#this is essentially a one-shot premise

[active-mind-15]

Going back to headcanons of Akashi being lame, I have a headcanon that he doesn't know how to swing. He never got the chance since the many activities his father enrolled him in as a child meant he was nowhere near a park most of the time unless he was in the basketball courts practicing.

Yes, he probably had a playground in his elementary school that likely had a swingset, but if he never learned how to swing, I would bet he wouldn't wanna ask his peers either because he didn't wanna single himself out. So he just went his entire childhood not being able to swing on a swingset.

The next time he would find himself near a swingset is if maybe post-Winter Cup, the Teiko gang grabs food from Maji after a hangout sesh and goes to eat it in the park. After eating, Aomine and Kise make up a stupid competition to see who can swing the highest, and when Aomine keeps winning, Kise tries to enlist Akashi to help just to finally see Aomine get humbled. But to Kise and everyone else's surprise, Akashi reluctantly (and bashfully) admits that he doesn't actually know how to swing.

(They spend the rest of their time in the park teaching him. And when he gets the hang of it, they all cheer him on, and a little part of Akashi's inner child is healed.)

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine looking at a character whose entire premise is that in every stage of his life, he's made every version of himself into someone that inspires people to such a degree that EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF HIM has people wanting to literally follow in his footsteps in some way or another.....

And coming to the conclusion that like.....the most important things about him are the sum of all his trappings. His entirely homemade developed from scratch could not exist if not for what he already was and brought with him BEFORE crafting this newest version of himself trappings, with his greatest trait throughout all of it being his adaptability; his ability and willingness to roll with the punches and not try to simply weather any opposition or changes to his life but instead reshape himself as needed to better fit INTO whatever new shape his life and the world around him takes. All while managing to carry the most innate, fundamental and necessary aspects of himself from one version to the next. Thus every single version of himself is different but simultaneously every single version of himself is also undeniably the same person.

The strength of this character, to me, will always be that he can be so many versions of himself, he can become so many things, all without ever actually losing or discarding any of the aspects of himself he considers most essential, the things he's not willing to lose or give up just to keep going. Finding that road not taken by most, usually because most never even think to look for it as an option. But one that he's always able to find because the one trick he's mastered in his tumultuous life is threading that needle of not just digging in his heels in an unproductive way but rather being selective about when and where he makes a stand and decides "this is not a thing I'm willing to compromise about" but here are places and ways I can and will change and evolve and adapt in order to make it possible for me to hold onto these parts and keep them as they are.

And that's why its always so mind-boggling to me that so many writers can't seem to think of anything else to do with Dick Grayson other than invent some new reason for him to just....not be that person, or to like just take the character whose most basic fundamental trait he's NOT about to compromise on is willingly giving up his spot in the driver's seat of his own life.....and make him just a passenger in his own life and stories.

Dick Grayson at age nine....at age nineteen...at age twenty nine....the one core thread running through all versions of him is the only way he's standing back and letting you call the shots for him or putting him on the sidelines in some way is over his dead body.

HOW he goes about that, what that looks like, who he becomes and what aspects of himself he plays up at some times and what traits he lets fall by the wayside at other times when they offer less in service to his primary goal here....that changes constantly. He changes constantly.

But those changes are almost always (or at least they used to be/should be IN MY OPINION) made with the intention of keeping certain things about him or his life as consistent as possible.

That's the duality of Dick Grayson that I'm here for. The inherent contradiction of him that COULD allow for endless conflict and breaking new narrative ground in all sorts of ways if mined properly:

His eternal willingness to compromise....but only ever in pursuit of doubling down on the ways he's not willing to compromise.

Forever walking that tightrope in ways that only a kid born and raised in a circus could ever hope to.

[sarah-yyy]

what is war of faith about? is it worth a watch apart from just wang yibo(being gay?)? and where should i watch it?

you were all expecting me to do this so okay let's see how many others i can drag down this shenlai (i think this is the ship name we've settled on?? i have seen many 沈来之笔 tags on ao3 so i'm assuming that's what the chinese fandom has settled on) hole.

what: republican era communist spy drama (finance bros edition) // completed // 38 eps, roughly 40 mins each where: iqiyi (standard disclaimer that i don’t watch with subs so i don’t speak to the quality of eng subs) why: *chanting* yibo yibo yibo yibo yib- wang yang?? xiansheng???? i'll preface by saying i don't watch many republican era shows - it's really just not my thing, like even zhu yilong couldn't make me watch one and that's saying a lot, but i did finish and quite enjoy this one!! extremely strong cast on this show, and the story moved fast enough and had enough action in it that it kept my attention.

meet my boy wei ruolai:

ruolai is from a v humble family, worked hard to put himself through night school but is having trouble stepping foot into the finance world because he has no money, no connections, no diploma (the school is holding off on issuing him one because he's from a communist-stronghold province 😪). he's working several jobs to make ends meet in shanghai when he decides to interview for a job at the central bank.

he aces his entrance test! ofc he does! ruolai is a bit of a whiz with numbers, and is very very very determined to get the job - the place could be on goddamn fire for all he cares, he'll finish his goddamn test and get this goddamn job even if it kills him.

his performance gains him the attention of shen tunan:

xiansheng!! 😍💖💕

chief of the central bank, The Guy™ of the finance and banking industry in shanghai. extremely attractive in a suit. 100% dilf certified.

xiansheng takes a shine on ruolai, but ends up not being able to hire ruolai despite his excellence because, again, ruolai is from a communist-stronghold province, and they don't want to take any chances with him possibly having communist ties.

does that set ruolai back?? no. my boy sneaks into a party that shen tunan is holding at his mansion, and convinces shen tunan to hire him by essentially picking apart shen tunan's ~secret strategies~ that he's uncovered just by following the finance news and making smart deductions 🥺💚

shen tunan caves and personally hires ruolai as his PA, and begins mentoring him and teaching him the ways of the banking industry.

the show is mostly about ruolai's growth in the central bank and the shift of his political beliefs, centred around the kmt and communist party's conflict in that era. the premise of the show is fairly simple - most republican era dramas move in the same direction. this one was well-written, had a solid cast, and beautifully shot.

the development of stn and wrl's relationship in this show was good! it's v shippable, if that's something that is important to you. ngl, i did stay through till the end because these two were so interesting.

we have proud teacher shen tunan who is so so proud of his boy and takes ruolai suit-shopping and tells him how special he is :

starry-eyed disciple wei ruolai who would literally do anything for shen tunan:

he really does mean it when he says that. he gets tortured and thrown in goddamn jail for shen tunan, and he just bears it all and doesn't let himself react in any manner that could harm shen tunan.

i started this strictly for yibo, and had no expectations that i would enjoy it, but guys...........wang yang is 🥵🔥 in this as shen tunan, and this ship just.......sails itself. what else was i supposed to do except go three hundred different levels of ahhhhhhhhh over them.

ANYWAY. strong rec. like at least 8.5/10. even if you're just in it for yibo (who is EXCELLENT in this, the whump scenes are incredible), or if you just want to ship shenlai, the payoff is strong in this.

[maleyanderecafe]

May I recommend Deep obsession on itchio? It's 18+ tho, so heed the warnings.

Man... that sure is a r18+ game that I just played. That being said, there are some pretty interesting things after a lot of the smut parts were done. You can play the game here if you are interested. This is a game submitted to the Stained Red Yandere Jam which I will not only be participating in but also do recommendations from.

The story starts out with Hex on the news learning about how five reporters went missing after trying to go after a snuff streamer. Hex doesn't believe the news at first but becomes curious, searching into it. After some searching and getting a link, they log into one of the streams to see of course, a snuff stream. While horrified by the death of the lady on stream, Hex becomes entranced with their voice, something that they try to fight the urge to look to again. The next day, they go to the mall to get some snacks and hang out, only to have someone tap on their shoulder when resting. They find a chocolate in their pocket and presumably get their keys stolen (though they don't seem to realize this, believing they lost their keys) before going to sleep after the neighbors help them get in. After a restless night of what they presume to be sleep paralysis of being touched and watched, they get the morbid feeling of wanting to watch the snuff streamer again, to which they do. After jacking off and promptly falling asleep watching the stream, they wake up with a jolt, only to be kidnapped. Upon waking up, they find that they are indeed, captures by the person who they've been watching streaming. Hex actually gets quite into this, not only deepthroating but straight up asking the streamer to bite their thighs. They have various sexy times, with Hex seemingly into it.

If Hex is more or less chilled out, they will freak out when the streamer ends it stating that they will kill Hex. This turns out to be a lie, as the streamer actually keeps them alive as they like Hex. They reveal that their name is Victor. The last scene has Victor seemingly fighting his conscious as a mysterious person talks about how this will not last, how they are the same as the others, before he wakes up and coddles Hex to sleep.

If Hex screams, they will again freak out when the streamer states that he will kill them, though they reassure them that he will not. He also pretty much gets shot at, with the mysterious person, whose name is Simon, essentially recruiting Hex afterwards for something.

So far, it is a pretty interesting premise seeing Hex actually be into more of the snuff streaming things, considering how into Victor's voice they seem to be. I do like the kind of concepts where the MC is pretty messed up at least to this degree. We don't really get to know that much about Simon or Victor though. We know that Victor has been stalking Hex for a bit, considering I don't think it was sleep paralysis that was groping and watching them. And they seemingly know where Hex lives and even seems to know their name and probably gave them the chocolate while they were at the mall. Still, again, other than knowing that Victor is a snuff streamer, has no problems with killing people and likes Hex, we really know very little to nothing about him. Same with the Simon person who apparently hires us. I think it would be a cool twist that in the end Hex ends up being a snuff streamer as well, following in the twisted footsteps of Victor. The art style mostly consists of blacks and whites which is always a fun thing to see in terms of stylization. I'm not really into that kind of dark smut as much as other people (I'm more on the side of wanting to torture someone, but I know most people don't tend ot share that sentiment in the yandere community, so that's alright), but I think it can be appealing to those who are interested in that.

Overall, a short but dark story. Considering this is likely a demo, I am really hoping that they will flesh out more of the story for Victor and Simon since the start of it does seem to leave a lot of interesting pathways that might be nice to follow.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Favorite Korrasami Fics

I'll include word counts for those that want to start with shorter ones first.

At the end of this post, I'll drop a few of my own fics as an addendum for anyone interested. I like to think my work is good, but well, you'll have to read and let me know what you think. :) If any of you have recs for good Korrasami fics, feel free to drop it in the comments.

Bird's favorites:

Lovedeathcats's It Belongs In A Museum (186,403 words) This is an Indiana Jone-esque AU, where Asami Sato a professor seeks the long-lost Elements of Eternity, relics rumored to grant the power of the Avatar over the four elements to stop them from falling into wrong hands. Korra and Krew joins her on this adventure.

Lovedeathcat's Beneath the Surface (still ongoing as of today 5/13/2024 and currently at 67,231 words) Premise: Set in a Modern Day AU where bending is a hidden art. "When Asami accepts a job at an isolated, hidden boarding school, she finds more than she bargained for - as well as everything she's been searching for."

Shigan's Such Essential and Invisible Things series: * Stake in the Pond (3,158 words) * Bedrolls (4,120 words) * When Meelo Brought the Porn (6,443 words) * All These Tiny Moments (772 words)

Progman's Repairs, Retrofits, and Upgrades (part of the Spin Your Rails series). (220,963 words) *Note the series as a whole as seven works in it that range from 3k to 220k in length. The other stories sort of serve as gap fillers for the main series, and the series as a whole is fairly close to canon. (The comics do not filter into this series).

FuzziFox's South (Currently 185,235 words, though it is still being updated as of today 5/13/2024). Premise: what if when Asami asked if Korra wanted company going South, Korra said yes instead of no?

Islandofme's Korra, not alone (35,080 words) -- Premise: what if Asami came and visited Korra while Korra was recovering?

RainbowRosie's Restoring a Frozen World series *The Girl in the Iceberg (352,793 words) Premise: Asami Sato uncovers a girl frozen in an iceberg, who turns out to be Korra the Avatar. Set in a 1920s version of Avatarverse, where bending doesn't seem to exist anymore. *The Church of Raava (still being updated as of today 5/13/2024 and is currently at 58,977 words)

@asamiontop's Where the Snow Takes Us (283,139 words) Premise: Korra is a ski instructor and Asami is a student. They meet. (It's a very cute tale that takes place in a Modern AU.)

@korrasamibottles's Under Me, Over Me, Any Way You'll Have Me (5,098 words) Premise: Height difference shenanigans.

Vetofan's Balance of Power series, which dives into Korra not realizing she is the Avatar (growing up thinking she's a nonbender) but having to face all the same challenges while she figures out what to do about this newfound Avatar powers. While falling in love with Asami Sato. (Currently 289,062 words with five works, though the fifth work is still being updated as of 5/13/2024).

Paxbanana's Place In This World (303,813 words) -- sticks with canon and chronicles the period after the show ended.

Valkrez's A Second Glance series (186,877 words and five works) This is mostly canonical, and it chronicles the times between episodes. It's all about Korra and Asami's off and on again relationship until they finally get together at the end of the series (the last fic is them in the future after years of being together). This one is heavy on the smut.

mustangsgloves's Falling For You (13,977 words) Premise: the four times Korra ignored her feelings for Asami when sparring and the one time she doesn't.

Tempest (sniperct)'s The Avatar and the Inventor Series: * There's nine works in this series that range from 700 words to 82,000. I really loved the "A Thousand Ways to Love A Woman the most), but all the fics are good in their own ways.

GallifreyanFairytale's with every drop of rain, singing (i love you) (1,385 words) -- it's a cute one-shot of a rainy day.

wegglebots's The Engineer's Guide to Dating the Avatar (17,989 words) -- it's just an adorable collection of ficlets that are extra silly and details Korra and Asami's relationship.

gayestcatra's The Path to You Series (2 works that total 194,288 words) It is canon-compliant, and just tells the story of how Korra and Asami fell in love. Includes the events of Turf Wars too.

Just_Addie's Uncivil Wars (3 works that total 88,737 words) Premise: The Winter Soldier but set in the Avatarverse.

The Road Trip Universe has a bunch of fics by the following authors: BarbWireThong, L2_BBOC, lanagotconed20, OccasionalWriterHD, Volchise. It's a modern day AU. (34 works that total 190,809 words. Each fic various in word count from 747 words to 36k words)

SifuTurtz's The Calm Before the Storm (2,978 words) A canonical fic that takes place the night before Kuvira's army reaches Republic City.

ADDENDUM:

My works:

Korrasami Adventures Series (All works in this series are canon-compliant) *How Was Those Three Years (21,397 words) Premise: How Asami handles those three years without Korra. *Spirit World Vacation (currently on hiatus but will finish soon, at 20,769 as of 5/13/2024). *Asami's Hidden Box of Poetry's And Letters ( 2,274 words ) -- a short, completed fic that's just fluff of our two favorite gals. *Is This a Romance? (14,411 words ) -- a silly retelling of the Asami's attempts to date the Avatar and the three year gap from Asami's perspective.

Shared Moments Series (Currently 6 works totalling about 960,009 words)-- this is canonical through Book 1.5. *Book 2 is my rewrite. Civil War turns into a World War, and Korrasami happens by end of Book 2. *Book 2.5 covers the aftermath of the World War in Book 2. *Book 3 is canon-adjacent as in same villains with similar plot beats. It has the repercussions of my Book 2 and 2.5 cascading through it. *Book 3.5 is my current project and I'm still updating as of today 5/13/2024. It sets the stage for Korra and Asami's healing journey, Bolin spy shenanigans, Blue Spirit Rises Again, and Earth Kingdom Civil War. *Book 4 and 5 are in note stage still. These two books will detail the repercussion of all prior books, the Second World War, and its Aftermath.

Enjoy!

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PRELIMINARY ROUND - DC COMICS

PROPAGANDA

Cassandra Cain

1.) essentially her character premise is that shes more or less an unbeatable martial artist due to the way she was raised. in the comics, she's the second batgirl and had a very popular solo series from 2000-2006. However, essentially DC editorial really didn't like that a teenage chinese girl was a better hand-to-hand fighter than batman, and so mandated that she be turned into a extremely random (also remarkably racist, as she was more or less turned in a 'dragon lady' stereotype) villain, which completely derailed and destabilized her character enough for her to almost entirely disappear from comics for the next decade. this is a far more detailed write up if wanted: https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/pdue0e/american_comicsdc_comics_the_saga_of_cassandra/

2.) Following the events of One Year Later, Cass was turned into a homicidal villain who led her own league of assassins and wanted to force Tim Drake into murdering people. This was later retconned as her being drugged, brainwashed, and manipulated by deathstroke.

3.) Literally canonically a better fighter than Batman and probably most of the DC universe. Killed one person once and because of the way she grew up (never taught to speak, learned to communicate by reading body language, in order to make her the ultimate weapon), saw what he experienced as he died and then refused to ever kill again. Had an awesome initial run… And then got hit with "evil mind control" that made her go completely OOC, depopularizing her character so much that a lot of people don't even know she exists.

Barbara Gordon

1.) Was shot as angst value for Bruce and her dad, implied to be sexually assaulted in The Killing Joke with absolutely no respect for her long career as Batgirl. When Alan Moore asked if he could, the editor said "cripple the bitch." She became paralyzed from the waist down. THankfully, an actually good writer picked her up from there and then wrote one of the best stories ever written (Oracle Year One: Born from Hope). Was one of the most iconic disabled characters in comic book history, hell, as Oracle, she was definitely up there as one of the most iconic disabled characters ever as well as a fantastic character, period. There were a few moments where people kept trying to make things out of her disability and had her be shitty to other women for no reason but for the most part, she was awesome. During her time In 2011, Dan Didio and some other misogynistic/ableist comic book writers were responsible for "curing" her disability and forcing her back into Batgirl, despite her having shown absolutely no desire to do so, as part of the New 52. They also made it an editorial mandate that she couldn't have glasses, a cool secret base, and her time as Oracle couldn't be referenced. This was because those writers were nostalgic for the 60s Batman show where Babs was played by an actress they all had the hots for and couldn't accept she'd grown up and moved on. That was bad enough, but over time, she's been increasingly deaged and reduced even further to just Dick Grayson's on and off again girlfriend and a generic girlboss. Batgirl of Burnsides burn in hell.

2.) Famously fridged in 1988, which was so popular with misogynists it became canon. After almost 2 decades of being one of the only disabled characters, was rebooted to a younger, more fun version of herself whose only history is that she was fridged but not disabled by it.

3.) The Killing Joke is one of the biggest comic examples of a female character getting hurt to motivate male characters. Also tbe way different cannons will trade off who her romantic intrest is out of Batfamily is pretty disturbing ranging from Bruce Wayne in Batman the Animated series universe (ew) to Tim Drake in the Arkham games (ew). Not to mention DC now is not letting her grow out of being Batgirl taking away her legacy of other young female heroes taking up her mantle and her getting to mentor them instead forcing her into a Batgirl cycle of purgatory when she was always better as Oracle (Its a little more complicated in the new Batgirl book but its still not solving the issues in a way that feels meaningful enough to make up the damage).

[vanilla-rainbows]

Wreck-it Ralph AU - GUARDIAN

Ok, let me preface this by saying three (3) things:

English is not my first language. I’m currently incapable of writing fanfiction in a language that is not my own, so please forgive me. Feel free to correct me if you see any mistakes!

I welcome all kinds of feedback. Just don’t be rude, please TTwTT

This might get long and messy. I haven’t really planned out anything with this AU and all of this is 100% vibes, but I’m open to suggestions and might expand/change/delete things as I go.

The (quite long) premise of this AU is basically this: Turbo survived the events of the first movie (original I know) because he rewrote so much of himself into Sugar Rush that the game now thinks he’s actually part of it. So he respawns, but gets kicked out of the game and is forced to go back to his previous life as a gameless character in Game Central Station. Only difference, everyone this time KNOWS he’s alive and what he did (because Ralph and/or Vanellope explained the whole situation to the rest of the arcade). So everyone basically treats him like shit (more or less like Vanellope). He’s both shunned and mocked by the other characters, and is forcefully kept away from every game in the arcade, to prevent him from “going Turbo” again.

But the thing is, he’s actually powerless now, and can’t actually do anything dangerous anymore. He lost the cy-bug part of his code (sorry kcb fans but the tall menacing cockroach doesn’t exactly give out the pathetic wet cat vibes that this au demands) because of the reset, and even glitches between his Turbo and King Candy model at times. He’s hit rock bottom and he knows it. And obviously he blames it all on Vanellope and Ralph, and wants to take revenge on them. So, knowing how powerful his cy-bug form was, he decides to wait for a chance to sneak into Hero’s Duty and get himself eaten again by one of the creatures. THEN he will be free to wreak havoc on the arcade and happily destroy every single game in it (starting with Sugar Rush of course). And ABSOLUTELY no one will be able to stop him.

So naturally he gets stopped again. This is where I’d introduce the OC I’m planning for this AU. Her name is Luna and she is the titular protagonist of Luna’s Adventure (might change later), a fantasy adventure that resembles the first Zelda game in terms of graphics and mechanics (also might change later). Luna is essentially an optimistic, but not an hopeless one. Being one of the oldest characters in the arcade (she’s from the 80’ as well), she knew who Turbo was back in the day and is fully aware of the situation, but doesn’t really like the “let’s all laugh at him” mentality. So she mostly ignores/pities him, and makes sure he doesn’t try anything funny with her game. That is, until she spots him as he’s sneaking into Hero’s Duty during opening hours. She immediately takes action and follows him into the game. At first she tries to talk him out of it, but her pleads fall of deaf ears, as Turbo is too fixated on his revenge plan to even listen to her. He feels like he has no other options. He lost everything, again. In the eyes of the other characters, he’s but a pest. Better be feared than respected at this point. This desperate attempt (which seems more like self-destructing behaviour) is his last chance.

The heated back and forth between the two grabs the attention of a solitary cy-bug, which immediately attacks them. Luna quickly avoids the creature and safely gets to a hidden spot, but when she notices that Turbo has no intention of running away, on the contrary, he’s purposefully exposing himself like the snack he is, she jumps on him and saves him from the incoming cy-bug attack. So for a few minutes we have the comical situation of Luna continuously saving Turbo and herself from the cy-bug, and Turbo trying so hard to get eaten but getting saved everytime. Eventually the cy-bug is shot to death by Calhoun herself, who IS SO READY to blast Turbo out of existence with all of her arsenal, but desists when Luna explains the whole situation to her. Still, the sergeant has no intention of keeping the glitchy gremling in her game a second longer, and escorts both of them out. Turbo lashes out at Luna for ruining his ultimate plan, but before she can say anything back, the arcade opens. Luna leaves in a hurry, telling Turbo to behave while she’s away because she’s not done with him. So he’s left in the middle of GCS wandering what the hack she meant by that.

That night, all main characters from each game reunite to discuss what to do with Turbo. Felix, Ralph, Vanellope, Calhoun and Luna are all present. Turns out they have no idea how to handle the situation. They can’t let him run freely around the arcade. What would happen if he tried to infiltrate another game? Unsurprisingly, no one mentions Surge Protector. Someone suggests they could simply kill him. He deserves it, after all. Ralph is neutral, Vanellope is slightly against the idea, but Felix jumps up and firmly says that they are not going to kill anyone. If they did, they wouldn’t be better than him. Then Calhoun makes a proposal. Just like keeping the cy-bugs inside Hero’s Duty is also part of her, well, duty, someone should take on the role of a warden to Turbo, keeping him inside their game and out of everyone else’s. Obviously she can’t do it, neither Vanellope, so another character will have to.

The problem is that no one wants to have anything to do with Turbo. They may mock him during the day, but they really are all just terrified by him. The fear of getting unplugged is so strong that no one is willing to take the risk. No one, but Luna. While everyone argues, she slowly stands up and offers herself to be Turbo’s guardian. The room goes silent for a few seconds, but eventually everyone applauds her courage.

Now comes the hard part. Luna has to find a delicate way to break the news to her colleagues. They obviously have A LOT to say about it, but she is able to convince them. Sort of. Things might not be so simple after all. Even though she agreed to keep an eye on Turbo, she’s not sure how exactly this decision will affect her and her game. Was it really the right thing to do? What if he became really dangerous? She’s actually starting to reconsider, when an idea forms in her coded mind. What if… she were to teach him goodness? What if she offered him a chance, instead of treating him like a criminal? All I have to say is that Turbo will definitely take advantage of the situation and play along, all so that he can finally have his sweet revenge.

That’s all for now. I have a few ideas on how the story could continue, and a few interactions that I absolutely want to incorporate as well. Also I already have a finale in mind, and I hope to eventually get to that (the final scene is the one most clear in my mind right now). So, if you actually managed to read all that, thank you! Now I can go back to being a normal human being again (delusional).

[vampire-exgirlfriend]

You guys, what the fuck is up with the increase in stealing and plagiarising in this fandom lately? When did that become a thing that was okay to do?

The first time I was flat out plagiarized was almost four years ago in a different fandom. A well known author in that fandom took the first paragraph of a short one shot, one of the first things I’d ever posted and that I was incredibly proud of, switched a few words, and then used it as the summary for their slightly longer fic. They then went on to steal the premise of my ficlet and just…make it longer. This was brought up in a discord server a friend of mine was in that I wasn’t and the general consensus was “who would believe you? You’re nobody.” So I kept my mouth shut and I deleted my fic because seeing it made me feel like shit. Something similar then happened to a friend of mine with the titles of her fics being stolen, flat out and word for word, for the same characters. And again it was “no one will believe you.”

We shut up. We stuck it out. And then when it kept happening, to us and to others, we left that fandom.

I was so, so excited when HotD aired. I was back in my ASOIAF phase that had never actually ended. It was a new opportunity to make friends with common interests and my writing improved so much because of how passionate about the canon material I was. I have made some of the most incredible friends, like life-long, stay up all night talking, come to my house or let’s hang out when you’re in my state/country kind of friends. It’s pretty amazing. But this fandom is a whole different beast than any other I’ve been involved with. I have no idea if it’s the general age of the fandom, or the lack of prior fandom experience, or what us old people call the “tiktokifcation of fandom.” But it’s different. And while that’s usually a good thing, there are so many times when this has been awful. There is a huge lack of accountability here. People are stealing things. And the weirdest part is, they don’t care! It is plagiarism to have someone else's story opened while you write yours so that you can tone match the other writer. It is plagiarism to take people’s well thought out ideas and then use them beat for beat. I get it, it’s fic, nothing is wholly original, we are going to see idea recycling! That’s just fandom. But to model your entire story off of someone else’s is heinous. And it’s wrong. And this literally just happened to a very good friend of mine. When she mentioned she was uncomfortable with it and had blocked the person who did this, someone she considered a level headed mutual (who has recently admitted to plagiarising someone else themselves, mind you) told her that she was just drama baiting and didn’t have the right to be upset. The same thing happened to me with a now deleted creator who told me that she dragged me in her discord server and that her friends (all big name creators would essentially “black list me” for saying anything).

It’s not dramatic to not be okay with your work being stolen! This is a normal fucking reaction. In trad publishing or academia, this shit gets you banned, expelled, etc. It can ruin your life.

I received a slew of anons recently asking for help with graphic making and editing. And I was so excited about them. That shit is fun for me. We chatted for a while, with them on anon, and that was that. Until I got an anon letting me know that the person I was talking with was someone who had stolen ideas and storylines from me and other creators. So I looked, I asked friends to look, and the consensus was “yeah, this is fucking plagiarism, and it’s weird.” All of the edit stuff she’d asked about was used on an edit that was a direct rip off of my own. But I elected to not make a thing of it, to ignore it, to wash my hands of it because of the weird fucking trend of calling out theivery being labeled as drama baiting. And I didn’t want that, not after I had genuinely made the mistake of thinking that someone had stolen an idea from me when they hadn’t (calm down, we’re really close friends now). This person deleted their old blog and so I thought it was over. And then yesterday I got a dm from this new blog I didn’t even know existed accusing me of sending them harassing anons.

A blog, who had stolen from me and at least four other people, who had reached out to me on anon for help and ideas, that at this point I didn’t even know existed anymore, said they knew I was sending hateful anons accusing them of theft. I wasn’t, of course, because I had no idea they even existed, and it made no sense that I would even know they’d created another blog. I only found out about their new blog when they dm’d me from it. But they had obviously done this to enough people that they were now getting called out on it.

You guys, we have to fucking stop acting like this. This fandom needs to stop stealing from each other and eating our own. And if someone brings up that they’ve had an idea stolen, we need to take them seriously instead of insinuating they’re only attempting to cause drama. Stop sending people unhinged anons because you feel like you’re guilty of lifting from another creator and just work on creating something original. Writing is hard. Giffing and making edits is fucking hard. And no, nothing will ever be 100% original, that’s just impossible at this point, but stop fucking taking things that aren’t yours and claming them as your own. Do better. Grow up.

[ppeonppeonhan]

Spoiler-Heavy Battle of the Writers Review

The premise is definitely unique: 5 BL writers of different genres decide to anonymously write one together, because one of them has writer's block, and his hot editor is hounding him. Additionally, one of the junior writers is accused of plagiarizing one of the more well-known writers in the group.

That alone was sufficient plot. I even liked the way they shot the group chat as a live conversation, and had the actors play double duty, acting out the drama they were writing.

It started to get convoluted when it's revealed that the reason it seemed like the writers plagiarized each other is because they knew each other as kids, when the senior writer was temporarily blinded and the junior writer kept him company...after wandering into his vacation home one day. You know, just your average kid behavior.

That summer, they made up a short story together. But because the junior writer's family moved before the senior writer got his vision back, the senior writer had to find him by essentially creating a publishing empire in order to sniff test every writer he encountered. Meanwhile, the junior writer lost his memory of him because he witnessed his father unalive himself.

Truly a mess of a backstory.

On the spice meter, the series gets pretty spicy -- heavy on the seduction and teasing. But they kept reminding the audience that their love story started when one of them was a teenager and the other...was a child. A deeply unnecessary detail.

Instead of saying he pined for him since they were kids, they should've had them reconnect and see each other in a new light, and allow the senior writer to repay the kindness the junior writer gave him as a child. But it honestly just seemed like an excuse to play out a fanfic of: What would happen if two BL writers talked dirty to each other?

But if you're a fan of Tutor & Yim as a pairing, I imagine you'll be able to overlook the bad writing.

[apas-95]

it's really funny when people try to say the child sexualisation in Made In Abyss is just artistic expression， or western projection, or whatever, when the author also just straight up draws lolicon hentai.

it's just the funniest and most blatant example of how absurd these defenses actually are, once you get through the obfuscation; and seeing those arguments applied to other things makes it that much more clear that they're just rationalisations. it's just absolutely tiring to be recommended like, a mahjong anime, then to not be able to get through the first episode, because it has multiple panty-shots of a 14 year old, which nobody thought to mention; or to watch people engage in a continued 30-year long debate over which of two other 14 year olds they'd rather have sex with.

it's one thing when the average type of reactionary who defends that sort of thing tries to defend it (being easily-dismissible reactionaries, generally of the exact same political stance as the ones who maintain the legality of creepshots and child marriage while in power) but then it's another thing to see that exact same sort of thing come from nominally ideologically-opposed people. a lot of vaguely-leftist people seem all but ready to re-enact the french postmodernist petition against the age of consent, if only they had any meaningful social base - 'leftists' taking the scenic route to holding the same positions on child sexualisation as those reactionaries. the way the average would-be child abuser nowdays, framing being a 'minor-attracted person' as somehow akin to being lgbt (definitely a positive association to make!), dresses up their desire to exploit children (a desire conforming entirely with the historical premises of class society) in the language of 'youth liberation' and vague defenses of 'deviance', or 'grossness', or 'ickyness', or whatever, is genuinely maddening. the sexualisation and sexual exploitation of children goes hand in hand with fascism everywhere, and was the hallmark of imperialist invasion when Japan did it, when Germany did it, and when modern US or IDF troops do it. it is not revolutionary, it is old and entrenched.

'finding circuitous philosophising that lets me justify reactionary behaviour as communist' is incredibly common, but it's just so incredibly depressing to see it applied to child sexualisation in such an essentially broad and pervasive way.

[sprintingowl]

Last Flight Of The Pandora

Last Flight Of The Pandora is a surprising find. It's a slim black book with gorgeous art, stylish layout, and a fantastic one session campy scifi horror ttrpg.

The book is about eighty pages, but most of that is scenarios, and the game is built to be extremely modular. You can run it a dozen times without it feeling stale.

The core premise is everyone picks a species and a role aboard the ship, and then in classic Space Station 13 fashion everyone tries to do their jobs while things go wrong.

It's a bit Lower Decks and a bit Alien, with some subtle nods to other horror classics like the scuttling prop head from The Thing, and the mechanics are surprisingly robust for how lightweight the whole thing is.

Essentially, you have different dice for different stats, and a 4+ is always a success. Species / crew role can give you advantage on rolls, or modify your stats, or let you do unique actions that range from "breathe vacuum" to "make a good latte". Every game also has the same ship map, with the same spelled out areas, and there's a feeling of boardgame-like familiarity if you play or run it more than once.

What changes between outings aboard the Pandora is what's wrong with the ship. It might be a xenomorph. It might be a rogue AI. It might be an evil floating insomnia baby. The GM decides on the fly moments before the game begins.

This sort of pantsing it is very much in the spirit of the game, and Last Flight is careful to give a lot of support to encourage the GM to wing it. Each adversary comes with its own detailed chart of objectives, ways it escalates, and what it will ultimately do if it isn't stopped. Adversaries aren't declared out loud, either, so the players have to figure out which threat they're dealing with by exploring the map and encountering its manifestations.

For groups that like pulpy scifi games, I think Last Flight is a gem. It doesn't fundamentally redefine the medium, but it's satisfying and very reliable, and a great one-shot to drop into a gap between longer games. I've anything I've said here sounds good, definitely consider picking it up.

[perexcri]

fic recs!!

i woke up to being on a couple of fic rec lists and really appreciated it, so i wanted to capitalize on the nice energy and make a list of some of my own favs that i've read recently that i didn't necessarily see on the other lists :D check these out because they have some of the best prose/plots/characterization that i've read in the fandom :] 💜

one soft infested summer (M, 18k+, 3/7 ongoing) by @wheelersboy - this one is perfect for all the highler fans out there! it's got stoner byler of course, a music festival, lots out camping, and some really amazing writing! i started it just for the fun stoner vibes because Why Not, but i'm staying for the beautiful writing and the really complex and delicate relationship mike and will have in this one

Light Sleepers (T, 15k+, 2/6 ongoing) by @helioleti - WillEl-centric fic set during the time gap between the end of s3 and the beginning of s4 that explores their dynamic and their respective problems with mike, all while trying to cope with moving across the country from everything they know. each chapter is meant to reflect a certain stage of grief, which fits so well with all the complicated emotions everyone is going through!

drank my poison all alone (T, 4k, one-shot) by silverluminoqity - mike gets vecna'd and has to face his past self who's ashamed of who he's grown up to be, and my dudes the writing goes SO HARD. by far one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've read with such a good take on his character

star eater (T, >1k, one-shot) by @lowlightt - another fic where the writing does not play. honestly if you have a few minutes, READ THIS FIC. it's mostly just a confrontation between will and vecna, but it's so so powerful and impactful. and again, i cannot state it enough: the writing is AMAZING

tell me again (you said yes) (M, 32k, 3/3 complete) by @willow-lark - hey remember when cleradin was like a Thing for a brief second a few months ago? well if you miss those vibes, or if you just like great writing and some of the best weaving of canon into a fantasy au i've ever read, please look no further than this fic (and it's first part, fireball him! (cast protection)). i love this one dearly and enjoyed the wonderful ways Lark wove canon (specifically s1) into such a different setting, plus it was nice to see many of the other characters play a role in the events. beautiful, astounding, heart-wrenching - and did i mention there's an elopement 👀

In Undertow (M, 17k+, 3/6 on-going) by @souverian-are-we - this and one soft infested summer have become my summer byler reads~ when i say i love this fic, i mean you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands 🥰 we've got estranged byler, jancy engagement with some stoncy going on in the background, and most of the characters still reeling from the consequences of their final battle with the upside down. it's all set at a lake house, which provides some breathtaking/atmospheric writing that this author uses to their advantage. it has some of my favorite scenes i've ever read in fic too, ones that have literally taken my breath away

california show your teeth (T, 77k+, 10/19 on-going) by @fireflywitch - what if the Byers and Hopper families were from Lenora and moved to Hawkins? this fic takes this one simple premise and turns it into one of my favorite fics i've ever had the pleasure of following along with. it essentially functions as a retelling of s1 and s2, gives almost every main character that's been featured in the show thus far a lot of time and space for their own plots, all while culminating into one larger story underneath. i don't think i've read a fic quite like this one in terms of its scope, plotting, and characterization, because there are a lot of moving parts, but this author goes above and beyond. i cannot recommend it enough

all i know is pouring rain (and everything has changed) (T, 3k, one-shot) by @willelfanpage - i think i read this one at the beginning of my workday while i was running some report on my computer and had to go about the rest of my day as if everything was fine ahah :'D seriously though, it's 3k words that pack an emotional punch all while examining will's relationship to rain. the writing is just gorgeous, and it's a character study that i haven't really seen done before, which was quite enjoyable~

Chasing Heartlines by (T, 7k+, 1/2 on-going) @cherryisgone - if you liked Tip-Toeing on Lilypads then may i direct you to its sequel, which features so much pining mike that he might as well be a tree? again, if you like cleradin/fantasy aus, then Cherry my beloved has you covered 💜 it fits so neatly with Lilypads and provides some fun contrast between will and mike~

Touch Me Like You Know Me (M, 15k, 4/4 complete) by @starsarefire824 - this exists in the rare pantheon of fics that actually made me cry. imagine an estranged byler reunion with all the emotions turned up to an eleven, and lots of lingering on lost time and how life sometimes takes us places we never thought we'd go. it's absolutely beautiful and is a classic to me :]

come back to me and forgive everything (T, 78k, 18/18 complete) by @howtobecomeadragon - i saw a lot about this one when it was on-going but am only just now getting around to reading it, and all i can say is why did it take me so long to get to it :') this author does such a good job of writing will and mike's relationship with a lot of nuance and complexity while still managing to make them feel like the teenagers they are. basically, will has to spend every july at lonnie's house in indianapolis, and for this summer in particular, the event is a lot more emotionally impactful for both mike and will. there's lots of emotional depth, the complexities of coming out and/or realizing you're queer, and, at the heart of it, how two friends try to mend things between each other. it's so soft and sweet

that's all i've got for now!! i'm quickly running out of time on my lunch break :'D also haven't been writing as much, but it's been fun to read more and relax a bit. hope you guys enjoy these because they're genuinely some of the best stuff i've had the pleasure to read in a while 💜💜💜

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: August 2024

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler. The summer is waning. But the monthly media posts carry on. Here's how I spent the month of August.

……….FILM……….

Wendell & Wild (2022) I don't want this to be one of the last major stop-motion film to ever be made, but the filmmakers put so many stories into this that I wonder if they thought this was their last shot. Essentially a 12-course meal from a great restaurant: the accomplishment is impressive but the whole is overstuffed and some of the smaller portions were undercooked.

Love Lies Bleeding (2024) The lightly surreal elements of the movie were great, but there's a point late in the story when that surreality kills all of the momentum.

Spice World (1997) Still holds up.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) Still amazed at how well this pulls off what it seeks to do. But maybe I'm biased because I love practical effects, puppets, and action scenes that serve the narrative. We may not get another D&D movie but I'm glad we have this one.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Based on other live-action multiverses, I went in with modest expectations, and this was a pleasant surprise. Maybe it's because it continues to do what Deadpool does well. Thoroughly entertaining in the moment.

……….TELEVISION……….

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 1.14 to 1.20) It's been a couple of years since I stopped watching (mid season!) but luckily one of the episodes was essentially a recap of what's happened so far. Really ramping up in the abstract and the philosophical and I'm a big fan. These kids are meeeeeeeessed up.

Made for Love (Episode 2.01 to 2.08) I only really caught the first season in pieces but I knew enough going into this season that it really clicked! It hit me the same way early Black Mirror episodes felt, only with more humour, depth, and nuance. It's a real shame there's no plans for season 3.

……….YOUTUBE……….

I think this will be a Short Video by Matthew Colville A really great reflection on making art in the social age, the algorithm, communities/audiences, and how these can clash with the natural impulses of creativity. VIDEO

I'm What the Culture Feeling (The full story of Kendrick Vs. Drake) by F.D. Signifier Almost 3.5 hours but for someone like me (who knows next to nothing of this world, these artists, or this conflict) it expertly breaks it all down to paint a complete picture. Really great watch. VIDEO

……….READING……….

Cards On the Table by Agatha Christie (Complete) Top-tier Christie. The premise is so fun, and while I know the multiple detectives appear in other stories, it's a nice introduction to these characters. This book made me want to learn how to play Bridge.

The People of the Black Circle and A Witch Shall Be Born by Robert E. Howard (Complete) I have this collection of Conan stories and after a years-long break, decided to read a few more. Both great! The latter puts Conan in an almost supporting role and it's fun to see him take on a secondary role to the story. Keeps it interesting. And the former is such a classic pulp story (cults, magic clothing, a giant snake) that I can't help but love it.

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 14 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) It's been a 6-year-long journey for me and while I couldn't be happier with how it ended, I'm sad that it's over. Still so impressed with how well it stuck the landing for me. Do I wish there was more of a wind-down with these characters? Sure. But I really respect an artist who knows what they want to say/do and says/does it. Very excited to see what Ryoko does next.

Hellboy Library Volume 1 by Mike Mignola with John Byrne (Complete) Without being hyperbolic, this is one of my favourite contributions to the craft. So confident and fully-formed right out of the gate. Excited to reread this series.

……….AUDIO……….

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappel Roan (2023) Technically I started listening to this at the end of July. I saw a positive review, figured I'd check it out, and it felt like that was at the same time everyone else in the world was talking about her. Love an album with such a focused perspective.

Currents by Tame Impala (2015) In recent years I've been really enjoying Tame Impala's one-off songs (Barbie and Dungeons & Dragons soundtracks, their collaboration with Gorillaz, etc.) so I figured I'd really dig into this album. Easy to listen to both casually in the background and with a magnifying glass just pouring over the lyrics. Love it.

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) Only got a few sessions in this month but the crew is still reassembling the skeletal pirate they trashed years (real time) ago. Now they're about to face a big electric centipede to recover his legs.

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Mof1 crew split the party and one half casually shopped and planned while the other half discovered a secret testing facility full of captured magic-users.

Wonderland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) We got in a single session of Wonderland and it was a small party but a lot of fun! Also the first true character death of our playtesters. Luckily we had backup characters though character 2 ended the session losing their arm. Hey that's Wonderland.

And that's it. See you in September!

[saphic-with-t]

I was originally just making a fallow-up to this post on Kipperlilly’s death, but it spiraled out of control and it’s basically just a mini-fic at this point.

The premise is essentially what I think Fantasy High Senior Year might be. Since sophomore year took place entirely over summer break I figured it’d make some sense if Senior year wasn’t full of “down time” but instead just took place almost entirely over winter break.

This was written in an attempt to somewhat mimic how Brennan narrates for the bad kids, and is basically just how the season would open up, introducing each of the bad kids and their life, along with what was happening and what the hook of e season is. I really hope you all check it out and enjoy, this is basically my first ever attempt at fan fiction. I would greatly appreciate hear any/all feedback people have, good or bad. Let me know if you would all want more of this as a concept!

It was only a week away from winter break. The first semester of senior year was hard work, but not nearly as stressful or bad as Junior Year had been.

Fabian got home to the manor and plopped his stuff down before trudging off to the quiet seclusion of his radio room. It was quiet there, unlike the rest of the house which was chaotic due to the arrival of his little sibling soon coming and his grandpapa still settling in. This was the easiest place to hide and finish up on the written portions of work he had brought home from school. He clicked on the radio to see if his papa had actually broadcast anything that the machine had picked up. It didn’t happen often, but Fabian always made sure to check.

Two messages. It was rare for him to even send one! Fabian quickly hit play to see what audio had been caught. Loud explosions and sounds of cracking and crashing. Fabian could hear Goldenrod howling in pain, something about getting shot in the ass with harpoons. Everything else was too chaotic, loud, and garbled to understand. He heard his father’s commanding voice yelling, but couldn’t even make out that very well. Why would his papa broadcast this? It was out of character for the great Bill Seacaster to do such a thing, perhaps something turned the broadcasting device on by mistake.

He played the second message, maybe this one would explain what was happening. It was silent, only a crackling noise of fire and the far off ambient screaming of hell. And suddenly, tapping. it took a second for Fabian to register that it was Morse code, he was rusty on remembering how to understand it. It took another listen through to decipher.

“How is the academies maximum legend doing? Cannot imagine Mr. Popular having to worry about a thing. Life is probably easy for you. Anyways, you might want to come meet me. Go to hell, you will find me from there easily.”

“P.S. Was able to shoot your old man’s ship out of the sky finally. Don’t worry, my new party is taking good care of him.”

Fabian was silent, mouth slightly agape. He tried to understand what any of that could mean. He rewound it to listen a third time. Maybe he missed something, or there was a clue of some kind. What on earth did that mean?! Who was it from?

We cut from there over to Riz, currently up in heaven, meeting with his father. The two goblins were talking with stern, professional looking faces. Unfortunately, both of the Gukgak’s ears were twitching, an obvious tell that both of them were very excited to see the other.

“Well, agent, I called you here to talk about some worrisome reports that some of our agents have been bringing back from hell.”, stated Pok, trying to keep a somewhat respectful and professional tone in front of his coworkers around the office.

“Of course, what seems to be the matter?”, Riz replied, standing straight and stiff as could be, still trying to impress his dad.

“Well, a lot of demonic forces have been becoming more… orderly, combining and making alliances. It’s unclear what exactly the cause of it all is, or what plans the allied forces have. All we know right now is that apparently some sort of new devil going by “The Deceitful Rage” has started to gain power and is making a lot of shady deals with powerful devils.”

“Interesting” Riz replied, furrowing his brow. He knew that devils had always had a sort of bureaucracy down in hell, he’d heard Fig complain about it far too often. Still, it was strange and worrisome to hear that they were teaming up and actually starting to work together.

“Yes.”, his father stated, fidgeting slightly as he thought things over. “Well, I know you’re good friends with a certain arch devil… perhaps you could have a chat with her, maybe the two of you scout out any schemes that might be going on?”

Riz scratched the back of his head. Fig wasn’t exactly a big part of hell’s politics. In fact, she was probably the worst devil to ask for that sort of stuff. She purposely ignored and denied interactions with anyone who tried to bring up fiendish laws around her. Still, this was important, it wouldn’t hurt to meet up with her and the two could look around together. “Of course! I’ll see what I can do, sir.” Riz stated, still trying his best to be professional.

“Excellent. Oh, and agent…” Pok said, smiling. “Love ya, kid. Say hi to mom for me.” Riz blushed, his tail wagging awkwardly. “Thanks Dad, love you too.”

Adaine and Gorgug were meeting up. It was a few hours after school, but both of them have been staying later since the start of the year. Since Skrank and Shellford have both graduated, Adain begrudgingly took up being leader of the Aguefort A.V. club, just so that the sophomore kids who had joined knew what they were doing and the club didn’t disband. Gorgug was busy after school learning about teaching, he wanted to learn about the school system from an educators perspective since Aguefort was pressuring him to become the new Barbarian teacher. Plus, learning more was the best way to be a better teacher than Porter was. As the two chatted and began walking home they saw Lucy Frostblade pacing around nervously, she looked haunted, like she had seen a ghost. Lucy never looked that way, she usually had an unshakable calmness to her, so seeing her so freaked meant something bad.

Lucy had become well aquatinted with all of the bad kids over summer break, but Gorgug’s on-and-off situation with Mary Ann and Adaine’s natural friendliness and intelligence had caused Lucy to warm up to them even more.

“Are you ok?”, Adaine called out. Lucy looked up, not having noticed that they were even there. “Oh! Hey, hey Adaine. Uhm, sorry, I’m just, rattled is all. Something weird happened in class today.” Both Adaine and Gorgug frowned. “What happened” Gorgug asked, already trying to assess the situation practically.

Lucy gulped and looked both ways, as if she was worried someone might overhear. “W-well, well uhm. I was praying to-to uhm, to Ruvina earlier, and I…” Lucy squirmed, clearly nervous to bring up what she was praying about. Adaine and Gorgug already knew though. Lucy had already told them about how she was praying for Kipperlilly to somehow be reformed and be revived. It was obviously as a way to mourn Kipperlilly’s death, but that didn’t make it more comfortable to bring up. “We don’t judge you for it, Lucy.”, Adaine stated, holding a hand out for Lucy to hold if she needed it. “Just tell us what happened.”

Lucy took a deep breath, fidgeting with the wool sleeve of her sweater. “Well I-I, I heard a voice. It sounded, it sounded like… like her.” Lucy couldn’t say her name aloud, but they all knew who she was talking about. “She was talking about, about me praying for her. Something like… like…” Lucy took a moment to remember the wording. “She brought up my prayers for her. And said I was always the sentimental type.” Lucy took a shaky breath in. Gorgug and Adaine leaned closer. “She sounded meaner than before, well, well at least she never said anything in that mean sort of tone to me before… and then she said…” Lucy paused again, gulping and trying to clear her throat. “She said “Don’t worry, I’ll be back real soon, I have lots of fun stuff planned”.”

Adaine and Gorgug were silent. They didn’t know what that meant, other than some very bad omens. A high level cleric hearing that in the middle of prayer didn’t mean nothing.

Speaking of high level clerics, we move on to Kristen. She was getting home from school a little later than normal. She didn’t have LGBT+ Alliance Club that day, but she was finishing up some presidential stuff. As she reached the haunted manor she called home she saw Jawbone was at the front door waiting for her. He had a large cardboard box in his hands and a concerned look. “What’s up jawbone, what’s in the box?” Kristen asked, already picking up on the concerned feelings.

“Heeey kiddo, I got home. And-and a little, uhhh, a little devil guy was waiting with this.”, he gestured to the box. “Said it was for the Mrs. President and then scampered off. I-uhh, I didn’t look inside, privacy is important for you kids, but uhm, it smells… it smells bad. Not like bad as in gross, but like, evil, y’know? It also smells gross, but-“ “Thanks for letting me know.”, Kristen said, cutting him off. She knew if she didn’t he’d just start to ramble on about something. She took the box from him. “I got it under control though, I’m sure I’ll be fine, it’s probably some weird thing from Aguefort” she said, already moving to get to her room. “Ok kiddo, just let me know if something goes wrong!”

Kristen took the box up to her room, noticing a note taped to the top.

“Remembering all of the fun last year was because of you! I’m late to the anniversary of us meeting, but I hope you enjoy the sentimental gift! Can’t wait to meet again real soon!”

Kristen didn’t understand what on earth the note could mean, but it didn’t sound good at all. She closed the door to her room, threw the note to the side, and peeled the tape off the box. As soon as she did, the flaps opened enough for an awful smell of hot, dead meat to waft out, making Kristen gag. What on earth could this be?! She covered her mouth and nose with her sweatshirt to shield some of the smell, and cautiously opened the box fully to peak inside. Instantly disgust and fear filled the cleric’s mind and she stumbled backwards, startled. Inside the box were four dog heads, decapitated and rotting, blood oozing and mixing at the bottom. Four dogs. Kristen took a second before realizing the association, but as soon as she got it dread and shock filled her body.

Fig was down in hell, relaxing in her bedroom in the pit. She still had a bedroom at Mordred Manor, and Fabian had given her a key so she could use the guest room at his place too. But she enjoyed moving around, and having a place in her recording studio was way easier. As she relaxed and brainstormed song ideas, a loud, thunderous sound shook the whole building, startling her and making her nearly fall off her bed. What the hell was that?!

Baby and Babybaby scurried into her room, sliding as liquid under her door rather than opening it, and squealed out in harmony “Mistresss!!! Hnnnn, many somebodies are here, here to see you!!!” They were shivering and shaking and their voices were as cracked and high-pitched as usual. “Ugh, what the hell Baby. I thought I told you to turn people away unless they are here to record. I’m t-“ Fig was cut off as another rapid set of thunderous blasts shook the giant recording studio. Suddenly a familiar voice rang out, so loud that even within her secluded room Fig could hear it. “Get out here NOW!!! You frustrating, irresponsible LOSER!!! Ugh, you’re SO ANNOYING!!!” Fig sighed. It was Vraz, here to try and somehow steal Fig’s rights to the pit. Again. Fig trudged outside, yelling back as she opened the door. “What do you want! I’ve already told you I-“ Fig stopped short upon seeing what was awaiting her. Vraz the Mean was floating there as expected, but behind her was a huge horde of devils, all shapes and sizes. Notably, farther behind were two ginormous titanic sized devils. Fig tried not to look nervous. No way Vraz had somehow gotten all of these devils to work together. Was that even possible?

Vraz couldn’t smile, but the joyful, smug aura a grin would give off could still could be felt. “Hey there, you little BRAT!!! I finally got authorization to get you out of this STUPID PIT!!! Now LEAVE!!! Or I’ll make you, GOT IT!!!” Vraz screamed, crying in outburst as usual. The devils were already moving in. “Woah woah woah!” Fig said. “Cool it! Authorization? How? By what?” Vraz chuckled which made Fig even more worried. In a smug, excited tone Vraz answered. “Oh there’s some real big changes going on, someone’s finally trying to make things orderly around here. Thinks it ought to be more fair.” “Wh-what? Fair? Who are you-“ once again Fig stopped mid sentence as Vraz pointed off to the distance. It took a moment to make out what she was pointing to. Fig saw what looked like a humongous billboard in a nearby hell city. The billboard was a picture, with three figures on it.

On the left side was a chain devil loosely holding a thorny whip. It was slumped over a rock, blood oozing from its chest with a dagger through its heart and its eyes glazed over. On the right was a sickly looking humanoid with chains draped over them and cuffs dangling from their arms, unlocked. They were presenting a hand to the center figure, their head looking at the figure with a joyous and thankful expression. And then Fig took a closer look at the center person. A short, young woman, no taller than 4’, floating in the air. The picture’s eyes glowed red as it looked down at Fig. The woman’s hands were raised. In one hand the woman was holding a rusted key, in the other she had a blood-splattered scale tilted unevenly. She had two thick, fiendish horns and a long, spindly tail with a sharp, spaded tip. She wore a sharp, well ironed looking suite with her blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. There was huge wording above and below the billboard’s image, in bright, bold font. It read:

“Want a Representative That Cares About Fairness, Even in Hell?”

“Join Kipperlilly, Congresswoman of the Damned, to make a better, fairer hell. Call now for more information!”

[zahri-melitor]

Hey, sorry to bother you but I was wondering, based on your latest post, if you have any Leslie Thompkins recommend reads? I'd like to read more about her but I don't really have the time to read everything she has been on and those are the only reading guides I seem to able to find. Thank you in advance.

Oooh, Leslie recs. Leslie is a Dennis O'Neil creation, which means a lot of her best stories are actually found in the period when O'Neil was head of the Bat office. A lot of his characters got expanded, made more complex and given more importance because Bat writers were suck ups respected Denny and liked to acknowledge his impact on the broader narrative.

Recs can be a bit hard, as she's often in the middle of other stories, and the additional context adds a lot, but for my mind, here's a bunch of suggestions (with explanations beside them):-

A bunch of the earlier stories are sort of repetitive, and pre-Crisis Leslie is not quite the same character as post-Crisis Leslie. If you want a taste, Batman #457, "There is No Hope in Crime Alley" gives you the initial premise of Leslie as the woman who was there to comfort Bruce immediately after his parents were shot, and who is a committed pacifist interested only in helping the community.

However, a better start would probably be Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #21-23. Mike Barr's essentially the creator of the concept of Leslie Thompkins' Clinic (it first features in the last page of his Batman Year Two), and this story both retells Leslie and Bruce's history together, but also wrestles with how Leslie sees both Bruce and Batman and their violence, and her desire to help fix the city in a pacifist, hands-on manner.

There's some good stuff in Knightquest actually but extracting it is a bit of a mess: you want Batman #505 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #26 & 27. I'm a big fan of the Abattoir arc in Knightquest, which this forms part of, and this is about Leslie's work helping underprivileged kids in Gotham - in this case counselling some traumatised Wayne Foundation kids.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #118: This is a No Man's Land story set in Leslie's refugee camp where Alfred comes to tell stories to the kids. Just a good look at the work Leslie was doing.

Batman Chronicles #18 "Spiritual Currency": this is one of the stories I referenced. Set during No Man's Land, it's an argument between Leslie and Bruce over her treating Zsasz, who is badly injured. Probably my favourite encapsulation of Leslie's personal philosophy.

Gotham Knights #7: part of the 'Bruce interrogates his psyche and connections to those he's close to' arc that ends in Transference. This one's about Leslie and Alfred's feelings over caring for Bruce.

Detective Comics #791-793: I wouldn't say these are the best Leslie Thompkins stories in existence, but I will say the discussions between Leslie and Bruce in them are on point, and are part of the lead in to where War Games ends up. Enjoy them for Leslie's philosophy, sigh deeply at the inherent racism.

War Games, in particular War Crimes, are a massive part of the Leslie narrative but also where a lot of problems arise. War Games in and of itself would be okay, and her fight with Bruce while she's treating Steph is quite in line with the story immediately above; it's War Crimes that really contains the massive retcon that does a lot of harm to Leslie's character.

As far as post-return to Gotham preboot stories, I think the best ones are actually her appearances in the Hit List of Red Robin #15-16. Leslie's got the Cavalier working for her to protect the clinic! Her comments to Tim when he protests it are so Leslie.

New 52 Leslie is essentially a different character; she's premised as a social worker who works with Julie Madison and is assigned to Duke Thomas among others.

In Rebirth she's returned to being the Leslie of preboot. Her better stories are the following:-

The Victim Syndicate in Detective Comics #943-947: The first victims of various villains want to remove the Bats from Gotham. Leslie, Steph and Harper Row are quite interesting in this in terms of a narrative over different ways to help Gotham.

Detective Comics #964 "Dystopia": Leslie is involved in Lonnie Machin's premised underground anarchist commune for the underprivileged. Follows up on the earlier story.

Punchline #1 and The Joker #1-15: this is a long arc about Leslie and the Rows working to have Punchline tried properly in court as complicit in her actions. It's the backup story to the Joker and it's been published separately as a trade.

[rosy-fox-art]

Ouroboros AU [CCC]: The Masterpost

Well. Since the Cjverse Chatroom is breaching containment I guess it’s finally time to talk about this au!! Because I’ve been forgetting to and it’s part of that chat. But let me at least give the basic premise and stuff first. This is going to be a Really Long Post. CW for body horror?

“In which Heart gets a little too comfortable in the pit to the point that roots start growing into him, and it al goes downhill from there . The psyche is alive, everyone’s missed their cues, and mind can feel his sanity slipping by the minute. Leave it to soul to…. “Fix” it?”

The psyche in this au is only what I can describe as ‘ alive ‘

Everything is mildly based around organs here. The psyche is all in the vessel’s brain, after all. Your body communicates this from the outside to your brain through its nervous system, and just so the vessel attempts to communicate things like pain, illness, etc. silently through the environment of the psyche —- typically using weather or the natural elements — though the thirds aren’t quite aware of that.. it is a large, seemingly endless field dotted with ferns and flowers and other things depending upon the vessel’s wellness and the thirds themselves. So, you can imagine the loop gets off to a real bad start in terms of the psyche with a Haiku split where the vessel is left bleeding…. Which is exactly what happens.

Soul— Whose name is silence in the Cjverse chat and I’ll be calling him that from here on— does not get the chance to choose to forget the last loop. Dazed and having to take care of the vessel, his attention is taken off of Heart and Mind as he grapples with the existential crisis that is remembering the last loop while Heart and Mind don’t. In fact, Heart and mind begin arguing really early over the state of the psyche. Instead of realizing that their psyche being in a state of discord and soul being largely absent is because of the vessel, they begin to blame one another. This results in the shot, which gets souls attention. Soul banishes heart to the pit, a hole deep hole that has formed in the psyche, manifested from Heart’s hatred towards Mind and want for a grave for the other half. This part goes as typically, Mimd scolding heart while he’s in the pit and trying to rouse heart into improvement through but well meant harsh words, heart wallowing and just wanting out, etc…. What’s not typical is mind giving up on reasoning with heart, leaving heart to scream and yell and plead for Mind and Soul to let him out for months and months on end… only for him to inevitably give up.

Heart—whose name in chat is Rain— begins to function as more of an organ than a construct. He is loving— beating— but not doing anything. Not speaking or moving. Existing quietly, just enough to get them by. Just like mimd wanted. As a consequence, roots begin to grow into heart as he slowly starts to sort of become part of the psyche more than himself. As the roots grow into him, he loses the ability to move speak etc all together rather than simply choosing not to, becoming essentially brain dead. Mind — whose name is Aperture— finally notices the silence and slowly becomes worried. As per usual, he did not know what he actually wanted, and begins to plead with heart to get out of the pit. But he is too little too late and gets no response. This slowly begins to drive mind up a wall as he tries and fails to find solutions as guilt creeps up on him.

Silence returns to paying attention to stuff in the psyche, noticing that things aren’t going as normal. He tries to free Rain from the pit and the roots, but finds that when he goes to cut the roots, Rain screams and the vessel begins ailing in Reality again. This stops him from making much progress and distresses Mind, who now spends all his time near Rain. Mind and soul argue, as Soul firmly believes he has to cut the roots out and Mind is against Soul hurting them more, insisting it is doing nothing for them. At some point it ends with a physical altercation in which Aperture gets lightly stabbed. Silence then leaves Aperture and says he will find some other way to fix this.

Aperture is left alone with his thoughts and to tend to Rain. This slowly proves detrimental, as he is still feeling guilt and struggling on solutions. What kind of Mind is he If he can to find a logical way to fix this? What if there is not a way to fix it? Inevitably, Mind begins to give up as well. His thoughts become too much and manifest in his nerves coming out from his ears as his thoughts become too much for him, leaving him in a similarly vegetive state to Rain.

Now the only one left functioning, Silence wanders endlessly until he inevitably finds a part of the psyche he was never meant to have access to — Whole’s room— and while there, acquires the ability to reset the loop. And so he does!! Rain and Aperture are brought back! But soul is paranoid and can’t forget again. He won’t let himself. This way he can ensure what happened last loop doesn’t repeat itself. In the canon of the AU, this results in soul restarting the loop over and over again every time something goes wrong. He essentially becomes paranoid and loses it a little. Through looping so many times, Rain and Aperture begin to become incapable of forgetting and plead for Silence to stop, as he is now doing it too much.. Eventually Silence has to learn to trust Rain and Aperture and also himself again, alongside realizing that neglecting the vessel is what’s been causing the psyche issues. This results in them being able to form whole and not forget. So it has a happy end.

Usually I only focus on the first loop though, and in Cjverse canon the first loop happens but uh..we’ll.. the constant resetting not so much as a bunch of wild shit happened to give Silence a bit of a redemption arc from his absentee parenting in loop 1. And topography is a ‘ bad end ‘ of Ouro’s first loop where Silence never finds whole’s room, and Rain and Aperture only exist as parts of the psyche, forcing Soul to forever trick in search of an impossible solution through controlling the environment.

HOIGH. That was a lot!! If y’all have any questions I would be happy to answer 👁️👁️, esp in regards to the chat… Now!!

DOODLE DUMP!!

Can you tell I have a favorite child ?