#H!DS Delusion | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ask-horror-ds · 4 months

Note

What do they all think of eachother?

Sparrow: Well, I think it should be kind of obvious what I think of the trio down in the jail.

Spindle, fake whispering: He hates them.

Sparrow, side-eyeing Spindle: I don’t hate them. But they’re not exactly great people, so I think it’s sufficient to say that I’m not exactly a fan.

Sparrow: As for Dream, I’m…not entirely sure. Look, I know he’s an awful person and has the blood of hundreds, if not thousands of people on his hands, but…he was also my boss for god knows how long. I always trusted him. And it’s a bit hard to change my own opinion of him that drastically.

Sparrow: And Gouge is a whole other can of worms. I can’t believe someone that close to me could do something so….horrifying.

Spindle: I dunno I personally think they’re all shitheads.

Pulaski: I don’t know much about any of them, but the snippets I’ve heard have given me a…less than ideal opinion of them.

(None of them really know Hunter unfortunately)

Slash: Oh give us 5 minutes in a room with bird boy and you’ll see exactly how we feel about him.

Byte: God what I would give to gut his fucking ass.

Pluto: He’s such a fucking bitch. We all hate him. I mean look at us! He fucking locked us up! He’s a dick!

Slash: And don’t even get me started on ‘Lord Dream.’ What a narcissistic asshole. I may not hate him as much as Finch, but he’s a very close second.

Byte: Meh I hate Finch way more. Slash has some weird vendetta against Dream-

Slash: Because he’s a fucking prick! You know he is!

Byte: -but I don’t really care that much. I mean I want him dead but it could be quick for all I care.

Byte: Now Hunter, ohhhh he’s a close second

Pluto: Oh we all hate Hunter. He’s so annoying. He needs to learn when to shut the hell up and piss off.

Slash: Yeah he’s an annoying bastard. We’ve tried to skin him but he’s too damn slippery.

Byte: Gouge is pretty cool though.

Slash: Yeah we’re chill with Gouge. She hangs with us sometimes.

Pluto: Used to, anyways.

Slash: Stupid fucking bird bitch.

Delusion: I’m…unsure of how to feel about Finch at the moment. While he did overthrow me, I do believe he was just doing what he thought was best. He’s wrong, of course, but I understand he wasn’t acting out of malicious intent towards me.

Delusion: And he has given me rather decent accommodations for the situation, and has given me enough magic suppressants that I don’t have to worry as much about getting burned by my aura. So I don’t hate him, which would surprise many given what he did. When I am inevitably released, I may even give him another chance at loyalty. He’ll have to earn it back, of course, but he’ll be allowed the chance.

Delusion: As for the others? I am less than fond of Slash and Byte. They’re clearly negative influences on Pluto, and need to be disposed of. I do have high hopes for Pluto, after all. I believe he and Gouge would get along well.

Delusion: And I believe it should be obvious how I feel about Gouge. She’s a very loyal worker and has thusly earned my respect.

Delusion: Now Hunter is an interesting case. He is rather useless to me and I will likely be rid of him in the long run, but at the moment he is proving a tad useful, so he can stay.

Gouge: Do I look like I give two shits about them? Fuck off.

(Gouge won’t admit it but she does like the horror squad, maybe even more than she likes Delusion. She thinks Hunter is annoying, and dreams of all the horrifying things she could do to Finch when she breaks out. She hates his guts.)

Hunter: Oh I really like everyone! Though I really do wish Pluto, Byte and Slash would stop trying to hurt me…

#This one is really long #So many idiots with their own respective opinions #horror!ds #h!ds hunter #h!ds slash #h!ds gouge #h!ds byte #h!ds pluto #h!ds delusion #h!ds sparrow #h!ds pulaski #h!ds spindle

11 notes · View notes

0nelittlebirdtoldme · 5 months

Text

Writer asks

Got tagged by @bluecatwriter. With another year of writing slowly coming to an end, why not look over some of my stuff? Thanks for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

143 works, however 2 or 3 of them are just some of my crossposted fanart.

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 428,434. Wanted to get to 500k this year, but i suppose i am not quite there yet.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Still just Dracula/Dracula 2020. Some IWTV, some Fight Club. 2 for Empire of the Vampire which i have neither finished reading, nor is there a proper fandom for.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Death's Sunrise (of course, the only fic to gain over 1k kudos). 1,071 as of now

3 Sandman fics i don't care for anymore so i am not gonna name them (if you are curious, just look them up yourself, you know where to find them)

The Gathered Night

Touch as Soft as Ice (Harkula Tumblr Prompts) (the tumblr prompt collection which i kind of have disbanded by now - i just post the prompt fics by themselves these days)

Ladybugs Don't Fly at Night

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but sometimes i just lack the energy. I do get a lot of comments, in all fairness, but even if i don't reply right away, i just want you to know that i do read and appreciate them all! <3

6. What's the fic you wrote that has the angstiest ending?

The majority is really angsty. If I had to guess, either DS or Completed - a quadruple drabble in which Dracula, in his delusion, is holding onto Jonathan's very dead corpse, somehow still waiting for him to come back to (un)life.

7. What's the fic you wrote that has the happiest ending?

Either something from Castles in the Air, my softer drabble collection, or something like Keeping Family - a very self indulgent murder husbands + accidental baby acquisition fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

By god, the things i find in my inbox some days are really something. (Side bar: just because a writer writes specific themes and topic it doesn't make it alright to send them death and grape threats christ on a cracker)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yes. My smut always flirts with the idea of consent and power dynamics. I think it's in general on the more intense side, although i do have some softer, slower works. A personal favorite of mine are the really sweet and sloppy ones - consensual somno and the like.

10. Do you write crossovers?

TGN, my beloved. My Dracula x IWTV crossover. Not really related to either Dracula or Interview with the Vampire, but i just wanted to put my 4 vamps (Jonathan, Drac, Louis and Lestat) like mentos into a carbonated soda bottle and shake them around real good, just to see what happens.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Er. Yes. Was a whole deal. Sorted it out. Kinda. Hope it doesn't happen any longer.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not officially (see no. 11)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would be down for it! I do some beta reading for KINGBeerZ on ao3, both for his Dracula fics as well as currently an original work, which is fun and interesting, but i could totally see myself actually co-writing a fic with someone else if we had the same vision for the story.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Forgive me, but yes, it is Harkula. Sorry not sorry. I like them messy, i like them problematic, and i am aware of it. Also i just like to see Jonathan properly dishevelled and out of breath.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but don't think you ever will?

There has been one fic i pulled and have not looked at since. It was giving me trouble the second i posted it, made me have a mental break down and freak out. Didn't get much feedback on it the weeks after so i decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Probably wouldn't do it that way these days, but eh.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I feel like i am quite good with dialogue, quick snappy banter and teasing and the like. Maybe also the way i describe pain, body horror, etc.?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Grammar. I swear. As a non native speaker, it is always grammar for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I either translate it right away, put it in italics, or leave it as it. Totally depends on what effect i want to achieve.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

With great shame i have to say that i started out on Wattpad. 15 year old me has discovered BBC's Sherlock and was unstoppable (well, at least until i switched to ao3 and nuked the wattpad account). On ao3 my first fic was DS, and the fandom Dracula (2020)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Hard to say. I still love DS despite the typos and messy plot, and am currently obsessed with TGN. But there are so many others i am quite proud of.

Leaving a tag for @argyleheir as well as @chthonic-cassandra and anyone else who feels like it, but absolutely no pressure!

#my fic #ask game #fanfic ask game #tagged #dracula fanfic

8 notes · View notes

thrivous · 4 years

Link

I recently wrote about two popular science fiction smart drugs. NZT-48 is the nootropic smart drug featured in the Limitless movie and TV show. And Nexus is the nanotech smart drug featured in Ramez Naam’s science fiction trilogy. In addition to NZT-48 and Nexus, many other technologically enhanced drugs have been imagined by science fiction writers.

Some science fiction smart drugs are nootropic cognitive enhancers, used by healthy adults with socially responsible goals. And others, well, aren’t used by healthy people and plainly aren't so smart. But none is your grandparent’s prescription drug. All are extraordinary, for better or worse.

Here’s my list of the top 22 smart drugs in science fiction. I’ve ranked them by ascending awesomeness, according to my own personal judgment.

22) Nexus

In the Nexus trilogy, rogue nanotech researchers develop Nexus, a drinkable and neuroactive substance. Its name comes from nanobots that colonize the brain and boost in-brain communications and coherence. The nanobots are also capable of wireless communications with other Nexus nodes in the same brain, or even in another brain. And that opens the door to telepathic communications and the fusion of single minds into group minds.

Nexus was written by Ramez Naam. The last book in the trilogy, Apex, won the Philip K. Dick award in 2015. See my previous article for more about Nexus.

21) Nanotech Mods

In Quarantine by Greg Egan, there’s a whole industry of nanotech-based nootropics (or “mods”). They permit controlling and enhancing all sorts of cognitive performance processes, including emotions. “For more than twenty years, Axon has been helping you to attain life’s riches,” a typical ad goes. “Now, we can help you to want them!”

Some mods provide users with machine-like focus. Say “goodbye” to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The main character stays focused (“primed”) on his security work all the time. But eventually otherworldly quantum effects (also triggered by a mod that acts on the quantum state of the brain) push him out of the primed state.

Mods can be compiled from software specs in nanotech labs. While the mods sold by companies like Axon are perfectly legal, of course there are labs specialized in compiling illegal mods too.

20) Mother Retrovirus

In Greg Egan’s short story “Chaff,” published in the collection Luminous, drug cartels manufacture and sell a neuroactive virus called “Mother.”

It begins when a rogue biological engineer joins El Nido de Ladrones (The Nest of Thieves), an underground biotech research center. The engineer creates an enhanced version of a virus. It reconfigures neural networks in the brain, making them hugely plastic and changeable.

The new virus allows everyone to become who they want to be. And the villain (or perhaps he isn’t a villain?) eventually unleashes the modified virus.

In a subsequent novel, Distress, Egan imagines that “El Nido de Ladrones had been H-bombed in 2035.” That’s perhaps “because some kind of ‘dangerously liberating’ neuroactive virus had been invented there.”

19) Ware Tetralogy Merge

As noted above, Ramez Naam’s Nexus nanobots are capable of wireless communications with other Nexus nodes in another brain. That opens the door to telepathic communications and the fusion of single minds into group minds. But Rudy Rucker is even more ambitious.

In the *Ware Tetralogy (Software, Wetware, Freeware, Realware), Rucker describes an addictive and very illegal drug called “Merge.” It’s able to dissolve and reorganize human tissues. And it permits the temporary fusion of not only minds, but also bodies. We first hear of Merge in the setting of an underground lab built by a rogue biochemist on the Moon.

Rucker, a child of the sixties, often mentions neuroactive drugs in his fiction. And, in general, the brain and intelligence are prominent themes throughout his work. For example, the main character Cobb Anderson receives an offer of immortality from his AI children. And some other characters capture a “brainsurfer” and encourage each other to “eat his brain.”

18) Orion’s Arm Pourmurmide

The sprawling Orion’s Arm universe has been imagined by a collective of science fiction writers and enthusiasts. In it, there’s a wide choice of nootropics and drugs, including programmable nano-drugs able to enhance or alter consciousness. There are “narco-symbionts,” which are genetically engineered symbiotic life forms that provide a regular supply of pleasure-inducing substances. And there are “ad-drugs” used for advertising, which give users a strong desire for a product.

More exotic nootropics found in the Orion’s Arm universe include Pourmurmide. It’s a nanodevice-drug that rewires the brain of the recipient to experience every situation as meaningful and filled with spiritual power.

17) NZT-48 Limitless Pill

Featured in the Limitless movie and in the Limitless TV show, NZT-48 gives users a spectacular boost to brain function. And that radically improves memory, focus, and intelligence.

For example, NZT-48 users are able to access all of their memories, including memories that had been long forgotten (apparently). They’re able to correlate all of their memories with all available information to solve any problem. And they do it, apparently out of thin air, without effort.

See my previous article for more about NZT-48.

16) Soma Brave New World

The granddaddy of science fiction smart drugs is certainly Soma. It’s featured in Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley. Soma is a soothing, happiness-producing, hallucinogenic drug.

Besides calming the mind and producing feelings of well-being, Soma allows users to escape from reality. “There is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon …”

In Brave New World, authorities use Soma to keep people sedated. It’s very addictive. In a state of permanent bliss, they become uninterested in rebellion against the oppressive state. Some see parallels between Soma and addictions unofficially encouraged in contemporary society, such as mindless consumerism and overuse of social media.

15) Distress Disinhibitors

The novel Distress, by Greg Egan, features mild smart drugs called “disinhibitors” or “Ds.” They’re a substitute for alcohol, and used as a social lubricant. The main character uses Ds now and then. But he prefers not to concede “that human beings were physically incapable of communicating or relaxing without the aid of psychoactive drugs.”

14) The Red Pill and Blue Pill

In the Matrix universe, the Red and Blue pills represent an option. The red pill is the choice to perceive the world as it really is. The blue pill is the choice to hide behind a comforting delusion. We all know that Neo chooses the Red pill and accepts the burden of knowing that the world we perceive is really a simulation generated by machine overlords.

It’s worth noting that conceptually similar devices were used by Lewis Carrol in the classic, Alice in Wonderland. Remember the "drink me" potion that shrinks her, and allows her to see a new world?

13) Vurt

Vurt is featured in the science fiction novel Vurt by Jeff Noon. It’s a hallucinogenic drug that sends users into virtual, alternate worlds.

It isn’t very clear how Vurt works. But it’s ingested by sucking on a feather. And the effects of the drug are world-changing.

Vurt feathers are color-coded. And the spectrum ranges from bland to extremely powerful. Yellow Vurt feathers, illegal and difficult to find, project users into dangerous game worlds from which it may be very difficult to come back.

Vurt is a prominent feature of Noon’s fictional world. And it’s not the only drug featured in the universes created by his imagination. The author says, “I’ve invented drugs such as Vurt, Metaphorazine, Lucidity, Wave, Haze and many more.”

12) Battlestar Galactica Stims

In the Battlestar Galactica TV show, space fighters can boost alertness and attentiveness with stimulants, or “stims.” Stims work as advertised and permit space pilots to stay fully awake and focused for days. But there are still undesired side effects from being sleep deprived, such as bursts of aggressive and violent behavior.

It’s worth noting that fighter pilots in the real world often use stimulants (amphetamines) to stay alert. So this part of Battlestar Galactica may not be far from reality.

11) Substance D

Substance D is a powerful psychoactive drug imagined by legendary author Philip K. Dick. It’s featured in his novel, A Scanner Darkly. The drug is also called "Slow Death", "Death," or simply "D.”

Though Dick is acclaimed as one of the finest science fiction writers, and the novel is considered science fiction, it doesn’t include much futuristic science. Substance D is a realistic street drug. It’s very addictive, and has severe withdrawal effects.

A Scanner Darkly feels like a fictional description of the real life of real drug addicts. And it’s inspired by Dick’s own experiences. “Everything in A Scanner Darkly I actually saw," said Dick.

10) Serum 114

Serum 114 appears in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and adapted for film by Stanley Kubrick. Serum 114 is given to the main character, Alex, to cause an intolerance for violence, sex, and even classical music (the three things that Alex loves most).

Another drug featured in the novel and the film is Moloko Plus. It’s a milk-based cocktail laced with “vellocet” (amphetamine), “synthemesc” (synthetic mescaline), and “drencrom” (adrenochrome), among other hallucinogenic substances.

The effects of Moloko Plus are opposite to those of Serum 114. The drug makes sex and violence more pleasant. And, in the case of Alex, it also enhances classical music.

9) Neuroin Clarity

Neuroin is an illegal inhaled hallucinogen used by futuristic cop John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise in Minority Report. The film is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, mentioned elsewhere in this article.

The name of the drug could stand for “new heroin” or “neural heroin.” People in the movie also call it “clarity.” But don’t confuse it with Thrivous Clarity! The effects of Neuroin are similar to those of heroin, and there are Neuroin addicts in the film.

8) Snow Crash

Snow Crash is a cybernetic drug consumed by Virtual Reality (VR) avatars in Neal Stephenson’s Metaverse, as featured in the novel Snow Crash. We first encounter the drug in the famous VR club, Black Sun. Its owner suffers the nasty effects of the drug in both virtual and real reality.

Snow Crash, when taken by an avatar in the VR Metaverse, impacts the real person behind the avatar. It does so through psychoactive images that affect the “human operating system” in the brain. Then we learn that Snow Crash has a real counterpart, manufactured and distributed by a billionaire who wants to dominate the world. Hiro, the samurai pizza delivery hacker, comes to the rescue.

7) White Noise Dylar

In White Noise, by Don DeLillo, the experimental drug Dylar permits overcoming the fear of death by tweaking neurotransmitters. Whether the drug really works is not clear, but the main characters in the novel are desperate to get it. Undesired side effects include “outright death, brain death, left brain death, partial paralysis, other cruel and bizarre conditions of the body and mind.”

6) Tasp and Boosterspice

Ringworld, the first Known Space novel by Larry Niven, describes a psychologically addictive device called “Tasp.” It makes people happy by remotely stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain. Tasp deprivation results in intense depression and psychosis, and eventually can induce suicide. The Known Space universe also features Boosterspice, a drug that restores or indefinitely preserves youth.

5) Robocop Nuke

Robocop 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner (the first Robocop film was directed by Paul Verhoeven). In the film, a new designer drug called “Nuke” plagues Detroit. It’s a highly pleasurable and addictive narcotic developed by drug lord Cain, leader of the Nuke Cult.

Nuke provokes short intense feelings of energy and euphoria like crack cocaine. It comes in different types, with names like "Red Ramrod," "White Noise," "Blue Velvet," and "Black Thunder.” But even if someone calls it a “bath salt,” stay away!

4) Star Wars Glitterstim

In the Star Wars universe, there’s a smart drug called “Glitterstim.” It’s produced from the webs of the spice spiders found on the planet Kessel, which is controlled by the Galactic Empire.

Glitterstim gives users a temporarily heightened mental state, with telepathic abilities. Of course, there’s a catch. Glitterstim is highly addictive (even casual users can be hooked) and long term use severely damages the nervous system.

3) The Spice Melange

The Dune universe was first created by Frank Herbert. And it’s now a very popular science fiction media franchise.

In Dune, a drug called “Melange” (or “the spice”) gives users a longer lifespan, greater vitality, and heightened awareness. To some people, the spice gives even precognition abilities. Melange is addictive, and withdrawal is fatal.

The only source of the spice Melange is the desert planet Arrakis. But harvesters must be careful of the giant sandworms that populate the planet.

2) Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

In the hilarious and endlessly fascinating universe of Douglas Adams, the Encyclopedia Galactica only briefly mentions alcohol. It’s “a colourless volatile liquid formed by the fermentation of sugars notable for its intoxicating effect on certain carbon-based life forms.” But The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says more.

The best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Its effect “is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” The Blaster contains alcohol and, as appropriate to a pan galactic drink, other quite exotic ingredients.

The famous Babel Fish can also be considered as a nootropic of sorts. It’s a tiny life form that takes residence in your brain and enables you to understand all languages.

1) Moon Juice

Moon Juice is a vintage science fiction smart drug, found in Fredric Brown’s What Mad Universe. This isn’t just some futuristic green tea. A drink of Moon Juice gives you pleasant, very realistic hallucinations. For example, with Moon Juice, you can visit your beloved, who is in a spaceship orbiting the Moon, without leaving your chair – no space travel required.

The Real Smart Drugs

Science fiction is cool. But the smart drugs of science fiction aren’t real – unfortunately or fortunately, as the case may be. No pill in our world, so far, can network your brain to a computer. No drug can, yet, transform your mind into superintelligence.

Despite that dose of reality, don’t be tempted to think that nootropic smart drugs exist only in science fiction. To the contrary, scientists have studied many nootropic drugs and dietary supplements. And studies suggest that healthy individuals actually can use real nootropic supplements to enhance various aspects of cognitive performance. Learn more, find examples, and see studies at the links.

Originally published at thrivous.com on December 13, 2019 at 11:14PM.

1 note · View note