#First lines tag game

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Mischief has received a tag!

@soliloquent-stark Tagged me to do this thing!

rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 (or however many you have) posted fics and see if there’s a pattern!

1. May: Part 5 of Frost & Forge-Fire: A Year of OTP 2023 Frostiron 12 Month Anthology of a Relationship

The first time Loki sent Tony flowers, he was off on a mission with Steve, Thor, and Natasha while the inventor stayed behind with the others to worry about their significant others.

2. A place where sinners fall in love

Loki stared at the wreckage around the entrance hall of the palace, vases and other statues overturned and shattered across the once clean and shining marble floor.

(Note: That is not the exact first line, but it's the first line that's not just Loki's inner thoughts.)

3. Dancing in my storm

“Is this something the Avengers can and, more importantly, will help us with?”

4. To be in love with the masterpiece

“Loki! Where’re you headed? The studio’s back that way,” Steve called out when he saw one of his friends booking it away from the art building. He was on his way to the art studio from the parking lot and caught the swish of a short black ponytail bouncing in the opposite direction.

(Note: Okay, you got me. It's more than just one line.)

5. Eden revives in the first kiss of love

When Logan woke up, it was to the caress of sunlight on his eyelids and the warm breath of a kiss on his lips.

6. Under blue moon, I saw you

“Oh sweet fucking Norns,” Loki exclaimed.

7. You are the ghost behind my eyes

Steve had returned all of the Infinity stones as per his last mission as Captain America.

8. Heartache to heartache, we stand

Thanos’ army arrived like a swarm, decimated the compound, and left the sky black as if they’d put out the sun.

9. Take me back to the night we met

Tony bent over his scratched and dented Iron Man helmet.

10. Half past four and shifting gear

“You hear about Loki?”

Holy crap! I have patterns! Ones that my college creative writing profs would be so proud of me for. At least in these 10 fics (and very likely the ones following those), I start my fics either with immediate action or dialogue (speaking = action). I do remember when I started writing back in the Middle Stone Ages that I thought I needed to always "set the scene," especially with long rolling descriptions so anyone reading could 'see' where they were. I think I still sometimes try to set the scene, but it was 'gently' recommended by two of the profs I admire the most to start with action, dialogue, and one of them especially loved starting a story In medias res, and with "Under blue moon, I saw you," that was the start I gave it.

Who'da thunk that at almost 51, I'd finally grasp all those things my favorite writing profs kept encouraging? Go me!

Anyone else pick up patterns I haven't mentioned (or noticed)?

Tagging: @scottxlogan @mcfiddlestan @endlesstwanted @kleenexwoman @kedreeva @mistressofmuses @song-witch @stormxpadme @securitybreach @loni4ever @chaoticgardenbread @holistic-alcoholic @renlybaratheon-tyrell and anyone else who wants to play!

[orange-peony]

Patterns Tag

Thank you for tagging me @cassiaratheslytherpuff!

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern.

1. See how it shines (Drarry, E, 30k):

Harry hates driving at night.

2. All of the King's Horses (Snowbaz, E, 4k):

“The Creatures are rising in the east,” Father says, his tone more sombre than I expected.

3. Bigger Problems (Drarry, E, 22k):

“I need your help,” he says, avoiding Harry’s eyes and looking extremely awkward in those tight, black robes, his long pale fingers torturing the cuffs. 

4. Lost (Jegulus + wolfstar + rosekiller, E, 16k):

“Look at that cloud!” Barty says, pointing at a white puffy cumulus floating right above their heads. “That one definitely looks like a dick.”

5. Supernova (Snowbaz, E, 25k):

Something’s wrong.

6. At the speed of light (Snowbaz, E, 26k):

I roll my eyes before the next bloke even gets to sit down.

7. Snowflakes (Wolfstar + jegulus, E, 21k):

The first time Sirius meets Remus, it’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

8. Fireflies (Jegulus, E, 26k):

It happens on a Tuesday evening.

9. Once upon a time (Snowbaz, E, 58k):

I look in front of me, and Father seems worried. That’s not a good sign.

10. Hiding (Snowbaz, E, 42k):

I’m in the middle of folding the laundry when there’s a sudden noise that makes me freeze.

I'm not sure if there's a pattern, but my favourite one is definitely number 4! 😂

Tagging (no pressure): @artsyunderstudy, @facewithoutheart, @vukovich, @cutestkilla, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @rockingrobin69, @crazybutgood, @captain-aralias, @peachpety, @fatalfangirl, @hushed-chorus, @larkral and anyone else who fancies doing this (please feel free to say that I tagged you, honestly!).

[delphi-dreamin]

Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

I was tagged by @theinsouciantknitter! And now I guess I have the time to go through my masterlist and try to figure this out. 😅

“Why do you have my ring?” [From Trust]

I managed to hold it together, she thinks as she leaves the House of Lamentation for the night. Simeon and Luke are tucked away in her room and she's headed back to Cocytus Hall, as it has to be. [From An Attendant's Sorrow]

The House is quiet for once. The only sounds in the attic are the distant hum of the Devildom’s nocturnal insects as they search for food and mates, and the quiet, rhythmic breathing of the human curled up asleep in his arms. [From Soft 🔞]

Delphi had already been getting closer with Beelzebub, thanks to having to share a room with him. They shared midnight snacks, stayed up late watching movies and chatting, and a couple of times he even told her about the Celestial Realm. [From The Locker Room 🔞]

“Baby, I have to go to work,” Delphi chuckles, trying only halfheartedly to push Simeon away. [From Desperate 🔞]

It’s been a hell of a week when Delphi finally settles into her moon chair with a sigh, camera and ring light set up just a few feet away and a selection of colorful silicone toys spread out on the table beside her just out of frame. [From I Just Wanna Be (The Girl You Like) 🔞]

Lonnie Barker has been working the butcher’s stall at the market for nearly twenty years now. He took over for his daddy, who took it over from his daddy before him. Four generations of Barkers, now, have used these very machines to cut meat, case sausages, grind burger, and whatever else needs done, and Lonnie thought that he’d seen it all. But then those boys had come to town. [From The Butcher]

Lucifer hasn’t slept properly in a week. He hasn’t slept in his bed in two. And he hasn’t been able to relax in twice as long. He hasn’t exactly been subtle about his frustrations, either. [From Stress Ball 🔞]

As she tosses and turns in her bed, eyes closed but too tired to sleep, she can't help but wonder why she still does this to herself. [From l'Insomnie]

It had been an infuriating day. She'd missed breakfast, gotten in trouble for being late to her first class, gotten detention for something that she hadn't even done, and to top it all off, Lucifer was in the human world on business for Diavolo. By the time she's out of detention, Delphi just wants the day to end. [From Classics 🔞]

Holy shit. Nothing like a tag game to make you realize that you're not writing anymore. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I skipped over asks and HCs, and only went to the first chapter of IJWB. So, uh...Yeah.

No pressure tagging: @sassykattery @bite-sized-devil @yourboyhack @scarlett-vixen @attic-club-sandwich @mydiluc @eternallydaydreaming2015 @another-lost-mc @mcx7demonbros and @graveswrites

[dogmomwrites]

First Lines

This tag came from @inkspellangel, so thanks for including me in this game!

Passing it on with soft tags to @erasde, @smzeszikorova, @penspiration-writing, @elizaellwrites, and @worldofthraeia, as well as leaving an open tag! Rules—share a first line from your WIP, be it the first line of the WIP, a chapter, a character’s intro dialogue, or even the first line from your most recent writing session

I'm gonna share the first line of my most recent writing session. This is from the fifth book of my Castle series, although it might end up in the fourth book; it's kind of a mess right now so idk

As the sun faded and the heat of day cooled into evening, the fireflies came out.

[writernopal]

First Line and Heads Up 7 Up Tag Mash Up

Tagged by @writingmaidenwarrior! See their post here!

Tagging (gently): @sam-glade @elshells @kittensartswriting @crowandmoonwriting @moonluringfrost

Alright, so the first few lines of AASOAF 3 are super spoiler-y, but only if you have context (i.e., live in my brain), so I will post them here anyway, but below a cut if you don't want spoilers of any kind.

Is this proper, my lady?

Why shouldn’t it be? She asked, looking at me with those round, frosty eyes. We have danced many times.

Yes, but not where we could be seen, my lady.

Enough with the formalities! She hissed as we swayed together. You act as if we’ve only known one another for mere centuries!

I chuckled. My apologies.

Nothing more with the impersonal. Call me as you always do.

Is that wise, my lady?

[walkawaytall]

First Lines Tag Game

Look, I just saw this from one of @lajulie24's posts awhile back and since I posted my 10th fanfic today, I thought I'd give it a go. Also, I just...don't tag people in these things, so consider yourself tagged if you want to do the thing.

Rules: share the first lines of your ten most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy, share anyway! ❤️

(all links are AO3, but everything is cross-posted on FFN as well)

Collateral - The Committee met twice a week — double the number of meetings compared to when they’d first formed — and now, a mere ten days after relocation to Echo Base was complete, Leia was seriously considering adding a third meeting as schedules allowed.

Purpose of Heritage - None of this was supposed to happen.

Tell Your Sister - The celebration had lasted well into the early morning as soldiers and leaders, weary from years of war, were reenergized by this latest victory.

Fleeting Infatuation - Leia Organa had a problem.

Served Cold - Their first trip to Hoth together was going to be an unmitigated disaster if you asked Han (which no one ever did since the princess was the one writing up reports and presenting findings to High Command).

Presumptuous Man - Han Solo’s biggest flaw was that he didn’t know when to shut up, but no one else seemed to know when he should shut up, either, so it tended to work out for him.

Speak Louder - He’d never seen them apologize to one another.

Reconstitution - There is something wrong with her eggs at breakfast.

Opportunistic - She came back different.

All the Voices - It started with pregnancy dreams.

[icannotreadcursive]

First Lines Meme

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

@handwrittenhello did this and put an open "anybody who wants to" tag, and I think it's cool, so I'm doing it!

Just for fun, I did the whole first page of my Works list on Ao3, excluding podfics and the metatext guide, so there's more than 10.

---

To Tell the Truth (Brokeback Mountain, M, ongoing)

There was something wrong when Ennis came home.

Lunar Synthesis (Harry Potter, T, ongoing, part 3 of an ongoing series)

Remus caught a carriage from Hogsmeade up to the castle.

Shorn (The Old Guard, G, oneshot)

Joe finished drying his hair, hung up his towel, threw on some clothes that he was pretty sure were technically his—either way they fit, which was the important part—then he went downstairs to where the rest of his family was gathered.

The Measure of a Tit (Sailor Moon, T, oneshot)

It was nice to get all the senshi together for a vacation—at least, once the usual “we can't go anywhere without having to save the world” had been dealt with.

What I Want is Everything (Brokeback Mountain, M, oneshot)

There are words on my tongue I’m not stupid or drunk enough to tell him.

Momento Ipsum, Remember Yourself (The Old Guard, M, complete)

It was a lovely, calm morning between missions.

Risk and Reunion (The Old Guard, T, oneshot)

“I fold.” Andy tossed a hand of tarot cards onto the battered steamer trunk serving as a coffee table in the cramped little flat the team was holed up in.

The First Anual Family of Promise Roadtrip (The Witcher, T, complete)

Yennefer's glass hit the table a split second before Jaskier's did.

July 31, 1991 (Harry Potter, G, oneshot)

Harry Potter is about to turn eleven years old.

I Care, I Love You, I'm Glad (The Witcher, T, complete)

They had been at the seaside for more than a week.

To Want, To Need, To Enjoy (The Witcher, M, oneshot)

Between towns, Geralt and Jaskier—and Roach—made camp for the night in a clearing not far off the road.

Of Love, Comfort, and Convenience (The Witcher, M, oneshot)

Having what seemed to be the entire town spill into the square to watch him present proof of kill to his current employer was more of a spectacle than Geralt preferred to be party to.

Of Desire, Preference, and Convenience (The Witcher, M, oneshot)

The sun was just a sliver clinging to the horizon when Geralt, Jaskier, and, of course, Roach came into sight of the town they had set out from a couple days before.

---

I think all of these are either what main character is doing or a general picture of the state of things where we enter the story--a couple manage to be both. There also seems to be a pretty even split between short, punchy, to-the-point sentences and long compound ones. So that is all very interesting!

Tagging: @nerdsandthelike @hotcocoaandstripedsweaters @darkshrimpemotions @rainbowvamp @non-un-topo & anyone who wants to!

(Seriously, I mean anyone, I love this and I wanna see folk's stuff)

[angst-in-space]

first lines tag!

rules:  share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

thanks @zenstrike​ for tagging me!! UHH i feel like i don’t know enough fic writers on here to tag many people (also i’m lazy) but if you see this and want to do it, then go for it lol 👍 

1. “are we going somewhere” / sk8 / renga

“Just like every afternoon, Reki and Langa were together.“

2. “you’re a dream (i’m never waking up)” / fe3h / sylvix

“The battle was not going according to plan.”

3. “throw away the key” / ace attorney / klapollo

“Apollo didn’t know what was more stressful—that this case seemed like a dead end, or that he’d somehow gotten himself locked in the records room with Klavier fucking Gavin.”

4. “we’re so disarming, darling” / spy x family / twiyor

“I can’t believe I’m doing this, Yor thinks as she stealthily turns the corner into a narrow alleyway.”

5. “dawn goes down to day” / sk8 / matchablossom

“Leaves skitter across Kojiro’s path in fiery hues of red and gold, like tiny creatures running for cover, as he skateboards down the road.”

6. “if you leave the light on” / ace attorney / narumitsu

“The streets of Berlin pass outside the window in a hazy rush of glowing storefronts and yellow street lamps.”

7. “wherever i end up (i end up with you)” / word of honor / wenzhou

“Zhou Zishu isn’t certain what attracts him to the used bookstore by the side of the road.“

8. “hold my hand (to keep me steady)” / fe3h / marihilda

“C’mon, Marianne. He doesn’t bite, I promise!”

9. “singing my life with his words” / ace attorney / klapollo

“Klavier Gavin hears music in everything.”

10. “miles to go” / fe3h / gen (faerghus four)

“A chill had seeped into the air, and a light snow fell like hundreds of stars—the first sign of a long winter.”

as for noticing any patterns... HM!! i feel like my go-to types of opening lines are 1) something pretty simple and to-the-point establishing character + situation/setting, just kinda jumping into the middle of a scene like *freeze frame, record scratch* “you’re probably wondering how i got into this situation-” 2) alternatively, a description of the setting/scenery to establish the tone/mood.

anyway aaaa this was fun, thanks again zen for the tag! :)

[thecharmedburrowspn-files]

First Lines Tag Game

First Lines Tag Game

Thank you for the tags @wordspin-shares and @darknightfrombeyond 💜

Sadly, I’ve been slacking on writing so I don’t have quite 10 to share (mostly because we don’t need to go back that far), but here we go! :)

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway!

Untitled | Supernatural | WIP

Growing up as a in a family of monster hunters meant life was far from boring, let alone even in the same zip code as normal. 

Imperfectly Bound | The Vampire Diaries | WIP

The bright, morning sunlight streamed in through the make-shift curtains, settling near the top of the bed. But that’s not what woke up Gwen. 

OC Winter Challenge | TVD & HP & SPN & Original Work | Complete

Evelyn set her pencil down with more force than was necessary and, with an exaggerated sigh, turned her attention to the two children pouting at her from across the dinning room table. 

Time’s Up | The Vampire Diaries | Complete

Gwen shut the door tightly behind her, muttering a spell to keep it locked as she hurried down the narrow hotel hallway. 

Second Chances | The Vampire Diaries | Complete

It was late when she finally passed the town’s welcome sign. 

Sight’s Journey | Harry Potter | Complete

Melissa nervously trailed behind Mrs. Victoria Taylor in the busy train station.

Children of Evil [Revised] | Harry Potter | Complete

Severus Snape found he did not know quite what to about the present circumstances.

What I Want| Harry Potter | Complete

Tom watched families bid good-bye to one another on the platform as he sat alone in his compartment. 

Too tired to tag tonight. Consider yourself tagged if you see this and want to share/promote some of your work.

[fangroyal]

10 first lines tag game

Many thanks to @hey-flynn for the tag! 🥰It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these! Unfortunately, I didn’t publish anything in 2022, and I also haven’t really been writing anything at all for over a year now. I know it’s just one of those things - life stuff, taking a break from writing - but sometimes I get down about it. It was really nice to be tagged in this, though, and, like...essentially remind me I’m still a writer even if I’m not writing right now, lol! So thank you, it’s really appreciated! 🖤

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to, but I went ahead and ordered these from most to least recent!

“Draco Malfoy exited the lifts on Level Two amidst a flurry of bright purple memos, all zooming down the long corridor of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, bound for the Auror Offices.“ (I Will Follow You into the Dark, Drarry, NC-17)

“"Unbelievable," Ron muttered to himself.” (Plumage, Dron, NC-17)

“Weasley really looked amazing tonight.“ (An Inconvenient Attachment, Dron, NC-17)

“Draco Malfoy was no stranger to the way living purely Muggle could dull a wizard's senses.“ (In Plain Sight, Snaco, NC-17)

“Kingsley Shacklebolt had, upon officially taking the position of Minister for Magic several years prior, instituted an 'open door' policy throughout the organization, requiring that all office doors remained open during operating hours, except in the cases of private meetings or other special circumstances.” (Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Dron, NC-17)

“"I'm going to bloody kill you when this is over."” (Pass The Salt, Brother Dear, Sirius/Regulus, NC-17)

“It was a particularly chilly evening in early October, and the streets of Knockturn Alley were quiet.“ (The Black Adder: Knockturn's Caped Crusader, Dron, R)

“"Who all's gonna be there tonight?"“ (In The Closet, Snupin, NC-17)

“It was around three-thirty on Christmas morning when Sirius woke with a start, a feeling deep in his gut that something wasn't right.“ (The First Christmas, previous Jily, unrequited Prongsfoot, R)

“Twenty minutes have passed since the clock struck midnight on January 1, 1979.“ (Moony, Lily, Padfoot, and Prongs, Jily and Wolfstar swinging lol🤤, NC-17)

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent wip's and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

As I said, I’ve not written much of anything at all in the past year or so, lol. But these are snippets from WIPs I still have an attachment to and hope to return to at some point in time. Most of them don’t have set-in-stone titles yet, so I’ve just left descriptors in the parentheses!

I’d also like to note that I, uh.......write pretty non-linearly most of the time, haha! So very few of these (if any at all) are actual first lines for these stories. More likely just whichever random line happens to be at the very top of the doc currently.

“"Yes, I'm here to learn how to cook," Malfoy practically spat, his jaw clenching rhythmically behind his scowl.“ (Dron - Ron gets into teaching Wixen cooking classes, and Draco becomes one of his students, much to Ron’s surprise)

“The first time Draco saw the Golden Trio again, it was at a dinner at the Burrow.” (Dron - was meant to be for a prompt from Annchen for last year’s Crack!Fic Fest, but as I said...not writing much at all in the last year, lmao - Ron is, contrary to my usual headcanoning of him, a TERRIBLE cook that constantly causes chaos, much to his boyfriend Draco’s chagrin - oh, and of course there’d be food sex 😜)

“Of all the things that could've ― and should've ― killed Harry Potter in his lifetime, somehow the prospect of a vampire's bite had never crossed his mind.“ (Drarry - was meant to be for a prompt from @veelawings​ for last year’s Fangfest, but as I said...........😂 - Harry’s a vampire, and Draco discovers, quite spectacularly, that he’s a Veela in the middle of a sparring class)

“So much blood kept pouring out from between his lips, Ron was scared he would choke. He helped Malfoy sit up, resting his back against the nearest wall, even as he whimpered and struggled.” (Dron - was meant to be my self-prompt for last year’s Ron/Draco Fest, buuuuuuttttttt ^^^^^^^ - Ron and Draco are Auror partners - Draco gets turned into a vampire on a raid, is let go from the Ministry, and disappears - Ron doesn’t see him again until a couple years later when he’s sent on a mission to investigate mysterious deaths happening around the Wixen-creature neighborhoods)

“The air rings with the crack of a Beater's bat.“ (Dron - was meant to be for a prompt from @veelawings​ for the 2021 Quidditch Fest, but etc. etc., looool - Ron and Draco are playing on the Chudley Cannons together and keep getting into fights - their manager sends them on a wilderness retreat in order to work out their differences before the next big match)

“"Potter," he says. The 'p' pops distinctly in his mouth, and suddenly Harry feels transported back ten years, and it takes everything in him not to scowl.“ (Drarry - originally from a prompt by @jalesidor​ - Draco is an artist, and Harry is sent to him to have his portrait painted to be hung in Hogwarts for the ten year anniversary of the Battle)

“Friday night at the Dragon's Head was packed.“ (Dron - what I for so many years felt like was gonna be my magnum opus, but haven’t worked on in literally forever, lmao - where do I even begin...Fred (who lived in this story) and George open a sex shop that sells dildos modelled after the Weasley brothers’ cocks - Draco buys Ron’s, Ron finds out and is intrigued, and thus begins a series of secret hookups while they try to sort out their true feelings for each other)

“Oliver Wood remembered with vivid clarity the exact moment his professional Quidditch career came to an end.“ (Flintwood - originally from a prompt by @mxrcusflint - Marcus and Oliver are rival youth Quidditch coaches)

“The very last thing Draco had expected that fateful morning was to find Harry Potter on his doorstep.“ (Dron - HP Love Island with Dron endgame)

“Tweek's parents were fucking nuts, but it was better than Harbucks. Pete hadn't had to pay for his own coffee for his last two years of high school. He'd really been living the dream.” (CuRed from South Park - adult, and estranged, Mike and Pete are forced to navigate a conformist zombie apocalypse together)

Like @hey-flynn, I’m not sure that I have ten people I could comfortably tag for this! Haha! I’ve been so out of the loop, it feels like, for the past year or so. I only even started regularly using my Tumblr again super recently, so.....I’m gonna go ahead and just tag the following people! If you’ve already done this one, or don’t feel like doing it, please feel free to ignore. 😅

@veelawings​, @danpuff-ao3​, @braingray​, @mildredmost​, @maesterchill, @jalesidor​​

[buttercupshands]

I started drawing this next day after I finished Act 6

13 or so days and it's finished!

Main things are traditional and Loop's body was edited digitally after

Unedited it looks like this

I've been torn on how to do Loop's body for the entirety of lining, also

A bit sad the main lines are visible only as a wip, most of this thing is literally just a ton of sharp lines

I think it's also my first day of drawing, Loop is just a sketch here (feat. my leg)

I even finished the beans before it so they were a moral support, because if you let me things like this take a year

[akkivee]

they've been potentially changing a lot with the shadow manga, but since maria's final words to shadow were how she loves him and amy's conversation with shadow in the joypolis collab was about how he is loved, i like to think sonic team is still hinting at amy's ability to touch his heart lol

[dykedvonte]

You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

[mhin-t]

ehe wip sneak peek :3 lining this man's hair actually drove me nuts but look at it so far. (edit: time to turn off reblogs so hopefully this doesn't end up getting more attention than the final product lol)

(edit edit: the finish product is posted!! check out the art tag on my blog)

[dogmomwrites]

First Lines tag

This tag came from @space-writes, so thank you for including me in this game!

I'm gonna pass it on with soft tags to @char-writes, @hallwriteblr, and @irathgo, as well as keeping it an open tag!

Rules—share a first line from a WIP, be it the first line of the WIP, a chapter, a character’s intro dialogue, or even the first line from your most recent writing session

Taking the very first line of dialogue in my fantasy series for this (lmao).

“Well, shit,” he said. His breath fogged in the frigid air.

[greatgoddyke]

time to make your choice only you can be the one