Intro Post ₍^. .^₎⟆

Daily affirmations

I am a freak and that is ok

Anyone who hates on me for my writing has never picked up a pencil in their life

I should be more self indulgent

My characters should suffer more

This ended up longer than I expected, so I apologize in advance if any of my points came out jumbled. I am also neurodivergent, so if I sound harsh, I assure you this is not my intent. I just struggle with tone at times.

Firstly, here's a thought I want to present to the table, one that's honestly made me grow a lot as a writer, and one that I think is relevant to this topic; why should readers read our works the way we want them to? Writing is a conversation, and though that conversation may begin with us, it certainly doesn't end that way. You may want to surprise your audience with this content, but shouldn't it be up to them whether they maintain that surprise or prepare for it? To you, the surprise is important and adds to the weight of the dark subject matters you cover. It might even be enjoyable and the way you view this content for yourself, but that will not always translate to your readers. Let's also not forget that, for some, a list of trigger warnings makes them more excited to read a work. In general, as writers, let's not forget how diverse our audiences can be, and that the reactions of our readers or what helps our readers feel more engaged will not always mirror our experiences.

Let me put this into another context. As someone who needs trigger warnings, I think this explains my experience rather well, and why I personally don't agree with the idea that trigger warnings ruin the surprise. It could also be argued that flashing lights and affects lose their surprise factor if they are warned about, but creators of visual media understand the risks of not warning viewers, and that this is more important than the surprise factor. As someone who isn't affected by flashing lights, I can assure you this warning leaves my mind almost the second after I read it (more of scan it like "yeah, yeah, take me to the game"), and I still end up surprised. The game Mi/side warning me about flashing and glitch affects did not stop me from nearly jumping out of my skin everytime I was suddenly met with one. The context is what makes these flashing lights so shocking moreso than whether someone knows about them ahead of time or not. Being suddenly triggered can make someone go to extremely dark places, and that's worth avoiding. Though I think how trigger warnings are presented can be more flexible than flashing light warnings.

In my opinion, at their best, trigger warnings are extra material readers can consult if they want to, but also something they can avoid if they want to go in completely blind. The important thing is that the audience member consented to either experience. Since I've used the word, let's discuss the matter of consent and art. I think it's often not discussed enough within creative spaces, despite how important it can be. In my opinion, it is everyone's right to have enough knowledge to be able to fully consent (engage with the work) or not consent (not engage with the work) to reading about certain sensitive subjects before being exposed to them. The thing is, when you're an indie creative, readers can't just use a site like doesthedogdie, or other similar tools. Providing optional trigger warnings can help readers have a better experience, as they are given more agency towards what they consume. Encouraging agency shows a respect for your readers time and energy. However, I do feel for writers that use websites like Wattpad, as, unlike AO3, there aren't many good places to put these warnings. So that's definitely worth acknowledging.

Secondly, as someone who had to deconstruct this notion within myself, I think it's worth acknowledging that trigger warnings are viewed as deflating the seriousness of something, or making something seem "childish", for two reasons (I know you only said the former, but the latter is an opinion I've seen as well). One, they are yet to be normalized, mainly for reason two. Two, the experiences of certain trauma victims are so terribly misunderstood that big parts of them are believed to be over exaggerated or "actually not that bad", which causes the tools we need to be treated as "not that important". I wish I was kidding when I say I have literally seen people laugh at accurate depictions of PTSD flashbacks, because they know so little about our experiences they think it's just a funny over exaggeration. I've even had some expect me to laugh with them before, because that " obviously can't be right".

Logically, there is no reason why trigger warnings should be seen as any different than a description or blurb about your story. For instance, writing an informative description about my horror works doesn't take away their scare factor, a description just requires me to put it into different packaging. It won't feel as poignant as the actual horrors within, but that's okay, because the point of a description is to intrigue and inform. They help future readers decide if they'd be interested in a work or not, and properly set their expectations walking in. They are a tool for drawing in audiences just as much as they are a tool for scaring away anyone who absolutely would not enjoy the experience.

And let me be clear, I personally believe it is impossible to warn against every possible trigger, as some triggers can be very personal or obscure. However, I do think it is important to offer a warning for the "obvious" triggers, such as the covering of sensitive topics like abuse. And yeah, I think trigger warnings can be that straight forward, such as "this work covers themes of abuse and may not be suitable for some audiences". You don't have to spoil the important parts of your works in trigger warnings, just make people aware certain content is there if they don't want to consume it. Us creators may overlook some things, as we're only human, but, for me personally, it's the effort that matters.

As for how bad being triggered by a work can be, I can speak to that, as someone who has been suddenly triggered before. It can ruin an entire week, sometimes more, and throughout I essentially have to deal with a plague of horrific memories, or experience several nightmares about my trauma. To summarize, it is extremely distressing and essentially makes me non operational. It feels like being put into a mental coma where the only thing you can have is nightmares, and when you eventually do wake up, you still understandably feel awful and extremely fatigued, emotionally and physically, from all the stress. I've literally been made bed ridden and physically ill from being triggered unexpectadly. I am now reminded of how little this experience is understood, and I am putting it into my latest writing project effective immediately. I do my best to make informed choices with the media I consume, but this recent trend I've noticed of surprising the audience as much as possible with sudden triggering content, these works often having no warnings whatsoever, makes it extremely difficult to do so. Because, you know, until that point, the work gave off the impression of not planning to cover that kind of content at all.

This got more wordy than I intended, and I apologize if my frustrations concerning the topic came through. My intent is to inform, not to ridicule, and I hope that was made clear, though I know my neurodivergent self can sometimes sound harsher than I intend. As a writer in the horror space, it can be rare to find another horror writer who uses trigger warnings, so I am usually wary towards reading their works. This can certainly make it harder to connect with fellow writers. And when I do try to read ones without warnings? Well, I am so prepared for anything to the point I end up focusing on that more than whatever I'm reading, and typically just end up dropping it altogether. So yeah, that's my experience, take it or leave it. At the end of the day, writers are free to add or not add trigger warnings, but, I personally strongly advocate for their use when it comes to sensitive subject matters. I will also always try to educate about how bad the experience of being triggered actually is whenever I am able.

Poll time!!

hihi, just posted a scene from a wip and figured i should add trigger warnings, but that made me curious so

my opinion about this may be a tad controversial, id prefer not add trigger warnings, but i do add them just out of understanding and to avoid triggering others.

all my WIPs include heavy themes, and i know that i will always be writing heavier angstier stuff, i dont like adding TWs on wattpad or wherever i publish my stuff because i feel like it takes away from the seriousness of my story. when youre going into it, i dont want you to know what to expect, i want you to be shocked and feel negatively about certain events or characters, and imo trigger warnings just take away from the shock value.

i will admit my privilige though, i have been through traumatic things but nothing that triggers me, so i dont understand how bad things could get for someone to be triggered about certain things in stories.

if you wanna discuss this or comments or reblogs please remain respectful, because this is a conversation i want to have and i want to be more educated on the topic of TWs, but i will not engage with things i deem as disrespectful.

miss me w that

Uhm... anyone interested in this silly little thing?

"Hear ye'! Hear ye'! A number of flawed individuals possess tools with dangerous power - and mysterious, godlike beings want to erase them for it. Is it because those beings sense corpses in these individuals' stead?" (A pitch for ya', dear folks).

I thought a community would be a good spot to have all stuff related to B\T (WIPs) in one place.

As to not scroll and scroll after it. Also, the Masterpost only has relevant stuff on it, not everything related to these WIPs. Unlike there.

You can learn more about B\T there or in here:

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masterpost of horror lists

here are all my horror lists in one place to make it easier to find! enjoy!

sub-genres

action horror

analog horror

animal horror

animated horror

anthology horror

aquatic horror

apocalyptic horror

backwoods horror

bubblegum horror

campy horror

cannibal horror

children’s horror

comedy horror

coming-of-age horror

corporate/work place horror

cult horror

dance horror

dark comedy horror

daylight horror

death games

domestic horror

ecological horror

erotic horror

experimental horror

fairytale horror

fantasy horror

folk horror

found footage horror

giallo horror

gothic horror

grief horror

historical horror

holiday horror

home invasion horror

house horror

indie horror

isolation horror

insect horror

lgbtqia+ horror

lovecraftian/cosmic horror

medical horror

meta horror

monster horror

musical horror

mystery horror

mythological horror

neo-monster horror

new french extremity horror

paranormal horror

political horror

psychedelic horror

psychological horror

religious horror

revenge horror

romantic horror

dramatic horror

science fiction horror

slasher

southern gothic horror

sov horror (shot-on-video)

splatter/body horror

survival horror

techno-horror

vampire horror

virus horror

werewolf horror

western horror

witch horror

zombie horror

horror plots/settings

road trip horror

summer camp horror

cave horror

doll horror

cinema horror

cabin horror

clown horror

wilderness horror

asylum horror

small town horror

college horror

plot devices

storm horror

from a child’s perspective

final girl/guy (this is slasher horror trope)

last guy/girl (this is different than final girl/guy)

reality-bending horror

slow burn horror

possession

pregnancy horror

foreign horror or non-american horror

african horror

spanish horror

middle eastern horror

korean horror

japanese horror

british horror

german horror

indian horror

thai horror

irish horror

scottish horror

slavic horror (kinda combined a bunch of countries for this)

chinese horror

french horror

australian horror

canadian horror

decades

silent era

30s horror

40s horror

50s horror

60s horror

70s horror

80s horror

90s horror

2000s horror

2010s horror

2020s horror

companies/services

blumhouse horror

a24 horror

ghosthouse horror

shudder horror

other lists

horror literature to movies

techno-color horror movies

video game to horror movie adaption

video nasties

female directed horror

my 130 favorite horror movies

horror movies critics hated because they’re stupid

horror remakes/sequels that weren’t bad

female villains in horror

horror movies so bad they’re good

non-horror movies that feel like horror movies

directors + their favorite horror movies + directors in the notes

tumblr’s favorite horror movie (based off my poll)

horror movie plot twists

cult classic horror movies

essential underrated horror films

worst horror movie husbands

religious horror that isn’t christianity 

black horror movies

extreme horror (maybe use this as an avoid list)

horror shorts

I've gotten some really good responses, and thank you all who took the survey! I am unfortunately not in the mental headspace right now to start properly working on this, so if you didn't answer the survey before but want to, now is your chance. I don't think I'll ever be closing the survey, mind you, but at some point things will start to be set in stone, and though new responses will serve as inspiration, they probably won't be a part of the character creation process.

Hey, I made a survey for the recent writing project I am working on. If you want, feel free to fill it out. The questions may feel a bit random at times, but I promise they are relevant. And may have something to do with kissable object head people.

Minors please do not interact

I'm planning to go through with this, but your answers to some survey questions will help:

Do you play dating games or have you watched others play dating games?

If so, what options did the game not have that you wanted (personality wise)? (If not, just imagine the type of options you'd want in a dating game.)

If you were satisified with the options, which types did you gravitate towards?

Finally, your favorite object?

Speaking of, tempted to make a community myself, but since I have a variety of unconnected works, I have no idea what that would be a community for. Kind of reminds me of the idea I had to try and get myself posting again, mainly making like, a sort of dating sim kind of group of characters to play around with.

Y'all want me to make object head people for you to kiss? SFUIHSFU

That ending has me so intrigued. I also love Atlas and Rosalyn's dynamic.

On one particularly memorable night, Rosalyn commissioned me to dive into their jewellery box in search of a twin for the singular of a stunning, silver sapphire earring they had found discarded within a desk drawer. The jewels were moulded into a shape of a lily flower- By hand, if Atlas was to be believed. They were a gift, that which he had donated upon Rosalyn's thirtieth birthday.

Since such an event, Rosalyn had worn them to one gala and then, subsequently, allowed the existence of the pair to slip their mind. Why this pair demanded attention on this particular night, I do not know, nor do I particularly think it is of consequence.

Atlas lay upon the bed. To me, he advised, "Make them do it themself. Teach them a little responsibility for their actions."

Rosalyn, stood before an ornamental mirror in the room's centre, scoffed, "My love, nothing could teach me that. Not now. Who learns new things at thirty-seven? What a waste."

Grinning, I produced the earring from the very depths of the heavy, wooden box. Before I could inform either of the pair, Atlas sighed, "Oh, don't know it." He crept up to stand at their side. Elevated upon a footstool, Rosalyn towered over him. Atlas looked up with nothing less than pure adoration in his gaze, "Do you really want those earrings?" He asked, "Because you don't need them by any stretch of the imagination."

Rosalyn's lips parted. For the briefest instant, I feared they intended to submit to rage. My concerns were, thankfully, utterly unfounded. Their voice was light as they replied, "No," They allowed him to lay his hands upon their waist and lift them to the floor, "No, I think I'm alright without them."

Finally, they addressed me, "God, I've got you doing that for nothing, haven't I?" Without pause, they spoke their solution, "Tell you what, there's cash in my office. Use it and buy yourself a takeaway. Anything at all. Menus in the kitchen cupboard."

Closing my fist around the recovered earring, I forced a smile.

"Sounds good."

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Writing Update 5/15/2025

Hi hi! For the most part, I've finished the hero side of the worldbuilding. I mostly just have to think of more holidays. Anyways, here are the categories of heroes for anyone interested (keep in mind this is a draft that needs more polish):

Commons - Heroes that represent common hopes and dreams.

Pinnacles - Heroes that represent hopes that are achievable, but need a lot of work to become reality, and depend highly on the direction of the future. This can include heroes that represent concepts like world peace or futuristic technology.

Ambitions - Heroes that represent hopes and dreams that are more personal, such as hopes for one's family, personal goals, and so on.

Unattainables - Heroes that represent human desires or dreams which can not be attained. Some are obvious like those based on things like flying or shape shifting dreams, while others are more abstract and connect to humans attempting to disregard their humanity.

Tag list: @aweirdshipp, @floofyboi57, @aralithmenathere

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