#and their singing is genuinely one of my favourite sounds

[whimsicalsesquipedalian]

Y’all, how was I today years old when I found out that THIS is what Eurasian Magpies look like?

Like all along Enid Blyton was describing these adorable little bastards twittering across the moorlands, and my uneducated Australian arse has been here the whole time imagining these beady eyed mother-fuckers

Like, I knew there was a difference…

But THIS

Unacceptable.

[pardonmydelays]

ok, so i just listened to "loom" by imagine dragons, and i'm sorry but i only like three and a half song

[fuiru]

A 44 year old man goes to a K-Pop Concert

I promised you a report on the K-pop concert that I, a 44-year-old accountant, went to a couple of weeks ago with my wife and daughter in Toronto. So here it is.

The band we saw were Ateez. They're my daughter's favourite band and my wife's second favourite. I know most of my mutuals are similarly aged like me and may not be familiar with them so let me give you a brief primer on Ateez.

Imagine the most attractive eight men you can think of, just unfathomably beautiful specimens of aesthetic perfection, and make them sing songs that somehow combine the subjects of 'dancing like nobody is watching' with 'we live in a dystopian hellscape that we must all work together to overthrow'. Give them an ongoing music video story lore that literally nobody - not even the band themselves - understand, so that online discussion of their visual motifs looks more like the fevered rantings of a conspiracy theorist, complete with speculation about alternate realities and time being a Moebius strip. There is also a giant sand timer, for some reason.

That's Ateez. That's what you need to know.

Now, K-pop concerts are very different to the gigs I've been going to for the last 28 (!) years. There's no support act, for a start. Also the band perform for like, three hours, with breaks for costume changes and interpretive dance. Furthermore, hanging above everything is the constant looming threat of mandatory military service.

So this being my first such concert, I wasn't sure what to expect. What happened was difficult to explain, but I will try as I am already six paragraphs into this write-up and I'm too invested to stop now. Here goes:

In his Wicked + Divine comics series, Kieron Gillen places modern pop icons as deities, feeding upon and gaining strength from the worship of their fans at the altar of musical performance. I thought I understood that metaphor. I thought I understood it AS a metaphor. I was wrong, because that night Ateez WERE Gods with a capital G and we were their worshippers, a crowd emanating adoration (in the religious and non-religious senses), bestowing strength upon them and gaining their strength in return.

If that sounds weird, it probably is. But as pointed out above, I have lived over four decades and never yet experienced anything like the overwhelming passion of that crowd, the utter abandon with which they conveyed their love for the band.

"But Fuiru, what of the actual music?" you ask. Thinking back, there was a moment in one of their songs - I can't remember which - where I watched the stage, and the people around me, taking it in, and I thought, "Man, I just love Music". But that doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Ateez's music is bloody great. As a tiresome indie/rock/metal kid I'm resisting the urge to add the usual tiresome indie/rock/metal caveat of "...for pop music" because honestly that does it a disservice. They have some genuinely amazing songs. Halazia is an absolute fucking masterpiece that descends into furious hardcore breakbeat. Bouncy is a big, brash racket that somehow is also a perfect pop song. Utopia, Wonderland, and Guerrilla are similarly superb. The obligatory boy band slow number is represented by Dancing Like Butterfly Wings which will make you cry because you will forever associate it with your twelve year old daughter being pointed to and waved at by her favourite Ateez member (Seonghwa) because of her Seonghwa-branded lightstick.

That might just be me, though.

So in summary: being a 44 year old dad at his first K-pop concert rules and you should endeavour to partake in the experience if the opportunity arises.

Finally, for any Atiny reading this: my bias would be San or Seonghwa but my wife and daughter said they were taken so it’s Mingi. My concert outfit (designed and created by my offspring) reflects this.

[iwrite-sinsandtragedies]

Day 1 — Soulmates ₊˚✧ ﾟ

Submission for @goldengroovy's @olnfweek2024

MC: Micha

Long ass ramble under the cut 😂

Okayokayokay SO-

I love soulmate au's. I cannot tell you how many fics I've read or how many prompts I've played with or media I've consumed or how many bullshit ideas I've come up with in my own head for them, I CANNOT.

It's just - hhhhhhhhhhhh- Soulmate au's and Time Travel au's are just the shit that gets me out of bed some days 😩💖my world weary soul drinks that shit like medicine, okay?

That all being said, it's probably a little ambiguous which au I picked to some, so let me explain: There are two au's I'm mashing up here really, both are from fics I've read back in the day. One being a Clack fic and the other a Thilbo one 🤷‍♂️kind of calling myself out here but w/e, they were good fics.

The Thilbo one is easier to explain - the concept is "Heartsong" which is, literally what it says on the tin. You find out who your soulmate is the first time you hear them sing (and no, that does not mean everyone is just a naturally good singer - they can be ass at music but, the point is, when you hear them their song is the perfect song for you and your heart knows that). There's a lot of little nuances to this one - things like you hearing your heartsong when you dream so you always know the moment you find them. Also people who have quiet dreams because their heartsong died, sometimes before ever even meeting them. etc etc. The heartsong also seems to expand, in some respect, to instruments (as Thorin plays his harp one night and Bilbo starts to hum without thinking about it because it sounds wonderful to him and that's how Thorin finds out).

Overall, it's a very soft and sweet concept to me and as someone who has a deep love of music, it's also one of my very favourites.

The Clack one is a little less easy to explain? I think. Maybe because it's nuances are so round about but I'll do my best. The concept for this one is "I Only See Colour When I'm With You" - anyone who knows how Clack fics usually go knows where this is probably headed 😂 and I am sorry to have hurt you but, overall, the idea is: You live in a noir-esqu world where everything is black and white. This only changes when you find your soulmate, of course, who brings the world into full saturation and lets you see colour for - possibly - the first time in your life (I say possibly because I genuinely can't remember if you start out colourblind or if it's an age cap thing).

Unfortunately, for as much as I adore this concept, it's been a long damn time since I read the fic and I don't even know if it still exists somewhere. So I can't actually recall if it was a 'you have to touch them' or 'you have to hear them' thing but the fic takes place with Zack on the cliff right before Midgar where he holds Cloud and looks at the sky - so I'm willing to bet it's a touch thing.

I also really loved this fic because it was the first one I'd read that brought in the concept of multiple soulmates to me - As Cloud later sits with Aerith and sees the colour he couldn't see with Zack, meanwhile Aerith only sees black and white, because she was only able to see colour with Zack (who was never able to see colour with her, because he needed Cloud for that).

Essentially, they all needed each other to see the world in colour. As a polyam person who didn't quite realise I was poly back then, it was a very comforting (and now dearly cherished) fic.

Anyways! Now that you have the background on the two concepts, you can kind of get what I'm going for with this piece.

Tamarack, Micha and Qiu are all soulmates in a fuzzy, desaturated world (I'm sorry, I'm not cruel enough to but them in complete greyscale LOL) and the way you find your soulmate is by hearing them sing and, when they do, your world is suddenly vivid and bright and beautiful. Suddenly, you can see things as they were meant to be seen and it's a permanent change (unlike the Clack fic) but things are always clearest and brightest when your soulmate speaks or sings 💖

I get a real kick out of the idea that Micha's known for fucking months that Tamarack is his soulmate (if not years) because he's always listening to her play but never says jack shit about it because he's emotionally constipated that way 😂Though genuinely, it's probably because he just doesn't think he's her soulmate and he's a bit against finding out he's right honestly.

Joke is on him, he's Qiu's and Tamaracks soulmate! And he couldn't have picked a better moment to grow a pair an take the risk 🥰

[revelboo]

Could I maybe ask you for some Jazz (maybe some smut)? The scenarios you've written for him are absolutely delicious and he is my absolute favourite other than Starscream.

I would literally sell my soul for more Jazz 🫡

Sure! Plus it’s probably a good idea to remind that this is an 18+ blog every so often since there’s about 100 new folks since the last reminder

18+ mass displaced mech 🌶️

IDW Jazz Scenarios

Jazz x Reader

• Servos curling around your wrists, you arch as they’re gently pinned over your head and Jazz looms over you, one corner of his mouth twitching into something genuine instead of that fake mask he wears so often. With you he shows his real face, and that’s what you need more than anything, the good and the bad. All of him, not an act. Head dipping, his lips brush your cheek, trail along your throat. And you can feel him humming softly against your skin. Murmuring words in his own language as he explores. Singing to you between swipes of his glossa, kisses, and soft bites.

• Mapping you out slowly, finding and lingering whenever you make a soft sound or shift under him, his spike is pulsing against the inside of your thigh as he makes his way down, releasing your wrists. Seeing how patient you can be for him as he whispers to you all the things he can’t say out loud, because despite how easily he flirts with you, these things are too fragile. Too real. Denta grazing your belly, he realizes he’s singing to you instead of speaking, but he doesn’t stop as he stretches out between your thighs. Feels those soft hands on his helm, ghosting over his door wings to make them flick. The first stroke of his glossa making you arch under him with a sound that’s equal parts desperation and surprise. “Jazz.” Loving the way you said his name just then, breathy and almost a plea. Needing more.

• Head thrown back as he settles between your thighs so you can’t shut him out, all you can do is cling to his helm and feel that clever, lying mouth stroking over you intimately. Taking his time, seeming unbothered by the way your thighs are trembling as those big hands slide under you, tipping your hips up and then that glossa is inside you, stroking deep. Curling. And he’s humming again as he tastes you, servos tightening until his grip is almost bruising when you try to buck in his grip. Because this is torture, his mouth and glossa unhurried when you just want to race toward that finish line. Until you’re begging him.

• Those little, ragged noises, the gasps, whimpers, but also his name falling from your lips. Straining his control as he lifts his head and presses a bite against the inside of your thigh. Not breaking the skin, but leaving his mark on that soft skin just to hear you suck in a breath. See those eyes flash at him as he crawls back up your body, glossa sliding over his upper lip. “You’re damn sweet, doll,” he says as you hook your legs around his hips, trying to drag him to you as he settles over you. Sliding the length of his spike against you.

• “You’re killing me,” you moan as he grinds against you, but still not entering you. Playing with you instead. And he presses his face against your neck, laughing against your skin. Hips shifting so the head of his spike slides against you, your fingers digging into the seams in his plating when he finally finds you and drives into you in a slow thrust to stretch you. His denta and lips teasing your throat as he rocks himself.

• Those blunt little fingernails dig into his mesh as you squirm under him, trying to get him to move faster inside you. And he will, but he wants to savor this feeling of connection and belonging that he finds only in your arms. Accepting all of him, the horrible things he’s done. Healing him just by being you. “Sing for me, kitten,” he growls, hips moving against you, thrusting deep. “Give me everything.” And you do, clinging to him making those soft, needy sounds that are only for him as he takes you.

• No longer toying with you, every deep drive of his hips winds you tight. Hearing and feeling him humming to himself again as he nips and bites at your neck. Leaving marks, but you don’t mind those little mementos of him. Every hard thrust pushing you closer until you come apart in his arms. Hear him groan against your skin, hips rocking urgently before he sheaths himself deep and you feel him release inside you as he rests his head against yours, your breath mingling with his ragged venting. His nose brushing yours as you search for his optics through the glow of his visor. “Hey, doll,” he whispers to you as you loop your arms around his neck.

[ellouchi]

Curly dating headcannons (sfw/gn)

Disclaimer: a little bit of angst (no post crash, that's for another time), mentions of Jimmy (for some people out there)

Side notes: Curly the man you are.... Genuinely would date him, like appearance aside he's so interesting and he's like a mature labrador that I wanna pat and teach tricks. Right, that aside, next hcs are either nsfw or something else entirely, my mood in unpredictable. As always let me know if there are any types of mistakes!

— I think it would take a looong time for you to get together romantically, Curly just lets things develop on their own, he rarely acts on his deeper, more personal feelings. He's not exactly in tune with himself (like most men). However, when Curly realises he has been developing feelings for you, romantic ones, it's literally hard not to notice you. You were pinning for this man for so long when all of the sudden, one day he comes with a big expensive bouquet of flowers inviting you on a date.

— Curly's confidence extends to his PDA, he's super smooth. As per other people's hcs, it's not too much but enough to establish for people that you two are dating. Mainly it's giving you a peck on your cheek or head, gliding his hand over your back and waist. This man is not particularly starved for touch, but gosh he feels blessed every time you play with his hair. Leans into your touch no matter what, a smile tugging on his lips involuntarily.

— as your relationship progresses, so does the usage of pet names. Dove, dear, angel, and love is a go-to for Curly. Gets shivers in a good way when you call him your captain, or if you're married, your husband (I have intense urge to write more, but that goes to marriage hcs).

— Curly carries that cowboy vibe (his favourite genres of music are country and old school rock). He definitely hums and sings some corny ass love songs under his breath when he approaches you or even thinks about you. Please sing along, and if you're shy, he will encourage you (I hc that "Let's Ride into the Sunset Together" by Jerry and Don Burnham is his favourite song you can't change my mind).

— Curly, if you got married before his work at Pony Express, commutes back home with the thoughts akin to "I can't wait to spend the evening with my beautiful spouse", yes he will be this corny. If you're the one coming late, Curly would complete the hardest or your least favourite chores and cook supper for you. It's not a big deal to him, plus you're coming home to relax and recharge. It also gives you more time to spend together; simply lazing on the couch sounds fantastic too.

— Curly is a morning person, gets up at 4 a.m. to exercise and get ready for the day. Getting up with you is wonderful, but he loves to wake up first. There is just something so homey with the way you're tucked into the comforter, snuggling to his side. Curly will spend a good minute just admiring you. This is one the favourite things in your relationship that he treasures deeply.

— now onto the food: Curly cooks the best breakfasts, period. Anything he does with eggs is to die for. But don't worry if you don't like them — Curly will come up with another dish for you specifically! His other specialty are sandwiches: he practised so much he could be considered a master of them. Guess who makes you work lunches with cute tupperware? All your colleagues are jelly as hell.

— if you cook, Curly eats EVERYTHING, like the plates are empty, no crumbs nor sauce. Even if it's food that he's not used to, he will chew on it thoroughly and give you a thumbs up. Fortunately, Curly has very "domestic" taste, nothing sophisticated required for him to shower you will praise. You can make him mac and cheese and he would genuinely be happy. Takes up doing the dishes after your meals (god bless).

— Curly generally loves having you in his life. It's not necessary for you to spend every waking hour by his side or share the same enthusiasm for his hobbies. He loves you with his whole heart and he's grateful for getting to have you as his partner. Sharing a cozy living space, going out with you by his side, having long conversations or little sweet talks at night before falling asleep. This is what Curly lives for.

— following up the previous hc: Curly loves you no matter what (it's both concerning and reassuring). He thinks both negative and positive qualities make up your being. Unlike Jimmy, Curly would feed into your vices because he wouldn't consider this to be so impactful for you in the long run. Unconditional love has it's downs. With that said, if you actively try to better yourself — Curly is so proud of you. He really is. When you show him your growth or when he notices it on his own, he can feel his heart melt. His eyes may even become wet a little, Curly can get sentimental at times.

— give this man a chance to show you off and he will take it. Curly never has hard time saying what exactly he loves in you, from your personality to your appearance. If you attend any social gathering, he either holds your arm or has his arm held by yours. You have to fight the urge to look at him constantly because Curly can't just take his eyes off of you. Makes his friends either gush or groan at the sight.

— Curly loves you and means well, truly. You may have known each other for years, in marriage or not, but he would still have troubles opening up to you. It's because you're so close to each other, he cares so such for you he doesn't want to burden you with his inner conflicts. Curly should be happy, he's grateful for the things he has, and yet even with you he feels lost. The best thing you could do is show him that you care about him. If you support Curly and prove him that his feelings matter no less than yours, he would listen and try to be more forward with you. Therapy is also always a good option, and it's far easier to convince Curly to pick it up.

[megumimylove]

Boyfriend Osamu

_______________________________________________________

- Miya Osamu as your boyfriend headcanons

- gender neutral reader

_______________________________________________________

Boyfriend Osamu who is quiet around others but is the biggest yapper in front of you.

Boyfriend Osamu who brings you sweets anytime he visits you.

Boyfriend Osamu who loves cooking together type of dates.

Boyfriend Osamu who shows you embarrassing pictures of his brother and friends.

Boyfriend Osamu who is the happiest when you are near him.

Boyfriend Osamu who is not really good with words but tries his best for you.

Boyfriend Osamu who ignores whoever hits on him because you're the only one in his life.

Boyfriend Osamu who brags about the gifts you give him in front of his friends.

Boyfriend Osamu who makes sure to satisfy every craving you have.

Boyfriend Osamu who tries watching your favourite romantic movies with you but falls asleep mid story.

Boyfriend Osamu who sings songs to you even though he sounds terrible.

Boyfriend Osamu who calls you his wife instead of girlfriend.

Boyfriend Osamu who said i love you on the second date because he genuinely felt it.

Boyfriend Osamu who is strong and tough in front of everyone but with you he is the biggest softie.

Boyfriend Osamu who lets you do anything to him, makeup? wearing dresses? dancing on cutesy music? he will do it all for your smile.

Boyfriend Osamu who blushes like a tomato when you hug and kiss him in public.

Boyfriend Osamu who loves giving you head pats.

Boyfriend Osamu who buys you different flavoured lipbalms because he loves tasting them while kissing you.

Boyfriend Osamu who helps you with assignments even if he has zero knowledge about the subject.

Boyfriend Osamu who makes you pay back in "kisses" when you get mad at him for spending money on you.

I love him so much <3

_______________________________________________________

a/n : most of this piece is inspired by my own boyfriend :) hope you guys like it

[jahayla-parker]

Cardan x reader on a date or yn showing the city she's from (mortal) doing human stuffs and showing him her fav movies or shows or favourite artists

His Dearest Human : Cardan Greenbriar x Reader

Descr: 3.5k wc, Cardan and y/n venture back to the mortal world so she can show him what her life was like before she moved to Elfhame. Fluff.

Warnings: One curse word.

Notes: No but just imagine, a boyfriend who you now literally is incapable of lying no matter how much he might want to and so when he is always complimenting you, you know it’s nothing but genuine 😭

“Are you sure you know how to do this?” Cardan questioned nervously, eyes quickly taking in their environment.

“Excuse me?” Y/n remarked in offense, turning to face him.

Cardan bit the side of his bottom lip as he looked back her way. “This seems like a metal death trap on wheels,” he criticized.

“Because of me?” Y/n asked, narrowing her eyes. She wasn’t being reckless. And he’d been in a car before. They’d not even made it down the street yet. Why was he so scared of her driving?

“No, no,” Cardan reassured her as he shook his head. “Just in general appearance, but…”

“But?”

Cardan once again analyzed the drivers of the other cars as they passed by. “They’re all older,” he observed. “Beautiful, you left here when you were young. Do they teach you to operate these… cars, that young?” He wondered aloud. “‘Cause I don’t see anyone nearly that young,” he commented as he yet again scanned the nearby cars.

Y/n giggled and felt the tension leave her body upon realizing what prompted Cardan’s worry. She moved one hand off the steering wheel and squeezed his hand. “Y/f/n taught me when I came back for a visit, I promise I won’t be killling either of us tonight,” she soothed, gazing over at him momentarily to check on him. She watched as he nodded silently before resuming his staring out the passenger window.

A few minutes later, y/n pulled up to a red light and looked over at him. She frowned lightly upon catching him having been staring at her as she drove. “Cardan, honey,” she cooed, taking his hand again. “Are you still worried? We can walk instead if-”.

Cardan quickly shook his head to dispel her doubts and concern. “You’re just amazing,” he confessed simply.

“What?”

“You’re so exquisitely enchanting,” Cardan confessed. “Sure there are decently attractive women in Elfhame and here too,” he spoke candidly. “But, you’re far more beguiling,” he hummed. “And yet, you can also operate this thing safely and effortlessly”.

Y/n giggled and pulled his hand up to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You’re so precious,” she hummed.

“Ooh, check this out,” y/n exclaimed with a smile as she turned on the radio on as the light in front of them changed to green. “Perfect timing,” she clapped before turning it up a bit as y/f/a played through the speakers.

Cardan’s eyes instinctively widened at the unexpected sound but listened carefully to the noises the car was now making. His head whipped away from the direction of the sound upon hearing y/n singing along.

“I’ve never heard you sing before,” Cardan realized.

“My mom and I used to sing each time we were in the car together,” y/n told him, recalling a cherished memory of her childhood in the mortal world.

“I can see why she’d want that,” Cardan acknowledged. “You have a majestic voice,” he complimented dazedly.

Y/n bashfully bit her lip. “Thank you Cardan, but the reason people do it is simply because it’s fun,” she explained. “I’m sure within the next few days, by the end of our trip, you’ll have heard one of the songs enough to be able to join along,” she thought out loud as she switched the stereo to CD instead of the radio so it gave Cardan the chance to participate by the end of the week since it would be the same set of songs he’d be hearing this way.

“Teach me how to play?” Cardan asked as y/n finished explaining the childhood game she and her friends used to play before she moved to Elfhame. His eyes shone brightly with interest as he thought through her descriptions of the activity. His mind generated what he pictured she’d have looked like at that age and watched as the little girl ran through the field they were currently in as she played with her friends. Cardan desperately wanted to know everything about her life, especially her childhood and life before moving to Elfhame where they eventually met. Hopefully he could find ways to bring some of those joyful memories and activities back when they left the mortal world behind again for a bit.

Y/n smiled shyly over at Cardan and nodded. “Sure, but we’re going to need more people,” she explained. “You could technically play with just two, but it’s much more fun with others”.

Cardan hummed and nodded. “Well then, we’ll save that for later when your y/fam/member is done working. Where to now my love?”

“We’re in the middle of a storm and you want to stop?” Cardan questioned with wide eyes as he spun to face y/n.

Y/n giggled and nodded. “Just trust me Cardan,” she ordered lightly as she pulled him out from under the minimal coverage the row of trees above them had been providing. She tugged him out into the empty street with her as a grin naturally took over her face. She adjusted her hold on his hands and spun around with him gleefully as the rain poured down on them.

Cardan once again found y/n’s grin to be infectious, as was her exuberant expression. He copied her grin as he moved closer to her to wrap his arms around her torso. He continued their spinning until the two of them were dizzy and drenched from the rain.

“Would this be a something you’d do on a date?” Cardan asked thoughtfully as he examined the bookshelf in front of him, his hand resting on y/n’s lower back. He had to be annoying with how frequently he’d asked this same question. He had asked it about nearly every activity they’d done. But he wanted had to know. Especially if these were the kind of dates his queen possibly secretly wanted from him but didn’t know how to ask for.

“Y/n?” Cardan inquired as he reached the small white table she was at in the food court, his eyes distant as he contemplated what he’d seen.

“Hmm?” Y/n hummed, grabbing his hand as he sat down beside her. She watched him closely. He was clearly thinking something over. She just didn’t know what.

Cardan briefly looked away from y/n and over to where the interaction had taken place. He shook his head in confusion and turned back to her. “This male mortal,” he whispered, having learned from y/n that most people in the mortal don’t know to make/of such a distinction. “Asked this female mortal if she came here often,” he explained slowly, still thinking it through in hopes he could understand it on his own. “I confess I am not certain if he meant the shopping mall in general or the dinning hall were in,” he admitted, lightly licking his lips. “But, the female mortal was visibly upset and even scoffed at the male before walking away.”

“Ahh,” y/n nodded, piecing together what Cardan had witnessed on his way back to her from getting their orders.

“Is that… normal? One would find that an easy enough question to answer, no?” Cardan questioned further.

Y/n giggled lightly as she smiled lovingly at him. “He wasn’t truly interested in how often she comes here,” she explained softly. As she watched his eyes narrow in further confusion, she squeezed his hand. “It’s a pickup line,” she informed him before taking a fry from his plate.

“A…… pickup… line..?” Cardan pondered aloud, her words not having cleared anything up for him. In fact, he’d argue he was even more confused now. What was a pickup line? Who was picking up what? What did a line have to do with it?

“A pickup line,” y/n echoed with an affirmative nod. “It’s…,” she paused as she contemplated the best way to explain the term, “a flirtation, so to speak”.

“Well I can see why she walked away,” Cardan huffed with a shake of his head. He took a sip of his… milkshake as he recalled the interaction he’d unintentionally witnessed. “What a pathetic attempt at flirting.” He scoffed and halfway rolled his eyes. “Come here often?” He mimicked with audible judgement.

Y/n giggled loudly, a wide grin on her face at his behavior. “It is a very over used and generic approach,” she agreed with a nod. “But, not everyone can be as adroitly flirtatious as you Cardan,” she winked. She leaned over the table to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

Cardan beamed at the action. “I mean, even this,” he said as he grabbed a flower from the nearby planters that surrounded the dinning hall. He tenderly passed it to her before kissing her hand. “Is better, no?” He concluded.

Y/n beamed admiringly at him and nodded. “Much,” she agreed. “But, I’m also biased,” she confessed with a flirtatious winked.

“This is where I went to school last before moving to Elfhame,” y/n summarized as they stepped onto the school grounds.

Cardan looked around in silence for a few moments, taking everything in. “What’s that contraption?” He asked, pointing towards a metal stand a few yards away.

Y/n followed Cardan’s finger until her eyes found the swing set. Elfhame had swings of its own sort, of course. But, truthfully they were nothing compared to those in the mortal world. The Elfhame ones were far more beautiful, having usually been made from the trees and vines nearby, but more relaxing as well. As great as that was, they didn’t swing as high or fast, it was more of a swaying chair than anything. And for the life of her, she couldn’t recall what Elfhame referred to them as in this moment. It wasn’t swings or a swing set… In her defense, they weren’t found many places in Elfhame as there were far better options of things to do. Unable to find the Elfhame equivalent for it, she merely hummed and grabbed his hand. “Come here, I’ll show you”.

As they reached the swing set, she grabbed the chains supporting the seat and instructed, “sit here”.

Cardan couldn’t help but be skeptical. Whatever he was about to sit on was made of metal and plastic yet didn’t look very secure. But, he nevertheless did as she said. Just…, slowly.

“Okay, now hold onto these, I’m going to push you,” y/n explained as she moved to step behind him and the swing.

“Push me?!” Cardan echoed loudly.

Y/n giggled and realized in that moment that Cardan likely hadn’t even used the Elfhame equivalent either before. After all, when would he have? Before they met, he wasn’t exactly known for doing much relaxing or other calm behaviors. This was going to be fun. He’ll love this. Still giggling, she nodded and kissed his cheek before stepping away. “Yes handsome, that’s how these work. I’ll start slow,” she promised. “You’ll be fine, just keep your feet off the ground and hold on to the chains okay?”

Cardan nodded slowly and hesitantly turned back around, having moved to watch her make her way behind him. He nervously lifted his legs from the ground just as she lightly pressed her palms against his back. The seat he was on moved in response to her push, bringing him forward and up. “Oh!”

“You doing okay?” Y/n asked softly, slightly worried as she couldn’t see his face.

After a few more soft pushes, Cardan nodded.

“Want to go faster or higher?”

Cardan silently nodded again, his focus stuck on the weird floating sensation the movement was causing him to feel in his chest.

Y/n smiled to herself and pushed him a little more forcefully. “Just keep holding on Cardan, I don’t feel like watching you fly off,” she commented.

After several minutes of silent swinging, y/n slowed her pushes. Once it was swinging low and slow enough, she gently grabbed the chains and slowed it to a halt. “Well?” She asked, moving back to his front.

“It was fun,” Cardan grinned widely.

Y/n smiled happily and reached up to fix his wind blown hair. “I figured you’d enjoy it”.

Cardan hopped off the seat and turned to inspect it. “What is it called?” he asked.

“Swings, or swing set”.

“Because one swings on it?” Cardan asked rhetorically.

“Mhm,” y/n nodded.

“And you did this at school?” Cardan questioned as he spun back to face her.

Y/n bopped her head side to side. “We were given breaks a few times a day to play outside and this was one of the things we could do during that time”.

Cardan nodded in understanding. He glanced and at the area surrounding them. “Has it changed since you played here?” he wondered.

Y/n again tilted her head side to side. “Slightly, but nothing significant,” she observed.

Cardan lovingly gazed at y/n with a soft smile. “Take me through what a day at school looked like for you before?” He requested.

“I can see why this was your favorite … restaurant?” Cardan trailed off in question, unsure if he got the term right.

Y/n nodded as she supportively squeezed his hand across the table.

“It’s very delectable,” Cardan complimented before taking another bite of his dinner.

Y/n grinned, “I’m pleased you like it!”

Cardan silently scanned the empty field that stood in front of. After feeling like he’d memorized it enough, he gazed back at y/n. He waited patiently with a soft smile as he noticed she was seemingly recalling memories of the area.

Y/n blinked quickly upon coming back to the present moment and feeling Cardan’s eyes on her. He was waiting for an explanation or story as to why they were here. What this place meant to her. She hummed softly. “My mom used to take me here when I was little,” she began quietly. “It used to be full of little flowers,” she said with a disappointed sigh given the field was dried up now. “Well, weeds technically I suppose,” she shrugged, “but to a three year old who loved anything that resembled flowers, there wasn’t a difference.” Her eyes lit up as she suddenly had an idea. She quickly turned towards Cardan and tapped his arm. “Tag, you’re it,” she exclaimed, a childish grin forming as she ran a few steps away. She stopped nearby and faced him, knowing she’d have to explain how it worked and what to do.

“I’m what?” Cardan asked, befuddled.

“It’s a game called tag, the person who is it is the person having to chase the other person as that person runs away, the person who is it tries to tap the runner in order to turn the other person into the chaser, or, it,” she explained with air quotes.

Cardan nodded slowly as he absorbed the instructions. “And what do I win if I catch you?” He pondered.

“Technically the game goes on and on, usually it’s more than two people,” y/n shrugged carelessly. “But, either way, it just goes until you decide to stop”.

Cardan smirked wickedly, eyes glowing as he stepped towards her. “Hmmm, I have a better idea,” he taunted.

“What’s that?” She asked, easily seeing the glint in his eyes.

Cardan pursed his lips smugly. “You’ll see,” he answered vaguely. “You better start running, dear,” he advised as he started to jog closer to her. He smiled as she giggled and began to run.

Cardan chased her halfheartedly for a bit, letting her enjoy the moment. But when he caught her, he wrapped her in his arms and tickled her, causing her to squeal and squirm. Cardan then effortlessly lifted y/n over his shoulder and walked back to the basket she brought for their picnic. He carefully set her down and bent to her level to kiss her, “I win”.

Y/n bashfully bit her lip as she grinned up at him.

“You can rest,” y/n commented as they rode in the back seat of her friend’s (who, like y/n, was mortal but also from Elfhame) car as y/f/n drove. They’d finished showing Cardan around downtown moments ago and were now headed back to where they had been staying during their trip.

“I thought we were going to,” Cardan began, stopping as a yawn rudely interrupted him. “Watch…something,” he trailed off shyly, having forgotten the term.

Y/n smiled lovingly and nodded, “we’re watching a movie”. “But, we cannot do that until we get back to the house,” she explained quietly as she played with his soft curls. “And you’ve already seen all the places we’ll be passing by,” she knowingly reassured him, “so sleep”.

Cardan nodded appreciatively and shifted in his seat. He moved so he could rest his head on her lap as he cuddled against her torso.

Y/n watched as Cardan effortlessly fell asleep. He was always so quick to fall asleep. No matter where. It wasn’t fair. She played tenderly with his hair as she too felt her eyes getting heavy. She was nearly about to doze off when she heard her friend comment about how sweet it was for Cardan to be so interested in her mortal life. Y/n grinned proudly, gazing down at him as he held her waist, his beautiful long eyelashes splashed across his sharp cheekbones. “He… He always adoringly calls me his dearest human,” she confessed quietly as she leaned onto his sleeping form and closed her eyes to rest after their busy day so she’d be ready for movie night later.

“Okay so, just get cozy and enjoy,” y/n beamed excitedly as she walked back to the couch to join Cardan after putting y/f/m into the DVD player. She pressed play and leaned against Cardan’s chest. She tilted her head to the side and watched as he intently focused on the television screen. She’d already explained the device, as well as TV shows and movies, including what they were and how they worked. So, she knew his visibly deep intrigue was simply because she’d mentioned they’d be watching her favorite movie tonight as opposed to a random show or film as they’d done in the past few days since arriving in the mortal world.

She cuddled up against Cardan further, leaning into his embrace, making him smile as his eyes briefly departed the screen to gaze down at her. As much as y/n tried to enjoy the movie while she and Cardan were wrapped up in each other’s arms, her focus was elsewhere. He was unfairly attractive when he wore comfy clothes like the sweats he currently had on. Although, he also was painfully gorgeous in the leather jacket he’d picked out their first day. And the plain t-shirts he’d tried on a few days ago. And in his normal silky and intricate clothing from Elfhame. What was she doing wasting her time trying to list these out? It was simple. Cardan was always just that beautiful.

“You’re not watching your favorite movie,” Cardan observed, sensing her gaze on him.

“Sorry,” she laughed shyly. “I was distracted”.

Cardan blushed at the implication and tickled her sides playfully. “Don’t distract me, I’m trying to watch the movie,” he scolded lovingly. “I’ll attend to you after”.

“Attend to me?” She chuckled and shook her head. She smiled to herself as she relaxed back into his arms. Damn he was adorable.

“Thank you for teaching me so many things,” Cardan commented, watching y/n as she drove them back to the house. It was their last day. He’d learned so much. And had so many plans for when they returned to Elfhame.

Y/n smiled over at Cardan and nodded. “Thank you for coming with me, my King”.

Cardan nodded, an expression on his face that he hoped communicated to her how unnecessary he found her appreciation to be. “I wanted to,” he vowed.

“I know, but still,” she gazed over at him, her smile having grown with his reassurances. “I hope you had fun”.

“Undoubtedly, love,” Cardan said, answering her indirect question. “I was able to learn so much about you and your earlier life,” he said with a content smile. “Do you miss it?” he questioned hesitantly after a few seconds.

“Sometimes,” she admitted truthfully. “But I love our home more,” she promised squeezing his hand tightly.

Cardan hummed, looking around at the houses and buildings they were passing by. “We’ll be back to visit,” he vowed, “whenever you’d like”.

Y/n hummed as she formed an appreciative smile.

“Until then,” Cardan spoke, using the hand that wasn’t holding hers to reach for the stereo. He pinched the knob labeled ‘volume’ and rotated his fingers slowly, not having done this before and not wanting to mess it up. He had studied the way she’d done it each time before and evidently it paid off as the volume escalated with his touch. He grinned excitedly as she started to sing. When it reached the chorus, he joined in, earning a surprised but happy smile from y/n.

By the time they got to the house, they were both loudly singing along. Y/n was right, it was enjoyable. Though, this whole trip had been. And not just because he’d spent it with his dearest human.

Cardan Greenbriar Masterlist

Book Boyfriend(s) Masterlist

All Works/Main Masterlist

Taglist: @ell0ra-br3kk3r

[quilteddreamz]

Be fed.

Come gather my fearful ao3 friends! Come indulge in what I have salvaged from the flames!

Fic below:

"Not A Morning Person"

Part 1/3

Your closed lids scrunch as sunlight casts over them, harsh against your waking mind, you turn. hiding away in a plush pillow. 

Mornings were your nemesis. Your mind, sluggish to wake, dreading leaving the warmth of your sanctum. Sounds of birds and the world bustling outside weren’t enough to convince you it was worth it. The warmth carried a lulling comfort, ready to take your mind under again. 

Silicon brushed against the bottom of your foot. You retract your foot back into the warmth, hiding away from whatever had disturbed it. You groan in discontent, nuzzling your face further into the pillow.

Static crackles in a soft chortle. 

Silicon hands return to cup your cheeks, one lifting your head from the pillow.

“No,” You whine, pulling back. You weasel your head under the covers, curling up in a grumpy ball

“Sunshine, “ Sun sings, softly. You could feel him tugging on the duvet. “The birds are singing-”

“No.”

“The sun is shining-“

“Go away.”

“And you-“ The duvet is roughly pulled up, revealing your groggy eyes, “-need to brush your hair,” His grin widened at your disheveled state.

The duvet is tossed to the end of the bed, better revealing your frown. You flip over onto your stomach, face down into the mattress. 

Your sanctum is stolen, ripped away by the beaming Sun. But that wouldn’t stop you from lazing around.

Sun huffed. The bed dipped beside you. Hands looped under your waist, lifting. You gripped the fitted sheet like a bristling cat.

“Don’t act like a toddler,” Sun chided. He did a sharp tug, breaking your hold. 

Sun shifted to sit on his calves, holding you like a doll in his lap. Your head rested against his chest chasm, faintly hearing the whirring of mechanical life. 

His hands rubbed your sides, another futile attempt to cure your drowsiness.

“My, my, you're awfully tired this morning, Sunshine,” He mumbled.

His hand cupped under your chin, angling your head back slightly.  Cold fingers petted the dark circles under your eyes. His smile twitched.

“What time did you fall asleep?” 

You stilled. Truth sat bitterly on your tongue. You swallowed and lied: “The usual time.”

“Mhm,” His upturned eyes tilted. He unfurled his leg and stepped off the bed, taking you with him. Your legs wrapped around his torso, feet barely touching. His strides are long as he takes further from where you want to be.

Passing the hall mirror shows you how unbelievable your lie was. Below your tired eyes were dark, soot-like circles. Pale skin painted your normal vibrance. You looked dull at best— worst a zombie.

The kitchen held the faint scent of Sun’s cooking, yet looked spotless. You swore the robot was incapable of causing a mess.

You’re lowered down at the table. Your heavy eyes blink at the eggs in front of you. Cold and sad. They had sat here a while.

Sheepishly you smile, “Thank you.”

“Of course, Sunshine!” Sun peppily replied, though from the way his hands clenched the back of your chair, you doubted it was genuine. “I’ll go make you a coffee.” His bells jingled as he walked to the counter.

You picked at the eggs with a fork, watching the cold yolk run free. Guilt mixed with your tiredness. You hadn’t meant to stay up late. It wasn’t your fault your favourite show was running a marathon late into the AMs. Now you held the ire of the animatronic— and likely his brother as well.

Taking a bite your guilt grew. It tasted wonderful.

Jingling bells had you lift your head. Sun returned with a steaming mug, setting it down. You thanked him, softly blowing on it.

You sipped— face twisting at the harsh bitterness. The sugar Sun normally added was missing. You nearly spit, but Sun’s taut grin stopped you. 

“Good?” 

You nodded, perusing your lips.

This was going to be a hard day.

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

Hope y'all enjoyed! Part 2 should be up tonight or tomorrow on ao3. If ao3 is not up it will be on here :3

If you have time later go give this a kudo on ao3! it's in my linktree.

Hope you all have a wonderful day/night 💜

[journey-to-the-attic]

rating all of the om songs (so far) to pass time on the train LET'S GO

i was going to split these into separate posts but Ah who CARES they're all here now. for the intents and purposes of this post i am leaning more positive to the romance aspects (usually i'm more ambivalent). looong post ahead!

(i'm considering the lyrics based on the direct unofficial translations credited to Maon_ObeyMe on twitter, rather than the official english versions)

CHARACTER SONGS

Arcadia (Lucifer) -> Sonically: 7/10 I'm oddly into that one synth that comes in after the chorus. The violin stings are cool. Fun to vibe to! Points knocked off because he kind of doesn't sound like Lucifer, though. -> Lyrically: 5/10 Points removed (derogatory) for "lady", other points removed (affectionate) for the hilarity of "I'm fall in love u baby". You can tell it was written when they were still clinging somewhat to the dominant diet Christian Grey thing, but a lot of the lines are still genuinely romantic (while also being very Lucifer.) -> Overall: 7/10 I scrunch my face when I get to That One Line but otherwise I do pick this to listen to semi-regularly.

Are You Ready? (Mammon) -> Sonically: 6/10 Banger, but repetitive. Good rhythm to walk to. Hirotaka Kobayashi's delivery makes it. -> Lyrically: 6/10 Points docked for repetitiveness, but it's cute to see this side of him verbalised. Gender neutral high heels are a serve. -> Overall: 6/10 I don't relisten to this one quite as much as Arcadia, but I think that's just a genre preference.

My Chance! (Levi) -> Sonically: 8/10 The mixing on his voice is a bit weird, but it fits in with the chiptune sound, which I adore. Really catchy chorus. I also really like that soft bell insturment that's playing along with the main melody. -> Lyrically: 8/10 Really cute! Levi's characterised really well here. I love his little spoken interjections - Satoshi Kada is one of my favourite VAs in terms of delivery. (Levi's lines are some of the best in either of the voiced pop quizzes.) -> Overall: 8/10 Cute and fun to listen to. It's really easy to imagine a music video for this one.

Read My Heart (Satan) -> Sonically: 8/10 Really pretty piano instrumental, but I feel like there could've been a bit of variation. On the one hand, layering in some strings could've sounded really nice, but on the other, it does feel more personal as a solo piano ballad. Shinya Sumi has a really nice voice. -> Lyrically: 9/10 Very sweet, almost poetic, very Satan. The reference to cats doesn't feel heavy-handed. It feels like he wrote it. -> Overall: 9/10 I really like the bridge. It has a sort of lullaby quality as well, so it's nice to fall asleep to, or listen to when you need to calm down.

Pomade (Asmo) -> Sonically: 7/10 It's better-produced than some of the songs I've given a higher sonic rating, but this is more a matter of preference - this song isn't super my style. -> Lyrically: 10/10 EXCELLENT. The journey Asmo goes on? Starting out singing about himself and tempting you, then shifting to singing about you (You are my captive -> I am your captive) - the way it basically reflects his arc in OM S1? Chef's kiss. Beautiful. -> Overall: 7/10 I don't listen to it that often but I do think about those lyrics. They're so good. This is how you write a character song.

Hungry Six-Pack (Beel) Sonically: 8/10 I'm a sucker for that 'wah' effect on the guitar. I really like the rock sound, but I think it was done better in Barbatos's song. (Sorry, Beel.) Kyohei Yaguchi also does a really good job on the performance - you really get the feeling that this is how Beel himself would perform in a band. The interval in "darou" in the chorus is to die for, as is the "forever, forever-ah-ah-ah" in the last chorus. Lyrically: 6/10 Even in songs Beel cannot escape the "they only know how to write him with one character trait" allegations (/hj). To be fair, it'd be hard to get into his deeper character without dipping into lyrics about survivor's guilt, which I feel wasn't what they were going for. Overall: 7/10 I like to imagine him performing this at a bar. Also, total aside, but I really don't like that title.

Dreamscape (Belphie) -> Sonically: 9/10 I'm not usually a lo-fi person, but the vibes are perfect for Belphie and I really like this composition. -> Lyrically: 7/10 Really cute, but pretty basic - then again any of the songs' lyrics seem so when you compare them to the Queen Pomade. I do like how much Belphie's needy little-brother nature comes through here. "Hey, come see me, please?" Makes me want to pinch his cheek. -> Overall: 9/10 The sound alone carries it. I listen to it pretty regularly.

No.1 (Diavolo) -> Sonically: 9/10 Takuhei Yamamoto is giving it so much oomph and it's fantastic and also very in-character for Diavolo himself. He would be that enthusiastic. He would throw his head back and belt like that mic was made for him. (I find the "Sā, hora!" before the chorus really cute.) -> Lyrically: 6/10 It feels a little weird that he's doing the dominant thing in the lyrics here, but his sin attribute is apparently pride, and it's interesting that they chose this characterisation for him given he's usually so affable. (It's not like it came out of nowhere, to be fair - Diavolo basically admits to it on occasion, he seems to just hold it back, usually.) -> Overall: 7/10 Solid song that I don't listen to all that often for some reason.

Crazy About You (Barbatos) -> Sonically: 10/10 Absolute banger. The guitar solo makes me want to run through walls. Masayuki Harada's performance as Barbatos is also both spot-on and pitch perfect. That "Ahh-" leading into the chorus is gorgeous. I'm not the biggest fan of the spoken lines, but I appreciate that they're there for those truly starved stans who don't get nearly enough of him in the main story. -> Lyrically: 8/10 Perhaps oddly I really like his mix of servitude and sternness here. Feels playful in a way that I think really works for his dynamic with MC. (If only they'd utilise it in the game.) -> Overall: 10/10 It's just that much of a banger. Barbatos I'm so sorry for what the NB remix did to you. You were too powerful.

My Wish (Luke) -> Sonically: 6/10 Gonna be honest I completely forgot how this song sounded after I finished listening to it for the first time. I'm not the biggest fan of Luke's voice direction and there are parts in this where I just fully see a full grown man doing the voice. I do really like the chorus (the part that mentions sweets and cream) though. -> Lyrically: 8/10 Just very cute. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect from Luke - another one of those where you can easily imagine that the character wrote it themselves. -> Overall: 6/10 I don't think I've listened to it more than five times, to be honest. I actually quite like the NB remix for this one.

Question Love (Simeon) -> Sonically: 4/10 Simeon what the hell did they do to you. The production is fine, it's just... the autotune? It isn't like Yu Hirata can't sing. Why did they do that? Presumably it's a stylistic thing, which I'm not against, it's just not executed well. (Though it's cute to imagine Simeon himself being responsible, as tech-illiterate as he is.) It's a weird genre for a character like him, too. I was expecting another ballad, maybe with a harp... -> Lyrically: 6/10 Feels quite generic - I feel like Simeon of all characters would have had a more poetically written song, and his relationship with MC could have been particularly interesting to write about. (Though I'm not sure how long ago this was released.) -> Overall: 5/10 He deserved better. I do like the instrumental on his NB remix, though. That deep bass synth in the back is great

Our Destiny (Solomon) -> Sonically: 7/10 Really like those violins on the chorus. The blend of the strings with the more lo-fi adjacent sound is actually really fitting for a character like Solomon. Kazuki Kawata has this really nice smooth voice, and his ad-libbing at the end is pretty charming. The "hey!" on the chorus sometimes veers into youtube_kids_going_yay.mp3 territory for me, though. -> Lyrically: 7/10 I really like that he calls back to one of his in-game phone calls. It's kind of funny that he sounds so sure of himself when there's an almost insecure nature to his affections in NB especially. -> Overall: 7/10 All around good song. Another one who got done dirty by his remix.

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UNIT SONGS

Choose Me (Mammon, Levi, Asmo) -> Sonically: 6/10 I like the big brass sound, but... eh. Feels like something's missing. I like Hirotaka Kobayashi's delivery on Mammon's rap lines, but the chorus in particular feels kind of lacking. -> Lyrically: 7/10 I don't know what this 'love game' is but I don't think I want to participate. I also fully hear "gay" every single time. That aside, the verses are pretty good. -> Overall: 5/10 Not really for me, but I'll listen to it on shuffle sometimes. This one's remix was criminally bad.

Telepathy (Beel, Belphie) -> Sonically: 10/10 Such a pretty instrumental. Is that "ooooooo" in the background Belphie? It does sound like Satoshi Onishi's voice. The twins both sound perfectly in character and in sync with each other (though I would've liked for them to have a verse together.) Their spoken bridge is adorable. -> Lyrically: 7/10 It's hard to gauge the vibes from the lyrics. They're definitely singing to/about each other (they say so in the bridge), and that's clear in the chorus, but there are a few parts where it's like. Is that something you say to a brother?? Did a songwriter miss a memo? Also what does "your muscles are mood" mean. -> Overall: 9/10 It's such a comforting song to listen to. I just get a bit distracted by "your muscles are mood" every time. Belphie. What does that mean. Please

Passion (Lucifer, Satan) -> Sonically: 8/10 Really big fan of the piano. The breathing sounds caught me off-guard at first, but I know to expect them now. I really like both VA's performances. Lucifer sounds like Lucifer again! -> Lyrically: 7/10 I find Lucifer's line "I said that I’d listen with patience and silence, but you've got some nerve to actually continue" kind of out-of-place - it's more consistent with his characterisation in early NB than anywhere in OM when this was released, which is interesting - but the rest is pretty good. I really couldn't imagine singing this alongside your own sibling though. -> Overall: 8/10 I don't tend to choose this one a lot, but I don't skip it if it comes on in shuffle.

Take It Easy (Satan, Belphie) -> Sonically: 8/10 Really fun bouncy instrumental. I really like the rapport between these two here. (Would you say Belphie's in falsetto? Either way, I love how he and Satan take the higher and lower registers respectively.) -> Lyrically: 10/10 God I love these lyrics. They're so funny. The brief moment of sincerity before they go right back to singing about how much they love pranking Lucifer. "Makes me happy" makes me so happy. It's so sweet. These little rascals. These absolute rapscallions. -> Overall: 9/10 I like the sound of Rock On better, but the LYRICS. They're so great.

Rock On!! (Lucifer, Mammon) -> Sonically: 9/10 This one's another banger. The VAs do a great job with the back-and-forth delivery in the spoken bridge (I especially love how Lucifer and Mammon both sound like they're pretending really hard that they don't give a shit on "Yoroshiku douzo negawakuba" together". Lucifer also sounds like he ran out of air on "...omae wa" a little earlier. Lol -> Lyrically: 8/10 It's really funny to listen to them both strut their stuff singing about themselves in the verses and then suddenly get sincere to each other on the bridge. Though I think this song could've really benefited from the "feels like it was written by the characters" approach. -> Overall: 9/10 I just really like it!

Trigger (Levi, Asmo, Beel) -> Sonically: 8/10 This used to be my favourite of these three unit songs sonically, but solely the delivery of "Trigger!" bothers me a little bit. It could use more force, is all. That aside, everyone did a fantastic job and Satoshi Kada in particular served on Levi's verse. -> Lyrically: 7/10 I'm not even entirely sure what's going on in this song, but I like it. I didn't like Asmo addressing you as "kitten", but I did really like Miura Ayme adding a sort of cutesy whining tone to "I'm the cutest demon in the world, right?" - Ayme in general does a great job with Asmo's character in songs. -> Overall: 8/10 Still good! I think my tastes have just shifted since I first listened to it.

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OPENING SONGS

Sinful Indulgence (OM!:SWD) -> Sonically: 9/10 It really is a bop. Miura Ayme's performance is great. -> Lyrically: 8/10 Pretty strong! "Oh baby, obey me!" is clever and very catchy. I only ever use the word sexy as a joke so it catches me off guard when Asmo says it, but that's not really a complaint. The dark-and-sinful nature of the lyrics is really funny when you compare it to the stuff these guys actually get up to in-story. -> Overall: 8/10 It's a good listen and a good opening to the game, even if the lyrics don't really reflect the content all that well.

Devil's Way (OM!:NB) -> Sonically: 9/10 Ohhh whatever that metallic bell sound in the intro+outro instrumental is, it is a tasty sound. Shinya Sumi is performing his heart out and he's doing fantastic. I still can't fully tell if that's Belphie or Levi on the start of the second verse, but whoever it is did a really good job of making it sound subtly unsettling. The bridge starts shifting into edgy territory, but the whole song is teetering, to be honest. Also, I've mentioned this before, but the "sekai de-eeee" just before the bridge is still so good. -> Lyrically: 8/10 I adore the use of "sweetiepie" in the chorus but it does detract a little from the dark vibe they've got going on. Lucifer using 'boku' in this song of all places is bewildering and hilarious. The darker tone definitely fits in with S1 and S2. -> Overall: 8/10 Something about that bridge bothers me. Other than that, banger.

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BROTHER ENSEMBLE SONGS

It's My Party -> Sonically: 9/10 It's a bop. -> Lyrically: 6/10 Relatively basic. From a cynical perspective, the brothers basically each tell you their One Assigned Trait that the writers fall back on when they can't be bothered to do deep characterisation, but that's not the fault of the songwriter. I take psychic damage every time I hear "haters gonna hate." -> Overall: 9/10 I've listened to this quite regularly since I had my friend edit me the version with "haters gonna hate" cut out. (It's a 7/10 with the hater line left in.)

Eternal -> Sonically: 9/10 So nice. I can't unhear the first few notes as See You Again, but the rest of the track is definitely a credit to itself. I feel like there could've been more orchestral build-up, but that might also make it feel too dramatic... as is, it feels more candid and personal. Like you could imagine this being performed to you in a small local theater. -> Lyrically: 10/10 There is definitely bias at play, but hearing this as OM's first sincere ensemble love song made a pretty big impression. The lyrics are so sweet. "My love" is one of those terms of affection that I love so much I don't even mind when it's used on me. -> Overall: 10/10 Again, biased, but this song just has a special place in my heart.

On Your Way -> Sonically: 6/10 It's.... fine? I like the instrumental, but the chorus feels a little empty. Shinya Sumi hitting that high note on "Let's get you on your way" each time is kind of inspiring, though. Belt it, girl! -> Lyrically: 7/10 The "eeny-meeny-miny-mo" is so silly but I love it. -> Overall: 6/10 Pretty standard stuff.

With You -> Sonically: 9/10 Gosh, another really pretty instrumental! I think the seven VAs are definitely more comfortable singing as an ensemble here, though it would've been nice to get some more harmonies... -> Lyrically: 10/10 They're so sappy but that's what makes it work, especially delivered in all sincerity like this. Something about that last line (and its delivery) feels so earnest. -> Overall: 9/10 I'm just a sucker for whatever genre you call this and Eternal. Also, I really like title callback to S2's play (I don't think it was necessarily intentional, but still).

Spooky Night Parade -> Sonically: 7/10 It's a really fun instrumental. I love the little "hehehee....... trick or treat?" in between choruses and verses. They're just little guys. -> Lyrically: 6/10 Just sort of standard Halloween-y lyrics that don't mean too much. -> Overall: 7/10 it feels more like a novelty song than something I'd listen to regularly.

Magic Moment -> Sonically: 9/10 Oooooh that's a nice instrumental. The swelling dynamics are so satisfying, the vocal performances are all lovely. I love that glockenspiel in the back. (At least I think that's what it is.) (I've imagined IK playing it while the brothers perform this before.) -> Lyrically: 9/10 Another "it's so sappy I love it" moment. "I'm so happy I could cry" Like GUYS!! Aw man I love you. They drop three I love yous and they're all great. -> Overall: 10/10 I know the maths doesn't add up but I just really like this song.

Anniversary -> Sonically: 8/10 Strong instrumental, but I feel like the delivery on the raps in the first verse are a little lacking? Asmo and Belphie's verses feel incredibly satisfying for whatever reason. Though Belphie(?)'s little "come on baby" at the end just makes me laugh. I feel like the chorus could've benefited from splitting the brothers up a little (at least for the first two) rather than having them all sing at once. I love hearing them all talk to each other at the beginning, like a behind-the-curtain moment. -> Lyrically: 9/10 "We can't live without you" AWWWWWWWW -> Overall: 9/10 Feels nostalgic even though it came out this year. Another one where the overall rating is based on pure vibes and feeling

------

TRIWORLDS

All the Feels -> Sonically: 10/10 Certified banger. Is it something about Barbatos? (His "one more time" in the final chorus is kinda hype.) Feel like there could've been more variety in the instrumental, though. -> Lyrically: 8/10 The verses feel more personal to the characters than in e.g. It's My Party, but the chorus is still pretty basic. It's a little upsetting that one of Barbatos's lines here has more depth to it than most of his characterisation thus far. I find it really funny that they call the listener "buddy." Probably would've been too weird for Luke to say "honey". Also, the "We are dancing, we are dancing (uh, uh)" bridge is so dumb (in a cute and funny way) -> Overall: 10/10 Just a great song to listen to (and imagine choreography to.)

[aquareegia]

Transcript of Will Ramos' essay on Sleep Token for Rock Sound magazine

I might play in a metal band as part of my job, but I don't listen to much metal music anymore.

A few years ago though, I remember one of my friends saying to me, "Dude, you've got to check out this band Sleep Token… They're pretty cool".

I'd never heard the name before, but I'd listened to 'Hypnosis' and a couple of other songs from the band's second album, 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb', to see what they were like.

Hitting play for the first time, I was caught off guard. You hear the guitar and these slamming instrumentals and instantly you think, 'This is about to fucking kick ass'. You're so sure that the vocalist is about to come in with some gnarly screaming, but then you hear this man singing, and he's singing so beautifully. I didn't see it coming at all, and as soon as I heard it, I knew that it was exactly what I needed to hear.

At the start of a long drive that I had to make on my own, I hit play on 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb' from the beginning for the first time. As the record began with 'Atlantic', I was vibing to the sound of the music, but as it rolled through each track I started to get more and more caught up in this incredible sonic journey. By the time it was over, I realised that I'd been on this emotional roller coaster of love, pain, happiness, sadness and nostalgia.

Boom, that was it - I was hooked on that album. Every single song on that record was so freaking incredible to me, and I needed to know more about Sleep Token. Believing that my friend and I were the only people in on this hype, I spoke about it to my band one day, and they said to me, "You need to listen to 'Sundowning'!" I was so mad that they knew about this band the whole time, and nobody ever told me, but I went back and listened to Sleep Token's first album like they suggested.

I remember thinking it was very different. It's not as polished, but it's very dynamic and so beautiful. I think it definitely says something when you can see the progression of a band from just their first and second albums. From then, I knew they were onto something incredible.

It feels like more and more people have been catching onto that hype over the last year, and now it seems as though their name is impossible to ignore. I remember when they released 'The Summoning' at the start of 2023, the day after they'd released 'Chokehold', it felt like it all went crazy. They had something like 4-million hits on that song in just two days, and now, it's got over 70-million plays on Spotify. It was the beginning of a huge explosion for Sleep Token, and the first time I heard it, I was genuinely confused by it. It's so ridiculously versatile, and on my first few listens I felt like the super jazzy outro didn't fit at all, but the more I listened the more it began to click. I remember at the time I showed it to Elizabeth Zharoff, a vocal coach from The Charismatic Voice, and the outro was immediately one of her favourite parts.

She's from a completely other world of music, so to hear her approval showed me how capable Sleep Token were of reaching people outside of the metal scene.

I might not listen to metal music anymore, but Sleep Token are revitalising heavy metal. It brings back the nostalgia that I felt when I was a little kid listening to this type of music for the first time and being like, 'Holy shit, what is this? This is so cool'. I had started to lose that feeling over the years, but every time I listen to these songs, all those emotions come flooding back. In my opinion, there's no band out there that sounds like them - and that's a truly impressive feat.

Merging metal with pop, R&B, and rap influences, and bridging all these different gaps that many artists have historically been afraid to explore, there's something here for so many types of music fans. For a long time, metal bands have been putting themselves in a box. There's been this idea that a metal band needs to be heavy, that you need to have a breakdown in every song, and that you need to tick all the boxes in order to succeed. It's been so refreshing to see the evolution of the genre over the last few years, and to see bands like Sleep Token bring all these different sounds to the forefront of metal.

It brings a whole bunch of unique people into the fold. People love to say that metal is dying, but it's music like this that keeps it alive. It doesn't just move the scene forward, it expands it.

Now, there are all these people who didn't listen to metal before listening to Sleep Token. R&B and pop fans are coming into this as fans of Vessel's singing voice and hearing all these metal influences along the way. The second verse of 'Take Me Back To Eden' has this great rap-inspired singing part, and it's these little things that speak to different people in different ways. All of this feeds into our community in some crazy way, shape, or form. It's welcoming people into a genre that they may never have been exposed to otherwise, and I think that s a beautiful thing.

As a vocalist, one thing in particular that draws me to Sleep Token is Vessel's voice. I have always been a screamer, but I've always wanted to be a singer at the same time. I always practise on the side of Lorna Shore, but in my mind I'm like, 'This isn't very good. My voice is not fit for metal at all, as far as singing goes'. When I first heard Sleep Token though, one of the first things I noticed was that Vessel and I have a very similar range. Hearing him lay down all of these incredible parts, it makes me realise that I can actually sing metal vocals.

Back when I first discovered them, I wanted to cover their songs in the hopes that more people would hear them. Now, I just want to cover them so that I can sing something that is in my range.

Obviously though, his voice is much more dynamic than mine because he's been polishing it for a very long time. He does a crazy vibrato and can switch between his head voice and chest voice super easily. It's crazy stuff, and as someone who has been a vocalist for so long, I can appreciate the techniques he's using. I love to hear the different ways he's able to blend his voice into the genre.

Another thing that makes his voice so unique is that it's so emotional. When I hear Vessel sing, I can truly feel the emotion behind his words. He might be this otherworldly figure singing about an ancient deity, but there's a distinct humanity to his vocals. You can sense his sadness and pain, and whether people realise it or not that draws a lot of people to Sleep Token's music. They're the band that you can listen to at two o'clock in the morning when you're driving down the road alone. They're the perfect companion for those moments where you're upset about something, and you just need to listen to something that feels like a release.

That's a beautiful thing, because when you write music, you want people to feel the same emotions that you're feeling when you're writing it. The way that Vessel translates all of that is so incredible, and it's arguably my favourite thing about the band. Between his vocals and the instrumentation behind them, you feel exactly what they want you to feel. Even before thinking about what I knew about Sleep Token, when we were thinking about what we wanted to do with Lorna Shore, that was the goal. We wanted to bring a little bit more emotion into heavy metal music, and now they've done that and brought the singing into it too. Metal's now even more emotional because of the way he uses his beautiful voice, and I think that's what this genre has needed for a long time.

The truth is, from the moment I first heard Sleep Token, I knew they were one of those bands. Between their studio quality, their musical skill, and their ability to conjure up their own lore to incorporate into the music, I could see that they had the potential to be something truly special, they just needed that little push.

As soon as they got that with 'The Summoning', that was it - they were taking over.

First impressions are a big thing, and I think 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb' will always be my favourite album because of the way I first connected with it, but 'Take Me Back To Eden' is phenomenal. They have been able to get all of their emotion out in so many new ways on those songs because there's even more happening from a musical perspective. They've managed to strike the balance between heaviness and beauty perfectly and that's what we strive to create with albums. The goal is to create an album you can sit with, front to back, and feel the waves of emotion. A record to let yourself feel those things, and an opportunity to sit in isolation whilst you experience that journey.

It's a feeling that's amplified within Sleep Token's live shows, and I was able to catch them at Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia. Lorna Shore were also playing, and we had a meet and greet scheduled for that day. It was scheduled to take place from 7pm until 7:30pm, and Sleep Token's set started at 7:30pm. I was a little antsy, because I know that meet and greets always overrun by half an hour or so, and they were the band I was most desperate to catch.

I was sitting there, it was 7:29pm, and the meet and greet line was still as long as it had been when we'd started. I started to hear 'Chokehold' playing in the distance, and I felt so sad.

People online were messaging me to tell me that Sleep Token were playing, and I was like, 'I know! I can hear them, but I'm stuck here!'

That's where it started to set in how freaking massive Sleep Token were becoming. They're one of the biggest metal bands that I'm aware of right now, and there were so many people watching that set. They refer to their live shows as rituals, their fans are the congregation, and the stage as a place of worship. It's something that could easily seem tacky if a band did it with little consideration for the details, but they're so committed to what they do.

After about three minutes, as I heard 'Chokehold' coming to an end, I stood up and said, 'Alright everybody, I've got to go. I'm so sorry, but if you know me, you'll understand'. The people who come to our meet and greets know how much I love Sleep Token, so they were like, 'Dude, go!' I sprinted out of there, leaving the rest of the band still doing the meet and greet, and made my way over to the stage. I thought I was the only one who wanted to see their set, but ten seconds into running I turned around and saw Of Mice & Men's singer, Aaron Pauley, following me. We started running through this huge crowd together, and everybody was so excited. I'm not the type of guy to leave a meet and greet early, but I needed to witness that set. It was an act of true love!

Even when they post on Instagram after shows, the captions are always like, 'The ritual has been completed in Copenhagen'. They totally absorb themselves in the spiritual aspect, physically, visually, and sonically. It's a brand, and they completely own that brand. They've made it exactly what it is, and they stick to it.

When I saw them, they had four people onstage doing harmonies with them, and they just stood there in their cloaks.

They didn't move throughout the entire set, and I began to picture it as a church choir at the side of the ritual. The whole experience does feel super spiritual, and they don't just give 50 per cent to the theming, it's 100 per cent. People feel the emotion, see the way they embody this ideal, and hear this incredible music - and I think that's why people are so ready to absolve themselves in this spiritual moment.

Everybody has a different connection to every song because of the different things everyone goes through in life, but they get to experience all of that in a place where everybody else is feeling something too.

Vessel's vocals translate into their live experience so perfectly, too. His screams are even better live than they are in the studio, and he still sings beautifully, which is so impressive. I was genuinely doubtful that he was going to be able to hit all of those vibratos and do all the other crazy vocal work he does on the albums, but he hit every note. Sometimes, he doesn't even hit the notes that he does on the studio versions, but he hits another note that is equally as stunning. He's a true performer.

You can tell a lot about a band from their live performance, but as a band in the modern age you also have to put a lot of thought into your promotion. The way you come across on social media is important, and the way that people perceive you is largely down to how you come across online. That's why I've always been fascinated by Sleep Token choosing to keep the identities of their band members a secret, refusing to do interviews and placing the focus on their visual identity.

I definitely think that's played a part in their success, because it's allowed the music to take centre stage. I remember when I was first talking to the rest of Lorna Shore about Sleep Token, they told me about the lore behind the band and that the members are all anonymous. That was before 'The Summoning' came out, but since people have caught on there have been some serious investigative deep dives, so l'm pretty sure the internet has found out who Vessel is.

I didn't look that up though, because personally for me, I always really appreciated the fact that they were totally anonymous. I like the feeling that Vessel is just a voice in the ether. You can hear it, but you can't classify it as being the voice of any one person, it's just this intriguing mystery. I've heard a lot of people say that it reminds them of when they first got into Slipknot because when a lot of people I know first listened to that band, nobody knew who was behind the masks. They were just a bunch of dudes making music with no outside perceptions, but then obviously people found out. I think that Sleep Token have that similar allure for a whole new generation, but sadly for me that mystery was shattered when I met them after a show.

It was great to meet them, but I also really didn't want to know who they were. I loved not knowing and I think that the anonymous aspect of what they do plays such an important role in the impact they're having on the heavy metal world.

It's a bit of a double-edged sword because everyone wants to know their identities, but once you do know - you miss the anonymity.

There's something special about the way they're putting their music out into the world with no need for individual validation, and I think it takes a lot of guts and confidence in what you're creating to do what Sleep Token are doing.

Usually, you almost want everyone to know who's in the band, because often that helps push you forwards. If you have someone in your line-up who's been in a well-known band before, you want to use that name to get yourselves out into the scene more. Sleep Token aren't anybody, and that takes a lot of courage and humbleness to do. There's no predisposed idea of what their music is supposed to be or what it's going to be, and that's part of the magic.

It's something that also comes out in the lore, the symbolism, and the cryptic clues that Sleep Token scatter throughout everything they do. There are Reddit threads dissecting every single word in the songs and analysing each pixel within their visuals, but it's not something I've had the chance to fall into just yet.

When I first listened to 'This Place Will Become Your Tomb', I could only find one or two articles about Sleep Token online.

They were basic articles explaining the idea of the band and what they were trying to do, which I thought were cool, but I never really looked it up again.

Over the last year or so, it seems that these conversations have spiralled. People are coming up with these different ideas about the band's story, and there are all these hints appearing constantly. I don't know any of the Easter eggs yet. I'm still just fascinated by the music and their wicked aesthetics, but I love that they've got people talking. It's become this kind of community around the band, and as someone who grew up in this scene, seeing artists who are able to foster that feeling amongst fellow music fans is such an incredible thing.

I think that's one of the reasons why Sleep Token have been able to find success on such a wide level so quickly, because there's a constant conversation about them. If people aren't talking about their music, they're talking about the lore and the stories behind it, or they're talking about the potential identities of the band members. They have this perfect package in place that lends itself to a world class metal band, but they're achieving it at such an incredible speed.

They thought out every single element of this band before they even started, from how the melodies work with the vocals, to the emotion and the quality of the sound. A lot of people put out music that sounds like they're hitting a trash can, and whilst they might have really good singing over the top of it, you can't ignore that trash can. Sleep Token have got incredible production value though, which is even more impressive when you consider how versatile their sound is.

It's so well thought out that you hear new things in each song on every listen. If you listen to 'Take Me Back To Eden', the title track of their third album, there's an allusion to a particular part of 'Chokehold', and it's details like that which make their production so unique. They wanted to make sure that it came out perfect, and maybe - like all musicians I know - they think they could have made certain parts of it better in retrospect, but I honestly can't imagine how.

Between the versatility, the emotion that people feel when they listen to it, the heaviness, the quality, and the songwriting, Sleep Token don't cut any corners anywhere. That's why they're already playing these huge, career defining shows, and putting out music that's changing people's perception of heavy music as a whole. It's so exciting to be a Sleep Token fan, and I just want them to write even more mind-blowing music and play even bigger places because they truly deserve it.

The bigger the places that they play, the better they're going to sound live. They're already playing arenas over in the UK, and with the size of those venues I just know they're going to sound absolutely incredible. They're reaching heights much higher than most metal bands that I know, and the bigger they get, the better their production value is going to be all round.

'Take Me Back To Eden' only came out earlier this year, but I already can't wait to hear them put out more music. lf what we heard on album three is the direction that they're going in, I'm very optimistic to see what the future holds for Sleep Token. I imagine at one point, they're going to make it on the radio - and honestly it could happen sooner rather than later. I knew it when I first heard them, and I'm even more certain of it now - they're going to be huge.

[sadability]

Did you get mysterious messages? ~🎵

MYSTIC MESSENGER MUSIC HEADCANONS :D (RFA + V, Rika, Vanderwood)

Jihyun / V

I think V would love Mitski. Just imagining him painting while my love, mine All mine plays in the background is so sweet. I also think he'd like cavetown, clario, Adrianne Lenker, Liane Flores and Tears For Fears. He often listens to it as background noise when painting or photographing but I also believe he'd practice singing using certain songs (and maybe sing you to sleep HSHSHS)

Jumin

Jumin gives me trouble because I feel like he listens to music for lyrics or lack thereof rather than sound. He listens to blues, jazz, classical and maybe a soft rock love song here and there. If he listens to a song with lyrics, he'll study them. He doesn't really listen to music often but when he does, it's often used as background noise rather than him genuinely indulging.

707 / Saeyoung / Luciel

I think he'd listen to mostly everything but especially synth wave, pop, new wave, rap, noise and glam rock for some reason. I could see him vibing to Depeche Mode one moment and then Fetty Wap the next. He would definitely unironically listen to wannabe by the spice girls LMAO. Also probably really likes tv show intros like iCarly theme or something. AND DISCO!! Seven dancing to bee gees when!?!?

Yoosung

To get rid of the obvious he'd listen to video game osts, pixel (I think that's what the genre is called?) and probably, here me out, pop punk. Or like Falling in Reverse. I think his favourite band would be the All American Rejects but I can also see him liking old demi lavato or Camilla cabello. Both basic white girl music and then randomly pop punk mixed in. As for gaming soundtracks I think he'd really like the undertale ost and probably listens to music through gacha life amv 😔

Zen / Hyun

I FEEL LIKE HIS MUSIC TASTE WAS EXPLICITLY STATED BUT I DONT REMEMBER RAHH okay okay uhm- !! I can totally see him listening to Whitney Houston, Abba, The Cardigans, The Beatles etc for some reason but also he'd feel self conscious that his music taste is too "old" so he would throw in shit like Kendrick Lamar and Future to spice things up and he would never ever admit that his favourite song is Angeleyes by Abba.

Jaehee

Bubblegum Pop, Indie and Doo Wop!!! Mitski, Girl In Red, Kinneret, Princess Chelsea, The Chordettes and The Supremes are frequents of Jaehee's playlist! She only really listens to music on the plane or in the office though. It helps her relax and take her mind off the stress for a bit. I can imagine her learning piano and playing songs like Johnny Angel or Mr Sandman in her free time.

Rika

Rika likes Melanie Martinez and i refuse to argue. She would probably relate really hard to some of her music and overall loves the way it sounds. Can also see her liking Penelope Scott. On the other hand, i see her liking classical or just soft piano music. Color me Blue by Akane would also be a song i can see her liking.

Vanderwood

Metal, Glam Rock, Glam Metal, Dad Rock, 80s rock just. Yeah. You get the point. Metallica, Journey, Mötley Crüe, Guns n Roses, Van Halen, Cinderella, Def Leppord and Dokken !! His favourite bands. Just classic 80s/90s rock for ya. Absolutely goes to their concerts religiously. Probably plays electric guitar as well..he could perform his own concert tbf

[harumasa-wifey]

Heard you wanted to talk about Asaba Harumasa, here I am! He's my second favorite character in the game after Billy Kid and I already have some nice headcanons for him, such as him and Corin being childhood friends because they were both in the same hospital (remember Corin had a critical illness that needed a deadly surgery which you can see that she still has the scar in her Mindscape) so I see him as her adopted big brother who gave her her teddy bear. I also headcanon that he takes as much as leaves and sick days as possible just to be able to keep up with his treatments and hospitalisations that probably takes up a lot of his time, I could see him having lived in the hospital for as long as he can remember. One canon fact that I know thanks to one of Yanagi's trust event is that he is the only one who can sing well (apparently) when Section 6 and Section 5 meet up for karaoke, as Soukaku only knows oni songs which aren't in the playlists and Miyabi doesn't know any songs of this era, and Yanagi is a terrible singer, so for that I do hope that we'll see his VA sing a song in one of his character videos that we'll probably get this week since he and Miyabi are coming next week. Also while Yanagi is labeled as the normal one in the group, actually it would be Harumasa, since he is just very lazy and carefree but he is actually more down to earth compared to her, as she seems to have perfect memory and gets work done so well that even a robot would have trouble keeping up with her. I like to headcanon him and Miyabi as the disaster twins for constantly trying to shirk off work and constantly cover one another and help one another and have meetings about how to dodge their responsabilities in the office more often. Harumasa gives her ideas in how to skip section heads meetings and Miyabi is fine with him taking his sick leaves and doing his best at not getting any overtime, they get each other so well on that. XD

Oh please he is my favourite character now! I dropped playing the game on the first version because it got tiresome to me BUT when I saw leaks of him in the new quest (event special) I knew i needed this man now i don't have a single 5 in the game he will be my first and last i am definitely pulling for him don't matter if I get him free his w- engine LITERALLY CONTAINS MEDICINE he makes me wanna cry why did they do this to my man. I thought he was just a little silly guess he is more than that. I DID NOT KNOW THAT ABOUT CORIN I LITERALLY MAIN HER WTF guess i need to more deep search thank you for the info tho AND BIG BROTHER HARU THAT GUY IS A SOFTIE. He Gotta keep with all those medical reports and medicine literally he was a child i am not sure if they experimented on him or it was an accident but oh boy if they experimented on him hoyo is up for some serious talk. I REALLY WANNA HEAR HIM SING NOW. Gotta manifest his va singing fr. Yanagi is extraordinary to me she is literally so smart and holy crap she memorized that whole manual in such a short time yep she is anything but normal. While soukaku is busy thinking about snacks and miyabi and harumasa finding new ways to skip work yanagi almost manages everything including their leaves which oh boy it sounds tiresome yet she looks balanced doing all that shit. I love my lazy and carefree boy he could have been more normal if all that didn't happen. I genuinely didn't see this coming it broke my heart seeing his child self wrapped in all those endless wires and kept in confinement. The disaster partners!! Yess! Can definitely imagine them skipping meetings and paper work the only paper miyabi needs signed is her will by her gf (yanagi) it almost as anytime yanagi does something fascinating she has her will paper out with a pen "sgin this (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)" like calm down girl y'all can get this signed in your marriage. Like i just finished the special mission and oh boy i wanna kiss harumasa so bad i typed his name so many times even my keyboard knows it now 😭. HIS LITTLE BANGBOO IS SOOO CUTE I WANNA HOLD HIM SO BADD. Thank you so much for indulging me in this i wanted to talk about it so badly.

[lovelynicho]

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Pairing: K x gn!reader

Genre: fluff

Warnings: none

Notes: I wrote this a while ago, originally I wanted to write something Christmassy for every member but I didn't have time and I also got sick so this is the only one I have now:(( still I hope you like it! english is not my first language I apologize for any mistakes! Nor proofread

Masterlist

"Yudai where are you taking me?" You asked genuinely curious about your boyfriend's intentions. He just told you to dress up pretty because he has a surprise for you and now you're sitting next to him in his car looking at the passing streets beside you as chirstmas decorations light up everything that's covered by the night sky's darkness.

"You'll know soon" he answers and a minute later he's already parking the car. Then, being the gentleman he is, opens the car door for you and takes your hand in his while he starts walking.

After about five minutes or so you arrive to a place "Surprise!" You can hear your boyfriend basically singing the word. You look up above the entrance of the building where you see 'jazz bar' written. "They play Christmas songs today and I thought it would be a shame to miss it" his smile was so huge you don't think you've ever seen him smiling like that. Or at least you've never seen him smiling like that without him having a cup of dark coffee in one of his hands. "Do you like it?"

"I love it" you reassured him as you wrapped your arms around his waist giving him a warm hug that contrasts the cold air that took over the whole city.

Stepping in the bar you suddenly feel hot, happy that you can finally get rid of your coat that covered your elegant outfit. After getting your drinks you sat down to an empty table, just listening to the music, enjoying the moment and the Christmas vibes that filled the whole place.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Yudai suddenly asked while taking one if your hands in his own, giving a small kiss on your knuckles. After you gave him a small nod he led you to the place where some older people were slowly dancing to the iconic Christmas songs.

"This is my favourite!" You smiled at your boyfriend as soon as you heard the beginning of Michael Bublé's iconic song 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas'. Yudai mirrored your expression and pulled you closer to his chest.

"I love you so much" he spoke softly in your ears "I am so glad that I can spend Christmas with you for the first time. And this might sound cheesy, but I hope I can spend every following Christmas with you."

You smiled a little at his sudden confession "You're right, it does sound cheesy" you laughed feeling that his chest was also slightly shaking by laughing. "But I also hope that I can spend every Christmas with you from now on" then you stayed silent for a little while before opening your mouth again "and I love you too"

And the two of you continued to sway to the soft jazz music in the bar until you could barely stand anymore. Because those moments, when you can be alone with someone you love without anything from your world bothering, are the most precious. Those moments, when it's just you and him in your little bubble, even if that bubble is at a public space like a jazz bar, are the moments that worth the most for you. Usually you don't have a minute that you could spend together like this, getting lost in the music for hours, but at Christmas the whole world slows down for a few days and you too can slow down and be with someone you love so much only focusing on each other.

[vvanillavveins]

On the WTNV finale:

Look, i like Brinknor. They helped me fall back in love with Night Vale when i was feeling particularly uninspired. It's hard to put it into words; i have adhd & i struggle to remember big intricate plots unless something reoccurring has really grabbed hold of my attention, and before Brinknor, i was struggling to sink my teeth into anything attention-holding, so to speak. I guess i was becoming less enthusiastic in Night Vale's storyline as time went on, even though i couldn't really work out why. I just couldn't stop tuning out. But, with Brinknor, there came a bunch of shiny new plotpoints- at a faster pace. The show could actually hold my focus properly, and my wtnv fixation was suddenly up & running again.

All this is to say that i know it's just my impatience talking when i say that i wish that the loose ends of those new, interesting plotpoints had been tied up a little more by episode 250. I adore the way they write about Cecil's childhood and his family, and i want Kevin & The Boy's arc to be given the same amount of love, and attention, and time that the Palmer siblings' arc got. The same goes for Tamika. And Carlos. And Lauren, actually. Yes, i know she was a central figure in the last 2 episodes, and i loved that because she's one of my favourite characters. I fucking adore eldritch Mother Lauren. But still, it was all too vague to really learn anything new about her or the desert otherworld. And, above all else, i can't help but think of how wonderful it would've been if Charles and Donovan were included in the finale- especially Donovan.

When Kevin first came back in 2023, one of my silly little hcs as to why he was apparently in the Smiling God's bad books (and why he didn't mention Charles or Donovan) was that because Charles & Donovan aren't from Desert Bluffs they haven't devoted themselves to the Smiling God like the rest of the townsfolk. They wouldn't "smile" properly. One of my darker ideas at the time was the possibility of Kevin having to choose between making them part of his faith, i.e., making them "smile" like the rest of Desert Bluffs (which i doubt he'd go through with after his mudstone abyss arc), or having Charles & Donovan leave town (which i doubt they'd go through with), or, doing neither & keeping quiet about his life with them to avoid drawing attention. If he chose the latter and then got found out, it would make sense that he'd stop being the Smiling God's favourite. Obviously, i never thought any of that was correct- i was just having fun- and i was excited to find out the real story further down the line.

But that didn't happen, and we still don't really have many answers. Everything to do with Kevin, and Lauren, and The Boy got wrapped up in about 10 minutes flat. We've already had an emotional Fatherhood themed episode with Cecil & Abby; we didn't need another one just for the sake of it.

With the context of what we already know about Kevin's father, the ending of episode 250 was just uncomfortable. Sure, Kevin's talked about his father positively before, but that's always been in contrast with the actual content of his memories. It's always been made clear that the script/the writers disagree with Kevin's sunny outlook, and therefore the listeners should too. Those moments are there to demonstrate just how fucked up Kevin really is, and that his positivity is just a coping mechanism. But this time Cecil spoke for him, so we didn't get Kevin's usual sing-song rambling. It was calm, and collected, and matter-of-factly. And this time there were no sugar-coated descriptions of abuse, only genuine praise. We were actually supposed to agree with him this time, and it made the whole speech (and ending) sound hollow and forced.

I really didn't like this episode. It felt rushed. It tried to cover far too much far too quickly, and it failed. But, despite all that, i am hoping that future episodes will bring some sort of clarity about what happened. And hopefully some closure about Kevin and his family, too. I want loose ends to get tied up properly and i believe that maybe, with time, the important ones will be. Slow burning subplots are kinda quintessential to Night Vale's writing at this point anyway. Brinknor definitely missed the mark with this one, but they're still incredibly talented writers and i'm not ready to give up on them like some of the other fans on here.

Besides, i think that some of Night Vale's worst episodes are still incredible pieces of writing in their own right. The bad episodes are only bad in comparison to the dozens upon dozens of absolutely phenomenal episodes that make up the rest of a show that is, for the most part, a joy to listen to. So, here's to some hopefully better episodes in the future, i guess.

[jegonriver]

Part 2 of my Raphael notes and observations from combing over the House of Hope, be warned these may be spoiler-ish:

There's a copy of the DnD-verse K*ma S*tra in his boudoir, I cant remember what its called tho its like quarta serto or something.

There is an eternal debtor that worships Raphael's used chamberpot. There's an action to 'use' it but tbh I was not interested in trying it out.

There is a voyeur eternal debtor that Raphael instructed to always stand outside the boudoir and watch what goes on inside but never to join. She seems pretty into it.

Most of the plaques, scrolls, books etc suggest he has a strong sense of justice and a love of rules and laws which makes sense.

As a child, Gortash was sold by his parents to Raphael to pay a debt and he was kept in the prison and regularly beaten until he escaped.

Signs letters and instructions with 'R'

Has a 100 chapter book he's written of what is essentially fanfiction-esque imaginings he has of different in which he is coronated Archdevil Supreme, one of which is of course the scenario in which you give him the crown. The book describes some different chapters as being written as though they are historical fact, others as imagined futures.

One book describes how he himself created the Orphic Hammer to be able to break any infernally created chains.

Korilla has transcribed two scrolls of conversations Raphael has had with Hope. The first of which he askes Hope to sing him a nursery rhyme. The example he gives her when Hope is confused is a suggestive rhyme.

"Little Miss Teffle, sat on her kettle, steam blowing between her lips. Along came her oven, in need of some loving, and soon she had scalded hips."

Hope sings for him a nursery rhyme from her childhood and when the song ends Raphael sighs contentedly. He's so pleased he offers her the opportunity to be master of her own fate as a reward. She calls him "Sweet Raphael" and then tells him to eat shit. He responds with what sounds like genuine shock/disappointment "But..." and Korilla describes him as looking at Hope with immense "longing and hate", then implies she'll be punished.

In the 2nd transcription Raphael torments Hope with a jar filled with nightmares. Before doing so he says "Serve me then! Damn your pride and serve me with your whole heart!" She still says no, and he is disappointed and calls her naughty.

Oh also, he calls Hope by the pet name Sweetling, describes her as "my tenacious petal clinging to the flower despite winter, nature, and all common sense", and he also calls her 'dear one'

If you talk to Korilla she says Hope is Raphael's 'favourite toy', Raphael offered Hope "the world, but she didnt want it. He sweetened the deal; she said no. No matter how many times he upped the ante, she just laughed in his face. He didn't like that."

Korilla goes on to say "Eventually, he took her by force. Trapped her and swore he wouldn't let her go 'til she gave him what he wanted."