Untitled @technicolour-star - Tumblr Blog

My woke take, as someone who has worked in both a public library and a school library, is that we desperately need both more books that are at a higher reading level but a less mature subject matter, and more books that are at a lower reading level but a more mature subject matter, because 8 year olds who are advanced readers are still 8 year olds and don't want to read about graphic violence and torture, and teens and adults who have learning difficulties or who are just later readers for whatever reason are still teens and adults and don't want to read about Billy the Bunny going to school or whatever the hell.

partywithponies

Shoutout to people in the notes also mentioning people learning the language, I should've mentioned that really, given that I've been stuck reading German picture books myself while learning German.

spittinwatches

🤔Either Thaniel ghost-hunting (60), for dark and canonical (Pepperharrow) or (young) Mori playing poker (89) for silly and whimsy (maybe about to win a house in Osaka and he's not sure how he feels about that). Thank you and have fun drawing!

he didnt even have to orchestrate this one

send me a character(s) or a prompt

gendercensus

The 2026 Gender Census is now open!

[ survey.gendercensus.com ]

The 13th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 13th August 2026.

It’s short and easy, for most participants it takes 5 minutes or less.

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful!

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

PS: You can see some regularly-updated statistics about incoming data here, with lots of demography and graphs to peruse!

PPS: Image credits, bark and grass.

unheardoracle

Your dialogue is stiff because everyone is being too honest

Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people

dodge questions

answer indirectly

lie (badly)

change the subject

crack jokes to avoid serious answers

lie (convincingly)

say half of what they mean

tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying

If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.

Subtext is where tension lives.

happybunnykat

What if I start a trend called "No one nuts November" where everyone writes about their favorite characters having bad sex that sucks and isn't fun.

happybunnykat

Okay so I made a list of 30 (well, 29 actually) prompts I am releasing into the wild. The point of this is that at least one of the participants are not having a good time.

It has 30 prompts for November but feel free to write and post whenever, but please add the tag #No one nuts November or #NoonenutsNovember wherever you post. You do not have to @ or credit this blog if you use any of these prompts.

(Text version under the cut)

porygonally

i am beginning to realize that when i say “im bored” people understand that as “i have nothing to do and i need something to do”. and what i actually mean is “holy shit i am incapable of doing anything even though i have lots of things i can do and want to do and i feel like the world is mildly grey and soul sucking and my brain is numb”

which now that i’m typing it out that sounds like executive dysfunction

praline-elegy

Compiling a list of ao3 tutorials for future reference:

The Fic Writer's Guide to Formatting (An AO3 Repository) by AnisaAnisa - This is the holy grail of how to format an ao3 fic using HTML and CSS

Inline Tooltip Translation by AstariaEverlasting - Hovertext made easy! Instead of constantly jumping to the author’s notes or google translate for every foreign phrase or word, all you’ll need to do now is tap or hover over the text in question and a translated speech bubble will appear! (Requires preplanned translation)

How to Make iOS Text Messages on AO3 by CodenameCarrot and La_Temperanza - If you like chat fics or inserting a little text message for the immersion (without having to use screenshots or images!), then this is the guide for you. You can also “text” images with this tutorial.

Whatsapp Work Skin Template /Revamped by etc e tal (pe_pe_peperoncinocandy) - If WhatsApp is your preferred messaging platform, this is the workskin for you. It even includes a scrollable template, as well! (Check it out, it’s really cool!)

How to Make a "Choose Your Own Adventure" Fic by La_Temperanza - The ever elusive Choose-Your-Own-Adventure format! It is possible to create with an ao3 workskin!

2020 Reddit Work Skin by timstokerlovebot (SchmokSchmok) - If you want to include a Reddit post for some immersive fun, this work skin is calling your name!

How to Make Linked Footnotes on AO3 by La_Temperanza - Very useful when you want to share the extensive research you’ve put into your story.

letteredcellar

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

‘Mori banged his sword down into the snow.’

07/05/2020

letteredcellar

A more recent image I made from this novel.

stainedglassboots-blog

Let’s say you wanted to glue fabric to wood, but what do you use? What about glass to paper? This to That lets you choose two things you want to glue and lists what types of glue is best. (Because people have a need to glue things to other things!)

dramaticthreads

This is an incredibly awesome site. Go check it out!

aicosu

Whhhhaaaaaattt!???

techfails

EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS

This is one of the first websites I was told about in props. It also has information about the toxicity, adhere time, price, and other stuff about the glues.

geekhyena

Useful for cosplayers and DIY!

murasakidoku

I feel personally attacked.

magic-and-moonlit-wings

[replacement for first link, which wasn’t working]

I went through the whole thing just to see what it said for each combination.

berkeleygirl3

sxpositive

book asks:

book you’ve reread the most times?

top 5 books of all time?

what is your favourite genre?

what sections of a bookstore do you browse?

where do you buy books?

what books have you read in the last month?

is there a series/book that got you into reading?

what is the first book you remember reading yourself?

when do you tend to read most?

do you have a guilty fav?

what non-fiction books do you like if any?

did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?

do you have a goodreads?

do you ever mark/dog ear books you own?

recommend and review a book.

how many books have you read this year?

top 5 children’s books?

do you like historical books? which time period?

most disliked popular books?

what are things you look for in a book?

technicolour-star

In the past two years I got back into reading again (the classic book-worm child, found fanfiction and internet as a teenager, and then for years struggled with getting back into it - being shamed for reading for pleasure by my ex didn't help), so I'd love to partake in this. :D

#book memes #reading #books and reading #libraries rock

circuitbirb

Latest fanfics: a writer meme

Rules: post the beginning lines of your most recent 10 published fanfics, then attempt to tag 10 people!

thank you @larkthorne for tagging me! :D

my past 10 fics are all for The Half Life of Valery K and then the oldest one is for The Raven Cycle haha

it's in the ions (Valery/Shenkov, modern au pwp, 3.7k) Valery liked airports, but actually flying was a different story.

it's the little things you miss (Valery/Shenkov, hanahaki, 2.9k) Valery barely heard the knock on the apartment door over the sound of his coughs.

brilliant creatures (Valery/Shenkov, post-canon, crack, 1.6k) It was a quiet Sunday morning and Valery and Shenkov were in their usual positions on the couch.

don't go (I know I pushed you to before) (Valery/Shenkov, fluff, 500 words) For the first time in a long time, Shenkov felt like things might be getting better.

sweet tooth (Valery/Shenkov, 5+1, fluff, I will finish the second half eventually I promise) The evening began like so many others: Valery came home from work, they ate dinner, they watched the news while enjoying each other’s company and a bottle of vodka.

rust & chocolate (Valery/Shenkov, canon divergence, 3.4k) Valery watched the taxi drive away, back through the barbed wire gates and into the main part of the strange little town.

The Desk (Valery/Shenkov, post-canon, pwp, 3k) Valery saw the desk one day when he was heading home from work.

you're coming back & it's the end of the world (Valery/Shenkov, missing scene, 1k) They stood like that for a long time, arms draped over each other in the kitchenette of Valery’s tiny flat.

one room over (Valery/Shenkov, missing scene, 1.8k) Shenkov wasn’t sleeping.

long, long nights (Gansey & Ronan but could be slash if u want, 1.5k) Gansey had run out of cardboard.

I'm tagging @annapear @k745 @hedgehockey @thereforealiar and anyone else who wants to join!

bluejay-07

Last 10 fics, a writer meme

In which you post your 10 most recent fics with their first lines! Tagged by @blue-glasses-dork <3

1. Marriage Language (Max/River childhood friends epistolary): I’m not quite sure if you’ll receive this, but if you do, you should hear this from me before you turn on the news.

2. Something Good (Fluffy Jmiver post-canon flash fic): “Do you want to see something good?” Max asked one night, sternum pressed to January’s spine as the pair of them waited for River to come back from their late-night meeting.

3. Chapter 2 of The Heat of the Moment (Aubrey/Max and Max/River canon divergence AU, in which everyone's feelings boil over): Max was avoiding River, of that much River was certain.

4. Early Morning (River/January fluffy drabble): Though the January of two years ago never would have believed it, his favourite time of day was early in the morning; that odd liminal space between waking and dreams, no responsibilities and no masks.

5. State of Emergency (River/January haptics-go-haywire fic): River had always fallen into the habit of getting to meetings early; it had begun when they had started teaching, when schedules were unpredictable and they could always use a few more minutes to themself to finish grading.

6. New Vocabulary (River & January & Yuan drabble, mostly because I thought it was funny): “There’s no wrong way to speak a language,” Yuan recited, as though from memory.

7. cephalophore saints (Guang Song character study double drabble): Guang Song was many things, but they were not—and they would stand by this forever—a traitor.

8. Colonel Liu Has Got It Going On (Max Liu meme fic about press releases that got me super attached to the staff officers I made up for Max): “Dr. Gale, do you have any idea where the Senator has got to?” Mx Francis inquired, poking their head into River’s office.

9. Greys (Jmiver flash fic about the inherent eroticism of the T/V split and finding a place for yourself, among other things): On nights when Senator Gale et al had somewhere to go—so all of them, in practice—it had become Max’s habit to linger for a while in January and River’s bedroom after coming back to Songshu.

10. ὁλοπόρφῠρος (loving the anvil) (Agave double drabble character study): Agave’s biggest regret was always not serving.

I think Sarah might've already tagged everyone I was going to, but I also want to get @lux-et-astra and @hylian-prosecutor in on this! I really want to do some more writing; alas, I'm pretty sure I've been under the spell of the AO3 writer's curse for the past six months.

fairestjaws

Latest fanfics: a writer meme

Rules: post the beginning lines of your most recent 10 published fanfics, then attempt to tag 10 people!

I was tagged by tagged by @readingworldwanderer

Known Too Well (4.9k) The first morning Thaniel woke up alone in Filigree Street, he thought little of it. (Heed tags)

2. Distractedly (5.3k) The problem was that once something had occurred to Thaniel, once the idea had reared its head, he was already completely done for. (Part of In Love)

3. Tinker, Tailor, Watchmaker, Spy (4.2k)

Cheltenham, 2011 GCHQ

4. Good Excuses, Chapter 3 (5.3k) Thaniel had forgotten, in the heat of the moment, in the exuberance of the evening, that they were trying to rearrange the bookcase in the parlour to make more room for Six’s engineering manuals.

5. Propagation (14.5k) Tremayne’s letter lay on the kitchen table, which was where Keita had left it while he tipped some tiny little seeds out onto the little black saucer he’d brought in from the workshop. (Heed tags)

6. Voraciously (7k) It hummed under his skin. (Part of In Love)

7. Balancing Act (6k) Thaniel had tried to figure out where the thought had come from, but it always just came back to the fact that he lived with Keita, that Keita was beautiful and gorgeous and wonderful and twelve years older than him and it shouldn’t have mattered, the fact that Keita was older than him.

8. A Watchmaker's Game (4.2k) Thaniel heard the shop door open and close, and kept quiet because that was what he’d been told to do. He heard movement downstairs, and he knew that he and Pepper were meant to be in the house, were meant to be in the kitchen or the parlour, waiting for Mori. (part of Heirs Apparent)

9. Part and Parcel (1.5k) Thaniel thinks he almost, almost, got everything he wanted.

10. Absurdly (2.8k) Thaniel was sitting on the couch with his manuscript, because there was a chord he liked but it wasn’t the right shade, and he’d tried it at the piano and managed nothing. (Part of In Love)

I am very late to this game, but ty @readingworldwanderer for tagging me! I'm not sure I know anyone who hasn't been tagged, so please lmk if you'd like one (or go ahead and consider yourself tagged!)

spittinwatches

we reached over 300 watchmaker fics on ao3 so here's thori but specifically from @technicolour-star's fic "Maybe a (younger) friend was what Thaniel needed all along" where it's a wonderfully written ageswap

“You can do whatever you want to me,” he said softly, and immediately he felt ashamed that he couldn’t quite meet Mori’s eyes, and frustrated with himself for not sounding more enthusiastic. He assumed it was either of those things that triggered Mori’s reaction. Sometimes Thaniel was amused or grateful by how expressive the younger man was, even if the genuine feeling only showed for a moment, but right now, this was not helpful. Mori’s face flickered between surprise, confusion, bewilderment, and – a tiniest bit – indignation. Many thoughts ran through Thaniel’s mind, how he should have known better; that the youth tend to be fickle and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mori would have baited him only to turn him away. At least he wasn’t laughed at in the face, small mercy that it was. But just as he was about to move, Mori pinned his wrist down to stop him in his tracks. “I hoped we could do it together.” Mori’s voice was firm, but for a few brief seconds his whole countenance changed; open and earnest, doing his best to drive his point home.

technicolour-star

This is absolutely stunning! It's such a privilege to have a fanart drawn of a fanfic I wrote 😭Thank you so much @spittinwatches 💖

river-gale

Latest fanfics: a writer meme

Rules: post the beginning lines of your most recent 10 published fanfics, then attempt to tag 10 people!

Tagged by @blue-glasses-dork. This game always makes me realize my friends are better than me at opening lines l m a o I simply do not put that much effort into them

Death by Demonsbane - (Zale from Swordheart casefic) - “Right,” Zale says, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of their nose.

Wire Mother - (Mars House Anansi fic) - Anansi hated children.

a wreck of possibilities - (Mars House soulmate au) - It wasn’t a guarantee of anything, knowing your soulmate’s name.

Polaris Crossing - (Mars House postcanon) - For two months, every conservative news outlet had spun out horror stories about what would happen if one of the people who had just made the Crossing got frustrated with the quarantine, escaped, and rampaged through Tharsis.

We're Hoping For More - (Mars House oc fic about a horrible idiot) - Updates on Tharsis v. Stirling, by S. Jiang

The Way Forward - (Mars House omegaverse) - After they rescued everyone from the flood, the kind translator slipped January an extra packet of marshmallows and said, “We usually recommend that omegas at least make the attempt to go to Tharsis.”

No Perfect World - (Mars House Song Guang-River Gale roleswap au) - As soon as January stepped off the ship from the Crossing, the Consul of all of Mars pulled him aside to propose marriage.

give and take - (Mars House vampires au) - “Just don’t take too much,” Annie said, holding out her wrist. “I have to go on after this too, you know.”

the new normal - (Mars House random fluff) - The weekly meeting where all of the scientists got together and summarized everything that had happened in the sun fields so that it could be turned into a press release was not one that River had to lead.

Mark - (Mars House outsider pov) - “By the way,” Mark said thoughtfully, placing his tray down next to Yan’s, “did we ever find out what happened to January Stirling?”

I think everyone I know has been tagged so if you see this and you want to do it go wild!!!

fifteen-ducks

Latest fanfics: a writer meme

Rules: post the beginning lines of your most recent 10 published fanfics, then attempt to tag 10 people!

tagged by @blue-glasses-dork

From most to least recent:

I watched you drown for love of me (a prayer, Helios/Phaidros (past), Phaidros/Dionysus, The Hymn to Dionysus)

If you give me a night and a chart (Polaris, January Stirling/River Gale, The Mars House. It’s the latest chapter of for much more than a month, but as the chapters are all finished poems, I think it counts here)

I saw you dance, and I loved you. (Take my hand, January Stirling/River Gale, The Mars House)

Though love crossed with me, love lost greeted me (finding mist, January Stirling/River Gale, The Mars House. The fourth and last of the starlit sonnets, my soulmate au)

I find I can’t peel my eyes from you (You Are Not Beautiful, And Yet, Nine Worlds/Greenwing & Dart, but also Midsummer Mess by Crackfoxx, because it’s the second of two poems written by their fictional (and unbelievably terrible) in-world poet. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be, so be forewarned: it’s bad. It’s so bad.)

I go to find our firewood (The Kindling of the Ashen Heart, Nine Worlds/Greenwing & Dart/Midsummer Mess. The first of the poems by the terrible poet. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever written.)

the winter chill seems endless, (winter’s sun, January Stirling/River Gale, The Mars House)

he is wild-eyed and wild-helmed (wild-eyed and wilder-helmed, Hannan, Critical Role Aramán)

Awake, alone, I look for your star, (evening mist, January Stirling/River Gale, The Mars House. The third of my soulmate au sonnets)

We want to keep every letter and every note (Silver-cast, both Csevet/Maia and Csevet & Maia, The Goblin Emperor)

I always feel really strange about tagging people without asking (even though I like being tagged in this kind of thing!), so in lieu of that: if you want to do this and haven’t been tagged yet, please consider this me tagging you and go for it.

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