#it’s fiction you can make it happen you can do anything!

[stxrslut]

I think the reason why so many people hate dark content is because they don’t understand it.

Incest for example has been a big topic on this side of tumblr as kinktober approaches and a few writers, including myself have mentioned it.

why is writing incest bad? It’s not, up front. the moment it becomes bad is when you romanticise it. the same goes for other dark topics, for example necrophilia or blatant rape.

acknowledging that these things exist is not a bad thing, and neither is acknowledging that there are certain people out there who do it. it is a horrible truth that nobody wants to exist, but it does.

using the infamous rafe cameron as an example, why would you want to read an incest piece about him?

rafe is a complicated character, and a very bad person. a lot of writers don’t like to take that into account. I’m sure we’ve all seen many works where rafe is portrayed as a sweetheart, a perfect husband who cares and would never do anything to harm you.

this portrayal of rafe has become the norm for many people on this platform. and so upon seeing dark content, they are trying to imagine it with this completely different character. the version of rafe that is romanticised.

when we write this content we don’t write it with that rafe in mind. we don’t want to be with this version of rafe that we’re writing, this is a bad character and we absolutely recognise it when writing him.

of course, as mentioned there are people who are imagining it with romanticised rafe, and also assume that was the rafe it was intended to be written with.

if that was the case then writing this content most definitely would be bad.

but why would we write dark content with a reader insert if we didn’t want this to happen to us? what is the point? that’s a valid question.

primarily, self insert or ‘x reader’ is just the format that we write in. even though we may be imagining our name and or face it’s not necessarily us. reader is just a character, let’s use puppy!reader for an example, she has her own characteristics specific to the reader or character. I don’t think I am puppy reader, but I love to use her character to write a reader.

self insert and second person writing is also a very good way to explore the thoughts, feelings and actions in a character in very great detail, which a lot of writers very much enjoy doing.

this is also another misconception that people make. because in some of the situations the reader goes along with / wants these things to happen, which is very easy to mistake for writer wanting it too.

so now we know that self insert does not mean desire. but even if we don’t desire this, why do we write it?

there are many reasons. one is character analysis. there are plenty of bad characters out there, and they would do that. we are simply acknowledging that.

we like to explore complexities and nuances of characters. this character would want to do that and so how would that play out? who would it be with and what would the feelings and emotions be? it’s interesting to explore darker parts of different characters.

another reason is trauma, to people without it that sounds ridiculous. but people with trauma in these kinds of situations may find comfort or control in reading about it in a safe environment.

I have a lot of childhood trauma, and there are certain pieces of writing centred around that kind of thing can really help me to think about it and help me to control the way I think about it.

now there are some aspects of dark content that we may say we “want”, but that is generally misunderstood.

let’s use a sentence I have said many a time, “I want rafe to fuck me with a gun”. no, I absolutely do not.

I am into humiliation and power play, I also enjoy a little bit of fear and pain in some circumstances. in a safe environment, for example, a fictional one, a gun would be a perfect way to do these things.

obviously in real life I wouldn’t let anyone come near me with a gun. it’s all about interpretation and understanding of safe environments.

when I’m reading a fic where gun play may be involved I read about the humiliation and power play and all sorts and think oh fuck that is sexy. because it is, in this very safe place where a gun is not going to harm me or anyone.

the same goes for lots of other forms of dark content. we might not necessarily want the exact action, but more the sensation or feeling that comes with the action.

but why would we write it when people are going to be triggered by it?

simply put, that is not our problem. I haven’t ever come across a piece of dark content that wasn’t correctly labelled and warned.

I’m not responsible for anyone else’s media consumption, if they choose to ignore my warnings it is entirely their fault.

also, free will exists, if someone decides they don’t like what they’re reading they can simply close the piece, stop reading.

in a nutshell, if someone who writes dark content is 1. not romanticising it and 2. labelling it correctly, you don’t have a reason to target them.

learning to distinguish between dark content and predatory content is so important so we’re not attacking the wrong people.

please stop targeting writers who write dark content when there are people out there who genuinely are horrible who we do need to be targeting. focus your attention on the real issues.

[nohoperadio]

I like Jane Austen a lot. I'm gonna attempt to say a few things about why:

It's very refreshing to read good fiction that takes seriously the importance of doing good by other people, and takes it seriously on lots of different scales: like there's big interpersonal conflict and moral dilemmas and stuff, but there's also like, spending an hour talking to your dad about cheerful things because you know he's likely to sit stewing in anxiety over something if you don't, even though you're kind of depressed at the moment and would rather be alone with your thoughts. That's a situation too!

Seriously it feels like not long after Austen fiction writers collectively agreed that all the interesting material was in the parts of the human mind that are normally hidden or repressed, or in people trying to forge some individual authentic path that's in conflict with the world or something, idk, maybe it's good that the thing I'm gesturing at happened. But I'm very glad we have at least one great novelist whose characters are primarily concerned with matters like "how can I best be a good friend to the people I care about?" and similarly-shaped questions.

I think part of this is just that like, there is no part of her that believes goodness is boring, she fundamentally takes for granted that people who are trying to be good are more interesting and complex and deep than people who aren't, and it's very hard not to agree with this when you're reading her.

Something about the very particular tone of her comedy is connected to all this, she's mocking, near-scathing about all her characters including the ones she likes, but it's from a place of like... the most important thing in life is to hold your principles sacred, but also it's a guarantee that you and the people around you will fall short of those principles many many times, but also the correct attitude to take towards these human limitations is laughter instead of despair, but also the most important thing in life is to hold your principles sacred. She really makes it feel like "people are ridiculous" and "people are important" are two sides of the same coin, idk this is more abstract than I want it to be, but something like that is the vibe.

It's frustratingly difficult to say anything general about her fiction that doesn't make it sound boring... anyway I love her is the point.

[ha-rinrin]

The Festival

Paring- Jinx X F!Reader

Word count- 31.3k

summary- You're a respected member of the university council, known for your leadership skills and organization. What happens when Jinx, the popular and chaotic students needs your help to set up a wide tech festival?

A little peak to my ao3 fan fiction

You flipped trough the pile of paperwork across the council meeting room. It was the usual chaos, request for funding from various student organizations, complains about the cafeteria's latest attempt at "healthy options," and proposals for next semester’s big events. The list seemed endless, but you were used to it. You thrived in this environment, where order and structure ruled. Here, everything was under control, and that was exactly how you liked it.

Just as your mind starts to drift, Derek, your fellow council member, groans from across the table. "Great. Guess who submitted a new proposal?"

You glance up, knowing the answer before the words even leave his mouth.

"Jinx," he mutters, flipping through a folder. "The campus wildcard."

The mention of Jinx’s name is enough to make everyone shift uncomfortably, and you can feel the tension rise between two of your fellow council members—Vi and Caitlyn. Vi, Jinx’s big sister, sits up a little straighter, her jaw tightening. Caitlyn crosses her arms and lets out a quiet huff of disapproval, she has never been a fan of Jinx.

Your stomach tightens. Jinx is infamous around here. Known for her chaotic energy and wild stunts, she’s the kind of person everyone’s aware of but few actually know. You’ve heard the stories—who hasn’t?—about her explosives demonstrations in the engineering labs, her graffiti art that somehow makes it past security, and the parties that erupt wherever she goes, filled with loud music, dangerous experiments, and neon lights that pulse through the night.

You’ve never directly interacted with her, but as a council member, you’ve cleaned up the aftermath of her stunts more times than you’d like to count.

You reach for her proposal, already dreading what’s inside. "What does she want this time?" she's known for submitting.. well, interesting ideas, one time she send a whole plan on how turning lecture halls into laser tag arenas was such a great idea

Derek slides the file toward you, and you open it, skimming the pages. It’s a proposal for a campus-wide tech festival—robotics demonstrations, live engineering projects, interactive art installations. It’s… ambitious. You can already see the potential for things going disastrously wrong. And of course, there’s an after-party planned. A massive one. but you have to admit, it is a great idea.

"This looks…" you hesitate, unsure whether to call it reckless or brilliant. "Ambitious."

Caitlyn, sitting across from you, scoffs. "Ambitious is one word for it. Catastrophic is another."

Vi shoots her a look, her jaw clenched but silent. Caitlyn doesn’t look fazed. If anything, she seems more annoyed. Caitlyn has never hidden her disdain for Jinx. The chaos Jinx brings to the campus makes Caitlyn’s job on the council infinitely harder, and you’ve heard her vent more than once about how Jinx’s antics undermine the structure Caitlyn and Vi work to maintain.

Still, you can feel the unspoken tension between Vi and Caitlyn every time Jinx comes up. Vi tries to stay neutral, but the protective instinct over her sister is always just beneath the surface.

"Ambitious? More like a disaster waiting to happen," Derek adds, rolling his eyes. "You know how she is. The university won’t let her get within a mile of an event this big without strict supervision."

You sigh, knowing they’re right. Jinx is brilliant, no doubt about that. Her projects, when they work, are incredible. But they almost never come without some sort of explosive twist—sometimes literally. The administration has a close eye on her, and every time she gets close to doing something huge, they pull the reins back, worried about the potential chaos she might unleash.

"I’ll talk to her," you say, closing the file and tucking it under your arm. "See if we can rein in some of these wilder ideas."

You find yourself in the engineering building later that afternoon, a place you rarely visit. The labs are noisy and full of students rushing to meet deadlines, their arms filled with wires, tools, and half-constructed machines. You navigate through the maze of equipment until you find the lab Jinx is rumored to haunt.

The door is slightly open, and you push it gently, stepping inside.

The scene inside is exactly what you’d expect from Jinx. It’s a mess—no, it’s a war zone of wires, gears, tools, and half-assembled robots scattered across every surface. Sparks fly from one corner, where Jinx herself is hunched over a piece of equipment. Her neon-blue hair is pulled into two messy insanely long braids, goggles perched on her forehead, and she’s completely engrossed in whatever she’s working on.

"Jinx?" you call, your voice hesitant.

She doesn’t look up. "If you’re here to tell me I can’t use explosive fuel cells, save it. I already know."

You blink, thrown off by her casual, sarcastic tone. "No… I’m here about your tech festival proposal."

That gets her attention. Jinx straightens up, pushing her goggles up higher and turning to face you. There’s a mischievous glint in her eyes as she grins, clearly pleased with herself. "Oh, that. You council types finally got around to reading it, huh?. About time"

"Yeah, we did," you say annoyed at her comment, stepping into the room carefully, avoiding stray wires and tools as if one wrong step might set off something dangerous. "It’s… ambitious."

Jinx leans back against a cluttered workbench, crossing her arms. "Ambitious is just another word for fun."

"Ambitious is also another word for risky," you counter, trying to keep your tone calm. "The administration has concerns. Especially with your… reputation."

She raises an eyebrow at that, her grin widening. "My reputation? I like to think of myself as the one who makes things interesting."

"Or destructive," you mutter under your breath. Louder, you say, "Look, the council wants to support your idea, but we need guarantees. We can’t have another one of your projects going… rogue."

Jinx’s eyes spark with amusement. "Rogue? That sounds fun. But I get it. You’re here to babysit me, make sure everything stays neat and tidy just as you councils love to do."

"I’m here to help make sure your event doesn’t get shut down before it even starts," you correct her. "The university won’t approve this unless there’s a plan in place to keep things under control."

She’s silent for a moment, her gaze studying you as if she’s trying to decide whether you’re worth her time. Then, to your surprise, she shrugs. "Fine. I’ll play nice. But don’t expect me to turn this into some boring expo where everything’s by the book like you want it to be."

"That’s not what I’m asking," you say, your frustration slipping through despite your best efforts to remain calm. "I’m asking for balance. Something fun and innovative, without… explosions or absolute chaos like you "love to do" ."You quote her, already feeling an intense irritation.

"Explosions make things exciting," she quips, but there’s a softness in her tone now, a hint of cooperation. "But okay, councilor. We’ll do it your way. For now."

You exhale, relieved but still wary. "I’ll get the council to review the budget and schedule a final approval meeting. We’ll need to talk logistics."

"Sounds like a date," she says, and the way her eyes twinkle as she says it makes your heart skip a beat. "By the way, nice to meet you, Y/N. I’ve heard a lot about you."

"You… know my name?" you ask, caught off guard.

"Of course I do," Jinx replies, tossing a wrench onto the workbench with a smirk. "You’re practically a campus legend in the council. Always following the rules, keeping things neat and tidy and on top of that being pretty. It’s cute."

You blush at her calling you not just pretty, but also cute. still, you can’t tell if she’s teasing you or complimenting you—or maybe both—but the playful energy she exudes is enough to leave you flustered, you don't ignore the annoyance though . "Right… well, I’ll be in touch."

As you turn to leave, you can feel her eyes on you, that mischievous grin still lingering. And for the first time, you wonder if you’ve gotten yourself into something far more complicated than you’d expected.

The walk back to the council office feels heavier than usual. You’ve dealt with difficult proposals before—unrealistic requests, last-minute event ideas, student groups that didn’t know how to handle their budgets—but nothing quite like this. Jinx, with her chaotic charm and devil-may-care attitude, had somehow made it feel like agreeing to help her was a far more personal decision than just approving a project.

Back in the council room, Vi and Caitlyn are already waiting, the air between them thick with tension. You can feel it even before you sit down, the awkward space that always opens up between them when Jinx is involved. Caitlyn’s posture is as rigid as ever, her hands clasped neatly in front of her, while Vi looks like she’s been wrestling with something in her mind.

“So?” Caitlyn’s voice is sharp, cutting through the silence as you settle into your chair. “How did it go?”

You hesitate, glancing at Vi, who watches you intently. She doesn’t say anything, but there’s a quiet plea in her expression. She’s stuck in the middle, and you can feel the weight of that as you take a breath.

“She’s willing to compromise,” you say carefully. “She’ll follow our guidelines, but she’s not going to water down the event. It’s still going to be… big.”

“Big,” Caitlyn repeats, her tone flat. “That’s one way to describe it. Let me guess—there’s still an after-party, isn’t there?”

You nod slowly. “Yes, but she’ll cooperate with security measures. No unsupervised explosives. No rogue robots.”

Caitlyn sighs heavily, clearly unimpressed. “And you believe her?”

Vi shifts uncomfortably, her hands tapping against the table as she finally speaks up. “Jinx means well. She just… gets carried away sometimes. But she’ll stick to it. If Y/N’s overseeing things, she’ll fall in line.”

You can hear the underlying frustration in Vi’s voice, the familiar strain of trying to balance loyalty to her sister and the expectations of the council. You’ve seen this dynamic between them before—Vi, fiercely protective of Jinx, but also tired of having to clean up the messes she leaves behind. Caitlyn, on the other hand, is always ready to take a hard line, no matter how much it irritates Vi.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want her involved,” Caitlyn says, her voice tight. “Every time she promises to stay within the lines, she ends up finding a way to blow them up. Literally. And it’s always us who have to clean up the aftermath.”

Vi’s jaw clenches, but she doesn’t snap back. You can tell it’s taking all her patience to hold back her frustration. The room is tense, the air thick with unspoken arguments that have likely played out between them too many times to count.

“Look,” you say, stepping in before things can escalate further, “I’ll be keeping an eye on her. The event will have rules, and she knows the consequences if things get out of hand. I don’t think she’s looking to get herself banned from campus activities.”

Caitlyn lets out a humorless laugh. “Maybe not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something went wrong. She thrives on chaos.”

Vi shakes her head, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “She’s trying, Caitlyn. She’s not the same as she was back in the day, she's not the same jinx as she was in highscool. She wants this event to work.”

Caitlyn meets her gaze, the tension between them simmering. You’ve seen this argument before, this subtle back-and-forth where neither of them fully wins. You’re caught in the middle of it now, and it’s not a comfortable place to be.

“I’ll keep her in line,” you say again, trying to offer a resolution. “The event will be under control.”

Caitlyn narrows her eyes, but she relents, though her expression remains skeptical. “Fine. But if she steps out of line, it’s on you”

Her words linger longer than they should, the unspoken warning hanging in the air. You nod, not fully understanding the weight of that responsibility. After all, the council is trusting you to make sure this doesn’t become the disaster everyone expects it to be, everything you worked so hard for is at sake now and is on Jinx hands..

nobody was faith in Jinx, well.. except for Vi but she doesn't really count. Highscool Jinx's was something else, she's always been really smart so even after partying all night, drinking, smoking cigarettes and weed on a daily bases, sometimes playing with boys and girls feelings gaining the "school heartbreaker" title, and also getting detention almost every day, she still had the best grades out of all the class. You didn't see her much back then due to being a year above her, but gossip spread fast. Now you’re responsable for any mistake she makes during this festival, great

Continue in ao3

[fras-redacted-shapes]

Early drafts/unused content in other languages

redditor AloysHellsalem posted about certain text strings that exist in localized files but are missing from English ones. So I took a look at the Spanish string table and tried translating them - these are machine translations, so they are bad and also funny (sometimes).

All of these seem to be some sort of very, very early draft given the number at the end of the speaker's name and because they don't even have corresponding text-to-speech files unlike files from demos/proof of concept.

More of a fun thing than anything else.

Most of them are from Saga's side of the story.

AMBIENT DIALOGUE - RETURN 2

CASEY_4585: I found more of those knit ornaments near [Witch’s] Ladle. The cult has been around here. SAGA_4586: Do you think they’re the ones behind all this? Dead people coming back to life certainly sounds like cult material. CASEY_4587: It feels like they’re connected. We need more evidence. CASEY_4588: Do you really think a ritual will do something? SAGA_4589: My rational brain says no, but maybe it’s time I leave it on the backseat. CASEY_4590: I’ve certainly had cases that made sanity look like a sick joke. SAGA_4591: I can’t believe you knew what Ikea was. CASEY_4592: What? A guy like me can’t have affordable furniture?

Original text:

PROFILING CASEY - RETURN 6

SAGA_4984: What’s happening to Casey? CASEY_4985: I can’t turn into one of them. I won’t. Fuck it. I’ll go to hell before I turn into one of those soulless demons. CASEY_4986: Well, I guess that’s literally what they are: demons.

That last sentence may be a weird translation on my part. I'm not sure how to make it make sense.

Original text:

Leaving the full string here, Saga profiling Casey about him feeling like a fictional character?:

MP_RE06_CASEY_FICTIONAL_SAGA_4987: being a fictional character. MP_RE06_CASEY_FICTIONAL_CASEY_4988: Was I even who I thought I was, or just an average detective torn from the pages of a bunch of mediocre crime novels? Did I exist in printing ink like I did in real life?, and vice versa? The thought always bothered me. The jokes. The similarities. The constant feeling that no amount of coffee could drown.

Original text:

There're lines that look like bullet points or just rough ideas, like the last one here:

SAGA_6910: What’s happening to Casey? CASEY_6911: Casey is turning into a taken, blame Alan Wake for it WAKE_SAGA_6912: Wake WAKE_CASEY_6913: Casey never liked Wake, even before all this. References to cult case in New York

Original text:

PROFILING ESTEVEZ RETURN 6

This looks like a very early draft of Kiran having a girl crush deputizing Saga into the FBC.

SAGA_4989: The FBC. ESTEVEZ_4990: Saga Anderson, she’d be a great FBC agent. She clearly has what it takes: wit, guts and drive. And she’s not backing down from a paranatural fight. I can appreciate that. ESTEVEZ_4991: I should give her the recruitment (draft?) pitch. She’d be a great asset. SAGA_4992: I guess I should be flattered.

Original text:

SAGA_4993: What’s this “AWE”? ESTEVEZ_4994: What reactivated the AWE in Bright Falls? Does the threshold below the lake work in cycles or does it have a trigger? ESTEVEZ_4995: Whatever it is, it seemed more powerful than ever. SAGA_4996: The “threshold” in Cauldron Lake. That’s where I have to go.

Original text:

The following one is nearly incomprehensible

SAGA_6914: Parautilitarians ESTEVEZ_6915: Estevez relives a trauma, says the area of parautilitarians susceptible to supernatural forces (???)

SAGA_6916: doesn’t wake up ESTEVEZ_6917: They told Estevez the Dark Presence can steal forms, making it difficult to know who to trust SAGA_6918: Dark Place ESTEVEZ_6919: Estevez doesn’t know much, other than those who go there generally don’t come back.

PROFILING TOR AND ODIN - RETURN 5

Lots of fun tidbits

SAGA_3003: Where is Tor? TOR_3004:... Polaris ... in a web of hypocrisy. ODIN_3005: Take ... Control. duh duh duhuhuh. Take ... Control ... TOR_3006: Take ... Control. duh duh duhuhuh. Take ... Control …

SAGA_3012: The girl in the painting. ODIN_3013: I won’t remove it. That’s our family. Your (his?) daughter. TOR_3014: She left us! She took Saga and fucked off! So take that damn thing! I don’t wanna see her face!

MP_RE05_TOR_MOTHER_SAGA_3069: My mother. TOR_3070: But I wasn’t made to be a dad. I’m a god of rock! I can take the sky, rock stadiums but can’t change a diaper! TOR_3071: My life is a fucking storm. Freya deserved better. TOR_3072: It broke my heart, but I was proud of her for leaving. She could take care of herself. And her little girl. Saga will be a fucking star. I saw it the day she was born.

SAGA_3074: My dad. TOR_3075: …If she goes with you, she can never come back! It’s a one way trip for her. And I’m not letting a punk take me (?)! UNKNOWN_3076: (STATIC) TOR_3077: Freya isn’t ready for a nursing home. We kept it hidden for a reason! If you try this, I’ll hit you so hard with my hammer there won’t be any door left to open!

PROFILING TOR AND ODIN - RETURN 9

Now, these are super interesting :)

SAGA_5287: Mr. Door. TOR_5288: Freya couldn’t trust that bastard! He wouldn’t have stayed anyways! It’s not in his nature! We had to go! ROSE_5289: Tor, you’re scaring the other residents. I need you to put down that hammer. TOR_5290: A father needs to protect his kids, dammit! The door is a fucking spider and I’ll be damned if I was going to let my little girl get caught on its fucking web.

MP_RE09_ODIN_01_DOOR_SAGA_5293: Mr Door. ODIN_5294: I just can’t let you play with her heart. It’s nothing personal. DOOR_5295: Do you realize Freya will never forgive either of you for this? ODIN_5296: You’re not wrong, but… neither is my brother. Today you’re here, you’re Martin’s door, but eventually you’ll leave it behind and she won’t know why. Better she hate us than she hates herself. DOOR_5297: Then let’s see what you and your drunk brother can do.

Weird translation that last one.

The text for "I can't let you play with her heart" can be translated more literally to "I simply can't make you play with her heart." Which doesn't make sense, at least not without more context.

The line about Martin was probably meant to say "You're Martin Door".

There're a few other tidbits but none as interesting (in my opinion) as these ones.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

this is probably stupid to ask, but do you like snape? or the marauders? there's always fanwars happening between marauders stans and snape stans. tbh i'm just curious where you stand (i like both, and prefer their canon selves rather than the fanon which is btw really stupid. they feminized sirius so much its not even sirius anymore.) what made you like snape? if you do, or are you neutral with him? just for a change of question since i always ask about harry.

Thanks for the ask! I don't think it's stupid.

I prefer their canon counterparts as well, the Marauders fanon has so little to do with canon I can hardly call the characters by the same name. They just aren't the same characters. Anyway, I'm gonna try and summarise my highly subjective opinions about them here.

1. Sirius Black

He's my second most favorite character and my favorite among the characters you mentioned. I wrote about him a lot on this blog, so I don't really feel the need to write more.

But, he's smart, resilient, and goofy on occasion. His love for Harry is one of my favorite aspects of his character because he loves Harry so much. And he has his flaws. He can be cruel, cold, and arrogant and I wouldn't like him as much if he wasn't visibly a member of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black regardless of how much he tried to get away from his legacy. I love how messy his feelings about his family are. He left Regulus' room as it was, even though the rest of the house got cleaned by the Order. He stayed in his mother's bedroom even when all the conversations he had with her portrait were in screams. I love his distrust in Dumbledore after everything he's been through and how he chooses to remain for Harry's sake — he's willing to do anything for Harry's sake.

I just truly love Sirius.

2. Severus Snape

He's the next on this list because I do like Snape, he's not a character I'm passionate about, but I like him. I think he shouldn't be a teacher (I think he hates being a teacher more than his students hate him teaching them) but he's a talented potion maker and wizard. And he is a very entertaining character, even without knowing everything about him.

But what really makes me like Snape is that I find him interesting. I think his psychology is interesting, as is his dynamic with Lily, Dumbledore, and Voldemort. Snape is a fascinating character to study from a lot of angles, and even as a reader, there is quite a bit that's up in the air about him because he's that good at being a spy and not giving us anything.

The other major thing I like about him is his competence as a spy and wizard. If there's one thing I love in my fictional characters — it's competence (and intelligence). I often joke with my irl friends that Snape is the only competent Death Eater and the only competent member of the Order of the Phoenix. We then joke that if we were in his shoes, surrounded by a lot of people who don't actually do anything and we're the only ones affecting this war from both sides, we'd probably be bitter too.

A little note that seems overlooked about Snape often in the fandom, in general, is how we think, "Oh, he's so great at Occlumancy and not being emotional" — that's not strictly true. When it comes to Lily or the Marauders all his well-crafted Occlumancy kinda goes out the window. In books 3 and 5 he throws actual temper tantrums about Sirius Black. Like, I feel Snape, deep down is actually super not well adjusted and is an emotionally unstable mess, but he learned to pretend otherwise. Basically, all the cold facade is just that — a facade. He isn't really that stoic.

3. James Potter

I'm weird about James. Like, he's almost a nonentity and what we do hear about him is either negative or comes from biased sources.

I do tend to give him more of the benefit of the doubt than a lot of other fans who prefer canon James do. He was awful when he was younger, he was a bully and he assaulted Snape and there is no excuse for his actions. That being said, I can believe he changed. War changes you and you'd be hard-pressed to find a 21-year-old who isn't ashamed of a lot of what they did or said when they were 15. And yes, some of what James did is definitely more extreme than that of the average person, but it isn't that extreme compared to the environment he grew up in. Remus tells Harry everyone was casting Levicorpous on each other in the halls. I'm not saying any of the bullying is okay, I'm just saying it probably seemed normal to him and this is important context. Same as I don't think Snape is abusive towards students when put in the context of their culture and environment where, until recently, they caned students (Snape actually seems very averse to corporeal punishment. He also likely treats Harry very different than he does literally any other student, but this is the James section).

I just, like the idea of James changing for the better. I'd like to think he did. That life and war and loss taught him something.

4. Peter Pettigrew

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I like Pettigrew more than Lupin. He's awful, he's pathetic, he's a cowardly rat man and I find his sniveling funny. Whenever I try to think of a what-if scenario in my head, Pettigrew is somehow the key to it. Because he's a character that affects so much of the plot in some incredibly crucial moments — he betrayed James and Lily, he resurrected the Dark Lord, and later, he allows Harry's survival. Idk, I just find his situation and just how pathetic he could get fascinating. It's, like, there is no rock bottom for this guy, he keeps digging. Like, you can't get more pathetic than living as a rat for 12 years when you could've moved to Argentina or something.

And at the same time, he clearly has some residual care for Harry for his father's friendship. He has so many opportunities to kill Harry or kidnap him when he runs away to join Voldemort — but he doesn't. Even after Sirius escapes and he knows his time is up, he still leaves Harry alive. When he is supposed to kill him in book 7, he doesn't, he again lets him go and pays with his own life for it. Like, again, idk, it's just how I feel.

5. Remus Lupin

I know I placed Lupin last, and it's because I don't personally like him that much. Pretty sure this is a little controversial, but I don't really like book Lupin, he does not vibe with me, at all. (Though I'd choose book Lupin over Marauders fandom Lupin every time)

Like, it bothers me that he doesn't actually care about Harry (the only one on the list who willingly physically harmed Harry, in a moment of anger, but still). It was Harry who asked to be taught the Patronus, if it was up to Remus, he wouldn't be involved in Harry's life at all. He tried to run on his wife when she got pregnant because he was scared. Like, Petttigrew is given shit for being a cowardly Gryffindor, but, look, you need some guts to betray your friends, so I'd argue Remus is the most cowardly Marauder (it's easy to be brave when you don't care for your own life).

But, all of this is part of his character and the story wouldn't be what it is if Remus bothered to get his head out of his own ass and check up on Harry. How he behaves makes him my personal least favorite Marauder, but I want Lupin to be a cowardly guy who runs away from attachment and responsibility because he doesn't trust himself with anything (especially not anything good). He's not cool, or suave, and he's desperate for people to like him but without actually knowing him because he thinks that if they do they'd run away screaming like he wants to run from himself. Honestly, I don't get why the Mauraders fandom made James the people-pleaser when Remus Lupin is right there always telling people what they want to hear so they'd like him.

Again, these are all my own personal subjective opinions, but yeah.

[annwayne]

Y’all please.

Your f/o’s, your blorbos, your selfships think you are hot and love you.

“But we’re not compatible.” “It’s out of character for them to like me.” “They wouldn’t go for me.”

Shh. Shhh. Gently I hold my finger to your lips as I reveal a new frontier of thought to you.

In character is a matter of what it takes for a character to act different. What love and gentleness can you give your blorbo to make them yearn for you? To trust you and open their heart to you? How are you the one that catches their eye? All of these questions can be answered positively.

Expand your horizons. Scrutinize if the world they come from really would have our same beauty standards. Really think if your crush would even care that you have back rolls or acne scars or wrinkles. Then think on what it would take for them to stop seeing the parts of you and instead see the whole, beautiful, wonderful person that you are.

Love can change a person so much. How would it change your f/o?

[countlessofvoids]

Me somewhere in 2026 when a new God of War game is announced and instead of Atreus or Faye oriented game it's another Kratos prequel

[icewindandboringhorror]

finally finished all of one character's entire quests/optional dialogue/questions/etc.... 100,000 words... .... aughhh

[bylertruther]

when will said it was "strange knowing who it was this whole time" and "he's hurt, he's hurting, but he's still alive" was he not talking about henry? am i insane? did i misinterpret that scene? why are we acting like will is connected to anyone other than henry bro what is Happening 😭

that was henry that shaped the mind flayer into that spider-like form and it was henry that used it to possess will and it was henry's thoughts that will was experiencing against his will and it's henry that he's still feeling because the connection/"vecna's curse" hasn't been broken. they physically extracted the mind flayer from will's body, yes, but his connection to henry was never broken. henry can't exercise complete and total control over people without the mind flayer's power, which is why will has free will over his body but his mind remains connected to henry.

the characters, and by extension the viewers, thought it was the mind flayer behind everything, because they didn't know what season four revealed to us.

henry wanted to control will's mind and body—a complete and entire violation of everything will is. that was Not the mind flayer, and they tell us that more than once. with all love and respect what are some of you on about because you're starting to make me feel like my memory is genuinely broken or something lmao like i thought.... the big reveal was that it's always been henry? they literally say that? eleven, henry, and will all confirm it? the mind flayer was not a separate entity acting alone... thus will has beef with henry most of all because henry's violation of his mind and body is still ongoing... Where Are You Guys Getting Your Information From 😭 hELP

will's rape—because that's what possession is, he never consented to having his mind and body controlled by anyone else—is an important part of stranger things; both to the general plot and will's character. to say that will only has beef with the mind flayer and not henry is reducing what henry did to him and reassigning blame that very much falls on henry's shoulders. henry was controlling the mind flayer and henry is the one still in will's mind. henry used the mind flayer to have control over will. henry and will are connected. the show literally tells us that over and over again. when you decide to needlessly reassign blame, not only are you misunderstanding and misconstruing the plot, but you're also... not understanding what happened to will at all. like, what really happened to him and how that's used in the show.

henry very likely was the one that kidnapped will. henry is the one that will has a psychic connection to. henry is the one that raped will / possessed him if you prefer that term instead and used the mind flayer to do it. henry is the one that will still knows like the back of his hand, because henry is the one that's still in his head. it's not the mind flayer. it's henry. please stop saying that will doesn't have more than enough reason to want to kill his ass. please!!!

[dykeomania]

i’m also really sorry but continuing to actively promote a brand or a franchise that is notably guilty and complicit and even exploitative of what’s happening in palestine not even just financially but promotionally (continuing to write for said franchise, continuing to repost things relating to said franchise, at all) is morally counterproductive and contradictory and i just have to say that because i feel like no one else is going to

[dirt-str1der]

Self shipping is always the morally correct thing to do

[scarletfasinera]

Worst thing a writer of a book can make me deal with is talk to me like I'm an idiot who can't understand books while I'm actively reading the book they wrote

[cruelsister-moved2]

a lot of the fantasy ive read and disliked lately kind of reads like a screenplay there was a nyt article about this but i lost it anyway thats literally what the problem is people dont even seem to get that novels are like their own thing & in the same way that there’s things you don’t get from reading a novel that you get from a film there’s also things you don’t get from watching a film that you do from a novel :/ but it’s self-fulfilling because if you don’t use those things then your novel will just be like. a worse and more boring version of a film

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[tearlessrain]

please help me- i used to be pretty smart but i’m having so much trouble grasping the concept of diegetic vs non-diegetic bdsm!

gfkjldghfd okay first of all I'm sorry for the confusion, if you're not finding anything on the phrase it's because I made it up and absolutely nobody but me ever uses it, but I haven't found a better way to express what I'm trying to say so I keep using it. but now you've given me an excuse to ramble on about some shit that is only relevant to me and my deeply inefficient way of talking and by god I'm going to take it.

SO. the way diegetic and non-diegetic are normally used is to talk about music and sound design in movies/tv shows. in case you aren't familiar with that concept, here's a rundown:

diegetic sound is sound that happens within the world of the movie/show and can be acknowledged by the characters, like a song playing on the stereo during a driving scene, or sung on stage in Phantom of the Opera. it's also most other sounds that happen in a movie, like the sounds of traffic in a city scene, or a thunderclap, or a marching band passing by. or one of the three stock horse sounds they use in every movie with a horse in it even though horses don't really vocalize much in real life, but that's beside the point, the horse is supposed to be actually making that noise within the movie's world and the characters can hear it whinnying.

non-diegetic sound is any sound that doesn't exist in the world of the movie/show and can't be perceived by the characters. this includes things like laugh tracks and most soundtrack music. when Duel of Fates plays in Star Wars during the lightsaber fight for dramatic effect, that's non-diegetic. it exists to the audience, but the characters don't know their fight is being backed by sick ass music and, sadly, can't hear it.

the lines can get blurry between the two, you've probably seen the film trope where the clearly non-diegetic music in the title sequence fades out to the same music, now diegetic and playing from the character's car stereo. and then there are things like Phantom of the Opera as mentioned above, where the soundtrack is also part of the plot, but Phantom of the Opera does also have segments of non-diegetic music: the Phantom probably does not have an entire orchestra and some guy with an electric guitar hiding down in his sewer just waiting for someone to break into song, but both of those show up in the songs they sing down there.

now, on to how I apply this to bdsm in fiction.

if I'm referring to diegetic bdsm what I mean is that the bdsm is acknowledged for what it is in-world. the characters themselves are roleplaying whatever scenarios their scenes involve and are operating with knowledge of real life rules/safety practices. if there's cnc depicted, it will be apparent at some point, usually right away, that both characters actually are fully consenting and it's all just a planned scene, and you'll often see on-screen negotiation and aftercare, and elements of the story may involve the kink community wherever the characters are. Love and Leashes is a great example of this, 50 Shades and Bonding are terrible examples of this, but they all feature characters that know they're doing bdsm and are intentional about it.

if I'm talking about non-diegetic bdsm, I'm referring to a story that portrays certain kinks without the direct acknowledgement that the characters are doing bdsm. this would be something like Captive Prince, or Phantom of the Opera again, or the vast majority of bodice ripper type stories where an innocent woman is kidnapped by a pirate king or something and totally doesn't want to be ravished but then it turns out he's so cool and sexy and good at ravishing that she decides she's into it and becomes his pirate consort or whatever it is that happens at the end of those books. the characters don't know they're playing out a cnc or D/s fantasy, and in-universe it's often straight up noncon or dubcon rather than cnc at all. the thing about entirely non-diegetic bdsm is that it's almost always Problematic™ in some way if you're not willing to meet the story where it's at, but as long as you're not judging it by the standards of diegetic bdsm, it's just providing the reader the same thing that a partner in a scene would: the illusion of whatever risk or taboo floats your boat, sometimes to extremes that can't be replicated in real life due to safety, practicality, physics, the law, vampires not being real, etc. it's consensual by default because it's already pretend; the characters are vehicles for the story and not actually people who can be hurt, and the reader chose to pick up the book and is aware that nothing in it is real, so it's all good.

this difference is where people tend to get hung up in the discourse, from what I've observed. which is why I started using this phrasing, because I think it's very crucial to be able to differentiate which one you're talking about if you try to have a conversation with someone about the portrayal of bdsm in media. it would also, frankly, be useful for tagging, because sometimes when you're in the mood for non-diegetic bodice ripper shit you'd call the police over in real life, it can get really annoying to read paragraphs of negotiation and check-ins that break the illusion of the scene and so on, and the opposite can be jarring too.

it's very possible to blur these together the same way Phantom of the Opera blurs its diegetic and non-diegetic music as well. this leaves you even more open to being misunderstood by people reading in bad faith, but it can also be really fun to play with. @not-poignant writes fantastic fanfic, novels, and original serials on ao3 that pull this off really well, if you're okay with some dark shit in your fiction I would highly recommend their work. some of it does get really fucking dark in places though, just like. be advised. read the tags and all that.

but yeah, spontaneous writer plug aside, that's what I mean.

[totheidiot]

going to do one of those posts, yayyy

200 notes -> i will start eating more because lately, i have literally been having one meal per day and it's rather bad.

300 notes -> i will start posting some of my poems !!

400 notes -> i'll try to reconnect with my old classmates again :))

500 notes -> i will start to continue writing my original fiction novels again :))

600 notes -> will eventually continue working on my very incomplete fanfiction

700 notes -> i'll start taking care of my appearance and stuff like that !!

800 notes -> after i am done with writing those original fiction novels, i will try to convince my parents to allow me to publish them.

900 notes -> i'll start making posts about my original fiction wips and promote them on tumblr !!

5k notes -> this is literally impossible for me to achieve but throwing this out there because i really really really don't want to do this uh i'll confess to my crush? i'll tell him that i like him and not really be expected to be reciprocated.

that's just it !! no obligation to do anything with this post, just letting it sit there

edit: FUCKING INSANE HOW THIS WENT TO 5k. WHAT THE HELL. you guys literally didn't even need to, in like the 4.7k mark I ENDED UP CONFESSING ON MY OWN?? SOBBINGG. the confession went better than i expected which is to say that he did not return my feelings but he was extremely respectful and open about it (you can send me an ask if you want a detailed description of what happened). SO YEAH. this post is pure insanity like DAMN.