#gloom drake

[dragalialife]

#211: Gloom Drake's Dream

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Rejected Soulmate au where the bats discover a way to track Phantom. This leads to an all out brawl between the bats and Phantom, who is badly losing. In his attempt to escape he pulls out a portal gun to the ghost zone and fires it.

Things get out of hand, and he and Nightwing end up stranded in Hyrule and continue during it out, only to be interrupted by a castle in the distance being...lifted up into the sky???

Things happen in quick succession, they nearly get trampled by wild horses running in a panic, a bunch of caves appear along with an opening in the ground packed with red goo, and they get attacked by a weird evil goo monster in the form of a bunch of hands. Phantom ends up badly hurt and powers down to Fenton, shocking Nightwing and he has to carry the teen to safety as they flee the glowing mummy the hands had turned into after being defeated.

Nightwing is having a bad day.

[valeriefauxnom]

Euden's Headphones

...Have dragon wings on them, in Dragalia Lost's JP only Radio because of course they would! Basically, for Radio Castle, it seemed like they just had Cleo's and Euden's JP voice actors sit around and chat. But I still hadn't seen this art of them that they'd made for it.

Nevertheless, that is all. Dragon wing headphones.

[itsmetord]

Grim gloom drake meme

Free to use

[bats-and-the-birds]

The Batkids on being mistaken as Bruce's biological children.

Look, the Batkids have all been forced into various social gatherings, and enough of them share vague features with Bruce that some of the older members among Gotham's old money, or the younger ones that are out of the loop, sometimes mix up the facts.

Dick gets it from the very beginning. Old women pinch his cheeks, still tan from a life outside of Gotham's gloom, and tell him, Such a sweet little boy, and just like your father at your age. His hair used to stick up just like yours. Dick didn't like it at all. He bit the first person that told him he had Bruce's eyes, and stomped on the foot of an old politician that told him, With your father's height, I thought you'd be taller by now.

He laughs it off as an adult, but sometimes, it still eats at him. People still tell him that they thought he'd eventually be as tall as Bruce, or that he should be thankful for his inherited jaw line. It's not the comparison to Bruce that bothers him anymore, or even being mistaken as his son, but rather, the fact that he sometimes struggles to remember exactly where his features actually came from; parental faces turning fuzzy in his distant memory.

Jason thinks it's funny, the first time it happens. Mostly because it's his nose of all things. Your nose is bent, grumbled the old man sitting across from him at the gala, Just like your father's. Tough luck on the genetics. The man didn't realize the bent noses were because they'd both been broken in the past. Jason spent days after studying Bruce's face, trying to figure out if their noses really bent in the same way, and eventually came to the conclusion that, yeah, they really did. From that point on, each time either of them broke their nose, Jason would distantly think, Ah, damn, there goes the family resemblance.

As an adult, Jason takes care to make sure people don't often seen his face. The hood does a pretty good job of that. Besides, he doesn't move in circles where the mistake could be made anymore. Still, sometimes he looks in the mirror at the bump in his nose and thinks, Family resemblance. Yeah, right.

It happens less with Tim. Anyone that made the mistake with Jason and Dick also remembered Jack and Janet Drake. It's not until he's almost an adult that a new hire at Wayne Industries, some kid from out of town, sees him and Bruce in the office together and remarks, Oh, you two furrow your eyebrows in the same way when you think. My mom says that my dad and I do that too. We inherited it from my grandpa. Tim feels unsettled all day and makes a conscious effort to not to furrow his eyebrows anymore.

There's no mistake to make with Damian. At least, not the same one that can be made with the others. He's the blood son, and he's a perfect mix between Bruce and Talia. Of course, there's the well-meaning, if confused, adults that assume he's adopted like the others. He corrects them, swiftly, and sometimes aggressively.

There is one incident. It happens while Bruce is gone, after he's been staying with Grayson for a few months. He knew, of course, that people thought that Grayson looked like Bruce. He could even see the similarities. Superficially, of course. However, he never considered that Grayson looking like his father also meant that Grayson looked like him. Not until an old woman leaned over to him at a gala and said, You look just like your father when Mister Wayne first brought him out to these things. The hair, that disgruntled little frown. He hated these parties too. Couldn't ever sit still. Gosh, I really can't believe it's been long enough that he has a child of his own. It took Damian a while to realize what happened, and even then, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he wasn't actually Grayson's son, or that he and Grayson weren't actually that far apart in age. He felt strangely guilty the rest of the night, and he never dared to tell Grayson about it.

It happened to Steph exactly once. Really, she doesn't look like Bruce at all. It was a man with exceptionally thick glasses, who actually told her that she reminded him of Martha Wayne. She's pretty sure he was just trying to be nice. She tries to forget about it. She never tells Bruce.

You have his eyes, is what Duke gets. Which confuses him, because, uh, no, he doesn't. Not even close like Dick's. He says as much to the woman that said it to him, and she squints her eyes at him and responds, No, you definitely do. Not in the shape or the color, but you look at things the same way he does. Duke thinks about that sometimes, and he swings back and forth between being annoyed and weirdly proud that he apparently looked at the world like Batman did.

People tell Cass that she has his smile. She beams with pride at that. After all, she learned it from him. She studied, closely, the way his mouth ticked up at the corners, both while he stretched the dazzling, fake smile across his face for the public, and the genuine, gentle smiles that he gave her while he helped tie her hair back or slip on her mask, and now she could replicate them both perfectly. She didn't like the fake one, but she knew it was necessary.

[deadsetobsessions]

Tim Drake had a lot of free time.

In between the time little Timmy was deemed old enough to not need a nanny and his ninth birthday when he got his first film camera, Tim Drake had so much time after school to explore his big, empty house. And so he did, hours upon hours were spent exploring his house.

Mansion, Tim corrects himself. His house isn’t a house. It’s an abandoned mausoleum disguised as a mansion. He intimately knows every creak of the floorboards in the out of the way galleries, every heavy weight curtain shut closed so what little sun that makes it way through Gotham’s gloom is reflected in order to protect the artifacts stored within the walls. Tim probably knows the exact amount of fleur-de-lys on the fourth sitting room’s wall paper- by extrapolation from preexisting data and personal data collection. Basically, he laid on the floor and counted.

Tim had a lot of time. He also had a lot of artifacts to pore over, making stories as he goes and double checking the actual history of the object.

Tim thinks he’s an artifact, almost. To his parents, at least. A child, a thing, they collected at one point in their lives and put on display at the galas they deem worthy to return to Gotham for. Perhaps he’s worth even less, had his parents bothered to look at him more than the lesser art pieces in their storage-mansion. The story everyone knows about him is prerecorded by people who weren’t really there.

Regardless, Tim Drake knows every single corner of his prison mansion. He’s catalogued everything, after all, on a nice spreadsheet. 

And that’s why, as he entered the fifth- and least used- guest bedroom, Tim’s attention immediately cut to the wrong bit of detail. Eyes flickering between the indent on the bed, the mussed- but not terribly dirty- state of the sheets, Tim slowly backed towards the door. His eyes fixed on the spot on the bed, he called out a soft “hello?”

He immediately cringed. He’s not an amateur, and that little “hello” was a mistake that might get him killed.

Tim trembled as the panic set in, tears pooling at his eyes. He wished Batman and Robin were here, they’d know how to-

There’s something appearing on the bed. Tim Drake stares as a glowing figure with white, wispy hair and a black hazmat suit appeared sitting cross crossed on the guest bed. His gloved hands were held out in the universal I-mean-no-harm gesture.

“Don’t- don’t panic!” The thing said, looking rather panicked itself. “I’m, uh, Phantom.”

Tim Drake’s curiosity and mystery-solving mindset slammed down on the toddler’s mind, quickly banishing the fear and panick in favor of interrogating this new, exciting thing.

“I’m Tim. Are you…” Tim frowns, wishing he had Batman’s intimidating growl. “A ghost?”

“Got it in one, kiddo. I’m, uh, not here to harm you. Or steal anything! I just wanted to rest.”

Tim blinked. He decided right then and there that he likes this person. This… Phantom. If his trust was based on the fact that the loneliness was worse than a dead person, no, it wasn’t.

“I thought you sleep when you’re dead..?”

——

Danny stared at the child in front of him, watching the kid- Tim- pout at something. Danny is distracted from the staples holding his ghostly guts from falling out of his non-consensual vivisection when the kid asks him if he’s a ghost.

“Got it in one, kiddo!” Oo, he should tone down the energy. Danny’s too tired right now to maintain that level when speaking to Tim. Now, gotta reassure the kid he means no harm before he reports Danny’s presence to whatever authorities around.

His parents, at best. The cops, at worst.

“I’m, uh, not here to harm you. Or steal anything!” He could tell he landed in some richie rich mansion by the opulent decorations in a seemingly impersonal room alone. “I just wanted to rest.”

Ancients, that had been more honest than he’d wanted. He really was out of it.

“I thought you sleep when you’re dead?”

Danny snorted.

“Yeah, but you can almost never have enough sleep, you know?”

The toddler looks unsure but nods anyways.

“Listen, would you… not tell anyone that I’m here? I’ll be out of your hair soon, promise.

Tim looks like a smart kid. There’s no way he’d fall for-

“Okay.” He fell for it. Danny blinked, stupefied. “My parents won’t be home for a while.”

“What.”

Tim shrugged. “You can stay. The housekeeper is only around a couple of days.”

“You… are you supposed to tell me that?”

Tim sent him a derisive look, clearly bolder now that Danny made no moves to hurt him.

On his cherubic but skinny face, the effect is both adorable and absolutely devastating.

“You’re hurt.” Tim fidgeted with his hands. “I can… I can get you water…?”

His core purred.

“Please. Thanks… Tim?”

The kid beamed at him and left.

Crap. New fraid member it is.

——

Danny, naive: “Surely him trusting strangers is just a one time thing, he’s so well behaved”

Tim, staring Danny in the eyes as he jumps out of the window to go stalk his vigilantes: “I’m gonna go take a walk in Crime Alley”

——

Tim gets Danny water, but it’s tap water from Gotham and is infected with both an ungodly amount of toxins (that doesn’t affect either of them bc one’s dead and the other had been chugging it since they were a baby- Gothamites get bottled water or from Wayne Foundation’s Clean Water Stations) and also like trace amounts of ectoplasm.

Danny: woah this is so healthy water!

Tim, pleased because Danny ruffled his hair: yes, I’m perfect

The rest of Gotham, if they knew: making warding sigils against these two eldritch gods

——

Basically, Danny gets attached and stays mostly because of said attachment but also Danny could see Tim’s budding world dictator tendencies and went yeah gotta curb that

[takemetomyfragiledreams]

just another fic in my wip folder about kid!Tim and ghost!Jason:

Tim doesn’t get a chance to visit Robin’s grave until well after the funeral. He’s been waiting anxiously for the press to lose interest in the tragedy that is Jason Todd’s death, made popular only because of the man that adopted him. From what Tim knows of him, Jason would hate it, but Jason isn’t around anymore to call the press out on their behavior. 

It’s been raining a lot since the announcement. Gotham is always downcast; always inflated with heavy clouds and thick smog, but it’s been worse lately. The streets are constantly slick with rain, to the point where flood warnings have been going off on the television for weeks. It’s as if Gotham herself is in mourning for the bird that was grounded too soon. 

The graveyard grounds are thick with mud. With grim determination, Tim trudges through each sucking step. It’s hard work that leaves him panting under his raincoat. The earth itself is begging him to turn back but he’s far too stubborn for that. 

It’s dark which is why Tim thinks he’s alone at first. The flowers left on Jason’s grave are bedraggled from the storm. Tim’s seen pictures of the angel built into the stone but it’s different being so close. The gloom makes it seem taller, more severe. Rain drips down from its praying palms, washing away some of the mud creeping up the bottom of the grave. 

Tim rocks back on his heels as he takes it all in, suddenly unsure of what to do. He’s never been to a funeral before. He’s got no first hand experience with how these things go. There is only the constriction of his lungs, like a vice slowly closing in on his ribs, and the tears he’s cried since he realized the announcement wasn’t just a cover. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, though he isn’t sure what it is he’s apologizing for. For thinking Robin above death? He saw the Flying Grayson’s fall, he should know better by now that no matter how magical a person seems, they’re always going to be left shattered across the ground.

He blinks water from his eyelashes; is it rain or tears? Tim doesn’t know. He places his bouquet of flowers amongst all the rest. White orchids and blue forget-me-nots. You are always loved. You are never forgotten. 

It doesn’t feel like enough. 

He sniffles, sure that he’s crying now, and wipes a hand across his face. “Robin,” he whispers, like the secret it is. 

There’s a wet sucking sound from the other side of the grave; Tim freezes in place. For a moment there’s nothing but the pitter patter of rain, and then comes something like a sob. He approaches the side of the grave hesitantly to peer around the back. There’s a small body back there, curled up on itself and splattered in mud. 

Tim gasps and quickly rounds the grave. “Are you okay?” 

There’s no reply. 

He bends down next to the body. They’re shaking harshly; a flash of lightning shows that some of the patches of mud look darker, almost like blood. Tim hurries to pull his raincoat off to wrap around the stranger. 

“Come on,” he says, shivering as the rain begins to soak through his clothes. “I’ll help you, okay? You just have to walk.” 

There’s no reply but when he stands the stranger stands too. He takes their arm to lead them back the way he came, steps even more determined than before. It’s a task to fit two bodies on his bike but he hardly notices a weight difference. He squints through the rain on his way home, using all his concentration to ensure they don’t crash. His teeth are chattering by the time they arrive at Drake Manor so he can only imagine how cold his guest must be. 

“This is my house,” he explains, as he lets them in. He’s tracking mud across the floor but he’ll have to deal with it later. “Come on, I’ll take you to the bathroom so you can shower. You can wear my clothes.” 

Tim starts the shower for them when they say nothing. He makes sure it’s nice and warm before forcing himself away. “It’s ready. Use whatever you want, I’ll leave you clothes by the door.” 

Again, there’s no answer. 

He hurries through his own shower in the guest bathroom, mind racing with thoughts of what he needs. They’ll need hot food. Blankets, too. What if the stranger is in shock and that’s why they’re silent? He nearly works himself into a tizzy over the possibility and rushes back to his room. 

The shower is still going so he waits. And waits. And waits. 

“Hello?” He finally calls. The door creaks open as he peeks in. The room is thick with steam; he squints at the shape of his raincoat on the floor and looks further in to the shower. “Do you need help?” 

There’s no reply. Tim steps forward hesitantly; he knocks on the glass door before pushing it open a crack. There’s no one there. 

Here’s what Tim knows: there are only one set of footprints on the wooden floor. His bike didn’t feel like it had another person’s body weight on it when he rode home. He doesn’t remember ever touching skin or feeling any warmth from the stranger. They never spoke.

Hallucination? Maybe. But Tim didn’t move the bottles in the shower and he didn’t put his raincoat on the floor. Something isn’t right and he’s going to get to the bottom of it. 

Tim returns to the graveyard the next day. His nose is stuffed up and he’s got a cough from being in the rain for so long the day before, but he’s determined. Someone was at Jason Todd’s grave last night, someone who was definitely a child like Tim. Robin would make sure they were safe; Robin would solve the mystery. So Tim can do nothing less. 

The rain has washed away any traces of last night. The holes his feet left behind have been overtaken by puddles, which leaves him no way to look for a second set. He brings out the little hand held flashlight he brought along to search the gravesite. There’s no trace of anyone. 

Tim rocks back on his heels with a frown. He thinks back over his actions the previous day; he didn’t bring flowers this time, if this is magical in nature does that have something to do with it? He said words too, though he doesn’t think they were all that magical. Either way, he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Robin.” 

He cracks an eye open and feels silly when there’s no change. “Maybe it was just a hallucination,” he mumbles. “Robin would know what to do.” 

There’s a gasping sound from behind him. Tim whirls around to find a small figure bent double in the mud. He kneels beside them, hands hovering a few inches away from their skin. 

[robin-wing-man]

Blüdhaven’s Shadows From the Gotham's Conserved Warrior Archives.

The industrial gloom of Blüdhaven’s dockyard loomed around them, the scent of saltwater and rust heavy in the humid night air. Every corner seemed alive with tension, the faint clang of machinery mingling with the whispers of the tide. Dick Grayson crouched low on a rooftop overlooking the sprawling mess of shipping containers and cranes, every fiber of his being attuned to the undercurrents of danger that came with his city.

“This is such a you kind of place,” Tim Drake muttered from his perch beside him, peering through a pair of binoculars. “Dark, depressing, smells like bad decisions and worse cologne. I’m starting to see the appeal.”

Dick smirked, keeping his eyes locked on the scene below. “Funny. I was just thinking this was more up your alley. Plenty of places to sneak around and make snarky comments from the shadows.”

“Touché.”

The Black Fangs gang had made their latest operation here, smuggling high-tech weaponry that would find its way to the worst people in Blüdhaven—or worse, Gotham. Dozens of armed men moved in and out of the warehouse, unloading crates from a cargo ship into unmarked trucks. The sound of barked orders carried on the breeze, punctuated by the occasional metallic scrape of containers.

Dick pointed toward the ship’s ramp. “See that guy in the leather jacket? That’s Marlo Tedesco, their logistics genius and an overall charming sociopath. If we take him out, the whole operation stumbles. But we’ve got to do it smart.”

“Smart,” Tim echoed, nodding along. “That means your way, which is apparently the opposite of fun.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Yes, my way. These guys are carrying military-grade rifles. If we go in hot, we’re toast.”

“Fine,” Tim said with a dramatic sigh, pulling a smoke pellet from his utility belt.

The two descended like silent wraiths from the rooftop, the shadows clinging to their every move. Dick’s escrima sticks hummed faintly as he activated the electric charge, the familiar weight of them a comforting anchor in the chaos ahead.

The first guard stood near a stack of crates, distracted by his phone. Dick motioned for Tim to stay back, then moved in with predator-like precision. One swift strike to the neck, and the guard crumpled soundlessly.

Tim joined him, crouching beside the unconscious thug. “You know, that’s kind of scary. In a cool way.”

Dick gave him a wry grin. “Flattery gets you nowhere. Focus up.”

As they crept deeper into the dockyard, the tension thickened. They encountered another pair of guards patrolling near a forklift. Tim tossed a small gadget—a sonic distraction device—toward a stack of barrels. The resulting high-pitched whine drew the guards away, allowing Dick to take them down with quick, calculated strikes.

The duo moved like a well-oiled machine, their silent communication honed over years of working together. Every step was precise, every takedown swift and efficient. But as they approached the warehouse, the stakes rose sharply.

“Uh, we’ve got a problem,” Tim whispered, his voice low but tense.

Dick followed his gaze. A group of six thugs stood outside the warehouse, their weapons glinting ominously under the faint glow of a nearby streetlamp.

“Change of plans,” Dick said, gripping his escrima sticks tighter. “We’re going loud.”

Tim’s grin was almost audible. “Finally.”

The first smoke pellet hit the ground, erupting into a thick cloud that obscured everything. Shouts of confusion filled the air as the thugs stumbled, their weapons useless in the haze.

Dick surged forward, a blur of motion and electricity. He disarmed the first thug with a precise strike to the wrist, then followed up with a spinning kick that sent him crashing into a stack of crates.

Tim was right behind him, his bo staff a whirl of calculated chaos. He jabbed one thug in the solar plexus, then swept another’s legs out from under him, the sound of metal against bone sharp and decisive.

One thug managed to fire blindly into the smoke, the bullet ricocheting off a nearby container. Dick didn’t hesitate; he closed the distance in an instant, slamming the thug into the ground with a brutal takedown.

“You okay, Robin?” he called over the chaos.

“Better than okay,” Tim replied, delivering an impressive roundhouse kick that sent his opponent sprawling. “This is starting to feel like therapy.”

When the smoke cleared, the thugs lay scattered, groaning in defeat.

Tim leaned on his bo staff, catching his breath. “I think we’re getting better at this.”

Dick smirked. “Speak for yourself. I’ve been good at this for years.”

Insid the warehouse was a labyrinth of crates, machinery, and narrow walkways illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights. The hum of generators buzzed in their ears, mingling with the muffled conversations of the gang members inside. Dick gestured for Tim to follow, the two moving like shadows between the stacks of weapons and stolen goods.

They came across a trio of gang members in the center of the floor, huddled over what looked like a prototype energy weapon. Tim paused, narrowing his eyes as he studied the device.

“That’s not standard smuggling fare,” he whispered. “Is that—?”

“Stolen Wayne Tech,” Dick finished, his voice hard.

The sight of Bruce’s technology in the hands of criminals ignited a spark of anger in him, but he pushed it down. They had to handle this carefully.

Tim pulled out his handheld device, scanning the weapon from a distance. “It’s incomplete. Looks like they’re still figuring out how to assemble it. If they get this working…”

“We don’t let it get that far,” Dick said firmly.

The duo moved into position, sticking to the shadows. With practiced ease, Dick launched a wing-ding toward an overhead light, plunging the corner of the warehouse into darkness.

“What the—?” one of the gang members exclaimed, fumbling with a flashlight.

They didn’t have a chance to react further.

Dick dropped from a beam above, landing with a bone-jarring thud that knocked one of them flat. Before the others could recover, Tim lunged from the side, using his bo staff to sweep their feet out from under them.

One of the gang members scrambled to his feet, grabbing a crowbar and swinging it wildly at Dick. He sidestepped, twisting his body with fluid grace and delivering a sharp elbow to the thug’s jaw, sending him sprawling.

“Subtle,” Tim remarked, flipping over a crate to avoid a wild punch. He countered with a jab to the ribs and a swift kick to the chest, sending his opponent crashing into the wall.

“No time for subtle,” Dick replied, spinning his escrima sticks to deflect another attack. He followed up with a dual strike to his opponent’s knees, bringing him down hard.

The last thug tried to make a break for it, but Tim was faster. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a bola that wrapped around the man’s legs, tripping him mid-run.

“Going somewhere?” Tim asked, smirking as he retrieved his weapon.

The room fell silent except for the groans of the downed thugs.

“Warehouse floor clear,” Dick said, scanning their surroundings. “But where’s Marlo?”

As if on cue, a slow clap echoed through the space. They turned to see Marlo Tedesco stepping out from behind a stack of crates, flanked by two more heavily armed thugs.

“You know, I’ve got to hand it to you two,” Marlo said, his voice dripping with mock admiration. “You’ve got style. I almost feel bad about what’s about to happen.”

The thugs raised their weapons, but Dick and Tim were already moving.

Dick charged the nearest thug, using his escrima sticks to deflect the barrel of the rifle as it fired, the deafening sound reverberating through the warehouse. He delivered a powerful uppercut, then disarmed the man with a calculated strike to his wrist.

Meanwhile, Tim vaulted over a crate, landing behind the second thug. He delivered a quick flurry of strikes with his bo staff, knocking the weapon from the man’s hands before sweeping his legs out from under him.

Marlo, realizing he was outmatched, bolted toward the back exit.

“He’s making a run for it!” Tim shouted.

“I’ve got him,” Dick replied, sprinting after the gang leader.

Marlo led them on a chase through the maze-like warehouse, overturning crates and scattering tools in an attempt to slow them down. But Dick was relentless, his years of acrobatics giving him the edge.

He leapt over a fallen crate, closing the distance with each stride. Finally, he launched himself forward, tackling Marlo to the ground.

“End of the line, Marlo,” Dick said, pinning the man’s arms behind his back.

Tim caught up moments later, out of breath but grinning. “Nice work. Now what?”

Dick pulled out a pair of handcuffs, securing Marlo’s wrists. “Now we call the cops and let them deal with this mess.”

As they dragged Marlo back toward the warehouse floor, the faint wail of sirens grew louder in the distance.

Tim glanced at Dick, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You know, for a guy who’s supposed to be a ‘lone vigilante,’ you’re pretty good at teamwork.”

Dick smirked. “Don’t let it go to your head, Robin. You still have a lot to learn.”

The two shared a rare moment of quiet camaraderie as they waited for the authorities to arrive, the chaos of the night finally giving way to a sense of hard-earned victory.

@not-timothy

_____________________________________

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[ariel-seagull-wings]

Hey Ariel. I just realized something. I don't think I've ever seen you share YOUR idea for your own X-Men series. The closest I've seen is your idea for an animated series on The New Mutants. Not sure if you have one, but if you do. What is it like? What will make it stand out from others?

I would like to give the X-Men a chance to explore their potential for the slice of life and comedy angles, with a touch of urban fantasy, light sci fi, romance and horror, and would call this encarnation The Magnificent X-Men, homaging the movies The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, in an animesque style reminiscent of Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Nimona, Elemental, Entergalactic, the Spider-Verse movies and My Adventures with Superman, and a tone and narrative progression and tone similar to the DC Webtoon's Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Vixen: NYC.

The timescale and timeline would avoid convolutedness by having characters who, in the comics, were originally clones or alternate timeline children to be children born in the main series timeline born and raised by previous characters that while mentioned as important, are not the main characters of the narrative, exploring the idea that as a group, the X-Men have a history that goes back to the 60s, where there were founding figures, partisan dissidences, characters went to college, graduated, retired from the battlefield to get married and raise children, or died while fighting for mutant rights.

The school setting would be upgraded from high school to University where people come not only to learn control of their powers, but also study and get grades to learn a trade to live.

Students come from a variety of backgrounds: there are not only mutants, but humans, aliens and robots.

The team line-up would combine Claremont and Davis Excalibur with Jason Aaron' Amazing X-Men: Nightcrawler would be the field team leader, and his teamates would be Cerise, Piotr Rasputin (Colossus), Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Rachel Grey Summers (Phoenix), Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), Hank McCoy (Beast) Ororo Munroe (Storm), Logan Howlett (Wolverine), Jean Paul Beaubier (Northstar), Angelica Jones (Firestar), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Brian Braddock (Captain Britain) and Meggan Pucceanu.

Jean Grey (the first Phoenix) and Scott Summers (Cyclops) are retired from superhero life and live in Canada, making grassroots activism work for the world wide progress of mutant rights, but come visit their former teamates and their daughter Rachel from time to time.

As the main settings, the X-Men and many mutants have relocated to South Africa and Australia, countries they constantly alternate between by crossing the Indian Ocean trough flight or sea, working both as University Teachers and Superheroes.

Embracing solarpunk, the protagonists would live simple functional lives in sync with the beauty of nature, in cozy enviroments with plants all over the place, presenting a commentary on how to grow a brighter future for everyone instead of submitting to gloom.

The architecture of their homes would be colorful, retro futuristic, standing side by side with ancient ruins, surrounded by nature without antagonizing it, but incorporating it as part of the city life, and airplanes and boats would be the main source of transport, rather than asfalted roads with fossil fueled cars and buses (think of Talespin's Cape Suzette).

The main historical mark of the universe is the Jaspers Warp, a conflict that was an important storyline from the Captain Britain comics, called A Crooked World, when the reality warping villain Mad Jim Jaspers crossed dimensions and converted England into a distopic society where anyone who was perceived as having superpowers was imprisoned in camps and civilians who tried to protect then were imprisoned and killed. In the comics, this was concentrated to England, but in the show, keeping relevant to recent events, it would involve both the whole UK and the United States that has a whole history of persecuting mutants and humans that dared to ally with mutants.

The older sibling of Brian Braddock, Jaime Braddock, was revealed to be a villain and mutant with similar reality warping powers, whose main flaw was egotism and selfshiness, so it would be fitting to combine Jaime Braddock and Mad Jim Jaspers into the leaders of the main antagonistic forces who the heroes had to defeat to work in building a better world.

And this would be the main setting and theme: reconstruction after surviving what was basically the end of an unfair world as we knew, and move on into something better, rather than go back to what was before.

Along with comedic supervillains that provide lighter conflict during the slice of life episodes, the main antagonists to bring stakes would be groups of people who are part of US political groups, the Purifiers and the Friends of Humanity, searching for a way to gain access to the remnants of world ending super weapons, like the infamous Fury created by Mad Jim Jaspers, and use them to rule the world.

They are the ones who never let go of the so called "glory days" when they had privileges and minorities "hadn't so many rights", and are so hung up on having a War to win that they’ll wreck the world all over again, which the X-Men have to fight so as not to stop progress and allow the people of Earth to move forward.

VISUAL CONCEPT ART INFLUENCES

Alan Davis, Todd Nauck and Ryan Stegman

[mamawasatesttube]

If the hurt/comfort promts are still a thing, can i suggest some #13 or #19?

19. "You need to eat something." also prompted by @tobias-robin, @autistic-tim-drake, and @derp-a-la-sheep! this one was popular huh

“Kara said it’s called ‘dovrosh’ in Kryptonian.”

She watches him pick at a speck of lint on his comforter. He abandons it and pulls the covers up to his chin after a moment, rolling onto his side with his back to Tim’s chair. Every line in his body radiates shame, mingled with frustration, distress, and… other feelings, while Tim is rigid, his mouth a thin, displeased line.

“In English, that more or less translates to ‘gloom sickness’.” Kon takes a slow, shaky breath and scrubs his hand over his eyes. “Kryptonians can get it if they go too long without enough sun. It was a big deal on Krypton, ‘cuz it’s…” He has to pause for a second, clearing his throat. “It’s, uh, an infection of the sunlight-processing organ. From, like, temporary disuse. Kara said on Krypton under Rao it could be fatal, but… but under a yellow sun it’s nothing. Kelex says…” He breaks off to cough, a deep, rattling sound low in his chest that leaves her unsettled. “Kelex says I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Tim lets out a disparaging tch and folds his arms over his chest. “So Kelex gave you blanket permission to sulk and refuse to help yourself get better any—ow!”

Cass glares at him, holding her hand up threateningly. “No bullying the sick.”

Tim glares right back. “He’s bullying himself! Hit him, not me! He’s refusing food and being a stubborn ass! Contender for worst patient of the decade—”

“Takes one to know one, doesn’t it?” Kon snarks back, hoarse. He coughs again, wretched and painful, and Cass winces. “Save it for next time you’re on bed rest. I told you, I’m not hungry—”

“And I told you, that doesn’t matter! You’re running a fever, sweating, and having trouble processing sunlight, so you need to replenish your electrolytes and give your body some nutrition to work with, you stupid—ow! Cass!"

“I said, no bullying.” Cass smacks Tim’s shoulder once more for good measure. Then she turns to Kon, hands on her hips. “Tim is right. You need to eat something.”

{ continue reading on ao3! }

[isfjmel-phleg]

Books that I own that I should get to this year if possible:

Alternative Alcott and Work by Louisa May Alcott

Various books by Margery Allingham

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte (have owned this for over a decade but been too daunted by its length to tackle it)

More Annotated Alice

Various books by Agatha Christie

Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins

Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens (another scary brick)

Various Dostoevsky books

The Last Courts of Europe: Royal Family Album 1860-1914 by Jeffery Finestone

Cousin Phillis and Other Tales and Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

Between Walls and Between Cases by W. R. Gingell

The Child from the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge

Various works by Nathaniel Hawthorne (I got interested in trying to read his works while I visited MA. I had to read The Scarlet Letter in high school, which was unpleasant thanks to our curriculum's pharisaic approach to literature, but I want to revisit it and encounter others as an adult and draw my own conclusions)

Various books by nineteenth-century author Mary J. Holmes (picked up at an antique store including Millbank, which is referred to in the Little House books)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales by Washington Irving

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (gift from a friend)

Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones

The Last Empress by Greg King

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi (a secret pal gift from someone who read my remark on the form that I found it hard to describe my taste in books succinctly, got hung up on the puzzling word "succinct," and scoured the internet for Succinct Books, bless her heart)

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer

Voices in the Night by Stephen Millhauser

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett (picked up in a shop because I thought the title was funny; I am not planning to dive into the associated series)

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Robin: Tim Drake Compendium One (or, as I call it, The Tim Tome)

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (picked this up at a booksale because my sister had had to read it for multiple college classes and I was curious)

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su (picked up at a booksale forever ago)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain

Various Jules Verne books

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West

Doomsday Book and Blackout (and All Clear and Cross Talk if I can acquire them) by Connie Willis

The Sinclair's Mysteries series by Katherine Woodfine

Zero Hour: Part One (and Part Two if I can snag it when it's released later this year)

[dragalialife]

#142: Mym's Brilliant Plan

[edwardalbee]

[Click to see Seal explain how he wrote "Kiss From A Rose"]

[Intro] Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya

[Verse 1] There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea And you became the light on the dark side of me Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill

[Pre-Chorus] But did you know that when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can't be seen?

[Chorus] Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah And now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the grey

[Post-Chorus] Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya

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[Verse 2] There is so much a man can tell you So much he can say You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby To me, you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny Won't you tell me, is that healthy, baby?

[Pre-Chorus] But did you know that when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can't be seen?

[Chorus] Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the grey

[Bridge] I've been kissed by a rose on the grey I, I've been kissed by a rose on the grey I've (And if I should fall, will it all go away?) been kissed by a rose on the grey I, I've been kissed by a rose on the grey

[Verse 2] There is so much a man can tell you So much he can say You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah Won't you tell me, is that healthy, baby?

[Pre-Chorus] But did you know that when it snows My eyes become large and The light that you shine can't be seen?

[Chorus] Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the grey Yes, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah And now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the grey

[Post-Chorus] Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya

[Outro] Now that your rose is in bloom A light hits the gloom on the grey

[queersrus]

astronomy witch theme

(nick)names:

astra, astro, astre, astera, astel/astelle, astella, ariel, aura, aurora, aurore, aure, aurelie/auralie, auralia/aurelia, atlas, aristar, aries, altair, astreaus, aether, apollo, apolla, artemis bila, boreals, boreal comet, cosma, cosmic, cosmo, celest/celeste, celestia, celestio, callisto, calypso, Cassiopeia, claudius, caelum, caelus, cassio dusk, dawn estel/estell/estelle, estella, elera, elio, esther, eclipse, eclipsa, eclipso, eostre, eos galaxy, galactica, galactico, galactix, galactic, galacta, galaxius hecate/hekate, helios, hemera, hera iris, ira juno, jupiter, janus kepler, keyra/kayra lune, luna/loona, lunar, luno, lunette, lyra moon, moona, mars/marz, miranda, meno nova, nix/nyx, nox, nuit pandora, pallas, pulsar, pollux rhea stel/stell/stelle, stella, steller/stellar, star, stella, stary/starie, sol, soleil, solar, solette, solina, solana, solace, solstice tian vesper, vega xian zorya

surnames:

astra, ayla, airy, array, aquila, antlia estrela/estrella, eddington, eridanus kepler, kuiper herschel, halley, hale, hypatia, hevelius drake starcatcher, starwatch, stargaze(r), starlight, scorpius, spellman Cassiopeia orion ursa delphi, delphius pictor fortune le fay/fe/faye nightingale, nighwatch, nightmoon moon brightmoon gloom, gloam

titles:

the witch of the stars, the witch who studies the stars, the star watch, the astronomer, the witch, the astronomer witch, the stellar witch, the witch who knows the sky, the witch of the night sky

(prn) who knows the stars, (prn) who studdies the stars, (prn) who knows the magic of the stars, (prn) who practices witchcraft in starligh, (prn) who studdies magic by starlight

1st p: i/me/my/mine/myself

si/star/stars/starself sti/stell/stellars/stellarself ai/astre/astros/astroself ai/astronome/astronomy/astronomine/astronomyself wi/witch/witches/witch's/witchself wy/witch/witchs/witchself ci/conste/consteli/constellations/constellationself mi/magi/magics/magicself

2nd p: you/your/yours/yourself

sto/star/stars/starself sto/steller/stellers/stellerself astro/astr/astrs/astrself astro/astronomer/astronomers/astronomerself wo/witcher/witchers/witcherself co/consteller/constellers/constellerself mo/magicr/magicrs/magicrself

3rd p: they/them/theirs/themself

star/stars, sta/ar, star/stary, stary/sky, stary/night, star/light stell/stella, stell/a, stel/la, stell/steller, steller/stellers, stellar/stellars astro/astros, astro/astronomy, astro/nomy, astro/nomer, astro/astronomer, astronomy/astronomys, astronomy/astronomer constellation/constellations, constell/constellation, constell/ation wit/ch, witch/witches, wit/witch, wi/witch, witch/witchy, witch/craft, witchcraft/witchcrafts magic/magics, ma/gic, magic/magical

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Birth of the Bats

by The_duke_is_back Crime was rampant in Gotham. It had always been. For as long as they could remember, the city was a smog covered, crime ridden monstrosity. As though a never-ending cloud of gloom and despair sat heavy over the city, bringing the worst of humanity to it. A permanent cover of darkness and despair. A place for criminals to hide. A web long standing. As mad laughter cackled through the city, screams rising from almost every street, a creature long sentenced to darkness, Op e n e d i t s e y e s Words: 2528, Chapters: 1/10, Language: English Series: Part 1 of Eldritch Batman Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: Gen Characters: Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas, Jim Gordon (DCU), Joker (DCU) Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Eldritch Bruce Wayne, Cryptid Dick Grayson, Cryptid Jason Todd, Cryptid Tim Drake, Cryptid Stephanie Brown, Cryptid Cassandra Cain, Cryptid Damian Wayne, Cryptid Duke Thomas, Cryptid Batfamily (DCU), One-Sided Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne, Canonical Character Death, Resurrection, Resurrected Jason Todd, Jason Todd Kills Joker (DCU), death offscreen, Fairly graphic description of gore, Orphans galore, Can you tell which characters I like/know the best?, My First Work in This Fandom via https://ift.tt/7sORczH

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Most-Listened of May 2024

[last month]

May 2024 was finals + road trip home from uni + getting settled in at home for the summer, so the songs on this month's list were the soundtrack to a really busy time for me. (Because of that, I'm extra grateful to them for helping me power through it all!) I didn't have the brainspace to be properly excited about any new releases (except Repion's at the end of the month), so a lot of the songs here kind of snuck up on me. Surprisingly, I'd still say I enjoyed May's releases more than April's, though!

1. Not Like Us -- Kendrick Lamar

The Drake-Kendrick beef finally graced my YouTube recommended at the beginning of May, just in time for "Not Like Us" to save me from the Inevitable Finals Gloom. The beat was what hooked me at first (so string instrument!! so texture!!), but there are SO MANY good lines here--more than enough to keep me excited about this song, even after I massively overplayed it in just a few days of finals. (I'm a 'leave songs on repeat for hours as I float in and out of The Work Vortex' kind of guy, you know?)

2. Candy Store -- from the 2014 Heathers soundtrack

No complicated reason here: the vocal performances are just breathtaking, so I haven't been able to get this song off my mind for the past two weeks. Shoutout to @embraceofday for introducing me to this one! (That was a couple of years ago, I think, but somehow it came back to me recently, and I've been more obsessed than ever!)

3. Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl -- yeule

I've been getting ads for I Saw the TV Glow all month, and they worked on me--sort of? I still have no plans to see the movie, but this song from the trailer has taken my listening by storm. Lyzette G on YouTube mentioned yeule last year (I am SO jealous of their taste in music), so I'm proud to say I like a yeule song now! This is peak 'driving home on the highway at night and your heart is all sparkles because she said she'll text you later', which is one of my favorite kinds of music, actually. (Yes, this is oddly specific. But it's also like A General Feeling, you know?) It's eerily inhuman but also full of longing; it keeps a consistent, hazy atmosphere while still including a few moments of emotional punch--it's great!!

4. Down Swinging -- Holly Humberstone

Saxophone solo!!!!!!! That actually isn't my favorite part of this song, though--the way Holly Humberstone sings "watch me keep my cool tonight" at the end of every chorus is full of just SO many emotions--shame, determination, acceptance, longing--I find it captivating (really, every lyric in this chorus is a gem). I love songs like this (see also: Betty Who's "You Can Cry Tomorrow" and Lee Hi's "HOLO"), songs that aren't about being over something bad but are just about being within something bad and getting by anyway. Being stuck, and knowing you're stuck, and being okay regardless? Sometimes, I just need to know that's possible, and "Down Swinging" makes it feel more real than ever.

5. I'm the Ocean -- Neil Young

My dad and I ran across this on our (twelve-hour) drive home from my university, while we were listening through this playlist. My dad is a huge Neil Young fan, while I'm just meh about him--"I'm the Ocean" caught my attention from first listen, though, and I've been revisiting it daily since then. (Funny enough, my dad doesn't care for this one.) I love its haziness, how it walks the line between hopelessness and rage and how you're never exactly sure how to feel about the speaker, or about the song itself. I love singing "I'm the ocean / I'm a giant undertow". (Like, that is a captivating lyric. So powerful, so simple yet so layered with meaning?) I love the crunchy TV-static guitar!!!

6. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) [Live at Malieveld...] -- Bruce Springsteen

Spotify keeps notifying me whenever Springsteen releases a new compilation album (they know me too well...)--and he just keeps releasing them. I'm not sure I needed all these albums, but I'm glad to get this gem, at least! This one has a super-singable chorus, and the fiddle solo is SUCH a high.

7. Turn it up -- PinkPantheress

Not particularly exciting, but super fun! It's a solid serotonin jam to go on a playlist with all the early Twice title tracks.

8. No Biggie -- Itzy

SO CUTE SO CUTE I LOVE IT. With "None of My Business" + this one, I've been so glad to see how well the post-NewJeans world suits Itzy. My main problem with a lot of their music, especially title tracks, is that the songs strain their vocals in ways that end up sounding unpleasant to me--a chilled-out song like this one reminds me just how listenable Itzy's music can be!

9. Rollercoaster - MTV Unplugged -- Bleachers

I think Spotify suggested this one to me. I am THE Bleachers girlie, but I'd never heard this specific version of "Rollercoaster" and oh my GOD does it make me emotional. If you've ever cried to "Someone to You" by Banners, I think you already understand what this one makes me feel.

10. The Ghost of Tom Joad (feat. Tom Morello) - Live in Anaheim, CA -- Bruce Springsteen

My #1 song from my #1 artist!! (Sorry, "Badlands". Your top spot was beautiful while it lasted, and we've had so many good times, but I just... I don't think you're the one for me anymore...) I did an essay about Springsteen for one of my finals, believe it or not, and I talked about this song in particular, so that explains the sudden spike in listens--though it's constantly in my rotation regardless.

11. Wave - Ollounder's Bold Dynamics Mix -- Ateez

It's a time-honored tradition, now: trashy club remixes are my THING during finals. This one stuck with me all month, though, because it's actually kind of compelling--I find it fun, even when I'm not speedrunning a final paper. "Wave" is just a really sweet song already, and I think this remix adds a variety of sounds that make it not just pleasant, but also super captivating.

12. Lookalike -- Conan Gray

No comment...

13. Set Me Free (Lindgren Remix) -- Twice

Re: trashy club remixes for finals. This is so trash, I can't even argue that it's worth listening to at any time other than finals season. (The synth riffs in the prechorus are kind of awesome, actually, but the vocals sound like you're listening to them through a tin can telephone.) It was a great hype song while I studied, though.

14. Maybe -- (G)I-DLE

My second-favorite G-IDLE song ever (though I have no idea how I'll make room for "Eyes Roll" and "Revenge" in an updated top ten) is never not welcome on my most-listened list, but I have no idea why this is here. Maybe I left it on repeat while working on a paper? It has the right kind of beat drop to give me the same kick of adrenaline as my trashy club remixes do--though in terms of how much I admire it, "Maybe" is on a whole different level!

15. BOA -- Megan Thee Stallion

This is a wildly addictive song. The Gwen Stefani sample is such a good hook, but it's used so sparingly that I'm left hanging on Megan's every word, waiting for it to appear again. The deep bass makes the song feel full, though--by the end, I'm left wanting more without feeling like the listening experience was actually incomplete. My favorite line is definitely the Birkenstocks one; I still smile every time I hear it! I'm so excited for the album :)

Five-Star Songs (& Albums!) This Month

BOA -- Megan Thee Stallion

Lime -- Soojin

With just a few twists on a sweet, summery formula, "Lime" manages to stand out from the pack of cheery dance songs coming out at this time of year. The orchestral intro is so exciting, and the weirdly gritty vocal production (I still have no idea why anyone would consider that on a song like this--this album has some truly baffling production choices amid all the fantastic ones) unexpectedly grew on me. This song does sweet-and-sour so well!!

[Speaking of baffling production choices: "Drop Top" from this same album is a very nice listen, but what the hell is happening in the bridge... It would totally be a five-star song for me if not for that screechy violin (?) note in the dance break. Like. Why. Why would you just repeat the same ear-piercing note. The whole time. Have you considered a riff? Or making it just a TAD BIT quieter? Or just... a lower note? Anyway. Also, the ENTIRE title track, "Mona Lisa", is a baffling production choice. Just. The whole thing.]

Not Like Us -- Kendrick Lamar

Summer Daze -- Soojin

I like "Lime" a lot more than this one, but I can't help but admire "Summer Daze" too! I'm so in love with how it's a pop b-side just feels so authentically indie-rock? Like, "Más Lejos" by Atalhos was one of my favorite songs of the summer last year, and that's an actual indie-rock song--and it feels like everyone who had a hand in "Summer Daze" understood exactly why people enjoy that type of song & decided to write a love letter to the genre. This track would fit right in with anyone's wistful k-indie playlist!

Entre todas lo arreglamos (album) -- Repion

Yeah, fuck it--I added Repion to the stanlist this month! After this EP, how could I not? The pre-release "El día no me da" had my heart already--it was so similar to their last album, though, that I found it a tad bit boring. But as an opener for a song like "Viernes", "El día no me da" reaches its full potential; it functions so perfectly that my qualms completely disappear. "El día no me da" builds up the energy to this delightful high, and then "Viernes" is the rollercoaster ride back down, full of twists and turns--I love the experimentation with rhythm, which continues in "Qué hay de ti?". It adds such a nice edge to the album; even though this release retains the things that drew me to Repion in the first place--strong vocals and incessant energy--it feels anything but boilerplate. This EP has only one flaw, and it's the kazoo-sounding thing that shows up in "Vienen de pasárselo bien". Maybe it's a perfectly lovely instrument in other contexts, but I think it just sounds silly here, and I really would rather just appreciate their (always delightful) harmonies in peace. Those harmonies do save the song for me, though! To be fair, this album only has four songs--putting it in the albums category is kind of a stretch--but these four songs are packed with enough interesting ideas to make this the fullest EP I've heard in forever. (Plus, Repion gets extra-credit points for releasing my album of the year--a full-length one, too--last year.) I'm not sure if this EP will turn out to be a smaller part of an upcoming album, but I really hope so--I love this sound for them!