#and awesome resource list

[perpetualnovelboyfriend]

reposting from r/romancebooks

Alt Text: r/Kindle post that states: FYI Amazon is removing Download and Transfer option on February 26. I went to download a book this morning and saw the following warning: Starting February 26, 2025, the "Download & Transfer via USB" option will no longer be available. You can still send Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the "Deliver or Remove from Device" option. This post contains a screenshot of the warning.

u/Magnafeana's attached FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “Download & Transfer via USB”? This is a website option to permit users to download their Amazon content library purchases directly to their PCs. This is a way to keep versions of your purchases in your own storage. This does not mean that the file is deDRM. The file remains AZW3 DRM locked.

Does this affect all kindles? This pertains to the website itself.

Will this affect other methods of Send to Kindle? No. You can still use other methods to send documents, PDFs, and EPUBs to your Kindle device either manually or via Calibre.

Why don’t I see this yet when I try this option? It seems there’s a mixed bag of people who get this message and don’t. I personally don’t. But I have verified with representatives and their team leads twice that this change will happen universally on February 26.

How can I back up my books? r/Calibre is a great resource itself that walks you through how to back up your books and read them elsewhere.

This makes me concerned about purchasing from Amazon. Are there any other options? Many

u/Magnafeana's resource list under the cut

I shared my resources here and here, but here’s a list: I always advocate for DRM-free media. I shared here some non-Amazon options (Abe Books is owned by Amazon BTW): Apple Books Rakuten Kobo (Kobo lets you use Adobe Digital Edition DRMs, which come as epubs) SmashWords itch.io Humble Bumble Eden Books Libby Barnes & Noble Nook (though I believe this contain DRM as well and, similar to this, you can no longer download Nook ebooks to your PC directly) BookFunnel Author directly (sometimes, you can purchase DRM-free ebooks from them or they gift it to you) Project Gutenberg (public domain) Internet Archive RoyalRoad (webnovels) Tapas (webnovels) Google Play Books ebooks.com Bookshops.com (however, there’s some controversy that, while this’ll partner with Kobo eventually, DRM Ebooks from Bookshop.org must be read on either their Apple or Android app, and this is in the US currently, but this thread on r/books talks about it more) Harlequin DL Site (Japanese media) J-Novel Club (Japanese) BOOK⭐️WALKER (Japanese) BookLive (Japanese) Honto (Japanese) I’m missing out on multiple retailers for Asian content, but so many of them are largely physical books rather than ebooks 😭 r/FreeRomanceBooks is also a great place to check out free books that may be available on non-Amazon platforms r/MM_RomanceBooks has daily release posts that include Sales & Deals that may be from non-Amazon websites as well as dedicated posts for sales & deals and stuff your ereader days that can have books beyond the Amazon ecosystem r/Fantasy is great at calling out humble bumble deals for fantasy books, where they are all ePUBS r/audiobooks has a great resources for options Some of my sources do encompass audiobooks, but there’s also: Hoopla GraphicAudio Kobo Audiobooks Libro.fm (DRM-free, IIRC) Google Play Audiobooks Humble Bumble Internet Archive Blogs (some audiodramas/audiobooks are hosted on the actual webnovel page) Teen Book Cloud Librovox (public domain) Just an FYI ☺️ But I will echo what I say in my other comments: KU is still a great subscription and Amazon does provide a lot of books. Amazon puts exclusivity for some authors as well, so remaining with Amazon isn’t a bad thing. If you can afford to shop elsewhere for ebooks or your library hosts the books you like, go for it! I certainly get things from Libby and other sites, but there’s a lot of books solely available through Amazon and that’ll be the only way to support the author. Do what’s affordable and accessible to you.

[kutyozh]

okayy maybe i'm exceptionally late to the party as usual but i just found this website called Glottolog

and what it is is basically a language catalogue. you can look up a specific language's family tree and this is useful etc etc but the real reason i'm showing you this is the following:

[click to enlarge]

so i just looked up kazakh via the "languages tab". you can search languages by name, top-level family, macro area, number of child dialects, latitude, longitude, and, if you happen to know it, ISO-639-3 or glottocode (the website's own code).

I searched via language name, and when I clicked Kazakh, I got this:

[click to enlarge]

a handy tree that shows me where exactly the language is located within its language family. if I scroll down it'll tell me whether or not that language is endangered, AND, IF I SCROLL FURTHER DOWN:

[click to enlarge]

it gives an entire list of resources for that specific language!!! I cropped the screenshot for readability purposes but the columns in this table are name (as in author), title (of the resource), any field (idk what that's supposed to be sorry), year, pages (as in how many pages does the resource have), doctype (e.g. grammar, dictionary etc.), and provider. the latter refers to the source bibliography that the resource was taken from.

now, this list won't conveniently link you to free pdfs of these resources, but it does give you the exact citation of the work if you click on 'citation' right next to the resource:

[click to enlarge]

so I think it's a great start for research, especially for languages that don't have many learners.

happy researching!!!

[paperstorm]

I haven’t seen this linked on here so: this is an awesome resource for how you can help the people in Palestine. It has donation links, helps you figure out how to contact your representatives, and a regularly updated list of planned protests. It is USAmerican centric but the list of protests is international.

[rebelrenee36]

Mark your calendars! DoubleHearted-vember is coming!!

To celebrate the 2 year anniversary of Double-Hearted (DDVAU) on November 4th, a group of us fans have put together a drawing/writing prompt list for the whole month of November!

What is Double-Hearted (DDVAU)?

Double-Hearted is a comic created by Doody (@kitsuneisi) and Maruu (@xmaruu11) based off of Hermitcraft and the Life Series. It follows the adventures and misadventures of Scar and Grian as they navigate their double lives—one as the beloved celebrity hero Hotguy, the other as popular vigilante Cuteguy, both unaware they're coworkers at the same university.

Where can I read it?

Here’s a link to the masterpost!

Who are the awesome people who made this list?

That would be @rebelrenee36 (me!!), @liloinkoink, @kowore, @deedolldrawz, and @anpanbun

Can I start working on it now?

Of course! We wanted to give plenty of time so people can start preparing now to help avoid burnout. Feel free to participate as much or as little as you’d like as well. Late uploads are also a-okay!

What if I'm not an artist?

We tried our best to make most of the prompts writer-friendly as well with the exceptions of Day 22 and Day 30, but feel free to use those as two more free days instead!

What's up with the bonus Day?

At the request of Maruu themself, we've added a bonus day at the very beginning for the first completed arc of Double-Hearted! Since the Mother Spore arc takes place on October 31st, it’s only fitting.

What if I have more questions?

Feel free to send me an ask and I can answer any questions, offer suggestions, or link any other resources!

[fine-nephrit]

🥏 Where to find good XF fanfics

👽 On Tumblr

@lilydalexf has an encyclopedic knowledge of fics and continues to be an invaluable resource. You'll find a boatload of themed fic lists, individual rec posts and helpful answers to anon asks.

@txf-fic-chicks-blog seven years of almost daily recs, with well-written blurbs and a lot of fun, run by @kateyes224 and @piecesofscully. Look out for their themed days: "Casefile Monday", "Tumblr Tuesday", "Editor's Pick Wednesday", "Post-Ep/Missing Scene Thursday", "Novel Length Friday", "Smut Sunday", and the very cool "Because You Watched"

@msrlibrary a well-tagged library of MSR fics; each entry includes a short excerpt and a nicely chosen image from the show.

@201daysofxfiles a rewatch blog by fandom veteran @wendelah. Each episode in season 1-7 is paired with its own fic rec post.

@enigmaticxbee an aesthetically pleasing and neatly organized rewatch blog that is packed with great content, including excellent fic rec lists categorized by season, story type, trope, and more. Each episode guide sometimes features related fic recs.

@thatfragilecapricorn30 posts one fic rec every Friday, accompanied by a nice writeup.

@randomfoggytiger curates many fic rec lists sorted by often fun and creative categories.

@cecilysass has a google doc titled "fics I love", which is a fantastic fic list categorized by story type, complete with thoughtful blurbs. She's also shared two episode-related fic rec lists on Tumblr: here and here.

@pookie-mulder writes a monthly fic journal with good recs.

**self-promo plug** I post fic recs on my Tumblr blog @fine-nephrit under #nephrit's fic rec. Plus, I reblog others' fic recs that I come across!

👽 Rec Communities

XF Book Club: the best thing ever, an absolute gem that deserves to be preserved for posterity. During its run, 270 fics were recced and discussed in depth here. The community's intelligent and insightful comments on this blog are sometimes even more enjoyable to read than the fics themselves.

The Fic Filter (xf tag): well-curated selections with short blurbs.

Multifandom Het Recs (xf tag): a major rec site's xf section that offers nice "why this must be read" writeups. @het-reccers

Crack Van (xf tag): another major rec site with a big xf section, featuring endless recs and blurbs

Fancake (xf tag): another major rec community's xf section boasting an extensive thematic tagging system

👽 Personal Blogs

Emily Shore aka Naraht: meta essays, fanvid recs, fic recs—great stuff aplenty

Bad for the Fish aka Scarlet Baldy: fantastic fic list paired with highly enjoyable reviews and analyses of the fics she's read. @badforthefish

Ramblings of a Mind Untamed: reviews of a dozen or so classic fics

xxSKSxx XF Fanfic Recs: still active in 2024! @xxsksxxx

X-Libris: more of a fic library, this is the best place to download nicely-formatted ebooks of pre-AO3 oldies. What I love most is the incredibly detailed and extensive tagging system.

👽 Individual Rec Lists with good writeup

Character Manifesto - Dana Scully: a character analysis and 10 Scully-centric fic recs, categorized by "best of .." selections. Amazing format and choices!

Character Manifesto - Fox Mulder: same format as above for Spooky

bachlava's awesome fic rec essays, covering classic fics and slash fics

ShipRecced blog's classic MSR fics and newer MSR fics recs

luminary's 16-fic rec post

RivkaT recs fics and writers @rivkat

Anna Otto's favorite stories

Syntax6's rec list on her site, great rec list on Tumblr and FTF rec list @syntax6

👽 90s Old School Rec Sites

The Basement Office - Musea: a treasure trove of extensive fic lists with lovely written blurbs, recced by a group of talented writers from back in the day

The Other Side - Fanfic Recs from Beyond the Grave: a large collection of 'scary' or 'spooky' story recs with nice blurbs. Beautiful web design.

the Rookery - Favorite Authors: nice commentary on a list of classic fic writers

X-Files Fanfiction 101: an intro guide to fic categories and what to read for each

The Primal Screamers: a fun site run by a mailing list that hosts fic recs with blurbs, and a 'Coffee Talk' section full of delightful discussions of canon

Idealists Haven - Elemental Fanfic Archive: an archive with rec blurbs

Chronicle X: a large, well-organized archive with blurbs, plus a 'Can We Talk' discussion section of novel-length fics, plus a total of 46 author interviews. Simply incredible!

👽 Special Mention

The X-Files Lost and Found: a fic finder message board that is miraculously still very active today—How wonderful! Its FAQ page hosts a huge collection of well-categorized themed fic lists (not recs), including "Classics (or, Your Fanfic Education is Not Complete Until You've Read ...)".

Where do you find your next read? What did I miss? Reblog and share your favorites!

[manicpixiedreamedwins]

The Good We Do (Comes Back Around)

Hi everyone ♡

The Love of My Afterlife Server invites you to participate in The Good We Do (Comes Back Around). This is a fundraiser to support survivors of domestic violence. In light of recent events, our goal is to raise funds for the organizations womenslaw.org and wave-network.org. Both are organizations with broad reach that connect DV survivors with shelter and legal resources. We would like to offer you a fan work of your choice if you donate! Here are the guidelines:

Select a user from the list below. Find their post tagged #thegoodwedo

Contact the user you selected via DM. Each artist is offering limited art, writing, or edits for donations of 25/50/75/100 USD. Discuss what tier you would like to donate to, then share your request. All participants reserve the right to deny requests. This event will run until all slots are filled.

Once you have agreed on a tier and an idea, make a donation to womenslaw.org or wave-network.org and send your artist the donation receipt. Your writer, artist, or editor will keep you updated, and you will receive an awesome fan work!

We may not be able to erase the harm done, but the love we share through our community is strong - strong enough to make the world a better place if we work together. Let's do some good!

Here are the participants:

Artists: @deadboyslullaby @ent-is-indecisive @hobbitsdoitbetter @majorlb @ouchmyghostskin

Editors: @saltyoaktree @wordsinhaled

Writers: @dearheartdont @manicpixiedreamedwins

A special shout out to all of the artists, editors, and writers listed above. Their whole hearted engagement and genuine drive to do good in the world is what brought this event to life ♡

[prismalmelonman]

So much trans advice I see online is mainly for trans femmes/trans women (in the vein like "estrogen will do x, t and z, be careful!" And things like "testosterone blockers will so these things too") and that's really awesome and I'm glad the girls got each other,

but most of the advice for trans guys i had to seek out myself. (And I still don't know like much past "testosterone makes you retain body heat" and I don't know about any of the other effects like stuff for trans girls being a diuretic and can make hydration harder most of the side effects lists for testosterone therapy don't mention those things despite my hours worth of research) And yeah it's good to do your own research, but like I have to get my warnings from scientific journals and whatnot. I'm not qualified to give any of the advice bc I'm still pre-everything (hormones, surgery). Like social transition is all I have rn. Anyway if there's any good like resources made by trans men/mascs for trans men/mascs please drop it below and we can help our fellow guys out! 🫶

But yeah any trans guys that can offer some health advice regarding post-op, hrt, effects of testosterone and so on, it'd be super appreciated!

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

my friend rashid: a fic rec list

welcome back to iwtv fanfic friday! this week's theme was born out of my love for rashidmand, but of course i couldn't stop there, so i've included some featuring real rashid as well. on that note, if you're looking for a sign to write a fic featuring real rashid or rashidmand, THIS IS IT.

drawing in a subject by nestorius (e, 1.7k words)

Armand interrupts. (immediately post season one reveal, teensy bit character study, daniel's "inexplicable" desire for rashid. made for me in a lab)

a memo from human resources by nestorius (not rated, 2.5k words)

The pitfalls of having a vampire boss. (the real rashid prelude to above. his relationship with louis in this drives me wild. i still believe this is rashid's lore and you can't stop me.)

Live your role by Thunder__Puss (e, 1.5k words)

Louis and Armand bed down in the penthouse. Rashid overhears a bit more than he'd care to. (ARMAND PLAYING RASHID IN BED WITH LOUIS ... THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF)

honey and pineapple by duri (e, 3.5k words)

Rashid pays Daniel a visit. (hey girls did you know that uhmmmmm... armand wants daniel so bad. like OH MY GOD)

I like your getup, if you know what I mean by cannibalenthusiast (aka yours truly) (e, 1.7k words)

His brain conjures the image of Rashid standing primly with a plush towel draped over his slim wrist. “For your jizz, Mister Molloy,” he says. Daniel snorts and spits onto his hand. (sorry to be reccing my own work but it was my first one for the pairing and i'm proud of it ok? daniel jerks off thinking of rashidmand and rashidmand sort of unknowingly provides a helping hand. it's important to me)

Taking All That A Person Can Give by anonymous (e, 6k words)

Daniel fantasizes about "Rashid". Set during and after 1x05. (mind the tags on this one! daniel and armand both get tortured. sexually. awesome crazy work.)

honeysuckle sips from your rolling hips by ultraviolet_glow aka @lesbians4armand (m, 1.4k words)

It was the viscosity that got to him, Daniel thought. Something deeply obscene, sensual about the viscosity of honey compared to the viscosity of blood. Both were natural, bodily fluids, if you thought too hard about it. Thick and dripping and sweet. (YAAAAY more wet dreams for daniel!!! this is just one of many awesome rashidmand fics violet has written <3)

honey and pineapple by softestbutch aka @softest-butch (e, 1.8k words)

He’s thinking of you, Rashid. Louis felt Armand’s body flush at the use of the name. He ran the flat of his tongue over the wound in his neck, continuing to drink. Our boy. He wants you. (awesomeeee take on the 1.5 scene with a little bit of loumand as well. i can never get enough)

[i-may-be-an-emu]

WOAH this is awesome I had no idea that this was something that could be done on ao3!!

Great job!!

All SFTH fics on Ao3

Heavily inspired by @i-may-be-an-emu 's fic masterlist. The link should take you to an Ao3 page with Every Other british comedy rpf work filtered out (except those improperly and very vaguely tagged.)

This took so long and its 2am and i have school tomorrow. oops...

[mrsbsmooth]

Smut writing 101: What I wish someone had told me when I first started.

So a conversation with @queen-of-boops and @longbobmckenzie sparked this post. Sarah already wrote a list of tips for writing a villa fic which was really helpful and people expanded on it a lot, so we thought it might be helpful to share a few tips for writing smut from some of the writers that do it a lot.

This is a long-ass post, because I've learned a lot over the years. So right at the end, there's a mini how-to guide for how to turn your smut from IKEA instruction manual into an explosion of sexual tension.

In addition, I would love for others to add on to this. This fandom is horrifically talented especially in writing brain-melting smut, and this is just what I could come up with in a few hours. But I'd love to hear from other people and have them add on extra bits!

A few resources before we begin:

The Smut Writer's Dictionary

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Smut Fic [HIGHLY recommend sections ii (Reaction words), iv (sexy alternatives to 'said'), xii (generally acceptable slang terms) and xvi (Some do's and don'ts of smut writing).]

OneLook Thesaurus is much better than other thesauruses at suggesting words for smut (I've found).

Now, on to the advice!

Tip #1 - It's normal to find it difficult and cringe to write. Own it.

Smut can be intimidating. It can feel really cringe and awkward and you might feel like people are judging you for it, and you know what? Sometimes they are. Smut isn't for everyone, and not everyone wants to read it, and that's why ratings and tags exist on Archive of Our Own. But you shouldn't be ashamed of writing it. Smut is fun and awesome and people who do like reading smut often love reading it, and will absolutely eat up whatever you give them. So go nuts. Write what you want to see, write what you want to read. That's advice for everything, but it's especially relevant for writing smut. Because if you feel awkward, it can sometimes show through. Lean into it. Let it happen. If you make yourself blush, you’re doing a fucking awesome job.

Tip #2 - Writer’s block.

I've written hundreds of thousands of words of pure, unadulterated filth, and I still struggle to push into it sometimes. The leadup comes so naturally, the tension builds, they're kissing, they're starting to touch each other, and then-- writer's block. I stare at the page and tap my fingers and go... huh. Same with writing really effectual kisses, or writing orgasms. There's all this pressure to make it the best written orgasm that's ever existed in the English language and it really doesn't need to be. Just put something down. 

If your doc looks like this:She clawed at the wall, knowing she was coming apart at the seams, the pressure building inside her. He didn’t let up. [orgasm bla bla bla]. She took a deep breath. She drew herself off him. She turned around. And she fell to her knees. [blowjob and he's loving it].

Then your doc looks just like mine.

Tip #3 - Pick the right words for everyone’s bits. 

See the resource above for suggestions! People have very different preferences when it comes to what to call a cock or whether or not to use the word ‘cunt’. Adjectives, adverbs– there are so many different opinions. Like personally, I have to physically restrain myself from throwing a fic across the room if it uses the word hole but that is my personal preference, and I am massively in the minority there. But my advice is threefold:

Read widely to find out what you like,

Write what you like,

Know your characters. 

Language will vary by fandom, by character, and by setting, and it’s an opportunity to really solidify their characterisation by carrying this into smut. An arrogant fuckwit who’s bedding his mortal enemy in a fit of hate-sex might use ‘into her slick cunt’, whereas a sweet, wholesome guy who’s desperately in love might say ‘pushed inside her’. But the more you read, and the more you write, the more you’ll find certain words or phrases you’re more comfortable with. 

The more smut you read, the better understanding you’ll have of what you like. The better understanding you have of what you like, the easier it will be to write. 

Tip #4 - POV can help you

Picking the right POV can make your life easier. For example, I once wrote a M/M/M threesome. That fic ended up being my very first ever 'first person POV' fic. Why? Because it turned one set of ‘his hand’ into ‘my hand’. Made it easier to understand the logistics of ‘his hand on his waist’, etc. Maybe it's lazy, maybe it's genius. I thought it was a bit of both. 

Consider whose POV is going to be the most impactful. If you’re not sure, try writing a paragraph from each. You’ll figure it out quite quickly. 

Tip #5 - Dialogue

You don’t have to include dialogue in your smut, but it can really help with pacing things and showing when the ‘end’ is approaching. Anyone who’s ever read any of my smut ever knows I’m a huge fan of cutting people off mid sentence in smut dialogue. 

They start out with “Oh yeah? You think you can make me X?” And the other person goes “Sweetheart, I’m going to make you X so hard you don’t Y for a Z.” 

But then by the end it’s “You feel–” and everyone’s gasping “Oh, fuck–” and sobbing out “I’m so– I’m gonna–” 

To me, this helps to build pacing and tension and show without telling that the end is approaching. But honestly, that’s just me– I enjoy reading people being very vocal in smut, so that’s how I write them. If that’s not your thing, then don’t do it. Simple as that. 

Tip #6 - Don’t skimp on the finale

Orgasms are hard to write. We all know that. There’s all this pressure to write the best most explosive monumental earth-shattering orgasm that’s ever existed in fiction, and honestly, it probably won’t be. But you still need to give it the time it deserves. 

As an avid consumer of smut, there is nothing more frustrating than five pages of buildup, incredible smut, tension rising, rising, rising– and then the orgasm happens in two lines and they’re immediately having a conversation afterwards. This is, no pun intended, the climax of your scene. Give it a paragraph. Hell, give it two paragraphs. Give it four. The climax is something you can write in excruciating detail and it will almost always be better for it. You can decide whether they come at the same time, or whether one comes immediately after the other (personal fav so we get to read two orgasms. Yay! Two cakes!) You can hyper-focus on every single sense. Here are some examples for writing orgasms:

Feel/Touch

The feeling travelling through the character’s body/ zones: up their spine, through their thighs, ‘deep inside them’

Their partner continuing to thrust/move

Their partner’s grip on their body, or maybe a kiss

Fingernails digging into shoulder or raking down a back

Legs squeezing

Smell

Personally I think this works better for the leadup and afterwards, but if you want this in here you absolutely can. Pheremones, cologne, aftershave, perfume, sweat, hair gel– whatever makes them smell like them. 

Sight

Their partner’s face and get detailed! Lips parting, brow scrunched, eyes closed, face in beautiful agony, wax poetic as fuck about their partner's face! What is hotter than making someone come and watching their face while you do it!??!!?

Darkness (blindfolded 👀)

‘White light behind their eyes’ is a cliche for a reason (fucking love this one)

Seeing stars/heaven see above lol

Taste

Harder to put into an orgasm but salty skin, lipgloss/lipstick? Whatever you want really

Sound

Big one. Their partner’s breath or moan as they watch/feel character’s peak

Their own breath/moans (or lack thereof can be just as effective, a ‘sudden silence’ as their breath catches in their throat can work WONDERS)

Bodies slapping together (doesn’t always work but when it does it does)

External sounds, especially rhythmic ones. A train clacking or a club baseline could simulate a heartbeat/shockwaves that you could lean into.

Pick multiple senses and focus on them. This will fill up a good bit of your climax writing. 

But you should also let them come down from it! DON’T SKIMP AFTERCARE (or after-hate??)

Tip #7 - Aftercare!

I missed this so often when I was new to writing smut and I didn’t realise how effective it could be! I always just faded to black immediately afterwards because I didn’t want to deal with the ‘cleanup’. And you don’t have to go into detail, but at the very least, give them a few minutes– a paragraph or so after the sex. The immediate aftermath of the act itself when you can really focus on the relationship. 

If they’re mortal enemies who’ve just fucked and are now horrified? Have them panting into each others’ skin. Their breaths suddenly become sharper and more reserved. They pull back from each other. Someone glares or someone says something snarky or awful. Someone showing aftercare or affection here (or being particularly cruel) reveals a lot about their character.

If they’re deeply in love and it’s comfortable for them to do so, maybe let them just lay there for a second, enjoying the feeling of each others’ bodies and letting breaths fall warmly and smiles tug at cheeks. Soft kisses, laying in silence, affection, etc. 

If they’re best mates who just fucked by accident, have the silence be awkward and have no one breathe at all. It’s tense and awkward and one has to ask the other to go get a towel or something and the other is like ‘oh, yeah, um, right’. 

Don’t skip this! It can be so impactful!

Overall Tip - Beware the ‘IKEA Instruction manual’!

The #1 most common mistake, in my opinion, in writing smut is ‘Insert Tab A into Slot B’. It’s things like, 

He moved his leg A, she touched B. He lifted her arm to C, holding her D’s, before slipping down to cup E. She ran her hands up F, touching his G, feeling his Hs caressing her I as she lifted her J and draped it over his K.

When I read this, I’m not focusing on the smut. I’m doing mental gymnastics trying to keep track of what position they’re in in my head because I’m assuming that it’s important. If you feel yourself doing this, stop. Refocus. Remember whose POV you’re in. This isn’t to say you should never tell the reader what’s happening. Just make sure to break it up a little!

Balance actions with senses. 

Let’s say you start with a basic action. (The example is buildup to smut, not actual smut, but the idea is the same)

“His hand moved from her knee to her thigh.”

-> Instead of writing what they’re doing, write what they can sense.

“His hand moved from her knee to her thigh” becomes “She felt his warm hand slide from her knee to her thigh.”

-> Now, make the phrase active. Instead of ‘she felt’, make it a description.

‘She felt his warm hand slide from her knee to her thigh’ becomes ‘Warmth erupted on her skin as his hand slid from her knee to her thigh’.

-> Give it details, and draw focus to them.

His fingertips skimmed her inner thigh as his hand slipped from her knee and moved higher. The silk of her skirt gave way to the warmth of a coarse, rough palm. Her skin seared beneath it. But every other inch of her shivered with anticipation.

In three steps, you’ve gone from IKEA tab A to slot B to a pretty good section for building tension. 

Examples of writing senses:

What can they feel? - ‘She’d never been so pent up, so wired, so on edge, and every flit of his practiced fingers on her waist had goosebumps shooting up her spine’.

What can they taste? - ‘She could taste the sweat on his skin, the coconut suncream on his shoulders, the salt of the ocean on the hints of stubble at his jawline.’

What can they smell? - ‘Her forehead pressed to his, that smokey, heady cologne engulfing her; curling her closer in time with his arms around her.’

What can they hear? - ‘He watched her every move, breathing quickly, so she looked him directly in the eyes as she undid his belt. Belt. Button. Zip purring as she tugged it down towards her.’

What can they see? - “Then, they opened, and he was treated to the sight of her looking up at him from her knees. Her eyes said fuck me. Her mouth said fuck me. Everything about her. Fuck me. Fuck me.”

I hope this was helpful in some way. I really would love to hear any other tips and tricks that writers would like to add to this. Obviously Mo and Sarah are already tagged, but this is a full and open free-for-all.

Add your thoughts! Add what you've learned! Add what you wish you knew!

I'd love to hear it <3

[amazinglyspicy]

PIRATE SAFELY!! But pirate ;)

Hello! I’ve gotten a flood of new followers thanks to an addition I made about NOT torrenting from the Pirate Bay, so I want to address it better.

If you’ve come to check my blog for more piracy resources, advice, guides, etc, then check out some of the links in this pinned!

First and Foremost, Do not do Anything without an adblocker. Ublock Origin is the best.

Resources/Wikis: 🌟Top recommendation is the Free Media Heck Yeah Wiki, frequently updated, maintained, and transparent, as well as has a welcoming community behind it if you have questions. The rest are for redundancy's sake and for anything not found in FMHY, though most Wikis on this topic tend to repeat the same info. 🌟

VPN Comparison Chart - General Rule of Thumb, DO NOT use any VPN recommended by Youtubers, influencers, or any other shill with a profit motive. Large marketing budget does not equal good privacy practices. Do your own research.

-Since both Mullvad VPN and IVPN are planned to now suspend port forwarding support, the next best choices for torrenting though a VPN seem to be AirVPN and ProtonVPN.

HOWEVER, AirVPN has no evidence of a no logging policy (aka there’s a chance they keep records of what you do on their service) and ProtonVPN has no method of anonymously signing up and use a subscription model instead of a preferable pay-as-you-go model. So take that as you will.

(NOTE: You do not need to pay for a VPN if you are only directly downloading from a server or streaming off of websites! But it’s probably a good idea for privacy reasons anyways.)

A very good Comprehensive Torrenting Guide! -eye strain warning

And another one!

-If you torrent you need a VPN depending on how strict your government is on copyright laws. This works on a case by case basis, so I recommend looking up your own country's laws on the matter. Generally speaking, use a VPN to torrent if your country falls under The 14 Eyes Surveillance Alliance. More info on what that is Here.

A Note about Antivirus: - If you're using trusted websites, and not clicking on any ad links/fake download ads (Should be blocked by ublock), then you don't necessarily need any antivirus. Common Sense and Windows Defender should be enough to get you by. If you would like to be certain on what you are downloading is legitimate, then run your file through a virus scanner like VirusTotal. Keep in mind that when scanning cracked software some scans may flag “false positives” as the injectors used to crack the software look like malware to these scanners. Once again, the best way to avoid malware is to use trusted sites listed here and use an adblocker at all times.

If you have any questions on anything posted, need help finding things, or just need some clarification on any terms used, shoot me an ask or message! I've got a few years experience with not paying for anything I want, and LOVE to help others with this kind of stuff. But if you don't trust me, since I am a random stranger on the internet, that's fine (I wont be offended promise)! Do your own research!

INFORMATION SHOULD BE FREE!

Last updated: February 16th 2024

[thebibliosphere]

I kept meaning to share a resource for MCAS and your post about EDS reminded me!

In the uk there is a charity called MastCellAction.org, I know you are no longer in the UK though it has some incredible information, can help put people in touch with an MCAS specialist, runs regular online educational and supportive events and goes through tests I hadn't heard of prior!

There is also a huge list of pre made forms for reasonable adjustments, and templates for other letters which are helpful for most people who are able to work/study with their disabilities.

You and your followers were a huge help to me when I was struggling to understand the condition, and I hope this can go on to help others.

(Huge win, it even has a section for medical professionals and I finally got my GP to realise just how varied the symptoms are, they are now sharing the website to others to help them support patients, and I keep a print out of the leaflet on me at all times because it's so much quicker for seemingly unexplained medical emergencies)

Oh! That's awesome!

It's been a long time since I've looked for any resources back home and the lack of info and MCAS aware doctors has always made me feel hesitant to ever move back home, so to see this is really encouraging.

Thank you <3

(And I'm so glad you found my blog and my followers helpful. We're really all in this community together holding onto each other for dear life sometimes 😅)

[ali3nboyfriend]

wanted to share this w people on tumblr because i'm not sure how many of y'all know about it, but there's a Google Drive full of ripped models from Destiny and Destiny 2, and in it there's a blender file called Build-A-Archon (imho i think they should have called it Build-A-Baron but WHATEVER) that’s a bunch of eliksni parts set up so you can mix and match them, up to and including having all of the naked parts so you can see the base eliksni model w no armor

the bare head doesn't have the full plating as seen on the official model on ArtStation but if you know enough about modeling you could theoretically model that back on yourself, and this could otherwise be a really good resource for art or making eliksni OCs! it's even fully rigged for posing and has the scales listed for Captains and Vandals so you can scale them down to the correct size for a given character!

here is the link to the Fallen folder of the Google Drive, Build-A-Archon is a .rar folder you can download from there, and here is the link to the full drive of 3D models. for fanartists this thing is an awesome resource, they have a lot of enemy races, armor, and equipment uploaded

[eloose]

♯┆MY INTRO !! .ᐟ ★

hello!! I'm eloise and I'm 4teenn! I love cats, musicals, cartoons, sweaters, adventure time, Dazey and the scouts, Chappell roan and Minecraft!!

Feel free to dm me, send me an ask, tag me in posts and interact with me in any way, I am deprived of attention so I'll appreciate it a lot LMAOO

if you wanna be moots then follow me PLEASE IM SO DESPERATE HELP ME AAAGHHHHHHH

custom tag list:

#🌱🌈 - reblogs (most of my older 1200+ reblogs won't have this tag unfortunately)

#🍭✏️ - text posts/yapping

#🎵🍍- asks

#☎️⚠️ - moodboards

#🪄🎹 - tag games

#💫👾 - graphics

#🎨🧪 - other

strawpage

some of my awesome moots:

@garfunkytunes

@felissaurusrex

@mothonmeth

@sherlock-sleuth

@rakkaudella3zra

@loooonyluna

@uhhlifeig

@ex1st3nt1al-th30ry

@juniscoff1n

@wowacoolusername

@claudiadelioncourtdefender

@ashenrainbowss

@sukisukkii

@randomrory69

・〃main interests ➜ : adventure time, big mouth, Fiona and cake, Scott Pilgrim, Inside job, human resources, tawog, Derry girls, Bojack horseman, Stranger Things, ghost stories dub, smiling friends, Heathers, be more chill, ride the cyclone, nerdy prudes must die, dear Evan Hansen, The guy who didn't like musicals, shera and the princesses of power, falsettos, Minecraft, alice in wonderland, Everything sucks, Bobs burgers, Wicked, les Miserables, one wheat mark, starlight express, moral orel, fantastic Mr fox, isle of dogs.

・〃DNI ➜ : basic dni criteria, maps, darkshippers, racists, homophobes, zoophiles, sex blogs, ED/self harm blogs, transphobes.

[drgrlfriend]

Comments versus Bookmarks on AO3

A few people seemed appreciative of my post about how to use AO3's Marked for Later feature, so I thought I'd follow up with another tip about comments versus bookmarks. As part of the amazing @justleaveacommentfest I noticed a few people mentioned leaving nice comments in bookmarks, and I thought it might help to have a little info about how comments are different from bookmarks, and why it's better to send a comment if you want to make an author happy or make fandom friends or have an interesting discussion.

Bookmarks *are* viewable by everyone, unless you make them private. If you plan to say anything negative in your bookmark, please make it private. It's not really the flip side, however, that leaving positive statements in your bookmarks will reach the author, though.

Most authors are alerted when they get new comments, either through their dashboard or via email if they choose, or both. Yay! Serotonin boost, and also the ability to reply back and start a conversation! Plus, readers can have great discussions with each *other* in the comments section of a fic! If you're super into a fic you can read comments on the chapter even years later, and sometimes find the author adding additional thoughts or discussing their thought process while writing! It's like DVD extras for fanfic! (Do kids these days know what DVD extras are any more? Damned if I know).

You don't really know, as an author, when someone bookmarks one of your fics. Some authors, particularly when they are feeling low (cough cough) may also look at bookmarks to see if there are nice things there. This would basically just involve clicking on the bookmarks for each of your fics individually to see if there's anything a.) new and b.) nice in them.

This is an act of desperation. It's not really a wise thing to do, as 99% of bookmarks have no comments, or just list the title and author in fear of the fic being deleted some day and not knowing what you're missing. Even worse, if you, as an author, get desperate enough to cruise your bookmarks, you are as likely to see someone say something like "Meh" or "This got boring so I stopped reading at Chapter 5" or "Too many werewolves 3/10" in a werewolf fic than you are to see a nice compliment.

So, if you loved a fic and want to memorialize your love in a bookmark, be an extra super-duper sweetheart and cut and paste that into a comment for the author! Make the AO3 environment enriching for both authors and fellow readers in the comments section, and protect your friendly local author by not providing intermittent positive reinforcement for the negative behavior of scrolling through bookmarks!

I still recommend bookmarking fics. Bookmark those favorite fics you want to come back and read later, or use bookmarks to leave yourself little reminders if they are nice or in private bookmarks if they are not nice. Bookmark good resources, like how to code things in html or how to use AO3 filters most effectively. Find awesome new things to read by looking through the bookmarks of your favorite authors, because if you vibe with someone's writing you may also vibe with their favorite fics to read!

[braveasnouns]

ANIMAL ARMY BACKGROUND MEMBERS!!

this is not an exhaustive list and some of them i’m not sure of the names but i tried :D! all are up to interpretation as they are not listed on IMDB, credits or any official source as far as i can tell!

and this is really only focused on scenes from S1 as nobody apart from Bear, Tiger and Pony are shown very clearly past that (or shown uhh.. alive, anyways...)

in no particular order:

Flamingo! very prevalent and recognizable in and out of costume for their bright pink hair

Bluejay! they could be a different type of blue bird but they do look like a bluejay and i love that name! you can see them wearing denim on denim as a way to represent the blue even out of animal costume! very cool

and standing next to Bluejay in the main scenes is Leopard! shown clearly quite a bit compared to some others and i really love the commitment to this outfit its very awesome

Gazelle. they show up very briefly (only in this one shot clearly) but their look is one of my favorites for sure!! So cool and unique

a red bird, while most people connect the image of a red bird with Robins and Cardinals which it very well could be, with the darker red and dark beak i could also see them trying to be Tanager, Finch or Apapane bird. there's really no way to know if they were even given a specific bird type in production but those would be my guesses!

Elephant!! Im guessing it was just from using whatever resources around them but i really love how their ears look weathered, like an elephant who has been through battles as they have

i like to think this is Vulture!! and that’s so cool to me as a name and persona! it just started in my mind because they stand next to each other but i like to think that Vulture and Elephant are siblings and found the animal army together :))

Panda! the most prominently shown other than the main four, you see them in the very first shot of the animal army and they have watch over Jepp when he is tied up. it all makes me think they were a member earlier on and very trusted

Raccoon (left) and “Red” panda (right). Since we already know that there's for sure someone named just panda i would assume this character goes by red as a nickname even if their animal army name is officially Red Panda. I also thought it was funny how in the same scene Raccoon kept appearing and disappearing from the background on the tree ledge, im sure it was just a filming thing but so on brand of them tbh

i think this would be Orangutan! that name is seen one of the walls. they are one of the ones holding back daisys chains and are seen in the very first scene of the animal army as well.

I believe this is Bison! From what i could tell they are only shown in this shot in the background until they zoom over to Panda and i didnt see them in any scenes after that clearly. there is writing on one of the walls that says Bison and thats the only reason i don’t say Cow or Bull, still could be though! I wish we got to see more of them because its very cool

This should be Porcupine! They are hardly shown and it was hard to get a real picture of them. kinda interesting that we do have a porcupine hybrid child later on too, Porcupine you probably would have loved to meet Otto

i just started calling this Bird because i can’t figure out what type they are, and i think its kinda fun to think they were the first bird member (after flamingo) and just like birds generally :)

Zebra! shown prominently in the main scenes and one of the people given the responsibility of opening daisys containers doors. kinda terrifying outfit so good job Zebra

I think this is Peacock! they are quite literally shown for less than 2 seconds in all lol

slightly perplexing...Otter, Weasel, even Vole, Mink or Loris? lots of possibilities and im so not sure

Armadillo i'm pretty certain of! They are one of the ones holding daisy’s chains and I couldn't really figure out who they were in other scenes when they are not in their full outfit since their face is mostly covered 

I believe this is Hyena but its quite hard to say for certain, but it does say “heyena (do you see what i did there)” on the animal wall so i could totally see this being them! they also hold daisys chains

Rabbit! they're cool i'm very curious as to the materiel of their mask

Bobcat?

Falcon I like to think, also holding daisys chains

i am saying this is Crow because i really want it to be

thats pretty much all for S1 but there are also things on the walls like "killawhale" and a lion drawing which is probably from canon members not shown in their full animal army outfits as well!