#it's weird to write love poems when you're single

[always-coffee]

For When the Ghosts Come Back

The fear lands, thin as a gossamer web, a nightmare of old things, stitched together with unsteady hands:

what if you’re wrong? what if the wolves are here again?

I take a breath, I remember my own name, I pull the roots out of my bones, one by one by one—

I remember the word love and how it sings, and how it feels, and how it grows—

plant this instead.

Softly, I look in your direction, wondering if you understand, knowing there are different kinds of naked—

and I would, to you, offer them all.

[jeanette-luminia]

𝐈 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮-) || 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔

Summary: He doesn't know about love. He gets these weird feelings whenever you're around him. And seeing you with Nanami together irks him. So, he went to his trusted friend, Shoko to see what's sickness he have gotten from you.

prompt: "I got a crush on you. And I like you. I like-" call abruptly ends

A/N: I had this idea since last year😭 And now I decided to write it again because of JJK season two! I don't know if I'm gonna write regularly. I'll throw some poems here and there, some blurbs. Since it's summer, maybe I'll write more.

Gojo wasn’t the type of person to be vulnerable. He does not like intimacy. He does not like the idea of being in a relationship, especially with his status in the Jujutsu world. He has a gift. A gift that can also bring a curse onto his life. He was the strongest out of everyone. No one can touch him. No one can hurt him.

Or so he thought. Gojo doesn’t understand this feeling—and it infuriates him. It was like punching him in the guts. He doesn’t understand the sudden heat that always appears on his face. The feeling like you’re gonna get a heart attack. When you feel your legs give out. He doesn’t understand anything; he wants to—but he’s afraid to come to you.

Because you were the cause of it. You.

You were a year older than him—the only second year in Jujutsu tech at that time when he was a first year. The first thing he noticed about you was your face. Your face is almost like silk, stern yet radiates kindness—warmth. It glows under the sun and moonlight. Then, you’re elegant. You walk elegantly, act elegantly, and talk elegantly; everything about you is elegant. It frustrates him. He cannot come up with a single word to describe you poorly, to tease you with, because in his six eyes—you were already perfect. 

You seemingly have been oblivious to the special treatment he gives you, yet others noticed. He wasn’t as annoying as he was with others. He didn’t show off that he was the strongest out of everyone. He wasn’t that egotistical, cocky bastard that everyone knew he was. To you? He was willing to behave.

But he couldn’t hold back these feelings anymore. Seeing you with Nanami together, talking or laughing, he feels his heart fall into the bottom pit of his stomach. Every part of his body burns from this pain he hasn’t yet familiarized himself with. But who was he to interfere? Why was he feeling like this? Maybe he’s sick? He should go to Shoko asap.

“Shoko! Help me!” he burst to open her door as flopped himself into her bed and rolled around with his hand covering his face.

“Can’t you knock?” she gave him an exasperated sigh.

He sits up, holding himself together as his hands are on his thigh, fisted like a ball. “Listen! I might be sick, and I know who caused it.”

She raised a brow. “Oh really? Who is it?” she said as she proceeds to drink from her cup.

“Y/N-Senpai.”

That effectively made Shoko spit all her drink onto the floor. “God damn it, Gojo!”

“What!?”

“Are you serious?”

“Well… yeah. I can’t think of anything.” his body deflated, back hunched back, and he had that annoying pout on his lips.

She sighed, fighting back the urge to smack him in the head for being this oblivious. She grabbed a table napkin and decided to listen to him. “Why do you think so?”

“Whenever I look at her, or when she’s near, it’s like someone is punching my gut. And I always feel like I’m having a heart attack! That’s serious, right? And I feel like my knees will give up on me!” He emphasized every word for her to understand what he was saying—and feeling. “And get this, I saw her and Nanami together, and I felt like my heart dropped! And my body– hey! Listen to me, Shoko! This is serious!” He pouted as he had to watch her laugh hysterically, gripping her stomach.

“I might die from this illness! You don’t wanna see your friend die!”

“God, how can you be so oblivious?” She wiped her tears from laughing. “Wait– you know what I’m talking about! Tell me what’s the problem!”

“The problem is that you’re in love. If you’ll consider it a problem.”

In love. Was he… in love? With you? No, no, no. He was not. He is not in love with you. “Think about it; you felt something when she’s together with Nanami, right?” Shoko asked.

Gojo only then nodded his head. “You were jealous. It took you long enough to notice. Everyone practically knew about it.”

“Ha?!” 

No, no way he was in love with you. After that interaction with that witch (Shoko), he unconsciously began to ignore you. Your greetings were returned as empty hello’s. Occasional ‘How are you’ was thrown at the conversation but never lasted more than two minutes. He was gathering his thoughts—but being away from you hurts like hell. It hurts more than seeing you and Nanami together. It hurts more than being around you.

He wants to be around you. Forever.

It was late at night, lights all off, yet he was awake. He was contemplating whether he should call you or just sleep with this feeling. He buried his head in his pillow and sighed as he held out his phone. Then, a caller ID appeared. He jumped at the sudden interruption of his peaceful time, looking up to see who called and—

It’s you. Okay, okay, okay. Do not fuck this up, Gojo Satoru.

He picked up. “Hello?”

“Gojo! Oh good, you’re awake– or did I wake you up?”

“No, no, you’re good. What’s up?” He could feel his palm beginning to sweat, his heart beating like crazy.

“Um. Did I do something?”

His eyes widen at the question, and he then realizes wow distance he has been. Shit. I’m fucked. “N-no! What made you say that?”

“You’ve just been distant. I don’t know.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry; it’s my fault.”

“Mhmm, You probably have something going on. I’m sorry for assuming.” he can practically hear your thoughts running wild.

“Other than that, why are you still awake?” this effectively made you pause. The line was silent for a moment. It’s now or never. He hears your breathing in the other line, patiently waiting for an answer. “Gojo.”

“...Yeah?”

“I got a crush on you.” Wait. What?

“And I like you. I like–” Suddenly, the line was cut off. He quickly checked his phone, only to realize his phone shut down. “No, no, no, no!” Damn it! He forgot to charge it! He quickly grabbed his charger and rushed to the nearest outlet around him. Fuck! He was cut off in the middle of your talking—

Wait. he thinks for a moment. On the other end of the line, it’ll look like he just hung up on her. No! That’s not what happened. He bolted out of his dorm and made his way to yours. In the dead of night, he rushed through your dorm building as fast as he could. Gojo could have teleported, but he didn’t want to invade your privacy by appearing all of a sudden. And, he didn’t think of it in the state of panic he was in.

Finally, he managed to burst into your dorm, panting. He noticed the phone with his contact was displayed on your phone. He also noticed your surprised look as you whipped your head towards him with tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry! The line suddenly cut off; my phone died!” he heard your sniffles, and he was convinced that you weren’t convinced.

“I know that’s stupid, but it’s true! Believe me, Y/N.” he looked at you intensely. Your eyes bore into his. Without his glasses, you can see how blue it is in this dark room of yours. You wiped your tears and tear your gaze away from him and focus on your lap.

“What’s your answer?”

“What?”

“I said that I like you. What is your answer?” you looked away. Even in the dark room, he noticed a pink hue on your ear. He walked closer to your bed, kneeling beside you. He takes you by the hand. “Can you look at me?”

Hesitantly, you looked at him. He was flustered and a blushing mess.

“I like you too. More than you know. I hate seeing you together with Nanami. I want to be the only person who can make you smile and laugh genuinely. I want to be the only person for you. I want to be the person who you can call at three in the morning when something happened. Let me be the person who can lend you a blazer when you are cold. Lend you a shoulder to cry on. Lend you help with it’s too much.”

Tears start to pick up from the corner of your eyes again. Gojo’s hands were shaking as he wiped the tears from your eyes. “I will become stronger in order for me to protect you. I like you too, Y/N. I have for a while.”

You let your tears flow as you smiled. Smiled turned into giggles as you wiped your tears. “I’ve never heard confession like that.”

He then whipped his head away from you. “S-so what!”

“Satoru.”

He perked up hearing his first name being called between your lips.

“I like you.” you smiled, ruffling his hair before moving away from his bangs and kissing his forehead. Gojo just plopped himself onto your thigh, too flustered to meet your eyes right now. “Finally.”

You just giggled at his childlike antics. Brushing your fingertips onto his hair, massaging his scalp in the process. “I’m happy.”

He smiled, meeting your gaze. His smile was genuine, the one you love. “Me too.”

He’s happy, he finally got her.

“But Satoru…” Gojo only hummed, content with what he got right now.

“Kento is my cousin.” What. WHAT?

© 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐀 - all rights reserved. please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my work.

[snailsnfriends]

ranting about poetry and whatever but it annoys me so much when people disregard poetry and it's value because it was taught to them poorly in high school. poems are much more than just random words thrown in a blender and pushed onto paper in some weird way just for you to mindlessly write about it to hand in for a grade. every single aspect of a single poem holds meaning. the time it was written, the format, the diction and syntax, the title, literally all of it. just because you weren't taught how to properly analyze poems doesn't mean that they have no meaning, it means that you don't have the skills to analyze them. and some teachers make it especially hard to form those skills. but the lack of skill really doesn't need to be carried with you long after your graduation. you can read whatever poems you want from whatever era you want. romantic poems, epics, haikus, contemporary, the world is literally your oyster. you're much older and smarter than you were when you graduated. there's no reason to hold the same opinions you had while in high school about a topic much broader than you realize.

anyway let the soft animal of your body love what it loves shall I compare thee to a summer's day I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx the poem ends soft as it began- I loved my friend or whatever. blah blah blah

[corpseontheloose]

Hii! Can I please have some hunter sylvester headcanons where he has a fem s/o who has a fairy kei style and is very sweet and innocent, but also loves the same metal and things he does?

|Hunter Sylvester x fem!reader with a fairy kei style|

Note: HI ANON!! You're actually my first ask, and I'm so exciteeeed because my style is also fairy kei with a mix of lolita and this got me all smiliiin'. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. It's not the best and I'm so sorry TwT

Warnings: none

Hunter was dumbfounded when he saw you

Like literally.

Would question Kevin and/or random people about you

He would constantly beat himself up about this weird feeling,

Because having a crush on someone exactly the opposite of him was 'not metal' of him

"Dude just ask for her name"-Kevin

*visibly goes red*

Everytime he sees pink he thinks about you

He literally wrote a song about you and how much you're messing with his head

He randomly fixes his hair when sees you walking in

"Emily knows her. We could ask her"

When he hears that he would literally beg for that to happen

One time he almost crashed his car when you appeared in his mind

Would look at you in classes, questioning about this 'weird' style you have (you don't. He just doesn't understand it)

Does Google research about this

BRO LITERALLY BECOMES SHAKESPEARE AND WRITES POEMS

He smiles to himself when he thinks about you

"you good?" - Kevin

"yes, just the allergies messing with my muscles"

"????" - kevin

Emily told him your name so now he knows his mysterious crush

Literally gets TikTok videos with 'soulmates' with your initials 😭

He thinks he's in some type of spell

Totally denies his feelings sometimes because he's not used to it

At some point he talks to you

"nice weather outside, am I right?"

He literally goes ;-; and face-palms himself mentally

His eyes wide when he realises you're laughing

BABY BOY SO NERVOUS

compliments your clothing style

When he learns that you like his style and music taste, he goes blank

No thoughts, head empty

His heart races with 100 per/mile

"t-thanks. Its the trauma"

He's so awkward, he's just scared to not scare you off

That joke literally came out of nowhere

He would start talking about fairy kei because he memorised everything from Google just to impress you

You literally think it's cute

HE HAS A HELLO KITTY BACKPACK KEYCHAIN DONT ASK FROM WHERE HE JUST HAS IT

He gifted it to you

He would give you stuff every day at school, such as hair pins, bracelets, cute accessories, small stuff that reminds him of you

Would plan a picnic date night in a nearby forest with fairy lights in trees n' shit

HE PLAYS THE GUITAR FOR YOU

Would ramble at some point, talking about his favourite bands and their history

When he realises that you're listening and actually interested in what he says, he falls in love. Literally.

He's VERY surprised that you are also into metal

He actually opens up a little bit to you about his past. Just a little bit

Starts questioning on how you chose this style

Would listen to every single detail you give him

EMILY THINKS Y'ALL ARE THE SWEETEST

Would put his rings on your fingers, even if they're too big, just to see something of him on you

CONSTANTLY BLUSHES

He never thought about loving someone the opposite of him

PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED WHEN YOU TWO ANNOUNCED YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Would put stickers on your face

HE LETS YOU USE HIM AS A PERSONAL ACCESSORY TESTER

"Do you think this is cute?" - you

"Let's find out"

HE. KISSES. YOUR. HAND

"How's my floating cotton candy doing?"

You're literally his will to live 😭

His life so boring and grey, until ✨ you ✨ come in picture

People are whispering about you guys but who tf cares?

"You're like a heart"

"how so?" - you

"without you everything dies around"

💳 💥

OVERALL Y'ALL FUCKING CUTE

[cboffshore]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks for the tag, @fabrowrites!

Tagging: @basicallyjaywalker and, uh, I'm not really sure. NWOD buddies, if you see this, you're all welcome to hop on too!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

Twelve! One is technically a mini essay collection and one is a poem, though, so ten proper fics.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

122,397!!! Which is.... wow!!

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Ninjago. That's it. I don't really engage with other shows enough to write fic for them, and I think writing fic for IRL bands and such is weird as hell, so I don't that at all.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

Oh boy, let's see:

A Disappearing Act (Done Poorly) leads the race, which makes sense - she's been around the longest!

It Doesn't Take Much (To Cover Up Small Cuts) is a bit of a surprise, but so worth it.

The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye: An Unofficial Revision . What a great group project. Too bad Tommy wandered off to work on Dreamzzz or whatever... This one is like a tombstone on my account. Or maybe a mausoleum...

Just Cross The Waters my beloved!

Coughing Up Feathers is one that I'm amazed isn't higher - kind of had a spike in activity when I updated OSSAS this year.

5. do you respond to comments

YES. I love to blabber. Please ask me questions!!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Elegy Above Sea Level isn't a fic - it's that single poem I mentioned earlier - but it's really the only work I have that ends on a purely bitter note. I don't deal in unbalanced angst, but I like this one. Goes down like a raw spoonful of cocoa powder, honestly, and I adore it.

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oof, that's... that's a tough one. I would have to say Coughing Up Feathers purely because it's got a miniature "everyone laughs" ending that still makes me smile when I read it back.

8. do you get hate on fics?

No, and you know what? I wish I did, sort of. Maybe not outright hate, though. As much as I love opening my comments to find my readers excited for me, it does get a little repetitive sometimes. Peer review me in the comments! Find an inconsistency and make me justify it! Lord knows I've done my share of criticism (on Tumblr and Discord, though - I'm just nice enough to not do it in the comments) and I think it would be fun to get that energy back. Plus, spite fuels me! If you make me mad, you get more writing. Win-win.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Nope. Never. I would rather eat pillow stuffing.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

Not any more, but my very first fic from middle school was a god-awful triple hit of Star Wars (with total homebrew lore, all I kept were the lightsabers and Force tricks), Ninjago, and - get this - Lindsey Stirling. I abandoned it halfway through the Rise of the Snakes season installment.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! That's the nice thing about focusing on an underappreciated angle - everyone else pays attention to the big, popular stuff, and only the people who would appreciate it even look twice at mine.

12. what's the longest you've spent working on a fic? and the shortest?

If I Can Think (Of Something Clever) took me about three months of on and off writing, plus LOADS of planning, so that's my longest! On the other hand, I wrote Wouldn't It Be Grand? (It Ain't Exactly What You Planned) in the span of a few hours.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! Not sure I want to, either, although maybe someday...

14. what's your all-time favorite ship? from all fandoms?

IT'S THE MISFORTUNE'S KEEP. I don't do romance, not really, although to properly answer that I will confess that I do like Jaya enough to write it now and then.

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't really have any WIPs in limbo right now, so I don't have an answer here? Either I finish a fic or I lay it to rest when the momentum dies. No middle ground.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I'm very good at comedic timing and imagery! I love trying to paint the mental image of a room - sometimes I even do floor plans to help me out.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

I worry that my action writing is a little too straightforward - I write like I had to when I was a stage manager, so my actions are VERY cut and dried. It helps me visualize better, so I'm unlikely to change, but I wonder sometimes if my readers get sick of it.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've never done it, but I think it's a cool idea!

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Ninjago. I've never written fic for any other.

20. favorite fic you've written?

My favorite usually tends to be my most recent, so that honor goes to If I Can Think (Of Something Clever). It also breaks a few records - both in personal best fic length, and in the fact that it's the first fic I've ever seen that comprehensively gets to Nya's experience during e63 instead of just nodding at it during the aftermath. That entire series is fueled by that "be the fic author you want to see in the world" idea, because let's be real - there isn't a lot of Nya centric Skybound content. When there is, it's usually aftermath, but I want to see the thick of it! I'm doing my best out here.

[adaines-furious-feast]

Not really 500 words but what's the author commentary behind the rest of Baron's adventuring party? Do they have a name?

They do not have a name and if anybody else has one I would much appreciate it because I have no idea.

The story behind Baron's adventuring party is I sat here with the same sheet of paper Baron has in the fic and tried to fill in the places.

I wanted to try to do something different to the Bad Kids/Rat Grinders and I was also like "ok so Baron is going to have the most misfits adventuring party because they are a weird little guy so he's not going to have first pick.

Further under cut:

Olive was the first one that came into my head and she's kind of an author, not self insert but person I can make know the things that need to be known. I also love the idea of a bard going back to the roots and being like "yeah, I'm going to tell the story of this shit in an Epic Poem, the most authoritative form of history going" so that's where Olive came from.

I think Davey was the second to come into my head because Davey Hertz is actually a character I have been writing and working with for over 10 years (in a very non-fantasy setting). So Davey is the most fleshed out character in this fic. I'd also been looking for something that wasn't cleric for the healer, just because I do think Baron would be nervous about that and trawling through alternatives having an artificer seemed like an interesting un-optimised option.

By this point I was like "are these all going to be OCs or is there someone I can drag in from the actual Fantasy High canon" which is where Bricker/Ruby came in. What happens when your sister and your older brother both go to this specific school and turn away from the god your parents follow? Well, then your paths are limited and you're gonna be pissed off about it. I think about Bricker and Cork a lot and I think he just fits so perfectly into what I wanted for a rogue. Also, I didn't want a rogue to be a little guy. Because the idea of having three little guys on the team and none being the rogue was too funny to me.

Brook I think was next. I was really on this "unoptimized train" by this point but also trying to figure out how they were going to get the rest of their party and thought just asking the teacher for options was the simplest way to do that. So what kind of barbarian gets picked last? The halfling which every single site I looked at told me should not be a barbarian.

And then there was Frayer who I think was the last I came up with even thought she is the top of my list of people. Really struggled with what kind of class I should have. Straight fighter just seemed like such an uninteresting option and I was going through the others, working out why they had chosen to come to Aguefort, and I thought that having a character choose to go purely because the Bad Kids helped them was fun, and also another connection to existing canon. I was umming and ahing about whether she should be a druid (and she might multi-class, it depends on how pissed off I get at the lack of interesting sorcerer spells) but paladin just seemed like a fun option and filled that "fighter" bit of Baron's sheet that still needed to be filled.

[hesterias]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers ♡

Love you 💛 You da best. And this is such a cute thing to pass around.

My family. Truly don't know what I'd do without them. My parents are my best friends honestly, I love visiting them and spending time with them. They're cooler than me by miles.

You and all the friends I've met through fanfic. I've been involved in fandom since 2008 (I was way too young but c'est la vie) and some of the best bonds I've created has been through the mutual love for this weird little world free from judgement. It's helped me grow as an individual in... truly immense ways. Even if I don't speak to some fandom friends from years before, I am so, so grateful to them for being supportive, showing love, sharing in my excitement, and creating amazing works. You included, you're the best 🥹 My electric warrior.

Writing. It goes without saying that I truly would not be able to cope if I hadn't discovered this creative outlet. From the poems I started writing in elementary school and the first story I attempted to write at 11 years old for a school assignment, I've loved every part of the process, even the difficult ones. The writers block. The time. The patience. The difficulty. I love every single second, even when I don't.

Music. My writing would be nothing without it. I would be nothing without it. How lucky I am, to have this. To listen to this. I don't know what else to say about it. Music is always there for me. My forever friend, when all else ends.

My health. I am lucky in so many ways and I need to remind myself sometimes.

[pretty-rage-machine]

20 questions for fic writers

I got tagged by meikuree! You should go read her excellent fic. 8)

I can't remember whomst among my mutuals does fic or not 😭 consider yourself tagged if you're interested! Let's all toot our own horns

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

63. My account is here, btw.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

AO3 informs me it's 244,098, which feels like SO much and yet almost nothing based on the time I have theoretically been writing.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Gonna call out ones where I've written more than a single fic and where I feel it is at least somewhat likely I'll return and write more: Animorphs, Naruto, Blade of the Immortal, and Shingeki no Kyojin, but there's loads of one-offs and smaller fandoms there too. I'd like to write more Gravity Falls, as well.

The rest are under the cut.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

With All Brightness (Lilo & Stitch), The Girl In The Water (Spirited Away), beauty, her artificers (Greek mythology), I've got Four Voices on the Line (the only one I hear is mine) (Animorphs), and love what you see in the mirror (TWEWY). Perhaps significantly, four of these were written for Yuletide, and one was written as a new year's resolution treat, so also for Yuletide.

5. do you respond to comments?

Yes, I try to.

6. what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ummm. Hmm. One of my friends once told me my fics were "gloomy" but I have a hard time calling out the angstiest ending. 😂Maybe it's Preludes (Naruto), a Kakuzu/Madara fic with Hashirama dying nearby? Or maybe it's On Moths (BOTI), a fic about Makie dying of tuberculosis back when it seemed like that might happen.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

With All Brightness (Lilo & Stitch) is so fluffy I think it has to be it.

8. do you get hate on fics?

I never have! Touch wood

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes! I write the kind that feels right for the characters to me. I like smut as character study and I like insane mindfucks and fucking as another manifestation of a battle of wills between characters.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you've written?

Like, a little drabble of one back in high school, Invader Zim/Kingdom Hearts lol. I really respect authors who can do a compelling crossover, but I don't feel like I'm that good tbh! Crossovers I want: Machineries of Empire/She-Ra (I need to see Kujen and Horde Prime go toe to toe), Gravity Falls/Attack on Titan (Hange and Bill Cipher being buds), Revolutionary Girl Utena/Narnia (ANTHY IN NARNIA. THE PROBLEM OF ANTHY)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I had a fic's framing device lifted! It was like. Not a songfic but a poem fic. It was that Monday's Child poem, and I had a line of the poem and then a short bit of writing after each line. Someone commented telling me they liked the Batman version more (lol), when I knew mine had come first based on publication dates. It was weird but I was a lot younger at the time and didn't really know what to say.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, with an ex-friend.

14. what's your all-time favorite ship?

Hmmmm I don't have an all-time favorite! I'm not so much about the shipping, though I enjoy shipfic.

15. what's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

All my currently-in-progress fics are oneshots. The WIPs that are unfinished, I know I'll never finish lolol

16. what are your writing strengths?

Uhh... (digs toe in the ground) character voice and tone? I feel like I don't know my own strengths lol. I used to get praised for beautiful imagery and having a "simple" style (though people would say this and then hastily clarify that they meant it in a good way, which tickled me) but not for a while.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

I wish I was better at snappy dialogue and twisty plot, I really admire authors who are great with plot and can write things that give the feeling of like... things going wrong in a way that makes sense, characters dealing with that in a way that makes sense? Hmm.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it can be handled very well or very poorly. I don't know if I myself ever would if canon didn't model doing it, or if I couldn't find someone fluent in the language to check that I wasn't butchering it.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Invader Zim babyyyyyy

20. favorite fic you've ever written?

Hmm. Hard to pick just one, but here are some both old and recent that I especially like:

quelled and quenched in leaves (Stardew Valley) - a spooky fic I had a blast working on, very well received.

🐻🌠👋🗻FRIENDS🍦💎🔪🏄LEND💞🦆🕵️😲A👊👌🤟🙌HAND🤝🧙🔎💖 (Gravity Falls) - a doofy Gravity Falls casefic centered around some pretty rare characters. I jammed as many puns and gags into this as I could and tried some new things in general while I worked on it, and I'm still proud.

Chimera (Gemini) - exchange fic written for an obscure movie, another stretch in genre and tone that I still am proud of.

A Season Under the Kandrona (Animorphs) - fic about Aldrea and her family on an alien world. I just... love Animorphs so much

long still sea (Blade of the Immortal) - fix-it fic for the ending when I really needed that, written over the course of a single day in a borderline fugue state. I wish I could call on that productivity at will lmao

template:

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

3. what fandoms do you write for?

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

5. do you respond to comments?

6. what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. do you get hate on fics?

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you've written?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. what's your all-time favorite ship?

15. what's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

16. what are your writing strengths?

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

19. first fandom you wrote for?

20. favorite fic you've ever written?

[jeanmoreaux]

Hi, I love your taste in literature so I'm turning to you with a request (I hope I'm not bothering you, if so please ignore this). I've been trying to get more into poetry (quite successfully) because I see so many great poems here on tumblr but usually when I try to read more from the authors whose poems I liked, I am disappointed. Do you have any recommendations for poetry collections that are good all the way through? Where you don't feel like you were cheated into reading them by one beautiful quote?

you are absolutely not bothering me at all. it's cool that our taste in literature seems to overlap (feel free to share recs with me anytime!) i think with poetry collections of one individual you won’t find one that hits all the way through all the time with every line. there will be some poems that resonate more with you than others, even when all are great examples of the craft. here on tumblr, we're almost too used to consuming poems in small, juicy bites that highlight some of the punchier lines, not just in a collection but within a single poem. but the build up to these disembodied quotes can be so satisfying as well and often enhance the meaning and power behind them. and also, with poetry more so than prose, a lot of the enjoyment comes from sitting with a poem and thinking about what it means to you personally, what you see or hear in it. so i just want to have that out there before i talk about some collections i have enjoyed in the last couple of years. (here is my poetry shelf on goodreads if you want to see more.)

when it comes to collections by one poet, i found that i usually prefer the ones that have some narrative thread woven throughout to connect the separate parts. i think "war of the foxes" by richard siken does a great job of establishing themes, motifs, and symbols that tie the poems together and has them in dialogue with each other. the collection (to me) is all about the creative process, the (un)importance of art, the influence of art on the creator and the audience as well as the discussions that happen in between the space between them.

i also really enjoyed both of ocean vuong's most recent collections. the latest, "time is a mother", deals with the grief of losing his mother, while "night sky with exit wounds" is mostly about the immigrant experience, identity (particularly how 'otherness' in the form of ethnicity, race, and queerness play into it), familial relationships, coming of age, etc.

eye level by jenny xie and don't call us dead by danez smith are two other collections i really enjoyed. the first is a very observant look at the worlds without and within us (think of it as eye level but also capital i level, if you know what i mean). the latter deals with themes of blackness in america, race, queerness (including the author's aids diagnosis), etc.

if you're interested in reading novels that are written in verse, i can recommend the poet x by elizabeth acevedo (made me very emotional) and autobiography of red by anne carson (is super weird, but my brand of weird).

with none of these works—or poets for that matter—i ever felt like they delivered less than good writing.

another option could be to spring for a curated collection that includes selected poems from different collections (or even different poets). i don't have a lot of experience with either kind, but i recently bought mary oliver's devotions and penguin's poems for love, so we'll see how i'll like those. ((there is also some unread ada limon and wendy cope on my shelf that i want to get to this year!))

[ailelie]

When I began writing, I wrote poetry.

Or did I?

I have trouble remembering my own history sometimes.

I loved fairy tales first.

I once started a story about something I can no longer remember and showed it to my grandmother who said it was good for my age.

I immediately gave it up. I stopped writing stories for years.

I have a book I wrote in elementary school. It has a story and it has poems. So maybe I started with both.

When I got serious about writing, though, I started with poetry. Even my first fanfic was a poem.

But in high school I figured out that I wasn't very good at them. Or maybe they were just too exposing.

I wrote a poem in high school and showed a teacher and she asked if I was gay. I immediately re-wrote the poem and destroyed every copy of the original. I remember the lines I changed. I no longer remember what they replaced.

This is the same teacher who told me that Edna St. Vincent Millay didn't count as a female poet when I gave that name. This was after she asked for my favorite poets who were Keats and Yeats at the time and then asked if I read any women. I like Millay, I told her. She doesn't count, she told me.

Looking back, I don't think she was a very good teacher.

The point is, I figured out I wasn't very good at poetry. I don't hear rhythm and so can never figure out meter. I clung too hard to rhyme schemes or very obvious rhythms even I could hear.

Sweet cologne through twilight air / floats through my mind and anchors there

I wrote that in my early teens and I still can't dislodge it.

I didn't start lines powerfully enough or end them powerfully enough or use strong enough language or the right details.

I always said I wanted criticism. I wanted to be better. But sometimes you look at all the holes in your ship and a tiny tin of caulk and have to just give in. No matter how hard you try or fast you move, you're still going to drown. Better to get out now and swim to safety than to go down with the ship.

This isn't a poem, though it leans that way at times. I'm just recording my thoughts as I have them.

Tumblr now houses my only poetry and every single poem is a reminder why I should stop trying. That's even the tags I use.

reasons why ailelie shouldn't write poetry

But I can't stop myself from drowning.

Words and stories are my first loves. When I was a little kid, I'd throw a book down on the floor, step up onto it like a soapbox, and loudly call for attention.

I never shut up.

Sometimes I think people nowadays think I'm quiet or don't talk that much. And, often, I don't around them. I've learned to hold my words in to not monopolize the conversation to not make it weird.

My freshman English teacher in high school actually decreed that another classmate and I were not allowed to talk in class because we dominated every discussion.

I love words. I love to talk. I love to make up songs no one is ever going to hear. My phone is full of my recordings. They aren't good. They're just mine. I love to write.

"I think better with a pen in my hand," I tell people over and over again and none of them realize just how exposing that statement is.

I am most myself when I am writing. I am most anything when I am writing.

When I fell into a depression a few years ago, I stopped writing. I get worried when I realize I've not written anything in a day or two. I can't remember the last day I passed without writing something and that's good.

I am terrified of losing my sight primarily because of the new barrier that would exist between me creating and consuming words.

I miss being the kid who never shut up. I always talked too fast and slurred my words together until speech therapy had me overpronouncing them.

In school, I loved studying literary devices. Language lets us do so much and I wanted to learn all of it.

But I've never quite had the talent of making words bend the way I want in fiction. I'll never be a writer. Or a poet. I decided a very, very long time ago that my passion would never be my occupation. I never wanted to resent words or writing.

But part of me wishes I'd honed the skill. I'll never be able to abandon ship, but holes are numerous and my tin of caulk is near-empty.

I'm going to drown here. I'm going to be okay with that.

[loosejournal]

If you're going to write about drugs, please stop. If you're going to write about a wedding, please stop. Stop writing about how weird it is to be gay. It's not weird anymore. Please do not write in hip-hop language. Don't write about porn. We already have enough of that in our lives and we all beat off a much as you do, so it's no biggie. Don't try to "write what you know." You don't know anything. Me either.

If you have to write about drugs, don't write about pot. Candy is more interesting than pot is. Knives are almost always cool. Accidents are good, but not car ones, unless everybody in the book is dead or dies at once. If there is lace of any kind in your writing, you are doomed. Don't write about Europe. You were there with a backpack for a week and barely scratched the surface. This does not permit you to have a character called Giuseppe. Do not open up your story with Bob Seger or John Mellencamp lyrics. Stephen King did that shit to me once when I was small and I'm still recovering.

Mental institutions are a dealbreaker. You can have an institution on your street or near your school but you can't be in one anymore. It sucks, I know. If you write by hand, write with the hand you don't favor. If you write by computer, and the room has a window, sit by that, and don't look out it. Ignore or be rude to the people you love. Then try to make up for it.

Don't try to surprise me unless you surprised yourself. Write a book that will make me want to keep reading it rather than getting head. I can think of 10. Font is important, both while you are typing the words, and when it is printed in the book. When you think you are about to write something really good, go to the grocery. Chekov's idea that "if a gun is on the mantle in the first act it should go off in the last" has done more damage than any other single sentence in writing. Objects are not road signs. Action in a book should not occur as if Keanu Reeves was in charge.

I'm still waiting to read a really good scene about somebody getting their ears pierced. It can be done. Never have children. Study story. Realize you cannot win. Repeat. If you've ever thought about Star Wars or mentioned Star Wars in conversation, or own anything related to Star Wars, or have seen Star Wars, don't write. Oh sweet, you went to that museum alone one day and had a tuna sandwich in the cafe? You're killing me, please. The subway, huh? If you listen to the Beatles or Radiohead, or Jay-Z, don't write. If you ever put up devil's horns with your hand at shows, don't write. You're probably in bad shape if you mention whiskey or a beach. Don't say "story" or "poem."

Mothers are better for characters to have than girlfriends. Ditto fathers/boyfriends. If the mother is the girlfriend or the boyfriend, I hope your story isn't minimalist or narrative. Abstractions and dreams are good.* *Unless your dream is about building a tree-house out of honey and glue with your brother who isn't really your brother but that Brad Renfro guy who died in Hollywood but nobody noticed and the tree-house turns into a bar then a candle then a city. We've all had that dream or something equally as underwhelming.

Write less dialogue, unless you are really good at it, which I guarantee you aren't. You're probably in pretty bad shape if you mention any website whatsoever or even a computer for that matter. When was the last time you ate at an Arbys? If it was more than a year you probably can't say anything I need to know. The cute fat Mexican at the bodega and his family who you think you're such good friends with probably live a much different life than you expect. Maybe don't start messing around in there.

Are you writing about someone taking a drag off of a cigarette? You might as well be saying, "He breathed." Don't write about skin unless it's going bad. Acne is always a choice subject. The shame and embarrassment that comes with terrible skin can be a goldmine. I'm talking Acne Vulgaris too, not a goddamn blackhead on your chin. Don't conceive of your "central" characters by defining them with a mental or physical "condition." If you're going to tell me about your Mom, do it from your dad's point of view. I want to know what she's like in the sack.

Don't connect with me. Don't try to pretend I'm not there. Don't try to be funny. You are or you aren't. Or the sentence is or isn't. You are neither David Lynch nor Captain Beefheart. You might be Cher. Cry more, but don't tell anybody either. This is the way crying is like rap. I used to say you can't write about serial killers, but they work sometimes, if they are described in the way one would a washcloth or a doll. Remember your asshole is a tunnel.

If you've ever read Bukowski, please stop. Please, God, no characters who are musicians. There is nothing worse than trying to describe music, or how someone plays it. Leave music to douchebags. Stop writing about rich literary boys in college. I hated you people when I was in college and I still hate you. Your frat took a shit on my porch.

Drink some water. Do not write about writing. Have you ever seen a painting of a person painting? No? Well, it sucks. If you've ever told someone they are "misreading" a philosopher, eat a cock. You are not Andy Warhol. You probably don't really listen to black metal. Can I reiterate the one about not writing about musicians?

If you are more aware of your own dick or vagina than you are of what your breath sounds like when you are asleep, please go get a job in marketing instead. The guy who lives upstairs from you is probably really cool. You should introduce yourself instead of imagining him doing weird shit with hooks and rope all the time and then writing it down. Get a hold of yourself, the guy's probably just playing Wii.

Oooh, prostitutes. So you're into that. Awesome. I'd rather hear from them about you.

If there's never been a book that made you not want to leave the house again, don't try to make your own. Stop being in bars all the time. Man in Bar = Man in Life. We know. If you're angry, go outside. Please do not put words into things. Not to keep the anger away, but to keep the Rage Against The Machine out of my ears. Own your advice in the same way you once tried to suck your own dick. By that I mean: everything is true.

If my cousins on my dad's side of the family know who you are, or feel interested in reading your book when told what it's about, you might be dying. Any critique of the social or emotional will go unnoticed. Pity. If you can separate the words and the story: trash. The word "lovers" always fails on some level. Don't just kill your idols; leave them in history. Avoid L.A. and New York altogether. If you lived in either of those cities, you would have given up writing by now anyway. I don't believe you.

Have you ever printed out your manuscript and bathed in it? Right answers are for those who hope. Tone belongs to music while deafness is holy. If you or the people in your writing have bought new clothes in the past two years, it's over. If you can point out "Action" in a book, why isn't it a movie? Don't write about America or Bush or Arabs. Don't write about the future. Don't write about endings. Probably don't write anything at all.

[sasquapossum]

Muse-ette #1: Relating

When my mother died, she left behind a ton of poetry. And essays. And letters. Which is kind of weird, because shouldn't the recipients have the letters? Were they ever sent? Was I reading copies? I suspect so, but can't be sure. All of this was mixed in with medical stuff, legal stuff, and AFAICT printed-out receipts for every single thing she had ever ordered online. "A ton" might not be hyperbole.

A couple of weeks ago, I went back to Michigan to sort through the boxes and boxes and boxes of paper, separating the important stuff from the junk. I was particularly interested in getting the poetry all together, and most especially the "Muse-ettes" that I remembered delivering for her in my childhood. The first one is from 1973, when I was eight. Here's a sample, below the fold because this is going to be extra long even by my standards.

People in My World I do not move among people - I walk among props, and masks. I do not converse with people but with actors. The uniquely beautiful person behind each propped-up mask hides from me. Dare I tear away the carefully fashioned masks to find the people who hide from me?

The formatting and even the typography are often essential to these poems, BTW. This was written a few years after she left my father, and the church that had been her whole life until then, to raise my brother and me away from both ... yet we already see the theme of alienation that runs through so much of her work. This second selection starts another theme.

If I Suffer If I suffer they all pass by with eyes averted pretending they do not see my pain. I am an outcast if I suffer. I have brought it on myself, or I am weak, or I am childish, they say. It may be so, but let him who is perfect condemn me. My suffering angers some. The sight of my pain disturbs them. They would rather be blind than bear responsibility for what they see.

I think this might resonate with some of my disabled friends. Pain and people's reactions to pain were ever increasing themes right up until she stopped being able to write. Some of her last works were too gruesome to read, let alone post. She had horrible headaches for a long time - she used to say one headache that lasted a decade - and the treatments for those introduced their own problems which she seemed to think were even worse. I had thought that the headaches were still a few years in the future when this was written, but reading it now makes me wonder.

The "let him who is perfect" line also hints at something else in her writing: religion. Does that line have a biblical sound to it? An echo of "let he who is without sin" perhaps? I did find some of her very early poems, from when she was still with the church, which surprised me. I don't have them with me right now, but they were effusive in the way that much religious poetry (and music) tends to be. The phrases and cadences might have been retained, but the tone is very different in our third and last selection.

Touch Me Each man walks alone in a crowded world - untouching and untouched. "Live and let live" is the motto. Hell-born, no doubt. "I don't want to get involved" is the universal password. I've been told there was a man named Jesus who touched people - even lepers, and dirty people. I'm not a leper, or dirty, but . . . I wonder . . . Would He have touched me? It doesn't matter now I guess. They say some prigs killed Him. Why? What's wrong with a man who loves? I heard this Jesus had some followers who were supposed to represent Him when He was gone- to be His hands, His feet, His lips. Where are they? I haven't seen anyone like Him, touching people. Hey, somebody, (if you're there) touch me.

I find it interesting that she still couldn't shake the habit of capitalizing He, Him, etc. Old habits die hard. You can also see hints of ideas that are probably visible in my own writing - the loathing of hyper-individualism and (in the previous poem) fake meritocracy, for example. I am my mother's son, after all.

[keithsandwich]

@bicayaya @fang-and-feather @floydsteeth @bakersgrief @lorei-writes

Thank you for your interest!

.

“Do you like him?”

“Hm?” Maeve furrowed her brows at Keith’s question, but his eyes told her exactly who he was talking about.

He was looking toward his brother.

At a distance, Tio was playing with Mireille in the lake, splashing water and laughing. Keith had said he was feeling a bit under the weather and didn’t want to risk catching something worse to avoid the lake. When he wandered off alone to sit on the tire swings, Maeve had lied to Tio, saying she was having “girl problems” and couldn’t get in the water either. He splashed a little water at her, making her giggle as she left to join Keith.

She sighed with a smile, hopping onto the tire swing beside his. Lately, she’d noticed Keith was making excuses to avoid certain activities — swimming at the lake, climbing trees, running through the meadows… At first, she thought he’d outgrown those things, or maybe he was self-conscious about the body hair he’d started growing and the few extra pounds he’d gained.

But now, seeing him pout beside her, Maeve began to wonder if he was… jealous. She smiled despite trying not to. For some reason, that thought made her heart race.

“Of course I like Tio… I like ya and Mireille too. You guys are my best friends!” Maeve responded, pretending not to notice the sadness in his voice. She couldn’t just assume things, right?

“It’s not that,” Keith mumbled so quietly that Maeve had to lean closer to hear him. “I’m sorry, but… He always makes you laugh. You’re always doing something together… Exploring the fields, climbing trees… You're both so cool… It just seems like… You’re a couple.”

“Me and Tio??” Maeve laughed, not because she found it funny, but because the idea felt so weird. Tio might be just a year younger than her, but she still saw him as a kid. Besides…

He wasn’t Keith.

“Ah… I’m sorry, I don’t want to sound jealous or anything,” Keith’s voice grew louder, filled with anxiety. “I swear I’d be supportive. If you both are… happy… I’d be happy for you, too.”

He looked into her eyes briefly before dropping his gaze to the ground. Maeve had seen Tio getting praised and favored by their father countless times, while Keith received nothing but contempt from the old man. And yet, Keith had always been genuinely happy for his brother. This was the first time she saw that happiness not reaching his eyes, and standing in his words alone.

“I don’t like Tio that way!” Maeve said as emphatically as she could, but Keith kept his eyes down. Determined, she swung her tire toward him until she could grab his tire and pull him closer. He looked startled, his face flushing a little. “I like someone else,” she whispered, as if sharing a secret.

“Oh…” Keith shivered slightly. Maeve couldn’t tell if it was because she was so close or if it was out of disappointment. Either way, he looked so endearing that she couldn’t resist leaning in and kissing his cheek, making him blush even more. He brought his hand to his cheek as she pulled away, though he didn’t quite touch his skin. “I’m sorry… I… I don’t get it…”

“Me neither…” Maeve felt her own cheeks heating up, so she let go of his tire and swung back, feeling a little embarrassed. But she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

And Keith couldn’t stop staring at her either.

He had been learning to play the guitar just so she could sing along. He’d given her boxes and boxes of candy when she really got her “girl problems”. He’d pressed every single flower and leaf she used in the crowns she made for him. He’d written out his favorite poems for her. And he had argued with his father countless times because of her, because his father disapproved their friendship. It was rare to see him stand up for anything.

But he stood up for her.

He had been sad because he thought she loved the one boy he could never fight against for her.

It was all so obvious — how had she never realized it before?

“I like you…” Maeve whispered, her voice so soft that part of her hoped he hadn’t heard. But when Keith slowly swung his tire toward hers, mirroring her earlier move, she knew he had. His gentle hand reached for hers, and as they leaned closer, their lips met for just a fraction of a second before they both pulled away, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Yet, their hands remained intertwined, and Maeve’s stomach fluttered with a nervous excitement. The warmth of his touch made everything more intense, in the best way possible. It felt surreal — like a dream she never wanted to wake from. Her eyes glistened, but it wasn’t from sadness. She could barely breathe.

When Maeve finally gathered the courage to look at him again, Keith was resting his head against the tire, gazing at her with the same dreamy look.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Keith asked, his voice soft, a smile lingering on his lips.

Maeve hesitated, her heart racing. “Don’t… Don’t we have to go on some dates first?” she whispered, still speaking in that secretive tone as if they were sharing something sacred.

Keith’s smile faltered for just a moment, but then he nodded, clearly flustered. “I’m sorry. Of course, we should go on dates first if you’re not sure. I’m not in a hurry.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry for being so inconsiderate.”

Maeve shook her head, squeezing his hand tightly when she noticed he was about to hide his face against the tire. “I want to be your girlfriend, Keith,” she said, her voice steady now.

Keith’s face lit up with joy. “Good… This is so good…” He laughed softly, unsure of what to do next. His eyes sparkled, sharing the same excitement and wonder Maeve felt. “I should talk to your parents… To make it official. Don’t worry about my father, he’s gonna… He’s gonna have to accept it. And… Oh, Mae…” He spoke faster now, too excited to care about apologizing.

“I’ll make everything right as soon as we’re back from the trip!” Keith added.

Country!AU baby Keith asking Maeve to be his girlfriend for WIP Wednesday yes or no?

[summers-pratt]

Tell me all your best wholesome Spuffy headcanons

This is an insane ask and you are going to get an insane answer, I have so many floating around in the ten vegetable soup that is my brain and I'm just gonna ladle out a bowl right now, I hope you're hungry

-Spike obviously writes Buffy poems all the fucking time, sonnets, odes, limericks, rambling streams of consciousness, about how her hair catches the light, all the different smiles she gives him throughout the day, absolutely filthy descriptions of him going down on her, how she is a warrior and his hero, how she fills him up and makes him and remakes him and how deeply she has become a part of him, what just sitting next to her on the couch in their home feels like, and he fills notebooks with them, he scribbles them on napkins and the backs of receipts and post its and whatever paper he has on hand, he leaves them in her pocket or under her juice glass in the morning, softly recites them to her when she's falling asleep or when they're having (relatively tame (for them) and therefore easy to speak during) sex, she notices him scribling away at one and he lets her read them, and every time he doesn't expect anything and for her to laugh or say they're not that good and every time she is completely floored by the depth of his feeling for her and the things he sees in her and the way he sees her and every time he can't believe she actually likes what he writes, that she understands what he means and is touched and affected by it the same way he is

-they share jewelry. She still absolutely has the skull ring and sometimes she wears it on her finger and other times it's on a chain around her neck. I like the idea that Buffy has a name necklace like Dawn has in Tabula Rasa (maybe they were Christmas gifts from their parents one year), and Buffy gives hers to Spike and he wears it every single day. He thinks it marks him as hers and he fuckng loves it.

-they take so many pictures. With cameras, in photo booths, once they figure out cell phones they use them non stop. They have the normal smiling ones of them and their friends and Dawn at birthday parties and dinner and day to day nice moments, and then they also have ones of Buffy beheading a demon on patrol, Spike making fangs out of onion blossom, each one tries to catch the other one crying at movies. Also they absolutely sext each other all the time and it's filthy and they love it

-when Dawn teaches them how to text, Spike's first text is to Buffy and it's "what are you wearing" despite her sitting right next to him on the couch. She takes a full two minutes to type out what underwear she has on and he keeps trying to peek over her shoulder but finally she manages it and they race off to their bedroom and Dawn tries very hard not to think about anything as she leaves

-Buffy finally gives in and listens to Spike's carefully curated playlist of Punk Songs To Show Buffy To Get Her To Like Punk Rock, and it fucking works

-Spike rents every ice skating movie he can get his hands on and they make a movie night out of it every time

-Buffy helps Spike bleach his hair. Obviously.

-Spike takes Buffy and Dawn to the ice capades when it comes to town every year after learning she used to love going when she was younger and he actually ends up having a great time and Dawn cannot believe how lame her parents are

-Buffy buys weird spicy sauces at the store for Spike to try just because and he almost cries helping her put the groceries away

-they go through a lot of furniture, from demons coming in and smashing stuff to sparring going to far to getting so wrapped up in their crazy super-powered sex that they don't notice they broke their third coffee table of the month, so the local secondhand shops LOVE them, they think they're interior designers or realtors or something and think it's just lovely a young couple also work together, and so successfully if they keep coming in

-Buffy wears Spike's button up shirts over her tank tops and bralettes all the time

-so we know Spike has a hair kink so of course he loves running his fingers through her hair, he does it absent-mindedly, but Buffy also love running her hands through Spike's hair and he also loves it and he purrs whenever she does it for awhile

-they have monster movie nights with Dawn where they watch horrible cheesy vampire movies and make fun of them

-Buffy makes Spike tea. It is the worst tea he has ever had but she has a special mug she uses and a tea strainer that is shaped like a heart and she buys all kinds of weird spicy teas that she thinks he might like and she proudly presents it to him and it is his favorite tea he has ever had

[wolfandtheraven]

some tips that might actually help ;w;

if you haven't been writing in forever -> write something (anything, 1 word, 2 words) that could tangentially be related to a creative piece (i.e. the tiniest of a fragment of a poem, a weird dream you had, turn your shopping list into an acrostic poem, write about an object in front of you even if its a boring 5 word description) read something [reading literally anything, fan-fiction, novels, comics, poetry, anything, can give your brain a spark to write something like that. If you do get a spark just throw words on a page, phone notes app, iPad notes, a word doc, a google doc, anywhere]

if a blank page bothers you -> in Microsoft word you can change the background colour of your word documents which can make them not stark white! I've switched mine to black with white text cause my eyes/brain struggle with the black text on white pages, but it can also help remove that stuck point. Another potential helper is to open a document [on whatever device/platform you are comfortable with] and jot down words, then use that document the next time you write literally anything. I know that a blank page feels daunting so yeeting a bunch of stuff onto the same page can help.

can't write but you love talking? -> a lotta writing software has dictation now! (yay for accessibility!) talk to google docs/your word document and let it write onto that page for you, this can be a good way to get stuff out of your brain and down somewhere so you don't forget it. Which can also be helpful if you get stuck with "this needs to be worded exactly right or I'm not writing at all", because you're just talking about the thing rather than trying to write the thing it might mess up understanding you but you can edit it later if you actually want/need it to make sense

don't tie yourself to a single project -> as someone who's brain hates being forced to stick to one thing, especially when its suddenly interested in thing b, do not force yourself to work on a project for any reason [unless money is involved or you are absolutely required aka uni essays] writing bits and pieces for the 6 different ideas you have floating around is better than writing nothing at all

free yourself from "sit and write" bullshit -> all that advice of "making a habit" and "write x amount of words per day" and "do x writing activity"? throw it out the window, we don't use that shit here. write eclectically and wherever your brain can sync [if you get an idea on a bus, find a way to write even just the sentence that's on repeat in your head cause you think it sounds just perfect, it can help you later]

write with the idea that literally you and only you have to read your notes -> if you have a story/plot idea, don't write formally about the plot, don't even start writing the story itself if that's not your jam! write as if its a silly little post to yourself/your close friends [bonus this can make you smile later when you re-read stuff you wrote] write in memes! write in nonsense words that make sense to you! it doesn't matter!

if you're struggling to write content for the thing you want, make memes instead -> meme templates are easy to come by and can easily be used in MS paint it gives you the illusion of having been working on the thing without actually working on the thing, making it a bit easier to keep working or to work on it again in the future

don't be afraid to completely overhaul ideas -> I've been writing the same damn book for 10 years because I've had to overhaul it three times, and I finally don't hate looking at it, writing it, or reading it sometimes you really have to toss everything except some names/settings and start fresh to make a project work with you instead of against you

I hate writing advice on this website because it'll be a list of things to get over a writer's block and then one of them will be like

"Take a break :) sometimes if you're struggling with writer's block, taking some time away from writing helps :)"

bitch I haven't been able to write anything since 2014. This is a solution to a different problem.

[tokoyamisstuff]

could I get some petname headcanons for the pillars from Demon Slayer?

Giyu Tomioka

Not rly the romantic one tbh

Would rather just call you by your first name (or a shortened version of your name at max)

When he realizes that it means something to you, he'll try at least

But knowing this guys social skills, it'll be very cringe

Do you know the scene in Boruto where Sasuke calls his daughter his 'little peanut'? Yeah about that level of cringe

Won't understand why you're laughing

But in the end making you smile isn't a bad thing, right?

Shinobu Kochō

Y'all be thinking she showers you in words like 'my pretty butterfly' right? Wrong.

She's a bully, basically

Will find every possible way to call you an 'idiot' without actually sounding like an insult

Likes to pick on sth you're insecure about and turn it into a nickname just so you get over it

Better not make her angry she knows a lot of foul words to call you, no hard feelings tho

Calls you "Boo" and a lot of other cheesy stuff just to mess with you, but she also kinda likes those names fr

If she actually uses a proper nickname on you: Run. You have fucked up big time. "Darliiiing, come here. I'm not mad at all!"

Just has a weird kinda love language, but she sure will compliment you in other ways

Gyomei Himejima

A total drama queen

But also very romantical

Will write poems trying to describe his feelings for you, goes fully "shall I compare thee to a summers day"

Calls you stuff like "treasured angel", "precious light" and his "muse"

Isn't shy to go full monologue shall someone ever ask about you

Rengoku Kyōjurō

A big cinnamon roll

Huge amount of love for detail, puts a lot of work in his petnames and the whole relationship in general

Nicknames will be very personal

Like your favourite color or pet, or even a feature of you he adores

Yet also a little dull and blunt, so he might overdo it sometimes

For example accidentally embarass you or reveal a secret through his nickname

I could totally see him call you random stuff like "sleepyhead" or his "ember"

Shinazugawa Sanemi

This dude says the most sweetest shit with the most creepiest expression

I'd like to imagine he's a very big softie in private

Like, lying in bed while playing with your hair and just pouring his heart out about how much he loves you

Is very held back, serious and respectful with his words

Affectionately calls you "my love" or simply his "beauty"

Obviously not into PDA so in front of others he'll just call you his "partner, anyone of y'all got a problem with that?!"

Kanroji Mitsuri

Loooooooves to shower you in every single nickname there is

You'll rarely hear your own name coming out of her mouth, unless it's serious

Since she's a passionate eater will probably call you stuff like "honey" "pumpkin" "muffin" "cupcake" or "sweetiepie"

She's also a bit immature so she'll also joke around with the names sometimes

When she feels more serious or just plain happy she will call you her "darling"

Iguro Obanai

Will 100% call you his "better half" and we all know why he does🥲

Can't believe you're actually dating, totally overchallenged. Is this a dream?

So he utters sth like "holy shit" at so many occasions you already think it's your nickname lmao

Whenever you do or say sth sweet, look good or just enjoy a romantic moment together he starts cursing silently because he doesn't think he deserves it

Sometimes when you're alone he whispers something like you're his "reason to keep fighting" or his "will to live"

When he's more comfortable, his favourite nickname for you is "sunshine" since you never fail to brighten up his mood and banish the darkness in his mind☀️

Uzui Tengen

What can I say? This man knows exactly what he's doing

He loves to brag, openly calling you his "next wife/husband/partner" in front of others

Covers the whole range from "babe" to "princess", likes variety

Creates his own nicknames for you so they'll sound extra flashy

One would think he'd tell everyone how beautiful, strong etc. you are, but that doesn't need to be said.

It's a no-brainer that the most amazing man also has the most amazing partner!