#kudos to anyone who actually read this

[sopuu]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the symbolism and game design of omori

This is suchh an old ask im sorry it took me so long to get my thoughts tgt let alone write them down hh everything’s under the cut bc there’s a Lot and tysm for enabling me 🙏🏻

just a heads up I’m not gonna talk much about the characters themselves bc there’s already plenty of analysis out there for them- what I am gonna get to tho is the general game itself and a bit of the music. And bc OMORI is a game that covers heavy topics, please be aware of this before you continue reading!

So ofc I gotta start with the first place omori wakes up in — white space, just a simple rectangle on the floor with the essentials within arm’s reach, no responsibilities and no one to bother you. I LOVE minimalistic stuff like this- something so simple can can make you feel like you’re in both the most peaceful and uncanny place in the world. Also the black bulb being a symbol of repression, opposite of a lit bulb being a symbol of a new idea (thank you fandom wiki for this point) is just 👌🏻. And the fact that omori’s friends are right next door (literally called neighbour’s room) if he ever gets lonely shows how they’ve always been there for him, and in turn how much he depends on them.

I think the game does a wonderful job of depicting what escapism is like- Daydreaming of a world full of your own ocs, adventuring through it with your best friends and being the hero of the story where everything goes right for you. But of course this fantasy can’t hold forever as the real world starts to catch up, with stuff like Something appearing in places reminding omori of what happened, red space entrances throughout the story (the ones before the main red space debut as omori sits on the throne), and ofc the moment basil drops the photograph at the start. Side note, I like how Something always disappearing so quickly shows how desperate omori is to repress it, like quickly shoving problems under a rug. Or maybe im reading too much into it and it’s just to add to the creepy factor lol. Also this is one of the games that does mixed media SO well- combining digital 2d art with real life materials like sketching and scanning the animations, clay models for Somethings, real life photos drawn over and filtered etc, it really suits the theme of having to balance the fictional world and the real world if that makes sense. Also the way some scenes deliberately leave in the crumpled paper texture!! Especially for messages about not friends giving up on each other-- its almost like those were thrown away in the trash and picked back up again. Quite the parallel to how sunny locked himself away for four years due to depression and guilt for what he’s done, thinking his friends would never forgive him, then eventually finally coming out of his house and giving himself a chance with reconnecting with them.

Ok here’s where the heavier themes come in so please please stop reading if you’re not comfortable with them! [tw: suicide (or at least implications of it)]

game design time! i absolutely love it when games use the game mechanics themselves to be a part of storytelling- and this game does it with the stab function. I actually got to know this game through watching playthroughs, and at the first forced transition usually people do whatever they can think of to avoid having to press the button, before very reluctantly realising that they don’t have a choice. As the game goes on, players start getting more and more familiar with it, using it to get back to the real world or bc of forced resets and so on. Before long this basically becomes routine and players get so used to it that they don’t even hesitate to press it anymore. After all, nothing bad actually happens, right..? This mechanic gets used so much more in black space, but this time it’s very prominently presented as an escape route, something to get out of stressful situations, something that helps. you might even be relieved to see that option be available to you. And I think that’s terrifying— considering that this is a representation of how.. unpleasant thoughts can go from being unfathomable to something that feels like a natural/normal occurrence. i don’t think I’ve seen any other game that captures this kind of thought process(? there’s probably a better term for this) to the level that OMORI does and im so so glad that the devs are bringing these mental health topics to light.

I’d also love to talk about black space but I think this post does it better than I ever could haha, also black space 2 I love you sm im a sucker for out-of-bounds-but-not-really type of areas (yknow like Undertale’s fun value rooms and test rooms), it’s like hitting the jackpot for easter eggs and subtle lore aughh <3

And I can’t talk about OMORI without talking about the music!! I think we can all agree that Duet KILLS. the high notes as the happiest scenes show on screen………the way the piano is the one that starts the song off and it ends with only the violin……… my emotions man. what if I started crying!!!!! (i did)

Clean Slate is one of my top songs- there’s so much emotion in this and it’s the epitome of acceptance and letting go of guilt while also giving the feeling that you’re in a hospital (ig that’s kinda the point but for such a short song to pinpoint a feeling AND setting so accurately is so grragjgh….)

Other big favs are It Means Everything, Chaos Assembly, Tee-Hee Time, Puddles, Snow Forest and Dear Little Brother :) and actually a lot of others as well but id be listing half the soundtrack and more if I go on

In conclusion OMORI is such a well designed game, I love it and its messages sm it means a lot to me personally, and writing this made me feel like im back in English class again

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

it does something incomprehensible to my little writer’s soul whenever alex articulates a phenomenon of the writing process i’ve always picked up on and then goes on to describe it in exactly the same way

[akindredskillet]

The First Push

This isn’t about The Truth, or even the often discussed push of Basil into the lake, but rather the third, most overlooked push in Omori. Shoving Headspace Basil, and the scattering of the photo album.

At first glance, this seems like the least significant, as it has no real world consequences (and isn’t the driving force of the game!), but it’s also notable in that it leads to the inciting incident of the entire Headspace plot: Basil’s disappearance.

Maybe these parallels are obvious to some, but I didn’t catch on the first — or even second or third — time I played Omori! Actually, I didn’t recognize this as a moment of foreshadowing until I saw the scene illustrated in action in the Omori manga:

With the fully extended hands and Basil's obstructed face, it comes across as a pretty serious moment!

This prompted me to go back to this scene in the game and take notes on each line more carefully. @humornaut's prologue analysis (go read it!) also briefly mentioned this scene in reference to it foreshadowing Basil being pushed into the lake, which inspired me to clean up my initial thoughts & try my hand at the analysis scene myself.

But I don’t want to talk about the lake incident — I want to talk about how the “first scare” of Omori foreshadows The Truth.

For this thought experiment, let’s say Kel & Aubrey take Sunny & Mari’s place and, as usual, Basil is the collateral.

“Hold on! There’s no need to fight!”

Starting off with something fairly obvious, this is likely referencing Basil’s peacekeeping nature. Sunny knows that Basil must have had this thought, for the few seconds he watched them, terrified, from the bottom of the stairs. I don’t think this is something Basil actually said, but it does strike me as something that Sunny would have expected him to say, maybe had he arrived a bit earlier. Ultimately though, Sunny doesn’t believe that Basil’s interjection would have changed anything anyway — just as his pleas fall on Aubrey & Kel’s deaf ears.

“You already had your turn!”

Let’s say this line represents Sunny’s growing resentment. Kids are taught that taking turns is fair and good. Playing the violin isn’t something Sunny wants to do on his own accord, but something he feels pressured to do, regardless of if that pressure is imagined.

Kids take turns choosing which game to play. Sunny feels as though Mari has chosen the game day after day after day — practicing. Perfecting. Mari has already had her turn, Sunny “did this all for her!”, so now he takes his turn, forcibly. The violin crashes to the floor.

“Get out of my way, Kel!”

Kel & Aubrey argue all the time in Headspace, but rarely with the same degree of physicality, and a similar tangible obstruction:

Before we get to the push itself, I want to briefly discuss how extended this scene is. Basil asks Aubrey & Kel repeatedly to stop, giving them ample time to stop fighting before he finally falls over. Time is a luxury not granted in the accident. “It happened in an instant,” the Truth album reads. Sunny didn’t have the chance to think twice, or change the outcome, or catch Mari after she lost her balance. But the incident didn’t come out of nowhere.

Every shove back and forth is something Sunny could have stopped escalating — making mistakes, breaking the violin, arguing and getting angry. Mari, over several weeks, several minutes, in one instant, is pleading with him to stop. And Sunny — maliciously, he believes in hindsight — has kept pushing and pushing. Until it breaks.

Except Basil’s photo album is mendable.

And when it finally happens, the silence rings out the same:

“You two are in big trouble now! This is why the both of you need to learn how to get along!”

In Omori, there is a recurring theme of fear of authority. The reason the coverup plan is initiated is because of fear others wouldn’t “believe that it was an accident”. Hero is, especially in Headspace, depicted as a respected, authority, or even parental figure. It stands to reason that Sunny is only so afraid because he loves Hero. He’s concerned about the police, yes, but also his loved ones. Being disappointed in, repulsed by, afraid of, or wanting to disown him. Including his mom, Hero himself, and all their other friends.

I took note of the word “both” here, since the sentence would have made just as much sense without it. I think this is a hint that Sunny still harbors a small amount of resentment for Mari’s role in the accident. Maybe he doesn’t blame her in that she shouldn’t have been so hard on him leading up to it (though there is perhaps a bit of that remaining too), but rather that he considers himself a monster, and she put herself in harm’s way.

“I’m sorry… We didn’t mean it, Hero!”

Here, we come to the biggest difference. This is Headspace, which means things are deceptively simple. Despite Kel’s tearful pleas, the stakes are relatively low. Sunny wished things could be fixed with an, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!’, but they can’t.

“Please don’t tell Mari…”

Even if Mari is a more trusted authority figure than his parents, it only makes sense that Sunny has done things he doesn’t want her to find out about — things she would be disappointed by. And killing her — the worst ‘trouble’ he’s ever been in: not only is she one of the only people who already knows, but he cannot confide in her even if he wanted to. There is no Mari to be vulnerable to, to clean up the broken porcelain and make it all okay.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Accidents happen.”

Sound familiar?

“Here’s your photos. It doesn’t look like anything got damaged.”

Of course, this is the dream world, and any adversity isn’t supposed to have permanent consequences. Omori’s friends are revived time and time again, if Omori fails he simply tries again. But Hero doesn’t say nothing got damaged, he says it doesn’t look like anything did. He dusts off the photos and hands them back to Basil.

We know that in just a few moments Basil will be damaged because of this incident, and irreparably so. Entities who know The Truth never last long in Headspace. Compare this again to this description from the Truth album:

It doesn’t look like anything got damaged.

[punkrockisafulltimejob]

For those who are unsure of whether or not they really have the "sensitivity to cold" symptom of fibromyalgia, because you think that it's just you not being able to handle colder temperatures like other people, that's one way of putting it. The other way is, when it's winter and the temperatures start dropping, do you feel your pain more intensely? Do you feel like you have more problems with your joints? Is your partner always commenting how cold your fingers and toes are, but it somehow gets more frequent in winter? Those are other ways to consider being sensitive to the cold.

[artemis-in-space]

I literally don't care what you ship in One Piece as long as you get the dynamic right

[piedoesnotequalpi]

*banging pots and pans together* THE FINAL CHAPTER HAS ARRIVED AT AN AO3 NEAR YOU! GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!

In all seriousness, I still can't quite believe it's actually done. I'll have more thoughts tomorrow.

[nostalgia-tblr]

oh and meanwhile i still haven't solved the mystery of Why Are People Suddenly Kudosing This One Specific Ten'n'Donna Fic From A Few Years Ago, and now I have the added mystery of Why Are A Different Set Of People Doing That But With The Grandmaster/Loki Very-Dubcon Fic That Has But One Comment And Most Of The Bookmarks On It Are Hidden In What I Can Only Assume Is Shame?

[creativitycache]

EDIT: 5/18/24 Lore.fm has deleted its app, its website, and all prior TikToks. They uploaded a TikTok apologizing for the stress they caused EDIT: Update Lore.fm’s current version has been shut down! 5/17/24

Hey I don’t know if this is being talked about on Tumblr but thankfully the AO3 subreddit has a conversation going about this app that just went live.

TikTok user unravel.me.now has just launch an app (lore.fm) she is calling “Audible for AO3”. It’s an app that uses AI voices to read out fics.

🚨She is requiring any authors who do not want their fics to be on this app to OPT OUT by emailing team@lore.fm 🚨 🚨She has not given an actual template or how you’re supposed to prove you’re the author or said how her team will process this or how she will keep these requests secure🚨

I do not have this app. I haven’t seen anyone use it yet. According to Reddit users, unravel.me.now’s earlier TikToks stated she envisions the app being able to create libraries stored on that app and to have version of “Spotify wrapped”. That implies that eventually data collection must happen, if it’s not happening currently.

I don’t know the actual capabilities of this app. I don’t know the legalities. I do know that it personally feels like this app is trying to turn AO3 into a content generation source and I haven’t heard of the app allowing you to leave a comment or kudos or interact with the original work.

I’m just sad about this.

[gregmarriage]

truly the thing i’ve realised with my writing is that i truly don’t give a shit, and by that i mean, i love writing so much, and all of my worries about mean comments or ppl not liking my stuff are usually unfounded, and i don’t wanna stop writing, just because of that, either way. like, that’s a you problem, not a me problem, babe x

[vorchagirl]

I saw a comment by someone on reddit who said they no longer comment on any fanfiction because of the risk of it being AI and ... that just seems like such a cop out to me, not to mention incredibly cruel to authors.

Please please please do not stop commenting on all fics or interacting with authors because you are worried about things being AI. The risk is slim, and the damage you do to authors by doing this is awful.

Writers put so much effort into their fics. For people to openly admit they still read and consume these fics, but choose not to comment on anything because of the possibility of someone using AI for their writing is incredibly selfish. You're punishing authors by doing this. You're not being moral or helpful or crusading for any useful cause - you're just hurting authors.

Ironically, by doing this, you're actually more likely to cause authors to stop writing (silence does this), and people who can't write will fill the gaps left by creating AI writing - so you're making the problem worse, not helping anyone.

If you want to support authors and writers, then SUPPORT them! Reblog work and send authors asks, leave comments and kudos, and above all don't punish people with silence.

[fireylesbianhell]

if i ever say “man i wanna know the basics of music theory” ever again kill me on the spot immediately please

[kalinko]

i have a horrific amount of lore about their weird relationship dynamic in my notes app so you know what. if you wanna hear it …

cw: awful terrible codependent relationship dynamics which probably border on abusive, drug use, drug addiction, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage

initially trevor had a gripe with bug coming into the fold, with stupid worries it’d ruin the magic or whatever between himself and michael. but they had a good working relationship, and even treaded into the territory of being legitimate friends since bug was pretty enabling compared to whoever else was around. there were plenty of sporadic hookups and usual sexual trevorisms during that period im sure. but their relationship didn’t start going fully off the rails til michael’s kids were a bit older and his priorities started shifting (probably midlate-90s). lots of sex and drugs and trauma bonding and terrible decisions to fill time between jobs.

so, it became very common for trevor to be blown off by michael and immediately crawl to bug for some form of supplemental affection. she was aware of this but indulged anyway - they’re extremely codependent and let’s be real bug has his own carnal wants anyway. having emotional and sexual control over trevor is very satisfying for her. she thinks the fact she’s self aware about the situation makes it better (it doesn’t).

as for the question of michael’s outlook on the relationship…… dude was weirded out and slightly frightened by it. i mean he’s like an unwilling participant in a weird love triangle that’s not really a love triangle. he’s the reason for pretty much all ebb and flow in the couples dynamics but he’s entirely detached from it. he’s an onlooker who thinks that bug and trevor getting too close will cause some horrendous disaster involving copious amounts of death and collateral and yeah he’s kinda right. it was like constantly hanging out around a time bomb. was he maybe feeling egotistical because this pair seemed so obsessed with him?? honestly knowing michael .. probably. cue the ‘omg guys stop fighting over meeee’

that being said, as much as they may been feeding each others horrendous habits, michael was thankful that someone could take trevor’s attention/obsession away from him (even if temporarily)… that’s why he never committed to stepping in and dissuading the relationship like most others suggested.

but hey. maybe the pair could have an actual relationship if they communicated about all of the underlying bullshit, but it’s inherently got a foundation of shame so they won’t.

trevor doesn’t want to admit michael fucks with his mental so much that he needs to supplement his presence after michael gets his own family. bug doesn’t want to admit she’s reliant on a single soul and that he’s specifically reliant on some frankly terrible relationship. it both hits them in soft spots and makes them feel weak.

so as close as they ever get physically and emotionally, the reality of the situation makes them flinch away. they even have physical fights due to the sheer repression later on - nothing insanely serious but enough to give them an excuse to drift apart for a few days.

the cycle goes:

drift together>get extremely, almost toxically close>reach some boiling point of emotional bond which one of them perceives as being ‘too much’>they pull away suddenly, often causing an argument>they drift apart

(during the stage of them being together, trevor is emotionally vulnerable and can be ordered around pretty easily. during the apart stage, it’s quite the opposite. weirdest ever tit for tat)

so they’ll just go on claiming it’s a strictly sexual, means-to-an-end relationship forever. it’s what they told michael and lester and whoever else despite nobody believing that shit.

but their relationship becoming anything ‘real’ would be dependent on trevor letting go of michael which will never happen let’s be real that guy has his teeth in deep

later in their relationship, bug tried to use trevor’s frustration with michael to sever off their partnership. partially obscured by jealousy but there was legitimate concern on her part that michael was gonna pull something shady.

she’d complain that he wasn’t really in the game anymore, that he was too preoccupied with his family now, and they ought to let him go. hell she even suggested a trevor/bug/brad crew even though she Hated brad (no jealousy this time - just thought he was an idiot). sometimes trevor could agree on a surface level but he would never ever settle on letting go of michael. Ever.

so naturally bug had conflicting feelings about her pregnancy later on. he knew both her and trevor were frankly not parental material, as much as they both liked michael’s kids. she was pretty instantly set on abortion. but a teeny voice in her head told her this would be a bond michael didn’t have with trevor, and bug could finally one-up him in that department. obviously that never happened due to the circumstances and it’s probable that bug wouldn’t have followed through with it anyway. as much as their codependency fucked with her head, he ultimately values personal freedom more. y’know like the freedom to pick the worst partner ever without worrying about secondary human life.

their relationship dynamic is very easy to slip back into post-reunion, i’d imagine. maybe even stronger than before because the vindictiveness for michael is much stronger for both of them. yesss latch harder guys it’ll get good eventually……?

despite it being completely misguided, bug blames all her 2004-2010 woes on michael because he set up the heist that went south despite her insistence that it was a stupid idea. this is only ‘proven’ to her when bug finds out michael is actually alive in los santos. he doubles down HARD…. going into hiding, heroin addiction, crippling self worth issues, poor mental health episodes that trigger slaughter?? uhhh michael’s fault, duh.

of course they’re all weirdos and still hang out in some weird nostalgia fuelled form of self harm i guess. doing the job was the only thing that gave bug purpose so she’s willing to be around a real toxic situation to do it. of course she feeds into it, by no means a victim. her two sources of validation are pulling scores and being in the worlds worst decade long situationship.

added notes: bug hasn’t told anyone ever about the pregnancy. she was planning on dropping the news to trevor after the ludendorff heist but obviously shit went south there.

although the miscarriage probably happened due to a combination of factors caused by the botched heist (stress, intense physical activity, etc), bug could never really bring herself to blame michael for it. and trust me she tried! but she couldn’t make herself believe it when she knew she wasn’t gonna keep the baby regardless. she believes she’s gotta better things to blame michael for anyway…

the bigger issue is that she never told trevor. continued to keep it a secret after the reunion and refuses to bring it up because it’s way too.. real i guess? too domestic?? it suggests there could’ve been some semblance of societal ‘normalcy’ hidden in the awful tar pit they called a relationship??? it’s complicated. and god knows how he would even react to that information.

OKAY the rambling is over but thank you for coming to my ted talk about interpersonal drama in the old folks home.

lord knows i love writing bugs stupid ass love triangle. and its not even a love triangle. like can you imagine being jealous of your not-boyfriend because he is interested in a married man who is wholly put off by you both. truly sickening!

[letteredlettered]

Went to a panel about slash fanfic at a con. Moderator said, "Welcome to the panel about erotica." The words "slash" and "erotica" were used interchangeably throughout. Panel was great.

There was a Q&A at the end so I raised my hand and said these terms seemed conflated. Moderator explained she'd run this panel for 10 years and it started out being about slash but drifted into erotica and she never changed the name. (She also said she was glad I brought it up and would keep it in mind for the future of the panel.) The guy on the panel who writes original m/f erotica said that slash and what he writes are basically the same thing. I said I had no complaints about the name of the panel or the panelists, I was just curious about what slash meant to them, and whether slash by necessity had to include sex scenes to be considered slash.

Two panelists answered that slash was romance between men but usually had sex. Eventually one of them did make clear that slash didn't have to have sex but that it was what they wanted to read. Another panelist said that to them slash really just meant dude romance but people wouldn't read their fic unless there was sex so they felt they had to put sex scenes in.

Person came up to me after the panel. Said they felt I didn't get my question answered. Then they explained that since the 70s, 'slash' has been used to mean m slash m romance, meaning explicit and sexual. Then they said it sounded like what I wanted to ask about was shipping. They explained to me that shipping is just wanting the characters to be together but slash meant sex. They explained that since the invention of AO3, people had begun to use the ampersand to mean the fic had two characters who were friends and that the slash was used to denote ships, but even though that punctuation just meant romance, the word "slash" in the last twenty years had become synonymous with explicit fic. I explained I had been in fandom longer than twenty years and this was not necessarily my experience. They said, "Bye!"

Though they seemed confused as to whether what they personally defined as slash had been mainstream since the 70s or since the last twenty years (the person was 24), they were well-meaning. The panel was great. I'd recommend it to anyone, though I'm not stating the name of the con here because I don't want anyone involved to feel this is really a critique of the panel itself. The moderator in particular was superb.

I think that this conversation just brought up a whole lot of feelings for me. I think it bothers me that people still think that all fanfic is smutty, that all slash requires porn, and that all fic must have porn in order to be read. I am familiar with this conflation and feel perfectly fine going to a panel that I think is about slash fic and finding out it's about erotic lit, some of which is fanfic. After all, I like both, and I recognize that fandom mushes these things together and teasing them out into separate strands isn't something everyone--or possibly even most fans--have any interest in. I recognize that I am pedantic to a degree that most people find uninteresting.

I have a little bit more of a problem with the idea that slash is "basically the same" as het, but this was said by only one of the panelists. If your panel is actually about straight up erotica and not slash, then the problem is just the name of the panel.

What I found the most frustrating, however, is that whenever I have this conversation, I feel like the default assumption most of my interlocutors begin AND end with is this: smut is why we're here. And I just don't understand that. Away Childish Things has 44,800 kudos, and it has no smut in it. My next most kudosed fic has almost 15,000 kudos and tons of smut. My next most kudosed fic has almost 14,000 kudos and it doesn't even have a kiss.

I'm not talking about kudos to show off how many I have, or because I think kudos make a point about quality of a fic. They have nothing to do with quality. But they do have to do with popularity, and the truth is, sex doesn't sell. It's something else. It's not good writing. It's not a great plot. It's not in-character characterization. IT'S SOMETHING ELSE. What is it?

I've had people say to me, "Well, you're lettered; it works differently for you." DOES IT??? Maybe they meant that because enough people know me as fic author, people will read my fic anyway, but let me tell you, it's always been this way for me, long before my fic was really popular. The ones with smut did not get more praise and attention. The ones that PEOPLE LIKED got more praise and attention. Do people like fic that has smut in it more than fic without smut? Some of the time! Does there have to be smut for people to like it? NO.

Have I had people tell me they didn't want to read something I wrote because it didn't have smut? YES. But the point I'm trying to make is, there are people who want to read fic that doesn't have smut in it. THEY are your audience for the fic you want to write that doesn't have smut in it. Fic does not have to have smut to be fic; it doesn't have to have smut to be read.

I think part of the reason I get so upset about it is that slash as we know it today didn't just emerge because some people weren't getting to read smut and they wanted to. It emerged because women and queer people and other marginalized communities were not getting to see what they wanted to in mainstream media. They weren't getting sex scenes, but they also weren't getting queer content, they weren't getting stories about sensitive men that defied patriarchal stereotypes of male toxicity; they weren't getting stories about disabled folks and people of color and folks who are into kink and folks who have different lifestyles. To reduce fanfic to porn is to remove the rich history of why it exists and who it exists for.

I asked earlier what makes a fic popular, and to me, it's exactly this. It's when you read a thing and you feel, "this is really satisfying to my id in a way that I am not getting from mainstream media." And sometimes what is satisfying to your id is very horny anal sex. Other times what is satisfying to your id is Bucky Barnes getting a blanket and facing his trauma. Sometimes it's Harry Potter being trans. Sometimes it's Naruto and Sasuke getting to just hold hands as the sun sets. I have no idea who those two people are but boy howdy do I know they just fucking need to hold hands.

But the other reason I get so upset about it is I'm so fucking tired of reading a great fic that devolves into mediocre mechanical porn that is there due to the collective brainwashing that states that this is the ONLY reason ALL of us are here.

Discuss.

[guardianofnightmares]

Forbidden

At that moment Bumblebee finally realized that he couldn’t keep the paranoid thoughts locked inside his processor anymore.

He desperately needed to speak to his friends, consequences be damned. He had to make sure that he’s not glitched in a processor. That what he got himself into was a right course of action for any good-natured Bot.

... or, rather, for any sensible Prime.

Hence why, after making a deep inhale, a minibot finally forced the dreaded words out of his intake:

"... is it wrong that I feel... bad for the prisoners? That I... periodically... h-help them?"

----------

Hello everyone, long time no see). Can hardly believe it's been a whole year since the last @blitzbee-week event and man, was I glad to participate in it once more. All of works were submitted on time to an event chat, but, unfortunately, I am uploading them here only now (full-time job drains me up).

Anyways, here is my first drawing from BlitzBeeWeek event Promts List. I think it will be fair to mention that this and next couple of my works will be dedicated to my fanfic called "TFA: Icarus". I will leave a link [here] for anyone interested to give it (and an existing teaser) a try. And yes, I am, in fact, going to finally upload first chapters pretty soon, it's happening, guys))). Thanks a ton for everyone who left their kudos there throughout a year, you have given me courage to put this behemoth of a story on paper and actually work it through.

As for the current entry for an event, I will provide part of a draft to one of chapters which is related to a depicted scene. It'll be "hidden" under a cut line for anyone wishing to get a more... fleshed out picture of what's going on here. Hope you'll enjoy reading it)

----------

“Bumblebee… are you listening to me?”

It was beyond confusing for Ratchet to see a younger Bot acting so out of touch with reality. He’s hunched over a console, helm resting in one servo while a wielding tool was twirled slowly in digits of another. Bumblebee looked so tired, clearly not caring about a task at servo, nor about an advice coming from his elder friend.

White and red Autobot knew how cheerful Bumblebee got each time they met via video calls, clearly waiting for a chance to talk to old teammates, even if these calls didn’t last long. That’s why him being so silent and lost in own thoughts was that much more worrying to witness. 

Upon being prompted again, the young bot finally raised his optics, the weight of his gaze almost making Ratchet flinch in surprise - to think that a recently promoted Prime was capable of behaving so out of character was indeed an alarming sign of change. 

The truth was, the minibot couldn’t help but to act all secretive, as if he’s done something wrong. 

Because, all things considered, he has. 

Minibot was well aware of what his actions could lead up to. All those rendezvous and revelations were such a dangerous subject to talk about, something that surely could lead him to being court marshaled if he’s caught by anybot. And what’s even worse - Bumblebee wasn’t certain whether telling friends what’s been troubling him was a good idea. 

Surely they’d not rat him out… but would they continue interacting with a yellow Autobot if he shared said secret with them? Wouldn't it be more mature of him to leave mechs oblivious (in order to protect them) and let his fears to silently fester in his processor?

... yet, to his shame, a minibot felt his resolve to keep his intake shut breaking upon seeing a haunted expression on Ratchet’s faceplates. Bumblebee wished he hadn’t looked up into the wise optics of his, those that seemed to read him as an unlocked datapad. How could he play it cool when a medic was looking at him in such a manner?

“…kid?” Now Ratchet was truly worried for his companion. He wasn’t even certain he’s ready to hear an explanation, but knew in his spark that he had to get to the bottom of a problem for minibot's sake.

At that moment Bumblebee finally realized that he couldn’t keep the paranoid thoughts locked inside his processor anymore.

He desperately needed to speak to his friends, consequences be damned. He had to make sure that he’s not glitched in a processor. That what he got himself into was a right course of action for any good-natured Bot. 

… or, rather, for any sensible Prime. 

Hence why, after making a deep inhale, a minibot finally forced the dreaded words out of his intake:

“… is it wrong that I feel… bad for the prisoners? That I… periodically… h-help them?” 

… a fleeting moment or relief at voicing his concerns instantly evaporated, changed to regret once he saw Racthet’s optics widening beyond usual capacity and heard Optimus sputtering and coughing on his energon ration off the camera. 

Such reaction made Bumblebee hide his helm between shoulder pauldrons in a clear sign of dread - so much for the support coming from teammates it seemed. 

“What?” Optimus asked after standing up from a table he’s sitting next to, the stool screeching audibly after a mech span in it. “Help them? What do you mean by that, Bumblebee? Are you alright? Do they… force you to do something for them or..?”

Minibot didn’t answer any of those questions. Wasn’t able to do it under the searching gaze of an elder mech’s optics which seemed to pin him to his own stool. Bumblebee felt like energon was going to freeze in his lines and tubes from a rising horror. Time seemed to stop for him, not unlike inner mechanisms in a frame of his. He couldn't utter a single sound, words swimming in a jumbled mess that was his processor.

What could he possibly say in his defense, now that his teammates knew of his secret? That there was a proper reason for him to feel pity for the inmates? That he was the only one to keep those mechs alive because nobody else did? That perhaps, Primus help him, all this time they were held in prison, somebot tried to take them out of game by starving them to their deaths?

A yellow Bot clearly hasn’t thought the conversation through, just as he always did, hasn't prepared himself for such a reaction even, and now that mistake was biting his aft. 

But then… then minibot heard something that immediately tore him from a panicking state he got stuck in. 

“I’ll take care of it, Prime.” Ratchet announced in a calm tone, breaking the tense silence which settled over the video call. Bumblebee was so stunned that he didn’t register those words right away, looking dumbly at warm optics of a mech on the other side of a call line. 

“But-“ 

“Optimus.” Medic cut off his commanding officer in a stern but good-natured manner, showing that he knew what he’s doing. Trusting the judgement of an older Bot, red and blue mech nodded to him and stepped away from a console, giving both of his friends some room to talk to each other. 

Young Prime could hardly believe what he’s been witnessing in front of him. Afraid to hope that his situation might’ve not been so dire after all. Baiting his breath, he watched red and white Bot turning to him again and leaning closer to a screen.

“Bumblebee, tell me, what’s happening back on Cybertron.” Ratchet asked his young friend, trying to look as non-threatening as possible, ready to tentatively listen to everything minibot’s about to say. 

And that’s when Bumblebee understood, felt it in his spark which gleefully thrummed in his chest that his old teammates were not mad at him - only worried for his well-being. Said realization made the built up over orbital cycles tension leave his frame and gave him courage to answer as honestly as he could.  

“You don’t know even half of what's going on, guys,” He stated after a breath moment of silence, then scooted on his chair closer to a screen as well and continued speaking in a hushed tone as to not to be heard by anyone else on his side of a video call. 

While retelling the recent events, which took place in Tripticon Prison, young Prime couldn’t help but periodically glance at a screen to his right side, a list of main convicts taking up most of its surface. 

Their stern gazes seemed to burn a viewer with hostility. Evil, cold, sparkless optics on unsightly faceplates. That’s what fellow guards always tended to whisper to each other either in fear or in bold mockery while walking down the hallways.

But to Bumblebee the very same pairs of optics, those he'd looked into more times then any of the local mechs, more then his friends even, told another story. Each time he saw Decepticons, bound and stripped of their weapons, there was no rage in their expressions, nor malice or contempt - only an eternal tiredness, hopelessness... and resignation with Fate.

Warframes. Mighty mechs being brought to their knees and stripped of their pride. Truly a sight which made minibot feel more miserable then three inmates he tried to take care of.

“Bossbot… Ratchet… please, come back here as soon as you can," Recently promoted Prime finally said as a conclusion to his speech. "I… I am afraid I won’t be able to handle this situation on my own anymore.”

[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

Bingqui reactions to AO3 fanfics

Luo Binghe - cannot tolerate how his beloved Shizun is paired with every man on Cang Qiong Mountain. Might actually kill Liu Qingge. Finds inspiration in some of the kinkier stories. Is planning on inflicting nightmares on anyone who ever thought about his Shizun in a leud way.

Shen Qingqiu - he's in the comments. He's leaving long scathing reviews pointing out every plot hole and inconsistency. No kudos. Reads everything including omegaverse and rare pairs. Won't admit that he likes the stories with explicit tags the best.

Hualian reactions to AO3 fanfics

Wangxian reactions to AO3 fanfics

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 46!

another week, another rec list! before we dive in, though, i have a request: please have a look at this fic description and help anon find it!

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading! some might also contain spoilers for season 8.

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

a lighthouse in the fog | greenbergsays/@greenbergsays | 6.8k | T

The one where Buck wakes up after surgery and realizes that Tommy doesn't meet his emotional needs. i love the descriptions of buck and what he's feeling and experiencing here!! so so good

all my little words | youbetsya/@fleabagdiaz | 11.4k | T

Eddie: Did you just send me an email?? Buck: yeah lol (in which buck and eddie email while eddie is in el paso). email correspondence my beloved!! i love how well this captures their voices and dynamic through emails and texts. such a lovely fic <3

a straight guy and an ally walk into a bar... | songbvrd/@songbvrd | 23.2k | M

After Buck gets dumped, he remembers he agreed to go to Abby's wedding with a date. Eddie steps up and pretends to be his boyfriend. All hell breaks loose. buddie fake dating!! shenanigans!! this is unhinged and also soft and i love it so much. the scene where taylor pops up had me laughing so hard. brilliant!

bad idea, right? | brewrosemilk/@gayhoediaz| 6.8k | E

Buck stumbles across Eddie's grindr profile. no no this is the BEST idea actually. the coding is brilliant, this looks so so good, and it's also just fantastically written!

darling (you're the one i want) | archerincombat | 2.5k | G

Eddie keeps buying Buck gifts and Buck keeps not getting the idea. friends to fiances! barnes and noble! flowers! this fic has everything!! loved reading this <3

giving way to labored breath | serenelystrange/@serenelystrange | 1.5k | T

In which falling in love was the easy part, and learning how to actually be together is another beast entirely. They work it out. blanket rec for an author whose work i've really been enjoying this week <3 this one in particular is such a brilliant look at buck and eddie getting together <3

i could give you fifty reasons | marviless/@marviless | 15.7k | T

buck is on a mission to help eddie recover his self-confidence. it goes well for exactly zero parties involved. this might not go well for anyone who's actually involved but it went very very well for me <3 i love buck being earnest and a little embarrassing and so very full of love for eddie!!

if you love me right, then who knows? | ipretendtobesane/@userbuddie | 3.4k | E

buck and eddie stumble upon a feminization kink, and eddie really likes his boyfriend's tits. there's something about buddie playing around with feminisation that just hits so hard. this is so so good!!

love in the shock of lightning | justhockey | 4k | T

It was real. It had happened. It had happened to Buck, and to Eddie, and to see it again…to be confronted with it so abruptly, without any time to steel himself against the memories of that night? Eddie had almost collapsed to his knees then and there. hmmm yes spec fic we love to see it!! and stress baking! loveliest emotional hurt/comfort getting together fic <3

never seen a bluer sky | Chash/@ponyregrets | 1.9k | T

"Hey, what brings you joy?" Eddie is expecting some waffling in Buck's response. Maybe some suspicion. It's a weird thing to ask, obviously. Joy isn't a word he uses much, isn't a go-to. But even if what makes you happy is a more normal question, it's not right. He needs something deeper. buck and eddie finding joy my beloved <3 this hits the spot just right!!

promise you'll put your hand in my hand | farfromthstars/@doeeyeseddie | 4k | T

5 times buck and eddie hold hands platonically, and 1 time they don't. holding hands <3 so fluffy so sweet so so lovely <3

put on a slow dumb show for you | fleetinghearts/@shitouttabuck | 2.3k | T

they’re sleepy and a little drunk and buck’s one step behind. do i even need to say how much i love bed sharing fics? like i think you all know that by now lmao. anyway this one in particular hits that fluff and crack spot so perfectly and i love it so very much <3

since forever | @hotshotsxyz | 1.3k

the loveliest tumblr fic!! soft and sweet indeed <3 this eddie is brilliant!

skin still wet (still on my skin) | marrows | 6.2k | E

Buck’s hand is on his thigh. Eddie chokes on his beer, eyes fixed on the curl of Buck’s fingers, tucked in just above his knee to where his skin meets the sofa. He hadn’t noticed, how hadn’t he even noticed? 8xo6 codas haven't failed me yet lol and this is one of my favourites!! it follows the episode so naturally <3 also another appearance of buck's praise kink, my best friend yay

somebody i can kiss | Rianne/@rianneeyre | 7.9k | E

Buck might be a little touch-starved. And he knew that, but he was not prepared to deal with how the knowledge would interact with his newfound awareness of his crush on—no, realistically, his undying love for Eddie. [...] The point is, he should not spend Christmas on a fucking sleepover with Eddie. But he’s gonna. christmas sleepover <3 i for one cannot wait to drown in holiday fics soon and i already know i'll be revisiting this over the next few weeks. this is soft and spicy and just absolutely brilliant <3

take the bed warmed by the body | lecornergirl/@clusterbuck | 2.5k | T

It’s three parts bravado and one part reminder. He thinks about it, sometimes, his first shift at the 118—he doesn’t think either of them quite knew how much they’d meant it when they’d promised to have each other’s backs. He definitely hadn’t known, then, that he’d wake up one day and wonder why Buck isn’t in his bed. i love this twist on sharing a bed so very much <3 so brilliantly them!!

that kind of music just soothes the soul | KejfeBlintz/@kejfeblintz | 1.8k | G

Settling back into the corner of his couch with a happy sigh, Eddie let the fizz of excitement from his impromptu dance party hum beneath his skin. He had done something joyful for himself and had been rewarded with his best friend and a six pack of beer appearing on his doorstep. He’d danced and the world hadn’t ended. he'd danced and the world hadn't ended!! lovely episode coda and such a well-written eddie <3

through the looking glass | jukoist | 6.4k | G

Buck likes Tommy. He does! And he definitely isn't in love with Eddie. He's just... worried. Because Eddie keeps vanishing on Sundays, leaving Buck with the boyfriend he definitely likes as much as he should. Everything is fine. the dialogue in this fic is particularly great <3 lovely lovely fic!!