers?? pretty open ended, i imagine he did some bar work to get by when he first got here but then made the switch because the hours didn't suit his training

gym-buddies. he practically lives there.

exes. he's def a difficult person to be in a relo with so could have ended on varying terms from good to bad. feel free to come hurt my feelings.

hookups, fwb, usual jazz.

GENERIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

connections wise he’s pretty much an open book right now, but some baseline ideas that can be springboarded off are:

friendly.

a best friend / ride or dies / close friends / childhood friends from ireland / pseudo-siblings / friends / drunk friends / new friends / former roommate / people he knew from london / people he met on his travels / people who were in aus at the same time as him / people who he only gets along with and vice versa when drinking is involved.

romantic

flirtationship / friends with benefits / one time hook ups / tinder matches / unrequited crush (can be either way) / exes on good terms.

antagonistic.

enemies / former (best) friends / exes on bad terms / frenemies / rivals / negative influence / people who don’t fuck with him.

[sku-te]

Chapter 19: Scarcity and Control

Arthur awoke slowly, his head throbbing with a dull, persistent ache, to find himself not on the cold, windswept cliff edge where he had collapsed, but tucked into the surprisingly comfortable confines of his own narrow dormitory bed. For a disorienting, heart-stopping moment, he thought the previous day’s extraordinary, impossible events – Michiru’s miraculous return from apparent death, Nana’s shattering emotional breakdown – had been nothing more than a vivid, desperate hallucination, a final, merciful product of his unravelling, exhausted mind. Then, a soft, hesitant voice, fragile as new spring leaves but blessedly, undeniably real, spoke his island name.

“Tanaka-kun? Are you… are you awake now?”

He turned his head, his stiff muscles protesting with every small movement. Michiru Inukai sat in a rickety wooden chair that had been pulled up beside his bed, a chipped teacup containing water held carefully in her small, still frail hands. She was terribly pale and gaunt, an ethereal, almost translucent waif-like figure, but her gentle, unmistakable eyes, though shadowed with a profound fatigue, were clear, lucid, and undeniably, wonderfully alive. A shy, almost hesitant, yet incredibly precious smile touched her lips when she saw him looking at her. The sight of her, truly, tangibly alive and present in the mundane, familiar reality of his small dorm room, sent a jolt of profound, overwhelming relief through him, so potent it brought an unexpected, embarrassing sting to his eyes.

“Michiru…” he rasped, his own voice hoarse, cracked, and unfamiliar even to his own ears. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position.

“Easy now, Tanaka-kun,” she said, her voice still weak but infused with a gentle, soothing warmth as she helped him prop himself awkwardly against the thin, lumpy pillows. “You were… very, very exhausted. Nana-chan and I… we managed to bring you back here after you fainted. Nana-chan was very worried about you, you know.”

Nana. The memory of her raw, uncharacteristic breakdown at the cliff, her tearful, fragmented, almost incoherent confession, her utter, soul-deep devastation at seeing Michiru alive, returned to him with a fresh jolt. He looked past Michiru’s concerned, gentle face and saw Nana Hiiragi herself standing awkwardly, uncertainly, in the doorway of his room. Her usually vibrant pink hair was slightly dishevelled, her bright school uniform rumpled and bearing faint traces of mud from the cliff path. Her usual effervescent, almost manic cheerfulness was entirely, strikingly absent, replaced by a hesitant, almost timid, and deeply uncertain expression. Her violet eyes, usually sparkling with mischief or cold, hard calculation, were red-rimmed, swollen, and shadowed with a new, unfamiliar vulnerability. The dynamic between the three of them, Arthur realized with a growing sense of profound unease and weary, almost resigned acceptance, was now irrevocably, seismically altered, suspended in a strange, fragile, and deeply, profoundly uncomfortable new reality.

The official explanation for Michiru Inukai’s miraculous return from the “dead” was, when it came, as predictably flimsy and insultingly inadequate as Arthur had expected. A few days after the incident at the cliff, once Michiru was deemed strong enough to leave the infirmary (where she had been kept under observation, much to Nana’s now fiercely protective, almost possessive anxiety), a visibly flustered and deeply uncomfortable Mr. Saito made a brief, stammering announcement during morning homeroom. He explained, his voice cracking several times, that there had been a “most regrettable and unfortunate series of diagnostic errors” by a “very junior, inexperienced mainland doctor” who had initially, and incorrectly, pronounced Michiru-san deceased following her sudden, severe illness at the end of the previous term. Further, more thorough examinations by the island’s own “more experienced medical staff,” he’d continued, his gaze skittering nervously around the room, had revealed that Michiru-san had merely been in a “profoundly deep, coma-like state” from which, through the miracle of modern medical science and her own youthful resilience, she had now, thankfully, fully recovered. “A simple, yet almost tragic, misdiagnosis, class,” was the best, most pathetic explanation the homeroom teacher could apparently come up with, his face slick with nervous sweat.

Michiru being alive again, having been officially declared dead and her passing mourned (however briefly and superficially by most), certainly surprised a few of the more observant pupils in the class. There were some whispered exclamations, a few wide-eyed, incredulous stares directed at the pale but smiling Michiru. Arthur watched their reactions with a kind of detached, weary cynicism. Back in England, back in his old life, such an event – a person returning from the dead after weeks, months even! – would have been a nine-day wonder, a media sensation, a cause for profound existential debate. Here, on this island where the bizarre was rapidly becoming the mundane, where death was a casual acquaintance and survival a daily struggle… well. Not that the surprise, the mild titillation, lasted very long. Within half an hour, Arthur noted with a grimace, talk among the students had soon moved on to more immediately “interesting” and pressing topics, like who had managed to hoard an extra bread roll from breakfast, or the latest outrageous rumour about Commandant Ide’s new, even more draconian camp rules back on the mainland (as news of the internment camps had, by now, become common, if terrifying, knowledge). This strange, unending, almost timeless May, which had now bled into a sweltering, oppressive early summer on the island, felt so utterly disconnected from any concept of season, or normalcy, or rational human behavior he had ever known; it was just an endless, surreal expanse of dread, punctuated by moments of sheer, stark insanity.

Over the next few days, as Arthur slowly regained his own physical strength and Michiru continued her own gradual, delicate, yet steady recovery – a process that seemed to draw on some deep, internal, almost inexhaustible wellspring of her miraculous healing Talent – an unsettling new tension, a different, more insidious kind of menace, began to grip the island. The already dwindling food supplies in the school canteen started to diminish with an alarming, noticeable rapidity, just as Arthur had grimly “predicted” to Kyouya Onodera weeks before. At first, it was subtle, almost deniable: the portions became slightly, almost imperceptibly smaller, the more popular, palatable dishes ran out much quicker, the once-generous fruit bowls looked suspiciously less bountiful. Then, the choices became starkly, undeniably more limited, the quality of what little was available noticeably, appallingly poorer. The usual comforting, if unexciting, variety of snacks and drinks in the small, usually well-stocked school store vanished almost overnight, replaced by sparsely, almost grudgingly stocked shelves displaying dusty, unappetizing, and often near-expired items.

The teachers, led by a visibly stressed, increasingly harassed, and clearly out-of-his-depth Mr. Saito, offered a series of vague, unconvincing, and often wildly contradictory explanations: unforeseen, severe logistical problems with the regular mainland supply ships; unexpected, unseasonable, and particularly violent storms delaying crucial deliveries; sudden, inexplicable, and entirely unforeseeable issues with their long-standing mainland procurement contracts. Their excuses sounded hollow, almost insultingly flimsy, even to the most naive or least suspicious students. A low, anxious hum of discontent, of fear, began to spread like a contagion through the dormitories. Whispers of hunger, of being forgotten and abandoned by the outside world, of the island’s carefully maintained, picturesque isolation becoming a terrifying, inescapable, and potentially lethal trap, grew louder, more insistent, more desperate with each passing, increasingly meagre, unsatisfying mealtime.

Arthur watched it all with a grim, weary sense of vindication, the bitter taste of unwelcome prescience like ash in his mouth. He saw Kyouya Onodera observing the rapidly deteriorating situation with a keen, coldly analytical, almost predatory gaze, their earlier, urgent conversation in the dusty library clearly at the forefront of his sharp, calculating mind. Kyouya began to spend more of his free time away from the main school buildings, his movements quiet, purposeful, almost furtive, as if he were methodically scouting for alternative, hidden resources or making discreet, necessary preparations for a coming siege that Arthur wasn’t yet privy to. He would occasionally catch Kyouya’s eye across the increasingly tense, half-empty canteen, a silent, almost imperceptible nod passing between them – a grim, unspoken acknowledgment of Arthur’s unwelcome, terrifying prescience.

Nana Hiiragi, too, seemed to view the unfolding, manufactured crisis through new, deeply troubled, and profoundly disillusioned eyes. Her emotional implosion at the cliff edge, her raw, unfiltered confrontation with her own buried guilt and manipulated past, had irrevocably cracked her carefully constructed facade of cheerful, unquestioning obedience. While she hadn’t confessed the full, horrifying extent of her past actions as Tsuruoka’s assassin to either Arthur or Michiru, her interactions with Michiru, in particular, were now tinged with a fierce, almost desperate, suffocating protectiveness and a profound, soul-deep, sorrowful guilt. When the teachers stammered their increasingly unconvincing, almost pathetic excuses for the rapidly dwindling food supplies, Arthur saw Nana listening with a deep, thoughtful frown, a dangerous flicker of bitter doubt and dawning, angry understanding in her expressive violet eyes. Perhaps, he thought with a sliver of grim hope, she was finally, truly beginning to see the callous, manipulative, bloodstained strings of the Committee she had served so blindly, so devotedly, for so tragically long. Perhaps she was beginning to question the supposed benevolence, the absolute authority, of the monstrous Commander Tsuruoka.

“This is precisely what I told you would happen, Onodera,” Arthur said quietly to Kyouya one evening, his limited Japanese surprisingly steady, his voice low and urgent, as they stood observing a near-riot that had broken out with shocking suddenness in the canteen over the last few pathetic, fought-over servings of stale, mould-flecked bread. Several desperate, starving students were shouting, pushing, their faces pinched and pale with hunger and a growing, frightening, animalistic desperation. “The Committee. They’re tightening the screws, deliberately, methodically, applying unbearable pressure.”

Kyouya Onodera nodded, his chiselled expression grim, his pale eyes as hard and cold as flint. “Your foresight, Tanaka,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, “continues to be distressingly, if predictably, and I must admit, increasingly useful, accurate. They create desperation, they foster internal division, then they will undoubtedly offer just enough insufficient relief to maintain a semblance of control, all while callously, dispassionately observing how we react – who breaks under the pressure, who fights for scraps, who leads, who crumbles. It is a classic, if particularly cruel and inhumane, method of psychological assessment and brutal social control.”

And indeed, just as Kyouya had so cynically predicted, just as tensions in the camp reached a fever pitch, when open, violent fights were beginning to break out with alarming regularity over hoarded scraps of often inedible food and genuine, gnawing, debilitating fear had taken firm, unshakeable root in the hearts of even the most optimistic or naive students, a supply ship was finally, dramatically, sighted on the distant horizon. A wave of ragged, desperate, almost hysterical cheers went up from the starving students. But it was, as Kyouya had so accurately predicted Arthur would have foreseen, far, far too little, and far, far too late to fully alleviate the worsening, deliberately manufactured problem. The shipment that was eventually, grudgingly unloaded onto the pier was significantly smaller than usual, the quality of the provisions noticeably, insultingly poorer – mostly low-grade dried goods, suspiciously discoloured preserved vegetables, and very little in the way of fresh produce, protein, or medical supplies. It was just enough to prevent outright, widespread starvation, just enough to quell the immediate, simmering panic and prevent a full-scale, violent breakdown of order. But it was not nearly enough to restore any sense of security, or to dispel the growing, chilling, terrifying realization among the more astute students that their very survival was fragile, tenuous, entirely dependent on the cruel, capricious whims of unseen, uncaring, and utterly malevolent forces who could withdraw their meager lifeline at will.

The Committee’s manipulative, bloodstained hand was subtle, almost invisible to the untrained eye, but to Arthur, and now to Kyouya and perhaps even Nana, it was undeniably, chillingly apparent. They were master puppeteers, coolly, dispassionately orchestrating events from afar, content to let hunger, fear, and profound desperation do their brutal, dehumanizing work, systematically weeding out the weak, identifying potential threats or future assets, all under the carefully constructed, plausible guise of unfortunate, unavoidable, and entirely unforeseen logistical circumstances.

Michiru Inukai, though still physically weak from her own miraculous, near-fatal ordeal, instinctively, selflessly shared her meagre, often insufficient portions with those students she felt were more in need, particularly the younger, more frightened ones, her innate, unwavering kindness a small, flickering, precious candle of compassion in the rapidly encroaching darkness of their desperate, deteriorating situation. Nana Hiiragi, her own internal, unspoken torment a constant, silent, brooding companion, often, almost furtively, supplemented Michiru’s share with her own, a quiet, almost unconscious act of profound, desperate atonement, her gaze when she looked at Michiru a complex, almost painful mixture of overwhelming guilt, profound awe, and a fierce, new-found, almost suffocating protectiveness.

Arthur Ainsworth, watching them both, felt a strange, almost imperceptible, yet undeniable shift in the island’s oppressive, death-haunted atmosphere. Nana’s murderous, Committee-ordained crusade, for the moment at least, seemed to be on hold, overshadowed, perhaps even temporarily derailed, by this new, more widespread, and insidious threat of starvation, and by the profound, ongoing emotional upheaval of Michiru Inukai’s impossible, miraculous return. But he knew, with a weary, bone-deep certainty, that the Committee’s cruel, inhuman game was far from over. This was merely a new, more subtle, perhaps even more sadistic phase, a different kind of insidious pressure designed to test them all, to break them down, to see what, if anything, of value emerged from the unforgiving, brutal crucible of manufactured desperation. And Arthur suspected, with a cold, sickening dread that settled deep in the marrow of his bones, that the tests, the trials, the suffering, were only just beginning, and were destined to get harder, more brutal, and far more unforgiving.

[heartfilia-in-love]

My Reading Habit and How It Transformed Me into an Author

As I grew older, maybe from around eight years of age, my parents encouraged me to read the stories on my own. I used to read aloud, so my parents corrected me when I pronounced anything wrong/incorrectly, or helped me when I got stuck with a word. My mother helped break big words so it'd be easy for me to pronounce. Now, I've got so used to it that I can almost pronounce unfamiliar words without much thought!

By the time I was ten years old, I was introduced to books written by Enid Blyton, by an aunt of mine who loves reading just as much as me - or perhaps even more. She gave me some books that her sons used to read as children when they came home one day, and one of them was a compilation of children's short stories by this author. Then, I moved on to Famous Five, The Mystery series, etc.

The series I ended up reading the most number of times - even now, I reread them - is The St Clare series and The Malory Towers series. They had a lot of impact on me - I could see the differences between my life and the lives of the girls growing up in the UK, but I could still relate to the human nature, the kindness, and the generous hospitality, the bullying - all of which are actually common in schools and/or among peers in any part of the world, across all times.

I also used to read the plathora of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books from the libraries I had access to (one in the school and one in the local neighbourhood). I also loved reading the Trixie Belden books, which are far less popular among my fellow readers - something I found out eventually. I also used to borrow story books from my friends, most of whom weren't big on reading.

Then, it was at the local library that I checked out my first Jane Austen book. It was 'Pride and Prejudice' and I was around 13-14 years of age. At the time, the language was too complex for me and I had to reread one sentence a few times to understand properly. This happened quite often, but I was determined to finish it. Fortunately, there was no specific time limit to return the book and I think I took three months to complete it. It took a lot of dedication and I got through it in the end.

Then, I eventually ended up reading 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Emma' by the same author. By then, I was more accustomed to her narration style. I also read one or two Shakespeare books, the originals of which were far more complex than Jane Austen. However, these books were made easier for people like me to read--to the right of each page, there was Shakespearean English, the original version, and to the left of each page, there was the normal modern English we use to-day. I didn't refer to the left side much, because I was quite determined to understand this complex original language. I succeeded! - with a little help from the left side of the book, of course, but it was an achievement of a lifetime for me!

I also winded up reading a lot of books by other authors intermittently - some I enjoyed, some I DNF'd. I especially disliked most science fiction books I came across. In the early years of my teenage, I spent most of my time in the fantasy section of the library; in the later years of my teenage, I spent my time between the fantasy and the romance sections. I came to adore first Nicholas Sparks (thanks to the movie adaptation of 'A Walk to Remember') and then, Cecelia Ahern. I also enjoyed a few historical fiction books that I managed to read. I also read some classics that I really loved.

That was all fiction. I also got my hands on some non-fiction books as well, but found that I was not very inclined to read them. As I grew up, I found myself reading some interesting parts or sections of the book that I needed for an assignment. Perhaps I'll wind up reading them completely some day. And most of these were either biographies or related to history. I also enjoyed looking up topics to read and reread in encyclopaedias.

In the midst of all this reading, I even received a lot of inspiration to write my own stories. The first author to "talk me into it" (so to speak) was Enid Blyton. I built my writing habit from there. My mother also gave me and my brother diaries to write down our feelings. In school, I actively and sincerely attempted every writing exercise that the teacher told us to do - this included letters, essays, prose, and poetry.

That's all for now. See you in my next post!

[theaologies]

Nobody in the club cares about Caduan and Aefe. I do though. One, Caduan’s last name is Iero, like My Chemical Romance? Two, Aefe is like the most bizarre bastardization of Aoife and I listened to the audiobooks first and was furious they were pronouncing Aoife so slightly incorrectly (whoops). Three, it’s a Solavellan AU. It is. It’s just Solavellan I am not crucifucking around

[random-musings-of-life]

A (Mostly) Comprehensive List of Tumblr Holidays

I saw this post about Tumblr holidays/celebrations, and there were a ton of them, so I decided to make an organized list and their meanings. I am also adding famous "fandom holidays" to this list. Feel free to point out any I missed/explained incorrectly and I'll add them!

Tuesday:

Supernatural Tuesday --- an episode of Supernatural was about a time loop where it was always Tuesday. Can be posted on any Tuesday.

Leave the Bog --- a meme with a drawing saying "When it's safe to leave the bog" and an arrow pointing to Tuesday. Can be posted on any Tuesday.

Thursday:

Out of Touch Thursday --- a video of the cast from the anime Lucky Star dancing to the song "Out of Touch" by Hall and Oates. Can be posted on any Thursday.

Thursday the 20th --- a screencap of a rapper in The Simpsons with a gold necklace that says "Thursday the 20th". Can only be posted on Thursdays which are also the 20th of their month.

February:

Galentine's Day --- February 13th. From an episode of Parks and Rec where Leslie dedicates this day to celebrating female friendship.

March:

Pi Day --- March 14th. The first digits of pi, 3.14, line up with "March 14" or 3/14.

The Ides of March --- March 15th. The day that Julius Caesar was assassinated. Many memes and jokes are made about him, the assassination in general, or bad luck.

Evergiven/Suez Canal Anniversary --- March 23rd. Refers to an event where a ship, the Evergiven, got stuck in the Suez Canal.

94 Meetings Day --- March 31st. From an episode of Parks and Rec where April doesn't think this day exists and books all of Ron's appointments then.

April:

April Fools --- April 1st. Also a real world holiday. The most popular prank is Rickrolling.

Mishapocalypse --- April 1st. On this day, Tumblr users spam one specific photo of Misha Collins, who played Castiel on Supernatural, where he is looking at the camera wide-eyed.

Neil Banging Out the Tunes --- April 13th. Refers to a photo of a rat by a children's keyboard with the caption "Neil banging out the tunes April 13th 2006".

Homestuck Day --- April 13th. The birthday of Homestuck, a web comic. It is/was one of the most popular fandoms on Tumblr.

It's Gonna Be May --- April 30th. Comes from a GIF of Justin Timberlake singing the song "It's Gonna Be Me". In the song, he pronounces "me" like "May".

May:

Star Wars Day --- May 4th. It comes from a pun between "May the force" and "May the Fourth".

Revenge of the Fifth --- May 5th. It comes from a pun between "Revenge of the Sith" and "Revenge of the Fifth".

June:

Let Papyrus Say "Fuck" Day --- June 16th. Someone who was annoyed with mischaracterization of Papyrus from Undertale established this holiday and it caught on.

July:

Dashcon Anniversary --- July 11th. Dashcon was a poorly organized attempt to hold a Tumblr convention.

September:

21st Night of September --- September 21st. The day referenced in the catchy disco song "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Frodo and Bilbo's Birthday --- September 22nd. The joint birthday of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings.

October:

Mean Girls Day --- October 3rd. This comes from the part of the movie where Cady's crush asks her what day it is.

Treat Yo'Self --- October 13th. From an episode of Parks and Rec where Tom and Donna have a day to pamper themselves.

November:

November 5th --- Multiple holidays. It's Guy Fawkes Day (a holiday in Great Britain where effigies are lit to celebrate the failure of a traitor), and some people post screencaps of the movie V for Vendetta, where it's mentioned. November 5th, 2020 specifically had three huge news items: rumors of Vladimir Putin's resignation, Destiel (a ship from Supernatural) becoming (one-sided) canon, and the controversy over counting electoral votes in the U.S. election.

Life Day --- November 17. The equivalent of Christmas in Star Wars.

December:

Christmas Adam --- December 23rd. It comes from a Tumblr post making a pun on "eve" and "Eve" (from the Bible). As the original Tumblr post describes, it "comes before Christmas Eve and is generally unsatisfying".

Almost Christmas (Means It Wasn't Christmas) --- 11:59 P.M. on December 24th. This is from Ace Attorney, a video game where you're a defense lawyer. The fact that it's not quite Christmas is a crucial piece of evidence in one of the cases.

DL-6 --- Christmas/late December. This is when one of the most famous cases from Ace Attorney (mentioned above) occurs.

Other:

Annoy Squidward Day --- either January or February 15th. This refers to an episode of Spongebob where Mr. Krabs votes for Employee of the Month; a screen cap shows Spongebob pointing to the 15th day on the calendar with a sticker of Squidward on it.

Fuck this Post and Happy Birthday [Fictional Character] --- any character's birthday. The original Tumblr post starts out with a user saying "People who celebrate fictional character birthdays are annoying, pass it on", and another retorts with "FUCK this post and happy birthday, Sonic". "Sonic" can be replaced with a character of your choice.

[24hrfrog]

Thats it imma take all the tgm asian characters and adopt them

some headcanons for my kids (+ I’m basically just channeling my own family/friends/myself onto them <3)

They all have ethnic names period even if theyre not listed in the movie, they have them. (most of the time growing up asian american you will 100% have a name given to u by ur parents/family member/close family friend/grandparents, the only bad that comes out of that is only members of ur family use the name and are the only ones who can pronounce it most of the time and when it comes to papers u sign, u dont rlly include ur asian name bc its like a middle name and isint always necessarily which is p shit, we are given such American first names because they’re easy to pronounce when coming over :/)

Yale has a tradition of inviting flying friends over to his place for New Years for a Korean celebration and makes a seaweed soup thats always eaten for the new year! (something my own family does)

Yale taught Harvard Korean and always has Harvard tag along on Korean trips to visit family! They love Harvard and Harvard loves the food lolol!!! and them ofc!!!

Halo met Fritz first and they stuck together like glue being two of the few asians, when they met Yale they made their own little friend group (i think other pocs can relate, when being in a place where there are ppl who make u feel alienated, finding people who are the same as u is comfortable and its easier to relate to each other, at least in my experience)

Fritz has a small lil “asian glow” when drunk LOL meanwhile Yale is head to toe bright red 💀

Yale bought Halo (and later on Phoenix!!) a hanbok as a birthday present (she would look so pretty in one omg, a hanbok is a traditional korean clothing, they are rlly pretty, its like a flowy dress)

Halo incorporates Mandarin in her english

Yale has no siblings so he basically adopted Halo and Fritz to be like his family, he act like a big ol older brother to them, a lot of his own family is in S. Korea

When Fritz’s grandparents immigrated over, the ones taking down peoples names wrote his last name incorrectly as Avalone (this is a true story from my family, my last name is incorrectly spelled and hence its pronounced incorrectly as well honestly this hc can also go with Halo)

Fritz is the youngest of the three, Yale is the oldest

They all taught each other swear words in their language AHAH

Fritz has a younger sister who got him into kpop (lol my own sister) and he has a lot of photocards, Halo teases him about it even tho she herself is into a lot of jpop and cpop groups

Yale always picks up a kpop album for Fritz and his sister on his Korea trips! 💚

When Yale gets angry he rants in Korean (when someone talks super fast in korean its so entertaining, like speak ur truth bro hell yeah but also dont yell at me or ill cry MCNDJD)

Yale’s guilty pleasure is watching Chinese dramas, he and Halo’s mom get together and break down the latest episodes of their shows they bringe whenever he’s in town HAHA (i think Yale would be a hit with Fritz and Halo’s parents)

Fritz is re-learning some of his Mandarin from Halo since as a kid his parents didn’t enforce their languages onto him but he does know more Filipino!! (me shaking my fist at my own parents, i couldve been a fluent bilingual lol)

Sometimes on comms Yale and Harvard will switch to Korean and annoy their flying partner for fun AHAHA

[fatehbaz]

It is spring in Houston, which means that each day the temperature rises and so does the humidity. The dampness has darkened the flower bed, and from the black mulch has emerged what looks like a pile of snotty scrambled eggs [...]. I recognize this curious specimen as the aethalial state of Fuligo septica, more commonly known as “dog vomit slime mold.” Despite its name, it’s not actually a mold -- not any type of fungus at all -- but rather a myxomycete (pronounced MIX-oh-my-seat), a small, understudied class of creatures that occasionally appear in yards and gardens as strange, Technicolor blobs. Like fungi, myxomycetes begin their lives as spores, but when a myxomycete spore germinates and cracks open, a microscopic amoeba slithers out. [...] When the amoeba encounters another amoeba with whom it is genetically compatible, the two fuse, joining chromosomes and nuclei [...], growing ever larger, until at the end of its life, it transforms into an aethalia, a “fruiting body” that might be spongelike in some species, or like a hardened calcium deposit in others, or, as with Stemonitis axifera, grows into hundreds of delicate rust-colored stalks. [...]

These creatures exist on every continent and almost everywhere people have looked for them: from Antarctica, where Calomyxa metallica forms iridescent beads, to the Sonoran Desert, where Didymium eremophilum clings to the skeletons of decaying saguaro cacti [...]. Throughout their lives, myxomycetes only ever exist as a single cell, inside which the cytoplasm always flows -- out to its extremities, back to the center. When it encounters something it likes, such as oatmeal, the cytoplasm pulsates more quickly. If it finds something it dislikes, like salt, quinine, bright light, cold, or caffeine, it pulsates more slowly [...]. It can solve mazes in pursuit of a single oat flake, and later, can recall the path it took to reach it. [...]

How do you classify a creature such as this?

In the ninth century, Chinese scholar Twang Ching-Shih referred to a pale yellow substance that grows in damp, shady conditions as kwei hi, literally “demon droppings.” In European folklore, slime mold is depicted as the work of witches, trolls, and demons -- a curse sent from a neighbor to spoil the butter and milk. In Carl Linnaeus’s Species Plantarum -- a book that aspires to list every species of plant known at the time (nearly seven thousand by the 1753 edition) -- he names only seven species of slime molds. Among those seven we recognize Fuligo in the species he calls Mucor septicus (“rotting mucus”), which he classifies, incorrectly, as a type of fungus. [...]

These “ladders” or “scales of ascent,” in turn, inspired the “Great Chain of Being” -- the [...] worldview central to European thought from the end of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages, that ordered all of creation from lowest to highest [...]. Over time, Linnaeus revised his classifications of Homo sapiens, naming “varieties” that at first corresponded to what he saw as the four geographic corners of the planet, but which became hierarchical, assigned different intellectual and moral value based on phenotypes and physical attributes. The idea that humans could and should be ordered -- that some were superior to others, that this superiority had a physical as well as social component -- was deeply embedded in many previous schema. But Linnaeus’s taxonomy, unlike the systems that came before, gave these prejudices the appearance of objectivity, of being backed by scientific proof. When Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published in 1859, it was on the foundation of this “science,” which had taught white Europeans to reject the idea of evolution unless it crowned them in glory.

But the history of taxonomic classification has always been about establishing hierarchy [...].

I did not learn until college about a taxonomic category that superseded kingdom, proposed in the 1970s by biologists Carl Woese and George Fox and based on genetic sequencing, that divided life into three domains: Bacteria, Eukarya, and Archaea, a recently discovered single-celled organism that has survived in geysers and swamps and hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean for billions of years. 

Perhaps a limit of our so-called intelligence is that we cannot fathom ourselves in the context of time at this scale, and that so many of us fail, so consistently, to marvel at any lives but our own. [...]

A few years ago, near a rural village in Myanmar, miners came across a piece of amber containing a fossilized Stemonitis slime mold dating from the mid-Cretaceous period. Scientists were thrilled by the discovery, because few slime mold fossils exist, and noted that the 100-million-year-old Stemonitis looks indistinguishable from the one oozing around forests today. [...]

One special ability of slime molds that supports this possibility is their capacity for cryptobiosis: the process of exchanging all the water in one’s body for sugars, allowing a creature to enter a kind of stasis for weeks, months, years, centuries, perhaps even for millennia. [...] The only other species who have this ability are the so-called “living fossils” such as tardigrades and Notostraca (commonly known as water bears and tadpole shrimp, respectively). [...]

In laboratory environments, researchers have cut Physarum polycephalum into pieces and found that it can fuse back together within two minutes. Or, each piece can go off and live separate lives, learn new things, and return later to fuse together, and in the fusing, each individual can teach the other what it knows, and can learn from it in return.

Though, in truth, “individual” is not the right word to use here, because “individuality” [...] doesn’t apply to the slime mold worldview. A single cell might look to us like a coherent whole, but that cell can divide itself into countless spores, creating countless possible cycles of amoeba to plasmodium to aethalia, which in turn will divide and repeat the cycle again. It can choose to “fruit” or not, to reproduce sexually or asexually or not at all, challenging every traditional concept of “species,” the most basic and fundamental unit of our flawed and imprecise understanding of the biological world. As a consequence, we have no way of knowing whether slime molds, as a broad class of beings, are stable or whether climate change threatens their survival, as it does our own. Without a way to count their population as a species, we can’t measure whether they are endangered or thriving. Should individuals that produce similar fruiting bodies be considered a species? What if two separate slime molds do not mate but share genetic material?

The very idea of separateness seems antithetical to slime mold existence. It has so much to teach us.

-------

Headline and all text published by: Lacy M. Johnson. “What Slime Knows.” Orion Magazine. August 2021. Photos by Alison Pollack and published alongside article.

[mandeelion]

mahsa amini | nika shakarami. countless others participating in the protests sparked by both of their murders.

mahsa's crime? wearing her hijab "incorrectly". after she was taken into custody by Iran's morality police for three days, video footage shows that she collapsed and was later taken to the hospital where she eventually died by cardiac arrest. security forces claim that mahsa died of health related issues, but the hospital has admitted that she was already brain dead before ever reaching the hospital. she was severely beaten during those three days. all because of her hijab supposedly being worn inappropriately. she was 22 years old and had plans to attend university to study microbiology.

nika's crime? participating in the protests that followed mahsa's murder. after being taken into custody, she was missing for 10 days with zero communication by police forces, despite her terrified mother and father's pleas for information. after those 10 days, her lifeless body was returned to her parents after they were shown a glimpse of her face (they refused to show her entire body) at a detention morgue and confirmed that it was her via a birth mark. it was later discovered that she had been brutally physically (and most likely sexually) tortured, and there was a large cut down her chest that was stitched back together, suggesting the possibility of some of her organs being removed (mostly likely to later sell). 10 days of what must have been the most horrific kind of hell on earth, simply for using her voice. her body was later reclaimed (stolen) from the detention center by security forces and buried in a village about 25 miles from the city. the family was denied a funeral for nika upon the threat of death by security forces, and members of her family have now also been taken into custody for not cooperating with the demands. i've read that there have been claims by security forces that she fell from a building to her death, or that she was captured and tortured by a group of construction workers, but the last text nika sent to her aunt was that she was being chased by the authorities. she was 16 years old, and was buried in a shallow grave one day after what would have been her 17th birthday.

we can't let this fade into the background. young women are risking their lives in unity to honor mahsa and nika by fighting back against their government and the morality police, knowing that it may very well cost them their lives. the least those of us can do across the world is KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT.

if you have a platform, USE IT.

WOMAN. LIFE. LIBERTY.

rest in power, peace and paradise, sweethearts.

* i apologize in advance if there are any discrepancies in the above text. there are small variances among different sources available but i've tried to conglomerate what i've researched so far to the best of my ability.

[kyndaris]

The Treasure of King Priam

The tale of Troy is well-known among many. For some, the tale of the Trojan Horse was simply the start of Odysseus’s journey back home. For others, it was the tragic end of Achilles after his friend, Patroclus was killed by Hector, which led him to seek revenge before losing his life to Paris (which helped spawn the best selling novel of The Song of Achilles. At least, I think that’s what it’s about. I have yet to read Madeleine Miller’s book). 

According to the Romans, of course, the war with Troy also led to the founding of their city. As to whether there is any truth to that, who’s to say. But a displaced group of people finding a home across continents does sound plausible.

But the tale of Troy is not simply a fight between two warring human factions. It was also a battle between the Greek Gods. In fact, the entire story of woe began with Eris, Goddess of Strife and Discord, and her being slighted by the other Gods. In turn, she created the Golden Apple on which was was inscribed: For the Fairest.’ This, in turned, sparked competition between the three main Goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite.

Not wanting to suffer the anger that would come as a result of choosing who the apple would go to, Zeus nominated Paris, prince of Troy, to choose in his stead. And, as the story goes, he chose Aphrodite. And thus, he was rewarded the love of the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen of Sparta. 

The problem, of course, was that she was already married to King Menelaus.

And so, from one simple choice, war sprung forth for ten long years. After all, Helen’s face was the one that led the launch of a thousand ships to bring her back home. The war the raged was one where heroes rose and fell on the battlefield until, at least, Odysseus came up with the most clever of ploys: hiding Greek troops in a wooden horse that would be presented to the Trojans as a symbol of the Greeks’ surrender. Feigning retreat, they would return in the dead of the night to an open gate and storm the city.

Ever since playing Age of Mythology and becoming obsessed with such stories, the tale of Troy was one of the very first to capture my imagination at a very young age. But I was the first such individual. In the 1800s, an archaeologist by the name of Heinrich Schliemann was also intent on uncovering the lost city.  Though a dedicated scholar, he was also something of a treasure seeker and smuggled away many precious valuables out of Turkey for his personal gain. In his excavations, he also damaged quite a bit of the city and also incorrectly pronounced that Troia II as the one from the Iliad, though later scholars would grant the honour to Troia VI based on the defensive structures an imposing citadel.

While not as impressive as the remains at Ephesus, I still enjoyed my time exploring the ruins of Troy, or Troia as it was written, despite the cutting wind. There was even a statue of a wooden horse (not the original) created by the Turkish artisan: Izzet Senemoglu.

Another interesting fact about Troy/Trioa/ Hisarlik is that it isn’t very far from the Dardanelles Strait. Now, a student of modern history, and in particular, the world Wars, will know that this is where the famous battle of Gallipoli was held. And it was here that the allied forces launched the attack against the Turks in order to take the waterway linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

After we finished looking around Troy, we drove to a restaurant in Gelibolu (Gallipoli) for lunch before taking the scenic route along the Sea of Marmara back to Istanbul for our second last day in Turkey.

Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day where we will visit a mosque and maybe do some shopping before heading to the airport for the long flight back to Sydney.

My time overseas has felt both long and short in equal measure but all such things must come to an end. I, certainly, am eager to go back home and bask in the familiar, even if the idea of returning to work and the stresses it promises doesn’t seem very appealing. 

Still, I’ll be starting in a new position (which at time of writing this post, has been about a week and it’s going okay!). And there’s also the Toymaker story that I’ve been writing which needs to get finished before I can editing! Then onto the next the next story project that I’ve been meaning to write for a while now!

Oh, and games. Can’t forget those video games. During my time overseas, I was playing through quite a bit of Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line and there’s an impressions blog just waiting to be written up and uploaded!