#currently I’m writing a short story where no one has powers as far as the Mc knows

[deathsmallcaps]

Congratulations! You’re the 120th Billion person! Have powers about it!

ok the last post was infodump friendly. this one is NOT.

i expect you to explain your/something about your magic system as badly as possible. i want to be confused. i want to lack context.

i'll start:

big wyrm gives off radiation that is also magic. ohhh no gas.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #53 – Binti by Nnedi Okarafor

This is one of those works that has been vaguely on my radar for years and years now – I have entirely lost track of the number of places I’ve seen it recommended as some of the best or most original science fiction of the 2010s. So when my hold finally came in on it, I went in more or less blind – which was, frankly, a fatal mistake. I bounced harder off of this than I have very nearly anything I can remember – if it was any longer I probably wouldn’t have bothered finishing the story. I got the whole trilogy as a compendium, and I’m certainly not going to force myself through the rest of it. Which is a shame, because there are plenty of original ideas in there, but (to me, at least) it’s an absolutely brutal failure of form and execution.

The story follows the eponymous Binti, a prodigy and savant in mathematics and the quasi-magical ‘harmonizing’ – creation and manipulation of electric currents. At age 16, she received accepted into the planet-spanning Oomza University and, despite the clear disapproval of her family and her people’s traditional isolationism, she runs away from home and aboard an interstellar transport to take her away. But when the ship is attacked by the Medusae – an alien species with a grudge against the university – a personal keepsake that turns out to be a powerful ancient relic allow her to survive when every other passenger is slaughtered where they stand – and eventually even communicate with the aliens who have seized the ship. She learns that they attacked as part of a plan to steal back their leader’s stinger, and convinces them to let her be their ambassador and attempt to get it through negotiation with the university administration instead. After she proves her willingness to argue on their behalf, they agree – and once they arrive at the university, the administration does as well. Both she and the young Medusae she forged something of a friendship with are welcomed as students, and she has to reckon with the dramatic changes being tested and healed by the medusae caused in her. Fin.

That is much more of a plot summary than I usually write for these things, but I guess my first big issue with the story is just that that’s basically everything that happens in the book? This feels like it could be quite easily cut down to a tight, compelling short story – or else expanded into a full novel, with enough space to give things time to breathe and allow for foreshadowing with more subtlety than a sledgehammer to the face. As is, the story feels both kind of meandering and like the plot beats are a first draft that never had the space to go back and add any real interest or surprise to them.

Which would honestly have been far more forgivable if not for the prose. This is shelved as young adult but in terms of sentence complexity and the way things are phrased it honestly feels closer to middle grade? Or, at least, every sentence was very simple and very explicit and direct, in a way that I quickly found clunky and then intensely grating to read. A friend described it as reading like it was translated from a different language, which doesn’t seem to be the case but I honestly wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Everything is also just thematically very convenient, I guess? Not even that the random relic Binti found in the sand as a child and keeps as a good luck charm turns out to be a hyper-advanced technological plot device, but that for unclear reasons the otjize dye that she (and the very real Namibian Himba ethnic group she’s a member of) use to plait and colour hair is to the Medusae a miraculous panacea which heals scars none of their own technology (capable of creating interspecies hybrids and inducing mutations with a single injection) could touch. Which is a level of thematic bluntness that’s just much more fitting for a children’s story than what I went into this expecting or hoping for.

I could go on, but there’s not really any point – to be positive, the worldbuilding hinted at is intriguing and evocative like absolutely everyone says it is. The whole reading experience was just a terrible failure of marketing, I think – I can’t recall the last time I read a book I ostensibly should have liked that is quite so forcefully Not For Me. Which is odd, because I actually quite enjoyed the other novella of Okorafor I read. But then, Remote Control was written six years later and for an adult audience.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week's writer's spotlight feature is: @rindecision! With forty-two works on Ao3 in the Stranger Things fandom, they've written thirty-one (!) works with the Steddie ship tag!

Nominated by @skjachukson, they recommend the following works by rindecision:

You Know Where to Find Me — Live Aid

Nectar

Give Me Fuel, Give me Fire

From Hell and Back

Rindecision has been a great friend throughout the Steddie holiday exchange, and their writing is just so fantastic. - @skjachukson

Below the cut, @rindecision answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

It started when my partner asked me to. I’ve always loved writing, but I never got into fanfics until they asked me to write a specific type of story that led to the creation of The Devil of Hawkins. From there it was a slippery slope!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Due to ADHD and the corresponding comprehension issues, I rarely read. Not just fics, but anything really. Although, I do personally enjoy whatever the sneaking around trope is. The characters being intimate in places or situations where they shouldn’t be.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

So far I’ve found that I enjoy FWB to Lovers with Steddie. Most of my fics tend to revolve around that.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I’m currently enjoying ‘I Think I Could Have Been Someone’ by @madaboutmunson

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’m new to fandoms so honestly I don’t really know a lot of tropes by name, but I have a long list of fics I want to write at some point. I have a ‘Through The Ages’ Steddie series in mind that I hope to do at some point. 

What is your writing process like?

Harrowing. It’s honestly pretty complex as I’m using writing fanfics as a means to improve as a writer in general so I can be more confident when I get around to my originals. But the short version is: Rough Draft -> Proof Read 1 -> Beta Proof -> Proof Read 2 -> Grammar Edit -> Text-To-Speech Edit -> Final Beta Proof.

Do you have any writing quirks?

Probably, lol. I try to keep my writing concise and leave little up to the imagination. The partner that requested I write fanfics has aphantasia (lack of imagination) and they read everything I write, so I want them to be able to enjoy it just as much as anyone else. 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I’m kind of chaotic on this one. It depends on the fic to be honest. So far, I’ve found I prefer posting ongoing fics without a schedule that I just post a chapter on as soon as I’m done editing it, whenever that happens to be. Other than the ‘You Know Where to Find Me’ series, the only fics I’ve posted on a schedule have been event fics and it’s been a bit more stressful than I expected it to be.

Which fic are you most proud of?

That would have to be my ‘You Know Where to Find Me’ series. Particularly the first one: ‘Valentines ‘85’ 

How did you get the idea for You Know Where to Find Me — Live Aid?

I needed something powerful between ‘Independence Day’ and ‘First Day of School’ but couldn’t think of anything that would work. @stardust-walker helped me work out the details. That entry genuinely wouldn’t exist without their help. 

When writing Nectar, what was something you didn’t expect?

Managing to stay under the 20k word limit. 😅 

What inspired Give Me Fuel, Give me Fire?

A Twitter post about mechanic Steve in cut-off shorts.

What was your favorite part to write from From Hell and Back?

That’s a hard one. I don’t think I have a singular part that I liked the most, but I really enjoyed being able to explore the logistics and lore around Eddie being a shapeshifting demon. In and out of Steve’s bedroom.

How do/did you feel writing Give Me Fuel, Give me Fire?

I was surprised by the reception it got, and I can’t wait to get back to writing it as soon as I’m done with the Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang

What was the most difficult part of writing You Know Where to Find Me — Live Aid?

The time limit. I had 2 weeks to write and edit nearly 30k words. It made me hit burnout HARD, but I got it back pretty quickly.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I think that would have to be the first kiss in The Devil of Hawkins. It was also the first Steddie kiss I ever wrote. 🤍

“You aren’t stopping me, Harrington.” Eddie’s lips barely grazed over Steve’s as he spoke. “I know,” Steve squeaked. The feeling of Steve’s lips plucking his like a guitar pick was more than he could handle. He leaned forward, finalizing the kiss. They both let out a small groan. Eddie placed his other hand on the back of Steve’s neck, holding his head carefully, yet firmly. Eddie pulled away for a moment and looked at Steve; there was a look of longing on his face. An expression that Eddie was hoping for. He faintly smiled before pushing Steve’s lips to his own, plunging his tongue between them. He could feel Steve tense below him before relaxing into it.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

‘You Know Where to Find Me’ will be coming to a close in March, but there will be at least 5 more entries to it. I will also be posting my entry for the STRBB in March. I hope after those are done I can jump back into my ongoings.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that’s read my work, and a platonic hug and kiss for those who have gone out of their way to leave comments or reblog them. It means the world to me 🤍🖤

Thank you to our author, @rindecision and our nominator, @skjachukson! See more of @rindecision's work featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer's Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[etrevil]

hey!! I absolutely love the vibes of your blog! I’m getting into bungo stray dogs (or trying to :’) ) and since you seemingly write fics for it, do you have more recs?? I don’t really know what the main pairings are but I like to use fics as a way to see if I’ll like the fandom and pairs!! Thank you!!

you're making me crack my knuckles because DAMN AM I NOW EXCITED :DDD

terms used: bsd (bungou stray dogs), hp (harry potter), mha (my hero academia), soukoku (chuuya/dazai), shin soukoku (atsushi/akutagawa), chuuda (where chuuya tops), fyozai (dazai/fyodor), fyolai (fyodor/nikolai)

First and foremost is the widely beloved I Was Screaming Your Name Through The Radio by ElectricSplatter, which is just a rollercoaster of emotions that grip you by the throat. Do note that the chapters are hella long, but enjoyable. The relationships are fleshed out beautifully.

Magic and Mystery by Allegory_for_Hatred is also a good start because it's a bsd and hp crossover that's just, amazing. Had me up at 3am until I physically could not read. There's an ongoing sequel too!

wtf, since when are you married? by xxalwayssofia is a short, quick laugh that, for me, had one of the best characterization for soukoku. Sofia's stories in general (check her account!) have got the character's personality traits down with little creative liberties.

Ne Chuuya, won't you marry me? is another one by xxalwayssofia, and I die of laughter because of this on a daily basis.

Now, I may be mean for suggesting this, but this fic is a diamond found within a gold mine that will eventually end you up in jail because some rich dude probably owned it first. In summary, it hurts. Like a gunshot wound (wink wink to the readers). And that is Ruiner by gev_ao3 (rated the E-est of E's)! The long-awaited consequence chapter is already out for this one, so when you binge read it the ending will hopefully be satisfying. Just be aware this is incredibly graphic, psychological, and angst-filled to the brim.

I read If the Far Side Saw You by birbleh a considerable time ago, but it both pinches and caresses my heart all the same. I haven't anything else to say other than give it a chance.

Ice Queen by TheHighQueen is a great ongoing Dazai genderbend fic, that follows canon with interesting diverging road stops.

This Color Ain't It by justcallmedude has Kenji, our lovable super strength-powered farmer, as a main character! Crossover between bsd and mha with a dash of angst thrown here and there.

For a shin soukoku pairing fic, I'd suggest Fair Ankles by spirallings (rated E) and love knows no boundaries by dangodangomilk; fun, interesting stories that aren't that long, the latter's a oneshot and the former's ugh, just around 100k words :>

One of the first bsd fics I've read, which is with a fyozai pairing, is Letters from the Underground by ktaem! The writing style has its own refined edge, with the exploration of a what-if scenario that had me by hook, line, and sinker. This fic is still in my tab group because I always keep rereading it!

Now if we're entering the explicit territory, I will forever recommend my favorite series (pairing is chuuda btw) Ineffable Partners by Ch_ee_rios. The eighth installment is currently updating, and I promise, you will cry- or at least feel a significant gut punch.

Head Full of Lies by AbsoluteNegation, as my friend one said, is where the good shit's at. The premise had me instantly curious and soukoku's dynamic is wonderful, messy, and DAMN I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH.

Mors Vincit Omnia by themadtree, an soukoku and fyolai fic that will have you bending over and dying of laughter and pain. The author's other works (akai!) are also very good.

The series all that is left by alaruya is a personal favorite of mine. The writing style is unique, with choppy sentences and tear-jerker lines. Was the first story that ever had me thinking, "god I need to bookmark this," and I did.

Bottom of The Deep Blue Sea by arkastadt is a filthy, guilty pleasure. (can you tell I'm an avid bottomzai reader?)

And that's it... I think? I'm also willing to suggest Leafing Through The Pages, I Found You by YunaYamiMouto, but letting you know it's an ongoing reaction fic of the bsd cast to Dazai's life (with the author's own creative choices and headcanons), so there will be a lot, and I mean a HECK TON of spoilers. Which, to be fair, the other fics do have in sprinkles, but this tackles novel events that maybe you'd wish to read at your own pace :D

also shameless plug I have my own fic, the heat of your orange, and I know there's only one chapter but I'm trying my best to update soon

Happy reading!

[purpled-royalty]

I haven’t been the most active on here, as i’m in the middle of studying for finals, but I did get to work on Tiara’s character profile and wanted to share more about her.

It does include info from a short story i’m writing, but no major spoilers ✨

Tiara Kiyoto

Basic Information

Name: Tiara Kiyoto

Age: 25

Birthday: May 10

Sign: Taurus

Blood Type: O

Love Interest: Nacht Faust

Birthplace: Land of Eden

Current Location: Clover Kingdom

Affinity: Galaxy

Likes: Mangos and Sweet Treats

Voice Claim: Anairis Quinones (Nessa in Pokémon)

Appearance

Height: 166 cm

Eyes: Red (with amber highlights)

Scars: She has a tiny scar on her left eyebrow

Hair: Dark brown deep curly hair. Her hair (also lightens in the sun to a slightly lighter shade of brown). She has two prominent beaded braids as bangs, and tends to wear her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of her face during combat. For formal events she usually wears her hair in different styles, and often changes the colour of the beads on her braids to suit her attire.

Clothing: Tiara wears practical clothing, that’s easy to move around in or complete her missions in. Her everyday outfit usually consists of shorts, tights and boots, however, after she moved to clover she does sometimes enjoy dressing up in formal attire. She likes sparkly clothing + pairing neutral colours with bright accents or colours that match the galactic stars (blues, purples)

Personality

Tiara is strong, charming, free-spirited and independent with a bit of a wild streak. She has the tendency to be a bit stubborn, and make rash decisions. She is quick to defend her friends and people she cares about, and loves them all unconditionally. She will do everything she can to protect them.

She hated her magic attribute and initially refused to use her magic for the fear of being resold as a slave. However, she soon learned that her magic attribute could be potentially helpful in defence of her loved ones and continues to use her magic to protect those she cares about.

Background

Tiara was born in a country far from clover where she was taken from her parents as a child because of her magic type. She was born into a prestigious “branch” of “royalty” in her corrupt kingdom (in quotation marks as her father decided he wanted nothing to do with being royal and quit his duties). As Tiara’s father quit the royal house to live an average life, the royal family used a magic tool to drain his magical abilities - despite that, Tiara’s father still went on to marry and live a happy life - he was aware of the consequences and was willing. Tiara’s father took his wife’s last name “Kiyoto” to fully disassociate with the royal family.

Her kingdom feared/ disliked mages who possessed strong and rare magic/ magic types outside the royal family / royal brigade (hence why her father’s magic was drained when he left). Due to this the leaders often sold mages with rare magic attributes/ abilities as kid slaves to other nations. The mages that weren't bought were often constantly drained of their magic power using different magical tools, so that they can 'safely' reproduce and create more slaves for the Kingdom to sell (this was their way of forming some sort of dictatorship over the land).

Tiara was sold as a slave mage to a family in Spade, who were later all killed by Dante during the initial takeover of Spade. Dante tried to kill Tiara, but he thought her magic type was 'arcane,' and kept her alive as his own slave mage warrior. He promised her freedom if she fought with the Zogaratis family to fully take over the Spade, Clover, Heart & Diamond Kingdoms (Tiara believed this, although in reality he lied and had no intention of freeing her).

The promise of freedom drove Tiara to work hard, as all she really knew was the lonely and tough life of slavery, so she fought for the Zogarits' to assist with the takeover. Tiara, is shown to be hardworking, and resilient as she is seen to do anything and persevere anything following Dante's promise to free her from slavery/ forced labour.

Tiara met Nacht while he was undercover. He captured her and took her to the Clover Kingdom as a prisoner, and long story short she got saved, and eventually joined the magic knights. Tiara now fights alongside the clover knights in the Black Bulls and eventually falls for Nacht.

Magic

Affinity/ Attribute: Galaxy Magic

Description: Tiara’s Galaxy Magic is an ancient and powerful magical attribute of her Kingdom that allows the user to manipulate the cosmos, celestial forces and galaxy at will. This unique magic type draws energy from the stars, planets, gravitational systems and the vastness of the universe, enabling the her to wield a wide range of galaxy-based spells with both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Her magic in its natural state takes form of galactic particles, using it to form vast nebulas that swirl around her.

She is an all rounded mage but mainly specialises in attack. She’s mainly a close range mage as she likes to use dual daggers by coating/ infusing her magic in them (although it’s not necessary for all her spells it’s just one of her preferred ways of fighting cause she’s fast and flexible)

Grimoire: Tiara’s grimoire is black and blue, and from the Spade Kingdom.

Trivia

Tiara’s favourite things are sweet treats and mangos, if she could eat them for the rest of her life, she would.

Tiara likes to stargaze, and also watch the moon and sun.

She can’t cook to save her life, she often makes her food too sweet or too spicy for others to enjoy.

She loves animals, but animals don’t love her. She is surprisingly good at horse riding though.

Tiara is naturally very flexible, and agile.

Tiara has a 'high life force energy' bloodline trait. People from her royal bloodline in the Land of Eden are seen as tenacious and have the life force of a cockroach. They can often perform self fortification and self healing spells.

Tiara’s full name is actually tiaraluwa (pronounced: tee, aah , ruh loo, wah) but she goes by tiara, tia or just T, it means “royal gift from God” in the language of her home county as her parents believe she was Gods gift to them.

[myimaginedcorner]

I went in completely blind to your if and I just have to say, I am pleasantly surprised, amazed and obsessed with it (Like not a very normal amount). I could say a million things about your writing(I’d literally love love love to study it for personal use, ofc, If you’d let me!)—from its flow to the immersion that imo literally makes it feel as if I’m there, but I’ll stick to a (relatively) short ask and talk abt my experience. I particularly enjoyed being the local pain in the ass(For the ros at least) and I haven’t flirted with them not even once—but now my brain has decided that it wants to romance the count or the sailor out of everyone (They’re embarrassingly consuming my every thought at this point, just something about melancholic old men and cunning (probably emotionally unavailable) men really.. Gets me each and every time). But one thing that I am curious about is the birds; the raven, the owl, and the eagle as far as I remember. It’s not that recurring of a theme to get their pov, but just enough to get me thinking, is there an importance to them/do they represent something or are they just they just there for their point of view to progress the story? And the other thing I also am curious about is what did it mean by ‘get out’? I’m trying to avoid spoiling it for those who hadn’t read it by keeping it vague but if the answers for either questions contain spoilers, feel free to not answer! If you read this author, you are amazing, Ily and have a superr great week<3

Hi!! Oh my god, thank you so much for this amazing ask - it made my day! I am so glad you enjoyed my writing: I am currently struggling with it a bit as I am going through the first chapters, so reading that someone had fun with it helps me stay motivated! You absolutely have my permission to study it, if you so wish, although I am a bit embarassed for I find it quite standard (and not up to my standards at the moment, haha).

Silver Demon has his charms... I wonder where they can get you.

The birds come from a discarded idea of having two perspectives on one scene, a full one and a limited one; as I realised how many of you had positive feedback for the bird scenes, I threw away the full scene idea, recycling it for the last chapter's visions. They are there to present the characters with a flawed point of view on an occasion happening outside the MC's knowledge, so that both you and them have something to discover further down the route! They also represent the MC's father - far, distant, but observing how the world develops as he saw it. In a way, the birds are possessed by the Omniscient Reader, restricting one's power over the world!

Get out.... if you stumbled upon one of the short italic sentences, well, congratulations, those are few and rare throughout the book! They do have a meaning. Wait and see.

Thank you so much for the ask, I loved to hear from you!! Have an amazing week too xx

[bootleg-sara]

After a long time coming I finally did it. I have made a full list of all my AUs via drawing Isaac in all of them! +3 extra forms from a few said AUs. I’m so excited to have these out and be able to start sharing more about them!

I’ll give a short description of each AU under the cut

Basement: My most canon-adjacent AU. It’s how I view the basement and the stories of the kids/basement borns inside. A bleak story, but one that comes with a happy ending. Other than Purgatory, this is the one I’ve talked about the most. As many of my tboi HCs are placed here

Purgatory: The main AU. Purgatory follows Isaac as he travels through hell and heaven while figuring out life on earth. Trying his best to avoid being captured due to his status as a “Prophet”; a special human soul who has connections to both the spiritual and physical realms

Parasite: The world is put into an apocalypse after an earthquake opened up a giant crater and released a swarm of locusts that spread parasites onto the populous. Most end up dead after being infected, the few that live are given special abilities, putting humanity to the test

Sacrifice: I lovingly call this my Magical Girl AU. A bunch of random people are picked and sent into a death-match for the world’s entertainment. Helped by their friendly familiar that allows them to transform into more powerful forms. Sinister secrets hides underneath it all

9 Lives: Another AU I have written a bit about here. After the original human world was destroyed humanity moves to a new world to save themselves. In the far future, Isaac finds himself wrapped up on the wrong end of a devil deal and has 9 chances to live his life to the fullest

New God: The world needs to be started again. In hopes that fresh blood will bring better change, they take in a baby God and train them so they can make a better world before they destroy the old one. Eden and Azazel watch the new God with worry for their own futures

Cursed: Isaac is cursed and seems to bring a terrible fate to whatever comes in contact with him. For as long as he can remember, he has isolated himself to avoid bringing more pain to others. A group of young college adults find him in an abandoned house and give him hope again

Armageddon: A different timeline/future setting for Purgatory. The tainted timeline where Judas successfully merges the physical and spiritual realms. Now with the world’s fate on the line, the new archangel Isaac has to make sure the world goes in the right direction

Soul Bond: The au I made completely on a whim. A world that’s defined by everyone’s soul being bonded to someone else’s and the trip down The Basement some will take to break/make their current bonds. A lot more fantastical and “out there” than most of my other AUs

Adult: The future au for all of the Basement kids. Basically everyone’s older now and working through the trauma of what the basement did to them. Some of the basement’s old scars still stick strong to this day

Angel AU: An AU where everyone is dead Yippie 🎉All the characters are either angels or demons. Living their afterlife to the best they can while shifting through their deaths (they all died pretty young). This AU was originally made for my “Ask Angel Jacob and Esau” ask blog

Edmund Ultra Pride: A comedy AU about Ultra Pride and their mysterious ability to change the basement to their whim with their art tablet. They end up taking a liking to a child who accidentally falls in and tries to make their situation more palatable

The extra 3: Tainted Isaac and Infernal Isaac are both from the basement au. Tainted is self explanatory. Infernal is based on a new game mode idea I’ve been toying with. And I’ve talked about Brother Delirious a small bit. But he’s P!Isaac’s worst thoughts taken physical form

I would write more about all of these, but I’ve written more than enough for now lmao. I’m always here to answer any questions and I do love talking about my AUs. I hope to make more content for these more and I might do this same format with other characters. Very excited to finally have this out of my brain zone

[snzysimper]

FINALLY!! I haven’t posted a fic in AGES. Apologies for that. This is probably the longest thing I’ve ever written. I’m really proud of how this turned out. It took me a while, but I hope it was well worth the wait for everyone. This is the re-write of this fic. I tried to keep it loyal to the original, but also make it better.

Note: I had everything italicized and shit, but tumblr is stupid and doesn’t keep it when it gets copy pasted from a google doc so I’ll go back and fix it later. For now, you can just use your imagination because I am to lazy to do it rn.

Another note: not that this really matters, but Security Breach doesn’t exist in my AU, so first of all, no ‘Burntrap’ and also no SB Vanessa. I much prefer the fan made version from Help Wanted, so that is who I use in my fics and such, but feel free to portray it however you like. She just looks better. Feel free to look at some fan art else where.

A Warm Surprise

A Will/iam x Van/ny Snz Fic

Written by SnzySimper

Word Count: 1950

TW: Spray, Snz (ofc), mentions of deceased children (only briefly)

| I am allowed to write what I want and I would appreciate if you keep whatever rude comments you may have to yourself |

It is about 11 o’clock at night. The pizzeria was far past closing, which was 8 o’clock. One would generally expect for the place to be empty. Isn’t that how this works anyway? Starting in only one hour, the haunted robots spring to life and, well, you know the rest. But, no, not right now. We are far beyond that point. Long story short, after the closing and re-opening, new animatronics were made, and the Fazbear brand was re-started after someone bought the name. As of the current moment, a new man owns the name brand. Well, not quite. After escaping his presumably eternal hell, William Afton put his consciousness inside of a game, making himself nothing but a piece of computer code. With the help of an innocent bystander, he was set free into the world again and, under a new name, bought his company back. Who’s his partner in crime, you may ask? A young woman named Vanessa, or Vanny, as William usually calls her. His little reluctant follower, although she has become less reluctant as time has gone by. In fact, she had become much less of a follower and more of a friend. The two did most everything together. Were they themselves together? Well, no. Not right now, anyway.

Sitting down on a table, Vanny looked over towards the animatronics. They were powered off, as they should be. She and ‘Dave’ planned to keep it that way. No more vengeful ten year olds wanting to damn your soul. And hopefully not ever again. He didn’t have any reason to make it happen again. He had obtained his immortality, so why would he need to kill more children. It’s not like he needs the remnant. She glances around the pizzeria, not used to it being so empty and quiet. No sounds of children giggling and screaming. No music. Only the hum from the air conditioner. A bit creepy and unsettling to most, but she had come quite accustomed to it. She found it almost peaceful. It was silent, and peaceful, and not a single sound to-

“-gGGes’SSHHhss!!”

Slightly startled at the broken silence, Vanny looks up. She was alone in the pizzeria, minus her ‘boss’. It had to have been him. Come to think of it, had she ever heard him sneeze before? Being a computer code, she didn’t really think he could sneeze. Oh well. Who cares? A sneeze is a sneeze. No skin off her teeth. She pulls out her phone, not paying it anymore mind. “Hh’gGG’shhh!!..’Ggsshh!” Well, this was certainly interesting. It was strange enough for this to happen once, granted that it had never happened before. But three times? Curious to what could possibly be happening, Vanny hops off of the table to go and find him. It was getting to be time to head home, so she should go and get him anyway.

~~~~

“Hhhh…”

Sitting at his desk, William breathes heavily. He was happy that the day was finally over. He could just go home and fall asleep on the sofa. He crosses his arms and lowers his head, about to fall asleep in the chair. In front of him are blueprints for trying to fix SpringBonnie. Trying. Although he may as well just start from scratch. The suit itself is beyond repair, but the internal parts, or at least the springlocks, could possibly be salvaged. It would take a good bit of effort though. As the AC turns on, he shivers, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest. Was it usually this cold in the pizzeria? Or maybe someone had just messed with the thermostat. Who knows. Giving William the benefit of the doubt, he is a TWIG. The average weight for someone who is 7’2 is around 230. William is 190. One could say that this is due to him not eating much. He doesn’t see a reason why he should. As we have previously established, he’s already immortal. It isn’t like he can starve. Although, the occasional meal is nice. He slowly raises and tilts his head back, his breath hitching slightly. “hhHh’GGschh!!” Damn. Why is he so cold? Wiping his nose on the back of his hand, he sighs. Was it possible he could- no. No, no. He’s a piece of computer code for crying out loud; barely even able to be classified as a human being at this point. Being sick is completely out of the question.

Right?

It had been a long day of listening to the same 6 songs on repeat, children's laughter, and, worst of all, the smell of shitty cheap pizza. He was more than ready to go home by now. Vanny walks in the room, softly knocking on the door. “Mr. Afton?” She walks up behind him, and gently places her hand on his shoulder. Having completely zoned out, he jumps at the touch of her hand. She jerks her hand back. “M-Mr. Afton-! I’m so sorry, did I wake you?” While they were ‘friends’, Vanny’s voice still trembled whenever addressing him. She knew all that he had done in the past, and was terrified of what he would be capable of doing now that he was immortal and essentially invincible. William, however, didn’t respond in his usual manner. “Vanessa,” he gives her a small weak smile. He doesn’t face her directly. He simply looks back at her using only his eyes. His piercing, icy blue eyes. “It’s nearly midnight.” She wrung her hands. “Shouldn’t we be leaving soon?”

“Yes. Worry not, we will be heading out soo-”

He abruptly stops speaking. He looks a bit dazed for a moment before quickly bringing his hand to his face, pinching his nose. “Ht’nnt-!” It is almost silent. “Ht’nxxt!! ‘nxxT -nnt!” And again. “hhHt’nkkt!!”

“Bless you,” Vanny says softly. He lets go of his nose, which is now a warm pink, and sniffles as he wipes his nose on the back of his hand. “Hhh, thank…thank you.” At last, he turns in his chair to face her. Vanny is worried by the sight of him. His cheeks are a touch of pink, and so does his nose, although his nose is a brighter shade. The parts of his face that aren’t flushed somehow look even more pale than they usually do. The dark circles under his eyes are more noticeable than normal. Tiny droplets of sweat are present on his forehead. Almost by instinct, she reaches up and gently presses the back of her hand against his forehead. “Mr Afton, you look awful. Are you feeling alright?” Realizing that she literally just reached up and touched his face without any sort of warning, she panics and quickly tries to jerk her hand away. Before she can fully pull her hand away, William reaches up and presses the palm of her hand against his cheek, sighing happily. Vanny blushes, shocked by the intimate gesture. He closes his eyes and lowers his head. He looks very happy to say the least. “Your hand,” he says quietly. “It feels really warm. It feels nice.”

“Your face is very warm, too. And not in a good way.” She lets him hold her hand and uses her other hand to feel his forehead again, now assuming that he doesn’t mind her touching his face. “You have a fever. I’m sure of it.” She removes her hand from his forehead and moves his hair so it isn’t covering his eyes. “Mmhm,” he hums in agreement, although she is quite sure that he isn’t paying all that much attention to what she is saying. She laughs softly. “Come on, let's go home.”

Vanny helps walk him into the house. Leaving her side, William walks away and flops face first onto the couch. He looks pretty comfortable. Vanny giggles. She isn’t used to seeing him so relaxed. Usually when he interacts with others, he lacks much emotion and is very curt. Any time someone tries to care for him or assist him with something non-work related, he snaps at them to leave him alone. With her he is usually a bit more friendly, but not much. Tonight, he had been everything but that. He even smiled at her. Vanny walks over to the couch and sits down next to him. William helps himself and rests his head on her lap. She lets out a small squeak, shocked at the fact that he is being so affectionate. She sighs and begins gently scratching his head. He smiles. “We should probably get some medicine for you.” William hums softly. “I’m fiiine.” He closes his eyes, sighing softly. Vanny sighs. “Alright. If you say so.” She didn’t want to challenge him on anything, so as not to take his gentle and chill attitude for granted.

They are silent for a good ten minutes before William starts sniffling. Vanny looks down at him. He is rubbing his face with the back of his hand, his nose clearly irritated. William eventually gives up, deciding that his efforts to relieve the itchy tickling sensation in his nose are fruitless. He looks adorable, Vanny thinks. She gently presses the tip of his nose with her index finger. “h’EHshhSS!” Vanny jumps slightly. “Oh. Bless you.”

“Mmm..what was thah for?” He grumbles sleepily. “Sorry. You just looked so cute. Your nose was twitching like a little bunny.” Vanny giggles. William rolls over to face up at her, his eyes still closed. “Could you..do it again?” She is a bit surprised, and pretty confused. “What, why would you want-”

“My nose..it’s still itchy. I need to sneeze. Please…” He opens his eyes looking up at her, his eyes practically begging for her to do something. Vanny can’t help but feel bad for him. “Alright.” She takes her thumb and index finger and begins gently rubbing the sides of his nose.He sniffles a few times as she continues to gently touch his nose. “I-is this helping? Is it working?” He sniffles once again. “Y-yeah, snff, sorta.” Vanny moves from the sides of his nose to the base, just below his nostrils. “Oh- hihh right sndff there..” She continues rubbing his nose, a bit harder this time. William’s breath is hitching. He tilts his head back, before inhaling sharply. “Hh’Gggshhs!! HGg’essh!! EH-shhiis! Ht’chh ‘chtt!!” He tries his best to avoid spraying Vanny, although he still gets her a little. Vanny lifts his head off of her lap. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go find some tissues.” She quickly rushes out of the living room to go and search for tissues.

William sits up, holding his nose shut as he continues to sneeze wetly. “hMP’tchh! Ht’CHH!! T’chh k‘chh -gSHH!!” Vanny comes back with a box of tissues and sits back down on the couch. She hugs William, leaning him back in her arms. She holds the box of tissues out in front of him. He quickly grabs one and holds it up to his face. “H’ppshh!! Hh’IISHH!!” He sighs, having been able to finally catch his breath. He rubs his nose with the tissue. His nose is revealed to be much more pink than it was before. He sniffles, draping his arms on Vanny’s shoulders, holding on to her like a sloth. He rests his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. “ I’mb sorry sndDF for..snff sneezigg on you.” Vanny chuckles softly. “It’s alright. I don’t mind.” She rubs his head and begins playing with his hair. Laying down, she holds onto William and hugs him close. “Try and get some sleep, alright?” William hums in response. It isn’t long before she hears him softly snoring. She smiles, kissing the top of his head. “Sleep well, Mr. Afton.”

[the-broken-pen]

First of I absolutely adore your writing prompts, you have really helped me with my writing projects. I do have some questions for you. I have a character in my book, she’s the main villain in the story. The story takes place in there Era’s, medieval, seventh century America (Salem Witch trials) and present time. My main villain was born in Salem Town, her father was a judge. She discovers she has powers and has to end up leaving her family and her town for fear of her being a witch. Her family is part of a ancient prophecy, and she believes that she is the girl it speaks of. Her powers have the ability to influence her choices and thoughts. I often think of it as Mr jeckle and the Hyde. The good vs evil. She ends up giving in to her selfish desires and becomes evil. The hero in my story is her ancestor; and she’s the girl in the prophecy. But I wanted to sort of use her as a sort of “cautionary tale” if that makes sense. My often think of my Villain, Alice her name is as very much like Lord Voldemort. She’s very clever and cunning. Manipulative. I’m on the part where my hero is learning about her, I want to make her infamous (sort of like when Harry asks dumbledore if he knew he had met the most evil wizard when he was just a child. And he replies with, no. If the monster was there it was buried deep within) do you have any dialogue that can help set the tone of how evil she is? ❤️❤️ ❤️

Anon, my love, I truly appreciate you, and you have no idea how much joy it brings that you both like my writing and it’s helped you. Absolutely wild.

Your story sounds absolutely delightful, and I adore the idea of a split timeline world building concept. I’m absolutely intrigued by it. Wether or not it’s simply flashbacks or short scenes that look back on the villain, or dual POV, I think it will be wonderful.

Now to actually answer your question:

I have a few suggestions, and you can shape them to what you want—I don’t know underlying motivations between the characters or actually events/scenes, so I’m going vague here.

“It was like walking into the ocean, surface calm and smooth, sun on your back. Until you step too far, too fast, and the current rips you under. There’s no escaping from that kind of hold—and eventually, you don’t want to, either, surrounded by such power. That was her. She was the sun and the riptide and the victim; and she was willing to drag us all down with her when she went.”

“People didn’t live through her—they survived in the aftermath.”

“It was never about forgiveness, or righteousness. At some point, she was a girl, scared and alone. All she had was herself, and her power, and at some point, one of those things won. And it wasn’t her.”

“Power is a thing you can love. It curls up in your heart, your mind, your soul, and it’s a beautiful thing. It’s easy. It gnaws at your bones until you forget the absence of it. She loved her power to absolution, and at that point, right or wrong didn’t matter to her. It just mattered if she was capable of whatever she wanted to do.”

“She didn’t hurt people because she craved their pain—she hurt people because they were in her way. They were casualties to her. A person who sees human beings as obstacles is no longer a person with humanity. And she saw people as obstacles.”

I hope that helps!

This next stuff is just general advice about dialogue, because I went off on a mini tangent while stuck on an airplane. I want to preface that my advice is based solely on how I write and other advice I’ve received—anything I do may not work for you, or go against something you prefer in your writing style. I’m not a professional, simply an individual who likes typing things.

When I’m writing dialogue, my main goal is to get it to flow well, which is my favorite part. Half the time when I start a scene, I have one very specific line fragment that I want to use, and I’m figuring out how the characters would naturally get there. For example, the lines “I need you to hang up,” “No, love, I’m going to turn you into another me,” and “Your brother isn’t alive, but he is living,” were big drivers for me within those scenes, but I have to get to them for them to make sense.

That being said, to write a good “evil” sounding dialogue/villain, don’t make it too outright, unless you’re going for, on some level, unhinged. Your villain lost the internal battle between good and evil, and is driven by her powers. So essentially, an outside force is pushing her to do these things, think these things, say these things. And since she’s manipulative, when she talks, you’re almost going to agree with her, and that’s what will make it more convincing. For example:

“I finally stood up and did something for myself for once—is that such a horrible thing?”

Which, depending on the situation, can be a gross oversimplification—but that’s what your villain would see it as. She did something she wanted, for herself, after leaving her town in fear. And anyone who has been pushed down by other people will relate to that, and the fact that they relate to it will make them uneasy.

Along with that, power dynamics. Not magic, but the way the characters interact. In improv, you need to have two characters on different levels. You can have a boss and an employee, a king and a joker, a mom and her child. There’s engrained power dynamics between those groups, and they make it interesting. If your main character isn’t at least a little bit afraid of the villain, it won’t be believable. Our main character isn’t afraid, why should we be? If Hagrid/Dumbledore/other adults weren’t at least slightly shaken by Voldemort, it wouldn’t matter. He’d just be a bad wizard—not someone who strikes such fear that people cannot say his name.

However, you can have people on the same level within writing, but it can sometimes make a scene lag. It all depends on the situation. But someone, somehow, will always have an upper hand. More resources, more power, less morality, ancestral sway, etc.

Woah, that got long. Anyways, I hope that helps, and if you need any more ideas, feel free to send me another ask, especially if it’s for a specific scene.

[secretsofthestorymakers]

Ok, last post about Wish for now, I promise! A few years ago, I was writing a lot of short-ish analyses on various Disney Movies, and I remember I actually wrote one for Wish based only on the song This Wish! So I thought it would be fun to go through my analyses from over a year ago and see how correct I was now that I’ve actually seen the movie…

The black text is all direct quotes from what I wrote over a year ago. The purple is my comments on it now.

09/12/22

Considering that it is over a year until this movie comes out (the current date is 9/12/22), I am fully aware how ridiculous it is that I’m already writing an analysis on it. The main character, Asha, appears to be princess-like, although she may not be actual royalty. (I personally think she isn’t royal or high-ranking at all, since I think that will work better with the story and themes). That is actually true, although I still think she is Disney Princess coded. When I listened to More for Us (This was the original title for This Wish) the other day, I was literally crying, and that is with it out of context. It is a beautiful song that combines the simple magic of The Golden Age with the power of the universal truths and complex themes of The Revival Era. It is a perfect I-want song, and showcases Disney at its heart as a beautiful celebration for its 100th anniversary.

09/13/22

I finally found the lyrics to More for Us! (This Wish) Now that I have the lyrics, I can analyze the song properly. Also, after reading the lyrics, I’ve changed my mind about what I think the themes will be and where the story will go. Seriously, by giving us the I-want song, Disney gave us the most valuable single piece of information they could give. I have a LOT to say about these lyrics. Who is “us”? Now, I’m thinking that either she is part of a minority group in her kingdom, ehhhh, that is not true or that this is kind of a kingdom where the rulers (presumably the people who live in the tall palace-like building on the left side of the concept art) control/harm the people in some way. That was spot on. Knowing Disney, I would assume the first option, but the way she says “open their eyes to all lies” implies some sort of combination of the two options. I’m thinking that themes could be something like, action, making choices, standing up, etc. I will stand by those themes, in a way. They certainly aren't the only ones, but they are definitely present (think “if not us, then who and when” from Knowing What I Know Now. I would also say a theme is how knowing the truth can change your perspective. And a bit about willful ignorance in the way that the people unquestioningly gave their wishes to Magnifico because it was easier than trying to pursue them themselves. It appears that Asha is on the edge of something when she sings this. She’s had some sort of realization that sets her apart from everyone else in her world, but she hasn’t taken the step to act on it yet (“I’m past dipping my toes in, but not past diving in”). By challenging Magnifico and learning about the wishes, she’s gone too far to go back to her life just as it was, but she hasn’t made a decision on how to act on this yet, but she knows she needs to. By the end of the song, she has made her decision to act on her realization/feelings. Mhhhmmm not quite. I think she knows she needs to act already when she starts singing, she just doesn't know how. And that’s what Star shows her. She gains strength and confidence throughout the song. It acts as an I-want and a catalyst, as most of the recent I-want songs do. Yeah, that is definitely true. I find it interesting that the I-want itself was the catalyst, but I love it. It feels very Disney. Asha says “the way you always taught me to.” Who is “you”? My guess would be some sort of (likely dead) mentor figure like a parent or grandparent. Yeah, Disney’s pretty predictable with the dead parents. It does make sense story wise though. Whether this is the case or not, whoever “you” is has clearly had a significant impact on Asha, her personality, her values, and how she views the world. They will be an important part of the story, even if they’ve died before the movie begins. Her father was actually mentioned directly less than I predicted, but I still think that what he taught her about the stars’ guidance stuck with her and is the reason she wished on one to begin with. So in a way, her dad did have a big impact on the story, just in a less obvious way. And he definitely affected how Asha views the world and how she chooses to respond to what she learned while in the palace.

[a-strange-inkling]

im hoping your “cant stop, wont stop” comment means theres more in store for mythology au because you knocked it out of the park. So so so good!!! do you think youll continue it as a side story? I know you already have a few to work on but even a short side story like trimmings could be fun. Anyway I love your writing and check your blog daily. Thanks for sharing your talent!!! 💛💛

Oh my gosh, thank you so, so much! 😊 you made my whole day!

AU Week is going to be so fun because I will get to share little peaks of ideas that are in really early development or even just concept stages that I can’t focus on presently due to my current projects.

And yes, I would love to write more of the mythology au someday in the future! It’s definitely in the queue 💀🖤🌸🤍 but I just can’t right now with all the other things I’m working on.

Here’s a few more little tidbits about it:

It’s loosely inspired by Receiver of Many by Rachel Alexander which is my favorite Hades and Persephone retelling because it’s gorgeous and also based in ancient times (as much as I like the modern retellings, I really need to be in a different era)

Demeter!Laura is exceptionally dark and twisted in this, and very powerful too. She spirals to new lows.

Aidonous!Eddie is forced to rule the Upside Down!Underworld after betraying and imprisoning Kronos!Vecna.

Persephone!Chrissy was promised to him as his queen for his victory after the war against Vecna, but her mother vowed that he would never have her and stole her away, hiding her far from him in the mortal world. He believed that she herself did not wish to be married to him and retreated into his realm.

Kronos!Vecna in his imprisonment has learned how to enter the dreams of mortals and even gods. He is bent on using Chrissy to take his revenge on Eddie. It’s his torment that leads her to seek out the forbidden medicines of the underworld, where she meets her betrothed for the first time, with no memory or idea of who he is.

*Characters and their god personas will vary. And aside from canon ST relatives, no one is related like they are in the og Greek myths of course lol

[hartshorn-and-isinglass]

UNHALLOWED GROUND

(CHAPTER 1: Bring Me to Life)

CHAPTER 2: I Don't Drink... Wine

Whoops my hand slipped and I wrote more vampire fic. I will apologize but I also won't stop writing. Sorry.

Word Count: 1.4k Content Warnings: alcohol mention.

(Really Marve, are we doing this again?)

What a strange night this has been thus far. But my discomfit is easily soothed by the prospect of more good music. I sit down on the edge of the tomb next to his case, eager to hear him play again.

With a sharp inhale he puts bow to string. Bold sweeping strokes evoke the sound of trumpets, serious and regal, like a grand procession. I’m surprised; I assumed this would be something light and sweet when I asked for a piece that was dear to him. Instead, this feels rather fantastic, like tales of old–full of knights and their ladies, or maybe even strange creatures. I suppose tonight he is something of a knight-errant himself, testing his mettle against a strange creature like me. 

The procession gives way to some courtly dance, but only briefly before the melody lapses into weeping and sighs, then grim determination at the call of the trumpets once again. I’m struck by how dark a tune this is to keep close to one’s heart. And as the thought crosses my mind, his eyes meet mine for the briefest moment, blazing with a startling fire, before he dives into the last somber, ringing notes of the piece. 

At last I can applaud him, for it is well-deserved. “Truly, you should be playing in Paris, not in this silly half-forgotten backwater of a town.”

Monsieur Chagnon bows graciously, and grins. “I have played in Paris before, as a matter of fact.”

“Oh, how glamorous! But why on earth would you ever forsake the big city for this wild place?”

“That… is a long story, Mademoiselle.” For the briefest moment a shadow seems to cross his face, though it is quickly replaced with a wry smile. “But wherever Frenchmen go, there will be a need for wine and good music–thus even the farthest corners of the empire require musicians. I have found my home here, where I am needed. Alas, I cannot do anything to remedy the short supply of good wine.” 

“Indeed. I can’t recall any of the wine ever having been decent. Although, after all these years, my memory of the taste of wine is no longer reliable.”

He frowns. “Is that so? Does one forget the pleasures of life when one crosses over to the realm of the dead?”

“I may not be the person to ask about such things, since I am not truly dead. Or I am and I am not; my current state of being was never meant to be at all, it seems. But whatever the case may be–no, I have not entirely forgotten what it was like to be mortal… though sometimes it seems as if those memories belong to someone else. No caliber of wine would suit me now, for my tastes… have changed.”

“And the dead–or the un-dead, rather–they do not eat or drink?”

I hesitate. “Not as the living do.” 

“Yet there must be some manner by which you obtain the vital power that allows you to speak and move,” he says with sudden animation. “You confound the entire field of natural philosophy, Mademoiselle. For you are no mere figment of the infected imagination; nor the spirit of one who is deceased; nor a corpse that moves but has no ability to reason. You are soul and body resurrected–a Lazarus of a kind–though presumably not resurrected by our Lord but by some natural process we do not yet understand. What would Dom Augustin Calmet have made of you, I wonder!”

I raise an eyebrow. “Certainly, if God had anything to do with my current predicament He did not see fit to show His face. But do tell me, how does a fiddler like you come by such an interest in natural philosophy?”

“Ah! The nature of life itself and the possibility of un-life were constant topics of conversation in the salons and coffehouses of Paris. Can you believe it? My companions there were a rather morbid bunch.” He laughs as he sits down next to me. “Personally, I had always been inclined to doubt. But-” he says, leaning in a little, “-here you are, in the flesh. At last, I cannot refute the evidence before me, not when I can see it with my own eyes-” here he clasps my hand again, “-and touch it, as well.”

The soft warmth of his hand envelops mine once more. The hairs on my arm stand at attention as the heat travels up and into me, and I reflexively gasp again as the chambers of my heart fill with warmed blood. I feel that deep ache of longing in the pit of my stomach, though this time it is also accompanied by a more familiar need that pushes up against my eye teeth and turns my breath ragged. My head swims a little with the pleasure of it all, the sweet pangs of anticipation-

Monsieur Chagnon watches me keenly. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet. “You mentioned stealing warmth from the living. Is that what you do with the men who come here?”

“Among other things...”

A poor choice of words. My mouth longs to be latched onto his flesh; there is less room for other thoughts in my mind as I am carried along on the tide of my own hunger. Yet there is some part of me that is made uneasy by his calm demeanor. 

“What else do you take from them?”

The uneasiness grows. “Why must you press me on this matter? You have heard all of the stories.”

“Indeed, I have. And of the seven who have come here before me, five of them have trouble recalling the exact sequence of events that transpired before they found themselves stumbling back out the gate, terrified and confused. What is it that you have done to them?”

“Do not ask me this.” I withdraw my hand from his. “I have been careful to minimize my harm to these men, to take only what I need to survive.”

His voice grows yet more quiet. “But do you harm them?”

I nearly hiss at him before I catch myself. I can see him staring at my eye teeth with that calculating stare again, the same one he gave me when he first took my hand. 

He is asking too many questions–questions which I cannot answer if I wish to let him live. I do not like any of this. I must have Monsieur Bouchard continue to believe I am some garden-variety ghost who will merely give his victims a good scare, nothing more. If any man were to know-

“I have a theory, Mademoiselle. I wonder if you would like to hear it.”

I would not, actually. 

“Go on.”

“There are legends of the restless dead from all times and places; I have read a great many of them. Most of them are stories of spirits, incorporeal beings who do not have the same material needs as the living. However, the revenant who comes back in body, not merely in spirit, is an entirely different creature, for he must abide by the laws that govern matter. And living matter can only function if it feeds itself, no?” 

Monsieur Chagnon pauses for a moment to observe my reaction. I desperately try not to give him one, but I have the feeling that I have already failed.

He continues. “There are reports from the lands of Hungary and Bohemia about a kind of revenant corpse that appears to consume the essence of life itself directly from the living. Have you heard any such stories before, Mademoiselle? It is said that a man who returns from the dead there will attack his relatives and neighbors by strangling or suffocating them–stealing their breath–or piercing their throat and drinking their blood. Victims of such attacks will then fall ill, and often die-”

“Enough! I have heard enough.” I get up to leave.

“But am I wrong, Mademoiselle?”

“I have not killed any of the men sent here by Bouchard-”

“So you have never killed anyone?”

“You must stop asking me questions!”

"May I not know the least bit more about this game that I have been asked to play?"

"No. No more questions!"

“Or else… what?” There is that cold look once again. 

“Or else you doom us both. Good night, Monsieur Chagnon.” I retreat to the mausoleum.

He rises after me, but I am too quick for him to catch. I shut the door in his face.

(To Be Continued... Unfortunately.)

[karama9]

Responding to Anonymous Reviews

A bit of context: I’m currently writing a Legend of Zelda fanfic where Link is a non Hylian black guy and Zelda is a transgender woman. I knew going in some people wouldn’t like either, but it’s gotten to the point I feel like Link in Tears of the Kingdom, where nobody recognizes him except the bunch that absolutely hates him.

I just posted chapter 4 and I have no comment on AO3, and 4 reviews on fanfiction dot net. Of the four: one (1) is nice, two (2) are hate and one is sort of neutral in a ‘don’t like it so far’ kind of way.

The two hate ones are anonymous, so I thought I’d answer here to get the answers out of my system.

First one: Guest chapter 1 . Nov 12

This is disgusting...

Response:

You posted this in response to the prologue, where all that happens is the characters being introduced and a bit of world building. If you find that disgusting, you're projecting.

Second one : X from Aumsville chapter 1 . 2h ago

And as long as Link refuses to accept he's a male instead of forcing himself to be something he isn't the master sword will forever be cursed knowing Link is messed up in his heart. He is no longer worthy of even breathing in the same space as that sword which knows better.

Response:

(sigh) The fact you didn’t read the story is not surprising, you’re obviously a transphobe. What really elevates this to another level is how you managed to read a very short summary that explicitly states that Link is a person of color and Zelda is transgender, and come out of it thinking this is a story where LINK is transgender. Congrats, not only are you hateful, not only do you devote time to expressing that hate to random strangers, you also can’t read.

More context, and a request:

This story came about because of two things.

One, I found out at some point that white supremacists were trying to use the Triforce as one of their symbols. It got me thinking, and I realized, like many other people, that Nintendo was not doing a great job of representing other races than white coded Hylians in Hyrule. I say this with a lot of love for the franchise, but although things have improved with the two most recent games, both the lack of color and how the other races are treated are notable flaws in the franchise. I wanted to make a story that addressed that with a Hero who was NOT a white Hylian. I made him non Hylian so it would be a significant thing for the in-story characters, I made him black so it would be a significant thing for the readers.

Two, JK Fucking Rowling. I have a loved one who is transgender, which maybe is making me more likely to notice things, but I think unless you’re really not paying attention, it’s pretty obvious that transphobia is on the rise. Several years back, the trend was improving. Things were getting better, people were becoming more accepting, at least in our neck of the woods. Now? Now that a ridiculously famous and rich author has been devoting time, money and energy to making people hate transgender people more and reject their identity? Everyone else who feels the same way feels more empowered to speak out and act out, the feeling is becoming normalized (more so) and things are getting worse again.

I was inspired by a trans female character in Supergirl, who inherits powers that ONLY go to female members of her family, because I loved the idea of the magic, the universe, unequivocally saying that YES, she is a woman. I wanted to do the same for Zelda, so I made her transgender, and she’s a Princess of Destiny.

So, basically, this story came about because I wanted a fix-it fic for Hyrule since I can't fix reality. I’m putting a lot of time and effort in it in the hope that it will eventually catch on and actually circulate enough for people who would get some joy from it to find it.

So far it’s not working.

SO, I have to ask a favor of my followers and mutuals. Please help me spread the word a bit about this story. Getting pretty much only negative feedback is disheartening when you’re trying to do a good thing. Don’t get me wrong. I am personally enjoying writing the story. I like the characters I created, I’m happy with the plot, etc. But unlike some other stories, the idea was never to write this one just for me.

Please reblog this, or when I post a chapter, and help the story get some visibility.

Links to the story:

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51450898/chapters/130021738

fanfiction dot net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14296946/1/All-That-Hurts-Us

[sparkthespork]

Coming back with a Hazbin post for the first time in a millennium

This was actually an ancient school assignment my teacher always wanted me to publish online but it turns out that’s difficult to do nice and officially so screw it tumblr blog

The prompt was to write a review about how love or relationships (specially lgbt ones in my case) are treated in any film or tv show of your choice and ‘cause I’m a huge nerd I picked Hazbin Hotel.

There were a bunch of links in the review too but I noticed that when I transferred it all to tumblr it erased it all… there were too many to put back in so just ask me if you want them I guess??? Idk what to do-

Anyway review is under the cut, time to switch to my formal voice

Consider Giving “Hazbin Hotel” a Second Chance

While it may seem shocking and offensive at first, its supposed “negative” representation is actually ahead of its time.

By Ruby H (sparkthespork)

1/15/21

From the moment the independent cartoon was first announced on YouTube, some controversy had already followed it. But after its release on October 28th, 2019, it would become famous to discourse forums far and wide, causing many to avoid it altogether. Of course, its rude humor and a cast of characters who are not exactly role-models will not be everyone's cup of tea, but it would be incorrect to say that the show is ignorant or pushing a harmful message. With only one episode, Hazbin Hotel is already one of the most original animated shows in its time. And while that might be the reason for its negative reviews, its ambition, heart, and surprisingly positive representation are all impossible to ignore.

Hazbin Hotel is a web series created by Vivienne Medrano, better known by her internet alias “Vivziepop,” a popular artist and animator on YouTube. Initially gaining an audience for her webcomic Zoophobia, and animated shorts such as Die Young and Timber, Hazbin Hotel is her first cartoon series, with a thirty-minute pilot that is free to watch on her channel and future episodes close on the horizon since the show was picked up by distribution company A24. The series follows a demon princess named Charlie, who was born in Hell and wants to give the sinners a second chance to get into Heaven. She creates the “Happy Hotel” for anyone looking to redeem themselves. However, no one believes her cause is worth it, and questions if redemption is even possible in the first place. Joining Charlie is her protective girlfriend and hotel manager Vaggie, their first and only guest Angel (who himself admits he is only there for the free room), and powerful overlord Alastor, who only wishes to help them out of boredom. There is also a wide cast of minor characters, each with their own eccentric designs and over-the-top personalities. For anyone looking for a lively, colorful, energized cartoon, it’s more than a treat.

Where Hazbin Hotel stands out in terms of representation is with the LGBT+ community. Not a single character in the main four is straight, with Charlie being bisexual, Vaggie being a lesbian, Angel being gay, and Alastor asexual and aromantic. Currently, the character’s sexualities remain confirmed on Twitter and only (heavily) implied in the show, but there is already a same-sex couple in a long-term relationship from episode 1, and it is promised that the character’s identities will be further explored in future episodes.

This sounds like a dream come true for representation, but critics believe it is doing more harm than good. The show itself calls its characters “loathsome sinners,” as they are mischievous, selfish, and even cruel. On the surface, it does not appear to be a very good look for the community.

The common rebuttal to this take is that “If Hazbin Hotel is meant to tell the story of the denizens of hell, the place where the worst of the worst go to when they die, it would make sense if the characters were horrible people.” However, while it is true that in the setting of Hell, horrible characters can only be expected, this has not helped quell many fears that the message is accidentally being sent that these characters are bad because of their sexuality. So the pilot solves this by going out of its way to explain the real reason for each of the characters’ afterlives in the nine circles, as they do bad things completely independent from their identities. Angel and his friend get into a turf war with another demon, Vaggie is easily angered and repeatedly lashes out with violence and threats, and there is a minute long monologue explaining Alastor’s insatiable hunger for power. The reason they are horrible people is not because they are LGBT, it is because they would all stab a man without a second thought.

Even if the show is aware of its own reasoning behind the character’s actions, it could still slip into harmful stereotypes. It might be clear to a lot of viewers that sexuality does not determine whether someone is bad or good, but is it possible that others will associate being LGBT with the negative traits on screen? Fortunately, the show addresses this too by making a real attempt to spin a stereotype onto its head. This is done with the character Angel, who has probably stirred up the most controversy. On top of being a sinner sitting on literal rock bottom, he is feminine and promiscuous, a common negative portrayal of gay men since the mid-century when Hollywood’s Hays code prohibited showing them as anything otherwise. To many, Angel is just another lazy deviant character who falls into that. “A show existing in Hell isn’t an excuse for characters to be blatant stereotypes,” one critic says, and in any other context they would probably be right. But what separates Angel from the Captain Hooks and Buffalo Bills of the world is the role his character serves in the story. It does not align with the point of this stereotype in the first place, and in fact subverts it intentionally.

During the days when gay characters almost always looked or acted feminine, they typically existed either to “get a quick laugh out of the audience” or as “cold-hearted villains.” Either way, they were not meant to be cared about or even respected by the audience. But that is where Angel is different. In a short yet vital scene in the pilot, Angel’s chipper smirk fades to a look of concern and guilt. After he makes a joke that upsets Charlie, he briefly considers apologizing to her, changing his entire character from one to be “laughed at” to one to be understood. That moment makes the audience wonder why he acts the way he does, if he is truly expressing how he feels, and most importantly, if he has a shot at redemption. He is not a one-dimensional villain or comic relief that the audience wants to see fail, instead they should want to see him grow as a character and be successful.

Following the pilot, both a comic and music video, Addict, have also been released. They both surround Angel, and have continued to build on the deeper side of his character. He is shown to have a genuine close friendship with another character, taking care of and cuddling with his pet, and his troubles dealing with an abuser. These all work to prove that he has more layers than are seen on the surface, the absolute last thing that a stereotyped character would have. As Vivienne says about him, “it feels like people just saw him at face value and not the character he really was on screen,” and who he really was is a multidimensional human being. He has redeemable traits, but cannot stop giving into his inner demons, and that is what will change with his arc.

In contrast to Hazbin, other characters praised for good representation both in and outside the community actually tend to be less complex. For example, an almost universally well received movie among the LGBT+ community is Love, Simon, with a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, calling it a “milestone of inclusion.” However Simon suffers the fate of a lot of coming of age heroes: his only flaw is to be shy and awkward, and any conflict in the story can only come from him being gay. Of course, 90-minute movies do not have as much range as longer series to explore a variety of conflicts, but even Simon’s shyness appears to be tied to his gayness. At best this just makes Love, Simon another shallow Disney-Channel style movie, but at worst this suggests that if Simon were not gay, he would be a saint living a perfect life.

The “Saint trope” is something that is beginning to arise in animation as well. Perhaps first started by the LGBT champion Steven Universe, which has no shortage of representation particularly for lesbian women. Its most popular character is a celestial entity named Garnet, who is intended to be the physical embodiment of romantic love, and created by two lesbian characters who fuse together to become her. She does have flaws for sure, but it is always meant to be a surprise whenever she shows a sign of weakness. Most of the time, she’s depicted as a strong, smart, beautiful, talented goddess, and while there is nothing wrong with a lesbian goddess, it’s rare to see anything else in modern cartoons. LGBT+ characters deserve to exist as all kinds of people, but they are almost exclusively superheroes, witches, demigods, magical princesses, and unrealistically perfect teenagers. Where the rule used to be that “gay characters cannot exist unless they are in a negative light,” it is now “gay characters cannot exist unless they are perfect.”

Part of Hazbin Hotel’s representation comes from challenging this idea. Due to a long history of suppression and violence, it is no surprise that there is a push to depict LGBT characters as no less than godlike, but the hard fact is that is not how it works in real life. A gay person is just as likely to be kind or to be a jerk as a straight person is, and it is wrong to expect them to act like saints all the time. The problem is not that overpowered LGBT characters exist (since straight ones do too), but that the less impressive, average human characters cannot exist alongside them. So what is a better way to point this out than to exaggerate the trope’s opposite with literal demons? The show is meant to have a “cast of characters that are very flawed, but there is a heart underneath all that,” making it the perfect backdrop to send this kind of message. It initially grabs the viewer’s attention with its shockingly different characters from other modern LGBT media, and then reveals their humanity in its quieter, more touching scenes. It is a reminder that everybody fights their own demons, and it would be unrealistic to expect everyone to be perfect, even fictional characters.

Another common trope in modern LGBT media is that the character’s sexuality becomes the driving force of the story. This happens in more obvious ways like Love, Simon and Happiest Season, where the story is about coming out, and then in more fantastical worlds where an LGBT character’s arc wraps around a romantic plot with another. Like most other tropes, the problem here is not that stories exist about LGBT experiences, because they should, and romantic stories should exist too. It is that these stories exist disproportionately to characters who are more casually LGBT. In the world of straight characters, couples exist like Homer and Marge Simpson, or Woody and Bo Peep, where they are allowed to be affectionate with each other and their relationship can influence their actions, but the story is not about developing their romance. Hazbin Hotel features an LGBT relationship like that, and with one of the most rare occurrences on screen: it’s between the main characters.

Charlie and Vaggie might be the most casual LGBT couple to date, and strangely enough, that is the reason their critics are not impressed. The issue they cite is that the two of them are not affectionate enough with each other, to the point where some viewers miss that they are together in the first place. “While it’s true,” reads one critique, “a couple doesn’t need to be on top of each other to show they’re a couple, there needs to be something a little more on the nose, at least once in a while,” The humor to that critique is that Charlie does quite literally boop Vaggie on the nose, but it also makes one consider why critics miss the only reason that this and other gestures do not signal to the audience that they are a couple. It is because they are not straight.

In the pilot, Vaggie adjusts Charlie’s tie, Charlie puts her hands on Vaggie’s shoulders, and Vaggie calls Charlie “hun,” along with numerous other small gestures. If you imagine either of them as a man, it’s automatically obvious that the two are dating, because a man is not expected to act that way around a woman unless she is his partner. On the other hand, two women might need an hour long speech complete with a powerpoint presentation to prove their relationship. It is an innocent enough argument to say that the two should kiss each other or blush to make their romantic feelings more apparent, and with an entire series of episodes ahead along with comics, that is not unlikely. But it is important to realize that the reason they are not so upfront with each other is not because they aren’t a serious couple. It is actually quite the opposite; they’ve been together for so long that they do not feel the need for such grand displays. Vivienne explains so in a response to the criticism that she posted online, stating that “Charlie and Vaggie have reached a place in their relationship where it is a partnership, and they carry themselves on equal footing at almost all times. They feel 100% comfortable around each other, and they have a lot of things they are doing that take up most of their attention,” hence why the storyline focuses less on their romance. They reach an incredible balance in having a relationship that is not deliberately hidden away from the viewer, but also does not take control over its characters. If they are already “comfortable around each other,” it is best to let them be, as letting characters live as themselves is the best form of representation. It feels the most authentic.

The last of the main cast is Alastor, who despite being the fan favorite, is the least talked about in terms of representation. Between all LGBT characters, asexual and aromantic ones are especially hard to come by, and so there is not a lot to compare him to. Alastor also does not receive the same big hints towards his identity that the other characters do, with him appearing two thirds into the pilot and therefore not receiving as much depth to his character in general. However, some fans already express concern that he falls into the “incapable of love” trope, where villains are portrayed as not being able to have any sort of attachment in order to seem more formidable. There is hope that he could subvert this trope by gaining friendships over the course of the show, something one fan says would help by “making his asexuality/aromanticism seem understandable, relatable, and harmless, and most importantly separate from his cruelty.” It is promising that this could happen as the show has already done a good job at making the other characters’ bad deeds separate from their orientations, so he might just be in need of more than ten minutes of screentime. Others point out that some already introduced aspects to his character set him apart from the conventional idea of asexual people. Where the typical aro ace character likes to live in their own little box at least ten feet away from everyone else, Alastor is far from being against touching others, as he pushes other characters and puts an arm around them multiple times. One fan also enjoys how he remains true to his orientation, this versus other characters who insist that they “may be aro ace but (they) can still love,” which really means that they will eventually find a romantic interest and discover that they are not aro ace after all. The way he is represented may be a little more on the fence, but with a few positives already in place, along with the brilliant representation of other characters, his future looks bright.

Hazbin Hotel brings so many new things to animation. With its unique style, wacky characters, and unconventional method-of-creation, it is honestly no surprise that it is ambitious in its handling of real-world topics. It certainly does not hit every note perfectly, and where it has an especially nuanced portrayal of the LGBT+ community, it falls flat for other groups. But when it does triumph, it triumphs so spectacularly that it would be a sin not to watch it. If you were someone who decided against watching the pilot after what the internet said about it, you should look into it for those moments social media has skimmed over. And if you are brand new to Hazbin, go ahead and watch it now, then be sure to look into the other official videos and comics for the series. Its characters are so engaging that they will leave you wanting to know more about them, so stick around for when the show returns with a larger budget and an even more professional look.

Overall, Hazbin Hotel is a delightful series about hope and redemption, and deserving of being called the true “milestone of inclusion.”

[hahahax30]

TSC and Anglocentrism

As a quick preface, I want to say that by writing this I’m not attacking cc or tsc. I merely want to point out some flaws in the way tsc’s world building has been conceived. I’m not anti anything, so if someone reads this, don’t take it the wrong way.

Long story short: tsc is anglocentric as fuck, and it shouldn’t be, because in theory it isn’t. Cc tells us that nephilim society is global, since demons plague every single country, from the US to Greenland, so there needs to be American shadowhunters, Greenlandic shadowhunters as well as shadowhunters of every other nationality in between. Furthermore, she also says that when the angel raziel created the shadowhunters, he also gave them a personal piece of land in Central Europe to inhabit and manage as they wish. That would mean that, in theory, Alicante (*sighs*) should be a mesh of different cultures that in some degree or other should be present in the books so as to truly showcase that shadowhunters are, in fact, a global phenomenon.

Instead, cc has created a heavily anglocentric society. All the leaders —inquisitors and consuls— that we know of have been either American or English: Charlotte and Maurice are British, Jia and Robert where American (as far as I know, Jia’s Chinese-American, correct me if I’m wrong), Alec is American. Diego may become the Inquisitor, in which case he’ll be the only non-American/British inquisitor we’ve had in over a decade of books, and honestly that’s so antithetical to a society that’s “global”. Global societies have leaders from multiple cultural backgrounds, look at world organisations right now, they’re far from the best, but the UN’s secretary-general is currently a Portuguese man, who preceded a Korean man, who preceded Ghanaian man, etc. Same goes for the European Union. That’s how a global society is, not whatever tsc has going on.

This implies that nephilim society is heavily stratified and that there’s an in-universe perception that the hegemonic countries are the only ones who are allowed to lead or, that only hegemonic country’s people (read English/American people) are allowed to truly make use of the homeland raziel supposedly tailored for every shadowhunter.

What bothers me is that these issues have such an easy remedy: decentralise the fuck out of the nephilim. If they can’t be equal as part of the same unit because either the US or the UK is going to hog the power and Idris/Alicante (*sigh*), create several units and then make those equal. Have several consuls and inquisitors and “homelands” and bam, problem solved. Or cc could’ve just admitted that tsc is anglocentric from the get-go, if she argues that an Anglo-Saxon man summoned the angel, that raziel had a limited power that extended only to the Anglo-Saxon community and later on its descendants (aka the US) and the people that immigrated into those communities, while at the same time acknowledging other communities found their own way of combating demons, and, again, problem solved.

Really, cc just falls short of achieving a globalised society and if you look into it it’s irksome.

[forerussake]

Fic Writer Interview

i was tagged by the lovely @phantomhydeoftheopera! thank you fairy, i had a lot of fun thinking about these questions and trying to answer them well, as you can see by how long this post has gotten!! love yaaaaa

name/nicknames: on the internet I go by Eru, bc names are hard and this is in my handle everywhere anyway and i like it :)

fandoms: i’m currently mostly active in Guardian, DMBJ and Tolkien fandoms (and the occasional foray into the associated RPF and crossover tags on AO3), but I have also written before for the QZGS/TKA, Yin Yang Master (QYJ) and MDZS/CQL fandoms :)

two shots?: i haven’t written anything that worked in two chapters yet, if that is the question. I try to contain myself to one chapter unless the story warrants more, and if it does it has so far always been more than two.

most popular multi-chapter fic: that would be the one i wrote this year, a hand within a hand (holding light). the engagement with this fic really surprised me, bc i expected the outsider pov format and the fact that the stories are driven by and centrered around OCs to be really niche and only interesting to very few people, but i got consistently positive responses to it :)

actual worst part of writing: i don’t think there is any one part of writing that i think is the worst. every fic calls for different things and has different struggles. sometimes it’s getting started, sometimes it’s getting stuck in the middle, sometimes it’s the editing, sometimes the tagging, etc. it really depends.

how do you choose your titles: i have a folder on my phone that has pictures of poetry i come across on the internet with lines that would be good titles. when looking for one i often go through that before the final editing phase, and then fit the story around it (by adding lines or returning metaphors to integrate the title into the story if it doesn’t already fit perfectly). 

otherwise i like to take my titles from returning themes in the story itself, which often develop as i write. for example when i wrote in tune i found myself constantly referencing shen wei’s power being in tune or in time or in sync with something else (his heartbeat, his breathing, the storm outside), so in tune became the title, because it also references Weilan’s love for each other, which is the core of the story. 

occasionally i like to choose titles that reflect the core of the story in a more abstract way, like with Kaleidoscope (a rush of snapshots of Queer stories), and Spirometer (about breathing and/as the quantification/conceptualization of love). 

do you outline?: when i do multi chapter (or 5+1 or another story format with different sections) i like to outline a little bit at least. just give myself some notes on what the chapter or section should cover for the whole to work. i do have stories that i have outlined extensively, but none of those have ever seen the light of day as of yet, i guess because it makes them too daunting.

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: hah, picking up where i left off at the last question. one of those extensively plotted stories fits this question as well. I call it the Yin Yang Master Metaphorical Serpent Modern!AU (MSM!AU for short), which is basically a modern day adaptation of that movie, but centred around Killing Stone and the other shishen, working off the basic premise that the Serpent isn’t a real entity but is instead a metaphor Qingming (who in this AU is their therapist) sometimes uses to conceptualize his patients’ various mental health conditions. ...it’s a rough one. but if i could actually write it someday..... it would be the best thing i’ve ever written.

other than that: the MDZS murder mystery fic :( it’s mostly plotted but yeah... different fandoms have drawn me in since 2020....

callouts @ me: dare to write short stories without derailing them into long ones. also: sometimes a fic doesn’t have to be perfect or be a fully coherent thematic whole. not all fics need your typical “onset, catalyst, climactic catharsic scene, and extensive thematic polishing ending”-structure. sometimes you can just write a little bit about trope bc it’s fun, and it doesn’t have to mean shit. 

best writing traits: i think i do really well at setting the mood for scenes, and developing themes and rounding them off. i’m very much a writer whose every choice of word and metaphor and descriptor tends to have a reason. if i mention a painting on a wall in scene 2, then you can be sure it will return somewhere, or i wouldn’t have mentioned it. i’m good at not leaving too many loose ends. 

spicy tangential opinion: is “there is nothing inherently (or, god forbid, morally) wrong with writing or reading RPF” a spicy opinion? bc then that. the problem with RPF fandoms is that alongside the normal people, there are too many people in them who have trouble differentiating the relationships they read and write about from the real actual people they are based on, and then try to carry the attitude they put into the writing of RPF on into their real life interactions with other people.

that is bad, but there is nothing wrong with writing RPF itself, as long as you keep it within fandom circles, in a closed-off and easily filtered space (such as AO3), and are able to acknowledge the fact that the people you write in your stories are merely characters you have created and are not a reflection of reality. we are authors, not omniscient creator-gods. also, these people’s actual private life is none of our fucking business and they owe us nothing. 

that became a bit of a rant, and this whole thing became quite long. sorry about that xD

tagging: @lucientelrunya @programmedradly @deathofsanity @shadaras @lunarriviera @sharkbeneaththelotus @omaenanimonoda @lynne-monstr @thedaughterofshadows @aredhel-of-doylkien @onmyo-jin  if you want to :)