#Watch out - I'm doing cool stuff with transparency again

[sysig]

for requestober !! can i ask for a crossover of vargas and tsp ? something like , stanley being edgar and scriabin being the narrator:3

Day 1 - Destruction

[fascinatedscrawls]

Whatcha Got There, Danny?

It was an average school day. Starting too early for any teen to truly enjoy, the majority of students made their way to first period with all due enthusiasm.

Surprisingly, Danny was one of them.

"You're on time?" Sam looked to the window and squinted at the sky as Danny took his seat, rolling his eyes. "I don't think the world is ending, it's a bit too sunny for that."

That got Danny to pause as he reached into his bag. "Actually, it's pretty likely the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs burned off whatever weather pattern-"

"Hey, Danny," Tucker cut in a little nervously. "Did you forget to give Dorathea something back?"

Pulling his hand all the way out of his bag, Danny met the eyes of the small, vaguely transparent dragon that was clinging to his thermos and smothered a sigh before turning back to his friend to give the wrong answer on purpose.

"I don't think Dora likes my coffee, man."

"That is not what I meant and you know it. Is that her kid?"

Uncapping the mostly normal thermos and not even blinking as the little guy scrambled up his arm to sit on his shoulder (a little difficult as those tiny claws were sharp), Danny slurped a sip of his coffee just to be annoying only to choke on it a bit when Sam jostled his other arm trying to hurry along an answer. He managed to swallow the mouthful before coughing around his surrender.

"Alright, alright!" He coughed again. "It's not Dora's kid."

"Is it," Sam grimaced as she stopped mid-sentence, clearly unwilling to finish the thought of Aragon having a kid.

"It's mine." Danny assured her quickly, trying to keep his voice down so the other students in the room wouldn't start looking their way. Maybe too quickly as he heard it aloud and had to correct himself to his friends' shocked looks. "My dragon! Not my kid!"

The little guy sat up tall and proud, little wings flaring out as he gave what he probably thought was a mighty roar. Danny was too busy trying to not get smacked by the unfortunately tangible wing smacking his ear to snicker at the squeaking noise like his friends were.

"That's cool," Tucker managed to compose himself enough to look over his shoulder past some of their now curious classmates to check if Mr. Lancer was on his way. "But school doesn't seem like the best place to bring a dragon."

"It's better than leaving him at home."

"Your parents know about him?!" Sam leaned in to hiss, already looking ready to throw down if anyone hurt the foot long, ghostly lizard currently playing with his hair.

"He won't leave me alone," Danny explained, exhausted by having to go through this for Ancients who knew how many times since last night. At least he wasn't having to twist the story around like he had to do with his parents. "Did you know that all of Dora's Knights are dragon knights? Because I didn't."

He waited a moment as they both did their best to imagine the dragon turning into a similarly sized knight. Or, that's what Danny assumed they were doing as he tried to do the same when Dora first explained this, but it wasn't a transformation like she and her brother could do.

"So, it's protection?" Tucker asked, baffled.

"No, it's my dragon." Danny pointed to himself. "I'm the one who got knighted, remember?"

The dragons were companions.

"Honestly, not really. Too much stuff happens to you, dude."

"Fair." Danny didn't always believe he went through all of that either.

"How'd you get him past your parents? Do you need a place to stay?" Sam pressed, still focused on the biggest problem.

"I told them he's a blob ghost." He watched them both stare at him, then look to the little dragon that was determinedly reaching the peak of mount Danny via the footholds which usually found use as his nose and ear, then back. "I know, I'm not sure how I managed it either. Something clicked with them about 'post-human consciousness', ghostly shape shifting, and how I really liked dragons as a kid. After arguing about it for practically the whole night not going to question it. Hopefully, the little guy can learn to go invisible before they move on to experimentation instead of just observation."

"That almost explains how you can keep him at home, but what about-"

"Dragonriders of Pern, Mister Fenton!" Mr. Lancer sounded somewhere between aghast and resigned. "What is that?"

"It's my, er." Frowning, Danny put one hand up to keep the dragon from falling and reached down to pull out the form his parents filled out for him this morning to ensure the school wouldn't stop this 'experiment'. Holding it out, he read the reason off the page, "my emotional support ghost-dragon. I need him. For reasons. Sir."

Mr. Lancer's sigh was almost as long as Jazz's was when she heard.

Well, that was settled. Now he just had to figure out how to explain why the dragon was going to follow Phantom too.

Wes was going to have a field day.

--------------------------------------

Sooo I missed all of Phic Phight due to personal, real life reasons (most good, some not) but the ideas I started cooking up in that first week still need to be written down before they eat me from the inside lol Also, I guess this could count a little bit for Dannymay day 1, though I'm late for the dragon prompt there too haha

I maybe made the dragon a little younger and less capable of speaking than the prompt called for, but I like him anyway. Even if Danny refused to name him.

I hope you like this interpretation!

Uploaded to AO3

[kumikokane]

Moonlight song competition cards

SR Whitney R. Bristol

"O-oh man, there's so many people... I sure hope March actually got the dress code correct."

SR March Hawthorne

"Hah! Nah, I totally nailed the dress code. See? I know what I'm doing. Just sit back and have fun, I'll take care of the complicated stuff."

Some art I made for @sunnysidesevenup 's event! This was really fun, I enjoyed the ocean-esque theme a lot. Here's the full body outfits I designed for them:

For Whitney, I decided I wanted to go with a jellyfish inspired look. The little ribbons attached to her skirt are supposed to be like tentacles, and the layers are transparent because a lot of jellyfish are too. I drew her barefoot here, but in my mind thats really only during the actual preformence. She'd bring a pair of sandles or flats to wear around town, cause concrete and sand get HOT in the sun. I've burned my feet way too many times going to the beach. I also added a little clock to her headpiece, because she's inspired by the white rabbit but I couldn't figure out how else to incorporate the staple pocket watch. I absolutely adore the way her outfit turned out, but all the layers being transparent makes them such a pain to draw LMAO 😭 Never again....... *I whisper as I imagine myself drawing a groovy art for her*

For March's, I didn't really think an animal theme would fit him? So instead I decided to take some inspiration from sunken treasure chests/pirate ships. I gave him a coin belt cause gold coins, he's also wearing a net because it kinda makes me think of worn down sails and stuff. I replaced his usual clunky earring with huge pearls, and instead of a headpiece I had him stick stray pieces of coral in his hair. The leaves on his right knee are supposed to be like seaweed, and the outfit is covered in barnacles because uh. Yeah! I'm so bad at explaining things sorry guys 😔 I'm just praying yall see the vision

Along with the drawings, I also wrote a little story! I'm gonna leave it at the bottom so you don't have to scroll through it to read my notes. It's not very long, but I had free time and thought it'd be fun to write something about how they got to the competition in the first place, since it wasn't by conventional means. I don't write often, but I might write a little more for this when I have free time. I've got a little story going on in my head and it'd be cool to try and put it somewhere. Any criticism is appreciated, I'm always looking to improve my writing skills :) Once again, this was a lot of fun to make! Both the story and the outfits, and I'm happy I could participate. Not good at putting my thoughts out but uh ⭐️ gold star!

"So... That's it? That's why Cay Cay the cake slice is gonna be gone?" March tilted his head to the side, the large piercings on his ears clattering against his phone mic. "Arlo, Arlo.... Sounds familiar. I'm sure I've heard that name pass my ears before. Can't really remember though- he must not be important. Well, maybe a little bit if Cater knows him."

Whitney winces, adjusting the grip she had on her phone as she walked back and forth in her empty dorm room. "Uh, I-I think that's.. Well, I mean..." She sighs, trying to find the words. "You don't go to our school, so of course you wouldn't know people from here. I'm more surprised the name actually sounds familiar to you, I didn't think you've heard of anyone outside of Heartslabyul."

"Oh, he's not a Heartslabyul student? Makes more sense. What's he look like, then? Maybe I saw him in passing once, or something." March tries his best to recall any information he might have on anyone named Arlo.

"Arlo..? Uh, well... He has like, black fluffy hair with blonde bangs. And greenish eyes? I think?" Whitney stops, trying to think of any good descriptions of him. "Oh, he's short. Shorter than me. He's part of the newspaper club. Um... He's likes to take pictures of flowers and stuff."

"Huh... Little guy who likes to take pictures?" March scratches at his head. "... Oh. Oh! OH! Ha, that's the little loverboy!" He suddenly starts laughing hysterically.

"Little... Loverboy? That's not really a word I think most people would use to describe him. A-are you sure we're talking about the same person..?"

"Absolutely! I know the little guy veryyy well! Even if he doesn't know a lot about me." March takes a swig from his water bottle, still trying to calm down his laughter. "Oh, man! Imagining him, singing? That's hilarious, I didn't think he had it in him."

Whitney's ears twitch as she listens to March laugh. "Uh... Okay, explanation? Maybe..?? When you say it like that, i-it just sounds like you're stalking him."

"Oh please, he wishes I was stalking him. Almost everything I know about him is against my will. Yeah, I call him loverboy because he's like... Dating Neige, or something. I don't really know, but Neige will sometimes spend the entirety of lunch gushing about the guy. I call him little because, he's short. And it makes him mad when I call him little."

"So... You have met him? Since when? He doesn't come anywhere near Heartslabyul. At least, I haven't seen him around here."

"Yeah, once. Maybe twice, I can't remember. Neige was talking about the guy so much I just had to see what all the buzz was about. He was so angry, like a little Chihuahua, it was fucking hilarious bro." He says, chucking at the memory. "But yeah, I just followed Neige here once to meet him before going to the unbirthday party."

"You followed Neige to meet Arlo? It still sounds like you're stalking him, March. Do I need to report you to school security? I have the app, you know."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. As if your shitty headmage would do anything about it anyways." March rolls his eyes, thinking about the NRC headmage. The only way he could picture the guy actually doing anything is if it made it on the news or something. "Back to the topic at hand, please? So, do you know where the town is?"

".. Huh..?" She pauses again. "Uh, no, not really. B-but if you need the address, Cater would probably give it to you." Whitney takes a seat at her bed now, a bad feeling crawling up her spine.

"Nah, won't ask him. The town's name is what again? We can find it on Google maps or something." Shuffling comes from the other side of the phone. "You're on speaker now, say hi to the wind."

Whitney frowned, not liking the way the conversation was heading. "We? Wait, why- Hi wind... W-why do we need to figure out where the town is? I'm sure Cater will remember to post pictures and videos, if that's what you want-"

"Nah, this ain't about him Nini. We're gonna go to the competition too." March declares, texting Whitney a link on Google maps to the town's location. "Look, see? It's not that bad. We don't even need a car or anything, you can just create a rabbit hole and boom! We'll be there in no time."

"You want to go to the competition?! Why?!" Whitney yells out louder then intended, suddenly covering her mouth and whispering into the phone. "W-we can't go! We weren't invited!"

"Really? So what if we weren't invited? It's a public event, isn't it? We don't need anyone's permission to be there. It'll be easy, we'll just go sign up and preform and then win the big grand prize at the end! You don't even have to sing, you can just sit back and look pretty while I enchant the crowd with my dazzling vocals. Hear, listen-" March takes a deep breath, preparing to demonstrate his singing skills.

"No!" Whitney interrupts, "Y-you don't get it! They all know who I am! Everyone i-in the group he brought along- Arlo knows who I am! A-and I don't think he likes me very much..." She says with a dejected tone, unbraiding her hair to try and de-stress. "I-I can't just show up to his home town for some event! Do you know how weird that is?? He's in the newspaper club too, he'll probably tell everyone what a creep I am and then everyone at school will know! 'Hey guys, uhh you know that weird bunny girl from class C? Yeahhh she like totally followed me to my hometown and then tried to play it off by bringing her friend with her.' I can't live like that!"

March scowls, huffing loudly into the phone mic to voice his displeasure. "Well, first of all don't interrupt me. Second of all, there's no reason to freak out. He's just an asshole who hates everyone, his hatred won't be specifically aimed at you. If anything, he'll probably aim it at me cause I like pissing him off- Always remember Nini, please everyone is hard. Making everyone mad is easy, and funny."

Whitney stays silent, brushing through her hair with her fingers. "... I-I don't know, March. Even if nobody will hate my guts for the rest of my school life..." She trails off, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

March groans dramatically at this, moving his phone closer to his mouth as he speaks. "Nini! You're such a party pooper cause you're so indecisive. I'm making the decision for you, we're going to the competition. You're gonna have fun, so quit fussing about every little detail! One of these days we're gonna get you some benzodiazpines for whatever anxiety you got, I swear." March mumbles the last part under his breath, rolling his eyes. "I'll do all the planning and stuff, just be ready to head out by tomorrow, k? I guess by like, 3 or something. Great, bye!"

"W-what? March, wait-!" She tries to stop, but March suddenly hangs up the phone on her, leaving her alone in the quiet dorm. She sighs, taking out her pocket watch to check the time. "3pm tomorrow..? We'd probably arrive before Arlo's group does. I'll have to take all my assignments with me, and triple tell Riddle that I'll be leaving. And pick out all my money for the trip to make sure we don't starve..." Whitney frowns, not exactly fond of this suddenly change in her usual schedule. "I hate taking trips..." She shakes her head, her ears twitching again as she stands up from her bed and looks around. "... Well, we're doing this I guess. Better start preparing.."

Thanks for reading!

[omppupiiras]

why think about work stuff at work when you can think about one Jere Pöyhönen all day instead and get paid for it - so here's my rambly thoughts about what has been happening lately 🫡 but tl;dr: i'm not going anywhere

Firstly, it has been a bit tiring being a Käärijä fan lately, because it's been one thing after another. Being his fan has been such a fun experience for so long that it's a bit jarring how many times shit can hit the fan, so to speak. So I understand if it gets to be too much for people, and I think it's totally fair to take a step back from something if it no longer brings you joy. In fact that is a very healthy thing to do, haha.

But to me, he hasn't done anything terrible or unforgivable. My feelings have ranged from being annoyed to disappointed, but I was never really angry about any of it. I have vented a lot because he's definitely not above my criticism, but I only criticise him because I still care. I don't think he's suddenly changed or become a terrible person.

The way he went about OF was very disappointing to me, but I also always thought that he didn't make me pay for it, I chose to do that. I find it nasty how willing he was to ask for that much money for so little in return with 0 transparency, but now I definitely know better than to give him my money for his plain ass pics lol

And as for the nf/ts, I barely knew what those were before this whole mess and I'm not sure if I fully grasp it even now, but obviously I wish they wouldn't have messed with them. Not disclosing them with the raffle was a bad look for sure. They probably got sold a nice deal and they did it with all the best intentions, or maybe they didn't do enough research, or they just didn't care.. but I hope hope hope they heard enough criticism that they know better than to do it again.

I understand that some people don't like them doing paywalled content, but personally I would have happily paid for the euro-tour pass thing had it been on some other site. Jere made us very aware that the european tour last year wasn't profitable, so I think something like this COULD have been a cool thing to help them make money while giving fans who could pay for it some extra content. I doubt Käärijä would keep touring outside of Finland if they couldn't figure out how to make it profitable. Jere certainly didn't seem to think doing it for exposure made sense.

I'm not sure I have much to say about last night's drama, so to speak. At first him joking about having no money felt in bad taste to me, but after watching a video of it, I didn't think it was that serious. However I can see how him joking about having no money in front of his fans who have given him so much of theirs can come across icky, but humor is very subjective.

So yeah. I'm not going anywhere! but who knows, he could go drunk driving tomorrow and hit a puppy dog & I would drop him like a hot potato, but until that day... I'll be here for as long as he interests me as an artist and makes music I enjoy 💚

[pumpkinhcad]

my url?

HAMMY RAMBLES ABOUT OTHERS (Always accepting).

MY OPINION ON;

Character in general: Honestly, I've never played a Persona game. At best I have played Shin Megami Tensei V and all of the Trauma Center games. So, to put it bluntly, for the longest time I've only known Ryuji as The "FOR REAL?!" Guy. But he reminds me a lot of Ichiro Dazai from SMTV, and I really like that guy (before the writers did him super dirty) so Ryuji also tickles my fancy. To me, he comes off as the ride-or-die platonic brother figure, and from having watched P5's cutscenes UP to the first palace?? He's perfect! Like it made sense for the narrative to make him one of the protag's first friends, because he does have that childhood best friend energy, y'know? If I had to describe him, based on how I see him, I'd word it like this: the childhood best friend who is forced to act like he's part of the delinquent archetype. Because that's how he is at the start of the game?? Because of that Kamoshida guy?? But he's so cool, man, like he's a genuinely cool guy. Wears his heart on his sleeve, very earnest, very transparent about the kind of person he is-- AND he looks cool. I like his design, again, reminds me a lot of Dazai with their blond hair and the way they wear their uniforms so differently from everyone else. I guess the similarities make sense tho', considering both are Atlus games. Anyways, I'd love to have a friend just like Ryuji, he's best bro material!!

How they play them: So, because I'm not THAT well-versed into the game, I cannot 100% give an opinion on this... BUT!! I honestly like how Rudie writes him! We haven't interacted IC a lot yet, but Rudie's Ryuji is very down-to-Earth, all things considered. Like sometimes I'll skim their posts and it's usually daily life stuff-- not that that is a bad thing! I believe the characters' daily lives and their daily interactions are a big part of Persona games! And it means that most of Rudie's writing involves Ryuji being... well, as human as a muse can be. He's an energetic and sometimes hot-headed teenager that is down-on-his-luck, with a reputation that has been shoved on him and who strives to be better at all times. Whether he does that by being a supportive friend, socializing with strangers, or even entertaining my son is secondary. He's just a cool guy, y'know?

The Mun: Rudie is, single-handedly, the most socially-active mun in my Dash!! They're always conversing with somebody, or posting about games being announced, or stuff they're nostalgic about, or adding stuff on the tags of the promos they reblog, and I love the transparency! And most of our conversations have happened this way, actually! I've commented on her OOC posts here and there (not to mention tags in our IC interactions), and they're very very easily approachable! Also I like how they will reblog fanart, or moments from the game that relate to Ryuji, and will then make a post to talk in detail about their muse. It's that level of dedication that keeps me coming back to read them! Actually, I can definitely highlight that about Rudie, that they write very long and detailed posts in general. Unironically worth the read!

DO I:

RP with them: Yup!! I'm pretty slow, especially with long replies, but we have two threads going and I'm enjoying our interactions together!

Want to RP with them: Of course! I'm always down to interact and come up with new stuff! I still think the whole "Pump cannot beat the Jack-O'-Lantern allegations" bit could be a funny running gag.

WHAT IS MY;

Overall Opinion: Even if you don't know anything about Persona games (like me), Rudie's is one of the most active and open blogs out there!! I honestly cannot recommend them enough, they're a very open and welcoming person to practically everyone and is always open to help you out if you wanna know anything about their muse or source material. Hell, both the muse and mun are literal rays of sunshine! Always supporting other blogs, always posting positive stuff, you're legit missing out if you ain't following them already!!

[al1v3-p03ts-s0ci3ty]

One shot idea: Neil (or Todd) admitting to the other that they like them

(THIS TOOK SO LONG IM SO SORRY-)

Thank you so much for the ask!!! I haven't written much lately so this was a nice start! This ideas been sitting in my notes app for a while so thank you for getting me to finally write it!!

[Authors note! This is set in the 90s. There are mentions of Welton but just imagine that the timeline got shifted up a bit. They're all in their mid 20s. Also the cat name Allen IS based off of that super cool fruity poet Allen Ginsberg.]

Cramped in a small apartment full of boxes that seemed to pile to the ceiling, Neil and Charlie sat on the scratchy carpet of their new home.

They'd spent their whole morning moving box after box from the U-Haul truck, up 3 flights of stairs and finally into their apartment.

"Once we're done moving all this stuff maybe we could have a housewarming?" Neil said, taking big breaths between words. Both Neil and Charlie were completely exhausted from carrying things around all day.

"Maybe we could get the guys to do all the unpacking for us." Charlie joked, although there was a hint of seriousness in his voice.

Neil chuckled at his friends joke and a short silence followed.

"Do you think it was the right thing to do?" Neil's voice was quiet.

"What?"

"To move out, I mean... I know it's for the best and I should just move on..."

There was a pause. "But?" His friend chuckled sort of awkwardly trying to break the tension.

"I'm just gonna miss him." Neil responded, his tone was completely genuine and if you listened carefully you could hear his voice break.

Of course, they were talking about their friend Todd.

Neil and Todd had been inseparable since the day they met in Welton Academy. They spent every waking moment in each others company, they shared a room together, they had classes together, they went to Dead Poets meetings together.

Now, Neil had developed a crush on Todd during this time, and as much as he'd like to say "it's not a big deal" or "it was just a small crush" he'd be lying.

After a long talk with Charlie about his feelings for Todd they both decided that maybe he should move out. He'd spent a long time living with Todd, maybe it was time for a change?

"Well of course you're gonna miss him! You've been in love with him since the day you two met, that's not gonna be easy to get over-" Charlie wasn't even able to finish his thought before Neil cut him off.

"I'm not in love I just-" He couldn't possibly sound more defensive if he tried.

"Look, Neil." There was a short pause before Charlie spoke again, he needed to think of the right words. "You wanna get over him, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then you're gonna spend some time apart from him..." He turned to face his friend. "If I'm being honest... I always just assumed he felt the same way about you."

"Don't do that, Char."

"Hey, I'm just being honest." Charlie's words came out in an unusually transparent tone.

/////

Finally, they had their place set up. Their apartment had an open floorplan with a small living room and kitchen that was separated by a short bar and stools. There was a hall that connected their bedrooms and bathroom to the living room.

A small couch, coffee table, tv. They tried to make it as homely as possible given that they'd only lived there for a few days. And it worked for the most part.

"When are they supposed to be here?" Charlie asked from behind the kitchen bar, he was watching the packet of popcorn turn in the microwave.

Neil glanced towards the clock they hung above the front door, it was 6pm. "Around now... Maybe they're just running late?"

And then, almost comically, someone knocked the door. Charlie seemed unphased by the sound and made no effort to answer the door. He was such a great host.

Neil pulled the door open. There was already a smile already plastered on his face before he saw his friend's.

They hugged then exchanged greetings and complimented the pair on the new apartment despite the fact that they barely had time to properly decorate, there were still a few boxes here and there.

"Hey." Todd was the last one in the room. Everyone else had gone into the living room and were making themselves at home. But for now it was just Neil and Todd in the doorway.

"Hey..."

There was chatter coming from the living room but the sound seemed fuzzy from where the pair were standing in the hall. Neil definitely wasn't paying attention, especially with Todd right in front of him.

"Oh!" Todd rummaged through his tote bag and pulled out a book, it had post it tabs sticking out the sides as though it had been annotated. "Here." He handed the book to Neil.

"Thanks..." Neil takes the book in his hands and glanced down at it for a moment.

"I forgot to give it back to you after I borrowed it, and then... Well you moved out..."

It was a small copy of The Great Gatsby, ironically though Neil related to the main character as they both had friends in their lives that they had sort of a 'gay yearning' for. Though, neither of them would ever really admit it.

"It was good!" He began. "It was really good." Although Todd was obviously excited to talk about the book, he still spoke in his usual quiet voice. "Daisy was my favourite character by far."

"I knew you'd love her." Neil said, glancing back up at Todd from the book with a smile on his face.

Now that the other boys had settled into the apartment they were, rather loudly, discussing what they should do together.

"Monopoly?" Pitts asked.

Charlie shook his head. "No way, Pittsie."

"Why not?"

"It's too basic. We should play a more exciting game...hmmm."

Neil lightheartedly rolled his eyes before making his own way into the room with Todd. 'Typical Charlie.' He thought. It was obvious Charlie knew what he wanted to play yet he was making everyone wait, he was so dramatic. 'Maybe he should join the theatre.'

Then, suddenly, Charlie's face lit up. "Twister!"

/////

After a too long game of Twister and a few rounds of Uno, Todd was exhausted. Beside him on the couch was Neil, it took everything in him to not lean against his friend and rest his head on his shoulder.

The group was laughing about something, Todd couldn't tell what exactly it was, he was just so tired. The only thing on his mind at this point (beside Neil) was going home and getting some sleep.

God knows what the time was by now. His eyelids were heavy and he had to stop himself from leaning back against the couch and passing out. Neil noticed, obviously.

"You doing okay?" He whispered. His voice was barely audible in comparison to the other boys.

All Todd could do was nod.

"Tired?" There was a sweet smile on Neil's lips.

That smile... Todd could feel his cheeks getting warm. He nodded again. "Just a little..." He replied with a yawn.

Neil's laugh was the sweetest sounding thing you could ever dream of hearing... Or at least that's what Todd thought. "Just a little? You look like you're gonna fall asleep."

Todd lazily shakes his head, earning another laugh from Neil

"You can stay the night if you want... That might be easier than taking the bus."

"Really?" Why did Todd sound so surprised? Of course Neil would let him stay the night, he wouldn't make Todd take the bus alone, especially so late.

"Of course!" Neil smiled wide.

/////

Once the other boys had left and the only remaining people in the apartment were Charlie, Neil and Todd, Neil gave his friend a tour of the new apartment. It didn't take long as the apartment was relatively small and Todd had already been there for a few hours, however, he did like humouring Neil. He was always so theatrical.

"This is where you'll be staying." He said while mimicking some kind of fancy host, it made Todd laugh.

The room was small but cosy nonetheless. Theatre posters in frames lined the walls, he had a vanity that he used as a desk and there was a strip of photo booth pictures of Todd and Neil tucked between the mirror and the frame. Todd tried so hard to seem unphased by it, though his rosy cheeks gave him away.

He had a bookshelf that was more than full already, the middle of the shelves were sagging under the weight of the many, many plays and novels he owned.

Of course there was a box or two in the corner, Neil hadn't had time to move many of his smaller things into the room yet.

"You sure I can stay the night in here?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you can."

Neil left the room to give Todd some privacy as he got changed. Todd couldn't help but look around at the room. He was so used to all these things being in Neil's room- 'his old room.' Todd corrected himself- in their apartment, but now they were here.

He put on his fluffy pyjama pants and an old loose shirt before he made himself comfortable on Neil's bed.

Soon after, Neil came into the room wearing different clothes, clothes that Todd had seen him wear before. Now he was getting nostalgic, Neil had only moved out a week ago.

"Hey!" Neil said. 'He looks so cute when he smiles.' Todd thought.

"Hey..." Todd replied in a whisper.

"You comfortable?" Neil joked. "You can sleep there, I'll be on the couch."

"What?" Todd sounded offended on the behalf of his friend.

"What?"

"You can't sleep on the couch, Neil- this is your room. Y-you should sleep in here."

Neil shook his head. "You're my guest. You should have the bed."

"But it's your apartment."

Neil was still stood in the doorway and Todd was still sat on the bed. Suddenly the energy in the room shifted, like there was something lingering under the surface of their conversation, something important and unspoken.

"Well you're already on the bed, Todd." Neil chuckled. Quickly though, Todd got up, stumbling a little at the speed at which he stood.

"Neil, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."

"Well I guess we'll both just have to sleep on the couch then." Neil joked, though Todd didn't laugh, and just like that the air was tense.

"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch."

There was another pause between the two and they were both facing each other directly now.

"Then... I guess we'll just have to share the bed." Neil suggested, mostly joking. Key word being 'mostly'.

"Yeah..." Todd replied, his voice came out soft and quiet. "M-maybe we will..."

It's not like this would be the first time they shared a bed. Some of those nights at Welton got cold and those blankets were barely enough to shield one person from the temperature. Besides, it's not like anything was going to happen...

/////

Todd sat comfortably at the head of Neil's bed, the pillows and cushions had been distributed between the two and they had propped them up behind them like makeshift backrests. Their hushed laughter filled the room.

"You're kidding." Neil said, in a playful tone.

Todd shook his head and even though he was still laughing he spoke with complete certainty. "I'm not."

"Allen really misses me?" Neil sounded somewhat surprised. Even though they had adopted the cat together some time ago it still surprised him that their cat could miss him.

"Of course he does."

"Well I guess if he misses me so much then I'll just have to move back in." Although he was being sarcastic, there was a trace of truth in his voice. Maybe he would have to move back in for their cat... And no other reason.

Todd let out a brief chuckle. The apartment was a lot quieter now and it was nearing the early hours of the morning and they had to keep their voices down. "So you'd move back in for the cat but not for me?" He joked but he still managed to sound somewhat offended.

"Oh come on..." Neil paused and took a moment to look up at Todd from across the other side of his bed. "You know I'd do anything for you, Todd."

Todd averted his gaze, he'd rather look anywhere else than look at Neil right now. He could feel his cheeks heat up, maybe he could just blame it on the temperature of the room, maybe Neil wouldn't even notice. Todd wanted to change the subject, he didn't want to talk about Neil being gone anymore, but he just couldn't get it off his mind.

"It's weird not having you around the apartment anymore..."

"It's only been a week." Todd could practically hear the smile on Neil's face, he was always smiling about something or another when they were together.

"Well... It's been a long week."

Now this was silence. Not exactly awkward or even anxious, but something else. Something remained between the two of them.

"Your room’s nice." Todd finally deflected the conversation onto something else, something easy to talk about.

"I-" Neil began. He could read Todd, and if he was going to change a conversation topic it must've been for a good reason. "You think so?"

"It's... Very you."

Neil chuckled. "I kinda figured that it's always been 'very me'. It is still all my stuff after all."

"Right- no- yeah-... You know what I mean." Todd shook his head, he was laughing with Neil now.

"I get what you're saying. It is a little different." Neil glanced around his room as if it had been the first time he's ever seen it. He began mentally nitpicking at the changes he'd made.

"Oh?"

"Well for one," he started, "that huge cat scratching post isn't in here anymore."

"Yeah..." Todd looked around now too, he was picking up on the subtle things that were different about the room that used to be so familiar to him, silently missing the things that Neil had left in his old room.

"It's different without Allen, that's for sure, it's quiet." He chuckled. "And it's different without you constantly being in here-"

"I wasn't constant..."

Neil playfully rolled his eyes at his friend's disagreement. "It sooo was." Todd only responded by shaking his head with a disbelieving look on his face. "You were in my room all the time."

"Well... It'll be good to have this new space, right? And I'll have the apartment to myself." Todd was more talking to himself than talking to Neil, almost like he was trying to convince himself that Neil moving out was going to be good for them.

"I'll miss you being in here so often... It'll be so quiet."

"You're living with Charlie, it's definitely not gonna be quiet." Both boys laughed to themselves. It's like the world outside this room had stopped and they were the only two people in the world.

"Yeah." He continued to laugh. "I guess you're right."

"It might be a good change of pace?"

"Maybe..." Neil only half agreed. "I'll miss the quiet though... I'll miss you."

Their eyes met and Todds heart skipped a beat. "I'll miss you too..."

The room went quiet again. "We should probably get some sleep." He said awkwardly, breaking the tension. Now it was Neil who was deflecting and trying to change the subject. He got off the bed and started haphazardly moving the pillows and adjusting the sheet beneath them, not necessarily doing anything but just trying to make himself look busy.

"Neil...?"

Neil felt his world stop for Todd in that moment.

"Yeah?"

"Did... Did I d-do something wrong?" Todd asked, his voice was quiet, almost like he didn't want Neil to hear him.

"What?"

"To make you want to move out... Did I do something wrong?"

Neil shook his head profusely. "No way. Todd you're the best roommate anyone could ask for."

There was a pause, Todd wasn't sure if he should leave the conversation there or not, but he was curious.

Finally, he asked. "Then what was it?" It was inevitable that Todd would ask Neil this question sooner or later.

Neil sighed, he had to make up something. "I thought it would be better to get out of the apartment, ya know?"

But Todd just looked up at him from the bed, unmoving. It was obvious that Todd didn't believe him.

"I thought it might help me..." Neil took a deep breath as if he was bracing himself. "I didn't want anything to come between us." He said about as much as he could without giving himself away.

Todd shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." He sighed. How could he possibly explain this? "It's not a big deal."

"Then why can't you tell me?"

The air was thick and the pauses they took between talking felt like eternities.

"I didn't want anything to change between us, that's all." Now it was Neil who had turned his gaze away from Todd.

"Why would anything change?"

"I kind of..." He took another deep breath, his lungs filled with the cold night air that poured through his half open window. "Had a small... Crush on you while we were living together." He barely even glanced at Todd after he said this, he wished he could read Todd and tell just how he felt.

He had about a million questions for Neil but all he could manage to choke out was-

"W-what?"

"It was just a small crush really, it was barely anything." He stuttered and stumbled over each word, with every sentence he let out he felt like he was letting out more and more that he couldn't take back.

"You... You m-moved out because you had a crush on me?"

"Yeah...." He nodded briefly before turning to Todd.

"But... you only moved out a week ago..."

The brunette nodded. He felt like there was a lump in his throat and a pit in his stomach.

"D-do you still... Feel like... That?"

Neil let out an awkward chuckle. "I guess so, yeah."

"You moved out to get over me?" Todd was still somewhat smiling, like he didn't believe it was true.

"Yeah." He nodded. Neil was a lot calmer now that it was out in the open. He thought this would've gone a lot worse than it did.

Todd let out a sigh of relief, which Neil immediately noticed.

He scanned Todd for any sign of discomfort or anger, though he didn't pick up on any. The only other time he'd felt this anxious was when his father showed up unexpectedly in the audience of a play he was in. But he'd rather not think about that.

"What?" Now that he was at ease he could finally do something besides just stand there and look anxious.

Todd dismissed the question by shaking his head, although he was still smiling. "It's just..." He lowered his voice. "I-I've gotten that advice before."

Neil just gave him a confused look.

"Meeks... He thought I should've m-moved out when I... Told him I liked you."

Neil went speechless, his mind was racing. It all made sense now, thinking back to all the times he even considered that Todd felt the same way about him. It all made sense.

"What?" Neil choked out as his lips formed a smile.

Todd reciprocated his smile. "Just before you moved out..."

The two boys shared a glance and the room seemed to shrink, pulling them closer together.

"Really?"

"...yeah."

"Charlie had his suspicions." Neil joked. He tried keeping the conversation light hearted, he knew that Todd didn't hold up well under stress.

"I thought it was so obvious-" Todd mumbled, he hid his face in his hands.

In hindsight it was incredibly obvious. It was ridiculous that they had no idea that the other had feelings for them until now.

"I... I guess I just never noticed before." Neil sat back down in his original position on the bed. "I thought I was the obvious one." He laughed.

"Really?" Todd's voice came out like a mouse, he peeked at Neil from behind his hands.

"Oh yeah!" He nodded reassuringly. "Remember all the valentines' I made you?"

"Oh my God-" The shorter boy covered his face with his hands again, embarrassed, his face flushed red. "I had no idea."

"Really? No idea?"

Todd silently shook his head in response.

Neil hadn't noticed his cheeks heating up until he saw himself in the mirror. His face was bright red and there was a sweet smile on his face. He never even dreamed that this day would come. Not only was he able to confess to the love of his life, but to hear Todd say in his own words that he reciprocated those feelings, it just meant the world to him. Maybe this was the beginning of something new?

Carpe Diem.

[dragonairice]

LOWKEY BEEN INSPIRED BY @not-sure-what-im-feeling s AWESOME OCS AND LORE (Go check them out)

And it inspired me to talk about MY ocs :D

I mention in passing that I am in fact writing a novel, but I try to avoid saying too much to prevent spoilers buuuuut I think I can keep it vague enough while still rambling <3

The novel (technically a novella) is called 'The Shadow Walker' and here's a draft of a blurb:

With no friends, an absent mom, an abusive dad, and a shadow that inexplicably went missing; Nicholas Walker is convinced his life couldn’t possibly get any worse. But everything changes when he meets something (or someone) who may or may not want him dead.

(Not the best but again it;s a draft)

ANYWAY THIS IS MY BOY NICHOLAS

He's 12 years old and a selective mute and my scrungliest little blorbo who experiences the horrors™. He doesn't have any friends, is neglected by his parents, and all in all has a bad time before the book starts :(

The only source of healthy food in the house (he borrows money from his dad and goes to the store alone) but is severely malnourished from eating nothing more than reheated takeout his dad left in the fridge. Nick doesn't talk verbally unless it's to his dad (out of necessity) and otherwise converses in ASL (which I'm learning for this book <3). Loves pretty buildings and stargazing, has a dream of visiting things like Notre Dame and the colloseum some day and is fascinated by architecture. I just realised that this kid would adore Minecraft but anyway after things get better for him he's given Lego models of like the eiffel tower and he loves them :)

Gonna stop before I spend the entire post talking about my boy and move onto

HIS MOMM

You know that thing that's like, "Not a bad person, just a bad parent"? Yeah. That's her. She ran away from her abusive boyfriend and left Nick behind out of fear, since she didn't know if she could survive by herself, much less with a child in tow. She ends up leaving with her best friend and they travel around the world a lot for their job. They're a musician who plays back up for bands in different places and Rachel ends up learning to play some stuff too after watching them for so long. The two end up dating at some point and they've been together ever since. Rachel still sends Nicholas a postcard every time she travels to a new place, but she doesn't have the courage to actually see him in person yet. Also fun fact. She's descended from a woman who was killed for being a 'witch' during the salem trials. This is relevant to the story :3

Do I have to talk about his dad??? Ughhhhh fine

This is Gregory Walker. I hate him. bye.

Not but fr, he's a terrible father. Works at a convenience store and his co-workers fear him. Lives off of take-out and instant ramen, never checks on his son. Spends all his money gambling and buying alchohol. Literally would not notice if he missed an entire month of his life (*cough* foreshadowing *cough*)

ANYWAY ONTO TWO OF MY FAVOURITES

LEXI AND CHELSEAAA

Lexi is a single mom who grew up kinda spoiled and is still figuring out how to raise a kid. Her parents are kinda helpful about it but also she doesn't want to raise Chelsea how she was raised so hgjhrj. Chelsea was orignally planned to be autistic since this entire book is a transparent cover for neurodivergent rep but the version of her in my head is so very ADHD instead. They only show up near the end of the book so I'm still experimenting with them a bit but Lexi is a huge book worm and Chelsea loves unicorns, like, I mean in the 'mythology is cool way' not the 'stereotypical girl behaviour' way. She does love pink things and sparkles though

THERE IS ANOTHER CHARACTER BUT THEY'RE A SPOILERRRR BUT I WILL JUST SAY THEY ARE NOT HUMAN AND ALSO WHAT THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS TALKING ABOUT

(It's a sentient shadow, that's- do you get the pun in the name- there's three references in it-)

[mandatory-blog-stop-asking]

Star Trek Is A Failing Theme Park

Much like many others I used to be a bonafide Star Trek Discovery hater, and even though I thoroughly enjoy it now, I honestly don't regret that time in my life.

I think Discovery season 1 and most of season 2 were a little ashamed of having to be an old sci-fi show, so they kept trying to be a show about violent, impulsive, very special unique people that happened to go to space every once in a while. Which Star Trek has been, on occasion, but never in a way I personally find better than what it usually is -- philosophizing and talking about real world or allegorical drama for 40-50 minutes until a solution arises that doesn't really make anyone super happy and not everyone comes out unscathed, but the compromise means there's hope for a better solution tomorrow, and the day after that, until it works.

The personal dramas usually related to their reactions to storylines, but were ultimately secondary to the bigger pictures, and acted as bows you tie the narrative with at the end. If Kirk did not make it through the episode unscathed, that's cool, but the episode was rarely only about his demons. It could heavily relate to his demons but that wasn't the whole source of the spectacle. The Naked Time works as a way to examine characters in crisis, not necessarily as a Kirk episode where it's all about him.

Because of that, I was basically the audience for seasons 3 and 4. While Season 3's ultimate plot wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, the idea that they were now dealing with their "own version" of the galaxy, writing their own plots that didn't have to come before everything else and figuring out their own threats that didn't have to eventually connect back to Star Trek canon was a massive improvement.

The decision to interweave character drama into storylines as opposed to making the storylines about the character drama also greatly expanded upon people's roles in the ship, and you finally got to see people like Detmer or Owosekun doing shit and being useful, instead of just being on the bridge nearly unnamed. I genuinely think Season 4 of Discovery is one of the best seasons in modern Star Trek; even if it trips and falls sometimes, I think it's well worth the creative risk and I was left very satisfied after watching it.

So when Discovery season 5 turns around and tells me it's about an episode of TNG I watched once, and then they start going to a planet from an episode of TNG I watched once, and then here comes another episode where they go to an episode of DS9 I watched once, and there's more 24th century-specific stuff that's gonna happen, it's...

It's very hard to feel like we're not regressing? I realize at this point the show is very, very cancelled -- they weren't even told it was happening until they were filming the finale, but at the same time, is this really what the plan was? To not boldly go into something original, instead picking up threads from episodic shows released decades ago? What are we, Star Trek: Picard?

Now for the sake of transparency, I feel like this is might be more of a personality problem than a media consumption problem for me, because I am genuinely allergic to nostalgia. I have no respect or attachment for media whose only mission is to remind me of things that existed, and franchises that have made that their entire MO have basically died for me. Like, I can't watch Star Wars anymore. It stopped mattering how good or bad it is for me because all I see in stuff like Mandalorian season 2 is pilots for shows I'm not gonna watch, and cameos from characters I don't want to see right now. The stories are no longer the point, the point is the brand and how easily recognizable it is.

So when Discovery tells me that their last hurrah is going through the Star Trek theme park, pointing at rides I've already gone to and saying "Isn't it cool we get to say these words again? That we get to see this thing again?" I'm left cold. I don't want to see the Progenitors again. I don't want to see the Promellians again. I like seeing the Trills again, it's one of my favorite species in the franchise, but we have seen so much of the Trills between DS9 and DIS, I really feel like this is... not the way forward. This theme park is not the reason why I think about Star Trek.

It reminds me of why I stopped caring about Star Trek Online. The practical reason was me not liking the minibuys and the combat, and the game's only mode of operation being to attack -- it's a fine ship combat game and a mediocre but working third person shooter, I just don't care enough to play it forever. But the secondary reason, and the reason I think about the most, is because every single storyline is less a story and more a Star Trek reference.

It's always someone coming back, or an alt universe version of a character being introduced, or picking up on a random episode that I already watched, making the action figures fight instead of anything else. Instead of using fanservice to broaden the appeal, the only appeal is the fanservice; there is very little to Star Trek Online that isn't just the equivalent of going to Star Trek Land and looking at the Harry Kim bust again.

I keep looking at Burnham, a character I have come to like in spite of her place in the franchise, in spite of the fact that her entire conception was made to connect her to Spock, and to Sarek, and to Pike, and to all these characters I already know, in spite of the shortcomings of her original character arc -- I look at her and I see a character who has built her own path after being allowed to exist separate from the others, after being given the same chance everyone else was to be more than a Star Trek reference, and then she just knows to go to the planet of the Booby Trap aliens because that's Star Trek, we're going on the ride.

I'm so sick of going on the same rides. Specifically, I'm sick of going on rides after they just proved that they can do something different, that doesn't need Star Trek references to exist. Please I am begging you stop showing me Picard's face, I get it, I like TNG too. But I tuned in to watch Discovery. I am not into this brand because I am into the brand, I am into this brand because it's fucking good, stop acting like I'm here for nostalgia's sake.

"Hey, what about Lower Decks? You love that show!" eh Lower Decks can do it, don't worry about it.

[draagu]

started the dlc today >:3 (outer wilds, we are so back)

gonna gloss over how the dlc starts bc I'm pretty sure anyone reading this knows already, but yeah, satellite, transparent png stranger, very cool stuff

and then bam!! a whole circular world to explore :o

very quickly I got attached to my lamptern friend, beloved lamptern, and started watching all the lil movies around the area

ivee got some notes I jotted down after about 3 hrs in, so if something is misremembered then that's why:

speaking of I should probably look in my log to know the names of the buildings and stuff-

the notes kinda contain what I know or think I know so far in terms of what happened!

coool stuff though!! not really sure where to start talking about it all haha

I enjoyed goin down the rivers it is very fun

about 2-3hrs in I watched the movie about the artifacts and going eepy with them to light em up! and what do you know, I go eepy and boom everyone's gone and it's dark :<

(side note I liked the fact the embers in the doze off screen was green rather than orange! nice details)

thee sleep world, which I have dubbed dark world until I know it's a real name, is, scary! I don't like it!

I'm curious what it is exactly, is it all fake and the owls are just trying to be happy considering the circumstances?? or is it real somehow?? I unno

it's nice and peaceful-so far-but waaa

saw the owl watching the movie about their home, so of course I shined my light on it which made it to blank! not sure if that angered the owl or not because I was too scared to find out :')

every corner I turned I expected to see a giant owl or something, I have no idea if they are friendly or not and I don't know if I want to find out

the hand statue thing mechanic was pretty cool though! I liked lighting everything up :D

also I heard a screech somewhere in my time there- not fun to hear

but then I kinda accidentally put out my light and woke up again so oops

mainly been exploring that one little village on the mountains with the river (where the artifact movie is), need to go back!

main missions are! explore more light world stuff, and explore more dark world stuff!

I think this dark world is gonna be a dark bramble situation all over again :'D (it is scary yet all the important stuff is there)

[valentinos-corner]

Hihii Valentinoo!!

Eeee I love that so much lol, with that delightful description I can absolutely see why XD I'm so glad dnd was a fun time for you :>

Of coursee!! I'm so glad you are, they really did turn out so well :00 Like I'm impressed as to how natural they all look in the palettes you used!!

ALSO speaking of which I saw the mint choco chip one you posted and omigoodness I love it so muchhh!!!! That little silly is so delightful, you did it so well c:

(ohhh!! wait that's so cool, I love that you worked on it with friends at one point as well, that's really awesome :DD Also a whole wiki you're making would be delightful if you wanna link that :0!! I'm uber impressed already, your lil guys seem really well thought-through)

Also! How'd today go for you? Did you guys watch the super bowl? I'm not sure if I ever asked if you're much a sports person actually :0

And now unfortunately it do be that time of night again, but thanks for chatting and for drawing that request!! It's so cool seeing your stuff that you love; You mean so much to me by the way, I really appreciate you ^^ I hope you sleep well tonight, goodnight!! I'll talk to you tomorrow, byee!

helloooooo!!

eeeee thank You! mukoa's one of my harder characters to draw cus she has a lot of little spikeys and she's made of glass and transparency is hard to get right

here's the link!! it's. very unfinished. but it's coming along!

mmm no, m not really a sports person. but my dad made tacos and chili cheese dip to celebrate (<cus he's a sports person) so that was neat

mhm!! i like drawing things, an i like making people happy. so i like drawing things for people.

goodnight, thank You for stopping by!!

[rocklandjbrin]

"Yeah it would!" Rockland enthused, snorting a moment later, "I dunno, concerts seem pretty fun to me. 'Course I've only been to some free ones 'round at the parks and stuff, and I've seen bits of them in videos, so, I don't really have any idea what it takes to actually play in 'em. Maybe it would be stressful. Probably fun too, though." He hoped it would be. But what did he know? The idea of something didn't always pan out the same way in real life. He was all too familiar with that... The teen watched eyes light up, laughter barking out from his throat. "What? What is it?" He grinned.

You're wearing dinner on your nose man. Oh. He burst into laughter himself, and wiped at it with the offered napkin. "Thanks, that would've been embarrassing to walk around with." He kept the napkin handy in case of the wing sauce decided to host a jam sesh with his face again.

The Breakfast Club? "Nah, I don't think so. What, is it about some kids giving out granola bars to their classmates or something? Hosting a club where they learn to make omelettes?"

The kid shrugged at the praise, features sheepish, "thanks. It's just what I... like to do." He tapered off, awkwardly. Unfortunately it didn't always work out that way. He'd nicked food from shops here and there, when things got rough. He tried to keep a list, though. Write down how much what he took cost. He wasn't sure how he'd go about paying them back, but the thought made him feel a little better about it. Most of the time he just tried to find stuff for free, if he was spending a lot of time out of the house.

He had email. "Alright, cool. I've got a pen in my bag, I can write yours down once I'm done the wings." Hold up, he'd read Star Wars? "No way! Seriously? That's awesome, dude! You got a favorite of the series?" And Dune? "Yeah I've read Dune! Only the first couple, but I wanna check out the rest. It's kinda weird but in a real good way, you know? Not exactly Sci-Fi so much as fantasy, but you read the Lord of the Rings?" He kinda had a soft spot for the series. And he'd kinda imagined Aragorn joining him on quests for stuff before. Like tacos.

Wade's energy seemed to kind of sink away at the mention of moms, and boy did he relate. At least until he started going into what had happened when he'd been ten, and Rock's eyes grew wide with horror, his jaw slack. He didn't even know what to say, the only thing he could land on was, "I am... so sorry. That's awful." Was there a chance his sister had made it out of there? Given that the other didn't mention it, Rockland decided against asking. And they hadn't even caught the guy. That was terrifying, and so unfair. "So, that's why you're a bounty hunter?"

Maybe he would go stay at the house for the night. Sleeping outside felt a little unsettling after that. At least he seemed to be able to brighten the guy's mood some with the wild west analogy. "I dunno, that sounds pretty wild west-y to me." He snorted mildly, brows raising in bewilderment as the guy asked what mutants were. "You've never heard of- oh dude. Duuuude. You are going to be- aw man, alright, ready? Let's see if I can manage it." He hadn't practiced his fields in a while, but this seemed a worthy time.

The teen set a chicken wing back into the box and wiped his fingers off on the napkin he'd kept on his lap. He raised his hands in front of him, palms facing Wade before realizing accidentally conking the guy in the face would probably not be the best introduction to the concept. He turned to face the street instead, and felt around for the energy within him. "Hold on. Just need to focus." The indescribable sensation made it's way through his arms, and then his hands, and- he sort of mentally grabbed hold of it and projected it out into the air up ahead. Sure enough, a transparent, turquoise field briefly flickered into sight. Just for a second or two. "Eh, a smaller one'll be easier I think." Carefully he flipped his hands around so they were palms up and he was able to draw up a field like an upside down bowl. Blue eyes flickered up to Wade's face, then, eager to see his response.

Fields dissipated, Wade's story about the bridge guy had his brows raising. The guy thought he could swim away from the court system? He snorted, "Well that was a genius move on his part." He picked the chicken wing back out of the box and shrugged at the age limit. "Huh, weird." A nod met the other's interest in going it alone for a while, "How very wild west of you."

Well that caught their attention alright. A middle finger had shot into the air, directed at a group of teens across the street who were hovering by a Duncan Donuts long closed for the night. The boy beneath the hoodie, propelling said finger, sneered. Just like that, the group of five moved towards him, the tallest, Shacks, sauntering forward with an irritating air of confidence. And to think, there'd been a time when Rockland had thought he was cool.

"You can't seriously blame us, Rocky." He looked to the others with cruel amusement, "It was a prank, get a sense of hum-" Too busy searching for the favour of his crew, he'd missed the draw of the younger teen's fist before it met his cheek.

"Prank my ass, I could've been arres-oof." Rockland was tackled by Archie, the smallest of the bunch, who was about a head shorter than he was, but kinda stalky for his age, and with the element of surprise on his side. Cane clattering out of hand, and across the sidewalk, the lanky teen scraped across the pavement, electric pain radiating up from his tailbone. He caught the breath that had been knocked out of him just in time to catch the thump of a fist to the nose in return. - For Wade

Wade didn't know what to make of this city yet. He'd only been here a couple days and was still trying to get his bearings. It wasn't a bad city, he thought, just cold. Just... really cold when you're alone, like all cities are. Nevertheless, Wade did some hunting and stocked up on other supplies, always wanting to stay on the move. That's how he got jobs, and that's how he kept sane.

Tonight had been quiet enough so far... that is until he heard sounds of a fight. But a fight... between kids? Was he hearing this right? Wade made his way toward the sounds, and sure enough, some kids whose parents were absent and whose bedtimes must be fast-approaching were going at it. Or rather, several kids were beating up on one unfortunate one.

"Hey! Come on, cut it out, what the hell're you guys doin'?!" Wade yelled, hoping to scatter the bullies. "You know better than this, get off him! Don't make me call the cops!" he said, watching as they all scattered... save for one. Wade knelt down beside the boy lying on the ground. "Hey, buddy, you okay?" he asked gently.

[nicekillchanceballs]

Day 1 ◑

Pairing: timeskip!Kuroo Tetsurou x gn!reader Contains: crazy rich Kenma, cursing, making out (slight nsfw!), mentions of insecurities, slight angst (?) to fluff, mutual pining Word Count: ~2.9k A/N: I am so sorry for the slow updates! It’s graduation season for me and quokka (yeyyy!🎉). I think this can be a prequel to quokka’s work Look. hehe ❤ Anyway, I’m thinking of taking drabble or headcanon requests (be it sfw or nsfw) while I’m working on the other parts of this series. Just give us an ask! -- sloth 🦥 Listen to Day 1 ◑ here.

You'll always be my day one Day zero when I was no one I'm nothing by myself You and no one else Thankful you're my day one

"Really?" You paced back and forth in the famous Kodzuken's kitchen. "Kozume, why is he here?!" You snapped at your blonde friend while pointing at the direction of the living room, where a certain man you avoided for years now lounges on Kenma's couch watching an episode of Dr. Stone.

“Kuro is our friend, he knows a lot more about volleyball than me, so we can use that dork and his brain for my next content." Kenma nonchalantly took a sip of his chamomile tea while watching you having a slight meltdown. "I don't know what went down between the two of you, but please, just this time. I need your help."

"I don't know, you're very wealthy. You can hire other animators." You retorted, going out of your usual passive character.

"You know well that you're my favorite and my most efficient animator. No bullshit there. You also know stuff about volleyball." He calmly stated. "I need this video within a week and I don't like explaining the concept all over again to another animator. I’ll pay you triple the price, I promise." He gently pushed a cup of coffee across the table in your direction.

You stopped fidgeting once the aroma of coffee hit your nostrils. "Okay. I'll do this because you're my stinking rich friend who funded my internship abroad." You smiled at him and picked up the cup of caffeine you badly needed.

Kenma grinned. "The milk is in the refrigerator and the sugar is in the cupboard."

You are now inside Kenma's ‘office’. The shelves are stacked with games for his gaming consoles. There is also an arcade machine, and a transparent refrigerator housing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There is also a large television mounted on one of its walls, with an extravagant-looking couch in front of it.

You are really trying your best to concentrate and draw on your corner using the high-end digital animating equipment Kenma has. Meanwhile, at the center of the room are Kenma and the video editor having coffee and chatting about working arrangements. On the other corner of the room is where Kenma's gaming computer is. Kuroo is currently using it, researching some stuff for the project.

For some unknown reason, Kuroo felt your eyes at his back so he quickly swiveled the gaming chair around to look at your direction. He flashed his signature cheshire cat half-smirk while his hazel eyes bored into yours. You instinctively rolled your eyes, put on your noise-canceling headphones, blasted your favorite music, and continued on with your work.

However, you don’t know why after all those years of knowing him, that stupid smirk of his still has this certain effect on you. You became neighbors and eventually became best friends with Kenma and Kuroo since middle school, but you just felt this impact from Kuroo since that certain day in your senior year of high school.

You found yourself gulping a full glass of water and sighing deeply to relax. You then buried yourself working in the project, avoiding Kuroo at all costs.

Hours later, Kenma tapped on your table. You removed your headphones and looked up at him. “I’ll just drive him to the bus station,” he said while motioning to the video editor.

You made an effort to keep a cool facade, but you’re actually panicking inside. “Okay. You’ll be back in a jiffy, right?”

Kenma just looked at you. Years of friendship with you taught him that you look internally screaming right now. “Yeah."

You whispered. “Kozume, please.”

"You'll be fine." He smiled at you and exited the room with your co-worker.

Only fifteen minutes have passed but it felt like hours already. Looking down at your work, you turned up the volume of your headphones to avoid any interactions with the other man in the room.

But it's as if Kuroo was born and raised in this world to annoy the hell out of you.

You felt the other side of the couch dip. You turned your head sideways to see him sitting an arm's length beside you. Your eyebrows furrowed in reflex annoyance. "What do you want?

"Still feisty, huh?" He chuckled while throwing his long arm on the backrest of the couch, his hand just barely behind your shoulders.

You removed your headphones, trying your best not to snap at him. “What do you want, Kuroo?”

“What’s with the last name basis? I thought we were friends.”

You groaned. “You’re still a piece of shit.”

“How’s the internship in London?”

“Good. Best year of my life. Because you’re not there to get on my nerves.” You stood up from your seat and went to the refrigerator to get a can of soda.

“I bet you missed me.”

“What? No. You wish.”

“And you’re still in denial, huh?” Kuroo crossed his legs.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“God, Kuroo, you’re so annoying.”

“You hate me that much?”

“Yes. Please leave me alone.”

“No can do, chibi-chan.” He smirked.

“Fuck you.” Butterflies suddenly erupted in your stomach. His smirk and that nickname would be the death of you.

Kuroo stood up from the couch and rolled his sleeves. “You’re so relentless, huh? I've been annoying you for years but you still won’t budge.”

“Yes. Because you’re a pain in the ass.”

“If you would only lower your pride, I would not be a pain in your ass.”

You scoffed. “What the fuck? Pride? You don’t know what you’re talking about, Kuroo.”

The door swung open. Kenma’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of you, then his eyebrows furrowed. “Are you guys fighting again?!”

The two of you just stood there, frozen. You are afraid of an angry Kenma more than anything else in the world.

“You.” Kenma glared at you. “Go to the rooftop and calm yourself down there. You look like an angry chihuahua.”

Kuroo snickered but it died down once Kenma’s scowl fell on him.

“And you Kuroo. What the actual fuck?”

“Can I just live here?,” you talked to yourself as you admired Kenma’s rooftop. It has a jacuzzi, some couches, a minibar and barbecue grill on the other side, and a small gazebo at the center.

But the most beautiful thing there is the view. The city skyline is now more breathtaking because of the sunset. You were always amazed by the color gradient of dusk -- orange, to blue, then purple.

You deeply inhaled as you sat down on one of the lounge chairs in the gazebo. You once again looked at the sunset and it reminded you of that day in your senior year of high school.

You are sitting on your bed as you look outside the window, seeing it was sunset already. The door of your bedroom suddenly swung open.

“What the hell happened to your arm?!” Kuroo exclaimed while holding a plastic bag full of your favorite food from the convenience store.

“Tetsu! Oh great, food!” You grinned. “It’s just a simple elbow dislocation, don’t worry,” you assured as you held out your good arm, beckoning for him to give you the heap of food. “Where’s Kozume?”

“He’s also down with a fever. Thirty-nine degrees celsius." He sat on the side of your bed opposite you. "What’s with my friends getting sick?!” Kuroo opened a chocolate bar and placed it on your palm.

“I think you're the bad luck among the three of us,” you said as you took a bite of the chocolate. “Are there any assignments that I have missed?”

“Why are you so mean to me?” Kuroo unwrapped an onigiri and munched on it. “You’re lucky, there are no assignments today.” You and Kuroo are in your senior year under the same class, while Kenma is in his sophomore year.

“Good. My doctor said I need to rest for a week before I can come back to school.”

“You better be. Next week is already finals! I will fix my handwriting so I can take notes for you, and I can also teach you if you want.” He grinned from ear to ear.

"Then the week after that, graduation already." You became a little bit sad as you’ll surely miss Nekoma High.

He gently poked at your arm sling. “What happened here, specifically?”

“I was about to do a diving receive but I landed on my elbow for some stupid reason.”

“I wish you became taller so that you can quit being a libero. For an accident klutz like you, being a libero is a very bad idea.”

“Hey, let me correct you, mister middle blocker. Number one, being a libero is not only for short people. Number two, I am just of average asian height, you’re the one here who is unusually tall.” You sighed, closed your eyes, and leaned on the headboard of your bed. “Even if I sustain numerous bruises and injuries, I’ll still choose to be a libero.”

The sunlight that seeped from the windows hit your face. Kuroo looked at you and took in every detail of your face -- your slightly unkempt hair, your long eyelashes, your rosy cheeks, your delicate nose, and your plump lips.

His eyes lingered on your lips for a moment. He suddenly felt his heart jump up and got stuck in his throat. His pulse rate became unusually faster.

He's always been like this. At first, he denied that he's fascinated by you. But when he learned that you also have an ugly hyena laugh, that you also make science dad jokes, that you also liked fish and mild curry, and that you also liked Mikasa more than Molten...

Then it suddenly hit him hard. He really is head over heels for you. All this time.

You're also just too dense and oblivious to realize it.

Kuroo gently leaned towards you. “Hey.”

“What?” You opened your eyes and turned your head sideways to see that Kuroo's face is literally an inch away from your face. His eyes darted again on your lips.

He then leaned closer and gently captured your lips with his. You closed your eyes as you felt your brain short-circuiting. The kiss was slow at first but you eventually reciprocated. He put his hand behind your nape to deepen the kiss.

Flustered, you broke away and looked at him with wide eyes. "Wh-- What was that, Tetsu?"

He is a blushing mess as well. "I... I have always liked you since day one.”

"Wh-- Is this some kind of a bad joke?" You felt downcast as you remembered all the pretty girls and cool guys that are confessing to him. You always have been insecure about yourself and you know that you are no match compared to them.

No matter how much you like him, you know that he deserves someone better.

And you know that someone is not you.

"What?!"

“It’s not funny, Kuroo.” You stood up from your bed and walked towards the corner of your room, away from him as far as possible.

He stood up as well and panicked because this is the first time that you called him by his last name again. “It’s not a joke! I’m sorry I kissed you, but I really like you, I swear!”

“You’re dating Sakura-chan, right?” You are referring to the captain of the Nekoma cheerleading squad, who is clingy to him lately.

“No, we’re not dating! I’m not some asshole that would kiss his best friend while he’s dating another person.”

“Get out.” You said with a faltering voice.

“You also like me, right? I can feel it, don’t deny it!” He took a small step towards you.

“Get out of my room.”

“Hey--”

“Kuroo, get out of my room!” You shouted, your voice breaking.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay. But remember this. I will do everything to make you admit that you also like me. Everything.”

“Good luck with that, because I will not.”

“Yes, you will.” He grinned weakly at you and exited your bedroom.

You flopped on your bed. Oh god.

You opened your eyes and you realized you fell asleep on the lounge chair. It is already dark, but the string light bulbs provide enough lighting to illuminate the rooftop. You looked at your wristwatch and estimated that you took a nap for ten minutes.

Kuroo suddenly emerged from the rooftop sliding door. You stood up from the chair and took a few steps in his direction. Normally you would throw an insult at him, but you’re just tired for this day so you just stood there and shut your mouth. You leaned on one of the pillars of the gazebo and crossed your arms.

He cleared his throat. ‘Kenma will be here for a while.”

“Speaking of the devil.” You looked at the sliding glass door and Kenma was just behind it, not entering or whatsoever. He’s just standing there and just looking at the two of you.

He then immediately locked the door.

You ran towards him. “What are you doing, Kenma?”

“I’m the youngest of us three, but the two of you are the real babies here.”

Kuroo knocked on the glass. “Kenma, open this up.”

“No. I won’t unlock this door until the two of you make up,” Kenma said as he walked down the stairs without a second glance.

You groaned as you made your way to the mini bar, grabbed two bottles of beer from the small refrigerator, and opened them. You handed the other bottle to Kuroo.

“Thanks,” Kuroo said as he sat in one of the couches near the minibar.

You followed and sat beside him. You then took a swig of your beer. “I’m so tired. I give up. I’m so sorry, Kuroo. I’m so sorry for always snapping at you.”

“I’m sorry too because I annoyed you for so long. I had this fantasy that you like me too but I think I need to move on. Maybe date other people for real.” He fiddled with the label of his beer.

“What do you mean 'for real'?”

“I have not dated anyone since high school.”

“How about your Instagram posts?”

“Oh, my posts?” He chuckled. “I just hired them to take pictures with me so I can make you jealous.”

“You spent money on that?”

“I told you. I would do everything. I know you stalk my profile.”

You would usually protest at his statement, but you have no more energy to banter. “Yeah, I do stalk you.”

“You do?”

You just nodded.

“Why are you pushing me away? God, I really thought you liked me too. Now I feel like a harasser.”

“No, no! You’re nothing like a harasser.” You felt guilty that he felt that way. “I... I actually liked you too. I am pushing you away because you deserve someone better. I’m just this little piece of shit and you’re... you’re like a demigod or something. I think you deserve someone at your level.”

“What?!”

“I said you deserve better.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“But--”

“So you’re pushing me away because you’re insecure about yourself?”

“Y-yes.” You realized that you’re the real asshole between the two of you, not him. “I admit it is very unfair of me to lash out at you just because I’m insecure about myself. I’m very sorry, Tetsurou.” You felt your eyes tearing up because of the guilt enveloping you. “Oh fuck. I’m very sorry.” You buried your face into your palms.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I deserve not only better. I deserve the best.”

You just nodded, wiping tears that fell on your cheeks. “Yes. Yes, of course, you do.”

Kuroo put two fingers under your chin and made you look at him. He beamed. “You’re that best for me, chibi-chan.”

More tears streamed from your eyes. “Oh god no, I feel so bad.”

“Please stop crying. You look like a weeping chihuahua.” He teased, wiping your tears with his thumb.

“Why do you and Kenma always call me a chihuahua?”

He just chuckled. “So I am not imagining things? You liked me, ever since?”

“Yeah. I have liked you since day one too.”

His eyes softened.

“I’m so sorry!” You sniffed. “I will do everything to compensate for all the shit I have done to you. I am very sorry, Tetsu.”

“Stop apologizing. Just be mine, yeah?” He gently smiled.

You gathered all your courage to pull on his collar and smash your lips against him. He quickly reciprocated the kiss, his tongue seeking entrance into your mouth.

All those suppressed feelings and unrelieved sexual tension for the past years have finally burst.

Kuroo snaked his hands on your waist, then pulled you onto his lap to straddle him. You then put your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Your one hand ran through his bedhead, eliciting a deep groan from him. Meanwhile, his hands just glided up and down your sides, making you quiver.

He broke away from the kiss and planted open-mouthed kisses along your jawline, down to your neck. A moan escaped your lips. This made him suck hard on a soft spot on your neck, leaving a visible hickey.

“You guys are so gross. Please don’t do that here in my house.” Kenma just stood there, leaning against the minibar.

The two of you immediately stopped. You stumbled away from Kuroo.

“Kyanma!” Kuroo shrieked as he grabbed a throw pillow to cover his hard-on. “How long have you been standing there, you pervert?!”

You sat beside Kuroo and laughed. “I never pegged you as a dirty man, Kozume,” you teased, but you just really want the earth to swallow you whole right then and there.

Kenma just rolled his eyes, but deep inside, he’s happy that the three of you can finally hang out normally. But the thought of his two best friends banging made him uneasy.

“I told you guys to make up, not to make out.”

Check out my Love Me ◑ Series here.

[asuka--langley--soryu]

Thanks for getting to my ask!

The overt attachment to Kaji/leaving the date early struck me initially. Plus the opposites rivalry with Rei felt fairly indicative too.

I'm a cis guy (I think) but I agree with a lot of what you said about Asuka's sexuality. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things where there weren't any.

oh np!! thank you for giving me an opportunity to ramble and for being cool about me going on a wild tangent on your ask. im glad you got something out of it!

( spoiler alert: im gonna ramble again <3)

how Asuka interacts w men is probably the biggest flag for me personally--which might just be a projection thing but like w/e to a point thats what this all is lol. Obviously a lot of it is entrenched in her particular traumas, but I also can’t help but see how it parallels so many classic comp het behaviors. Like entertaining the idea of being interested in a man until he reciprocates (ie asks her on a date) and then abruptly rejecting him and all the while convincing yourself that you’re still attracted to men by curating an investment in one who is 100% unavailable (and thus ‘safe’) is one of the major hallmarks of baby lesbianism. I think easily 3/4s of the gay girls I know have done almost exactly that at some point in their life (and maybe are still doing it in some shade or variation). 

also like if it wasn’t obvious my reading of asuka is hugely, transparently impacted by the fact that I watched nge for the first time as a fourteen year old who attached herself to asuka immediately. so it goes w/o saying that I was more likely to fixate on behaviors that rang similar to my own and, now, years later and with much more knowledge of myself, read those similarities as indicative of the same things they were for me (ie being really very gay). i do think it exists outside of my personal projection and feelings as an interesting and valid way of reading asuka’s character and how she interacts w others in the show (particularly shinji and rei obvi), but also like yknow there is certainly a ‘self recognition through the anime girl’ angle to it. which isn’t w/o value on its own merit!

 i think the ways characters can exist as projection and what identities can be read onto them does say something real and true about those characters and stories. and i mean like what is theory if not somewhat just projecting ideas onto characters/art that are not necessarily obvious/easy extrapolations. sometimes youre a little bit just making stuff up b/c you want it to be there and then retroactively looking for the pieces to prove it and thats scholarship, baby! 

all this to say i am a big believer in seeing things that might not be there, especially if those things are thinking a character is lgbt. like at the end of the day this is just a fucking anime. its fake and its art and to a point who fucking cares what kind of shit you think about it bc your perception of it belongs to you and you alone. 

[shiro-0197]

Heyyy love!! Please hold me back I'm gonna fight your pillow >:( tho I am glad you're better. It's good that the pill and water helped :) cheese and Netflix sounds so good right now, what are you watching?

I really understand that, at least you'll get to celebrate it with more people, and that's already such fun. I also had a thought. When new year's eve finally rolls around, Malaysia will be in 2021 two hours earlier than Kazakhstan. I'll be sure to message you during that time period, 😝😝 aaaah that'd be so cool, dont you think?

Omg that is really cool, so it's like adding oc's in the storyline!!! 😣 Kouki Yoshido and Aito Okada sound cool, I already like their positions 🤚😼 and that requires a lot of planning, I'm sure it'll keep you guys busy (in the best way possible, because it's also fun to work on stuff with your friends) tho noooo, please don't say that, I love hearing you talk about stuff, and something you're passionate about like this? Yes please my heart is MELTING 😣💖 makes me love you all the more (which I didn't think was possible ;-;)

omg then you'd love a dish we have here!! I had it earlier, which is why I asked you that question. it's called "pan mee" and it's like, SPICY noodles, with dry chili, pickles, egg, and minced meat and it's so good 😭😭 (and yes I ate it for lunch! Proud for not skipping today xD) tho yes since it's both spicy, and noodles, I think you'd like it. It's a dish native to the Hakka Chinese, and since my grandma was Hakka, she loved it too. Just googled plov. It looks epic :>

aw that cafe sounds wonderful. I really hope you'll someday find it again, and be able to try the green tea :) tho I totally agree with what you've said about pizzas and quiches 😣😣 they finish wayy too fast and before you know it, the whole pizza is gone :<

ahhh Molly sounds like such an adorable name, you must've had a great time with the parrot. (He sounded like such a darling...) It's a shame :( I'm sorry to hear that >:(((

omg that logo was so pretty! The blues 😍😍😍 Here's ours... It's transparent too, so I hope you can see it xD (Leo stands for "leadership, experience, opportunity" which is lame ik😣 but oh well— we're basically a social service club with a whole lot of protocol)

AHH yes Rowling just makes all potterheads look bad. I loved the series ever since I was really young, and I've read the books multiple times, but the author as a person?? Nope. 🙀 I also had a project presentation earlier, and I'm v sure I screwed it up but uh nevermind 😭😣😣😣😣

That gif nooooo skjdksks too cute. And omg what you smile when you think of me? Combusting rn, that's so sweet I'm flustered

I love you so much :)

—Ari

Helloo!!

Ahah, sunshine, would a hug hold you back?^^" Please dont fight my pillow, its ruined as it is now hehe~ really though, the kids messed it up so bad😩

I'm watching Alice in the Borderland, you might've seen Kuro watching that in his stories too, (I checked the name in google and apparently it's also a manga😳 might read it later) It's pretty cool, I only watched two episodes but it's already awesome. It's a good watch, though theres blood and death and sexual scenes, so be careful~

I didnt even think about that, haha! I'm looking forward to it♡^з^ I'm sure itll be amazing!!

I'm really glad you think so, surprisingly those two are my most treasured children😩 even though I wasn't the one to create them XD still I think they're nice little kids. I'm hoping we finish the team soon so I could show you each of them😭

Ehhh I'm glad to hear that~ Its the only passion I have at the moment, and ... did I say that already??? I think I did. Or??? Either way, its really dear to me, and tbh if Liza wasn't busy we'd probably finish it all a lot quicker:( I feel bad cuz shes got a strict mom, but when we're on call they seem to have a pretty good relationship aside from when they're commanding her, so I guess it's not as bad as I thought. Still, she's busy, and barely finds time and place to draw.

Sorry, I'm gonna carry on about Liza for a little bit, because I'm really proud of how shes becoming lately--- I moved out of town a few years ago, maybe three or something, and to be honest I haven't really expected her to improve so much?? It's still got a few problems, but to be honest, the first time I saw her drawing I almost cried because I felt so proud, as I was the one to actually help her with the basics. I guess that's what being friends with artists does to you, but still I got really emotional when I first saw her improvements XD

Oh my god, SPICY NOODLES?? PICKLES????? EGGS????? MINCED MEAT???? SIGN ME THE HELL UP I AM ON MY WAYYYY I am definitely cooking you some plov and I really hope you like it😭😩

I hope so too!! ~and it especially sucks when you're in a big family, Kuro's been crying about how he got one slice of pizza when the kids ate everything every time💀 makes me wanna adopt him even more tbh JSHDJSJD

He was!! That month was hard because my dog also died, I miss them all so much🥺

OH it looks so good!!! The abbreviation (is that the word😭) is really cool too?? I love the lions hehe, big hairy cats go grrr

True true true, I absolutely can't stress enough how much struggle it is when the author is a bad person. I've been listening to a group, but the leader is an abusive/manipulative prick apparently, so the songs are like a guilty pleasure. I literally cant stop listening to them cuz their songs are the most relatable thing I've ever heard, but yet, it's sad to see that the one who wrote them is not a good person :<

Oh, I'm sure you didnt? I dont know the details though, but even if you did, please dont worry!! I'm sure you got the point through, and that's what's important:) No one can do everything perfectly, so dont stress about it<3

Hehehhe, no way, you're cuter😠❤❤ of course I do, your messages are one of the main sources of serotonin for me😝💞

I love you too!! Hope you're doing good<3

[angel-dust-addict]

Never apologize for ranting about the things you love on your own blog! If you can’t do it on a blogging platform, where else can you do it?

I’m assuming the numbers are a specific digit. I won’t assume you have Photoshop or anything like that, but if you can download a free program like Paint.Net I would use the text feature to type those numbers out on a font and colour you like, arrange them into a necklace shape, and layer them over the neck of whatever faceclaim you end up using. I’ve done similar things with adding stuff to my icons before such as blood, tears, scars or tattoos. Does it look completely professional? Eh, no really. But it works for the aesthetic and showing people what your character is meant to look like. Even better if you format your icons to a smaller size like 150x150 or smaller bc then you can’t really pick up on subtle signs a photo has been altered

It might be worth it to bring that idea to an icon maker and see if that’s something you could commission for if you’re not confident in your photo editing abilities.

Regardless, I wish you luck! Cypher sounds like a cool muse!

//They are indeed! The numbers aren't actually ever given in canon, but the opening credits of the show has all the major cast and crew names come up onscreen as numbers that blur into letters. I used Danny's actor's numbers for the numbers around Cypher's neck and Alex's actor's numbers for the numbers around Cypher's wrists. (Alex was Danny's boyfriend.) I don't have photoshop, but I'm currently relearning how to use GIMP, which is a free, open-source software in the same vein as photoshop. I used to use it all the time for making promos, transparencies, and icons. Not using it for like 2 years has left me a bit rusty, but I'm starting to get the hang of it again. I'll have to check out Paint.Net and see how that is to use. Thus far I've got a mostly finished transparency of Ben Whishaw in the role of Danny and references for Cypher's antlers and ears. I have a vague idea of how to change his hair color and bits of his skin color to match his roe deer coloring. That image is waist up and doesn't include his hands, so I don't have to worry about his claws or deer legs. If I can get one decent image I swear I'm gonna make like 8 different icons out of it on top of a promo. XD

And thank you! I'm glad you think he sounds interesting! He's not generated a whole lot of interest thus far, but I'm hoping getting together a promo for him that I can put on my canon blogs might help. This fandom seems pretty good with OCs, and he is, for all intents and purposes, basically that when it comes to his not being canon to this universe. Although to be honest, his canon blog didn't generate a whole lot of interest in the Bond/Criminal Minds/Hannibal/assorted-spy-type-things fandom, either. But that might be because he's from a relatively obscure source (for something that's not even 10 years old) that's not the most watchable thing in the world, I'll be honest. I enjoy it, but I'm also the sort of person who will sit down and watch Metropolis just because. He comes from a spy thriller-esque miniseries called London Spy. It's rather dense and kind of gritty and has a lot of details that only become important like two episodes later.

Cypher, btw, is @theliarshart for anybody interested, since this us now my second (rather long) post in a row about him. >_>;;;

[overlord-off-record]

Looking for something to cheer me up. I’m not sure this is it. Anyway, more of that poison series. 3/?

---

In general, Gil had a tendency to avoid official functions. Perhaps he instinctively shunned the social set that once rejected him. Perhaps he truly preferred the company of the lowlifes of Paris. Perhaps he simply lacked the attention span to tolerate any of it. Whatever the case, when Tarvek saw him decorating Colette's arm, his eyebrows rose in a silent question. She smirked at him. Of course she did.

Tarvek watched Gil meander here and there, chatting with professors, with dignitaries, even with the Master of Paris himself. As though he belonged. As though some of these selfsame people had not treated him cruelly in childhood. Gil behaved as though it had never happened, which made Tarvek's chest ache. He watched Gil charm his childhood bullies, who also acted like they had always been friends. That part made Tarvek angry.

So he sulked in silence, trying not to glare when Gil laughed with a man who had once stolen his books, mocked him, called him nothing but Nameless. Well, the Nameless boy had grown into the Master's pet, and everyone knew at least that much. They would never dare bully him now. Gil no longer needed Tarvek.

"You look like you're chewing a mouthful of burnt coffee grounds."

Tarvek glanced at Colette. Of course she had found him. "Isn't he supposed to be yours for the evening?" he said, gesturing toward Gil. "Maybe you could keep him from setting something on fire?"

"We both know that there's no stopping him when he decides a situation needs a little fire."

Tarvek scoffed. "A little?" he said, and Colette laughed.

"Well, maybe more than a little. What about you?" She gave him an arch look. "Don't tell me you came by yourself. How unfashionable!"

"Worse. I've brought my cousin."

"Which one?" A reasonable note of alarm crept into Colette's voice. Tarvek believed that his family ought to alarm most people.

"Seffie," he said with a grin. "She can't have gone far."

Much to her credit, Colette's stare was steady as stone. "You assume I have something to say to her?"

"Oh, of course not."

"Of course not," Colette echoed, utterly lacking conviction. She patted Tarvek on the arm. "Don't pine all evening. It's terrible for the digestion." With that, she drifted away, leaving Tarvek with little else to do.

He watched Gil perhaps a bit too closely, for otherwise he never would have seen what happened. Gil drifted over to a knot of people, where he set his beverage down beside Seffie's. He talked in an animated manner, gesticulating and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Everyone watched him, rapt until he had finished explaining. Seffie sidled closer to him, but Gil evaded neatly when she made a subtle grab for his arm. He picked up Seffie's glass rather than his own, saluted the assembled company with it, and wandered away.

Tarvek watched Colette slip into the cluster of people around Seffie for just a moment before drifting off to talk to someone else. Then his stare returned to Gil, and he frowned.

Gil wobbled. Then he lifted the empty glass in his hand, frowned at it, and tucked it into a potted pyracantha. Tarvek moved to intercept him.

"You idiot," he hissed as he bumped up against Gil's side. "What was in Seffie's glass?"

"Dunno…" For a moment, his tone sounded like denial. Then he added, "Thought it was poison."

Tarvek processed this information. Stupid, apparently suicidal Gil stared at him, eyes wide and pupils dilated, making his brain turn in several useless circles before accomplishing any reliable thought. Who had attempted to drug Seffie? To what end? Why had Gil caught it instead of Varpa? Frowning, Tarvek glanced around. Where was Varpa, anyway? "Did you see who did it?"

"Oh, yes." Gil nodded in an odd, liquid way, as though his head might slide off his neck. "Can't give chase. A pity."

"Can you name the culprit?"

"Ummm… no." Gil beamed as though he knew Tarvek found his smile adorable. Dammit.

"Describe him," Tarvek said through his teeth.

Gil tried to gesture and succeeded at a loose flailing motion. "Big ugly sod."

"Oh, for pity's sake," Tarvek complained, when Gil added:

"Kinda seemed to like the color purple."

Oh. Of course. Family business. That still didn't clear up who would have tried to drug Seffie, but Tarvek could assume that he himself may also be a target. And Varpa could be incapacitated somewhere nearby, for all he really knew. Tarvek grimaced. "Come on," he said, trying to steer Gil away from the potted plants. "We need to find Colette. Now."

"Nuh-huh." Gil trundled along, yielding to the pressure of Tarvek's hand on his back. "Colette can catch him."

Probably not, but Tarvek didn't say so. "You're hopeless, you know that? I mean, I get why you'd swap glasses, but why would you actually drink it?"

"Seemed like the thing to do," Gil said with a sudden steadiness that Tarvek found unnerving. Then his steps faltered, and he started to hum softly.

"You're an idiot." Spotting Colette, Tarvek propelled Gil toward her. "And you're going to die of your stupidity one day. Mademoiselle Voltaire, forgive me, but I'm going to have to steal your alleged gentleman."

"Permanently, I hope?" Colette's grin faded when she looked at Gil. "Oh, what is it this time?"

Tarvek kept his expression relaxed, though his tone turned grim. "Drugged." He turned to Gil. "You're certain it's not poison?" Briefly, he made a mental list of the antidotes in his pockets.

"Oh, no, this stuff is weird. Psychotropic? I think that's the right word."

Tarvek let Gil lean against him, but he pointed in accusation. "He drank it on purpose. He thought it was poison. That's not just Mad, that's insane!" But he was getting off topic. "This drug, whatever it is, was meant for Seffie. Would you mind—"

"Keeping an eye on her?" Colette nodded. "Consider it done."

"Yes, you're a good egg," Gil said to Colette, grinning. Then he turned his guileless smile on Tarvek. "And you're… structural."

"I suppose that's a compliment," Tarvek grumbled. Colette waved them away.

"Go on. Take him home to sleep it off. I suppose you'll be noble about it."

Tarvek tried to peer down at Gil, who was listing at a precarious angle, sliding downward as he did. In ridiculous slow motion, he ended with his face against Tarvek's neck.

"Structural," Gil mumbled, muffled in Tarvek's collar.

"I'm sure." Tarvek began to doubt whether he could get Gil to walk under his own power. "I'm going to need that empty glass."

"Fern," Gil said with a vague gesture that nearly displaced an entire tray of drinks.

"Pyracantha," Tarvek corrected.

"Whatever."

Colette shook her head at them. "Go," she repeated. Then she craned her neck, looking around for Seffie.

"Look, I think we won't draw too much attention if you just pretend to be drunk. Think you can manage—As a matter of public record," Tarvek interrupted himself, "I need to know: Are you licking me, or are you drooling on me?"

"Mmph," Gil replied. The sound vibrated on Tarvek's skin, and he flinched away.

"Walk." Taking Gil by the shoulders, Tarvek frog-marched him back to the potted plants. "We're arguing because you're drunk again."

"Are we?" Gil gazed at him, eyes wide and a little misty.

Tarvek growled and dragged a hand down his own face in exasperation. "That's our cover," he hissed through his teeth. "Can you manage that?"

"Oh, I'm pretty good at making you yell at me." Gil's head bobbed in that odd, boneless way again. Tarvek wanted to reach out and steady it.

"That's because you're an idiot! It's for your own good."

Gil beamed at him. "Oh, are we playing now?"

While making a noise of frustration, Tarvek reached into the pyracantha and retrieved the empty glass. "We are most certainly not playing. I can't let you embarrass yourself in front of… these people." He slipped the glass into his coat pocket.

"What, them?" Gil made a rude noise and a dismissive gesture.

"Yes, them!" Tarvek felt a wave of genuine irritation. "People I've protected you from before! Or don't you remember?"

Gil went sullen and quiet. "Of course I remember." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, which somehow caused him to list dangerously to one side. Tarvek moved to prop him up.

"So we're leaving. Right now."

Gil yielded like overcooked pasta when Tarvek steered him toward the nearest exit, but he still voiced protests. "I'm fine," he insisted. "I want… wanted them to see me. To see that they don't matter now. That I'm…"

"The Sparkiest Spark they've ever met?"

"Hah, something like that." Gil gave him a small smile. Cool night air rushed over them as they stepped out onto the street.

"That supposes that they've never actually spoken to the Master," Tarvek pointed out. He considered transportation. Anything with a driver would constitute too great a hazard with Gil in this state. Anyway, it was a nice evening for a walk. Gil mumbled something that might have been agreement, and he leaned against Tarvek. Structural. Tarvek tried not to smile.

They walked in silence for a while, with Gil's arm looped somehow beneath Tarvek's coat. Tarvek pretended not to notice. Gil sagged and made small noises, possibly incomprehensible commentary. Tarvek tried to steady him, but they both stumbled, and he had to focus on his own footing. They blundered to a standstill.

"You boys have had too much!" called a pedestrian from across the street. Tarvek waved in acknowledgment of the comment.

"Tell him I'm not drunk," Gil whispered, and Tarvek shook his head. They continued onward. Another two blocks, and Gil's face went white with alarm. "Oh! Don't take me home. I… lost my keys."

"Lost?" Tarvek challenged the transparent lie.

Gil giggled. "Well, they were eaten by a hippo with mechanical legs. It's a long story."

"You are absolutely pathetic."

"Is that an endearment?"

Impaired Gil was growing entirely too savvy. Tarvek scowled at him. "You're an idiot."

"Who isn't?" With that, Gil proceeded to hum a cheery tune for another block and a half. Then he abruptly stopped. "Look, I know you're a terrible sneaky sneak," he said, "but you're a good friend to Colette. I appreciate that."

"Well, I'm not doing it for you," Tarvek scoffed.

"Oh. Um." Gil started to shuffle his feet. "You're not, um… You don't—"

"We're friends," Tarvek interrupted firmly. "No more than than." When Gil looked visibly relieved, he added, "You're not in love with her yourself, are you?" It seemed half of Paris was.

"Me? Oh, no. No," Gil repeated, sounding terribly sad. "I don't think I have the capacity to… to care about somebody in that way."

Trying to crush the wave of despair within him, Tarvek reached into his pocket for his keys. "No? You're probably just too busy trying to die in messy ways."

"Death is always messy," Gil replied, sounding eerily lucid again. Then he tilted his head and peered up the steps ahead of them. "Where are we?"

"My rooms."

"Rooms? Plural? Oh, that's fancy-pants." Gil lurched to the side, and Tarvek had to drag him back.

"I have no idea how you manage to survive without private lab space." If Tarvek could have shied from the hand on the small of his back, he would have. Instead, he used Gil's grip on him for leverage to drag him up the stairs.

Gil's grip on his waistband.

Tarvek fumbled his keys against the lock. How had Gil managed to get his hand beneath a well-fitted waistcoat? A silk shirt was not barrier enough between them. Tarvek tried to pretend it was.

"Having difficulty?" Gil needled.

Absolutely, yes. Without comment, Tarvek unlocked the door and led the way inside, disarming every trap as he went. It really wouldn't do to have Gil setting them off.

"Ooh…" Of course Gil released him and made for the lab equipment.

"Don't break my glassware." Tarvek took the glass from his pocket and swabbed the interior of it. "And don't steal my reagents," he added, snatching a bottle from Gil's hand.

"I'm not stealing." Gil propped his chin on Tarvek's shoulder, watching with rapt attention as he performed a quick analysis of the residue in the glass. His sigh tickled Tarvek's ear. "What… what is that incredible smell? Spice and something… some kind of resin?"

A swift blush burned Tarvek's cheeks, and he felt deep gratitude that Gil could not see his face. "Hair oil. I'm trying out a new formulation."

"It's good."

Tarvek made a small noise of agreement. He hated that Gil could affect him so easily, so carelessly. He hated it, but… Well, even if Gil never mentioned it again, Tarvek decided to keep that particular set of fragrances in his hair oil.

They leaned against one another in silence until Tarvek had the results he sought. "I know this drug," he grumbled, pushing Gil away so he could stand. "It causes brief unconsciousness—twenty minutes to an hour." He arched an eyebrow at Gil. "The dosage was obviously calculated for Seffie's body mass. Then," he continued, "the mark spills his guts for up to four hours, and forgets everything after sleeping it off."

"Huh," Gil said. Very helpful.

"So this must be the part where I get to interrogate you."

He had been joking, but Gil surprised Tarvek by saying, "Oh, no, I'll do the interrogating, thanks."

Tarvek laughed. "Sure, but I'm not the one who's drugged." He dropped himself into a wheeled chair and rolled dramatically away from Gil, arms spread in a gesture of invitation. "Take your best shot."

"Why do you hate me?"

Tarvek blinked at him. "I don't hate you." Not even close. "You frustrate me. You infuriate me." Sometimes even terrify. "But you have yet to inspire true hatred."

Gil bounced in place, which looked wildly unsteady. At least if he collapsed here, Tarvek needn't carry him anywhere. "Do you hate anyone?"

"Loads of people." Almost all of them family.

"Good."

Tarvek chuckled. "You're severely impaired, you know that?"

"I'm asking the questions," Gil objected. "What was I asking?"

"You asked about hate. I can only assume love comes next." Oh, now, why had he said that? Disgruntled with himself, Tarvek glared defiance at Gil.

"Good, yes, good." Gil nodded on every word. "What does love feel like?"

Not the question Tarvek had expected. "Torture," he said, not recognizing the blunder until it was too late.

Gil's eyes narrowed, shrewd and a little too lucid again. Then he resumed smiling. "Surely you of all people enjoy romance. Wine and poetry and flowers and all?"

More like incendiary devices and madcap chases through Paris. Tarvek shook his head. "I assume it's more fun when received with at least a bit of interest," he said, feeling bitter and cagey.

"You're Sparky and royal, and you're well groomed and always fashionable. You must not have confessed your intentions."

If Tarvek had been standing, he would have had to sit. Gil considered him desirable, at least to other people. What an unexpected lift to his self esteem! "You sound entirely too sure of that."

"Come on, there's no reason not to." Gil tried for a challenging stare, but ruined it by wobbling.

There were a thousand reasons not to. Tarvek sighed. "You can't know…"

"I'm sure you can do it," Gil interrupted. "You were brave enough to befriend me once. Just say: 'hey, I fancy you, and I'd like to kiss you.' See what happens."

Tarvek made his expression as blank as he could. "Hey. I fancy you, and I'd like to kiss you."

Beaming, Gil managed to lean in to thump him on the shoulder. "That's the ticket! Now you just need to go and find this—" He frowned. "Girl? Boy? I probably should have asked."

Tarvek swallowed an urge to cry, swallowed every hollow, aching heartbeat. "It doesn't matter," he said, shaking his head. "I'll have to marry someone appropriate, so it's pointless anyway."

"Oho, so Tarvek loves someone beneath his station!" Gil grinned at him. "Good. Most royals are duller than a rubber knife."

"Do you want to get punched?"

"I'm asking the questions," Gil reminded him again, with a glint of glee in his grin.

Tarvek lifted his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "Ask," he said, though he felt surly and disinclined to answer anything else.

"What's stopping you from confessing your feelings?"

A good question. Tarvek eyed Gil with a wry twist to his lips. "Too many factors." How often had he weighed the warmth of Gil's lips against the dangers from his family? How often had he wondered just how hard Gil would hit him for making any overtures of romance? No, he decided now, Gil would not hit him. Gil would just stare in empty, blank confusion. Would that hurt worse? Probably. He sighed. "I know you can't understand, but it's just not safe."

Gil gestured at himself. "Drugged because of your family," he pointed out, and Tarvek frowned.

"Did I ever say it was family business?" he said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"It-s y'r cousin's drink," Gil slurred. He swayed dangerously far to the left. Then, taking several slow, deep breaths, he righted himself. "Where were we?"

"I cannot believe you're doing this."

"Answer," Gil demanded, Sparky notes creeping into his voice. Tarvek eyed him with curiosity. Did this conversation really matter to him? Even knowing that he would forget everything?

"You think my romantic challenges can be easily resolved." Tarvek arched an eyebrow at Gil. "You're an idiot, but I appreciate that you mean well."

"I like you being honest. Why don't you do that more often?"

"You really want me to get killed, don't you? It's not safe," he said before Gil could chide him for asking another question. "I'm surprised you haven't realized that by now."

"You're better than you think you are." Gil's head bobbed in unstable assurance.

"Not as good as I should be," Tarvek grumbled. In so many ways, he failed his own expectations.

Gil stared at him, head tilting this way and that, somewhat like a bird. "What do you expect of yourself?"

Tarvek looked away. "I don't know… Heroics? Noble character?" He shrugged and shook his head. "To earn my birthright?" Really, it was a good question.

Gil leaned over him, hands clasped behind his back, grinning. He stayed like that until Tarvek scowled.

"What?"

"You're a romantic. One day, when you rule Sturmhalten…" Gil paused for long enough that Tarvek began to hope he might be trying to say something nice. "You'll grow disillusioned with the minutiae of governance and start feeding lawbreakers to the meanest monster you can find," he concluded with a sagely nod.

"What the hell!" Tarvek yelped. "Where would you even get that idea?"

"I've watched it happen. It's tragic. You're doomed." This last Gil delivered with a beatific smile.

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe, but not about this." Gil turned in a slow circle, bobbling as he went. He waved his arms loosely, and he gave a heartfelt sigh. "I really wish you and I were still friends." He stilled and he stared, his head sagged a little to one side.

"We would have ruined it by now anyway," Tarvek said. Probably owing to his own hopeless infatuation.

"Mmh," was Gil's noncommittal reply. He faltered, his leg muscles suddenly going loose like aspic jelly. Stage three. Despite his previous determination to allow this fool to collapse on the floor, Tarvek moved to catch him.

"Look at you. You're a mess." Tarvek looked down at the hand on the center of his chest, and his grip tightened on Gil's arms. No, it wasn't Gil who was a mess here. In this moment, Gil was blameless of everything but hanging on the brink of consciousness.

"Nnuh?" Gil sagged more, and Tarvek tried to consider the logistics of dragging or propelling him to the bed in the next room. Instead, he watched Gil's tongue roll out to moisten parched lips, and he let out an involuntary groan. Gil froze, as much as one could freeze while losing a fight for balance. "Wha's wrong?"

Wrong. There was no way Gil could be that much of an innocent. "I really want to kiss you right now."

"What?" Gil's eyes widened a moment before going unfocused. "Why…?"

He slumped in Tarvek's arms, unconscious.

Well.

Annoyed, Tarvek dragged Gil into the bedroom. "'Why,'" he grumbled, bitterness in every breath. "Because it's you, you complete imbecile. You're heavier than you look, you know. Are you… are you snoring?" He heaved Gil onto the bed. "Of course you are."

He hesitated for a moment before he loosened the fastenings of Gil's clothes. Surely that didn't count as taking advantage. He pulled the blankets up and he tucked them around Gil, who sighed and rubbed his feet together in his sleep. Feet never lie.

"Oh, what the hell." Tarvek leaned down one more time, and he pressed a swift, heartfelt kiss to Gil's forehead. "At least one of us is getting some sleep tonight." As much as it hurt, he turned away.

On the way out, Tarvek put a few drops of his hair oil into a warmer. He knew it was self-indulgent, but he wanted Gil to wake up to the fragrance. He locked up, and he stepped back out into the night.

Without Gil leaning on him, encumbering him, Tarvek quickly retraced his steps. He arrived back at the reception in time to see Seffie and Colette leaving together, laughing about something. The both seemed fine. Relieved, Tarvek skulked in the shadows, watching them. When he thought Seffie was too far to hear, he whistled five soft notes.

Varpa appeared, disgruntled and disheveled. "Your Highness?"

Tarvek rolled his shoulders, affecting an attitude of annoyance to cover his genuine concern. "I have a libertine in my bed right now, sleeping off a dose of Spill-All σ2. He… drooled on my collar. I want to know what happened. A full report by dawn."

Varpa, who looked to have had a rough night so far, tried to disguise exasperation with a small bow. "Sire." With that, the Smoke Knight vanished into the night.

Varpa would tell him. Oh, no, not everything, not even close. But enough that he could start unraveling the threads of this latest intrigue. And if he was exceptionally lucky, Gil might even stay out of the way this time.

Tarvek scoffed at himself. He was never, ever lucky.