#and characters are too important in these games

[strawberryraviegutz]

Ngl it’s hella weird that so many ppl are being extremely sex negative/anti BDSM(not sure if it’s even actual BDSM but idk)about the new banner and even going as far as to compare it to sexual assault…

You can dislike something without shaming/making fun of ppl who’re excited about it along without contributing to purity culture, misogyny/internalized misogyny, and cringe culture.

Since Day 1 Love and Deepspace has always been for women and or afabs to explore their sexualities in a world where women/afabs seeking out anything sexual(or even romantic)whether it be in fiction or irl is seen as taboo, dirty/filthy/unclean, and or shameful. Especially within parts of Asia.

Men are allowed to get straight up hentai tattoos and no one says anything but whenever women/afabs have crushes on/simp for/selfship with fictional characters and or consumes nsfw content of them then we’ve “gone too far” or, “are so delusional/cringe” and get told that we’re mentally ill as an insult and that we should “go to therapy/get help” because of our “parasocial relationships with fictional characters”(and over a period tracking feature within the game out of all things..)

It’s important now more than ever to have more media like this to be created as to lessen the stigma around female sexuality. ESPECIALLY with everything that’s going on in the US right now. Shaming women and or shaming other female/afab fans for enjoying this stuff only contributes more to the problem. You’re not inherently better than anyone for not being into the type of things others may like.

“Infold is mischacterizing-”

First of all idk where yall got that from they seem the same to me, just with more different personality traits/changes added. Plus that’s the point of an Alternate Universe/Reality. AUs are different than the universes we know. Also THEY MADE AND OWN THE CHARACTERS.

There’s a difference between something just not being your thing and contributing to misogyny towards women/afabs in fandom spaces. Just because you’re not into/don’t like something doesn’t mean it’s “not normal” for others to celebrate Valentine’s Day like this. I swear women/afabs can’t do anything without you mouthbreathers demonizing us and saying that we’re inherently predatory/unsafe to be around for thirsting over/selfshipping with fictional characters.

[x-i-l-verify]

Okay Linked Universe Fandom, we have to talk. I am extremely disappointed in all of us that out of all the myriad possible duos of the Chain, only one has an official name (Downfall Duo). This has got to change. We need more duo names stat. So, this is my proposed list! Hopefully at least some of them catch on. 👀 Many thanks to @kuraiarcoiris for assisting me with some of the uncooperative duos on the list. >.> Looking at you, Warriors and Wind.

Without further ado!

Sky

Sky+Four: Horizon Duo (because they are the first two Links chronologically in the timeline, charting new horizons for the young kingdom of Hyrule, and because I view the two as representing the sky and the world [e.g. Four’s element motif]. And where do the sky and world meet? The horizon.)

Sky+Time: Wife Duo (because they both canonically love their wives and miss them. Sky isn’t married to Sun yet, but he will be, so it counts. >:V)

Sky+Legend: Harp Duo (because they both canonically play magic harps and enjoy music)

Sky+Hyrule: Thunder Duo (because of their abilities to channel lightning and the fact that Hyrlule’s spell is called Thunder. Also two of the quietist Links having a duo named after a loud sound is amusing)

Sky+Twilight: Firmament Duo (because “firmament” another word for the physical sky, and also sounds like “firm,” and both characters are good grounding forces for the other Links.)

Sky+Warriors: Knight Duo (because they actually remember their training as knights and can apply that training. Plus, both are knights in shining armor for their Zeldas.)

Sky+Wind: Breeze Duo (because flying and sailing both use air currents, and breezes are heartening and encouraging, just like these two.)

Sky+Wild: Aeon Duo (because “aeon” means "a long or seemingly long period of time" and these two are the Links that had to wait the longest amount of time to complete their quests.)

-

Four

Four+Sky: Horizon Duo

Four+Time: Shade Duo (because they are possibly the only two Links that lingered after their deaths, Time with the Hero’s Shade in Twilight Princess and Four with the four Shadow Links that appear in the Palace of the Four Sword in A Link to the Past [though one could theorize that those are Dark Links unrelated to Four entirely, so this duo name could also refer to Shadow from the Four Swords manga])

Four+Legend: Forging Duo (because not only do they have blacksmithing skills, but both forge the way for the heroes who come after them to the best of their abilities.)

Four+Hyrule: Mousetrap Duo (because they can both shrink to the size of mice, Four with his Minish form and Hyrule with his Fairy spell)

Four+Twilight: Prism Duo (because light is very important to both of their games [Twilight’s light spirits and Four’s Light Force], but also their mechanics allow them to “split” and show another side of them like light through a prism, i.e. Four's ability to divide into four and Twilght’s crystal that lets him become a wolf)

Four+Warriors: Teamwork Duo (because their games center on teamwork more than any of the others')

Four+Wind: Shield Duo (because of their identical shields that signifies a possible blood connection between them)

Four+Wild: Shattered Duo (because they both break or "shatter" things in order to fight. Four breaks himself through his splitting mechanic, and Wild breaks his weapons. You could also interpret this as Wild's memories being broken, too.)

-

Time

Time+Sky: Wife Duo

Time+Four: Shade Duo

Time+Legend: Melodic Duo (because their games focus so much on music)

Time+Hyrule: Fairy Duo (because of their connection to fairies)

Time+Twilight: Legacy Duo (self-explanatory)

Time+Warriors: Command Duo (because leader and his unofficial second in command)

Time+Wind: Menace Duo (because these two absolutely will be menaces together once Time relaxes a bit.)

Time+Wild: Moon Duo (because of the focus on the moon in their games. “I Hate the Moon” Duo doesn’t have the same ring to it :p)

-

Legend

Legend+Sky: Harp Duo

Legend+Four: Forging Duo

Legend+Time: Melodic Duo

Legend+Hyrule: Downfall Duo (basically codified fanon at this point)

Legend+Twilight: Critter Duo (because they are currently the only two Links with animal forms)

Legend+Warriors: Worsties Duo (or just "the Worsties." Self-explanatory :3c)

Legend+Wind:Seagull Duo (because Aryll loves seagulls and Marin loved seagulls.)

Legend+Wild: Stockpile Duo (Because they’re obsessive about being prepared, so they stockpile things more than anyone else in the whole Chain.)

-

Hyrule

Hyrule+Sky: Thunder Duo

Hyrule+Four: Mousetrap Duo

Hyrule+Time: Fairy Duo

Hyrule+Legend: Downfall Duo

Hyrule+Twilight: Rustic Duo (because they both come from very humble origins. Most of the Links come from pretty humble origins, but I get the feeling those two are Country Boys if you know what I mean. ;))

Hyrule+Warriors:Firestorm Duo (because of Warriors' penchant for using fire in battle and Hyrule's thunder spell)

Hyrule+Wind: Salvage Duo (because both have had to salvage their kingdoms from their destroyed states and salvage important items from where they were scattered around their worlds)

Hyrule+Wild:Wander Duo (because they both are the most adventurous Links and tend to go off the beaten path more than any of the others)

-

Twilight

Twilight+Sky: Firmament Duo

Twilight+Four: Prism Duo

Twilight+Time: Legacy Duo

Twilight+Legend: Critter Duo

Twilight+Hyrule: Rustic Duo

Twilight+Warriors: Big Brother Duo (because they are the big brothers of the Chain)

Twilight+Wind: Successor Duo (because they are Time’s direct successors that are actually acknowledged as such in their games and in the comic)

Twilight+Wild: Protégé Duo (because Twilight is Time's protege and Wild is Twilight's)

-

Warriors

Warriors+Sky: Knight Duo

Warriors+Four: Teamwork Duo

Warriors+Time: Command Duo

Warriors+Legend: Worsties Duo

Warriors+Hyrule: Firestorm Duo

Warriors+Twilight: Big Brother Duo

Warriors+Wind: Scarf Duo (because there have been a few panels where Wind steals or hides under Warriors’ scarf)

Warriors+Wild: Arson Duo (because of that one sketch where the two are riding on a log burning everything down around them, and they clearly enjoy setting things on fire)

-

Wind

Wind+Sky: Breeze Duo

Wind+Four:Shield Duo

Wind+Time: Menace Duo

Wind+Legend:Seagull Duo

Wind+Hyrule: Salvage Duo

Wind+Twilight: Successor Duo

Wind+Warriors: Scarf Duo

Wind+Wild: Walkie Talkie Duo (because Wind's joy pendant allows him to talk to Wild through his Shiekah slate)

-

Wild

Wild+Sky: Aeon duo

Wild+Four:Shattered Duo

Wild+Time: Moon Duo

Wild+Legend: Stockpile Duo

Wild+Hyrule:Wander Duo

Wild+Twilight: Protégé Duo

Wild+Warriors: Arson Duo

Wild+Wind:Walkie Talkie Duo

-

A few trios for good measure!

Wind + Wars + Time = Eras Trio

Wars + Sky + Wild = Chivalry Trio

Wind + Wild + Hyrule = Apocalypse Trio

Hyrule + Legend + Wild = Triple Threat

Warriors + Twilight + Sky = Big Bro Trio

[ventique18]

Warning: a bit of a rant and more twst worship lol

Me: *glazes twst*

Someone: "well your point is invalid because this one specific character from an obscure game dresses in socially defined feminine clothes. Therefore joseimuke games in general are just as good as twst." (<- Referring to a game where there's literally just one crossdressing character)

Well good for him! 👍 Doesn't take away from the fact that Twisted Wonderland is one of the better games out there though, considering the majority of mainstream joseimuke and otome games out there that majority of the population plays-- ARE rigid when it comes to fashion expression.

Representation is important, yes, so it's very much appreciated for one such character to be present. But the thing is, twst takes it one step further by normalizing that most men in their universe don't assign gender to clothes and just wear whatever the fuck they want. I think that's more important than having one character as "unique" while everyone else is made from the same socially conforming mold.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. There are plenty of characters in twst that prefer to be traditional most of the time. But the good thing about that is that they will wear something outside of their usual preference when they need to. They don't find that weird.

And of course, there are also a lot of games out there as explorative as twst and that's great! Posts appreciating a game for doing something right while criticizing the genre in general just means that there're not enough titles that empower this idea. I think games are a good way to normalize the message that everyone should be allowed to wear what they want, and it's up to them, not society, to define beauty.

Men can be handsome and powerful while wearing makeup everyday; Vil and Malleus show us this. At the same time, you can be a woman who likes dresses but is stronger than anyone else, like how Maleanor presents herself. But that doesn't mean that women are required to pretty herself up; you can be a cool woman in a male dominated field, like Dylla Spade is.

Tldr while twst is not perfect, it's surprisingly excellent at breaking social norms and presenting how beautiful individual preferences are. There are other games good at this too, of course, but one look at popular games makes it obvious that we still have a long way to go. Twst being so open about this topic is a great step forward for the industry in general.

[nerozane]

I know it's such a small detail, but one tiny thing i appreciated from Veilguard is that Asian characters (Bellara and Taash, yes Taash is asian to me, fight me) are voiced by Asian actors. Bellara is voiced by an Asian actress (Jee Young Han). And for her brother, Cyrian, who plays such a minor role in the series, the studio could have easily casted any actor. Or recast an already contracted actor and put a different voice for Cyrian. But Cyrian was given to a small asian actor (Tim Chiou).

Also Taash's VA is of Asian too (Jin Maley is mixed, with their name being Jin which I think they are half-japanese with their appearance) and Taash's mother, Shathann, is voiced by an Sumalee Montano, who is filipino and one of the very few prolifiic voice actors of the last decade or two who is of asian descent.

Like, it's such small thing. But for me, it's deeply meaningful. I knew a few older asian actors who want to work in western productions just can't because of typecasts and lack of roles created for them. Not to mention the cruel history of using white actors to slant their eyes and play caricatures of asian people in early western visual media. The only roles those asian actors i knew got, was our own community making them. For us. Or going back to east asia to get roles (which is its own host of problems there).

So for Veilguard to put that bit of extra effort to hire asian actors to do big leads down to minor roles, especially with our faces, is so important. Western entertainment industries across the US, Australia and Europe are still very slow in hiring us asians consistently. But for just for one game, the devs decided to hire asians from all acting experiences to bring life to these characters.

And I just. Appreciate that a lot.

[seffen]

It's been a long time since they've been here.In fact, I've been cold to them for a long time. But recently, at my leisure, I decided to remember them, it was nice.

It's been a long time and I've been able to rethink a lot of the stories, but the main points in the story remain, and I'd like to tell them. But I strongly doubt that I have the patience to draw it all.

Shamura is still one of my favorites. I wanted to make him the most controversial character. I drew his image when there was still no crown on his head.

I remember Shawmura saying he caught his crown in a net, this prompted me to headcanon that his crown was not meant for him. I've had this headcanon for a very long time, and in the early artwork you can see that Shawarma uses a regular spear and doesn't use the crown due to the fact that he couldn't quite curb it. But it's worth saying that later on he was able to curb it like no mortal would be able to. I can say that Sharuma had very high self-esteem when he was young.

Callamar, I think he's getting unduly neglected. And I don't like that he's portrayed solely as a coward. I like that he can be very cunning and very self-loving. And I wanted to revisit one point in his story. I wrote earlier that he was relatively at ease with the role of a mortal, but now I think that's not true. To explain, Kallamar as well as Leshy and Narinder were gods from childhood, from early childhood, because of this their adaptation was the most difficult and one could say unbearable. Imagine being on top all your life and losing everything in one moment, it's very difficult and the only happy moment is that Kallamar is alive.

And I can also see that Kallamar has various hobbies that would seem strange or creepy to many people and all of them would be about bodies and their insides. Given that Kallamar personified disease he had a lot of medical knowledge, simply because his region was the most commonly affected by it, and because Kallamar was very hard to please as a god. But we should not forget that he was primarily a god of disease, not medicine. Under him, in general, it is better not to bring up these topics at all or risk repeating the experience of Tom Cardy's poor guy from Red Flags.

I love Hekat. I share those who see her as strong, independent and very responsible. The way in the game itself she was ahead of all her brothers as if taking everything upon herself after Shamura received the head grass. Also, according to her headcanon, she received her crown like Sharuma already at a conscious age and she managed to live in the settlement and was a loyal follower. This experience, as for me, made her more down to earth, even though her character was hot-tempered.

If we talk about her life before the crown, then even before that Hecate was a respected woman. She was one of the students, and her word was very important. Because of this, she was also very popular among men, although none of her marriages were successful, and not because of bad relationships. Those years were very difficult times for the gods and this also affected the followers. You can say that there were difficulties with survival.

Now, you could say she is on a well-deserved vacation, although at first she helped her brothers adapt for some time, but still, despite how difficult it was for them, they are no longer children and she is tired of dragging them by the hand everywhere.

Well, and Leshy, the youngest. I can't say anything new. Those who have seen it before know that in my universe he has a daughter from a yellow cat. I would like to devote more time to his spouse. Something that I would also rewrite and change my mind a bunch of times. He is definitely not as simple as he seems. I had an idea with a breakup, but it is too large-scale and I repeat that I am not sure that I can implement it. I can say that the cat is not local and has not lived in the lands of the ancient faith for most of his life, he came from distant islands that are his native home. The main reason why he swam away from Tula is that he is wanted there and if he is caught, he faces capital punishment.

I guess that's all for now. I would write more, but there's already a lot of text here.

And there is no Narinder here. I just didn't want to draw him, maybe next time.

[meguwumibear]

dominant!zayne x submissive!reader

tw for light BDSM, bondage/shibari, sex toys (vibrator), fingering, and some minor angst. mc calls zayne sir like twice. if i've missed something else that needs a tag, just ask! nondescript female reader with a bit of a backstory, just to make her feel more connected to the world.

Additional Disclaimer: Takes place after the events of the main story (which I am not fully caught up on). Reader is NOT the game MC in this fic. In my mind's eye MC decided to romance one of the other characters and Zayne does what he can to move on.

and yes, zayne's harness in the fic is 100% inspired by his harnes in the new trailer

In 2034 the world you as you know it ends. It happens suddenly one mundane spring afternoon. A great, gaping maw opens in the cloudless blue sky above Linkon City, releasing a tidal wave of ferocious monsters unto the earth. Locals come to call the event the Chronorift Catastrophe. The world later discovers that the great, gaping hole in the sky was the appearance of the first ever Deepspace Tunnel which attracted alien beings now colloquially referred to as Wanderers.

Everyone in Linkon City remembers where they were that day. They remember what they were wearing and who they were with. A flashbulb memory, the psychologists call it. A memory that endures. A memory that persists.

Like most survivors, it isn’t just the red rain falling from the sky or the horrible sound of the earth splitting around you that you remember: it’s the actions you took to survive. The people you ran past. The neighbors you didn’t save. The hand you didn’t extend to the woman who tripped over her own two feet running from the creature. The debris you didn’t help remove from the body of the elderly man too weak to push the plank away without aid.

For three weeks you see a therapist. You’re an adult now, still plagued by nightmares of the event. You tell the woman you’re meeting with that you are suffering from memories. She tells you that your body needs to learn that the danger has passed. The problem with that logic? The danger hasn’t. Your body can’t stop secreting stress hormones when you daily lunch breaks are constantly interrupted by Metaflux monsters.

Your past becomes a prison. An inescapable cage. Your therapists asks how you would feel if someone flung open the doors for you. You tell her it would depend on who opened the door and what’s happening outside.

The session before you ghost your shrink, she asks you to practice breathing exercises. She prattles on and on about the importance of nervous system regulation in trauma recovery. Apparently exhaling is supposed to activate the “rest and digest” response—the antidote to the “fight and flight” response that your body is stuck in.  

And that’s all well and good but even twenty years later the Wanders keep manifesting in Linkon City in numbers that the Hunters can’t keep up with. You’d move, maybe, if you had the means, though you did read somewhere once that a scared animal will continue to seek out their home, even if their home is no longer safe.

So you find an alternative way to cope with the stress of the new world.

There’s budding red light district about an hour outside the city. You go sometimes on weekends to decompress. Your favorite haunt is a small BDSM club run by a couple of old widows who lost their husbands to the war. They verify ages at the door and ensure all the drinks at the place stay virgin.

You’re not heavy into the scene or anything—you actually have quite a few hard limits—it’s just…nothing else you’ve tried has helped you to shut off your brain. To shift your focus from the past to the present. To shut out all thoughts of Hunters and Protocores and Wanders.

The doms you’ve had up until this point were perfectly adequate; they listened diligently to what you were open to and respected all of your boundaries. You aren’t sure why you’ve never asked for a more consistent routine with any of them. Something, somehow, was always missing from the encounters.

There are a lot of new faces at the club tonight. Or, rather, there are a lot of faces new to you. The club has many regulars, but you don’t make the hike often enough to have them all committed to memory. Still, you’re certain you’ve never seen the tall, stoic man in a leather harness swarmed by a gaggle of women before. Despite the fact that he clearly has his pick of the litter, your gaze keeps wandering to his solid form. The way his abs flex when he breathes. The way his lips quirk when he talks.

He's halfway across the room but must somehow still feel the heat of your wandering gaze because after a few stolen looks he locks eyes with you. Your whole body flushes as he acknowledges you with a raise of his drink. The tips of your ears burn as he takes a healthy swig of the beverage without breaking the eye contact. It’s you who looks away first.

When you chance a glance back over, he’s excusing himself from the women who flocked to him like a tourist attraction to pick his way towards you. Your heart flutters anxiously as he closes in, and you have to remind yourself not to take a step back once he’s close enough to touch.

“First time?” he asks, voice smooth like ice.

“Ouch,” you reply, gripping your own water glass to ground yourself. “It’s not. Do I really look that unaware.”

His expression doesn’t change but his eyes move to assess you, “What are you drinking?”

Though his tone is relaxed you can’t help but feel as if the question has a correct answer.

“Just water.”

“Hmm,” he hums. “Something with electrolytes would be more efficient. If you’re looking for a session tonight, that is.”

“I don’t like the taste,” you tell him, trying to keep the glass in your hand from shaking as desire swells within you.

He frowns, “Without electrolytes, your body will dehydrate, no matter how much water you consume.”

“You a doctor?” you ask.

He hums in what sounds like confirmation before wrapping his hand around yours. “I take the health of the people I play with seriously. This is about much more than sex to me. I like when my partners eat three square meals a day and have an effective exercise regimen implemented.”

You don’t resist when he slips your water from your grasp. You also don’t hesitate to open your mouth when he raises his own perspiring glass to your lips. His fingers don’t even graze you as you swallow down the fruity liquid, yet you can feel your insides come alight as you obey. As your pussy begins to leak it becomes increasing clear to you that you would do just about anything to have this man dominate you tonight.

“Good,” he says once you’ve downed the drink. “Now, do you happen to have a list of what you enjoy and your hard limits on you?”

With shaky hands, you reach wordlessly into your bag to retrieve what the man has asked for. He spends a few moments skimming the contents before simply stating, “I believe we are compatible.”

You follow him to a private room near the back of the club and watch as he begins to gather some equipment for the session. Without turning to look at you he says, “I noticed that you have some experience with light bondage. I prefer to use traditional single ply shibari rope or silk as restraints. These two methods prevent chafing and other potential complications like skin lesions or rashes. Do you have a preference for today’s session?”

“No preference, uh…” you trail off, wondering what the man would like you to refer to him as.

Sensing what’s on your mind, he offers, “I have no preferred titles, but you may assign me one if you like.”

“No preference, Sir,” you say, watching the man for his reaction. He seems unfazed by the moniker and continues to ready himself.

“Do you have any allergies or medical conditions I should be aware of?” he asks.

A lie forms on the tip of your tongue but the truth slips out anyway, “My heart’s a bit weak. Nothing serious. It didn’t develop properly when I was younger. I haven’t had any issues with it before.”

The revelation seems to give the man pause. He turns to you and motions for you to hold out your wrist for him, so you do. His warm fingers slip under your sleeve and find purchase on your pulse point. After a few excoriatingly silent minutes, you attempt to put his mind at ease.

“I’m, uh, a bit more excited than usual at the moment. My resting heart rate is probably higher than normal.”

The pads of his fingers don’t leave your wrist when he asks, “What’s your typical resting heart rate?”

You want to ask what that fucking matters, but sensing that won’t get you any closure to what you want you decide to humor the man. It’s been a while since you’ve been to a doctor. Back when they used to have you track it, the rate could vary depending on what task you were completing. It was higher, usually, when doing something strenuous. When you rested it would drop again.

“Usually around 90 beats per minute.”

His eyes flick to your face as he drops your wrist. “You should see a specialist.”

You roll your eyes impatiently, “Are we fucking or not?”

In response to your outburst, his hands find the hem of your shirt. “Who said I had any intentions of fucking you?” he asks, voice frustratingly emotionless. Your arms raise instinctually as he toys with the fabric, and the takes the opportunity to relieve you of the garment. “As I said before, this is about much more than sex to me.”

He circles behind you and draws you in close to him. It occurs to you suddenly just how much larger than you the man is. He rests his chin on your head as his fingers slowly trace down your sides, leaving a field of goosebumps in their wake. His hands make their way to the button on your pants.

“You aren’t just here for sex. Are you?” he asks, voice low. You feel the words vibrate his chest as he speaks them.

“No,” you whisper, eyes suddenly blurring.

“Good,” he says, undoing your buttons. “Let’s use the traffic light system today. It’s a simply way for me to check in on you and see how you’re doing.”

He lets the words sit in the air for a bit, fingers fiddling with your zipper. The only sound in the room is your own uneven breathing that you fight for control over.

The man pinches the tab of your zipper and shifts so his cheek is pressed against your forehead. “Color,” he asks, breath hot on the shell of your ear.

“Green,” you practically moan.

He slides off your pants with ease once he’s taken care of the zipper. He even helps you to keep your balance as you step out of them, one foot at a time.

“Color?” he asks again, as his fingers settle on the clasp of your bra.

“Green,” you reply, voice steadier now.

He undoes the hook with one hand.

You expect him to remove your panties next, but his fingers instead find the meat of your breasts. One of his arms wraps around you, securing you tightly against him, as you nearly keel over in a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

“Sensitive here,” he observes, cupping one of your breasts in his free hand. He uses a foot to nudge your legs further apart and slip a leg between them. The man isn't lying about getting off on this; his cock is hard as a rock against your ass.

“Fuck,” you whine as his bends you over ever so slightly. Just enough to rub your clothed pussy against his pant leg.

“Wet already,” he informs you, as if you don’t already know. As if you can’t feel the way the cotton material sticks to your lip. “All I did was undress you. That eager to begin?”

“Please,” you groan, desperate for him to take you apart with his slender fingers. “Please, Sir, I want you so fucking bad.”

“On the bed,” he instructs, releasing you, careful not to harm you as his leather harness peels away from your skin.

The rope he ends up choosing for the session is the jute rope. He takes his time winding the instrument around your wrists and pulling them above your head. His movements are practiced and skilled. His hands steady like a surgeon’s. You don’t even realize the effect watching him restrain you is having on you until a firm hand finds its way to your pelvis to stop your squirming.

Once you’ve settled, he retrieves two strands of additional rope.

“Are you familiar with the Spiral Futomomo tie?” he asks. “I understand that you’re still a beginner and tie will force you into a fixed position for an undetermined length of time. I trust you will use your safe word if needed?”

“You can trust me,” you assure him. “I know my limits.”

He must believe your words are sincere because he sets to work binding your ankle to your thigh, checking in periodically to ensure the wrappings aren’t too tight. The man is clearly in no rush and seems to delight in taking breaks between knots to steady your shaking form. You also notice the way his eyes shift to the growing wet spot beneath you as he progresses.

“What do you like about bondage?” he asks as he begins to work on your other leg.

“I don’t know,” you say, attempting to shrug before remembering your pose prevents you from such movement. “I’m never in control of my life anyway. May as well surrender myself to someone I know will take care of me.”

He doesn’t look at you, but you can see the way his eyes lighten. Your response must please him somehow. You decide to push the issue, “You like being in control?”

“I like caretaking,” is his response. “I like giving people what they need.”

“What if I need your fingers inside me?” you dare, feeling bold.

A small smile, but a smile all the same. “Then, you’ll have to patiently wait until I’m finished with the task at hand.”

He double checks all of his bindings once he’s finished securing you, mumbling under his breath about optimal blood flow. It’s cute, the way he seems so set on ensuring this is the best possible experience for you. You can’t remember the last dom you had who was this doting.

When he finally situates himself between your legs, it’s with gloved hands and a vibrator. You jump as the cool leather of the hand covering finds your inner thigh.

“Keep these spread for me,” he says, referring to your legs. Then he’s rubbing the vibrator, still off, up and down your panties with just enough strength for you to truly register the tool.

“You’re soaked,” he observes in that neutral tone of his, though his eyes glistening with awe. You wonder if he even realizes the vibrator isn’t on. His eyes find yours and for the first time all evening he smiles warmly at you. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take excellent care of you.”

Then he turns the vibrator on its lowest setting and your pussy truly begins to drool. He circles the vibrating toy around your clit strategically, watching your response to his ministrations intently. Fire pools in your belly as he slides the vibrator down your cunt and presses the tip of it gently against your opening. The panties you’re still wearing dull some of the vibration, but you can still feel the ungodly amount of slick that slips out of you at the slight penetration.

You do your best to stay still for him as he ups the setting, but your body starts to twitch in pleasure, back beginning to arch, toes threatening to curl. Your breath quickens as well as all the blood in your body seems to pump directly to your swelling clit. The same clit the man is now more firmly rubbing the vibrator against.

“Fuck,” you cry, starting to lose your composure. Your hips buck away from the relentless thrumming of the vibrator. Or maybe towards it. You’re not actually sure. It’s both too much and not enough at the same time. You need more. You need less. You need…

His unoccupied hand presses your hips back against the bed. “Easy,” he coaxes. “Don’t pull against the ropes.”

When you’re unable to obey, too overwhelmed with desire, he switches the vibrator off. The lack of sensation is so abrupt the tears you’ve been holding back finally spill, slipping down your heated cheeks. An animalistic whine you didn’t even know you were capable of escapes you.

“We’re not done,” he assures you, swiping at your tears with his thumbs. You wish suddenly he wasn’t wearing the leather gloves. You yearn to feel him skin to skin. The fabric is warm at least from the heat of his fingers. “You’re just getting a little fussy. I want to make sure everything is alright before we continue.”

He settles back between your spread legs and hooks his pointer finger in the bottom of your panties, pulling it aside to expose your dripping core and swollen lips. “Impressive,” he says, “how simple it was to elicit this response from you.”

He collects some of your spend on his index finger before starting to slide it inside you. It’s met with no resistance. He sinks easily in, straight to the knuckle. When he slips out it’s only to coat a second finger in your slick so he can sink that one in alongside the other. The two digits begin working you in tandem with each other, pumping deliciously against your walls. It doesn’t take him long to find what he’s looking for.

“Here,” he states, pressing and holding the tips of his fingers against the sensitive area. You involuntarily clench around them, body begging him to move them once more, but the man—to the devastation of your body—is nothing but the living embodiment of self-control.

You audibly cry out when he pulls his fingers from you. He locks eyes with you as he coyly promises, “Soon. I’d never leave a woman unsatisfied, and any man who would isn’t fit to be a dom.”

He picks the vibrator again and this time, when he touches it to your clit, it’s under your ruined panties. The thrumming sends a bolt of electricity skittering up your arched spine. Fuck, you’re so unbelievably wet. You feel your pussy fluttering around nothing and hiccup out a sob. You’re so empty. You’re so, so empty.

“Need,” you hiccup.

“What?” he asks patiently. “Tell me what you need.”

“Your fingers. I need your fingers. Please.”

He slips the same two from before back inside you.

“So well mannered," he praises. Then he asks, "Here?” as he presses the appendages against that spot once again.

“Yeah,” you agree, though you’re so far gone you would agree to anything he asked of you in this moment. “Yeah. Yeah. There. Right there. Fuck!”

He uses his fingers and the vibrator to bring you right to the brink of an orgasm. It’s so good. He’s so good. He’s touching you everywhere you need to be touched. Pushing all the buttons that need to be pushed. Your time in these rooms has never felt anything like this before, and you doubt it will ever feel anything like this ever again.

“Can I-”

“I don’t remember telling you that you needed my permission.”

Your orgasm ripples through you, strong and steady like a cresting wave. Once he’s certain he’s wrung the last of it out of you, the man withdraws his fingers and switches off the vibrator.

“I’m going to remove my gloves and start undoing your bindings,” he says.

“Yeah, okay,” you reply.

It takes a few minutes for him to completely untie you. Once he has, he asks permission to massage your legs and arms to reencouraged blood flow which you readily agree to. He produces a bottle of lotion that smells like eucalyptus from his bag and starts working the muscles of your arm.

“I wish they had showers here,” he offhandedly comments. “I don’t like sending people home without a proper washing.”

“A bath does sound nice,” you agree, sagging into his embrace.

“Promise me you’ll take one when you get home. I don’t want you getting into your bed dirty.”

“I would never make a promise I couldn’t keep, Sir.”

A comfortable silence falls over the room as he continues to provide you with aftercare.

“Zayne,” he eventually says, eyes fixed on the foot he’s been massaging for the past few minutes.

“What?”

“My name. You could use it if you’d like. Sir is fine too, if you’d truly prefer it, but I find names are much more intimate.”

“Oh,” is all you muster. Then you tell him yours.

“Could we move to the sofa while we continue to wind down?” he asks after testing the sound of your name in his mouth. “I like the casual skin to skin contact after a session. I’ll remove my harness but leave my slacks.”

“Fine with me.”

It takes Zayne a moment to remove his harness. Perhaps it’s his first time wearing this particular set of gear. You watch him wrestle with the final clasp through drooping eyelids. His expression softens when he catches you lazily staring at him.

“Admiring the view?” he teases.

“Never had a better one,” you reply easily.

He positions himself behind you when he joins you on the sofa. The two of you lay there comfortable for some time, breath seeming to synchronize in the quiet of the room. The world outside this secluded space slowly begins to creep back into your mind. Back to Metafluxes and Protocores. Back to Wanders and Hunters.

And then you start to cry.

If you weren’t so close to Zayne, you could probably hide it from him, but he notices the change in your mood instantly. He tugs gently at your arm, a wordless plea for you to turn to face him. You allow him to reposition you, curling yourself into his large body, tucking your face into his neck.

He pets at your hair soothingly while you let the worst of it out. When an appropriate amount of time has passed, he asks, “What brought that on?”

“It’s, uh, well it’ll probably ruin the moment if I told you.”

“I’d still like to know if it’s all the same to you. Debriefing is part of the scene after all.”

At first, you’re not sure you want to tell him what triggered the outburst, but considering the dynamic, you figure you owe it to him.

“I was thinking about my ex,” you admit.

Zayne stiffens, his caressing hand on your head stills. “They hurt you?”

“They loved me.”

 Zayne tangibly relaxes at your response, and he resumes petting your hair.

“What happened to them?” he asks, tone carefully neutral.

“They left me.”

The silence that follows your confession is welcome. You think you even dose off. When your eyes open again, Zayne is full dressed, sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows as he sanitizes the sex toy you soiled.

Sensing you stir he says, “You’re awake.”

“I am.”

Zayne dries the toy and sets it aside, turning to face you.

“I like to follow up with the people I dom for. You don’t have to give me your number if you’re not comfortable. An email will suffice.”

“You can have my number,” you say, gesturing for him to hand you his phone. “I’d actually appreciate a check in tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

He walks you to the train station once he’s certain the number you’ve given him isn’t a fake.

“Remember to get a full eight hours of sleep tonight,” he tells you. “And please eat a protein-based meal for breakfast. Something with eggs and meat, maybe. A shake if absolutely necessary.”

“Yes, Doctor Zayne,” you joke, offering him a crisp salute as you step onto the train platform. Maybe you're imagining things, but you swear he flinches at your response.

A firm hand on your wrist stops you from fully entering the car. You turn to face him one final time.

“About that,” he says, expression unreadable. “I was serious about you seeing a specialist for your heart.”

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Besties Tournament: Finals

Propaganda below cut

Ragbros (submitted 2 times):

From a storytelling perspective, in a game where the premise is reuniting with your lost sibling, these two are excellent foils as siblings who are technically separated but always within reach of each other. I bet that drives the traveler batty, that these two could technically reconcile at any time but Don’t. If you guys aren’t using your free ‘reconcile with your sibling’ card, then give it to them. And one’s even got connections to Khaenri’ah and the Abyss Order! Are these two good siblings to each other? Well. No not really. But the way they were best friends when they were kids and are now bitterly awkward after Diluc’s fratricide attempt (I know he was in a terrible headspace but cmon man. Should’ve at least apologized afterwards.) yet still hang out even in the beginning of the game (see: hanging out in Venti’s story quest and family vacation in GAA 1) is very entertaining. The mask is off now, Diluc. Do you still care about your brother? Kaeya’s internal conflict is very tasty too, still considering Diluc family even if he doesn’t really count himself a Ragnvindr anymore (if he ever did…), and it’s a wonderful narrative metaphor for his conflict of whether he considers himself a Mondstadter despite loving his second home. Kaeya’s a character with a lot of depth from his origins alone, but his personal relationships with the other Mondstadt characters really elevate that and his internal struggles, and none are as important as the family that welcomed him into Mond in the first place. With the exception of the travelers (and Paimon!), I think this is the most important platonic relationship in the game.

Ragbros angst and love makes the world go ‘round

Redemption Arc (submitted 4 times):

My dickhead son and his plant based alternative mom

She saw that he had good in him despite being a villain; knocked him down to his absolute lowest and then helped him pick up the pieces; The level of unspoken communication between them is so sweet. Ex. Nahida sends Wanderer to various events under the guise of "making sure nothing goes wrong" but actually she's getting him participating in things to get him out of his shell; Conversely I think observing him helps Nahida understand the world/relationships between humans; They're just so cute I love the soft spot Wanderer has for his adoptive mother.; headcanon that he rants about her "annoying" him but 100% would turn around and beat someone up for talking smack about her

Two people who just escaped The Horrors choosing each other as family……… yes please

[smilesrobotlover]

Here’s a list of characters that I think should’ve made it in Hyrule Warriors:

Groose. 100% he should’ve been in hw. Each era of characters seem to follow a theme of two heroes and 1 villain (in regards of the main story at least): oot has Ruto and Darunia, and tho he’s not exact I sorta count Volga since he looks like Volvagia, tp has Midna and Agitha and Zant, but skord only has Fi and Ghirahim. Why wasn’t Groose the second hero character for that era??? He’s one of the most important characters in the game and the groosenator is IN IT too! It feels disrespectful to NOT have him in it yet he’s not. I don’t understand the logic behind it but it makes me upsetti spaghetti because Groose is the best guy around

Rusl. This is definitely bias talking cuz I love Rusl but also I feel like it makes more sense. Now… I like Agitha in tp. I think she’s a very fun and charming character that adds more life to the world of Tp, but she’s not an important character in that game. You could go the whole game without meeting her and have no consequence (tho she gives you great prizes so it certainly doesn’t hurt to see her), but for some reason she was added to Hyrule warriors? I just don’t think it makes any sense when the resistance were right there. Rusl is one of the most important characters in the game by being Link’s father figure, protecting the kids, being apart of the resistance, and teaching Link how to fight. It feels more natural to have an actual fighting character that was important to the plot be added, but he wasn’t. And this random child who is not a fighter and has no plot relevance was added instead. I will forever be salty about this. And if not Rusl, they should’ve at LEAST gone with Ashei since she’s also a fighter! Give the resistance some love! They’re such cool characters that were not utilized enough! UGH

Vaati. Now I don’t care too much for Vaati in the canon games, but Vaati is a very unique villain because he’s the most reoccurring villain besides Ganondorf in the Zelda series, and he was the first villain of Hyrule before Ganondorf came into existence. I feel like he should’ve had a chance in the game, maybe not in the main story, but at least a playable character. Now, tbf, Vaati is in games that aren’t super well known save for Minish cap, but still. In the world of zelda he’s very important and I feel like deserved a spot on the roster.

Now this isn’t in the actual Hyrule warriors game, but it is a hw game and I think Astor fits on this list. You’re telling me this guy was the main villain in the entire game save for the final battle and he WASNT playable?? HUH???? That is the most absurd character on this list to not be added cuz he’s not some side character, he’s the VILLAIN. Even Sooga became playable (tho that was DLC) but he WASNT! Astor was done so dirty in this game and he deserves so much better. He should’ve been playable is all I’m saying.

I surprisingly don’t have a strong opinion on this cuz idk how they could do this well but I feel like I must say this out of obligation, but Linebeck… and solely cuz I need him so bad. I want to play him in something or see him in something or do SOMETHING with him. I miss my wife tails… again, idk what they could do but they did add Medli so I’m sure they could’ve figured something out. He’s easily one of the most important characters in phantom hourglass and I would’ve love to see him 😔💔

And that’s all I have. I’m curious what other characters people wish were added to Hyrule warriors :00 but these are the big ones for me.

[starvingnarcissistmusic]

I've had this drafted forever and I'm not entirely sure why I didn't post it. Oh well, better late than never!

MAL DU PAYS (the song) fun facts:

(Like the original post, spoilers for Act 5 ((and also 2hats)))

- Originally, after finishing the game, I wanted to write a song about Loop. They're one of my favorite parts of the game and I really loved their character, but I ended up scrapping that idea very early on, as I couldn’t really find a personal tie to anchor the song to me. While I did want to write a song about the game, I didn’t want to write something that didn’t resonate with me and my musical “mythos” in some way. It's a fan song, but it's also a Starving Narcissist song, and I felt it was important to strike that balance. MAL DU PAYS (Monophobia) only got released because I felt that it was something that fit into the larger body of my works even without the context of the game. So in the end, I chose to write about Siffrin, as I found them a lot more personally relatable. The final version, lyrically, is almost like I’m using Siffrin as a vehicle to write about my own feelings. Some lyrics are his, some are mine, a few are both of us, it’s a weird sort of style I’ve never really written in before.

I do have some leftover lyrics from the scrapped Loop version, though!

“There’s a you you’ll never be, across the cosmic sea / Who has everything you wanted, now it’s everything you need; is it over yet?”

- I think originally the song had a lot more of an exhausted vibe, but with most of the stuff I write, the tempo usually gets faster the more I play it. At some point in the writing process the song channeled more of a manic energy than I had originally intended it to. Loud and shouty is kinda just my default lol.

(The first ever demo for the song, recorded September 15, 2024. Features some slightly altered lyrics!)

- The title was also subject to change! I think for a while I was going back and forth on just calling it Homesickness, mostly because I was a little nervous that my song’s name was technically a late game spoiler. Half the reason I wanted to even write the song was because I thought MAL DU PAYS would make a great song title though, so in the end I just sucked it up and went with my gut. The alternate title was also not set in stone, I think originally I was considering just calling it Mania or Paranoia, but I thought those would be a bit generic. Eventually, I settled on Monophobia, because I felt it was apt in describing the song as a whole. I write a lot about loneliness, and Siffrin is afraid of being alone, so it felt fitting to name the song after the fear of it. (And also, a bit more superficially, I thought Monophobia made a better song title.)

- The song is the only Starving Narcissist song on a nylon string guitar, and it's also the second song in a completely non-standard tuning (third if you count ITWYW?, but that's just a half step down from standard). MAL DU PAYS (Monophobia) in DADF#BD, with a capo on 1.

- THIS SONG HAD SO MANY REVISIONS. I don't think I've ever had this many versions to a song ever. It got so bad that I made a specific folder just to hold all the different variations I had for the song. They're not all too different from each other, and they're all built on the same take of the song, but I was playing around with mixing and structuring and vocal layering and its a whole mess. Honestly, the fact that it's a song about a timeloop makes it probably the funniest song this could have happened to.

- And that's about it! To end off this little fun fact post, here's a little something I wrote for Genius (where lyrics for this song and all my others are posted! plus annotations I write! <3) about the song. The response to MAL DU PAYS (Monophobia) has been pretty wild, and I'm glad it managed to resonate with people, even some who don't even know the game it's about.

That's all. While I guarantee this year will probably be slower for Starving Narcissist, rest assured that I am working on stuff, just very slowly. There's a very low chance I'll ever do something as flagrantly self indulgent as this song, but whatever I do end up doing, I hope you're around to see it.

In the meantime, stream the song on spotify! or buy it on bandcamp! or even just go watch the lyric video i made for it (please i spent like a week on this)!

Thanks for everything, see you later <333

Happy one year anniversary to In Stars And Time! tldr; i wrote a song about it. if you wanna skip all the gushing and just listen to it, click here. (spoilers for act 5) If not, behold this big rambly mess of a thing i wrote:

So funny story, I kind of wasn’t planning on releasing anything for the rest of the year. The album wore me out, and the only other idea I had sort of fell through, so I was content on just letting the album be the only thing of note I would make in 2024.

… and then, in September, I played a little RPG called In Stars And Time. beat the whole thing over the course of three days, then spent the next couple weeks ravenously consuming all the fan content I could get my hands on. my friends have been forced to stare at my siffrin pfp every day for two months straight at this point and frankly i think they are tired of me talking about it.

i love the art, i love the story, i love the music, i love the characters, i love the world. siffrin sort of immediately became one of my favorite protagonists like,, ever. and it definitely did not help that i am also a scrawny forgetful person who has to regularly fight off the part of my brain that convinces myself that All My Friends Secretly Hate Me.

I’ve never really been so called out by a character before. The spiraling, the deflection, and the agony of being a stranger to yourself. the yearning for something you cant even name, because how could you? you cant even find the words on your tongue. not being able to tell anyone how you feel because its just easier to live with it, easier to let it eat you from the inside out then to bother anybody else. its easier to keep the mask on, stick to your lines, let the show go on.

all that hit just a bit too close to home. so i did what I usually do When Things Hit and wrote about it.

(like i said, spoilers for Act 5; It’s pretty devoid of context but they’re spoilers nonetheless)

MAL DU PAYS (Monophobia) is a song about cyclical burnout, self-estrangement, and homesickness. It’s half about Siffrin, half about me, but mostly it’s a rumination on loneliness and the hell that is the self.

Out now wherever you listen to music.

“How can you be homesick if nowhere is home?"

[luffysprincess]

Why You Should Play Wuthering Waves

an unofficial, unsponsored list of why you should join the wuwa world ᰔ

CHARACTERS

There’s so much eye candy it’s unreal.

(There are more characters ofc. I just can’t fit them all here but trust me. Or don’t trust me and look them all up!!)

Even the mcs are hot

Which speaking of MCs…

You’re able to switch from female to male Rover at any time you want!! There’s just a limit of one switch per every 24 hrs.

Also they actually talk a decent amount during dialogue cut scenes which makes things more interesting imo. I like their voice actors and enjoy hearing them!

EXPLORATION

Exploration is so damn fun and efficient!! You have unlimited stamina except for climbing, swimming, gliding and during battles. But when running around you can run forever without losing stamina.

Also climbing is so quick and easy. You basically run up the walls. And you know when you’re climbing in genshin and you get stuck bc there’s a ledge? Yeah that’s not an issue in wuwa bc the characters lift and swing over ledges like that.

The scenery is so beautiful.

There are also quite a lot of helpful devices that every character has access to at all times. Like the grappling hook, which is similar to genshin sumeru grappling hooks except there’s no limit to how far away you have to be to use it. Makes it faster to use when exploring.

YOU CAN FLY IN ONE OF THE REGIONS. like actually fly and very quickly too. It’s super fun.

Additionally, each region in a nation has different categories that make up its exploration and it will tell you how much of each you’ve completed. This makes it easy to complete exploration bc you can see what you’re missing and focus on that.

FIGHTING/BATTLES

Boss battles are so unique and fun. It’s very out of the box and unexpected and I’ve never had more fun fighting bosses then I have in wuwa.

The play styles between each character differed a whole lot and each and every one is so damn cool.

Not only do you have the ability to dodge and counterattack, but you can also parry. There are other opportunities to do more than normal damage during battles as well. You have the regular attack, enhanced skill attack, and then special skill attack like in other games such as genshin and hsr. But you also have an echo attack and intro/outro attack when you switch characters in battle.

WISHING

It’s very easy to collect astrite!! Astrite is the equivalent of primogems/stellar jade. The game is very generous and when it comes to wishing, it is very kind when pulling for your fave characters.

COMPANION STORIES

Companion stories are super fun. Sometimes the game style changes to a 2d view (think Mario bros) in certain domains for companion stories and it’s such a fun little twist.

MISCELLANEOUS

YOU CAN SKIP DIALOGUE!!! Dialogue can be skipped for any and every quest. For more important quests, they will give you a summary for the dialogue you’re about to skip. But for simple side quests, they will just skip the dialogue w/o a summary. This makes gameplay so much more efficient bc I hate when there’s too much dialogue.

There are tactical hologram enemies that are essentially pre-existing bosses that are made to be more difficult and have about six or seven versions. Each version is more difficult than the last and provide a fun challenge when it comes to fighting. Bc sometimes the game can feel a bit too easy when you level up your characters, but these holograms make you plan and rethink strategies when it comes to battling.

This is your travel companion. Look at how cute he is!!!

Your characters will heal not only at the bigger teleportation spots (the ones that unlock the map) but at ALL the teleportation spots. Makes it very convenient.

Did I mention that the characters are really hot?

We can be friends if you play :)

[vldunchartedregions]

Voltron Season 8 Meta - The Ground Work

Before we start our episode-by-episode deep dive & broader analysis of Voltron Season 8...

I wanted to address our main philosophy and themes we will be touching on our journey together.

Firstly, every frame, expression, shot, angle, storyboard, character placement, dialogue? It is all intentionally chosen to cater to the story. Animation is expensive and Dreamworks banked on this show being the success. It was greenlit for 78 episodes off the bat, sectioned into 3 parts (26 episodes each).

MM: Okay. So at that time did you know it was a 78-episode contract?

JDS: Yes.

LM: Yes we did. That was probably one of our biggest lies. You know, sadly. We try not to lie too much, but I’ll tell you, I’m gonna blow-blow the whole industry up right now: if an animated show tells you they don’t know if they have a second season, they probably know they have a second season.

Let's Voltron - Episode 175 - Transcript by Team Purple Lion

---

Oh yes, Dreamworks & Netflix were banking on this project. Budget comes into play and the show would've had an overall budget set in stone for animation, voice actors, writers, background artists, the showrunners, directors, marketing, events, etc. the works.

Moving forward, we must keep this philosophy in mind - every decision reflected within an episode - the title, all frames, shots, character placements, and dialogue choices within an episode that we'll be dissecting always has the following:

Intentions - The What?

Motivation & Purpose - The Why?

In a great audiobook I listened to from Reggie Fils-Aimé, called Disrupting the Game (highly encourage you to listen to it if you're curious about his time as President of Nintendo), he goes through his career journey chapter-by-chapter, tells important stories that helped shape him into who he is, and then ends each chapter with "The Why."

Why am I saying this? ADHD, but I do also have a point; walk with me here.

We will be looking at each episode with the lens of dissecting the double meaning of the episode titles - including the what and the why; identifying the layers in each episode that reflect the title's original intention and purpose. Neil Kaplan explains this notion well with "Launch Date" in his interview with Afterbuzz TV (Season 8, Episode 1 & 2 Recap)

[Timestamped: 3:07] 2. We will be dissecting scenes with the notion of the "What & "Why?" - from character expressions, to placement, to how the edits in post-production that were requested disrupts all of the original intentions of the episode and/or shots.

3. We will be looking towards my secret source (apologies to you all, but I'm NOT revealing who it is - sit down with some popcorn instead and enjoy the ride) with the information they have provided + other sources of information we've uncovered or have been informed of, to make informed conclusions with evidentiary support. Every step we take will be an informed conclusion.

In short, everything has a purpose and we will be walking through all of this with some lovely nuggets of (alleged) truth to feed our conclusions from my sources.

We also must keep in mind: explanations, intentions, and motivations can change throughout this meta. Our conclusions now might not be the ones we decipher later on. Not everything we know may be the truth, and even if we are to assume that what I've been told is all facts (allegedly; for entertainment purposes only), some facts even from my source may shift our current knowledge into a new truth.

When I tell you we have been binge watching these episodes again, and again, and tearing them apart limb from limb with the information we have, we are not exaggerating. We keep uncovering more with each rewatch and my friends, it is fascinating.

With ALL of this in mind, let's dive into some of the broader themes of Season 8:

In the first half of Season 8, we are shown that the paladins have not always made the correct decisions in their time defending the universe. Their actions DO have consequences, and their decision making from the past bites them in the ass.

...Case in point. 2. In the second half of Season 8, we unlock a few new themes: Love, Rebellion, & Redemption.

We will also address the Macross Theory™ Love Triangle.

Religious themes that go much deeper into the show than we initially thought. Further influence from many mecha shows (oh yes, this includes Evangelion here, friends - get in the robot, Lance).

Please see a screenshot from a DM from my valuable source from New Year's Day:

I was going to censor this message a little... however, I think it's a bit more fun to give you a teaser for what's to come. It's probably not what you're expecting.

Again, I must implore to you all - these changes were asked for last minute, hence why Season 8 is such a hard watch to old fans and new:

It was DONE. COMPLETE. FINISHED.

BEFORE Season 7 dropped.

They were ready to take a grand ol' break before Season 8 was meant to drop. Walk the dogs, paint some walls, eat some food. Y'know, they were on holiday mode - ready to book flights, job well done team!!

There was an incredible story awaiting us that unfortunately ended up on the cutting-room floor. This was even mentioned by LM at the NYCC panel in 2018, but for this purpose, I'll use a quote from the Afterbuzz TV podcast - February 25th, 2019:

LM: It was–there’s a ton of stuff that just hit the-hit the, kinda, cutting room floor, storyboard-wise, just because we didn’t have the time and so we’re looking like, it’s a kids’ show technically still, even though we’re trying to make it more than that. You have a-a scene that’s basically an act long that’s just in a white floaty space with people talking about, like, you know–

JDS: Bigger emotional stuff-

LM: Yeah. And, uh, you know, letting that go any longer than that is just like, “You can’t do it!”

ABTV Voltron February 25 Season Review with Showrunners in Studio - Transcript by Team Purple Lion

---

Now that's all addressed, I do want to lay some ground rules as we proceed through this meta. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I want to make this clear to the fandom:

It was NEVER the crew, cast, or showrunners intention for Season 8 to pan out this way. They had an entirely different vision as to where the show was heading + they were probably confident it wouldn't be changed by the time they finished it. There was direct, last minute, executive intervention here. Do not hunt down all parties for this as it has been several years.

We implore you to approach this meta with empathy and kindness. How heartbreaking would it be to be the crew, let alone the showrunners, to be asked to amend and revise all of Season 8 after painstaking, hard work and having the season done already? With NO budget left? You can agree to disagree with me here, but this is how we will be approaching this meta. Be kind.

Your feelings are valid - abusive, unwarranted behaviours and opinions are not. We were not there and we don't know the full story and how it unfolded, no matter how much context and bits of information we were given. We DO have evidentiary support to fuel this meta and piece together a look at what may have been the original ending (allegedly; don't get me wrong) but I wanted to make this clear - no sending hate to anyone.

In light of all of this, let us begin with a teaser: I'll share one confirmation I had from my source...

Lotor was meant to be brought back to life.

Check out my Twitter page for any and all updates in regards to this insanely detailed meta; including teasers and screenshots! Please and thank you.

---

Disclaimer: The one thing I humbly request is PLEASE... No hate towards the showrunners, cast, crew, or the official Voltron IP holders. There's a lot that has changed culturally and intrinsically within the industry over the years and this outcome was not something they could simply control. Let's be adults, look at this open conversation with empathy and love, and respectfully, let's indulge in this topic with grace - your feelings, however, are incredibly valid when it comes to this meta and what we uncover, as there's many alleged finds that may shock the fandom.

[myarmsaretoolong]

Out of Context Quotes

Share some out-of-context quotes from a work of your choosing! Funny, badass, witty, quippy, sexy, romantic, etc.

thanks for the tag @sarah-sandwich! gunna do a couple of random short moments from each of my Big Three wips atm

torchwood fix it

1.

Stood here, in the shelled-out hull of a TARDIS-turned machine of war, Owen didn’t feel all that saved at all. Simply thrust sideways into a different kind of hell.

2.

A chill settled over Owen. “Parallel Earths?” he asked slowly as yet more appeared. Twenty now, thirty. Coming to terms with the infiniteness of an ever-expanding universe and all the potential within it across all of time was difficult enough, but he’d managed it after joining Torchwood. An infinite number of infinites, however? What was some twat from the East End meant to do with that? The Doctor tipped his head this way and that, tongue poked in his cheek. “Not quite.” Phew. “Not this time, at least.” Oh.

band au

1.

Ianto’s nineteenth birthday slipped by in a heady haze of sweat and boredom. He’d long since tired of the novelty of it all, finding the temperature did little more than drive him inside in an attempt to cool down. Even now, as September rolled around, the sun continued to blare its fiery heat. It frizzed up hair and melted all those ice creams before you could eat even half of one, it turned skin red and taught them all an important lesson about sun cream. The local weather man kept going on about unusual pressure systems, but Ianto didn’t care enough to understand. He knew perfectly enough that hot meant hot.

2.

“‘Cos someone’s gotta serve the coffee, lad. Everyone wants coffee, but no one wants to make it. If no one did, imagine the uproar! Just like music.” “But they’ll always be someone to make music,” Ianto shot back. He couldn’t imagine a world without it. “And coffee. Some poor sod like me who’s got no other option.” “Always options, now. Some are easy and some are hard.” “Can you stop speaking in riddles?” Glyn laughed, eyes twinkling. “One day you’ll know what I mean.”

parkner hunger games au

1.

“Don’t look now,” Ned said out the side of his mouth, eyes fixed somewhere over Peter’s shoulder in a manner that made Peter want to spin around immediately, “but Harley and his lot are here.” Of course, Peter couldn’t help but whirl around on his heel, eyes immediately latching onto Harley’s ridiculous blonde curls even through the busy marketplace. His heart did a little flutter, which he mentally berated it for. Speaking from experience, it wouldn’t stop it from happening again next time. Harley’s ‘lot’ consisted of his friends from Midtown: Flash Thompson, Brad Davis, and Brian McKeever, as well as Jason and his current girlfriend Betty. They moved through the market like a pack, laughing far too loudly and drawing weary eyes from all corners. Flash had a habit of pocketing things while his mates acted as a distraction for whichever poor vendor they decided to pick on, and it wasn’t exactly a secret as to who partook in the weekly vandalisation of the market stalls. All this and yet no one could say anything… Suppose being the son of the Mayor got you that.

2. (in which youll find me using one-line mcu characters as names and creating them into entire characters)

“Shove off!” Tiny literally shoved Harley away, almost sending him tripping over his burlap sack. He held his head high and sniffed. “You used me trying to prove a point to them girls. Harlot.” “Did not.” “Did too!” “Maybe I just wanted to kiss ya.” “You haven’t kissed me like that in a year.”

tagging: @b1uetrees @captainfairygodmother @girlsaturday @underwhelmingalchemist @brittasfan @by-gray

[0piumlol]

Pairing: Jimin x Reader

Warnings: None, just chaos and Jimin being a lovable menace

Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Crack, Friends-to-Lovers

Summary: You never should have let Taehyung talk you into taking that stupid soulmate test. Now Jimin, the most dramatic menace to ever exist, refuses to let it go. Forced into ridiculous dates, relentless flirting, and one too many soulmate-themed activities, you start to wonder: maybe, just maybe, the test wasn’t so wrong after all.

---

### **Chapter 1: The Stupid Quiz That Started It All**

You should have known better than to trust Kim Taehyung.

It had started as a normal night—video games, snacks, and Jungkook screaming in defeat as you obliterated him in Mario Kart. But then, as you basked in victory, Taehyung leaned over with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

“Guys,” he said, grinning, “we *have* to take this test.”

“What test?” you asked, already wary.

“This ‘Are You Soulmates?’ quiz,” Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows, turning his phone around to show a BuzzFeed-style website. “It calculates your compatibility based on *highly scientific* questions.”

Jimin, lounging next to you, snorted. “Scientific, my ass.”

“Shut up, just take it.”

You leaned closer, scanning the first question: **"Which potato dish speaks to your soul?"**

“Oh, yeah. Super scientific,” you deadpanned.

But Taehyung was relentless. “Come on. Just do it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Jimin smirked. “You get paired with me and fall madly in love.”

“More like I set my laptop on fire,” you muttered.

“Wow,” Jimin clutched his chest, feigning hurt. “That *wounded* me.”

Still, for reasons you would never understand, you gave in. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

You both grabbed your phones, answering increasingly ridiculous questions. **Favorite movie genre? Biggest pet peeve? What color gives off ‘main character energy’?** You clicked at random.

It wasn’t *real*, after all.

Until—

**"100% MATCH! CONGRATULATIONS, SOULMATES!"**

Silence.

Jimin stared at the screen. You stared at the screen. Taehyung *howled* in laughter.

“Oh,” Jimin breathed, eyes wide with delight. “Oh, this is perfect.”

“No, this is rigged,” you argued, pointing at the flashing heart animation. “It’s a scam. A joke. A—”

“—A declaration of our fated love?” Jimin finished, beaming.

You groaned.

And that was the beginning of the end.

---

### **Chapter 2: The Menace Awakens**

You should have known Jimin wouldn’t let it go.

The next morning, you woke up to a text.

**Jimin (7:02 AM):** Good morning, my fated one ✨

**Jimin (7:03 AM):** Did you dream of me? I dreamed of us frolicking in a field of roses.

**You (7:05 AM):** Stop texting me this early or I’ll make you dream of my fists.

**Jimin (7:06 AM):** So feisty. I love that about you. Truly, fate has chosen well.

By the time you met up with your friends, Jimin had taken it *several* steps further.

“Everyone,” Jimin announced, slinging an arm around your shoulders, “I have an important announcement.”

Taehyung and Jungkook, the devils who had encouraged this chaos, smirked in anticipation.

“We,” Jimin continued dramatically, “are soulmates.”

Jin choked on his drink.

Yoongi blinked. “From that dumb quiz?”

“*Highly scientific* quiz,” Jimin corrected. “And yes. We got a perfect score.”

You groaned. “I’m going to commit a crime.”

Namjoon patted your shoulder in sympathy. “Just don’t make it murder.”

Jimin, unfazed, turned to the group. “Anyway, as soulmates, it is my duty to woo her properly.”

Jungkook perked up. “Oh, this I gotta see.”

And thus began the worst (and possibly most entertaining) era of your life.

---

### **Chapter 3: The Forced Dates Begin**

Jimin was relentless.

It started with small things. Holding doors open. Pulling out chairs. Dramatically sighing “Ah, my *beloved*” whenever you entered a room.

But then—

**The forced dates began.**

Date #1: **The “Accidental” Candlelit Dinner**

Jimin “accidentally” ordered an extra meal and dramatically insisted you share it. “It’s *fate*,” he claimed, shoving a fork at you. “The universe wants us to eat together.”

Date #2: **The Ferris Wheel Incident**

Somehow, Jimin tricked you into sharing a Ferris wheel carriage. The moment it stopped at the top, he turned to you with the most dramatic look. “Now’s the part where we confess our feelings.”

You shoved popcorn into his mouth.

Date #3: **The “Hand-Holding Practice”**

Jimin insisted on lacing your fingers together “to get used to soulmate energy.” You let it happen just to shut him up, but—*damn it*—his hands were warm.

Date #4: **The Rain Scene™**

Of course, it had to rain when you were stuck outside. And of course, Jimin had to pull you under an umbrella, way too close, his stupidly soft voice murmuring, “This feels like a drama, doesn’t it?”

You blamed the rain for why your heart skipped a beat.

---

### **Chapter 4: Maybe, Just Maybe…**

At some point, you stopped resisting.

You stopped questioning why Jimin always made you laugh, why your bickering felt like a dance, why his teasing never really annoyed you.

Because somewhere between his ridiculous antics and forced dates—

You started *liking* it.

Liking *him*.

And maybe, just *maybe*, the quiz wasn’t so wrong after all.

---

### **Chapter 5: The Not-So-Fake Ending**

It wasn’t until your friends set you up on one last “fake” date that you finally admitted it.

“You know,” Jimin murmured, leaning on the café table, “we never really proved the test *wrong*.”

You sighed. “I hate that you have a point.”

Jimin grinned. “So, what do you say?” He tilted his head, softer now. “Maybe we give fate a real shot?”

You stared at him, at the boy who had turned a dumb quiz into something real.

Then, with a dramatic sigh, you smirked. “Fine. But only because you’re a menace and I need to keep an eye on you.”

Jimin beamed. “I *knew* you loved me.”

And maybe, just *maybe*, you did.

---

[upperstories]

(this is about the post homophobic tumblr won't let the gay men be in the tags.)

WAIT THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS ARE MEN. I THOUGHT THEY WERE WOMEN!!!! I THOUGHT T HE PEOPLE I FOLLOW WERE POSTING CUTE OLD LADY YURI BUT IT WAS CUTE OLD MEN YOAI???

I am the dog mitski bet on.

The characters Hector and Capochin from go by he/him pronouns and refer to themselves The Bizzyboys! So i defer to them as old men.

That being said, they also come from a game where most of characters don’t subscribe to a gender binary. There’s a lot of characters that appear to be trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, so on. Canonically, here’s a character that bi-gender, another character who uses it/its pronouns—I could go on.

Basically I’m just trying to say that I don’t think the gender themselves is important. Hector and Capochin can be toxic old woman yuri or old man yaoi.

I have my own headcanons for what their genders are but I’ll keep them under the cut since they’re just headcanons.

Spoilers!!! Kinda!!!

I honestly believe that the Bizzyboys can be more than one gender, but they don’t understand how to use more than one kind of pronoun.

They understand gender can be expressed in any shape or form, regardless of their personal biology, and are satisfied with how they present themselves, but they just think using only he/him and boys to refer to one another is easier and use it as a catch-all.

Inspekta/Hector and Capochin, in my eyes, are both afab trans men who refuse to bind or top surgery or go in HRT. Names are an important part of being in the Bizzyboys, and they’re both refugees from another dimension that is equivalent to Hell in this universe, so I think they were subjected to transphobia back in the Drain and chose their current names.

Patty is genderfluid, presenting femme but preferring he/him. If he hangs out with Razz more often, I could see him embracing she/her pronouns, but it’d get a bit confusing. Since he’s the youngest, I think he’s one of the few Bizzyboys born in the Grove and not the Drain, seeking to join the crew as a form of inclusion rather than obligation, so he’s grown up a more accepting livelihood of gender expression. It also might explain why he’s the first to break off from the Bizzyboys and stand up to Capo.

Alexei is gay cis man but in a “I don’t really care what I’m perceived as” kind of way. Just prefers comfy clothing and good food.

Bananathaniel is also an afab trans man who got top surgery at Hobbyhoo and wants to be perceived as a man. I could see him, Alexei, and Grujaja being from The Drain but immigrated to the Grove after Hector ascended and established roots for refugee camps. I don’t think there was just One Mass Exodus, I think there were several smaller ones over time, which were made much easier once Hector became a god.

Grujaja is intersex, but is too anxious to really care either way or out too much thought into it yet. I could see him being the most recently immigrated to the Grove and possibly hypersensitive to the sunlight (The Drain is at the bottom of the ocean don’t @ me).

Vibiano is non-binary preferring he/him, but prefers to dress either way. Like Patty, he’s native to the Grove and doesn’t care so much about what people think of him. The gender presentation isn’t the thing that’s most important to him—so long as he dresses fabulously and designs his own outfits, that’s all he cares about.

Anyway. Poses. Enjoy my headcanons!

[orangekittyenergy]

Here's a little story about my painful afternoon of dipping my toe into mods and blender and shit I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Cannot emphasize enough how ill prepared I was for all this.

Tl;Dr - that shit is hard and you all have my respect and I have never felt dumber.

So, here I am obsessed with a tiny random NPC in cyberpunk and desperate to see more of them. Anything of them. "Okay, wait"....I think .... "People pull skins and dialogue all the time from game files? Why can't I?"

Okay let's just play with it. Cyberpunk has a pretty robust modding kit. And I find out quickly I need the mod toolkit from CDPR to find and grab specific files. Okay okay not so bad. I get it and start searching. But wait? The labels in cyberpunk are total crap and scattered all over the place. (More on this later) BUT I can search by name! Found the microblorbo I wanted!

BUT.... Wait to see anything I need more....Okay....so I download Blender so I can see this stiff (mind you, I've never touched Blender in my life) but I LITERALLY just want to see this one skin.

Okay fiddle with it a bit and extract some files, hopping back and forth between blender and the modtools where I'm getting the files (doesn't work at first of course - always just that default fucking cube). Oh okay I need the Cyberpunk extension into Blender. Okay what the fuck I'm this far in let's keep going...

It's not there. I need to enable something in blender to get it. Finally find the fucking extension, get the proper mesh file pulled and imported!! ...oh... Okay wait it looks like garbage 😭. All fuzzy and shit. Google more, OKAY....I need the fucking .ent file I GUESS!

Search some more in the files, no .ent for this guy! (Because of the crap way CDPR has their files labeled!!).

OKAYYYYYYY (I could've quit....or you know, used any sort of tutorial at this point but nah)

Search some more and there's apparently a mod that let's you click on a character in game and scan them for their .ent file. O K A Y. Download that mother fucking thing, BUT WAIT it doesn't work... Search some more and you need A WHOLE ASS SEPARATE MOD to be able to use the scanner mod.

I GUESS.png

I'm in too deep, download that mod.....still.... doesn't work. I'm 4 hours deep in this. Turns out I need this whole ass other thing to make this whole ridiculous set up work. At that point I'm literally the definition of the sunk cost fallacy and ready to pull my hair out. I finally gave up in defeat.

Anyway, that shit is hard. Maybe if I had a braincell left in me I could figure it out, but modders and rippers and renderers holy shit you have my respect.

If you read this far I guess hope you enjoyed my adventures in technology 🫠❤️

[parasolemn]

jesus christ im so fucking tired of people hating on jean vicquemare for literally no reason... pardon me bc im gonna go on a rant about this

he's quite literally one of THE most important characters to the story, he's the bridge between current harry and harry before he drank the amnesia potion, having been one of the closest people to harry for at LEAST two years... y'all r always saying "b-but he only has 10 minutes of screen time!!! how can he be important?" as if the damn game wouldn't have even happened if the necromancer wasn't there, and he's there for even LESS time than jean 😭

so like, excuse me for being fucking interested in what's going on between him and harry I guess??? there's just enough vaguely hinted in the game to be interested in what's going on there, like in EDC passives that show him at the radiant conglomerate of magic talking to the other witches about harry, the stuff you can talk to him about in-person when he's wildshaped outside the cottage,,,, he's literally just. A Sad Man. who cares about his partner. you guys will find literally any reason to hate on him lmfao. also I'm sorry but he's more interesting to me than the tarot card maker and the cat's owner and literally everyone else you guys keep going on about lmfao, sorry I forgot their names that's how much I literally do not gaf about them

alsooo like. ppl are always going on abt what he does and calling him a bad person for it, but like . everything he does is completely fucking reasonable for his situation???

if I was just trying to help my best friend be a better person and he fucking turned around and BROKE my favourite cauldron over it in front of our whole club and (basically) told all of us to screw off?? after two YEARS of what is practically psychological abuse??? i think i'd snap and leave him there as well. it's not HIS fault harry chose to break his broom and his spellbook and trade his wand for the potion. they're both grownass men lmfao. you guys would say "prioritise your mental health!!!" if this was happening IRL but i guess it's different here.

and YES he CAN leave harry behind in the alps AGAIN if kim gets turned into a frog in the tribunal. but like. if we're going by theoretical scenarios. then wouldn't that make harry a bad person too? you can call kim a big nerd and make him really upset if you fail the cottage check, be hostile to the hardie familiars for literally no reason, you can STEAL THE FIVE GUARDIAN GEMS FROM THE CAT... but y'all aren't ready for that conversation I guess lmfao. also see it from jean's perspective too, if my slacker partner said he'd found the culprit who put the cat in the tree and it was the last necromancer left in the alps and the pheromones from the only known magic-less man who came from a different fucking world made him do it I probably wouldn't believe him either lol

btw he's the only queercoded character in the game (yes i know about Judit, you can be queer and in a straight relationship ffs) so y'all are just finding reasons to be homophobic lmfaoooooo 😐

my pookieee <3