#i feel like it makes more sense to have a cat

[cheralith]

— APARTMENT 345. (PT I)

synopsis: moving into a new apartment with three men isn't exactly the most easy feat, but you think there's something quite unusual about your new roommates that makes life seem a little more fun. (prequel) ↳ episode synopsis: you suspect that one of your roommates has it out for you, making things a little more than awkward when you and him have a day off together. feat. karasu, otoya, yukimiya || wc: 3.6k contains: fem!reader, she/her pronouns, roommates au, modern au, fluff, misunderstandings, an attempt at crack (pls laugh), aged-up characters (20s), pov switches, more of a focus on karasu in this

You think your roommates are weird.

Not weird in a bad sense, but just... odd.

Their dynamic with each other is especially a little peculiar, considering none of them act the same way with one another, their personalities always twisting just a bit when interacting with the other roommate. But it's still clear there's this unspoken harmony between the three of them that upholds the peace in the loft. You just struggle to fit yourself in it to help the foundation of it all—as it's clear you're not a part of their little circle. At least not yet.

Yukimiya is by far the most normal one out of the trio and perhaps the one you've talked to the most.

A true gentleman at heart, he's always the first to greet you in the morning as you sleepily daze into the kitchen, a steaming black coffee at the ready in your cup for customization. You come home later than the others, but he'll always save some leftovers for you in the fridge for you to munch on, your name written in neat handwriting with a smiley face adorning glasses on an orange post-it plastered on the container.

You blame it on not really knowing each other that well, but you find he's the most docile with you. Him, Karasu, and Otoya have known each other since their high school days, so it's quite normal of them to bicker childishly with each other, but when it comes to you, you always see a rather gentle smile on his face. You think it looks a little fake, though, as if it's there by default.

Otoya is humorous by nature. He's funny without trying, without having to crack a smile from himself. In fact, you rarely ever see him smile, just always has a sleepy look to his face as he says the oddest things known to mankind and is often the starter to meaningless conversations.

"I feel like we should domesticate bears," he had said one time out of the blue. "I think they're too cute to not be pets."

"They'd bite yer head off an instant, dumbass," Karasu told him as he flipped a page in his magazine, to which Otoya nonchalantly shrugged.

"If it means I can pet them, then I'd take the risk," he said simply stated before stalking off to his room that always smells just a little bit fruity and sweet (It didn't take you long to figure out whose Pineapple Ice Lost Mary was on the kitchen island).

He wears weird t-shirts too. Aside from the "I ♡ MILFS" shirt you saw when you first met each other, some of your other personal favorites include his firetruck red shirt that simply reads "i have a bomb." in plain black Arial font and his beige long-sleeve that displayed a cartoon cat yelling "Chicken Parmesan!" in a graphic speech bubble. Clearly wearing them with no shame, you ask Otoya where he gets such... unique... t-shirts, to which the latter replied,

"Goodwill."

Karasu is the one roommate you haven't cracked fully yet. By far, he's the weirdest.

Even though he was the first person you had met when you were first being interviewed, he tends to keep to himself. Something in your gut says that he's staying away from you, purposely keeping himself at arm's length. He's still cordial, but unlike the other two, he doesn't really seem to spare much words with you. The most he'll usually do is just remind you that it's garbage day, but other than that, he rarely ever speaks more than sentence to you on the weekly.

Because of such, you think you have to walk on eggshells around him, always apprehensive that you'll make one wrong move that'll for sure root a dislike towards you with him when it's clear he doesn't really seem to favor you all that much. He'll give a nod of acknowledgement at you if you pass each other in the halls and will ask if he can borrow a charger, but nothing more personal. You figure that might be best—it's better to have a roommate who barely knows who you are but exist with you peacefully instead of a roommate who constantly butts heads with you.

So when you finally have a day to yourself that just so happens to coincide with Karasu's, you are nothing less of tense.

And to think you were going to spend the day finishing up on your soap opera with your pals Ben and Jerry! You were looking forward to having the loft to yourself, so when you see Karasu lounging on the couch and watching a soccer match, your stomach plummets. Otoya gets home at around 5:00pm, while Yukimiya gets home at around 6:30pm, meaning you'll be stuck with Karasu for at least a full seven hours.

Karasu notices you as you walk out of the hallway, turning his head towards you when you come into view. You freeze suddenly, body going rigid as his deep navy eyes bore into you.

Your surprise still lingers in your body, even as you open your mouth to try and greet him, but nothing comes out.

A brow raises from him. "Hi...?"

"Oh! Uh," you twitch, trying to recompose yourself. "Good morning—!"

"Mornin'," he quietly greets back after a confused moment of silence at your reaction.

When you stiffly shuffle towards the kitchen, you want to crumble and whine. Back still facing your roommate as you pour yourself a cup of coffee, you ask, "You don't have work today?"

"Nah," Karasu says boredly, "Boss took an early vacation, so everyone got the day off today."

"A-ah, I see," you quietly reply back with a thick tongue. Fighting the urge to wail aloud at the fact you'll be sharing a space with the one roommate that seems a little too far from your reach, you escape back to your room with your breakfast, not really wanting to be around him.

You were planning to do so much today! Clean up the loft, do some stretching on the balcony to catch some sunlight, cook up some meals in the open kitchen, but of course your luck doesn't bestow upon you today, as doing all of those would mean Karasu would be in your vicinity.

The mattress creaks when you miserably land on top of it, pillow soaking in your whines and sighs. You suppose your room will have to suffice.

On the other side of the wall, Karasu swiftly pulls out his phone, head clamoring with thoughts and questions as he opens up the "alvin & the chipmunks" groupchat in his contacts.

karasu (10:34) : eita —otoya (10:36) : wat karasu (10:36) : u told me her day off was next week friday —otoya (10:38) : ya, the last friday of the month —yukimiya (10:39) : Check your calendar, Eita karasu (10:39) : yea exactly. it's today u fucking buffoon —otoya (10:39) : wait fr —otoya (10:39) : fackkk im late on my credit payment again

Karasu smacks his hand to his forehead, cursing Otoya under his breath. Of course he misread the dates. Now he's stuck here with you for the next few hours and he doesn't quite know what to do.

—otoya (10:42) : idk what ur deal is shes nice —yukimiya (10:42) : Agreed. I think you just need to talk to her karasu (10:43) : u guys dont get it —yukimiya (10:45) : Why? Does she make you nervous?

A dry swallow passes through Karasu's sandy throat as he reads Yukimiya's text. Even though it was quite a loud secret, Karasu couldn't deny the fact you did, in fact, make him somewhat on edge. But not for the reason you think.

It wasn't his fault. He didn't expect you to be so attractive in real life given that your contact information's profile picture was simply just your first initial. How was he supposed to act when such a pretty thing is around him at nearly all times? He's never been very good with women the way his roommates are. Terrified of making an accidental wrong move, Karasu distanced himself away from you, trying to make himself scarce in fear of doing so.

He groans before typing his reply back.

karasu (10:47) : no

Otoya replies back in an instant, and Karasu thinks he should put hair removal cream in his shampoo at his response.

—otoya (10:47) : liar lmfaooo bet someones got a crush uwu

He grits his teeth, trying to fight the blush that he can feel creeping on his cheeks.

karasu (10:47) : stfu moron karasu (10:48) : as if u weren't making goo goo eyes at her yesterday morning —otoya (10:48) : not my fault! —otoya (10:48) : theres just sumn abt a cute girl in a large tshirt and short shorts... 🤔 really makes u think... karasu (10:49) : bro thinks hes aristotle —yukimiya (10:50) : Please stay respectful

Yukimiya then texts something that makes Karasu's brain fizz out ever so slightly. He frowns.

—yukimiya (10:50) : Tabito, why don't you take this time to do something with her to get to know her? To help break the ice —otoya (10:50) : yaaa like yk how me and her went to that flea market together —yukimiya (10:51) : Yes exactly. Or how she and I visited that pop-up shop down on 5th

As much as he'd hate to admit it, Yukimiya did have a point. You got along with the other two men just fine, even having the ability to crack teasing jokes with them without a misunderstanding flying about. But he knew if he even tried to do something of such with you, if you took it the wrong way, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

karasu (10:55) : idk —yukimiya (10:56) : It doesn't have to be extravagant. Just something casual —otoya (10:59) : ye like what chappell roan says🫡 —yukimiya (10:59) : That's not what that song is about —otoya (10:59) : oh...

Karasu shuffles his phone to the side and settles woefully into the couch. He shifts his eyes to your closed door, where he knows you're in probably not giving him the time of day.

On the other hand, you're wallowing in your misery still, trying to think of what to do that escapes Karasu's radius around you. Perhaps you should go to a museum? Or maybe try out that new pottery place down the block.

You opt for going to the grocery store, thinking that be a good distraction and would allow you to get some fresh air. Maybe you should try out that pasta recipe you've been seeing all over social media nowadays.

You launch up in your bed, determined to make this day about yourself and not to allow yourself just simply mope around in your room as you march towards the door. Hand grasping the doorknob, you fling it open, ready to clean yourself up in the bathroom but instead find yourself facing Karasu, who has a hand up that was clearly ready to knock on your door.

You jump back. "Oh! Hi there!"

"Ah," Karasu slowly puts his fist down, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry. Didn't mean t'startle ya."

"No, you're fine," you choke out, wondering what business Karasu may have that landed him at your door. "Did... did you need something?"

You wince at your tone, since it comes out a little sharper than you intended. Karasu seems to have noticed it, seeing as how he thins his lips ever so slightly.

"Uh... well," he starts slowly. "Was just wonderin' if you needed anythin' from the store. I'm 'bout to head down there to do some shoppin'."

You blink owlishly at his comment before giving a stiff, brief chuckle. "What a coincidence," you mention, "I was actually gonna go there myself in a few."

You think of this as your chance to perhaps finally get some breathing space for yourself. An elation fills yourself at the thought, and you begin to conjure up your list to give him, but then he says something that brings the former feeling of tension back into you, heaving you down like sand.

Karasu juts his hands in his pockets, turning to directly face you, his red ears hidden from view from you, curtained by his dark hair.

"Well, if that's the case," he begins all too nonchalantly, going to share your gaze. "D'ya want to tag along?"

And now you're here, side-by-side in a semi-crowded market with the one roommate who you don't even know the age of.

Something in your common sense attempts to get the thought of he doesn't actually hate you through your head. But you still can't help the fact that every time you brush against him, when he looks at you, you think he's sending you a warning.

In Karasu's eyes, however, when he scanned the area of the market, he notices that it's quite busy, so he understands that there'll probably be some times where you just accidentally bump into him to avoid running into others, his eyes flickering to you each to just make sure you're okay.

"Jeez, this much for apples?" you exasperate as you put down the bag of the fruit.

Karasu looks over your shoulder, his cologne suddenly filling your senses. Sweet... you think, yet woody. A slight hint of sage, perhaps?

"Yer better off just gettin' the individual ones," he points out and juts his thumb behind him, breaking you out of your trance. "Y'can get the same amount for cheaper by a buck or so."

"Oh, really?" you perk up and whip your head around to view how much the individually stacked apples were, but before you can process it, you spin around too fast and twist over your own feet.

An elderly woman on a motorized shopping cart is just a few feet shy away from you, and you brace for impact from running into it, but you feel a yank of your arm tug you back just in time.

"Woah there," Karasu is quick to pull you in close to his chest, letting the elderly woman glide by without another care in the world. "Don't get too hasty now."

You feel heat skitter over your face, embarrassed at the fact that you can't even move your own limbs properly around him. You should've just stayed back home, sighing internally at how impulsive you could get. To think you could withstand an entire shopping trip with your roommate that you think stays away from you when you couldn't even stand being in the same room as him!

You mumble an apology, Karasu's cologne wavering about you again in an attempt to calm down.

He suddenly lets out a deep chuckle, the vibration of it thundering from his chest. You lift you chin up to see him... smiling? And it isn't one of those stiff ones that he often gives you nor the smirk he'd throw at Otoya or Yukimiya, it's a genuine one, one that shows his teeth and makes his eyes crinkle.

"Didn't think someone could get so excited 'bout mere apples," he remarks with a grin.

An incredulous stare glazes over your eyes, a lighter feeling in your chest suddenly gracing upon it.

Karasu takes notice of your staring and freezes. A dread leaks itself within his body, making him go rigid all of a sudden. Oh, he's really done it now. He can't go making such teasing jokes around you like you were Otoya or Yukimiya. You're not a guy either, it's not polite to be making such jokes around a girl barely knows.

An apology attempts to conjure in his tightened throat, but it dissolves the moment that he sees you break out into a smile yourself.

"Sorry," you breathe through a breezy laugh. "Economy's so bad nowadays that any good deal will get me reeling, y'know?"

Karasu's eyes soften when he spots your relaxed smile, one he's seen in passing but never to him, until now. And when you adorn it towards him and him only, he can't help but feel a fluttering feeling in his chest.

Yukimiya's words echo in his head. Break the ice.

"If that's the case," Karasu starts slowly. "The weather's gettin' peachy now. There's an actual farmer's market openin' soon downtown, and they sell their stuff for way cheaper than this crap."

He chews on the inside of his cheek, trying to avert his gaze away from your curious, awaiting one. He thinks those doe eyes could definitely beat a puppy's any day.

His breath hitches, confidence slowly building and falling as the seconds tick by.

Just break the ice.

"Would..." he coughs, clearing his throat. "W-would y'wanna go there with me... to check it out... next Saturday...?"

Karasu dares to turn his eyes back to you, where he finds you fondly smiling at him, assurance all over your features.

"I'd quite like that," you reply warmly.

The chicken plops into the pan with a hearty splat. Karasu winces.

"Shoot," he mutters, feeling a bit of the orange sauce flickering onto himself. "Didn't mean t'drop it that hard... did it get on ya?"

"A little bit," you laugh as you scoop up a bit of it from your arm and tasting it. Karasu looks for a sign of approval on your end to see if the pasta sauce is good on your favor and sighs when you nod contently. "Mm. Not bad."

The door to the loft clicks open and you avert your gaze to it after you sprinkle some salt into the boiling pot of water. In comes Yukimiya and Otoya, chattering about.

"Hi there," you greet, waving a hand.

Yukimiya is first to notice you both, surprise on his features when he sees his two roommates that had barely seemed to acknowledge each other since your move-in standing next to each other in the kitchen, cooking out of all things.

It's a domestic scene, one he thinks that you and Karasu would only accomplish in a year's-time or so given the current atmosphere. So it comes to a pleasant shock to him that the bull-headed Karasu actually took his advice for once and broke the ice by himself like a big boy.

"Smells good," Otoya hums contently and spots you and Karasu after Yukimiya. "Whatcha both cookin'? And can I have some?"

Otoya peers over Karasu's shoulder, the latter lightly shoving him back before Otoya can dip his dirty finger into the sauce. "Hold it, ya idjit. We're nearly done, relax."

"If you're able to actually, Otoya," you call over and jut your head towards the oven. "The garlic bread should be done by now. Would you mind taking it out so it can cool?"

"Can I get a piece?" Otoya asks, cheering under his breath when you nod as you roll your eyes.

Yukimiya watches as your pour in some pasta into the pot, noticing the way Karasu whistles haughtily as you laugh when the water violently bubbles.

"Ah, is this the marry-me chicken pasta I told you about the other day?" he asks, fighting a disappointment the builds when he acknowledges that he wasn't the one that got to cook it with you but rather Karasu, despite you and him have built a weekly-habit of cooking with one another.

"Yep!" you chime happily without a care in the world.

"I still think that the sauce is missin' somethin'," Karasu mutters. "Like there's not enough zing."

You peer over to him and take a little bit of the spare lemon leftover, squeezing a bit of it over the sauce and chicken. You take a spare spoon and sipping a bit of it. You then bring the spoon and its leftovers to Karasu's lips absentmindedly for him to try. "How's that?"

He pauses for a minute, breath hitching as you bring the same spoon that your lips touched for his to as well. He stutters but goes to lean in anyway, slurping it and tasting that tang that was missing.

Otoya's eyes narrow slightly as he places down the platter of bread.

Yukimiya's lips pull into a small frown.

You blink up at him. "Is that okay? I just added some more lemon."

"Yeah," Karasu breathes as steadily as he can muster. "yeah, it's good. Thanks."

"(Y/N)," Yukimiya announces aloud suddenly, averting your gaze to the brunette. He fixes on his usual demure smile on his face the moment you spotlight him. "Remember that new cafe that was being built around the corner? Turns out they're opening next weekend, d'you want to come with me?"

"Ah..." Otoya mutters lowly as he crunches on a piece of bread. "Why are you only inviting her?"

"I thought you guys don't like coffee," Yukimiya says casually, lips still fixed ever so lightly, but Otoya can tell there's a mild mockery behind that pretty face of his.

"I guess so," the latter says, sighing. "But... there's also the record shop also has its monthly 50% off sale on Saturday, remember, (Y/N)?"

Otoya's eyes go to glance at the record player you placed in the living room for decoration, yours and Otoya's collection of records piling up beneath it, your music tastes being one the things that you were able to break the ice with Otoya about. "I spotted that record you were talking about the other day, pretty sure it'll be a part of the sale if we can go next week."

A small bit of pity grazes on your face as you guiltily look back on the both of them from the kitchen island. Karasu fights the urge to smirk when he turns over the chicken in the pan, already knowing what you're going to say to them.

You scratch your cheek, smiling a little sadly at the two of them.

"I'm sorry guys, I'd love to go but," you wave a hand towards Karasu, who gives into temptation and throws a sly smile over his shoulder from behind you that makes the men you face frown and purse their lips. "Karasu and I have plans already that day to go to the opening of the farmer’s market..."

a/n. my re-run of new girl has inspired new heights it seems. also don't talk to me if u dont think otoya would vape bc ik that mf would hit a geek bar any time of the day /j (don't follow his example tho. keep them lungs clean, kids)

sorry that this was more focused on karasu than all three of them, but i prommy yukki and otoya will get their spotlight next time i write abt them (which will be soon hopefully! im having fun with this au)

thank you for reading as always! comments and reblogs are the best way to support your writers; they're always appreciated and never unnoticed <3

[gatorbites-imagines]

I'll read whatever you write for catvincible (catboy mark) with little to no shame. If 100 people want catboy Mark, I'm there, if 1 person wants him, its me, and if no one wants him I'm DEAD.

Viltrumites are Hybrids Mark 

Enjoy my rambles about hybrids, fellow degenerates. I've been putting off sending my application for a job, so I ignore it by writing. 

What kinda cat would he be? Would he even be a cat? What about a tiger? 

Tiger hybrid Mark I feel makes more sense, since Nolan is supposed to be some grand fighter of viltrum and all that, and they wouldn't just accept a normal kittycat. 

Viltrumites develop their hybrid anatomy when they gain their powers, and for a while they won't be able to summon them away again. Normally they can call them forth of hide them away to make them seem more human, or remove a weakness. 

Calling forth their hybrid parts will up different senses, like hearing, smell, sight, etc. 

Nolan is either a tiger, a panther, or something like a sabretooth tiger. So mark being a normal tiger would be seen as acceptable, but also a little disappointing, since he's a late bloomer. 

Hybrids make nests and have heats, because I like omegaverse, we WILL have omegaverse in this house. 

Hybrid Mark makes his nest in the biggest closet in the apartment when reader ends up with all the Marks living there. The nest is made out of the readers clothes, and stuff hes yoinked from William and Debbie.  

When hybrid Mark has heats, he removes the clothes from anyone else and keeps it made out of the readers clothes. 

During heats, viltrumites have no control of their hybrid parts, meaning their senses are all out of wack. 

When theyre younger, heats can be overpowering and overwhelming, but they weaken with age. Or maybe rather, the viltrumite gets used to them and can go through them without problem.  

Viltrumites have heats in the beginning and it develops into ruts when they get older, in most circumstances. This is because all viltrumites still around are all warriors who want power, so their biology changes to fit. 

Mark keeps having heats cuz he likes being pampered and submitting to the reader. 

Hybrids are able to get pregnant across genders, but it's a whole process and the hybrid must REALLY want to get pregnant, as well as feel safe and comfortable, which is why viltrumite birthrates are in the damn ground. 

Ears and tails are sensitive, and can get different reactions. Mark will growl at anyone who grabs or touches his, unless it's the reader, then he chuffs and leans into it. 

[followthebluebell]

Hello! Please feel free to ignore, or respond at your leisure - I don’t want to bother you! Just a cat behavior question.

Do you find that you see more progress in terms of improving QOL in highly anxious* cats when they are ‘left alone’ (ie. not doing specific training, just normal feeding and offering human-involved play or pets *only* if the cat solicits it) or when employing a more hands-on approach (training comfort with touch or environment using treat rewards, attempting clicker training, responding to displays of anxiety with treats/removing the stressor if possible, etc)?

* ‘highly anxious’ here meaning cats that remain noticeably anxious or reactive even on daily gabapentin, where nearly any object or sound (famililar stimuli, not just novel) elicits stressed body language and fearfulness and the cat is agitated or appears highly stimulated at all times.

(My personal experience is limited in working with this level of anxiety since I’ve only been working with fosters for about 3 years, and mostly with kittens/more physical medical needs).

So this is very much a case-by-case basis for me, which is why I largely stopped giving advice on how to handle anxiety over the internet. I realized that I could be causing more harm than help.

In general, I think it's more useful to give an anxious cat the tools they need to handle their own anxiety--- ie, a cat that's overgrooming due to anxiety needs to re-learn that there are other ways to reduce anxiety, a cat that's anxious because of understimulation needs to relearn how to play with things, that sort of thing.

Like an anxious cat is always going to have SOMETHING to be anxious over, just like a people do. It's not useful to overwhelm with stimuli; you risk pushing the cat over the threshold and that's a fantastic way to get bitten or you risk pushing them into a shutdown. It's better to figure out what they need to feel comfortable and start from there.

I think Persephone would probably be a good example of the level of anxiety you're describing. For her, I largely left her alone for the first few weeks of acquisition. When she started showing interest in interacting, I rewarded her heavily--- this allowed her to still feel in control of the interactions without overwhelming her. This allowed her to be adopted and gave her a MUCH better QOL overall.

For cats that are more cat-social, I like to introduce them to more confident cats. This gives them a buddy and a sort of social meter. If they're nervous about something, they can look to their buddy like, "yo, hey :( I notice that there is a man wearing a scary hat here???? Is that ok????" and their buddy just goes, ":) i like food yay", so the anxious cat learns that maybe hats aren't THAT scary. If they were really scary, the other cat would ALSO be scared instead of hungry.

Again, it's about meeting the cat's individual requirements, if that makes sense. i think that's far more valuable to the animal in question. I try to meet the cat at their threshold WITHOUT going over it. As they become more comfortable, I try to push the threshold just a little bit further.

So i don't really force a hands-on approach (except for kittens under 12 weeks; they get put into the hoodie pocket and carried around), but I DO consider the hands-on approach 'better' for most cases.

I view medication as an extremely useful tool. It can be used for the cat's entire life and that's fine but, in general, I try to use it as little as possible. If a cat is still showing substantial anxiety on gabapentin, I'd switch medications; there are other options.

You need to keep reasonable goals, I feel, for yourself and the cat. Persephone is never going to be Little Miss Social and that's ok. I just needed to get her to the point where she was pettable, handleable, and able to go into a carrier.

[juststicktoit]

answering these for shits n gigs :3

1. we don't currently have any insys romantic relationships but mark & i (ster) are the "we knew each other in source and we're gonna be suuuuper annoying about it" duo. funnier when you realise we have a relatively small headcount (there's 9 of us that i'm aware of) so our brain was like "well, shit, this game show meant way too much to us during our trauma, so i'll pick... these two idiots"

2. see above regarding 'couple' but kian and connie are the unlikely duo. sunshine & black cat energy or whateva.

3. WEIRDLY ENOUGH. ALSO MARK AND I. we have very different energy. the same sense of humour, but different energy. extreme opposites on the introvert-extrovert scale; i would be hyped making plans with everyone we know and mark would just be like "what the fuck what if i front during that"

4. shiiit good question. vinnie, maybe? or the one syskid that we don't feel comfortable naming.

5. okay so. we live in a city. a really fucking big city (as far as big cities go in our country). most of us have adjusted well enough to this that we'd consider ourselves city folk by default. even mark, who has been lovingly described as a "slightly socially inept personified anxiety attack", fucks with the city we live in.

6. that being said, a lot of us yearn for The Countryside (trademark). when i say we live in a city, i mean we live in a city but we grew up in the part of that city that's mostly fields and farms. the alters that are known to have been around for a very long time - notably ezra, connie, and graham - are defo country folk.

7. probs vinnie with their crunkcore. crunkcore sucks. love you, vince.

8. MARK. i know i keep mentioning that kid's name but wtf is a "social alter but only in specific situations and also he is almost exclusively the alter that fronts for therapy and also he's like 3 addiction holders at once". mate, pick a struggle. love you, mark.

9. kian is finnish. everyone else is either british or straight up don't have a solid enough sense of their nationality so they say they're british

10. collectively all of us i guess. but kian especially is a little goth freak (lovingly). floris is somewhere between emo and punk but he's the host and he's the one that drags us to hardcore gigs so

11. i leave post it notes everywhere. everyone else hates that i do that. graham draws on our arm. mark, specifically, hates that graham does that, but i don't really know why because it's not like mark fronts to shower anyway.

12. me. or graham. hopefully me! i'd like to think the transfem tim key factive who ended up naming himself after the british currency was a surprise.

13. connie KNOWS gardening. i don't know if that counts but she's somehow better at it than the rest of us.

14. also me LOL or maybe ez...? or maybe the syskid actually. but he doesn't use our phone unless he's watching youtube. not because we limit what he does or anything, he just doesn't give a gaf about social media lmao

15. Mark, bless his little cotton socks, does have a particular tendency to write in proper English with near-perfect grammar when he is writing in his own diary or our notes app. This does not apply for when he is sending direct messages to our dear friends or using social media, as he is an anxious little man and subconsciously masks to act more like our host.

He also speaks slightly more sophisticated and articulated than the rest of us, and it is, in fact, hilarious. His source isn't even that posh; I don't quite know why he's like that.

also we have auto caps off and capitalising is rlly fucking annoying why do u do that to urself mark

– sterling x

SYSTEM ASK GAME!! FOR SYSTEMS OF ANY ORIGINS!! SYSMEDS DNI!!

Which headmates are the iconic couple

Which headmates are the unlikely couple

Which headmates were enemies at first and now best friends and/or a couple

Which headmate is the most different from the body?

Which headmates are city folk

Which headmates are country folk

Which headmates have the most unique music taste?

Which headmate has the most specific role?

Are there any headmates from a specific state/country/etc different from the body?

Which headmates are emo/punk/goth etc?

What are some pet peeves headmates have about other headmates?

What headmate was the biggest surpise?

What headmate has a skill that the body doesn't usually, but when they front the body gets it (or almost gets it)?

What headmate makes the most typos?

What headmate has the weirdest (/pos) way of talking/typing?

[cryptid-currency]

DanDaDan x Pokemon

I've been playing a lot of Pokemon lately and my little rat brain was inspired :3

Momo Ayase

Her team is mainly comprised of ghost and psychic types, but I did try and add some variety and meaning behind the pokemon I chose.

Espeon was an obvious choice to me. A psychic type which matches her general color pallet and evolved with high friendship. I also wanted Momo to have a pokemon which can correspond with one of Okarun's. I feel like all of Momo's pokemon would be spoiled and pampered, but Espeon would be particularly high-maintenance.

Meowstic (specifically her female form) was another obvious choice. A feminine, feline, psychic type 'mon. Meowstic would have a similar personality to Momo, being a bit hot-headed.

Tsareena was a last minute addition. Initially, I was going to give Momo a Lopunny but Tsareena seemed to fit her vibes a bit better. She also makes the team slightly more balanced. Obviously Tsareena is a hard-hitting (kicking?) pokemon who takes no shit from anybody, like Momo.

Reuniclus is yet another psychic type. I have a bit of a soft spot for Reuniclus (it looks like a misshapen gummy bear) and I feel like it fits Momo's aesthetic. The "hands" Reuiniclus has reminds me of Momo's psychic powers. It also has an alien aspect to it. Momo's Reuniclus would be a bit stupid. Obviously it is an incredibly intelligent pokemon, but it's a bit dumb when it comes to practical common sense. Sort of like a dog that can figure out how to open a door by itself but can't figure out how to get a big stick through said door.

Cofagrigus is the pure ghost-type for Momo's team. Much like Reuniclus, the shadowy hands that Cofagrigus has reminds me of Momo's psychic powers. Momo would have had Cofagrigus since it was a Yamask. It totally didn't remind her of Okarun.

Chandelure is here for it's fire/ghost typing. I wanted to give Momo a fire type (partly becuase it's fitting and partly for balancing) but I wanted her to have more than one ghost type. I have this specific image of Momo just grabbing Chandelure with her psychic powers when it starts being a little shit.

Ken "Okarun" Takakura

Ken's team would obviously be largely ghost type. I wanted to give him pokemon that fit his theme though, specifically connected to his yokai form.

Umbreon was a must have pokemon for Ken's team. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised nobody has considered the appeal of Espeon/Umbreon Momokarun. It's a bit disappointing/j. Besides that I wanted to give Okarun's team at least one dark type and I wanted to give him an eeveelution, so Umbreon made sense. Umbreon would be a very quiet pokemon, especially when compared to his trainer.

Mimikyu wasn't a pokemon I initially considered, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Mimikyu is a ghost type and has a pathetic sort of 'wet-cat' energy to it.

Grafaiai also wasn't a pokemon I first thought of. I feel like it's fits with Ken's yokai form though. It is a lanky, kind of weird looking 'mon. It also provides that important balancing I want to maintain. I'm only just now realizing this, but Garafaiai is a poison/normal type. That makes three of Ken's pokemon have the normal type in some form. I feel like this fits, honestly.

Hisuan Zoroark was a more thoughtful choice beyond "it looks like Turbokarun" I swear. That is the obvious reason, along with it's ghost/normal typing and my personal fondness for this 'mon. I'm not sure how exactly Okarun would get a Hisuan Zoroark, but it works far to well for me to leave out. There is a level of strangeness with Hisuan Zoroark, especially since it is an ancient pokemon. It matches the creepily familiar aesthetic that 'Turbokarun' has, at least to me.

Ceruledge was a first pick pokemon when I was coming up with Ken's team. It is a fire/ghost type with undeniably edgy vibes. At the same time though Ceruledge is not a malicious pokemon, like some other ghost types. It is a protector and a knight, which I think works well with Ken's protective tendencies with his friends. His Ceruledge would very much take after Ken, quick to protect it's friends.

Dudunsparce was the final choice and it took me a bit to come to said choice. I wasn't sure how to round off Ken's team, but then I remembered something. Dudunsparce (and Dunsparce) are based on the Tsuchinoko, a Japanese cryptid. The Tsuchinoko is also mentioned in DanDaDan but Okarun! It felt too perfect to leave out.

I really enjoyed making these, even if it was a pain in the ass to fit all the png's into a single Ibispaint canvas. I'd like to make more and I have idea's for what pokemon I would give to what characters. If you have any suggestions please send them to me an ask!

I am up to date with the manga and have watched the entire first season of the anime. I will, of course, be adding a spoiler warning to any posts that include them.

[redux-iterum]

I don’t know if this has been ask, so sorry if it is but why do you choose to kill Tigerclaw at the end of book 2 instead of have all of his plot of the originals books? What makes you resonate with the end product of that decision?

In the original Redux, Tigerclaw died in the second book as well. The reason for that was twofold: one, it subverted what I found to be a ridiculous plotline in canon (and I was very obsessed with subversion), and two, it just made more sense to me that a cat who was caught killing his Clanmates and plotting to murder his leader, to the point of leading an army against her, would be dealt with swiftly and efficiently rather than allowed to live and just leave to become a problem later (in ways that are patently absurd). I see no reason for his survival in canon other than to drag on the story and let him cause more issues in the future, at the cost of everyone losing every thread of sensibility they had (as they often do when it comes to villains like him) and just hoping it would be fine. He's not even a good antagonist! He's an idiot and motiveless. The only reason he got as far as he did was because everyone was stupider than him. That infuriates me. So I killed him and I regret nothing.

In Iterum, we kept that plotline due to me feeling that it would still be the more sensible option - and as we expanded the story, it became a very good source of inspiration. Tigerclaw dies in the second book, and the third book relays the trauma and sorrow his actions caused to his Clanmates, long after he's gone. It allowed us to explore how Clan culture tries to avoid talking about difficult subjects in the hopes of making the pain go away on its own, and how absurd Fireheart finds that concept (continuing his overall arc of his ideals vs ThunderClan's society). It also helped assure the pain of readers after getting to know him as a good father and kind mentor, only to have him be revealed as a murderer and an extremist. It could be a questionable decision - in fact, our beta expressed doubts that it would succeed - but I feel it worked out very well in the end.

Arc one of Iterum was sort of designed to have a new antagonist every book since there are so many of them in canon, and it would be nice to give them all separate, individual attention. Brokenstar for AK, Tigerclaw for BH, the dogs for CL, and the next book will be the same. I don't think we'll be keeping that idea for the next two arcs, but it did fine for this one.

[vantablackdraws]

What got you shipping anbai? I’m new here and they seem cute ^^ /gen

Oh god-

where do I even begin....

TLDR/Short version of it: Friend talked about Guilty Gear, I found out about Baiken, watched Another Story and some arcade mode interactions and song breakdowns and read some comments and it got me wondering "what is going on with these two~", I go on ao3, there is a little over 20 fics. I got really frustrated, made content of them myself, fell further down the rabbit hole, now I'm here.

The long and very rambly version of why I ship them that you can read under the cut if you wanna ↓

Firstly, a few things that I really enjoy about them (to get this out of the way-) is that they contrast and compliment each other really, really well if you think about it. Which I have. A lot.

I know I've said some of these before but like; the Sun and Moon motifs and how it literally shows up in their Overdrives (and Anji's command...grab...thingy(? idk strive terminology) also has a moon briefly appear hmmmmmwhatsupwiththat-), the Butterfly and Flower symbolism associated with them respectively and how in a sense, one helps the other grow, the classic red oni blue oni dynamic, cat and dog, Anji's graceful elegance and calm demeanor to go with Baiken's rugged toughness and fiery temper, blah blah blah the list goes on you get the idea. They're opposites, but they match each other and balance each other out, like yin and yang.

There's also their (strive) songs! Rock Parade is...extremely obvious lmao. I know folks like to joke about it but, dude. Single footstep carries two hearts? The promise he made to her? (Whatever that was I wanna knOW-) It really does feel like more than just a song about a crush he has on her, this man is dedicated. And with Mirror of the World it basically encapsulates Baiken's whole journey, going from someone who's resigned herself to a life of revenge to ultimately breaking out of her self imposed "exile" in the end. Also the line "If I had a comrade, I wonder what I would tell them." and I'm over here yelling "YOU HAVE ONE! HE IS RIGHT THERE-" (I actually think the song is also about Delilah, but still kinda about him too, it's about both of them they're both the comrade how about that)

But to get to the heart of it all (and to also get extremely corny here), there's this sort of earnestness to their relationship that I really admire. Every now and then, there's a pairing that comes around and makes me go Ooga Booga for the better part of a year because it's just got a lot of good stuff to chew on. Angst? Drama? Some form of love that isn't just inherently romantic but something more? I'm eating it up and annoying my friends to death with it. And I think to me that really shows in their XX arcade mode endings, (BOTH of their "canon" ones btw THEY GET TWO ENDINGS TOGETHER) where Anji gives up what he was doing so he can follow Baiken and make sure she's actually living instead of just wandering by herself. This one thing he's been chasing for a while now, probably even his dream job of learning the secrets of the universe (or whatever Asuka was teaching him), and he just gives it up because he can't stand to see someone he loves dedicate her life to something that will inevitably destroy her in the end. "I don't want you to die." I think about this so often it's not even funny.

(And y'know, he also gives her the choice to just get rid of him if she doesn't want him around anymore, and idk about you, but I think that's very sexy of him and also very telling of her that she hasn't done it yet but moving on-)

Delilah ultimately ties it all together because at the end of Another Story, Baiken becomes to Delilah what Anji was to her all those years ago. A friend, a companion, someone to lean on. There's the line "She won't die well unless she finds a better way to live." before May mentions that's what Anji had said about her, and suddenly she gets it now. (I think) It's the final push that gets her to save Delilah from winding up in the same situation she's been stuck in for years and in the end, finally let go of her revenge.

No that does not have to be inherently romantic in the slightest, you can do whatever you want with that information or interpret it however you want and I encourage that, but also it's driving me insane whenever I think about it. He cares about her SO much, even if he has a weird way of showing it. I don't even think I can begin to do it justice trying to describe how it makes me feel but hopefully that can give you (and maybe some other folks who have made it this far hello) some insight into why I like this ship so much.

Also their strive in-game interactions are really flirty.

[afalconfromalcyoneus]

Exactly. I feel like it would've been super interesting if he had a quarrel with both Brambleclaw and Squrrielflight. Because I think his quarrel being w/ Squrrielflight makes sense in the "he hates women and is an incel" type way, but I feel like he'd also hate Brambleclaw.

For multiple reasons, like the ones you said in the tags. Brambleclaw is the son of Tigerclawstar, the son of somebody who killed his mother. Even if he knows it wasn't technically Brambleclaw who killed her, he would still be petty like that. I think it would be interesting to add Hawkfrost into this too. Brambleclaw killed Hawkfrost, you can make Hawk and Ash friends (or smth more idk but I'm not getting into that). He's pissed. Brambleclaw and his stupid family has taken away two cats he's cared about.

Then, of course, Squrrielflight goes off to be mates with Brambleclaw. Ashfur starts hating Squrrielflight too, for "leaving him" and settling with an abusive asshole like Brambleclaw (in his words, but imo he's right about this). He goes crazy wanting to "take Squrrielflight back" even though he hates her too, he just hates Brambleclaw more and thinks he can more easily forgive Squrrielflight. But because he's an incel he won't.

Long after he dies he finally finds the opportunity to have his revenge on both Bramblestar and Squrrielflight. He somehow knows a soul being out of their body long enough does some bad things to the mind. He makes Brambleclaw unstable the longer he possessed his body, and he traumatizes and and "punished" Squrrielflight in one plow. It's perfect.

Ashfur still thinks he won even when he sinks into the Dark Forest water and disappears into nothing. He's the water now, the air, the trees, yet he can't do anything. But he's happy because he sees the effects he had on Squrrielflight and Brambleclaw.

"My quarrel is with you, Squirrelflight. It always has been" but, why? you have no quarrel with the son of the tyrant who murdered your mother? that same son who vanished from the clans while your family starved to death? the cat who was given the deputy role without even having an apprentice like you did? the cat who stole your mate? the cat and his kin who took everything from you? why not take something from him?

[milesconure]

I love the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo movie so much, you guys have no idea. I don't remember the last time I've watched it, but today I rewatched it and had a BLAST

Here's some of my favourite stuff/scenes from the movie uwu

Robin and Cyborg getting on each others nerves like always and also Cyborg trying to speak some sense into ekhem his spiky-head little mind, because someone freaking has to tell Robin that he doesn't have to be a superhero 24/7 (I love their dynamic btw, I need to yap about them sometime, their dynamic is my favourite one right next to Robstar)

Robin giving Starfire a lift on his R-cycle even though she could totally just fly, probably even faster, but she just likes to spend time with him :)

Robin giving Silkie one of his uniforms to sleep on and also petting it. It's basically that one meme "Dad doesn't want the dog. Dad and the dog after a few days"

Yes Raven. That's totally all you need

Beast Boy being excited about Japan and about the whole vacation stuff, look at him! He really just wants to have fun with his friends!!

"YOUR MOTHER WAS A SALAMANDER!!!"

Robin and Starfire spending time together and having fun!! Or at least mainly Starfire, because Robin is still in his pathetic mindset "I'm a superhero, I'm NOT allowed to have fun"

BUT WAIT, HE'S CRACKING THAT SMILE, I LOVE HIS SOFT SMILE SO MUCH, HE'S SO IN LOVE WITH THAT GIRL

Both of them trying to make a move, but it's DIFFICULT, especially Robin who has no idea how to manage his feelings lol

On more serious note, I absolutely love this scene, because of one important thing. Robin saying that Starfire is his best friend and Starfire agreeing that he's her too. I'm not a huge fan of romance. Most of the time I prefer to explore other kinds of dynamics. But I always loved Robstar, because Robin and Starfire are best friends. I absolutely hate when there's this weird stuff in media where the characters become a couple and all lovey dovey, but there's barely anything there, the dynamic as a whole being freaking non existent. But here we have two characters that we've seen interact in all those season and we could see just how much they like spending time together, simply as friends. I love them your honor. They're precious :']

BEAST BOY SINGING THE TEEN TITANS SONG ON KARAOKE SLAYYY

Cyborg devouring everything in one damn restaurant. He has priorities alright

Starfire being miserable and venting to some random child while her future to be boyfriend just killed someone-

THAT SCENE? This scene is literally so epic looking, but also so unsettling. Even after finding out that it was just ink and not blood, watching this scene is always so... sad.

After watching the show it is known that Robin has huge problem with obsessing over his goals and this obsession can sometimes make him go too far. Make him HURT people around him.

Here he literally thought that he killed someone.

ANYWAY we have some cat girls

Robin getting new outfit and totally SLAYING

HIS SMILE WHEN STARFIRE CAME TO SAVE HIM *slams head into the desk*

there's a damn limit, wait I need to make a second post lol

[alygator77]

ya know, i flip back and forth between thinking gojo is more of a dog person like gege says or a cat person. like i can see both arguments, but what are your thoughts and why? (i put mine in the tags)

[blodwyrm]

𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱

[puppppppppy]

Big cat

[wired-heartbeats]

For the record I think Vox is being effected and possibly swayed by Val’s poison just like Angel is, the pink signifying it on Angel shows up on Voxs screen during and after interacting and being influenced by Val directly, when Vox is operating independently it isn’t an actual normal feature of his

This paired with an earlier moment from episode 2 when Val first mentioned something had happened with Angel Dust, Vox seemed happy about the idea of Angel quitting

“He quit? :D”

It’s interesting for sure, makes me wonder what Vox actually thinks about Angel, and more importantly, actually thinks about Valentino. He’s a business man, and clearly the Vees all teamed up (at least initially) because it helps elevate their status and power spread, they may be friendly with each other but we as an audience don’t actually know if there’s more to it as of now. But still, interesting

[buttercupshands]

thought about this thing for a while

it was extremely interesting to just analyze myself and get like a tier list in my head

[a-foxs-tundra]

Yes

But also no

Honestly? I relate most to the indigenous term two-spirit

Which I suppose I could use since I'm something like half indigenous

Let me try to explain this

I feel like both a guy and a girl

But more guy than girl

But also nothing at all

If I had it my way, people wouldn't refer to me by any pronouns whatsoever

But I know that's super confusing and can be frustrating to deal with, especially for my older folks in the family

So I go by he/him, since that's what I'm most comfortable with in terms of gendered pronouns

I can tell you what I'm not though. I'm not a woman. I'm not a girl. I'm not a "ms" or "Mrs" or "miss". I'm not a man, not entirely.

Just a guy. A boy, perhaps. A "sir".

I don't mind being referred to as a gremlin either

Or just a cat. I'm a tomcat. Or a foxboy. Those are good too

Gender is confusing. That's ok. Things don't have to make sense to be real. Go out and be you, if it's safe for you to do so. I support you. I always will

hey lets answer that question in the reblogs!

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

me first:

I'm the fairie in your nightmares

[whenastrofell]

On Mista's Tetraphobia:

While Mista is highly superstitious, I really don't think his fear of the number four existed his whole life. He might have had other things he obsessed over, like not stepping on sidewalk cracks or counting stairs, or things like that, but I don't think the tetraphobia happened until later.

Like the other member's of Bucciarati's group, Mista joined when he was at the lowest point. The reason he was facing 15-30 years in prison was because he took four shots at those guys.

He probably rationalized the number as being bad after the fact- The kitten his neighbor adopted was from a litter of four, that's further evidence, right? It was bad luck, because of the number four. (Plus, there were only three guys- If he was scared of four before shooting them, he probably wouldn't have taken four shots.)