#I could be named DOLPHIN ARTIST

[sapphic-squid]

“At least I was riding a dolphin” so would you say he was dolphin artist

[fluentmoviequoter]

request for dalton lambert and prompt 17?

congrats on 100 followers, your work is amazing <3

Thank you so much!! I hope you enjoy! :)

Warnings: fluff, established relationship, Dalton likes nicknames, teasing (with love). 0.7k+ words.

A/N: There are new Dalton gifs, so now I must write enough fics to use every single one of them (I don't make the rules).

100+ Followers Celebration Masterlist Here

Prompt 17: "Get your own nickname."

As you accompany Chris and Dalton back to the dorms, you listen to their bickering with a smile. Since you met Chris, you’ve never heard her call Dalton anything other than Dolphin. He doesn’t seem to mind the nickname, and since you’ve been dating almost as long as you’ve been at school, you feel that you’ve earned the right to call him something other than his name. Chris says she has plans and waves as she walks past the dorm. Dalton guides you to his room and lets you in, sighing as he sits at his desk and looks through his bag. You sit on his bed, watching his back, and decide to see how he reacts to a nickname.

“Well, looks like it’s just you and me for once. We could finally have another date night.” You can’t hide your smirk as you ask, “Right, Dolphin?”

Dalton freezes, then slowly turns to face you.

“What did you call me?” He asks quietly.

“Dolphin.”

“Come here.”

You stand, then take a dramatic step to stand by Dalton. He looks up at you from his chair, cocking his head as his jaw ticks.

“What’s wrong?”

“You called me Dolphin.”

“Yeah,” you agree, nodding as you rest your hands on Dalton’s shoulders. “Is that a problem?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” You pull your hands back and put a little distance between you and him. “I’m sorry, I just thought, you know, Chris calls you that and I didn’t know you had a problem with it.”

“I need you to do something,” he interjects, leaning forward to close the gap you created. You nod, which he takes as an agreement, and makes his request. “One, don’t apologize. Two, don’t ever call me Dolphin again. It’s not a problem when Chris does it and I’m not mad at you or anything, but…”

“You don’t like me to call you that,” you finish quietly.

He grabs your hips, pulls you back into your original position, then raises your hands to his shoulders. When he has you where he wants you, he looks back up to you and smiles.

“Get your own nickname,” he demands.

“That’s your problem? You want me to give you a pet name?” You ask with an incredulous laugh.

“Absolutely,” Dalton confirms seriously, nodding.

“Fine.” You bend over slightly to look into his eyes. “Baby, honey, handsome, love, puppy, stud muffin, darling, handsome.”

With each nickname you suggest, Dalton's smile grows, and his face inches closer to yours. When you see he’s about to kiss you, you stand up so he can’t reach you. Removing your hands from his shoulders, you begin walking backward to the door and watch as he pouts.

“Cupcake, cookie, cowboy, prince, lovebug,” you add a name with each step back. “Which one do you like?”

“It’s your nickname. You get to choose,” Dalton says, watching you closely.

You nod and raise a hand to your chin, tapping your finger against it as you pace in front of his door.

“What if I like Dolphin?” you ask, looking over.

“Not your nickname.”

“Raphael?”

“The ninja turtle?” Dalton asks, his surprise overpowering his previous emotions.

“No, the artist.”

“Oh. If that’s what you like.”

“I hate it.”

“Me too," Dalton agrees, relief in his voice.

You laugh as you sit on the far end of Dalton’s bed, collapsing onto it. “So, Chris’s is a play on your name. Dalty?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Daltinator.”

“That’s somehow worse.”

You hear him take a step, and then the bed sinks beside you. As he reaches his hand toward you, you have another idea.

“Lamby, or Lambo? For your last name.”

Dalton is silent, and his hand hovers above your leg. You look to the side and see him staring at the wall.

“Dalton?”

“Those are workable,” he says, letting his hand fall to your leg.

“You like them,” you accuse playfully.

Dalton shrugs and moves closer to you.

“My next one was muffin,” you add as you close your eyes.

“Why?”

“Hungry.”

Dalton laughs and offers to take you to dinner, but you decline and roll over to face him.

“Let’s stay in tonight, Lamby, I wanna see if you blush every time I say it or just the first few.”

[dumbkiri]

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓨𝓸𝓾 2

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ: ᴘʜᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴀʟʟ

ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ x ꜰᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

[Name] is forced in a shitty situation to once again transform Kaiser, but this time in his prime age. Riko misses important messages and phone calls from her sister. She's soooo dead.

You were growing concerned. Riko wasn’t answering her phone and neither was Kuroi. Your leg was bouncing up and down from the nerves and you were picking at your nails trying to calm yourself down. You had called Riko 6 times and you messaged her 27 times! Riko couldn’t be ignoring you, she knows that she has to check in with you periodically. 

You had sent her a picture of the concert tickets to go see Ado with a message saying, I hope you’re ready to party this weekend. You never really listened to the artist and only got the tickets because Riko never stopped talking about Ado this and Ado that. You saved up your money from the missions to get tickets and now that you finally got them, you were hoping for an excited response. 

Riko, if you don’t respond to me in the next hour. I will send Kaiser to hunt your ass down. 

The hour was coming up and you sat on the half wall near a river with a bottle of water next to you. It had been half empty for the past half hour and you clenched your hands to control your anger. Kaiser was swimming in the water like a serpent then he would dive in and breach the water like a dolphin. 

You couldn’t relax. Questions regarding Riko’s health and her whereabouts were filtering in your head. She should be in school by now. Was it her choir class? It was possible that she didn’t have her phone because of her classes. That still left you with Kuroi ignoring your messages. 

You couldn’t think more about it because the person to your right appeared out of nowhere with a sentence that sent chills down your spine.  

“You have an interesting cursed technique.” 

Swiftly, you created a safe distance from the voice that spoke to you in peculiar interest. You wasted no time to put up your barrier and Kaiser jumped to your aid. His eyes glowing an orange color matching your own. 

The man that spoke was definitely older than you and physically stronger. Yet he exuded no curse energy. How was it that he could see Kaiser? He was extremely fast as well. It was no doubt a Heavenly Pact and you had no way to counter him if he fought you. 

Kaiser’s growl caught your attention and you saw the baby dragon getting into a defensive position. You could tell that this man was extremely dangerous to your guy's wellbeing. 

“Who the hell are you?” You demanded glaring at the unusually attractive man. 

The man smirked and a gross purple worm curse appeared wrapping around his body. “Well I’m going to be the dragon slayer now,” He chuckled and pulled out a sword from the worm’s mouth, “Toji Fushiguro.” 

“Blue.” You strategically used a Commandment and a mix of orange and blue swirled in your eyes. This was going to be a hard fought battle that you needed to get out of. Your phone buzzed in your pocket and the man gestured to it, keeping that smirk on his handsome face. 

“You should get that. It could be your little sister.”

“What?” You asked perturbed. 

His fingers flexed on the handle of the sword and he spoke again, “Come on, you have to know about the money. Headline reads: Amanai Sisters Wanted Dead for 60 million yen. 30 for each of you, it’s a nice prize. Although it seems I’m the first one to challenge you.” You didn’t let his information make you falter. Riko must have been the one to be calling you. 

Yet she hadn’t been answering your calls for a while. It could be possible that she was captured already and her captors were calling to negotiate something with you. You cleared your head and focused back on your situation. You had no faith that Riko was alright, so you had two choices. End this fight quickly or run away. 

Kaiser could be transformed into an adult again, yet the amount of cursed energy it would take would burn across your body like wildfire. You had to come out of this situation alive. You didn’t need to be healthy, you only needed to be breathing. It didn’t matter the pain you would suffer through as long as you aged up Kaiser. 

“Because it’s a stupid mistake to challenge the Shinigami,” You sneered and a puff of black smoke covered Kaiser's body. There was a searing pain starting from your chest that began to spread out towards your body. It burned so much yet you continued on with your task. Your hands formed a diamond shape in front of your mouth and you casted out a technique. 

“Red.” 

You blew into the diamond and fire spewed out towards Toji Fushiguro. He smirked at the powerful attack and dodged it with insane speed. This created a huge distance between you and him. 

This attack allowed time for Kaiser to emerge from the smoke in his final form. His pearlescent wings had spread out wide about 150 feet and his neck slipped out of the smoke with a terrifying, bloodthirsty look in his rainbow colored eyes. His long snout dipped low as he analyzed Toji Fushiguro; the enemy to his master. 

His pointy mouth opened up slightly and liquid fire started to drip out to his chin down to the floor. The fire hissed when making contact with the floor displaying how hot it was. The two horns on top of his head curved towards his spiny back and his tail swished about high in the air. His chest and belly had rows and rows of hardened scales allowing him to be impenetrable from physical attacks. 

A rumble vibrated in Kaiser’s chest and he flapped his wings at Toji shooting a ball of fire at the crazy man. Quickly, you climbed onto Kaiser’s back and looked over his shoulder to see Toji adorning that psychotic smirk on his face. 

“You’re not so bad. I can tell you have a hold of your cursed technique.” 

“Is that so?” You patronizingly asked the man below you. 

Toji chuckled and replied back, “Your dragon was a baby seconds ago. My employer told me that you reverted him earlier today. That was the whole point as to why I decided to attack you now. I thought you would be drained from the amount of cursed energy you exhausted today. Yet here you are, perched on a big ass dragon like you own the world. I have a feeling you won’t disappoint me.” 

Your skin peeled back as the burning increased all around your body. You were lucky enough that the uniform you wore covered the freshly inflicted wounds. Unfortunately, the fabric was melting into your skin. That must have been the only reason why Toji Fushiguro was hesitant to attack you full on. His fangs were always pointed towards the strongest, but he knows all of your techniques. Your rainbow colored eyes matched that of your dragon meaning you both were attuned to one another. 

The fight would have been different if your eyes were just orange, blue and red. 

“Laika, Kaiser,” You commanded the fearsome dragon and he did as he was told. He turned to the side and his claws dug into the cement floor. Then he turned his back on the man and took a running start down the riverbank. 

In a last ditch effort, Toji jumped at you with his weapon of choice high in the air. “Where are you-” Toji began to ask you, not aware of how quick Kaiser could be. Despite his slow start of a run, his tail was swift in retaliation. Kaiser never left his master unguarded, especially with her back turned. His spiky tail flicked up and smacked the left side of Toji’s body. 

Toji’s body was slapped into the river with a huge splash. Hearing that sound made Kaiser let out a chuff of satisfaction. You looked down at the ripples of the water when Kaiser took flight into the clear blue sky. Your eyes relaxed and you commemorated your dragon on his attack, “You always had very good reflexes, Kai.” 

He let off a deep roar echo in the sky to show his authority. 

….

Riko was afraid. Her sister had called her so many times and messaged even more! The picture of the concert tickets were exciting, but the last message of a threat was pretty terrifying. One time Kaiser did pick her up without any notice…just straight into the air she went crying crocodile tears. 

Anyways, the young girl tried reaching her sister ten times, but it went to voicemail each time. This was all yesterday and she hadn’t received word back from her sister. Until the boys convinced her to go to the beach and have fun there. Riko was sitting down in the shade tired from playing in the water when her phone began ringing with the song “Usseewa” playing. 

‘This was the ringtone for [Name]!’ Riko cheered and scrambled to get her phone out of the bag. She answered so fast and tried explaining why she couldn’t answer yesterday. 

“Ah! [Name]! I am so sorry I didn’t answer you sooner! I just been-“ 

“Riko, is Kuroi with you?” You interrupted, using a reversed technique to heal the burns over your body. You probably shouldn’t have forced Kaiser to age up after reverting him. Yet desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Riko looked over at Kuroi who was conversing with Gojo and Geto. You didn’t sound too well and she ran over to her caretaker to put you on speaker. 

Kuroi, Geto and Gojo looked at her as she stuck her phone out so everyone could hear your voice. 

“Yeah, she’s with me now. Is everything okay, you don’t sound too good.” 

“There’s a bounty on our head. I need you to…to get somewhere safe.” You held in a bloody cough and fell deeper into Kaiser's warm body. You had finished peeling your clothes off your body with your teeth biting onto your tongue. Kaiser had helped out a lot with your jacket by tugging it off in one sweep earlier. 

You may have let out a string of curses when he did so.

Riko looked up at the trio with worry in her dark blue eyes. Something was wrong, you never sounded this weak before. 

“[Name], where are you? Is everything okay?” Riko asked again and she flinched when she heard you coughing over the phone and wheezing in pain. Your shout made her jump in fear. 

“Listen to me!” Your throat was hoarse from all the coughing, “You don’t…you don’t have a lot of time! I need you to get somewhere safe! Kaiser will protect me while I recover and when I do…I’m coming for you. So for now, just listen.” 

Riko subconsciously nodded her head and told you, “Alright, I’m here with-” 

Gojo slipped a hand over Riko’s mouth while Geto shook his head, mouthing the words, “Don’t mention us!”. Riko stared at them with her eyes furrowed and she pushed Gojo’s hand off her mouth. 

“Who else is with you? What does he look like?” You sat up and Kaiser purred at you. The dragon sniffed your hair as you stood up with a groan.  

“He?!” Riko shouted, she didn’t know you were that much of a psychic! Kuroi stepped up and calmly defused the situation, “Don’t worry, [Name]. I’m pretty sure Riko is in shock right now. You sound like you’re in terrible pain. It…it’s making us worry.” 

You had to be truthful to make them aware of the dire situation. “I was attacked by a man who had no cursed energy. His name is Toji Fushiguro and super attractive, you won’t miss a guy who looks like him. Furthermore, there is a bounty out for Riko like what I stated earlier. Every group in Jujutsu is coming after us and I’m in a pretty bad shape, so I’m going to call my friends to bring you to my school. From there, I will protect you and  figure out what I need to do next. If I have to kill everyone who gets in my way, I will do it.”

Riko was stumped. A man with no cursed energy had hurt you? “I don’t understand, big sister. You have Kaiser, why are you injured?” 

“Because my idiot principal and idiot friends convinced me to revert him to a baby.” You hissed while Kaiser licked your wounded back with his slimy tongue. His saliva had healing properties and it worked faster than your reversed technique. “I had to force Kaiser to transform into his final stage. His cursed energy burned all across my body, but we made it out alive.” 

Riko shook her head and shouted at the phone, “What kind of friends would make you become vulnerable?! Who are they?! When I meet them, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!” 

Kuroi nervously looked over her shoulder at the teen boys and they both whistled with their hands stuffed into their pockets. The older woman knew your friends were these boys by the way they stopped Riko from mentioning them. 

“You are going to meet them soon because they are the ones that are going to escort you back to the school. One is a guy who can eat curses, pretty gross in my opinion and I’m sure he thinks the same way too. His hair would be in a bun or something and his name is Geto Suguru.” 

Riko looked up from the phone and at Suguru in complete shock.

“The next guy…he’s a pain in the ass, that’s all I got to say about him. His name is Gojo Satoru. Oh yeah, he wears round glasses. It’s easy to take notice of this duo.” 

“Big sister, do you trust these guys to keep me safe?” Riko asked with a tremor in her voice. Suguru and Satoru were astounded by the young girl’s question. She had trusted them to give her fun last days, but now she was looking at them with weary eyes. 

“Of course, I do.” You said with a soft smile, “They’re my best friends. They wouldn’t do anything to harm you.”

“I know they’re your friends, but they hurt you,” Riko said, “and now you’re putting me in their care. Why can’t you just send Kaiser my way and he can get Kuroi and I?” 

You hummed and looked at your body, it was mostly healed from the burns. But you were exhausted and hiding in an abandoned warehouse. “I’m sorry, Riko. I can’t do that now, sending Kaiser over to you will get me killed if another sorcerer finds me. I promise,  Suguru and Satoru will deliver you to me.”

Riko wiped her eyes and clenched the phone tighter in her hand. To the young Amanai, this conversation felt like the last one she would have with her big sister. There was a force that pushed her to say more on the phone. Yet she didn’t have the guts to do it. Instead, Riko sucked it in and said her goodbye, 

“I will see you soon, big sister.” 

“Of course. I love you, Riko.” 

“I love you too. Bye…” Riko stared at her screen and with a shaky thumb ended the call. Then she looked over at the duo telling them to listen to her last request, “Take me to the school.”

......................

.............

.......

[pets-will-play-ask-blog]

Everyone, what was your dream career growing up? Ever had any astronaut / veterinarian / dolphin trainer phase? Alternatively for the Pets, what was the ideal person you envisioned would adopt you?

Eli: I don't really know. I wanted to do something with Pets, for sure. So I just kinda fell into what my dad was doing.

JJ: Uhhhh usual little boy stuff, I guess. Astronaut, cop, pro wrestler. Never really had any goals for a career. I don't even really need one, my parents just insist I "make a name for myself." It's whatever.

Keanu: Artist.

Noah: Yeah, so actually my "ideal owner" shattered my dreams and has caused me nothing but suffering for the past three years. So I don't really believe in dreams anymore.

Dawn: When I was little, I just wanted someone nice who would give me lots of treats and compliments. Now I want someone who will (a sudden, long, monotone beeping noise drowns out her words, as they would not be safe for tumblr) :)

Melody: Truthfully, I always hoped I'd end up an assistant for a movie or pop star. Or a traveling CEO. Someone with an exciting life I could watch from afar.

[losrtphu]

LUNA SEA B-PASS 1996 21 Q&A [TRANS]

PART 2

original scan

link to part 1

What's a dream that you've had recently?

RYUICHI: I had a dream where i was put on fire. i was on the rooftop of a building and i was talking to the sky and a random guy came and burned off my left arm.

SUGIZO: I don't remember.. i have a lot of dreams though.

INORAN: When we we're recording i was asleep dreaming about arranging songs.

J: I'm still dreaming now. I'm a boy who's always dreaming (laughs)

SHINYA: I always dream when i go to sleep so i don't know (laughs)

How would you describe what God is?

RYUICHI: Someone who knows everything

SUGIZO: God is the creator of everything, and all knowing. but his form might be all humans as well.

INORAN: ...I wonder where he could be

J: God's real form...i feel like it would be something inside all of us not a figure like Christ or Buddha

SHINYA: Something that is really important/precious. i have a really strong sense of faith so I've never missed hatsumoude (first shrine visit of the year).

What is something that lasts forever?

RYUICHI: I still haven't found it.

SUGIZO: The idea of space. but there might not be anything that lasts forever, but on my level of thinking i would say space

INORAN:hmm... i would definitely say love

J: That is something that I've always been searching for

SHINYA: Something that is endless would have to mean that it's something that you have to pursue but i guess that would also make it impossible to reach.

How do you spend most of your nights and from what hours?

RYUICHI: The time that i do spend in my house is very short. around 12pm i take a bath, have dinner, watch a video on cars. yea i probably do those the most.

SUGIZO: I am always up until the sun comes.

INORAN: I turn the TV because there's always something always going on , but by 4am I'll definitely have NO energy

J: Around after 12pm I'm usually drinking and rolling on my sofa listening to music.

SHINYA: I space out while thinking about a bunch of stuff, while watching TV.

Favorite 3 CDs that you've been listening to during this recording period（TN: genuinely thought i was going insane because only shinya names CDs, everyone else just names the artist for some reason???)

RYUICHI: I haven't had any to listen to recently. I've kind of stopped listening to CDs.

SUGIZO: what I've been listening to is "ICE" and "DREAM DOLPHIN", but "TRICKY" has been my favorite since last year

INORAN: There's quite a lot so i cant pick what's my top 3, but i would probably say john Coltrane's album

J: Smashing pumpkins, Silverchair and John Osborne (TN: I'm guessing he means Ozzy Osborne)

SHINYA: none. when recording i only listen to our music, if i were to say which, style, mother and Eden.

Whats the first thing or person that comes to your mind when i say "quiet/still" ?

RYUICHI: I know a woman who is the exact meaning of the word silent, if i were to say an object..maybe a clock and i would also say that the waves of the sea feel still.

SUGIZO: The moon. the thought of death. I feel that if something is quiet/still it is like death, and not in a negative way but in a beautiful way

INORAN: I don't know...i think stillness coexists with movement

J: Me... why are you laughing??(laughs)

SHINYA: I think i would say God. i feel like he has a very still/quiet image.

Name a moment in the past when you've been the most angry

RYUICHI: I get pissed off when I'm denied to live the way i want to.

SUGIZO: Betrayal in human relationships, there's so many people that i would kill if i met them again. 　

INORAN: I get angry often so i honestly don't know (laughs)

J: Around high-school because i had to suddenly decided my own future

SHINYA: At the Budokan live a typhoon blew away the set, i genuinely went insane. (TN:pretty sure this was also their first Budokan live)

Name something that you want right now

RYUICHI: I know perfect things don't exist, but i want an honest love

SUGIZO: Sometime for my mind to go blank.

INORAN: Endless time.

J: Myself, time to be alone as myself.

SHINYA: A medicine that that makes me able to be awake all the time, sleeping is just a waste of time.

Name a book/s that you read often

RYUICHI: I think i have a lot of car books, the books are western so they have a different feel.

SUGIZO: Phillip k.dick books.

INORAN: I don't read books.

J: A book called それから(TN: no Eng title but I'd translate this as "after that/and then") which is a collection of stories by Akemi Edo

SHINYA: The books that i have, have lately been collections of short poems, its more like "Oh i have nothing to do so I'll just read"

A person who has your ideal lifestyle

RYUICHI: No one, I guess that would mean that person is myself.

SUGIZO: Jim Morrison, or Mike Tyson. I think after he came out of prison his performance has been amazing.

INORAN: The life that I'm living right now is the most ideal.

J: Someone who doesn't give up no matter what life throws at them.

SHINYA: Someone who enjoys life, as in, no matter what they do they have fun, i think that's wonderful.

What makes you want to hug someone?

RYUICHI: I really love casual gestures. gestures that come out without knowing.

SUGIZO: When I love that person so much I can't help it.

INORAN: When i want to hug them.

J: There's lots of different cases so...i guess when i want to hug them (laughs)

SHINYA: After a performance. i can't explain it well but after I've used everything up/got everything out of my system i start to feel like i need to hug someone. (TN: proof -> 1:40 https://youtu.be/VAQ20Qoqgm0?si=QWOcF5rK2Md42-CF&t=101)

What do you think is a sin?

RYUICHI: I don't think anything outweighs the sin of lying to yourself.

SUGIZO: Betrayal, and also suicide.

INORAN: Betrayal.

J: Lying.

SHINYA: It's not something you can count, because living as a human at the core is a sin, if we can all live while being conscious of our actions i think the world would be a better place.

What have you lost recently?

RYUICHI: I think when you stop lying to yourself you have to make sacrifices....so there would also be a time where you have to lose friends or partners.

SUGIZO: Time (laughs)

INORAN: There are probably a lot of things I've lost, in order to gain something you need to lose something.

J: Nothing.

SHINYA: Even if i had lost something i don't really care, if I've gained something I've probably lost something in the process (laughs)

[ya-boi-haru]

Hey SMTO fandom! Amongst my time of cosplaying the characters (which you can watch here if you don't know my stuff) I did also do a genderswap au for a fun thing to continue doing the characters, but that was really it, however I'm about to reveal a project I never got around to working on...

✨️Seduce Me: Band AU✨️

I just recently remembered this, so I'm going to try and remember all the headcannons + add new ones, that I would have done!

James: Pianist, guitar + Band manager/agent, Lead vocal

Erik: Pianist, a little guitar, singer

Sam: Drums, guitar, back up singer

Matthew: base, back up singer, drums

Damien: learning: guitar, base, piano and vocals

Mika (mc): Singer

Diana: solo artist/singer

Saero: Diana's bodyguard

Suzu: Drums

Naomi: piano, harp

Andrew: piano

✨️Now headcannons✨️:

(Disclaimer: I'm not very knowledgeable on music stuffs so...)

• All the boys have tattoos, they all got a matching one of a heart with horns (the horns varying to what theirs look like in the game)

• Tattoos (not including the matching ones)

- James: tribal pattern around his lower torso, music notes

- Erik: Twisted rose vines with sharp thorns with blood drops

- Sam: Dragon on his back, demon circle on his shoulder, tribal patter on his front torso (to match his demon markings)

- Matthew: probably something colourful and kinda cute. A small simon tabby on his calf (he lost a bet)

- Damien: 4 music notes, each one drawn by a brother on his wrist

- Diana: Panther that looks like its coming out of her shoulder, Matching golden rose with Searo

• Piercings:

- James: (1)Earlobe double, helix, eyebrow

- Erik: Ears double, helix double, lip, nose, nipples

- Sam: Ears (double), helix ( double each), nose, tounge, lip (snakebite)

- Matthew: Ears, nose, helix (double)

- Damien: Ears (double), nose

- Diana: Ears, nipples, tounge

- Saero: Lip Dolphin bites, ear, helix

• Whenever Sam needs to vent out his feelings he takes it out on his drums, doing "practice sessions"

• All the brothers are teaching Damien how to play/sing since he wasn't allowed to learn growing up

• They've heard of Diana since their parents tries to get them to make a contract with each other but the brothers left their Fathers publisher name before they could

• While they enjoy playing together, the boys do have their own style as well

• SAM USES GUYLINER

• Mika would sing with Naomi and Suzu and they'd pretend to have big gigs while playing the the garage. Her father would rather she take over the producer company, but thinks its good she's "knowledgeable about the art"

• Erik is in charge of their outfits/costumes

• Matthew organises light/stage work etc

• Damien chills back stage with James when he's not on

• Damien is working on a song

• Sam takes his drumsticks with him everywhere. He has multiple and even a lucky pair

• Sams never been one for writing the songs but he tries to for Mika

• The boys started out at bars and small clubs and just where ever they could get a gig. They also done some shows for charity

• Harold discovered them and let them join his record company

• Mika wanted to be a singer but was supposed to take over her dad for the company and she "couldn't do both"

• Diana met up with Harold before about a job at his company but before papers could be finalised, he passed away

• Damien doesn't want to show his song as he's "still working on it" but if you were listening at the right time, you can hear him humming it, trying to work out a melody and lyrics

• Erik, Mika & Matthew are shower singers (both in the AU and cannon)

• The boys learned how to play Mikas favourite song as a surprise for her birthday

• Mika helps them out with Social Media management

That's all I have for now but hope you enjoy the concept. Feel free to add on or use as inspiration for anything (tho please credit/tag)

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #245

What do you hope you grow out of? Being so reliant on my mom, for one. Once she passes away, that dependence could ruin my life. I WISH I could stop being so afraid of driving, but I very much don't think that will happen. I think it's better for everyone I don't drive.

What is the healthiest and unhealthiest thing you do on a regular basis? Regular basis... uh... I can't even answer that for "healthiest," because I have a very hard time DOING healthy things regularly. Unhealthiest, probably drinking soda. I have one generally two or three times a week.

When looking for a SO, what three things are most important (besides looks)? Understanding, patience, kindness.

How much do you judge a person by their appearance? This is something I deeply try to avoid. Especially as someone who struggles with self-care, who the hell am *I* to judge someone for how they look?

What movie made you cry the most? There's honestly no telling, I cry so easily.

What’s the TLDR description of your last relationship? Two very broken people breaking each other further while trying to hold the other up.

Are you a fan of musicals? If you are, what ones have you seen live and which ones would you like to see? I'm not.

Are you someone who needs to have time alone? I need a lot of alone time.

What’s your favourite type of fast food? Is it something you eat a lot or do you try and limit it? Burgers and fries. We don't eat out a lot.

If you want (or don’t want) kids, is this something you’ve always known or have you changed your mind as you’ve grown up? I've changed my mind a lot.

What’s your opinion on places like SeaWorld? Do you think keeping whales and dolphins in such small enclosures is cruel or a necessary evil? SeaWorld is profoundly evil. You cannot keep animals like whales and dolphins in captivity, and I think that's been proven time and time again. Animals literally kill themselves.

Have your parents traveled to any countries that you have not been to? No.

What’s your favorite type of gemstone? Probably opals of various kinds. I like rubies, too.

Do you prefer sleeping in total darkness, or do you like to have a little bit of light? I like a faint amount of light. It's why I have my moon lamp on.

Would you rather take a class in fencing or archery? Archery.

Has a significant other ever given you the silent treatment during a fight? I think Sara has.

What is something you took for granted when you were younger? Childish energy.

How many bathrooms does your house have? Two.

What are your favorite condiments to put on a burger? Ketchup and mustard. I'm fine with a light amount of mayo, too. Not a whole bunch, though.

Would you have sex with the last person you sent a message to? Yes.

Do you break things when you are mad? No, these people REALLY scare me.

How many different people of the opposite sex have you cried over? Three, but only two were romantic involvements.

Is the person you last texted single? My mom is single.

Have you ever gotten into an accident with your parents’ car? No, but I haven't driven in years and honestly didn't drive that long.

Name a band/artist you like that isn’t that popular. Ngl, I have NO idea who is and isn't popular.

Can you lift your significant other (your best friend if you’re single)? No. He's a normal weight for his height, but I still couldn't do it because I am VERY weak.

What was the worst job you’ve ever had? I think I struggled most when I was in the deli for literally less than two hours. I was VERY much dumped in, and the other ladies that worked there clearly were under the impression I came in knowing what I was doing, when I knew NOTHING. One wasn't very friendly, but at least she softened up when she realized I was struggling. Another wasn't very patient with me. I was not suit for that job at all. I wasn't suited for any job I've ever tried.

Pick one: laundry, dishes, or vacuuming? Vacuuming.

Have you ever moved and had to change schools growing up? No.

Name the most meaningful thing a non-relative has done for you. Let me live with her while we were technically homeless. Colleen was... not a good person, she *really* wasn't, but she was capable of doing kind things. I won't forget that she did this, even if we haven't spoken in years.

You’re going to be a mom/dad; what do you think/do? Abort immediately.

Would you rather have a huge cat or a tiny dog? Huge cat.

Name one difficult lesson you’ve learned. People can say all kinds of things about being there for you and stuff and then basically hate you come tomorrow. People's opinions change fast.

Name one thing you look forward to as you get older. "So many people say that you eventually stop caring so much about what other people think, so I'm really looking forward to that possibility. I'm such a prisoner of other peoples' opinions." <<<< THIS RIGHT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you use your hands when you talk to emphasize what you are saying? Yes, I'm a hand-talker.

You own a huge business; what is it? There ain't no way in hell I'm owning a huge business.

Should adopted kids be allowed to find their birth parents if they want to? Only if the birth parent is fine with it. What if the child was adopted out because of rape? What if the parent doesn't want that reminder? I think that's entirely fair.

Name somebody you think died before their time. Steve Irwin, no doubt.

Will you usually admit it when you’ve made a mistake? Usually.

Do you enjoy cooking? Nope.

Do you wish you could go back and change anything about your childhood? I wish I lived in a safer place. I wish my dad wasn't an alcoholic. I wish my parents got along better.

Have you ever been overseas? No.

Who’s your favorite rapper? I guess Eminem, he's the only one with multiple songs I know and like.

Have you ever kissed someone of the same sex? Yes.

Have you ever been caught sneaking out? I've never even tried sneaking out.

Do you have any gift cards in your wallet? No.

What fictional character/s remind you of yourself? Clearsight from Wings of Fire is the one that always comes to mind first. Her extreme overthinking, while trying to be a good person.

What was your college major? If applicable. It changed A LOT... Game design, art, animal biology, photography... maybe even another.

What are you a geek about? Meerkats, tarantulas, Rammstein, Silent Hill.

Are you happy with your weight? Hell no, I think I make that abundantly clear.

How many cats do you have? Just one. Oftentimes I want one more, but I should hold back on that; if Girt and I ever do move in together, he also has a cat, and I think two cats is enough.

How many dogs do you have? One.

How many other pets do you have? One snake! A champagne ball python morph.

How old were you when you got your driver’s license? I'm 28 and still don't have it.

How many of your grandparents are still alive? Zero.

How many apartments have you lived in? Between zero and two, depending on what you count. I've technically "lived" in two, but I wasn't an official resident there.

Who is the best doctor you’ve ever had? My old psychiatrist that I lost because of change in insurance. I was fucking devastated, it played a major role in ending me in the psych hospital again because I was so scared of being without him. I miss him deeply.

Do you have a lot of people blocked on Facebook? I wouldn't say "a lot," but a decent amount. There are people I've blocked because *I* have a bad relationship with them, people my mom has asked me to block so they can't check in on us as a family, and even stupid AI "art" accounts since those are big now. I don't want to see any of your computer-vomit shit.

Are you afraid of spiders? No, I actually love spiders. Don't get me wrong, they can spook me if they just pop up when I'm not expecting it, but in general, I really like spiders.

Are you afraid of snakes? I like snakes even more than most spiders, I have no fear of snakes. I literally have one in my bedroom lmao.

Does everyone in your family know your sexual orientation? No. I'm open about it, but I'm sure not everyone knows.

What is one thing you find offensive? Misuse of the word "retarded"/using it as an insult. You fucking disgust me.

Do you often post about politics on social media? Ha, yes. I don't post my own stuff, just share things I agree with. Politics matter. Young me would never believe I'm saying that.

Would you ever want to go back to school? I already sometimes want to, but it's not realistic. I've dropped out of college three times already.

What do you have handy at your bedside? Whatever book I'm currently reading, the remote to my color-changing moon lamp, and at bedtime, my glasses and phone, but only if I'm charging it. If it doesn't need charging, I just slip it under Girt's pillow. Easier to reach.

Have you ever broken into a public place, like a high school, after it was late and secluded? No.

Would you be interested in going scuba-diving? Sure.

Have you ever been in a cave? No. :(

Do you actually know anyone named ‘Bill’ or ‘Bob’? I have an uncle Bill.

Who were you last in a hot tub with? Jason, Jacob, and Amanda.

Can you knit? Nope.

Can you do the splits? Sure can't, never could, even when I was fit and doing dance.

Would you be satisfied growing up to be like your parents? I love my parents, but no.

How many pictures do you take of yourself in a week? Dude I don't even photograph myself once a month.

Have you ever found a member of the same sex attractive? Well yes, that's kinda part of my sexuality.

Do you count calories? I don't.

Does your sibling have a significant other? All my siblings are either married or engaged now.

Have you ever cried at a real wedding? Yes, but only because it was really triggering trauma. This was in the wake of my break-up.

What do your flip flops look like? They're black Rainbows.

Are there any gadgets of yours that need charging right now? My iPod, it's been dead for like over a month. Mom's old car used to be able to charge it, but now I have to use my computer and I can't be bothered. I've been using my phone for music lately.

Have you ever been called a skank/slut because of the way you dress? No.

Are you a fan of acrylic nails? They can look fine on people, but I'd be driven insane.

[otakween]

Cyborg 009 BGOOParts Delete (2020) - Volume 2

A full year has past since I read volume 1, so it’s time for me to get up to speed. Luckily, since this is a story that has been rehashed time and time again, it’s going to be easier to recall what’s going on. I can’t believe 3 more volumes have already come out, what a quick turnaround time! (Probably not a good sign tbh). 

Ch. 8 

-It kind of bugs me how the cyborgs names are stylized with their numbers and then their actual names in furigana. Are they calling each other by their names or their numbers? Confusing...

-The art style continues to be gorgeous. Love the dedication to keeping older aesthetics alive (I follow some artists on Insta that do 90s anime art). 

-A lot of the vocabulary went over my head this chapter, but it’s not too hard to grasp the generic “mwahaha we’ll become powerful Gods and take over the world” narrative.

-I feel like some of the Mythos cyborgs translate well to modern day and some are too cheesy to take seriously -cough- hippo man -cough cough- 

Ch. 9

-Whelp, that chapter was kind of difficult to understand. This manga is very monologue/dialogue heavy. I could basically tell that they were going on and on about destiny and the meaning of their existence (both the numbers cyborgs and the mythos cyborgs) 

-Kind of annoying how 003 gets relegated to “(wo)man in the chair” instead of getting in on the main action, but oh well. I guess it makes sense since her ability isn’t really useful in battle.  

Ch. 10

-So Hera took over Rico’s body preventing the numbers cyborgs from attacking her. Once again, I struggled to follow this one. Even though it’s a modern Cyborg 009, they still talk in an old timey way that’s hard to follow.

-These chapters are really short. This one was basically entirely villain monologue and very boring. 

Ch. 11

-Okay, I lied, that chapter was kind of long. We’re really moving at a snail’s pace here. Like a multiple chapter build up to a single battle...is that really necessary? What is this, Dragon Ball?

-Helena (or one of her sister’s) and Pan show up. Helena says something about this being a battle that was fought before previously. Tell me about it lol...

Ch. 12

-A pretty dull fighting chapter where the Mythos cyborgs mock the numbers cyborgs. They all seem to be paired up with cyborgs similar to them and mostly evenly matched. 

-The horse cyborg’s neck guns are pretty cursed looking, yuck

-So apparently other numbers cyborgs can use acceleration mode because of the Dolphin somehow? That just feels like cheating...

Ch. 13

-In this chapter Apollon just goes on an on about his “real sister” Helena who is also Artemis I guess? I dunno lol. He said that she has the power to amplify her teammates powers which...I’m so sick of these female characters getting the lame supporting role bleh. Also 003 shows up for like two seconds and does nothing (except call for Ivan). 

-Joe has literally been standing around saying nothing for several chapters now. What a boring hero. He might as well be a silent video game protagonist. 

-Urgh...gotta find something positive to say...I guess I was kinda excited that Ivan was mentioned for the first time in awhile, but we didn’t actually get to see him. Boo. 

-I know it was like this in the OG manga, but I wonder what the logic was behind making some of the Mythos cyborgs animal hybrids and some human like. Achilles is a panther dude for example. 

Ch. 14

-Joe successfully defeats Achilles, Geronimo fights the minotaur and Francoise confronts Helena (who she recognizes from their past meeting). It was nice to see Geronimo fighting for a change. 

Not sure if I’m finding this painful to read because of the tricky, kanji-heavy Japanese or because the writing sucks. Gonna say it’s a combo of the two...Oh well. Only a few volumes to go and I’ll be done. Just want the Mythos arc to end. 

[the-zapped-part-timer]

Penn Zerothon Day 5

Brainzburgerz🍔

My Ramblings: Slaughterbots, Slug Soldiers and Rabid Space-Gerbils, oh my! We see two of those worlds later on, Galaxy World and Space World, very creative and different names, I know. But the Space World I believe doesn't make sense, we see how Penn reacts to that world so... eh, we see this wonky continuity from time to time, it's not aggregious.

Nice, Twin Pines reference. I enjoy all the names of the places at the mall:

Book Em

Carbon Footprints (something about shoes)

Ironic Tees

BACONS (something nutrition centers)

Wok Don't Run

Pasta-Away

And I couldn't read the rest

You don't need to be middle-aged to have a clicky knee, Boone. Sashi can use her brutality through being a security guard... not unlike real life!

We're so lucky that they didn't overuse Sashi's specs malfunctioning or breaking, it's ok from time to time. But at least it's not like the wands from the Fairly Oddparent's later seasons.

Montage Time! The first one? No, there's the impressing the princess one, so second! Boone should use his artistic ketchup talent from art class. Beautiful grease figure skating guys.

Boone's Arnold Schwarzeneggerism flares up again. Also, he could really be terrifying if he didn't have his delightfully Boone personality. Just imagine, evil Boone. He'd be more entertaining than Pilot Boone.

Oh no, not Samuelson!

Love Penn's 'tudeness in these moments, he's so over killing time.

Penn and Boone trembling like chihuahuas from zombie Samuelson, I feel you two, that's what I felt like when working and someone asks me where something I never heard of is.

Took Penn awhile for it to hit that, yes, that's how Boone screams. He's been screaming like that for quite a bit.

I don't think it's ethical to keep those howler monkeys in such small containers like that or sell them at all!

I love how Penn says: "Boone, there's no reason for you to be doing that." The fear in his voice.

WILHELM! So many reused zombies, it's ok, I don't mind.

That is indeed the worst idea you've had, Penn. I see what you were going for but damn... pretty bad. Zombie sailor just had the need to untie knots before anything else.

Surprised that Rippen has such good aim.

I'm so so very happy that Boone eating didn't become a main and continuous joke unlike the Pilot. He can be a bigger character and like to eat, that's fine! But if that's the main joke the show makes of him, that's bad. Like, that's all the Pilot mostly had for him. Anyways, stressing eating is valid but don't eat burgers off the street my guy. That's how you get zombied.

I want that special toy button.

Sashi there was literally no reason for you to do that! Just keep your mouths shut and out of the way! Grab them or kick them out of the air! SAAASHIIIII! Penn literally did that and used a flare gun!

Zombie dolphin... untapped potential for the zombie movie market.

I believe Sashi, Boone and Larry are the powerhouses of both teams. Sorry Penn and Rippen. Like, Penn, I get but Rippen? Sorry, big guy, you may be ripped as hell but I don't know if you know how to use your strength properly. Seriously, I always think about this scene and two other scenes I'll bring up in those episodes, but Larry is really strong, he took down Rippen so fast and easily! Yes, he did have the element of surprise, but still!

Also, I assume that first burger didn't work because of the wrapper, right? So Larry somehow still infected Rippen? My guy, really? You are twice his size and I'd like to think your kinda strong... drown him! No, I'm kidding, don't do that. Larry will drown you first.

Can just casually go to the moon, you know how the army can just do that. Glad thay fries are used as the cure, fries are so good.

The voice acting for Penn is so great in this episode! He's good in all of them, but this one just sticks out to me for some reason. Like with the hair tussling and french frie grease? Perfect.

You know what would be interesting and a little sad? What if the guy Boone zapped into actually has some sort of memory loss like dementia or anterograde amnesia? Probably not, I'm just not a huge fan of Boone being that dumb is all. We know he's a genius.

And what a way to end the episode, a zombified Rippen and Larry, holding on closely as they ride a zombified dolphin into the beautiful sunrise across the sparkling sea. Such beauty, such wonder...

~The Characters~

Penn Zero: He's just a little minimum wage paid guy! Look at him! He's trying his best!

Boone Wiseman: Luckily, he wasn't an acting manager for too long ir else we would've seen a whole different can of worms.

Sashi Kobayashi: Too OP, had to be zombified half way. I wonder how much they nerf Sashi's strength, guess I'll just keep an eye out.

Rippen: I wonder if he was zapped right before and caused the apocalypse or during it? Probably caused it, let him have something.

Larry: A powerful foe to be rivaled with. Fear his strength!

Dimension(s): I have a bit of a soft spot for zombie apocalyptic cities, so this works for me. Of course, needed ounces of green hue everywhere to really sell it. They make it interesting as to how the apocalypse started, zombie burgers, not that wacky of a concept considering all those schlocky zombie movies, which they've referenced.

Forms: All pretty simple, two fast-food employees and a security guard. All pretty well suited, I've noticed a lot of people like Penn's design, which, understandable. Rippen's design? He ate. Larry's hair... scares me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chuckle City🤡

My Ramblings: Ah yes, the first appearance of Lazlo Matavaqua. I want to meet this juggling man! Boone was ready to just whip that magazine out for anyone to see. How he says it too, so confident and matter-of-factly.

By the way, Sashi zaps into a very mustached clown guy with blue and green hair and than becomes Sashi with pink crazy braids... what? Sashi zapping into a clown guy isn't the point, it's the fact that we see them zap into others before and mainly their faces and bodys change, but not to this extent. This is something else! Let Sashi have a mustache! Goodness. Just something that's bugged me, Penn has the same colored and texture hair (helps that he already has clown hair).

Clown cops, like real life but actually enjoyable to watch! So, would it ACCAB? All Clown Cops Are Bastards? ACAB in a clown world is hilarious.

Boone's police commissioner voice is so good, I wish he used that voice more. Almost didn't sound like him!

I'd hate this world too, Sashi. Whoopee cushions or farts drive me insane, but it's sometimes funny here.

THEIR NAMES ARE FARPLING AND FLAILY!

Dangling fool! Rippen fits almost too perfectly here... hmmmm. Something I admire about him is that he takes himself and the mission very seriously, yet doesn't just constantly complain and bashing about a world's logic or anything! He just roles with it and embraces it even. I'm sure he was like that at the beginning of his villainy but learned to just go with the flow of things. He's a clown? He's gonna be the clowniset bastard around! An adorable little mayor? Sticking with it! A cat!? HE WILL PISS IN A LITTER BOX!

Anyways, Rippen's wearing striped tights under his spotted boxers... that's it. Something funny I noticed. He has such a witchy, clowny laugh. Now he's got goons! He's moving up in the world!

Very good clown car chase scene, demonstrating both Penn's strengths and Sashi's weaknesses.

Why did the clowns have a Whoopee Wars? What were they fighting about? Oh god... so many implications you can put in there. The giant whoopee cushion is just a clown version of a bomb...

BLBLBLBLBLBL!!! Your such a clown, Rippen. Also his voice sound a bit different right before Larry pulls out the feather, maybe nasally?

Oh no... the cursed image of Rippen's mouth full of cock, like the rooster, I meant. Guys!? LIKE THE ROOSTER! They had to know what they were doing! Larry's face whilst he holds it in his mouth... no thoughts, head empty. And then having Rippen blow a big, long ballon for a split second!? COME ON!

Good sad clowning, Penn! Ashame that no one was a mime. Not just miming, an actual black and white mime.

I'd like to know Henry's deal. Also, is Mitch the Monkey, like, okay? Mitch, blink twice if you need help! Right, Sodajerk. He's got some very good advice for clowns or comedians out there! Gotta be able to laugh at yourself to be tough. Wish we could see more of Sodajerk and Sash, we do see him in Chuckle City 500, but it's brief.

Hehe, let it rip. Get it? Rippen? Rip? You get it. Also god damn that wedgie looks painful! Believe me, being wedgied by a tree branch really hurts and is very embarrassing. Right... they got him, HE'S DEAD!

~The Characters~

Penn Zero: Just a silly little goofy guy. He's the best at clowning around! They should have an out-goof-off between him and Rippen.

Boone Wiseman: Certified DID, a damsel in distress... or I guess a CIC? Clown in clutch or clutches?

Sashi Kobayashi: This is a pretty good Sashi episode. We finally begin to see her struggles, in this world being not silly enough, she's tough and serious, not her thang. It's interesting to see since so far, she's been a guiding voice for the guy's faults and now it's her turn. But with the help of a random clown, who I do like. Penn did try to help. It was a little too quick for her turnaround but hey, these episodes gotta keep going. Just wish she got a little more time to hone in her silly craft. She's good at it.

Rippen: This is his home now, he's meant to be here. To be free and silly!

Larry: He's still thinking about the rubber chicken, I bet. Funny how that will come back to him later on.

Dimension(s): I can think about is Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Clown Husbandry on Tumblr....what breeds do you think each are? Rippen is definitely an evil clown of sorts, Boone literally calls him one.

Besides that, interesting world, love me some clown stuff! But ACCAB!

Forms: All fun! Sashi's hair is fun, Penn's hair is perfect and Boone's giant bowtie is excellent!

Rippen and Larry on the other hand? Rippen is very much inspired by the Joker while Larry is definitely Tim Curry's IT. I adore that, just as much as I adore Rippen's pink eyes and dead flower.

[honey-on-your-tongue]

u should tell us more about yourself and who’s behind these amazing fics bae, i’m curious !!! (only if ur comfy ofc)

Okok, I'm about to say whatever comes to mind, let's hope it makes sense 🤭🤭

Uh, my name's Ariella, but I go by Ari. I'm 19. I'm bi. I study journalism. My favorite colors are pink and dark teal. I love to read and write and smoke piña colada vapes. I talk in double negatives. I quote random movies or books or memes without realizing other people don't understand me. I make a funny face when I concentrate. I chew on my nails constantly. When I'm anxious, minutes turn into years. I dread picking up the phone. I hate going to sleep just as much as I hate waking up early. I spend hours debating whether or not I should shower and then I spend hours in the shower. I love cooking. I love feeding my food to others and hearing they like it. I fiddle with the edge of the pages of books as I read. I plan everything in advance and end up doing things in my own time anyway. I've noticed my pulse races and my I can see my heart beating when I'm nervous. I'm incapable of waiting for other people to do things for or with me, but sometimes I wish someone else could do everything for me. I have two different personalities: one when I speak Spanish and one when I speak English (the English one is cockier and confident and flirtatious, in Spanish I'm really shy and awkward 😭😭😭). I hate it when people don't let me sing my soul out in the car, and I hate it when people lower the volume of what I'm listening to. I don't like to cook around others because I feel like they're invading my safe space. I love dinosaurs, I've read all the Jurassic Park books and watched all the movies. If I could, I'd adopt every animal I see on the street. I can't stick to a routine, it feels boring, I need to be spontaneous and impulsive. I shop too much, spend too much. I love cacti, I have hundreds of them in my room. I love stuffed animals. My favorite animals are dolphins, and sharks terrify me. I love the ocean, the beach, and summer. For me, there's nothing better than late nights in the summer, smoking on the balcony and writing while listening to music. And speaking of music, I listen to almost everything, my favorite genre's rap, and even though he can be an asshole, my favorite artist is Eminem. My favorite authors are John Green and Gabriel García Márquez. My favorite books are Looking for Alaska, Crónica de una muerte anunciada, and Medea from Euripides. I am extremely persistent and stubborn. I've picked up the habit of calling out old yucky men who undress me with their eyes. I laugh when little kids fall even though I feel bad about it. I am incapable of keeping my bedroom organized, no matter how hard I try, it always ends up a mess. Andddd I think that's about it, cus I've talked way too much 🙃🙃🙃

Also, I'm listening to Drug Ballad from Eminem while I write this

[soft-serve-soymilk]

7, 13, and 19 for the artist ask game <3

Hi V!!!!! I was just doing some good ol' amigurumi stuffing when I saw this!! Now that I've finished, I'm off to answer some questions :) 7. most popular drawing

This one of Eugene has 105 notes attached on the og post!! It is the only one of 2 artworks to break the 100 note barrier <3 (the other one being the 2022 Captive Prince one on coloured pencil) My goal is to get faster at what I do so I can push out more stuff and maybe stop being so underrated :P /j 13. favourite fandom to make artwork of You Have No Name obviously Doodling 15 different Eugenes on whiteboards was a fun endeavour this year! And Tales is a classic that is beloved by mutuals <3 Honestly tho I should be making more FE and Persona art because those are some of my longstanding interests and that would be fun for me ^^ I've been teaching myself copics so I can work on scribbles in the morning... it's convenient because my home group is in the art block this year and I also have wednesdays off <3 19. any collabs youve done/would want to do

Me and Dolphin made this one for you, remember? <3 You cried about it and then our trio was reinstated again ^^ it is honestly in the top 10 ideas I've ever had :D As for future collabs, I still think doing Pokemon AU YHNN with Dolphin where we draw Archie with his sick pokemon squad would be great <3 <3 I wish I could be in a zine.. or really artbook with how professional they are but they tend to gatekeep minors :(. There was a p4 one that looked interesting but the google form was like 'if we find out you are UNDER 18 you ARE BANNED FOR LIFE' and it's like babes I have a debit card and people routinely forget/mistake me for an adult I can be part of your project if u let me T-T But I'm too much of a goody-two shoes to take that risk ^^;

[ultravioletfuture]

ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS: Electronicon 4 and UVF Year 2

Hello everyone! Econ 4 is finally here this week and although I couldn't make it to NYC, I'm here to share and shed light on a couple new Vapor releases, as well as talk about some new changes to the ULTRAVIOLET-FUTURE label to come for Year 2!

Let's start off with...UVF Year 2 Roster Announcement!

With the start of our second year of UVF, the label is now an official label account on Bandcamp! This is an idea that I've thought about for a while now and I'm so happy to announce our starting roster with artists: portal.rwb, TRUMAN!, Two Circles, scarecrow_, and salt.bmu. Since starting the label, I've loved interacting with so many different artists and trying to represent their releases in a physical form the best I can. Over the first year there's been a lot of trial and error and now going into year 2 I feel like I know the overall sounds and aesthetics I want UVF to incorporate. Despite having a roster of artists, I am still 100% open to working with outside artists on a release just as I would before the transition. Nothing major has changed in the way of artists being able to submit music to the label, just that now I have a dedicated group of artists I feel best represents the sound of the label and who I want to spotlight their releases. Big thank you to the artists on the roster for entrusting me with their music. At the end of the day there are no strings attached and artists are still free to release solo and work with other labels, but I still appreciate them for allowing me to represent their music. I hope for the roster to grow over time and to continue working with other artists in the future!

Electronicon Weekend

In case you are living under a rock, this weekend there are a plethora of live shows happening in New York revolving around the huge Electronicon 4. I hope everyone out there in NY this weekend has an insanely good time and please stay safe <3. Although I couldn't make it this year, my heart is there in spirit with you all and I hope I can finally make it out next year!

Last night was the 2023 Summer Slushy Festival hosted with the help of Geometric Lullably, Pad Chennington, Dolphin Uppercut, and Vaperror of 100Plus Records. This is the first event they've put on together and has an insane lineup of artists jam packed into one night. The night was split into two stages so fans could jump back and forth to try and catch their favorite artist's sets throughout the night. There was also a live stream of both the indoor and outdoor stages so that people at home could tune in and catch some of the sets! I didn't get to tune in much but if I were there, I definitely would've tried to catch the Vaperror, TOWERS, desert sand feels warm at night, Discoholic, and Days of Blue sets just to name a couple favorites. Hope everyone had a great time last night and I wish the best for the future of Summer Slushy Fest!

Today and tomorrow are the days of the highly anticipated "Electronicon 4"! The event is being split into a 2 day festival for the first time and is still unknown as to the schedule for day 2. Some insane artists are new to this years lineup like Enraile, Datagirl, James Ferraro, and 18 Carat Affair! Obviously if I made it to Econ this year I would HAVE to catch the DDS and Giant Claw sets being a huge shroudie, as well as the George Clanton, Enraile, Esprit, and FM Skyline sets to name a few. This is usually the biggest show of the year for so many artists and thank you to George for continuing to put on these huge events!

The tape swap is a tradition to follow every Electronicon and this year is now a full on event with a huge lineup of artists and vendors. The event is being hosted by Utopia District and is happening on Sunday the 27th after the days of Electronicon. There are plenty of artists and vendors to choose from like Business Casual, Geolul, Pacific Plaza, First Class Collective, and our friends over at Pause and Reflect just to name a few. If you happen to stop by the Pause and Reflect booth, make sure to pick up a tape and snag a free sampler CD with a track from every one of their releases to really get a taste of what Pause and Reflect is all about (also the CDs were made by me!) and be sure to tell them UVF sent you ;). If I were there I would definitely need to catch the Eyeclick, ZeroRei, Cyber Surfer 3D, and Ahero x Vangoe sets. There is an insane amount of activity happening this weekend in the IRL Vaporwave space! Even just being at home and seeing all the videos and pics of everyone at the Slushy Fest so far already makes me super happy and proud to be a part of such an amazing community. Hope I can one day see you all in the future and share some amazine experiences together <3.

Now that the UVF and IRL stuff has been covered, let's cover a couple new releases!

"4D" by Blank Banshee is finally here after much anticipation from the fans. The tease of a new Blank Banshee album came with a tour announcement with a total of 32 shows! This is actually the first Blank Banshee album I've heard in full surprisingly and this release has definitely had me wanting to dive deeper into their discography. BB has been extremely influential in the uprising of the Vaportrap sub-genre since their beginning with their classic album, "Blank Banshee 0". Their most recent albums "Metamorphasis" and "Music for Menus" have definitely shown BB experimenting with their sound into more avant-garde electronic production. 4D still gives that Vaportrap feel while embracing a much heavier tone with more traditional tropes coming from EDM and House music. The album definitely feels like a cross between background music to hack into the mainframe and club music that would play in a dark underground club with millions of strobes flashing. I love the opener "Run" as it starts off with this heavy, distorted main synth/guitar lead. An incredible start to set the tone for the record as we come down to more mellow tracks like "Sundial" and "Good Times", which feature these infectiously groovy synths accompanied by some nice vocal chops. Overall, I like the heavier more atmospheric approach to the instrumentals BB has brought to the table with 4D. Most of the songs are short, sweet, and to the point, although some may find a few of the tracks to feel a bit samey after the midway point in the record. I feel like in the last couple years there is a rise in much heavier production in Vaporwave releases and 4D is a prime example of that. Favorite Tracks: Run, Good Times, Trojan Horse, Spirit Season, Trojan

George Clanton has finally returned with their latest release "Ooh Rap I Ya". Its been a couple years since their last release "Slide" in 2018, which really put the spotlight on George Clanton for newcomers to the scene like me. After cherishing Slide for the past 3 years since I first heard it, I wondered time and time again what a new George Clanton album would sound like. After an album like "100% Electronica", they've definitely seemed to go for a much cleaner polish to their production while still keeping a more hazy, hypnagogic, and atmospheric sound. Ooh Rap I Ya had a couple singles teased during the album rollout including tracks Justify Your Life, I Been Young, Vapor King/SubReal, and F.U.M.L. With the sound coming from these singles, George is definitely embracing sounds of the 90s, particularly in tracks like "I Been Young" with its very playful, head-bopping singing in the verses. The track comes in with one of the most infectious choruses in the whole record. With this song, as well as throughout the rest of the record, George is embracing the thought of growing older into a stage of maturity while still highlighting his past youth and learning from it rather than dwelling on the past. The track "Justify Your Life" is another smooth track with George singing in a much softer tone until the song starts to explode leading up to the chorus. George is talking about starting over and embracing a newer beginning and justifying your life. The rest of the album starts with the huge opener "Everything That I Want" that starts the record off with a bang. This is easily my favorite track from the record with an instrumental that feels larger than life and a chorus that makes you want to sing along at the top of your lungs. George is expressing feelings of having everything but not having "you" and how there is regret along the path of having it all. This track sets the tone of the record beautifully and leaves the listener feeling a longing/regret for a time that once was compared to the current day. Later in the track list we have the song "Punching You Down" which is an instant bop with its bouncy synths and "What does it feeeel like?" refrain throughout the song. I just know that when George plays this song live, the whole crowd is just gonna be screaming "What does it feel like" at the top of their lungs throughout the song. The track is definitely talking down on a particular somebody or group of people and talks about how "You're the only one that isn't laughing". "You Hold The Key and I Found It" is a more somber cut in the record that starts with this very airy, atmospheric instrumental with a lot of strings and woodwind instruments. The tracks come to fruition with George's classic laid back drum beats and cool hazy lead vocals. The track is much more of a vibe to the listener and much less about any main topic or idea and rather delivers an instrumental that keeps on trucking on and puts you in a trance. Later in the album, we get the closing track "For You, I Will". There aren't really lyrics to the song, but more of a vocal chant of "For You" throughout the track, accompanied by backing chants from the artist Hatchie. This puts the album to an end in typical George Clanton fashion by closing off with a bombastic ending just like we started off with. After waiting many years for a new release, George Clanton does not disappoint with Ooh Rap I Ya. Not sure if it takes the crown for favorite George album like Slide does but nevertheless still is an extremely enjoyable and consistent listen that I'm sure everyone would love. Favorite Tracks: Everything That I Want, Justify Your Life, Punching You Down, F.U.M.L, For You, I Will

Apologies for not getting to talk about too many releases this week. There are a couple other albums I wanted to touch on recently but have been preoccupied with other UVF things as well as finishing up my latest collab album with Truman. I'll be sure to cover a couple more releases in the next blog <3. Hope everyone is doing well out there! If you made it to any of the IRL events this weekend, be sure to share some pics around and I hope you all stay safe. I have had this last week off work and don't go back into work until the first week of September so I've been trying to use this time to catch up on some label work as well as some production on the music side of things. In case you forgot, I make music too! I'm soon to release "Perfect Dawn", the first Lunar Data Garden album with good friend of mine Truman sometime next month hopefully, and I have plans in the works to start releasing more music on the portal.rwb side of things in the form of EPs/Mixtapes in between my big mainline albums. Until then, thank you for reading my blog, be sure to follow UVF on all our socials and join our Discord server! I try to check in on everyone daily in there and share news sneak peaks to things from time to time. Love you all and see you next week! -portal from UVF

[privilege-rpg]

STEPHANIE EVANS

☆ FULL NAME: Stephanie Victoria Evans ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 28 (July 9th, 1996) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Nashville, Tennessee ☆ JOB: Junior Partner at Dee, Racht, Phrom, & Domingo Law Firm, House Mother for Phi Delta Delta Law Sorority ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni, ☆ SEXUALITY: Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Sabrina Carpenter

ABOUT STEPHANIE

Stephanie Evans, born as the third Evans, was a spitfire for as long as she could remember. She had always been the apple of both of her parents eyes, whether it was belting out a Dolly Parton song, or helping her mother with humanitarian efforts. Stephanie knew that she had a greater purpose in the world, and that was to help others even as a child. She knew that her life‘s mission was to ensure that those who were less fortunate than her had exactly what they needed. This came in the form of people and animals, and she spent her weekends volunteering in soup kitchens, helping build for Habitat for Humanity, or hanging out in the kitten room at animal shelters. In high school her work with women who had suffered domestic violence got her a full ride to Harvard University.

Stephanie also is incredibly resilient as a person, and has made it a point to face many of her fears and do things on the more extreme end of the world. After nearly drowning as a child in the Pacific Ocean, she begged her parents for swimming lessons so that she would never be in that position again. She eventually got her scuba diving license and will frequently go on free dives as well as ones assisted by oxygen. Her favorite thing to do is snorkel, and she finds great peace in being in the water, whether it's an ocean or pool. She currently is helping to finance the rescue and rehabilitation of a dolphin named Grape, who was kept in an illegal backyard waterpark. When she turned twenty five, Stephanie made it her goal to hike the base camp of Mt. Everest, and she did. 

A family woman at her core, Stephanie holds her siblings in the most highest of esteem. Her relationship with her father is very complicated. Stephanie has always been a mamas girl, and is incredibly close with her mother. Stephanie is absolutely dumbstruck, devastated, and infuriated by her father‘s current actions. While she had many times walked in on him in several unsavory situations, she did not fully know how deep his disgusting habits lay. The fact that her father is currently dating someone younger than her youngest sister is something that Stephanie thinks is absolutely mind boggling and she refuses to be in the same room as him.

After seeing how her mother was raked over the coals in the divorce, Stephanie decided to make it her life's mission to continue her work with women Stephanie did eventually return to her acceptance at Harvard University, where she got her degree in law. She is currently working as a junior partner in a law firm that focuses on divorce and family law. Part of her job is to go and bait the opposition into cheating with her so that she can help the team get sufficient evidence to rake the dude over the coals. She also is the current house mother of Phi Delta Delta sorority, where she takes care of the undergraduates in the house and lives on campus.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Country music star, Dwight Evans, rose to fame in his 20s after winning American Idol (think Carrie Underwood). Evan’s first single “Flowers and Hounds” made him the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. His debut album, "I Still Believe in Rebellion", was the best-selling solo male debut album in country music history.

Dwight met super model, Mary Tanner at a client mixer where they immediately hit it off. One Elvis impersonator marriage later and the two were now the Evans family. They had four kids together and did their best to keep themselves away from the rumor mill that comes with the spotlight. But like most, it did eventually catch up to them as Dwight and Mary decided to get a divorce sighting irreconcilable differences. The fall out was messy and now Dwight is seeing a much younger woman, forcing the family to take sides as the media circus plays around them.

[zorilleerrant]

I'm not really worried about AI art. I think it'll either fade out pretty quickly or be modified in a way to make it a functioning part of the art ecosystem without stepping on toes (or destroying the environment). What worries me is how this is all interacting with what's supposed to be factual information.

Like, oh, it's trained on omegaverse, haha that's so funny, but like. Yeah, it's trained on a lot of fiction, that has a lot of gore and violence and bigotry and sexual content of all stripes and substance abuse and satire and recognizable names of people and places and things that exist in the real world. And like... if someone writes a fic where some restaurant chain is making food out of human meat, that could be interesting or not your thing. If google ends up thinking that's real? We've already seen it get massively confused over recalls, so what if it thinks the fictional drug someone invented is actually in some food product, and everyone believes it.

What I'm worried about is that people are already using generative AI to try to do their homework, or research, or the grunt work for their job. So what about when some reporter just inputs keywords about a concert, and then the AI spits out sold to One Direction fanfic, only they modified it to fit the keywords, and then they also modified it to fit the tone of an article. And it says One Direction is doing human trafficking. Only instead of One Direction, it's a kpop band selling someone to another kpop band. And then everyone just straight up believes it because they're asian.

Facts are being invented left right and center on purpose, and then even more people are looking for facts in the wrong places and like, it doesn't even have to be malicious. Fox News or whatever invents some bullshit and then something satires it and then google spits back the satire as if it's real news and then someone gets confused and asks for more of it. And a dozen people, trying to be helpful, repeat back what chatgpt told them about it. And we already know the models are chock full of racism and every other bigotry under the sun, and repeat them back. So what was something people were fighting against in journalism is going to come back a hundred fold, especially since people have less time and less money to actually be doing the journalism in the first place.

We've already see 'you can see it!' generated videos that people use in lieu of even a coherent story. It's been a longstanding thing people say that if there's photos/videos it must be true (which was always wrong, but) and now it's getting easier and easier to make things and try to claim they're something. People won't even count the fingers in the images. You can tell them the edges blur but they've already gotten outraged about whatever it is without even checking. Hell, the obviously photoshopped cranberry bog dolphins already get people! The bonsai kittens got people! And now these things can be generated so fast with more angles and even in motion, and like. Nobody teaches fact checking in schools anymore, and nobody ever taught how to unlearn implicit bias.

So when, instead of picking up some artist's style, the art looks like a normal newspaper photograph, when instead of mimicking some fanfic author it's set to bring you the calm and authoritative tone of some reporter you trust already, it's going to snowball. It's going to work a few times, and everyone who still employs journalists is going to fire them and be like, wow, this is easier, this is faster. And it's probably going to happen in the next few years. That's what I worry about. That's why I think we need the regulations.

At least the art isn't supposed to be real.

[foxs-dragons]

Jupiter is 100% my favourite , a massive old dragon that gets mistaken regularly for a hill

About his species:

- his species is a type of coastal/waterborne dragon that lives in swampy areas, so they're raised both in and out of water

- eggs need a certain level of moisture to hatch, and the hatchlings rarely if ever leave the water until they are mature

- usually are a coppery-brownish, to mimic the wet clay and mud of the area (high iron soil so clay has a general reddish brown colour)

- have gills and webbed talons+tail fin for good underwaterness

- similar to snakes, there is a clear scale over each eye, which protects against mud (altho normal eyelids are also there) (also this is a thing that most dragons have regardless ; i.e. two sets of eyelids)

- also can detect infrared with little pits above the nose

- hatchlings stay deep within the swamps for safety from larger predators, via tree coverage and camouflage as well as ability to survive well underwater for practically indefinite time periods

- adults have a seasonal variety of habitats - during winter they will set up residence in caves in cliffsides which are more sheltered, but in spring (aka mating season) they set up nests in the more inland swamp areas where the young are born, and then they spend the warmer months out in the most tidal regions of the swamp or out in the open ocean

- these dragons do mate for life in the way many birds do, but in groups anywhere from 3-8. within these groups any two dragons will produce offspring (provided yknow the right sexes) which is good cus genetic variation etc but also protection, strong pack bond etc.. additionally, there are usually no set roles, and all dragons in a pack will take turns with different tasks e.g. protecting eggs, hunting

- once the eggs have hatched, the group will take care of the hatchlings until they can feed themselves, at which point they are left in the safer inner swamp while the group leaves for the open ocean

- almost entirely seafood diet, adolescents eat mostly the fish, amphibians and mammals ( and also giant insects) found in the swamp itself , but adults are known to fly out further to find larger prey, with the largest even hunting whales and dolphins

- these dragons, like many other species, do not stop growing. after puberty the rate is very slow but these dragons can get very big. one of these dragons spends around 1 year completely amphibious, then an additional 2-3 partially amphibious, after which it has the capacity to live wholly on land without being im danger of being eaten - they are usually around the size of a large crocodile at the start of adulthood (they also begin to slow their growth, but still steadily increase in size)

- after a certain age, these dragons become very large and cannot be sustained in the swamps and cliffs previously used, so they slink off to the depths of the ocean, and become known to sailors and non-seafaring dragon species as leviathans and beasts of the depths that feast once a year then slumber again

- in terms of naming, there are two colloquial names used for the species, as many did not make the connection between the giants of the ocean and the small sly swamp hunters. on land they are known as copper devils, due to their colour and their ability to attack viciously and slyly out of nowhere (although this is rather outdated, and now there is more awareness about nesting sites there are far fewer attacks). the ocean giants are usually regarded as myths due to rare sightings, and as such acquire individual names as legend sees fit (also I couldn't think of a cool species name soz - if anyone has any ideas feel free to share!)

- all dragon species have propensity for creating great thinkers and artists, however not all form large scale civilisations and these dragons are an example of a species that tends not to form settlements and could be considered more on the animalistic side of things. despite this, their cave residences, however temporary, are often full of intricate carvings and artwork, and they are known to be beautiful singers especially the ocean giants

ok I should go to sleep now probably but I love adding extra dragon lore - next time maybe I'll actually add stuff about Jupiter himself haha

[stravagatefaster]

The Fourth Wise Man

The following short story written by Mary Hoffman is from the official Stravaganza-website, which doesn't exist anymore. It is accessible through the Wayback Machine, but I am uploading the short stories here to a) act as a secondary archive and b) to make them accessible to fans. If this story is ever re-published somewhere or I am asked to delete it, I will do so. This post will be unrebloggable, but feel free to link to it if you wish to add comments/discuss the story. I do not own the story, and it is directly copy-pasted from the old website.

---

No one knows his name now and very few knew it when he was alive. He was, and is, just the Mosaic Master. Some said he had come to Classe from the east, and it is true that he had studied his art there, but he was not one of the Gate People. He was Talian through and through and his name was actually Baldassare.

He wasn’t the only mosaic-maker in the city; it was known throughout the Middle Sea as a centre for the art and people gravitated towards it. There were rich commissions to be had to decorate churches, public buildings and private houses, and artists swarmed in the city, where workshops rang with the sound of hammers breaking the sheets of enamelled glass into tiny tiles. It was hard to keep up with the demand for all the many large-scale schemes being worked on.

But Baldassare was the busiest of them all. The birds that he designed, though made of hundreds of tiny pieces of metal and glass, looked so lifelike that people expected them to flap their wings and sing. His fishes and dolphins darted so realistically between foam-crested waves that onlookers stepped back lest their clothes get splashed. And his mosaic lions and leopards bared their teeth and lashed their tails so convincingly that the mosaic mules and sheep shrank from them.

So when the commission came to decorate the apse of a just-finished and very grand church dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lord, no one was at all surprised that that Baldassare was the artist chosen.

He spent many hours in the church, measuring the curved space with his eyes and then erecting ladders to climb up and check his calculations. Then followed weeks of work at his drawing table, chalking designs and scrubbing them out until he had reached a final version that satisfied him. It was a crowded scene, with the Holy Family at the centre, shepherds on the right and the three wise men coming in from the left with their rich gifts.

Above the manger and the stylised stable floated an archangel, and the ray of the star that guided the men from the east pierced downward like a blade. Baldassare understood that in such an expensively constructed and decorated church, it would not be a realistically humble stable that was required.

And if even the maid and her husband and the shepherds who had come in from the fields must be shown in a glorious transformation, how much more grand must the angel and the wise men be?

‘I am going to need more silver tesserae than there are in the whole of Classe,’ muttered the Mosaic Master, putting in an order for twice the quantity he thought he might need. He knew from experience that he always underestimated.

The whole scheme took five years to carry out. Baldassare had many workmen to help him but it was a complicated design and could not be hurried. At last the angel blazed over the stable — a miracle of silver and white, with a gaze that caught the onlooker’s eye with a promise of glory and salvation.

Baldassare had left the three wise men till last. The space behind them was decorated with flowers and ferns in jewel-like colours and finishes, against a background of silver tesserae, subtly mixed with many shades of grey and white. The wise men, or kings, had complicated flowing robes in red, green and blue, trimmed with silver and spangled with geometric designs. Their cloaks were pinned with mosaic brooches, mimicking rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

He had begun their faces — the young man, the black-bearded one and the white-haired leader. But there were no crowns or presents as yet; the kingly hands stretched out into the bare wall empty of any burden. Then Baldassare heard that there was to be a royal visitation to match the one on his mosaic: the Emperor was coming to the dedication of the church.

In just a month’s time, the Emperor and his beautiful Empress would visit Classe specially to see Baldassare’s work. He and his men threw themselves into their work on the last sections of the apse. And then, with so little time to finish the kings on the wall as royally as their Imperial Majesties’ presence deserved, he ran out of silver tesserae.

Pirates had boarded the ship that was bringing Baldassare’s latest order from Bellezza and, along with the silks and jewels and other merchandise that would be much easier to sell, had captured the materials he to complete the mosaic.

Baldassare was tearing his hair out. He visited all the other workshops in Classe but could not find enough for his needs. And the worst thing was that he had modelled the black-bearded king on the Emperor. Of course, he had no idea what the real man looked like, any more that most of his subjects did. But the black beard was a given: all Reman emperors were dark, since that was the commonest colouring in Talia, and all men at that time grew a beard as soon as they could.

What was distinctive and would mark out the king’s portrait as a tribute to the Emperor was the Talian Imperial Crown. It had been hard to portray in mosaic, with its characteristic loops and spikes, and it was too late to change it.

While Baldassare eked out his dwindling supply of silver tiles on the crowns and caskets of the kings, his workmen were finishing off the carpet of flowers and plants that spread across the bottom of the apse. The Mosaic Master had even designed extra foliage so that he had more silver tesserae to use on his kings. But it was still not enough.

A week to go and the Imperial Crown was still not finished when the Emperor’s chamberlain arrived in the city. When he entered the great church there was no mistaking that he was a visitor from the Imperial Court. His fine clothes made him stand out from the coarsely clad workmen who were busy on the mosaic or finishing off other details in the building.

A messenger climbed the scaffolding to let Baldassare know the chamberlain was there. The Mosaic Master groaned but he climbed down straight away and greeted the grand visitor with all the courtesy he could muster.

‘I came to see your work for myself,’ said the chamberlain, ‘before my master comes to view it. But I can see very little through the forest of wood in front of it.’

Then of course Baldassare had to offer to take him up the ladder and on to the series of platforms that allowed him and his workmen to do their work.

The chamberlain was an acute observer and soon noticed the unfinished king with the incomplete Imperial Crown.

‘My master will be pleased,’ he said.

Baldassare sighed. He still had to create the massive diamond that hung from the centre of the crown over the Imperial brow. Even though the kings were shown in profile, this giant diamond would take at least fifty silver tesserae, and he was down to his last ten; what was he to do? Something that should have been a subtle compliment to the Emperor was in danger of turning into a crude insult.

‘What is the matter?’ asked the chamberlain, and Baldassare was so downhearted he told him the whole story, from the pirates onwards.

‘What will His Imperial Majesty do?’ asked the Mosaic Master. ‘Will he order my head to be removed from my shoulders?’

‘He is a compassionate man,’ said the chamberlain, ‘but I doubt he could ignore the lack in your picture.’

‘Then I am finished,’ said Baldassare. ‘At the very least I shall have to go into exile and start my life over again in a new country.’

‘That would be a poor reward for your great genius,’ said the chamberlain, who had taken rather a fancy to the Mosaic Master. It was very unusual for people to tell him the truth and he appreciated Baldassare’s honesty, as well as his great skill. An idea was forming in the back of his mind. ‘I must get back to Remora as quickly as possible,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry. I shall be back here the day before my Imperial Master. All will be well.’

And with that he was gone.

The next week was the worst of Baldassare’s life. He went back to every mosaic-maker in Classe to check that no one had even a few silver tesserae left in their workshops. But no one did, or if they did they were not prepared to tell him.

The thought that his consignment from Bellezza might be lying at the bottom of the sea, jettisoned by pirates, made him feel that his own black hair was turning silver.

All the scaffolding in the Church of the Nativity had been taken down except for one last ladder leading up to the unfinished king. It all looked magnificent from a distance, but at a closer look, such as a visiting Emperor might be expected to give, there was a noticeable patch of raw plaster where the jewel in the Imperial Crown might be expected to be.

It was the day before the Emperor’s visit and Baldassare knelt in the church, praying. How could it all have gone so wrong? His intentions had been good and he had been so pleased with his designs. Now his only hope was the chamberlain, but unless he arrived bearing a hefty bag of silver tesserae even he would not be able to help.

As if summoned by the Mosaic Master’s prayer, the chamberlain appeared at his side, beaming and carrying . . . not a bag of tesserae but a large wooden casket.

‘What is it?’ asked Baldassare.

The Chamberlain opened the casket and the Mosaic Master gasped.

‘The Imperial Crown!’

The Chamberlain smiled. ‘No. It is merely a fake. My master had it made from silvered tin and glass some years ago. It is to deceive and confuse thieves. But the Emperor will wear the real thing tomorrow and I thought perhaps you might find this one useful.’

*

The day of the church’s dedication arrived and the party from the Imperial Court all sat at the front while the Bishop of Classe conducted a High Mass of celebration. The church was thronged with visitors, most from the city itself.

The mosaic, which had been kept secret for all its five years, now blazed in all its glory and every eye was drawn to it. And especially to the three kings at the bottom left. Everyone could see that the black-haired one was wearing the Imperial Crown and everyone was stunned by the light that gleamed from the diamond set into the mosaic.

It was agreed to be a bold step; no mosaic maker before had incorporated a precious jewel into such a realistic design. Baldassare, trying to be inconspicuous behind a pillar, overheard the gossip and was filled with relief.

At the end of the service he was presented to the Emperor, who allowed him to kiss his ring and gave him a bag of silver. ‘Excellent work,’ he said. ‘You have made me feel present at the birth of Our Lord.’

Then he moved on to take dinner with the bishop.

‘What did I tell you/’ whispered the chamberlain.

Baldassare was weak with happiness and relief. ‘How can I ever thank you?’ he asked.

‘Well you can let me have that “diamond” back as soon as you get some more tesserae!’ said the chamberlain. ‘And I must hope that my master has no need of the fake crown before then.’

Word of the ‘real jewel’ in the crown of the king that looked just like the Reman Emperor soon got out and people came to Classe specially to gaze at that part of the mosaic. In time Baldassare was able to replace the fake jewel with silver tesserae, but all this happened hundreds of years ago and the strange thing is that everyone who visits the Church of the Holy Nativity in Classe remarks on the shining realism of the ‘diamond’ in the Imperial Crown. Even though it is now made in just the same way as all the rest of the picture.

Which only goes to show that people see what they expect to see and that a good story wins out over reality every time.

© Mary Hoffman