#i have been live on discord for like 10 hours

[local-magpie]

might fuck around and take a soak in the bath. i am technically live on discord but they dont have to know

[malcriada]

Help save Bilal's family!

i want to talk about my friend Bilal @bilal-salah0. for over a year now, Bilal has been living in germany, trying to adjust to his new living situation in a foreign country, learning a new language and working full time. 

when the war started, he was far away from home and his family and has been living in daily fear for their lives ever since. 

being forced to work long hours and promoting his family’s fundraiser at the same time, he has taken on more responsibility than anyone ever should. still, he managed to raise money for their evacuation fund and helped take care of his family’s daily needs with the money he was making while working. 

in a cruel twist of fate, all of this got taken away in an instant. he lost his job and his apartment and even his residence permit. which means he is at danger of deportation from germany that could happen as soon as next week!

i have been in daily contact with Bilal for a while now and connected him with some of my friends in germany. together, we are trying our utmost to make sure he can stay in the country. anyone who knows german bureaucracy knows what kind of hell it is. but we won't give up.

without his job, he was forced to dip into the money of his family’s evacuation fund to cover their daily expenses like food and shelter. this meant he had to raise his goal from €70,000 to €100,000. this was not an easy decision for him to make, he even asked for my advice on whether or not to do it, because he did not want anyone to think he was scamming people. 

even in such a desperate situation, Bilal does not want to be seen as someone who would ever take advantage of people's generosity

his family is comprised of 18 members, 10 of them are adults and 8 are children under 16 years old, some of them newborns who were born amidst the chaos of war and displacement.

currently, he is sitting at:

€71,817 / €100,000

donations have been slowing down ever since he reached his original goal. i cannot stress how important it is that they pick back up!

WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! HE NEEDS TO REACH HIS GOAL BY AUGUST 15TH!

THAT MEANS HE HAS TO RAISE NEARLY 30K IN THE NEXT TEN DAYS. THIS CANT WAIT.

his campaign has been verified and can be found on @/el-shab-hussein’s and @/nabulsi’s list of vetted fundraisers here (#132, line 136) so PLEASE don't hesitate to share and donate.

With such a tight deadline, i cant do this on my own. So i implore you to PLEASE share this wherever you can– on your whatsapp groups, on your discord servers, please share his story on other platforms wherever you have reach! Please share his story wherever you can, so that we can ease this burden from his shoulders.

[ID: a gfm link with a picture of two small children sitting in the sand in front of a cooking pot. they are looking up a the camera, eyes half-closed. the title reads "Donate to Help Evacuate My Family from Gaza to Safety, organized by Bilal salah" End ID]

tagging for reach under the cut, please let me know if you'd like to be removed:

@meaganfoster @briarhips @dirhwangdaseul @mahoushojoe

@schoolhater @pcktknife @sawasawako

@feluka @terroristiraqis @irhabiya @commissions4aid-international @wellwaterhysteria

@deepspaceboytoy @post-brahminism @khanger @kibumkim @neechees

@mangocheesecakes @kyra45-helping-others @7bitter @tortiefrancis

@toiletpotato @fromjannah @vague-humanoid @criptochecca

@aristotels @komsomolka @xinakwans @heritageposts @nibeul

@ot3 @amygdalae @ankle-beez @communistchilchuck @dykesbat

@watermotif @stuckinapril @mavigator @lacecap @yugiohz

@socalgal @chilewithcarnage @ghelgheli @sayruq @northgazaupdates2

@vakarians-babe @wayneradiotv

@psychotic-gerard @mavigator @communistkenobi @socalgal @chilewithcarnage

@ghelgheli @determinate-negation @papasmoke @omegaversereloaded

@xinakwans @givemearmstopraywith @loombreaking @killy @deathlonging

@palms-upturned @blackpearlblast @littlegermanboy @loveaankilaq @sar-soor

@fridgebride @27-moons @tamarrud @familyabolisher @fleshdyk3

@decolonize-solidarity @palipunk @gothhabiba

[maxlarens]

Max and 10 please <3

10) spooning at night

Despite the soundproofing you’d installed during Covid, you can still hear Max’s pedals going thunk against the walls of the apartment. The sound accompanied by faint chattering, occasional laughter, cries of outrage as he talks to his friends on stream.

He worries sometimes. But you’d tell him if it bothered you— besides, you like hearing sounds of life in the apartment. You’ve not quite adjusted to the sheer square footage of Max’s penthouse apartment yet, even though you’ve lived with him for years. You grew too used to New York apartments where your bedroom, kitchen, and dining room were always piled on top of each other. It’s strange to have so much space, more rooms than you know what to do with.

Anyway, no, the noise doesn’t bother you. You like to hear him enjoying himself, laughing with his friends, doing something that doesn’t have so much pressure attached to it. You don’t like to take him away from that prematurely, even if you’re missing him.

And you are missing him.

It’s the middle of the night. Maybe past midnight now. You’ve got the windows in your bedroom open, letting in the Monaco sea breeze in a futile attempt to cut through the sweltering heat. The overhead fan whirrs above you. Some mindless show you love drones quietly on the TV, casting you in ever changing colours as you twist and turn in the sheets. Trying to keep your mind off things you shouldn’t be worrying about.

You wait a while, watch an episode.

Then you give in to your selfish tendencies and pull up your Discord chat with Max on your phone, sending off a simple message— come to bed?

You put your phone back on the nightstand and try not to smile too wide when you hear the sim rig thunk and thud as Max climbs out of it a few minutes later. His footsteps on the hardwood floors as he stops by the kitchen and then makes his way to the bedroom.

The door creaks open. Max comes inside, stepping quietly as if you’re already asleep.

“Sorry, liefje,” he says softly, before he ducks into the closet to change, “I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

You shake your head even though he can’t see, “You didn’t. I just couldn’t sleep.”

“You should have told me,” he sighs, coming out of the walk in closet wearing the oversized cat shirt you’d bought him and worn sweat-shorts with holes in the waistband, “I don’t mind cutting the stream short, not for you. They will survive without me.”

You hum and nod placatingly, knowing you wouldn’t ever ask him to do that. At least not for something like this. You’d only sent that message tonight because you knew he’d already been on for hours and would be wrapping up soon anyway.

“Got it,” you say, opening your arms and beckoning him to get into bed already.

He sighs again, an exasperated little exhale through his nose, and then climbs under the single sheet you’ve got draped over you. He shuffles into your space, pressing a wet kiss to the side of your chin as you press a kiss into his forehead and adjust your arms around him.

“Where are the cats?”, you ask, while Max busies himself with turning around.

You feel Max shrug. He’s adjusting the sheet so it sits over him perfectly and then fluffing his pillows so his head sits comfortably. You reach out to scratch the back of his neck, with three fingers, the same way you scratch the cats out of habit.

“Jimmy’s sleeping in the spare room,” he says, reaching blindly behind him to catch your shirt and drag you closer, “Dunno where Sassy is.”

“Causing trouble,” you laugh, slotting into place at his back.

You nudge your nose into his shoulder and sling your arm over his waist. Curling it around to press into his stomach. Your legs end up tangled, one of yours bent and hiked on his hip. Later, he’ll nudge it off because it twists the material of his shorts, but he tolerates it until you’re asleep.

“Mm,” he agrees, finding your hand splayed flat on his tummy and intertwining it with his own, “Always.”

[eloise-t-g]

i think for me, the watcher situation comes down to this:

it's absolutely respectable that the watcher team wants to grow and produce better quality content. it's respectable that they don't want to stagnate and end up pushing the same content out over and over again. that's not satisfying for them creatively, i get that.

however, if higher quality, more heavily produced content is not what your fans are asking for, then you can't ask them to fund it.

this all-or-nothing method they've gone for is frankly bizarre. it feels like they leap-frogged all other alternatives to improving their finances and ended up here, alienating and frustrating the majority of their fanbase (the fanbase they thanked for getting them to where they are).

i think this could have gone a lot better if they:

Hadn't hyped up this video for a week.

Hadn't announced the worth it successor just beforehand.

Hadn't put out a wishy-washy, "boo hoo we're so sad about this", over-produced video.

Hadn't made it $6/month (more in a lot of countries given exchange rates).

Had considered that this means fans in specific countries literally cannot pay for the subscription due to geo/region-locking.

my ideas for improving their funds, aka things they could have tried before blowing their brand up: create their own website with two options - a free version with ads and a paid version without ads, OR make better use of their patreon/make their website extra content, not all their content, for example:

Put the ghost file debriefs on there.

Put shows like survival mode on there (or even shift that show from pre-recorded video to live-stream - live stream access to patrons and VOD access to everyone, maybe).

Put episode commentaries there.

Do reaction videos to their old buzzfeed content, talk about memories and BTS, and put that there.

Put one/two episodes of each show, per season on there (and ONLY there).

Put the episodes up there a few days early.

Make specific, website only content (that's not your main and most popular series aka ghost files and puppet history).

Record the live, in-person shows and put those VODs up there.

EDIT (thought of something else lmao): put extended or even uncut versions of ghost files on there. Paranormal Detour on Detune's twitch channel has shown that people will willingly sit through 6+ hours of a ghost investigation.

EDIT: idk, do livestreams once a week where you watch scary movies with fans on discord or twitch.

(side note: the fact that they're not taking down their patreon and instead shifting all of their podcast content on there, something the patreons who have been loyally giving them money for years didn't ask for, is ridiculous and greedy. add to this the fact that they don't even get a free sub to the new website, instead get 40% off - a measly 10% more than anyone else who subs before the official launch).

the thing for me is that they're claiming they want to make "television" and "television-grade content". that's completely fine. what's not completely fine is acting like your four episodes a month is equal to netflix's entire catalogue.

this really felt like it should have been something they told us they were progressing towards, not something they revealed to be on the imminent horizon. idk, it just feels out of nowhere. no, they don't owe us all of the info about their company. but something had to be better than this.

final thought - it's okay and valid to be upset at the team for this. for a lot of people, it's a complete betrayal (especially the comment that $6 a month is something "anyone and everyone can afford", i mean yikes). i do think some people's anger got the best of them, and some of the comments i've seen across youtube, twitter, and tumblr are plain bullying, racism, and harassment. until we have the whole story, we can't decide that one founder (aka steven in a lot of people's minds) is solely responsible. i know a lot of these awful things are only coming from a small minority of the fandom, but they still get seen.

at the end of the day, all three of them got up in front of a camera and made this video, together. that can only lead us to the conclusion that they made this decision together. acting like these men in their 30s couldn't stand up against it if they truly wanted to, is so strange and parasocial lmao.

tl;dr there were much better ways of going about this announcement, if it even needed to be made at all. however, that doesn't excuse the hateful shit being spewed at the team. for now, all we know is the three founders decided they were done with youtube, and done with their loyal youtube audience.

(i have so many more thoughts on this but i need to stop lmao. however i do wonder how different things could have been if 1. they had hired someone with actual business experience as their CEO from the jump, and 2. this video was more of a "hey we're broke! this is a last-ditch effort to save our company!". guess those questions will remain ... well ... you know ...).

[mmelete]

Ranking LU Links based on their ability to tan:

Time: Ngl he seems like that one off-white crayon in those crayola boxes. He slept for seven years and lived in a fully shaded forest prior to the coma, this man tans like a rotisserie chicken in the oven. 3/10

Warriors: He can definitely tan. Beach boy vibes. And he'll brag about it too. Just don't bring up that one time he got a tanline from his scarf, that was embarrassing.... 7/10

Twilight: THE MOST HORRENDOUS FARMER'S TAN KNOWN TO MANKIND. Dude this guy never rolls up his sleeves, always in jeans and boots---his feet have never seen the light of day. 7/10

Sky: So, in-game and in LU, he's pretty pale. Which is ironic, since he LITERALLY LIVES. IN THE SKY. My man has been getting point-blank sun rays since 1 week old, he's never not tan. 8/10

Legend: Technically, he adventures a lot, especially outside, so you'd think he'd be decently tan. But I think it would be hilarious if he was just like Time. This little spunky guy gets annihilated by the sun daily, refuses to wear sunscreen, gets made fun of for looking like Pink Panther, gets burned again the next day (it's an endless cycle). 2/10

Hyrule: Has the best tan ever, zero sweat. He doesn't even realize how it happens. He'll be laying by the beach all day, wake up from a five-hour-long nap and glow. Picture perfect tan, zero effort, Warriors is jealous (but refuses to admit it). 10/10

Wind: He literally lives on an island, and despite how pale he is in-game, my man is rivaling Twilight with how ATROCIOUS his tan-lines are. Wind also absolutely has a disgusting sandal/flip-flop tanline. 6/10

Wild: My guy has run around naked way longer than he cares to admit. He's taking that secret to the grave. Full body tan, no notes needed. 9/10

Four: He is like a Discord mod but the blacksmith version. You know how Shadow burns in the sun or whatever? Four does too, and doesn't even have the excuse of being a shadow being. Sunscreen can't even help him. Getting burned by a furnace fire? Easy, no problem. Getting burned by the sun? Fatal blow, insta death game over. 1/10

[sugurumybeloved]

⤷ Who is that fine babe?

gojo x female streamer <3

a/n: this was a lovely request from my mootie @ilovelinkk , tyy 💗

Today, you were setting up to begin a stream. You were Gojo’s girlfriend, and you two originally met from him watching one of your streams. That was about 3 years ago when you were just starting off as a streamer! Now, you’re almost famous, doing sponsorships and brand deals. He was honestly proud to have you by his side, even though people didn’t know him like that. 

Gojo was taking a nap in the room next to you. You heard his snoring through the wall as you began your stream. “Hey everyone, it’s me, (name) and today.. we’re just gonna chill.” A lot of people started joining your stream, the comments flooding with hi’s and I miss you’s. You were on stream for about an hour, just talking and rambling. But one message caught your eye.

feelingd0wntdy: do you have a roommate 😀

You read the message with a slight smile. “No, I don't have a roommate. I live with my boyfriend.”

Then, the chat started blowing up. Everyone was requesting to see him, a bunch of donations were coming in like crazy. You sighed, pulling out your phone to call Gojo. 

“Why’re you calling me when you’re right next door?” He says, groggily. You can tell he just woke up. “Can you come to my room please, chat wants to see you.” You also could tell that he was smiling, because of his change of tone. “Coming!”

Not even a second later, Gojo was standing in your doorway. He was wearing a white shirt and hello kitty pajama bottoms. Your chat blew up even more, everyone asking his name. “Don’t be shy, come closer.” He shyly walked up to your chair, standing behind it. “Um, hi guys my name is Gojo.” Your chat kept spamming “IN GOJO WE TRUST ‼️” and other funny phrases. After a while, people started to pay donations and ask questions ; keep in mind, your monitor reads the questions out loud. 

“Well, funfettispaghetti, my girlfriend and I have been dating for 4 years!” Gojo exclaims with a smile, his hand squeezing your cheeks together. It almost felt like he was the star of the stream, which made you happy. He never liked to show his face on your streams because of past incidents. There’s times where you’ve been doxxed, hacked, your information stolen and death threats coming your way. But it was a part of maturing and realizing that dumb people do dumb shit. And you are far from dumb. 

There was a silence for about 10 minutes, before one crazy donation came through: “marshmallow_heaven donated $50: how much money does it take for him to twerk on stream 🥺” Gojo looked at the camera with his eyes wide and mouth agape. He slowly turned his head to you, closing his mouth. “What is wrong with your chat.” “I DON’T KNOW!” You said, dying of laughter. Red heat rose to his face as he kept staring at the camera, his mouth in a straight line. “Babe.. now they’re all telling me to oil up.” “WHAT!?” 

[BONUS] 

For your next stream, you and Gojo reacted to edits from your discord server. They were surprisingly good! Except for the one where it had Gojo twerking in the beginning.. (he did it for $5..)

dt list: @1-800reki @ashlovelys @crowatemitsuri @psuedosugu @starykari @pinkbowwhitebow @kitkat-moon @ilovelinkk @istanstraykidss @zellons @misthashiragf @mjustag1rl :3

works by sugurumybeloved© - do not copy or repost my works without proper credit or permission.

(Reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated!)

[thecomfywriter]

writeblr interview

thanks for the tag @illarian-rambling <3

No further ados! Let's get straight into it :)

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Short stories, novels, or poems?

If we're talking about writing them-- novels more often than the others, but i dabble into all of them ngl. I tried writing poetry once upon a time, and while it's not all bad, it's not all good either (i shared some of the bad ones here, buried deeply in the archives. i might share the good ones sometime who knows). and short stories i used to do all the time with my irl writer friends, where we'd give each other 3-word prompts and an hour to bust one out. 10/10 recommend lol in terms of reading, all of them :)))

What genre do you prefer reading?

high fantasy and classics. give me wuthering heights and the iliad. but also, things you'd find on a high school english class reading list. i love those types of inquisitive stories

What genre do you prefer writing?

high fantasy, political fantasies or political conspiracy fictional stories. give me the complicated lore and old history, and all the strategy and war tactics and yadayada. i LIVE FOR IT

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

extreme planner. i have planned every single potential wip i have in the drafts and for the future in my notion. chapter per chapter outline. scene per scene. entire oc wiki pages. lore pages. even a dictionary for their languages and different dialects, AND the scriptures they refer to/believe in. extreme planner.

What music do you listen to while writing?

whichever playlist i'm in the mood for, but typically it's my writing, august 8, or the (un)official tov soundtrack. the genres on those are so mixed, i can't even say: oh its classical, oh its r&b. no. its just vibes. anyhow, on the discord server, you can actually see what music i listen to while i write LOL because i linked it. but yes, i'll link my spotify here too because why not?

Fave books/movies?

favourite books are the iliad, the giver, wuthering heights, the last dragon, a thousand splendid suns, and the remains of the day. i've gone on a tangent about them before here!

Any current WIPs?

i'm in the editing phases of Throne of Vengeance, which I plan on publishing very soon (👀) and the writing stages of Court of Sins!

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Hair half up in a bun and half down. Biker shorts or men's oversized lounge shorts. oversized (men's, probably) t-shirt or hoodie, or if it's with the biker shorts, a muscle-tee or a cropped tank top. layered gold necklaces, rings on every finger, multiple gold piercings and cuffs on both ears, my classic gold chain, gold bracelet, and iron cuff on my left wrist. sneakers/running shoes/vintage mint nike tennis court shoes. i have the whole outfit DOWN lmao

Create a character description for yourself

typical brown girl who can't escape the overenthusiastic punjabi girl stereotype because of her loud and eccentric personality. has strong "youngest sibling" energy with a strong level of independence and yet an immediately willingness to let someone else take care of things. flip flops between dressing extremely well and being a fashion icon with impeccable style, to dressing like she ran out of all her clothes and can only wear knitted dishrags. has been canonically told by her father she is "the son [he] never had". she doesn't know what to do with this information. incredibly studious and a huge academic. if she didn't have the extroverted personality she did, people would be more inclined to calling her a nerd. instead, they call her intelligent and call it a day. slightly a teacher's pet. can convince anyone and everyone around her to do her a favour because she's mysteriously persuasive. doesn't know how to do romantic love, but is 1000% invested in showering people in platonic love. has 10k different hobbies, none of which are remotely related. every week, she finds a new topic to obsessively research about and ramble to her voice memos to. as her sisters and friends like to say, "her life is like a series of side quests" i think that about does it., lest i wished to keep rambling LOL

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

yes and no. i like taking a singular piece of lore from people i know, typically with their permission. so, some of the ocs in my books are named after people i know in real life whom i asked if i could name my character after. it doesn't really go beyond oc naming, tbh. i feel like stealing people's real life lore is kinda... invasive? idk.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

1000% and my best friend hates me for it. i feel like a toxic partner, only capable of showing my ocs affection by making them suffer

Coffee or tea while writing?

both, plus other substances. cold water. diet soda. hot water. milk. hot cocoa. literally everything.

Slow or fast writer?

fast, but it depends on a) if i'm in school or not (pre-med babyyyyy); b) if i have a deadline of not (i once finished a full draft in 3 months because i put the finish date on my document and felt the need to meet that deadline)

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

my childhood and my childhood stories. disclaimer: i DID have a happy childhood, before anyone makes any wild assumptions LOL

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

a bookkeeper, a scholar, or a soldier. or an adventurer. not just because they're cool, but because that's what i currently do irl, so why not in a fantasy setting too?

Most fave book cliche?

friends to lovers trope for romances. jealousy arcs. misunderstandings that are DONE RIGHT. angst. ANGST. found family. the old mentor. things like that, i eat it right up like we're in an all-inclusive buffet

Least fave book cliche?

toxic male leads who everyone forgives because they're hot. i honestly can't think of much. if it's executed right, everything is fun and freegame

Fave scenes to write?

i genuinely have no clue. i love writing in general. maybe the dialogue fluff scenes that never make it to the final draft because they're so absolutely filler but they butter my croissant in ways only a boulangerie would be able to serve?

Most productive time of day for writing?

night time with the cityscape if i'm in my uni town! daytime in my mancave if i'm in my hometown!

Reason for writing?

i've always been a storyteller, and i can't exist with this world in my mind without opening the gates for everyone to pay a visit. i enjoy sharing what i love. they say the universe is expanding, and that is an undeniable fact, for all the proof i need is in the way the worlds in my head keep growing.

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thanks again for the tag, my love <3

i'll tag @writingismydrugs @drchenquill @wyked-ao3 @willtheweaver @satohqbanana and @pexchys

cheerios!

[fractiflos]

For your ask game. What do you see happening in a world where the Fourth OFA User unlocks the ability to speak to the vestiges? He's the guy who explicitly trained the quirk to increase its power for future users and thus the most likely to unlock its secrets. Within a month of getting the quirk, the guy's meditating under a waterfall and now he's in a discord call with the boys, and so will the future users.

I love this concept!

This happened before Hikage met Banjo, so he was really lonely and missed his predecessors. He didn't see the point in meditating under a waterfall, but he remembered how every manga Yoichi liked had a scene like that, so he decided to try it out to honor him. The cool water and white noise were actually really comforting since it also happened to be summer, and next thing you know, he fell asleep and ended up in the void. He thought he was dreaming at first, especially because he was only there for a few seconds before he woke up. Except it kept happening and he realized that OFA must stockpile not only strength, but memories. Eventually, he was able to stay there for a full 8 hours, but no matter how hard he tried, it could only happen when he was asleep. He died in his sleep, so when his body finally gave out, it felt as if he never had to wake up from a wonderful dream. (It was a little less wonderful when the first three got all lovey-dovey and he had to fourth wheel)

Banjo didn't really believe that Hikage could see his predecessors. He just thought that was a product of imagination from his loneliness (in fact, that was part of why he wanted to be his friend so badly in the first place, because he was worried about his mental stability). Imagine his surprise when he falls asleep the night after Hikage dies and sees his friend again. He's so freaked out he wakes up. Then he remembers what Hikage told him and decides to try and go to sleep again. It works, and for up to 10 hours, he had to deal with Hikage going "I told you so!". But even so, he was happy to see him and meet the three he talked about so much. And when he died, Hikage was so happy that he would no longer have to fourth wheel.

En, unfortunately, did not get to live long. He had fun talking to Banjo and meeting that weird forest guy he always talked about, but just a few months after getting OFA, he was killed. He was only able to extend the dream time to 11 hours, but his successor would reach new heights.

Nana got a longer run and along with seeing them in her dreams, could hear their voices in her head. Not always since they had to choose to speak to her and if she tried to hear them when they weren't speaking, all she would hear was static. At first, it was nice to be able to speak to her predecessors, but the unsolicited advice got annoying real quick. When the unsolicited parenting advice started, she went to the void the next night and slapped them. They shut up after that. But when she was considering putting Kotaro in foster care there was a big argument over it. In the end, she still did it, but they convinced her to let Torino and Toshinori check up on him.

Poor Toshinori. At first, it was cool meeting his predecessors and being able to see Nana again, but like with her, the voices in his head got annoying. And after a little while, they could even appear in the real world, though they were more ghostlike and no one else could see them, so he never got a break. At least Nana was able to watch Kotaro grow up after Torino decided to adopt him and Hana and Tenko lived decent lives. Kotaro was still really tough but not as bad as he could have been. And AFO stayed away realizing that with Torino and All Might, Kotarou won't be easily swayed.

And now, Izuku. Honestly, part of the reason Toshinori picked him was that he thought they would bother a kid more often. Oh, and he had heroic spirit and all that. There was certainly arguing over whether a kid should get that power but he argued with "well, I got that power as a high schooler and look at me now." "You're a skeleton." "Only because of AFO and he's dead." "Ugh, fine." (AFO is not dead but only Yoichi knows. He could sense it through twin bond but didn't want to ruin everyone else's celebration). Because they can all communicate Izuku gets better instruction and makes it through the exam with fractures in his legs and a single broken arm. After that he later gets a lecture from Hikage and goes "Oh, I need to let it spread through my body instead of one sole place" "Yeah exactly-" "Like a microwave!" "..." So, he reaches that a lot quicker and doesn't have to break a finger on the first day of school. It all goes well until the USJ happens. The vestiges were out of the void, wanting to observe the training, but no one but Izuku could see them. Then Kurogiri comes in with the nomu and the vestiges are so startled they become visible to everyone. And 7 ghosts appearing around one green haired boy startles everyone else so much they all freeze and stare. AFO (who was watching at home) sees his brother and orders Kurogiri to take everyone back and leave.

I'll stop there for now since I don't want to rewrite all of Mha. But yes, there is no substitute for Tomura since I couldn't think of anyone to take his place.

[theforbiddeneden]

Metal Hammer Magazine December 2023 Enter The World Of Sleep Token - Revista Metal Hammer Dezembro 2023 Entre no mundo do Sleep Token

"We'll never see the band at this level again" Sleep Token fan Benji Purdy

A deep, distorted voice is coming through the PA of Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre.

“Do you think they want you to cry?” it’s saying. “Do you think they like it?”

A second voice, lighter in tone but still distorted and oddly inhuman, replies.

“Not as such,” this one says.

“I think they just want to know that I am feeling something, feeling what they are feeling, perhaps.”

The audience in this ornate, 800-capacity venue stands silent, entranced by the voices. The band onstage are masked metal sensations Sleep Token, tonight playing their first headlining show in the City of Angels as part of their month-long North American Rituals tour.

The dialogue that is playing out around us is hugely significant to everyone in this sold-out crowd. It marks the first time crowned frontman Vessel – the lighter voice – has broken his silence in public. The deeper voice he’s communing with belongs to Sleep, the god-like entity at the heart of the band’s lore. As the conversation continues, you could hear a pin drop.

“Do you think that this amount of crying is healthy for you?” Sleep asks.

“I don’t know,” comes Vessel’s response. “But at least I feel something. If I don’t feel anything then why would I even do this?”

At this, the crowd lose their minds and a wave of mania ripples across the floor. That the voices are pre-recorded doesn’t matter. Nor does the fact that this isn’t, strictly, the first time it’s happened – Sleep Token have been doing throughout this tour. But modern metal’s most enigmatic band have done something they’ve never done before: they’ve cracked open the door and given us a tantalising glimpse into their inner world.

This show isn’t the biggest Sleep Token will play this year. In December, they will headline London’s Wembley Arena. But Los Angeles, together with New York, is one of the epicentres of the US music business, and the buzz that’s surrounding the anonymous band suggests that America is paying attention to them.

More than that, La La Land has always had a thing for cults, from the Manson Family to Scientology, as well as the countless smaller ‘spiritualist’ groups that operate in the city today. An anonymous, masked British band with their own mysterious, quasi-religious mythology? LA never stood a chance.

“There is a new atmosphere at these live shows, an electricity,” says Benji Purdy, an American fan who also acts as moderator on the band’s official Discord server. He first saw Sleep Token when they supported metalcore act Issues on a 2019 US tour. After witnessing their headlined show in Portland, Oregon a few days ago, he says they’re an entirely different beast this time around.

“We’ll never see this band at this level ever again,” says Benji. “They are catapulting themselves.”

2023 has been the year Sleep Token’s cult success went fully overground. On January 5, the band released Chokehold, the first single from then-upcoming third album Take Me Back To Eden. Twenty-four hours later, they chucked in another new song, The Summoning. By the time the track hit TikTok, videos of listeners reacting to the genre-defying sound were reaching users around the world, with some even hitting a million-plus views.

Their social media profile was helped by celebrity boosts from Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Architects singer Sam Carter and Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos. And in May, they announced that Wembley date. All 12,500 tickets sold out in just 10 minutes. Sleep Token had officially become a arena band.

Chris Lody, a Sleep Token fan based in Coventry, set up a subreddit for the band back in 2018 after discovering they won their nomination for Best New Band at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods. The same year, he saw their first headline performance at St Pancras Old Church in front of 150 people. He’s had a front row seat to their dizzying rise.

“To go from that to Wembley in December, it’s incredible,” says Chris. “Creating the subreddit was a bit opportunistic really. Nothing like it really existed and I wanted to see what other people were saying about the band.”

It took a while, but fans eventually began to head to Chris’s Reddit page to share their own interpretations of Sleep Token’s music, art and lore. After the release of Chokehold and The Summoning, the page exploded with new users.

“The volume of people posting day-to-day is massive now,” says Chris, adding that it has grown from around 6,000 users to 34,500 at the time of writing. “We’ve had to take on more moderators just to maintain a bit of order.”

Much as the fandom has expanded, so too have the opportunities afforded Sleep Token. This summer, they stepped up to festival headliner status in the UK, with appearances at Portsmouth’s Takedown in April and Manchester’s Radar in July. Radar organiser Joe James admits they lucked out with the timing of the band’s booking.

“We got them at that sweet spot that every promoter dreams of,” he tells Hammer. “We’re a festival that wants to book progressive, contemporary music. Sleep Token tick all those boxes: they’re doing something fresh and are at the top of their game at the moment.”

Headlining the first day of the festival gave the band a full “limitless” rehearsal time, which in turn resulted in a truly headline-worthy performance.

“It looked and sounded amazing,” Joe enthuses. “They are so massive now, but they don’t behave like they’re blowing up just yet. I truly think they’re the next Download headliners of the new breed.”

It’s 4pm in Los Angeles when Hammer arrives at the El Rey Theatre, and queues are already stretching around the block in both directions. Some fans have brought chairs and blankets to sit on, while others are propping themselves up against the walls of the venue, clinging to the scant shade to avoid the glare of the Californian sun.

Amy McLaurin and her friend Sarah Hibbert are standing at the venue barrier. They’re from Virginia, and arrived at the El Rey at 9am, despite having fast-track passes that guarantee them priority entry.

“I found them on TikTok,” she says of how she discovered Sleep Token, with a nervous smile that suggests she’s worried any gatekeepers will leap out and chase her away at any second.

The pair saw Sleep Token for the first time a couple of weeks earlier in Baltimore, but couldn’t risk booking flights to come more than 2,000 miles to repeat the experience. It’s doubly impressive because Baltimore was Amy’s first ever gig, full-stop.

“I’d never really found an artist I loved enough,” she says. “Right now they’re everything I want in music. I listened to rock before Sleep Token, but not much metal – I’ve actually discovered more metal through them. I also met Sarah at the Baltimore show and we both decided to fly here.”

“They make you think about things you otherwise wouldn’t want to talk or be open about,” adds Sarah. “These songs can mean something different to everyone, a universal pain we all feel but some might be less able to express that.”

Vessel famously doesn’t do interviews – the only one he has given was to Hammer in the band’s early days – but their fans have been more than happy to pick up the slack. Sleep Token’s official and unofficial social media channels are full of running narratives, memes and jokes.

It hasn’t all been deadly serious, either. In April, a fan-filmed clip of an audience member at a gig in Sydney letting loose a “sinister” fart during the quiet part of the song Atlantic went viral. Similarly, after the release of The Summoning, a section of their fanbase dubbed Sleep Token “metal’s sexiest band,” largely thanks to lyrics such as

"THEIR MUSIC TRANSCENDS THEIR PERSONALITIES" SLEEP TOKEN FAN CASSIE KNOX

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“THERE ARE SECRETS LEFT TO BE UNCOVERED”

Daniel Owen is the man behind the artwork of Sleep Token’s first two albums, 2019’s Sundowning and 2021’s This Place Will Become Your Tomb.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST COME INTO CONTACT WITH SLEEP TOKEN?

“Around early 2018. I ended up becoming one of their lead visual creatives from [that year’s single] Jaws through to This Place Will Become Your Tomb, and some initial development on Take Me Back To Eden.”

HOW MUCH OF A BRIEF WERE YOU GIVEN IN EACH CASE?

“The briefs behind each project have varied greatly in scope, but usually only restricted to a few lines – in the case of Sundowning per song - or a paragraph to explore the central idea of This Place Will Become Your Tomb. Symbolism throughout history has always been a communication method that encapsulates a sense of power and reverence; my work for the project has always aimed to champion atmosphere while masking a considerable amount of intention below the surface. “One example would be the Sundowning sigils as a whole: being informed by the passing of time and mirroring the positions of a clock face, referencing the namesake of the album. Individually, each sigil was a cipher I'd developed that represented a hidden selection of elements relating to the singles that later served as artwork – eventually all would be removed from streaming services and become an intentionally forgotten to reflect one of the central themes of Sundowning and its primary cover. A beautiful part of working with a band is that there's an unparalleled level of bravery involved with taking the kinds of creative choices that many are too hesitant to pursue.”

SLEEP TOKEN PUT HIDDEN ‘CODES’ IN THEIR SONGS AND IMAGES. ARE THERE ANY SECRETS IN YOUR ARTWORK THAT FANS STILL HAVEN’T DISCOVERED?

“There’s certainly some things I’ve left seeded within my work that’s ready to be pulled from the future if I’m called upon. There are still some secrets left to be uncovered.”

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‘Or are you really here to cut me off? Or maybe just to turn me on’ and ‘I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t think that I could be your man / Or maybe make a good girl bad,’ combined with a raunchy bass drop in the song’s second half. This sexiness is something the band have leaned into on this US tour. During The Offering, members have been seemingly kissing through the masks, reportedly prompting a suitably ecstatic reaction from the crowd each time.

There are other, more wholesome displays of fandom, from fluffy crochet plushies to homemade necklaces. A video of guitarist IV putting on a cowboy hat given to him by an audience member at a gig in Dallas has yielded close to two million views on TikTok. Back at the barrier at the El Rey stands Cassie Knox, who has come to LA from Houston, Texas. Cassie has now seen the band eight times, including at Radar in the UK.

“Sleep Token have a big thing about community,” she says matter-of-factly, when we ask whether it gets lonely following the band on tour. “I met two girls last night in San Diego, they’re here with me and we’re also going to Anaheim [the next gig on the tour].”

While every fan has a personal answer for what Sleep Token mean to them, Cassie’s response seems to be shared by many. “They taught me self-love,” she says, holding a sign stating as much.

In May, shortly before the release of Take Me Back To Eden, several select fans were invited to an exclusive listening session for the album in London. Chris Lloyd, who runs the Sleep Token subreddit, was one of them. He won’t divulge too many details of the event, but offers an anecdote that highlights the band’s dedication to keeping their enigma intact.

“We got there and there was just this stage with curtains,” he says. “They opened at the start of the album and we thought there was a Vessel mannequin just in a chair. It was really dark and there were loads of smoke, but it was really exciting. Then right at the very end of the session, the ‘mannequin’ stood up and it was actually Vessel – he’d just sat perfectly still the whole time! It was insane.”

The band show no sign of changing their minds when it comes to preserving their mystique. Hammer’s request for an interview with Vessel is, predictably, turned down. But this anonymity is something that their devotees embrace. The golden rule of Sleep Token fandom is to never, under any circumstances, divulge or speculate on the members’ real-life identities. Still, that hasn’t stopped some people trying.

“The mystery surrounding the band will always be a key element that draws people in,” says Discord mod Benji Purdy. “It’s a rabbit hole and people love diving into them. But I have found that since [2021 album] This Place Will Become Your Tomb, there has been a culture shift within the fanbase between those who want to respect the band’s wishes to stay anonymous, and those who have a general lack of respect and think the band don’t care.”

This ring of secrecy is intact today. Before the show, Hammer is sitting at a table in the taco restaurant adjacent to the El Rey. We can hear and see the security manager briefing in front of the venue.

“Tonight’s show is Sleep Token,” the security manager says, marching along his ranks like a general on the eve of battle. “Their whole deal is that they are anonymous. If anybody – anybody – tries to go where they shouldn’t, you MUST. STOP. THEM.”

In reality, transgression seems to be the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. The people queuing outside the El Rey are here to Worship, after all.

“Their music transcends their personalities as individuals,” Cassie Knox tells us. “Everybody has a part in this music, and from the messages that the band have put out, it seems like that’s exactly what he [Vessel] wanted.”

By the time the doors open, the excitement is palpable. Airport-style security gates mean everyone is thoroughly searched before entry and it seems half the audience has brought along trinkets, gifts and signs in their own expression of Worship. One fan has turned up with a bouquet of roses so big it is seen engulfed her head. They all make it through security without issue.

While some fans have been dressing up in full Vessel cosplay elsewhere on the tour, there’s no such regalia tonight, although many have covered their faces with painted Sleep Token sigils. Equally, it’s striking just how youthful the crowd is as a whole.

“It’s been like this the whole tour,” reveals Matt de Burgh Daly, guitarist/keyboardsist with support A.A. Williams, as he sits down next to Hammer to grab a bite pre-show. Williams and her band previously supported Sleep Token on their 2021 UK tour, and now they’re on these US dates, suggesting they’re within the headliners’ circle of trust.

“It’s funny actually,” Matt says between taco bites. “This is actually one of the smaller shows on the tour, I think. But we’re pretty nervous.”

Oh?

“Yeah, our drummer’s broken his arm – he’s having to play Def Leppard style!”

With its art deco exterior, crystal light fixtures, chandeliers and blood red decor, the El Rey Theatre feels more like it should be hosting a seance than a metal show. It’s not your typical dive venue. But where Sleep Token aren’t your typical metal band, sonically or visually.

From Hammer’s vantage point, a dark balcony overlooking the main floor, it looks like nearly everyone is adorned in some kind of Sleep Token memorabilia, be it t-shirts, hoodies, or even smaller items like necklaces or homemade earrings. A queue stretches from the merch stand to the barrier throughout the entirety of A.A. Williams’ set and right up until Sleep Token themselves appear.

Sure enough, the headliners’ arrival elicits a frenzy of activity. An extended shriek of pure ecstasy greets the band as they march onto the stage, and it’s not long before the audience is singing along ardently, tears literally streaming from some fans’ eyes.

Detractors may point to the prevalence of piano ballads in Sleep Token’s sound, but there’s no shortage of heft in tonight’s set. Chokehold is explosive, its pendulum riffs cutting through the air like a buzzsaw. Hypnosis has the booming, almost floating menace of a great Deftones track, fans waving their arms wildly throughout.

Even in terms of physical presence, there’s a marked difference from the band that toured in support of 2021’s This Place Will Become Your Tomb. Back then, Vessel seemed like a solid, rooted entity, his movements stiff and minimal, clinging to the mic-stand like he was tethered to it. This time out, he’s a ball of kinetic energy, bouncing, dancing and stalking his way backwards and forwards across the stage, even dropping to do push-ups during The Summoning. Bassist III and guitarist IV are similarly lively, headbanging furiously and commanding circle pits and walls of death with finger gestures and head nods.

The Take Me Back To Eden songs are especially visceral live. Vessel skitters across the stage during Vore like someone having an ancient entity, switching between howls and soulful melodies before intoning the song’s key lyric: ‘I want to give you all, but nobody else will ever go?’

For all the excitement, background chatter falls away completely when segments of conversation between Vessel and Sleep play out. The distorted voices discuss everything from the fandom to the role the masks play in their mythology.

“In order for all of this to work there has to be a certain boundary in place,” Vessel says, his unearthly, pre-recorded voice spilling from the speakers. “They need to be able to project themselves onto this, without anyone else’s identity getting in the way. In turn, I need to be able to show my true self to them in a way that does not compromise their ability to connect.”

There’s certainly no shortage of connection as fans roar along to the likes of The Summoning, The Love You Want and Alkaline, some moved to tears as the music takes on new dimensions, the closing rave-metal thrust of The Offering ending the night on an exultant and triumphant note, before Vessel clasps his hands in thanks as Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) plays incongruously over the PA.

So where next for Sleep Token? In a year where they have notched up a Top 10 album in the UK – Take Me Back To Eden peaked at No 3 – and sold out venues around the world, it’s hard to say exactly where the ceiling could be for them.

“I could easily see them playing arenas here in the States within two years,” Benji states. “The demand here is insane – as seen by the number of people who’ve lined up at every almost every show of this tour.”

For a British metal band to break into the US market is no mean feat, and the buzz and excitement Sleep Token are generating here is starting to catch up with the noise that surrounds them back home.

Equally, their pop sensibilities enable them to serve as a gateway, their success on TikTok showing they don’t just appeal within the metal sphere, but to wider audiences whom then tumble further down the metal rabbit-hole after discovering them.

Uniting newcomers and dyed-in-the-wool metalheads alike, Sleep Token are a new breed of band, transcending genre boundaries by simply refusing to stay in one, and backed up by a mystery and spectacle all their own. They are as at home supporting Slipknot and Architects as they are appearing at festivals like Reading and Leeds – testament to just how influential and breakout they’ve become.

Crazy as it may seem, 2024 will likely be an even bigger year for Sleep Token, and they’ve already booked some of the world’s most iconic venues in that period. With Wembley Arena and Alexandra Palace shows in the diary for next April, Sleep Token will be looking to cement their place at the top of the mountain. How long before the Worship of Sleep Token becomes a religion?

SLEEP TOKEN PLAY WEMBLEY ARENA ON DECEMBER 16. TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN IS OUT NOW VIA SPINEFARM

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MASKS REVEAL THE ARTIST’S VISION

Mario Garvera and Beatrice Rebondi are MysteryStar, an art studio specialising in masks, costumes and accessories. They also created the Vessel mask

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN MASK-MAKING?

“We’ve always been drawn to the dramatic and theatrical aspects of expression, along with our shared love of music. We have produced thousands of pieces together over the decades. We never make replicas of our masks; they are, and always will be, one-off characters, created especially and never to be repeated.”

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH SLEEP TOKEN?

“In early 2019 they were looking for a workable mask, as they hadn’t found anything wearable that could work onstage yet. We provided [Vessel and Sleep Token’s management] with several sketches and worked out together how to keep Vessel’s character essence and vision, while creating something that could work on a human head and be practical onstage.”

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

“It took several modifications, especially around the shape of the head. We had to accommodate certain parts of Vessel was adamant were integral parts of the full-face mask for the photoshoots and a mouth - less one for tge stage perfomances. These were the first two masks that we made for Vessel.”

WHY DO YOU THINK WE FIND MASKED BANDS SO FASCINATING?

“Masks have always been important to humans since perhaps the beginnings of civilisation. Ancient tribes created masks, for recounting their history and transmitting knowledge of their young; for healings and for warding off their enemies. In addition, it could be because masks are a created expression of the artist – the one - who created it, as well as the one who wears it – and as such reveal something of the artist’s mind and their vision.”

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Transcription English Version from theforbiddeneden

[jasper-the-menace]

Jasper's Barely-Hinged Discord Scorpion Rant

Alright, context, I started this rant because I was mad about how the tlincallis (of Dungeons and Dragons second and fifth edition) were designed and handled. I put my foot down at the point where they were reported to have eggs. No, I refuse to accept this.

PLEASE NOTE! While I will not be showing any actual images of real-life scorpions, there will be drawings of them and drawings of fantasy and sci-fi characters inspired by scorpions. Some of them are even weirder-looking than actual scorpions. Fellow arachnophobes, continue at your own risk.

We are also going to be talking about scorpion sex in the context of how they mate and launch babies out. This is my second Tumblr post on the subject and I'm afraid that this might become a repeating pattern. Everyone on Tumblr thinks I'm the scorpion person now.

With that said, have this barely-edited compilation of my feral Discord messages on the subject.

You can tell someone who doesn’t know a lot about scorpions wrote the lore for the tlincallis because there’s a heavy emphasis on egg-laying for their reproduction. Meanwhile, scorpions are one of the only arachnids that give live birth.

I’m not expecting WOTC writers to watch videos of scorpions molting or launching baby missiles over and over again, but I am expecting them to at least skim the Wikipedia article, ya know? I understand that I’m Scorpion Research Georg, but still.

Scorpions fuck weird. Both “sexes” have the same thing - an orfice known as the genital operculum (plural: genital opercula). In order to reproduce, the male will drop a sperm packet on the ground and “dance” with the female to lead her over it. If she’s game, she’ll squat and just kind of vacuum it up into her genital operculum. This is followed by what is called a “mating plug” to keep the sperm inside. The two scorpions will then split away from each other, because scorpions don’t believe in cuddles and aftercare.

Then we get to the actual birth. Or as I like to call it, the Fedex packages.

A scorpion will give birth to between 3 and 100 young, depending on the species - though notably, the size of the scorpion does not impact the number of babies they can have.

The babies are folded up very nicely inside of the mother, and when she gives birth to them, they launch out like little missiles into her waiting pedipalps and front legs, unfold, and then climb onto or are placed onto her back while their next sibling is launched. A mother scorpion is actually a super good parent, and the entire brood will attach to her with little suckers on their tarsi, because they can’t eat or sting yet.

Depending on the species, it will take between 5 and 25 days for them to undergo their first molt - in unison as a brood, taking between 6 and 8 hours - and reach the juvenile stage. Juveniles resemble small versions of the adults and can eat and sting, though they’re still soft and unpigmented. They’ll leave the mother’s back to explore in safety, but then scurry back to her if there’s danger around. Once their carapace hardens and gains color, they can start hunting on their own and will often leave their mother.

A scorpion will undergo an average of 6 molts to reach full adulthood, which, depending on the species, can take between 6 months and nearly 7 years. The average lifespan depends on the species, with some living up to 25 years.

Re: the biological terms I used, here’s a picture and explanation from the Wikipedia article:

1 = Cephalothorax or Prosoma; 2 = Preabdomen or Mesosoma; 3 = Tail or Metasoma; 4 = Claws or Pedipalps; 5 = Legs; 6 = Mouth parts or Chelicerae; 7 = Pincers or Chelae; 8 = Moveable claw or Tarsus; 9 = Fixed claw or Manus; 10 = Stinger or Aculeus; 11 = Telson (anus in previous joint); 12 = Opening of book lungs

Post-coitus cannibalism has never been reliably reported in scorpions.

Scorpions are also kinky fuckers but no one’s ready for that conversation.

So, I will give this much to WOTC writers regarding the tlincallis - most species of scorpions do actively hunt their prey. (Though there are several species that are just sit-and-wait predators.) They are also opportunistic hunters, eating primarily invertebrates but occasionally also going for things like lizards, snakes, and small mammals, though scorpions with larger claws will also go after earthworms and mollusks.

What I will not give them credit for is the method of hunting. A scorpion’s primary hunting tool is its claws. Only large and aggressive prey is given a sting - the method of death is still typically via claw, even in that case.

They also don’t chew. They rip off pieces of their prey and put those pieces in a pre-oral cavity, which uses digestive juices from the gut to start the digestion process. Once it’s liquid enough, it gets sucked right into the gut. Any indigestible matter is ejected at this stage.

They do have an anus separate from the genital operculum, and it runs up into the tail. Scorpions will eat a large amount of food in one meal, and when this is combined with their low metabolic rate and relatively inactive lifestyle, it means that they can survive for 6 to 12 months without starvation.

So no, Wizards Of The Coast, a band of scorpion people would NOT be migratory by compulsion, even if they were aggressive.

And yeah, scorpions are mainly found in deserts, but that’s so limiting. They’ve adapted to nearly every sort of biome and appear all across the world, except in Antartica. So you can literally put them anywhere.

The scorpion is found in Greek mythology (Artemis or Gaia sending it to kill Orion) along with in a page of the Anglo-Saxon Herbal.

Despite the scorpion’s usage in myths, stories, and weapons of war, very few of them are actually capable of killing a human (barring allergy). 25 species out of more than 2,500 have venom deadly to humans. Most of, if not all of these, belong to the family Buthidae, which is the largest family.

Now it’s time for “Jasper analyzes scorpions from different media”! I’ve already dragged the tlincalli for filth, so we’ll pivot to look at another WOTC media: Magic The Gathering.

Scorpions don’t get a lot of rep. At best, they appear as one-off cards. However. Thanks to vising two primarily-desert planes (Amonkhet and the Vorthos-panned Thunder Junction), we have some Guys.

We’ll start with the Scorpion God of Amonkhet. This guy did not used to look like this, but once Nicol Bolas got all up in everybody’s business, he twisted the Scorpion God, Locust God, and Scarab God into giant monstrosities and erased knowledge of their names, even from themselves, and then used them to “harvest” the mortals he had been cultivating to create an undead army. The Scorpion God killed the gods Rhonas, Oketra, and Kefnet, before finally being killed by Hazoret and a group of rebelling mortals.

He is notably the only one of the “twisted” gods to have been killed – the Locust and Scarab Gods both survived, as did Hazoret, and all three defended Amonkhet later from New Phyrexia getting all up in everyone’s business.

(Re: that third artwork, why is he kinda...)

Meanwhile, on Thunder Junction...

Oh, Thunder Junction. If not for the fact that no one in the design and writing department could agree on and work together to determine the right approach to Western tropes, you could have been interesting.

Having said that, the scorpion dragons? Not native to there. Instead, they’re from Gastal, a plane that was mentioned one (1) time back in the day. I’m willing to overlook some questions about these blokes for the sake of blaming the dragon half on everything I don’t think are scorpion-enough when it comes to these guys.

Now, for my third example... I’m going to preface this with the fact that LEGO’s Legends of Chima theme was a problematic mess in hindsight. I still love it with my entire soul, but it was a fucking nightmare.

But within that is the Scorpion Tribe, what is possibly my favorite current example of what you can do with scorpions in a (science-)fantasy setting.

The Scorpions were accidentally evolved with the magic MacGuffin of the series (Chi) thanks to some foolishness going on, and they were the antagonists of season two (or rather, wave two, as they were technically the latter half of season one and the beginning of season two). They’re led by a king, Scorm, and a general, Scolder. And yes, they all stick to the Sc- naming theme, with one exception from the online game.

So, how do you create an anthro Scorpion Lego figure? Like this, of course!

Now, something interesting to note is that because the Chi was not safely introduced to these guys, some of them didn’t “evolve” all the way and still have a scorpion lower body, like a weird centaur. Meet Scutter, posterchild for this, even though his brother Scrug speed-“evolved” to humanoid form.

Something interesting to note is just how flexible and catlike the tails of these Scorpions are. They can flick around and even hold things when curled up.

Another fun thing about Chima is that they don’t put my boys in the desert. Instead, they live in caves in a very hostile jungle. I’m so proud of them.

Analyzing the venom of these guys, though...

Scorpion God = full of god-killing venom

Akul = a "dark curse" that's basically fantasy tuberculosis

Scorpions from Chima = hypnosis mind-control agent that wears off fairly quickly

(Preface for this section: These were random additions that I sent a while later, with little connection to each other.)

Scorpion dads do tend to be deadbeats, but a scorpion mom figure? I would chew that right up.

Re: molting, it is a long, long process, even for something as small as a scorpion. So the bigger they are, the longer it's probably gonna take. It requires a lot of calorie-loading beforehand and can be predicted based on “air pockets” that appear at the sides of the exoskeleton, to give them wiggle room. Scorpions are soft for several days after molting and avoid eating anything until they harden back up.

And did I mention that scorpions glow under ultraviolet light?

So...yeah! Scorpions are so fucking cool, and this is just an overview! This isn't even getting into any particular species! There's just so much to explore in terms of scorpions in fantasy settings, so seeing them reduced to Desert Bad Guy over and over again annoys me.

Put these animals into some situations.

[xoxiu]

twinkle - ot7 x reader

epilogue table of contents masterlist join the taglist discord

summary: she had just wanted attention, that’s why she kept texting the strange number, updating him on everything in her life. little did she know how dangerous this relationship actually was. it had been jimin’s idea to kidnap the girl, but the ability to travel across the world to actually do it had been all hoseok’s doing. convenient how some things work, right? they knew that they were destined to have their baby with them, whether she wanted it or not.

tags/warnings: kidnapping, forced age regression, spanking, noncon, mafia au, drug use, stockholm syndrome, caregiver!bts, little!reader, nonsexual, diapers, panic attacks, fluff and angst, sickfic, referenced child abuse, unrequited love

taglist: @0funsite0, @frieschan

a/n: this chapter is more of a one-shot update i wrote 4-5 years after posting the first chapter

Ophelia was happy. All she knew was that she had her Daddies, and that she was finally safe. Those years of fending for herself were over, as she had seven caretaker tending to her every want and need. 

She recently developed a very nasty and long cold. Daddies moved a mattress down into the living room so they could keep an eye on her. At least two of them, usually Seokjin and Jimin, would sleep on the couches, and sometimes Namjoon or Hoseok would sleep on the mattress with her. 

Currently, Ophelia was laying down on the mattress, drinking a bottle full of juice and watching whatever anime Jungkook, Jimin, and Taehyung were watching. It was very rare that Ophelia ever got juice, and was savoring every second of the fruit punch taste. She played with the nipple of the bottle as she watched what appeared to be vampires on the TV fight with swords and magic. 

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Jin walked over to Ophelia, already hearing the wheezing sounds from her nose before he even got next to her. Ophelia didn't reply, only staring back at Jin with watery eyes. "Oh, honey."

"You might have to take her to Jackson-hyung," Jimin spoke up, "poor thing's been wiping her nose all day and coughing more than usual."

"That's what I had planned," Jin replied, taking the bottle away from Ophelia and replacing it with a pacifier. "He arranged to meet us at his office at noon today to see Ophelia."

It was already 10:30, and the drive into Seoul would be just over an hour, so Seokjin had to get Ophelia ready quick. It would be him and Namjoon taking her to the hospital to see Doctor Jackson and get her sinus issues checked out. 

Seokjin placed Ophelia on his hip, and she immediately buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Bunny..." she mumbled, reaching a hand out towards Jungkook. Seokjin chuckled at how she was mimicking their nickname for Jungkook. She was just too adorable.

"No, no, baby. No bunny right now," Seokjin told the little, "We have to make sure you're healthy before you can have your bunny."

Ophelia pouted behind the pink pacifier in her mouth, and reached a hand out to Jungkook as Seokjin took her away. Jungkook playfully reached a hand out towards Ophelia in return, mimicking her sad pout as well. 

Throughout the years, Jungkook and Ophelia grew a special bond. Jungkook was the youngest Daddy, who did more play than discipline. Ophelia liked the he treated her as an equal almost, and loved that he always took her side whenever she was in trouble. 'She's just a baby,' he would say, 'She doesn't know any better.'

Seokjin took Ophelia out to the car, where Namjoon was already waiting in the passenger seat. Seokjin placed the little in her carseat and strapped her in snug. In the front seat, Namjoon reached into the center console for her iPad, unlocking it and turning on the YouTube Kids app.

"Here you go, Lia," Namjoon said. After a minuscule moment of silence, Seokjin looked at Ophelia in the rearview window.

"Ophelia," the girl in question shot her head up with wide eyes. She wasn't used to being called her legal name, unless she was in trouble. "Daddy just gave you that to play with. What do you say?"

"Thank you, Daddy." Ophelia said, but from behind the pacifier it sounded more like 'Tank chu 'addy'.

The car ride was mild at best. The only noise was from the cutesy songs coming from Ophelia's iPad (as well as the voices of Russian children, a weird and new part of YouTube that Ophelia has explored). Namjoon and Seokjin caught each other up on Ophelia's symptoms so they were on the same page at her appointment. The car came to a stop outside of Seoul National University Hospital, and Ophelia began to fuss and become distressed at the sight of the building. 

"Li li, it's okay," Namjoon said, turning around in his seat. "It's only for a few minutes, trust me."

Namjoon got out first and took Ophelia into his arms. He pulled her hood up as the breeze picked up, making the air slightly chilly. The three walked in through doors, and Lia was surprised to see very few people throughout the halls. She assumed the hospital would be filled with people and noise, but it was rather calming. 

They eventually entered a room where a man in a white coat was standing near a door on the opposite side of the room. 

"Jackson!" Seokjin smiled at the man, "It's so nice of you to do this for us."

"No problem at all," Jackson said, eventually locking eyes with Ophelia. She immediately turned to hide in Namjoon's shoulder, who only ran a hand through her hair in return.

"Oh my god, you guys. She is just the cutest thing," Jackson said in awe. He walked over to get a better look at Ophelia. "Hi, there. What's your name, sweetheart."

Ophelia attempted to nearly merge into Namjoon, wanting to get away from the stranger named Jackson. She didn't want to talk to him, see him, or let him touch her. He was scary. 

"Someone's just a little shy," Namjoon said, patting Ophelia's diapered bum. "This is Ophelia."

Ophelia was sat on a cold hospital bed as Namjoon and Seokjin sat in the chairs next to her. She immediately reached out to be held by them, but Namjoon wasn't sure if she would be allowed on his lap during her examination. He reached a hand out to hold Ophelia's, and that seemed to calm her nerves enough. 

"Okay, so I heard the little one has a bit of a sinus issue," Jackson said with a smile, "What exactly is she experiencing? A runny nose? Congestion?"

"She's had a constant runny nose, and every time she blows it there's blood and a lot of mucus. She also has been wheezing a lot, like she almost can't breathe through her nose with how congested she is." Seokjin looked over at the little, who was pulling her hoodie strings to hide her face in her hood. 

"Oh, and she's had a major headache and cough, too." Namjoon added on. 

Jackson hummed as he typed on his computer. "And how long has this been going on?"

"The runny nose? At least two months. The cough and headache just started recently." Namjoon replied as he reached out to pull the hood off from around Ophelia's face. She whined and kicked her feet in protest. Jackson seemed to pick up on her discomfort.

"How about you put her on your lap while I check her nose and such?"

Ophelia immediately reached out to be picked up by Namjoon. He held her on his lap while putting his hands over her's, forcing them to remain in her lap. Jackson approached them with a little black magnifying glass type device, and instructed Ophelia to stay 'extra super still' while he looked in her nose.

"Yup, it's definitely dry and inflamed. Nothing some nasal spray can't fix, thought." Jackson said, throwing away the tip of the tool.

Ophelia sat in her car seat sucking on the green apple lollipop Jackson had given her. She had a wide smile and giggled as they drove away. 

"Well, baby, how about we get you some McDonald's for being so good?" Seokjin asked, already knowing the answer. 

"MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS!" Namjoon chanted from the passenger side, causing Ophelia to giggle harder. 

"Can we get Bunny McDonald's, too?"

"Of course we can, honey."

Ophelia had the best Daddies.

[quiescentdestiny]

Decidedly started wayward son now (finally). Now that I've finished both the AOUV books (that brain rot is gonna be there a WHILE though ngl. I'm gonna be thinking about those books forever too.) But I also (finally) have a physical copy of Wayward Son. And the third book, so I don't have to stop.

anyways. contemplating just putting my thoughts live-streamed once more, but I might have already read 20 chapters (RR why. why are there so many chapters in these books. it's too many.) (I live-streamed the first 20 chapters to a friend on discord lmao.

Spoilers under the cut I guess?

It's good to see that Agatha is one step away from trading one magickal cult for another less magickal one lmao poor girl 🤣

Me three pages later: well at least she knows 🤣 God, I love her.

fun fact! everyone on goodreads hates Agatha. I think they're wrong and am even more convinced that a bunch of people who like to review things on goodreads, cannot, in fact, read.

Oh boy Penny. Well that is certainly a decision. BF hangs up on you, show up in America to surprise him. what could go wrong.

oof. yeah that. that could go wrong.

No no, Baz is right I'd also be mad if I had to spend an entire day driving through Nebraska. Road trips suck. 😌

I agree with his entire fucking list. Illinois also sucks. And Kansas.

Poor man. At least he got cheese cake factory out of it I suppose. Does cheesecake factory really not exist in Europe?

Simon having all this idealistic wonder about fucking Iowa is hilarious 😂 man Baz is so real. the last road trip I went on was 16 hours to the coast of Texas. you know what's even better than Iowa being so similar to Illinois that they may as well not have separated them? driving ten hours in one day and still being in fucking Texas.

Glshdvdisbksa reading a British perspective of a Renn Faire is absolutely fucking thrilling. I love this book.

lmaooooo fighting vampires at the renn faire 10/10. as an American, who has in fact been to multiple Renaissance Faires I love this book.

dfghdjkfsgh man this poor kid is not dealing with being in a civilian after war very well at all, but man the moment something interesting happens he's like ✨😊 meanwhile I AM CRYING ABOUT IT. how is the trauma going there Simon?

"I was being poetic before, about America being endless. But Nebraska really is endless." my lord this man really just sums up road-trips.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

wibta if I started a different discord chat for my friend group just to exclude one person

I know it sounds bad and that I'm just starting shit but we've all been friends for 10+ years now so it's not something I'm considering lightly. We currently have a private discord server of just the 4 of us that we switched to as opposed to a traditional gc since we all have different phones and its good for having multiple conversations, quality photos and videos, and keeping a clear record of when and where plans are made

Anyway, this isn't a recent problem but the friend (A) has always had a tardiness problem it started with her not being able to wake up early in the morning but even if we have late night/afternoon plans she still can't get dressed and/or finish her makeup on time and causes us to be consistently at least 1 hour late which I was hoping she'd start growing out of after highschool but this isn't the case (we're now all 22+) and is especially frustrating when going out to eat bc by the time we leave all of us are hangry and expected to eat hours earlier. Recently A has started prioritizing other friends of hers which is nbd she can have other friends we all do except she'll drop plans last min with us to go with them which is also annoying bc it's disrespectful for the rest of us to be blown off like that. We're clearly not her priority anymore but she always expects to be ours, plans have to be on her work schedule, on her timeframe, on if she will be tired etc. plus being an afterthought leaves out a friend in the group (B) who had to move out of state with family and now he can't tell if we're making plans behind *his* back and he feels left in the dark when in truth he knows as much as I and the other local friend (C) do

It's to the point we've stopped doing any plans that start before like 2pm because we can't rely on her to be ready but she'll be upset if we don't wait for her while she's still getting ready, esp cuz we usually carpool, which already limits what we want to do together in the first place

However, it was my birthday recently and I'm currently ~2hr drive (no more than 3 with heavy traffic) from A and C, who doesn't have a car and needs to be picked up by A. I really wanted to go to my fav breakfast place and had some other plans for after and I kept emphasizing what time A needed to get here because the place closes early (they only serve breakfast). And at this point no one should be surprised she didn't arrive until after 1pm, after the place was closed, and at that point no one had eaten all day so we had to rush and find somewhere else that'd be open and nearby bc we were all starving and half my plans for the day were gone bc they were based on places we'd go after breakfast that also close in the afternoon (2-5 depending on the place) and since they are my closest friends and dont know my other friends who live closer and I've only known for less than 2 yrs (who I wasn't comfortable to ask for bday presents from yet still) (still got one from 1 even tho I insisted they didn't have to tho lol) they were the only people I made solid birthday plans with this year so it was really heartbreaking to deal with and have everything I was excited for be cancelled since it's hard for me to go out like this on my own w anxiety and busy work schedule too but I scheduled the day off. I was hoping that she would try even just a little bit because it was my birthday the one day I ask for literally anything and we rarely see each other now bc of conflicting work schedules and I DID plan for her to be semi late in secret but I didn't expect her to arrive for breakfast after 12

Anyway that's the whole backstory plus the recent straw on the camel's back but I just want to make a new chat between me, B, and C, to plan virtual movie and game nights bc she never reads the events chat anyway and all our online call plans grind to a halt for hours or days waiting for an answer bc at least C still wants to try and include A even tho her schedule is so busy or she's tired or will prob be late to the call and make us wait for her or cancel or leave early or we debate what game/movie A wants but she doesn't even NEED to be there it's just like.. Minecraft. Or a pirated 90s movie we're streaming or wtvr

I've tried saying like "hey I'm gonna be playing x on Saturday if anyone's free come and join me" but that usually just ends in me gaming alone bc it's so noncommittal the others will catch up on other work they have but really I'm just trying to hang with any of them even if 1 person can't make it at the time we don't always have to only call in a group yk?

A is nice otherwise like she's still my friend just planning anything with her is starting to be like pulling teeth and I still want to keep in touch with her and hear how she's doing from our discord server but stuff like that I just want to start separating her from weekly calls (which are currently more like monthly) bc she's so flakey but I know it's kinda shitty to purposefully leave her out and she'd be upset if she ever found out I was doing that.

I'm also open to advice on how to deal with this situation in general, thus the detail, without causing a huge fight or make anyone pick sides +her tardiness won't be something we can talk through it's something we've worked on for years and recently have just given up and accepted since she's late even to things that are important to her

What are these acronyms?

[omies-odd-writing-spot]

DOOM Prompt 10

A writing prompt from my doom discord, tied into the Garnets story. This takes place early in the story, before Valen comes. Making John feel old is oddly fun to write

.

10: “Lily becomes interested in that old box computer on doom dad's desk”

There were far, far too many things to explore in the Fortress with a clear head. Or mostly clear, Lily was still groggy as she just got a shot from one of the little hover drones from medical not long ago. Lily was walking to stay awake, and was not sure how but ended up in the half living, half workshop area. 

Lily stared, but Vega had let her in, and she looked around. Just trying to take in what she was seeing. The young woman took a step towards the books, before getting distracted at seeing a familiar plasma rifle on the display wall to her left. Reaching out, having to be careful even with her good left hand, Lily fingered the scar in the grip of her dad’s trusted rifle.

John found it somehow, Lily had not even known where it was on the Platform. It was cleaned and repaired, with the grips shifted just a bit. Likely so he could hold it comfortably instead of her dad’s settings. That was alright though. Lily hoped it could get some good use again in what seemed like the right set of hands. 

Being alone for the last few days had Lily used to just (very slowly) wandering around it seemed. Sure talking with Vega and Riggs helped, but it was not quite the same. Lily could not help but think her dad would like it up here. Some views outside the ‘windows’ aside.

She missed her dad, and mom, but the sheer difference of her location both helped a lot, and made her a bit homesick. So Lily distracted herself again by poking around where she was. Finding she had to be a bit careful where she stepped. 

The rug on the upper level with her was familiar. Lily had found what seemed like a cleaner one like that was placed in her room down in the gardens. She wondered if there was something like a vacuum on the Fortress. The little horseshoe crab like drones did not seem able to clean carpet. 

“How do they…?” Lily started to wonder aloud, the woman puzzling how the little drones cleaned the wide floors on a whole, not spot cleaning.

“What's wrong, Miss Lily?” Vega asked, keeping a close optic on his human charge.

“Nothing wrong,” Lily sat down on the stairs to the lower section. “How do the drones clean the bigger floor space?” 

“They spot clean, but for keeping the flooring clean is a different type of drone.” Vega explained, happy that Lily was talking again as it had been a few hours. “There should be two in that room, though they need some repairs that the Slayer has not gotten to.” 

“There's a lot of stuff that needs to be done here.” Lily mused, it really was like the platform, but in space. She blinked seeing what might be the mentioned drone, bulky having stopped mid cleaning. 

 Lily got up to investigate as best she could with her right arm still firmly tucked in the sling. 

That's when she noticed the weirdest thing. It looked like a monitor, but clunky and like those blocky computers in the old movies her dad would make Lily and her mom watch with him. Lily blinked, looking confused as she stood up “Where did this come from Vega?” 

“I believe it belongs to the Slayer. It was here before I activated into the Fortress’ systems.” Vega explained partly. He had all of the small amount of clearly precious data inside it triple backed up for the Slayer.

“Weird.” Lily noted running her fingers over the shell of the old, if not ancient computer. Lily shifted to look over at the desk area that had the Argenta tech, then looked back to the old computer. “It's like, ancient and out of history class…?”

“It is, though modified from the standard of the time, and not just the power source.” Vega sounded amused, as he saw the Slayer stop short in the still open doorway. Looking startled as if having forgotten that Lily was in the fortress, then frowned at hearing his favored old computer being called ancient.

He was not that old-!

The Slayer made a face as he grunted, remembering at least several, many centuries spent on Argent D'nur before the Divinity Machine. 

The Demigod groaned, feeling old again as he walked into the room. Wasn't it enough to make him feel like that on the platform? He caught the scent of oatmeal soap before finding where Lily was looking up at him. It was…

Oddly cute, wide hazel eyes staring up at his bulk from the beside the right side of his work area. What was it that she said… 

Rude. John signed and pointed at the girl as he came down the stairs, getting a guilty look back. Before she could say anything he stopped and hooked his right arm around Lily, careful of her right shoulder. Smirking at the startled squeak and half formed protests at being held like a wiggly bag of potatoes. 

John reached over to turn on and set a record on the player. Again feeling old but hell with it, it was something new to him in this world.

“Help?” Lily called from under his arm. Squeaking as she was, gently, squished against the solid wall of muscle on his side as the demigod huffed back.

[billkaulitzwife]

More Stupid Shit My Friends and I Have Said Feat. The Outsiders

Ponyboy

"Are you seriously on fucking Tomodachi life rn."

"What's your tit size? I MEANT KITTEN BITE. I MEANT WHAT DOES YOUR KITTEN BITE."

"If I had a nickel for every time I got confused I'd be a fucking millionaire."

Sodapop

"I'm mad at you now. I was watching a Livestream of a bird eating and I had to click on your notification."

"I don't own the cat. The cat owns me"

"I love fruit. Why? My boyfriends a fucking fruitbowl, c'mon now."

Darry

"Shit I burnt the grilled cheese." *Goes outside and throws it at a squirrel* "Eat it or I'll kill you."

"What the fuck do you mean Johnny's getting married to Elvis??"

"I've never had a soda so when my mom brings soda home we all worry."

"You caused a Chain reaction. You got suspended last week then Pony tells me 10 girls got suspended today."

Addie

"I tried to quit smoking. Yeah didn't last long."

"What animal are Teletubbies?"

"They call me grilled cheese cuz I make a mean one."

Dallas

"They call you queen bee cuz u been fuckin all of 'em."

"Next time I see Cherry Valance I'm throwing a box of cherries at her. Bitch."

"What animal is Mickey Mouse?"

Johnny

"How the fuck do people on Discord have my Snapchat, too."

"If I had a nickel for everytime I worried you guys I'd be in California."

"Guys I'm almost 17 :)"

Two-Bit

"Nuh-uh."

"I guess you could say that I am... a little silly in the morning."

*Talking to Steve while high* "Did you see how high Addie was this morning at school?"

"If I had a Nickel."

Steve

"I had a grilled cheese for breakfast."

"I'm not gay but my boyfriend is."

"If I had a Nickel for everytime I had something on my face I'd be on a yacht right now instead of staring at y'all's ugly bitch asses."

-_-_-_-_-_-

Addie: I know how to shoot a shotgun.

Darry: HOW?

Steve and Dallas, in the corner: 😳

-_-_-_-_-_-

Steve: That grilled cheese was good. Thanks Ads.

Addie: I made one and you live a mile away.

-_-_-_-_-_-

*Dallas and his mom in an argument*

His Gramma: *Sends a weird Facebook meme.*

Dallas: 🤓

-_-_-_-_-_-

Dallas: I remember when I used to sit on Santa's lap.

Johnny: Just like when some adult man made me sit on his!

Everyone else: 😥

-_-_-_-_-_-

Steve: Hey, hun did you check on the kids?

Sodapop: Hey, twins, Johnny, dinner's almost ready.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Darry: Top four animals

Addie: Kittens, frogs, turtles... Beluga.

Two-Bit: Birds-

Addie: BIRDSSSSSS OH MY GOD HOWD I FORGE-

-_-_-_-_-_-

Steve: I want a toasted cheese sandwich.

Pony: A fucking grilled cheese?

-_-_-_-_-_-

*Curtises hanging with their cousins*

The ginger cousin: I need to know what animal I would be and why.

Sodapop: LEPRECHAUN

Pony: A whale.

Cousin: HEY

-_-_-_-_-_-

Darry Curtis (active 4 hours ago): Phones on the tabke when you get home.

Ponyboy McLovin Curtis (Active Now): WHAT DID I DO

addie curtis (Active Now): are you serious.

Coca-Cola (Active Now): what happened

Darry Curtis (Active Now): None of you. Dallas and Steve.

Daddy dallas winston(Active.): is it cuz I took addie out to dinner or because we went to the shooting range after

Stevie (Active): I wasnt thwre i promise

Darry Curtis: what is this then *sends a picture of addie and dallas holding guns like bonnie and clyde while Steve is in the middle smiling huge*

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

guys i made a grilled cheese for the first time so These are mostly shit ive said. also ive found tumblr to actually be a safe space so idk.

[pcrfumed]

KWON TAERI, the black knight of 2016

COO of Kocho Mechanics, the R&D and manufacturing arm of the Kocho Group ( gmt + 8, dm for discord, like this post to plot ) ♞ your evil bisexual elle woods. intro ♞ dossier ♞

i. background

there's rich and there's rich, the difference between money and being part of what makes Korea tick. The Kwon family tree own the [xxx] Group, covering aviation (commercial airlines & cargo), consumer electronics, logistics and manufacturing with a heavy focus on electronics. Think Samsung, LG- that's how big they are.

Taeri, first grandchild and eldest of the eldest son, is born a disappointment. She's the perfect granddaughter, their babygirl princess- it's just that no one really wants a girl. Her greatness was always meant to be in support of her future brother and her father.

When you're 8, 10, 16- learning to live to the crushing weight of her inheritance and come out her own person person was a lot for a teenage girl. Taeri was always a little flighty and unendingly picky but charming and perfect in all the ways that matter. Good at painting and piano, smart enough to talk to adults and listening well. Girlie grew up on the politics of her family.

Taeri joined the king's club because she wanted it, the only Kwon in direct family line lucky enough to be born in the right timespan and while everyone knows the empire would go to her male kin, Taeri was connections to her family. frankly- her family didn't really want her in but in a moment of spite and sheer "i want to so idc", girlie secured her invite

When Taeri got inducted, everyone thought they'd be getting another mean girl heiress hunting for connections and a good time. Wrong !!!! Taeri already knows she's won the prettiest & coolest girl in the world competition and it's time to move up in the world !!!!!!!!!!!! she wants more baby, she always wants more. she just didn't realize it until doors for taeri, and not the kwon granddaughter, started opening.

SNU was basically her evil Elle Woods at Harvard law glow up. 9 dead, 4283 injured. Her family is not aware of all the evil plots in her brain and that her goals for the king's club are much more personal now, but it was a somewhat open secret amongst her fellow chessmasters and a few alumni, including the chairman of the Kocho group, a major chaebol group.

Taeri graduates while playing to win. She still has some of the airs she's always had, but graduation meant an end to playing around during work hours. she stayed long enough in her family to learn the ropes, forge her own connections and snipe some of the best people before moving to the Kocho group in a surprise upset. Starting from head of their sales department now to COO of their manufacturing arm while working closely with the chairman- all eyes are on the black sheep of the Kwon family. there's still plenty of time for her to fall upon her sword.

Her shares and future in her family business are less than stellar. sorry to everyone who wanted to marry into chaebol royalty! She might still have some buildings to her name and a second house somewhere, but her future there is colder than ever. Which, really, is motivation to succeed. she has certain lifestyle requirements

Taeri has become a lot less fun after graduation, even if her attitude hasn't changed much. But the vision of a pretty socialite has long since been wiped away.

ii. personality

kwon taeri is: a flash of whimsy between boardroom suits, the vulture watching over the carrion, the mouth that bites, the hand that feeds

card carrying evil bisexual even if she keeps it on the down low. not interested in flings. interested in psychosexual freakiness. honestly not interested in marriage unless you want to support her going for the crown, competition need not apply.

for a girl born with gold in her mouth, she's too used to the rich and the wannabes- she wants people who stand out, with ambitions like her.

the worst thing you can do is bore her.

sees the world as game that she wants to win. too used to being brushed over and forgotten- taeri refuses to lose and refuses to give up control. god help us all.

girl with a knife- give her something sharp and she just can't stop herself from trying to stick it in someone.

has a special desire to fuck over old men with an open path to success, a spiteful desire to ruin families. her own family left her with a kind of emptiness, and the only thing she knows how to do is break whatever reminds her of that. sorry, it's only personal.

your problematic queen

iii. connections

this is just some initial ideas but i looove brainstorming plots <3

by 2016, Taeri's heart was set on breaking from her family. And she's also a bitch who loves games so she made sure no Kwon initiate in 2016 would get in because lolz! but everyone wants to be in the kwon's good graces too- maybe your 2016 chessmaster decided to go against her (and of course, lost)

if asked, Taeri's favorite kind of person is smart enough to be of use, sweet enough to be loved & trusted, dumb enough to like her. fill this spot for her <3 hell, fill this spot for her in 2016 then grow out of it

on the flipside- growing up, love suited taeri poorly. bisexual elle woods who's never known how to love properly, who's relationship with queerness is even more ill-defined. sapphic love interests, obsessions, people who only hurt those they love- hi <3

kocho industries is a major force in the world of electronics & manufacturing especially for industrial use. ofc, consumer goods is where the bazillions come from and expanding there is on the future docket, but right now, taeri's focusing on scaling up and turning kocho into a powerhouse in industrial manufacturing with the best deals and the best tech. unlike her family (and many chaebol groups as well) she's a little more open to moving upwards with non family members and brings about a shakeup to the current order of things. work with her <3 be her evil corporate bestie and help her overtake her family

2016 - taeri has a small circle of close friends, a true inner circle who may see taeri for what she really is (kind of a bitch, materialistic, loyal) and who have something real with her. how this fares into 2024 after her antipathy towards hyungseo's death and her quiet rebellion against one of the biggest chaebol groups- who knows.

taeri loves her little lambs but admittedly, she loves competition she can respect. there's a part of her that wants to devour and be devoured, to fill her with something that feels real