Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.
You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.
Census sites
Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.
For coming up with place names:
Fantasy name generator
This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.
For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:
One Look Thesaurus
This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.
WordHippo
Works as a thesaurus (very similar to One Look) but also includes search options for words that rhyme, words that contain a specific letter or are a specific length, different word forms, sentences with a specific word etc. etc. It's like Thesaurus++
For coming up with ideas:
Word cloud
When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!
WWF Discord
This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!
For visualizing places and characters:
Pinterest
Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.
This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.
(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)
Death to Stock
Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).
Cosmos
Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.
Dupe Photos
Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!
Minecraft
If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.
The Sims
This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.
Hero Forge
This character creator is intended for making D&D minis, so it has more fantasy-like options over the Sims if your characters are a bit out of this world.
House Plans.com
I was introduced to this resource through the comments on this post and it has quickly become one of my favourite things to use. If you struggle with the layout of buildings, this site lets you choose beds/baths/sq ft etc. and will show you house plans created by designers that most closely match your specs. You can also search by style instead if you're more interested in the aesthetics.
For checking grammar:
Grammar Girl
Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.
Grammar Monster
This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.
Reedsy
Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.
For writing advice:
One Stop for Writers
This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.
My Blog Directory
Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!
For an alternative to Google Docs:
Ellipsus
Think google docs but without AI. Yay!
Scrivener
A more comprehensive writing software created specifically for writers, however there is a one-time payment to use ($80 CAD).
(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊 Thanks to everyone for your recs!)
PSA for people who might not know: @glimmerfics is a site that uses AI to produce choose-your-own-adventure fics. an author on the site writes a little bit, and then AI slop fills in the rest. a reader gets some free ‘turns’, and then they have to pay for more. Glimmer profits both off of fanfiction and AI slop.
Glimmer claims to partially ‘offset’ the environmental harm through purchasing carbon offsets. they claim to care about artistry and cite sharing the concern of AI in fandom, but immediately throw it away with some bullshit excuse about only using AI as a ‘tool’, because they ‘don't believe machines can replace human creativity’. they also claim that their goal of butchering man-made art via injecting randomized AI slop into it is because they ‘want to live in a world where more people are making art, not fewer’. sinisterly hollow sentiments, all of it.
i am sick of AI-shills co-opting accessibility arguments to justify causing harm. art is HUMAN MADE. across ages, across abilities, across every single human variable, art can and does persist. this language spits in the face of every disabled artist. every poor person creating in the spaces between. every marginalized person crafting art under oppression. AI does not make art accessible, because it does not make art period.
AI is not a tool, it is a miserable disaster and a despicable weapon. it wreaks havoc on local communities where data centers are built. people dying at rapid rates from cancers and other preventable illnesses directly related to air, water, and land pollution. it is forcing states to go into droughts from stealing all the fresh, drinkable water. it is kicking people out of their careers and preying on vulnerable populations to work for them. it is stealing and scraping people's work, and stealing people's REAL art, including other fanfic authors who do not consent. it is also wildly inaccurate. it also sends people into psychosis and causes them to end their lives.
sites like Glimmer normalize all of that violence, and how they try to wrap it in a velvet bow further normalizes, erases, and justifies it. as an artist who sits at the intersection of many of the identities these AI-proponents claim to be helping, I am appalled. i know many others are too. it's imperative we call out leeches like these in creative spaces.
i don't give a fuck if Glimmer responds and says whatever PR statement they think will be ‘transparent’ and help weasel their way out of real accountability. i don’t care if they say every bit of money goes back into developing the site: any site that uses generative AI in fandom spaces should not exist. especially not with charging users money in direct exchange for fanfiction. it puts the entire fandom community at risk. it mocks and endangers what they insist they care about.
i don't care what reasoning, anecdotes, placation, loopholes, dismissals, or logical fallacies they may employ to rationalize their platform in their potential response to this post. the entire foundation of their business is actively causing harm to the world and the community they claim to love. unless they stop using generative AI entirely (and stop monetizing fanfiction), whatever they say is hollow. these people know they can get away with it, they have users who either don't know the damage AI causes or don't care, and have people singing the praises of the platform. a lot of people applaud bad things. it doesn't make them any less bad.
there are valid ways to create ACTUAL choose your own adventure fics that do not perpetuate violence and oppression (like Twine!). Glimmer can dig their heads in the sand and pretend they're paving a path all they want, but it's a path to hell.
FUCK AI and fuck opportunists. please repost to spread the word, because i've even run across some of these 'fics' and their posts in the wild and been swindled.
⋆˙⟡ Violet promised nothing but passion, but you found yourself longing for the certainty of something more..
part 1 - part 2 - part 3
pairing: college AU. mech student Vi x physics student reader
word count: 2k
⋆˚saori’s take: my college admission exam’s tomorrow and I’ve been so anxious I keep working on my drafts instead of studying.
“Is your girlfriend staying the night?” Your sister’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts while you tidy up the house a bit. She’s at that age where humans become, well, absolutely unbearable: fifteen years old.
“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s just Vi,” you correct her without looking up, continuing your cleaning. Vi is staying over tonight; your parents are out of town after renewing their vows, and well, you never pass up the chance to spend the night (have sex) with her.
“Exactly, Vi. The one who sleeps here almost every day, buys you things, and who, conveniently, is also the ‘ant’ that bit your neck a few weeks ago.” The sarcasm in her voice doesn’t go unnoticed. You turn to face her.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” you repeat, trying to convince her and yourself. “It’s physical. Friends with benefits, that’s what we are. Not a couple.”
Your sister raises an eyebrow at your words. “How long do you think that will last? I know you, you’re not ‘casual,’ you like labels, relationships.” You open your mouth to respond, but she keeps talking. “But whatever, as long as she keeps bringing me dinner every time she stays the night, you two can be enemies if you want.”
At that moment, the doorbell rings, again and again. Due to lack of patience, you know it’s Violet. Opening the door, you see her standing there with a sideways smile, holding a greasy bag in one hand and various kinds of alcohol in the other. You wrap your arms around her neck; she drops the bags and wraps her arms around your waist. Her lips meet yours in a brief kiss.
“I brought double cheeseburgers and fries, and since I got paid yesterday and I’m feeling rich, I also bought beer and rum. I know you love those mixes your stomach can’t handle.”
“You’re a sweetheart,” you say sarcastically, grinning like an idiot before her lips meet yours again.
“Damn, why don’t I have friends like this?” your sister complains, and you shoot her a warning look.
Vi, on the other hand, walks over to her and ruffles her hair. “The cheeseburgers are your pay, brat. For putting up with me almost every night.”
You hear their banter as you pour drinks into two glasses and set the table. Sex isn’t the only reason your friend is here tonight. “Where are the exercises you want help with?” you ask Vi.
“I sent them to you by text, babe,” she leans in close, whispering in your ear. “You don’t have to do all of them, just explain how to do them.”
You roll your eyes and nod, getting comfortable to get started. Vi isn’t dumb, but she has zero patience for things related to numbers. She’s here because you agreed to help her with homework if she brought dinner and alcohol—and she delivered.
The pink-haired girl sits beside you, watching how easily you solve the problems. “You really are a nerd,” Vi says with a teasing smile.
“These are basic physics problems, Violet. They teach them in the general module of our courses,” you answer without looking at her, focused on your work. The problems might be simple, but there’s a lot of them.
“What makes you think I paid attention to the general module classes?” She drags her chair closer, her hand softly brushing your hair away from your face. “I like how you say my name, babe. I’ve always thought it didn’t suit me, but you make it sound so nice, so soft.”
For some reason, her words send a shiver down your spine. Vi notices and pops open two cans of beer, placing one in front of you. “Drink up, I like you better drunk,” she jokes, trying to lighten the mood after her comment.
“And I like you better when you give me personal space,” you reply, taking a sip of your beer.
Without realizing it, entertained by your best friend’s jokes and the gentle massages she’s giving you when a problem gets too annoying, two hours go by. Between beer and rum, only three problems remain. The pencil in your hand moves slowly across the page as you work through the steps, and Vi, busy kissing your neck and touching your tits over your clothes, notices you’re tired.
“Leave it, I can do the rest on my own,” she says between kisses, her hands slipping under your shirt. They’re cold, contrasting with the warmth of your skin.
“I want to finish them,” you argue, the alcohol slowing your words, making them vague.
“And I want you not to finish them. Come on, let’s go to bed.” She lifts you up, letting you lean on her. You’re not completely drunk, but alcohol always makes you clumsy; your normally energetic personality fades away, leaving you calm and mostly sleepy.
“You just want to take advantage of my innocence, Violet,” you joke, and she laughs. You hear that raspy, deep laugh that tickles you inside.
“You’re crazy, doll, besides, what innocence? If anyone’s holy and pure here, it’s definitely me.”
You look up, your eyes fall on her lips, that scar that makes you want to devour her until nothing remains. “Will you kiss me?” you whisper as you walk down the hallway to your bedroom. You know your sister is asleep, otherwise she’d be sitting in the living room making snarky comments.
“Why should I?” Vi’s voice is soft, flirty. She looks down at you gently.
“Because I asked.”
“Sounds good to me.” She shrugs and her lips meet yours in a soft, somewhat clumsy kiss—the alcohol in her system affecting how she acts.
You return the kiss, opening your bedroom door without breaking contact. Her tongue plays with your lower lip, asking for permission, which you grant immediately. You can’t help but moan clumsily against her lips; the way Vi holds you, one hand on your lower back and the other on the back of your neck pulling you closer, makes your knees weak. You curse yourself for what she does to you, for the butterflies in your stomach, for wanting more from someone who doesn’t treat only you that way, who isn’t only yours.
“Violet,” you whisper when her lips travel to your jaw. You feel desperate, caught between your thoughts and the burning heat inside you. You don’t know whether you want her to keep going or to push her away and tell her what you really feel.
“I need you, baby,” Vi’s voice pleads. Her hands pull off your top without permission, demanding something that seems hers, something that is always and never denied to her. For a moment, you feel like just another girl on Vi’s list, but when her hands slip under your pants, her fingers brushing your wetness while she moans in your ear, all your thoughts fade. There’s only her now. Her touch, her reactions.
“Take off your clothes for me, please.” Her voice trembles, her hands do too—she’s eager—and you start to feel the same.
Your fingers unbutton your pants and pull them down, leaving them to the side. Vi’s eyes don’t leave you for a second, she bites her lower lip and you smile slyly.
“Your turn,” you say, watching Vi start to undress. When she finishes, you pull her close, kissing her deeply. Is one of those kisses that demands more of you, of the undeniable connection you share, even if neither of you wants to admit it.
“I know we can’t make noise,” Violet says before you do. “Your annoying sister will mock us forever if she hears us.”
You just nod and kiss her again, pushing her back onto the bed and straddling her. Usually, Vi’s on top, controlling, but this time you want to try something different. She simply lets you, placing her hands on your hips and guiding your movement as you grind against her pussy over your underwear. You growl at the friction, the sound is muffled by Vi’s lips, who moves her hands to your ass, squeezing hard enough to maybe leave marks.
“I need you,” your voice comes out more desperate than you expected. Usually, Vi would tease you for being so needy, but in her current state: panting beneath you, blushing and desperate, she’s not in a position to talk.
“Here I am,” Vi’s words come out husky as she swallows hard before continuing. “Do whatever you want, baby, use me, leave me, just make me feel good, no, let’s feel good together.”
Without hesitation, you stop moving your hips, shedding your underwear and throwing it in the pile of clothes beside the bed. You help Vi with hers, she lifts her hips to make it faster and doesn’t even let you finish pulling them off before grabbing your waist and pulling you in until your pussies touch. It feels strange at first, new, but definitely wanted. You hesitate for a moment, unsure how to move. Vi looks up at you from below, she wants you, now, but also gives you time to get comfortable with whatever’s coming.
At first, you’re clumsy with your rhythm, trying to find what feels good and what doesn’t. Vi’s legs part to give you more access, and when your clits rub roughly against each other—with no fabric or fingers in between—you swear you see stars. From the way Vi reacts, moaning your name and making it echo off your bedroom walls, you know she likes it too. You keep moving like that, momentarily forgetting everything around you: the uncertainty of your relationship, the need to be quiet for your sister, even that Vi will leave in the morning before you wake up, with an excuse.
“Violet,” you whimper, leaning over her and resting your head on her chest as your movements get more intense.
“Keep going,” she pants, her hands stroking your sweaty back, encouraging you. “You’re doing great, so good for me. Don’t stop, baby.”
You can’t help but keep going, the new sensations mixed with your drunkenness and craving making you feel overwhelmed and exhausted, but you don’t stop.
Vi cums first, her grip on your hips loosening. You stop to look at her. She’s sweaty, her chest rising and falling rapidly, breathing uneven, eyes half-closed. She’s so beautiful, so yours, that the fire inside you only grows. Vi notices and gives you a slight smile.
“Give me a few seconds?” She sounds shy. “I’m tired. You wore me out.”
You shake your head, refusing. “I want it, Vi, please.” Honestly, you don’t even know what you’re asking for, but you want it. Your chest aches from the lack of it, and without realizing, your words spill out: “I don’t want this, Violet.” You gesture between the two of you, naked in your bed, sharing fluids. “I don’t want something just physical, I don’t even know why I agreed in the first place. I guess I got carried away by everything that happened, but this isn’t me. I’m not casual.”
“And I don’t do relationships,” Vi replies immediately. “It’s not for me, you know that. This is all I can give you.”
“Well then let’s stop,” you say without thinking, though you don’t regret it. “Let’s end it here, just stay friends.” You sit beside her.
“Is that what you want?” Vi looks confused. “We haven’t had problems as things are. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I thought so too, and I’ve tried to be okay with not being exclusive, but I can’t.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Vi sits up as well, looking into your eyes, her face showing a mix of worry and confusion. You just shrug. She repeats, “I can’t give you a relationship, baby, I don’t want something serious, not now.”
“But I do, and I don’t know, I don’t feel right continuing this if we want different things. Let’s just stay friends, like before. You live your life, and I’ll look for someone who wants the same as me.” As you speak, you feel your words aren’t right; you pray Vi changes her mind, wants more. But she doesn’t.
“That would be best for both of us,” Vi scratches the back of her head, a little uncomfortable. You nod, unsure what to say. “Can I, uh, stay tonight? It’s kind of late.”
“Yeah,” you make yourself comfortable lying down, covering yourself with the sheets while watching her do the same. “Stay with me tonight. Please.”
