#it means more people are actually finding out he isn’t normal OR evil

[imsosleepyofyourbull]

Based on the spoilers I’ve seen, I was actually correct about this to a certain extent!

Trey’s dream is very much about how he deals with responsibility, and how the responsibilities he has interfere with his personal desires. Chenya is the house warden instead of Riddle, both because Trey wants Riddle to be free and because he’s not all that interested in being the vice house warden. It was forced upon him after Riddle essentially scared everyone else off. And, though they have a very close bond… it’s also been stilted by years of separation and layers of guilt.

Further, it’s Chenya instead of Cater because Cater keeps his walls up around everyone and has a had time forming bonds. Trey can’t ever really be entirely sure where they stand as a result, whereas Chenya is his oldest friend (that we know of) and also just as involved with what went down with Riddle in their childhood. He’s the one person that Trey might feel doesn’t expect anything from him. Trey’s dream is one where he’s no longer being held responsible without a say.

Where someone else is the glue that holds Heartslabyul together.

Which.

Am a little mad that it seems they chose to focus on the absurdity of Trey’s dream rather than this very interesting core tenant of his character? Yes.

Am I even more upset that very few people are going to actually analyze his dream and are also going to focus on that absurdity? Yes.

Am I kind of mildly annoyed that Ace got the very interesting dream about his character and that’s where all the development went? Yes.

THE GROOVY IS HERE!!!

YEYAISHDLHXOABZKBCLSBCLDHLSBCLSNXKDNLSHCLEHLZFLSBXLENKDNC

Trey’s Book 7 Card and Groovy in High Res!!!

[nerves-nebula]

I sometimes get uncomfortable around arguments about if certain characters are abusive or not- obviously I see this the most with 2012 tmnt and nobody really needs my opinion but I keep thinking about it so here’s some words to chew on.

Keep in mind I haven’t seen much of 2012 so I’ll mostly be talking about the WAY I see these discussions being had here, rather than the show itself.

I doubt the creators intended for the turtles to be abusive and I kind of just assume that everything they do is within the genre of slapstick kids show. But I also don’t think people who cringe away from the way they treat each other are reading too much into it.

I’ve seen people argue that ppl who think the brothers are abusive just don’t have siblings and that’s an insane take to me. Obviously its probably hyperbole in some instances but as someone with more siblings than most of the people I know, I 100% see the abuse reading of this series. It’s a very obvious idea to latch onto for me as someone who HAS been abused by my siblings- and who’s probably been abusive too.

The main thing that really gets under my skin is when people point out how much the turtles actually care about each other as evidence against abuse. Cause that doesn’t make any sense ??? you can abuse people you love and care about deeply.

And it really rubs me the wrong way when I see a post that’s like Raph can’t be abusive because he does X nice/cute things with Mikey or something like. That’s not how abuse works. You guys have to know that right?? Abuse isn’t just a person being mean 24/7 without pause.

A bit of a tangent coming up, but growing up, I really hated Mabel from gravity falls. not because she is inherently any more annoying or selfish or anything than other characters but because the way she treated dipper was extremely triggering for me as a child with a lot of anxiety. Like if Mabel was real and my sibling, I would’ve considered a lot of the shit she did abusive. Obviously I’m normal about her now cause I’m not 12 anymore but the biggest hurdle about watching that show when I was younger was that I would sometimes be brought to tears of frustration, imagining how scared and distressed I’d be if Mabel did that shit to me.

THE POINT of this tangent is that saying “the 2012 turtles aren’t abusive because I do that stuff with my siblings all the time/cause teenage boys are just like that” isn’t a genuine critique because abuse isn’t just about the action it’s about the relationship. Punching your sibling who’s actually ok with being punched isn’t abuse. Punching your sibling who really doesn’t want you to, and who you KNOW really doesn’t want you to, and who you KNOW would be genuinely upset by being punched? That is abuse.

And I find it annoying because I think we’re all aware that abuse was likely not the intent of the show. (Probably not even the text of the show but once again can’t say for sure) Maybe some dysfunction for drama, but probably not abuse, so you’re really just arguing against someone’s headcanon/personal interpretation of this show. And it’s like.. ok you have a different reading cool I guess.

In the show they aren’t treated as abusive, but fandoms are built around exploring different aspects of art that weren’t explored in canon. So I guess idk why this is a big deal.

Idk I think people have this idea that abusive = evil and always wrong. But abuse is just someone hurting you repeatedly and refusing to stop for whatever reason.

And with a show like 2012 where it’s all played for laughs it can be hard to tell if that’s how they are with each other because they’re ok with it or if that’s how they are cause they don’t know any other way. The turtles are kind of really mean in 2012, and wether that’s a familiarity kind of meanness or not is up to you in fandom, yknow?

Does Mikey actually consider Raph hitting him as like a fun part if their banter or is he coping with jokes about being physically abused? You decide! Like genuinely it can be either and I think that’s fun!

I mean obviously you all know what i’d pick, but that’s because I’m blissfully aware of what I want out of stories and what i want is nuanced discussions of abuse.

Personally, I acted very similarly to the 2012 turtles when living with my siblings, but I didn’t actually fucking like it. It was a defense mechanism because being genuine would only be met with ridicule. So I’m not inclined to agree that it’s fine because it’s just what they do.

Once again though, I doubt it was on purpose. And if you don’t think that they’re abusive then congrats! The show probably doesn’t either! So I just don’t see why people get super upset about it. Don’t you love that someone got a different story out of the same media??

Anyway obviously it doesn’t super matter and I don’t really have a horse in this race. I just got a bit annoyed with the way abuse is discussed and as a hobbyist Abuse Analyst I thought I’d weigh in.

I wrote this instead of going to sleep and it’s sooo late and also so much longer that I meant for it to be… y’all better not have bad takes in response or I’ll be annoyed as hell tomorrow morning, guh.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Okay, okay, okay... Hear me out-

Yandere Hades, Poseidon, Thor, Beelzebub, Lucifer, (and any opposing deity opponent you can add) vs a horror protagonist (y/n).

A horror protagonist (y/n) that goes to any universe that deals with the cryptic, supernatural and horror, and this (y/n) is very smart and quick with how much experience and time they have experienced being in different horror genre (like the backrooms, slasher, cult, zombie, or end of the world, etc...) universes.

May (y/n) can nonchalantly (with dead fish eyes) say that they've dealt with deities and the supernatural and are successful with the termination, if it means to keep humanity intact then (y/n) will do whatever it takes to take their opponent down.

Thank you for listening, and take your time. 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♂️

-Having lived through countless scenarios that many would describe as something from a horror movie would sound rough.

-For you, it was any other day.

-You’ve survived against countless slashers, monster, evil spirts, summoned evil deities, at least 2 zombie viruses, faced the end of the world at least six times and you’ve punched the Devil himself in the dick twice.

-You’re pretty sure you could handle a fight against a god.

-When you finally did die, after choking on a chicken wing, you thought Valhalla was the greatest! You got to meet so many famous people, warriors of the past, and you finally thought you could live at least a bit normally.

-You were quickly proven wrong when a Valkyrie, Brunnhilde, asked you to fight for humanity.

-You didn’t have to listen to her whole speech about why you should save humanity, as you had done it multiple times already, what’s the difference between a fight to the death from any other time you had to do it?

-When you walked out, machete on your hip, six knives in your boots, a whip on your opposite hip, two hand guns on your thighs and a sawed off shotgun strapped to your back, you looked ready to kick some ass, but your bored look threw off your opponent.

-He pointed his weapon at you, curious as to why you had such a dead fish eye stare, “Aren’t you concerned about the fate of humanity? Their fate hangs in the balance in this right?”

-You rolled your eyes, popping one hip to the side, “When isn’t humanity’s fate in the balance? Please- between the zombie plagues and world-wide massive disasters I’ve been through, not to mention the primordial deities that threaten to destroy the world every other week, this ain’t anything new for me, sweetie!”

-Hades- He posture relaxed just a bit, “Ahh~ so you’re the one who send back all the demons who escaped from Helheim. I feel that I should thank you for sending them back. The amount of paperwork they cause me is a nightmare itself. However, I am curious what it would take for you to die, since you survived so many nightmares yourself.” You instantly grinned, grabbing your shotgun, “Come and find out then!” the gods were angry at your disrespect to Hades, speaking so casually to him, but Hades wasn’t bothered, in fact he was amused, finding your banter amusing. Your instincts were amazing, able to dodge blows at the last second, hitting him with sudden, surprise blows, the way you moved looked reckless, but the more he fought you, the more he could see this wasn’t the case. You certainly grabbed his attention, and now he wanted to see more, now intent on just incapacitating you in to a draw so he could learn more.

-Poseidon- Your disrespect, calling him sweetie, immediately made his blood boil and he was quick to charge at you, aiming to end this quickly. Your last second dodge made even his own eyes widen before he only just barely blocked your swipe with your machete, sparks flying off the side as the two weapons grinded against each other. You both went back and forth for a while, Poseidon becoming intrigued with your fighting style, when you seemed to be going for defensive you went offensive, and vice versa, so he had no idea when you were actually going to attack! You amused him when you managed to take his weapon but in return he managed to take your shotgun. The two of you paused, realizing what happened before he spoke, “Give me my trident!” you immediately shot back, “Gimme my shotgun back first!” you two went back and forth, as you had been in multiple standoffs like this. Zeus found the exchange hilarious, holding his gut and Poseidon did have to admit your stubbornness was rather impressive, giving you a shade of a grin, he wanted to know what other sides to you there were, right after he got his weapon back.

-Thor- He remembers the day he fought the frost giants, that bloody battle where he defeated them all single-handedly, but he also remembered the aftermath, the amount of destruction left behind, the amount of death. To learn that you were a survivor of so many tragedies made him concerned, hearing about what humanity had been dealing with over the past several years. To eradicate them now, after so much suffering, just seemed cruel to those had survived. He instantly lowered Mjolnir and spoke, his voice carrying, “I forfeit the match! Humanity has dealt with enough! We should do better at protecting them after everything they’ve been through recently!” the uproar was initially loud, furious at him while you stood, arms folded, waiting for the gods to debate as they started listing off everything that had happened and that so many humans had been killed. Many saw it was now unfair to put the state of the Earth on the shoulders who had managed to survive everything. You ended up not fighting Thor, instead shaking his hand, as you were happy to not have to fight, and he asked you out for a drink, wanting to know exactly what all you had survived, curious about your fighting spirit.

-Beelzebub- He was curious about you, wanting to know about what you had survived, anyone who had survived that many near death experiences must be an extraordinary person. He analyzed you as the two of you fought, watching how you easily dodged his blows, used momentum to propel yourself suddenly to the side, showing your fighting instincts, your instincts to survive. Beelzebub wasn’t sure what to make of you, he had been longing for a way to die, forced to live with his curse and with the memories of the friends that he had unknowingly killed. Here you were on the other hand, facing death on the norm, willing to do whatever it takes to survive, willing to laugh in the face of death. He still remembers the news when the Devil said a human had punched him in the dick to defeat him, Beelzebub was pretty sure he broke two ribs from laughing so hard. Seeing your drive, your will to survive, made him want that for himself, he wanted a reason to survive, a reason to live. And you were quickly becoming that reason.

-Lucifer- His eyelid twitched lightly at your answer before he chuckled, “Sassy as ever I see Y/N!” you just beamed at him, your hands on your hips, teasing him with a wink, “Nice to see you too Lucy~” many of the gods were quick to yell at you for your disrespect while Lucifer chuckled lightly, having faced you in the past before, knowing you quite well. Your fight was entertaining, almost like the two of you were playing cat and mouse, throwing out banter between blows, “So what have you been up to since we last fought?” you shrugged, blocking his weapon with your shotgun, “Zombie outbreak, two serial killers, and a creepy clown doll that’s killed at least forty people- oh and California finally had that big earthquake and now it’s an island now! And then of course I died- choking on a chicken wing of all things!” the gods and humans watching could only gawk, hearing what you have gone through, hearing what humanity had gone through, especially so recently! Lucifer chuckled, “It makes our previous fight sound like a cake walk!” the two of you found enjoyment in fighting again, not wanting it to end, and Lucifer wanted to keep you around, you never failed to make him smile.

[jenyifer]

I love Boston and he deserves Nick.

I get a lot of flack for having the chaos boys as my favorite duo of only friends. Sooo allow me to rant about my reasoning here. I get a lot of ‘ohhh you must like the sex scenes bet you like VegasPete’. No… actually… Sex is just a part of adult life. Im personally not interested in dick but I do like my characters to be realistic. Being promiscuous doesn’t make you an evil person. That isn’t my lifestyle but I can respect people who live that way. What I love about Boston is his confident persona that clashed with his smart cunning underbelly. I don’t think he’s malicious or narcissistic. Boston is a confident gay man who is loyal to his friends only. Now you might say wtf to that understandable but in Boston’s head he has done nothing wrong except let Nick get too close. Top is like him and in his logic Boston called dibs. He knew he’d be there for Mew when things went down but he didn’t expect everyone to find out about him and top. Boston probably thought he was accelerating to the end to protect his friend. I think this is also why he tells Sand Ray’s ass is fully owned by Mew. In Bostons mind he was helping Ray cut the bullshit. Boston is honest 90% of the time which makes him our most reliable character. AND YET WE HAVE YET TO REALLY GET HIS POV we know so much about him without being in his chaos mind. Do you know how impressive that is? We can also see Boston change from the start of the series being heavily effected by his fights with Top Mew Nick and Ray. He isn’t a 2d boy who falls in love and magically is fixed. While I think he knows what his feelings for Nick mean He intellectually has made the decision to reject him which makes me want their relationship to work out even more.

As far as Nick his oversteps are pretty normal for someone with too much tech knowledge on his hands. Yes it’s wrong. But terribly tempting when you have access to it and see how the world regards privacy as a fiction. I like how Nick tries his best to not fall for Boston it’s extremely endearing. Nicks heart wins out every time. I’ve been in have relationships with people that others say “hey that person is trash” but to me I like to look beyond the surface. Everyone has their own motivation. Everyone has their own struggle with social things so… it’s not fair to judge someone too quickly. Sometimes you click with someone forever changed with the touch of a hand. It’s not some fairytale. Nick wants to see Boston be happy and for him to actually see Nick is at his side. No matter what Boston does. Because regardless of other people their spark remains. Unfinished and true. Honest and Nasty. Chaos.

Together Boston and Nick make eachother better. Boston looks outside himself more often and Nick gains confidence. They do balance eachother out. I don’t feel like one is really the hunter and the other is the prey. They are both Savage it’s just Nick is quieter than Boston so gets out in the shadow. I’m excited to get to the point where they are both chasing eachother and hit into one another again.

[mintyisms]

The Powerpuff Girls Movie Starters

"They are utterly helpless and in desperate need of a true hero!"

"Well, aren't you all cute and bubbly?"

"Birthday! It's your birthday! I should get gifts!"

"All I've got to do is be a good parent!"

"Note to self: good parents don’t leave their kids home alone."

"Sugar, spice, and everything nice, who would have guessed that's what little girls were actually made of?"

"I'll go wash up, then we'll bring in the furniture."

"They’re really special. I mean really special and I just want to make sure they’ll be okay so what do you think? Do you think they’ll be okay?"

"This is what happens when you put twenty little kids in one room."

"What’s the point of this game anyway?"

"Oh, no! I’ve been infected!"

"You know, I've got a nice car."

"What are you doing? We’re in a serious pickle!"

"Got you, you little bunny."

"The game is over and it’s your bedtime."

"I'm glad you had so much fun because tomorrow will be a busy day too."

"Unfortunately, people often get scared or angry when they don’t understand something special or unique."

"People here are nice. Things will be fine!"

"He’s in cahoots with the evil pickle cart killers!"

"We really would like for you to come downtown with us so we can ask you a few questions."

"He hates us. He totally hates us!"

"He probably just got held up, or maybe the car broke, or maybe he just forgot, or... maybe he hates us."

"Should the manufacturing of super powered children be illegal?"

"I was reaching down between my legs to ease the seat back when this atomic bug buzzed in, with no fair warning!"

"Used to be a time when you could buy an honest pickle."

"They are little freaks, aren’t they?"

"They don't know I'm in jail."

"Well, it’s official. I have no idea where we are."

"Maybe there’s a box we can get in around back!"

"Go away. Please. Do not look at me."

"You’re no monster, mister. You’re just really dirty."

"How could you know what it’s like for people to fear and despise you for the very things that make you special?"

"This brain is full of brilliant ideas, but will anyone listen? No."

"Your powers are great! You just gotta believe in yourself!"

"You did very good. Very good indeed."

"Well, there is one last, teeny tiny, itsy bitsy thing we still need."

"I thought the zoo kept all the animals in cages."

"They are unaware that your actions will have helped change their world forever!"

"You think they'll still be made at us for playing tag?"

"Jail? Lawsuits? Angry mobs? What’s next?"

"This isn’t making the town a better place!"

"Do not continue with the ramblings, for my ramblings are the ramblings to be obeyed!"

"That big fat dumb jerk! He duped us! He planned it all along and we fell for it!"

"What does it look like I’m doing? I’m building a house ‘cause now we have to live here!"

"I don’t wanna sleep on a rock!"

"We weren't going to get people to stop hating us by breaking rules!"

"Ugh, never mind! I’m not fighting with you and I’m not talking to you, EVER!"

"There's too many monkeys!"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM YOU DARN DIRTY APE!"

"I didn’t mean it! It was an accident! And he wouldn’t let go! And then the dog! That stupid dog! And then the monkeys!"

"Come on, let’s put an end to this gorilla warfare!"

"We’ve got one last monkey to get off our backs!"

"It’s good you little freaks know when you’re beaten."

"I have to seize control of an area and force its inhabitants to follow my way of thinking."

"Now let’s get out of this town and find a new, safe place to live!"

"We already tried running away."

"Oh, my! You’re actual trying to stop me? That’s so cute!"

"Who are you calling cute?"

"You dare challenge ME? Attempt to defeat ME? Try to destroy ME?"

"None of them will ever understand you as I can."

"Maybe everyone would like us more if we were just normal little girls."

"I was wondering if maybe sometime we could like call you to save the day or whatever."

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Cinema

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Pairing: barista!Mike (Hellraiser) x reader (you)

Summary: Mike takes you to see a terrible horror movie...

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: Fluff. More fluff. Then some more fluff. Shenanigans. A makeout sesh... A cop. We're definitely still cockblocking Mikey. I'm still not apologizing for that...

If you like this fic, please let me know 🥰 and reblog so that others may see it too! <3

@deandoesthingstome @ellethespaceunicorn @sillyrabbit81 @peyton-warren @summersong69 @mayloma @livisss @geralts-yenn @ylva-syverson

Mike has taken you to what absolutely has to be the worst horror movie of all time. At least, that’s what the reviews said when you looked up the plot online beforehand. You don’t like horror, and this one is no different, yet you are here. All that proves, if you really think about it (which you don’t), is how much you really like Mike.

As you are waiting in line to get into the cinema, you can already tell that pretty much everyone – all forty or so people – is here for the same reason. Because the one thing these sucky horror movies are good for, is a good, old-fashioned, socially sanctioned make out sesh in the dark. You hate how perfect these dumb films are for it, and you especially hate that they genuinely scare you…

“I’ve never been here before,” you say as your eyes wander the foyer of the building. It’s a relatively new theater, but not so new that not having been here isn’t a scathing indictment of your nonexistent dating life.

“Really? I’ve been here a ton of times,” Mike says casually. It takes a few beats for him to realize what he’s said. “Eh… with friends…”

“Eh… on dates,” you correct him, and watch his ears go a little red from embarrassment.

“Well, they threw all these terrible scary movies at me the last year and a half… what was I supposed to do? Go see them alone?” he fake-complains.

“Oh, you went to see them, huh?” you tease. “What were they about, Mike?”

“Eh… People getting killed?” The girl in front of you just snorts outright, and one of the guys behind you does a half decent job at hiding his laughter in a suspicious cough. You follow the example of the girl.

“Mike, you idiot,” you blurt out. The look on his face is absolutely priceless; he looks mortified, and it somehow looks good on him. So good, even, that you grab the front of his jacket with both hands and pull him closer. When he looks at you, the expression of terror morphs into a smirk.

Finally, it’s time to find your seats. You follow Mike through the just a tad too dimly lit room. He somehow managed to get seats all the way in the back. They always sell out the quickest because… well… less people can watch you stick your tongue down your date’s throat there. Which is a nice thought, even though everyone who’s here is paired off and planning on doing approximately exactly the same – meaning no one will actually be watching you. Oh well. Mike also bought you popcorn, so he can stay, despite his outrageously obvious moves.

“This one,” Mike says as he sinks down on what should have been two seats, but isn’t.

“You know they have normal seats,” you say as you look around the room.

“Sweetcheeks, why are you making it sound like you don’t want to be near me?”

You sit down, putting as much distance between you and Mike as the small loveseat will allow. “I don’t know?” Because you don’t want him to think you’re easy? “This is a little transparent and… I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” What is wrong with you?

“Hey, are you here with Mike?” Oh god no… Some girl approaches you as you’re washing your hands, giving you a pitiful look when you nod. “Have you met his cats yet? Poor you.” She and another girl – looks like a friend of hers, you’re guessing they’re on a double date – laugh, and it almost sounds evil.

“Actually, I have,” you answer. “They’re adorable. And Mike is great.”

“They sleep in his bed. It’s weird,” the girl throws back at you, her voice absolutely dripping with contempt. You have to get out of here before you punch this bitch, but she stops you as you make a beeline for the door. “Hey! I’m just trying to help. He’s a weirdo.”

“He’s a vet,” you yell, “they tend to like animals. And it’s not weird. It’s sweet. Now get out of my way, I’m on a date.” You roll your eyes and push little miss spoilsport out of the way, leaving her there with a hideous grimace of disbelief on her pointy face. Okay, maybe she doesn’t look that bad, but you’ve had it with that cunt.

“Hey,” Mike says nervously when you come back to your seat.

“Hey,” you snap, still not over what just happened in the bathroom. When you look at Mike, there’s concern on his face.

“What’s wrong, Sweetcheeks?” he asks, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

“Have I ever told you you’re a great guy, and that I really like spending time with you?” you quietly blurt out as you sit down – close to him, this time. So close, in fact, that you’re almost in his lap.

“Eh, no you haven’t, thanks? Where is this coming from?” He looks a little flustered, clearly not expecting your compliment, or you sitting so close to him. You can’t blame him. Minutes ago, you were halfway through tearing him a new one for being a little obvious about wanting to make out with you.

“Some horrible troll-” You emphasize the word and speak up a little as aforementioned horrible troll passes by your seat – yes, you’re being petty, and yes, you’re going to keep being petty. “-attacked me in the bathroom calling you weird, and I need you to know that you’re not. And I really like being here with you, and I don’t actually care that you’re not being more subtle about this. I kind of like this. It’s cozy.”

“We don’t have to do anything, I just thought… you told me you get scared and I want to be able to hold you if you do,” he whispers, a little uneasy – and cleverly omitting the ‘easier to make out this way’ portion of his transparent plan, so you raise an eyebrow at him to coax the rest of the truth from him. “Baby, we’ve been cockblocked by cats, caught by my parents in their room and I was put on house arrest for three weeks… I just want you close. We can always just watch the movie.”

When he says that last bit, you laugh. “Then you really should have picked a better movie.”

You eat your popcorn during the commercials and the first five minutes of the movie. It’s plenty of time to determine the whole thing is absolute crap – and that the world probably could have done without yet another Hellraiser movie. In fact, you’re starting to regret not spending these five minutes making out with Mike. Luckily, with the way Mike kisses, he makes up for those five minutes within seconds.

Another lucky thing would be the fact that Mike still clearly realizes that you are, in fact, in a public place, which means he isn’t as handsy as he was last time… The last thing you need is to get caught somewhere on your way to half naked in a movie theater, that would be… bad. Let’s leave it at that. Now, that doesn’t mean Mike isn’t all over you in any way he can get away with – of course he is, and you want him to, but man, it makes you wish you were at his place right now, and his cats would leave you the fuck alone, and the turtles wouldn’t be slurping up all attention, and his parents wouldn’t walk in on you.

You stay snuggled up to Mike for the duration of the movie, and even though the few snippets you’ve seen are so horrible you can’t even describe it, you’re sad when it’s over. Hand in hand, you leave the cinema, walking towards his car just about as slowly as you can manage.

“I don’t want this date to end,” you confess as you finally get to the car. His parents are home tonight, he already mentioned that, and so is your roommate. Mike says nothing, and with slightly heated cheeks you get into the car.

“Doesn’t have to be over,” he mumbles when he’s also seated and the doors are closed. You look at him, shock apparent on your face, and shake your head by means of a question. Mike makes a vague gesture around him. Does he mean…? He can’t be serious!

“In your car?” you blurt out in disbelief. Absolutely the fuck not!

“God, you’re hot.” So, you caved. Who cares? You’re young, and you’re finally alone, and it’s Mike’s hands sliding up your sides, underneath your blouse and his hands feel good, and there’s no cats to sit on anyone’s head, or… You’re not even overly worried about a serial killer showing up – which is a very normal fear for you after having watched a horror movie, but your little movie date with Mike involved so little actual watching that you’re not scared now.

“Babe?” Mike takes a short break from feeling you up to check if you’re okay, although he never actually takes his lips off your neck. Is ‘pulling on the hem of his shirt until he finally takes it off’ and answer to his question? Apparently. Your hands tangle in his hair, pulling him into another kiss. You used to think his enthusiasm was a little bit childish, but you have to admit; these weeks have taken their toll on you, too. At this point, you’re almost just as bad as he is, clawing at his back, impatiently dragging his mouth back to yours.

He's surprisingly strong, and not-so-surprisingly good at maneuvering you around in the backseat of this car. Ten bucks says it’s not the first – or second, or third – time he’s done this… Mike pulls you into lap, and the sigh that you let out as you straddle his thighs morphs into a chuckle.

“You’re happy,” you tease as soon as you feel his erection rub against you.

“Cats, parents, grounded,” he mumbles while kissing down your neck, towards your chest. With a few swift moves, he opens enough of your blouse to be able to reach your boobs.

“How on earth did you… That was fast!” you exclaim, staring at your now mostly naked chest in disbelief.

“I stick needles in squirming hamsters on occasion. Can’t do that without at least a little dexterity,” Mike deadpans. If there’s a good response to that out there, you sure as hell don’t know what it is.

You bite your lip and hold down a chuckle when Mike’s hands find their way into the back pockets of your jeans, squeezing your ass through the fabric and pulling you closer against him. When you roll your hips, he moans – the sound is music to your ears. There’s something about teasing this guy that’s… fun and easy but at the same time insanely satisfying. The way he squirms underneath you, the way he gets impatient and sloppy – well, sloppier… You’ve never felt like someone wanted you this much – and not just because he wants to see your tits, perhaps?

Somehow, Mike manages to get you onto your back in the backseat. It’s a less practical position, but it works – kinda – and that’s good enough for you. For all your talk about Mike being eager and impatient, this whole waiting thing is definitely also starting to take its toll on you.

Soon, it’s your hands in his back pockets – as soon as you’re done mapping every muscle in his back, that is. He grinds his hips into you. You’re wet, you’re ready; you need him. Slowly, one of your hands moves to the front of his jeans, struggles with the button for a moment, then…

Three raps on the window, Mike pulling away from you, buttoning his jeans, while you hastily try to button your blouse again. Before you can make yourself completely decent, another knock, and Mike rolling down the window.

“Officer,” he sighs, “good evening.”

“Michael.” The cop knows him by name? That’s not a good thing… Especially considering the fact that Mike turns around to you with a horrified look on his face.

“I swear he only knows my name because mom and I take care of the dogs!” Sounds plausible.

“Go home, kids,” the officer warns you both before walking away.

Mike kisses you again before reaching down to pick his shirt up off the floor.

“Sorry,” he says softly. “I know it was a horrible idea, I just…”

“You want to have sex with me,” you reply. He seems taken aback by your directness, but after a short while, he shakes his head, much to your surprise.

“I mean…” He sighs deeply. “Please don’t think that’s all there is to it. I really like you.”

“You’re just a little impatient,” you tease. He rolls his eyes before crawling back into the front seat, then he helps you get back in the passenger seat.

“C’mon, I’ll drive you home.”

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Broken Hearts Are Contagious

Summary: If Marinette doesn't learn to love Tim back before the end of the week, he will die. She is not the victim... so why does she feel like crying?

Written for @maribatserver 's Maribat March

Day 1: Origin Story (for Poison Ivy)

Marinette sips at her drink. It’s non-alcoholic, of course, she isn’t intent on openly breaking the law when Commissioner Gordon is within sight. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is oh-so-tempted to try. She eyes the champagne pyramid not too far away. It is entirely decorative – it would be impossible to get a drink without everything toppling over, and even if you do manage to get one there is a high chance that the drink will be flat.

Then again, she really hates Wayne Galas, and that was a surefire way to make sure she would never have to go again…

Before she can commit to that particular bad idea, a hand taps her on the shoulder.

She whirls around to find a fortunately familiar face. Tim was always one to sneak up on people. He insists it’s accidental, and that he doesn’t mean to, but she has her doubts, because he always smiles so widely whenever he manages to catch her off-guard.

Regardless of his possibly evil ways, he is now leaning against the wall next to her. His hair is brushed, for once, slicked out of his face with far too much gel. She is sorely tempted to mess it up, purely as a petty form of revenge, but considering he is her ticket out of here… it seems like a bad idea.

She can always do it later.

“Tim,” she says, her bitter expression falling away in favor of a faint smile. “Thank the gods you’re here.”

“I’m here to save the day,” he says with a sarcastic little bow, his lips curling in a smirk. “Let’s run away together.”

She doesn’t wait for another second before gathering up her dress in her hands. The air is cloyingly sweet from all of the intermingling perfumes, and she wants out. “Absolutely. How do we escape?”

“Depends, are you down to climb a drainpipe?”

“There’s no way that’ll hold our weight,” Marinette says, her eyebrows raising.

He huffs, but he doesn’t actually seem all that put out. “It might. But, fine, guess we’ll just have to leave the normal way.”

So, hand in hand, they make their grand escape.

Okay, that might be a little dramatic, all they do is find their way to a higher balcony so they can talk without fear of being forced into conversations about stocks and taxes and ooooh, I just LOVE your dress, DO tell me where you got it.

No, they have much more interesting conversations in store for them, like gossip.

“They say there’s a new assassin on the loose,” says Tim.

She has heard that. Quite a few rich people had suddenly been found dead – poisoned, to be specific. But, as she looks out over the Gala below them, she is sorry to say that the assassin is not going fast enough.

Marinette hums absently. “There’s always another assassin.”

“It’s a good line of work. Business is booming. If only I didn’t have those pesky morals,” sighs Tim.

Marinette can only nod along. One day she, too, will have a terrible accident that leads to her becoming a supervillain, she is sure her time will come eventually.

But, for now, she is much more interested in chatting with her best friend.

“I heard Cobblepot is secretly a Rogue,” Marinette says, leaning over the railing so she could properly squint at the man. She opts to ignore the rest of that particular rumor, because not even their friend Bernard would believe that the umbrellas the man carried were all secretly insane gadgets.

Tim snickers as if he can hear her thought process. “Yeah? Are you gonna tell me you believe in The Batman, too?”

She grins. “And what if I do? What would you do?”

“Well, stop you from hanging out with Bernard, for one.”

Marinette gasps. “You would never! My mental health would shatter if I was not allowed to talk to my emotional support delusional friend.”

“I need you to repeat the last four words of that sentence for me.”

“... emotional support delusional friend?”

“Yeah, thanks for proving my point.”

“You’re no fuuuuuun.”

“I’m practical. I go out at night all the time. If he existed, I think I would have seen him by now.”

Okay, does Marinette actually believe in Batman? No, absolutely not. But damn if she wasn’t going to defend his honor. “Well, yeah, if he’s a hybrid half-man, half-bat being, it makes sense that he would be trying to hide himself as much as possible!”

“And that’s how I know you’re not a true bat-fan. Any true believer knows he is three-fourths bat and one-fourth man.”

Alas, she has been caught.

She leans back against the banister, pouting. “How was I supposed to know you were actually paying attention to Bernard’s rants? I always thought you were lost in your own head. You never speak!”

He lifts his hands in a sheepish little shrug. “I like listening to you guys talk.”

“Ha. Simp.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Real mature.”

“I am, thank you for noticing. This is why I should be allowed to drink underage —.”

She never finishes her sentence, because her eyes stray to the champagne tower, and that particular train of thought is derailed. For a woman stands at the base of the pyramid. Which is already strange, but her outfit is even stranger. A dress that appears to be made out of leaves, rustling behind her as she walked. Red hair is threaded with thick green ribbons that remind her of vines.

Dully, Marinette thinks she might actually want to know where the woman had gotten her dress.

A hand reaches out and plucks a champagne glass from the pyramid.

It topples faster than you might expect, the glasses clinking against each other briefly before they’re sent to the floor, shattering in a messy display. Glass shards and liquid gold spilling across the tile.

If people weren’t looking at the mysterious woman before, they certainly are now.

She smiles.

“Hello, Gotham,” she says, her voice echoing. Is she hooked up to a mic? Or is she just that good at projecting? “I’m the newest assassin, Poison Ivy.”

Understandably, most people back up a few steps. Even Tim and Marinette, who are safely on a balcony she could not reasonably reach anytime soon, flinch backward.

She smiles wider.

“You’re kinda a bad assassin, though,” Brucie Wayne speaks up, and everyone in the vicinity immediately cringes. “I mean, why tell us now? Why not – like – after you kill us?”

“Easy! Because you’re all already dead!”

Brucie looks down at himself, as if to confirm that he has legs.

The people who have two functioning brain cells to rub together, though, immediately blanche at the news. They’re already doomed? How? Her name more than implies that her killing method of choice is poison, so… where is it? It can’t be the food, people hardly eat at parties like this (despite how good the food is), and it’s not as if she could poison every single drink without anyone noticing.

“There is poison in the very air you breathe.”

Wait, what?

Her hands come up to cover her mouth and nose, as if it is still something she can fix. She has been smelling that sickening sweetness for well over ten minutes now, she can’t uninhale it.

“It’s slow-acting…  not that slow-acting, you all have around a week, max, but…” she shrugs, her eyes gleaming. “I figured I should give you all the time to say goodbye to your loved ones.”

That was… surprisingly generous.

For some reason, Marinette can’t bring herself to trust it.

Indeed, Poison Ivy continues on: “Well, your loved ones. I’m sure all of you know that you are unlovable, that they only love your money… I’m sure they’ll all be very pleased to learn of your sudden passing.”

Unsurprisingly, this is not what people want to hear immediately after being told that they are going to die in a week or less.

“In fact, I’m willing to bet on all of you rich people being unloved – so much so that my little plants are based around it! If any of you love someone, and find it to not be reciprocated, the plant will take root, and you will die.”

It is deathly silent.

A… plant?

“Wait! How?” Marinette is the first one to speak up. She isn’t scared, not really, just confused beyond measure.

And Poison Ivy seems to be experiencing the same strange emotion, because she balks a little bit upon seeing Tim and Marinette. She hesitates, briefly, her confident posture wavering, before she brings herself back to the present, outright laughing at her.

“You are all going to die, and you want to know how?”

Marinette just nods. Call it denial and bargaining mixing together into one very unfortunate cocktail (she really should have drank earlier), but she has to know.

The woman considers her for a moment, before sighing. “The plants should have already taken root in all of your brains. They feed off of certain nutrients. As time continues on, they will run out of room and begin pushing their way down, through your heart, into your lungs…” She waves a hand. “I’m sure that I don’t need to continue, we all get the idea.”

Brucie looks like he absolutely does not.

But Poison Ivy does not seem to care enough to explain anything to him.

“Get your affairs in order, everyone!”

No one even tries to stop her when she leaves.

Someone laughs, but it is nervous. A woman tucks her hair behind her ear. “Well… it’s a good thing that I’m married, now, isn’t it?” she asks her husband.

Said husband looks like he would much rather be anywhere but there. “So – so true, honey.”

Marinette remembers, dully, that both of them are cheating on each other. She wonders if they know. She wonders if either of them will be around next week.

She will live, though.

“Thank the gods I decided I wasn’t going to date anyone until college,” Marinette jokes lightly.

Tim wheezes.

She didn’t think that the joke was that funny.

“Yep, isn’t that… convenient?” he says, sounding pained.

She looks over at him, frowning, and finds him leaning against the banister. His hands grip the marble, his knuckles turning white. She is pretty sure that this is the palest she has ever seen him.

Dread begins to trickle down her back.

“Tim?”

He winces.

“You like someone that doesn’t like you back, don’t you?”

He nods ever so slightly, his gaze determinedly pointed at their feet.

“It’s not Bernard, is it?” she tries.

He shakes his head.

And Marinette can’t help it – she bursts out laughing. Until she is gasping for breath between peals of laughter. She laughs so hard she feels tears begin to well in her eyes.

Tim jolts to look at her. “What the hell is funny about any of this?”

“I was just thinking…” she quickly swipes her fingers beneath her eye in fruitless hopes that her mascara won’t run, still giggling. “I was wondering if this was going to be the start of my supervillain arc or something.”

Tim gives her an incredulous look.

This, of course, only makes her laugh harder.

~

One week to live, max.

It is… an interesting stipulation. She assumes that ‘Poison Ivy’ wants her victims to suffer, but why only for a week?

It could be that the ‘disease’ (Marinette refuses to believe that plants can be in any way sentient) is fast-acting, but it also might be a safeguard of sorts. Maybe there is a way to counteract the disease, some sort of cure.

Maybe that was hopeful thinking.

Maybe that would be worse for her in the long run. It is probably easier to give up – like Tim seems to have, it has not escaped her notice that it is lunchtime and he still hasn’t attended any of their shared classes – and accept that there is nothing you can do instead of trying fruitlessly to find a solution.

After all, she is just a random high schooler. Even if there is a cure of some sort, there is nothing that she can do. She is only passing her biology class by the skin of her teeth! She can’t deal with a bioweapon!

She presses her face into her hands. The cafeteria is silent. Basically no one is attending classes today. They’re all stressed about the bioweapon thing and don’t want to spend their last moments in a classroom.

She gets that.

And yet.

She doesn’t want to be alone right now.

She wants her best friend.

But, while he is her best friend, she isn’t his. And the thought makes her want to be sick. For once, the fact that her skin tinges green in the school cafeteria isn’t actually due to the food. She hasn’t eaten any, and she can't even smell it thanks to the horrible sugary smell that has been trapped in her nose since the Gala.

She pushes her plate out of the way and sinks to rest her head against the table, as if it might soothe her headache.

It doesn’t.

Most likely because the headache is more metaphorical than literal.

It’s a bit literal, too, though. She’s probably gritting her teeth.

How could she not?

She doesn’t want to talk to Tim. She doesn’t want to know how many of their interactions over the years they hadn’t been on the same page for. Doesn’t want to have to think about all of the joking flirting they had done, and how it had only been a joke for her.

She understands that he has feelings, and that he can’t help them, but that doesn’t make her feel any less violated.

Because, ultimately, if she had known she wouldn’t have behaved in all of the same ways, and it feels like that is part of the reason why he hadn’t told her.

He probably didn’t want things to change in their relationship, but why doesn’t she get a say in that?

Things had changed. She just hadn’t been told about it.

So, why does she still want to go to him? She feels betrayed. By him. He is the very reason she is upset, and yet she still wants to seek comfort in him.

She hates emotions. Can she have a refund? Yeah, she’s lost the receipt and all, but…

She can’t bring herself to care enough to finish the joke, even in her own mind.

It was stupid, anyway.

The silence in the cafeteria is almost oppressive.

A hand taps her on the shoulder and she hesitates, considering playing dead to make them go away. Then she realizes that she might actually convince people that she was dead, considering the current circumstances, so she lifts her head.

Bernard takes a seat beside her, smiling. The prick had been out of town during the Gala. Lucky him. If he had gone, he would currently be dying due to his unrequited crush on Tim’s stepmom.

“You should go visit him,” he says, as if it’s really that simple.

She gives him a flat look. He had always been an airhead. You’d think that watching your friend die in front of you in a mob-related school shooting would wisen you up some, but Bernard remains entirely without a brain.

She supposes she should have expected this. After all, Brucie Wayne exists. Clearly, it is possible.

“It’s not that easy,” she says, sinking back against the table again, wondering if she can meld with it and avoid the conversation.

“I know. But you’re going to regret it if you don’t.”

Marinette pauses and lifts her head to meet his eyes.

She hates it when the dumbest person in the room makes a good point.

Because doesn’t that make her the new dumbest person by default?

Still, she is also the most stubborn, so she glares at him. “I’m sorry, if I was dying because I secretly had a crush on you this whole time, would you want to come visit me?”

Bernard, to his credit, actually considers this. And then, in true Bernard fashion, just shrugs.

She groans. “I’ll be fine.”

He snorts. “You’re not even fine now. Mari, no offense, but have you seen yourself?”

“Sorry for not looking great after finding out my best friend of several years is going to die because I can’t reciprocate his feelings,” she says flatly.

Bernard sobers, if only slightly.

He sighs, matching her posture. “You’re going to regret it if you don’t,” he repeats.

Marinette glares at the tray in front of her like it has personally offended her. To be fair, it has – who decided that melted cheese on bread is a good entree?

“I’m going to go grab something else for lunch,” she says, pushing the tray over to him. “No one is doing classes today, anyway.”

Bernard doesn’t say a word about her dumb excuse. Maybe he is too concentrated on the terrible ‘food’ that has been forced upon him.

She can’t bring herself to care. As long as no one questions her, she will be fine.

~

Marinette stares up at the wooden lattice that she can use to reach Tim’s window. It is supposed to house flowers, she is pretty sure, but they have long since shriveled up and died. It wasn’t due to neglect, the Drakes had always made sure that the outside of their house, at least, was always well tended to. No, this, she was pretty sure that she had just trampled over the plants so many times while visiting her friend that they just stopped bothering to grow.

She supposes that it could be ironic, that the flowers are dead because of her, and flowers are killing her friend because of her, but she can’t seem to find the energy to wax poetic right now.

For a moment, she doesn’t move, her hand resting against the wooden lattice.

Should she hang out with him? If he is going to die, she wants to spend time with him before he goes… but would that make him die faster? Would constant, tiny rejections make the flowers – the disease – take over faster?

How does this stupid fake flower disease even work? What are the stipulations?

She hates being helpless.

She clambers up the lattice and makes sure she is fully seated on the windowsill before she raps her knuckles against the glass. She peers into the dark room, wondering if anyone is even there, trying to make out shapes in the dark.

A lump on the bed slowly shifts, an arm reaching out to flick on a lamp. Tim sits up slowly. He blinks bleary eyes open.

And then he bolts upright.

Tim stares at her, as if he is half convinced that she’s a hallucination.

For a moment, she wishes for that to be the case but, when his otherwise pale cheeks flush with the slightest bit of color upon seeing her, her stomach lurches in a way that assures her that all of this is very much real.

He scrambles to his feet so fast he almost slips on his blanket, and she almost huffs a laugh at the sight. He manages a sheepish smile.

The window latch unlocks and she is allowed to make her way inside.

Tim… doesn’t look great. His pajamas swamp him and his hair is almost painfully messy, but all she can really focus on is how gaunt his face looks.

He looks frail.

A week… max.

Marinette can’t bring herself to speak, not even to say hi.

“I – I didn’t know whether you would come,” he admits.

Marinette manages a ghost of a smile. “I considered not.”

He gives an aborted little laugh. “... well, you’ve always been brutally honest, I guess.”

… was she?

Marinette would say quite the opposite, that she usually beat around the bush for most things, so long as they weren’t vitally important.

But here he was, defending her rudeness with ease, in fact he almost seemed fond. So much so that she almost began to wonder whether he was right and she was the one that was wrong.

Or whether he didn’t even know her. Whether the ‘Marinette’ that he had fallen in love with wasn’t even actually her, but instead some idolized version of her.

She was no angel. She had flaws. She was just a regular person.

She wonders if Tim would agree if she said those words aloud. But, ultimately, she isn’t the type to say that, to bring those things out into the open, so instead she gives a laugh – it is late, and it does nothing to clear the awkward air, but it is already out there, so it’s not as if it can be taken back.

Tim’s smile wavers, if only slightly. “... how about a movie?”

She almost jumps at the opportunity to have something break the silence.

But she soon realizes her mistake because, once the movie is on, there is really no reason to talk anymore. Tim hadn’t put on a purposefully bad movie they could laugh at together. He had opted for Howl’s Moving Castle. The subbed version, they aren’t plebs… but this also meant that they have to concentrate on the movie somewhat in order to keep track of what is going on.

Not that they don’t already know it all by heart. They’ve rewatched it dozens of times over the years.

Marinette had always thought the romance between Howl and Sophie was a little bit forced, but she liked the movie regardless. And, even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t as if she was going to stop Tim from watching the movie he chose when he was going to die soon.

Still.

They are both quiet, as is standard for watching a movie, and yet… this time, it is different. Now, she is aware of the way Tim’s eyes stray to her more often than not.

The silence isn’t the fond, loving kind that people always talk about. It is uncomfortable. It is an unspoken acknowledgment that things have changed.

Marinette wishes, silently, for things to go back to the way they were.

She wants her best friend back.

But it looks as if she is going to have to settle for the next best thing.

She looks at Tim. He’s lying against the pillows in a way that would seem casual if it were not for the sunkenness of his eyes. His lips are curled into the slightest of smiles as he looks at the screen, but he is quick to turn his attention onto her.

She takes on deep breath, steeling herself.

It doesn’t help.

But she still grabs him by the shirt and drags his lips up to meet hers anyway.

She fights down a wave of revulsion.

He can’t die. He can’t! She can bear to live in discomfort. She is not going to live without him, not if she can help it.

He kisses her back. He is, objectively, a good kisser. His hands cradle her face like she is something precious.

She wants to be sick. Her hands ball tighter in his shirt.

She just needs to think of all of those movies. The ones where the girl realizes that she actually loved the guy all along, and was just too stupid to not realize it before.

She swears she can taste copper. She nearly chokes on it.

She does love Tim. He is sweet, and kind, and intelligent, and her best friend. Don’t people talk about how a good friendship leads to a good relationship?

Right?

Right?

He pulls back (finally).

His thumbs swipe beneath her eyes. Had she been crying? 

It might not work if she cries.

She doesn’t want to open her eyes. Doesn’t want to see Tim’s face. Doesn’t want to know whether she had accidentally doomed him.

This is all so unfair.

Why is she the one who has to change?

Why can’t he love her in the way she loves him?

She can’t breathe.

She can’t breathe.

She can’t breathe.

She opens her eyes to find his lips stained a deep red. His eyes are wide with horror.

Marinette feels a strange wave of satisfaction. At least it isn’t her, for once.

When she keels forward, coughing into their laps, bloodied flower petals spill from her lips.

[acourtofthought]

Do you think Elain would actually try to get back to her human self somehow? I saw a lot of people think that she’d be in cahoots with Koschei because she wants to be turned back. I think the “I don’t want a mate/male” quote and Feyre thinking she wants a human man thing is in ACOFAS, so since then things have changed. She seems more accepting of the fact that she is fae, she just hasn’t accepted Lucien yet. These ideas mostly come from the evil Elain theories which I really don’t like anyway 🙄 but if Elain and Lucien are connected to Koschei I hope her trying to go back to humanity isn’t her main plot line. I hope she’d be over that by now

Elain did say "I don't want a mate / male" but then turned around and developed a crush or flirtation with a male shortly after which suggests progress.

SJM isn't the kind of writer to wave a magic wand and make these characters traumas disappear so Elain saying she didn't want any of the above after the war, after losing her father, after Graysen's rejection, etc. are not surprising.

She was thrust out of a world she loved and into one where she was turned into a being she grew up fearing, suddenly finding herself kicking beats and stabbing kings in battle. I think it's normal that she was trying to distance herself from extremely fae things like mating bonds and relationships with non humans when she really hadn't had times to come to terms with the fact that she is now fae and living in a place that is so unlike what she was used to.

However it's been over a year since the war. Nearly two years since she was turned. Elain may not be ready to fully embrace being fae (as Nesta wasn't ready until the end of her book) but that doesn't necessarily mean she wants to go back to a life where she knows people turned their backs on her.

Also, I can't recall a single SJM main character hero / heroine who has tried to work with the bad guy for selfish reasons and not ended up looking like the villain.

(spoilers for TOG to follow)

In the ACOTAR series we have Rhys looking like the bad guy because he was working for Amarantha. But....he ended up the hero because he was actually protecting his entire court and trying to find a way to free Prythian.

In TOG, we had Dorian seeming to work with Maeve. But in the end, he had only been playing her, finding how her powers worked so he could use them against her.

The above are two scenarios where a main character looked like they were working for the big bad only for us to discover they were using their intelligence to turn the tides in their favor.

But.........

In ACOMAF, we have Tamlin playing double agent to Hybern. Even though he was gathering information that did benefit them in the war, his main reason for allying with Hybern was to get Feyre back.

As a result, SJM made his character one that now "sucks" (her words from an actual interview with Eva Cheng).

Tamlin may get some sort of redemption but my guess is he's never getting his own book. With his journey, the author has told us that when a character tries to play double agent for selfish reasons it's not going to leave them looking like the hero, even if they were also trying to gather information on the side.

So Elain trying to ally with Koschei to be turned human again? HOW does that end up with her as a heroine?

First, it means she's willing to put others at risk for her own selfish desires, that is not FMC energy. Elain has had visions of Koschei, she knows he's kidnapped other females. Who would ever root for her knowing that she was willing to work with someone like him after that?

Also, Elain seeking him out then needing rescuing....isn't that just proving that she shouldn't have tried handling anything dangerous like Az believed? That she was a "little girl" trying to play in a "grown mans" world and failing? That Nesta was right telling her not to get involved with the Trove?

The only way the Elain / Koschei theory would work for SJMs kind of writing is if everyone thought Elain was working with Koschei for her own reasons but it's revealed she never wanted to be human after all. That she set out to prove she could best him with her intelligence and came out victorious (as Dorian did with Maeve or Rhys with Amarantha).

I am with you, there are so many more things that SJM could do with Elain's character than having her regress back to 2 years ago. We've already witnessed her at her lowest where she struggled with becoming fae and losing her life in the human lands. She's not 100% and I don't think she's thriving like she could be elsewhere but she has now made a few friends, keeps busy around Velaris helping others, developed her first "crush" on a fae male and now has a nephew to love. SJM would have wasted multiple books of Elain working through the worst of it and coming out on the other side to turn around and have her willing to put others at risk to become human again.

[fluxedbuds]

apparently y'all Are desperate enough for my Lomadia Oc so uh. hope you're in the mood for [checks notes] ~13 paragraphs, half of which is just description!

allow me to introduce Villom!

She doesn't have an actual name or in-universe nickname, I just call her Villom. Because she was originally a Villain Version of Lomadia from a sci-fi world for some comic idea I totally scrapped bc it sucked. Except for Villom!

So basically what if we put Lomadia in space and gave her every problem and no normal coping mechanisms

The base universe is Completely Impossible sci-fi space stuff, involving solar systems being relatively close together and having tons of habitable planets, with star trek 'convergent evolution' making everybody a Weird Human Basically. Part of these choices is that I. Don't actually like sci-fi lol. I don't think its bad I just can't Get Into It, so I did the lazy version. HOWEVER I do also use the fact that its extremely artificial and story-focused as part of the plot so its FINE There IS also magic, but it’s generally less used, as tech is more accessible and less complicated from a user standpoint. That doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful, if you know what to look for. Thats foreshadowing!

Compared to base Lomadia, Villom is.. very immature. She has trouble identifying and controlling emotions, she's quick to anger and holds grudges. She's also more impulsive and tends towards insults and crude jokes. She's actually pretty fun to hang out with as a result, but responsibility is a role she's crushed into, and it never truly fits. She's trying her best ok

Villom starts out her story as a young adult, training to be a pilot. She does some hero shit, but breaks so many rules in the process and gets kicked out. She’s enraged by this betrayal of what was supposed to be her life, and steals a ship to go rogue and try to pursue her dreams anyways. She doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing, though, and eventually a chase causes her to crash on an unfamiliar planet, where she meets Rythian. He’s steampunk now, don’t question it

Anyways, they end up teaming up, and form the first of her crew. Later additions are Martyn, who is a mouse guy who has So Fucking Many People Who Want Him Dead, and Zoeya! Who ended up separated from Fionn following partially the plot of Mushbury, and works as the ship’s engineer. Their ship (that lasts long enough to get a name…) is called the Ask, and Villom occasionally (and jokingly) calls her crew the Answers. (Its called the Ask because originally I gave the characters nicknames based on Norse mythology for Pretentious Reasons, those might come back later)

So everything’s all fine and poggers for a while, with the Ask’s crew causing mischief and undercutting evil empires across the worlds- and then Villom’s home planet is destroyed. And she sees it happen.

See, one of the tropes of sci-fi that bugs me, is how understated the death of an entire planet tends to go. This is the first step of Villom realizing how truly fucked up the world they live in is- and the first step of her wondering why it has to be this way, and how to stop it.

It only gets worse from here.

No matter how many evil empires they topple, no matter how many massive threats they thwart, there’s always another one. And no matter how fast they are, they can’t stop every world-ending crisis. Villom starts learning magic, wondering if theres some kind of solution there. When she doesn’t find one, she just looks harder. Brushing so close with forces she’s alone in experiencing wears on her, compounding with their futile mission.

The breaking point is when Rythian dies. Raiding an enemy ship goes wrong, they’re outnumbered, they’re trying to retreat. Surrenders are not accepted, there.

It’s another thing she sees happen, another thing she was inches away from but unable to stop. And she can’t take it. She can’t take losing another part of her, another of the few things she could call home in this cold void.

She takes some of the things she learned looking where she shouldn’t- and kills the nearest member of the enemy team, trading a life for a life. And part of her soul as tax, of course. Just a small bit, this time. She never tells him. Pretends it was instead an incredibly close call. He probably knows she’s lying, on some level, but he never says it.

Villom is desperate, now. There’s more and more things she’s hiding from her crew, more and more boundaries of safety she’s pushing. She trades one of her eyes for the ability to see the functions of the world itself- maybe it’s a mistake, there’s some gear stuck, and if she fixes it this infinite loop of wars will stop.

There is no mistake. This is how the universe is intended to function.

She can’t give up. Because if she stops, she’s never going to get up again.

Maybe there’s other worlds where it’s better, where it’s safe. Maybe there’s a way to make this world like them.

Maybe there’s a way to leave.

She’s barely human anymore, even though she looks perfectly fine. Her hair is white, her eye replaced, but that’s all. She’s replaced the things she’s traded away. She’s barely even a part of the world, anymore. Unstuck from the threads of it, floating as a constant point, unchanging and undying, snapping back into place when moved.

A lot of universes are visited by a strange woman with white hair, who never stays. Sometimes she’s a savior, or a tyrant, or merely another passerby.

One of them, somewhere, has to have an answer. The way to break the cycle. And Villom will find it- even if she has to take every one of them apart.

[darkwingsnark]

‘So what if Mario died?’

A Bowsario AU idea.

Step 1.) kill the man. Pick your poison, could be as simple as Mario dying during a more routine kidnapping or even one of the more random and evil villains. Point is, at the end of the day, you need a body-- so no King Boo trapping him in paintings just to rip it up.

Step 2.) Bowser can’t let it go. He doesn’t exactly know why, his own feelings mixed up with emptiness and anger from Mario having the gull to DIE. Real rude, man. Well Bowser isn’t going to just sit there and let the man be dead. It isn’t in the cards, at least not the ones he’s playing with-- Bowser always stacking things in his favor. So he waits for some time after the funeral so as to not having witnesses as he sends peeps off to steal a whole Mario. Just snatched him from the ground-- free dead man.

Step 3.) Resurrection. You’ve heard of Dry Bones and Dry Bowser, now lets see how you deal with Dry Mario. That’s right, Bowser has Kamek do some necromancy. Mario wakes in a gasp-- despite not having lungs-- not having memories of his death. He probably thinks it’s still mid adventure. He realizes he’s in Bowser’s castle, and of course he’s just going to break out. No kidnapping good ol’ Mario. Not today!

Step 4.) Mario fights his way out only to be confronted by Bowser. Bowser is relieved to see him alive and moving. He’s missed him far more than he realized. Of course, this jubilation is kind of put on hold as Mario goes on a whole spiel about how Bowser can’t kidnap him. He has things to do! He was in the middle of a mission! It is then Bowser realizes Mario doesn’t KNOW. Bowser tries to calmly explain to him that he died. He brought him back. Mario doesn’t believe him because, why would he? Bowser tries to convince him while they fight through the castle, only for one point Bowser finds a reflective object or rips a mirror off a wall to show him. Mario stop mid-attack to look at himself in horror.

Step 5.) Bowser... what have you done? It’s a lot, maybe too much to the point Mario’s unable to keep himself together as he literally falls apart. It is later that Mario wakes up again, this time in a different room altogether. It’s a room with accommodations like bed, separate bathroom, closet, bookshelf. And so on. Mario remembers what happened before fading to black, and looks at his arms. In shock he goes to the bathroom and looks in the mirror to take himself in. What he sees is this:

He is alone as he tries to do his best to evaluate the situation. First thing he needs to somewhat feel like himself. He is immensely relieved when he sees the closet has his trademark outfit-- down to the gloves, shoes, and even a hat. Mario gets dressed just to see less of himself, as well as the fact he feels naked. I mean, the guy is all bones, not even skin to make him naked. But it’s the principle of it! Step 6.) At some point he is visited by Bowser and gets more information out of him. He finds out what happened to him, how long he’s been dead. His instinct is to go back to Luigi, to make sure he’s okay. But Bowser and Kamek are able to convince him that woah woah woah... Green Stache? He was hurt the most from all of this, maybe don’t go over there and traumatize the guy more? It’s actually sound logic, and that surprises Mario. Enough that he’s able to listen out what Bowser’s plan is. They brought him back from the dead, sure easy enough. They do it all the time. But they’ve never turned people back into full on flesh people before. But there are theories that it can be done. They’re working on trying to restore him fully so that everything can go back to normal.

Mario essentially ends up staying with Bowser as they’re trying to figure things out. He at least makes Bowser promise to have people watch Luigi so that he doesn’t get worse. And to keep an eye on the Mushroom Kingdom in general. But meanwhile it’s Mario just... hanging. Trying to make himself useful, asking to go on mission to find herbs and stuff that Kamek needs to restore him. Lots of bonding with Bowser. And through it Mario finally asks ‘why did you do all of this?’ Only for Bowser to tell him ‘because the thought of having to act like things were normal without you being around scared me’. Mario learns just how important they are to each other’s lives, and during the journey/event fall in love.

[ss244]

Twisted wonderland Steven universe Au

Disclaimer: English isn’t my first language and this isn’t proofread, this is a wip.

This Au will be called Twisted universe,look at the end to see some sketches of the Au

Some basic facts about the au:

* In this Au I will try to put some characteristic from the game and try to adapt them in Su universe, for example, even tho the gems can summons specials weapon they also have some special powers which is their *unique magic*, if you use too much magic you will start to gain *blot* in your gem which will lead to an *overblot*

* There are two planets (night raven and royal sword) and both of them have their own leader which are black diamond (Crowley) and withe diamond (the headmaster of RSA) both of these planets have seven nations and the leaders have their own court of other less important diamonds which they appoint as the ruler of each nations,

* Previously there was a war between the two planets in which some of the previous leader of the continents have been shattered and even for those few who survived Crowley decided to replace them with their successor for a brand new start for the new era of peace

* Sometimes gem can come out “wrong” and have difficulty to use any weapon, they only can use magic in a moderate way, these gems are called ‘monsters’ they are called like this because they don’t really have a specific gem and they also have a different body from other gems, only the dangerous monsters gets shattered

* In this Au the gems are like humanity, I mean that they used the resource from theirs planet and other planet that they have colonized to create buildings, technology ecc.., but all they create is more advanced to what we have.

* Unlike in SU, in this Au the gems can’t heal the scars they have and they aren’t born directly as adults, they also have the normal stages of lives, except for dying

* Actually Crowley isn’t the most powerful diamond, it’s malleus but he has no intention to take Crowley position, his only interest are the people from his nation and plus even if Crowley is irresponsible as fuck he isn’t doing anything to get in malleus way

* Yuu role in the story is basically the same, that got transported in another word and they are trying to find a way home hopping between lands

* Every leader of a nation has it’s court

Heartslaybul court:

This is Riddle Roseheart court, he is a really strict leader some may also call him

a tyrant but don’t let him hear you you may find yourself with a cracked gem or if your lucky in isolation with a collar on your neck if his loyal pearl, Trey Clover, manage to calm him down.

Even tho Trey seem kind and calm, don’t let him fool you, he will watch your downfall all of the sake of his Diamond.

Don’t worry, everyone is not so evil in Riddle’s court, when you feel sad the refreshing attitudine of a certain spinel called Cater Diamond can make you feel better even tho sometimes he might be a little too overbearing with the camera always pointed at your face.

Let’s not forget about two of your dearest friends! A certain ruby and a lapis who are always by your side in the worst situations,

Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade!

Savanclaw court:

This court is ruled by the strong orange diamond also called Leona kingscholar,

his brother got shattered in war so he is taking his place until his nephew is old enough try not to disturb him, he has a temper, Leona train the army and

his pearl,Ruggie Bucchi need to keep under control the army when Leona dooze off.

His strongest jasper is Jack Howl, since he was young he admired Leona so he trained hard to get into the army however it’s seem that the result of seeing his role model for the first time left him disappointed as Leona use dirty tricks in the battlefield.

I got lazy, I’ll continue this later, here some sketches that I’ll never finish

[yuikomorii]

Greetings, I come with late night ramblings abt diabolik lovers. Big fan of your blog, I really like the side of the fandom which discusses the characters

Sometimes i wonder what it was like for the mukami bros to turn into vampires. Since vampires look so similar to humans the fact that they are a different species really slips my mind sometimes.....

So sometimes I find myself wondering what that psychological shift was like. The mukami bros were all pretty young and had grudges against humans in some way when they were turned, so parting with their humanity wasn't on their minds I think lol.

But despite spending lot of their childhood/puberty around vampires they still do act a lot more human like than the sakamakis. Granted, the sakamakis def have a lot trauma that compromises their ability to have any type of healthy relationship. But characters like ayato suggest that vampires aren't inherently incapable of the more "human" emotions (don't rlly know a good word for it mb).

I do remember ruki saying somewhere that because he is weak he stays with his family (not the only reason ofc, but having to band together/find strength in numbers to survive is a very human-like thing), yet he and his bros abandoned being human/ hold some level of resentment for humanity.

Anyways all that to say the mukami bros have an interesting relationship with their "humanity" and I'm overanalyzing characters in an otome game of which the lore is constantly retconned. Complicating this is the fact that we don't have a "average" or "normal" vampire to compare with

Also reject totally missed an opportunity to make a character that didn't want to be turned into a vampire, and had to struggle with the changes.

// Hello, thank you for enjoying my blog!<3

Hmm… If the person who becomes a vampire is kind-hearted and mentally stable enough to avoid wishing revenge upon someone or using their newfound vampire status as an excuse to treat people badly, I sincerely doubt that the psychological transition from human to vampire would hit that hard. Trauma caused the Mukami brothers to develop such a vicious nature, exactly like Yui in HDB did at one point when, as a result of being mentally broken, she started killing people in an After story. While pure-blood vampires do have their own set of morals and they obviously need blood to survive, I wouldn’t say they are inherently evil, taking into account that in LP and VC, some vampires were nice to Yui and the Diaboys. They are indeed predators, that’s something they can’t control no matter how much they try, but not all of them are malicious.

The Mukamis got rid of their humanity but they still kept acting like humans around one another because, after all, that’s how they were initially accustomed to. As for the Sakamakis… due to trauma as well, they were pretty twisted since childhood. I mean, most of them were the main cause something bad happened to any of their brothers in the past, therefore it’s to be expected that their relationship is not a healthy one. However, vampires are actually capable of experiencing human emotions, and Ayato is the living example of this given that he is confirmed as being the most human-like out of all due to the fact that he was already capable of displaying these emotions prior to meeting Yui (for example: wanting to sacrifice himself for his brothers, ruining Karl’s blue rose so as Cordelia wouldn’t get sad, crying when Cordelia died and, most importantly, valuing his life). Additionally, a vampire will begin to experience human emotions the more Eve's blood he consumes, so... that's basically part of the plan, according to what Karl said in Ayato’s DF route.

I wouldn't say the Mukamis hate humans; they held a grudge against aristocrats, but not humans in general, because they only see them as an inferior species. As for Ruki, the reason he would feel weak without his family isn’t only due to banding together or finding strength in number but rather it’s about them as his emotional support. Kou, Yuma, Azusa respect, praise and accept Ruki with all his qualities and flaws, therefore feeling needed and appreciated is actually what makes Ruki strong.

[color-coded-bear]

DSMP Hotel Del Luna AU

Hotel Del Luna is a K Drama that I'm very fond of, so of course I made a DSMP AU with it. I had even planned a fic for it that I never actually got around to writing.

There exists a hotel that caters only to ghosts and spirits, unseen to the human eye. Of course, that doesn't mean the living don't stumble upon it.

Ranboo comes across a hotel in some less than desirable circumstances (spoiler alert: he almost dies), and strikes a deal with the hotel owner, Wilbur, in order to keep living.

The deal? When he's old enough, Ranboo will return to the hotel and become the hotel manager; the only position in the hotel taken by a living person.

When Ranboo finally returns to the hotel to take the position of hotel manager, meets the ghostly staff;

Quackity, Techno, Niki, and Tubbo

Although he learns that ghosts arent the only ones occupying the hotel;

There's Philza, the Grim Reaper/Angel of Death, who helps deliver spirits to the otherside when their time comes.

And there's Bad, Dream, Sapnap, and George. Deities, who- well actually, Ranboo isn't entirely sure what they do.

Ok, incomplete fic outline time:

At the Doorstep (A Deal is Made): Ranboo comes across a hotel in less than desirable circumstances (spoiler alert: he almost dies) and strikes a deal with the hotel owner.

This isn’t Goodbye: The old hotel manager, Karl, has died, and it’s time for him to move on. A deity comes to see him off. (a lil bit of Karlnap, as a treat)

I Can’t Believe You’re Working With Dead People and You Didn’t Tell Me: Tommy notices that Ranboo is acting off about his new job, and decided he's gonna trail him and find out why (Tommy learns about the hotel and decides he wants to help)

Too Far Gone: A ghost escapes the hotel seeking revenge and becomes an evil spirit. A deity steps in. (Dream kills an evil spirit oOoo)

Title TBD: Ranboo and Tubbo bond over helping a (ghost?) child named Michael

Title TBD: While hanging out with Wilbur outside the hotel, Ranboo and Tommy run into some acquaintances/friends. Normally this would be chill, but Wilbur is acting weird now

Title TBD: Ranboo and Tommy learn about reincarnation, and suddenly, a lot of Wilbur's weird behavior is starting to make sense

So Long and Goodnight: Tommy and Ranboo really didn't plan on telling their dad (Sam) about the hotel, but that changes when a familiar face appears at the hotel (AKA breaking my own heart with some AwesamPonk)

Title TBD: After a particularly nasty disagreement between Tommy and Wilbur, it's revealed that Tommy is the reincarnation of Wilbur's little brother, who he lost before getting the hotel

When you reach the top there's nowhere else to go but: The story of two brothers in search of a home (aka Wilbur backstory)

Lily White and Poppy Red: Wilbur's change of heart

Title TBD: Tubbo finishes his business and finally moves on +Tubbo backstory

Title TBD: Techno finishes his business and finally moves on +Techno backstory

Title TBD: Quackity finishes his business and finally moves on +Quackity backstory

Title TBD: Niki finishes her business and finally moves on +Niki backstory

Title TBD: With Wilbur's change of heart, he can finally relinquish ownership of the hotel and move on. And so it's time for Tommy and Ranboo to say goodbye

I had two ideas for an epilogue:

The glimpse at who would be the hotel's next owner (probably a Hermit). It would be an open ended epilogue though, because I had no plans to write any sort of sequel.

A glimpse of a future where they're all reincarnated together

(Both were unlikely to happen to be honest)

A prologue I couldn't decide if I wanted to write or not;

A Debt to Pay: Wilbur meets a deity, and receives a hotel for his sins.

The reason the Techno, Tubbo, Niki, and Quackity-centric stories were so vague is because I never actually figured out their backstories and their reasons for not moving on.

I had also wanted to add more chapters between the ones listed above, to space out all the serious plot stuff. Although to be honest,, I never actually thought about what they would be about.

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 19

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Izzy and I’ll be your host today. 

On this segment, we will be rumbling around with the one and only @justplainwhump!

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump! Why don’t we start off with an introduction to let folks know a little bit about you? Perhaps something not whump related from the start?

Sure! Hi everyone, I’m Sara, in my thirties and from Germany. I love long rides on the train, otters and playing with words. 

Trains and otters are positively spiffy! What does whump mean to you?

Characters challenged by traumatic events out of their control. A chance to explore the bare essence of a character under duress. Finding out what stays, when everything is breaking apart.

How did you find the whump community? What made you want to join?

I’ve started as a writer with some original stories, and realized some of the things I wanted to put into my main character Alicia’s backstory were darker than the content I would post to my writing blog. I went to look if other writers on tumblr had gone down that road, and I found a story by whump-tr0pes that hit all the right buttons and vibes. It blew my mind to find out that there in fact was a space and a community for this sort of content.

I hit some bumps after that, having to acknowledge that however welcoming the whump community is, the gender of the protagonist mattered a lot more than I expected, and as a writer of female protagonists I felt estranged for a while. 

Luckily, however, with time I found more and more like-minded and super supportive writers and friends, and I’m proud to be a member of this community.

Would you say your view on whump changed since you joined? 

I’ve always been an OC whump writer, and still like to focus on female protagonists. Something unexpected I’ve come to love however is the collaborative, dystopian universe of the BBU. I am not an enjoyer of pet whump or highly conditioned protagonists, so at first I wrote this setting off as “not for me”. But while these elements are surely something present in some BBU stories, there is so much more behind it - stories on capitalism, on rebellion, on ethics, on what makes us human in the very core. And due to the collaborative sandbox concept of it, it’s perfect to connect to other writers, be it in roleplays, shared stories or just extended worldbuilding discussions. 

That’s actually an interesting perspective to see that in! Now, you gotta know this question was going to come up during this interview, so let’s have at it: You got any favourite whump tropes?

Too many. If I have to choose one, I guess it’s intimate whumpers. 

A whumper, knowing their whumpee, getting into their private space, testing out their limits and breaking through them. A thumb on whumpee’s cheek, gently wiping away a tear after suffering torture from those same hands. An off-handed comment about a secret nobody should know. A hand wrapped around whumpee’s neck, tender now, but a lingering threat.

Oh my, I can feel the whumperflies already from here!!! Would you care to honor us with a favourite piece you've written?

My favorite longer story is “Mark and Gemma Get A Pet” (Mark and Gemma get a pet), a short novella set in the BBU about a “normal” middle-class couple being gifted second hand human pet Ira, and the wild downward spiral this sets in motion. It’s written from all three POVs, and focuses on the mundane evil of the BBU. What I love about it, the depiction of how easily the narrow line between a perfectly normal life and becoming the villain of the story can be crossed. Especially Gemma has been a fascinating character to explore and I got the feedback that I’m not the only one enjoying her character arc. 

As a short story, there’s “Match”. Another BBU story about a villain thinking he’s just a dude, until the circumstances make him realize he isn’t - but he could’ve been. I am very proud of the setup of this story, the pacing, and the absolutely devastating gut punch in the end. It’s just a very neat and round thing; and if one is vaguely familiar with the BBU it perfectly works as a stand alone. 

What's your writing style like on average?

I write when inspiration strikes. And even then, I’m a very slow writer, and tend to be so glad when the words are finally out that I post them right away. 

I’d like to get to a more regular schedule or to writing longer pieces with some planning in advance, but my life doesn’t allow for it. So my followers need to live with random streaks of creation in between seasons of drought. 

Toolwise, I do write everything on my phone. It’s horrible for my eyes, and given the weird autocorrect of my phone keyboard, it’s also horrible for my sanity. But it’s also just so practical… 

Hey, you know what they say about inspiration. You gotta write when the spoons are there and when the mind is going brrrrr. Is there an easy thing for you to write?

I enjoy giving my characters a voice, both in narration and in dialogue, and often these are the elements of my writing that just flow.

I *would* probably struggle with description - but I just don’t write a lot of it and leave that to the readers, and as of yet nobody complained.

When I really struggle with writing, it’s usually because I’m too fast and I myself don’t know what it is I’m going for; and a signal that I’ll need to figure that out. Sometimes I *do* figure it out. Sometimes I just pause that project. Writing is what I do for fun, and if stops being fun, I stop to write.

I can absolutely respect your struggles as it’s not always so plain and simple to know where a story is headed, let alone not getting stressed at times. Is there anything you're working on at the moment? 

I’m hosting an event at my sideblog, bbu-on-the-side, to bring together the BBU whump community! It’s going to start next week and has a mixture of prompts, most community based, and I hope to bring together many lovely and inspiring creators! If you’re a BBU writer, roleplayer, or plain enthusiast, I’d be glad to see you there: 

Ooooh, that sounds like a wonderful event and I do hope that those interested in those tropes/genre join in with you! Do you have a joke or pun you would like to share to spread some smiles today?

Knock knock. Who’s there? UUuuuuuh. Kn… knuckles? [Seriously if you want to smile, watch Kung Fury, it’s a 31-minute short film, for free on youtube, and it’s absolutely hilarious. I’m a simple girl. And I melt for barbarian ladies on giant wolves fighting laser-raptors.]

Knock knock jokes are the pinnacle of comedy, and I already got the movie queued up to watch. Is there anything you can impart on us in terms of advice?

Writing is a craft, and you get better by practise. 

That’s kind of a bland advice, I know, but it works for me. Just write. And you’ll find out what works and what doesn’t. And if it’s hard for yourself alone, get someone you trust, and talk it through with them. 

But never forget - your story belongs to you, and you’re the one to tell it! Writing the story you want to tell will always end up being way way better than the one you think somebody else wants to hear.

Well said and I concur. This is now the time to give a shout out to those you hold dear and close!

Honestly, there’s too many. I have many recommendations on my blog and always forget someone and then feel horrible about it. Just one - @whumping-newbie, my first whump friend who I had the honor to meet several times in real life in the past years and whose support and encouragement are invaluable!

Anything you'd like to add?

Happy Whumping everyone, and: be excellent to each other.

Well thank you so much for taking the time to get interviewed with us, @justplainwhump! 

*As a quick discretionary note: @justplainwhump is an 18+ blog only, so minors please do not interact with their works or with their blog please.*

And there you have it, folks! Another segment of Let’s Talk Whump may have ended, but we have more to show next time and it’s coming to a hellsite near you! Have a Whump-tastic day/night!

[adamwatchesmovies]

All Fun and Games (2023)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

There are so many people out there whose dream is to make a movie. Though you might lower your expectations when you learn you’re about to watch a directorial debut, you're still excited. “I'm going to pay close attention so I can tell people years from now that I saw the mark of a great director coming.” When, even with lowered expectations, the movie you see isn’t good, it’s doubly disappointing. I don’t want to be mean to All Fun and Games directors Ari Costa and Eren Celeboglu. I also want to be fair to you by admitting this film is not worth seeing.

In Salem, Massachusetts, young Jonah (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) finds a strange knife in an abandonned home. Its hilt is made of human bone and there’s an inscription on the blade. When his brother, Marcus (Asa Butterfield), reads the words out loud, he becomes possessed by an evil force. His sister, Billie (Natalia Dyer), her boyfriend, Pete (Kolton Stewart), best friend Sophie (Laurel Marsden) and uncle Bob (Erik Athavale) have no idea the “games” Marcus wants to play are deadly.

There are two major issues with “All Fun and Games”. The first is that it isn’t frightening. The idea of someone you love suddenly turning against you is ripe for potential but evil Marcus never uses his familial ties to his advantage. There’s little suspense, even in situations that should naturally generate it. The games of Hide-and-Seek and Tag, for example. You hold your breath for a moment, but no more than you would a normal game with friends. Some of that comes from the second major issue: the premise itself. The idea of games with deadly consequences isn’t enough anymore. Ready or Not did something different by supplementing the idea with comedy and social commentary. All Fun and Games doesn't do anything. This problem is amplified by the fact that some games work against the film itself. Playing Hide-and-Seek, for example, means the people who already want to get away from Marcus are allowed to do so. The villain searching for our heroes… continues searching for them. So what?

The premise gets increasingly convoluted as we learn the backstory behind the knife, particularly the way it leads the characters into playing a game of Tag. I think even the filmmakers knew that what they had was rather thin. The final running time is only 76 minutes.

All Fun and Games isn't devoid of merit and what’s good about it shows the people at its helm may have a promising career ahead of them. The Fletchers are dysfunctional, sometimes in a slightly comedic fashion but never to the point where they become over-the-top. The children bicker in a way that feels genuine considering the relationship between their parents and their age. Minus one sentence where Billie reminds Sophie that they’re best friends, everyone sounds real and the actors who’ve received the script by Costa, Celeboglu and their co-writer JJ Braider, deliver it convincingly. I’ll even go so far as to say that before people start getting possessed, you won’t understand why anyone would give the film a bad review.

The unimaginative premise and rushed conclusion (I had to double-check that I didn’t miss anything), combined with the missed potential and the lack of scares or tension means All Fun and Games is a movie you’ll forget right away. Usually, I say that it’s better to be memorable than good but that rule doesn't apply for directorial debuts. There’s potential here and although it isn’t entirely successful, some aspects of All Fun and Games make me think the next film by the people involved could be good. (June 30, 2024)

[monsterfuckerconfessions]

I often think about fucking Vilkas from Skyrim in his werewolf form and I’m in my normal character body, but I have trouble coming up with fun beginnings to the fantasies because I know vilkas hates being a werewolf. It’s very frustrating. I just want to imagine him rawing me as a werewolf a few times before I help cure him >:[ I keep interrupting myself by thinking “he doesn’t like shifting. Isn’t it kind of mean to keep picturing him doing it? You like him either way” but he’s a fictional character! I’m not creating scenarios that push the boundaries of real people’s comfort! The feels bad voice just will not shut up and let me think and zone out.

There is also the fact that my own character would probably not really enjoy being a werewolf herself because it messes with sleep and leaves you with an afterlife she’s not super into. I only play that far into the companions quest line because vilkas is fucking hot no matter which form he’s in and I want my character to marry that man.

Funny side note, the character I thought i would be into actually ended up feeling more like a sister to me so that didn’t go as expected. I also thought i would just find vilkas annoying. Surprised myself.

I just want that annoying voice to shut up! This is why I can never play an actually evil character, or a fully good one. I keep ending up with some chaotic good softie who loves arson and mischief. I’m so bad at just imagining something even a little mean to characters i like and it’s so frustrating! I can be the most sadistic person when I hate a character but god forbid I think of doing something a little mean to a character I like! I just want to make one shots with werewolf vilkas to get off to sometimes without my brain getting in the way

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