#yes i’m too attached to fictional characters but whatever

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

beyond the michael weatherly of it all and the apparent future surprises, brian dietzen wrote a really good tribute episode for david mccallum 😭 the flashback clips were perfectly chosen even if they did make me sad about the passage of time

[padawan-snack-packer]

[They see you crying (over a show movie) - Clones Edition]

Hi babes, how are we doin'???? I hope you're having an amazing day/night!!!!

Sooooo I watched Andor (yes, the new season, most recent set of episodes. Yes, I sobbed like a dehydrated womp rat) and it got me thinking… grief is grief. Whether it’s over a real person or a fictional character who got done DIRTY by the writers, your heart doesn’t know the difference. It just hurts. And that is not cringe. You’re not "too sensitive" or "being dramatic" because a show or movie made you cry — you're just a human being with feelings (and possibly an attachment to scruffy rebels or doomed clones).

Soooooooo if you’ve ever been that person who had to pause the credits because you were too busy sobbing into your snack bowl? This one’s for you!!!💛

Let the clones hold you through it. You deserve that comfort.

[Small note but I promise I'm working on the asks, i'm editing them rn but they will be posted today!!! thanks for your patience!!!]

🛡️ Captain Rex

Immediately goes into battlefield triage mode.

"Are you injured? Is someone hurt? What—oh. It's the—it's the show??"

Once he realizes it’s not a real emergency, he just goes very still and very soft.

Doesn't totally understand why you’re sobbing, but he sits next to you anyway and wraps an arm around your shoulders.

Very gently: “You wanna talk about it?”

Listens patiently as you ramble about the character death, the betrayal, the emotional damage. Says things like:

“That’s terrible. I wouldn’t have left them behind, for the record.”

Will quietly Google the show’s ending after, so he can better understand your pain.

Offers to help you write a strongly worded letter to the writers.

🟠 Commander Cody

Walks in, sees the tears, immediately: “Who do I have to shoot?”

Realizes it’s a fictional problem, sighs, mutters “Kriffing civvie drama,” and proceeds to sit beside you.

Offers you a blanket. Then another. Then a snack. Then a pillow. Doesn’t know what helps, so he just keeps piling things like some sort of golden retriever boyfriend.

10 minutes later he’s watching too. Begrudgingly.

Ends up emotionally invested and refuses to admit it.

“I wasn’t crying. My eye was itchy.”

If you rewatch the sad part, he’ll stay quiet the whole time, then quietly mutter: “...They deserved better.”

🟥 Commander Fox

At first thinks someone died and he's reaching for his blaster like "WHERE—WHO—"

When you sob "it's just a movie!!" he freezes mid-combat stance like a glitched protocol droid.

Stares blankly for five full seconds.

“...Why would they write something like that?”

Paces like he’s trying to figure out who to arrest for this emotional crime.

Absolutely texts Thorn in all caps like “I THINK THEY MURDERED THE MAIN CHARACTER FOR NO REASON??”

Offers you his cloak, his time, his entire salary. Whatever will stop the tears.

"Tell me what they did to you. No, I want every detail."

🔴 Commander Thorn

“Aww, sweetheart, come here.” Immediately scoops you into his lap like a human-sized therapy blanket.

Cracks jokes to make you laugh through the tears. But in a loving way.

"Don’t cry, cyare, or I’m gonna have to hunt the director down and force him to write a new ending."

Also genuinely mad on your behalf.

Would 100% play the trumpet at the writer’s front door at 3am in protest.

Buys you comfort food and insists on watching something happy after. ("No more emotional trauma today, thanks.")

💙 Fives

Dramatic gasping. "Nooo, mesh’la, who hurt you?!"

Immediately wraps you in his arms and rocks you like you’re the world’s saddest baby bird.

Is fully ready to fight the fictional antagonist.

“Tell me their name. I’ll get Jesse and we’ll have a talk with them.”

Cries with you. Even though he doesn’t know what’s happening. Now you’re both a mess.

Probably shouts "DON’T GO IN THERE!" at the screen mid-tears.

Makes a whole event out of comforting you: hot chocolate, movie rant, forehead kiss, extra blankets.

🛠️ Echo

Gentle, steady comfort king.

Wipes your tears with the edge of his sleeve and just softly asks, “Want to tell me what happened?”

If you explain, he listens all the way through, then hugs you and goes, “Yeah... that’s rough. I’m sorry they did that to you.”

Tries very hard to not be mad at fictional writing, fails.

Writes emotional fanfiction in his head to soothe you.

Quietly recommends better-written shows that won’t make you cry (but will totally watch this one with you again, if you need to process it more).

🟡 Boil

Stares like you just told him his blaster died.

“You’re crying over a series?”

...But then you explain, and he sees your little tear-stained face, and now he’s upset too.

Grumbles something like "Kriffing writers, can’t let people be happy?"

Pulls you into a hug and pets your hair awkwardly, like he’s not used to this kind of emotional warzone.

Might start angrily defending the character you’re sobbing over.

“No, I don’t care if he was flawed! He did his best!!”

Secretly tears up when he watches it later on his own. Lies about it.

🐻 Waxer

“Aw, cyare, what’s wrong?” Already pulling you onto the couch.

Hears your explanation and immediately goes: “That’s awful. I wouldn’t have written it that way.”

Super empathetic. Tells you it’s okay to cry. Holds your hand. Plays with your fingers while you sniffle.

Talks through the whole emotional arc with you like a therapist.

“So the dog died AND the love interest left?? That’s emotional terrorism.”

Brings Numa in like: “Can you believe this show made them cry?? Unacceptable.”

Gets you snacks and tells you you’re doing amazing even if your face is puffy.

💜 Jesse

Walks in mid-sob and immediately does the full dramatic gasp.

“Oh no, not my favorite person — who did this to you!?”

When you point at the TV and whisper “they died,” his face drops like you just personally attacked him.

Grabs the remote. Rewinds. Watches the scene in full silence.

“...They did you so dirty.”

Will absolutely cry with you. No shame. Holds your hand, dramatically wipes a single tear from your cheek.

Mutters “he deserved better” for the next week like it’s a prayer.

If you rewatch it, he brings snacks and tissues. Every. Time. This is a ritual now.

💉 Kix

“Whoa whoa whoa—deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth—what happened?”

Immediately goes into soft medic mode. Hand on your shoulder. Crouching to your level.

When he figures out it’s because of a fictional character? He still treats it like a real crisis.

“Grief is grief, cyare. Doesn’t matter if it’s fictional. Your brain doesn’t always know the difference.”

Encourages you to drink water and decompress.

Then watches the whole episode and gives you an emotional damage debrief like, “This arc is textbook betrayal trauma. I’d cry too.”

Offers to “prescribe” ice cream and cuddles.

🐺 Commander Wolffe

Absolutely convinced you’re hurt or sick. Bursts in like: “Who made you cry? Where is he??”

You say “the movie” and he just... blinks.

“...You’re crying because of a movie?”

Cue grumpy but deeply concerned dad energy.

Awkwardly pats your shoulder. Then sighs. Then sits beside you and puts a stiff arm around you like “this is how people do comfort, right?”

Ends up emotionally invested anyway.

“...I knew he was a traitor. You can tell by the way he looks like a smug chakaar.”

Starts lowkey watching the show with you. Pretends it’s for “threat analysis.” (It’s not.)

🖤 Dogma

This man is PANICKED. You’re crying. He doesn’t know why. He thinks it’s his fault.

“Did I say something wrong? Did I mess something up?? Please tell me what I did—”

You manage to say it’s about a TV character, and he just deflates.

“Oh... thank the stars. I mean—no, not that I’m glad you’re crying, but—”

Silently shuffles into the room and brings you water like it’s the only thing he knows how to do.

Ends up very quiet and serious watching the rest with you.

Doesn’t cry, but definitely holds your hand a little too tightly when the next emotional moment hits.

Becomes very invested.

“This show is really well-written. I see why you’re upset.”

💥 Hardcase

You are ugly crying. The TV is still going. He walks in, gasps so loud it’s comedic.

“WHO DO I HAVE TO BLOW UP.”

Genuinely checks the door and window for enemies before you manage to sniffle, “...they killed him...”

"WHAT??? WHO??? Show me, I’ll handle this!!”

You point at the screen. He looks. Frowns.

“Wait. So. Not real?”

Then he watches the scene, starts crying with you even though he has no context.

“They didn’t deserve that!! They were a GOOD DUDE!! I know it in my soul!!”

Has a box of tissues in one hand, your hand in the other, and pure rage in his heart.

Later? He rewatches the whole series from the beginning. Gets unreasonably attached to that character.

“I would’ve died for them. Fr. Fives-tier loyalty. No notes.”

🐝 Tup

Gentleest bean. You’re crying, and he just comes over so softly.

“Hey... oh, sweetheart, are you okay?”

You say it’s the show, and his whole face just melts.

Wraps you up in a hug immediately. Doesn’t question it. Doesn’t laugh. Just warmth and steady heartbeats.

Sits beside you and wipes your cheeks with his sleeve.

Actually cries with you. His empathy is dialed up to a million.

Doesn’t say much. Just sits there with you, hand on your back, letting you be held.

He’s the kind of person who murmurs, “I know... it’s okay to feel it,” and you believe him.

Brings you hot tea and a soft blanket later. Softest king.

🟡 Appo

At first? Confused. You’re sobbing. He short-circuits.

“...Uh. Hey. You dying?”

You manage a “no—TV show—he died,” and Appo is just like: “oh.”

Immediately sits down like a brick.

“Alright. Walk me through it. What happened?”

Watches it in full. Expressionless. Then nods once.

“Yeah that’s messed up.”

Doesn’t cry. Doesn’t say much. But leans in so your head rests on his shoulder and gently puts an arm around you.

Carries you to bed if you fall asleep mid-rewatch.

Pretends he’s not invested. Absolutely is. Secretly furious they killed off your fave.

💛 Bly

Sees you crying. Immediately alarmed.

“Mesh’la? What’s wrong?”

When you say it’s just a sad episode, he immediately switches to comfort mode.

Pulls you into his lap, kisses your temple, and rocks you gently while murmuring,

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you, sweet thing. Let it out.”

Will 100% watch the episode with you and get emotionally WRECKED.

Grabs your hand during the tragic death and squeezes it like he’s the one in battle.

“No. No. Not like this. They were just about to be happy.”

Brings you snacks and tissues, snuggles with you for hours after.

Starts referring to your fave character like they were a mutual friend.

“I miss them too. They were brave.” 😔

[viily]

im going to be st

I’m Going to be Straight Up i’ve been pondering the (scrunches face) (tilts head side to side) Ethics Of RealPersonFiction kind of thing a bit. not too well versed in the existing debate that may exist around it because if i’m honest there are just certain weakpoints of my self conscious and insecurities that can cause me to be paranoid if i expose myself to too much. but generally it is good to consider all points of an argument if i want to have firm convictions blah blah blah.

i suppose the polarizing nature also makes this hard. i do truly want to question why there is so much trouble surrounding it (i can certainly come up with obvious reason) i just want very serious civil socio-psychological perspectives about. why people engage with this. what elements of it can be harmful. similarities and differences between a fictional subject versus a Real Person one. what sort of moral compass comeuppance a person develops to either naturally be drawn to it or be opposed to it? i don’t know?…

i know this comes from my own deep personal curiosity and need to understand This Thing In Particular or else i will go crazy. because i spend a lot of time trying to map this out in my head. how long in recent history have people been engaging in what could be considered RealPersonFiction like at the fundamentals what is the separation between your closest-to-the-known-understanding of RPF that would be “real people and celebrities category on archiveofourown” versus “well if you think about a person (any person, who exists in real life) and you imagine them in a scenario that has not happened in reality is that RPF” just as a person who has to think about the foundations of Meanings Of Things And Why They Exist And Etcetera i get very confused on what it is about RealPersonFiction that seems so inherently incorrect.

It could have occurred to me after a long time of seeing people make posts about the general idea of being very afflicted by a fictional subject. im sure you could find these posts anywhere online where there is specific indication of a subject being fictional, then some kind of niche but outreaching relatable feeling that can be applied to subjects that comes to the minds of afflicted readers. “im always thinking about the Character” “i want the Character in [specific situation for the purpose of emotional catharsis and/or entertainment].” and so i think, yes, of course many people relate to this idea of being attached to a subject whom represents ideas and traits, whether they manifest bythe subject simply existing on their own and displayed via public appearance (a real person) or that these traits were put together by a real person(s) which are displayed through a created narrative of some kind, because these subjects are appealing to the people who would find them appealing. millions of examples really.

not everyone who is appealed by characters/people will be so afflicted by them that they feel compelled to commit time and focus to thinking about them, engaging with associated content about them, make art about them, etcetera. but anyone reading this post probably understands this concept of not only Liking Things but Being Significantly Compelled By An Individual. It does appear that there is some particular set of unspoken rules about how one publicly goes about expressing their affliction towards subjects (and anything in general really) and this will absolutely vary depending on the nature of the subjects and what media they might be associated with, you get the picture i guess. to be specific i guess you could say some fandoms have different kind of rules within the popular community of those who engage with it than others, you could probably make some personal connection. or not. if i’m honest i could say that depending on the fandom/community/demographic of people who like the thing or whatever, the rules/tolerance levels of participants can be tooootally mixed. there’s honestly so much variation in sociological structure to ehhh Fandom as a whole and then how very specific fandoms might be structured. god like way too many facets that could be covered, haha.

anyways, i’ve about lost track and well. I guess i want to understand more about what kind of rules people, from people who support, oppose, and are neutral about RPF, why they’ve come to their conclusions on how they engage with it, how they THINK others should engage with it, what specifically are the boundaries between RPF that is innocuous enough to be harmless (and may not even be considered RPF by most at first glance), to RPF that is more certifiably identifiable as Traditional RPF, whether or not all expressions of RPF content and ideas are harmful or not (which. i understand may be reductive to pose that question as, depending on your view, im to say there’s nuance personally), and like, i don’t know. what’s the big deal! essentially.

(gosh i so kind of forget to use words like a Real Person when making posts like these so please mind that i’m just kind of thinking out loud. but this is definitely open to any more discussion, if anyone happens to care >_< lol! thankyou…)

[wonderlands-twisted-tales]

Mod’s intros!

Corvus’s Intro 🍄

“The blot is my fuel, the blot is my friend… perhaps my only one? Perhaps…”

Greetings to all who have come to bear witness to this wonderful project! You may call me Corvus or Yew, either is fine really. My pronouns are they/them and I am of 17 falls, almost 18 this September. I fell in love with Twisted Wonderland after watching videos of a streamer translating from the Japanese server (at the time, the game was only in Asia), so imagine my utter excitement when I was allowed to co-create this blog and the upcoming fanfiction with the lovely folks that are my friends and colleagues. I have two characters so far in the story, a classy yet violent Savannaclaw gangster, and an eternally annoyed and sassy Scarabia beastman. Speaking of characters, I don’t like to call favorites when it comes to Twst, but, I must admit, Leona does resonate with me more than others; A Fun Fact about me is that I am diagnosed with MDD (major depression disorder) along with Undefines Psychosis, so please be patient with me. Besides that, I am eternally grateful to be here with these folks and working on this project, and I hope you can treat us all with kindness and respect as we manage our personal lives outside of this project! Thank you! My time zone is CST. -🍄

Rose’s intro 🐈‍⬛

“When in doubt….. uh….. cuddle widdle kitty cats??” Hihi!! I’m Rose!! You may also call me Goober. I am cis fem, and go by she/her. I am a minor, and public school sucks, so I may not always be on. I chose to help with this blog because I became genuinely attached to the people here working on the blog as well. They’re awesome! As for Twisted Wonderland, I only got in a few months ago, if that, but I’m in love with the game. I think some funny moments on Youtube got me into the game! In this story, the characters I made are Duma Jasiri, a no-nonsense yet sweet cheetah beastwoman, Fovos and Ponos Diavolaki, my lovely imps, and Physal Finley, a ditzy jellyfish merwoman. Yes, a beastwoman, because here, NRC is a boys and girls school for this storyline. They started accepting female students 4-5 years ago. My favorite canon characters would have to be Idia and Leona. Idia, cause I relate to being a gamer who never goes outside, and Leona cus kitty :3 Btw, you may see me on this blog more than the others, as I like to chat more. I also have diagnosed ADHD and anxiety. My main tumblr is redheadedsilly if you wanna give me a follow! My timezone is EST. -🐈‍⬛

Love’s intro 🪶

“Humanity has free will and I choose to do whatever I want. ” 

Hey hey! Names Love and that’s all ya’ll gonna get! I am a female and my pronouns are she/her and I am an adult. The first time I found Twisted Wonderland was someone’s fan translation of the prologue back in 2020. It was my suggestion for our group to start making mini-fics and we ended up deciding to make a blog for this storyline. My characters are Maeve Crowley, Headmaster Crowley’s nephew, the Ramshackle Housewarden who does not hesitate to discipline anyone, even his uncle, Toma Karkinos, the crab in bling, and others (I HAVE TO MAKE MORE PROFILES TvT). My favorite canon character is hands down no debate, Leona Kingscholar. This lion man has got me in a chokehold in both design and character. Fun facts, uuhhh, for the first four banners of Zenless Zone Zero’s release, I won every single one of my 50/50 for both the character and their w-engines for 5 banners. The best skill I would give myself is nest-making. 

I act in the UTC timezone. - 🪶

Midget's intro 🐉🌹

''I know you, I've walked with you once upon a dream~'' 

People can refer to me as Midget which is a pen name of mine. I've quite a lot of nicknames so it's best to stick with the name Midget. I go by she/her and I am an adult. Why did I choose to co-write this blog? Well, it's simple, I've been roleplaying for a lot of years and tend to write fan-fictions of my own too when the inspiration strikes, though those fan-fictions have been stuck in rough drafts for a while. Besides, writing them with others seems like a lot of fun. As for how I ended up tumbling down the Disney Twisted Wonderland rabbit hole, I don't exactly remember how other than coming across videos and those that I surround myself with sparking my interest. Plus I was a Black Butler fan, prior to discovering Disney Twisted Wonderland, still am. I have been in the Disney Twisted Wonderland fandom ever since its very beginning, all the way back in 2020.

By now I can finally play the game myself while I continue to devour the manga, novels, fanmerch, and even some official merch from Japan alongside my gameplay. My characters in the story; Orion Talaria; a third-year Royal Sword Academy student loosely twisted from Hermes of Disney's Hercules (though I mostly drew inspiration from the Greek myths and Epic The Musical's Hermes and poured that into a TWST OC as Hercules’ Hermes didn’t give me much to work with) and Idia & Ortho Shroud's childhood friend which he is along with his older halfbrother Solaris Talaria, which I’ve twisted from the Greek god of the sun, Apollo. Another character of mine that'll appear in the story is Prentice Grem, a TWST OC I twisted from Gremlin Prescott, a character found in the Epic Mickey 1 (2010, 2024 remake) and Epic Mickey The Power Of Two (2012), a game franchise that's very dear to me, also because it introduced me to Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, Mickey Mouse's older, forgotten brother. Either way, Prentice Grem is a Gremlin and former Royal Sword Academy student expelled by Headmage Ambrose and sent off to Night Raven College after his Overblotting at Royal Sword Academy. By now he falls under the Ignihyde dorm led by housewarden Idia Shroud and his brother Ortho Shroud. Whereas he used to be friendly and helpful in repairing things before his Overblot, he's now more sarcastic, bitter, and envious towards those who do not see his absolute genius. Despite him being like that, he does feel like he's at home in the Ignihyde dorm where he tinkers away on anything and is very good with his hands when it comes to technology and mechanics. He also has a huge mechanical robot lookalike of himself, much like Epic Mickey’s Prescott. It's also part of Prentice’s Overblot Phantom. My favourite canon characters are hands down Malleus Draconia, Lillia Vanrouge, Leona Kingscholar, and Ruggie Bucchi, because I have very fond memories of the original animated Sleeping Beauty, the Maleficent movies, and the original animated Lion King movies along with the sequels. Though, I like the Tweels (Jade & Floyd Leech) as well even though I only really saw The Little Mermaid's sequel The Little Mermaid II Return To The Sea. I am also very fond of Che'nya, the Cheshire Cat beastman and student from the Royal Sword Academy, along with Riddle Rosehearts, Cater Diamond, Idia Shroud, and Skully J. Graves, because the Nightmare Before Christmas is a nice movie. Some fun facts about me, hmm… I have a huge weakness for fictional villains, either from Disney Twisted Wonderland or otherwise morally, grey characters. I love Oswald The Lucky Rabbit from Epic Mickey. Due to me having played both Epic Mickey 1 and Epic Mickey 2 The Power Of Two, I can't unsee the ties the game franchise has with Disney Twisted Wonderland.

My native tongue is Dutch, but am fully self-taught in English ever since about six years old. My level is C1 Advanced. One of these days I do hope to become an English teacher, still. I am an avid reader and mainly devour manga, graphic novels, and novels in English as compared to Dutch; though there are a few instances where I'll read Dutch, just a few, as I find my own native tongue dry and kind of boring to read in. My go-to genres to read are dark fantasy, dark fairytales, history-inspired novels, vampire novels, time-travel novels, and Sci-Fi novels. I game quite a bit and used to do some online Dungeons & Dragons, which I would love to pick up someday again. I write fanfictions, but due to my native tongue being Dutch, I do need to go over them a couple of times before I feel satisfied and brave enough to put them up. I went to Aladdin the musical once which was a lot of fun! My timezone is CET, military time. My main Tumblr is vaatistrife-purplemage, should you want to add me or want to chat! ~🐉🌹

[maireadralph]

Entrapdak Zine 6 - Festive. Submissions OPEN!

Apologies for the delay in getting this open Please feel free to check out the Entrapdak Secret Santa event I’m also running at the moment (links are in my pinned post)

Anyway this is the post for Entrapdak Zine 6 - Festive!

The deadline for this will be Friday DEC 1st 2021 at 9AM GMT. What’s that in your timezone? Click here for a Handy Dandy Countdown:

I am flexible on this Deadline so anything that arrives on this date or by my 9am the next day is allowed (I’m in the GMT timezone BTW)

I am LESS flexible on the Extension Deadline

The Zine will be out before Christmas.  The actual date is flexible and dependant on when all the Submissions come in and my own personal work schedule.

So most of this is the same as the last few - really if it ain’t broke don’t fit it!  Also a polite reminder I am only one person running this and I am a part time Barista.  It may take me a little time to reply to emails/comments especially after the deadline time (when I have the most amount of work to do on this project) so please be patient with me.

Our basic guidelines are the same as before, with just a few minor updates:

This will be:

A Digital Zine containing content created by the fans for the fans

A 100% Free Zine

Preferred Language is English

SFW content suitable for a Y7-PG13 age range (same as the show’s age rating)

You may notice I run this different to other zines as there is no sign up period, just submit work before the deadline - I’d rather people have more time to work on their pieces 

Anyone can submit regardless of age or skill level - this is not a job application - just follow the guidelines and email in your work

Submission can be Fan Writing (poems, fan fiction, character analysis, eassys etc), Fan Art, or even photos of your Entrapdak IRL content (cosplays, fancrafts etc)!  You can submit an older work that you have published online previously if you wish - or even update a work you submitted to the last Zine! Just have fun!

Guidelines applicable to all work:

Content Age Rating:

Like the show this Zine will contain content rated Y7 and PG13 rated - so please no swearing 

There WILL BE NO NSFW or 18+ content - where possible let’s keep this suitable for all ages please 

Sub note on character minimum clothing requirements: 

for male presenting characters to be speedos/underpants

for female presenting characters to be a bikini/bra and underpants 

if not sure please use the female presenting criteria

Theme:

This issue’s theme if you wish to use it is:

“Festive”

This theme is a suggestion and if you’d rather make an Entrapdak piece without this theme please feel free to do so. I want you to have fun!

Allowed Characters:

As long as both Entrapta and Hordak are the main focus and the piece follows Age Rating it will be allowed.

Other allowed characters in the Entrapdak family include Emily, Imp and the Clones (also known as Spacebats)…yes weirdly this also  includes Horde Prime.

Other She-Ra characters will be allowed but Entrapdak is to be the core element.

Phew that’s a lotta text sorry about that - now on to the fun stuff! What sort of stuff is allowed?

Sex Swap AU, Species Swap AU, Furry AU, Toony AU, Anime AU, Fankid AU, Coffee Shop AU, married AU, Spacebat AU, just besties AU just to name the few that pop into my head! Oh yeah Canon Lab Partners Entrapdak too…hehe nearly forgot about that one XD. Make something Entrapdak related that’s PG13 rated and have fun!!

Fan Writing guidelines:

This includes fan fiction, analysis eassys, poetry or whatever else you’d like to write about.  I would ask this content to be between 1k-10k words in length, it’s not a big deal if the writing is over 10k or even if it’s 20k - write whatever your story needs. If you’d like to write Chapters then please do!

Written work can be emailed in the body of text, sent as pdf attachment or as a link to a Google Doc - I can work with any of those.

Please include you name/username somewhere as it helps. If there’s no name on the piece I’ll add one at the start with the title.

Fan Art guidelines:

Fan art can include rough sketches, screencap redraws, comics (appox 1-10 pages length), coloured sketches or full colour pieces. 

Fan art can be in the digital or traditional medium.  

Traditional fan art can either be submitted as a photo or scanned, which ever you prefer.

Preferred sizing for Digital art is as follows, my aim to to have everything on International (UK) A4 paper sizing where possible*

2480px x 3508pm DPI 132 

Portrait layout is preferred**

PNG is preferred but I will understand if you only wish to send a workable JPEG

The aspect ratio (width:height) of A4 paper is 1:1.4142 (1:√2)

If you need a template here’s one -> Here’s a prepared A4 Canvas PSD File (2480pm x 3508px 300DPI) if you’d like to download it and use it <- Template

Notes: 

*Images outside these sizings are still okay but may end up with a white border on the edges due to the PDF publishing settings.  

**Images in the landscape layout will get boarders when posted on a portrait page due to the PDF publishing settings, however if I receive landscape art I will make some extra pages at the end of the Zine and attempt to turn landscape art into a two page spread (which does look awesome!).

How to Apply:

Make your content and email it to entrapdakzineisluvd[at]gmail.com by JULY 1st 2023

Please make sure to include your Social Media contacts and which name or username you wish to be identified by.  If you forget to include social media details and have been a part of a previous Zine I’ll use the details I have on file 

I will reply to confirm I have received the content and that’s it I take care of the rest!

Please note I DO NOT KEEP any records of anyone’s email addresses.  When the Zine is out I batch delete all emails sent to the email address (this is usually done a week after the Zine is out) and I keep no further records of these address. I respect your email privacy at all times.  

The only records I keep on Zine applications is a private Google Sheet that has the following details: Submitter’s name, rough description of the item submitted and their social media contacts. I’m the only person with access to this Google Sheet as I use this as a Master List reference when compiling the Zine 

FAQs:

Why no Application form?

I don’t want anyone to feel like they are applying for a job here, this is supposed to be fun.

Will there be Guest Artists or Guest Writers?

If they apply sure, I’m not advertising who applies to be a part of this Zine until it’s ready to be published.  I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated just because a certain person has chosen to participate.

Can I submit more than one piece?

If you’d like to certainly!  If you’d like to submit up to three pieces of art and 3 fan writings, sure go for it! I’m certainly not going to stop anyone having a good time

May I post a preview of my work to my Followers?

Sure! Bonus points if you link them to this post so that they can take part if they wish

May I post my work online?

I would ask if you could please wait until the issue featuring your work is published. Of course this does not apply if you are chosen to submit and older work - in this case may I ask that you edit or add to said post to mention the work was also used in the Zine?

Is this only for people with a [insert certain social media account here]?

Nope, this is for anyone who wants to take part.  I only ask for a social media contact so that others who like you work for the Zine may follow you on your preferred social media platform.

Can I send an update to a piece?

Of course! Just let me know which piece you want to use and I’ll update on my end

Can I send another piece on later?

Of course that’s not a problem!

Ah I can’t get this done before the deadline - it’s almost ready!!!  I need another day!!!!

Contact me, either through the submitting email over via my Tumblr or Twitter DMs or just emailing the email address. There is extra time allowed for an extension for anyone who needs it with no questions asked to why it is needed. Just get in contact, I'll put you name on the Extension List and that extra time is yours.  Once all names come in (or the deadline is reached) I will finish up my work and get the zine out. I will not be sending out a further reminder (because I’ll forget sorry 😅).

Why don’t you make the Extension time public?

Because I can’t finish up the Zine if extra stuff comes in at the last second - I get jittery enough with final deadlines so this is how I manage my stress

More Entrapdak Zines??

Sure why not? If the community still wants them I’ll keep compiling them ever three or so months.  I’ve seen what us nerds can do!

Where can I find the finished Zine?

All finished Zines are all hosted on a shared Google Drive folder https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1My_hDY8NmOWV7v6z0sYi0TSvxv07WowX  Please share it with your other Entrapdak friends when it is ready.

Thank you for making it all the way to the end of this WALL of TEXT.  It’s pretty much exactly the same as the Zine 4 and 5’s but with a few minor changes.

[watchingyoufromthestars]

Okay, time for my mixed feelings on Scam Likely and how nobody can escape the repetitive cycle of being an imperfect father. I’ll try to be objective as I break down the scene in Goofs Realm, but I’m in my Scam hater era.

THIS IS LONG, SORRYYYYYY

No father will be perfect in fiction or reality, and it’s a running theme of the show. The mistakes of your past define the present and the families have been constantly doomed to repeat them, but in new, fresh, fucked up ways. There are varying levels of mistakes all of them have made in the story, especially compared to Willy, but he’s his own special case.

Scam’s sin is ignorance. To the world around him and individuals’ feelings. Consistently he is shown to not realize outside of his Goofs that they can heavily affect other people in ways they do not like. That actions have consequences. His entire relationship with Jodie was a joke to him, while Jodie was left without his romantic partner a second time and was scammed out of a son (and in more ways than one since Hermie was spawned as a teenager instead of a baby). It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and now that someone is his son and he’s dead.

“He tries to hide the fact that he is actually emotionally affect by this, but he only got a 6, so you can see that he is genuinely upset.”

In his own way, Hermie does matter to him. I think Scam is a very hard being to compare to the rest of the cast because of his Goofs realm nature. He has an entirely different set of morals and ground rules of existence. For christ sake you die forever into nothingness in Goofs Realm if you stop being funny. But now Scam is confronted with a harsh truth and he can’t deny an emotional mode outside of Silly and Laughter.

“I didn’t even think of him as something that could die. He was just a goof. Goofs never die. It’s like- all jokes are always funny forever.”

We truly see Scam’s mindset here. Be it as a Goofs native or just who he is individually, he only thinks of The Big Joke of it all. Hermie was not an individual with feelings to be loved and raised (not that he even raised him at all), Hermie was just a joke to him. And it wasn’t even in any personal way. Everything is a joke to him.

“Where is he? Is he in Hell? Is he in Heaven?”

“I don’t know! He doesn’t have a soul! He’s not like you or me. Well, not like you.

And here it’s cemented in just how irregular Hermie is. Neither him nor Scam have a soul. As much as we’ve visited dead characters on this podcast, there’s nowhere that Hermie can be reached. This incarnation of him is gone forever.

“Do you forgive me for whatever is about to happen? I’m truly going to try.”

Try as he might to make things right — in his own insane way of ‘farting and it’ll be so funny that he’ll come back’ — that’s not something that’s been allowed lately on this show. And what could he even do to make things right anyways? There’s no joke to be made when someone has passed, and no joke can bring them back.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t think it would happen like this. I didn’t think he would actually develop a personality; he was just supposed to be a Goof machine. Nobody was supposed to be sad if something happened to him.”

Again, Hermie’s existence was just a part of one big goof and scam for him. Meta and Story, Hermie is and was a joke. He was just supposed to be this silly little guy, but then as time marched on he developed into something of a person. Something a lot of us got attached to and something Normal held onto dearly. “Nobody was supposed to be sad if something happened to him”, but he became too much of a Person for that to stay true.

“I could make you another one.”

And then there’s this line. It kills me in a very specific way. Scam is just so disconnected from human nature that he doesn’t know fully realize the value an individual life holds. Yes, he could just make another Hermie, but that’s not the Hermie. To use the first metaphor that comes to mind, it’s like making a mastercopy. In a previous painting class, we studied a singular painting for one project and recreated it to the best of our abilities. As skilled as one can be in painting, you cannot truly recreate the original. There’s history imbued in the original, and it’s lived a lifetime before your own version was created. Even if you create a version indistinguishable from the original, it is still not the same.

All of this is to say that I cannot truly judge Scam, at least from a certain standpoint. I have very mixed feelings about him, but he’s a unique case of a character that’s very different than judging one of the human dads. Am I rambling here? Am I spouting nonsense? I don’t know, I’m still in distress over crying multiple times from this episode. I’m not proof reading this lol

[finniestoncrane]

Y’know, there’s one thing I don’t get about Arkham Rids. And it’s the whole bit about him being aro or ace or both. Lots of people say he’s aro/ace because ‘the base nature of (Catwoman’s attachment to Batman) disgusts’ him. And that’s fine. Honestly, I’m disgusted by it too sometimes. And so are some people who aren’t into BatCat in general. The thing that gets me is that people use this one line as evidence or something, and then leave no room for discussion, which I think is a bit stubborn. Yes, their overtly sexual relationship grossed me out too. Yes, I myself am arospec and aspec. But that’s the thing, it’s a spectrum. So while I understand that people get frustrated that he may very well be one of the few characters in media who is aro/ace, people have to understand that 1. It’s a spectrum. Attraction is a very complicated thing. 2. One line, does not a confirmed aro/ace make. And 3. I’m sure lots of allo peeps can be disgusted by a ‘base nature attachment’ as well. Lots of people, regardless of orientation don’t like hearing about what I can only assume Riddler interprets as an extremely sexual relationship that somehow breeded feelings. Which, to me at least, sound more like a demisexual sentiment that a flat out asexual one. It’s fine either way in my opinion. It’s just frustrating to me how some people aren’t open for discussion or nuance. Especially when I myself fall into said nuance.

hello lil beloved! i am not qualified in the slightest to discuss aro/ace spectrum stuff because i am a monogamous slut who loves romantic things

but as for the eddie, i think it's probably coming from two places:

wally wingert said in a cameo i saw once that he can't see the riddler flirting, he doesn't see him being romantic or anything like that. i think he might also have mentioned it in a behind the scenes interview or something? that plus i guess some people think that if he had a woman captive and didn't shoot his shot, then he's not into that? but that's a stretch and a little bit weird lmao

here's the thing though, there's so much eddie does say and doesn't say, and it's all down to how you interpret a character or their tone. some people go MAD for arkham!verse riddlecat, they see sexual tension between them and the way they talk. some people see eddie as canonically bisexual because he's depicted as such in other canon sources. some people see him being repulsed by catwoman or batman or sex in general. which brings me to the second point:

canon doesn't matter a tiny bit when people have their favourites. you can do what you want, you can think what you want. i headcanon arkham!eddie as bisexual, monogamous and autistic, because i can. and because the source material doesn't say that he isn't. and even if it did, it wouldn't stop me lmao which i think is where the big thing with eddie (and a lot of riddlers actually!) comes from. there's that little bit of a suggestion, a lil bit of hope and like you said, people cling to it, because the representation isn't anywhere else for them!

but ultimately people can do whatever they want for whatever reason forever and ever 💚 i know it's maybe annoying when some people won't hear you out about it, but also, they don't have to. which sucks for you, but they're entitled to be stubborn bub!

all that matters is that he's fictional and that people can do what they want with him u-u 💚

[joys-of-everyday]

Attachment

I have been away for a while, during which I have finished a degree (whoo!) and lost all of my drafts (sad!). I had a fancy website for organisation and I closed the tab and 6 months passed and I simply cannot remember where they have gone. So, back to word documents and I’m never putting my faith in a website again, at least not without bookmarking it. Any threads I was working on are gone. Adios! Probably for the better, since I’ve lost my momentum on them.

I’ve sufficiently curated my feed such that fandom discourse mostly doesn’t reach me unless I actively go out and search for it, and who has time for fandom discourse when you’re crying over exams, but inevitably SY vs SJ drama peaks in sometimes and… isn’t discourse so fascinating? Don’t you want to overanalyse it like you have nothing better to do in your life?

I love discourse, truly. It gives me so much joy.

You know, back in the ancient days (2020), I got into cpop. Cringe. Why is the idol fandom like this? Why am I like this? Anyway, I discovered an idol whose words… touched me. Deeply. Utterly transcendent. Relatable af. My gawd my blorbo understands me like nobody else etc. etc. I literally wrote down quotes and stuck them to my wall, that was how far it got (and I didn’t even have the excuse of being a teenager).

Now, unsurprising to those with any awareness of how the internet operates, as quickly as discovering the parasocial love of my life, I ran into the fans and the antis. ... .... *sigh*. There’s a lot to say about the dynamic of these groups, but what strikes me about that time is a vivid memory of obsessively reading anti content and feeling… well, hurt. More than hurt. Personally attacked. It was like everything I found relatable in this idol was being publicly criticised by the faceless masses, and all my worst fears about how people hated me were right there on the screen. I had to remove myself from idol news because it was really starting to get to me.

And as much as it was distressing, it was fascinating for me experiencing it, because I was a sensible adult (questionable) by this time! I knew the difference between reality and fiction! (and idols, as a brand, are basically fiction) But in relating to a figure on screen, in attaching a metaphorical part of myself to that figure, I’d opened myself up to a strange kind of vulnerability. Through this proxy, I’d put myself out into the world, and was automatically interpreting any negativity, regardless of whether it specifically applied to me or not, as an attack on me.

This, of course, is stupid. They weren’t attacking me. They didn’t even know of my existence. Even if, yes, the things being criticised were sometimes related to me and my experiences, 1) they were not criticising me and 2) online criticism tends to be… a teensy bit exaggerated.

To bring this back slightly, fictional characters can be an extremely powerful way to work through feelings that are a little bit too ugly to confront with directly. Maybe I’m weird, but I do this intensely. Most of my emotional processing involves sobbing over made-up situations involving fictional characters at inconvenient times of the day. The flip side to this is that what should be not-that-deep discussions on fictional characters are quick to turn personal, and are completely blown out of proportion in my mind.

I don’t really have a point here. This is mostly a self-conceited ramble about some experiences I’ve had. But some advice, which you are welcome to ignore if it’s not relevant: you are not a character on a screen. Any judgement of characters on screens are not a judgement of you as a person. And if it ever feels like it’s getting to you, go touch grass. Or open a window. Or - as my algebraic topology lecturer liked to say - drink a vat of gin. Whatever works for you.

[dailyhonakana]

admin 🎼 here - happy first week of daily honakana except not really because we missed yesterday, whoops! i’ll be trying my hardest to make an extra post (once i work up the motivation to)!!

anyway today im here to announce i figured out im bi and honakana was part of the reason why 👍 here’s, somehow, a five-paragraph ramble about that! this doesn’t really fit the blog’s usual posts but i figured i’d talk about it because i didn’t want us to miss posting two days in a row, and i wanted to discuss how special these two random ass girls are to me <3 this is pretty personal but i thought id get it out somewhere and this blog seems fitting enough. if its too long then just know the moral of the story is that honakana changed my life

okay so i do like guys, which is something i cannot deny. i hardly even considered the possibility of me liking girls as well, though, until i downloaded project sekai on my phone. Yes, until I downloaded project sekai. i was already a huge vocaloid fan (not to the ridiculous extent i currently am, but it was still one of my most important interests!), so of course i became a huge prsk fan, too. i immediately grew attached to nightcord, and kanade in particular! why her? i couldn’t tell you, but boy did i really like her. and i still do!

i was an active shipper of some characters from some different fandoms at this point, combing through google for ship art and reading tons of ao3 works and basically searching everywhere for scraps of content of them. all my favorite couples were straight, though - i was fine with gay pairings, but didn’t care all that much about them. now, i was thinking a lot about kanamafu (who i still love too!). and then i wondered if anyone was shipping kanade with her housekeeper. i proceeded to go to ao3 and read all of skwakr’s works, and then all the few other works tagged with honakana, and then i followed the tag and looked everywhere for honakana fanart to save and honakana AUs and canon honakana moments and whatever other content i could find of them. somehow despite the fact they had hardly anything together in canon or fanon (at the time, anyway) they were my new obsession.

why? again, i couldn’t exactly tell you. i think it had something to do with how sweet and uncomplicated their relationship was, though - it was easy to believe honami would always care for kanade, and kanade would always leave time for her, and both would unconditionally love the other with nothing stopping them. i also think it must have been because of how well skwakr portrayed that unconditional love (go read their works if you haven’t, they express such great love in so few words and they’re incredible!!!). it seemed so real to me, real enough i somehow managed to fall in love with honakana as much as each was in love with the other. oh yeah and this was while my first (male!) crush was raging on - i turned to a pair of fictional girls dating for comfort while constantly pining over him. that was incredible of me. i mean i still do that tbf

i eventually lost my interest in prsk itself and got rid of the game, but my interest in honakana didn’t waver much. i didn’t actively interact with the fandom or read every single honakana fic that was released - i didn’t even find out about their wedding event until a few months ago - but i continued thinking about the two of them frequently. recently, i started the game again, for a reason i don’t remember. i don’t think i was planning on playing it much; then, i learned about the event and that it was coming to the EN server in a few months, and after not playing for so long, i suddenly had a goal waiting to be completed in those few months. i needed to rank high on the leaderboard, and i needed to do it for those two fictional lesbians i loved so much, for some reason.

a new, more agonizing crush is currently raging on for me. i’m pretty sure the object of that crush now thinks i’m a lesbian after having explained my need to tier in the event to him (and also having an icon of marcille donato on discord). it’s now a day since the event’s ended and i’ve been thinking a lot about my orientation - yes, mainly because of him, but also because it’s something i haven’t really figured out about myself. i’ve never liked a girl as much as those two boys, but i consider way more girls from fictional media hot than guys, and there’s also … all of this to consider. i don’t know how else to say it: i do not think there is a heterosexual explanation for my two-year-strong obsession with the not-even-that-fleshed-out relationship of two girls who are not real and are not dating. somehow, they’ve been as much of a constant presence in my life as that first crush was! and so thinking about it today i have decided i do not give a shit if i’ve only ever liked real guys and fake girls, i am bi and nobody gets to decide that except for me. who cares? no one should, except for me! thank you for reading my pouring my heart out about two random anime girls and good night. i need to go to sleep save me honakana

[obetrolncocktails]

Will you still be writing and posting Deception? It was getting so good and it really is only fiction.

Personally, I’m hoping instead of stoping female reader Josh fics altogether that we just become more inclusive and more people feel comfortable to write fics with other pronouns (male, gender neutral etc.). Some of us do identify as female and still simp over Josh now matter who he loves. He’s a good looking man!

Hi nonnie! Thanks for the question. I've got a lot of thoughts, and they aren't targeted to you in particular, but you've sent in a perfect ask to approach this topic.

First of all, nothing changes the josh we know with this announcement. He is still the same person we've known this entire time. He preaches nothing but love, and that shouldn't change based on who he decides to love, regardless of gender. (read more if you're interested)!

As a fic writer, we specialize in writing, you guessed it, fiction! Me stopping how I write is the opposite of what Josh would want, but this announcement DOES allow others who speak from a male, queer or gay point of view to embrace this new perspective. No one, least of all, josh is going to be offended by his fans' stories about love in his name, regardless of who the partner is in fiction. I think it would be quite silly of us to consider that josh doesn't know that there is material with his name and persona attached to it. He's even mentioned in an interview before that it's human nature to want love, to be attracted to someone and their personality, and if I'm not mistaken, he called it art. I think we should continue to create these stories, whatever they may be.

Who Josh is attracted to shouldn't make any of us less attracted to him...what we write isn't biographical, factual content--it's ART. It is up to interpretation. With that being said, we should always care for our characters in the most sensitive and respectful manner, because they are based on real people living real lives.

It is not disrespectful to be attracted to someone who may not be attracted to you. I think that's an illogical expectation.

"Where there is love, we must live on. Where there is not love, we must provide it." Josh speaks these words because he believes it, and we should too.

***

Long story short: yes, I will be continuing deception, but will be broadening how I write Y/n in the future.

[give-soup-please]

This is going to be an odd prompt, but boy do I feel like I need to see this conversation play out with the narrator.

The narrator and the reader have a friendly, non-hostile, but very frank discussion acknowledging what they mean to each other on a conceptual level. The narrator needs his Stanley, his audience, his reader, for him to exist. He is willing to be whatever the reader needs him to be. A friend, a guide, a muse, an enemy, a lover, a father figure, a gentle voice offering comfort, any and all he can and will be. There is no real manipulation or maliciousness involved, he simply is what he is and he will put the whole of his being in to whichever role he takes. Yes he can be malicious, manipulative, obsessive to an unhealthy degree, but only if that is what you want. He can be the villain of your story for you to rage against, someone who truly hates and despises you, if that is what you desire, but he can just as easily be a comforting character who truly, deeply loves and needs you with complete genuineness. He is the ultimate escapist character. Faceless, formless, endlessly compelling and mysterious, always creating new paths for you to walk, with the only answers he can provide being that which you yourself bring to give meaning to him, and the reader is well aware of that, but they have mostly stopped feeling like a fool for clinging to the escapism of it all. They have accepted the tangled web that twines you two. 'The end is never the end' indeed. It is true freedom in a way, to accept things as they are, rather than to deny or fight something that you take comfort in. Besides, he is a muse to you, an inspiration, a creative force to be reckoned with that challenges you to create in ways you had not thought to try before. Your fixation with him has done far more good than harm. His 'death' at the hands of his own creation in an attempt to please you, his audience, a death of the author that you needed to participate in because merely by playing a continuation of a game that was complete and never supposed to have more, you killed the author as surely as the author himself did when he tried to change his finished work. It was freeing for both of you, in a way. You participated in the death of the author right along with the author himself, but he lives on in a thousand different shapes and forms regardless, and he is happy to play his role, because in the end, you are the author too, and he is your Stanley, as much as you are his.

The Branching Path

(This one is long. It's the last official writing I'll be doing for the blog as well. I hope you enjoy it. A few more things to wrap up, and then that will be it. Thanks for coming on this journey with me.)

“You mean a lot to me, you know,” said the reader. The narrator tried, and failed, to suppress a smile.

“Really? Well, I do hope for a six part lecture series on the matter. I’d love to hear in detail how much I’ve influenced and impacted your life.” Such smugness would be outrageous and off putting, if it came from anyone else.

“I’m serious. You do mean a lot to me. You’ve been an endless source of comfort and inspiration. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for it.” Replied the reader. 

The reader paused for a moment, collecting their thoughts. The narrator gave them the space to think. Normally, he loved to fill the silence as much as he could, whenever he could. Today was different. 

Eventually, the reader continued. “I remember in the early days, being so embarrassed by my attachment to you. It wasn’t because of who you were, but… Relying on a fictional character for support…” The reader trailed off. 

“...And now?” The narrator asked.

“Well… I guess I’ve accepted that you’re always going to have a place in my life one way or another. You and I have done so much together, that-” The reader broke off with a laugh. “If I asked you to, would you leave?”

“I couldn’t bear the thought.” His reply was hushed.

“Neither can I. I’ve grown too close to you, I think. Our lives have gotten too meshed together now for us to part ways easily. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I stopped caring about the voices that said I shouldn’t be this way, because your voice was stronger.”

In the face of such earnestness, the narrator’s usual posturing failed to appear. A soft smile was in his voice. “It’s been incredible to watch the two of us grow. I exist on a deeper level, thanks to you. I’m more real now than I ever was before.” 

The two of them stood in silence for a while.

The narrator continued with a small laugh. “It’s funny, isn’t it? How shortly ago our lives began to intertwine. And yet the impact we’ve had on each other-”

The reader blinked rapidly, trying to stem the flow of their emotions. They cleared their throat, keeping their eyes on the floor. After doing their best to make sure their voice wouldn’t crack under the strain, they said,

“I’m sorry. To be honest, if I had things my way, we’d never stop doing this. Just you and me, creating and crafting together, forever. Neither time nor age nor the collapse of society stopping us.”

The narrator spoke again. “You know, I’ve always enjoyed the work we’ve done together. Whatever choice you made, whatever role you cast me in, I loved performing it. I was your villain, I was your victim. Your family, your friend, your guide, your lover- need I go on?”

The reader swallowed. “You don’t have to, but I always loved listening to you talk.”

The narrator laughed again, a quieter, sadder laugh. “I know. And I’ve always enjoyed being what you needed me to be. Not out of obsession, or possession, or desperation, but because… I need you to exist. The story cannot exist without your ideas, and neither can I.”

A longer pause, this time. The reader did their best to not notice the darkness that was closing in on them. The shadows were getting longer, stretching and becoming part of a widespread manifestation of void.

“So. I guess this is it,” Reader said.

“Mmm. An excellent run while it lasted, wouldn’t you say?” asked the narrator.

The reader smiled and looked down. “It’s going to be strange, living without you again.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I’ll never be too far away, if you’d like me to be there for you.” Replied the narrator.

“I mean, I know that. But I also know that things are going to be different, going forward. Change is…”

“It feels terrible sometimes, doesn’t it?”

It was as if the reader’s heart had been gently cracked open, the narrator somehow finding the quickest path to the problem. 

The reader began to cry in earnest. “I- I’m so sorry this is happening to us. If I had known, if we could have had more time together-”

“Shh, Shh. It’s alright. I’m going to disappear soon, but not quite yet. Let’s just enjoy what we have left, and do our best to not run from it. Now, what would you like for us to do together?”

The reader thought about this. “Could… Could I see you?”

A smile was clearly in the narrator’s voice. “Of course. Any particular form you’d like to view today? I could be a shadow, an angel, have a monitor for a head- reader’s choice, as always.”

“Just… I don’t care. I want to see you.” 

The narrator manifested himself. He appeared as an older man, hair tinged with gray, bespeckled. 

“Now, this one is a classic.” He said, tapping the side of his glasses expertly. “Very popular with a large section of fans.”

The reader laughed. 

“Of course, should you wish me to change again, just think about it, and I will.”

There was a small pause.

“What else do you want to do?” The narrator asked.

“I… I’d rather do what you wanted, for once.” the reader replied.

“No, no, no. I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. I’m meant to be whatever is required for the story to work. That is my role. That is what I mean to this world. It always has been. I exist within whatever characterization is given to me.”

“And you’re alright with that?” The reader asked.

“Well, yes. Hundreds of thousands of interpretations of me exist, each one with their own dynamics and flaws. But all of them share something in common.

At the reader’s confused look, the narrator waved one of his hands. “You know, the readers, the writers, the watchers, the listeners- all of them together for one purpose, to keep me tethered to your world.”

The narrator’s smile was warm. “I’ll never be able to thank them enough. Or you, for that matter.”

The reader wrapped their arms around themselves, an attempt at comfort. 

The narrator hummed a worried note. “I can do that for you, if you’d like. That’s… I’ll be here for you, however you need me.”

“I know,” said the reader. 

The narrator waits, to see what will be asked of him. He can’t make a move without input. He’s more similar to Stanley than he realizes.

(The writer’s fingers move rapidly across the keyboard.)

The narrator approaches, and with kindness in his eyes, wraps his arms around the reader.

“...Do you have to go?” the reader asked. 

“I think so. I don’t know how to put this delicately, but- everyone involved in this project needs to rest. And to be honest, I feel… Alright. This needs to happen, there needs to be a clean break for all our sakes.”

After a few moments, the reader takes a step back, and stares at the narrator, taking in every detail. Their eyes narrow.

The reader said, “And if I asked you not to be okay with it? If I asked you to be upset?”

The narrator’s expression began to shift, preparing for the next casting. “If that’s what you wish. Say the word.”

“...Change?”

Something clicked into place. The narrator launched himself into his role. 

“Reader, please! You can’t go. Don’t do this to me, don’t leave me behind! I’ll be anything you need me to be, I’ll do anything you ask!”

“Stop!” the reader’s voice rang out clear, like a bell. And just like that, the narrator was back in a neutral state.

The reader considered this. “What if… What if I wanted you to be romantic?”

“You know the word already.”

“...Change.”

A different characterization slid into place, and suddenly the narrator stared dreamily at the reader.

“Oh, darling… I am going to regret our parting, but I suppose it’s inevitable. How about a final, farewell kiss?”

The reader stared at the narrator incredulously. “What else can I ask for?” This also seemed to release the narrator from his current role.

“Whatever you’d like.” 

“Uh… Antagonistic?” 

The narrator stared very seriously at the reader. “Are you sure? That’s not one my current source does very often. I asked him why once, and he said it makes him sad.”

The reader nodded, spoke the word, and the narrator shifted again.

“Do you actually think you’re the one in control here? Don’t you understand your place in my world? Well, you’ll learn soon enough.”

“And… scene!” The reader said. The narrator relaxed, and the built up tension leaked out of him.     

The reader’s eyebrows were raised. “Your range is incredible.” 

He chuckled. “You’ve hardly seen anything. But I hope you see the point I’m driving at. I am, and have always been, at my audience’s disposal.” 

The circle of darkness was starting to grow around them. The reader pushed back mentally, and it retreated. For now. 

“So, reader, I suppose the question is, what do you need me to be for you to get through this?”

The reader was still trying to hold back their emotions to the best of their ability. “Just-” They took a deep, shuddering breath. “Right now, I need you to be kind. Can you manage that?”

“Of course.” The narrator’s expression shifted. “Of course I can be that for you.” The reader didn’t flinch away. There wasn’t a need to anymore.

“It’s odd, isn’t it?” the reader said. “You live in this form because I want you to, and you give me inspiration in return. I can’t work out who is giving who meaning.”

“Perhaps you don’t have to. Humans are complicated, It’s indicative of your species. Maybe a dynamic doesn’t have to be fully parsed out. We can just delight in the fact that we make each other happy, and let that be enough.”

“That’s… Oddly soothing. Thank you.” 

“Hmm?” he lets out a pleasant noise. “Are you admitting that I make you happy?” 

The reader snorted.

“Yeah. I- Do you think I get this emotional over just anyone? Not all goodbyes are equally hard. I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it. You make me happy. Continually. My life has been made better by your place in it.”

The narrator sighs contentedly. 

The reader rolls their eyes. “You’re so ridiculous sometimes.” The affection is clear in their voice.

“Only because I’m written that way.” 

The wind begins to howl. The darkness is growing. They are both surrounded by void.

“We’re running out of time.” The reader says, though there’s no need to explain it. They both know what’s about to happen. 

The narrator clasps the reader on the shoulder. “Reader, it’s imperative that you listen to me. This form is dying. It has been for a while now. We both knew that what we had wasn’t going to last forever. You knew from the start, and it didn’t take long for me to catch on as well. But if you need me-”

He was starting to disintegrate. It was slow, working from his feet up.

“Focus, reader. Focus on my voice, not what’s coming next. If you ever need me, I’ll be there. You and I can go on another adventure any time you want. You can look up stories about me, write one of your own, find fan art or create it yourself.”

His legs were gone, but he was still managing to stand. 

“It doesn’t matter when, it doesn’t matter where. If you call for me, I'll answer. Our story doesn’t have to end just because we’re both going our separate ways. You can pick it up later, or get someone else to continue it for you. Do you understand?”

The reader nodded, trying very hard to not look at the narrator’s torso, which was unraveling.

“This version of me is about to disappear- however- there are thousands of others. Mourn if you must, but don’t forget that I’m not really dead.” He lets out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad I got all that out before I left. Now, all that’s left to do is… To stop moving.”

The reader felt a surge of panic, of needing to say what was on their heart before it was too late. “Before you go, I need you to know that I didn’t regret a single moment spending time with you.”

The narrator’s smile was radiant, even as it was being eaten at by the darkness. “F-funny, I feel the s-same way.” His voice was straining now, glitching out and filled with static. “O-one last great a-adventure. What do you say, friend?”

“Yes, of course.” The reader said.

“B-being able to do this for you, t-to c-complete my purpose… It’s q-quite rich, really. Reader- I t-think I feel… Happy. I a-actually feel h-happy!” His last laugh was caught by the wind and disappeared before he could finish it. 

He was gone. The reader took a deep breath. The writer took a deep breath. 

Everyone had found the freedom they had been looking for. 

…

Then the ground began to shake. The world shifted, changed, twisted, and suddenly the void was being pushed back again. Where the narrator had been standing a few moments ago, there was a tiny sapling. The reader stared at it in shock.

It glowed a pure white. Roots spread rapidly, digging into the earth. It grew at an alarming pace. The tree unfurled its branches rapidly, each one standing tall and strong. It wasn't made of wood at all. It was made of crystal. Each diamond shaped leaf was a different image. The reader did their best to take in the new information.

Stories- hundreds of them, thousands maybe, were playing out like a film reel. 

And the reader could see. All the different possibilities, all the potential of a character- 

Different genres, plotlines, characterizations- the millions of different interpretations of the narrator that existed. He was a shadow, an angel, a computer, human, nonhuman, everything, anything- 

The reader saw it all. 

There was no change without transformation.

There was no death without some form of rebirth.

The tree moved, lowering one of its branches to the reader’s height. A pair of gardening shears lay at its base.

“It’s quite alright.” The tree said. “I’d like for you to take a few cuttings, and plant them in your own mind. They’ll grow, and a part of me will continue to live on. Only if you want to, of course.”

The reader hesitated. “The writer…”

“The writer doesn’t mind. He’s finished his current task, and he’s about to enter a hibernation period of sorts. But… I’ll let you in on a little secret, shall I? A small bit of confidential information between friends: He took a few branches to plant in his garden. Now, he made it very clear to me that he was taking an extended break. It was a bit laughable, to be honest.” 

He paused as he realized how bad that might sound.

“Not- I mean, I didn’t laugh at him, of course. The poor man looked very worn out. But I found it rather amusing because I am not his keeper. We aren’t beholden to each other in any way. He is not obligated to write for me at all, though he often gets caught up in believing he does. But he still genuinely wants to. I suppose we both struggle with letting things go, after all.”

There are no visible facial expressions on the tree, but you get the impression that the tree is grinning.

“He’s quite irritated by the whole thing, actually. I am, quite possibly, the greatest comfort character he’s ever had. He isn’t done with me, and I’m certainly not done with him. Neither of us are keen to leave the other. Clearly, I am worthy of such a dedicated-”

He’s rambling. He knows he is. He clears his throat, despite not having one anymore, and gets back on track.

“The point being, that he may well come back eventually. As for you, You’re welcome to take part of me with you and reshape it to your own desires, and you’re just as welcome to not do so. The choice has always been yours.”

He waited for the reader to come to a decision on what to do. 

He waited for a very long time.

You made your choice- 

“…And the story continues.”

The end is never the end, really.

It’s just the beginning of something else. 

[defdaily]

‪[TRANSLATION] Arena Homme+ Magazine April 2021 Issue featuring JAY B

Translated by defdaily.

JAY B is free and starting again from scratch. That is what JAY B has in mind. GOT7’s leader announced that he would be leaving JYPE as the group stays together. JAY B is preparing to debut as a solo musician while planning to also release mixtapes and hold exhibitions as Def. We had a chat with JAY B, who has gained more freedom and strength, at the swimming pool about courage, depression, literature and aspirations.

Did you come here alone?

Yes. I took a taxi here. I was the type to go around freely even when I was in JYPE but catching the taxi to work this time around felt new.

All GOT7 members decided to leave JYP but stay together as a group. As a leader, you needed to make a decision, right?

Although we ended up leaving JYPE, we wanted to continue as GOT7. We all agreed to leave [JYPE] and try it between ourselves.The product made from me taking responsibility/taking charge was the single 'Encore’ that was released not too long ago. I was involved in the whole process with a new record label. I was happy to see a good response [to the single]. It was lacking in some areas but I was just very proud that we were able to show a different step. Since we showed through this single that “we did not disband”, what’s next is more important. When we left JYPE, Director Jung Wook mentioned "Your role as a leader starts now." I'm realizing it now.

”I wanted to learn everything about the process of releasing an album and how difficult it is. I wanted to start again from scratch.”

Your role as a leader actually starts now.

I used to find the role of a leader burdensome at times but now I feel a greater sense of responsibility. While supporting each person’s journey, I thought I needed to be the one to step up once we got back together. We also talk regularly in our group chat. Not long ago, Jackson went to China. When Mark went to the USA, I could see him off but when Jackson was leaving, we couldn’t be together because of a schedule. So I told him to have a safe flight, apologised for not being able to see him off and thanked him too. He replied saying he’ll take care and be back.

What motivated you to leave the large agency you've been working with for a long time?

The thought came to mind suddenly as we were promoting as GOT7. Am I taking all these benefits I get for granted? When a schedule is released I just do it, and when they ask me to confirm things I do, but what kind of long process has it gone through before it came to me? Who sends a request and how is it processed? Why am I only waiting until it reaches me and simply watching it unfold? I wanted to be directly involved in that process. I wanted to learn everything about the process of releasing an album and how difficult it is. I want to be humble and start from the bottom again.

Didn't you need the courage?

Of course I did. I was also afraid. My position has risen to all the way up here, but when it comes to my actual knowledge, I think I'm only down there. I was afraid that the difference would feel too big once I left the company. But I think I would have been more afraid if I stayed at JYPE. Since that difference would have grown bigger and bigger. My real self is here, so I should face it head-on a little faster. That's what I thought.

As JAY B or as Def. who releases mixtapes and holds exhibitions, you must have had the desire to do something new.

I want to do research and build it up step by step without haste. JAY B will show hip hop and RnB music that appeals to the general public and Def. will do activities that Def. wants to do. It could be mixtapes or exhibitions, or other different kinds of fictions. Def. is the nickname I used as a bboy before I became a trainee. It’s like air floating about freely. It could be house or soul or acoustic or even modern rock. In a way, you can say that Def. is close to my “main self” but since I debuted as JAY B, I’ll also show a devoted side of myself through JAY B. I want to be a person who can do both what he has to do and what he wants to do freely.

Listening to your mixtapes, and hearing that you like the styles of D’Angelo and Ray Charles, you seem to be attached to the Southern US rhythm and blues and soul music.

I do like them a lot. I like the entire hip-hop culture that originated from there. That culture also includes DJing, graffiti and even bboying. Since I started as a bboy, I would look up older videos to watch, study the culture and also look into what each dance move symbolizes, with my bboying crew and that's how I became fascinated. What captivated me the most was their obstinacy. I felt respect towards the conviction and obstinacy they carried with their culture.

Is that mood still incorporated in your music and dance?

Yes. For example, I don’t think choreography is dance. I think dancing is when music plays and you like the rhythm and start humming and bobbing your head and moving your body. I think dancing is a free act you do out of enjoyment.

What was the reason you joined an idol group after starting out as a bboy?

I gained an interest in music too, not just dancing. When I was young, I listened to D’Angelo’s music and wanted to become a singer like him. But I was rebellious when I first joined JYPE. Haha. I was even suspended for a month once as a trainee. I definitely said hello but they said I didn’t so they said "If you're going to be stubborn, then go home" and me with my young heart replied “Then I shall head home.” and left. Then I met up with my bboying crew after a long time, and in just a few months it turned into a different world. The crew members were above me and I was worried because I could feel myself far away by myself. Should I go back to bboying? Should I continue as a trainee? In the end, I wanted to do my very best in whatever I chose so I decided to focus on becoming a singer. Since I wanted to do music, it was a choice I made with no regrets.

You started as a dancer and ended up as a main vocalist. What was music to you back then?

It was a challenge. Trainees are divided into singing and dancing. I joined as a dancer but what I wanted to do was become a singer and not just do dance. But since I was put into the dancing division, I worked even harder with singing to break that prejudice. I often felt defeated. I still feel defeated with singing. Haha. But music is about endless research. Now it’s more about research than studying.

You grew up as an only child to your parents who did farming?

I was an ordinary kid. I enjoyed Haruki’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and thought the “colourless” kid was just like me. I was a calm kid who helped his parents with their farm work. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have any older siblings but they said I used to talk to myself a lot. My mother said there was a way she would know if I was home or not. If I was home, she would hear me talk to myself and be like “Oh really?” “Yes really” haha.

It’s extraordinary to read Haruki at that age.

There was an older friend that I knew and he was really cool. He looked really cool reading on the bus with his legs crossed. He said “Hey, Read a book and build up some knowledge.” As I was trying to be cool like him, I gained a favourite author and started reading more since I enjoyed it.

What kind of books do you like?

When I was a teenager I often read Kafka On The Shore. It felt like Kafka was just like me, and so while reading it, I even cried. The style of Murakami Radio was also interesting. The ending phrase “But I like that more…” was very witty. I’m collecting books from secondhand bookstores from authors who won the Young Author awards. I like Lee Jang-wook's short story Byeon Hee-bong. The main character knows the actor Byun Hee-bong, but the world doesn't know him. He would ask "Don't you know Byun Hee-bong from the movie The Host?" But no one knows. I like stories that don’t intend to be funny but they end up making me giggle.

What do you read these days?

I try to read poetry. I purchased and read the first volume that appeared on Moonji’s Poetry Collection, but it has too many Hanja characters. Haha. I started with Munhwak’s Poetry Collection. I have volumes 1 to 85. I also read poet Park Joon's collection of poems and poet Lee Eun-gyu's Affectionate Name. I even underlined and wrote things down.

Among the idols and musicians I’ve met, I think you are the most extensive reader.

We went on tours often and we would have a lot of time in my hotel room. When I went out I took pictures and when I stayed in my hotel room I read books. When I go on an overseas tour, I pack around 30 books in my suitcase. Then I bring back the books that left an impression on me, and those that didn’t sometimes I dispose of them there. These days, I look for independent publications too. I often look for independent publishing bookstores in Nakseongdae or Haebangchon. There are many books that contain honest stories that are not refined, and the power of those sentences is great.

How does reading influence your work?

The poetic expressions with poetic license help when writing lyrics. You read a new sentence and think “What is this expressing?” You receive inspiration from that image being expressed in a new way. I think of lyrics as poetry too. There are times I write how I feel honestly, but when I want to include a certain meaning I’d want to write the lyrics like poetry.

In your photo exhibition <ALONE> last year, you took pictures of objects and signs in the middle of the road.

Wouldn't it feel very lonely if you think about it from an object’s point of view? The camera captures just an instance but the object will stay there. I think each person has an insatiable loneliness. I like the artist Seonglib’s works, and I feel loneliness in his drawings. I don't know why I keep talking about loneliness, I guess I’m familiar with loneliness.

Seems like you take more pictures of objects and landscapes than people.

I don’t really like taking pictures of people. You can clearly see a person’s emotions in their eyes. I prefer hiding things rather than revealing them too much. I prefer objects, backgrounds, and natural objects rather than subjects that openly express 'It's me!'. Tranquil things, I like when you go past something and go “that’s how it was.” I try my best since my job requires being presented to people but that’s also how I am.

Who do you like as a movie director?

I like Woody Allen’s directing. My favourite is Match Point. It's a love story that goes beyond taboos, and it's electrifying. The face of the actor who secretly asks the reunited lover to give him her number remains in my memory for a long time. How could he direct such a real-looking, raw look in their eyes? When I was a theater and film major, I used to take directing classes rather than acting. If I were to direct a film, I would like to shoot an eccentric witty romantic comedy like Love Fiction directed by Jeon Gye-soo.

Are you self-conscious as an artist?

I’m interested in a variety of genres, and interact with crews often, but I think goofing off just because they are an artist is an arrogant attitude. Everyone is their own artist, no matter what they do, right? I'm not trying to be pretentious, I just think there's a difference in expression, and people who work in the office are also doing their own art. That’s why I’m a little shy about the title “artist.” Is there a need to be puffed up with pride because I’m an artist? I’m just a person.

While filming for “What's in my bag” and revealed your medications for depression and panic disorder. When did you face your depression?

I didn’t know I had depression. I thought I was being weak for a short while and let it pass. But on an occasion I got examined and found out I had depression. They asked how I lived by without going to the psychiatrist. I said I just thought I was the type to feel blue. Haha. I’m the type that doesn’t show [what is wrong] but they said I was in a state where I needed treatment. After going to counselling and taking medications, I’m much better now.

“I just wanted to talk about it. It may not show, but depression is both a common and dangerous illness.”

I think you’re cool for having the courage to talk about this.

I got diagnosed and looked at the people around me. There are friends who are ashamed of it and try to hide it, and there are friends who talk about it as if it’s insignificant. I just wanted to talk about it. It may not show, but it’s both a common and dangerous illness. A mental illness is an illness too. Among my fans, or those who read this interview, if there is someone who feels depressed, don’t be ashamed of it and I hope you receive treatment and overcome it. It’s not an embarrassing thing and it doesn’t need to be hidden. And I was filming content where I show what’s inside my bag; I can’t lie. I wish everyone would be healthy.

Are you bad at lying?

Yes. If I have to tell a lie, I think it’s just better to not say anything. Since I’m the type that’s honest and straightforward, I also don’t like beating around the bush.

Can you share a way one can take a step forward towards recovering from depression?

Look at the world in a broad view. Know that there are many places you haven’t been to yet and there are many things you haven’t felt yet. It's also good to take a walk and go off your usual route and take a path you've never been on. Small adventures can also be of great help. Just by leaving the house you’re already halfway there. I think there are more ways you can refresh yourself outside rather than inside. Also, I thought I was an honest person but after being diagnosed with depression, I thought I should be more honest with myself and more faithful to myself. At times like this, think of yourself before others.

What do you believe in?

I just believe in god. I don’t have a religion. I don’t know what kind of existence god is but I do believe that there is a god. When I’m thankful or am having a hard time, I pray. “Thank you.” “Please let me get through this wisely.”

What is the greatest motivation that moves you?

As long as I’m alive, I want to continue doing work that will leave a message. I believe that there is no next life. I think I should live this time diligently to the fullest. To have no regrets.

Translated by defdaily.

[chantalstacys]

What books have you been reading lately? I love romance novels too 🙈 they’re so fun

romance novels are fun!!! i just started reading them this year, before i pretty much only read biographies and classic fiction. everyone always told me that romance novels were supposed to be trashy and stupid but i’ve been enjoying them ☺️ so whatever to them

anyway! you can look at my books tag for other books i’ve read this year but here’s what i read since my last update~~

♡ the seven husbands of evelyn hugo (women’s fiction) i almost loved this one! i loved the story and i loved reading an old hollywood themed book but the writing honestly felt so dry, which was a shame because i really wanted to feel more invested in it. i really wasn’t that attached to anybody and honestly the twist didn’t really phase me

♡ finally read flowers for algernon and yes tears were shed and yes felt numb when i finished it and no i don’t want to talk about it. it was great and it moved me and frustrated me and i’m leaving it at that

♡ from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler (children’s/YA) omg the CUTEST and funniest book i've read in a long time. this is what i needed after flowers. it truly spoke to my inner child because i definitely had (have?) fantasies of running away and living in a museum

♡ i’m currently finishing up how to fake it in hollywood (romance) and the first half was good but now i’m just trying to finish it and move on. BUT the spice is good lol. if you want to read a hollywood romance, funny you should ask is definitely the one i’d recommend first!!!

♡ things we never got over by lucy score (romance) it wasn’t what i thought it was going to be! from the cover art i thought it would be weepy and sappy but it was actually very fun and sexy and i was really charmed by it! it’s super long (perhaps longer than it needed to be) but i read it in two days

♡ tessa bailey!! i read it happened one summer, hook line and sinker (both romance) and my killer vacation (romance, mystery). IHOS had the best story and characters and spice by FAR. they’re all cute, casual reads and they feel like watching a movie

♡ DREAMLAND BILLIONAIRES BY LAUREN ASHER (both romance again lol) oh my god, the disney world fantasies of my dreams. terms and conditions was good (i love a good fake relationship) but the fine print is the one. it has a sexy, broody, secret artist “dreamland” (disneyland) heir, a cute girl that reads regency romance, a disney park date i read twice in a row, fantastic smut and it’s mostly set in a pretend disney world, so i felt like it was written just for me. i’m very excited for the last one to come out next year

anyway! that’s mostly what i’ve been reading lately. and now i’m really looking forward to my fall list 🍂 and i’m branching out a little more this season!

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Maeve//i don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you

Request: Could you please do something else with Maeve? Perhaps something where reader works with Maeve on an English project and she's surprised that they have so much in common. She realizes she has feelings for her somehow after that? Sorry that's sort of rubbish, have a swell day/night.

hey! what’s up everybody! i hope everyone is well, and i hope you like this!! title is from ‘the lakes’ by taylor swift! 

- English projects are never fun 

- I mean, who finds constant stress and a deadline that’s always far too close fun?

- Nobody

- That’s who

- Well apart from Mrs Jones

- Your year 9 English teacher who made every minute of her classes a living hell

- And who mysteriously went missing half way through the year after having a screaming match with a fellow English teacher

- When she was supposed to be teaching you Romeo & Juliet. 

- One day she was accusing Miss Newman of being a terrible teacher and purposefully bumping up students grades so she looked better 

- And the next day both her and Miss Newman were gone 

- And you only got a replacement teacher when you moved into year 10

- Right now though 

- Its seems Miss Sands is going through some stuff 

- Because not only did she give you an assignment on Friday with a deadline of Monday 

- She also chose your partners instead of letting you choose your own

- Which is why you’re stood outside of Maeve’s in the pouring rain

- On a frankly miserable Saturday morning 

- It seems the weather knew exactly what sort of weekend you were facing 

- And decided to make it even worse. 

- By the third knock 

- You’re about to give up 

- The curtains are still drawn 

- And you’ve seen more movement in a graveyard 

- Plus

- You kind of already assumed you would be doing the project alone 

- Maeve Wiley was known for being very...

- ...independant 

- And group projects are no different 

- You actually think she may be more independent during group projects

- So as soon as Miss Sands paired you together 

- You knew 

- You were 99% sure that 

- You’d do your thing

- She’d do hers 

- And then five minutes before the presentation 

- You would figure out a way to connect the two.

- Anywayyyy

- While daydreaming about a time when you won’t have any assignments 

- And making awkward, accidental eye contact with Maeve’s neighbours 

- The door in front of you opens 

- Simultaneously giving you a fright and almost knocking you out

- She yawns and scratches the top of her head 

- ‘what are you doing here?’ 

- She sounds both tired and annoyed and you blink at her a few times before answering 

- ‘er - i - the project. for english.’ 

- It takes her a few seconds to process what you’ve said 

- But when she does 

- She looks even more miserable than she did five seconds ago

- And you brace yourself for a long weekend 

- She sighs and rolls her eyes 

- Before slowly opening the door properly and letting you in

- You feel slightly nervous as you walk in 

- But you really have no idea why

- It’s not like she’s a complete stranger 

- But then again 

- She’s not exactly a friend 

- ‘don’t worry, i’ve hidden the drugs. i don’t really like to share anyway.’ 

- ‘what?’ you ask confused and she rolls her eyes again 

- She huffs and crosses her arms before nodding to the slightly messy living room

- ‘i get it. we’re a bunch of benefit fraud chavs that do nothing but drink and smoke all day.’ 

- ‘that’s not what i was thinkin-’ 

- ‘sure it wasn’t.’ she rolls her eyes and you stare down at the floor. ‘i need to get changed so make yourself at home I suppose.’ 

- She walks into what you assume is her bedroom and slams the door behind her 

- Leaving you to stand awkwardly in the middle of the living room

- It’s small and slightly cramped 

- And most people would say that all the stuff makes it look busy 

- But to you 

- It’s wonderful 

- It’s filled with stories and memories 

- Some self explanatory 

- Some slightly more bizarre 

- Like the wonky blue and yellow clay swan living on the coffee table 

- You really want to know the story behind it 

- But decide it might be a little early in your partnership to start asking about her attachment to a half swan, half moth looking ornament

- So instead you pick up a pile of books on the dining table and move them onto the floor 

- You can hear Maeve opening and closing drawers while humming a familiar tune 

- And you feel yourself relax slightly as you place your laptop and books where the books were previously sat 

- Even if it does feel like you’re using all of your braincells to try and figure out where you’ve heard it before 

- ‘wow, do you actually trust me around that?’ 

- ‘what?’ you stop humming and look up at her 

- She looks between you and the laptop, staring at you expectantly 

- ‘oh no. i mean of course i do.’ you blush and she shakes her head before sitting opposite you 

- ‘so what do we know about women in fiction?’ 

- ‘historically they are written as either a femme fatalle type or some sort of innocent angelic being.’ 

- ‘they still are’ 

- ‘true’ you agree and flick through your textbook

- ‘why don’t we write about that then?’ 

- ‘what? how we’re still depressingly far back in the equality movement, despite being told otherwise?’ 

- She stares at you for a few seconds 

- A mixture of shock and surprise 

- Before nodding 

- And smiling 

- An actual genuine smile 

- You didn’t even know she could do that 

- Well you did 

- Of course you did 

- But you just haven’t seen it a lot 

- Usually when you see Maeve 

- She’s either mad, grumpy or very, very, very angry

- But her smiling 

- Puts a smile on your face 

- And this was definitely not where you thought this was going 

- ‘yeah...that’ 

- ‘okay.’ you shrug. ‘you can do classic literature because i know you prefer them and i’ll cover modern works.’

- ‘how do you know i prefer classics?’ 

- ‘the pile of books’ you nod towards the floor and she follows your gaze, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. ‘they’re all ripped and folded. you either love them or really, really hate them’ 

- ‘okay’ she eyes you suspiciously as you focus on your laptop 

- And you can feel your cheeks heat up under her gaze 

- However as quickly as they were there 

- They disappear 

- And the two of you fall into a surprisingly comfortable silence. 

- After about half an hour 

- Maeve stops what she’s doing to stretch 

- ‘is it okay if i play some music?’ 

- ‘sure, it’s your place. do what you want...as long as its not awful’ 

- ‘and what constitutes as awful?’ she asks, a smirk playing on her lips

- ‘well’ 

- And with that one question 

- Your entire day disappears in front of you 

- Laptops and books are closed and long forgotten 

- And instead you talk about music and movies 

- Books and plays 

- Characters that you love and hate 

- And the fact that her favourite character is the one you hate the most 

- She makes you lunch while you debate between movies and books and which adaptations are good

- And which ones should never have been made

- And you clean up and apologise profusely after a stray cushion (possibly thrown by you) ends up knocking the pan over 

- Surprisingly 

- She finds it quite funny 

- And you let out a relieved sigh

- Soon the sun goes down on another day 

- And you’ve barely written two paragraphs done between you

- ‘do you want to stay?’ she asks while your putting your jacket on

- If she’d asked you that this morning 

- You would have thought she had lost it 

- But now it feels almost inevitable 

- And you feel genuinely lucky to be asked 

- Not many people get to know Maeve 

- The real her 

- And that last person she told all of this to broke her heart 

- Very publicly 

- And she told herself she would never let herself be that vulnerable with someone ever again

- But this just feels right 

- For some reason you feel right 

- She feels safe with you 

- And part of her hates herself for it 

- But then again 

- She hates herself for not getting to know you sooner

- She feels far too attached to you 

- And it’s barely been twelve hours 

- You of course agree to stay 

- Shocking yourself and her 

- And while she sorts to sofa out 

- You excuse yourself to the bathroom 

- Under the pretences of telling your parents where you are 

- It takes two seconds to text them 

- And the other 28 to ask yourself 

- What the fuck are you doing? 

- Why are you agreeing to this? 

- Why do you feel like this? 

- What are you feeling?

- Who knows?

- Not you 

- Great 

- Now you’ve been in the bathroom for a suspicious amount of time 

- Just get it together, Y/n

- It’s just a study sleepover 

- Maeve gives you a questioning look as you leave 

- ‘you know how mums are. always worrying about where you are and what you’re doing’ 

- ‘i wouldn’t actually’ she shrugs and your eyes widen 

- ‘oh shit, sorry. i’m so sorry. god, i’m an idiot.’

- ‘it’s fine’ she forces a laugh and you wince. ‘i got you an extra duvet and little women is ready to watch so i can show you that the book is better’ 

- ‘that’s not what i said and you know it’ 

- ‘i’m sorry. i can’t hear you over the sound of me being 100% right and you being 100% wrong.’ 

- ‘you may be good at english, but you suck at maths’ 

- The next day you wake up to the sun shining through the curtains 

- And a clump of Maeve’s hair in your mouth 

- You splutter and cough and wake her up quickly 

- And she jumps away from you and smacks her head of the table 

- The two of you ended up moving the blankets to the floor while watching Pride and Prejudice 

- And neither of you bothered to move back 

- Maeve yawns and scratches her head

- Exposing a small part of her stomach and you feel yourself become a little breathless 

- ‘are you okay?’ 

- ‘ye-yeah’ you nod and she eyes you suspiciously 

- ‘whatever’ she shrugs and starts making breakfast 

- You watch as she pours to bowls of cereal

- Giving you the last of the milk 

- And for a second you’re a little worried as to how she knew you liked it 

- But then you remember that she also likes it and you had a whole discussion about the best and worst types of cereal at 2am 

- And half way through breakfast 

- You remember the original reason you’re here 

- And both of you curse loudly 

- Before rushing to finish eating 

-You get half way through your project 

- When Maeve asks if you want to go out for a bit 

- And well 

- She doesn’t need to ask you twice 

- And by the time you come back 

- The feeling you had last night returns 

- And has settled in your stomach 

- For the foreseeable future it seems 

- It makes you feel both light and heavy at the same time 

- And when you look at her 

- You feel dizzy 

- So you rush to finish the project 

- So you can go home and pretend nothing has changed 

- And yeah 

- With the need to leave 

- You get the rest of the assignment done fairly quickly 

- But you end up leaving feeling more confused about Maeve as you did when you started this 

- Maybe Miss Sands was right about a weekend project 

- Any longer and you would have gone insane trying to figure out whatever the hell this is 

- You just have to get through tomorrow and then you’ll be okay 

- Everything will go back to normal 

- You and Maeve can go back to being neutral to each other

- And you won’t have to deal with all of these confusing feelings that have decided to make an appearance for some reason 

- Wellll

- Turns out Miss Sands was wrong 

- A weekend is not enough time 

- And the first few presentations are awful 

- To put it nicely 

- So you spend the next week in a permanent confused state 

- Confused as to why you start looking for Maeve whenever you enter a room

- Confused as to why your heart skips a beat whenever you hear her laugh 

- Confused as to why you never want her stop talking in class 

- Even if the bell has rung and it’s lunch 

- Confused to why you keep looking for excuses to go over to see her 

- Despite your assignment being long done 

- And even more confused as to why you feel anxious when you’re waiting for her to answer the door

- The next Monday rolls around both painfully slowly and far too quickly 

- And while you wait for Ola and Danny to finish their presentation 

- Your hands shake with anxiety while your grip your papers 

- Maeve reaches over the table and gives them a reassuring squeeze 

- But it just makes them shake more and she slowly pulls back 

- Your turn can’t come quick enough 

- But then it’s over far too quickly 

- And you slump back down in your seat disappointed 

- Despite Miss Sands’ praise 

- Because it’s over 

- You no longer have an excuse to hang out with her 

- You never talked before 

- So why do you care about after 

- But there’s so much about her that you want to know

- Like the weird swan/moth hybrid 

- And the ugly plate that sits on top of the bookshelf 

- You want to be part of these stories 

- You want to be able to point to these things and say

- ‘yeah, i know exactly why that is special to you’ 

- You want to be the reason to add to this random collection of stuff 

- You want her to smile when she looks at them because they’ll remind her of you 

- You want her to smile when she looks at you 

- ‘y/n? are you okay?’ she asks making you jump 

- The classroom is now empty and you didn’t even notice the bell go 

- ‘ye-yeah’ you nod and grab your bag

- ‘are you sure?’ she grabs your arm forcing you turn around 

- ‘whats the weird swan thing on your coffee table?’ you ask and she furrows her eyebrows at you. ‘it’s just i saw it when i first came over and i really want to know the story behind it’ 

- ‘oh. aimee went through a pottery phase last year and that was the only thing she made that didn’t have a hole in it.’

- ‘and the plate?’ 

- ‘birthday present from my neighbours’ 

- ‘they got you a plate?’ 

- ‘yeah, they don’t have any kids’ 

- ‘clearly’ 

- Silence fills the room and you stare at the peeling posters behind her head 

- You can feel Maeve move closer to you and your breath hitches when she stops a few centimetres in front of you 

- She grabs your hand and squeezes it again 

- And your heartbeat increases 

- ‘y/n?’ 

- ‘yeah?’ 

- ‘i’m really, really confused right now. like more confused that i have ever been in my life. but what i do know, is that if i watch you walk out of that door without saying anything first, then i’d regret it for the rest of my life. i’ve only ever felt like this about boys before, but now i feel this and more about you and i have no idea where it’s come from or what i need to do, but i do know i need to tell you. because otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair for either of us’ she whispers and you stare at her wide eyed 

- ‘can i kiss you?’ she asks and you nod your head quickly 

- Slowly she leans in

- Her eye flutter closed and you follow 

- Your lips brush over hers 

- Her hands wrap around you waist to pull you close

- And then your lips connect 

- And you feel everything change 

- She kisses you slowly 

- And when you pull away you both feel breathless 

- Her cheeks are bright red 

- And there’s a shy smile playing on her lips as she looks at you bashfully

- And all of a sudden you feel really grateful for Miss Sands and her personal issues 

- Although you really hope they are resolved now 

- For your sake as well as hers

support my writing! if you want! 

[un2-verse]

BILLY — Kim Taehyung (3)

Synopsis: News of a Sadistic Serial Killer nicknamed “Jigsaw” is spreading around town like wildfire… the nickname stemming from the puzzle piece he cuts from every victim’s body. No one knows who he’ll trap next but in a town full of delinquents and criminals, it could never be you. Right?

Pairing: yandere!Taehyung x f!reader

genre: angst, horror, weirdly some fluff lol

Warnings: dark themes, yandere, stalking, manipulation, conditioning, mentions of abuse, suicidal ideations/attempts, self harm, murder, depictions of torture etc (basically its gorey and fucked up), angel trap, etc stabbing and guns. do not read if triggered!!!!

wordcount: 2.2k

taglist: @yes-sol-not-soul @yoongiofmine

a/n: pt 3 is here!! honestly i wasnt expecting this amount of support as i’ve never published my writing before so thank u sm ♡ i was inspired to write this one night and i had no idea where it’d go or anything but i’m happy with the way its turning out :D fun fact abt me, i’ve been obsessed w the franchise since i was little and i actually have 2 saw tattoos, one of billy and one above saying “cherish your life” since that’s pretty much the motto of saw :) and i have quite the collection of saw/billy items so why not turn my fav horror film into a fucked up love story! let me know if u would like to be added to the taglist and pls enjoy reading^^ feel free to send me asks abt the series or anything u want~ i love hearing from u guys!! :D ps— taehyung and the reader dont have much interaction in this part,, theyll definitely be more of them together in part 4 :) unedited so pls excuse any mistakes!! tysm <33 and remember these are fictional characters and do not represent bts personally in any way!!

series masterlist

part one part two

The headlines constantly named the Jigsaw Killer, Billy. The somewhat eerie little doll that had a face as white as a Calla Lily with spirals on it’s cheeks as red as the blood that was shed during the tests. Billy was always dressed in a little black suit with a red bowtie and he was (most of the time) situated on a squeaky battered tricycle. Attached was always a tape that read “play me” and when the subjects did, a chilling voice— one that could make even the world's worst predators shiver with terror— would echo around the room.

Everyone knew that a doll clearly wasn’t responsible, yet they gave it the name Billy in hopes to somewhat humanise the face that instilled panic— they did not want to live in fear.

It was the only face behind the killings.

But this time, there was a different subject stuck in the test and Billy had made sure there was no way for them to survive.

“How are you scared of heights? You’re practically a giant yourself!”

“Just because I’m tall doesn’t mean I can’t be scared of heights Y/Nie.”

You had no idea how long had passed since Taehyung had turned up at the garage, you were too busy chatting away squeezed into the kitchen while your Dad, Yoongi and Hobi worked on the cars in the shop. If anyone could hear you both, they would think you’d known eachother since childhood— the playful jokes and light touches exaggerated that.

You’d only known him for a few hours really, if you added the time spent with him on the first day and now. It hadn’t seemed like all those weeks ago that you first met, he had a familiar presence, as though you had known him for years compared to the hours.

“I just wouldn’t imagine you to be scared of anything Taehyung… you seem so confident and fearless.”

You saw the way Taehyung looked at you. His eyes flashed with understanding.

“I did have my fears back then, much like yours.”

“What do you mean?” you had a rough idea on what he meant but you needed him to voice it.

A deep inhale and the words flowed from his lips before he could stop it, “The fear of living. I had been through some stuff you know, growing up. My mum was working a lot and my dad was an alcoholic, he was so fucking possessive and wouldn’t let her go anywhere without kicking off. It was a fucking shitshow and so toxic. This one time though, I’d pretended that I’d gone to school and waited outside the front door. It didn’t take long before I heard shit getting smashed and my dad shouting.” Taehyung was telling the truth only, he left out the part where he was also as possessive, if not more, than his father. Well, let's say… obsessive. “I just ran in the house and saw my dad towering over my mum and I don’t remember what happened but, I do remember my mum crying and my dad disappeared.”

Now Taehyung was lying through his teeth. He remembered clearly, almost like it was yesterday. He smashed the nearest bottle, pulled his mother away from the monster that scared her and stabbed him. Not just once, not twice but thirty-seven times. Hence the thirty seven tattoo on the palm of his right hand (the one he’d actually killed his father with). There was only Taehyung who knew what it meant, he counted every single time the broken glass pierced his father’s body, he counted with a smile on his face and a chuckle in his throat.

You were at a loss for words. Your mouth gaped in shock, eyes wide and your brain scrambled for the right thing to say. You reached over and grabbed his hand, interlacing your fingers. His thumb running back and forth along your hand. “I’m sorry, I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like.” There was no way you could relate, your mother and father were happy and in love. They had the ideal relationship, one you wished for yourself. You could empathise though.

“You don’t need to be sorry baby, it’s in the past and I’ve moved on from it. I was like you though, poisoned by the roots that keep you on the ground even though you wanted nothing more than to break free and be no longer.” A silence fell over you both before Taehyung uttered, “I wasn’t successful with my attempt so now I’m here to help you.”

Warmth spread throughout your body, a smile graced your features as you no longer felt alone.

You had a completely different idea to what those words actually meant.

It was nearing the evening when Taehyung’s car had been fixed. Yoongi popped his head in the kitchen to tell him but stopped himself so as to not interrupt the scene before him. You were laughing along to whatever Taehyung was babbling about with your hand resting on his bicep, with that look in your eyes that he hadn’t seen for years. Yoongi felt himself smile as he saw you hanging onto Taehyung's every word.

For the first time in forever, you looked alive.

Yoongi cleared his throat which drew yours and Taehyung’s attention, “Sorry to interrupt guys. We’ve finished with your car so whenever you’re ready we’ll be outside.” The infamous gummy smile overtook his features, you felt yourself beam in return.

“Thanks man! I’ll be like, five minutes.”

Yoongi nodded his head in reply and swiftly left the room.

You’d taken Tae’s hand into yours, playing with the array of rings that occupied his fingers. Solemn thoughts overtook, am I not gonna see him again? Was this, whatever this is, over before it had even begun? Your eyes stayed on his hand as you turned it over and traced your finger over the inked ‘thirty seven’ on his palm. “What does this mean?”

Taehyung didn’t think twice before he practically beamed out, “It’s my lucky number.”

The difference was, it wasn’t really his lucky number… although he did see it that way. It was the number that had stayed with him. It was something he was proud of, whenever he looked at the hand that killed his father, his chest filled with pride and a joyous feeling overtook his senses. It was his first murder. Something he relished in and thus, created the onslaught of Jigsaw killings. He targeted a certain type— those whose sins would lock them up forever if they were ever found out. Racists, murderers, rapists, drug dealers, con-men. Authoritative figures who abused their power. He even went as far as subjecting suicidal people.

You see, things aren’t sequential. Good doesn’t lead to good, nor bad to bad. People who steal, don’t get caught, they live the good life. Others lie, cheat and get elected.

Some people would call it karma but Taehyung, he called it justice.

He’d started this with one thing on his mind— those that don’t appreciate life do not deserve it.

Whenever a serial killer was on the loose, the press did what they always did. They gave them a nickname. While the public had named the doll Billy. The actual killer was named ‘Jigsaw’.

This stemmed from the jigsaw piece that was cut from the victims skin, no one knew why he was doing it or what it even stood for.

It did have a meaning although unknown to the public.

The jigsaw piece that was cut from the subjects was only ever meant to be a symbol that that subject was missing something. A vital piece of the human puzzle. The survival instinct.

After all, until a person is faced with death, it’s impossible to tell whether they have what it takes to survive.

Across town an underground abandoned warehouse, was where the next subject had found themselves.

They were suspended in the air, their feet merely dangling above the ground. The putrid smell of death lingered in every crevice, the sound of rats scurrying along the concrete floor filled their ears just as they began to stir awake.

A pain in their ribs was the overwhelming factor to them finally coming around. When they groggily opened their eyes, they were paralised with fear due to the scene in front of them.

A doll sat a few feet ahead, perched upon a tricycle. Adorned with a black suit and a red bowtie. A slow red light flashed in his eyes.

Billy.

Before the subject could even register how, when or why they found themselves trapped in a test, footsteps echoed behind them. The subject called out, “Help! Please, somebody help! I shouldn’t be here!”

A tsk reached their ears, as a disembodied voice replied, “Trust me, no one can hear you. Scream all you like. You’d just be wasting your breath, you may as well cherish it before it's gone.”

With hairs stood on end, the subject stilled. “What do you want from me?”

“I don’t want anything from you.” The man's footsteps grew louder. “I’m here to serve justice, that’s all.”

The man rounded the subject, settling in their view with only his cloaked back visible while he tended to the little doll. He touched Billy delicately—like he was a little child that he loved dearly. He combed his gloved hand through the doll's black hair and eventually pulled his fingers from the tresses to pat his head gently.

“You fucking psycho! Let me go!”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that which only infuriated the subject more causing them to shake in anger, a movement they soon ceased when they realised something was penetrating their ribs.

“I’d be very careful if I was you, we wouldn’t want you hurting yourself now… would we?” The cloaked figure spun around. An angry glint to his eye.

“What the fuck, you’re fucking crazy. Let me out, this isn’t right!” The subject tried their hardest to swing their legs, to somehow kick the man who’d imprisoned them.

“I think you’ll find it is right. You’re unworthy of the body you possess.” He inched closer, “see, when someone purposely intends to harm others, they lose their right to life.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

The man arched a brow as he replied, “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He felt like it was a game of cat and mouse except, he was a tiger and his subject, was the tiniest prey to mankind. “But, let me remind you! Since you can’t get your thick fucking head to work. You’re a liar, a cheater and an abuser. That ring any bells?”

The subject's face dropped.

“Ah, I see by your expression you know exactly what I’m talking about! Glad to see we’re on the same page.” He shrugged his cloak off placing it to the side of the doll. “I want to play a game.”

“What game? This isn’t a fucking game! You’re sick in the head you fucking cunt!”

The atmosphere shifted, the man remained calm while the subject went ballistic.

“What is this? What fucking game?”

“You feel the machine that’s currently occupying your ribs? Well, in about ten minutes that’s going to rip you apart. I’m proud to say that trap is my baby. I’ve been working on it especially for you! How nice is that?” he reached out to tug at the subject’s legs, tormenting them like a cat would a mouse. “Anyway, as my beautiful angel trap will rip you apart, my darling little friend Billy over here,” the subject followed the direction the man's hand pointed, “is going to match your face with the ugliness of your soul.”

“Fuck, fuck this! How do I stop it? Tell me how I fucking stop it!”

A boxy grin overtook the man's face, laughter poured from his mouth as he leaned over and slapped the subject’s leg. “This is a special game.”

“Who are you? What do you mean by ‘special game’?”

He raised himself so he stood tall and grabbed a knife from his pocket, “I’m the man you call Jigsaw.” He traced the tip of the knife along the subject’s ankle, “and when I say a special game… I mean you can’t get out.” While the subject was screaming in realisation, Taehyung walked back for his cloak, hung it over his shoulder and stalked off back the way he came. He sent one last smile to the subject as he rounded them and within the blink of an eye, he gripped the knife and slashed the subject’s achilles.

A chilling scream pierced the eerie atmosphere, the subject couldn’t string words together. Abundances of anxiety, terror and pure panic took reign of their body. Taehyung grabbed the injured muscles and forced his gloved fingers in as he gripped and twisted them, “That’s for Y/N.”

Taehyung had pressed the timer before he cut the subject’s tendons. He grabbed the tape from his pocket and threw it on the ground and with a chuckle he shouted, “Game over!”

Before he reached the end of the hallway, he heard the gunshots pierce his subjects face followed by the sound of the angel trap, even this far away Taehyung heard every crack of the ribs and the noise of the body being tore apart.

Without looking back, Taehyung rounded the corner and slammed the door shut.

He’d chosen the Angel trap for the irony, the subject that was currently hanging from the ceiling was no angel. They were a fucked up, evil, waste of space. Taehyung had done the world a favour, he’d done you a favour.

That got him thinking, how much blood would you shed in order to stay alive?

[a/n: who do we think was in the trap???👀]

[maireadralph]

Entrapdak Zine 5 - “Nostalgia” is now open for submissions!!

Did you know this issue will mark two years of this Entrapdak Zine? I’m just as surprised as you!

Right let’s down to business!

The deadline for this issue will be Saturday JULY 1st 2021 at 9AM GMT.

What’s that in your timezone? Go here for a Handy Dandy Countdown -> https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/wfh?iso=20230701T09&p0=136&msg=Entrapdak+Zine+5+Deadline&font=hand&csz=1

I am flexible on this Deadline so anything that arrives on this date or by my 9am the next day July 2nd is allowed (I’m in the GMT timezone BTW)

I am LESS flexible on the Extension Deadline (see FAQs Section for more information on that)

The Zine will be out mid July the actual date is flexible and dependant on when all the Submissions come in and my own personal work schedule.

So most of this is the same as the last few - really if it ain’t broke don’t fit it!  Also a polite reminder I am only one person running this and I am a part time Barista.  It may take me a little time to reply to emails/comments especially after the Deadline time (when I have the most amount of work to do on this project) so please be patient with me.

Our basic guidelines are the same as last issue.  This is:

A Digital pdf Zine containing content created by the fans for the fans

A 100% Free Zine

Preferred Language is English

SFW content suitable for a Y7-PG13 age range (same as the show’s age rating)

You may notice I run this different to other zines as there is no sign up period, just submit work before the deadline - I’d rather people have more time to work on their pieces 

Anyone can submit regardless of age or skill level - this is not a job application - just follow the guidelines and email in your work

Submission can be Fan Writing (poems, fan fiction, character analysis, eassys etc), Fan Art, or even photos of your Entrapdak IRL content (cosplays, fancrafts etc)!  You can submit an older work that you have published online previously if you wish - or even update a work you submitted to the last Zine! Just have fun!

Guidelines applicable to all work:

Content Age Rating:

Like the show this Zine will contain content rated Y7 and PG13 rated - so please no swearing 

There WILL BE NO NSFW or 18+ content - where possible let’s keep this suitable for all ages please 

Sub note on character minimum clothing requirements: 

for male presenting characters to be speedos/underpants

for female presenting characters to be a bikini/bra and underpants 

if not sure please use the female presenting criteria

Theme:

This issue’s theme if you wish to use it is:

“Nostalgia”

This theme is a suggestion and if you’d rather make an Entrapdak piece without this theme please feel free to do so. I want you to have fun!

Allowed Characters:

As long as both Entrapta and Hordak are the main focus and the piece follows Age Rating it will be allowed.

Other allowed characters in the Entrapdak family include Emily, Imp and the Clones (also known as Spacebats)…yes weirdly this also  includes Horde Prime.

Other She-Ra characters will be allowed but Entrapdak is to be the core element.

Phew that’s a lotta text sorry about that - now on to the fun stuff! What sort of stuff is allowed?

Sex Swap AU, Species Swap AU, Furry AU, Toony AU, Anime AU, Fankid AU, Coffee Shop AU, married AU, Spacebat AU, just besties AU just to name the few that pop into my head! Oh yeah Canon Lab Partners Entrapdak too…hehe nearly forgot about that one XD. Make something Entrapdak related that’s PG13 rated and have fun!!

Fan Writing guidelines:

This includes fan fiction, analysis eassys, poetry or whatever else you’d like to write about.  I would ask this content to be between 1k-10k words in length, it’s not a big deal if the writing is over 10k or even if it’s 20k - write whatever your story needs. If you’d like to write Chapters then please do!

Written work can be emailed in the body of text, sent as pdf attachment or as a link to a Google Doc - I can work with any of those.

Please include you name/username somewhere as it helps. If there’s no name on the piece I’ll add one at the start with the title.

Fan Art guidelines:

Fan art can include rough sketches, screencap redraws, comics (appox 1-10 pages length), coloured sketches or full colour pieces. 

Fan art can be in the digital or traditional medium.  

Traditional fan art can either be submitted as a photo or scanned, which ever you prefer.

Preferred sizing for Digital art is as follows, my aim to to have everything on International (UK) A4 paper sizing where possible*

2480px x 3508pm DPI 132 

Portrait layout is preferred**

PNG is preferred but I will understand if you only wish to send a workable JPEG

The aspect ratio (width:height) of A4 paper is 1:1.4142 (1:√2)

If you need a template here’s one -> Here’s a prepared A4 Canvas PSD File (2480pm x 3508px 300DPI) if you’d like to download it and use it <- Template

Notes: 

*Images outside these sizings are still okay but may end up with a white border on the edges due to the PDF publishing settings.  

**Images in the landscape layout will get boarders when posted on a portrait page due to the PDF publishing settings, however if I receive landscape art I will make some extra pages at the end of the Zine and attempt to turn landscape art into a two page spread (which does look awesome!).

How to Apply:

Make your content and email it to entrapdakzineisluvd[at]gmail.com by JULY 1st 2023

Please make sure to include your Social Media contacts and which name or username you wish to be identified by.  If you forget to include social media details and have been a part of a previous Zine I’ll use the details I have on file 

I will reply to confirm I have received the content and that’s it I take care of the rest!

Please note I DO NOT KEEP any records of anyone’s email addresses.  When the Zine is out I batch delete all emails sent to the email address (this is usually done a week after the Zine is out) and I keep no further records of these address. I respect your email privacy at all times.  

The only records I keep on Zine applications is a private Google Sheet that has the following details: Submitter’s name, rough description of the item submitted and their social media contacts. I’m the only person with access to this Google Sheet as I use this as a Master List reference when compiling the Zine 

FAQs:

Why no Application form?

I don’t want anyone to feel like they are applying for a job here, this is supposed to be fun.

Will there be Guest Artists or Guest Writers?

If they apply sure, I’m not advertising who applies to be a part of this Zine until it’s ready to be published.  I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated just because a certain person has chosen to participate.

Can I submit more than one piece?

If you’d like to certainly!  If you’d like to submit up to three pieces of art and 3 fan writings, sure go for it! I’m certainly not going to stop anyone having a good time

May I post a preview of my work to my Followers?

Sure! Bonus points if you link them to this post so that they can take part if they wish

May I post my work online?

I would ask if you could please wait until the issue featuring your work is published. Of course this does not apply if you are chosen to submit and older work - in this case may I ask that you edit or add to said post to mention the work was also used in the Zine?

Is this only for people with a [insert certain social media account here]?

Nope, this is for anyone who wants to take part.  I only ask for a social media contact so that others who like you work for the Zine may follow you on your preferred social media platform.

Can I send an update to a piece?

Of course! Just let me know which piece you want to use and I’ll update on my end

Can I send another piece on later?

Of course that’s not a problem!

Ah I can’t get this done before the deadline - it’s almost ready!!!  I need another day!!!!

Contact me, either through the submitting email over via my Tumblr or Twitter DMs or just emailing the email address. There is extra time scheduled as an extension for anyone who needs it with no questions asked to why it is needed. Just get in contact, I'll put you name on the Extension List and that extra time is yours.  Once all names come in (or the deadline is reached) I will finish up my work and get the zine out. I will not be sending out a further reminder (because I’ll forget sorry 😅).

Why don’t you make the Extension List time public?

Because I can’t finish up the Zine if extra stuff keeps coming in at the last second - I get jittery enough with final deadlines so this is how I manage my stress

More Entrapdak Zines??

Sure why not? If the community still wants them I’ll keep compiling them ever three or so months.  I’ve seen what us nerds can do!

Where can I find the finished Zine?

All finished Zines are all hosted on a shared Google Drive free folder -> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1My_hDY8NmOWV7v6z0sYi0TSvxv07WowX 

Oh you made it to the end of this Wall of Text…someone actually read all of this?  I mean it’s mostly the same as the last two times… uh here’s a picture of my Son Smudge because I should really pay my Cat Tax with toe beans: