#he likes weird birds like emus

[ssruis]

A good sekai can’t be made alone.

The wonderland sekai was obviously manifested by Tsukasa alone, there’s no arguing against that. However I think a lot of people understate the connection the rest of WxS has on it - whether it’s due to Tsukasa’s strong bonds with emu/nene/rui or them actually influencing the sekai, they do have an impact on it. After all:

Rui: (For Tsukasa-kun, his friends’ happiness is his own happiness.)

(Pandemonium - TL Tsukasa’s #3 fan)

Additionally, the first time Tsukasa experiences anything to do with the sekai (that we know of), Miku appears to already know of emu/nene/rui despite Tsukasa having never met any of them before.

KAITO: Also, if you ever find this SEKAI somewhat nostalgic, please...hold on to those feelings.

Tsukasa: Nostalgic? Why would I find it nostalgic?

Miku: Come with everyone else next time, Tsukasa! Let's all sing and dance in a show together☆

Miku: I'm sure everyone else has the same feelings as you too!

(WxS Main story - Opening)

Rui:

Rui’s impact is probably the easiest to see, given that the wonderlands sekai has to spoonfeed him his own emotions in the form of an easily digestible conflict one of the plushies is experiencing.

There’s the disagreement between the kitty and doggie plushie in Wonder Halloween:

Len: I organized a show for the plushies, but they all started fighting again!

Doggie Plushie: I want to make the show better! Why aren’t you letting me?!

Kitty Plushie: But you’ll get hurt if you do something like that!

(Wonder Halloween)

Kitty Plushie: I want to be friends, but I'm worried that I'll say something weird and end up being an outcast... That would hurt me more than being alone...

Kitty Plushie: That's why I...I just can't bring myself to speak my mind...

KAITO: Ah… you’re afraid of being alone.

KAITO: But you shouldn’t worry, because you already have a friend right here, don’t you?

Kitty Plushie: I do?

Doggie Plushie: …

KAITO: Doggie's always trying to get you to speak up because it wants to know what's on your mind. This means that doggie is concerned about you.

KAITO: That also means that it wants to get to know you better, don't you agree?

(Wonder Halloween)

The fact that Tsukasa had no idea why Rui was holding back in Wonder Halloween but the concerns of the kitty plushie mirror emotions Rui himself wasn’t even aware he was feeling is probably the strongest case for “yes wxs themselves impact the sekai as opposed to it being a result of their impact on Tsukasa and his feelings about it. KAITO even mentions this connection:

KAITO: Yes. At the time, I felt like Rui’s solitude was somewhat connected to the kitty plushie.

KAITO: That’s why I wanted kitty to realize that it had a friend who was concerned about it.

(Kaito’s Wonder Halloween 4*)

The situation with the birdie plushie could have just been a coincidence, given that its struggles aren’t too similar to Rui’s, but I think that with the context of Wonder Halloween you could make the case that it’s another instance of Rui influencing the sekai.

Birdie Plushie: But I can do it!

Birdie Plushie: I don’t care if no one else can! I’ll do it by myself!

[…]

Rui: As much as they want to do a show, no one else is willing to participate…

Rui: That sounds like the old me. I wish I could help out somehow…

(Curtain Call)

On the surface that doesn’t seem to have much to do with Rui + the Arkland offer, however:

Birdie Plushie: *Sob* If only someone would help me...

Miku: Bird…

Birdie Plushie: No! Now's not the time for that!!

Miku: …!

Birdie Plushie: I said I'm gonna do this show! And only I can do it because it's too dangerous for the others!

Birdie Plushie: I have to do it! I have to show everyone just how much fun it is to fly!

Birdie Plushie: It's so sad that only I know what it's like to fly. So, I'm gonna show everyone how great it is!

Birdie Plushie: I wanna show them how great it feels to rip through the air! I wanna tell them about how fun it is when you become so light as you fly really high into the air!

(Miku’s Curtain Call 2*)

I think there’s probably some parallels that can be drawn between the birdie plushie’s mindset and Rui’s mindset as a kid in RMD and the mindset he probably carried with him when he began doing solo shows.

Little Rui: Everyone, what’s the matter?

Classmate A: Rui, doing such dangerous things all of a sudden is really strange, you know…

Little Rui: Eh?

Classmate B: That’s right! We can’t do those kind of things!

Little Rui: B-but…!

[flashback]

Nene’s Mom: H…hold on, what are the two of you doing!? You’re dripping wet!

Rui’s Mom: Just when I was wondering what you wanted to do with a vinyl pool… Hey, Rui! Don’t put Nene in danger!

[end flashback]

Little Rui: (Certainly, it might be dangerous, but…!)

[flashback]

Little Nene: It’s fine! I want to do it!

Little Nene: I’m the little mermaid, so in order to meet the prince, I have to swim!

[end flashback]

Little Rui: (The scene I came up with that time, it really improved because of that… and Nene was super pleased too!)

Little Rui: (Together, with everyone, just like that—)

Classmate A: Rui, why do you want to do something that dangerous?

Little Rui: — I want to create an interesting show!

Little Rui: If we made an interesting show together, I’m sure everyone will—!

Classmate A: I can’t do that just because it looks interesting!

(RMD - TL Arvon Oven)

Regardless of how connected the birdie plushie’s issues and Rui’s issues in Curtain Call are, the birdie plushie’s situation still leads to him having a realization:

Birdie Plushie: And… it was kinda lonely.

Rui: What?

Miku: Yeah, I bet…

Miku: Putting on fun shows is a really wonderful thing…

Miku: But it’s gotta feel so lonely when the people you care about aren’t there with you.

Rui: Oh.

Rui: (That’s it…)

Rui: (Despite already having an answer ready, the reason I’m still dwelling on this is because…)

Rui: (I still want to…)

Rui: (I still want to keep doing shows with them.)

(Curtain Call)

Also, for a lack of anywhere better to put it, Luka is sleepiest when everyone around her is happy:

MEIKO: This is somewhat unrelated, but I think I've figured out when Luka tends to fall asleep...!

KAITO: You have?

MEIKO: I think so. She seems to feel sleepiest when everyone around her is smiling.

MEIKO: When they're having fun or enjoying themselves, she starts falling asleep.

Rui: I see...

MEIKO: The opposite seems to be true as well since she's almost never sleepy when something is bothering someone.

MEIKO: She'll attentively listen to what someone has to say.

(Luka’s doll festival 3*)

And one of the first instances we see that confirms this is when Rui is struggling in the cheer squad event.

Luka: The thing is... I haven't been able to sleep much lately.

Luka: Zzz... See? I just can't seem to fall asleep.

MEIKO: What?! But you've always been able to fall into a deep slumber given ten seconds!

MEIKO: Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Are you okay? Do you not feel well?

Luka: No, I don't think I'm sick or anything.

Luka: However... I've been getting this strange feeling in my chest whenever I try to fall asleep.

MEIKO: A strange feeling...? Hmm... You certainly don't seem sick or unwell…

MEIKO: Is something on your mind by chance?

Luka: On my mind?

Luka: Oh…

[flashback]

Luka: Hmm... Something you want to say, but can't... That's a tricky one...

Luka: But you told us about it, didn't you, Rui...?

Rui: Well…

[End flashback]

MEIKO: I see… You’re worried about Rui.

(Luka’s Cheer Squad 4*)

& then after everything goes well and Rui has a good time:

Luka: <Zzz...♪ Zzz...♪>

MEIKO: <Hey, Luka! Wake up!>

Luka: <Mhm?>

MEIKO: <Don't give me that... We were definitely about to lose you there. What happened to you having trouble falling asleep?>

Luka: <Hehe. But it looks like everyone’s having so much fun.>

[…]

KAITO: <Hehe. You have that look on your face, Rui. I'm looking forward to what you have in store for us during the cheering competition.>

MEIKO: <Hehe. You seem just as happy, Luka.>

Luka: <Yes, that's because...>

Luka: <It looks like Rui found a way to break that spell.>

(Luka’s Cheer Squad 4*)

Off the top of my head, Luka is also the one to speak to Nene when she’s thinking about having to leave WxS behind one day (Mermaid Admiration) and she helps Meiko comfort Rui during his gleaming stars card story - both instances occur at night (prime sleeping hours).

& then of course there’s his chapters in the WxS WLE, which includes a bunch of Zombie Plushies that mirror Rui’s conflicts in Wonder Halloween and RMD.

Zombie Plushies: We can tell you’re just pretending to be friends! Deep down, you’re probably scared and disgusted by us too!

[…]

Zombie Plushies: We’ll never fit in with them anyway…

Rui: …! (Never fit in with them, huh…)

[…]

Rui: When I look at them… I remember how things used to be.

(WxS WLE, Rui’s section - TL Haruka’s penguin)

Rui: I was the same a long time ago... I gave up on fitting in with anyone.

[...]

Rui: If they don't understand me, that just can't be helped, if they disagree with the way I think, that just can't be helped... I would think like that.

Rin: Rui-kun...

Rui: - in reality, I really did want to put on a show with someone else. But people didn't understand the shows I was making. On a subconscious level, I convinced myself it wasn't going to work out and gave up on the idea.

(WxS WLE, Rui’s section - TL Haruka’s penguin)

Nene:

As a disclaimer, emu and nene’s sections will be shorter because they have self awareness wrt their emotions & therefore don’t need the wxs sekai’s help to puzzle things out with plushies. said fondly. there are less examples to pull for them. For no specific reason.

The virtual singers all adore emu/nene/rui and I dislike the implication that they show blatant favoritism to Tsukasa just because he made the sekai (which is a take I’ve seen quite a few times.) Just look at Emu’s relationship with Miku, Nene’s relationship with Rin, or Rui’s relationship with Len.

One of the best examples that proves my point is this conversation between Nene and Miku:

Nene: Okay, well... I've been wondering about this for some time...

Nene: This world was created based on Tsukasa's feelings, right?

Nene: You and KAITO have been inviting us here to see your shows, so that Tsukasa would remember what his true feelings were, I guess...?

Miku: Yup, that’s correct.

Nene: So this is what I don't get...

Nene: Tsukasa's already discovered his true feelings, and I'm just performing in the same troupe as him so...

Nene: Why do you and KAITO care about me at all?

Miku: Hehe, that's simple! It's because we want to see you blossom as an actress!

Nene: Huh… that’s it?

Nene: But you do so much for me and encourage me every time I visit...

Nene: It's not that I'm worried about Tsukasa getting annoyed with me getting so much support from you, but I feel like you're spoiling me with this being his SEKAI and all...

Miku: We’re absolutely not, Nene!

Miku: And besides, you have a connection to SEKAI too!

Miku: Tsukasa's wish of bringing joy to everyone with your shows is also your wish!

Nene: Oh…

Miku: Tsukasa also needs you, Emu and Rui to create the shows he dreams about!

Miku: You can't make great shows alone after all!

Miku: Don't you think so too, Nene? Don't you need your friends to create really special performances?

(Miku’s On This Holy Night I Sing 4*)

Miku specifically points out that the rest of WxS *are* connected to the Wonderlands sekai, not just because of their relationship with Tsukasa, but also because they share the same dreams.

Her chapters in the WxS WLE have a Turtle Plushie that reflects her previous issues with stage fright, so there’s also a case to be made that Nene’s struggles are capable of being reflected in the plushies like Rui’s are:

Turtle plushie B: … That one’s always over there. Even though it’s afraid to get in the water… I guess it can’t seem to give up.

Nene: Can’t seem to give up… What do you mean?

Turtle plushie B: it always used to say “my dream is to carry someone on my back, but —

Turtle plushie B: A while ago, there was a terrible storm, and this river flooded over. After seeing that, it became completely terrified of going in the water.

Luka: Is that right…

Nene: (… It became terrified…)

[…]

Nenerobo: … Is something the matter, Nene?

Nene: Um… I was just thinking about that turtle.

Nene: Somehow, I can understand how it feels…

Nene: When I was too scared to do anything, I also had that feeling of being unable to give up.

(WxS WLE event, Nene’s section - TL haruka’s penguin)

Emu:

Notably, Emu has a lot of similarities to WxS Miku in both personality and speech. There’s also something to be said about the Wonderland’s Sekai being an amusement park - something Emu has always big connection with, but Tsukasa didn’t until he began working at PXL. I think that’s fitting. Emu was present when Tsukasa discovered Untitled on his phone, and she was also the one to actually press play.

In a grander sense, without Emu pulling him for the wonder stage after he flopped in his audition, Tsukasa not only would not have remembered his true feelings but also would not have had the many opportunities to grow closer to achieving his dream he’s had as a part of WxS.

Just like Nene and Rui, some of her issues are reflected in a plushie during the WxS WLE:

Emu: What’s the matter?

Leon: Ah, um… you might laugh at me, but…

Leon: One day… I’d like to fly in the sky with Phoenix.

[…]

Emu: That’s… a suuuuper wonderful dream!

Leon: Eh?

Emu: Flying in the sky with Phoenix… somehow, even listening about it makes me excited too!

Miku: Miku too, Miku too!

Leon: T… thank you very much.

Leon: But… a dream like that, it wouldn’t ever come true, huh

Emu: Eh? Why?

Leon: I mean, Phoenix is rarely seen… and I’m not a soft toy bird, so flying in the sky is impossible.

Leon: And besides — everyone around me tells me I can’t ever accomplish it.

Emu: Ah…

Leon: …Even I myself know that it won’t come true. I’m sorry, please forget everything I just said!

Emu: Leon-kun…

Emu: (…There was a time where I, too, thought “maybe it won’t come true,” huh)

[flashback]

Shousuke: Emu, if you want to look at dreams that much, then look at them yourself. Don’t involve us any further!

[end flashback]

Emu: (My big brothers, too, had said “don’t just keep spouting on about dreams”…)

(WxS WLE, Emu’s section - TL Arvon Oven)

But I think it’s especially interesting that the plushie that parallels her is the same plushie that parallels Tsukasa. Her importance to WxS is inarguable:

Rui: Indeed. If it weren't for you, Emu, none of us would be here today.

(SOAD)

Tsukasa: Emu, listen!

Tsukasa: Your “ability to dream” is an absolutely essential part of Wonderlands×Showtime!

Emu: huh?

Nene: H-He's right...! We've been able to do what we have because you never stop dreaming.

Rui: If anything, we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for big dreamer, Emu.

Rui: Even when it was all run down, weren't you the one who wanted to bring smiles and laughter back to the Wonder Stage more than anybody else?

Rui: Your dream gave us a place where we could belong.

[…]

Rui: Simply put, Emu, you're the engine that drives us all. You have this remarkable ability to turn reality on its head...

(Popping in My Heart)

So I don’t think it would be a stretch to say she also had a massive impact on the way the Wonderlands Sekai.

Tsukasa*:

*Well. This part is sort of about Tsukasa. More so about his bond with his friends.

I think Tsukasa would be the first to say that Emu, Nene, and Rui are very connected to the Wonderlands sekai. Tsukasa even considers the sekai’s song as WxS’s song, not his own.

Tsukasa: That's why, Kaito, would you let us sing the song [The World Hasn’t Even Started Yet] that was born from our feelings once more?

Rui: Oh? I heard that song and Wonderland SEKAl were born from your feelings, though...

Tsukasa: Well, in truth, it seems to be that way, but...

Tsukasa: Even with the help of Miku, KAITO, and the others, I would not have been able to face SEKAl or remember my true feelings if I had not met all of you.

Tsukasa: That's why I think that song was born from our feelings and not just my own!

(JP sekai anniversary live show)

And it’s true that he wouldn’t have remembered his true feelings without WxS, although KAITO suggests that he was aware of them somewhere deep down.

Nene: This place is made from Tsukasa's feelings, right?

Nene: I would have expected a place like that to have a loud and conspicuous self-proclaimed star who's just like him...

Nene: Everyone here takes part in shows, but nobody tries to claim to be a star the way he does. I wonder why?

Emu: It must be because everyone in this SEKAI is a star♪

Nene: Everyone is a star? How does that work?

Nene: Remember how he was like before? Back then, it felt like he always wanted to be the one to stand out the most.

KAITO: Well... I would say that Emu's thinking is actually quite accurate.

[…]

KAITO: I'm sure that somewhere deep inside, Tsukasa always knew a lone star couldn't shine brightly or do a show by himself.

KAITO: A good show is the product of many people who work hard to fill different roles.

KAITO: Each one of them has to shine in their given positions.

KAITO: A real star can only shine brightly when his companions do the same with a smile. He must have felt that somehow.

(KAITO initial 3*)

Even if he was aware of his true feelings subconsciously, up until he actually remembers the origin of his dream, the only people who are consciously following something aligned with his true feelings are the rest of WxS.

Tsukasa: I only decided to become a star because I wanted to be like the stars there, who made me and Saki so happy.

Tsukasa: But at some point I forgot about all that, and all I cared about was making successful shows and becoming a star...

Tsukasa: How could I have…

[flashbacks]

[Nene through nenerobo]: I hope our audience enjoys the play.

Rui: Well then. Let's work together to put on some unbeatable shows!

Emu: It's my dream to have people come to see a show here at this stage and love it!

[End flashbacks]

Tsukasa: …

Tsukasa: They’re the real stars, not me…

(WxS Main story - the feeling that day)

You know how Tsukasa had to understand Torpe and Rio to recognize parts of himself? The main story is sort of like that, but instead of a character in a play it’s Emu/Nene/Rui, and instead of having a breakthrough that improves his acting it’s Tsukasa recognizing that he was being a huge dick. Anyways.

The sekai’s expansion in the WxS WLE is stated by KAITO to have some relation to Tsukasa’s own feelings:

Tsukasa: For sure. I mean, how is it even possible for such place to even show up here?

KAITO: … Indeed, I can't say for sure myself either.

KAITO: But I think it's somehow connected with Tsukasa-kun's feelings.

[…]

KAITO: That's right. This SEKAI is born from your feelings, right?

KAITO: That's why, if there is a change in those feelings, it's possible for the SEKAl to be influenced and changed as well.

(WxS WLE, Opening - TL Tsukasa’s #3 fan)

And I think it’s pretty clear that this shift in feelings involves the rest of WxS as well, given that

1) Their signature colors are all over the boat

2) Their quest to get to find the Phoenix (to get the map. so they can go to star island.) required WxS to encounter Plushies that were reflections of themselves. He needed the rest of WxS to find the Phoenix, just like he needs the rest of WxS with him to chase his dream.

Rui: I can't help but think there seems be a connection between that island and the show we were a part of.

Luka: That does seem to be the case~ But I wonder what all of that means~...?

KAITO: …This is just my guess, but...

KAITO: It's possible that this ship has made progress on its own journey as well.

KAITO: Just like Tsukasa-kun and everyone, navigating through each island, to steadily make your way towards Star Island.

Tsukasa: This ship...... is just like us?

KAITO: Yes. Perhaps this ship itself is a manifestation of Tsukasa-kun's current feelings and thoughts.

Tsukasa: My feelings…

Tsukasa: (This ship has traveled to numerous islands, forging its path towards the stars..... And surely, its journey will only continue from here on out.)

Tsukasa: (Indeed, it is just like me. I've come this far, and have been non-stop pursuing my dream of becoming a star.)

Tsukasa: (Has my desire to pursue my dream taken the form of a ship....?)

Tsukasa: (No, that's not quite right.... I couldn't have made it this far solely on my own)

Tsukasa: (It was thanks to meeting Emu and everyone, and putting on countless shows together. It's because everyone was by my side that I was able to make it this far)

Tsukasa: (If that’s the case…)

Tsukasa: … That’s it!

Emu: Wassup, Wassup!? Tsukasa-kun, did you figure something out?

Tsukasa: Yeah, this place is probably…

Tsukasa: It is my … "Aim for Stardom, and together with my friends, we will embark on our journey of growth to many places" aspiration.

(WxS WLE, Ending - TL Tsukasa’s #3 fan)

In conclusion:

[shoesterrs]

VDL Gang but Animals

I know this has been done countless times, but here's my version! Some have a cool explanation and some are just,,, silly :)

Dutch Van Der Linde: Black Panther

I think it's fairly widely accepted. He gives off the vibes of a big cat, hard to remember they're wild animals and not just big lovable kitties.

Hosea Matthews: Corsac Fox

This one was oddly tough. It was pretty easy to make him a fox, but I had a lot of other ideas. I do think he looks A LOT like a corsac fox, and acts a lot like a fox in general, clever and cunning.

Arthur Morgan: Stag

What'd you expect? This is just perfect for him, no other questions are being taken, thank you.

John Marston: Golden Eagle

That picture is so. So so John Marston. It looks just like him dude. I see a lot of people say he's a wolf, and I get that, but BIRD OF PREY. Wolves are more often seen as very territorial and constantly with their pack. I see John Marston more as a loner, especially with the lonely vibes in RDR1. And going from weird little looking baby to BIG MAJESTIC BIRDDD. I don't know I'm a big bird fan. He hunts down his old friends in RDR1 and that is very bird of prey of him. And the bird symbolism? OAGH freedom and independence but also strength and courage. And they mate for life 😀

Javier Escuella: Coati

Very out of field uhh. Okay. So in all sorts of different cultures, coati can represent change and protection, but also greed and gluttony. They're often depicted as protectors or crafty and mischievous creatures. Javier is very protective and loyal of his family, and despite trying not to, he's changed a lot throughout the years. Coati. End quote.

Bill Williamson: Javelina

Hii he's a silly little javelina, blind and stupid but also so so horrifying. Big family protectors, travel alone or in packs, and this picture spoke to me. I LOVE JAVELINAS!!

Micah Bell: Gila Monster

The largest venomous lizard in the US (I think), these badass lizards hunt down their prey by locking them in their jaws and biting down, slowly injecting venom. MICAHHH - Dutch is his prey, or fucking ANYONE and GOD iusghfja

Charles Smith: American Bison

Sweetheats <3 ofc he's an American Bison. Chonky boys, very connected to Native American culture. Hella protective but so so chill. And silly.

Sean Macguire: No fucking idea maybe a woodpecker

Lil assholes who like to swoop at me for some reason these ableist birds. Anyways. They got those strong head muscles. Perfect for him. Love to cause noise. Bird vision. Yep

Lenny Summers: Otter!

sweethearts with an evil mind <3 They often symbolize curiosity and playfulness. Young hearts. :( gonna make myself cry

Sadie Adler: Cougar

Often thought loners, but value their social family and friends. Purrs doesn't roar REAL Sadie's fierce as hell and a fantastic bounty hunter BAM cougar

Karen Jones: Secretary Bird

she looks like a secretary bird finished. My sister gave me this idea and I LOVE IT. "execute snakes by stamping on them" JUST USING 'EXECUTING' IS KAREN ENOUGH. QUEEN.

Tilly: Black-Footed Ferret

I want to put her in macaroni.

Mary-Beth: Barn Owl

Freakin NERD. I don't like this one very much, think she's more of a cat maybe?? But neither a cat or a barn owl fits her personality. Going more with what is represents, owls representing ya know nerds and magic and all that. And I guess barn owls are real good at being sneaky and Mary-Beth is a good pickpocketer :)

Uncle: Raccoon

Weird, gluttonous, and trash animals? Uncle. But for real, raccoons might not look threatening but they can put up a FIGHT. Reminds me a lot of Uncle.

Abigail Marston ;): Red Shouldered Hawk

Very protective, gets PISSED. Abigail probably would kill like a bird of prey for her family. Love her. Love hawks. Also really wanted to make the Marston family BIRDS OF PREY heh

Jack Marston: Brown Falcon

Silly little guy, but still a predator. Hunts down Edgar Ross. Absolutely a bird of prey.

Miss Grimshaw: Emu

Miss. Grimshaw would single-handedly win a war against Australians. Therefore, emu. Cannot fly but has personality for years.

Simon Pearson: Turkey

Very American, balding, and they represent giving and food of course. I wanted to make him a sea related animal, like maybe a Manatee or a Walrus?? But I REALLY like turkey.

Leopold Strauss: Weasel

Evil fucker, that one weasel from Zootopia yes I just referenced that, also I want to toss him in macaroni.

Josiah Trelawny: Raven

Very clever, often represent magic. "Spiritual messengers". Also found that they represent "divine timing" which is funny as hell to me and very Trelawny. I play a silly DnD thing where I DM and roleplay as the entire freaking Van Der Linde gang and I made Trelawny just kind of show up at the simultaneously the worse and best times.

Reverend Swanson: RED SPOTTED TOAD!!!

MY FAVORITE CHARADCTER!!! and i gave him a toad :) BUT i like toads! Especially this silly guy <3 They represent transformation (very Swanson look at him go) and are often attached to witchcraft which I think is fucking hilarious for a reverend. These guys spend the day in rock crevices and come out during the night - they can survive 40% body water loss. Good for the morphine and alcohol :D

Kieran Duffy: Ring Tailed Cat

Look at those big eyes and tell me that's not Kieran. They get hit by cars all the time and that's soooo Kieran Duffy of them. They're super shy and timid but also hella adventurous to the point of stupidity. I've only ever seen one in the wild in my life and it very aggressively yelled at me. Wherever you are, sorry little dude.

Last but not least, Molly O' Shea: Bleeding Heart Dove

Another one my sister recommended. OH the symbolism, I could write a whole essay, it HURTS. Doves are obviously very common symbols for freedom and love. The plumage looks like a gunshot through the chest. HELLO!?!? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!??! It's a bleeding heart. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. They're freaking gorgeous majestic creatures, a symbol of resilience and beauty in the Philippines

And that's it?? I think. Would love to hear y'alls thoughts!

[sege-h]

Alright this post has been ruminating in my brain for at least 2 months now and I finally have the time/focus to make it.

And it all spawned from seeing Tristamp fans going ‘Old Trigun fans only hate the new one because it changes so much from the manga, as if their beloved ‘98 version didn’t do that too’ so

As someone that’s never read the manga* (*I’ve started reading it but I’m not really far in) that knows that ain’t it and is proof of it, I’m about to go into why I don’t like the latest iteration of Trigun

So like. If you’re a fan and hate perspectives other than ‘Omg I love this show it’s SO good’, probably don’t read this

Creature design

Putting this in first because it’s probably what could be considered my most minor gripe with the show out of everything.

The creature design for the bugs? Excellent! Love it!

But then you get to...the Thomas Look at this, this is a goddamn Creature

They’ve got fun weird designs, and their heads are actually fukken Tiny-located at the ‘beak’ of their masks, and they don’t even look bird-like under there!

So it’s really disappointing when a studio that’s shown they can do great creature design comes up with....this...

Just. A blue emu. With such low color contrast between the beak and the feathers that it could get mistaken for a ‘base texture’ model. Like. C’mon.

But again that’s what could be considered my most minor of complaints so I’ll just move along to my next topics

The Human Typhoon

So. Vash already has a bounty on him at the start of this series- as he usually does. But like...why...?

He doesn’t really do much gunslinging in this series, he kinda just goes around and helps people-- which yes he does in the original series too, and people in towns already know/like him. But the difference is-- the season finale reveals that all the events in Tristamps first season took place before the events at July. So why is Vash already wanted with a huge bounty on his head? The whole ��oh people keep mistaking Knives for him’ feels pretty flimsy since they don’t really look or act similar- and whole towns seem to know Vash just from him stopping by. He’s kind of just. Some depressed guy that goes around helping people.

Which is another thing. Tristamps Vash really is just Some Depressed Guy.

Yes ‘98 Vash is depressed too, but he hides all this, along with his rage, underneath the mask of a goofy clumsy doofus. It’s part of what makes him so interesting as a character. You watch what he does, you see all the ‘clumsy mistakes’ he makes that end up saving either himself or others that you KNOW are deliberate moves on his part, you see all the moments where you know there’s anger bubbling under the surface that he never lets loose, all the excellent gunmanship that never turns lethal even though it’d be so easy for him to mow down anyone that threatens him. And you have pieces of what’s lying under the mask that you have to start putting together.

You have a man that’s gotten very good at hiding his feelings, and his past and the things that haunt him.

Which is why it was so jarring that at the end of episode one, Tristamp’s Vash gets asked ‘what are you scared of?’ and just immediately answers ‘I have a brother.’ and in the next episode he’s just ready to answer a reporter’s questions about it and about himself.

I was just like...really??? He just immediately spills this to people he met 5 minutes ago???

There’s just so much of Vash’s nuance that’s stripped away completely from his character here- and he’s not the only one but I’ll get into that later.

And he’s just really...timid. Which- there’s nothing wrong with timid characters. But in Vash’s case it’s another case of this show’s ‘nuance-be-gone’ showing.

Vash is a pacifist, refusing to kill people in a world full of people that’d shoot him dead without batting an eye. And as you get a whiff of that rage of his that lies beneath the surface, you wonder why.

Tristamp Vash just really...doesn’t even get comically angry over things- again because he doesn’t even have the emotional mask Vash usually has. And he doesn’t do much gunslinging either, at least not until the final episode of the season.

He’s entirely too trusting for someone that’s been through the things he has. Vash as a character, at least from my POV, is a bit more complex with his trust. He trusts people with the chance to do the right thing. But he doesn’t trust people with himself- again going back to the fact Tristamp Vash just immediately goes ‘I have a brother’. And while he trusts people with the chance to do the right thing, he doesn’t just assume anyone Would take that chance. So Tristamp Vash just going ‘I know Wolfwood is a good person I see it in his eyes :)’ was equally jarring when he’s only known Wolfwood for like 5 minutes, just like with Roberto and Meryl

And I frankly just miss Vash bickering with someone like Wolfwood, instead of whatever’s happening in Tristamp where it feels like Wolfwood keeps trying to start to bicker with Vash only for Vash to be all ‘Wolfwood... <:)’ at him despite having just met him

It was fun, Vash finding a dude who’s so similar to him that he can spot his fake smile from a mile away, yet opposite in some ways and then just bickering with him was fun

Wolfwood has any nuance taken away from him as well-he was a guy that was sent to keep an eye on Vash and to kill him if he got the order to, that spent enough time with Vash that they end up being friends, and he frustrated because that was never supposed to happen.

But Stampede rushes through it’s own story set up so fast that he’s just left being kind of the edgy guy that hangs around and yells at Vash, and they want us to see them as friends because??? I don’t know, because that’s how the story is supposed to go, and we have no time for ‘show don’t tell’.

Vash and Knives

Speaking of lost nuances in relationships. Knives’ attitude towards Vash is a lot less compelling in this show to me.

I can’t speak on anything that goes on in the manga, so again that’s not even my ‘Old Trigun fan hates Stampede because of this’ issue.

To me it just seemed like Stampede Knives saw Vash as less than him. Like something broken that needs to be fixed, or remade into something ‘better’ and on his level.

Which...I don’t know. To me that’s a lot less compelling-- especially as Stampede Knives still thinks plants like him are  superior to humans! But still treats his brother, who’s the same being as him, as less. He even seems to treat other plants as less, as just fodder for his plans.

That’s a lot less compelling than a guy that thinks plants, any plants, independent like him and Vash or not, as superior to humans. The contrast there is just a lot more fun to me- of Vash, who doesn’t think he’s superior to anyone, and Knives, his twin brother that thinks they’re superior to humans and that Vash should just join him in destroying them already. Knives didn’t think Vash needed to be fixed or that he was less-- he saw Vash as his equal, but just thought he was lost in a delusional phase where he tries to live alongside humans. And he did think it was just a fleeting phase- that one day Vash would see his own superiority and abandon them after he’s had all his fun. It was just that that day wasn’t coming fast enough for Knives’ liking, so he tried to break Vash and make him ‘realize’ humans aren’t worth his time and that he should just join his brother already.

The Plants

This maybe could’ve gone under ‘creature designs’ but it didn’t quite fit because the plants are both creatures but also environments.

I don’t quite mind the designs of the plants as creatures in Stampede.

But I don’t like what they did with the environment they’re kept in at all.

I miss the giant light bulbs that stuck out of the remnants of old space ships, and how they both looked fragile due to their design but were also way too big to make stealing them be just a simple feat.

How there was no way to go into a town and be unaware of them, but any regular person would still be unaware of just what plants are

The plants in Stampede are just...they’re just the tumor device from Homestuck. Which I know sounds like an unhinged sentence so here’s a visual for what I mean

Corporate wants you to find the difference between these two pictures

Which isn’t a bad design in general but to me it’s a bad design for something that contains plants

Tropes

That’s what everyone in Stampede is. Just walking tropes without any character actually attached to them-- I keep talking about the loss of character and nuance in this show, and that’s all it really boils down to. It’s not just one or two characters that are stripped of it, it’s all of them. They’re walking tropes, and the writers keep acting like they’re characters with connections that they only ever tell us about instead of showing us or actually developing them like.

Wolfwood is just some edgy guy that keeps being angry at Vash, but no wait actually they’re friends and Wolfwood would go into battle with him.

He and Livio are adoptive brothers but we are told this rather than shown-- I’m a sucker for story beats like these so you know something’s wrong when it doesn’t tug on my heartstrings as much as it should. Wolfwood seems more ready to kill Livio- his childhood friend and adoptive brother, than he is Vash who he met a day ago and is supposed to be ready to kill.

Roberto is a drunkard that keeps not even using Meryl’s name and keeps mocking her for being a ‘rookie’. But no wait actually he cares for her deeply, like an adoptive father would even, and also she respects him too! It means so much to her when he calls her by name!

Like don’t even get me started on Roberto. I hated him, and as a character made up entirely for this show, what the writers do with all of them is the most obvious with him.

Like he spends the entire show being drunk, constant one liners of ‘rookie the world is a shithole’ and burping and lines that make me livid like ‘whoop, noob down’ in Fucking 2023

And then comes the moment where he dies. And he leaves Meryl with some parting advice, and a gun. And you realize. Oh. The writers wanted us to see Roberto as just ‘the tired dad or maybe tired uncle’. But they never actually did any character development or character moments that show this, or even develop it in the first place. They’re jumping straight from point A to point Z

All the characters are just building blocks or crumbs of who they’re supposed to be. I’ve seen so much fanart and memes from people that have only watched Stampede that would fit PERFECTLY with their ‘98 counterparts. Because the crumbs for what these characters are IS there, and fandom is incredibly good at building entire characters out of any crumbs a writer gives them but....that usually applies to like side characters and background characters. Meanwhile these are your MAIN CHARACTERS! You’re supposed to have more than just crumbs for characters when they’re your main cast, especially after a season!

I could say some things about how shipping factors into this, but I’d rather not get viciously mauled by shippers, so I won’t

Episode 1 is just bait for old fans

Literally from the very first teaser for it. You get everything I complained Vash lacked earlier, and then some, and it’s just in this one episode.

You get fun western-y music. You get Vash showing his skills, and actually firing his guns. You get him being a doofus, and pulling expressions like this

Which is like...God. GOD I miss Vash pulling funny and exaggerated expressions! Especially since this shows us they CAN push the models like that, and it looks so fun! And then they just. Don’t do it again.

They pull you in with ‘yes this is a different show, but still has some of the Trigun things you love in it!’ and then they don’t do it again for the rest of the season. No ‘who the hell even is this guy’ feats of gunmanship, no fun times, no exaggerated fun expressions, and no Vash yelling and being a doofus...which is the other thing

Voice acting

Everyone’s kind of. Subdued in that department. Like they could do more but they just don’t do it. And so does Vash. You get Johnny Yong Bosch to reprise his very first VA role, and then you don’t even let him go all out or really have any scenes that’d LET him go all out? I think that should be a crime

You have scenes here and there where you get to hear him do his ‘a panicked Vash is running’ noises and those are good but it leaves you wishing we had more scenes where he could be a goof

And then in the season finale he finally FINALLY gets to yell and have some emotion but even that feels just a tad held back

But the voice acting issue could be entirely because Crunchyroll especially loves to live up to the ‘Crunch’ in its name which is a whole other can of worms that’s not related to Trigun alone so. I’m gonna let it slide

Jesus, Sege, is there anything you DO like in Stampede?

I like the worm creature design! And I like Zazie. Zazie is definitely the best thing about Stampede and I like that they kinda set up a third party in the whole humans vs. plants thing by just being the insect creatures that have lived on Gunsmoke long before the ships crashed. The planet was theirs, and now they suddenly have two new species on it, and one of the new species is trying to wage war and destruction on the other, so they’re just trying to figure out which one will be more beneficial to them. I think that’s fun.

I also like the animation! I love what they’ve done with the 3D-- before this series whenever I tried to get into a series with animation that’s like ‘its CG but it’s looking like 2D animation’ I just couldn’t get into it. I could never figure out what it was about the style that kinda put me off. But I finally did it with this series!

I...like the final season 1 episode? Maybe? I have issues with it but honestly I think Vash getting to yell, and fire his gun as part of a big fight scene was such a breath of fresh air after the whole season that I just didn’t care

I like the music but it also feels like I have to just listen to the OST to actually get to hear music other than the Jenora Rock Resistance and Knives’ theme, it doesn’t feel very prominent in the show

Conclusion

Stampede is just. Not a good show. Not ‘not a good Trigun show’, just plain not a good show. If I’d never seen ‘98 Trigun earlier this year, I’d still have all the issues with it that don’t have to do with Trigun related things like the Thomas or the plant environmental designs or the character dynamics. I’d still think the characters are just walking tropes and that the writers want the payoff without any of the buildup or development, I’d still think it’s jarring how quick Vash is to trust people with his past, or trust that Wolfwood is good. I’d still be glad Roberto is dead because I’d still hate him.

It’s not just me theorizing on ‘what ifs’, I think it’s the most evident that I’d have the same emotions by how I reacted to the Livio episode. I haven’t gotten to him in the manga, and he isn’t in the ‘98 anime. I have nothing to compare that episode to, but it still left me feeling like the writers wanted payoff without development.

If I’d never seen Trigun ‘98, I’d have probably dropped this series after the first season, if not the first few episodes.

But having seen Trigun ‘98, I’m left morbidly curious as to what the plans are for the story. It’s like watching someone put together a puzzle by mixing the pieces around, and they’re still making an image form so you’re just curious as to wtf this thing will look like once it’s completed compared to the picture on the box.

So I’m kind of just along for the ride now even though the ride keeps crashing every 5 minutes

[cheapsweets]

The assiduous Kengliwa

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

Was slightly rushed with this one, been trying to get ideas without leaning too hard into what this creature is probably meant to be...

Jinhao shark fountain pen with a fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial pencil sketch.

As ever, reasoning under the cut…

The Kengliwa has three characteristics. The first is that they march in line, each one carrying a grain of corn in its mouth. Those who have none do not say to the others: ‘Give us some of your grain’, but follow the tracks of those who first went out to the place where they find the corn and carry it off to their nest. The Kengliwa’s second characteristic is that when it stores grain in its nest, it divides its supply in two, lest by chance it should be soaked in the winter rains, the seed germinate and the Kengliwa die of hunger. The Kengliwa’s third characteristic is that at harvest time it walks through the crop and finds out by nibbling the ears whether it is barley or wheat. If the crop is barley, the Kengliwa goes to another ear and sniffs it, and if it smells wheat, it climbs to the top of the ear and carries off the grain to its nest. For barley is food for beasts.

Okay, three core characteristics - marches in line, divides grain in two in its nest, and likes wheat, not grain. I can see how if I were to write a bestiary, and especially if I had a handy illustration beside the text, I may also be inclined to focus my writing on the behaviour of this weird critter, rather than its physical description. However, that does not help me work out even remotely what manner of animal the Kengliwa is...

...or does it? Clearly, this is a social animal, that lives in large groups. It's quite risk-averse, but most importantly, it doesn't eat barley, "For barley is food for beasts"...

Silly Kengliwa! Barley is for Beasts!

Now, generalising massively, we can categorise medieval creatures into a number of types; beasts (which live on the land), birds (which generally have feathers, and generally fly, except when they don't), serpents/reptiles (which crawl, including snakes and amphibians), fish (live in the sea) and worms (including insects). We specifically know it isn't a beast (since it turns its tiny nose up at barley), isn't a fish since it's clearly not keen on water, so its a bit of a toss up between serpent, worm or bird. We do know that it lives in a nest though, and you know what else lives in nests? Birds! Bingo!

We don't have any indicator of size, but given that each Kengliwa carries a single grain of wheat in its mouth, I've deduced that they must be pretty small; as amusing as emu-sized critters rampaging through a field would be (for me, not for the farmer...), I don't think that a creature as industrious as a Kengliwa would find carrying a single grain of wheat at a time particularly efficient unless it was pretty tiny!

For the Kengliwa has no knowledge of cultivation; it has no-one to force it do anything; nor does it act under the direction of a master, telling it how to lay in a store of food. Yet it gathers in its harvest from your labours. And although you often go hungry, it lacks for nothing. It has no locked storehouses, no impenetrable security, no piles of supplies which cannot be touched. The watchman looks on at thefts which he dares not prevent, the owner is aware of his losses but takes no revenge. They carry their booty in a black column across the fields, the paths swarming with the convoy as it passes; the grains that cannot be held in their narrow mouths in narrow parts are consigned to their shoulders. The owner of the harvest looks on and blushes with shame at the thought of denying such frugal gains won by such conscientious industry.

I'm getting slightly mixed messages from the author here - the Kengliwa gathers food from others labours, even as they go hungry, but we also have acknowledgement that what it does take is meagre, and we almost have a mote of admiration at the end. If this creature has some kind of religious symbology (and its a medieval bestiary, so changes are, yes...), it's going to be weird...

We also know that it has quite a narrow mouth (which fits with having a beak). I've drawn them carrying the grains on their shoulders/backs (supported in some cases by their wings) when they are making their way through narrow underground tunnels, and beaks when they are outside or maneuvering the grains in their vaults.

We also have a little more details about the colouration... not so useful for me with the (tiny) lineart, but it all helps!

Have a slightly confused looking farmer, observing the Kengwilas as they make off with some grain...

The Kengliwa has also learned to watch out for periods of fine weather. For if it sees that its supplies of corn are becoming wet, soaked by the rain, it carefully tests the air for signs of a mild spell, then it opens up its stores, and carries its supplies on its shoulders from its vaults underground out into the open, so that the corn can dry in the unbroken sunshine. Finally, you will never on any of those days see rain spouted from the clouds, unless the Kengliwa has first returned its supplies of corn to its stores.

Okay, we now know that they keep their grain underground... A bit weird for a bird, but not unknown (we get puffins, burrowing owls, etc, even if some of them do steal burrows from other critters).

Have some underground grain vaults! Note that one of them is higher than the other, so if the nest does get flooded, at least one of the chambers should be okay. I drew the nest in a similar style to the nest of the Rubkawat, though I wonder if these nests are lines more with roots than with twigs...

Yes, I now know more about the difference between wheat and barley than I ever hoped for!

[pyrriax]

Speak on the lssmp bird hcs…… 🎤🎤

UAHVFDBNJFD HELLO YES. LSSMP BIRD HCS!!

the original one was made. Before i knew much about the other guys so it was a visual vibe check. however good point of reference. some of these are objectively correct.

i think there's like One that was missing from the list that i found the perfect bird for after, so Minute: Sporophila murallae (a subspecies of S. americana)

AND for the thing i didn't do there: explanations

i think minute fits with a relatively small seed eating bird, mostly because that is just how i think of him.

now to pull some of the birds from the list that i am soooo certain about because they just. FIT. to me.

Clown: Gypaetus barbatus (bearded vulture) / alt: Hamirostra melanosternon (black-breasted buzzard)

^ bearded vulture

these birds are naturally black and white but their feathers get stained this red color; generally you'll probably notice i chose two different carrion eating birds for clown. again, gut feeling, he has this vibe to him that he eats dead things. and he's regal about it.

^ black-breasted buzzard

interesting birds! last image is one using a stone to crack open a emu egg, if you were wondering. they're known for that.

Zam: Terpsiphone paradisi (indian paradise flycatcher)

^ indian paradise flycatcher

SO zam gets this one because i mean. weird flashy bird. honestly a LOT of these are visual because i don't see a lot of birds here. lookit that thang. zam to me.

^ Ixoreus naevius (Varied thrush)

a different choice from the original alt of the rook, i think that these little birds are a good choice, they're elusive in the places they reside, but i heard them a lot, and you'd almost think you're looking at a robin at first if you only see them from a distance. perfectly disguised, yeah?

Mapicc: Opisthocomus hoazin (hoatzin) / alt: Lanius schach longicaudatus (eastern subspecies - long-tailed shrike)

okay, okay, hear me out on this one. something about the fact they look almost exactly how a lot of people depict phoenixes just fit so perfectly. if i could assign mapicc a fictional bird, i would 100% assign him a phoenix. he is a phoenix to me.

^ long-tailed shrike

a small update from the original choice, favoring a subspecies with a more striking color palette (a fully black cap, rather than the mask which is typical). do i have to explain him being a shrike to me. he's a shrike. mapicc just doesn't seem like a large bird to me.

(i MIGHT have more notes lying around but right now these are the major ones i have thoughts / changes about; beside branzy being made a predatory bird rather than a songbird, which was something that i did completely intentionally because i feel like it's a great but kind of subtle subversion of expectation. i have yet to find good birds that i really think fit roshambo, if you're wondering why he isn't here PVNJKDLF )

[abhainnwhump]

IMYM Chapter 2 High on Sweetness: Ink

<- Previous Chapter || Masterlist || Next Chapter ->

(I apologize in advance for my bad puns. Over four years in this fandom and my puns have not improved. They’re not as bad as the rock one though.)

“Well, that was weird,” Ink groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. His skull pounded after having Nightmare inside it and his ribs throbbed a dull ache. The artist looked around and realized the Villain Sans Squad was gone, thank the stars. He felt tempted to lie back and nap for a while, watching the fluffy clouds pass through the blue sky. As soon as Nightmare left, the atmosphere cleared up. Birds were singing and flowers were blooming. Hopefully, laying back would clear the fog in his mind.

“Ink?” Dream kneeled down next to him. He had a concerned look in his golden eye lights. “Are you feeling okay? Nightmare’s influence can leave . . . scars on people.”

“Never better.” Thanks to the positivity magic still making him feel warm and fuzzy, Ink was only half sarcastic. Hate and anger didn’t burn through him anymore, which was a plus. But he was still pissed that the octopus played him like one of Error’s dolls. Why him out of the three? Why wouldn’t Nightmare go after his brother when he was standing right there?

Blue joined them with blue stars in his eye sockets. His energy hammer was gone, snapped away now that there was no danger. “Mweh, that was easy! I expected them to fight harder! But are you two alright?”

Dream looked up and nodded. “For the most part, we’re good. The mission was a success, no one died, the Villain Sans Squad is gone, and the AU is safe. The one negative was that Nightmare messed with Ink’s emotions and forced him to fight me.” He turned back to Ink. “Are you okay?”

Ink snorted. “Yeah, I’m fine. You worry a lot for the ‘embodiment of positivity’. Sometimes I wonder if you’re actually who you say you are andnot a hoax.”

Offended, Dream crossed their arms, stammering. “How dare you! I am not a hoax!” He stuck his tongue out. Despite his efforts, Ink laughed harder. Blue repressed a smile but gave up fast. Even Dream dropped the angry facade and smiled with his trademark giggle. They all broke down laughing, needing a bit of group positivity after the battle.

The Star Sanses were so distracted that they didn’t notice the human child flying above. One of their white feathers fell on Ink’s scarf, which is what finally made him realize they were there. They had brownish auburn hair, a baby blue sweater stripped with gray, and a pair of black goggles on their head. Their huge smile looked even larger with their closed eyes, or at least what appeared closed.

“Hey, kid!” Ink shouted up, “How’s it going?”

The human zoomed down a skeleton from the sky joined them. He had raven-colored goggles, which matched his jacket and wings pretty well. His only pop of color was an electric blue turtleneck. The two bird monsters blew up dust from the ground as they landed.

“Now that was an emu-sing battle.” Aviar winked, blowing dust from his goggles. The human’s smile faded in seconds. Aviar laughed. “Lark says thank you. We got the rest of the monsters out of danger and they insisted on watching the fight.”

“It was no problem,” Blue said through gritted teeth as his left eye socket twitched. “I’m glad you’re all safe.”

“That’s what we do. Protect you guys and make sure everything goes to your Creator’s vision. And this AU doesn’t involve skeleton killers. And if does, then oh well. You’re all screwed.” Ink shrugged. He stared at their unamused expressions. Lark signed something with their hands that he didn’t think was friendly. “What? I don’t make the rules around here.”

“Anyways,” Aviar coughed as he changed the subject, “I don’t know about your schedule, but I’m free for a while. My next guard shift doesn’t start for another two hours and I have to make up for slacking on the job. How about we go for nice cream? My treat.”

Dream blushed yellow. Ink never knew why, but he always seemed embarrassed when people offered to do things for him. “Thank you for the offer, but unless Ink and Blue-”

“Hey, I said it’s on me, don’t worry about it. I don’t do anything with my gold besides buy coconut oil. None of you are birdens, relax.”

Blue pressed the tips of his pointer fingers between his eye sockets, forcing a smile. “Sounds magnificent! But if you say another pun, that’s going to change very quickly.”

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

“You guys were right,” Ink said, his mouth full of Neapolitan. “Birdtale has the best nice cream.”

The Star Sanses, Aviar, and Lark sat with their legs dangling over the edge of one of the brown flight platforms. Some monsters flew around in the sky. The drop below was at least a thousand feet into an empty abyss, but Ink wasn’t scared. He could teleport with Broomie, Dream with positivity, Blue with his magic, and the birds . . . well, that’s self-explanatory. Even though Ink didn’t have lungs, he could feel the light air pressure against his bones. Lark lived up here so long their body could take it, so they were fine.

“Aviar, question.” Ink looked down into the chasm. “What’s down there? I’m guessing it’s either a river, rocks, or an abyss. Has anyone ever fallen?” Usually, Ink would know the answers to these questions since he explored the AUs and read the code so much. But sometimes the Creator didn’t make an answer, so the monsters had to figure out themselves. Even if most of the time there was nothing there. Sometimes he wondered if he could create the endings to stories himself, maybe he should try it . . .

The bird monster looked over the ledge. “No one knows. And I don’t . . . think anyone fell down. Kid, do you?”

Lark shook their head.

“Can I jump down?” Ink asked.

“No,” Aviar replied.

Ink leaned away from the edge, a bit disappointed. “Please? I’ll be fine! Trust me, I’ve been through worse.”

“Ink, no,” Blue said with a stern voice. “The last thing we need is you hurting yourself because you decided to be a reckless little shit and hurt yourself again! Look, I don't know how emotion magic works but . . ." He looked up at Dream. "Is it hard?"

He thought about it. “Speaking from experience, emotion manipulation magic is difficult. The stronger a person’s will and determination are, the harder it is to control them. I don’t understand why Nightmare only waited until now to use his magic.” Dream brushed his spoon against his banana sundae, making a swirl with the ice cream and syrup. “Oh, speaking of the battle, did anyone feel as if he retreated too easily?”

Ink shrugged. “Nope. He fought hard enough to me. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll do this.” Shoving his nice cream cone in his mouth, Ink stood up and shot a bullet of paint into the sky with Broomie. The black pellet flew threw the sky until it hit the edge of the AU, sending an almost invisible ripple. It took years for Ink to get that trick right, but now he could make a protective shell around any AU until he left it. He sat back down with nice cream melting all over his chin. “Boom, shield. They can’t get in if they tried now, we’re a-okay! What gave you that idea they weren’t fighting enough?”

Dream watched the ripples go by before turning their attention back to their sundae. “It’s just . . . I don’t know. Most of the time, he puts more of an effort in. It was like he was toying with us, buying time. ”

“You’re overthinking, Dreamboat.” Dream frowned at the nickname. “You need to chill out and stop worrying about everything. Take a page out of my playbook and don’t care about anything for few hours. Yeah, that should be enough time . . .” Ink was talking to himself by that point. He was trying as hard as he could to erase the memory of Nightmare taking him over. He still heard the red vial messing with his head. Kill him! What has he done to you besides being a pest? He’ll only make things worse. I’m the right one. He’s a crybaby and makes you look bad by being around him. Kill them both.

Like sure, the team had their arguments. Dream was a serious people pleaser and wanted to protect everyone in every AU. He was a complete sucker for the ‘happily ever after’ that Ink didn’t understand, angst and suffering was more fun. He didn’t see why saving people was so important. The worlds were unique and magical and one of a kind. Meanwhile, the monsters were all copied and pasted with different clothes. There were millions of worlds with billions of monsters, so a few deaths won’t affect anything. But noooooo, Dream wanted to save everyone. Blue tended to side with him and that didn’t help anything.

But at the end of the day, they were teammates and friends with a common goal: To protect the Doodlesphere.

Moments like this were one of the reasons he was glad to have the worst memory in the Doodlesphere. He once forgot his name for an entire day and Fresh stilljokes about it. He’d forget he ever got mind-controlled by the end of the week. At least he hoped he did. He didn’t count on it. Especially after trying to forget his weird nightmares and . . . everything else weird going on.

For the last few months, Ink felt like he was being watched. Well, people were always staring at him, but this felt different. He’d get a sick feeling of dread in his nonexistent stomach out of nowhere. Some of his stuff went missing. At first, they weren’t huge things— colored pencils, paint, drawings— but it freaked him out. Then he lost more personal things. Clothes, entire sketchbooks, battle strategies, and worst of all, his homemade flute. He didn’t even have a backup flute! Why would anyone even steal a flute? And then there was the cold feeling he woke up to some mornings. It made him feel miserable and worthless, but only when he stayed in the room. Ink tried to blame the missing stuff on his memory, even though the cold didn’t make sense. He didn’t tell Dream or Blue yet, but he planned to if he lost anything else.

Blue licked his pina colada-flavored nice cream. “So how do we keep Nightmare from coming back here?”

Ink crossed his legs over each other in his pondering position. “Why don’t we . . . I don’t know, set up a trap back? Ooh! I got an idea! How about we make a giant spider web made out of paint or something, then we put in an AU they’ll attack-”

Blue stared at him as if he were insane. “Absolutely not! Remember the last time we tried something like that?”

“For the last time, it wasn’t my fault that apartment got set on fire!” Ink crossed his arms in a pout.

“Yes, it was.” Dream and Blue said at the same time.

Lark opened their mouth and raised a finger, but put it back down and closed it.

The group talked about whatever came to mind. Ink lost track of the time, though it was probably an hour. He spent most of that time laughing at the others’ jokes (and his own for that matter). Sometimes he got distracted and forgot what they were saying.

The wind grew stronger and the temperature dropped. Ink’s bones tingled like he got a nervous stomachache, but he wasn’t scared. On the other side, Lark’s face paled. He could recognize the feeling from anywhere.

A child who looked about nine stood behind them. They had gray skin and shadow gray hair cut into a choppy bob. To continue with the gray color scheme, they wore a gray-striped sweater with shorts. Instead of eyes, they had empty black voids. They weren’t black and soulless-looking twenty-four-seven. Ink has seen Core Frisk’s eye sockets glitter entire galaxies when they used their magic.

“Core! You almost gave me a nonexistent heart attack!” Ink dramatically clutched his chest.

Lark put their thumb under their chin and circled their index finger in the air. Their eyebrows raised.

Aviar translated. “Who are you?”

“No one important.” Core winked their empty, mischief-filled eye. “I came for Dream. I need your help with an AU I found, but if you’re busy-”

“Oh, no worries.” Dream ate the last of his nice cream cone and stood up. “Thank you for everything, you two. Core, what’s the problem? Please don’t tell me it’s another Code Purple.”

Ink groaned when he brought it up. There have been so many of these things lately! AUs corrupting with negative energy and turning black, purple, and misty. It didn’t affect the story much, besides getting darker in tone, but it was the inhabitants that suffered. A black goop spread across the AU and turned the monsters into negative hateful zombies. Did they have a cure for it? Not yet, but Dream’s working on it.

Core’s face turned grim. “I’m telling you it’s another Core purple. There may be some souls still alive and I want to help rescue them, but I can’t find them under the sludge, so I was hoping . . .

“I understand.” Dream shared their expression.

Core opened up the portal they came through. Their’s was glitchy, white, and purple portal opening to a dark forest. They looked behind themself at the artist. “And Ink, your face is covered in nice cream.”

Ink touched his cheekbone and it came back white, brown, and pink. Being the mature individual he was, he licked it off his fingers with his rainbow tongue. Then he licked the rest off his face. Once he finished, he sighed and brushed off his hands. “Well, I guess I should be going too. See you around, bird brains!”

Blue blinked shocked at the “Ink, aren’t you forgetting something?”

The artist squinted his eye sockets, trying to figure out what he had forgotten. “Say thank you?”

Blue facepalmed. “That, and I can’t make portals! Are you just going to leave me here?”

“Oh, right!” Ink laughed as he swirled Broomie in the air and made a portal to the Omega Timeline. “Thanks for the nice cream, Aviar!”

“No problem.” He waved lazily. “Hope you have an im-peck-able day.

Ink could hear Blue screaming in his head. He snorted and grabbed his arm before covering them both in black paint, sinking them into the ground. Even though he didn’t mean to, he teleported up too high and they both crashed onto the ground. Their two-story clubhouse stood in front of them, made of light brown wood and had a mix of things from each of them. Blue put a pirate flag and blue streamers around it. Dream lined the front, sides, and balcony with flowers and sun banners. And Ink splattered buckets of rainbow paint around it.

“Ow!” Blue cried out when he hit the ground.

“Oops, my bad.” The artist brushed the dirt off his pants, laughing. Blue didn’t share his sense of humor. Ink held out his hand and helped him up. Blue was a person who didn’t stay angry for long though, so he took it.

Ink waved goodbye to Blue before jumping into the ink puddle. He fell into his personal doodle AU workshop. This world didn’t have an ounce of white. Instead it was beige with rainbow splatters all over the walls and floors. Ink had some . . . not so great experiences with empty white spaces. His first-ever memory was waking up alone, afraid, and with no clue where he came from or who he was. That was at least three hundred years ago, but the nightmares still haunted him.

He glanced over at the pile of stapled papers under a swirling white portal. They appeared out of magic all on their own, the new AU ideas. Each packet was full of story, art, and notes.

Ink plopped down on his beanbag, an idea he may or may not have stolen from a certain Windows Vista. He sifted through the new AU ideas with an excited smile plastered across his face. The Creators were getting crazy creative lately and Ink loved it! Some of the ideas were pretty violent, but he thought the angst potential would be fun. He didn’t accept an AU idea if it looked boring or was an exact copy of another, but there was only one in this pile. But he didn’t throw them away, he changed things up as he wanted until it was original. The rest were new and fun. As long as he wasn’t involved or getting hurt, Ink was up for a dark story.

As he was preparing to make the brand new worlds, the smell of bubblegum filled the air. Ink lowered the pencil in his mouth, knowing what was coming. He braced himself for the sparkles and rainbow explosion. “‘Eyo, brotato chip!”

Fresh appeared from an explosion of colorful confetti and a rubber duck squeak. He was one of the tallest Sanses, almost a foot taller than Ink, and years or even centuries older. The reason? Something, something, parasite body mutation. His outfit screamed 90’s. A bright blue and purple jacket, neon green shorts, and multicolor heelys. A red fanny pack hung around his waist with the word SWAG in giant white letters. He had a backward multicolor baseball cap with a blue propeller. But his most iconic thing his sunglasses, which changed depending on his thoughts. They defaulted to YOLO in yellow and teal letters.

Ink was so shocked he vomited a pile of ink, which was common for him. Heh, Ink vomited ink . . . where was he? Oh right, Fresh.

Ink took the pencil out of his mouth and set it in his sash instead. “So what brings you to my corner of the Doodlesphere?”

The parasite grinned. “I wanted to let ya know that Cross is havin’ a get-together because of some surprise dat he’s not sharing. We’re all gonin’ ice skatin’ and it’s going to be totally rad! Do you wanna join!”

Ink’s left eye socket turned into a question mark. “Wait, does Cross want me there?”

“Probs not! But I bet it’ll be fine!” His smile didn’t waver at all, not a single speck of empathy or regret in those eye lights. As cool as he was, Fresh was emotionless like he was. Ink tried to convince him to drink paint but it . . . didn’t go so well. Short version is that Fresh shoved it down his throat instead, then he possessed his body and beat up Error. So an average Tuesday.

Ink wasn’t the type to turn down an invite. He wasn’t even the type to turn down something he wasn’t invited to. “Sure! I’m in! It’ll surprise Cross! Maybe we can even make amends for . . . you know what.”

“Yah, I know what ya did. He’s ranted about it once or twice.” Fresh glanced over to the stack of AU’s and picked one of them up, flipping it around to see it better.

Ink it them out of his hands, catching one that flew out of the pile. He tried to look angry, but he found it funny so his mouth twitched. “Don’t mess with these! They’re important. Unless . . . do you want to help me with making these? You’ll just need to like hold them and I’ll make them. I’ve never done it with someone else before, so it could be something new . . . ?”

Fresh cocked his head as he thought about it. He was almost always smiling, which Ink would’ve found creepy if he hadn’t seen worse. Most Sanses were always smiling anyway, at least the less powerful ones.

Eventually, his glasses shifted to SURE! “Alright, brah! Hand me da AUs and I’ll fire them to ya!”

Ink picked up the stack of papers and dropped them in his arms, making sure they were all straight and even. He snapped his fingers and covered them both in black paint. Ink was double careful this time, teleporting them to a better height and landing in an empty space. The Doodlesphere was a giant gradient, yellow at the top and white at the bottom, and filled with islands. Most of them were portals with decorations for their corresponding AU, but some were empty, like where they stood. When Ink created them, the AUs would drift toward where they would fit the most. The Fell AUs were all in one area, the Swap AUs in another, etc, etc. It was his favorite thing to watch.

The two stood straight apart from each other. Ink’s scarf and Fresh’s pinwheel hat blew in the wind. Ink could never figure out where the gravity and wind came from. Magic? That was the only explanation. Number one rule of the Doodlesphere: Nothing makes sense and you would drive yourself insane trying to make it make sense.

Ink held his paintbrush and aimed it in the distance, making little ‘pew pew’ noises. Then he swung it in a circle, calling to Fresh. “Whenever you’re ready!”

Fresh’s look turned more malicious as he tossed him the first paper. Ink smacked it with Broomie’s and it went soaring.

The paper stretched into an island with rocky ground. Skulls built up around the stone archway of a portal. A ball of light glowed in the center before turning into a swirling portal. It drifted through the yellow void before landing in its proper spot.

Ink took a deep breath when he finished up. Each AU drained a bit of his power, hence why he slept about fourteen hours a night with several naps, but it was worth it. Creating new worlds to explore was the best thing ever and he never wanted to stop!

Fresh took a second sheet and balled it up like a baseball before throwing it at him. Ink knew he wasn’t supposed to do that, but Ink did it too, just because it was fun, so he let it slide. He hummed a number with each one he hit. He had a huge grin on his face.

Fresh smirked, his glasses changing to IT’S ON. He teleported around Ink in balls of confetti and sparkles. He didn’t have a pattern, so he had to go by sound alone. At least the rubber duck squeaks weren’t sneaky at all. By some miracle, he hadn’t died in battle from being so colorful and noisy. To be fair, the same thing could be said about himself; Ink was very noisy on his own.

Eventually, all the AUs were gone and his job was done. Stumbling, Ink put his paintbrush away. Exhausted from doing so many at once and still worn out from earlier, he panted. But he was too excited to rest. Creating the AUs was only the second-best part of the process. The first was being able to explore them, their lore, and all the characters built. He had so many to choose from this time! He glanced over at Fresh with a smile. He turned around and held his arms out so it looked like he was holding some of the AUs. “Pick a world, any world!”

Fresh crossed his arms as his glasses changed to HMMM. His finger hovered between AUs until landing on the one with rainbow colors. Skulls were covered with some kind of rainbow goop that dripped down the sides. “Dat one.”

Ink waved his hand and put Broomie behind his back. He held his hands out to make a square and took in a rough idea of what it would look like. The black box appeared with a list of code. Ink learned to decipher it over time. The plot of this AU bubbly children’s show with a darker, more malicious element underneath. It was cliche, but there were so many ways it could go it sounded fun anyway. A fizzy feeling shivered through his bones and he bounced on his feet. He beamed and held his hand out to Fresh. “Undertop it is! Are you ready for this, it’ll be fun, but it might get a little bloody . . .”

“Dat’ll be no prob-blemo.” Fresh snapped his fingers and summoned his baseball bat. It had a sticker that said VIBE CHECK in bright red letters.

Nodding at his words, Ink shrugged and teleported up. He readied his paintbrush and jumped in for a quick new adventure with Fresh.

[tsume-ks]

Humans and de-extinction part 3

Terry flapped away from the many limbs of his human's new flock friend.

The two were sitting in front of one of the brightnesses, staring at it. Terry wouldn't have minded hanging out, of the many limbed flock friend had stopped flailing about and then got upset about the fact that humans brought back multiple species from the dead. After killing them.

But no, the many limbed flock friend had wail about how could humans be so foolish? Didn't they know they were killing the planet?

Bria was explaining that no, for a long time humans didn't. They thought a single creator had made everything as it was. They had forgotten that humans could change the world.

Terry preened a bit, getting at an itch under his wing. Human Bria presented an arm in front of him and he stepped up.

"See, we humans thought because we couldn't observe things changing in front of our eyes, it didn't happen. The people who killed the dodo thought it would be fine and they would find more of the bird somewhere they hadn't explored. They forgot that even in the time of their grandparents society itself was different. Their grandparents did the same. Keep going for a few generations and that new road that kistbgot built by the Roman's? Oh that was always there."

"Why did humans not simply communicate better? They would have been able to keep track of things changing and seen what they were doing sooner." Said the alien, visiting once again the human they kept swearing they were never visiting again.

"We communicated just fine. The myth of the yule cat? Really a warning about large cats like smilodon and cave lions. Each was a giant cat, they both wanted to eat you and if you wanted to keep kids from wandering off and getting eaten? What better way than to terrify?"

"And yet, I saw these large cats in the habitat specific zoo you showed me."

The limbs shook, Terry very annoyed let his insides do the talking.

"Terry. You can use your perch like that, don't poo on people. Anyway, people making things go extinct is why we broughtthe dodo and the moa back. Hey, actually I have some lab grown moa meat. Want to try some?"

"Eat the extinct bird you made not extinct? Fine, sure, why not. At least you didn't start in on the emu war again."

"Yeah. Weird that we lost that. "

[kuwdora]

chapter 3 of puppetskier is live! Jaskier had gotten pretty torn up in the last chapter so now he's getting sewn up by Shani and resumes an academic slapfight with his frenemy Mortimer. snippet:

Inside, the office gave Jaskier the impression he was walking into an auction house built inside a cave, but it was a cave with a decent view of the Pontar, with a set of narrow bay windows facing the river that let in the sunlight.

Shani hesitated in the doorway and shifted Jaskier to the crook of her arm. “I really hope he’s here after all that walking,” she said.

“Mortimer?” Jaskier called, trying to prepare himself for the conversation he was about to very calmly have.

The room was larger than Jaskier’s university office by a good margin, and he wasn’t pleased by that realization. Sure, the room was a little dreary the further away you got from the windows, but Mortimer had lanterns hanging from the ceiling that made up for it. There were also bookshelves that were mounted on wheels and could be pushed out of the way. Strange, rust-colored crystal plants appeared to be growing out of the bookshelves.

“Professor? Professor Meinbald?” Shani called. She almost dropped Jaskier when she turned a corner and almost walked into a large bird.

“The fuck!” she yelped. “What is that?”

Jaskier looked over the bird, wracking his brain. “An ostrich?” he mused. He’d seen one ages ago in Toussaint. It looked dead, but it was a rather impressive display of taxidermy, if not a little weird. The bird wore a heavy chain necklace and its eyes were a bright, unnatural azure.

“It’s an emu,” Mortimer said from behind them. Shani tightened her arm around Jaskier and turned to face Mortimer.

“If you’re lost, here’s a map to help you get back—and mind the instructions to stay away from the purple door. The university’s budget for compensating student injuries on campus has decreased year after year since Vizimir ascended the throne. If you’re here to fulfill the requirements of a prank or student hazing, I will endow you with a skin pigmentation curse that will break once you snap this,” Mortimer said, holding out an embossed coin made of–wait, was that a cracker? “If you need something of value to sell, there’s a shelf behind the front door full of items safe enough for you to take. Good on you for making it here in one piece, please leave.”

Mortimer sounded tired and annoyed, looking just like the last time Jaskier had faced off with him. Mortimer Meinbald was broad-shouldered and heavyset, his hair pulled back into a tight braid. His black and grey beard was as unkempt as ever, and probably hiding more turgid research that would annoy the fuck out of Jaskier.

“How pragmatic of you, Morty,” Jaskier said. Mortimer’s eyebrows arched slightly, refocusing on Jaskier now instead of Shani.

“We need your help,” Shani said and Jaskier waved a hand to shush her, drawing even more interest from Mortimer.

“It’s Julian Pankratz, and I know you’ve got two eyes that can see that I’ve been cursed. I’m on a bit of a deadline here and would appreciate your help in getting me back in tip-top shape,” Jaskier said.

“Are you a—” Mortimer began and Jaskier held up a small hand to stop him.

“Yes, I’m a fucking puppet. I need to break this curse and get back into my body right now,” he said, trying not to flail in desperation. He was desperate, but he had to convince Mortimer to help him first.

“I see,” Mortimer said, looking too fucking amused. “This is a rather lackluster practical joke, as far as those go.”

“Oh, I have far better jokes when it comes to you, Morty,” Jaskier said warningly.

“Always a class act, Julian,” Mortimer said dismissively and Jaskier seethed, like Mortimer wasn’t the one to–

“Be nice,” Shani said quietly, patting Jaskier encouragingly. She lifted Jaskier up a little, making sure Jaskier was level with Mortimer’s eyes. Shani was perceptive and thoughtful like that.

Jaskier tried to remind himself why he was really here. He’d been abducted, trampled, and attacked. There was no way he would go begging for Philippa’s help. He couldn’t face Dijkstra like this. Mortifying as it was asking Mortimer for help, this was what Jaskier needed to do.

“I wouldn’t have come to you if it wasn’t serious,” Jaskier said. “We go back a long time, you and I. I’ve helped you before.”

Mortimer snorted and returned a book to a shelf. “I see you’re still excellent at revising history.”

“Revising history? Revising? Ooh, that’s rich coming from you,” Jaskier said, his ire and frustration bubbling back to the surface. Maybe he should go to Philippa after all.

Mortimer chuckled and shook his head. “Despite whatever happened to you now,” he said, gesturing at Jaskier’s current puppet state, “you’ll never change.” read Coin Operated Boy on ao3

[olivers-cocoapuffs]

Good morning

Weird Buffy thing:

So Wesley is this English watcher guy, he has a very inappropriate crush on Cordy for most of what I've watched. Cordy, sweet, darling Cordelia, returns such attraction.

They kiss, dance, whatever.

She's eighteen in the show it's legal.

Now irl they had a four year age different. But Willow, another character on the show, was four further years younger than Cordelia despite playing characters of the same age.

Anyway, Willow's actress married Wesley's actor before Angel was even over in 2004 (they married 2003) and I find this hilarious because I keep running the characters over and over in my head.

(eight year age difference between the actors, in case you don't want to work it out )

Anyway, question

Do you like birds? What kind of birds do you like?

Have a bird-filled day

G’day

damn I sound like my English teacher now. He’s not even that much of a bogan? He’s just old.

it’s another Saturday, please bully me into working. Honestly I want to talk to my boss about pushing my hours back so I can float around in the morning before work

do we like them or no? Idk it’s kinda weird if they met while she was a teen. The age gap is alright if they met in their late 20’s but like. It feels weird that young

in general I like birds, however I don’t like Australian birds. Except emu’s, they’re chill. When people say everything in australia is trying to kill you, that includes the birds

(seriously, pluver’s are fucked up. They’ve got little spikes on the bottom of their feet and swoop people)

You should start thinking about sleep soon

[ded-and-gonne]

Starring Klaus Hargreeves, Evil Ben Hargreeves, and special guest, The Ghost of Giles Corey || Glorious header art by @salvador-daley

Devil’s Night Part 5: A mazement

Recap: Devil’s Night is quickly trying to become Halloween morning. Evil Ben is experiencing anxiety because Klaus is being mistreated by a dead Puritan. A lot. The bitter old ghost is currently possessing Klaus. For instance, how he’s holding Klaus hostage in his own body, and is currently trying to crawl out of Klaus’s mouth. He’s bigger than Klaus’s mouth.

Special guest: The Ghost of Giles Corey

Triggers: A not so bright, mildly omniscient narrator. Miming conveyed by asterisks. A hazy grasp of Pilgrim-speak. Main character death, but nobody dies more than they have to.

Masterlist || Start: Ded & Gonne || Start: Devil’s Night || Prev || Next wip snip! || Read it on ao3

<<————😵‍💫————>>

In an unusual turn of events, Evil Ben is trying to unhook himself from shrubbery. More importantly, he’s attempting to unhook without fatally ripping the throat out of his Evil black cashmere turtleneck, or the cuffs out of his natty but Evil black slacks. His Evil penny loafers dangled and finally dropped to the ground a minute ago. The rest of Ben falling to the ground is not going as fast as he wants it to. Because his directive right now is to save the fuck out of Klaus, not haberdashery. He’s panicking. And while picking burrs could be considered calming and soothing, most of the time it isn’t.

The Ghost of Giles Corey still wants his key. A key of bone. A bone key. The ghost’s hunger for whatever this key belongs to is deep and rumbly.

Evil Ben wonders if maybe he shouldn’t just hand a ghost a key. Especially if the ghost asks for it. That just sounds like a bad idea. Doesn’t it? ‘Ghost want key. Give ghost key.’ That just sounds wrong and nervous-making.

Ben thinks so, too. Though he’d word it more like ‘Motherfucking ghost motherfucker wants a motherfuckin key.’ He’s still pretty pissed about how the ghost is mistreating his not-brother.

He retraces his metaphorical steps in his short-term-memory palace and once again hears the voice of The Ghost of Giles Corey being an asshat.

[The following is a flashback.]

*What the fuck is an ossuary?* Paraphrasing.

“I know of no other word for it,” said The Ghost of Giles Corey in confusion. “Tis an ossuary.”

*Like one of those huge cats? The ones with the fuzzy ears? You’re kidding. Please. Tell me you’re kidding. Please. There is no fucking way I’m doing battle with a great cat.* But then Ben looked at Klaus, and changed his mind. Which is surprising, considering he’d be doing battle with a mini jaguar, even if it’s not the one with the cute ears.

“Tis of an ocelot that thou thinkest. A rather handsome but mercurial cat of jungle climes. So it hast come to my attention.” The ghost compelled Klaus’s nose to sniff condescendingly after the period in that sentence.

*No. It’s the weird bird with all the feathers and the growth thing that masquerades as a skull?* Ben snapped his fingers at the ghost. *You know the one. It’s big like an emu, but more emo than emu.* Ben’s ability to convey complex sentences had been aided by The Ghost of Giles Corey understanding him. Even despite the language barrier of roughly 331ish years. (Maybe it’s a ghost thing?)

“Thou dost thinketh of a cassowary. And thou art wrong. Tis an ossuary.”

*Describe it then, you ASSHAT!* It was awesome how Ben was able to express such passion through mime.

Too late Ben realized that he might well have just side-lined them into tangent-town about hats on donkeys. Great. *Don’t ask! Don’t ask! Just describe it, you moron! Or whatever you want! Just tell- What am I- Tell me!*

“A catacomb.”

“What, a labyrinth?” That time Ben had to whisper cuz he just couldn’t come up with a way to mime ‘labyrinth.’ At least not concisely.

[The preceding was a flashback.]

“I ‘needst knoweth’ how to kill the fuck out of this ghost,” Ben whispers to himself angrily, as he gives in and just rips his clothes off the hedge. He falls to the ground in a heap of expensive wool. “Ow.”

Before he can stand up he needs to figure out where his loafers wound up. Falling, as they did, while he was suspended like lint on velcro, high above the ground on a hedge. Natural fibers are risky when you’re in the superhero business. Snag on everything.

Mission accomplished, loafers located. Evil Ben picks himself up off the ground and brushes himself off with much anger. What makes being thrown at a hedge this time different from all other times he’s been thrown at a hedge? He’d swear that this time he was thrown farther and longer before meeting the hedge. “So what does that mean?” Ben whispers to himself, then turns on himself, since there’s no one else to turn on. “You idiot! Moron! Focus, Ben! Get the key!”

For key-getting to happen, though? God only knows, and she’s not sharing her thoughts at the moment.

Ben is all discombobulated. Even more so than usual. Because he’s been working under the assumption that the hedge was one long, tall wall of boxwood. Seemed like one long, tall wall of boxwood. But it doesn’t feel like that anymore. It feels like there’s a touch of space and depth around him now.

Ben reaches out for the hedge, and follows it for a count of five steps. He’s being careful, so his counting to five is precise.

There is no air movement now. None at all. It feels thick, as if he’s in a small, confined space, rather than at the edge of a big, dead garden of death and stuff.

He looks back the way he came, expecting to see an angry ghost’s knoll, and the not-brother who has wormed his way into Ben’s world, and into Ben’s building.

Poor Klaus

He can’t make out anything at all, except a tall patch of slightly less black blackness than all the other blackness. What he can make out rising vertically from the ground is a four-sided rectangle of lighter night than the darker night everywhere else. All so uniformly darker than that one patch of lighter dark.

That, friend, is a door. Ben thinks so, too. He carefully picks his way back, retracing those five steps, and suddenly he can make out a semblance of something out there in the distance. Maybe the outlines of a stabby tree or two?

It occurs to Ben that he’s no longer thinking in terms like ‘over there’ or ‘over here.’ He’s made a transition to thinking in terms like ‘out there’ and ‘in here.’

“This is a maze?” Ben mouths. “Oh. Here we go. The ol’ maze trick. What’s your game, frickin maze asshole! God I hate this garden. I’m having it bulldozed the second I get that Giles dick out of Klaus’s mouth, out of his body, and back underground. Back to Hell. Then I’ll bulldoze it, then burn it, then pour concrete on it, then put it in a little box inside a bigger box and hit-it-with-a-HAMMER!” He stans Yzma.

But for now, Ben has no time to spare for anything other than thinking and finding. He gets to work on that.

He picks a direction and walks. Carefully but swiftly.

Making it no farther than a measly 10 steps, he unintentionally head-butts a hedge. Swearing comes naturally to Ben. Even as a mime. He starts picking at a sliver on his chin, then wrenches his hand away and purposefully forces it into his pocket. *Slivers marring this mug? Oh, honey. I don’t think so.* He reminds himself to hold one hand out in front of himself, to prevent further face-bruising and slivering.

Feeling around to get himself reoriented, Evil Ben (Idea Guy) has an idea. “Right. I’ll just turn right. Every time I have to make a choice, I’ll turn right,” he whispers soundlessly to himself. “That seems like a good way to find my way back, right? That’s smart, right? It’s a good plan. It’s the only plan. It’s a good plan, Evil Ben, it’s a good plan. Yeah. Good plan.” This is not even remotely convincing.

<<————😵‍💫————>>

Ben has made right turns. Many, many right turns. There’s no light, so there’s no way to tell if he’s just walking in right-handed circles.

*What was that?* Ben mimes, simply by jolting and turning around.

It had looked to Ben like a streak of white, disappearing into nothing. (The ‘nothing’ in question being a hedge.) *Ooooooh no. No no no no no. No no no.* He’s miming with one wagging finger. Have some patience, the transliteration is hard.

Ben squeezes his eyes shut, hard, hoping to recalibrate his vision to see in the dark. It works, a little. Because the darkness inside his eyes is darker than the dark outside his eyes. So he’s able to see less darkly by comparison. You, too, can try this at home, kids.

Ben can juuuuust make out some details on the hedge he so recently face-butted. But the important thing is that he can sorta kinda make out some details, visually. He turns around and really looks at the way he’s come.

Instantly he feels lost. Instantly. The very moment he can see, he gets lost. That confluence feels really deep to him. And maybe important, too. But there’s no time for fascination or rumination. If only he could multitask. Ben would never admit it, but he’s more of a linear thinker than multidirectional.

Suddenly, right turns no longer sound smart to him, they sound dumb. Stupid. Idiotic like he’s some idiot. It doesn’t make sense to him, and he’s officially certain he will never find his way back, he will never save Klaus, he will die of starvation within only three feet of the maze entrance, if he had just crawled three more feet, but no, he’ll never know how close he came to salvation. If they must die this night, how long will it take fate to throw somebody else down here to discover the Evil garden from hell, and dead things? Like, for instance, himself. He’s picturing the headlines, the book deal, selling the rights to Netflix to develop the show, and Dark Horse Comics for the graphic novel adaptations. That sounds like an appealing Evil plan. For somebody else, because Ben will be dead. “Just a body,” Ben thinks out loud in a whisper, eyes growing moist at such an embarrassing way to die. Starvation, pfft.

Um yeah, there’s something rustling next to his left loafer. Ben jumps and shoots air out of his mouth in a way that is similar to screaming.

*Nooooo. No, no, no, no, n’n’n’n’n’n’n’* Ben’s wagging his finger viciously again, as he run-walks in a direction. *You are not going to throw more ghosts at me. Not even one. NO more ghosts,* he gestures at the sky, making sure God knows he means it.

But the moment he reaches his next right turn, he stalls at the wall. The rustling returns, somewhere behind him — back the way he came run-walking. His head whips around, but the rustling stops. He is more concerned with the vision of something white streaking across the path and off to, as luck would have it, his right. He’s not sure if he wants to know what that white streak is, but dammit, it feels scary.

This is at night

Padding footsteps, faint and growing fainter. Ben runwalks in the direction of its retreating sounds. But-

The temperature drops in an alarming fashion, and Ben can suddenly see his breath.

Hang on. Is that-

Is that mist? Smoke? Dry ice? Whatever it is, it’s low to the ground and curling. Hazy. In places opaque, and in others just the slightest hint of wispy motion. A finger of mist snakes out toward him along the surface of the path, while the bulk of the haze retreats around the bend. Ben is expecting it to flex in a come-hither motion, beckoning him to follow. He feels beckoned, anyway.

But should he follow? It could be anything. Almost literally anything.

Is it aetherial? As in ghost aether? Ben is wishing he’d paid more attention to Klaus yammering on about ghosty stuff on one of their day-long phone conversations. He frequently tuned a lot of it out, so he’s not sure. And that uncertainty is playing tricks on his brain and his eyes, and the rest of his thinking apparatuses. The practice of tuning Klaus out might have to be rethought. It’s not currently helping him out in this life or death situation, anyway.

The lick of smoke-like stuff disappears around the corner, its beckoning finger haunting him like a bad smell in a kitchen. He would rather run from it, but his pride is too proud. So he runs after it.

Rounding the bend, he catches a glimpse of the trailing stuff before it once again disappears through another gap in the hedge wall.

He has a feeling he’s gaining on it, and his feeling is right. Ben finds himself in a straightaway which stretches lots of feet in a direction. The wispy cloud-thing hasn’t yet had a chance to make it around another bend before Ben spies it and sprints after it.

It’s the first opportunity Ben has had to get a good look at the thing. It’s not just giving him the one finger. It’s giving him fingers. Tendrils curl out from under its gaseous bulk, and all make beckoning come-hither motions.

The shape is constantly turning in on itself while flowing outward and overward. A contradiction in forms, is probably the best way to describe it. Sucked through the next opening, it leaves one wisp trailing after, giving Ben something visual to follow.

How is it visible? What kind of light can it possibly be reflecting from the bottom of a tomb three basements deep? And that’s exactly what he’s become convinced that this place is. A tomb. And a maze. A maze in a basement. A mazement, if you will. If he doesn’t make it back with the bone key, the ghost is going to kill Klaus. Or it’ll encourage Klaus strongly and with much force to kill himself.

Ben is making little gestures indicating that he is mime-mumbling to himself. He’s mimebling. It goes a little something like this: “Fucking - shit heel - idiot ghost - motherfucker - die of cringe - bastard - shit heel - idiot ghost.” Pardon his repetitiveness. He just doesn’t have time to come up with more creative, situation-worthy mumbles than that.

At least he’s running toward something. That’s a thing. It could be so much worse. He could be running in right-handed circles right now, and wouldn’t that just be a bitch. At this point even things that aren’t blessings are being counted as blessings.

Once again Ben hears the skittering against stones. It’s coming from the other side of the hedge wall. He puts his ear to the shrubbery and listens. It’s definitely right over the wall. He’s not sure if he wants to back away in disgust, or with loathing. It’s unsettling, and not in the good way.

The air goes silent again. The silence is so complete that Ben attempts to pop his ears, as if pressure has built up deep within his ear canal and as if there’s something he could do about it. The world is dull. The air is dull. His personality could sometimes be described as dull.

The thing about chasing this thing is that it’s taking him somewhere. In a direction. A direction that has been purposefully chosen. Ben knows that the best choice of all the many options before him now is to follow the thing that is leading him. It waits for him before slipping entirely away around the next turn, and the next, and the next.

Ben’s sense of direction is fucked. Or maybe he’s being fucked by his sense of direction. Whatever. Everything feels fucked. Feeling his mind reeling with doubt and lack of confidence, he’s sucking in huge gulps of air. This maze could be leading him to a dead end in the end, anyway. Better fucking get on with it, whatever it is. Klaus is bleeding. He keeps reminding himself that Klaus is bleeding. From what must be stubby little finger bones by now, surely.

God that hurt

Ben wipes the moisture from his eyes. He will NOT give that Ghost Bitch the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Honestly, he’d really rather you didn’t see, either. And while he’s not quite sure whether the curling finger of doom is a ghost, or a ghost’s minion, or just a curling finger of doom, something deep within him knows it’s showing him exactly where he needs to go. He once again picks up the pace.

Suddenly there’s a strong sense of something just beyond reach — a broader, gaping space — leaving Ben certain that the center of the maze is near. Just around the next bend, or the one after, and-

Clearing the last turn, he has finally reached the center. Ben’s attention is screwed tightly to the sight of a wise, old tree growing at one end of the center. So his attention is occupied when he nearly slams into a pair of large, blinking, yellow eyes sitting directly in the middle of the path. Trying in a split second to alter course, Ben fails.

With the forward momentum of a body run-walking, Ben trips on what must be a tree root jutting up between the path’s paving stones. Careening off walls of shrubbery, Ben spins out into the broad center of the maze. Barely three dizzy wobbles farther, and he blindly hooks his toe under another root. Unfortunately, Ben is now headed for a face plant.

Without hesitation, Ben’s bentacles — um, wow there are a lot of them? — come shooting out of his bellybutton to catch him mid-fall. With a ringing in his ears and his pulse pounding in his temples, Ben looks down to find himself laying belly-first atop a whole mass of bentacles. He’s being held aloft, protected by what he can no longer deny is his very own sentient belly monster. The one that just made decisions without him. Again.

Belly monster

Before Ben can decide how horrorfied he should feel, he hears creaking, and a disconcerting groan of tension beneath him, as of floorboards protesting too great a weight. How can there be floorboards in the ground, and how could his tentacular appendages weigh more than he does when they come from inside him? These questions are existential mysteries for later, sometime in the future when he can remember what it’s like to be bored.

Just seconds after landing safely on his tummy tentacles, Ben feels the ground beneath them shudder. The weight of the bentacles proves too much for the floorboards to support. His belly monster staggers. Ben barely has a moment to register what’s happening, before he hears a creak, a sound of splintering wood, and a groan of imminent collapse. The ground beneath him falls away, and Ben drops out of sight, falling, falling. The only evidence of anyone ever having passed this way (besides the massive hole) is the cloud of dust, particles, and bones expelled as Ben crashes to the bottom from a drop of indeterminate height.

<<————😵‍💫————>>

The Ghost of Giles Corey well knows the parameters of the hex inscribed on his bones and the box in which they have been stored all these many years. Well enough to realize he might one day have an opportunity to turn the hex to his advantage. The very curse that holds him imprisoned in the knoll, Corey has twisted and turned into a really offensive weapon and such a defensive shield. His bouncy rubber force field has at long last been put to the test. Clever Corey has swallowed enough anger over the years to empower him in exerting his will over the physical size and dimensions of the hex. The bouncy rubber force field keeps him in, sure, but he’s realized he can turn its power to his advantage, and keep the outside world out. Outside world meaning Ben. Ben being the first person to try to get in in such a long, looooong time.

The ghost’s eyeball bulges in shock and amazement when in the distance it spots Ben’s belly monster climbing over the maze wall like a massive spider with a tiny human backpack. (Turns out the bentacles are really quite long. And big. What the hell is Ben’s tummy portal hiding in there? And exactly where is it hiding in there? Yeah, it’s concerning. Just one more concerning thing to add to the already quite long list of things that will need to be addressed after the peril.)

The Ghost of Giles Corey’s eyeball shrinks back in horror, only peeking out from between Klaus’s lips. The moment Ben’s tentacles hit the ground, the eyeball lets out a blood-curdling shriek. Reeling, and with lots of cowardice, the eyeball flees down Klaus’s throat.

Huh. Something about Ben’s belly monster scared the never living shit out of a ghost. Yet another concerning thing to address after the peril.

In somewhere between two to three massive strides, Ben’s belly monster charges the knoll. But big bad Ghosty hasn’t shown a wisp since he disappeared down Klaus’s gullet. It’s possible the ghost may have encountered Klaus’s digestive tract. Yikes. Or maybe he just sank back to the earth and into his grave through the bottom of Klaus’s feet. Stranger things have happened.

Ben makes the unilateral decision that he is in control — he’s #1, isn’t he? — and wills his bentacles to lift Klaus away to safety. Ben instructs his monster to deposit both of them on the steps leading up to the building door. Then instructs it to get the fuck back into his bellybutton where it belongs.

Ben cradles an inanimate Klaus in his arms, and begins rocking him gently. (But if you ask, he’ll deny it.)

Ben is not in a kitchen, he’s in a maze, at night.

He watches as aether leaks in slow, glossy streams from Klaus’s mouth, much like a baby’s mouth leaks slow, glossy streams. Except this isn’t cute like spittle from a baby is cute.

Klaus isn’t bothered, though. How could he be? He’s dead.

Ben has to keep reminding himself that Klaus is not twice dead, though, like his precious Angel Ben. Klaus should only be mildly dead. Or dead-ish.

<<————😵‍💫————>>

Finally. After what was definitely eternity, Klaus’s entire body jolts. Ben slumps in relief the moment Klaus’s eyelids pop open, proving his formerly dead not-brother is now presently alive.

Klaus feels safe and snuggly. Except for the excruciating pain of regrowing his hands. He is confused by the coppery flavor of blood in his mouth. He coughs up something viscous clogging his throat. Ben is so relieved to have Klaus back that he doesn’t even mind when Klaus coughs it up all over his Evil footwear.

“You saved me!” Klaus smiles wide through all the glop seeping out of his mouth. “Because you love me, you love me, ha ha ha you love me! Oof!”

Ben pulls Klaus up from his lap with vehemence, and hugs him with an iron grip. He will not be letting Klaus get possessed ever again, don’t even think about it. Oh hell no.

As soon as he recovers from the shock of Ben’s touchy-feely display of not-brotherly love, Klaus returns the hug with all the minimal strength he has.

Ben now knows that hugs feel good. He allows himself the momentary weakness, for now.

As the distant light of sunrise threatens to shine down upon the garden of death, Klaus realizes that Halloween is finally upon them. They survived.

“Best Devil’s Night story ever,” says Klaus with an exhausted smile, and sneezes ghost mucus all over Ben’s hair.

<<————😵‍💫————>>

Masterlist || Start: Ded & Gonne || Start: Devil’s Night || Prev || Next wip snip! || Read it on ao3

<<————😵‍💫————>>

Source: Muntada, The Empty City

[macaquesrottingcorpse]

@dreamingpartone my answear to your comment is so long Tumblr won't let me post it as a comment 😭😭 so I guess Im gonna copy it here

"ALSO I love how all, or at least most of the animals you choosed can be found in Japan, its such a nice detail!! And I have a few new ideas, so I think I'm gonna share them (sorry if I'm being annoying)

Oikawa — bearded vulture Iwaizumi — osprey Kindaichi — emu Mattsun — addax

Bearded vulture in iranian culture is associated with a mythological bird Homa (believed to fly restlessly and never land, though when it cast shadow it is believed to bestow kingship; Homa also, similarly to phoenix, would be consumed in fire every few centuries and then be reborn new from the ashes) + from the analysis I read they are prone to growing obsessive, pround, shrewd, and can be sensitive to critism and change. In my opinion it suits Oikawa pretty well, especially the kingship part (i know that Kageyama was the one called King but Hinata also nicknamed Oikawa The Great King so. )

Bokuto — horned owl??????? Akaashi — great grey owl Konoha — white faced scops owl Sarukui — verreuxs eagle owl Onaga — northern hawk owl

I have a massive problem with Fukurodani to be honest. I could just give them the owls they are named after, but Bokuto honestly doesn't match any owl?? + I like Akkashi with great grey owl better (focused, knows how to be patient and plan ahead, perceptive, protective over their work as well as those they are close to) than with the one he's named after (its rufous legged owl from what I know?)

Ushijima — golden eagle Tendou — spotted hyena

Golden eagles are amazing fliers and fantastic hunters. They are also deeply tied into human culture, especially religion (theyre national bird in five different countries, theyre featured prominently in the Bible and in plenty of other religions - especially many Native American cultures. They are messengers from God(s), they are a protector, they are strength, they are sacred creatures flying across the sky above us all.) And Ushijima is the undefeated captain of Shiratorizawa, people from other teams, speaking about him, give him almost demi-god status - he is the equivalent of force, they dont even dream about beatibg him (and he also reminds me of Zeus for some reason) + golden eagle' people are confident, assertive, natural leaders, though not the type to make many attachments, succes-driven + Shiratorizawa is represented as an eagle

I don't think I need to say much about how people view hyenas (both them and Tendou are percieved as monsters). Hyenas are weird animals, and so is Tendou. Hyenas' people are gregarious, competitive, confident, extraordinarily dogged when it partains to their interests. (Every time I give a hyena daemon to a character in my aus its based purely on the vibes so the explanation might be weird, Im sorry)

Terushima — pitbull

I think we can all agree that Terushima just acts like a happy puppy sometimes. Pitbull' people are active, tenacious, competitive, and confident, they value close bonds, courage in others abd having fun.

I hope it makes at least some sense?? ALSO SORRY THAT ITS SO LONG, when I astart talking about daemons I just cant stop (I hope and didn’t make any stupid mistakes this time)"

Hi! First, i wanted to tell you that I love your art!! I always pictured Lyra with short brown hair but the way you draw her is just so much better than what I imagined while reading the book. Also, the way you draw literally every character makes me want to hug them (does that makes sense lol).

Second, since you read hdm and watched haikyuu, i wanted to ask if you have any daemon ideas for the haikyuu characters?

(Also sorry for bad english, its not my first language)

hi!! thank you so much!! I am very fond of my dirty blonde maned Lyra, I'm glad you like her :> and that's such a nice compliment aww (it makes sense to me! I think if you feel like you want to hug them then I've done a decent job in conveying some emotion for them. or at least, I hope! haha)

and oh man haikyuu characters with daemons…that's a dangerous question to ask me… the short answer is I do have ideas! but for some characters I have too many ideas that it's hard for me to settle (ha… :')) on one thing

long answer is here is a list of daemon options I've pondered for the karasuno squad:

Daichi: my cliche pick for him is a carrion crow, but alternatively I think something like a tanuki or Japanese badger would be cute

Suga: Japanese marten !!

Asahi: my favourite choice for him is a binturong but I have considered A Range of creatures and could possibly be swayed elsewhere

Kiyoko: I first thought something like a crane (demoiselle crane?) or a deer (sika deer?) but a friend once suggested cat and I do like that as an option too…

Noya: again, have considered many things but I think Hokkaido dog is my best pick (probably a black one!)

Tanaka: Kishu dog ("sesame" coloured) !

Ennoshita: I enjoy imagining him with a dollarbird, for purely nonsense personal reasons (otherwise, an Asian koel)

Kinoshita: a Japanese hare possibly?

Narita: I'm not convinced at all that I have the best option here, but maybe Pallas' squirrel?

Kageyama: may seem like an odd choice but the Japanese serow is my favourite for him

Hinata: at first I jokingly picked the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel but also…am I wrong???

Tsukki: moon moth perhaps? 👀

Yamaguchi: black paradise flycatcher ?

Yachi: Ezo chipmunk :>

anyway that's…that's a summary of what I've got fhdjdgf. do you have any thoughts on hq characters & daemons, anon? :0

(also don't be sorry at all, your english is great!!)

[junkcrs]

ok but what is your muse’s favorite animal??? 

[despazito]

wild ass update: emu tested negative for avian influenza and now the lady is claiming he never had it and all this was from "stress" bc of the other birds being euthanized. even though he had nerve damage and couldnt stand on his own. we still have no answers why despite the records of fish and wildlife euthanizing her birds, the emu wasn't euthed. also no idea how every bird could catch it except the emu. and stress def cant cause All that. there's some weird shit happening lol.

I didn't know you could even buy a test kit for avian influenza unless you were a vet or commercial farm? it does look like test kits are sold online but idk if those tests also work for this new highly pathogenic variant? Idk not a virologist.

She sounds full of shit and could possibly face legal repercussions. Idk exactly what laws she'd be breaking in Florida by purposely hiding influenza positive birds from the feds but I feel like that's at least a massive fine

[nashishishi]

hiii !! i wanted to know how you came up with the usernames for your wxs as n25 au if you'd tell me :0 like if there're any specific meanings to all of them !

sure! there aren't really specific meanings, but there was a thought process. here's how i came up with them

|

|

V

Sora - i wanted tsukasa's name to parallel mafuyu's. mafuyu's username "yuki" derives from her name "mafuyu." mafuyu usually means "winter" and yuki usually means "snow," so i wanted to do something similar here. tsukasa's name means something like "to manage" or "to govern" so i couldn't make the username out of that, but tenma means "sky horse" which i could use. sora is (to my knowledge) the more common way of writing "sky."

MU - paralleling kanade's username, which just uses her first name's initial. when said out loud, K sounds like "kay," so i wanted to do something similar. the M is supposed to be the "em" in emu's name, and the U is added so that it finishes her name. however, because the name is written in roman letters, the name is spelt MU and pronounced "emyu." also it kinda sounds like emu (like the big birds that the australians waged war against and lost to) which i thought was kinda funny.

Naninunene - i listened to positive dance time and heard the "mamimome" at the start and got reminded of vocaloid speech comparisons (a-i-u-e-o, ka-ki-ku-ke-ko, na-ni-nu-ne-no, you get the idea). since i wanted nene to parallel ena, naninunene fit with enanan's theme of repeating syllables in the name. i did replace the "no" with another "ne" so it would say "nene."

Ramui - rui's username follows mizuki's. rui's was a bit hard to figure out since i'm not actually sure how mizuki came up with "amia." apart from "it sounds like akiyama" i don't know where it came from. it actually seems to be a mix of their surname and given name?? (the A's in amia coming from "akiyama" and the "mi" coming from "mizuki.") might be a stretch though. in the end, i didn't actually use this method to create rui's username, and instead took inspiration from the name "Soda" that my friend thought of. ("because he likes soda candy," they said.) Ramui comes from "ramune" (japanese soda) and "rui," and in the end, somehow still kind of sort of but not really followed amia. like it's some weird mishmash of the sounds in "kamishiro" and "rui."

there were a bunch of unused names too, mainly because unlike the ones i ended up going with, they didn't have any meaning or thought behind them.

(fun fact: two (more like one and a half tbh) of nene's rejected usernames cameo in my fic.)

[trans-edward-nygma]

what's your favourite gotham headcanon?

(Sorry I read this at like lunch time and just remembered it at almost 1 am)

(Also I am guessing that you mean the tv show)

I have so many but as for Gotham specific ones not that many. So instead I will just state headcanons that I have for my fav characters and add GTV for the show ones. (I hope that's ok)

The Penguin

1. He has Rogue themed drinks at the IceBerg lounge and a special drinking game known as "The Batman Challenge"

2. He constantly has to tell people that he isn't short, everyone else is just super tall (GTV He is 5"6 for fucks sakes that's taller than me)

3. While he loves all birds those giant ones like emus and ostriches that can reach 6 feet tall frighten him

Riddler

1. He has brown eyes but wears green contacts so that his aesthetic is always perfect

2. Due to his thin frame and with how often he wakes up in weird places he often has joint/muscle pain (GTV but also general)

3. Cats just seem to like him for some reason. Stray ones always show up at his windows weather it be in his lair or his apartment.

Mad Hatter

1. He hates the D*sney live action Wonderland movies so much that he wrote letters of complaint to them.

2. Sadly he is actually allergic to animal fur so rabbits, cats and mice cause him to have sneezing fits (GTV I mainly hc this because I hate this version and want him to suffer)

3. Superbad sensory issues that cause him to have meltdowns if touched too often so Batman has to be extra careful around him.

Scarecrow

1. I might of said this before but I hc that he is creeped out by MLP because he can't trust anything that bright and cheerful (Also the show scares me as well so...)

2. He has selective mutism so he has learned many forms of sign language so that he can still communicate if needed (GTV and General)

3. He has no issues scaring kids as long as they are over 5 years old. Scareing babies is just to easy

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE GOTHAM BASED HEADCANON THOUGH IS

Penguin had a crush on Jim Gordon during the early seasons but didn't realise it because that feeling was brand new to him

[foxymoxynoona]

Short: A Nice Walk Home

(non-idol) Seokjin x Reader

Summary: Just a little fluffy drabble as you and your boyfriend walk home from a dinner with your friends, taking a moment to appreciate all the change that lie ahead and all the things that will stay the same.

.

A Nice Walk Home

You were busy clearing the table after dinner, just a little, even though waitstaff would take care of it. Still, you had been a server at one point, so you couldn’t physically tear yourself away from a table until you’d made sure all the napkins were in a pile for washing, all the chopstick papers and cheap disposables were together in a pile, any major spills had been mopped up. It was common courtesy. And anyway, when all of you got together, it was almost always a noisy mess coming and going, and the waitstaff shouldn’t have to endure the remnants of your group even once you’d gone.

Seokjin was still mid-sentence with Namjoon when his fingers took hold of your hips, as he leaned in close to whine, “Y/N… let’s go…”

“You can go on ahead.”

“You’re making the servers feel weird. Look, they’re waiting for us to get the hell out so they can do their job and go home. We tipped them well,” he insisted. “Come on, here’s your tip.” He kissed you quickly on the cheek and used that as an opportunity to tug you away from the table. 

“I just used to wait tables and--”

“I know, I know!” he laughed. “I know all about every job you’ve ever had. But you don’t work here. They aren’t going to pay you, even if you hold your hands out and blink at them cute.”

Playful as you followed Jin and his friends out into the warm night, you held your hands out and blinked at him, just so. 

He grinned and slipped his hand into yours, “Ok, here’s your payment, most precious thing in the world--”

“You’re a goose.”

“I hate when you call me a goose,” he immediately cried. “Any other bird would be acceptable. A swan! A crane! A heron!”

“Pigeon.”

“Rock dove,” he corrected. 

“Are we naming birds?” Jungkook stopped ahead of you both to ask. 

“Birds that remind me of Jin,” you answered.

“Stork.”

“Fucker--” Jin mumbled, taking a quick step forward as Jungkook laughed and turned at Taehyung’s nudge. 

“What are those really big buff birds?” they heard Taehyung ask Jungkook quietly.

“Cassowary?” you helpfully called. “Or ostrich? I could see an ostrich.”

“Emu?”

“Those aren’t buff, just fluff.”

“I was going to walk you to my place,” Jin glared, “but now I think I’ll walk you to your own place.”

You laughed, having caught out his (unsurprising) plan, “Oh yeah? You’re doing me the favor of walking me to your place? Such a gentleman.”

“Mm-hm.” His straight-lipped smile, the one that made him look a little muppet-esque, melted you as always. “But not anymore--”

“Spoilsport.” You reached up to brush the swoosh of hair out of his eyes. It was getting long. This was the point he always debated whether to cut it. You were desperate for him to grow it out long, just once, to make your historic kdrama dreams come true in the vehicle of your boyfriend. But he got cranky about having to constantly toss his head to get it out of his face, and complained he couldn’t pull off headbands and hair clips like his friends. It was a lie; you knew, in fact, that he could put his hair into a ridiculous ponytail sprouting straight up from his head and look absurdly adorable. At playful times like that, it was impossible for you not to imagine him on the ground with your fictitious future children, attending a tea party, adorned with plastic jewelry and an ill-fitting princess dress and that sprout of hair. Jin was so playful, he’d be game for anything, he’d be such a good dad…

“Why are you staring at me?” he demanded, bumping solidly into you. Because your arms were linked, you only stumbled a little. “I know I’m handsome--”

Jungkook shouted over his shoulder, “Hyung, if you fall behind, I can’t protect you!”

It immediately set Jin off, shouting back, “Protect me! I don’t need your protection! You think because you dress like a black Crayon, you’re better to protect me? Remember who needed help in arm wrestling, it wasn’t me!”

“Ten years ago!”

He marched off ahead, still shouting playfully at Jungkook, who shouted back, until the two of them were basically slapping chests. Namjoon, Jimin, and their girlfriends had taken a different path through this park but could clearly still see and hear what was happening because they shouted and waved their arms, their laughter carrying on the clear night. You felt that pang in your belly, knowing noisy friendly evenings like this wouldn’t last forever. After the new year, Namjoon and his fiance were moving to the city. Jimin and his girlfriend were already talking about moving in together, but back near his parents, who were needing some support from their son these days. Jungkook had a job opportunity on a film in South America and he was an unstoppable rising sun --according to proud hyung Jin-- so probably that would lead to more opportunities. Taehyung was flirting with moving to Spain or Portugal or Italy, just for a while, just because he wanted something new.

Hoseok would still be here at least, and Yoongi. Would the two of them be enough of a friend group for your boyfriend? The very one who claimed to yearn for lazy days of isolation but then immediately dropped everything to figure out food when someone stopped by, or dragged you to someone’s house because there was the most minor thing to celebrate, or who sometimes lay awake at night reading the group chat? Not even responding, to be clear, just reading it and laughing at his friends until he’d find something they (or he himself) said that was so funny he had to read it to you, even though you were pretending to be asleep.

You were pulled more quickly towards him as the fighting broke off, Taehyung acting like the referee he rarely actually was. You slid your hands up Jin’s broad back before he could set the younger guys off again, pressing your face briefly to his shoulder, just for the comfort of contact. So much change for your little friend group, but Jin wasn’t going anywhere. Jin was happy with his job and happy with you and happy with where your lives took place. He’d promised these things were true when you’d voiced concerns before.

Without breaking off his playful threats, he took your hand from his waist and held it loosely in his own, dragging it along for his gesturing. Jungkook and Taehyung were laughing before they darted across the street without waiting for the light to change. Jin made you wait, maybe to follow the rules, or maybe so he could loop his arm around you.

“You saw that, right? I held back. We don’t need them to walk us home. You’re safer with me than you are with them. Drop something shiny on the ground and Jungkook’s attention is gone. A movement in a tree will have Taehyung chasing a cat that’s not even there.”

“I’ve never felt more safe than with my boyfriend who will run ahead and leave me alone in the park to play-fight with his friends.”

“Heeeeey,” he complained. He was breathing a little heavily after the fight, his neck a flushed. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, calming down from it now, sliding back from playful eldest of the friend group to responsible eldest, stable boyfriend, actual competent adult. You adored the multiple shades of Jin, that in a single day he could go from fluffy cloud pajamas to a menacing light blue button up and black slacks combo --top button alluringly undone and hair brushed back from his forehead-- and then back to plaid fleece pajama pants and a lavender shirt. 

You crossed the street, still leaning heavily on his arm, and it was then he finally noticed and asked, “What are you being so soft for? Is something wrong?”

“Hm? No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just feeling soft about my boyfriend. Is that wrong?”

“Yeah, it’s suspicious! You’re not about to dump me or something. You’d better not. I have a meeting tomorrow, I can’t stay up crying all night and then my face will look puffy tomorrow--”

“The opposite, you idiot,” you sighed, shaking your head.

“The opposite--” He broke off, holding you immediately at arm’s length as he insisted, “If you propose marriage to me I will never forgive you.”

“What?!”

“That’s my job! I get to do that!”

Your ignored the pounding in your chest, because you had not really ever talked about this before, but chose the security of teasing him back, “Well you aren’t doing your job so--”

His grin was threatening. Terrifying. He was out to kill as he grinned, 

“You don’t know what I’m doing or not doing.”

“What does that mean?” you immediately demanded. He continued to grin rather smugly to himself as he caught your arm again and propelled you forward.

“Nothing.”

“Are you… you’re… you’re planning something?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Your heart was running away with you though and it was leaving you breathless so you forced a stop. You planted your feet, even though it spun him around you in orbit as you demanded just as bluntly,

“You want to marry me?”

He looked at you with such a soft smile that you briefly considered melting at his feet. The answer was clear on his face, such a casual confession conveyed through that bright-eyed smile. 

Then he lifted his hands to cradle your face and sighed, “I knew it was asking too much for you to be both beautiful and smart.”

“Seokjin!”

“Do you think I don’t notice everyone escaping? I have to make my plans to make sure you don’t escape me too,” he said. His hands dropped from your face but he caught yours and began to walk again with your fingers intertwined, his other tucked into his pocket. It was endearing, the way his ears were visibly red beneath the streetlights’ glow. He could act self-assured, but his ears never lied.

It took you a moment to find your voice again before you could assure him, “I’m not going to try and escape you. You don’t need a diamond to keep me. I’m already all yours.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get you a diamond--”

“You already bought a--”

“--It would just be jealous always of the diamonds in your eyes,” he grinned. 

“You already bought a ring?” You didn’t even bother responding to the joke. You were too side-swiped to learn that all this time you thought you were going to have to be the one to start giving your boyfriend more pointed hints about where you saw your future going… he was already charting the course.

“You know why my shoulders are so big, jagiya?”

“Genetics?”

“Secrets. Because I am very good at keeping secrets. So stop pressing me. But don’t steal my thunder by asking me first, I’ll be really angry at you.”

You giggled about it. Maybe you frustrated him sometimes, or baffled him, but Seokjin was never angry with you. The closest he ever came to angry was dirty feet in bed, or food in bed, or that one time you’d used dish soap on his cast iron pan… but Seokjin’s anger tended to be righteous rather than personal, it wasn’t ever directed at you but at bigger people, ideas, or systems that deserved his actual cutting fury. You were safely protected from it, by it, within a soft inner circle of his arms around you. He never stayed mad at you for long. Even when you dyed a whole load of his white shirts pink. He just decided pink was his new favorite color and continued to wear them. Because Seokjin was a man who thought carefully about which battles were worth fighting, which punches were worth rolling with, and what sort of man he wanted to be. He was a very good one. 

“My answer will be yes,” you whispered to him, leaning closer for a moment as you walked. The block was empty and quiet here; Taehyung and Jungkook had disappeared far ahead, maybe they were already even to their apartment down the row from yours.

You could feel Jin’s smile without even looking up at him as he leaned down close and whispered back, “This is why your shoulders are much narrower than mine, you’re really bad at keeping secrets.”

“Jin!” This time you did look up at him, mock outrage undermined by your smile. His jokes were paused though as he slid his arm around your waist and pulled you into him for a kiss. Nothing playful about the kiss this time. Usually he was a little more shy than this about kissing you in public, even on an empty street, but the pressure of his fingers against your waist and neck hinted at relief. Maybe he’d been nervous about his planning. Maybe he wasn’t sure you’d say yes. Maybe you weren’t the only beautiful idiot in this relationship.  

So you kissed him back harder, wanting to erase any of his doubts or fears, kissed him until your own head spun and he sounded breathless as he mumbled,

“Let’s go home.”

“And put on pajamas?” you suggested, only the beginning of Jin’s endearing bedtime preparation routine. You had known it was serious with him when he started letting you pick pajamas to borrow from his stash of matched sets. Jin was the only adult you knew who actually owned and wore matching pajama sets.

His mouth near your ear made you shudder as he answered, “Eventually…”