#basically i remember someone saying in a lore video i think that

[ex-vespidae]

i would love to make kirby charts for my headcanons and theories

[kozachenko]

Behold, my Touhou Project Inscryption Au that I started working on before all the stuff with Touhou 20 went down. Mainly finished this so I could get it out of my head lol.

No one asked for this. No one needed this, but I have free will and this is how I choose to use it lmao.

Artist's Notes;

Full disclaimer I have never played Inscryption before, I have only seen gameplay videos going through the entire game and have watched lore recaps, analyses, and videos on it. I do still love this game though and want to play it someday.

I remember it was during one of my many rewatches of Markiplier's Inscription playthrough (The Flying Uryaruli never gets old, plus they're kinda comfort videos lmao) that I thought of the dumb idea of "what if Chimata was in it?" and thus this idea was born. My initial concept of this was "the devil added microtransactions to his game" (bonus points if you understand that reference), which then evolved into "what if Megumu, Tsukasa, and Momoyo were the other scribes" which then evolved into me thinking way to fucking hard about this idea and deciding to swap out those three for other characters to be the scrybes. I'm sure you can tell who I chose for the new scrybes based on the cards (it's Zanmu and Keiki), though I did leave a hint as to who would be replacing which scrybe in this AU (hint, look at their health and attack line's, Keiki's attack is 1 btw it just got covered up by Zanmu's card). That part will probably become clearer as I develop the concept more (which will probably come in a long while) but in the meantime I'll explain the abilities more.

So I decided to adapt the cost into coins because in my mind, Chimata would focus really really hard on the collectathon trading card aspect. In fact, I imagine that in the beginning of this AU she's say something like, "and if you collect all of the cards, you'll be able to find a special little promo code in them. For what exactly? Well where's the fun in me telling you that now!" As I wrote in the image above (for those who can't read the font it says, "Balancing isn't exactly my forte, so some of the cards I gave you in your base deck have a 50/50 shot of being trash or stupidly overpowered!") Chimata probably doesn't care for the balancing and mainly wants to oversee the exchange in ownership with trading cards. I know characters like Nemuno or Ubame fit Leshy's vibes more but Chimata was kinda the progenitor of this idea and I think it would make more sense for her to care about cards so much so yeah lol (also there is a specific part in Act 1 of the game where I think Chimata's theming with the moon in Stage 6 of UM would work really well).

Also, in this AU, Sumireko would be the protagonist who runs a lost media Youtube channel where she discovers the cartridge with Inscryption in a similar way that Luke did in the OG game.

As for the effects on the cards, I'll go over them briefly:

Zanmu's sigil would negate the effects of the opposing creature's sigil, I was initially gonna give her the "if an opposing card attacks this one, it doesn't" sigil but decided that would be too OP and went for this idea instead.

Keiki's sigil basically functions like the warren sigil in the original game, where upon placing her down on the board she gives the player a free Haniwa card (which would be 1 attack 2 health and no cost). For obvious reasons I think this fits Keiki pretty well.

So the main purpose of this AU isn't to be 1 to 1 with the game's characters personality-wise (for reasons that will become apparent if you know who Keiki is substituting for) but in terms of theming I did try to think about who would fit best (other than Chimata but again, she's kinda got special treatment since I just though the idea of her constantly pulling out microtransactions to get herself more faith or trying desperately to convince Sumireko to get another person to play the game so she has someone to trade with would be funny). Visually this will also look different from Inscryption because...ain't no way I'm replicating that and also I want to use this as an oppurtunity to let myself do harsh lighting because I love doing harsh lighting in my drawings :D

Again, this is going to be an ongoing project of mine that is mainly gonna be shitposts like this. As you can see with the drawing I did not care about rendering the metal scale much and focused more on getting the shading on Chimata right. I also changed some things about her design and added some stuff, mainly changing how her dress pattern works, added some shoulder ornamentation to her cape, and gave her some nice big golden sphere earrings because I know she'd wear something like that.

Not the most proud of this piece (I finished this at around 10:30 at night so I was kinda eepy finishing this up) but for a shitpost, this is really all it need to be tbh.

[xoxoluka]

fic or oneshot request for jschlatt x streamer! reader?? that’s really all i got, but i’m obsessed w the idea of it

ooh wait maybe they’ve kept their relationship secret but they do a collab video and it’s how everyone finds out that they’re together

yes yes yes!!!

"Ｓｃｈｌａｔｔ ｇｅｔｓ ｇａｍｅ？"

pairing: jschlatt x cc!reader

summary: the fans finally figure out who your 'mystery boyfriend' is, basically.

warnings: swearing, reader is implied to be clean girl aesthetic and wears makeup, etc

a/n: its like 3am, its so hot... someone sedate me

a blind person would be able to see that you and schlatt were in no way similar. you ran your own, singular channel, where you gave advice, did cleaning timelapses, makeup tutorials, hair tutorials, the works. on the other hand, schlatt ran multiple channels, had multiple companies, and had multiple podcasts. he was everywhere, while you were in one place. no one ever thought that they would see this specific stream.

"do you really think we should do this?" you ask, unsure of him rather than yourself.

"yeah, what's the problem with it?" he shrugs nonchalantly, making sure the camera was in the right position.

"nothing, but.. you with your bits, and lore, and everything... you really think they're gonna be 'okay' with it?" you question, your voice quiet.

schlatt finally makes eye contact with you, giving you a look. you know he doesn't actually care about what people think, and has told you to not care, but you can't help yourself.

"listen, toots, whatever they say doesn't matter because i'm still gonna want to date you after this," he says in a strong tone, making his point known.

you nod and look down, letting out a tense breath and looking back up at him. "okay, let's do it."

the plan was for schlatt to be doing another tiktok reacting stream, and you come in to confront him about it. it was a bit that you couldn't remember which one of you came up with, but it was supposed to happen near the end of the stream. you had at least an hour to kill until then, most likely more.

⋘ ᴛʀʏ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ... ⋙

you scrolled through instagram for nearly the whole two hours until you got the confirmation text from schlatt. you took in a quick breath and let it out, standing up and walking to his office.

"guys, we're almost at the end and not a single one of you has sent in something funny," schlatt shakes his head. "let's keep going."

"you said you would stop," you speak loud enough that the mic would pick it up from across the room. "you said you wouldn't react anymore."

this makes schlatt pause and put the camera into full screen mode, so more of the room and chat was visible. "listen, it's just one stream-"

"no, you said you were going to stop," you walk closer, the side of your torso now in frame. chat started to question what was going on and who had walked in.

"it's just- this is what they wanted," he defends, a small smile on his face.

"you said you were going to rehab, you're tearing this family apart," you say, fake crying until a loud, long meow came from your feet.

"oh! hi, jambo." you giggle, looking down at the cat that stared up at you, rubbing against your legs.

you pick up the orange kitty and hold him in front of the camera, letting chat get a good look at him. you set him down on the desk after a moment, and schlatt moves his chair back into focus of the camera.

"did you guys like that bit?" he asks, but the chat was still questioning who this person was in the first place.

you walk over and pull your own office chair away from your desk, the one that sat right next to schlatt's, and sat down next to him, finally showing your face to the camera.

'no way...'

'IT'S Y/N'

'WHAT'

screams filled the chat, people freaking out that schlatt had someone like you on his stream. "I actually expected you all to not know who I was," you laugh, playing with the necklace that sat across your neck.

"this is my girlfriend, you all need to be nice," schlatt says in a patronizing tone. you both read chat for a moment until a TTS comes through.

"schlatt gets game? that's crazy." it says, making you both laugh.

"no, i'm just here as a publicity stunt actually, the viewers were going down." you say jokingly, looking over at schlatt.

"yeah, money was getting tight, I needed an extra couple dollars." you both laugh at the joke.

playful banter and answering questions goes on for about twenty minutes, and everything goes fine to the end of the stream. schlatt ends it, and a still presence enters the room. he huffs and sits back in his chair.

"we'll find out tomorrow, huh." I say, sounding like more of a statement than a question.

"guess so," he says, looking over at you. a comfortable silence falls over the two of you as you gaze into each others eyes.

"i love you," you break the silence first, speaking quietly.

"love you more." he responds in the same tone.

a/n: that was straight bootycheeks... give me the opportunity to write a fic it will be better than this TRUST

© property of xoxoluka. do not repost.

[zeondraws]

ZEON THIS IS KU I JUST SENT YOU A MESSAGE ON THE WIKI DAN PINCHBECK UPLOADED THE ORIGINAL SWTD SCRIPT TO HIS WEBSITE AND IT HAS MORE ROGER DIALOGUE AND FULL NAMES FOR SOME OF THE CHARACTERS!!!

HELLO KU THANK YOU FOR THESE AMAZING NEWS EARLIER TODAY AAAAAA.

Okay Fellas, what basically happened today, was Ku found a script written by Dan Pinchbeck (former Studio Head/Creative Director and founder of TCR). This was apparently all back when the game was in Alpha and just before he left the studio in Spring 2023.

The cool thing about the script is that a lot of these lines can be found as audio files within the game. Some of these are shown in my Muir/Innes video. But finally having the proper CONTEXT to these lines brings them to a whole new level.

We also know the names of Finlay (Eileen) and Brodie (Albert). I am honestly bewildered that his name is Albert.

Interestingly there is a different spelling for McLeary in the script (McClery), which is also a cool small detail (Me going bananas over the smallest details in existence IHIUEDHLIUDHWLIUWS).

I'll leave a direct link to the word file down here and then I'll show a few screenshots and yap for a while!

Fair warning there is slight NSFW content in the script, some of which I'll show as screenshots down below.

Word file:

I was so happy when I saw that Roy is indeed called "MacNair" in the script, like omg so the name shown on the ingame door was correct!!

I am wheezing, the description of Roy someone help me-

And apparently Finlay is a welder!!! Like!!! Also she was a WRESTLER? She'd be yeeting everyone off the rig if someone breathed incorrectly. Mad respect.

Just a huge lore drop of Brodie my jaw is dropping.

Let's not forget the super interesting info of Caz and Suze:

I feel sorry for Suze, she's lost so much, but she's also a fighter. Crazy to think Caz's dad got him into boxing.

Rennick is... holy shit he let two divers die

Hearing how the control room is his domain and remembering Brodie saying "Roper's control room" make me think, dear god what was Rennick stirring up in there. I can imagine Roper must've been smoking much more to handle it, or rolling his eyes so much until they fall out.

Also I swear I am giggling at Scooby after reading some things in the script. And him being called "a total gobshite" LMAOO

I'm doing three backflips while reading this, heeeeeeeeeeeelp.

Two things that make me breath manually is additional dialouge of Roper and this man just has dad energy radiating from him.

Please just... look at this convo.. and Scooby is a fucking ballbag mates. What the fuck hahahah

It goes on for longer, but that's all I shall show for the post. Also Trots being called mum by O'Conner has me exhaling sharply BWAHAHAH.

Also the biggest mystery I have to figure out is Dunbar. If he is the pilot, why is there someone called Archie ingame? Or is that literally just Dunbar? Does that mean I need to merge their wiki pages and make a big text stating what the mystery is about. They call him Dobbar or Dobbie sometimes! This is getting even more confusing!

I see no Dobbie in the script, just Dunbar. So they probably replaced him with another character in that scene later on. I feel like this is a big rabbit hole I need to get my head around.

Also finally knowing and being able to vividly picture the old Marine Control scene makes me so happy. Just look at it!

I like how.. Roper is just pretending he can smoke ewodhweoid. Roper seems way more passive here and friendly. This poor wee lad stuck in a chair and just observing what is happening.

And apparently after this scene is when the Geological scene should've taken place? If I understood it correctly.

I need to stop myself from reading the entire script tonight, because I have therapy tomorrow and that pushes my sleep schedule. Screaming, crying, throwing hands in the air lemme reaaaaaaaaad.

There is more stuff I can yap about, like Dan was apparently in a podcast and talked about the Shape in further detail. I nEEEEDD to listen to that asap.

And I also need to edit Roper's wiki page tomorrow. The silly guyyyy

Okay I won't say more now!! Go and dive into the script and yap about the details!!! We are EATING good this week Fellas.

.

.

.

Also fuck you Rennick, I now have context to one of the audio files but also he was def supposed to eat Muir in a previous version-

[accio-victuuri]

i already posted about hui-ge before but the lore behind this person and the fansite is coming up again. more recently, because something xz said in the wuhan loch roadshow is very close to the words they used for an edited photo of wyb. this site has been long closed and inactive and i guess it was for the better considering fans were being too all up in their business. and if it’s true that they are somehow an insider, then it’s best to stop at some point.

i found this post of some more explanations on why hui-ge is known in the fandom & why we think he is in the inner circle. 🫶🏼

1. The website was launched before the 2019 Thailand concert and declared that it was not profitable. Not authorized, a non-profit site. which is kinda weird for a fansite, cause they also don’t sell photobooks or other merch. which may be this person’s own decision — but some see this as a possible hint at why they are doing it. it was a secret way to share things to fans. and knowing how this fandom works, especially with lrlg and other fakes, it’s not far fetched. plus the boys are known to have side accounts.

2. The night before the Thailand meeting, all the fans who went to Thailand were waiting for two people at the airport, he was the only one who posted on Weibo that night saying "No need to wait until tomorrow, "See you", and they really arrived the next morning. 👀

3. The later activities are basically shot from the inside, and there are no pictures from similar perspectives on other fan sites — or even official ones.

P1: 2019 Nanjing Meetup Audience entrance front desk view.

P2: 2019 XZ Milan Fashion Week Inside View

P3: 2019 Starlight Awards front view from the audience. The back view is opposite to the audience view that night.

P4: 2019 New Year's Eve Rehearsal Perspective

P5: 2020 The Untamed 1st Anniversary, this video is basically from the crew. Shooting angle of view. Aerial photography by drone. Close-up of crew props.

P6: Weibo Night 2021 Backstage Perspective: Double Award Preview

P7: 2021 ADLAD Backstage View

So basically, these photos can only be taken by someone who is very close. Especially the backstage ones.

4. Multiple advance notices, including but not limited to event previews notice, the owner’s itinerary, and the owner’s Weibo.

P1: the first one who clearly announced that they will be at the Double 11 night show in 2019.

P2: 2020 Preview that XZ will not participate in any platform double Eleventh Party

P3: 2020 New Year's Eve Preview

this is the more interesting one tho that made cpfs really believe his credibility. First snow in Beijing in 2019 they posted p1 and 10 minutes after this Weibo post, XZ also posted a Weibo post about the first snow. on that day, WYB inexplicably posted a message of "Happy New Year" and deleted it immediately.

BONUS: i also remember him saying in a message to fans that the “clinic is open” days before OOL was announced. there was also a possible clue regarding the cat and shiba inu cake when he celebrated his bday on set of OOL that year.

5. After Weibo started to display IP addresses, only three Weibo posts were posted, and all the IP addresses are in Beijing, and then he retired.

The coincidences also don’t stop here, fans are also seeing some similarity in his captions with the boys’ recent music. especially XZ’s.

we will never know the identity of who this person is but we gotta admit that all the coincidences are too much. how many times does it have to happen for it to be real?

oh hui-ge, you are definitely missed! 🙏🏼

-END.

[crow-caller]

Hi Crow,

Apologies if this has been asked before but I’m trying to get to the bottom of what people describe as ‘biblically accurate angels’ and I’m getting conflicting results and I thought why not ask someone who definitely knows more on the topic than me. Is the incomprehensible multi-eye wheel creature thing true?

"True" is the problem, because... it is, and it isn't, and it depends, and it's complicated!

I looooove angels, you're right, and I was working on doing a vid on this exact topic because the term 'biblically accurate angel' is a pet peeve of mine. However, no matter the power of my autistic angelic obsession, I wouldn't say I'm a perfect source. I got intimidated outta making that video because I got too anxious of messing it up and losing my angel cred. BUT! I do know some stuff.

What's wrong with "Biblically Accurate Angels?

Three things!

1. "Biblically"

Most people I see, when confronted with the word 'Biblically', think of Christianity. The Bible technically refers to a collection of texts shared by a number of Abrahamic religions, but I've a lot of people entirely unaware of that fact. There's often a general lack of recognition around 'biblically accurate angel' posting that angels aren't exclusively or originally Christian concepts. Tumblr is an outlier of a place, remember; I read youtube comments.

2. "Accurate"

This makes me lose it, just a little bit, because the idea 'real angels in the bible actually looked like scary monsters' is both incorrect and kind of a rude thing to say about a holy entity a number of religions believe in.

There are a lot of ideas of angel classification and hierarchy, but you'll usually only see one--- the Christian one. This has nine orders in three spheres, going usually angel, archangel, principality (3rd sphere, most humanoid), powers, virtues, dominions (2nd, basically no lore), thrones/ophainim, cherubim, seraphim (1st, weirdo patrol). The lowest spheres are closest to humanity, the highest are closer to the divine.

(it's worth noting there's a big difference between 'what is exactly in the canon holy text' versus 'writings/visions/ideas from scholars later'. There's differing opinions everywhere and also different sects.) Little is universal.

Speaking of, religions! Heard of them? Angel hierarchy as it's commonly see is very specifically a Christian angle! There's a number of different Jewish angelic hierarchies which include different types or interpretations of angels. There's usually 10 ranks instead of 9 too.

I know the least about angels in Islam, but they don't have a strict angel hierarchy either, though some angels are more important than others.

As for angel physical descriptions, it varies. They can take human form, but they're spirits doing that for our convenience. Some of them are doing weird stuff, but most of the time an angel is some essence of light and fire taking a lesser defined shape for our convenience.

Some of the main ideas of a 'biblically accurate angel' come from one of my fav bits of the bible, the chariot in Ezekiel.

If you've not read the fun weird bits of the bible before, let me introduce you!!

These are the Living Creatures which are considered Cherubim in Christianity. The wheels are the Ophanim, who are also Thrones. The whole thing sounds like a very intricate chariot rather than a bunch of angels, but hey, it says right there they're 'living beings'

3. "Angels"

What is an angel anyway?

Well, there's an answer, but as I think I've highlighted there's a number of different, varying ideas of them which are all equally valid! This can include, of course, the artistic choice of making them monsters ( I love doing this ), but it's incorrect to assert such a design is 'more or truly accurate'.

Angels are messengers. The word for angel originally was Messenger, and the role of angels is generally to serve as a conduit and messenger of divine will. They can be teachers or healers. They often are more extensions of the holy rather than truly independent spirits, good because they are divine rather than the choice of free will. (but like everything I'm saying it depends bc religions and opinions are not unified monoliths).

Not all angels are messengers. Even without a strict hierarchy, there's a common idea of specific angels for specific jobs. The idea of Archangels is also common, though which are and how many differs wildly, as does their function.

Angels are divine beings. Humans don't become them. There also are some sects that believe this, like the Latter Day Saints, but generally the divide between human and angel is very clear. Humans are generally above angels, because we're beloved new ocs.

angels are cool. I really like them

---

anyway, this is a very approximate ramble for you on the subject. I think I could have gone on in much more detail and I decided not to. Especially as I note I don't have that kind of 'learn and memorize everything about your special interest' kind of autism, just 'a lot more than normal over many years'. Angels are a really complicated subject because religion is, and it all differs. But I do dislike Biblically Accurate Angel because I think it's really misled people who come across it casually. Yes, there's weird angel stuff, but it's pretty rare (especially in common canon), and it isn't 'the secret creepypasta truth'.

[coffeegnomee]

gnome ive been thinking a lot abt spoke lately. abt zam saying theres no freewill w spoke, only to later that very same day be convinced to continue being strong, to continue to be strong by spoke. how spoke, w what little time he had w his messy ideas weaved to be something else, gave so many people an ending that'd leave them satisfied. whether he intended to or not.

he gave zam the chance to build peacefully at spawn js like they always wanted bc they never Wanted peace— they wanted to build. he gave mapicc an actual chance to feel like he'd won and like he was able to come out on top still w his mace in hand, spoke defeated, and zam giving him a final duel that was fought nd won fairly. he gave hannah the opportunity to use him to achieve her own goal to reach 20 by farming him even though she gave up on that video already.

and,, of course. there's minute. the hero, minutetech. minutetech who couldn't bare to stand by spoke's side as he destroyed the world, minutetech who's heart faltered when he thought nobody cared abt saving the server or even protecting spawn. minutetech who tried desperately to end the server in peace only one season ago, and got brutally cut down and betrayed for it, which is why he struggled so heavily w his morals in s6. minutetech who got his peaceful ending, who spoke bared his neck to like a lamb to the slaughter so minute could be the one to kill him and be the hero. who spoke gave a satisfying ending to his video by seeking minute out and following him willingly into a place he knew his exploits wouldn't work in.

he could've saved himself, he could've stomped everyone down ruthlessly, but instead he offered hope after a season of despair and endless losses. he made himself enough of a threat for his defeat to matter, but he also tried So so hard to make sure nobody felt like it was hopeless or he wasnt even worth even trying to oppose.

okay sorry ramble over LOL am i glazing,,,, im js very ufuduejeiidid 🥹 over spoke bc of that finale LOL

-mcytegg ^-^

im cryyying veni. yes. basically all that. Zam's comment about free will is so fascinating to me bc, like you said, spoke made the story have a satisfying ending for each player in the game.

it's an interesting concept; if someone else does something major that affects your lore in ways you didn't necessarily imagine it going, is it them removing free will or is it just good rp? At all turns you ARE allowed to play into it or not, and yet when it comes to spoke, especially to zam, it feels like he has no other option but to play into it? That his free will is taken? and yet in a way zam does a similar thing with each of his own arcs, putting his will forward and pushing his enemy into a direction they feel they are being forced into. (which, ok, just realized how that plays into what i was saying about him not remembering the meta of the joker arc; he's focusing on how it hurt the free will of pb&j over it being a good story arc. huh. interesting.)

and then there's minutetech who DID decide to not play into the story Spoke was spinning and killed Spoke instead, in the initial convo. I wonder if he thought he had free will there or not, because he could have chosen either, but did *had* to chose the one that aligned with his morals. Similar to how zam felt about being pushed into the direction spoke wanted.

But it gave minute an interesting story to have to deal with, and it did the same with mapicc who suddenly had to face a broken team. Spoke provided the conflict that then drove the story forward. And he didn't want that to happen and yet you and me both know everything that went into that convo lol. either option was good. and either option drive the story in a different direction that spoke himself got to play with.

it's such a layered and fascinating thing, this relationship with free will and other's content on this server.

I've written myself into a corner about 4 times writing a post about how when someone is a DM, that's when lifesteal has the most dramatic story arcs. and like, the place i always get stuck in is how unlike dnd, the players of lifesteal don't WANT there to be a DM. They hate it actually. There is no universal acceptance that this member of the group is going to orchestrate a plot that we as the party explore. They have no belief that the twists and turns that are presented by the DM come with the desire that you as the player have the agency to do whatever you want to do. And that the DM in turn with improv based on whatever you chose.

And then there's the other corner I write myself into; i dont know if I want spoke to be the DM, so there's no point in writing the post. I love love love the way that this particular flavor of unscripted mcrp + lifesteal plugin makes stories, and a large part of that is that nobody has too much power in controlling the story.

but also i love what spoke does and is.

So spoke operates on thin thin ice, and he's damn good at it, but man is the ice thin. And it is so beautiful to watch him worry less about his own story and put his all into giving lifesteal a beautiful story.

It's similar to what bacon did with the abyss and wardens and how he turned his whole fiber of his being into thinking up something to happen so that zam wouldn't have to be sad frolicking in the flower field earlier this season. or when zam decides to never give up despite everything that is thrown at him.

I'm so absolutely normal about the three of them and the way that they sacrifice themselves for the good of lifesteal as a story. and then i love the players that are selfish for their own story like minute and mapicc. it's such a necessary balance that works so well.

[plethora-of-imagines]

Cardinal Copia's Costume Curator

AN: This is in tribute to the wonderful beloved @how-masterful for her birthday! (Who introduced me to the band's lore which made me finally listen to the songs, and well..... I'm now very obsessed)

It's the first thing I have written an a long while... oops! But I got into a very competitive health program so I am very busy actively fighting the gods to survive being back in school.

Which means this is only loosely edited, and probably very out of character but I had fun writing it! (In the dreams of my head where I actually do have time this would have been a slow burn multi chapter, but I've never managed to do one of those soooo oneshot it is)

I hope you had the best of days beloved and enjoy your (our) blorbo story

Word Count: 4402

Ao3 Link: Here

Warning: smut/lemon, nudity, blowjob, semi public sexual contact

Description: A collection of moments between the new costumer for the tour and her Cardinal.

Knocking on the door of the dressing room she spared a quick glance back at the ghoulette who had helped guide her. A cute little thumbs up and a smile of an alarming amount of teeth greeted her. She tried to push past her general anxiousness to recognize it for the reassurance it was.

“Ah, hi, hello,” the uncertain greeting from the Cardinal as he opened the door made her turn back to face him so fast she feared she gave herself whiplash.

“Hello Cardinal,” she began in a hurry, sheepishly introducing herself. “I’m umm- your new costume curator?”

“Oh, yes, yes,” he gestured for her to enter the room. Charmingly grabbing her hand to kiss before awkwardly trying to rub off the black stain his Cardinal paints left on her bare skin. Smudging it just enough to make the single lip stain scarcely recognizable. “Sister told me you were joining our little touring family. But uh she did not say why. So good to know that you will be helping with costumes in some way then.”

“She figured you needed me after the video about the belt got back to her.”

He seemed to deflate into the uncomfortable leather chair that came with this touring spot’s dressing room.

“That uh got back to her and all the siblings then, si?”

“Yes Cardinal.”

“Good, great.”

It certainly did not sound like he found it good at all. The silence made her nervous so she rushed to fill it with an explanation that it seemed Sister Imperator had failed to give him.

“She actually seemed to think you handled Sister Maria’s mistake well? Or at least she was more upset with learning from the Siblings here that Sister Maria was more focused on indulging in sin instead of her job?”

“Sister who?”

“Sister Maria?” Did she remember her predecessor’s name incorrectly? “The previous sibling in charge of your and the ghouls’ costumes?”

Rubbing the back of his head, making a mess of his already ruffled hair he admitted something that would have had Sister Imperator flaying your predecessor alive.

“I ,uh, did not know we had someone in charge of costumes. Me and my ghoulies have been taking care of them ourselves.”

“Yourselves,” she screeched. Rushing to explain herself, “not that they seem to be in poor condition, they looked decently taken care of if not a little disorganized. But uh none of you were taught how to take care of these beyond the basics! Who has been checking for any issues with seams? Or keeping track of the spare costume pieces?”

“Eh heh,” gently scratching at his face as he spoke up. “I did use a bit of the Google when the tour started to figure out how to spot clean them after a little incident with the ghouls.”

It was endearing how proud he was of himself, even she couldn’t bring herself to be upset about the possible damage to the garments. She had already looked them over and on the surface they were fine enough. There was even more work to be done than she feared with her initial evaluation of them.

“But it will be a welcome change to have you taking good care of our uniforms, Sister.” He sheepishly looked into her eyes. “Would it also be possible to have you assist backstage with my quick changes. I’ve always made it but it has been cut rather close before...”

“I almost don’t feel bad for Sister Maria when Sister Imperator gets her hands on her. Almost,” she joked before working to reassure him that she would be dutiful in her job. It was an honor to be allowed to join the tour when not a long term or high level Sibling.  She was eager to prove her worth. “Cardinal, you should have had someone assisting you this whole time, it's part of the job! I know we encourage sin but I think Sister Maria was too indulgent with practicing sloth when it came to her job.”

“Si, if I had known who she was and that she was supposed to be doing all these things I would have had a conversation with her before something made its way back to Sister.”

Clapping, he stood up, lending her a hand to guide her up from her seat.

“Now let me introduce you to the rest of my ghouls. Sister said that you are to join us on our bus so that you can work if needed while we travel, which now I know means if we have any costume malfunctions that need your guiding hands.”

***

Nervously she straightened the hanging costumes again for the millionth time. It was almost time for the first costume change with everything that need to be done to get things in order they hadn’t had a chance to practice how she would help. Changing the Cardinal from his cassock into one of the skin tight suits that he admitted were tricky for him to get on alone with how much they clung to his skin. Eager to be helpful, fearful that she would in truth be a hindrance to him.

“You look as if you have seen a ghost, Sister. And not one of the ones on stage,” the Cardinal teased as he stepped into the makeshift changing room that she had set up with spare curtains.

Lightening her mood by gently plopping his biretta onto her head. 

“This is already much better than when I was doing this alone-”

“Because you can use me as a glorified hat stand,” she teased.

“Ah, I was going to say because I have some privacy and am not just rushing off to a dark corner to undress, but yes that too.”

Growing more comfortable, her hands worked to help free him from his clothes efficiently, undoing the buttons down to his navel so that he would be able to simply step out of the garment. Catching a glance of his bare chest while turning to properly hang up the belt he had handed off to her.

“At least they didn’t decide to mirror the whole thirty three buttons for Jesus’s life thing when they copied the idea. Can you imagine if they had decided to make that thing have six hundred and sixty six buttons? We would never get you out of it!”

“Si, and what a hindrance to the sin of lust that would be. A frustrating new form of chastity belt for the clergy.”

Mentally planning the best way to help, she grabbed the skin tight pants. If they took him the longest to get on, then that is where she should start. He could put on the shirt while she started to pull on the pants. Quickly gathering the length of each pant leg and condensing it so that he could slide into them. Moving to kneel on the floor before him. Looking up to tell him to step into them.

Instead of her eyes meeting his, they met his cock. His completely uncovered cock.

Freezing, eyes locked on the monstrosity of a cock that hung before her. The hair neatly trimmed, balls symmetrical, and cock tip a pretty shade of pink. Oh Satan. She couldn’t help but continue to stare without a thought in her head beyond, “pretty”. It was the most beautiful cock she had seen outside of porn- not that she was terribly well versed, but she had seen a fairshare in her time in the church.

Her burning face felt like it was glowing as she turned back into reality. He had been speaking to her.

“Huh?”

“I’m so sorry Sister. I should have warned you that I cannot wear anything underneath, since the lines show with those pants. You didn’t consent to this.”

Struggling to find the words as her lips stumbled around them, “it’s fine. I don’t mind, just a little surprised. Not that there is anything little about that surprise.”

Could someone come drag her into hell early? Why did her brain decide the proper response in that situation was to actually say that!

“Please step into these pants before I further embarrass myself,” begging as she refused to look at his eyes or his cock anymore.

The two of them worked together to force him into those pants. Even with her distraction at his firm thighs and well defined bulge that she did not need to use imagination to remember what was underneath, they finished well before his que. 

“Thank you Sister,” he blew a kiss her way as he pushed past the curtains again.

Still braindead from lust she waved goodbye to him like a fool. Slamming her head against the wall the moment he was out of sight.

Oh Satan, they had to do that several more times. And the worst part is she wouldn’t get any privacy on the bus later to do anything to mimic what she wanted that cock to do to her.

***

“Mountain! Where are your shoes?”

She timidly approached the tall ghoul. Their height differences further accentuated by her eyes being glued to his sock covered feet. Feet lacking the shoes that should be on them.

“If there is something wrong with them I could try to fix them?”

Glancing up into the blank mask. Nervously shifting while waiting for some sort of response.

“They’re fine,” he answered in a deep rumble of a voice, so quiet it almost couldn't be heard. At her wide eyed questioning look he elaborated, “interfere with feeling the beat.”

Oh, so that’s why he didn’t wear them. She nodded, subconsciously fiddling with her grucifix in an anxious habit she was unaware of but that the ghouls had all picked up on.

“You do wear them outside though... right?” Her panic grew with Mountain’s continued silence. “Mountain, there is broken glass everywhere outside the venues!”

The stoick ghoul tilted his head to the side like a curious cat, tail flicking in interest at her words.

“You could get hurt!”

“Cute,” his words were followed by two light pats to the tip of her head. “Don’t need to worry about me.”

Turning to wander off again while she squeaked out his name in shock.

***

“Sister, a word- privately,” the Cardinal softened his words the moment her eyes met his. Striking white eye filled with silent care. “If that’s all okie dokie with you.”

“Of course, Cardinal.”

Gentle hands corralled her from her seat at the built in dinner booth where she had been losing steadily at cards against the ghouls. Door softly clicking shut behind them, enclosing them in the small private room at the back of the bus that was seldom used.

“What can I do for you Cardinal?”

“It’s more what I can do for you, Sister.”

Her confused, “huh” had barely left her lips before he continued on. Rushing as if the words would get caught if he did not push them out all in one breath.

“You have been traveling with us for a while, si?” He left no room for a response. “But um not once have you confessed your sins?”

Remaining silent she avoided his glance. Not wanting to admit that the reason she had failed to confess were her sinful thoughts of the man she needed to confess to.

“I just wanted to know if I had done something wrong? To make you, not want to confess, to me?”

Rubbing his fingers together, looking so concerned for her, so downtrodden.

“No,” she rushed to reassure him. “You’ve done so much to make sure I am comfortable here Cardinal! I just- don't have a lot to confess to...”

“Ah, good- that I have not made you uncomfortable! Not that you have felt unable to freely sin in honor of our Lord Lucifer!”

Taking a seat on the couch shoved into the corner of the room. The Cardinal patting the cushion next to him in invitation. Carefully making her way over to his side, trying not to trip over the corner of the bed also squished into the small space. Gingerly sitting down with as much grace as she could manage in the tight space.

“Eek,” she squealed when firm hands pulled her upper body against his, arm pinning her in place. Taking the only option available to her, hiding her face against his shoulder. Soft red velour tickling her face.

“Now that you have at least an illusion of privacy. Pretend you are back in the comfort of confessional back in the abby, piccola.”

Her mind went blank of any sins she could confess to beyond her obsession while in the limited privacy of the tour bus with thinking of the Cardinal’s perfect cock and how it would feel in her aching, empty pussy. Of grinding her throbbing clit against his firm, supple thighs. Hng.

“Oh, ummm vindicate my envy of...”

Small circular motions were rubbed against her back.

“No sin is too small, too indulgent, or embarrassing to confess. Let it out, Sister.”

“My envy of the little plushies that the ghouls are getting from fans, my pride of how my work is ensuring you all look hella good on stage, and hmm... My greedy hoarding of the extra blankets that Dewdrop kicked off his bunk.” 

“Ah I will keep that last one very much a secret from our dear Dewdrop, otherwise you will find him sneaking into your bunk in revenge,” he teased. “Your sins are vindicated, and may your envy be rewarded at our next stop.”

Pulling away from him as she thanked him, pushing down the urge to confess to her attraction to him, “Thank you, Cardinal. I actually do feel better having had my sins vindicated.”

“I will give you any soft plushies I am thrown, Sister. Had I known you were wanting for one I would not have given them away at the end of the show.”

Giggling at his words as a beautiful thought entered her mind of what type of plushie she could be receiving.

“I offer to give you what you yearn for and I am laughed at, so cruel to me Sister.”

Melodramatically clutching his chest in anguish, the sweet little drama queen he pretended to be.

“I can’t wait to own my own little Plushia, Cardinal.”

“Nevermind, I would not dare give you such a cursed object, Sister!”

“They’re not cursed, they’re cute!” She insisted.

“Maybe to someone blind,” he protested with a smile as her laughter grew infectious.

***

Rushing onto the tour bus in a small panic, she looked for the Cardinal. Everything had been taken care of and put back into its proper place except for the pair of black pants that went with one of his infamous tailcoat suits. She had checked all the dressing rooms, backstage, and the racks of costumes- twice. It had been misplaced- she refused to say lost until there was no hope of finding it.

“Cardinal! I need you-”

The ghouls and Cardinal turned to look at her dramatic entrance. Freezing for a moment in intimidation from the brightly demonic eyes of all those already settled on the bus. In mere moments the Cardinal seemed to recognize her distress. Embarrassed at her surely sorry state she tried to settle her wild hair as he stood and rushed to her.

“Sister, are you okie dokie?”

His concern was sweet, but unfortunately made her spiral again.

“I can’t find it!” Not thinking in her panic to explain what she was even looking for, only able to press on with her worry. “I looked everywhere I could think of, even under the fucking couch in the dressing room which I am certain now is covered in bodily fluids that I don’t want to even think about.”

“Sister, you need to relax! Tell your Cardinal what you are looking for.”

“Your tight black pants are missing! Sister is going to kill me, summon me back from hell and then kill me again!” She cried out in anguish.

Losing this job would hurt, she loved it. The fun and excitement of touring. Getting to know her Cardinal and spending more time with him than would have been possible at the ministry.

“Oh Sister, I am so sorry. Satan and more importantly you forgive me!”

Heart dropping to the floor. They were ruined, or somehow they spontaneously combusted. Whatever he was going to tell her happened to them would ruin her life, certainly.

“I have them here,” he gestured to the built in diner style booth the rest of the band was sitting at.

“What?” Clearing her throat after the painfully croaked up whisper she let out.

“I may have um, popped a seam on them,” the Cardinal shyly admitted.

“That’s not the only thing that popped off due to those pants tonight,” someone teased.

“Oh, oh thank Satan I can fix that!”

“I am sorry I did not think to tell you I was taking them back to the bus, Sister.”

Hand pressed against her racing heart as it slowed down to a normal speed, coming down from the stratosphere.

“That’s okay Cardinal, only a minor heart attack was had,” she reassured the poor guilt stricken man. “We can go back into the other room for some privacy when you change back into it for me to fix it.”

“Ah, could it not be fixed while I am not wearing it Sister?”

“It could, but without knowing how much tension the seam should have based on where it broke it’s likely to have issues again. Best to let me see and do an invisible stitch on it.”

“Get it Cardinal,” one of the ghouls whooped.

“Now, Dewdrop no need to be crude. The nice Sister does not need harassment from you over doing her job,” wagging his finger to playfully scold the ghoul.

She really needed to learn how to tell them apart without their instruments when they were all still masked.

“So, I will um see you back there.”

Escaping from the situation by rushing back into the private area at the back of the tour bus, she busied herself with preparing supplies to fix the ripped seam. Distantly hearing something about a booty call followed by laughter from all the ghouls and even the ghoulettes who normally didn’t laugh at more vulgar teasing. It didn’t take long for the Cardinal to join you with a small fond sigh.

“I think they will be making fun of me for a while with this Sister.”

“What did you do, or rather where is this seam Cardinal?”

WIth how the ghouls were carrying on it was likely a crotch seam, but if that had been the case she was sure she would have seen videos by now of the wardrobe malfunction. Along with a dreaded voicemail from Sister Imperator. 

With a flourish to try and hide his flustered cheeks he revealed the pants from how he had folded them. Squinting at them she struggled at first to see the issue, until she finally found it. A small opening of just about two inches. Right in the center of where his ass was.

“Small mercies that the tails cover that up, si Sister?” He laughed at himself. “Too much cake Dewdrop and Swiss teased, even though they know I have not had any cake since the party at the start of the tour.”

Smiling at him as he took initiative to get himself dressed for her to get to work. Doing her best to ignore his nudity and not sneak a glance. Something she failed at many times during those quick changes.

“It’s slang, Cardinal. They were saying you have a nice round ass,” pushing herself to voice the thought and live up to her name as a Sister of Sin.

Something that she would seldom do in front of anyone due to how flustered saying such things made her.

He squeaked at her explanation, playfully giving her a scandalized look. 

“Sister you can’t say such things before you will be feeling up my ass or we will have a very different seam to start worrying about!”

The two of them broke into giggles together.

“Now turn around and let me see what you managed to do to those sinfully frustrating pants.”

***

The Cardinal wasn’t in the little corner of backstage that had been fashioned into a small dressing room of sorts. Frowning, she strained to listen for anything unusual happening on stage, peaking out of the privacy curtain again for the sixth time. Finally catching sight of a flash of pure white slowly moving towards her. Playfully pulling the curtain back and gesturing him in with a flourish that normally would make him laugh.

He didn’t give even a small giggle. Shoulders slumped as he refused to look at her. What had happened on stage?

“Cardinal?” She slowly asked for an explanation.

“I um, if you wouldn’t mind giving me a moment Sister... alone.”

Hands drifting up to start to gesture with his words before his face flushed a bright red, rapidly shoving them back down to cover his crotch. His, very well endowed and very clearly excited crotch.

“Oh!”

Now her face matched his in being as hot as hell surely was.

“Just got a bit too into it with the thrusting, you know how it is,” he tried to deflect. “Or well you probably don’t, you uh don’t really have the anatomy that would make this an issue. Oh Satan, I need to stop talking now. Um, shutting my mouth now.”

During his rambling she realized the issue with letting him “take care” of his not so little issue on his own.

“Cardinal, you can’t jerk yourself off.”

Sending you a look of disbelief, “Sister, I have enough time before I’m needed back on stage and no one comes over here other than us, si?”

“You’ll get the costumes messy with your seamen and it will dry before I can clean it. It would never come out of the fabric,” she began to explain. “Even if you did manage to not get the costumes dirty your hands would be a mess and the sound crew would kill you for getting come on the microphone.”

“Shit,” his head was thrown back as he accepted the unfortunate truth you were giving him. “I don’t know how we will get me into that next suit, Sister. It’s just as tight as this one, though at least it will give me some more modesty. I swear this white one is made to be see-through on purpose!”

Begrudgingly he moved his hands away to start removing his top, while she got up close and personal with the source of both of their frustrations. The Cardinal wasn’t wrong. She could see more than just the outline of his thick, heavy cock pressing into the well tailored pants. The light blush pink of his cock tip was just visible to her when only a few inches away from it.

Hands stumbling at first- like the first time she had to help him undress, knowing now that he wore nothing underneath. The moment she yanked his pants down enough his cock sprung from its confinement. Hitting against his stomach. Swallowing the saliva pooling at the sight of such a pretty cock. Butterflies of the best kind taking up residency in her stomach at this soft moan he was muffling with his leather gloves shoved against his mouth. The sensation of the fabric moving across his cock stimulating him further.

“I think you’re right that you will not be fitting that back into pants without some help, Cardinal... I could help,” she tentatively offered.

“Please Sister, do not torture me like this. I cannot take it.”

“I don’t plan to tease, Cardinal. Not enough time for that tonight.”

Trailing a finger tip softly down the length, watching his thighs twitch while he squeaked.

“I sound like one of my rats squeaking for attention,” he whined.

Giving a playful lick to the tip while fishing for an answer, “I need consent from those pretty painted lips before mine get to work.”

She had never been so bold. Yet the pull of lust built up over the weeks made it easy to fall into this confidant role she was playing.

“Please,” he was more breathless than he ever was at the end of the show.

Capturing his cock with her lips, sliding down until she could take no more into her mouth. Sucking in more of him with each moan and whine he ruined his voice with. Hands resting against her hair, so considerate of her comfort that he took no control of her.  Choosing instead to help keep her hair from getting in her eyes, letting her work his cock at her own pace.

The sound of the ghoul’s musical dueling creating the perfect rhythm to follow. Humming along lowly to parts to make her Cardinal let out the prettiest of sounds. Making sure to repeat the movements that got her the best reactions. They didn’t have much time. His foot moving to press the tips of his shoes against her clit, just resting with a light pressure that felt so good.

Moving her hands to take advantage of the situation to feel up his ass. So soft, just a perfect ass that she envied. She wanted to use it as a stress ball, indulging in some light squeezes as she forced his cock to tickle her throat. Swallowing down her saliva with his cock. She couldn’t afford to get saliva on the pants pooled around his ankles.

It didn’t take long to solve his “problematic” erection. A few bobs to tickle her throat while looking up at him with watery, pleading eyes made him come undone. Both whining as she attempted to swallow the burst of come flooding her mouth.

Lightly thrusting against his shoes with a small cry of need.

“Shit, so good Sister. Fuck! I need to get back onstage.”

Trying to control her pout was hard as they both rushed to finish dressing him in his next suit. Her consolation prize was him guiding her to lower her head for a soft kiss to the top of her skull.

“Later Sister I promise to live between your glorious thighs all night long like the ghouls have been teasing me for daydreaming about. Give you a little somethin’ something, yeah?”

[bluedogxl]

holy fucking shit i just got done with doctor4t’s latest content smp video. now i thought i’d never get invested enough in any sort of minecraft smp to feel the need to post about it but my god. i get it. i sat down to a 3-and-a-half hour minecraft smp slash modmaking video and it handed me my ass and a box of tissues.

(uhh. spoilers under the cut. also a lot of rambling i just have a lot to say about silly block game guy #8247247)

r4t usually being casual and jokey about the lore and story of the server is kind of what made him fun to watch, to me? like it’s obvious he cares about it, but he’s just detached enough to make him, well… approachable? i guess, as a casual viewer. a good on-ramp. i mean, his grudge with arathain (the thing tying him to basically everything in the story) started over netherite spawn rates of all things. it never felt too dense. and it’s fun to see him scheme over his revenge plots and code mods to facilitate them, but it was obvious it was all a game to him. he has fun with the lore (see the anchorblade video) but it feels like an excuse to make cool mods and play some good minecraft.

at the end of this one? holy fucking shit. i was actually about to start crying in empathy.

r4t lost basically his best friend. she sacrificed her life to save his, the same way he sold his soul to save her, and she’s gone. her anchorblade, too, easily the most significant symbol of their friendship and the tool that she used to save him, was taken or erased by a glitch or something, and the whole time he’s processing it and snapping at arathain (who’s here again? somehow?) and dragging her skull back to the cabin and building her grave and mourning her, he just… felt like he stopped doing a bit and became fully immersed in his world. the way he says how he didn’t really take the other deaths seriously, and then calls himself a monster? killed me. pronounced me goddamn stone dead. this man has acting chops. this man, for a whole like ten minutes, truly had me mourning someone who was banned from a minecraft server like she was actually six feet in the ground.

and just. the way it’s put together. so beautiful. the man’s a master of editing. i kept noticing throughout the whole thing that the portal transitions were getting so smooth. and i mean, it’s nothing super flashy or anything. it’s just… good, and solid.

to be honest, i think the video’s length helped sell it all for me. time and time again, dramatic turn after dramatic turn, we see these low points, and yeah they suck, but then you check the bar and there’s still like an hour left and you go ‘aw man i wonder how they’re gonna get out of this one!’ and then you get to lux dying, and you see r4t build her grave and bawl his eyes out and you check the bar and there’s minutes. this is the end of the book. this is the note we’re leaving off on. like, there’s still more to do. blake’s out there still, arathain’s back(?), asai is apparently in on this (i just remembered r4t offhandedly mentioning asai being on with winsweep what the fuuuuckkkkk), and so on and so forth. but that’s for next time. today’s chapter is over. get out of the theater. for some reason that just made it all hit harder.

god at the end of the day i just love this insane goddamn soap opera of a minecraft server. how did this happen to me i just wanted to see funny maid rat guy make silly mods to blow up his friends

[strawberrybyers]

okay so after that video was posted of the screams at the radio station, i remembered i wanted to look up info on what these episode titles mean and i think it gives some insight as to what the hell is going on at that radio station. so yeah let’s get into it 👇

first things first: the episode titles of the first 6 episodes has been released via jeff sneider. apparently sneider is an award-winning film critic so idk i imagine this would be legit considering he wouldn’t want to lose his credibility considering his status?? but who knows

episode 1: the crawl ( i wrote about this episode when they first announced the title)

episode 2: the vanishing of ***** wheeler (personally i think it’s karen going missing. it just makes so much sense to me. she had her own poster for s4. she has had contact with the mindflayer when she tried to have an affair with billy when he was a host. there’s interesting parallels between karen and the creel family. like karen is going missing i just know it. and nancy also said in s4 that something happened to her mom in one of the visions vecna showed her!)

episode 3: the turbow trap (ok so apparently a turbo trap is an acoustic tool?? so my assumption after reading up on it, is that a turbo trap basically absorbs the bass through the tube of it because there is a hole on the top of it and depending on the size of hole, dictates the air flow which then puts out a certain frequency. basically, the more air a turbo trap can “trap”, the lower the frequency it can reach. i imagine they are going to be creating a big turbo trap involving music and/or sound since that is a deterrent for vecna and it also attracts the demo bats?? and they’re also filming at the radio station a lot and radio stations are frequencies (think FM and AM radio stations you go to to listen to music or the news or whatever))

episode 4: the sorcerer (i mean my immediate thoughts went to el, but then after reading some D&D lore about the connection a sorcerer has with dragons (imagery/mentions of dragons throughout the seasons and the painting was of the party up against a dragon), a possible touch of a demon (vecna/mindflayer), and the mention of how they’re competitive to the usefulness of wizards (will the wise) in a party… i’m like holy shit is the sorcerer potentially WILL????? like will finally evolves to becoming a sorcerer in s5?? or the sorcerer is el and will remains the wizard and we get the super duo willel???)

episode 5: shock jock (this is the definition of a shock jock. i’m thinking which character would fit this description and i say it’s murray. that would also make sense as to why he’s filmed there at the radio station. remember murray’s character was introduced as someone who was investigating the russians and the lab and all that, so for him to start a radio station being the “humorous, controversial guy” in all this mess makes 100% of sense to me lmao)

episode 6: escape from camazotz (i feel like this title gives some insight as to what the hell was going on in the new footage of screaming at the radio station. a camazotz is basically a death bat. i assume it’s the demo bats making a comeback from s4. but here’s the thing: a camazotz is described in one description from some computer game to have a very specific screech. if this screech, hits an enemy god then the sound wave will echo. just think back to the explanation of the turbo trap and what that does. so yeah, i think camazotz are at the radio station and the screeching was THEM. the screams sounded so chilling thinking it was steve or someone else, but i don’t think it was human screams! i think they were demo bat screeches 😎 also, steve was attacked by one of these things so idk does he have some connection with them now and that’s why they’re after him???)

[shirajellyfish]

Hello agian! ☺️ I have more lore/world building questions.

1: does it have to be human care that gives life to and sustains a doll? Could an animal technically bring a doll to life if they took care of them and love them enough. (Just thinking about those videos where a dog or a cat has a plushie they've had since they were a baby and it got me thinking.)

2: how long have dolls been around? how did people react to people who had dolls in different time periods? (We're people burned at the stake for witchcraft because they had dolls? Were they seen as blessed by the gods?)

3: what count s as a 'doll'? If someone cared about a marble statue enough could it actually come to life? If someone loved a Roomba enough would it suddenly start talking back? What are the criteria that make something eligible to become a 'doll'?

4: I remember in one of the earlier chapters Moon asked the reader if they had the option would they have chosen Sun and Moon from the very beginning. Which mean me think what would happen if Sun and Moon met an alternate version of themselves where they were the reader's dolls, were very obviously well loved and cared for and they found out that the reader had brought them to life and had always been their person.

Well wishes 💖💖💖

Lore questions! Lore questions, yaaay!

I'm going with yes, but VERY rarely. I think in terms of what doll creation would look like, how long it would take, what the result would be like, all of that would be very different for animals. But who am I to say that a dog does not love its favorite toy just as wholeheartedly as a human can love?

I think they probably started appearing as soon as humans began creating soft comfort objects. Every culture probably had a different take on them, but I'd say the reaction was generally positive. Probably most often seen as things like guardian spirits, blessings from whatever higher power that culture believed in, things like that. A light in the darkness for those who need it. Many dolls also probably believed they were these things, since if their person believed they were that then they would come to life believing it as well. Though over time people saw it less as a spiritual/magical thing and more as just a fact of how the world works.

Dolls are comfort objects made mostly of soft material that is permeable to air. They can have some hard materials, but mostly soft is a requirement. They also need some basic features and some way to move around once alive. What qualifies can vary from person to person, as person A might see random color splotches in a pattern where person B sees a little rainbow face for example. No to marble statue or roomba unfortunately.

It would certainly be an interesting situation! If Sun and Moon had been brought to life by Reader, they'd look similar but have completely different personalities. Like meeting a long lost twin, maybe. Moon would find it a little upsetting, seeing a version of himself that was never injured. Alternate Sun would be absolutely captivated by our Sun's poppies, and would immediately want flowers for himself as well. It would also be very strange for Reader to see an alternate Reader who did the thing they never could. There would be a lot of sharing of insecurities between both groups, and realizations they might not have come to otherwise.

[hellobitchlet]

My current thoughts on Nod Krai atm, mainly focused on the recent 'behind the scenes' video that was just posted;

- the concept of Nod Krai being made to deal with some of the things they wouldn't otherwise have time left for is... actually good. I am actually pleasantly surprised by this. I am... tentatively hopeful that there is going to be some good things about Nod Krai. That being said, I am not allowing myself to get my hopes up for anything genuinely good, for obvious reasons. Just because they are promising things that are good for the game in theory doesn't mean that it's suddenly going to become well written or anything.

- I noticed that they were referring to things like Varka's expedition and the moon sisters as 'loose threads', which felt like an odd choice? These are things that seemed so important that most day 1 players assumed they were future plotlines that Genshin was planning. Them emphasizing that Nod Krai was made for 'loose threads', and then showing important stuff that should've already had a place in their story, implies that they either didn't plan their story ahead enough or weren't planning on making them into plotlines in the first place.

- this doesn't surprise me, because it's very in line with how the game has been written so far. We have spent so much time with either useless filler, or overcomplicating lore for no reason (remember when a decender was just someone from another world?). They expect you to read books from filler updates and limited 5 star weapons to understand lore that is never mentioned in quests. Of course they didn't think very hard about these things.

- I know I shouldn't be taking a translation of a language I don't know at face value, but the entire section explaining why they were making Nod Krai was filled with this emphasis, so it's far from just one specific English term that may or may not have the same meaning as what they're actually saying.

- they were also putting emphasis on "we wrote the lore/story like this because it's sooooo hard to keep track of what the fans do or don't know yet" which... if an entire team is failing to keep track of a storytelling element as basic as 'what the player does and doesn't know', then DON'T CONSTANTLY ADD SO MUCH NEW STUFF MAYBE???? MAYBE STOP RETCONNING OLDER LORE???

- despite all of this talk about Nod Krai being the nation of connecting loose threads, there is a distinct lack of the Abyss Order. Again. For the 6th time in a row, out of 7 story chapters. They are supposed to be one of the main antagonist factions. How does the main antagonist faction that you have barely acknowledged for years not count as a 'loose thread' while the fucking Treasure Hoarders are getting attention?

- and then they also made over half of the factions they started teasing in the Song of the Welkin Moon be brand new factions that are solely tied to Nod Krai.

- WHY IS THE ENTIRETY OF HOYOVERSE SO OBSSESSED WITH FACTIONS?????

- I'm trying not to comment too much on the lore bc we haven't even seen it in game yet, but how the fuck does the Wild Hunt count as a faction while- again- the Abyss Order isn't even mentioned?

- I'm also not a fan of the Wild Hunt having a completely different aesthetic from pre-Fontaine Abyss stuff. I specifically hated the new Abyss enemies in Natlan for this exact reason. I mean, they look SO different, and we don't know much about the Wild Hunt yet- but the Natlan enemies had NO reason to look like that. Since Fontaine, they seem to be moving the Abyss's colour scheme from black and dark purple to darkish-but-not-really purple, just like how the rest of the game has been moving into a comically marketable, bright, cartoonish aesthethic since Sumeru. I could make an entire essay about how much better Mondstadt-Inazuma's aesthethic was (and closer to what many fans actually want!) than Sumeru-forwards.

- the text in the corner of the video: 'this game has nothing to do with real life people or places'. The people in the video: 'actively discussing what mythologies the new factions take inspiration from'. I think there was some miscommunication about our lying here, guys.

- seriously though, I fucking hate the insistence that Nod Krai is about people and not civilizations, which is totally different from how they wrote the rest of Genshin (it's not). Civilizations ARE people. Groups of people ARE civilizations. Do you not understand the definition of a civilization?? It reeks of the common defence fans have for Sumeru and Natlan, that culture is separate from the people who made it- and therefore it's okay to use cultural inspirations without representing the people of that culture. And that is making me deeply worried.

- they... they acknowledged that the technology in the newest nations are way different from the beginning and that Mondstadt feels like medieval Europe... and claimed that it's because of the factions in each nations... and used it as an excuse to claim that Nod Krai should be MORE ADVANCED THAN PREVIOUS NATIONS?! They doubled down on the WORST decision they have ever made, that has gotten them SO MUCH HATE and made Natlan the least liked nation in the game. For no reason. What the fuck is wrong with you.

- coming back to a more positive note, I do actually like the idea of a nation focused on the moon more than a nation focused on dragons and retcons, or a nation focused on the Primordial Sea.

- and I do like what little we have of Nod Krai's overall aesthethic more than I liked Natlan's, as well. The teaser for the Frostmoon Scions and the Lightkeepers actually look really cool! Though, again, I am dreading what unnecessary technology-related bullshit they're going to throw at us, and the teaser for the Voynich Guild looks odd and out of place visually compared to the rest of them.

- I do hope that we're getting new Fatui enemies soon, as the Fatui teaser seems to be suggesting. It's really odd that the Eremites and Regular Natlan Tribespeople You Kill For No Reason have more enemies for them than the Fatui and the Abyss Order combined.

- they are hyping Varka and his expedition up A LOT. If Varka ever shows up and becomes playable, it's going to happen during Nod Krai. I'm very glad that they remembered the expedition and are going to finally do something with it. I hope Varka is playable and I hope that I like him!

- I've said before that their handling of the harbingers and the Fatui isn't great- and a big part of it is bc they don't have time to have more harbingers than they do story chapters. With how little we've done with the Fatui plot so far, there is a LOT that Snezhnaya needs to unpack at once. Nod Krai should lessen this load for Snezhnaya. Even if they only introduce one new harbinger as per usual, that is one fewer harbinger to introduce next year.

- I have literally no idea what the Hexenzirkel is going to have to do with Nod Krai, but I wonder if it's less about Nod Krai and more about the whole 'some people want to get Moon Powers' thing? It would make sense if one or more of the witches were interested in the moon, and it would give them an excuse to inevitably keep the Hexenzirkel out of Nod Krai's storyline (have you seen Penacony in hsr? Hoyo can't handle having so many active players with different motivations in one storyline).

- despite my earlier comment about the Treasure Hoarders, I am interested in getting new Treasure Hoarder related content. I'm worried about Traveler and Paimon being dicks to them as usual, but they are one of the less important things from the beginning of the game I wanted to learn more about. I mean, there are ruins everywhere. The lore of the game is built ON ruins and artifacts! You can do so much world building with them!

[tmf-confessions]

!!WILD THEORY!!

After seeing two Liam analyses posts in row, including that one sent here about him being a follower, I think it's time I offered my own wild theory. Someone else pointed out how he never actually says the word "freak" on screen yet, even when given the opportunity (idk did he say it in that comic book episode set in freshman year I can't remember-), which I didn't actually notice but it kinda backs up my own speculation.

Basically, I'm thinking what a twist it would be if he was actually the fourth member of Max's band who couldn't make it due to the whole drama with Drew and Jake. There's like, two other pieces of evidence I have for this, but hold on.

One thing I did notice is how he makes unprompted song references twice, like with the whole Stacy's mom bit being a line from a song. Then there's that bit in the finale where he starts reciting Justin Bieber like prose when imagining Jake apologising to the club. I feel like he knows what he's referencing when he says it, and though it could just be for joking purposes idk if any other character does it quite like him. Also if he used to be a scene kid, apparently there's also a music subculture for that so... idk he might've been interested in being in a band in the past. It was certainly a choice to include that in his lore.

There's also the minor detail of Liam having has phone out during THAT scene in episode 9, which got highlighted later twice: one in a spoof vid Rosy made of the episode, and the other a deleted scene from a video on her second channel. Basically it's what would've happened if Jake hadn't brought up Zoey cheating, though it got scrapped in favor of more drama it seems. Liam gets accused of recording the audio himself since he had his phone out, to which he insists he was texting someone, however when asked he deflects by saying "your mom". Like... that makes you look sus still why won't you say who you were texting? It'd clear your name further, but ig he knows Henry and Drew already trust him.

I think in typical Liam fashion he might be trying to soften the damage going on in his group right now. Imagine learning another of your friends joined a band behind your back, right after breaking off your friendship with the first? I doubt Liam resents Drew, quite the opposite actually, but he'd never tell him about joining a band since their friend group literally bullies one. He probably schedules around his sessions with their friend group to attend band practice after school and hopes he never gets found out. Then after Jake joins the music club and it all goes downhill for the Jomies, he starts to worry about getting spotted at the band competition.

I also feel like aesthetic-wise, he'd probably fit in with all the blacks and reds of Max's band, though I doubt he wears the same clothes. If the gamer gettup he currently wears isn't truly reflective of him, then I imagine he has a different band persona. I like leaning into the association he has with vampires cos yknow. It fits the vibe and it's cool.

Anyway, do with this idea what you will. I already have scenarios in my head about what goes down, but I like to think that someday Liam will leave his phone unattended and someone will see the messages from Max and friends. Or he'll get confronted in the hallways about why he couldn't show up to the competition, and the truth will be revealed in front of everyone :D

Sidenote, but unlike Henry Liam's never tried to sing onscreen. And since Max appears to be scouting out Jake after the credits, it might be that he's in desperate need of a singer. Which... Tbh if Liam can actually sing too, that'd explain why seems the most sympathetic towards Jake's deal with the club.

[long-ish post finally over. will elaborate more if people want]

confession #922

[theallianceofcelestials]

This is a post that is probably not gonna be well recieved, but oh well lol. Gotta let these things out too.

I miss Moon, and I meant the Old one. He was a funky character, even if he had many faults. The fact that his final wish came true, a version of him that would treat Sun better, in the form of New Moon, makes it a little bittersweet.

I'm ultimately happy Old Moon can rest, and that New Moon got the chance to live, because he's a sweety who deserves good things, and does not deserve the stress he is placed under thanks to certain forces.

But alas, this is time to go down memory lane, cuz I've been seeing people hate on Old Moon, and while yeah sure he did terrible things, he was ultimately not the monster New Moon and some fans make him out to be.

Because whenever I see someone say Old Moon was never a good brother, I sometimes begin to think if we've watched the same show or not. Yeah, he was more times a questionable brother than not, but he did have his fair share of sweet moments, even if the circumstances, which lead to his bitterness, hatred and depression, rarely let such softness shine through.

Remember how in the first SCP video, which was in VRCHAT, when Sun ran through the Tesla gate, Moon immediately went "Good job brother"? Or when later in the same video, after looking at SCP-096 or 'Shy guy', when it starts going into it's murderous rage, Sun's panicking, and Moon says: "Brother, brother! I'm okay! It's okay! Brother, I'm here!"?

Remember when Eclipse first appeared, in the "Sun and Moon TRANSFORM into ECLIPSE in VRCHAT", Sun quietly asked if he was going to die, and Moon immediately went: "No, no! Out of anything, I won't let that happen!"? He offered to go back, to be back to square one in the same body, which we know is basically his worst trauma, because he didn't want his brother to die. His brother being alive, was more important to him, than his own freedom.

Remember when in the Wither Storm Saga 3rd episode, when Moon's in a panic about the bomb not killing the Wither Storm, Sun calms him down, and brings up how the book can be used for something else probably, and how that leads to Moon figuring the solution out WITH Sun, both leading one another? Remember how Moon said to Sun: "You tiny little genius!"? How sweet he sounded while doing it?

Remember when in the lore video directly after the Wither Storm Saga, how Moon said if he ever gets into an episode like Beta-10 again, that Sun get someone else immediately, because he doesn't want to hurt Sun?

Remember when in the video "Eclipse TRAPPED Sun and Moon in The BACKROOMS! in VRCHAT" the light suddenly went out, and Sun went into a panic, the way Moon gently guides his brother towards the light? Calmly and softly saying "Over there, over there"?

Remember when in the video "The DEATH of SUN and MOON in VRCHAT", how Moon just quietly says "I don't wanna lose you"? Or when he cuts off an anxious and unsure Sun, to say "I love you too brother"? When he says to Eclipse in front of Sun, "You are gonna take away the only thing, the only person I care about"? When he says that Lunar isn't fighting him for control, because he knows the moment Sun is gone, Moon will just give up? His quiet admitance that he did not want Sun to think less of him? How when he promises Sun, that he will get him back, they are holding hands? Something that Moon hates, and he will freely do for his brother, because his brother is more important than his own discomfort. Because even if he did mistakes, he loves Sun more than anything.

Was he perfect? No. No he wasn't. He did terrible things, for no reason at all at times. But he wasn't just a monster. He was a person placed in a terrible situation, with a code in his head telling him to do horrible things, and before KC, we did not know it was possible to go against one's nature, one's coding, one's very own being, and yet, Moon fought his killcode. He fought what was essentialy a loosing battle, and came out battered and bruised, with victories that were only temporary. But he still did it, because there was a person (later persons), who wanted him around. And because of that he made damn sure to fight his nature everytime.

Could he have been better? Yes.

Did he treat Sun terribly? At times yes!

Were some of his actions truly horrible? They were.

But was he a heartless monster, who cared for no one? No. No, he wasn't.

He was a person, trying to live, with everything stacked against him and his brother from the very begining. And he immensely fucked up. No question about that.

But he did care

(Sorry about the long, depressive post lol. Got into a mood, and wanted to get the depression off my chest for a bit. But yeah, I love this guy. He was funky. The New Moon is funky. Sun is funky. Lunar is funky. KC is funky. Eclipse is funky. Ruin is funky. Bloodmoon is funky. New Bloodmoon (I call that one Harvest(moon), and yes, I differentiate between them, cuz they be different. sue me) is funky. Earth is funky. Solar is funky. Solar Flare is funky. Everyone is funky. And I love them all.)

[crow-in-gotham]

BLOG POST NO. 4 - ALL ABOUT THE WAYNES

Remember that off-handed comment I made about moving into Gotham without proper research? Well, it’s more like no research at all because I just found out who the Waynes actually are.

For you see, I am what my friends lovingly (read: derogatorily) refer to as an internet hermit. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I have lived under a rock for basically my entire life. Well, at least when it comes to anything celebrity related. Hell, I don’t know much about Filipino celebrities, much less foreign ones. The only Filipino celebrities I bothered knowing the bare minimum about is BINI, and the only foreign actors I know are the ones who played in the Harry Potter series.

But back to my main point— yes, I only just now found out about who the Waynes are.

Why? Because I literally share a class with one of them. Actually, scratch that, I’m pretty sure I share a class with two of them—

So I did a little digging (read: my friends were appalled by how “uncultured” I am, and forced me to sit through a 3 hour long lecture about Wayne Lore) and here’s my thoughts.

First of all, Bruce Wayne, or “Brucie” as the media likes to call him, is the biggest fucking teddy bear I have ever seen. Like seriously, if “head empty, no thoughts” was a person, it would be him. Kinda sus (look Ray, internet slang!) to think he’s completely empty up there considering the fact that he, you know, runs one of the biggest enterprises in the entire world? The man is richer than Lex Luthor himself (yes, I know who he is— thank you Lan) and just keeps getting richer even with the amount of money he just seems to throw out everyday.

Honestly I’d be inclined to believe he’s actually some sort of secret super genius who’s just hiding behind a facade of stupidity just to lower everyone’s guard, but at the same time, I, quite frankly, could not give a fuck. The man pays my scholarship, I don’t really care if he’s the human version of a koala or the second coming of Isaac Newton. As long as he keeps doing all the good that he’s doing, I’m good. Overall, seems like a good guy and a nice hugger.

Next up is Richard Grayson-Wayne. Or, as literally everyone apparently calls him, “Dick”. Like, seriously? I know this has probably been said so many times— to the point where if you took all those times it was said by someone and turned it into an audio file, it would probably outlive the universe— but still. Really? Out of all the nicknames, you chose that?

And okay, maybe times were just different back then (shoutout to you old people out there), but was this guy so attached to the name that he just couldn’t be bothered to change it even when the modern day meaning for it was popularized? I mean, seriously, how many spittakes am I gonna have to go through every time my friend (hi Lan) says something along the lines of “I have a thing for Dick”. My friend knows exactly what the fuck he’s doing every time he says this sentence, because he never bothered to add the last name “Grayson” to it. Like, I know you’re gay Lan, but come on. The closet is already made of fucking glass.

Other comments to make? That ass. Like seriously, he tries to hide it by wearing slacks but sir, we are not blind. Those seams are fighting for their lives every time you take a step.

Next one on the list is Cassandra Cain-Wayne. There’s honestly not much else I can say about her other than the fact that I think she’s an absolute angel, and that I’ve replayed videos of her ballet performances for maybe an hour? There’s just something about the way that she dances that just looks so mesmerizing. It reminds me of a swan— beautiful, graceful, and equally as deadly. No, seriously, have you seen angry swans attacking people? Those birds can be fucking terrifying. I don’t know what about her looks so dangerous, but she just does? To me? It’s weird.

I’m not saying she’s a bad person or anything, I’m just saying that in a scenario where someone tries to mug her, I don’t think it would be her who’d end up with stitches. Which, honestly, I respect.

Next is Jason Todd-Wayne. The fucking brick house himself. I mean, come on, just look at one picture taken of him recently and tell me you did not stare for more than 10 seconds. This man is the definition of “If he’s a tree then I’m a squirrel”. Am I completely biased in this case? Maybe. Will I plead guilty? Over my dead fucking body.

The whole “disappeared for a weird amount of time, was assumed dead by the public for a while, then suddenly came back one day out of nowhere” situation aside, this guy is like the prime example of a glow-up. I don’t know what happened during those years he went missing, but he came back looking like a beefed up Princess Anna.

Chunk of muscle aside, there are also a few pictures of him hanging out with the kids that come by Martha’s House (local homeless shelter— thanks WE), and rescuing kittens from trees, and honestly I think it’s so sweet. It’s giving “gap moe” and I’m very much here for it.

Up next is Timothy Drake-Wayne, otherwise known as Tim (because who the fuck says Timothy nowadays—). Now this guy is the reason why this entire post exists in the first place. Why? Because I literally saw him walk right into class and sit literally right next to me (which, now that I think about it, is kinda weird because we were in a lecture hall and— hello, there’s literally 10 other seats in the same line as us?). Now, at first I didn’t really think anything of it— because duh, I lived under a rock remember? I had no idea who he was when he walked in, nor why everyone else in the room was staring at us like our heads were on fire (I checked— they were not), but I was running on 2 hours of sleep and barely any caffeine so I couldn’t give two fucks.

Then this mf (look Ray, abbreviations!) turned to me and just— hands me a bottle of 5 hour energy? That he just took out of his bag?? Now don’t get me wrong, I was thankful and all that, because there was no way in hell I would’ve survived that class without more caffeine making my heart almost palpitate, but also— kinda weird? Didn’t think much of it anyway and just thanked him. We did introduce ourselves to each other, but only with our first names because, you know, who the fuck introduces themselves with their full names unless it’s the first day of class and your professor decided it would be great to “get to know everyone” by doing self-introductions.

It wasn’t until 3 hours later at lunch when I discovered that I had, in fact, talked to Tim Drake-Wayne himself, courtesy of one of my friends (I’m looking at you Rayne) screaming at me.

That was also what led to the whole “sit down and let’s talk about Wayne Lore” that lasted 3 hours.

Duke Thomas-Wayne is the next one. This guy is an absolute fucking sunshine. He’s the other guy that’s in one of my other classes— actually, now that I think about it, we’re in a group together for that class’ semester-long project.

Wtf.

The literal personification of a ray of light is groupmates with me holy shit. “Become group mates with a Wayne” was definitely not on my bucket list for this year but you know what I’m not complaining about it.

Oh god I just remembered the fact that I ended up rambling about seashells for an embarrassingly long amount of time to him because the group wasn’t talking about anything so I ended up making small talk with the person next to me, which ended up being him.

I hope he liked my ramblings about the different kinds of seashells I have??

Last but definitely not the least (I feel legally obligated to say that) is Damian Wayne himself. He’s famous for being the only Wayne child to actually be blood-related to Bruce Wayne (not that that makes the others any less his kids—), and also well-known for the fact that he threatened to shove a cane up someone’s ass during one of the many Wayne Galas. Honestly, I respect it. The threatened person was being an asshole to some other guests and apparently Damian Wayne had enough of his bullshit. It made rounds on social media for an entire year apparently (not that I’d know— I was dead to the internet beyond my little circle of hyperfixations).

Other than that there’s not really much else to say about this guy? Other than the fact that I think he’s kinda cute in the little brother way. There’s a clip online of Tim Drake-Wayne calling him a demon spawn though, which I think is funny as fuck. It’s giving sibling energy to the max. I’m sure there's a good reason why this Damian Wayne has been dubbed the demon spawn.

There’s some honorable mentions for the Wayne Family (you know who I’m talking about) but honestly this has gone on for so fucking long. Maybe I’ll make a separate post about it at some point.

… How the fuck does Bruce Wayne deal with all these fucking kids—

[vaguely-concerned]

playing a souls game means that I am watching a lot of long form youtube vids on the side once more, and it has allowed me to remember in full force that sinclair lore is one of the best -- perhaps the very best -- channels on youtube. come for the excellent fromsoftware game analysis*, stay for the deep dives into some of THE weirdest corners of pop culture that you didn't even dream existed but will carry in your heart and mind forever now. I am currently working my way through their playlist about niche and frequently bizarre 80s/90s anime, and I was laughing so hard it almost made me fuck up the last two hits in my final triumphant fight with the dancer of the boreal valley.

basically this channel is the epitome of the sentiment of 'it makes no sense. compels me, though' as a celebration of strange and uncategorizable (and perhaps initially off-putting) art everywhere, and I think that generosity and genuine curiosity of gaze is needed in our media landscape now more than ever. whenever sophie goes 'it's just so fucking weird!!' in tones of glee and intense fascination an angel gets its wings. sin's undaunted dedication to the art she likes and disinteres in what she doesn't, regardless of how it's popularly received, inspirational. the youtube algorithm is not kind to them because it sucks ass, but!! if you want some quality Soulsborne lore that can break out the lens of queer theory when it's called for, videos about cryptids to fall asleep to, the only postmortem of Madam Web you'll ever need and didn't know you wanted (you do tho), 3 hour breakdowns of comparative cosmology of the fromsoft games that rock actually, honest engagement with and appreciation for dark souls 2 (my beLOVED), horror game let's plays and recaps, the oddest anime you ever saw discussed in great depth and with passion, the history of bloodborne -- I won't even say fandom, I think this qualifies as scholarship frankly, GORGEOUS pixel art backgrounds to rest your weary gaze upon, elden ring stuff? they gots elden ring stuff for ya, and to laugh like a dumbass every step of the way... look no futher. join the snack covenant 2day. some specific video recs based on what your interest might be under the cut!

*shoutout to them and TBSkyen (whose 'Boss Designs Of [Soulsbornering]' series is also absolutely excellent, second rec on the rec post! Here's the Bloodborne installment of the series, and my personal fave is predictably the Dark Souls 2 one) for being part of the few channels who actually explicitly use the tools of literary and art analysis to look at those games. I love a lot of the lore community but for god's sake will someone actually look into the actual overarching themes and ideas at work instead of trying to forensically break down the order in which events happened like it's a real world crime scene or site of archeology, not a deliberatly constructed story made with human hands or go source: it's a berserk reference and move on. and these champs go 'yeah we got you. let's talk about aldia's whole deal in depth' and I for one am so grateful

If you're into bloodborne, may I suggest: Laurence, the Worst Vicar. your one stop shop for understanding just how badly this guy sucked, as well as a lot of the Themes ticking away in the background of the game.

I have literally never thought about Warhammer 40K a day in my life before and I'm not about to start now, but this conversation about how oops as a franchise you were so mysogynistic back in the 80s it looped all the way around and now space marines may all be kind of trans actually?? is one of the best things I've watched in ages!

I know nothing about the anime they are discussing here but this whole vid had me rolling with laughter. they just don't make dubs like this anymore folks. the fuck counter triumphant