Being Sick Is Like

steps in through the door awkwardly and stumbles over my own feet..

..sniffs...

"Semicolons," I say with a hint of fear in my voice.

I reach out my hand, trembling.

"Teach me your ways."

[english class tried to tell me, but it failed... i mostly need to know HOW to use them properly </3]

“SEMICOLONS!!!” i scream at you; i love these annoying little shits

THEYRE MY SECOND FAVORITE PUNCTUATION MARK AFTER MY LOVELY EM DASH! OK LETS GO

FIRSTLY! a lot of people fundamentally misunderstand the purpose and practical function of semicolons. you’ll often hear one of these three things when asking someone to explain them to you:

1. they’re just like periods

2. they’re just like commas

3. they’re just like ‘and’

WRONG!

WRONG!!

AND WRONG AGAIN!!!

(but none of them are COMPLETELY wrong, and here’s why)

the actual function of a semicolon is to connect two closely related independent clauses in one sentence. ya just use it when you want to show the direct relation between two sentences.

in a purely practical sense, the writing world could do without semicolons—you can literally always replace it with either a period, comma, or “and.” or a bunch of other punctuation marks, including the em dash, which i just used in that last sentence in place of a semicolon!

if you don’t get semicolons, you never have to use ‘em!

but if you DO really really really want to use semicolons a whole bunch, for whatever reason (i do it cause i think they’re delightful), here’s when to use them:

1. when you want to show that two separate ideas are related

2. that’s it

a HUGE MISTAKE I ALWAYS SEE WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO USE SEMICOLONS is that the clauses on either side of the semicolon are NOT INDEPENDENT!!!

if you can’t keep either side of the semicolon as its own sentence, you can’t use a semicolon!

for example:

I wondered when I would see him again; that kind man.

this is WRONG!!

“I wondered when I would see him again.” WORKS as a sentence on its own! awesome!

“That kind man.” …huh? the kind man what? what idea or action is going on in this sentence?

oh, what’s that? NOTHING?

then it ISN’T AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE and CAN’T be used as one side of a semicolon! semicolons aren’t just here for flair, they connect actions/ideas, and this example is ONE action and ONE subject doing nothing but clarifying what the previous sentence means! NOT INDEPENDENT!!

if you’re struggling on when and how to use them, take this:

when writing, don’t build a sentence AROUND a semicolon, but stick ‘em between two sentences whose meanings need to be linked. this is something you should focus on in editing, when you’ve already got all your sentences laid out and you can pick which ones should smooch! don’t worry about it during drafting!

because that’s really all a semicolon is: just a helpful little bridge between two sentences. it doesn’t have to be there, so make sure the sentences would still work if it wasn’t.

now, let’s look at this example:

I hadn’t spoken to that kind man in two weeks; I wondered when I would see him again.

“I hadn’t spoken to that kind man in two weeks.” WORKS AS A SENTENCE ON ITS OWN!

“I wondered when I would see him again.” ALSO WORKS AS A SENTENCE ON ITS OWN! YAY!!!

you could just have these as completely separate sentences (which tells you you’re using it right), but the reason a semicolon is used is to help the reader understand that one leads to the other!

this character is wondering when she’ll see that kind man again BECAUSE she hasn’t seen him in two weeks.

cause; effect.

this is the correct use of a semicolon!

(or “effect; cause” if you want, they’re usually rearrangeable.)

and so i restate: the world could do just fine without semicolons! they’re only here when YOU think they’re necessary.

you might use one to show how a character figured something out—

The doorknob was coated with dust; I knew he hadn’t been home for months.

—or why they made a decision—

A guard stepped toward me, brandishing a spear; I grabbed my stuff and ran.

—when, without the semicolon, it might not be clear to the reader why they did that or why they came to that conclusion. point out the connection, help the writing be more clear and more fun! not super duper necessary, because you can always replace it with a period or “and/so,” but they’re 100% useful and nice to have in your toolbox.

hope this was clear enough ack!!!

P.S. semicolons have a SECRET OTHER USE. but it’s booooorrrinngggggggg and you’ll, like, never use it ever. BUT HERE IT IS ANYWAY

you can use it to separate entries in lists when there’s already a comma. like… a SUPER comma to show that you’re talking about a new item on the list, not just expanding on the previous item

I spoke to: Basil, the artist, Berry, the nerd.

this kinda reads like you spoke to four people: you spoke to basil, you spoke to an artist, you spoke to berry, and you spoke to a nerd.

you can use a semicolon between these to separate which commas are to show descriptors, and which commas are to show a new entry in the list

I spoke to: Basil, the artist; Berry, the nerd.

hey, we’re on TV!

anyway, a simple “and” at the end of the list would solve this whole problem, but if you can’t use “and” for whatever reason (a list following a colon usually doesn’t need them), then there’s another use for semicolons that you will probably never need!

anyway i looooove semicolons and i will FIND YOU if you use them wrong . thank you and g’bye!

DO I POST ON TWITTER AGAIN DO I POST ON TWITTER AGAIN

I know something you dont

I know something you will never know ✨

Ranch.

little does this person know... Cheese.

remake of an art from 2021

and yet i still find myself waiting

prototype

tpot 15 didnt happen. what are you talking about [denial]

RENAME NOTICE

hello, i've been wanting to slowly weed out my old username "basillover32" and replace it with "imagined_mist" instead, SO IF YOU SEE MY NEW USER AND GO "oh my GOD who is this BEAST that has appeared on my tl" im BASIL!!!!!!! remember me. IM BASIL

hourfal image dump because i said so

“Dream Rot”

A TwoGaty + TwoOne angst story.

Two wiped their eyes slowly, fingers trembling but dry now. No more tears came—not because they had healed, but because they were simply empty. A numb ache settled deep in their chest, like an unfinished equation looping endlessly.

They didn’t return to their room.

Their feet moved on instinct, quietly padding down the hallway to another door. The one barely anyone used anymore. The room where Gaty had once held them after the infection was over, anchored them, where Two felt like she loved them.

The door creaked open. The faint scent of fabric softener and time clung to the air. The pink couch was still there. Old, faded, but safe.

Two collapsed onto it without a word, curling inward. It felt like Gaty had left some part of herself here. Maybe her voice. Maybe her warmth.

And without knowing it, they drifted again into sleep.

The same dream.

Same field. Same light. Same arms.

Gaty was warm in their hold, just like before. Two’s chest ached again—but not with grief. With relief. With love. With the memory of something good.

But just like before, time cracked.

Gaty's form flickered—faint, fading.

“No, no, no—Gaty, please—”

And then she was gone.

Two fell forward into empty space.

Only to look up… and find her.

One.

Standing in the field of light, like a glitch in reality. Her grin was all wrong. Her eyes—sharp, venomous—pierced into Two like they had always belonged there.

She stepped forward, her form eerily calm.

“Took all that to get you here, huh?” she said. Her tone wasn’t mocking this time. It was disappointed. Dangerous. “All this crying, all this moping... and for what? A girl who left you?”

Two backed away, but the dream wouldn’t let them run.

“You think I wanted to hurt you?” One continued, head tilting. “No. I wanted what was mine. Your power. Your place. Your spotlight.”

Her expression twisted.

“And you were too selfish to share.”

Two shook their head, trembling. “That’s not true…”

“Isn’t it?” she hissed. “You think you deserved Gaty? No. She pitied you.”

Two froze.

“She didn’t love you. She saw you breaking and thought, ‘Poor Two, what a wreck.’” One’s eyes narrowed. “She wanted to help a stray number, not hold onto one.”

The field cracked again, splintering. The sky darkened.

And then, the words that broke them:

“Gaty hated you in the end.”

The dream shattered.

Two’s eyes snapped open.

The pink couch was cold now. The sun outside had barely risen.

Their hands were clenched so tightly, their knuckles had turned pale. Their chest hurt, not from panic, but from heartbreak freshly torn open.

She wouldn’t say that.

She wouldn’t.

But dreams have a cruel way of borrowing voices—especially when seeded by people like One.

Two curled up tighter, shaking.

Because no matter how false it was, the words echoed.

And Gaty’s absence answered nothing.

[Motivation? -> @imaginedmist 's Lulled by numbers post. :3]