#we'll see...in march.

[b4kuch1n]

podcast people in my phone

[sunmoonclouds]

my contribution to getting shadowpeach bio parents au trending @kyri45

[wigglesdtuff]

She serves cunt, not a country

[egophiliac]

I have a question about the jp server pickups, since I really want knight Sebek, but I’m trying to save gems for bloom malleus + the 3rd tsum event that’s gonna show up sooner or later. Iirc, after knight Sebek, the next story update’s pickup had all of the previous story cards (ie cerberus Ortho, general Lilia, and knight Sebek). Is this true, and if it is, did it include a token system like the dorm pickups where you can just do 100 pulls and then buy the specific card you want directly? Because if that is how it works, then I can wait until then and be sure I won’t have to go to 200 for him.

we did indeed get a second chance at those three when 7-7 came out! I'm pretty sure there was not a token system -- though admittedly I don't 100% remember, sorry! 🙇 I took a quick search through some past posts/videos from people who tend to include the gacha and news stuff, but I didn't see any mention of it, so I'm inclined to think there really wasn't one. :( they were all separate pickups with their own pull counts rather than a combined one, if that info helps at all.

speaking as a strict f2p who hoards keys/gems like the lovechild of a dragon and a magpie, given the choice between saving for a story card and a birthday card, I'd go for story -- it does require a lot of patience, but there are way more opportunities to get past birthday cards, both from the anniversary events and the rerun pickups! tsums is a bit harder to say anything on because Eng doesn't follow the same event schedule, but it's a longish event and those pickups let you have a free 10-roll, so I think they're also a bit easier to save up for.

(ALSO speaking of free rolls, starting with the fifth round of birthdays -- the kutsurogi my room ones -- the birthday boy/union jacket/bloom cards have had a separate pickup that you can get two free 10-pulls at by doing missions! I got a bloom Jade from it a couple weeks ago. :D meanwhile general Lilia is the only story card I've ever managed to pull, so...I'm probably kinda biased. whoops.)

[h20milk]

(POINTING FINGER) YOU ARE A SUN DAIRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[reineydraws]

wanted: marine hunter takanome mihawk

[artofnana]

business proposal au

read R -> L

[absoloutenonsense]

Coming October 31st…

When the Trouble Comes by nonsensedarling

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | 80k | Explicit

Official fic post is HERE.

The Queens Trafficking case is the biggest one of Louis’ FBI career so far; eleven reported missing girls all disappeared under a similar set of circumstances. Louis has done everything he can to try and solve this case over the last nine months... while also absolutely ruining his marriage. Harry has been co-host of Banter at Breakfast for five years now and finally has the opportunity to create his own radio show with the network. Unfortunately, it comes at a time where Harry's thoughts are consumed with his impending divorce from his (caring, loving, infuriatingly thoughtful) husband of eight years. Harry and Louis have both been willing to lose themselves in their work… but are they willing to lose each other?

Or a story of (almost) exes-to-lovers.

Chapters will post on Tuesdays of each week, starting on October 31st (20 chapters in total).

(If you would like to be notified by email when it starts posting, you can subscribe here.)

Snippet under the cut:

💼🍷

With a copy of the case file in his backpack, Louis sticks his key in the door, unlocks it, and steps inside, trying to be as quiet as he can because he knows at this time of night, Harry will definitely be asleep.

Except when he shuts the door, he sees the living room light bleeding out into the hallway, a shadow moving back and forth. There’s the sound of footsteps – lots of them, very quickly. Louis stares at the light and for a brief moment panics that he’s walked into their apartment to find Harry with someone else.

He hears light murmurs. Louis leans forward, feet frozen but his ears straining, until he recognizes the murmurs as Harry singing. Louis sighs in relief. Harry isn’t with someone else. He’s singing and probably dancing in the living room, maybe with his headphones in, which is why he hasn’t stopped or popped his head out between the doorframe when Louis opened the door.

Louis isn’t going to look in. He’s going to walk right past the doorway and head straight to the guest bedroom and review the file again, and then go to sleep so he can meet Perrie early in the morning.

He isn’t going to look in.

He really doesn’t mean to look in. A motion pulls his attention in his peripheral vision and his head turns without him realizing it, then his whole body stops moving.

Harry is dancing, wireless earbuds in and a glass of deep red wine in his right hand. There’s a pink tint to his cheeks, which tells Louis that the one in his hand is at least his third. He’s wearing just his boxer briefs and one of Louis’ hoodies.

Well, it was technically Harry’s hoodie originally. It’s heather grey, worn in to just the perfect amount of softness with a faded Greenbay Packers logo on the front. The first time Louis stayed over at Harry’s, he got cold just before they were going to bed. Harry took the sweatshirt from where it was draped over the top of the closet door and passed it to him.

When Louis pulled it on… he can’t really explain it, but there, in Harry’s dreadfully small room in his four-roommate apartment, wearing a hoodie that smelled exactly like him (like he’d been wearing it all day, soaked in the scent of his shampoo and body lotion and fabric softener)... Louis had the same feeling he got when he first visited New York when he was a kid. Like he was home. Harry had agreed. “Looks better on you then it ever has on me,” he’d said with a smirk. And from then on, it was Louis’ hoodie. Harry never tried to take it back.

So the fact that his husband is wearing it now makes Louis feel all sorts of things. Before he has even a second to figure out what any one of them is, Harry opens his eyes.

“Shit fucking Christ,” he exclaims, opening his hand automatically. It’s like Louis watches in slow motion as the glass falls and breaks, shattering in so many different directions. He pulls his earbuds out quickly. “Hell, Louis, you scared the shit out of me!” he scolds.

Harry rises up onto his tiptoes, and Louis’ hand immediately goes out in front of him in a stop gesture.

“Don’t, don’t move,” Louis says. “Stay there.”

He turns quickly towards the kitchen, throwing his backpack somewhere off to the side as he rushes to grab the dustpan and broom, as well as the roll of paper towels.

“I’m coming, stay still,” Louis shouts as he starts jogging back.

He keeps his eyes on the ground as he puts one paper towel down to soak up the wine there, then balls it up so he can sweep away the shards. He does the same as he works his way towards Harry’s feet.

There’s red wine all over his toes, that’s got to be uncomfortable. Louis grabs one of the paper towels and goes to dab his feet to wipe it off.

“Stop,” Harry says. He sounds angry.

Louis glances up and sees that he looks angry. He holds his hands up in a surrendering motion, not wanting to upset him anymore.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Well don’t,” Harry spits out.

He stands up slowly. Louis doesn’t know if he’s ever seen Harry this angry with him. Even the time Louis accidentally threw out his favorite pair of boots it wasn’t like this. Louis isn’t prepared for this bitterness coming from his husband, and he didn’t think divorce brought on something like that when it wasn’t there before, at least not before they’d even filed the paperwork.

[jdorian]

Inspiration Saturday 🍂

I frankly don't think that I can finish this one before the new season airs and in that case it might just get scrapped entirely (because of new wips and changing canon events) but I hope I get around it before that, because it would be such a great exploration of characters and just an abundant source for angst and fluff and eternal domesticity. Anyway, here's a snippet that'll probably be heavily revised later on if I actually end up working on this.

Buck got up abruptly and started pacing up and down, covering the tiny length of Eddie’s kitchen two strides at a time. “Buck, calm down.�� Eddie rose from his chair, his eyes following Buck’s every step with concern. “What the hell am I even gonna tell him when he asks about his parents? How do I explain any of it?” “Woah Buck, slow down there, he can’t even talk yet, let alone ask questions. You’ll have plenty of time to think about that.” Eddie put a hand onto Buck’s forearm, halting his movements just by the table, then he guided Buck back down to his chair with gentle force. The warm tips of Eddie’s fingers were a solid comfort over Buck’s stress-cold skin as he squeezed his arm lightly, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “I-I’m sorry.” Buck sighed. If he was apologizing for flipping out just a moment ago or for bringing this to Eddie in the first place; even he wasn’t entirely sure. “Look, I get that this wasn’t the plan when you decided to help them,” Buck opened his mouth to cut in but Eddie pressed on, “but this is what’s happening now. So you’re just gonna have to take it slow and deal with it one thing at a time. Okay?” “I… Okay.” Buck closed his eyes in defeat, desperately hoping that when he opened them the next time, he’d find the strength he needed to go through today; though he was aware that the chances of that were slim to none. But funnily enough, when he finally opened his eyes and his gaze landed on Eddie’s face, something shifted. Eddie was looking at Buck with an expression that told him everything he needed to hear without words, his eyes were glimmering like amber in the bright morning light and the creases between his eyebrows seemed softer than before. Eddie was the embodiment of everything Buck ever wanted and needed — and in remembering that, suddenly the sight of him was enough to find the strength Buck was looking for.

tags under the cut 💛

I was tagged by @daffi-990 thank youuu 💛

✨and no pressure tagging: @malewifediaz @spagheddiediaz @jeeyuns @jamespearce9-1-1 @eddiebabygirldiaz @hippolotamus @disasterbuckdiaz @nmcggg @thewolvesof1998 @watchyourbuck @theotherbuckley @fortheloveofbuddie @ladydorian05 @wikiangela

[chiropteracupola]

I remember, I swear - I was eighteen at the time / Time to spare - far from the wind and rain / And blueness reaching into every corner...

[a perceval for @mortiscausa's 'march to camelot,' for the prompt 'fool']

[dungeonmechoui]

Marchil week lets go !! (this was not meant to be them as lesbians, just having each other's canon haircuts, but uh. if you wanna it can be 😇)

[helenofblackthorns]

lowkey why are all my professors conspiring against me this semester. literally what possible reason was there to have seven (7!!!) assigned books for January/extremely early February. like my next book doesn't have to be read until March 3..... what are we doing here 😭

[not-krys]

52. Deep in Thought [Houki, Abby, Clara, Miri]

Welcome back, it's 2025 so it's back to the 100 Themes Challenge!

For this entry, I decided to give myself a little bit of a challenge. Over on bluesky, there was a creative challenge posted where you would challenge your technical skills for your craft, like, say you normally write in third person POV, to try and see if you could write in a first person POV, to use present tense if you've only used past tense, to try digital art if you've only done traditional previously, stuff like that.

Though I won't be taking part in the challenge officially (for now, it runs through February and March), I did want to test the waters of working on some of my technical skills, namely trying out first person POV since I rarely write in that POV.

For three of these entries, I wrote in First Person while one was a return to form with Third Person. It was fun to try out a POV style I hadn't written in for a long time and a nice little exercise to get my writing muscles working.

For the prompt itself, I did: -Houki's first encounter with Mitsunari's reading trance -Abby is dragged into singing for Mozart -Nokto is helping Clara become more acclimated to the royal life by helping her get used to ordering people around, using himself as her test dummy. -Diavolo asking Miri wants as her reward to winning the Devildom Studies award.

Raw, mostly unedited writing. A lot of fluff in these entries, but there are some spoilers. Clara's entry was inspired by the Obey Me event while Miri's is inspired by the last handful of the final lessons of Obey Me. Abby's thoughts are also a little self-deprecating, she just doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself and her thoughts are reflective of that in her entry.

------

Houki

The sound of a turning page was a familiar and comforting sound to Houki, a taste of home that she was away from currently. At least books were still the same here, she thought.

Houki had been tasked by Hideyoshi to bring something for Mitsunari to eat and drink. Since it was the middle of the day and he was in the middle of work, she brought along some flavored rice crackers that Masamune had made earlier along with some cool tea to combat the summer heat.

Much as she was loathed to disturb his work, Hideyoshi had been insistent. After a few knocks, however, she wondered if she had missed him. There was no other sounds other than fluttering paper. Perhaps some books had fallen open in his room and the breeze from open window was causing that sound?

She knocked once, twice, and a third time. No answer. Hideyoshi had insisted he would be here or he'd have said something about going out, she was sure.

"Lord Mitsunari?" she called. "Are you here?"

Still no answer.

The door was slightly ajar thanks to her knocking. Maybe she could leave her snacks and he would come back later? She could also right the fallen books so that they don't get tripped on when Mitsunari returns.

"Sorry for intruding." She nudged her foot into the door, sliding it open easily.

Once she was inside, she yelped in surprise, nearly spilling her tray on the floor.

"Lord Mitsunari!"

There he was, sitting on the floor with a book in his lap. His hand flipped casually to the next page, paying her no mind whatsoever despite her cry being anything but quiet.

Once her heart and breath had calmed, she looked at Mitsunari a second time, setting her tray on the floor.

"…Lord Mitsunari?" she said.

Even this close to him, he didn't respond. He seemed unaware of everything aside from his book.

Houki poked his shoulder with her finger. No response. She grasped his shoulder and shook it gently, as if she was trying to wake him. Nothing. She shook him a little harder, and a little harder, and a little harder until his head was bobbling. Nothing. She even pinched her own cheek to make sure she wasn't dreaming, which still hurt, so this wasn't a dream. She even pinched his and he didn't say or do anything.

How strange… and a little horrifying.

How long had he been like this? Was he sick? Should she go get someone? Lord Hideyoshi for sure! Maybe there was a doctor nearby? Lord Ieyasu? Well, he was often cantankerous around Mitsunari but surely he would help if there was something wrong with his fellow lord?

As if to answer her prayers, loud knocking against the door frame made her jump a second time.

"Yo, lass!" It was Lord Masamune, followed shortly by Lord Hideyoshi's exasperated sigh. "Heard you be here today!"

"Lord Masamune! Lord Hideyoshi!"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hideyoshi asked, pushing past Masamune and kneeling beside the two of them.

"It's… it's Lord Mitsunari. He's not moving and he hasn't responded to me when I spoke to him."

Hideyoshi sighed a second time, more disgruntled than before.

"Not again…"

"…'Again?'"

"He sometimes gets like this when he gets too invested in what he's reading." Hideyoshi frowned. "Sorry you had to find him like this."

"So… this is …normal?"

"For him, yeah." Hideyoshi reached out and tugged on a stray strand of Mitsunari's grey hair, the other taking no notice of the action. "We haven't figured out why or how he slips into such a deep trance. He can be like this for hours."

"H-hours!?"

"Hideyoshi found him like this once when he'd also scared a few of the maids, then scolded him afterwards for not taking care of himself." Masamune grinned.

"We're trying not to encourage this behavior, especially when he worries people with it."

"Hey, Lass," Masamune ignored Hideyoshi, grabbing one of the flavored rice cakes, "wanna see a trick?"

"Masamune," Hideyoshi warned.

The Date Lord scooted closer to Mitsunari and held the little cake up to the younger lord's mouth. Houki was surprised a second time today when Mitsunari opened his mouth after a few seconds and took a bite out of the rice cake, chewed, then swallowed.

"Is he…?"

"Still out of it, I'm afraid." said Masamune, tugging on the same hair clump that Hideyoshi had, Mitsunari still not responding. "He'll eat or drink most things that's put near his mouth. Just be careful with your fingers as he might eat them too. Found that out the hard way."

"He's not a toy for your amusement." Hideyoshi said, rubbing his nose bridge.

"He'll also hold anything you put in his hand. I've seen Ieyasu stacking books on his head before, too." Masamune laughed.

"Really, all of you." Hideyoshi admonished.

"S-so!" Houki interrupted, "is there a way to… bring him back?"

"Sure there is!" Masamune said. "Take his glasses away or whatever book he's reading."

"It's really that simple?"

"It'd be real inconvenient if we couldn't bring him back, wouldn't it?" said Masamune. "Oh, when you feed him when he's like this, he knows if you try to get him to eat carrots."

"Carrots?"

"He hates them. No matter how you prepare them, he knows if you're trying to feed 'em to him. Cut up small, cooked, raw, or mushed into a paste with any spice you can throw at it, he just… knows. Me and Hideyoshi have tried it sooo many ways at this point."

"It is the strangest thing. Anything else he'll eat but carrots is where he draws the line." Hideyoshi said, putting his hand on the book Mitsunari was holding. "But you need a break."

With a swift tug, Hideyoshi pulled the book off of Mitsunari's lap and like magic, Mitsunari blinked and looked at his surroundings, as if he had been woken up from a deep sleep. His eyes scanned Hideyoshi's and Masamune's faces, finally settling on Houki's face and gently smiled.

"Oh, hello, everyone. It's nice to see all of you."

"Good morning, lad." Masamune grinned.

"Morning? But the sun is quite high for it to be morning. Had I fallen asleep?"

"In a way." Hideyoshi said. "You got caught up in your reading again. You should apologize to Houki as she found you first."

"Oh," Mitsunari's eyes widened, "My apologies, Lady Houki. To find me in such a state."

"You did give her a right scare, lad." Masamune laughed.

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

Abby

He was behind me. He was behind me again! The silence from the music room should have been my tip that something was up, but I thought he'd given up by now!

"You." His cold voice startled me, my hands squeezing the poor broom handle to the point of choking, it felt like.

Slowly, very slowly, I turned around to face Mozart, his arms crossed and his elegant brows furrowed. I think even his mole was judging me with the way he was staring.

"Y-yes?" Why did my voice have to come out like that!?

"Music room. Now."

What have I done to deserve this!?

My shoulders shook, feebly holding up my broom taller.

"I-I have chores to-"

"Do them later." Mozart was firm! "Tell Sebastian that I needed you for something."

"Y-yes, sir." I said meekly.

Mozart turned on his heel and headed back into the music room. I followed behind him, trying to keep my movements as quiet as I could. He's told me before that he thought I was loud, and, not wanting to irritate him further, I did my best to be silent. It was easy on the carpeted floor of the hallway, but marble floor of the music room, with no rugs to muffle sound? I felt exposed in a different sort of way, the green walls even feeling intimidating.

Mozart sat at the piano bench, an elegant piece made of white wood and gold accents, flipping out his coat tails to sit more comfortably.

"Leave your broom by the door."

I nodded, setting my once close companion against the door's frame, cradling it with my hands.

"Come closer."

I shuffled closer to the piano, my steps unbearably loud in this space. Was my heart as loud in this room as it was in my ears, I wondered. It wouldn't be surprising if Mozart said I was being loud again and it was my own racing heart he was hearing.

"You were singing the other day while you were cleaning in the room next door to the music room."

He could hear that!?

"S-sorry if I disturbed-"

"It was a song I wrote. Long ago."

His fingers glided gracefully across the keys, playing a familiar melody.

"Y-yes. An Chloë. You wrote it inspired by the poem, right?"

"Correct." He continued to play, seeming getting lost in thought. "Where did you learn it?"

"My auntie." I started, but corrected myself. "Well, one of her previous girlfriends taught it to me when I was young. She always sang it beautifully and I wanted to learn it too, despite knowing no German then."

She was nice, from what I remember of her, Auntie's German girlfriend. Father didn't like her and often got into arguments with Auntie over her. I was really young at the time, so I don't remember exactly what became of her, but I didn't see her after a time and I remembered missing her when she went away.

"Sing it again."

"E-excuse me?!" Say what now?

"Sing it." He repeated, starting the melody over as if it was looping, it was that smooth of a transition.

"I-"

He glanced back my way, as if to say he's not repeating it a third time.

With a brief pause in the music to signal my cue, I took a breath and closed my eyes, praying that whatever came out didn't sound like a screeching cat.

"Wenn die Lieb' aus deinen blauen, Hellen, offnen Augen sieht…"

It was as if a spell was taking over me, remembering a simpler time with Auntie and her German girlfriend at the time. I felt calmer. I know I was butchering the German pronunciation, horribly so, I'm sure. Mozart didn't stop playing though, nor did he say anything to correct me. I tapped my fingers against my leg to keep time, to keep from intruding on the song any more than I already was.

When the song ended, the room was deathly silent.

Mozart, for the first time I've seen him doing it, closed the lid across the keys and stood up.

"Ugh, noisy."

I froze and bit my lip. He was the one who asked (okay, he demanded!) that I come with him here, so  what was the point in-

Then, I heard it.

Applause.

One set of hands at first, then two, three, four more. The more clapping I heard, the redder my cheeks became.

"You're all lurking." Mozart said, irritated. "Move."

I caught eyes with Le Comte standing in the doorway, along with Napoleon, Vincent, Theo, Arthur, Issac, Dazai, and Sebastian all gathered behind him. Le Comte was the last to stop his clapping.

"My, what a lovely performance." He said, his entrance allowing the others to come into the music room as well. I could see the ends of Leonardo's overcoat sleeves sitting just off of the door, while Jean was leaning against the far window with his arms crossed in the hallway.

"You did well, Nunuche." Napoleon squeezed my shoulder, smiling proudly.

"Well, who knew our little dove could sing like that?" Arthur tapped my other shoulder while Theo ruffled my hair.

With all of the compliments I was receiving, my desire to crawl into a pit and hide for eternity grew. Mozart huffed as he stood at the doorway.

"Should have shut the door." he grumbled as we walked down the hallway, kicking Leonardo's coat sleeve out of his way.

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

Clara

If there was one thing that I could say about Clara, it's that she was quite cute when she wanted to be stubborn. I knew I was pushing her buttons, but I'd rather it be me pushing her than some stuffy courtier that decided to correct her. Sariel and Rio were kind to her (most times, one more forgiving, the other mothering), but she needs to learn how to act like a queen as will be her status soon. She needs to learn that giving orders was part of the royal life and that the other nobles will respect her more by acting above others, no matter her personal feelings on the matter.

Yet, I couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked, trying to make up orders to throw me off her tail. She'd spend a few moments deep in thought, likely thinking of what could be the most boring, mundane activity she could make me do, as though that would deter me.

Ever since I had found the legendary rainbow wine, she had gone into panic mode, thinking I had overworked myself and had been thinking of more banal requests, like help with her chores. Admittedly, finding the wine was a very difficult task, but, as a prince, I hadn't really experienced doing mundane things like chores, so it was a treat for me, experiencing something that was so normal to her but was new to me. Airing out her books was something I hadn't thought about doing before but now it made sense why her books always smelled fresh when I visited her house. Feeding her had been delightful, watching her face going from surprise, to confusion, to denial, to finally eating from my hand. Even wiping her face was pleasurable, feeling her cheeks warm under my fingers. She really is adorable.

The real challenge came later in the evening, when I spied her carrying a towel, her night clothes, a dressing gown, and a basket with a bottle of rose water and some soap.

She also spied me looking at her. I could already feel the corners of my mouth turning up.

"My lady--"

"No."

She's onto me, of course.

"I didn't even say anything."

"I know what you were thinking. And the answer is no."

"No to what?"

"No to helping me bathe."

"You were the one to suggest it."

"I didn't think you'd take it seriously."

"Well, I am taking it seriously." I walked closer to her, "I'm at your beck and call, remember?"

"That stupid game again..." she hissed under her breath, making me internally snicker. "Look, Nokto. You've been helpful all day and thank you for all your help."

"My pleasure."

"But I'm putting my foot down here. I can bathe by myself."

"I'm aware of that." I said, still following behind her.

"So why don't you go find something else to do?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, lady."

"Why not?"

"Because I possibly can't refuse my lady when she's in need of my help."

"I. can. bathe. by. myself."

"I'm aware. I'm helping you out, however."

"And I said no and go find something else to do."

"I refuse."

"Nokto!"

I grinned.

"I'm a man of my word, my lady." I bowed. "You suggested that I help you in the bath and I'm here to do just that."

Clara flushed darkly.

"T-then, I want to give you an order."

"I'm all ears."

"I want-" she started, but was cut off by her back hitting the bathroom door.

"I didn't hear you, lady." I stood over her.

"Go and-"

I leaned in closer.

"Yes?"

She bit her lip, looking down. I brushed a loose hair behind her ear, making her visibly shiver.

"Let me help you in the bath, my lady."

She breathed in a quick breath.

"...No funny business. I really do need to wash my hair."

"Alright."

"And if I tell you to stop, you stop."

"Of course."

"Remember, nothing funny."

"None whatsoever."

She swallowed and I pulled on the doorknob, opening the door for her.

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

Miri

I saw that Miri had sunken into the couch cushions of the common room, the light from the fireplace highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. Lucifer had finally awoken after several days of recovery, I had heard, but the nights have clearly worn down the small sorcerer. It reminded me of time before she had received the Ring of Light, when the life seemed drained out of her. It might have been better to talk to her once she had returned to RAD's campus in her own time, but the Science Committee was insistent and the school year was ending soon. This couldn't be put off much longer, regretfully.

With an encouraging smile and a heavy heart, I opened my arms towards her.

"Congratulations, Miri."

"Diavolo?"

"Asmodeus and Luke have informed everyone of Lucifer's recovery. I'm glad to hear that he's woken up."

"Thank you." she was quiet again, looking away.

"And I've heard that you've been declared the winner of the Devildom Studies division thanks to your efforts in redirecting the moon's course."

She was silent and I had realized my mistake too late. I cleared my throat.

"A-anyway! That's why I'm here, so we can discuss the specifics of your wish! You've earned it."

As if there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for Miri already, the human that could literally flip worlds on their heads. She's surely changed the Devildom for the better, I'm certain of that. Any wish she had I would have granted, contest or no. She has become special to everyone, an exemplary exchange student and sorcerer, a wonderful addition to RAD's student council, a precious friend, someone that I would like to-

"I… don't have a wish."

And she surprised me yet again! And with a lie, as well! She should have known better!

Hmm… perhaps she was more exhausted than I had anticipated?

"It doesn't have to be anything big, don't worry."

Maybe if I reassure her, she'll tell me? Perhaps she's embarrassed about her wish?

"Even small wishes are fine to ask for. A delicious meal? Perhaps a nice vacation to the Human Realm? You and the brothers can relax on the coast of a private island! Any book or clothing you desire?"

I would give her all those things and more even if she doesn't ask for them. She deserves to have any happiness I can give to her and more.

Still, she seemed deep in thought, her hand cradling her chin.

"What if… it wasn't a small wish?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if I… never mind…" she shook her head.

"Please, tell me, Miri."

"…It's silly."

Stepping closer to her, I knelt down so I could meet her at her eye level.

"I had already given my word that I would grant any wish that came out of this contest, big or small. You've already moved worlds with your own powers. Now, I would like to do the same for you, if you ask it of me."

She fidgeted, her small hand reaching out for mine, but stopping midway.

"You said… anything within your power, you'll do?"

"Yes."

"And… if it's outside of your scope of power?"

What was she getting at?

She released a breath.

"Remember… when everyone went to the Human Realm for a vacation?"

"I do. Fondly."

Miri had been getting her sorcerer's license at the time. I smiled as memories surfaced of amusement parks, brief kidnappings, karaoke, and haunted hotel rooms. What a time that was!

Miri wasn't smiling, however.

"It was after I had passed all my tests. We were celebrating and had all gathered together and…"

Wait, I know where this is going…

"You had said at the time that… there was still a lot of bad blood between the three realms. And I know that there's still a lot of that, even now."

Holding her elbow, she continued.

"I'll understand if it's still not within your power, but… as for my wish, I… I want to live in Devildom. Permanently."

My heart swelled and dropped at the same time. What she was asking me was in my power, of course, but as I had told her before, the bad blood between the three realms would make her wish difficult to accomplish, else I would have swept her up and kept her at the castle ages ago.

"I feel like… I belong here. My family is here." She said sincerely. "And I know that the demon nobility won't like it any more than the higher ups in the Celestial Realm will. Always have to keep things fair for everyone…"

Her tiny hands clenched tightly, her knuckles pale.

"But… I guess I'm a little tired of everyone telling me things have to be a certain way. That it has to always be a certain way."

I agreed with her. Times were changing whether the old blood liked it or not. Demons and angels weren't at war anymore. Humans were proving to be quite capable in befriending both, as Miri has proven in her time in Devildom.

Still, change was going to be hard pill to swallow for some, we both knew that.

"As I told you before, it is within my power to grant your wish. You've made me incredibly happy in wanting to make Devildom your permanent home. But your wish, as you said, will be incredibly difficult to accomplish, given the current political climate between the three realms."

"I understand."

"And I will warn you that you and the brothers might come under fire because of this decision, from both sides. Are you sure you want that to happen?"

Miri was quiet again, the frown evident. It was a little harsh but it was something to consider. I knew Miri wouldn't think twice about her own safety, but when it comes to the brothers? She wouldn't bring them under scrutiny if she could help it.

"What's this about me and my brothers coming under fire?" a deep familiar voice said in the hallway, shoes clicking as they came closer.

"Lucifer." Miri said quietly.

"Lucifer! Glad to see you up and about." I said, standing up.

Lucifer nodded in acknowledgement, placing a hand on Miri's shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

"I heard you two talking." he said.

"Yes, about Miri's wish. She won the Studies division of the Devildom Science Fair."

"Hmm." Lucifer said.

"She's telling me about how she wants to make the Devildom her permanent home."

"I see."

"And we were just about to get into the schematics of how to make that happen. It won't be easy, I'm sure you're aware."

"I'm aware. It's a different process compared to when my brothers and I first appeared here."

"Thank goodness for that!" I laughed.

[jennyandvastraflint]

Cover for Trespassers 4 dropped.

[winkuzz]

Sorry for the lack of art

but I'm in the process of preparing for a move plus I got yoinked into cyberpunk 2077 which is my main distraction atm

I'll be back soon 😭😘

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 21: Exotic Creatures Of The Deep (Strange Animal)

Some of you might already have some idea of how absolutely abnormal I am about this album and have been for several months, without fail. It's... perfect? And you know that personal relevance will also often be a total game changer in deciding what your ultimate favourites are and such. It's personal relevance of my own doing anyway, if I can call it that, you know those memes that go something like "it's MY mental breakdown and *I* chose the soundtrack!!". Oh yeah, that's what happened here. But even that aside I might never get over how much ECOTD is EVERYTHING I might want from an album and it has not lost its power with passing time even one bit. I'm wary to call anything a number one definitive favourite most of the time, but if I really had to choose... yeah, this is my favourite album of all time, there's absolutely no denying that.

Where do I even start with this... Well, coming back a bit to the LB - HYL - ECOTD series as a whole, I love how all three of them have so much in common and each one is some sort of natural development on the previous one, keeping its core elements but also adding new ones that are unique to the new album. And I guess the style of ECOTD is the one that ended up speaking to me the most. Toning it down a bit on the repetition aspect, adding more fancy synths, heavy drums, more guitar-based stuff continuing from HYL... And its still edgier and more electronic and darker and theatrical than the previous ones. Maybe I could even call it straight up COOL sounding (at least at times) in a way that the previous ones aren't (or not quite as much). (And that's not to say that they're all not icredibly cool in their own way anyway, but, you know.) None of these three are definitely better than the others for me by the way, but. Still, love the whole evolution here a lot.

And now, of course, a word on the craziest and most ambitious idea of the century, the 21×21 shows. I spent about a month, if not more, earlier this year going through what I'm quite sure must be the majority of what's been recorded from these shows, and I have no regrets. And yeah, one of the most impressive feats in the history of music, playing 21 albums in full day after day, but also can we please talk about the visualisations they put there to go with the albums. Catching glimpses of those album covers being comically stretched or rotated and such was a very important part of the whole experience. But yeah, Sparks Spectacular, it really is so spectacular.

I actually do have specific favourites on this album rather than being obsessed with it all the same amount, but I think it deserves special treatment just like Lil' Beethoven, so, let's go, going over all of them now. And I think it's better to just dive straight into them now anyway, in order to get a better hang of this whole album and why it's so brilliant and special to me.

Intro + Intro Reprise

I love you leitmotifs that reappear throughout the album and tie it all together. Such a good touch on what is imo the most cinematic of Sparks albums

Good Morning

This happened a couple of times to me with Sparks, when I first hear a song and I'm quite intrigued and delighted but that's mostly it. And then I hear it once more after a while and I'm never the same again from that point on. THIS!!!!!! SONG!!!!! I was so right that I would love all of ECOTD even more than anything before it based just on this. This is the Russell falsetto album by the way, that's important to note. I'm very impressed by this song in many ways. I like that it starts with this specific synth sound that's VERY characteristic of this whole album. And the fake ending... This song has LB and HYL all over it but it's also its own beautiful thing

Strange Animal

This song has an effect of "stopping in my tracks the moment I hear the first note" on me to be honest, another one of my forever and biggest favourites. Right up there with all the other rocking epics to the likes of Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls, Dick Around and As I Sit Down To Play The Organ. Sparks going meta on music & being a musician is also always very cool to see

I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song

My first impression of what would become my most listened to Sparks song was a "wait, this was supposed to be a Sparks-only playlist, am I still listening to Sparks??" But a couple more months passed and what can I say, I'm obsessed now (and have been for over half a year now). The Maels saying "fuck you" to love songs & pop songs cliches will always be one of my favourite things about them... While they're also actively alluding to and using those cliches to create something very effective. I'm sure that it being so similar to the type of electro pop songs that were getting lots of radio play in the late 00s is why I'm so drawn to the sound here. It's always all about that nostalgia effect, huh (and this album is the absolute PEAK of "oh god why are all these songs so nostalgic to me I've only known them for this relatively short amount of time")

Let The Monkey Drive

This song ends what is probably my favourite 4 consecutive songs run on any album ever. Each is so mindblowing but in a different way. Best thing about this song to me is its atmopshere. It's just SO tangible. Like, this IS driving past the speed limit on a highway in the middle of the night (we can ignore the rest of what's happening in the story here for a moment). Obsessed with Russell's voice here and also it's so great to me how such a minimalistic approach can be so effective in creating this whole very specific mental image. Just unsettling strings in the back and two notes (or repeating chords) on the piano that are sort of the most prominent "melody" here and that's all you need. The suspense, the understatedness of it all, I love it

I've Never Been High

One of the most Sparks-like of Sparks songs in a way? And another one where I could probably start coming up with lyrical interpretations for on the spot. Lots to think about regarding all of these songs to be honest. And I like how the rising piano notes at the end lead into the descending flute (?) melody at the start of the next song

(She Got Me) Pregnant

Honestly, I absolutely love this song, it's one of my favourites on the album, maybe top five material. And it somehow sounds exactly like how I could have imagined it to sound, based on just its premise, I don't really know how that works but it does, lmao. And who else would give you this sort of song if not Sparks, no one

Lighten Up, Morrissey

Glam rock bliss that does not clash with the rest of the album despite being pretty stylistically different from the rest of it. Quite saddening that it's the only song here that has a music video, when there's SO MUCH potential here, seriously, again, this whole album is so cinematic. I do quite like what we got here though, love this era of Sparks ALSO when it comes to the visual side of it all (I keep saying this over and over), but still, there's so much more we could have had, y'know

This Is The Renaissance

GOOD GOD, I LOVE THIS ONE, in love with it from the first listen. It's everything that makes this album so grand and one-of-a-kind in a nutshell. Among the top 10 Sparks songs that should have had a music video also. I have a pretty elaborate painting idea based on this song in mind, so I hope I'll be able to make it into reality at some point in the future

The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'

List of Sparks songs where movie-directing is used as an allegory of sex is somehow at least two songs long I've noticed (this + Love Scenes). Anyway, this one's a pretty heavy one to unpack so I don't think I can really do it justice today. Love it just like every other song on here though

Photoshop

Another one that could have had such a killer music video. Again, stripped-down arrangement that's just enough to hit you with the right amount of feels and overall one of the most killer Ron piano master moments overall, now that I think about it. The plea of "photoshop me out of your life" sounds pretty... on-the-nose out of context? But again, Sparks magic makes it work anyway! And the 21×21 performance is in my top 10 Sparks live moments of all time (I don't actually have a list like this but, maybe I should make it now)

Likeable

...This is the song of all time to me. Honestly, give me any song pondering the nature of what it means to love vs what it means to like someone and things of such nature and you have me hooked forever. But even that aside, musically speaking, it's just... perfection. Most cinematic Sparks song overall maybe, it's really just like a little movie, every moment is so perfectly timed and measured, I have no words honestly, for just, how incredible it all is. The melodic aspect now, it makes me so emotional, one of the most likely of Sparks song to make me cry, for real. I could start going over every different part of the song now but honestly, they're all just, equally amazing. Special shoutout to the waltz parts though, and the bridge. Oooohhh the bridge, when it all gets so intense, and then the main melody reappears with an acoustic guitar, it's just, peak of it all. And then the intro leitmotif comes back again and it's just?!?.?? My feelings on this song might even still not be fully comprehensible and clear to me. All in all, couldn't imagine a better album closer than this, hands down. And this song also closing the Sparks Spectacular series of shows, yeah (not counting the encore). Oh man. Oh maaannnnn. What a freaking ride.