#but there doesn't seem to be as much of an exploration of the breakdown of a longterm relationship as we thought there'd be

[icewindandboringhorror]

Lineup of all of the characters that appear long enough to need a visual representation of them in the game lol

[sequoiareachesforthesky]

Milgram fic idea: the prisoners are bored (as they always are) and they've already celebrated every holiday imaginable. So someone suggests doing a cross-dressing event for a change. Mahiru, Mikoto and Muu help everyone find the perfect fit (Mahiru sews half the clothes herself to make it look perfect).

A bunch of gender crisis ensue.

[showmethestarlight]

So I think my thoughts on The Tortured Poets Department are that I'm a little conflicted. I think it is a good album, the sound is a bit Midnights and folklore and evermore, which is a bit messy but it kind of works. I think it's more of a matter of which kind of albums you prefer for where it falls in your rankings but the albums that are mostly slow songs that stay at the same level/tempo aren't my favourites so this isn't my highest (I love Speak Now for example for songs like Haunted) but I still had a good time listening and I still had a few I liked a lot on the album. I liked the sound and storytelling of But Daddy I love Him, I think Florence and Taylor's voices are really good together on Florida!!! I liked My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys, and I loved the dark and deep atmospheric feeling of Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? And I thought Clara Bow got its message across really well. There are some songs I'm confused by and I think I'll need some time with to understand like Fortnight and Fresh out the Slammer and some odd little lyrics here and there that I think maybe could have been cut because they just felt out of place or unnecessary. And I just don't think I'll ever be much of a fan of Guilty as Sin? I think I like Cassandra but at the moment it feels too much like mad woman. I think those are all my thoughts so far, I probably need a few more listens to process everything.

[kenjakusbraincum]

Walls

Sukuna x Reader

A small addition to Vows

Synopsis: Two scenes exploring the first times reader and Sukuna respectively break down in the face of reader's terminal illness. Tags/Warnings: sick!gn!reader, master/pet dynamics, angst, hurt/comfort. (Chronologically takes place after reader and Sukuna talk about him taking new pets in the original fic!) Word count: 1.2k Author's note: This is probably as vulnerable as I'll ever write Sukuna :3

You tried to be strong. So long, so hard you tried to be untouchable. You knew sukuna hates weaklings. But you're in so much pain. You can barely swallow anything properly with how sore your throat is from the coughing. It takes so much out of you, physically and mentally, to pretend that this harrowing illness is nothing, and that you're somehow okay with it and ready to die. You're not. You don't want to die. You don't want this life that you've built with Sukuna to end. At least not as abruptly as it seems it will happen. One day you just can't pretend anymore.

Sukuna always asks if you're doing okay. He hopes that one day he'll hear you say yes. But you don't. You mutter a quiet no, and hope the topic would quickly. Not quickly enough. Because you break down crying. It starts small, your usual, timid little crying, but as you talk through it, the weight of your illness presses down on you like a rock - and you break. Loud, helpless. Hysterical bawling, the crying that leaves you breathless, the crying that drains you of everything you have and more.

And Sukuna doesn't know what to do - usually telling you to stop would work, because you would obey his every word, no questions asked. But this is different, this isn't your usual crying about something small, something you aren't allowed to do or something mean Sukuna said. This is a honest, heart wrenching breakdown that has been impending for a while. And he can't tell you to stop - because you can't stop. All he can do is hold you tight, and remind you to breathe.

There's nothing he can do. Healing you is a double edged sword, that provides relief, but at the cost of crashing hopes when the symptoms return. They always return. How useless of him. He can't properly comfort you because he's so detached from human emotions and interactions, he can't save you from this hardship... And he can hardly make it any easier. All he can do is sit with his guilt, little weeping you curled up in his arms, and... that salty drop of liquid that just escaped from his eye to his lip. What was that? Is he?... No, it's impossible.

Of course, reader falls asleep quickly after this. Sukuna stands up to leave, but he finds himself unable to part his stare from the bloody napkins and abandoned crochet projects by your bed. Tea gone cold and plates still full of food and sweets that you didn't have the strength to consume. Clothes untouched, folded neatly in your closet - you don't change out of your sleepwear anymore. The doorknob to the terrace, the one that leads to the garden you love so much, gathering dust after days, weeks of being unopened. You used to go into the garden every day. Your descent is slow, like that of a flower, whose petals slowly dry and detach, until none are left. His favorite flower, the one he loved to admire every day, at every opportunity. The type of flower that grows, blooms once in a hundred years and more.

And Sukuna is a stone, was a stone, stoic and unshaken for the longest time. But he is not as he was before. Love spares no one. Love leaves no one unchanged. He breaks.

You're in his lap in the garden, during one of the last sunny days of autumn. He stares into the distance, lost in thought as he often is, but... his face looks different. Tense, with his brows furrowed and his lips tight. He looks worried, almost sad. You ask him what he's thinking about, and he hesitates. There's a lump in his throat, and you hear it in his voice when he finally speaks. Nothing. He should've said nothing. What a fool.

He tells you he struggles to imagine life without you. And then he looks at you, and you feel it so vividly. A punch to your gut, a knife to your heart. Oh. You know you're dying, but if you had even the slightest of doubts, it's gone now that Sukuna is opening up to you. Sukuna and vulnerability don't exactly go hand in hand.

You sit up and plant a kiss to his shoulder. You tell him what you believe to be true - that the pain is fleeting, and that one day he will be complete again, alone or with someone else in your place. He frowns at you, once more unwilling to accept that scenario. But you want that for him. You truly, wholy believe that he is worth your - and anyone else's love. That he's beautiful, he keeps you safe, provides for you, pleasures you, listens to you - what more can anyone ask for? There's a thousand humans who would die for a chance to be loved like that, who would be just as genuine and grateful as you - and he crumbles, telling you to just shut up! He turns his head in another direction, facing you with the veins popping in his neck. He should've known you would try to make it better. He should've known you wouldn't let him wallow in his misery.

You crawl closer, reaching your hand for his face and trying to pull it towards you, but he doesn't budge. He holds his breath. He really doesn't want you to see him like this. Weak, pathetic.

Sukuna. You call him by his name. So intimate, forbidden. So personal you don't think you've ever called him that outside his bed, and even then it was pried off your lips, pulled from the depths of your conscience, out of your control. Anyone else would've paid for the mistake of uttering his name with their lives. But it's nothing new that you have privileges others don't.

Sukuna. You wrap your arms around him and lean into a hug, and he accepts it, squeezing you so tight he almost leaves breathless. You kiss up his neck, his cheek - wet, and his lips, almost trembling as they touch yours. There's so much more you want to tell him - but he shushes you. Kisses you again, tells you to forget it, it will be fine. You're not sure if he's saying it to you or to himself.

You tell him you know, that's what you've been trying to say the whole time. Then you smile at him, that angelic smile of yours, and smooth your hands over his face, wiping the frown off of his face. What a magical little being you are, he thinks to himself as he savors your beauty. You always had the power to take his anger and turn it into love.

No, Sukuna doesn't think that he could ever scoop up another little human like you out of the crowd. For a moment he thinks maybe it's better that you die, simply because he fears how far he would keep falling for you if nothing stopped him. He thinks maybe he would've become a different man. A better man. But your fate is sealed, and with it, any and all hopes for a changed Sukuna. Soon you will breathe your last breath, and Sukuna will once again be a monster, unbound by anyone or anything. Free of the confines that you've passed upon him - the heaviness of a human conscience. Closer to the man he was before he met you. But never, ever the same again.

[creepy-friday]

Fem. proxy NSFW headcanons with the three proxies? (separately) I love the way you write them, and you really don't find people who write them accurately anymore. Thank you!

Hi! Thank you so much,I am glad the fandom is still alive! :D

Creepypasta Proxies x fem!Reader

|NSFW headcanons|

Warnings: implied nsfw,suggestive language,mental illness mentions,dub-con/non-con mentions,misogyny, various kinks mentions including dacryphilia,knife play and somnophilia

Side note: Sex is meant to be a pleasure experience for both partners (or more,whatever y'all are into) and it isn't limited to a particular "style", it is okay to explore and feel good and confident about it.Stay safe everyone!

Toby would be the one who would think about engaging in sexual activities the most

I ain't gonna sugarcoat it,he's still very mentally ill so he would only assume you don't necessarily find him attractive enough if you seem to reject all of his affection that would lead to something more

That's why during some of his breakdowns he might push you and get pretty violent,forcing himself onto you while kissing roughly,altough he wouldn't continue to a very end if you're extremely uncomfortable about it

Considering the amount of trauma he has,the few moments he can feel at his best are during the highs of an orgasm tbh

Did I ever mention he has a mommy kink? I definitely fucking did he will let you use him as you please,dirty talking also gets him last a few more rounds.He just wants to know he is the one who can please you the most,that he's doing a good job,that he's your pretty good boy~

Degrade him a little,he also doesn't mind if you want to crave a little something into his skin.Even tough he cannot feel pain he definitely likes it,it's something that makes him feel like he belongs to you

Toby would do the same if you let him.He has his moments where he wants to feel in total control,but at the same time he's all sloppy and needs to touch and lick every part of your body

Holding you into a tight grasp while you bounce on him makes him all vocal,he doesn't hold back on moans either, looking up to you like you're all that matters to him in this world

He loves to hold you as close as possible during intercourse,as close as he can get to hear your fast heartbeat or to lick the tears that escape from your pretty eyes

Masky is rough and would often not let you cum until you beg and further humiliate yourself to get it from him

He would fuck you in front of a mirror as exposed as possible while praising and shaming you at the same time

Holding your hair into a fist while pressing your head into a pillow and holding both of your hands between your back as he doesn't stop thrusting into you until you're left breathless is what he loves the most

He can still act arrogant and bossy, blowing the smoke on your face while forcing you to take all of his length in your throat,maybe even putting his hands under his head while acting like you blowing him off it's such a chore fucking douchebag

Tim can be a sweet and loving partner,making sure you are okay while leaving soft kisses on the spots Masky left on you

The white masked man still loves to be in power and would talk disgusting things to you because of it

"You were made for this,weren't you?" ; "Finally learning where your place is,am I right?" ; "I bet your cunt deserves more atttention,after all you've been a good slut lately" and so on and so forth,would make you agree and be vocal while saying the exact words he wants you to say

Would engage in fear play and grind onto you while you sleep,staring at you while he strokes himself off and finally covering your mouth and thrusting all of his length into you while letting out grunts and low moans

Hate fucking is nothing that he isn't familiar with,he secretly adores when you put him in his place and fuck his brains out,if you're not easily intimidated and take the lead you can make him roll his eyes into his skull and use this to shame him later he deserves it

Hoodie adores when you start crying while desperately holding onto him if you're not tied up,of course while you're overstimulated and shaking from the last few orgasms.

"C'mon,I know you can continue,one more time for me,hm?"

He's isn't as much of a jerk like his friend,but I totally can see him taking his sweet time to ravish you just for his fucked up pleasure

He would often tease you in semi public spaces or legit under the table while other residents are talking to you,he has no shame about it either

Cannot keep his mouth shut for anything,he will whisper the dirtiest filth to your ears while soft grunts escape his mouth

Except to be touched while sleeping next to him.He would gently pet your hair while you sleep on his chest,then his hand would move across your body.He cannot help it,you look way too peaceful while you're dozed off,so defenless and utterly at his mercy

If you insist to use a safe word with him he would respect it while smirking,his ego would be over the roof,especially knowing on how good he makes you feel

"You feelin' good?" he asks as he takes his sweet time to make you beg for him to go faster,he's okay to take orders and doesn't mind instructions on how to make you feel even better than before

As long as you allow him in and ask nicely he's all yours to break or to use to break yourself into~

[wayfayrr]

i actually feel pretty bad for self-aware hyrule because for the 3d boys, a lot of their immediate problems are solved by getting out of the game. stuff like getting used to having to eat and sleep more frequently is gradual. but hyrule has the hardest time even getting out of the game to begin with, and he has the biggest disconnect with his body in and out of it, he has no idea how to orient himself in 3d space, he has no clue what the limits of a human body are. the problems hit him as soon as he manages to escape. he got the barest glimpses of us to begin with and he can't even rest after what it took to unite with us. (although given we have to teach him all these things maybe there is a silver lining)

Hyrule.... hyrule is going to struggle. a lot. seems to be a common theme with him coming to earth in my works huh?

He doesn't recognise his body - not that he was ever able to in the first place. He doesn't recognise the surroundings, he's barely even ever been able to see in his game now he has the ability to see further than a few metres and in hd? to say the least he's struggling

the other links have to be taught to breathe pretty fast and to blend in with humans pretty fast - cause as well as being with you they're also itching to explore (hence they have to blend in yk?) your world with you So was rulie - before he realised how different you are to how he was, all of a sudden after getting out he's 'content' or as much as he can be when he's having a breakdown just staying inside and adapting to one thing at a time, blending in can wait until he even knows how to move his arms properly

and if he can use this to his advantage to get more attention? well you won't blame him will you?

[ae-neon]

Nesta Vs ACOSF, a rambling rant

TW: mentions of sexual assault and abuse

Besides the "love" story that read like a quiet descent into domestic horror, ACOSF has one element that keeps me from being able to pick it up even just to sift through for Nesta gems: sex.

Here me out, I'm not a prude and I think we could have gotten a smutty romance but...

At her core, Nesta has always been a proud and modest person.

To be clear, with pride, I mean that her sense of self - her famous steel spine - has kept her together and unbroken even during harrowing circumstances. It's vital to her. It's so ingrained in her that - given we have no other explanation - we can assume it's what shields her mind from literal magic. However, like any trait, her pride can also be a thing that comes off as negative in the wrong situations.

With modesty, she was raised to keep a certain ideology that based her value on sex, beauty, marriage etc but it's important to understand that Nesta applied those standards inwards, at herself. (Eg In acotar, she brings up Feyre and Isaac in defence of her and Tomas, in acomaf, she is mostly upset about not hearing from Feyre or being notified that Feyre has switched courts - not about Feyre sleeping with Tamlin and then Rhys)

Now, I don't think Nesta's modesty makes her better than Feyre, in fact I was happy to get the representation of two different types of views on sex

But what I didn't consider at the time was that SJM was painting this out to be a negative trait.

In retrospect it seems obvious even though Nesta has defied her narrative destiny and become a sort of icon, at the end of the day she was still supposed to be written in a negative contrast to Feyre.

It seems funny but imagine you consumed the book the way Sarah intended, the way so many in the fandom have. The old Sarah Says rule, for my long time mutuals.

For example:

The dinner in acomaf - it's obvious Nesta is upset that she hasn't heard from Feyre only to have her come through not only as a whole Fae but bringing others and endangering their entire family.

But imagine it as a one dimensional reading and suddenly the "I fuck" dialogue is a girlboss moment of feminism giving a fuck you to the strict patriarchy of the "mortal lands" let's ignore how the Fae are actually more patriarchal and the Illyrians even more so than that

So understand that Nesta's modesty is being directly contrasted with Feyre's sexual freedom. The reader - at least from sjm's perspective - is supposed to agree with Feyre and disagree with Nesta in a sort of win/lose, yes/no, black/white dichotomy.

And because sjm is consistent and boring and a self-inset author, this dynamic doesn't change even when the protagonist does.

Only now sjm and her feminism has changed from fuck-whoever-I-want girlboss to kinky-but-only-with-my-husband tradwife

So Nesta can't be prudish and cut off because 1) it's not as conducive to the breakdown of self and buildup of a dependent and abusive relationship and 2) it's not in direct contrast with Feyre's current monogamous, traditional family values character.

So Nesta starts drinking and sleeping around and it's not because we're going to explore the unraveling of the pride and modesty at the core of the character as part of her transformation or as a result of her trauma

But because it's supposed to be a bad look, degrading, it shows she's failed, it makes her a loser

All of that is already insane. And even more so when taken with the context of her assault by Tomas and the sex centred relationship she has with Cassian

Now add to that the fact that in the book, Nesta is an object of desire for 2 villains and undergoes assault and drowning AGAIN

Sjm literally gives less than 2 fucks about SA, that much is obvious even from the way she inflicts and then disregards the experience of both Feyre and Rhysand respectively. It's a tool for her, a quirky story element

But to have Nesta experience such a similar thing - especially when the experience of being Made can be read as a sort of rape allegory on its own - and all for the sake of "romance" fantasy??

Even Nesta's reading habits are sexualised, to be clear I don't think there's anything wrong with reading smut, but the scope of her intellect and reading is narrowed down when we're suddenly made to believe most of the books she reads are smut.

This is someone who likely taught herself economics and investment within months in order to not just pay off the debt, upgrade her whole family's way of life but also rebuild the family fortune. Someone who, having stopped schooling at around 14/15, did the math needed to calculate the feasibility of the evacuation of a small country.

Someone who's verbally stated life goal was to see what a woman could make of herself in the world.

Even her love of reading is used as a stepping stone for how horny she is, instead of it being a result of her deeply ingrained need for escapism

She reads smut because the only thing she has in common with Cassian and the IC is sex. Because sjm thought one of the core elements of a friendship between 2 SA survivors and a disabled woman from a culture that mutilated her for being born a woman would be their desire to fantasise about men.

All the while the male love interest treats her like garbage.

We could have had a smutty book filled with sex where each scene could have been the growth of Nesta's trust and love of Cassian through intimacy. It could have been a sexual relationship that involved and explored kink - which explored vulnerability and the negative impact of how Nesta's pride became a source of stress and strain.

It could have been an exploration about the complicated relationship with desire and oppressors that many survivors have. But it isn't.

It's hahaha horny, so RELATABLE

Even when it comes to the abusive situation Nesta grew up in, it's just hung up like decoration on the character. Not explored, let alone healed. I don't wanna hear that sjm explained or explored Nesta's abuse when we don't even get her mother or her grandmother's names

We don't get

The complexity of being a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman who came from a trapped and abused woman

Or the complexity of a dysfunctional family

Or even the journey of recovery from addiction and self-harming behaviour

Now, not every aspect of Nesta or any survivors lives have to boil down to how it relates to their experiences but SJM is praised for her "recovery" and so much of this book is about sex and abuse but has no depth

It could have been a less-deep, fun experience of sex and desire and kink. But no

Nesta has sex with many faceless men because sjm is condemning her as a failure. Sex is her punishment, it makes her dirty and unworthy and cheap.

Then, through her "healing", she becomes a sex doll for the right guy. Sex is her reward, it makes her hot and useful and appealing.

Sjm writes not just like a man but like a particularly talented misogynist so it's the way sex is used that really puts me off

Edit: ultimately I think the sex and romance should have interacted with and evolved her pride, modesty and past experiences, rather than those things being demolished to turn her into a sex doll

[aleki-lives-here]

I'm still reading through Network Effect and Murderbot acts like such an angry (and very traumatized, actually) teenager. I love it.

But also it makes me wonder how the idea of age could be applied to it and other constructs? Like obviously there's no age in human sense (no making children, so no growing up stage, and I assume no old age... I wonder if a secunit could grow old if it didnt got killed), but age isn't just about physical changes in the body, it's also just lived experience that allows you to accumulate more data and skills and ways to solve problems and understanding of yourself and the world. Like, these are not synonymous with age as a number, but they are intrinsically linked to how people see different ages, and I say all of them definitely apply to constructs, namely Murderbot, and I think it's fascinating.

Because it doesn't have many general experiences, does it? I wonder how long it worked for before Ganaka Pit. I wonder what the very first moments of consciousness are like for a construct. I wonder what Murderbot was like before it hacked its governor module. And directly after? I wonder what revelations it had about its situation when watching its serials for the first time, and what it already was aware of beforehand. I wonder how much it understood itself and its emotions before it got the relative safety of media to explore the fact that it did feel things.

It, imo, can be incredible immature (see: angry traumatized teenager), but it also must have spent a while figuring itself out. It's more aware of its emotions and reactions than some people I know and can actually articulate (at least to itself) what it's feeling quite often (gods know it's more than I was capable of half a decade ago), but then other things seem to be virtually impossible for it to admit, and it's just so fascinating to watch.

I absolutely love the constant near breakdown it's experiencing this book. Just seeing it work through the emotions and act irrational, it's so fun.

[yandere-paramour]

So Noelle, being to a degree emotionally reliant on knowing that darling is safe and that her apartment is a sanctuary. How is she handling having that mental construct violated? Like say for example there's a break in and the apartment is robbed, darling isn't hurt or anything just that perception of having a safe secure place violated in some way. c:

GREAT Question, I was excited to answer this one.

First, let's explore the logistics of this. By the nature of her wealth and status, Atalanta has a trusted and experienced security team to protect her at all times. Since she was hired, Noelle has had security around her too, both because Ata likes her and because she is a potential risk. If Noelle is kidnapped and tortured for information, Montclair secrets could come out and that's a huge problem. So there is at least 1 security guard following Noelle around/Guarding her apartment at all times. A potential intruder would have to break into the building, get in the elevator, somehow know the apartment number, get past the guard, and then get into the locks. Noelle is no fool, she has taken precautions to protect both herself and Darling.

If someone managed to do all that, Noelle would be downright hysterical. Like she would have a mental breakdown, and Darling isn't even hurt in this scenario. If Darling was hurt, she might go on a rampage. For now, she is able to tone it down to just a simple mental breakdown.

You have never seen Noelle like this, and you will never see it again. In fact, very very few people have seen Noelle like this (Odette, her mom, and a few stepfathers). Noelle is a very, very calm person. She doesn't raise her voice or show any extreme emotions. You could be psychotic and she would calm you down slowly and gently, wrap you in a blanket, and hold you close as you slept.

But this is more than she can handle. This is violating her sacred space. She has carved out one space in the entire fucking world and some jackass has fucking defiled it? She can't have one damn thing? What did she fucking do in her past life to deserve all this?

You're not fucking staying here tonight. Noelle sends you with a security guard to a hotel room Atalanta arranged; she'll catch up later tonight. She has to do something first. You can try to protest but she's not in the fucking mood and you are going to listen and go. She's actually a little scary, she always speaks kindly to you.

You wait anxiously in the hotel for Noelle to come back for about 2 hours. When she finally comes, she is back to her normal loving, doting self, stroking your hair and lamenting about how scared you must've been and how brave you were and how she is so thankful you are safe and sound. She brought your favorite stuffed animal and some clothes for the two of you. She seems the same, only a little sweaty. After she showers, she cuddles you to sleep, then gets up to get her laptop and try to rebuild your lives.

The next day, Noelle allows you (after a lot of begging and pleading on your end) to go get some more essentials. When you get back through the kicked-in door, you are shocked. The place looks much, much worse than it did when you saw it last. The expensive glass vases and trinkets Noelle decorates with are shattered on the ground, the paintings clawed, the TV seemingly kicked in. The place looks ransacked, and your mouth drops open. You know Noelle would never be negligent enough to not leave someone to watch the door, and nothing sentimental seems hurt. All of your possessions are safely intact and pristine. Only... only the expensive things are destroyed... only the things that can be replaced.

"What-" You don't even know what to say, "What happened here?"

"What do you mean, Darling?" Noelle cocks her head at you, confused, "The burglars did this; it was like this when you left."

"No-"

"You're mistaken, my love. This must be such a great shock to you. Let's get your things and we can go back to the hotel room and rest. I'll even order some of those cookies you like."

[grellestie]

Thoughts on Grelle x Ronald

and prayers

actually, here are my full thoughts, THOUGH you're going to need prayers going into it.

Oh, GrelleRon (i think thats what you crazy kids call it lol). I have so many different emotions about it. I feel like it has a LOT of interesting concepts attached to it and things that could really be developed from it! I haven't read fics in a while, but I am SURE some of these have to have been explored at least once or twice. Or I have to finally open docs. . . Scary.

Ronald already has to deal with Grelle as his mentor which is already introducing an interesting dynanic- usually in stories, it's the mentor falling for the mentored but we all know Ronald just wouldn't be her dream man. He's cute, but he's not Will and could never be Will. Maybe she would open up to him a bit after he witnesses her in the middle of a cute girl moment (read: depressive episode).

As nihilistic as it sounds, Grelle knows her end when it comes to relationships. She'll end up with William, become a star, have children, and then her soul will finally lay herself asleep. It's simple. Sure, she'll play around with other men (and women too), but it's all just for fun and to keep her excited! She's gotten herself attached before, but she's learned her lesson - especially after being out into. . . doing chores for a year. But falling for a different reaper could change her mind. It's the ONE species she could fall for and not be in trouble for being with them. . . or just judged ever more so than she already is. Which she wouldn't mind necessarily? But it'd get obnoxious getting called some uncreative name for the umpteenth time, like seriously.

Ultimately, she's keeping him at arms length but does consider him someone she trusts somewhat. But can you really trust someone if you only tell them so much about you? When that facade crumbles, how will you unravel your lies that never seemed to add up in the first place?

Now, for Ronald's perspective, I see him falling for her first. Think about it. This is the only girl that's broken up with Eric first, as well as broken the hearts of SO many other men in favor of Will- who she could do SO much better than, in Ronald's humble opinion. If he could be the one to ultimately sweep her off her feet, do you KNOW how much every guy around him would be jealous?

She's also amazing at her job! kind of! she's one of the stronger reapers in the dispatch and has probably one of the cooler scythes. She also survived a punishment from the Higher-Ups without changing in the slightest. She's also gorgeous! And the only woman to be apart of the Retrieval Division! That's SO cool!

I feel like he would fall for her in a falling for her shadow way- just completely misunderstanding her entirely and falling in love with that rather than who she actually is. He sees her for the woman she portrays herself to be; A strong actress capable of setting the world aflame with her passion alone. A gorgeous woman put against all odds, allowing herself to fall for men like Will when clearly needing a hero rather than a pencil-pusher. He entirely ignores any breakdown or outburst that ruins his image of her because it doesn't fit his version of his Grelle.

That's until her instability gets to an all-time high. He's socially smart for sure, but he's not an expert on the human mind, and Grelle is an enigma all in herself. How could someone jump from a simple mood to thinking the entire world is against you and that the person closest to you only wants you to be a distant memory? Or even just a joke, they tell everyone? That quick switch in emotions would confuse Ronald to NO end. But that just makes him build Grelle to be a needy princess in his mind. She just needs a strong man to keep her out of her own head. But is he even strong enough to handle her?

(SPOILER: Nope. Not one bit. He's witty, but he can't handle her at her worst. Will can, but only because he gets her mindgames while Ronald falls for every single one. Also, Grelle's lies would have to catch up with her at some point, and it heavily depends on what she said and how deep of a hole she's dug for herself. I can only imagine how much Ronald would be willing to let slip by him.

They would have SUCH an interesting dynamic. I just don't think they'd make it as a couple, but they'd make a GREAT case study if you're a psychologist.

[emuthefandomcollector]

So there are usually 2 different "hiding da body" culprits in Omari AUs, Aubrey & Hero.

I understand why people would use Hero (I've noticed that it isn't as common anymore), but it usually has to be written well for me to really.. get it? If you understand.

Like, I KNOW it's because he cares a lot about Mari (it's the whole reason he stayed inside for a whole year when she died), but.. it feels like.. super ooc for Hero.

I understand that it's a stressful situation and that he could be not thinking straight, but Hero seems like the kind of guy, no matter the situation, if he sees somebody hurt, to try to help them.. like calling an ambulance in extreme cases like this. He doesn't seem like he would go, "lol let's cover up his death"

Plus, Hero is like.. older than the younger kids, he's said to be 15 in a dialog line in Last Resort, iirc, so he would be more mature, as the younger kids would be 12-13, and there is a BIG mental difference between that.

Plus, Hero would have more common sense? I mean, he just doesn't seem like he would do it.

HOWEVER, I think Aubrey could be more plausible.

Even though Aubrey cares about Sunny, she also cares a lot about Mari. She literally transformed herself completely BECAUSE of Mari's death, and she was willing to basically say, "We aren't friends anymore, Sunny."

People tend to overlook Aubrey when it comes to AUs (especially Omari AUs)/in general. She went through so much, and they only really tend to look at Aubrey to ship her, but Aubrey has problems. She was literally growing up in an abusive household for gods sake, so I doubt she really has a completely sound mind, and due to growing up in a household, she hates. she views Sunny and Maris household as her second home and views Mari basically like a sister. -so yeah. She cares, a lot.

People forget sometimes that Basil did it because he cared for Sunny so much that he got tunnel vision and was only worried for him. He didn't want him to get in trouble (simplified), BUT he still cared for Mari, so it's not a problem of "but she cares for Sunny!!" It's a thing of Aubrey caring so much about Mari, basically her non-biological sister, that when she sees her in distress, ESPECIALLY while she herself is stressed, she wouldn't be thinking correctly. She would act irrationally just like Basil because she wouldn't know, she is too young and she hasn't grown up and might be too scared to pick up a phone and ask for help.

It's scary and traumatic for Basil in the OG game because he cared for Mari and that Sunny basically abandoned him for YEARS, and it could EASILY happen to Aubrey under the worst kinds of points, she COULD act irrationally when she is stressed and sees Mari basically having a mental breakdown. She COULD see SUNNY in pain, but in her brain, she thinks he's long gone. She COULD be too scared to pick up a phone, maybe due to stress or maybe because she doesn't want Mari to get in trouble (i.e., like Basil did).

For Aubrey, she was basically the closeest to Mari (and maybe also Sunny as well, but we only really see the past mostly through Sunnys eyes, so its unsure, and Sunny is very unreliable at times in Headspace), people sometimes forget this fact that Aubrey is close to Mari, so she could make more sense as a "hide a body simulator" culprit. Also, it's really fun exploring Aubrey in this way, lol :]

Basically:

Hero is unlikely because;

He is more mature (still young, yes, but 15 is way different than 12-13).

He would probably call for help and then help Mari calm down.

He seems like the kind of guy to have hope that he's alive instead of instantly thinking to hide a body

Why I think Aubrey would maybe make more sense;

Once again, very young and likely wouldn't know what to do as she isn't very developed mentally, and she wouldn't be used to able to handle this kind of stress.

Likely would jump to the conclusion that Sunny is dead and that she needs to help Mari be fine (she'd likely get a sort of tunnel vision like Basil)

She would act VERY irrationally. We have seen her do that even when she is about 16 or so years old.

She would try in any way she could to help Mari and could possibly think, "If she gets in trouble, she'll get more sad/it would be extremely bad."

She just wouldn't want anything worse to happen to the group, thus why she would hide the body so Mari wouldn't get in trouble and make things worse aswell

She could have a very hard time thinking about picking up a phone in these kinds of situations, note: because of age and/or mentality.

Overall, Hero can work if written well, and the characters can still bounce off each other properly, but usually Aubrey makes more sense.

(if this makes no sense I made this without taking my meds right after school and waiting 1 hour for a bus.)

[zombie-bait]

The Death of a Vampire

Lestat as a protagonist just works so incredibly well and a very significant aspect of that is him being Anne Rice's self-insert. Lived experience can be critical when it comes to writing a good story and many memorable novels will feature elements of that. Anne is built different, though. Lestat (book 2 onwards) is basically Anne's journal for dealing with her grievances and trauma, which, on its own, is a very questionable method of writing. More often than not, it causes him to be characterized inconsistently between books because Anne's own opinions have changed. But it also makes him so real.

You follow his struggles with religion, you see him yearn for forgiveness from a god that has seemingly abandoned him a long time ago and you feel it. The passage I will never get over is in the early chapters of The Vampire Lestat, when Lestat has a breakdown over his mother's (and frankly his own) mortality. He struggles and he cries and he can't get out of bed because there's nothing he can do. Eventually he starts to live again, forces himself to.

But.

"I wandered into the church and on my knees I leaned against the wall and I looked at the ancient statues and I felt the same gratitude looking at the finely carved fingers and the noses and the ears and the expressions on their faces and the deep folds in their garments, and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. At least we had these beautiful things, I said. Such goodness. But nothing natural seemed beautiful to me now! The very sight of a great tree standing alone in a field could make me tremble and cry out. Fill the orchard with music. And let me tell you a little secret. It never did pass, really."

I think about those last two sentences a lot. I think about them even more since Anne Rice passed away.

Every page of Interview is spent talking about death and yet (imo) it's only in TVL that you really feel it. Louis in book 1 welcomes death quite readily because, besides his toxic boyfriend and their traumatized daughter, he doesn't have much to live for. He's basically given up by the time Lestat appears. The greatest torture, to Louis, is the knowledge that he can live forever on the suffering of others.

But Lestat is the complete opposite. He wants to listen to music, to explore Paris, to perform on any stage that will take him, to embrace the man he loves and to send his ailing mother letters of his accomplishments. Death matters most to those who are desperate to live and god is he desperate. He's haunted by his mother's sickness, by the wolves on the mountain that threaten to end his life before he's even lived it, the witches place that reeks of meaningless suffering. And in a way, the dark gift provides opportunity to escape that. But it is still death. It takes away Nicki in a very literal way and takes away his mother in a more personal one. Magnus, like death, chose Lestat arbitrarily. He sees the cellar of blonde corpses and knows that he was only one of dozens to meet an untimely death with no explanation.

Lestat also really wants you to know that he is, truly, a good person. He must be. He swears to only hunt criminals and then goes back on that two pages later. He reshapes stories to present himself as the noble protagonist and the audience has no choice but to believe him. He wants, desperately, to be loved for all that he is, man and monster. He wants to be the hero.

He's this awful, fascinating, very human man so clearly born out of the internal struggle to find meaning and love in a cruel, unpredictable world we all tend to share. He's made up of incredibly basic and powerful human desires hidden behind a mask of bravado and I can't recalling seeing another protagonist like him.

(Quick mention: This isn't some kind of "wow Anne Rice is an incredible author who can do no wrong" piece. She's written a lot of fucked up and bad shit that cannot be easily brushed over. But I don't think I'll ever get over reading TVL for the first time. To read someone bare their soul in such a way creates a truly unique experience. A lot of characters in a lot of pieces of media face death, but it's rare to see a character face mortality in such a personal way.)

(Also odds are I've written similar posts to this before but shhhhh these sad gay vampires are all I have)

[hekateinhell]

you said you were comfortable with receiving questions about your fics and i have a question about our house armand and daniel's backstory. how much of armand's sexual trauma does daniel know? i mean in the fic he mentions "the brothel in amsterdam" or how hypersexual&relentlessly giving armand is but, did they ever sit down and have a talk about it ever (it seems a bit unlike armand pre-therapy) or did armand Had to open up a bit about it to daniel bc something cathartic happened, for example a breakdown during sex, him disassociating etc. ? i would love to know if you have anything in mind about this or generally how that convo would go when it eventually (hopefully) happens. armand being as secretive about his past as he is, we hardly get anything like this in canon and even in many fics it is hardly dwelled on, but i do think about it a lot! so i would love to know your thoughts!! lots of love x

Hiii! 💖

Omg, I've thought about this so much in the canon of Our House!

If I continue with the fic, I would definitely love to expand on this more because the whole theme of the fic is supposed to be about trauma—how sometimes there are just some things you don't ever really heal from but you can grow around them! You can find ways to live with them, ways so they don't hurt so much, so they're not so intrusive, and ultimately you can still have a good life and love and be loved. That's just what I want for Armand, okay? 🤧

Ngl, I had to skim through my own fic to make sure what I have written still aligns with what's in my head because it's been a while lol. But yeah, Armand was clamped down pretty tight (pun intended) pre-therapy and his sexual trauma wasn't anything that he was willing to recognize at the time and it definitely wasn't anything he wanted Daniel to know. The trick with OH is that the fic is primarily from Daniel's POV, so there's a lot he doesn't know (thanks Armand) and therefore the reader doesn't know. He's been kept in the dark about sooooo much!

Like for example, Daniel didn't know anything about Armand's sexual trauma prior to therapy but in the notes in my head, Lestat knows because he met Armand when Armand was 17 and left Amsterdam for Paris, and they, along with Eleni, also did sex work together sometimes just to survive. Louis met Armand in New York and knew him when he'd just arrived to the USA and was initially making money as a sugar baby. Daniel doesn't know any of this at any point in the story yet lmao. Armand gave him a bit of the Amsterdam and Europe overview in therapy, but "I was in a window in Amsterdam by the time I was thirteen," isn't exactly something Daniel really wanted to pry into, you know? He knows Armand has night terrors a decade later, he knows Armand has an ~interesting~ relationship with sex; he can put two and two together and imagine what kind of horrific things Armand endured. 

But beyond that, no, they've never talked it in detail! I did always think at some point it would be inevitable that it comes up in some messy way like the Baby Thing. Like Armand maybe pushes himself too far while exploring a kink, and like you said, triggers himself and it all comes out. But I also like a softer version where he just walks into the living room one night and curls up by Daniel's side, making himself small, and says, "I want to talk to about what happened to me in Europe, about who I had to be before you. Because sometimes I still feel like that lost, forgotten child, and it frightens me. Maybe if you knew him too, you could talk to him for me. You could make it better."

Which I mean... this is a lot to put on Daniel! But that's the secret secondary theme of this fic lol Daniel Molloy Carrying the Entire Fucking World on His Shoulders! 🤪

[warsamongthestars]

One of the things that struck me in TBB, that after processing, immediately told me how the so called "family dynamic" worked and how it immediately grinded and gritted against fandom interpretation...

And how badly TBB really did fuck up TCWs character dynamics...

Was the episode "Common Ground". Season 1, Episode 10.

I can argue details and semantics all day, but that would require an episode by episode breakdown.

Common Ground, however, is an easy episode to point out that literally has all the flaws, in their showing, that every episode before it only inferred... and how those flaws grew afterwards in only weirder and weirder shapes.

Common Ground was when the Bad Batch were sent after a Separatist Senator, and Omega was left in Cid's bar.

There are several things to point out in this episode. Several that show case the flaws, and one that hits so closed to home that I can't, I really really can't, accept fandom interpretation of TBB family dynamics, because of.

Let's start with the flaws:

Hunter's repeated problem of expecting Omega on the team, when she's not on the team.

... One, You left here at the bar, Jackass, for safety.

... Two, goes against anything Hunter says about giving Omega a life, by immediately expecting her on mission.

... Three, Even when she's not there, she keeps having an impact on the story that isn't needed and certainly isn't wanted.

... Four, shows this nearly obsessive fixation that he never fucking gets over at any point in the show. A fixation that costs even Omega.. and I'll get to that one.

... Five, you think this about Omega, but Not about Crosshair.

Number Five on the above, is another one--The total lack of any group conflict or battlefield failure, thanks to losing a vital member of the team, Crosshair.

It only comes up here when its about the kid, who absolutely shouldn't have any reason to be on the battlefield at all. ( SHE'S LIKE FUCKING NINE YEARS OLD)

It is only roughly inferred by previous episodes (and only if you're looking for it), but for some reason, the Bad Batch never seems to suffer losing Crosshair or their Sniper, and no attempt as exploring what his duties were or what he meant to the team, is ever brought up.

The constant giving of his position and objects to Omega, really makes Omega into his Replacement, if not a full on team rebound.

And this is never explored. 3 Seasons are done now, and it was NEVER EXPLORED. Oh yes there was the Cross and Hunter confrontation, but that wasn't a confrontation, that was a pissing contest until the monster showed up. Every confrontation had been a pissing contest, because this show cannot write meaningful communication that isn't about the golden child donut steel or isn't a pun or one-liner.

Even TCWs would communicate meaningful, even when it was being funny.

Personally, if a team I had grown comfortable with, knew the dynamics of, relied on and was relied on whilst as a teammate, and had been with FOR YEARS-- decided that after my mindcontrolled zombie ass was taken / kidnapped and had gods knew what done to me... if they decided to replace me immediately with someone a quarter of my age with no training but having all my duties... I would be beyond pissed.

I would frankly never return to this group again, and would go out of my way to avoid them, will curse them for the rest of my fucking life. That sort of thing would destroy any relationships, and forget healing and repair and any communication--this right there would pretty much tell me that, the thing that was beyond my control, allowed my team the excuse to remove me entirely.

Forget trying to save me, it was easier to replace me and nobody gave a shit.

So yeah, that's another major flaw this episode brought up.

The regulation of Echo into bitchy sidepiece.

Nothing Echo says or does has any meaning in this episode. The Bad Batch don't listen to him, he doesn't do anything of import, and y'know, this kind of episode should have been an Echo Episode.

It should have been Echo centric.

Why? Because if there is anyone established in the Bad Batch group that would have a cow and character conflict with helping Seppies, it'd be Echo.

He was tortured, forcefully changed, and made into a weapon against his nation, his ideals and his brothers.

Confronting a Seppie Leader or a Seppie mission would be the perfect opportunity to dive into the character of Echo and his past conflicts.

But what does this episode do? Regulate him into bitchy side piece, and proving that the Bad Batch does not really give one shit about their brothers.

They already replaced Crosshair, so losing Echo wouldn't have been no skin off their teeth.

( So much for the TCWs team that adopted Echo because they knew how to care for them. Fuck them I guess--let's have these apathetic cardboard cutouts instead, OH LOOK AT THAT ONELINER THEY PULLED ISNT THAT AWESOME )

Exactly what do Tech and Wrecker do in this episode exactly?

Y'know, Tech and Wrecker were memorable in TCWs. But I can't seem to remember what they did here exactly that made them stand out. In fact, you could cut out Tech, Wrecker, and Echo, and leave the episode (as is) to Hunter alone, and the same shit would still be relevant.

In fact, that's pretty much a lot of TBB anyway. They removed Crosshair, and not a damn thing happened. They removed Echo, and not a damn thing happened. They removed Tech, and not a damn thing happened.

( Oh yeah, they pasted Echo back in a few times, cos y'know, Hunter's skillset means fuck all comparison to that written obsession of his )

Might as well have removed Wrecker too, they sure as hell didn't give him any satisfying endings or even character arc. Oh yeah, he's real cute when with Omega--but tell me exactly how interesting and important a MAIN character is if they're are only defined by how they look when in frame with another character.

Okay. Now, for the last one, and the personal bit.

Hunter yelling at Omega at the Bar.

Look, I like Omega as a character. My issue with here is what she represents in the narrative, how the narrative treats her, and what is spent in order to make her a good character. I would adore her more if she was a side character or side kick instead, someone who's really is meant is to define the main characters and add an extra dynamic or aspect--and maybe star in an episode or two to really get to know the side character.

The narrative treats her too much like the end all be all in everything, even in adult conflicts, and Treats that as a Good Thing.

Time for the personal stuff...

As someone who had once been a child, dragged into adult situations against both my health and my will, and worse, relied on by adults (who were suppose to nurture Me) for emotional support at cost and under threat either by forces outside or forces inside, especially after being sheltered and having been taught no skills but being expected to have those skills anyway, never once being taught communication but being expected to communicate and under a hierarchy of "Do what I say and anything to the contrary is Your Fault"--I know Omega's situation when applied to the Real World.

( Obviously I never ran from governments, never flew in space, and I sure as hell didn't have super duper genome brothers in the millions. But I did have one real shit homelife and its amazing what can translate to and from metaphor. )

( And how all the sudden, how I can have a really fucking hatred for shit writing, and writers who thought it was a good idea. )

You don't turn into a hero at the end of that journey. You don't even really get a sense of self until far into your own adulthood. Most of the time, the biggest quest of the day is getting out of bed or off the laptop to do even the most basic of things for one's self.

Now personal stuff over...

Omega is, like, nine. She was already left in a seedy place. She's young enough to trust adults without issue to any perceived flaws, because she wouldn't know what minor red flags look like.

And because she's really good at strategizing a game (cos apparently we couldn't allow Echo to do that, who was explicitly captured because he was THE stradegist), the local adult that she was entrusted to, exploits her ability to do so against potentially hundreds of customers.

And while this had benefits, cos it cleared the family debt (... for now), this was still exploitation of a child by an adult.

Then the Bad Batch return, and what does Hunter do? Give Omega her rights for causing attention. Even though she is Nine, and clearly, she couldn't possibly advertise for so many people, and frankly, probably couldn't say No either.

(And given the Racing episode that occurs in Season 2, Hunter Only does this to Omega ).

Sure, Hunter gets the "you're being an asshole" treatment and things seemingly clear up by the end of the episode.

But do you honestly thing that an apology game is how you remedy that sort of fuck up? That maybe, there should've been commutation about how the local seedy barkeeper is probably the last person you want to leave your kid with?

That y'know, an exspec ops super mutant might know a thing or two about communication and trust and enviromental awareness?

OR THAT MAYBE YOU SHOULD REALLY STOP GOING ON COMBAT MISSIONS AND JUST FUCKING LEAVE ALREADY!? YOUR DEBT IS PAID, GO AWAY, LEAVE, GET OUT, DO SO NOW.

Common Grounds, as an episode, highlights why the TBB doesn't work. Its not a case of "But only THIS episode is Bad and can be Ignored!" because Common Grounds highlights the prime elements of TBB, which are its many flaws.

Its underutilized characters, its total lack of environmental awareness, the emphasis on the super duper oc donut steel, and worse, its utter inability to bother reaching out to its audience unless its to twist a knife in.

( Just look at what they did to poor Tech. )

It doesn't try to be a hostile narrative, in fact its really good at being hostile to its characters and its environment, but it doesn't work any good without attempting to tarnish or ruin that good and it never considers what a positive step looks like that doesn't involve it coming off as shallow or excuse based--it overdoes Chandler's Law.

It is Common Grounds for Negligence.

... ( and I wasn't totally thinking about how that ending came together, but fuck, that checks. )

[aromantic-diaries]

Hey, as an aroace, is it reasonable to have a mental breakdown over people being aphobic and shipping canonically romantically repulsed aroace characters with other characters romantically??? (Also I love your blog so much as an aroace.)

I can completely understand the way you feel, it's really invalidating and even becomes hypocritical when you consider how fandom seems to be very strict about not shipping gay and lesbian characters with anyone of the opposite gender but doesn't extend that respect for a character's canon identity when they're aro and/or ace

There's this post which makes a pretty good point and I saw a video discussing the topic, with the specific example of Alastor from Hazbin Hotel

The whole topic of shipping aro/ace characters seems to have been discussed a lot lately and I feel like it's due to the release of Hazbin Hotel since it's something pretty mainstream with a canonically aroace character who also happens to be the sexyman of the show

But yeah I am definetly on your side here cause we get very little representation and most of it is only confirmed outside the show by creators and doesn't have much impact on the stories. All that could at least be explored in fanworks but it's still mostly shipping. I haven't even watched Hazbin Hotel and I still get annoyed when i see people shipping the funny evil deer man. Surely there must be more potential

[redjaybathood]

It's funny, as I'm reading the Robin Lives #1 again, how much disgust all the pages, all the replics and remarks, by Bruce, Dr Sara, another doctor, Alfred, or even Dick, can incurre in me - where it's pretty obvious the intent was the opposite.

And sure, I am biased, I admit it. But also... It doesn't mean I'm wrong.

I do think it's a failure on DeMatteis' part, how ableist the dialogue between Dr Benjamin Stoner and Batman. Okay, maybe it's just me - but the guy says that he took the job at Arkham Asylum to prove that no one, no matter how monstrous they appear, is beyond redemption. It sounds very noble, right? But it's actually full of shit. They're not redeeming them in Arkham. At best they provide somewhat lacking psychiatric care. Redemption is so outside of the realm of what institution like Arkham can possibly do, it's outright offensive to imply that their mental illness is what they need to be redeemed for - and not their crimes.

Mental illness is not a sin. Repeat it after me, DeMatties!

Anyway, the doctor thinking in this way rather shows him being self-centered ln his idea of compassion to those he thinks are monstrous, rather any actual ability to help them. It's no wonder he fails.

Anyway. I also despise the choice of outsider POV mixed with their insights into Batman's POV. It's like the author has never really been interested in Jason's psyche, or knew that it wouldn't work, what he was planning to write, if he took a closer look there.

He talks a lot about compassion even for monstrous, but I see no sincere compassion for Jason. Even Batman holding Jason's body - it's framed, again, with Batman's emotions, and it's guilt he feels. Self-flagellation for sure helps, yeah (no).

Overall, I can only say that, having a mental illness, and having family members with mental illness, especially such stigmatized one as schizophrenia - I don't like this writing at all.

Most people don't become violent criminals because they are traumatized, or have an inherited biological predisposition to madness that makes you want to cause other people suffering. I dunno what Sara is about. I do think it should be mandatory for writers to read at least some books on the subject they explore, if not, I dunno, do some research on their own.

Issue 2 starts with Stoner once again getting very emotional about little trapped man inside the Joker - whereas I think he just likes that idea based on principle, because he really would rather fail in his fantasy world than live in a bleak reality where men like Joker do what they do because it gives them satisfaction, and not because there's something more wrong with their brain than me or you - and Sara narrating on oh how difficult it is for Batman, be almost shattered by Jason's nervous breakdown.

We don't really see any evidence of that, of course, just her words. Which, knowing now what we know about their relationship, makes her biased too. It does make sense for her to be so focused on Bruce than Jason. It does make sense for the story to be focused on Bruce. Because it's not a story about Jason. And that's what disgust me. Not that it's not a Jason story and I am his fan - UtRH isn't a particularly Jason story; or The Hills; or - basically anything he's been in than RHatO and Task Force Z; I'm alright with it - but that it goes on and on about compassion and how these poor mentality ill souls need compassion and help. But Jason - who's going to become Jason by the end of issue 4 - is practically absent.

Like, if you don't give a shit, don't write about the issue. Because so far this story is all "how can we make Bruce seem good and the morals to reflect positive values for our society?". It is, if you allow me, hypocritical.