#it's the norm for virgil

[energetically-exhausted]

hello, hello! I have sort of an idea/rant/question.

(about the whole Patton casting the "Dark Sides" out thing.)

so, like, did he?

because obviously, it'd make sense if Thomas' Morality disapproved of Deceit and Dark Creativity, but,,,

in Can Lying Be Good?, it's explained that Janus kept everyone's "mouths shut" about himself and Remus.

and in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, Remus sings about how Janus basically sent him off to fuck with everyone.

and Patton was VERY clearly offset by Remus' appearance. (i mean, come on.)

but in Can Lying Be Good?, the very episode that introduced the concept of the "Dark Sides", Patton seems super unaware of what's going on. and when he sees Janus (who's in his spot), he really isn't surprised to see him at all. just sorta oblivious but confused? but i'm guessing Patton understood that it was Deceit, because when Thomas worried about Janus calling him a good person, Patton realized that meant Janus tried telling him that he wasn't.

still, though, Patton didn't really hate that Janus kept appearing. he was just always the one to be challenged. and he definitely aimed that anger from his own actions at himself. (i mean, it led to him turning into a buff video game frog, so..)

and if Patton was the one to have hidden the "Dark Sides", how?

and how come Virgil was able to appear?

i dunno, something about Janus controlling when the Sides can talk about them sorta throws a wrench into this.

[bee-devilling]

It's pride month, so what are your pride HCs for all the RTC characters you can think of HCs for?

It took me an hour, but I did basically everyone. Enjoy :)

Main characters:

Constance:

Lesbian, has a preference for gnc people

Her brother painted her a pride flag for her birthday one year. It's very messy, because he was only 4 and hadn't quite grasped straight lines yet, but it's pinned right next to her regular sized flag anyway.

Misha:

Likes women. And Noel. He supposes that still makes him straight as Noel isn't a cis man, he hasn't really thought about it much. He could be bi, who knows, who cares?

He's thought about his gender though, quite a lot. He's still a cis man, he's just a very enlightened one. If he were to somehow become a trans woman, he'd like to name himself Анастасія (Anastasiya).

Noel:

Gay, obviously.

"But if you had to pick a woman–" If he had to pick a woman, she better have a good net worth. If we're not in it for genuine attraction, then we're in it for the money.

Bigender, he/she, definitely leans more into feminine presenting when he first comes to terms with this but eventually it evens out, he kind of flips between hyperfem and hypermasc

Ocean:

Similar to Misha in that she's straight, and technically her choice of partner hasn't changed that fact, but would be a lot less open to the idea of being queer. Her dating a non-binary person is an exception to the rule, and she still likes men by and large, and would refuse to call herself anything but straight.

Says she avoids Pride because "she's not one of them", she'd actually love to go but the thought of such large crowds of people terrifies her. If she could just chill in a café and watch it pass her by, that would be nice.

Penny:

Agender, would prefer no pronouns but will settle for they/them. Goes by the name PJ as a way to honour both their old name and Jane's, but also they just really did not want to drastically change their name.

There are two wolves inside of PJ. One wishes to have long, androgynously styled hair. The other wants to shave it all off. It is a permanent battle PJ must face, but thus far PJ has settled for waist length hair and an undercut.

Ricky:

Has no labels and gives no fucks. Any pronouns with no major preferences, but has a soft spot for kit/kitself

The Zolarian language has no gendered pronouns, but rather has pronoun sets based on appearance; the most widely accepted form is coat colour (similar to how we'd use "the blond(e)/brunet(te)" to describe people in some circumstances) but some deviate from those norms and use other descriptors instead, like a specific pattern shape on their fur, or heterochromia. Ricky's self insert is one of the latter; he likes to use a scar on his chin as his identifier.

Side Characters:

Father Markus:

He may be a man of God, but he is almost fit to kill about half the student body for how they have treated queer students. And a good chunk of the staff too. The scripture may state otherwise depending on where you take it from, but he firmly believes that God does not care who you love, He cares about how you love, and as long as no one is hurt then God shall not condemn you, because He sent us to love one another.

Karnak:

Assigned she/her by a random trans graffiti artist.

Talya:

Trans woman, she/her. She was dreading how Misha would react to it, but was lovingly surprised when he just didn't care.

“Making love on all the social media platforms” and it's just Misha responding to trolls on her YouTube by saying "me and my girlfriend have bigger balls than you"

Virgil:

Virgil and the Underworlds was a polycule as well as a rock band.

And bonus characters: Ricky's parents:

Ricky originally had a mom and a dad, and then his dad came out as trans. Except he just decided to change her name from Gene to Jeanne and let the rest of Uranium be none the wiser. In the home, they're a very happy lesbian couple and Ricky loves his two moms. Outside, they're a straight couple and Gene just has very long hair because he's weird like that.

[o0katiekins0o]

Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins said we aren't going to see the plot twists of season 2 of Fallout coming...

So here is a small list of plot twists/devices I'm anticipating for season 2:

Hank isn't going to New Vegas. He's going to Big Mountain or the Sierra Madre. My money is on Sierra Madre. The scary part about Hank is that he seems like our player characters dad James, in Fallout 3 at first glance- but deep down that man is Father Elijah. It only seems fitting he'd have his grubby little heart set on the Sierra Madre's replicators and weaponizable gas clouds. I hope Christine, Dog/God and Dean Domino are there to make that difficult for him.

It will be revealed that the Brotherhood of Steel has been fully infiltrated by Caesars Legion and the Elder is a former Frumantari.

The NCR is still around (obviously) and they're still maintaining an embassy on the strip and the brass cares less about Shady Sands than they do Hoover Dam and that's the major disconnect between the top and bottom. The NCR is one bad interaction with Freesiders away from falling apart completely.

Thaddeus becomes a Super Mutant instead of a Ghoul. Time will tell if he's a smart one or a dumb one. We've never seen anyone use FEV like that. I'm betting he'll be a super mutant like Virgil, same mind and very aware of how cumbersome his existence is- I don't think he'll be stupid like a commonwealth super mutant. But time will tell if it makes him crazy like Tabitha or Lily- or worse, Dog/God. It's also a toss up to see if he remembers who he was before. Maybe not at first but it comes back to him.

I don't think Norm is going to let himself be frozen. I think he's going to convince Bud or Betty to let him out. Either Bud with his bad bio med gel or Betty with her desperate need for a new water chip- they're going to send him to fetch a GECK and some Bio Med Gel. Maybe she'll force him to take Bud with him.

This will give us a chance to see Julie Farkas potentially, because just like the Courier, Norm will discover the best place to learn what to do for Bud and to get a GECK is from The Followers of the Apocalypse.

Hopefully also Arcade Gannon will be around. Not to pigeon hole him into being our favorite gay guy in the video game post apocalypse but Murray Bartlett as Arcade Gannon please! We deserve to forget Zachary Levi was ever involved. Really all I ask is that he's there and he's played by someone who is actually gay.

Since we know Novac is part of season 2 the question remains if there are two former NCR snipers taking shifts in Dinkys mouth. Probably yes and introducing those characters is where we get the exposition that will get us up to speed about what happened with Caesars Legion and the NCR.

I think we'll also learn something interesting about the background of No-Bark Noonan. I think their Nightkin problem has only gotten worse given that Utobitha is gone and that will be our first super mutant encounter as an audience. No-Bark clearly has some kind of background or experience (or head trauma that effects his vision) that makes him able to see people using stealthboy easier.

I think as a joke/trick someone will suggest they take a shortcut up through the quarry and that will be our first deathclaw encounter.

I have more thoughts but those are the ones that stick out most.

What do you predict for season 2?

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

i love this trend youve got going on with the eatd virgil/adder dynamics where they both alternate between being a drama queen and being exasperated at their brother being a drama queen, virgils got the whole "im so uncool lmp probably dont even like me :(" (adder: "theyre literally so visibly in love with you stop being stupid") and also adders "i said something really rude to a mortal they probably wanna kill me now i can never be near them again" (virgil: "mortals dont care that much about rudeness please just apologise"), the common thread connecting them is theyre both idiots (affectionate) about their friends. or maybe just autistic and bad at social norms

its the mom friend anxiety overide except its two stairstep (for fae) brothers who essentially raised each other with little to no adult interference or supervision and they both have it but only for each other. honestly the fact they dont bite MORE people is a glowing reflection on their social skills

[fragbot]

The first mention of the nouerca, and first indication that this role will be dramatically defining for Phaedra, occurs in the opening choral ode, an acclamation of the all-pervasive power of Natura and Amor. The Chorus finishes its catalogue of Love’s victories with a final generalization: ‘What more can I sing? Love’s care conquers wicked stepmothers’ (quid plura canam? | uincit saeuas cura nouercas, 356–7) ... The Chorus’ introduction of the nouerca through the rhetorical device of praeteritio (quid plura canam?) seems fairly innocuous in context: a standard persuasive strategy that uses silence, a ‘refusal’ to explain, to emphasize a point, drawing listeners into a community of understanding and consensus (e.g. ‘of course you all know already what we mean...’). It’s notable then that the next reference to the nouerca has precisely the same rhetorical and ideological conguration. In his agon with the Nurse, Hippolytus also cites the stepmother as proof, this time not of love’s power, but of feminine (and human) evil: ‘As to stepmothers I am silent: they are a thing no gentler than wild beasts’ (taceo nouercas: mitius nil sunt feris, 558). As before, the climactic position of stepmothers in Hippolytus’ inventory of evil (again, the plural indicates a stock type) and his outraged pose of ‘refusing’ to speak about them ideologically positions his listeners as a like-minded community, thus closing off further explication—even mentioning nouercae, Hippolytus implies, is ‘uncalled for’. The striking parallel in these first two references to nouercae suggests they are more than merely contingent examples of Seneca’s rhetorical style; rather, they inaugurate a subtle yet programmatic pattern in the play whereby the nouerca is incorporated into rhetorical tropes or clichés that represent her as beyond words, as ‘silencing’ all further discourse, the extreme exemplum which speaks for itself. Seneca’s placing of this generalizing rhetoric in his characters’ mouths has increasingly ironic implications as his plot unfolds ... When Phaedra finally confesses her desire (which, unlike the Euripidean Phaedra, she does in person, in speech), Hippolytus’ language recalls, intentionally or not, the rhetorical formulae he and the Chorus deployed earlier in ‘not mentioning’ nouercae, but it is as if they have assumed a new, devastating meaning: he brands his stepmother’s desire nefas (678), ‘unspeakable’ ... [This] signals the larger tendency of Senecan tragic rhetoric to push to the limit and ‘crack open’ rhetorical (and social) norms: in the escalation from well-worn cliché (‘I say nothing of stepmothers’) to the language of the damned, to what cannot be said (Hippolytus’ nefas), Seneca exposes the fear and horror that lurk behind (and are suppressed and controlled by) seemingly banal rhetorical types and tropes.

- from Reproducing Rome: Motherhood in Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, and Statius, Mairéad McAuley

[clinically-obssessed]

Remus' Purpose

So far in Sanders Sides, we have seen that two of "dark sides" - Virgil and Janus - are just as essential to Thomas as the "light sides." Without Virgil, Thomas has no motivation, and Janus introduces an element of self-preservation that would otherwise be absent. But what about Remus? So far, all we know is that he represents intrusive thougts, but we have not yet seen in what way he helps Thomas. And it's not immediately obvious that he does at all: the two episodes in which he appears as a major character portray him as pathological, focusing on strategies to help Thomas cope with and avoid intrusive thoughts. But I think, given the show's increasing attention to Patton's overly strict ethical rules, Remus will play a key role in helping Thomas accept himself and change his attitude toward morality

In his introductory song, Remus sings a number of lines that relate to morality. He begins with a Biblical allusion, drawing a parallel between Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and Thomas learning about Remus. He says, "Adam and Eve bought knowledge for the small price of a little sin," framing Thomas' own pursuit of self-knowledge as a transaction that requires him to break his moral rules. Later in the song, he states that "Good and bad are all made up nonsense" and that "everybody cheats, everybody lies, so why deny yourself knowledge?" which attempts to justify Thomas' descent into sin. This is further reinforced by Remus' assertion that "these kinds of things are only thought in the mind of a man whose soul is truly rotten," which is intended to dispel Thomas' self-image as morally righteous. In Remus' view, what is holding Thomas back from understanding himself and reaching his full creative potential is that he is too caught up in false notions of morality, and it is only by dropping these pretenses that he can truly achieve his goals.

At this point, you should be screaming, "Whoa! That sounds exactly like the philosophy of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)!" That is precisely because I've described it in a way that is intentionally similar to the philosophy of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900). I think that drawing this parallel will allow us to understand the character's direction. Nietzsche was a highly influential philosopher because of his rejection of most things everyone else - even philosophers - took for granted. His writing is complex and difficult to interpret - likely intentionally so - but one of his most famous ideas is that morality is subjective. He criticized Christian morality as "slave morality", claiming that it celebrates weakness and keeps people from achieving their true potential. Additionally, he believed that the metaphysical claims of Christianity were becoming less and less believable in the face of advancements in science and philosophy, so Christian ethics no longer had any grounding either. Instead, he says, it is up to every individual person to give their life meaning. To him, there is no objective truth, only each person's will to power. In this new world that can no longer find answers in God, everyone must strive toward an ideal known as the ubermensch, or "overman," a person who is able to overcome their own weaknesses, create new things, and affirm all aspects of life.

The similarities between Nietzsche and Remus are clear. Both embrace self-understanding, value creativity, and reject moral systems as barriers to achieving one's goals. Furthermore, they share a particular orientation toward controversy. Nietzsche's work is filled with contradictions, and his style is exaggerated and extreme, suggesting that his writings do not form a logically coherent philosophical system or even necessarily reflect his own beliefs but are rather intended to challenge societal norms and promote critical thinking. In the same way, Remus intentionally gives Thomas uncomfortable and disgusting thoughts which he knows will contradict Thomas' morality in order to force him to question his values and assumptions about himself.

With this in mind, it seems likely that Remus will play a major role in the finale. The arc of the show has been focused heavily on the idea of morality, and as "Putting Others First" revealed, Patton's standards are only hurting Thomas' mental health. Janus made the case for the importance of self-care using psychology, but his argument is not fully convincing. As Roman pointed out, it is necessary to find a balance between selfishness and selflessness, and Janus does not answer his question of "When is it enough?" Therefore, it may be necessary for Remus to come in and force Thomas to confront the fact that Patton's morality is not only hurting him but it is based on false premises to begin with. By bringing ugly realities to the surface, Remus will challenge Thomas to stop passively accepting the moral codes that have been handed down to him by society and to create his own meaning and values that serve him.

[elementary-my-dear-daddy]

Fucked Up

Intrulogical (Remus & Logan)

Content: Intox Play (Being high and drunk), anal sex, dubious consent (because of the intox)

Read it on AO3!

Summary: Logan wants to be completely mindless when having sex with his husband, and Remus has the perfect way to execute that plan.

Thank u @pupplaylogan and @anxiousgaypanicking for beta-ing :3

One and Two and a Three, Four and,

One e and a Two e and a Three and a Four e a-

Remus mentally counted as his arms slammed the drumsticks down along to the track he was playing with. Virgil had sent over a few recordings of songs he’d been working on and wanted him to see if he had a beat to match it. During their jam sessions he normally kicked things off (no pun intended) and had others match his sounds, so it was a nice challenge to find what would work when someone else began. However, he had been at this for the last hour and lost track of the time.

Normally this would not have been an issue at all, but his husband, Logan, worked out of their home, and had a meeting starting rather soon. Remus was lucky to have taken his headphones off and put his sticks down for a quick break by the time Logan knocked.

“Who is it?” He called in a sing-song voice.

Logan opened the door, “The only other person that lives in this house, Remus.”

“You could have been a serial killer. Or arguably worse, the FBI with my search history!” He grinned, “Whatcha need, Lo?”

“Quiet, just for the next 45 minutes while I’m in a meeting.” 

“Boooooringggg. You should skip it and we should get fucked up tonight instead.”

Logan simply rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing quite often around his spouse, “My attendance is required, seeing as I’m the one who called it. However, there is something I would…like to discuss with you afterward.”

“Ooooo a sexy something.” Remus retorted with glee.

“How did you-”

“You paused, and you’re blushing. And you’re lucky you only need to show your waist and up for work because I think I just saw your dick twitch too-”

“Ok, enough, I’ll come when I’m done.”

“You’ll come when I say you can!”

“Goodbye.” Logan huffed, walking away without closing the door, leaving Remus chuckling to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Logan sighed as he ended the meeting. He powered down his laptop since the call was the last task to be completed as far as work was concerned. Now came the daunting task of having a conversation with Remus. He loved him, deeply, for his outspoken and, some would say, disturbing tendencies, but he’d never met anyone so accepting and understanding of his own struggles with societal norms than him. And while he’s also never felt more comfortable discussing sex with a partner, he always feels the pang of nervousness one feels right before he’s planning to propose something to him.

But, like he does, Logan stands from his desk to face his lover. He finds him moved out of their shared room for hobbies and instead lounging on the sofa of their living room. He clears his throat to grab Remus’ attention before he sits beside him.

“Is it kinky time now?” Remus asks as he sits up, eager to hear what Logan has to say.

“If you are asking if now is the time I wish to propose a scene, then yes, it is indeed ‘kinky time’.” He answers. 

Remus flops down into the lap of his husband, turning to look up at him, “Hit me with it, Logie!” 

“Well, I was doing some research-”

“-Looking at porn.”

“I- um… I suppose you could consider it pornography.” Logan mutters, “Anyway, I came across a fetish known as intox play, which I believe stands for intoxicatio-”

“Ooooo, you want me to get you all shitfaced before fucking your brains out?” Remus asks bluntly.

Logan rubs his temples before looking down at his lover, “Yes, I would like to be inebriated during sex.”

Remus sticks his tongue out cheekily, “Spicy. I like it.”

“You’re already brainstorming some ideas?”

“Oh honey, we could try it tonight if you’d let me. You wanna talk about what’s on and off the table?”

“Very much so. Just make sure I don’t fully blackout. I’d like to remember this for the future.”

~~~~~~~~~~

After their negotiation, they decided how the rest of the night would go. Remus already planned to make dinner, but now he’d be sure to fix Logan’s food with some extra ingredients. Logan was to read in the living room and relax (see: pregame) with a tall glass of wine in the meantime. The wait for food wasn’t long, and Logan hardly felt tipsy after his drink, so he hoped Remus’ cooking would pack the punch he desired.

When he was called to the dining room, Logan hadn’t expected Remus to have set the table so nicely. The runner had been laid out smoothly over the top, with lit candles on either side of the centerpiece. Remus sat at one end of the table, while a vacant seat on the opposite side waited for Logan. He took his seat and glanced at the spread of food: a mound of cheesy pasta sat waiting upon his plate, buttery garlic bread, some broccolini with plenty of seasoning, and a large glass of…juice? Likely a cocktail of whatever liquor they had on hand blended with mixers of Remus’ choosing.

“This looks lovely, dear. Thank you.” Logan said, sitting down and picking up his fork.

“Thank you, Lo-Lo. Tell me how it tastes?”

Logan cautiously took a forkful of the pasta to his mouth. The taste of cannabis was difficult to conceal in most cases, and though he could detect it, it hardly took away from the decadent flavor of the dish. He swallowed and hummed, “It’s delightful.”

The side dishes were similar, and whatever spirit was in his drink was masked by the taste of a mix of tropical fruit juice. Normally Logan preferred his drinks on the bitterer side, but the concoction somehow managed to be sweet and tart to his liking. Soon his plate was clear and his drink was empty.

“Dinner was wonderful.” Logan said, rising from his chair. As he did, a wave of dizziness washed over him, disorienting him momentarily. That drink must have been stronger than he thought, “Thank you, again.”

“My pleasure, baby.” Remus flashed a smile, “Say, why don’t we go to the kitchen. I have a surprise for you.”

Logan nodded and carried his dishes to their destination. As he walked in, he noticed the plate with thumbprint cookies piled high atop the counter. 

“This is the surprise, then?” He said, placing his items in the sink.

“Mhm, C’mere.” Remus beckoned him over to himself, picking up one of the treats, “Open up!”

Logan obeyed, allowing Remus to feed him. The jam in the center melted in his mouth and the cookie itself had just the right amount of softness.

“Oh, wow.” Logan spoke once he consumed the treat.

Remus snickered, “I’ll take that as you like them?”

“Very much so.”

“Good, have another.” 

This went on for two more cookies. It suddenly occurred to Logan to ask about the dose of THC in his food.

“Remus, how potent was the food?” 

“For me? Zero. I’m stone cold sober right now.” He wrapped an arm around Logan’s waist, “For you? Probably about twenty, twenty five milligrams?”

“And the drink?”

“About three shots.”

“Oh.”

“Oh yeah baby,” He leaned in close and kissed Logan’s temple, “You’re gonna be real fucked up tonight.”

Remus took his hand and led him out to their living room once again. He sat them both down on the couch and had Logan cuddle into his side, grabbing the remote and clicking on the TV to watch something with his partner, settling on a comedy they’d both seen a thousand times. 

At the end of a thirty minute episode, he glanced down at Logan, “How are you feeling?”

“Good, but not high. Just a little drunk.”

Remus giggled, petting his hair, “Yeah? What’s your color right now?”

“Oh, still very very green.” Logan hummed.

“Well let’s let all that fun stuff settle into your system before we have some fun.”

Logan whined, slumping into Remus. They watched on a little more, with Logan fully laying in Remus’ lap by the end. He’d turned away from the television and towards the man, beginning to play with the hem of his shirt a bit. Remus let him, only occasionally looking down to check in on his lover. After a few minutes, he felt Logan stop fidgeting, and instead found him brushing his fingertips over his knuckles with a large grin plastered on his face. Oh yeah. He was fucked up now.

“Hey Logie?”

No response.

“Lo.” He tried again to no avail.

“Logan.” Remus said, taking his hands in his own.

“Oh. Hi Remus.” Logan slurred back.

“Hey baby.” He smiled back, “Whatcha doing?”

Logan looked at him, confused, then glanced back at his hands, “My fingers felt weird. So I wanted to check on them.”

“Yeah? How about you sit up for me right now?”

He did, or at least tried to, before he slumped against Remus once again.

“I wanna be flat right now.” Logan pouted.

“Why don’t we try being flat in bed right now.” He suggested in return. He hauled Logan to his feet, helping him stumble down the hallway and to their bedroom.

Remus guided him to the bed with little resistance, flopping his body onto the soft sheets. He pulled his shoes and pants off for him, hauling his legs up onto the bed as well. God, laid out and staring up at the ceiling with an unfocused expression, Logan looked so blissful. A dopey smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes.

Clicking on the LED lights wrapped around the headboard, Remus set them to a soft blue color- his husband’s favorite, “Hey hey hey, no closing your eyes now. We’re gonna do one last thing before it’s sleepytime.”

“Huh?”

Remus kneeled on the bed and pulled off his shirt, revealing an expanse of tan skin that’d been scared and tattooed to the high heavens.

“Don’t you remember, baby? I’m gonna make you feel even better than you feel now. Fuck away allllll those thoughts.”

“Oh.” Logan smiled to himself, “Mkay.”

With some odd maneuvering, he managed to work his pants off by himself. Normally Logan blushed and covered himself with blankets until they were ready, so seeing him shamelessly stripping himself allowed a rush of arousal to surge through Remus’ veins. Once he laid naked on the bed, Remus was straddling him and groping all over his body.

“Fuck, just look at you. My little nerd reduced to nothing from a little weed and a few drinks.” He grinned, thumbing over Logan’s exposed chest. The touch felt buzzy through the haze of intoxication. Logan ground his hips up against Remus and arched into the feeling, wanting the other to get on with it.

“Eager too, huh?” Remus chuckled, moving to the nightstand to grab their lube, “Wait a little longer, and in no time I promise to make you completely mindless.”

He moved to sit in between Logan’s legs, hiking one of them up over his shoulder and pulling the other’s hips toward him. He squeezed a bit of the viscous liquid from their bottle of lube over his fingers, dipping them down to his husband’s hole and teasing him.

Logan let out a needy keen. His current position limited his movement, and his inebriation didn’t help at all. He wished Remus would just get on with it already, but the words that left his mouth expressing that statement were more along the lines of, “Now.”

“So bossy.” Remus chided, “Beg.”

“Remusssss.”

“You can do better than that~”

“Ughhh.” Logan huffed, “Please just- fuck me.”

“Hmm. I’ll be nice this time. Only ‘cause you’re so cute…and fucked up.” He started working a finger inside him, making sure to stretch the muscle and slick him up properly. The rumors he’d heard about alcohol hindering a guy's performance in bed seemed to be disproved with the way that Logan was already hard just from being fingered. As he stretched him, he made sure to find the spot that sparked pleasure in his veins. Logan whined, less out of need and more out of impatience. He wanted Remus in him twenty minutes ago.

Once Remus felt that he was suitably stretched, he pulled his fingers out and wiped the excess lube on his stomach. His hands, shaking with excitement, undid the button and zipper on his pants and quickly pulled out his length. He didn’t bother shucking them off, not when Logan was laid out beneath him and looking desperate.

He put a bit more of the lube on his cock before lining up, waiting a moment before pushing in.

“Tell me you want it.” He breathed, looking Logan dead in the eyes.

“I-I want it, Remus, please.” 

That was all it took for him to slide into his husband with a slow exhale. It took a moment for Logan to register the action, but when the feeling of fullness hit him, he let out a choked moan. It was difficult to focus on the sensation, but he felt like it was consuming him- in a good way, of course.

Above him, Remus sighed at the warmth and tightness enveloping his cock. He didn’t move for a while to let both him and Logan adjust to the feeling. With Remus’ high libido and Logan’s curiosity towards new experiences in the bedroom, their sex life never failed to be exciting, and this time proved no different. He wondered how Logan would look when he was close, would he even know? Or would he be too distracted to listen to his body? 

He leaned down and kissed him passionately, Logan caught off guard by the action. The taste of his wine still lingered on his tongue, making Remus deepen the kiss to savor the flavor. He used this as an opportunity to rock his hips in and out of his husband as well.

Logan let out muffled whines into Remus’ mouth. Everything felt both dulled and heightened at the same time. He was hyper aware of the heat between their bodies and the pure arousal that pulsed inside him every time Remus grinded down into him.

After what seemed like forever, Remus pulled away, resting on his forearms over Logan.

“You don’t even fucking know how much I want to wreck you right now Lolo. God, you look just helpless under me, huh?”

“I-” Logan slurred, trying to focus on a response, “Hnng-!”

“Awe, am I making you feel so good you can’t speak?” Remus teased, picking up his pace, “Are you drunk from so much alcohol, or my cock driving into you over and over?”

Logan moaned as Remus hit his prostate once he’d angled himself to be thrusting into it. If he could see himself, eyes lidded in pleasure and body limp except for what the other was supporting, he would have cringed in embarrassment. But now he could hardly think about anything but the bliss of mindless pleasure. 

As he continued to rock his hips into him, Remus groaned. On any other day, he would have leaned down and placed marks up and down Logan’s body. Hell, he would have had him tied up and choking on him too, but his husband’s safety and comfort came first. And besides, this felt just as good as fucking him after reducing him to a mess any other way. 

Remus readjusted so that both of Logan’s legs were wrapped around his midsection, and so that his hand was stroking the other’s dick. The new sensations had Logan spinning and staring up at his husband in awe.

He pumped the other’s length at the same pace at which he thrusted into him. He was groaning through gritted teeth as pearls of precome leaked from Logan’s cock. 

“You’re gorgeous as hell, Lo. I love getting to fuck you and take care of you like this- oh fuck.” He moaned out powerfully. 

Logan cried out in response. It was all so much and it felt like Remus was overwhelming him in the best way possible. The lust bubbled up inside him as he looked at the other. He didn’t even realize he was close until a whine ripped itself from his throat and he came over his stomach.

Remus didn’t slow down, he just smiled and sped up his thrusts, “G-good boy, so pretty coming for me. I’m close, Lo.”

He forced Logan’s hips to slam back on his cock, using his hole as if he were a toy. In a few more thrusts, he was filling the other with his seed and grunting as he came.

Remus panted, coming down from his high. Sweat adorned his brow and his muscles ached from stress. He looked down at Logan, who looked just about asleep already, causing him to snicker softly.

“Hey, no sleeping yet, lemme get a plug in you first at least.”

Logan just hummed in response, shutting his eyes. Normally after sex he pressured Remus to wipe them down with a wet rag so they wouldn’t get sheets dirtier than they already were, but now he couldn’t find himself caring enough to even move.

In the morning, they’d probably be nursing Logan’s considerable hangover, cleaning up from the night’s activities, and talking over what went right and wrong. A day of aftercare was likely in order after such a scene. But Logan knew he’d be pampered, and Remus loved to shower him in such affection, and the two would sleep contently knowing what was to come.

[tschulijulesjulie]

I need book recommendations please. I read captive prince and I’m losing my mind.

ooooh gladly!

so first of all, nothing really compares to CaPri, however i do have some - imo - very good recommendations that might have similar vibes.

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley - historical (18th and 19th century) Fantasy. Amnesia and time-travelling, with a veeeery Laurent-coded love interest.

The Scottish Boy by Alex De Campi - historical (14th century) Captive/Prisoner and (reluctant) man who has to hold him captive, secret identity, political schemes, revenge, war

Solomons Crown by Natasha Siegel - historical (12th century), Crown Prince of England (Richard Lionheart) and King of France (Philipp II) falling in love despite their countries being enemies, political schemes, strained family relationship to the point of going to war against family members, allies to enemies to allies again

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland - not my personal favourite but still good, Fabtasy, outstanding non-european-centric world-building, anxiety rep, queer-normative, Disgraced Prince and his guard(s) having to uncover a political intrigue that could dethrown his sister, the monarch, nightly shenenigans in taverns while hiding their identity, forced proximity, kinda co-dependent relationship

Winters Orbit by Everina Maxwell - SciFy, Prince has to marry the widow of his cousin for diplomatic reasons who then gets accused of having killed his first husband, political intrigue, past abuse

Fence by CS Pacat and Johanna the Mad - graphic novels, sports (fencing), YA?, might be an entirely different setting but the character dynamics are reminiscent of CaPri/ you can tell Pacats writing

The Aeneid by Virgil - the great Roman epic. to this day im convinced Pacat might have drawn some inspiration from this (or possibly the Odyssee and the Iliad)

I hope that helps. Thank you for your ask!

[tulipanthousa]

(in my head prob remy/sloane but)

"woah such a powerful fae gets taken out by the sun? By the heat? Skill issue /lh"

maybe, but i dont think it would go the way your thinking - virgil is a bit of a control freak with his anxiety and his few weaknesses do make him kind of nervous and like, uncomfortably vulnerable. its also a fae cultural thing that weaknesses should be closely kept secret, because so much of their culture has normative violence

So while i do think sloane or remy would make such a joke, it would be immediately followed by them clocking that they made virgil nervous by pointing out a weakness so openly, and either changing the subject entirely with a Bro Back SlapTM (Remy) or crawling into virgils lap with big old sad wet eyes like "sorryyyyyyy i love you 😢😢😢" (sloane)

[sanderssidesplaylist]

Laplaces Angel by Will Wood (it makes for an excellent Janus song imo)

(Strongly encouraged to listen to the song before voting! Lyrics under the cut.)

Have you ever died in a nightmare? Woke up surprised you hadn't earned your fate? Have you ever felt like Atlas, threw your back out on the axis And collapsed and threw the planet away?

Everyone's just blood in an ice tray A vampire picking flowers out in the sun Run your diagnostic tests, it's posited nobody dies agnostic But we still dial 9-1-1 And now we're singing

Ooh, could you take a look at me? (It's the norm for animals, it's the norm for chemicals) Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad? (It's the norm for particles, eye for eye for tooth) And now we're singing, ooh (it's the norm for chemicals) Whatever you think of me (it's the norm for particles) If you were in my shoes (yes, it's only natural) You'd walk the same damn miles I do

We're only tuning to the tone of the bell curve now Ask not for whom it tolls But with my head up in the clouds I can see so much ground And from up here, you look like ants in a row

It doesn't take a killer to murder It only takes a reason to kill We've all got evidence of innocence, it's "everything's coincidence" The difference twixt fate and free will is whether you're singing

Ooh, could you take a look at me? (It's the norm for animals, it's the norm for chemicals) Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad? (It's the norm for particles, I for I for tooth) And now we're singing, ooh (it's the norm for chemicals) Whatever you think of me (it's the norm for particles) If you were in my shoes (yes, it's only natural!) You'd walk the same damn miles I do Oh, oh, right!

So if you wash your hands of where you've been until you flood the second floor Neatly fold your skeletons, but still can't shut the closet door The only ones in need of love are those who don't receive enough So evil ones should get a little more

You, could you take a look at me? (You could break an angel's fall and ignore the Devil's call) Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad? (Still forsaken shoulders fall silent now) And now we're singing, ooh (it's no more than cultural) Whatever you think of me (you and me inseparable) If the shoe fits, would you walk that mile? (It's a small hell, after all) You could put it on the other foot, it's the same size

You, could you take a look at me? (Man no more than animal is made of moral chemicals) Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad? (Any form mechanical, thank you, God) We're singing, ooh (from the hordes of cannibals) Whatever you think of me (to psych wards of hospitals) If you were in my shoes (it's a small world, after all) You'd see I wear the same size as you Oh, oh, right!

[gumnut-logic]

Driving Home

Just a quick scene, prompted by something I saw on the way home from work/school.

Younger Tracys, a Scotty thoughts moment that doesn't really go anywhere.

-o-o-o-

The traffic lights lit up his brother’s face in the darkness. Scott couldn’t help but smile at Virgil, head smushed against the passenger-side door, asleep.

His brother was at the end of his degree. Graduating after years of toil while Scott had been away in the Air Force.

Scott had made a point to get leave to be there for Virgil on his big day. Dad couldn’t make it, but hell or highwater, Scott had skipped continents to see his brother get his piece of paper.

John had been there, gaining leave from NASA training, but the two youngest were home with Grandma, so it had been a reunion of the three eldest, two of them taking out the third to celebrate.

And celebrate they did.

Until John needed to leave.

There were hugs at the airport, even a soppy tear on Virgil’s part as they separated and said goodbye to their space-destined brother.

It was just the two of them from that point on. Scott could have flown them both home, but he had opted for a road trip back to Kansas. It wasn’t really that far, and honestly, he needed some time with Virgil.

Today had been great, driving across state lines. Really just talking, sharing experiences, taking the opportunity to wind down after a hectic…everything.

Scott had the wheel, determined to let his little brother rest. And eventually, after chatterboxing about anything and everything, Virgil had slipped into a snooze just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Scott was oddly grateful for it.

Not that he wanted silence, if anything he missed his brother’s excited voice.

It was more that…

It was a return to the norm.

They hadn’t seen each other for so long. Scott missed his brothers, all of them, but he also missed this. Just the two of them, hanging out together, being themselves, the sense of trust Virgil had in him. That knowledge that Virgil believed in Scott.

Sure, snoozing while his brother drove was far from life threatening. But it was done without thought.

It was reassuring to know that despite all his time away, Virgil still had that familiar faith in him.

The lights changed to green and Scott eased the car into the intersection, smoothly bringing it up to speed without disturbing Virgil at all. It wasn’t really required because his brother was almost impossible to wake up most of the time, but he did it for love anyway.

He really was getting corny in his old age.

He could almost hear Virgil’s chuckle at the thought.

God, he missed this.

He had buddies in the Force, yes, but his brothers…

Amber street lights strobed over Virgil’s lax features.

His brother…

Virgil snorted and shifted where he sat, his mouth drooping open and beginning to drool.

…was laughably gross.

Scott snorted, half tempted to poke Virgil awake. Thank goodness this was a hire car.

But his smile returned.

It really was good to be together again.

-o-o-o-

[not-your-average-highschool-au]

Side characters

When I said “I would be putting in random Thomas Sanders” characters into this au, I absolutely meant it-

I haven’t made finished, postable art of them yet just but here’s some (not all cause I kinda love them all) of my favorites that I might as well share cause what the heck else is this blog for lol:

The Mean Months

The mean months from that one Thomas short from a while back are Virgil’s friend group. While I plan to make 12 characters to represent each month, the most important ones are December, November, and October (really, December is the most important but as we all know, those are an iconic trio). December (aka Chris; he/him) is the leader of this friend group and kinda Virgil’s best friend at the start. October (Octavia; she/her) and November (Thea; she/her) are typically close behind Chris.

Roman (+fam) from Roleslaying with Roman

(You can thank my best friend for this storyline. Love ya bestie; you are a genius).

Roman of Reston (he/him) is a new student as the boys’ highschool. He’s just transferred from “Reston Highschool” and while he’s a new student, he’s pretty open to making new friends. Logan gets along with him pretty well considering the two of them are both geeky (Roman of Reston is a huge dnd nerd and is trying to put together a club). Sanders Sides Roman, however, does not like him in a similar way to how he doesn’t like Virgil (he also might be a bit jealous that Logan and him seem to get along pretty well, even though the pair only hang out sometimes at school when the opportunity arises).

Also, I’ve decided that Ryker (he/him) shall be the high school’s new gym teacher cause the idea of RWR Roman being in his class and saying “hi dad! :D” in the middle of Ryker’s lecture or something is really wholesome and in character to me.

Dragon Witch

The Dragon Witch character (named Danika Wayne; she/her) shows up later on in the story. Technically when this highschool au no longer takes place in highschool. She owns and works at a tattoo parlor called “The Dragon’s Cove”. I won’t say too much about her just yet but for right now, I will say that she’s pretty important to Remus and Janus’s storylines (mostly Remus though).

Sleep “Remy”

Remy Rocco (he/they but doesn’t mind how he’s referred to) is a famous actor in this au. While they’re mainly known for their roles in movies, they also are pretty open about their self expression. Remy doesn’t care about sticking to gender norms in any way and he will proudly talk about it. While they don’t outright interact with other characters, their presence in the storyline is extremely important for a certain someone’s character development.

I think this is all I’ll share for now. There are TONS of other side characters I adore but this gives you an idea of what I mean by Thomas Sanders characters having minor (or even major) roles in this au. Also, these provided the least amount of spoilers lol

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

my favourite recurring theme in laoft is patton becoming increasingly desensitised to fae social norms, its so fun

*gets stabbed* "well i didnt like that"

*another fae asks his name* he is just mildly offended

*watches roman covered in blood fighting a fae* "oh hot"

*other fae tries to buy him from virgil* his only reaction is to "purse his lips in annoyance"

its just one of my favourite things, i feel like its been brought up a couple times how logan is very human for a fae but patton is so fey for a human pslsjs

went to live in fairyland and it wrung all the shame out of him like a dishrag aksjdhakjhsd

[snowdice]

Unplanned Consequences (Part 5: Patton) [Sometimes Labels Shift Series-The End]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Patton/Logan

Characters: Patton, Logan, Virgil (mentioned), Roman (mentioned)

Summary: Sometimes... things change.

Notes: This takes place after Best Laid Plans

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

“Hey Lo,” Patton said as he walked into the living room. Virgil had officially moved into an apartment with Roman a few days ago as the spring semester was starting tomorrow. This left Patton and Logan living alone together in the house for the first time since… The Incident.

Patton had just finished cleaning up dinner after getting Logan settled on the couch. The TV was on, but Logan was currently staring past it into space, something he never used to do, but had become a frequent occurrence since getting injured. It worried Patton a bit, but he tried not to think about it.

Logan looked up at him as Patton said his name. He didn’t smile softly at Patton like he usually would have. It made something clog in Patton’s throat.

“Hello,” Logan said.

“I… made us both some tea,” Patton said, holding out the tea mugs as though for his approval.

“Thank you, love.” He still seemed distracted and distant. He turned back towards the television.

Patton nodded and then walked over to set the mugs on the coffee table. Then, he sat down on the couch next to Logan. Years of instinct told him to scootch over closer until their arms and legs intermingled, but he hesitated.

Logan either noticed his hesitation, or noticed his deviation from the norm, because he glanced over at Patton. He lifted the arm closest to Patton and Patton instantly took the invitation, moving closer to curl up under his arm.

Logan pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

It was silent between them for a long moment, only the sound of the television droning on breaking the quiet. The news was on, Patton noted. There was coverage on a supervillain attack Prince had stopped the night before.

“I think I need to retire,” Logan said out of the blue.

Patton drew back to look at him in surprise. “What?” he asked. “You’ve been given medical leave until next fall. You’ll be more than recovered enough to go back to teaching by then.”

Logan looked at him for a moment and then gave him a wry smile. “I wasn’t talking about teaching, my dear.”

“Oh,” Patton said blinking at him. “Oh.” He took a moment to process that statement. “But you… you want to retire?”

“I wouldn’t say want,” Logan said, “but I think it may be the most responsible course of action.”

“You… I know you’re struggling with the leg and everything right now, but you’ll get better.”

“Patton,” Logan said, “you’re a doctor.”

“Exactly!” Patton said, feeling oddly defensive for a reason he couldn’t place. “So, I know exactly how people heal from injuries like yours. You’ll need time, but with physical therapy and…”

Logan cut him off. “With physical therapy,” he said, “I will get much better. I will perhaps walk again, maybe even without a mobility aid eventually, but Patton, I’m 57-years-old. This severe of an injury is not going to heal quickly or completely.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m getting old,” Logan said. “I’ve been slowing down, and this will not help me speed up. Being Bluebird is physically… and mentally demanding. I won’t be able fully meet those demands again after what happened.”

“That’s not true,” Patton said even though he wasn’t sure of that himself.

“It is,” said Logan. “It’s always something that would happen eventually. This has just… sped up the process.”

“You’re catastrophizing,” Patton said. It was probably an ironic statement to make when Patton’s words sounded so much more upset than his husband’s. “You’re making a rash decision because you feel bad now, but…”

“This isn’t rash,” Logan said, evenly. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot in the last months.”

Patton didn’t know what to say to that.

“Besides,” he said, nodding at the TV. The news had cycled around again while they talked, back to Prince, back to Roman. “I’m not the city’s only long-term hero anymore. Roman had been doing well before and is doing even better now. I will continue to help him on his journey, and it won’t be an immediate transition. Bluebird will still make a few appearances, but I do think it’s time. For my own sake and ultimately for this city’s too.”

Patton hesitated. Logan was right, of course, that this was inevitable. It’s just that Patton had never really thought about it. He didn’t want to think about it, especially now when Logan was still so hurt in multiple ways. He’d been telling himself that eventually things would go back to normal, but Logan had just confirmed Patton’s greatest fear: they wouldn’t.

It felt selfish to be upset, but Patton really couldn’t help it. Patton felt himself gripping onto Logan’s sleeve for support even though support was Patton’s job right now. He felt tears in his eyes, but he resisted letting them fall.

“Are you okay?” Logan asked.

“I…” Patton said. A couple of the tears escaped. “It’s just… I’ve never known a Logan that wasn’t also Bluebird.”

Logan sighed softly. He gently removed Patton’s grasping hand from his shirt sleeve to hold it in his own. “Things change,” he said, doing that thing where he stared into the distance again, “labels shift.”

A/N:

And that my friends, is the end of Sometimes Labels Shift.

It's been a long time coming and I'm feeling a bit emotional even though it's not the end of the Labeled Universe. We're just moving on to the next chapter.

All of our favorite Labeled characters will return in the new sub-series named Envisage. I hope to see you there.

[bakawitch]

So since one of the things mentioned in H.F.I.V.E. ask prompt is magic using super spies, what magic types/powers do the characters have? Also how does toxic masculinity play a role story's theme?

Ooh fun question! Okay!

So they technically don't really have actual magic, they just have really strong imaginations. I'll expand on that in a bit.

Basically, all spies have special watches that supply them with their spy suits. The suits grant them the regular power ups you'd expect, like flexibility and stuff, but nothing op. The spies are given a set amount of gear every episode that they can use, kinda like in Totally Spies. Or kind of like in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse XD

Each spy also has a special tool. These tools are regular everyday objects, but using their heightened imagination and their watches' spification(?) they transform into heir signiture spy gadgets with special abilities! This is essentially a mix of the Persona metaverse rules and how the Tokyo Mew Mew girls get their weapons. Basically, they have an already existing object they're somewhat attached to, and when their imagination is finally unleashed after training, they declare the first thing that comes to mind and from that point on that object will be able to transform into their signature gadget. Harper doesn't have hers yet since she's still a trainee.

Let's go through who has what now:

Hayden has a pen that can transform into the Lightline Quill, a pen that draws terrain outlines with beams of light that become solid, climbable, or walkable surfaces. Can double as a flashlight.

Fern has a bracelet that can transform into the Milkyway, basically projectile beads that constantly stay on target. They can be used as spy cameras that transmit info to his watch.

Ike has glasses that can transform into the Trace Goggles, a pair of goggles that can render the wearer and anything/one they touch invisible. Can be used for night vision and heat signiture tracing.

Virgil has a keychain/motorcycle key that can transform into the Exhaust Pipe, a smoke blaster that can emit different kinds of smoke.

Evan has a phone that can transform into the Master Key that can emit a strong EMP. It can double as a hacking device that can control anything electronic remotely as long as he can break into it.

These gadgets lose power when the spies stop believing in their usefulness and lose belief in themselves or let fear control them.

This, I feel, is a good point to divulge into the subject matter!

Toxic masculinity often teaches boys to suppress imagination, vulnerability, or emotional depth, labelling them as weak or childish or y'know "not man enough"! For these spies, that mindset literally weakens the gadgets since belief and imagination are what powers them. A boy raised to “tough it out”, "be a man", "man up" or “grow up” might struggle to power his device because imagination is seen as unmanly and unadulty (I'm pretty sure that's not word). Say if a spy fears ridicule or something like that about their gadgets and denies them (their authentic strengths), the gadgets will weaken, which kinda mirrors how toxic masculinity punishes deviation from stoic norms.

This angle will mostly apply to Virgil, specifically because he will start off as the weakest spy due to his kinda toxic masculine beliefs with lacking emotional intelligence. But as he grows emotionally and sheds his harmful habits and views, his abilities will also grow as a spy to show that dismantling toxic masculinity leads to empowerment and not effemination (that's probably a word idk).

The Black Snake also specifically embodies these toxic ideals, mocking imagination, enforcing conformity, and using power without empathy. This would mostly be shown through his treatment of his minions (especially Black Thorn) and how defeating the spies means thrusting them into a stereotypical world of an "unappreciated man" to him with his methods, possibly even recruiting them to his cause. Defeating him will not be about brute force and which side is the most powerful one, but about courage to believe, feel, and create.

Phew! Sorry this took so long, I wanted the toxic masculinity commentary to at least make a little sense ┐('u`;)┌

[lizzarrocks]

Why Creepypasta Is Problematic 1/20

Chapter 1 Ib – Pathologizing the Mind: The Killer as “Crazy”

Creepypasta’s rogues’ gallery reads like a DSM fever dream—Jeff, Sally, BEN, Nina, Eyeless Jack, Laughing Jack, Clockwork—each rendered in gory tableaux, their motives reduced to a single, grotesque shorthand: they went “crazy.” Not traumatized. Not wounded. Not shaped by social forces, family systems, or neurodivergence. No, they snapped. Madness, in this genre, is not a state of being but a narrative trigger—a pretext for the descent into murder, the sharpening of blades, the theatricality of blood on white linens. What emerges is not representation but pastiche: a cardboard cutout of the "insane killer," stripped of interiority and deployed as cultural spectacle.

This archetype is not an invention of creepypasta, but it finds in the genre its most distilled and uncritical form. In Gothic fiction, madness was metaphor—Jane Eyre’s Bertha Mason as colonial other, Poe’s narrators as avatars of repression and guilt. In slasher cinema, insanity became a psychosexual cipher—Michael Myers as void, Jason Voorhees as oedipal rage. Even postmodern horror often played with the unreliable narrator trope, implicating audience complicity. But creepypasta dispenses with all that. There is no subtext, only bloodstains. No allegory, only catchphrases. “Go to sleep.” “I can’t feel.” “He doesn’t need eyes to see.” These aren't symptoms; they’re branding.

And this is where Michel Foucault, that grave diagnostician of civilizational neurosis, becomes our unlikely Virgil through this digital inferno. In Madness and Civilization, Foucault locates the rise of the asylum not in medical necessity but in the cultural need to stage the boundary between sane and insane. Sanity, he argues, is performative—it is not simply a mental condition but a marker of social discipline. The "mad," then, are not treated; they are exhibited, contained, and used to reinforce the normative. Creepypasta plays this performance out on a recursive loop: the "crazy killer" is the genre’s most prized currency, and madness becomes pure signifier—divorced from psychology, history, or personhood.

What’s most troubling is not that these characters are mentally ill, but that their “illness” functions solely as a rationale for their savagery. There is no diagnosis, no specificity—only spectacle. Psychosis is portrayed as aesthetic. Schizophrenia becomes shorthand for murder. Dissociation is rebranded as villain origin story. Borderline traits are exaggerated into melodramatic bloodletting. Instead of confronting the societal structures that stigmatize and misunderstand mental illness, creepypasta weaponizes those very caricatures for genre flair. It flattens the psychological into the theatrical and, in doing so, contributes to a long and ugly history of conflating illness with evil.

The Algorithmic Machine: Madness as ClickbaitYet this glorification does not exist in isolation—it is produced, distributed, and rewarded by a digital ecosystem optimized for attention, not ethics. TikTok storytimes animate “killer backstories” with pastel filters and melancholic piano chords. YouTube creators narrate creepypastas with voice distortion and ASMR cadences. Reddit’s r/NoSleep thrives on a currency of escalation—the more outrageous the premise, the more upvotes it accrues. And behind it all, the algorithm looms: vast, indifferent, hungry.

In this economy, extremity is not a bug—it is a feature. The more “insane” your antagonist, the more violent their methods, the more decontextualized their suffering, the better your chances of virality. Mental illness becomes spectacle because spectacle is what sells. And here lies the media pathology: platforms designed for maximum engagement reward content that dehumanizes the very subjects it pretends to represent. “Crazy” becomes clickable. “Insane” becomes a vibe. Illness becomes entertainment—curated, filtered, monetized.

This is not accidental. It is structural. As Safiya Noble argues in Algorithms of Oppression, platform capitalism operationalizes bias—not just racial, but psychological, neurological, affective. The result is a feedback loop: stories that fetishize madness rise to the top, and their popularity justifies their replication. Empathy is bad for engagement. Complexity is too slow. Nuance doesn't trend.

Thus, the “crazy killer” trope does not merely reflect stigma; it reifies it. It teaches audiences—particularly younger ones—that mental illness equals danger, that trauma must manifest as cruelty, and that any deviation from neurotypical affect is potentially monstrous. The cumulative result is not horror, but indoctrination. Not catharsis, but corrosion.

Creepypasta’s problem is not that it explores darkness. The problem is that it decorates it—packages it into a form so stylized and algorithmically desirable that we forget to ask what it costs. Whose pain is being mimicked? Whose illness is being cannibalized for thrills? The killer is “crazy,” we’re told. But the story never asks: crazy from what? And we—audience, algorithm, author alike—never answer.