@SovvanNight's writeblr where I repost writing advice, writing encouragement, and writing humor.ย I also post my own writing, which is mostly Julie and the Phantoms, Stydia, Teen Wolf rarepairs, Olicity, and Smoaking Billionaires fanfic. (Currently re-blogging a lot of older writing advice posts from my main blog for easier searching.)
On teaching yourself plotting and part one of an attempt to describe my "Principles of Plotting"
The second entry in a series on figuring out plot and applying it to your fiction
Lincoln Michel:
Before I could write my first novel, I had to teach myself plot. More or less from scratch. Despite several years of creative writing courses and many years of literature classesโin which I was introduced to many excellent authors and learned many useful thingsโI had been taught almost nothing about plotting and structure. Perhaps a vague notion that characters should โend in a different place than they startโ and occasional references to Freytagโs Pyramid, but thatโs about it.
Partly, this comes from the literary worldโs aversion to plot, which is thought of as lowbrow or in opposition to more weighty matters like character and theme. Plot is sometimes envisioned as an artificial constraint on what should be an โorganic storyโ (whatever that would mean).
[...]
These ideas are all well and good, although I find them somewhat limiting. A lot of interesting fiction doesnโt really fit this model unless you really stretch the definitions. And anyway, you donโt need me to repeat Freytagโs Pyramid or the Three-Act Structure.
I try to synthesize all of the above. To balance the extreme prescriptivism of Hollywood guides or Heroโs Journey-type maps with the freeing yet vague advice of the literary world. For me, this takes the shape of what Iโll call story principles. Principles are not rules. They are not saying X must happen between beats Y and Z. And principles are flexible, applying to a wide variety of stories across styles and genres (though never, of course, covering everything). But principles also give you something more tangible to think about than โfind your voice,โ which may leave most writers shrugging their shoulders instead.
i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(
โน Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.
โน The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.
โน trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.
โน Healing is not linear and it is not a destination. your character does not get better and stay better. they have a good month and then something small undoes two years of progress and they have to start again with slightly more tools than before. that's the actual shape of it. the spiral, not the arc. the scene where they finally open up and cry is not the end. it might not even be progress. sometimes it just means they were tired that night.
This August, join me for the 30 Days Writing Challenge, #Augustropeโจ
In which we have a list of various tropes as the writing prompts. While these tropes are commonly used as recurring plot devices in fanfiction, you can also write your original story with them.
For 30 days (August 1stโAugust 30th, the 31st is the rest day), you can write anything with a different prompt for each day.
Any ship, fandom, characters, genres are welcome. Be it fanfiction or original fiction, just write it!
โ โ 2026 Augustrope's Prompt List โ โ
Day 1 โ First Meeting
Day 2 โ They Were Roommates
Day 3 โ Beach Episode
Day 4 โ โAlpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
Day 5 โ โDomestic Fluff
Day 6 โ Two People Love Triangle
Day 7 โ โ5 Times This + 1 Time That
Day 8 โ Mistaken Identity
Day 9 โ Coffeshop AU
Day 10 โ Age Regression
Day 11 โ โNear Death Experience
Day 12 โ Enemies-to-Lovers
Day 13 โ POV Outsider
Day 14 โ There's Only One Bed
Day 15 โ Coda/Episode Tag
Day 16 โ Relationship Reveal
Day 17 โ Hallmark AU
Day 18 โ Amnesia
Day 19 โ Body Swap
Day 20 โ Potion/Spell Goes Wrong
Day 21 โ Everyone Knows But Them
Day 22 โ โRoad Trips
Day 23 โ Your-Fave-Movie AU
Day 24 โ โIn Vino Veritas
Day 25 โ Elevator Fic
Day 26 โ Fake/Pretend Relationship
Day 27 โ Mutual Pining
Day 28 โ โMeet The Family
Day 29 โ Non-Human Character
Day 30 โ Soulmate AU
๐๏ธ More info about Augustrope
Feel free to tag your work with #Augustrope (and/or #Augustrope2026) so that I can find them.
If you're on AO3, you can also add your work into the Augustrope Collection (Augustrope2026).
If you have any questions regarding the prompt, you can directly interact with this post ๐ซถ๐ป
August 2026 is AU-gust here at the Prompt Foundry!
Alternate Universe takes on our favorite storiesโbe they shows or books we love, or tales of our creationโcan be a delightfully fun way to explore what makes those stories tick, what makes those characters who they are, and what in them is important to why we enjoy them.
On the other side of the coin, some settings and scenerios are popular for AUs because there's something special about that environment or situation that really tickles our brains, and it can be fun to figure out how to fit different characters and their contexts into that world.
So let's run through the multiverse and play with some AUs!
Feel free to combine different daysโ prompts with each other, or combine them with other events, like last year's March of the Blorbos! Draw, paint, sculpt, sing, write fiction, write poetry, write academic analysisโuse your OCs, your favorite characters from media, your own experiences, whatever tickles your fancy.
If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, Iโd love to see what you create!
Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, donโt worry about missing or skipping any, or posting your work after the day the prompt is assigned to. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!
If you have any questions or musings, check our FAQ, and if you donโt find your answer, shoot me an ask.
Plain text list below the cut:
1 Coffee Shops
2 Superheroes
3 Genderbent Characters
4 High Schoolers
5 Androids and Robots
6 Steampunk
7 Vampires
8 Werewolves
9 Soulmates
10 Professors and Academics
11 Actors Behind the Scenes
12 Professional Sports
13 Cozy Farm Life
14 Rock Stars
15 Pirates and Sailors
16 Merfolk
17 Elemental Powers
18 Faeries
19 Circus Arts
20 Post-Apocalypse
21 Externalized Souls (Daemons)
22 Libraries and Bookshops
23 Mob Bosses
24 Swords and Sorcery Fantasy
25 Hanahaki Disease
26 Arranged Marriages
27 Starships and Space Travel
28 Catpeople
29 Good Guys Gone Bad
30 Bars and Bartenders
31 Time Travel
Booktok controversy that's broken containment: a writer told one of her friends the concept for a book, and he took that concept and AI-generated a book based on it and then gifted to her like 'there you go, sweetie, you're welcome ;)'
OMG, I'm watching a video about this, and it's even weirder. That wasn't even a friend, it was a rando who saw her tiktok talking about the concept and randomly emails her this AI-generated book. That's even weirder.
And then when she says she doesn't like it, and several NYT BESTSELLING AUTHORS who all happen to be women all explain to him why he's in the wrong, he talks down to them and doubles and triples and quadruples down. But then the moment the woman's husband gets involved, he immediately apologizes to "him and his wife." Just breathtaking levels of misogyny.
He wanted credit SO HARD for doing basically NOTHING. Worse than nothing! He wanted headpats so hard that when she ignored his email he hounded her to respond publicly.
He's like a microcosm of everything that's wrong with people who use AI to generate stories.
He was talking about releasing the shit he generated with the idea he STOLE FROM HER for free if she continued not responding to him, and then acted like she was being insane when she clarified that she didn't respond on purpose ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ What goes through these people's heads!!!!!!!!!
The makers of Kinktober 2025 are back again with a brand new list! The graphics are once again created by latte-cucumber. Check out our AO3 collection, or keep reading for more information.
More information
Kinktober is a kinky October prompt challenge thatโs been running in one form or another since 2016. There are three prompts for each day in October, and the challenge is to use one (or more!) of the prompts to create something for that day. If you donโt want to use any of the three daily prompts, you can swap them out for the bonus prompts at the bottom of the prompt list.
If you have any questions, check our FAQs. Unfortunately, due to personal commitments, we won't be opening our askbox for questions this year. We've made it as rules-light as possible, though, so if your question is "Can I do this?", the answer is almost certainly yes!
Prompts
Condoms โ Bratting โ Watersports
Orgy โ Embarrassment โ Bestiality
Hate Sex โ Suspension Bondage โ Mind Control
Body Writing โ Subspace โ Master/Slave
Glory Hole โ Cloning/Selfcest โ Body Modification
Held Down โ Riding Crops โ Feeding/Stuffing
Dirty Talk โ Cockwarming โ Aphrodisiacs
Face Sitting โ Switching โ Scat
Orgasm Delay/Denial โ Discipline โ Whips
Gentle Sex โ Chains โ Noncon
Age Gap โ Breathplay โ Religion Kink
Phone Sex โ Findom โ Edgeplay
Frottage โ Temperature Play โ Emetophilia
Strength Kink โ Roleplay โ Vore
Corsets โ Power Imbalance โ Human Furniture
Nipple Play โ Conditioning โ Predator/Prey
Rough Sex โ Begging โ Furry
Deepthroating โ Rope Bondage โ Transformation
Public Sex โ Daddy/Mommy Kink โ Cigars/Cigarettes
Luke Thompson explains the hidden structure of Bridgerton
I found another interview where Luke Thompson approaches Benedict entirely through structure rather than emotion, and I thought it was fascinating.
Related posts Iโve written before:
๐ฌ 0ย ย ๐ 0ย ย โค๏ธ 5ย ยทย I Tried Analyzing the Cognitive Process of an Actor Who Removed Lint From His Clothes During an Interviewย ยทย
This is about
๐ฌ 4ย ย ๐ 8ย ย โค๏ธ 38ย ยทย Why Luke Thompson doesnโt stand out โ until you canโt stop watching himย ยทย
Everyone is understandably losing their mind
In Netflixโs official Bridgerton Season 4 podcast, Luke says:
โThat whole family has been knit by the dad dyingโฆ Falling in love is a little door outside of that family unitโฆ Benedictโs example of a loving relationship is his mom losing everything.โ
Most viewers understand that Edmundโs death shaped the Bridgerton family, but Luke goes one step further.
He isnโt simply saying that Benedict has trauma.
Heโs saying that the Bridgerton family itself is held together by shared grief.
That changes the meaning of romance entirely.
Falling in love is no longer just an emotional experience.
It means stepping outside the emotional safety of the family.
From a structural perspective, marriage has always been more than romance. Claude Lรฉvi-Strauss described marriage as a system that connects one family to another. In Bridgerton, this social function still exists beneath the love story.
Every season follows two people falling in love, but it also carefully shows their families, upbringing, obligations, and social position. Love is not isolated from familyโit transforms oneโs place within it.
Lukeโs interpretation also made me think differently about Edmundโs absence.
Perhaps the role normally associated with fatherhood is not simply protection, but helping children step confidently into the world beyond the family.
After Edmundโs death, Violet carries much of that responsibility. Yet the family also becomes united through shared grief.
That grief creates an extraordinary bondโbut it cannot fully replace the confidence needed to leave home.
In that sense, each Bridgerton siblingโs love story is also a story about leaving the family while carrying it with them.
What I admire most about Luke Thompson is that he rarely explains Benedict only through feelings.
Instead, he talks about family, grief, social structure, and the role that love plays within those larger systems.
He seems to understand not only his characterโs emotions, but the architecture of the story itself.
โหโกย The economy of small towns is not quaint. It is precarious and everyone knows exactly how precarious.ย When the plant closed, or the mill shut down, or the highway got rerouted fifteen miles east, the whole town felt it in a specific and lasting way. There are towns that have been dying for forty years and the people in them know it and don't talk about it directly but it's in everything. The storefronts with plywood where glass used to be, the school that consolidated with the next town over, the young people who leave and the question of whether they're coming back that nobody asks out loud because everybody already knows the answer. Writing a small town without writing its economic reality is writing a set, not a place.
โหโกย There is a specific kind of person who runs everything and they are not elected.ย Every small town has someone. Sometimes a family, sometimes just an individual, who is not officially in charge of anything but whose opinion determines outcomes. The woman who's been on every committee for thirty years. The family that's owned the land since before living memory. They don't have to make demands. Everyone already knows where the edges are. A newcomer or outsider won't see this power structure at first because it isn't written down anywhere. It lives in who gets called first, who's consulted before decisions are made, whose silence means disapproval. Writing this type of character correctly means never letting them explain themselves. They don't need to.
โหโกย Leaving is a complicated moral act and coming back is even more complicated.ย The person who got out, who went to college, who moved to the city, who built a life somewhere else, occupies a strange position. There's pride in them, genuine pride, and also a kind of low resentment that nobody names. They think they're better than this. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, but the suspicion is there. And when they come back, for a funeral, because things fell apart, because they got sick, the town doesn't quite absorb them back in the way they expect. They're not who they were. But they're also not from away. They're in a third category that doesn't have a comfortable name and everyone, including them, is a little awkward about it.
โหโกย People maintain relationships for decades past the point where they would have ended anywhere else.ย Because the pool is small and leaving is a whole thing, people stay in friendships, in dynamics, in proximity to people they would have simply stopped seeing in a city. The woman who is still friends with her ex-husband's sister because their kids go to the same school and their mothers are in the same Bible study and it would be more work to be enemies than to just keep showing up. These relationships have layers and scar tissue. They are not warm exactly, but they are not cold either. They are maintained. Writers often write relationships as chosen. In small towns, a lot of relationships are simply continued.
โหโกย Local history is oral and it is everywhere and it is not neutral.ย The story of what happened to the Henderson property, why the Murphys and the Dales don't speak, what exactly went on the summer of the flood; this history lives in people, not in records. And it gets told selectively, with emphasis and with meaning. The version your family tells is not the version their family tells. History in a small town is a living argument. A character who grew up there absorbed a version of local history that shaped their understanding of who deserves what and why, and that version has gaps and biases they cannot fully see. A newcomer doesn't have access to this history at all and will keep misreading things because of it.
โหโกย The relationship between small towns and their nearest city is specific and loaded.ย It's not simply rural versus urban. It's a relationship of dependency and resentment. People drive to the city for the hospital, for the court, for the things the town can't support anymore. And they come back with the feeling that the city doesn't know they exist, doesn't factor them in, makes decisions that affect them without consulting them. This is not paranoia. It's largely accurate. A small town character's relationship to the nearest city (whether they go often or rarely, what they feel when they're there, what they feel when they come back) says a lot about who theey are and where they stand in their own community.
I desperately want closeted and miserable Shane and Jackie to have had a drunken and miserable one night stand. And then sheโs pregnant and they never look the fact it could be Shaneโs in the eye ever and they both live in fear forever of 23 and me testsโฆ
i think sleeping with your best friendโs wife requires a level of like erotic insanity that shane just couldnโt muster up for a woman especially given that heโs not even into hayden (ok heโs into hayden for one line for one second but it does not really land tbh). like if he was obsessed with his best friend it would be one thing but he doesnโt even seem to like hayden that much lmao. like between the three of them hayden wants to fuck shane but shane doesnโt wanna fuck hayden and shane doesnโt want to fuck jackie and also jackie doesnโt want to fuck either of them and also hayden doesnโt seem to really want to fuck his wife either. three people and thereโs a single erotic arrow pointing in a single direction itโs a remarkably sexless dynamic all in all. however! godspeed i love this for you i hope you have a lot of fun in this arena. you know i love infidelity. we can go back to jackanov posting and meet in the middleโฆ
Writing goals for the month, posting publicly because I think it encourages accountability:
Prepping: I want to finish watching Just Like Heaven and taking notes. For reading, i need to finish Still Into You before it's due back at the library, then I have a novella from a writing friend to read and review, and then I need to start back on Alchemised.
Business: Probably nothing. Maybe search out Canva alternatives since that seems unusable now? I do need to start building an official social media presence at some point.
Writing: I want to finish Don't Trust Your Teammates--only parts of 3 scenes to go, so that should be doable. Then I really should re-read DHSWTE and then start back on it, reserving Subdrop in my back pocket as a project to fool around with when I need a break from it.
I'd also like to spend some time on outlining. DHSWTE, but also BOT5P because I'd like to get back to that as a blow-off project.
Editing & Publishing: I think I'm going to want to let DTYT rest, but I do want to publish a chapter or two on BOT5P and I'd like to start working again on my editing grid for DDTG.
Writing goals for the month, posting publicly because I think it encourages accountability:
Prepping: I want to finish watching Just Like Heaven and taking notes. I want to finish reading Alchemised and start Still Into You, a rock star romance that I have out from the library. Maybe if I have time I'll go through my e-mail and try to find those replays.
Business: Probably nothing? I'd love to do something, but at the same time, I think I'd be better off using my limited energy for editing.
Writing: I'll be finished with Don't Trust Your Teammates in a couple of days. After that, it's either finish the subdrop fic or get back to DHSWTE. This should be a bare minimum month, though, so that I can focus on editing.
Editing & Publishing: It's time to start editing DDTG. I mean, it's past time, but you know, new month, new me or whatever. If I want to publish the book, I have to edit the book first.
I do want to edit and publish one chapter of BOT5P because I don't want to leave those readers hanging any longer than I already have.
Writing: Wrote 8,920 words, mostly on Don't Trust Your Teammates, which still isn't done. Broke a 9 1/2 year writing streak because I was in the hospital for 3 days.
๐๐ Hello and welcome to our sixth annual Flufftober ๐๐
Every year, we're so excited to share our prompts with you and look forward to all your beautiful creations that will fill the month of October with all the fluffย ๐ฅฐ also, we're trying something new this year, so make sure to scroll all the way down and don't stop at the main list of 31 prompts or the usual list of alt prompts...๐
But first things first ๐
๐ As with all our events, our standard blog rules apply, and you'll find answers to most questions on our FAQ post.
๐ Below the cut, you'll find the necessary posting info, all the prompts in writing, and explanations for some prompts.
๐ Please make sure to read the entire post! If you have any questions after that, feel free to send us an ask.
So many Prompt Extras ๐
๐Yes, we heard your plea for more alternative prompts ๐
๐ We also heard the tears of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere...
๐ As always, you're welcome to replace prompts from the original list for whatever reason - no explanation needed.
Remember, you can use the Prompt Extras however you like:
๐ to replace a prompt from the original list
๐ to create even more content aside from the original prompts
๐ mixed together to enhance one or more of the other prompts
Whichever way you use them, have fun and go wild ๐
You promised us something new ๐
Yes, we did - so welcome to the 2026 Flufftober Challenge Tasks ๐
We hope you like these prompts, and now
Happy Creating ๐ฅณ
What's the tag to get reblogged? โ๏ธ
๐ The tag is #flufftober2026
Make sure there is NO SPACE between flufftober and 2026! We will NOT be checking other variations of this tag!
๐ It's also good to mention us: @flufftober
๐ We try to reblog regularly, but tumblr likes to be difficult and wonky. If you're absolutely certain a post has slipped past us, please send us an ask with the link to your post.
๐ Please make sure that all info is easy to find, either in the post or the tags. It takes a lot of time and energy to research every other post. So, please make sure to at least include the following very clearly:
๐ the day/alt/challenge prompt
๐ the fandom(s) (add "original work" or similar if applicable)
๐ the characters and/or ship(s) (add "oc" or similar if applicable)
What about the ao3 collection? ๐
๐ The collection's name is Flufftober 2026 (either as flufftober2026 or as flufftober_2026)
๐ Our collections will never close, so you can always add any late entries.
Deadlines are my nemesis ๐ฅน
Don't worry, late entries are always welcome!
๐ Reblogs will become less regular after the event has ended.
๐ We will stop checking the event tag after a few months, so please make sure to tag us: @flufftober
Prompts
1. โThis is so romantic.โ - โYouโre so weird.โ
2. New Opportunities
3. Signature Move (a dance move, a gesture, etc.)
4. Season Tickets (for a sports team, a theme park, etc.)
5. Reading Nook
6. Pet Shop
7. Pass
8. Cure
9. String (of Fate)
10. โAre you sure?โ
11. Baking Together
12. Building a Winter Home for the Wildlife
13. Creating a new Playlist
14. Under the Sea or Up in the Sky
15. Watching a Game/Show/Concert
16. Practicing Together
17. โAbsolutely not!โ - โAbsolutely yes!โ
18. Herbs & Leaves
19. Group Activity
20. Flying a Kite
21. Bucket List
22. Old Love
23. Crush
24. Trust
25. Ring
26. Road Trip
27. โI hate to ask, but-โ
28. Harmless Addiction (to coffee, to a TV-show, etc.)
29. Doing something daring
30. Beach Day or Hiking Trip
31. So long, Goodbye, Farewell
Prompt Extras
Last Year's Favorites
Alt 1. Pillows, Plushies, Piles of Blankets
Alt 2. โIs that my hoodie?โ - โ... No?โ
Alt 3. Fake Relationship
Alt 4. Set up by Friends
Alt 5. Late Night Talks
Alt 6. In Vino Veritas
Alt 7. โStay?โ
Well, hello there, Southern Hemisphere!
Alt 8. Hay Fever
Alt 9. Baby Animals
Alt 10. Making Daisy Chains
Alt 11. Sun Showers & Rainbows
Alt 12. Barbecues & Baked Potatoes
Alt 13. The Scent of Freshly Cut Grass
Alt 14. Flowering Bulbs & Fruit Blossoms
Alt 15. Burning Off, Bushfire Prep, Bonfires
- Burning Off: burning the underbrush, clearing dead leaves, etc.; burning in a small, controlled way so that if/when a real fire comes in the hotter, drier summer, it won't have as much to burn.
- Bushfire Prep: is all of the above, but also things like checking your smoke detectors, making sure your telephone tree of your neighbours has all up-to-date numbers, etc.
Challenge
Use one or more prompts from this yearโs list to:
C 1. Create a FIX-IT
C 2. Create something for a RARE PAIR and/or CROSSOVER SHIP
C 3. FINISH an older WIP (published or not)
C 4. Create something for a CHARACTER who deserves more love
C 5. COMBINE with a prompt from a previous year
C 6. Create something for a SHIP youโve never used before but always wanted to
please help me- i used to be pretty smart but iโm 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 Problematicโข 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.
