#this is just to keep track of my brain worms

[beesinspades]

okay so things I'm currently writing:

vashwood big bang modern au

next chapters of from the daylight

things I started but can't work on atm:

ace talk short fic (mainly fluff)

vashwood reincarnation au one-shot

things I really want to write:

delusional vashwood post-canon reunion

delusional vashwood post-canon fluff

some modern au where they're childhood friends and they've been through everything together so i don't have to agonize over how they get to know each other i can just make them pine like idiots for years and not worry about anything else

[toytulini]

me, stupidly and weirdly resistant to listening to audio books vs reading a physical book for no real reason: man i wish there was a way to like, read a book while i crochet like i do with tv shows and movies and podcasts

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

*walks up to the mic* I may be working on another Rangi (prev one) themed trace animation (should I just call it a MAD? I feel like that's what it is but less words....wait wait I think the term is Handwritten MAD/手書きMAD specifically....... TT0TT).

But cool news.........I think....I might be having a break through on ways I wanna try coloring some of the Persona manga. So I might take another stab at this piece again once I'm done..... Anyway!

*drops mic, and then crab walks away*

[xenteaart]

it's not about the roses

pairing: chan x reader (i wrote it with idol!chan or producer!chan in mind, but despite a brief mention of the studio it can fit any au, really) word count: 1,1k genre/warnings: er, fluff, a hint of angst if you squint but overall just tooth rotting sweetness. reader being kinda vulnerable author's note: inspired by my and @skzms 's channie brain worms, me crying over how boyfie he is in may's dms and her coming up with this little prompt. i'm manifesting a sweet healthy relationship for y'all, never settle for less <3

you were never the one for flowers, really.

it just didn’t seem anything meaningful or special, an occasional cute little bouquet on some first date you had ages ago, meeting someone completely new after mindlessly swiping them right on a dating app. plus, it’s always such a bother to take care for it. disassemble the thing, cut the stems, change the water, maybe cut off the leaves too.

at some point, you began to think of yourself as more of a practical person, taking gift giving to the point where it completely lost symbolism. always getting your friends and family either money or something they specifically asked for.

“at least, they’re actually gonna use it and get some utility out of it. ‘s good, right?” you thought to yourself, ticking a box on one of your friend’s wishlists for their birthday. it is good. no stress of choosing and endlessly pondering whether they’ll like it or not.

or is it avoiding the vulnerability of going down a more symbolic route if they don’t happen to respond to your gift the way you’d like them to after carefully planting hidden meanings and confessions all over a seemingly useless present? yeah, maybe, that’s the one, actually.

it was a regular saturday evening, no work, no plans, no big day or anything to celebrate. so, naturally, you were just spending the time at your place, resting after successfully having done all the house chores in one go.

purposelessly lying on the bed, you wondered what chris was up to. it wasn’t something out of the ordinary for you two to leave each other hanging during the day, keeping each other’s messages unread and waiting for some free time to give a thoughtful, proper reply.

but the little “1” next to your kakaotalk message was starting to feel unfriendly because... honestly? you just missed him. you wanted to know about his day, what he ate for lunch and whether work was okay today (knowing full well the man couldn’t care less about days of the week, coming over at the studio any time he needed or pleased).

distracting yourself with scrolling tiktok for a quick dopamine hit, you end up losing track of time a little. and the thing bringing you back to reality is chan’s short message, popping up on your notifications bar.

“can you come out for a sec? i’m at the door hehe~”

it takes you three times to read to finally understand what it actually means. he doesn’t have keys to your apartment yet, and you mostly hang out at his place anyways, so him coming all the way to the opposite side of the city makes your heart skip a beat.

you rush to the door and open it almost immediately, only to see channie, your channie, standing right in front of you with a nice bouquet of red roses wrapped up in kraft paper. the next thing you notice is chan’s wide smile, so sincere and endearing it makes you wanna cry on the spot.

you were never the one for flowers, really.

red roses always seemed like something either too vulgar or “easy”. something that becomes men’s first pick because they just never care enough to look for anything else and assume every girl loves it by default.

right now, however, it doesn’t feel like either of those.

the way chris is a bit nervous and really excited all at once; his hands gripping at the crunchy paper-wrapped base as he's waiting to give the flowers to you. the way his eyes sparkle and shine with warmth and genuine adoration for you. and you read past the roses, you learn so much more from it.

you learn how he’s been quiet because he was plotting a little surprise for you, trying not to be too obvious.

you see how he thought of you during the entire process, from an idea to carefully picking out the best flowers, making sure they’re fresh and pretty and will stay this way a while.

you can hear his timid little “thank you” to the florist as they exchange their bows and polite smiles.

you imagine the slightly awkward small talk with the taxi driver asking him about the occasion — the traffic and the parking area next to your building are awful, so you’re guessing he did take the taxi. and the drivers sure love to talk on the long drives, this one you had to learn the hard way.

gosh, chan looks so warm and… so soft, his lips making a familiar heartbreaking :] shape.

snapping out of your thoughts, you look into chris’s eyes and swallow down a salty lump in your throat.

“please don’t be alarmed, but i probably will cry a little,” you warn him before your voice gives out and take the roses, holding them close to your chest where the heart is bleeding.

“so pretty,” you stare down at the gentle velvety petals and sniff quietly.

chan looks worried for a moment but quickly pulls you into his embrace, stepping into the apartment and locking the door behind him.

“hey-y, i expected a smile, not your tears, baby. i didn’t upset you, did i?” to which you shake your head to reassure him.

“no, no, ‘course not! what do you mean? they’re so nice. i’m just… really happy? and i missed you. so much,” the last words come out like a weak mouse squeak as you close your eyes and let your emotions roll down your cheeks, staining your skin wet.

chan nods and takes your face into his palms, wiping away the tears and looking at you so lovingly you think you might actually break.

“i missed you too, baby. do you mind if i stay the night? i…- uh. i bought some face masks too, so we can just relax a little before bed and cuddle?”

you squeeze out a little “yeah” in response, headbutting his forehead and putting your arm around him, with another still holding the roses carefully.

“i love you,” you say slightly louder, making sure that he hears it.

maybe, gifts don’t have to be practical all the time. maybe, it’s okay to put sentimental value into simple, useless things sometimes. make them mean something.

“i love you too, baby,” chris hums still a little confused, rubbing soothing circles into your lower back and planting a chaste kiss on the bridge of your nose.

you reach for his plump soft lips and press yours against them. and even though your tastebuds can feel the salt, it’s the sweetest kiss you two have shared so far.

[taesanluv3r]

lost in love songs.

han taesan x reader

a short, three part, friends to lovers story.

ੈ✩‧₊ hidden love unfolds when taesan's ipod nano accidentally ends up in the hands of his best-friend, yn. a certain playlist catches her eyes, revealing the true feelings kept within the depths of the boy's heart.

part two: about a girl.

reader goes through an overwhelming amount of emotions (shes crying 😿), some cuss words, myung jaehyun (reader's older brother) comforts her <3 lowercase intended, excuse any spelling mistakes / grammatical errors! enjoy :3

wc: 2,009

masterlist 𖦹 part one 𖦹 part three

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖

"damn, can't believe that dork writes songs about my loser sister…i say we give it a little listen and-"

jaehyun's words are interrupted, "get out of my room" yn says sternly, a finger pointing out the opened door and her face dead serious. her brother rolls his eyes, "whatever, i'll leave you to it i guess. weirdo…maybe you two are meant for each other" the girl flips him off, climbing off of her bed to forcefully push her annoying sibling out the door, slamming it shut behind him. she sighs, turning back around and staring intently at the silver device that remained on her white bed-sheets. her stomach hurts as she sits down beside it, her heart pounding straight out of her chest, though she doesn't know why. yn takes a deep breath as she holds her friend's ipod in her hands, the size of it unfamiliar to the girl who was so used to her larger phone. the wired earphones were tangled and grey from how worn out it was, she hesitates for a moment, wondering if it were really a good idea to be listening to the song her friend made a point to keep hidden from her. but it was right there, staring at her with her name written on it, literally. yn scoots, her back making complete contact with her pillows, a fluffy cloud-shaped plush toy sandwiched between her chest and her knees. she sticks an earphone into her left ear, beginning to do the same on the other side when the ping of her phone stops her. turning over to the device, she blinks slowly at the contact name on her screen.

han taesan.

she watches from afar as countless texts and a few missed calls came in, her arm reaching out to grab her phone. yn contemplates for a moment, his urgent warnings forming a sense of hesitance as she falls into a dilemma. once again, she sighs, turning her phone on do not disturb, ignoring the guy's begs and pleas before she averts her attention back to the ipod nano. blocking out all outside noise, the other side of his earphones find place in her right ear, a finger grazing against the white buttons that decorated the silver music player. yn exhales, finally pressuring the tips of her nail, pushing play on the very first track,

'about a girl.'

the name directly stolen from a song by his favourite rock band, the girl fully expects her friend's usually grunge-y sound. however, yn is taken by surprise when a soft guitar acoustic hits the surface of her eardrums instead. the rhythm of the track almost as sweet as the lyrics that he begun to sing. taesan's voice is smooth like butter, matching perfectly with the rather simple strumming pattern of the stringed instrument. being fully produced in his bed-room on a cheap microphone he got at the thrift shop, the girl finds herself smiling slightly at the shuffling sounds she could still hear in the background, breath hitching when she finally processed the words.

i listen to love songs in hopes they come true. i listen intently to conversations with you. my mind turns into mush and i can't seem to speak. in seconds i'm out, the door shuts with a creak. i could talk about her for hours on end, i could talk with her, or maybe not, it depends. cause she drives me insane, and i've got worms for a brain. and i can't get her out of my head.

the girl doesn't know what to think. it just all sounds so…foreign. the taesan she knew never wrote songs like this, or at least none that she knew of. the shy and reserved boy would never be caught dead showing this much emotion in real life, his honey-like voice fades out as the instrumental gets louder, giving the girl a moment to think. a million questions swarm into her head. he wrote this song…for her? she's lost in the music for a moment, her mind racing as she goes through about a billion thoughts per second. her heart fluttering at the very idea of this whole thing- i mean, it was as if all those romantic dreams she's had were finally coming true. a whole song written for her? frankly, the girl was on cloud 9. yet still, yn can't help but doubt herself, does he really feel this way for her? her best-friend since middle school? the ever so introverted han taesan who's never even spoken of love, this is him? as the questions swim through her brain, his soft singing wakes her up again.

this girl that i know, she's a girl that i like. but she won't feel the same, i don't know though, she might. i just can't, and i won't, let her know how i feel. i fear it might slip and it'll all become real. for my mouth only speaks around her, and my mind only thinks about this girl.

after another beat or two, he sings the final words of his love song,

still, you drive me insane. and i've got worms for a brain. think i might like you more than a friend.

with that, the first track in the two-song playlist comes to an end. the room is silent, the only thing she could hear was the quiet sound of her deep breaths. yn's mouth hangs open, her body freezing up like she had just been transported to the arctic without shelter. she doesn't even want to listen to the other song, in fear it'd make her heart beat faster than this one did. unconciously, a single tear begins to run down her cheek. "i know you said to go away but mom's asking what you want for dinner" the sound of her older brother's voice shakes her out of the daze, her eyes blinking rapidly as her head turned towards the door. "are…are you crying?" jaehyun asks, eyes widening as he began to walk over to where she sat on the bed, taking a seat beside her. "i…" she starts but doesn't continue, not really knowing what she was going to or even wanted to say. "so…you listened to that song, huh?" the boy asked, his features softening at the sight of his tearful sister who looked…well, lost.

she nods slightly, "just…just the first one" she mumbles, gulping all too loudly as her hand moves up to wipe at the tears that stained her blushed cheeks. "so? does he like you, or what?" jaehyun's question comes out a bit rushed, like he was impatient to know. "i…i don't know" and before they knew it, the girl had broken down into tears again. she still didn't know why though, the lyrics of her friend's song was nothing but sweet. however, the truth about the feelings he had, the ones he must've been keeping from her this whole time…it made the myung girl overwhelmed, not really knowing how she had to react. "hey, don't cry" her brother coos, a hand stiffly patting against the small of her back as she sobs into her hands. "yn…i know you hate it when i tease you but, don't you think it's obvious he's always liked you?" she lifts up her head, fully looking at her older sibling with confused eyes. "and don't lie, yn. we all know you're a terrible liar. i can tell by the way you smile when you mention him, i can tell by how annoyed you get over silly things about him that you, whether you like it or not, you're just in love as he is" jaehyun lets out a breath after talking too fast, his lips pursed into a line as he hits his sister with the reality of her feelings, and her best-friend's.

"but…" she starts again, stuttering as the salty taste of her own tears managed to seep into her mouth that started to feel a little dry. "but what if it's all a misunderstanding? i mean, what if i got it all wrong? what if this ruins our relationship forever? i shouldn't have…i shouldn't have listened to this. i-" the rambling girl gets cut off, "yn!" jaehyun's voice is louder by a decibel, his hands pressed firmly against his shaking sister's shoulders. "yn, look. there's only one way to find out. and you and i both know that things will only get weird if you don't talk to him about this, right?" the myung girl sighs, nodding at him, a grateful look on her face for her older brother and his big heart- even if he bullied and teased her half the time. "you're right…" another ping grabs their attention away from each other and over to the phone she had tossed to the other side of the bed. "i think that's him…" jaehyun smiles softly at his love-sick little sister, reaching to pass the phone over to her before patting her back lightly. "talk to him, yn. tell him the truth. what's the worst that could happen, right?" he says, earning a half-assed smile in return from the girl.

"besides, he did write love songs dedicated to you- something tells me you two are going to be just fine"

the boy gets off of the bed, "i'll tell mom you're not hungry yet. let me know if you need anything, okay? and if it is all a misunderstanding, which i doubt it is, i'm only a call away and i'll fight the guy for you!" the last part makes the girl giggle, breaking away from her somber state for a moment, rolling her eyes as the older sibling began showing off his non-existent arm muscles. he shot her a quick good luck before he was out the door again. leaving myung yn alone, alone with the thousands of messages and calls from a panicked han taesan.

emo loser (taesan) yn, whatever you do DO NOT touch my ipod. yn answer my calls!!!! yn please. yn, don't do it. it's too late isn't it? yn… i'm sorry.

the girl can't help but feel sick, the guilt of it all making her stomach turn and her heart to swell in pain. she takes a deep breath, the ticks on the bottom right of his messages turning blue, signifying that she had finally read them.

emo loser (taesan) you listened to them, didn't you?

yn's breathing gets heavy and fast, her fingers trembling as she began to type out a response.

i need to talk to you.

she bites her lip, nervously watching as the three dots appear then disappear on his end of the chatroom, like he had started to type but stopped half way through. yn shuts her eyes, opening them to stare at the ipod nano that had turned itself off at some point before. her gaze is turned back to the phone in her hands when he finally texts her back.

emo loser (taesan) meet me at the playground tomorrow? i have so much to say you'll listen right?

yn smiles softly, a sudden feeling of warmth engulfing her previously frozen body. she nods to herself, fingers hovering over the digital keyboard.

tomorrow at 1?

this time, he texts back almost immediately.

emo loser (taesan) i don't think i can wait that long meet me there at 10 unless you're still sleeping, lazy ass.

the boy's teasing joke, after the whirlwind of emotions she had just gone through, comforts her a little. suddenly, the girl feels confident that her brother was right and that they'd be okay after all.

see you at 10 then, weirdo

the conversation ends there. yn hides under her covers that night, her stomach empty though she didn't feel the need to eat, and her body exhausted though she couldn't seem to sleep. she's still in disbelief. the sound of his voice playing over and over again in her head all night. the lyrics tattooed onto her brain as she finds herself lost.

lost in the love song he wrote for her.

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖

first of all tysm for 100 followers !!! HEHEHEHE taesan straying away from his usual emo grunge music to write secret love songs for yn 😿 featuring the lyrics that i wrote myself <3 THOUGHTS??? reblogs n feedbacks are highly appreciated!! send me an ask, let's talk abt this 💭 see u guys in the final part!! love, kona.

[canadianno]

you wanted questions about your au?

VERY WELL!

EXPLAIN THE EVOLUTIONARY TRAITS THAT GAVE GRASSWORMS TIDDIES

/pos

:)

GIVING YOU THE BIGGEST HIGH FIVE RN!!!!

Get comfy because I'm about to explain allllll my utter bullshit. I threw together some images to go along with this explanation as well!

TLDR: Worms in my AU retain more features from their wild counterparts than others, including women having a heavily padded chest since they're the ones jumping around above ground and that's what they'd land on.

THE LONG EXPLAINATION BELOOOWWWWWW LETS FUCKING GO!

OKAY SO! To start off this explanation we need a basic understanding of how the evolution works in my AU. In my AU there are domestic animals, and wild animals. Domestic animals are what the characters are- anthropomorphic. They usually stand upright, usually have more humanoid features, and they're 'conscious' the same way humans are.

Wild animals are what those animals are actually like in, yknow, the real world. So a wild bird would just be a normal bird (for us.) A wild squirrel would be a normal squirrel, ect. ect.

In my AU, not all animals have a wild counterpart. There are a lot of animals who have zero wild counterparts, and the animal exists exclusively domestically. Most big land animals are like this- there's also a higher percentage of mammals that are exclusively domestic than any other kind of animal.

There are also loads of animals that do have wild counterparts! These animals are usually smaller. Birds, bugs, amphibians, small mammals, and fish- bugs and fish have the most few domestic groups, simply because of the environmental challenges.

Now, onto the worms specifically!! There are lots of different kinds of worms, but since this ask was specifically referring to Leshy, I'll be using his kind as the example.

In the AU, worms are one of, of not THE most genetically close wild/domestic category of animal in the world. This is because a wild worm and a domestic worm start out nearly the EXACT same! Of course- a worm with domestic parents starts out usually larger, with larger external limbs and a bigger brain, but they still both start out the same. Worms hatch underground and spend most of their early first few years almost completely burrowing. Worms are born with both arms and legs, but they're weak and usually don't get used much- they're also born with fuzzy, soft faces.

In a wild worm, as they age they lose the fur/foliage on their faces and it becomes tough and wood-like. They usually completely reabsorb their hind legs with age, usually keeping the front arms- but they're kinda like T-Rex arms, where they're more for decoration than anything.

In a domestic worm, in order to become domestic they kinda have to. BE domesticated. To achieve the bipedal form of an adult domestic worm, worms must be taught to walk on the hind legs, which builds muscle and bone mass- preventing them being reabsorbed. This process is usually guided by adult domestic worms, who track down the babies in the first stage. A fully grown domestic worm never loses the fur/foliage around the face, due to not burrowing constantly.

Of course, now you're thinking "okay okay, you've told us the difference between wild and domestic, and you've explained that both those kinds of worms are very close genetically, now why do they have boobs???"

And the answer is . They don't! Wild worms have bug-typical sexual dimorphism where the females are much larger than the males. In the wild, male worms tend to stay underground, burrowing, and you don't usually see them, while female worms traverse above ground- in the game they'd be the green worms you fight in darkwood. And, as you may know if you've played the game, those worms hop around after you, and land directly on their fronts. In wild worms, females have a heavily padded 'chest' area, designed to protect important internal organs from the full impact of landing.

This trait carried over to domestic worms!!! Men are usually shorter, with shorter tails, and women are usually taller with a longer tail and a heavily padded chest! They aren't boobs at all, simply a collection of fat tissues around the chest area. If worms were to evolve further away from their wild counterparts that trait would be one of the first to go, but for now it's socially considered a female trait!

So, when Leshy realized he was trans, he fucking . Took it out. On his own. And walked into Shamuras room covered in blood like it was no big deal, and mildly traumatized them because they thought he was dying or something.

And that is the. End of my ramble <3 thank you for listening to me yap on and on and on about my stupid silly headcanons!!! If you have any questions you want clarified feel free to send em in!!!

[flowercrowngods]

in which i have the steddie&clarkson (wayne/mr clarke) brain worms and decided that teacher student steve should get some help from mr clarke. everyone is soft

🤍 also on ao3

Eddie grabs the massive mug Wayne just filled with coffee and leans against the counter beside him. 

“Have they made any progress at all?” 

Wayne just grunts and takes a sip of his coffee, neither of them taking their eyes off Steve and Scott at the dinner table. “Your boy’s stopped groaning. Guess that counts as progress.” 

Eddie snorts and smiles into his mug. “Oh, that’s definitely progress.” 

They watch as Steve despairs over turning the vague plan of his lesson into a detailed, fleshed out, all things considered version. He gets frequently gets lost in all the possible ways that things could go wrong that he loses track of the golden thread that Mr Clarke keeps reminding him is the most important thing.

“I’m an idiot,” Steve mumbles where he has face planted into the papers and books laid out on the table in front of him. 

“You’re not an idiot, Steve, and you never were. Being overwhelmed is the most natural thing, it happens to the best of us.” Mr Clarke has a hand on Steve’s back and talks in that kind, patient voice that everyone in this house loves so much. “Do you wanna play it through?” 

Steve perks up at that, lifting his head from the paper just barely to look at Mr Clarke. “How do you mean?” 

“Well, you seem to worry that nobody will understand the task. Or be able to follow you. So what do we do then?” 

A frown appears between Steve’s brows and he sits up straighter, looking down at the plan he’s already made. “Try again with different wording?” 

“Exactly!” Mr Clarke says. “Or we look at the way your task is phrased and see if we can already find alternatives, how ‘bout that? Baby steps, sure, but everything stands and falls with your questions and tasks. And when you have the right question, you also know what exactly it is that you want them to find out and tell you. So, for now, why don’t we start with that?” He smiles at Steve and reaches for one of the sheets of paper. “You’ll be an amazing teacher because you already care whether they’ll get it. Believe me, you’ve absolutely got this.” 

Seeing Mr Clarke be so supportive of Steve and never once making him feel stupid or ridiculous for getting overwhelmed warms Eddie’s heart time and time again. He even jokes with Steve that he only ever comes over to spend time with his uncle’s boyfriend instead of Eddie — and the other day he’s overheard the same jab from Wayne directed at Scott. 

“They’re kind of adorable, aren’t they?” Eddie mutters so only Wayne can hear him. When his uncle doesn’t answer, Eddie looks over to find the softest of smiles on his lips, and he can’t help but join. 

****

Two hours later, Steve finally has his lesson planned properly and he comes over to Eddie, burying himself in that warm embrace. 

“Hi, professor,” Eddie mumbles and Steve just pokes him in the side with a light chuckle. 

“Asshole.” Burying deeper into Eddie, he lets a beat pass before, “Hi.” 

“You all done?” He brushes kisses to Steve’s head and just holds him. 

“Really fucking done, yeah,” he sighs. “At this point I’m gonna owe Mr Clarke my entire teaching career.” 

“Not your dashing boyfriend and his sanity-saving hugs?” 

“Sure,” Steve laughs lightly. “That, too.” 

They stay there for another while, holding onto each other, an exhausted Steve recharging before he’s ready to resurface. 

****

In the living room area, Wayne places a mug of steaming coffee in front of Scott. “For your troubles.” 

Scott’s laugh is like music to his ears and his smile lights up the whole room as he gratefully reaches for the mug. It’s one of the greatest gifts, Wayne thinks, the way Scott reacts to his remarks. Delight where there should be wariness, gratitude where there should be offence. It’s a gift, really, the way he just lets Wayne be himself and learned to understand, to appreciate, to… to love. Maybe. 

“You’re an angel,” Scott says before taking a long sip of his coffee. “Though you probably shouldn’t support my caffeine addiction that much.” 

“Probably,” he shrugs, before pointedly finishing the rest of his own coffee. “But that’d make me a hypocrite.” 

“Oh, we don’t want that,” Scott nods sagely, smiling into his mug. Wayne can’t look away. His hair is a little rumpled from working with Eddie’s boy for hours, his bow-tie has come off and the first button on his white button-up shirt is undone. His eyes are closed, the mug of coffee right under his nose so he can inhale greedily. He looks like he’s right at home. 

It does something with Wayne that he never really expected to be feeling. But he does. What does one do with such emotions? 

He carefully places his hand in Scott’s hair and combs it into the right direction so it won’t stick out anymore. If Wayne’s breath hitches when Scott leans into his touch, then that’s his business alone. 

“You need anything else?” he asks quietly, because that’s one thing he can do. Words were never his playing field — it’s, quite frankly, a miracle that he and Eddie are related. But bringing Scott coffee, combing his hair, massaging his shoulders where they’re tense from sitting in the same position all evening? That he can do. Acts of service, Eddie calls it. 

“No, thank you, love,” Scott says quietly before plucking Wayne’s hand from his hair and pulling it to his lips. “I’m perfectly content.” 

@unclewaynemunson it aint much but it's honest work 🤍

[khytal]

ok gamers I rewatched tristamp one more time in order to write a post about the soundtrack, and some of the stuff I found blew my socks off (even though I've seen every episode like 6 times) so buckle up because oh my god. oh my god

this will cover most of both volumes of the OST (which you can find on spotify), with a focus on wolfwood, and a little bit of vash, meryl, and the eye of michael

...and a very thorough breakdown of "drain arm" :)

notes before I get into it: -I won't be analyzing the plant song because I. already wrote an entire separate thing about that haha (a link to that doc will be in the replies section of the notes if you're interested)

-you won't need to know anything about music theory, because I'm just pointing out where certain themes come up (with the exception of "duet", but I'll explain terminology there). timestamps will be included so you can listen for them as you read

-if you're obsessed with the OST like I am, most of this probably won't be anything new x) but I hope it's enjoyable regardless

-my credentials: I was a pianist for 10 years and an oboist for 7.5 years and I only had 1 semester of intermediate music theory but I got to analyze the 1st mvt of tchaik 5 and I think that permanently altered my brain chemistry

-the tracks I recommend being familiar with to have a better grasp on this post are: -> "whistling/blues harp in the wasteland" (vash's leitmotif) -> "reality" -> "childhood memories" -> "duet" -> "human subject" (eye of michael, or EoM, leitmotif) -> "drain arm" (technically optional)

-please don't take any of my interpretations/speculation as fact! you are absolutely free to come to your own conclusions I just have a lot of thoughts about the soundtrack lol 👍

here we go :]

EP1: -you can hear a variation of the plant song in "immigrant space explorer" (0:36-1:00)

-vash's leitmotif is first heard in "no man's land" (0:41-0:48)

-only about half of "mystery man" plays, and his leitmotif (0:38-0:51) is actually cut from the scene so it's not heard at all

EP2: -"escape" has vash's leitmotif from 0:18-0:31. they also took out the lyrics in the episode's version of the track x)

-it's possible that we'll hear "might is right" or a new arrangement of it if we get to see the rest of the nebraska family in future episodes, since there were posters of marilyn. I think people largely associate the song with EG the Mine but due to the track title and the fact that it first played in this episode, I feel like it's more about the nebraskas

-I'll talk about "childhood memories" in ep12 because it's related to rem's themes

EP3: -the plant song can be heard in "compatriots" (1:01-1:11)

-"reality" is first heard here, right before the episode in which wolfwood is introduced. keep this in mind for later :')

EP4: -"undertaker" has a dissonant sax part (0:48-0:54) that's similar to the one found in "irritation" (1:05-1:11), but it's an ascending passage rather than descending. it doesn't show up anywhere else so it might become a motif we'll hear in the future, but there's no way to know until the next part is released

-"planet zaji", from 0:55-1:04, has that one part from "time left" (1:02-1:09). it's heard while wolfwood's spinning the punisher around but I think it's just something that sounds cool, and you can't really hear it anyway because of the sound effects/dialogue. if zazie gets any additional themes in the future I might have more to say on this

-vash's leitmotif kicks in in "hungry !" (0:21-0:43) when wolfwood introduces himself at the end of the episode. I really like this track I hope we'll get to hear it again x)

EP5: -I don't think there's any meaning behind "shadow" borrowing from "worms network". I'm pretty sure it was just for mood (and to be fair it is a cool track)

-you can hear vash's leitmotif at the beginning of "boy and vash". this is the part where vash is escorting rollo back to the village

-"cyborg" introduces a new 4-note pattern (0:07-0:14) that I'm calling the eye of michael leitmotif. if hearing this reminds you of episode 6 then you already understand what I mean

-"dud" has vash's leitmotif as well (2:20-2:59), which starts playing when vash is begging rollo to wake up after wolfwood kills him

-only a small part of "human subject" (0:25-0:35) is used for the final scene, right when the windmills start turning. using the EoM leitmotif as a sendoff to the empty village is. really haunting

EP6 (this is a long one I'm sorry): -the EoM leitmotif can be heard in "reborn" (0:09-0:14, but it's easier to hear in 0:26-0:30). this is the opening scene where wolfwood guns down the deserter

-they do reuse "worms network" when livio first opens fire on vash but that's more for mood in my opinion. you could say it hints at zazie monitoring the sand steamer though

-we're probably going to hear "the desert rogue" again when the bad lads gang shows up in a future episode, possibly with a new arrangement for brilliant dynamites neon (this is one of my personal favorite tracks actually. it's a shame they didn't get to use the whole thing because 0:45 to the end is really cool)

-"boyhood" contains the EoM leitmotif and it's very in-your-face in this song (1:15-2:19). in the episode itself the track gets cut at around 2:10, but in the OST the piano motif from "orphanage" can be heard one more time right at the end of the song at 2:18-2:20. which is an evil thing to do. anyway

-"nicholas the punisher" is an arrangement of "reality". let that sit for a second, maybe go listen to those two tracks or something.

okay so we can look at this in a few different ways:

-> the end of episode 3 is of course a reality check, supported by the corresponding track being titled "reality" (even though it's fabricated by nai: to suggest and then prove to the people of no man's land that vash is indeed deserving of the $$6mil bounty; and to tell vash that his presence will pose a threat to humans). you know who else is supposed to be* grounded in reality? the pragmatic nicholas d wolfwood, who's introduced at the start of episode 4 *tristamp wolfwood hasn't quite found his resolve yet, as shown by his hesitation when livio appears

-> in the scene where "nicholas the punisher" is heard, vash is insistent on rescuing livio while wolfwood pushes back and says it's too late for him. he's clearly wishing he wouldn't have to eliminate livio though, and with "reality" as the foundation of this song, it presents wolfwood's inner turmoil in a new way for the audience: vash, who is physically right there trying to persuade him that there's still hope for his brother, vs his role as "nicholas the punisher" in sound, in his mind, and the "reality" that developed along with it (death is/can be a mercy, and sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice one life to save many)

(I also want to add that while legato's dialogue shows he intended for the orphanage to be eliminated through livio's death, it seems wolfwood didn't even realize that killing livio would mean more kids would be taken by the EoM for experimentation. he thought he had to choose between livio or the children, but it was a "test" of loyalty; and legato was attempting to obtain said loyalty by force)

-> outside of the episode, if you were to just listen to this track within the OST it's very representative of his character. contrary to "undertaker", which is fairly laid-back and....honestly kind of playful (and equally reflective of wolfwood's personality, when he's relaxed), "nicholas the punisher" is a more somber and contemplative piece. the fact that it's built on "reality" already suggests that he's someone whose beliefs conflict with vash's; and even without knowing that, both of wolfwood's themes contrast with the energy of "vash the stampede" quite clearly (even if I personally don't consider that track to be vash's official theme, it's still associated with him). I think it's really interesting that vash, the quieter one, has more raucous songs while wolfwood, the one with a sharp tongue, has calmer tracks :)

you might be wondering if "orphanage" is in "nicholas the punisher" and the answer is......yes, but actually, no. but kinda if you're delusional like me. this little pattern from 0:29-0:42 in "orphanage" is found in the low brass from 0:57-1:11 in "nicholas the punisher" (although it's in a different key and has a slight variation in the 2nd half). it's not quite the same, but both phrases start by going down a half step, then down a P5 interval (D->C#->F# for "orphanage", F->E->A for "nicholas the punisher"). lastly the sand steamer's leitmotif (I guess) is also present but that's. obviously because this is happening on the sand steamer lol

-"whom to kill, whom to let live" is just a faster/more tense arrangement of "orphanage" with saxophone over it. starting at 1:07 you can hear the worms leitmotif (1:31-1:34 in "worms network")

I can't say whether or not legato is already represented in the OST because he's currently not associated with any unique tracks, but they might tie the dissonant saxophone passage from "irritation" to him. it's first heard when legato stops wolfwood from escaping the facility, and as far as I can remember it's not played anywhere else. if he plays a bigger role in the next season, which I'm sure he will, I'll be keeping an ear out for this x) (I only mention the sax thing because I don't think he's represented by the sax solo that plays in "whom to kill, whom to let live")

EP7: -a little more of "the desert rogue" is heard when the bad lads make their way onto the sand steamer but it's very hard to make out over the gang yelling in the background lmao

-we're treated to the entirety of "human subject", for the scene where livio briefly returns to himself. if you somehow weren't convinced that those repeated 4 notes had anything to do with the eye of michael, this is the last instance where it's heard: the moment livio's overcome by whatever brainwashing was used on him by the EoM

-I think most people associate "time left" with ep12 but it's first played in this episode and I believe that it was primarily composed with the ion cannon sequence in mind (though a majority of the tracks in the OST only play once for specific scenes, with some songs being cut short and getting different parts played across 2+ episodes. "irritation" and "human subject" are examples of this)

EP8: -this one's a little hard to hear because the 1st note is implied in the C drone but vash's leitmotif starts at around 0:09 in "complicity" and runs all the way to 1:06

-it's also in "home" (1:38-1:57), playing at the moment luida hands vash the red coat :)

EP9: -I've talked about this before but I really like that there's 4(?) measures of polyrhythm (2 or more differing rhythmic lines that are played within the same time signature) when vash joins in, before the brothers come together on the same even rhythm. you can see how vash's quarter-note pattern doesn't line up with nai's quarter-note triplets, and in fact, neither of them ever land or start together:

(for the sake of comprehension I wrote it out with a faster tempo to stretch the polyrhythm part over 8 bars instead of the slow tempo/4 bars. I'm not sure what the official tempo is. I think a sane person would write it at a faster tempo so that the part doesn't look stupidly cluttered but a good musician would be able to play it regardless. anyway-)

it sounds even more stilted because vash is playing on the offbeat. polyrhythm's such a great way to represent the brothers' relationship because it seems so chaotic but both lines are still in time together, following the same beats. they're so different but in the end they're still brothers who (are trying to) understand each other. and I love that vash is playing secondo, a more harmonic/supportive part, while knives has primo, where the melody/ornaments are. it says a lot about their personalities :')

since I don't know what the original sheet music looks like I can't say if this is true but you can hear that the plant song at 1:03 is played in octaves (2 notes that're the same pitch with one higher than the other). because of the nature of a duet, and the fact that this was played by the twins when they were little, the octaves were probably split between the parts. so vash was playing the lower octave of the plant song with his right hand, and nai played the upper octave with his left hand (we don't get to see this because it cuts to nai playing the song alone at that point). also: vash favors his right hand while nai favors his left

-now for something far less interesting: "last run" is a medley combining "ethics and morality", "compatriots", and "millions knives"

EP10: -"a cruel sight" seems to be unused. it was probably intended to lead into "bio-power reactor" in the scene where meryl and roberto meet elendira in the tank (given that it ends the same way "bio-power reactor" starts), but they cut it and just played a version of "bio-power reactor" without the melody

-elendira's themes ("elendira the crimsonnail" and "which is the monster?") seem to have some lyrics that're most audible in the beginning of the tracks but they're almost impossible to make out without some kind of editing software, which I don't have lol. they're already very quiet in the background and they echo, on top of sounding like they were put through autotune

also this is entering speculation territory but it makes me wonder if elendira's theme is going to evolve with her. we've seen some concept art with her having a more teenage appearance, so I think it'd be really cool if the vocals also changed accordingly

additionally she doesn't have the EoM leitmotif anywhere but she DOES have a proper 4-note chromatic pattern that descends from D in "which is the monster?" (1:32-1:35), which is the same note that the EoM leitmotif starts on. if we consider EoM's broken chromatic passage to represent the failed experiments, then elendira, with an actual chromatic passage in her theme, is a success

-"meryl's regrets" is ALSO an arrangement of "reality" :') this is the track that plays during roberto's final moment, which was. you know. the consequence of meryl running off in pursuit of the truth. the "reality" roberto had warned her about several times prior to episode 10. interestingly, while "nicholas the punisher" expands on the original track, "meryl's regrets" is a reduction--it's mostly just the baseline with some notes here and there. she doesn't have a theme yet, but 1:23-1:33 might be something we hear again if/when she gets a track associated with her

EP11: -"nicholas and meryl" is an arrangement of "boy and vash", with erhu echoing vash's leitmotif. I think it's a neat way to show through music that both of them are here because of vash :]

-the tracklist goes slightly out of order at this point for some reason. after "memory retrieval", "memory of geranium" is what plays in the final memory, when nai decapitates rem

EP12: -"memory of rem" is a combination of "childhood memories" and "memory of geranium". "childhood memories" is also found in "knives's piano", which is based on "duet". one fun way of interpreting this is that the "childhood memories" part of the duet is actually from rem, if she was the one who taught the twins how to play piano, which would make "duet" a musical representation of vash and nai's roots (pun intended. sorry). this also suggests nai misses rem, with how often he plays the piano, even if he thinks he hates her.

but "childhood memories" can also simply be seen as a theme that's associated with rem, nai, and vash's brief time together x)

-okay this is the part where I get to rant about "drain arm" because THIS SONG was literally the reason I decided I needed to rewatch stampede. I was listening to "drain arm" a couple weeks after the finale aired and I heard vash's leitmotif near the end and I was like "NO WAY!!!! HOW DID I MISS THAT"

as it turns out, it was cut from episode 12.

:)

not to worry though, I still have plenty to say about it. even if I'm a little disappointed. just. a little.

-> from 1:13-1:25, you can hear vash's leitmotif in the cello. this DID make it into the scene, and it plays when vash rises through the clouds

-> 2:44-3:10 is where some of the lyrics from vocal version of "millions knives" play: "remember how / we used to be / no turning back / sky's (skies??) falling down". although you can't actually hear the "remember how" in "drain arm" (at least not without blasting the song into your ears, which I don't recommend), it starts right when the image of vash and nai sitting in the geodome appears

-> we finally get the plant song at 3:36, when the condensed energy starts to leak out/charge. and then after it fires, but before nai dives into the beam, we hear "I still care for you" (3:44-3:52). and while it's originally from the vocal version of "millions knives", in the context of the scene I think it's a sentiment from both brothers: vash, who pleads for nai to let go and releases the energy away from him; and then knives, desperately reaching for the cube because he believes the success of his plan will ensure his family's (and especially his brother's) safety, the only ones he's ever cared about

in other words: plant song in cello = vash -> "I still care for you" -> continuation of plant song in low brass = knives. they're connected by this single sentence

-> knives's leitmotif (I didn't talk about it because it's only found in songs that signal his appearance, so it's really obvious, but yes he's got one of those) plays at 4:03 for the "nai is dead. you killed him" exchange

-> it goes back to a variation of the plant song at 4:29 (I LOVE the piano at 4:40-4:49 btw. it's so good. I could cry about it. probably)

if you've read my plant song analysis you might be wondering how to tell when it's being associated with the name millions knives instead of the plant race. since we know that a good chunk of the songs in the OST were written like a film score, the visual context (and/or the song titles themselves) can clue you in. "drain arm"'s use of the plant song is meant to highlight that vash and nai aren't human, so it's the latter

-> now here's the part that was removed, probably due to the runtime: vash's leitmotif in the cello again, from 5:03-5:09. if you revisit the part right before nai lets go of the cube, you'll hear that it skips these 6 seconds and goes straight to knives's theme ("but that's the plant song!" yes. we'll get to that in a sec). this missing bit right here?? fucks me up EVERY time. it's the most mournful his leitmotif has ever sounded, appropriately so, and it's absolutely criminal that it wasn't included. especially because knives's theme, the plant song melody, follows it up on violin as the cello continues to play a line in harmony.

and it's knives's theme because in this moment it's about him dying, not the plants. they spent a whole season tricking us into thinking that the plant song was knives's theme, and then they used it to send him off.

-> and then july city explodes o7

as much as I'd love to hear "drain arm" again for another chance to let the weight of vash's motif come through, I think it's too intertwined with this scene to be recycled. like. maaaaaaaybe they could use it for fifth moon if that's supposed to be the climax of the next part but they kinda?? already did the "fire a really big laser at the sky" thing? anyway yeah I'm totally normal about "drain arm". so normal

Extras: -the punisher and the double fangs have these cool sound effects when they transform and it kinda makes me think that their guns are built from lost tech, if the punisher's laser cannon wasn't evidence enough of this

-there's no equivalent of "sound life" in stampede, and I don't think there's going to be one. however, I do think that it would make a lot of sense if rem taught the boys how to play piano, because we could get something like:

-> rem asks vash about the plant song (the memory in ep12) -> she gives the boys piano lessons -> she helps them compose "duet"

-they didn't use "stampede out" for this season but I really hope we'll hear it in the next part. I know it's just a longer version of "escape" but it's a fun song :]

-this is. obvious but you can hear "gate" in "millions knives". no idea if they'll put "gate" into more songs, especially for vash now that he seems to have some control over it

-there's also something kinda fun with key signatures too: -> "millions knives" is in b minor -> vash's leitmotif is in d dorian (of course this changes depending on the key signature of whatever track it's used in) -> "undertaker" is also in d dorian -> I think songs associated with no man's land/humanity are usually in some dorian scale or specifically the key of a minor but this is solely based on jeneora rock since july city had its own unique theme so I'm not totally sure yet. "duet" is in a minor by the way -> "nicholas the punisher" is in d minor. if "undertaker" is tied to humanity (which is tied to vash) then "nicholas the punisher" is linked to the other side: knives, through the EoM. it adds another interesting layer to the contrast between wolfwood's two themes, but I don't consider this to hold any meaning lol -> I WILL say that b minor is the relative minor of D Major, so having knives and vash's songs be written in those keys was likely deliberate. and what makes it really interesting is that to get d dorian, you take a D Major scale and lower the 3rd and 7th notes by a half step

-I'm not 100% sure but I think plucked piano strings were used to create the low, scratchy string sound effect in some of the songs (one example is literally at the beginning of "irritation"). I think it's really cool that piano is everywhere in the soundtrack, but not necessarily by hitting the keys

-I am unbelievably excited for livio's/razlo's themes because they have the opportunity to do some REALLY COOL things with the music for them. we might not get them in part 2 (though I think we will) but whenever it happens I'll be so ready for it >:)

and that's all!! o(-< thank you for reading! if you actually took the time to go through all of this with the soundtrack pulled up, I'm. impressed. i think. anyway I'm a big fan of OSTs with strong storytelling and tristamp's OST is no exception :]

if you've got questions, feel free to ask ^^ I definitely didn't cover everything I just picked out whatever I thought was worth mentioning. which was uhhhh quite a bit x)

(also again if you're interested in reading the plant song analysis I did it's in the replies section of the notes 👍 I recommend reading it on a computer though)

[bogkeep]

the post i intended to write:

[flirting] hey wanna watch princess mononoke with me

what i intended to write in the tags but is long enough to become its own essay:

howls moving castle is a transgender comfort movie for sure and spirited away is absolutely a classic but princess mononoke is My ghibli movie. i saw it for the first time as a single digit age child when the czech dub played on TV and i was probably too young for it, but because Animated Movie = Kid's Movie i ended up absorbing the most violent animated movie i had ever seen and i think it permanently changed my brain chemistry and i regret nothing, i was so deeply enamored with the large forest and its godly beasts, i was entrenched in the narrative of the curse that slowly swallows you up, and of course san was the coolest character i had ever seen in my entire short life and i had several OCs inspired by her vibe and design and several others ended up with similar face markings, like who out there is immune to feral wolfgirl with Knives? not me that's for certain. none of my friends had seen this movie and over the years i was starting to feel like maybe it didn't exist? how could something that left such a huge impact on me not make a dent in the world around me? does nobody remember the giant wolves and the moss covered forest and all the wriggly curse worms?? BUT THEN i found the dvd in a norwegian cd shop and the norwegian dub was out of sync and it didn't have a norwegian subtitle track so i'd have to watch it with swedish subtitles, which i did many many times, and one time some czech guys were visiting while i was watching and went heeeey it's princess mononoke! good movie!! and i felt tethered to reality again. i keep coming back to this movie and every time i understand it a little more, because of course a small child such as myself wouldn't understand much of the plot beyond Angy Wolf Girl Go Grrrrrr, and the more i watch it the more i find myself relating to ashitaka even though he didn't make as much of an impression on me as Cool Wolf Princess did the first time, and the world is cursed but we find reasons to keep living, and i know the "i'll slit your throat" "you're beautiful" scene is Iconic but almost every screenshot or redraw or gifset leaves out how san drops the knife and recoils as if the vulnerability of the confession will burn her, and maybe it's just very easy to Get me with two outcasts who can't fit in fully anywhere anymore find eachother storyline but yeah anyway i rewatched this movie the other day and it's still really good

[the-owl-tree]

Tell me about your non fandom ocs

i've mentioned them twice but my supervillain gals are always rotating in my brain. i'm horrendous at drawing action, superhero gear, and clothes in general so i don't draw them as much as i'd like to (though i am trying to improve on those fronts) but that doesn't stop me from imagining a shit ton of lore for them

okay quick summary for everyone: Charlotte and Ridley are wannabe villains attempting to become big name villains in their city. They live in a society where superpowers exist and becoming a hero (and a villain) is an actual occupation! They are also all furries because animals rule thank you. I am trying to develop this to reflect my own tastes because at the moment, it does resemble sci-fi furry worm and i'd like to make it its own thing.

now. get lore dumped (and i guess a guide to make your own furry hero/villain in this world?).

Powers

As mentioned, powers are a normal thing in this world! While not entirely common, it's not a rare or surprising occurrence to have multiple powered up folks within one city. In fact, the setting of this story and where the main cast lives is considered the superpower capitol of the world due in part to it homing the League of United Heroes (or LOUH for short. working on the name, these are not my strong suit lol).

Powers can manifest in different ways with the most common to least common being:

Inherited biologically (it's not uncommon for superhero/supervillain familial lines to dominate the scenes thanks to this)

Manifested due to an intense emotional reaction, usually through a traumatic event (surprise surprise, villains outnumber the heroes for a reason)

Manifest later in age (Uncommon)

Just "appear" (incredibly rare, research still hasn't figured out why this happens)

Powers can also be further classified on how they interact with the world, with oftentimes power being divided between the ability to create ("Inherents") versus those who need preexisting material to use their powers ("Dependants"). Charlotte (Villain name: Spellbrewer) is the latter, her magic requires she use ingredients to create her trademark brews. Ridley (Villain name: Copycat) is also classified as the latter, though there is some debate if it's correct, as her power relies on her ability to copy an outsider superhero's power in order to use it. The slang for this is akin to talking about your belly button lol "are you an innie or an outie?"

This is further divided as you go, with Inherents having classifications such as:

"Espers" - those with powers that either enhance or discombobulate both the user and victim's mental states.

"still need a catchy name for this one but Physically Enhanced" - any powers that fall under physical enhancements such as super speed, super strength, etc.

"Matter Manipulation" - Another catch all term for those who can manipulate various elements such as rock, fire, etc.

Individuals with multiple powers do exist, but they're mostly common in those from a lineage of powers, especially if both parents are powered individuals themselves. It is incredibly rare for an individual without that genetic link to manifest multiple powers (but not impossible!).

There's more and some are more difficult to classify than others (Mercenary Whiplash (real name unknown) is a weasel with a unique luck based power, where he is somehow able to manipulate outcomes of battles to his favor).

Powers are mandatory to register, though that doesn't mean they're always easy to keep track of. Lots of powered individuals slip under the cracks and manage to keep out of the system.

Those that are registered are assigned a "risk" rating (a 1-10 scale from minimal risk to highly dangerous) and those that aren't heroes or villains are often assigned a caretaker to check in on them weekly, monthly, or yearly depending on their risk rating. This system is not good, it is a well known secret that this dynamic has lead to unequal relationships between caregiver and the individual they're assigned to with one of the main cast, a raven with a risk rating of 10, murdering their own "caregiver" (the story in particular centres around an abusive relationship and i want to tweak the details before i go too much into it).

Occupations

It isn't mandatory to be a hero or a villain if you have powers, lots of individuals are able to maintain normal work lives whilst having supernatural abilities. Capuchin monkey performer "Viridian" is known for her ability to shatter brick with a powerful scream, but still manages a successful career as a singer (with regular check ins from LOUH, it helps she has some connections to it as well). Juno, a giant cowbird reporter from a popular tabloid, also manages her very contagious powers through the use of gloves and a medical mask (and the fact that her power is unregistered but shush that's a secret).

Difficult for some? Yes. Impossible? Not at all.

But onto the meat of the story: the heroes and the villains. These are occupations you can go into, with different types and different ways to play the game. The "mainstream" heroes and villains are akin to wrestlers and heels, celebrities doing public performances to win public clout, maintain social order, and so on. Some villains are actually contracted by LOUH to "be defeated" to introduce new heroes. Of course, some heroes and villains are completely rogue.

Villains and heroes are rated on a 1-10 danger scale with 1-4 being the "beginner/mediocre" stage where it's alright to let the villains escape for the sake of more publicity/action, consider it the "not a threat, more of a nuisance" area; 5-7 is where heroes have to use their heads to decide whether or not to arrest or let them slip and where villains can get away with doing a little more damage; 8-10 is the danger zone, villains are to be arrested and/or killed if necessary. High risk, high reward.

It's also not mandatory for heroes and villains to have powers! There are a few individuals with no powers that have managed to make it in the business. Difficult, but not impossible!

Heroes

Heroes can work independently, as a registered team, or as "for-hire" muscle. However, most of them are registered with LOUH who assign them a team, a city, a ranking, and equipment. While not mandatory, most heroes tend to find their footing with LOUH first before going independent.

Not to say they can't be successful while independent. Caroline "Cotton" Ackerman (Codename: Hellhound) is an independent hero who's often contracted by LOUH to take down rank 8-10 supervillains who's powers often counter LOUH's top heroes. Caroline was responsible for taking down the infamous plant based villain Oleander, a sheep with a nasty habit of killing civilians in her mass destruction. Their rivalry and dynamic is wildly considered to be the most iconic and their fights would often kick up a whirlwind of media attention. Definitely hated each other, yep, definitely did not have the most insane sexual tension out there no sirree it was a very professional rivalry. they never made out in a closet idk what you're talking about.

Whilst registering with a broader hero group can help boost your chances of success, independent work has its perks! More freedom to control your image, less rules applied when working, and so on.

Independent hero teams also exist and are widely more successful than individuals. However, they're more prone to falling apart due to personal drama and stressors of hero life. Think of it as the group that start a band in high school, some of them are gonna make it but, uh...most of them won't and a lot of them will just be smaller less well known groups with moderate success.

The second most common method is registering with an organization. Most of these are smaller hero agencies that usually specialize in creating certain types of heroes. It's generally fairly easy to find an agency that matches the type of hero you want to be, whether it be one that's more of a celebrity, a charity worker, first responder, etc. etc. These organizations can vary on fees, with more prestigious ones costing more.

Of course, the biggest and most common is LOUH, in which all agencies share their data with in order to help it. While smaller agencies will pretty much take anyone, LOUH is more exclusive and often relies on scouting and applications. Potential LOUH official heroes have to take an entrance exam, a physical, do a background check, and on and on and on.

But the perks are worth it if you get in, LOUH does everything to produce the top heroes. They are the only agency with rank 8-10 heroes for a reason (and if you ignore that these rank 10 heroes are the children of other high ranking LOUH rank 10 heroes then it only seems super impressive). fun fact: charlotte's ex who she's definitely over and totally not pining for anymore is a rank 8 hero. not that charlotte cares or anything., she's definitely not mad about failing the entrance exams and then getting dumped no sirree.

Crime fighters aren't the only occupation for a hero, of course. Hero can describe "performers", a rank of hero that fights with villain heels in public performances to help boost morale. There are those enlisted to help fight natural disasters. Heroes with healing abilities are also big names! It isn't just beating up baddies, lots of alternatives with hero work!

Villains

The ones everyone likes to read about lol villains immensely overwhelm the heroes in terms of numbers. However, while heroes have a pretty robust support system to avoid burnout, villains commonly drop out of the line of work within months or even weeks. It's exhausting being hated, getting your ass kicked, or just failing. A lot.

But that doesn't mean there aren't those who stay in the game. Money, power, fame are all driving motivations for a lot of the villains within the city, especially the main duo. Charlotte's in it for fame and tabloids in this universe are more than happy to run stories about charismatic villains. Ridley's just in it for the money (and there is a lot to be made in this line of work).

Fun fact! These two are a rank 4 superhero team and have the additional classification as a "training wheels" opponent. Ridley's copycat abilities get stronger and more refined the more she copies an individual's powers, so it's in LOUH's best interest to constantly rotate teams to fight them whenever they act. However, since the two, at the beginning of the story, don't actually pose much of a threat, they send in newer teams to practice fighting against them. Charlotte does not know this, she just thinks they're so good that LOUH doesn't have the heroes to keep up.

There are no official villain agencies (LOUH squashed them pretty early on), but networks and alliances are still alive and well. "Crime families" and smaller teams of villains do exist, but are much less organized than the heroes. Like heroes, villain families exist and tend to stick with one another (Kyanna, the aforementioned sheep villain was originally part of one but was used as a scapegoat for a heist gone wrong).

Uuuuhhh let's see what else haven't I mentioned....."heels" are pseudo-villains that are more performers than actual villains, they're usually to help boost morale and public image of heroes by purposefully losing in scripted battles. Shops for villains exist but you gotta know where to look, very much under the table sort of deal. Edna, a kitty cat, runs a bookshop that doubles as a shop for villain materials and whatnot.

High on the danger scale, the more likely you'll be taken down and sent to prison rather than let go. Uuuh oh, villain celebrities do exist! People eat it up, but it really does depend on charisma, appearance, and just how marketable you are. Yes, it's incredibly fucked and causes a lot of discourse around the efforts of treating a villain like a celebrity (this is actually part of Juno's story!).

Neutral Parties

You don't always have to pick a side! Like the aforementioned Caroline, lots of superpowered individuals are actually on a "for-hire" basis for both supervillains and heroes. Whiplash, who actually lives with Edna in its bookstore, is a for-hire mercenary that often fights alongside heroes and villains. Edna as well also assists both sides, as long as they have the right amount of cash.

While it runs the risk of drawing in negative attention from LOUH, it also opens up a wider array of customers. You win some, you lose some. It's all about evaluating risk and reward.

-

uuuuhh i think that's about all of the top of my head? thanks for letting me ramble! not necessarily about my oc's but i did add tidbits of them throughout this massive lore dump lol thank you for asking this was fun <3 i might go back and add more drawings for funsies, i need to do more with these guys

[pillowspace]

For the DCA being a computer virus, the idea that they're an extension like Helpie is, the function being to be installed into devices and meant to keep kids safe with accessing the internet and media, only to in truth be a danger themselves under the way they perform when adults are around.

More of an issue in a future with more smart-tech-devives to hack into, if they're brought home and access the router with wifi connection. The silly little guy from that app showing up on the fridge display doesn't seem so bad until it's not just waving hello its tracking what you put inside and take out. Tying into more and more devices, able to open or possibly obscure emails, redirect search results and reviews that would tell someone that someone that they're dangerous.

Smiling and colorful and associated with a jingle that distorts and stretches as its played through things not built for their presence but has to bear it until things overheat or burnout. Who needs to tell them your credit card when you make the mistake of using a tap-to-pay?

Fazbear would be scummy enough to make a program that worms into tech to manipulate children and get data to sell from adults + incompetent enough to underestimate how adaptable they are and lose them, letting them become invasive overtime . It is past 3am, sorry for typos or being incoherent, your post gave many thoughts! Hope you are well ^^)

YOU!!!!

THAT IS THE EXACT AU THAT WAS BEING OBSCURED FROM MY BRAIN, THAT IS IT. YOU UNRAVELLED IT. YOU PUT MY THOUGHTS INTO WORDS. THANK YOU!!!

Virus DCA... I'm so fascinated by the thought of it

[midgardian-witch]

(No) Invitation Needed

It's been a few decades since you last saw your ex but now he is in your club wanting you back. You really shouldn't give into it but eternity can be so lonely.

tags: vampire!Anselm | vampire!reader | gn!reader | exes to lovers (?) | mentions of blood and violence | unhealthy relationship | no smut this time guys, I'm very sorry

ships: Anselm Vogelweide/Reader

word count: 1.8k

AN: So this got inspired by this tag game and what come out of that was this. I hope people enjoy it and if my brain keeps on this track who knows maybe I'll write more vampire!Anselm with vampire!reader (something along the lines of what i mentioned here). Also a big thank you to @strangerhands for encouraging my vampire!Anselm brain worms and for being an amazing hype person 💙

AO3

The bass is thrumming through your body. In this crowd of people you are one of many - and all of you are one. The music guides your bodies with its rhythm. The beat is your new heartbeat - an invigorating yet nostalgic feeling. The scent of sweat, of blood, of life permeates the air around you. It's been so long since you have felt this alive. 

Your presence pulls the dancers around you into your orbit. They don't even notice that their movements, the sway of their hips, they all follow your lead as they fall into a trance. You are their center even if they don't know why. You are magnetic, irresistible and they are yours. This is your haven, your club, your hunting ground. 

But you are not the only predator here tonight. 

You sense him even before you see or smell him - an aura of authority, cultivated through eons of survival, that you once knew so intimately. 

Your rhythm falters, your spell broken for just a second but it's enough for the crowd to fall out of step. The connection to them is lost but he is still here, encroaching on your territory. With your eyes closed you turn your senses towards him. He's already inside the club, not amongst the crowd of mortals but lurking at the fringes of the dance floor. You must have been too tuned into the crowd to hear his unwieldy leg brace through the music. 

You open your eyes and leave the dance floor, the sea of people parting instinctively to let you pass through. You feel his eyes on you, his gaze almost scorching you as if you came to him unbidden and uninvited and not the other way around. 

As you step out of the crowd your eyes find him immediately. He looks so out of place, his suit and tie unfit for a nightclub like this. In this outfit you'd imagine him at a charity gala for the rich and famous or a funeral. You have to fight the smile off of your lips at the mental image of him at a rave. He'd never get the UV-paint out of his beard. 

You see his beard twitch, his lips curling into a smile of his own at your sight. Your eyes meet and you see a softness in them that feels like a dagger through your heart. How dare this bastard be happy to see you like you were long lost friends and not-

You shake off your thoughts, not wanting to dwell on the past for too long. With a nod of your head you motion him to follow you. Without looking back you leave the dance floor and walk up the stairs to the more quiet bar area. You pass the security personnel and enter the VIP area only reserved for yourself and your personal guests. It's a small yet comfortable space, a stark contrast to the more brutalist design of the club itself. 

You sink into your seat, a leather couch dyed in your favorite color, and take a deep breath. It's unnecessary - oxygen is not vital to your survival, hasn't been in quite a while, but the motion still brings you some comfort. 

You don't look at him as he enters the space soon after, the ear-piercing screech of his leg brace announcing him like a bad omen. You motion your security to leave you two alone and only once they are out of earshot do you let your gaze linger on the man now sitting before you. To your chagrin he looks good. Naturally he hasn’t aged a day and neither have you. Confidently he holds your gaze as you study him. He is completely silent, waiting for you to initiate the conversation. Not out of politeness, you know him better than to think that, but to judge how you react to his sudden appearance. You recognize his manipulation tactics easily, the way he tries to unsettle you with his mere presence. He is subtle but you know him - knew him.

“Anselm,” you address him, your voice firm, “To what do I owe the displeasure of your visit?” His lips curl into a smile, ruffling his well kept beard. He chuckles darkly and leans forward, his glasses slipping a little down his shapely nose in the process. “I missed your sharp tongue,” he answers, and his heavy accent makes your stomach turn. How you ever found comfort in his voice you can’t recall. ��I doubt you came all the way here without an invitation just so I can insult you. I know your cravings have always been particular but that seems even beyond you,” you counter, crossing your arms in front of yourself defensively. “Hmmm, maybe, maybe not,” he hums, his eyes sparkling with mirth, “But I have missed you. I see you made a name for yourself here, so far from home. Success suits you. It always has.” You snort and shake your head in response. Flattery will not get him anywhere. “I am being honest. Don’t insult your own intelligence. I know you’d recognize if I was lying.”

“If that is all you came here to say then you can keep your flattery, Anselm.”

He nods slowly, a few strands of hair falling into his face before he runs a hand through it to pull them back into place. “You are still cross with me; I understand. Our kind holds grudges far longer and far more deeply than that lot could ever imagine,” he motions towards the dancing crowd below as he drivels on. When you first met Anselm centuries ago you thought he might have been an eccentric professor, his way of speech so odd yet so intriguing, pulling you in to listen with ease. You still don’t know if that is purely him or a skill he acquired after his death. You hold up a hand to stop his rant, otherwise you might never get another word in.

“I enjoy repeating myself just as much as you do. So I will only ask this one more time: Why are you here?”

His brow furrows as his face contorts into a grimace. “Now now, I already answered that question. You just didn’t accept my answer,” he replies, his voice turning darker, rougher. His emotions have always been like a live wire, dangerous and deadly if handled incorrectly. You lean back, unbothered by his approaching outburst. “So that’s it? You missed me insulting you so much you came running all the way from the old world to get your fix?” 

He squints at you, one eye hidden by the milky gold-tinted glass of his spectacles. You prepare yourself for his anger, to be cursed out and threatened but the expected outburst never comes. Instead he wets his lips and smiles. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy your skilled tongue but that is not why I came here. It’s so simple it’s almost boring,” his tone of voice has lost its edge as he addresses you again, “I missed you, mein Schatz.” 

You flinch at the old pet name, “Don’t call me that.” He raises his hands in defense and stands up, giving you the illusion of space. “I don’t mean to offend,” he says softly and walks over to you, “But I will admit that I had hoped that you’d feel the same.” Of course he did. Leave it to Anselm to completely ignore how terribly you had fought even before you parted ways in favor of some glorified memory of a doomed romance. You hadn’t forgotten how ugly both of you had become by the end of it. Decades of affection and love that had turned to spite, cruelty and bloodshed, again and again.

You shake your head with a sigh, “Anselm, I-” but before you can speak he shushes you as he sits down next to you. “We were so good together, mein Schatz. Powerful, rich, influential. I know you have your own little realm now but you must admit it is nothing compared to what we had built together.” A haven built on bloodshed and fear, the mortals under your care treated like nothing more than sacks of blood, alliances forged through blackmail, threats and manipulation. You had built your own little empire with Anselm as its king and you by his side. It thrilled you as much as it terrified you and you grimace at the memories his words conjure.

Anselm moves closer, his chest brushing your arm as he leans into you. “Don’t you remember how we made love with the blood of our enemies on our lips? You always looked best in red,” his voice rumbles through his chest. He is so close, his scent filling your nostrils, so familiar it almost makes your head spin. “You were so violent every time we fought, so passionate! I’ll never forget the feeling of your nails cutting me open, your tongue digging into the open wound so you could drink my blood. Or when I would whip you until you bled and lick your sweet nectar off of the floor.” His voice turns more and more into a growl the longer he reminisces. The sound makes you shiver as much as the memories are.

“Anselm, please, I-”

“Don’t you miss it, mein Schatz? Don’t you miss us?” 

His hand finds yours, his thumb running feather-light circles over your skin. His lips brush the shell of your ear. “Don’t you miss me?” Your whole body shudders. He is too close, he smells too good and he is making you want. 

To want his lips and his body against yours, to crave the feeling of his fangs in your flesh, your nails in his back, to consume each other until there is nothing left - it’s fatal. You know better. You know that this will end in nothing but ruin not just for those around you but for you and him. You bring out the worst in eachother, always have. But what you fear, Anselm revels in. 

So why does the worst sound so good from his lips?

“We shouldn’t,” you whisper as you turn your head towards him. His eyes are blazing, burning your very soul with need. “You want it,” he responds, “Say it, mein Schatz. Tell me that you want it. That you need it. Need me.” 

His lips brush yours, his beard tickling your face. You gasp, an unearthly longing gripping your heart. 

“I do. I want you,” you murmur against his lips before you give up. His other hand grabs your face and he pulls you into a kiss. You feel hungry, so hungry that all the blood in the world couldn’t satisfy you. Because it’s not blood you crave. 

Before you give into him completely you lean back just enough to speak. “Just this once. Just one time, Anselm. This doesn’t mean anything.” He looks at you knowingly, a sardonic smirk on his face. “Of course, mein Schatz. Just tonight.” You know he doesn’t believe you. You don’t even believe yourself. 

Especially not when his tongue enters your mouth and he devours you.

[electricpurrs]

kind of really funny honestly how the devs of rain world managed to make in-universe Ascension be, in fact, a completely Transcendental experience to play. literally burned in my mind forever how i didnt ascend as survivor or monk, and then i was playing the hunter campaign with my brother on jolly co-op (im really bad at the game, and my brother already beat it so he was there to guide me) and we started early and somehow managed to finish the Entire campaign in a single day. we deliver our message to Moon, we go through the filtration system and then my brother just tells me "i can't go with you now. i'll stay, you keep going alone". so imagine how that was to me. suddenly alone after playing the whole three campaigns with my brother, spending the entire day on this, no idea what to expect. my brother is still in the room with me watching me go. i jump in the void sea. i ask my brother what to do. he cryptically again just says "keep swimming down. don't stop no matter what." and i keep going. keep going. AND THEN I SEE THE FUCKING VOID WORM. sorry i lost track of what i was even talking about this is just burned in my brain forever. literal breathtaking game its ridiculous how efficient the intensity of what they're depicting is. you don't fully understand it, and you can't fully understand it, but you know it's big. ridiculous good fucking game. i miss rain world.

[vivifriend]

WIP Wednesday

Was tagged by the lovely @hircines-hunter, @dirty-bosmer, and @thequeenofthewinter. Thank you. 💖💖💖

It's rather late, so I'll do just the general; if you're working on something and want to share, please do tag me. I love reading what people are working on. 💖💖

Didn't think I'd have anything to share this week. A werewolf story has consumed my brain the past couple days. But! I finally started on my whumptober. This is from Day 1. Sirnya, my Altmer Vestige, who will one day get involved with Miraak, is in a bit of a fix.

------

"Time's ticking Vestige, you'd best hurry to track him down. Who knows what will become of him otherwise."

Trying to block out the voice, Sirnya threw herself forward, stumbling over rocky, icy ground, scrambling toward the road she swore had existed the last time she was here. Her robes caught on another rock, tearing, fingers and legs bloodied from another stumble. She pushed onward, determined to reach Bastian before Bal could get bored of him.

Still. If closed her eyes, she could still feel the sun beating down on her back if she concentrated on it. Could still hear Bastian's laugh as he sorted through her book pack, his gentle teasing over why she had two copies of 'Folly of Fixation.' 

The Worm Cultists had taken them off guard. Had used the dense trees surrounding their camp to get closer than they should have. It was the second time she'd been captured by them. And the memories of Mannimarco's blade from her first encounter burned in her mind. But there was no blade this time. And now in Coldharbour; no Lyris to give her hope. Not even a hint of Cadwell. 

Yet, even so, somehow, she'd broken out of the cell. Somehow, she'd pushed through the initial areas of bleak stone, and empty-eyed prisoners. And she found herself here, in this desolate cold wasteland, fog curling constantly around her feet, searching for Bastian, taunted by Molag Bal about his status as his prisoner.

His voice echoed in her skull and she snarled at it. "I fought you once. I can do it again."

Laughter rumbled through her. "You only prevailed because of who was on your side. Never forget that, little Vestige. And now that you've got your soul back. What will you pay to keep it?"

"I am beholden to Hermaeus Mora," she spat. "I do not fear your methods."

"Made a study of them, have you?" he asked. "Then you know exactly what your precious companion is facing."

[corkinavoid]

*deep breath in*

Hi, I'm Cork, and today I got an eye injury, so I am now, officially, a pirate. Albeit temporarily. Got the eyepatch and all that crap. More on that later.

Info post

about all my writing progress for anyone wondering and for myself to keep track of stuff. Also, some rambling.

Fiance to a Star - ⅘ done with translating second chapter, also doing moodboards and soundtracks for all of the chapters currently because visuals. Gotta find the right library music. Fuck, translating is hard, why did I write it in Russian, I'm so stupid.

Married to Winter - 8.5 chapters written, editing for the second chapter will be done on Thursday, and I'm posting it on Friday. Need to rewrite chapter 9 probably, it's not working the way I want it to. Currently inspired, so maybe will write more chapters for it. Do I want to add soundtracks? I mean, I do, but do I have the brain capacity and mental strength to do so?

Multiverse Police - on hold, out of ideas, nothing is working. Will come back to it later.

Changeling AU - also on hold, but it's mostly done in my opinion, so any additions will be sporadic.

You Should Ask Danny - editing chapters 6 and 7, chapter 8 is written, but I really don't like it. Might put this on hold after posting chapter 7, but I have a whole list of ideas for it. Maybe I should just delete chapter 8 completely and write something else? I mean, why not, but then I feel like the idea is good, I just can't write it the way I want it.

Mercenary Danny - ugh, I want to write the Christmas date so bad, but it requires writing a scene with so many characters! Fenton family is big, and I want Vlad to be there, which is another can of worms because I suck at writing middle-aged men. Can I just write him as a pretentious vampire wannabe and be done with it? But no, that will ruin his characterization.

Haunted Family - done, fuck it, I lost all the motivation for it.

Demon Babysitter - still on hold, but probably also done.

Now, to the unposted wips that are sitting in my googledocs:

One Night Stand Gone Wrong - 10 fucking chapters written and I- fuck I just wanted some simple short DarkHumor (Dick/Dan) one-shot, how did it come to this, honestly. But guess what, I'm writing chapter 11 even if it kills me, I have an idea for Tim/Danny in there. I'll be posting that, um, later. One day. I still need to reread it and maybe rewrite some stuff, it's just a bunch of word vomiting right now.

Road Trip - 4.5 chapters written, and it's going literally nowhere. Is this a pun? Maybe. Should I just post 4 chapters of it and be done with it? The story is done, more or less. Or, I could just fit all 4 chapters into one, make it a one-shot, and call it a day, what a good idea!

Bad GIW - ugh, I can't. 3.5 chapters written and I stopped liking the idea completely. It will never be finished. Should I post works that I don't plan on finishing ever?

Living Weapon Danny - same thing as Bad GIW, I wrote 2 chapters and abandoned it. Fuck I'm bad at writing angst, I just- can't. I want to. But I can't.

Masters Gala - I still love the idea, but damn, writing Vlad is hard. Also, writing galas is hard. Also, writing kids is hard! Maybe I should rethink it and make them not kids but teens? But I still need plot for it, holy fuck, how do you write plot for a gala? Should I just, I dunno, put a heist in there? A haunted mansion horror story? A murder mystery? I'm still debating on whether to put Al Ghul Twins or Dead Serious in there because I can't do both for ethical reasons. I mean, I can, but I bet a lot of people will find it messed up. It's not even incest if they are not related neither biologically nor legally nor by their upbringing. Is it? Fuck, I don't know.

Lastly, about being a pirate. TW: eye injury, a lot of cursing included because I'm m a d

So a fucking mad girl hit me in the eye with one of those wooden stir sticks. Because her coffee was too hot. Bitch you ordered a hot fucking drink what did you expect? Mind you it was not burning hot, I held the cup before she did, it was alright, and okay, I get that people can have different perceptions of temperature and heat tolerance, maybe it was too hot for her but who in their right mind stabs people in the face for their drink being too hot, what the fuck

Anyway, I've got the eye checked out - and it's not covered by insurance which is another reason I'm mad as fuck - and it's okay. Mostly. I can't open my eye because it hurts like hell, and i have to do eyedrops and wear an eyepatch for a while, but it's gonna be alright in a few days, so I'm fine.

Is the fact I can only see with one eye gonna stop me from writing? Fat chance.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

GMMM!!! now that u are a little bit into worm & have had the first instance of the word being used & such, im curious as to what u think the title means! why do u think it's called worm so far? :333

I DONT ACTUALLY KNOW. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT !!!!!!! i always think the "OUAHGH THEY SAID THE TITLE IN THE THING" type jokes are really funny so i locked onto the word right away LMAO. catch me keeping track of every use of the word worm in this million word long story . its a good word !!!!!!

ANYWAY. my first thought now is obv like... something to do with taylors powers??? but im not sure if she can actually control. worms. not to get too biology brained about it but the vague knowledge i have so far is that she can control BUGS but that is not specifically limited to *insects* . because she can also control spiders which are arachnids (though they are also usually lumped into "bugs" which is not a real classification it just kind of refers to things that people find creepy crawly) HOWEVER . the thing that arachnids and insects have in common are being *arthropods* which is like. the overall classification of Things With An Exoskeleton. WORMS are not arthropods they are . well it depends actually. worm is kind of like bug in the fact that its a general word for things that are kind of similar and not the name of a specific group. bc youve got earthworms which are annelids and . like. mealworms which ARE insects but still called worms. so maybe she can control worms also!!!! i really like this sort of . playing with the meaning of the word i guess. some people colloquially will call worms bugs as well even though theyre not. so it becomes a rhing like. are her powers based in LOGIC or science or whatever or are they based in. perception. i guess. because taylor is Bug there can also be Worms. does this make any sort of sense. this might be absolutely nothing bro is burning the food bro is not cooking the kitchen is empty 🔥🔥🔥

it could also be like... worm as a word not meaning the animal. like a cartoonishly evil guy referring to his minions as worms. or like the context in that sentence i posted like. worming your way in somewhere. which now that i think about it makes a lot of sense considering taylors whole plan to join a villain group undercover. wait. i may have just . rendered my whole biology paragraph useless. sad! well there are other insane things i could talk about i guess

all this to say i think shes gonna do something super fucked up with worms in the bug way. i hope <3

THIS IS A FUN QUESTION THOUGH because i know the other story is called ward. and i already have somewhat of an idea of what THAT means bc of armsmaster. so i can assume at least a little bit of what that story is about. but its cool that i dont have that same context for the one im CURRENTLY READING