#and also like commenting requires an account which you can only get with an invite code

[receding-tides]

ao3 is still garbage but I have organised squid story into 2 different series now (for main series + extras)

[anim-ttrpgs]

Vampire Player Character Rules in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Eureka has six playable "monster" types, and about ten total supernatural character options all together. Each supernatural trait is taken basically as if it is a normal trait like the ones you have been seeing us post. You cannot give a character more than one supernatural trait--and from what you are about to read, you probably wouldn't want to. Playing monsters is recommended for "advanced" players only, people who like a lot of "crunch" in their games, as require you to keep track of a lot more mechanics than playing a normal human.

Here is the Vampire Trait as it appears in its overhauled state in the patreon release. The August itchio beta does not currently have these overhauled monster traits(though, you could just use this post as reference if you wanted to play with the overhauled vampire rules, we don't mind! They're much better rules and we want people to have the most fun possible!)

If you are reading this past about October 24th, then there is a good chance that the itchio beta actually has been updated to include these improved rules, fingers crossed!

Anyway here we go. This is going under a Read More because it's long as hell but we really hope that you will check it out and comment. This is, like, the whole entire ruleset for playing a vampire in Eureka.

Vampire (Monster Trait) 

Vampires have quite a lot of powers, more than twice as many as any other monster, all informed by pre-1900 vampire legends. As a Narrator or a player portraying a vampire, don't fret about remembering all the vampire's powers at all times - they certainly don't. Some effects of these powers and weaknesses are left intentionally somewhat vague so as to leave them partially up to Narrator/player discretion. This is intentional, and is meant to reflect that no two vampires work exactly the same. 

Eureka presents a particular perspective on the legend of the vampire, while still adhering very strictly to real historical vampire folklore. It is a specific interpretation, which sets the stage for specific themes in the lives of vampiric investigators. 

Vampires, and the legends surrounding them, perhaps more so than any other monster present as a playable monster in the Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook, are inextricably linked to continental Europe and therefore Abrahamic[1] faiths.[2] Some may argue that vampire legends exist all around the world in every time and place, and that may be true, if you think that the only defining feature of a vampire is that they drink blood. What you are calling “vampires” from other cultures are each actually their own concept, with their own rich folkloric history, only overlapping with the European vampire on the Venn diagram in the fact that they drink blood and perhaps are undead. Loss and fear are universal, but the way different historical cultures interpret and portray these things in their stories are not. If you would like to play one of the many creatures that often gets attributed as “[other culture]’s vampire,” we encourage this and invite you to do some research into them, to see how unique and interesting each of these spirits from around the world really are.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Predominantly Catholic and Orthodox, but enough of it also applies to other Abrahamic faiths.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are of course not entirely unique in coming from a very specific cultural context, but the authors of this book are writing what they know. If there’s two things that the American South has, it’s vampires and Christianity. The American South is a deeply Christian environment, and we know what that can do to a person (for better or for worse), whereas we have less of a personal connection - and more importantly, less intimate knowledge and access to firsthand accounts - of the cultural heritage of some of the other monsters, so even where a specific cultural background may be additive to the rules thematically, such as the conception of women in historical and modern Greek culture for gorgons, we have chosen not to elaborate. 

Vampiric investigators in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy are all considered to have been raised in cultures of Abrahamic faith. They may have remained unchanged in their faith or lack thereof, found faith, or lost faith[1] in their transition from life to undeath, but no matter what, Abrahamic faith has strongly influenced their life in some way.[2] This is a prerequisite for an investigator being a vampire.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] A vampire who never had any faith to begin with would have to be a very, very young vampire.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] If creating a vampiric investigator with a religious upbringing more than a couple centuries ago, bear in mind that the way historical people related to and conceptualized their faith is often very different than the way modern people do. Try to look into what those historical peoples actually believed; pop-history will tell you that medieval Roman Catholicism and modern American Protestantism are the same. They aren’t. The middle ages were the middle ages, not the 1950s.

[2.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Depending on their place of origin, some “vampires” older than a few centuries may prefer to identify themselves as “revenants” or “draugr.” It would be quite rude to try and correct them.

[Snoop: The tall thin vampire snoopette with hat standing on the ceiling right behind a frightened snoop in a dark room, who does not know she is there. Maybe make the background black and the snoops white to show that it is dark? Give the frightened snoop a flashlight with a white beam?]

Superhuman Strength

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires are considered to have Superhuman Strength, and a +10 Base bonus to Athletics[4] and +1 Base bonus to Close Combat.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires do not have stamina in the same sense as living beings do, and may appear to have unlimited energy as far as conventional physical exertion goes. Their extreme and unnatural strength does not actually come from their muscles.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Despite what the movies say, vampires do not have superhuman speed. Though superhuman strength and seemingly unlimited stamina means they can still move frighteningly fast. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] 1 Samuel 16:14.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] This means that their Athletics bonus will almost always be equal to their current Composure level. 

In Lizard Fashion

When not debilitated by a Weakness, vampires have the ability to walk or climb on any solid surface as if it were a floor.[1][2] Re-orienting to a surface that would be impossible to stand on normally counts as use of a supernatural ability. Additionally, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if they do choose, vampires are immovable. They will never lose their balance or be able to be knocked off their feet.[3] Their bones will break before they budge. Making use of this power is only possible when they are standing still, and counts as use of a supernatural ability. This cannot be used in response to a Stealth Attack, and if the vampire is otherwise not expecting to need it, they must make a Full Success on a Reflexes roll to be able to do so.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire’s hair and clothes will hang towards whatever surface they are oriented to, rather than the actual ground. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Under most environmental conditions, there is no difference in effort between standing and sitting for a vampire. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Great for parties, and Michael Jackson moves. 

Psycho-Social Phenomenon

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires have a +3 Contextual bonus to Stealth. This bonus increases by +1 for each point of Composure the vampire is missing.[1][4][5] Additionally, vampires do not have saliva, skin oils, or anything else of the sort. If they lose hair, it will disintegrate like any other post body part, and soon reappear on the body.[3] Vampires will never leave fingerprints[2] or any other DNA evidence behind.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] At 0 Composure, this bonus would be +10.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] One exception may be if they have something else on their fingers besides skin oils. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] This can make shaving very tricky!

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] Even without meaning to, vampires tend to appear “right on top of” people without ever being noticed on the approach. 

[5  off to the side in the final formatting] Sometimes vampires cannot even be seen at all until one looks directly at them. 

The Cave Wall

Any character who makes a Full Success on a Senses roll directed towards a vampire will instantly lose 1 Composure or 1 Morale, with no explanation or description from the Narrator. This is 2 Composure and 2 Morale if the focus of the Senses roll is actually directed to the space behind the vampire, such as looking over their shoulder. Additionally, at times, the motions of the vampire may appear subtly “choppy,” almost as though animated, and at lower frame rate than their surroundings.

Wearing the Evening

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, vampires are capable of instantly relocating in total or near total darkness.[1] This instant relocation cannot pass through solid objects, and there must be an uninterrupted line of darkness between the start point and end point of this relocation. Additionally, a vampire’s vision is not significantly affected by absence of light until there is literally no light present at all.[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This does not require a Composure roll for use of a supernatural ability. Vampires may not even be fully conscious of the fact that they are instantly relocating in total darkness. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Time to try out echolocation as a bat!

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] With miniscule sources of light, their vision may still feel somewhat impaired, but not enough to warrant a mechanical penalty modifier. 

[3.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Bright light, however, can cause discomfort, even if it is not sunlight. Many vampires may opt to wear sunglasses even indoors or at night. 

Hovering

Vampires are capable of hovering up to three feet off the ground when manifesting as a human,[1] though actually moving while doing this is no faster than walking. This ability must start from the ground, and cannot be done to save a vampire from a freefall. 

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Another great party trick. 

Teeth and Claws

A vampire’s nails are hard and sharp like claws.[1] This allows them to deal Penetrative Damage instead of Superficial Damage with any unarmed melee attack. When they are not debilitated by a weakness, this damage can be doubled due to Superhuman Strength.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A steel file is required for filing these nails down, they tear up lesser files.

Vampires also have fangs.

Hibernation

Vampires do not need to sleep, ever.[1] Their closest equivalent is entering a state of suspended animation for months, years, or even decades at a time. No coffin or grave dirt is required. This is useful for laying low while heat dies down, recovering from destruction of the “physical” body, or simply resetting the vampires ever quickening perception of the passage of time.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Most vampires will remain awake for decades at a time.

Breathing, or Lack Thereof

Vampires have no need to breathe, except to talk or sniff the air.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is easy for vampires to forget to breathe.

Remanifestation

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may manifest in any of the following five ways.[1] Remanifesting as a different manifestation counts as use of a Supernatural Ability, and counts as taking 1 action if done in combat. A vampire cannot manifest as any manifestation that there is not enough empty space available to contain, even if the solid object taking up that space is paper thin.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Nothing is really changing, just another aspect rising to the surface. 

Human Manifestation

This is the default manifestation. All aspects of the Vampire Trait apply. [maybe add the human-only things like claws here]

Bat Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a small bat with a maximum Superficial and Penetrative HP of 3 and Acceleration of +3. They do *not* have superhuman strength, and are limited to only feats of strength and other actions that a small mammal without opposable thumbs could accomplish. Any attack by this manifestation can deal at most 1 Superficial Damage. Any attack against this manifestation suffers a -2 penalty.[1][2]

[1  off to the side in the final formatting] This manifestation may be considered adorable.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Trying to do a whole swarm of bats at once is a great way to give yourself one-hundred concurrent head injuries. 

As this manifestation, the vampire may use echolocation to find their way even in total darkness, and have a +5 Contextual bonus to any Senses roll involving sound.

As this manifestation, the vampire has a +4 Contextual bonus to Stealth.

All other aspects of vampirism apply.

Wolf Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a wolf with a +2 Contextual bonus to Close Combat, a +4 Contextual bonus to Senses rolls involving sound and smell, and +4 Acceleration. They maintain superhuman strength, but are limited to actions which a canine without opposable thumbs could accomplish.

As this manifestation, the vampire’s only means of attack is with their jaws. This is a Grab attack. So long as the target is Grabbed, all other aspects of Grabbing apply, but the target also takes 2 Penetrative Damage on each of the vampire’s turn’s with no roll needed.

As this manifestation, the vampire has a +4 Base bonus to Stealth.

All other aspects of vampirism still apply.

Mist/Smoke Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a cloud of autonomously mobile smoke or mist with a volume of at most 4,000 cubic feet,[2] capable of squeezing through any gap that is not perfectly air-tight.[1] This manifestation has very limited ability to interact with or even perceive the physical world. They can only feel their surroundings, meaning their “vision” is limited to only the vague outlines of what the cloud is touching.[3]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Black, grey, or red are common colorations.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] This is a lot smaller than it sounds, a little bigger than a bedroom.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Skin and assimilated clothing evaporates, then muscle, then bone. When the vampire takes on a solid manifestation, the sequence will be reversed.

As this manifestation, though the vampire does maintain their Superhuman Strength bonuses, they cannot pick up, assimilate, or otherwise exert their will on physical objects. They cannot be attacked in any way, though they will need to make a Full Success on an Athletics roll to resist powerful suction or other strong air currents.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Though remanifesting as smoke properly requires an action, any missed attack against a vampire or other sort of dodge may be described as the vampire spontaneously evaporating for a split second before resolidifying.

This manifestation is not ordinarily heavy enough to suffocate a human being or cause any damage at all, but can be made vicious by spending of Eureka! Points. The cloud becomes oppressive, choking, and even capable of causing very small lacerations on the body, inside and out. The effect is somewhat like being in a sandstorm made of broken glass. Up to the vampire, any number of characters within the cloud may be targeted.[1] For the duration the manifestation is maintained, targets will take 2 Superficial Damage per turn per Eureka! Point spent. Targets forced to take Injury rolls or killed[2] as a result of this damage will be considered to be partially drained of blood by the vampire and restore the vampire’s Composure appropriately.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It may be difficult for a vampire to tell friend from foe by their fuzzy, colorless outlines alone.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Hardly anything may remain of targets killed in this way.

All other aspects of vampirism apply.

Monstrous Beast Manifestation

As this manifestation, a vampire appears as a monstrously massive bat-like[2] beast larger than most cars, but maintaining this manifestation in the world requires a near constant intake of fresh human blood. This manifestation has 17 of both types of HP, a +2 Contextual bonus to Close Combat, a +4 Contextual bonus to Senses involving hearing and smell, a +4 Acceleration bonus, and a -10 penalty to Stealth.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Seven is the Biblical number of perfection.

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Now you are thinking like a vampire.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] It is most common for it to resemble a bat, but the exact shape and size of the monstrous beast varies from vampire to vampire. 

This manifestation is considered to have Superhuman Strength, and the Base bonuses from Superhuman Strength become *Contextual*.

As this manifestation, the vampire loses 6 Composure per round.

This manifestation has two effective means of attack, a Vehicle Attack using their Athletics divided by 2 (rounded up) instead of Driving, and their enormous jaws. The vampire can use their jaw to make Grab attacks. So long as the target is grabbed by the vampire’s jaw, they automatically take 4 Penetrative Damage each time it is the vampire’s turn with no roll needed. The vampire can continue to perform other actions while Grabbing a target with their jaws and movement is unimpeded. Rather than deal the 4 Penetrative Damage, if the vampire is Grabbing a target of human or smaller size with their jaws, they may make a Hold attack using either Athletics or Close Combat to simply swallow them whole.[1] This manifestation can stomach at most two humans at a time.[2] For a target swallowed alive, depending on the context and circumstances, the Narrator may simply declare them as good as dead and not make any rolls, or apply the Drowning/Suffocation rules. The only chance this target would have of damaging the vampire from the inside would be with a small piercing weapon. They may also make an Escape attempt, but attacking or attempting to escape would be considered exertion for the purposes of the Drowning/Suffocation rules. However, the first successful Escape attempt will put them in the beast’s jaws, not totally free. They must also Escape from the beast’s jaws to be totally free. 

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Flesh is blood.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] It is not known what will happen to a person in the beast’s stomach if the vampire remanifests as something much smaller. 

Remanifestation and Items

Small and/or low-density items that have been in contact with a particular manifestation for a long period of time will be “assimilated” by this manifestation. Assimilation by a manifestation means that when a vampire remanifests to a different manifestation, those items will vanish along with the previous manifestation, and reappear along with it.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Maybe someday vampires could be explained by a physicist, but not by a biologist, like the shadows on the cave wall.

For gameplay purposes, this concept is simplified to where certain items will always count as assimilated and others items will never count. Unassimilated items will fall to the ground when the vampire shifts manifestations.[1][3]

Always Counts as Assimilated:

Basic clothing and accessories the vampire is wearing, including hats, cloaks, and shoes.

Wallets and their contents.

Small electronics such as cellphones.

Never Counts as Assimilated:

Any clothing which provides Armor.

Any weaponry.

Larger electronics such as laptops.

Anything made of silver.

Larger accessories such as purses or backpacks.

People and other living things.

Anything that is both recently obtained and narratively important.[2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Before remanifesting, a vampire should ask a friend to hold her purse, leather jacket, gun, but not worry about her cellphone or the rest of her outfit.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] A vampire may be able to sneak into room as a cloud of smoke, but once they have the documents or other item they’re trying to steal, they will have to find their way out as a manifestation that can actually carry it.

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting] Assimilated objects will lose their vampiric properties if separated from the vampire for long enough.

An Object at Rest Cannot be Stopped

Vampires take half-damage from all damage sources, the only exception being HP that results from loss of Composure. If a vampire wears armor that protects against whatever is dealing the damage, this damage is halved again, for one quarter damage, rounding up. Apply a -2 modifier to attacks against the vampire from 1-damage weapons.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires take half-damage not because their flesh is extraordinarily durable, but because they just don’t need it to ‘live.’ Wolfmen, however, take half-damage because they are extraordinarily dense and durable. 

Decentralized Animation

One round after a body part is severed, a vampire will be able to reassert control over it, even in the event of decapitation. Any Skill check taken by a detached body part will have a -3 penalty applied, unless the vampire can see the body part, in which case it is -2.[1] [Maybe call this or something else “extrinsic animation.”]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] After death, every motion of the body is something which must be entirely relearned, even the act of standing and walking is an entirely different experience. Doing so under the sun’s rays, and around fast-moving water, are similarly distinct forms of animation. 

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Many say the hardest thing is relearning how to dance. 

Healing

Regular first-aide will work on vampires in most cases within reason, but, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, their “physical” bodies return to their basic state over time. Vampires automatically recover 1 point of Superficial and Penetrative HP at the beginning of every game session, and 1 point of Superficial HP at the end of each day, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness. 

Additionally, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if they took damage to either HP type during an instance of combat, they restore 1 HP of the same type as soon as the combat is resolved.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may take 1 action to reattach a severed body part at the stump and have it work again good as new after 1 turn.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if a vampire’s Penetrative HP is full, instead of recovering Penetrative HP from any of the above rules, they recover from one Grievous Wound, permanent or not.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] If this is a missing body part, the severed body part will disintegrate and reintegrate back where it’s supposed to be.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may spend 1 Eureka! Point to instantly recover all Superficial and Penetrative HP, and from all Grievous Wounds. This takes 1 action.

Unkillable

If a vampire is reduced to 0 Penetrative HP, they do “die” instantly, but they will not stay “dead” permanently, barring specific circumstances. (See: How to “Kill” a Vampire p.Xx) It may take weeks, months, or years, but the vampire will eventually return, even if their “physical” body is absolutely obliterated. A “dead” vampire investigator is removed from the current adventure same as a regular dead investigator, but may return and be played in any subsequent adventure.[1][2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Can the fact that it appears that someone is continuing to live when they should not be considered anything short of a miracle? 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The Not Finished Yet Trait increases an investigator’s Penetrative HP dramatically, with the caveat that they will die at the end of the adventure if they take too much damage. Well, unless they’re killed in a very specific way, vampires revive in between adventures, so that kind of negates the entire downside of the Trait, doesn’t it? Well, not exactly. There’s two ways we suggest handling this. The first way is to have it represent a vampire who is on the verge of passing on, whether they know it or not, by reaching certain personal revelations, accomplishing their unfinished business, and that this time it will be permanent - peaceful, even. Alternatively, it could represent that, not unlike a mortal with the same Trait, this vampire is pushing themselves past any remotely sustainable level of bodily damage, and if it goes too far this *will* catch up to them at the end of the adventure. Should they drop below the threshold for Penetrative HP, regardless of Eureka! Points spent to restore their HP or revive them, they will fall into hibernation or fade away and remain “dead” for *decades* or more. Yes, they will eventually return, but it won’t be any time soon. This happened to Yvette Preux in the 1890s and that’s why she slept through most of the 20th century. 

A vampire whom has been reduced to 0 Penetrative HP does not heal from first-aide or any of the other rules mentioned under “Healing.”

Revival

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire that has been reduced to 0 Penetrative HP and “killed” for the adventure may spend 2 Eureka! Points to revive with 1 of both types of HP, but only once a minimum of 5 Scenes have passed. A vampire may instead spend 3 Eureka! Points to revive instantly, so long as they have been “dead” for at least 1 round.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] John 11:1-44.

Threatening Presence

It’s subtle, but something about vampires will always make the hair on the back of people’s necks stand up, or send a chill down their spine, like their body is trying to warn them of what they’re really talking to. Vampires have a +1 Contextual bonus to Threaten rolls and a -1 to Comfort rolls. Any other mortal human investigators, including monsters, take a -1 penalty to all Composure rolls so long as they are sharing a Scene with the vampire.[1][2] 

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It should not be explained how or why this -1 applies. Even veteran Eureka players will not be able to know for sure whether this -1 is from vampirism or from the Wicked Trait.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Even if you don’t know why, being in a room with a vampire can be like being in a room with a bug that might start flying at any moment, especially when the vampire starts moving suddenly again after standing still.

[2.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] When a vampire stands still, they stand perfectly still. More motions are a conscious decision than not.

The Creeps

If playing with “The Creeps” optional rule, the vampire’s player rolls a hidden D6 at the start of every Scene. On a 6, they will privately message or signal the Narrator, and the Narrator will call for “The Creeps” at the next available opportunity, without revealing that it is the result of having a vampire present. Players and investigators alike will wonder what is so anxiety-inducing about this clean office building or peaceful elevator ride. Add +1 to any The Creeps Composure roll by investigators who are friends with the vampire and are aware of the vampirism.

Bloodthirsty (Vampire True Nature)

[Snoop: That tall skinny lady vampire snoop with the big hat biting into another snoop’s neck. Use a pose where she is holding the other snoop in front of herself. I’ll find or make a reference I don’t know what the pose is called.]

Vampires do not need to eat regular meals,[1][2] nor do they need to sleep, so they suffer no Flat Composure Damage from skipping meals nor from staying up all night. However, they also do not gain any Composure Points from eating normal food or getting sleep. 

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Meals = No 

Composure restoration from Three Meals a Day  = No 

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Sleep = No 

Composure restoration from Full Night’s Sleep = No

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Though their sensitivity to spices and their lack of saliva can sometimes prove an obstacle, vampires actually can eat and even enjoy ‘normal food,’ though it provides no nutritional benefit. It is not actually known what happens to ‘normal food’ consumed by vampires, except that it doesn’t seem to come out.  

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires do not have to drink blood with any sort of regularity, only when they need it, which is something that may vary from vampire to vampire, and in the case of vampire investigators, depend on how much Composure they are losing. 

Vampires need to drink fresh, living human blood, and a lot of it, in order to exist in any degree of comfort. Animal blood does nothing for them.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] If this really needs to be stated, no, menstrual blood isn’t really blood and does not work.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Though they are unlikely to ever “lose control,” at least not more so than a famished mortal, a vampire will almost never feel completely satiated.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] 2:173. 

Making a Wound

A vampire does not have to use their fangs to make a wound and drink blood, they may use their claws, a knife, or even a phlebotomy needle if the other person would just hold still.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire is a gaping wound left where a life used to be, and now the world is bleeding out. 

When Grabbing or Holding a target, the vampire can use their fangs, claws, a knife, or whatever else they prefer to open a large blood vessel and press their lips to it to drink blood. These wounds are not magical and will heal like any other wound if allowed to, and do not transform the victim into a vampire or anything else of the sort.

This attack uses Athletics or Close Combat and, regardless of superhuman strength, does 4 damage on a Full Success, 2 damage on a Partial Success, and no damage on a Failure. The type of damage is up to the vampire.

They may choose to do 4 Superficial Damage by making a smaller wound and/or targeting a less critical blood vessel, such as the radial or elbow brachial;[1] or they may choose to do 4 Penetrative Damage by creating a larger wound and/or targeting a more critical vessel, such as the carotid, jugular, shoulder brachial, or femoral.[2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] All of these blood vessels are critical to the human body. 4 Superficial Damage from attacking a “less critical” vessel can still result in loss of consciousness or even death. 

[2 Off to the side in the final formatting] Arterial blood is oxygenated and relatively free of debris compared to venous blood, and as such it is preferred by most vampires.

In order for the vampire to be considered to have consumed a sufficient amount of blood, the victim must be forced to make an Injury roll as a direct result of the damage from this attack. The success or failure of the victim’s Injury roll is irrelevant.

Drinking copious amounts of blood is not something that can be done as speedily as any regular combat action. It is simply not viable to measure this in Rounds. Once the vampire starts drinking, they will be drinking for the remainder of the combat. The victim gets to make only one Escape attempt for the duration of the blood draining.[1]

Superficial Damage

Time to Injury Roll: 10 minutes

Time to Death: 30 minutes.

Penetrative Damage

Time to Injury Roll: 1 minute.

Time to Death: 2 minutes.

Once the victim expires, their blood is no-longer nutritious.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are not people who are cursed with vampirism, they are the curse–everyone else who has to deal with them are who’s cursed. The suffering of their prey is part of the feeding process. They are ghosts, dead, the blood they drink is life. The vampire legend largely arises from the grief of losing family members by watching them suffer slow, very painful deaths from illnesses, the vampire is representative of the pain of having to watch a loved one waste away. The blood has to be preferably taken by force and it has to hurt, because what they’re really consuming is the slow and agonizing extraction of life from the living. This is why there can be no substitute for human blood. 

[1.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Why was this allowed to happen to them?

[1.2. off to the side in the final formatting]  Why are they allowed to happen to other people?

[1.3. off to the side in the final formatting] Are they real?

During this process, if they are going for Penetrative damage, the vampire must also make a Reflexes roll to attempt to remain clean while drinking blood. If they just don’t care about manners, however, they can choose to simply Fail and skip the roll.[1]

Full Success: They do not spill a drop, leaving no evidence on their person that they just drank blood.

Partial Success: They are not fast enough to drink from the wound, and blood spirts onto their face and mouth.

Failure: They are not fast enough to drink from the wound, and blood gets everywhere. On the ground, on their face, on their clothes. This will be very hard to explain.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Most vampires’ fangs will take on a slight curve when they are allowed to grow out long enough, perfect for sinking in behind large arteries and pulling them out, where they can then be used like a straw. This is, of course, very efficient, but always fatal. More conscientious vampires may create smaller cuts or puncture marks in major blood vessels from which to drink.

Willing Donors 

If the other person is cooperative, there is no need to roll the Grabs, Holds, bites, etc. The vampire can just deal the damage using their teeth, claws, knife, or even a phlebotomy needle, if they’d just hold still. Choosing to deal Superficial Damage consumes 2 Ticks. Penetrative Damage consumes 1 Tick, and still requires a Reflexes (or Medicine in this case) roll to avoid a mess.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The vampire is nourished by the suffering of those who care about them the most.

Blood Banks 

There are of course establishments which keep large quantities of human blood in stock. However, this doesn’t provide an easy solution to a vampire’s problem. They are always at least somewhat secure, and their stock is carefully tracked. What’s more, for blood to be any good to a vampire, it has to be fresh, nothing that’s been separated from the body for too long. If it’s near expiry, it’s worthless. A haul of fresh blood bags will restore at most 1 point of Composure.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Someone will be liable for that missing inventory, and someone else will go without a vital transfusion. There is always a wound.

Composure Restoration

A vampire recovers 1 point of Composure when they cause a victim to make an Injury roll as a result of the damage dealt by having their blood drained. A vampire can gain at most 1 Composure from the same victim this way within a single Scene, no matter how many subsequent Injury rolls within the same Scene.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Does communion wine count for blood to a vampire? Do you believe in transubstantiation? Is a vampire not equally the person they once were, and something much greater and more terrible at the same time?

Continuing to drain blood until the victim expires will restore 1 additional point of Composure.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] In the event that the victim dies before they are caused to make an Injury roll, the vampire will still regain 2 Composure.

When a vampire drinks blood, they will also regain 1 additional point of Composure if they do at least 5 Morale damage,[1] or 3 points of Composure damage, to the victim within the same Scene before or during the blood draining.[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This is possible even if the victim does not have 5 total Morale to loose, so long as the vampire does enough Morale-lowering things to be equivalent to 5 Morale damage. It is recommended that the vampire’s player keep track of this, to lighten the load on the Narrator. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting]   This does have the added benefit of getting the victim’s adrenaline going and their heart pumping fast. After all, vampires feed on human suffering as much as the literal blood itself.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Terrifying or tormenting a victim alone without actually drinking blood will not restore any of the vampire’s Composure.

Where Does the Blood Go?

When fresh human blood enters a vampire’s stomach, it soon finds its way into the vampire’s own blood vessels through unknown means, their own heart even fluttering back to life to circulate it evenly, filling the vampire with warmth and life again from the inside out. This blood remains in their system for an irregular amount of time before eventually fading away to nothingness. If cut, they will bleed the victim’s blood.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Though they have no reason to fear (permanent) death from weapons, when vampires make Composure rolls for being damaged by weapons, it could be considered that that which nourishes them is being drawn from their body. It’s almost like food being taken right out of their stomach.

For gameplay purposes, consider a vampire to have their most recent victim’s blood flowing through their veins so long as they are at 4 Composure or above,[1] with a higher level of realistic human warmth the closer they are to 7 Composure. Below the threshold of 4 Composure, the inside of their body will be dry, starchy, and off-black.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Yes, this does mean that some small amount of liveliness can seemingly return to them through other means of Composure restoration.

When that which is not living human flesh and blood enters a vampire’s stomach, it does nothing to nourish the vampire, merely sitting in the stomach until suddenly vanishes after 1 Tick.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] No one knows where used up blood and other food items end up, least of all the vampire. They don’t seem to come out of either end, and most vampires would be hesitant to search too hard for answers.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires truly give nothing back, not even to the soil.

[3. off to the side in the final formatting] Substances which cause altered states of consciousness, such as alcohol and narcotics, will have no effect on a vampire if taken by mouth. However, chemicals in a victim’s blood can affect the vampire, such that drinking from an inebriated victim could inebriate the vampire. If the vampire’s own veins are flowing with blood, substances taken through injection could also affect them. Substances taken by smoke inhalation will likely irritate a vampire due to the smell, but may or may not otherwise affect them.

Smelling Blood

Vampires use their heightened sense of taste and smell to sniff out human blood. A vampire can confirm if there is human blood - inside or outside a person - within the vicinity with a Partial Success on a Senses roll. With a Full Success, they can identify approximate number of individuals, their general direction and proximity, and in some cases may be able to recognize individuals whose blood they have smelled or tasted before.

Scent Tracking 

Vampires are capable of Scent Tracking. (See p.xx “Scent Tracking”.) Apply a -2 penalty to the roll if the scent trail and scent example do not involve the target’s blood in any way.

I Burn Easily (Vampire Weakness)

Vampires have several literally “debilitating” weaknesses, other weaknesses that appear more neurotic, a special method required to kill them permanently, and many noteworthy tells.

Sunlight

Direct sunlight will debilitate a vampire for the duration of their exposure, rendering them unable to use or benefit from powers marked as such above. “Direct” sunlight exposure means being outside during the day, in the sun’s rays pouring through a window, or similar direct exposure.[1] Artificial UV light also counts. Shady areas and clouds will not prevent debilitation, but may help mitigate the worst of the sun’s effects.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Moonlight is not strong enough exposure to debilitate the vampire or impose penalties, though it may still feel like it stings a bit.

In addition to debilitation from their powers, when exposed to direct sunlight vampires suffer a -7 penalty to all rolls, including Composure rolls, representing painful rapid onset sunburn and eventual degradation of the skin as strength is sapped from their body. Sunlight does not do any direct HP damage to vampires, though the Composure damage could dip into HP.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is unknown whether this sunburn and degradation of the skin will eventually escalate to disintegration, most vampires are not interested in staying exposed long enough to find out. The earliest depiction of a vampire being killed by sunlight is Nosferatu(1922).

While nothing short of a full-body radiation suit can prevent debilitation, there are a few things a vampire can do or wear to mitigate the worst of the effects. Each of the following will lessen the severity of the sunlight penalty by 1, to a minimum of -0.

High SPF Sunscreen

Sunglasses

Hood or Wide Brimmed Hat

Full Body Coverage Below Neck (including feet but not hands)

Gloves

Umbrella or Parasol

Cloak, Jacket, or Overcoat

Heavy Shade

Overcast or Rainy Day

Once per Scene, upon being exposed to direct sunlight, a vampire must make a +3 Composure roll. This Composure roll is affected by the sunlight penalty as well as the mitigating factors thereof.

Silver

Direct physical contact with silver will debilitate a vampire for the duration of their exposure, rendering them unable to use or benefit from powers marked as such above.

Silver burns a vampire’s body as though it is white hot, and this disruption of their being confers a -4 penalty to all rolls, including Composure rolls, for as long as they are in contact. Silver does not do any direct HP damage to vampires, but being damaged by a silver weapon will apply the -4 penalty to the resulting Composure roll.

Silver Bullets

Silver is a particularly soft metal. A bullet made of silver, or even just plated in silver, when penetrating a target at high velocity is likely to shatter within the body and leave small pieces of silver residue behind.[1] Each time this character is shot with a silver bullet, look at the physical dice that were rolled. If they are both odd numbers or both even numbers, the bullet does leave a bit of silver in the body and the character is considered to be in physical contact with silver for all rules purposes until these pieces are dug out.[2]

[1 off to the side in final formatting] At the time of writing this, a single, fireable, professionally manufactured silver bullet costs $150+Shipping.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] To be perfectly clear, this is not about modifiers or cumulative value of the dice. If you roll the dice and see two odd numbers or two even numbers on the physical dice, that is when there are bits of silver left in the body. For D12s, silver is left in the body if any D12 in the roll shows an 8 or a 9, even if that specific die did not cause a hit–so long as another D12 in the same group did cause a hit. 

Silver Hollow Points

Silver hollow point bullets will always leave what counts as a single piece of silver stuck in the body.

Silver Pellets

Silver shotgun shell pellets, flechettes, or other weapons which hit with numerous pieces of silver at once will always leave silver stuck in or clinging to the body.

Silver Melee Weapons

Silver melee weapons must be stuck in and left in the vampire’s physical body in order to fully debilitate them.

Digging Silver Out

Silver lodged in the vampire’s physical body will obviously be in contact with them and debilitating them indefinitely until it is removed. These can be carefully surgically removed with professional medical aid, or dug out hastily by the vampire (or someone else) on the spot. For a vampire to rip or cut silver out of their body on the spot, they must take an action and cause 1 Penetrative Damage to themselves to remove a single piece, or 2 Penetrative Damage to remove every piece at once in the case of multiple pieces, such as silver shotgun pellets.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This damage is not reduced by their innate damage reduction, the values present already account for that.

Nasal Sensitivity

Vampires must have “Nasal Sensitivity" somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. Strong-scented herbs, such as garlic, onions, spices, etc. overwhelm the vampire’s keen sense of smell and they will usually attempt to avoid these scents when possible, though it does not damage them.[1]

One per Scene, upon breathing in or tasting these or similar strong-scented herbs will prompt a Nasal Sensitivity Composure check.[1][2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Remember, vampires only need to breathe for the purposes of smelling and talking.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Having something to put over their nose and mouth when they breathe, such as a handkerchief, may serve as a comforting factor for this Composure roll, or just negate the need for it altogether if the scent is not particularly strong.

Sometimes it is as simple as not breathing, but more aggressive irritants, such as pepper spray or tear gas will be extremely effective against a vampire regardless. Irritant weapons will immediately impose a (Superficial) Injury roll upon vampires, regardless of actual damage done. The result of this Injury roll will always count as one degree of success lower than the actual result.

There is a silver lining to a vampire’s hypersensitivities. They have a Base bonus to any Senses roll involving taste or smell based on the severity of their Nasal Sensitivity. 

The Base modifier for taste and smell based Senses rolls is as follows:

Nasal Sensitivity -3 = +7 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity -2 = +6 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity -1 = +5 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +0 = +4 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +1 = +3 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +2 = +2 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +3 = +1 Base Bonus 

If the vampire is an NPC, consider them to have a +4 Base bonus. Breathing in or tasting strong-scented herbs or spices will cost them -1 Morale, and being sprayed with irritant weapons will cost them -2 Morale.

Religious Iconography and Holy Grounds

A vampire must have “Religious Iconography” and “Holy Grounds” as separate entries at some rank on their Tiers of Fear.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This weakness does not necessarily mean they have renounced or turned against their religion, often quite the opposite.

The vampire does not need to make a Composure check just from seeing or touching a holy symbol. However, if someone hides behind a symbol of their faith from the vampire, and the vampire attacks or otherwise physically harms them regardless, then the vampire must make the Religious Iconography Composure check.[1][2][3][4][5] 

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] If a vampire attacks someone and only finds the symbol afterwards, this still calls for a Composure check.

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] The holy symbol does not literally have to be brandished for it to make the vampire reconsider harming someone. A visible cross necklace, or a cross hanging on the wall above a potential victim’s bed would also be sufficient.

[1.2.  Off to the side in the final formatting] Audible prayer, or gestures such as the sign of the cross, may also be considered “holy symbols” for the purposes of this rule.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] It is up to the vampire whether the particular culture or religion of the holy symbol counts as a Comforting Factor or not.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Some vampires who have just woken up may not be fully up-to-date on their holy symbols. For instance, the Star of David only became a definitive symbol of Judaism during the Holocaust.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] For defining what does and does not count as a “holy symbol”, simply ask “Would you kneel and pray before it?” Do two yardstick or fireplace pokers laid across each other count as a cross? Would you pray before them? Perhaps the answer lies in how desperate you are. 

[5 off to the side in the final formatting] They have been 'alive' for hundreds of years, and no punishment has come for them, but what kind of a world are they creating if they devour someone who has nothing to protect them but their faith? Don’t they want faith to be an aegis, a safe refuge? 

[5.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Do they fear the crucifix as they fear punishment from God, or do they fear a world where not even God protects the meek and helpless? 

[5.2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Don’t they want faith to save them? 

If a vampire knowingly intrudes upon holy/consecrated grounds, they must make a Holy Grounds Composure check.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Holy ground that has been desecrated in some way may reduce the penalty on a vampire’s Composure Roll. In other cases, the sight of holy ground being desecrated may be distressing enough to the vampire to negate any “comforting factor.”

If the vampire is an NPC, then seeking protection from a holy symbol is considered to lower Morale by -2. (This only works once per encounter.) A vampire investigator can also make a Social Cues roll to determine if a victim hiding behind a holy symbol really has faith in the symbol to protect them. If the vampire can be confident that they do not, this can count as a “comforting factor” for the purposes of Composure Rolls. If an investigator is hiding behind a holy symbol from an NPC vampire, and they do not have any actual faith in the holy symbol, they must make a Manipulate Roll to at least look like they do. If it is a Failure, the vampire will be able to tell, and the symbol will reduce their morale by one less point.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire can tell when you are smugly using their own faith against them. 

Intruding

Vampires must have “Intruding” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. Vampires posses a neurotic, compulsive respect for others’ privacy and the sanctity of their home, a deep-seated feeling of not belonging or being unwanted, a desire to make the sport fair, or all of the above.[1] They will not willingly enter a private residence without a direct invitation from the residents.[2] The vampire knowingly entering a private residence uninvited prompts an Intruding Composure roll. If the vampire is directly told to leave a residence by a resident, failure to do so will also prompt an Intruding Composure roll.[3][4][5]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is possible that their centuries of consciousness has given them certain irrational hangups regarding etiquette, or it is possible that they want there to be a space of safe refuge for each person somewhere on Earth. Maybe they’re just accustomed to being the last thing anyone ever wants to see. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] In the case of rented private residences, it is up to the vampire’s opinion whether a landlord, renter, or both has the authority to invite them in. In the case of hotel rooms, it is up to the vampire’s opinion if the resident, an employee, and/or the hotel owner has the authority to invite them in. (This only applies to the room, not the hotel lobby or halls.) 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] A “welcome” mat may serve as a comforting factor for this Composure roll if the vampire is pedantic enough, but not allow it to be bypassed entirely. 

[4  off to the side in the final formatting] Depending on the social awareness of the vampire in question, these invitations and uninvitations will often need to be clear and obvious, such as saying “Come in.” or “Get out!” Merely opening the door will not count as an invitation, and merely acting hostile or rude will rarely, if ever, count as an uninvitation.

[5 off to the side in the final formatting] It takes a very specific kind of person to become a vampire, and many elements of “vampirism” may actually be elements of them.

Running Water

When passing over any significant amount of running water, whether jumping, wading through, crossing a bridge, taking a boat, flying over, etc., a vampire risks becoming dizzy and disoriented. They must make a Reflexes roll.

Full Success: They are able to keep their bearings without issue.

Partial Success: They are affected badly enough to stumble, but not completely lose their bearings. This may lose them a Tick, or a movement action in combat.

Failure: The vampire loses their bearings completely and falls to the ground. This may lose them a Tick, or an entire turn in combat. In the worst case scenario, such as if they are wading through the water or crossing a narrow bridge with no guard rails, this may cause them to fall and become fully submerged in the water.

Crossing over still water, small sources of running water such as indoor plumbing, or walking around in a city that has a sewer system will not affect the vampire. Narrators should only call for this Reflexes roll when success or failure would actually affect or alter the situation.

The ocean will always count as running water.

Submersion in Water

If a vampire becomes completely submerged in water, they will cease to function completely, their body totally paralyzed. The vampire is considered debilitated and cannot take any action under these circumstances. They cannot drown, and will revive as soon as any part of themselves surfaces.

Vampires with a Composure level of 4 or more can move through water normally so long as they do not fully submerge at any point. Vampires with a Composure level of 3 or less are not buoyant, and sink, applying a -2 penalty to any roll to swim or keep themselves afloat.

Arithmomania

Either a result of hundreds of years of consciousness, or because they’re just like that, many vampires possess a compulsive need to know the quantity of large numbers of small objects, such as grains of rice, or even sand in extreme cases.[1] They must have “Ignorance of Quantity” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. If the vampire is confronted with something like this, ignoring it will prompt an Ignorance of Quantity Composure roll. If they choose to count it, they must make a Paperwork roll. (Particularly large amounts of objects may take longer to count than listed below, up to the Narrator's discretion.)[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] In extreme cases where knowing the exact quantity isn’t humanly possible, this character is too smart to be stuck counting literally forever. If this character feels they must know the number of grains of sand on a beach, consider a Technology roll instead of a Paperwork roll as they use their phone to Internet search the approximate packing density of sand and the square footage of the beach they’re on.  

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] There is no need to give vampires the Arithmomania mundane Trait. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] While numbers are the most documented, any particular vampire may have an entirely different obsessive compulsion. 

Full Success: They count it quickly enough to not disrupt what they were doing. 

Partial Success: They must spend one turn (or one Tick) counting and can do nothing else for the duration. 

Failure They must spend two turns (or two Ticks) counting and can do nothing else for the duration. 

Despite the drawbacks of this compulsion, the vampire has a +2 Contextual bonus to any rolls involving numbers or math (including those induced by their compulsion), such as a Paperwork roll to figure out if numbers in an account book add up or recognizing a pattern in a string of seemingly random numbers. In addition, when this bonus is applied to an Investigative roll, this character gets additional Investigation Points. They get more Investigation Points the more severe their compulsion, as noted below:

Ignorance of Quantity -3 = +6 Investigation Points 

Ignorance of Quantity -2 = +5 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity -1 = +4 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +0 = +3 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +1 = +2 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +2 = +1 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +3 = +0 Investigation Points

Once per Scene, they also gain 1 Investigation Point each time they make note of the quantity of a set of objects.

If the vampire is an NPC, then consider ignoring countable objects to cost them -1 Morale. If they choose to count them, make them roll at +2.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] In south Louisiana, it is tradition to leave a colander or a cheese grater on your porch over night, so that if a vampire or loup-garou tries to approach, they will get distracted and be stuck counting all the holes until the sun chases them away in the morning.

[1.1 off to the side in the final formatting] but most vampires would think that’s pretty stupid, because they can just count the holes on one edge and then multiply.

Stakes

If any object, wooden or otherwise, is driven completely through and through a vampire’s heart, they will cease to function completely, their body totally paralyzed. The vampire is considered debilitated and cannot take *any* action under these circumstances.[1] This applies even if the heart is not currently in the vampire’s chest.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This does not kill the vampire, turn them to dust, or anything of the sort.

The vampire will revive immediately as soon as the object is removed.

Light Sensitivity

For the purposes of flashbangs, add a +3 Contextual bonus to the resulting Senses roll for vampires.

How to Kill a Vampire For Good

Following these steps in the correct order may be able to permanently get rid of a vampire. 

Drive a long object, wooden or otherwise, through and through the vampire’s heart to paralyze them. 

Decapitate the vampire while they are still paralyzed. 

Incinerate both the severed head and the body in separate fires–careful, if the stake is made of wood, it may burn up before the body does, rendering the vampire able to move again even if they are decapitated. 

Mix the resulting ashes from both fires with blessed water. 

If possible, have blood relatives of the vampire in question drink the ashes with the water. There is still no guarantee that following these steps will permanently prevent a vampire’s return, but following through to the last step will give the best possible chance of destroying them for good. 

To determine if a vampire will return, the Narrator should roll a hidden D6, adding a +1 modifier for each of the above steps that were completed. Subtract -2 if the steps were not done in exactly the sequence listed above. On a result of 8 or more, the vampire will not return. 

Misc. Tells

Spectral

The higher a vampire’s Composure, the more “normal” and biological they will seem, with more flushed and warmer skin, and even often a real heartbeat.

The lower a vampire’s Composure, the more spectral, palled, cold, and sometimes even “fuzzy” they will seem. Touching them may even have the tiniest bit of give, as if one could phase right through them with enough pressure, and may evoke the feeling of touching a CRT screen. The vampire themselves will experience physical numbness.

Vampires are likely to express mild discomfort in colder environments, unless they have recently inundated themselves with warm blood.

Eyes

While normal at first glance, under low-light conditions, a vampire’s eyes reflect red light with a shine not unlike those of an animal.

Vampires also have no need to blink, and will often forget to unless they are consciously thinking to do it.

Fangs

A vampire’s fangs are growing out at a constant rate, and must be filed down to a manageable size every few months or so. Larger fangs are quite easy to spot for anyone looking at the vampire’s mouth, especially when they speak. Vampires will often cover their mouths when they speak directly at someone, disguising it as scratching their nose or some other innocuous action.[2] Of course, they could also easily pass them off as well-made dental prosthetics.[1][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] What, did you think they were a real vampire? 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The vampire’s player should mention this in descriptions but not draw too much emphasis to it.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Some vampires may not have fangs. The question isn’t why they don't, but why others do.

Additionally, the fangs can make it quite hard to pronounce TH and W sounds. 

Reflections and Photography

Neither vampires, nor objects on their person considered assimilated, appear in any sort of reflection nor in analogue photography. Items that are not assimilated will appear to float in mid air in reflections and analogue photography.

Vampires do appear in digital imaging, but facial recognition and other image analysis software will not be able to detect or identify them.

Electromagnetic Field

Vampires seem to produce an exceptionally strong electromagnetic field. It is not enough to severely damage most modern electronics, but it would make an EMF detector go off immediately.[1][2]

[1 off to the side in final formatting] Some experts claim that the vampire in fact is this electromagnetic field, and the person one sees while looking at the vampire is a hallucination brought on by this field’s effect on the human brain.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires often struggle with touch screen devices, and not just because they’re old. They tend to prefer physical buttons.

Shadows

Vampires, and anything they have assimilated, do not cast shadows from most artificial light, such as flashlights and ceiling lights, but do cast shadows from sunlight and moonlight. Sometimes, regardless of their current manifestation, a vampire’s shadow will be that of the Monstrous Beast manifestation. 

Gaunt Appearance

Vampires usually, but not always, appear as a ‘snapshot’ of themselves upon death. Therefore, it is not uncommon for vampires to appear gaunt, emaciated, or otherwise unhealthy, though the degree may be subjective to the viewer.[1] Vampires who were missing body parts for a significant amount of time in life will still be missing them in death.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are subjective. 

Animals

When a vampire encounters animals of any degree of intelligence, the Narrator will roll a hidden D6. If 1: The animal will react with extreme fear and hostility towards the vampire, though will likely be afraid to outright attack. If 2-5: The animal will not distinguish between the vampire and a normal person. If 6: The animal will be unable to perceive the vampire at all. 

Exact Orientation

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires may sometimes accidentally “orient” themselves to surfaces that they do not need to, such that they will appear to be standing at a slight angle on slopes surfaces while everyone else is standing directly up. This is often hardly noticeable, and the steeper the slope, the more likely the vampire is to catch themselves and stand “correctly.”

[lacefuneral]

ok i've seen some posts about the tumblr alternative cohost but none that were actually helpful so!

(disclaimer: i am very new to this website. users who have been there longer can and should chime in with additions and/or corrections)

Cohost Introduction Post

What is cohost?

Cohost is a fledgling website that is essentially a tumblr clone, but with its own culture and site-specific features. It is also very much a work in progress. You are encouraged to talk in the cohost forum to suggest changes for devs, report bugs, and upvote other people's suggestions. This website WILL grow and change over time. And as such, I do not know if/when the information I share here will be outdated. Edit: To answer an ask I received, anyone can join cohost without an invite. It used to be invite-only. It is not this way anymore.

Is "adult content" allowed there?

Yes. Cohost is not on the app store, meaning that it is not subject to Apple's specifications. You can post illustrations, writing, and photographs (cohost does not support any video formats at this time, just gifs). Cohost has an elaborate filtering and trigger warning system (moreso than tumblr), and you can disable adult content for your entire account or for individual tags. I actually don't engage with the adult content at all on there. Visual CSEM (both real and fictional) is specifically forbidden (although frankly I think the guidelines could be stricter wrt written content. Still, does seem to handle this better than AO3 does, going as far to say that written content about real minors is forbidden.)

How are minors protected?

The minimum age to join cohost is 16, and requires proof of parental permission to join. Users who are under 18 are automatically age-gated and cannot view adult content.

If cohost isn't on the app store, how is it used?

You can, of course, use cohost on a computer, but it is designed with mobile in mind. Opening the website on any IOS browser, clicking "share", and then "add to home screen" will install an app for you to use. The same can be done on an android. There is a guide here.

How does cohost work?

First, you create an account. Then you wait for approximately two days (read: weekdays) for the account to be activated. This is done to prevent spam bots. In the meantime, edit your profile. List some interests, your pronouns, your other social media links. Give yourself an icon. Note: icon and banner file sizes are small. You may need to shrink and compress images.

After the two days are up, make your first post! Write a basic introduction (with what you feel comfortable you feel sharing) and list some interests you like, maybe some hobbies, media, etc. And then tag this post with "#welcome to cohost". This will let existing members know that someone new has joined, and they may initiate conversation and/or follow you.

Next, go to the search and type in "The Cohost Global Feed" and click on the tag. Bookmark this tag. This is essentially one giant community space where you can find random users. (There is currently some discourse on the website as to whether this tag existing is a "bad thing" or not because "cohost isn't supposed to have a global tag". Just ignore that lol). Next, go back to search and type in things you like. TV shows, maybe. Video games. Music. Anything. See if people have posted in the tags. Follow them. Comment on their stuff. Click "like" to bookmark the post if you want to.

Most crucially, make sure that you bookmark the actual tag so you can look in that tag again later without having to manually type it each and every time. Also, you get a feed called "bookmarked tags" which allows you to scroll through all of them at once, which replaces the "for you" feature other websites have.

You can "share" a post (called "rebug" in user slang) which serves the same purpose as a reblog on tumblr. In a rebug, you can add your own tags or comment in the body of the post. Cohost users do not talk in tags as much as tumblr users - they tend to prefer to speak in the body of a rebug, or in the comment section (replies). At this time, you cannot view all reblogs. But you can view all comments in the comment section. Any post that is rebugged will preserve the tags of the OP, with any additional tags added being attributed to you. Rebugs are named after the website mascot Eggbug, a purple bee-like insect.

Posts are called "chosts" - and shitposting is called "shitchosting." Two examples of global shitposting tags are "#css crimes" - which is when a person does goofy things with the HTML/CSS editor to make colorful text, fake chat windows, and such - and "#shitchosting" which is a general shitposting tag. I've also seen people use tags like "#random".

If a post makes you laugh, check out the OP's profile. See if they post frequently, and if you have any common interests. If you realize you want to block or mute someone instead, you can.

You can send asks just like on tumblr, but your inbox must be manually opened first. So remember to do that.

How do I look at my own blog?

This is one of my gripes about the UI. You would think, intuitively, you would click here (at the top of the screen). But you would be wrong!

It is ACTUALLY under the sidebar menu, called "Profile." And I'm not the only one to to complain about this. (To get back to your dashboard, by the way, you click on the cohost logo.)

Are there sideblogs?

Yes! Each sidepage (sideblog) has its OWN set of likes AND followed pages (blogs). This allows you to easily switch between multiple sets of dashboards. A lot of users use this to have a SFW dashboard and an adult content dashboard. But it works like tumblr, too. You can have a side page/dashboard for whatever you'd like. Maybe one of your pages is for programming. Maybe another is for photography. You switch between your pages by clicking the arrow next to your icon/username at the top of the screen. ("Ohhhhh.... THAT'S what that's for.")

What's the userbase on there like?

Mostly programmers. Trans people. Furry artists. Plural systems. Furry trans plural programmers. Certainly a lot of shitposters. The website is trans-run and, as such, has zero tolerance for TERFs. Everyone seems pretty friendly from what I can tell. And there's very much a culture of "follow someone randomly based on their vibes" that doesn't happen as much on tumblr. Tumblr is more like "I really like this TV show, I'm going to follow 40 blogs about just this interest." Because the cohost community is so much smaller, there is a lot less content overall, especially fandom content. You can't follow 40 fandom pages because your fandom tag has a total of 3 posts, all made by one person approximately a year ago (well. for me anyway).

Cohost, then, actually has much more in common with real-life socialization. You seek out people with interests that may be very different from your own, and to find a common interest is very exciting! Unlike tumblr, you are encouraged to tag as much as possible. This allows your posts to be seen, to find common interests. And, of course, don't forget to look in "#Welcome To Cohost" too! You may find some new friends there.

What file formats can I post in?

Currently, I am aware of basic image formats working (like jpeg, png) animated gifs, and mp3s. You currently cannot upload videos to cohost. I believe the reason is not related to server costs, but rather as a way to curb the uploading of copyrighted content.

How does cohost make money?

There are no ads, and yet, as far as I am aware, cohost is operating comfortably. There is, however, an entirely optional "cohost plus" that is $5 USD a month. Currently, there are a few perks, but not enough to convince me.

What if I think something about cohost should change?

Cohost has a forum where users can submit ideas for features and other users can discuss/upvote those ideas.

Here is a list of posts made for newcomers to read:

[be-compromised]

Secret Santa 2023 SIGN UPS

Hi All and welcome to Secret Santa 2023! 

This is a Clint Barton and/or Natasha Romanoff end of year fic exchange where matching is based on prompts and everything is anonymous until the author reveals at the end. You don't need to be a member of the be_compromised community to take part, however this year almost all of the exchange will be taking place on AO3, so you will need an AO3 account; if you don't have one and would like an invite code please contact a mod. For fans of our usual format, don't worry, we're still keeping Prompt Choices which is the one element that will be done on dreamwidth.

Whilst this is labelled a 'Secret Santa' as it takes place in the run up to Christmas, fics do NOT have to be related to Christmas, New Year, winter etc. We welcome celebrations of other holidays and no theme at all. However we understand if you would rather not take part due to the labelling. We wish you all a happy holiday season <3

TIMELINE

SIGN UP: from now until 15:00 GMT Monday 16 October.

CHOICES POST: will go up as soon as possible and be available until 18:00 GMT Sunday 22nd October.

ASSIGNMENTS SENT OUT: we aim to have these to you within the following few days. (If all participants make their choices earlier, then we'll aim to get assignments out earlier!)

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15:00 GMT Monday 11 December. (This is to allow time for pinch hitting if/where needed.)

GIFT POSTING/REVEALS: Dependent on if participants submit on time / any pinch hit requirements, we aim to reveal gifts somewhere between 15 to 19 December.

AUTHOR REVEALS: We aim to reveal authors 22 to 24 December, giving readers some time to read gifts before we do this.

Read on for information on how to take part, or go to AO3.

HOW TO TAKE PART IN HE EXCHANGE:

1) SIGN UP HERE AT AO3.

In the REQUEST section in 'Details/Description' you must include: at least 4 prompts and no more than 6. These can be anything! From a one word prompt like 'kisses' to a specific AU idea. Past Secret Santa prompts (such as 2022 here) or promptathon prompts (2023 here) may be helpful if you get stuck. If you really don't mind what gift you receive then please feel free to say so, but you MUST leave at least 4 prompts for your giftee to have something to work with.

You are also welcome to include in the 'Details/Description' section: - a Yes Please note: a brief list of things you like that aren't as specific as a prompt, such as a preference for the comics or film, sexy times, female friendships, hurt/comfort etc. Your gift giver isn’t obliged to use them, but it can help give them some ideas. - a No Thank You note: anything that you really do not want, such as character death, angst, fluff, anything that might be triggering for you etc. Feel free to specify if some things are just a rather not and some are no-way, not-ever.

Matching will be based on the information from the 'Details/Description' section ONLY. Optional: you can use 'Ratings', 'Archive Warnings' and 'Categories' to list all those that you would be comfortable receiving. You can use 'Characters', 'Relationships', and 'Tags' to select things that you like (from all canonical AO3 tags). As above, your gift giver is not obliged to consider or use these, but it may help them with ideas.

In the OFFER section the only thing you need to complete is the 'Details/Description' with: - I'd Rather Not: things that you don’t really like to create or feel uncomfortable with, anything you don’t feel confident in writing or a genre that isn’t your strength. - Absolutely Not: Things that are an absolute no for you, such as anything triggering, character death, things that you will not do.

2) The prompts and any additional notes you included in the 'Details/Description' section for your REQUEST will be anonymised and posted to the community dreamwidth. You MUST reply in a comment to that Choices Post (which will only be visible to the mods) with your top three picks of which requests you’d like to create for. You don't need a dreamwidth account to do this; you can comment using OpenID or anonymously, however please remember to include your AO3 handle in your comment so we know who you are! (More information will be available in the Choices Post.) This will be available as soon as possible following the closing of sign ups until 18:00 GMT Sunday 22 October. (If all participants comment earlier we will try to get matching and assignments out faster.)

3) Your prompt choices will be used by the mods to do manually match participants in the exchange. We can't guarantee that you’ll get your choices, but we’ll do our best keep to your choices as much as possible! Where there are any issues with matching or where participants have not commented to the prompt choices post as in (2) we will use your OFFER notes to help with matching and avoid your 'Absolutely Nots'. (In rare cases you may get a request that has something it in from your ‘rather not’ section that you can ignore, because the request has other prompts in it or because it’s not a deal breaker for the requester, but these are things that we will make sure you don’t get in your assignment if we can absolutely help it.)

4) Assignments will be sent out and you'll have until 15:00 GMT Monday 11 December to submit your gifts (which aims to cover our usual 'midnight on the Sunday whatever your timezone).

5) We will reveal gifts in the week leading up to Christmas (aiming for 15 to 19 December; exact dates to be confirmed depending on any pinch hit requirements) and authors will be revealed the weekend before Christmas (aiming for 22 to 24 December).

You can also sign up as a pinch hitter for this event as well as or instead of taking part in the main exchange on dreamwidth here.

And/or you can volunteer to be a beta reader in the community discord Writing Help channel, create clintasha graphics and art to inspire and keep us going, and cheerlead - what would fandom be without cheerleaders?! We LOVE comments and encouragement and all the great stuff that makes this comm the place it is <3

RULES:

1) We're a community for fans of Clint Barton aka Hawkeye and Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, individually as well as paired together as friends, partners, lovers, spouses, or any combination. We welcome all things Marvel, including other characters and pairings (and threesomes or moresomes). For this exchange, at least ONE of your prompts MUST focus on Clint/Natasha or Clint & Natasha, OR be a generic prompt to enable everyone who takes part to have a prompt they know that they can fill. All gifts should include Clint and/or Natasha in some capacity.

2) Fics must be a MINIMUM of 1,000 words and should be no more than 10,000 words.

3) Please treat everyone with respect. This includes no character bashing or ship wars. (Saying what you like: yes. Disparaging what other people like: no.) Our community is a positive fandom space.

4) No plagarism. For the purposes of this exchange, we also ask that you do not use AI or chatbots to create fics.

5) As we're a community primarily focussed on fictional characters, we ask you please not to post any Real Person Fanfiction.

6) All fics must include a rating and either appropriate AO3 warnings OR choose not to warn if/as applicable.

7) This is an anonymous exchange, so don’t reveal who your giftee is until after the reveals! Please feel free to let people know that you're taking part, however please don't link to a gift letter, share your prompts, post your gift elsewhere, identify yourself in an authors note, or otherwise reveal yourself until the author reveals at the end of the exchange. For people who have taken part in our annual exchange before, a reminder to please make sure your request/prompts are different to in previous years to keep things anonymous!

ANY QUESTIONS?

We will maintain an FAQ on AO3 for this exchange. If you would like to ask any questions we've not already thought of or to contact a mod you have a few options:

You can comment on the main dreamwidth post which has options for anonymous and public comments/queries.

You can message this be_compromised tumblr account.

You can @ a mod on the community discord. (Or message one of us on any platform that you spot us, although that may take a little longer for us to see.) Your mods are @inkvoices, @cloud--atlas (aka franstastisch on DW) and @quidnunc-life (aka gsparkle on DW and discord).

Happy writing!

[potatosimslife]

I posted 22 times in 2022

That's 22 more posts than 2021!

11 posts created (50%)

11 posts reblogged (50%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@potatosimslife-reblogs

@nekochan-simmer

@servegrilledcheese

@ozlembroke

@helloavocadooo

I tagged 19 of my posts in 2022

Only 14% of my posts had no tags

#sims 4 townie makeover - 7 posts

#sims-4-townie-makeover - 6 posts

#sims 4 weddings - 4 posts

#the sims 2 - 3 posts

#essential mods - 3 posts

#sims2lepacy - 3 posts

#potatosimsplays - 3 posts

#sims 4 wedding cc - 2 posts

#sims 4 wedding mods - 2 posts

#sims2lepacy gen1 - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 32 characters

#recreating our lives in the sims

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Townie Makeovers: Don Lothario

I really didn't get how the EA version of this man ever got to be the ladies' man. So I gave him a lot of genetic tweaking to make him look attractive somehow. I'm not really sure if I'm happy with him yet as I'm really having a hard time with male sims. Help.

As previously mentioned, I moved out Don Lothario from the Calientes and got him his own little bachelor pad. Interestingly, he has no friends in the game and knows absolutely no one else aside from the Calientes. I'm thinking he should at least be acquainted with the Roomies and Johnny Zest at the very least?

I still have one household left to makeover in Oasis Springs and some stragglers and I'm done with base game makeovers.

5 notes - Posted March 5, 2022

#4

Sul sul! This is not a new simblr, just a new account. I have moved from @potatosimslife-reblogs

my Random Legacy Challenge gameplay (on hiatus)

my sims

my townie makeover

my resources (defaults, mods)

other accounts

@potatosimslife - news and reblogs

@potatosimslifeccfinds - mostly maxis match finds cc finds

6 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#3

How to Have Better Weddings without the New Game Pack - Part 1

By now, we all know the wedding game pack is broken. So if you're like me who's holding off on purchasing the game pack until it's fixed or until modders find a way to fix the game bugs, here is a list of custom content/mods for better weddings so we can still have our dream weddings in game.

Essential

The base game patch to add a new wedding venue is not available for wedding events, apparently.

Wedding Venue Bugfix by @lotharihoe - also makes the wedding arch required for weddings (because you can't get married without one!)

weddingsatweddingvenuesfix by bienchen

Gameplay

sitatweddings by bienchen - The most annoying thing about sims is that they don't sit and watch the ceremony. This might be obsolete for those with the new GP and I'm not sure if this will be maintained in the future as well.

Various Seating Fixes/Additions - also another seating fix from Mod The Sims. The updated version is in the comments and should still work for the latest patch.

Longer Parties & More Guests - This mod allows your parties to last up to 24 hours and gives you the ability to invite up to 200 guests. Please note that you can still end parties as early as you like by clicking on the event timer.

Better Community by Kawaii Stacie - This mod is good for making lots more full/diverse and for storytelling. You will be able to spawn more sims on your lots and pick which sims that spawn.

Cute Romance by @thepancake1s-mods - Adds the following interactions: Slow dancing and Dip kiss (used in the photo above)

Have First Dance at Wedding by SHEnanigans - adds a first dance requirement to the base game wedding event.

Resorts & Hotels Mod by Kawaii Stacie - adds resorts and hotels you can use for honeymoons (requires Vintage Glamour for some interactions)

Rambunctious Religions by lumpinou - adds religions to the game, also comes with pre-made lots if you want to get married in a church

Storytelling Socials by @lazarusinashesmods - an expansive mod that adds over 60+ interactions with an emphasis on storytelling.

Storytelling Toolkit by @chippedsims - includes Quick Access for the headlineeffects cheat (a must have for screenshots!)

Some mods that I haven't personally tried yet:

My Wedding by @caradriel - a really big mod for planning a wedding including new social interactions, legal documents, getting a marriage certificate, and planning a honeymoon.

Arranged Marriages by @mizoreyukii - let's you have arranged marriages, perfect for historical gameplay. I think this mod needs a few updates if you have the new GP, I'll check

Events

Memorable Events Mod by Kawaii Stacie - Adds lots of cute events to the game that are not just wedding focused like:

Bachelor(ette) Party - This event lets your sims have their last night of freedom. Let them party with their friends and don't forget to tip the strippers!

Romantic Date - This event was created so that you can plan out your dates on the calendar!

Honeymoon - This event allows you to go on a honeymoon with your lover! You can invite friends and family! You can hire someone to watch your children if you bring them along, cook your food, and clean up after you.

Housewarming Party - This event lets you have the welcome wagon again except its people you actually know and instead of fruitcake or that island juice they will give you some household items on their way out!

Meet my Partner* - This event lets you meet your bf/gf or spouse...to your friends and family! Everyone will have different reactions to the news!

Moving Out* - This event allows you to break the news about your departure! Not everyone is going to be happy so expect things to get emotional!

Pregnancy Announcement* - This event allows you to announce your pregnancy to friends, family, and even your spouse... if you didn't tell him already.

Romantic Proposal - This event allows you to plan out your proposal! Hopefully, with all this effort you don't get rejected. Oh! You can invite friends and family to witness it if you like.

See the full post

99 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

#2

How to Have Better Weddings without the New Game Pack - Part 3

Here we are at part 3, you can check out the previous posts here:

Part 1 - Gameplay mods, events, and bug fixes

Part 2 - Build/Buy items and food

Wedding Dresses and Suits

See the full post

581 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

How to Have Better Weddings without the New Game Pack - Part 2

Part two of my essential custom content for weddings is here! I have a whole folder for weddings in my game that I add back every time I have weddings so it finally came in handy to share my favorites!

In this post, I'll be sharing the big wedding collections and build/buy items that I use for weddings.

See the full post

610 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[the-northcap-university]

Scrolling to Nowhere: The Effect of Empty Social Media Use on the Intellect

Decay of Attention Spans: It’s possible that studies claiming attention spans are getting shorter have something to do with the fast pace of social media. If you think about your brain like any other muscle in your body; when bombarded constantly by small bits of information it forgets how to settle down for deep work. With shorter attention span, increases the needs for instant gratifications. For examples, the 8-minute delivery commitments or variety and lists of endless options offered by various platforms these days are not only hampering the purchase cycle, but is affecting the consumers on a holistic level. People often feel fatigued, less emotional and often desensitise situations, that otherwise may require an in-depth approach. The Dopamine Trap: These platforms are built so we get addicted. Every thumbs up or comment represents dopamine being released within our brains as positive reinforcement for staying involved; even if what’s happening doesn’t feel very important. Not only this, but this trap has invited a lot of insecurities with regards to self-esteem and confidence amongst the population, especially young adults. Being over-exposed to social media and filters, the young adults have started having issues related to body-image, self-confidence, instant urge of fetching likes and comments. This has also invited anxiety and trust issues among the younger generations, which is quiet alarming in itself.

Information Overload and Confirmation Bias: Algorithms sort what we see based off our preferences, so that we only encounter information which confirms our current beliefs. This prevents critical thinking and exposure to different points of view.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and the Comparison Game: Comparing ourselves with others on social media often leads to envy and feelings of inadequacy. When this happens, it can be detrimental to our mental health as well as self-esteem. Every time we open social media, our screens are bombarded by pictures and stories of our friends and acquaintances having fun in their lives. Now in a normal scenario, it is fine, but actually something negative happens instead, and i.e., the social comparisons- meaning, we end up comparing our lives with others and often experience negative emotions, hence, sour relationships. So how can we stop this mindless scrolling through endless feeds? Be Intentional: Set limits on time spent using social media sites – stick by them! Try using app timers, or similar features available for your device which help enforce these boundaries. Set your own boundaries and respect them. Curate Your Feed: Unfollow accounts that contribute towards making you feel bad or those which simply add to the sea of information overload. Instead look for content that educates, inspires or lifts spirits up. This one is very important. So a common belief is that not everyone is happy with your success, therefore, some people have a tendency to spread negativity through their social media accounts. Letting them go is the best way to maintain your sanity and peace. Engage Deeply and Actively: Rather than just scrolling through posts without really taking anything in – try reading them properly; leave comments when appropriate so others know someone has read their post; share any meaningful pieces around so people get chance see what moved you etc.; join in constructive conversations where possible too! Seek Out Real Connection: Although it’s nice keeping touch loved ones through platforms like Facebook but nothing beats face-to-face interaction. Ensure spending quality time together whether it be nights out at cinema bowling alleys etc., sharing common interests getting involved within local community/charity work- there plenty ways make new friends offline! Embrace Boredom: Being bored might initially feel uncomfortable however this could act as a springboard for creativity and medium for self-reflection. You can spend time in nature as nature has a capacity to heal and nurture. Spend time with your family and friends, and make a pact of not using any devices while being together. Not only this, you can also play board games together. This encourages good companionship and a healthy mental wellbeing.

Remember, taking control of your social media habits is an ongoing process. Don't be discouraged by setbacks. By being mindful and intentional, you can cultivate a healthier relationship with technology and protect your mental well-being. So, put down the phone, step away from the scroll, and reclaim your brain for the incredible things it's capable of! Explore More Visit here: https://www.ncuindia.edu/

Dr. Jyotika Goyal

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

The NorthCap University

[getinstagram]

How Instagram Marketing Can Help To Grow Your

Approximately 100 million pictures are uploaded every day. This huge interaction allows you access to an opportunity of increasing your sales. Almost thirty per cent of the increase Instagram users fall under the age group of 18-24. It is a demo graph with tremendous potential to increase your business, however, the sheer number of users and increase  business accounts makes it very competitive. But a good marketing strategy can help you tap into this particular market. Here are some increase Instagram marketing tips that will help you in growing your business.

1. Instagram business account.

Instagram gives you two options you can either use for personal purposes or you can use it as a business account, of course, you will create a business account. The Instagram business account is different in the sense, people can contact you directly using the contact button. This means you will have a increase platform that gives you direct access to your potential customers. You can also hire any agency to get best increase Instagram Marketing Services.

2. Analytics Tool

How this Instagram also provides you with analytics tools which help you keep a track of how your profile functions. This tool is called insights and you can know how your content performs among the audience and its reach.

3. Publish directly from Facebook

Facebook and Instagram might be linked but you don't require Facebook's advertisement tool to create and publish an ad on Instagram. You can easily create and publish them directly on Instagram.

4. Manage Instagram ads through Facebook

Just because the advertising tool of both Facebook likes and increase Instagram are not linked doesn't mean you can't use the Facebook advertising experience to target audience on Instagram. You can create, budget and manage all the ads on Instagram using the Facebook advertisement increase manager.

5. Non-intrusive and engaging ads

The advertisements you see on Instagram are non-intrusive and easily engage the audience. Not just that, you have the creative freedom to use images and videos when you promote your product or service.

6. Influencers likes are the key to your success

Look for targeted influencers on Instagram who have a large follower base. These influencers have a great number of followers who are very loyal. They tend to trust these influencers choices. You can partner up with these influencers and target your ads to their audience. You can build a long-term increase marketing strategy with these influencers.

7. Cross promote your brand

Cross promoting your brand on other increase social media platforms also allows you to increase brand awareness and boost sales. By inviting users from other social media platforms, you can increase exposure to your increase Instagram handle. You do this by publishing increase Instagram only video links on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Doing so will drive the audience back to your Instagram profile.

8. Keep a track of your ads

You have to keep track of your increase Instagram performance in order to improve it. Otherwise how will measure or account for the growth and the brand awareness of your company?

a) You need to keep a track of your follower growth rate, keeping a track of it will allow you to observe the performance of the content you publish for the followers to consume. This increase important because it will help you understand the audience and tweak the campaign to cater to those needs and also the frequency of the content required to be published at regular intervals.

b) You also need to measure the engagement of the audience. The number of increase likes, comments shares is important. This will help in calculating the average percentage of increase engagement.

9. Strategic use of hashtags

Hashtags are important, this is known universally now. You can use two types of these likes hashtags either you use brand/ campaign-specific hashtag or content related hashtag. It is important to have increase unique hashtags that grab the audience's attention.

10. Keep your content simple

In case you are using a content related hashtag, they have to be simple and content specific so that likes people looking for your content are able to locate it easily.

11. Create a catchy bio

To create a strong impression, you need to have a strong and catchy bio. You have to explain it in your bio what your company/ brand is and what it does.

12. Create a content strategy.

Once you get through all of the above, you need to focus on content strategy. The kind of content you want to deliver for your audience to consume. It would be a fruitless effort if can't curate content that is relevant and relatable to your followers. You can publish product-centric content or you can publish content related to your company.

13. Time the content before publishing.

Make sure you create content beforehand. The key to achieving anything in life is consistency and that is applicable here. Being consistent is important to stay relevant on increase social media platforms like Instagram. Users are bombarded with a lot of content every day; you have to increase make your content stand out and be retained in the minds of the users.

[digitalmarketingunlock]

How to Get More Facebook Page Likes?

In today's post, we will learn how we can increase likes on the Facebook page naturally and freely.

We all know that Facebook is one of the best in the top social networking platforms name list. Many bloggers and businesses are using Facebook pages to promote their brand, and their services and connect with the targeted audience to get more followers and enhance page likes.

Many of the newbie ask that what is the purpose of having a Facebook page separately when we have a personal Facebook account?

If you have the same question in mind, then here are a few benefits, you must have a Facebook page and you should promote it. A dedicated FB page for your business will help your targeted traffic to connect with you directly. Your potential customers will share your services/products and it will attract more customers. Facebook page provides you a proper insight about visits/likes of your page, which will help you to analyze how your posts are performing.

It also helps you to stay in touch with your customers via mobile and targeted traffic can also search you easily through Facebook search. There are many more benefits of having a Facebook page for your business, but it would be only useful if you gradually keep on increasing your Facebook likes and here I am sharing:

6 Tips To Get More Facebook Likes For Your Business Page.

#1. Complete your Facebook Page:

To attract others to your FB Page, make sure that you have completed your “About” section which include all required information about your blog/business.

Whenever we create a page the default URL is not easy to remember, so make sure you change it to an easy-to-remember URL like: https://www.facebook.com/dsdmofficial (you can add your blog name here)….

Have an attractive Logo for your profile picture and cover picture….

When people visit your page, they should be able to understand what your Facebook page is all about and what you have to offer. Bad profile/cover pictures or an incomplete “About” section will repel your audience.

​

#2. Invite Friends:

There is an option on the page to invite your friends to like your FB page, this will be a good way to get more likes on FB.

You can even add new admin to your page and ask them to invite their friends to like Facebook page.It goes same with the Email invite, you can ask other admins to send Email invite too, and you will be having good numbers of Facebook likes.

Here are the screenshots, which will help you to know how to send invites.

​

#3. Make Posts Interesting and Frequent:

​No matter how many like invites, you send to others, but if you are not posting interesting stuff on your Facebook page, then your audience might start un-liking the page.

To keep engaged your fans, you need to keep posting useful and interesting post. I always prefer pretty images, memes or one-liners which are easy to read and convey your message and they don’t feel lazy to read the post.

Another point to remember is to keep posting frequently, may be daily or thrice in a week but maintain post frequency. Whenever you post, make sure you are trying to engage your fans by asking them questions or replying to all genuine comments.!!

When the people get engaged with interesting posts, then the search visibility will increase and you will get more page likes.

​

#4. Have Facebook Widget and Pop-up:

​If you are creating a Facebook page, then I assume you would surely be having your website.

There are many plugins available online which will help you to add a “Facebook Like” widget and a "FB Pop-up” to your blog.

If visitors are impressed with your website, they can directly like your Business Page from your website via FB Like box or pop-up instead of redirecting them to your Facebook page and leaving your website. Few of plugins are FB Like Box Widget, Easy FB Like Box, Facebook Page Promoter LightBox Popup.

​

#5. Arrange Contest and Coupons:

This is one of the best way to double likes on Facebook.

You can provide useful prizes (according to your niche) and ask your targeted traffic to like your Facebook page in order to participate. You can even add a pop-up about your contest and Facebook page, so that interested people can take part.

Such contests not only start increasing your Facebook page likes, but also target relevant subscribers and traffic to your website. Another way to lure your traffic is to provide discount/free coupons. There are a few good coupons app which will allow you to create and automatically post to the participant’s wall.

This way you are promoting your brand to larger groups. These are easy ways to engage users and build a community.

​

​#6. Use Email and Social Networks:

Apart from Facebook, there are many other social networking platforms available that will benefit you to promote your Facebook page. You can add your Facebook Page URL to your Twitter profile, Linkedin, and Google Plus profile page so that interested people can connect with you on Facebook too.

Apart from that, you can even share your Facebook page link on other social networks so that you can remind your fans to connect via Facebook.

If you are active on forums and they allow you to share your Facebook page URL, then always share while you are discussing topics. This way you will get more genuine likes and popularity.

I even use my Facebook page URL while sending emails in the future, thus even new clients can like my page and connect me there to exchange information.

Above are the ways I follow to gain fans on my Facebook page, if you follow these tips regularly, then gradually you will start generating a huge fan following that too for free. There are a few paid methods to increase followers on the FB page- Facebook Advert or paid services which assure you to provide a large fan base.

If you are in the mood to invest then you can opt for Facebook Ads because it might help you to get targeted likes via different options which you select while creating sponsored Ads. But I won’t suggest going to other paid services because those lies are not your targeted customers/readers and soon they will unlike your page and you would waste your money.

Have patience and apply the above tips to increase the fan base, meanwhile do share with us what tips and tricks you use to increase likes on your Facebook fan page.

Yes, If you like to boost your social media presence on Facebook then you can opt for 30 days training program of Facebook Ads from DSDM the renowned institute located in New Delhi, India.

[isthisselfcare]

An accumulation of a few months of asks, please forgive my delay. I have not answered them all as some will require more time than I’ve got at the moment. Thank you to anyone who sent me kind comments from the bottom of my heart!

Re: questions about bookbinding and paywalls

I have a few of these queries and, though I thought my position was amply clear with ‘not for profit’ binding only, to reiterate – I permit bindings of my work on a not for profit basis, which means that binders should not be making money from binding my work. Please don’t put my work behind paywalls. I find fanfic binding to be amongst the most fascinating and wonderful developments in fandom in recent years, making beautiful works so tangible and permanent – let’s not give copyright holders a reason to look upon us with a litigious eye.

did you watch the new Persuasion?

I quit after the first half hour, all agony, zero hope. I’ve half a mind to make a post with screenshots in, with arrows and comments and shrieks of pain

Ur Instagram is my fav meme account

Thank you, I think I’ve found my calling, rather less time consuming than the writing x

Hello, can I ask you a question? 

“Love and light, my girl,” said the first Keeper. 

^Did the keeper say this because she had predicted Hermione's future and knew that she would eventually fall in love with Malfoy? 

Love dmatmoobil.💛💛💛💛 Thank you.

It’s a greeting/farewell in some witchy circles, but I adore this interpretation!

Hello darling! 👋  I hope you're having the most fantastic summer and the best life, really, because dmatmobil has brought me so much joy. I'm beyond obsessed and keep replaying the audio version of it on Spotify almost every day. At this point I know it almost by heart but just your prose is so soothing and comforting, it's an immediate source of endorphins.

I have one question: during the tea party, Draco asks Hermione if she'd like Narcissa to give her one of the flowers (hyacinths?) for medical/research purposes and in response she says something like "she's already helped me". I've been wondering what that meant - my first intuitive guess is that what she meant was that Narcissa helped her feel more at ease at the  manor by inviting her and being  a gracious host? Or was there a deeper meaning to her words?

Thank you! On the hyacinths – in that passage, Narcissa mentions to Hermione that the plant was brought in from Provence. In a later passage (as they are climbing up towards the monastery) Draco notes in passing that there are hyacinths in the undergrowth. Hermione uses flora to triangulate locations for her various ingredients, so the implication there (for, admittedly, a reader with a magnifying glass) was that Narcissa’s mention helped her narrow her search down in some way. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to find a saint’s bone + hyacinth combination location in the UK and the Provence mention spurred her on to widen the net. Also gave the author excuses to write about romantic seaside walks 

Where did you get the idea for the rings in dmatmoobil?

Magical rings are the bog standard Jewellery Plot Device so I only ‘got the idea’ in the sense of picking the lowest hanging fruit, haha! And (if you didn’t know) something similar does exist in real life – smart rings – a cool piece of kit!

just wanted to say i LOVED draco malfoy & the ordeal of being in love!!! thank you so much for writing & sharing it. i really really wish i could read more of your work— i feel like i’ve been rudely spat back into reality from the lovely world you built and reality is terrible—  but i understand your need to keep your lives/identities separate! if begging would help, let me know. i’d readily beg for more of your romance works!!! + i’d take the vow of secrecy!! also if you have a patreon or ko-fi or some way to support your work, please let me know as well! me and the reddit community of r/romancebooks think it is a crime that we read such an amazing piece of work for free!!! i just love your writing style so much and i really wish i could live in your stories & the worlds you build. i will now slowly savour the shorter one-shots you have written like they’re the last few drops of water on earth. thank you so much again for sharing your talent, hard work & stories with the world!!!!!! 

I’ve not got any of those platforms but your kind message is worth a kg per word in gold, thank you! (Also – I haven’t any one-shots up – now unsure whether or not you have written to the correct author – will take the compliments regardless) 

I don’t know if you are on GoodReads but the romcom author Penny Reid loved your fanfic!

I had a google as I wasn’t familiar with their work, but Happily Ever Ninja and Neanderthal Seeks Human sound simply fabulous based on titles alone. Thank you for letting me know! xx

hey, I have real problem (LOL). I'm not sure when D&H had their sex together. Did they really sleep together in Chapter 30: Samhain or it was just imagination. Please help here because I have problem with plot. Thank you in advance. Love your writing and sense of humor in it :)

Hiya, yes, they slept together – see this line in the next chapter: ‘It was difficult to deny what had happened, given that each had the other’s bodily fluids in various stages of evaporation upon their person’ (particularly charming out of context)

Hi, thank you for sharing DMATMOOBIL! What made you choose Greyback as the villain?

Ooh, I haven’t got an elegant answer for that one – he was reverse engineered into being. My first question when plotting this thing, knowing I wanted a Healer Hermione who needed protection, was what disease or problem was she curing that would anger someone? The top 3 candidates were lycanthropy, vampirism, and Dementors (traces of that brainstorm linger in the chapter when she explains her treatment’s other applications). I really liked the Dementor cure idea, only I couldn’t see Dementors posing a proper threat to Hermione without a lot of in-universe setup (would need a reason for Dementors to be floating about outside of Azkaban, would need Dementors to have enough brains to work out what she’s doing? And stage attacks?? Or a baddie Dementor Leader organising things?) – so, idea discarded due to Author Couldn’t Be Arsed in the interest of efficiency. 

Vampires and werewolves were both more feasible, but lycanthropy got the edge because I had a beloved character in the story afflicted by it (Lupin). And then, continuing the reverse engineering, who gets rather pipped at the idea of a cure? Greyback, who, conveniently had an established antagonistic relationship with Hermione and also did not explicitly die in canon. (Though if he had died in canon, I would have used him anyway; I’ve got no respect for the dead)

I discovered dmatmoobil recently when I did one of my irregular dramione deep-dives. I came here to say how dare you write a story that has affected me profoundly like few other stories have. Love is too inadequate a word to describe the enormity of my feelings now that I've finished madly binging it. (1/2)

Truly, you write in the spirit of Jane Austen et al., and can I just say that even if you weren't one of the few (or only?) fanfic authors I've ever seen cite Jerome K. Jerome as an influence, (2/3, I lied, brevity is not my forte)

it would have been evident from every other sentence of your breathtakingly *not* jejune work. Anyway, in addition to adding to your inbox material for grey days, I do actually have a question: will there be an epilogue? (3/3)

(4/5, because it is 2.30am so of course my brain thinks this is a good time to be active) I would also like all of your thoughts on all of dear Jane Austen's books, but I understand that this might be a bit much to ask.

Only tell me that, Pride and Prejudice being the ultimate comfort read aside, you also think Sense and Sensibility is a reliable soporific (despite my best efforts I have never once made it through the whole book without nodding off) (5/5)

Thank you for this VERY sweet message. I haven’t any plans for an epilogue or other additions to the Mortifying Ordeal, so sorry to disappoint. I wish I had the time to share all of my thoughts on Austen, but in the meantime – you must give Sense and Sensibility another chance – perhaps a strong espresso first – it’s a non-stop thrill-ride. Really! Heroine falls in the rain! Dashing rescue! Snipped locks of hair (scandal!!)! Illegitimate daughter! Fevers! Jiltings! Illegitimate daughter dies a pauper! Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon! (The last hasn’t to do with the book, but I nevertheless add it as a point of consideration)

Sending you a heads up to look at the my-dmatmoobil-memes tumblr if you haven’t already been notified of it

I had not been notified and it is BRILLIANT. I am going to add every post to my queue. Thank you to the genius behind this!!

Curious about what other genres you write or if you do mostly humor?

Hiya, I go through phases – angst, erotica, humour, Serious Story with Important Message About The State Of Our Society, back to penises

Humour is my favourite in terms of the sheer pleasure of writing, but it is also by far the most difficult (far easier to make people cry than laugh!)

Hi, I'm head over heels with  dmatmobil and I have some questions, if you don't mind. 

Am I right in assuming that Hermione decided to start the project partly because the money from her invention (jotter) gave her the freedom to do so? In your headcanon, had she been sitting on the idea for a long time before she started doing it but simply didn't have the means? 

In the crypt in France, they stumble into the reverse ethics spell, the mechanics of which I found fascinating. What I'm wondering is, was the spell limited only to the confines of the crypt and the affected person's immediate intentions? If Hermione had been affected, for instance, would she have simply left the crypt or would she have abandoned her entire project entirely (since she was there because of the project)? 

And finally, was Hermione initially so reserved towards Draco during their Hogwarts trip because she had heard about him going on dates recently? Cause in the previous chapter Theo mentions people gossiping about his (unsuccessful) dates. Had the word reached Hermione and was she feelings unwelcome stirrings of jealousy?😌 

Thanks so much in advance! Love you bye💛💛

Such good questions, such mediocre answers. So sorry! 

On Hermione’s project – as it came about through a mechanical process (author needed a villain; see Greyback question above) I haven’t got a headcanon for that part of Hermione’s journey, but I like your idea of her having the project floating in her brain-soup for a time before it became financially feasible. On the reverse ethics spell, I didn’t think through the mechanisms in this level of detail, but my sense is that it would’ve had physical + time limits (effects dissipating if they left the crypt, and after a few days?). For the last question, see below:

Hello. I adore dmatmobil  and I'm verging  very close to unhealthy obsession zone. Hence my microcosmic question:

In one of the later chapters, lovesick Draco and Theo are discussing his crush and Theo says people are gossiping about  Draco's dating life. So I was wondering, since the word reached Theo, did Hermione hear about Draco's dates too  by chance, in your headcanon? If so, was that part of the reason why she was kind of distant and reserved at the beginning of their trip to Hogwarts, because she thought Draco was having an active love-life and this made her feel Not Good?

Thank you in advance.💙💙💙💙💙💙

Yes, this is certainly the implication in the text and explains her standoffishness when they meet again. I think it’s inevitable that she would’ve heard of it, given how small the wizarding world is – and how gossipy! 

Have you seen the @DMATMOOBILbot on twitter? 😂

I had not, but what bits of it Twitter allowed me to see without an account (don’t make me make a Twitter I’m already overwhelmed) were wonderful! What an idea! Thank you for sharing this with me and thank you to the other genius behind this one (or perhaps the same genius?! Is Dramione a single entity of genius?) 

Hello! I just realized while rereading your fic that I took a lot of inspiration from your fic while writing my own fic 😅 Would it be okay if I put your fic as having inspired mine? It's totally okay if not, I just figured I'd ask. I'm embarrassed I didn't realize it sooner 🥴🥴 I was writing in a new style for me, and I think my subconscious put in *attempts* at similar humor as you bc I reread your story often. My apologies if this comes across weird, I really didn't mean anything by it 😅 Hope this finds you well! 

I removed some identifying details from this ask. And yes, of course you can! I am so pleased you liked it so much and honoured to be a positive influence (for once in my life otherwise rife with criminality and sin). All writing is iterative and builds on that which came before it. None of us write in a vacuum! Which is a convenient bridge into the next question:

Hi!! If it's not too invasive, can I ask what are some of the books which have inspired your style of comedic writing & strategic timing + the banter?

I’m chiefly inspired by British humourists, 19th and early 20th century. I have a note at the very beginning of Mortifying with a list of my favourites, delve into any of those and be amused! (And – perhaps if you are like me – feel dull and thick in contrast to the scintillating wit, sigh)

I don't even know how to put these in proper words. But I'm reading the Mortifying Ordeal and I just melted into your work. As a reader I have 100% satisfaction.

As a writer I'd be over the cloud if you could spare some tips on how to write in such a mesmerizing way.

P.S. I've been dreaming of writing a fanfic for God knows how long. I write a few chapters and then destroy the whole thing :')

Thank you for your kind words! I’ve got good news for you – if you have written chapters then destroyed them in a rage, you are already a True Author. If I may offer a humble suggestion, do a rage cut-and-paste rather than a rage-delete, and plonk the allegedly horrible chapters into a document called ‘Scraps’ or perhaps, depending on how full of rage you are, ‘Utter Rubbish’ – you may go back in there some day and find that the things weren’t as bad as you thought they were. Good luck, and keep writing – your first pieces will not reach the lofty heights of your aspirations, but eventually, through practice, you will begin to approach them. Perhaps even reach them? (I wouldn’t know, I never have)

[iam93percentstardust]

Hello. I am very interested with WinterIron. Enemies to Lovers, abo with omega Tony, accidental bonding, mutual pining, a lot and a loooootttttt of kissing and touching (with "I do it because of bond" excuses).

Please feel free to cross anything you feel uncomfortable with.

Hi there! I wasn't able to get everything in there, but hopefully there's enough? I loved this prompt so much, it was a fun verse to write in 💙

CW for omegas having few rights in this verse and for creepy Aldrich Killian

As always, everything I write can also be found on ao3

~

mate bond: [meyt bond] noun

1. A mental and physical connection that ties two people together following a mating bite

2. A pair bond between spouses

~

[An excerpt from The Other Half of My Soul: An Exploration into Unconventional Bonding Methods by Anderson-Lopez et al, 1972]

“While rare, it is important to note the existence of mate bonds in individuals who have not exchanged bites. These instances have notably occurred during times of high stress for one or both individuals, and are sparked by an inciting incident of some kind, usually a traumatic event. While these types of mate bonds, dubbed soulmate bonds by the media, frequently occur between individuals who are highly compatible, it is not necessary. Curiously, however, it does seem necessary that the individuals are scent matched for a soulmate bond, even though compatible second genders are not a requirement.”

~

Bucky maintained that it was an accident.

Tony had been meant for Steve, after all. That was the arrangement Howard Stark had decided on with Fury. Bucky had only come along as moral support for the first meeting between Steve and Tony. He wasn’t even supposed to meet Tony first, but the crowded ballroom had been too much for him, so he’d ducked out into the hallway, only to come across two alphas menacing an omega. He supposed that some of Steve’s fiery nature must have rubbed off on him, as he normally would have never taken on two alphas by himself, not when he was down an arm. But he’d taken one look at that omega, pretty brown eyes wide with distress, and leapt into action. It hadn’t been until both alphas had been sent off running with their tails between their legs that he’d realized the omega he’d rescued was Tony Stark, Steve’s arranged mate.

Unfortunately (fortunately? No, definitely unfortunately), the arranged match would never come to fruition as Bucky and Tony had looked at each other and immediately bonded without a shared word or bite between them.

Howard was furious, Fury less so—Bucky was still a SHIELD agent, even if he wasn’t the great Captain America, so the planned union between SHIELD and SI would still happen—but both Bucky and Tony insisted that it hadn’t been done on purpose. And, as neither had a mating bite but could still feel the other at the back of their mind, it was hard to disprove the existence of what had once been called a soulmate bond, though was now called the rather unglamorous name of Mate Bond Subtype C, which Bucky thought sounded like an illness.

The media thought it was the most romantic thing they’d ever heard. Steve, who was slowly courting another alpha from SHIELD, thought it was a relief. Bucky, who didn’t want an omega while he was still recovering from the surgery on his arm, thought it was a nightmare at first.

He didn’t know what Tony thought.

They might have shared a bond between them, but Tony had quickly figured out how to shield his feelings. It had taken Bucky a little bit more practice but he too had worked out how to keep his thoughts and feelings private, which was good, because he doubted Tony would like to know what he was thinking.

They’d been bonded for three months and, while Bucky had moved into Tony’s penthouse apartment, they didn’t share a room, let alone a bed. He still took long missions that took him away for weeks at a time. Tony spent more time at SI’s research labs than he did at home. Bucky hadn’t shared Tony’s heat, nor had Tony shared Bucky’s rut, though neither of them had invited anyone else into their beds. And other than their planned public outings where they had to touch to put on the façade of a happily bonded couple, they didn’t hold hands or kiss or lean into each other, giggling.

The problem was—Bucky wanted all of that. He wanted to sleep curled around Tony. He wanted the two of them to be home long enough to share more than one dinner together at a time. He desperately wanted to share cycles, but even more badly than that, he wanted to touch Tony as often as the omega could stand it. Because the problem was also this—sometime in the course of three months, he’d fallen in love.

~

Tony slid his hand into Bucky’s as they stood in the elevator. “It’s just a quick walk around the ballroom, say hi to a couple investors, and then we can leave,” he said reassuringly, giving Bucky a quick smile. “I know how much you hate these shindigs.”

This was true, Bucky did hate them, but he knew that Tony hated them just as much, though he hid it much better than Bucky did. “Don’t worry,” he replied, squeezing Tony’s hand quickly. “I’ll stick to you like glue.”

“Well, maybe not like glue. Like Velcro, maybe. Howard’s got a couple investors that I know he wants me to meet and that I know you’ll hate so you’re more than welcome to go off and find people more to your liking then. I heard Steve’s coming.”

Bucky had to fight to hide a frown. He knew Tony didn’t mean any harm by the comment, but he hated how Tony thought he wouldn’t want to be by his side even when meeting people he didn’t like. So what if he didn’t like them? He’d still prefer to be giving Tony silent support instead of wandering off and leaving him alone for that long.

Before he can respond, the elevator came to a smooth stop, the doors opening on a soft ding to reveal the glittering ballroom Maria Stark had chosen to host the Annual Stark Foundation’s Shareholders’ Ball, meant to honor those who had given so generously to charity over the last year. The room was decorated in delicate ice-like structures, calling to mind the snow blanketing the city outside, though it wasn’t nearly as cold inside. Golden chandeliers reflected off the dark windows, giving the impression of a never-ending stretch of light. It was all so very glitzy and glamorous. Bucky hated it. It was an obscene display of wealth, meant solely to remind everyone that the Starks were richer than anyone else in the room.

“One hour, Bucky Bear,” Tony murmured like he could hear Bucky’s thoughts. “And then we can go get burgers.”

He dropped Bucky’s hand in favor of sliding his own into the crook of Bucky’s elbow, gently steering him towards the first group of investors. Like every other rich person he’d met since bonding with Tony, they were simultaneously smug of their own “generosity” (mere pennies compared to their bank accounts) and jealous, both of Tony’s wealth and Bucky’s luck in landing a Stark (not his words). The smugness was blatant, the jealousy only slightly hidden in the way their eyes lingered as Bucky took the opportunity to brush his lips across Tony’s cheek, quietly telling him he was going to go get them drinks.

“I’ll be back before you even have time to miss me,” he promised, understanding the minute tightness at the corners of Tony’s eyes.

Tony smiled and nodded, attention already turning back to the investors—or, more likely, to his latest project, however much it might have looked like he was paying attention to Hugh Worthington IV. Bucky slipped through the crowd to the bar. Fortunately, it wasn’t crowded yet and he was able to order a whiskey for himself and a scotch for Tony, who always refused to drink the fruity drinks he actually preferred at these parties, almost immediately. As he waited, he turned back to the crowd, idly scanning it. Steve wasn’t there yet, if it was indeed true that Fury had managed to stuff him into a suit and send him off to schmooze. His eyes sought out Tony, who was laughing as he excused himself from the group Bucky had left him with, moving on to another small throng of people.

He smiled despite himself. Tony was lovely like this, despite his discomfort. Bucky got to see him laugh so rarely at home that he cherished every moment he got to see it while they were out in public.

“Sir, your drinks,” the bartender prompted. He thanked them absently and left a tip on the bar before making his way back across the ballroom to Tony’s side.

Tony wasn’t laughing now. In fact, if his pursed lips were anything to go off of, he was pretty furious, and Bucky wondered what had upset him between him leaving the bar and him returning to Tony’s side.

“Doll,” he said, letting Tony know he was there. Tony turned and took his drink, thanking him with a quick kiss that Bucky desperately wanted to turn into a longer, sweeter one.

“Honey, Senator Stern here was just telling me about an omega’s rights bill he filibustered so it wouldn’t pass,” Tony said, irritation bleeding into his tone.

“Now isn’t that interesting,” Bucky drawled, irritated himself. The bill in question was a law that he knew Tony had backed, as it would have put a stop to the arranged bondings the wealthy were so fond of. They’d both known it would be a longshot to pass, but they’d remained hopeful. “That’s the one that Stevie supported isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tony agreed. “My alpha here—” He patted Bucky’s chest. “—is close friends with Captain Rogers. They grew up together, you know. Steve spends nearly every Saturday evening with us. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear about this bill failing to pass. Isn’t he supposed to be putting in an appearance at the Senate hearing next week? It would be such a shame if he couldn’t make it.”

Tony’s statement was only partially true. Bucky mostly saw Steve at SHIELD, as Steve, despite being always welcome at their apartment, didn’t want to be reminded of how close he’d come to an arranged bonding of his own. But Steve, who had been an omega before receiving the serum, had always been an outspoken supporter of omega’s rights, and now that he was an alpha, and Captain America to boot, he used every bit of that privilege to push as much pro-omega legislature through Congress as he could. He was a thorn in conservative senators’ sides, like Stern, and it was a minor miracle that they’d gotten him to appear in front of Congress to talk positively about a Republican bill supporting an expansion of benefits for veterans, when he normally disagreed with anything Republican just on principle. Steve’s support would go a long way toward getting that bill passed.

Tony’s veiled threat was effective. Stern, one of the authors of the bill, blanched, making Bucky smile. He loved watching Tony do his thing. There was really nothing better than Tony putting bullies like Stern back in their place.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Stern stammered out before hurrying away.

As soon as he was gone, Tony drooped, leaning back against Bucky. It was nice, being able to lend his support to his omega, but Tony was standing up straight again after only a moment, the façade falling back over him.

“I really hate that guy,” Tony said softly. He looked up at Bucky. “Sorry about using your friendship with Steve like that. I was just so angry. Saw red for a second there.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Bucky said. Impulsively, he reached out to clasp Tony’s shoulder, running his thumb soothingly over the soft skin just above his shirt collar. “You guys got a bad lot in life. You do what you gotta do to make it right.”

Tony hummed. “I really wanted that bill to pass. It wasn’t right, what Howard and Fury wanted me to do. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that.”

“Sorry,” Bucky offered up. It was a lame apology, but he didn’t know what else he could say to make it better. He knew very well that if he and Tony hadn’t bonded that night, Steve would be Tony’s alpha.

To his surprise, Tony smiled and nudged his shoulder, teasing, “I don’t know, you’re not so bad.”

Bucky sputtered, nearly choking on his whiskey.

“Oh, look, Steve’s just arrived,” Tony said airily, like he hadn’t noticed the effect his words were having on Bucky. “Let’s go say hi.”

Talking to Steve at these events was always awkward. Tony and Steve were both aware that neither of them wanted anything to do with each other as mates, which made having to see each other a study in unspoken tension. He didn’t think it was that either of them had a problem with the other, and he suspected that they could even manage to be friends eventually, but it was that knowledge that they’d nearly been forced to mate that made things so tense between them. Still, he appreciated that Tony was willing to put up with it so that Bucky could see his best friend. It was the sort of small kindness that Tony unthinkingly did that had made Bucky fall in love with him so easily.

Tonight was no different. Tony and Steve exchanged no more than a few awkward words before Tony excused himself to go meet with Emma Frost. He didn’t bother kissing Bucky this time, as Steve was one of the few people they didn’t have to pretend with and it didn’t seem like anyone was watching them at the moment. It would have been different if they’d met up a few months ago. There’d been more than a few people who’d somehow got it into their heads that Steve and Tony’s proposed bond was a love match instead of arranged, and they’d all watched eagerly to see how Steve, Tony, and Bucky interacted in those days following Bucky and Tony’s bonding, clearly wondering if Steve was going to pick a fight. They’d been sorely disappointed, of course; Steve and Bucky didn’t fight over anything, let alone an omega that Steve hadn’t wanted.

“So Fury roped you into the dog and pony show, huh,” Bucky asked, eyeing the stiff collar of Steve’s shirt. He’d be willing to bet that it was brand new. Steve was much more at home in a pair of khakis and a flannel shirt than he was in a tuxedo.

“Senator Brandt actually,” Steve said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “He thinks it’s good for me to make appearances and drum up support for SHIELD.”

“Sucks.” There was a niggling worry growing at the back of his mind, unrelated to Steve’s complaints about the brass, but Bucky didn’t know what it was. He glanced around the room, but was unable to spot anything amiss. He tried to put it out of his mind by asking, “How’s working with the Commandos?” He couldn’t entirely keep the bitterness out of his voice. Bucky had been moved out of the Commandos unit a few weeks before meeting Tony, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like being on Strike Team Delta, but he was still irritated that he hadn’t had a choice in the matter.

“Not the same without you,” Steve said, grimacing at him like he knew what was going through Bucky’s mind.

They continued talking about SHIELD as they slowly circulated the room and all the while, that worry was growing stronger, slowly morphing into fear, but it wasn’t until he happened to catch a glimpse of Tony standing in the corner and looking tense and unhappy that he realized they weren’t his feelings. They were Tony’s. Tony was worried and scared and had brought down his shields so that Bucky could feel his emotions and Bucky was standing on the other side of the room like an idiot.

“Excuse me,” he said brusquely, cutting Steve off. “Tony’s in trouble.”

He headed straight for Tony, pushing through the crowd without sparing a thought to anyone he might be offending as he shoved them aside. For once, it was Steve who was trailing after him, offering apologies to everyone who looked offended.

There was a look of naked relief in Tony’s eyes as Bucky marched up behind the alpha Tony was talking to. It was a look he’d never seen on Tony’s face before, at least not directed at him, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that his omega was happy to have him there or disliked that Tony had to be relieved at all.

“Something wrong, doll?” he asked, hand clamping down on the alpha’s shoulder.

“Bucky,” Tony breathed. He sagged back against the wall. “This is Aldrich Killian. He’d like to propose—” Tony’s mouth twisted unhappily. “He’d like to propose an omega trade. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he insisted on talking to you.”

Anger flared in Bucky’s chest, hot and furious. Omega trades weren’t common anymore, used mostly in backroom deals to secure a transaction. You treat my omega right and I’ll treat your omega right, and maybe we can have a deal. He knew the rich, traditional alphas Tony had grown up with still occasionally used them, but he hated them. He’d always hated them. The very concept treated omegas like property, like hostages, and the thought of seeing Tony—his Tony—under someone else had his vision shading red.

“Is that so?” he hissed.

Killian, the idiot, didn’t seem to notice Bucky’s growing anger. “Maya’s a great—” he began to say.

Bucky cut him off with a hand around his throat, slamming him into the wall.

“Bucky—” Steve started, a warning in his voice.

“Tell them it’s SHIELD business,” he snapped. “Isn’t that the usual excuse?”

What Steve did to placate the crowd growing around them, he didn’t know; he was too intent on Killian to care. “Let me get this straight,” he growled. “You asked Tony for a trade and when he told you no, because I know him, he wouldn’t ever want that and he wouldn’t be quiet about it, you cornered him and insisted you’d only listen to a no from me.” It wasn’t a question. Tony’s thoughts and emotions were flooding him with what Killian had tried to do to him. He growled again at the image of Killian’s hand on Tony’s arm, removed after only a moment. This—this—alpha had tried to put his hands on Tony, had ignored his clear no, and was still babbling on about whatever business deal he wanted out of Bucky—or, more likely, Tony, though as an omega, Tony wouldn’t be able to make that decision.

“It’s a yes or no question, Killian,” he finally snapped, losing his temper. “Did you or did you not ignore Tony’s answer—"

“He’s an omega,” Killian tried.

“He’s a person. He’s a person who was clearly uncomfortable with you and you should never have ignored that. The only reason you’re still standing and not laid out on the floor is because he cares about making a scene, but guess what, I don’t.” His hand tightened on Killian’s throat, making the man wheeze. “Do—”

“Bucky,” Tony said quietly, cutting through his anger.

Without removing his hand from Killian, he looked at Tony. Tony still looked a little shaken, but there was something else in his eyes, something that Bucky didn’t know how to describe.

“Let him go,” Tony continued. “You made your point.”

“He—”

“Yeah, he did,” Tony said, knowing what he was going to say. Bucky wondered if his own shields were down, letting Tony read his thoughts and feelings. “And you were here to stop it, so it’s okay. Let him go, we can go get burgers.”

He didn’t want to. He wanted to make sure Killian never laid hands on someone unwilling ever again, but then Steve was there, carefully pulling Bucky away as he muttered to him about seeing what Fury could do about Killian. And that wasn’t exactly what Bucky wanted, but it was better than nothing, and taking care of Tony was his priority anyway. So since Tony wanted burgers, he would go get burgers.

He spun on his heels, intent on heading to the elevators, only to freezes as soon as he saw Tony. They were supposed to be faking it, which meant that he should do something—wrap an arm around Tony’s waist or kiss his forehead or—or something. But Tony had just had to deal with an unwelcome touch. He shouldn’t have to deal with another one so soon afterwards.

Tony surprised him though by stepping forward and sliding his hand into Bucky’s, interlacing their fingers. “Come on, alpha. Let’s go home,” he said, leading Bucky through the crowd watching them. Bucky ignored them in favor of drinking in the sight of Tony whole and healthy, if not happy.

They were quiet in the elevator ride back down to the parking garage, quiet as they climbed into the back of the car, quiet as Happy pulled out onto the road. Then Tony slid across the backseat to tuck up against Bucky’s side. He rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, and, after a moment, Bucky rested his cheek against Tony’s curls.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” Tony said. Bucky could feel the truth in his words through their bond, and he realized that Tony hadn’t put his mental shields back up. “I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I hadn’t been expecting something like that.”

“Shouldn’t have taken it so far though. I know you’re not—we’re not—” He grimaced as he fumbled over the words. He’d been able to admit for three months that he and Tony weren’t in a relationship, why was it so hard now?

Tony hesitated before carefully saying, “We could be.”

“We—what?”

“Bucky Bear,” Tony said warmly, sitting up so he could look him in the eyes. “You have to know—people don’t just do what you did tonight or the night we met, for that matter. Not for me. I—I don’t know, the way we bonded, it threw me off. I wasn’t expecting it and I reacted badly. But—then the way you reacted to Killian got me thinking—maybe we could try?”

“Try?” Bucky whispered.

“Try us?” Tony asked, leaning back in slowly, giving Bucky enough time to move away if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to. “Yeah,” he breathed. “We could try. I—I’d like that.”

Tony smiled at him, bright and lovely, and closed the distance between them.

[officialgritty]

How I Would Humble NHL Players

An essay written by bigboigritty. 

I would humble hockey players the only way I know how to, by sending them to Australia. Let’s suppose that they have decided to hold the All Star game over here (forget about it’s usual date) (forget that some players I have listed below might not be invited) (and while you're at it, please forget that Australia’s rinks are Not Good).

I think that they would suffer but in an entertaining way so it’s fine. 

First of all, their biggest concern is getting sunburnt. It would effect all of their dumb asses but I’m particularly worried about Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mitch Marner. Boys are practically translucent. Vince Dunn would be fine, he’d probably wear a shirt most of the time which is a very smart decision. 

You may wonder why I didn’t mention Nolan Patrick because I am a certified slut for him, well I don't think he would have a problem. He would spend most of the time inside and when he joins the others, I think his Virgo ass would reapply sunscreen. Maybe he would burn slightly but I don't think it'd be enough to make him uncomfortable. 

Another thing that I think they will gain from this experience is a higher pain tolerance. Now you’re probably thinking, “Zoe they are NHL players so they can handle pain.” Wrong.

Real pain is running barefoot on cement at theme parks while you race to get to the next ride. Also getting into the car and having to avoid touching every piece of metal to not get branded like a cow. Or better yet, when the heat gets so bad that there’s a black out because everyone has their air conditioning turned on.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that other countries have scary animals but I would pay to see them panic over ours. Crocodiles here can grow up to 5.2 metres / 17 feet. We have a box jellyfish season where it’s advised to avoid swimming or wear wetsuits for coverage. Funnel web spiders can survive underwater for hours by trapping air bubbles around their skin. We have several of the worlds deadliest snakes present across the country. 

Listen, I don't want anyone to get injured but the constant fear that they would have when doing anything would be enough to make me happy.

My biggest question is who would survive in the shady areas, who would survive the eshays?

Under no circumstances can you look them in the eyes or cross their path. They are not to be feared individually but in groups caution is advised. I think the players would attempt to assert dominance and that is simply not an option. You are better off to ignore the eshay.

Nolan would have no issues here if im being honest. He is big and I don't think they’d find it worth it to fuck with him. But you know who they would target? Matthew Tkachuk. “Where are you going pretty boy?” “Oi braa did we hurt your feelings ya pussy cunt?” They would make fun of his hair in particular. 

Travis Konecny would be an eshay. I don't think I need to make further comment. (So would Louis Tomlinson but I am not a 1D account and I will continue to repeat that until it’s true.)

I would also give them a few iconic tasks to get the true Australian experience. Activities for the ‘vacation’ include triathlon events, beach flags, bush walking and climbing the harbour bridge. They could attend a cricket match but they tend to like golf so unfortunately they would probably enjoy this :(

AFL is an extremely popular sport here and I think they would loose their shit when they learn the rules of this game. No protective equipment is used other than mouthguards, that's it. That’s all you get. And jumping onto other players for leverage is encouraged. I would thoroughly enjoy the fights that would break out because of this.

Another task would be to use a map to make their way to a servo for a slurpee. The catch is that they will be required to pass through multiple alleyways. Also, the season is Spring, it’s swooping season mother fuckers. Let’s see how brave you are when birds chase you down the block. Personally I don’t think any of them would pass this test, maybe McDavid because the birds may not be able to detect a heartbeat.

Australian food would disgust them, I just know it. Things that they would need to try are a Bunnings sausage sanga, fairy bread, lamingtons, baked beans on toast, Milo and Vegemite. Because I’m me I would give them no butter with their Vegemite. 

An after thought I had was money so I’m editing this to include it. Everything here is EXPENSIVE so they would need to learn how to budget. Upon doing research, Canadians would be fine but the Americans will be mad.

1000 CAD = 1019 AUD

1000 USD = 1297 AUD

Another after thought was the fact that they won’t be able to drive (or at least drive well) here. We drive on the left and not the right, same goes for walking paths too. I can sense a lot of them bumping into people.

Where I think players would live based on vibes alone:

Carter Hart and Vince Dunn: North Shore Beaches, NSW. Daddy’s money. Carter probably did Nippers whereas Vince was a skater boy. 

Travis Konecny: Darwin, NT. Would 100% live there and enjoy it. He would try to conduct crocodile tours but gets assigned to feeding the baby crocs and doing shows for little kids. 

Tyson Barrie: Perisher, NSW. One of the only ski resorts we have to offer, major friendly mountain man energy.

Nolan Patrick: Byron Bay, NSW. @antoineroussel enlightened me, steering away from my original thought of Katoomba, NSW. Byron Bay is a magnet for hippies and links rainforest to the ocean. Chris Hemsworth and his family also live there.

William Nylander: Perth, WA. I don’t know much about Perth other than they wouldn’t shut up about partying while the other states had to quarantine. For some reason, I also associate Perth with Tik Tok. 

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid: Melbourne CBD, VIC. These two would live in the same apartment building in the city, Connor one level above Sidney. It’s the most boring looking block of them all and Crosby would send in complaints to the landlord about McDavid pacing during the night.

Tyler Seguin: Surfers Paradise, QLD. Party central, not many people are actually from this area and he would be sure to tell absolutely everyone that he was. I also think he would get a Meter Maid tattoo, specifically on his leg. Has definitely slept on the beach before because he couldn’t find his way home.

Jamie Benn: Hobart, TAS. Tasmania is usually forgotten about. Another one with mountain man energy except he is more creepy than friendly.

Mitch Marner: Fitzroy, VIC. @antoineroussel is responsible for this one too. Hipster central, makes you question how the hell someone so young can have so much money. Would chug $45 wine and not blink an eye.

(honourable mentions include = Sammy Blais: Hobart, Tas. Once again no comment on Tasmania. TJ Oshie: Cairns, QLD. Would do reef tours. Haydn Fleury: Western Sydney, NSW. Haydn would 100% own a ute or a white holden commodore and you can’t tell me otherwise. Roman Josi: Adelaide, SA. Small town history teacher vibes.)

I have attached a handy map for those who may need it.

In conclusion, the NHL should send their players over here to teach them some manners and while they’re at it, management should bring themselves too. Nolan Patrick could pass as an Australian if he built up a tan. (So does Nylander in this picture but we won’t talk about that.) Come over anytime baby, I’m free. 

Glossary

Servo - A service station, also known as a petrol or gas station. Example: 7/11

Theme park - An amusement park. Can be said in reference to both normal parks and water parks and usually means those in QLD. Example: Six Flags

Swooping season - August to October in Australia. When birds attack and chase humans and / or pets for getting close to their babies. Magpies are notoriously bad for this. 

Bunnings sausage sanga - A cheap feed / meal found at the front of a hardware and gardening store called Bunnings. Made up of white bread, sausage, onion and your choice of sauce.

Fairy bread - White bread with margarine and topped with 100s and 1000s / sprinkles. 

Meter Maids - Women who work along the beach dressed in gold bikinis. They top up parking meters to save tourists from getting fined and will often stop for photos. 

Nippers - Surf lifesaving programs carried out for children between 5 and 14. 

Ute - A pick up truck.

Eshay - A person who partakes in drug use, graffiti, listens to EDM and targets victims in groups. Below is the typical style of an eshay. 

Tagging a few friends so this doesn’t completely flop but feel free to ignore if it isn't your thing. I won’t be offended lmao

@scheifefe @ifiwasshawnmendesidslapmyself @d00dlebob @bowenbyram @kempe @prettyboyroope @quintonsbyfield @travisgermy @pitoftrash @kspitehockey @ballsakic @canadianheaters @bricksatlandyswindow @powerblais @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows @jamiedrysdales

[whitehotharlots]

A movement that cannot be criticized cannot achieve positive goals

The hardest part of talking about malignant trends on the broad left is that, well, you’re not allowed to talk about them. It’s no exaggeration to say that criticism has become fully conflated with violence. If you attempt to engage critically with a left-liberal writer--regardless of how thorough and respectful you may be, and regardless of how powerful, public, or insulated the subject of the criticism--you will be accused of dismissing and erasing the writer, of inciting violence against the writer, and of committing some form of genocide against whichever identity groups the writer belongs to.

Conversely, if you don’t provide specifics, you’ll be accused of making stuff up. The same people who claim it’s an act of aggression to ask for proof when they make claims of victimization turn into immense pedants the moment they encounter a heterodox opinion. 

Unsurprisingly, a discourse milieu in which critical analysis is forbidden is a prime breeding ground for unsustainable (and even horrific) behavioral standards. Never mind improving the world that exists outside their sphere of influence... these people are perpetually on the brink of destroying their allies, their institutions, and themselves.

Today I dug into an especially profane case that highlights both of these points. It’s a matter of public record, so I hopefully won’t get accused of “doxing” anyone for discussing it. It’s also the sort of story where if someone cares about it, they’ll have an opinion of it within a second or two of reading a headline describing what happened. This means it’ll only be of interest to the sort of cranks who read this blog. My goal here isn’t to express outrage or advocate for one side or other--although it is outrageous, and you won’t have to try too hard to see which side I favor. Instead, I’m going to try to move beyond that, to use this instance as a broader cautionary tale in regards to the more horrific tendencies of the identitarian left, and to begin formulating some means of resistance. 

In other words, this might get boring. Even more so than usual. 

The story involves a court case, documented here, in which a young man named Kieran Bhattacharya is suing the University of Virginia Medical School. Mr. Bhattacharya (a white supremacist name if I’ve ever heard one) was subjected to formal censure, repeated psychological evaluations, suspension, and eventual expulsion. This all happened because he raised some concerns after a White Fragility-inspired panel on microaggressions.

This is one of those cases where both sides are going to assume there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface and, like I said, are going to be disinclined toward actually reading the available evidence. Thankfully, the court brief is fairly exhaustive and--importantly--the account provided in the brief has received the approval of both plaintiff and defendant. To stress, everyone involved in this case agrees, legally, that the account provided herein is an accurate picture of what happened. Additionally, we also have audio of the initial microaggression seminar (Mr. Bhattacharya’s comments start at around the 28:30 mark), as well as of the pursuant committee meeting that ended in his expulsion. 

Here is the initial exchange, as documented by the brief:

Bhattacharya: Hello. Thank you for your presentation. I had a few questions just to clarify your definition of microaggressions. Is it a requirement, to be a victim of microaggression, that you are a member of a marginalized group? 

Adams: Very good question. And no. And no— 

Bhattacharya: But in the definition, it just said you have to be a member of a marginalized group—in the definition you just provided in the last slide. So that’s contradictory. 

Adams: What I had there is kind of the generalized definition. In fact, I extend it beyond that. As you see, I extend it to any marginalized group, and sometimes it’s not a marginalized group. There are examples that you would think maybe not fit, such as body size, height, [or] weight. And if that is how you would like to see me expand it, yes, indeed, that’s how I do. 

Bhattacharya: Yeah, follow-up question. Exactly how do you define marginalized and who is a marginalized group? Where does that go? I mean, it seems extremely nonspecific.

 Adams: And—that’s intentional. That’s intentional to make it more nonspecific . . . . 

After the initial exchange, Bhattacharya challenged Adams’s definition of microaggression. He argued against the notion that “the person who is receiving the microaggressions somehow knows the intention of the person who made it,” and he expressed concern that “a microaggression is entirely dependent on how the person who’s receiving it is reacting.” Id. He continued his critique of Adams’s work, saying, “The evidence that you provided—and you said you’ve studied this for years—which is just one anecdotal case—I mean do you have, did you study anything else about microaggressions that you know in the last few years?” Id. After Adams responded to Bhattacharya’s third question, he asked an additional series of questions: “So, again, what is the basis for which you’re going to tell someone that they’ve committed a microaggression? . . . Where are you getting this basis from? How are you studying this, and collecting evidence on this, and making presentations on it?”

You can listen to the audio if you like. There’s nothing there, in my opinion, that is not captured accurately in the written description. Bhattacharya does not yell or raise his voice. He sounds skeptical, but in no way violent or threatening. Nor does Adams, the presenter, signal that she is experiencing anything that approaches fear or trauma. 

Immediately after the event, a professor who helped organize the discussion filed a “Professionalism Concern Card”--a cute academic euphemism for a disciplinary write up--against Bhattacharya, alleging he had displayed a troubling lack of respect for differences (the irony here probably does not need to be explicated).

Soon after that--literally still the same day of the panel--Bhattacharya received an email from faculty asking him to “share his thoughts” so as to help him “understand and be able to cope with unintended consequences of conversations.” The tone of the email is polite and professional, but the text hints toward an attempt at entrapment. You’ll see this a lot in woke spaces--invitations to come to an understanding with one another that are, in actuality, attempts to get a person to say something cancellable.

Bhattacharya took the bait, and, well… 

During Bhattacharya and Peterson’s one-hour meeting, Peterson “barely mentioned” Bhattacharya’s questions and comments at the panel discussion. Dkt. 33 ¶ 73. Instead, Peterson attempted to determine Bhattacharya’s “views on various social and political issues—including sexual assault, affirmative action, and the election of President Trump.” 

At this point, the kid was fucked. He soon after had an uneventful-seeming meeting with a dean. Two weeks after that, a separate panel found him guilty of “patterns of unprofessional behavior and egregious violations of professionalism” and strongly encouraged him to seek psychological counseling. 

Pre-Trump, Bhattacharya still probably would have been fine if he had just kept his head down, gone to a couple therapy sessions, and maybe issued an empty apology. Since 2016, however, the rules have changed. An accusation is now absolute proof of guilt and no amount of ablution can save someone in a vulnerable position. 

Eleven days after receiving the ostensible suggestion that he receive counseling, Bhattacharya was informed that he would not be permitted to return to classes until he had been evaluated. A day after that--before even having the opportunity to seek the mandated counseling--he was given a mere 3 hours notice before having to attend another disciplinary committee meeting. 

This meeting found that Bhattacharya’s continuing behaviors were proof that he posed an imminent danger to the campus community, although the committee did not bother to explain what those behaviors entailed. His behavior was simply noted as “unusual” and this was proof that “Any patient that walked into the room with [Bhattacharya] would be scared.” The following day, Bhattacharya was forcibly removed from campus and told he could not return until he had been screened. He was, subsequently, not allowed to receive sanctioned screening, because of his status of having been removed from campus after being deemed a security risk.

Again, none of what I have described is an exaggeration. None of these details are even being contested. 

Now for my own conjecture: the problem isn’t that anyone genuinely believes Bhattacharya poses a threat to anyone’s safety. The problem is that he attempted to question the ideological firmaments of contemporary anti-racist training. These firmaments are protected with aggressive viciousness precisely because they cannot withstand scrutiny. Had Bhattacharya merely scoffed at them, or even if he had been outright condescending and dismissive, he probably would not have received such a severe punishment. The problem was that he was right, and his accusers knew it.

Understanding speech in the manner prescribed by the peddlers of microaggression theory cannot possibly be codified in a way that won't result in arbitrary punishment. Bhattacharya’s experience demonstrates that with horrific irony. 

The assertion here is that the intention of a speech act should have no bearing on how we adjudicate the morality of that speech act--such a point was made repeatedly in the initial discussion, and stressed once again after Bhattacharya’s concerns have been raised. This standard contradicts how we've processed the morality of speech for centuries, but that's what people are very explicitly demanding.

How is this workable, when literally any statement could, conceivably, be considered offensive by at least one individual? This, I feel, was the point Bhattacharya reaching toward. If you were to say, I dunno, "I love trees" to a group of 1000 people, 999 of them could regard that statement as benign. But what if one person takes offense to it? What if they work in the lumber industry, or they were molested by guy in a Smokey the Bear costume? What if that person then files a report accusing the tree lover of offensive speech? Will the speaker be disciplined? Or will the powers that be take intention and effect into account?

Of course, we're not going to criminalize all speech in this way. Like all extreme and broad-reaching disciplinary standards, this one will only be selectively evoked in order to punish people with heterodox opinions and/or those whose presence threatens the status quo. Someone who says something much more incendiary, like "all men are rapists" or "white people shouldn't get social security" would not receive a reprimand regardless of how much offense their statements caused, because they're saying something that's acceptable in our current milieu. And right now, the least acceptable speech is that which shines a light on the manifest flaws and hypocrisies of corporate anti racism. 

Back to my hypothetical example, if the tree-loving speaker was on good terms with everyone, the complaint would most likely be ignored. But if he had said or done other things that for whatever reason displeased the people in charge, the specious accusation could still ruin him. What's worse, the person who filed the allegation of offense might not have even actually taken offense at the statement--they were just looking for a way to get rid of him.

Bhattacharya was attempting to voice legitimate criticisms about a political movement whose suggestions are functionally unworkable and that, even if it were implemented fully and uncritically, does not contain even a hypothetical explanation in regards to how its goals would result in improved racial equality/equity. Because of that, he was cynically labeled dangerous and expelled from a public university. 

You'd think a group that obsesses over power differentials and their own marginalization would have some grasp of this. Regardless of which side you fall into with this particular culture war, it should fucking terrify you that a movement that’s been tasked with addressing pressing social problems is designed in such a way that any substantial criticism is met with aggressive punishment. 

There’s no way you can win if this is you is how conduct yourself. This is why we’re losing. This is why even if you get all the censorship and deplatforming you can ever dream of, even if every major bank and multinational corporatation professes fealty to your movement, you will still lose. Because there’s no way you can win. 

[shinesurge]

I’ve been holding off on making this post because I wanted to try it out myself and get settled in and make sure everything went okay, but seeing as I’ve gone ahead and updated my site and everything I thought now might be a good time to start talking about this publicly! 

If you’ve known me for more than five minutes you know I fucking hate Webtoon, like, a lot. Every aspect of it disgusts me to the core of my being, and while Webtoon is the ugliest version of them the aspects that I hate also extend to basically any comic aggregate site. I hate that they treat artists like content robots, I hate that they treat comic readers like morons who aren’t capable of engaging with complex stories, I hate that they actively try to strip away all the cool parts of indie comics by cultivating sterile and impersonal environments that discourage artistic experimentation and unique expression.

So! I hope you’ll be interested in what I have to say about this new platform that’s (hopefully) going to be out of alpha this summer. If you think you like reading comics on Webtoon, I really encourage you to check out Dillyhub once it launches. That’s the short version, but I have a LOT to say about this! So I’m putting the rest of this under a cut.

Full disclosure, I’m not getting paid or anything for this. The creative outreach at Dillyhub contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I’d be interested in having Kidd Commander be one of their launch titles when they go live this summer. I was hesitant at first, since I actively distrust anything claiming to be For Creators at this point, but they answered my pushy questions patiently and everything seemed on the up and up so I gave it a shot; I’ve been needing a mobile mirror for KC anyway. Eventually they invited me to the alpha creator discord, where they’ve been working directly with all of us artists to improve the platform, and now to be honest I’m REALLY excited for this thing to get off the ground. Nobody asked me to make this post, but since I’ve spent years whining and bitching about how other services do wrong by their creators, I thought I’d talk about this one that’s doing things right.

So, the biggest advantage this site has for creators over others in my opinion is that it. Treats us like individuals, regardless of follower count lmfao. If you’re a new person just starting out with your new webcomic, here’s what webtoon does for you:

Note: you don’t get a custom banner, you don’t even get to choose the solid color it is. That big circle icon is ALSO the image that shows up in searches, but everywhere else on the site it’s a 100x100px square, so you have to choose whether you want it to look good as a giant circle at the top of your comic’s page OR whether you want to look good in search results. Which, by the way, is the ONLY way for people to find you if you’re not partnered. And that’s it! You have no monetization options, you won’t show up on the genre pages, and when someone DOES stumble across your page it looks super unprofessional. Good Luck! 

Now here’s my Dillyhub page(s):

You don’t get a static banner and one icon, you get a whole carousel banner with as many images as you want front and center as soon as you get to the project page. You get seven (custom!) genre tags, as opposed to Webtoon’s single tag you have to pick from their list, and plenty of room to talk about your work. The episodes are even laid out better, you get a MUCH bigger preview space to work with and they’re nice and big on the bottom half of the page:

you know, like they’re actually presenting ART lmfao.

That’s already an ENORMOUS improvement, but here’s my favorite thing.

o hm that’s a lot of super cushy settings I have for every individual episode, but what’s that, Episode Type?

LIKE.

listen, i know this is probably a bit specialized if you’re not a comic maker yourself, but this is a HUGE DEAL. You can post vertically OR page by page! You can even post pages two at a time for double page spreads, or so they read like a physical comic book! AND their specs are really open, as long as the file meets the size requirement you can make it whatever shape you want. You don’t have to reformat all your shit to post here!! I posted the entire first volume of KC STRAIGHT FROM THE PRINT FILES in like half an hour!!! The episodes can also be any amount of pages, you can post a single page or an entire chapter all in one go!

So that’s just the project page for the comic, let’s see what happens when I click on my username there.

Each author gets their own unique page (which you can tack a vanity url to!) to present themselves however they want! You always have the banner at the top, but beyond that you have a ton of options. Among other incredibly useful tools that really should just be bare fucking minimum at this point, like the ability to preview your page on different devices, you start customizing your blank page with this set of widgets,

and from THERE you can customize them MORE, you can promote your patreon or your kickstarter or whatever! Having this creator space ALSO means that if you run several comics, or if you want to promote your comic AND your illustrations, you can just separate them into individual projects! Each with their own page! This is also really nice as a reader because you can subscribe to a creator but you can also just subscribe to specific projects, if you don’t want to get ALL of their stuff in your inbox. It’s so good y’all hh.

Once again, all of this functionality is just THERE as soon as you make your account. You don’t need to be “partnered” or whatever the fuck, you don’t need to meet a certain follower threshold to unlock the ability to operate normally. You get your own creator space to present yourself how you prefer, you get pages for all your projects, you can even set up monetization options (and change them for individual pages IN a project) right from the start.

ok ok let’s compare this to my webtoon page

oh that’s right webtoon just puts your greyed out name at the bottom of each comic and that’s it because human beings don’t make this stuff, my bad lol anyway

Other fun shit that Dillyhub does that makes me feel like they’re people who have actually consumed or made comics on the internet at some point in their lives:

-When you log into the “studio” space, you’re in your creator account. When you log OUT of the studio space, it’s like you swap to a “reader” account, where you can access your pull list and comment on things with a different name and profile icon. Again, maybe only cool if you’re a creator, but if you ARE then you know exactly why this is incredibly useful lmao

-You can set up “hidden” projects, so if you only want certain things to be accessible by certain people or to not show up in searches that’s an option! You have SO much control here it’s great.

-The comment section has moderation options GODDD. You also have a real comment space, you know, so it actually encourages building a community (and a rapport with your community, if you like), and you also can just turn comments off entirely if you want! I haven’t used it much yet, obviously, but it’s been made very clear in the discord that artists want better control over their comment sections and the devs have it on their priority list.

-Absolutely every step of customization gives you a preview before it’s live, so you can easily see what these images you’re posting in different places are going to look like before you beam them to your followers’ inboxes. This includes individual episodes!

-This was sort of in one of the screenshots but it’s important so I’m saying it here too: the option to mark individual episodes as mature or with content warnings, rather than having to mark an entire comic as Mature Spooky Scary Content because of one or two pages getting a bit hairy.

This site is only in alpha right now, and it’s invite-only until they get to beta (for creators; anyone can make a reader account! but they haven’t set up a way to browse comics without direct links yet so) but honest to god it’s already blowing every other site I’ve used clean out of the water. And the staff has been really kind and responsive to us proposing fixes or changes! I will always defend individual websites as being the best option for an indie comic, but everybody’s gotta start somewhere and we NEED something that isn’t Tumblr or Webtoon to fill this role; this site feels a lot more like a symbiotic relationship than any of the other staples available for new creators right now. If you’re a comic reader and you want to see your favorite comics on Dillyhub I’d suggest keeping an eye on this site and once it’s live start poking them to look into it, and if you’re a creator follow their social media and hop in when they open up for anybody to join. I would LOVE to see this site take off as a viable option for hosting and reading comics.

Thanks for reading all this! I haven’t quite finished setting up yet, but if you want to poke around a project/creator page for yourself mine is here have at it. As things progress I’m sure I’ll have more to say, but since I’m usually so aggressively negative about places like this I just wanted to give some credit where it was due. fucking finally.

[argentdandelion]

How to Board the Infinity Train

How to Board the Infinity Train

Summary

For a character to qualify for boarding by the Infinity Train, it seems the character needs to:

Have big problems, whether caused directly or indirectly by a single traumatic event or from long-simmering issues

Have a problem that require emotional growth to solve, such as by altering desires or approaches to meet those desires

Since the Train’s purpose is “emotional growth", it’s probable that people don’t get on the Train if their problems are largely or entirely system-wide, not personal, though system-wide problems might still be a minor factor

Be at a “crossroads” (according to series creator Owen Dennis), probably due to their turmoil leading them into dangerous situations that could have killed them, or their problems seriously harming or risking harming very important relationships

Possibly no ability to “help themselves”, probably by having a very limited or absent support system to help them with their problems

Even if the character qualifies for boarding, it is possible the character’s problem can be “unsolvable”  by the Train or opportunities within it.

In Depth

According to One-One, the Conductor of the Infinity Train, and Amelia Hughes, who usurped One-One and took over the train for 33 years, the train is for sorting out or fixing problems. It seems it’s intended to do so by giving Passengers opportunities for emotional growth, suggesting Passengers that get on need emotional growth and not, say, advice on matters of technique or altering an unfair world. Passengers’ problems seem to be a mix of desires and approaches to meet those desires, and potentially desires that are unachievable (e.g., the impossibility of being real friends with absolutely everyone) or harmful.

The Infinity Train doesn’t show up just when people are experiencing a lot of turmoil, but when their turmoil or boarding issue has developed into a crossroads in their lives. The crossroads could be a point where their turmoil leads them to get into dangerous situations that could have killed them (Tulip,  possibly Amelia, arguably Ryan, since he’s going to a faraway location of uncertain financial stability) or seriously harms or risks harming very important relationships (Tulip and her parents, Jesse and his brother Nate, Min-Gi and Ryan with themselves).

Problems They Can’t Resolve Themselves

Lake (then called M.T.) tells Jesse, “You can't even help yourself! That's why passengers get on the train in the first place!" If she is correct about that, the train only picks up people if they can’t resolve their problems on their own.

It’s possible Passengers being unable to resolve their problems on their own is related to a limited number of close relationships, as that seems true of all Passengers with known backgrounds. It is unclear if Tulip has friends other than Mikayla, and she’s been ignoring her communications lately. Amelia grieving alone may suggest social isolation or perceived social isolation.

Jesse may have no strong relationships other than with his brother; he doesn’t mention his parents. Grace felt left out of her ballet group recital: they didn’t know her and so didn’t invite her to get ice cream with them afterwards, and so she sowed discord among them as revenge.

Min-Gi and Ryan seem to have only each other, given Ryan’s streak of failed romantic relationships and apparently indifferent siblings. Although Min-Gi’s parents seem supportive (when he was six, his father’s outright reading a book whose title translates to “How to be a Supportive Parent”)[1], they’re part of the problem, like how Tulip’s parents are part of the problem.

Number Assignment & Boarding Issues

Numbers seem to relate to complexity, intensity, likelihood of resolving with the next action, or length spent avoiding a Passenger’s problems. Passengers can board with fairly small numbers: Jesse’s number was just 31, relative to Amelia’s 337. Their issues don’t need to relate, at least not directly, to one intensely traumatic event or death, but can instead be a seemingly minor issue that’s all-consuming and long-simmering. For example, Min-Gi and Ryan had been hoping to reconnect for months and felt unhappy and unfulfilled with their lives.

Emotional Growth Requirement and Limits

As the Train’s purpose is helping Passengers solve problems through emotional growth, systemic society-wide issues and other things that can’t be resolved by emotional growth would probably be insufficient for boarding. It seems systemic issues can, however, be minor, indirect, or amplifying factors in their turmoil or collection of “boarding problems”.

For example, judging by how her mother criticizes her new fashion look before her parents host an ambassador, it’s possible Grace had to be “respectable” from a young age. It would be a likely problem for any upper-crust family like Grace’s, but perhaps especially so for her family, given they’re a wealthy Black family in the U.S., with its racism. Min-Gi plans to study finance at university to be an accountant, though he hates finance, and accounting is apparently one of the jobs East Asian parents most want for their children.[1]Min-Gi also only briefly alludes to how it may be difficult for two Canadian progressive rock musicians (in the 1980s) to be successful when they’re Asian, and he furthermore quickly cheers up when learning about another music band with Asians. Therefore, it seems other factors are more important to his boarding problems.

It may be the case that, for two people  with identical or nigh-identical collections of problems, only the one whose boarding problems are amplified or added onto from systemic issues gets over the threshold for boarding, even if getting on the Train can’t fix the systemic issues.

Responses and Loopholes to Systemic Issues

Jesse getting on the Train again illustrates the limits of how the Train deals with systemic problems. Lake’s problem on the Train directly relates to the cruel laws of the Mirror World: that reflection-people must always reflect their “primes” (specific people) for the ill-defined purpose of “preserving the balance”, and that if they try to have their own identities and lives, the Reflection Police will kill them.

However, Jesse probably didn’t get back on the Train specifically because his friend was stuck on a train (a system-wide problem), or his own desire to save her, but, rather, due to the turmoil he felt about it. He promised to leave with her, and the last time he saw her, the enforcers of mirror law had caught up with her and intended to kill her. His guilt at being unable to save his friend, as he promised, would likely haunt him indefinitely, giving him serious turmoil and probably a “crossroads moment”. To the Train, guilt at being unable to save Lake on the Train would likely work just as well as an equivalent situation outside the Train.

Indeed, Jesse’s return issue of guilt is similar to Jeremy Bradford’s (Kez’s roommate’s) issue: Jeremy was driving one foggy night, a car came at him head-on because the driver couldn’t see, he swerved to avoid the car and crashed, and his mother and sister were in the car with him and died. He later had a comfortable life in The Castle Car with two denizens who cared about him and, initially, a few passengers, it took five years for Jeremy to resolve his turmoil of blaming himself for his deaths, whether it was being unable to save them or putting them in the situation that killed them.

Jesse wanting to save his friend who’s trapped in an unhappy life also has a little overlap with Ryan impulsively “persuading” Min-Gi to follow his music dreams with him, although Ryan’s impulsivity and need to resolve his relationship problems with Min-Gi was likely a bigger factor.

Jesse’s number reached 0 again not specifically because he got what he wanted, but because he got something that resolved his feelings of guilt or helplessness. Otherwise, Tulip and Jesse would surely board again to visit Atticus and Alan Dracula.

Paradoxes

As Jesse’s return proves, it is possible for a Passenger to board with an issue that requires emotional growth that opportunities provided by Train cars or the Train itself cannot solve. When an impossible scenario happens, the number turns to non-number symbols. It took tricking One-One into thinking Lake had a number and agreeing to give her an exit for Jesse’s glitched-out number to switch to 0, which caused not only Jesse’s exit to return, but also gave Lake her own exit.

[1]https://www.reddit.com/r/InfinityTrain/comments/n7cq9q/so_i_found_a_storyboard_of_this_scene_and_i/</p>

[2] See Mymajors.com's "The Typical Asian Parent's Mindset" and Quora.com's "Why Do Many Chinese Parents Consider Doctor Lawyer and Accountant to be the Default Career for their Children".</p>

[its-afucking-mess]

A little guide on ao3 (by an ao3 user and writer)

Friendly reminder for mobile users! Ao3 is a website. It doesn't have (as far as im concerned) an official app for mobile, so better get comfy with using crome on your phone.

Some video links ill leave for people who prefer video and audio:

- navigating the fanfiction sites

- popular fandom terminology part 1 and part 2

- shipping etiquette

i really reccomend coley's videos if you want to get to know more fandoms, or get an inside look to how some stuff works. There also might be more vids about fandom's and fan works, so don't hesitate to look through some of her stuff!

the explaining under the 'read more' ao mutuals wont kill me :)

(also tagging @ethanesimp since they asked for this advice )

So, what is Ao3 really?

Ao3 is a website made by fans for fans. There are no ads, and all content is free on Ao3. Anyone can post (with some age restrictions) and they can post anything.

How can I browse Ao3?

Ao3 does not require an account to view stories. You can easily browse as an anonymous user. You just are not able to view certain works, as creators have the ability to show their works to registered users only. Some cases, commenting is possible while anonymous, but again, it's up to the creator of the work.

If you want to be a creator and share works, you need an account.

An account also gives you the ability to bookmark works, so you can re-visit them, mark works for later, keeps a history of the works you've visited and allows you to favourite tags.

How do I get an Ao3 account?

When you first open the site, it gives you the option to "Get Invited". An invitation will be sent to your email anywhere from 24hrs later to a week later, depending on the amount of people in the automated queue.

After the invitation, you are able to set up your account like any other social media account. Pick a username, pseuds (name), description and bio. You can have a profile picture as well.

How do I navigate the site?

There are few ways to do so efficiently, but there's countless of ways you can experiment with to find which is more comfortable.

1st option: As the website loads, you can go to the 'Fandoms' tag.

Then, after clicking on it, this column appears. Through there, you can pick which media your fandom is from and from there, browse the huge list of different fandoms until you spot your own.

The list is in alphabetical order, so if your fandom begins with an "C", it shouldn't be too far down.

2nd option: At the top right, under your profile, and the options 'Post' and 'Log Out' should be a white oval search bar.

(im using my own account for demonstration)

When searching, there are many ways to work around it.

Personally, I press search as it is. It will lead you to a page where all the fanworks of the site are listed. (i believe its easiest, but always feel free to experiment)

From there, you press the 'Edit Your Search' button, located near the top right.

It will then lead you to a page with multiple fields.

Don't panic when you see all the fields. Only half those are of interest when you want to browse works for a fandom.

The most important ones are those under the Field name 'Work Tags'

Whatever you select under this field will be included in the works the site presents you with.

What are the work tags? What do they do?

Lets go through the options.

Fandom(s): when typing on this option, multiple fandom names will autofill in a list under the white space. If your fandom shows up, you can just click on it.

example:

From there, you can select the fandom you want to see works from. If your fandom doesn't show up, it can mean one of two things:

-there are no works for it

-it isn't popular enough to be picked up by the algorithm

After selecting one fandom, you can select another fandom, or more, to see works that are crossovers over universes.

Ratings: Ratings are selected by author. It defines the level of maturity it has in the work

- General audiences is the tag you want to use when nothing bad happens in the work. No swearing, no sexual activities, no violence or gore. It wont contain scenes that minors are not allowed to see.

- Teen and up audiences is the tag used for most works on the site. It is what would be used when you have mentions of/vague sexual content or violence. Normally, the most extreme stuff on there is excessive swearing, heavy angst and hurt/comfort with no excessive details

- Mature is the tag that is for 18+. It is mostly filled with one of following : Violence, Sexual Content, Ab*se, R@pe, Death and SH.

Reader descretion is advised by looking at the additional tags the author has provided, especially for those with triggers.

- Explicit is like Mature, but contains more graphic content. Works rated explicit mostly fall under the 'Graphic depictions of sexual content', 'Graphic depictions of Violence and Gore' or 'Graphic depictions of Ab*se, R@pe, or Self H*rm

Reader descretion is advised, stronger than mature, since it can be much more triggering. The works are scarily detailed sometimes.

- Not rated: the author has not given this work a rating because none of the other ratings fit the work. Pay special attention to the tags.

Warnings: Also known as Archive warnings by older users. The trigger warnings of Ao3. There are 6 archive warnings:

-Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings: The author didn't use the warnings, either because none of them fit the work's theme and warnings, or to avoid spoiling the story. Pay attention to the tags for any warnings.

-Graphic Depictions Of Violence: It is pretty self explanatory. Can contain any sort of violence, from wars, to simple fights, to ab*se of any kind. Can and often contain death. The type of violence is in the tags.

-Major Character Death: A main character in the story will die in this work. Pay attention to the tags always. The name of the character will be mentioned, as well as the way they die.

-No Archive Warnings Apply: None of the warnings apply. It is most times a perfectly safe work. Check the tags to make sure though!

-R@pe/Non-Con: The work contains non-consensual activities. Ranges from non-consensua sex to non-consensual use and ab*se of substances. Very close attention to the tags!

-Underage: The main character(s) in this work are underage/minors. This is normally tagged along sexual content so be aware and pay close attention to the tags!

Categories: This regards the relationships in the work:

- M/M, or better known as mlm or a relationship between two non-woment (men mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- M/F, a heterosexual relationship (is inclusive of trans characters too!)

- F/F, or wlw, or a relationship between two non-men (women mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- Gen, no sexual or romantic relationships are in this work, or if there are any, they arent of main focus.

- Multi: Polyamorous relationships, or multiple relationships are included in this work (this is also where threesomes+ are tagged in sometimes)

- Other relationships: One of the two people in the relationship is non-human (mostly), or the relationships are platonic/family.

Characters: The characters you want to be included in the story. This works just like the 'Fandom' filter, so the same things apply. You can tag as many characters as desirable.

Relationships: The relationships that you want present in the work. This includes both major and minor relationships. It can also include ended relationships (tagged Past x/y) and implied/referenced relationships. This works just like the Characters and Fandom filter.

Additional Tags: These are things the author has included to give potential readers an insight to the story. 'Angst', 'Fluff' and 'Smut' are additional tags. Works like the Relationships filter, so all same applies.

Is there anything I have to avoid/ I should avoid?

There is this very infamous tag, 'Dead Dove: Do not eat.' This tag is a warining to readers that the things in the work are really messed up, and can include anything illegal in it. PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE REST OF THE TAGS IF YOU STILL ARE INTERESTED.

How else can I filter works?

You can choose how they are:

sorted (Titles, Authors, Hits, Kudos, Comments, Bookmarks, and Best Match)

the word count (from 1 word to millions)

the language (most are on there)

the amount of chapters

if the work is complete of not

when it last updated/when was posted

and if there are crossovers.

These are all options that author has to include, and therefore you can sort freely. Most are bulletin options you can click on.

What if I want to find a specific work?

If you happen to know one of these: Author, Title, Fandom or Rating, you will find it. If you were reccomended one, it's better to ask for the author or the title, to make looking for it easier.

Can I find a specific author/ user?

People search is for finding users on the site

Bookmark search helps you look through other people's public bookmarks. Not really used.

Tag search finds works that include this specific tag you searched. Also not used a lot.

People can see my bookmarks?

When bookmarking a work, you are able to do a lot.

if you do not want your bookmarks to be visible to the public, make sure to check off the Private bookmark box at the bottom left.

Common terms thrown around by Ao3 users:

-tags: the additional tags of the work

-kudos: liking a story

-bookmarks: saving/saved stories. makes it easy to revist. you can see your bookmarks from your profile

-hits: the amount of people that have clicked on a story. Isn't necessary they liked it, but they did click on it.

And those are the basics! If you had to take one thing only, its ALWAYS READ TAGS

I hope this helped the clueless souls even a bit :)

Im open to reply to any other questions, and you can send me them in my asks, messages or comments of this post

[buriedinbleach]

🦁Thirst Tweets: Captain Edition🦁

In a special video feature for the Seireitei Communication’s new social media account, a few select Captains (plus Grimmjow – that guy invites himself anywhere!) from Bleach have gathered to read Thirst Tweets. Yamamoto made them. Something about morale. Lisa and Rangiku graciously offered to add commentary whenever necessary.

*Actual Thirst Tweets we’re used in the creation of these HCs. This is what happens when I’m quarantined and want to procrastinate. Thirst Tweets!

Shunsui:

🦁“I used to say I hated chest hair and facial hair and all that then I saw Shunsui and that was a life changing experience for me.”

Shunsui: “You’re welcome to sink your fingers in anytime, petal.” *seductively swirls his sake cup while staring into the camera and not-so-subtly opening his haori a little wider *

🦁“Anyways, random thought but I would let Jushiro take me from my mouth and Shunsui take me from behind, even if they don’t shower first.”

*Shunsui and Jushiro are older captains, they’ve seen – and done – many things. Read: act like they haven’t already done that in their youth. Or last week, but that’s not the point.

*Being the good sports they are, their initial reaction is some slight bashful laughter. There’s a light pink flush in Jushiro’s cheeks, just slightly darker than the tinge coloring Shunsui’s expression, which he tries to blame on the sake.

*Shunsui: “What a compliment. No shower and all. Though I think we do both enjoy an onsen or two.” He smiles suggestively at the camera.

*Jushiro: “Yes, I hardly know what to say here.” He smiles sweetly before rereading the tweet and chuckling softly. “Your place or mine, Shunsui?” They both start laughing like it’s an inside joke.

Jushiro:

🦁“Sitting in the back of this Uber on the 134 and thinking about my sexual awakening aka Jushiro Ukitake on the beach.”

*He smiles sweetly for a moment before glancing down at the paper again, a temporary look of fear immediately replaced with relief. “Just making sure this one wasn’t from Kiyone or Sentaro.”

Shinji:

🦁“[someone: mentions Shinji]

Me: caution. slippery when wet”

*Shinji: “Slip right on over this way, babe.” Was that? Did he just flash his tongue ring at the camera for an instant?

🦁“@shinjispiercednipples says: Shinji’s got that ‘let me lick whip cream off your body’ type body.”

*Looking smug, Shinji opens his mouth to respond when Lisa pipes up first, “Lick whip cream off his bones, maybe, but body? Where?”

*As everyone gets a little laugh, Shinji grumbles loudly, “Where it counts, Lisa!”

Grimmjow:

🦁“Grimmjow can take his shirt off anytime, that’s fine with me.”

*Grimmjow: “Since when were shirts a requirement anyway? Besides, that’s not the only thing I like to take off.” His smug grin is met with a chorus of eye rolls.

🦁“Grimmjow could star in a movie called ‘Grimmjow just stands there’ and I’d still pay to see it.”

*Grimmjow: “‘Che, damn right you would. Thirsty bitches. Who wrote that?”

*Rangiku: Smiles wide and stares straight into his eyes when she replies, “Oh, it says @domdaddyichigo”

*Grimmjow: 😳

Kensei:

🦁“I’m so attracted to Kensei. I just want him to cook naked for me and mix cocktails.”

*There’s a teeny tiny smirk visible at the corner of his mouth before he regains his grump composure and admonishes us all with, “I’m flattered, but for safety purposes and hygiene, please wear clothes in the kitchen.”

“I want Kensei to breastfeed me.”

*Kensei: “Ugh. Fucks sake. Hisagi! I’m done!” Abruptly stands up and walks out of shot. He’s begrudgingly shoved back into his seat.

*Is also secretly flattered most of his comments all had to do with his bod.

Kenpachi:

🦁“Kenny is the kind of man I need. The kind of man that can pick you up with ease and wrap your legs around his shoulders. A STRONG feminist.”

*He all but barks out his harsh, booming laugh. “Only if you’re flexible. If not, we’ll work around it!”

🦁“I want Kenny to pound me into the ground.”

*Kenny: “Come by the Eleventh anytime and we’ll spar! What? Well how else do you pound someone into the ground?!”

*Lisa leans in and whispers in his ear until Kenny laughs again.

*Kenny: “Even better!”

Unohana:

🦁“Like if Unohana was strangling me I feel like I’d say “this is super fun”. She could kick me in the boobs and I’d be having a great time.”

*Unohana: “This reminds me of the times when I used to fight Kenpachi Zaraki. Highly enjoyable. I certainly had a great time.” *grins that beautiful sadistic smile*

🦁“I just want to say: Unohana is the biggest Milf on this planet and I want her to fuck me through a wall. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.”

*Unohana: “I suppose I could heal any injuries immediately after, so 🤷🏻‍♀️”

*Lisa: “I’m equally turned on and frightened by you, as is the rest of the audience, I’m sure.” A few looks around the room would suggest Unohana and Lisa are alone.

Mayuri:

🦁“God, I want Mayuri to stroke my hand and talk about microscopic variations in the skin.”

*Mayuri: “Excellent. A willing test subject. Please escort her to th – what the hell do you mean that’s not what she was referring to?”

Byakuya:

🦁“I would let Byakuya rearrange my guts any day. That man exudes sexy and expensive.”

*Byakuya: “Well, there’s a lot going on there. But most importantly, this is why I don’t have Twitter.”

🦁“I want Byakuya to fuck me down so hard, my ancestors end up with phantom pains.”

*Rangiku: “Wouldn’t that be a dishonor, Captain?”

*In his usual quiet and authoritative tone, Byakuya says, “Not from me. It seems we’re finished here.” Curious and surprised glances are cast in his direction, but cool as a cucumber, Byakuya gets up and leaves.