#how can i advertise your show for free all on my own if you don't give me any material 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[guzhufuren]

Meet You At The Blossom it's been over 3 weeks without any bts snippets or updates please throw at least a tiny bone of gay men in hanfus my way 😟😖

[zooophagous]

So why do you hate the advertising industry?

Hokay so.

Let me preface this with some personal history. It's not relevant to the sins of the advertising industry perse but it illustrates how I started to grow to hate it.

I wanted to be a veterinarian growing up, but to be a vet you basically have to be good enough to get into medical school. I do not have the math chops or discipline to make it in medical school. I went into art instead, and in a desperate attempt to find some commercial viability that didn't involve moving to California, I went into graphic design.

I've been a graphic designer for about seven or eight years now and I've worn a lot of hats. One of them was working in a print shop. Now, the print shop had a lot of corporate customers who had various ad campaigns. One of them was Gate City Bank, which had a bigass stack of postcards ordered every couple months to mail to their customers.

Now, paper comes from Dakota Paper, and they make their paper the usual way. Somewhere far, far from our treeless plain there is a forest of tall trees. These trees are cut down and put on big fossil fuel burning trucks and hauled to a paper mill that turns them into pulp while spewing the most fowl odors imaginable over the neighboring town and loads the pulp up with bleach to give it a nice white color.

Then the paper is put on yet another big truck and hauled off to the local paper depot, then put on another big truck and delivered to my print shop, where I turned the paper into postcards telling people to go even deeper into debt to buy a boat because it's almost summer. The inks used are a type of nasty heat sensitive plastic that is melted to the surface of the paper with heat. Then the postcards are put on yet ANOTHER truck and sent to the bank, which puts them on ANOTHER truck and finally into the hands of their customers, who open their mail and take one look at the post card and immediately discard it.

Heaps and heaps and literal hundreds of pounds of literal garbage created at the whim of the marketing team several times a year. And thats just one bank in one city.

I came to realize very quickly that graphic design was the delicate art of turning trees into junk mail.

And wouldn't you know it there are a TON of companies that basically only do junk mail. Many of them operate under the guise of a "charity," sending you pictures of suffering children or animals and begging for handouts and when they get those handouts the executives take a nice fat cut, give some small token amount to whatever cause they pay lip service to, and then put the rest of the cash right back into making more mailers. "Direct mail marketing" they call it.

Oh but maybe it's not so bad, you can advertise online after all. Now that there's decent ad blocker out there and better anti-virus ads usually don't destroy your computer anymore just by existing.

Except now when I search for the exact business I want on Google it's buried under three or four different "promoted search items" tricking me into clicking on them only to shoot themselves in the foot because I searched for the specific result I wanted for a reason and couldn't use those other websites even if I felt like it.

And now we have advertising on YouTube and on every streaming service, forcing more and more eyes onto the ad for the brand new Buick Envision that parks itself because you're too stupid to do it on your own.

Oh thats ok maybe I'll get Spotify premium and go ad free and listen to some podcasts- SIKE we have the hosts of your show doing the song and dance now. Are you depressed and paranoid from listening to my true crime podcast about murdered and mutilated teenagers? That's ok, my sponsor Better Help can keep you sane enough to stay alive and spend more money.

It's gotten so terrible that now you have content farms, huge hubs of shell companies that crank out video after video to get more and more precious clicks. Which if the videos were innocuous maybe that wouldn't be so awful except now you have cooking hacks that can actually burn your house down and craft hacks that can electrocute you being flung into your eyes at the speed of mach fuck so some slimy internet clickbait jockey doesn't need to get a real job.

It of course goes without saying that animals are also relentlessly exploited by clickbait companies that will put them in compromising situations on purpose to create a fake fishing hack video or even just straight up killing them for sport by feeding small animals to a pufferfish that rips them apart for the camera.

And all of this, ALL of this doesn't even touch how adveritising is the death of art in general. Queer topics, any kind of interesting art, any kind of sex or substance use topics are scrubbed clean and hidden at the behest of advertisers.

Sex education, a nude statue, topics such as racism or sexism or bigotry in general have tags purged or hidden from search, even life saving information about SDTs or drug use, because if someone saw that and complained then Verizon might sell fewer tablets and we can't fucking have that.

Conservative talking heads often bitch and moan that they're being censored on social media. The stupid part is, they're right! They are being censored! But it's not by a woke mob, it's by ATT and Coca Cola not wanting their adspace sharing screen time with their stupid fucking opinions.

However, they won't ever figure that out, because the talking heads they get their marching orders from like Tucker and Jones ALSO rely on the sweet milk flowing from the sponsorship teat and they aren't about to turn on their meal ticket so they have to come up with even stupider shit to say for the train to continue rolling.

I managed to rant this far without even getting into the ads I see for the beauty industry. The other day a botox ad described wrinkles as "moderate to severe crows feet" as if wrinkles are a symptom of a fucking serious disease! Like having a flaw in your skin is a medical problem that you need thousands of dollars of literal botulism toxin to fix! I was incandescent with anger.

Advertising is a polluting, censoring, anti educational and anti art industry at it's very core. It destroys human connections, suppresses human thought and makes us hate our own bodies. It ads no value, actively detracts from value, and serves no real purpose and I believe it should be almost if not entirely banned.

[sunshine-jesse]

Control: The Strange Dynamics of Andy and Leyley or

The Incest End Is Not The Fucking Bad End, Stop Coping

EDIT:

Hey guys! This post is blowing the fuck up, but this was my first essay on this game, and I think I've had many more insightful things to say since then. Here's a link to a masterpost with all of my essays, which I'd definitely suggest reading after this one:

Anyways, without further adieu...

I heard a lot about this game going in. I knew the general story beats and the funny haha incest memes. I knew it was about a toxic codependent relationship where Ashley, the sister, acted like your standard overly-controlling person who used various abuse techniques to keep someone in line. I expected Ashley to be a yandere-type character where she was borderline psychotic, irrational, and had a skewed perception of reality. I expected her to be a crazy bitch, and I love me some crazy bitches.

But then I actually played through the game. ...That is not what I got.

The game advertises Andrew as a doormat extraordinaire who is strung along by his Very Not Good sister and has no agency of his own' that he's just a henpecked abuse victim. But in practice, that doesn't seem to be the case. One of their first exchanges that in the story is when the occultist played his music and Ashley wanted them to check it out. He says 'no', sure, but then he smirks and says 'but I'll come along if you do.'

That is not the dialogue of someone who has no will of their own, that's the dialogue of someone who willingly gives up their own agency.

This is not, on its own, a sign of anything out of the ordinary. What caught my attention with it, though, is how it flew in the face of the common narrative surrounding their relationship dynamic. But that's not the first time I noticed it, it's just the first time, in retrospect, that their actual dynamic begins to show. The first time I personally noticed it is in the choking scene.

There are a lot of ways to view this situation. But my own reading? This was not a crime of passion. This was not him trying to break free. This is him doing something he's thought about for a while. This is premeditated. In this scene, Andrew is done playing along with Ashley's shit. In this scene, I firmly believe Ashley is the victim.

Ashley is the more openly abusive of the two who seeks to do whatever she can to trap Andrew so he'll never leave her. That much is clear. But Andrew-

-clearly has these same tendencies. He says this shortly after Ashley mentions putting her name up on a call girl's wall for money. There's protective brotherly instincts, and then there's this. This is not something you'd threaten a sister with, this is something that a man would threaten his wife with, which is directly brought attention to in the story.

(hey look he accepts the framing of it being WIFE beating at face value, and says Ashley is the only one who makes him like that! HMMMMMMMMMM WONDER WHAT THAT IMPLIES???)

It also implies that this is not the first time physical force has been threatened! I mean, that much is obvious, because of the choking scene that happened before, but I more mean that this implies that Andrew either threatening or utilizing physical force is an established pattern of behavior. However, the Decay route implies that she never thought Andy would kill her (but Andrew would) which can either be for or against depending on one's perspective, so I don't hold to the idea that it's an established pattern too strongly.

Okay, so. Andrew has some controlling and possessive tendencies too. So what? Their relationship is codependent. It's advertised as such. What of it?

Well first of all, it pretty much blows the lid off of the idea that Ashley is the sole perpetrator of abuse in their relationship. I've seen a lot of people view Andrew's behavior as justified retaliation against abuse, but frankly, I don't believe that him threatening to strangle Ashley for violating boundaries by trying to hold him accountable for his actions (given the strangulation part happens after she brought up Nina's death and how Andrew was ultimately responsible) is justified. And I ESPECIALLY don't believe that him threatening to backhand Ashley for her transactional attitude towards sex is justified in ANY circumstance.

EDIT: This part was edited in from the original post for the sake of readability so they don't have to see the reblogs to see the updated version! This post gained more traction than I was expecting!

…But perhaps even more telling is what she DOESN'T do.

Pushing someone's boundaries until they lash out is a pretty common tactic in abusive relationships. It's easy to see why, too: It justifies prior behavior and paints them in a negative light to others. This can be an important aspect of using DARVO (deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender) against someone, although the two ideas aren't necessarily linked.

It's pretty easy to argue that this is what Ashley does, but if you look at the one time her boundary pushing DID go too far, when Andrew lashes out with physical violence… she doesn't do that. She doesn't blame him. She doesn't paint herself as the victim. She doesn't even try to give a reason as to why she shouldn't be killed outside of the comfort she gives him. Why is this notable?

Because the mom does, in fact, engage in what could be considered DARVO against Ashley:

(i will elaborate more on this screenshot in particular below)

Ashley is directly compared to Mrs. Graves by Andrew, and yet she crucially displays none of the habits that Mrs. Graves does. Mrs. Graves lays the blame on Ashley, but Ashley doesn't lay the blame on Andrew. Mrs. Graves tends to paint herself as the victim of Ashley, but Ashley does no such thing to Andrew. The mom denies her culpability at every turn; Ashley doesn't. Ashley tries to hold Andrew accountable for his role in Nina's death, which could be considered a kind of DARVO. But she never denies that she had a role to play in it. She just mentions that he was the one who pulled the trigger. And he was.

(and the point was more that she DIDN'T engage in it when threatened with physical violence; the perfect chance to)

In Mrs. Graves' mind, she is the victim of either Ashley, or society as a whole. In Ashley's mind, she knows what she is, what she does, and what she's about. The only thing she's oblivious to- or doesn't acknowledge, at least- is the threat Andrew poses to her. In her mind, she's the bad guy. In Andrew's mind, Ashley is the bad guy. In official art, she is the bad guy:

And yet, in the game itself, Andrew is the one holding the cleaver. Not her. Hm.

Ashley is the world's most convenient scapegoat. She allows people to mask their own worst habits and pretend they're better people than they are. She accepts this role. She embraces it. She doesn't try to deny it. But when that mask slips, people lash out at her. Both Mrs. Graves and Andy (NOT Andrew, crucially) predicate much of their self-perception on being what she's not.

But they're the ones who enabled her to become like this, every step of the way.

And that's what blew my fucking mind, and made me question just who the victim really is. She was never given a chance to be normal, because other people relied on her NOT being normal.

By the end of my second playthrough, I felt worse for Ashley than I did for Andrew, and I still do.

So. What am I getting at? What does this show me about the relationship between Ashley and Andrew?

(I also wanted to point out that Andrew does engage in DARVO too but I didn't want to distract from the behavior of the mother. Unlike what Andrew does, it doesn't require someone to reassess the narrative they have towards the game in order to realize the implications of it, whereas it's pretty easy to justify Andrew's words as not qualifying as DARVO if you buy into the narrative that he's the sole victim and/or that Ashley is the main perpetrator of abuse. A friend of mine pointed out that it's a pretty key part of the push/pull dynamic they have, and I completely agree.

However, the direct comparisons to the behavior of the mother can't be ignored no matter your narrative, so I felt as if I needed to highlight that more.)

EDIT OVER

It shows me that their relationship is all about control.

Specifically, the push and pull of who controls who in any given situation.

Andrew weaponizes his incompetence. He always looks to lay the blame on Ashley. This is drawn attention to several times, and said explicitly in the Decay route.

He is always surrendering control to her, and yet he never HAS to. He could always just say no. He could always refuse. What are the consequences? Her being upset? Well, unfortunately, it's not that easy. That's not how abuse dynamics work. He probably feels like he has to, or rather, feels like there's no other option. That he's in too deep, and stuck with her no matter what. But personally, I think it's pretty clear from his willingness to surrender control to Ashley that he still feels like he has it at points, because the moment he feels like he's about to lose it, he either considers violence, even as a child-

(the actual scene of slicing her finger is pretty sus too with this reading in mind)

-or resorts to it, outright, in both the choking scene and the vision in the Decay ending... when Ashley doesn't have enough bullets to defend herself (this will be important later!).

SO WHAT POINT AM I TRYING TO MAKE??? AM I JUST MAKING ABUSE APOLOGIA (the answer may surprise you)?

No. I don't think so.

Ashley is obviously very bad. She's controlling and uses pretty textbook abuse and entrapment tactics on Andrew whereas everything he does to her is inference, with Ashley too daft to realize just how much danger she's in until the vision in the Decay ending spells it out for her- and I don't know if a true abuse dynamic allows for one to be completely unaware of the consequences of breaking free. She could just let go of her desire for control and Andrew would be a much happier person.

And that's the point, because so would she.

I bring up control because that push and pull- that desire for control over each other- is exactly what's tearing their relationship apart, and this effect most obviously manifests in the two endings of episode 2. In the Decay ending, Ashley either tries to exert control over Andrew due to a lack of trust, or Andrew allows his feelings of entrapment to truly take root in his mind and guide his actions. In the Decay ending, Andrew becomes a true doormat with no will of his own, allowing his feelings of bitterness and resentment to fester and grow, eventually resulting in their deaths.

In the Burial ending, Andrew does the exact opposite. He takes control of the situation and does exactly what Ashley would do without much of a fuss. This eventually culminates in THAT scene (assuming you take the Questionable route), where his facial expression alone speaks volumes:

Look at how fucking confident this man is. This is not the face of someone who's unsure of himself; this is the face of someone who knows exactly what he wants and takes it. He is absolutely in control of this situation, and everyone is happier for it.

And what does Ashley have to do to get this ending?

Let's go back to Decay for a moment. If Ashley has bullets in her gun, she has control over the situation. She, at any point, could put an end to Andrew and survive. And yet, at the very end of it all, she could choose not to. She could choose to surrender control to Andrew, allowing herself to die. And that ending, I believe so much of his life and willpower will have decayed that there's nothing left for him to take control of, leaving him no choice- or rather, no use for the control he now has- but to die with her.

And in the Burial ending, she has to let him out of his cage before it's too late. She has to surrender control to him, and when she does-

-He will become everything she ever needed him to be.

It's all about her surrendering control, and it's all about him taking control. Because, no matter what, as long as that happens... the two of them will be together forever.

In life...

...or in death.

How romantic.

So no, the incest end is not the fucking bad end. They're going to be together forever in the end either way, so they might as well live through it.

[puma-riki]

✮⋆˙Can't Feel My Face˙⋆✮

Synopsis: Rockstar! Heeseung as your boyfriend

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: REUPLOAD ON MY NEW ACCOUNT

Heeseung | Jay | Jake | Sunghoon | Sunoo | Jungwon | Ni-ki

--------------------------------------------------------

Rockstar! Heeseung is a global sensation. His fame is international, his name alone sends shockwaves through the music industry, and he has fans from across the globe who worship the ground he walks on.

Rockstar! Heeseung sells out massive venues in every major city. Fans are captivated by his performances which are a magnetic display of raw sensuality and dark captivating energy

Rockstar! Heeseung has designer brands tripping over their own feet to have him model their product. His face on their advertisements promises sales to skyrocket.

Rockstar! Heeseung is highly sought after both in the industry and by fans everywhere.

Rockstar! Heeseung is also off the market and pathetically shameless about it

Rockstar Boyfriend! Heeseung has been dating you since before his debut

He boasts about you every chance he gets to whoever will listen, his fans, interviewers, hell even the paparazzi that follow him everywhere.

"Heeseung! You did so well today, the energy was insane!"

"Ah, Thank you thank you. My girlfriend was in the crowd with you guys, so you know I had to make it memorable."

"Fans are dying to know what the inspiration behind this album is! Your new album blew straight to the top of the charts upon release and it truly is a masterpiece. So what's the story behind it?"

"Ah, Thank you so much, truly. My girlfriend actually was a big inspiration behind this album-"

"Heeseung! Heeseung! Where are you headed after the show tonight!?"

"I'm going to my girlfriend's!"

His fans (like anyone) know about you and actually find your relationship sooo cute. Often at his shows and fan meets, his fans will actually be the first to bring you up.

"Heeseung, I made this for [name], could you give it to her next time you see her?"

"Of course, She'll love this actually!"

Being famous also means he earns money faster than he can spend it.

That being said he loves buying you stuff, whether you're with him or not.

He could be in a whole different country and he'll see something that he thinks you'd like or would look good on you or something stupid that just reminds him of you and he's already swiping his card.

"Heeseung, you don't have to, this is too expensive for me."

"Which is why I'm buying it, If you like it there's no reason you cant have it, angel"

You will be all over Heeseung's social media and even his YouTube channel, which his management runs.

Heeseungs personal social media is mostly edgy promotional stuff, but he likes posting pictures of you and him together.

His YouTube is primarily for behind-the-scenes chats. Behind-the-scenes photoshoots, music video shoots, and even concert performances.

And you're in majority of these videos because Heeseung tries to bring you literally everywhere with him if you're able to come with him

In an interview he'll gush about how nervous he is to shoot something because you'll be watching from behind the cameras

"You look amazing in this collection. What do you think?"

"Thank you, but I think [name] would look 100 times better in this collection than I do!"

And the editors will add a little note like "Gushing about his girlfriend, [name]"

Hee[name]luvr23: editors thought we were new lol

User27578: if you don't know [name] then do you even know who Heeseung is LMAO

You appear so often that you'll even get your own little interview segment.

"What are my thoughts on today's shoot? I think Heeseung does everything well, his expressions and stage presence is always so intricate. He couldn't possibly mess anything up today, he looks great."

You basically gain your own fanbase from Heeseung without doing anything

Like you have fan accounts and everything Heeseung eats up those edits of you

Backstage moments at concerts are also not free from Heeseung's constant talk about you, cameras present or not.

"Everything's ready for you, we're just waiting to start. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, definitely. Oh by the way, [name] picked out my outfit for tonight. She said it would make me look more rockstar-like. What do we think?"

"Well, she's not wrong."

HeeHee1015: EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU [NAME], GOOD LOOORRDDD

[name]'slovebot: just put [name] on his styling team already HE LOOKS SO GOOD OMFGFDSHWAKJ

Heeseung, being the music prodigy he is, spends a lot of time in the studio with his producer. His music is a hypnotic blend of dark sultry beats and atmospheric melodies that pull his listeners into a world of sensuality and introspection.

His sound is smooth yet edgy, weaving elements of R&B and synth-pop to create tracks exploring themes of love, desire, and inner conflict.

His lyrics cut deep. Filled with vulnerability, seduction, and desire also WHINY ASS HELL.

So what's this cheesy pop boy band love song doing in there?

While a lot of his songs are about you and follow that dark and sultry vibe, he does like to explore other genres of music and make something that's just special for you.

His producers know good and well why there's songs like that sprinkled in his edgy discography.

But that doesn't stop them from asking just to give him a hard time.

"This one really stands out from the other tracks. What's the story here?"

"Oh, it's uh... you know, for [name]. Just felt like I had to sneak it in there. She's on my mind all the time so it only makes sense."

like it's okay we can all see you blushing behind that mic no need to be shy

He also LOVES to sample voicemails and voice messages you send him, he also asks you to come into the studio to record adlibs and/or to be on background vocals.

He thinks your voice is heavenly someone save him

---

Heeseung is hunched in front of his computer in his studio late at night, working on a new track for his album. Your voice plays through his headphones as he's tweaking it to fit into the intro to his song. He's oblivious to your knocks on the door.

You peek through the door and spot your boyfriend, repeatedly clicking his mouse as he works and resting his chin on the palm of his hand. You smile softly and step into the room, shutting the door behind you.

"Boo." You say, slipping heeseungs headphones off his ears. He jumps slightly before smiling and swiveling his chair around towards you.

"Hey, is this my voice?" You ask furrowing your eyebrows as you hear the song blasting from his headphones.

He only grins and pulls you to sit in his lap, "Come listen," You pull the headphones over your ears as Heeseung lets the track play from the beginning. Sure enough, your voice is being played in the intro of his song, muffled because its an old voicemail you had left him, however long ago you dont remember.

"You're really out here sampling anything into your songs." You playfully roll your eyes and slip the headphones off your head and place them on his desk.

"Hey, its not just anything. Your voice totally fits the vibe of this song. And it makes the song more..." He trails off trying to find the right words, while you run your fingers through his hair. It's already tousled and messy from the amount of times he's run his own hands through it. "...more personal. It makes it feel more intimate and real."

"mmm, really?" You hum, a finger trailing from his temple down to trace his jaw. The way Heeseung always weaves pieces of you into his music makes your heart flutter and your heart race.

Heeseung's arms tighten around your waist, trying to bring you impossibly closer. His lips purse into a line as he looks at you with star-filled eyes, something he does when he wants something.

"Hey, I was thinking, actually... could you record a few lines for the backtrack. And maybe you could hum like you just did." He sounds almost breathless when he says the last part, he doesn't mean too but you're so close to him and you look so gorgeous.

"you're ridiculous," You playfully roll your eyes, resting your hands on his shoulders. "It's almost 3 in the morning, Hee. You should go to bed and come back to this tomorrow."

Heeseung is a simple and weak man so who is he to protest. "Okay, how about a kiss in the meantime then?"

---

His friends, love you to death like that's gang, but Jesus Christ if they hear one more thing from Heeseung about you then you're gonna be out of a boyfriend.

Jay: Remember that after party in Tokyo?

Heeseung: Oh yeah, I remember before that [name] and I got lost trying to find this ramen house and ended up walking around the whole city before we found it.

Sunghoon: Bro, we were talking about the party.

Like I said before, Heeseung tries to bring you everywhere.

He gets so excited when he brings you as a plus one to red-carpet events and gets to match outfits with you

Will just about die if you try to step away from him, so reporters can take photos of him.

"What are you doing all the way back there??"

"I'm just giving you space so they can't take photos of you, Hee"

"But I want you up here with me."

pouty and utterly pathetic

and also captured on camera because fans go crazy over Heeseung pouting over you even being 2 steps away from him. Like okay, my turn when?

Your #1 hype boy

Always redirects attention to you when you guys are interviewed at these events

and you're a bit embarrassed because like?? YOU'RE the plus one, HE was invited here lmfao

"Heeseung! You look so good tonight. Who's you're date!?"

"My girlfriend, [name] We're matching tonight but I think she definitely pulls this look off better than me!"

Then he makes you twirl for the camera and the camera will zoom out to show both of you and Heeseungs eyes are GLUED to you and everyone can see the love and adoration in his eyes.

Also super attentive during these events and also when you're out in public with him in general

"Are you good? Are you ready for all of this?"

"Is this okay with you?"

"Let me know if you're uncomfortable, okay?"

"Just say the word and I'll take you home, angel."

Atp I think he's more eager to go home than you are.

If you thought he couldn't be more affectionate than he already is well, [loud incorrect buzzer]

While Heeseung likes to brag and gush about you in public, he tries to keep the PDA minimal.

Behind closed doors is a different story though, good luck lol.

Will be all over you, he'll follow you around the apartment and latch onto you like you'll disappear into thin air

After Heeseungs had a particularly long day, which is pretty much every day with flying to another country and back on some days and having dragging schedules on others, All he wants to do is come home and laze around with his girlfriend

His favorite thing is laying in bed with you at night, whether your both scrolling on your phones, talking, or something else.

He likes that you both can enjoy each other's company without having to do or say anything.

He likes being able to lay on you most of the time, but he's definitely not complaining when you're the one practically lying on top of him.

Sometimes when you fall asleep before him, he'll go live to talk to his fans for a few minutes and he likes to sneakily pan the camera down to his chest where your fast asleep.

No particular reason he just thinks you look cute and likes to flex that he has the most gorgeous girl on the planet lying in bed with him.

[name]luvr: SHES SO CUTIE OMFG

user6738: Heeseung can you gtfo of the way, I'm trying to admire your gf

lowkey fights with his fans over you (all jokes ofc)

"Heeseung will you let [name] know that I saved 100 kittens from a fire today and drove them to new homes in my lambo (I'm 6'2 btw).. okay well I saved 200 kittens, now what?"

"are you 6'2 tho, do not ever let me catch you in the streets br- ow!"

"You're being too loud, Hee"

There must be something in the morning air because he is crazy.

The morning sun filters through the curtains of your apartment. You and Heeseung are still in bed, no plans for the day. You're awake just teetering the edge of sleep and being fully awake

"Do you want anything for breakfast? I could make something"

The thought of you leaving him and the warmth of your bed right now just about kills him because he hugs you closer to his body and buries his face in your neck

"I'd rather just have you right here."

Oh!

"Wow, smooth talker." You playfully roll your eyes

"Only for you."

[tparker48]

Request for awesomebqg

stadium was vibrant as its  lights shined on the field. Players scattered from their huddles to their assigned positions, waiting for the chance to chase after the checkered ball across the yard as the opposing side derailed their assault.  Declan approached from the left side of the offensive team, eyeing the soccer ball as it zigged and zagged between players’ legs. Hot on the heels of one of the flanks, he blitzed between two players as he pounced on the ball, taking it from the opposing team’s clutches as he kicked it into the net. 

The crowd roared in a fierce beat, sending a buzz of electricity through his body as he raised an arm. "Please please, It was only a goal. No please I..no no, I do.”

His feet swept from under him as was placed on a pedestal of his team’s shoulders, ushering him around as if he were a royal in a place. The sound of cheers roaring in the air, the weight of his team on his back, it was moments like these that made him enjoy the true feel of soccer

After minutes of parading the middle field,  the team merged into one as they entered  the narrow pathway between the bleachers. Before long, the cemented floor kissed beneath his cleats, the soft pats and shakes fading from his teammates fading as the team dispersed into their own section of the locker rooms. Declan made his way down the middle path, stopping at a locker on the end of the path as he unlatched his lock.

He wiped a towel along his drenched neck. "Another game, another victory." he wiped down his back, losing himself in the chatter of passing members as they made their way to their lockers.

But a distant voice began to make itself known, tearing through the vocal flow like an anti chord as it reached his ears. He barely had the chance to turn before a thin mass tackled him into the locker, sending them both tumbling to the floor. He squirmed beneath its weight, catching a glimpse of a lean man resting on his shoulders blades.

"For the love of-..who puts a jockstrap in the middle of the floor?" They pressed into Declan's shoulder, causing him to release a stern grunt. "Hm? Oh shit, how'd you get down there?"

"I was on my feet, until someone knocked me over."

"Ah..was wondering what where that arm pit smell was coming from. like opening a fresh bag of chips." the man sniffed the air, his fingers sliding beneath Declan's arms. "Name's Roy, I'm sort of...new around."

How formal. He eyed the man as his fingers slid out from his pits, easing to his feet. "Declan, I'm-"

"Declan?! Like, the Declan Rice?!"

“Is.. there a problem?”

“None at all, I’m your number one fan!” Roy gasped, shaking his hand vigorously. “ Oh man, it's a pleasure to meet a legend in person!!"

Declan arms jerked with the man’s force, as if it were about to pop out of its very socket. "The pleasure’s..Mine!!"

"Oh no, it’s all mine! It’s not everyday you get to see your celebrities. Surprised I didn’t see..Ah God I’m such a dunce! I tackled into Declan Rice!" Roy crumbled to his knees, clutching Declan's palm in a choke hold as if he were a beggar. “I am so sorry! Can you find it in your heart to forgive me!”

"It's fine, it's fine! It's no big deal."

"Really?" Roy asked, sighing to himself. "Thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if I hurt you before the project."

"Er..project?" Declan asked.

"Nah, classic Roy, I forgot to tell that part." He palmed himself. "I meant to ask you if you could help me with a filming shot I'm working on. Come be the first and see the true legends at work on the fields. They'll show you why they put the 'So' in soccer."

"That sounds..like a documentary!"

"Yeah I'm still working on the trademark." Roy admitted. "But it's missing the most important thing, a sponsor! You could be that sponsor to kick it off!"

Ah, another sponsor asking for a contract. "Sorry but I don't do advertisements for free, if you wanna make a business offer, you can talk with my manager." He dusted flakes of dandruff from his shorts, reaching for his clothes folded in the locker.

"Ah, you're right. It wouldn't be right to have you help out my project without compensation." Roy dug his fingers through  his side pocket, drawing out a phone. He tapped at the screen for a moment, pulling up a website with a graph flowing toward the upper right corner of the screen. "This is the following I have on the project, at least for the past week."

Declan eyed the lining of the graph, numbers adding to the digits along the corner of the screen. "Those are all viewers?"

"Uh huh," Roy lowered his phone back into his pocket. "And they could all be following you. Just imagine, with your support behind my project, we could make it soar through the ratings. New deals, new sponsorships, and most importantly, more exposure!"

Declan blinked as Roy searched his phone, coiling a finger along his chin. More exposure could be effective, it could boost his rating,no, it could boost his very career if he went up for it. But would the team allow that? Would the coach?

He turned towards the opening of the hallway for the coach to hear his insight, but stopped in his tracks. Why should he consult the team like this, they'd suck up all of the exposure and leave him with the crumbs. He couldn't live with himself if he fumbled that big of an opportunity. No, it opened up to him first, and to him, he will ensure that it will remain to him alone.

"So?" Roy said, his cheery tone seething in his voice. "We got a deal?"

Declan shuttered at the chance this would be, reminiscing over the future achievement that spun around his mind. He turned towards Roy, nodding at the question. "It's a deal. so, where's-"

"Sweet! Trust me, you won't regret it!"

 Palms clutched  his shoulders as Roy ushered the two of them down the pathway, cutting the corner to the other side of the locker room. The deeper they went, the amount of players withered down as the once filled corridors became empty. They reach the end of the exit of the locker room before Roy stopped in his tracks, patting frantically at his pockets.

"Oh damn it, I forgot my water bottle, I must've dropped it. but where did..Oh!" He moved towards one of the side doors of the pathway, slinking past the frame as he disappeared into the darkness. "Oh! here it is! it's under this object!"

"Well, best get it before it gets lost again."

Shuffling lingered in the dark abyss, metal rattling together as Roy grunted. "I would..But it seems to be stuck on something in here." Roy said. "This is embarrassing to ask, but can you give me a hand?"

"For a bottle?"

"Please? It’s stuck tight."

This is starting to seem like a hassle rather than an opportunity. "Fine, I'm coming.”

He opened the door as wind dispersed into the locker, darkness staring back from its mouth. He squinted to the metal walls a few feet away, their handles the only thing barely visible, but no Roy.He placed a rock against the corner of the door as he ventured deeper, holding a hand out to guide as it brushed against the smooth metal pipes.

 "Alright, Im in.” Declan said. “Where are you?"

"Just a little further, Just in the next room."

The next room? How deep did he go just for a bottle? The cold walls met the bottom of his palm as its metallic texture morphed into cement. The solid hum of a heater filling the air  like a sonar.

"Okay, now what? I don't see you any-" His words were cut off as a sharp pain sunk into the side of his neck. It spread to the rest of his body as it lurched to the hardened floor, the sounds of steps echoing behind him as the tip of shoes prodded against his arm.

"I can't believe that worked, I guess you really can lure a soccer player."

"Roy?..what are.."

"I wouldn't try to talk too much Declan, you’ll get a headache that way. " Roy replied, a needle sensation searing his neck. "Why don't you go ahead and take a nice long nap."

Declan gritted as he slumped to his feet, Roy backpedaling as the soccer player reached a palm outward. The stinging sensation from the injection began to spread as it climbed his neck, his ears starting to ring as his vision grew hazy. Soon hisnwhole body began to throb, and he fell to the floor, darkness swallowing him as everything faded to black.

------------------------

A deep hum rang in Reclan's ears, a blistering pain throbbing through his head as it laid against a plastic floor. "What happened? Where..am I?"

Through his hazed vision, he sat up as he scanned the area. He found himself inside of a plastic cage on a desk, a single fan looming above. Its size dwarfed his, looming overhead like a giant windmill up as its cold gusts blew against the translucent wall.

But it wasn't just the fan that was big, the whole room morphed before his eyes, stretching to far horizon like a great plain as light danced a twirled from the windows

“Roy..that bastard, what the hell kind of drug did he put in me? It’s making me hallucinate."

"On the contrary," A second voiced said, streaking through the air like thunder. "This is no hallucination."

The ground shook as the bottle wobbled beneath him, the plastic bottle darkened by a shadow as an unbuttoned shirt swaying into view. Standing before him was Roy, looming overhead like a giant gazing upon an ant hill. 

"Glad to see you’re finally woken up,"  Roy added. "and here I thought you'd sleep through the best part."

"Roy? What is the meaning of this? What did you do?!"

"Nothing really!" He replied, picking up the bottle between his fingers. "Just made you a little more manageable is all."

Declan tumbled as he raced to regain his balance, Roy’s palm dwindling along the curvatures of the bottle. With a simple tilt, gravity shifted as the plastic cap slammed against his back, lurching the other way as he rolled back to the center.

Roy giggled as he aligned the bottle with his eyes. "Gotta say I like this version of you, pal. like having a little ship in a bottle."

Declan floundered as the bottle see-sawed between his palms, spreading his arms and legs to keep him from falling. "You call this supporting your heroes?!"

"Watcha mean?"

"Aren't you supposed to be a number one fan? You told me you wanted help with a project, to help bring light to soccer!"

"Oooh that?" Roy said, shrugging his shoulders. "That was just something to get you to follow through."

Declan's heart tightened at the man's words. "You..were lying?"

"You got me! I have to admit I did have second thoughts about it." He tossed the palm from palm to palm as if it were a hacky sack. "I thought I'd give a sob story of some charity bullshit, but I knew you'd see right through that." Declan pin balled from wall to wall, his body pulsing upon each impact. Before long, He fell to the bottom of the bottle, just as Roy's beaming smile returned. 

"Liar!" Declan hurled his fist into the wall, its blow absorbed into its plastic. "When I get out of this you'll be dead meat!"

"Such fiery spirit, guess it's true when they say soccer player’s are known for their resilience." Roy chuckled. "I may have told a little fib about the whole fan thing, but I wasn't lying about having you for a project."

The bottle spun toward the desk, sending a blistering pain radiating Declan's rear. Roy strolled the room to his backpack along one of the wooden chairs against the wall, unzipping the middle as he pulled a  camera and a pair of metal legs. setting them up before placing them near a torn projector along the wall.

Roy's spun backpack against the side of the desk, sending the bottle in a tailspin as Declan held his stomach. "Careful where you swing that thing!" 

"Oh ho, that's the least of your worries pal." he heard Roy say, sensing anticipation in his voice. He opened one of the side pockets pulling out a clear vile as he brought to his eye level.

Declan eyed the small bottle as it sloshed between its fingers. "What..what is that?"

"Lube of course! And a nice portion to get you nice and slick for your long trip." He held the bottle close to his waist, his crotch cushioning against the glass like a sponge. "Afterall, I can't just squeeze just anything in my balls."

Declan's heart skipped a beat. "Your...balls?!"

"Yup yup, you're going down the good old slide of life." Roy said, a giggle seething from his lips. 

He untwisted both bottles before  lowering his cage to the table, hovering the bottle of lube overhead as its clear liquid lurched to the opening. Its lukewarm substance poured from the bottle like a waterfall, coating his feet in a puddle as it filled the bottle. Declan pounded against the plastic, tackling its walls in hopes to knock it over the edge.

Skin skidded against the wall as Roy laid his phallus against, a single throb forcing the bottle back. "Ah ah ah, can't let you do that, Decy."

The waterfall tilted as it showered Declan, coating him head to toe as the puddle climbed to his waist. When the last drop fell, the bottle was cast away, the cap sealing.  Roy picked up the container as he tilted it sideways, see-sawing it on its axis. It was as if Declan was thrown into a washer machine, each tilt sending a tide of lube as he slipped and glided across the walls.

 Roy giggled at Declan's floundering like a child with a ship in a bottle, watching the waves toppled and overwhelmed him. He stirred the bottle for a few more times before he finally let up, Declan splashing against the cap before sloshing to the bottle.

 "There it is, nice and slick. You'll slide right in." He said.

Declan wobbled to his feet, clinging to the wall for support. "The hell is wrong with you! You're treating this like it's some sick game!"

"A game? I'd hardly call this a game. More like..playing with my toys. Yeah, that's it!"

"Whatever the hell you want to call it, it's crazy! You can’t think that this is okay!"

"Aww what, is the big time soccer player trying to talk me out of it." Roy cooed, holding one of his testicles against the glass.  "That's just adorable. Pathetic, but adorable."

Declan grimaced as the clammed skin skidded against the bottle, shielding his gaze with an arm in hope to erase the view. Palms wrapped around the frame as it lifted into Roy’s abdomen, his balls still plastered to the glass as their round spheres undulated along his thigh. He sat down in a wooden chair in front of the camera, adjusting the lens until he filled the projector on the screen.

Roy untwisted the cap, flicking it to the floor. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Gravity lurched as the lube fell out of the opening, dragging Declan with its current as he fell from the plastic. He bounced off the pudgy shaft, just as a thumb pressured into his foot. Roy stirred the remaining lube over his shaft, drizzling over his glans as if he were pouring syrup on flapjacks before he discarded it.

He choked his girth and lathered the substance into his skin. "Mmm, just a little more twist and..There, the rocket is nice and ready." He unlatched his palm from his glistening cock. "Now it just needs its daring astronaut."

Pressure increased as he was hoisted to the air,  smacking against the cock's oily skin as it lathered his torso. He slid higher as Roy's navel rippled into view, undulating as Roy chuckled at his flailing display. Declan struck the fingers holding his foot, but his blow barely caused damage, bouncing off their forms as if he were hitting them with a wet noodle.

"That's it, keep that fire going, my guy." Roy massaged his phallus. "I wanna feel every bit of it when you're in my knockers."

Declan's head hung above the rising shaft, its length flexing to life as it smacked against Roy's abdomen. He  grimaced at the fingers massaging the sides of the cockhead, the slitted orifice stretching and closing as its soggy lips smeared together.

"I'm not going in there, you sick bastard." Declan continued his assault, gritting as a sting crawled along his heel. "Put me down!"

"If you insist." Roy’s hand lowered as it hurtled toward his throbbing shaft. He pinched the corners of the head, and the slit yawned opened.

"No! that what I mean-" His words were snuffed as his head plunged into the mouth of the cock, the orifice sending wet squelches into his ears before clamping around his neck.

"It wasn't? Huh, imagine that." Roy replied, listening to the soccer player's muted protests.

Declan pawed against the sponged flesh, his palms slipping under the loose foreskin as it coiled its juices into his fingers. He felt the fingers climb to his waist, corkscrewing the rest of his body into the gummy orifice.

The fleshy chamber squeezed at his body, muscular ripples battering into his sides like waves as he slithered deeper inside. "Mmm, It's like my body's giving ya a great big hug isn't it?" Roy cooed, "Hope you like it, cause it's only gonna get tighter from here on out."

Declan grice as the orifice climbed over his legs, drooling greedily as they were sucked inside. His feet bobbed against the tip of the head, its spongy form suckling his entire body as if he were a ring pop. With a mere flick from Roy's finger, his feet tilted as they sunk inside, slurping past the clammed lips as they sealed shut.

The world he once knew was replaced by dark pink walls, coated in Roy's salt and musk as creamy fluid lathered the crevices. Pull after pull, he was dragged deeper into the urethra, carried by Peristalsis as the gargantuan cock devoured him whole. 

A lump punched into his gut, a finger trailing on the other side. "Lumpy lumpy nice and jumpy." Roy chuckled. "You certainly aren't gonna like what comes next."

He wheezed as the finger pushed down, hastening his pace through the shriveled walls as cum parted the folds like webs. The bottom of the barrel rushed into view as it quivered, welcoming Declan with a messy kiss before taking him past its ring and into the labyrinth of Roy's insides. 

It clenched as he was deposited into the tender bean in the core of Roy’s body, Flesh snagging along his arms and legs as fluid filling the crevices lathered against him. If he doesn't do something he'll..No, he's not letting himself end up as this bastard's pastime fun. He scaveaged the walls for the hole he came in, Punching every corner he could manage as he pawed against the firm tissue. It was gone, hidden away somewhere in the chamber, but where?

The chamber jostled with his captives' laughter. "Sorry pal, can't have ya trying to walk out on the fun."

"Let me out of here, you piece of-"

"Woah woah, language. Is this how you soccer players treat one of their 'fans' ?"

"That's not the only thing you'll be treated to once when I get out here."

"keep telling yourself that. But looking at how that little lump is all squeezed up in my prostate, I don't really see that happening." Roy said. "Speaking of squeeze, you might wanna hold your breath."

The muscular bean became alive, salted seed oozing from the walls. A fold pushed beneath him as he skyrocketed into a meat pocket, and his head was jammed into a hole no bigger than himself. It yawned over his head, separating the rest of his body as succumbed to the whim of the other chamber. 

Seed belched from the tight tunnel as it spilled into the prostate, a heavy suction pulling him inside. "Its corrosive! It's getting into my mou-"

"Told ya to hold your breath." Roy giggled, his voice fading into the sounds of his body.

The valve around his neck yanked at his body, his shoulders slipping past the small ring as it chewed down to his legs. Its warm texture coiled his toes, ejecting him from the prostate and into the unknown of Roy's body. He dragged through the muscular labyrinth at  snail's pace, looping around steep curve as the walls siphoned tighter.

After almost minutes passed, gravity shifted as plonking arose below, sloshing deeply as if it were underwater. A tight orifice crowned his head as he was expunged from the tube, his body curling against a soft layer of tissue as it spooned him against a round boulder of flesh.

"Welcome to my balls! Your home away from home!" Roy said.

Declan tried to turn his head, gritting at the stinging pain building in his neck. "I can't..move!" 

"Of course you can't goofball, it's not some bubble you can just stand in." Roy fondled his left nut, watching its swollen underbelly throb with its new guest. "Gotta say though, you're a lot tighter than I thought you'd be, almost looks like a tattoo out here."

"Bastard!" Declan gritted, "Your ass is getting the beating of a lifetime when I go get of-"

“Again with the whens? Honestly buddy you’re like a broken record. But I suppose you can only bark up threats when you're swinging between my legs.”

Declan's face soured his words, straining against the soft tissue to lift the meaty ball spooning his back. 

He stopped when an odd sensation resonated from his fingers. He could feel them there, but it was hollow, as if they were phantom limbs. He pulled his arm from underneath a meaty fold, and his eyes widened. His middle finger was drenched in goo, dripping into the fleshy crevices. When it returned, there was nothing in the middle, not even as seed spilled in the middle of his palm. the numbness began to spread to his other fingers, and his heart started to race.

"My hand! What's going on with my hand?!"

"Ooh shit, I forgot to mention another thing." Roy said. "See ‘when’ you do come back out, you'll kinda be well...melted."

"What?!"

"Yeah! crazy right? But don't worry, I'll build you back together good as new. Better than new in fact!"

"You're not putting shit back! And you're not melting me!" The siphoned chamber bucked as Declan thrashed about, causing the bulging nut to throb. "Let me out of here! I..I'm not ending up as some bastard's seed."

Oh, but you are, you just need time to bake.”

The spongy testicle pressed the side of his face, fingers prodding along his back as the chamber jostled vigorously. He lurched against gravity before another soft layer draped over his back,  the sound of a zipper streaking the walls as pressure hugged his sides. Roy's steps boomed as the hollow atmosphere changed, distant whistles and chatter lingering in the distance. Is he really..no, he can;t leave him in here like this..

Declan writhed to free himself from the weight of the testicle, causing Roy to giggle. "Hey, keep it down in there" A deep pound echoed from above. “Don’t want me to bust a nut in front of the crowd now do you? Once you;re melted you ripple and shake all you want in there."

Declan gritted at the man's words, his heart shuttering at the individual word: melted. He looked beneath a fold covering his arms, seed spilling from its corners. He pulled his forearm from underneath, revealing its drenched form. He couldn't feel his hand anymore, its clumpy form slid from his wrist like fresh clay, melting with the rest of the mush as it dispersed to corner of the sac's tubes.

An hour passed as Declan swayed inside Roy’s balls, the numbness traveling through the rest of his arm as it withered away as if it were sugar in water. With each voice he heard pass by, shouted for their attention, to allow him the chance to be seen before it was too late. But his efforts fell on deaf ears as they faded in the distance, adding to his captive entertainment as his cock throb with pleasure.

As time withered farther, Declan became more restless,  punched as hard as he could against the soft wall, but it only absorbed every blow that was dished its way. In his fit of panic, the whistles drew closer as Roy's balls undulated, the sound of a roaring crowd muted but the suffocating walls. 

"Oo, cotton candy! Perfect for the occasion."  Roy said, the chamber to twist and rotate as he moved freely outside.

"Roy! you bastard! Don't treat me like your.." 

the side of his face grew numb, his view blurred as milky ooze seered from his cheek. As its tingly sensation climbed higher, his nose slanted as it slid from his face and into the increasing pool. The walls throbbed as waves rippled the chamber, scooped the loose seed into the center. it climbed to his neck, siphoned the last of the space as his lips danced against the sphincter. 

He soon lost his lips in a wave of cum, the last of his face sinking into the mush. "R..Roy....S..sto.."

-------------------------------

"Buddy....buuddy..." A palm tapped at declan's head. "wakey wakey."

Declan stirred at the call. "W..wha?"

"There you are! You sagged in my sac for the whole game I thought you kicked the bucket."

"Christ it's you..." He groaned at the sound of his captive’s voices. 

"Aww, you still mad about the whole being balled thing, I promised I'd get you out didn't I?"

"That still doesn't make being in there any better." His winced as his head throbbed, his left side still liquified. "God my head hurts. Its feels like my whole spine's a fucking cactus tree."

"Yeah..heh, funny you should say that. When I jacked you out, let's just say I had some hard trajectories."

"Trajectories? What the hell are you-" he tilted his head when a prickled surface nudged the back of his head, wincing at another poked near his cheek. 

He wiggled for the rest of his body, his spine twisting normally, but he couldn’t feel his legs, or even his balls. He looked down as spiked leaves sprouted from his waist, rooting from a pot of soil was stationed along a table.

Declan's eyes grew white. "What the hell happened to my body?!"

"Well it turns out the game was a complete bust so I had to rub one out. Found a good spot behind a tree and went to town." Roy said, scratching nonchalantly at his head. "You were so gunked up, you splattered all over the tree."

"You ejaculated me onto a tree?!"

"Yeah, crazy right!" Roy shrugged. "I was aiming for the grass but hey, I managed to get some of you off the bark." 

"You didn't have the decency to use a fucking cup?! My legs are a freaking plant!" Declan yelled.

He thrashed his head around, causing the pottery to rotate on its sides. It leered to the edge of the table, dirt splashing along papers as he spun out of control. The pot tilted as gravity pulled at Declan's head, but Roy caught its side midway.

"Easy there, can't go trying to knock yourself off."

"You better fix me right this second!"

"I already told you, I could only manage to find most of you. Bet the seed’s already dried up at the field by now."

Already dried? Wait, does that mean that he's stuck like this?! His heart gripped in his chest, his career flashing in his mind. the games, the fans. "No, I'm not remaining stuck like this! There's..There's gotta be a way to reverse it!"

"Reverse? I can't just uncum and bring you back." Roy shook his head. "But look on the bright side, all that soccering stick is all in the past now. But not to worry, your old pal Roy's gonna take care of you." he drawed a camera from his back and aligned it near the edge of the table. Declan eyed him cautiously.

"What? You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you take care of me!"

"I can't? Huh, well shoot I guess I should just let you go. just hop off the table and..oh wait."

"You cocky son of a-" Declan head's bucked against a prickly leaf, cutting his words. "Just let me come to close that ugly mug of yours!"

"Aww, don't be so butt hurt, and smile for the camera!"

[hellobitchlet]

Honestly, I don't find that fighting about whether playing Genshin ftp is boycotting or performative is helpful here. And I feel like us fighting with each other over how to protest 'properly' is just setting us up for failure. I have heard good arguments from both sides of the discourse, and I think that playing ftp and making it clear to Hoyo why and refusing to play completely are both good tactics.

That being said, there are some things that I think we should all be doing, regardless of how you personally want to boycott against/show that you don't support Hoyoverse. So, here are some things that we should all be doing:

-obviously, the biggest one is don't give them money. I shouldn't have to explain why, but just in case, I will say: this doesn't just refer to directly spending money in Genshin. I also mean no official merch or paying them in other games.

-don't talk positively about Hoyoverse or their games. This will probably get me some hate comments for saying it. To clarify, I don't mean that you're not allowed to have positive thoughts about their games! We all have things that we like about Genshin, including me! There are two reasons why;

First, hearing people talk positively about them or their games is basically free advertising, intended or not. The reason why their games are free and has ftp options are likely because, with Genshin especially, their main strategy to getting money is to please as many types of fans as possible. Ftp fans are still useful to them bc they can still make fan content that non-fans will see and be interested in. And the more people who play the game, the more people who will give them money.

Second, the more people keep talking about Hoyo stuff like we have been before, the more racist, sexist, etc. fans and Hoyoverse themselves will be able to keep up the illusion that nothing is wrong. Hell, I have a bunch of posts now and the vast majority of them are negative, yet my 2 most popular posts are some of my few posts that don't have anything negative in them. Trust me, a single post can mean more than you would think.

This point can also be customized to fit how you post. You could only post negative stuff as I do, or just stop posting about it all together. If you already don't post about them, great! If you want to continue making fan content that doesn't have to do with their problems, then maybe you could make a banner you can add to your posts saying that you don't support them. The point is to not have posts that Hoyo or their dickriders would be comfortable with.

-partially related to the last point, and mostly targeting content creators: don't portray characters with the exact same designs as canon! If you're not good at making character designs, that's okay! At the very least, portray characters such as the Sumeru and Natlan cast, some of the Chinese and Japanese characters, Boothill, and Aventurine with darker skin. And don't portray Kaeya, Xinyan, Iansan, Arlan, or Sugilite with gray-ish tones to their skin. I'd say that it's preferable if you did make your own designs that are more diverse, but it's okay if you don't know how. This can also be used as a way to show that you don't support Hoyoverse.

[calimelontea]

the octotrio with an inkling!reader

❥❥am I splicing my current hyperfixation into a completely unrelated fandom bc the fresh season just recently dropped?? Yes. Is it going to be kinda awkward bc this is my very first fic on this page??? Also yes 👍But man is it gonna be fun to write, so I hope you guys will have just as much fun reading!

❥ the reader falls into this twisted wonderland unannounced and unprepared, but much to the student body's surprise, this new transfer student was... A squid? A kid?? It was anyone's guess, but for now it was decided that you would reside in Octainvinelle, seeing as you were a cephalopod of some sort. How do you fair in the ranks of the fish mafia?

Category- Fluff ☀

Content- semi platonic, Azul Jade and Floyd, you are an inkling from Splatoon

Azul Ashengrotto

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➼When you had first arrived at the dorm's doorstep, he couldn't deny his interest was piqued! Not only was he interested in seeing that squids had evolved their own little subspecies, but he also saw this as the perfect opportunity for profit!

➼A creature that can continuously produce different colored inks?? He's practically seeing dollar signs...

➼No doubt he'll probably ask for a little share of what's in your ink tank, and in return he'll provide you protection and some benefits in the lounge, (albeit some very miniscule ones. Can't lose too much profit, now can we?).

➼But nevertheless, it couldn't be denied that your presence in the lounge had certainly brightened the atmosphere. Now not only can one make shady business deals, but they also get to watch this strange little squid creature run around and obsess over anything it deems "fresh".

➼Eventually though he would begin to warm up to you and see you as a bit more than a walking money bag, especially after the overblot incident. You offered him a helping hand and a friendly smile, even when he was hardly deserving of forgiveness, and he will always be grateful for that (though he will never admit that a loud).

➼He's always sure to keep watch over you, whether it be him in person or the twins, and if someone dares to cause you any trouble... Whew boy, they better hope they can handle a good squeeze.

➼Anytime there's something you want to show him, you'd better believe he's dropping what he's doing to look (within reason ofc), and if you manage to bring him something of extra value, he's sure to praise you and treat you to something from the lounge's menu.

➼Most of your time together is just you dragging him along to look for something fun to do, and although a lot of times he would rather be back at the lounge counting up earnings or advertising new business opportunities, he just can't say no to that face...

➼Overall he'll likely be your safest bet as long as you're willing to sacrifice some ink and maybe your free will 👍

Floyd Leech

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➼When you first arrived, he just thought you were the silliest lil creature! It didn't matter to him if you were human or squid, he just wanted to squeeze you and play with you.

➼And squeeze you he will, you better be watching your back all times of the day bc this man can and will ambush you with the most bone-crushing hug in existence. You don't even have bones and yet you feel the structure of your very being squashed like a water balloon.

➼He takes a liking to you almost immediately out the gate, assigning you the nickname "squidling" since he already nicknamed someone else "squid", and you change colors way too often to assign a colored type of squid.

➼Instead of you dragging him around, now it's his turn to drag you. Will literally snatch you from wherever you are, whether it be your dorm room or even class, and run off to wherever sounds the most fun in the moment. (R.I.P Grim, you're on your own)

➼Literally has 0 idea what you're saying (inklings speak a special kind of language), but will absolutely pretend to know what you mean. Will have an entire full blown conversation with you even if, with context, the conversation doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

➼Likely will go out of his way to get something for you if he believes it's something you'd find "fresh". Mans is gonna come to your dorm with like 20 shiny rocks, some shirts and a thingamabob or two and you're keeping ALL of them.

➼Can and will try to make you swim somehow due to your squid features. It will not go well.

➼You're probably one of the very few people that can pull him out of his bad moods without bribery or blackmail. Legit just start talking to him about anything random and he'll give you one of those legit scary smiles and squeezes onto you like you've just given him the best news of his life.

➼He's a pretty alright option if you don't mind being a caprisun under a hydraulic press. Just... Stay alert.

Jade Leech

══✿══╡°˖✧✿✧˖°╞══✿══

➼Mans is literally scary, why would you pick him???? /j Much like Azul, he's very curious about you when you first arrive in Octainvinelle, but instead of profiting purposes, he more or less wants to study you.

➼He's very curious about what it is that makes you tick. How did squids evolve to produce a specimen like you? Are there more of you? And if so, have your species formed an intricate society? Where does your language originate? Do you have a similar intestinal structure to humans or merfolk???

➼Bro has probably thought about dissecting you at least 40 times and counting, but because it's heavily frowned upon in a school setting, he's decided against poking around in a squid-kid cadaver. For now...

➼Until then though, he ensures he's as hospitable as he possibly can be, while also leaving some room for learning about your unique culture.

➼This means he will likely be one of the very few students to start picking up on your language, as well as understanding your behaviors/mannerisms.

➼It was during these studies of his that you two developed a sort of trade system. You would bring him some wild mushrooms or any plants that look interesting, and in return he will buy you something "fresh" from Sam's shop, with a reasonable price tag ofc.

➼And due to this mutually beneficial system, it didn't take long for the two of you to become good friends. It wouldn't be very often you would see this tall eel man without his tiny squid companion, especially when it comes to his mushroom garden. Congrats, you have entry to the sporehouse 👍

➼This also means you two get to share your special interests with one another. You get to spend time with him creating mini terrariums and growing shrooms, and in return you can teach him how to play turf war (the second he gets the hang of it you will constantly get your ass beat).

➼He's a pretty sound option over time, but you should NEVER be alone with this man with lab equipment. Never trust a man who enjoys clam blitz.

[ozzgin]

[Baki Masterlist]

Yandere! Kaiou Retsu x Artist! Reader

You open the door to the Shinshinkai Dojo and greet some of the men in the hall with a nod.

"You're here earlier than usual." One of them comments as you pass by.

"Yeah, the last lecture was cancelled and I had no other plans", you respond with a smile.

"You know it's getting serious when your free time is turned into training time. That's how it was for me!" the man lets out a hearty laugh.

"No way, I'm not made for this." You wave your hand in dismissal. "I'm just going with the flow and seeing where that takes me."

You go on your way, ruminating over the brief exchange. It's been a few months since you began taking karate lessons at the Dojo. You still remember Katsumi's perplexed expression as you stood before him, handing over the sign up papers.

"A-are you sure? The sparring can get quite rough and you're... well... uh..."

"You advertise it as perfect for self defense. Who needs it more, the buff pal over there or this short college student that can't even sketch in the park without being harassed by perverts?"

You slap the papers on the table with a loud thud. The man blushes slightly, realizing the irony.

"I apologize. You're entirely right." He scans over the form. "Evening classes. That's when I teach, actually! Looking forward to seeing you, then."

After the first few weeks of mostly standard workout in order to build stamina, you started learning the basics. Katsumi was greatly surprised and equally impressed by your unexpected skill. Turns out you weren't half bad at this! And so he suggested you show up more often, because he wanted to see how your newly discovered talent would develop in time.

As thankful as you are for his support, you find the whole ordeal rather funny. You don't have any intention of becoming some professional fighter. You're an artist and plan to remain one for the indefinite future. The little karate hobby serves as your dose of healthy activity and as the occasional inspiration, since you particularly enjoy recreating the human body and its intricacies on paper or in clay.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Katsumi spots you and gestures for you to come over. Your nostalgic daydreaming has been interrupted. "Remember when I said that it helps to expand your knowledge? I have just the person for that." He places a hand on your back and guides you further into one of the main rooms.

"Here she is, Retsu-san. You might not believe it at first, neither did I, but I guarantee you she has a lot of potential."

You bow slightly to the stranger in front of you and he silently returns the gesture. He seems mildly awkward about the encounter.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I follow. What is this about?" you ask, somewhat confused. The deep stare of the long haired man intimidates you, so you avoid it by throwing quick glances at Katsumi instead.

"Would you be interested in learning Chinese Kenpo? This is Kaiou Retsu. He'll be joining us at the Dojo for a while. I thought you could use some variety."

"Shouldn't you be asking him if he's willing to teach rookies like me?" you wonder if this poor man had his services offered against his will.

"It is my great pleasure to spread the knowledge of this ancient art. I only ask that you treat it with respect and don't take it lightly." Retsu straightens his back and looks ahead, in no particular direction.

Ah, how embarrassing. He can't even look at her properly. He wishes he could drag Katsumi out in the hallway and whack some common sense into him. The least he could've done was to let him know who to expect.

Obviously he's seen women before. He's been out of the temple for a long time now. So why is he acting so strange all of a sudden? Katsumi was very secretive about his new favorite student and refused to give him any details besides "you won't regret it". He anticipated anything but this. He's especially baffled at his own reaction meeting (Y/N).

All he can do now is to pray that he isn't so obvious in just how flustered this woman has gotten him. He wonders if Katsumi went through the same nervousness when he first met you. He secretly peeks at the young man and notices how relaxed he seems to be next to you. Yeah, perhaps he just needs a little time. Then he can treat you with the same confidence, too.

***

"What matters the most here is actually the placement of the foot. If it's slightly tilted the wrong way, you lose all support and everything else falls apart. A good kick needs an equally good grounding."

Retsu is in his comfort zone. For a mere moment, he can forget his audience and focus on his technique. This is what he does best. Still concentrated, he unbuttons his shirt and throws it aside, as this is how he usually fights.

"Find the weak point depending on your opponent's stance, and quickly make your move before they've got it figured out."

He demonstrates the attack, followed by a few skillful jumps as he returns to his initial spot. He checks to see if you've been following his instructions, a prideful smile plastered on his face. Your eyes are wide, mouth slightly open in shameless marvel. His smile immediately vanishes and is replaced by an embarrassed frown. Why are you looking at him like that? It's one of the most basic moves he can think of.

You suddenly clap your hands together and lower your head in a begging posture. The way his body bends and folds in such a fluid, continuous way, the way his muscles contract rhythmically in a calculated vigor... This man is not only a master of martial arts, but your newly found muse.

"Please excuse my rudeness, but I really can't think of a better way to put it. Might I be allowed to sketch you during your training? I really wish I could capture your artistry."

You shyly glance up, worried you may have angered the Chinese man. He's covering his face with one hand and you tense up, unsure of how to proceed. Should you apologize? Then you manage to discern the deep blush that's taken over his face.

He must calm down at once. He's inhaling deeply, attempting to regulate his breathing. He can feel the vibration of his heart slamming into his chest at great speed. Truly, how happy your words made him. And this brings him to the abrupt realization that he will never be like Katsumi around you.

It's been a little under a month since he's met you, and the slightest interaction coming from you makes his whole composure collapse into shambles. All the feelings and thoughts are now avalanching over, burying him and making him unable to let a single word out. It could very well be that he's in love with you, but it's a frightful, rabid adoration that trickles out of his grasp, as if it could escape from his control at any moment. It's a terrifying discovery for someone that so values their discipline.

"If it's too troublesome, you can forget about it. I got too excited. To be honest, I've been using you as a reference for some time now, but it felt wrong not to tell you about it."

You crouch down to your backpack and hesitantly pull out a notebook with pages sticking out. You peel open the covers and spread some of the papers onto the ground, for a better view.

Retsu squats down with you and gazes over the detailed pencil works, partly distracted. He'd appreciate your anatomical accuracy if it wasn't for his presently feverish state. He places your hands between his and analyzes them. What a difference. Dainty, fragile and yet powerful enough to win Katsumi's respect. Nonetheless of insignificant size compared to his large, calloused and weathered palms. To think that you've been watching him the same way he's been watching you all this time. Perhaps for somewhat different reasons. How would you react if you knew? What would you think of someone like him?

"Umm..." you swallow dryly as you attempt to break the silence. You can almost hear a faint ringing in your ears.

What if you were to reject his confession? It wouldn't be the first time he's faced defeat. Retsu is however unsure if he'd be willing to accept it this time. He looks at you with newly found resolve. No matter what, he'll do what it takes to become a man worthy of your love. If only he could remain your inspiration forever.

[3liza]

part of the elsagate videos issue that is never ever addressed in any article or video I've seen about it is why do parents let their kids watch YouTube unsupervised. my parents divorced when I was six. my father is a 100% disabled veteran and my mom worked full time and basically single parented two children. NEITHER OF THEM allowed us to read, watch tv or use the computer with a lack of supervision sufficient to not notice what we were watching and immediately getting involved if something was weird, until we were probably 11 or 12 years old (which is a pretty typical time for kids to transition to spending a lot of time unsupervised and making their own decisions about their free time).

no one in any of the articles or videos I've seen on the disturbing YouTube kids content issue has ever straight up asked a parent: "why are you putting an internet-enabled tablet into the hands of a three year old and walking away?" none of the explanations for it (busy, tired, making dinner, poor, whatever) besides idk, severe disability to the point of child neglect, explain this level of lack of supervision. my parents were variously severely disabled and impoverished and working and making dinner and if tablets had been a thing, they just wouldn't have given them unsupervised to a very young child. you can entertain a 3 year old with conversation, drawing, picture books, or if they're on a tablet you can just turn off autoplay or make a playlist of videos you've already checked! you can make those playlists loop! my parents did not put us on the couch in front of unsupervised cable television either, which did exist at the time, even though a lot of my friends the same age did get ignored in front of a tv even if they had wealthier parents who had more free time. "people think YouTube Kids is safe" is another explanation I've heard. why? there's no reason for them to think that. no one has ever told anyone on earth that the internet is safe for kids, in fact we have all heard exactly the opposite. every pediatrician on the face of the earth has been begging parents to reduce screen time as much as possible for the past fifteen years. I don't respect that explanation, that "YouTube kids looks safe", any more than I would respect someone choosing to believe any other obviously-bullshit advertising from a major corporation.

I've also never seen any journalist try to interview the actual children who watch this stuff. are they okay? what are their daily lives like? how did this stuff first show up for them? we can make some assumptions about that, some of it is just autoplay etc but the specifics are important, including the specifics of their parents' behavior around giving them electronics access + no supervision.

the oldest elsagate kids are now old enough to post on their own and there is a thread on reddit asking them to talk about the effect the videos had on them. I'm sure a lot of them are completely fine, kids are resilient, but a lot of them self-report that they strongly feel they are not okay with it, feel they were permanently traumatized, desensitized, and that they have developed serious and intrusive paraphilias that do negatively affect their lives.

I sincerely do not get it. I just don't. it's the pathological lack of interest in your own child that really gets to me. it's weird, we let our children take any knife from the kitchen that they wanted to play with while we were making dinner and you will never guess what happened next!

[iron-embers]

Your art on rule 34 🤡

Oh no, what a nightmare....

Not!

We all know you are the same troll that makes millions of sub accounts just to harass people as if that would work, but this is just laughable that you are trying and failing to taunt me as if this will hurt me in anyway. Congrats, you played yourself. The sheer stupidity of you committing art theft and showing your account on that degenerate site just shows how dumb you are. Did you honestly think I would be offended by you giving me evidence of your troll account which shows all your mental illness in one go. I mean, you gave me free advertisement which is a small plus but really I'm cackling at how pathetic you look doing this, thinking you have an ounce of power. As if you are to be feared just cuz you stole people’s art and twisted it.

Get out if your lil power trip, get some mental help, and maybe people will actually respect you. Cuz the only thing you're succeeding at in life is bringing people together that aren't toxic like you and they all despise the bullshit you're doing I literally could care less about your tantrums, real adults wouldn’t waste their time with a pathetic degenerate like you, but I’m responding only because you have shown yourself for the true psycho you are. I've seen all the stupid shit you have been pulling at some sad attempt for attention, I feel bad for the people that get hurt but wow, talk about you exposing yourself as the lil arrogant dumbass you are. I'm not even involved and I've seen all the racial slurs you've been throwing around, saying everyone that supports the people you don't like are white and racist, fun fact dumbass-

I'm a person of color, I'm Hispanic and as such seeing you trying to represent this is disgusting. I do not advertise my race because unlike you Race does not define my being, I do not judge people based on race, I form mutual respect with others that show me that same respect as a person. Race doesn’t mean shit when you are mental case trying to cause problems where there are none. I’ve already seen you reach out to multiple people to try and taunt them with false accusations, and the sheer fact you are racially profiling everyone based on art is even more racist in itself. I'm not even inolved in whatever drama your pulling, but you pulling the victim card just cuz you are a person of color is despicable, and you have the audacity to falsely claim I'm white is incredibly racist. Being white isn’t insulting, so what of the color of your skin. The people you insult are wonderful people we enjoy interacting with, and you are not and that has nothing to do with the color of your skin. I could be like you and be all "Oh boo hoo, are you scared of colored people, show more representation?!". But We are better than that, and left wondering what the actual hell is wrong with you. People are people no matter what race, and what you have shown is you are not deserving of being called equal if you don't have the human decency to treat others with respect. This is a place for people to enjoy their own lil piece of obsession, but you have taken it too far. One day I hope you go get the help you need, but seeing as how desperate you are for any shred of attention, you are beyond help. And as such your behavior does not deserve an ounce of attention.

People ignoring your stupidity isn't out of fear, it's the mercy they are giving you because why Grace stupidity with a response. You are pushing people to that point where they will no longer be tolerant to your Bs and I can promise you that will never get what you want. Take the hint, cut it out, and if you are just so offended by everyone here, then leave. People have better things to do in life, and you should probably put this ridiculous obsession into something more positive and productive. It makes you look an utter fool.

All of us will continue making what we love while you rot in your lil troll corner, with no courage to actually talk things out like an adult and the evil in your heart to try and fail to make everyone miserable. Imma keep laughing from your stupidity as I keep making what I love. If you wanna keep harassing, lying, and stealing art, go ahead and dig your own grave. Go ahead and give people more reasons to dislike you, I found this hilarious.

Let this be a post for those being harassed by this lil psycho or do not condone this idiocy, keep doing the amazing art and create without feeling as if twisted people have the power to ruin it. Cuz trolls don’t have any power over what you make and like, they will try but fail because they wish they had this confidence to being a respectful member of this fandom. Keep reporting them, keep blocking them, keep showing them that their degeneracy will get them nowhere. There are many of us that love and respect one another, and there is only one miserable ingrate that has nothing better to do than stir up trouble. Don’t let this troll ruin your fun just cuz they are a jealous idiot. They wanna throw around the retard insults at others, get a mirror troll, cuz this just shows how much of a retard YOU are.

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

MeMe and Control over One's Own Destiny

Alright I've been holding off on talking about Mikoto until Double releases, but I saw he was on a train and my brain went Silly. Don't you understand how crazy the symbolism is?! (<- Mentally unwell)

So now I have to talk about how MeMe handles the concept of destiny and the control the alters have on the system's future, because it's honestly so interesting to me.

CW Murder

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on DID, feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong

The first big connection between MeMe and the idea of destiny is obviously the recurring theme of tarot cards. These are used for divination, meaning the practice of trying to learn about the future through supernatural means. In other words, they're deeply tied to the concept of destiny, of future events that will come to affect us, and the ways we may influence it. What's important to take away here is that, regardless of whether or not you believe in it, reading tarot cards is a way for people to try to understand their future so they can take try to take control of it.

Once you make this little connection, a lot of the imagery in MeMe starts to get interesting. To give you an example, one of the opening shots is of a bunch of tarot cards all scattered in water.

So, their future is scattered, it's uncertain, it's messy, etc. You get the idea, I don't think I need to elaborate on why Mikoto's life is a bit of a mess.

However, I think there are two scenes which are particularly interesting in this regard. When Aokoto (host) draws a blank card in the first chorus, and when he gathers the cards in the deck at the start of the third chorus.

So first, we can be sure this is Aokoto because the lyrics not only use 'boku', but also express confusion at the situation, which only really fits the host.

Why am I [boku] here? It must be a mistake? Take a good look at me [boku], until you find me The truth will come to reveal itself I won't forgive you if this is happening to me even though I'm right

Why am I [boku] here? It must be a mistake? Take a good look at me [boku], until you find me

(Note: If there is no clarification on which pronoun is used when I put lyrics here, it's because the Japanese doesn't actually use any pronouns)

What's happening here? As stated, the tarot cards are a representation of destiny and their future. By drawing a tarot card, Aokoto is trying to understand his situation and destiny better. And by stacking the deck up neatly, he's trying to take control of his destiny, of his future. The desire to be free and be able to control his life is a very important part of Aokoto's character:

(T1) Q14: What will you be doing in 10 years? M (Ao): I'd like to work independently and make my own design company. That way I'm free to do what I want.

(T1) Q8: What are your reasons for wanting to work for your current job? M (Ao): I work at an advertising company that's at the top of the business world, you know? Just being able to get to that position is something to be proud of. I worked really hard to get hired there, too.

Aokoto places high value on the work he's done, because that shows how committed he is to having control over his life and his job.

(T1) Q12: How do you get to work? M (Ao): I ride a road bike. It's a hobby of mine, and it's good to exercise too. I don't need to worry about missing the train, but that can either be a good or bad thing.

I've seen this answer interpreted a few different ways, but personally I believe what Aokoto's implying is that the freedom of not having to rely on the train is both good and bad. Essentially, he doesn't have to stress about missing it, but there's also no guarantee that he'll get to work in time without the reliability of the train. However, he still prefers the bike, because it gives him more freedom.

... Foreshadowing is a narrative device-

There's also the matter of the tarot spreads which appear in that "blank card" scene. There are two distinct ones:

Now, the whole mess is too complicated to get into here (and I actually am holding off from analysis until we get extra context from Double for that reason), but I believe one of these spreads belongs to Aokoto, and the other belongs to Midokoto (Secret Third gatekeeper alter). Which is which doesn't matter, because the card I want to focus on is the card in the "Hopes and Fears" position (EXTREMELY long story), which is I - The Magician (upright) in both of them. The Magician represents (among a fuckton of other things because tarot cards are frustratingly ambiguous by design) power, potential, basically the ability to achieve your goals. Thus, in the "Hopes and Fears" position, it would mean Aokoto wants to be able to control his life and fulfill his potential, and is afraid he might not be able to.

There is also the "Present" or "Self" card being the reversed XII - The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man upright represents (among other things) patience, the hope that as long as everything continues the same, things will turn out okay. Thus, reversed, it could be read as implying the querent is trying their best to change their situation, but are failing at it.

And this is where we get to the second part of the scenes I pointed out before. Because when Aokoto draws a card by itself, it's a blank card. In other words, no matter how much he wants to, Aokoto doesn't have full control of his future. I mean, obviously, right? He himself can't control his destiny when the other alters are also doing pretty impactful stuff. Depending on what theories you subscribe to, he may have ended up in Milgram without even murdering anyone, which is what I believe.

The same can be seen when he tries to put the deck back together. You might notice the deck there is actually thinner than the other time we see it.

He tries to "fix" or "arrange" his future, but he's "playing with half a deck", he's only half in control of his future. In this metaphor, the other alter(s) would have the rest of the deck, would control the rest of the system's destiny. Does that make sense?

Which gets us to the other alter who does tarot reading.

Notice the red mannequin there? The way 0 - The Fool's pouch of food is now a skull? And you can see this alter, heavily implied to be Orekoto, reads a Celtic cross spread with the Fool in the "querent" or "present" position.

Thus, The Fool represents Orekoto, and he too desires control over their future. That's why he's reading the spread, the same way Aokoto previously tried to draw a card to check his future. And I think it's pretty safe to say Orekoto must have killed or attacked at least one person, which is his way of trying to secure a better future for the system. Protector alter and all that.

[Timelines] Mikoto (Ao): Can you hear me talking like this? If you can hear me, then answer me. Why are you doing such horrible things? Hey. It's your fault things have become like this. ……Answer me!! Mikoto (Ore): Ah, ahhh!! Because, I did it for my/your (Boku's) sake…! Because I/you (Boku-ga) would break apart!!

(Translation by Maristelina)

Plus all the other reasons to believe that.

That spread is a bit odd for many reasons, but one thing we can pretty much be sure of is Orekoto's "Hopes and Fears" are represented by VII - The Chariot.

The Chariot (among other things) represents strength of will and control, basically think of it as a more forceful version of The Magician. Thus, Orekoto also hopes he can take control of their life, though he does it through force, and he fears he might be getting too forceful.

If I could laugh, if I could go back I'd play dead even though I'm alive right? If I could end, if I could stop How long would this dream go on?

Assuming it is Orekoto singing here (no pronouns so), it seems he doesn't want to kill, but sees himself cornered, like he has to kill. If he could stop, he'd "go back and play dead even while alive", he wouldn't kill anymore. But when he feels "boku will fall apart", he tries to save him through any means he can, which is likely murder. The exact reasons are as of yet unknown (someone stalking them, stress, could be a lot of things), but that's the idea.

However, you tarot enthusiast might notice a few interesting differences between this Chariot card and the actual Chariot card. This is important, because the meaning of these cards comes from the images, so when the image differs (apart from stylistic choices obvs), the meaning differs with it.

First important difference: the real Chariot has lions, MeMe's Chariot has bikes. This again relates bikes to the idea of freedom and one's own will.

Foreshadowing is-

Second; MeMe's Chariot has the protagonist swinging around a mace, which the real Chariot just has a wand. I frankly don't think this means anything other than MeMe's Chariot explicitly references murder rather than other, non-physical forms of strength and force.

Third, an important part of the real Chariot is that the man doesn't hold a leash on the lions, he controls them through force of will, apparently. Meanwhile, the mannequin in MeMe's version does hold chains to control the bikes, which again I believe simply implies a more forceful and direct version of the meaning. Orekoto doesn't trust his destiny to guide the system in the right direction as long as they're strong enough, he feels he needs to have more direct control.

And finally, the lions in the real Chariot are fine, but in MeMe's version, one of the bikes is fucking exploding.

So what the hell is up with that? Well, let's keep in mind what I said before. Aokoto also wants control of his life. So I believe in a way these bikes represent Aokoto and Orekoto's actions. One of them Orekoto has direct control over (he controls his own actions, after all), while the other is getting hurt by Orekoto's control. Orekoto may want nothing more than to protect the system, but the way he does it is harmful to Aokoto and destroys the control he wants to have over their life. I mean, it landed them in Milgram (according to some interpretations), and it's not like Aokoto likes the murder.

(T1) Q6: Tell us what you hate. M (Ao): Staying up all night working / reptiles / violence

[Double Preview] Hey now, I [ore] saved you right? So why in the hell are you crying?

(I will use the preview as evidence, watch me)

Temporary CW for abusive relationships and rape (Mono Poisoner)

This idea of "love" that hurts the other is also implied by Mono Poisoner, their Trial 1 cover. Though to be clear, Orekoto is not anywhere near as awful as the protagonist of Mono Poisoner, since he isn't intentionally hurting the rest of the system, and obviously isn't actually abusing the other alter(s).

“She belongs completely, entirely to me!” Kissing, sleeping together, everything beyond that too No one can hope to cut this connection between us

After brandishing that poisonous desire to monopolize and having erased YOU completely, It seems like it can be easily embraced, the entirety of that heart “YOU best not get carried away!”

Taking out the really violent and abusive elements out, this does vaguely fit the idea I'm trying to get across.

Temporary CW over

Anyways, the point is that Orekoto wants control over their life, but is accidentally harming Aokoto by taking away his agency.

There is more symbolism of this ‘drive to control destiny’ in the moon which consistently appears throughout MeMe.

As you can see, it’s in the first quarter phase. This is halfway between the New Moon which represents the beginning of a journey and the Full Moon which represents the end or rebirth, and because of that, it can represent a difficult time where decisions must be made, a point where strength of will is necessary. This again fits both of Aokoto and Orekoto, since they’re both making important decisions for their future. Hence also why the moon is half and half, the future is being decided half by Aokoto, half by Orekoto.

Alternatively, you could read it as only Orekoto making decisions, with the other 'half' being "left in the dark" because Aokoto doesn't know what Ore's doing. That would explain why the moon only shows up in relation to Orekoto in the internal world and the murder scenes.

Heavy speculation incoming (more than before anyways)

But hold on a second. I said before the upright Hanged Man, the card on Mikoto's shirt through most of MeMe, is about patience and not doing anything to change their situation. This is somewhat contradictory to The Fool, which is all about new opportunities and taking new risks (long story), and is obviously contradictory to the reversed Hanged Man because that's how tarot cards work. Because of that, and everything else I've been saying, it feels like the upright Hanged Man doesn't really fit either Aokoto or Orekoto.

Which is why it's so convenient we have a third (plot-relevant, there may be more) alter who does want their life to continue as is, isn't it?

The minus energy that I swallowed Hugged me [boku] Maybe it's okay to try to keep on living Split in half, Make that heart beat

This scene is very clearly connected to the aftermath of a murder, and shows an alter that has accepted the "negative (minus) energy" of violence. However, the use of 'boku' rules out Orekoto as the singer. Thus, we have ourselves our favorite Secret Third Alter, Midokoto. And Midokoto says, filling in the blanks, that ‘maybe it’s okay to keep living [like this]’, as long as they ‘split in half’ to ‘make that heart beat.’

Before we continue, I have to address that yes, I believe Midokoto is represented by the upright Hanged Man, even though he’s the only alter who’s never seen wearing the shirt. Either his back is turned, he’s shirtless, or straight up has a completely different shirt. However, I actually think this makes perfect sense.

It’s widely accepted that if Midokoto exists, he’s likely a gatekeeper alter who co-fronts most of the time, meaning he’s still aware of everything that’s happening even while he isn’t controlling the body (<- simplified version, read more if you’re interested [alter roles] [co-fronting]). Therefore, he’s a constant in Mikoto’s life, and it makes sense for him to always be present in some way as long as any alter is on screen. He’s on the shirt when the other two are there, so when the shirt isn’t there, it’s because the ‘upright Hanged Man’ is the one controlling the body. Does that make sense?

I should note, Mikoto’s version of The Hanged Man includes a bunch of eyes on the background.

Which fits the idea of Midokoto overseeing everything in the others’ lives, and for the inverse in Aokoto’s case could also be interpreted as societal pressure, long story.

Yes, Midokoto's celtic cross spread has the reversed Hanged Man in the middle of The Wheel, but let’s just say that means ‘present’ rather than ‘querent.’ Yes, there’s a Fool portrait in the background of that one scene, I swear there’s an explanation but it’s too long to get into here.

Point is, he’s the one who wants their life to continue as is, and thus the one who fits the idea of ‘patience’ that The Hanged Man (upright) embodies.

But make no mistake. He still has The Magician as his “Hopes and Fears” in the spread which represents him, meaning he does yearn for some control and fears not having the means to achieve it.

However, I believe the type of control he’s looking for is different from the other two. See, while Aokoto wants freedom and control over his life in a more conventional way (good job, free movement, independence), and Orekoto wants control in a ‘no one will stop “I/you” from achieving what “I/you” want’ kinda way (aka safety), Midokoto wants control over the system, not the rest of their life. He wants to keep Aokoto and Orekoto ‘split in half’ because that’s how they can both live as they please, it ‘makes their heart beat.’

That’s why the moon that represents decision-making is split in half. That’s why there’s only two bikes in The Chariot card. That’s why Midokoto never bothers to read a single tarot card. Because the ones deciding where their life moves are Aokoto and Orekoto, all Midokoto does is keep things running smoothly. Though of course, this is all just my interpretation.

In fact, you can even tell based on what we believe each alter to do. Aokoto does the day-to-day work, making sure he has the opportunity to achieve his dream of working independently in the future. Orekoto deals with threats until the system as a whole is safe, which includes throwing away evidence so they don't get arrested. He does a dogshit job at it, yeah, but he's trying.

However, once they get into the apartment, when the external threats have been dealt with, the one who bathes to make sure Aokoto doesn't learn of Orekoto's actions, the one who keeps their lives metaphorically 'split in half', is Midokoto.

Heavy speculation kinda over

So, where were we? I said this was inspired by the Double thumbnail, didn’t I? Well, yes, even if I have very little to say about it in relation to this post. You could say I kinda, uh, went off the rails a bit (<- I am immensely unfunny)

As I said, he’s on a train. And with all the stuff I mentioned before about how bikes are associated with freedom for him and stuff, it makes the imagery of being stuck on a train with the victims (I assume that’s what the mannequins represent, I’ve seen other interpretations) a lot more interesting.

Think about it. When you get on a train, you made the decision to enter it, but you don’t have control over where it goes. And that’s what’s happening here: the alter on screen is in for the ride, and he feels there’s nothing he can do to alter the course. It’s like a railroad.

Aokoto didn’t get on this train. Obviously the scene is metaphorical (otherwise who left their mannequins in the goddamn public train), but we know Aokoto doesn’t use the train. However, he’s on it now, alongside Orekoto who is probably the one fronting here? I assume, given the red light in the background. In my mind it would make sense for the thumbnails to be Aokoto T1 -> Orekoto T2 -> Midokoto T3, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

What I’m trying to convey is the symbolism of the system being stuck in a set path, a set destiny, caused by a decision not made by Aokoto. And if Orekoto is really the one fronting or being represented here, he’s miserable because of the path his actions have landed him on.

If I could break it, if I could change Can I do it, I wonder from when I started to give up

He’s ‘given up’ because he’s accepted he’s ‘on the train’, his path is already set and he can’t change it (“if I could change”). Yes, give me that Orekoto angst!

Anyways, please keep in mind this is all my interpretation of the symbolism and all of this is extremely subjective, especially with how confusing Mikoto's entire story is. I hope you forgive my brainrot at seeing a guy take a train. Take care!

[gottastayawake]

Stay Awake or Perish at the Edge of Sleep

Welcome to my TEOS sideblog!!

A place for me to reblog stuff about this wonderful series and make some noise! I have also got a Twitter/X acct at Gotta_StayAwake!

Spoilers are under #The Edge of Sleep Spoilers and #TEOS Spoilers, so if you want to avoid them, make sure to blacklist these two tags.

#Information will be used in regard of what you can do or how to help out in making some noise so TEOS is noticed. Check out this amazing post by @/lady-raziel, it comes with the PLAN of ACTION for what we can do to give our support to Mark and TEOS.

SO, WHAT CAN I DO?

Listen, I get it. I have to work a job I don't like, barely surviving my day to day, and I certainly have no money or a big following enough to try to change the mind of Amazon Execs about Mark and his projects. Hell, I made a whole new blog (which I have not done for anything else in fandom, my blog is an amalgamation of all my hyperfixations thrown in together) BUT I'm still gonna try by doing what I like to do. I'm gonna make posts and I'm gonna reblog, and I what I can do is sign up for a 30-day free trial to binge the series all day. I'm gonna livetweet my reactions to the show on Twitter and I'm gonna make memes and talk about my faves from the show. It's not much, but it's something I can do and will gladly do for Mark.

Markiplier has been a big part of my life and I really owe him keeping me going during the worst of my depression, I'm pretty sure without him, I wouldn't have been able to finish university. So now, I want to do as much as I can to support "The Edge of Sleep", its success will allow Mark to get his movie "Iron Lung" out and some bigshots in Amazon/Hollywood have now done their best to stop him. So it's important for us to do as much noise to get TEOS out there!!

Remember Our Flag Means Death, cut one season short before we could finish their story.

Remember KAOS, a show that Netflix cancelled a month after it premiere and that no one knew even existed bc Netflix never advertised it.

Now, TEOS has been dealt the same uncaring hand by Amazon. They made Mark not be able to reveal where it was coming out, we barely got a premiere date (October 18, 2024) AND THEN they shadow dropped it on the 15th with no notice and for the US audience only. We also know that they told Mark that if the show didn't get into the Top 10, then his movie is at risk of never coming out. Despite all of that, as of today Wednesday 16th, the movie is #7 and #Markiplier is trending on Twitter/X.

So if you can:

Stream the show. I'm cancelling the trial two days before they charge my card and streaming TEOS until then. If you are outside the US, you can use a VPN, and it will work, believe me. Hopefully, on the 18th we can get a world premier and everyone will be able to stream it, but if not, those options are available.

Make posts about it. Anywhere online where you gush about your faves, talk about it! Whether you have seen it or just know the Podcast, don't forget to tag it with #TheEdgeofSleeponPrime to make sure it stays trending.

If you have seen the show, leave a review on Prime, IMBD and anywhere else you can find!

Have fun! It's really awesome to engage with others who love the things you do, even if its just reading and liking posts (but if you are here on Tumblr then you must know that reblogging is the norm here!), so go out there and engage with the fandom, even if its just in your own corner.

Don't let the anxiety get to you, every little thing helps! Now let's get this to be the No. 1 show on Prime!!

[laylawatermelon]

Side Eyes or Raised Eyebrows

Buddie: Marketing Tatic or Something Else?

Hello! Back on my big brain I cant sleep stuff.

I've been a Buddie fan for over a few months now (idk how time works) and have lived through the beautiful bi buck confirmation.

Now I do have some think pieces about queer representation in American media and in different countries (i literally spend all my time watching tv I'm a conessiur or sorts) and how they differ on impact/deal with issues etc.

What I woke up thinking about is something that's bugging me a bit about Oliver and his interviews.

If we're (both the ga and buddie fans) supposed to be convinced about this new relationship the writing and promotion MUST be changed.

Let me explain.

Tommy, Tevan whatever you want to call it is Buck's newest relationship.

It's a new relationship with a similar set up/feeling around it.

The only way I think Buddie can be override/mitigated is if they have a doctor love interest who consistently stays over the course of seasons who has their own backstory and storyline.

I'm starting to swing my eyes at ABC and their marketing team now.

Madney's wedding coming up and we barely saw either of them ( granted kudos on keeping this all under wraps y'all) and they've been hanging a shiny bell in front of us as distraction like a baby.

Look at the shiny buddie then BAM character death!

Please don't take this serious, please don't take this serious, Tim! PLEASE don't take this serious.

But anyways, I have been thinking about Oliver and all of his recent press and just the way Busdie has been uttered and whipped around like a tennis ball.

He currently has a boyfriend but the way it's been discussed and portrayed has me a bit dazed.

I wanna be a bit objective (I'm asking the big questions here)

The main problem is the Buddie relationship and how it's portrayed/written and had continued to be this season.

If you compare the past seasons and how they've developed as let's face it a couple, because there's no way to deny it as they've been written to parallel in unverse and other show romantic heterosexual relationships.

They quite literally qualified for a queer platonic relationship (if you wanted to view it that way. I however have not. I say let the gays free!/j)

If they intended for it to be platonic let it BE platonic.

They shouldn't be doing an if, of the gender was swapped would it be romantic/ship coded?

They literally have that in the show already. Bobby and Chim, Bobby and Eddie, hell Chim and Eddie (do they even have solo scenes together???).

Bathena is a blatant parallel. The main one almost beat for beat is the orchard shooting and the hostage situation. (Pretty sure it's the same season I believe)

But those are just some examples of the show.

My main gripe is if it's not about buddie don't make it/lean to heavily into it as it can backfire.

I'm not gonna lie, bi buck episode was a bait and switch (beautifully done and still very infuriating all the same).

Oliver I gotta bone to pick with you (I really don't I'm side eyeing the network i know they approve questions).

He's also a Buddie warrior so I can't really fault him on how he talks about it it's been like 6 years he's had the same partner with the domestic (cough sexual tension cough) with.

So I don't really blame him tbh.

*Swings around and points fonger at marketing team*

It's all your fault.

I know the episode will feature Madney (duh it's their wedding episode and I'm ready to cry) but I'm pretty sure there could've been another way to advertise this occasion.

Use flyers (similar to the ones used to say that one of the dispatch crew was attending) to get fans buzzed about watching the show in a few weeks as though they're rsvp'ing, talk about past scenes, more interviews centering the couple and what they thought about the episode, a promotional photoshoot?

Photoshoot in a magazine with jlh and Ken would've been really cute. Madney fans would then be happy. (I'm included🙋🏾‍♀️ give the beautiful couple their photos i wanna see it😤 my little queer heart and eyes demands it)

Literally would've been the perfect time to pair up with some wedding magazine or something. Literally a million ways to go about it.

Madney in formal wedding clothes, then a dystopian kind of dress clothes to reflect the chaotic wedding ending.

Use a highlight reel.

Similar you are cordially invited to a 911 wedding -

Show madney karaoke, engagement ring being missing, proposal, hugs after hostage, this season cute date idea and excitement for the wedding then a simple where's chimney.

Then put the bachelor stuff then have him crawling.

Something as simple as that puts more of the focus on madney visually and marketing wise.

For the interviews they could've split it between Oliver talking about bisexuality and the other two talking about relationship and the high beats and low beats and how it felt to play.

How their relationship developed as costars and what the characters mean to them.

Split it down the middle so both fans are appeased.

I am a fan of all characters and this is really funny because I the first half of this one morning I woke up before the scene was even mentioned being cut but i was like there's a shift in something and it's not good🤣 as expected something went wrong)

Though I'm pretty sure the fans of both will be happy because Buddie are going to be the comic relief so they'll have a decent amount of time as the blockers so to say because we will know who's gonna kidnap Chimney. He only had one enemy??

But yeah this was a Tuesday thing I wrote and it's now very hilarious in hindsight and in the future.

Happy Madney day i guess!

This will be linked to Twitter cause whew...

[qishylia-adelia]

@wowhenryiscooked / @stormyy-bluezz01 .

I refuse to make an a03 account just to comment on your ssr fanfic.But I still want to show you my support.So instead,have this as my symbol of appreciation for you liking the ssr route too.Tbh,your the first person who has given me enough motivation to finally write something akin to a oneshot.I guess I owe you a thank you?

♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎

Henry's got nothing to lose.

The wall is after him and he doesn't have allies from a big boy faction like the government or toppats to back him up.He can't steal anything (with style) anymore without revealing his identity! In his opinion,it's a fate worse than death for someone who spends his entire life doing thieving and mischief.What was he supposed to do with his life from now on?

Well,if you asked himself from other timelines,alot really.All of it lies in his ability to turn back time to a checkpoint and pick another 'ending'.

But unfortunately (or fortunately?) we're stuck with this Henry.Who let's his big plans and desires move his body first before rationalising any of them in the long run.

He's not a clan leader,he's not a government agent,he doesn't have allies to think about that'll stop himself from doing anything stupid.

This Henry is just a vagabond with nothing to lose,except for a grand plan to get done.A freak of nature of a man.

♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎

"How did you both managed to even get the resources for these renovations?"

"We steal them of course,only me and him.Can't let the others can't know we found out how to beam people back to earth" Hampton's calm and collected smile contrasted the security guard's flabbergasted expression over the entire ordeal that was just lay out to him.

"He does the dirty work while I stay here controlling the beam and keeping a low profile of our deeds.This is better than any heist I was involved in before,makes me feel a little special." Hampton swings his legs back and forth under the table as his smile grew wider.

Dave considers himself a pretty chill man.But even this behaviour makes him want to smack some sense into this guy.

"But I suppose you're not here to listen to me gushing about us.You're here to ask me and Henry for protection from the other crew"

"No shit,all of you kinda made me your prisoner for the past couple years"

"And I'm sorry on our behalf.We're not in control on who the toppats higher ups wants locked up"

"Go figure" Dave rolls his eyes.Call him judgemental,but he's not planning on immediately being buddy buddy with someone with a criminal record.Especially if said person has one of his charges being 'kidnapping by proxy'.

"Look Panpa,It's either you being around the loyal toppats behind that door,or you helping me and Henry with renovations as we film it to advertise for future customers below"

"And if I choose neither and sneaked into an escape pod,the toppats on earth will target me for investigation?"

"Yup,and jump into conclusions that you're on Henry's side somehow.I'll admit some of us toppats are cuckoos,especially the ones with an ego"

"Oh don't worry,I know" Dave clicked his tongue.

The room was in total silence for a moment.Both men only stare down at the tea Hampton brew for them.

Dave looks at the view besides him.This is one of the many rooms that Henry and Hampton had chosen to renovate into a bedroom for the future guests.The window here is one of the many factors on why this room was chosen.

He could see earth from here.The blue dot that holds all the stickpeople in the world.

He is homesick for his family and friends.But Dave admits that being up here makes him feel the most free he's ever felt in his life.He just hates being here because he was held captive,but actually being here by his own free will? It felt good.Not even the loyal toppats from the other side of the door can truly ruin this feeling for him.

It's not like he can live his normal life again,the toppats from below will get his ass one way or another.Then boom,the same old cell.

What does he had to lose?

.....

Henry does the things he does because he doesn't have a life to go back to.Being a target of The Wall is basically a death sentence for anyone really.

And Hampton,heck,most of the toppats up here decided to walk the life of crime because their previous life was shitty and insignificant enough to be left for dead.

This orbital station is beyond the fears, laws and responsibilities of the world.A blank space on the canvas ready to be painted.

Why not paint it a resort and start from there? Replace all the clutter with something clean and new as you mentally readied yourself to finally get your problems sorted out?

Dave must've lost his mind.Thinking turning this orbital station into a resort is equivalent to a therapy session of letting your brain take a break as you rethink your life decisions up to this point.

But he finds himself reaching Hampton's hand to take the offer.

For new beginnings.

When we got nothing to lose,we can always find new ones to replace it.

Right?

[paprika-emberfire]

[Skihawken 2023]

"Dear grandfather, That's it! I, Paprika, 19 years old, have decided that I am a girl grown up enough to manage myself and not have to listen to your orders anymore. You tried everything so I wouldn't have to leave, I know your ways: you told me I couldn't decide until I was tall enough, well now I'm over 5'4" and I know how to drive your wagon! I know the Truffula pigment recipe by heart to make my own paints. You also promised that I could wear whatever I wanted as soon as I could sew my own thneed towel, well that's done too. I've even been good about doing all the advertising campaigns for your company, and I've painted no less than three hundred and ninety-eight pictures for your buildings and exhibitions. I'm curious, and that's nothing new. I'm tired of wearing bells like a sheep in the family flock you created. I don't feel like having braids all the time that serve as a serial number, my hair is never tangled and you know it! I may have bad eyesight without glasses, but that's never stopped anyone from living their life alone. And don't give me the excuse that I've got wax skin ; I may be a living candle, but I won't let myself get cold and I'll prove it. So, grandfather, whether you like it or not, I'm leaving. Goodbye, circus , I'm going to enjoy myself and put on my own shows! I'm not insolent, I'm a "free spirit" as my sisters say, who at least think of others as persons and not as hidden workers with ridiculous and hastily found names. When I have my own troop, I'll come and get them back as well as my rights to the valley plots. Don't blame me, you're the one who put it in our heads to never stop getting bigger. PS: Yes, I'm the one who took all the white paint cans. You know how expensive it is... PPS: I took your tie because it looks professional. I know you have lots of spare ties. Paprika EMBERFIRE"

[tavyliasin]

Making the Most of Discord - Fandom Server Layout

As I've had more than a few positive reviews of my delightful House of Hopeful Sinners (aside from the fun fake reviews we put together for the post in my pinned advertising the space) I figured I might use the setup to help demonstrate the potential ways to use the features when making your own server.

This is by no means saying "this is the only right and correct way to set up a server" it's more of a "this is how I manage it and it has worked really well for our purposes, feel free to use what we learned from it in your own spaces!"

I'll put different headings below the cut as we go so you can skip to what you need, and a little shameless self promotion right here for our creative focused 18+ NSFW Baldur's Gate 3 Fandom space~ CWs - Screenshots show mention of NSFW topics and titles. There are no details but some of the topics are words that would be on CW lists.

Rules, Ownership, and Mods

Starting out your own server is exciting, and we don't like to sit here and think "we're going to have problems", but it really is best to try and anticipate issues and put rules in place to prevent them. This is really going to vary based on the kind of place you are running, but as long as everything is clear your users can feel confident in the space. Nothing can damage a community more than a disagreement that is blown way out of proportion or an incident that gets out of hand. None of us are immune to mistakes, either, so being prepared is the best first step!

Make Your Rules Clear

Ambiguity in the rules is a very easy stumbling block. Keep your rules nice and clear, as specific as they need to be, and make sure that your moderation team are happy with the rules and how you would like them to be enforced when needed. I strongly recommend using a reaction role bot with your rules post so members agree they have read and understood the rules before entering the main server (more on roles and bots later!)

Choose Your Mods Wisely

Temptation might be to choose mods from friends, and that can be a good way to go! However, even with the best intentions, not everyone is going to mod in the way you would like them to. It can often be better to be a little more selective, and either offer the position to people who have mod experience already or use an application form with some questions that will help see if the mods will uphold your server values the way you prefer.

It can also be helpful to cover different time zones if your server is international, and having enough people will mean that nobody feels pressured or guilty if they need a break for any reason. Remember too that mods are volunteers, if you're the owner then final decisions and responsibility will come down to you in the end.

Age Restriction and User Safety

If you want to host NSFW content you need to be aware of user safety. Your most basic tool here is to set channels as age restricted. This is technically enough to cover you legally as the user has to manually confirm via a popup that they are old enough to view the content.

Personally? I prefer spaces that are explicitly 18+. I ensure this in HOHS by having people specify to a mod what year they were born. People are less likely to lie to someone directly than they are to click away a popup. This said, I do not recommend taking IDs or personal details due to Data Protection laws in various countries (as well as your members' rights to privacy, should they wish it). Verbal confirmation of the year of birth is fine. If you find someone is underage later, you can kick/ban them.

If your space is open to all ages with only some 18+ channels, you may want to verify birth year with users before they get a role to access those channels.

The reason for this is twofold. First, obviously, is safeguarding minors in online spaces. Although we are all well aware that minors access unsuitable content on their own, it shouldn't be encouraged or openly allowed, particularly with socialising with adults. The second reason is that any adult discussing NSFW topics with a known minor - even from an informal educational point of view without any unpleasant behaviour or intention - is very much at risk of ending up on a watch list. I'm very serious on that one. I have friends who have seen entire Discord servers and all their members in real legal trouble and on offender registers because the server knowingly allowed minors to participate in NSFW content channels.

So. Keep all of your members safe, check when you need to, and set up your channels and rules in the way that suits your space.

Categories and Basic Layout

Layout and Category Names

Your top category should be your welcome area if you have one, with your rules and whatever channel you want people to arrive in first at the very top. It can be tempting to put your admin section at the top, but this can make it more awkward to make your server invitations. Each category should also be nice and clear as to what is found there, so members can find the channels they want even when all the categories are collapsed.

This is how I arrange my welcome area, which is several channels which all technically contain rules (Contract Signing is the main rule list which users are directed to manually when we verify their age and give them access - more on that later!) but I personally prefer to make it easier for people to find things separately rather then being overwhelmed in one long channel. Use the layout that works for you!

A lot of servers also prefer to have separate categories for NSFW content, which is a very good way to run things if you want to have specifically separated content for peoples' comfort. You won't see that in the HOHS channels though as we are set up to be NSFW by default, and there is essentially only one pure SFW chat channel.

Naming Channels and Server Maps

I also personally prefer easy channel names. Whilst fun nods to fandom things might be an aesthetic/flavour choice, it may not be as helpful for your members to know where a piece of content or conversation belongs~ Having a map with a brief description of each channel's purpose will also help members to navigate, especially in a larger space.

Whilst it can be nice to use symbols or emojis in your channel names to denote the content (particularly using the 18 symbol for NSFW areas) this might make it a lot harder to link the channels in your server map or for users to link the channel to say "let's move our chat to this channel" when the topic changes, or "there's more on that topic over here". Emojis can work at the end of channel names with less interference, and honestly is something I am considering for aesthetics, though it's a lower priority.

Text Channels, Forum Channels, Voice Channels, and Threads

This is a big one for organisation so I'm going to go over them in sub headings one by one!

Text Channels

These are your bread and butter basic chat channels. They're wonderful for discussions and general chat, but in my opinion their weakness is in content sharing. Things like fan creations can get lost quickly when people respond to them, so you risk either discouraging the chat about a piece of work or losing work in the sea of conversation.

You can, of course, use slow mode in text channels so that users can only post once in each period of time. For extra busy servers, or open public servers, this can be a useful tool in spam prevention too!

Messages can be pinned in text channels which is handy for instructions, references, or other important information, but you are limited to a maximum of 20 pins and they might not be obvious to all users.

There are other ways to refine your text channels. For example, you can select whether people can post images, voice notes, files, and links into a channel. This is very useful if you need to prevent spam in a more important channel, or if you do not want to moderate the use of voice notes (more on those later).

For things like WIPs, some people like to have a slow mode so one new post every 6 hours and contain the discussion on that post to Threads. This can be helpful for some setups and work well, but it may still make older works harder to find so it's better just for more regular progress rather than a library of works.

Threads

Threads are essentially a side conversation within a text channel. They're fantastic for certain purposes like discussing an item that was shared, or containing a long conversation on one topic, and particularly things like discussions on lore and research that people might want to come back to at a later date without having to search through a text channel.

Text channels have a setting for how long threads will remain visible in a channel list.

After this time, threads are still available within the channel from the threads tab, but won't show up in the channel list until there is new activity inside the thread. Below is what threads might look like when active in the channel list - we use them in HOHS for Kink Specific Chat which means that only the people who have joined the threads will see them when they're active, and allows for people to choose which of those in depth conversations they want to be a part of. Informed Consent, really, and I keep a list of links to the threads in the CW list channel so people have an easy reference to find the content they do want to engage with more.

But these could be used for anything you like, from character specific chats to off-topic discussions, and you have the choice in your role setup to allow any members to create/use threads or have them only created by your mod/admin team so you have more control if you don't want a lot of threads popping up that are harder to moderate. This is how our kink specific topics appear in the channel list, but they are only visible here to those who have joined them. Like text channels, users can mute threads at any time and they won't get the white dot of new activity, or users can also leave threads if they want to leave that conversation entirely. Threads can be locked by moderators or put into slow mode too, so you do have options for control where needed.

(I also just want to note that the Feminization topic thread is not in the slightest bit transphobic or problematic, though it is here because not everyone is comfortable with that content and we respect that in this house~ HOHS is a very LGBTQIA+ positive and inclusive space)

Forum Channels

These are my absolute bread and butter for sharing fanfiction, art, and resources. Forums are newer to Discord, so it might take a bit of learning and convincing for more experienced users to get used to them, but trust me on this one; when you have Forums set up they are a much better way to display and discuss creative works.

The reasoning really is that works are searchable, taggable, and people can confidently discuss a work without worrying about clogging a chat channel.

Forum posts can look a lot like threads in the channel list, and have a similar timeout method for how long they stay in the channel list with no new comments/activity in them.

This is an example if how I've arranged the HOHS FanFic "Library" - I have covered the names of most of the fic post titles for other users' privacy and left my own visible as the examples for you. Similarly to Threads, only the posts that a user has interacted with will show up in their channel list, so you don't need to worry about everyone's channel lists being swamped with forum posts that aren't relevant to them.

So here, each of the speech bubble headers is the Forum Channel title. When you're actually in a forum channel you (or any member) can refine how the posts are viewed. Here's some of the art share channels. I have covered the images to protect the works, as I do keep strict rules that art must have a link to the original artwork on a public share by the artist unless the artist is the one posting (ie, no sharing paid patreon only works or things the artist has not made public) so that proper appreciation can be shown to the original.

So this is in "Gallery View" where each post appears as a square with an image preview if there are images. You'll also see tags on the posts - these are a great way to find works and sort through them! You can have up to 20 tags available, and members can apply up to 5 tags to a single post. The tags can then be selected in the gallery menu to show works with that tag on them. This is what I have under "Main Character Art"

You can choose the emojis, and you are able to use your server emojis for these tags too if you like! Unfortunately though this is going to be a tedious part of setting up forum channels, you can't copy them over.

As an example of tag filtering and List View of a Forum, here's the Villain Fic Forum. So again we have those friendly grey boxes to protect the privacy of other members, but I've left my content uncovered for you~

Here you can see I've selected the Haarlep filter, so it is showing works with the Haarlep tag starting with the most recent. List view shows a shorter preview of each piece, and I hovered over the +1 part of the tags on the third post to show you how the extra tags can be seen. The most recent comment is displayed in the preview as well.

So essentially this way people can share their art and fics without worrying they'll get lost. People can also discuss each work in its own post without a long list of threads, and browse older additions based on the tagging system or searching by title in the top bar.

I think that mostly covers forums other than the setup of them which is relatively straightforward - similar to text channels you can use slow mode for both new forum posts and/or comments on forum posts, and the tags can be whatever you want them to be. Just remember you have a maximum of 20 tags for each forum channel and a maximum of 5 per post.

The only other thing is when you are adding tags there might be errors if you have made any other changes to the channel - save those changes with this button before trying to add tags!

Voice Channels

The last area to look at is Voice Channels. These are going to be harder to moderate, so you may want to consider what your community is like and what you want and need from voice channels.

Voice channels come with their own chat channel attached which can be useful for those who don't use a mic, those just dropping by who haven't joined the voice (so you can see here I'm not actively in the VC but I can open the chat window), for sharing images/links that you're discussing in voice, and similar.

Some people prefer to have a separate text channel to chat in alongside voice, which can be better for when you're streaming or running activities, because the attached text chat takes up a part of even the popout window for the voice/streaming/activity.

There are more options like stage channels where you can have a limited number of presenters and the audience are muted. This is great if you want to host talks or specific events and watch parties!

Lots of options so you can age restrict the channels as needed, as well as setting user limits. When a voice channel is active you can also set a status to it. You can choose if members are allowed to do this or only certain roles, but it's a good way to let members know what's going on without joining.

You might need to be cautious with the quality and settings on these if people have difficulty participating with connection quality.

Again, moderation is going to be a concern in a larger or open server, so make sure you have rules established and that members know who to contact in case of issues. But when used well, voice channels can be a lot of fun and even comforting or inspiring for members to get together and play games or work on creative pieces alongside one another. You can even host watch parties with some services.

Roles and Permissions

Roles are going to be the backbone of your member organisation. Beyond the usual Mods and Member roles, you can use them for a number of different organisational and interactive features within your server.

The Order Of Roles

The function of roles will go in the order you have them in your server. This determines where they show up on the member list (it is optional to have roles separate like this), the image that will show up with a member's name who has the role (this is for level 2 and 3 boosted servers), and the colour of a user's name who has the role.

So here even if a Haarlep's Helper Mod had the Swinger of Swords role, their name would be that red tone. Similarly if a user chose both Healer of Souls and Friend of Nature, their name would be Yellow because Healer is the higher ordered colour.

Role Colours

The main thing to remember with Role Colours is to ensure that they are easy to read for people using the default light or dark mode of Discord. Those who pay for Nitro may have more options for background colours, but most members will use the defaults. You will see examples when setting the roles that can help you determine if the colour you have picked will work. The default list are balanced relatively well to have contrast to show up in a readable manner for you, so it's more the custom colours that you might have trouble with.

So that standard dark red is pretty clear on both, but this custom blue is somewhat painful on the dark mode version:

Similarly this pale yellow is perfect on the dark mode, but against the light mode background it's almost invisible.

Commonly Used Roles

Some of the most commonly used roles are for pronouns, so users have an easy way to know how to refer to their friends in chat. Some servers like to assign a colour to these for a quick visible reference. I've used images with them in HOHS

So this is also in the order so that the highest role is the one that appears next to the name (you can only have one image icon unfortunately), and hovering over the image will also show the role name.

This is just one way you can make use of the roles for your members~ I'll go over making it easy for members to choose them a bit lower down but I would like to mention one of my favourite uses of roles:

Optional Pingable Roles

These are some of the more basic alert roles I use - members can opt in, and some of them are able to be pinged (notification tag) by any members. So people can use "@ Beta Reader" to ask for those with the role if they're available to help read and edit a WIP, and the admin/mod roles can alert members to server changes with the Server News Alert role.

One way I really like to make use of these for member engagement is character based pings which are perfect for fandom servers like ours~

These are just a few, I've got them set up for a lot of characters, and allowed anyone to mention the roles. I encourage members to use them for both fics and art, so people with the role know there is new content for their favourite and where to find it. With the bot setup, people can remove their role at any time if they find the notifications overwhelming.

So this is an example where I used them for a fic, tagging the character roles. We do the same when sharing found works and art, which means those looking for the content don't miss their favourites.

Role Permissions

Your roles can all be customised to have global permissions, and each channel can have its own permission overrides where needed too. So for example you might want a role to be able to post images and files in most of the server, but you might not want that role to post them in a specific channel that you want to keep as text only.

It takes a while but properly setting up each channel will give you better control over the content to reduce the moderation work in the long run (ie, you won't need to ask people not to put things in the wrong places).

A Note On Voice Notes

Voice notes are going to be a very personal preference thing. I generally prefer not to use them, because users may not be able to listen to them at the time which makes moderation more difficult too. I have also seen issues arise from the use of voice notes, especially when people post them with no context note of what to expect.

So, personally, I disable voice notes in my server. I have seen them well used in other places, and they can arguably be an accessibility feature, however if you leave voice to text and text to voice enabled then those who need to hear or use voice instead of typing should still be able to interact as they need to.

I would generally advise asking members to leave at least a few words with their voice note, for example "replying to [username]" or "impression of [character]" or "discussion of [topic]" so that people know what to expect when they hit play. It's entirely up to each of us how we run our own spaces, however, so choose the best option for you and your server~

Helpful Bots and Setup

Bots can help you get the most out of your server without too much hard work once they're all set. These are the ones I personally use and recommend for different features, but there are a number of options out there to choose from!

Reaction Roles

If you have roles, this is the easiest way to allow people to choose and assign them for themselves and change them when they wish!

So this is using Carlbot https://carl.gg , which I have renamed "The Archivist" for a theme in our server. There are a lot of functions to Carlbot, but the most commonly used are these reaction roles.

It's relatively easy to set up, but you will need to manually type or copy the emoji code for the reacts you're using for the roles. There are a few other settings you can play with there too, like only allowing those with certain roles to pick up a new role.

It's also a great one to have people confirm they have read your rules to access the main server if you role lock your main channels to the member role.

Starboard

One fun feature that Carl (and some other bots) have is Starboard. This is a way for members to highlight their favourite messages on the server and look back at those moments! You can choose how many star reactions are needed for a post to go there, then they will automatically be sent to your starboard channel. You can also choose whether or not to include NSFW marked channels, so if you want Starboard to be SFW only that is an option. One that I didn't take for HOHS given that we are NSFW by default~

Ticket Bots

This is one of your easiest moderation tools - you can use a bot like https://ticketsbot.net/ which will allow users to raise an issue privately with ease. The command is often /open to bring up a new ticket which mods can then join - it'll show up as a thread for you. It doesn't take too much setup on the dashboard and there are other options, but this can be a lot easier than asking people to DM a mod directly.

Automated Messages

Carl and other bots can send automated messages on a schedule for you. This can also include notifying certain roles, so if you want to have a weekly progress check-in set up for creative communities, or even self care reminders a couple of times per day, that's all very easy to get running and can help you to keep the community ticking over with engagement on a semi-regular basis.

Post Embed Fixing

Meet one of my favourite content bots - Keto (Click here to add it to your server). This one takes site links to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and others and puts a proper visible or playable version in the server.

This is so useful particularly for TikTok where the standard Discord setup will show you a still image with a play button on it.

You can see here that the bot automatically takes the link and converts it to a playable video (which is a still image here, but you can see the buffering bar on there). As with other bots, I gave it a nickname in the server for flavour and fun~

Good Gods That's A Lot Of Work

I know, right? Setting up a server isn't something you can do overnight, not if you want to have a larger space. Often servers will reorganise as they go, making more space as they find what their needs are, but if you can set up how you want it from the start, that can make things a lot easier so people don't have to adapt and adjust as much to a change.

Any Questions?

I think I covered pretty much everything other than the very basics of server setup, but I am more than happy to help any of you with questions about the setup, use of forums, channel layout, and anything else you need with your Discord organising~

And as always, those who share our values are welcome in my House of Hopeful Sinners~