Noone (and I Mean Noone) Will Convince Me That This:

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Welcome to Zen's writing blog!

Thanks for stopping by! My name is Zen, and I'm a Filipino non-binary lesbian (they/them) who likes wasting my time by overanalyzing details and writing stories. My main interests are currently: 2ha, Twisted Wonderland, Mahoyaku, Akuneko, Persona 5, VS AMBIVALENZ, and Vtubers (Nijisanji/HoloPro/FSP EN)

You can find me on Twitter/X, Ao3 (gumunita), Ko-fi (icylancet).

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Masterlist

100 Dialogue Tags You Can Use Instead of “Said”

For the writers struggling to rid themselves of the classic ‘said’. Some are repeated in different categories since they fit multiple ones (but those are counted once so it adds up to 100 new words). 

1. Neutral Tags 

Straightforward and unobtrusive dialogue tags: 

Added, Replied, Stated, Remarked, Responded, Observed, Acknowledged, Commented, Noted, Voiced, Expressed, Shared, Answered, Mentioned, Declared.

2. Questioning Tags 

Curious, interrogative dialogue tags:

Asked, Queried, Wondered, Probed, Inquired, Requested, Pondered, Demanded, Challenged, Interjected, Investigated, Countered, Snapped, Pleaded, Insisted.

3. Emotive Tags 

Emotional dialogue tags:

Exclaimed, Shouted, Sobbed, Whispered, Cried, Hissed, Gasped, Laughed, Screamed, Stammered, Wailed, Murmured, Snarled, Choked, Barked.

4. Descriptive Tags 

Insightful, tonal dialogue tags: 

Muttered, Mumbled, Yelled, Uttered, Roared, Bellowed, Drawled, Spoke, Shrieked, Boomed, Snapped, Groaned, Rasped, Purred, Croaked.

5. Action-Oriented Tags 

Movement-based dialogue tags: 

Announced, Admitted, Interrupted, Joked, Suggested, Offered, Explained, Repeated, Advised, Warned, Agreed, Confirmed, Ordered, Reassured, Stated.

6. Conflict Tags 

Argumentative, defiant dialogue tags:

Argued, Snapped, Retorted, Rebuked, Disputed, Objected, Contested, Barked, Protested, Countered, Growled, Scoffed, Sneered, Challenged, Huffed.

7. Agreement Tags 

Understanding, compliant dialogue tags: 

Agreed, Assented, Nodded, Confirmed, Replied, Conceded, Acknowledged, Accepted, Affirmed, Yielded, Supported, Echoed, Consented, Promised, Concurred.

8. Disagreement Tags 

Resistant, defiant dialogue tags: 

Denied, Disagreed, Refused, Argued, Contradicted, Insisted, Protested, Objected, Rejected, Declined, Countered, Challenged, Snubbed, Dismissed, Rebuked.

9. Confused Tags 

Hesitant, uncertain dialogue tags:

Stammered, Hesitated, Fumbled, Babbled, Mumbled, Faltered, Stumbled, Wondered, Pondered, Stuttered, Blurted, Doubted, Confessed, Vacillated.

10. Surprise Tags

Shock-inducing dialogue tags:

Gasped, Stunned, Exclaimed, Blurted, Wondered, Staggered, Marvelled, Breathed, Recoiled, Jumped, Yelped, Shrieked, Stammered.

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the girls r fighting i hear

One last mhyk dump

"My Baby"

Silver & Lilia Animatic

Song: No More Birthday

kaizenix arc yoohan....never not thinking about them

just thinking about young sweet hinata shoyo moving to a foreign country all by himself, having to learn a new language, feeling lonely and having a hard time, printing takeda sensei’s “he who would climb a ladder must begin at the bottom” and hanging it on the wall of his new far-from-home apartment, checking the group picture with kageyama, tsukishima, yamaguchi and yachi that he has as his lock-screen in the darkness of his quiet room, catching a glimpse of kageyama playing at the olympics while he’s still working around the city…. these moments, too, are volleyball!

🦋🕯 fatamorou comm

no i actually love that classism is made present and obvious in haikyuu so much, like it’s made to fit so well as an important theme

the difference between the public, private and state schools is so obvious and, imo, well done (e.g. shiratorizawa vs seijoh vs karasuno)

furudate also hits on the urban/rural divide in terms of resources, security, educational standards, etc, and how that affects the tokyo teams compared with the miyagi ones, as well as others

it gets a really good balance between “ppl from lower income backgrounds can and do succeed”, and “ppl from privileged backgrounds have a far higher chance of success” and i love that

some of my favourite examples under the cut, in no particular order

kageyama and ushijima in general, and in their relationships with everyone honestly, but especially hinata and oikawa

“what have you been doing the last three years”

ushijima’s metaphor with plants growing in the best soil (in which the best soil is an elite public school) vs “i am hinata shōyō, from the concrete”

that line is so. fucking good.

karasuno’s vb team struggling to get access to the gym and daichi competing with other teams for facilities

the whole “you should have come to shiratorizawa” thing, especially ushijima and oikawa’s conversation after aoba johsai loses to karasuno (it’s really well done in the stageplay, i can’t find the link rn)

actually i feel like a lot of the fandom’s memes and jokes with ushijima stem from lines that are some of the most poignant examples of class dynamics

hinata cycling over a mountain to get to school

karasuno’s coaching team compared with the other ones, and the patchiness in having reliable teaching supervisors in the past

the timeskip jobs. shiratorizawa, nekoma and karasuno come to mind for me as schools that illustrate this really well.

also the difference in types of schools (e.g. dateko being a technical college) is really interesting when it comes to timeskip. actually, i feel like this’ll end up a whole extra post

the parallels and differences between tanaka, kyōtani and yamamoto

team records of making it to nationals, e.g. shiratorizawa dominating the miyagi prefecture

the roles of parents and the notable absences in many instances

‘the lucky ones’, i think is the chapter title translation - the one focusing on ushijima and sakusa post-timeskip - it’s a really good chapter

nekoma’s motto being ‘connect’ - it’s a key team value, but also highlights the privilege of being well-connected and living in the capital city. it also affects their timeskips, facilities, ability to hold training camps, etc

the everyone-knows-everyone vibe of the town karasuno is in. really hits the nail on the head.

tokyo having an extra team in nationals as the event sponsor slot (i forget exactly what they call it)

it doesn’t diminish the impressive abilities of the players who went to public schools (like sakusa, reon, etc) but also acknowledges the ways class privilege helped them to get where they ended up and i just think that’s a really good balance

oh yeah i live in the uk so in case there’s confusion, us public school = uk state school. public schools here are an extra elite type of private school (eg. eton, harrow, etc)

this is so embarrassing to admit because i've been into mhyk since 2022 but only was updated with ms1. i just read paradox roid story yesterday and what the fuck. what are the canon mhyk lore implications of cain making a promise to owen and does tsushimi bunta know i'll offer my life for them