#Esper's tired ramblings

[partyparade]

You ever think how powerless Narinder would feel to see one of his kits near death after he's been usurped? He has no god like abilities to save his kits or immediately bring them back again, all he can do as a mortal is just hope they'll survive or that lamb will revive them again.

[blindfoldmemory]

lombax-lombardi replied to your post: Stupid Sexy Damien

*raises glass* smooch that demon do it. i approve. Maddi stamp of approval

How am I suppose to smooch the demon if I’m waiting for the day I can finally smooch the space pri-

I MEAN NO SMOOCHING FOR ME

[skycladobserver]

The Door of Chaos

This is an official Steins;Gate/Chaos;Head short story (as I mentioned in a previous post). It appeared in Comptiq magazine the month before the original S;G VN was released. It was also written by Naotaka Hayashi, who was the scenario writer for both C;H and S;G. It's written from the point-of-view of Sena (from C;H).

Be forewarned that it contains major spoilers for Chaos;Head.

"Tch, I lost him."

After running down the long escalator that led underground, I clicked my tongue slightly. Resting my di-sword on my shoulder, I looked around. After spotting one of Nozomi Technology's terminals—apparently they called them 'porters'—in Shibuya Station, I had pursued him here, but he seemed to have gotten away.

The basement of Shibuya Station was like maze to anyone who didn't regularly use the subway. Because it included several subways and private railways, the interior was extremely complex. From where I was standing, I could go to the Fukutoshin Line, Hanzomon Line, or Denentoshi Line platforms. Which one had the man run to?

"Hey, did you see a chubby man wearing a backpack just now?"

I called out to a guy to had just walked past me. He was wearing a uniform, so it looked like he was a high school student, like me.

"Why don't you state your name before asking questions, woman with the long black hair?" He said in a strangely theatrical tone. A little bewildered, I answered: 'Aoi Sena.' The kid slowly pulled out a cell phone.

"...It's me. I've made contact with a strange woman. ...Yes, there's a possibility that she's an assassin from the Organization. Or perhaps she rebelled against the Organization and is on the run. If I don't contact you in a hour, assume that I've been killed, and proceed with the plan without me. That's the choice of Steins Gate. El Psy Congroo."

After murmuring something cryptic to whoever was on the phone, he put it away. Turning to face me again, he puffed out his chest self-importantly. "Who are you?"

"I told you, my name is Aoi Sena. But more importantly, did you hear a strange sound? Like a wooshing sou—"

"I see." The kid nodded like he understood. I wasn't done speaking, but...

"It's about to begin at last,” he said.

"What's about to begin? You mean the Third Melt?"

"Yes, that was the name."

I took a defensive posture. "Who are you? You can't be..."

I couldn't sense any sign of him being a gigalomaniac. Then was he involved with Nozomi Technology somehow? Maybe he was with that porter I had been chasing. If so, there were a number of things I needed to ask him. Heedless of my caution, the kid curled his lip and laughed out loud.

"Heheh, fuuhahahah! So you've realized my true identity. I guess the Organization has its fair share of able warriors, too."

"....The Organization? What is that?"

Did he mean the 'Committee'? No, there was no way someone would get that wrong. Then maybe he wasn't involved with Nozomi Technology after all. If so, did that mean he had the potential to awaken as a gigalomaniac? He did have a different air to him than most people. It felt as though this kid was partially broken. ...Just like me.

Next thing I knew, I was warning him: "Don't give into your delusions any further. Otherwise, you'll eventually be devoured by them."

"Humans are the only organisms on Earth who can indulge themselves in delusions. 'If things were like such-and-such', 'if such-and-such were possible'... Imagining possibilities that don't currently exist is the danger-predicting ability that the human animal, which is physically weak, has obtained. But that power has gotten too out of control as of late. Do you know of the Baku, who is said to eat dreams?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, you should!"

He pointed a finger at my face. I pushed his hand away in annoyance. When I glared at him, he looked visibly shaken.

"Delusions are electrical,” I told him. “To be precise, our world itself could be said to be electrical, too."

"A virtual reality...!"

Now the kid's expression brightened. He seemed excited.

"So that's how it is...! The real world has already been destroyed and we now all exist as mere data inside a quantum server!"

"I never said that."

"Oh......"

His shoulders drooped as if in disappointment. What was a 'quantum server'? I had never even heard of that.

"Is the scenery you see the real thing?" I asked.

I always used this question to determine if the person I was talking to was dangerous or not, depending on how they answered it.

The kid's answer was: "Denial of one's own existence, as well as the world's. I can understand the urge to think that way. Because this world is being controlled from the shadows by the Organiza—"

"I don't know of an 'Organization.' Don't make me tell you again."

I cut him off. Everything he said went on for so long...  And the way he talked was so theatrical that it got on my nerves. He was really throwing me off. I'd had enough, so I intended to wrap up this conversation quickly.

"Keep everything I said just now in a corner of your mind at all times," I said.

"Heh! Who do you think you are, warning someone like me?"

The kid smiled fearlessly. His eyes almost gave the impression they saw through everything, but they also kind of appeared like they were looking obliquely up at nothing.

"I'll tell you one more thing," he continued. "Do you know the Esper Nishijou?"

"What...did you say...?"

I turned to him in surprise. It had only been a few days ago that Nishijou Takumi had caused a commotion at the Shibuya crossing, which had been broadcast across the whole country.

"You mustn't let him die," he said. "The key to the world's fate rests in his hands."

"You...!"

I instantly thrust my di-sword at the tip of his nose. But the kid didn't move an inch. Was it just that he couldn't see the sword, or was he unfazed? It it was the latter... then he might be someone I had no chance of winning against. I gulped in such a way that it wouldn't be noticed.

"What do you know?" I asked. "Are you the one who provoked Nishijou?"

"The incident at the Shibuya crossing nothing more than an omen. The end is near. It won't be long before Shibuya becomes a sea of blood."

"I won't let that happen."

What was he talking about? I was so confused. I had never heard any of this. It was completely different from the reality I knew.

"Aoi Sena, was it? I'm glad I met you. But the next time we meet, we'll be enemies. When that time comes, don't show any hesitation, no matter what. Come kill me with everything you've got. If you challenge me half-heartedly... you will die."

"...What?"

'Come kill me'? Was he an enemy after all? Just a minute ago he was talking like he was a bystander. 'The next time we meet, we'll be enemies'? Did that mean that he was an ally right now? I had no idea what this kid was trying to say. Then something occurred to me. Or rather, I willed myself to believe it.

Could it be that everything he was saying was a delusion? No, it was a little misleading to call it a 'delusion.' To put it another way... It was entirely possible that he was making up everything on the spot.

"My name is Hououin Kyouma."

The kid suddenly introduced himself. The name was obviously fake. I felt annoyance toward his blatantly careless attitude.

"'Houou' as in pheonix, 'in', and an evil truth. Out of awe, people call me an insane mad scientist. We will probably meet again. That's the choice of Steins Gate. El Psy Congroo."

As he turned his back on me to leave, I kicked the back of his knees.

"Ah...!"

I thought I had kicked him lightly, but his knees buckled and he fell.

"Ngh... that was a cowardly move!"

Still sitting on his butt, the kid look flustered for a moment, but then he suddenly let out a strange sound and grasped his right arm.

"Ngh... gwaah! My arm is aching at a time like this... Stay away from me, otherwise, I'll lose control of..!"

His right arm was shaking in an unnatural manner. Maybe he was just an idiot. No, there was no 'maybe' about it; he was just an idiot. He had to be.

"Can you see it?" I asked.

"S-See what?"

"This thing in my hand."

I pointed the tip of my di-sword at him again.

I hadn't real-booted it, so it could only be seen in those who had what it took be be a gigalomaniac. Still holding his right arm, the kid nodded slightly. "...Yes, I can see it. Your all-too bright, hypnotic, so beautiful as to be cruel... sword."

"You can? Really?"

"Of course... I never thought I would live to see it. The mystical sword... Borosetsu-Gekka. A stunning... katana!"

"Don't lie, you moron!"

I stepped down hard on his crotch, and he let out a cry. Leaving him to writhe in agony, I quickly put that place behind me. How misleading... he couldn't see it, after all. I felt insulted that I'd been perplexed by the ramblings of someone like him. Above all, it was a waste of time. I had let the porter get away, too.

Just then, my cell phone rang in my pocket. When I answered it, I just heard someone breathing faintly. That was enough to tell me who it was.

"Kozue. I met someone weird just now. Talking to him was really tiring..."

That day, I just complained about him a little. But, if I were to assume that the words that kid said were a 'prophecy'... —Then about one week after that, his predictions almost all came true. After the Third Melt, I remembered that fact and felt unnerved for a moment. But...

"Well, it's probably just a coincidence."

That was the conclusion I came to.

After that, I never remembered that Hououin or whatever his name was again.

[serenlyss]

Abuse of Authority

Rating: T for some language and descriptions of violence (though there’s no actual fighting) Pairings: None this time, but I guess you can spot some Ritshou or Terumob if you really squint. Just Reigen being a dad for the most part. Summary: It's been a long day. Shou's father exploded. Mob grew a giant broccoli in the middle of the city. Teru lost his apartment. Ritsu helped burn down his own house. Reigen can't just leave them behind, so he offers them all to stay in his apartment. Is there enough space? Not really. Was he equipped to suddenly take care of four teenagers? Not in the slightest. But he'll be damned if he doesn't try. Crossposted to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18445943

My first fic on tumblr! I’ve been wanting to write for MP100 for a few weeks now and finally got around to it. I guess you can call it a canon divergent post-world domination arc fic about all the kids having a sleepover at Reigen’s. Hope you like it!

“It’s not a lot of space, but it should work for a night,” Reigen sighed, reaching into the pocket of his slacks to fish out a ring of keys. The sound of metal on metal as the keys bounced off each other was loud compared to the quiet of the night; the sun had long gone down, and now that Claw had disbanded and the attempt at world domination had been thwarted, the whole city had gone ghostly silent. Not a helicopter or police car dared get too close to the giant broccoli in the center of the city, too afraid of another potential disaster.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, right guys?” replied Shou, a grin on his face despite the harsh circumstances of the night’s battle. He stuck close to Ritsu’s side, making up for his obvious displeasure at being forced to stay in Reigen’s small apartment with a surprising enthusiasm. “It’s like a sleepover! It’ll be fun!”

Reigen flipped the lights on in the apartment, hanging his coat and keys next to the door like he always did. “Wait out here, I’ll find some food,” he said, though he doubted he had much to eat, especially with - how many kids were there, like three? Four? No, Teru had gone home. Too many to feed when he’d only ever shopped for himself, anyway. Still, anything was better than nothing. He disappeared around the corner into a separate kitchen, the sounds of cabinets opening and closing sounding from behind the wall.

Ritsu sighed, adjusting his grip on Mob’s legs as he carried his older brother into the dim apartment. He’d fallen asleep again after saying goodbye to Teru, his arms limp over Ritsu’s shoulder and his breathing soft and even. He leveled a glare at Shou. “Don’t make me remind you that it was your idea to burn down our house,” he retorted, clearly cross, though there was little real bite behind his accusatory words.

Shou just laughed in reply. “Come on, Ritsu, it worked, right?” He clasped his hands behind his head, stepping into the apartment behind Reigen and looking around curiously.

On Ritsu’s back, Mob stirred, woken by the sound of his friends’ voices. He hummed, arms moving up to grasp Ritsu’s shoulders gently and he looked around with bleary eyes. “Hmm? Did we make it?” he asked, breaking off into a yawn as he did.

Shou flashed him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, did we wake you up?” he asked. “You should sleep more, you really used a lot of power before.”

Mob shook his head, reaching up to rub his eyes with one hand as Ritsu set him back down on the ground. “No, it’s alright. I slept all the way back here,” he replied, though he was obviously still quite groggy. He looked around, as the others had, taking in Reigen’s small apartment. A tidy living area took up the front room, with a couch and coat rack up against the back wall and a coffee table in the center of the room. A modest television sat on a square-shaped table on the opposite wall, though it was powered off for now. “I’ve never been to Master’s apartment before,” he said thoughtfully, the title rolling off his tongue naturally after all these years of being Reigen’s student.

Ritsu fought back the scowl that came to his face at this, never having approved of Mob’s apprenticeship under who he considered a fairly obvious fraud. “It’s cleaner in here than I thought it would be. Reigen always seems so disorganized, I thought there would be stuff all over the place.”

“Hey! I’m very organized, thank you very much! I wouldn’t be able to run such a profitable business if I didn’t even have that going for me.” Reigen appeared from the kitchen again, holding a bag of potato chips in one hand and a tupperware container of brown rice in the other. A stack of mismatched bowls was balanced on top, one for each of them. He set them on the coffee table, then pointed a finger at Ritsu. “You should be more grateful to me for offering up my home to you. I could have just left you in the smoldering remains of your house, you know.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Mob replied with an easy smile, reaching for one of the empty bowls and cupping it in both hands. “You’re too nice for that.”

Reigen opened his mouth, presumably to retort, then closed it again, feeling himself at a loss for words. “When did you get so ballsy?” he said quietly, voice taut, but he had to fight to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.

Shou barked out a laugh, loud and rich, snapping up a bowl himself and eagerly reaching for the rice with a fork. “Aw, c’mon, Ritsu, drop the glum face for a bit. He was kind enough to let us sleep over, after all,” he pointed out.

Ritsu reached for a potato chip, examined it for a moment, then popped it into his mouth. “Whatever,” he mumbled. “Speaking of which, where are we even going to sleep?” He glanced up at Reigen; there wasn’t exactly a lot of extra space in here, and he doubted there was any kind of guest room in an apartment like this.

Reigen shrugged. “The couch folds out into a futon that could probably fit two of you, but whoever’s left over will have to make due with sleeping on the floor. I have some extra sheets and blankets for my bed you can borrow, make it a little softer, and I bet I could find a pillow or two if I look hard enough,” he explained. “I don’t usually have guests over, though. Honestly you’re lucky I even have the futon, I only bought it because it was cheap and small.”

“I’ll take the floor,” Shou offered immediately, glancing toward Mob and Ritsu before they could say anything. “You two share the futon.”

“Are you sure?” Ritsu asked, surprised by how fast he’d offered. “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

Shou shook his head. “I can sleep anywhere, dude. You don’t have to worry about that,” he assured with a grin.

Mob offered the boy a small, kind smile. “Thank you, Shou, that’s very kind of you,” he said earnestly.

Reigen chuckled as the three conversed, but he was interrupted by a call on his cell phone. He pulled it out, frowning when he didn’t recognize the number.

Mob glanced at him, tilting his head in curiosity. “Who’s calling?” he asked. “It’s pretty late at night, isn’t it?”

“Probably a telemarketer calling to ask for a donation or something,” Reigen replied, standing up. “I’ll see who it is, you three keep eating.” The poor kids were probably starving after such a long day of fighting against adults. The thought made him scowl. Why should kids their age have to fight against adults abusing their powers? They may be espers, but they were still children who had other things to worry about. He closed the bedroom door behind him as he lifted the phone to his ear, picking up the call. “Hello?”

“Oh, Reigen! I’m glad you picked up, I was worried you might be asleep.”

Reigen blinked in surprise at the voice that came from his phone’s speaker. “... Teruki, is that you?” he asked, his brain taking a bit to catch up to his ear in his tired state. “Er, do you need something?”

A soft, somewhat nervous laugh came across the line. “Sorry to bother you like this. I got your phone number from Kageyama, so we could keep in touch, and I guess it came in handy. Um…” he trailed off, line going silent, and for a moment Reigen was afraid the connection may have cut out.

“Are you still there?” he asked, though he could pick up static noise on the other side of the line. “Look, kid, just tell me what you need, alright? We’re fine, if you’re wondering that. The other three are eating in the main room, do you want to talk to them?”

“Ah, sorry, that’s not why I called,” Teru replied quickly. “I, uh, got back to my apartment, but… it’s in worse shape than I remember. And by that, I mean most of my wall is gone and my furniture is kinda… destroyed.” He cleared his throat, sounding embarrassed. “I know I said I’d be fine on my own, but-”

“Your wall is gone?!” Reigen interrupted, his thoughts finally catching up with him enough to sputter something out. “What do you mean it’s gone? What happened? You know what, that doesn’t matter right now. Are you safe? Jesus, you shouldn’t sleep in an apartment with a hole in a wall, you might get sick.” He continued to ramble for a moment, listing all the irresponsible things that could happen to a kid living in an apartment with no wall and no furniture, but paused when he heard Teruki’s stifled laughter on the other end of the line.

Teru attempted to disguise the laughter with a cough, clearing his throat. “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he said in an almost teasing way. “And yeah, I’m safe, it’s just my apartment that was damaged. But, uh, I don’t really have any other place to go right now, so… is the offer to crash at your place still open?”

Reigen blinked, mind running a mile a minute as he tried to determine if there was enough space. Even if there wasn’t, though, could he really say no? “What about your parents?”

The line went quiet again for a moment before Teru answered, in a softer voice, “They’re overseas. I live by myself, so you don’t have to worry about that. They send me money, too, but I’m too young to book a hotel room, so, uh, my options are limited. Do you have space?”

Well, now he definitely couldn’t say no. But still, a kid who couldn’t be older than fourteen, living by himself with no parental guardians to even check in on him in person? Not only was it probably illegal for Teru’s parents to leave him alone like that, but there was no way a kid like him could care for himself completely. There was a reason kids weren’t considered adults until they were eighteen, even if he could cook and clean for himself just fine. “Yeah, yeah, I have space. Do you live far? I can come by in a taxi and pick you up if you need it. Do you have any extra clothes of blankets or anything that didn’t get messed up?” His worry for Teru was rising by the moment as he started to imagine what the life of a fourteen year old boy with no parents and all the responsibilities of an adult must be like. Was he eating right? Was he keeping his place clean? What happened when things broke, and he didn’t have the authority to call a plumber, or a mechanic?

“Uuhh, I’ll look. I think I have some clothes that weren’t burned, but my bed got toasted. And it’s okay, I can walk. Just send me the address,” Teru replied, and in the background Reigen heard the sound of drawers opening and closing. “Aha! My clothes seem like they’re mostly intact, at least the ones not in the closet. I have some sweatpants, pajamas, tee-shirts… want me to bring extras? I’m not sure if Kageyama and his brother were able to salvage anything from their house before… you know.”

That was actually… a really good idea, Reigen realized. They’d stopped by the school to pick up Mob’s gym clothes, but none of the Body Improvement club members had anything else that would fit the smaller, slighter middle schoolers, and he sure as hell didn’t either. “Yeah, if you can spare them, that would actually be really great. You sure you don’t need a taxi, though? It’s late at night, there might be some creeps hanging around.”

Teru laughed again, the sound echoing from Reigen’s speakers. “I think I’ve been in enough fights that a few creeps won’t be any threat,” he assured, though it didn’t do anything to make Reigen feel better, because now he was thinking about how Teru had probably been targeted by Claw just like Mob and Ritsu had, and it was making his stomach feel sour.

Still, he didn’t doubt Teru could hold his own. “Alright, if you say so. I’ll leave the door unlocked, so just let yourself in,” he said. “I’ll text you the address. Just… be safe, alright?” His voice softened some, hoping his warning would get across to the younger boy.

“Will do, boss, don’t worry about me. I’ll be there soon.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Thanks for taking me in.”

Reigen smiled softly, running a hand through his hair. These kids were going to be the death of him someday, he could feel it. “Don’t mention it, kid. See you soon.”

“See you.”

A click signaled the end of the call, and Reigen tucked his phone back into his pocket. He stood up and stretched his back with a soft sigh. He’d have to buy more food, and make sure he had plenty of blankets… well, the shopping could at least wait until tomorrow morning. For now he’d better tell the other boys about his phone call. He pushed open the bedroom door and abruptly halted when he sat that the couch had been completely opened up to reveal the collapsible futon inside.

“Oh, Master! We were just getting the bed set up,” Mob said, looking up at him with a smile. “Who was on the phone?”

Reigen made his way carefully around the futon, which now took up a good chunk of space. The coffee table had been moved closer to the kitchen and now pressed up against the wall with the couch’s cushions laying atop it, the leftover rice and opened bag of potato chips taking up one side. “Ah, it was Teru,” he replied. “Turns out his apartment got pretty badly, er, damaged.”

Mob’s smile faltered at this, replaced by a fairly obvious worry. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine, he’s actually on his way here,” Reigen answered. “He’s going to bring some of his extra clothes, too, and more blankets if he can find any. You’re in luck.”

Shou let out a breath from where he’d been sitting on the bed’s edge, flopping back fully onto the futon underneath. “Thank god, these clothes smell like dog shit,” he said, tugging on the collar of his jacket.

“Shou,” Ritsu scolded with a glare, earning a laugh from his red-haired friend.

“Sorry, sorry, my clothes smell like crap,” he corrected, cheshire grin spreading across his face as he tilted his head backward to stare upside-down at Ritsu. “For real, though, these pants are ruined.” He gestured to his torn jeans, which had ripped in several places from his earlier scuffles and the explosion that came from Mob’s collision with his father.

Ritsu sighed, perching himself on the bed’s other side. “Mine too,” he grumbled, poking his finger through a tear in the bottom of his shirt. “Anyway, d’you think Teru will bring us some real people clothes or more of what he usually wears?”

Shou shrugged, stretching his arms up behind his head. “I dunno, I don’t really care as long as they fit and don’t have holes in them,” he answered.

“Teru always looks very colorful,” Mob chimed in, placing one of Reigen’s spare pillows on one side of the bed. “I like the way he dresses.”

Ritsu couldn’t help but laugh softly at this. “Of course you would.”

Reigen had fallen quiet as the kids talked idly amongst themselves, scrolling through his notifications and reading any important messages. He’d received a text from Teru not long after they’d gotten off the phone saying he was on his way, so now it was just a waiting game. He raised a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn, eyelids heavy from the long day. “Don’t you kids think you should get some sleep?” he suggested. “It’s been a long day.”

“Aw, c’mon, dad, it’s a slumber party now, right? Everyone knows you have to stay up all night,” Shou replied with a snarky grin, sitting back up on the bed. “You, on the other hand, are free to go to bed whenever you want to.”

“Twenty-nine is not old!” Reigen snapped. “Besides, I can’t sleep until Teruki gets here and I know everyone has a place to sleep. It would be irresponsible of me not to make sure of at least that.”

“I didn’t call you old, I said you’re a dad. Or at least you act like one,” Shou pointed out, though his own experience with parental figures was… pretty bad, if he was to admit it. Still, the way Reigen shepherded the group and made sure they were taken care of is what he imagined a good father was like. Well, not everything about Reigen screamed good father material, but some things. Certain things. “Never mind that. We can keep an eye out for Teru, no worries.”

---

Despite Shou’s enthusiasm about staying up late, he was the first of the three to pass out, sprawled out on the floor next to the futon on top of a soft blanket Reigen had given to him to use. The house got much quieter after that as Mob and Ritsu moved to put proper sheets and blankets on the futon and eventually followed their friends lead, the two of them squished together comfortably on the small bed.

Reigen didn’t sleep yeet, as much as he really wanted to, afraid that he’d miss Teru’s arrival or somehow mess things up in another, unrelated way. He found himself dozing occasionally as he sat in one of his kitchen chairs, roused only by the door quietly cracking open a little while after Ritsu finally fell asleep. Teru slipped inside, hefting a stuffed-looking bag over his shoulder as he did.

Reigen stood up immediately, holding a finger to his lips as Teru flashed him a confused look. He nodded to the three other kids asleep on the floor and futon. “You took longer than I thought, I was getting close to calling you to make sure you hadn’t been kidnapped or something.”

Teru smiled at the sight of his friends, though he looked slightly disappointed that they were already asleep. “Sorry, it was, uh, a longer walk than I anticipated,” he murmured in reply. “I brought clothes, though, at least what I could salvage, and I managed to snag a blanket that wasn’t buried in debris, so that’s cool too.”

Reigen gave a nod a this, seemingly pleased, and waved for Teru to follow him into his bedroom. He left the door open, moving toward the closet at the side of the room. “C’mon in, I have some extra blankets and pillows you can use, but you’ll have to sleep in the floor with Shou. Mob and his brother claimed the futon couch,” he explained, reaching up to take down another stack of blankets from the top shelf of his closet. “Thanks for bringing the clothes, by the way. I think the others will appreciate having something not torn to shreds to wear in the morning.”

Teru glanced around the room before taking a seat on the edge Reigen’s bed, nestling his backpack between his legs. “No problem. I figured it would help pay you back a little for letting me stay over, at least ‘til I can figure out what to do about my apartment.”

Reigen set the pile of sheets on the bed for now, glancing at Teru with a slight frown. “You don’t have to pay me back. You’re a kid who needs a place to stay, I’m an adult who has some empty floor space and a couch. Besides, you’re all Mob’s friends, and, well, I owe him.” He glanced down at this, focusing on the pile of blankets and hoping Teru wouldn’t pry any further. The last thing he needed was to spill all his secrets regarding his falsified relationship with Mob to a fourteen-year-old with bad fashion taste.

Luckily for him, Teru didn’t ask about the alleged favors. “Still, I feel bad about barging in at the last second. I’ve always just kinda taken care of myself, the last few years,” he admitted, fiddling with his backpack strap. “It feels weird to ask a favor from another adult again, I guess.

Reigen sighed softly, then moved to sit in the bed next to Teru. “I mean, I did offer you to stay here before you mentioned having a place of your own,” he pointed out. “Besides, it can’t be healthy to be by yourself after… everything that happened, with Claw and the kidnappings and the whole world domination stuff. You guys may be psychics, but you’re still just kids.”

Teru chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders. “Those guys had been coming after me long before they got to Ritsu. I was used to it,” he said in such a casual manner that it threw Reigen for a loop all over again. Just because he could defend himself didn’t mean he had to, he was barely a teenager.

“You shouldn’t have had to get used to it in the first place,” Reigen retorted, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “I know you kids are powerful, I’ve seen all of you fight firsthand, but that doesn’t mean you should get used to a life like that. You all deserve way better.” He clasped his hands together, fingers gripping tightly. “It’s not fair that you kids had to do all the fighting for the rest of us because none of the adults were strong enough or brave enough to do it themselves. I wasn’t… able to do anything, in the end.”

Teru hummed, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t think that’s true,” he said softly. “You did punch Shimazaki in the face, after all.” He flashed Reigen a grin. “Plus, you’re giving all us kids a place to sleep. Without you, we might all be sleeping on park benches tonight.”

He paused, smile fading some and turning bittersweet. “I guess you’re right, it does suck that we had to do all of that, but that’s kind of just how I’ve been living, these last few years. Dodging Claw when they came after me, controlling my classmates with fear and violence, doing everything I could to survive. I was… a pretty shitty person, before Kageyama brought me down a few pegs. I probably still wound be, if he hadn’t.”

“All kids are shitty. Being a good person is something us adults are supposed to teach you. Sounds like you didn’t have a lot of that, growing up.” Reigen ran a hand through his hair, pushing his bangs away from his forehead with a sigh. “Look, I know I only got wrapped up with you kids basically by accident, but… you can call me if you ever need anything, alright?”

He glanced sideways at Teru, caught off-guard when he saw that Teru was staring back at him with wide eyes. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, he raised a hand to his mouth and added, quickly, “As long as it’s not during my work hours, of course! I can’t do anything if I’m with a client, or out on a job, but, y’know, you can leave a message or something.”

Teru laughed aloud, raising a hand to his face, and as Reigen chanced another glance his way he saw him wipe a tear away from the corner of his eye. “Thanks, Reigen. I’ll take you up on that, if it ever comes up,” he replied earnestly, and as he lowered his hand again it revealed a shaky but very pleased smile.

Reigen found himself momentarily speechless as he stared down at Teru. Was it really so pleasing to him just to be offered some help in case of emergency? The suggestion had just felt natural at the time, but it was clear that Teru had really taken it to heart. He glanced away, feeling his face heat up in telltale embarrassment, and stood up again. “Well, in any case, it’s late and you should probably get some rest,” he announced, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. The hour hand taunted him, sitting a little past four in the morning. Good god, it really was late. He picked up the bundle of blankets and an extra pillow he’d taken from his bed to lend to Teru, pushing them into the boy’s hands. “Here, go find a spot to set these up. I’ll take the clothes you brought with you and throw them in the wash for now, that way they’ll be ready for everyone in the morning.”

Teru nodded, taking the blankets and passing Reigen his backpack. “They’re in the big pocket,” he explained, heading for the door. He paused as he reached it, glancing over his shoulder. “Thanks again, Reigen. It really means a lot to me.” With that said, he cracked open the door and slipped outside, closing it quietly behind him.

Reigen set the backpack on the bed, catching some muffled talking on the other side of the door, what sounded like Teru telling a drowsy Mob to go back to bed. He opened the large pocket of the backpack like Teru had told him and began pulling clothes out from inside. Although the clothes themselves seemed to have been untouched by whatever destroyed Teru’s apartment, they were still dusty, and some of them carried a faint, unpleasant smoke smell. Guess I was right about needing to put these in the wash, he thought to himself, setting them aside for now. Hopefully the smell wouldn’t stick, or they’d have to be thrown out entirely.

He moved to his dresser and cracked open a drawer in search of clean pajamas, knowing his suit was thoroughly destroyed and definitely stunk from how much he’d been tossed around today. He quickly changed into a more comfortable, and more importantly clean, tee shirt and pair of sweatpants, tossing his ruined suit aside. He’d have to throw it out and buy a new one, but that wasn’t where his thoughts were leading him. He frowned deeply, going back over his conversation with Teru over the phone. He lived by himself, in an apartment. He had to cook and clean for himself, get himself up for school, do all his own shopping, the list went on and on.

It felt like Teru’s parents had abandoned him.

Reigen shook his head, sighing. It wasn’t his place to cast judgement, at least not yet. Not until he’d heard the whole story. Though, with the way Teru had been so hesitant to admit his situation in the first place, he doubted the boy would be too quick to incriminate his own family.

That didn’t keep him from worrying, though. There was no way it was legal for an adult to leave their son at home while they went overseas, even if Teru was capable of at least keeping himself alive. What did he do when he was sick? He had no adult to call his school and tell them he wouldn’t be coming. Pursing his lips, Reigen scooped up the bundle of clothes Teru had brought with him and headed out of the bedroom, careful to make as little noise as possible.

Mob had gone back to sleep already, the thick blanket on the futon pulled up so far it nearly covered his mouth and nose. He looked cozy, Reigen noted with a soft smile. Teru had set up shop on the floor beside the futon, and though he stirred slightly as Reigen passed by him, he didn’t sit up or open his eyes. Shou was laying starfish style on his back, his own blanket covering his stomach and leaving his arms and shoulders exposed. One of his bare feet peeked up from the bottom of the blanket, and his mouth was partially open, an occasional soft snore sounding from him. Ritsu had curled up on his side, the blanket tucked firmly around him. The kids looked peaceful, and not at all like they’d just gone through a near-death experience. Well, he supposed, it wasn’t the first, and there was potential that it wouldn’t be the last.

Reigen frowned at the thought, feeling uncharacteristically protective all of a sudden. Watching Mob fight had been terrifying, for all kinds of reasons, but it had paled in comparison to the fear he’d felt when Mob had run to him, bruised and bleeding, telling them to run away before they were all killed by Touichiro’s uncontrollable psychic power. Seeing Mob’s true power didn’t make him feel nearly as afraid as he’d been when Touichiro’s power had erupted, the unspeakable terror he’d experienced at the thought that an adult’s childish actions had caused the death of a middle schooler.

Reigen swallowed thickly, turning away from the now-crowded living room of his apartment and passing through the kitchen to the adjacent laundry room. It wasn’t just Mob who had suffered as the result of adults turning their backs on the younger generation. Every one of the children now asleep in his living room bore the trauma of the realization that adults weren’t always going to be on their sides. Shou and Teru in particular seemed as though they didn’t have a lot of trustworthy adults to turn to in times of need, their trust shattered by the abuse of authority and power disparities they’d lived through.

He dropped the bundle of clothes into the washer, not even bothering to separate them into color groups as he closed the lid and began to wash cycle. He’d throw them in the dryer in the morning, before the others woke up. For now, though, the fatigue of the day bore down on his shoulders and eyelids, silently begging him to get some rest. The clock now read four-thirty in the morning, and he didn’t doubt that he’d likely sleep in past noon, but it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go tomorrow, anyway. His office was a pile of ashes, and with Seasoning City in a state of panic, he doubted any schools or offices would be operating for a few days, until the situation was resolved.

He dragged himself back to his bedroom, practically collapsing into bed. There was still lots to do before he could consider his work done, but for now, he just needed to sleep.

[navigatorvega]

I think I’ve figured out what my issues with ZTD as a whole are. Spoilers below.

First, let me say that I’m incredibly tired, so I apologize if this is a little hard to follow or if I ramble. Now then, onto the substance.

Okay, so it’s no secret that I feel like ZTD is the weakest entry in the series. For a good while I’ve not quite been able to put it into words why, but I think something helped me realize exactly what it is: a visual novel called Root Double: Before Crime * After Days.

Now, what does that have to do with anything? Well, to put it simply, it feels almost like what would happen in the ZE universe if Espers became common knowledge. I won’t go into detail here so as to not spoil anything, but basically most of the story is told in a lockdown that threatens to take the lives of nine people (given the fact that the director of this game used to work with Uchikoshi, I get the feeling there was at least some inspiration there). And it is really well done. It feels very Zero Escape-y while at the same time able to stand on its own. But, then I got to thinking about it and I realized that ZTD DOESN’T feel the same.

How can that be? It’s because ZTD feels more like a Danganronpa game.

Now, I must preface this before I give anyone the wrong impression: I don’t dislike Danganronpa; as a matter of fact I quite like the series, and the only reason I haven’t posted a lot about it is because I haven’t caught up and thus am avoiding spoilers.

Anyways, Danganronpa, the series that has a lot in common with ZE, but has just enough different that it was able to set itself apart and become incredibly successful. But how exactly does it set itself apart? Well, for one thing, it’s set in high school, with characters suffering from the problems teenagers face on top of the whole closed circle, death game stuff. It also has a mascot character and social link-esque events that you can use to learn more about the characters. But what really prominently sets itself apart from Zero Escape is this: in ZE death is a threat, but in DR it’s the goal.

Now obviously I don’t mean that’s the player’s goal; in DR 1&2 neither protagonist actually kills anyone to escape. But, when you look at how the “school life” works and compare it to the Nonary Games, the structure is almost completely opposite. In Danganronpa, the only way to escape is to kill someone and hide the fact that you did it so well that no one suspects you. The main characters only escape due to a loophole in those games. Compare that to 999 and VLR however, where the only way to reach the true endings is by getting everyone you can out alive by following the game’s rules without too much unnecessary infighting.

But, fast forward to ZTD and things are very different. The way out of the Decision game is by killing others. The game’s true end only exists due to a loophole. Even the fragments themselves often feel like the sl-esque events Danganronpa uses, with them explaining character backstory independently from the main plot. 

Other similarities include the mastermind regularly interacting with the cast, having numerous characters whose backstories have nothing to do with the main plot (Seriously, Eric is only there because he’s dating Mira; Junpei is there because he was stated to be; Carlos, much as I love him, is completely and totally unrelated to anything involving Delta, the transporter, or Crash Keys), and characters being actively given motivation and/or means to kill someone else, among other things.

Now, are any of these bad? Absolutely not. But they are very different from how a ZE story is usually told and I believe that is the reason for why ZTD gives so many people such a weird feeling. It DOESN’T feel like it’s apart of the same series. Change a few character’s names and I would struggle to see how it relates to ZE at all. Hell, even terms the previous games use, such as Morphogenetic fields or espers, are only used once or twice if at all, instead using new distinct terms, such as Jumps now being called SHIFTs.

Even things such as how one-note the characters seem feels far more Danganronpa-y (I’d like to note that that’s not necessarily a bad thing; one note and simple characters aren’t inherently bad as they allow for larger casts that feel distinct and more varied situations, to name a few positives), with characters filling a niche rather than being more multifaceted.

Root Double on the other hand shares much more in common with the first two ZE entries. And I can’t help but wonder if that has to do with the fact that the game’s director worked with Uchikoshi pre-999 and it was released just before Danganronpa became big (July of 2012, vs RD’s Japanese release date of June of that same year) while ZTD came out long after DR had changed the game when it comes to closed circle survival stories.

[blindfoldmemory]

It seems to be that the Tomato is still better since I saw you trash a Pinnaple yet no Tomato has ever been harmed

My Fatesona (who has had a makeover and cannot decided who she wants to marry because I’m awful at choosing) is talking about prickly fruit and red vegtable

Mostly a call out post to @rii–flect and @blindfoldmemory

[the-writing-on-the-statue]

A thought I just had, maybe relevant to you since you like both involved settings: The barrier in Undertale was made by humans, correct? Even though it's repeated often that humans can't use magic, yes? Well, ESP / Psychic Energy isn't magic, is it?

Well, the wiki actually says that humans can use magic, and did! The barrier (on the wiki) is described as a magical creation of the humans, from seven of their best magicians.

It does mention that monsters’ bodies are more attuned to their soul, and far more magical than humans’ bodies are - which is what gave them their overwhelming strength and ability to hold determination.

…But what if the reason it was called ‘magic’ wasn’t because it was actually magic (like how monsters use it), but because there wasn’t a better word at the time to use for it?

Oh boy, I feel a meta/headcanon ramble coming on. Prepare yourselves.

(My knowledge of Undertale is really rusty, as I was pretty goddamn sure I left the fandom like a year and a half ago, but here we are!)

ESP/Psychic Energy (as viewed in the MP100 verse) could very easily be mistaken as magic, especially considering all the things it can do. Flight, super-speed, telekinesis, invisibility, etc, etc, so forth and so on.

So it would make sense that people/monsters from ‘older’ times (as the times around the age of the War were shown to be) would perhaps classify that ‘magic’ as, well, magic!

And even that ties into the ‘immense strength’ humans were said to have-

While we see many applications of psychic energy in MP100, a way that it frequently manifests is through acts of extreme strength - Teru’s fight with Mob, Mob vs. Koyama, 1000% Reigen fucking slinging Ishiguro through approximately eighteen walls, etc, etc.

And if you stack an ordinary human against a monster who can use magic - in any sense, it would be reasonable to believe that the human’s going to lose! That’s what you’d expect! I mean! How in the world could monsters like Undyne (if there were ones like her back then) have not made a single casualty??? Like, not even one?

And a child manages to go through the Underground and kick the ass of pretty much every single monster there???? How. (and actually manages to kill them if its a genocide route)

(AND ASGORE ACTUALLY DOES KILL THEM SEVERAL TIMES, WHICH PROVES MY POINT ABOUT HOW HE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN AT LEAST ONE HUMAN DURING THE WAR TO EXTERMINATE HIS PEOPLE - BECAUSE THIS IS BEFORE THE WHOLE SHEBANG WITH HIS WIFE LEAVING HIM, THE KIDS DYING, HIM KILLING SOME OF THE FALLEN HUMANS FOR THEIR SOULS-arrrgh, I’m making no sense!!!)

But you give a human ESP and put them up against a monster…

You give a human - who has determination - ESP and put them up against a monster…

Well.

..holy shit, just think about it. Monsters’ souls are attuned to their bodies, right? And most of their bodies aren’t solid things - they’re made up of magic! Nearly incorporeal!

Like the spirits purified by espers/psychics in MP100.

Not a single human casualty during the War. Not one, the wiki says.

And you think about how easy it would be, for espers to purify spirits - what about monsters? You remove their soul from their body and they die!

Their souls are their bodies - which is very much like the spirits of the MP100 world.

So, imagine it. What if Determination is just that - determination, a basic emotion - with ESP added to the mix? 

Humans are capable of great things simply by themselves - that’s a real life fact. Humans are determined as hell little buggers. Give them ESP, and they’d be unstoppable, even against those called ‘monsters’.

The Barrier itself is another question - if it was just magic like the monsters used, then why did it need human souls to break? (Maybe for the seven magicians, but that seems a little too pat imo) If it was just magic, couldn’t the monsters have done something against it with their own magic? It might have taken them a while, but surely-

-unless, of course, the Barrier wasn’t magic, and was created with ESP.

We’ve seen what Mob’s capable of doing.

…what if that’s the difference we see in Frisk as well? All the things Frisk is capable of doing, including running the gauntlet of the Underground (or murdering their way through it) shouldn’t be possible for a kid their age.

But if they had ESP…if they, and all the other kids who fell had ESP…

Frisk has so much determination that they’re able to SAVE. They’re able to come back from death, over and over again.

And in the fight against Photoshop Flowey, and Asriel - its thought that their bodies are destroyed altogether-

and yet they come back, like Mob did while in Mogami’s world.

100% Determination, anyone?

(Look I understand this is fuzzy and incoherent and probably ninety percent of it is wrong, but i’m tired and my brain hurts and i got two hours of sleep last night and the night before. I’m not firing on all cylinders here.

If anyone would like to expand on this, please do.)

[thinkanamelater]

A girl’s magical adventure (Mob Psycho 100 -  Emi/Minori fanfic)

A story about a girl, who kinda just wishes things could be different. She meets a magical creature, and then decides to go on a magical adventure.

Just an average girl, or maybe two

Also on AO3

“Hey! Hey, girl! Yes, you!”

She turned, pointing at herself in confusion, and walked over to the girl excitedly waving at her.

“Me?” Emi asked again once she was closer, looking at the girl and trying to determine if she knew her already. Short blond hair, around her age, nice clothes. Nice eyes. She didn’t knew her, Emi concluded. Still, the other nodded at her question.

“Yes! Um, you were talking to a boy some minutes ago…?” The girl started imposing, but her voice went softer as she talked, until it finally drowned down.

A boy…? Emi thought who could she mean, what was she doing earlier? She got out of school, about to walk home alone, the Body Improvement Club ran past her… Emi’s cheeks blushed faintly. Kageyama was keeping up with the rest, somehow, but he made a pause to greet her and ask how was she doing. She managed to answer she was alright and the boy was back at running.

“Ah…” Emi ran a hand over her hair “That-He goes to my school” She explained briefly, still not sure what her interlocutor wanted to know, or who she even was.

“I see…” The girl said, awkwardly “And, are you friends…? Uhm, could you tell me his name?”

Emi blinked a few times. Was she… was she interested in Kageyama? But she didn’t even know his name…

“Why do you want to know?” Emi opted  to get things clear, and the girl looked outraged for a split second, as if she weren’t expecting her to talk back; but her expression changed into a more sheepish one immediatly.

“Right, uh… First- first off, I’m Minori. And… this is silly, I think I know that boy from somewhere but I don’t really remember… I didn’t mean to bother you” She finished, looking down.

Emi examined her once again. Well, that was a strange motive, but it made sense, kinda. She couldn’t blame Minori for not remembering someone like Kageyama, whose ability seemed to be “blend in the background and not stand up”.

Well.

That, and the whole esper thing. But he- he almost seemed as someone completely different, when he used his powers. Had Minori seen that, she would remember him easily, for sure.

“His name’s Kageyama” Emi said and Minori looked up at her, and something in the way her eyes lit up prompted her to keep talking “I can… help you meet him? I guess… if you’d want to…” She offered.

She remembered how easy was to summon naive Kageyama, and winced, but Minori didn’t seem to catch that, as she was looking to her side and chewing on her lip.

“I- No” She finally said, shaking her head “I don’t think if I’m… ready to meet him” That was said in such a low tone that Emi doubted it was even directed at her “Oh, but, thank you, uh…”

“Emi” She filled in, extending her hand in a stiffed way. Minori looked right into her eyes.

“Right. Emi” She repeated and shook her hand, and a small smile appeared in her face. Pretty “Thank you! See you around, I guess”

That was the first time Emi saw Minori.

The second time was about a week later.

Emi had sit down on a bench not too far from the school, inspiration had hit her suddenly and she didn’t want to wait until getting home to start writing down her new idea.

However, as she chewed into her pencil, she considered that maybe she wasn’t as inspired as she thought.

“What are you doing?” Asked a voice at her left and she instinctively covered the page she had been staring at.

“Hello to you too” She tried to sound serious when she looked at Minori, to hide the fact that she had been startled. Minori only pointed at her hand, eyes big with curiosity.

“Are you writing?” She even sounded legitimately interested.

“I- Yeah. Or, trying” Emi sighed and removed her hand, the page was completely blank after all. She made a displeased face. “I thought I had a good idea. But it’s gone”

Minori’s gaze shifted from the paper to Emi’s face, looking like she didn’t know what she should reply. Maybe she just wasn’t good with people, Emi thought, but she didn’t care enough to keep the conversation going by herself.

Just as Minori seemed to have figured out what to say next, a loud car horn made her jump. Emi stifled a giggle and she looked around, startled, until she found the car that made the sound and relaxed.

“Oh. That’s my dad, I have to go” She explained and stood up, giving Emi another pretty smile. “It was nice seeing you again”

Emi didn’t say anything at that moment; but some hours later, when she was about to fall asleep, she decided she agreed.

They met some other times after that, all of them random and brief encounters: At a convenience store, at the park, and such. They exchanged numbers one of those times and Minori would text her almost daily, usually wishing her a nice day and asking if she got to write something new. Emi would return her good wishes and say she was still figuring something out.

One day Emi saw Minori out shopping. She was at a bookshop and the other girl was surrounded by friends. Emi wasn’t sure Minori even saw her.

The following time after those had been chaotic.

Emi was invited to Minori’s house. Or, rather, mansion. It was impressive and Minori seemed excited to have her over, showing her around and chatting non-stop.

Unluckily, Emi had a headache that day, and was cranky over not having written anything lately, despite having figured out a protagonist for her story; so her bad mood prevented her from enjoying as much as she would have wanted. She ended up letting out an unfortunate comment about how spoiled Minori was, or something along that line.

She didn’t mean it to sound judgemental but apparently she did anyway. Or maybe Minori was feeling particularly sensitive. Or both. Whatever it was, Emi had to see Minori’s face contort into a strained expression, and faster than she could realice her host was a weeping mess.

As an aspiring writer, Emi could only hope for all her words to have such a strong effect. She’d also like to know just what was going on.

To her credit, Minori was trying to explain, it was just hard to follow, between her sobbings and Emi’s not great mood.

What Emi could manage to understand was that Minori, that she was sorry? For what exactly, Emi didn’t know. That she had feel so glad she got to make a new friend; that she used to be awful but she had changed, or she thought she had, but maybe being a spoiled brat was all she was good at and maybe she didn’t have to expect Emi to be nice to her because she didn’t deserve it at all.

There was a lot more rambling but that was enough for Emi to realize how bad she was at handling situations like this. She awkwardly patted her back, trying to sound convincing when she assured her she couldn’t be that bad. But Minori only shook her head at that, stating that she’d prefer to be alone. And Emi wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was glad to get out of the house.

She wasn’t nearly as glad two days later, with Minori not texting her at all and her not knowing what to even text.

She was upset at herself. She could have made a better job at comforting Minori. Or she could have kept her mouth shut and not provoke all the mess to begin with. She could have made any effort to not push away one of the few people that cared about her writing; that cared about her. She still could do something, maybe, but she didn’t know how.

So she turned to what worked for her. She busied herself with writing down what she felt, pushing all of it into her newest protagonist. It was messy at first, a mash up of non-cohesive sentences; but the more she wrote, the more refined it got, fleshing it out more and more, developing a story as well as exploring more about herself.

A couple of days later she found herself sitting on a bench not far from school, writing fervently, as she was too excited to walk home. Perhaps her brain had already unconsciously drawn the parallelism, because she wasn’t exactly startled when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Removing her earbuds, Emi looked up at Minori’s tired smile, and reciprocated with a shy smile.

“You’re writing” Minori pointed out, sitting down next to her. Emi nodded, satisfied, as blush spread on her face “About?”

To be honest, Emi had been waiting for her to ask. That didn’t make it any easier to answer.

“It is… about a girl” She started slowly, and Minori hummed “She’s like… average, yes? And she- she kinda, just wishes things could be different. And then- it-it sounds silly when I try to explain it, I-“ She interrupted herself when a warm hand settled over her own, and a warm smile encouraged her to keep going “She meets a magical creature… I was just writing that… A-and then the girl decides to go on a- don’t laugh at me- a magical adventure…”

Minori’s smile grew wider, but she didn’t laugh at her.

“That girl sounds nice. But is she going on an adventure on her own?”

Emi blinked repeatedly, and then looked down.

“A-actually, no, there is… uh…” A squeeze on her hand prompted her to continue, and she took a deep breath “Her girlfriend goes with her”

“Her girlfriend” Minori repeated. Emi just nodded. “That sounds nice, too”

[esper-aroon]

i got reminded of a comment about ‘playing the pronoun game’ and how revealing it can be and, i’m just, sometimes, so tired with English

like, specifically English pronouns

because even when you technically have a way to refer to unknown persons of unknown gender, you’re probably still inferring something about gender

and i just want to talk about unknown, amorphous people without thinking about gender assignments

[partyparade]

No wonder the twins look so pissed

Like Bro I'd be mad too if I had to hold this pose for YEARS

RIP to your KNEES

[partyparade]

Lamb and Goat seem like the type of friends who have frequent sleepovers at each other's realms

(They're committing atrocities and binge watching Shrek)

[partyparade]

Narinder

[partyparade]

Is there a Mrs. Red guardian? 😳

[partyparade]

If you told Leshy that Shamura found him in the dumpster when he was just a baby he'd probably be thrilled

[partyparade]

The twins the minute Narinder opens his mouth to talk about the Lamb:

[partyparade]

Time to make a shitty Narilamb visual novel on Google slides