#so if anyone has anything to add to this please do!

[horsefigureoftheday]

#OP I am asking once again PLEASE what is the name of this amazing story?#I am on my knees begging#do you want my first born?#do you want me to go wrangle centaurs for you?#tell me and it’s yours just please give me the name

It's a branch on CYOC (Choose Your Own Change, the web's most comprehensive archive of choose-your-own-adventure transformation stories, most of which are porn). Here's a link. Don't worry about the page loading slowly, CYOC has always been like that. Just give it a minute. It's a passion project run by a handful of guys for 20+ years, this is just how it is. You get used to it.

Because CYOC functions like an archive, it has a lot of unsavory, triggering, and/or squicky content. Memorize the story tags and avoid the ones that trigger you. People are really bad at properly tagging, though, so proceed with caution.

I usually use the site by scrolling through new additions or by searching whatever I wanna jerk off to, but there is a really nice story index too, if you're unsure what you wanna read.

Anyone can add to any story with anything they feel like. I had a guy add an obviously chatGPT chapter in French to my story (don't ask me when I'll update it again, I am not in control of my urge to write) which was removed by mods within a day lol

Show us the ideal unicorn body

This art by Dark Natasha that rewired my brain when I was 12

[warmrevolver]

The Beatles interviewed in 1964, London airport after returning from Paris, France

PAUL: Wilder stuff I think, we- we stuck in a wilder number y’know… to finish off with-

JOHN: [mutters] ‘Gone With The Wind’

PAUL: [Instantly looks at John] ‘Gone With The Wind’ [laughs]

INTERVIEWER: They go for the Elvis Presley type of stuff though do they? I mean do they go for the rock and roll stuff?

PAUL: I think so yeah, a bit more. I might- [Paul stutters and John’s head snaps up] It depended really who was in… upon… [misspeaks and looks down at John as if he wants him to tell him what to say] depended upon who was in [John and Paul both laugh looking at each other] I- I can’t speak. Speaking French so much, you see

INTERVIEWER: What?

PAUL: *imitates French*

[John smiles and turns his whole body towards Paul]

INTERVIEWER: You’ve brushed up your French, have you?

PAUL: Nah, kidding I can’t speak a word of it.

INTERVIEWER: You still can’t speak a word?

PAUL: No… [Suddenly looks down at John] John’s… very good-

JOHN: *imitates French*

PAUL: Je- Bonsoir and all that sort of stuff very- oh he’s very good.

———————

NOW. I might be going crazy- but it sounds like John says something like ‘je vous veux’ (I want you) or ‘je vous aime’ (I love you) when he ‘speaks French’, although his pronunciation still has a prominent Scouse accent to it.

As with most clips, the audio quality is very poor and it’s very faint but anything is possible when these two are involved… If anyone speaks French please tell me if I’m onto something or if I’m going crazy lol

Adds a new layer to the ‘My Cheri’ home recording of John……

All the French aside, Paul is soooo obvious this whole interview. He interacts with John every chance he gets- that moment when he misspeaks and instantly looks at John so they’re both in on the joke- I mean come on…

[briebysabs]

So the recent alnst comic dropped and put the entire fandom on fire. But I do want to talk mischaracterization and how the alnst fandom has an abundance of it. Every fandom has it to various degrees because fans will always reach their own conclusions, how far it is from the creator’s intent differs from person to person. But alnst fans have such strong takes and everyone is so aggressive in being right. Two fans can have greatly different assumptions of a character. A big part of that I believe is because except for comics that give some context, most of its storytelling is done through visuals and songs.

Those are less concrete mediums. The meaning of a simple hand movement or lyric can be taken in differently from person to person. But I’ve always felt that as long as you understand alnst is not a black and white story, that there are no good or evil human characters you should be able to somewhat put pieces together.

I don’t see how some ppl gathered that Mizi is “the true villain” or smth. Her willful ignorance is definitely a coping mechanism and this adds a lot of complexity to her. And lowkey after sitting on it, some fans do reduce Mizi to a single dimension like Till, that boy, and even Sua. She isn’t a “perfect victim” who is innocent and has no flaws bc that eliminates her humanity. Most of the ppl in her life projected that image onto her so she felt compelled to fit into it. She couldn’t stop Till from having a crush on her even though she rejected him and she couldn’t severe the codependent relationship she had with Sua. Plus all this described to us from Mizi’s POV and given Ivan’s entire deal as a character I don’t think we’re supposed to 100% trust what she’s saying about herself.

In regard to Till, I sympathize with him to an extent. I understand you can’t control who you like and it’s hard to move on. Add that on top of this horrible environment where desiring Mizi might’ve been the few things to keep him going. But I need people to really see the truth: his crush on Mizi was fucking shallow.

He didn’t really know her nor try to. Yes he had this unrequited crush but it is not Mizi’s responsibility to make him better about it. I have been in Mizi’s position multiple times. A guy likes you, you express you’re not interested and they insist that they’ll still want you. The whole time they’re not even close to you and you’re like a prize to them. I’ve been in Mizi’s position and it’s fucking uncomfortable.

She also risked her life returning back to save Till in r7 so I don’t think she was plotting his demise on some villain shit. Mizi still saw Till as her friend I doubt she’s faking those emotions.

Finally it is very essential to remember this series is created by two queer korean women living in SK. And if you know anything of the korean male population, it’s not great. I mean men aren’t in general but in sk it’s like….in the 7th circle of hell. So anyone villainizing Mizi please take a minute to really process her character because she’s probably inspired by their personal experiences.

[synthetickitsune]

Could I kindly and respectfully request mafia!Hao with very dramatic angsty number 37? (Insert smug cat here SKCJFKDJDJ it now feels freaking weird texting u being unable to use that) Just without anyone actually dying, PRETTY please ✨✨✨

here you go for kindly and respectfully being my writing company when this was made uwu

Mafia!The8 (SVT) | "Who did this to you?" angst | 0.8k | gn!reader cw: injuries, murder, guns

You’re alive. Breathing. Blinking. You can hear your heartbeat deafeningly loud in your ears. The organ itself pushes against your ribs with each pump. You feel your pulse pound in your temples. You can see but everything’s blurred together.

And then, a snap of fingers.

Suddenly the image is sharp. You gasp when your vision focuses and you see his eyes right in front of you. Cold. But you don’t make the mistake of being fooled by appearances. Under the carefully pieced together facade, there’s a beast roaring for revenge.

He takes the handkerchief from his breast pocket and gently dabs at your bloody lips. As you’ve tried to explain, as best you could without speaking a word, the lips are your doing. Partly because you knew this is the situation you’ll end up in, so your anxiety got the better of you and you chewed them raw. You weren’t really that hurt. The doctor confirmed as much to him too. Really, this was an overkill.

“Now, I’ll ask one last time and then I’ll start shooting,” Minghao says, slowly, deliberately, like it truly didn’t matter to him if you respond or not, “Who did this to you?”

The suspects are in the next room. You can see them through the one-way mirror but you don’t look. Truly you don’t want to see them. The less you know, the better.

“My heart,” his voice softens. It’s only you two in the room, so he doesn’t mind getting on one knee in front of you. His hands are gentle, careful not to touch any discolored patch of skin where bruises bloom as he cradles your face. You sniffle and barely stop yourself from wincing. It hurts. “You won’t get into trouble. Just tell me. I’m not mad at you, I’m not disappointed with you.”

Usually you’d hate that he’s talking to you like you’re a child but his earnest eyes and soft touch, softer voice, and most importantly your altered state of mind make you crumble. The dams break, no mercy on your battered and bruised body, and from relative calm you go into hysterics within a fraction of a second. 

Minghao’s on his feet immediately, pulling you closer to his body while still mindful of your injuries. It doesn’t matter. The sobs wrecking through your body cause enough agony. He guides your head to rest against his stomach, gently running his fingers through your hair. You can’t say you really feel it, though. It’s like someone’s stabbing your stomach with every move, every breath. 

He tries to be your pillar to lean on, he tries to keep you from falling apart but it’s a losing battle. You slip through his fingers, you can feel it. You don’t know what to do but cry. Is there even anything to do? You’re in pain. It hurts so much, inside and out. Layer after layer, the pain cumulates. You’re scared of what he’s going to do.

“You can’t be soft with them,” he whispers, almost as if he’s chiding you but his voice is too gentle, “They wouldn’t treat you kindly either. They didn’t.”

He’s right, but what does it change? Violence only spurs on violence.

“My reputation is on the line too,” he adds, voice dropping. You barely hear it. The tears come in streams again. 

How are you supposed to break free of this paralysis? Naturally there are appearances to keep. Powerful men don’t let their family get hurt. And if such an act against who could very well be a god is committed, there needs to come a retribution.

What does it change if you speak up?

Minghao has the capacity for cruelty. He tries to shield you from it. You know, though. You’ve heard. You’re smart enough to realize. You used to think it doesn’t concern you. You made yourself believe it. And then you get involved with evil, albeit against your will, and suddenly you can’t ignore the truth right before your eyes. 

“Your loyalty could be questioned,” his voice keeps getting harder to hear. 

The way he says it. Like there’s some third party to witness this moment. Like it’s the anonymous them judging your actions and picking them apart. 

So you say a number.

Because what he’s doing hurts more than the bruises, than the cuts, than the pain. 

A shot echoes through both rooms, then panicked screams muffled by the gags in their mouths. You hear it under the ringing in your ears and the imaginary water you’re drowning in.

“Thank you,” Minghao tells you. He leans down to press a kiss to the top of your head. 

“I’ll have someone else clean up,” he says like he’s talking about cleaning up the basement of your home, “But you’re my pleasure to take care of.”

It should be reassuring. It is. You want to go home. You want to be away from all this. 

You want your Minghao. The real one. The one that’s getting further away each day.

He takes some version of you with him. They’re both escaping to safety. Somewhere you can’t follow.

[raewritesfiction]

How do you think Daryl would be like if he found out his lady was a virgin and wanted him to be her first?

Like… they’d done other stuff but never sex..

Okay okay… right so for a man of few words he would be unusually communicative. There would be a lot of checking she was okay and sure about it.

He wouldn’t judge at all ever and would be very handsy and slow. Kisses everywhere, taking his time to get his lady all worked up… make her cum a couple of times using his mouth and fingers first before his pants come off.

During there would be quiet whispers and kisses, reassurances and praise. Holding her close against him and taking her cues as to what she wanted and when.

He’d make sure she came first and then ask her where she wanted him to finish; giving her the choice.

After he’d clean her up and hold her close against him, arms wrapped around her protectively, fingers ghosting over her skin and easing her to sleep.

(If anyone has anything to add to this please feel free! I’d love to know other’s ideas on this!)

[marigold-hills]

Hi Marigold, 😁, I know atm you are busy with other projects, so I am not expecting this any time soon. When you get a moment, I would love you to consider the following prompts for Wolfstar: 3, 14, 25, 27 from the prompt list. So much angst in those lines 🫢👀

hey! I’m sorry this took so long! Hope it was worth the wait.

3, 14, 25, 27 

“I know it hurts.”

“I made a mistake.”

“I’m scared.”

“Please stay with me.”

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Remus is alone in the Shack. He sits on the small, ruined bed and looks at the scratches of claws gauged into the wood.

He made them - the wolf made them - the last time he transformed alone.

It’s been so many months since then. So many moon rises and moon sets with company that he’s forgotten what this was like. The waiting.

The Shack’s windows are bordered up. He can’t see the sky and can’t tell the time. Can’t tell how long is left except for the steady breaking of marrow deep inside his bones (the wolf getting ready, laying in wait, always close, always separated by nothing but the barrier of Remus’ own flesh).

He doesn’t have his wand. He never brings it. Moony could break it, he said when asked. It belongs to me, not to it, he didn’t add. I want nothing of mine contaminated by it. 

He doesn’t bring his nice sweaters or his nice shoes. He wears an old beaten up shirt and jeans torn at the knees he’a long grown too tall for.

Today, he wears a shirt he stole from 

the bed of someone who should be here. It’s black and has the face of Jim Morrison printed on the front. The person who should be here slept in it the previous night. It smells like him, still.

Remus is too tired to pretend that isn’t why he took it.

He’s not angry. Not anymore, and maybe he wasn’t in the first place. It’s not the person’s fault that someone could be dumb enough to go where he knows a werewolf would be.

But he knows the wolf near lost its mind at the smell. He’s too worried to let anyone close again.

The person is a contrarian. Remus knows this. Should have known.

The footsteps on the rickety stairs try to be soft.

“You’re wearing my shirt,” Sirius says before he says anything else.

“It’s soft,” Remus doesn’t lie but doesn’t tell the truth.

“You don’t even like The Doors.” Sirius stands in the sliver of light forcing itself through the cracks in the boards. He’s solid, real.

“I like some of their songs just fine.”

“You like been down so long because it resonates with your self-deprecation, not because you enjoy it.”

Remus doesn’t have an answer to that. He lets himself fall backwards on the bed.

“What are you doing here?” He asks. “I told you not to come.”

“And I told you I would anyway.” Sirius sits on the bed, next to the bend of Remus’ knees. “You might have convinced James with your talk of boundaries or whatever, but we both know that’s bullshit.”

Sirius, Remus knows, only swears if it’s about his mother or to make a point. To make it stick.

“I made a mistake,” Sirius adds, “a really fucking big one.”

“It’s not about that.”

“No?” He doesn’t look convinced. “Last month I sent someone to the Shack and this month we’re not allowed to spend the moon with you. I’m not stupid, Remus.”

A hand placed on Remus’ knee. Sturdy. Solid. Real.

“I know you’re not angry with me. I know you’re not angry with James. Peter, bless him, had nothing to do with it.”

“Peter turns into a rat. Moony would have him for a snack,” Remus scoffs. 

“There it is.” The hand squeezes, like a victory, fingers strong on the achy tendons. “You’re scared.”

Remus is too tired. He turns on his side, away from the voice that sounds too self-satisfied and the hand that feels too soothing. 

The dichotomy of Sirius - comfort wrapped in barbed wire.

“You think Moony has gone onto some kind of blood lust.”

“You don't know shit,” Remus lies. Remus is so tired of lying.

“You think that he smelled that dumb wanker, and now he’ll turn on us.” Sirius doesn’t let him deflect. A hand on Remus’ elbow, pulling him back. “You think Moony will turn on his own pack.”

They’re eye to eye now, Sirius above him.

“Prongs had to…”

“I know what James did. You had that hoof-shaped bruise on your arse for weeks.”

Remus tries to turn away. A hand on his neck. Solid, sturdy, real. Not pushing. Holding.

“Prongs has had to get rough with you plenty of times before. Do you know what Moony does? Mewls like a cat. Apologises. Licks his face.”

A hand in his hair. Holding.

“He’s just like you, when you let yourself be real. He’s you, Moony. Would you ever hurt me?”

Eyes, solid, silver, stern.

“Never.”

Sirius releases the grip but doesn’t move away.

The moon pulls at Remus’ navel. At the place where his brain connects to the stem of his spine.

“I’m scared,” Remus says. Thinks of the waiting. “Please stay with me.”

“You just have to ask,” Sirius says, leans forward, breath against Remus’ brow. They’ve never been this close before. “Anything you ask.”

Remus’ mind dissolves into pieces of itself and pieces of the other. He hears shouting or maybe howling or maybe he hears nothing at all. Only a whisper, I know it hurts, I’ve got you, I have you. I’m right here. 

[god-i-hope-so]

Tips for younger Bucktommy fic writers who're looking to write an accurate characterization, especially when it comes to Tommy (and this post is also for the people who think everything goes too fast with no build-up between Buck and Tommy):

Dating when you're in your 30s and 40s is very different. When you meet a decent person you're attracted to and with whom things go (very) well the first few times you meet, things can go very fast in a very simple way. You know yourself better and you know others better too. So the dating phase can be very short and things can move on to being a real couple and moving together quite fast (if that's what both want). Also, things go even faster when it comes to queer people. In short: less bullshit, more straight to the point.

Love != passion. Of course, it's a generalization but the "passionate" phase of the relationship doesn't last as long as when you're younger. The passion is still there but it's not burning hot, explosive, in the face of the world, "look at us how we loooooove each other", it's more tender. You can have a passionate relationship but it doesn't show the same way as when you're 20. Passion becomes like a slow cooked dish with rich and deep flavors, instead of the rush of an energy drink and 5 coffees in your 20s. Also, it doesn't mean Buck and Tommy can't fuck nasty.

We care less, about a lot of things. Again, it's a generalization and I'm also writing this with what we know about Tommy and Buck. Unless Tommy is hiding his game very well, his personality is pretty clear to me. Look at the date. It was a failure for Tommy, as a gay man who fought his own demons, and others, for years. Yet, he decided to be kind about it. Because in the end, it's not the end of the world. It hurts, sure, but that wouldn't be the first time and he didn't make it only about him. It was also about Buck not being ready. The coffee date was also a good scene. Tommy is almost nonchalant, open. I'm borrowing Ryan's words when he said "whatever happens happens". Tommy went through enough shit to not give this situation the drama that can be easily avoided. And it paid off.

Pouting, sulking, active display of real jealousy, acting like a child (and I insist on the "like a child" because adult can sulk, obviously) = NOT CUTE. AT ALL. I get that the infantilization of adults is very common in fandoms so younger people can relate, and because fic writers often write older characters with younger people in mind as references. But it's not a thing in real life, and when it happens, it's not "normal behavior". Of course they can sulk and pout, but not the same way as a young person would. It's a lot more subtle. Also, in the case of Tommy, he's been shown being very good at communicating what he wants and doesn't want. Buck will dance around the matter more, his frustration would probably show with him being agitated or anxious, being reckless too, because he's just like that, but not Tommy. Make them talk about their issues, even if they go through a period of frustration and miscommunication. Tommy should be the kind of man who will encourage Buck to grow and be better at sorting and understanding his feelings in a mature way but without treating him as a child.

Again, all this could help for an accurate characterization. Anyone is free to write the characters the way they want, go full OOC if you want, it's your fic. This post is just giving some tips!

[fakeoldmanfucker]

attention if you're in Chicago or know people who are

Trump's incoming administration is planning a mass deportation on this coming Tuesday, January the 21st. This has been reported in the Wall Street Journal, with reports of up to 200 officers preparing to be sent there. The administration plans to "make an example" of sanctuary cities such as Chicago.

Below are resources, one national and one specific to Illinois, for immigrants:

[hatchers-hoard]

scum villain au where airplane based all the peak lords on greek gods

i dont know where i was going with this i just had the thought of wei qingwei = hephaestus

[smolandweirdwriter]

as someone with it - tourettic adaine!

bracing herself when she feels prelimanary urge to tic, trying so hard to suppress but also defiant about the fact that theyre involuntary. hates when anyone outside the bad kids notices or comments (the group makes up nicknames for her most common tics) her parents thinking shes being weird or 'freakish' until jawbone helps her get diagnoses.

snapping at people who assume that the tics are on purpose but also snapping at people (post freshman year) who think everything is a tic - "no that wasnt a tic i want you to fuck off"

adaine tics a lot more noticeably when she's anxious - she grimaces and jerks her head, sometimes makes noises, but they're mostly more prominent when she's anxious or having panic attacks because shes better at hiding them usually, as her parents used to snap at her to "stop twitching". she thinks of it as sneezing*, where she can hold it in for a while, until shes out of sight and she can tic. due to this, she never got diagnosed.

when she moved in with jawbone, it took a while before he gathered the courage to ask about her tics. she brushed it off as a nervous habit, something silly, made a few jokes about her parents' awfulness, and pretty much let it fall into silence. jawbone respected her privacy. that night, adaine fantasy googled twitching disorders, blinking problems, facial disorders, etc**. about an hour later, she walked downstairs to where jawbone and sandra-lynn were making dinner and asked if she could pull jawbone aside. they stepped into the living room and she quietly told him her speculation. she couldn't stop tic-ing as she told him and she could barely get her words out. jawbone told her she was very brave for coming to him and immediately made an appointment.

slowly but surely, adaine gets more vocal about her mental/health needs. her parents taught her there was something wrong with her, something she could fight and beat out. that, as it turns out, is a lie. still, after all shes been through mental health wise, she has a particular sore point for "haha im overstimulated/ticcing/having a panic attack" jokes, as well as people at school gawking at her like they're waiting for her to tic. still, it's better than hiding it. also, she has a bunch of friends now (and a formerly-evil sister) who will no-questions-asked curse and/or punch anyone who bothers her.

*one of my friend with tourettes explained it like this to me

**also something one of my friends did before they got their tourettes diagnosis

[bow-wow-wark-wark]

Toshiro defense post

Hi everyone! So, I know this topic has been discussed a bunch of times before xd, but I keep seeing people say nonsense about Toshiro so… strap in cause this is another Toshiro explanation post!!

IMPORTANT: I do want to clarify that it’s fine if you dislike Toshiro. After all, everyone has the right to dislike characters so I’m not going to stop you, I know it’s not that serious. But then I’d like to ask you to stop spreading misinformation about him, use him for angst stuff that mischaracterizes him or any of that xd. Like, dislike him in peace xd but stop using him as a villain. Also, before any of you say “I understand his complexities but…”  let me stop you bc most of the time you don’t xd. Like you acknowledge the microaggressions and other things but use other poor excuses for hating him or invalidate that, so please read this post and keep an open mind!! Finaly, this post is going to touch on and disprove the following topics: 1. Toshiro hates Laois (together with stuff like how he is ableist and an asshole) 2. Toshiro is a huge hypocrite for liking Fallin (together with how he doesn’t really love her) and 3. Toshiro was racist towards itsutzumi (without getting too into complex race politics). I will also back up my arguments by content in the anime and some of the extras from the manga, despite that I will not delve on spoiler related content so, let’s get to it!

1. Toshiro hates Laios.

Something that people use to hate on Toshiro is his famous fighting scene with Laois, saying things like “Toshiro was ableist towards Laois” “Toshiro is a hypocrite because he complains about poor communication, but why didn’t he say anything himself?” “Toshiro hates Laois” but before we tackle this let’s recap:

In this scene they fight over the fact that Laois has poor social skills and doesn’t understand the ways Toshiro expresses his annoyance at him and his desire to have some space, he also accuses Laois of being unserious about saving Fallin and even says that he has always hated Laois. This scene resonated with MANY people that have experienced this exact same conversation with “friends” who would get mad at them for showing neurodivergent traits, I am one of those people as well so I can totally understand.  So, them seeing themselves in Laois and their acquaintance in Toshiro people accuse him of being ableist, but this:

Is not that. First of all, it’s important to note that Toshiro’s complaints come from his cultural background as an easterner, where he is used to subtle communication, and by his upbringing as an heir of his island (something that is explained by this thread in great detail!! But to summarize it basically says that he has become more reserved due to his retainer’s overbearing nature and do to being compared to his father constantly and by being surrounded by rumors of his family, so he chooses to not speak out as to cause more trouble for himself). Second of all he doesn’t really do anything ableist… many people say that they hate him “because he was a huge dick to Laois” but apart from expressing his frustration by yelling and fighting, something rude of course, what ableist or horrid thing did he do?  He didn’t call him names or anything, and even acknowledges the fact that Laois is someone who acts in good fate and doesn’t mean any harm to him, but he still dislikes his actions (not a bad thing at all). It’s also important to note that Toshiro is TIRED in this scene, he hasn’t eaten or slept in 3 whole days and suddenly he bumps into a bunch of problems and the girl he loves turned into a monster by this guy who seems WAY to relaxed about it and who he already has gripes against, my question is: Who wouldn’t lash out? Additionally, this scene is important for him too!! As he finally stands up for himself and expresses his feelings, something that drives his character development into being a better guy.

On top of all that, it’s also important to note that Toshiro himself shows signs of being neurodivergent just that in a different way than Laois. For example, his hyperfocus on saving Fallin making him ignore his needs, his overreliance on social cues to understand others, his stand offish an awkward nature that doesn’t let him connect with the people around him and his difficulty to express his needs. These are things many neurodivergent people can relate to, and dare I say, things Laois shares with him!! They both suck socially which is literally what causes this, so what makes him so different? So hard to forgive? What makes it hard to understand him but not Laois? And let’s all not forget the fact that Laois has been pulling a microaggression on him by calling him a butchered version of his name this entire time! It doesn’t make him evil! But it shows how they have a complex relationship where both sides where right. (Also, I know this is a complicated topic and I know there are poc people who hate him BUT, to me the issue is that he 1. Has a meltdown and 2. He’s not white. Like it is very known and said that poc cannot express themselves in such freeing ways as our white counterparts, so it’s harder to be nd and poc than white and nd, which is somehow the case for Toshiro as well xd. Many people say that he shows how people only like nd traits when they’re palatable, but this argument goes back to you, you might find nd traits better when it’s on a white guy you can baby and not on the Asian guy who should know better. None of them should have to, characters are allowed to do bad things and fix those errors).

 Lastly, Toshiro mends his mistake immediately!!  He doesn’t hate Laois, if anything he holds complicated feelings towards him for a while, which most of the cast do (more on this later). Some people seriously act like this didn’t happen, but at the end of the fight he admits that he doesn’t hate Laois (media literacy check but not everything a character says while angry is true!!) but envies his free spirited and straight forward nature. And if this doesn’t seem enough to mend his mistake, he gives Laois the calling bell, which will immediately send someone to help him and fetch him to the east. Would you have a guy that you HATE as a refugee in your country? Plus, he’s serious about the bell too! This scene wasn’t added in the anime, but there’s a point where Toshiro and Kabru are leaving and they keep hearing the bell, which they point out as annoying, despite that Toshiro always keeps it with him and says that if the noise stops, he will know to fetch Laios. If he really hated him, why would he keep a loud object around him just to make sure he is safe? (There’s literally a scene where it goes off after Laois throws it and he just acts embarrassed that it’s interrupting a conversation, but he doesn’t leave it or anything).

2. Toshiro is a huge hypocrite for liking Fallin.

With that point out of the way, lets get to the 2nd problem: Toshiro’s crush on Fallin. Let me preface once more by saying I LOVE Farcille and think they’re a very cute ship, but using Toshiro as your angst bait is not cool and super ooc (clarification: I don’t mean like a respectful joke about him getting rejected or exploring marcille’s thoughts on his proposal, I mean bashing on him hard or saying that he would intervene or disapprove of a farcille relationship).

Ok so in this case, many people say that Toshiro is a HUGE hypocrite because of 2 things: 1. He likes Fallin but dislikes Laois even though they’re almost identical, and 2. Because he claims to love Fallin while abandoning her and condemning black magic.

So, let’s get into why this is not true:

We have already discussed how Toshiro does not dislike Laois, but pushing that out of the way, the one thing he “dislikes” about Laois is the one thing he does not share with Fallin, which is their social awareness. Fallin is significantly more socially aware and tends to do things as to avoid burdening others, putting her needs aside, she’s someone who is very thoughtful and mindful of the people around her, unlike Laois who, while also thoughtful and kind, is not as receptive (Also crazy to note that her and Toshiro share this “not fully sharing my feelings as to not burden others” thing). Besides that, he likes that Fallin likes bugs/nature (the same thread from before has a nice possible explanation if you want to check it out) something that could be related to Laois’s love for monsters which, fun fact, he doesn’t hate at all!! Something that, funnily enough, others seem to give Laois flack over but not Fallin (crazy how there aren’t as many people shitting on Marcille or chilchuck for this?? specially since Fallin also likes monsters but Marcille never says anything about it and centers her annoyance on Laois? Wow… (I don’t hate Marcille for this either btw, I’m being sarcastic). And on the topic of this double standard, I’ve seen many people ask how he thinks he can marry into the Toudens while hating Laois (bad), while at the same time seeing so many “omg marcille thinks the only downside to marrying Fallin is Laois” (funny), crazy how its bad when Toshiro does it, huh? (Even crazier is the fact it’s only half true for both of them xd, they like Laois he is their friend)

So, once more he dislikes that Laois doesn’t give him space but likes Fallin because she does, especially because they aren’t very close at all. Toshiro has a hard time getting close to others and it’s stated that he tends to put barriers around himself with people who are “close” to him like maizaru and Hien. But since Fallin is an acquaintance at best it’s easy to like her from afar and the traits she seems to show outwardly.

Which leads me to the next point: Toshiro mani pixie dream girlifies Fallin. It is true that Toshiro has idealized her and doesn’t know her too well because they don’t talk but... is that a crime? There are many characters who hold biased opinions on others (like kabru with Laois or senshi with marcille or marcille with the orcs, etc.) and that doesn’t really get critiqued either. I don’t think it’s the sign of a horrid man for him to like Fallin without knowing her to well xd, it’s pretty normal for a crush and also if you consider his nature. Besides, this is once more influenced by his background: in one scene chilchuck mentions how the proposal thing is common in the east + he is an heir xd, so it’s only logical to be thinking about marriage, specially since his dad has high expectations for him (something that I know has not yet been shown in the anime, but it is present on extra manga content). It’s important to note also, that he doesn’t claim that he knows her best, puts words on her mouth or push his feelings towards her either. He proposes, she says that she will think about it and as far as the anime is concerned, he waits patiently for her answer. He doesn’t say “curse you woman you are coming with me!” or anything like that, and even if he expresses that he wants to leave with her to the east, that is ONLY if she says yes and agrees to that, so its illogical to say any of these things without proof.

Now onto the 2nd main point of this section: He abandoned Fallin and hates black magic. 1st of all, he didn’t abandon Fallin, he left to gather his retainers to search for her in a way he thought more efficient and once we see him again, he HASN’T EATEN OR SLEPT IN 3 DAYS OUT OF DEDICATION ALONE!! (If you use the argument that he abandoned Laois, that can also be explained by this). Now, him hating dark magic and claiming to turn in Marcille to the elves. This is not the best, since it poses conflict for our protagonists but 1. He doesn’t even end up doing that and helps them out after all is explained and 2. Put yourself in his shoes, what would you do if your crush turned into a monster that killed all your party? “Toshiro didn’t love Fallin enough to accept her as a monster unlike Marcille” Are you guys listening to yourselves? What he sees is a Fallin that has been desecrated and turned into a monster, something that will harm her and others + he’s not a magic specialist so how would he know or believe that they could turn her back to normal? He condemns Marcille but not out of lack of love, but I would say because of it, as far as he knows this could only turn worse for her anyways. Also, Kabru points out his illogical line of thought, claiming that it would be better for Fallin to die then, and Toshiro realizes how stupid he sounded a moment ago xd; Kabru points out how he also would have done anything to save her, and he backs down in agreement.

Once more, maybe annoying but not bad guy material. What’s more, this one is a really pressing matter as I have seen SO many Farcille fan artists and editors using him as an easy villain that hates Marcille (he is canonically scared of her) or as a cuck that doesn’t get Fallin. Somone pointed out once how he gets treated like a female character that gets in the way of an mlm ship and I agree. But while sometimes funny, it gets absurd at times and tends to border on making him someone he is not. I’ve even seen people say he’s homophobic (XD) or make him the token straight guy (something that in most fandoms means being an annoying incel character). In addition, many people say that Fallin would hate him for being “mean” to Laois but 1. She is very kind and would probably understand him. 2. If she realizes Laois has forgiven him, I don’t think she would meddle in to fix her brother’s problems because he wouldn’t want that and that’s just not her personality.

2.5 Small section.

Before we move into the last section, I’d like to add a small section called: you guys don’t understand Toshiro’s personality. Let’s be clear Toshiro is a shy, quiet, reserved, sentimental, rigid and half-hearted guy. It’s not common for him to start things, he tends to leave problem solving to authorities, he isn’t too confident in himself, and he is also an outcast in his homeland. Yet so many people describe him as being arrogant of self-absorbed and I really don’t know where that is coming from. Like, I’ve seen a bunch of people say, “oh how can he think he’s good enough for Fallin?” or variations of the sort but... I don’t think he thinks that he just decides to shoot his shot anyways. I’ve also seen some people describe him as some “pretentious rich asshole”, but this is also never showed or implied in text. Toshiro does not flaunt his wealth; he doesn’t act like he is better than ANYONE in the party, he just has money by being an heir (something not fun for him) and that’s it, but he doesn’t even use his status to get anything from anyone either., so… where is this coming from? (Racism? a need for a bad guy? who knows?) Plus, many people seem to dislike him because he is an aristocrat but… the system is not the same as being like a prince, his family just has influence in the east. Besides, characters like Laois or Mithun were also well off and from influential families and don’t get that type of flack. There’re also characters like Laois and Kabru, who express the desire to join this “aristocratic/monarchy” system by becoming king and lord of the dungeon. Who, then again, don’t get that flack.  

3. Toshiro was racist towards itsutzumi.

With that out of the way, we have reached the final point: Toshiro owns people (making him racist ig). Ok so let’s preface by saying 2 things: 1. Dungeon meshi is not a racist story, but a story with racism and many complicated race relations that get treated respectfully for the most part. With this is included, the complex treatment of beast skins and other races seen as less human like kobolds or ogres like Tade.  2. The retainers are not slaves; they are servants for Toshiro’s family.

Ok, so it is true that Toshiro’s father bought itsutzumi from people who were abusing her (and Tade as well but people don’t bring her up when talking about this xd) and later put her to work as a retainer, so therefore he owns her right? Yeah, but not as a slave. Slaves do forced labor and are kept in inhumane conditions, which she is not, as she is given a home, education and the most labor she does is chores (which she usually avoids anyways) and probably some fighting of the sort. In fact, you could even say that she was enslaved prior to being bought by Toshiro’s father (not that this is an excuse for buying her necessarily, but once more this relates to complicated race things). It is also important to acknowledge that as a beast skin itsutzumi (a non-human) is seen as less valuable and gets treated unfairly by maizuru. And while it can border on othering behavior, like being tied up for misbehaving, this is once more pushed by maizuru and not any of the other retainers or Toshiro himself.  With this argument usually comes the mention of the cursed collar that was kept on her, which is definitely a bad thing, but once more it is made by maizuru without Toshiro having ANY knowledge about it. I don’t judge any anime only for not knowing this, but in one extra it is revealed that Maizuru actually used the collar on Toshiro himself as a child, so that he would not leave too far from her side, so she explains that she made a similar one for itsutzumi; in this extra he looks surprised and remembers the traumatizing experience so... yeah, he didn’t know.

Additionally, many people compare the argument that he doesn’t own them, but his father does with the sixpence drama from a long time ago. Saying that this doesn’t excuse the behavior and that he should have done something, but that can also be explained. 1. Toshiro actually doesn’t meaningfully associate with any of the retainers prior to leaving to the island, (as explained by the adventurer’s bible and other extras) except for Hien as they are childhood friends and Maizuru. Besides that, he holds no relation to any of them, so he could not have known about itsutzumi’s situation, and it’s even shown that he doesn’t know how he should treat her at all. Despite that Toshiro does show consciousness towards their situation, saying that he would like to talk to Tade about being so adoring of him and his father, but he isn’t sure how to approach the issue. With that, we could assume the same could be said about his feelings towards itsutzumi. 2. “He left her to die”, technically no. They know she’s a capable fighter, so they probably didn’t see any problems with leaving her and also, itsutzumi scapes his party. Meaning that they know she doesn’t like them so why would they go back and search for her? If anything, Toshiro might have thought of it as an easy way to give her freedom, once more, why would you force someone back when you know they don’t want to be there?

“Why didn’t he let her go sooner?” This is explained by the first bit that he didn’t really know her and by asecond thing: contrary to popular belief, Toshiro doesn’t have such a big control of the retainers as it may seem, and it is ultimately maizurus or his father’s choice as to what to do with them. Like he didn’t want them to come with him to the island, but they don’t heed to that and come anyways. So, what makes anyone think that he could just change his fathers wishes? So yeah, he doesn’t own people they work for his family and that’s it.

So, this is the end of the post, if you read all of this, I greatly thank you and I hope I could make at least one of you change your mind. If not, oh well. Once more is valid to dislike characters, you can keep doing that but stop seriously stop with the angst bait or misinformation spread. That is all I want to say, so thank you again and see you later.

[rivalcobalt]

Woe, MS paint diagram of the retroactive Komaedification of N be upon ye

[sleepanonymous]

Heya! I just got into Sleep Token and I'm enamored! Do you know of any links to posts or anything that talk about the characters and their personalities onstage? I'm having trouble differentiating between III and IV (I know II is the drummer) and I want to learn more about them!

Also, is it pronounced Two, Three, and Four, or Second, Third, and Fourth?

Hi and welcome! 😊 Glad to see a new fan of the band. For the sake of clarity, I'll answer your second question first. The Sleep Token lore technically dubs them all Vessel 1, Vessel 2, etc. so it's my understanding that fans started calling the other band members Two, Three, and Four, and used Roman numerals for their monikers.

TLDR: This Weblink has almost all of Sleep Token's lore, and This Video also has almost all of Sleep Token's lore. The easiest way to tell III and IV apart from each other is by their instruments and height. III plays bass and is taller than the rest of the band. IV plays guitar and is shorter than the rest of the band (except for II, he is the shortest of the four).

I'll be honest, I also had trouble differentiating between III and IV when I first got into the band. Up until very recently, they wore similar outfits, too, which made pictures difficult to tell them apart. You can always tell via the instrument they're holding (if it's visible). III is the bassist and IV is the guitarist. Another way to tell depends on which side of the stage they are standing on. 85% of the time III is stage right, in front of the choir (Vesselettes) and IV is stage left, in front of II's drum set. My favorite way to tell them apart (before it just became secondhand nature to know which was which) was if the musician had a bun under his mask or not. IV's hair is relatively concealed beneath his mask, but III has longer hair and puts it up into a bun to keep it all in place under his mask during rituals.

The neck of III's bass is kind of in the way of the back of IV's head in the second photo, but here are two examples of the bun shape that III has. This is also a good way to tell them apart if they're standing next to each other, or, in this case, kissing. III is extremely tall and will always be taller than any other band member unless he's crouching or leaning over. If the two aren't standing near each other, you can always use Vessel as a measuring stick.

The photo on the left probably isn't the best reference, but trust me, III is about 5 centimeters taller than Vessel, he's just leaning back. The photo on the right also probably isn't the best since Vessel and IV are both just dark shapes lol, but at least it's obvious that Vessel is taller than IV.

The band as a whole is anonymous so you might not find much in the way of personalities, even of their stage personas. If you're willing to read up on the Sleep lore itself, you can do that here (this is a link to boolintunes.com). Or, if you'd prefer to watch a friendly, lecture-style video, there is this one here on YouTube. Persona-wise the most concise I can give you is this:

Vessel is very emotional. That is evident by the lyrics he writes, but doubly so when he is in front of an audience. He will cry, he will laugh, he will do silly dances, and he will hype up his bandmates. It's evident that he loves what he does, but he is also extremely humble about it. All of the love his fans give him he makes sure to give back 110% (the fact that he manages to do it without speaking is impressive in itself).

II is a beast, like no joke. This man has got to have started playing drums before he could walk, I swear. He, like Vessel, obviously loves what he does, has a blast, and also gives zero fucks while doing it. He will sit at his drum set and kick out beats while drinking Red Bull and Diet Coke through his mask 🤣🤣 During moments in songs where there is little to no percussion he'll often stand up and react to the lyrics Vessel sings. He also comes to the front of the stage at the very end of rituals to hype up the crowd and hand out his used drumsticks and sometimes even a drum head.

III is the most animated of the guys. I will often refer to him as the "main character" of Sleep Token because he is always front and center. This has also earned him the fandom nickname of Bassy Boi. I've seen him do everything from windmill headbang, to run in place, to high kick, to jumping up and down for 30+ seconds straight. He also has a knack for yelling at fans. There is a compilation video on YouTube here for reference. Also! Something I forgot to mention earlier in telling III and IV apart: III almost always has on his iconic checkered socks in the most recent shows.

IV (at least the current IV) is probably the most reserved and collected on stage (fun fact, there were two other IVs in Sleep Token before our current IV, I wrote about that here), In earlier shows he played with the band, around 2021/2022, he used to be fairly shy. Sometimes IV would stand off to the very side of the stage and let Vessel and III have all the attention. Luckily he's seemed to get past his shyness and has become much more of a crowd pleaser. He'll often do things like serenade the crowd (a bit like II does, only a lot closer since there's no drum set in the way), get roped into Vessel's or III's chaotic stage antics, or, you know, tease pulling his mask off in front of an entire music festival crowd.

[nexus-nebulae]

so. for A Long While now we've considered officially pursuing converting to judaism. and we've finally really started the whole research process and getting familiarized with the religion and everything and. does anyone have tips on how to feel comfortable in a new religion when you've been so harmed by specific religious groups in the past (especially when the religion you have bad history with is so close to the one you're converting to, like being another abrahamic religion)

[adhd-languages]

Just learned about the “Light L” and the “Dark L” and I’m losing my mind.

Anyway turns out I learned my “L”s manually and I never use the Dark L ever and learned how to approximately 5 minutes ago. I’m never going to be able to hear an “L” sound again without thinking about this.

[rainbowangel110]

Putting this behind a read more for the SGB peeps

So there's this post here with tags saying that either we're purists or don't realize it, and that some of the cast has died + they're prepubescent teens what do you except??

I went to their blog hoping for an explanation and turns out they also said that they think the work "sexualization" is now a buzzword here and should be taken away....

*inhales* oh boy. If this is a response to people reacting to the fics out there about the kids well, buddy, congrats! That's the worst way anyone has put it!

They're all 14-15 as of right now, so they're not prepubescent my dude, and can drive (a bit), but even then, even then it's still weird to write a fic about what could potentially happen in a tango between minors. I personally have not come across anything but @girlscoutbrownies @b3achysurfur @planetarymesss @astronautica-ss @@itstivan have talked about how it's just not okay.

I am personally fine with sex in media but if it's between two minors I am out, that is not something that needs to be in there. Consenting adults are alright, certain themes of abuse can be added (if they are handled properly), and you can read/watch it all you want, I don't care. Just..... yeah no.