#whOOPS forgot to post this last week my bad

[lobster-tales]

Beat the Daylight

Sequel to Face the Noise, an Arcane Rock Band AU

Rating: M

Chapter 9: The Music Room

Summary: Lux finds out

This work is available here on AO3. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

When Jinx got back to the hotel, instead of going straight to her room, she went to Viktor’s. The desk clerk gave her the floor and number without a fight: the Shimmer Hotel staff knew better than to cross the heiress when she was in one of her moods.

She didn’t even knock, just swiped her skeleton key that Silco made for her. She burst into Viktor’s room, and he jerked back into his desk chair.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK.” She paced around the small area, hands to the side of her head as she processed everything. “Goddammit.”

“... Hi,” said Viktor. His surprise passed, replaced by the usual easygoing interest. He also had just arrived, and reached down to take off his other shoe. “What’s new with you?”

“Ugh, I fucked it up, Vik!” She only tossed a cursory glance towards his belongings: lots of papers, some books. Pretty much what she expected. “I fucked everything up. Vi saw me.”

“Yes, I know,” he said. “She saw me too, onstage.”

“No, she saw me backstage. Visiting Lux.”

“Ah.” Viktor still seemed confused. “So what’s the problem?”

“She called me Powder! That’s the fucking problem!” Jinx sank onto his bed in exasperation. “And they live together, Vik! If Vi doesn’t explain what’s going on, then Caitlyn will.”

“Maybe.” His answer was a shrug, like always. He went to the fridge, removing a bottle. Jinx watched him pour a glass of vodka.

“... Can I have some?” she asked.

“Sure. When you’re twenty-one.”

“Newsflash,” she rolled her eyes. “The drinking age for rockstars is sixteen.”

He considered it for a moment, then said, “You can have one. Exactly one.”

She scoffed but otherwise accepted.

Viktor toasted her, murmuring, “Za lyubov.”

Jinx attempted to repeat the phrase, “Za lu-byov.”

“No, lyu-bov.”

“Lyubov.” She sipped at her vodka, and sighed. “Fuck, man. What’s going to happen when Lux finds out?”

Viktor made an ‘I don’t know’ noise. “What do you think is going to happen?”

“... I don’t think she’ll like me anymore.” She fell back on the bed, nearly spilling her drink.

“Okay. Her loss.”

How could he be so casual, when Jinx felt like her world was falling apart? “Guess I wouldn’t blame her,” Jinx muttered sourly. “Not when I’ve been such a shithead.”

“Eh, were you really a,” he sounded out the word, “‘shit head’, or were you just a teenager?”

She sat upright again, her elbows resting on her knees, nose twisted into a grimace. “Both.”

“Come now, pupsik, she was going to find out sooner or later. If you’re really that worried about it, then just tell her yourself.”

“No!” The word was like a punch, and Viktor even flinched. “No, I can’t tell her, I can’t tell her what I did, I…” The shadows in the room seemed to deepen.

“Then you have to accept that one of them will.”

Doubts clawed their way along her brain. “But what if they leave things out? What if they don’t remember or… fuck, I don’t even know if I remember everything. Or what if they do remember things and they’re so much worse than I thought they were-” Fishbones was grumbling in her mind now, echoing every word. “What if Vi’s still angry and she lies about something? Or what if she does tell the truth but there’s something I didn’t even know-”

A strange sensation slowed her descent. Jinx stared down at Viktor’s hand, tapping her knee rapidly. “What-what are you doing?”

“Comforting you,” Viktor said, uncertain.

“You’re… slapping me.”

“I’m not!” His pace slowed, though the intensity didn’t let up. “I’m patting you. Don’t you feel better?”

“No,” she said, choking on a laugh. “No, I don’t.”

Viktor changed tactics, now rubbing her knee the way one would rub two sticks together to light a fire. “How about this? Is this working?”

“Stop, you’re gonna scrape my skin off!” She jerked away, unable to hold back the grin on her face. He was just so absurd.

“Ah ha!” he said, triumphant. “You’re smiling, it did work.”

“It didn’t,” she lied. As her chuckles dissipated, so did the fear. The day’s events weighed on her, and she realized how exhausted she was. Jinx sighed, shoulders drooping as she swirled the last bit of vodka in her glass.

“... For the record,” Viktor began, his tone more gentle now. “And I don’t know how reassuring you’ll find this, but… I never heard your side. I only ever heard it from Caitlyn and Ekko. I felt like their summation was… fair, but of course there will always be bias. Taking that into consideration, and considering everything I know about your past… Well, I- I still like you.”

His sincerity startled her, but when he saw her expression, he quickly raised his hands. “Not in a weird way, though. I‘m ten years your senior and violently homosexual.”

A giggle escaped her throat.

Viktor’s mouth twitched into a half grin. “I can’t speak for Lux. How she reacts is up to her. But regardless of how she takes it, I just want you to know that I’ll… still be here.” Tears flooded Jinx’s eyes, and Viktor panicked. “What-what did I do now? Did I say something wrong? Was that the wrong thing to say?”

“No,” she snuffled, wiping her nose on her fingerless glove. “No, you’re um… Thanks, Vik.” She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she knew he wasn’t as comfortable with physical affection. So instead, she settled for grasping his forearm. He returned the gesture, much more at ease.

They locked arms for a long moment, before she pulled away and mumbled, “Fuck, I’m tired.”

“You want me to walk you back to your room?”

“... What are you doing the rest of the day?”

He shrugged, surveying his papers. “Eh, probably just research. I’ve been really into electroencephalography.”

She didn’t even stutter. “Oh, like recording brain activity?”

His nonchalance melted into adoration. He beamed at her as if she had reminded him of a fond memory. But he kept his voice even. “Exactly. Why do you ask?”

Jinx took in a sharp breath, uncertain if she was crossing a line. “Is it cool if I just like… sleep? While you’re working? I just… I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“... of course.” He took her empty glass while she snuggled under the covers. “Do you need anything? Any water?”

“I’m good.”

“Alright. Well, Sladkih snov, pupsik.”

She repeated the phrase in a hushed murmur, even though he wouldn’t be dreaming with her. “Sladkih snov, Vik…”

Within minutes, he was already lost in his research again. And Jinx slept, better than she had in days.

                                                       ☆ ☆ ☆                                                        

Progress Day already planned on taking the next day off, regardless of whether it would be in celebration or disappointment.

Usually on their days off, the Kiramman mansion residents would at least have a cup of coffee together, if not an entire breakfast. But today, Mrs. Kiramman had borrowed Caitlyn’s time with an offer she couldn’t refuse: the range. Caitlyn hesitated before she left, checking in with Vi, trying to get a gauge on her feelings about the day before. But Vi didn’t want her to worry, so she faked a smile and told her to have fun.

With Caitlyn gone, Vi spent her morning in the home gym. Her fists flew against the sandbag, numbing the thoughts in her mind. Sleep had reset her emotions, but the more she remembered from yesterday, the more frustrated she became. The poor sandbag stood no chance as she pummeled it, unleashing her confusion and anger. So intense was her workout that even Tobias decided to keep his distance today.

The workout helped, though, gave her an outlet to channel her feelings. After her shower, she only had enough energy to wander the mansion, a ghost in the echoing hallways. She kept the hood of her Hextech hoodie up, like she was on the street. Vi had explored the mansion a few times, Caitlyn giving her the tour, Tobias giving her several. She was quietly disgusted at first, how shiny and clean everything was, but she was even more disgusted at how used to it she’d become after living here for a few weeks.

She heard the distant strains of a guitar, and found herself following the sound, like a ship to a lighthouse. The sound led her to the Kiramman music room, which was mostly unused since they had the studio now. Lux was there, though, legs folded on the floor, tuning the acoustic guitar in her lap. She acknowledged Vi with a tiny nod before returning her focus to the strings.

Vi leaned against the doorframe. She hadn’t meant to avoid Lux, it just kind of… happened. She was just so confused, but hadn’t come up with a way to address it with her. But she deserved an explanation: they both did. “You know it’s our day off, right?” she asked.

“I don’t want to lose again.” Realizing her bluntness, Lux softened it with, “... I’m sorry about Ezreal. I really didn’t know he was going to do that.”

“Oh. Yeah, um, it’s- it’s okay.” In truth, the social media post was far on the back burner of her thoughts. She was still annoyed with Ez, sure, but her priorities were somewhere else. “Lux, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“... Why was Jinx in our dressing room?”

Lux’s fingers hovered over the fret. Her expression was one of guilt, though Vi didn’t know why she would feel guilty. Yet. “Well… I… Remember how I said I crossed paths with her at that party?”

“Yeah,” Vi said.

“That wasn’t exactly… the whole story. We’re like, friends. I guess.”

Frustration frothed in Vi’s stomach, but she pushed it aside. Lux didn’t know how unfair it was, how could she? Obviously, Jinx hadn’t told her anything, and so far Vi had been keeping secrets too.

Lux asked, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Who’s Powder?”

Vi sighed, her shoulders deflating as she did so. “Long story.”

“We have time,” Lux prompted, gently.

Honestly, Vi had expected Caitlyn to say something to Lux first, since they were so close, maybe even explain the situation to her the night before. But apparently not. Caitlyn knew better than anyone that this was Vi’s story to tell, her family’s history. And Vi appreciated that of her.

But Vi had never told the story before. The grief seemed so insurmountable, so impossible to express. And to be honest, part of her was ashamed. Ashamed that she never saw the signs, that she was too lovestruck to protect her sister.

Lux didn’t push her, though, just let her process for a moment. Whether Vi liked it or not, Lux was involved now. The secret wouldn’t stay buried forever, and it would be better for Vi to tell her rather than find out from some exploitative exposé. That, and she sensed that somehow, Lux deserved to know.

So Vi took a seat on the piano bench, and told Powder’s story. She explained how their parents died and how Vander took them in, how they grew up as outcasts and were bullied by their peers. She didn’t go into detail about the car accident: in fact, she kept Mylo and Claggor’s names out. That would be a different story, for a different time.

When she brought up the pub performance, Vi’s voice wavered. But Lux was patient, her silence encouraging her to continue. And Vi managed to make it through. She told her about the nights Powder and Ekko spent partying with Silco. And the night Powder did Shimmer for the first time. And their fight in the living room. Powder’s disappearance. Vander’s court summons. And the final seal of her fate, the name written there: Jinx.

Lux’s jaw dropped at the amount of information, but she kept herself from speaking, let Vi finish. And when she did, Lux joined her on the piano bench, hugging her tightly.

Only then did Vi feel the prick of tears, as a reaction to Lux’s sympathy. Though, she was surprised at how much the grief had dulled: of course, it was still there, it always would be. But it was no longer a bleeding wound, now just an ache in her heart.

The pain was fresh for Lux, though, even being so far removed from everything. “I’m so sorry, Vi.” Lux’s words were intercut with sniffles, the choke of tears thick in her throat. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. To both of you.”

“It’s cool.” It wasn’t. “It is what it is.” 'It' being a shit situation.

Lux had a few more gentle questions that she murmured into Vi’s shoulder, but her tone was free of judgment. She only sought to understand, not to form opinions. When she pulled away, her face was resolute. “I’ll talk to her. Maybe it’s just been a misunderstanding. She might listen to me, it might not be too late.”

“That’s the thing, Lux,” Vi’s voice was low. “I think it is.”

The early afternoon light streamed in through the tall windows. The room was so clean compared to their studio, which had become cluttered with effort. In this room, Lux’s guitar was the only instrument that had been held recently, the others leaning in their display stands.

“Look,” Vi said, wiping her hoodie sleeve against her wet eyes. “Whoever you hang out with is your business. But as someone who knows her… well, who knew her, at least, just… be careful.”

Lux answered in a small voice, “... Okay.”

                                                       ☆ ☆ ☆                                                        

Jinx’s phone rang again. And again she didn’t answer.

She wanted to, she really did. Days had passed since she saw Lux, and she really did want to hear her voice. But fear paralyzed her. Her anxious mind had calculated every possible situation, every path the conversation could follow. She had to be prepared, just in case.

Jinx was alone on her bed, knees drawn to her chest. Fishbones had been growling all day, voice blending into an eerie combination of Silco and Lux. Every time she felt like she was ready, another doubt would flare up. Until a voice, clear and unfiltered, said in a Russian accent, You’re never going to be truly prepared, pupsik. Just call her.

Lux answered instantly, breathless, “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“... Sorry it’s been a few days,” Lux said. “We've been practicing a lot harder.”

“Makes sense.”

“So um…” Lux picked her words carefully. “I have some news. The good news is, you have a sister.” Then, weakly, “Wooo, it’s a girl. But uh… the bad news is that you two are estranged, apparently. And she’s in the rival band. And she’s my roommate.”

Jinx’s heart pounded in her chest, mind racing as she tried to predict what Lux would say next. When Lux didn’t continue, Jinx muttered, “She told you, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The fear returned. Echoes of Lux’s voice played in her mind, shouting at her, criticizing her, judging her. All these scenarios led to the same place: “Let me guess,” Jinx said sourly. She had to protect herself. She had to attack first. “You’ve realized what a shitty person I am.”

Lux did a good job of pretending she was surprised. “Wh-what?”

“You called me to tell me that you hate me-”

“What? No, Jinx-”

But Jinx was on a roll, the storm overtaking her. “And you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

“Jinx, stop.” Lux didn’t yell, just kept her tone even and firm. “Please don’t put words in my mouth.”

Damn if she wasn’t convincing. “You’re just mad because I’m right, aren’t you? That’s what you were going to say anyway.”

“No, I wasn’t, I was going to say-”

“What? That you think I’m a-”

Now Lux raised her voice, but just barely. “Please let me speak!”

Jinx forced her mouth shut, narrowing her focus, ignoring the overlapping echoes.

Lux said softly, “I don’t… I don’t think anything, Jinx. Based on what Vi told me, it seems like there’s… a lot more to unpack. The only reason I brought it up is because I want to be transparent with you. To be honest, I’m kind of hurt that you lied to me. I understand why you did, but it still hurts. I don’t want to lie to you, I don’t want to pretend like I don’t know this stuff even though I do. I just… want you to know. That I know. That’s all.”

Her confusion cut a line through the fear. It was the last thing Jinx had expected, and she didn’t have time to prepare herself. There’s no way this was real. This had to be a trick. “You’re not mad? I mean, you have to admit it was a shitty thing to do.”

“Frankly, it’s none of my business.” Lux’s voice was near to a whisper now. “And besides, I haven’t even heard your side of the story yet. I’m in no position to judge you.”

Jinx’s words were trapped in her throat, scrambled, wanting to lash out but unsure how.

“The only impression I got,” Lux murmured. “Is that you seem like you may be in a lot of pain. And I just wanted to ask, if you feel comfortable, do you want to talk about it?”

“I can’t,” Jinx said quickly. “I won't.”

“Okay, okay.” She was so gentle. Why was she being gentle? “If you change your mind, just know I’m here.”

Jinx wished she could respond. She wished she could tell Lux that she appreciated her, or even that she understood her. But the fear kept her silent. Fishbones was still chomp, chomp, chomping away at her brain, promising betrayal, wrath.

Lux asked, “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

“... Your day.”

She could hear the smile in Lux’s voice as she began orating. It didn’t take her long to get started, and she maintained the ramble, refocusing Jinx’s attention.

As Lux went on, reality began to sink in. She really wasn’t angry. She wasn’t going to yell, or sob, or accuse her. She just… accepted her. And as she continued talking, Jinx began to feel, for the first time, that faint flutter of hope. First Viktor, and now Lux: both of them knew the depth of her darkness, and both of them still stuck around. Maybe she hadn’t gone too far. Maybe she did have a choice in her future. Maybe, just maybe, things would be alright.

She knew better than to get her hopes too far up, though. For now, all she wanted was to listen to the girl that still liked her. Despite everything, Lux was still here. And that was enough.

[ambrosiagoldfish]

Adam x third spouse part 3 I’m begging pookie ❤️

like a time skip to when Charlie appeared and proposed the idea

Benifit of the doubt Pt.4

Adam x 3rd Spouse! Reader

Warnings: General Adam TW’s, a little bit sad for a moment but it’s ok. Gn! Reader! honestly that’s about it I think?? Wow this is the first time it’s been this short in this series.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

Request Box: Open

Word Count: 4617~

A/n: So… it’s been almost 2 months… whoops. In all seriousness though I’m sorry it’s been so long. I’ve just not been in the mood to write and a lot of stuff has been happening (which is finally over) and I’m glad I could finally post this. I was also, if I’m honest, nervous to post this, cause I’m not sure if everyone’s ready for the direction of the story. But I have made it clear that I wanted to do a time skip to the show at somepoint and decided to do it now! If you enjoy this, please let me know cause I’m really nervous about (Not my words of affirmation love language coming out-) ALSO to the requester, I know you said part 3, but I used it for part 4. I got your request as I was making part 3 soooo my bad. Hope you don’t mind tho <3 this will be the last part before the angsty finale (and maybe an epilogue)

Reblogs are always appreciated!

Anyways this was NOT beta read unfortunately, I tried to get as many errors out during the writing process so hopefully it’s fine. Also, there’s probably some words I might have wanted to italicize or make bold that aren’t, but I’m too tired to care honestly.

Tags: @tired-of-life-86 @nervoussystemss @qopia @lovelyemily @hcneyiced @v3r41ynn @ghostdoodlen @nxptvne-13 @ximenavc-che @edgyfluff @ericityyy @diffidentphantom @faimmm @slasher-whore69 @1-randomized @ozzersauce @fanlovedlt @alientee (if I forgot someone or you want to be added just tell me !!)

Days turned to weeks, to months, to years. Until eventually an eon had passed. An entirety filled to the brim with an indescribable happiness and love, threatening to spill over at any given moment. You loved Adam and Adam loved you.

To say it was all happiness would be a lie, there were some moments of sadness and pain, but all relationships were like that, even ones that lasted for eternity. You both always bounced back, apologize and moved on with a stronger bond than before. And you loved every second of it.

A lot has changed in these last few eons. Adam formed a band and is now the most popular guitarist in all of heaven. You both made new friends, some got into heaven while others were made there. Emily was one of these people to you, she looked up to you for being older than her. You’ve existed for almost all of human existence so, of course she’d look up to you.

Adam had also made new friends, his band members, some officials in heaven, but someone he’s grown close to recently was Lute. You're really happy about his friendship with Lute. She seems like a strong and loyal friend, someone that can keep him grounded while still encouraging him to be more himself. Overall, you really liked her.

How they became friends though is something… less tasteful for you. All the way back when Heaven and Hell had their first meeting on what to do with the surplus of sinners in hell causing an uprising. Neither side came to an agreement in the end, you do feel partially to blame for that, but you still stand by what you did.

You never returned to any of the follow up meetings

But Adam did, surprisingly to you. In the end, you were called to talk with Sera and Adam. You were told of the agreement between Heaven and Hell, about the yearly “cleanse” that Adam and his “Exorcists” would have to commit. At first you were shocked, sure, you didn’t have the best experience with sinners and especially with the rulers of hell, but was death really necessary? You didn’t know what to say, and Adam clearly saw this.

“Babe, you alright?” He puts his hand on your shoulder rubbing his thumb in circles. You place your hand on his.

“Yeah it’s just a lot to take in. Are we sure it has to be done… that way?”

Sera looked down in pain “they’re… uprising and are becoming to much of a threat to heaven.”

You sighed as Adam took you in his arms. Adam was fully aware that you don’t share the same sentiment towards sinners as he does. His hatred towards the unholy souls down in hell was brought about by events that you simply cannot understand. Which he is thankful for, he never would want you to experience what he did.

“If there isn’t anything else we can do then… I guess we have no choice. But I don’t want to… kill anyone, even if they are sinners.”

Adam holds you closer “You won’t have to,” you smile at him, the now familiar flickering of his LED mask meeting your gaze before softly frown “you ok?”

You nod, “yeah, just…I wish there was another way.”

-

That was it. Adam would take his exorcists down to hell to kill as many sinners as they could each year. Adam knew you didn’t want him to talk about it , he kept it as separate as he could from your life. You did have to attend meetings regarding it, as one of the very few people to know about it, that was your duty.

You were fine with having that part of the job. You weren't sure if you could kill someone, sinner or not. So, for the countless years to follow, you played your part with every new extermination, attending meetings to deal with the repercussions of each cleanse.

Adam would also have to attend the occasional meeting. Which is exactly what today was. Sera had called you both in to talk.

“Thank you both for coming. I have to inform you that you will be attending a meeting tomorrow.”

Adam groaned “What! Again? This is like the 4th fuckin’ one this week! Ugh fine! Where is it this time? halo city? Cherub towne” Adam’s voice mocked the locations you’ve both been sent to countless times with a high pitched voice. Even you have to admit that the meetings could drag a bit.

Sera's face turned into a slight grimace as she looks away from you both, she sighs and continues “The meeting will be in… hell.”

“What!” Both your voices raise in shock

“Sera, you know I don’t want to go down there again!”

“Why can’t you just send the other fucking dipshits who know about-“ Adam crossed his arms defiantly

“Stop,” Sera raises her hand toward you both “no one wants to go there, and I know you both especially don’t.” She pauses “But you both are the only available angels who know of the cleanse that aren't busy. Please… I understand your disdain but heaven’s business comes first.”

“Who are we even gonna be talking to -Wait a damn minute- Don’t fucking tell me we have to talk to him.”

“I'm sorry…” You all sat in silence for a moment before Sera begins to speak again, “But you both won’t have to worry about physically being there, we have prepared holograms for you, so neither of you would be in any danger.”

“I'll have an Angel escort you to the ‘meeting’ room tomorrow, please, get some rest. I’m sure you both have had a long day.”

With that, you and Adam went home, you were definitely not feeling well about the meeting, but the fact you wouldn’t actually be there calms your nerves a bit. You had to be a little honest with yourself, hell wasn’t really the issue for you, it was more so the people. Lucifer for one, that made you feel uneasy.

The next morning, you and Adam got ready, you had to motivate him a little. He was clearly not excited for this meeting like you. The entire way there he held you close, even though nothing could have hurt you it made him feel better knowing how close you were.

On the way there, you also got Adam some ribs, his favorite. You thought it would help his nerves a bit. Turns out, Lute was the one Sera assigned to escort you both there. That also made you both a little calmer knowing a mutual friend would be there.

The three of you waited in the ‘meeting’ room for a while, about an hour. At first you thought the meeting might had been canceled or moved and you just weren't told. But then, Lute walked up to you both.

“Sir! The Seraphim has told me to inform you that there’s been a change in plans!”

“What? The fucks that mean?” Adam said stuffing a rib into his LED mouth

“Lucifer won’t be attending the meeting, instead… his Daughter will be here in his stead.” Lute’s mask showed a continuous frown and stern expression as she spoke.

“Daughter?” Your voice shook a little. This was news to you, as long as you’ve existed you had never heard he had a daughter while in hell. You look over to Adam to see His LED eyes were wide in shock but his mask turned into a smile as he sighed.

“Phew boy, we sure dodged a big ass bullet, huh Sweetcheeks?” He laughed as his arm pulled you closer. The whole thing caused you to join in. Suddenly your nerves felt a lot better than before.

“When should she be arriving, Lute?”

“Within the hour.”

-

Adam scarfed down another plate of ribs as you all wait for the “princess of hell” to arrive. The entire time you just had to wonder what kind of person she’d be. The daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. The more you thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed.

But suddenly your thoughts were interrupted by the sliding doors opening to the meeting room and a girl steps in, asking if anyone is there.

“She can’t see us?”

“Yeah, Sera gave me a long ass lector on how this stuff works before we got here. Let’s see here…” Adam pushes a button causing a click to sound out as he says “Sup!”

The girl jumps back and falls to the floor, shocked by Adam’s sudden appearance in the room. She introduces herself as Charlie. Adam offers her to shake his hand, only for it to go through.

“Ha! I fuckin’ got you! Did you fucking see that? Good shit.”

You let out a slight laugh, as you sit and watch the meeting happen. Well, you say “meeting” but nothing about it seemed very professional. Adam for the last hour (you honestly wasn’t sure at this point) had been talking about the most random of things.

You or Lute occasionally shakening your head yes or no while listening to him, while Charlie seemed quite tired already. Not that you could blame her, people who weren’t used to Adam’s banter definitely weren’t cut out for it. But You love every word that comes out of his mouth.

Eventually Adam decides that it’s time to get into what you all came here for. Pulling out a bunch of papers, Charlie begins explaining her solution to hell’s overpopulation. You were only really half listening at first, at least before she mentioned that her solution could stop the extermination which peaked your interest.

She explains her “Hazbin Hotel” and its purpose to rehabilitate sinners, you wanted to hear more of it but Adam cut her off.

The meeting didn’t really go that well, At least for Charlie. But the whole thing left quite the impression on you. The idea of ending the extermination was stuck in your head for so long, and now you had someone who had an alternative.

“Adam, are you sure that it couldn’t have worked?”

Adam looks at you in surprise “What? Do you think that shitshow could have actually worked?” He laughed as he placed a hand on your back. “Don’t even pay it any mind, alright Babe?”

“I know, it’s just… you know I don't like the extermination. So another way to lessen the population of hell should at least be looked into.” Your voice was soft enough to barely hear.

Adam’s gaze softened but he didn’t say another word, only wrapping his wing around you pulling you closer. You lean towards him, snuggling into his soft robe. No matter how much you wanted to ignore it, you couldn’t. You needed to do something, anything.

So that night, after Adam fell asleep, you asked to talk with Sera. Leaving a note for Adam saying you went to buy something just in case he woke up.

“What is troubling you?” Sera’s voice was clear and concise.

You looked toward the ground, your nerves feeling tighter than ever, as you struggled with how to put your words together. “You're aware of all that happened in the meeting with Lucifer’s Daughter, right?”

Sera nods her head “of course, all meetings are documented about as they happen.” She tilts her head slightly “What about it?”

“Well!” You steel yourself before continuing “I would like permission to observe Charlie Morningstar’s ‘Hazbin Hotel’”

Sera’s eyes widen, breaking her calm demeanor before giving a firm “No”

“But-“

“It’s too dangerous for you to be there, Adam wouldn’t want that anyways”

“He would listen if it was an order from you!” Your eyes felt watery but you continued “Please Sera… I know you don’t want the extermination to continue. Just let me do this!”

Sera looked away from you, her feelings evident on her face, any mask now down. ‘Just a little more’ you thought

“Sera, I promise you, I’ll be careful! We don’t even have to fully support them yet, just let me observe them. It would be devastating if so many souls parish if we failed to seek all options!” You beg

Sera sighed, shakingly “…I’ll see what I can do.”

Your eyes gleamed up at the tall woman “Sera, thank you, thank you!” You wanted to hug her but out of courtesy, you advised against it.

Sera tells you that she can’t guarantee anything but she will try as she sends you home to rest.

-

A few days past after that and you haven’t heard anything from Sera. It was a little worrying and felt like a bad sign to you. That was, until you were informed by Sera that your request was accepted!

“But.” Sera stops you before you can celebrate “You're only there to keep track of the progress and to make sure nothing is happening under our noses” You nod your head in understanding

“Also…” she pauses “If anything involving this hotel happens, you will have to take full responsibility, understood?”

You nod again “yes I understand. Have you… told Adam yet?”

She shakes her head

“Ok… can you… not tell him it was my idea, please. I don’t think he’d agree if he knew.”

Sera sighs before nodding her head “Very well, I’ll tell him after you leave”

“Thank you.”

-

You return home, when you got back Adam was already gone, Sera must have already called him to the office. You dreaded when he got back. You didn’t want to see him upset, it hurt you to know how worried he was for you.

A few hours later, Adam comes through the door in a panic. He stomps up to you and pulls you into a warm and intense embrace.

“Don’t go down there. I need you here with me” his voice hitches as his wings wrap around you both, curling you both into a warm and feathery ball.

“Adam…” you paused, was this really the best thing to do? No, It had to be. If this goes well, not only will the extermination stop but Adam wouldn’t have to go down to hell ever again.

“Adam, you know I can’t go against Sera’s orders.” You kiss his cheek “and I won’t be gone forever, I’m only supposed to be there till the next cleanse. Not to mention, I’ll always come back to see you.”

Adam grumbled a little “I know, I just… don’t like you being in the same place that bastard is, and in his brat’s stupid hotel! ”

You laugh softly “Adam…” grabbing his hand, you put yours in it, showing off the gold ring on your finger “I’ll never forget my promise. You know that, right?”

Adam looks at the ring, the gold wrapped around your finger with a perfectly snug fit. Everytime he looked at it was just a reminder of your love for him. That promise was something he could never forget. He slowly raises your hand to his LED mask, kissing the back of it. “Of course not.”

“Good. I promise I’ll be fine, ok?”

He nods. Hand in hand, you slowly lead you both to the bed. The both of you lay next to each other, your bodies linked together like knots. You slwoly remove his helmet from his head, laying it on the nightstand.

Your hands move up his body before landing on his face, cupping his cheeks before pulling him to a kiss before snuggling into his chest.

-

Finally it was Time for you to leave. Sera allowed you to create portals back to heaven in case anything happened and you were in need of assistance. Adam walked you to the front gate.

“Ok, do you have everything? You didn’t forget that fucking angelic dagger I had Lute get for you right-“

You shush him “Adam, I told you I’ll be fine!”

He’s sighs “Damn it- I know that but just make sure to text me while your there ok-

You kiss him deeply “Adam. I know, you’ve told me a hundred times.” You smile as you cup his face “I love you”

He sighs “Love you too Sweetcheeks”

With one final kiss, you give Adam a tight hug before waving goodbye as you went through the flaming portal. As you went through, you take a second to look at your surroundings. In front of you was a tall building. You take a few steps back to see LED lights of a sign flashing the words ‘Hazbin Hotel’

You let out a sigh of relief. You had been a tad bit worried you’d spawn somewhere random and you’d have to find the building yourself. But it seems heaven at least spared you of that.

The red skies of hell were quite different from the pristine blue ones of heaven. Even though you just got here, you could already hear the sounds of screams and explosions in the distance. How welcoming.

You steel yourself and with three hard knocks to the door, you wait for someone to open it. Muffled Scurrying sounds of footsteps approach the door before it creaks open revealing the young blond woman in the doorframe, Charlie Morningstar.

“Hi! I’m-“

The door is slammed shut, Before opening again

“Be not afraid-“

It shuts again…

Well, this may be a bit harder than you initially anticipated. You go to knock again only for it to open once more. This time, the door doesn’t close again, instead the girl mutters a quick “Hi” before going quiet.

“Hello! I didn’t mean to scare you!” You give a small laugh before continuing “I believe we met a couple days ago?” You bring your hand towards her for a shake, to which she reciprocates.

“During the meeting with.. Adam? Right?” She grimaced when she mentioned Adam, which you decided to ignore, you simply smiled and nodded. ”but I don’t believe I caught your name?”

You tell her about yourself, about how your there to stay and monitor any progress the hotel may have. You made sure to pronounce ‘may.’ While you were hoping for this idea to show some kind of positive results, even you weren’t sure if it’d would work.

“Charlie? who’s at the door- WhatHolyShit-“ a woman with a red X over her eye suddenly shouts in surprise. You look over at her, She looked very familiar…

“Wait, you are-“

“Vaggie! Charlie’s sinner girlfriend! And you are?!” The woman known as Vaggie, highlighted the word sinner while performing a “be quiet” gesture with her hand. Your eyes widen a little at the ex-Angel in front of you but you simply smile a nod “I’m Y/n, I don’t believe we’ve met, yes?”

Look, lying is the last thing you’d want to do as a citizen of heaven but you figured that it would be fine if it was to protect someone. Vaggie nodded, her face scrunched up in a tense look.

“You feeling ok Vaggie? You’re looking a little… red?”

“I’m fine! *ahem*, Hun, how about you give them a tour of the hotel.”

Charlie gasped “Yes that's perfect, you may as well get acquainted with everyone if you’re going to be here more often!”

Charlie ran off, telling you “this way! This way!” Over and over. Before you went to follow her, you leaned toward Vaggie and said a quick “Relax, I won’t tell anyone.”

She lets out a sigh before muttering “Thank you”

You both follow Charlie as she shows you the various rooms in the hotel before leading you back to the hotel’s lobby and lounge area.

“Hey! Hello everyone!” Charlie’s voice picked up a little “I’d like to introduce you to our uh… new staff member?” You nod in agreement with the title. The room in front of you was shrouded in looks of both horror and amazement.

“What the hell’s an angel doin’ here?” A lanky spider demon spoke up first

“It’sss an ambush! seek Cover!!” The Snake demon shouted, seemingly grabbing an army helmet from thin air before taking a deep dive behind the couch.

“No Pentious-” She sighs “they’re here to monitor the hotel! Heaven sent them to scout any potential progress the hotel will have”

“It’s nice to meet you all” you look at the people in front of you, to say it was a colorful cast would be an understatement.

“These two are our current tenants of the hotel! Angel dust and Sir Pentious!”

The snake slithered slowly from behind the couch up to you, while the Spider demon remained rested on the couch

“Oh… *ahem* Excuse me dear! I am Sir. Pentious! Formally known as ‘the Architect of destruction’!” He laughs, a slight hiss sounding in his voice.

He offers a handshake which you accept. To which you immediately regret. ‘ Slimey’ you thought, before wiping your, now wet hand on your clothes.

The spider demon, who you now know as Angel Dust, just gives a wave with one of his 4 arms.

“And-“ Charlie extends the word as she quickly walk to a bar by the entrance “this is the recreational area, run by our Bartender, Husk!”

The winged bartender seemed entirely uninterested in your presence or even Charlie’s. The most you got was a small glance before he takes a swig of his alcohol and walks off.

“He’s not the most… social guy in hell” she awkwardly laughs before moving on to the next person. “And this is Nifty, our one and only maid at the hotel! Nifty say hi.”

The short woman scurried moved around you, her eye quickly looking at every every nook and cranny of you as she moved. She made numerous attempts to touch and grab various things on you, your clothes, wings, and eventually she tried to climb up you to get to your halo. That’s when you finally grabbed her in place “you're a… fast one, huh? Nice to meet you!”

“And last but not least! This is Alastor, the hotel’s executive producer and our first -and only- overlord sponsor!”

Immediately, you could tell there was something off about Alastor. The entire aura he gave off was as if he was restraining something completely and utterly ungodly. The static that surrounded him was just one of many whispers you could hear from his soul.

“Hello! It’s quite a pleasure to meet someone of your… holy status!” He offers a hand to which you, hesitantly, shake. “And what do we owe the pleasure for your service?”

“They’re going to be here to keep track of the progress of the hotel…” Charlie paused “you know I’m starting to sound like a broken record- here, it’s late, how about we all get some sleep and we can talk about it in the morning!”

“Fine by me, I am waaay too sober to be having social interaction this late” Angel picks himself up and stretches “I’m gonna hit the hay”

“Here I’ll show you to your room!” Charlie smiles “We -obviously- didn’t have time to make your own so I hope you don’t mind using one of the guest rooms” she laughs

She and Vaggie walks you to your new room before leaving you be, The room was nothing more than just your average hotel room. Of course it did have its differences, a multitude of… eyes seem to be on the wall, staring at you. Well, that’s not the least alarming.

You place your stuff down and begin unpacking, you mostly just brought the basics. Clothes, hygiene stuff, your phone, and, most importantly, a framed photo of Adam.

You sat the photo on your nightstand, angling it just right so that it would always be visible to you. As you do so, you think about the memory the photo brings, you took it on one of the first dates you went on with Adam. It was a relatively tame date, you and Adam, having a picnic by a lake at night. You brought candles so you both weren’t completely in the dark, and you just loved the way he looked, his golden eyes watching the water. The dim candle light illuminating his face with a warm golden shade. Adam hates photos of him with his mask off but… You just had to keep that moment in time forever.

*Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

Speak of the- well, you know the rest. The bright light from the phone comes with the notification sound displaying Adam in bold letters. You smile as you read his messages.

Dixkmaster69

Heyy Sweetcheeks, it’s been a bit since you left

You there??

Fucking answer

You let out a small laugh at Adam’s barrage of messages. He’s not used to you being away from him for more than a day, huh? Not that you could blame him, this is honestly nothing compared to how you feel each year he has to do the extermination.

Sweetcheeks

Hey love

Everything’s fine, I’m ok.

Aside from not having you with me :’(

Dixkmaster69

Fucking finally

You know you don’t have to do this

If I bitch enough to Sera I can get you back by tomorrow

Sweetcheeks

Please don’t, Sera already has enough on her plate.

I promise I’m going to be fine

I’ll be back before you know it.

Dixkmaster69

I know

This shit just worries me

Gonna miss hearing your sexy ass voice at night too ;)

You blush at the message before sighing. Whenever you or Adam approached a topic that made him uncomfortable, he would always try to change the subject to something that made him feel better. You knew why, Adam’s someone who rarely talked about his feelings, even after all these eons together that was something he hadn’t changed. You knew exactly what he needed, even if he didn’t explicitly tell you.

Sweetcheeks

I already miss yours too <3

Do you want to help me fall asleep with that heavenly voice of yours on the phone?

Dixkmaster69

Whatever you want Sweetcheeks <3

You smile when, almost immediately, Adam begins calling your phone. You click the lights off before You make your way in your new bed, not even bothering to change out of the clothes you’ve been wearing. You grab the cover and pull it over you and tapping the answer button.

“Sup”

You yawn “Hey handsome, I missed your voice”

You hear his voice hitch before he caused on “Of course you did, no one has a better voice than the dick master. But uh, yours is a close second”

You’re let out a tired giggle, “such a charmer, you. How’s your day been huh?”

“Oh! don’t even get me started on that- Lute took me to get some ribs to ‘calm my nerves’ or some shit and they had me, ME, wait in line for like 15 minutes! The fucking audacity!”

You smile to yourself as Adam tells you about his day, the sound of his voice was like a sweet lullaby to your ears and you couldn’t get enough of it. But eventually…

“And then when I got home, I couldn’t find my damn charger and it took me like 40 fuckin’ minutes to realize it was under our bed, do you have any idea of how it keeps getting there?” He waits for you to respond only to be met with silence. “Uh bitch, I’m talking to you.”

More silence… well no, actually if Adam focused on listening, he could hear the faint sound of your snoring from the phone. Adam sighs,”Long day, huh?”

Adam lays back in your shared bed, getting comfortable. He sets the phone beside him, plugging it in while keeping it on speaker. He yawns, “Goodnight Sweetheart, can’t wait to see you again”

Slowly, the soft sounds of both yours and Adam’s snores filled each others rooms, a distant, but intimate connection. Even in slumber, you couldn’t stop thinking of your handsome and caring soulmate.

[sunsetandthemoon]

saw in your tags you mentioned earthmix were in a serious fight while filming moonlight chicken? what's the story there? (ty in advance if you answer this and np if you don't :) )

Hii. Ok, so, while I do follow them on Instagram and Twitter, I never noticed anything until they talked about it during the MLC promo a few weeks ago, so I definitely don't know the full story, but here is a short summary of all the information that I’ve managed to gather from Twitter.

Apparently, there was a 4-5 month period last year where Earth and Mix were fighting (so-called their “divorce era”). It started with them going from constantly hanging out together to never interacting with each other anymore and fans quickly noticed something was up. Then this video from the MLC set was posted and it only further fueled all the speculations (it looks like a perfectly normal video to me tbh but to some, it looked like Mix was angry or like he was sulking 🤷)

They also had a few work events during that time and fans reported a noticeable tension between them. There was also a lot of subtweeting and indirecting on their social media including posts like this:

which is funny considering this is how they described each other in an interview once

("am I still your flower" is absolutely sending me 💀)

some more Mix retweets x/x

Earth even posted this on his insta story

and then, during the Oishi Magic Of Zero trip, they seemed to have finally gone back to their normal selves (x)

they even acknowledged the fight and said that they had made up and that everything was okay between them again (x/x)

and everyone was happy for them including P'Godji who posted this video (x)

Mix even posted this on his story

which may or may not have been a reference to this scene from ATOTS

then, during their interviews recently, they talked a bit more about their fight (x) (their poor manager 😭)

and P'Aof even teased them about it by saying "the hard part for me is, I wanna work with them when they aren’t fighting with each other" when EM were asked what were the easy/hard parts of working together on three different series (x)

speaking of P’Aof, I need to include this bit from MLC bts where he forgot Jim and Wen weren’t supposed to kiss each other during their sex scene in ep1 because it’s just so funny like dhfjhsdjkd

P‘Aof: *after watching them unnecessarily devour each other five takes in a row while knowing damn well they’re in the middle of their divorce era* “whoops my bad 🤭 please don’t kill me” 😂😂😂😂

(x)

anyway - TLDR - Moonlight Chicken was filmed during their divorce era and they were spending their days filming scenes like this

only to then go home and start subtweeting and shading each other online at the end of the day 😂

but they're making up for it now by being inseparable and constantly posting about each other. there are too many moments to link but here are some honorable mentions: x/x/x/x

including these posts from last night x/x

[kiliinstinct]

The Forbidden Woods

A Genshin Impact Au Pairing: Aether/Xiao Urban Fantasy and Supernatural Romance Find on A03: [Here] Special Thanks to @genavere: My beta. Unsure how I forgot to update this by two chapters, but expect chapter 5 to also drop soon because I posted 4 over a week ago on a03. Whoops. Chapter 3: / Chapter 5:

---

Chapter 4: He Who Lingers

Aether's first conscious thoughts were of a memory. Or something resembling  a memory, old and faded with time.

He had fought with Lumine over some small thing he  didn't recall. Nothing life or death except to a seven year old. They shouted and smacked, tackled each other into the dirt and wrestled through a pile of multi-colored leaves until Lumine called him something that came out as white noise.

It had hurt, whatever the name had been. Nasty and crude, but he couldn’t remember it.

Rather than attack his sister further, he sprang up from their tussle and ran. Fat tears pricking his eyes. He thought he recalled her shouting for him, but chose not to hear it. He rushed to the altar stone, ignored the makeshift chairs they had painstakingly put together and went further still.

He ran and ran, towards the forest line separated by a wooden fence he clambered over with tears obscuring his vision. When he landed on the other side, the world felt as if it had taken a plaintive shift that made Aether dizzy. 

Lumine’s shouting echoed mutely in the distance, and the skies above felt darker, casting everything to purple tones. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and hiccupped, still engulfed in emotion as he processed the world around him.

The woods were quiet; the sounds of his steps echoed as branches snapped beneath his feet. His thoughts of anger and hurt slowly bled away to nervous wonder as his fingers brushed along the leaves of a large fern. He inspected the moss covering the nearby flora, making careful note of the nearby tree covered in large thorns. 

One glance behind him showed the fence still there, paces away, and he nodded. While his heart threatened to beat out of his chest, determination filled him as he took another step, then one more. He shouldn't be here. He knew this, but where else could he go to be alone? Maybe Lumine would feel so bad she'd be in tears once he returned, begging his forgiveness. 

One more step passed those sharp trunks and he sucked in a watery breath, eyes still blurry from his earlier outburst. 

“You shouldn't be here,” A voice, not unlike his own, whispered in his ear and he jumped, a surprised yelp echoed through the quiet wilderness. 

When he tried to run, a hand smaller than his grabbed his wrist, holding it tight. He whirled around to face this stranger with an enraged, terrified shout-

“It's not safe,” the voice urged. 

-Only to meet the gaze of a boy his age, bearing down on him with the brightest, piercing gold eyes he’d ever seen. 

Aether's eyes shot open, the echoes of the dream-like memory fading as fast as they had hit. Bits and pieces of it faded away until all he could remember was the small fight with Lumine, running away and- he let out a pained sigh, feeling a headache behind his eyes. How long had it been since he'd thought about those old fights? Strange how he’d forgotten about them. Groaning, he rolled to the side in his small nest of blankets, gripping his head. 

He felt hungover. And though he hadn’t drank a single alcoholic beverage the night before, it was on the fast track to being the worst he’d ever suffered before. With mouth feeling dry and full of cotton, Aether whined as he shook the last vestiges of the dream off his shoulders, refusing to think on it further. 

Mechanically stretching his body until the sheets exposed his heated skin to the cool air, Aether shuddered and considered balling himself up to sleep a little longer. But another shiver ran down his spine at the thought, fearing more nameless memories coming to haunt him. Instead he reached for his phone to check what little notifications he could see, flinched at the brightness and quickly fought with the phone to lower its settings. After a few failed attempts, he cursed the demon bird for the umpteenth time and attempted to move on to Lumine’s messages. 

Instead, the image gallery from the night before swam into focus, blaring that photo back at him in full brightness. Surprised, the phone slipped from tired fingers and smacked against his face.

“Ow! Son of a-”

Egregious curses filled the house, signaling the official start of his day. 

After what felt like hours, he finally found him with a cup of coffee in hand, bags under his eyes, and a fierce stare at the phone which wounded him.  More specifically, the image that had haunted him since the day before. As much as he wanted to call Lumine, the urge remained paralyzed in the back of his mind, quietly festering as his headache persisted.

Yellow eyes glared at him: narrowed, angry, judging. He sipped his coffee and glared back, as if that alone would solve the mysteries popping up in every corner of his life recently. When nothing obviously happened, he sighed and covered the offended eyes with his finger.

It still didn't make him feel any better hiding them, but it allowed him to try and piece together the rest of the image without being distracted by the intense gaze behind the broken glass.

Squinting, he tried to differentiate between dead pixels and the image. A second later, his cheeks turned red as he realized the man was very naked, legs bent in the perfect position to censor the bits that would have sent Aether into an embarrassed coughing fit. It was odd how long it took him to realize it, as if it took every ounce of focus to translate what his retinas were viewing. 

He could have sworn there were clothes yesterday, but the sight of firm muscles and toned abs said otherwise, leaving Aether to quietly drool from the pixelated visual. The rest of the details were too grainy and glitched, making the man’s skin look off-colored in many places. And was that a tattoo on his shoulder? Not only there but along the hip bones and - He cleared his throat and forced his eyes back up the screen.

Lifting the phone to his face, nose practically pressed against the screen, he tried to visualize what he was missing. The hair was wild, unkempt and uneven, but the teal streaks practically glowed in the sunlight and the eyes-

Crap, when did he stop covering the face? The gaze was back and suddenly he felt exposed, dropping the phone back to the table in discomfort. What was wrong with him?

“It's just a photo,” he muttered in a vain attempt to console himself. “Nothing bad ever happened just looking at a photo. Even if there's a guy looking hotter than-” 

He paused, nose scrunching at his train of thought before quickly squashing it. “Anyway, what I should be focusing on is the fact that there was a guy here and I completely missed it because of a damn bird!”

Yes, that's how he decided to explain it. Obviously, someone was trespassing and he just miraculously hadn't noticed because of a cute bird that he couldn't even see in the image. It made no sense, but the alternative made even less. 

Because, if he didn't tell himself there was a strange hobo living in his backyard, that meant the bird wasn't a bird, and that was insane.

The throbbing in his temple reigned him back in as he slowly sipped his coffee, grimacing at the bitter taste. Somehow, he'd forgotten to bring cream and sugar and was suffering the consequences. That, or Paimon had decided to play a prank on him.

Rubbing his eyes, Aether muttered quiet curses beneath his breath, wondering just what he'd done to feel this horrendous. He wasn't getting sick, was he? Vowing to dig through his bags for excedrin later, he turned his attention back to the phone, gnawing on his lip.

He was on the verge of a realization, that he knew. Even from a distance, the eyes were still intense, but the face shape, the wild, silky-looking hair and downturned lips, all of it was familiar. Like an old friend he hadn't seen in years, or an old dream he'd long forgotten. The feeling he knew this person kept his attention drawn to the rectangular surface far longer than he wanted to admit.

“...Who...are you?” The question fell into the air. 

He thought he heard a voice from his dreams calling back to him in answer. It echoed into his mind like a faded, distant memory.

‘It’s not safe. You have to leave.’

Where had he heard that before? 

A feeling of nausea flooded through him like a wave and he covered his mouth. Bile and stomach acid rose into the back of his mouth as he knocked the chair over in his haste to rush to the bathroom, practically choking on his own spit.  

He didn’t notice the gold eyes peering through the hall window, or the rustling of feathers as he ran past. 

Retching and coughing up what little contents he had in his stomach, Aether quivered over the toilet bowl. Thankful he made it in time, shifting to his knees, he rested his head against the outer porcelain. A conscious part of him was disgusted by the action, but his quaking, overheated muscles refused to move an inch. Another wave shot through his body and his eyes watered from the strain. 

He'd have to get more than headache medicine, he realized. When his stomach finally settled, enough time had passed for the sun to shine directly into the nearest window, heating his back as he shivered. 

Slowly, Aether found the strength to open his eyes again and was stunned to realize the migraine had ebbed away. Even the dizziness that had assaulted his senses since he woke was gone. 

Mumbling weakly, he quietly wished he'd let Lumine and Paimon come with him. Being alone in a large, empty house full of dead memories was eating away at him, and the lack of familiar support left him ungrounded. He missed their laughter, his twin's affectionate teasing and stubborn nature as she stayed by his side. Even Paimon's black hole of a stomach as she begged for a third breakfast.

He missed all of it, and the intensity of those feelings, coupled with his present confusion and sickness, broke through his calm exterior, leaving him sobbing on the floor. “...Why did I even come here?” 

Why didn't he let Lumine sign those papers the day they were asked to sell? Why was he adamant in seeing this forsaken place one last time? What could have been so important? Lumine and Paimon were his family, his little sister had never set foot in this place, being born long after they had left. 

Laying there, listless and exhausted, Aether considered returning early, the broken phone and mysterious image be damned. He could ask Draff to collect his new phone and ship it to him. He could arrange a flight and be back with his siblings in a matter of days. 

With those thoughts forming a quick plan in his mind, Aether finally managed to stand, legs wobbly as he balanced by the sink and quickly began to wash his face and teeth. He flushed the toilet–even gave it a quick scrub for good measure, and sighed, staring into the bathroom mirror with an empty gaze.

The nausea was gone, but the dull tremors of his migraine threatened to return. The person looking back at him barely recognizable and pathetic looking. 

Why was he so sick? No one he had met yesterday seemed ill, and nothing he ate seemed bad. “...I'll just ask Draff to drop me off some flu medicine.”

Now that he was thinking clearer, getting a plane ticket while sick was probably not the greatest plan. In fact, he could imagine the lecture Lumine would give him just for attempting it. 

No, as much as he missed his family, it was better to wait it out and leave when he wasn't a possible contagion to those around him. Deciding to fill his stomach with toast in hopes it would stay down, he left the bathroom and steeled himself to suffer through the rest of the day.

Entering the kitchen with weak stumbles, he stopped when he noticed something on the counter that hadn’t been there before.  Standing proud and alone was a blue pill bottle labeled for flu and day time colds.

When did-? 

He looked around for signs of anyone having gone through the house. The bolt was still on the door and the windows were sealed. Once he was satisfied no one else was in the house, Aether approached the counter and examined the bottle.

“...did I just forget I had this?” No, surely that wasn't right, but what other explanation was there? 

Instinct screamed to trust himself. Aether wasn’t crazy. Not for this. And who in their right mind would take suspicious medications they didn’t remember purchasing themselves? Under normal circumstances, he would have thrown the bottle out, but his mind circled back to the photo on his phone and realized he couldn’t call any of this normal. The bird. Draff’s ability to be oblivious to the strange things around them. The supposedly old Zhongli and Venti–the latter whom he’d yet to meet, and the weird sensations he’d had since approaching their home. 

While he would have chalked all this up to a tv show he’d binge watch back with Lumine and Paimon. The reality, however, was much harder to process and Aether struggled to accept the facts: this wasn’t his imagination. No matter the kind of media he’d once consumed, this was real. He wasn’t imagining any of it. That realization would have probably concerned most people, but Aether realized he hadn’t felt unsafe once. Whatever was out in the woods, he was safe, welcome even. A feeling he quietly admitted he hadn’t felt in a long time. Which is the exact thought that led to him popping two of the pills into his mouth and swallowing without another thought.

As he cleared his throat and returned to his coffee, he thought he heard a familiar warble of a bird, but when he turned to the sound, nothing was there. He wiped his mouth and peered out the window a little longer, eyes narrowed in thought. 

Maybe he really was crazy. 

Or…

Setting the thought aside, he returned to his sleep space with coffee in one hand and the phone in the other. The screen was dark, but he knew what would be looking straight at him the moment it lit up once more. That could also wait until later. Instead, he nestled himself in his blankets and waited for the pills to kick in…or worse. 

It would turn out, Aether was lucky. The worst case scenario failed to happen. In fact, the pill’s he’d taken worked better than he thought. When he next woke after a short rest, the nausea was nonexistent and the headache that once pounded behind his eyes was a distant memory. He stretched under his blankets and smiled, surprised his muscles weren’t sore from his earlier vomiting. 

It was prudent to not expect to be a hundred percent so soon, but Aether felt closer to normal than he had in days.

The busted phone in his hand shined with a blue light around the edges, signifying a notification and he was more than happy to examine it. He smiled as a video message from Paimon and Lumine popped up on the cracked screen. “Let’s see how well you see us with a busted phone, Aether!” Paimon shouted, voice so shrill it pierced his ears even through the machine, “You really are hopeless without us, huh?”

“You haven’t answered your phone or called us back,” Lumine followed behind Paimon, her golden hair a stark difference from their younger sister's platinum, but both of their eyes reflected the same amber as his own, despite the worry. 

“If it’s not too jacked up,” she said tersely, “can you call us back?”

“Yeah! We’re worried about you!”

How the sound of their voices put a song in his heart and lifted his spirits in an instant. It was almost enough to completely forget about the image still opened in the gallery. While the image played out across the screen, slightly chopped and glitched in parts, he smiled and studied their faces. He missed them dearly, but this seemed just enough to chase the looming loneliness from his mood. 

Just when he was about to return the missed call, he heard the same warble of a bird from earlier. It called his attention, pulling him to glance out his window towards the branches of the large oak in the front yard. He almost expected nothing to be there like before, but was surprised to find the demon bird itself peering back at him from the thinnest limb. It was as if the fowl was trying to press itself directly against the window as its head tilted to the side. Another chirp and Aether lifted up his phone in response and waved it with a raised brow. “I got it back, you lil’ gremlin,” he boasted, but was surprised when the bird merely hopped to the outer ledge and pecked the glass in a gentle rat-a-tat-tat, and cocked its head yet again. Aether got the strange impression it was waiting on something. Trying to discern the gaze of a bird, Aether looked around and spied the pill bottle he’d brought with him. It couldn’t be…could it? Logic would suggest that an animal wouldn’t understand the point in a bottle of medication, but after the last few days he’d had, he was starting to run with whatever wild conclusion popped into his mind. He set the phone down, replacing it with the bottle and held it up, stunned to see the bird’s head moving about as it followed the movement, eyes zeroed in on the object. He shook it to the left, then the right, marveling as his little terror kept it in its sights at all times. When he tossed it into the air, attempting to see if the bird would also jump, it squawked indignantly and puffed out its feathers, eliciting a sharp laugh from Aether. 

Too cute, he thought, feeling far less angry at the bird than he was the day before. How could he stay mad at something so adorable? “All right, I’ll stop making you dance. Are you checking in on me?”

How silly, he thought, of course it wasn’t. It’s a bird, Aether, he told himself, yet again, ignoring the quiet reminder towards the image suggesting otherwise. But if his instincts were correct, no matter how insane they might be, then he couldn’t resist testing the theory. “I’m feeling much better now…Thanks? I don’t know how it could have been you, but if it was, I appreciate the help.”

It was just an experiment. That’s all it was. That’s what Aether told himself. One to prove his logic correct once and for all. There was nothing truly weird happening. He didn’t receive medication from a bird and it certainly hadn’t defied physics to deliver it to him. 

The man in his phone was a hacker of some sorts and not the actual bird, and whatever happened at Zhongli’s was just social jitters. This bird didn’t know what he was saying, it probably didn’t even know he was talking to it to begin with. Now that he’d said his piece, the bird would continue not reacting, just as a real bird would and he’d chalk it up to delusions caused by stress. Yes. That was it. Mission a complete suc-

The bird bobbed its head and flapped its wings, brandishing the beautiful golden flight feathers that gleamed in the light. It twirled in its spot, like an actual dance and nodded its head before it took flight, leaving behind a shaking branch as the only sign it had been there in the first place. 

-failure. Mission failure. Aether stared, nonplussed at the window, jaw wide open as his mouth went dry. It looked as if the bird had celebrated the news. That’s exactly what that was, right? He wasn’t crazy? No. He was crazy. Had to be. “...what was in those pills?”

Fresh air, Aether decided, after staring at the window for a ridiculous amount of time, to pay attention to a bird that was no longer there. When he gathered his wits, he realized he must have been in the dusty old place for too long. It was messing with his brain. That had to explain it.

Making a mental note to google what connections there could be to dust and hallucinations later, he sprang from his makeshift bed and rushed himself out the back door. 

His intention was clear. A fresh clear breeze would be just what he needed to battle the old dust of the house and give him a better outlook on the situation. When he stepped out, a gentle wind rustled through his hair, brushing along his face in a gentle caress and the immediate change in temperature eased the tension in his shoulders. The old wood of the porch groaned at every step, but he ignored it. He had more pressing matters to attend to. 

Like the fact he had a perfect view of the stone altar along the border of his land, standing proud and clean and was not helping his train of thought.

Once upon a time, Aether believed in the concept of the unknown: Ghosts, Fairies, Magic and Demons. These weren't just stories to him or Lumine. In this backyard, all stories felt as if they could come alive at any moment. It made their home a wondrous place. And while that feeling of wonder had faded as they grew older, the two of them worked hard to keep that magical feeling alive in their little sister.

These memories, thoughts, and feelings, they warred with each other in his mind. Frivolous, childhood fantasies that were nothing more than a young boy's imagination–he thought he believed that, but now Aether wasn't so sure. 

He wondered if his sense of nostalgia was causing him to see the world differently, but the more he dismissed his experiences as a flight of fancy, the more it churned in his stomach like a sickness. Maybe there was still a part of him that wanted the magic of childhood to be more than silly memories.

There was no sight of the bird. A fact that filled Aether with quiet disappointment. He had hoped its nest was nearby, giving him more opportunities to observe it. Inhaling deeply, he sat on the steps of the decaying wooden porch and frowned. 

The fogginess that plagued his mind that morning was long gone, but he was no closer to escaping his muddied thoughts than he was before. Rather than continue to circle through each moment and consideration, he chose instead to lean against the rails, gazing between the runs as he enjoyed the evening air.

The sun was just starting its downward descent, a testament to the passage of time while Aether was lost in the clouds of his own mind. He shut his eyes, opened them again, and clenched them shut once more, as if expecting something to change with each blink. 

Nothing did. 

The backyard remained the same with the grass almost on the verge of being too high, the debris he cleared off still littered by the large oak, and the stone altar–a staunch difference from the modern world. 

He remembered asking why it was there once, but his Father had merely shrugged and stated it had been there long before they were and would still be there after they left. Now older, it was clearly a fancy way to say, 'I don't know,' but Aether had enjoyed the reasoning regardless.

It sounded...mystical back then. And even now, with the stories and myths echoing in his skull, it still felt beyond the world he knew beyond Springvale. 

Keeping his eyes closed for longer, he immersed himself in his senses. The wind was still gentle, a cool brush along the back of his neck in the late spring air while the scent of the nearby woods and wildflowers eased his nerves. Taking a deep breath, Aether basked and allowed himself to imagine the world as he did when younger.

While he knew the world would remain as it was, once he opened his eyes again, he enjoyed pretending it wouldn't. That there was truth in the old tales and that the stone altar was more than just an ancient relic of a culture long lost. It could be a place where birds, plants, and even the elements could appear more than they were. Where they could walk next to Aether just as any other person could.

It was a nice thought that was soon interrupted by the familiar, distant sound of flapping. 

Another bird? Aether wouldn't be surprised if a whole flock made their nests somewhere nearby, but the lone flapping was gone as fast as he heard it, followed by the crunching of undergrowth and twigs in the distance.

His eyes shot open, startled by the sound as if it occurred beside him, but his gaze trailed further off towards the treeline. The world remained the same, but his earlier consideration towards an intruder slammed back into him like a bag of bricks. Someone was out there. In the woods. They were close. He heard it loud and clear, Aether was certain. 

Not a bird. Not an animal. Human footsteps. 

Aether jumped to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness it caused as he held fast to the railing and leaned forward, eyes narrowed in earnest. 

“Who's out there?” he called fiercely, already planning his escape back into the house. And if that didn’t work? What other places would he hide? The options weighed heavily in his mind.

He had no weapons. If a hunter was poaching nearby, Aether was defenseless. He didn’t see the familiar orange vest of a hunter exploring through the thickets, nor did he see the silhouette of a gun or compound bow. In the past, these were the staple of all legal hunters in the area and the locals were good at following the hunting laws to the letter. Was it the same still? Aether squinted his eyes, attempting to see further into the wood.

Another step, quieter, and Aether realized everything was just as quiet. No birds sounded and the wind had stopped just as suddenly. As if the world had paused in an instant all around him and left him spying the tree line for anything.

Someone was there.

And finally, he saw them; Their yellow eyes pierced him through the distance. Just like the photo on his phone, the man that should have been a bird, stepped behind a collection of trees with only the hint of teal and black hair dispersing into the shadows. Aether felt his heart tighten as the air left his lungs.

He'd seen that before. Not in a photo or in the identical coloring of a bird dancing in the tree limbs, but from a dream that felt like a memory. He exhaled sharply, recalling the small boy that had once urged him to never enter the woods, and who often joined him and Lumine in their childhood games.

An imaginary friend, his Mom had called it, having never seen the boy for herself. Eventually, Aether had convinced himself the same, but the taller, older proof had slipped into the shadows of the darkwood as if he'd belonged there. 

Aether's mouth ran dry, his fingers shook. A bit of fear bled into excitement as he launched himself off the railing and dashed off towards the fence. His bare feet smarted when he tripped over a root and stepped on a twig, but he hastily moved onward, wincing briefly as his earlier dizziness sprang upon him like a tsunami. 

“Wait, wait-!” he called, desperately , eyes blurring once he'd slammed himself against the fencepost nearest the treeline. He glanced through every gap in the trees, desperately wanting to see what he was so sure he knew now. 

It couldn't be real, and yet it was. That was the man in the photo–who was also a bird, who swam in his memories as a quiet, gentle reminder from an old friend, to never step into the forest.

Recklessly, he climbed over the fence and grunted when another twig snapped beneath his feet. Logic no longer bound Aether in place as he looked for the safest path into the trees. He didn't know just how far he planned to go, only that the intense need to see the truth up close spurred him onward.

Three steps forward, however, and the world flipped on its head. Aether toppled to the earth with grass and leaves filling his mouth and tickling his nostrils. Coughing, he pushed himself up, body shaking as a wave of illness struck him just as hard that morning, as if it had never left.

“...s-shit!” He cursed, weakly looking onward as the world grew hazy. A strange fog swam into his vision, tinting the world around him as he struggled to sit up. 

Stupid. How could he have been so stupid!

'You can't come here,' the voice, Aether now recognized as an old, forgotten friend, whispered in his ears. 'Never again. Stay safe, alive and happy, far away from here- please.'

He thought he saw someone approach as his head hit the dirt, darkness covering his vision yet again. 

In this new dream, he felt strong arms lift him securely and carry him out of the woods, voice muttering words he could not understand quietly in his ear.

When Aether woke up, he was back in his room, body sore from head to toe, and stomach feeling inside out. A cool rag sat atop his head and a fresh glass of water sat on the nightstand beside him.

Right beside it, the mysterious medicine, sitting atop a long, golden feather.

[waffliesinyoface]

anyways i just read all of naruto in like a week so i am now qualified to have The Most Correct Opinions.

Land of Waves arc is unironically the best one

its also the ONLY standard mission in the entire manga?? literally, at no point does anyone interact with a client after tazuna, its all in response to orochimaru/akatsuki. Naruto your resume is ridiculous. The reason Kakashi is 6th Hokage is not because Naruto wasn't strong enough, but because he needed to learn what the actual job of being a ninja entails. Yes you are very strong but you do need to have a basic grasp of paperwork systems.

Its kind of weird that, out of all the akatsuki, kisame is the one who hangs around the longest. Most of the others show up, do their bit, and then are immediately killed. Kisame is introduced first and dies last.

i've already mentioned this in another post but the Cycle of Hatred thing does not work. It worked as a motivation for Pein, but like. The reason the villages kept declaring war on each other wasn't for revenge, it was because their economic system was inherently tied to being the one with the strongest military and also they were paranoid that if someone else got too strong they would be invaded first.

Related: they should've had warring clans exposition and details about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wars BEFORE Pein showed up. If there were more details about wars in the past presented in a tragic-but-still-overall-necessary light, then Pein showing up and going "you miserable bastards trample over everyone weaker than you and deserve to be punished or it." It would have had more weight. Literally you could've slotted this during Naruto's initial training with Jiraiya as a follow-up to Hiruzen's "The chuunin exams are a replacement for war" speech.

Sakura why the fuck didnt you marry Ino

Kishimoto did Sakura so dirty at every turn. Literally every time she gets screentime she goes "THIS TIME... I WILL BE THE ONE WHO PROTECTS YOU...!" and has a cool moment, and then gets immediately overshadowed.

Literally at one point she's like "in the chuunin exams i was so weak... i hid behind you guys at every turn" and i felt like I was going insane because both during wave and the chuunin exams she has moments where she's like "yeah i dont have any special powers but i DO have a knife and you're going through me FIRST, fucker" which is honestly way cooler to me than like 90% of all the jutsu bullshit. Literally she stands in between a berserk gaara and a crippled sasuke armed with nothing but a kunai and pure fucking grit.

its very funny to me that the first time naruto ever does a nature transformation its rasenshuriken. Kakashi woke up in a cold sweat one day and realized he forgot to do the most basic teaching about chakra theory when they were genin. Whoops.

Im sorry but i legitimately do not care about the sage OR his sons OR the reincarnation twist. Its not interesting to me and I WILL be ignoring it. I'm all for the sage being reminded of his kids or the idea of history being cyclical, but explicitly going "no youre a reincarnation, this was Fated" is dumb and kishimoto SHOULD feel bad.

Edo Tensei arc is unironically very funny to me. Kabuto is having a mid-life crisis and has turned into a snake about it, and has decided to raise a bunch of dead badasses for. reasons. honestly i am not sure how his goals required obito or the akatsuki??

Anyways he raises a bunch of badasses and WHOOPS theyre all comedians. Deidara and Sasori are bickering, Itachi is being even more of an unhinged control freak than normal, the Mizukage is curbstomping everyone while berating them for not hitting the weakpoints he's explicitly telling them about, Tobirama is annoyed at everyone but mostly himself for actually coming up with this jutsu, and madara puts his entire plan on hold for a minute because he sensed his ex boyfriend and got incredibly horny.

Orochimaru gets brought back to life and promptly goes "actually i take back my plans about konoha, watching sasuke is INFINITELY more entertaining. Also I'm going to help out against the akatsuki because Kabuto's snake fursona is a tacky knockoff of me and I'm disowning him for being lame." I also liked him being chummy with Tsunade, that was very cute. I kind of wish Jiraiya HAD gotten edo tensei'd so that all three sannin could have been reunited on the same side? It would have been cute??

I feel strongly that Sakura and Karin deserve to go to some hot springs together and mutually complain to each other about being unfortunately attracted to the most misogynistic man on the planet after kishimoto himself. Orochimaru and Ino can tag along because they LOVE gossip and complaining.

Gai being the only person on the planet strong enough to beat the crap out of Madara is great, actually. Yes you can block all ninjutsu and genjutsu, but can you block his fists? No.

The "special chakra" produced in uchiha brains is actually entirely unrelated to the sharingan. It mostly just causes brain damage. This is why Madara, Obito, and Sasuke are all Like That.

Obito's heel face turn and the ensuing team up with Kakashi is, against all odds, actually good. I am willing to overlook Obito temporarily coming back from the dead through sheer willpower both because its cool and because we've already established chakra is bullshit and ghosts exist.

Obito your plans are dumb, your motivation is stupid, your critical thinking skills are nonexistent, and your coping mechanisms are insane. Somehow I still like you, despite this??

Does anybody at all like kaguya. Anybody.

Everything about the epilogue annoys me. Mirai and Sarada can stay, everything else I am actively choosing to ignore.

Frankly I'm confused and appalled that kishimoto wrote sasuke and naruto like that, and then put them in heterosexual marriages with other people.

[foxett]

Hey guys did you know im clinically insane and have multiple OMORI AUs not just swingset? Yapping below! (Spoilers for canon game sometimes i guess)

Swingset AU / SSAU / TRTT (two ropes tied together)(fic name abbreviation) wasn't even the first au I've made.

The first one i really created was ODS (Omori didn't succumb) but the original concept of that whole au is completely different to what it ended up. Originally it was Sunny surviving the bad ending but I changed it to him just remaining as a ghost that can sorta turn physical at will. No I will not make a fic of this.

The next au i can remember making (after swingset) was Kanpekikel (which i completely forgot existed until a few days ago) which is just your average hikikel au with a side of horrible parenting and lots of Kel angst. No, again, I will not write anything of this. I'm pretty sure Kanpekikel was a really early version of Daburumori without the whole double isolation for the kiddos thing.

Like a few days after i got the general idea of Wasurerumori which basically. Everyone forgets Mari and Sunny ever existed and Sunny has to navigate his new reality of "whoops guess nothing ever happened then! My friends don't know me" - again nothing planned to be written

I don't know when but i had a conversation with my friend which led to RWmori being created. Rain world/Omori au where everyone is a slugcat (but anthro. Clothes and stuff!) and deals with the Omori plot with bonus spice (Sunny is Hunter from rain world, a character that literally is terminally ill. Whoops. Sorry Sunter (the name)). I don't plan to write a fic of this one BUT I did start an animatic of it. Might finish it. We'll see.

Daburumori is my second most fleshed out au. I have some (outdated) reference sheets for the main gang (+headspace vers for Kel and Sunny) just check out the tag i guess. I will probably not write anything of it as the plot isn't really cohesive. Might make little comics though!

The next au(?) is basically more of a fic idea. I called it Fire And Ice and i might write it alongside swingset but without the usual once per week updates. It's basically just suntan with some royalty, magic and transgendering. You know me, i love suntan!

I promise not all of these aus are suntan. I PROMISE. (I might be in denial) (Sorry i love suntan sorry sorry AugghhHHHHH)

The last au i have is sporemori which is a big mess of media i like. Infections, mushrooms that really like growing in your bodies, elements from the ghibli movie 'Nausicaa and the valley of the wind' (I don't remember the name please don't attack me) and a whole lot of body horror! I've actually drawn sunny for this au but since i haven't finished anyone else's designs i won't post it unless i randomly get possessed and finish them all. I MIGHT write something for it. No promises. I tried to write something but it got a bit too messy 2k words in (and it was just like. Before the plot?)

Edit! I somehow forgot the existence of headspaced au. It's not that big of an au and it'd work more as a mod. But i cannot mod. Which is why i refuse to associate myself with this au because it's hell on earth to try to explain the lore. /Hj

Fox out ! Yay seeya

[songofsaraneth]

ok i finally realized i FORGOT to actually post any update here about Kazul's tank upgrade whoops! It has been a whole Saga. Mostly because the guy I buy tanks from took (Boaphile) his website offline in 2021 just as I was ready to place an order... i thought maybe he was just updating it (since it looked like it was last revamped in perhaps 1995), but after 6 months, it was STILL offline.

So I did what any normal, hinged person would do and used the wayback machine to get to the archived version to track down his phone number and call him. Turns out he wasn't dead but he DID have to have rotator cuff surgery so said he wouldn't be able to make tanks again until summer 2022 at the earliest. I'd been hoping for earlier but Kazul was still under 6ft so I was like ok fine. Well September 2022 the website finally started coming back online in bits and pieces (while now more modern i would not actually say it is more Functional, and there are still now Lorem Ipsum text blocks here and there, but whatever). Spring 2023 the banner that things were under construction finally disappeared and I placed my order!!

At the time the advertised wait time was 12 weeks. I checked back in June, and there was another banner saying they were flooded with orders so had temporarily closed them to catch up. Ok, sure, running behind. August comes around and I'm like ok I should have an update by now at least and played phone tag for a few weeks... and eventually discovered that my order had gotten lost along the line somewhere (as in the printer paper with my tank details on it telling them what to build, not a whole tank lost in the mail). Sooooo i got put at the start of the queue for the next batch and FINALLY it shipped and arrived at the end of November. To compare the first order I placed took pretty much exactly 10 weeks back in 2017 so I do think this was just bad timing and fluke. However... they forgot to include the thermostat i also bought :| So I had to wait another 2 weeks for that to ship out to me too.

ANYWAY. I finally got it in mid December, but didn't want to throw a whole new section on the week before i left to visit family for the holidays. So I didn't set everything up til January. I'll put all those pics in another post because this one is already long and not that interesting but I shall keep the timeline on record here in case I need to reference it ever. Here's a pic of her though because why not :3

[bvannn]

Weekly Update February 9, 2024

The sick has returned. I took my medicine for it this morning but so far it doesn’t seem like it’s gone away, but admittedly my symptoms today could be the result of me having a bad day and it being cold outside, and not necessarily the sick. That’s also why I’m posting this update earlier than usual. If it persists tomorrow I’ll know it’s more surgery side effects, and maybe I’ll message my doctor if it stays throughout the week again. Last week went pretty well so I want to assume this week being messed up was just a fluke. I still got some stuff done, though.

I got a bunch of drawings done, most of them epithet erased and fanart rather than OCs but that’s fine. Fwiw I did get a few more comic pages done, though not one a day like I was hoping. I’ll try another tonight, maybe more if I’m in a good mood. I’m also starting to listen to more music, which should hopefully get inspiration flowing a bit better so I can do more OC art as well.

I still got an animation shaped void I need to fill but haven’t figured out what to do yet. I’d like to try something to music but I gotta get a song done first. So I’ve been trying to work on music but I’ve been so scatterbrained that it’s a bit hard. I’m hoping this weekend I’ll have time, but good chance I’ll try to spend it keeping my mood high instead. I guess I could do some OC animation tests, figure out how clip studio animation works too. Maybe.

Music: been toying with some slow ambient instrumental stuff, and that bigger edm one with the piano I posted a sample of a while ago. Turns out EDM is super easy, so if I can find reasons to keep doing it I will, although admittedly I’m not as big on it as I am on other genres. I’m close to done on that EDM one, partially because it’s supposed to be kinda short. I haven’t touched lyric stuff, I might have to soon though since my congenial medical bs is flaring up again too, and lyrics are luckily something I can do while bedridden. Idk I like how the instrumental is going.

I redid that melody I posted the other day for the ambient track, admittedly didn’t change much but I swapped the third measure out, dropped a few notes, and actually tried it on a lower bpm and with some reverb because I forgot to do that for the samples I posted (whoops), and it sounds fine. I need some other parts for that one still, maybe I’ll use placeholders and just figure out the rest of the instrumentation bc I got that half finished.

Haven’t touched vocaloid again yet. Maybe I’ll make some quick demos so I can understand how tuning works. I’ll probably pick a memey or old song and if I make anything presentable I’ll post it.

Been looking for more VSTs too, I compare it to looking for new brushes whenever you’re dissatisfied with your art. Vital has been good for EDM, basically fixed all my problems for me, again. Also started messing with decentsampler again and it’s probably going to fix my problems when I’m working on that ambient track.

I think this weekend and next week I’ll aim to get some time with the big fancy keyboard and just unload a bunch of recording at once. Force myself to finish shit. Tonight I’d like to as well, but that depends on how bad my homework ends up. And if I get flare ups again. I’m still working on dealing with that condition but I need two or three more surgeries before it’s really going to be gone. And I have to wait for those. I’m not worried about money for now since I’m pretty sure I can get a decent job after I graduate (and at a minimum I can go back to the job I had last summer which I liked and paid pretty well). Right now I don’t have a source of income but I think I’ll be fine, I just need to not spend money, which I’m pretty good at. Next week I’ll focus on music stuff first, throw in some drawings if I can, and keep at those comic thumbnails. Once those are done I’ll start on pages.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

X-Force #47

I’d honestly almost forgot this came out today, despite having checked it this morning. Haha whoops. But we here, we doing this

We open following Sir I Barely Appear In This Because I Have My Own Book running from Orchis post Gala

Aw Sage no, if you save Logan we’l just take over and inner monologue over everything

Cut to a few weeks later and the team is looking for a place in the Arctic to plant a new hone base. The best part; Arkady got a coat

That might sound like a stupid thing to be excited about (and it is) but he so rarely gets alternate outfits, not to mention the last time he was in this environment he didn’t get a coat. Plus it’s kinda cute. Also Laura looks very Gabby-ish

So they set up the Greenhouse. Logan yells at Quinten to man up; Quinten passes out after getting a psychic flash of his girlfriend. Sage and Tom are still setting stuff up. Laura and Domino go to intercept intruders but…

It’s Daken! As well as Northstar and Aurora, but mainly sibling reunion! So nice to see.

Anyways, later Quinten wakes up after another psychic flash and ditches the team to go find his girlfriend on the remnants of the island, putting them all in jeopardy. But before that we cut outside to Arkady

He pokes so happy being by himself with that fire. Then he’s reporting in properly. And his eyes are weird…this is just kinda a nice page…and really his main spotlight time since we’ve checked in on everyone else but him in setting this place up.

Dom talks to Piotr who’s suffering from some PTSD and guilt. Logan and Daken have a “gad you’re not dead” talk as they start taking in refugees

It’s nice Laura is hanging out with Arkady despite her dad and brother being around. Shame it won’t last.

Piotr comes out to talk to Logan…

About Victor. Now at first I was confused because he wouldn’t know about the inter dimensional zombie clone army because that was Orchis. But then I realized he was probably going to tell him he broke out of the Pit, since he was part of the council of dumb at that point in time.

Dunno though since Quinten interrupts that by crashing in front of them with his girlfriend. The Howletts all circle up around him as we cut away to Beast with a sniper rifle about to shoot them.

So overall, it wasn’t that bad. We’re getting a slight breather as we setup for the next arc and wrap up the previous, as well as potentially sewing the seeds for Sabretooth War. It’s still a shame that everyone got some form of checkin with their characters except Arkady. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next I guess. New year is bringing us new plot threads…mostly Logan centric but still new threads…hopefully

[sushigal007]

Whoops, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I blame the covid. Totally wiped me out. It’s also been a busy few weeks at work, plus my kid got themselves a theme park pass, and half my free time is now spent driving to Thorpe Park. And, my sister has been to Greece about four times this year already ‘cause our mum’s been unwell, and that’s me on airport driving duty. Basically, too much real life, not enough simulated life. But! I’m ill again, which means I’ve finally managed to claw a few hours spare to post the Ramirez household. Say hi to Checo, everyone!

Right, time to drug your army of children.

Checo and Lisa: Actually, we would like to bang.

And I would like you to train your quads. Lisa: Isn’t that what the nanny’s for?

Huh, apparently so!

But we can also add in a little parentification now that Tessa’s ageing up.

Tessa: These hands were made for jazz.

Yep, Tessa’s LTW is to become Lord of the Dance. We’ll see how that goes.

Max also grew up! Nobody noticed.

So yeah, this is Tessa’s life now. Tessa: It’s not quite the dance party I was expecting.

Still, there are sweet moments along the way. Erica: Huggles? Alyson: Huggles!

Terence: Huggles? Jacob: DOG FOOD ATTACK RARRRRGH.

Terence: D:

Tessa: Lock my door.

Lisa: I AM NOT- Having a good time? Lisa: GET SOME NEW MATERIAL. Lisa: AND USE IT TO ENTERTAIN ME.

All right, here’s something funny. Lisa: The... nanny? Keep watching.

Nanny: I was so busy potty training the children, I forgot to potty train myself! Lisa: It’s mean, but OK, it’s a little funny. (That’s not all nanny piss btw, I’m just very bad at catching Max in the act.)

Speaking of piss.

Jacob: There there, good potty.

Checo: He can pee in a pot, he’s my favourite now.

Jacob: High chair. Checo: You’re so right!

Lisa, alas, is not enjoying toddlers quite as much. Lisa: I’m too pretty for this.

Erica: RELEASEEEEEE MEEEEEEE!

Terence: Laid a fresh one for you, mom.

Lisa: This is fine.

Tessa: OK, you put your left leg in, your left leg out. In, out, in, out, and shake it all about.

Terence: Sis, hey, sis, hey. Erica: Hush please, I am concentrating.

Terence: That’s right, hand it over. Erica: Oh. I see how it is.

Bath time for stinky boys.

A problem for future Sushi.

At last, the toddler stage is over! Tessa: Do you wanna go first or...? Checo: Oh yeah, sure, no problem.

Checo: But first, let me ogle my wife. Tessa: Soon I will be at university and all of this will be behind me...

First up, Erica! Erica: Yay!

Then Alyson! Checo: Hooray for me! Alyson: Hooray for cake.

Tessa ad Sharla: Happy birthday to the wall!

Next up is Jacob, assuming I haven’t got the names mixed up.

Kennedy: Toot toot.

Jacob: Limbo!

Lisa: Whew, right in the nick of time. Lisa: So long as we ignore the bit where time kept going looping for three hours so I could finish this.

But yes, finally it’s Terence’s turn to grow up.

Benjamin: I’m gonna punch him. Please don’t. Benjamin: Gonna punch him so hard.

Celebrate good times, come on!

Erica: Wait a minute...

Erica: I hate that stupid bear outfit. Alyson: I think he’s hibernating!

Jacob: Does he have to do it at the bottom of the stairs though?

Erica lives at the piano now. Her OTH is Sports.

Tessa: Something about emergencies, I guess.

Lisa: Finally, I can start working on the damn car.

Good Lord.

Let’s have a little playtime interlude.

Mailman: Bills. Erica: Do you accept lemonade? Mailman: Not in exchange for bills. Erica: How about in exchange for money? Mailman: Technically, that is also bills.

Fuck that librarian.

Lisa: Whatever. I’m taking a nap.

Um.

Checo: Hot wife! Freezing cold wife, actually. Wanna do something about that? Checo: Nope!

Why? He hasn’t done anything. Alyson: Yet.

Tessa: Ahhh, dance time!

Chess party.

Gaming party.

Just lots of cute family bonding moments.

Checo: I’m too sexy for my shirt.

Bath time for stinky boys. Which I know I said last time too, but I just really like this pet bath.

Werewolf: Is she OK? No.

Lisa: Zzzz... piss... Checo: On it.

Yeah she might actually die.

Gilbert: Yeah good luck with that.

Lisa: Ugh, what happened? You lost your job and passed out in the absolute worst place possible.

Lisa: I’m freezing! Don’t worry, you’re about to warm yourself up.

Lisa: Eek nooo!

Wanda: HAHAHAHAHA! Lisa: This is because I laughed at the nanny, isn’t it? Yeah, that probably didn’t help.

Anyway, over to Tessa. Tessa: Look, somebody else is pissing themselves! Buck:

Tessa: BAM! In the face!

Decided to check out the furniture store and once again, it is borked. Cashier: It’s Kevin’s fault. Other cashier: Yeah, definitely Kevin.

But you know what? I don’t know how to stop it from happening again, nobody’s got a business LTW anyway, so bye bye business!

Checo: And now to spend the profits.

Lisa: Mmm, that piss puddle really sets the mood. ...There is way too much piss in this update.

If you two make more quads, I will genuinely kill you.

Newspaper kid: Shake? Tessa: Salute.

Tessa: Love love peace peace?

Cute little family dance party. Terence: Except me. Except you.

Jacob: I wanna join in! Go right ahead, sweetie.

Alyson: Are you OK? Terence: Clearly not.

Erica: You might be watching me, but who do you think is watching you? Please don’t, I’m too ill for dep thinking.

Cute!

Please don’t die. Lisa: Frostbite couldn’t do it, and electrocution ain’t gonna do it either.

Weekend! I sent Tessa out to do some singing...

...And then decided to start working on those dance contests for her LTW.

Alas, her first attempt was a failure.

Still, at least she doesn’t take it as badly as this poor townie. Townie: I JUST WANNA DANCE LIKE NO-ONE’S WATCHING! Everyone’s watching. Everyone.

Erica: I’m dying. Alyson: You’re wearing a vest and shorts outside in winter, of course you’re dying.

Alyson: But now, a message about recycling.

Ah how sweet, doomed townie love.

Tessa: Hey, don’t mind me, just gonna practise my moves.

Wait a minute, that looks familiar...

I mean, without the shotgun, but yeah!

And the week ends with Alyson doing a little stargazing. Next up is a single sim household, so hopefully it won’t take me three months to write up. Hopefully!

Uberhood Index

[nattinatalia]

That Insta AU…..OH MY GOODNESS IM READY 4 THIS FIC. But here’s some of my favorite comments:

newman I’ve been in Adrian’s life more than you have, so chill with the fake hurt. Immediately I LOVEEE THIS NEW MAN 😭

user tea. Where were you?

newman I took the picture This was under a pic of her saying ANOTHER MAN can be her baby daddy 💀 tell me y’all don’t like this man! Like Jack who?

hisnewgirlname 😍😍😍 They can never be you baby. They can try though. This delusional ass bitch, who gon tell her JACK DOESN’T WANT HER DESPERATE ASS!!

hisnewgirlname Best daddy ever!!!! Can’t wait for you to be like this with our babies. Really Bitch…..😐

yourbestiename You need to mind YOUR business and do your job as manager, nothing else. Stop being so obsessed with him, he’s not going to date u. TELL HER!! PUT THAT N**LAM BITCH IN HER PLACE 🗣️

yourusername I forgot to post these last month, but throwback to Thanksgiving with the Rivera’s ❤️ going into two years with my man, and my baby boy’s birthday is in a few weeks. Life is perfect 🙏🏻 what I’m hearing is that new man ain’t so new 👀 like Jack ANOTHER MAN RAISED YO CHILD!!

jackharlow I don’t even be claiming them. I want to claim you though 🤪🤪🤪 my man is willing to risk his obsessed ass manger and his groupie ass girlfriend 😭

jackharlow I’ll follow that ass anywhere 😇 🤪 THE BOLDNESS OF HIM RN, I cant 💀 like JACKMAN what has gotten into u 🙈

hisnewgirlname YOU GOT ME FUCKED UP. I have your location on Jack. He obviously DOES. NOT. GIVE. A. FUCK. MOVE ON GROUPIE ASS HOE 🙄

blancaa Jack and his entire little circle talk so much mierda when it comes to the way my cousin raises Adrian. But his circle doesn’t question why it took Jack almost 3 years to come looking for his son. All of you love to act hurt or get mad that my cousin is doing better without Jack, she has a wonderful man and a beautiful baby boy, her life is perfect. I’ll be damned if I let any of you losers ruin it for her. Like my cousin said, enough talking, PULL THE FUCK UP!!!!!! I SEE NO FUCKING LIE!! My girl Blanca always speaking facts 🤷🏽‍♀️

druski2funnny 🍿 I’m just here for the shit show. Can y’all just fight already!!? He is messyyy as fuck 😭 and I love it..

YOU MADE MY NIGHT!!!!!!!

😭😭😭

All of this 😂👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

New man isn’t really that new. He’s been around since DAY ONE!!!!!!! we can’t say that about Jack 🙄

Also, he was cheering her on when she took that picture with bad bunny 🤪 win man for sure!!!!!!!! He’s not going anywhere!!!!!!!

Jack, new girl & Neelam might get jumped soon!!! At this rate they all need a good ass whooping!!!!!

[chososcamgirl]

HIHIHI IYA DAILY CHECK IN HRUUU⁉️

IVE BEEN LACKING ON MY TUMBLR ASKS LATELY BCUZ IVE BEEN GETTING MORE SUN IN (due to recent events) BUT IM HEALING AND THINGS ARE MAKING PROGRESS 🤗🤗 IM SOSOSO SORRY I HAVENT CHECKED IN ON U RECENTLY BUT IM GOING THRU UR PAGE RN AND TRYING TO CATCH UP🙏💯 (UPDATE ME ON ANYTHING/EVERYTHING THATS HAPPENED 🙏🐺)

IM TAKING A BREAK FROM SCHOOL RN BECAUSE I NEED TO MEET CERTAIN CONDITIONS TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK ON CAMPUS 😭😭 AND I MIGHT NOT BE ON TUMBLR AS MUCH SO HERES MY DISC (mikikoo.o) AGAIN IM SO SO SOOO SORRY FOR NOT CHECKING IN AND STUFF I PROMISE IM TRYING TO BE MORE ACTIVE 😔💔

I STARTED WATCHING MOB PYSCHO AND ITS SO GOOD OMG⁉️⁉️ TBH WHEN I GOT BACK INTO ANIME I THOUGHT I WOULD ONLY WATCH JJK BUT NOW IM GETTING INTO OTHER SHOWS🤗🤗

AND I GOT BACK INTO ARTTTT YAYYYY CUS I HAD A HUGEEE ART BLOCK BEFORE BUT IM GLAD IM DRAWING AGAIN 🙏🙏

ALSO YES I KNOW ANON IS OFF CUS THIS IS AN ALPHA ANON REVEAL 😈🐺 ALSO I WANNA GET INTO POSTING STUFF BUT IDK WHAT TO POST 😔💯

SO EXCITED FOR SJAP WEEKENDDDD OMFJENEBDNEJEBE ‼️‼️ BUT MAKE SURE UR NOT TOO TIRED ITS OKAY IF WERE EDGED 💗💗🤗

ALSO HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL PURPLE EYED ONIGIRI SPEAKING BF TOGE 🤗💗🤤

SORRY THIS ONE IS SO SHORTTTT ‼️‼️💯 ILL MAKE SURE TO DO A LONGER ONE TMRW + I BELIEVE I HAVE ONE IN UR INBOX⁉️⁉️ UNLESS I FORGOT TO SEND THAT ONE 😔😔

ALSO AOTD… NONE TODAY 😭😭 SORRY I REALLY NEED TO KEEP MY ASKS UP TO DATE 😔😔😔

QOTDDDDDD WHAT ARE U GONNA BE FOR HALLOWEEN??? (Idk if I did this one alr or not if I did then sorry 😢💔)

OKOK I HOPE U HAVE A VERY VERY SKIBIDI AMAZING DAY SIGMA ILYSMMMM TAKW CARE🤗🤗🤗 #BLESSUP😇‼️

MIKO!!! <333

hi lovely i meant to answer this last time but i completely forgot and the ask ended up glitching😭 hi hello how are you angel i hope you are well!! <3

btw NEWS GUYS!! miko is alpha anon🙂‍↕��� if you can’t tell already… HOORAY!! another anon revealed!!! i’m so glad you’re healing and taking precautions on getting better lovely! i’m so glad you’re here with us again :) ERM SO!!!! i’ve just been working LITCH that’s it. my life is so boring atm i honestly just want to start uni so i can have something more FULFILLING but omg i’m meeting up with my long distance friend VERY SOON so i’m sosososo excited like i miss her BAD😭 it’s been 551 days since we last saw eachother 💔

OOOOO okay i’ll add you on discord after i send this ask but that’s totally okay!! do what you need to do to get better🙂‍↕️ we’ll definitely talk more on there too! OOOOO mob psycho is def on my list after i finish aot and bsd🙏 i wanna start demon slayer again TOO rahhh so many things to do!!!! YAY FOR ART BLOCK BEING OVER!! blocks in general SUCK but the relief after is SO GOOD🗣️🗣️🔥 WHOOP i’m glad you can post pictures now.. heh… 😈

IM SUPER EXCITED FOR SJAP WEEKEND AND SJAP HALLOWEEN!!! i’m like shaking in my boots.. DONT WORRY ITS DEF GETTING POSTED THIS WEEK🤫🤫🙇‍♀️ also i litch missed my favs birthday too😓 the ONE day i wasn’t on tumblr it was his birthday KMS💔💔 HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY THO KING!! UR FINE!! DONT STRESS!! also i do not believe i have any other of ur asks in here 😭 UNLESS MY INBOX IS GLITCHED OUT BUT I’LL DOUBLE CHECK!!!

AOTD‼️ I AM DRESSING UP AS MAXINE MINX !!!! i am sososoos excited for it to debut i did a practice run and god it looks so fire HBY🫵

ILY TOO MIKO/ALPHA!!! <33 HAVE A SUPER SKIBIDI DAY😏😏

[avariceaside]

I have once again forgotten to post my last hollow knight adventure from last week, and I did a LOT today so I think I'm going to make two posts.

First things first, my playthrough from last week... I actually don't remember that much because my memory is shite and I've been going to sleep past 1am for the past week.

For a quick summary of what I do recall, I explored more of the crystal peaks and tried to skip getting the monarch wings to get the pale ore at the top, but I sadly am not a speedrunner and gave that up pretty quickly. I then went to a place I hadn't explored yet, which turned out to be the snail shaman's hut. But I uh... I forgot I had the crystal heart, which led to me trying to jump over the pit... leading to me falling into the Resting Grounds, finding the Dreamers, and getting the Dreamnail, which while unwelcome was a surprising detour. I eventually made it back INTO the hut and died multiple times trying to get to the top and then looked up what the rewards were, and then proceeded to rage quit the area. Look, descending dark and a grub are nice and all but those crystal hunter things are soooo frustrating!! I just couldn't do it

After that I think I went back to the sewers to try and get Isma's tear, which wasn't too bad. The Dung Defender fight only took me a handful of tries, mostly thanks to spamming desolate dive lol. I got Isma's tear pretty quick after that and explored a little bit of the other side of the City of Tears. I also think I went around to some of the acid areas that were blocked off before but I don't remember that super well. ALSO! I was so scared I'd killed the Defender for good and couldn't talk to him again, and I was really upset because he seems cool, and I was so relived when I went back to the area and he was there.

I visited the Nailmaster in Greenpath, and the parkour frustrated me to no end. It seemed like it should be so easy but those stupid thorns kept killing me, and sometimes my crystal heart wouldn't activate and I'd just fall into the pit. ugh T.T But I eventually reached his hut and got the nail art, and I think that was about it for that night.

I got the Dreamnail, Isma's tear, and a new Nail art, as well as some new locations to add to the map, and the Dreamer markers. The only major area I hadn't explored yet was... Deepnest (and also the Anicent Basin that I found that day but shhhh, its foreshadowing)

But I think I'm going to call that the post for today, and I'll post today's playthrough sometime tomorrow because it's 1 am again. Whoops

[junkdrawernoggin]

All of my kids!

So technically I lied in the last post. Myles I only have character creation photos of and originally she was a tiefling, but I forgot she's an elf now. Whoops

Anyway here is every single PC I've ever made.

Top Row:

Cerise was my first ever run. I think she was a light cleric. I *might* have made it to the druids grove with her but I'm pretty sure I just played the tutorial. Cerise just came from my obsession with cherries.

Talryne Duskryn! "Pain Blooded." Tav, Oath of devotion paladin. I still consider her my canon tav run. Love her dearly, but also haven't played her in months. She's in act 3 but hasn't done anything.

Vilara! I cannot remember what her name means. Tav, OoD paladin. I actually really love her because I really experimented with roleplaying her. She's a truly good person where Tal was more mixed. Romanced Gale with her. I think she finished Act 2?

Middle Row:

Poetry Lightwish. Tav OoD paladin tiefling. She is my multiplayer character and I've only played her 3 times I think.

Minot Rhine. Tav Assassin Rogue tiefling. Wanted to play rogue and romance Wyll. I did really love playing rogue. I only stopped playing her because I wanted to try dark urge. I think she is in Act 2?

Haeliiv'a Anchev! "Marked Warrior of Destruction." Dark Urge War Cleric. Truly my babygirl. I think her run alone ended up being almost 250 hours. My first game completion.

Bottom Row: All created this week

Umbraea. Bard. Thrown into the sun because I was so frusturated I wasn't enjoying the game.

Rylmer'ryn. "Branded Weapon of Doom." War Cleric durge. Bad guy run going after Minthara.

Felynafae. "Pale Slayer." War cleric durge. tactician run.

So yeah I think it would be funny to do a story with all of them meeting.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 301: All My Todorokis

Previously on BnHA: We learned that when a bunch of superpowered villains are suddenly set loose with nobody around to stop them, things get fucked pretty quickly. Old Man Samurai and a bunch of other useless people decided to make “I pretend I do not see it” their new mantra, and resigned. Endeavor had a moment of despair on account of being crushed by the guilt of having ruined the lives of himself, his family, and basically everyone else in the entire world. For various reasons the heretical notion of “person who has done bad things feels sorry for doing them” sent fandom spiraling into a meltdown, so that was fun. The chapter ended with the entire Todoroki clan descending upon Enji’s hospital room to have a dramatic chat about Touya and All That General Fuckery.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “here’s the story of how Baby Touya slowly went insane trying to win his father’s love.” It’s a tale full of subverted expectations and heartbreaking inevitability, and also like twenty panels of the cutest fucking kids who ever existed on planet earth, who are so fucking cute that I can’t stop thinking about their cuteness even with all of the horrifying family tragedy unfolding around them. It is absolutely ridiculous how cute they are. Touya is out here pushing his tiny body past its limits because he inherited the same obsession as his dad and neither of them can put it aside even though it’s destroying them, and yet all I can think about is Baby Shouto’s (。･o･｡) face. Anyways what a chapter.

so I have to confess that even though I managed to avoid being caught off-guard by the early leaks, the number of people reblogging my Endeavor posts from earlier this week and using the tag “bnha 301” kind of gave me an inkling that this chapter will include more Tododrama lol. that said, I don’t know anything else about it, so we’re still good spoiler-wise

AHHHHH FLAHSBAKC AHHHH. omg I know I typoed the shit out of that, but I’m just going to leave it lol I think it’s fitting

holy shit holy fuck. so this is Rei and Enji’s first meeting, then??

yepppp, oh shit

so wait, I know this is not even the slightest bit important, but are they meeting at Enji’s home or Rei’s? because I always figured that Enji was the one with the super-Japanese aesthetic, but maybe that was Rei’s side of the family all along

(ETA: from what I found during my very brief google search, omiai meetings are often held at fancy hotels or restaurants, so maybe that’s what this is.)

there’s such a period drama feel to this setting. like it’s so outrageously formal fff how can anyone stand this kind of atmosphere though seriously

OH THANK GOD

I mean they’re still stiff af but at least they’re not rigidly sitting in seiza and staring at each other unblinkingly anymore lol. Enji’s actually got his hands in his pockets now. why is this somehow almost cute

oh damn it’s the flowers

Rei seems so subdued and it’s so hard to get any idea of what she’s actually thinking. I want to see her side of this dammit

but anyway, so at least from Enji’s perspective it seems like even though the marriage was arranged and he picked her because of her quirk, he still loved his wife and wanted to do right by her. the fact that he was watching her and noticed that she liked the flowers, and remembered that detail for all these years -- there’s a reason why Horikoshi’s showing us this. we know what’s going to happen later on; we know how much fear and violence and breaking of trust is coming up ahead, and while it may seem like this scene is serving to soften Enji’s character further -- which to be fair it is -- it also helps drive home the full impact of his abuse. that it’s so terrible not only because of the trauma of the abuse itself, but also because of the way it retroactively destroys all of the good things as well. this could have potentially been such a sweet scene, but it’s inescapably tainted by the knowledge of what’s to come, at least for me. and that’s just brutal

anyways, shit. is the whole chapter going to be like this?? feel free to toss in something I can actually make a joke about sometime, Horikoshi

oop, back to the present

omfg lol

“are you all right” “NO I’M NOT ALL RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK.” “oh, right, because of all the stuff that’s happened with me abusing you and you having a mental breakdown and being hospitalized for ten years and then our son coming back to life and killing thirty people, right, right. I almost forgot.” whoops

omfg you guys I’m loving this new and improved steely-eyed Rei. I’m loving her a lot

and what do you mean “part one” fkjds how long is this going to be. TOO MUCH DRAMA FOR ONE CHAPTER TO HANDLE

oh, hello

yeah I’ll say you did. didn’t seem to bother you much at the time, though

HMMMMMMMMMMMM

Dabi Is A Noumu intensifies even further. anyways though would you fucking look at this boy lounging on this moth-eaten couch doing his best DRAW ME LIKE YOUR FRENCH GIRLS impression wtf

Dabi what if you actually had killed him??? what would you feel?? satisfaction?? regret?? anything at all?? tell me your secrets goddammit

who are you talking to buddy

Fuyumi-chan, Natsu-kun (is it common for brothers to address each other as -kun?? can’t recall seeing that in many other anime, but hey), and “dot dot dot,,,,,, SHOUTO” lol thank you so much for this bountiful heaping of Tododrama Horikoshi we are blessed

AH, WHAT DID I SAY THE OTHER DAY

ULTIMATE MELODRAMATIC THEATER CHILD. “I’M JUST GOING TO LIE ON THIS COUCH SHIRTLESS AND ALONE AND MAKE SPEECHES TO MY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO AREN’T THERE AND SAY THINGS LIKE ‘WATCH ME IN THE PITS OF HELL’ WITH A STRAIGHT FACE BECAUSE NO ONE’S THERE TO JUDGE ME.” WELL JOKE’S ON YOU MISTER CHATTERBOX BECAUSE I AM IN FACT JUDGING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU LOL

(ETA: and on a more serious note, it’s interesting to see that “look at me”/”watch me” theme being used again though, because we see that same sentiment uttered repeatedly by the younger Touya in the flashback. well kid, you definitely got your wish at last. don’t know what else to say.)

OKAY HORIKOSHI HAS DECIDED THAT’S ENOUGH FUN, TIME FOR MORE FLASHBACKS

oh my sweet precious lord

just as cute as we left him. giving us a child this cute when we all know full well what’s going to happen to him is just unspeakably cruel though

HOMG

I’m fucking speechless. you broke me, congratulations. what am I even supposed to do with this

I can’t get over this. moving forward my life will be split into two distinct parts, B.P. (Before the Pout) and A.P. (After the Pout)

and meanwhile there’s ALL THIS BACKGROUND ANGST BUILDING UP, AND I CAN’T EVEN FOCUS ON IT. Touya’s arm and cheek are covered in bandages (I’m guessing this is shortly after that “ouch!” panel we got some chapters back), and Enji is deliberately avoiding training with him because he doesn’t want him to hurt himself further. I can’t fucking get over the irony that all this time everyone thought Touya had died because Enji pushed him too far in his training, and it turns out that it’s the opposite -- the tragedy ultimately happened because he didn’t want to push him. but I’m jumping ahead of myself though I guess

by the way,

remember this?? just wanted to remind you that it exists just in case you forgot

so now someone is talking and basically saying that Touya is the exact opposite of what Enji was hoping for when he decided to start playing with quirk genetics

-- okay hold up

...lol no, never mind. for a second I thought “holy shit he looks kind of familiar WHAT IF IT’S UJIKO OMG” before I remembered that Enji would have recognized him during the hospital capture mission if that was the case. so NEVER MIND, PROCEED

IMAGINE THAT, ENJI DOESN’T QUITE SEEM SATISFIED WITH THIS SUGGESTION OF QUITTING NOW

(ETA: how the fuck did this man go around saving 62 towns in a single day what even is All Might.)

[clicks tongue several times] trouble a’brewin’

MEANWHILE BABY TOUYA HAS UNFORTUNATELY INHERITED HIS DAD’S STUBBORN STREAK

KLDIHWOEIJFL:KSDJ

!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god. oh my god. what is this chapter. WHAT IS IT

so now Touya is all “YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND MY MANLY DESIRE TO BURN MYSELF ALIVE” well you got her there champ

THEY’RE TOO CUTE. OH MY GOD. HIS FURIOUS LITTLE TEARS. HER CHUBBY LIL FACE. HIS STUBBY LIL FISTS. SOMEONE HELP ME

also are they just home alone lol or what. “hey Touya, you’re what, like six now?? do us a favor and look after your baby sister for a couple hours for us would you? make sure not to set yourself on fire or anything.” WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!!

now it’s nighttime and Enji and Rei are arguing, presumably about his decision not to train Touya anymore

whew. okay. so, a couple of things here

1. first of all I think this conclusively shows that Enji really was trying to do the best he could for Touya. he stopped training him as soon as he realized it was hurting him, but Touya was still determined so he tried to make it work anyway, and even visited doctors to try and figure out if there was anything they could do. then, once they were absolutely sure that it wasn’t going to work, he tried multiple times to explain to Touya why they had to stop. he didn’t just abandon him out of the blue, which is really important to note. “no matter how much I tried telling him...”

so yeah, that debunks another common fandom accusation. so by the time he finally makes this decision, which we all know is going to turn out horribly, it’s basically because he’s already tried everything else he could think of. which, by the way, still doesn’t mean he handled this right. but at the very least he was taking Touya’s feelings into account and he was trying, and he didn’t just abruptly toss his son aside (at least not yet)

2. buuuut, then there’s this panel right below all that

which is the other side of it. if he’d just quit like the doctor person advised him to, that would have been the end of it. Touya would still have been upset, but he would have eventually gotten over it and the family would have moved on and possibly even been happy. but what happens next happens because Enji can’t let go. he still has this maddening urge to surpass All Might, and so he and Rei keep having more children, and then Shouto is born, and Enji finally has a kid he can start projecting all of his hysterical ambitions onto once again, and everything starts spiraling out of control soon after

though p.s. none of that is Shouto’s fault though!! he’s one of the few good things to come out of this whole mess and I’m very happy that he exists. the tragedy is that his dad fucking lost his mind over his quirk and fucked everything up. but that’s on him, not Touya or Shouto

anyways, SLKFJLSHGLKJL

I CAN’T FUCKING TAKE THIS YOU GUYS??? LOOK AT THAT LIL BUTTON OF A NOSE??? I’M LOSING IT HERE???

AND TOUYA JUST SEEMS DEVASTATED OMG

because children aren’t stupid, after all. he understands that his dad is still looking to surpass All Might. and so he feels like a failure, and feels like his dad is trying to replace him because he wasn’t good enough. and even now, isn’t that what the adult Touya is trying to prove?? that he was good enough after all?? “I’ll show you what happens when you give up on me, dad”?? “I’ll show you what I can do”?? fuck my life fuck everything

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TOLL THAT IT’S ALL TAKING ON REI GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AS WELL OH GOD

really nice touch here with the panel outlines becoming all shimmery from the heat of Endeavor’s flames (and/or becoming more unstable as the family gets closer and closer to their breaking point). but man, Horikoshi I can’t handle this, please show us more cute kids or something I can’t

GKELKWFJLDKSHFLKL

WITTLE BABE. BEEB. BUBS. SMOL. lkj; oh ouch a piece of my heart just detached and latched onto him huh look at that

TODOROKI “I’M SO SMALL AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON AND I DIDN’T ASK TO BE HERE” SHOUTO AHHHHH

crazy how they all just seem to know right off the bat lol. kid doesn’t even have object permanence yet, let alone a quirk. but do they care?? IT’S THE HAIR, RIGHT. WE’RE ALL THINKING IT, I’M JUST GONNA COME OUT AND SAY IT. they knew the minute they looked at him lol

AND MEANWHILE TOUYA IS OFF HAVING UNSUPERVISED TRAINING/CRYING SESSIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OR WHATEVER, AND, UH OH

are those blue flames yet?? they seem pretty close

(ETA: this is one of the few cases where the manga being in black and white is infuriating lol.)

OH MY GOD AND STILL

so it’s not like he was so disinterested that he didn’t notice what was happening, and he was still trying to stop it and get through to him. trying to reassure him that it wasn’t the end of the world and there were other things he could do with his life, but this one particular thing just wasn’t going to happen

fucking hell. it’s agonizing seeing how close they actually were to fixing it. if he’d only said the right words, or if he’d realized at this point how destructive his obsession could be to his kids, and backed off from putting that same pressure on Shouto. we came so close to possibly having a happy ending

AND ALSO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING BUT PLEASE LOOK AT HOW TOUYA IS LIKE THREE AND A HALF FEET TALL AND HIS DAD IS LIKE NINE AND A HALF FEET. Touya barely comes past his knees flkjlkg. the Todoroki household must have been so filled with like plastic stepstools to reach the bathroom sink and all the little baby toothbrushes, and baby gates to keep the kiddos out of the important grown-up rooms and stuff. and also days-old half-empty cups of water and stale crackers and hot wheels and my little ponies strewn everywhere

“BUT EVERYONE AT SCHOOL SAYS THEY’RE GONNA BE HEROES” a wild Deku parallel appears?? how bout that

I know this is like a pivotal moment in the Todo Tragedy and all, but fucking look at this lil dumpling

“sup bro, it’s me, the manifestation of your fears of inadequacy and lack of fatherly affections. a GAAA. ba-baAA-baa [gurgling baby sounds]”

OHHHHH IT’S THE SOUND OF MY HEART BREAKING OH NO

HE WANTS TO BE LIKE YOU ENJI. good lord somebody please just get this family some therapy

“DAD YOU IGNITED IT IN ME” flkjslkj nope, nope. not ready for this pain here

baby Shouto, would you like to weigh in on this affair? “DA!! ba-ga-daaa, [pacifier chewing noises]” oh my, you don’t say. so insightful for one so young

OH MY GODDDDDD

IT’S SO DRAMATIC BUT ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT ARE THE SHOUNEN WOOSH LINES SURROUNDING FOUR-MONTH-OLD SHOUTO LOL HE WAS LIKE THIS FROM BIRTH OH MY GOD I AM DYING HELP

SHOUTO YOU’RE RUINING THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER!?!?!

“yo, the fuck kind of family was I fucking born into” oh, son. if you only knew. IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!

(ETA: lmao I got so distracted by the ridiculous cuteness that I glossed over the fact that Baby Touya seems to possibly be aiming at him?? it’s hard to tell because he’s also super out of it from heatstroke and may just be losing control in his attempt to show off his upgrade.)

ANYWAY THAT’S THE END EXCEPT WHAT’S THIS LAST LINE OMG

ffffff. and we’re in for ANOTHER chapter of this next week?? MORE drama?? MORE BABIES?? MORE OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TOUYA’S SLOW DESCENT INTO MADNESS. MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT, BUT ALSO YES PLEASE SIGN ME UP

[whiskeyandwolfsbane]

8/9 - 12:51PM

Whoops. I kind of forgot this blog existed, lol, my bad.

Not much has been happening though so that's alright. Here's the rundown regardless for anybody who might be bothering to keep up with this blog (I know at least two of you, hello!).

So far, everything is healing up pretty well. I haven't really needed painkillers in quite some time, though I've taken some once or twice when my chest happened to have more shooting pains/twinges than usual. Not because I needed it - the pain has been manageable - but because I am kind of worried that if I don't take pain meds, it'll get worse, and I'd rather kick it before it gets to that point. Nothing crazy though, I haven't had the oxycodone in a while.

Itching isn't as bad finally, though it is still frustrating. We've been changing out bandages and cleaning the grafts, which look gnarly as hell but are progressing well, I think. The steri-strips over the incision marks is starting to peel off as the stitches beneath them dissolve. I'm going back to the medical centre again for a post op appointment on the 11th, which is also when I'll yet again attempt to contact someone about that goddamned paperwork.

Ah yeah, the paperwork. Where I'm at there: apparently I was denied paid medical leave because I'm like, 50 hours short of having worked at a real job for an entire year. I wasn't going to bother appealing the decision because like... it's not as though I can magically provide another 50 hours of work out of nowhere, I doubt they'll approve me.

But shortly after I got that news, I got an email from work basically stating that I should appeal it, because if I don't get medical leave approved, all they can do is put me on a thirty day leave of absence, and then I have to use my PTO to cover any other recovery time.

I personally think that sounds like horseshit, especially since (wrong form or not), they have a doctors' note written by my surgeon in his own handwriting stating that I'm not supposed to really go back to work until September 9th. So what exactly can you do except allow me to recover for that long? Firing me over it (since by the way, I don't even have enough PTO, since I've only accrued maybe thirteen hours in the last half a year) seems illegal.

But whatever. I'm gonna appeal it. However, unless I want to actually meet with a court and have a hearing - and I very much do not - what I can do instead is just request a review or something. Unfortunately, for that, I need the correct paperwork - which if you recall, is floating around in Red Tape Hell somewhere in the far off distance.

So I'm gonna wait another day to see if that paperwork gets back to me, but if it doesn't, what I am going to do is contact my social worker - he called that same day I was dealing with this shit at the medical centre and when I told him what was up, he said that if this isn't taken care of in a week, to call him and tell him and he'll try and get people moving.

Unrelated - I hope - but I got a horrible nosebleed the other night too. Like... I'm not gonna get too graphic but it was freaky. Lots of coagulated gross shit and way more blood than I feel is normal. I used to get terrible nosebleeds when I was younger due to stress and cold/dry weather usually, and I could breathe much easier when it stopped, so I'm pretty sure that it wasn't anything serious, just a combination of factors and my congested sinuses finally clearing out somewhat. But I'm trying to keep a mental eye on things just in case it might be something to worry about.

And that's where I'm at with that.

Otherwise... life is about the same as usual. I just play video games, watch videos, try to spend more time reading or drawing or anything but looking at a screen because I do that way too often. I've been obsessed lately with WolfQuest, an oooold game I used to adore as a preteen that I recently rediscovered. You play as a wolf in Yellowstone, and it's centred on realism/teaching you through gameplay about Yellowstone's wolves. I like it.

Mentally: stressed. It was nice up until the 4th or so to just. Not have anything to freak out about. But of course with the nonstop haranguing by my job and the inability to get medical leave squared away ASAP, it's right back to frayed nerves.

Which I hate but hey, capitalism.

I'm stressed about money, and already thinking maybe I should try to be... I dunno. Doing something worthwhile, as in, worthwhile to society so that I can get money to scrape by with, but I'm not physically capable of most things right now. I just really wish I could find an at-home job that I could survive on so I didn't have to put up with this, it's destroying me mentally, and I'm not even WORKING right now. (Which is part of the problem while simultaneously meant to be the solution.)

I'm trying to distract myself as best I can from the thoughts though, because I never get to just exist without stressing about work, and I want to make the most of it before I'm thrown headfirst back into the Rat Race.

And that's about it, yup. Anyway, I'll try and update again soon.