#i learned how to draw big mama specifically for this help

[caster-l0ve]

Blaze on, Michelangelo. Earn your claws. Prove them wrong. Scream who you are.

Wipe out your competition.

[inamindfarfaraway]

I love how Paul's character in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is defined entirely by a lack of desire, or desire defined only as 'not what I don't want'. "What Do You Want, Paul?" is a big joke about what a terrible narrative protagonist he is. But it's deeper than that. Throughout the show, even in the smallest, most insignificant phrasing, this man only ever expresses wants in these negative forms, as if he's incapable of feeling attraction in itself rather than simply avoiding what he dislikes. And only avoiding! He never says that he hates anything, either! That would give him passion, drive, perhaps the goal of actively removing that thing. No, he exclusively uses the verb hate in past tense.

He doesn't like musicals, singing, dancing or public performances. He makes this very clear, to the point that it's one of his most significant character traits. At no point does he ever talk about liking any media.

He doesn't want to do social activities.

He doesn't want to give away his money. About both this and the above, he can provide no logical explanation or moral justification. He just doesn't feel like them.

He always gets black coffee because it has "no cream, no sugar, nothing in it"; that is to say, he might not necessarily love it, merely prefer it over its sweeter or more complex alternatives.

He doesn't believe that Emma should have to sing and dance at work - he doesn't want her life to be so unfair and annoying to the both of them.

He doesn't want to obstruct the workings of his office (saying "that's the last thing I want" triggers "What Do You Want, Paul?").

He says, "I wanna go home!" when Mr Davidson is singing at him, but means that he wants to be somewhere safe and not stuck in this incredibly uncomfortable situation.

He doesn't want to die.

He specifically doesn't want to die in Clivesdale, because fuck Clivesdale.

He doesn't want to join the Hive.

He doesn't want to leave Hatchetfield, even when it's the site of an alien invasion that is his personal worst nightmare. He actually says that "All things considered, I like Hatchetfield", arguably an exception to the standard. However, he's also well aware of the town's flaws and problems. He grew up one of its poorer residents, attending the inferior, underfunded Sycamore High School where he casually admits the students "hated [themselves]" and having to watch its more respectable rival Hatchetfield High's school play. He has no strong investment in his tedious middle-class office job. He doesn't get along with some of his fellow townsfolk, like his coworker Ted and all the employees of Beanies except Emma. He awkwardly evades giving to charity and the homeless every morning on his way to work. His life is decidedly not one of utter bliss, and yet it's good enough for him in that he doesn't have the energy, ambition or imagination to want anything more. Since he's "been here [his] whole life", his affection for his hometown could be more an aversion to everywhere else or the hassle of travelling. Sticking with the devil he intimately knows.

He doesn't think badly of Emma, and says so because he doesn't want her to or believe that he does after learning that she helped make a "hated" experience of his happen.

He doesn't want to let Bill die, which is why he goes with Bill to rescue Alice. His heroism and proactiveness at the turning point of the end of Act One start to notably erode his apathy, but his phrasing reaffirms his negative motivations: "Hey, it's not like you're asking me to go see Mama Mia!", "Emma, there comes a time in every man's life when he has to draw a line in the sand. And I will never be in a fucking musical."

He doesn’t want Bill to blame himself for Alice's endangerment, stay in the area once Alice is revealed to be a vessel of the Hive or kill himself.

He doesn't want to do some light reading on the universal truth of love and the strength of the human heart.

He has no positive motivation. He breaks one of the most basic rules of being a fictional character, let alone the main character the audience is supposed to root for. He isn't just an antihero, he's an anti-protagonist. Although this could easily make him boring or unsympathetic, he manages to seem relatable. Real. Human. He captures so genuinely an ordinary person living an ordinary life suddenly trapped in a horror story. How many of us can honestly articulate "one concrete goal that motivates all [our] actions"? Even if you can, you wouldn't undergo a narratively fulfilling and thematically cohesive arc related to that desire the way a fictional character would. We're all essentially just trying to survive each day. To make or keep our lives however we define 'good enough'. We may not have a crystal clear picture of our ideal life, but I bet we all have a long list of things we don't want in it. We're all Paul. He even says, “I want what anyone wants”.

What more appropriate antagonist for this man to face, then, than a force that exists to strip people of their autonomy, their individuality, their personhood, and force them to play archetypical characters in a conventional narrative? The Hive observes that Paul is an anti-protagonist and takes offence to this. It seeks to convert him into his antithesis, the "bold" "leading man" of its musical who the audience can "sympathize with". The Infected highlight this in the opening song, in which they eagerly anticipate and prepare the audience for his entrance... and he misses his cue. He isn't following their script. Perhaps that's why the audience is able to believe in this average, unassuming antihero's potential to succeed, to defeat the Hive or at the very least escape it, despite how fraught and grim the situation becomes. The story certainly proves itself to be cruel to its characters; but Paul doesn't operate like a normal character. The Hive promises to fulfil people's desires and make them happy throughout the play. Charlotte, Bill, Hidgens and Ted's deaths are connected to, by either direct causality or thematic relevance, their respective desires for Sam's love, Alice's safety, world peace (and the glory of a musical career) and Ted's own survival. Paul is uniquely immune to this pattern of death related to a core motivation.

Until:

"I can't leave without Emma”, “a friend of mine."

"Is there a chance of something more?"

"I think so. I'd like there to be. I want there to be."

He wants Emma, her life and her happiness and maybe, just maybe, her love. He wants to love her. To spend time with her. For the first time ever, he wants more out of life, not less. He's a little bit more of a character. After the Infected reprise the "Did you hear the word?" section of the opening song, building up to his appearance, this time he does enter the theatre, coming down the aisle just as he was meant to. Right on cue. Paul is now vulnerable to the narrative - the Hive's narrative. And the Hive's control.

Still he resists, even while doubting if he was ever really happy before. Not only does he use his final words, fittingly, to declare that he doesn't like musicals, but before that he firmly refutes the Hive, and the philosophy behind it and all the pressures and temptatations it might represent: "It doesn't matter what I want." What matters is the good of the world. Emma. Love. Hope. Freedom. Integrity. Humanity, which must be wonderful if we can make sacrifices like this for all the right reasons.

Rest in peace, Paul Matthews. You were the opposite of a conventional protagonist, but a true hero.

[mochinomnoms]

the twins trying to explain their polycule to the twins (tiny size):

Floyd: Okay so, do you two know what that means?

Jade is behind them drawing in a whiteboard to explain Floyd's attention span is going to be in either one of those fry

Pearl and Coral without skipping a beat: Another parent to whine and pout to get more siblings???

Jade and Floyd just smiling mischievously instead of confirming or denying: ...

Yuu and Azul watching from the nearest room

Yuu: Oh no

Azul: sigh

The cutest thing is the interactions and first meetings with the hatchling!! It goes either way the lil hatchling is a bit slippery and so the twins (tiny size) are panicking a bit when trying to hold it and the other is just big curious eyes looking at the hatchling that barely takes up their plam wrapping it's tiny tentacles around anything it can find to feel it's surroundings (the hatchling still has their eyes closed but thanks to pearl's and coral's pleads under much precaution get to hold it) oh and grandma Ashengrotto helping coral and pearl learn how to play but softly!!

Pearl: So.. Would this be alright? test bite

Grandma Ashengrotto internally: HOLY FU-

Grandma Ashengrotto: Try going a bit softer dear..!

Progress is progress though!!

Also please someone stop Pearl and Coral from having an "I am a better older sister!" fight (I remember having that happen to me with my older cousins and they would always ask which one of them was my favorite cousin little me was so confused)

-Vaquita

The (little) twins don't really care about the specifics, they're just happy to know that Zuzu will get to stay around a lot longer, and now they can call him Baba!

I forgot that in "Delights of Being Zuzu" that there were also the triplets (Poppy, Moss, and Lumiro). So the little hatchling, Beryl, also has three siblings of similar age to grow with! He's small, but still a bit bigger than the triplets, with Moss being the smallest as a berry. Even so, Beryl quite likes curling his tentacles around his siblings when sleeping, which Poppy and Lumiro do in kind with their tails. Moss is content to get squeezed by the three of them.

However, Pearl and Coral are still learning how to play gently with their siblings. You're correct that Pearl likes to play by biting, which is a habit that Yuu, Azul, and Mama Ashengrotto, or Iris, try to deter. They tell her to go bite her Papa and Dada (aka, Jade and Floyd) instead. At least until the fries are big enough to handle their rambunctious sister. Thankfully, Coral is more than helpful to play fight with Pearl!

They do fight over who is the better (*cough*favorite*cough*) sister. Coral is confident that it's her because she's nicer, and Pearl is rough. Pearl is convinced it's her because she's fun and Coral's boring. The fries are sleeping while they fight about it. They do not care, they want to nap.

[natsuki-bakery]

⁎˚ ఎ Monika CG headcanons ໒ ˚⁎

anyways,, can i have Monika (ddlc) cg headcanons? If you need specifics for a little they’d be fem, shy and kinda emotionally vulnerable,, sorry if this is too much bfbfhsgsh this is my first time doing requests like this

•Monika is incredibly patient and gentle with you, her precious little one. She understands the importance of building trust and never rushes you into anything you're uncomfortable with

•She often uses her soothing voice and calming presence to help you feel safe and secure. Reading soft, comforting stories or singing lullabies are some of her favorite ways to calm you

• "Remember, you’re safe here with me. No need to worry about anything, okay sugar ?"

•Physical affection is a big part of Monika's caregiving style. She loves to give gentle hugs, head pats, and hold your little hand to make you feel loved and protected

•Mama Monika knows how to reassure her little with kind and affirming words. She often tells you how proud she is of your progress and how much she cares about you

•"You’re doing such a great job, sweetheart. Mama is so proud of you !"

•She takes great care in creating a safe and comforting environment for you. This might include a cozy corner filled with plushies, blankets, and your favorite books or toy

•When you're feeling emotionally vulnerable, Monika is always there to listen and offer support. She helps you work through your feelings, offering a shoulder to cry on and gentle advices !

•"If you ever feel overwhelmed, just hold my hand, okay?"

•Monika understands the importance of routine and stability for her precious little one. She ensures that you have a predictable schedule, with regular times for meals, play, and rest, to help you feel secure

•Knowing that you're shy, Monika introduces you to creative activities that you two can do together, like drawing, crafting, or writing

•"I love seeing your beautiful smile. It brightens up so much my day, my sunshine !"

•Cuddle sessions are a regular and cherished part of your time together. Monika knows how much comfort and security you find in these moments, and she always makes sure to be there for you

•If you need guidance or discipline, Monika approaches it with kindness and understanding. She explains things calmly and helps you learn from your mistakes without making you feel bad

•"How about we cuddle and read a story together? Would you like that, little one?"

•Monika engages in interactive play that is both fun and educational. She enjoys playing gentle games that encourage learning and development, all while ensuring you feel supported and loved

•You two would have special rituals that strengthen your bond, like bedtime stories, baking together on weekends, or having tea parties !

•"How about we draw or color something together? It could be fun!"

•Monika is fiercely protective of her little. She ensures that you are shielded from any potential stress or harm, always prioritizing your emotional and physical well-being

•She makes a big deal out of celebrating her little’s milestones, no matter how small. Whether it's trying a new food or speaking up a bit more in social situations, Monika celebrates their achievements with genuine pride and joy

•"You’re incredibly brave for trying that, my superstar. I knew you could do it !"

DNI: basic criteria, DSMP, vivziepop/h4zbin h0tel/h3lluva b0ss fans, Owl h0use fans, St4r butterfly fans, Ghibli fans, ddlg/abdl, nsfw/k!nk, anti-agere, anti Christians blogs

[oddballwriter]

MOONKNIGHT FIC MASTERLIST

💕= romantic|👥= platonic|🔞= 18+ content/smut|🗣= requested|

|💧= angst | 🩹 - hurt-comfort|

ADDITIONAL: 🍼= baby/parenting involved

STEVEN GRANT CENTRIC

Your Drawings Look like Heaven to Me 💕🗣

Summary: Steven always enjoys your drawings and art, big or small, painting or simple sketch and doodle. But he's a bit surprised when he discovers that you have a habit of drawing a certain muse that you have.

All Over Your Face 💕

Summary: It's after a date and Steven is heading home after walking you home, but he can't help but notice that people are looking at him funny.

Made with Love 💕

Summary: A blurb where you cook Steven some traditional hispanic food because he's curious about how it tastes.

Last Warning 💕🔞

Summary: Steven wasn't usually a brat when it came to sex. But sometimes he really acted like one. So sometimes you need to put him back in his place. 

"So I Went Out With This Guy" 💕

Summary: You and Steven met on a dating app and went out on a date. It seemed nice by Steven is having doubts on if he did good or not after getting back home. It's by chance that he just happens to get his answer to his concerns placed at his lap.

Just Go with It 💕🔞

Summary: A very nervous date leads to going over to Steven's place. The both of you are very shy but with the help of Marc, Steven manages to get something started by talking to you and pouring a cup of tea.

Polaroids 💕🔞

Summary: Steven takes on the chore of cleaning around the flat while you're away on a trip. But in the process, Steven accidentally finds some risqué, to say the least, photos of you hidden away. Although he tries to resist, not knowing if he's meant to see them or not, he caves in and has some fun with them.

Two Left Skates 💕

Summary: Steven gets invited over to a roller rink by his crush, and neighbor, and he needs to focus on not making a fool of himself, and also focusing on skating rather than on her

Living Art 💕

Summary: Working in the gift shop doesn't really earn you any points in talking to people, that's something that Steven's learned the hard way. But that doesn't mean that there aren't some cases that happen once in a while.

Extra Credit 💕🔞

Summary: You and Steven decide to do some roleplay in the bedroom.

MARC SPECTER CENTRIC

Plus One makes a Sour One 💕

Summary: You and your old high school friends made a promise to go at each other's weddings, which you all keep. Regardless of the passing of time and what it brings. However, one out of place friend doesn't like that you've moved into find someone that you plan to have in your future.

Lady Problems 💕

Summary: The boys were happy to have you move in. They made it known that they wanted you to make a home with them as soon as you had gotten used to and seen everything about each other, both the good, strange, ugly, and vulnerable. And there were no actual problems with you at all. But you did come with something that Marc didn't fancy too well.

Good Smells 💕🩹

Summary: A nice little blurb involving Marc enjoying certain smells because they remind him of you.

Point of View 💕🩹

Summary: Marc has issues with his sense of worth to you as your boyfriend, but then again, he's able to find comfort in you as well.

Post-Nap Lunch 💕🍼

Summary: A blurb with Marc just being a new dad and doing new dad things.

Better Than Boring 💕

Summary: A blurb of Marc

You Look Sexy 💕🔞

Summary: They always say that no matter how you look, your boyfriend will always find you sexy and still want to have sex with you. And they're right.

Stacy's Mom 💕 Part 2

Summary: Marc is a single father to a lovely daughter, who has a friend who also has a single parent. He's never actually met Stacy's mom before, but when he finally does, he's taken aback by her.

Mama's Boy 💕🍼🩹

Summary: You and Marc's son has a specific attachment to you. And Marc couldn't be any happier.

The Tooth Fairy 💕🍼

Summary: Marc takes on the mission of being the tooth fairy and making the switch with the tooth and money when you daughter is asleep.

Vintage Cooking 💕

Summary: You and Marc decide to make a vintage meal from the 60s for fun because it looked awful. Turns out it is awful and making jokes is the only way to get through it. 

Healing Wounds 💕🩹🍼

Summary: Fatherhood was something that really healed Marc in a way that he couldn't imagine, and with that, situations are a lot less stress-inducing and let him enjoy finer moments with his family.

Early Morning 💕

Summary: Walking in the early morning when the sun is just starting to rise doesn't sound ideal to many, but for you Marc's worth the early morning walk.

Read Me to Sleep 💕🩹

Summary: Marc has issues falling asleep, so he listens to you read whatever book you're reading because it lulls him to sleep. But some nights, it's for something more than just sleeping problems.

Taste Test 💕

Summary: Marc offers to let you taste his blood for the sake of seeing if avatar blood tastes different, but Marc might want you to drink his blood for other reasons.

Stranger than Fiction 💕

Summary: Marc moves into a cabin in the woods to escape the risks of being found out as a werewolf but as he lives amongst nature and hears a few tales, he finds that he's not the only living piece of folklore around the forest.

JAKE LOCKLEY CENTRIC

Catfight 💕

Summary: You’re out on a bar date with your boyfriend and some girl isn’t taking the hint and you get a bit too possessive.

Parking Lot 💕���

Summary: Jake spoils you by going shopping with you for a nice new dress, but something gets in the way of it being the perfect shopping date when the two of you get to the parking lot afterward.

Candy 💕🔞

Summary: Jake buys some aphrodisiac candy from a shop and wants to try them out with you.

I Just Want to Get High With My Lover 💕🔞

Summary: A suggestive blurb where you and Jake get high and it fades into smut.

Handle with Care 💕🍼

Summary: Jake is overtaken with a sense of nervousness with carrying his child for the first time, seeing her as fragile and so easy to hurt. But after a year, he's very comfortable with handling her, in his own 'Jake-like' way.

Drive-In Movie 💕

Summary: You and Jake go on a date to a drive-in movie and have a nice wholesome time while also having some banter.

Honey, I'm Home 💕🔞

Summary: Taking up the role of being your little househusband was something that Jake wasn't really expecting to enjoy so much, but man, does he really love it~

Puppy Love 💕

Summary: Jake asks if you want a puppy, you think he's joking, but now you and the boys actually have a puppy.

MOON BOYS SYSTEM CENTRIC

The Sticky Note Game 💕

Summary: You have a silly little game that you, Jake, and Steven play. But someone accidentally messes it up and ends up finding out about said game.

Under Your Nose 💕

Summary: You are oblivious to the fact that your boyfriends Marc, Steven, and Jake are THE Moon Knight and they have to slip it by you sometimes in varying ways.

Appetite 💕🔞

Summary: You have a very high and demanding libido and the boys both are willing to and victim of needing to satisfy it.

Like They've Seen a Ghost 💕

Summary: You'll admit that the sight of you and the boys is certainly something interesting to witness. With them looking 'normal' and you being in your usual gothic style. But you would be lying if you said that seeing the reactions and interactions wasn't funny.

Personal Nurses 💕

Summary: You get sick with something and need to stay home, and so your lovely boyfriends take up the job of nursing you back to health.

[rigelmejo]

Has anyone studied a language with the method of automatic language growth (ALG)?

ComprehensibleThai on youtube appears to have some amazing lessons specifically for ALG study. I found them when looking for various comprehensible input youtube channels. I am still looking into what ALG is more, and the subreddit I found that defined it has quite specific guidelines you should follow when studying, and I'm very curious. I am still hunting down more information on ALG before I draw any big conclusions.

I'm seeing information like: the idea is to watch videos/teachers in lessons (and eventually real life situations if you're in a place it's spoken, or shows in the language with various situations) and focus on grasping what is going on. Not trying to translate in your head, not trying to make conclusions conciously of "they said dui and nodded so maybe it means yes" - but instead just trying to understand as if you were a toddler learning your first language: just recognizing "they communicated Agreement" or when people say words as objects increase maybe they're counting, or when people say words and point to themselves maybe it's about them. The idea is similar to studying Comprehensible Input (like TPRS or Francais par le Methode Nature etc) except that there are many Comprehensible Input studiers who simply watch what they can comprehend, even if comprehension is due to cognates and guessing based on what they already know about the language explicitly. For example: when I watch a spanish video, I can use spanish subtitles on and guess what some stuff means based on French that I know - I don't necessarily HAVE to rely on visually watching the situation going on and drawing conclusions for that situation/experiencing it. With ALG, it seems the idea is to primarily NOT analyze the unknown and guess, but instead to mainly focus on the VISUAL information to follow what's going on... with (from what I am getting the impression of) the assumption you will pick up the language over time from hearing it in situations you could understand from visuals/body language.

So with ALG, I also saw that you generally don't speak for around 1000 hours, basically until it feels natural like your native language to say a given phrase. If it feels natural to say a given phrase or word then say it, if it feels like you must think hard and figure out what to say then don't say it yet. So sort of how as babies, we made sounds and practiced, but perhaps only said mama when we wanted something for several months. Then eventually we said baba or bottle, then "want bottle."

Although... I'd say ALG sounds like it'd prefer you not to speak until the pronunciation feels natural... whereas with actual babies, they usually have bad pronunciation in their own native language until 2-4. They speak anyway, with the bad pronunciation, because kids have stuff they need to tell us lol! Like "hungry" "water" "tired" "play" "want that" "help." I couldn't say letters like L or T or S until I was like 4 in my native language, but I was saying full sentences of "I want X with Y" by age 2. Just with letters missing, as toddlers do, but understandable enough their parents know what they're talking about. I remember my nieces, as toddlers from 2-4, ranting for many minutes over what happened to them that day, just telling me, and I could understand them because I babysat them a lot but to a stranger a lot of my niece's words were hard to understand. Maybe ALG has you not speak full words until you feel they're easy to say, since you're an adult, so you can afford to postpone speaking in the language (and get help/your needs met in your native language or with gestures until then), and since as an adult you can potentially make a variety of sounds quicker than a baby? I'm not sure. That is an interesting thing to consider mm.

Anyway. I have seen in some of the ALG stuff I'm reading that suggests if you Deviate from the expected ALG study model, then you may develop some ingrained language usage mistakes. That may well be true, I don't know nearly enough about ALG or ingrained mistakes to draw any educated conclusion.

I personally don't care much if I do ingrain some usage mistakes, or accent mistakes though. So it's not a big worry for me. And it makes me curious: for people who have studied both using ALG methods and other methods, what was your experience? Did ALG work better in some areas of improvement, in all? Did ALG work worse for you in any areas?

I would expect ALG works a bit better for eventually having good OUTPUT skills, compared to Mass Immersion Approach/Comprehensible Input combined with anki study or purposeful vocabulary word-lookup study. Just based on my own experience, that method of "consume material you can follow the main idea of" and "look up key words you don't know so you understand more over time" is what I did A LOT of. And for me, it improved passive vocabulary amazingly well! I got good at reading FAST, which was my primary goal, so that was great. I got good at understanding the language in videos with visual clues fairly quick as well (a bit lagging behind reading skill), and listening to it (no visuals) also improved fairly good (at a noticeable lag behind reading skill). In terms of passive vocabulary, it eventually didn't make a difference if I learned a word through comprehensible input to me, or through looking up the word, because I'd run into words again and again in reading/shows that I'd eventually simply 'understand it immediately' just like my native language. There's a bit of a lag, where lets say if I know 5000 words and am studying 200 new words in a new book, I will recognize those 5000 words immediately whenever I encounter them... but the new 200 words I've only seen a little bit will still require time and effort for me to recall when I see them or hear them again. Then later, after enough exposure, those 200 new words will be easy to recall, and I'll be learning Newer words that are harder to recall. Overall, learning with the "look new words up, while consuming content in the language" works well for building a big passive vocabulary fast.

But active vocabulary remains very small, unless I use the language actively by speaking and writing - so if ALG suggests learning through experiences and situations, it also seems to me that ACTIVE vocabulary you can use without putting in a LOT of effort to recall also seems to develop faster the more it's in experiences you have. So ALG style lessons may help develop that active vocabulary better, because ALG lessons primarily SHOW you situations and SHOW you how people communicate in them. However, since I haven't studied ALG type lessons for 1000 hours... I am not sure if it runs into the same issues as MIA/comprehensible input With word-lookup, when it comes to active vocabulary. That issue with comprehensible input/word-lookup study is: after 1-2 years engaging in content (reading, listening), the learner still has not spoke or written yet, and finds it quite difficult to start and must look up Many things when starting to speak/write. That is the position I am in for the languages I study: I understand a lot, but cannot say much (grammatically incorrect or not). For ALG, perhaps their grammar will be better when they start speaking/writing as they internalized the language more naturally and unconsciously. But I am not sure if they'll actually have an easier time outputting the language, or like the other input heavy study methods, they'll struggle to build their active vocabulary. I'm curious about the ALG process for developing active vocabulary, and I'm going to look into more learner experiences where they shared that part of the process. I'm curious if that part of the process goes smoother for ALG learners.

Anyway... just a language learning method I am mulling over. If you're studying Thai in particular, ComprehensibleThai on youtube is an excellent resource to start studying using the ALG method. Dreaming Spanish, I think, was also designed to ideally be used like an ALG course so the creator does have some explanations of how to study it in an ALG way (rather than in the way where you look up key words along with watching comprehensible stuff - which is what I did, and a lot of 'comprehensible input' general studiers tend to do).

[symphonic-scream]

Yells!! kindly demanding some more late P5R AU 🤲🤲

Hell yeah brother

So, I'm gonna clear up some stuff I saw in reblogs and shit

Akechi is alive! He's an adult and still under Shido's thumb. Shido is the Prime Minister, has been for a while, and Akechi is. Still taking out any competition

There was less of a panic around the mental shutdowns initially cause the media wasnt reporting them clearly. Now they are

I did like this one take I saw, I wish I remembered who said it (take your credit in the replies please) but it's a more mature setting without being too edgy and angsty. I specifically want to highlight the idea that rebellion doesn't die when you become an adult. That that fire burns on, and adults can also change the status quo and make a difference. That you can still try

And, since more than half my notes are them, here's some MakoHaru

They share a bed from the first night Haru and her kids move into the Shitbox.

Haru's so exhausted all the time, but she's used to using all her energy on her children. So, she's stunned to tears when she wakes up, not from Hanako's crying, but to find this woman, who's practically a stranger, swaying softly in the dark, humming a song to a snoozing Hanako

She remembers her husband, and how he wouldn't hold Tenji. How he scowled when his son would whimper as a baby, and-

They're both touch starved. Very quickly they begin to cuddle in their sleep, and slowly it bleeds into their waking hours. Makoto placing a hand around Haru's waist as a sign of support. Haru bumping their hips together playfully. Sitting thigh to thigh. Brushing arms as they dash through a palace. Heads leaning together in the back of the Mona Bus.

By Strikers, Haru will be taking classes to finish her high school diploma and get into college. She works at a local bakery. Makoto is working at the same Garage Ryuji does, and starts doing the taxes and such for the others and the shop

Makoto doesn't take any initiative in their relationship at first. She lets Haru recover, and lets her take the lead. Makoto, of course, is also the one to draw the boundary about waiting for them both to be stable. Haru agrees of course. Neither deny their feelings, just agree to not hurt each other

Tenji adores Makoto. He's 4, and already protective of his Mama. So, he's super happy about living with someone who puts his Mama first. Makoto is so different from his Father, and he hugs her legs when he comes home from school

Both Tenji and Hanako resemble Haru a lot. He's got her hair colour and texture, nose, and smile. She's got the hair colour too, and Haru's eyes. Her smile too

It's, tough for them both for a while. Makoto struggling to quit two bad addictions (smoking, drinking), and Haru dealing with the legal fallout of trying to charge her husband with abuse and neglect while filing for divorce

Also!

Futaba is so excited to learn about all the new internet stuff. Instead of her big rest, she goes on a deep dive of everything that's happened while she was in her coma

Extra details!

Ryuji's thief costume has a leg brace for his knee!

Yusuke's tail acts like a real one. Shows his emotions more

Haru's endurance and speed increase over time, since when she awakens her persona, she'd given birth like. A month before at most

Makoto, Yusuke, Ann, and Futaba have a group chat where they log their meals together. They're all helping each other eat regularly, and celebrate hitting weight milestones

Haru and Ryuji gym buddies! Makoto and Ryuji coworkers! Ryuji and Ann roommates! Ryuji getting so much positive reinforcement from his gals, just. His friends love him he's so sweet and genuine

There'd be a lot of healing. A lot. Strikers would be more like a roadtrip to celebrate how much they've all grown in the like, 2 years since (I'm making the time gap larger)

Gonna lay out the ages for sure for sure

So like, Akechi, Haru, and Makoto are 21-22. Making Haru barely 18 when she had her son ahah-

Joker, Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke are 20-21, depending on time of year

And Futaba and Sumire are 19-20

[chaoticsnowykiddo]

Agere headcanons for the calamity trio!

Anne is a flip, caregiver lean!

When she is regressed her little age is around 8-9. Her regression is voluntary.

She learned about regression through taking care of Sasha and Marcy, then figured that she should try it herself.

She is really hyper when regressed and loves the outdoors.

She sometimes calls Marcy her butterfly and baby and Sasha little dude and kid. Pet names she uses for both are kiddo and hon.

When she is a caregiver she is always doing fun activities with Sasha and Marcy when they regress.

She takes Sasha and Marcy outside on fun nature walks and she always packs snacks! (Makes sure all of them are accessible)

"Can you tell me what color this is kiddo?" "Do you know what animal that is hon?"

She takes Sasha and Marcy to the park very often and they all play on the playground.

She takes them both to the museum often too. She will ask Marcy what the names of the dinosaurs are, both because it helps her be smol but also because she just doesn't know the full names.

She's memorized all the names of Marcys Stuffies and LPS.

She also packs a pair of noise canceling headphones with her incase Marcy has a sensory overload.

She also packs cute bandaids incase either of them gets injured.

She helps Sasha and Marcy cook and bake things, makes sure she's the one to handle anything that's really hot or when chopping things with a knife, she doesn't want her kiddos to get hurt.

Sasha is a flip, regressor lean!

Her little age is about 5-7. His regression is usually involuntary but sometimes a coping skill.

She started regressing before she even knew what the word for it was, but Marcy taught her what regression was so now he has a word for the feelings.

She'll sometimes help Anne take care of Marcy

When he is a caregiver he is extremely protective of Anne and Marcy.

He'll take Anne and Marcy on trips to the mall and if they are good she will even buy them things.

She definitely stays up past her bedtime.

SHE stole the cookies from the cookie jar! And she sometimes frames Marcy, or the cat...

He will call Anne Mamacha or Anna Banana and Marcy MarMar or sweetie.

On nature walks she definitely runs ahead.

Climbs on everything!

"Check out how fast I can run!" "Look! I can ride a bike with no hands!"

She likes to play with toy cars AND barbies!

Thanks to him, barbie now rides a monster truck!

She likes to play with slime.

She loves to put music on his phone and have dance parties with Anne and Marcy!

Marcy is a regressor!

Their little age is 2-6. Their regression is usually involuntary but sometimes she uses it to relax. She regressed a lot of the time.

She started regressing after the traumatic events during their time in Amphibia. They found out what it was called while searching online.

She calls Anne mama, mama bear, and baba, they call Sasha Sash and big sis or big bro.

They use pacis and she likes to decorate them themself!

They put stickers on everything!

She loves to play pretend! Sometimes she's a pirate! Sometimes their a doctor! They can be anything!

They have a massive stuffie collection and she needs more!

She is very clingy and cuddly, they will snuggle with Anne and Sasha any chance they get.

They love playing with Littlest Pet Shops and they have a ton of them! And also Legos! Sasha will join her a lot of times.

They have another journal specifically for their regression.

They play animal crossing and she has also made them, Sasha, and Anne in the sims.

They get sensory overloads a lot but Anne is always there to help calm them down.

They are always talking about her hyper fixations and getting any merch they can of it (especially plushies!)

Anne and Sasha help them with doctors appointments (they need to go a lot more after the events of true colors). Anne will hold her hand during shots or blood draws, or just if she gets stressed.

Also due to the events of true colors they sometimes need a wheelchair to get around. Anne will usually be the one to push her but sometimes Sasha will push her too. Sasha pushes them very fast, they both find it fun.

[heavisdelulu]

Okay so I wanted to make a Wattpad story miles x oc (I want it to be reader so bad but I’ll just have to make a new one specifically for reader or y/n) and I wanted to share some stuff that I came up with about oc…

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Miles x oc~

Oc is definitely miles best friend. I’m talking friends since 2nd grade best friend. I’m such a simp for friends to lovers tropes. It just warms my spirit.

Oc is black and Haitian (oc is me headass). Just want to sprinkle in a bit of my culture ya feel me?

Oc is stupid smart (oc is not me 💀). Like Tony stark smart. I basically envisioned her to be the girl in the chair type, the one who makes all his gadgets and help him with his hero duties by hacking in stuff.

Oc is gonna be a badass. I mean like come on, I’m not settling for less and neither is y’all.

Oc has BIG, thick, 4b-4c hair! (No more combs for you bookie)

Oc is quiet but bold. Like she speaks when spoken to but don’t let it fool you. She’ll usually say what everyone is thinking, no matter how rude or crude it may be. Believe me, this gets her in trouble, but it’s never on purpose. She’s never been one to hold her tongue. She tends to mind her business but on the off chance she’s nosey, it has to be something important.

Oc was raised by her pops (dad) and mama (grandma). You’ll learn more later if you choose to continue reading. No hard feelings ����

Oc has a very chill personality. Like you can have roast sessions with her, movie/ show marathons, she can help you with your homework or French lessons even tho she speaks broken creole, need her to hack the test scores so you can get good grades- she can do it but she not cause her friend’s dad is a cop. Need girl advice? She’ll tell you to ask someone else but at least she’s honest 😂. If you do something dumb, trust she’s gonna drag it out for a while.

Like- “hey remember the time you fell in front of your crush cause your dusty ass 1’s wasn’t tied. Crazy” “bruh I only said you were short, why you gotta violate me?”

Oc is blunt but awkward. She sometimes misses social cues. Buss out a joke at the wrong time type.

Oc plays volleyball. Idk thought she should play a sport to seem kid like plus I like haikyuu so yeah…

Oc’s style falls into the alternative side. Like street wear, slight emo, grudge aesthetic. But she knows she has a nice body and likes to wear clothes that compliment her shape. So if she wear baggy pants then she’s pairing it with a cropped top or if she wears a big tee she’d pair it with form fitting pants or biker shorts. Her shoe style varies from platform boots, crocs, and a few Jordan’s (curtsy if mikes bugging her to get em). Pretty good style overall.

I’ll try and draw her, I ain’t the best but I can make a lil sumthin😏, plus I’m a visual person! If you’re interested more in this whole creation leave a like or lil note so I can keep going(gonna do it regardless 🤧). Also if you have any questions please PLEASE! Ask em. I will answer. I swear, I don’t have anything to do. 🥺 I’ll make some more head-canons up until the I actually release the story.

Thank you for your time and have a bless day🫶🏾💋

[lonely-lost-soul]

A Pirate's Life for Me

Cover Art Done By: @fridaydev-draws and @friday-dsv (Dreamsmp x reader) Pirate Au! Love Interests: C!Wilbur, C!Techno, C!Dream, C!Sapnap, C!Quackity, and C!Schlatt

~~~

Salt burned your lungs as you tossed open your window with a loud bang, the seagulls perching on your flower boxes screeched in protest and flew from your window. “Fucking sky rats get the fuck out of here you heathens!” You snarled out the window shaking your fist at the bothersome birds, the sounds of the ocean crashing on the shore filled your ears as well as the chatter of the dock workers. You let the breeze blow back your hair and you heard someone calling your name from down below.

“Good morning (Y/n)!” You glanced below you and grinned,

“Morning Eret!” They waved back enthusiastically their dress spilling around their ankles, a basket of fruit was balanced on his hip. “Opening early today? I'm sure your patrons would be happy to start their drunken stupor early,” She held a hand to his mouth snickering and you shot them a look.

“If that gets more money in my pocket then so be it, I won't complain too much.” You shrugged, “Will I still see you later tonight?”

“Always do dove, how can I resist a drink from my favorite bartender.”

“You can’t it’s my charm.”

“Will the both of you shut the fuck up!” Another man’s voice growled from another open window, “It’s too early for your bullshit.” You saw Eret click his tongue but smiled up at you despite the man's protests,

“I’m heading to the market anyway. These fruits won’t sell themselves, I'll see you later.”

“See you soon!” You closed your windows once more, but not before urging your daisies to grow one last time. You tossed open the curtains allowing light to spill into your cozy home, a small carpet was in the middle of your room. It was a deep red and the pattern was made of gold yarn, aside from that everything in your residency was made of dark wood. Your shelves were littered with books and empty cups, and your old worn journal sat open on your desk. It was filled with childhood memories and you continued to write in it to this day, it was easier then, things were simple and everything was innocent and new to you. Now your days were filled with sea fairing idiots who liked to drink themselves stupid, but you could handle yourself, you always kept your father's dagger on your thigh at all times. Those who were frequent customers knew not to mess with you and those who were new learned their lesson within the first ten minutes of meeting you. You inherited the bar from your father, a kindhearted man who died a few years before today, leaving you with the bar and the dagger you had on your hip. You fished through your closet pulling out your clothes for the day, your dress was a gorgeous light coffee color and came down to your ankles. The bottom was flared and had dark brown panels on the sides, it faded inward to a light green then back to the coffee color. The corset around your waist was a dark brown with light green trim, you tied it tight with a small huff making sure your waist was sinched perfectly. The sleeves came down to your elbows allowing you to move your arms freely while making drinks. The top of the dress ended just below your collarbone, you strapped your dagger to your thigh before lacing up your knee-high black boots.

You thought back to your tavern downstairs, you were fortunate enough that you weren’t running this entire operation yourself. You ended up hiring help and they were like family and you knew they saw you as such as well. Most of the girls didn’t have a family of their own so you gave them room and board, also money, of course, you weren’t a terrible boss! You opened the door to your room, you watched Cecil, the tavern’s mascot trot out of Juniper’s room. The border collie liked to switch up which rooms he stayed in protecting every one of your girls when you couldn’t be there for them.

The first of your girls was Adelaide or Addie, she was one of the first to fall under your care. She was around your age, a motherly type, sheep hybrid, who cared for the girls, and always gave the drunk patrons with mommy issues a shoulder to cry on. Her long brown hair always hung down her back, she typically worked tables, served food and drinks, and always got a generous tip from patrons.

The next girl was Judas, a squid-enderman hybrid who was taller than you could ever wish to be, although intimidating you couldn’t meet a kinder woman. A jack of all trades the woman helped out wherever she could, black-ish purple hair curled around her shoulders and some people came specifically to hear her sing. Her voice was like rich velvet and lured men and women in like a siren.

Juniper was after Judas, a demon hybrid who was naive but you’d be a fool to underestimate her. She worked beside you at the bar, she can make some mean fruity drinks, Eret always preferred her drinks over yours. Freckles adorned her face and shoulders, her light brown hair curled down to her middle back, purple horns sprouted from the top of her head. You wanted to adorn it with gold jewelry and you were saving up to gift some to her.

Yeti was a human woman like yourself, she didn’t bother with those who were rude or obnoxious. She kept to herself only really talking when she was spoken to or when there was an opportunity to crack a rare joke. She typically stayed on the sidelines, out of the scenes and Yeti liked to help Judas decorate her sets.

Zig was a kind young adult, they got along with everyone who came inside the tavern. Soft emerald eyes drew people in, and they tried to make sure tensions within the bar didn’t rise and start a fight. There would always be one or two that’s just natural, but one look at Zig and his magic words and they seemed to disperse, not wanting to hurt the kid’s feelings.

Vendetta was the tallest member of the group you had taken in, she was stunningly beautiful and didn't take shit from anybody. She was a guard dog if you will, making sure no one fucked with any of the girls in your tavern. While Zig did their best to keep people under control sometimes they couldn’t win. That’s when Ven would step in and ‘kindly’ escort them off the premises with or without force.

The youngest member here was Luvena. She was a moo-bloom hybrid with soft brown hair that sprouted flowers, her cow ears would twitch when she was excited and followed Addie around like she was her daughter. Addie took her under her wing and was training her to be a perfect little waitress, absolutely warming customers’ hearts. Luvena also loved to give out flowers, she was a fan favorite bringing new life into the tavern.

Cecil barked seeing his mama and scampered over to you, you poured food into his bowl as Juniper wandered into the hallway. Her head rested on the doorframe as she gave you a tried wave, “Morning (Y/n).”

“Morning Juni, We’re opening a little early today. Take your time I’m not expecting a big rush of bar patrons this early.” You assured her and she gave a sleepy nod,

“I’ll be down as soon as Ven’s out of the shower.” She yawned, “This beauty doesn’t come naturally.”

“Hardly darling you’re gorgeous just the way you are.” You reassured with a wink, Juniper flushed a little, happily laughing beside you.

“Just go wake the others will you, you flirt!”

Tossing your head back you gave a happy laugh heading down the hallway to make sure everyone was awake and ready to go for later. Addie and Luvena shared a room so she was in charge of waking up the youngest member of the tavern. Judas was already awake making breakfast for everyone when you headed downstairs, Zig was sitting on the counter beside her, they were the designated taste tester.

“Good morning Miss (Y/n)!” Zig chirped, the young adult hummed fondly, “Sleep okay?”

“Absolutely. What about you both? Thank you for making breakfast Judas.” You hummed fondly and Judas had a shy smile on her face.

“I slept well thank you.” Judas hummed softly, “Also it’s my pleasure. Want to make sure everyone’s healthy and alright.” She let out a little squeak as you wrapped your arms around her body, you barely came up to her chest,

“Judas please marry me,” You complained, “Your breakfast is always heavenly and you care for everyone. Please be my wife.”

“(Y/n)! Please.” She sputtered face turning a dark purple, Zig made a noise of protest and held his hand in the air.

“If she won’t marry you I will!”

“Zig! I’d be honored!”

Their entire face lit up with excitement and they hopped off the table to hug you tightly, you hugged them back and pressed a fond kiss to the top of their head. “I got to open up the tavern, you mind setting the table for me Zig?”

“Sure Miss!”

You sent Judas a kiss in the air which her face burned at, quickly going back to her cooking. You smiled eagerly and unlocked the door to the tavern, you shoved a bucket in front of the door to keep it open. The salty ocean air wafted through your nostrils and your eyes sparkled wondrously.

Today is going to be a good day.

Almost immediately a particular bastard caught your eye,

“You’re here early.” You mused raising an eyebrow,

“Heard you were opening early today sweetcheeks,” His voice was a low baritone, rough from years of smoking and drinking. Horns curled around his fluffy ears that stood out against his gruff exterior, he was a ram hybrid at its finest. “Figured I’d take the opportunity to get a special drink from my special girl,” He mused looking you up and down drinking in your figure. You scoffed at the retired man, he dressed like he was cosplaying captain jack sparrow, the gun’s in his belt just added to his costume and so did his large ruffled shirt, he was never one to forget his gold jewelry.

“Where’s Quackity?” You ignored him sitting him at his usual table, he frowned but you knew he was taking it as an opportunity to stare at your ass. He slid into the stool and put his feet up on the table, his boots were muddy but you could only control him so much. He was too much of a regular to get scared off by your threats and scolding.

“He’ll be in at his normal time. He’s not much of a day drinker, although can’t say I’m complaining. Having all your attention on me and all, considering I’m the only one in here. That being said, I’ll have my usual sweetcheeks.”

“Stop calling me that,” You scolded with a certain fondness that was reserved for the man. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite regular Schlatt,” you gave his ears a fond pinch and he bleated. He sent you a scalding look as you walked away, although the look soon fell as he got a good look at your ass once again.

“I’m your only regular sugar tits!”

“Schlatt feet off the table.” Addie criticized whacking his boots with a rolled-up menu, he rolled his eyes but dropped his feet to the floor. “You should know this by now, we go through this every day.”

“Yeah, yeah little lamb I’m on it. Judas here?”

“She’s always here,” She huffed spreading the menu down on the table. “Do you want your usual or something different? Should I get Quackity’s drink ready too?”

“Nah just stick with mine, for now, tell Judas I’d like to see her.”

Addie clicked her tongue and placed her hand on her hip, “fine. But if you’re just going to grossly flirt with her as you do with (y/n), then keep it to yourself.”

“You’re not the boss of me. Just because you look like an old hag-” The way she glared at him sent a chill down his spine, “shit babe take a joke will you.”

Eventually, people began to file into the tavern, as the morning faded into the afternoon and then into the evening. The tavern was bustling with life, Judas’s elegant voice traveled through the crowds and her voices seemed to float above the voices. Quackity joined Schlatt by his side seemingly irritated by a conversation they were having, Schlatt was about five drinks in at this point, which was much less than his usual, and Quackity on his second.

“What are they talking about?” Luvena asked swinging her legs as she sat on the bar beside you. Her moobloom ears twitching every so often as she tried to eavesdrop on their conversation,

“Vena it’s impolite to eavesdrop.” You scolded bopping her on the head lightly, she whined and rubbed the top of her head.

“I wasn’t!” She argued as you rolled your eyes, you looked over at the two men to find Quackity looking over at you. His hand was raised in the air, one finger was up summoning you to get him another drink.

“I’ll be back, why don’t you talk to Ven while I’m gone. She’ll keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

“Good thing she doesn’t want to babysit your ass either, now shoo.” You motioned her to hop off the bar and she did so with a long, dramatic sigh. You looked over at Ven who gave you a silent nod, letting you know she’d watch out for the youngest member of your band of misfits. Meanwhile, you grabbed Quackity another drink and walked over to the two men at the table, “Someone order a drink?”

“Aye! Mamacita! Fancy seeing you here.” Quackity purred a bright smile spreading across his face seeing that you were the one to deliver his drink,

“Hey Big Q,” You greeted placing the drink in front of him, “You doing okay?”

“Better now that an angel walked into my sight,” He flirted and you rolled your eyes. “What? It’s true! You always brighten my day you know? Ow!” Schlatt hit his ex-first mate over the head,

“Take a breath lover boy. Thanks for the drink sugar tits.”

“You’re welcome, what were the both of you talking about if I may ask.” You hummed grabbing some of Schlatt’s empty glasses, an uncharacteristic frown came over both their faces. “Oh? Touchy subject?”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just dishing out some old problems, most of which are better left unsaid.” He aimed that statement at Quackity, his jaw seemed clenched and Quackity’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Well I just want to remind the both of you,” You passed the tray of empty glasses over to Addie as she walked by, she took them swiftly. You grabbed the side of both their heads and pressed them against your chest, not that you knew but both men’s flushed to the tips of their ears. “No physical fights are allowed in this tavern. If one starts I won’t hesitate to kick your fucking asses. Got it?” They looked over your chest and locked eyes with one another, after years on the sea they could read one another’s facial expressions rather easily and at that moment they shared the same thought,

‘They should fight more often.’

“I said, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” The repeated simultaneously as you pulled away,

“That’s what I like to hear-”

“(Y/n)!” Vendetta’s velvety voice called out from behind you, you turned and saw a group of newcomers file into your bar. Your body tensed momentarily,

Pirates.

Schlatt turned his head to follow your gaze and he tensed from behind you, “fuck me.” He growled and Quackity raised an eyebrow at his captain, he turned to look over his shoulder and his face lit up.

“Sapnap!”

The pirate who had a white bandana tied around his forehead glanced over at him and a smile lit up across his features. “Quackity? Is that you?”

“My man!” He stood up from his chair heading over to wrap the man in a hug, “I haven’t seen you in years, man.” You zoned out of their conversation eyes locking with a few of the other pirates who walked into the tavern. Vendetta and Addie both greeted them, but everyone who was under your care knew to keep their guard up around pirates. From what you could gather there seemed to be two crews, a crew of what only seemed to be two, Sapnap was included. The fire demon was still talking with Quackity, while the other man took in the view of the tavern, he had shaggy blonde hair, and had a few scars across his face. A porcelain mask sat on top of his head, a forest green cloak was around his shoulders, his hood was lowered around his neck. A sword was strapped tight against his hip and there was another dagger that seemed to be tucked against his side. His eyes gazed towards you and he winked teasingly with a coy smile, you scoffed looking over at Addie.

“Seat those two gentlemen yeah? Be careful, I’ll tell Ven and Yeti to keep an eye.” Addie looked at you, concern written on her soft features but she nodded. While Addie departed, you noticed Ven talking with the other group. Luvena was hiding behind Vendetta’s long legs, although a tall blonde boy seemed very keen on talking to her. You smoothed out your dress and moved towards the group of three, you eyed them up casually. The blonde looked to be around Luvena’s age, he had a shit-eating grin on his face and his uniform matched that of the second tallest in the group. The second tallest was clad in a light blue jacket with large golden buttons on the red collar. He had a cream-frilled shirt underneath and a black belt holding up his brown slacks, those were tucked into black boots. On his back seemed to be a guitar and was the only one of them not holding a weapon, but you knew better than to assume with pirates. His curly brown hair seemed to bounce every time he talked, he seemed to be the ringleader but there was no doubt that the real ringleader was the hybrid standing beside him. He was taller, on par with Vendetta in height, he had long pink hair that was tied in a ponytail on top of his head. A few pieces framed his face elegantly, there was no doubt he was the captain of the little crew that was in your tavern. He had a white shirt on with a deep low cut ‘V’ it showed off a good portion of his scared chest, around his shoulders sat a deep red jacket but his arms were outside of it and crossed over his chest. He seemed content on letting his second in command do all the talking, his red eyes were the only ones to meet yours. His head tilted upwards and before Vendetta could stop him he walked over towards you,

“You own the tavern?” His voice was a low monotone and it sent an array of pleasant chills up your spine.

“I do,” You raised an eyebrow crossing your arms over your chest, “Names (Y/n). You are?”

“Captain Technoblade of the ship Odyssey, I was hoping you had a few rooms and a table available. My brothers and I are pretty exhausted, we’ve been sailing all night.”

Brothers, they certainly didn’t all look alike, but then again you certainly had a mix of girls in your care. Your tongue swiped against the top row of your teeth, “Why don’t you and your brothers take a seat at the bar for now. Juniper will be happy to serve you, I’ll see if we have some free rooms available.”

“Thank you, once you return I’ll introduce them to you if you’d like,” Technoblade bowed his head before turning back to get his brother’s attention.

“I’d like that thank you.” You gave a nod motioning for Vendetta to follow you as you slid behind the bar with Juniper, Judas had also taken a spot sitting on the bar. You figured you’d let her know as well, considering she was another adult figure in the group. You knew either Juniper or Judas would fill in Addie considering the three were close. “Ven, can they be trusted?”

“Not too sure about the masked man, the one Quackity seems to be familiar with seems decent enough. He’s a fire demon though, could smell him from miles away, we all just need to be cautious.”

“Agreed,” Juniper added tapping her finger on her chin. “We should just try to curb all fighting if at all possible, what did the captain of the other group ask you?”

“They want a room, I’m about to check to see if we have availability. Thoughts on that?”

Judas let out a low hum her eyes followed both sets of pirate groups around the tavern, “I say if we have availability let them stay. They seem harmless so long as we don’t mess with them, which we’d never do.”

“Plus I can always stay awake to keep an eye on them.” Vendetta tapped her nails against the table,

“You sure.”

“As if I’d let anything happen to any of you, you’re my family.”

You all smiled softly, and you noticed Judas’s eyes widen, “Zig! Get that out of your mouth this instant!” She shot up from her spot and over to the person in question. The three of you laughed fondly at the nonsense, meanwhile, Juniper saw the three brothers sit at her bar. She moved away from you to greet them, you immediately could tell she was taken with the second eldest brother.

He seemed to be an absolute lady killer.

Vendetta ruffled your hair before going back to stand at her place by the door to keep the peace. You headed up the stairs to the rafters to check on the extra rooms you had, “Excuse me?” You tensed visibly turning around to face the man in all green. His eyes were mesmerizing, a fierce jade green to contrast his cloak, “Do you happen to have two rooms available?” The man held up two fingers to clarify his request,

“Do you usually start introductions with a blatant request like that?”

He chuckled a smile spreading across his lips, “I’m Dream and you gorgeous?”

“(Y/n), it’s your lucky day I’m about to check and see if any are available. My tavern is a hot commodity tonight.”

“Well, I can see why,” he spoke and you raised an eyebrow and tilted your head to the side.

“Oh?”

“It has the hottest owner around. Word spreads fast.”

You couldn’t believe this man was making your cheeks burn, he chuckled softly taking a step towards your figure. “Oh really, word spreads that fast on the open sea, Captian?” It was his turn to turn light pink, but he covered it up quickly with a chuckle.

“Touché.”

“I’ll get on that room for you and your friend. Take a seat, for now, this part is for guests and staff only you know?”

“So I have you all to myself?” He cheekily mused, he stepped towards you and before you knew it you were pinned against a wall. His hand suddenly brushed against your cheek, it was cold in comparison to your warm cheek. You felt Dream’s thumb brush against your cheek slowly, “You know...being on the open sea alone does something to a person.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” You mused pushing your forehead back against Dream’s, “All alone with only your crew with you.” Taking his other hand within your own you slid it up to your hip, you saw his entire face turn red as he stared down at your chest. “You’re probably missing a little love in your life, aren’t you Dreamy?” He nodded dumbly, his eyes still not leaving your chest,

Perfect. You weren’t going to let some pirate boy get the better of you.

He let out a grunt of pain as you spun him around and pressed his head into the wall with your elbow, your other hand has his pinned behind his back. “This hallway is for staff and guests only,” You purred in his ear before letting him go and swinging your hips before heading up the stairs fully. From behind you, Dream’s face was a deep, dark red and he had to clear his throat. Dream wasn’t going to let you go after that, I mean look at you, tough and able to hold your own, it awakened something inside him.

After checking up on the rooms you headed back down into the main hall, three-room keys in your hand. Glancing over at the scene in front of you, you saw Juniper dancing in the middle of the tavern the flirtatious brother at her side. Judas was sitting beside Schatt and Quackity at the bar, Addie was tending to Technoblade and the blonde at their little table. Dream and Sapnap were whispering to one another in the corner but still seemed to be enjoying the show. Vendetta was smiling softly by the door, beside her were Luvena and Zig both playing various instruments. You noticed Eret was also amongst the crowd, she had a brilliant grin on his face, it was flushed pink with alcohol and you smiled to yourself.

It was peaceful, and for a moment you forget half the patrons were scoundrels or pirates.

That was until the man dancing with Juniper locked eyes with you, his eyes lit up and he spun Juniper off into Addie’s arms. She giggled snuggling into the mother sheep’s arms, you heard a distressed “Juni! I’m holding glasses!” Before your vision was overtaken by the handsome flirt.

“Hello love,” He hummed, “May I offer you a dance?”

You were about to refuse but you saw Yeti, who finally made her appearance as it was getting closer to Judas’s set, giving you a big thumbs up “I’d be honored.” You responded taking his hand within your own, he pulled you out onto the dance floor and you felt his other hand politely hover on the small of your back. He allowed you to lean into his touch as he began to elegantly spin you around the dance floor, you were almost embarrassed to say felt like a princess. “Maybe I could get your name?” You asked above the music, “Since it seems you’re my dance partner this evening?”

“Wilbur Soot my love.” He hummed proudly, “The first mate of the ship Odysseus at your service. Plus I play music on the side.”

“Well now you need to play for us,” Wilbur twirled you around in a circle,

“Maybe one day. If you give me your name?”

“(Y/n) (L/n).”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“I was right.” You commented biting the bottom of your lip trying not to smile,

“About what?”

“You.”

“Ah? Already talking about me I see? Is my manliness and gentlemanly qualities that renowned?”

“Not exactly.” He picked you up slightly and pulled you into a low dip, “I was right in thinking you a nothing but a flirty playboy.” Wilbur almost dropped you, you squawked grabbing onto his neck. He began to laugh as you clung to his chest,

“Alright love. You caught me red-handed.”

Wilbur set you on your feet hands on your lower back, you were pulled close to his chest. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I get them for free hon. I own the place.”

“Oh...oh.” He paled a little, “I didn’t fuck up our chances of getting a room did I?”

“Nah lucky for you and your brothers, I have you covered, same with your buddies over there.” You motioned to Dream and Quackity’s friend, Wilbur’s face paled as he felt the chilled room key get placed in his palm. “What’s your little brother’s name?”

“Tommy.”

“Tell them both we serve breakfast free from 7 am to 10 am.” He nodded as you walked past, Wilbur meanwhile turned to look at Technoblade. It seemed he had his red eyes on the couple the entire time they were dancing. He held up a room key, it was labeled 205; Technoblade nodded his head before leaning back and talking to Addie once more. “Dream!” You called throwing a hand up into the air, instead of Dream, Sapnap looked up he nudged Dream with his elbow. The man was now wearing his mask, but at least you could tell he was looking at you,

“Well hello, darlin’ you must be (Y/n). Name's Sapnap. Dream told me about you, so you have good news for us I hope?”

“Pleasure, I'm sure he told you all about me,” He nodded, his eyes taking in your body especially your ass. “Got you both a room key, your neighbors. Across from the other crew of pirates. Just don’t fight and we won’t have any problems.”

“You mean those jackasses are staying?” Sapnap complained loudly, looking over your shoulder at the other crew members.

“You both didn’t think you were the only patrons, did you? This is a business after all.” You, tossed the keys their way, Dream caught it with ease and Sapnap fumbled it only a little bit. After they were in their hands, you waved them off with a flutter of your palm you turned around to go speak with Judas about her set but before you could take a step you saw Schlatt stumbling up from his seat. “Ah shit,” You knew what was about to happen, you weren’t paying attention to the ram hybrid so who knew how many drinks in he was. You felt responsible, for a while you and Judas had been trying to help Schlatt with his addiction. You couldn’t help but wonder what exactly set him off for him to get this drunk, Quackity caught him in his arms with a grumble. The man was a drunken mess, and as you approached you could hear his slurred speech and could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. “Schlatt,” You spoke carefully and as soon as you got close Schlatt detached himself from Quackity and lunged at you. His head was buried in his chest, he almost purred like he was very happy to be there, you rolled your eyes and ran your fingers through his hair. You were mindful of his horns but he seemed pretty eager for you to touch them,

“(Y/n).” He whined although it was muffled against your ample chest, “Why do pirates have to fuck everything up?”

“What are you on about Schlatt? No one likes pirates.”

“They’re gonna take you away from me, sugar. You’re my safe space, this tavern is my safe space.” You sighed listening to his drunken ramblings, you grabbed his horns and pulled him away from your chest.

“This is my life Schlatt, I’m not going anywhere trust me. Plus my family is here, they need me. So try not to worry okay?” You slicked back the hair on his forehead before planting a fond kiss there, everyone in the tavern narrowed their eyes at the scene. Even your girls were green with envy, at the sight of their lovely boss kissing someone who wasn’t them. He leaned against your lips eyes fluttering closed,

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Captian Schlatt? Or ex-captain if I remember correctly.”

“What?”

You turned your head and felt Schlatt’s arms wrap around your waist and held you close to his chest. The touch was protective and you felt your heart skip a beat, why was he protecting you, and why did you actually feel protected?

“Has the drinking finally caught up to you? Or was it the fact that you lost your so-”

Was that Dream's voice?

“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled and you were shoved behind him into Quackity’s arms, you felt less protected. “I’m not that person anymore and you fucking know that,” Vendetta came to stand beside the both of you a hand was placed on your shoulder protectively. You knew she was desperately wanted to step in and you held up a hand to stop her.

“This isn’t good…” Quackity murmured, “They’re going to fight. Schlatt’s going to get himself fucking killed.”

“Calm yourself. We won’t let it get that far.” Ven grumbled eyeing you waiting for your signal. But you were lost in the conversation or argument, the two were having, you couldn’t believe Schlatt was a pirate. He was so...he just didn’t...he was a drunk okay? That didn’t exactly shout feared pirate to you!

“Oh, are you sure? I remember that look, that’s the look you’d get before you stomped someone’s lights out. No wonder your son disappeared under mysterious circumstances-” Dream was shoved against one of the poles holding up the building. He grunted and Schlatt’s arm was pulled back ready to punch, but his arm was stopped by smaller hands,

“Pardon me Mr. Schlatt but you know how we feel about fighting in our tavern.” Addie bubbled, she had a smile on her face but it wasn’t kind, it was full of warning.

“Get the fuck off me, sheepie. This doesn’t fucking concern you.” Schlatt shoved her away and as soon as his skin made contact with her body he made a sound of distress.

“(Y/n)...” Addie murmured quietly, your father’s dagger was embedded in Schlatt’s arm,

“Fucking hell you bitch!” He snarled baring his teeth, you glared at him twisting the dagger he yelled in agony.

“Touch one of my girls again and next time this dagger is going right into your back.” You ripped the dagger out, splattering the floor with blood. He grabbed his arm tightly and looked at you with slight betrayal in his yellow eyes. “I mean it Schlatt, Quackity take him home.” The man nodded looking at you longingly, he muttered a quiet ‘Sorry’ before escorting him out of your tavern. “You,” You glared harshly over at Dream, “Go to your room.”

“You’re not my mother.”

“Then find another play to stay.” You spat, he turned away and you looked over at Addie, “Are you alright?” Your voice turned tender as you cupped her cheeks. She nuzzled against your palms and nodded her head,

“I’m fine. You didn’t need to-”

“Yes, I did. No one messes with you. With any of you on my watch.”

The sheep hybrid made a little sound as her bottom lip trembled, she wrapped you in a tight hug which you accepted without hesitance. Judas walked over next and wrapped you both in her arms, pretty soon you were surrounded by your girls and Zig.

All of them had the same mindset: comforting both you and Addie.

It was good to be loved.

Wilbur watched the scene curiously and glanced over at Technoblade who stood up from his chair.

“I think that’s our cue to leave for the night.” He looked over at his first mate, Wilbur nodded in agreement grabbing his guitar from the chair beside Technoblade.

“They...Techno were they talking about Tubbo.” Tommy whispered to his brother, his brow furrowing in concern as they all climbed the steps up to their room, “You don’t think-”

“It just might be Tommy.” Technoblade tilted his head to the side, “Guess that’ll be something we ask him when we get back to the ship tomorrow.”

“Well, this trip is going to be way more fun than I thought.” Wilbur snickered lighting a cigarette, taking a long drag, before letting the smoke curl out of his mouth and up into the rafters. ~~~

Tag List: @v01dw4lk3rz, @jam-bombs, @abovenyx, @glitterydigitalart, @phoenixaesthetic19, @luluwinchester, @boiled-onionrings, @pastelmoonwitche, @roxy3457, @alovestruck-fool, @victory-is-here, @mack4676, @fiorenc, @theoneandonlyyeti, @bloodrose0723, @sandyy-woo,

[uirsoi]

𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐂𝐒.

because i'm feeling a little too fruity after drawing my boys... most of this is based off of my modern! portrayal of eren.

as kids, they're inseparable. just like eren and mikasa, eren and armin are a whole other set, glued to the hip. somehow, armin inspires eren's interest in books. he enjoys fiction. eren's a big dreamer, with a huge imagination, always boasting about slaying a dragon, or destroying the villain. meanwhile armin's head is drowned in the world of facts, discovering more and more about the world around him, learning things one wouldn't normally be too keen to know around his age.

at the end of the day, if they're ever together, little eren swings right into armin's room, or vice versa. the two crawl under their little fort that they spent an entire day building with the help of zeke, eren's lego man torch glowing to assist illuminating the words on their pages. they exchange ideas. what they've read. armin shows eren the variety of photographs in a picture book, all the landscapes of different locations around the world. in specific, the ocean. meanwhile eren, he's telling him all about the gorey details of how the knight gutted the evil king, or the nasty dragon, going on and on about the sword gliding inches deep into it's thick neck and drowning the hero in it's gooey blood. armin is most definitely grossed out, but he somewhat enjoys the twinkling sparkle of ambition and fascination in eren's evergreen eyes.

i had this little hc where eren drags armin to a pond in attempt to recreate the ocean. hiding away his sight with his hands as a surprise. "don't look yet!" eren just shouts out behind him, armin probably tells him off for yelling in his ears and when they get there, eren has this huge smile plastered to his face, all of pride at his little surprise.

"eren, what is this?"

"a small ocean!" he'll chirp ecstatically, and bring out this little paper boat they made one night and place it on top of the water's surface, in hopes that it floats.

in highschool, eren spends most of his time basking in armin's sweet company. his ambitions reach out even in his teenage years, though he takes it out on sports, i'd say either football or basketball. he'd encourage armin to join in with him, praising him and applauding him for his attempts, but doesn't push too hard if it doesn't stick with the blonde.

eren struggles an awful lot with his academics. he's good at history, he enjoys learning about previous wars and political conflicts. i feel as though armin may enjoy the political aspect as well. math is alright as well, zeke helps him a lot. as for english, that's where eren blanks. he doesn't understand the need to over-analyse poems, books, discuss and pick out themes resonating in characters. it's too much work for him, too much thinking. that's where eremin comes in, the two staying behind at school while armin continues to explain the themes in their study book and how to nail essays properly.

i reckon the library would be armin's comfort spot where eren would occasionally pop in to find him after having searched the entire school for the first few times. they're just crouched down, eren laying his head on armin's shoulder and resting after a tiring day whilst armin buries his head in the books or his homework.

eren always sleeps. for some reason, anywhere he goes, he has a habit of falling asleep. in the most weirdest places too. whether it may be on the bus, waiting at a bus-stop, on his desk, during recess or lunch time, standing against the wall, he might just snooze off. i have no explanation for this, but it just happens and he favors using armin as his pillow.

the two have always had baths together as children. after a day's adventure bathing in mud and rain outside, mama carla will dump eren and armin into a bubbly bath and the two will just play around together with the soap and the toys. eren has this G.I. JOE ( i think that's what they're called ) doll that he uses all the damn time, and he makes little shooting noises at the toy boat that armin has. it's catastrophic. but as they're older now, their baths get quieter. they're grown boys and they have to wear boxers now and hide their bare chests with the bubbles and the soap, along with their flustered faces.

i think eren might confide in armin, especially regarding his sexuality. he may come out when he's in his teen years. he's awful at directly flirting with armin ( his flirting skills haven't developed yet... ) so he merely hints at liking him. "armin, i think i might like someone."

"really? who is it?"

"a boy, actually. is that normal?"

( i can't muse armin for shit, idk why my brain just dies thinking of responses from armin, such an intellectual )

i don't think their romantic connection would be accomplished in their teen days. eren gets a little too shy to admit his feelings, and well...perhaps armin never finds out. the two are pulled into the chaos of college / university.

i hc that eren grows an obsession with homicide investigation, studying criminal justice as a way to cope with his parents' murder ( refer back to my portrayal of the jaeger family ) and gets too tangled up in his obsession to solve it and find the perpetrators to reignite the connection between him and armin.

along with the overwhelming stress of figuring it out, eren dives into a messy lifestyle. staying at home, skipping classes, lacking in socialising with his friends, diving into brief sexual encounters to pass the time. it's where his decline starts.

this was lengthy, so i'll post a part two when i've explained my portrayal for eren, that way it makes more sense.

[bevioletskies]

the first time (ever i saw your face)

summary: On their six-month anniversary, Apollo and Klavier decide to pose a seemingly harmless question: what did they think of each other when they first met? As it turns out, the topic is a little more complicated than they originally thought.

word count: 4.9k | read on ao3

a/n: For @klapollo-week, day one of seven (prompt: "firsts"). All seven of my fics take place in the same continuity! However, each can be read as a stand-alone, with the exception of day seven being a sequel to day five.

This fic takes place at some distant point in time after Spirit of Justice where Apollo and Trucy have learned that they’re siblings. Mild spoiler warning for the end of Apollo Justice; warning for brief mentions of alcohol. Fic title is from the song The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack.

“...why does this look like something out of a direct-to-streaming movie adaptation of a YA novel that has a three-star average rating on Goodreads?”

“If you’re trying to say you don’t like it, baby, you could just say so.”

“No, no, I - I’m actually kinda into it. It’s like we’ve walked onto the set of a staged proposal, though if you ask me to marry you right now, I will start laughing.”

Klavier sighed. “I’m starting to think the phrase ‘romance is dead’ was invented specifically for you.” Nevertheless, he tugged gently on Apollo’s hand. “Come on, liebe, I got our favorite snacks, I queued our favorite movies...and before you ask, nein, there is no engagement ring, so stop looking at me like that.”

“I’m not...totally opposed to getting married, you know,” Apollo added as he followed Klavier. “It’s just...it’s a little early for me. This is only our six-month anniversary, after all.”

“Fair enough,” Klavier hummed, the two of them settling down in their spots. He’d learned long ago that Apollo wasn’t one for flashy, photo op-worthy dates, that he preferred more intimate, low-key settings. And so, for their six-month anniversary, Klavier had taken them to his family estate. He had cleared out the conservatory overlooking the garden of all its furniture, filling it with blankets and pillows, drapes and string lights, and a projector whose screen covered the entire back wall. It reminded Apollo of what he himself had done for their three-month anniversary - because apparently, he was that kind of person now - when he’d planned a weekend’s stay in a cozy lakeside cabin. “A conversation for another time, ja?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Apollo draped one of the blankets over his and Klavier’s laps, then lowered his head to rest on Klavier’s shoulder. Smiling, Klavier turned to briefly kiss Apollo’s temples, then reached for his laptop so he could start the movie. They spent the first fifteen or so minutes in companionable silence, sharing a bag of popcorn and a bottle of wine while they watched, until Apollo eventually spoke again. “...weird, isn’t it?”

“The movie? Not particularly,” Klavier shrugged. “If anything, I’d say the plot twist is a bit predictable.”

“No, not the movie. I mean...this.” Apollo gestured aimlessly. “You and me. Us.”

Klavier’s expression darkened somewhat. “Are you...having doubts about our relationship, Apollo?”

“Wh - no, no, not at all!” Apollo protested, sitting up. “It’s just...I guess it’s mostly weird for me. Like, if someone told me, say, a couple years ago, that I was gonna be in a relationship with you, of all people...hell, can you imagine if someone told me that on the day we met? I-I wouldn’t believe it!”

“You weren’t shy about your distaste for me, true,” Klavier agreed, his slight frown relaxing into an amused smile.

“I don’t think that’s an...entirely accurate assessment of, uh, of how I felt,” Apollo said carefully.

Now it was Klavier’s turn to straighten up, looking at him curiously. “Really?” he asked. “Then what did you think of me when we first met?”

“You first,” Apollo retorted, seemingly on instinct. He then softened. “I mean, only if you want to. I’m kinda curious.”

“I don’t mind,” Klavier reassured him, setting down his wine glass so he could squeeze Apollo’s hand. He hesitated, thinking it over. “...I expected to hate you from the very beginning, to be perfectly honest. And, for a moment there...I did.”

Apollo’s eyes widened. “Wh...what?”

“‘Disgraced Defense Attorney Dismantled By His Disciple’, I believe the headline was,” Klavier continued. He then smiled wryly. “A bit dramatic, if you ask me. But then again, I’m not a big fan of alliteration, so I might just be biased.”

“Did you really hate me?” Apollo’s shout had dropped to a mere whisper. “Because...because you didn’t wanna believe it, did you? About…what had happened. What he’d done.”

“It wasn’t all bad memories, all the time, you know.” Klavier gently released Apollo’s hand so he could brush his hair out of his eyes, though he kept his head ducked low. “We had our moments, him and I. We weren’t close, but...we weren’t estranged, either. In fact, I...I first heard your name from him, not from the papers.”

“He told you about me.” It wasn’t a question. “I guess I should’ve suspected, but I never really knew what your relationship was like...before. I mean, he never once mentioned having a brother, so I kinda assumed…”

“As everyone does,” Klavier shrugged, far too casually for Apollo’s liking. “Anyway, your question was about you and me, not me and him, ja? He told me all the usual things people have to say about you - loud, eager to please, a little bit sensitive. I didn’t think much of it at the time, other than the fact you had a strange name.”

Apollo rolled his eyes, sinking back into the cushions. “Wonderful. Fantastic. Glad to know I made a great first impression.”

“And then when the headlines came along...and Mama and Papa called…” Klavier’s face darkened once more; he cleared his throat. “I looked you up. I hadn’t bothered when I first heard your name, but I had to know. Still, I...I found almost nothing. No photos, no social accounts...nichts. Just a single line on a college graduate roster and the same articles I’d been reading before.”

“...I see.” Apollo fiddled with the ends of his blanket, just so he would have something to do with his hands. “So, when we finally met in person…”

_____

The first thing Klavier noticed was Apollo’s eyes - large, round, expressive to a fault. The color of melted chocolate, though in the sunlight, more akin to the color of honey. Those eyes of Apollo’s, curious and maybe a little bit accusatory, narrowed right at him as he arrived at the entrance of People Park. He internally winced at the sight of Apollo’s companion, who was arguing with the police officer standing guard at the scene. Despite the time that had passed since he last saw her, he could never forget Trucy Enigmar-now-Wright.

Are you working for Phoenix Wright now? Klavier wanted to ask as he approached them. Why? Don’t you know what he’s done? Don’t you see what he’s become?

“I must say I'm used to being inspected by the ladies...but this is the first time I've felt this way with a man,” he said instead, leaning forward to smile somewhat condescendingly at them. Klavier was momentarily struck by how similar they were - how their hair was the exact same shade of brown, how the dusting of freckles across their identically shaped noses matched too perfectly, how their furrowed brows and perplexed frowns were one and the same. The only difference was their eyes, hers more the color of a stormy sea. Perhaps there’s a song lyric there? Klavier mused to himself. Ach, now is not the time.

“Mr...Gavin?” Apollo said disbelievingly, his eyes now widening. His arms, previously crossed tightly against his chest, fell to his sides. The motion caught Klavier’s eye, drawing his attention to the glint of the golden bracelet sitting on Apollo’s left wrist. He wondered if there was some sort of significance to it, what with the way Apollo clutched it tightly with his right hand.

“Ah, fräulein,” Klavier continued, his eyes flickering back upwards. He wondered if she knew him, if she recognized him at all. Clearly, Apollo had no idea who he was; he wasn’t sure how to feel about that just yet. “What is a sweet morsel like you doing in such a dismal place? Can I help?”

“Yes! The police man officer fellow here won't let us in!” Trucy complained, huffing. She brandished an envelope in Klavier’s face, nearly swatting him on the nose as she did. He flinched slightly, surprised by how brazen she was. “We even have a letter of request!”

Klavier’s smile softened into one that was a little more genuine. He couldn’t help but be instantly charmed by her. “You must be exhausted, standing out here. I will take you to the scene of the crime.”

“Ooh! Really?” Trucy exclaimed, brightening. Apollo looked skeptical in comparison, his intense gaze traversing the length of Klavier’s body. Usually, he would have preened at the attention, been flattered by the obvious interest and maybe made a show of looking back, but he knew that wasn’t what Apollo was looking for. I am not him, Klavier thought fiercely. I am not the one you trusted, the one who taught you everything you know. I could never -

“By your leave, officer,” Klavier said with a nod and a wink. He barely heard the officer’s affirmation over his own thoughts. Then, he turned back to Trucy and tilted his head towards the park. “Very well. This way, fräulein.”

Trucy’s giggle was sweet, melodic, as she happily followed him through the entrance. He made a show of lifting the police tape for her to duck under, which she seemed easily amused by. Apollo, meanwhile, was left standing on the street, staring at them incredulously, before he finally seemed to register what was happening. “Hey! What about me?!” he cried. His voice gets raspier the louder he gets, Klavier couldn’t help but observe. Interesting.

Once Apollo had caught up, Klavier turned to grin at them both, teeth clenched beneath his lips. Trucy was rocking back and forth on her heels, beaming back, while Apollo had braced his hands on his hips indignantly, like he had something he wanted to say and was just waiting for the opportune moment to say it. Ach, those eyes, those hands, those freckles, Klavier thought rather stupidly. Wait - you’re not supposed to think he’s cute, Klavier, hör auf!

“On that note, enjoy your investigation,” he remarked. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the flash of a white lab coat further into the park that told him he needed to leave if he didn’t want to be reprimanded - or worse, Snackoo-ed.

“Thank you! Will we see you again?” Trucy asked, hopeful.

Klavier hesitated. Apollo still hadn’t said a thing about the obvious elephant in the room, still staring at Klavier like he was a ghost. He wanted Apollo to say something, anything, to ask questions, to start the conversation that he himself admittedly didn’t want to take responsibility for. But Apollo was clearly stunned into silence, and any courage Klavier had had when he first walked up to them moments ago was long gone.

“Ask the wind, fräulein. I'll be riding on it,” he said, shooting them one last saccharine smile. He could hear the click-click of Ema’s shoes against the cobblestone as she approached. With that, he turned and left, his chest aching in confusion.

_____

The silence was heavy, heavier than Apollo expected. Klavier had turned the movie volume down long ago, leaving them with nothing but the sound of their own quiet breaths. “Makes sense,” Apollo finally said, shooting Klavier a sympathetic smile. “To you, I...I jumped ship from one corrupt defense attorney to another. At least, that’s what it seemed like at the time, right?”

“Part of me wanted to confront you right then and there, but I didn’t want to do it. Not in front of everyone, especially not in front of her. But the other part of me...I just wanted to learn more about you. To get to know you before I decided whether it was a battle worth fighting. Whether he was worth defending.” Klavier then smiled back; now it was his turn to drop his head onto Apollo’s shoulder. “Besides, you were cute, and I’m weak.”

“‘Were’, huh?” Apollo teased, nudging him. “Well, I’m glad Trucy’s presence, your curiosity, and my cuteness apparently deterred you enough to walk away. To think, what would you have done if you didn’t think I was cute - ”

“Achtung, you’re such an arschgeige sometimes,” Klavier groaned, laughing. “Anyway...I got my answer in court soon enough. I could trust you, and he...he wasn’t worth defending. Not one bit.”

“No, not at all,” Apollo agreed. “Still, I’m...I’m sorry, Klav. Not for what I did, I mean, I-I had to, but just...how it all played out. How messy things got. Whenever we, y’know, come here to see your parents, I still see that look in their eyes. It’s that face that you make when you think no one’s looking.” He swallowed. “Mr. Wright says Trucy does that, too. Less now that she’s got me and Mom, but…well.”

“It wasn’t you, Apollo, it was me. It all started with me believing he wouldn’t lie to me.” Klavier’s laughter was bitter now. “Anyway, I’m starting to think we’re all a little too observant for our own good. None of us can ever let things go, nein?”

“We’d be horrible lawyers if we could,” Apollo chuckled, rubbing Klavier’s arm reassuringly. “But fine, fine, I’ll stop psychoanalyzing you now. It’s my turn, anyway.”

“I want to hear this,” Klavier said, snuggling closer. “Lay it on me, baby. Tell me how you fell for me in two seconds flat.”

“I’m gonna lay into you in two seconds flat if you don’t let me talk,” Apollo said dryly, elbowing him again. “I, uh, I don’t think I remember it as clearly as you do, but…”

_____

“Excuse me, coming through.”

It was a voice, a smooth, musical voice, polite but firm, that caught Apollo’s attention first. He turned in its direction, confused by how familiar it felt, how similar it sounded to another voice he knew, but with a light, lilting cadence and a strangely affected accent whose origins he couldn’t quite place.

“Ah! It’s you! Mr. Gavin!”

Apollo’s eyes widened, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, then narrowed at the sight before him. Striding towards them with a swagger in his step was a man who, as far as Apollo could tell, was supposed to be behind bars. Only, his skin was a few shades darker, his hair a shade or two lighter, and he was wearing, for reasons Apollo couldn’t fathom, eyeliner and leather and chains instead of a neatly-pressed suit and wire-rimmed glasses. Who’s THIS guy? Apollo thought, his stomach turning.

“I must say I'm used to being inspected by the ladies...but this is the first time I've felt this way with a man,” the man said, leaning in close; his smile was a little wider than Apollo would have liked. Apollo also didn’t want to think about how pretty he was, how long his eyelashes were or how smooth his skin seemed to be. This can’t be him, Apollo decided, though he was still frozen in place. He could only vaguely feel Trucy’s fingers tugging gently on his shirt sleeve. No, it can’t be - it’s not - but who -

“Mr...Gavin?” Apollo said stupidly. He felt a phantom pinch on his left wrist; he released his arms from where they were crossed so he could rub the spot where it hurt, though the moment he touched it, he realized he hadn’t been in pain at all. The man’s eyes flickered down, following his fingers in curiosity, before moving back up to continue smiling beatifically at Trucy.

“Ah, fräulein,” he said; he was practically simpering now. “What is a sweet morsel like you doing in such a dismal place? Can I help?” Apollo barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. Of course, he internally sighed, he’s one of those guys.

“Yes! The police man officer fellow here won't let us in!” Trucy whined, shoving the envelope in the man’s face. Apollo had to bite back a laugh at his startled expression, a contrast to his otherwise indifferent smile. “We even have a letter of request!”

“You must be exhausted, standing out here,” the man murmured sympathetically, eyes sparkling. He seemed intrigued, though Apollo couldn't blame him. He supposed he and Trucy looked like a completely mismatched pair. “I will take you to the scene of the crime.”

“Ooh! Really?” Trucy exclaimed, her entire face lighting up. Apollo tried not to smile himself; her energy was infectious. Then, the man’s words finally clicked in his mind. Wait - really?! But why would he - how can he - who is he?

“By your leave, officer,” the man ordered, winking. A pleasant shiver went down Apollo’s spine, one that he was trying his best to ignore. No good was going to come out of that train of thought, not when this man was clearly someone he needed to worry about - though in what way, he wasn’t sure yet. He seemed too generous, too open. Whether he was a police officer, a detective, or, god forbid, a prosecutor, Apollo didn’t trust him not to lead them astray, not one bit. “Very well. This way, fräulein.”

Before Apollo knew it, the man was walking away with Trucy in tow, leaving him behind. “Hey! What about me?!” he shouted, jogging after them. By the time he caught up, both of them were grinning at him amusedly, as if watching him trip over his own feet was some hysterical inside joke. Huffing, he braced his hands on his hips, ready to open his mouth and protest. The man’s gaze briefly travelled down to his hands once more. What’s that all about? Apollo wondered, confused. What’s he looking at? Is it my bracelet? It’s not that weird, is it? Wait, or can he tell that it’s -

“On that note, enjoy your investigation,” the man said, speaking a little quicker than he did before. He suddenly seemed distracted, like he couldn’t wait to get away from them.

“Thank you!” Trucy chirped, bouncing up and down on her toes. “Will we see you again?”

“Ask the wind, fräulein,” the man said, recovering. He seemed almost too focused on Trucy, like something about Apollo bothered him. Maybe he already knew who Apollo was, what Apollo had done. Was he angry? Resentful? Waiting for the right moment to strike? A shiver of a different kind tingled throughout Apollo’s body at the very thought; the phrase “kill them with kindness” was coming to mind. “I'll be riding on it.” He then left without another word, leaving Apollo to stare stupidly after him, his heartbeat in his throat.

“...who was that?” Apollo exclaimed, stunned, as if he wasn’t confused enough by everything else that was going on. His mind was racing with possibility, with anxiety that he really, really didn’t need. Before he could get into it, however, his jumbled thoughts were quickly cut off by Trucy’s surprised cry.

“Eek! Apollo, look - a c-corpse!”

_____

“...interesting,” Klavier said after a moment’s silence. “Did she really think the mannequin was a dead body?”

“Seriously, Klav?” Apollo groaned. “Surprised you didn’t fixate on the part where I thought you were pretty.”

“‘Were’?” Klavier echoed mockingly, grinning. His expression then sobered. “So...mixed feelings all around, it seems. I suppose it shouldn’t be all that shocking, though. We weren’t...total strangers, after all.”

“You practically were to me,” Apollo murmured, tangling his fingers in Klavier’s hair. Klavier leaned into his touch, his eyes fluttering closed in contentment. “At least you knew I existed, while I...he never…” He then shook his head. “Y’know, I-I’m not sure if I really wanna think about this anymore. Not if it makes us think about him.”

“It’s not one of our happiest memories, nein,” Klavier agreed, humming. “I like where we are now...where we can trust each other. There’s little I hate more than ambiguity. And not knowing how I was supposed to feel about you…”

“Sucks, right?” Apollo let out a hollow laugh. “But at least we were on the same page, in a, uh, weird way. I guess that’s always been our thing. Even when you’re driving me up the wall in court - which is all the time, so don’t even question me, I see that look on your face - we’re, y’know, generally working towards the same goal.”

Klavier’s fingers danced along the length of Apollo’s forearm, tapping out a rhythm that Apollo couldn’t quite pick out. “I’d like to think so. I was never really sure until...ach, well. You remember.”

_____

Apollo was still trembling as he exited the courtroom with Trucy by his side. She was putting on a brave face for them both, but he had a feeling that she was more torn up about what had happened than he was. He wanted to comfort her, to reassure her somehow after they’d learned the truth behind her biological father’s death, but for once, he was completely speechless.

“Polly?” Trucy’s voice was tentative. “I’m...kinda hungry.”

“I...oh.” Apollo looked at her curiously. Out of all the things he’d expected her to say, that hadn’t been one of them. “Do you wanna get something to eat? We could go to Eldoon’s if you want.”

“No, that’s okay,” Trucy reassured him. Her face then lit up. “I was actually thinking about the courthouse café! We can get cake and drinks and stuff. A little sugar goes a long way!”

Apollo smiled softly. “Sure, Trucy. Whatever you’d like.”

And so, they found themselves a small table at the courthouse café - and maybe calling it that was rather generous on Trucy’s part - with two thick slices of Swiss rolls and tall glasses of milk tea. Admittedly, Apollo still felt numb, but Trucy’s running commentary of her thoughts on the trial kept him going. “Now all we need is for Vera to wake up,” Trucy said, gripping her fork with determination. “I’m still so worried about her! What if she doesn’t - ”

“We can’t think like that, okay?” Apollo said, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “We gotta have hope. That’s all we can do, you know?”

“I guess,” Trucy murmured, chewing her bottom lip fretfully. She went quiet for a minute or so, poking at the last bits of her drink’s half-melted ice with her straw. “Hey, um...Daddy says he’s meeting up with a friend later today, and he wants to have dinner. And when he says ‘friend’, he usually means Mr. Edgeworth. You know, the prosecutor?”

“Yeah, I’ve definitely heard of him.” Apollo sat up a little straighter at the word ‘prosecutor’. In his stupor over the whole ordeal, he’d barely spared a thought for Klavier; he could only vaguely guess how he was doing. “What about him?”

“I was just wondering if, maybe, you’d wanna...join us?” Trucy suggested. He’d never seen her so hesitant before. “For dinner, I mean.”

“...oh.” Apollo paused. “No, uh - not today, sorry. I should really go home and sleep all of this - ” he gestured aimlessly “ - off. I feel like I need to sleep for, like, three days straight.”

“Sure, of course,” Trucy nodded, smiling faintly. “But….you’re still coming back to the agency, right? Maybe not tomorrow, but like...in a few days?”

“Yeah. Yeah, definitely,” Apollo promised, surprised by how quickly he’d responded. In all his hesitation, his doubts about law and what it was meant to be, what it could be, he was finally starting to feel like the Wright Anything Agency was where he belonged.

After they finished eating, he and Trucy parted ways after a long, much-needed hug on the courthouse steps. Apollo then went to fetch his bike from the rack adjacent to the courthouse parking lot, only to spot a familiar face lingering nearby, seemingly in no rush to leave.

“...Gavin?” Apollo said carefully.

Klavier turned sharply at the sound of Apollo’s voice. His smile was a touch too wide, his eyes suspiciously glossy. “Ah, Herr Forehead,” he greeted, ducking his head; his voice sounded trapped in his own throat. “Good show in there, as always. You never fail to impress.”

“Thanks. Hey, um - I’m surprised to see you’re still here,” Apollo commented, taking a few tentative steps closer. “Don’t you have somewhere...better to be?”

“Not really, nein.” Klavier let out a short, forced laugh. “I have paperwork to do, I’m sure. But it can wait.”

“...right.” Apollo cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thanks, by the way.”

Klavier blinked. “Entschuldigung? What for?”

“For agreeing to summon your brother, and...y’know, everything after that.” Apollo found himself oddly fascinated with a few stray pebbles on the ground, nudging them around with the toes of his loafers so he wouldn’t have to look at Klavier’s face. “Look, I-I’m not gonna pretend like I know what you, or Trucy, or Mr. Wright are going through. I’m mostly on the outside looking in, so. All I really know, if I know anything at all, is that, uh...we did the right thing. Yeah?”

“Ja.” When Apollo looked up, Klavier was also deliberately looking elsewhere, staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. He’d displayed a whirlwind of emotions back in the courtroom, but none of them were quite the same as the bitter expression he was wearing right now. “...Apollo?”

Now it was Apollo’s turn to do double-take. “Huh? Wh-what is it?”

“Danke schön. For...everything. I honestly don’t think I could’ve done...any of that on my own,” Klavier confessed, his voice thick with emotion. “And I think I...I think I’m going to take a little time away from the prosecutor’s office. Not for long, mind you. Just...I need some time off. A week, maybe two. Some distance, some perspective...it would make a world of difference, achtung.” He then turned to face Apollo directly for the first time since they started talking. He looked tired, defeated, even. His posture, his expression - Apollo felt as if he was seeing an entirely different person standing before him.

Without thinking, Apollo took the last few steps forward and closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around Klavier and pulling him close. Klavier let out a startled noise; then, he hugged Apollo back, sinking his weight against Apollo’s, his forehead dropping to Apollo’s shoulder. His exhale was long, unsteady. “Take care of yourself, okay?” Apollo said, fingers digging into Klavier’s back, his face buried against Klavier’s bicep. “And if you ever wanna talk about it...I-I mean, I’m sure I’m not your first choice, but still. I’m, uh, I’m around.”

“Danke,” Klavier murmured, barely above a whisper. They stayed like that for a moment, maybe a moment too long, just holding each other in the middle of the courthouse parking lot for anyone and everyone to see. Klavier’s breath trembled against Apollo’s ear; Apollo half-expected his knees to give out from underneath him. Then, he slowly detached himself from Apollo’s grasp, carefully schooling his expression into something more Klavier-like, something brighter and blander, his teeth blindingly white in the mid-afternoon sun. “Anyway, I should really get going. That paperwork isn’t going to take care of itself, ja?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah, don’t I know it,” Apollo said, letting out another strained chuckle.

“Until next time, then,” Klavier said smoothly, winking. “Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Forehead.” He didn’t wait for Apollo’s send-off, instead turning and heading over to his motorcycle, humming and twirling his keychain expertly between his practiced fingers. Apollo watched him peel out of the parking lot, silently wondering if he’d said all he wanted - no, needed - to say.

_____

“Of course I remember.” Apollo held Klavier just a little bit tighter. “But, y’know, again - not our best moment. Not by a long shot.”

Klavier lifted his head from Apollo’s shoulder so he could kiss him briefly, gently. Apollo smiled against Klavier’s lips, cupping his jaw so he could bring him closer. “But I’d still say our first kiss is more of a memory worth reminiscing over. Wouldn’t you agree, liebe?”

“It was a little dramatic for my taste,” Apollo teased, pulling back so he could affectionately nudge his nose against Klavier’s cheek, his fingers lightly pressed into Klavier’s sides. “But you’re into that sort of thing, so I’ll give it a pass. Still, let’s just agree not to cry all over each other ever again, okay? It was honestly kinda gross. And wet. And not in a fun way.”

“You’re saying you won’t cry when I propose?” Klavier asked, pouting exaggeratedly. “Because ach, I know I will.”

“Who says you’re proposing?” Apollo retorted, grinning as he prodded Klavier in the chest. “What if I get there first? What if, while you’re getting down on one knee, I just whip a ring box out of my pocket - ”

“Then I really will lose my scheisse,” Klavier murmured, his lips ghosting across Apollo’s skin. “I’m going to hold you to it, baby.”

“Can’t guarantee it’ll happen, but I’m definitely gonna try,” Apollo said, turning his head to capture Klavier’s lips once more. The two of them exchanged slow, lazy kisses for a few minutes, fingers loosely tangled in each other’s hair. In the background, the movie continued on, long forgotten; not that it mattered, seeing as they’d watched it together many times before.

Eventually, Klavier carefully detangled himself from Apollo. He passed him his wine glass, still half-full, then reached for his own and lifted it above his head. “To making new memories, ja?”

“Are we really cheers-ing ourselves? That’s pretty self-serving, literally,” Apollo said dubiously, though he still raised his glass all the same, amused by Klavier’s dramatics. “But hell, why not? To new memories that don’t involve us crying, sneezing, yelling - ”

“You make us sound like absolute disasters, achtung,” Klavier protested, chuckling. “We’re not that bad, are we?”

Apollo took a sip of his drink, then leaned in close, so close that his nose brushed against Klavier’s, his wine-stained, kiss-bitten lips stretched into a fond grin. “Nah. I think we’re doing just fine.”

_____

a/n: Welcome to my first entry for Klapollo Week 2021! I've never participated in any fandom challenges/events before, so I'm super excited to see how this goes. My plan is a little overambitious, with all seven fics set in the same continuity, but in a different order. For example, this fic is actually the last, chronologically speaking, while day seven's fic is set in the middle. If you're wondering why they were crying during their first kiss, you'll have to wait until then 😉

Don't worry about any of that, though, you don't need to read the others to follow along! Day seven is technically a sequel to day five, but it can be read as a stand-alone, though I think it packs more punch if you read it after day five. They're also the longest; every other fic averages out to about four to five thousand words, whereas five and seven are over ten thousand words each. Brevity is the soul of wit? Not in my Google Docs, I am wordy as hell.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Likes and reblogs would be much appreciated. Hoping you're all safe and healthy and doing well ❤️

[soldrawss]

So I’mmina start this off by saying literally all your aus/drawing make me smile. They’re all so fascinating and sweet and so,SO well thought out! That being said, not to be that person that brings angst into a fluff buffet but... in your Movie Star Dad AU, do the boys every have mixed feelings about their father suddenly appearing in their lives after a prolonged absence? Also would Christof Von Bradford be an issue for the fam, considering his active competitive jerk energy he has with Lou?

Hi, thank you for your sweet words!!! I literally think about my rottmnt aus every waking moment, no joke, so I’m glad that you think they’re well thought out! I do my best! (also always bring angst. I always have a lot of angst in these au’s, I just also try to even it out with just as much fluff) The boys were YOUNG when Yoshi came into their lives, and each of them have their own perspectives on it, so at the time, they didn’t really have any huge negative feelings towards their situation before Yoshi found them because his absence wasn’t really,,, prolonged.

Mikey was literally a baby, barely a year old, so he doesn’t ever remember a time when Yoshi wasn’t in his life. Yoshi is the only parent Mikey really knows, and he’s completely fine with that. If Mikey has any mixed feelings, it’s towards his late mother, who he has absolutely no memories about, and only really knows her through the pictures Raph kept and the stories Raph and Yoshi would tell about her. He sometimes feels bad that he doesn’t feel as sad about her passing as Raph or Yoshi does, and he sometimes feels bad about not remembering her at all, but it’s also weird cause he knows he shouldn’t feel bad about it, cause he was too little to remember anything anyway and that’s not his fault, but the weird gross feelings in his stomach are there all the same when he thinks too hard about it. So he tries not to think about it. And just blissfully goes about his days with his doting dad and his overindulgent big brothers. 

Raph was nervous and distrustful of Yoshi at first, because of course he was. He was 4 years old, sitting in a hospital bed alone with just his tiny baby brother in his arms, nursing a concussion and ugly road rash on his arms and legs while also nursing a broken heart after just losing mama. And then suddenly this man appears, the man in the movies that mama always loved to watch, except he’s not wearing the flamboyant jumpsuit he’s always wearing, but a maroon sweatshirt and old jeans. His signature styled pompadour and orange shades replaced with a disheveled ponytail and bags like bruises under his eyes. And a lot of people come and go throughout the next couple of weeks. Doctors and therapists and child services and lawyers and all of their faces begin to blend together in a dizzying swirl and Raph has a hard time focusing on anyone who isn’t Mikey. But the man stays the same. His face stays intact, and he follows them wherever they go. And then suddenly Raph and Mikey are allowed to go home with the man, and he tells them how he’s their dad. And how he didn’t know they existed, but he’s going to make up for all the lost time tenfold. And he promises he’s gonna love them enough for both him and their mama. Which Raph doesn’t think is possible, and so he’s suspicious and untrusting at first, cause no one can love them more than their mama did. But the man tries. Boy, does he try hard anyway. Tries to win every smiling giggle Mikey shoots at him and earn Raph’s faith that he’ll be there for them. That he’ll protect them. That he’s going to love them forever. And over the weeks and months, through every tantrum and screaming fit and long sleepless nights, he proves it, little by little. He stays. And he loves them. And Raph’s faith in the man grows with every bedtime story and piggyback ride and half-cooked pancake with too much syrup, and Raph’s guard slowly goes down until it’s fully surrendered over to this man who is their dad, and it’s never raised again.  Donnie knows the routine. He’s been through it approximately 27 and a half times before, through all the foster care homes. A new family takes him in. He messes up something. The new family gives him back. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. He’s been here before. He knows this isn’t going to last long, despite all the promises the man with the thick accent says. And Donnie doesn’t really register that this man was his biological father. He doesn’t really care to, to be honest. What was the point? His own biological mother had willingly gotten rid of him, Donnie’s snuck a peek at his record, he knew it all. So what if this man was his dad. That didn’t mean anything. He was gonna get tired of Donnie the same way all the other parents did. Tired of the constant questions. Tired of the broken appliances and half baked reasons why he took them apart in the first place, because apparently “I wanted to see how they worked” wasn’t a good enough answer. And Donnie was three years old and smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for and you know what? He was tired of it too. Tired of getting his hopes of a family finally understanding and accepting him. Tired of wanting a family who would love him back. Tired of getting his heart broken time and time again. So he wasn’t going to get his heart broken this time. He wasn’t going to accept anything of this man, with two boys already that shared Donnie’s eyes, and he wasn’t going to let himself be the fool again. And as the weeks went by, this cold shoulder game he was playing was getting harder and harder to keep, because dangit, this man really did try everything to prove that he was the real deal. The forever family. And Donnie’s new ‘brothers’ were always bright-eyed and curious about everything Donnie did and said, and actually wanted to play his weird word games and puzzles and wanted to spend time with him, and Donnie felt something short circuit in his brain because he wasn’t used to this feeling in his chest. This warm and light feeling. Something must be overheating in whatever engine was running inside of Donnie’s chest, and Donnie didn’t have a clue how to fix it. He also didn’t know if he wanted to fix it. But of course, it didn’t matter anyway. Because Donnie messed up. It was bound to happen eventually, Donnie got to brazen with how comfortable he was getting in the large house, and when he was running in the hallways, chasing after Raph in an impromptu game of tag, he accidentally slipped and knocked into the t.v stand, sending it straight to the floor where it broke into a hundred different pieces of glass and tiny wired parts. Donnie was mortified, knowing this would definitely send him back, and he got on his hands and knees and tried to collect the parts and put it back together but there was no time. The man that Donnie was half tempted to call dad half the time was already in the room, searching for the source of the loud crash and when his eyes finally landed on Donnie and the broken t.v behind him, Donnie couldn’t help but burst into tears. And he tried to explain, tried to apologize and he promised he’d fix it, he promised, he’d fix it up brand new and then the man wouldn’t have to send Donnie back. He’d be good. He’d fix this. He promised. Just please don’t send him back. And Donnie didn’t see the way the man’s body flinched at Donnie’s sobbed confession, and didn’t see the man lurch from where he was standing to pick Donnie up and hold him in a tight embrace saying all kinds of things that didn’t make sense to Donnie. Because the man was supposed to be angry. Angry like all the other parents eventually were. Angry and disappointed and tired, not... well... whatever this was. Which was holding him close, and running shaking hands through his hair and rubbing circles into his back and saying “Are you ok? Did you get hurt anywhere? Did you touch the glass? Shhh, shhhh, it’s ok buddy, breathe, you’re ok. You’re not in trouble. You don’t have to fix anything. It’s just a t.v. As long as you’re unhurt, then it’s ok. You’re ok, sweetheart. I got you.” And Donnie could feel the man press kisses into Donnie’s hairline that made the 3-year-old cry even harder, and press his face farther into his dad’s shirt as he clung to him for dear life. Because it’s never been just ‘ok’ before. Never. And for the first time, Donnie was starting to learn that with this family, with this man, being ‘ok’ might just work out after all.

When Leo meets Yoshi for the first time, it’s with a heart already filled to the brim with excitement and acceptance as he fully lets him into his life. Because Leo’s 3, and doesn’t know where he came from like most of the other kids in the halfway home. All he knows is that he’s always lived in this cramped house, sharing a room with a broken AC unit with 4 other boys around his age that just loved picking on Leo because of how small he was and how his skin was two different colors. He’s used to the house, and strict rules about eating and playtime, and the mean older kids that come and go while Leo always stays. He doesn’t want to be used to it, but he is, and his lonely daydreams and nights wishing upon all the stars in the sky are filled with thoughts about a life where he gets to leave this place. Dreams about a mom and dad or even a cool uncle or caring grandparents or literally anyone, coming and rescuing him and taking him far away from this place. Dreams about finding a home, with someone there calling him theirs. Belonging to someone, and having someone belong to him too. And then on a dusty and warm afternoon, that very person showed up, and Leo smiles at him hard enough to hurt his face. And he was looking for Leo, Leo specifically, not someone around Leo’s age or who looked like Leo, but actually Leo. And the man wanted Leo. Wanted him like no one had ever wanted him before. And wanted to take him home and call Leo his forever and Leo would have thought he was still dreaming if he hadn’t kept pinching himself the entire 6-hour flight to New York. And not only did Leo get a dad, but he got 3 brothers as well! 3 brothers, who all looked different than Leo but shared his brown eyes all the same, and didn’t mind that Leo talked a lot or made a lot of jokes and didn’t bully him for being or looking ‘weird’ like the other boys he grew up with did. And even though dad says that Leo’s his, and Raph and Donnie and Mikey want to hang around and play with him, Leo still finds himself pinching himself every night just in case. Because this is almost too good to be a dream. It couldn’t be real, right? Did Leo deserve this? Was it really his to have? To call his own? Was a kid like him, who grew up with nothing, who grew up as a nothing, allowed to have everything, and be somebody worth keeping around? Leo wasn’t sure, but if this was a dream, it was the best one he’d ever had, and he hopes he doesn’t wake up from it anytime soon.

[beclynn-herondale]

Falling like the Stars

Jace was organizing papers: putting them into specific categories. He accidentally cut his finger on the edge of a piece of paper.

Involuntarily, he said, "Ouch." 

His daughter, who had been coloring a picture for Clary, jerked her head up. "Who hurt you?" her sweet little voice asked in a fierce and protective tone.

It took him a moment to answer, he loved his baby so much and when she did things like this it made him want to fall to the floor. "No one, Celery. I just got a paper cut," he said, tears forming in his eyes. "But, you're so protective and I love you."

She smiled like the sun. "Love you, too, dada," she said. "Can I beat up the paper?"

He laughed. "You can't beat up paper."

"I can."

Yes, she has the stubbornness of both him and Clary, both their babies did.

"How about instead we go start dinner," he said, "I'm kinda done with this paperwork."

"Yay!" she was beaming.

Jace always included his children when he did things like cooking or baking or when he took care of the plants in the greenhouse. It allowed them to spend time together but also he wanted to teach them these things, to pass things onto them so they'll remember forever, and to share memories that they'll hold with them forever.

He also taught these things to his nieces and nephews.

"Alright," Jace said, pulling a stool up to the counter and picking his daughter up and placing her on it. "What do we want to have?"

"Mommy said she's been craving the chicken stir fry you make."

"Has she?" Clary had craved that a lot when she was pregnant with the twins, and even after having them still wanted it often. "Well, mommy has been out most of the day. Let's surprise her with dinner."

"I think she will love that."

Cecie had always been pronouncing words very well for her age, there were moments when Jace wondered if Clary and him had made a genius. Though, maybe every parent thought that. And then Archie had the artistic talent of his mother, Clary had included him in painting since it was safe to allow him to do so, and he was already drawing things very well.

They made dinner and by the time they were finished Clary was back and Archie was back from playing soccer with Max and Rafe. Clary tackled their daughter with kisses while Archie ran up and tackled Jace's leg. "Hey, buddy," he said, while ruffling his son's red curls. Archie took after his mom in looks while Cecie took after him, except their eyes, Cecie had her mom's eyes and Archie had Jace's eyes.

"Mom, you gotta hear what happened to dada today."

"What?" asked Clary.

"A paper cut him," Cecie said, "I threatened to beat it up." She sounded so serious it made Jace want to laugh.

Clary stared at their daughter with a look Jace knew well, it was a look of holding yourself back from squeezing one their children into a hug too tightly. "You're so precious," she said. And hugged her with tears of joy in her eyes.

Jace watched them for a moment with adoration. Archie appeared to be trying to decide if he should tackle them both. Jace picked his son up and then went over to take both his daughter and wife into his arms, three of the most important people in his life. They both laughed and kissed him on his cheeks. His little family.

After dinner they put Cecie and Archie to bed.

"Read this one to me, da," said Cecie.

Archie nodded.

Jace was never able to say no to them. "Alright." He'd lost count of how many times he had read this book to them. It also happened to be the same book Max was obsessed with when he was younger, Jace looked at the book, The Very Small Mouse Who Went a Very Long Way.

Alec couldn't look at the book without remembering the many times he himself had read it to Max. Funnily enough, Alec had regifted it to Jace and Clary when Celery and Artichoke came along, Jace believes this gesture had hidden intentions. Aunt Lily also read it to them, though she also threatened to eat them because they were so cute and sweet, Alec told Jace that Lily didn't actually mean that, and he knew that as well.

After reading it to them twice, they both finally fell asleep. Jace gave them both a gentle goodnight kiss on the head and shut out the lights.

He headed to his and Clary's bedroom. Once you became an adult and a parent sleep was very much welcomed.

Clary was in their bathroom combing out her wild red curls. "Are our little Shadowhunters asleep?"

"Yup," he said, "after reading that book two times through."

"I do believe Alec gifted it to us as a way to secretly torture us."

"I think you're on to something, my love," said Jace.

She gave him that smile that was for only him. "How was your day?" she asked.

"Good. Celery really did threaten to beat up a piece of paper."

Clary laughed. "How did we get so lucky?"

"I don't know. But I know I can't imagine our lives without those two."

"Me either," said Clary.

They both got ready for bed and went to sleep.

——

Clary was walking toward her desk to get a pen: she was signing official Clave documents for the Clave in exile.

Sadly she still had clumsy moments and even more sadly she was barefoot, she stubbed her toe on the foot of the desk.

"Ow. Damnit!" she said, then covered her mouth as she remembered her two year old was in the room with her.

"You okay mommy?" Her daughter asked.

She looked down at her daughter, her big green eyes were full of concern. "Mommy is fine," she said, "just hurt my toe on the desk."

"Damnit! Stupid desk," said Cecie.

Fuck! She thought. "Sweety, please don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Well, uh, because it's not a good word."

"But you said it," said Cecie, looking confused.

"Yes. And mommy shouldn't have."

"Okay." Cecie shrugged.

"Hey, mom?"

"What?"

"Do you want a candy to help you feel better?"

Clary teared up. "Yes, I'd like that."

"K, I'll get you one."

She dashed out the door, while Clary clucthed her heart and sat on the floor from how much she loved that little baby.

At that moment Jace peered his head through the doorway and instantly his face changed from amusement to concern.

"Clary, are you okay?" he asked, voice anxious.

She waved a hand at him. "I'm fine. Just lost the ability to stand from the love I have for our daughter."

"Ah," he said, "did she threaten to beat something up for you?"

Clary nodded. "I stubbed my toe and she looked like she was going to fight the desk. Where's Archie?"

"He's getting paper and crayons, he immediately ran to get them when we got back. Saying something about how mama needed a drawing," Jace said. "Our Celery is becoming quite the protecter."

"Yes. And caring, she went to get me a piece of candy to make me feel better. And Archie is becoming quite the artist and kind boy."

At that, Jace looked like he too may start crying from the love for their daughter. "She's such a good Celery," he said. "Archie is a good Artichoke as well."

It was funny how Cecie was like the protecter and Archie was healer, the twins were opposites but loved each other to the moon and back.

Jace had nicknamed their daughter Celery and their son Artichoke after they were born. Clary being exhausted and knowing her husband and that there was no use in arguing with him on these nicknames, gave in and grew to love them for Cecie and Archie as well.

Jace had a thing with giving the kids he felt affection for or loved a nickname, and he of course gave much thought to the nicknames for their children, listing the benefits of them. Clary found it sweet, but also realized Jace was definitely secretly a plant and health nerd. He'd grown a lot from when she had first met him, he was more open with his love now, more open with his gentleness. He still had moments where he fought back reacting the way he used to but he had learned to fight them back, she was extremely proud of how far he's come. Then again, she was always proud of him.

Cecie came running back into the room, dodging Jace's reaching hands. "Hang on, dad," she said, "I gotta give momma this first."

She handed Clary the candy, then kissed her on the cheek. She then ran to Jace's still outstretched arms, and hugged him tight.

A moment later Archie came running into the room with paper and crayons.

"My celery," he said. "How was your day?"

"Good," she said. "Mommy got hurt though." She looked back over to Clary, who was on her feet now, and picked Archie up. walking toward two of the loves of her life.

"Mama's fine," Clary said, ruffling her daughters hair with her empty hand. then kissing Jace's cheek. "Now, we do need to get ready for Magnus' dinner party."

"Ah, yes," said Jace. "That's tonight. He'll be very dramatic if we are late."

"Uncle Magnus is awesome," said Cecie.

"Uncle Alec is awesome too," said Archie. Archie was always following his uncle Alec around, watching him closely. Clary wondered if he wanted to be like Alec. Jace of course thought it was the most amazing thing.

"Yes," Jace agreed. "But, uncle Magnus is also dramatic."

"You're one to talk," Clary teased.

They all laughed.

"Let's go! I want to see Max and Rafe," said Cecie. Who loved her cousins so much, and would tackle them with hugs when she saw them. Max and Rafe were extremely protective of her and Archie, as well. They would always be there when they were first learning to walk to pick them up and kiss their heads. They had always been gentle with them. And when they had first been born, Alec and Magnus brought them to see their new cousins and Max looked at them and said "I'm gonna protect them like little siblings." Clary started crying and Jace lost it too, it had been an emotional couple of days then. Magnus watched this with a kind of loving amusement and Alec patted his parabatai's shoulder.

It was odd and the most amazing thing, Clary thought. How they'd gone from a bunch of misfits who were fighting a lot in the beginning to a family who would do anything for each other and loved each fiercely. To all being married and having kids. She wouldn't trade this for anything.

"Is pop pop and gammy going to be there?" asked Cecie.

"No, but they are coming to take you tomorrow for a sleep over, though," said Clary. Cecie and Archie had started calling Luke pop-pop and Jocelyn gammy. Luke held the title with adoration and now has a mug  that says "best pop-pop in Brooklyn" ( gifted to him by Simon. his and Izzy's son also calls Luke pop-pop)

They went to Magnus' dinner party. They laughed and had fun and ate a lot. Magnus as usual threw a magnificent dinner party. This was their big family and it was home.

Inspired by an ask I sent @khaleesiofalicante last night

Tag list: @chibi-tsukiko @spotsandclawsthings @megs-readstoomuch @magnus-the-maqnificent @replayfootsteps @simply-ellas-stuff @bookfast-at-tiffanys @jazzkaurtheglorious @my-archerboy

[ikeservant]

How would the ikesen boys react to an mc who is blind but can take care of herself?

This took forever but I finally finished! 

MC has been blind for a good chunk of her life. She adapted quickly though through her sense of hearing and echolocation along with vibrations, being able to detect walls, objects, and people around her. She got sucked into the wormhole and BAM! Sengoku era! 

Nobunaga: She could smell and hear the fire around her and also..someone coughing? She followed the sound until she found the source, remembering the path she took so she can get out, and dragged Nobu’s butt out of the flames. “Do you know who I am?” “Well I can’t see you so nope.” When he realized that she was blind he was very impressed. “Men with all their senses in tact don’t have the bravery that you have. You are indeed a lucky charm.” He took her to Azuichi and told her that she could just laze around and have others take care of her if she wished, but mc is an independent woman that is able to do things herself so she immediately tells him to give her a job and she’d be able to accommodate to it. He admires her ambition and sets her to work. When she isn’t working he invites her to sit with him and chat bc he wants to get to know her as a person as well as how she’s able to adapt to the world without the sense of sight, intrigued with the clever methods to manage on her own. He feels inspired by her to create an education program for his citizens affected with physical limitations and how to help them live a fulfilling life while feeling capable just like mc.

Hideyoshi: His suspicion of mc decreased dramatically when he found out, as a matter of fact, she is blind. Suspicion immediately turned into concern and pity, making him really hesitant of Nobunaga letting mc do chores since she wanted to earn her keep. He was silently watching her with her rag and bucket, ready to step in the moment he sees her struggle. Instead, he sees her stepping around the perimeter of the outside hallway, mentally mapping out the length and width of the hall. Then, picking up the rag, cleaned the whole hall without a problem. Afterward, he approached her and told her about his concerns and worries of her struggling. She reassured him that she was able to live on her own for the most part where she came from, and as long as she made a mental map of the castle and heard when she was getting close to a wall or object, she would be just fine. He’d still insist on going to the market with her since it’s hard for anybody to navigate by hearing and mentally taking notes when there’s a huge market crowd. VERY protective and VERY mama hen Hide around mc to the point where she nags at him to give her space bc she doesn’t want him to worry about her as much as he does.

Mitsunari: Very helpful while also being very curious about how mc strategizes her everyday life. While giving a tour of the castle, he could tell she was taking her time while using her other senses to get a feel for each area. When he talked about her possibly having a helper maid to take her from place to place, mc answered “No need. I now know the area. I’ll ask somebody if I get lost but I’ve got a good mental map of the area.” “Very impressive, mc!” Mitsunari would beam. Mc can take care of herself better than he can, making that the staple point that the others drive into Mitsunari so he actually starts taking care of himself. They often brainstorm of ways to help mc do errands. Like with delivering scroll letters, cutting off a small little square at the bottom in a certain area so she can tell who is getting what letter and travel accordingly (ex: cut in left corner is Nobunaga’s letter. Cut in right corner is for Hideyoshi. Square cut in the middle on the bottom of the scroll is Ieyasu, etc.) Thinks mc is smarter and has a stronger willpower than anybody he’s ever met (besides his “friend” Ieyasu) bc of how she’s able to think and adapt to compensate for her lack of eyesight to survive and be capable and on equal footing as everyone else.

Masamune: He found out when trying to flirt with mc. “Hey I’ve had my eye on you this whole time, lass.” “Wish I could say the same. But that’s physically impossible.” “Ha! I see you have a sense of humor. I would have said I had my EYES on you but that would be only half true.” Both would probably joke about their eyes and brush it off as no big deal. Impressed that by her second day he saw her in the halls carrying supplies by herself, already aware of the area. “Masamune, is that you?” “Yeah it is! I’m impressed! Your senses must be very on point.” “That or the fact that you always smell like spices and walk kinda funny.”mc laughed. Likes how free and independent mc’s spirit is, admiring how she doesn’t let her disability stop her from doing what she wants to do, finding ways to adapt to things. Since boi really likes to write letters but would have to have someone else read it to her while he was away, she taught him braille. Giving him a guide with a scroll listing the indents/holes that indicate different characters, he was able to give her flirty messages while he was away and imagine her blushy face while she’s reading the letter herself.

Mitsuhide: Could tell almost right away that mc was blind. Would secretly be watching over her to see if she was having trouble. Every time he would walk up to her with a “Are you lost, little mouse? It must be hard for you.” in a condescending tone to tease her while also being slightly concerned. “No. I know I’m in the right hallway to go to the cleaning supply room. Just two more lefts then a right and about 10 paces to the left.” He actually was shocked for a second but felt like praising her for having a sharp mind. Tries sneaking up on her but she can always tell he’s near due to just sensing his presence and hearing just the slightest glide of his feet on the hallway, calling him out. Sees a bit of himself in her, being mentally prepared and alert of their senses to adapt and compensate for their shortcomings. When deciding to teach her because he wants her to survive and thrive in this cruel world, he realizes he’ll have to read everything to her and verbally quiz her. However, she introduced him to braille, intriguing him and inspiring him to use it as a new secret code language to send info. Also feels like it’s a special bond between them.

Ieyasu: Would be against mc doing chores or going around by herself because she’ll just be an inconvenience (not because he just doesn’t want her to get hurt I write sarcastically). Would make him stand up and follow her as she gives him a whole tour of the castle, remembering every hallway within one week. He’s glad that mc can’t see how embarrassed his face is that she’s better adapted than he thought. He’d still lowkey be like mama hideyoshi, silently watching her and trying to tell her that she should still be careful. He draws the line at her planning on going to the market on her own because things are constantly shifting and changing there and the noisy crowd might throw her off, leaving him no other choice but to escort mc. As thanks, mc would buy him something spicy, using her nose and advice from others to get him the gift. Normally mc is able to go through the day fine, but sometimes she’ll accidentally tumble, causing Ieyasu to lightly scold her while checking her bruises and letting her see Wasabi. She was SHOOK finding out that she was petting a cute lil deer since she could tell it was a smaller 4 legged animal with lil hooves but didn’t know that it was a baby fawn. Ieyasu would also give mc a walking stick to help her navigate better, especially in unfamiliar areas or areas with possible obstacles in the way.

Kenshin: Was at the bar minding his own business when he heard a cane tap a seat next to him. Mc sat next to him, ordering something to drink. “If you were to try to find a woman, how long would it take to find her in this bar?” she’d ask, hoping that she could get some free time away from an overbearing escort. “Depends on the target. Why? Did you start a fight? If so, can I get in on it?” “Oh nah. I want a break from being smothered with attention and feeling like I need help. If I can go to this specific bar blind then that should be proof that I don’t need helpers for short trips.” He was surprised a woman, much less a blind woman, was confident in her abilities to get from place to place while being sure of herself. Mc and Kenshin met quite a bit after that and the more he heard her complain about her work, the more he realized she was working for the Oda. Not trusting the Oda and not wanting her to face a horrible fate if someone overtakes the Oda first, he convinces her to move into his castle. She memorizes the area quickly and feels less crowded with warlords, but the closer she gets to Kenshin the more he is overbearing and protective over her safety. She gives him several demonstrations of her doing tasks by herself to convince him that it’s very low risk and that she enjoys feeling independent and capable. Although overprotective, he thinks she has the most determined spirit of anyone he’s ever met and will cut down anybody that makes her feel weak or helpless because she’s far from that in his eyes, even if he still worries about her.

Shingen: Shingen was well aware that almost all the women at the tea shop were swooning over him, all except mc, who was eating sweet buns and drinking tea in the corner while waiting for some of the warlords to come back from their long in-town meeting. He tried winking at her, but she just kept staring off and making no expression change. He decided to walk up to her, feeling curious. “Whoever smells like woodchips and cologne that is walking up to my table, please state your business.” Since he’s very intuitive, he’s able to realize mc is blind by now. He decided to have a normal conversation with her, learning how she’s able to stay strong and manage w/o sight. When he saw the other warlords coming back he bolted, but realized she was working for the “terrible” Nobunaga. Since in his mind he thinks the Oda are going to hurt/take advantage of her, he makes an elaborate plan to take her away. When she got to Kenshin and Shingen’s place, she was FUMING bc of being kidnapped. However, Shingen explained everything about how the Oda overtook his homeland and all the horrors he’s seen them do and how he wanted to save her from facing that same fate. Mc pretty much told him that it isn’t his choice to make that call but understands from his voice that he’s being sincere so she decides to stay for a while. He’s very impressed she knows the whole layout of the castle and can tell when he’s walking up to her because he has a “flirty saunter”. When she does feel a little down about being blind he helps her find silver linings like how she’s been able to be braver and determined to adapt, and how she is able to look at someone’s character and words instead of being thrown off by physical appearances. Although he is chivalrous and offers to help her with tough tasks, he will ROAST anybody that calls her weak or fragile because she’s the strongest, most resilient goddess in his eyes. Would make a beautiful wooden cane for her so she can look stylish while walking around outside.

Yukimura: When mc freaked out and ran away, running straight for the cliff, Yukimura caught her. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING RUNNING OFF A CLIFF LIKE A WILD BOAR? ARE YOU BLIND?” “Actually yeah.” Yuki went o_o before trying to scold her more for running aimlessly w/o knowing where she’s going until Sasuke swooped in, recognizing she’s the person from the present and offers they take her in. Yuki agrees, not wanting anybody to get hurt cuz he’s a caring boi. Since he didn’t want her to trip on anything and could tell she was exhausted and overwhelmed at the moment, he gave her a piggyback ride to the castle. When showing her around he keeps awkwardly asking if she needs help or assistance and gets more embarrassed when she says she can do most things on her own. “Of course I can feed myself. I have hands, dummy.” Is glad she’s capable of doing a lot on her own so he doesn’t have to keep worrying about her safety. Lowkey forgets she’s blind at times but is glad mc can laugh it off and says it makes her happy that she can go about life so normally that people don’t notice her blindness. When mc talked about seeing eye dogs being a thing, lowkey he’s thinking about making Muramasa a guide dog if mc ever wanted to go explore so he can guide her and pull her along. Also embarrassingly asks Shingen to teach him how to carve wood so he can make her a walking stick with their names carved on it and will blush like crazy when mc feels the names on it and tackles him in a hug.

Sasuke: Found her running in the woods the night she landed in the Sengoku era. Since she was overwhelmed and scared for her life, not knowing what the heck was going on, she was stumbling and tripped, making a branch snap loudly. Sasuke, who was nearby, used his ninja hearing and went to investigate. She could hear him approach and turned towards his direction. “I HAVE A WEAPON AND I’M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT” she threatened, gripping her walking stick while whipping out a pocket knife. He noticed the red band around the white stick, which was the noticeable sign of a blind person’s walking cane. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” “You sound like the guy from the temple before that big lightning strike. What the hell is going on?” He explained to her the current predicament and how they’re back in the Sengoku era. “I guess that explains why I teleported into a flaming building and just heard a bunch of warlord names and felt like I was in a historical reenactment.” Sasuke helps her go to Kenshin’s place, explaining to Kenshin her predicament and Kenshin agrees as long as Sasuke duels him every day for a month (RIP Sasuke). Is impressed how she’s able to remember how to get around the castle after just 2 days and makes Kenshin give her a job and proving that she’s plenty capable, earning Kenshin’s respect. He has faith that she is plenty independent and capable of living a decent life in the castle, but he still offers assistance in unfamiliar settings and will always come up with good ideas to help when mc asks for advice on how to get around certain tasks.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Georgia Anne Muldrow Interview: Rhythm Is A Form of Gravity

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock

BY JORDAN MAINZER

“The people keep you fresh. They keep you on your toes,” Georgia Anne Muldrow told me over the phone last month. The prolific L.A. musician, whose output ranges from experimental hip-hop to neo soul to jazz and everything in between, is releasing her fifth record in four years on Friday, and the third overall in her beats series. VWETO III (FORESEEN + Epistrophik Peach Sound) follows last year’s Mama, You Can Bet! (released under the name Jyoti), 2019′s collaboration with Dudley Perkins and VWETO II, and 2018′s acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Overload. Unlike any of the previous albums, it was put together with some “calls to action” in mind.

Thought some of the songs were around for longer, VWETO III as an entity was made last year, “over a course of time where things were changing in terms of different recording techniques I was trying,” said Muldrow, harking back to techniques and inspirations from her early years of music making. The record was also, obviously, formed during a global pandemic that caused folks to lock down, and Muldrow is conscious to giving listeners opportunities to reach out on her very active Instagram account. Each of the album’s singles have been paired with those aforementioned calls to action. “Unforgettable”, which combines 80′s-sounding synths with 90′s G-funk, calls for vocalists to submit performances to go along with Muldrow’s vocals on the song. “Mufaro’s Garden”, inspired by an illustrated folktale book called Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, asks for visual artist submissions. On the day of the album’s release, Muldrow will ask for dance submissions to “Slow Drag”, a throwback Hammond-guitar-piano ditty named after the juke joint dance of the same name. Next month, it’ll be “Action Groove”, with calls for turntable scratch ‘n’ sampling remixes from DJs. And it’s not just the singles that exemplify Muldrow’s desire to connect with listeners on a granular level. Many of the songs on VWETO III refer to or are inspired by specific eras, from the Afrofuturist jazz of “Afro AF” to the genre tribute “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”. That the titles are clearly referential, too, like “Old Jack Swing” or “Synthmania Rock”, shows that Muldrow’s not winking and nodding or trying to fool us, earnestly inviting us to dive in.

Moreover, VWETO III is coinciding with what Muldrow’s calling the Teacherie, classes she’s trying to develop to spread knowledge of what she’s learned throughout her own career, everything from philosophy to instrumental-specific classes. Right now, from her saved Instagram story called “Teacherie!,” you can take an assessment to fill out what you’re interested in. “It helps me to see what skill levels people have and what they want to learn in the class,” Muldrow said. “I seek to continue to stay open enough to make relevant music and have relevant things to share with people.” Overall, Muldrow is the type of artist that uses online platforms the way they’d be used in an ideal world. Her use of NFTs, too, is noble; the album art by Cape Town-based Breeze Yoko is being auctioned off, with 50% of proceeds going to prison abolitionist organization Critical Resistance. Even when the offline world returns--Muldrow’s slated to play Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday, September 11th--Muldrow’s created a blueprint for navigating an increasingly isolating digital world, by seeking out real connections.

Below, read my conversation with Muldrow, edited for length and clarity, as she discusses making the record, being inspired by African rhythms, the influence of Digital Underground, and why her work logically extends into prison abolition. You can also catch her tomorrow on Bandcamp Live at 8 PM CST.

Since I Left You: Why did you decide this was a good time to revisit your beats album series?

Georgia Anne Muldrow: The people love it, you know? I always like to post beats on Instagram and share my poetry or state of mind of what’s going on in the world according to my people, and provide a place of joy and uplift. The voice of the people kind of determined what songs were on there. There are some songs that nobody’s ever heard. Different ideas, something a little bit more energized.

Something for the people. It’s really great that I have direct contact with them. Some of the songs are things I like to try based on the vibes I get from their feedback. It’s great; it’s a beautiful thing for me. I’ve gone through phases where critics love me, but the voice of the people that really support your work is really cool to hear. It’s like a little focus group. I just like sharing my music with folks because it’s my way of contributing love energy to the world in a direct, immediate way.

SILY: A lot of folks are still staying home and needing that connection. You’re connecting with them but also providing a platform for them to connect with each other.

GAM: Yes. I’m way into that and seek to be expanding that in an even more literal sense with my classroom project [Teacherie], like a live webinar sort of thing, that enables folks to speak amongst themselves. A more extended form of what I do on social media. An intimate look at what’s really going on in music. They can see where my emotions end and the music begins and try to make things seamless within their own music. Teach what I’ve picked up along the way, because I won’t be here forever. Spreading the love but the knowledge, too, with the music that I share. There’s a certain quality that you can achieve if you have patience.

SILY: Did you always know you wanted to do these calls for action, like for vocalists on “Unforgettable”? And how did you decide which tracks you wanted to do them for?

GAM: It’s definitely my way of trying to promote some sort of hip hop jam in lieu of the isolation that folks are weathering...I’m really inspired by the early age of hip hop where everyone had different dances. They brought their art books to the hip hop jams. The jackets with the art on it, the MCs rapping. The breakdancing, the DJs. All of the different things in place for it to be complete. That’s part of what got me hooked on production. One night years ago, [when I first played] my stuff, and folks started to dance, it got me hooked--to make somebody move. Somebody can rap over this, somebody can dance to this or draw to this. That’s the reason for the calls to action. Opening up a hip hop jam all over the world. I hope it gains some momentum. That would be nice, for more people to put themselves out there. But I do understand we live in different times right now and people are trying to get by. I still have to post some of the artists from “Mufaro’s Garden” and these rap videos from “Unforgettable”.

SILY: You’re giving people an opportunity, even if they’re just trying to get through the day, to take a break or have a beneficial creative exercise.

GAM: Yeah. Being creative together, and togetherness. The thinking that the songs aren’t complete without dance. Lyrics are a certain kind of fulfillment of music. But the movement of the body is another one. [It] goes back to gravity. Drummers harness the power of gravity and manipulate it so things can fall at a certain time. Same thing with dance--[dancers] don’t manipulate gravity, but interact with it and create an interdependence with it. When somebody’s dancing, they come back down to the ground, and you could let that go and let gravity guide what your dance looks like. Rhythm is a form of gravity--a form of gravity engaging with life. I feel like movement is the fulfillment of all the arts. I just seek to do my part.

SILY: You mentioned being inspired by a specific early era in hip hop, and there’s a lot on here inspired by genre or era-specific trends, like the G-funk in “Unforgettable” and “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”.

GAM: [Boom bap] is one of the things that I specialize in. It’s a home base for me. In my experience, it’s a very African point of access. A lot of the boom bap rhythms are straight from Africa. Most of them are. Off the shores of West Africa. I heard so many of them, from The Gambia, Senegal, Mali. Over there, you hear so much of it. I want to be part of that. At the same time, I might wake up and make a free jazz record. I don’t feel like a traditionalist; I just want to preserve the culture of Black music from this hemisphere. I love traditional ideas, but it’s not like I’m gonna do this one idea for the sake of staying in a lane. There’s no place that Black music hasn’t influenced, molded, shaped, nurtured.

SILY: When was the last time you were able to perform in Africa?

GAM: I believe it might have been 2017. These years have started to run together. I don’t mind it, though. Keeps me young. [laughs]

VWETO III cover art by Breeze Yoko

SILY: How did the songs on here with vocals come together, whether the ones with your singing or the ones with featured artists? Did the words or beats/melodies come first?

GAM: The beats came first except for “Shana’s Back”. Shana Jensen is my sister; she’s the mother of my niece. Every time she’d come over and I had an idea to compose songs around her, they’d end up being huge songs. She’d be like, “Bye!” [laughs] I guess she wanted something a little more understated. I’d always end up doing big Motown sounds. There’s a song on The Blackhouse called “Shana’s Groove”. It’s a like a reoccurring situation and character. It’s kind of funny at this point.

The other ones, like “Unforgettable”, I’m very much matching the vibe, the punk-funk aesthetic. Sometimes a little hook just pushes it over the edge and gets them into the mindset I was in when thinking about it. Other songs like “Love Call” I just wanted to sound like it was in an arena. Arena rock, funk, Digital Underground-inspired, all the way.

SILY: Are you a big Digital Underground fan?

GAM: I think it shows in a lot of the music I make. I don’t think I can hide it. This record has so many examples of that. I love Shock G so much. He was so bad, as a thinker, a philosopher, a community builder, artist, pianist, maestro. The “Love Call” groove, “Unforgettable”, “[Old] Jack Swing”, you can hear it. I was raised with that kind of music in my head as a child. Unashamed to be funky and make a groove have extra grease on it. That’s what distinguished our sound from other region’s sounds. Getting greasy. While still doing the boom bap and all that other stuff. For me, it was always a goal to represent where I’m from in my music in a non-traditional way. Bringing what I love about the West Coast to whatever I was working on.

Shock G lives in all of us. He brought so many different vibes. A rhythmic pocket that breathes. Somewhat right under "Atomic Dog”. It keeps you moving. It has a breath of life in it. I’m so thankful to have lived in an era where I could hear and experience his work.

SILY: How did “Ayun Vegas” come together?

GAM: Ayun is my little brother. I think I’ve known him since 2014 or ‘15. He’s quite a talent. I love his style. He’s from [New] Jersey. I love his sense of rhythmic dynamic. His use of metaphor, double entendre. I feel like he’s really a gifted poet. He can do all types of different things. He’s an amazing MC--he just released a project with Jacob Rochester called Slaps & Hugs. I’m gonna lean towards people who are creative themselves and insert themselves into everything they do. 

Ayun is very secure in being different. He came out to Vegas, and I had this song. Usually, when I play leftfield stuff, MCs want that beat they can crush and not feel challenged by. This song is really old. I feel like it was made in 2016. I feel like that was the first time when somebody was willing to rap on an idea that was out of the ordinary. It’s not just in your face. It’s something different, but I want you to rap for your life on this. Something more like a movie score, where you find your character. He did it! He didn’t leave one beat behind. 

He’s rhythmically gifted and quite the poet. He almost went into pro football but he chose music. He’s a very enterprising brother, doing all types of apparel. He was working in the visual artist community, in the videographer community. Any time I can showcase what it is that he got to share, I’m there. He’s not afraid to speak the truth. This verse is impressionistic. It’s like somebody is taking a really big brush and making a beautiful image, strong-arming it. It’s dope. I love it.

We did another song together on the Overload album, but it didn’t make the cut. The Japanese version of Overload has a song called “What Can We Do Now”, and it has Ambrose Akinmusire, Ayun, and me. I’d love for that to be heard stateside, because it’s definitely about what’s happening over here.

SILY: Why did you choose to have the proceeds for this record go to Critical Resistance?

GAM: I’ve always wanted my music to be a tool for the motion of people. It doesn’t stop with dance and rapping and singing and drawing. It begins with that. Where it ends up, the movement of people coming into their powers, truths that in order to have a more humane society, we are going to have to throw some of this bullshit away. The spoils of enslavement. We’ve got to get rid of those spoils so we can get to a more realistic place of folks being cognizant of the activities that they take a part in. Jails ain’t gonna help people feel like they’re part of the community. They cage people and endanger their lives and run the risk of ruining somebody’s mental, emotional, and spiritual state even if they did commit the crime they’re in there for.

There’s a sense that all crime is committed from a place of fear. Many crimes people are locked up for is just folks trying to find a way. I don’t see how more fear is going to rehabilitate. The idea that punishment leads to enlightenment. People in the public school system are taught about some of the baddest people that ever lived--mass murders. But they’re not the type of people held accountable. They’re who brought over the imprisonment systems from their failed nations.

I don’t believe in reform at all. Critical Resistance seeks to abolish prisons as we know them. I love that their resolve is so sure and bold.

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock