#So yeah that's like the gist of it I'm sorry that this probably didn't make much sense

[elisedonut]

I'm fond of Percy but he hasn't drawn me in like some other Weasleys-- what are some top adjectives that you would use to describe him? What's your draw to him as a character? So nice to meet you!! 💖

Hello!! Nice to meet you!❤❤

now word of warning i'm not really that great at character like meta and stuff so my first thought was legit just

uhhh he babie????

but seriously obviously there are the typical ones that most people think about like intelligent and bossy so lets not talk about those some big ones i associate with him and find very interesting about him are like

Mother-hen, Perfectionist child turned Anxiety ridden adult, Eldest daughter syndrome personified, Slut, Autistic-coded, attention whore, Drama queen, Morally grey

Here's also a post that I heavily agree with that explains some of his characteristics way better then I ever could

as for me being drawn to him that's difficult to answer I got attached to him from reading Draco/George fics which lead to Draco/Percy fics because Draco would keep like mentioning that out of all the other siblings he got along best with Percy to my ADHD brain like flipping a switch and saying that I love him and hyperfixating on him and trying to read every Percy centric fic I could find and now I'm here over a year later

I do find him very relatable and quite adorable and find the way the narrative and parts of the fandom treat him terrible but like a tangible thing to point at and be like

that

that's why i love him is a bit more difficult

but ill try

He's smart,

He's bossy,

He has anxiety,

He loves his family,

He has a complicated relationship with said family,

He tries to take care of the people he cares about,

He needs his mom and dad to really see him and not just what he can do for them or his accomplishments even if he doesn't realize it

He would have sex with all the quidditch captains of his 7th year if given the opportunity,

He was sending his girlfriend love letters all summer

He cares about rules and structure but would break them in a heartbeat if he found it necessary

He's lonely

He was a good Prefect/Headboy with what he was given to work with

He's constantly trying his best but with the world normally throwing that in his face

He had a crush on his boss,

He's so used to his family not respecting him that he typically brushes it off

He needs therapy

He ran a whole department practically by himself

He survived being in the ministry when it was swarming with death eaters and wasn't murdered

He had to watch as his last three school years descended into more and more chaos and still was expected to respect and listen to the man in charge

He passed 12 newts

He liked divination

His old pet rat that he found turned out to be a person and we don't even know if he was ever told

so um

in conclusion uhh he my babie??

[churipu]

( OO4 ) ★ bloody mess , nanami kento

featuring. nanami kento x reader

warnings. mentions of blood, mentions of a lot of different pet names (sweetheart, love, etc.), hospital raahhh, anesthesia.

note. WHO'S BACK DOING THE 1K EVENT LAJSOS IM SO SORRY :< THIS ONE IS A BIT SHORT???

ENTRY ( OO4 ) OF THE "INTO THE IPINVERSE" MILESTONE

"quick question, how much blood do i have to let out to be deemed hospital worthy?" "a lot." "oh, well — that's not good."

tags: @sad-darksoul @sweeneyblue1 @idkuluka @colorful-happy-shit @tomie-it-girl

the room reeked of blood. if you get a gist of it — you'd likely think of death.

you held your phone in between your shoulder and your ear, slightly trembling as your muscle stretched. chewing your lip in frustration, the device ringing.

once.

twice.

thri—

"hi, sweetheart."

you sighed out in relief, "hi kento, i have a really quick question because i'm trying not to freak out—"

nanami immediately cuts you off, "is something wrong? what happened y/n?"

"quick question, how much blood do i have to let out to be deemed hospital worthy?" you asked him, eyeing the trail of crimson streaming down your ring and pinky finger — blowing on it softly, foot drumming impatiently. what a bloody mess.

nanami was silent for a few seconds, but you could make out a brief, "a lot."

that's when you finally let out a panicked but calm, "oh, well — that's not good."

the male on the other line shuffled a bit, and you made out a few static noises, "what happened, sweetheart? did you hurt yourself?" he softly asks you.

"um . . . i cut myself cutting fruits. it's stupid but — i was trying to imitate fruit ninja . . ." you explained, full of shame. yet again, from the other line, nanami shuffled; creating out static noises, "i should probably head to the hospital, right?"

"apply pressure on the wound, i'm already around the corner, love. keep on talking with me." he replies back calmly.

you did what he told you to do without ending the call, wincing every once in a while from the jolt of pain.

soon enough, nanami burst from the front door — his eyes finding your sitting form, a cotton pad wrapped around your bloodied fingers. with rushed steps, he approaches you, softly grabbing your hand, inspecting the wound.

"come here pretty," he softly mumbles, tugging you gently, "we're going to the hospital."

two stitches.

because you decided to imitate fruit ninja — in your defense, it seemed really cool in the games.

with an IV attached to your other hand, you laid on the bed, half droopy as the anesthesia had already spread through your veins. limp and tired, a hard cast covering your wounded hand to press on the stitches.

"please keep watch of their hands, and try not to move it a lot during the healing process — come back in approximately two weeks time for cast and stitches disposal." you could definitely hear a doctor say — clueless to you or to nanami.

but you answered them nonetheless, slurring out incoherent words, "oh . . . doctor, yeah! okay, mhm, i got you, doc, i'll be back soon."

a few chuckling erupted and you shut your eyes, feeling fatigue take over, "how are you feeling, darling?"

fluttering your eyes open, you nod, "good. how about you, ken?"

nanami brushed your cheek gently, staring at your droopy state affectionately, his elbow prepped up on the hospital bed, "i'm good as well. are you still in pain?"

you shook your head with a stupid smile, "nope, just peachy," you smiled, "i have a dress on my finger—" proudly raising your index finger up, where the pulse oximeter was.

"it looks wonderful, sweetheart," nanami softly threaded his calloused fingers with yours, kissing your knuckles.

the wound was worse than he thought. at first, nanami didn't know whether to be worried about your poor choice of action or your wound in all honesty, but at this point — he's doing both at the same time.

the male was in the middle of a meeting with the gojo satoru when you called.

"right? and — i think they stole my fingers," you whispered, eyes darting around here and there before eventually trying to raise up your wounded hand. to which nanami prevented by carefully putting it down to your side, on the bed.

"i promise your fingers are there, darling." nanami chuckled at your behavior under the anesthesia.

"no, no. i swear, i can't feel them — the people stole my fingers while you were not here," you refer to the doctor and the couple of nurses who tended to you earlier, "go check them, i swear, ken. my fingers are gone."

cute. you were very cute. nanami knew he shouldn't be laughing at all, but the way you acted right now was . . . very out of character. the passion swirling in your eyes as you try to convince him that your fingers were stolen.

"angel, i promise. they're there, attached." he moved a few strands of your hair away from your face, "you can be angry at me if they aren't there."

bad choices of words. because the very next second, you were trying to pry open your cast to take a quick look at your fingers.

"no, no. darling, you shouldn't touch that," nanami stood up, carefully holding your unharmed hand. preventing it from gnawing at your harmed hand.

"'m trying to prove something here, ken . . ." you rolled your eyes, leaning back onto the bed, "let me go," your whines made him smile.

"darling, 'ts not good to touch it now. we'll get it taken off in a while," you softly whine at his words.

"'ts too long. my fingers . . ."

nanami cupped your face and pressed a chaste kiss onto your lips, "they're there darling, i promise." he held out his pinky.

you childishly nodded, intertwining your pinky with his, "okay. promise."

"are they there?" nanami asks, holding your unharmed hand as he used his other hand to steer the steering wheel of his car.

it had been at least a couple of hours, and the anesthesia was slowly leaving your system — enough for you to be dismissed from the hospital. here you were, sitting in his passenger's seat, "are what there?" you questioned back, still feeling a bit droopy.

"your fingers."

in confusion you stare at him, "of course they are, in here." you mumbled, raising up your casted hand.

nanami chuckled, this was only something he and you (under the influence) knew.

© CHURIPU 2024 , DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ANYWHERE

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for getting mad at my mom for finishing my baking for me?

For context I love baking, but hardly ever eat the finished product myself. This is because I bake for the fun of it and I have plenty of family and friends that like eating what I make so it's never a waste.

I've been making some cinnamon rolls recently and the several batches I've made my mom comes in and bakes them before I can. It's not that she just preheats the oven and puts em in after they finish rising, she literally does everything after the initial dough has risen. She'll roll it out before it has time to rise the first time, add 1/3 of the butter and sugar I use, cut it into 1/2 inch-1 inch, and/or not let it finish rising the 2nd time once it's in the pan. Of the last 4 attempts 3 came out overcooked and hard.

She does this with a lot of my baking where I'll make the dough and be able to do nothing else cause she goes in and does literally everything else in the baking process. I've asked her multiple times to stop because what's the point if I'm not the one doing it? I've told her it takes all the fun out of it and there's no point in me baking if she's just gonna do all of it. She'll either respond with her saying she's sorry and she'll stop doing it (then proceed to finish my next batch) or say it's better if she does it cause I don't know what I'm doing and would fuck it up (she uses nicer words but also a several minute lecture on how prideful I am so that's the gist). And yeah, half the things I make it would be better, but I'll never get better if she keeps doing this and it's not like what I'm making is bad. And the other half the things I make don't taste better! It usually ends up in the trash cause no one wants to eat it. And if I can't get my family to eat it I'm not taking it to work for my friends to try. But even if everything I made tasted better when she makes it that's not the point!

Yesterday I made some more dough for cinnamon rolls and let it rise overnight. I woke up today and was gonna finish them before work but they were already out of the oven. She was telling me how she finished them for me and I sort of just hummed in acknowledgement. She kept pushing and it was clear she was looking for a thank you but I just said she didn't use as much butter and sugar I usually did. She said "yeah well how am I supposed to know how much you use on there?" And I just walked away after. She came later and said "you're welcome for finishing those for you. I even got it done before you had to go to work" and I said "I didn't thank you" when she got mad I yelled and said "stop touching my shit! I've told you before there's literally no point in me making anything if you're just gonna take the fun out of it!"

Now she's mad and I feel bad cause I was very passive aggressive with her and I probably shouldn't have yelled but I'm tired of this conversation every time I bake.

Aita?

What are these acronyms?

[fuck-customers]

One of our litters broke with parvo, which means we're spending the next couple hours suiting up in isolation gear and scrubbing the literal and figurative shit out of the kennel and any adjacent kennel top to bottom, inside out with a very caustic disinfectant. For this reason and to keep customers from becoming walking fomites, the room gets shut down until cleaning is finished. As my coworker and I are suiting up, a customer gets an attitude. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, this room is closed for the rest of the day." "Well, I have an appointment to see one of the dogs in here." "Yeah, sorry, everything is shut down in here. You can speak to the front desk for more information but for safety reasons, the dogs in here cannot be viewed for the rest of the day." "But I have an APPOINTMENT." Just back and forth for like fifteen minutes. It took everything in me to not say "Oh, you're right, the parvovirus is very stern about appointments and punctuality and won't be infectious until after your appointment. Come on in." Then the next day, as we're making calls about it to previous adopters (not verbatim but you get the gist): "Hi, sir, I'm [blah from blah blah] calling per county policy to let you know that we had parvo in the building and you adopted a dog within a two week period of a positive parvo test. You adopted the dog on the 23th of last month and the positive pup came in on the 30th. They weren't even in the building at the same time so your baby wasn't exposed. However, we still have to call since it was within two weeks." "My dog has PARVO????" "... I mean, probably not. I'm just calling to let you know that we had a positive test today and since you adopted in the last two weeks, we have to call and tell you that we had a positive test." "So you sold me a dog that is sick?" "No, sir, I'm saying we had a dog test positive today. You adopted an entire week before the sick pup came in but we still have to call you per policy, and let you know that we had a positive result." "Hold on, hold on, I'm still trying to figure out why you gave me a dog that's sick." "*woman biting keyboard meme here* Sir, the dog you adopted was fully vaccinated and was showing zero signs of any sort of illness when he left here. If he isn't [short list of signs of illness] then he's probably fine. If he *is* sick, he didn't pick up anything here. Once more, I am simply CALLING to INFORM YOU that a pup that came in AN ENTIRE WEEK AFTER YOURS LEFT tested positive for parvo. Your dog was NOT exposed to the sick puppy but we still have to call due to COUNTY POLICY." It continued on until my supervisor reached over and hung up the phone while I was talking. She said "If he didn't get it by now, he never will. I'll worry about it if he calls back." As far as I know, he didn't. In my head, I wondered if maybe the two customers were related lol (and for those wondering, the sick puppy in question is recovering well as of writing this. thankfully the rest of the litter didn't test positive at any point)

Posted by admin Rodney

[discoknack]

Skully's Punishment Part 2

Part 1 here

As always I got the idea from @sonicasura

Also spoilers for episode 10-11.

Hoshina crooned at the Yoju, stopwatch in hand, "Good~ good, keep breathing just like that."

Skully's breathing was measured and deliberate, but their small form would occasionally shudder with a suppressed sob.

"Keep those arms out, knees bent. Tuck that tail more, no cheating! Almost there... Five. Four. Three..."

Hoshina almost couldn't hear himself over Skully's sudden outburst - they roared and screamed, mouth wide open and fists tightening. But they held their position, even with their limbs shaking. Very good. When he reached zero with an "all done!" Skully finally collapsed, sprawling onto their belly.

Then Skully took a deep breath, chest expanding, and began to weep, whimpering softly like a deflating balloon.

Hoshina swept them off the floor, holding Skully up by their underarms and grinning. "Ya done good, Rookie! I'm proud of you! Think you'll listen to me next time~?"

Skully was almost limp in his hands. But then they began to wiggle, straightening and grabbing Hoshina's arms for support, whimpering with each effort. They looked him in the eyes with tears streaming down their face and nose. Hoshina was kinda hoping they'd reply with a defeated 'yeah' or an 'uh huh' at least, but instead the Yoju babbled at him for a good ten seconds or so. Their words slurred together and they stopped and started several times, interrupted by sobs. Their kaiju vocal cords weren't doing them any favors, either. There were only a few words Hoshina could make out: Papa... gigantic scary... hurt... something...

He got the gist of it anyhow.

"Well, aren't you a sweetie!" he said, bringing Skully closer and wrapping his arms around them. "Just like your mumma."

Hoshina rubbed the spines on Skully's back. Skully settled in immediately, rumbling and chirping.

"But I'm not just your Papa; I'm also your Vice-Captain. I have a duty to my soldiers, ya know." That didn't fully sound right. "I have a duty to my children, especially." That sounded weird still. But it was probably the best description. "So. You hafta listen to me double-time~" Hoshina nuzzled Skully's neck, provoking happy chirps.

Hoshina sighed. "Justtt like your mama..."

Of course Kafka's kid would be just like him. Incredibly loyal. Admirable, but he sets a bad example. That's what I get for bringing on a rookie just 'cuz I liked him, huh? "Don't get too attached to your comrades," I told him. "Anything can happen."

Kafka! You had better come back. You owe me that much!

Hoshina was glad he had sent Okonogi away and was alone with the Yoju. So no one else could see his face.

-

"Hibino Kafka." Captain Ashiro said, idly thumbing the barrel of her gun. The smaller one, that is - not the cannon, thank god.

Kafka had stopped stressing a few moments ago, no longer sensing his whelp's cries and figuring that, with how they tapered off, it was fine. But now he was on edge again. Did she notice him sigh? "Y-yes, Captain?"

"The little one..." Mina shifted her weight, seeming uncertain. Kafka couldn't place why. "It's yours, isn't it?"

Well, there was no sense in lying.

"Yeah."

"Are you...?" Mina asked, "Do you...? Did-?" Then some color came into her cheeks and she turned away. "Sorry. Inappropriate questions."

Kafka took a moment to understand...

"Ehhh?! You got me all wrong! There's no way I'd be fooling around with- eee! sorry sorry..." He shrank back down into his seat at the sight of all the guns trained on him.

After some moments had passed, and the gunmen slowly relaxed, Mina made an odd sound, and looked like she was about to throw up. Her whole body was tense.

She did it again, grabbing at her neck and making little "ahem"s. She had to close her eyes or else they'd bulge out of her skull.

"Mi-!"

"Captain are you alright?!" Kafka had been interrupted by one of the soldiers.

Mina's forehead creased and she covered her mouth, but she couldn't stop the giggle from finally escaping. She managed to quiet down quickly, but even still, her shoulders shook. Finally, she took a breath and then did it again, tears springing to her eyes.

On the third breath she had it handled, getting a proper hold of her gun. She slowly exhaled, sobering up, almost to the point of a slight frown. Blinking away the tears, unsmiling, she said, "yes."

[mythicalartistx]

I hate Master Odin from DR and my opinions of the other Masters

Mickey

Mickey is constantly hated in KH but there is someone who deserves it so much more. First of all he only knew Aqua was in the realm of darkness for a year.

Then Yen Sid commanded him not to go, plus he was busy with dealing with Organization XIII, then the Journal, and the exams Sora and Riku took. And the last two only probably took a month or so each.

Then he tried to find her with Riku's help because it's probably better to go with another person....

I don't get it especially when Odin— the worse master to ever happened exists.

And Mickey did so much for Riku and helps him when he needs someone.

I hate Odin with so much passion and one of the main reasons is that he isn't shown as doing anything wrong. They treat it like he didn't make any mistakes.

Ansem

He makes Ansem look so good in comparison —who I have mixed feelings on and I think Ansem's change of heart isn't genuine and seems way too fast.

Like the dude is talking trash about nobodies and how they don't deserve to exist and they have no feelings. Then suddenly at the end you regret that and is like I'm sorry Roxas?? Like why? How did you get to this reason?

It doesn't seem genuine and then he sacrifices himself like oh now we're supposed to feel bad because he did this one good thing?

And Riku did not need to deal with this guy, he's awful.

But back to him.

Odin

This guy is the reason why Xehanort is the way he is. He set him on the path. Odin can't understand mental health. This student of his was going through some things because his sister was missing and presumably dead. He was not in a good head space and depressed so Odin decides to isolate him??

Yeah.....

Not a good thing.

It makes him worse and then darkness influences him🤦

And then there are these missing students so he decides the best thing to find the students are to send his INEXPERIENCED UNDERCLASSMEN?

It makes no sense.

It's stupid.

They could also get hurt.

Why doesn't he A MASTER TRY TO LOOK FOR THEM or send I don't know another master???

But he send Xehanort Eraqus and several others.

And basically them going to worlds make it where they question how things are which lead Xehanort down his path of destruction. It makes him curious about darkness and curious if it's right or wrong to dwell in world's affairs even if it's a world with people doing bad things.

Then the student who was not in a good place... Yeah Baldr gets influenced by darkness badly and wants to hurt and decides to kill everyone

IT'S NOT GOOD

And then Xehanort and Eraqus are the only ones left. So Odin decides to tell Xehanort to kill him.

And Xehanort has been having thoughts about darkness and light and what everything means. And he didn't exactly disagree with some of the things Baldr said.

WHY WOULD HE PLACE THE BURDEN ON XEHANORT?

And by doing that he cause him to eventually go down dark path.

Then Odin retires.

I'M SO GLAD.

He deserves to retire after failing and being an awful person and master.

Like dude is so bad.

But that's not until he sends the two survivors into taking the mark of mastery exam which is a stupid exam which always have bad things happen.

And Xehanort meets The Master of Master who honestly seems chaotic and just does things because he is bored. That's my gist of this guy. An he's not good for him.

He causes him to go farther in and become worse.

Yeahhhhhhh

He gets so interested learning about darkness and light. He probably heard about things relating to kingdom hearts from M.O.M.

Then Xehanort leaves Eraqus and when he comes back he's different. Eraqus can tell and realizes he has been obsessed with darkness. They even get in fights. It doesn't go well.

And Odin isn't heard from again thank goodness.

If Sora dealt with this guy man it would be so bad.

Master Yen Sid

Now he isn't that great.

For one he believes all nobodies are bad?

Like why? They just want hearts to live. They aren't bad people. But he makes Sora think really bad of them.

Also he doesn't really do much. He seems to be really strong as shown in kh3 but he just sits back and lets all the kids do everything.

During the exam in DDD, it was rigged because of Xehanort. And Sora doesn't pass because Riku dived in a second time. BUT SORA WOULD DEFINITELY DO IT FOR RIKU.

It's the stupidest reason why Sora didn't pass. I'm fine with the idea of Sora not becoming a master yet BUT MAYBE DO A BETTER REASON OR SOMETHING

Yen Sid is dumb.

Also not allowing anyone to go back to search for Aqua until kh3

And taking the exam in the first place is dumb. They just realized that something bad is in the midst from the recoded events and then he summons Sora and Riku to take this exam.

They don't think someone might try to mess with it AT ALL??

Also as Sora said, they proved themselves several times. Only because of Riku insecurities they end up taking it. Riku's still doesn't believe in himself and fears his darkness a bit...

So Sora takes because Riku does. He just wanted to take it with him and be with him by doing so.

Yeah that doesn't work out.

Also Yen Sid training Kairi with Axel is kinda bad??? Like they should have helping them instead of endlessly training. It doesn't seem that great since they both easily gets knocked away.

But yeah, it's not too good but it's not necessary bad.

Eraqus

He's a pretty decent Master. And when I say decent I mean he tried. What he does that no one else does is he APOLOGIZES. He acknowledges what he does is wrong in kh3. He hugs all of them and apologizes. It seems genuine.

And after dark road his actions make sense he does what he does because he's afraid of them dying from darkness like Baldr or being corrupted and dangerous.

Though I HAVE NO IDEA why he brought Xehanort around?

Did he not remember??

He sees all three of his apprentices as his own.

He has Aqua look out for Terra because he was worried. But he realizes how much pressure he put on her.

As for Ven he thinks destroying him is the best way to stop the χ blade from being forged and doing what Xehanort wants.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE REGRETS IT.

He is like how could I raise my hand against you, talking to Terra and referring to Ventus.

And Terra protects Ventus because he cares for him and he uses darkness for a good reason.

And I'm not going into Aqua because she doesn't really do that much with others besides watch Terra which Eraqus told her to do, it's not from her own decisions and things. She doesn't really have time to act that much. And afterwards she is by herself in the realm of darkness.

Riku, I'm not going into either because he doesn't do much yet involving his title.

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ivy Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what��s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Morganatic Idol belongs to Cybird and ABC Frontier, Inc.

Finn: Greetings, then. Let me do it my way.

Finn-san then grabbed my wrist with his large hand and pulled me in tight.

(Eh … …!?)

I found myself in Finn-san's arms. I couldn't swallow the overwhelming situation--

Rina: Eh, ah!

Finn-san stroked my head vigorously with a frightened look on his face.

Rina: Um, a little ...!

Ivy: What are you doing?

Ivy-san stopped Finn-san in a panic. But my hair was messed up.

When I looked at Finn-san with confusion, he smiled at me.

Finn: You told me to say hello. I'm just trying to do it in my own way.

Finn: This is how you love your dog or cat, right?

Rina: Eh?

Ivy: Dogs and cats?

Unexpected words caused delayed reactions.

Finn: You're probably taking care of her like an abandoned puppy or kitten or something, right?

(Eeh??)

Ivy: What are you talking about? I don't think so.

Finn: Really? Anyway, I said hello, so I guess it's not my fault.

After saying that, Finn-san went back to sleep.

Ivy: You're not going to run an errand?

Finn: Yeah, I'll talk to you later.

As soon as he finished, Finn-san quickly disappeared.

Ivy: Sorry. He messed up your hair. He didn't mean to stroke it so harshly.

Rina: No, I'm fine, but am I really that much like a cat or dog?

When I asked him this, he was silent for a moment, before quickly extending his hand.

(Eh ...)

I was touched on the head again, and my heart jumped at the gentle movement, which was different from that of Finn-san.

Rina: U-umm ...

Ivy: If you ask me, you might really be like a puppy when it comes down to it.

Rina: Eh!?

Ivy: Hehe, just kidding.

He laughed and lightly stroked my hair on either side of my head before pulling his hand away.

(Oh, he smoothed down my hair ...)

With that thought in mind, I find that my nervousness has completely faded.

Ivy: I know it's difficult for the other members, but if you have any problems, you can talk to them.

Ivy: It must be strange to be thrown into a place like this, and I'm a little worried about it.

Rina: Yes, thank you very much!

When I bowed my head once more, Ivy-san smiled softly at me again.

The next day, after the presentation, I went to work for the first time at Needle's Bell.

Female Employee 1: Kawanaga-san, next time, please gather the materials over here.

Female Employee 2: I want you to do this when you're done. I have a lot of work to do because of your absence yesterday.

Rina: I'm sorry. I understand.

As I started walking away with a pile of documents, Mori-san appeared briskly.

Mori Eiko: You two, the meeting is coming up. Get ready.

Female Employee 1: I'll be right there!

Female Employee 2: Now that I think about it, Mori-san. I've been wondering about you since this morning, but your clothes today are really nice.

Mori Eiko: Hehe, it's Connelly's new one.

Female Employee 2: Wow! That's great! I think I should buy the bag I've been eyeing.

(Mori-san and the others are as sparkling as ever. I'm feeling even more miserable.)

(No, this isn't the time to be depressed. You've just been given a chance.)

If I do nothing, as a tempory worker, I will have no choice but to leave without renewal.

(I definitely want to avoid that ...)

-flashback-

Sakura Eito: exe Creed only accepts work that they are truly satisfied with.

Sakura Eito: So I'm giving you a chance to convince them in person. It's special.

-flashback end-

(I absolutely have to make sure the re-presentation is a success ... I have to do everything I can.)

Just as I was pumping myself up, I saw a calendar that reminded me of something.

(Yes ...!)

Rina: Ugh, I think I bought a little too much ...

Today is the release day of the music magazine with exe on the cover.

I remembered this and went to a bookstore on my way home from work to purchase a copy of the magazine to research them.

(But, as expected of exe ... I picked up other magazines and ended up with such a huge pile.)

I was staggering along with a heavy paper bag in each hand.

Xeno: What are you doing?

Rina: Ah, Xeno-san ...!

Jace: What's that? That's the Aegis staff member. Are you really going to work here?

Ivy: I told you so. Didn't you hear what I said?

Behind Xeno-san, I could see other exe members. It seemed that they had returned from work.

Rina: Thanks for your work.

Hugh: I'm tired ...

Finn: Hey, Hugh, don't fall asleep before you get to your room.

As I was about to give way to them heading toward the back of the room, Jace-san looked into the paper bag.

Jace: Oh, that. That's us on the cover. When was it taken?

Ivy: Wasn't it the month before last? There was also an interview at the beginning of the magazine.

Jace: Oh, yeah, yeah. I like the makeup you had for this one.

(Come to think of it, the women on the sales floor were also buying them, saying, "that makeup looks great".)

Rina: I read the magazine and tried to gather as much information as I could ...

Finn: That's why you bought so many? You're always doing that.

Finn: You were dizzy with all that baggage at the presentation. You're really reckless for being so small.

Rina: Oh ...

The vigor of Finn-san's voice made me brace myself for what he was going to do to me again.

Finn: Don't be scared. I'm not going to eat you up.

He went straight to his room.

Xeno: ...

Hugh-san and Xeno-san left next.

Jace: You're too cold. I, on the other hand, welcome girls. Whenever you feel lonely, come to my room.

After Jace-san waved at me, just Ivy-san and me were left.

Ivy: Sorry, everyone's going at their own pace.

Rina: No, it's fine.

When I returned the smile, Ivy-san gave me a troubled smile, then looked down at the paper bag.

Ivy: That's a lot of stuff. It must have been heavy.

Ivy: You should have told me, because all these magazines are sent to us as samples.

Rina: But, seeing things managed by the office without permission ...

Ivy: You want me to help you with your office work, so I don't think that will be a problem, right?

Ivy: Yeah, but it's not organized at all, so it might be hard to see.

Ivy: I should've kept it in the library, but Eito left it in my room.

Ivy: He throws whatever he wants in there, so it stays untidy for a long time ...

(Maybe that's why there was a mess in one corner of his room?)

Rina: If you want, I can organize it for you. I'm in charge of your room, Ivy-san.

Ivy: What? But it's a lot of work.

Rina: I'll be fine. I'll take care of it.

Ivy: I'd like to ask you for a favor, then. I'll be honest, I'd appreciate it. Of course, you can look at the magazines at your leisure.

Ivy: Oh, and I have some sound files and promotional materials that might be helpful, too.

(Sound files and promotional materials ...!)

My heart was excited by this fascinating, albeit coincidental, story.

Rina: Thank you very much!

Ivy: That's my line.

(Okay, I'll do my best ...!)

The next morning, the exe members gathered for a lesson.

Hugh: I'm sleepy ... and hungry ...

Ivy: You need something in your stomach to keep you moving. Here, have a smoothie.

Finn: Jace overslept again. Xeno would get mad if he was late for his lesson.

Xeno: I don't need anyone without a pro mentality.

Ivy: I called him earlier, so he'll be fine. I've got his stuff ready, and he'll be here soon.

Finn: Are you his mother?

Ivy: Finn, I ordered the gym equipment you mentioned the other day, and it should be here today.

Finn: Today? That's early.

Hugh: Finn is taken care of, too.

Finn: Shut up.

Jace: Sorry, sorry. Did I make it in time?

Xeno: You're late. You should have more time to act.

Jace: Yes, yes. I'm sorry.

Sakura Eito: Good morning, everyone is here. I have two things to tell you before the lesson.

Sakura Eito: First of all, the magazine that featured you on the cover came out yesterday ...

Sakura Eito: Their editor called to thank me for tripling their first-day sales.

Jace: Ah, I saw that magazine. Aegis-chan bought it yesterday.

Jace: She also bought a lot of other magazines and wanted to collect information about us. It looked like a lot of work.

Sakura Eito: I see. Kawanaga-chan is a good and serious girl.

Xeno: Enough talking about that. What's the other thing?

Sakura Eito: Oh, that's right. It's the music video for the new song that was released a while ago.

Sakura Eito: Yesterday, we surpassed 100 million official views.

Ivy: Oh ... my God?

Finn: Isn't that faster than the last one?

Hugh: Are you glad ...?

Sakura Eito: Of course! So you're going to be on a music show this weekend, right? I've been asked to do it by the producer.

Sakura Eito: They want to broadcast your performance live to the world.

Jace: I see. It isn't a big deal.

Finn: What we do remains the same.

Sakura Eito: So we decided to make the official exe version available at the same time.

Ivy: Then the office staff will be busy, too. Do you have enough people?

Sakura Eito: We'll take care of that. All you have to do is give your best performance on the day.

Xeno: I'm going to do that without you telling me.

Sakura Eito: Then we're done. Good luck with your lessons.

Hugh: Hm ...

Ivy: Live broadcast ...

Rina: Mori-san. I'm done collecting data.

Mori Eiko: Oh, you're fast. I thought it would take longer, but you can go home now.

Rina: Thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me!

(I have to go home early and finish cleaning up ...)

With this in mind, I was getting ready to leave ...

Female Employee 1: Hey, is exe going to be on M-fest this week?

Female Employee 2: Oh yeah, they're singing a new song!

I was taken aback by the sudden mention of the word "exe".

(M-fest is a big music show on Saturday night. I believe it's live.)

Not a day goes by that i don't see exe in action, wheter it be in a magazine or on tv.

(It's really weird to live in the same apartment with such super idols ...)

When I returned, I changed into comfortable loungewear and began to clean up Ivy-san's room.

But thanks to his organization, the room cleaning was quick and easy.

All that remains is the space where the magazines and other materials are kept.

(Let's see what's inside first. I was told I was free to look around.)

When I pulled out what caught my attention, it was a mook book dedicated to exe.

(Looks like it was produced for their first anniversary.)

It included a picture of Xeno-san dancing and a pinup of Finn-san.

There's an interview of Jace-san and an off-shot of Hugh-san.)

Even just flipping through the pages, you'll be drawn in by the charm of exe.

(Oh, here's the interview between Ivy-san and a band from overseas.)

(What!? This band is famous for having topped the US charts many times ...)

(I can't believe I'm talking to people like that ... they're on a whole different level.)

It's hard to believe that was the first anniversary of their debut.

I let out a sigh of admiration as I looked at Ivy-san's photos.

And then--

Ivy: Thanks for your hard work, Kawanaga-san.

Rina: !?

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 1

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 2 

A reverse harem vampire AU ft. Mikey, Marshall, August and Sherlock

Series summary: Somehow, you've managed to live with your boyfriend and his roommates for months before finding out they're vampires, but the real shock first comes when they find out you have a special quality. A quality the guys would love to make use of...

Warnings: This is a vampireAU!!! There will be blood, there will be biting, there will be graphic depictions of both. It's not going to be a gorefest, though. Also there will be smut. Eventually.

Word count: 2.5k

A/N: Are we leaning into some serious monsterfucker vibes with this one? Oh absolutely hell yeah we are. Am I ridiculously scared to even post this? *Yes.* You literally can't overestimate how much I'm trembling right now.

I took some (a lot of) creative liberties with the vampire lore for this one, so if you're very heavily into traditional vampire lore, this may not be for you. It's my first time delving into anything fantasy-esque like this, so bear with me! (Friendly tips are always welcome.) Also, this is probably going to be weird. So there's that. We're doing kinky vampires, ok? Like. I can't make this more normal than what it sounds like.

@geralts-yenn As promised 🥰

@deandoesthingstome @summersong69 you both asked for a general tag... This is what that gets you. 🙈🙈🙈

“V-vampire? What do you mean you're a… You can't be.” It felt like the ground disappeared beneath your feet, and you were freefalling into darkness. You’d been dating Mikey for months, and now he… It couldn’t be true. It had to not be true.

“I am.” Mike looked at you, an apology clearly displayed on his face and in his voice. As if that was going to be enough. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I thought you knew…”

“And exactly how the fuck was I supposed to know?”

Mike shrugged. “The mandatory health classes in high school shou…”

“I was homeschooled.” Your anger dissipated somewhat. Apparently, at least part of this was your parents’ fault for misinforming you about vampires in general.

“Oh shit… I had no idea, sorry. Eh… What were you told about us?”

“That you're monsters…” That was the gist of it. You’d never believed much of it, and it had made you curious rather than scared. Less scared of vampires, at least. Your father, now that was a whole other story. “I-I'm so dead. My father… If he finds out…”

“He'd be pretty pissed if he found out you're living with a bunch of vampires?” Mikey’s casual tone was way out of place, but you knew he couldn’t help it. He was Mike, after all. But was he really? Was he still the Mikey you knew? The Mike you… loved?

“Of course it's all three of you. Fuck! Yes, he'd be pretty mad, to say the least. And he'll for sure disown me if he knew I let myself be defiled by one. God! I can't believe this. I slept with you. I… Vampire… Fuck.”

“Defiled? Jesus, please don’t say things like that. You’re making me feel like a monster.” He paused for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. “Are you scared of me?”

“No…” It wasn’t a lie, per se. You weren’t scared of the Mike you knew; you just weren’t entirely convinced that your Mike hadn’t changed.

“Do you want to leave?”

“No.” Apart from the fact you had nowhere to go, you didn’t see much reason to leave. If he was telling the truth when he said he genuinely believed you’d known all this time, then you had no reason to fear them, or to leave. If they wanted you gone, you’d be gone, one way or another.

“Do you hate me?” He looked as if he knew it was a ridiculous question, but he was still asking. You couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Mikey, stop, no. I… I'm not like my family, but this is hard. Even if I didn't believe everything they told me growing up, there's still a lot in between not believing vampires are the devil and fucking one.”

“Whoa, thanks. We're just screwing, then?”

“Mike, that's not what I meant. I just… That's what makes me so pissed you never told me! I really liked you. I still do.” You were fifty shades of confused right now, trying to make sense of the fact that your boyfriend hadn’t quite lied about yet still omitted the fact that he was a vampire.

“I'm really, really sorry! I genuinely thought you knew!”

“How was I supposed to know? You're out in the sun! I've seen you eat… Food. I've seen you eat garlic. You show up in pictures and in mirrors.” As soon as the words left your mouth, you realized it was entirely possible that the information you’d gotten from your parents and their – generally lacking – education may not have been entirely correct.

“Ah. I see some inaccuracies are still alive and well in the homeschooling department.”  Somehow, saying something like that was something Mike could get away with without sounding like a massive dick. There was something in his tone that made it abundantly clear to you that you weren’t at fault for this whole… Misunderstanding? Was that the right way to describe it, or was it a gigantic understatement?

“Well enlighten me.” Mike quickly offered to make you a cup of tea while you had that conversation, which you gladly accepted. Mike put the kettle on and gestured at you to sit down on the couch.

“Get comfortable, we're in for a long talk.” You grabbed a blanket and waited for Mike to join you on the couch. He handed you your tea and you smiled a little nervously. “Fuck, Sweetcheeks, can I hug you?” Mike seemed genuinely upset at everything that was happening right now, which didn’t make you happy – you hated seeing him like this – but it definitely did make you feel more comfortable knowing that he had really never meant for this to happen.

“Where do we start.” You still couldn’t believe you were having this conversation. It seemed like a weird thing to find out about so late. Then again, you’d gone years without knowing your childhood best friend was left-handed, and you hadn’t known your English Literature professor was gay until a friend had pointed that out to you somewhere in the past week. You just weren’t very observant. Apparently.

“I'd like to apologize again, that's for sure. And after that… Do you have any questions?” He then proceeded to answer every question you had as they bubbled up in your brain in seemingly random order.

“Is this why you're so cold sometimes?” You felt silly asking these questions. It all suddenly really felt like you should have learned these things by now. Like making toast or stacking a dishwasher or doing laundry. Alright, you still weren’t completely clear on the laundry part, but you knew more about that than vampires. As it turns out, it was highly unusual for humans to even notice the difference in temperature, but you were on the right track with your question.

“It is. I'm colder when I'm hungry. And warmer after eating human food.” Apparently, it took up more energy to digest human food.

“Compared to eating people?”

“Whoa, Sweetcheeks, we don't 'eat people', okay? We drink blood, that's different!” He actually looked insulted when you said that, and maybe he was right to feel that way…

“You suck it out of people,” you said in a small voice. The comparison seemed logical…

“Shit, Sweetcheeks, you've sucked things out of me, do you 'eat vampires'?” Of course. That was such a Mikey thing to say…

“Why do I always have to be around when he says something stupid like that?” You immediately froze when you heard the dark, smooth baritone of Walter’s voice.

“Terrible timing? You somehow managed. He chuckled softly – the sound always gave you chills, but in a good way. Maybe a bit too good.

“Or so it would seem. As always, I apologize for his existence!”

“It's alright, I forgive him.”

“What were you even talking about? Wait, do I want to know?” Marshall decided to join the both of you in the living room. Mike didn’t protest, and you weren’t opposed to a second teacher to help explain all of these things. You just hoped that August wouldn’t show up; he wasn’t very good at hiding disdain, and he’d certainly have plenty of it stowed away for moments exactly like this one.

“She had no idea we are vampires.”

“You've been living with us for months? Did they teach you nothing in hi-“

“Homeschooled,” Mike clarified quickly. You felt a blush creep up to your cheeks; you definitely hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Like a clueless child in dire need of adults to tell her how the world worked. It reminded you a little bit too much of the way your parents had always treated you.

“Ah. My bad. And you're trying to rectify the situation using phrases like that?” Luckily, it was Mike that was being judged by Marshall, and you sighed in relief.

“She accused me of eating people,” Mike said, looking like a sad puppy; pouty and adorable.

“Alright, that's a gratuitous overstatement.”

“How do you even eat? Drink? Feed? ... You don't kill people, do you?”

“Love, this isn't the dark ages, there's safe ways for us to feed – ‘feed’ would be the most commonly used term.” Marshall chuckled. “And most importantly; the 'people we eat' are willing to let us feed.”

“Why would they do that voluntarily?” It seemed kind of weird to you to just, what? Walk up to vampires and go ‘here, suck my blood?’ Another Marshall-chuckle tore you away from your thoughts.

“Well, they’re not volunteers, per se. It pays pretty well.”

“It's a job?” That made more sense, but something about that felt… obscene and perverted? Though you did recognize that that was probably your upbringing talking.

“Yes, it is. It’s quite popular among students; you're just sitting around, with plenty of time to study.” Marshall’s explanation didn’t come across as judgy or mocking, he just explained. Nothing more, nothing less. “Some are purely in it for the money, and are really freaked out about the bites. It always sucks -pun not intended – when you get one of those.” That had you curious, and you asked about the ‘why’ behind that.

“Fear makes blood taste weird,” Marshall said. Apparently, it had something to do with the hormones humans released when scared.

“I bet August likes it,” Mikey said with a massive grin on his face.

“A little adrenaline from excitement and anticipation, sure,” Of course August came home right that second. You remembered what your parents had briefly warned you about; vampires had keen senses. You wondered if Mike had heard August coming. “But genuine fear? Might as well feed during finals week.” Another tidbit of information that would have been infinitely more informative if you knew the first thing about vampires and their feeding practices, but you didn’t. Therefore, you had to ask again – and this time, you had to ask August.  

“What?”

“Lots of stress doesn't make it taste any better, either. Why are we teaching Vampire Health 1 to an undergrad?” There it was: some good old, signature August derision to feast on.

“Homeschooled,” the three of you said in unison.

“My apologies,” August said. He seemed sincere, and his attitude disappeared immediately.

“The feeding... I take it it's not a fun little restaurant experience?” You asked your question carefully, afraid to have been misinterpreting everything the whole way through, but you were met with three looks that proved you right beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“It definitely isn't. It's a long wait, and you basically have no idea of what you're going to get, no choice at all, and you're out of whack for anywhere from three days to a week.” Mike said, shuddering at the thought.

“Why would you feel out of it?” That didn’t make any sense. Wasn’t eating supposed to make you feel better, not worse?

“They dose you with garlic,” Mike answered as if that explained everything. You gave the boys a quizzical look.

“Oh good grief, this is why Sherlock spends most of his time at the clinic dealing with transitioning homeschooled kids.” August growled. His exasperation wasn’t aimed at you, per se, you noticed. The guys seemed to be very sympathetic towards your status as a nitwit homeschooled kid.

“I'm completely lost, guys.”

“You're completely lucky you're not one of us, princess.” August said. His voice was more mellow than it had been a few moments ago, as if he was trying to make it clear to you that he wasn’t frustrated with you. That being said, he didn’t quite succeed; he still sounded pretty pissed, and you weren’t convinced it wasn’t aimed at you. “Not that being a vampire is so bad, but it shouldn't be an accident.”

“What were you told about becoming a vampire?” Marshall shot August a look that clearly meant he needed to calm the fuck down.

“You get bit, you become a vampire.” You shrugged. That was basically all your parents had told you about the process. “Oh and that it's the most painful thing ever. And there was something about the fires of hell. Actually, the fires of hell got mentioned quite a lot.” The guys laughed at that, which made you very happy. It had been a joke, after all – well, the ‘funny because it’s true’ kind – and it did break the tension a little. It also didn’t seem to be something they hadn’t heard before.

“Alright, they weren't wrong about the biting part, per se. It's not a given, but there's a pretty decent success rate.” Marshall explained.

“'s where the garlic comes in. You were probably told that vampires and garlic don't mix?” You nodded in reply to Mike's question. “Alright. Not necessarily a lie. Garlic does make us easier to kill, which is what the hell-yellers choose to interpret as 'vampire eat garlic, vampire die'.”

“Which can't be true, because you're all still here.”

“Exactly. What it does do,” August continued, ”is weaken us. We're slower, less strong, and it fogs our brain a little. What it also does, is weaken the toxin our teeth secrete when they come into contact with human blood.”

“Not animal blood?”

“Imagine a vampire tiger or bear, princess, and then consider whether or not that's a sound idea from an evolutionary point of view.” August took one look at your face and laughed. It was something you didn’t hear often, and even if you did it was usually mixed into the laughter of the others. It was nice, though. “Exactly.”

“So garlic is what? Vampire contraceptive?”

“Pretty much,” Mike said, “and since the places where we feed can't trust everyone to take their daily dose, they OD you on the stuff to the point where you can't see straight. There's a reason most of us only go once a month or so.”

“This is a lot...”

“Yeah, this was the speed run of maybe just about half of a ten-week high school course,” Marshall said, “and most of those kids have been given information from a very young age. Correct information.”

“What about the sun? And reflections? Do you need to be invited into houses?” Whenever you thought you were out of things to ask about, something else came to mind.

“Sunscreen, myth and yes,” August answered your questions effectively, which was nice, given the fact that you were really approaching the limits of how much information you could handle in a single day.

“Su- no.” That was an explanation that was so devilishly simple that it couldn’t be true. At the very least it was incredibly anticlimactic.  

“He’s not lying to you, love,” Marshall said, “we've been around for ages, give me one good reason why your scientists have come up with something that prevents you from burning in the sun, but ours wouldn't have?”

“Vampire scientists?”

“You can meet one, if Sherlock ever makes it back.”

[kayesdreamteam]

//Story Arc End: To Castelia and Back

(//OFF-SCREEN POST)

"...I see. So that's what happened..."

Kaye sighed as they finished recounting the tale of what happened in Castelia to the Daycare couple. That fateful, awful meeting with Swoobat's old trainer, who'd discussed the absurd lengths he'd gone to be rid of her for good. All punctuated by him smashing her old Poké Ball to bits. It made Kaye sick to their stomach to even think about it.

"Yeah..." they confirmed sadly. They looked to Swoobat, perched upon the Daycare's desk. "That's about the gist of it..."

"I'm sorry," Ellis said, downcast. "I wish things hadn't turned out like this."

Kaye hummed, not knowing how else to respond.

"Regardless," Josephine chimed in, a thoughtful hand at her chin. "What do you plan to do now?"

"...Huh?" Kaye asked, looking up at the older woman.

"With Swoobat, I mean," she clarified.

"N-No, I know what you mean," Kaye said. "It's just... I was hoping you two would know."

The couple looked inquisitively at Kaye, urging them to go on.

"Like, what should I do?" they elaborated, flustered. "I had no plan for what to do if her trainer refused to take her back. That possibility never even crossed my mind! And I just-"

Hearing their own voice break, Kaye took a shaky breath, blinking back tears.

"I don't wanna just... leave her..."

The old couple gave each other a knowing look, glanced at Swoobat, and then back at Kaye.

"Well," Ellis began. "I think it's quite obvious, don't you?"

Kaye clammed up, confused. "...Huh?"

Josephine smiled softly. "Hun, if you don't want to part with Swoobat," she said. "Why not take her in?"

Kaye felt their eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Y-You mean..." they stammered out stupidly. "Catch her for myself?"

"Of course!" Ellis exclaimed happily. "If you have the space in your home, and Adamina allows it... Well, why not?"

"And if you feel you can't handle caring for a third Pokémon," Josephine added on. "Then we'll gladly care for her until we can get her paired up with a willing new trainer."

Kaye glanced at Swoobat, weighing their options. Grandma had said in the past that she wouldn't mind Kaye taking in another 'mon, and Kaye... really didn't wanna let Swoobat go. She was such a sweet, gentle Pokémon, and she seemed to get on great with PJ and Remi. Plus, she was part Psychic type; she was in Kaye's wheelhouse! It seemed like the perfect idea.

But...

"Would she even want me as a trainer?" Kaye asked, torn.

Ellis chuckled. "You have the means to find out, do you not?"

Before Kaye could ask Ellis what in Arc's name he was talking about, they suddenly remembered.

Oh. Duh. They're telepathic.

Placing all their focus on Swoobat, Kaye sent out a gentle wave of psychic energy.

"Swoobat?" they began. Immediately, the little Flying type's ears perked up, and her gaze met Kaye's. "I know it's probably too soon to ask you this, but..."

Swoobat stared at Kaye, eyes wide and curious.

"Would you like to join my team?" Kaye asked. "Do you want me as a trainer?"

With a squeak, Swoobat jerked back in surprise. Kaye winced, about to apologize, when suddenly-

"You want me?" Swoobat's soft, shy inner voice asked. "Why?"

Kaye smiled. "Because I like having you around," they replied. "PJ and Remi do, too. And I bet my grandma would adore you!"

Swoobat blinked, seeming conflicted. "Can't," she said, averting her eyes. "Bad fighter."

"You don't have to fight if you don't want to!" Kaye tried to assure her, hoping their latent rage towards Trevor wasn't leaking into their tone. "It doesn't matter to me whether you're strong or not, I just want you to be safe and happy."

Swoobat looked utterly stunned at the prospect. Kaye placed a hand palm-up on the desk.

"So, do you wanna come home with me?"

A beat.

Then, Swoobat launched herself into Kaye's arms with an elated squeal, nuzzling her pink nose into their neck. Kaye laughed and gently held the little fluffball, not caring about the sudden break in the mental link making them stumble slightly. They had a new Pokémon.

The Daycare workers watched on with fondness, clearly having put together what just happened.

"I'm glad you two are happy," Ellis said.

Kaye nodded, tears pricking the corners of their eyes once again as Swoobat latched onto their shirt.

"Just let us know if you need any help with her, okay?" Josephine asked.

"I will," Kaye promised. Carefully, they adjusted Swoobat onto their shoulder, looking over at her happily. "Let's head back to Striaton and get you a new Poké Ball. I'll let you pick what kind!"

Swoobat gave a cheerful squeak, and with that, Kaye gave the Daycare couple a wave and headed outside. They were finally going home, and so was Swoobat.

[dovelyanon]

So I was thinking and I realized I don’t know why Teach me how to sing is named teach me how to sing. How’d you come up with that title?

Omg, you asked! I was wondering if anyone was ever going to ask. Warning: I'm about to ex-theatre kid nerd out.

I hope you don't regret this, @rahabrios

The Similarities between Adrien Agreste and Johanna Barker

"Teach me how to sing" is a lyric from 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird'- the damsel's song in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In it, Johanna- the play's damsel in distress- is locked in her room. She looks to the songbirds in their cages and wonders how they can sing in these conditions. Feeling powerless, she wishes to learn how to be content despite her circumstances hence the lyric "teach me how to sing". I thought it mirrored Adrien's constant struggle in the fic- between his desire for freedom and his desire to remain and be the perfect son, to make his father happy. Johanna never finds happiness in these circumstances and neither does Adrien.

I had a few titles in mind when I started the fic, but what sold me on "Teach Me how to Sing' was all the fun parallels between the story/Miraculous in general and Sweeney Todd. Here are just a few I remember finding amusing (Light Spoilers for Sweeney Todd ahead):

Judge Turpin and Gabriel Agreste. Judge Turpin is Johanna's guardian, a wealthy man with political power who was obsessed with Johanna's mother. After he drove her mother to her demise, he took charge of Johanna and keeps her locked away under tight surveillance. He ultimately has darker intentions toward her and, when she refuses, he labels her insane and tries to have her committed.

Sweeney Todd and Gabriel/Hawkmoth. Johanna's actual father is Sweeney Todd- a man so consumed with vengeance for his family that he is terrorizing all of London and sinking ever deeper into madness. He knows Johanna is alive, but kind of just... doesn't bother to try and talk to her and isn't urgent about freeing her? He is more occupied with taking revenge on Judge Turpin and lamenting losing his perfect family and wife. He does not try to have a relationship with his daughter because she'd probably "look too much like her (his wife)" and they'd "never be the way we were".

Mrs. Lovett and Nathalie. Mrs. Lovett is Sweeney Todd's dedicated partner in crime. She's arguably more capable and more intelligent than him. She comes up with the bright ideas while he whines and she takes the brunt of his mood swings. But she's head over heels for him despite the fact that he is stingy at best and manipulative at worst with his affections and largely emotionally unavailable to her due to his fixation on his lost wife. He uses the hell out of her anyway. He is ultimately responsible for her demise.

Anthony and Marinette. Anthony is the optimistic and hopeful pauper charming who drops into Johanna's life and helps her to escape from her gilded cage, fighting retaliation by Judge Turpin each step of the way. He is also notorious for having one of the most stalkerish love songs by his archetype in musical history.

Some notable lyrics:

"I'll steal you, Johanna."

"Do they think that walls can hide you?"

"Even now I'm at your window."

He is the well-intentioned but slightly creepy love interest. But we're rooting for them anyway.

Well, yeah. There were a few more, but that's the gist of it. Sorry I turned your ask into a photo essay, @rahabrios

I didn't expect anyone to ask me this and thought the nerding would stay safely locked inside. I guess not. Welp... I recommend Sweeney Todd for anyone who likes musicals and dark themes! The original play with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury is great, but I'm also a big fan of the 2007 movie with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter <3 Thanks for reading my rambles.

[tanjir0se]

Hello!! I saw in the tags of a post that youd like more asks, which made me brave enough to send one

Would u mind rambling a bit about your rengiyuu fic(s)? I get excited when I hear that you're working on them but I don't know if you've published any/ any chapters yet?

I hope you're having a nice day!! 🌻

hI THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING AND I AM SO SORRY _(:3 」∠)_

So it AAALLL started with my overlong post-Entertainment District Coping fic I wrote the majority of between episodes 10 and 11 of Entertainment District, trying to find a way for Tanj and the bois to survive the. yknow. Gigantic Poison Explosion.

I wrote Giyuu and Shinobu heading there with an antidote, and Giyuu having to dig around through the rubble to find Tanjiro, half dead. In that I draw comparisons between his relationship with Tanjiro and his relationship with the now-deceased Kyojuro, very different but all leading into the same conclusion: He can't stand to lose anyone else who is as special and just sunshine incarnate as Kyo was. It's told interspersed between Giyuu trying to find/save Tanjiro and my headcanon for Giyuu and Kyo's first meeting, in which Giyuu became a Hashira AFTER Kyo and Kyo was his mentor throughout. Never finished or published it because most of it didn't make sense in canon after Ep 11 came out.

Then I moved onto my Demon!Rengoku bullshit. In this fic that takes place any time post Entertainment District, Rengoku has been posthumously turned into a demon by Douma in an attempt to get close to/kill Tanjiro. Waking up with no memory, no awareness that he's a demon, and nowhere else to go, Kyo wanders to Giyuu's house. Giyuu tries to just end him right then and there but can't work up the nerve, even when Kyo attacks him. Haven't gotten too far, but the gist is that he and Kyo have to team up (with Akaza?? [obviously he'd be fucking PISSED that Douma managed to turn Kyo when he couldn't, so maybe some enemy of my enemy is my friend?]) to figure out who turned him and how to turn him back. Probably my spiciest fic? Demons sexy what can I say. I think I'm pretty good at writing smut but I can literally never work up the nerve so. yknow.

I ALSO have a much more fluffy fic based on the idea of Giyuu being injured in battle, waking up in the butterfly mansion with Kyo having thought he died. Kyo tries to confess that he's realized his love for him but panics last minute and ends up saying he's realized Giyuu never met his brother. Giyuu accepts and they end up on a date that neither really realizes is a date except poor Senjuro, who now kind of has to play matchmaker! Very fluffy and silly and a good break from the darker fics I had been working on.

Annnnd another less overtly Rengiyuu fic as part of my Modern AU in which Giyuu (Kyo's roommate[and they were ROOMMATES]) and Sanemi (over at their apartment because he was bored) find themselves embroiled in the Rengoku family drama after Senjuro and Kyo appear at their apartment, Kyo with a black eye from their father. Explores Giyuu and Sanemi's shared past (dead siblings), Sanemi's relationship with his own father, and my personal thoughts for how Shinjuro and Kyojuro's relationship would have played out A.) If Kyo never died and B.) in a modern setting.

That was interrupted by As the World Caves In (read it here!) and will likely be interrupted by some Everybody Lives AU Secret Relationship bullshit in the future.

*Takes a huge deep breath*

So yeah anyway i loooove being Normal! For real though thank you for asking, I will die on this Ship and will always welcome the opportunity to ramble incoherently about it !!

[batstorm93672]

Do I Know You?

~First (Here)~ Next>>>

Damian sat and sighed as he was tied to a chair. Heaven forbid he decides to go to the Cave and only be able to take off his mask before being bombarded by his family.

"Father, what is the meaning of this?"

Batman looked at Damian and furrowed his brow "Why do you keep calling me that, how did you get in here and why are you dressed like Robin?" "I'm your son, I am Robin" "Don't lie!"

"Alright B how about we lay off the kid? Not gonna get anywhere shouting"

Nightwing walked in and handed Damian a cup of water. "Here, don't mind him. We just want to know what's going on"

"Richard you're a part of this trivial thing too? Also did you put anything in the cup?" Nightwing paused and kneeled down "Okay. We just want some answers, number one. How do you know who I am?"

"Tt. Fine I'll play. I'm Damian Wayne-" Damian jerked his head to Batman "-your son and I'm-" He looked back at Nightwing "-your brother. Alongside with Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas and not to mention the million of others father brought in as he is a magnet for taking in children"

Nightwing nodded and took off his mask "Are you a speedster from the future?" "What? Ew, no. I'm Robin" "Listen, you might be getting something confused. There are no more Robins, the last one was Tim. So where did you get the costume?" "Okay hasn't this gone on long enough? Where is Titus or Alfred the cat? Do you need them to help recognize me or something"

Dick raised a brow "I have no idea who those are"

"Tt. This is tiring"

Damian stood up, untied hands and ankles, he rubbed his wrists. "I untied myself about a minute after you tied me, I know your tricks father, you've taught everyone how to escape knots like yours. Try to get a better tactic. As for you Richard, hasn't this gone on long enough?"

Bruce took off his cowl and studied Damian carefully "He may be telling some truth. It's hard to tell, who is your parent?" "Other than you? Talia Al Ghul is my mother"

The two adults looked at each other with wide eyes. "She doesn't have a child. She told me she had a miscarriage" "Do I look like a miscarriage?"

"Dick. Call for Tim and Cass, they may be able to figure out if he's lying. In the meantime I'll look into this kid"

Damian groaned and sat back down. "Can Pennyworth at least come down? I'd enjoy his company"

"N-" "Yeah I'll get him"

Bruce narrowed his eyes making eye contact with Dick, the two had their private conversation internally and while Damian could decipher the gist of it. He didn't want to right now. This is dragging on long enough.

Bruce sighed for like the fifth time "Fine, let him come. He stays here and under surveillance. Understood?" "Hear you clear"

Bruce left and Damian eyed Dick, wouldn't they have stopped by now?

"Richard... are you still joking with me? Hasn't this gone on long enough?"

Dick looked guilty and sad "I'm sorry, but we really don't know you"

Damian looked down, recounting what he just went through moments before showing.

Someone approached him, a lady with a crystal ball typical isn't it.

"Young boy, won't you indulge this old lady?"

"I'm sorry, I can't-"

"Oh please? This is all I ask of you"

Robin nodded and came over, she was an elder and he respects them. Not to mention she would probably insist and Damian would rather not have to do that.

"Come child" Her wrinkled yet soft hands went over his gloves and she closed her eyes, she was wearing a shawl and attire of stars and eyes decorated on the cloth. "I see... you are of a great destiny. Yet though this is apparent, you are deeply troubled with choices. Leading to terrible consequences. Not to mention the loneliness you are faced with, a great destiny yet an even greater shadow. Tell me, the family you surround yourself with, do they truly see you? You have so many doubts and fears, that you will be alone and forgotten by them"

"...That sounds correct, my fears tend to obscure my view of the path ahead. I feel like one day, they will forget me. And that I'll be alone. Sometimes I wish I was forgotten so I could avoid the pain and move on with my choice without feelings" He... didn't mean to say that much, what is happening?

"Then it will be"

"Wha-"

A flash of light, recovering his vision to see no one. The lady was gone.

...Curious, it may be time I go back before they worry.

Damian kept his gaze away from Dick who was talking on the phone.

They... forgot me. They don't know me. It's like I never existed...

[polyamorousmood]

can you be a teenager and be polyamorous?

this sounds like a silly question, but can i explain real quick-

so i’m, ofc, a teenager, and i’ve never actually been in any kind of romantic relationship before, or even kissed anyone - not that i don’t want to, my parents are just homophobic - and idk, i think i’m polyam, but… like, am i allowed to be, if i’m a teenager? i’m ace and i already know i don’t want any kind of sexual relationship w/ anyone, and i know that polyamory is often only seen as a sexual thing by a lot of the general public, so maybe that’s why i’ve seen so much stuff online saying that kids can’t be polyam as it’s inherently sexual (i don’t think it always is), or the classic ‘they’re too young to know’ but i just feel like they’re right sometimes, like, i haven’t had the experience and years and stuff that adults have had, and that makes me feel like an idiot for even wanting anything to do w/ this part of the community.

except… it’s like. when i think of being older and married or in a relationship, i always think of it being someone who’s not a man (i’m a nonbinary lesbian), but like, i also think of it as more than one person? like. i’d be happy w/ two wives i think. or a partner who has a partner, that i’m not dating, esp since i’m ace and not of course everyone else is and everyone has different needs wants in a relationship. and while these are obviously just thoughts, i’ve also put. like. a lot of thought into it, and the traditional relationship structure (monogamous man/woman) doesn’t really seem like something that work for me. like also bc i’m aro and i could have a qpr but i wouldn’t mind if it was w/ more than one person or if my partner had like a date or other qpr partner or like… you get the gist. not even ‘wouldn’t mind’ i think it’d be neat, like the traditional relationship structure just never felt like it was right for me.

idk, i’m sorry, this ask is so incoherent. i just. wanted to know if i could be teenage and polyam, or if there’s something wrong w/ me and my thinking for wanting to be so, like i honestly don’t know if there is, and it’s not great sometimes, wanting to use a label for yourself in your head and not knowing if you… can

TL;DR (and it will be long): you can be whatever you feel, at any stage of life, forever. So, yeah, it could be other things, but if that's how your feeling, it doesn't really matter if you change your mind later. You can be it now.

So here's the thing: you do have a lot going on. All teenagers do, and as much as adults condescend to teenagers about it, the only way to figure it out for you personally is for you --personally-- to stumble through it. And you're clearly a bit overwhelmed. That's chill and normal. As stressful as it is, try not to stress it; these are all things that will be okay once the dust has settled.

When I was a teen, I didn't want to touch anyone. I thought I was ace. I barely even wanted a romantic relationship. Now I want several high-sex romantic relationships. I changed in that. I haven't changed in other ways, such as not wanting kids. Everyone told me I'd want them eventually, and here I am as an established adult, happily childless.

If you think you're poly now, you're allowed to call yourself poly! If you wanna say you're "questioning poly" or "interested in exploring" poly that's fine, too, in the same way bi people sometimes go "I'm mean I'm pretty sure I'm bi because my gender people SO HOT but some days I'm not feeling it and I've never actually had gay sex soooo for now I'm just going to call myself bicurious". And a lot of people will probably tell you you're too young to know, but that's not going to change how you feel. Maybe you'll grow in a different direction. Maybe you'll have a 10 year headstart on happiness that everyone on poly forums wishes they had. Both of those things sound fine to me. Those are both 👌👍✅ outcomes.

You can also want all those things and not consider yourself poly. Maybe you're just meant to join a commune 🤷

The point of labels is for you to be able to describe your experience, not to define you. If you think "poly" is an adequate word to describe the experience of "ace but wanting to build my life with multiple close women" then go for it! You could also describe yourself as other things to other people. Like, if you're in a very queer environment like Tumblr, you might feel comfortable saying "I wanna be in a poly lesbian QPR!" but to conservative adults you might just stick to "I'm not looking to get married too quick, its just going to be me and my best girl friends for awhile!" and to someone who's trying to understand but really isn't getting it you might choose to describe it as "I'm trying to found-family-trope my life. Like, we're not sexual, but we're everything for each other, you know?"

So I guess to wrap this up back to you initial question: "poly" isn't inherently sexual, and you can use it to describe anything you think it applies to, yourself especially. However, it may carry that connotation with others, so it might be a lot of trouble (up to you whether its worth that trouble) to identify yourself as that to those people. In your own head? do whatever the fuck you want lmao I'm not the thought police🚫🚓

Use them terms -- "poly" included -- when they suit you. Be that the current mood, the current conversation, the current stage in life, whatever.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz - Atlas Hospital Scene Part II

"... James?" Oz ventured, tentatively, as he re entered the room. "What is it? What did they find... who do they think I was?" "I can give you good news and bad news. On one hand, you do have several living family members, assuming this information is correct. On the other, I'm not so certain you would wish to claim them all..." "You said there was a kidnapping ring? How many others went missing in it, and would there be anyone beyond your sister that..." "Was important enough to merit extra attention? No one missing child case should be more important than any other... but. As said, if the scroll is right, then there have been people looking for you for a quarter of a century."

Oz swallowed, taking in that information, mind racing as he tried to recall any cases from that time that he'd ever really heard of. The fact that there had been a kidnapping ring did tickle something in the back of his brain, but he was still so tired that whatever it was wasn't coming to him. This was another reason he hated hospitals, the drugs they gave him tended to slow his mind down to an unacceptable extent. Even without the full merge, he was used to knowing these things. But would he, now?

Qrow, getting impatient, jerked the scroll away from James, glaring at him as the latter snarled. Dammit, Oz was his friend, whatever this was sounded like something they would need to deal with together. Besides... Qrow had been eleven when Oz would have been snatched and, unlike the others, he had a sudden, horrible incling of just who the database would have believed Oz to have been. Because Atlas plus Oz's rather unique coloring painted a rather terrifying picture. He wasn't right, of course. He was very, very certain that the child in question had been murdered, there'd been certain consequences to that action that the Branwen tribe as a whole had been gossipping and snickering about for months afterwards. But then stranger things had happened. Some of them even to Oz.

Oscar leaned closer to his brother, Ruby moving to his other side, one hand raising only to drop it again, a guilty expression on her face. Oz himself was watching Qrow, eyes narrowed but trusting that he knew what he was doing. After all, this was probably still a dream. The others were being so nice, so friendly, even though he'd done nothing to earn that sort of trust from them again. It was a very nice dream, though. Even the thought that the child he had once truly been had actually had a family that missed him was nice. He doubted it, after all he had been rather prominant in Vale later on, but still. It was nice.

Qrow swore, too. His vocabulary was even more extensive and impressive than James' had been, and Oz could feel Oscar blushing into his shoulder. In fact, he was pretty certain he was the only one in the room not learning new words from the rant. He stilled, though, as he heard a single surname repeated several times.

"Qrow? Please tell me I'm hearing things, that you didn't just say Schnee? If I'm related to Jaques Schnee, I'll kill him myself." His voice was tight with a fury the others hadn't really heard from him before, but his hatred for that particular public figure bled through loud and clear.

"You're not. Not directly, anyway. Have you ever heard the story of Winter? Not the specialist. The other one."

"... the missing one." At that, Oz couldn't help but swear, too. Thankfully he knew enough languages that he doubted the others would that they were unlikely to understand. From Qrow's impressed noises, though, he at least got the gist.

"Not that I don't agree wth you about Jaques Schnee's ancestry, Oz, but... maybe tone it down a bit? Little ears. Technically including your own. And Oz? I'm sorry. You're my best friend, you know that. I just... yeah. Well, won't happen again."

"It might, if I ever make you all as angry as I did that day. Speaking of, at some point soon, James, we'll need to talk. There's information that I need to share that I've been, well... scared to."

"Scared, Oz? You? I'll believe that when I see it."

"Another version of me asked the wrong question, ever since, I've been... well. As said, we'll talk in private. Just promise me you won't hate me?"

"Hate you? NEVER, Oz, I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Oz just nodded, face pensive, as a set of footsteps echoed down the corridor towards them. James looked like he wasn't really looking forward to seeing whoever that was, but since he had to have been the one to have summoned them, Oz felt that was probably very much a him problem. He had enough on his mind with the revelation that he was apparently another Winter Schnee... but he had heard of the boy in question, the fact that their father had used the name for a son not a daughter had rather tended to stick in the mind, given the connection to the story of the maidens.

A white haired young woman in military garb entered and saluted James, before turning to look at the others. Her eyes scanned past Oscar, Oz, Ruby and Nora to land, glaring, on Qrow, who glared right back.

"Great, the ice queen. I know why she's here, Jimmy, but can we get some of the kids out first? I doubt Oscar will leave, but Ruby and Nora probably should..."

"Agreed. You two? Dismissed. See if you can send Weiss Schnee back up here, while you're at it?"

"Yes sir, general Ironwood sir." Ruby stuttered before dragging a protesting Nora from the room. Winter watched them go then turned to James again.

"With all due respect sir, just why am I here? And who are these children?"

James sighed. "That's not really an easy answer, but... Specialist Winter Schnee? Meet Oscar Pine... and Winter Schnee."

She stared at Oz for a minute, who met her gaze as evenly as he could, before snapping. "Sir, that is not a funny joke."

"I'm not laughing, Winter."

"My uncle never lived long enough to carve out his own path. If he had, he would be a lot older than that boy is."

"As said, it's complicated." Ironwood said, gently. "But it boils down to this. You know of magic, after all, I have briefed you on the maiden powers before and you know what it means to accept them. However, as much as the maidens are real... so is the wizard. The current incarnation is apparently your uncle."

"But sir, you said that the current incarnation was..." She turned back to Oz, staring at him again, taking in the dark glasses, the pale hair.

"Oh." She said, weakly. "I'm not sure this is a situation I would wish for my father to find out about, he'd try to manipulate things. You are Professor Ozpin, correct?"

"Yes," Oz confirmed. "Although I prefer Tip Pine at present. Also, I challenge your father to try to manipulate me. It would not end well. For him."

"You... hate him almost as much as I do, don't you?"

"Quite probably. For how he has treated you and Weiss, he had my hatred. Now that I know that your mother may in fact be my sister... there are rumors as to her current state and the reasons behind it. That he could do that to someone he claimed to love is unconscionable. As such, I intend to find a way to rescue her from him. Young Whitley, too."

"Whitley is currently older than you, I think. How are you a child, sir? If I can ask."

"Nobody really is certain of that, including myself, however the theory is that it was an unfortunate confluence of various factors that resulted in a rather unexpected response."

"Do you remember? Anything, really?" She sounded far more tender now, but Oz wasn't sure he quite liked the look in her eyes.

"Before waking up in Vale? Nothing. Snatches, perhaps. Also, I am not the child I appear to be, Winter. I don't need mothering."

"I wasn't!" She sounded indignant. "I... wait, was I?"

"Very slightly, yes." James interjected, still sounding amused. There was a noise as Weiss entered, blinking at her sister. "Hello, Winter. Hello again Oscar, Qrow. Oz. General. Why am I here?"

Oz shrugged as Winter sighed. "We came into some interesting information, sister. It appears that Professor Ozpin is our uncle."

"Excuse me? How is that... Uncle Winter?" She sounded strangely happy at the revelation, something else that rather convinced Oz he was still dreaming.

"Apparently." he muttered as Oscar started to laugh, Qrow following suit. They both sounded slightly hysterical, in fact. But then, it had been that sort of a day. In the back of his mind, Ozymandias sounded rather relieved that, if nothing else, at least he knew who he had once been, at last.

They talked for awhile longer, but Oz was fading in and out as the drugs took hold once more and soon enough they left him to sleep. He did so smiling, softly. For a dream, it had been a rather nice one.

[flowers-all-around-me]

Yeah, I'd love to know which mechanisms songs you think I should start with, or if it's a particular album. I actually went and listened to a few seconds of one after reblogging the post. They remind me just a little of The Amzing Devil. I'll be honest, that specific specific song didn't keep my interest too long, but I'm sure someone who knows their music could point me toward the better ones. :)

Ahhh! Thanks for reaching out :3 (and also hope you don't mind if I make this public, just in case someone interested might see it :'>)

I'm going to assume you know nothing about them just in case (and also since I know some songs are less good for casual use/can take a little warming up to :'3)

The gist of it is that it's a storytelling cabaret where every band member is in character as an immortal space pirates; as such, their albums are retellings of "actual events" they have "witnessed" during their travels in space.

I think I will put the rest under a Read More though because! I went off a bit! Sorry about that :'D

I recommend listening to their albums as they interest you to get the general gist of the stories. Once I got that, I added them to my shuffle playlist and listen to my faves - that way it's not confusing to me and I don't have to "suffer" through the other parts when I don't wanna listen to a whole concept album.

The "main" four albums all follow a similar structure of switching between narration/song, with varying amount of information relayed in the song (as in, sometimes it's just about a concept of the story, sometimes it's more akin to a musical piece where the story moves as well). The songs themselves are often based on various extant, mostly folk, songs (e.g. Bella Ciao, WW1 songs, and I can't think of any more rn because my brain is cooked).

If you want the cliff's notes version of these albums (none of which have a "happy" ending, so be aware of that going in):

Once Upon A Time (In Space): their first album, Grimm's fairy tales but it's about a space rebellion against an immortal, tyrannical king with an army of clones.

Ulysses Dies at Dawn: greek mythology but it's a noir cyberpunk planet-wide city. Contains (in my unbiased opinion lol) very good and interesting takes on how the setting would influence some of the myths we are familiar with today. Fair warning though: will contain references to the original material you might miss if you are unfamiliar with the OG characters, but it's still enjoyable

High Noon Over Camelot: Arthurian legend but it's a diesel-punk desert space station with bike-riding cowboys. SPECIAL MENTION TO THE MOST BANGER BANJO (again, in my opinion), specifically in Peacemaker. It's going wild in there.

The Bifrost Incident: Norse Mythology but told as a space-train noir mystery. Notable for not being narrated by an outer character, but actually told as a "recording" of the police officer investigating. Features a very good banjo in "Expert Testimony" (which is narration) (also the banjo is in a genre I like to call "bastard" because oh yeah, what is happening in-story is that a character is being A Bastard <3)

As for Tales to be Told I and II, they contain smaller stories (either relating to the main albums, origin stories for in-universe band members, or self-contained ones)

There is also a standalone single, "Frankenstein." Guess what that one is about lol. It, along with "Alice" and "Gunpowder Tim vs. The Moon Kaiser" are "songs" on the longer side that contain shorter narration/song segments.

Lastly, there's Death To The Mechanisms, which was the band's farewell concert in 2020 when they disbanded. It's been recorded and put together as a live album and contains fun banter and character lore regarding their deaths.

IF you want my favourite songs, regardless of album, it's probably Red Signal, Peacemaker, Blood and Whiskey, Thor, Rose Red, Alice, Acatea and Lyssa, Lost in Cosmos, The Ignominous Demise of Dr. Pilchard (which also has fun banjo), Elysian Fields, Ragnarok II: The Calling, and Riddle of the Sphinx.

ANYWAY! Extremely long, heatwave induced rant aside, I do hope you'll check them out! Feel free to reach out and let me know how you liked the songs/stories, I am always down for recommending the band to more people :3

Lastly, allow me to link the unofficial YouTube channel TheVoidSings (here!) which has all their albums with lyrics and in neat playlists so you can listen to them in order!

(I would link the band's channel so that they'd at least get some youtube cents from it, but it got demonetised under the new guidelines a few days ago, so that's fucked and yes, I am mad about it :'D)

[lushslug]

oh yeah uhm, same anon from before but i was meaning to ask, like; how do you colour? Its okay if you don't want to answer that! The style is so nice, i only colour in flat colours but i've been meaning to change my style a bit but idk how ^^;;

Hope you don't mind me asking you question! Have a nice day!

Hello again! I don't mind at all, I'm happy to share - I love talking about this stuff! It'll probably get long and rambly so sorry in advance.

I don't always have the most consistent style or coloring method but the one I use the most is closer to how I like to paint with oil, I guess. I tend to put a real messy sketch down, maybe cleaning it up some without doing lines. Then I do some base colors underneath to get a general idea of how I want it to look before painting more details on top of everything (in a new layer or after flattening all the layers). During the first stage I like to throw colors I want to incorporate underneath like you would to "underpaint" in oil painting - just separate layers that I color drop from like this:

Which is what I used for this:

You can kind of see the base color stage w/ the underpainting on this one (it was just a sketch so I never got to detailing):

And I'm not always happy with the colors so sometimes I play with gradient layers to make adjustments to the palette retroactively.

Other times I do just paint in black and white and then use overlay layers to color after, which is another painting technique called glazing, I like it when I want something to have strong values (or when I'm feeling like painting in b&w):

Anyway, that's the gist! Feel free to ask more if you have questions or I didn't make sense lol. I happened to have some progress gifs and videos hanging around so it was a fun excuse to post them!

More than anything I think it's fun to just experiment throwing things down and seeing what you think looks cool! Breaking away from what you're used to doing can be hard but it's rewarding when you make something new!