#i kinda wanna write more of this verse but i don't even have a title lmfao

[azelle-intermisson]

Echo vn review

i have finally finished echo as my second ever visual novel after adastra. i really loved this vn and it was a super interesting read. for anyone who hasn't read it if a furry horror vn with very human feeling characters peaks your interest then i would 100% recommend echo its a really good story with some really strong characters that i enjoyed thoroughly. in this review im gonna be going through all the main cast and some of the side cast so its gonna be a kinda long post where i just gush about parts of each route i really liked but there will be titles before each section if you want to see what i have to say about one character in particular for whatever reason.

this review is all my opinion and is not going to be exhaustive so i will end up missing some things (mainly because i did not take notes while reading and forgot a lot oops). so if there is something i missed you wanna hear my opinion on ask :). also this is my first time writing something like this so lmk if there are things i can do better if i end up doing this again.

SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE GAME AFTER THE READ MORE

before i fully dive into the review i wanna go over some of the external factors that have influenced how i view this vn. during flynn's route i was the most sick ive ever been in my whole life and im pretty sure i missed out on some vital details because of the brain fog during that sickness. i am not well versed at all in vns the only other vn i have played is adastra, however i am familiar with romance tropes so even though i feel like i missed out on some cool moments simply because i haven't played many vns i did not miss out entirely. also about halfway through my playthrough i learned that there is kinda an order you are supposed to read the routes in which is:  Carl > Leo > TJ > Flynn > Jenna, i ended up reading it in this order: TJ > Leo > Flynn > Jenna > Carl. i don't really know how much this ended up changing how i view the story but thats how i did it. i also made chase gay i don't really know what that ended up affecting since i played all the routes as gay chase and whenever i got something i considered a "bad ending" i would reset to my last decision and do something different. the last thing that might have some sway on how i feel is how sweet the community has been to me so far, i don't usually get myself involved with a community before i finish something but this time was different since i was making fan art and everyone was super nice <3

Visuals/Music

I really loved the music and artwork for this game. i feel like the music did such a good job of creating an atmosphere whether it was chilling in the diner with jenna and tj or getting kidnapped by brian it always did an amazing job at really putting me in the shoes of the characters. i adored all of the fully rendered drawings throughout the game i love the colors i love everything about it. of all of them i think the one below is my favorite i just love how serene it looks.

this was my favorite track i feel like it does such a good job of capturing the tone of the whole game so well or the one that plays whenever they are just chilling idk what its called and i can't find it for the life of me it is driving me crazy.

Misc

there are a few things i couldn't quite fit into any of the next sections so i wanted to put them here. i really loved every character in this game i feel like the reason why i loved them all was because of how human they felt. whenever someone did something i didn't agree with i always defaulted to sympathizing with them because of how human they felt to me. also after writing this i have realized my ranking of each of the routes is just how much leo is involved with each of them i guess i just really love the guy.

Prologue

this part of the game is a little less fresh in my mind since i only read through it once on my first playthrough but from what i remember it did a really good job of establishing the setting and getting me interested in the lore of these characters. the first river scene was such an amazing moment i love how the route split happens in a way that makes you choose between emotionally comforting someone or going after who you want to romance. my only issue with it was that i did not realize that this was a route split in my first playthrough and ended up picking tj since he seemed the most affected by flynn and i was really worried about him even though the character i really wanted to romance was leo. even though i did not realize it was a game with so many diverging paths at first i still think the prologue was really good and got me very invested in the lore of echo.

MAIN CAST

Chase

i walked into this game not really expecting to care for chase too much since i kinda didn't like marco in adastra and i was expecting him to be more of the same type of guy but i was pleasantly surprised. i hate it so much when player inserts are just blank slates so im very glad that chase is an actual character who interacts with the world and people around him. he never had any moments where i was frustrated with him and wished he had said something different(aside from the ending of tj's route) and for the most part he reacted the way i think i would in his situation so i really liked him in all of the routes.

TJ

in retrospect i really like tj's route for how subversive it is as a romance with tj not reciprocating chases feelings and how nasty chase's jealousy felt. while playing it i kept waiting for leo to show up and whenever chase would try and romantically pursue him i would get kinda sad because i wanted to hangout with big wolf man. however i feel like this gave me a really interesting perspective on this route since before chase even kissed tj i never expected them to actually get together since it didn't feel like tj was all that interesting to me. this made chase's jealousy over julian feel even more scary than it already was and that final confrontation at the lake with flynn horrifying. i loved how the horror aspects where handled in this route and how subtle a lot of it was in comparison to other routes. chase drowning flynn and the description of it is one of the most haunting things from this game for me. overall i thought tj's route was pretty good even if i spent the whole thing wanting to hangout with leo because i was dumb and didn't know i had gotten to the route split. its in 4th place in order of my favorite routes in this game.

Leo

leo's route is my favorite i love him so much. i love how you get the bad ending of his route for trying to stay with him. his route was also my first time seeing the hysteria in full swing so that was a crazy twist. every single scene with brian made me feel so anxious i never really knew what to expect from him. i loved how his unhealthy obsession with chase was treated with the weight that it really deserved. the way he reacts to kudzu and chase's relationship not only feels like a natural progression of his character but also adds so much to the horror of his route since his jealousy often ends up causing serious harm. it was so sad to see him unravel and act the way he does during the hysteria because i really wanted to see him be happy and somehow move on from chase. the final scene of the "good" ending gave me what i wanted in the most evil way possible. i had wanted him to move on so bad that i had forgotten how brutal moving on can actually be. leo ends up losing the person he is closest to in the worst way possible i say this with love though it made me cry real hard. and the implication that he is planning on staying in echo is too just heartbreaking. i could go on forever about all the things i love about leo's character but i don't want this section to be too long so i will end it here and say leo is my favorite of the main cast and he has my favorite route of this whole game.

Flynn

i feel super conflicted on flynn's route, it does so many things so well but the ending left me feeling weird. i wanna talk about the things i liked first, which is most of the route. aside from leo he was the character i was most interested from the prologue mainly because i could tell that he wasn't just going to be a one-note mean guy and i thought he had a ton of potential for a really interesting story and i was right . i really enjoyed how his mean demeanor was written the times when he decided to be nice never felt out of character, like the way he helps carl with his interview and really wants his friend to do well and when things don't turn out well he still supports carl but does it in such a flynn way i just loved it so much. flynn and chase's relationship during this route stressed me out the most out of all of the routes mainly because of how they hid it from leo i really wanted chase to just talk to leo about everything but i can understand why he was avoiding it so much. i really loved the reveal of chase killing sydney and how flynn reacts to it. the way everything in that scene plays out was just amazing i can't be mad at either side of the it since i can understand why jenna and leo don't want to believe that their childhood friend killed someone but i can also understand flynn's immediate reaction to this and wanting to lash out at chase. the sydney flashback really got to me everything about it felt so real to me and flynn trying to take a big brother role for sydney and try and protect him from seeing the corpse anymore was so heartbreaking. my favorite part of this route was when you get the perspective of flynn rather than chase it was not something i was expecting in the slightest and i was so happy to be able to see some of his thought process when he does stuff. i really liked the hysteria portion of his route but im a little iffy on the ending. on one hand i like it for the story the fact that flynn dies kinda makes sense to me i just really wished he had lived and we had gotten to see a healed flynn who now knows the truth of what happened fully, even though i know this vn doesn't like giving out easy solutions. overall flynn's route is really good i just wish it had ended differently i would put it at 3rd place in my ranking of the routes in this game.

Jenna

i almost adore jenna's route as much as leo's. i really like her personality and aside from leo she is my favorite character. learning that she likes manga and watching anime with her was such a fun little moment that i thought was cute. it really surprised me when carl went missing in this route i was kinda expecting his birthday to play out the same in every route but i this was a really good plotline. i liked that this route forced jenna and flynn to interact more since the tension they have is always so fun to read. i loved the side characters in this route micha was my favorite out of all of them(even though i think jeremy is really cute). i want to give micha his own section in this review but to put it shortly his relationship with leo made me super happy. i really liked the tension between jenna and leo it was such a good conflict that i enjoyed reading. the whole fake cheating prank was such a gut wrenching scene that i was honestly having a hard time getting through. i liked the section where they are kidnapped by brian more in this route than in leo's mainly because brian getting rocked by the ghost thing was really satisfying. the implication that carl was tortured the same way chase was for multiple days is unfathomable to me. leo and chase being sewn together made me feel sick because anything remotely body horror related gets me and micha having to sever that tie was really cool foreshadowing for leo and micha's whole thing. the whole van section was also really incredible and seeing leo start to move on from chase warmed my heart in an otherwise very intense route. i liked heather she is such an intresting character to me since i really want to sympathize with her because its clear she has a lot of unresolved trauma but she was also an asshole to jenna and tried to flood all of echo. i really loved her trying to flood the town it is such a crazy plot point but i still really loved it and jenna having to put aside how shitty heather was to her to talk her down was a really good moment. the dinner scene after everything also felt very satisfying and it was good to see micha be apart of the group for a bit his interactions with everyone made me smile. i really liked jenna's route all around it is my 2nd favorite and was a super fun read.

Carl

i really liked carl's route i relate to a lot of his struggles and even though there where less scenes that scared me it was still really good. this was the last route i played so i was feeling kinda melancholic while reading since echo had become my nightly routine for about 3 weeks and i was really loving the characters and story. i liked how much lighter(in comparison to the other routes) of a tone carl's route took staying over at his big haunted mansion is such a silly concept on paper but it ends up playing out super well. i thought raven was a silly guy even if he didn't really add or remove much from this route and he helped keep jenna somewhat in check so that was nice. the escape room stuff was so interesting to go through. i found myself feeling scared that they may not actually make it out or they would end up killing each other. my favorite scene from this route was the hanging tree stuff. i had such a vivd picture of everything happening and it was really hard to watch jenna and carl to do things that i know they wouldn't. this route also had a ton of echo lore so i kinda wish i had played it first since i feel like i missed out in other route because i was trying to piece together things that are revealed in carl's route. i really liked the james hendricks and john begay stuff . even though carl's route is my 5th favorite by no means do i think it's bad.

Side Characters

i'm not going to only talk about the ones that really stood out to me and in a much shorter way than the main cast (other than micha)

Micha

micha is my favorite of the whole side cast and i really adored him and leo's relationship that i interpreted as romantic during the last bit of jenna's route. at first i didn't really like him and thought he was kinda an asshole. as the plot kept going i kept getting more and more attached to him since he was still an asshole but he was working with the main group. normally i don't like characters like him but i feel like he was written in such a realistic way that i found it hard to stay mad at him. i really loved him and leo's relationship their connection felt so real and i think they could be soooooo good for each other. the van scene was so incredible the way the player and chase have to fill in the blanks as leo and micha talk about what happened between the two of them really immersed me in the story .leo feeling guilt over never reaching out to micha after he was disowned was such an interesting thing i never really expected leo to want to help someone who was a bully to his friends but i still feel like it makes sense for leo to feel this way since he just wants to protect people. i think its really sweet that leo ends up leaning on micha more after the van scene. also the scene in the dinner at the end of jenna was really sweet i loved seeing micha being added to their group dynamic and i wish i got even more. in conclusion leo and micha should kiss and live happily ever after <3.

Brian and Clint

i don't have a lot to say about these guys other than the fact that they are horrifying antagonists. before i saw brian fight i was under the assumption that if leo is present then we are probably safe but brian ends up breaking that sense of safety in such a horrifying way. i like that even though clint isn't physically strong the fact that he has the strongest character following his orders made him so intimidating

Jeremy

i wanna give him a big kiss even tho he is mean

Janice

i really liked janice in tj's route. i love the fact that we never get a clear answer for why she needed chase and tj to be digging holes. i almost want to trust that she isn't killing people but she clearly has a few screws loose.

Closing Thoughts

i really loved this furry visual novel and its really human feeling characters. i had way more to say about it than i thought and the more i write the more i love the story and the more i want to say but this is already such a long post. i liked adastra more but i don't really feel like it is a fair comparison because if i hadn't played adastra this account would not exist and i prob would not be drawing at all but maybe if i had played echo first it would have done that to me since it still is really good. this was super fun to write even tho i know some of it might not make any sense lol because this is just kinda stream of conscious. i might end up doing this with other things i read/watch since it also gives me an actual reason to take notes when i read/watch things. also i wanna say thank you to the community on here i haven't been involved with fandom spaces for a really long time and im still not very involved with this one but you guys have been super nice and i wanna continue making art and talking about this game :)

[synergysilhouette]

"Starlight" (from "Stargazer")

(SPOILERS AHEAD!! I didn't finish these songs in chronological order, so I warned you. If you have any questions about the context, message me privately so I don't have more spoilers in the comments. The least spoiler-y way of setting the context for this would be explaining that our star is falling for our protagonist, who I've named Talia, but he's--or they're--concerned that she only likes him for the power he can give her.)

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a weird title for a Disney film, but it sounded beautiful and I think it captured the idea I was going for. And before ANYONE asks: I know "Anastasia" (the movie whose picture I'm using) isn't Disney; it's 20th Century Fox. However, I think for this musical sequence, it'd be GORGEOUS to have Anselm (my Star) use his magic to subconsciously summon magical royal couples during his song. They'd have original designs, but their color schemes would hark back to iconic Disney couples, but some of them with alterations, ie hero-villain couples (Gaston and Belle, for example), or a human couple with fox masquerade masks, inspired by Disney's anthropomorphic take on "Robin Hood." This also serves as inspiration for a part of the plot that comes after. I imagined this as a nice little pop/alt-pop song, with a mini mood-board for it below the lyrics. I never really decided if I wanted something slow to match the bittersweet tone, or something sad that makes you wanna get on the dancefloor.

Color guide:

Purple-Star

Blue-illusions/images

(Note: I haven't decided if there are certain moments where Star and the illusions sing together. I love strong harmonies like that.)

(Verse 1)

Ready, steady,

When do I say "go"?

Who do I give control?

Who sees into my soul?

Every, body,

Always has a wish?

Who put you up to this?

Should I regret that kiss?

(Prechorus)

(BUT!)

I can't fix the storm from inside

I'm lost in the eye

Soon I'll return to the sky.

(WAIT.)

When the sun's sure to rise

I change my disguise

To the shape that you liiii...

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

Heart and mind in conflict,

Is this wrong? Is this right?

Is she on a mission

To make my own decisions?

Is she really different?

Or do my powers pique her interest?

(Verse 2)

Keep it simple.

Don't make me prolong your pain

Hearts broken in twain

Please don't ask it of me again!

I'm so sorry.

I won't give your heart's desire

Even if it stokes your ire

Granting it is fuel upon a fire!

(Prechorus)

(BUT!)

If I ignored my senses for you,

What would that lead to?

Do you care? I do.

(WAIT)

Can we ever reach a deal?

I'll miss the way it feels

To have a relationship so real!

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

Heart and mind in conflict,

Is this wrong? Is this right?

Is she on a mission

To make my own decisions?

Is she really different?

Or do my powers pique her interest?

(Bridge)

You kissed me.

Do I kiss you back?

You used me?

How much do you lack?

I would give a lot

For this connection

The truth hurts too much

I want the deception.

But for all my reasons,

I can't be selfish

I'd break my own heart

To protect that wish.

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

What if this wish isn't that harmful?

Is that why it shines bright?

Can I close this distance

With all of my persistence?

I would hate myself,

But at least I'd have somebody else.

Hope you enjoyed it! I'm really torn about this song, since it kinda showcases a big issue I'm having with writing the relationship between our star and our protagonist. I'm working so the relationship doesn't feel too strong, too one-sided and more romantic and cute. Maybe I'll fix this later!

[cavernfullofexistentialdread]

RANTY RANT RANT

Obviously the near end of SIX (the song) is supposed to be a sort of contrast from ex wives, so I decided imma rant about all the parallels :D

-Okay so first, theres "Welcome to the show to the historemix!" and "It's the end of the show to the historemix". Not much to this one besides the obvious

-"Switching up the flow as we add the prefix!" and "We switched up the flow as we added the prefix" At this point in time they have already told their stories in a more modern light wether that be through the style of song or LITERALLY THE WHOLE POINT OF SIX THE MUSICAL

-"Everybody knows that we used to be six wives", "All that we know is that we used to be six wives". These 2 lines I find aren't contrasting eachother, but instead fallow the same point. It's saying, "Let's face it, we are just remembered as six wives and thats how you remember us"

-It then goes on to "But now were ex-wives!" and "But we wanna say before we close the curtain, that nothing is for sure nothing is for certain" This one is very contrast. Their still just remembered as just ex wives; only now carving their path from Henrat, wanting to be known for more. However... we don't really know much about them besides their relationship with the mistake! And thats just sad :(

-EBM Greensleves is then played, however instead of music, Six goes onto to chorus of "1 of a kind no category". This one is also very contrast. Although it has been proven many times that Henrat did not in fact write Greensleves, anything in media that talks about him HAS to have Greensleves in some way shape or form! Their still forced to be remembered as a part of Henrat's life. But now, at this point in the musical, they are their own thing! :)

Although I have also realized that there are also some similarities between the Queen's songs as well! Someones prob already noticed but:

-"No Way" and "Get Down" are fairly simple and both have their phrases repeated a TON, even outside of the chorus in No Way's case. Their also very intimidating in a sense and have parts where it kinda strays away from the rest of the song. Like the Gospal Choir part or the Slowed down/Opera part. Their song names are also very simple.

-"Don't Lose Your Head" and "All You Wanna Do" both have a 4 word title and have multiple verses with the chorus getting more and more intense over the song's run time until it goes full on emotional. The songs are more story telling in a sense where the Beheaded Cousins talk about their lives both before and during their time with the disgrace. They also make out of view/3rd person view comments. Like "I didn't know I would move in with his Misses!" and "But ya wouldn't know it from the look of that beard!" They are also very playful and over time get heavier and heavier.

-"Heart of Stone" and "I Don't Need Your Love" don't really share much in common when it comes to title besides the love aspect in "Heart" and "Your Love". However they are both ballades, somber, sad, slowly kicking up speed as the effect of emotion slowly burns. However they do something the other songs don't, diverting from their sort of "partner" song. Heart of Stone doesn't get a happy ending, because well... Jane didn't. But I Don't Need Your Love ends with something inspiring, Cathy Parr was the survivor after all. But they both strive FOR a better way. It's just that Jane gets it through sharing the love she has for everyone she and making sure it stays.

-Haus of Holbein doesn't really have any match ups. So although Ex-Wives is already paired with Six, WERE GROUPING THEM TOO- To put it simply both songs start all mysterious and dark. But then BAM! Loud, proud, crazy, music! Also although it's not in the studio recording, Haus does have this little introduction part like Ex-Wives! (LoOkInG fOr dAtEs MaTeS-) Also great dance moves and a mid to high tempo. Although what I find to be the biggest similarity is the kind of style of music. It's very chaotic and fun, and although Haus of Holbein feels pretty random. It's a very good book mark between the 2 halves of the queens. Plus it gets you back into the mood and is used as an emotional whip lash before Get Down. (Only for it to drop us back down with All You Wanna Do) It seems that Ex-Wives also sets the mood and your expectations for the rest of the musical!

But besides that, idk what else to put here. Thanks for reading my rant ig, it took a surprisingly long time to write this lol. Reblog if u wanna continue my rant, I currently have SIX brainrot help-

[straightlightyagami]

i meant all but i think i only know the general ones 💀. the general ones then. i have recently realized that i am Not versed in politics and any resources would be appreciated! oh i wanna know yours as well! i know you're left-leaning but not much more than that.

😭😭 you're just the only relatively friendly person online i know who would both respond and give a good response.

great blog love reading your posts- even the "extreme" ones or whatever (genuine). also you said that it was reading a book that started you off to lean left or whatever- may i know which book it was?

thank you!!

Thanks for the ask ^_^

I don't mind explaining at all. I will try to write up a good summary and suggest some resources in the next few days.

I'm happy you like my blog and think I'm friendly. I've been trying to avoid discoursing about politics online and to be more moderate when I do, but I don't mind explaining my political ideology either (I will do it in response to that ask as well, or maybe separately. not sure which is better fitting).

There were several things that made me lean more left. Probably what first "planted the seed" was learning the actual definitions of socialism and capitalism and just thinking about what kind of society is more right, but that didn't really make me understand more about social issues (as bad as it sounds. even though I had experience being discriminated against/bullied for being part of an ethnic minority and autistic, I still had very Bad opinions), it just ended up making me a sort of pro-welfare-state somewhat authoritarian conservative. So I ended up being kind of in a place of cognitive dissonance.

What kind of did it was reading this book that was gifted to my dad that I found in his office one day, called "Live Work Work Work Die." I thought it was an apt title for a book belonging to my father, so I took it and read it in a few days (once I realised what it was about, I hid it behind my other books so my parents wouldn't find it. I don't think my dad ever noticed it was missing). Basically, it talked about the myths of Silicon Valley and how workers are exploited and how people actually live there and most of that tech progress stuff is kinda BS. it made me question things I was told about progress under capitalism, which then resulted in me questioning other things I was told or believed. there was other stuff that made me change my mind on specific topics but I'd say that was the main shift in my mentality, that I kind of realised other people have feelings and they matter.

[limabeans-babies-forthewin]

Teenage Mutant Misfit Gang AU

Heyo! Like many people in the fandom, I came up with my own Fan Iteration of the TMNT, and I even posted the first oneshot on Ao3, but I realized I haven't exactly explained shit that's happening!

So I'm here to do so now!

(I'm also including my ROTTMNT oc, Duck because they're basically becoming a multiverse hopper in the TMNT-verse

Basically, my thinking is this is going to be a slightly more grounded approach to the turtles, taking inspiration mostly from Richard Chen's vibes on IG and some story beats from the comics, but everything else is original thoughts. If you wanna just hop in on blind and watch the story unfold as I write it, go for it! But for those of you who want a rundown of the background, I'll put it below the cut.

Due to various circumstances in their lives, the Misfit Gang (consisting of the main turtles and Duck) end up living on their own for most of their life. The turtles have been together since they mutated a little over 10 years ago and they picked up Duck a bit over 3 and some change years ago. They all share a two room apartment in New York having been forced to flee the sewers in a massive flood that happened, and they all work either work from home jobs (taking art commissions, fixing tech at home) or night jobs that leave them alone the whole night (night stocker, night janitor) to make ends meet and only really fighting people if they get looked at wrong.

The Mutant Gang we follow are:

The Older Twins

Raph and Leo are twins in this world, immediately coming into consciousness at 8 years old after mutating and they both end up parentified by necessity. They're the ones who initially make the decision to live in the sewers after gaining consciousness after a horrible attempt to go aboveground leaves the injured and Raph concussed. They're the main providers and don't really develop their own personalities until they get the apartment at age 13 because they're so focused on keeping everyone alive, they don't think about much else. They bounce the title of Oldest Twin around day by day to help with the stress of being basically the parents of the group.

In the beginning, they both have hairpin triggers and more violent tendencies since their main focus is keeping everyone alive, but they're able to develop more distinct personalities when they get the apartment.

Leo develops a massive nerd streak and his tempers out to more of a stereotypical older brother/stereotypical high school bitch personality. He's arguably the most high strung of the pair and he's adamant about keeping the Youngers safe, even if it means kinda of hovering. He's the family medic because he watched a lot of action movies at the time and didn't like how it seemed the action hero rarely seemed to have the medical knowhow to keep his comrades safe and didn't want to risk that with his family. (plus they'll likely never receive any other type of medical treatment otherwise.) He's less likely to go off for an offense, but if he needs to, he'll throw hands. Either that, or his temper bubbles and festers until he blows up seemingly at random, it really depends on the day. He currently works as a night stocker for a local chain grocery store.

Raph, on the other hand, still retains a good portion of his hairpin trigger, but he's learned techniques on how to manage and got himself mellowed out (until he's not able to remain calm anymore). While he also has a stable job, he comes to learn he loves the domestic parts of life, cooking and mending clothes to accommodate their inhuman physiology and cleaning and whatnot. He's more willing to let the Youngers have their freedom within reason, but still puts up hard barriers to keep them safe. He has a hold on his temper, yes, but there are still some things he'll throw hands over without warning. He currently owns his own industrial cleaning businesses and has a contract with a school district to deep clean schools at night. (He also sells homemade stuffed animals on Etsy)

The Younger Twins

Donnie and Duck are twins by mutual agreement alone since Donnie is a turtle and Duck is an axolotl, but they took it to heart and became inspirable. Felons in the making when they're together (arguably, the reason they're not already felons is because they haven't got caught), often referred to as the Chaos Twins by their siblings. They're the other's biggest enabler and like the Olders, they can talk without talking and often bounce a sentence back and forth as they're talking. Donnie claimed the title of Oldest Twin and Duck allowed it.

Donnie came into the world with the functionality of a 6 year old and he knew immediately he hated everything going on. Too many sounds (Mikey crying, the sewer system in general, the people above), too many feelings (Mikey on him, the slick air of the sewer), too many smells (sewers). He hated it, but eventually grew accustomed to everything out of necessity. He also got into tech mostly by necessity because they needed working appliances in the sewers, but then he found he really liked doing it. Once they get the apartment, Donnie drinks any information he's given and often borrows April's textbooks and homework to keep himself busy. That being said, he's also down to clown and will enable almost anything his siblings want to do so long as it's funny. He currently works as something of a maintenance man for the building, being allowed to go into empty apartments when an appliance breaks to fix it or have small appliances dropped off at April's down the hall for repair.

Duck was picked up when they were 13 after the turtles were established in their apartment. They had been homeless for at least 2 years at this point and spent most of their life being experimented on to harness their innate axolotl regenerative abilities. Because of this and their time spent homeless, they have severe agoraphobia and become volatile and prone to violent outbursts when triggered. They mellow out while they're with the turtles and eventually agree to be Donnie's twin after it was determined by Leo that "eh. they look about the same age." They're still figuring out who they are at this point since they were never really given a chance to do so up until this point, but they're always down with creating chaos and committing crime. They're currently unemployed to mitigate risks to the safety of any human that might stumble across them, but they do occasionally tag along with someone else to do theirs.

The Youngest

Mikey is the baby of the group and mutated with the functionality as a 3 year old. He doesn't have a twin, but he's never left out of sibling shenanigans, often tagging along with the Younger twins whenever they go out until they call Twin Time (very sacred) or they deem the task too dangerous. Like all of the Mutant Gang, he's mature for his age and keeps his needs and wants to a minimum to mitigate the living expenses, but he is the most free to express himself because of how he's been raised. He's the most boisterous, the most excited, the most willing to put himself into the world despite the risks, and all of the Olders do their best to keep him safe and keep his wonder and joy for life. He's the creative of the group and is spoiled with various art supplies to give him various avenues to express himself. That being said, he's very reactive to the feelings of others and does his best to keep himself and everyone else calm. He currently sells art commissions online. Fun Facts!

During the main story, Raph and Leo are about to turn 19, Duck and Donnie just turned 17, and Mikey is on the verge of 14.

All members of the Mutant Gang display vague animal traits and often communicate in clicks, chirps, churrs, hisses, and other turtle sounds when they're feeling big emotions or are too tired to vocalize properly. Duck picked up on it through them, and their old friend.

All members of the Mutant Gang have very flexible morals due to their upbringing.

Splinter will be around later, but for now, just know he's looking for the turtles, playing vigilante, and working as a night postman to help his roommate pay rent.

None of the turtles remember Splinter in the slightest, but they do have vague anxiety inducing dreams about escaping somewhere that feel like shared memories.

April and her family took the turtle boys in after the sewer flood and helped them get their apartment. She becomes an older sister to them and is a year and eight months older than the Older twins.

Both Raph and Leo have human friends outside of April. Raph has Casey (met during an alley brawl) and Leo has Wallace (nosey manager met during a shenanigan). Casey knows about the entire family, Wallace only knows about Raph. The whole family knows about both.

I have a lot more information I'll sprinkle throughout the one shots and lay out in the story proper once I buckle down and get to writing the actual story, but I'm working on a bunch of one shots that take place before the mainline story, so look forward to those and the mainline when I get to it!

Feel free to ask questions until then!

[redhydrogen]

Album Review:

Vultures 1 (Kanye West x Ty Dolla $ign, 2024)

(First Listen)

Out of an abundance of caution, I feel the need to clarify: I do NOT support Kanye West's harmful statements and actions. I'm just here for the music.

I'm gonna be completely honest, I didn't expect this album to, like...actually release. The release date being pushed back constantly, along with Kanye's track record, fully had me expecting Vultures to end up as another scrapped album, so to actually be listening to it here is a surprise to me. There's been a lot of hype around Vultures, and while the project has potential and some good moments, I feel as if a lot of the album is underwhelming considering the wait and hype.

Production is usually the best thing on any given Kanye album, and I'd say that holds true here. A lot of these beats are really enjoyable, and Vultures proves that production is the one thing that Kanye and his crew never really go wrong; the beat selection is really good. Hoodrat stands out to me as the only beat I'd call bad, the vocal sample is very annoying. Paperwork, Fuk Sumn and Carnival are my favorite beats on the album.

Unfortunately, the production on Vultures is where my praise ends. The overall delivery on most of the tracks feels lackluster; the lyrics feel extremely uninspired, especially from Kanye. I never expect Kendrick or Jay-Z level bars from him, but it feels like he can't even be bothered to write his usual witty or clever bars. His verse on the title track is one of the most boring and outright bad verses I've heard in a very long time, from anyone. His brags feel empty, the punchlines aren't funny, and there's also a healthy dose of misogyny that I don't think I've ever heard from Kanye, at least not to this degree. He makes frequent references to older songs, which only make me wish I was listening to those instead. His verse on Back To Me is laughably bad. On a lot of these songs, Kanye feels like the weak link, which is a serious issue. Ty Dolla's lyrics feel similarly uninspired, but I have less to complain about with him. He never takes the spotlight on any given track, but he always does his thing, and he does it well; he honestly outshines Kanye a lot of the time, which is something I wasn't expecting.

Vultures is very heavy on features; almost ever song has at least one. A lot of them are not memorable, though I'll spend some time going over the noteworthy ones. A lot of people enjoy North's feature on Talking, and while I think it's kinda heartwarming, it's also really cringy to listen to. I enjoy Quavo on Paperwork, though I do remember him being on a lot more of these tracks during the listening parties. The album features two verses from Playboi Carti, both of which I actually enjoyed. Travis Scott's verse on Fuk Sumn felt very average from him. Freddie Gibbs stole the show on Back To Me, but Kanye's verse is so awful I never wanna hear it again.

For being a very hyped up project, Vultures is disappointing. The highlights are just good and the lowlights are glaring. Maybe Vultures 2 will be better, but I'm not hopeful for that (or for it actually dropping).

Stars - 6/10

Keys To My Life - 5/10

Paid - 6/10

Talking / Once Again - 6/10

Back To Me - 6/10

Hoodrat - 4/10

Do It - 6/10

Paperwork - 7/10

Burn - 7/10

Fuk Sumn - 6/10

Vultures - 3/10

Carnival - 7/10

Beg Forgiveness - 5/10

Good (Don't Die) - 7/10

Problematic - 5/10

King - 4/10

Favorite Song: Paperwork

Album Score: 5.6/10

[writingmochi]

an honest review of the world ep fin: will from musical and conceptual observation (not proofread)

opening remarks: hi hi hello! for real, i didn't follow much of the main teaser promotional era because i was and still am busy with college and trying to get myself to write cause ughh it's so hard. but the fact that this is the end of the strickland era is melancholic for me... i think that the world era shaped ateez's sound so much as edenary + hongjoong mingi is now more taking their edm sound towards country and latin sound that is outside of the realm of pop music as we know it.

concept-wise, it's the same strickland concept but a more military style? like if guerilla is them creating the conception of the rebellion, bouncy is them going undercover, then crazy form is their battle song. and it definitely shows how both treasure fin and the world fin are both full-length albums with their battle song as the title tracks. i also really enjoy how they incorporate comic book influences into the concept, like i still don't know if they are ateez, halateez, or a new persona. based on the unit songs, we might hear various genres from the quick to the slow. if that is right, then track sequencing will be important too

let's do this!

1.we know: why does it sound so spacey? like the level of their battle has reached orbit level. but then the bass comes in and drags you back to earth. oh i love how the low-range timbre members shine here + jongho and his belting of course. it's slow yet has a tame chaotic vibe to it, like a motivational speech vibe. i also like how they're not shy to repeat the chorus multiple times to double down that yeah... they know, they know that you know they will catch you ;)

2.emergency: that bass synth line in the chorus is so SICK! i can hear a more chiptune vibe from this especially the synth line in the chorus, like something i can hear in a 16-bit video game. and the fact that it is gone in the last chorus really hits you hard with the drop. based on the lyrics, this song is literally about them and how they still have to be careful(?) with it. like they seem confident but also insecure at the same time especially with the repeat of "who has got my back". it's like the second part of the motivational speech that we know has started like "who is coming with me?" hyping ppl up in a battle against the world.

3.crazy form: ateez as always spoiler songs in their mv! and we get it! this definitely shows how meticulous their art direction has been planned. they might even is currently an album that might be released in 2025 because of how intricate their planning is (makes me wanna see the behind the scene process cause i think they're one of the best idol company in korea rn, especially since i consider that ateez is a indie kpop artist.

like bouncy, i like how they incorporate the korean instrumental sound in it. never letting go of their origins even if their music is going worldwide. this song isn't as brash as guerilla and bouncy. like it is made subdued for a reason. even ppl are confused if the chorus should be a drop or an anti-drop because of how subdued it is. also the hwawooyunyeosan chorus line is just *chef's kiss*. the refrain istg i agree with them so much. and what i love with how subdued the verses are is that they're going hard on the outro. i kinda want another chorus after the outro cause it just ends so abruptly, like the exciting counterpart of the default chorus with the bass just booming in my ears.

also, just a comment for the marketing team who is trying to make this just as a famous challenge as bouncy is: not all title track can be a challenge. other than it is a lightning-in-a-bottle situation, the song and choreo doesn't hit as hard a challenge song as bouncy. i'm thinking that they have to focus more on the performance aspect of the song rather than trying to make it viral, go to shows like studio choom to showcase the performance more.

4.arriba: the latin/hispanic influences definitely show with this song, from the lyrics to the rhythm and choices of chords and melody line. like i can definitely hear a clave playing in the background if they push more towards the influence. it definitely is a sound that the usamericans like, as latin is literally taking over the music there.

what i want to comment is WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT RHYTHMIC NOTATION IN YOUR RAP MINGI?? THAT'S TOO COOOL. definitely the highlight of the song for me. you're definitely going odd signature with it and i love it so much. (i count a 6/8, but i think it definitely has either a 5/8 or 7/8 in it.)

5.silver light: CYBERPUNK TEEZ!! ooh that reverb synth hits hard. i can definitely hear the synthwave sound with this especially when the chorus hits. the outrun aesthetic definitely shows up in my mind. that descending bass synth sheesh, before it became such a fat sound.

the sound mixing is a bit messed up cause the vocal swims with the instrumental with the part where there are so many layers. like i can't hear yeosang's voice that much because the eq is too similar...

6.crescent part 2: ISTG i miss answer with this so much! (i'm gonna listen to it after this) the piraty sounds uGhgh before it became waltzy. istg if this is the real ateez and we've been following halateez D:

7.dreamy day: right after the interlude, we're introduced to a brighter sound. as if as they have done what they're doing in strickland and retire to the beach aka their second home honestly. gives off aurora vibes but also eternal sunshine. but its like its a shade darker especially coming from what they've done in strickland, like it's not a bright as wave. istg this song definitely shows me how ateez found their sound in both darker and lighter spectrum of sound and i love them for that.

8.matz (98 liners): BRO THAT DROP! okay we're doing cypher style huh? this song encapsulates matz so much tho like "hey, this is who we are and fuck you for thinking otherwise." gosh my ears are blessed to hear rapper seonghwa in this. it reminds me of the bts rap line songs though it doesn't hit as hard for me, imo. (like ugh, cypher pt 3, ddaeng, it's just too good man.) that last chorus gives off old-school 90s rap tbh like. this is just me but like they give off such a kpop twist to madvillain's madvillainy album. like they see themselves as vigilantes and i like that so much!!

9.it's you (yeowoosan): ooh club song? ooh yeah definitely. i can see this song playing in like a dark, steamy type of club where all you can see is objects being highlighted with red. it definitely matches with yeowoosan so much as them sexy boys. oh, reading the lyrics i can understand the innuendos, like using peter pan and neverland as references to the high of sex? fuck you for that.

10.youth (yungi): lo-fi rnb song! LET"S GOO! i thought it's gonna be like vmin's friend but the sound is more like namjoon's indigo (which definitely suits them more), especially since it's talking about their youth and how adulting is hard I CAN FUCKING RELATE gosh yun's voice is so good here, like if my boy make songs akin to crush/zion t, i will definitely support you so much. it definitely combines a bit of their hip-hop side with the drum sample so it's a bit like bedroom pop song. oh gosh, it does sound like bedroom pop :D

11.everything (solo jjong ftw): ooh when the chords hit, i thought it's gonna be like youth, but the bpm slowed down as jongho's voice pushes forward. jongho and k-ballad: match made in heaven honestly. i also think that this such a good song for winter and at a time you just wanna to reminiscent of the year. that modulation ffs and the percussion. GET IT JONGHO ISTG the fact the his vocals pushes the instrumental to follow him. i'll pay to watch this perform live asvdhfdvj

12.fin: will: outro track! it's more like trance but it's very light because of the synth sound which i think it's more like strings. istg my guy maddox with his soft voice before the instrumental just barges you with so many colors as they're harmonizing. definitely an end credits type of song. and a happy ending as they now faces a new world... or is it?

closing remarks: coming from two darker album, this one definitely gives a brighter glow as it implies that they "won" their battle.

how do you finish a sci-fi cyberpunk concept albums? by giving it a melancholic happy ending and hope. it reminds me of the sci-fi stories i know like serial experiments lain, star wars, etc that when it ends it has a melancholic way. like it seems that once they've finished their journey, their tired selves shows as they retreat back to the beach, celebrating just within them as they see the aftermath of what they're done. it definitely shows music-wise.

when it comes to track sequencing, it is definitely done well. i can trace how the heroes journey is going as they enter the third act of their rebellion and how after crescent, it shows the epilogue after what they've gone. it definitely hits me more profoundly when i think more of it. definitely giving of answer vibes so much.

the highlight of this comeback, for me, is san. it's like he's in his peak right; physical-wise, skill-wise, and more. i love how he plays around with his vocal timbre from the lowest he can go to the highest he can sing. a very versatile performer as his skill grew and continue to grow from the last five years. san's going crazy with it and he deserves it so much. the boys deserve their success so much and i'm happy for them.

for the cons: suffice it to say that i know we're gonna get a brighter sounding album when i see that there's gonna be unit songs. but i think the album suffers from continuity of sound because of how both ep 1 and ep 2 has sounded. i thought we're gonna have more songs like halazia in the b-sides before the interlude because it will definitely hit harder with the cyberpunk sound. and because of that, this album just doesn't hit me as much as treasure fin. it's like they're trying to refurbished treasure fin but with a more electronic sound rather than marching band, especially if we wanna compare wonderland with crazy form. and since we have like 3 eras with the same beat through and through, i actually can feel the fatigue now when you realize it.

but, i'm still very much happy with the world's concept, marketing cycles with their guerilla marketing and so forth. they deserve to be called one of the best kpop acts active right now.

final ranking:

12.fin: will

11.crescent part 2 (i miss the pirate orchestra sound)

10.it's you (i'm in the ace spectrum so i tend to get repulsive towards steamy club song lol)

9.matz (madvillain wannabes honestly. could be executed better)

8.youth (istg pls collab with j-hope if you can i beg :3 i wanna see yungi with hoseok)

7.everything (give jongho more solo ballad songs istg)

6.silver light (yes, i'm also getting exhausted with poppy synthwave)

5.dreamy day

4.emergency (not me thinking of the hwa wip i have because of the chiptune song. it can be more lemon demon if they commit to chiptune/breakcore)

3.we know

2.arriba (now i understand why this is the second-highest streamed song in the album...)

1.9024 kick that drum / my ego in this show / to the moon we go / hey, this is some crazy form!!

small conclusion: now i wanna listen to answer, and am now petitioning ateez to do an instrumental album, one for orchestra and another one for edm/dnb. who's with me??

[heterosexistly]

for @ktinaj (since you wanted a dance recital fic, I tried.)

Buddie Week Day 5: "Skipping out on work again?"

disclaimer: I've never written anything for the buddie fandom and I have not posted a work in a few months but it feels like years) Its about 1k and it's under the cut!

Buck listened to the phone ring as he waited for Bobby to pick up. Emma’s dance recital was coming up in two weeks and he wanted to make sure both he and Eddie could be there. She hadn’t expressed her nervousness exactly, but there was something about the way the seven-year-old went silent after they asked how rehearsal went. Unlike many of the other parents in Emma’s dance class, Buck and Eddie weren’t able to watch her rehearse. Occasionally she would practice for them in the living room, asking Chris to help keep count as she stumbled over her “big leap”.

(“It’s called a grand jeté, dad!” Emma corrected.)

“Buck, skipping out on work again?” Buck smiled.

“Sorry, Bobby, but Eddie and I would really like the day off for Emma’s dance recital, and the day before, too.”

Even though everything had been set in place, Buck couldn’t help but be nervous the day of. Emma had crawled into their bed and finally opened up to them about her fears.

“What if I mess up and everyone notices?” She looked up at Eddie as he combed through her hair. Buck had been half asleep when she came in and was now trying to catch up on the conversation.

“Well, the audience probably won’t notice that you mess up because they don’t know the routine. And even if you do mess up, that’s alright. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and the point of you doing ballet is to have fun, right?” She nodded then put her head on his chest.

“What if I mess up so bad the teacher kicks me out?” When Eddie and Buck decided to have a child, they went with surrogacy and had Buck father Emma biologically. As much as Buck was excited to have a kid with his eyes and his smile-

(Eddie says sometimes he stares as Emma and all he sees is Buck, just with softer facial features. Ultimately, she had his heart and this infinite kindness and capacity to love. They were both glad she wasn’t danger prone.)

He was scared she would get his anxiety. Buck reached out to give her a hug, cradling her til she was entirely covered in him as if he could protect her from herself, as if he could absorb all her pain just through touch.

“One time, I messed up so bad that Bobby fired me,” Buck told her in a hushed voice.

Her eyes were wide as she asked, “really? What did you do?” Buck did not anticipate this question.

“Something that he shouldn’t have been doing,” Eddie answered for him with a smirk, all too familiar with the story. She pouted, knowing she wasn’t going to get a clear answer.

“The point is, even though I made a huge mistake, I got my job back because Bobby believed that I could do better. Your teacher’s job is to make sure that you learn how to dance to the best of your abilities. And just like you, she’s made mistakes before, so she’ll understand.”

Emma chewed on her bottom lip and sighed. “It’s okay to make mistakes, Emma.” She nodded her head but Buck wasn’t so sure that they had gotten through to her. In the morning, they sent her and Chris off to school and their conversation was on his mind throughout the whole ride.

It didn’t leave his mind as Chris, Eddie, and Buck had found seats close to the front of the theatre. His leg jittered and he was about to say something before Eddie beat him to it. “Buck.” His voice broke through his thoughts.

“Hmm?” He blinked slowly and turned to look at his husband. Eddie reached out to hold his hand, thumb slowly stroking.

“Do you need me to film?” Eddie questioned. Buck wasn’t sure, he didn’t want the footage to be shaky but one of the things he was looking forward to was mimicking a stage parent.

“Are you not freaking out?” Eddie shrugged.

“I am, but if dance makes Emma sad, then we find another activity for her to do. I don’t want her to feel pressure to continue if she doesn’t want to, but I also want her to see that she can conquer her fears.” Buck felt the same, so he just nodded and braced himself as the lights dimmed, indicating that the show was going to start.

He pulled out his phone and watched the side stage to see if he could see Emma peeking out from behind the curtain. The ballet teacher droned on about the students before she stepped off the stage and the music began.

The children ran out onstage and he followed Emma in her lavender tutu. He wishes they had been there to help her get dressed and make sure she was okay before she went on stage. He watched her move graciously across the stage and he knows he’s a bit biased but she seemed like one of the best dancers out there. His hand drooped a bit as he forgot he was filming.

Once the dance was done, he couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes. They stood up to cheer for Emma, Chris whooping for her so loud, Emma told him to shush. Once she was all ready to leave, she ran to them.

“Dads! Chris! I didn’t mess up, not once!” Buck picked her up and squished her. Chris and Eddie complimented her on her performance.

“A great dancer like you deserves a gift!” Buck rocked her in his arms. She pulled back from the embrace.

“Like my favorite food?” The excitement in her eyes made Buck feel so warm.

“Like your favorite dessert, too.” She squealed so loud and Buck winced. She planted a wet peck on his cheek.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She chanted and wiggled for him to put her down. A part of him knows that there are going be more worries like this to come with Emma, ones that don’t end with her as ecstatic as she is now, but he can’t find it in him to care when his little girl is so happy.

[yutaholic]

"Then Favorite came along and they acted like she was their savior (looking at you Doyoung) when Favorite was super boring imho I still like it and listen to it but it was meh in comparison and the dance break still haunts me haha"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS GOT ME ROLLING 🤣🤣🤣 Dude loves that song so much he even has a solo from it. I mean, yeah it's a good song but I also think it's boring and a far cry from what NCT 127's signature songs are. Sticker IS a masterpiece. They managed to turn that weird instrumental into something amazing with purely their vocals and rap, and if there is one group who could pull that off, it's NCT 127. I am throwing knives at the next person I see slandering Sticker. 🔪

2 Baddies MV is really good and as much as I hate to admit it, it might've been a big factor as to why I liked the song just after the first listen, which rarely happens to me with 127 title songs because I always need time to process them due to all the noise and such. I think it was the nananananananana near the end that got me hooked it was so addicting and seeing the members jamming to it was just so fun.

I know Jaehyun was originally trained to be a rapper but him getting more rap lines in new songs makes me sad too because HIS DEEP VOCALS HUHU I'm a sucker for it and I'm kinda sad I don't get to hear it as much. (tho I still wanna fight him for what he did in the Killing Voice video. Have you heard him in the opening of Lemonade there??? I WANT TO PUNCH HIS THROAT WHO TOLD HIM HE CAN LOWER HIS VOICE THAT MUCH AND MAKE ME WET)

And OOOF A MARK x Y/N x JENO FIC IN THE WORKS??? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE US SUFFER LIKE THAT (but that's okay we like suffering in the name of horniness, i guess)

Looking forward to your future works as always!!

Now I'm gonna go reread Emergency because I saw that you made some revisions to it. Have a good day!!

- Dyochi Anon

I really think sometimes that Doyoung does this shit just to annoy us lol we have that kind of relationship with him. Ironically it’s only antis I’ve seen that hate on Sticker. All the czennies I know or follow love it. She’s iconic!

“I always need time to process them due to all the noise and such.” Okay but this is EXACTLY how I feel! I love them for their noise music but sometimes I just gotta process it first haha for me the hook part was Jaehyun’s verse

Jaehyun’s vocals are so beautiful he’s the #1 member I want to have a solo album (followed very closely by Ten) because his voice is just *swoon* and the whole r&b vibes he prefers suits him so well. I saw clips from that video and I agree. Sometimes his deep ass voice makes me [redacted]

Thank you for supporting all the nonsense I write on this blog! I wasn’t totally satisfied with Emergency when I posted it even though my beta reader gave it her stamp of approval so I fleshed it out a little more (it went from 8k to 9k).

With the future chapters I will be focusing on the boys’ pov because I notice I tend to give too much insight and detail for all the characters and I need to be more limited in this series if that makes sense. I get the picture in my head and it didn’t come out how I wanted when writing so I went back and fixed it haha

Hope you’re having a good day! ❤️

[cheshiresense]

Hey, speaking of the Aizen/Ichigo time travel notfic, I just want to say I really love the way y ou write Aizen when he isn't just the villain. Like I don't even know why Im surprised, it's /you/, your characterization is always amazing. Do you think you can write a few more snippets or hcs with him and Ichigo? Maybe some interactions or convesations between them? No pressure ofc, thank you for everything youv'e already blessed us with!

Lol thank you! That’s good to hear, I always find flat characters painful to read so I do my best to round them out whenever I can. Aizen was a new one for me, this is the first time I’ve explored his character beyond - as you say - just the villain of the story that’s been defeated or needs defeating.

Here’s two more short scenes in this ’verse. I actually really like this AU, which surprises me because before this, I didn’t have any interest in writing Aizen at all.

Pinglist: @yoshifics @bewarethemandragora @runeofluna @selenedreamwalker @hypnos28 @verticallychallengedintrovert @fandommaniac2401 @lovingempress @cynthia-of-the-wallflowers @shadowsofmoonracer @pairp @warriorofbooks @charlottedabookworm @lyra689 @sheyrenawyrsabane @sora-the-empress @xadriannax @yumeniai @arrysa @lirial89-fanfiction @skysong246 @caiahat @grimreaper19 @arosethornbyanyothername @mtkiseki @kaminoko-x @nesskyru @tatarako @parklena42 @zibeth-a @aerdnanocte @timegrenades @healingmichiko @shiko-rae @soraofmelody @fandoms-make-the-world-go-round @north-peach @yannilicious @wolfsrainrules @franticchanges @tremendouslyminiaturequeen @moon6shadow-main @naramyon @presumenothing @miralifox @nonbinary-hawke @dejunco @yuzukimist @raz-ia @13oddballbooks 

[Dinner]

Sousuke generously reserves a table for two at the sushi restaurant a block down from the Academy. He only has to wait ten minutes before Ichigo slouches into the seat opposite his, looking like every student who’s ever pulled three all-nighters in a row rushing for exams.

Sousuke arches an eyebrow. “I did not think the course load you are taking would be difficult for you.”

Ichigo shoots a glare at him but doesn’t seem to have the energy to hold it for longer than a few seconds before he’s slumping again and reaching for the menu instead.

“The course load is fine,” Ichigo tells him irritably. “But one of my teachers used to be Thirteenth Division and has some stupid grudge against Kaien because Ukitake-san passed him over for lieutenant even though he had a longer tenure than Kaien or something. So he’s taking it out on me by giving me extra assignments out of the blue every week. Says I’ll fail his class if I don’t do them.” He waves a dismissive hand. “I kinda wanna call his bluff, but it’s whatever, I just wanna graduate as soon as possible, and I can deal with a case of asshole. It was just a little tougher lately cuz of midterms but today was my last one anyway.”

Sousuke studies him for a careful moment. “You could mention it to your cousin. I am sure Shiba Kaien would jump to your defense, especially when he is involved.”

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why I’m not gonna tell him,” Ichigo scowls. “He’ll go charging in and kick up a huge fuss and definitely go overboard defending my honour or some shit. He’ll probably get Hisakawa fired, which I don’t really care about, but he’ll also draw a crapload of attention, and I don’t want anybody tossing words like nepotism and favouritism around. You told me yourself the Twelfth doesn’t seem to have many big clan members, and it’s not exactly a shock that Kisuke chooses people for his Division according to their intelligence. I don’t want him thinking I’m coasting by on my clan’s reputation or something, and that’s exactly what will happen  if I get Kaien to step in for me for every little thing.” He pointedly sticks his menu up between them. “Now can we order already? I literally haven’t eaten anything but instant ramen in a week. I’m getting everything here since you’re paying.”

“Oh I am, am I?” Sousuke enquires dryly.

“I’m poor, deal with it.”

“I am fairly certain your clan would shower you with money if you mention that you need it,” Sousuke points out. “And nobody else would even know if you are so concerned about reputation.”

Ichigo grimaces even as he glances around to catch the waiter’s eye. “Kaien’s already giving me a stipend every month cuz I’m family but I wanna save that for an apartment when I graduate. Besides, I don’t like asking people for money.”

Sousuke gives him a flatly droll look. “And yet.”

Ichigo meets his gaze without hesitation, a smirk curling at his lips, one that teeters between gruff amusement and a reckless sort of mockery. “Consider it payment for creeping on me when I was a kid and then dragging me into a war. You almost killed me multiple times; sushi’s the least you owe me, bastard.”

They pause for a minute to place their respective orders, and neither of them speaks until the waiter is out of earshot again.

“I wonder,” Sousuke murmurs, eyeing Ichigo thoughtfully. “If you blame Urahara Kisuke for ‘dragging you into a war’ as much as you blame me.��

Ichigo snaps his chopsticks and then jabs them at him. “Kisuke apologized. You didn’t.”

“And I never will,” Sousuke agrees, because he won’t, not with any kind of sincerity, and he’s noticed that Ichigo has a knack for picking out that sort of thing. Sousuke isn’t sorry. Perhaps his ambitions and plans gave the boy very little choice in the matter, but at the end of the day, it was still Kurosaki Ichigo who chose to fight instead of bow or run away, and Sousuke can respect him enough as a former formidable enemy to give credit where it’s due.

Ichigo made his choices, just as Sousuke made his own, and they’ll both live with them just the same, good and bad.

“No,” Ichigo acknowledges easily, and Sousuke knows no one else who can say that in this situation with no anger or bitterness, just a resigned sort of acceptance as if he made his peace with this truth a long time ago. Instead, he only points his chopsticks at Sousuke again. “But that’s why you have to pay for my sushi and Kisuke doesn’t.”

Sousuke watches him for a moment longer and idly wonders if he’ll ever understand the kind of person Kurosaki Ichigo is. One day, perhaps, but at least in the meantime, he won’t be bored.

He inclines his head just as the first of their dishes arrive.

“As you say,” He acquiesces, and Ichigo flashes a grin like he’s won something important. Oddly enough, it amuses Sousuke more than anything else. But there are worse things than amusement, and for now, he lets it be.

Well, he lets that be anyway. Ichigo is a… puzzle that Sousuke probably won’t tire of putting together for a good while yet, and that suits him just fine.

On the other hand…

He steps quietly into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. The click makes the man sitting behind the desk at the front look up. “Aizen-fukutaichou? This is… unexpected. Did we have a meeting I forgot about?”

Hisakawa’s confusion is understandable. As far as Sousuke can remember, in both timelines, he’s never spoken to the other Shinigami. Hisakawa was insignificant before - sub-par intellect and mediocre strength, not good for anything but canon fodder, which Aizen had plenty of Hollows for - and he’s just as insignificant now. It’s just that he’s also making a nuisance of himself this time around, which is unfortunate for him.

“Hisakawa-sensei,” Sousuke greets with a pleasant smile as he approaches. “We do not, as far as I am aware. I simply wished to speak to you about one of our mutual students.”

“Oh, well, of course,” Hisakawa frowns quizzically. “Which student are you talking about? Is it a schedule conflict? Those should’ve been ironed out months ago though.”

Sousuke supposes the man gets points for touching on the only problem a student attending both their classes could have. Hisakawa teaches history - a core class - while Sousuke only teaches calligraphy as an elective. They don’t have much else in common.

Then again, if schedule conflicts were ironed out months ago, it obviously can’t be that, and there’s no point bringing it up. Sousuke takes it back. Hisakawa is still just as much of a waste of space as Sousuke has always believed him to be. Honestly, the hiring standards these days. If this was Shiba Kaien’s competition for the lieutenant seat, no wonder Ukitake refused to fill the position with anyone else even if it meant waiting a decade for the Shiba Clan Head to accept.

“No, it is nothing of that sort,” Sousuke agrees. “But it has come to my attention that Shiba Ichigo-kun has been receiving quite a number of… extracurricular assignments from you.”

Hisakawa immediately bristles, and a sneer slashes itself across his face. “Oh, he’s been complaining, has he?”

“He has mentioned it to me,” Sousuke says mildly.

Hisakawa snorts. “I wasn’t aware Shibas even knew calligraphy existed,” He mutters snidely before saying, louder and more patronizing, “You shouldn’t listen to him, Aizen-fukutaichou. You know how Shibas can be, they’re always exaggerating. I’m not giving Shiba more work than he needs. His history marks could use some work, and I’m trying to help. I hear he wants to graduate in a year, and he can’t do that if he fails a core class.”

Sousuke hums a considering note. “He is in danger of failing? How strange. Shiba-kun takes after his cousin, does he not? Another prodigy.”

Hisakawa’s sneer only grows more pronounced. “They give that title to any clan kid these days, it doesn’t mean anything. Trust me, Shiba’s history marks alone will probably see him here next year, especially if he’s going around whining about not getting special treatment.”

Sousuke raises an eyebrow. “I admit, I am rather surprised by that. You see, I have read some of Shiba-kun’s history papers.” He hasn’t had much of a choice. For whatever reason, Ichigo likes working in his office, and he has the strangest tendency to paper his work all over the floor. And paperwork gets boring, and Ichigo’s thought process can be… interesting, even on the most mundane topics. “I am no expert on the subject of course, but from what I could tell, his work is always thoroughly researched and well-written. Perhaps you should take another look.”

Hisakawa’s face turns steadily red, and he pushes to his feet even as he accuses, “So you think just because he has a clan backing him, he should get special treatment too! I thought better of you, Aizen-fukutaichou.”

Sousuke has to suppress a chuckle but amusement slips into his expression anyway, because Hisakawa’s features darken to something downright hostile. “His marks will stay the same. In fact, I might fail him just on principle! I didn’t think Shiba was a coward too, sending another teacher to beg a better grade out of me just because he can’t handle my class.”

Sousuke stares him down for a long unblinking moment, until Hisakawa is almost twitching from the tension stretched between them. Only when the man opens his mouth again, no doubt to splutter out something belligerent, does Sousuke sigh and drop a hand to his Zanpakutou.

“Well, I did try,” He muses, mostly to himself.

He draws his blade. Hisakawa stares and doesn’t even make a move for his own Zanpakutou. What a fool.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Normally,” Sousuke explains courteously. “I would not bother stepping in on behalf of a student, especially when that student would - I dare say - be rather cross with me should he find out. But we have plans to carry out, and I will not allow something so trivial to hinder them.”

Hisakawa gawps at him. How unsightly.

“You need not worry,” Sousuke adds. “You will not remember a thing.”

Finally, Hisakawa reaches for his Zanpakutou, the first blush of alarm rising in his features. “Wait, have you gone insane, Aizen? What do you think attacking me is even going to do? I- I won’t be threatened-!”

“Shatter,” Sousuke cuts him off, smiling benignly even as his reiatsu swells around them. “Kyouka Suigetsu.”

And Hisakawa’s expression goes slack as the hynosis takes hold, slithering into the deepest recesses of his mind.

“You should be honoured,” Sousuke murmurs. “This will be some of my finest work. After all, anything less and Ichigo-kun might notice. And I would rather not be scolded again.”

(This Is A Time Skip But Also Does Tumblr Not Know How To Center Shit)

[Sight]

Sousuke glances up as a shadow passes through his window before returning to his paperwork. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

A disgruntled noise answers him. “Kis- Urahara-taichou is neck-deep in a new experiment; he’s not gonna notice I’m missing for days, never mind one afternoon.”

“And you decided to come visit me?” Sousuke can’t help but find that amusing, considering their past. “How thoughtful.”

He pauses when Ichigo doesn’t snipe something back, as is fairly standard these days. He looks up. Ichigo isn’t even looking in his direction. Instead, he’s still perched on the windowsill, and his gaze is slanted to one shadowed corner  above the bookshelf across the room.

“…Ichigo-kun?”

Ichigo blinks, then turns to him and hops down into the office. “Hey, so, I figured it out,” He says abruptly. His eyes flit around the room again, and Sousuke notices the way they dart from shadow to shadow before finally focusing on him again. “The seeing into their little shadow world thing.”

Sousuke straightens. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Ichigo lifts a hand, and pale blue light sparks off his fingertips.

Sousuke stares. How fascinating. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen any other Quincy wield reishi so casually.

“I think I can make it so you can see them too,” Ichigo continues. “I’m gonna have to… fiddle with your eyesight a bit though.”

Sousuke pins him with an assessing look before slowly reaching up to take off his glasses. “If you end up blinding me, I will stab you before you make it out of this room.”

Ichigo rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I’m not gonna do that. Now hold still and close your eyes.”

It takes effort not to flinch, much to Sousuke’s irritation. But the grip he still has around his writing brush tightens anyway when cool fingers touch his eyelids.

It barely feels like anything. There’s a tingle that itches a little, but it’s there and gone within seconds, leaving only an odd chill behind, not unlike getting a cold gust of wind to the face during winter. Ichigo withdraws, and Sousuke opens his eyes.

Nothing looks different. He doesn’t actually need glasses to begin with so everything is clear. He cocks a questioning look at Ichigo, who shakes his head.

“Wait for it,” He murmurs, taking a seat on the edge of Sousuke’s desk and absently shuffling through the top file in the inbox. “They’re not always spying on everyone. But you’re a person of interest to them, you know that, so I think they check in on you pretty often.” He pauses, and his gaze slides across the room before he focuses on the file in his hands again. “Here he comes. Don’t let him see you watching him.”

Sousuke follows his brief line of sight, just in time to see a very familiar blond head bob into view in the shadow cast by the couch set against the wall. It isn’t a very big shadow, a foot high at most, so Sousuke only gets to see the face and part of his neck and a little of the high white collar of his uniform, but it’s enough.

The next second, he’s reaching for one of his books and flipping it open like that was why he looked up from his paperwork at all. But now that he can see that he’s being watched, can sense it even, and so blatantly too, the urge to simply get up and run the Quincy through for his gall is tempting. Only the knowledge that he can’t at the moment stays his hand.

Can he hear us? Sousuke scrawls on a spare piece of paper.

“No,” Ichigo mutters back. “I tested it. It’s like a soundproofed window. I mean, it is now.” He smirks triumphantly out of sight of the Quincy. “Before I figured it out, it was like one of those one-way mirrors. Now we can see them too. But we can’t hear them, and they can’t hear us. They might know how to lip-read though, so be careful anyway.”

Well, obviously. Giving the game away this early would be foolish.

Sousuke watches through his periphery as the Quincy gives them both a last cursory blank look before his head moves out of the shadow and disappears again.

“Jugram Haschwalth,” Sousuke murmurs, surveying his office before turning his attention to Ichigo. “And they can see through every shadow in Soul Society?”

“As far as I can tell, yeah,” Ichigo scowls darkly. “They’re a bunch of regular Peeping Toms.” He grins for a moment, all teeth. “You would’ve made great friends.”

Sousuke narrows a reprimanding look at him. Ichigo just grins wider, not at all repentant, but he doesn’t push further either.

“What should we do now?” He asks instead. “I’m still working on figuring out a way to get through, but at least we can see them. Do we just keep doing what we’re doing and try not to draw their attention?”

“Yes,” Sousuke decides. “But also, mark down who they look in on most, who they consider to be the biggest threats, and who they’ve overlooked but can be threats to them.” He puts his glasses back on. “How long will I be able to see them?”

Ichigo shrugs. “Eh, not sure. You’re my first guinea pig.” Sousuke sighs. At least Ichigo looks a little sheepish now. “We can do a few tests over the weekend or something when I don’t have work. I probably should get back now.”

“I thought you said Urahara wouldn’t notice,” Sousuke says sardonically.

“He won’t,” Ichigo confirms. “But Hiyori will. She’s yelling at the science department at the moment though, and that always takes at least an hour, so I figured I’d take the chance to come show you this-” He waves a hand in the direction of the shadow Jugram was in. “-since I finally got it down this morning.”

Sousuke glances lingeringly at him. You could have waited, he almost says, but the words don’t come in the end, and a moment later, Ichigo is halfway out the window again.

“Anyway, see ya later,” He calls back briskly. “I finally got my first paycheck yesterday so I bought groceries. If you want free dinner, swing ’round my place and I’ll feed you. And we can talk more about the Peeping Toms.”

And then he’s gone in a rush of Shunpo, leaving Sousuke to stare after him, feeling strangely wrong-footed.

But then, Ichigo has a habit of leaving him that way.

Sousuke sighs again, puts it out of his mind, and gets back to work, firmly ignoring the blond-haired spy that sidles back into his office via the shadow in one corner of the ceiling this time.

But he can’t wait until Ichigo figures out a way to get through. He’s chopping the head off of this one personally.