#HIS DICTION IS SO ATTRACTIVE

[paraphwrites]

a brief note about charles rowland, bisexuality, & the art of queer interpretation

for most of modern history, queer people have been cast to the shadows. be they jailed at the time for sodomy, or erased from history after the fact by historians downplaying their relationships, history has been notoriously cruel to queer people. this is especially true in media, which often completely ignored the existence of queer people.

from this lack of representation, the 'queer interpretation' was born. this is when a consumer notices subtext in a piece of media and extrapolates that one or more character(s) is queer. this is especially prominent to try and undo historical revisionism, and what authors may not have been able to publish at the time, but were able to imply.

a well-known example is "a picture of dorian gray," an egregiously homosexual novel, written by an egregiously homosexual man. despite dorian not being explicitly gay.....he is. this is widely accepted among modern interpretations, because wilde utilizes queer-coding and allusions to ancient greece to create subtext that the character is homosexual in nature.

however, not everyone is a fan of the queer interpretation. many people cite it as inserting gayness where it does not belong. this, though an understandable argument, both erases the history of queer people and the ways that authors intentionally queer-coded their characters, and misses the point of art all together. art is open for interpretation, whether it be the symbolism of the curtain color, or the character's sexuality.

but the queer interpretation is especially important because it gives voices to those expressly forbidden to share queer thoughts when they were alive. beyond giving a voice to the author, it also reflects the feelings of the person interpreting the text (as all interpretations do). the degree to which one utilizes the queer interpretation illustrates the degree to which one feels the need to do so. for example, someone who is searching for queer rep is more likely to read charles rowland as gay, whereas someone who isn't fond of headcanons is more likely to accept him as straight

now, is charles rowland bisexual? yes. and also no.

charles rowland does exhibit many characteristics which, when you are familiar with queer-coding, may make him seem like a glaringly bisexual man. he wears earrings, he dresses alternatively, he smirks, he is an absolute twink. but, straight men can smirk too, and wear earrings, and dress punk rock. that does not actually mean anything. BUT it DOES. when utilizing the queer interpretations, one analyzes fashion and diction and other pieces of subtext to draw a conclusion. the implied subtext is queerness. so, charles rowland is bisexual, then, right?

limiting bisexuality to stating your attraction to both men & woman is harmful. it reinforces that heterosexuality is the norm, and implies that, if you do not directly state that you are bisexual, then you are straight.

but, there is merit to the 'charles is straight' argument. it isn't homophobic to not use the queer interoperation.

dbda is a show that is clearly not ashamed of highlighting queer characters. so it stands to reason that if charles is queer, it would have been brought up. (of course, if there had been a season two, maybe we would have seen him discuss his sexuality, but i will work with the source material i have.) so, it stands to reason that charles is straight. afterall, despite faint subtext that charles is straight, the show does not go out of its way to queercode him. so, charles is straight

WRONG AGAIN. charles rowland is neither gay nor straight, he is a plot device in this mini essay.

the heart of the queer interpretation is seeing a character and looking beyond what is written. oftentimes, it involves two characters (eg, edwin & charles). in the instances when there are two, the queer interpretation asks that you look at the most important relationship in the story, rather than what may seem to be the love story.

you may ship catwin, or crystalXcharles, or whatever. and that is totally valid. BUT, the show could still exist without the cat king x edwin. and the show could still totally exist without crystal x charles. but the show immediately falls apart without the relationship between charles & edwin. whether romantic or not, their relationship is the heart of the story. it is a story about THOSE TWO and everyone else is add on. i am not saying no one else is important, but i am saying the heart & foundation of the story is derived from edwin & charles.

queer interpretors ask that you look at the most important relationship in a text, rather than the most explicitly romantic one. and, often, queer interpretors then project romantic feelings onto the two characters that the story could not survive without.

crystal & charles cannot end up together because crystal will never be the most important person in the world to charles. the cat king & edwin can never end up together because the cat king will never be the most important person in the world to edwin. ergo, edwin and charles will inevitably end up together, because they are the most important people to each other.

at least, that's what queer theory might argue about it.

another just as valid argument is that charles rowland is a bisexual, and not in love with edwin. and a third valid argument is that charles rowland isn't bisexual and isn't in love with edwin.

because we don't KNOW. this is interpretation. so i can look at charles rowland and say 'he's a bisexual and he loves edwin.' and you can look at charles and say 'he is straight.' and someone else can say 'he is aromantic' and someone else that he's pansexual and someone else that he needs way more therapy before he can even begin contemplating his sexuality. and they are all VALID.

anyway but i think it's important to understand the why behind why so many people think charles' is bi, and why it matters! i'm not saying charles has to be bisexual, but i'm saying the bisexual interpretation does matter.

[girlybelle]

𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭. it's very light, almost unnoticeable since he has such good diction. however, spending quite a deal of quality time with your boyfriend made you fall even more in love with him over his every detail. it's arguably one of the things that enchanted you the most at the start of your relationship: the way his accent slightly thickened when he rambled excitedly about something he liked – or just talking rushedly in general – never failed to bring a smile to your face and hearts to your eyes.

everytime armin noticed your dreamy stare, he'd always nervously apologize for rambling again, his intrusive thoughts always telling him he might be boring you. “not at all, honey. i actually love hearing you talk about things you like.” you'd always tell him sincerely, smiling and cradling his hand in yours, giving his knuckles sweet kisses.

“o-oh, okay.” he'd say bashfully, a beaming smile playing on his soft lips. and it was true, listening to him talk was always so interesting, satisfying even. and not only for his appealing interests. you also never missed how attractive he sounded. only his voice was already enticing for itself; bright, soothing, a little breathy, and with the kind of timbre that soaked into your skin, melodic like only an angel's could be.

so when the faint accent mingled with his voice and tongue, it was beyond adorable to hear. i actually believe armin has a bit of a german ancestry through his grandfather and his perfect german fluency could be connected to it since he lived with his grandpa for a time. once when you asked him to read a text in the language for you, it was almost as if the words poured out of his mouth like pure chocolate. a simple thing as armin's voice in that language could send tingles to your deepest core. it was captivating, sultry almost.

also his accent mostly thickens with the extremes of his emotions – making him sometimes even slip a german word midsentence without noticing – it can go from extreme joy to annoyance. the first earning him dozens of kisses to his cheeks due to his surpassing cuteness... the latter, however, brings us to discuss a very important topic: frustrated armin cursing in german™... which in that case means it can earn him a effective and glorious kind of stress release, and you, well... let's say one of the most mindblowing sex experiences of your life.

i'll elaborate on the experience with expressive details on another day, meanwhile, enjoy this little brainrot.😋

by GIRLYBELLE.

[mystverse]

I LOVE NIGHT POEM im so addicted to 1:20,, the way mark sings it and jisungs vocals after 😭😭 its so good im happy to see a fellow night poem enthusiast B)

Please, the way Mark delivers it so attractive (it's his diction) and Jisung's tone is just wow. I'm in love literally. I don't know why I love Jaemin's parts in this song (especially from 0:35), and the Jeno and Renjun singing together is just wonderful.

[bluwavez]

IN WHICH ... DEEPDIVE passes the phone.

FEATURING ... DEEPDIVE ENSEMBLE

TRIGGER WARNINGS + WRITERS NOTE ... Just some cursing and mentions of sex, suicide, and death in a joking matter! Inspired by that silly Tiktok trend from a while ago. This is like the sequel to the VENUS one I did a few days ago!

"I'm passing the phone to the guy who got our first dorm infested with bed bugs," Jacob starts, a collective series of groans being heard from behind the camera.

Woojin's lips form a line when he's handed the camera, blinking at his own reflection as the boys around him jeer at his expense. "Everyone should know, I apologized profusely for that!" Woojin defends himself before chuckling.

"Okay, I'm passing the phone to the most ran-through member of the team," Woojin decides with a nod.

Finn smiles softly at the camera, blinking blankly a few times before nodding. "Okay, well, I'm passing the phone to the guy who lost half his discography to a group he hates."

Noah bites the inside of his cheek when he's handed the phone, looking off-camera as the room fills with laughter. He sighs dramatically, eyes widening and head bobbling as he thinks of what to say. "I'm passing the phone to the guy who's caught chlamydia twice."

"Twice?" Kiwoo can be heard shouting off screen when Blue takes the camera, the tips of his ears turning red as he bites his bottom lip, nodding slowly.

"Alright, I'm passing the phone to someone with a dead dad." Blue says, causing a chorus of shouts and laughs to fill the room.

Finn and Noah are on screen, laughing hysterically to the point there's tears in Finn's eyes. "We don't know who he's talking about," Finn says between laughs, his head resting on Noah's as they nearly double over into the camera.

The video cuts and it's just Noah in frame, clearing his throat as a few chuckles leave his lips. "I'm–" Finn's laughter off-screen cuts him off, causing Noah to laugh so hard his eyes turn into crescent moons.

"I'm passing the phone to the person who was a flop longer than all of us," Noah finally gets out between laughs.

Jisung smiles at the camera, tilting his head at his reflection. The boys can be heard laughing around him but he keeps a cool and calm demeanor. "I'm passing the phone to the best singer on the team," Jisung says simply, not fully grasping the game.

Kiwoo is beaming when he's given the phone, his hand over his heart. "Aw!" Kiwoo coos. Someone off screen could be heard mocking him, making him side eye whoever it was before looking back at the camera.

"I'm passing the phone to someone who's mom didn't want him."

Jacob stares blankly at the camera, not happy this is his first appearance. He looks around at the quiet chuckles around him before nodding slowly. "I'm passing the phone to someone who's dad didn't want him," Jacob says, mimicking Kiwoo's diction and tone of voice.

Jisung blinks a few times at the camera, laughing through his nose as he tries to bite back his actual laughter. "Um...Fuck," He laughs looking to whoever stood beside him. The video cuts back to him with himself collected, still chuckling quietly.

"I'm passing the phone to most attractive member on the team." He pauses, keeping the camera on himself. A wave of laughter fills the room at his joke, making Jisung crack a smile before cutting the video. "Anyways, I'm passing the phone to the guy who thought a girl would appreciate him writing the lyrics "slow it down, making it bouncy," about her."

Finn doesn't look proud when the video cuts to him, nodding slowly in shame. "Um...Damn, wait–" Finn covers his mouth so the camera can't catch him smiling as he tries to collect himself. "I'm passing the phone to the guy who lost his virginity in a hotel bathroom." Finn decides, giving the camera a thumbs up.

Kiwoo scratches the back of his head when he's given the phone, glaring off camera when he hears someone laugh at him. "I'm passing the phone to the guy who was two steps away from making an OnlyFans because his Twitch channel was dying."

Woojin laughs at himself when he's on camera, putting his hands up. "Guilty! Oh no!" He mocks, laughing at himself as he does so. "I'm passing the phone to the guy who we let produce a title track because we were scared if we told him no he'd try and kill himself again."

Jacob looks tired of this game. "I'm passing the phone to the phone to the guy who literally has a photocard collection of himself."

Blue almost looks proud, nodding at himself on screen. "I'm passing the phone to the member that was rigged in!"

Noah looks around confused when he's given the phone, laughing alongside his groupmates even though he doesn't fully get it. "Was I rigged in?" Noah asks Jisung quietly. The leader looks at the camera and then at Noah, taking the phone from him with a nod.

"And I'm ending the game!" Jisung announces as the video abruptly ends.

[debbeh]

Sigh... I made a list:

(there are 63 points so you've been warned)

Tragic backstory

Pretended to be a librarian (Bernard, The Negatus Redemption)

Went to Prison (and had minion(s) try to break him out)

PJs

Big robots

EXACT SAME HELMET (see kickball scene in Megamind)

Both cannonically good at kickball

[had] swarm of flying minions (with one stereotipical female one)

Teams up with female protagonist who is way more confident than he is and who he sorta has a crush on. Debby and Roxanne are utterly the same person.

Pretends to be other person to trick Debby/Roxanne and HAS to throw in how strong/attractive he is

Both have kind of a Christmas special

Both got memes (Wakkus Bonkus- yes that counts- and no bitches?)

Both have an iconic makeup look (lots of eyeliner or lots of lipstick) (and I love them for it)

Will Ferrell and Simon Farnaby look wicked similar...

Also similar first half of name... coincedince?

Don't know how to way certain words/phrases ("Ollo" and "Prawns in my game" for example)

Unethically sourced leather

Design their own logos and make graphs/presentations

Just a lil dorky guy <3

Blue people

Doofenshmirtz level sucess (0)

Can't read

Weird tiny goatee

Desperately optemistic

Probably same Romania outlet

Feet scene?

Probably not from Earth/Yonderland

Transitions (castle to onion/screaming to crowd)

Kidnaps female protagonist

Uses sci-fi skype (argument w/metroman, argument w/Imperatrix)

Surprised when plan actually works

Minions keep accidentally defending other side

Sets up base in fancy cement building (or what one may call a town hall)

Likes hoarding silly gadgets and teddy bear

Doesn’t know what a window is

“If my parents could see me know"

Graffiti's things

Props that anyone can own (I actually have Megamind’s lamp and the birdhouse from the Thanktival special)- not to brag or anything...

Chalkboard diagrams

“I got a bad idea about this”

Michael Jackson reference

Bad good good bad confusion

Secret hideout with unguarded back door

Hug/kiss from main female character makes him rethink his ways

Actually cares about city/realm (doesn’t want to die)

Superhero from rich family finds skill in another line of business (Metroman/The Bird)

“Power vacuum” when Metroman/imperatrix is gone

Fem protagonist tied up and held hostage by guy with goofy hair (Titan/Cuddly Dick)

Plot important tower building

Entire movie is the Dirty Ernie episode

Police car noises literally just remind me of DI Bones (Again, Horrible Histories but still)

Prison dance scene

End with recall to past/time travel

Not used to positive feedback

Cleaning lady outfit and perm

White haired alter ego (Santa/Space dad)

Accidentally makes villains worse than himself

“Say goodbye to your lovelife” “The gad guy doesn’t get the girl”

Female protagonist figures out his entire plan immediately

EXACT same diction

Gets big fancy battle suit that ends up not working but looking cool I guess

Has to be good when good guy goes bad

Real villains way more hard core than him

“Under new management” (Titan/Cuddly Dick both basically say this)

Mkay, thanks for reading! G'night

[fourtyfourcatss]

[████████ 100%] — @imjustabeanie !

Within the dewdrops I see…

YOUR MATCHUP FOR GENSHIN IMPACT IS…

✣ baizhu

✣ of everyone within genshin impact, I believe baizhu would be the one most suitable for you. Let me explain.

✣ from your traits, I can surmise that you are a prideful and competitive person when situations involve you, and it seems you take pride in properly safeguarding what you do not wish to be prided into. You want someone who is patient, honest, and understanding— but you also seem to want someone who can match your wit playfully, someone who is enigmatic and interesting to incur your time. Baizhu is all that, and more. He’s a character filled with mystery, someone who you must chase, and someone who would chase you back. He himself cannot be called completely ethical, swindling extremely rich clients out of more money (which they can definitely afford). However, we can see him taking Qiqi in as a hand of kindness. He’s a mild mannered man, and someone with so much gusto and personality - especially with your honesty and good intentions - draws him in deeply. He is an individual of logic too, and can appreciate the reasoning behind your words, and understand your feelings from the similarities and differences in your characters. If you think of yourself as a smoothtalker— you definitely know this guy is too. How else is he garnering more money from rich clients? Yet I believe he would definitely choose his diction correctly to make you feel at ease and open to vulnerability to share your problems with him. And as for you, someone with so much ambition and can understand the importance of goals, he also feels very seen. I think he would find your jokes and passion endearing, and find himself falling without thinking.

✣ He’s someone who can appreciate all your virtues for what they are and help you mitigate your weaknesses.

✣ As for relationship headcanons, the two of you would spar often, always resulting in his loss. He’s someone in a fragile physical state, and seeing you doing what you love, it makes him more rushed. He wants to do what you love with you, and he wants to be by your side and celebrate your victories together. He’s someone who would bring the two of you closer.

✣Baizhu is also a man of schedule. I can imagine him giving you gifts “strategically” throughout the week, or little, useful trinkets throughout the day to cheer you up. He would think of you often, and fondly. The two of you bathe in one another’s presence a lot too… as he knows how it feels to have limited time. There's a lot of dinners and outings, and I believe he would love to give you a peck on the cheek whenever you’re daydreaming.

YOUR MATCHUP FOR KNY IS…

✣ kokushibo

✣ demon slayer was the hard part, but I believe you would have an enemies to lovers situation with Kokushibo. Something about your personal blend of personality would entrance him deeply in my eyes. You would humble him repeatedly with your words, and while that comes with a deep humiliation that makes him wish to compete with you— it also comes with the flutters of attraction.

✣ I am also not sure how to describe this, but the two of you fit together well with your inner competitiveness and pride. That leaves room for the two of you to meet in agreement and understanding, but at the same time, you cannot stand each other at first because of bumping head so often and without restraint. Yet there is a stark difference between morality and ethics by the two of you, because although Kokushibo is the type to pride himself in his logic— he has little of it as shown, when he is caught up within his emotions, and to a severe scale. Someone like you can catch him on his bullshit, and properly (this is very important) pull him out and change him for the better. You are someone who can make him think, and your advice serves as a beacon, while your presence a reminder. Instead of being a demon, I see you being there before he had gotten wedded, and prevented his descent entirely. And like Baizhu, the two of you learn from one another, and lessen the burdens of your weaknesses. Only this time, Kokushibo had more personal empathy with you.

✣ not only does he also nurture a great interest in fighting sports, I think he would be very interested in true crime documentaries as well. Your love for learning also thrills him, as that signifies an aspect of hard work and intellect. He finds that extremely important for a partner, and your personality excites and encourages him. You’re someone who is so unique, and so very hard to impress; built out of many trust, the fruits of your romance is very suited towards your tastes.

✣ he is out and about sometimes for work, and will send you many things, like letters with souvenirs or presents. Ancient aristocratic japanese men of the past also wrote poems and hired musicians to curate songs for many things— and Kokushibo would definitely write you love poems, and beckon musicians to create songs of you or your lives together. These relationships are a blend of liveliness and harmony, falling down like light rain.

[rubiatinctorum]

Not me projecting onto Kazui but what if he's an extremely repressed bisexual (ft. some frenetic half-analysis) 😳

So he feels a sense of having to hide who he is from others, and when he tells his wife something honest about himself, it seems to me she really does not take it well. He wasn't unfaithful, but he wants to do things he "can't say out loud." So there are definitely, I think, some sort of repressed feelings there. But then we get to this line

And the name for one of the most common negative bisexual stereotypes I've heard is the "greedy bisexual," that idea of "wanting too much" and I can't say that because of his guilt and self-loathing right now Kazui wouldn't frame his identity/feelings this way.

The diction seems really significant here to me. Continuing forth with word choice, I found the use of "wrong" here very interesting,

When he's been describing his desire for physical affection (with whom? I'm curious) and is likely told that "it's wrong" to respond to with this. He's being told that this is "wrong" which is... I gotta say, not something I'm not used to hearing either from certain rhetoric 💀

In this line below, he seems like he's trying to follow a narrative set out for him, the heterosexual romance ideal so many are sold on. But Camouflage is an interesting point, because to fit within this framework, he has to blend in, hide part of himself.

And then well we get to two-way deceit

Like... swings both ways, Kazui?

Again, we have the perceived necessity of keeping his desires a secret

And the awareness that something so integral to him (and possibly romance related, considering heart connotations with love) might be considered a moral quandary rather than a part of his life (+ the rejection of this idea because he knows it's not a moral issue)

The green apple that Kazui picks up reflects as the head of himself from Half in his glass on a date; that apple was shown as something expressly different from the other red ones before. This could show that Kazui is feeling extremely different from everyone around him. He keeps the apple hidden (secret) under the table so his wife can't see.

When his wife is in distress later, it is a red apple that breaks, so we could recontextualize the green apple to be Kazui's state of differentness (maybe his sexual orientation if we want to interpret through that lens?)

Those are not Kazui's clothes, here. He wears this outfit in this scene:

And, if you will let me reach for straws, the homophone of bi and bye with the prominence of bye in the chorus... might be entirely coincidence but fuck it, if it is true, my analysis would have been worse for neglecting to add this

Digging into Half again, we get this line, which might tie back with the "So it's wrong? Oh, shove that!" from Cat,

Maybe his wife disapproves of him, thinking his existence as he is "wrong" and her opinion won't change.

We don't know who he's addressing here. Seems to be the woman, but

Next shot, she's blurred out. As if he's looking beyond her now and towards the bartender.

This could be representative of possible attraction towards both.

Looking at that apple of difference again, scales of his heart, scales having two sides to them, heart connotations with romance, his potential attraction towards men on one side and towards women on the other of these scales? The apple here is alone, in a spotlight, because it's the focus of this strife probably with his wife.

"all this time till now" has hurt him because he's probably felt this his whole life, despite keeping it a secret.

And he doesn't feel good about hiding it, so he tells her. Well, we see in audio drama 2 for him that it doesn't turn out so well.

And then,

Feelings shrouded in lies, in retrospect, another cue that he might have been hiding his identity and feelings, repressing them so his wife wouldn't find out and disapprove.

Then he says he's sure nothing will change, and they'll laugh together and call each other stupid names — he imagines that telling his wife how he feels might not put a rift between them after all. Sadly, we know now that it did.

Anyway, this is sort of just one theory I have about how to interpret Kazui's situation and Cat and Half. I've heard a lot of gay Kazui theory today, but I also wanted to account for certain (albeit stereotypical, but it may expressly be trying to invoke that) word choice, as well as what we see with the lady at the bar in Half and the mention of the "two-way" situation in Cat. If I were to do a full analysis of Kazui and Cat specifically here, I'd also have to account for, of course, what role does his alcohol and cigarette use play into his situation, since his specific digressions are related to how drunk he is or how he needs a cigarette break. What is the dove that he is eating meant to mean — doves and supposed "purity" going against how his wife may perceive his "wrong" nature, or does it represent some literal act of violence on Kazui's part we don't get to see, even though he states in his new drama that he hadn't fought against a girl before?

Um yeah so that's a lot of Kazui thoughts. Don't you miss when I was talking about the shoes in Triage instead

[imrosalynangel]

constantine headcanons next /j (no seriously take your time with these)

WHY TAKE TIME WHEN I CAN LIST THEM NOW :333

CONSTANTINE HEADCANONS!!

• Born Venezuelan, he's from Maracaibo, Zulia! He's 24 years old and his birthday is March 5, making him a pisces.

• A very calm and chill person, usually he doesn't scream nor starts trouble for nothing. He's also surprisingly good at giving advice.

• Cis and straight man, he's really into girls but struggles to not look freaking awkward when he's rizzing them. Sins of being WAY TOO dramatic and theatrical, so girls are easily scared away by him.

• When he lived in Venezuela his family wasn't rich nor had a lot of money 'til his mother divorced his dad and married a military soldier when Constantine was 12.

• Back them he was more of a hype person, being pretty active and loud. Started being more calm and silent due to losing the sense in a lot of things.

• YES, HE'S DEPRESSED! but his depression is more circumstantial than intrinsic. Having a hard time in his native country as he couldn't do a lot of things he wanted becausd of the limited opportunities, made a certain apathy grow in him (this making him that kinda laid back type of person)

• He was interested in music and writting since he was a child! His parents made sure he could perform all his abilities, however his mother's divorce and other circumstances put a bump in the road.

• He emigrated to the USA when he was 18, pursuing his dream of being a singer and songwriter.

• Since he was 15 he managed a YouTube channel where he uploaded song covers, he took it more seriously when he emigrated.

• Big fan of Enrique Iglesias, Chino y Nacho and also Ricky Martin, also overall acoustic music.

• Despite being a chill person he holds grudges very easily, However, he gets angry "inwardly" more than making a fuss.

• Talks in a very soft voice and with a very poetic diction.

• Bilingual since he's a teenager.

• Constantine is more of a "stage name", his real name is Constancio Torres del Valle.

• Started disliking his real name and overall nationality as he grew famous, he basically pretends to be american as he rejects being seen as "just an immigrant"

• Regarding the previous point, however, when he meets other latinos he tends to easily gain confidence and reveal who he really is.

• Wears a WHOLE LOT of mint perfume.

• Likes clothes with very slim fit as he's kinda proud of his figure.

• (this is more canon than anything) He's actually attractive and he knows that very well.

• Takes really good care of his natural curly hair, will give you a death stare if you try to touch it without his permission.

• He's actually very strong, also goes to gym often.

• Knows how to play the guitar, the flute and the piano. He's also VERY quick witted when it comes to music.

• Started talking therapy at 21, despite this he still has a very unhealthy way to cope, this being alcoholism. He feels good when he's drinking, it helps him stop thinking about how he feels nothing for anything.

• Usually his perfect date is going to a nice bar to share some drinks, still, this is obviously mixed with his alcoholism, making it hard for him to definitely quit :(

• Good Friends with Victor, despite knowing him after he befriended Abraham H, they ended up being pretty close and they support each other in whatever way they can.

• Owns a Toyota Yaris Cross.

• Lives alone in a somewhat big appartment.

• As a boyfriend he would be totally pampering with his partner, taking them to eat often, buying them many things and giving them luxuries thanks to his money. He would also take care of household chores if his partner leads a very busy life.

[phantomphangphucker]

Phic Phight - Sing-U-Lator

For: @thefalsefangirl @higgidigs @briarlovesu @bibliophilea @idiot-cheesehead-archenemy

Song inspiration: Addict - Vivziepop and Alastor’s Reprise - Vivziepop Vlad and Danny have a proper talk but it's not really a talk or proper

Danny roughs up his hair, frustrated, why did Lancer always have give such open-ended ‘up to your imagination’ projects? Sure Danny didn't lack creativity but his creativity wasn’t exactly… normal. Plus, how was he supposed to make a song prompt without ripping off Ember? Sometimes being friends with a singer was a major double edge sword.

He’s half tempted to just call Vlad, dude gave some solid advice… even if it sometimes seemed slightly sketchy. What would he know about this though? Maybe he writes poetry in his rich person free time?

Thumping his head on his desk a couple of times, fuck it. Flipping out his phone and leaning back, “hey yo, Vladdie”.

“Daniel? Is there an issue. I am rather… preoccupied at the moment”.

Danny snorts at that, “I’d say with what but you're still all mysterious half the time. Anyways, my homework isn’t home working. Know anything to do with music?”.

“… I’m beginning to believe that you have a very concerning sense of timing, my boy. I’ve rather recently… acquired a seemingly ectoplasm infused music generating bow tie”.

Danny blinks hard at that, not for the first time since meeting the man, Danny’s had the feeling Vlad had sticky fingers or something. Sure, Danny also stole stuff… and maybe did so more now than he used to -which now that he thinks about it, might be ever so slightly due to some Vlad-related encouragement. But that’s a thought for another day- but Vlad was way more sticky fingered. “Why? Though I guess that could just make my music prompt for me”.

Danny jumps at a sudden voice, “that could be quiet a good idea. You are rather bad at this”.

Danny whirls around, “eh yo, what the fuck?!?”.  It’s goddamn GhostWriter… Well at least it’s not Walker, or Boxy, or Skulker.

The GhostWriter seemingly ignores the teen, eyeing the paper instead, “you clearly have no love for the written word, as painful as that is, can’t have you embarrassing ghosts with your lack of lyrical diction”, summoning out his keyboard, fingers flying.

Danny groans loudly, “oh come on! Not this shit again”.

“Language, Daniel”.

The GhostWriter narrows his eyes at the phone, “and I would appreciate my artefact returned”.

And suddenly Danny gets hurtled out his window, half shrieking, “VLAAAAAAAD!”, angrily all the while. Granted… he couldn’t blame his -sometimes sketchy- mentor too much; Danny was usually the one who caused issues and Vlad certainly wasn’t immune to trouble making. Vlad yelping, “butter biscuits!”, on the other side of the line at least means this was probably going to be both of their problem(s).

The two halfas groan and push themselves up from the hard smooth ground.

So they weren’t outside on the dirt/grass. Good to know.

Danny grumbles, “I don’t know whether to blame you, blame GhostWriter, blame you, blame myself, blame you, or blame Lancer”.

Vlad giving a very dry reply, “funny, I was thinking something very similar”, then chuckling faintly, “perhaps halfas merely attract ill luck”, glancing around as he stands and brushes himself off, “we appear to be in some sort of cafe”.

“Ah fuck yes, tell me there’s coffee”.

“Language”, Vlad shakes his head, “you consume enough of that stuff to kill you a few times over”.

Danny snorts, “aw, you’d miss me”.

“But of course”. Vlad’s voice is genuinely fond, making Danny mutter, “I know it’s 🎶till death dooooo us part,  but we're already past that phase🎶”.

Both of them stop at that, Danny looks insanely confused and slightly pissed off; Vlad quirks a single eyebrow. Quirking another eyebrow at the bow tie, which is apparently tied around his wrist now, as it starts making music, a electronic piano beat, “I don’t think this is going to end well”.

Danny grumbling, “sounds like the story of my half life. Shit always so seems to be going south since the whole dyin’ while tryin’ to be helpful thing”.

Vlad eyes him, “but 🎶this could be a brand neeeew start🎶”, grimacing a little after because seriously?

Danny huffing, yeah sure the whole dying thing really legit could have effectively given him a new ‘lease on life’ as it were, but instead he’s just spending all of his time fighting and anxiously hiding his shit. Even if he legit honestly likes the way he is now, he had cool powers and stuff. Grumbling, “tell me about it. 🎶I think I deserve some praise for the way that I ammmmmmmm🎶”, gesturing around a bit ridiculously because he might as well just go along with this and no one else was actually here from the looks of It to witness this bullshit. Being a ghost was fucking great okay? Regardless of his parents anti-ghost ectophobia bullshit.

Vlad glances around and shrugs, he’s been involved in stranger, sitting down in a random chair, “🎶despite becoming a ghost, and ending up nearly comatose🎶”; Vlad was still baffled by how severe Danny’s portal-related accident was. The fact that his body survived getting blasted by an entire dimension worth of ectoplasm and being electrocuted by over four lightening bolts worth of electricity was impressive and a bit horrifying.

Danny rolls his eyes at that, flicking his wrist pointedly at Vlad as the bow tie adds in fucking finger snapping to its tune, “🎶I don’t give a daaaaaaaamnnnnnn🎶”, eyeing Vlad with a bit of a smirk, “what about you?”.

Vlad snorts and stands up, “🎶I let my emotions go, and fudge being a sober hoe🎶”. Danny looks a little scandalised by Vlad’s almost swearing but takes the offered flasks because at this point, fuck it.

The GhostWriter is one hundred percent manipulating this into a musical or some shit, and no one wants to deal with that shit fully sober.

The two taking steps, gesturing, and dancing a little while their hands are almost connected due to holding the flask. Singing together, “🎶this is the maaaantra, this is the liiiiife🎶”. Regardless of anything Danny liked the way he was and he damn well knew Vlad did too.

Separating and twirling, still singing together, “🎶we’re playing with our lives noooooow, till the end of every niiiiiiiight 🎶”.

Vlad eyeing his flask, “🎶eventually surrounded by fiiiire🎶”.

Danny laughing, “🎶my fighting passion igniiiights🎶”.

The two eyeing each other and grinning a little, “🎶a hit of the heaven and hell, a helluva hiiiiigh🎶”. At this point they were in this shit together, even if Danny had a feeling that Vlad was a less than stellar influence, and Vlad knew that Danny might one day force him to reconcile with his ‘old friends’.

Vlad turning away, “🎶I’m addddddicted to the madddddness🎶”, he knew damn well all the crime and less than legal stuff he did was something he got a massive rush from, and what did he care if he screwed a few people over for his own personal gain?

Danny turning away as well, “🎶this tooooown is my atlaaaaantis🎶”, this town, Amity Park, was his Everything and he was protective as Hell of it. It was nice that a lot of the town was starting to actually view him as their protector, made him feel like his purpose was actually being seen.

Vlad chuckles, eyeing Danny quickly, “you do a lot of rather illegal things to protect ‘this town’, you know”. Danny chuckling right back, “as if you don’t do the same to satisfy your possessiveness”.

Danny puts up a fist for a fist bump and Vlad rolls his eyes though supplies him with his requested fist bump, the two singing together again, “🎶we’re forever gonna have a fucking/fudging reason to sin🎶”.

Vlad glares at him a little over the swearing but everything help him if he didn't already know that Danny had a bit of a foul mouth and that it was kind of pointless to correct the boy. Besides, Danny’s ‘soul’ or whatever was a lot cleaner than his own, “🎶let me leaaaaaave my soul to burn🎶”,

Danny pointing at him agressively, “🎶I’ll be breathin’ it in🎶”, then making a face, “I mean that your mentorship is actually kinda good, not that I’m going to literally breath in your burnt ashes, what the fuck GhostWriter”, and glares at the ceiling; faint ghostly laughter could be heard.

Vlad can’t help grinning at that a little, “🎶and I’m addiiiicted to that feeeeeeling🎶”.

Danny gesturing up, “🎶then get hiiiiiigher than the ceiiiiiling🎶”.

Vlad nods curtly, because as not harmful as this was, it was still annoying.

The Ghostwriters voice comes down from the ceiling, “🎶and I’m neeeever gonna want this feeling to end, just conceeeeede and give in to you inner demons again🎶”.  Vlad fires a blast at the ceiling while the bow tie adds in a metallic drum beat for a bit before slowing to a more soft sound.

Danny eyes Vlad a little, “you know I know what you ‘inner demons’ are at this point, right? Your thing for mom?”, cringing and rubbing his neck, “and I mean sure,  🎶yeah, you fell in loooove. But-🎶”, gesturing at the flask, “🎶-you fell deeper in a piiit🎶”.

Vlad blinks, sure he knew Daniel would figure that out eventually but this was definitely not how he wanted that to come out. But what were ghosts if not their past regrets and obsessions? He couldn’t give up on her, not yet, maybe not ever. Throwing a hand out to the side and trying to hide that that comment hurt a little, “well 🎶Death didn’t get us aaabooove. So count your blessing because this is it🎶”, that came out more bitter than he really meant it.

Danny quirks an eyebrow at him and moving to get a bit in his face, “🎶sooooo you’re not letting goooOooOOOOoooOoo🎶?”.

Vlad shrugs, taking a swig from his flask and eyeing the musical bow tie with contempt, “🎶so what if I misbehave🎶”.

Danny huffing, crossing his arms, “🎶I guess it’s what everybody craves🎶”, then pointing at Vlad, “but, 🎶look around and you’ll already knooooOoOooOOOoow🎶”, pausing and rubbing his temples, “it ain’t gonna work out for you, you know”.

Vlad shrugs more vulnerably than he really means to, “I know, I really do. You think I can’t tell, Daniel? Meeting you and seeing them again makes that so clear. But-”, eyeing the boy, “-an apprentice changes a mentor as much as a mentor changes their apprentice”, holding out a hand, “🎶so, come if you’re feeling brave, and fancy yourself a mentor🎶”.  Bow tie beat picking back up again.

Danny chuckles, okay Vlad’s thing for mom was weird and would never work out but if Vlad was content to redirect himself towards mentoring Danny himself then who was Danny to argue against that? Heck! It was probably a really good thing, plus Vlad was -maybe? Possibly?- morally questionable enough that he wouldn’t take Danny’s shit but also wouldn’t question him about being socially unacceptable. “🎶you want it, I got it. See what you liiiikeeeeEEEeeEe🎶”.

Vlad nods, when he first met Danny and realised what he was, a fellow halfa, it was just a maze of endless possibilities. When he realised that Daniel not only formed as a ghost at a far higher ectoplasmic level but also had more room for growth, he was amazing. Daniel could beat Pariah some day, if he tried. Having that boy as his was far too tempting and far more enticing than any amount of money or Maddie. Daniel could take the world if he wanted, and Vlad could guide that, could stand beside him, “🎶we could have it allllllllll, by the end of any niiight🎶”. If Daniel tried he could probably take over the entire Infinite Realm today if he so desired.

Danny snorts, waving him off, “I can’t tell if you mean this world or the afterlife. But here it would be, 🎶your money and power🎶 and in the ghost zone it would definitely be, 🎶my sinful deliiiight🎶”, chuckling, “you know how much a lot of ghosts hate me at this point”. Him chuckling again, “🎶I’mma hit of that heaven and hell, a helluva hiiiiiigh🎶”.

Vlad can’t help chuckling himself at that, Daniel had managed to piss of an impressive amount of ghosts in a very short amount of time, “🎶it’s like you’re addiiiiicted to the maaaadeness🎶”.

Danny waving him off, “🎶this tooooown will always be my atlaaaaantis🎶”.

Vlad ruffles up his hair, “🎶we’re forever gonna have a fudging reason to sin🎶”.

Danny collapsing over a table dramatically, “🎶let me leave my soul to burn, I’ll be breathing it in🎶”; which Vlad rolls his eyes at.

Vlad pokes the boys forehead, “🎶you’re addiiiicted to the feeeeeeling🎶”, Daniel was more combative than Vlad would actually like. Obviously he didn’t really have to worry about Daniel getting hurt but it really was like he was addicted to getting into fist fights sometimes.

Danny bats his finger/hand off, “have you seen the amount of ghosts that show up to cause problems? It’s a perfect excuse to 🎶get hiiigheeer than the ceeeiliing, and I’m never gonna want that fucking feeling to end🎶”.

Vlad sticks his hands out to the side, “🎶so you’ll just concede and give into your feelings again🎶?”.

Danny glares at him and pushes himself up from laying down on the table, “oh like you don’t constantly, 🎶concede and give into your inner demons again🎶”.

The two stare at each other for a bit, definitely recognising that they were both a bit fucked up and their mentorship/apprenticeship thing was extremely all kinds of fucked up. But neither of them could deny that it was good, they bounced off of each other and called out each others shit. They were both better for it. Vlad’s Obsession over Maddie had dwindled some and Danny had an actual adult to turn to. It was good, they both needed this more than either one was willing to admit.

Then the GhostWriter decides to be an asshole again, piping up from the ceiling again, “🎶you should never want this feeling to end. Just concede and give into your inner ghosts again🎶”.

Danny and Vlad both glare at the ceiling, Vlad firing off a pink ecto-blast for the point of it, the bow tie giving a more mellow beat in response like it was mad at them.

Danny eyeing Vlad, “you really have a problem with my mom,  huh?”.

Vlad rubbing a hand down his face, “I used to think that if it wasn’t for my accident we would have wound up together but…”.

“Mom and dad love each other?”.

“Indeed. Though well, I am a ghost”, looking at Daniel, “you and I both know how hard letting go can be. It’s like 🎶I’m addiiiicted to the soooorrroooowww🎶”.

Danny nodding, leaning against one of the tables, “you'll get there, I think. But yeah, it’s like with all the fights I pick even, 🎶when the buzz ends by tomorrow🎶 and every fight after that, 🎶is another rush of poison flowing into my veins🎶”.

Vlad sighing, “giving both of us 🎶a dose of pleasure that resides by the pain🎶”, craning his neck, “🎶I’m addiiiicted🎶”.

Danny pushing himself up off the tables and gesturing agressively at the windows leading out to Amity Park, “🎶I’m deeepeendaaaant🎶”.

Vlad runs a hand through his hair, smiling a little, “🎶looking awwwwwwsome🎶”. While Daniel leans against the cafe/club window, “🎶feeling heeeelpleeess🎶”.  Vlad glancing back at the teen and not for the first time realising that Daniel, maybe, wasn’t really okay… and honestly? Neither was he. Vlad sighing and walking over to the boy, “🎶I knooooooow I’m raising cain by every highway in hell🎶”, he was thinking that maybe he could move and become the mayor here, “🎶maybe things won’t be so terrible inside this home town🎶”; it would be good for Daniel and maybe it was a change that Vlad himself needed.

Danny jerks while the bow tie tune picks up again in a more fancy dancing manner, “you’re thinking of moving here?”. Vlad nods, so Danny continues, “I think that would be good, honestly. 🎶’cause we’re both one of a kind🎶”, Danny making a mocking gesture at him, “and I’m sure I can 🎶give a burning fool a place to dwell🎶”.

Vlad grabbing his hand an twirling him around ridiculously, “🎶and your ideals are just laughable, but hey kid what the Hell. We’re both charming ghost beaux🎶”.

Danny laughing and going along with the twirling, “🎶’cause inside of both of us is just a lost cause🎶”.

Vlad chuckling right back, “🎶but we’ll dress us up for now with a smile🎶”.

The GhostWriter adding in, “🎶a wicked smile🎶”, with an eerie laugh.

Vlad nods to himself, officially making his decision. This town could not survive with just Daniel and was definitely going to need someone with deep pockets who could manipulate the government into giving them money for all the insane damages. “🎶I’ll show these simpletons some proper class and styyyyyyleee🎶”.

Danny snorting, “🎶and I’ll chlorinate your closets with some punny flair🎶”. That feels ominous in Vlad’s opinion.

They nod at each other, speaking in unison, “🎶here in this spooooooooky town, we’re sure our plan is sound🎶”, both of them pointing up, “🎶and our little annoyance will be fooooouuuuund🎶”, which promptly results in the GhostWriter falling through the ceiling due to the songs/GhostWriters keyboards manipulation of reality, and the two halfas outright pounce on him.

His shriek is very girly and their maniacal laughs are very… maniacal.

Danny stuffing the ghost in his thermos and ‘Vlad’s’ artefact too for good measure after yanking it off the other man’s wrist. “So you’re really going to just, try to become mayor here and move?”.

“There’s not much else for me to do with my time and someone needs to keep an eye on you”, Vlad sighing, “and maybe being more exposed to the way Maddie really is will help things”.

Danny chuckles, “good vampiric mentor”.

“I will decide you need a lesson in endurance”.

“Oh be still my fucking tits!”.

“Daniel!”.

Danny just pouts exaggeratedly at him as they try to sneak out of the restaurant/cafe/club without being noticed. That predictably doesn’t go as planned, with Valerie poking her head around, “I have a lot of questions about that opera bullshit”. Oh Ancients, she saw that shit.

Vlad puts up his hands, “now Valerie-”. But Danny cuts him off, dramatically putting a hand to his chest, “are you cheating on me”; this situation was beyond un-fucking-salavagable. Making both his mentor and his friend/fellow ghost hunter look at him like they both bit lemons. Danny rolling his eyes, “what? The only reason for Vladdie to not be super freaked out is if Valerie here already knew about him and no way he would tell anyone other than an apprentice or maybe close friend”.

Vlad shrugs very awkwardly, “I’m not one to put all my eggs in one basket”. Both Valerie and Danny glare a bit murderously, before punching him in the face. Vlad just sighs, “I suppose I deserved that”.

Both of them snapping, “you think?!?”.

Valerie looking at Danny, “who did you even think got me into this?”.

Danny shrugs, “I thought you were just following spontaneous murderous desire all on your lonesome”.

“You’re a fucking idiot”.

Vlad sighing, “yes, and a fool that should dispose of a certain someone before he causes us any more issues”. Danny rolls his eyes, “at least I got help with my project out of this… kinda”, then actually moves to meander off like he’s told, shouting behind himself, “still good for training tonight?!”.

Vlad eyes Valerie, who shrugs, so Vlad shouts back, “as always, though you’ll have a sparring partner this time and finish that project first! I don’t want you wasting this evenings absolute mess!”.  Danny holds up double thumbs up before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground flat on his face.

Valerie facepalms, “what have I gotten myself into?”.

---

Mr. Lancer was later both very confused and impressed with the… odd direction of Daniel’s song prompt project. It was like one part theatrical musical, one part taking out some kind of issue(s) with song, and one part spite? It was creative though, which is what he asked for. Full marks and maybe a side note about seeing the school therapist.

End.

Prompts: Write a fic inspired from any song released in the last six years. and Danny has to go to Vlad for help and Lancer gives the class a project that Danny finds a very ghostly solution to. and Try as he might, Danny can’t think of a prompt for his creative writing homework. So Ghost Writer decides to step in, and do the writing for him. Shenanigans ensue. and AU where Vlad isn't blatantly evil in Bitter Reunions, and Danny initially sees no reason not to accept his mentorship and Vlad was starting to regret stealing his current artifact.

[gloryride]

🍳🤡🗣️ for isao? :3

As usual, you ask for Isao ♥ Thanks to this, i have a dumb story for him now !

[MISC ASK MEME]

🍳 - How well can they cook?

Very good! He always liked to eat well, watched his mother for years and then helped her. But it was also one of the rare father/son moments he was able to have with Takemura. The few evenings he had off he spent with his adopted children, and he made a point of cooking. Takemura taught Isao how to cut thin slices of food, how to watch the cooking so that it wasn't overcooked, how to choose the right spices… And today, Isao continues to cook for himself with the same dedication, even though good ingredients are expensive in NC. Because he loves good food, but also because it calms him down.

If he invites you to dinner, you'll eat very well!

🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about?

He'll tell you he has nothing to be ashamed of, that he knows how to behave! Of course he'll never tell this story: Oda and Isao are two men who can't agree. Too similar and too eager to attract the attention from their mentor, Takemura. They fight a cold war, respecting the minimum of politeness, but with no sign of respect, in a constant duel of glances… They end up fighting when Hanako Arsaka visits one of their Kyoto offices. Imagine two Arasaka soldiers dressed for an official event, fighting near an emergency door like two idiots. They returned to their positions, Isao with a badly healed cut and a black eye, Oda with a bruised jaw and a missing tooth.

They were each suspended for 2 weeks for their conduct, and this is still recorded in their files!

🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking?

Ah ah. Seriously, though, does he look like he'd speak in public?

Although he has excellent diction and a calm voice, Isao hates being watched, preferring to be a man in the shadows. It makes him nervous because he's afraid of stammering or making a fool of himself. One of the few times he has spoken in public was at the graduation ceremony at Arasaka Academy in Tokyo, when Mieko graduated. Some former Sibling students were due to give a speech and Mieko suggested her brother. He didn't sleep a wink the days before, rereading his speech. The look in his eyes and a few uncontrolled movements betrayed his nervousness. And the speech? Very good, well written, well read, no mistakes. Please don't ask him to do it again…

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

abstaining from voting in the smikedown because as a lifelong R.E.M. fan I want Stipe to win but also it's solely an attractiveness tournament and I love men with long beautiful hair too much

The pain! The struggle! The horror! Poor Stipe and his bald head.

Also I cannot thank you enough for the term Smikedown. It's so beautiful and rare like a dictional shiny pokemon

[monsterkissed]

BI VAMPIRE NONSENSE I AM BEGGING YOU

i am shocked, alarmed, surprised, and otherwise completely caught off-guard by this request! let me see what i have under this cut...

“Ah, I didn’t ask you whether or not you drink.” The words drew Doppio’s gaze to the mouth speaking them. Flashes of porcelain white behind lips that moved with that same uncanny sinuousness. “Would you prefer something softer?”

His face was beautiful like the sky after a particularly awful storm. Doppio tended to find very attractive people a little intimidating, the haughty perfection of their features inherently making him feel as though he were intruding, but this face made him take a few steps closer before he had realised it. It almost didn’t feel like he was looking at a person, more a statue carved impossibly perfect, until the marble appeared to be moving under your very eyes. They were the sort of features, strong and yet delicate, that he had sometimes imagined the Boss might have-

Doppio stopped short, swallowing and looking aside as he realised he had not responded. “No, um, wine is fine! Sorry.” The apology mumbled out before he could think; he was not sure what he was apologising for or, for that matter, who he was apologising to. 

“Please tell me what you think of it. It’s quite difficult to find alcohol here, nevermind a quality beverage, and sometimes I worry I have let my standards slip.” The man handed him the glass and Doppio took it, the liquid pitching slightly as their hands brushed. His skin was very cool to the touch. It struck Doppio then that it was also very pale. Doppio was tanned and dusted liberally with freckles and the other people he had met here had come in varying degrees of sunkissed if not sunravaged, but this man had skin like cream. 

“I’m not really a connoisseur,” he mumbled, giving the glass a halfhearted sniff. 

“But you have that continental palette. That’s what I’ve really been missing here. The people have their charms, but a man far from home finds himself yearning for familiar comforts.” He smiled again, motioning for Doppio to sit in another dark, plush chair that felt like it was swallowing him up. He sat back in the one opposite, resting his feet up on the table in an incongruously low-class gesture.

“Oh, are you, um, from Italy as well?” 

“Not quite. I apologise for my atrocious accent; it’s been many years since I took classes in university.”

“No, no, you speak it really well! You sound classier than me!” The man smiled and the thought that his own words might have caused that perfect expression made warm things wriggle through Doppio’s chest. He hadn’t been exaggerating in the least, he had an almost uncannily crisp diction, the clear and sophisticated accent like something out of a film. Doppio’s own Italian was embarrassingly provincial, an issue that the Boss had gently raised with him a few times before. He’d been working on beating the kinks out of it, trying to mirror the Boss’s own precise and neutral pronunciation and to quell the little dips and snags of bucolic unsophistication that flared up when he wasn’t paying attention. He had been comforting himself that it wasn’t easy; even the Boss, when he was anxious or hurried or frustrated, tended to slip out of his refined intonation. 

“You flatter me. I’ve always thought that it would be wonderful to visit- Ah.” He smiled again, tipping his glass slightly. “I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I invited you all the way over here and started chattering away and I haven’t even formally introduced myself. You see, I really am quite uncouth.” 

“It’s, it’s alright.” Doppio found himself smiling back. 

“My manners are so out of practice.” He leaned back in his chair, swirling his glass. “You may call me DIO.” 

“Dio,” Doppio mumbled, realising that he was staring and glancing aside. “Nice to meet you. I’m, uh…”

“Giuseppe Bucatini.” He could still hear the smile in the words.

“Yes. That’s right.” Doppio was glad he wasn’t making eye contact. It was always so embarrassing to forget his fake names. 

“It doesn’t suit you.” He risked another look. The man was considering his wine. “Forgive me, but I feel a name should match the soul behind it. Giuseppe… that’s the Italian equivalent of Joseph, isn’t it?” His smile, to Doppio’s eyes, looked a little sharper and a lot colder. “No, that doesn’t suit you at all.” 

“Oh. Um, I’m sorry?” Doppio tried to laugh, taking a sip of wine.

“It is not your fault. Perhaps we can think of something better. Friends do give each other nicknames, don’t they?”

“Friends?”

“Yes.” Dio’s eyes, dark but with a kind of gemstone internal brightness, caught Doppio and held him. “I think we should be friends, don’t you? Two people far from their homes in a strange land, it would be far too lonely to be without a friend.”

“A… friend?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t you like a friend?”

[apocalypsewriters]

I posted 423 times in 2022

46 posts created (11%)

377 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ambersky0319

@writing-is-a-martial-art

@enchanted-lightning-aes

@ashen-crest

@ellierenae

I tagged 406 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#chaos queue - 208 posts

#others work - 39 posts

#writeblr - 18 posts

#my writing - 18 posts

#ask - 17 posts

#ask game - 15 posts

#writing positivity - 14 posts

#good soup - 14 posts

#a quest of cards and calamity wip - 13 posts

#writing resources - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 121 characters

#this does happen prior to the main narrative so he knows his stance on attraction and relationships as much as anyone can

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

A/N: After about a month and a half wait, I have finally plucked up the courage to post part 2!! After this there are only 3 more sections and if i feel like breaking some hearts, an alternate ending

prev ; next

Part II: Catch

Bella tugged at her hood. Despite knowing it concealed her face well with the deep shadow created in the dim light, she needed something to do with her hands and hoped it would be succinct and subtle enough to not be noteworthy.

She jumped as Manic Alchemist spoke, ripping her hands away and tucking them together in her lap. He sat halfway across the room from her, legs crossed and leaning against an ebony high backed chair that screamed try-hard villain. “This is a surprisingly impromptu meeting for you,” he said, smooth and undaunted. Anyone who heard about him before actually hearing him was always surprised by the disconnect between his diction and his voice - a teenager with the everyday language of a college lecture. 

“Well,” Bella, the Crimson Programmer, said, fumbling. She was always terrible at lying with short notice. Twisting the finger of her new glove with her bare hand, she continued, “Sometimes I worry about you, squirt. Your ego took quite the beating this weekend. Maybe you need more of my tech to supplement your talents.” With a quiet pop as the Crimson Programmer squeezed her wrists, hidden capsules released a swarm of Crimson Nanites into the room. Perhaps her fiddling could pass the movement off as a nervous gesture.

Meanwhile, Manic Alchemist bristled at her jab. “Thank you for the offer,” he said, “but I don’t have the budget for any upgrades at the moment. You have a steep price.”

The Crimson Programmer forced lightness into her voice, saying, “Come on. Isn’t it worth it for the fee? I’m top of the line. You were lucky to find me.” She was desperately stalling for time. The cluttered room would increase travel time for the nanites. Disguised by her hood and minimal self control keeping her head trained on Manic Alchemist, her eyes sporadically flickered from the bots to him. Distantly she wondered what Zach would think. He obviously assumed she would use the glove she showed him, maybe other equipment she’d developed in his company, to apprehend a B-list villain. Theoretically, she could, but it was just so much easier to use her nanites. She was using the latest version, 6.3, which was exclusively for her personal use, since it was still in beta and far too dangerous and useful to put in anyone else’s hands. Besides, she deserved to treat herself with one of a kind new toys every once in a while. 

“Maybe,” Manic Alchemist said, breaking through her train of thought. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I have no money to spare! As you said so subtly, my attack this weekend failed, so everything I risked was lost.” Lights began flickering at the edge of the room; he was getting dangerously ticked off. While his anger would make him less observant, it would dramatically increase his likelihood of storming off or driving her out, and that would doom the easy picking he served as one of her more docile contacts.

“Don’t worry,” she said, trying to smooth over his frustration. “You can get new equipment on credit. Interest rates are very low, especially for regular high-paying customers like you, and I already have some updates planned for what you’ve purchased from me already.”

Manic Alchemist drummed his fingers on the sliver of free space at the table he sat at and said simply, “Perhaps.” The heat had drained from him, but his outburst had left both of them on edge, tense in biting, barely sustained diplomacy. 

At the prompting of a beep updating the Crimson Programmer on the Nanites’ progress, she jumped in. “Say that you did get the updates. For a reduced price, even. What would you do then?” She hoped the usual tactic of getting the Alchemist to talk about himself would be distraction enough. He loved gloating, even if he would never  admit it. Thankfully for his own sake, he only did it in secure spaces where he was sure no one would interrupt the schemes he revealed. Though amusing, it was embarrassing to watch villains monologue in front of heroes that would then effortlessly defeat them after the villains revealed their plans. 

Slowly at first, almost as though skepticism and tension from earlier was holding him back, Manic Alchemist began talking, which quickly became ranting, about his grand plans. He continued speaking while the Crimson Programmer barely paid attention to him as she glanced constantly at her overengineered watch that was receiving updates about the Nanites’ status. It was agonizing, watching them creep across the room, hindered by Manic Alchemist’s mess. They flickered in and out of sight, climbing the wreckage of experiments, hiding behind trash cans littering the floor, avoiding piles of unidentifiable goo. There was no clock on the wall, so the Crimson Programmer was certain time was flowing slower than molasses, taunting her with the potential of failure. What if he saw the nanites crawling across the room? Surely he would with their snail-like pace. 

Finally, finally, they reached Manic Alchemist’s scuffed and stained boots. So as to not make their presence immediately obvious, the Crimson Programmer tore her eyes away from the bots and forced herself to look Alchemist in the face without cringing away from the possibility of eye contact. Her subtly inclined head might tip him off otherwise. 

Now sitting forward, his black eyes glittered with passion, frenzy, delight, as he monologued about his ambitions for tearing apart chunks of the city. It was impossible to tune back into what Manic Alchemist said, so the Programmer just watched his hands fly, darting out and mimicking patrol routes and flight paths and explosions. It was strangely endearing. Absently, she wondered how she ended up working so closely on a regular basis with teenagers. One of his hands abruptly stilled and jerked to his scalp. Risking a glance at her watch, the Crimson Programmer saw the bots were almost in place. Manic Alchemist’s fingers continued to reach towards the Nanites. A few more millimeters and the plan would fall apart. 

There were no contingencies for her to fall back on.

“Hey!” the Crimson Programmer said, lurching forward and brandishing her glove-clad hand in his face. “You should see my newest project.”

Manic Alchemist froze, dropping his hands away from his head and leaning farther forward, eyes narrowed, intrigued. The Crimson Programmer barely withheld a sigh of relief. If he suspected anything from her interruption, he held back, likely his curiosity triumphing over any other trains of thought. Impatiently, he waved his hand in her direction, prompting her to continue.

“You see, there are chips in the fingers with wireless probes that detect and hijack electrical currents,” explained the Crimson Programmer. “The signals feed through the wires…” She trailed off, waiting for him to catch on, hoping the time he took to connect the dots would be enough for the Crimson Nanites to lock in position.

“And you can take control of whatever you’re holding with the glove. That’s brilliant!” Manic Alchemist said after a few seconds, sounding impressed, for once. Technology wasn’t his strong suit, and he was loathe to admit his shortcomings. 

“Thank you.”

“Aren’t you going to elaborate?”

“No,” the Crimson Programmer said as her watch buzzed, signaling the Nanites were in place. “I don’t need to stall for time anymore.”

“What? So none of your offers… What have you done?” Manic Alchemist said, panicking. His face was pale and strikingly obvious in the gloomy light. She had never seen him so unsettled, so scared.

“I'm sorry. Good night, my friend,” she said, the last two words dripping with mockery. With that, the Crimson Programmer pressed the capsules on her wrists again. Manic Alchemist stiffened, spasming once as his nervous system was tapped into, and collapsed bonelessly into his chair. If her ambitions weren’t on the line, she would have pitied his helpless form. “You were just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

prev ; next

8 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

#4

encouraged by @pagesofcursive and spurred on by my own brainrot for my new characters, here’s a short story inspired by a combination of one word september prompts from @nosebleedclub 

the words were dead insects, spear, and hero, with cuckoo from here

The shrill cry of infants made it hard for Cuckoo to be heard. At least their cries drowned out the discomfort of the hoard in front of her. That afternoon, Cuckoo had been put in charge of seven children; whether they belonged to her parents or her aunts and uncles, she didn’t know. It didn’t really matter, at this point. They were all her responsibility to keep out of trouble — no getting hurt and no getting in the way. Cuckoo herself should have been looked after at the tender age of five and two thirds, but her unfortunate streak of independence had left her caring for the toddlers.

Sighing with too much world weariness, Cuckoo grabbed a dead beetle from the corner of the room. It was brittle and almost turning to dust in her fingers, its wings papery and shattered. It likely starved to death in a home that had barely enough food for the people living in it, let alone pests. She crammed a tiny twig into one of its claws, wrinkling her nose when the claw broke before trying the other. Unfazed by the sheer grime on the floor, she swept up a pile of dead ants behind the beetle armed with a spear. Directly across from the necromancer general and his hoard of undead soldiers, Cuckoo set up a dragonfly with only three wings. She outfitted the brave warrior with two spears, making it a much more helpful and willing toy combatant.

Cuckoo loosed a piercing whistle, drawing the attention of the smaller children, who were breaking from the listless staring and beginning to wander off. Just in time she began her tale, swooping up the opposing warriors in grimy fists.

“Once upon a time, there was a great but tragic hero facing off against an army that took all his red bean paste…”

Many years later...

Hands cradling the back of Cuckoo’s neck and propping up her head where she lay on the ground, Cuckoo gazed into the middle distance. Her attention shifted to staring up at the insects dancing with motes of sparks on the fire, riding the hot gusts of air. Her companions rested nearby, warmed by the fire. It was quiet, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or rustle of a lizard in grass. Flying near the hypnotic lick of flames, the bugs reminded her of evenings in the mud and fallen spices of her home.

Cuckoo wished she could say she missed it. Her home life was stifling, though, and her talents were wasted in that squalor. She missed the guarantee of love from a family, but what was love compared to glory.

On a quest of her own, fighting battles of her own, Cuckoo wondered. Was she now a hero with beetle wings and a weapon of leaves and twigs?

8 notes - Posted September 12, 2022

#3

See the full post

9 notes - Posted November 25, 2022

#2

A Pile of Sticks and Leaves

A/N: I was inspired by someone’s snippet of writing, but it’s been a while so I don’t remember who it was. Thank you for sparking this bundle of awkwardness that is my three babis trying to show affection

Summary: Zach decides Bella and Freddie are starved of affection and it’s his responsibility to correct that

Muscles screaming, Bella sank to the floor, leaning against the beaten-up sofa that still smelled funky even after hosing it into oblivion. She sighed heavily, head tipping back to rest on the seat of the couch, and tried to make herself comfortable but was thwarted by the low angle she sat at. The top of the sofa seemed too far away to move to.

Her eyes drifted shut momentarily, but they snapped open when Zach set his head on her thigh. Stiffening, Bella leveled a scalding glare at him but was exhausted beyond the point of caring to make him move. He met her gaze unflinchingly, cheek pillowed on her leg. A beat, then another. Breaking eye contact, having finished his assessment of her, Zach shifted, rolled, stood. Bella’s eyes followed where his feet pointed; Freddie sat peacefully on the fraying armchair in the corner of the room, which was in line with the kitchen, reading his recently liberated comic. A few weeks ago, after claiming the chair as solely his own, he had dragged it over to its current position to pick at half-prepared food and watch Bella cook. He claimed his new view was to make sure she wouldn’t kill him with terrible cooking. He was lying.

Zach stalked over to where Freddie was curled up. He leaned down. Freddie startled. Murmuring in Freddie’s ear, he waited for a nod, grabbed a slip of paper from the closest part of the dinged-up kitchen bench, slotted it into Freddie’s page in the comic, and slid the comic onto the bench. Perched in the same position, Freddie side-eyed Zach, making no move even as his hand was taken and tugged at. Intrigued, Bella watched on. Zach, his face blank and eyes bright, pulled more insistently. Still, Freddie didn’t budge. Having lost his patience, Zach huffed, stooped down, and effortlessly scooped Freddie up, who squawked indignantly. Tiredness made it easy for Bella to feign indifference as a smirk played at the edges of her mouth.

“Put me down!”

“Just give me a second.” Zach’s expression grew strained as he tried not to drop Freddie who writhed desperately in his grip. Reaching Bella, he tucked Freddie into her side. At the contact, the pair went immediately rigid. They would have made a good foundation for a campfire. “There, see?” Zach said, somewhat triumphant.

As Freddie overcame his shock he made to stand up. His escape attempt was foiled by Zach who had resumed his position on Bella’s lap and thrown an arm across Freddie’s chest. Groaning, Freddie settled stiffly back into his spot.

The fridge sputtered in its whirring across the room. Across the room, a hung-up shirt whispered to the floor as it succumbed to gravity. Silence stretched through the room. Chewing the inside of his cheek, Freddie mulled over the four conflicting angles disrupting the contact between his left side and Bella’s right. Zach’s arm went limp over his middle, pale fingers brushing his forearm. Not daring to move, Freddie flicked his eyes over to where Zach lay. He was twisted awkwardly over Bella’s legs, one hand over hers, laying on his back with his right shoulder draped over her knees to reach his frustratingly long arm around Freddie. Heart clenching strangely, Freddie dropped his head onto Bella’s shoulder and attempted to slump down to match her posture. It made his back hurt but, regardless, he continued.

Feeling Freddie relax, if oddly, Zach smiled and readjusted. He gave Bella’s hand an apologetic squeeze and began repositioning himself. Now he lay almost parallel to her, his upper back over her legs, curving one arm up towards Freddie. In silent acknowledgment of Zach’s gesture, Freddie laced a few fingers through his, eyes squeezed shut and eyebrows pinched but otherwise wearing a serene expression. Bella’s hand drifted to lay on his shoulder and Zach smiled lazily.

He hadn’t done this since Ethan. Just sitting together in semi-comfortable silence, as your breathing was a little too loud, but so was everyone else’s, which made it okay. Your joints would get stiff after a while, but it was worth it to just exist close to each other. You could stop running, stop hiding, and just be. Just lie with people you cared about, all in a pile, seated on the cold concrete floor of a stranger’s basement, surrounded by things you made, things you found, things you treasured.

17 notes - Posted May 2, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I’m a writer. I can’t spell

49 notes - Posted February 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[juiimoutoreblogs]

So the tags said “in the manga he says ‘person’” but he actually also said that in the anime! In fact, the translator for the subtitle was called out for it and was being annoying ab it afterward, despite the fact that changing the diction of this scene makes it seem like he’s in love with Tsumiki(his sister) instead of communicating that that specific trait of hers (and of Yuuji’s, most notably and ironically) is a quality he’s attracted to.

Also! Unshakable character is one way to translate this, but notably he says yuruginai ningensei. Yuruginai means firm or steady, so unshakeable or unwavering is a good translation.

Now, ningensei is human character. It can mean personality, but more likely than that, it’s personhood. It’s the quality of being human.

So yeah, Yuuji meaning Unwavering Humanity and his line being “as long as they have Yuruginai Ningensei—Unwavering Humanity…”

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk where I nerd out about Japanese

[likablog2]

Exploring the deep nuances in the 35th selected work of Denny Ja: “Apart from the bomb, I call your name in silence”

In the long journey of his career, Denny Ja has produced many works that inspire and photograph life. One of his latest works that attract attention is “Apart from the bomb, I call your name in silence.” In this article, we will explore the deep nuances in this 35th Denny JA selected work.    With deep and emotional words, Denny JA invites the reader to enter a different world through this latest work. Through a short story full of imagination and philosophy, it succeeded in describing the complexity of humans and daily life in a unique way.    “Apart from the bomb, I call your name in silence,” Denny JA uses rich and beautiful language to describe complicated and deep feelings. He is able to describe the excitement, pain, and doubt very clearly, so that the reader can feel the emotions set forth in each word.    One of the interesting things about this work is the use of a smart and interesting metaphor. Denny Ja uses a metaphor to describe the situation and feelings that are difficult to express directly. This enriches the meaning of the story and provides a deeper reading experience for the reader.    In addition, Denny Ja also uses a typical and stylish writing style. He chose words carefully and used the right diction to create the desired atmosphere in the story. Thus, he managed to create a strong and attractive narrative for the reader.    In this elected work, Denny Ja also succeeded in describing social and political life with a unique perspective. He describes complex and confusing reality in an unusual way. Through his short story, he invited the reader to reflect on the problems that exist in society and find a better solution.    Not only that, Denny Ja also managed to show his sensitivity to environmental problems and sustainability. He raised important issues such as natural damage and climate change, as well as giving a strong message about the importance of protecting and protecting our nature.    In his conclusion, “Apart from the bomb, I call your name in silence” is a stunning and charming work. Denny Ja managed to explore a deep nuance in this chosen work using rich language, a distinctive writing style, and a smart metaphor. Through his short story, he is able to describe the complexity of humans and daily life in a unique way. This work also invites readers to reflect on the social and environmental problems that are around us. In this fast -paced era, a work like this is very valuable because it reminds us of the importance of slowing down and reflecting on life.

Check more: Exploring the nuances of deep nuances in the 35th selected work of Denny JA: “Apart from the bomb, I call your name in silence”

[fitaamel]

Why did Denny JA’s selected work in 31: “Choosing a quiet world” worth reading?  

In the world of Indonesian literature, the name Denny JA is familiar. As an experienced writer and is also active in the world of politics, the work of Denny JA is always dinunted by his fans. One of his latest works, "Choosing a Lonely World" succeeded in becoming one of the chosen works in the Denny JA 311 event. The question is, why is this work worth reading? This article will discuss why "choosing a quiet world" should be studied and appreciated. 1. Interesting plot "Choosing a Lonely World" presents a very interesting plot. This story tells the story of a young man named Arman, who lives in the middle of a dense life and full of limitations. Arman has the desire to explore a wider world, but is trapped in his daily routine. This story illustrates Arman's journey to find the true meaning of life and find answers to questions that haunts him. 2. Submission of a deep message One of the advantages of Denny JA as a writer is his ability to convey a deep message through his story. In "Choosing a Lonely World", Denny JA explores themes about loneliness and void in modern life. Through Arman's journey, the reader is invited to reflect on the meaning of life, existence, and purpose of life. Denny JA succeeded in describing the complexity of the emotions and conflicts faced by the main character very well. 3. The deepest character Character character in "Choosing a Lonely World" is also very deepest. Denny JA provides sufficient space for readers to get to know the characters in this story. Each character has a unique background and journey of life, which makes them feel alive and real. This character also has a complex inner conflict, which makes the reader connect with them and feel the emotions they experience. 4. Use of attractive language style Denny Ja's language style in "choosing a quiet world" is very interesting. The use of a careful and crowded language makes the reader amazed and continue to be trapped in this story. Denny JA also uses variations in rich sentences and diction, which makes the story more lively and flow smoothly. The style of language used also strengthens the theme and atmosphere of the story, so that the reader can really be involved in this story. 5. Right Social Criticism In addition to presenting interesting stories, "Choosing a Lonely World" also provides the right social criticism. In this story, Denny JA describes modern life that is fast -paced and individualistic, which results in loneliness and void in individuals. Denny JA invites the reader to reflect on the negative impacts of life that is too busy and materialistic, and the importance of maintaining social and emotional relations with the people around us. Conclusion "Choosing a Lonely World" is one of Denny Ja's selected works that are worth reading. With an attractive plot, the delivery of deep messages, the deepest characters, interesting language styles, and the right social criticism, this work succeeded in presenting a charming and stunning story of the reader. Denny JA once again proves his expertise in writing and conveying a deep message through his story. For fans of literature and work of Denny Ja, "Choosing a Lonely World" is a reading that should not be missed.

Check more: Why did Denny JA's selected work 31: "Choosing a quiet world" worth reading?