#for now the live perf will have to suffice

[peach-blossoms]

缝合 (Fix You) – Zhou Shen

Album: 《反深代词》 - Track 8 Lyricist: Zhou Shen & Wang Qian Composer: Song Yang Arrangement: Song Yang & Qian Lei Producer: Qian Lei

Where to buy/listen (not available on Spotify or Youtube yet)

Live performance at 9.29Hz Concert in Hangzhou (eng subbed by me)

[T/N: literal translation of title is “sewing / suturing / mending” all artistic liberties in translation are mine, and paragraph breaks were added for ease of reading. although zs participated in writing the lyrics for many songs in this album, this detail is an even more devastating fact when it comes to this song. read the extras at the end for more sufferingdetails]

"This is a song I don't wish for you to understand. If you do understand it, give yourself a hug. Thank you for your hard work." - Zhou Shen's comment on Weibo post about the song

LYRICS

情绪伤口 修补能手 These emotional wounds were mended by a professional 短暂缝合之后又渗出血流 Shortly after suturing, blood seeped out again 同父母说 相同困惑 I told my parents to their perplexity 也正在大人身体里经历着 Adult bodies also experience the same 不停思索 寻找缘由 Thinking incessantly, seeking reasons 听见左胸传来回声的空洞 Hearing a hollow echo from the left chest 这不够好，那要改过 This is not good enough, must correct it 无尽的盼头 Hope is inexhaustible

I’m giving my all 寻找缺口 修补伤口 Find the nicks, mend the wounds I’m giving my all 缝补之后 又再次泪流 After mending, tears flow again I’m giving my all 新的伤痕 旧的内疚 These new scars, these old guilts I’m giving my all 如何才能 找到出口 How can I find the way out?

否定成果 爽约承�� Negated gains, broken promises 都缝合成细腻温柔的眼色 Are all sewn into smooth and gentle eyes 落单门口 独行角落 Left alone at the door, in a solitary corner 都包扎成坚强独立的成就 Are all bound up into strong and independent successes

重复工作 重复失落 Work keeps repeating, loss keeps duplicating 调换角色修补找新的成果 Swapping mending roles to seek new results 不同身体 不同角落 A different body, a different corner 同样的苦痛 The pain is no different

I’m giving my all 大人背后 常乌云盖着 Behind each adult are often dark clouds I’m giving my all 孩子内心 底色是晴的 The colour of a child’s heart is sunny I’m giving my all 白的天空 留了一滴墨 A drop of ink lands in the white sky I’m giving my all 如何调色 如何来涂抹 How to blend the colours, how to paint them

所有无助的绑住的困住的我都清楚却也无法挣脱 These helplessness, bindings, and entrapments, I know them all, yet cannot break free 所有偏执的逃离的期盼的他们都懂也无法从头来过 These fixations, running away, and expectations, they understand them all, yet cannot start over

I’m giving my all 各自运转 各自角色 Each of us is functioning, each of us has a role I’m giving my all 你们都是 第一次活着 You all are living for the first time I’m giving my all 万般无意 伤口却留着 However unintentional the slights, they still leave behind wounds I’m giving my all 伤痕再多 也值得被爱着 How ever many scars there are, you are worthy of being loved

EXTRAS

About the song’s setting:

“In the world of 200 years later, all injured humans will be mended by magical robots. Adult robots are responsible for mending adult humans, and young robots are responsible for mending children; they form a family unit and work together. All human wounds will eventually heal, except for one part...

One day, a young mending robot asks its parents for help: "This child's heart was mended yesterday, but today the wound has reopened..."

The parents, who are also mending robots, smile as if they are used to it: "Adult hearts are just as difficult to mend...but you'll get used to it after you mend them a few more times."

The little robot knocked on its chest unknowingly – a hollow echo came from the metal shell. "Can a robot without a heart mend a bleeding heart?" it wonders.

The little robot decides to exchange the client with its parents. It wants to find the answer to achieving "completely mended".

With its parents around and watching, it opens the chest of an adult human with great expectation―

Misunderstanding, regret, guilt, helplessness, self-blame, pain...

These emotions, akin to old and new scars crisscrossing, cover up the bleeding heart in layers.

"We can't truly mend the person’s heart, right? Dad, Mom..."

"Perhaps...but as long as the heart is still beating, we still have a chance to mend it again."”

Zhou Shen’s Weibo post sharing his thoughts about the song:

“Mending” is a song that made me very very very very very very very very very very very very very stressed.

Sometimes I even felt that I was doing something that was a bit "indelicate". But I also feel that "being seen" has a certain kind of meaning!!

As a singer, I feel like I am a little mending robot from 200 years later, slowly mending everyone's new and old wounds, including my own, through singing.

I hesitated many times, wondering if writing these emotions would be a bit "indelicate", but I ended up burying many of my own shards into the lyrics. I also worried whether this song would touch the shards that many listeners buried in their memories that they do not want to be touched?

But just like the little robot, despite failures and despite lack of solutions, it still persists in dissecting the wound and mending it again and again.

In the face of unchangeable facts, only by facing and meeting them head on, only by accepting and understanding, only by listening and empathizing, only by being sincere and courageous, and never giving up on yourself, can you create opportunities and allow the wounds to be truly mended.

In fact, I also know that many wounds will not heal in the end.

But to have the opportunity to mend them again and again, I think that is a very happy thing.

I wish for everyone: To not be afraid of new wounds, to not be afraid of old scars; no matter what, you are always worthy of being loved.

I am very happy to be your mending little robot.

Each of us is our own mending little robot.

Even if you have been bearing new and old scars all this time, it will not prevent you from being surrounded by passionate love!!! Not because of any reason, but because it is you, so it is worth it!”

[rabbithub]

Control (Pact!AU, 1/???)

(So, I'm still working on something comedic in the drafts for a different AU, so I'll put this here.

Plus, don't summon demons, kids.)

"Take a deep breath, damn it. No backing out now."

Softly, the man takes a deep breath, before exhaling slowly and evenly. He was standing safely within a salt circle close to a well drawn summoning circle, each tip of the inner pentagram adorned with a lit red candle. 'It's only a basic summoning circle.' he told himself. 'I'm not summoning something that powerful- it's better to not tread where I could endanger myself.'

Then again, he was doing was already high risk to begin with. He had been dabbling in scrying and divination in the beginning, but it was more of something that was currently calming than what he felt could help him gain a foot hold. From that, he carefully dove into spell work, and became intrigued with summoning spells when he unstuck a few pages in an old tome he had purchased a few weeks prior; most seemed beyond what he could accomplish, let alone attempt- even the most basic of rituals had a risk of getting killed or worse.

Yet, he wasn't looking to summon some all powerful being- one pitiful, frightened creature would suffice well to serve him. He took some time to research what would be a suitable being to call upon for the sole purpose of servitude; trying to find something that was equal parts fierce and loyal- again, a risk, but it seemed to be worth a reward. Eventually, he seemed to settle for the possibility of a demon- if the spell was weak enough, whatever was pulled through would be submissive enough to obey his command.

However, he decided on some precautions in case something went wrong; a salt circle for protection, and a binding spell to prevent the summoned demon from going out of line. 'The moment the summoning is finished, I will perform the binding spell to keep the demon from attacking me.' he told himself smugly.

The only caveat was that he couldn't find a offering that would work without the possibility of interfering with what type of magic he was working with; apparently offering something live was 'bringing harm to something or someone innocent'- a valid point, but an easy workaround. 'The guideline was 'not to harm an innocent'- but there is nothing exempting a sinner from harm- especially fitting for one called Diavolo.' he had mused earlier. Taking a ritual knife with him, he knew what he had to do.

'I know what I've done in life; I've killed and destroyed before - I can never atone or set it right. However, I can use it to reach higher than this.' 'Diavolo' mused inwardly, a wicked grin stretching across his face. 'The first step to ruling over it all will only take a little of my own blood.'

As he stood in the salt circle, he steeled himself before pressing the blade's tip into his palm, hissing in pain as blood was drawn. "This is temporary. This pain is necessary for this ritual." Diavolo reassures himself. Carefully, he walked to the summoning circle and bled in the center of it; leaving a coin sized puddle on the basement floor. 'It should be enough.' he told himself, returning carefully to the salt circle. He barely had to do a thing before the summoning circle began to light up, bringing a strong gust of wind.

Diavolo felt his heart speed up in excitement as he covered his face to protect himself, the wind howling throughout the basement room, threatening to topple things over in its wake. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening- as the wind had snuffed out the candles, but it seemed that it was working quite well. Eventually, the wind dies down, leaving the room dark and silent.

At least, until the candles re-lit themselves one by one; the flames a deep, poisonous violet. While there wasn't much light from the candles, Diavolo could see a figure crouched in the middle of the summoning circle, nearly still save for blinking.

As much as he wanted to voice his satisfaction, Diavolo knew he wasn't done yet. 'I still have to perform the binding ritual.' he told himself. 'As long as that small hurdle isn't cleared, I'm not finished with this.' The figure seems to unfurl its wings warily, it's eyes seeming to glow faintly in the candle light- the slitted pupils faintly red as the light reflected of them.

However, something in the summoned demon's eyes seemed... peculiar, not like a frightened, docile animal; they seemed to hold intelligence. Diavolo dismissed it briefly, watching the demon watch him as its tail dragged slowly, methodically.

Undeterred, Diavolo began to intone the rites-

The demon's tail strikes a candle, making it begin to fall over to the floor.

An old, wooden floor. Covered in dust.

Diavolo silenced himself to cross the gap to right the candle- against the common sense of staying inside the salt circle, but dealing with a fire was not worth trying to push through with the ritual and getting killed at the worst.

With seconds to spare, Diavolo manages to stop the candle from falling, and rights it. He turns to return to the salt circle-

As soon as Diavolo's back was turned, the demon stood quickly enough and practically leapt at him, knocking him to ground back first. He felt the demon's claws wrap around his neck, screaming at him angrily. As soon as Diavolo felt the palms of the demon's hands warm up, he realized in horror that the demon wasn't screaming, it was preforming the binding ritual on him.

Desperate to get away, Diavolo raises his legs and kicks with all of his strength; he could hear an angry screech, followed by the thud of something hitting the wall. For a moment or two, Diavolo let himself lay on the floor, somewhat relieved that he wasn't being throttled anymore-

Uneasily, Diavolo realized that something was still around his neck, despite having kicked the demon off of him. His hands tremble as they touch his neck; fingertips touching what felt like cold steel instead of bare skin. Panic settled in his skin as he realized that the demon had succeeded where he barely attempted- he was now bound to it.

[mischiefmakingmuses]

Tawagoto’s Gate: The Disappearance of Tokyo Ghetto

[Here is a fanfic I wrote for all you lovely people, I hope you have an enjoy.]

Chapter 1: The Adventures Of Mumu-chan

In a world where darkness and light intertwined heavily and lovingly, never fully separating from each other and always continuing through existence in their dance of love and death, lived a Girl by the name of Mumu, who was secretly the Moon in a previous life. When Link did not manage to save Termina from Majora's Wrath due to being distracted by a Massive Display of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, 2,400 Doughnuts All Shaped and Flavored Like Several Pokémon, Yokai, and Digimon (As Created For "The Great Mons Game War Against Pretentious Pokémon Fans Who Think Pokémon is the Only Mons Game When in Reality the Megami Tensei Series is the Literal Ur Example of All Mons Games"), all of Termina was banished to The Shadow Realm, but in the middle of The World of Light, and it was here that the Moon took her new form as Mumu-chan.

By Day she was a regular Schoolgirl, and By Night she became The World's Greatest Magical Girl. She was The Only One who could save the town's cats from falling prey to the Evil Tree Organization, who would often capture the poor cats and trap them up on high branches from which they could not leap down from. Every other night, she was visited by her Good Friend Tuxedo Mask...a month ago, Tuxedo Mask had begun to help out a Man from town named Mike Dawson, who was trying to find out what happened to his Totally Not Girlfriend, Rita Scanlon. Even one day, Mike Dawson interrogated Tuxedo Mask.

"Tuxedo Mask, what was YOUR relationship with Rita," asked Mike Dawson.

"My work here is done," Tuxedo Mask declared before being beamed up by his spaceship and transforming into A Whole Chicken In A Can.

It was when Things were beginning to fall apart. At One Point, Mumu-chan saw Nobita and Doraemon at a candy store!!! And she saw Kitaro and Nezumi-Otoko getting ramen at a ramen stall!!! What was going on?!

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

In this hard boiled world there is only one hard boiled detective named Gummie, who was a octopus bat alien thing given form on Jack Box's Drawful 2 one day when the Author wanted to be cute in a Twitch stream they frequented.

With a Large Pretzel Stick in their mouth, Gummie looked over the case files while her dear friend Star Sheep sat in the corner playing Splatoon 2 For The Nintendo Switch™, for the Salmonids were something Star Sheep became really obsessed with because they were Funny Fish and Very Interesting.

"Do you think this is a homicide case?" Gummie asked Star Sheep, pulling the Pretzel Stick out of his mouth and acting as if it were a cigar.

"Sorry, I'm Splet," Star Sheep replied.

"Hmm. That's true," Gummie mused, lifting up her hat to look outside the window. It was a Marvelous Night, but they had not been making much headway on the case so far. Perhaps it was time to get Reinforcements involved. "We don't even have a sus cuz the sec with a mo's got a perf al."

"Eko, You Don't Drink," Star Sheep commented wisely from the corner.

"Shut up, Maya, we're getting burgers," Gummie proclaimed loudly as he put the Pretzel Stick back in their mouth.

Chapter 3: Help Me Dr. Cox

The Next Day Gummie and Star Sheep left to find Reinforcements, first coming by Richard AKA Dr. Dick AKA Dr. Cox because the Author Wanted To Be Meta and The Real Dr. Dick knew Everything that they had planned for the week that had passed.

In front of a Dollar Tree, Gummie and Star Sheep awaited for Richard to show up, playing a bootleg version of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? For The Nintendo Switch™ which landed on their doorstep one day. The reality of the situation was that the game functioned almost entirely like the PC version except that The Baron wasn't called Baron Grinnit, but Baron Wasteland Because I Think That Makes More Sense.

"When my mom and I played this game, we really liked Ivan Idea," Gummie admitted.

"How are we even doing this?" Star Sheep asked, without the monotone tone that this fanfic is read in as it's being written Because It's Ironic. It was then that Gummie squinted their eyes at the screen, only for the screen to melt away and turn into The World Ends With You: Final Remix.

"Oh hey, look, it's Neku," Gummie murmured happily. "Y'know, I really love Neku?"

"Yeah, I know," Star Sheep replied. "Comfort character, right?"

"I'm inclined to believe so," Gummie answered as he attempted to play the song Calling which was her favorite song because he first heard it in the DS version in 2012 and it really stuck with them.

It was then that Richard had finally shown up. She looked around with shifty eyes, seeming a bit nervous and unsettled.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be here," Dr. Dick admitted.

"I'm vaguely getting that kind of idea too," Gummie commented. "Anyway, so I heard from my friends Smile, Urien, Netalina, Gambit, and Jizo that their friends Nobita and Doraemon have gone missing, and have no idea where to go to find them."

"Eko?" Star Sheep began, pulling on Gummie's wing. "I'm sorry, but...how do you know about the Yokai?"

Both Richard and Gummie looked at Star Sheep wide eyed, in Gummie's case you couldn't tell very well because they always made it a point to never reveal their eyes.

"Shit. Shit. SHIT. I don't know what's going on." Gummie grabbed the sides of his head in confusion, narrowing their eyes at the ground. "Something's extremely wrong here."

It was then that Kaite20 had suddenly shown up. Yes, her name is actually Kaite20 because she feels the need to constantly append the "20" to her name even when just "Kaite" would suffice.

"Hey, you guys, I found a portal somewhere and it kind of looks like one you might see in Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo Land. Is that...supposed to be normal?"

Gummie stared at Kaite in shock.

"Like hell it is," they responded. "Guys, we're going to the portal. Don't be surprised if we end up having Adventures in Bootleg again."

Chapter 4: Peter Was Not Available So Phoebe And Plumule Are Here

Through the portal, they had reached the home of Mumu-chan, in a place between the Shadow Realm and the World of Light. It wasn't QUITE time to play Lifelight, though.

"This feels more like how in ChalkZone, half of the world was day and half of the world was night," Star Sheep commented. And she was right, as the town was split entirely between night day, right down the middle.

"...this is cool but complicated," stated Dr. Cox.

"Focus guys, I'm inclined to believe that Nobita and Doraemon are here somewhere. I dunno how the FUCK they ended up here, but I imagine that they HAVE to be here," Gummie commented.

"Do you think it's because of...HIM?" Kaite asked.

"Absolutely not, because if anything makes sense in this goddamn world we're trapped in, it's that They Above wouldn't fucking put him in this story. Then again, I have no idea who else it could be."

"You're getting KINDA too meta, now," said Richard. "Sounds like a fanfic."

"It IS a fanfic, Dr. Dick," Gummie responded. "So that means that we'll probably meet the Kitaro Family and Ittan-Momen will be really suave and shit despite not being a major character. Also we now have an autistic girl and her baby bird monster friend on the team because They Above asked a certain someone if they wanted some influence on the story."

"Actually, he's more or less my tulpa." And there was Phoebe, with Plumule right next to her. The tiny bird monster chirped in an affirmative manner.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's tulpas all the way down. ANYWAY, you guys, we need to find Nobita and Doraemon. The first step is finding Ittan-Momen flying around because like Hell he won't be here."

As if on cue, a dashing white cloth with beautiful blue eyes flew through the area and down the street.

"Fuckin' typical; OK, let's go." Gummie spread their arms...wings and took to the air, trying his best to keep up with the white cloth. Naturally, being part of the Kitaro Family and being Objectively The Best Kitaro Character In The Universe, at least according to the Author, Ittan-Momen was very fast and hard to keep up with. "Hey, sir, would you mind slowing down? I'll buy you some sweet potato sake if you do."

"Huh, what? Are ya talkin' to me?" Ittan-Momen flipped over in the air to look at Gummie, who wasn't keeping up very well. The cloth stopped and allowed the alien to catch up to him. "Do ya need me for somethin'?"

"First of all, very honored to meet you. Congrats on actually making it into a written work made by my Ghost Writer! They really like your voice and manner of speaking...down to the subtitles that Crunchyroll gives you."

"...Huh...? What...? I don't really understand," Ittan-Momen said. He was blushing though. "Anyway, what do ya need me for?"

"Gonna take a wild guess and say your friend Kitaro is somewhere in the area! Have either of you happened to see a boy in glasses, yellow shirt, black hair, kinda looks like a loser? Or his robot cat friend, no ears, bright smile, red collar with a bell, white belly, a pocket on said belly? I'm inclined to believe that we have a trickster afoot and that those two have been taken here for some reason...as well as you and Kitaro."

"Err..." Ittan-Momen tilted his head slightly to the side. "Yeah, I think so. I'm still not sure I really understand, though..."

"Don't worry about it!" Gummie piped up. "Just let my friends catch up with us and then you can take us to Kitaro, alright?"

"Cotton shochi!"

Chapter 5: When You're Too Afraid To Wake Up

At Ittan-Momen's introduction, the group found Nobita and Doraemon, who were actually having a conversation with GeGeGe no Kitaro himself. While presenting himself politely, it seemed like a lot of the futuristic aspects of Doraemon's existence had confused Kitaro quite a bit. He was just getting used to the fact that people had Smartphones, what was this about a 4th Dimensional Gadget Pocket...?

"Really glad to meet you, Kitaro! Yes, They Above is right, you are definitely Badass Adorable," Gummie gushed.

"Um...thank you," Kitaro replied quietly. "Ittan-Momen, who are...your friends?"

"Don't know. The purple one asked me to bring them to you."

"Sorry, Eko, I'm kindof tuning out here, hahaha. Everything I know about these guys is just what you've told me before..." Star Sheep laughed nervously.

"Trust me, if this got any more out of control, then fucking Ashens would've been mentioned. By the way, he gave the whole chicken in a can a negative review because it just looked like a melted chicken carcass.

"Anyway, Nobita, we've finally found you--and GeGeGe no Kitaro, to boot--at Urien and friends' request, so I'd consider this case closed..." Gummie adjusted her glasses. "...except that someone obviously was behind everyone's displacement, including ours and Kitaro's. So that means the case is still open...until we find the culprit!"

"I thought it was just Ekoro," Nobita replied.

"Ekoro?" Kitaro asked.

"Who's Ekoro?" Richard asked as well, despite the fact that The Real Dr. Dick knew very well who Ekoro was.

"I don't know any Ekoro," Phoebe replied bluntly. Plumule cheeped in agreement.

"I thought you said it couldn't be Ekoro," Kaite responded.

"I did," Gummie said. "So that means that it's someone we don't actually know. Kitaro, do you sense youkai activity?"

"Yes," Kitaro replied without skipping a beat. Gummie's sight wandered to the top of his head, where his ahoge was pointing straight up.

"Well, golly gee, that was fucking easy. Which Youkai of the Week do you think could've possibly done this?"

"I don't know," Kitaro responded. "It's not any youkai I've ever encountered."

"But they're a youkai? And they're close?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't consider myself a youkai, per say..." came a voice. Everyone looked around, but to no avail. Suddenly, the world fell apart. The group panicked for a second, until the voice came back. "Give it a moment, I'll send you all back home in a second!"

They tried to focus on the source of the voice. It was coming from a definitive direction, but it still seemed like no one was there...

"I'm right here," came the voice again. Everyone looked downwards. In the middle of the group was...something. Almost exclusively what could be made out was a white mask with three heart-shaped holes in it and two horns. The rest of...whatever it was...was completely transparent. Its shaped was also inconceivable, almost as it was hardly there at all.

"The fuck are you, a Phanto?" Gummie asked in a sassy tone.

"Not...really. I'm not a youkai, either. Or a demon. Or really anything...I guess that means I'm...nothing?" It seemed to put a hand over where its chin would be. "It's kind of hard to be here, sorry."

"O...kay...so why did you bring everyone here?"

"Oh! I just wanted to have some fun and let you all construct a silly story in a world of my creation! I hope you enjoyed it! Happy April Fools'!" Nobody seemed impressed. "Aw, c'mon, I can't imagine it was that bad? I understand that all of you enjoy ridiculous humor like this! Not counting Kitaro and friends, of course, because they don't really represent anyone in The Other World, but surely the rest of you found parts of it funny!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Dr. Dick asked.

"I don't really know! I would say I'm Nanashi but Kitaro and Ittan-Momen would get mad. But similarly to him, I have no name. No one's given me one, and I might never have one."

"Oh, I know you," Gummie responded, "you're the one They Above have been struggling with for a while; they call you Not Melon."

"Ah, but that's not actually my name. Similarly to how they've called other characters in progress 'Not Ekoro' and the like. I don't have a name yet. But, I do have a birthday! It's today! April 1st is my birthday!"

"I'm inclined to believe that's bullshit because your concept has been floating around for more than a fucking week," Gummie grumbled.

"Well, they didn't make Smile on May 18th, and yet that's his birthday, right? And Urien was conceived sometime in November or December, but his birthday is somewhere in June or July, but it's still not decided because they want a date that would perfectly reflect Urien's personality similar to how it seemed to happen with Smile, right?"

"Wait, Urien's birthday is in June or July?" Nobita asked. "It would've been great to know that last year!"

"Yeah, but the date's still up in the air. Plus, that plot thread was going to be explored with Ekoro, with Star Sheep's Ghost Writer taking the role of Ringo so she and They Above could roleplay some fluffy EkoRin stuff. And then they decided that they didn't want to do anymore, and ran out of time anyway."

"...I think that's beyond even my understanding, Mister...err...what did you say your name was again?" Doraemon asked, tilting his head.

"Ah, well...firstly, I'm not a mister...and secondly...I don't have one. However, my birthday being today was inspired by Subeta's Elwood's birthday being today, and that Elwood's Pizza is in between time and space, kinda like me! Ultimately They Above decided they actually wanted to go down this route for me!"

"...OK." Both Nobita and Doraemon had given up at this point.

"Actually!" they piped up, clapping their hands together...or something? They were so intangible it wasn't really clear. "They Above decided to plan all this out as a way to introduce me, even though I kind of don't fully exist yet! That's part of the reason why you can't really tell what I look like...the only thing confirmed is my mask, you see?

"Anyway, that means that you, I, and the Yokai might all meet up sometime soon, in another universe! Exciting right? I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Did you understand any of that, Kitaro-san?" Ittan-Momen asked.

"No," Kitaro answered bluntly.

"It's OK, you aren't really involved. They Above are just such a huge fan of you guys that they wanted to include you. Anyway...as much as I'd love to stay and chat with you all, it's time for you guys to go back, and for this story to come to a close.

"It was really nice meeting you all! Especially because...I don't really have any friends yet! But, again, I hope you all enjoyed your time here, and I'm looking forward to meeting you all again! I'm not sure when or where, but it'll definitely happen!"

And all will fade to black.

Chapter 6: Home At Last

Gummie awoke with a start. Apparently they had fallen asleep on their desk. Star Sheep was in the corner, playing Splatoon 2 For The Nintendo Switch™.

"Star Sheep, what the hell happened last night?"

"I'm not really sure, but I had a really crazy dream where we went to solve a case...something about two people going missing? And then Kitaro was there?"

"Kitaro? You mean like GeGeGe no Kitaro Kitaro?"

"Yeah. Also there was that guy, there was that guy you like."

"Ittan-Momen?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck yes. I had the same dream too. Ittan-Momen was fucking incredible." Star Sheep turned to her friend's general direction and gave him a warm smile.

"Glad you liked it."

At the end of the day, much fun was had...and also Nezumi-Otoko Is Still Underground.

Thank you to @astarrymusenight, @jellipuddi, @robocatandboy, @timeandspaceandmagic, and my Twitter friend Peter Puzzling for letting me use your characters/personas!