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short-black-diamond · 1 year

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The other woman.(part 4) Izuku’s end.

Previous: {part one},{part two},{part three}, [next part?]

Okay, here is part four, and I hope you guys like it...i don’t know if I’ll be doing another part or not, it’s actually up to you guys...I wanted to do another part with shinsou and you ending up together, so yeah...the other part will be coming soon.

So this is just about you and Izuku trying to be togteher again and yeah...it ends...dirty. But not really much, not even described in detail- I think...

btw i didn’t proofread-as always...

Anyways, read.

...

{...Last time : }

“He will wake up in a few minutes. Just give him some time. And um...“, the first nurse started...looking up shyly at you. “c-could you, uh, sign...your autograph?“, they said, giving you a picture of you posing with your Isamu in your belly, smiling at the camerawoman. “Sure.“, you smiled, taking a marker and writing your name on the glass covering the photo cautiously.

Then, Izuku stirred awake, confused by the change of location.

...

Where...am I ...?, he asked himself, but he already felt some kind of connection to the white surroundings, desinfection smell and calm vibe; a hospital. Then, he whipped his head to your ‘ahem’. You were...still here? Why?

“Isamu wants to speak to you.“ It took him a moment to realise that you were talking about his and your son, but when it clicked, he gasped. “I-Isamu? You...gave birth to a boy?“, he asked in childish wonder, but his excitement soon flooded with depression.

“You never told me you were pregnant.“

“You never told me you were trying to make another woman pregnant. I think that we’re even, don’t you?“

By your harsh words, he gulped and looked at the blanket on him in shame. “But, before you meet him, I am going to prepare you. I don’t want you to get into Isamu’s sight while looking like...that.”

Izuku felt like shit. Being humiliated by you in a public hospital, even though there were no other patients and nurses, and still, he wanted to get swallowed by the comfy bed he was resting on.

“and what would you suggest?“

“Making you human again. Then I’m going to make a man out of you.“, you answered coldly, leaving your ex in shock.

“I-I am a man!“

“Yeah, you were man enough to fuck another bitch but a pussy when it’s about telling me. And even now, you don’t look any better than you did when you first started cheating on me. Although, I really like how you turned out. I just don’t want Isamu to think of you any less. You - unfortunately - are his father. You have to become a role model. Something that I tried to do the past sixteen years.“

after your little speech, you sighed before opening a window. Izuku looked around the room he was stationed in and noticed a bowl of katsudon. He then trained his eyes on your silhouette. you hugged yourself, your shoulders tight to your head, and your back to him. Still, he could feel how tired you were.

Of all the bullshit he caused.

“I’m sorry.“

“Shut up and eat. And don’t you ever apologize for cheating on me. It’s too late anyways.“, you grumbled, closing the window after it got cold and you got tired from watching the waves on the beach.

The old boy on the hospital bed sighed again and reached over to grab the bowl. Then, you went to the door. “After you’re done eating, there will be a blue car waiting for you. step in and it will lead you to your house. I’ll be waiting for you there.”, you only said, ignoring your ex’s question if your son would be there too.

Of course fucking not.

...

“Look at this mess! Is this how you’ve been living the past decade?!“, you yelled, throwing empty noodle boxes at the guy who cheated on you. He shielded himself with his hands, but didn’t answer.

Too scared that you might leave again. He didn’t want to loose you again.

You were in the living room, having already sorted out his and your bedroom entirely by the time he arrived. You threw everything away what once belonged to you that Izuku had touched you in, which was basically everything. HIs clothes weren’t any better because there were nests of endless moths in the drawers, cupboards and his wardrobe.

When you looked over to the bedroom, it looked like there hadn’t slept a person in a long time. Crinkled, a thick layer of dust and...condoms.

you now only had to look after the kitchen, guest room, office, terasse and front- and backyard. you knew that all the plants you’ve been looking after so lovingly would have been died out by now.

You angrily put the many bowls and litter into black, grey, yellow and green big plastic bags and sorted them out. Deku’s house was a mess, with cobwebs in every corner, alcohol reeking furniture, rotting walls and useless junk and clothes lying around.

While you were doing all the work, Midoriya just awkwardly stood there, and when you noticed his lack of being productive, you attacked him again. “Why the fuck are you not doing anything, ah?! Do I have to do everything?! Who do you think I am!? Clean up after yourself, stinking pig!”

Rushing to aid, Deku also began cleaning up next to you, wanting to be close to you. But, it didn’t last long before you complained again. “Get the hell away from me, stinky bitch! Clean up the bathroom and wash yourself, for fuck’s sake! And don’t you dare to come out if your skin isn’t shining enough!”

That made Izuku drop the things in his hands and rush upstairs to the bathroom. There, he scratched his head, thinking about where to begin cleaning up first. The bathroom and sink were dusted and grey, also they had families of spiders on them. The shampoo’s were all empty but the pathetic boy standing in front of the bathroom didn’t want to throw them away. He couldn’t find a single clean towel in the drawers either.

Then, he heard your voice. “Izuku, why don’t I hear the water running?!” “Uh, it’s dirty here!“ “And so are you, Idiot!“

Cue to you stomping up the stairs, having already cleaning supplies, another plastic bag, a towel, soap, a shower sponge and champoo in your hands.

you looked at him, then into the bathroom. And then you sighed. “Turn on some music.”, you mumbled before using your quirk to get the spiders out of the bathroom.

Some soft lofi-music echoed in the hall as you scrubbed away all the dirt that had collected over the years. By the time you were done cleaning up everything from that room, it was already past seven, and you arrived at three by your old home’s destination.

Now, you turned around to see Deku putting junk and clothes into different containers. “I’m done”, you said softly, before turning stern.

“Strip.“

And of course, the piece of shit in front of you blushed. You scoffed. “I am going to clean you. Don’t you dare think that I’d fuck you ever again after what you did to me, you hear me?”

That made Izuku sad again and he took off his clothes before stepping in into the hot water you’d prepared for him. Right after he was fully seated into the bathtub, you attacked his hair, by wetting it, combing it and putting serums, hair masks and conditioners on it.

Izuku endured it, as long as he ould feel your fingers in his hair again. You complaining about his hair being a mess, also there being flees and you being disgusted by his entire being. he felt vulnerable, and you made short process of him, of this moment. “How can you be like this? I’ve told you many times how to look after your hair and still, you’re fucking it up! And so many flees! Were you in a jungle recently??”

Then, you moved onto scrubbing his body aggressively, until he was sure that you were rubbing the skin off of him. “So much grime and dirt! Huygiene is your best friend, you pig!”

When you took out the razor, he gulped. He didn’t know what you wanted to get away with it, but one look from you and he stood up.

you shaved away his pubes, leg hair, arm hair, back hair and neck hair. Then, you shaved his beard away.

...

“It’s a peel-off mask for a fucking reason, you moron!“

“B-but it still hurts!“, Deku whimpered, grabbing lightly at your wrists which you slapped away right away. He was laying on the now cleaned up couch in the living room, which got also cleaned up when you told Izuku to stay in the bathroom a little longer, and you used the time to clear everything out.

The best thing was, it didn’t reek of any alcohol anymore.

And when you risked a look at your ‘dead’ plants, you were surprised and shocked to see that they were in the best state possible. It made your heart beat faster and louder. Izuku really knew to take care of everyone and everything except himself.

“No buts, deku. I need to take it off.“

You ‘eww’ed at how many blackheads and dirt stuck to the inside of the mask as you slowly and painfully took it off your ex’s face. He was about to touch and massage his face when you slapped these away again.

“I didn’t just clean your face only for you to spread it with bacteria again, didn’t I.“

“N-no. Sorry.“

“Good, because now, you will get a relaxing creme on your face, which is going to close your pores and give you plenty of vitamin c to give your pale face some colour again.“

as you put on the moisturizer in your hands, Deku looked at you. “Yena...?”

“Hm.“ “Are you...still mad?“, he couldn’t dance around it any longer, he had to know.

You halted in your moments for an unnoticable period of time before you continued and massaged it into his face. “No, I actually am not. And...

...as much as I hate to say it...I regret what I’ve done to you. I am sorry too.

I mean, yeah, you fucked with other women behind my back, but I made you make me pregnant, get you drunk so you could help me get divorced from you and then fuck off to god knows where to raise a child on my own without your knowledge of it being your own for nearly seventeen years...I am more horrible than you are, Izuku.”, you softly mumbled, caressing his cheek gently.

He felt his eyes burn. “It’s okay. As long as you’re not mad at me.”, he moaned contently when your palms brushed his forehead. “B-but I made you so miserable! You’ve been having depression ever since i left with Isamu...!“

“It’s okay. I’m glad to hear that you were able to give birth to him and raise him in a normal household. Also, I’m glad to see you again.“

You breathed out, rinsing off the lotion, and drying his face with another new towel you brought. Tears were slowly blurring your vision as you looked down upon the man in your lap.

He promised so many things...but broke every single one.

“Just...why did you cheat on me...?“, you croaked out before a tear of yours landed on the male’s cheek. He engulfed you into a hug straight away and chushed you, his own tears running down like a waterfall.

“I-I swear...it, it was an accident, I never...I never wanted it- to-fuck, to go like that, I swear!“, he cursed and repeated his sentences over and over again until he couldn’t anymore. You and him stayed like that for two hours, before you pushed him away gently.

“I’m really. Really. Sorry, Yena. Please, I-...please, give me another chance...!“

You looked at him through dried tears, pain and agony, your gaze shaking as it was directed to his body. Your voice was unsure, scared, when you answered.

“I...I don’t know if I can trust you again, Izuku...I’m sorry...”

He looked down, a sad and dissapointd expression on his face.

“But...“

He looked up at you, eagerly waiting for your next words. “We...we could...try?”

He felt even more tears than before, and he smiled cautiously. “Really?”

You nodded, but you were still unsure. It was all for Isamu’s sake, after all. You didn’t want to look at another man besides Izuku, even if he had cheated on you. You still missed him, after all.

You hugged him again, and his arms wrapped securingly around your body. “Just...don’t cheat on me again. Please.” “I won’t. I promise.”

The rest of the night was spent with you and Izuku cleaning up the house, catching up to all these years and looking at each other fondly.

That lead to you leading Izuku to the bedroom and you kissed him gently for the first time since forever. Izuku held you close to him while you two kissed, and he broke the kiss off to give you many pecks again.

---

SMUT WARNING AHEAD!!!

“You have no Idea how long I’ve wanted to feel your sweet lips on mine, angel...”, Deku gasped when he chased after your lips. You smirked. “Well, I’ve been wanting to devour you since the moment I saw you earlier today.“

Izuku halted in his movements, stopping kissing your jawline, and gave you a confused look. “I am fat.” “And?” “And I stink.” “I cleaned you up.”

“I-”

“I want you.

Now.

And forever. Only if you promise not to cheat ever again.”

“I-yes, I-uh, I won’t. And um...”, he mumbled, looking to the side shyly. “Do you...really not care about me being obese?“

You let out an exasperated sigh, standing up and putting your hands on your hips. “Listen here, boy. I couldn’t have cared if I met you as a fat person. I judge people by their character and clothes style, not how their body and face looks. And you here, look hella appetizing.”

You licked your lips before you put on lipstick and Izuku hurriedly took out his boxers. Still, after getting scrubbed clean and shaved by you, he felt bare and vulnerable in his naked body. But you practically fucked him already with your eyes, so he felt a little more confident.

His confidence altered though, when he noticed that you didn’t start taking off your clothes. “Uh, Yena..a-aren’t you going to...well, strip t-too?”, Izuku asked, looking up at you adorably. You only chuckled before taking out some toys, leashes, a blindfold and a gag.

“Wh-what’s this, Yena?“, the green haired male stuttered, eyeing the toys with an unsure expression.

It was safe to say that he got some real loving from you, or as you’d like to say, “catching up to all these years”, but you ended up overstimulating him in the best way.

---

Bonus:

“What do you mean, ‘I gave him a second chance.’?? He literally cheated on you!“, Shinsou exclaimed, ruffling his hair in frustration over the phone in his apartment.

He heard you sigh on the other end, probably in your king sized bed, naked, maybe playing with yourself, but without a man to have fun with. Shinsou wanted to have fun with you.

“First of all, we talked, and I think that this is the most important thing that should be done. Second, I gave him a second chance for Isamu. And third...

I...“

“You...?“

“*sigh* I-I miss him, okay?? I’ve been feeling lonely and always thought about Izuku. Everyday, ever since Isamu was born, I-”

He could hear you taking big breaths before you continued. “I’ve been concerned if Isamu would like to have a father figure, and since Izuku and I were divorced-”

What does she mean, ‘were’? Are they still not divorced?

“-and I thought that I should take both of these roles. And I tried, so hard, to make Isamu think of anything else but his father, but he just...he just cornered me one day and demanded to see Izuku...! And now, I, uh...“

“You what? Is everything okay?“, Shinsou interrupted you, about to put on his jacket.

“I...I fucked him. And now he is sleeping next to me.”

The purple haired male stopped dead in his tracks. You...fucked? Izuku? The bastard who cheated on you?

“...”

He didn’t answer, didn’t want to believe you.

“...Shinsou? ...Hello? Hitoshi, are you there?”, you asked over the phone, accidently waking Izuku up from his nap, his head lifting from your left breast to look at you alarmed with a tired expression.

You only shook your head and put him down to sleep. He closed his eyes but listened intently to the phone call.

“I...I can’t believe you gave him a second chance...! He was with another woman, Yena!”, Shinsou yelled over the phone, punching a nearby wall.

You didn’t really have time for this.

“Look, Shinsou, I think that everyone needs a second chance, don’t they?”

“You said that you’d never want to see him again, and now you’ve had sex with him?!“

“And? Didn’t you get back together with that other girl again? even though she was also gucking dozens of other people?“

“...“

“That’s what I thought. Let’s end this conversation for now. Good night Shinsou.“

“...Night.“

You let your phone plop down onto the night table with a heavy sigh, with Izuku cuddling closer to you.

“I know you’re awake baby. what’s on your mind?“

Izuku flinched before relaxing and drawing patterns on your collarbone.

“...Why was Shinsou so...angry?“

“He’d helped me all these years to raise Isamu. So...I guess you could say that he’d get jealous if someone would take his role.”

“But it’s my role..!“

“Yeah, but him and I have been looking after Isamu, have’t we?“

You received a dejected nod.

“I think he liked you...“, the male behind you murmured, hugging you closer to his soft body.

You snickered. “Hm, maybe. But even though you cheated on me...I couldn’t stop thinking about you, you know?”

Izuku blushed behind you, and you could feel him growing hotter. “I’m sorry, Yena. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“I hope so.“

...

“Isamu, you’re doing great!“

“Thanks dad!“

“D-did you hear that?!“

“Yes honey-oh shit don’t cry-FUCK!“

Deku cried, again. Isamu was laughing and you were stroking your swollen belly in a trance while you shook your head at the two dorks in front of you.

Izuku looked hot with long hair, he had gained his muscles back, but he didn’t go pro again. Instead, he became a househusband and cleaned up everything and made food. He had time to look after your son when you didn’t. And he accompanied you to your weekly appointments with your unborn child this time.

...

Next is Shinsou’s ending!!!

#deku x reader #cheater!Izuku #cheater!Izuku x reader #deku x you #izuku x you #izuku x reader #mha x reader #bnha #mha #bnha x reader #shinsou x reader #hitoshi x reader

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absolutebl · 2 years

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10 BL Scenes I Wish We Had Translator Notes On

Inspired by a discussion in this post. Here are some BL scenes I really wish we had extensive notes from translators to read. Or that a language coach or linguistics professor would analyze.

(Note: I don’t always have a picture of the scene in question.)

1. Daisy & Touch’s Date in Secret Crush On You

I did this one myself but I am nothing but a dilettante, I’d love someone more experienced with Thai nuance and the queer community do a full on analysis of the language use.

2. Phun coming out to his dad in Love Sick 2

I haven’t rewatched in a while and I would probubly understand more now, but at the time this scene was SO confusing. The translated pronouns are all over the place and I wasn’t at all sure whether he even was actually coming out or not.

3. Thun talking to his mom on the phone in He’s Coming to Me

There a whole subtle thing that goes on when Mes overhears Thun on the phone, to do with “ter.” I think I got it, but also, I think I missed a bit of the nuances that’s insightful to their mother/son relationship.

4. The ex-girlfriend, the boys, and the balcony in Precise Shot

A VERY odd choice as this is a Chinese censored bromance but I am pretty darn sure there is a whole subtextual dig at Taiwan and Taiwanese spoken Mandarin in this scene that went WAY over my head. I think it’s so rich for China to take a dig at Taiwan in an CENSORED BL. I want to know more about what’s going on.

5. The gendered(?) register code switch in the office kitchen in Old Fashion Cupcake

Honestly the translations are just really really bad for this one (on Viki for Japanese in general) and I am super grateful I have at least some ear for Japanese because I can tell when they mess up (which they keep doing). It’s a marker of how good this show is that I adored it despite this. Still, I would like the nuance of this scene explained a bit more. I get that he switched into a feminine register but how exactly? To what degree? What are the additional implications of this? How rare is that for a man of his age? How mocking was it? Or does mockery not come into it? Is there a queer of gay coded implication to this behavior? I HAVE QUESTIONS.

6. Nuch’s speech in Not Me

We don’t get speeches in BL very often, especially not subversive ones from a queer person addressing a crowd. The language is by necessity completely different under these circumstances and I really really like to know how and why certain choices were made.

7. Paitong’s speech of protection in La Cuisine

I love the way this one is translated but I am not entirely sure that translation was accurate. The supportive way Pai talks about his sisters (including Kitty in that) made me so happy, I want to believe it is honestly translated but I am not 100% certain that the queer implications of that translation were thought through (in English).

8. The frozen register usage from Prince’s mom in Sky in Your Heart.

I did not like this BL but the language use going on when Sky visits Prince’s house mansion is CRAZY cool. There is a dialectic switch but also a register switch and I am pretty sure they are speaking in frozen (which no one really does IRL unless they are/are with royalty). I’ve never heard anyone speak Thai the way she does.

* Note: Anytime you see Thai script subbed it means the characters are probubly speaking in a heavy dialect. So there are a few shows set in the north, like Siew Sum Noi that I would have liked a lot more linguistic info on, but the fact that I managed to find them translated at all, is kinda a miracle.

9. Yaja time in Semantic Error

I think I fully understand the concept and I got the implications of the drunk conversation before the kiss. But I’d like to know, in that particular version of yaja time, if there’s anything else more subtly queer going in with these two. I mean we all known and could hear that JaeYoung executes the sluttiest “hyung” on the goddamn planet but is there something else happening linguistically?

Often with KBL the culture around queer is so coded and so subtle I feel like I am missing a lot of the linguistic hints. Or maybe it just really is that repressed.

10. Mr Cinderella and the pronoun negotiations

I can’t pick a specific scene off the top of my head, although I am sure there is one. I understand from @squeakygeeky that Vietnamese I/you pronouns are pretty gender and power dynamic coded. This makes Mr Cinderella (the least Seme/uke of all VBLs) one of the most challenging on the actors and translations. I’d love it if they, and me, were given more information about this. Not just translation, but script choice, why those pronouns at that point in the narrative? Why the switch? Why NO switching? That kinda thing.

(source)

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outshinethestars · 1 year

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Like Santa Clause (Daredevil, MCU fic)

There had been cookies appearing on rooftops all over Hell’s Kitchen. Matt smelled them when he was out on patrol, damn near tripped over them a couple of times. Sometimes there was a glass of milk left out there, still cold, like it’d been set out on the roof late in the evening.

This time, there was a note.

It was written with marker, of all things, which meant that Matt couldn’t read it, but his burner could take pictures, and send them as texts, and read out the texts it received, so this was potentially a problem he could outsource. The question was who to bother with an idle curiosity at two am on a week night. Marci would be awake, he knew, but she would also count it as a favor, and potentially mock him mercilessly depending on what the mystery cookies and note actually were. Karen was definitely asleep, or at least she should be, because she had a job with actual bosses that required her to be at work early in the morning. Foggy was back ( Foggy was back! ) but he was probably asleep too, and Matt didn’t want to bother him with night work, even something as seemingly innocent as mystery cookies.

Claire was back too, Matt realized, and she was working the night shift. He wondered if she was the sort of person who texted at work. He figured that if she was actively saving someone’s life she just wouldn’t answer a text, and she wouldn’t mind being bothered with Matt’s curiosity. It would probably just be a welcome change of pace from him bothering her by bleeding out on her couch.

Actually, Matt hadn’t come anywhere close to bleeding out in almost a year, but from Claire’s perspective it’d only been, what? A couple of months? Matt really had done a disturbingly bad job of taking care of himself back then, it was honestly warranted everyone who’d been been blipped expressed baffled disbelief at the idea that he’d managed to survive for five whole years in their absence.

Matt took a picture of the paper and texted it to Claire, and got an answer back almost immediately. He made sure no one was in normal hearing range and played it.

“Did you mean to send me a black rectangle?” It said.

Oh, right, light. That was important for the whole seeing thing. Matt took the note to the nearest working street lamp, sniffed it to make sure it was right side up, and tried again. There was a longer pause, and then the phone rang.

“Aren’t you at work?” Matt asked

“I’m hiding in a broom closet,” Claire said, “Because you need to hear this, Matt. A little kid wrote you a letter.”

“It’s to me?” Matt asked.

“Yes, it’s written in red marker and it says, “Dear Daredevil,” (The D has these cute little devil horns and the Is are dotted with hearts all the way through) “Thank you for watching over the city. My little sister, who is my big sister now, says that you never stopped being a superhero during the blip, no matter how scary it got, so I wanted to say thank you for taking care of her and Mommy and Daddy and everyone while I was gone. I made you oatmeal raisin cookies, because they’re my favorite. I hope you like them. Tracy from school says that you’re supposed to leave sugar cookies, but those taste boring, and anyway, we don’t have any cookie cutters shaped like devils, just Christmas ones.

If you don’t like oatmeal raisin cookies, please leave a note and I can make you something else.

Love, Sally, Age eight-slash-thirteen.” And there’s a little stick figure of a girl in a pink dress with curly yellow hair and a speech bubble that says “Thank you Daredevil!”. Matt, where did you find this, and were there cookies?”

“There were cookies,” Matt said, a smile curving his lips, “And milk. There’s been cookies popping up all over the place, I wondered what it was about.”

“The city appreciates you, Matt,” Claire said, “No go back and try those cookies, I want to know if they're any good.”

The cookies, as it turned out, were delicious, and he told Claire as much. After patrol, he swung back around to pick up the rest of the cookies, and shared them with Karen and Foggy and Marci, though he made sure to save a couple to give to Claire later. The next night Matt printed out a letter and left it on the building. It read,

“Dear Sally,

Thank you for the cookies. I do like oatmeal raisin cookies, and yours were delicious. I shared them with all my friends and they liked them too. I know it can be scary, coming back from the blip, but all of us who stayed are so happy to have you back.

Love,

Daredevil”

#Daredevil (TV)#Matt Murdock #claire temple #fic and fic-like things #my stuff

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thegodovereverything · 7 months

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TMNTober Prompt One

His jacket was scratching against his scales, a constant rough texture that didn’t go away no matter how much he wanted it to. But he kept it on. It was the first thing he got for himself when he left home and he’d be darned if he took it off right now.

Mikey’s apartment was a bit disordered. Paint supplies littered the floors, half finished canvases leaning against peeling walls. His shower was never hot or cold enough and the dishwasher didn’t work. But it was his. He had always dreamed of the “true independence” shown on tv, colored in the bright reds and sunset oranges of freedom and hope and warmth.

A unicorn themed calendar hung off the wall, the current day circled three times in red marker. RAPH, it said, with no other information. Mikey had already forgotten the calendar was there.

After the invasion, the turtles became well known for a bit. Donnie and Leo even had an originally friendly competition to see who could get the most autographs requested (which turned into a not-friendly competition to see who could extort the most autographs–Dr. Feelings and Raph had to have a sit down with them about that). But, like all things, they faded into obscurity once again. They still got the rare crazed fan (This one guy–Bishop?--is especially interested in them. Even made a murder board, which Donnie thought was touching), but life was pretty normal.

Then Mikey popped the question. He had cooked a feast in preparation. There was food to cater to everyone. Dad had hot soup and cake, Donnie had his choice of flavorless foods, Raph had stuff for him to indescrimetely destroy, and Leo had pizza and ice cream. The room had been filled with the sounds of chewing and sounds of appreciation.

When Leo had taken his last bite of ice cream, he decided it was time to bring it up. He had brought in a deep breathe and channeled Dr. Delicate Touch. “I want to move out.”

The scoop of ice cream Leo had just eaten flopped out of his mouth and back into his bowl. Ew. Everyone was staring at him like he just said he was going to give up art.

“I just mean,” He took a deep breathe, remembering the speech he’s been crafting since he was seventeen, “I’m eighteen now, guys, and I’ve lived with you guys my whole life. I love you all, I really do, but haven’t you ever had the need to just… not live together? To have a place where it’s just you?” He had carried along that same vein for about ten minutes, talking about the need to prove to himself he can make it without them, the need for independence. Even then he could see that new world, a painting of oranges bright and colorful, shining independently of all the other colors.

Everyone was crying when he was done. Leo’s bowl had looked more like an soup, flooded with melted ice cream and tears. They had hugged it out and spent the day together, planning for his departure.

The actual departure was more bitter. Mikey had refused to let Raph see him off, sour about an argument they had had about him leaving. It had turned out that Raph wasn’t as for it as Mikey had thought.

Everyone had helped him get his luggage to his apartment and offered to help him unpack everything. He said no. Once they left, he sat on a leather suit case and cried. The full force of what he was doing hit him and he had no emotional guards against it. For the first time in his life, he was alone.

His shivering stopped his crying. Cold suffocated him, pushing inside of his body and freezing him inside and out. Rubbing his hands against his arms, he tried to find the thermostat. No luck. So he went shopping. He remembered this cute little mom and pop down the street, so he went there.

It was overwhelming. The store was coated in the smell of cigarettes and clothes hung off of every available surface. He moved some clothes around and a flannel fell on his head. It’s texture was horrendous and it smelt like it was dipped into sewer water, then dried and lathered in honey and sweat. It smelt like home, like his big brothers embrace. Like a tired turtle pile in the living room after a day of fighting. It was itchy and smelly and perfect. He got it and didn’t take it off for two weeks.

He’s been living alone for two months now. Not a single canvas has been covered in orange, instead he surrounded himself in hues of blue, purple, red, green, and grey.

His stomach was turning into knots and everything felt wrong. Cold pizza was sitting on a piece of cardboard propped up by paintcans. He had been staring at an empty canvas for an hour, and nothing has come to him.

Then he heard a knock on the door. Four quiet taps, spaced equally apart. He recognized that knock. He heard that knock against his door, gently asking Mikey to let him in.

He rushed to the door and jumped into his older brothers arms. Raph didn’t stumble, effortlessly carrying Mikey in his arms. Mikey nuzzled into his brother neck, breathing in his honey and sweat musk. He didn’t regret living on his own, but he did regret not letting Raph get to be there with him.

@tmntober-2023

Heres the Ao3 for it

Independence - TenfoilMan - Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018) [Archive of Our Own]

#words exist #This was surprisingly easy to write #which fits the prompts #also I wrote this quickly so I really hoe there are no obvious mistakes #TMNTober 2023

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littlemessyjessi · 2 years

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"A Handful and a Half": An Eddie Munson Story

Eddie Munson Imagine/Story

Stranger Things Fanfiction

Warnings: It's Stranger Things, ya'll. There's sensitive themes ok? Like, I'm not fussin but if you're sensitive then perhaps ST ain't the show for you anyway, lol. Like protect your mental growth and don't put yourself through the tRaUmA. Mentions of de@th, ab*se, dr*g use, ect. Just ya know.

Also, if you're a minor, and I say this with the love and care of an older sister, go. the fuck. away.

Anyway.

Let's begin.

Four tires rolled across the gravel road leading up to Forest Hills trailer park.

A sleek, black car came to a stop in front of a small gray trailer.

Government car.

On the porch sat a young man in his early twenties.

He ran his hand through his dirty blond hair, tying it back into a bun at the back of his head.

His bright blue eyes closed as he sucked in a breath in a last ditch attempt to calm his nerves.

The door opened and a glossy black heel stepped onto the pavement followed by legs clad in panty hose and a black pencil skirt that he was sure had never even seen a wrinkle in its life.

The woman stepped out and everything about her oozed authority.

Her crisp white blouse a stark contrast to her smooth brown skin.

The black blazer was only intensified with the sharp angles provided by the shoulder pads.

Her hair was tamed into a sleek, dark bun at the back of her head and her equally dark eyes were watchful as she looked around.

Child services.

Her eyes landed on the young man for a moment before she turned to open the door to the back.

Below the line of the bottom of the door, two tiny feet hit the gravel.

The little green sneakers almost danced as they wiggled around in the rocks.

The socks were a little too big as one kept riding down the ankle a bit.

The woman offered her hand and he saw the door shut to reveal a tiny little girl standing there.

The young man knew who she was even though he'd only seen her once in her short life.

His younger sister.

"Felix Olsen?" the woman asked.

He looked away from the little girl and gave the woman a nod as he got to his feet and met them at the foot of the steps.

"My name is Gwen Price. We spoke on the phone earlier. I'm here to deliver your younger sister into your custody." she said.

Her tone was flat and to the point but there was a certain tinge of sympathy to it.

He supposed having the profession that she did, it was probably in her favor to harden her heart a bit and not get too emotional about some things.

"Yes." Felix said with a nod. "I, uh, I remember."

She nodded and turned to look down at the little girl.

She was so small that she had her face turned all the way up just to look at the both of them.

"Esmerelda. This is your brother, Felix. Do you remember what we talked about in the car?" Gwen asked.

The little girl nodded, "Yeah. Hi, Felix. I is Essie. Nice to meet you."

Felix smiled.

She was cute.

Her speech wasn't perfect but the tone in which she delivered it was unwavering.

"Nice to meet you too." he said. "We've met before but I guess you were too little."

"Well, I is only five." she shrugged with a cadence to her voice as if to say that of course she wouldn't remember him because she only had five years to work with.

"I have the rest of her things in the trunk of the car." Gwen said. "If you'd like."

Felix nodded and followed her around the vehicle to collect the tiny green backpack and the gray duffle bag.

The backpack was littered with doodles in what he assumed to be permanent markers with a handwriting that he guessed belonged to the child in question while the duffle bag screamed of the government.

He guessed that was probably basic necessities, standard procedure and what was required for her to be given.

"There isn't much in here honestly." Gwen said. "She has a few things in the backpack that she refused to go without when we picked her up. In the bag are a couple changes of clothes but I will warn you that it is quite difficult to get her into them. She's fond of the overalls and bites when you try to take them for washing. She is definitely a handful. Her documents are here as well as some basic hygiene products. She has been provided a check up while in our care and she appears to be relatively healthy. The scar is healing nicely but the medication and care instructions are in a box inside."

Felix nodded again, glancing over to see the little girl now sitting on the steps, her attention having been captured by a lizard.

Her knees were scabby and her fingernails chewed off to stubs but the part that made his stomach turn was her face.

She was an adorable little child but marring his sister's cherubic face was a scar on the left side.

It ran from her temple across her nose before splintering and cutting back across her face the way it came.

Another cut sliced across her mouth on the opposite side of her face.

"She doesn't like wound care at all but she will let you clean it if you give her a piece of candy. I learned." Gwen said, a bit of amusement trickling into her voice. "I've taken the liberty of providing that for you. Just a little something extra from me. She's particularly fond of the blue lollies. So I suggest you save those for the bad days."

Felix' eyes softened a bit more at the implications.

"Her glasses are new. We issued them after her check up. She does not like the optometrist. I'm just warning you now. She bit him." Gwen continued with a chuckle. "She'll need to go for a check up in a year. The same with her dentist. Her two front teeth are missing from the incident but the gums are fine. No serious damage. She's young and still losing baby teeth anyway. So while not ideal, she'll be fine and they'll grow in when they're ready. All four of her canines are a bit pronounced at the moment and the dentist said they might need a corrective procedure in the future if she doesn't grow into them. However, and this is just as a mother, my oldest son's top canines are like that and he's fine. It's nothing to worry about. Braces are a decision for a later date. Just be sure to speak to the dentist when the time comes."

Felix nodded again, "Can this be done locally or do I need to take her where ya'll took her?"

"Local is fine. We've provided a list of pediatricians in the surrounding counties that are all great options. There's also a list of a few childcare options close to you. I believe the church in town has a daycare for afternoons and evenings. That should help while you're at work. She is of age so she is perfectly fine to start school when it is back in session in a few weeks." Gwen said. "We will be back in a month to do a check in with you and see how she is adjusting. I will most likely be me as I am her caseworker but in the event that I am unable to you will be notified of any changes. It's nothing to worry about. Just standard procedure." Felix felt like all he was doing was nodding but he didn't know what else to say.

"Alright, well, if you need anything, all of the information is in her file and I have also included my personal card if you have any questions." she said. "Please do not hesitate."

There was something in her voice that Felix couldn't place, nor did he even know to respond to it.

"Alright, thank you." he said.

She turned and he noticed for the first time that Gwen had lost her stoic expression and turned a bit misty eyed.

"Esmerelda?"

The little girl looked up, her glasses slightly askew on her face.

"I'm going to be leaving now." she said to her.

The child left her perch on the step of the porch and walked over to the pair of them.

Her shoelace had come undone and was flopping around in the gravel.

"Ok, Miss Gwen." she said. "It was nice staying wif you. I be missin you. But you come see me again right?"

Gwen knelt down, the dirt and gravel pressing into her knee, dirtying her panty hose.

She busied herself with tying Essie's shoelaces so she couldn't see the tears.

"Yes, honey. I will come see you. It will be about a month from now but-" she choked up for a second, her emotions making her professionalism falter for a second. "But you be good for your brother ok?"

Essie nodded, the spiky little pig tails atop her head wiggling with the motion.

Gwen reached out, fore finger and thumb rubbing over the end of one of the erratic tufts of dirty blond hair.

A haircut that she was fairly certain the child had given herself.

"I be good, Miss Gwen." she said and held out her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Gwen cracked a little at that, linking her pinky with the child's and pulling her into a hug.

Felix had been briefed on the situation when he was initially contacted about the custody of his sister but he had a feeling that there was a lot more to it than what he got.

Essie patted her little hand on Gwen's back.

The little fingers, a stark contrast to the no doubt expensive blazer.

"It be ok, Miss Gwen. It be ok." she said. "You not have to cry. I be ok."

Felix bit the inside of this cheek.

The little girl comforting the grown woman as if she were a child and Essie the adult.

Gwen laughed and pulled back, cupping the little girl's freckled cheeks in her hands, "I know, honey. You're a tough little cookie."

Essie shrugged before curling her arm to make a muscle, "Yeah, I knows. I a badass."

Felix couldn't help the laughter that burst from him and Gwen gasped but a smile tugged her lips anyway as she scolded her, "Esmerelda!"

"Well!" Essie shrugged. "I is."

Gwen shook her head and looked up at Felix, "I did warn you that she was a handful."

Felix was still trying to school his face back into submission but he certainly didn't have the heart to correct her.

"You not worry, Miss Gwen." Essie said. "I be fine with Felix. Him's good peoples. I just know."

Gwen smiled at the little girl again, hugging her once more before standing to her full height and dusting herself off.

She said her goodbyes and soon enough the car was speeding off down the road in a cloud of dust.

Essie watched it until she could no longer see it before she turned to look at Felix.

He looked down at the tiny little girl and had a mild flash of panic because even though he was already privvy to this information… he had no idea how to deal with a kid.

"Well, Essie, what do you want to do now?" he asked, unsurely.

She shrugged, "I no know. I just got here."

He cracked, a laugh tumbling out of him, "Well, are you hungry?"

"I always hungry." she said.

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

Essie nodded, "Yeah I used to always be hungry. Like all time. But not all time no more. Miss Gwen always haved good food for me at hers house."

Felix nodded, his stomach turning a little at the thought of what was going on before she was taken into the care of child services.

He also wasn't entirely made aware that Gwen had not only been her case worker but apparently her temporary foster home.

He hadn't expected that.

"Well, what's your favorite?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

Her whole hand wrapped around his pinky as he led her up the steps to sit on the porch swing.

"Hmm." she said, tapping her finger against her chin. "Well, Miss Gwen haved real good mac and cheese. I like that a lot. And turned greens."

"Turned greens?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said, blinking at him. "You know, turned greens? They green. Leafy, wet stuff. It sound yucky but is actually pretty good I found out."

Felix had no idea what a 'turned greens' was but made a mental note to ask Gwen on her next visit.

"And her maked me cornbread. That my favorite. Her let me haved it at night before I goed to bed with milk." she said.

Felix didn't have a clue how to make cornbread but he made another note to figure it out seeing as how she'd just said it was her favorite.

"And her maked me some fried chicken. That was very good. I like that alot. And her maked me black eyed peas but I not like that at all. No way. But I still eated it one time because her made it and her was nice. But I not want that ever again." she said, her face twisting in disgust of the memory. "But her also made sweet stuff too and I really like that. Her made nanny puddin and her made candy yammys and her made peach cobbers."

Felix bit his lip to keep the laughter in.

He could decipher a little of what she was trying to say but some of it he decided he'd just have to make a call.

"Well, how about some fried chicken?" he asked. "There is a diner not far from here. We can go and get some if you want." She grinned at him, excited a the prospect of food and he melted.

Her two front teeth were certainly missing and both sets of canines on her top and bottom gums were pronounced.

It was the wonkiest little smile he'd ever seen but by god was it cute.

"Ok!" she said. "That sound good to me!"

But she faltered for a second, "Oh, but I no have no money, Felix."

His brows furrowed, "Essie, sweetheart, of course not. You're a kid."

"Well, yeah, but Daddy… him always sayed …" she trailed off, her little fingers worrying the pocket on the front of her cut off overalls.

Felix' jaw clenched.

It was yet another reason for him to hate his mother's new husband and not feel an ounce of pity that he'd died.

His own father bailed on his mom when she found out she was pregnant with him and Cecilia had never been around much for him as a kid.

Pawning him off to whoever.

When she remarried Jeremy, he'd immediately disliked him.

He'd only seen him three times.

Once right before he left when he graduated.

The second when they got married and Felix all but had to force himself to attend.

And the third was about a month after Essie was born and he went and saw her.

He had never liked him and he still detested his mother.

But he had never hated the both of them like he did in that moment.

"Essie?" Felix said gently. "I'm gonna ask you something, ok? You don't have to answer but I would like it if you would."

She wouldn't look at him, instead her green eyes were focused on a rock by her shoe.

"Essie… did your… father…" Felix nearly choked on the word as he tried to get it out. "Did he not let you eat?"

She wouldn't answer.

"Essie."

She squirmed uncomfortably, "Well, him say we not have money. Him say we had to have it for other stuff. So sometimes we not have food. And sometimes I ask bout it but then him just get so mad so I not say nothin no more. And one time I got so hungry. My belly just not be quite no matter how much I rub her. So, I…I stole a apple from the store. And I know it was bad because him whoop my tale for it. But I promise I not ever do that again!"

A rage burned through Felix in that moment and she seemed to sense it.

It seemed to make her nervous.

"But that ok. I not need much food. I little and I be ok. And- and I promise. I not ever steal no more. I- I be ok. I promise." she rambled.

That only worked to fuel his anger but it fizzled the moment he saw the scared look in her eye.

He deflated.

"Essie, relax. I'm not mad. Well, I am. But not at you." he worked to soothe her. "Listen, whatever he did. That was not ok and it wasn't your fault. And you should never, ever go without food. And you won't as long as I'm around. Do you understand?"

She nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"And no you don't need to steal food, Ess." he sighed. "But you were hungry. You shouldn't have had to but that wasn't your fault. You were just hungry. But you're not going to have that problem anymore, ok?"

"Ok." she said. "I- uh, I not steal."

"Because you'll have food here, ok?" he pressed. "You'll eat at least three times a day here and we'll have snacks and whatever. Ok?"

"Ok." she nodded and patted her stomach, "I prolly not need much for a while though. Miss Gwen maked me lots at hers house. I even gots a little tummy now. See? Hers is kinda cute."

Felix chuckled as she tapped her little belly pooch.

"Yes, she's very cute." he said before he picked her up. "Now, let's go feed her before she roars like a dinosaur."

"You like dinos?!"

He blinked at her abrupt excitement and made a decision to take her by the dollar store on the way home.

He was fairly certain they'd be able to find some little plastic dinosaurs in the toy sections.

"Yeah, absolutely, dinosaurs are the coolest." he said.

She wiggled excitedly in his arms and tossed her arms around his neck, "You the coolest, Felix! I knowed you was good people!"

Felix laughed and adjusted her on his hip before carrying her over to his car and strapping her in.

The car seat looked a little odd in the back of his '68 Impala but somehow she looked just perfect there in the backseat as he pulled out and took off down the road.

Across the drive an older gentleman sat on his porch staring down into his second cup of coffee that had long since gone cold.

He wondered about the little girl and what she'd gone through.

He hadn't spent much time with his neighbor.

The young man kept to himself a lot and then all of a sudden there were government cars pulling in to talk to him once a week.

He had actually assumed the worst of Felix, thinking he'd gotten into something.

It shamed him a little to think about it when really he was just taking in his little sister.

Wayne Munson thought about his brother, Earl, and his boy, Eddie.

The little girl was close enough to his age.

Maybe he'd invite them over.

She looked like she could use a friend and Eddie was shy but he was a good boy.

With a nod to himself, he stood and made his way inside to make a phone call.

Hey loves! So I know the build up here took forever but I really wanted to take my time and set the scene. Background information is EVERYTHING to me because it really allows me to create a world around my stories. I hope I didn't bother you too much with the detailed stuff but I live for that shit. That's how I connect to my characters. And I know we didn't even see a Munson until the very end BUT we'll see Eddie in chapter two! I hope you enjoyed it and I would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading and I hope you're doing well today!

Love, K

@toomanyfictionalboyfriends

@thickemadame

@blackirisposts

@therealmrshale

@thegreatirene

@angelus320

@disneymarina

@sullybot

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@amethyst09

@leah-halliwell92

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#eddie munson #eddie munson story #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things

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yanderefairyangel · 7 months

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Connection in Engage

Ok so after watching this video, I got corrupted and I needed to talk about one of the main theme in Engage : connection.

So basically before the Ninento life interview a lot of people were wondering exactly what was Engage's theme. The Nintendo life revealed it was "Life the life you want to have/Be who you want to be" and some said it didn't made sense when the theme seemed to be revolving around connecting with others, such as how family is a choice rather then a factor limited to blood ties.

Well, actually, after watching this video and learning of the Buddisht concept of Anatta/Anatam it actually became clearer why it has this impression.

Japan and Asian country have a very collectivist vision of the world as opposed to a more invidualistic one, and therefore, the way they handled the theme of "being what you wanted to be" wasn't through putting their character through long strches about their future, but centered around the theme of connection.

According to the OP of the video, the self in asian cultures is more seen as interdepedent then independent (please give it a check for the sake of the post)

Following this idea, the only way our character in Engage can actively fufill themselves is actually through their connection to others.

This might also change your view on the "power of friendship" and answer the question as to why Alear is was elected most popular character by the japanese fanbase.

But before digging into Alear, I will began by an unlikely example of this reality with Zephia.

Zephia's JPN name is Sepia. And all the other hounds are also name after colors ; Gris/Griss, Marni/Maron, Mauve/Mauvier. All of those colors that apparently have nothing in common are in reality the 3 colors required to obtain a sepia tone. This is showing the idea that Zephia need the Hounds to be complete, even if she herself doesn't realize why, and that once she lost them, she lost her colors, what made her her, her essence. Now switching to Alear.

If you recall, Alear is amnesiac and they are a little easy going, at first, not having the occasion to really express their own belief and voices their opinion until Chapter 10 during the main story. And as explained by the OP in that original post, Alear is indeed dependent on other. That' is through others that Alear begin to developp their own new "self" seeing how their amnesia helped them literaly break out with their old "self" that precisely was also shaped by their relationship and lack of.

When facing the Corrupted, Alear could only overcome their fear and defeat them the same as in the prologue Sombron can only be defeated : thanks to Marth. I already mentionned it several times but Marth acts like a mentor figure and an angel guardian to Alear and that, they say as much themselves in chapter 10 and that is just as obvious in the Engage manga as well.

And indeed in chapter 1, it is once Alear realize they aren't alone that they rush in to save Clanne and Framme with the help of Marth.

Similarily, in chapter 3, they need the help of Alfred to defeat the ennemies. And Alfred offers a real support during the Firene arc and even beyond.

The support they have with the character is however the occasion for their personality to shine. As I already explained heren the Avatar worship is actually plot relevant, but it also unable Alear's modest and humble demeanor to stands out. I touched on it here, but Alear's speech in JPN is full of politness markers and mannerism. And in Japan, selflessness is a virtue particularly beloved due to the influence of buddhism on their culture. People who thinks of others, that don't brag or pride themselves with their achivement and that care for the well being of others and values their connection with people... All of this is what Alear embodies. Despite being the literal deity of the continent, they dislike that and keeps acting very humble, trying to correct their own mistakes etc. Countless support emphasizes Alear's kindess, and the PR support with Rafal has him summ up Alear personality pretty much well : "Really. You are too much of a sweet at heart. Even in the mist of a bitter war, you laugh and you care for others" or "You are care-free, good natured, loving and caring" (please ignore he is being derogatory here). And it is indeed a personality Alear is shown to display throughout their various support. Despite being amnesiac and learning a lot of things, one thing remains consistent with their past self, is their kindness. Their support with Gregory shows them trying to help others with Gregory helping them saying that "they are so kind he must make sure no one tries to take advantage of their kindness", their support with Nel has healing them after they got injuired from trying to protect her on the battlefield while they were trying to hide that they got injuried, the one with Hortensia is about how they value kindness more then charm and how this advice made Hortensia realize the real strengh of her mother, the one with Citrinne was about how they prefer an honest bond over what money can offer, etc. And of course their countless supports showing they crave for bonding with others : the one with Zelkov where they get enthusiast by what Zelkov is telling them, the one with Rafal with the C and B begining with Alear showing they want to know more about him, especially with the B where they follow him telling him to share more of his story. They also express wanting a peaceful, quiet and ordinary life in their support with Chloé. They are so selfless and caring towards others that in chapter 22, they were on the verge of tears at the idea that tehy would forever be separated from their friends and would not be able to help them save the world and honor the promise they made to Lumera to fight until the very end as they vanish. (You have no idea how much I wanna share the audio). All of this results in Alear embodying buddhist values that are largely appreciated by Asian culture. However.

It takes some time for Alear to voice their opinion on a matter and that is chapter 10 which I already covered but this chapter was the occasion for Alear to display a trait they aren't habitually showing : anger. This chapter was entirely about building up to Alear reacting immaturely after Veyle successfully steals the ring. Their overconfidence leading them to take rather lightly the advice Marth gave them, a strategical mistake when you lead into the den of your enemy, an advice they were clearly shown to not have followed even with the opportunity to run, to succomb along with the Brodian siblings to anger and hatred after Hyacinth openly taunts them for having fallen into his trap and all of this to explode after Veyle steals the rings, causing them to fall into despair at having lost what they claimmed to gave them courage and then anger/hatred towards Veyle to the point they refused to leave even though the situatio required it, leading in Lyn and Lucina to scold them when they realized Alear didn't knew the difference between withdrawing and running away and the reason is because Alear fall right into the one sin that is unusual to their altruist and selflessness demeanor : pride and egoism. Sometimes refusing to give up on something and not accepting your defeat is nothing but a question of your ego being hurt and that's exactly what happen with Alear : it's their anger that fuels their wounded pride that led to them refusing to leave despite the situation requiring so and to persist in trying to keep saving the rings that they lost. Instead of prioritizing what they should now protect (their allies) they were focused on what they lost. And again, I must point out that Marth's proeminent role during the first half of the story was showing the dependent side of Alear. All of this combines to show that Alear is no longer behaving as an embodiment of buddhist values, but as an embodiment of behaviour buddhism condemns. This chapter was precisely about Alear having to learn to detach themselves from the Emblem and to learn that difference between retreat and running away when both notions are also essentially linked to the ego : running away is the ego telling you to run while retreat is a decision made for the sake of protecting others and accepting your own weakness/limits. That much is confirmed by the dialogue Alear has in Heroes.

In Buddhism, the Ego* is considered to be the source of suffering. Being subjected to it leads to suffering, which is why rather then being subjected to it when ego and existence is suffering, invidual should rather try to support each other and connect with other to overcome this. And that precised idea is why there is such an emphasis on what we call the "Power of Friendship" in Engage.

I used to make a joke that Sombron was the perfect embodiment of the "edgy" mentality of being a strong solidary wolf relying on no one but himself but in reality, it's deeper then that. What I said about Alear earlier, it is what Sombron embodies. And not only him. All the antagonist in Engage are representing this antithesis of the collectivist ideals that Alear comes to embodies slowly in their journey to enlightment. Sombron however is completely subjected to his ego and unable to let go of the bond on which he is dependant and to move on. He therefore shows a egoistic and prideful behaviour that drags him into hatred. The same can be said in the DLC about Rafal obsessed within his own pain and wounded pride (please it's literaly the name of his Nil's skill) and suffering in his feeling he was incapable of bonding over other until he was able to break free from that attitude and started to realize that it is not alone based on strengh alone that you can success in that ephemeral life but with the support of other and by supporting them that you can actually reach enlightment. The same can be said about the Hounds since the 4 of them is trapped in their past and their own default/ego. This leads Mauvier to be too passive to the events around him, this leads Marni to think of nothing but of her receiving praise/love without considering the suffering of others, this leads Griss to take pleasure in pain and obviously, it leads Zephia to seek for a twisted love. While Mauvier thanks to his connection with Veyle and Marni finally ends up making a move, Marni, once she realize that she isn't the only person who suffered like that seeing in Veyle the same pain and wish she had in the past and leading her to finally cut it with her dependence of having her ego flattered. And in the case of Zephia, trying with how the Hounds are symbolicaly her everything, the fact that she is trapped in the past and is incapable of focusing on another person then herself becomes obvious once you realize she can't accept to give love to anyone while expecting to receive ultimate love. However, her conversation with Sombron and Griss made it clear that she believes she canno't be loved nor deserves it but that the only way for her to achieve it was to have a child with whom she shares blood, just to have a guaranteed love without giving into the effort of being worth or deserving this love. And that's the reason why Zephia failed to connect with the Hounds despite it being actually her essential : because like Sombron, she is focused way too much on herself.

And in the case of Past Alear, there is no denying that their connection or rather lack of with Sombron shaped them into a cold and broken being unable to detach themselves from him and enslaved by their ego in trying to survive and therefore commiting crimes. Like with Marth, it is their meeting with Lumera and their connection that actually gave them courage, but also a purpose and this is what lead to the Alear we knew today, albeit amnesiac, they still retain their essence of being kind and altruist, as well as the wishes they ended up developping during their bond with Lumera. That emphasis on bond in being essential to one's identity is essential when Alear's dream in the past and in the present is to become a hero for the sake of others explaining the different trial they must face being about detaching themselves and becoming even more humble. Thus them becoming the Emblem of Connector, the link that connects everyone together and keeps them as such (as shown by the DLC) is showing how Alear overcame the Buddhist "sins**" and ended up becoming the perfect embodiment of those collectivist values. Therefore, the condemenation of Sombron by the narrative is a condemenation of self centered behaviour and a refusal to accept that everything in life is transcient and to let go of them (his family and 0Emblem) while he is trapped into the past and his pathos*** seeking for what he lost rather then his present possible connection (his children). That and his obvious pride, arrogance and hatred or lack of emphaty towards others. The complete opposite of an Alear who is humble, kind and altruist and who learns from their mistakes and are able to become independent while still finding their strenghth and the fufillement of their own identity within others.

What I say about Alear could be applied to the whole cast, but this explains that the theme of connecting is actually so prevalent as to explain how one managed to embrace the live they wish to embrace.

*While this is true for buddhism, this can be also found within some reading of abrahamic faith, for example, some islamic reading viewing the Shaytan as refering to the ego.

**Sins quoted as normally the notion of sin is rather linked to theistic beliefs

***pathos which gave the word passion refering to a passive state, negative emotions that one must suffers and overcome. This notion was mostly developped by christianity

(disclaimer : I am not expert in buddhism and this is mostly based on the most of my knowledge so if you have something to add or correct feel free to do so)

#fire emblem engage #fire emblem #fe engage #power of friendship #buddhism lore

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ravenclawesome42 · 2 years

Text

Looking For An Outlet

Remus was in his favorite seat at his local cafe taking an online test for the class he signed up for over winter break. He didn’t necessarily have to take it, but the subject looked so interesting and it was with his favorite professor so he really couldn’t pass it up. He chose this specific seat as his favorite due to numerous factors: distance from the door, counter, and other tables; lighting; space to spread out without being too in the way; and general ambiance. He had tried all other spaces, but this was by far his favorite. The only downside was there was no outlet nearby - in fact there was only one outlet in the entire cafe - but that never bothered Remus since he was typically buried in a book, not a laptop, and never let his phone battery get too low. His laptop, however, was a different story. It was an ancient thing that held a charge for an hour, 90 minutes if he was lucky. Remus estimated it’d take no more than 45 minutes to complete the test, but he was fast approaching that marker and still had another two sections ahead of him. Sighing, he resigned himself to the fact he would have to relocate to safely finish the exam. He gathered his belongings and fished for the charging cable and set out for the small table next to the outlet. As he stood up, he froze.

The table was occupied.

As if adding insult to injury, the table wasn’t just occupied. No, it was occupied by perhaps the most gorgeous man Remus had ever seen. He looked like he had walked out of a fashion magazine with his Doc’s, tight black jeans, and a snug tee underneath a well-worn leather jacket. Next to Remus’ ratty Converse, ripped jeans (torn from wear, not for a fashion statement), and an overlarge jumper, he looked like a model. Even his hair was gorgeous, falling down past his chin in sleek waves, just blocking his face from view as he typed away on his own laptop.

Mustering up all the courage he had in himself, Remus strode over to the table and slung his bag over the back of the chair opposite the attractive stranger, who looked up at the noise. Remus was so lost in the stranger’s mesmerizing grey eyes that he momentarily forgot why he marched over in the first place. He mentally shook himself and stood up straighter, desperately pulling back the courage from moments ago.

“I’m sorry to disrupt, but I need to plug in my laptop to finish my exam and there’s only one outlet in the shop, so I need to sit here.” He finished his speech, and receiving no signs from the stranger that he was an unwelcome intrusion, he awkwardly slid into the chair opposite and plugged his laptop in. Reemerging from below the table, Remus noticed the man was still looking at him, though his face betrayed no emotion or expression whatsoever. He internally shrugged and resumed his exam, forgetting about the man opposite him entirely as he focused on answering the questions.

—————————

Sirius was sitting at a quaint cafe that his friend Lily recommended to him. It had a quiet atmosphere, wasn’t a chain, and had delicious mocha lattes, meaning it met his three top priorities when it came to choosing a spot to write for the afternoon. After a quick look around the shop he noticed only one table near an outlet and promptly took a seat there in case he stayed long enough to run his battery low. Judging by the quality of the coffee and smell of pastries from the back, he figured there was a decent chance he’d spend the remainder of the afternoon tucked away here.

He quickly lost himself in his work, barely remembering to finish his drink before it cooled. James always joked that when he wrote he became untethered from the real world. He even tested his theory once by shouting Sirius’ name through a megaphone not three meters from him. Sirius hadn’t heard him the first three times and was only brought back to the real world when Lily came into the room to shout at James for scaring her and making her drop the plates she was putting away in the kitchen. None of them, including James, knew where he got the megaphone from, which only added to Lily’s frustration and subsequent confiscation until he learned “proper inside behavior”.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he was brought back to reality by a man dropping his bag onto the back of the chair opposite Sirius. Since there were plenty of tables available he was not expecting to be disturbed or cause a problem by taking over a table for a significant amount of time. He was unable to glance around at the table situation because he was completely frozen in place by the most beautiful hazel eyes he’d ever seen. He took in the rest of the stranger’s face which was slightly flushed and covered in freckles. It was only as his gaze moved down towards his lips that he realized the stranger was speaking. He was unable to take in a single thing he said as he was distracted by how soft his lips looked, and what the small scar on his top lip might feel like if they kissed.

The man sat down and disappeared beneath the table, presumably to plug in the laptop that now sat across from him. When he reemerged he was still staring at the man, now taking in his honeyed curls as he brushed them away from where they fell onto his face. The man looked a bit confused but was quickly sucked into his work, whatever it may be, and Sirius watched as his face went from slightly nervous to completely focused and confident. The blush fell away, revealing more freckles. Sirius took a deep breath and turned his attention back toward his computer where he immediately opened the messaging app.

Prongs, mate, I’m in trouble

actual trouble or “i’m sirius black the most dramatic drama queen in the world” trouble?

Wtf is that supposed to mean??? I’m not a drama queen.

whatever helps you sleep at night pads…

Are you going to help me or are you going to continue to be a wanker

fine fine, i’ll play along. whats the trouble

I am currently sitting across from an actual angel. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven, it’s the only explanation.

what does that even mean. i cant handle you when you get all metaphorical or whatever. you writers are all words and no substance. get to the point mate.

Wow, rude. Fine, I’ll spell it out in jock then. “omg pretty boy, heart go thump thump, brain broke, omg what do?”

wow rude. i deserved that though. so lemme get this straight: youre sat across from a pretty boy and now cant focus on anything and have made a right fool of yourself or are in danger of doing so in the near future

I’m never straight but yes that’s the situation

i s2g you need new jokes. “im always sirius” and “im never straight” are tired

Yet you’re still friends with me. But back to the problem: what do I do????? He’s so soft looking Prongs, his hair is fluffy and he has CURLS and his lips look soft and he has freckles and he’s wearing an adorably tacky jumper.

damn so hes exactly your type

YES HE’S MY TYPE HENCE THE FREAK OUT

ok calm down. has he said anything to you

Yes but I don’t know what he said, I was lost in his big beautiful eyes.

ugh you’re a disgusting romantic. next question: do you think hes gay? youve been in these situations too many times before i dont want you flirting and getting your arse handed to you

Thanks for the vote of confidence, cheers mate. But no he’s definitely not straight, I can feel it.

weird but ok. final question: how are you going to exchange numbers

Exchange numbers? Do you expect me to just hand him a piece of paper with my name and number on it??

uh, yes?

Where’s the romance in that???

there isnt but if you cant even speak to him its the safest way

Oh gods he’s closing his laptop oh no oh no oh no it’s too late

WAIT I KNOW! buy him a drink

We’re not at a bar you git

do they not make drinks at a coffee shop

Oh yeah.

you absolute wanker. good luck keep me posted

Cheers mate

Sirius exited the messaging app just in time to see the stranger resurface with his charging cable, looking pleased with himself. It’s now or never, put on a smile and chit chat like your love life depends on it!

“So,” Sirius drawled, “do you come here often?”

Smooth, Black.

—————————

“So, do you come here often?”

Remus blinked as he slowly raised his gaze to meet the man’s eyes across the table. He had a smile plastered on but his eyes betrayed that he felt the same way about the conversation starter as Remus did: it was a shit starter. Bravely, the man soldiered on.

“It’s just you knew there was only one outlet and knew exactly where it was. It’s only my first time here so I had no idea.”

Remus paused before answering, taking in the other man’s obvious state of distress and valiant attempt to salvage the conversation. He took pity and set his bag to the side.

“Yes, this is my regular spot for doing schoolwork when I need a change of scenery.”

The man let out a deep breath and visibly relaxed as his smile became more genuine and eyes softened.

“It’s a wonderful cafe, I can see why. I will definitely be returning, the atmosphere is conducive to productive writing.”

“Oh, you write?” Remus perked up and the other man seemed to take notice.

“Er, yes, mostly mysteries though. You might have heard of some of my titles if you’re into those sorts of books.”

“Well what’s your name then? I have broad reading interests.”

“Sirius, Sirius Black.” The man, Sirius, looked down after he said his name as if to avoid disappointment if the name didn’t register immediately. Remus, however, had heard of Sirius Black and very much enjoyed his work. As one of the few authors who had well-written and authentic LGBTQ+ representation in their works, Remus read everything he published and loved his writing style.

“Heard of you? You’re on the syllabus for my Queer Literature class! And yes, I’ve read your works outside of class before. That was actually the class I was doing my exam for just now. To think the author was sitting directly across from me though…” Remus trailed off, unable to complete his sentence. It was just too weird a coincidence, like fate or something, that he picked this table on this day to sit at, and Remus took this specific winter term class and did the exam in this cafe. The world was a funny place.

—————————

Sirius blushed once the man said he was on their class syllabus and it only deepened as he kept going. At least this is more evidence for probably not being straight…hopefully.

Once he regained composure Sirius decided to go all in.

“Would you like some coffee then, to celebrate you completing your exam?” Please please please PLEASE say yes.

“You don’t even know my name yet and you want to buy me coffee?” Oh yeah.

“You make a good point,” he chuckled. “So what is your name?”

“Remus Lupin.” A soft smile spread across his face and his attention was once more drawn to Remus’ lips.

“Well how about it then, Remus? Can I treat you to some celebratory coffee now?” Sirius swore he saw a faint blush as he said Remus’ name but he could be mistaken. “You can tell me your favorite and I can try it next time I come back.”

Remus had a full-on smile now as he stood up and stretched. Sirius stared at his long fingers as he cracked his knuckles in quick succession.

“You’ve already tried my favorite: mocha latte. This place makes the best ones I’ve ever had. I hope that doesn’t deter you from coming back, though.” He smirked and Sirius’ heart nearly stopped with how utterly adorable Remus looked.

“I think I could be persuaded to come back,” he said slowly, “provided you’re here.”

“I typically am, but in case you want to be sure…” Remus grabbed a pen from his bag and scribbled his number down on the corner of Sirius’ notebook. He then walked to the counter and ordered two mocha lattes and threw a cheeky wink back at Sirius who sat unmoving, gaze flickering between the numbers and Remus at the register.

Sirius’ heart soared at how easy it was to get Remus’ number and the fact he didn’t make a fool of himself, or read the signs wrong. He wouldn’t hear the end of it from James that “buy him a drink” actually worked though.

Remus came back with the drinks and sat down across from Sirius with much more grace than the first time. He took a slow sip of his drink and looked up at Sirius.

“For a writer, you’re at a loss for words an awful lot.” What cheek, I’m a goner.

“Well, it’s not everyday you see an angel in person, I needed to take it all in.” Sirius flashed a brilliant smile over his coffee cup and took a sip as Remus flushed and abruptly put his own cup down for fear of dropping it in his lap.

Yes, Sirius thought, I could definitely be persuaded to come back…

#wolfstar #read on ao3 #fanfic #remus lupin #sirius black #remus x sirius #meet cute #coffeshop #fluff

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ndnp-art-ct3 · 1 month

Text

Magic

Okay so like... I've mentioned magic here, but I don't think I've ever really elaborated on it.

The main magic system that I really focus on is Selicaric-based wizardry (SBW), Selicaric being a language that all the spells use. If you have the ability to use it, you get to have a wand that you can summon with a wave of your hand, and you can use that to direct spells and shit.

Availability

It's available to use for anyone, whether that person is a human, a robot, or a mythical creature. Though the ability to use it does take a while, as you have to go through the sign-up process.

Allseers

The highest status in SBW management would be the Allseers, which is a group of 9 immortals who together, manage everything regarding SBW. I'll probably post about them sometime later, but they're essentially the most powerful wizards out of everyone who practices it.

Selicaric

SBW is based off the Selicaric language, as you could probably tell. Technically, if you memorize the words in the spell, you don't really have to learn the language. But learning the language makes it so much easier to know spells, as they're comically simple when translated. Like: "Teleport" "Heal wound" "Create table" that kind of shit

Almost all words in the Selicaric language are made up of a root and a suffix. The suffix is determined by what part of speech the word is. This is near-consistent across the entire language. The only exceptions are a few "marker" words.

Precautions

When it comes to SBW, you have to use it responsibly because it can get taken away. There's a lot of rules you have to follow, and a whole ethics class you have to take. All spells are monitored and recorded for future reference and to stop misuse. This monitoring is something that all wizards are aware of, and you have to consent to it in order to use it.

Keep in mind, this is a magical world, and a wizard could theoretically be used as a "proxy" for someone who isn't in the program to use magic, whether this be mind control, hypnosis, brainwashing, that kind of shit. So SBW has to have systems in place that automatically disable a wizard's magic in the event this happens. Same thing happens if a wizard's drunk or high. You have to be fully yourself to use magic.

Magic Academy

There's a Magic Academy. You're basically allowed in when you get through the sign-on process. You generally have to wait for a class to start before joining one, but you still have full access to the campus services (such as the library) and a free dorm room. Magic wizard schools get to have infinite dorm room space so they can afford to give free housing yay!

There's a lot of books you can use to study on your own, so you technically don't need to come to the academy to learn SBW. You could also take online classes, that works too.

Customization

Something cool about SBW is that you can choose both the color of it, and the object you use for your wand (within reason)

You have a lot of choices for your wand. It could be a staff, a stick, a phone, a baton, a bottle, a wiimote, really anything. If it's something that they consider a weapon, such as a knife or a gun, then there'll have to be some edits to it to make it safer to use. Wands should be primarily used for directing magic. If it has other extraneous uses, that's fine, as long as that isn't harming other people.

It's easy to tell whether something is a wand or not. A wand typically have a glowing aura around it, the same color as the magic itself. There are certain spells that utilize the magic color. For example: You can use a spell to create simple objects, such as a flat plane. These will be made of a magic glass-like luminecent material, and it'll glow the customized magic color.

uhhhh that's all I really have for rambling right now. If I think about anything else I can talk about, or if anyone has any questions I can answer, I can do that.

#lore dump

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brooklynislandgirl · 1 year

Note

What do you wish was different about us?

Something I said? || Accepting

Beth is sitting cross-legged on the rug in the living room, taping up the last of tonight's boxes. Despite the fact she's used a thick black marker to label it "Books-heavy" her handwriting is still precisely legible as her speech can be muddy. Their house, as she's come to think of it, looks so bear now, more than it did a few days ago. All that's left now is their bedroom and bathroom, and of course, Anakin's cage. She has packed up everything she could reach with military precision, is several days ahead of schedule, and every room she's cleared out has been cleaned to to the tacks and felt as if it was near newness. She takes a moment to rise, not wanting to admit to an ache in her lower back or a faint numbness in her legs. She can only assume where this question comes from but she's not surprised. Raylan's been like this for weeks now, ever since he'd made the decision to take up the Florida offer. She stands there and considers him for a moment, before wiping her hands down the legs of her jeans ~the one and only time she conceded to wearing pants was Moving Time~ and padding her sock-silenced way to him, meeting him at the stairs, and like the outside ones, taking the empty space near him.

No whiskey, no beer, no coffee. Nothing to make the truth a little easier to get out. She rests an arm around his knee and perches her chin atop it, gazing up at him. "Sometimes, I wish I was a lil older, so people wouldn't always make dem nasty comments or look a' you like dey do. At leas' we can say we no blood relation, right? On da oddah hand, I t'ink dere's somet'ing sexy in da ability to say ya bagged yaself a wealt'y heiress half ya age." Okay, so she's teasing him, but only a little. "I'm glad ya had a chance f' gettin' closure wi' Winona, but I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't wish Willa was yours an' mine. Or dat I could give her braddah or sistah, or mebbe bo'd. You make some real pretty babies, Raylan Givens." She gives his knee a squeeze. "Sometimes, I wish you'd let me into your head a little more but I undahstan' why dat's hard. An' only oddah t'ing I could do different, well...we're already changin' dat. I don' wanna be away from you five days from da week. Guess wha' I'm sayin' is...I got everyt'ing I need already, don' see any point f' changin'. What about you, ah? Wha' ya wanna change about us? Or raddah wish for?"

#Mahalo!K <333 #She's Talking to Angels {Bethisms}#Making Wishes on Passing Cars|Answered Asks #Moonlight and Gasoline|Raylan and Beth #You'll Never Leave Harlan|Justified main AU #Deep Dark Hills|Kentucky

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sorryicantquitequeeryou · 1 year

Text

All My Life I’ve Been a Whiteboard

"A whiteboard (also known by the terms marker board, dry-erase board, dry-wipe board, and pen-board) is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface allowing for rapid marking and erasing of markings on their surface."

Thank you, Wikipedia, for the in-depth definition and description I was seeking.

Around the early age of 4, I learned that people are most comfortable around themselves. I often would mimic the mannerisms, speech patterns, diction, syntax usage, and so on, of whoever I was talking with. When asked about my favorites I always answered very broadly. Favorite color: Rainbow. Favorite animal: all animals. Favorite music genre: no preference.

Of course, all of this mimicry was subconscious. I didn't know that I was doing it. Then sometime in elementary school, I had friends that didn't get along with one another and quickly claimed that I acted differently when talking to each of them. I explained it away, saying that you talk to everyone in a different way. "Do you talk to your teacher and your parents the same way?" Something like that.

[Warning: This is going to get a bit long & a tad messy... but I hope someone somewhere finds this useful, comforting, fascinating, or even just entertaining in some way.]

The issue was that I had little to no awareness that the mirroring and mimicking would stick. Like a whiteboard that won't wipe all the way clean, covered in residue and smudges, I would pick up attitudes, opinions, mannerisms, vocabulary, and more. An ever-evolving and rapidly changing person.

In middle school, I finally recognized that it was indeed an issue. I had spent so much time mirroring others and making sure that I could get along with anyone, that even with the mosaic I had become, I was still, at my core, a literal blank slate. No favorites. Very few hard opinions. Little to no personality, other than the well-behaved smart kid that's nice to everyone.

Though, I will say that being this blank slate seemed useful to me. It made people happy. If I was asked to act a certain way, generally, I would. "Sit up straight and be still." "Talk quietly and politely." "Be on your best behavior." "Listen and do your work." All of these and more were scribbles on me, the whiteboard.

With all of this in mind, I wish I had known that others couldn't actually tell me anything about myself. If only I knew that they were all simply speculations and assumptions based off of decades and even centuries of accumulated bias and stereotypes that had been altered and regurgitated throughout history. "You have a crush on that person." "You're just a shy person." "You're good at everything." "This isn't you." "You're faking it." More words, that for some reason, I absorbed as fact. Scribbled on the board, leaving residue and smudges I didn't know how to clean.

Since middle school, I have worked so very hard to become my own person. I have tried time and time again to "be myself" and not just show others what they want to see. I know I still mimic, I know I still mirror. It's fast and effective when getting to know someone, but now I know to share myself with others as well. Sharing myself is how I will make friends and form bonds. Still, there is a very real layer of anxiety. Anxiety that I have no control over the subconscious mimicking and mirroring that kept me from discovering who I am for so long. Anxiety from those harmful scribbles that I still can't clean all the way off the board. Anxieties from learning to question thing's that I believed to be factual for so long only to find that those words are holding me back.

I have been a whiteboard my whole life. Thousands upon thousands of words and pictures have been scribbled upon my surface only to be erased and sometimes recreated in almost the exact same way. Smudges, ghost prints, and stains litter my glossy surface. Sometimes the wrong kind of marker was used, or the wrong type of cleaner. Despite it all, I'm finally writing what I want, what I feel, and who I am onto the whiteboard that is me.

I have spent so much time on "crushes" and "romantic feelings" only to find their definitions differ from what I've come to know. I have spent so much time alone simply because I think it will be easier even though I love to talk with people. I have spent so much time trying to be the best at everything I do so I can live up to some unrealistic expectation that was just an exaggeration made by some random person at some random point in my life. I have spent so much time trying to figure out who everyone else thinks I'm supposed to be.

And... I still feel like I'm faking it. What if I'm subconsciously faking it? The anxiety. The chronic pain and illness. The gender dysphoria. The gender euphoria. The connection to the aromantic and asexual spectrums. The signs of undiagnosed neurodivergence. The panic attacks. The asthma.

What about me is even real if I can't trust my own subconscious? I can't help but wonder if the things in my life that seem to come so naturally to me are even real.

My whole life I've been a whiteboard. I thought it was a good thing, then I thought it was a bad thing. Now I see that it can be either, that it can be both at once. With all of the aches and pains being a whiteboard has brought, at least I can say in confidence that I am open-minded and adaptable. I'm always looking to learn and grow.

I'm sure there's a quote somewhere that says something along these lines in a more eloquent and elegant way, but to compensate for my lack of knowledge I'll try to word it the best I can for myself:

A resource is only as useful as its user can think it to be.

Instead of letting everyone tell me who I should be as they erase and write over one another, I am the one writing and editing what's been written. Instead of adjusting myself for the sake of others, I can learn to adjust myself for my own sake. After all, I can't help others very well if I'm not taken care of well myself.

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lightingway-archive · 2 years

Text

WESLEY BROOKS [UNFINISHED]

questions sourced from here 🤍

WHAT’S THEIR GO-TO PICK UP LINE / FLIRTING TACTIC?

he really doesn’t flirt in the typical sense and his only workable tactic for picking anyone up beyond existing and hoping someone approaches him first is overly blunt and better-suited to one night stands. and much like the latter, if someone’s done the hard part for him, his responses are of a direct yes-or-no sort and don’t leave much room for interpretation. if he knows someone well, he will stay in their space, but that’s not so much about broadcasting intentions as it is about putting himself in a position to be touched.

CAN THEY DANCE?

absolutely not. if the dance is slow, he can probably be led. anything more than that and he would embarrass himself.

UNDERWEAR STYLE?

boxer briefs! it’s almost entirely based on functionality and comfort (that support, fam; that snugness).

CRAYONS, MARKERS, COLORED PENCILS, PAINT?

i would say paint. he’s not exactly an artist in practice. he will draw a stick figure and call it a day, but he’s fond of color and things that are aesthetically beautiful. i can’t see him painting anything that requires clean lines, so I’m thinking watercolors, and the subject would most likely be the sky, over and over again. no happy trees, just… happy sunrises. happy sunsets. he gives me urban art vibes, too, like spray paint and sidewalk chalk.

WHAT WAS THEIR CHILDHOOD STUFFED ANIMAL OF CHOICE?

young wes regularly ran away from home at night because his best friend moonlighted as a stuffed animal. i’ve never pictured him having stuffed animals before; if he did, it likely would have been a rabbit!

WHAT’S THEIR SLEEPING POSITION?

if he’s alone and somewhere comfortable, he sleeps mostly on his stomach. in canon, if he’s outdoors, he’s on his back and boomer is most likely pulling double-duty as a pillow. with a partner (or partners), he’s either on his back for maximum clingability — he’s not a clinger himself, though he likes to be on the receiving end with his arm wrapped around — or curled into them like a chaotic spoon (with his partner facing toward him or away at their equally chaotic leisure). regardless of the position, he likes to tuck his chin over their head or bury his face in their hair, because he is a sentimental bitch.

DO THEY SNORE?

for a blessing, no. apart from being overly warm, he’s a very tolerable sleeping partner.

WHAT DO THEY ACT LIKE WHEN DRUNK?

he’s a happy drunk — more talkative, more forward, more open, more apt to share stories and ideas, less existential angst, less pretenses, less clothes. his speech is also less coherent: he rambles, curses, interrupts himself, pauses or trails off, and repeats words. takes any and all dares. will send drunk texts and photos to exes and delete the messages the next day to maintain dignity denial.

SWEET, SOUR, SALTY, OR SAVORY?

of the ones listed, it’s salty, hands-down. he’s not fond of sweet things — just about anything beyond raw fruit is too cloying. absolutely will not eat cake unless the frosting is scraped off. he also likes bitter things, as evidenced by his love of whiskey and black coffee.

CAN THEY PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? IF SO, WHICH ONE(S)?

wes can play acoustic guitar but not beyond an intermediate level at best. he received one for his birthday when he was younger and learned to play then, but he left it behind when he peaced out of montana. by the time the events of the game roll around, he hasn’t played in 11+ years (although he did retrieve aforementioned gift guitar). he picks it up again, but he is rusty. the last song he played before he left and the first song he played after returning were both across the universe by the beatles.

WHAT WOULD THEIR FAVORITE BOOK BE?

watership down! this choice has everything to do with the hilarious plot parallels and nothing to do with my own love of the book and animated film, i swear.

WHAT IS THEIR GUILTY PLEASURE?

he enjoys long walks through the valley and blowing up cult property.

the truest answer to this isn’t fluffy; i’m sorry! wes has a weird relationship with guilt and shame in that he tries to avoid those feelings because he equates them with a.) denial of self and/or b.) denial of things to himself, neither of which he enjoys subscribing to… or so he says. truthfully, he tends to overindulge in certain things in order to deny himself others, for better or worse. sex was one. he used it to distance himself emotionally from his actual relationship ideal, which is far more committed than a lot of his history would suggest. he has no genuine desire for promiscuity; it was just a means to an end — a disastrous combination of him trying to convince himself that he didn’t need commitment in order to feel whole and him preparing himself for rejection of commitment from other people by allowing himself behavioral excuses for it, i.e. “if you are refusing to commit to me because of the things i do, then you’re not refusing to commit to me because of the things i am!” historically, that’s what it was. it’s still a “guilty pleasure” in the sense that he indulges in it from time to time for the sake of validation. he’d much rather have a committed partner, but he assumes his modus operandi mentioned above was a little too successful, and that he shot himself in the foot with it. otherwise, a lot of his current “guilty pleasures” (as well as personal tics) are just replacements for drug-related behaviors in the past. drinking and smoking (both varieties) are comparatively lighter “replacement” vices than what he’d gotten into before, and a lot of his hand- and mouth-focused habits are learned coping mechanisms for/distractions from old cravings. some of those things are genuinely healthy alternatives (as is the case with his penchant for fixing mechanical things), but others are just neutral, ingrained behaviors that don’t serve any functional purpose beyond comfort or satisfying a compulsion.

IF THEY GOT A NEW PET, WHAT WOULD THEY NAME IT?

he’s far more likely to rescue a pet and just keep the name that came with it, to be honest. if he had to name it himself, it would most likely be based on some sort of simple, observational association like a fat, orange cat named pumpkin. if his partners want something with a deeper meaning, they will have to do the naming themselves.

BEACH HOUSE, COZY SNOWY CABIN, TREE HOUSE IN A FOREST, OR DESERT PARADISE?

aesthetically, the desert paradise or the cozy cabin. the forest works, but the tree house is iffy. he’d be happy enough living in the beach house, but it doesn’t match his aesthetic.

WHAT WOULD THEIR FAVORITE BOARD GAME BE?

risk. chess, even though raf dominates every single time.

WHAT DO THEY SMELL LIKE?

typically, a mix of cedar and citrus because of the soap he uses, but it’s probably not strong enough to smell unless you’re right there. (are you right there? good for you!) situationally, he’ll smell like leather and/or cigarette smoke. maybe sweat and blood if you catch him on a bad (read: canon-typical) day.

WHAT’S THEIR FAVORITE SMELL?

pine, wood smoke, wildflowers, gasoline, and tobacco. over half of these are harmful to his health; someone, please help him.

IF THEY WERE DRUNK, WHAT WOULD THEY GET A TATTOO OF?

if he were apt to get a tattoo while under the influence, he’d have ended up with one already. so far, the only tattoo he’s gotten is an ouroboros around his right arm, just short of his wrist. he was, however, completely sober, which was quite the point — or part of it, anyway.

DESCRIBE THEIR LAUGH.

most frequently just a scoff. his actual laughter is rarer, understated — low and smooth — but it comes with bright eyes and a million dollar smile.

HOODIES, KNIT SWEATERS, WOOL COATS, OR JUST A BLANKET TO STAY WARM?

of the ones listed, just a blanket. his style is a little more utilitarian — pockets and protection. when the weather’s colder he wears either a cargo jacket or a fairly standard leather riding jacket, and both would have a long-sleeved henley underneath.

ARE THEY GOOD WITH THEIR HANDS? HOW DO THEY DEAL WITH HOUSEHOLD-TYPE MAINTENANCE?

very good! wonderfully good! he picked up a lot of it from his dad — more observation and osmosis than actual instruction — but he keeps up with it in spite of the association. everything since then has been trial and error, but he’s really handy and would happily do most household-type maintenance himself. wes wasn’t in a good place when he first came back home, and his bike was a restoration project to keep his hands and mind busy in a way that was healthy and productive. he’s very proud of it, and all the work that needs to be done for that, he does himself. there’s definitely a metaphor somewhere in there for fixing what’s broken rather than throwing it away, but don’t suggest that to him or he will draw the curtains shut and pretend he does not see. wes’s skill set also includes lockpicking, hotwiring cars, and other fun things of questionable origin.

IF THEY HAD A CUSTOM CAR HORN, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

[unfinished]

FAVORITE CARNIVAL ATTRACTION?

classic, aesthetically pleasing rides like the ferris wheel and carousel, especially lit up at night. and i’m guessing he would avoid fun houses like the plague, given his hatred of enclosed spaces and general mind-fuckery so rip to him if he has to deal with the creepy one in the henbane.

SHOWERS OR BATHS?

[unfinished]

WHAT’S THEIR IDEAL DAY OFF LIKE?

[unfinished]

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doppelnatur · 3 years

Note

just a random person - not sure that “it” person was being obnoxious? maybe just a little confused?? idk

If I went into a trans mans inbox and went

so your pronoun is ""he""?

you really wouldn't be saying this would you..

#ask #anon #like I'm sorry for being fucking tired of ppl contesting my right to use it pronouns #what the fuck else would this be other than them being obnoxious.#confused... there was no question here. and if there was that would honestly be WORSE #like i don't go around asking binary trans ppl to explain why they use binary pronouns without them getting to say wtf that's obnoxious af #there's no way i can interpret this that's not a micro aggression #the speech markers around it the question at all.... like

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a-gal-with-taste · 2 years

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MIf you don’t mind, could you please write a Silcoxfe!reader where the reader is extremely protective of Jinx, as a mother would be, and ends up saving her from harm, but seriously injuring herself in the process? And after being absolutely furious that his lover was hurt, he is extremely worried—in his Silco way—and tries to distract her from her pain, perhaps by pleasuring Reader? Entirely up to you. I hope you’re doing good, thanks!

Naw, thanks for the idea, love me some mom!reader for Jinx! I decided to make half of this focused on the Jinx and Reader aspect (thank @sweatandwoe for it, just rebinged all of Secret Ingredients plus chapter 14 and like always, it's just 👌👌👌) but I hope you still enjoy the Silco/Reader half (be happy to add more/Part 2 if requested!)

2k+, Established Silco X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Suggested themes but nothing explicit. Language, violence/blood mentioned, implied Mental Health issues (Jinx), parents/couples fighting, injured!Reader, fluff, hurt/comfort, Silco earns himself the couch for a couple nights by being a bit stupid with his emotions/how he processes seeing someone he cares for hurt, briefly implied NSFW themes

The moment you hear her say it, nothing else matters. The moment that little girl, who you've only known for less than a year, with eyes wider and bluer than the far-away skies, looks at you and says "Mom?"

This deal going horribly wrong much too quickly, doesn't matter. The hands brushing along guns, knives or curling into fists, in the bar that is dangerously, stupidly underprotected, doesn't matter. The fact that backup is at least minutes away, and it would be stupid to whip out a weapon now, doesn't matter. Not even the fact that you feel the cool circle brushing against your side, matters to you in that moment, as you stare back at the girl.

The girl who just called you mom.

The girl who is looking at you with eyes seeking protection, defending and security.

Your little girl, who has a man's dirty, soon-to-be-dead paw on her shoulder, looks to you for help and there is not a single other damn thing in the world, that matters to you more in that moment.

Putting your hand on your hip, you lock your fingers around your weapon, bare your full-set of teeth and begin to see red-

-and then you open your eyes again on blue.

Jinx, tossing aside her markers, immediately buries her face into your neck with arms squeezing around you, as you rest on the cot. She attempts at being careful with the healing scars as she clings to you. But you wouldn't dare to tell her that even the softest of her iron-clad hugs make your body ache.

Silco doesn't show up. Sevika, instead arrives, and after her obligatory 'you are an fucking idiot' speech, consisting of a repeat of those exact five words, several times, along with a multitude of glares, she stops, sighs and drags her flesh-hand down her face. "He looks like hell, worse than he normally does."

"No shit," You managed out, running your fingers through azure locks. You glance at the seat where the girl had been sitting at, pulled up close to use your clothes as a makeshift coloring-board. The 'get well,' 'you kicked ass' and one large, bright blue 'I miss you,' make it hard to be frustrated at the new state of your clothing.

You can, however, find a bit of frustration and a pang of hurt in the knowledge that there's only one chair. And no sign of another. Or that there even has been another during your time of recovery.

"Where is he?" Sevika pauses, a small pursing of her lips, before gruffly, and with the closest thing to sympathy in her voice, "Working."

"I've always consitered you a smart woman, so let me ask you one question - when did you become so incompetent?" Not the hello you were expecting, but you don't dignify that with an answer.

Just like Silco doesn't even dignify your presence by looking up from his paperwork, the cool, short movements of his pen not ceasing in the moment of tense silence between you. "Perhaps I was just blind to it out of habit. Willfully ignorant in your lack of patience, wit and good-sense-"

"He had a hand on Jinx," You finally snapped. "A hand on our girl, and you expected me to, what? Whistle cheerily and twiddle my thumbs like she wasn't sitting there, clearly scared to hell?" "Of course not," His grip tightens on his pen but he still doesn't raise his gaze. "The man was going to die for it, but you don't bring an audience to a butchery; not unless you wish to send a message. The message you sent, and what's spreading through Zaun, was that we, by association with specifically you, are rash, unwilling to compromise and bold-"

"If we weren't bold, we wouldn't have made it this far." You retort. "If weren't bold, we wouldn't be sitting here right now, building our empire, and building our nation from nothing, Silco. Don't try and spit on my boldness; that's exactly what has gotten us here." Gesturing around the office, you hide the scowl as the movement pulls at a fresh stitch on your shoulder, but not the hiss.

Silco's hand pauses at the sound, a dark scowl on his face gathering like a storm. "You made us look like amateurs. You made us look reckless, weak. I can't have weakness, this mission can't afford weakness-" That was it. You stormed up onto your feet from where you'd been sitting on the couch, the action immediately making your snarl turn into a yelp as you doubled over, pain and nausea rippling though your body at the fast-action...

"Don't." You snarled as you glanced upward, meeting your partner's hard eyes and face, juxtaposed by how quickly he had raced around his desk and had held out an arm to you. "I'm going to be fine. Yeah, it hurts like a bitch, but I will bounce back from this... but do not mistake my injuries for a weakness, Silco. Or else I'd be looking at your scars in a different light."

The red eye seemed to burn through you, the teal one a mere slit. Coolly, he informed you that you were now benched until further notice, to remain at The Last Drop until he states otherwise. "Great," You retorted as you forced your aching body to straighten, turning and staggering to the door of the conjoined bedroom. "And I guess I shouldn't expect you to be at my side during that as well, right?"

If he responded, you didn't hear it over the sound of you slamming the door shut behind you, and locking it.

Weakness. Weakness, he dared to call what you did. After everything the two of you had been, had done together...

You weren't blind. You knew he spoke from a place of worry, and, though he'd never show it, fear. Fear of losing you, after everything you'd been and done for one another, but that didn't sooth your anger any further, and exasperated by your sore pains, kept you from opening the door that night.

If he knocked, or had tried to pick the lock to get in, you didn't hear any attempts to do so, even as you remained awake half the night, and tossing and turning for the other half. He was already settled back at his desk when you re-emerge in the morning, and though he only gave you a short reminder of your current stay-in-the-building orders, said very little else to you.

You responded in kind, and chose to ignore the equally dark bags under his human-eye as you removed yourself from the office.

"-even Sevika looked sick beating up those jerks!" Jinx babbled, plopping herself into your lap at the signature booth of the bar, as soon as you hobbled your way downstairs. You watched her in bemusement as she doodled the scene in question, even giving Sevika a proper, almost dignified look in her drawings. "Heh, it got so messy, you kicked ass."

"That's my job," You reminded her, reaching up to gentle tousle her blue locks and hide a yawn behind a smile. Getting Jinx hadn't been easy, and definitely had not been part of the plan. But you knew from the moment you saw those big, red-rimmed eyes in the pouring rain, a silly, sentimental part of you was firmly in her hands, and you knew you would never get that piece of your heart back.

Silco held a similar piece, but for entirely different reasons. Whereas the affection for Jinx was a instinctive, material bond of storge that you knew, now more than ever before, that you would kill to defend, your affection for Silco was an entity of its own. You knew his flaws, just as he knew yours. He knew your thoughts, your emotions and body, and though you knew Silco still attempted to mask his feelings, you knew the man just as much as you knew yourself.

A love of it's own unique, unyielding brand, is what you and him had. That's why his attitude about this whole situation pissed you off so much.

Jinx must've sensed it, because she frowned, and stopped swinging her legs as she tilted her chin back to look up at you. "Are you and Mr. Silco fightin'? He didn't come visit you once when you were with Mr. Burn-Face, and now you aren't talking with him at all."

"It's Singed," You corrected her, and gave a small smirk as you side-stepped the question. "And when we're talking again, I am absolutely telling Silco you still call him Mr, while I get to be 'mom'." You leaned down to boop your nose to hers, smirking. "Does that mean I'm your favorite?"

"Nuh-uh!" Jinx grumbled, freckled face flushing as she jerked her face back down to her paper. "Y'just... I dunno. You seemed like a mom at the time, that's why I said it." Humming thoughtfully, you peek up over the top of her head to look over her paper, softly asking, "Do you miss your mom, Jinx?"

Jinx halted her hand, staring at the blank stick-figure she'd been drawing beside what you assumed to be yourself, based on the coloring. "... I dunno." The little girl admitted, a small jerk of her head as she glanced off to the side, before quickly turning her gaze back to the paper as she dug her nails into her fist. "I-i... I don't remember mom. I don't know her... i-i'm supposed to, I-i know, I know I'm supposed to remember, but I don'-"

You could tell the girl wasn't technically speaking to you anymore, and smoothly, ignoring the wince at the action, slipped your arms around her to hold her together as she muttered and whimpered under her breath. "It's okay. It's okay, Jinx. You don't have to decide how to feel about it, okay?" Swallowing back a grunt as your stitches pull when you tighten your loose hold into a secure hug around the girl, you're rewarded from the pain by the warmth that fills your chest as she wiggles in your arms, to turn and tuck her head under your chin.

"Moms are a weird thing, y'know? And sometimes you don't know how to feel about them, but that's okay. If you want to feel something, that's fine. If you don't, that's fine too, okay?" A hesitance, before you decide to toe over the line, tilting your head down to press a kiss atop the blue locks. "You don't need to decide anything about 'moms.' Moms are happy to give their kids everything, they don't need much in return."

A small sniffle at your collar, before you feel a single jerk of a nod as you gently rub circles into her back.

Then, quietly, "Can... can I decide to keep calling you mom?"

You swallow, a lump in your throat suddenly. As you confirm, a bit hoarsely, that of course it was okay, you got the sensation of someone watching, and flicked your eyes up to the balcony above the two of you.

Silco turned quickly to slip back into the office. But, you knew him well enough, and the slight sag of his shoulders as you had met his eyes, was sign enough of his tired, but relieved and contented look at the sight of the two ladies in his life, safe in the few ways he could ensure it in this city of his.

That look didn't earn him access to his bedroom back, of course. Actions and expressions of affection were one thing, the petty need for an apology was another. That didn't make the second night you spent alone any easier, sleep still evading you like the plague, your hand absently brushing along the empty covers beside you.

You missed him.

Missed him in your bed, and though you had been unconcious part of the time, had missed him during your recovery from the fight.

Closing your eyes suddenly as a small shift sent a dull throb through the deepest of your cuts and lacerations, you felt a small whimper tug from deep within your throat at the pain. It passed, leaving your breathing a bit heavier, but not heavy enough to hide the subtle attempt of a quiet jiggling of the doorknob, a response and a desire to get to you after hearing such a sound. You squeeze your eyes shut a bit tighter at the quiet knock, but don't try to psyche yourself from the idea as you bite back another groan, and limp over to the door.

Silco has the courtesy to pocket the lock-pick just as you open the door a crack, just enough to catch his exhausted expression and couch-raggled head of hair. He stares at you for a moment, while you give him a tired, slow blink in response to his silence. "I... I couldn't see you. Not like that, not..." A pause, and Silco swallows a bit. "... not like how I found you. It was cowardice, but I couldn't sit there and stare at your battered, broken body like that."

You nod; it makes sense. Your partner shied from little, though you could imagine seeing you brought to the unconsciousness in such a pummeling would be enough to turn even Silco's stomach. "Still shitty. I would've wanted you there when I woke up."

"I know." A beat. "... it wasn't a instance of weakness, either. Or incompetence. It was strength. Strength that those who oppose us may not see, at first, but will soon grow to fear." A small flicker on those scarred lips. "I heard you were quite terrifying."

"The scariest. I made you look like a teddy-bear." You confirm, feeling a long-miss warmth in your chest at the tiny chuckle that passes through him. He places a palm on the door, letting a wall down in his teal eye as he looks at you tiredly, and with wanting as he mutters your name, "Let me in. Please." You let out a small sigh, and raise a brow, tiredness making your sarcasm a bit more longer-lasting, "Too good for the couch, are you?"

"No. I need to be beside you, I've already missed you enough. Please."

Not the sorry you were looking for, but you find yourself stepping back, and letting him back in. You'll have him properly expressing his regret soon enough, but for now, he takes no chances to allow you to change your mind. Stepping in to gently secure your face between his hands after he shuts the door behind him, Silco begins pressing a series of slow, gentle kisses on your lips as he guides you back to the bed.

You've seen this man blackmail, torture and murder countless times. It'd be laughable to anyone but you, to see none other than Silco, dreaded overlord of Zaun, be the one to gently, almost tenderly lay you to rest on the bed. Removing himself only momentarily to change out of his more restrictive day-clothes, leaving on his undershirt and pants. Too impaitent to strip off anything more, he's returning shortly after to lay himself down beside you.

You can't help a tired smirk as you hear a muted groan of relief as his body finally dips back into onto the soft bed you share. "Deserved it." You murmur, eyes cracked open to watch as he leans over to cup your cheek, pulling your face close so he could press his mouth to yours again. "I missed you."

"I missed you as well," He mutters smiling at the hum as he traces the curve of your cheekbone with his thumb. "That's why you're not leaving the building for the foreseeable future, I'm afraid. Need to catch up on my time with you, and more some."

"Hmm... might go stir-crazy. Might need to sneak out."

The tease earns you a familiar, deeper purr, a more pressing kiss to your lips as he snakes a hand down your body to your hip. "Hmm... might need to get some locks then. Might need rope or two, just in case." His trail of fingertips end immediately at your rough hiss as he passes a still-healing bruise. Taking a breath, you give him an apologetic smile with tired eyes, "Easy there, Sil. Plenty of time for that later... just, be with me now?"

Impossibly, his eye softens further, an expression saved only for you, and until extremely recently, Jinx. "Of course, darling." Again, frightening gentle for a man of his profession and standing in this underworld, he helps to move you over so he could curl an arm under you, tucking both beneath your chest as you recline your back to his.

Respecting your need for peace, at least for now, Silco's hands don't wander in the position you share with him. Though he takes full advantage of the back of your neck being exposed to his mouth, leaving brief, warm flickers of flesh along behind your ears, hairline and neck as you hum and sigh in quiet, peacefulness. You feel his proud nose nuzzle into the back of your skull as you drift off into sleep at last, in the arms of your partner, body finally content and warmed by his presence to get some proper rest.

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statticscribbles · 3 years

Text

Doodle

Summary: Newt/Reader; Soulmate AU,whatever you write/draw on your skin appears on your soulmates

All throughout school you’d catch doodles and scribbles on your arms; occasionally the faint sketch of some creature but mostly small flowers or magically drawn birds. You’d never figured out who it was during your time at hogwarts; but when you started working in the ministry; the drawings became a comfort, you often wonder if they play a role in your decision to work in the Magical Creature’s department. You don’t usually respond to the drawings, they either appear in places you can’t easily reach due to your clothes covering them; or you’re working on gathering information and trying your best to do research about the creatures everyone wants to destroy. You hate how wrong that feels and you take more comfort in the drawings of the creatures as if they’re being studied, not hunted; soon lists were added; odd ingredients or items. It was a silly habit but you found yourself buying the plants that were most commonly listed as well as keeping a small hoard of galleons for whatever kept stealing your soulmates. You’d never actually talked to him; but one day after he angrily scraped three underlines under ‘liquid seaweed’ did you draw a small frowning niffler next to it; you added a speech bubble and the words “that stung” colouring in the tears. The reaction was immediate; swirls and flowers and branches suddenly heated your skin, magically drawn on. It sunk in your soulmate never realized you’d returned the doodles; just that they had forgotten how much they’d drawn on themselves.

I’ve never thought I would have a soulmate all my time at ----------- I couldn’t ever remember seeing drawings. You frown and the gap in the sentence; you knew locations and names wouldn’t go through. You draw the niffler again; sitting on your wrist and adding a speech bubble filled with magic hearts I always thought you were too busy with whatever you do.

Research. He responds and draws a heart around the niffler.

You like nifflers? You ask and he draws another bunch of hearts before adding. They're cute but they steal everything shiny he adds a frown and you cross over it grinning as you draw yet another niffler holding a heart. They just want love is all; and all your shinies. You look up jumping when you see Thesues Scamander standing in front of your desk looking unimpressed.

“Sorry sir; what can I do for you?”

“I need the report from the incident with the grindylows from the other day. Murklow said that it could be a cover for a Grindelwald meeting.” You nod pulling your sleeve down and waving your wand to pull the report he’s asking for.

“Here you are sir; anything else?”

“Were you talking to your soulmate?” You flush a little at his question, nodding.

“Well if he likes nifflers as much as you; ask about other creatures?”

“Oh that’s a good idea sir!” You grin and he smiles softly.

“Call me Theseus, Y/N.” You nod, waiting until Theseus leaves and then scribbling on your arm a question that your soulmate leaves blank for two hours. Do you like magical creatures or are you like most others? You’re not sure what you’re expecting but you receive a paragraph along your thigh with only a few of the words blanked. You read through all of it twice grinning at how passionately he talks about how misunderstood most creatures are. You draw a niffler offering a heart out and then ask Have you read Fantastic beasts and where to find them? It just came out; I love it. You grin to yourself when a string of hearts answers your question. What do you think of the author? You chew your lip jumping when your boss calls you for a new case. You scowl at the information; most of the department still believed in the older information of most of the magical creatures. The new case was investigating a group of knarls that were nearing a muggle area. You spend the rest of the day gathering as much information about the area the knarls were last seen and what you’ll need to capture and relocate them.

Sorry work got busy; I love the author, he seems so kind and wonderful. You offer frowning when there’s no reply.

“Y/N!” You turn when you hear your name called and are surprised to see Thesues walking over.

“Yes?”

“You’re working on that Knarl case right?” You nod letting Theseus update you on the whereabouts, apparently the knarls were only in the muggle area because there’s a Jarvey that took over there home.

“A Jarvey.” You scowl sighing.

“Thank you Theseus; this makes dealing with it a lot easier; at least I can sort of talk to the Jarvey.” You roll your eyes and he grins.

“You off home now?”

“No; I’m off to go see if I can find the Jarvey; or the Knarls.”

“You think you can talk to them?”

“The Knarls yes; the Jarvey, hopefully.” You wave goodbye to Theseus as you take the floo network home.

Do you know about Jarvey’s? I have to deal with one soon. You wait for a reply as you pack a bag; drumming your fingers as you get no response before you apparate to the area that the report said they were in.

To catch one? You nod before writing yes. All you get is a half sketch half doodle of a niffler, with a heart and it making what you assume is a thumbs up gesture.

You groan waking up after having spent most of the night trying to convince the Jarvey to leave the Knarls alone and find a better home. You’d been called a bitch and vermin about fifty times before you’d gone to speak to the Knarls; the Jarvey had been offended enough to counter offer your idea of leaving the Knarls home to find a new one for himself. That was after he’d angrily scraped at your arm; almost tearing through the doodled nifflers.

You managed to agree to rehome the Knarls away from the muggle area; and even offered the Jarvey some moles you’d managed to gather before you’d gone to meet them. You’d gotten as close to a thank you as possible from a Jarvey and he even offered to come with you to the ministry to explain what you’d agreed with. You’d assured him while you appreciated it; you didn’t like the idea of him being captured. He’d then drawn a crude sort of star on your palm with a black marker he’d found and you’d returned to the ministry with the Knarls in a cat carrier with blankets charmed to stay warm.

“Good morning Y/N.” Thesues grins and you nod yawning.

“Late night?”

“Yeah; but I got the knarls.”

“You got the knarls?” He looks down to the case and you grin.

“And the jarvey?”

“He’s enjoying his new home and the snack I brought him.”

“You fed the Jarvey? And talked to it?”

“I mean I don’t know how much of a conversation it was; I was explaining everything going on and he kept calling me a bitch.” You shrug setting the knarls; which continue to sleep under your desk as you start to work up the report.

Did it go okay? You grin at your soulmates question, drawing a crude doodle of the knarls in the carrier. We all survived. Minus my pride. You don’t look at the response for a while finishing up the report and waiting till lunch to find your supervisor to ask about relocating the knarls.

The jarvey decided to knock me down a peg. Beside the explanation you doodle the jarvey with an angry face and a little speech bubble with the words bitch and vermin in it. The only response is a frowning face.

Since you know so much about magical creatures; where's the safest place for me to bring the knarls? You chew your lip hoping that wherever he describes won’t be blanked out. Suitcase. Or a large field with plenty of hedgerows; anywhere a hedgehog would live. You nod drawing a circle and question marks around the word suitcase.

“Y/N where are you off to?” You hold up the case, the knarls chattering at you and you frown.

“I’m sorry guys; I just have to have a quick chat and we can get you a nice big field and some new worm hunting grounds.” They chitter again and you sigh.

“I’m heading to drop the knarls off to a much better home.”

“Your soulmate give you advice?” Theseus grins as he walks up spotting the carrier in your hands.

“Apparently I need a suitcase.” You laugh showing Thesues the writing on your arm. He nods glancing from the knarls to your arm and back to you. He doesn’t say anymore simply turning away back towards his department. You shrug and leave the ministry building to apparate to one of your favourite spots in the countryside. You glance to the abandoned cottage before nuding the door open and opening the carrier to let the knarls wander out.

“There we are. Is this an okay spot?” You hum as the knarls seem to vanish. You make a note to check back on them in the coming weeks. You know you still have time for lunch but you decide to return back to the ministry to avoid rushing and being able to have a cup of tea in peace. You’re sitting in the lobby people watching when you can see a figure stagger out from the floo network and almost tackle Theseus to the ground. You try not to laugh when Theseus grins hugging the figure as the figure seems to hang limply in his grip for a moment before his head swivels looking around.

“It’s lunch right now.” You can hear Thesues’ voice and you note how the man next to him wilts. You try your best not to laugh at them returning to your tea before you can feel eyes on you. You don’t say anything feeling the faint scratch of a pen on your arm. Turn around and wave. You roll your eyes turning and waving. The man next to Theseus stares at the ground while Thesues moves towards you.

“Y/N. How’s lunch going?”

“You lost your friend.”

“My brother actually, Newt; come over here and say hello to Y/N she works in the department for magical creatures.”

“Oh; hello.” He walks slowly over extending his hand and you catch a familiar black star shape on his palm.

“Your soulmate?” You question and he nods.

“No clue what they mean by the star; but it’s nice to finally talk to them.” He grins slightly and you laugh a little nodding.

“What about you?” Thesues comments and you look down to your palm at the star shape.

“The Jarvey I talked to earlier. He decided it was a parting gift.” Newt steps closer to examine it; his fingers brushing over your palm; barely touching it.

“Is this the same jarvey that called you a bitch and vermin? I might have to have a word with him.” He mumbles and you try your best not to give anything away with how Newt keeps side glancing to Theseus.

“I was wondering; since you’re the expert here; I dropped the knarls off to a new area; and I don’t know if it’s a proper place for them..” You trail off and can see Thesues roll his eyes.

“You two enjoy your talk about knarls; remember lunch is over in twenty minutes.” Thesues reminds you and you nod waiting as he leaves before you look up at Newt.

“Hey.” He grins watching as you press your palms together to match the stars up.

“Your drawings are much better than my doodles of a niffler.”

“I thought they were very true to reality.”

“Is this why you mentioned a suitcase.”

“Yes; did it help you catch on?” he tilts his head and you gasp. He grins as Pickett pokes his head out.

“Not now Pickett.” Your hand drifts upwards and Pickett’s hands reach towards you and climbs on your hand.

“Oh. Hello there sweetheart. Aren’t you just the most impressive bowtruckle I’ve ever seen.” Pickett taps his little hands on your figner nails and Newt sighs.

“His ego is big enough; please don’t lie to him.”

“It’s the truth. No harm in reminding him. He really is incredible though. His leaves are a beautiful green shade.” You grin and Pickett taps faster on your hand before scurrying towards your shoulder as Newt reaches for him.

“Pickett no!” he scolds trying to grasp at the bowtruckle as he hunkers down on your shoulder.

“Newt it’s alright; I can show you where the knarls are anyways.” He looks towards the clock and you catch your supervisor's attention.

“Yes Y/N.”

“I dropped the knarls off sir; is there anything else?”

“Oh good; we have two new cases one involving; what else were you going to ask.”

“Well sir; I’ve just found my soulmate and I was hoping-“

“Go home! Talk with each other. For Merlins sake Y/N; you have enough vacation days regardless of the soul week you get to spend off. Go on.” He nods and you grin.

“Thank you.” You grin and Newt waves to him, you laugh a little when he falters and glaces to both of you.

“Theseus is going to kill me.” He grins and you quirk an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Yes; I was just talking about how I finally realized I do have a soulmate and he all but demanded to see what we’d written. He lost it when he saw the writing; I guess I know why. He recognised your handwriting.” You smile at him nodding to the Floo network.

“Here; hold my hand.” Your hand twines with his as you step into the floo-place and close your eyes speaking the area of the countryside.

“Here we are.” You grin and Newt looks around.

“This seems perfect for knarls.” You grin back at him.

“Now may I show you the first option?”

“The suitcase?” You look confused and he grins holding his hand out. You close your eyes; you’re not sure why but Newt grins.

“Okay open!” you spot his face; halfway obscured by a young Occamy curling around his neck.

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wingodex · 3 years

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The Old Guard Speech Patterns Analysis

I made a post on the speech patterns of the main characters in The Old Guard, and a lot of people seemed interested in it, so I’ve cleaned up and clarified the rest of my notes. What I’ve looked at specifically here is mostly related to syntax, so grammar and sentence structure. I’ve vaguely looked at pragmatics, which has to do with how context contributes to meaning, and semantics, which deals with the meaning of words, phrases and sentences. I’ve also looked at sociolinguistics, which has to do with the effect of society on language, but I want to be upfront in saying that it’s not my personal area of interest so my knowledge is lacking there. On that same point, I have no formal linguistics training, I’m just into conlanging and everything I know about linguistics is self taught. For each of the characters I’ve talked about contraction usage, colloquialisms, phrases, verb and verb tense usage, ellipses, sentence composition, adjective and adverb frequency, discourse markers and fillers, profanity, vocabulary(ish), and questions.

You can also find all of this on ao3.

Couple of disclaimers to start: while this is obviously a great tool for fic writing, and can help you get a feel for the way that the characters speak in the movie, I’m asking non-Black writers to be very careful about the way you use some of this information when it comes to Nile. When Nile speaks, she uses a lot of colloquial/vernacular language, and while she doesn’t speak AAVE in the movie, her syntax does contain vernacular features. The history of transcribing colloquial language and vernacular dialects—African American/Black English in particular—is racist, classist and ableist. Your decision to write in colloquial language or to incorporate elements of Black English, rather than using Standard English, into Nile’s dialogue can potentially continue a tradition of racial othering if you’re not wary and conscious. Colloquial language in written form is often used to imply a lack of intelligence, a lack of education or a lower class. Be especially considerate of transcribing colloquial reductions like “wanna,” “gotta,” etc. Avoid eye-dialect at all cost, please, I am begging you. In general, the best way to transcribe dialects is through rhythm of prose, syntax, idioms/figures of speech and vocabulary. Even if you rely on those techniques for Nile, I’m still advising the utmost caution due to the complexity of syntax of AAVE and other dialects. For those unfamiliar with AAVE, I go into more detail about it here. If you do decide to use vernacular language for Nile, I’m going to insist you look into copula deletion/zero copula in AAVE outside of this post. It’s usage is very complex and specific. If you decide to use colloquial language for her to really take advantage of the intelligent way that she uses style-shifting in the movie then, at the very least, remember that the other characters (with the exception of Nicky) also use colloquial language frequently in the movie as well. If Nile is the only one in your fic using colloquial language, that’s a problem.

Most of the contextual analysis as it relates to sociolinguistics is based on my own speculation and interpretation of all the data I’ve collected. They contain my own personal biases and are influenced by my own experiences. If you have another interpretation of any of this, I’m absolutely interested in hearing it. Also, there is simply not enough data for any of my observations to be definitive, especially for Joe and Nicky. The two of them combined say around the same number of sentences as Booker, and he only says half as many sentences as Andy. There are literally verb tenses/aspects that not a single person uses in the whole movie. It’s also important to note that I am fallible, and while I do think most of this is accurate, I probably fucked up and missed something or miscounted! More than once! In some cases, I was only able to find one example of something and while I’ve included those observations, they are in no way indicative of a pattern, so don’t view them as strict rules.

I threw around a lot of jargon in this, and there wasn't really an easy way to avoid doing that while talking about most of this stuff. Descriptions are provided throughout the post. I've done my best to define all the more complex and lesser-known concepts, and to provide specific examples from the movie but feel free to reach out if you're unsure about any of it. Basic English grammar things that will be helpful to know to understand all of this post: parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, interjections), clauses (subject + predicate), tense–aspect–mood for verb conjugation (in English we have: past and non-past; perfective, imperfective, and progressive; and indicative, imperative, and subjunctive), phrase structure, auxiliary verbs, phrasal verbs, wh-movement (who, what, when, where, why, how) and sentence sequencing (in English it’s SVO, or subject-verb-object).

On ellipsis: for Andy, Nile and Booker (and Joe, a little bit), the types of ellipses I focused on were mostly the types that you only see in spoken colloquial English. For Nicky, I talked a lot more about further classification of ellipses that do sometimes apply to the other four, but aren’t as noticeable.

For phrases, I mostly included idioms and expressions to avoid listing every single phrase in the movie. I generally avoided noun phrases (with a few exceptions), and I don't think I mention any adverb phrases.

For my own purposes, I’ve decided to define fillers as discourse markers without lexical content that are used to indicate that the pause while speaking is only temporary. The rest of the discourse markers use standard classification.

Thank you to both @disregardandfelicity and @youknowthegirls for looking over this post for me!

Andy

Andy uses every contraction for auxiliary verbs and personal pronouns (e.g. I’m, you’ve, it’s, etc). I mean, she actually doesn't in the movie, but she comes so close that I feel confident in saying she would use all the others. The Wikipedia page for English Auxiliary Verbs has a great chart for contractions. Of the characters, she's literally the only one who does this with this level of consistency.

Her contraction usage isn't limited to personal pronouns. She uses contractions with demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite pronouns. She also uses contractions with "there" and "where", and presumably with “when” and “how” although there are no examples of that in the movie. She uses contractions with negative modal verbs.

Andy uses both the simple future and the more colloquial going-to future construction at various points in the movie. She seems to have a preference for going-to future, and the only time she uses the simple future is in her dramatic opening monologue and when she’s trying to reassure Nile. Otherwise, she sticks to going-to construction.

Simple future: “Will this time be the one?”, “Me and those three men in there will keep you safe.”

Going-to future: “And you’re going to help us.”

Andy also typically uses the colloquialism “gonna” when using going-to future construction. When she uses “going to” instead, it’s during moments of sincerity. As mentioned, she also iconically uses them both in the same sentence.

"I knew this was gonna happen", "You think knowing is gonna make you sleep better at night?"

“You’re not a Marine anymore. They’re going to lock you up.”, “When we leave a footprint in the sand, in the snow, in the ether, you’re going to sweep it.”

“You’re going to protect us from those who want to put us in cages, and you’re gonna help us find those jobs that are best suited to us.”

Andy uses the verb “have” and the phrasal verb “have got” interchangeably, and with no real pattern. Important note: I am only referring to the verb “to have” in the present tense, not when "have" is used as an auxiliary. She doesn’t seem to use “have got” in the negative (i.e. “haven’t got” vs “don’t have”).

“We have to find Copley.”, “I have the new one.”

“You’ve got blood in your hair.” “He’s got Joe and Nicky.”

“We don’t have all the answers, but we do have purpose.”

Andy also uses the colloquialism “gotta” in sentences where she uses “have got” with the infinitive “to”. When she does this, she usually uses contracted have/has. Occasionally she drops the auxiliary.

"You’ve gotta feel it, Nile.” "There's gotta be a price."

Andy drops the auxiliary when she says, "We gotta go" instead of “We’ve gotta go” and “Sometimes you gotta work with people you don’t wanna eat with” instead of “Sometimes you’ve gotta..”

Andy uses the colloquialism “wanna” in the place of “want to”.

“Well, sometimes you gotta work with people you don’t wanna eat with.” “You really wanna do this, kid?”

Andy incorrectly uses the object pronoun “me” like a true native English speaker

“Me and those three men in there will keep you safe.”

Andy seems to generally say “Yeah” but she says “Yes” when she really means it. She also says “Mm hmm.”

Andy uses several discourse markers throughout the movie. Discourse markers are words that are used to connect, organize and manage sentences while speaking. Andy uses discourse markers to start sentences, as responses, as interjections, etc. The discourse markers that Andy uses are:

Sentence openers: actually, so, come on, here, look, listen, now, oh, well, you know,

Sentence closers: I guess, maybe, right,

Responses: yeah

Interjections: hey

Connection: to be honest

Andy doesn’t use any fillers. Instead, she pauses and repeats herself as needed.

“Remember what it... what it was like to feel unbreakable.”

Of all the characters, Andy uses the imperative mood the most (throughout the movie Andy tells someone to do something 35 times using this mood)

When Andy repeats herself for emphasis, she usually does it in pairs. The only exception is when she says “why?” three times to Booker in the scene with Copley

Andy uses ellipses, which is when words are omitted from a sentence and the sentence can still be understood. This isn’t particularly noteworthy in what it says about her speech patterns, as everyone uses elliptical construction. It’s just part of how speech works, how dialogue works and how writing works. It’s a feature of English, spoken and written, rather than an anomaly. I do feel it’s worth mentioning though, because I’m going to talk a lot about some specific kinds of ellipses (null subject, null auxiliary and zero copula) that are only found in colloquial and spoken language. For more about elliptical construction, see the Nicky section.

Andy uses noun and verb ellipses when she says, “I’ve been here before... over and over again, and each time the same question.”

Andy uses answer ellipsis. That means that when she answers questions, she often speaks in sentence fragments rather than full sentences.

[Who’s gonna fly the plane?] “We don’t need a pilot” instead of “[Nobody is going to fly the plane.] We don’t need a pilot.”

Andy occasionally uses sentences with a truncated null subject (i.e. she doesn’t use subject pronouns), but not as frequently as the other characters.

“Can’t wait” instead of “I can’t wait.”

Andy frequently uses null auxiliary construction and zero copula when asking questions that normally use subject-auxiliary inversion. This means that she will drop the leading auxiliary verb. For more information about zero copula, see Nile.

Andy uses “You found Copley?” instead of “Have you found Copley?” and “Everyone still with me?” instead of “Is everyone still with me?”

When asking questions, Andy typically uses either the method described above or intonation if she can get away with it. However, she does still ask yes-no questions without dropping the auxiliary. Andy is also one of the only characters to use a disjunctive question. In contrast to the disjunctive (which is often condescending), Andy is also one of the only characters polite enough to use an indirect question.

Intonation: “Joe and Nicky?”

Disjunctive: “You don’t speak Russian, do you?”

Indirect: “Would you like me to take one for you?”

Andy doesn’t use the subordinating conjunction “that” at any point in the movie.

“Last time I checked, you had to be American to be in the CIA” instead of “Last time that I checked...”

Andy says “What the...” when she’s confused.

Andy makes a humming sound when she’s pleased that’s transcribed as “Mmm!”. Interesting to note that every time she makes this sound, it’s in response to Nicky.

Profanity used by Andy: asshole, fuck, goddamn, motherfucker, shit, shitty

Phrases, idioms and expressions used by Andy: bend it to [your] will, broke [a promise], changes nothing, come on, do the same, enough of this, for all I care, get some sleep, go big or go home, going out for a bit, gotta go, last time I checked, let’s, next time, now and always, on board, play dead, set up, straight to [something], tie off, to be honest, welcome back, what [he] said, whatever it takes, work out

Unrelated to word count or time spent speaking, Andy says more sentences than any other character. She says more than twice as many sentences as Booker and four times as many sentences as Joe and Nicky. Nile says a little less than 2/3 as many sentences as Andy.

Sentence composition**: 57% of Andy’s sentences are simple sentences, 31% are sentence fragments, 5% are compound sentences, 6% are complex sentences, and 1% are compound-complex sentences.

Languages spoken on-screen: English

Adjectives and adjective phrases appear in 13% of Andy’s sentences. Adverbs and adverb phrases appear in 9% of Andy’s sentences.

Andy is very consistent in her speech. She doesn’t style-shift much and almost exclusively speaks in a colloquial style of Standard American English. There are two exceptions to this: when she was talking to the tourists in Marrakesh, she was overly polite; and when she was dealing with Copley, she enunciated herself far more and was less likely to use contractions. When I say that Andy speaks Standard English, what I mean is that she speaks the dialect of English which has undergone the most regularization and standardization. It’s the one associated with public communication, the one that's used in commerce and government, and the one that has the most institutional support and sanction. Andy is very familiar and comfortable in this dialect, to the point where she even uses common grammar mistakes that native speakers do. Her speech is very casual. I would say that Andy has spent a significant amount of time recently in the United States or Canada, and I also suspect that English is the modern language that she is most comfortable in. I think that Andy has likely spent a lot of time speaking casually with other English native speakers and that her grasp of the language was formed without any kind of formal language training. Andy doesn’t use much descriptive language, and her sentences are typically short and clear. While I think Andy does read a little bit, it’s had very little impact on her speech patterns. I doubt she reads any kind of serious formal writing, or academic works.

Nile

Nile uses every contraction for auxiliary verbs and personal pronouns (e.g. I’m, you’re, it’s, etc). She also uses them with other nouns and names. Nile is very deliberate about contraction usage. For the most part, in casual speech, she uses contractions, although she does use a lack of contractions to express disbelief or for emphasis. Nile also uses a lack of contractions to show condescension or disapproval. When she’s trying to be authoritative, she’s less likely to use contractions. When she wants to make sure she’s understood, she also doesn’t use contractions.

“I am not jumping from a plane!” “You do not listen to her, you listen to me.”

“We are looking for this man. He has killed many of our people and many of yours.”

Nile uses contractions with demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite pronouns. She also uses contractions with "there", "where", “why” and “how.” She uses contractions with negative modal verbs.

Nile doesn’t use the contraction “y’all” in the movie. In fact, she specifically doesn’t use it.

“How are you all in my dreams?”

Nile uses both the simple future and the colloquial going-to future construction at various points in the movie. Like with contractions, Nile is less likely to use colloquialisms when she’s serious or trying to be authoritative. I think it’s especially poignant when she uses it to express bravery (with Booker). Nile always uses the colloquialism “gonna” when using going-to future construction.

Simple future: “I’m the one who will walk out of there, one way or another.”

Going-to future: “People that are gonna worry.”

Nile uses the verb “have” and the phrasal verb “have got” interchangeably, however she has a very strong preference for “have got”

“You have my phone?”

“I got people that love me,” “You got a satellite link?”

Nile also uses the colloquialism “gotta” in sentences where she uses “have got” with the infinitive “to”. When she does this, she always uses null auxiliary construction (see below for more details).

“We gotta get out of here!”

Nile uses the colloquialism “wanna” in the place of “want to”.

“I just really wanna hear my mom’s voice one more time.”

Nile truncates “trying to” as “tryna”.

“I’m tryna save you, man!”

Nile truncates “out of” as “outta”

Nile uses a lot of discourse markers. She uses more discourse markers than any of the other characters, although Booker comes very close. Discourse markers are words that are used to connect, organise and manage sentences while speaking. Nile uses discourse markers to start sentences, as responses, as interjections, etc. The discourse markers that Nile uses are:

Sentence openers: so, well, wait, here, yeah, now

Sentence closers: or something, maybe, you know, okay, man

Interjections: come on, what, no way

Responses: yeah

Nile uses some fillers when speaking, however she doesn’t use them often. The fillers she uses are: uh, yeah

While Nile does occasionally use the imperative mood, she’s far more likely to give commands based on intonation alone, rather than syntax.

Intonation: “You do not listen to her, you listen to me,” “We gotta get out of here!”

Imperative: “Land this plane.”

Nile uses elliptical construction when speaking, which means that when words are omitted from a sentence, the sentence can still be understood. Again, this in and of itself is not very noteworthy, see Nicky for more details.

“South side of Chicago, a million different ways we could’ve went left.”

She also uses answer ellipsis, meaning that when answering questions, she speaks in sentence fragments.

Answer ellipsis: [You have someone?] “Just my family” instead of “[I have] just my family.”

Nile frequently uses null subject elliptical construction. When using null subject construction, she drops personal pronouns.

“Talked to Copley. Said he could fix it.” instead of “I talked to Copley. He said he could fix it.”

Nile’s use of ellipsis is mostly characterized by her usage of null auxiliary, which is when she drops auxiliary verbs from sentences. The way she does this is very distinct and she’s the only character who speaks like this. While the other characters who use null auxiliary construction do so in the specific context of asking questions, Nile’s usage is more complicated.

Like the others, Nile frequently uses null auxiliary construction and zero copula when asking questions that normally use subject-auxiliary inversion, but unlike the others, she also sometimes drops the auxiliary in wh- questions. For more on zero copula, see below.

"You gonna be okay?" "So, you good guys or bad guys?"

“Where you taking me?”

Outside of asking questions, Nile also occasionally uses both null auxiliary construction and the zero copula. She is the only character who does this (Andy does this, but only with one specific word/phrase. Nile's usage is less restrictive). Zero copula is a linguistic phenomena where the subject is joined to the predicate without marking that relationship (i.e. there’s no verb). In English, the main copula is the verb “to be”, so zero copula in English describes situations where inflections of “to be” are omitted. When the characters use null auxiliary construction to omit the inflected forms of “to be” while asking questions, they are using the copula deletion.

In the above example questions, all of them are examples of copula deletion as they are omitting inflections of the verb "to be"

When Nile says “I got people that love me”, she uses null auxiliary construction to omit the auxiliary “have”. Nile always drops the auxiliary “have” when using the “have got” form.

When Nile says “This the shit you into?” she’s actually using the zero copula twice. You’ll notice that she’s missing the leading “is” and in the dependent clause, she’s missing the “are (“Is this the shit you’re into?” in Standard English).

At one point in the movie, Nile includes a further truncated null subject, where she doesn’t use both the subject and the auxiliary verb. Joe does something similar in the present tense.

Nile says “Killed in action when I was eleven” instead of “He was killed in action when I was eleven.”

When asking questions, outside of wh- questions, Nile usually relies on intonation or dropping the auxiliary from subject-auxiliary inversion questions as described above. She does occasionally use inversion for yes/no questions without dropping the auxiliary.

Intonation: “You have my phone?”

Indirect: “So... you’re even older than him.”

As the audience surrogate, Nile asks the most questions in the movie (she asks 69 questions LMAO)

Another way that Nile formalizes her speech is by inserting the subordinating conjunction “that” into sentences where they would normally be omitted.

“And that was a blank that you shot me with.” “But... you said that we were immortal.”

Nile says “Uh uh” to mean “no” or “don’t even think about it”

Phrases, idioms and expressions used by Nile: a little help, backed down, brains of [the] outfit, come on, follow the money, gave [them] up, honest-to-God, how the hell, what kind of [noun], killed in action, let’s go, move on, never hurts to, no way, one more time, one way or another, roger that, sit your ass down, some bullshit, son of a bitch, stay tight, steal away, went left, what’s up (greeting),

Profanity used by Nile: ass, bitch, bullshit, damn, fuck, hell, shit

Sentence composition**: 60% of Nile’s sentences are simple sentences, 30% are sentence fragments, 3% are compound sentences, 6% are complex sentences and 1% are compound-complex sentences.

Adjectives and adjective phrases appear in 18% of Nile’s sentences. Adverbs appear in 4% of her sentences. Nile doesn’t use any adverb phrases.

Languages spoken on-screen: English, Pashto

Of all the characters, Nile’s use of English is the most deliberate. While the others are obviously fluent and capable in English, Nile’s use of style-shifting throughout the movie demonstrates a mastery of the language that the other characters simply don’t have. The way that she shifts between formal and colloquial language for emphasis, for clarity, to express disbelief or disapproval, to act authoritatively, to appear casual and friendly, and to invite others to engage with her, speaks to what she is capable of by her word and syntax choices. All of this is obviously enhanced by her tone, her cadence, her pitch, her volume and her speaking speed.

When Nile speaks, she doesn’t speak in AAVE. That being said, her speech does contain vernacular features. The two elements of Nile’s syntax that are most noticeable are her use of the zero copula and her deletion of “have” in situations where it can be contracted (to clarify: using copula deletion is not necessarily an indicator of AAVE. When the other characters use the zero copula, they are not speaking AAVE. The subtle differences in the context of their usage of copula deletion is what makes Nile’s speech distinctly Black). Some of Nile’s word choices and noun phrases are also reflective of the typical speech of Black people, as pointed out to me by this anon. It’s very likely that Nile can speak AAVE, but doesn’t in the movie. She was raised by two Black parents in a very residentially segregated city, and while Nile didn’t specify the neighborhood she grew up in (you can make some guesses to the general area based on how she talks about it, but that’s not quite the same), Chicago’s South Side is predominantly Black, so the people she was around, the place she attended school and the church she went to were all likely predominantly Black as well. Due to the fact that Standard English is the language taught in public schools in the United States, Nile has obviously also developed a fluency in that dialect as well and can probably code switch between the two dialects. The fact that she doesn’t speak AAVE in the movie isn’t particularly unusual. Society is largely hostile towards Black people speaking AAVE, so language self-policing becomes a survival tool. Nile had also just spent an indefinite amount of time in the US military, which has its own style which has its own style of speaking as well which she would have been using. And then she basically got kidnapped by mostly white people, some of whom have noticeable accents, so having her speak AAVE would’ve been an odd character choice, but not totally implausible.

The way that Nile switches between formal and colloquial English is a type of code switching that I would honestly refer to more as style-shifting. Because she isn’t actually speaking AAVE, I can’t say how the dialect factors into her speech patterns. I think it’s possible that Nile’s ability to style-shift between formal and informal language could have been an ability that she developed as a result of needing to code switch between AAVE and Standard English in an educational environment. I do want to make it very clear however, that when I’m talking about Nile style-shifting, it has very little bearing on the vernacular features of her speech, but rather the colloquial features like contractions, verb choice, ellipsis and her use of phrasal verbs. It’s possible that she uses code switching in the same way, however we don’t have evidence of that in the movie.

Booker

Booker uses most contractions, but not all, and with much less consistency than Andy or deliberate purpose like Nile. He uses contractions for auxiliaries and their inflected forms for personal pronouns. When speaking casually, he uses contractions, but when he’s upset, he uses them far less consistently. He doesn’t use contractions with the past tense inflected form of have (i.e. “had”).

Booker uses contractions with demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite pronouns. He also uses contractions with "there", "where" and “how. He uses contractions with negative modal verbs.

Booker uses both the simple future and the going-to future construction at various points in the movie. He doesn’t seem to have a preference either way.

Simple future: “They will get to learn your secret.”

Going-to future: “It’s gonna take time.”

Booker always uses the colloquialism “gonna” when using going-to future construction.

Booker doesn’t seem to use the phrasal verb “have got” but I could only find one instance of him using the verb “to have” in the present tense, so this isn’t definitive either way. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that, like Andy, he uses “to have” and “have got” interchangeably.

Even though Booker speaks less than Nile and Andy, he uses close to the same amount of discourse markers as them, meaning that they appear far more regularly in his speech. Discourse markers are words that are used to connect, organize and manage sentences while speaking. Booker uses discourse markers to start sentences, as responses, as interjections, etc. The discourse markers he uses are:

Sentence openers: come on, hey, oh, well, listen, I mean, ooh (expressing pleasure), yeah

Sentence closers: right, of course

Responses: yeah, alright

Interjections: hey, ow! (expressing victory)

Connections: by the way, tell you what

Of all the characters, Booker uses the most fillers when speaking. The fillers that he uses are: oh, uh, um, yeah

Booker pauses and repeats himself as needed. He only does this when he’s upset. Otherwise, he seems to use fillers instead.

“Everyone you love is gonna... is gonna suffer and is gonna die."

When Booker repeats himself for emphasis, he always does it in pairs.

Booker often uses elliptical construction, and the most frequent type seems to be null auxiliary construction. He does use other types of ellipses though (For more about ellipsis, see Nicky).

“Just because we keep living doesn’t mean we stop hurting.”

Booker uses answer ellipsis, but almost to the point of incomprehensibility. Dude just gives the bare minimum. That means that when he answers questions, he speaks in sentence fragments rather than full sentences.

Answer ellipsis: [You found Copley?] “Nothing, but dead ends” instead of “[I found] nothing but dead ends.”

Booker frequently uses sentences with a truncated null subject (i.e. he doesn’t use subject pronouns).

“Lost the plot after that” instead of “I lost the plot after that”

Booker frequently uses null auxiliary construction and zero copula when asking questions that normally use subject-auxiliary inversion. For more information about zero copula, see Nile.

Booker says “You good?” instead of “Are you good?” and “You have someone?” instead of “Do you have someone?”

When asking questions, Booker almost always uses either the method described above, or intonation. The only time Booker asks a question without dropping the auxiliary is when he says “Are you all right, boss?” to Andy in the cave.

Intonation: “Oh, she gave it back?”

Booker doesn’t generally use the subordinating clause “that,” but he will sometimes.

“What I do know is she was alone for a long time before she found anyone like her.”

“And they will tell you... that you don’t love them.”

At two separate points in the movie, Booker references Elizabethan literature. “Misery loves company” is from Dr. Faustus by Marlowe and “That way madness lies” is from King Lear by Shakespeare

Phrases, expressions and idioms used by Booker: all in, by the way, calm down, change of clothes, come on, dead ends, give [her] time, give me your hand, how’s it going?, I’ll see you soon, in the open, leave no footprints, let’s go, lost the plot, moving out, misery loves company, reach out, stick to the plan, take time, tell you what, what’s going on, won’t hurt

Profanity used by Booker: shit, putain de merde

Sentence composition**: 59% of Booker’s sentences are simple sentences, 24% are sentence fragments, 3% are compound sentences, 9% are complex sentences, 1% are compound-complex sentences and 4% are not in English

Adjectives and adjective phrases appear in 16% of Booker’s sentences. Adverbs and adverb phrases appear in 8% of Booker’s sentences.

Languages spoken on-screen: English, French, Italian

We know from Booker’s backstory that he’s French and he’s from Marseilles, and other people have spoken about how Booker’s native language would likely have been Occitan, although he speaks French as well. Like Andy, Joe and Nicky, English is not Booker’s native language, although he does speak it with a high degree of fluency. While there are aspects of Booker’s speech that are more related to him being a non-native English speaker, I wanted to talk about French first. It’s worth noting that French is the only Romance language that isn't a null subject language (and as far as I can tell, Occitan isn’t either). This means that when Booker uses null subject construction, that’s either something he picked up from another language or from being around people speaking colloquial English. The thing that stands out to me the most about Booker’s speech though, is actually the way he uses intonation (and to a certain extent, null auxiliary construction as well) when asking questions. While French can use subject-auxiliary inversion, for the most part, you just ask questions by intonation. In the French dub of the movie when Booker asks “You travel?” he says “T’as voyagé?” which in English directly translates to “You travelled?” or “You’ve travelled?” While I could get into semantics about verb tenses, do-support and modality, what I’m getting at here is that both “You travel?” and “T’as voyagé?” mean the same thing and are expressed in a form that feels semantically similar to me even if it’s not syntactically similar, in the same way that ending a question with the tag “right?” (which Booker uses a lot) feels the same as the tag “non?”

There are a couple of things that I think are interesting about Booker’s manner of speech. Booker primarily speaks in simple and fragmented sentences, which is pretty normal, but what’s different about him is the way that a lot of his speech is referential. What I mean is that Booker relies on a lot of common phrases, common clauses, clichés and quotations when he speaks. In a lot of ways, Booker speaks the way your typical action hero is supposed to. You get a sense of Booker engaging in a broader cultural and literary conversation. I don’t know how to explain this exactly, but when Booker speaks, you just know he reads and that he watches tv and movies. And not just that, but that he borrows and imitates aspects of what he reads. But besides the pragmatic element of Booker’s speech, all of the things that are notable about Booker’s speech are things that you also see in Andy, Joe and Nicky. Syntactically, there’s nothing about Booker’s speech that is distinctly unique to him, unlike the rest of the characters who all have their own little quirks. It’s almost like Booker is imitating the others, or borrowing someone else’s words. There is one notable exception, and that’s when Booker is talking to Nile in the cave. As the conversation goes on, you see this breakdown of Booker’s language as he attempts to tell his own story. Suddenly, a lot of the conventions established about Booker’s speech prior to this scene don’t apply. Obviously there are multiple explanations for this, ranging from English not being his first language to the fact that he was talking about something deeply personal and traumatizing to someone who was essentially a stranger. But what makes this scene stand out is the fact that in his next major scene, Booker is clearly on the verge of a full breakdown, but because he’s again relying on this established lexicon, you don’t see it reflected in his speech the same way that it is in the cave.

Joe

When Joe bothers with personal pronouns, he usually uses contractions with auxiliary verbs (e.g. I’m, she’s, it’s, etc). The exception to this is that Joe doesn’t use contractions with the past tense inflected auxiliary form of have (i.e. “had”).

Joe uses contractions with demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite pronouns. He also uses contractions with "there". He uses contractions with negative modal verbs.

Joe only uses a future tense once in the entire film, and when he does, he uses going-to future construction. When he uses going-to future construction he uses the colloquialism “gonna"

“What are you gonna do?”

Joe doesn’t use the colloquial “have got” and always uses “to have”.

“We have to find her”, “Well, now you have even more.”

This may be because Joe isn’t in the movie as much as the first three, or that he just genuinely doesn't use them often, but he uses considerably fewer discourse markers. Discourse markers are words that are used to connect, organize and manage sentences while speaking. Joe uses discourse markers to start sentences, and as interjections. The discourse markers that Joe uses are:

Sentence openers: oh, so, well, yeah

Interjections: hey, what

After Booker, Joe uses the second most amount of fillers. He uses more fillers when having a back-and-forth style conversation with someone than when he’s essentially monologuing. The fillers that Joe uses are: mmm, uh

Joe sometimes uses ellipses when speaking. Again, not super noteworthy, but I wanted to mention it nonetheless.

“He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold.”

Joe uses answer ellipsis in the movie, but he doesn’t actually speak in sentence fragments when he does this. While answer ellipsis is pretty standard in English, Joe’s commitment to saying more than was asked of him isn’t.

[So... you’re even older than him.] “Nicky and I met in the Crusades.” instead of “[Yes, we are.] Nicky and I met in the Crusades.”

Joe uses sentences with a null subject (i.e. he doesn’t use subject pronouns).

“Depends on the century.” “Fought thousands of battles side by side.”

Joe uses sentences which have both a null subject and uses copula deletion. See Nile for more details on zero copula.

“Very pissed off.” “Faster than the elevator.”

In the movie, Joe only really asks wh- questions. He does ask a few using intonation, although most of those questions act more like additional tags on a wh-question, rather than a question by itself. As such, it's unclear whether Joe uses null auxiliary construction or the zero copula when asking questions.

Intonation: "Bedhead?” “So we just leave her out in the open?”

When Joe repeats himself for emphasis, it’s usually in groups of three.

Joe says “what” when he doesn’t hear something/doesn’t understand something

As previously mentioned, Joe uses some formal words like "thus" and the impersonal pronoun "one". Here are some other words to consider having Joe use unironically as well: alas, amidst, await, behest, ergo, hence, latter, much, nor, notwithstanding, promptly, quite, shall (modal), thence, thereupon, thoroughly, whereas, whom (used correctly of course), yield

Even though Joe speaks quite formally a lot of the time, he never uses the subordinating conjunction “that” when it can be omitted.

“The first immortal Andy found.”

Phrases, expressions and idioms used by Joe: all in, attention to detail, come on, I guess, out in the open, measure and reason, over a [time period], piece of shit, proved [their] case, side by side, way back

Profanity used by Joe: goddamnit, shit

Unrelated to word count or time spent speaking, Joe says the least amount of sentences out of the five main characters, although this doesn’t mean very much, considering Nicky says exactly one more sentence than him.

Sentence composition**: 57% of Joe’s sentences are simple sentences, 21% are sentence fragments, 5% are compound sentences, 4% are complex sentences, 4% are compound complex sentences and 9% are not in English.

Adjectives and adjective phrases appear in 29% of Joe’s sentences. Adverbs and adverb phrases appear in 8% of Joe’s sentences.

Languages spoken on-screen: English, Italian

The best way to describe Joe’s manner of speaking is that it’s like he has two different styles. You get the sense that sometimes Joe just says whatever and sometimes he says something that he’s rehearsed in his head. Joe is a Maghrebi Muslim man from the Islamic Golden Age so he comes from a culture and time with a rich history of and respect for both written and spoken poetry, both impromptu and memorized. I think he carries that tradition quite well. When Joe is orating (van speech and Quynh backstory), his sentences are much more structured and he uses more formal language. He doesn't speak in sentence fragments, he doesn't use any colloquial language besides contractions and he doesn't use discourse markers or fillers like he does in the more casual back-and-forth conversations. If you look at Joe's sentence composition percentages, you'll notice that Joe has comparatively less sentence fragments than other characters and that’s purely because when he orates, it's in full sentences (minus poetic ellipsis, but that's allowed). That's why it seems to me as though Joe rehearses some of what he says in advance. I don’t know the extent to which he does that, but at the very least it seems like he’s sat down and thought “how would I explain Quynh to the new immortal?” or “What would I say to someone belittling my relationship with Nicky?” Even in the delivery of the line “Faster than the elevator” there is quite a long pause between him seeing that Nile jumped out a window and actually making the joke, as if he’s thinking about it first. The majority of the sentences Joe says are in the van speech and while telling Quynh’s backstory. In casual conversations, Nicky seems to take the lead more than Joe.

I’d also speculate that Joe is quite literate. Obviously there’s his own affinity for storytelling and oration, but his use of language hints at a larger vocabulary. You see him use a frequently neglected pronoun in English and a relatively formal adverb. He also uses adjectives like “grotesque” and “infantile”. He does end sentences while prepositions though, so he obviously does not give a fuck about John Dryden and Joshua Poole. That being said, I think the idea of rearranging Joe’s sentences so they don’t end in prepositions is funny and fits his whole vibe.

Joe uses null subject construction in English, and while that’s pretty common in everyday speech in English, it is worth noting that both Italian and Arabic are null subject languages. The way that Joe uses null construction in English is far more similar to Italian than Arabic, which requires a change in sentence sequencing but I still think it’s neat. The thing that Arabic brings to the table that I’m more intrigued by is the fact that it’s a zero copula language. It’s not a matter of copula deletion like AAVE, there straight up is not a copula in the present tense, so the lack of a verb (and specific sentence sequencing) is the copula in the present tense. When Joe drops both subject and verb in the present tense he is, in effect, simulating a similar situation due to the ambiguity of the sentences themselves where the only way you can correctly interpret the sentence is by understanding that the missing verb must be a copula. He gets rid of a subject pronoun as a shout out to Italian, I guess, but also because it would sound so silly if he didn’t. I don’t think Joe necessarily picked up this habit from Arabic, but I do think it’s a fun coincidence.

Nicky

Of all the characters, Nicky has the least consistent contraction usage for personal pronouns and auxiliaries (e.g. I’ve, you’re, it’s, etc). There are examples throughout the film of him using a contraction and then in the next scene he just doesn’t. Unlike with the other characters, who have a discernable pattern (Andy always uses contractions, Nile uses contractions for dramatic emphasis, Booker becomes more inconsistent with contractions when upset, Joe doesn’t use contractions in certain tenses), Nicky is totally random in his contraction usage.

My personal favourite example of this is: “She’s more alone than she has ever been in her entire life.”

Nicky uses contractions with demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite pronouns, however this usage is just as inconsistent as with personal pronouns. He also uses contractions with "there.” He uses contractions with negative modal verbs.

Outside of contractions, Nicky doesn't seem to use colloquialisms in the movie.

Nicky doesn’t use the colloquial going-to future construction and relies on simple future construction

“You will not be able to give him what he wants”, “If it’s now Andromache’s, nothing you do will stop it.

Nicky doesn’t use the colloquial phrasal verb “have got” and instead uses “have”

“I have something for you”

Nicky only has a few discourse markers in the movie. Discourse markers are words that are used to connect, organise and manage sentences while speaking. Nicky uses discourse markers to start sentences, as interjections and as responses. The discourse markers that he uses are:

Sentence openers: so

Interjections: hey, wait, what

Responses: yeah

Nicky doesn’t use any fillers. Instead, he pauses and repeats himself as needed.

"I believe it's because we... we are meant to find each other"

In my other post, I mentioned that Nicky speaks in full sentences, and while that is mostly true, it’s a bit of an oversimplification. While that kind of a statement is fine for an overview post, I felt it would be disingenuous to leave it at that. Nicky speaks in sentence fragments just like everyone else. In fact, he speaks in sentence fragments more than Joe does. He uses ellipsis, but the way he does it is functionally different from the specific methods of null subject, null auxiliary and zero copula that I’ve talked about with the other characters. While the others are quite formulaic about their usage of ellipses, Nicky’s is far more nebulous because it’s very much dependent on context.

Nicky uses answer ellipses, like the others.

[Bedhead?] “Nicely tousled.”

The next way that Nicky uses ellipses might better be described as anaphora. That means when he’s eliding words, the omitted words in the sentence can be found through the context of the sentence preceding it.

The sentence “The only reason we haven’t... is that it’s not our time yet” is missing a past participle. The missing verb is found in the previous sentence: “Everything has to die, Mr. Merrick.”

In fact, almost all of Nicky’s use of sentence fragments and ellipses can most easily be characterized this way. If the sentence that Nicky says is incomplete in some way by itself, that’s usually because he’s referring to something either he, or someone else, has said. In some cases, it’s as if he’s continuing or adding additional information to the sentence preceding it.

“We killed each other.” “Many times.”

“It was a woman. A Black woman.”

Another way of characterizing some of his use of ellipses is to imagine he’s using answer ellipsis to a question nobody asked him.

[What did you see?] “Dirt floor, clay walls.”

In one particular instance, Nicky says the noun phrase “A fine justification.” It’s already an example of anaphora, as it is referring back to Kozak’s “I believe this can change the world.” Nicky’s sentence bears some similarity to Joe’s “Faster than the elevator” as it’s also an example of a sentence which is missing both verb and subject, however when Joe uses this kind of construction, he only does so before an adjective phrase. One could extrapolate from this that Nicky uses null subject and zero copula construction with adjective phrases and Joe similarly uses it for noun phrases, but that’s just speculation.

The final way that we see Nicky use ellipsis is honestly the most baffling and I’m still not entirely sure how to best explain it. The sentence is “Spend eternity in a cage.” It is clearly not the imperative mood, it wouldn't make sense for Nicky to be telling Nile to spend eternity in a cage. Unlike the other examples of Nicky’s use of ellipsis, the preceding sentence (“That’s the reason we dread capture”) provides context but not specific form. Breaking it down from an English language perspective, the only thing that makes sense to me is that “spend” is actually the infinitive phrase “to spend” where the infinitive "to" has been elided and there is an implied “[We are afraid][to] spend eternity in a cage.” I want to be clear here: I understand this sentence. I know what Nicky is saying, I simply have no idea why I know what he's saying. I don't understand why this sentence works. For further theories, look at the section on sociolinguistics at the bottom.

Sometimes Nicky adds unnecessary pronouns to a sentence.

“But then, Andy and Quynh, they were accused of witchcraft themselves and they were trapped and caught.”

Nicky does use the subordinating conjunction “that” but there are also times when he doesn’t. The common Nicky pattern of *shrug*

“The only reason we haven’t... is that it’s not our time yet”

“As much as I like watching you sleep, I’m glad you’re awake.”

When Nicky asks questions, he doesn’t use any kind of null auxiliary construction or zero copula for subject-auxiliary inversion questions. Nicky is also the only other character (after Andy) polite enough to ask indirect questions, and he uses them when talking to people who kidnapped him, which is kind of a power move. Nicky doesn’t seem to use intonation much when asking questions either.

Subject auxiliary inversion (yes/no questions): “Are we too late?” “Are you sure?”

Indirect: “I don’t suppose it would be possible to get these chains off of us?”

Intonation: “Nile?”

Phrases, expressions and idioms used by Nicky: as much, cast off, do you know, get some rest, getting away, I suppose/don’t suppose, judge of character, love of my life,

Sentence composition**: 47% of Nicky’s sentences are simple sentences, 24% are sentence fragments, 3% are compound sentences, 15% are complex sentences, 2% are compound complex and 9% are not in English.

Adjectives and adjective phrases appear in 23% of Nicky’s sentences. Adverbs appear in 6% of Nicky’s sentences. Nicky doesn’t use adverb phrases.

Languages: English, Italian, Nuer

Before I start this, I want to say that despite having a strong accent, I think Nicky is quite proficient in English. He knows the subtle differences between words like “unethical” and “immoral,” he’s aware of and capable of using expressions with irregular syntax and he uses sophisticated linguistic phenomena in English. He uses so many complex sentences it makes my head spin. Leaving all that aside, I think that Nicky probably translates from Italian into English while speaking. Like Nile, Nicky is very deliberate about his language but in a different way. While Nile uses style-shifting to accomplish a number of different things, Nicky is primarily concerned with clarity. I think that Nicky’s tendency towards more formal language is a kind of overcompensation to make sure that he’s being understood. Another thing worth noting is that I think Nicky has actively studied language before, in a class setting or by himself, and has at least some knowledge of linguistics (specifically syntax). At the very least, he is knowledgeable about both Italian and English syntax.

This theory is largely based around the idea of overcompensation. Nicky is primarily concerned with the clarity of speech and because of that, he doubles-down on grammar and structure. Italian is a null subject language so you actually see Nicky use null subject construction when he says “Sono qui” and “Dovremmo tonarci” but you don’t see anything similar in the way that he speaks English even though all the other characters frequently rely on truncated null subjects. He demonstrates a clear awareness of the standard language restrictions of English and how that compares to the restrictions of Italian. And not just that: there’s actually an example in the movie where Nicky adds an extra and unnecessary pronoun in English. In another sentence, Nicky could have used a contraction on two separate instances and deliberately only contracted one of them because the contractions were two different tenses. For the most part, this overcompensation makes it so Nicky’s speech—while unconventional—is still grammatically correct. That’s how you get things like Nicky saying, “The love of my life was of the people I’ve been taught to hate,” which isn’t how most native-speakers would intuitively phrase it themselves and as a result, a further layer of nuance is added by the use of the Present Perfect Continuous. Despite the fact that Nicky uses some unconventional phrasing in English, he doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it or concerned about it. He’s more than willing to experiment with his speech and seems very confident in it as well. That’s why I think he has some kind of formal language training with English, because he clearly understands the system that he’s working with but is less aware of some of the common ways of speaking. I seriously doubt that Joe and Nicky spend much time speaking to each other in English.

Another point that I think is worth mentioning: while Joe seems to thrive while orating and speaks relatively simply otherwise, Nicky is the exact opposite. Nicky’s language capabilities are on full display when he’s engaging in discourse, but when he’s telling Nile about Quynh, you see a lot more irregular syntax structure from him. It’s during this discussion that you hear the line “Spend eternity in a cage,” that I’ve struggled with above. The other possible explanation for the use of this unconventional sentence construction was actually given to me by @rhubarbdreams, who said that the sentence actually makes more sense syntactically in Italian, which has an impersonal imperative. In fact, in the Italian dub, that’s allegedly what it does (“per non passare l'eternità in una gabbia.”) Whether Nicky’s apparent tendency towards unconventional speech in this circumstance is a chronic tendency from overthinking while speaking English or a result of the specific topic they were discussing is up for personal interpretation, although I do think it’s interesting that Nicky was the one primarily leading conversation up until Joe took over specifically when they were recounting a story. I think this is especially interesting considering Nicky was apparently a priest, however this might just be a limitation to him in languages he doesn’t use as often.

Bonus: Quynh

Quynh doesn’t have that many lines, so it’s not really possible to do any kind of meaningful analysis about her speech patterns (she says 16 sentences and 10 of those are screaming “no” or someone’s name). That being said, I do want to look at all the lines she presumably said in English (I’m ignoring Lykon’s death scene because if Lykon really did die in the 6th or 7th century, then they absolutely weren’t speaking Modern English, you know?)

So first we have the lines from the witch trials:

“I’ve never been burned alive before. What do you think it’s gonna be like?”

“Just you and me.”

Okay so obviously there’s some ambiguity over exactly when this happened, since Joe said 500 years in a box and TOGTH lists it happening around 1750. In the comics, Noriko fell overboard around 1590. I simply think the 1750 date is incorrect based on when people were being burned at the stake for witchcraft and heresy. I could talk more about that and my own headcanons about when it happened, but this is a post about linguistics, so what’s important to take from all this is that it probably took place at the earliest sometime in the late 15th century and, at the latest, the very beginning of the 17th century.

Taking all that into consideration, I can say almost certainly that all of Quynh’s lines are some kind of misremembered modern translation of what she actually said. She uses two contractions (I’ve and it��s) that were maybe in use, but likely uncommon. “It’s” was used, although you would be far more likely to see its counterpart “tis”, and contractions with “have” and “had” were only becoming common towards the end of the 16th century. There’s also the problem of the pronoun “you” and how singular “you” would not have been used in this informal context. And since “you” should be the singular “thou”, the archaic singular second-person conjugation of “do” would instead be correct. And finally: going-to future construction may have been used at the time (I can’t speak to the commonality of it), but I honestly can’t say with any certainty whether the colloquial “gonna” was in use. The first recorded use seems to be the 19th century. I’m sure there are other things that are anachronistic about the speech but I don’t know enough about Early Modern English morphology and syntax to speculate any more about it.

So yeah, Andy and Quynh’s conversation is either Andy’s misremembering of it in Modern English, it was never in English in the first place like the other scene, or just Hollywood movie magic for the viewers (I would love to see someone attempt to translate it back into Early Modern English though, I’m just saying).

“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The one line that I feel has legitimate value in the analysis of Quynh’s speech patterns in English is the final one that she says to Booker. She’s using ME, obviously, with its contractions and singular “you.” She’s also using a modified idiom, “Nice to meet you”, which is interesting because that absolutely wouldn’t have been used when she went under water considering the word “nice” was derogatory at the time. All of this implies to me that Quynh has definitely spent time on land before she finds Booker. Also she split the infinitive ("to meet"). I don't know what that says about her speech, but I sure am looking at it.

Fun Quynh fact: of the 6 times that Andy’s full name is used in the movie, half of them are said by Quynh

**A note on sentence composition: I intentionally didn't go into detail about sentence composition outside of brief mentions. If any of you are curious about it, you can ask. I'm more than willing to discuss sentence clause structure, but I didn't want this to become even longer and more convoluted than it already is. Part of why I’m reluctant to give it any weight here is because of how lenient I was with what was considered a sentence fragment vs. a simple sentence, as the characters are speaking colloquial English. A movie isn’t formal writing and to evaluate dialogue by that same metric is silly. Also, I considered interjections sentence fragments to start and then realized halfway through that that was a bad idea and they should have had their own separate section, but at that point I was in too deep, and didn’t want to go back and do it all again. In the same way, there are sentences that I considered compound or complex sentences, but that “technically” aren’t because a lot of characters drop pronominal subjects and like. Officially you can’t have null subject clauses in English, because that’s not how the language works on paper (imperative mood aside). Or they elided part of the sentence so that technically it's not a clause. But people don’t actually care about stuff like that when they talk. Also I may have messed up a few times, because complex sentences are hard and sometimes I get phrases and clauses confused. It can be difficult to tell when there’s a lot happening, you know? (this is about Nicky. Sir, why do you talk like that)

If you’re a fanfic writer, I’m going to advise that you take the part about sentence composition with a grain of salt or ignore it entirely, unless you’re already familiar with sentence clause structure in English. It will not be helpful to you for writing character dialogue until you’ve actually put in the work to understand it and practice. As mentioned, I still mess it up sometimes if a sentence has too many phrases. Basically, if you think too hard about it, I guarantee it’ll stress you out.

#the old guard #andromache the scythian #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #nile freeman #sebastien le livre #quynh #tog meta #tog linguistics #long post #like reallyyyyyyy long #it's around 9.5k words #anyway i'm really excited to chare this with everyone!!#i've been working very hard on it #also in terms of formatting i like how it looks on ao3 much more than here so that's how i would recommend viewing it

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