I have a drummer boy request. (Not enough content for him 😭)
Sam drags him to a adrenaline fueled contest such as X Games or Street League (while on a US tour) and he stumbles hard for the badass female who is wiping the competition. Like funbles his words, blushes and wishing he was wearing one of his masks.
My personal headcanon is II knows how to shred on a skateboard 🤷🏻♀️ so meeting a skateboard baddie makes his hesrt go thump thump thump 🤭
Hi Anon! I love this request so much and I'm so sorry it took me ten thousand years to answer this. I totally see the vision with Skateboarder II! It makes so much sense.
I know very little about competitive skateboarding but I did do some 🌈research🌈 so hopefully this makes sense, and I hope you like it! Thanks for the request 😘
Sleep Token Masterlist I Main Masterlist & Intro
II falls and scrapes his heart
“Dude, I’m exhausted.”
“I don’t care if you're the king of England. This is going to be sick as hell. We’re going.”
Sam grabs II’s arm and yanks him through the crowd. Although it is the middle of the day and the sun is raging bright in a clear blue sky, II is buried in a black hoodie and sweats, his face swimming in the shadows of his hood.
“I didn’t go to bed until three this morning. My internal clock is all fucked up.” II yawns. “I would really rather go back to the hotel, if it’s alright with you.”
Sam continues to pull II along, now dragging him up concrete stairs towards a set of glass double doors. A line of people stretches through the door, down the steps, and into a parking lot decorated with shrubby trees. Sam barrels past the queue.
“It is not alright with me. I thought you liked skateboarding,” Sam protests. “And I don’t want to go by myself. Besides, I got us VIP tickets.”
On cue, Sam pulls out his phone and shows it to a burly security guard at the doors. The man gives II a curious glance, probably taking in the bags under his eyes or his annoyed expression. II gives him a half-assed smile.
“I do like skateboarding,” II says, allowing Sam to tug him through the doors into a concrete vestibule. The AC is a blessing. “But I also like sleep, and we have another show tonight and a flight to catch tomorrow and –”
Then you walk past, skateboard under your arm, helmet dangling from your fingers.
Sam catches II’s gaze, which follows you as you head out a different set of doors at the opposite end of the room.
You are wearing jean shorts that come down to your knees, revealing several scrapes and bruises along with a collection of tattoos. Checkered socks. Red converse. A plain white tank and red elbow guards.
II’s mouth drops open just a bit as the sun catches your hair.
You are…perfect.
Then you are gone.
Sam smirks, elbowing II in the ribs.
“See? Not so bad now, eh?”
—
Sam and II are seated at the end of a stretch of metal bleachers. Cameras flash. Drink vendors bustle through the crowd. A group of women stands along the deck of a skatebowl, waiting their turn to compete. Although II is so tired he feels hungover, he can’t help but get caught up in the rush of adrenaline around him. II loves to skateboard. Besides music, it's one of his favorite things in the world. Now, he gets to watch people who are some of the best alive.
“Having fun?” Sam asks. He’s teasing, but II answers earnestly.
“Yeah, I am.” He finally pulls down his hood as though to prove his point. Rakes his hand through his hair. Takes in a big breath.
And then promptly pulls his hood back up as you walk by once again.
Your helmet is on now, but your hair blows in the breeze and II swears he catches a whiff of vanilla and cinnamon. He’s so thankful for his hood, doing double work to hide both his haggard face and the blush he’s sure is creeping into his cheeks.
You keep walking and II thinks he’s in the clear, but then you look his way and it is like his heart has stopped and he has died and gone to heaven. From joy, or embarrassment, or fear, or love at first sight, he has no idea. Maybe a healthy dose of all of the above, but all he knows is that he would give anything to curl up in a ball and disappear and also he hopes you never stop looking at him ever ever ever.
You smile, a bright beautiful thing that makes his toes curl.
Then you make your way to the deck and shake hands with the other women while an announcer calls out your name, your age, your stats.
All the while, II can’t stop staring and Sam is giggling like a madman, teasing II with words he is too love-drunk to make out. You’re a skater – no, not only that – you are a competitor. One of the best skaters in the world.
Cue Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.
Suddenly, you drop into the bowl, and even Sam shuts up. You move like the wind, so quickly that II can barely keep up with what you are doing. The announcer calls out words like ‘clamshell’ and ‘tailslide’ and ‘kickflip’ but these words mean little to him compared to the way you smile when you land a flip and the easy movements you make to keep balance. Your energy is infectious. The crowd is on their feet, cheering wildly. You move like you were meant to do this. II is quickly swept up by your spell, on his feet, whistling and clapping.
As fast as you started, you finish, landing back on the deck with a big grin on your face. You wait to hear your score and it is high. You killed it.
II claps wildly. All his fatigue has left him. Not even a thought in his mind except you. Even as you disappear down the side, your image is still imprinted on his eyelids like a beam of light.
“Thanks for bringing me,” II concedes to Sam. “That was fucking wild.”
“Tell me about it. She was insane! I’ve never seen anything like that.” Sam claps II on the back. “Cute too, don’t you think?”
II blushes, his ears growing hot. He mumbles – “Yeah, she- she’s cute for sure.” He wants to see you again. He’s replaying your run in his mind. He could never move like that, not in a million years.
“Hey.”
II is pulled from his thoughts by a pretty face hovering next to him.
“Can I sit here?”
You gesture to an empty spot next to II.
II is lost for words. His mind scrambles, knowing he needs to say something, but all he can think about is the light sheen of sweat covering your skin and the way you are looking at him.
“Of course,” Sam says for II. “You killed it by the way.”
You sit, nodding your thanks. Sam kicks II in the shin. “Don’t be weird,” he whispers into II’s ear.
II clears his throat.
“That was incredible,” he says. His voice sounds wrong in his ears. Too loud, so painfully awkward.
But you smile, showing every tooth.
“Thanks!” you say brightly. “It felt like a good run. Everything just flowed.”
You are looking right at him. He’s distracted by your tattoos. He wants to analyze every single one of them. Maybe trace them with his fingers…Shit, he’s been quiet too long. He needs to say something.
“Yeah, totally.”
Fuck. That’s all he can think of.
You chuckle and the sound of that is music.
“Your eyes are really blue by the way. I could see them from up on the deck.”
Good god, II’s face is hot. He wishes he had his mask, or that it would be okay to pull his hood even lower. You are so stunning, so talented, and you are complimenting him?
It certainly doesn’t help that Sam is literally punching II’s other side with excitement, just out of your line of sight.
II clears his throat again.
“Oh, thanks.” He pushes the hood off of his head. Is he sweaty? He feels sweaty. “How long have you been skating?”
Okay, just ask questions, he thinks.
“Since I was a kid. Runs in my family,” you answer. “My dad taught my brother and I, but for me it just stuck. I love how fast it moves, you know? Like I can’t even process what I’ve just done until it's over. Then this rush hits and it's just so electric.”
Like the drums, II thinks.
“Oh, you play the drums?”
Only then does II realize he spoke out loud.
“Oh yeah, I play a little,” he mumbles bashfully.
“II’s in a band,” Sam interrupts. “They have a show tonight. If you’re free you should come.”
II was going to kill him. Literally strangle him in his sleep.
“Oh really?” Your face lights up. “I’d love to come!”
“II, give her the details,” Sam says, nudging him again.
“Oh, yeah. For sure.” II rakes his hand through his hair. “It’s nothing special, but it should be a good show.”
“I’m sure it’s amazing, and I’d love to come. I mean, you just watched me, so I feel like it's only fair.”
Did you just scoot closer? You smell so good and it's making II’s mind fuzzy. He can’t tell what’s up or down.
II reaches into his pocket for his phone. Maybe Sam would live another night, wingman that he was. Now just ask her for her number, II thinks, making sure that thought stays inside his head this time.
“Oh, holy shit!” you yell, leaping up from the bleachers. The next contestant is moving through her run and had just landed a tricky kickflip. The crowd has gone wild, but you are by far yelling the loudest. “Did you see that?” You reach down and grab II’s hand, tugging him up from the bench.
The girl in the bowl is doing great, that is for sure, but all II can look at is you and your expression of awe and admiration. Your fingers wrapped around his wrist infuses his belly with butterflies. II starts to laugh, cheering along with you. You are just so…cool. Like a shot of caffeine mixed with sunshine and concrete and cherry pepsi. He thinks that it would be the most amazing thing to see your smile in the crowd tonight.
“Let me get your number,” II asks, forcing all the confidence he can muster into his voice. A girl like you was once in a lifetime. He was already having visions of skating with you, teaching you how to play the drums while you help him work on his Smith grind. Like hell he would let this chance pass him by. “I’ll get you a VIP ticket. That is…” the blush is back “if that’s okay with you.”
Your smile is all the answer he needs, and II’s heart flutters somewhere down to the hot concrete.
Little heads-up: Originally, I wrote this for my friends on EIA release day because I spend a lot of time talking about Sleep Token but haven't told them a lot of the basics yet. But then it somehow turned into a five page document with roughly 2.5k words and I really did have to stop myself from writing even more. The hyperfocus really kicked in that night. Letting it rot away in my documents folder feels like a waste. If you are new to the fandom, I hope this helps you a little. If you're not, hello fellow worshipper. Getting your daily dose of british cryptids?
now for real:
A "Short" Introduction To Sleep Token
What is Sleep Token?
Sleep Token is a band, formed in 2016. They don’t really give themselves a genre. For a long time their only genre tag on Spotify was “Prog Metal” or “Progressive Metal”. By now they also acquired the tags “Metalcore” and “Hard Rock”. I personally cannot argue against that. When asked what genre of music they make, I usually say that they make metal mixed with every other genre under the sun. They use a lot of elements from gospel, RnB, a little pop and a lot of drum and bass and I wouldn’t put it past them to make this list a lot longer. This is also why there are a lot of idiots so called metal elitists who are convinced that their music isn’t metal, which is absolute bullshit. There is also this running gag of the haters who will just say that they sound like Imagine Dragons for some reason. They don’t. Not in the slightest. I saw someone say that this is if Hozier made metal music and honestly? Yeah, maybe one or another song. They both yearn anyway.
(last group picture from December 3rd 2024 <3)
(More under the cut, it's just.. a little long :3)
What IS Sleep Token?
There is lore. Actual lore, not stage lore. And we’re gonna cover the basics.
Sleep is an ancient, powerful being, described as a god or deity, who bestowed us with the gift of dreams and the curse of nightmares. Once, Sleep appeared in the dream of a heartbroken man, promising him glory and success in exchange for his eternal loyalty and devotion. He accepted and became Vessel.
To appease Sleep’s undying hunger for worship Vessel and three other devoted followers of the God now perform rituals all over the world, telling the story of Sleep and Vessel’s experiences as a token of the being.
This is the very base of the lore. The rest is told through the songs. The lyrics are cryptic and leave a lot of room for interpretation, but fan interpretations are always coming back to themes of healing, toxic relationships and a lot of inner conflicts and mental struggles.
Who is Sleep Token?
Before I go on to introduce you to every member and our honorable mentions, I need you to know and understand the following: They are anonymous. They wish to remain unknown. Yes, there have been leaks, but I am begging you not to look for them. Under no circumstances. Ever. I have another post about this in another context here, I case you're interested. They don’t really give interviews. There is one email interview from 2017 that I will now quote from:
“The entity is the music. There is nothing further to discover.”
And also, a quote from a fan about those who are leaking stuff about them personally or are actively trying to cross this boundary in any other way:
“Your mom should have swallowed you.”
NOW TO THE FUN PART!!!
Vessel
face of the band, cult leader, front singer, ultimate lyrical genius and I honestly believe there isn’t an instrument he cannot play
SAD. REALLY FUCKING SAD! VITTIES ARE OUT AND KINDA CVNTY BUT SAAAD (he’s just like me fr /hj)
He is a massive nerd. How do we know that? This man did not only make up a whole cult with themes of greek mythology and weird christian one, but also made a whole album about his descend into depression while comparing that to the deep sea, assigning every song their own deep sea creature and the number of meters of which level you can find said deep sea creature. At the end of the album it’s literally the depth of the Mariana Trench! In one MV he has the force like in fucking Star Wars. In another song he made a damn Alien reference (“Burst out of my chest and hide out in the vents”). Now he also has fucking swords. If this isn’t what a nerd looks like, idk what's real anymore.
He records all of the instruments on the albums, except for the drums. Everything else is played by him, at least on the records. (As far as I am informed)
Things I’ve seen people call him/say about him: “An unsupervised hyperactive kid”, “The saddest wet cat man you ever did see”, “he reminds me of those tropical birds that do mating dances”, “It’s like at every show this year Vessel’s been fighting the urge to pin III down”, “Orange cat energy”, “I think Vessel WANTS a man”
personal thoughts: I love this man in the most non-sexual/romantic way ever. In fact, I deeply admire him. He possesses something I do not, which is the ability to feel every emotion possible so openly and raw that it feels like he feels it with and for you as well. He is incredibly open with his feelings and this is something I want to learn for myself. His thoughts about life, music, emotions and art are a big reason why I am falling in love with art again. Not even mentioning that his art has been there for me for two years now and those two years have been the wildest and hardest yet. Here are some quotes of him that I love, from little speeches that sometimes play during intermissions at rituals/shows (with is voice distorted) and the 2017 Interview:
“Life is dark. Life is bright. Life is ugly. Life is beautiful. Don’t get lost in genres, they will only disorientate you. Music is for everyone.”
“But at least I feel something. If I don’t feel anything, then why would I even do this?”
“I would also like to take this chance to tell you something, to love oneself. It’s not the easy task we are sometimes told it is. We are all limited by something. We are all guilty of something. My path towards a place of greater self acceptance is pathed with the art I create. It is a path that I continue to stumble down. At the expense of everything else, I am nothing without this music, I am nothing without this mask.”
he's so babygirl hihi
II
THE KING OF GODS OF DRUMS, crowned THE drummer of 2023,one of if not the best drummer of the scene at the moment
He is a short king (hes like 1,75m but Vessel and III are fucking giants so he just looks like a lil baby beside them lol)
Do not be fooled by the height and the pretty big blue eyes, this man could probably kill you (even tho he looks like a cutie patootie)
Vessel’s bestie, his bff, absolutely staying together for the rest of their lives
addicted to Red Bull, we also like to call it his fast juice. thats where he gets his drumming speed from lol
Did a random sidequest of doing the only video interview from any Sleep Token member ever. He got interviewed by Drumeo on their YouTube channel and played some songs for them and I love every single second of this interview and every single other of his drum videos
Lemon Gate. I don’t know why but at one show of the Australia tour last year he just randomly had a lemon??? At the end of the show he threw it into the crowd
He gets his own little hydraulic (I guess) pedestal at shows, so he sometimes gets moved up higher with spotlights on him when he's being way too good at drumming again
People like to call him “The octopus” simply because his drumming is so fast that it seems he must have some extra arms
Master of “I have a zoom meeting but don't want to get dressed”, cool long sleeve on top, adidas track pants on the bottom
very cinnamon roll but could kill you <3
III
responsible for the bass guitar and the chaos at shows, he's just here to throw it back and be a little troll and we love him for it
some kind of giraffe, long boi, hes basically 2m tall but still insists on wearing platform boots and makes everybody beside him look like children
He has enough energy to provide electricity for a whole village
will yell at the crowd when they can’t clap on beat or open a moshpit the right way
ABSOLUTE FASHION ICON!! His style ranges from biker, to rockstar, to pirate, to vampire and I’m so here for it. He’s also the reason a LOT of people in the fandom own a pair of checkered socks. He wore them at every show for the longest time, so much that they now make checkered socks for the merch store
likes to dye his very dead hair. It’s been red, black and silver-blond up until now. somehow we all collectively decided to manifest pink hair next. (III if you can hear me, please. You would slay so hard) He also wore space buns once and it was a historic moment
LOVES to kiss his homies and takes the approach “annoy until they give in” to get his smooches. He even got II to kiss him once, which I think was the only time II actually gave in to a kiss request.
The Avocado Incident. Just like with Lemon Gate I have no idea where III got the avocado from or who gave it to him but he had one and then threw it to a fan. He also just straight up ripped a string of his bass out once to give it to a fan?? Like???? Dude how???
We like to call him our chaos ballerina. If you see a few clips of him it’ll make sense I promise. Alternatively, it's bassy boi (I am way too far down this fandom)
one day i will aquire this man's goofyness and then it's over for you bitches
IV
In charge of the guitar at shows and also does extra screams
another small boi, real cutie patootie, won’t kill you, just knows how to be seductive and mysterious as fuck
has two looks, fucking epic lether battle jacket vs suit. Both look amazing but unfortunately it’s been a year since we’ve last seen the jacket. But not complaining about IV in a suit, especially cause he acquired one that fucking SPARKELS??? (it's the suit of a killer bella)
always has more than enough guitar picks on his mic stand because he throws half of those to fans all the time, he’s a gift-giving kind of person
also LOVES to kiss the others and will actively ask for kisses by being cute. He just hasn't gotten kisses from II yet (as far as I know) (update: IV and II did actually kiss once and that fact makes me very happy :3)
Did a random sidequest of just going on stage with Bring Me The Horizon when they toured together and sang Antivist with Oli Skyes (I need more of IV swearing fr)
The fandom has started calling him Ivy instead of IV because it just rolls off the tongue nicer. Like.. 4 vs Ivy.. Yeah I’m calling him Ivy lol
Absolute middle child energy. Idk what it is but he’s just giving that
he looks so huggable idk why
honorable mentions
Sam! Sam is the drum tech and parent. What do I mean by parent? He is literally their voice when someone needs to talk and not sing. They don’t speak, ever. II even had his voice distorted when he did the Interview with Drumeo. So Sam will speak for them in case of emergency. For example, they had one show at Wembley Arena in the end of 2023 and Vessel lost his voice half way through. So They did a little break, and Sam went on stage, announcing “So.. Vessel can’t sing right now, but you can. So sing with us.”. Or last November when III and IV got sick and couldn’t perform for like two shows of the tour, he announced that as well and that it would only be Vessel and II this time! We love Sam.
Espera! The espera are a collective of three beautiful queens who I absolutely adore. They are background singers and harmonize with Vessel during shows. They arent anonymous, they have their own projects and I love them. They also get their own little hydraulic pedestal on stage and sound absolutely ethereal.
Jerry. Jerry is the black flamingo they have been using for the promo and theme of Even In Arcadia. They didn’t name him Jerry, the community did. There was an article that said the reddit community names him Dennis??? I don’t know who said that and who Dennis is, but put some respect on Sir Jerrington the 5th name!
How is Sleep Token?
The band? Wonderful. My absolute saviours. The music? One of a kind, beautiful, emotional, just filled with passion. The members? A little homisexual (not assuming their sexuality, just love how they genuinely love each other) and depressed but they got the spirit. They have this amazing “found family” vibe on stage and it warms my heart every time. The fandom? … Okay listen, I love this fandom. It’s a safe space I love to be part of. But… Especially since they have become more popular, there has been a flood of toxic fans, people who sexualize them in ways that are just not okay (who are mostly coming from booktok. I hate booktok and its obsession with “dark romance” so much but that's a topic for another time), people who are so selfish and entitled that it sickens me. There is one song on Even In Arcadia called Caramel (again, other post on this here), that is literally about toxic “fans”. People leaking their names, coming to Vessel’s house, harassing him on the street, screaming his real name at shows. And I am still mad that this song even has to exist. Famous people are still people. They are still human. Even when they wear a mask on stage. Nobody is entitled to music by their favorite artist or any other kind of information from them. JUST BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING!!!
Where is Sleep Token? (what.. why did I write this point down?)
Somewhere in the UK. They are based in London as far as I know from the 2017 interview. Next month they play a set at Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring, two festivals in Germany. They also headline the Download festival in the UK this year. And in fall they are doing a US tour which will be very cool. I will absolutely lose my mind again during this time even though I cannot attend. :D
Hey, you've made it to the end! Good job, and thank you for reading this written out PowerPoint presentation. I had fun writing it, I hope you had fun reading it and that you learned something!
If I have to repeat myself, I will. As you might have guessed by now, I reaaaaaaaaaally like to talk about Sleep Token.
Here, have some Vessel dances for the way. :3 They are my favorite hehe
in which Daisy spends the summer touring with her brother and the band he works for, with no intentions of giving any attention to the snobby lead singer. Things don't always go as planned...
Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5 ; Part 6 ; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part 12;
Black Paint-
in which reader goes to see the band with her best friend Brittany Broski and...shit happens.
Happen-
in which vessel has been pining after you for months, and miscommunication makes you think he just doesn't trust you.
