#the mental illness i feel for this design

[ryuichirou]

Why is Ortho included in ship art? He died as a child, and although he was rebuilt, his emotional intelligence and maturity level stayed the same as that of a child. Although I fully disagree, I do want to understand your reasoning. Especially since Ortho and Idia are related and I saw your art of them kissing. I am genuinely confused.

I’ll be honest, Anon: the amount of people who message us pretending to be genuinely confused while having ill intentions are more than I care to admit, and this is very tiring; this is why I might sound a little dry in my reply. But I don’t mind explaining it if you genuinely want to understand it. That being said, let this be the last time I am ranting about this topic because there is nothing new I can say.

Here is the short answer: Ortho is included in ship art because we ship him with other characters. Ortho having a maturity level, mentality and/or intelligence of a child is a myth that contradicts canon and only exists to antagonise people who view Ortho as anything other than Idia’s baby mascot with zero agency. The fact that Idia and Ortho are related is not a reason not to ship them: shipping is fictional and doesn’t reflect one’s views on irl matters. Exploring taboo and problematic dynamics and tropes in fiction is a part of natural human experience. What I care most about in shipping is characters’ dynamic that I find fun for shipping. Their relation to each other comes second, but I won’t pretend it doesn’t exist if it does exist.

Now I’ll give you a long answer. Starting with “Ortho is a child/8-year-old/5-year-old/toddler” argument.

We actually saw real 8 yo Ortho before his death in Idia’s flashback and, wow, we can see that AI!Ortho and flashback!Ortho aren’t the same Ortho. "My largest amount of birthday data comes from eleven years ago, when I was five” is the line that Ortho says in one of his Birthday vignettes, which indicates that even though he does have memories of dead!Ortho, he is not stuck in the age of 8 – he thinks and feels that his fifth birthday happened eleven years ago.

But also just in general, if you listen to him talk and compare it to how he talked in Idia’s flashback (both the voice and the manner of speech), it becomes pretty clear that he is older. He is younger-looking and has a high-pitched voice but it’s due to the fact that Idia designed him to look that way, and there are a lot of potential reasons why he could’ve done it (all non-canon and theoretical, so we won’t dive into them today), but he is definitely not 8 years old. Ortho’s AI constantly learns new information, learns more about being a human – he is clearly maturing as the story goes, thus showing that he is in fact capable of aging mentally, and he’s been doing it from the moment Idia first created him. He is naive and inexperienced, but that doesn’t make him an infant.

Plus, post ch.6 he is always being grouped with other freshmen who are also sixteen years old. This is his age group. This is how old Ortho would’ve been if he was still alive, and this is how old AI!Ortho feels. He’s a proper first year student just like Ace, Deuce and the rest of the boys, and the story keeps highlighting it in all the events that happened post ch.6.

Speaking of post ch.6. At the end of the story AI!Ortho and real/blot!Ortho actually merged a little, as far as you can remember. Blot!Ortho, wow, is also 16. He’s been stuck in the Underworld since he was 8 and he existed all those years and grew up as well despite his terrible situation and more than unusual company, so we can safely assume his age. His merging with AI!Ortho also influenced him (AI!Ortho) in a way, making him more human as a result as well.

Not to sound mean, but I think the majority of people who still insist that Ortho is mentally 8 either don’t pay attention to his character, his story and how he interacts with others at all, or straight-up choose to believe that lie because it makes it easier to attack shippers or anyone who likes Ortho in general.

But also guess what, none of that matters actually because ultimately he is a fictional boy, and fictional characters’ ages are irrelevant. Just like fictional characters’ family relations are irrelevant. Even if you don’t think it’s right, that doesn’t change the fact that it is irrelevant, and the only thing that could be done about it is that you can block people and/or tags that make you upset. There is no shame about it: I avoid a lot of ships and tropes that make me upset.

I would prefer people to stop accusing me, a real person, of actual vile crimes (or having dark thoughts about them? What the fuck is wrong with you?) because of fictional, made-up things. If I want to, I can unrelate Ortho and Idia, and my fanart would stop being incestuous with a snap of my fingers. I can make them enemies, I can make them kill each other over and over again, I can kill Idia instead of Ortho. I say this to show how little it matters, and no, ~the implications~ don’t count. People make them up and choose to believe that instead of listening to the person in question. About a real person, let me repeat myself. You (plural/neutral you, not you, Anon) cannot make shit up about another person’s thoughts, ideas, and views just because you find it convenient.

As for why I personally ship Ortho with Idia despite them being siblings, you’re in luck because in addition to this already long post I have an even longer post for you to read if you’re interested! It’s been more than a year since I’ve written that post my reasoning is still pretty much the same, so I think it’s a pretty good one to read if you genuinely want to understand us better.

But if you don’t want to read another long post but are still interested, here is a TL;DR:

I love their deep love for each other and don’t want to just explore the platonic aspect of it – there are a lot of other scenarios that I want to play with;

there are a lot of tropes related to this ship that we love (us two against the world; AI in love; causing an apocalypse for the sake of your loved one; unhealthy and codependent relationship; obsession, etc);

their story has a lot of motifs that could be read as romantic (i.e. Orpheus and Eurydice analogy) that we really enjoy;

personal reasons; relatability (not elaborating on that; not related to incest though lol);

they’re sexy lol I love robot parts, size difference and a lot of other aspects that I won’t mention here.

I hope that explained some stuff. Just to be clear: I don’t want to force anyone ship Shroudcest, in fact I don’t care if we are the only people in the world shipping them (that will never be the case though lol). I just love Ortho very much, and I think he is a very fun character that has a lot to offer, and I really don’t like that people want to create this aura of “he’s just baby don’t touch him” that stops people for getting to know his character better. He is cunning, he is smart, he is caring, he is psychopathic, he is a lot of things, and all of those things make me want to see him bossing Idia around, acting cute around Vil, bonding with Malleus over their differences and similarities, all of those things.

[medicalunprofessional]

AU robot kyle refference number 2 (WHAT THE BARNACLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

other one here lol

*addon 4/26/2023 - id like to clarify YES. he is lacking meat. lorewise, frankie decided that mechanical systems would be more efficient; the models were created with fleshy internals to cut corners. Yes, in the AU lore the robokys have flesh in em. There is still flesh in zero’s head, however.

[mikeystrawberry]

Finally getting to making everyone’s epilogue designs. I sketched the other three but I’m not a fan of how they turned out so you just get Scary’s initial concept for now.

[icewindandboringhorror]

................ he 

[shokupanda]

me when time moves forward at a steady pace: how the fuck is it more than halfway through july already. this fuckers rapidly sprinting when im not looking huh

[melodemonica]

human loop but with burns on their palms and around their mouth from the star

[puppyeared]

people who do STEM or administration as a career full time and continue to do art as a hobby, I am scared of you but like in a hot way. youre like if we were allowed to have cold drinks in winter. i look at you and think of miles morales with his two cakes. do you want to make out sometime

[ad-hawkeye]

me playing tot: if it isn't an artem focused route, i - and i cannot stress this enough - do not care.

me playing lovebrush: [plays ayn's route] omg ayn is my fav. [plays alkaid's route] omg alkaid is my fav. [plays clarence's route] omg cla

[mingot-studios]

why can't anyone just redesign HH for fun? Why must everyone who does it do it out of contempt for Vivzie and the OG show???

[spotsupstuff]

Does Caper self-project onto his puppet? Even if just sometimes (Talking about the iterator cabin fever). Just curious since he'd have to interact with Sparrows through it and I'm wondering if that would do much.

ah! i thought about this as one of the first things when considerin their relationship!

Sparrows makes it a point to always bully him off of his puppet like the good Iterator Mechanic/Admin that she is (when they aren't havin a Cuddle Session). when they learnt about these type of things back in school, it actually all horrified her So much that one of her projects was a detailed exploration of ways to prevent mental sicknesses like that. it was... all "too" humane, according to the teachers, so much so that she got a bad grade. she uses these methods with Euros either way tho, gotta make sure her boy is as healthy as he can be

it does often end up with her sitting on the floor of his chamber with the puppet suspended above her, unresponsive, while she converses essentially with an empty room. it sometimes fucks her up a lil cuz like that there is nothing shielding her from the reality of an Iterator's sheer merciless size. it's a one hell of a mindfuck. Euros keeps making fun of her whenever she spaces about it a lil n she kicks one of his walls in response

here's their most common set up for interaction

one of the preventive methods for Iterator cabin fever Sparrows came up with is basically forcefully taking one of their Overseers (ideally capable of live feed to the rest of the Iterator- Euros Can do that since he's in the Phone Operator Guild) for a walk like a doggy. can't get a cabin fever if u take in the sights and get to interact with your caretaker/friend, Boy

[linagram]

[ 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚜: 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟷 ]

(i hope the image isn't too eystrain-y AAAAAAAAA)

wooooooo i'm finally done with these

okay basically these voice dramas are about what happened to the prisoners three days before their crimes and they're supposed to reveal more about their life, what kind of people they are and all of that stuff. they will be separated into two parts bc the voice dramas are pretty short, so this part includes akio, aimi, shun, naomi and kei and the next one will include eiko, asahi, yurika, riku and reina.

warnings: a mention of bullying and an implication of a child being seriously injured in aimi's vd, shun is being a stalker, a description of physical and emotional abuse in naomi's vd, mentions of torture and homophobia in kei's vd (there's also some implications of the latter in akio's vd, but like, if you squint really hard)

[ Akio's Confession ]

(the sound of a school bell ringing)

(the voices of other students can be heard in the background)

Akio: *sighs*

Akio: *thinking* "This class was way too easy.. All classes were too easy so far, honestly."

Akio: *thinking* "Though that's just something I have to deal with as a genius that I am, haha.."

Akio: *thinking* "It's just.. I thought that an elite school like this would be more interesting."

Akio:*thinking* "But when I look at my classmates.. Yeah, I can see why the teachers would go easy on them. How did they even get- Oh, right, probably because they're rich and all."

Akio: *thinking* ".. My parents have worked so hard so that I could attend this school and now I'm complaining.."

Akio: Hm...

(sounds of someone's footsteps getting faster and faster)

Arata: Akioooooo!~

Akio: *screams*

Akio: W-what are you-

Arata: Come on, you promised that we'll have lunch together! 

Arata: Come on, get up, get up!

Akio: C-can you-

Akio: *whispering* Can you.. you know.. be quieter? This is embarrassing, everyone is staring at us.

Arata: *whispering* I know, I'm acting like this on purpose.

Akio: Wha-

Arata: Okayyyy, let's go, let's go!~

Akio: I-I haven't even brought anything with me-

Arata: It's okay, as your boyf-

Arata: Uh.. 

Arata: *clears throat* Ahem, as your best friend, I have prepared something very special for you myself!

Arata: Now let's go!

(sounds of footsteps)

Female classmate: These two are.. really close, aren't they?

Akio: I still can't believe that out of all the hobbies you could have, your hobby is.. cooking.

Arata: What, I don't look like a perfect housewife? You're breaking my heart..

Akio: Ugh..

Akio: C-can't you just act.. you know.. normal?

Arata: Nope. Now say "Ahhh~"

Akio: I am not a child-

Akio: !

Arata: See? Tastes good, doesn't it?

Akio: B-but again, everyone is staring at us..

Arata: And? They're just jealous.

Arata: You know, you look so plain, but you've got someone like me as your boyfriend! You're so lucky!

Akio: Plain?..

Arata: U-uh, I find that cute about you.

Arata: Also, you stole the "most popular guy" title from me! You're so cool!

Akio: We both know you weren't popular because of your looks or intelligence or anything.

Arata: Haha, yeah, being the son of the headmaster kinda makes you popular by default..

Arata: But like, not for a good reason.

Akio: You're still creepy though, obviously they would find you intimidating.

Akio: And you also have a lot of power in this place, so..

Arata: Y-you think I'm creepy?!

Akio: Yes.

Arata: So cold!.. But that's what I like about you!

Akio: Also, about me stealing your title and all..

Akio: .. That title also was stolen from me recently.

Arata: Huh? By who?

Arata: .. Oh.

Arata: You're talking about that guy, right?

Akio: *nods*

Arata: Well, he joined us only a few months ago and he also used to be homeschooled. I think it's his first time actually going to school?

Akio: Yeah, because of his health problems.

Arata: Of course a guy like him would get everyone's attention.

Arata: They just feel sorry for him. Don't worry about it too much~

Arata: I mean, have you seen his grades? A guy like him won't survive in this place.

Akio: Should I remind you about your own grades?

Arata: Ahaha.. At least I have you~

Akio: You're not dating me just because I can do your homework for you, right?

Arata: Well, that's one of the reasons why I like you, but..

Akio: I'm breaking up with you.

Arata: No, no, wait!

Arata: Also, Akio, aren't you dating me because I can make you look good in the eyes of the headmaster?

Akio: ...

Arata: He likes you a lot! He said that our school really needed a student like you. 

Akio: ...

Arata: You really are a genius, Akio. I'm sure you'll become famous in the future.

Akio: .. B-but I want to be famous now.

Arata: And you will! I can just make everyone here bow down to you if you want. 

Arata: Both figuratively and literally.

Akio: .. I hate him, Arata. I hate him so much.

Arata: I know. 

Akio: Sometimes I wish I just could-

Akio: ...

Akio: Never mind.

Arata: Hm? What is it?

Akio: I said, never mind!

Arata: Come on, say it, say it!

Akio: Shut up already-

Arata: Say it, Akio.

Akio: ...

Akio: .. Wouldn't it be nice if he just..

Akio: You know..

Akio: .. Died?

Arata: ...

Arata: Haha..

Arata: Ahahahahahahaha!

(sounds of Arata laughing and falling on the ground)

Akio: .. Yeah, I can't just ask you to act normal again, can I?

Arata: S-sorry, sorry.. 

Arata: It's just.. I've been waiting for you to say it.

Akio: Huh?

Arata: I don't know, something about you hating him so much to the point of wanting him dead..

Arata: It's just so exciting, you know?

Akio: .. There must be something wrong with you.

Arata: With you too. That's why we're perfect for each other!

Arata: So, how do you want him to die?

Akio: Arata, for God's sake, can you just not talk about murder while we're having lunch and there are other people around?

Arata: Nope, talking about murder is fun.

Arata: Also, you still have some food left. Open your mouth.

Akio: Why would you find talking-

Arata: Anyway, we should head back to class, the break is going to end soon.

Akio: R-right..

(sounds of footsteps)

???: Ah! Akio-kun, Arata-kun!

Akio: ...

Arata: There he is.

???: I've been looking for you two everywhere! I just thought it'd be nice to have a lunch together, haha..

???: B-but it looks like you two are already going back to class.. I'm so slow, haha..

Akio: .. I thought I told you not to call us that.

???: What?

Akio: We're not your friends. Why did you even think we'll agree to spend even the moment of our precious time with you?

???: U-uh..

Akio: Seriously, this is why you always have no choice but to eat alone. You're so stupid-

Arata: Now, now, calm down, Akio. 

Arata: Please forgive him, he's not in a good mood today.

???: Really? Why? Did something happen, Akio-kun? C-can I help-

Akio: DON'T CALL ME THAT!

???: ...

Arata: ...

Akio: *breathing heavily* We're not.. friends, Kitami.

Akio: I don't even want to hear you say my name. 

Akio: Don't stand in my way. Arata, we're leaving.

Chise: ...

Chise: .. Hey.. 

Chise: That's not very nice of you, Akio-kun..

Chise: You know I've worked really hard on this, right?

Akio: D-do you think I care?

Chise: Judging from the way you stutter, I think you do.

Akio: ...

Akio: (to Arata) W-why are you still standing here?! I told you we're leaving!

(sounds of Akio and Arata leaving)

Arata: The guy looked like he was about to cry. Are you proud of yourself?

Arata: Not judging you, by the way.

Akio: ...

Arata: Hey, are you listening-

Akio: Why?

Akio: Why does he want to be friends with me?

Akio: He just wants to annoy me, doesn't he? He's just jealous of me and he's trying to make me angry on purpose so that I'll end up yelling at him and ruin my reputation because he's everyone's favorite right now?

Akio: Why do people even like him?! He's so pathetic, so weak, so dumb, so..

Arata: Hey, calm down. 

Akio: ...

Arata: You're better than him. Remember that.

Akio: I KNOW THAT, IDIOT! I JUST WANT OTHERS TO REMEMBER THAT TOO!

Arata: Well, I know for a fact that you're better than him. You're better than everyone here~

Arata: .. Hm? What's wrong?

Akio: .. Ahaha..

Akio: He really doesn't know his place, does he?

Akio: So annoying..

Arata: ...

Akio: Hey, can you help me out with something?

Arata: ...

Akio: Come on, I know you like me.

Arata: .. Haha, so now you're accepting the fact that we're a couple.

Akio: Oh, I was just acting shy. 

Arata: So.. Do you want to.. 

Arata: You know.. 

Akio: I just want to teach him a lesson. Nothing more than that. I'm strict, but I'm not evil. 

Arata: ... Oh. 

Arata: Well, our school's lucky to have a king like you. 

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

[ Aimi's Confession ]

(The door opens)

Aimi: I'm back! 

Aimi: ... 

Aimi: Hey? Is anybody here? 

Aimi: ... 

Aimi: "Haha.. It's like I have no choice but to be alone.."

Aimi: "Just what did I do to deserve this-" 

???: Oh, there you are! 

Aimi:"Great. Out of all people, it had to be him."

Aimi: Nii-san!

(sounds of Aimi and her brother hugging)

Aimi's brother: Sorry, I was wearing earphones and didn't hear you.

Aimi's brother: If you're wondering where mom and dad are, they went to check on the park, they've heard it's been doing.. not so good.

Aimi: Really? What happened? 

Aimi's brother: One of the rides suddenly stopped working and two kids fell off. One of them is fine, thankfully, but the other one ended up in the hospital. 

Aimi: Oh.. 

Aimi's brother: Also, Yori is walking Maru and Mochi right now, just so you know. 

Aimi: Oh, right, I got scared for a second, haha.. 

Aimi: By the way, why are you wearing an apron? 

Aimi's brother: Oh, Fumiri wasn't feeling well, so I offered to cook today. 

Aimi: You can cook? 

Aimi's brother: Okay, rude. 

Aimi's brother: You're not gonna eat then?

Aimi: No, I will! I'm okay with whatever Nii-san decides to make~

Aimi's brother: I'm almost done, so you don't have to wait long. Go wash your hands.

Aimi: Oh, right! I forgot, haha.. 

Aimi: I didn't know you were this good at cooking. It's shocking, really. 

Aimi's brother: *laughs* Why are you so mean to me today? Did you have a bad day at school?

Aimi: ...

Aimi's brother: Oh.. 

Aimi's brother: Sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean to-

Aimi: N-no, it's okay, it's okay! It's just..

Aimi: It's.. Um.. 

Aimi: M-my classmates.. 

Aimi's brother: ... 

Aimi's brother: *sighs* What did they do this time?

Aimi: Well, um.. 

Aimi: Haha.. 

Aimi: Emi-chan said that I'm too violent and because of that others tend to avoid me.. 

Aimi: And.. She said she thinks I'm.. 

Aimi: Scary, haha.. 

Aimi's brother: ... 

Aimi: Am I scary, Nii-san? 

Aimi: Am I violent? 

Aimi: I always try to be kind to everyone I meet! I would never want to scare anyone or hurt them! 

Aimi: I'm not violent! I'm really not! 

Aimi's brother: I know. I know. 

Aimi's brother: Why do you think she called you that? 

Aimi: I don't know!

Aimi: I don't want to say that she.. 

Aimi: Uh.. 

Aimi's brother: You don't want to suspect her, right? 

Aimi's brother: You don't want to believe that she had bad intentions, right? 

Aimi: ... 

Aimi: W-why would she? 

Aimi: I mean, she's not evil or anything.. 

Aimi's brother: Well, maybe she's jealous. 

Aimi's brother: Maybe she's jealous of your wealth or your looks. 

Aimi's brother: Maybe she wanted to provoke you and make you act "violent" in public. 

Aimi's brother: You know, like that time with Sao.

Aimi: I-I didn't hit her on purpose, I swear! 

Aimi's brother: Of course, I know that. 

Aimi's brother: But that's just how the world works. If somebody doesn't like you, it doesn't mean that they will be straightforward about it. Maybe they will just try to make it look like it's your fault for making them hate you.

Aimi's brother: It's not their fault for being mean to you. It's your fault for getting angry. That's how their thought process goes.

Aimi: BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! 

Aimi: I JUST WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEM! 

Aimi: Would they like me more if I wasn't so rich? Would they like me more if I wasn't so pretty? 

Aimi: I always was so nice to them! I bought them so many gifts, I always offered my help when needed..

Aimi: I THOUGHT THEY WERE MY FRIENDS! BUT THAT'S NOT HOW FRIENDS ACT! 

Aimi: ... 

Aimi's brother: Aimi, dear, I understand you. I understand your feelings so well. 

Aimi's brother: This world is full of evil people. You're one of the few people who stay kind no matter what. 

Aimi's brother: And most people prefer to just ignore all the evil others do.. 

Aimi's brother: But I don't agree with that. Honestly, I think people like that don't deserve to live. 

Aimi: .. "Don't deserve to live"?

Aimi: So what you're saying is.. 

Aimi: ... 

Aimi's brother: Just trust me, okay? You can always rely on me. 

Aimi: B-but then.. 

Aimi's brother: I'll go wash the dishes. How about you play with Maru and Mochi when they come back? 

Aimi: Nii-san, you're not going to.. 

Aimi:Do anything to my classmates, right? 

(sounds of Aimi's brother washing the dishes) 

Aimi: Ugh, he can't hear me.. 

(sounds of dogs barking in the background)

Aimi: Oh, is that-

Aimi: They're back! I'll go greet them, hehe~

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

[ Shun's Confession ]

Shun: I see. Thank you, this helps a lot.

Old woman's voice: You're welcome. To be honest, I did have my suspicions about that boy..

Old woman's voice: But you seem really nice. I'm sure she still misses you.

Shun: Ahaha.. Thank you so much. I hope so too.

Shun: Have a nice day.

(sounds of footsteps)

Shun: ...

Shun: *sighs loudly*

Shun: God, that was so scary..

Shun: Ugh, socializing shouldn't be this hard..

Shun: But at least I've learned more about her..

Shun: .. Shouldn't I have known that already if she was my girlfriend?..

Shun: N-never mind.

Shun: Okay, let me just go through my notes-

Shun: !

Shun: I-I almost dropped my phone..

Shun: Okay, so.. 

Shun: Inaba Hina, 21 year old. A university student, psychology major, also has a part-time job as a babysitter.

Shun: So she's good with kids, huh.. Haha, they're going to love her.

Shun: Was born on August 28th, lives alone, but regularly picks her little brother up from school since her parents can't do that because of their job and his school is very close to her apartment.

Shun: Come to think of it..

Shun: R-right! She's supposed to pick him up soon!

Shun: I have the address written down, hold on..

Shun: That's it, I'm finally going to meet her!..

Shun: "Okay, I'm finally here.."

Shun: "Huh.. It looks like her brother isn't here yet.."

Shun: "I guess I'll have to wait."

Shun: "Oh, maybe I should try to become friends with her little brother too? If I show her how good I am at taking care of kids, I'm sure she will fall in love with me again!"

Shun: Ehehe.. This plan is definitely going to work..

Shun: I should just wait until her brother-

Shun: Oh, isn't that..

Shun: "Okay, just act normal."

Shun: Hello there. Sorry for asking, but you're Inaba Renji, aren't you?

Renji: .. Um..

Shun: I know this may sound weird, but I'm your sister's.. friend and-

Renji: W-why do you know my name?

Shun: Your sister told me! She loves you a lot and she told me that you're a very good kid so I thought-

Renji: .. And what's your name?

Shun: O-oh, uh..

Shun: I-it's Ishizu Shun. You've probably heard it before.

Renji: Nope. Never heard a name like that.

Shun: ...

Shun: "S-she.. Never told her brother about me.."

Renji: Hey. I don't know what your deal is and I don't know anything about your relationship with my sister, but like..

Renji: C-can you.. leave me alone?

Shun: Oh, uh, s-she asked me to pick you up from school since she's too busy today!

Renji: ...

Shun: ...

Renji: Dude. That's like.. What all child kidnappers say. 

Shun: What?! No, no, you got it all wrong! I swear, I really am her friend-

Renji: I am going to scream if you don't leave me alone.

Shun: But-

Renji: *takes a breath*

Shun: Okay, fine, fine!

(sounds of Shun running away)

Shun: *breathing heavily*

Shun: That.. did not go well..

Shun: .. So she.. never told her brother about me..

Shun: .. Did she even love me?

Shun: And if not.. Why did she even date me?

Shun: I'm not that attractive and I'm not that smart..

(sound of a phone notification)

Shun: Hm? What's that?

Shun: O-oh, right, I forgot about Merurin's stream!

Shun: At least I have her to comfort me..

Shun: Did I bring my earphones with me-

???: Here you are!

Shun: *screams*

???: I've been looking for you everywhere!

???: Did you even read my messages?

???: Or did you forget as always?

Shun: .. I-I forgot.

???: *sighs* You have work today, you remember that?

Shun: .. I forgot.

???: Why are you like this..

???: Let's go. We're gonna be late, but honestly, I don't really care.

Shun: ...

???: Don't look at me like that. I'm not doing this because we're friends or anything.

Shun: O-oh, right. Sorry..

???: Hey, what were you watching anyway-

A voice from Shun's phone: Hewwo, my adorable little kittens! How are you all doing today? 

Shun: ...

???: ...

A voice from Shun's phone: Aw, I wish I could just give you all loooooots of headpats!~

???: .. You know what, I think you'll be fine without my help.

???: See you at work. 

Shun: W-wait!

Shun: ...

Shun: ".. Fine. I'm going to see Hina soon anyway."

Shun: "Or actually.."

Shun: .. Ehehe..

Shun: "Maybe I should invite her new boyfriend instead?"

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

[ Naomi's Confession ]

(sounds of children laughing and running around can be heard in the background)

Naomi: Okay, okay, everybody, sit down~ We can't have a tea party while you all are running and jumping like this, right?

Naomi's students: Okay, Chiba-sensei!

(sounds of children sitting down)

Naomi: Great! Now, I didn't forget about anyone, right? Everyone has tea to drink and snacks to eat-

Female student A: Chiba-sensei! Natsu ate my cookies while I wasn't looking!

Naomi: (to Natsu) Really? Did you do that?

Natsu: .. *nods*

Naomi: Come on, that's not a good thing to do. If you wanted some, you could have just asked me. 

Natsu: .. S-sorry..

Naomi: Here, you can take these. But please apologize to Rimi-chan, okay? 

Natsu: (to Rimi) U-um.. I-I'm sorry.. They just looked really good..

Rimi: Hm.. Fine, I forgive you! But never do that again!

Natsu: I-I promise!

Naomi: *laughs* Here, Rimi-chan, I still have some for you left.

Rimi: Yay! You're the best, Chiba-sensei!

Female student B: Chiba-sensei, why other teachers are so boring and strict compared to you?

Female student B: You're so nice!

Male student A: Yeah! You're like a friend to us, but like, a friend that's much older than us!

Naomi: Haha, are you saying that I'm old?

Female student C: Ugh, boys are so rude..

Naomi: Well, um.. I don't know, I just.. I don't want you to see my classes as something.. bad, I guess?

Naomi: I don't want you to be afraid of me or hate me.

Naomi: And also, I try to treat you all with respect, because that's what you all deserve, even if you all are much younger than me.

Naomi's students: Whoa..

Female student D: Chiba-sensei is so cool!

Female student B: How can anyone hate her-

???: .. Ahem.

???: So what you're saying is that you don't want people to see you in a bad way? 

???: You're afraid of people hating you, right? Even if those people are just kids?

Naomi: ...

Female student C: Way to kill the mood.. 

Naomi: Haha.. Come on, Tao-kun, you know that's not true-

Naomi: A-and even if it is true, what's so bad about it? Nobody wants to be hated-

Tao: Yeah, but you're an adult.

Tao: And you're still trying to please everyone and never say no to anyone.

Tao: I don't think it's because you're so kind, but because you're just too scared of being hated.

Tao: Do you really like us? Or do you like us because it's easy to manipulate us and make us think you're the nicest person in the world?

Naomi: ...

Male student B: What's your problem, Tao?! 

Female student C: That's why nobody likes you.

Female student B: Chiba-sensei is nice to us because she loves us. Simple as that. 

Tao: You are not her kids! We're just her students. There's no reason for her to love us.

Female student C: Well, she loves us more than your parents love you, that's for sure.

Tao: !

Tao: Shut up-

(the door opens)

???: Chiba-san? Someone wants to see you.

Naomi: .. O-oh. S-sure, I'll be right there.

Naomi: *stands up* Please wait for me, okay? Don't eat everything without me~

Naomi's students: Okay!~

(sounds of Naomi's footsteps)

Naomi: *thinking* "But who could have possibly wanted to see me-"

Naomi: ...

Naomi: .. Mom?

Naomi's mother: Well hello there.

Naomi's mother: What's with the kids laughing and screaming? I thought you were supposed to have classes today.

Naomi: U-um, we planned to have a tea party today, since everyone's been doing so well lately and we also finished working early, s-so..

Naomi: I just thought it would be nice to reward them with something, you know?

Naomi's mother:Is that a cookie crumb on your cheek?

Naomi: .. Oh. S-sorry.

Naomi's mother: You're so unprofessional..

Naomi: M-mom, I am a 30 year old teacher. Stop visiting me like this. It's embarrassing.

Naomi's mother: You're a bigger embarassment. I have no choice but to check how you're doing.

Naomi's mother: Seriously, you act more like a child than your students.

Naomi: ...

Naomi: B-but they seem to love me-

Naomi's mother: They don't see you as a teacher, Naomi. They see you as another child. You're a friend to them, not a teacher. You won't be able to become a good role model for them.

Naomi: I-I just want them to feel safe, since most of them come from.. families with all sorts of problems.

Naomi's mother: Nobody can be safe with you around. I literally keep visiting you exactly because of that.

Naomi: ...

Naomi's mother: Don't look at me like that. 

Naomi: Please, just.. leave. My students can hear us.

Naomi's mother: And what exactly are you so afraid of? It's your fault for being like this.

Naomi's mother: If you wanted to become a teacher to make me proud, then at least act like one.

Naomi: I-I'm trying..

Naomi: But someone keeps distracting me from doing my job-

(a sound of Naomi being slapped)

Naomi: ...

Naomi's mother: Don't you ever blame me for doing this.

Naomi's mother: I'm doing this for your sake. You have left me no other choice.

Naomi: .. Someone could see you doing this to me, you know.

Naomi's mother: Oh, so now you're blackmailing me. Seriously, you should be more grateful.

Naomi's mother: You don't have to "worry" about me. With my reputation, people would never think I'm in the wrong for doing this.

Naomi's mother: .. They never did.

Naomi's mother: Now, go back to work.

Naomi: .. You really just came to traumatize me again? The hell is wrong with you?

Naomi's mother: .. We'll discuss the way you talk to your own mother later.

Naomi: I am not a child-

Naomi's mother: Again, I have no choice but to treat you like one. 

Naomi's mother: Now, go and play with the kids your age.

(sounds of Naomi's mother's footsteps becoming quieter)

Naomi: ...

Rimi: Chiba-sensei..

Naomi: Ah!

Naomi: Rimi-chan.. what are you doing here?

Naomi: D-did you see-

Rimi: *nods*

Naomi: ...

Naomi: I'm so sorry. That was.. not a teacher-like thing to do-

Naomi: !

Rimi: .. W-when I told you about my parents, you hugged me. You hugged me, even though I was so loud and annoying and couldn't stop crying..

Rimi: S-so, um.. I-I thought that maybe this can help you feel better too.

Naomi: ...

Naomi: C-come on, an adult should be comforting a child, not the other way around..

Naomi: Let's go back, okay? I'm sure everyone is waiting for us.

Naomi: ".. I just hope Tao didn't see this."

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

[ Kei's Confession ]

(a woman's screaming can be heard in the background)

Kei: Shh, it's okay, it's okay~

Kei: Can you smile for me, please?

Kei: Or, actually, never mind, your expression is already perfect. 

Kei: Anddddd we're done!~

Kei's boss: Seriously, you're enjoying this way too much.

Kei: I just love my job a lot, is that bad?

Kei's boss: Well, your job is to take photos of people in the worst conditions imaginable. Most people wouldn't really like this job, unless they've got some screws loose.

Kei: Haha, come on, you know that with a father like mine, I'm used to this.

Kei's boss: True..

Kei: Also, I'm sure this cutie over here has already fallen in love with me-

(the woman's screaming gets louder)

Kei: .. Maybe not.

Kei's boss: Anyway, just take the money and leave. 

Kei: Oh, you know I'm not doing this for the money-

Kei's boss: Ahem.

Kei: Got it, got it. 

Kei: (to the woman) See you later, sweetie! Uh.. If you survive, that is.

(the door opens)

Kei: Ruka, I'm home!~

Kei: Ruka?..

Kei: "Where could he be?"

Kei: "Nothing happened to him while I was gone, right?.."

Kei: !

Kei: RUKA!

Kei: "What if they've done something to him while I was-"

Kei: Huh?..

Ruka: Oh, you're home.

Kei: .. What are you doing?

Ruka: I'm taking a bath. I thought it was obvious.

Kei: .. While fully clothed?

Ruka: Of course. I remember doing so even when I was alive.

Kei: .. O-okay.

Kei: *breathes out* I was so scared..

Ruka: Why?

Ruka: I won't drown or anything. And I won't try to kill myself. I'm already dead anyway-

Kei: I know, I know! It's just..

Kei: Well, uh.. You remember what happened.

Ruka: .. Oh.

Ruka: You can come here, if you want.

Kei: Again, while fully clothed?

Ruka: What's your issue with clothes? Do it, coward.

Kei:*laughs* Fine, fine.

(sounds of Kei getting into the bathtub)

Kei: This feels so weird.

Ruka: Hearing that from a guy like you sounds weirder.

Kei: .. Am I really that weird, Ruka?

Ruka: Yeah.

Kei: But why?

Ruka: Every single thing about you is weird.

Kei: Well, name one then!

Ruka: You're sitting in a bathtub with me right now and we both have our clothes on.

Kei: .. That was all part of your plan?!

Ruka: Yep.

Kei: .. *laughs* Then you're just as weird as me.

Ruka: Probably. I'm dead anyway, might as well do whatever I want.

Kei: .. Maybe it would be nice to die, actually-

Kei: No, no, what am I saying, haha..

Ruka: Nope, you have to live.

Kei: Huh? Why?

Ruka: Uh..

Ruka: 'Cause you have a job and I don't?.. And well, we still need money, so..

Kei: *laughs* How do you just.. Let things like this come out of your mouth?

Ruka: Maybe that's because of your influence.

Kei: .. Ruka, you love me, right?

Ruka: Dunno.

Kei: Meanie.

Kei: .. I don't want to leave this house anymore. 

Kei: Everyone is too mean.

Kei: They're too mean to us.

Ruka: Listen, your friends' reaction was understandable-

Kei: It was not! They were so rude!

Kei: I probably should have expected it, they were always saying weird things about guys who like guys..

Ruka: *sighs* It's not because of me being a guy.

Ruka: Actually, I'm not even sure if I'm one-

Kei: You are one. At least, uh.. physically. Your gender is up to you to figure out though.

Ruka: Sure, whatever. Anyway, that's not because they acted like that.

Kei: THEN WHY?!

Kei: Ugh, the water is so cold..

Ruka: You just noticed?

Kei: They were so mean...

Ruka: .. Are you going to cry?

Kei: Shut up.

Kei: I wish I could prove to them that my way of showing love is normal..

Ruka: I doubt you can do that.

Kei: .. I think I have an idea.

Ruka: He has an idea. Great.

Kei: They always said things like "Kei, come on, you're going to steal our girlfriends at this point!" or "Seriously, our girlfriends are going to fall in love with you, if you keep at it!"

Kei: I think that's because they knew that their girls would gladly choose me over them.

Kei: So.. Why not invite them here? I can give them as much love as they want from me~

Ruka: Oh no, I'm feeling so jealous..

Kei: You sound more emotionless than ever.

Ruka: Anyway, I'm against this.

Kei: Why?!

Ruka: You should just forget about your friends. Seriously. 

Ruka: Do you even see them as friends?

Kei: Um.. Not really..

Kei: But..

Kei: If I want to appear "less weird", I need to have friends..

Ruka: .. Hey. 

Ruka: .. Have you ever had friends? You know.. before them?

Kei: .. I think I had one.

Kei: But I don't really remember him that well..

Kei: H-he probably left me or something, haha..

Kei: .. Hey, the water is way too cold. I'm getting out.

Ruka: You're not actually going to invite them to our house, right?

(sounds of Kei getting out of the bathtub)

Kei: Why not? I can treat those girls better than their boyfriends.

Ruka: Kei, I don't have a good feeling about this.

Kei: Aw, so you really are jealous!

Ruka: .. You already have me. You don't have to try and get those guys' trust back or whatever.

Kei: ...

Kei: I don't like the way wet clothes feel. I'll go change.

[heavenlysphere]

oliver: its ok to ask for help

flower: you’re not a burden

fukase: your feelings matter

piko: murder is okay.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[powerfulkicks]

fucccccckkkkkk i really need to write that octet video essay that's been percolating in my head for years

[softichill]

Fukase may be slowly climbing the list of favorite Vocaloids

[diseaseriddencube]

i keep going back to read sparklecare thinking i'll like it but i just...don't

maybe i'm silly but it feels very flat? I still have no real grasp on the characters or attachment to them, I have vague ideas of a few of their main traits but not much else. I'm aware the entire comic is basically vent art, it does just read like a child's fanfic though..not to be insulting to fanfiction, but it does have a certain style or writing or joking to it. I don't dislike it either, but the writing and characters just don't vibe with me, i don't have the words to adequately explain why though