#im thinking of making a map tbh

[hinamie]

congrats on your recovery n all yuuji but unfortunately for you I thought the scars were cool >:/

[slightly-sad-sloth]

Little fandom vent; sometimes I get annoyed at the way fandom reduces Damian down to stabby child who only cares about himself and does murder. Like yeah while I get fandom almost always reduces characters down to their funniest or snappiest traits Damian's just doesn't make sense.

Like his whole character is about how much he DOESNT want to be those things.

Damian cares so so so much about other people he just struggles to express it bc it takes a lot for him to trust someone enough to believe they're not going to pull the rug out from under him or betray him somehow. If he didn't care about other people he wouldn't have spent months trying to find Martha's pearls in the sewer, risking his life bc there was a bounty on his head at this point and further ruining his image with Bruce (who thought Damian was just sneaking off and putting himself in danger). He wouldn't have denounced the league and everything he knew to protect a man he'd met less than a year ago. He wouldn't have purposely failed a timed test as Robin to get across the city as fast as possible (a test that would've allowed him to go out alone as Robin and given him more independence one of things Damian values very highly) instead he went over the allowed time by more than 10 hours BC he helped old women with their shopping and walked women home after they were robbed and he sat with a man he saw crying in his apartment for more than 2 hours just having tea with him. I could go on and on about all the genuinely kind things he does bc Damian's empathy and kindness is one of his defining traits actually.

And yeah he used to kill people and he was more prone to violence than the other Robins but he was literally raised in an environment where his worth and by proxy his survival was tied to how well he did murder. I'm pretty sure if you raised any child in an environment where since they were born they were rewarded for killing and violence but punished for showing mercy and told them that it's for the greater good, that they're special and that there's nothing wrong with killing if the ends justify the means they'd end up the same.

Not to mention Damian fights so hard to not be violent bc he doesn't want to be, the people Damian admires most in the world (Dick and Jon) both based their entire personality around Superman (also it's confirmed Supes is his fav justice Leaguer in supersons). Damian wants to be like them so bad and wants to be kind and outgoing and as pacifist as you can get as a vigilante. Damian struggles so much to be that person but it's not as easy as just stopping when you've been conditioned your whole life that killing is the right move and that your worth as a person and the love of those around is dependent on you doing it. He literally keeps a sketch book where he just draws out all the intrusive violent thoughts he gets while fighting villains to get the anger and compulsion out so that he DOESN'T do those things. And Damian feels immensely guilty about all of his past murders which is shown over and over. When he kills no-body (an action he did to protect Bruce) he asks Bruce afterwards how he's supposed to make amends, how he's supposed to live with it.

Which leads me onto the other thing (and hopefully the last cause wow this is getting long) even Damian at his absolute worst only performs extreme violence out of either self defense or logic to him. He doesn't do it out of maliciousness (or at least that isn't the motivating factor). His worst actions were probably in his introduction where he 1) He accosted Alfred and stole the key to exit the batcave 2) Decapitated a villian 3) Attacked Tim

So let's get background on these events from Damian's pov. Damian has never been told who his father is and has to duel his mother every year on his birthday for the chance to find out. And then on his 10th birthday he wins and then that same night he's taken on a plane to go live with this man who he's told about on the plane ride over, then his first impression of him is Bruce fighting a bunch of manbats. His mother says she's leaving him with him indefinitely not telling him when she'll be back. And then this man who he only found out about hours beforehand takes him on another plane to a foreign country where he knows no-one and he finds out his father has other children as well. He's then locked in a small room adjoining a fucking cave full of weapons and told virtually nothing with no-one really talking to him except for them telling him that oh yeah everyone you know and trust is evil and your whole world view is wrong. And then when he yells at Bruce and has what's honestly best described as a temper tantrum (BC oh yeah he was literally 9 years old until a couple hours ago) Bruce in a bid to try and control his anger (since he's not sure how dangerous he is yet) uses league tactics on Damian telling him that he's dishonouring those who taught him. So the literal child whose spent his 10th birthday being flown around the globe to be a dumped in a foreign country with a man he's never met and only knows is a good fighter with a family consisting of an unknown amount of other allies who are similarly trained and then was locked in a room after being told his whole life is a lie might be forgiven for latching onto the only familiar thing here and going 'oh! Now I know how this works'

With the knowledge that Damian definitely decided from this conversation that the bats operate the same as the league it's pretty clear his reasoning is

1) Accosting Alfred and and stealing the key - a) I don't think you'd wanna be locked in a space by a bunch of strangers either no matter how nice the space is b) he probably assumed it was a challenge to see whether he was able to break out and a way they were testing his worth/ability

2) Decapitated a villian - once again assuming this is a test and trying to prove his worth/help his father in the mission to stop crime he was just told about

3) attacked Tim - a) Damian assumes that since Tim is home that he must be the current favourite and it's already known that in the league the way you replace someone is by killing them thus proving you were better than them. B) in the league if you were not the favourite/the best you were disposable c) the only way Damian knows how to earn/receive love is by performing violence, it's pretty reasonable that a 10 year old would try to go above and beyond to earn their new father's love (especially for a child like Damian whose always looking for that unconditional love he's been denied)

From Damian's perspective here he's being the best son anyone could want, he's doing the most past the point he'd be expected to and only being met with anger and disgust. Not to mention that from his view he's literally ensuring his safety since once again in the league Damian was one of the only people whose safety was ensured by proxy of him being the heir/favourite, we literally see them kill other leaguers as part of training.

Like this isn't to excuse what he did or say it's right but it is to point out that it WAS right from Damian's point of view and that he doesn't do what he does out of malice or blood thirst he's just a small child who quite literally didn't know any better.

(also him being mean is similarly a self defense thing, it's fairly common in abused kids. It's the logic of you can't hurt me if I hurt you first/you can't hurt me if I don't let you get close enough)

[8aji]

im a lil embarrassed that most of the posts ive posted (duh) as of late were text posts abt me being sick LMFAO n it feels silly to write this but i think i may log out of this acc for a lil while at least on mobile <3

[arolesbianism]

I've just been playing the new cotl update for most of the day and I'm so so close to being done with the main new story bits I think but it's also past midnight but also I'm so excited idk if I'll be able to sleep but also god damn do I need to sleep

[chainreh]

guess who just finished three hopes lol

[larnax]

[ id:

a map labeled "US states according to me, a Dutch guy" of the continental USA.

labeled correctly: California, Texas("this one's Texas" with a doodle of a person wearing a cowboy hat and holding a gun), Florida

in the wrong place: Oregon("West Virginia"), Nevada("New Mexico"), North Dakota("Atlanta", a city in Georgia), Illinois("Ohio"), Minnesota("Mississippipeepeesissipissi[sic]"), Arkansas("Kentncy[sic]"), Lousiana("Alablama[sic]"), South Carolina("rejected Florida"), New York("Arizona"), Idaho("I've been told Dakota is a thing so I'm just gonna put it here, you're welcome"), Kentucky("Wyoming"), the entire Mid-Atlantic("Washington & New York are somewhere in there I think?" (New York City is in the circle, but Washington is not)), North Carolina("East Virginia"), Missouri("Oregano[sic]", as well as a drawing of Bill from Gravity Falls), Iowa("Moth Man State", mothman originates from West Virginia), Oklahoma("Area 51", Area 51 is in Nevada), Montana("Night Vale", WTNV is set in the southwest)

not wrong: Wyoming/South Dakota/Nebraska("general Cowboy Land", the "Wild West" is usually considered to be the southwestern USA+Texas although some definitions include everything west of Oklahoma), Tennessee("swamp", Tennessee does have swamps), Mississippi/Alabama/Georgia("Tri-State Area", as well as a faded image of Doofenshmirtz, there's no town that borders all three states which is the actual definition of a tri-state area but it is "three states")

gave up: Washington("I'm having a crisis"), Arizona/New Mexico/Utah/Colorado(drawings of creator looking confused surrounded by question marks), Kansas("who cares"), Lake Superior("what the fuck"), Michigan(blank), Wisconsin("Please god help me"), Lake Eerie/Lake Ontario("A" repeated in all caps), Maine("what even?!"), Indiana("I hate the US so much"), Ohio("why are there so many"), West Virginia(blank), Virginia("???")

/ end id ]

okay americans how’d i do

[klvrgavin]

I think actually the only way to reconcile the ace attorney japanifornia situation is to replace LA with tokyo

[lumalalu]

why on earth do you even want a fe4 remake if you dont want anything to change just go play the original game.

[enkays-den]

Enkay Watches the Imp and Skizz Podcast #127 (featuring @joehills)

First of all, if you are not watching Joe Hills on either youtube or twitch, DO IT!!!! He's streaming pretty much every day and the conversations are always so interesting and he has the best little windows into the workings of Hermitcraft. Folks will pop by and have super interesting conversations with him! He's one of my favorite hermits and I think his unique way of experiencing minecraft, life, and hermitcraft is something that deserves more eyes on it, because I know people are sleeping on him.

First off, THIS is how you show up to the Imp and Skizz Podcast! Classy, on brand, and unique!

I love Impulse's little nest of pillows, he's so cozy nestled in there, holding his mandated amount of water like a security blanket

I love that the reason they wanted Joe on was to talk about the coup SPOILERS: they never even touch on it

joe's dad being a logician makes so much sense tbh

"a creationist universe where god wants you dead and i play minecraft like a greek hero idiot" is such an amazing way to talk about super hostile maps

HOW IS IT THAT JOE AND SKIZZ BOTH HAVE EDGAR ALLEN POE ANECDOTES OFF THE DOME

Joe having his wedding taking place during the recess of a vehicular manslaughter trial feels so strange and yet so Joe

JOE HILLS FULL NAME DROP?????

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE JOE KING" okay he mentioned on stream that there was a joke that maybe two people would get and I will proudly claim to be one of the two.

"fighting to become an artist" is so validating to Skizz's journey so far. It's gonna be his year anniversary of being a hermit soon and im gonna get emotional about his path this last year

Joe WOULD put on the Scottish Parliament sessions as background noise, love that

"I don't trust any platform with my art. I'm the one that makes the art and the audience is the one that appreciates my art" "I need to be as platform/brand agnostic as possible" "next time Amazon does something terrible to the unions" 👏👏👏

CHEERS REFERENCE, SKIZZ'S SITCOM BRAIN IS ACTIVATED

talking about his streams like a bar and like,,,,, he's so smart about the role of creators and fandom and i just appreciate joe so much

it's funny that they're shocked about the relationships can be formed within fandoms when like,,,,, that's how they met tango

((also if we talk regularly and read this i love you guys <3))

skizz, the worst chat reader ever i love you

i need hermitcraft standup. please. custom texture snowballs as tomatoes or flowers to throw

thinking about a younger skizz using a tape recorder to record his 'genius ideas' and quotes he likes and annoying the crap out of his friends

YES JOE AND SKIZZ TALKING ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF COMEDY AND THE STRUCTURE, THEY'RE SUCH AN INTELLECTUAL DUO

I'm glad that we got to hear Joe's JFK impression

COURT CASE TALK!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Bdubs will only let Doc win if it's funnier for doc to win, because that's how guilty doc was"

Joe quoting Sun Tsu and then going on the stand and said "Your Honor, Your Highness, my client is a baby" in an asymetric star trek dress, that's the Joe Hills Difference

"DELICIOUS" skizz i love how schadenfreude you are

"FIVE DIAMONDS PER F TIER BOOK???" impulse my favorite wet cat

"I'll make one sale every two months" and also implying that the shopping district has property taxes

the delivery on "two. some people say four" was SLICK

TUMBLR MCYT SEXYMAN POLL MENTION

"tumblr defines sexyman to mean 'most bizarre, cryptid, creepy thing' " not wrong there.

"well scar is obviously going to win the sexyman competition"

"once i found out that it's for weird, cryptid energy, I knew "oh nevermind I'm gonna win this"

joe hills is my favorite weird guy and he deserved to win

cleo as our nonbinary icon placing third place in the tumblr sexyman poll

All in all, fantastic podcast, and not long enough imo. I hope Joe gets to be there in person one day like he originally envisioned, and there's just an untapped well of information that could go into future podcasts

Reminder that you should subscribe and follow Joe!

BONUS, edited by me, please credit if you use it, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to use it (original screencap under cut):

[thatdeadaquarius]

sagau with the language barrier issue except... the creator is sick and tired of trying to ask for things so they do everything themself.

and it gives their followers mass anxiety bc they can't even ask what you're doing... bc they know they won't understand anything...

SUCH A GENIUS NARVI 10/10 GOOD WORK SORRY IM SUPER LATE BUT THIS IS *chefs kiss*

Like, that's literally how I feel like I first played Genshin LMAO

Also this has a cont. Part 2 at the bottom bc tumblr fucking hates me UPDATE I FIXED IT THANK FUCK

Paimon was like "and then we go to Mondstadt- ! NO, not Wolvendom, to Mondstadt! NOT THE THOUSAND WIND TEMPLE WITH ENEMIES OUT OF UR LEAGUE, ENTER MONDSTADT FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE U EXPLORE THE REST OF THE MAP!! >:("

SO MANY IDEAS YET SO LITTLE WRITING SKILL GUYS HELP-

Also warning this is ROUGH in terms of spelling and editing and im so sorry abt that! I have my art show today so you're welcome to come back if you want to see it a little more readable tomorrow lmao

Edit Update 4/6/23:

Revised and fixed all the bad spelling and grammar (hopefully) so make sure to give another read if you havent read the cleaned up version lol

I dont have a beta reader so its just me trying my best ok-

Everything was like kinda chaos tbh at first

WOW- MY FIRST 1,000+ NOTES POST??!?! U GUYS, WHAT ARE R YOU DOIN??!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IM GLAD U GUYS ENJOYED IT SM!! Also look out for more encoded stuff in the future since i mentioned wanting to continue stuff like this + ARG stuff :) <3

Edit 9/7/23: 2,000+ NOTES?? THANK YOU???

Like u wake up under the Irminsul, and u think ur hallucinating a goddamn gacha game for like a solid 5 minutes, or ur lucid dreaming, 

but once u actually took what felt like hours to process that u might actually be in fucking Genshin Impact-

Nahida came running from, somewhere?? Its kinda just very floaty dreamy in here so, unclear, she’s beaming with a giddy little smile (💘)

It’s… so much more than what her game model could manage.

I mean, you knew that, of course you did, but- to see the tiny goddess smiling in person, her cute chubby arms waving in the air, her cheeks all plump with baby fat from her excited smile, pretty green eyes that sparkle only in the way excited toddlers do-

It was just…wow. 🥺

You can’t help it, her sheer carefree excitement, exactly like a child but you know that she must be really overwhelmed with joy if shes letting herself act like that so blatantly, you feel ur muscles tug gently into a smile, you try to muffle it but ur happiness leaks out anyway

She's panting as she stumbles on short chubby legs to reach you.

After just staring at you with those big green clover eyes for a few seconds, she physically shakes her head to knock herself out of it,

Nahida places her hand over her heart, and bows elegantly, going back to looking at you with a small but bright smile, her voice is kind of quiet, muffled in a soft way, much like her game depiction,

“Hzozn! R'ev yvvm dzrgrmt gl nvvg blf! R wrwm'g gsrmp blf dlfow wvhxvmw fmgro R dzh zg ovzhg z uvd gslfhzmw bvzih low!” *

…Nahida begins to look a little concerned… her eyes get impossibly bigger.

…Oh no.

♧

Nahida had apparently quickly spread the news that you can’t understand them, but luckily it seems like all the characters still know you!

Alhaitham is pretty much a constant by your side, you knew he was vaguely studying linguistics in the akademiya… but that knowledge still didn’t prepare you to be intensely stared at with his diamond pupils for hours. 💀

Then he’d tap your shoulder or something, and you quickly picked up that he wanted you to just try and say something.

Then he would scribble for hours.

Turns out they can understand you about as much as you understand Teyvat language (s? You can’t even tell if there are multiple languages, that’s how unrecognizable this language is, damn)

The more extroverted or friendly people, like Venti, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Jean, Noelle, Amber, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Zhongli, Ganyu, Barbara, Beidou, Collei, Ayaka, Gorou, Nilou

At least attempt to talk to you, and try very hard to watch what you gesture with your hands or body language

They're pretty much ready to play charades at all times for you lol

Interestingly enough, they only ever understood you when you typed in the chat (with other ppl)

But even then not immediately, 

Sumeru scholars basically had to make a whole new department (regardless of how much you play with others) to decipher your ancient language (to them) like those old clay tablets with cuneiform we’re still translating?

Like that, your words appear in elemental magic heavy places (so like that abyss lang. It’ll appear on walls or structures, so like Andrius’ stone colosseum? in Wolvendom gained some of your chat replies inscribed and glowing a rainbow of colors on the top edges of the walls)

Much like the abyss language you see throughout genshin, most Teyvat scholars (across nations/internationally) agreed your language is the oldest form of language known!

It’s like modern languages having roots in older ones, like English with Latin, greek, or German roots, or Sanskrit and the Prakrit for Hindi language today

…so of course no one really speaks the root languages anymore, because they’re so old, so those ancestors who spoke those languages would have little to no understanding of their modern counterparts…

◇

Occasionally if you turned your mic on for whatever reason there would be a gentle whisper on the winds in Mondstadt of your voice,

or your laugh in the waves washing ashore in Inazuma and Fontaine,

your startled noises or screams from battling bosses mixed with the landslides in the mountains of Liyue

So they know what you sound like, but that doesn’t mean they understood your language :/

Nahida had been hoping that you’re actual physical form being here would help improve the language barrier

But unfortunately, those things remained the same, but at least you were physically here to talk to now and give more content for the scholars to study rather than them having to make do with your snippets of language from chats

…so needless to say, it took you a long time to realize they viewed you as a god of sorts.

You kind of knew something was up when at least two allogenes were by your sides at all times, or eremites would replace them if they really couldn’t stick around

You figured they knew you weren’t nearly as combatant-ready as they were at all times, hell you obviously didn’t have a vision hanging off you somewhere, and you only really had a knife strapped to a belt, courtesy of the Thirty Corps

You are still kind of convinced that the people of Teyvat, or Sumeru at least, are just pretty polite (and in the allogenes case, very kind or friendly, even people like Alhaitham or Cyno, resting bitch faces they have, seem to soften a little when they’re walking around with you… maybe you’re just imagining it…)

And as much as you would love to wait until they understand you to do something more fun, as you can see the frustration on Tighnari’s face (and his ears try to flatten back hehe) as he looked like he was debating heatedly with some of the Sumeru sages who insist you stay in the city

…so why not go?

It’s not like they’re going to get it anytime soon, and it’s still too frustrating for yourself to charade things or draw things for them because you can’t even hear their guesses 💀

You can totally handle being like the traveler too, 

You still have access to your inventory afterall! Plus, lucky for you, you still find a pass for the Serenitea Pot in your little pocket dimension!

So now you have somewhere to sleep at night, and while most of your stuff went to the traveler’s pack, the things like Primogems

(which.. Okay now you really want primogems bc theyre so pretty and shiny irl)✨️

And other high-level things, or just objects of no use for the traveler (so basically all your hoarded level up stuff and infinite amount of weapons lol) came along with you

So you did have to wander the first week or so around the city and even commission the Adventurer’s Guild to grab you food supplies to cook with

Filling up, along with a few big waterskins, you’re off!

...and everyone collectively has a heart attack!

◇

When you show up in Ghandaraville essentially all “✨️💖☺️✨️” on Tighnari’s doorstep-

He chokes on the tea he’d been sipping on before he opened the door lol

He looks a little frazzled so you try to just gesture with “calm yourself small animal” energy with your hands

“Tivzgvhg Oliw! R'n- R- sld wrw blf-?! Mvevinrmw, xlnv rm, xlnv rm, ivhg! ...R mvvw gl hvmw z nroorlm ovggvih mld gl ylgs gsv vmgriv xrgb lu Hfnvif, gsv Zxgrmt Tizmw Hztv, zmw gsv Nzgiz nlhg orpvob…” he began out looking at you and talking and gesturing to his small dining table (the game sucks, his house looks great and has lots of cool rooms filled with interesting plants… oooo…so pretty...) 

But then he kinda just devolved into rambling, no need to understand, you can read the vibes and just know that's what he's doing lol

Collei eventually ducks in, and she looks a little panicked?

She’s quickly followed by Cyno, pushing past her to call out into the house,

His voice seems hard and stressed, looking at Tighnari, “Grtsmzir, szev blf hvvm gsv Tivzgvhg Oliw zmbdsviv, gsvb dviv hvvm xlnrmt gl Tszmwziezeroov ozhg-” 

Cyno stops and blinks.

Collei’s mouth is slightly dropped open, she also just, blinks.

You blink. 

Tighnari blinks tiredly, he looks like he’d rather be done for the day, you think.

The doctor sighs, and moves his head to nod towards the other dining seats.

◇

Sumeru foods are so much better looking in real life, and they’re so good too, your practically bloated by the end of dinner, 

As a thank you, bc u cant say it obv, you just gesture for Tighnari to stay sitting, and he gives you a raised eyebrow and a suspicious ear twitch

But stays still, and you reach out to finally hit the eight-pointed star hovering over his, and all playable characters chests at all times.

Like you suspected, it brings up a holographic character menu, but rather than his full model, it kind of hovers in front of Tighnari’s face, replacing his old 3D model self with framing the real thing for a portrait just in front of his face

The poor Denro user nearly jumps a foot out of his chair as he looks in shock at your screen, you do the same “chillll boy” gesture with your hands and press his shoulders for a second to remind him to not run off or panic

Cyno and Collei had done the dishes and put up leftovers, and are now standing behind Tighnari, watching with equally wide eyes,

“...Dszg ziv gsvb wlrmt gl blf?

Cyno’s voice is even deeper and quieter than usual, you feel goosebumps run up your spine

“Ziv blf tvggrmt yovhhvw, Nzhgvi Grtsmzir?!” Collei’s sweet voice is also hushed like she’s witnessing something sacred, Tighnari gently shakes his head negatively in response, his shoulders shrugging,

“Nzbyv? R uvvo... z orggov hgilmtvi, zmw nb Erhrlm rh zxgrmt fk zh dvoo…”

Though he’s replying, Tighnari’s eyes haven’t once left your ancient magic? technology device? hovering in front of him,

and as he crosses his arms and squints to try and look closer at everything floating in front of him, you can see the childlike gleam of awe in his green eyes, (so cute) in fact, now that you glance up and look, both Collei and Cyno have the same quietly excited and fascinated sparkle in their eyes too

With a displeased sneer, you chuck his old level one bow into the material grinding spots, hope he wasn’t attached to that…

Oh well, he’ll like the new one better, afterall, with no characters, all your best weapons and artifacts are ready to use!

With a small smile of reassurance, you finally finish gearing Tighnari up, tap a miniature version of that 8-point star in the corner like an “X” button, and it retreats like a classic TV set�� turning off into his chest, he startles but then carefully stands

You decide to just start making decisions bc its worked out so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And grab his hand and haul him out into the forest, Collei letting out a surprised squeak, her and Cyno hurrying after

You reach the nearest clearing, and gesture at Tighnari like a bow and arrow firing, he gets it, and your glad he already trusts you, because he doesn’t take long to summon his bow

He takes aim at a smaller tree about two cars length away

You can feel them all holding their breathe, as Tighnari charges it with Dendro, the arrowhead glowing, (it looks so cool and badass irl god you feel envious even tho ur already here-)

The ranger lets it fly, it streaks neon green, whistling through the air, it hits the tree-

and it fucking explodes.

Vines and leaves and the trees roots all rapidly swell like theyre filled with water, like it literally got hit by a superhero with plant powers, which, not that far off actually.

The green floating Dendro seeds make a ring around the tree its so full of elemental energy-

You give a wild grin, you still got it, hell yeah. >:)

Your grin widens as you look over at Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno

Cyno has a smirk lighting up his face, eyes eager, Collei’s jaw has dropped and she’s just frozen staring as the tree finally settles from the burst of the dendro powered arrow

…Tighnari has lowered his bow, and his mouth is only slightly open, his ears perked straight up into the air, shaking with excitement? Happiness? Interest? You don’t know how peopl-animal-hybrid ears work,

and you STILL cant talk to any of them to ask what they thought, so looks will have to do >:/

Tighnari is the first to move, his head snapping over to look at you, the brightest, kinda feral tbh, smile taking over his face-

“Blf pmld, dv xzm'g fmwvihgzmw blf, zmw blf fh, bvg R xzm'g dzrg gl hvv dszg rm gsv dliow blf'iv tlrmt gl wl mvcg. Blf'iv znzarmt."

… and you just 🙂? Cool!

And give a thumbs up👍LMAO

☆

Bonus:

Alhaitham was literally running around Sumeru City trying to find you when you left, tho you did try and leave a translatable-in-3-to-5-business days-note, he didn’t have time to translate that because you were gone.

Or worse, lost in the city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you, esp as Acting Grand Sage-

Kaveh got a letter a day and a half later from Tighnari letting them know you were having a sleepover in Ghandarvaville lol

Kaveh also had to hunt down Alhaitham to give him said news, then force his roommate to go sit or lay down for the rest of the day to recover lmao

(Haitham honestly kinda freaked Kaveh out bc he’s never seen him that... desperate, it was like seeing a statue emote lol)

♡

ARE YOU KIDDING WE ALMOST HIT LIMIT AGAIN?!

Bro has anyone else had this problem???

I literally had to switch from PC to mobile and copy and paste it there to get all my shit in and tumblr not throw a hissy fit???!!!

FUCKING TUMBLR- SUCK MY BIG FAT- 👹👹 UGH

ANYWAYYYY SO I FINALLY CAVED 

And started doing ciphers for when you dont get teyvat’s language! I meant to do something fun like this for awhile but I wasn’t sure if that would be kind of annoying, but if you’re interested in learning what they actually say (which the whole point of this is that dw it doesnt rlly matter lol) here’s a hint:

*hint = Atbash

:> good luck!

Wish me luck on my art exhibition today!! Then I’ll be homefreeeee 😭

Safe Travels,

💀♒

♡ the beloveds ♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[snapscube]

How are you liking the infinity story so far? Not talking about the dark stuff specifically, just a long time nikki fan delighted to see more people getting into the story 'v'

the story of infinity specifically is pretty okay so far!!! it was very slow going at the start but i do like the themes they’re touching on and its finall starting to pick up and introduce some fun new concepts around where im at in chapter 4! but like tbh even when it was slow i didn’t mind too much since it kinda let me just take in the vibes and the game systems a lot more. now that im starting to get into a flow state with the game itself, its the perfect time for the plot to start picking up. so i think its well balanced!

my current wish for the story moving forward is for them to start circling back around and revisiting/making use of some key recurring characters aside from nikki, momo, and the antagonists. it doesn’t really SEEM like the structure of the story is built for that right now since it needs to take you all across the map so there’s a ton of vignettes and characters that have yet to stay relevant for longer than a few missions. but there have been a couple characters like Dada, Bettina, and Tan Youyou that seem like they either are destined to play a larger part or at least were appealing enough to me that i sure wish they would.

[quinnonimp]

some concept art of my qsmp map part ! didnt make much in general since it was quite simple, but the part still ended up nice . since the map's been in the works for a year, its fun looking back on my old choices & ideas ..

overall im glad i went with a lineless style, even if it looks a bit out of place in the grand scheme of the map (maybe the subtle outlines help it out a little ? i think theyre cute) . not only did i go for that style bc its what i usually animate with therefore easier (esp since i redraw every frame freehanded), i found the idea of doing a lineless colors -> "colorless" lines water transition really cool ! in a both a stylistic way & narrative/symbolic way . the colors themselves were enjoyable to work with too, though they ended up pretty different from my initial vision tbh, went for a softer tealer look in the end . it mightve been too much if i went for bolder colors ..

originally qjaiden was gonna be hiding in the background of shot 2 .. but well to be honest i just forgot to add that to the final version . imagine shes off camera 💔 there ended up being a lot of ideas i cut simply bc i either forgot or i wanted to keep the part really simple since this is my first map, & im so grateful i did, even if it couldve turned out better w the other ideas lmao

plus ! heres a really early concept test with my water transition . featuring quackitty

[thumbsart]

The removal of Gambit Prime really was the writing on the wall. It was so fun when it was around, and getting rid of it rather than iterating really did just signal that Bungie have no real interest in improving Gambit.

And that's so frustrating because I genuinely enjoy Gambit. It's flawed, sure, but flaws can be fixed! But, because of those flaws, nobody particularly likes playing Gambit, and that gives the perception that nobody likes the idea of Gambit.

At least now the people playing Gambit will be people who enjoy it rather than people there out of obligation because they need their pinnacle gear.

rip gambit you will be missed 😔

Don't even know what to say tbh.

For those that don't know, the big State of the Game article came out detailing incoming changes and adjustments and all the big stuff. Gambit was mentioned! But at what cost. Basically, they are ceasing any kind of support for Gambit. What we have now is what it is. We will get the Dreaming City map back in TFS and they will add Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive as enemy factions in TFS. That's all.

Full text:

As many of you have noticed, we’ve been quiet on Gambit since last year’s overhaul that launched alongside The Witch Queen. In that revamp, the team made significant changes across five categories in Gambit: core activity fundamentals, Primeval tuning, invasions, ammo economy, and rewards. Unfortunately, these updates didn’t move the needle for player engagement. Although we know our Gambit fans mostly care about new or returning maps, this is an area of the game with lower engagement that would take resources away from more popular parts of the game to shore up.   While we don’t have plans to dedicate more resources to significantly transform Gambit, we do have a few updates planned for the year of The Final Shape. These include porting the Cathedral of Scars map and its beautiful Dreaming City setting into the latest version of Destiny 2, as well as adding the Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive enemy types. 

I don't know how to tell you this Bungie, but the reason "engagement is low" in Gambit is because Gambit sucks. Ever since half of it was removed with DCV, it just sucked. It has no variety, the gameplay is largely busted, it's not sufficiently updated, ammo changes suck, invasion cycle sucks (why is the enemy even getting a portal when their Primeval is at 5% health and the other team is still in mote collecting phase is beyond me), there are no cool armour sets to chase (just look at Iron Banner and Trials stuff, imagine dedicated cosmetics) and finally there are simply no weapons that are worth anything. Both Vanguard and Crucible have more weapons and also adept versions. There is zero reason to go into Gambit without major changes to Gambit. And now with the further changes to how playlists and challenges will work, there will be even less reason to go into Gambit. Observe:

Before then, we’re making Gambit entirely optional to maximize your rewards unless you’re looking for a piece of gear that’s specific to the mode. Gambit will continue to serve as a source of Exotic engrams via weekly challenges, though as we mentioned above, you’ll be able to complete all your weekly challenges in any ritual you’d like starting in Season 22. If you want to stick to Vanguard or Crucible challenges without touching Gambit, now you can.  We’re also reducing the number of Gambit-specific Seasonal Challenges starting in Season 22, so players won’t need to bank motes to be able to earn that big purse of Bright Dust for completing nearly every challenge in the Season. Finally, we’re adding Fireteam Matchmaking to Gambit next Season, which will replace the Freelance node and should result in faster, better matchmaking by combining both Gambit playlists. We’ll keep an eye on reception and player engagement after these additions take place, and we hope you’ll visit ‘ol Drifter next Season to get your hands on his new Void Machine Gun. 

Ngl, but I don't think anyone besides like a total of 6 people will play Gambit next season. The incentive to go in there is completely removed. You won't even have to go in there for pinnacles or for challenges. The Void Machine Gun will not be enough of an incentive because the chance of that gun being better than two recently available craftable Void Machine Guns (Commemoration and Retrofit Escapade) is very low. And besides, once you get it at the end of your first match, you can leave Gambit forever.

This is the feedback loop that just reinforces the idea that people don't like Gambit. And I mean. Who would at this point. I'm pretty sure that if Crucible had stayed the same as it was at the start of Beyond Light, engagement would be low there too. But you know. Crucible has received major updates pretty much every season since with multiple new modes, several Trials overhauls, Iron Banner overhaul, competitive overhaul, new armours and weapons added and YES, even new maps. God forbid even 5% of these resources went into Gambit.

Anyway, this is the whole section about Gambit in 6500 words. It's basically a "you guys aren't playing this so we're doing the bare minimum of keeping it in the game as is, no new work will be done on it ever." Thanks I guess.

And for the record, something I also added while having a rant in my discord, I want to make it clear that I don't want anyone to spiral into a Bungie hate train. Even for this. I understand perfectly well what's the community attitude towards Gambit and what it's been for years now. People just don't like it and they're not incentivised to like it and they're actively encouraged to hate it. Spending resources into a game mode on the hope that maybe you can change people's minds would be insanity. Like, the amount of change Gambit would need to MAYBE start appealing to gamers would be beyond any reasonable time and resources Bungie can put in. And if you could guarantee that people would love and play Gambit then, fine. But you can't. Most likely, even if major changes happened, people would still just do their weekly stuff and bail. It's simply not worth it. In order for people to like it, it needs to be completely and thoroughly overhauled in a way that would need more time and effort than the entire Light subclass overhaul and it's just not a reasonable expectation, nor is it guaranteed to work. So I get it.

I'm still disappointed and annoyed about it because I believe it wasn't given a fair chance at all. I also know how good it can be and how Gambit Prime could've been improved upon over the years if they tried. Instead, it got removed and that was honestly the death sentence for Gambit. It's unfortunate. It's my favourite game mode that could've been so much better was it given even a fraction of attention of Crucible.

I'll still be playing it. You will find me in the Gambit queue waiting for 2 hours to find 7 other lunatics to play with, don't worry about it. But I'm absolutely incredibly sad about them being basically forced to axe the potential of the whole game mode that is incredibly creative and fits with the type of game Destiny is perfectly.

There's other interesting stuff in the article and some upcoming really cool improvements and changes to the game. But if you're a fan of Gambit in any capacity, this is a death certificate for the mode. I suggest coming to terms with it quickly because Bungie changing their minds about this is highly unlikely.

[duskdawnallen]

okok drop songs that make u think of each batkid..... heheeheheh

omg okay omg so this. because i love. (i definitely do not have playlists for all the batkids) i know theres more batkids but the ones ive done are the only ones that i’m familiar with :,(

And that’s that!! This one was really fun, thank you pookie <33

im going to do bruce too because i want to and i can!

okay so this yes but also like imagine it with him to his kids (mostly jason but yk)

this also too, hear me out

also this omg

next up is dick

this is more like him as robin trying to fit in after leaving the circus you know?

im a strong believer of this one

this could for all the batkids but i like it being for dick the most since hes been doing it the longest yk

okay jason

self explanatory i hope

i really really like this one for jason too

this one might be a little silly but yk

tim time (hes a little tricky but i got there in the end)

apollo stop using musical numbers for the songs challenge go!

hear me out

mostly 90’s tim tbh

steph <33

yes, just yes

i was going to put this for cass but it’d fit both in different contexts

90’s steph? or at least the steph in tim’s robin run

cass

i feel like this is SO cass coded

also this one, you know??

this one is the same as steph but because she’s the perfect next batman so yeah

duke is a little bit difficult because ive read like 2 of his comics idk

i can see this one??

the whole we are robin arc

i also think this one

damian, fun fact the two physical copies of comics i have are both damian centred

this one is very damian coded but also idk if you know her, athanasia al ghul from injustice too

post damian leaving the league

okok this one? i feel like it fits, i can’t explain

maps - im not too familiar with her but ive read some comics to make a judgement of songs

this one heavily reminds me of her

also this one

this one might be because i saw a maps edit to this song but i also think its very her coded

lance, okay so hes not as well known and iirc hes been erased from canon and such, plus the fact he died in the same issue he appeared in but i love him

this one is SO him coded, trust him

this but lance is the lemon boy

this because he died in bruce’s arms

[miafeystits]

re: that last poll i reblogged, one of the reasons i find both mpreg & a/b/o fic kind of morbidly fascinating after many years in fandom (despite not liking either) is how these kinds of fic often function as a way of mapping the tropes and gender dynamics of cis/heterosexual romance onto (almost always cis) m/m stories without going so far as to gender-swap either character

like, this is pretty obvious with mpreg centered on cis men, which is often just the application of common pregnancy-related romance tropes to cis m/m couples (note: im excluding depictions of trans masc pregnancy from my discussion here because i just think its a separate convo with its own nuances, and because i think much of the fic im describing here generally draws from ideas about cis men & women without much consideration for transness). however its ESPECIALLY apparent if you look at common a/b/o tropes in m/m fic. namely, the fact that an a/b/o universe is generally a world in which irl gender essentialism and the resulting sexual power dynamics between (cis) men and (cis) women are able to be applied to relationships exclusively between cis men-- with one partner being dominant, often physically stronger and aggressive, and socially privileged for this (perceived or real) biological superiority, and the other partner (who is generally the one able to bear children) being sexually submissive, weaker, and thus socially disadvantaged or oppressed as a consequence.

furthermore, something EXTRA interesting to me is that in this type of fic these power dynamics are very frequently not just social constructs (the way they are in real life-- pls dont misunderstand me and think im saying women are inherently biologically submissive to men irl or something), but rather almost always depicted as a biological reality within the world of the story. this type of au (at least in m/m dominated circles) offers a way of exploring and depicting what are basically misogynistic tropes without ever naming it as misogyny or involving women at any point. and i'm not trying to make a moral judgement here--i just genuinely find it very interesting that one of the main ways that misogynistic sexual dynamics (and, frequently, the violence resulting from such dynamics) gets explored in fandom spaces is through the development of an alternate biological and social reality in which cis men experience a mirror of those power dynamics, often turned up to 11 via in-universe biological essentialism. it strikes me as a way to engage with irl misogyny and its role within relationships with a certain amount of emotional distance, for better or worse. on one hand, it might be used to explore this imbalance of power without ever needing to depict misogynistic violence happening to female characters, but on the other hand also often offers a way to engage with romantic tropes steeped in irl gender essentialism in a way that is justified within the fiction of the universe and therefore do not need to be considered as critically

now i dont think this alone justifies this trope's existence or popularity (i'm sure a large part of its popularity is people just thinking it's hot tbh, which is fine im not here to judge), and honestly i'm not interested in litigating the question of why people write or read this trope in the first place, but i AM continually fascinated by the degree to which heteronormativity is able to influence what are ostensibly depictions of queer relationships

[twstgarden]

✰ ❝ 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝗲? ❞

━ yan! malleus draconia, yan! vil schoenheit x gn! reader (reader can either be yuu or an oc/twstsona) ━ it seems you have caught the eye of a certain dorm leader(s) in night raven college, but it doesn't seem like he'll let you run off and not be his. you have no choice but to marry him, and you have no choice but to be his perfect lover.

cw: (including but not limited to) yandere themes, mentions of kidnapping, slight dollification, non-consensual drug use, possessive behaviour, unhealthy relationships, mentions of forced marriage

requested by: anonymous request type: oneshot requester’s message: Hello mina!! Can i please request a yandere vil or malleus one-shot any pronouns is good hehe and i really really LOVE your dévouement like when there's an update to the main story i always thought your story first tbh im more excited to your story than the main hehe that's all sorry for the rant thank you po have a great day!!♡´･ᴗ･`♡ florist’s note: hello po, dévouement reader! <3 i'm really glad you love the book! i have dropped an update on that a few days ago~ as for your request, i'll do both vil and malleus, thank you for your request!

might include spoilers for chp 6 and 7! f/n means first name. do not steal or translate without my permission.

— 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖 —

the silence was deafening in this godforsaken room. you were not even certain if you are locked up in the main castle of the dormitory or in the other area connected to it on the right side of diasomnia's map. you have been here for days, or was it weeks? months? you do not know.

all you knew is you missed a lot of classes now and you have no idea if your friends are searching for you at this very moment.

it has been way too quiet for a while now, it was starting to drive you mad.

you want to be free from this room, you want to speak to another living being, you want to take in the scent of fresh air, you want to be away from him.

everything was fine at the start, or so you thought. you had no idea what you did wrong for him to kidnap you in your sleep and lock you up in this room. you had no chains or ropes tied to your wrists and ankles. in fact, you were not even tied to anything at all! you can freely jump off the window to escape if you wish to.

oh, please. of course, you have tried that. and where did you end up? still in this room. it seems like he used some sort of magic in this room to make it hard for you to escape.

it was a huge disadvantage that you had to be kidnapped by one of the most powerful mages in the world.

'click.'

a noise.

finally. the silence was starting to drive you mad already. your eyes widened as you watched the door slightly open ajar before a tall figure entered the room, closing the door behind him as he approached you. he sat on the corner of the bed and smiled gently at you as if he did not just abduct you and lock you up in this room.

"my dear..."

his voice was deep and tender, clearly lovestruck by you as he caressed your cheek gently with the back of his hands. however, your eyes remained on the door, thinking of ways to escape and run away from here.

he seemed to have noticed your lingering gaze on the exit door, which made him frown as he placed his finger under your chin and pulled your face up to look at him.

and once your eyes met his pained gaze, his finger stroked your cheek as he whispered, "please don't look at the door. i don't want to feel like you're trying to run away from me."

"then set me free."

you demanded softly, wanting to keep that slightly peaceful conversation going, not wanting to piss him off as you still wish to go to sleep with all four limbs intact. his pained gaze turned even sadder as he sat closer to you, "but why? i give you everything you could possibly need. we are to be wed soon, my love. you'll have all the riches you need, you'll have the finest jewellery and clothes in the world, you'll live in my palace and be royalty..."

it might sound like a dream, but it isn't what you desire. you don't even see him in a romantic way either. you wanted to tear up as you imagined your future the moment he mentions marriage, "...i don't want those. i want to go back... i want to see my friends... i don't want to get married, i don't want to become a royal consort with no freedom..."

your words seemed to make him upset. who would reject his offer? he's giving you everything that he thinks would make you happy! his eyes narrowed as he looked at you and huffed, "why would you choose that? all they do is take you away from me."

"i was never yours to begin with!" you argued as tears started to prickle at the corner of your eyes, growing desperate to be free and be away from him and anyone associated with him.

after your little outburst, it was uncomfortably silent in the room, only your soft sniffles and breathing were heard as he sat before you with an unreadable expression, but you knew he was pissed as hell now.

he suddenly stood up and turned his back on you, walking away from the bed and heading to the door. the last thing you heard from him before he left your room and locked the door made you want to sob even more.

"we are getting married whether you like it or not. you do not have a choice."

— 𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙩 —

the lights of pomefiore's bedrooms normally appear aesthetically pleasing to you, but right now, it served as a frustrating reminder that you have been in the same room for more than 24 hours now, staring at the same objects over and over again, unable to move your limbs to run away from this wretched room.

the brush tickling your cheeks, as it applied a red hue to them, felt like thorns brushing and scratching your skin despite its softness. it was unbearable. you have been sitting on this vanity chair for far too long now, not even sure of how you look like with how you've been tickled and dabbed with makeup brushes and sponges all day long.

a pair of amethyst eyes carefully watched as his hands did all the work on dolling up your face. once he was satisfied, he turned the vanity chair around to make you face the mirror.

you look like a fashion doll.

at least it was better than looking like a clown caked with makeup.

you had to admit, his skills were good. the makeup suits you perfectly and the outfit he made you wear looks gorgeous on you, but it would have been better if he did not paralyze you in the first place with his unique magic by cursing your drink.

you could not respond. you could not even move your hand to touch your face, but he seemed very pleased with himself as he caressed your cheek with the back of his hand.

"you look perfect."

perfect.

perfect.

perfect.

you were nothing but perfect in his eyes right after he dolls you up every time. you felt like you were just a mannequin for him to beautify and show off to everyone, claiming you were his darling lover, that you would forever be the love of his life.

even if you were paralyzed, your eyes filled up with tears. you wanted nothing more than to run away from this place and hide. vil clicked his tongue at the sight of your tears prickling at the corners of your eyes.

"if you dare mess up my work with your tears, i'm cursing your drink again and i'll redo everything."

you wished you could stop, but his threats sent your heart throbbing with fear as you could not hold it in anymore. tears started to roll down your cheeks as the fear in your heart grew, wishing you could just disappear in the blink of an eye, but alas, you were not blessed with magic, unlike everyone else in this prestigious academy.

vil groaned and harshly held your face by your cheeks, messing up the makeup with your tears and making you look at the mirror as he glared at your reflection, "look what you've done."

and as if the gods have heard your plea, you can suddenly move again. it has been past the time limit of when his unique magic's conditions are met, and once you regained your mobility, you held onto his wrist and tried to pull his hand away from your face.

"please, stop! i'm sorry, i'll fix it!" you pleaded, sobbing even more as vil pulled his hand away from your face and landed a slap on your cheek before making you look at him again. "fix? you're not even good enough to apply makeup on your own," hissed the man harshly as he glared at you.

he sighed as he stood straight, closing his eyes and placing his fingers on his temple to show how stressed he was. the pomefiore dorm leader looked at you with a glare before grabbing your cup on his bedside table, refilling it with your drink of choice and casting his unique magic on it.

this time, his conditions included a longer time limit than earlier.

vil stood before you with the cursed or drugged drink and held your face with one hand to try and pry your mouth open. he brought the glass to your lips, forcing you to drink the beverage as you started hitting his arm and struggling, hoping he would stop forcing the cursed drink down your throat, but his strength was overwhelming. his grip on your cheeks made it feel like your face was about to break if he gripped you a little harder.

you struggled to push him away as he forced the drink down your throat, and once he was finished, he placed the cup on his desk and made you sit properly, leaving you paralyzed in that same position once again.

tears continued to stream down your cheeks as you sobbed and pleaded for him to stop. at least this time, his conditions did not include taking away your ability to speak. vil leaned down to look at you right into your fearful eyes as he whispered, "stop looking so frightened when i'm around."

vil gave you a small smile before placing a tender kiss on your forehead. it felt patronising, as if he was taking any ounce of authority you have left in you and taking full control of your life. he leaned his cheek on your head as you both looked into your reflections in the mirror, seeing his endearing smile after doing something drastic to you made you sick to your stomach.

how could he smile after treating you so harshly?

"i'm only doing this out of love, my darling. you have to look perfect before we go out for dinner, no?"

© twstgarden 2023 || please do not steal, translate without my permission, or use this to train a.i.