#especially when you're very caught up in the thing and end up with tunnel vision

[ishikawayukis]

honestly there's nothing better than reading someone's opinions or thoughts about a piece of media and realizing "oh! i was actually missing the whole point of it" because it happens! it happens a lot and people are just too prideful to accept that maybe i was the one in the wrong for this one and didn't actually understand the theme of it all

[lunarw0rks]

*groveling on the floor* nice simon

pleeaase anything w big sweet man simon 😭🩵

ugh… you know what's been on my mind lately?? neighbor!au with all my favorite men - but especially simon! here are some of my thots;

he's so... awkward and off-putting. in the sweetest way. like a stray dog that's only allowed to bite you. neighbor!simon, who's the perfect coresident. rarely home, and if he is, you don't even notice! except for those awkward elevator rides...

obviously, simon being the most vehement introvert, does his best to avoid him. but it's a shady apartment building. things happen; maintenance or rowdy visitors blocking the stairway. so sometimes it's easier to suffer thirty seconds of agonizing silence.

there was you. across the hall from the strange, intimidating man. it's difficult not to be frightened, especially when his way of communicating is through grim eye contact, or god forbid a deep sigh when you accidentally bump into him.

neighbor!simon is never upset with you, though. grumpy is merely his default :( for many reasons. but he always feels awful when you give him that anxious look or go out of your way to make space for him in the narrow hall.

it's not every day he meets someone like you, quiet and respectful of his boundaries. let alone live next to. so... he began to make peace his own way. taking advantage of him always being up at dawn; salting the pavement by your patio to ensure your safe commute to work. cleaning up the stack of mail that the courier tossed at your box, tucking it in neatly.

aaaand eventually moves on to more outgoing gestures. knocking on your door, two little taps with his knuckle. asking if you heard "that noise" outside, purely to make sure you were alright. partially his overthinking getting the better of him, also a cheeky move on his part to see your face.

finds a way to learn more about you, even when you're at your most bashful. typically, when he's caught you in your nightclothes, all pampered and ready for bed. next to him, you feel ridiculous, as if he's not wearing the most basic athleisure.

sometimes neighbor!simon will lean against the entrance of the building, watching cars and listening to the city noise. but he isn't out there for fun. in his mind he's waiting on someone; you. when he hears the creak of the rickety door opening, his posture becomes even straighter than usual.

"bloody cold out here, isn't it?" his gruff voice murmurs, breath visible with every word. months ago, the presence would've startled you. but you'd grown used to his very predictable, unpredictable routine of running into you.

you sigh out your words, rubbing your icy fingers together. no gloves, he notices, but doesn't acknowledge. "why aren't you inside, simon? place is pretty cozy if you look past the water damage."

simon scoffs, "i like the cold," he places his hands into his pockets and reaches for the door handle. "y' workin' today, love?" he inquires, despite noticing your work bag slung over your shoulder.

you mutter an unenthusiastic 'yes', exhaustion evident in your features. it's too damn early for you to be out and about, struggling to make ends meet.

he hums to himself as he walks away, waiting until your figure disappears before crossing the street. he's on his way to the nearest shop.

that evening, when you return to your flat with dragging feet, there's no sign of neighbor!simon. out front, out back, or in the hall. only sign of life is the flickering lamp peaking under the gap of his front door. frankly, you're too exhausted to think about it much.

you raise your key to the lock, stepping forward when it gives way. something blocks your foot, nearly sending you tumbling forward. you peer down at the quaint gift box, nearly embarrassed at the tumble it gave you. proves that your post-work tunnel vision is no joke.

curiously, you examine it. no fancy wrapping paper, plain cardboard. and in place of the ribbon is some decorative twine, halfway decently tied into the shape of a bow. with a gentle tug, you release it and take off the lid. the aroma of cardboard is stronger now, as well as a spritz of a very familiar cologne.

gloves; knitted and coordinated to match your winter jacket. you smile to yourself, taking one last look at simon's door behind you, just as he shuts off the lamp for the night, the spotty yellow glow ceasing.

waiting on you to get home safe, no matter how late. of course, there's a price tag on them. he's not that showy, or crafty. anything he'd try to knit would end up a crumpled slab of yarn.

stepping inside your flat, you set your things down on the counter and run your finger over the soft, thick material. you can already picture the relief these will be on your walk, no longer clocking in with stiff, frozen fingers. new winterwear was on your list for months, but you're notoriously bad at gifting yourself nice — basic — things. and apparently, it shows.

the hollow box rattles when you set it down, as do your keys. finally, you slip them on, thinking of all the days you passed your neighbor simon. never knowing how observant he could be, in the sweetest way.

and they're a perfect fit, of course.

[yanban-san]

I keep daydreaming about a darling who goes undercover to investigate this weird new local cult, and ends up very quickly rising through the ranks because suddenly whatever they're worshipping is actually responding now, but it's only to her. Instant high priestess, much to darling's distress and the twin's delight (and the mad jealousy of a few followers).

Oh oh oh, I have had such ideas about this at length... Especially for our darling boys who don't particularly desire a cult, ya know? (Also I want to gush about some OCs) [Some half-written ideas in here too]

I still haven't written much on it, but in the eldritch boy's AU I do picture there are other eldritch horrors running around- Not necessarily in Unova, but elsewhere in the world, you know? They have their own cults, amassing innocent, clueless followers to do their bidding...

But the boys keep Unova- And you- Safe from those fools. A cult tries to build a new compound or a temple in Unova? Earthquake or sudden fire happens or massive gas leak, the cult is gone. Someone's trying to proselytize about their sweet, super-cool God who will break free from the chains they were bound in thousands of years ago and bless those who honor it's return? Car accidents happen all the time in Castelia- Better it happens to them then someone who actually matters, you know?

But I have pictured the train boys getting a cult... And possibly a lot of people interested in their movements. Maybe even the Depot Agents having a cult to their lovely Bosses? Who knows.

Or maybe a weird train cult just pops up in Nimbasa. Trains are well loved, and some psychics have noticed there's a lot of strange power around the tracks... And they begin to amass. Some psychics have strange visions of strange monsters, strange lights, and deep, impenetrable darkness- Some regular folks notice strange irregularities and strange... almost glitches, in the fabric of reality on the subway- Their pokemon are jittery. They themselves are jittery. Gleaning what they can from visions and frenzy and dreams, they erect their own false temple, and pray and make offerings to the strange light and darkness of the temple. They sometimes look for others who share their feelings- Especially on one particular forum in the AU- The lit.wick website. A popular place to post about strange paranormal happenings in Unova, and the site owner had to make a separate board for the Subway of Nimbasa alone- Far too many strange things happen down there and it was flooding the rest of the boards, you know. The owner of the website himself is even beginning to investigate the tunnels... And the cultists realize the Depot Agents carry a strange energy about them- And the Subway Bosses themselves carry an even stranger energy- Have they been somehow blessed by whatever slumbering deity lurks within the Subway? But the Station Masters are not stupid enough to let these mere mortals know their nature- So they may appear oddly powerful, but nothing the cultists freak out about. But you? Oh, they forgot about how many gifts they've given you- How they've showered you in their protections and charms and blessings-

You're getting tired of being stopped by the strange people who lurk outside the Subway at seemingly all hours of the day. When the police break up one small group and tell them to move on, another soon moves in- And each time, they feel the need to pester you. "You do not realize it, but you've been blessed, O Young One." The cultist addressing you wore a dark cloak and thick spectacles that obscured most of his face. "I have not," You retort. Of course. "On the contrary," The man snorted, "Your life has taken a turn for great fortune recently, hasn't it?" "No it has-" You stopped. Hadn't it, though? "And not only that, but you bear promises from the Ineffable Mysteries of the Tunnels." He continued on. He caught you- The moment you caught yourself doubting your rejection, he'd caught you. "The feather in your cap gives off an unmistakable power... As does whatever you hide in your breast pocket." "Nonsense," You snapped, getting tired of this. "I highly doubt your- God, or whatever it is you're playing pretend with, would drop a feather at my feet-" "Ah, but it dropped at your feet, did it not? And you keep it in your hat? Why there?" The cultist half-sneered with every word coming from his lips. "And of the thing in your pocket- What of that?" "That- That was... Nothing, my boss was going to throw it out and he gave it to-" "He gave it to you? I highly doubt he was going to throw it out. He may have found it, but it was intended for you, O child. Did your boss seem strange when he was... going to throw it out? Did it seem urgent that you take that curious thing with you?" Your memory of that day Ingo gave you the scale was a little fuzzy- But- You felt a chill run down your spine. He had pressed it into your hand- And the intense, troubled look on his face- He asked you to keep it, in a voice that was strangely urgent-

And you certainly had good fortune. But you'd had good fortune even before you started working at Gear Station- But hadn't you also lost your job, and the only place you could find employment was at Gear Station? You went silent and turned away from the man. "Enough of this. Leave me alone." And you ignored his protests as you bolted across the street, booking it to your apartment. You took the feather off of your cap. Placed it on a bookshelf. You took the scale out of your breast pocket. Placed it on a bookshelf. You stared at them both. A white feather and a black scale. One gotten by chance, the other given to you- Why would Ingo give you a scale? It made no sense- He battled with pokemon every day. Pokemon lost fur and feathers and scales constantly- So why that one? You'd been blessed. And whatever blessed you, wanted you to know you'd been blessed- Or chosen. For something. And that thought seemed far scarier to you than anything else. You swallowed hard. Perhaps you wouldn't wear the scale and feather anymore to work. ------- I do have a rough sketch (VERY rough) of the guy who runs the lit.wick paper and website- I need to clean it up and actually draw the pokemon, as well as draw his assistant, Lowell Blackthorn- But I will share Jack here for now. I've been really liking the idea of writing a Darling who's a lot smarter/coy/cunning for the eldritch boys (And also over tired and overworked) and instead of immediately going to work for Gear Station, ends up working as a writer for the lit.wick paper at first.

Name: Jack Langton

Occupation: In the Eldritch AU, He is the owner of the famous/infamous website Lit.Wick, and the associated paper published quarterly with it; The paper primarily focuses on everything horror/supernatural related, having sections for scary stories submitted by writers, or actual investigations into supernatural phenomena around Unova. However, the paper gained fame by writing massive exposes on different cults and their illegal/abusive practices in Unova, and helped to break them up- As well as exposing fraudulent psychics and so-called "mages" across the region. The paper became rather infamous however, when Langton began investigating several cult influences into the Unovan government- And exposed the crimes and perversion of a number of politicians across Unova. The paper had a smear campaign launched against it, and after several near-death incidences happened under the Lit.Wick Publishing House and Paper, it fell into obscurity and is primarily known now as more of a "for fun" paper that only talks about paranormal investigations or click-bait style articles with titles like "Top Ten Haunted Locations in Northern Opelucid". Langton himself is super friendly and protective of his small staff team- He also adores kids, and his pokemon, very dearly! He has- His trusty and old companions, Stoutland and Arcanine, a small pidove, a Lilligant, and a golett that used to not work... until he moved to Nimbasa, and one night while he was putting it outside by one of the subway's surface access tunnels, it suddenly sprung back to life, and has since recognized Jack as it's owner.

[jenukiart]

OC Stuff - BKW - The Bomb Brigade

This one's a doozy cuz each member has a lot going on so strap in!!!

Their job is to hunt intergalactic monsters, beasts, and other such dangerous anomalies. With Kisyku running around rampant across the Cosmos, he quickly becomes their biggest target yet!! While their heavy duty weaponry and means of combat mean serious business, the brigade often gets caught up in numerous misadventures (sometimes they're just outright hard to take seriously...)

Also.. I call them the Bomb Brigade as their official title, but I'd imagine in the actual story the name alliteration gets mixed up and butchered every single time, as if no one can remember the actual name hahahaha. Anywhos..

Bombs

Bombs is the head-honcho of the Brigade. He's a human from Earth who leads his team with great confidence (sometimes to a fault). He can be stubborn.. and.. hard to co-operate with sometimes.. but all in all he's a captain who cares deeply for the whole team. Each member to him is like family, so he's always doing anything he can to look out for them.

I'd imagine whenever the Brigade needs to put up with Kisyku (like a temporary truce, or whenever they eventually form an alliance later in the story), him and Bombs would be that kind of friendly rival dynamic that just has them constantly arguing while they have to put up with each others annoyances.

Bombs also has an interesting speech-style, adding a lot of S to the end of words and stuff.. He also has a big rocket launcher, because he believes anything can be solved with explosives.

Bits and Blitz

Bits is little shark-manta-alien-thing who was recruited by Bombs for his incredible technical prowess. He's super smart, and having four hands is quite helpful when you're the team's primary mechanic. Outside of his technical craft, however, he enjoys gardening a lot. Bombs even lets him have his own garden room on the ship! He also just talks with a lot of sailor/sea terminology hahaha

Bits invented Blitz before joining Bombs, but she was just the orb/eye part back then. She didn't get the laser cannon extension until Bits built Bash (yeah he built Bash too!!). Bits has been meaning to give her a proper robot body, but she's actually happy being just the way she is.

Blitz is like a sister to Bits, having a cheery heart-of-gold. She speaks in beeps, chirps, and whirs, but everyone can still understand what she has to say anyways. She's a great listener, and often the one the Brigade members (especially Bury...) confide in to talk about their feelings. Despite her physical limitations she's still a girl at heart, doing things like makeup and stuff. :P

Bash

The Brigade often searches through the aftermath of places Kisyku’s been for anything useful. He tends to really bust up facilities and machines for some reason. Bits managed to collect enough scraps and parts to give Blitz a laser cannon, and eventually construct Bash.

Bash is forged from the scraps of Kisyku’s destruction. He has one goal and one goal alone and it's to "kill the Celestial." That tunnel-vision mindset is kinda like Android 16 in DBZA, except Bash is also very arrogant too. He often sees himself as the superior being, the greatest, flawless, you get the idea. Somehow though, he's just co-operative enough to still be tolerable... except with Bury... him and Bury kinda argue like a LOT.

Unlike the weaponry used by the rest of the Brigade, Bash specializes in sheer physical strength and agility. He can spin his body around a whole 360 degrees, making him very a versatile threat able to keep up with someone as quick and nimble as Kisyku.

Eventually, Bits constructs the Giga Bash, a giant mecha that the Brigade uses at the climax of their rivalry with Kisyku in attempt to finish him off once and for all! This form of Bash is piloted by the rest of the Brigade, and has tons of features like missiles, swords, lasers, and all sorts of heavy duty artillery.

Kisk does.. end up beating the Giga Bash though.. I'd imagine it's then that they finally put the bounty stuff aside for good. Though I imagined later big story beats will have them bring Giga back out again to help out with massive threats Kisk faces.

Bury

Oh boy uhm. Bury is. interesting. She's my personal favorite member of the Brigade! It's probably why she's the only one I have a proper reference sheet of, haha

Not much is really known about Bury, The Brigade, by complete and utter luck, just found her unconscious on a desolate planet. They were there just looking for parts and stuff, so it was a complete "right place right time" sorta deal to even have found her.

Thankfully, they were able to recover her back to health, Bits even gave her a prosthetic arm to replace the one she was missing.

But Bury is a total mystery to the Brigade, she refuses to elaborate about her past, why she was stranded, etc. Whenever they prod her about it, she's very cold, rude, and defensive about it.

Eventually they just stop trying to push something out, and learn to just live with her as she is now. Doesn't mean things are awkward though. Despite her mean-girl nature, Bury gets along moderately well with the Brigade, still following orders where needed. While she has her problems with the gang, she still manages to tolerate her relationships with em fair enough.

Except Bash..... Bury argues with Bash like all the time them two like never get along, but it's mostly played up for laughs than anything really serious.

Though I'd imagine with time she grows a secret soft spot for them that she just doesn't wanna admit. It's probbaly why she still sticks around them. Not like she has anywhere else to go.

So the best way I can describe her is "space tsundere/troubled sister" hahaha

In terms of abilities though, Bury excels at both close quarters and long range combat, making her a threat on all covers.

Her laser scythe can be turned into a sniper rifle and vice versa with just a spin of the handle, so it's not like she's stick to one mode of combat at any time.

She REALLY doesn't like Kisyku, and is the only member of the Brigade who seems to ACTUALLY give him a a run for his money (see this saying is ironic because Kisyku is constantly broke but it's not actually about money sorry idk why I'm rambling I thought I felt so cool saying it)

But yeah, them two seem to not get along very well.... It's especially awkward when the Brigade is forced to team up with Kisyku for episodic antics. Kisyku genuinely doesn't know what her deal is though.

She just seems to have a lot going on that she just doesn't wanna talk about. For her to be so locked up about her past leaves her shrouded in complete mystery to the rest of the cast. I hope that one day if I can truly get BKW out there, I'll get to uncover her secrets to you all.

And wow that's them!! Hopefully you learned a lot about these guys, it's my first time sharing info about them like this!! Now I can go and draw my silly doodles about them :P