#I love when fandoms collectively hallucinate a character

[awwsd]

I’ve always rly loved Jeremike as a ship at least how it exists in the modern FNAF fandom? Because it’s idk. Just so sweet to me. Jeremy is a non-character, he’s is all of our collective OC’s, born out of affection for Michael and a desire to give him companionship and like a buddy or true love or something. And then people take Jeremy and turn him into an interesting and compelling character with so many storylines to explore and he can really be whoever you want him to be and it’s just neat I like it a lot.

[qiu-yan]

3 6 7 11 16 20 25

bro is trying to get me killed lmao /s

choose violence ask game

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr:

this shit

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

gonna be honest here, the single most annoying part of the MDZS fandom is that one hyperspecific sort of wang and xian stan who insists on shitting on not only the other characters, but also other wang and xian fans who ship the characters in ways they don't approve of. this kind of stan can not only be relied on to have the worst possible takes on everyone ranging from jin guangyao to jiang cheng, they can also be relied on to harass other wang and xian fans simply for putting wang on the bottom. fun times.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

surprisingly, no one yet. sometimes i feel the hater urge to dunk on the morally-pure version of wei wuxian that the diehard wei wuxian stannies have collectively hallucinated, but i still find the wei wuxian from canon to be quite compelling.

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

the "canon jiang cheng" and "canon jc" tags. everyone stfu

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

"morally pure wei wuxian who did nothing wrong ever." to me, wei wuxian's hubris, his unique capability for inventing new kinds of cruelty, his failure to think of the consequences of his actions, his tendencies to run away from negative feelings, and his ultimate failure to protect the people he was trying to protect, are what make him a compelling character to me. these flaws in parallel with his courage, kindness, stalwart moral compass, and genuine love make him interesting to me. so i don't quite understand fans who instead insist on erasing all the morally grey and highly interesting stuff he did in favor of insisting he did nothing wrong ever.

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

not quite what the question is asking, but i found the actual wang and xian romance in the original novel to be a bit lacking. mainly because (as other people have said already) a lot of the romantic development happened when lan wangji was drunk. at the very least, i wanted to see lan wangji's reactions to his various drunken adventures once he sobered up the next day, and i'm rather disappointed we never got to see that.

furthermore, on wei wuxian's end, it did kind of feel like wei wuxian was using this exciting new romance to distract himself from his past problems, even though it also seemed like he didn't actually know all that much about lan wangji. the only version of the romance that makes sense to me is the one where wei wuxian was already into lan wangji (subconsciously or consciously) in his first life; otherwise, wei wuxian falling in love with lan wangji during his second life, when he's yet to process any of the shit that happened in his first life, feels too much like him running away from his problems with a guy he believes will validate all his decisions. meanwhile, on lan wangji's end, i feel like the novel just did not give us a lot to work with in regards to his character. so it feels like, if you want to be a fan of lan wangji, you have to do a lot of the legwork of building up his personality yourself.

what also disappointed me a bit about wang and xian, as well as lan wangji's character arc itself, is that lan wangji is never really challenged on a moral-dilemma level in the same way that many other characters are challenged by the story. how do i explain this...alright, i'll put it this way. i've been brainrotted about madohomu (madoka magica) since i was in middle school. and that's partially because i know for a fact that, if homura was put in the trolley problem and had to choose between [killing 5 strangers] and [allowing madoka to die], she would choose to kill those 5 strangers to save madoka. but after reading MDZS, i realized i legitimately did not know what lan wangji would do in such a moral dilemma. because MDZS equates [being morally righteous] with [supporting wei wuxian], lan wangji is never placed in a dilemma where he has to choose between sacrificing wei ying and doing something the audience would think of as unforgivable.

these are just my own hyperspecific tastes, though.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

gonna put my hater hat on for a second, but i kind of roll my eyes at the jiang cheng haters complaining about how jiang cheng stans keep posting in the "canon jiang cheng" tag. dude, if it bothers you that much, just block the jiang cheng stans. then things will be peaceful in your favorite tag again.

[tryingtimi]

Books of 2024 (2023 or close to it)

Thank you for the tag @barbex it sounds like a fun one hehe. 9 books should be listed that were read in the last 12 months (or alternatively liked when you read it) if I'm right. And when I read the rules I had the same reaction: mind went blank on if I ever read a single book lol. Luckily I keep track of my reading because I like watching them back.

No pressure tagging: @aninkwellofnectar, @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @the-void-writes, @circa-specturgia, @aalinaaaaaa, @dyrewrites, @italiangothicwriteblr, @cherrybombfangirlwrites, @blind-the-winds and anyone who wants to join.

All of the listed were read last year and which I liked especially.

When The Stars Alight by Camilla Andrew (@aninkwellofnectar). Bi MC, gaslamp fantasy, gothic, court intrigue, delicious spice

You've already seen this many times on my page, because I really enjoyed this book and it was a window to many things I didn't know I'd enjoy in a story. So many beautiful description, beautifully emotional and sexy sex, rarely seen complex character dynamics and so much mouth watering food.

Éjféli Iskolák (Midnight Schools) by Attila Veres. lovecraftian horror set in Budapest

It's a horror short story collection by a hungarian author who I got recommended by a collegue. Attila Veres has a talent to capture that melancholic, sometimes surrelistic feeling living in Budapest which makes his work so authentic. But also very Big Ew for all the horroristic shit he created (in the best way.) My favourite one was the 'Porn After Midnight'.

Yumi and The Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanders. M/F romance focus, sci-fi/fantasy, anime-esque

You all know I'm a Sanderson trash. And the fact I, the slowest reader on the earth, read this book in two days, proved that very much lol. It felt like watching an anime, I swear to god. There's magic, time travel kinda thing, pretty innocent humour, loads of painting in it.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickenes. christmas nostalgia, historical fiction?

We all know this, but I'm very behind on classics book-wise so I began to catch up last year. Espceially because I love the animated movie so much. It was a lovely and educative read.

Y/N by Esther Yi. litfic, kpop fandom and industry satire basically, comteporary

It was one of my favourites from last year tbh, because I couldn't put down the damn e-reader. A very strange little read, 100% unhinged, but made me realise I might enjoy litfic, so I'll read more this year. Also, the story is not "summarizable" but the fact that this is the first two review on GoodReads tells a lot I think: reading this feels like that one night when i accidentally smoked weed for the first time I sort of feel like I just hallucinated this entire thing Yeah.

Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk. F/F romance, fantasy, novella

Lesbian magical detective. Done, sold. I wanted to read this a while now, and it did not disappoint. It gave exactly what it promised. Fast paced little adventure with some humour and a lovely couple. Not a life-chaning read but as I mentioned, it gave what it promised. I enjoyed it anyway.

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice. M/M romance kinda, supernatural, philosophical

Finally started to read the books my all time favourite movies are made of. Loved every bits of this, though sometimes it got way too wordy or I don't even know what. Overall though, it got me. Full of contemplation about human nature, God (though I could do a bit less without that) and death, plus the iconic vampire husbands and their arguments. It's just a real long broody monologue of Louis tbh. I'm fine with that it seems, though.

Legend & Lattes by Travis Baldree. F/F romance (not focus), cosy fantasy

Read pretty fast too. It's very much what it promises also. Cosy, and relaxing, and endearing. Love the concept of how a stoic warrior woman can settle finally and do something other than fighting. It was cute.

Tress of The Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. M/F romance (not that important i think), cosy fantasy, Princess Bride-vibes

Yes, I got all the secret project, because of course I would. This one was also something like Legends & Lattes imo. In Sanderson style tho. I'm also loving when the narrator is a third person telling the story. Those are always fun. Oh and the story had many cuteness, humour and Our Flag Means Death kinda pirates.

[yellowocaballero]

re: utopia, one thing that i personally find funny is that a popular CN gacha game (damning words when it comes to taking me seriously, i know) just had an arc where the antagonist was a guy following Order that wanted to put everyone into a collective hallucination where everything would be perfect (obv without the opportunity to grow as a person Ever, but well, at least everyone is Satisfied), and him being a jesus figure that would suffer for everyone's sins and be aware of the dream/control it. (man i wonder if they had a naruto rerun while writing penacony)

i really liked it, but i did not anticipate that i'd get two cakes due to my favourite writer tackling similar themes (well they do be as old as time)!!!!1!!!1 and i think that you're really good at getting your point across — you once said that writing a fic is kinda like a dialogue with yourself to you, if i'm not mistaken —, and i always have to clear my glasses after reading your works because they get covered in dried little tear dots from my eyelashes, and what im saying is that im excited to do so again. it sounds stupid. thank you for sharing your work, im incredibly excited to see you unravel the narrative knot into heartstrings. yellowocaballero going to ascend to moirahood on national tv in 2035, keep your eyes peeled, everyone!

anyway sorry for blabbering so much i hope this didn't come across as comparing (though you'd be better obviously) i just crack up every time i think that you got around to writing naruto fic when that arc dropped. the timing is great. prophets of the new age receiving a beam of light telling us about personal growth and lifted jesus allegations. if i ever see you writing fic for honkai star rail or genshin or whatever it's going to be both too soon and the greatest thing i've ever read in that fandom. stay funny (not an obligation or a threat, you can be unfunny if you want, but i don't think the universe prepared for that opportunity. it'd flop into itself like a wet tissue)

Oh, literally I downloaded Star Rail because I was interested in some of the stuff I heard about it. Played it a little and never picked it back up again. I should, I'm just awful about phone games! Not ADHD enough. Maybe I can watch a playthrough...?

I love nice life parallelism. I do think the themes of "the bad guy wants everyone to be happy" is inherently kind of interesting, because it inherently raises a lot of questions - why is he a bad guy, if he wants to be good? What about his plan makes him a bad guy instead of a good guy? What delineates a bad and good guy, anyway? How did this guy get so turned around that he thought badness was good? If handled well, it's inherently a rich character. If badly, then it's just kind of nonsensical and goes against its own messaging.

The "well, the bad guy is right, but since he kills people about it that invalidates his own point" approach is always boring and conformist, but it can be surprisingly hard to shake. I don't think Obito, Madara, and the Ame 3 are 'bad guys who are right morally but with bad methods' - I think they're good people who are so deformed by their world that a hugely destructive evil scheme is the closest they know how to come to goodness. By that logic, Obito had to be written as...deformed. Very much so. But that was what made him so interesting to explore. How do you un-deform that? Is that even possible? When we put him on the good guy team, is he genuinely a good guy who overcame his warped nature, or is he just a warped person doing good guy things? FWIW, I think a big difference between the HSR character and Obito is that what Obito can't partake of this Eden because he thinks of himself as somebody who's far too late to save (also, isn't God/Jesus all about Free Will?)(Calvinists DNI).

I don't think this story gets too sad...it's just too nuts...but, of course, you have to feel sorry for Obito. He wants to change the system that ruined him, but as the evil created by that system he still can't fully see the very important thing that he's missing. We've seen him shy away from the thought already - if only a perfect world can create good people, how the hell do you explain Naruto? As the reader, we want him to be helped. We continue reading in the hope that he will be helped. Thanks for the ask, I really should find some way to consume HSR.

[raisinchallah]

you know still thinking of this eighth doctor fan artist on deviantart who like when i was 13 and just getting into doctor who i looked at all their doctor who art but they drew a lot of eighth doctor stuff and i literally thought the eighth doctor fandom was like some kind of collective hallucination where everyone agreed upon these characters and events on deviantart or other such websites and had fun with their paper dolls cuz they loved the movie that much

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S06E08

Another good episode. As a disclaimer, I’ve had a pretty specific idea of how this episode should be like, so I went in a little bit negatively predisposed. Also, these aren't in order. Sorry.

I remember the dead guy. He was in the episode with Meghan Ory’s character, the first one of the two.

“He’s dead. Are you happy?” Calm down, ma’am, you’re giving him reasons to be stupidly self-sacrificing.

Joe: Charlie no. Charlie: Charlie yes.

“We’re going to transfer all the inmates I’ve arrested out of the prison.” You’ll… what… now?

“I’ll find your killer and get rid of your drug problem”. And also fix your plumbing (oh, wait), clean your laundry, and create a gourmet menu for your prison.

Okay they did find a good reason for Rex to be in there. I'd still have preferred Charlie alone in prison and Rex investigating on the outside.

I hate this hairstyle. There, I said it. However, it’s more fitting to prison inmate Chuck than what Charlie has had all season so far as a cop. Which has actually been tolerable as an image despite not fitting the character, and I refuse to spend more time on that because I keep seeing it being commented on and when this keeps happening, I feel bad.

I think I know the actor who plays Charlie’s prison bunkmate but I can’t place him.

Charlie displayed a lot of badassery in this episode. Also, I think John Reardon did some good work acting wise in this one.

Charlie said “I love you”, “babe”, “you’re the hottest woman I’ve ever seen”, “sweetheart” to Sarah, and all of that while he was undercover in prison and through the phone??? Who do I talk to about this? How was there not a better moment for this? It’s like they wanted to throw these words out in the open in the least romantic way possible.

The way I hate “babe” and yet every single couple I ship is using it… They’re lucky I’ve been desensitized since Castle.

And Sarah’s facepalm on the other end lmao. It’s obviously not the first “I love you” at least. I wonder what she calls him.

I liked the instrumental music for the prison scenes. It was very much on point.

Damn, they put him in solitary for 24 hours. This couldn’t have awakened any claustrophobic feelings from a) the freezer b) the cave collapse, c) the coffin he was buried in d) the containers that almost turned him into a pancake? Come on, guys. Also, do they or do they not have solitary in Canada? It can’t keep changing according to the season.

Sarah worried because her idiot almost died in prison. Charlie finally (I might pass out) having a moment of weakness? Saying that he misses Sarah and Rex? I did not think I'd live to see it.

Jesse saying that they'd pull out Charlie if it gets too dangerous… This is way too optimistic. Realistically, he would have gotten shivved before anyone could do anything about it.

Rex totally wanted to maul that guy for injuring Charlie. Once again, why can’t we see him baring his teeth? German shepherds have scary canine teeth, they’re not just cute and cuddly.

I liked Joe as a guard. And interrogating the suspect, getting a bit handsy with him.

Detective Jesse Mills. Doing interrogations. Detecting lol

Bringing back a bad guy from S1? Interesting choice. I barely remember the guy. And wasn’t that episode like a collective fandom hallucination or something? When Charlie mentioned the guy had killed a kid I was like, oh so we haven’t seen that case. That’s how much I don’t remember that episode.

“Lots can change in that time” Charlie, you’re squeaky clean, bud. You tried to be “bad” in S4 and lasted for like four minutes.

Also, in every show I’ve seen, once a cop enters prison, no one cares whether he’s a disgraced cop. They’d want to kill him either way.

Either they shot the scenes of the prison yard in one day or it was raining all the days they had those scenes. Very gloomy weather, it added a bit of extra grime to the episode.

“Do you want to read the letters with me?” Absolutely not. He wants to go back home, hug his girlfriend and have a hot shower to wash the prison off of him. Maybe this all happened off screen already. I don’t care. I didn’t see it so it didn’t happen.

I liked the episode. It didn’t go my way at all but it’s understandable. I wanted some more danger towards the end, as people were catching on to the fact that Charlie was a cop. Also, Charlie had way too much communication with the team, I know it doesn’t make sense for me to not want that, but it also doesn’t make sense for an undercover cop in prison to be able to be in touch with almost every member of his team throughout the episode. Did I want a Charlie and Sarah scene in the end? Absolutely.

Promo: That is a pretty lame promo for what should be a character centric episode. It looks like a complete filler, devoid of character moements. I hope it will be a character centric episode and not a filler NCIS episode (because Navy). Hopefully it’s just lousy promo editing and not a lousy episode. Interesting choice for Charlie’s dad. And I know people might hate me for this, but I’ll say it anyway. I did prompt a few storylines to an AI model about Charlie facing off his dad, and the AI would always, always have his dad call him Charles. Fucking hell.

There’s no way Sarah is not meeting Charlie’s dad, right? I need to be reassured.

Dude seems so dismissive of Rex that I hope Rex bites him. He should be allowed to bite family members who are being assholes.

[lifmera]

hi hi!! hope your doing well! i’d like to ask for a romantic hazbin hotel match up! i’m gender-fluid masculine presenting and i use all pronouns, and i don’t have a gender preference! 

My MBTI is ISTP but most people perceive me as a ENTP. i am quite tall, around six feet. i have a strong sense of right and wrong and justice, and i care deeply for others, but i often act reckless and loud because i don’t want to be taken advantage of for my kindness.

i really like being around people, and i like helping others in any way i can, i can be quite selfless at times but i know when to be stern to protect myself.  i am quite social but i suffer from some mental illness, specifaclly bipolar and schizophrenia so it can make it quite hard to understand and connect with others and the world around me.

i am autistic and i often stim a lot by flapping my hands and moving my arms around. i have a lot of different interests, i really like silly things like clowns i think they are awesome and i really like fictional media, i also like collecting toys like my little pony, it makes me feel really happy!

i have a couple hobbies, i really like shopping a lot, i find it to be super fun, i also like writing and drawing, and i’m getting into software engineering! i also like listening to music, i listen to a wide range of genres but my favorites are breakcore, indie folk, glitch core and basically anything that is loud tbh 😭 

i am often disconnected mentally from the world around me, so i sometimes have psychosis and hallucinations, i take medication for it and it works well but i still have episodes sometimes, it really helps having someone to ground me back into reality.

i really like bonding over interests with others and getting people into the stuff i like, i also love listening to others talk about things they like. i have really bad memory so i often forget important things but i try my best.

best way to describe my style i guess would be older brother core 😭??? idk but basically i wear comfy oversized clothes like silly t- shirts with cats on them and pj pants with cartoon characters on them and silly character beanies. 

i really like being shown love by getting gifts and people doing actions of service for me, i kind of have trust issues so it’s hard to believe someone when it’s just words and not actions.

i am super chaotic i love saying unhinged things and just being very loud it’s very fun for me, i like jokingly threatening to eat people  😭 i also often type in all caps.

i am in a lot of obscure fandoms and i LOVE nerding out about my interests! 

sorry if this is a lot 😭 but thank you so much!!

AHHH THE ONE I HAD DELETED 🥲

Hi hun!! This is completely fine!!

I’ve paired you with…. ANGEL DUST!!

When angel first met you, he definitely thought you were super attractive, and decided to hit on you!

But when he got closer to you, he really realized that he was starting to develop feelings 🩷

At first he was super drawn in by your reckless personality, but when you showed your true kind self- he fell in love.

With your sense of Justice especially… when he saw how you treated Valentino… and GENUINELY truly cared about him? It broke down his walls and let you into his heart.

He definitely introduced you to Cherri and you all became BESTIES. They would totally drag you around to parties and such and socialize ! You guys are the LIVES of the party.

If you confided in him about the mental illness and autism, he definitely would ask a BUNCH of questions to understand you more, and also try not to offend you.

He’d also try to help you through your episodes. He knows he isn’t the best comforter, but he tries. :(

If you told him your special interests he’d bolt out the door with you to do those things! Like clowns? LULU LAND!

Collectors Items? THE STORE!!!!

Angel would love to do some of your hobbies with you. Shopping? You guys are staying out ALL DAY. Writing? You better read whatever it is to him. Listening to music? SINGING YOUR HEARTS OUT!

Honestly, he’d probably judge your outfit choice, until he decided to steal your outfit one day, and realized how comfortable it is??

He totally steals ur clothes at night.

Angel would agree with you !! Actions speak louder than words, kinda why he’s at the hotel! Although he’s always pretty sexual, I think he’d be a sweetheart.

The chaotic nature is what brought him in! You guys are always having fun.

He would also LOVE TO listen to you rant 24/7. Even if he cant get into your interests, he’d try. And he’d always listen. It helps him get away from the world.

~~~

I HOPE THIS WAS OKAY?!!

[stellerssong]

WKFJSA your WIP Wednesday post is an absolute delight to read, thank you 😂😂😂 can I hear a bit more about #6 and perhaps persuade you to share a snippet if I ask very very nicely?

i'm glad to hear it! the thing i have really missed about being on tumblr is being fucking sillygoofy about my own fic. you have to be an adult in the comments, y'know, and there's only so much room in an author's note for Japes and Goofs when you have to make time to outline non-tag warnings and link song attributions and thank your prompter and/or beta and flash an In Tonight's Performance The Role Of X Will Be Played By card as necessary and—

anyway.

#6 was indeed begun in my evernote drafts while waiting for the Fall Out Boy concert to begin and slowly sinking under a dose of unprescribed downers. i think maybe Pat Stump and Pete Wentz are not good at writing, like, "music"—many of those melodic lines are 100% reliant on "i have the range, stamina, and lack of understanding of what constitutes healthful singing of 23-year-old Patrick Stump" in order to function—but some of their word salad lyrics do make great titles, and except to dream sweet of me was kind of a banger from first principles. but then i was like "oh maybe this is my chance to drop while you're orbiting, might i? a potential fic title i've been holding in reserve for a few years now." but THEN i was like "in the spirit of continuing to tick boxes on my nonexistent List Of Languages I've Used For A Fic Title, and also in the spirit of what actually happens in the fic, why not trína chéile, le chéile, claochlaithe?" vote now on your phones!

okay but what is the fic actually ABOUT. right. what the fic is actually ABOUT is, i believe @tickldpnk8 commented on suffer that hurt that they wanted to see Lucienne tell Dream about her "pleasant" "conversation" with Desire, and to know how that would go. for my part, i didn't want to end revisionsverse without at least one more tender moment between Dream and Luce, because as much as i joke about this being the "Dream talks to all the women in his life au," the Danny/Luce relationship is really the heart of the thing. i also wanted there to be some reciprocity for Luce's courage in suffer that hurt (and during the years of Morpheus' captivity).

something that i think is not super important to fandom at large, but which is very important to ME, is the acknowledgement of female characters of color's emotional labor—not just "wow! you are so girlboss and yass kween and Greta Gerwig Barbie, just like we always knew you were!" but like, "you were brave and strong and i know you didn't really have a choice, but it matters that you endured, let me help you hold that for a while. i see you and i love you." it's the seeing that matters the most to me. not the assumption that She's Always Got It In Her, not the unbroken fortitude, but the acknowledgement of the person underneath. and like, Luce has seen the person underneath all of Dream's competing positionalities so much in this series—has helped shape that person for the reader in a lot of very real ways—so i wanted to get Dream looking back at her, through his own eyes, and showing us the person he loves.

"okay but i'm asking what HAPPENS in the fic. what is the PLOT" THEY CUDDLE IN BED WHILE DREAM CASUALLY HAS A SERIES OF VIVID HALLUCINATIONS. THIS IS A NORMAL DATE NIGHT FOR THEM.

“Where are you now, love?” You are drifting weightless and silent through the soft-edged dreams of a floating cnidarian, the constant pulse-pulse-pulse of your meandering path through space the only defining line between your body, your mind, and the vast careless collective of the open ocean— —and you are stalking along at the side of one of the lesser nightmares as it pursues a child through an alien, twilit forest, tasting fear-sweat smeared over the flat violet plane of a teardrop-shaped leaf, marking the depth of footprints in the leaf-litter, listening for panting breath and for the impact of a small body against the ground as your quarry stumbles for the final time— —and you are stone, molten and white-hot, the burning heart at the core of a newly formed planet which dreams of cooling rains and columns of cloud and the first trembling breath of a living thing that might one day tread the ground of you, the world of you— “I am here with you.” “Well, I know that’s not true,” Lucienne says with a sleepy chuckle. “Or not entirely, anyway.”

[jiangzongzhu]

fun thing that folks really apparently don’t want to acknowledge if we’re discussing canon Jiang Cheng and the thing I think people are truly failing to grasp in regards to fans of his and why they care about him. His actions throughout the story repeatedly, over and over again, belied his words. Yes, he has a harsh exterior that is used as an armor against this world that repeatedly took everything from him. He uses words as a weapon at times, but his actions say everything his words don’t.

Additionally, he fucks up. He doesn’t always do the right thing, but that’s the thing about MDZS, not a damn one of these characters were in the right 100% of the time. But he cares and he works hard to do what is right by his sect and his family and yes, at times, those two groups come in conflict and he makes tough decisions because of that, but regardless he still repeatedly shows his love.

And it may take an additional time through the story to see that, but the narrative supports that fact time and time again despite the fact that Wei Wuxian as the protagonist doesn’t see it (but their struggles in communicating and understanding one another’s actions and intentions is a whole different discussion).

And that’s not even mentioning the whole plethora of cultural context that is being ignored, but again. different discussion.

[onstoryladders]

who's calling us delusional come out i just wanna talk

Y'all talk about people who want gramblack endgame as if we're some delusional shippers pushing an unreasonable and baseless agenda and it doesn't sit well with me. GramBlack were the secondary ship in the novel. They were the only other romantic ship in the novel. Their relationship with each other was an integral part of both of their character arcs. Gram's love for him is important for Black's growth. And it's not like the show hadn't been hinting at Gram's crush on Black like the book had before suddenly switching gears and pushing him to Eugene halfway through the show.

Eugene who doesn't like him romantically. Who sees him only as a friend. Whom he doesn't seem to have any romantic chemistry with. It just feels like Pat thinking he still likes Ing all over again imo. There's no romance there just confused feelings. So why am I and other gramblack shippers being called delusional for believing that a canon mlm ship will not be erased for no legitimate reason?

Not Me fandom makes no sense to me sometimes y'all are wack.

[whumptober]

Whumptober 2020 - Updated

Welcome to Whumptober 2020! We’re doing things a little differently this year so please make sure to read the Event Info carefully. We are also excited to announce the addition of an AO3 Collection, which can be found here.

We hope you’re as excited as us to watch the Whump Community come together once again for a month of bone-crunching creativity and collaboration!

(All 31 Themes + Prompts, Event Information, and FAQs are posted below the cut!)

No 1. LET'S HANG OUT SOMETIME Waking Up Restrained | Shackled | Hanging

No 2. IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY  "Pick Who Dies" | Collars | Kidnapped

No 3. MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY Manhandled | Forced to their Knees | Held at Gunpoint

No 4. RUNNING OUT OF TIME Caged | Buried Alive | Collapsed Building

No 5. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? On the Run | Failed Escape | Rescue

No 6. PLEASE.... "Get it Out" | No More | "Stop, please"

No 7. I'VE GOT YOU Support | Carrying | Enemy to Caretaker

No 8. WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO? "Don't Say Goodbye" | Abandoned | Isolation

No 9. FOR THE GREATER GOOD "Take Me Instead" | "Run!” | Ritual Sacrifice

No 10. THEY LOOK SO PRETTY WHEN THEY BLEED Blood Loss | Internal Bleeding | Trail of Blood

No 11. PSYCH 101 Defiance | Struggling | Crying

No 12. I THINK I'VE BROKEN SOMETHING Broken Down | Broken Bones | Broken Trust

No 13. BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT Delayed Drowning | Chemical Pneumonia | Oxygen Mask

No 14. IS SOMETHING BURNING? Branding | Heat Exhaustion | Fire

No 15. INTO THE UNKNOWN Possession | Magical Healing | Science Gone Wrong

No 16. A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY Forced to Beg | Hallucinations | Shoot the Hostage

No 17. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING Blackmail | Dirty Secret | Wrongfully Accused

No 18. PANIC! AT THE DISCO Panic Attacks | Phobias | Paranoia

No 19. BROKEN HEARTS Grief | Mourning Loved One | Survivor's Guilt

No 20. TOTO, I HAVE A FEELING WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE Lost | Field Medicine | Medieval

No 21. I DON'T FEEL SO WELL Chronic Pain | Hypothermia | Infection

No 22. DO THESE TACOS TASTE FUNNY TO YOU? Poisoned | Drugged | Withdrawal

No 23. WHAT’S A WHUMPEE GOTTA DO TO GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE? Exhaustion | Narcolepsy | Sleep Deprivation

No 24. YOU’RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE Forced Mutism | Blindfolded | Sensory Deprivation

No 25. I THINK I’LL JUST COLLAPSE RIGHT HERE, THANKS Disorientation | Blurred Vision | Ringing Ears

No 26. IF YOU THOUGHT THE HEAD TRAUMA WAS BAD... Migraine | Concussion | Blindness

No 27. OK, WHO HAD NATURAL DISASTERS ON THEIR 2020 BINGO CARD? Earthquake | Extreme Weather | Power Outage

No 28. SUCH WOW. MANY NORMAL. VERY OOPS. Accidents | Hunting Season | Mugged

No 29. I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR Intubation | Emergency Room | Reluctant Bedrest

No 30. NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? Wound Reveal | Ignoring an Injury | Internal Organ Injury

No 31. TODAY’S SPECIAL: TORTURE Experiment | Whipped | Left for Dead

Alternate Prompt List

Alt 1. Punctured

Alt 2. Falling

Alt 3. Comfort

Alt 4. Stitches

Alt 5. Stoic Whumpees

Alt 6. Altered States

Alt 7. Found Family

Alt 8. Adverse Reactions

Alt 9. Memory Loss

Alt 10. Nightmares

Alt 11. Presumed Dead

Alt. 12. Water

Alt. 13 Accidents

Alt. 14 Shot

Alt. 15 Carry/Support

Event Info

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 Official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. They are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don't have to include the exact wording into your work). Additionally, there are 3 prompts for each theme.  These are optional suggestions and can be used in conjunction with the theme, or as options/alternatives.  We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks.

Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, and photo/video/audio edits. Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag the with:

#whumptober2020 …..(the event tag)

#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(theme number)

#bruised, #stabbed,  …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)

#fandom or #OC

#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)

#teeth, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Keep in mind not to add “tw” in front but only use the word/trigger itself, because tumblr sucks)

#nsfw, #nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)

PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober2020​ blog. They must be tagged in the order above.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.

Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month.

Questions not addressed below can be directed to this blog as well.

Thanks for reading, and happy whumping!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What kind of content can I make? Can it be NSFW?

This is a MIXED MEDIA event! You can write fic, post meta, doodle or paint, create a gif set or photo edit, link a song, or get crafty with video - anything goes. As for NSFW, make what you like, we just hope that you’ll tag your work accordingly so that others participating in the event can stay safe :)

Q. Do I have to do all 31 Days? Can I post early/late?

Participate as much or little as you like, and post whenever! Just be sure to tag your posts properly (ex. #no.11, #psych101). Combining prompts into one piece of work is okay, and posting late is as well so as long as it’s in October.

Q. What if I don’t understand a theme?

Send us an ask! We’re happy to help clarify. That said, the themes are entirely up for interpretation :)

Q. Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges?

Absolutely! That’s like shooting two whumpees with one bullet :)

Q. Can I upload/repost my whumptober content to other social media platforms?

Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there. The archive can be accessed here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the boundaries of any closeted whumpers in your social circle :)

Q. Can I use prompts to write a new chapter for an existing fic?

Yes

Q. An existing fic I am currently writing contains many of the Whumptober prompts, can I use it?

If you are actively writing this fic at the moment with the whumptober prompts in mind, yes. If it just conveniently checks the boxes, then please don’t. You can, however, add new chapters answering one or more of the prompts.

Q. What kind of characters can I write for?

Fandom characters, OC characters, human, furry, alien, cyborg, whoever you like.

Q. Can I use a prompt multiple times?

Yes,  but it only counts once

Q. If I’m not comfortable with one day's prompts can I use a prompt of a different day as a substitute and still be a completionist?

Yes, but please do not use a specific prompt twice. We have also created an alternate prompts list that you can draw from [here].

Q. Where can I post my work?

Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive.

Q. Can I start posting early?

You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? That being said, you can post early, but we won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st.

Q. Do I have to finish a fic I started/can I post WIP’s.?

Yes you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish it in October for it to count towards being a completionist.  

Q. Is co-writing allowed?

Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you :)

Q. Do I have to create 31 standalone pieces to be considered a completionist or can I write one continuous story?

One continuous story is fine.  The challenge is to write something for 31 prompts. If that’s spread over 31 fics or just one, you are still considered a completionist. (The same goes for every other media you choose.)

Q. Is there a min/max limit on word count?

There is no limit

Q. Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?

No limit and combine as many as you’d like.

Q. Is a hc/angst focus ok?

Of course!

Q. What’s considered nsfw?

See this post

Q. What's whump?

See this post

Q. My interpretation of the prompt isn't whumpy at all, does that count?

No, sorry, but keep in mind that whump [see definition] is something very nuanced and different for everyone and emotional whump/angst is just as much part of it, as is physical whump and torture. So before you dismiss your idea, think about this.

Q. Can I start working on the prompts before October?

Absolutely! That’s why we posted the prompts a month in advance. We recognise how difficult it can be creating for 31 days in “real time”.

Q. How do I tag triggers?

tw at the end of the word, ex. emeto tw

Q. Do I have to use your tags?

Yes, if you want your work archived on the blog. If not, feel free to use whatever tags you want.  

Q. Does combining prompts count towards completion?

Yes

Q. Can we @ you?

Yes but we mostly rely on the whumptober2020 tag

Q. Is there anything we are absolutely not allowed to write?

There are no rules, just be sure to properly tag your trigger warnings. And keep in mind Tumblr’s policies if you are posting it here (or the policies of whatever site you use).

Q. Where can I go for brainstorming help?

Here on Discord

Q. My characters are minors, is that ok?

Yes, but as with everything else, tags are your best friend.

Q. Can I cross post on other blogs?

Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable. You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once.

Note: This is a creation challenge, please don’t repost your old work under our tags (unless it’s been changed or edited for the event).

[the-insomniac-emporium]

thoughts on Bela///Donna?

What a lovely can of worms you've placed in my inbox, dear nonnie. I cannot wait to open it and lose followers (regardless of what I actually say).

Since this is, uh, a subject of some debate among RE8 fans, I will be inputting my thoughts on the idea of the ship (and the possible controversy), as opposed to doing HCs or something for it (which I recognize might be what you were asking for, despite the excessive /s).

This is all based on my playthroughs of the game, as well as what I've managed to double check on the fandom/wiki for it. I know that a lot of people who read fanfic for the game haven't actually played it, likely having been lured in by Tall Vampire Milf, and so I hope that some people will be open to a reminder of, like, canon vs fanon? I've mentioned in a previous post that there's a lot of details for RE8 that are not made clear, and I feel the need to reiterate that in this post. Capcom left a lot of stuff up to people's imaginations, or kind of just hinted at in game or in concept art.

But more importantly, regardless of what game we're talking about, regardless of the conclusion I come to (and the one you come to) at the end of this post, I want to say that I absolutely understand the need/desire to have your own perspective/take on the characters from the game, as well as their dynamics. If a ship makes you uncomfortable because you see the characters as being family members, it's totally okay. Block the ship tag, or filter it out when you look through fandom stuff, don't follow people who post for it, etc, etc.

If you think of characters as being family-family (like, not just "we got married and are now a family" but, like, "we're siblings/parent and child") and still ship them? uh. sorry, bruv, maybe think of hitting that unfollow button. No, seriously, hit that unfollow button. This blog is anti-incest, thank you very much.

The last thing I'll say before putting it under a read-more (for both length and major RE8 spoilers) is that I recognize that I might have missed something, either in game or developers talking about things on social media, and so if you read through this and go "god, J, you're such a dumbass for forgetting *critical piece of media*" or even just "okay but have you seen *small but meaningful piece of media*?" please. Just. Please. Tell me. Link me to that shit. I WANT to know if I'm wrong. I've literally avoided talking about this for as long as I could in order to TRY and make sure I have all the context I need.

With that said, let's examine what context we are given for Alcina Dimitrescu, Bela Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, and their relations to each other. I will be leaving my personal thoughts on Bela///Donna at the very end of this, as somewhat of a conclusion, somewhat of just a "hey, this is what you technically asked me about".

Firstly, let me begin by explaining what I consider to be the 3 tiers of "canon"

In-Game/Direct: The highest, truest tier, the definitive canon. This is everything that takes place in game, excluding certain hallucination scenes (ex: Mia was not really in House Beneviento, but we can infer some things from what Donna made Ethan hallucinate about). Things either happen, or are directly stated by characters. There's some wiggle room for dialogue, as characters can lie, but overall we, as the audience, assume we are being told the truth. At the very least, games usually eventually make it clear when a character has been dishonest. Examples of Direct Canon include the following: Ethan is infected with the mold, Lady Dimitrescu drinks blood, Heisenberg wears sunglasses, Mother Miranda can shapeshift.

Concept Art/Developer's Notes/Indirect: Mid-tier and debatable, the "we think, but we're not sure" of canon. Resident Evil: Village contains lots of concept art that the players can browse through, all of which include notes from the developers about the game, characters, environments, and story. Sometimes the notes make something "direct", but oftentimes they do not specify whether the listed idea is still canon or if it was removed during development. This tier also includes information that is implied/can be inferred from tier 1 information, but is not directly stated. Examples of Indirect Canon include the following: Donna's mother died by suicide, Moreau was going to have his lover fused to his back, Duke was originally a fifth lord, Heisenberg was going to have a twin. As you can see, not all of the concept art ideas made it into the final version of the game, so it can be hard when some information seems like it might still be true (such as the matter of Donna's parents).

Fanon/"False": Sometimes collective ideas in a fandom become so widespread that people start interpreting them as actual canon. Sometimes it gets hard to remember what's just obscure lore and what's fanon. When we get a piece of fiction as overall vague as a lot of Resident Evil: Village is, there's bound to be some confusion over time. That's one of the main reasons I waited to talk about Bela////Donna until after I had recently replayed relevant sections of the game, as I wanted to remind myself of what we're actually told. Examples of False Canon are difficult to pinpoint, but might include things like: Hufflepuffs are good at finding things? The Avengers got along for awhile and all had their own rooms in the tower? There's a number scale for the danger level of ghosts in Danny Phantom?

For this post, I will be limiting the majority of my notes to the first two levels of canon, and will do my best to mark them as such. Now... let us... begin.

Alcina Dimitrescu:

Born no later than 1914, Alcina Dimitrescu was 44 years old when she was granted the Cadou by Mother Miranda. (1st Tier: Canon. Source: A note in the castle basement from a servant is dated 1958, and mentions both Alcina and her children. Secondly, Miranda's experiment notes state that Alcina was the 181st subject, and was given the Cadou at age 44. By doing math, we can then determine the earliest Alcina could have been born.)

Alcina refers to the other Lords as her family once without any disdain (when Ethan first arrives at the castle and is caught, Alcina says "you've escaped my little brother"). In a private journal (located near where she threw the infamous vanity) she insults the other Lords, and expresses anger that she is "treated like a sister to them". She argues with Heisenberg without any hesitation, and seems honest in her hatred of him (per Maggie Robertson's wunderbar performance). (1st Tier/2nd Tier: Canon with a sprinkle of interpretation for the last line)

Alcina openly refers to Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela as her daughters, and wrote in her experiment journal that she felt instantly connected to them (as mother and daughters). (1st Tier: Canon).

Bela Dimitrescu:

Likely born in the 1930's or 1940's, in order to be an adult by 1958 (the first dated appearance of the Dimitrescu daughters). (2nd Tier: Based on inference)

Dialogue shows that all three of the daughters do love their mother, and reinforces the bond Alcina's journal mentions. (1st Tier: Canon)

We are not given any information about how Bela feels about the other Lords, or even what she knows about them. Once can assume that she shares the ideas of her mother, either because Alcina tells her things directly, or because Bela (who is eager to please her mother) picks up on them over time. (2nd Tier: Based on inference)

Donna Beneviento:

No idea when she was born. If you've read one of my recent posts, then you know that it's almost entirely a matter of 2nd and 3rd tier canon.

Of the four lords, Donna seems to have the most story within the 2nd tier, and has very, very little in the 1st tier. Duke says she's somewhat isolated, and that her "playmates" never leave the house. Miranda's notes state that Donna is mentally ill, and the gardener's diary states/implies (bit of both) that Donna has severe social anxiety. (1st/2nd Tier: Mostly canon)

Supposedly, her parents committed suicide while she was still a child. This is indicated in concept art/the attached developer's notes. However, the only part that's also directly stated in game is that her parents (specifically her father) died while she was young. (1st/2nd Tier: Mostly canon)

While Donna only has one voice line in the game (and it's sad), Angie talks a fair bit. Angie seems to disapprove of the other Lords, or at the very least enjoys mocking them, as well as enjoys watching them fight with each other. As Angie is connected to Donna, and Donna has some level of control over her, one can assume that the two have similar (if not the same) opinions. (1st/2nd Tier: Mostly Canon)

Donna was adopted by Mother Miranda as an adult. It's unclear exactly how old Donna was, or what exactly Miranda did as her "mother", just that Donna was excited about it. (1st Tier: Canon)

Other Relevant Information:

Heisenberg refers to the other Lords as his siblings a minimum of 1 time. Similarly to Alcina, however, he openly insults them and seems to hate them. He just, you know, hates Mother Miranda the most. (1st Tier: Canon)

Mother Miranda does not actually give a shit about the four Lords, intended for them to die before the ceremony, and has been manipulating them for her own gain this entire time. Her notes and dialogue make it clear that she only cares about getting Eva back. Somehow mother of the year and worst mother ever. At the same time. (1st/2nd Tier: Mostly Canon)

It's unclear who treats Alcina "like a sister" to the other Lords. Were there cut lines of dialogue that cemented the idea of them being a "family"? Did Miranda call them a "family" as part of pretending she cared about them? I've done my best to dig around, but there's very little in game that treats them as a family of any sort.

As each Lord ruled their own section of the region, they don't have any mentions of interacting with each other outside of meetings with Mother Miranda. None of the notes for any Lord (and their relevant experiments) mention what the others are doing. In game, their environments are very separate, very well divided, though this is likely as much for gameplay as it is for story.

Conclusion:

I do not not believe there is enough in game evidence to suggest that Alcina and Donna consider themselves to be siblings. There's the possibility for a large age gap, Alcina was a fair bit older than Donna when she met Miranda, Donna is a social recluse whose closest bonds were with dead blood relatives and dolls, Alcina openly dislikes (if not hates) the other Lords, they seemingly lived very separate and distanced lives, and Mother Miranda does not enforce the idea of "family". Furthermore, the sheer contrast between how Alcina interacts with/speaks of the other Lords compared to how she interacts with/speaks of her daughters says a lot about her feelings. Even if Heisenberg takes the brunt of her anger, Alcina never once says anything remotely positive about anyone other than Miranda and her daughters.

As Alcina/Bela and Donna are not blood-relatives, the definition of what would count as "incest" does vary depending on who you ask. Personally, I do count non-blood relations as potentially incestuous. For example: Alcina "dating" one of her daughters would be incest, regardless of the fact that she's a mutated human and her daughters are weird swarms of flies.

Now, I do understand how popular the idea of the four Lords being a real, chaotic but still close family is. And as I mentioned above, it's totally valid to not like the Bela///Donna ship, whether it's because you think they're family or some other reason. I don't personally see them that way, even in my definitely-not-canon stories.

Do I personally ship Bela///Donna? Nope. Have I liked art for the ship? Admittedly yes, even if I thought some of it was, like, maiden x Bela because Donna didn't have her veil and I'm a DUMBASS who doesn't always remember to read tags. Would I ever write for it? Yeah, probably, assuming I didn't miss anything in game/that I don't eventually change my mind.

[merlinmyrddin]

It came to my intention that no-one even remember her by her name.

So here she is :

More commonly known as :

"aaaaaah that bitch!"

The best thing about the Merlin fandom is that none of us even acknowledge Eira's existence and it brings me joy

[buglife]

My Favorite Fic Tropes Ever

AKA the things I stay up late at night searching for on AO3 lol

To be added on whenever

Fandoms mentioned/talked about (Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, Undertale, Hollow Knight, Red vs Blue, Harry Potter, A Hat in Time, MLP:FIM, Fallout, Metalocalypse, Team Fortress 2, Pokemon, Mass Effect, Half Life / Half Life VR. Transformers. My fandoms are smoll lol.

1. When the most gentle idiot himbo character goes completely serious and outright fucks up the villain because they crossed an arbitrary line that exists in said gentle idiot's head. (Caboose is considered a joke but he ripped apart an entire army of texas bots by himself because he thought they were 'taxes')

2. When the annoying but lovable character gets seriously sick or injured to the point of nearly dying and it forces the gang to realize how much said character means to them and how much they would miss them if they were to die. Cue gang taking care of them through recovery and treating them better once they survive. (The Reds and Blues make fun of Caboose all the time...but they would change their tune in a hurry if something were to happen to him.)

3. When you figure out the horrible backstory of a character through listening to them ramble in their fever dreams/intense painkiller/blood loss induced hallucinations. (Giorno Giovanna is secretive but the gang figure out his fucked up childhood when he gets sick and starts rambling)

4. When everyone lives and nobody dies because I'm a fucking weenie and I cry easy so I like happy endings and fix it fics. (Quirrel and Tiso live goddamnit!)

5. When a shitty character gets called out for the shitty things they do in a piece of media when said media gives them 'the greater good' treatment. (Like srsly, fuck you Dumbledore. You let Harry stay in abusive household you dick. >:()

6. One person collects found family/friends like pokemon cards and lives with them all because they love them (Ghost has SO MANY FRIENDS crammed into Dirtmouth now lol.)

7. 'I have known this person for only a day, but if anything happens to them I will kill EVERYONE and then myself. Also "This Is MY KID NOW" (Bruno Bucciarati lets be real he is mom. We all also love Dadmaster Mato lets be real.)

8. Plausible backgrounds for characters that have little to no background known about them. (I stan the 'Caboose is a SPARTAN' theory until the day I die.)

9. The kids of Royals being MUCH BETTER than their shitty parents. (Looks at my Hollow Knight AU and sweats)

10. Baleful Polymorph. Give me someone that gets turned into a monster and can shapeshift and but give them friends. Bonus for critter instincts and behaviors but are untimely, a cinnamon roll. (That AHIT coffee shop au yes)

11. When someone gets lost in their head via panic attacks/ptsd/dissociation and does not recognize their pal/love and said person has to convince the other that they will be okay and that they are safe. (EVERY SINGLE FANDOM HAS THIS)

12. Supernatural AU. As in vampires and werewolves and ghosts and other creepy crawlies all being pals together. (Team Fortress 2 but all the mercs are different kind of monsters and supernatural beasties.)

13. The gang tries to celebrate/get through an actual holiday with varied results. (Everyone in Undertale in ONE HOUSE TRYING TO MAKE IT THROUGH A HOLIDAY.)

14. Lets Have Some Platonic Love And Affection Up In Here. (plz)

15. Behind the Scenes Aus where the characters are actors and there are outtakes while trying to 'film' the dramatic scenes. (Cause it helps soften the blow of canon character deaths and the like, my poor heart.)

16. Where Fridge Horror is explored and addressed in a relatively fluffy and unassuming show (My Little Pony: FIM. For real Luna on the moon for 1000 YEARS. ALONE.)

17. Worlds where I can easily self insert myself in and daydream/write about my own adventures and role playing purposes (Fallout and Pokemon for realzies)

18. Exploring the bad guy and their thought processes, or a bad guy that isn't really a bad guy and has always been on the fence, and not has to make a choice to take that step over the point of no return or make an effort to turn around and make a new life for themselves. (Transformers because there are probably Decepticons that Don't Want To Be Here.)

19. Everyone Now Has to Be Domestic cause someone needs to cook dinner and I burn water (Half Life VR)

20. Uh Oh! The team used to be just a team but now they are family and if you hurt one of our family members we will boil you alive (Metalocalypse)

21. Give me an excuse to flex on my love of (x) (Entomology and Hollow Knight for me lol)

Probably reblog more later but I wonder if these are some of your guy's favorites too!

[cyhyr]

Summer of Whump Day 19: Fear

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: G

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka

WC: ~1010

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Notes: I may be making up how the sharingan works for my own narrative benefit. Whatever.

A/N: A day late again I’m sorry! I did have this written yesterday, but I was at a LARP (our first live game in 16 months I missed my friends so much) and couldn’t post.

A/N 2: Inspo for this piece comes from this prompt from @whumpster-dumpster. Combo with my Bad Things Happen Bingo Board square: Supernatural Fear Inducer

~

Kakashi steps onto the windowsill of the Hokage’s office, looking at the room’s only occupant and giving a confused head tilt. “Yo, Iruka-sensei,” he says, getting the man’s attention. 

Selecting reports to be filed off of Tsunade’s desk, Iruka looks up and smiles at him. “Welcome back, Kakashi-sensei! Tsunade-sama stepped out for just a minute, if you’d like to wait?”

Kakashi nods and slips inside, shutting the window behind him. He sends out a ping of chakra to check for eavesdroppers and voyeurs. Finding no one nearby, he closes the space between him and Iruka and takes down his mask, dips his head, and catches Iruka’s lips in an I’m home kiss. 

Iruka turns into him, putting his arms around Kakashi’s shoulders and back, pulling him close. Kakashi also puts an arm around Iruka’s waist, deepening the kiss and licking into Iruka’s mouth. He swallows Iruka’s groan, and then pulls back after leaving one last chaste kiss on his cheek. 

“Nice to see you, too, Love,” Iruka says, breathless. 

“I have a present for you,” Kakashi says, pulling a scroll out of his vest and waving it in front of Iruka's nose. “Tsunade’ll want you to take a look at it and work your fūinjutsu magic—”

“It’s not magic,” Iruka laughs, and snatches the scroll out of Kakashi’s hand. They walk together over to the assistant desk along the opposite wall and unroll the scroll. The script is thick and the characters blur together, but Iruka looks at it silently for a few minutes. 

Kakashi pats Iruka’s shoulders and then walks around the office to look at the unfiled reports and information. He hears Iruka try a few hand seals and a, “kai,” and he turns back to his partner to see him grinning with the excitation of a good bit of fūinjutsu. What a nerd—he’s so in love with him.

“Oh!” Iruka performs a different sequence of seals and presses his hand to the scroll. A puff of smoke rises up from the scroll as the seal breaks. 

“You’re amazing,” Kakashi says, truly impressed as always. “What does it say?” 

“It doesn’t—it’s a cuff,” Iruka says, picking it up and turning around to face Kakashi. He turns the cuff over in his fingers, examining the gold and runes in the sunlight. Iruka looks up at Kakashi and freezes.

They’re still across the room from each other.

Kakashi is helpless but to watch as the cuff releases a menacing blue glow that wraps around Iruka’s wrist, then snakes up his arm, encircles his neck, and then back down the other arm and wrist. It happens quickly, fast enough that Kakashi can’t react beyond readying for an attack. The glow fades on his skin, and Iruka’s eyes flash the same color.

An attack doesn’t come.

At least, not... Not one he can fight.

Iruka’s eyes focus on a spot in the corner behind Kakashi, and he begins to tremble; fine tremors Kakashi wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t on high alert.

He reaches for his hitai-ate, ready to scan the room with the sharingan. “Iruka? Is everything—?”

Iruka shakes his head slowly. “I’m,” he won’t stop staring at that point just past Kakashi. He pales; Kakashi can see a fine sheen of sweat collecting at his hairline. “I think I’m hallucinating.”

Kakashi nods, relaxes a bit. “Would you like me to confirm?” he asks, gesturing to his eye. 

“Please, Kakashi,” Iruka says. His voice is soft, pleading, desperate—in all the wrong ways.

He looks over his shoulder, following Iruka’s gaze and flicks up his hitai-ate. The sharingan yanks at his chakra as it spins, but he sees nothing out of the ordinary in the room. He turns back to Iruka and—the cuff looks different through the sharingan, now the source of strangling strings of chakra that follow the path the blue glow had previously made around Iruka’s arms and neck.

Kakashi needs to get that cuff away from him, but they don’t know how bad this can get or what this is, really. But still, he needs, “Is it okay if I come closer to you?” He quickly continues, “You’re okay, there’s nothing there. I just would feel better if I could hold you. Is that alright?”

Iruka swallows hard. “I don’t know. I’d really appreciate it, but—”

“Whatever was released by that cuff, it's affecting you and we need to approach this with caution. I will not let you come to harm if I can help it.”

Iruka nods, once.

Kakashi approaches, his hands held out, palms up. He only gets two steps before Iruka is stammering, almost crying out, “Stop, stop, please, it’s angry, don’t—”

“I’ll back up, I’ll back up!” Kakashi says, taking a half step backwards. The chakra strings from the cuff look like they tightened, but Kakashi can’t be certain. 

Iruka is holding back tears but can’t look away from the spot in the corner. He’s still holding the cuff.

“Iruka, Love, can you put the cuff down?”

“No,” he whispers. “My hands won’t move. I’ve tried.”

Kakashi smiles briefly. Of course he had. 

“Can you describe what you see?” 

“I. No. I don’t, it’s constantly changing. I can’t—”

“That’s fine. Any idea when Tsunade-sama is due back?” Iruka shakes his head slowly. Kakashi then asks, “Do you trust me?”

The answer comes quickly. “Always, Kakashi.”

“Look at me.”

Iruka turns terrorized eyes to Kakashi for only a moment, and then darts back to the hallucination behind him. 

“Try to look only at me, Iruka.”

“It’s…” 

“I know, but it’ll be okay. We’ll fix this. You’re going to be back to being the scary one in the village in no time,” Kakashi tries to take a light tone. 

It doesn’t help, but it doesn’t hurt either.

“Just keep looking at me until it fades, or until Tsunade gets back. I won’t let it hurt you, I promise.”

“But what if it attacks you?” Iruka whimpers. “You can’t see it…”

“Then I’ll need you to be my eyes, hmm? We’re a team, aren’t we?”

“Kakashi I’m… I’m scared.”

“I’m scared for you, Love,” Kakashi admits. “But it’ll be okay. Just keep trying to look at me.”

Tsunade can’t get here fast enough.

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5 E10: The Pincushion Man - 5 Things I  Loved/ 3 things to consider

1. I love the fact that the actual makers of Riverdale have the same relationship with Jughead that a lot of the fanfic reading and writing fandom have with Jughead.  We all, collectively, enjoy his adorable traits - a gift for romantic gestures, devotion, resilience, bottomless kindness, courage, a sweet-spicy mix of feral anger and weepy softness. The point of Jughead for the makers seems to lie generally in taking things away from him, because he suffers in such an affecting, emotionally open way.   A lot of the fandom also revels in his pain and suffering.  Where the fandom differs from the makers, though, is that the fandom actively tries to give the nice things back to Jughead, and most of the Jughead intra-fandom arguments are about what that should be.

Which is to say, this midseason cliffhanger’s purpose was  to Take Things Away From Jughead.  Jughead starts this episode in a nice place (he’s housed at Archie’s, he’s got two stable jobs, he’s got some direction to his writing, he’s made a new friend, who is no less than the beautiful, kind, smart Tabitha). He ends it naked, out of his mind, bloody, alone in the woods and possibly summoned by aliens or rats or something, and his ex-NYC-girlfriend that he seems both afraid of and dislikes knows exactly where he lives.  He can’t even have a drug induced nostalgic sex dream stay a nice sex dream.

2. The Blossom altar and magick witchcraft whatever that was, was awesome.  I was HOOTING.  The Blossoms keep giving me so much to love.   This religion also has some sort of rosary or maybe it’s an offshoot of Catholicism? (Nana Rose totally looks like she’s praying using a rosary).  Everything about this - the pile of sage, Penelope Blossom’s crazed eyes, the fact that this table full of macabre stuff wasn’t just a display but an altar all this time, and the fact that THEY CAN SUMMON WITCH WIND filled me with joy.

3. I loved Betty stabbing Glen in the stomach.  Her antihero path continues - she is annoyed at having to make a cake each for the twins, you know, like, they’re not two separate people.  Asshole Aunty!  She uses tears and wiles to properly manipulate Charles, throws a knife at Chic (LOVED THIS TOO) and isn’t all that arsed about Charles being shot.  Like, Charles is shot in the chest (!) and Glen was stabbed in a way that she knew would miss organs, but the one Betty rushes to is GLEN and this seems like a strategic, calculating choice.

4.  I really LOVED, like, ADORED that Reggie’s way of trying to get the groves from Cheryl was to woo Nana Rose, and he wasn’t cheap about it either. Put on a silk tie, combed his hair back, and bought two dozen scarlet roses.  His full service smiling and winking with his handsome face, giving her some of his sexy young man energy was fabulous.  His willingness to set an entire forest on fire though was very disturbing.

5.  Things we learned about Jughead this episode were all very very interesting to me.  When he gets high he gets naked. . He dances around, which I just found so cute.  He has a really lovely chest tattoo - a big crown, a quill, and a bunch of roses. He likes bondage, with handcuffs. He is really scared of Jessica but also won’t refuse her advances even in hallucination.  He uses “being a Betty” as an insult, and it’s supposed to mean something to other people, and yet when his guard is down, he would have sex with Betty again in a second (I mean, fair. Have you seen her?).

3 things to think about 

a) So now we know that Archie was in Uzbekistan, and it’s like I’ve already said. It makes zero difference to this story, to know where he was.  Oh and just a funny bit - The reporter who calls Archie is named Sara Bellum = Cerebellum?  This cracked me up.

b) Neither Glen nor Jughead (!) understanding that actual people really don’t like it if you turn their lives into content under your name as a sole author if you don’t have prior permission is very amusing.    Like Glen seems to think Betty would be flattered by his delving into her entire family tree in this invasive way, and we’ve seen the Serpents’ reaction to however it is Jughead depicted them in his novel. 

c) I’m not sure why I hate Uncle Fucking Frank so much.   He’s constructed to be sort of sympathetic.  A nice enough looking, gruff, manly man, that Archie obviously likes and trusts on sight, who is on some sort of redemption arc from a dark past about which he feels very badly, and so on.  Like, normally, this type of character does not make me HATE them - feel bored by them because done to death, sure, but the level of vitriol I feel about Uncle Fucking Frank surprises me.  I WANT HIM DEAD.