Reblog If Black Lives Matter To You

James: Do you think we’re soulmates in every universe?

Regulus: I definitely strangled you in one

James:

Regulus:

Regulus: To death. Not in the other way.

James: "I just tried making a reservation at the library."

Lily: "You don't need a reserv-"

James: "But I couldn't get one."

Remus, already knows what's coming: "Please shut up."

James: "It was fully...."

Marlene, softly: "Don't."

James: "Booked."

Remus, Lily and Marlene:

Sirius: *cackling*

Sirius: *tells a stupid joke*

Remus: *gets annoyed and tells him to fuck off*

Stranger: Excuse me, is this man bothering you?

Remus: Yeah, but he's my husband so I signed up for this.

I have literally so many opinions on heartstopper and all of them are good. but what I want to talk about right now is how we went through nicks journey with discovering his bisexuality WITH HIM. we watched him take “am I gay” tests and research lgbt stuff. We saw his happiness when Tara and Darcy were able to kiss. We saw him talk to other lgbt people about what their experiences were. We saw him watch coming out videos on YouTube !!! We watched him come out to a few close friends at a time. We saw him rewatch pirates of the caribbean with a new perspective !!

We saw his journey!!! That was integral to the story!!! not just finding friendships and family and love, but finding yourself while in the midst of high school and all kinds of other stressors. This was so beautiful and I feel so thankful to have been able to witness this journey through media.

Narrative Botox: Filler Words and Phrases to Look Out For

If you’re planning on publishing traditionally, chances are you keep a sharp eye on your word count. Literary agents and publishing houses are on the hunt for the best quality stories that they can print for the cheapest price (using the least paper and ink), so you have a higher chance of gaining representation if you can crank your novel out in the least words possible.

However, filler words and phrases aren’t only the enemies of aspiring traditional authors; every writer—fanfic, novelist, journalist, you name it!—should try to eliminate filler from their stories to assure more concise and high-quality writing. Oftentimes, filler contributes nothing but clutter, and without it, your narrative can flow smoother and in a more sophisticated manner.

But how do you know what’s filler and what’s not? Here are some tips on how to Ctrl+F and kick this narrative botox to the curb!

I compiled these lists with the help of Infusionmedia, BDR Publishing, and ResetEra !

Filler Words

1. Just

A writer’s worst enemy, and the bane of my manuscripts’ existences. Eliminating all the ‘just’s can cut down your word count by hundreds.

2. “That” as a conjunction

It’s an unnecessary addition to a sentence, which will be more streamlined without it.

Example: “He said that he wouldn’t do it again.”

Revised: “He said he wouldn’t do it again.”

3. “Now” as an adverb

“Now” is essential if you’re talking about the past and present, but when you’re using it to draw attention to a particular statement or point.

Example: “Now, I didn’t think it’d get so out of hand.”

Revised: “I didn’t think it’d get so out of hand.”

4. Redundant adverbs

These adverbs serve no purpose because the verbs they’re describing already imply the way the action is performed.

Whispering softly

Yelling loudly

Crying sadly

Laughing happily

5. “Telling” words

These words are redundant, especially when using first person, because in describing an event, we can already assume that the characters are experiencing it.

Seeing/saw

Feeling/felt

Hearing/heard

Smelling/smelled

6. “Clarifying” words used to portray definiteness or indefiniteness

Although these are meant to help out the readers get their bearings on a situation, all they do is come across as wishy-washy! Be concise and sure of yourself!

About

Absolutely

Accordingly

Actually

Almost

Basically

Certainly

Clearly

Completely

Entirely

Even

Exactly

Fairly

Highly

Hopefully

Literally

Maybe

Only

Often

Oftentimes

Perhaps

Possibly

Probably

Quite

Rather

Really

Reasonably

Relatively

Seem

Seriously

Simply

Slightly

Some

Somehow

Sometimes

Totally

Very

Filler Phrases

1.“Let out (vocal noise)”

Use the verb instead!

Example: “He let out a sigh.”

Revised: “He sighed.”

2. Using passive voice

Passive voice inflates your word count by including various “to be” verbs into the prose. Passive voice involves actions happening to a subject rather than the subject performing an action, and as a result isn’t as riveting to the reader as active voice; even if it wasn’t a matter of word count, you’d still want to get rid of it anyway!

Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this article from Grammarly.

Example: “The boy was bitten by the dog on his arm.”

Revised: “The dog bit the boy on his arm.”

3. Describing the wrong noun

Many writers will be as specific as possible about what “thing” is affected by the event they’re describing, when it’s much simpler to take a step back and write about something more general.

Example: “The level of water rose.”

Revised: “The water rose.”

4. Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories—a verb and an adverb or a preposition—to form a single action. Usually, these phrasal verbs can be replaced by a single-word verb.

“Ask for” can be replaced with “request”

“Bring down” can be replaced with “reduce”

“Come across” can be replaced with “find”

Etc.

5. Clarifying phrases

Same reason as clarifying words. Get to the point!

A bit

A little

A lot

In a sense

Kind of

Sort of

6. Remember your contractions!

Even if your story takes place in olden times, I can guarantee that if you never use any contractions ever, your story’s gonna be a clunky mess. But sometimes you’re in the moment, consumed by the poetic power of the muses, and forget that this isn’t a soap opera; so make sure you check that you’ve been using your contractions!

It is, it was, it would, she is, would not, should not, is not, does not etc.

7. Inflated phrases

These phrases can be replaced with more concise words.

Along the lines of (shorten to: like)

As a matter of fact (in fact)

As to whether (whether)

At all times (always)

At the present (now or currently)

At this point in time (now or currently)

Be able to/would(n’t) be able to (could or couldn’t)

Because of the fact that (because)

By means of (by)

Due to the fact that (because)

Even though (though or although)

For the purpose of (for)

For the reason that (because)

Have the ability to (could)

In light of the fact that (because)

In order to (to)

In regards to (on or about)

In spite of the fact that (though or although)

In the event that (if)

In the nature of (like)

In the neighborhood of (about)

On the occasion of (when)

On one/two separate occasions (Once/twice)

The/A majority of (most)

There is no doubt that (No doubt)

Wasn(n’t) capable of (could or couldn’t)

Hope this helped, and happy writing!

Nick's bisexuality arc is probably one of - if not the - best part of heartstopper to me. Coz it's genuinely so nice to have a plot where a questioning character gets to not only research his sexuality, but also to talk to other queer people about their identities. He doesn't know automatically how he feels and he doesn't assume what anyone else goes through, so he goes and asks other queer people about their experiences

Nick asking Charlie about how he knew he's gay and asking Tara if she felt anything for him when they were younger is so nice to see, because you can see him start to understand that he doesn't relate to those parts of their queerness. He gets a chance to compare their experiences with same-gender attraction, and it helps him to figure out that he isn't gay but that another label would fit him better

And when he does decide that he's bisexual, he's accepted without arguments. The only time someone questions it is when his mum says that he doesn't have to say he likes girls if he doesn't, and when he confirms that he does like girls, she immediately believes him

Just them depicting a arc where people believe and celebrate him for learning that he's bisexual is so beloved. You can tell that this is a show written by queer people for queer people, and the compassion they show closeted people and bisexuals is just incredible because of it

Legend of Korra fans, you can FINALLY see what happens next to Korra and Asami, thanks to Dark Horse’s new comic sequel, The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars. See the full preview here.

Actually, Ratatouille is the dish’s name, you’re thinking of Ratatouille’s monster.

everyone at hogwarts knows about harrys gay dads but some people hear about these two older gay men and for the first time in their lives feel seen. some people, like a certain fruity slytherin kid.

basically draco would have been much less of a twat if he had a positive gay influence in his life, or at the very least someone to tell him he doesnt have to listen to his dad