#I just write essays and stuff for fun :33

[niki-phoria]

hi idk if youre still taking requests but how do we feel about spending an allnighter with niki? i feel it would be sm fun so if you get time and inspiration could you write something with this idea? also could i be anon 🦆, really love your work

he's so <333 i love him sm

pairing: niki x gn!reader (no pronouns used) genre: fluff word count: 1.0k

includes: niki surprising reader from tour, pizza isn't really takeout but whatever, the timeskips are a little weird, cuddly niki, idk if clay masks actually work like that but just go with it lmao

a/n: my first anon omg i'm so excited thank you so much for requesting !! this idea is so cute <33 i hope you like it :))

additional note: i schedule fics to come out daily so i'm writing stuff that's scheduled for like over a week away i promise i don't mean to take so long to post requests

requests open !! read my rules first

a short knock at your front door catches your attention from your incomplete essay. you let out a small annoyed sigh as you pull yourself away from your computer, opening the door just enough to see who's bothering you so late at night.

niki stands on the other side holding a small bouquet of flowers. you gasp, throwing the door open. “surprise,” he smiles. you’re quick to throw your arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug as you tug him backwards into your apartment. 

niki laughs as he sets the flowers on a nearby counter before he snakes his arms around your waist. you bury your head into his neck to fully take everything in. after months apart while niki was on tour you relish in the feeling of wrapping your arms around him. 

“i missed you.” the words are muffled against niki’s hoodie as you pull him even closer. 

“i missed you too, baby,” he whispers. you blink back tears from your eyes as you pull back just long enough to press your lips against his in a sweet kiss. niki brings a hand up to cup your cheek, wiping away a stray tear as he leans down to press another peck against your lips. “come on. we can order food and cuddle.” 

your smile matches his as you nod, eagerly pulling him along to sit down on your couch. “order something good. i’ll pick the movie. i have an idea.” 

niki pulls out his phone to scroll through a few apps in search of takeout. he can hear you rummaging through a cabinet somewhere before you return with your arms full of a variety of skincare products and a few blankets.

you drape one of the blankets over his shoulders before throwing one over your legs as you make yourself comfortable in the space next to him. “pizza?” 

“sure.” you reach forwards to grab the tv remote, cueing up a random slasher you’ve seen a few times over. it’s one in a series of movies - enough to keep you occupied for most of the night while you catch up with your boyfriend. 

niki holds his phone up to his ear, making an order for a few boxes of pizza before wrapping an arm around your waist as you nuzzle against his chest. he sets his phone down on the coffee table once he finishes placing the order. “we’re watching scream?” he reads, tugging you closer. “again?” 

“it’s a good movie,” you shrug. niki leans down to press a quick kiss against your forehead as you press play. he tugs the blanket up over your shoulder as the movie begins. 

you’re about halfway through the movie when there’s another knock at your door. niki coaxes you off of his body as he pulls out a few bills of cash to hand to the delivery man, taking the boxes from him in return. “thank you!” he calls as he closes the door. 

he sets the boxes down on your coffee table before making himself comfortable next to you again. it tastes good in your mouth as you share the meal together in a comfortable silence.

the first scream movie has finished playing by the time you finish eating. scream two cues up as you stand to wash the grease off of your hands before returning to the couch, now sitting across from niki. you brush his bangs out of his face before slipping a headband onto his head to keep the hair back. 

“you have to do this with me,” niki murmurs, grabbing the second headband you brought to push your own hair back. he closes his eyes as you reach forwards to gently massage the cool clay mask against his skin. his eyes flutter open once you finish, staring into your own for a second before he takes the jar from you. 

despite expecting the cold feeling of the mask, you still flinch a little when it touches your skin. niki’s hand are gentle and slow as he paints it across your skin as if he’s scared you’ll break if he touches you too roughly. 

the sound of niki screwing the lid back onto the jar is your cue that he’s finished. you open your eyes once again, smiling a little at him. he tilts your chin up to quickly lean forwards to press a small peck against your lips. 

you aren’t given time to complain before he opens his arms, coaxing you to lay back against his chest. you take the opportunity as soon as it arrives. niki feels warm as you cuddle against him. he rubs a hand against your back as you reach forwards to set a timer on your phone before refocusing your attention on the movie still playing in front of you. 

twenty minutes pass by quicker than you expected. “can i talk now?” niki whispers. you chuckle, nodding as you shift upwards to help him. he closes his eyes as you peel the now-solidified mask off of his face before repeating the process with you.

niki brushes his fingers against your cheek, studying your features. “your skin is so smooth.” he runs his index finger along your jawline before tugging you closer into another sweet kiss. you let yourself get lost in his touch. each brush of his hands against your own feels like it’s setting the skin on fire in their trace. 

you only dare to pull away once the need for air becomes suffocating. niki’s face is slightly flushed a light pink. you smile brightly at him, losing time in the deep brown of his eyes. 

you shift to lean back against niki’s chest so your head is positioned over his heartbeat. “i love you,” you whisper. you can feel his heartbeat speed up, making your lips quirk upwards in a small smile. 

despite having been friends for years before you officially began going out and spending so much time together as a couple, you still manage to make him nervous. “i love you too.” niki’s voice is quieter than your own. it’s rare that you say those words aloud. you cherish the memory, listening as his heart slowly relaxes once again. your lips quirk upwards into a small smile as you let niki’s heartbeat lull you to sleep. 

[wisecrackingeric-2]

hi eric its me ian

do you like pokémon because i’ve heard you like pokémon and i. i really. really like it too. please. i’ve been a fan since i was little and have played at least one game out of each generation please can we talk. i. ough. i need to know your faves regions pokémon characters the like

@eggo-tistical HELLO HELLO HELLO IM SOSOSOSOSOSO SORRY ITS TAKEN ME S O LONG TO ANSWER THIS IVE BEEN BISY ALL DAY BUT I AM CURRENTLY RUNNING AROUND IN CIRCLES VIBRATING OVER THIS ASK OH MY G O D POKÉMON IS MY SPECIAL INTEREST I LOVE IT SM (I’ll keep all of this under the cut just so I don’t clog up peoples dashboards BDBSBSBSBSH)

OKOKOKOKOK so first things first the region/generation IIIIIIIII was introduced into was Gen 6 aka Kalos (yes I am young HAHSWBWHEH) and oh my G O D I have. SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH NOSTALGIA FOR THAT GEN. I replay X&Y AAAAALLL THE TIME just cuz I love those games S O DAMN MUCH?????? Like the design of the region is so pretty and the Pokémon designed are so unique and the music is so,,,,,, mwuah perfect. Nuzlocke comics also got really big around that time so that’s how I was introduced into Nuzlocking and HOOOOOOOOOO BOYO BOY

I AM A M A S S I V E NUZLOCKER. I LOVE NUZLOCKES SM. THEYRE MY FAVOURITE THINGS EVER if I’m not writing an essay over Luis you can GUARENTEE I’ll be doing a Nuzlocke. I got into them cuz I ADORED the storytelling aspect and all the creative comics but I’ve stuck around cuz I just LOVE the problem solving/mathematics part of them?????? I love all the insane strategies and statistics runners come up with and I can easily just watch multi-hour Nuzlocke runs for days on end

But going back on track kinda but also on the subject of Nuzlockes my absolute FAAAAAAVORITE region/generation is EASILY Gen 4 and Platinum. In 2020 I started my first ever Nuzlocke of Platinum and tk say that singular playthrough impacted my life in a way I can’t even describe would be a MASSIVE understatement. I played it through some REEEEEEEALLY TOUGH TIMES and it was such a consistent constant for me I still go back to that save file and just. Walk around with my Pokémon. And reminisce. It was also just my first ever Pokémon game EVER (if you don’t count Pokémon GO BDBSBSHSH) so I hold it very near and dear to my heart <<<33

My starter was Turtwig and I called him Boba Fett and now Boba Fett the Torterra has stuck with me through every single game I’ve played- I’ve transferred him all the way up to Scarlet & Violet and I love him SO much he unironically means the world to me. Torterras my favourite Pokémon ever I have SO many plushies of it n stuff <<<<<333 if I can find a photo of Boba Fett the Torterra I’ll post it

I also R E A L L Y love gen 5. Like all the designs of the Pokémon are SO COOL and Unova is such a fun region to go through and the STORY?? THE S T O R Y ???????????? I really love how they were kinda aiming for an,,,, older audience with it????? Unova just goes so hard

But I think if I had to nail down my number one favourite Pokémon game EVER right alongside Platinum it would be Legends Arceus. LIKE?????? THE STORY???????????? THE ENVIORMENT????????????? THE MECHANICS??? THE ART STYLE??????? ALL THE LITTLE BACKGROUND NOISES????????? OFS SUCH A GOOD GAME I think right alongside like. Resident evil 4 it’s probably my favourite game of all time it’s so stunning I replay it ALL THE TIME

I’m also semi into shiny hunting!!!!!! I’ve only ever really done it on scarlet and Violet but my favourite shiny hunt I’ve ever done was for shiny Mabostiff aka my other favourite Pokémon alongside Torterra <33 ut was right after my dog had passed away and he looked EXACTLY like Mabostiff except he was golden so I went out of my way to shiny hunt one in his memory <<<<<<33

I also really love competitive Pokémon!!!!!!!!!!! Have I ever actually PLAYED competitively??? No but I can tell you everything there is to know about it!!!!!!!

Uhhhhhhhhhhh what else uhhh,,,,,,, Torterra and Mabostiff are obviously my favourite Pokémon but I have plenty of other faves too. Like Flabebe, Sylveon, Hisuian Decidueye cuz it looks like my irl pet chickens, Meganium, Wingull, Jirachi, Delphox uhhhhhhhhh there’s probably more but my brain is soupy soup BXBSBBSBSJS

But uhhhhhhhh I think that’s it!!!!!!!! Someday I would LOVE to make a long-running Nuzlocke comic based off of my first ever Nuzlocke with Boba Fett the Torterra, and as long as the 3ds doesn’t completely shut down next year I’m planning on doing a Nuzlocke of the OG Red & Blue Games And HOOOOOOOPEFULLY Making lil mini Comics to go along with it if all goes to plan!!!!!!!!!! :DDD

[bonesandthebees]

hello bee!! Had a tiiiiiny, baby-size depressive episode + panic attack over the weekend. But GREAT news, I created an infinity cube out of Lego while in the trenches. Autism win.

I did have to upgrade my little stim-toy carrying case, since. If you remember me, I’m the anon who mentioned ordering a pinned moth and set of magnet stims when the whole Wilbur situation started overflowing. So my Altoids tin of fidgets got too small after I suddenly had two new ones within a few days, lol. Found a good zipper-container for them. Little spinny-ring, Lego infinity cube, and a set of stick magnets, nice and portable now.

My moth is still on the way :) I’m excited for him to come home.

I started writing on a few of my wips again. It’s been slow going, especially with university. But it’s nice going back to the stories I’ve been working on. I still have to build my stamina up again, I am finding it difficult to sit and write for hours at a time, utilizing his character for as long as I used to. But I’m getting better :)

Just have to give it time, work on it slowly. And it still IS fun. The character is different than he is, and while it’s a bit rattling, it’s just part of the process.

It’s not really an ask. Just an update. But I do feel better than I did a a few weeks ago :) I have some tea. My fidgets. A moth on the way. A haircut appointment in a few days. Found a couple new video-essay channels to watch.

Remember to take care of yourself, too, Bee <3 thank you for looking after all of us and our thoughts. So excited to see more of your writing. I think I’ve gone back and reread this year’s Halloween-special fic six times or so. It’s been a big inspiration for a horror-y SBI writing project of my own :) the suspenseful writing is just so fun.

I'm gonna be so honest I read the phrase "I created an infinity cube out of Lego autism win" and laughed so hard. I love that for you so much /gen

hooray for having so many stim toys you need a bigger container for them!! sounds like you have a great collection going. very excited for you to get your moth!!

yes, just give it time. it's great that you've already started trying to work on your wips again, but don't feel like you have to rush it. while I mostly feel settled about things, I'm still waiting to go back to trying to write any of my wips. take it slow and just be mindful of how you're feeling and all that.

sounds like you have a lot of nice little things going for you right now and I'm so happy about that :)

I'm doing my best to take care of myself. got myself to write some qsmp stuff today so hoping to start posting this wip soon.

also picture me as one of those crying cat emojis rn because I'm so happy you reread that halloween fic. it's literally one of my favorite things I've written and I hold it so near and dear to my heart I'm so glad you enjoyed it <33

[awritingcaitlin]

August Wrap-Up

August was a bit like July. I wrote more than I thought I would. Slowly easing back into Heist. Actually feel like I’m getting somewhere again. Also it helps that I’m not holding myself accountable to have “[so many] chapters done by [date]” it’s more like “I will write/edit for at least 30 minutes every day and see how that goes.” And it’s working really well for me right now.

Still no move. Still no luck with job applications. Not much to say there because it’s depressing.

📺On the Screen📺

So we watched Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon. And that was fantastic. I knew I was gonna like it. I did not realize how much I was going to like it. I loved watching something that talked about diet serving you and your body, not trying to push yourself into something that’s ultimately bad for you. I loved watching everyone’s particular brand of autism. The magic system. The worldbuilding. The general symbolism I could write essays on it.

Marcille is, unsurprisingly, my favorite. You had me at “elf mage” to be honest. But also the way she approaches magic. The reason she does the things she does. Her propensity for “blow it up first, ask questions later.” Her particular brand of necromancy :) I just love her. I think one of my favorite parts was when they were fighting the red dragon and Laios told her to blast him up to the dragon’s face using only Senshi’s shield as protection and she balks a bit but then she does it. The two of them are matched crazy for crazy in the best way.

I’m slowly working my way through the manga now to see what happens next. I am mad that we didn’t get the bit about Marcille’s hair during the ritual but otherwise I’m loving how faithful the anime adaptation is. Looking forward to Season 2!

🎮With a Controller🎮

Technically, mouse and keyboard, but still. Continuing my run of Dragon Age: Origins. I keep binge playing it off and on. So I’m only about halfway through. I’ve finished Ostagar, done the Brecelian Forest, the Circle Tower, and Redcliffe through saving Connor. I’m now questing to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes.

I’m also going through a bit slower because I’m sorta-kinda writing down events as they happen for that theoretical Origins fanfic I keep telling myself I’m going to write. But I actually have more substance to it this time. (Oh yeah I did mention this last month. So yeah, it’s still happening.)

Also the brainrot of “Delicious in Dragon Age” happened and I was thinking about a blend of the two. Have I actually gone anywhere with this? Nope! But it sure was fun to think about for a few days.

(also it's so amusing when I'm on fire during a cutscene because the animation didn't stop prior to the scene starting.)

💻At the Keyboard💻

In addition to the zero draft stream-of-consciousness Dragon Age fanfic, I did put some more effort into Heist this month. Restructuring everything last month really got me going again. My total net word count for the month wasn’t very high, but that’s also because I’ve been deleting stuff that isn’t working. (Or, rather, moving it to a deleted scenes folder which doesn’t impact my total word count in Scrivener.)

But yeah, Chapter 27 got half rewritten to set up my new stakes. Then, naturally Chapter 28 needed edits to reflect that. Chapters 29-30 actually were mostly unaffected. But then Chapter 31 needed edits, Chapter 32 needed the major conversation in the second half entirely reworked, and Chapter 33 needed to be reworked tonally. Chapter 34 was entirely new, but it fit in and filled a hole nicely. The latest thing I’ve done is change the POV for Chapter 35, which I’m almost done with. There’s now going to be 48 chapters according to my most recent outline and hopefully I’m still under 110k words when I’m done. (Previous draft was 60 chapters and 106k words.)

But word count is actually not something I’m generally thinking about at the moment. I’m trying to get it all on the page. Ideally, by the end of this month I’ll be nearing the end of this draft. It’s the stretch goal, but I’m not going to beat myself up over it. 30 minutes a day minimum, we’ll see where that gets me.

More rambling about Heist under the cut:

The Needed Changes: (as of right now) Chapter 35 - POV shift that I’m still working on Chapter 36 - will need minor edits Chapter 37 - needs to be entirely redone Chapter 38 - I have a framework but the stuff I’ve changed will mean major edits Chapter 39 - taking bits and pieces from other chapters from the previous draft for an effectively brand-new chapter Chapter 40 - similar case as Chapter 39 Chapter 41 - framework there, but will need major edits to reflect previous changes Chapter 42 - moderate to major edits Chapter 43 - major edits Chapter 44 - moderate to major edits Chapter 45 - major edits Chapter 46 - major edits Chapter 47 - major edits Chapter 48 - mostly all good, but will need minor to moderate edits Anyway, here’s to getting further in this draft and getting it out to beta readers within a month or so!

[tealcaste]

I’ve read some of your Lico analyses and you are so big brain omg

He’s such an interesting character to look at and it’s nice seeing another person who does that :D

Do you have any fun Lico facts or wisdom you wish to share? 👁️

UUEUEUEUEUEEEE THANK YOUUU...... THIS MEANS SOSO MUCH TO ME/GEN

and I AGREE!!! hes such an interesting character to observe like a little bug under a microscope......... ANYWAYS i am currently writing another lico essay, but here r some fun facts underneath the cut off ‼️‼️

whilst the wiki DOES say he is right handed, he is actually left handed, as seen in his sprites, as he usually uses his left hand when holding his scythe or just stuff in general.

i sorta found this out recently, but in lico's aberrant conjuer costune, you can notice that his eye is yellow in his bonus time sprite, instead of it being green as usual.

in his little introduction video, you can notice the pomegranate scarecrow/voodoo doll(?) in his room. this is also referenced in another official art from crk.

thats all for now!!!! sorry if this is short ueueueuueue

i would share more but. i am currently saving more for the essay i am. writing rn :33

[wizisbored]

25, 28, 33, 34, 35 from this ask game

25 - Are there any specific writing tools that you find helpful?

i use the very precise and sophisticated tool known as 'making charts on google sheets by colouring cells'

this is one of a few that helps me keep track of my many many wips. its very helpful in that when i get a comment on a fic wondering if its abandoned and think 'its not been that long has it' i can consult it and take the right amount of phycic damage

got this one for chapter counts as well

28 - What's the most ambitious or challenging fic you've ever written?

ambitious? probably the current big bang fic im writing, just because punctuality and deadlines are in no way my strong suit, but things are actually going suprisingly well on that front. its easier for me to consistently work on something i enjoy than a uni essay, who knew

challenging? anything where the primary goal is comedy. turning an idea for a funny scenario into a fully fleshed out scene while being sure that its actually as funny as you think it is is hard. most recent example is parent creature conferences - its 3 chapters, 7,765 words total, and it took 2 fucking years. and yet i am still planning on writing a sequel because you know what? that shit was fucking funny.

33 - How do you incorporate world-building elements into your fics?

ok so as a primarily au-writer i have had some practice here. this is definately not unique advice but it works - i generally try to either wait for things to come up naturally or find ways to slip them in so it seems like they're coming up naturally. not everything needs to be established from the start - if its not essential to understand the story, it can wait. and i feel like its more fun that way, consistently learning about the setting as the story progresses.

to give an example, netherborne has a bit of exposition-dumping in the first chapter but thats mostly getting the reader up to speed on beetlejuice and lydias relationship and lydias current situation, which is the main thing the reader needs to understand to start the story. on the other hand, the term 'netherborne' and the system of demonic contracts crucial to the setting is not explicitly explained until chapter twelve, because the term 'netherborne' is easy enough to figure out through context clues and the specific details of the system only become relevant in chapter fifteen, so i could just make less detailed references to it while i waited until it made sense for lydia to explain it in twelve. and another thing - if a character is explaining lore stuff to another, i try to avoid it becoming a one-sided qna session with a load of details. better to insert one or two details at a time into the flow of a conversation.

if somethings going to take some explaining, i try to make sure that explaining comes in a slower or quieter scene - i dont want to feel like ive hit pause on the action. (in a similar vein, if i spend a while narrating a characters train of thought i try to make sure theyve actually had the time to think all that.) but if something is simple enough or not so essential to the story that it doesnt need an in-depth explaination, i prefer to have it casually mentioned or reffered to and let people fill in the gaps. maybe ill come back to it, maybe it will stay a fun extra detail to flesh out the world

34 - Are there any fic writing tips or tricks you've learned along the way that you'd like to share?

i know its been said a million times but WRITE FOR YOURSELF. this is a HOBBY it is meant to be FUN. if i catch any of you putting what is going to get you more engagement over what you find fun i will START BITING. we all love engagement trust me i know but genuinely do NOT look at those numbers if you are going to base any amount of perception of your skill on them. i dont fucking know how many hits or kudos i get because it doesnt fucking matter and i dont check!! comments (the content not the count!) and the occasional fanart are the only things that matter to me and i genuinely think i am so much the better for it. on that note please comment on fics i know thats also been said a million times but like. please

35 - What do you enjoy most about being a fic writer?

you can literally do anything with it. once you ditch the concept of 'cringe' there is literally nothing you cant do with fanfic and it doesnt even have to be a good idea. self indulgence is literally the entire point of it! its a hobby about making my favourite fictional characters do whatever the hell i want them to do and then people say nice things about it?? literally winning forever

[oh-snapperss]

laughing, giggling, kicking my fits ohh my fuckingg god i can't get enough! so, im writing it while im reading sooo just keep that in mind why i might not grab all of the stuff quicly.

okay, so, first of all, it really pains me to see how etho thinks he NEED to be useful. like it's such a basic thing, but i really need him to lie down and take a breath. the whole scene after the advisor's meeting left something in my chest and i really can't explain what exactly, certainly not the bad thing! but the whole premiss, this deep feeling of "i'll do anything you'll tell me". aaaand ren is lifthing etho up. okay, my brain short-circuited just now ma gad.(i don't exactly remember my previous ask and idk if you saw it, but it was something along the line, that for ren etho is becoming the reason to continue fighting AND IDK I MIGHT BE WRONG or i might see what i want and not what both of you wanted to say, but oh my god i see it so clearly now). for etho it was near religious experience, but for ren etho is the human ever, not in way "just another one", but in a "the human". etho is so alive and ren want to keep it that way to hide him from harm. omg pov switch im dying. i cannot express how much i feel reading rens part. im not joking. and it echoes so much with what i said about how human etho is in rens eyes. :( "good night, my lord Ren" im jumping into the river. "There is no one to see the love on his face" im drowning. i would comment on chess part but i am in the river, drowned. sry. "I'm calling you, Ren, a liar" millions cheered. but i am so afraid of where this all going, seriously. the whole wine scene was so,,, peaceful, it was so soft and it felt like home, i smiled like an idiot reading it. :( "hes someone has king's eyes" is such i simple phrase yet i can't think about anything anymore. OHH etho want his walls back, he want to see ren the king, because it is so so much to see just ren. because it is hard, because they both want more so bad, but just can't. the final part is something so big i cannot express.

im so fucking sorry for this 400 words essay, honestly, but oh my god this is too good, this is amazing work and you both are so talented and good with your words it never ceases to amaze me.

ALRIGHT i'm gonna try and respond to this so osososoosoooo normally

first of all you're so right. etho so needs to sit down and breathe but he's so very lost in the fact he's meant to serve and die he can't stop enough to rest:D

ren lifting etho up was by far one of the gayest things i've ever seen written with my two eyes<33 (theo wrote that) and i remember looking at the words and looking at the call and then going YOU WANT ME TO FOLLOW THAT UP?? and then i made it gayer myself so. WOO

you're absolutely so so so right about that point!! i just now got to answer it but you hit the nail on the head with it and i'm honestly floored by how you said it!!

the scene with ren carrying him back was also one of the gayest things i've ever written or seen!! honestly the majority of the fic is like this LMAOOOO

"his someone has the king's eyes" was a fun phrase to think of!! that section where etho talks about what he wants to do after the war made both of us cry, and the ending to the chapter was. hhhh made me cry writing it /pos KSJDHFSKHFJD

thank you SO much for this ask dude holy shit!!!

[mysticmiav]

Your notes are cool!

And I was always frightened by the idea of ​​writing in a book, I thought it was because of my upbringing and culture of the older school. And then I realized for myself that every time I read, my thoughts are supplemented, varied,They branch out endlessly or have a completely different take on the same story, and there simply isn’t enough space between the lines for me to fit it all in.Now I put thin leaves in the book, written with different thoughts, like a mini-bookmark to the chapters, a little reminder of that version of myself and that view of the world.

Writing in books can so intimidating I know! Especially when it was reading for school, cuz in my school we woukd borrow books from the library, so I couldn't write even if I wanted to. But also it wasn't a thing in my family either, and my older brother was very protective of the condition of the books we had at home.

So writing in books also felt intimidating cuz of upbringings as well!

A bit over two years ago when I'd picked up some books (The Love Hypothesis, The Cruel Prince and A River Enchanted) that I'd wanted to annotate, I was so focused on writing cute little notes and making sure my handwriting was neat and my lines weren't too wobbly and all. And that's all fun and stuff but also it made it feel like a task? If that makes sense? Like I'd read, I was enjoying reading and the characters and the story, but I also felt the need to write something on every page. Something smart or funny or just idk cool.

I guess it was mainly cuz of seeing many people share how pretty and expansive their annotated pages were that I started pressuring myself to make sure my annotations were cute?

Then came Six of Crows. The book I'd bought was the Collector's edition, and I really didn't want to write in it at first.

But after the first few pages I started writing some small, very small, thoughts and reactions with a light pencil, and hoghlighting quotes I liked.

Didn't force it. Just underlined a sentence here and there and wrote stuff like "lol" , "damn" , "wtf" etc.

And I guess it broke that mental barrier for me? Cuz now the thing I love most about annotations is the fact they are a a small journal of my own thoughts in the margins. When I re-read a book, it's fun to see what I was thinking then, or sometimes the jokes I'd cracked between the lines. I genuinely had moments during rereads where I was like "omg past me was onto something!" Or laughed at a "come fight me bruh let's duke it out" that I left after someone's dumbass line.

They aren't meant for other people. They are just little thoughts from me to me.

They are meant to be understood by me if I were to look back on them. To give me a glimpse into the headspace and thoughts and theories I had on my previous read

And I found that after that, whenever I did make more expansive annotations, I could enjoy them a lot more, pull out my post its and tabs and go all out with the small essays lmao

But I didn't force it, it didn't feel like a mental task. I didn't feel like every written thought had to be an enlighting take or amazing analysis.

So in some books I still found it fun to be more loose with them (We Hunt The Flame, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Folk of Air series) where sometimes pages and chapters went by with nothing more than a word here and there, while in others, I found it more enjoyable to dissect the details and put my takes on paper. Not because I felt the need to have smart annotations, but cuz I genuinely wanted to write down thoughts and explanations and ideas, because there were many things going on in my head as I'd read and I really wanted to capture those as I went on (Pride and Prejudice, If We Were Villains, Vicious)

Also, love the idea with the thin leaves omg! It sounds so lovely and unique <33

[triviareads]

I was bound to hit a wall in terms of my reading and I feel like October was the month. Three books I was very excited about reading this month ended up mostly duds, and one Russian historical romance ended up disappointing me so deeply I wrote a five-paragraph essay on it. That being said, I also found some jewels this month:

Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid

This was definitely a surprise favorite; Mickey is a college professor who moonlights as a cocktail waitress (the unfortunate reality for adjuncts trying to make ends meet when they're on expensive meds for chronic illnesses), and Diego is her boss... who also happens to be her student. This book has all the beats of a cute romcom but is also very Adult and Grown-Up sexy; Diego is 42 and Mickey is 33 (much to Diego's shock; look, he just wants to feel guilty about perving on his "25" year old professor in peace okay), so they're mature enough to acknowledge the conflicts of interest here and move on. I adored Mickey's brand of sunshine (if she has to flirt a little for tips, she's in it to win it regardless of Diego panickedly trying to drag her back behind the bar), and Diego was just the right amount of grumpy to make him endearing. Also, this book has the rare interracial couple where neither person is white which I did appreciate. If you like Talia Hibbert's style of writing, you'll love this one.

Hard Way by Katie Porter

I debated whether to put this book on here because the actual Air Force stuff was kind of a drag for me (if you like Top Gun however, this might be your jam— and yes, I am now aware Top Gun is about Navy pilots not Air Force pilots thanks to @viscountessevie), but the married couple angst made it too compelling to not include. Eric (Dash) and Sunita's (Sunny) marriage is slowly falling apart, but when Sunny asks for a divorce, their argument escalates into sex. They slowly start to rediscover each other by way of sex with consensual non-consent interspersed with dates including a yakshagana performance which... wow, that was startling to read, but in an extremely gratifying way because I never thought I'd read about a Kannadiga heroine in this particular situation (Sunita is a heroine people looooved to hate on on Goodreads, but I loved her more for it).

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai

This is such a gorgeously emotional book I didn't properly appreciate the first time I read it back in January. Sadia is a widowed single mom grappling with her attraction to her brother-in-law, Jackson. Both of them are haunted by her husband Paul’s (Jackson’s brother) death as well as the mysterious fire that drove Jackson out of town. I adored Sadia, who sees herself as the black sheep of her overachieving immigrant family, but she's actually a very capable woman who is quietly strong in more ways than one, while Jackson is equally capable and gives Sadia the love and support she needs. Also, don't ask me how, but I completely missed the fact that Sadia has some soft domme energy so that was a delight to discover.

Wayward One by Lorelie Brown

A historical romance marketed as Great Expectations That Fucks; Sera finds out that the mysterious benefactor who paid for ten years of schooling is a crime lord of the London underworld.... who intends to marry her eventually. This book reminded me a lot of Grace Callaway's Her Husband's Harlot; both heroes have underworld beginnings and see the heroine as someone who is too pure, too perfect for them, and the heroines in turn are unwillingly placed on this pedestal. Look, I love my bit o'rough heroes (who hate themselves; the self-loathing is a must), and Fletcher here delivers— there's some prime angst about being an *animal* who's been "brought to heel" by Sera and he haaaaates it, especially because Sera is actually freaked out by their chemistry and literally has no idea what to do with herself.

Fun fact, this book is written by one half of the previously mentioned Katie Porter (who is actually two authors writing together).

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

This book is adorable, sexy, and heart-warming like the best holiday-themed romances are (I say this as if I've read more than 3 holiday-themed romances). You can read my full review here, but I have to say, I loved the sexual exploration aspect of this book. Winnie slowly overcoming internalized purity-culture-inflicted shame in her thirties and experimenting with what make her feel good (including a peppermint stick vibrator; 'tis the season amirite) was genuinely such a joy to read. Also, the fact that she gets herself off to Kallum's sex tape (dw he licensed it after the initial leak), gets caught by Kallum, and he IMMEDIATELY offers to help her out?? A+++ hero right there. Reading Winnie and Kallum's nontraditional path to finding love and a safe space with one another was a highlight of the month.

[serenescribe]

for the new ask game!! hope you're having a fun day!

1/ my favorite fic of yours:

i want to say all of them but thats not how this works TvT so ill limit myself: anything you wrote for the selkie au (beloved selkie son <33), hollow moon (im still haunted whenever i see the moon outside), everything goes dark (i dont even know anything about feh?? but i fell in love with the setting and extreme dubious morality) and the silver sleeps for 100 years after mal's ob fic (utter hell; broke my heart and tore it to shreds. i will shatter like glass if i attempt to re-read it i think)

6/ something i remember vividly from reading one of your fics:

the flashbacks from 'everything goes dark' come back to haunt me every now and then. i vividly recall the growing dread i felt reading through them and the gut churning horror of reading those final ones; terribly fucked up lilia my beloved 🫶

7/ what made me the most emotional after reading:

two for nero got a visceral reaction out of me the first time i read it but what actually made me most emotional was the absolute descent into madness that hollow moon was. the build up of silver's condition and the way i kept going 'there's no way it can get worse' only to get proven wrong a few paragraphs later had my inside tied in knots and tears dripping down my face before i even got to the end ;;; ALSO that fic where lilias "i love you's" aren't enough to wake silver up anymore tore me apart. i still think about it a lot

12/ a fic of yours that ive re-read:

so many!! i re-read two for nero twice, i go back to the selkie fics a lot, also re-read the silver sickfic, the diasomnia cuddle pile anddd that's all ive got off the top of my head o/

Fanfic asks - for the askers

micaaaa my beloved!! i love our selkie au dearly and i still want to write more for it when i am not crushed under the weight of old english and essays :'D excellent picks for fav fics!! i'm glad to see some appreciation for everything goes dark bc i'm still very fond of that; i went a lot more descriptive than i usually do and i'm still quite happy with it!

again, i am so SO glad that hollow moon fucked people up. mission goddamn accomplished!! the way everyone was probably just like "it can't get worse" only for me to sledgehammer them with the next paragraph. truly a train wreck in the slowest possible speed. it really does get worse before it gets better. (and aaaa god that fic ;;; tore at my own heart while i was writing it)

happy to know that you reread some of my stuff <3 thank you for sending this in!! :D

[moogghost]

do i give u the obvious things of fish game or pmtok or do i say the dragon books even if i won't know what youre talking about u can choose <3

i'm feeling silly i will do both pmtok and funny dragon books :3 (you have no idea what you're unleashing with wof /lh)

favourite character my taniel bias shines through it's tape i love tape. i think it's silly and i love that it's fucking annoying (affectionate) and the personality it has in canon is also just. extremely silly to me i love seeing the different tapes in the fandom too tape is just a species to me now. a genre of character even

second favourite character this is hard bc did you know that every day scissors hole punch and handaconda constantly fight for second favourite now that i can solidly say tape is my favourite. that is to say right now it's scissors i always thought scissors was silly. absolute fucking creature

i think all of the pmtok characters are silly in their own way i have no least favourite <3

can i be funny w system stuff for a moment and say tape knowing very well i only say this bc there's two tape introjects/fictives up in this brain sdfghj (help m /lh). but ignoring that sdfgh maybe i'm most like copen or hole punch if you squint hard enough /lh

favourite pairing i don't think i ever have a set favourite pairing bc it changes all the time however i can say i very much love stapscisspunch in the context of my main los. i forever think about them,, also polycule los i don't think about my alt los often but i always remember that about em and i think polycule los in general is very silly too

least favourite it's just bobby and olivia for me solely bc they are besties to me. also bc i hc them both as aro but also bc they're besties. but even then i don't even dislike it that much if at all ignoring that i don't really have a least favourite i think

favourite moment i always thought hole punch critiquing the other discs besides thrills at night was the funniest shit personally i already love hole punch so much for that alone. i'm also obsessed with the build up to the handaconda fight in bowser's castle w the cutouts it's so <33

rating 10/10 I WILL NEVER BE NORMAL ABOUT COLOURS AND OFFICE SUPPLIES AGAIN. AWESOME GAME

now. the dragon books

favourite character ivy wings of fire i love you so much and i'm so sorry the fandom treats you and your debut book like trash just because you're a human in a dragon book series and i wish you were written better </3 i hope you know that ivy wings of fire was The glorpy of mine before i got into pmtok i had so many aus i'm still so normal about her i want her to be safe and happy and cherished that is all

second favourite character i'll be normal for once and say a dragon character in the dragon book series anyways it's some rando side character named boto. from what i remember he was silly rainforest dragon who just gave me the vibes of worlds shyest even if it was just him being nervous for the sake of plot. he appeared briefly in a few of the books and i think there was only one or two times he was properly called by name. i love this guy (my other pick for this that was more normal was winter he's one of the protags and i'm normal about him i wish he was written better)

least favourite character i was gonna say qibli but honestly i have more grievances with The Fandom's Characterization and Biases(tm) than qibli himself. and with humans like not even heath i genuinely hate i think it's fun to make fun of that guy and also i found that piece of shit interesting to write. but points at blue and cricket I Don't Like Them just by proxy of how i just. dislike how the third arc was handled getting into the specifics of those two would be its own whole essay just know i don't like them. ignoring those two bc it's a third arc thing tsunami annoys me

character most like me snowfall to some extent i didn't like her book but i related yeah. also winter for similar reasons except i liked his book and also ivy

favourite pairing daffodil and violet i love them so much. i'm also a botangbai (boto and changbai i love throwing two random side characters together sometimes <3), wintle (winter and turtle), and turpike (turtle and pike) enjoyer to varying extents

least favourite pairing FUCKING LEAF AND IVY. i fucking hate them as a romantic pairing you don't know how much hatred i hold in my heart for this ship i skip over the scene they kissed every time i need to reread part three of dragonslayer. i loathe leavy ENTIRELY i hope this ship burns in the fiery pits of hell

(i am being dramatic for the sake of silly but please know. i've never hated a ship this much it's been almost three years since dragonslayer came out and the hate is still going strong good lird)

favourite moment it's been so long since i actually read the books but i forever thing the thing with winter trying on hailstorm's pyrite mask was delightfully fucked up in a psychological sense when you think about it

rating 7/10 i enjoy this series a lot ignoring the things i don't like . anyways i hope they make a dragonslayer legends sequel to piss the fandom off about humans again

[findrps-minor]

hey! i'm 15, turning 16 january next year. i'd prefer a 15-16 partner but some young 17 year olds are okay!

i am generally new to the rp scene, doing about 2 and a half literate, really long non-starred roleplays with speaking but also 3rd person thought and movement/description elements. just be patient if i don't understand something you mean or i don't get writing 100% right!

but! i am fine with most people. i'd really prefer a girl but any non cishet male (I am sorry I just do not think we'd be very similar if you're a cishet guy usually) i am fine with! i am willing to experiment with roleplays, different subsets and genres, 1st person stuff and some half literate stuff if you'd prefer!

I also love OOC stuff! I love getting to know anyone anyway, so discussing with me what you love to roleplay and what you can really enjoy makes me happy

i usually prefer oc roleplays, but if you give me a basic description of a femme character and some context that you'd like me to include i will :-) i'm fine with any girl babe

oh and by the way i am transgender female and am not okay with playing a male or anything other then someone who presents as a female! sorry lol

my favorite tropes are enemies to lovers, just straight up lovers, fluffy comfy stuff, and also just any queer romantic roleplay like ever

(and in terms of anything with romance or a thing i talk about later, i also Love any RP where you or I can play any mythical creature, that be monsters or aliens or demons or whatever, as long as they look kind of humanoid and aren't like an actual animal or whatever u weirdo)

for triggers, i don't have many aside from things that aren't allowed here in the first place

and this is kinda something i see a lot of rp'ers my age looking for, which i understand. so in short, i am FIne with doing NSFW RP as long as I can get to know you a bit beforehand and maybe do one normal RP beforehand too. in fact, i'm fine participating in any preferences or interests you have in NSFW roleplay as i would prefer anyone i do that with to be comfortable. I believe that as long as 2 people, both minors around the same age, do this in a safe environment with consent and permission that it is okay. but due to some personal issues, i do have boundaries regarding this. i have a slight preference for non-straight stuff with this, i would not like to roleplay a situation which is non consensual or forced, and i would not like to roleplay any situation with any type of violent or intense dominating, at least from any man lol. i think this can be a safe learning experience for people to find comfortability and fun in sexual expression but only if done safely, so please do not ignore what i said here and come to me with any of your own boundaries!

that's it!! i wrote a lot about the nsfw because it's a tough subject but by all means i'm fine with any rp! sorry for the essay, i type a lot haha

like and i'll msg u <33

.

[raccoonspooky]

If you are still doing asks, 33, 42, and 58. Thank you XD

Hiya! Sure! I had to dig up the post lol, here it is for anyone curious!

33: Do you want to be published some day?

Sure! I have a number of original works I hope to do SOMETHING with one day. I actually work with a few KDP authors helping out with like PR and screening and some other stuff. Some volunteer, some paid, so I know a LOT about the amazon racket.

The problem is, I hate amazon hahaah. It's sad to me that at this point it's unavoidable and any other publishing medium is either you buy in or you give your book to an indie publisher and receive very little or no revenue. I submit to writing challenges all the time just for fun. Short stories, essays, poetry, whatever. I've been selected for an online magazine once which was super fun! Once a poem of mine was selected to be in a physical book, but then when they edited it all together my piece was one of the ones dropped from the print run hahaah :(. I think realistically, I'd like to start making KDP romance books, but I hate the idea of sacrificing quality and things I like to write about in order to play amazon's game.

Its often easy to criticize the subpar work available through kindle unlimited and I totally used to have that mindset, now I know that MANY authors want to write better works, but they can't because of amazon's algorithm and the strict ~censorship~ that you submit to if you're self publishing through amazon. I think a lot of my hang ups just ends with me needing to swallow my pride and make something I know will do well on kindle, to find a good balance between playing amazon's bullshit game and making things I want to make.

42: What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

lambskin by rottenstrawberrymilk on Ao3. Its a Thomas Hewitt x Reader fic. I liked it! The author definitely went in with a plan in mind from beginning to end and that's always nice. I liked the horror elements and I think they nailed his characterization well.

58: What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc)

I... have no idea. I kinda just phase out and write. Often I write a tangled insane web of notes, disconnected from anything else on PHYSICAL paper or another document or the notes app. So its all very messy in terms of planning hahah.

Sorry for such a long post omg! Thank you for sending me the ask! 

[wayward-sherlock]

Hi!! I was wondering if you have a favorite fanfiction that you’ve written or one that you had a lot of fun writing? I hope you are having an awesome day!!

hi hi hi saturn!!! it’s so good to hear from you :)

this is such a tough question. if im counting only byler fics…i would have to say that my two favorites are bad idea! and could i need you this much? for the following reasons (sorry you’re getting a whole essay but i’ve answered this ask so many different ways in my head lol) :

bad idea! was just so fun to write !! i loved all of the interactions that it got (and is still getting!) and i had forgotten how fun it is to write a chapter fic :) having a little bit of a deadline was a good pressure to put on myself (it helped me finish my nanowrimo in time) and i really liked where i went with that storyline hehe. also it helped me work on my kissing / making out writing which i think i could use a lot of work on :)

could i need you this much? was. an adventure. i really liked writing it because i left little shards of myself in it? it was fun (in a oh-wow-im-dealing-with-my-trauma way) to write stuff that goes through my head down and project so heavily onto will. i loved leaving puzzle pieces to the picture that is wayli in that fic :) also i think it was one of my better writing pieces in terms of grammar, imagery, symbolism etc.

this was such a great ask!! thank you so much <33 i hope you’re having an awesome day too!!

[zedif-y]

I think one of my favorite things about you is when people send asks and you start writing like essays in response. Your excitement is very infectious and I find myself going back to anons that I've sent before and just smiling.

Also no I haven't watched much impulse yet. I haven't really had a chance to watch any of his stuff. He was in mcc with 5up recently though so I watched that.

-Zedaph anon

ZEDAPH ANON, YOURE BACK!!

this is SO SWEET im???? i'm glad my essay responses make you happy, they're fun to put together and it makes Me happy when people start watching zed or something bc of my posts<33

also fair enough!! i've been pretty busy lately, so i def feel that. ALSO WHY DID YOU WATCH THE MCC WHERE HIS TEAM CAME IN LAST, WATCH HIS FIRST ONE INSTEAD- (/JOKE JOKE THIS IS A JOKE)

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

77!! :))) hope you’re doing alright <33

i am! i hope you’re doing alright too 🥰🖤

77- Why do you enjoy writing fanfiction?

i was hoping someone would ask this 🥰

to be honest with you, i’ve always loved getting to write

ever since i was little i always did best with anything involving writing, even doing essays and things like that for school, and when i was in high school i started to really get into figuring myself out and finding out my interests and what i enjoyed and a friend i had at the time told me about Quotev and i started reading the different fics that people had posted there about characters i though were cute :p

after a little while i thought it would be fun to try it myself and the very first thing i ever wrote was creepypasta boyfriend scenarios (yes, i was that kid in school) and after i posted it i got a lot of really positive feedback from people telling me how much they loved what i wrote and i just decided to keep at it :)

i stopped writing for a really long time, i think it took about 4 years for me to be able to write something again because i never really was able to find a character that i loved and related to so much.

And then Eddie happened 😂

I didn’t even watch the show when the season first came out, i tried to get into it in high school but i was one of those kids who needed to be edgy and different and not like the other girls so i had to hate it just like i hated everything else 😅

my sister was the one who told me about Eddie because she knows my type and i swear when she told me about him these were her exact words

‘i know you like those metal guys who are into that weird nerdy stuff and there’s a guy in this season who’s exactly like that. you’d like him.’

And i did. i liked him a whole lot.

I got very invested very quickly in his character and it wasn’t just because he’s hot, it’s because i don’t think i’ve ever been able to relate to a character so much in my life.

i listen to metal, i love 80’s fantasy and i’ve always wanted to learn how to play DnD, i’ve been picked on by people in school who thought i was weird who had never even spoken a word to me and believe it or not i’ve had to share a trailer with my family and my two aunts and their families all at the same time (at one point it was 11 people in total with one bathroom and only two bedrooms) and to see how an alternative character was shown in a positive light instead of being portrayed as someone negative or mean or someone who hates everyone and everything like it’s their job, he was shown as just another nerdy guy who enjoys the things he likes and doesn’t let what other people think of him get to him.

Sorry i got a little too into this response but Eddie really was the person who got me back into my passion and if i could meet him and thank him i absolutely would.

(I’d probably do a lot more than that but i’m doing my best to keep this response PG😂)