#their fucked up dynamics were very cool to explore

[maxdibert]

About the last post- How do you think the fannon marauders would react to the canon ones instead lmao (especially to Sev just being a normal guy who was bullied for no ‘real reason’)

Clearly, running away crying because that gang of losers could never stand a chance against the real Marauders and would crap their pants. I mean, there's nothing more to it, lol. The fandom's Sirius would piss himself if he saw the real one, 100%.

[themeaningthemeaningthe]

can’t sleep for other reasons and my brain can’t stop thinking about a post i saw and initially ignored but keep having thoughts about. i didn’t comment on it or anything and now it’s lost to the ether and i don’t wanna go looking for it but these thoughts gotta go somewhere.

this will be long and rambling and probably a little incoherent cuz it’s 3am.

the post was someone saying that they finally picked up gideon the ninth after years of seeing locked tomb posts and griddlehark, then dropped it after like 2 chapters bcuz they think the dynamic between gideon and harrow is abusive (which is fair when u first start it) and they can’t believe people are into it as enemies to lovers. on the one hand, people are totally cool to just not like something for whatever reason, i myself just have thoughts about the Nuance that i didn’t express on the post that i now must here.

lots of important spoilers for GtN!! (and maybe accidentally ones to HtN)

ok here’s the rant.

that’s the point!!!!! that’s the point.

they are terrible to each other and they have always been. the growth and the development of their character dynamics together explores how this thing between them that has always been sharp and seething and spiky must buckle under the weight of outside pressure beyond anything they could have imagined.

in a very important pool scene (one that is ubiquitous in fanart and i have to believe this poster saw at least a few times) we get an explanation from harrow! and not only does this give us a more full look into the context of drearbruh outside of gideons narrow point of view, but it also makes more clear why they were like That.

i’m sorry but literally harrow is 200 dead kids that her parents killed to make her, and gideon is the one kid they couldn’t kill. and gideon realizes once told this, she is the living reminder of the war crime committed to save the house, and no one who knows can forget it.

and harrow has known the truth of her origin since she was old enough to comprehend anything!! so yeah, a traumatized child who knows she’s the entirety of a generation of her house is gonna lash out at literally the only other child on the planet who she happens to also have power over.

and i feel like the book makes this pretty clear!! this was bad!! but also, these are two traumatized kids growing up in a dying, creepy, planet that is lowkey hell.

the other key thing about the pool scene, is that it is a Confession. these books are sooo steeped in catholicism. harrow isn’t just explaining the true history of her life, she is Confessing all of the sins that make her up and all of the sins she has committed. bearing the entirety of the wretchedness of her soul for gideon judge. expecting her only friend whom she has made miserable for years to kill her.

and i know we joke about gideon being lesbian jesus, but there’s a reason for that (besides the obvious). bcuz after hearing her Confession, gideon baptized harrow in that pool.

one flesh one end, bitch.

and also like yeah griddlehark is an enemies to lovers in some ways, but i feel like also not in the typical way you would think about that trope?? bcuz correct me if im wrong but they never really become lovers (and i personally am not sure they ever will). yes they love each other and make the grandest gestures of love imaginable. but that love is inevitably fucked up in some ways and it’s impossible for it to not be.

god that was way too long. anyway. some Nuance is necessary.

[finelytaylored]

Extremely thankful for whatever cosmic circumstances that unfolded and led to Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman acting opposite each other in this specific marvel project. Their performances as Bob/Sentry/The Void and Yelena are the clear standouts of the film and they have an immediate, palpable chemistry together that I hope we get to see more of in future films.

I’ve been a fan of Florence Pugh for many years now, and I was immediately in when she got cast as Yelena initially. I love that we got to see her explore the character’s past even more than we had previously. We get to see her care about taking control of her own destiny, and realize that she’s allowed to feel her feelings and care about other people and even though it doesn’t fix everything, it does help not to isolate yourself and bury all of your problems, hoping they eventually go away. She’s such a talented actress and there’s so much emotional depth in her performance. The MCU is lucky to have her, for as long as she’s willing to stick around.

I went into this movie not knowing anything about Bob/Sentry/the Void and really enjoyed the way different facets of the character were revealed to us slowly throughout. There is so much potential for the character going forward, especially with where this movie ends and the state he’s in by the time we get there. It’s clear that Lewis Pullman understood and was invested in the depth of the character, and it was a lot of fun seeing him take on a role that’s very different from the work we’ve seen him do in his career thus far. I’m really excited about the prospect of people discovering him as an actor through this role and going back and watching his other projects.

I always love getting to see Sebastian Stan as Bucky/the Winter Soldier and though he was a bit more of a side character here, he plays his role in the group and plays it damn well (and looks cool as fuck while doing it).

David Harbour and Wyatt Russell are perfectly cast in these roles and I don’t have much to say other than that. They’re great and I have no notes. Hannah John-Kamen and Florence Pugh play off of each other so well and they both kick so much ass. They don’t take shit from any of the guys and it’s incredible, 10/10.

The cast all had great chemistry as a group and you can tell they had a lot of fun filming together. Hoping that the two Avengers movies we have coming up isn’t the last we’ll see of them as a team. They’re all such interesting characters individually and the dynamic they have just feels so natural and genuine. The ‘found family’ vibe they’ve got going on really works.

It’s super refreshing to see a movie - a superhero movie specifically - that you can tell was filmed on location and had real, tangible sets and props and used practical effects wherever possible. Love love love it.

They really nailed the costume design/wardrobe, especially with the three very distinct looks they had for Bob, and Sentry and The Void. Luckily, I got to go to an early screening of this movie, otherwise that particular element would’ve been spoiled for me on twitter and I would’ve been super disappointed not to get to experience that for the first time, in the theater.

I really appreciate that this film is more of a character piece than anything the MCU typically gives us. There is a lot of cool fight choreography and stunt work, like we’ve come to expect from these movies, but there’s also a lot of focus on mental health. The exploration of confronting inner demons and past decisions/regrets and realizing they having those struggles doesn’t mean you have to face them alone or be isolated is a HUGE part of this movie - and they chose the perfect group of characters to take us on that journey.

xx

(Letterboxd)

[vroomvroomwee]

Unpopular opinion, but I think the hellaverse team are really fucking up with the new merch drop. Don't get me wrong I'm really happy for radioapple shippers you guys must be over the moon, but I can't help but dread the reactions after season 2.

Because there's two options:

a) Radioapple becomes canon.

Personally, I really wouldn't like the ship to be canon because ultimately I think it's more fun to explore the dynamic from a fanon standpoint. It wouldn't make sense to focus on their relationship when there's so little time, when Lucifer and Lilith are still in love (confirmed by Vivzie), when Alastor is still aspec rep and many people find comfort in seeing a character who isn't in a relationship, and especially when the CANON VERY HEALTHY wlw main relationship is so overlooked by the mlm ones. Also, it would paint Vivzie as a liar since she's all about freedom of shipping and it would prove how popular headcanons and ships, bullying, nagging and putting pressure on creators would eventually reward the fans which is... yeah, not a good message to send.

Or

b) Radioapple doesn't become canon.

Now, this is what is itching at my nerves. Because I think we all know that particular section of the Hazbin fandom would completely rage that their fav ship isn't canon. They're already famous for sending threats and harassment to artists, fic writers and other individuals for shipping Lucifer and Alastor with other characters I can't imagine what will happen if all that radioapple buzz from Hot Topic, from Vivzie, from Amazon Prime, from their official twitter accounts proves to be just bait. Not to mention there will be a whole wave of accusations that all of these parties were queerbaiting with their radioapple merch because they know people will buy it and stay interested in the show which if we're being honest isn't untrue. There will be all of this buildup, all of this leading fans on only for nothing? Especially if we're considering the fact that Al and Lucy don't seem to be involved in any other merch or posts with other characters or ships (eg. lucilith, radiostatic, radiorose, charlastor etc.)

Personally, I think the merch is obviously meant for a cash grab, which is what makes me concerned because they don't seem to be levelling the field at all with either denying the ship is canon or confirming it. All they seem to be doing is watch the drama unfold and not regulate it in the slightest. Ultimately, if the ship doesn't become canon (which it probably won't) there will be heavy backlash

I think radioapple can be a cute ship (if done properly), but I'm very scared for season 2 lmfaoo cuz we know from experience this fandom can't keep it's cool when it comes to this ship

[level2janitor]

tactiquest structure

so i've posted a lot about tactiquest's classes and monsters and everything on here but i haven't really talked about the non-combat subsystems much yet and i wanted to go into detail about them, bc tactiquest has very different goals from most heroic fantasy systems.

tracking inventory, travel time, worrying about actually running out of your adventuring budget, are things a lot of big-damn-heroes fantasy systems throw out because they're just paperwork that gets in the way of your cool fights. that's not the case in Tactiquest! these systems are so core to the experience that removing them will make a lot of classes unusable. the game is built around them.

travel & exploration

tactiquest explicitly assumes you're running an open-sandbox hexcrawl and is designed to support that, including the fact the game is designed around random encounters. this is the sort of thing D&D 3e expected you to do, but people ditched random encounters because they thought they were boring and tedious. so classes balanced around that attrition of resources ended up with a huge spike in power other classes couldn't match.

the boring-and-tedious problem is mostly addressed by trying to make combat really good and resolve really fast. if i fucked that up the whole thing falls apart, but so far people are liking it

the second thing that helps with random encounters is your resources don't fully restore immediately at the end of each day like they do in 3e. resting is less effective in the wilderness and resources expended are a tomorrow problem, not just a today problem. so you don't have to have 3+ fights every single day just to maintain parity - 0-2 fights per day still adds up to difficult resource management.

because the game has such a focus on it, you can have classes like the ranger actually be good at travel and exploration instead of just giving them vaguely-naturey combat abilities.

economy

in most D&D-likes, even usually OSR ones, you accrue so much gold. just as a side effect of adventuring. to the point money no longer actually matters because you can throw piles of it at any problem. this is bad. it's a system that defeats its own purpose; there are no interesting choices involving money when you have so much the only real expense is like, 50,000-gold-piece magic items.

i don't just want players to care about money, i want them to worry about money, like a normal person. you're not batman who's a billionaire as a side hobby, you're spiderman who has to deliver pizzas in between superhero work because he's got bills to pay like everyone else. so a whole lot of effort has been put into actually designing prices and treasure amounts around this dynamic.

i also hate how games will usually go "oh adventuring gives you 900,000 gold for existing but a normal person's living wage is 2 gold a month". i don't want to be fantasy jeff bezos, thanks

inventory

this is something i just lifted from OSR games outright. you can carry ten things (and tiny things don't take up an item slot). that's the whole rule.

tracking inventory can add a lot of interesting decisions to a game and adds a new lever for abilities from classes and magic items. having a character play the merchant class which gets a bunch of extra inventory slots feels really impactful. finding a bag of holding that doubles your carry capacity feels so good when you actually have to watch your inventory.

supply

the only thing i felt was really unenjoyable when running games with strict inventory limits was tracking rations for each character that you eat every night; it felt too much like busywork with not enough payoff. so in Tactiquest rations are abstracted into a single Supply stat that's tied to the party rather than any individual character.

you can only restock Supply in towns, and it drops by 1 each time you rest. you can sleep without resting and this won't cost supply, but you won't regain any HP or other resources. this gives you the impactful decision-making of tracking rations without the annoyance of "okay it's been a day of travel, everyone make sure you dock a ration from your sheet" like twice per session

Supply is one of the things that slowly drains your funds and gives you a reason to keep seeking out treasure, tying back into the economy. it also gives merchants and rangers some extra mechanical levers for their class abilities to pull on.

Edit: in the time since writing this post, tactiquest's been released as a public playtest. if this sounds interesting to you, play it here!

[nekropsii]

What a about Caliborn makes him so cool in your opinion?

Go keep track of his progression as an artist alongside his development as a character and think about how these are intrinsically linked. Ponder the fact that he is both at his most obnoxious and at his most amateur when trying to ignore his unique style explicitly brought on by his canonical learning disability and mimic others rather than truly be himself. Consider how his explorations of art are genuinely cool, not a bad thing, and how we get some really neat multimedia stuff out of it.

Caliborn may be a shitty little teenage wretch but the way he is portrayed as an artist and as a disabled person is both really good and very real. It comes from a place of love. His learning disability is handled with a degree of gentle care that you would not really expect from Hussie. The place Caliborn's art style ends up in is so fucking sick and I actually unironically love it. The technique he uses is really interesting. It's intentionally reminiscent of an Etch-a-Sketch, and I'm a little obsessed with it.

This is so fucking good. I mean this seriously. He's right - that is some Pure Art Skill.

I just love the way art is employed as a necessary component of his character arc. It's so neat. You don't see visual cues that intricate too often. Usually it's just in character design, but watching his entire art style and even his medium of choice change several times over is fascinating. You can really tell Hussie had a lot of fun with him. He's also just really, really fucking funny. Just about every sentence that comes out of his mouth is Grade A Absolute Fucking Gold, and I'm honestly obsessed with his dynamic with Dirk. This may get me thrown to the wolves, but I personally think Dirk and Caliborn have way more chemistry than Dirk and Jake. Maybe that's because we actually see Dirk and Caliborn interact on screen... Lmao.

Necessary Topic: I don't know why people hate him so much. Like, I understand hating his misogyny and fatphobia, sure, but those are deliberate character points and not just Hussie-isms. I see people act like Caliborn is indicative of Hussie, as if Homestuck-era Hussie wasn't, like, famously really fucking good at writing female characters and absolutely not a misogynist. Caliborn's a parody of Homestuck Anti-Fans - which is a term we really ought to bring back, god, anti-fans are absolutely still a thing and good lord they're everywhere - who really were just shitty little bigoted haters. Calliope, the opposite side of his coin, was representative of, essentially, "the best kind of Homestuck fan" - an ultimately sweet young teen girl who willingly dedicates almost all of her time to this piece of fiction she loves so, so much, who draws a lot of fan art for the joy of it all, has OCs that don't fit any of the design conventions in Homestuck whom she pairs with the characters in it for innocent fun. Someone who has a lot of theories and analyses, writes a lot of fanfic, and is genuinely just having a lot of fun. Everyone loves Calliope. Even the characters in Homestuck love Calliope. They just think she's the cutest, sweetest little thing they ever did see. Caliborn was the worst kind. He sucks on purpose. No one likes him. He is a total nuisance to characters he is by all means trying to impress. I love them both.

It's also just funny that he's a canonical Intersex Transmasc who is probably Gay and this has, like, no relevance to anything about him, really. So no one really talks about it. Gender Hilarious, Gender Nefarious.

[fafodill]

Hi! I'm new to your blog and really enjoying scrolling through it ☺️ I was wondering if you have a list of fanfic recommendations anywhere? I like your take on Snape as a character and I feel like your taste in fanfic would be impeccable. No worries if you'd rather not share though! 💛

You're so sweet, thank you! I've been back in the fandom for just a little while so I'll update this as I go but you can consider this my fanfic masterpost for now. If you like some share it with me in the comments and give the authors a kudo and a little review! <3

Severus stuff

The War of the Roses (ongoing, not yet but oh mama such sexual tension), Snirius with a Sirius POV, taking place during OotP. Sirius characterization is breathtaking: he is really fucked up after Azkaban (which I love) and we get a good look at his family trauma, his unrequited love for James and his tangled feelings about Snape. The author paints with words. It's deeply scarred, human and beautiful. I cannot tell you how obsessed I am with it.

Second Life (completed, a little smutty). Snirius post-war AU where they both live. One chapter but you will travel through time and space and clench at your chest. It's a messy (oh so messy but so beautiful) journey through life and love. You may cry. Maybe several times. You'll be ruined changed at the end of it but deeply happy.

A Patchwork Family (completed), Severitus, takes place during PoA, Draco is involved too. Amazing fic that really dives into Harry as a victim of abuse and neglect under the Dursley's care. The slow shift of dynamics is super interesting, touching and realistic. I cried a few times too, especially at the end. There's a few chapters in Severus's POV posted separately that I adore as well and a sequel.

Fate set Right (completed, implied), Snamione where she goes back in time to the Maraudeur era and I absolutely loved their Hogwarts years (the 15 first chapters). It’s very long (full re-write of the story). Very much a ‘if he had better people around him, this is what his life could have looked like’. Very impressive storytelling, some amazing ideas. Also Dumbledore is a insufferable. But brace yourself for a saga.

I'll be your Doll (completed, smut fest). Post-war Snamione. Snape got his life - and dating life - together after the war and has found a good equilibrium in his sex life. But now, there's Hermione and something hits different. You wanna blush? I sure did. Great fic which explores non-monogamous dynamics and kinky stuff.

Cursed into Temptation (completed, solo deprived smut) Solo Snape. He knows something is happening with this new colleague of his but he couldn't bring himself to follow her back to her room. Now he's alone in his quarters and can't sleep... This fic actually fueled my adoration for deprived!Snape. I love it, he's so ashamed and needy. Many sexy ideas.

Rare pairs

Spoonful of Sugar in a Nice Cold Cup of Revenge (completed), Fleamont Potter/Severus Snape… yes. Yes I know, but it’s so good. Basically teen!Snape meets Fleamont-Daddy-Green-Flag-Potter and it’s amazing I swear. No more comments your Honor, I wanted 10 more chapters.

Premature Eulogy (ongoing, a week of smut). Lucius/Severus/Narcissa. Post-war AU where Severus is supposed to appear in front of the Wizengamot under Veritaserum to defend Lucius's allegiances during the war. The line of defense? The three of them were lovers back then. That's not true, but it will have to be... they have a week to make memories. Severus is extremely inexperienced but we get a super touching depiction of a healthy three way dynamic, full of smut and love. I adore them like this, you won't regret it.

Difficult to Work With (completed, metamorphmagi smut). Tonks/Moody. I will die on this hill, they're great together. Here, have a very touching (and also smutty) little fic where they're super fun and have such a great chemistry. Super cool ideas about Tonk's metamorphmagi powers. Alastor is an open-minded respectful king.

[venomous-qwille]

hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

[aquareegia]

Transcript of Will Ramos' essay on Sleep Token for Rock Sound magazine

I might play in a metal band as part of my job, but I don't listen to much metal music anymore.

A few years ago though, I remember one of my friends saying to me, "Dude, you've got to check out this band Sleep Token… They're pretty cool".

I'd never heard the name before, but I'd listened to 'Hypnosis' and a couple of other songs from the band's second album, 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb', to see what they were like.

Hitting play for the first time, I was caught off guard. You hear the guitar and these slamming instrumentals and instantly you think, 'This is about to fucking kick ass'. You're so sure that the vocalist is about to come in with some gnarly screaming, but then you hear this man singing, and he's singing so beautifully. I didn't see it coming at all, and as soon as I heard it, I knew that it was exactly what I needed to hear.

At the start of a long drive that I had to make on my own, I hit play on 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb' from the beginning for the first time. As the record began with 'Atlantic', I was vibing to the sound of the music, but as it rolled through each track I started to get more and more caught up in this incredible sonic journey. By the time it was over, I realised that I'd been on this emotional roller coaster of love, pain, happiness, sadness and nostalgia.

Boom, that was it - I was hooked on that album. Every single song on that record was so freaking incredible to me, and I needed to know more about Sleep Token. Believing that my friend and I were the only people in on this hype, I spoke about it to my band one day, and they said to me, "You need to listen to 'Sundowning'!" I was so mad that they knew about this band the whole time, and nobody ever told me, but I went back and listened to Sleep Token's first album like they suggested.

I remember thinking it was very different. It's not as polished, but it's very dynamic and so beautiful. I think it definitely says something when you can see the progression of a band from just their first and second albums. From then, I knew they were onto something incredible.

It feels like more and more people have been catching onto that hype over the last year, and now it seems as though their name is impossible to ignore. I remember when they released 'The Summoning' at the start of 2023, the day after they'd released 'Chokehold', it felt like it all went crazy. They had something like 4-million hits on that song in just two days, and now, it's got over 70-million plays on Spotify. It was the beginning of a huge explosion for Sleep Token, and the first time I heard it, I was genuinely confused by it. It's so ridiculously versatile, and on my first few listens I felt like the super jazzy outro didn't fit at all, but the more I listened the more it began to click. I remember at the time I showed it to Elizabeth Zharoff, a vocal coach from The Charismatic Voice, and the outro was immediately one of her favourite parts.

She's from a completely other world of music, so to hear her approval showed me how capable Sleep Token were of reaching people outside of the metal scene.

I might not listen to metal music anymore, but Sleep Token are revitalising heavy metal. It brings back the nostalgia that I felt when I was a little kid listening to this type of music for the first time and being like, 'Holy shit, what is this? This is so cool'. I had started to lose that feeling over the years, but every time I listen to these songs, all those emotions come flooding back. In my opinion, there's no band out there that sounds like them - and that's a truly impressive feat.

Merging metal with pop, R&B, and rap influences, and bridging all these different gaps that many artists have historically been afraid to explore, there's something here for so many types of music fans. For a long time, metal bands have been putting themselves in a box. There's been this idea that a metal band needs to be heavy, that you need to have a breakdown in every song, and that you need to tick all the boxes in order to succeed. It's been so refreshing to see the evolution of the genre over the last few years, and to see bands like Sleep Token bring all these different sounds to the forefront of metal.

It brings a whole bunch of unique people into the fold. People love to say that metal is dying, but it's music like this that keeps it alive. It doesn't just move the scene forward, it expands it.

Now, there are all these people who didn't listen to metal before listening to Sleep Token. R&B and pop fans are coming into this as fans of Vessel's singing voice and hearing all these metal influences along the way. The second verse of 'Take Me Back To Eden' has this great rap-inspired singing part, and it's these little things that speak to different people in different ways. All of this feeds into our community in some crazy way, shape, or form. It's welcoming people into a genre that they may never have been exposed to otherwise, and I think that s a beautiful thing.

As a vocalist, one thing in particular that draws me to Sleep Token is Vessel's voice. I have always been a screamer, but I've always wanted to be a singer at the same time. I always practise on the side of Lorna Shore, but in my mind I'm like, 'This isn't very good. My voice is not fit for metal at all, as far as singing goes'. When I first heard Sleep Token though, one of the first things I noticed was that Vessel and I have a very similar range. Hearing him lay down all of these incredible parts, it makes me realise that I can actually sing metal vocals.

Back when I first discovered them, I wanted to cover their songs in the hopes that more people would hear them. Now, I just want to cover them so that I can sing something that is in my range.

Obviously though, his voice is much more dynamic than mine because he's been polishing it for a very long time. He does a crazy vibrato and can switch between his head voice and chest voice super easily. It's crazy stuff, and as someone who has been a vocalist for so long, I can appreciate the techniques he's using. I love to hear the different ways he's able to blend his voice into the genre.

Another thing that makes his voice so unique is that it's so emotional. When I hear Vessel sing, I can truly feel the emotion behind his words. He might be this otherworldly figure singing about an ancient deity, but there's a distinct humanity to his vocals. You can sense his sadness and pain, and whether people realise it or not that draws a lot of people to Sleep Token's music. They're the band that you can listen to at two o'clock in the morning when you're driving down the road alone. They're the perfect companion for those moments where you're upset about something, and you just need to listen to something that feels like a release.

That's a beautiful thing, because when you write music, you want people to feel the same emotions that you're feeling when you're writing it. The way that Vessel translates all of that is so incredible, and it's arguably my favourite thing about the band. Between his vocals and the instrumentation behind them, you feel exactly what they want you to feel. Even before thinking about what I knew about Sleep Token, when we were thinking about what we wanted to do with Lorna Shore, that was the goal. We wanted to bring a little bit more emotion into heavy metal music, and now they've done that and brought the singing into it too. Metal's now even more emotional because of the way he uses his beautiful voice, and I think that's what this genre has needed for a long time.

The truth is, from the moment I first heard Sleep Token, I knew they were one of those bands. Between their studio quality, their musical skill, and their ability to conjure up their own lore to incorporate into the music, I could see that they had the potential to be something truly special, they just needed that little push.

As soon as they got that with 'The Summoning', that was it - they were taking over.

First impressions are a big thing, and I think 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb' will always be my favourite album because of the way I first connected with it, but 'Take Me Back To Eden' is phenomenal. They have been able to get all of their emotion out in so many new ways on those songs because there's even more happening from a musical perspective. They've managed to strike the balance between heaviness and beauty perfectly and that's what we strive to create with albums. The goal is to create an album you can sit with, front to back, and feel the waves of emotion. A record to let yourself feel those things, and an opportunity to sit in isolation whilst you experience that journey.

It's a feeling that's amplified within Sleep Token's live shows, and I was able to catch them at Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia. Lorna Shore were also playing, and we had a meet and greet scheduled for that day. It was scheduled to take place from 7pm until 7:30pm, and Sleep Token's set started at 7:30pm. I was a little antsy, because I know that meet and greets always overrun by half an hour or so, and they were the band I was most desperate to catch.

I was sitting there, it was 7:29pm, and the meet and greet line was still as long as it had been when we'd started. I started to hear 'Chokehold' playing in the distance, and I felt so sad.

People online were messaging me to tell me that Sleep Token were playing, and I was like, 'I know! I can hear them, but I'm stuck here!'

That's where it started to set in how freaking massive Sleep Token were becoming. They're one of the biggest metal bands that I'm aware of right now, and there were so many people watching that set. They refer to their live shows as rituals, their fans are the congregation, and the stage as a place of worship. It's something that could easily seem tacky if a band did it with little consideration for the details, but they're so committed to what they do.

After about three minutes, as I heard 'Chokehold' coming to an end, I stood up and said, 'Alright everybody, I've got to go. I'm so sorry, but if you know me, you'll understand'. The people who come to our meet and greets know how much I love Sleep Token, so they were like, 'Dude, go!' I sprinted out of there, leaving the rest of the band still doing the meet and greet, and made my way over to the stage. I thought I was the only one who wanted to see their set, but ten seconds into running I turned around and saw Of Mice & Men's singer, Aaron Pauley, following me. We started running through this huge crowd together, and everybody was so excited. I'm not the type of guy to leave a meet and greet early, but I needed to witness that set. It was an act of true love!

Even when they post on Instagram after shows, the captions are always like, 'The ritual has been completed in Copenhagen'. They totally absorb themselves in the spiritual aspect, physically, visually, and sonically. It's a brand, and they completely own that brand. They've made it exactly what it is, and they stick to it.

When I saw them, they had four people onstage doing harmonies with them, and they just stood there in their cloaks.

They didn't move throughout the entire set, and I began to picture it as a church choir at the side of the ritual. The whole experience does feel super spiritual, and they don't just give 50 per cent to the theming, it's 100 per cent. People feel the emotion, see the way they embody this ideal, and hear this incredible music - and I think that's why people are so ready to absolve themselves in this spiritual moment.

Everybody has a different connection to every song because of the different things everyone goes through in life, but they get to experience all of that in a place where everybody else is feeling something too.

Vessel's vocals translate into their live experience so perfectly, too. His screams are even better live than they are in the studio, and he still sings beautifully, which is so impressive. I was genuinely doubtful that he was going to be able to hit all of those vibratos and do all the other crazy vocal work he does on the albums, but he hit every note. Sometimes, he doesn't even hit the notes that he does on the studio versions, but he hits another note that is equally as stunning. He's a true performer.

You can tell a lot about a band from their live performance, but as a band in the modern age you also have to put a lot of thought into your promotion. The way you come across on social media is important, and the way that people perceive you is largely down to how you come across online. That's why I've always been fascinated by Sleep Token choosing to keep the identities of their band members a secret, refusing to do interviews and placing the focus on their visual identity.

I definitely think that's played a part in their success, because it's allowed the music to take centre stage. I remember when I was first talking to the rest of Lorna Shore about Sleep Token, they told me about the lore behind the band and that the members are all anonymous. That was before 'The Summoning' came out, but since people have caught on there have been some serious investigative deep dives, so l'm pretty sure the internet has found out who Vessel is.

I didn't look that up though, because personally for me, I always really appreciated the fact that they were totally anonymous. I like the feeling that Vessel is just a voice in the ether. You can hear it, but you can't classify it as being the voice of any one person, it's just this intriguing mystery. I've heard a lot of people say that it reminds them of when they first got into Slipknot because when a lot of people I know first listened to that band, nobody knew who was behind the masks. They were just a bunch of dudes making music with no outside perceptions, but then obviously people found out. I think that Sleep Token have that similar allure for a whole new generation, but sadly for me that mystery was shattered when I met them after a show.

It was great to meet them, but I also really didn't want to know who they were. I loved not knowing and I think that the anonymous aspect of what they do plays such an important role in the impact they're having on the heavy metal world.

It's a bit of a double-edged sword because everyone wants to know their identities, but once you do know - you miss the anonymity.

There's something special about the way they're putting their music out into the world with no need for individual validation, and I think it takes a lot of guts and confidence in what you're creating to do what Sleep Token are doing.

Usually, you almost want everyone to know who's in the band, because often that helps push you forwards. If you have someone in your line-up who's been in a well-known band before, you want to use that name to get yourselves out into the scene more. Sleep Token aren't anybody, and that takes a lot of courage and humbleness to do. There's no predisposed idea of what their music is supposed to be or what it's going to be, and that's part of the magic.

It's something that also comes out in the lore, the symbolism, and the cryptic clues that Sleep Token scatter throughout everything they do. There are Reddit threads dissecting every single word in the songs and analysing each pixel within their visuals, but it's not something I've had the chance to fall into just yet.

When I first listened to 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb', I could only find one or two articles about Sleep Token online.

They were basic articles explaining the idea of the band and what they were trying to do, which I thought were cool, but I never really looked it up again.

Over the last year or so, it seems that these conversations have spiralled. People are coming up with these different ideas about the band's story, and there are all these hints appearing constantly. I don't know any of the Easter eggs yet. I'm still just fascinated by the music and their wicked aesthetics, but I love that they've got people talking. It's become this kind of community around the band, and as someone who grew up in this scene, seeing artists who are able to foster that feeling amongst fellow music fans is such an incredible thing.

I think that's one of the reasons why Sleep Token have been able to find success on such a wide level so quickly, because there's a constant conversation about them. If people aren't talking about their music, they're talking about the lore and the stories behind it, or they're talking about the potential identities of the band members. They have this perfect package in place that lends itself to a world class metal band, but they're achieving it at such an incredible speed.

They thought out every single element of this band before they even started, from how the melodies work with the vocals, to the emotion and the quality of the sound. A lot of people put out music that sounds like they're hitting a trash can, and whilst they might have really good singing over the top of it, you can't ignore that trash can. Sleep Token have got incredible production value though, which is even more impressive when you consider how versatile their sound is.

It's so well thought out that you hear new things in each song on every listen. If you listen to 'Take Me Back To Eden', the title track of their third album, there's an allusion to a particular part of 'Chokehold', and it's details like that which make their production so unique. They wanted to make sure that it came out perfect, and maybe - like all musicians I know - they think they could have made certain parts of it better in retrospect, but I honestly can't imagine how.

Between the versatility, the emotion that people feel when they listen to it, the heaviness, the quality, and the songwriting, Sleep Token don't cut any corners anywhere. That's why they're already playing these huge, career defining shows, and putting out music that's changing people's perception of heavy music as a whole. It's so exciting to be a Sleep Token fan, and I just want them to write even more mind-blowing music and play even bigger places because they truly deserve it.

The bigger the places that they play, the better they're going to sound live. They're already playing arenas over in the UK, and with the size of those venues I just know they're going to sound absolutely incredible. They're reaching heights much higher than most metal bands that I know, and the bigger they get, the better their production value is going to be all round.

'Take Me Back To Eden' only came out earlier this year, but I already can't wait to hear them put out more music. lf what we heard on album three is the direction that they're going in, I'm very optimistic to see what the future holds for Sleep Token. I imagine at one point, they're going to make it on the radio - and honestly it could happen sooner rather than later. I knew it when I first heard them, and I'm even more certain of it now - they're going to be huge.

[rafairenlvr]

YOU’RE GONNA WRITE FOR GENSHIN? or do you write for genshin? if so can i please with a cherry on top get a little nsfw drabble with zhongli i adore him very bad and he’s constantly on my mind

Yeah very soon….

I do infact write for genshin, but I don’t mind starting a bit early than planned!

Ofc I can write zhongli for you we all love our geo papi and a little extra sum sum with his dragon form and use of his archon name… 😈

This is probably very filthy of me to write this about some 2,000yr old geo archon but oh well! Am I right?

————————————————————————

[ FIRST GENSHIN FIC SPECIAL]

Special Treatment ft. Zhongli (Morax)

SYPNOSIS: Boyfriend/Husband! Zhongli in his rut/heat period which he is in his dragon form and his girlfriend/wife came to his aid only to not be able to walk for a couple days ;)

PAIRINGS: Dragon! Zhongli x Fem! Reader

CONTENT WARNING: dragon zhongli but there is only one cock, heat/rut period, female reader, size kink?, praise, some cunnilingus & fingering, p in v, breeding kink, light bondage, pet names (sweetheart/sweetie and dear/darling), zhongli making the reader call him his archon name (morax) while he fucks her, and soft dom! zhongli, dom x sub dynamic (sub! reader & dom! zhongli), aftercare at the end, monsterfucking, zhongli being a little rough?, this man has lots of stamina, and some degration. PLEASE LMK IF I MISSED ANY OF MY WARNINGS AND NOT PROOF READ!

A/N: I didn’t feel like bolding every everything he says so stick with it guys my hands hurt and I’m too lazy!

VERY FILTHY SMUT AHEAD! MDNI! 18+

Boyfriend/Husband! Zhongli who couldn’t help no more to resist and restrain himself while in his heat period had to just have you. You were sitting in front of your mirror brushing your hair as you heard the door open behind you, Zhongli came in and sat down behind you brushing your hair before his calloused hands graze over your cheek making you look at him.

His face was flushed red, appearing to be in his dragon-like form. “Look at me dear.” He coaxed gently and you did as you were told, turning around facing him as he wrapped an arm across your shoulders leaning on your back, “You are absolutely beautiful.” You blush shyly looking away from him with a light flush covering your cheeks, you rubbed your eyes as you came to a realization that he is in his heat cycle you just had to help him like all those other times.

It wasn’t anything special, it was a normal thing, you would do it for any man you love, right? It couldn’t possibly go wrong this time. It was just a simple brush of the hand that had Zhongli in his dragon form and you didn't even know what had gotten into you but you let out a sigh and looked up into those warm eyes. His lips curled into a smile, "You always seem so nervous when I get in my dragon state," he murmured kissing your forehead, and resting his head onto yours.

You leaned into his embrace and hugged him back closing your eyes taking in a deep breath inhaling Zhongli's natural musky scent that reminded you of the fresh morning rain, of the cool summer breeze in Liyue and you loved how much your body responded to it, you were addicted to it and Zhongli's kisses. He pulled back slowly cupping his fingers under your chin, he stared into your eyes, his pupils dilated and there was such desire within them, so much passion and lust that you could hardly breathe, "Please. Kiss me, please." he whispered.

Your own arousal rising as you saw Zhongli's heated gaze fall upon your lips. you felt yourself lean forward into his touch pressing your lips together, you couldn't stop your own moan from leaving your mouth. Your arms encircled his neck feeling a rush of pleasure from his strong grip. His free hand slipped through your silky locks tangling in them as his other hand cupped your cheek holding you against him, he deepened the kiss moving his tongue between your parted lips tasting and exploring every crevice of your mouth.

You gripped his horns pulling him closer, deepening the kiss as you moaned again your hands roaming the hard muscularness on his sides, you were so close to losing control of yourself that all you wanted was to feel him inside you, feeling his hands trail downwards on your waist caressing the skin of your inner thighs that were exposed by the thin fabric of your underwear. You broke off the kiss panting heavily as you looked up at your boyfriend, you could almost see stars in his eyes as you watched him look up at you biting down on his lower lip, you were still breathing raggedly trying to catch your breath.

Zhongli took in your appearance before his eyes trailed towards the exposed area of skin between your panties and your thigh. He raised a brow as he reached out grabbing one of your legs and tugging it aside exposing your bare thigh. A soft gasp escaped your lips feeling goosebumps spread over your thighs as he stroked his hand over the smooth flesh, feeling your wetness growing more aroused as he touched you.

“So wet,” he mused running his finger along the top layer of your panties feeling you shudder. “And so responsive.” He kissed down your shoulder making your breathing hitch in anticipation, “What is it, darling? Do you want me to taste you?” he asked in a husky voice, he moved closer to your ear, you shivered as he nibbled your ear lobe sending electric shocks of pleasure through your body.

“Answer me.” You felt him kiss down the line of your chest, “What do you want?” You could hear the edge in his voice, he was so eager and you knew how hot he was getting, “What do you want? I will make sure you receive everything.”

He nipped at the base of your collarbone giving you goosebumps and a shiver running down your spine before moving up to press his lips to the sensitive place behind your ear where the pulse point was pounding wildly, “Tell me what you need…” He trailed kissing a hickey on your jawline.

Your head fell back slightly, “Zhongli...” He stopped as he grabbed your face making you look at him. “Say it.” He ordered, “Say my name.” You swallowed thickly looking into his fiery golden eyes, “Morax…” You gasped. “Good girl. That’s better. Tell me what you want.” His voice was husky, you whimpered, you wanted it all.

You wanted him all. To give him everything, to be taken, your body already trembling from excitement and wanting so badly to just give yourself to him, but you had promised. And you weren’t a weak person. ‘But I’m not going to break that promise.’ you thought determinedly to yourself.

“Do what I tell you….” Zhongli growled, “Do it.” He nodded curtly and you nodded too. You wanted it all, you needed it, and you needed to say it. “I want…to feel you. Inside me. Please.” He released your jaw to pull off your panties before pushing your underwear and panties to the floor. “Get on your knees for me. For your god.” He said kneeling beside you placing his hands on the backs of your knees and helping you to stand up on your knees while keeping his hand on your lower back.

Looking back up at him and he bent down kissing your neck sucking lightly, “Now spread your thighs.” Zhongli instructed. You opened your legs wider and his fingers pushed the elastic material of your panties to the side letting your pussy be completely exposed to his hungry gaze. “Perfect,” his hot breath fanned over your wetness causing you to groan softly. You felt a sharp sting as his teeth scraped your clit teasing and teasing before releasing your sensitive bundle of nerves.

You cried out in pleasure gripping the bed sheets. “Shush now. Be a good girl and hold still until I get you ready for me, alright?” He murmured pressing his long tongue in between your folds and swirling it around your clitoris, making you shudder and cry out louder than before. “Don’t move.” He warned as he placed two of his slender fingers inside of you spreading the folds apart as he licked at your hole.

“Ah… Morax…” You breathed in relief as he continued licking, the tips of his fingers rubbing against your slick center eliciting a strangled sound that you tried to smother with your clenched fist as you arched your back and bucked your hips up to meet his touch. “Like that don’t move~ I’ll give you what you need~” His mouth and tongue worked tirelessly making you writhe under his attentions as he began pumping his fingers in and out of your slick passage.

After several minutes, your movements slowed down and after catching your breath you looked up at Zhongli. He was watching your reactions as he removed his fingers replacing them with his throbbing and already hard cock, you bit down on your bottom lip as he lowered himself onto your opening, sliding inside you slow and steady as if he wanted to savor each inch of you. Once he was all the way in , he leaned down kissing your swollen lips. “So tight and already clenching around my cock.. So beautiful.” You whimpered as he began to thrust harder making your core tighten around him. He gave an approving hum and began to rock his hips back and forth gently, working you deeper into him.

“Mmh- So good, oh god-.” Your moans increased as he started to pound his cock faster into you hitting your G spot repeatedly and causing your whole body to convulse in orgasmic pleasure. Zhongli groaned burying his face into your neck. As you trembled in his arms your legs wrapped tightly around his waist as you came undone. “Mmm.” His low voiced growls vibrating his chest against yours.

“That’s it be a good little slut you are and take it all. Take it all.” he ordered. You nodded feeling his hands grip your ass squeezing it firmly as he continued to pound into you. The orgasm hit you harder this time with a wave of blinding pleasure that made you cry out. “Oh god.” You cried out his name desperately clawing his shoulders for purchase, your nails digging into the muscle beneath his scales as you clutched and pulled. Your hips jerking erratically as your entire body seemed to be being stretched in ways it hadn’t been stretched before, your legs locked around his back refusing to release their tight grip. “Morax...Please.” You whimpered feeling his muscles flex beneath you.

“Please what?” he asked looking directly in your eyes.

“Give me more. Please…” You begged wrapping your arm around his neck pulling him down for another heated kiss.

He moaned deeply into your mouth as his tongue swept into your mouth and teased your own. “Let go baby. Let go. I want to feel you come again.” He whispered urgently into your ear before lifting up once again to slam himself into you taking you even further as your walls contracted around his thick cock filling you up with every inch of him.

“Fuck. Fuck. Ahhh…” you panted as his hips pistoned faster slamming himself deeper into you as you felt yourself starting to come close to reaching your peak. He moaned deep in your throat. “You like it when I fuck you, don’t you?” His words were a whisper against your ear as he continued to stroke his fingers in and out of your tight channel. You nodded and gripped onto his shoulders, “Yeh...yes. It feels so nice.

So good. Just...more. Please.” Zhongli chuckled at your plea as he picked up the pace faster pumping into you harder and quicker as you both climaxed simultaneously. A scream of pure ecstasy left your throat echoing loudly around the bedroom as your body tensed, shaking, twitching and spasming.

Zongli continued to drive himself into you driving you over the edge of bliss as you screamed out his name one final time before collapsing forward falling asleep in his arms snuggling into his chest as he stroked your damp hair lovingly.

“Did so well for me didn't you?” He cooed stroking your cheek with the tip of his finger.

“You know me, always here to help you with your heat cycles, Zhongli.” You smiled looking up into his eyes which held such love and care as you gazed at him, “You mean more than anything.” You said cupping his chin with your hands.

“You're all mine.” He smirked leaning closer kissing you sweetly.

“And you're all mine.” He replied holding you closely as you kissed back.

“What would I do without you?” he sighed.

“I don't know, maybe starve." You giggled and nuzzled his chest as he pressed a lingering kiss to your temple resting his chin atop your head.

"Let’s get you cleaned up, darling.” He murmured softly as he lifted you up carrying you gently over to the bathroom to clean up and then to bed. After putting you in his soft comforter, he climbed in next to you pulling you to him, resting your head on his broad chest.

“Sleep.” He mumbled stroking your hair softly caressing your back, his voice filled with so much love as he spoke and you could almost see the happiness and pride shimmering in his beautiful dark eyes.

“Mmmmh.” You hummed closing your eyes and drifting quickly away from consciousness.

“Love you,” you breathed.

“I love you too.” You could hear the smile in his voice as his hand brushed softly across your forehead kissing your temple as sleep consumed you.

[brucewaynehater101]

There's various opinions on the hc that the Lazarus Pit caused Jason to be violent (usually the Pit is used as an excuse for Titan's Tower).

A valid rebuttal to this hc is that using the Lazarus Pit excuse detracts from the very real possibility that Jason is just fucking traumatized. He's been through horrific events (dying, Pit, and LoA, to name a few), and pigeonholing responses to trauma to socially acceptable behaviors is unrealistic and sets up unattainable standards. Some times people do fucked up things because they were hurt. It doesn't excuse their actions, but it shouldn't entirely blame them either. They are still responsible for making amends, and the people impacted don't have to forgive them.

Another valid rebuttal is that chalking Jason's actions as the Pit tends to sweep under the rug the consequences of his actions. It absolves Jason of all blame if magical goop soup was controlling his actions. If that's a dynamic someone wants to explore, mind control or coercion are some other ways to still have that element of lack of control while dealing with the fallout of their actions. Lots of angst and mixed up feelings there.

One more rebuttal is that a lot of the "bad and uncontrollable" effects of the Pit are just unhealthy coping mechanisms or the result of trauma. Dissociative fugue? Extreme anger issues? Mood swings? It'd be understandable if Jason struggled with any or all of these due to his life (and death) experiences.

On the other hand, Pit Side Effects is a cool story element to mess around with. I've seen Venom-like Pit, weird urges (such as needing to ensure someone isn't wearing the color orange), differing wants (Pit claims someone as to-be-protected when Jason wants nothing to do with them), eyes flashing colors like a mood ring, accelerated healing, super strength, blood is a different color, always knowing where the nearest Pit is, or the Pit giving its user abilities in exchange for blood. I'm sure there's other fun ways to experiment with this.

A compelling storyline would be Jason (or someone else) blaming his actions on the Pit and the discovery of them slowly realizing that his conduct was really just trauma responses and having an understandably shitty mental health.

I don't remember the fic, but there was a cool plot line where Tim, after making up with Jason, separated Hood and Jason in his mind. Jason was the big brother who protected and loved him. Hood was the monster that hurt him. The author handled this really well where they had Jason, after discovering Tim's thought process, sit the kid down to explain that Jason was in fact 100% responsible for his own actions. He apologized, and they talked about boundaries.

Anyways, feel free to have whatever HCs you want, but I encourage you to try not to detract the impact of trauma on people's motivations and operations.

[carlyraejepsans]

ok enough twewying out for today. stopped around the beginning of day 4, after catching up to beat and rhyme. so! thoughts under the cut:

I'm completely addicted to this game's battle system. mind you it took me a WHILE to figure it out (i used to switch back and forth between neku and shiki after every combo in the beginning and never understood why i kept getting E rank before i realized i had to use them simultaneously) and then a while longer once i did to as they say "git good", but now I'm just tearing through enemies like paper. i love this shit. especially now that they let you queue fights together. i always clear an area of all noise the first time i enter it, even though it's gonna reset immediately after i leave and come back. grinding them is so much fun

new mechanics! memes! I don't know whether to make an internet joke or an SCP foundation joke. i was wondering when the random snippets of conversation were going to become relevant. i like that not all of the thoughts you gain are relevant for the mission, really gives you an incentive to fuck around and explore. also shiki should meme implant her period cramps into neku's brain, she's earned it at this point.

very amused by the clothes brand debuff system. from the pace it introduced the battle mechanics with, to the pin system, to the food, and now clothes trends, it's obvious that twewy is a very dynamic game in terms of strategy and item systems and it tries to get you to cycle through them to their fullest extent, as well as engage with its shops and money system. It's sure different from a lot of games I've played before! I'm very intrigued. it's pretty fun so far, nice way to keep me on my toes. it also 1) fits diegetically with the look and style of the game and 2) allowed for some cute character moments for shiki (she's so passionate about it!) and neku (get this autistic kid out of here please)

absolutely delighted by beat and rhyme every time they're on-screen. can't wait to see more of them now that we've officially teamed up. shiki becomes more and more interesting with every scene... is it doomed yuri i smell on her? god i hope so. neku amnesiac reveal made my opinion on him take a big leap forward, but he's also gotten progressively less insufferable all around. his shitty comments towards shiki have grown sparse enough that I've finally had the space to find his other scenes endearingly tsundere (and then he insults her again out of the blue and i go back to wanting to beat his ass). oh well. it's gonna end at some point. he's made progress at least.

"ready to die?" "then die!" is such a cute sync catchphrase. pinching their cheeks. i also like that they call out for each other when injured in battle, man i wish that vibe extended to their dynamic outside of battle as well.

players temporarily give up the most important thing to them when they enter the reaper's game, huh? i wonder if for shiki that was her best friend. and for neku his... memories maybe? or something else that would inevitably result in amnesia. if that's the case that tells of a character that is extensively defined by his past and looking backwards. that would sure be a cool setup. we'll see!

[resident-gay-bitch]

🫶 Multiship Mondays 🫶

James x Barty (Darksun)suggestive themes

I think, whilst to their cannon characters it would never fucking happen, the dynamic of Barty and James is cool as shit to explore. (warning, this gets a little horny at one point)

Like, they’re both so loud and proud and in everyone's faces but in such different ways.

James is cocky, confident, arrogant. He’s Mr Popular, king of the Gryffindor tower, quidditch captain and head boy. Everyone loves him, he’s funny, charismatic, smart, handsome. Everything and everyone either wants to be, or wants to fuck him.

Barty is loud, aggressive, weird, in your fucking face, sarcastic and rude. He’s a total dick and knows it, he will insert himself into conversations and make all parties feel awful by the end of it and fucking laugh. He loves a good fight, always riling people up, people twice his fucking size, but he doesn’t learn and doesn’t care. He’s violent, not scared to throw a punch and will if you cross him in any fucking way.

They will both defend those they love with their fucking life.

They’d start as rivals, getting into punch ups, because Barty knows exactly which buttons to press to make James snap. He’s so proud, just a few lousy words about how he’s not even that good at quidditch, not even that smart, not even that attractive, and oh the moment he speaks bad about Sirius he’s got a fist to his face. James is Barty’s favourite target, because he’s a good, easy fight. He’s big, tough, broad, strong, but he’s never actually had to fight anyone before, so his punches fall a little short and his methods are a little off.

It’s a fair fight, since Barty knows how to fight, but he’s scrawny and has half the body mass, broadness, and height of Potter.

But the thing is, James is that attractive, and Barty “the slag” Jr should have known better than to get physical with buff as fuck quidditch captain James Potter. When he’s snarling and grabbing Barty by the collar, spitting in his face, Barty’s trying not to pop a boner. He’s so fucking hot it’s painful, and it doesn’t help that Barty likes it a little rough.

James finds himself in a similar situation, because why is he suddenly finding Crouch attractive? Him and his stupid quips, and stupid attitude, and his stupid crooked teeth and crooked nose, and scrawny build, and awkward face- he’s actually ridiculously hot and James is in hot water. And it doesn’t help that his anger at himself for feeling this way just makes him easier to rile up.

It’s not until one punch up, when it’s just them out by the old greenhouse in the early evening, whilst everyones at dinner, that they’re scrambling on the ground, and James thigh ends up shoved against his crotch, and he stops, looks down, and fucking laughs at Barty because he may be quite hard. Next thing he knows, James has his hand around them both whilst spitting stupid insults at Barty and Barty almost passess out from how good it is.

Their punch ups turn to hook ups, and then suddenly Barty’s spending a lot of time in the prefect's bathrooms (which is actually really lovely), and their insults at each other are getting more and more personal (aka sexual) and less and less rude.

And then one night after he snuck into James’ dormitory, they accidentally fell asleep before he could sneak home because Sirius woke up and they could hear him humming, lying in the middle of the room like he apparently does sometimes. They wake up in the morning cuddling, legs intertwined, arms wrapped around each other, Barty’s face pressed to James’ lovely chest and drooling on him, Jame’s face pressed into his hair, both still very naked. And they both wake up, but it’s actually so nice, so they both pretend that they haven’t woken up yet. It’s only when Sirius almost yanks back James’ curtain to wake them do they kick into morning action. But they were like that for a while.

The next time they hook up, it’s a little awkward, but James’ is a little bit softer, which is weird and unusual and sends Barty into a spiral.

He avoids James at all costs, until the bastard hunts him down somehow knowing exactly where he is at all fucking times, only once could Barty not escape, when he’s up in the astronomy tower in the middle of the night, having a smoke because he can’t sleep, plagued with mushy thoughts about bloody Potter.

James apologises for being weird last time, makes up some excuse, and they hookup again, and it’s like normal again… at first. But suddenly, as it’s finishing up, James is kissing him slowly, and pressing their foreheads together, and lays down beside him and they cuddle.

This is the second time Barty’s ever cuddled anyone, the first time also being with James in his lovely warm bed, where he wishes they were now, because the pillows smell like James and- fucking hell, hes fucked.

They start talking, as they’re putting their clothes back on, sharing a smoke for a while, and they talk about normal people things, about themselves a bit, their interests, quidditch. They have a quidditch match tomorrow, versus each other, so they should get some sleep. They go their separate ways, and whilst Barty’s warm and tired now, he still doesn’t fucking sleep, because he wants to be near James again.

They play the next day, and it’s kinda flirty. James keeps winking at him, flying past each other and bumping with any chance they get, teasing a bit with each point scored. Gryffindors win, because they’re brilliant but also because Barty was a little distracted today, completely off his game, eyes fixed on James’ stupid muscles, and messy hair, and the way his thighs wrapped-

He ends up at the Gryffindor party, since his best friend Pandora is dating Lily Evans, and she can’t be the only Ravenclaw there.

Naturally, he and James end up in James’ bed again about one hour into the party. Thankfully, no one comes looking, since James has already done his bit as the star of the show and now everyones distracted by Sirius and Remus snogging on the sofa, seemingly forgetting that other people are in the room.

After they’re done, they cuddle again, in Jame’s lovely bed. And James is all sleepy, and he’s sweet when he’s sleepy, quite cute, irritatingly handsome, voice all thick with sleep and… other things. They talk, a little bit, until James stops answering Barty’s questions because he’s fallen asleep and tucked himself into Barty’s neck. It’s the best sleep he gets in a while.

From then on, they can’t keep away from each other. Sneaking around whenever they can, talking constantly, cuddling.

And they kiss.

Like, they just kiss.

James will say, “Hey, Barty” and kiss him, and he’ll say “Bye, Barty” and kiss him, and he’ll say “I like that shirt on you” and kiss him, and he’ll say “Sorry, you can keep talking, I just need to…” and kiss him.

Barty really likes kissing James.

Of course it’s James who asks him out first. A date to Hogsmede. They sit in the back of the three broomsticks one night, having snuck out through secret corridors that James walks through with second nature, that Barty didn’t even know existed. They sip on butterbeer until their cheeks are warm and they’re giggling with each other, and then they’re snogging in their booth so aggressively that they get kicked out. They get frisky in the alleyway behind the pub, in the cold winter air, James gives Barty his coat and scarf whilst he does his thing, and Barty just blurts it out, “I’m obsessed with you.”

He’s mortified, but James is thrilled. They’re smitten with each other. They’re boyfriends now.

It’s insane what James does to him. He makes Barty gentle. Since he started picking fights with James, he realised he hasn’t picked fights with anyone else. He doesn’t feel the need to fight, so long as James looks at him, gives Barty all his attention. And he does, he gives Barty so much attention. He makes Barty feel loved which is something he never thought he’d feel before. And oh god, he’s such a sap, all the pet names he calls Barty, all the honey sweet things, the way he kisses him, and touches him, it’s insanity.

It’s everything.

But there's changes in James too, changes that make Barty’s head spin. He’s tougher, more aggressive. Still so kind, but he isn’t scared to throw a punch. In fact, he throws many at anyone who says anything bad about Barty. He gets himself into so much trouble, for Barty’s honour, and he promises he’ll never stop because it fills him with pride to make someone hurt so Barty doesn’t have too.

And he’s rough with Barty still, in all the right ways, leaves marks all over his body that make him so giddy when he looks in the mirror. James is possessive, and gets jealous and protective of him so easily, and Barty is a whore who flirts with everyone, and James is still so easy to rile. Barty knows exactly what buttons to push to make James snap, to get exactly what he wants, to get another three hickies and a bite mark bruising his skin.

They’re so chaotic, and probably a little toxic, but they are insane about each other, and Barty would kill everything if he ever loses James.

(And maybe if he dies at age 20 in the war still, Barty does fucking kill everything, until he gets himself killed, and he smiles as he dies because he’ll be reunited with James again)

I'm mildly (very) obsessed with Barty being insane about the people he accidently finds himself in love with.

[tubbytarchia]

hi it's my first anon ask ever so I'm nervous but just wanted to vent briefly about a couple of popular jimmy ships. I might be lacking some information / outdated topics but I work with what I know for ig

I'm so glad flwerhsbands is dead. I loved watching their POV in third life but not because it was a dreamland cottagecore relationship, and it was mildly off putting when others thought of it as such. Jim being belittled all the time behind his back wasn't cute. it was interesting cause of how they liked eachother enough but misunderstood the other and their alliance in many ways. If they ever realigned it would probably be the same, maybe worse, and that would not feel good.

Next rachers. I haven't fully watched their povs so I may be wrong abt this but. They weren't romantic in DL but they were good to eachother. Yet it feels like m/m for the ship is like equal to every other fic they are major in, romo or not. I don't get it. I have read and enjoyed a few, but it unnerved me when fics would make them the same age / wouldn't acknowledge the age difference. Idk why it's popularity creeps me so much. I love how supportive they are but they read as just friends to me.

Lastly and completely unrelated, it's great that jim's had more times where he's not the butt of the joke this year (between skrnachers plate up and Joel cooling it on the bullying), gives him opportunities to explore different roles and it makes the teasing more enjoyable (to an extent and at viewer's opinion) when there's that diversity. Oh my god this was not brief I am so sorry.

This is very brief by my standards anon don't even worry LOL. Absolutely agree with the FH segment. I've said this twelve thousand times but I can never reiterate enough that I don't inherently dislike their dynamic in the Life series and instead find it really compelling. I don't think Scott is just straight up evil (he is not one of my blorbos but is at least in the top 3 of most interesting traffic characters without a doubt) and I don't want Jimmy to suffer but regardless the narrative isn't up to me, only my interpretation based on what I see

With ranchers, I think I can understand you feeling this way but I'll be blunt in that I personally couldn't care less about the age gap even if people choose to abide by it whilst talking about characters and not CCs, so I'm not bothered if it isn't brought up, god knows I haven't either in my rancher art or writing. In addition, most creatives within the fandom from my judgement keep these characters as kind of ambiguous players in a game without real life counterparts and within this game world, as many other things associated with real life, specific age could be obsolete, which I think is perfectly fine as far as HC and Traffic at least go as they're all adults. I could very easily see ranchers anywhere on the platonic-romantic spectrum (and it is a spectrum to me, not a scale) because two adults, I don't care, but I can see where some people take discomfort with it, and the age gap could frankly be something interesting to comment on within their dynamic, if, again, people chose to keep it strictly true to the CC ages. I have heard of people trying to counterbalance "toxic FH" with "toxic ranchers" in retaliation and using the age gap as the reason which has probably contributed to me not being able to give a fuck, because that's just kind of funny to me

And yes, ahh Jimmy's competency... it never went anywhere, it's just the environment that enforces this anti-Jimmy pretence so it's no surprise that he's able to shine more when surrounded with people supportive of him. Or not even supportive, just not belittling. That's why smallidarity gradually became my favorite little thing because Joel's relationship with Jimmy I think is really interesting in how it's changed and what it offers in commentary of the Jimmy ecosystem that Joel has been a strong contributor to before. Like unironically I think about that tweet Jimmy made in passing all the time where he replied to Joel talking about his attempted sacrifice to him in Limited Life and how the idea was illogical, and Jimmy went "That's the point, that you tried, no one's ever done that for me"

[polyamorousmood]

Hi there,

I was wondering if you’d be able to offer any advice on my situation? I’m in a 6 year t4t monogamous relationship with my girlfriend, I love her very much and we’ve grown a lot together.

Our sex life has been dry for a few years, we’ve kept good communication about this and it’s due to a combination of her HRT tanking her libido, and her bottom dysphoria. She wishes it were different and we’ve tried a few things but nothing so far has helped, and as it stands there’s very little we can do to change this. I do my best to not shame her and thankfully she’s confirmed that I’ve been nothing but supportive and respectful of her.

Unfortunately I do have a sex drive, and although I get off regularly I’ve been daydreaming about fucking others for a long long while. I’ve not acted on it but my rumination routinely consumes hours of my day, and I think that I just need to get railed in order to get out of my head?

Luckily my partner and I have never been jealous types, and from the beginning of our relationship we’ve spoken with positivity and curiosity about opening up in some way, shape, or form. However, it feels wise to start any open or poly dynamic from a point where our relationship is healthy and well so that no one is being used to ‘fix’ to our relationship, and I can’t work out if seeing other people to fulfil my need for sex outside of my nesting partner should be viewed in that way or not?

We both imagined that we’d be dating others at the same time, but as it stands our dynamic would be unequal if I’m the only one excited to do that atm. I’m concerned that wanting to explore a sex life (or maybe more, unsure?) outside of my relationship could end up hurting my partner and anyone new, and I also don’t want to treat people like sex dispensers (if they’re not into that).

I’d appreciate any advise on how to proceed in a kind way, if at all! I’d also love some book recommendations on polyamory if you have any, I want to make sure that I’m well researched before making any decisions.

Thank you for reading, and responding if you do!

🗣📣Casual sex is not Bad. You are allowed to have someone in your life just for sex. It's fine actually.

sorry, I don't even think that's the meat of the issue, it's just the part of this that has the clearest answer. As long as the other person knows all you want is casual sex, it's fine to only have them around for casual sex, whether they're specifically "into" being "used" or not. It's not a kink of mine but it's still something I've done and enjoyed.

So onto your other concerns. You have once again hit upon the fundamental polyamorous virtue: communication. Whether something is okay to do depends entirely on you and your partner(s) so you need to be in constant communication about how everyone is feeling about things.

You're allowed to date someone when they're not, if they're cool with it. You're allowed to casually fuck someone without them if they're cool with it. Etc etc etc.

IF mismatched sex drives is the ONLY problem in a relationship, and they're not going to "take care of you" even when they're not feeling it (no judgement)[if you haven't already explicitly discussed this, start there], then that problem cannot be solved by any other means than you getting sexual fulfillment through other means (speaking from experience😅). And if masturbation just ain't cutting it for you, then it logically is impossible to open the relationship having previously solved this problem. If you have other problems you're ignoring because this one is the easiest to hang everything on, that's a different situation. Having said that, you need to apprise potential partners of the situation -- that you're testing the waters, and if it causes too much

I honestly think the best move here is just to tell her straight up its something you're really struggling with right now, and ask her what way of addressing it feels best to her. Maybe that's weekly unreciprocated head, or you getting a FWB, or you guys trying something new that might not be so triggering for the bottom dysphoria (there is a whole WORLD 🌍🌎🌏of possibilities, my friend), or a threesome, or phone sex, or maybe investing in one of those fucking machines would be worth it for you idk. HOWEVER, before you have that conversation, you need to be as sure as you reasonably can about what degree this is negotiable for you. Think HARD about whether you'd still want to sleep with someone else even if you were fucking her every night. Then, when you broach the subject with her, be honest. That may make the conversation difficult, but a relationship of 6 years should be able to take it. Maybe come prepared with reassurances you love her and don't want to jeopardize the relationship, though, just to be safe.

[candaru]

just gonna ramble about some Ultrakill/Portal crossover thoughts don't mind me

(considering The End of All Known Land canon for these thoughts, i.e. a world where Gabriel and V1 are the only ones to get out of Hell)

Chell hates robots with all her soul and would try to fucking annihilate V1 if she thought they posed even a sliver of a threat but V1 would be so fucking excited at the prospect of another human. like obviously if they were still in a situation where they needed blood, they'd kill her without a second thought, but now? they're just FASCINATED by the question of "how did a human SURVIVE" and they want to know everything

V1 inner monologue: oh boy a new sparring partner!!! wow they have a cool new kind of gun I've never seen before!! that would've been soooo helpful back in hell. I wonder if that's how they escaped? and they're quiet just like me! I wonder if their organic voicebox is broken? or do they just not have one? can humans not have one?

GLaDOS would fucking despise Gabriel because he's sooooo full of himself. She doesn't even need to hear him say anything robot-racist, She's already decided She hates him and wants him dead. an "angel?" yeah, right. sounds just like another human ripe for the picking. let's see how high-and-mighty you are when you're in my TESTING DOMAIN! DO MY PUZZLES, BOY!!!

Gabriel is like wow this robot is stuck up and has some serious issues but also I am uncomfortable with how much of myself I see reflected in her. hmmmm. yeah I'll try your puzzle, tell me more about your deep-seated hatred of organics and particularly this one that keeps ruining the facility you run and is the only one to ever beat you in a fight. mhm. yeah so quick question have you ever thought about trying to fuck—

(EXPLOSION AND GUNFIRE)

meanwhile if Chell ever met Gabriel on the surface it'd make for such a good tense encounter. bc she is hiding behind a tree in full fight-or-flight mode wondering "how did another human SURVIVE" and also second question "how did they get such sickass wings and where can I get a pair?"

and then Gabriel noticing her would ALSO send him into fight-or-flight mode but only for a moment because of the pure shock of, again, "HOW DID A HUMAN SURVIVE" before curiosity completely overtakes him and he tries to talk to her. trying to get her to talk and not attack or run is like trying to coax a wild injured animal out of a hiding spot. but he eventually manages to earn the barest, most minimal amount of trust by setting down all his weapons and leaving offerings of food in front of her.

...this gets harder when she sees Gabriel and V1 together and registers that they're allies. she's unsure if they're plotting against her or if V1 is manipulating Gabriel. eventually she leans towards the latter and thinks her fears are confirmed when she witnesses them drawing Gabriel's blood while he's sleeping.

she tries to communicate this to him by drawing crude pictures on the ground and is VERY FRUSTRATED when he's like "omg can you not talk? that's ok!! V1 also can't talk but we make it work, they're really incredibly kind and patient and—"

Chell, internally: I AM GOING TO KILL THAT FUCKING ROBOT AND SAVE YOU

I think it would be funny for V1 to try and go urban exploring in Aperture. GLaDOS is initially all excited because a new testing robot literally fell right into Her clutches but then V1 proceeds to be the most stubborn, impudent, tenacious piece of shit and they remind her WAY TOO MUCH OF CHELL so now She's trying to kill them but they have ACTUAL FUCKING GUNS and Aperture is being destroyed in the wake of their battle

meanwhile V1 has decided they don't like this robot but also She makes fun tests. so they do puzzles until they get bored and then they blast holes through the wall and try to kill Her

something something Ultrakill is just Portal for NBs (everyone knows Portal is for women) and I'm so fascinated by the similar dynamics of the toxic yuri/toxic yaoi robot-and-human pairs. and I think they would mostly hate each other and I love that for them.

(also something something GLaDOS is too far gone, too corrupted in Her immortality, and too deep in denial for any possible healthy ending with Chell—it's just not possible. so seeing Gabriel and V1 in a healthy and loving relationship would make Her SO FUCKING MAD for reasons She can't articulate)