#we love a very musically talented space boy

[shiraishi-kanade]

An Shiraishi is always trying to be someone else: a short and messy analysis on how Vivid Street (unintentionally) messed her up

You know, I kind of have my own issues with the "Wishing to the Blue Sky for Your Happiness!" event, but a lot of my criticism of it boiled down to "huh, it's kind of weird how they gave An this insecurity out of nowhere, she didn't struggle with being herself before. Seems to be a reach just so Shizuku could have a role."

But that was before the Vivid Old Tale, and boy I'll admit I was very wrong.

The relationship between An and Nagi are... Very interesting, to say the least.

But there's no doubt that An absolutely idolizes Nagi. Sure, there's been this line about An always wanting to he a musical like her father, but we also know that for the most part, it was Nagi who taught her to sing, as well as Nagi who acted as An's mentor figure in a more emotional way.

In a way, An won the lottery. She was born into a family that loves her, into a community thay loves her, and just so happened to be talented and passionate about something that community values most. However, that talent has left her little to no space to actually... See herself as someone outside of it.

Now, none of this is actually necessarily negative by default. Having high expectations to one's children isn't necessarily bad either; with the right approach, it can make them grow and want to grow. We've also seen this happen with Touya in his childhood, which us another neat parallel.

But, unlike Touya, An has been very comfortable in her role, precisely because of her talent and being able to reach the very high bar raised for her. That comfort just... never made her reach out to something other than the place and the future she was already familiar with, because she never needed to. She was Ken's daughter and she was talented and everyone in town loved her and she promised to be the better than her dad and everyone took her seriously. What else could she possibly need?

In a way, An had her dole cut out to her before she was even born.

And then there's Nagi.

Yes, Nagi is An's role model. But there's more to that than just An looking up to her.

More than just being taught by her, An actually picks up Nagi's mannerisms, forms or speech, and even moral values (pretty much the entire point of Vivid Old Tale).

An saw, too, how much Nagi meant for the people of Vivid Street. She wanted to mean as much for them, too; rather, she already did mean as much, but she needed to be someone to justify being loved. It's not necessarily a conscious thought process but more of a subtle one: if you notice your community loves some traits of you more than the others, or values some aspects of you more, you start to lean more and more into them in order to fit in and be accepted.

For An, those particular traits were being talented, being Ken's daughter, but also... Being very similar to Nagi.

Them acting "like sisters" has been highlighted over

and over

and over again, even by people unfamiliar with Nagi, well into An's teenage years.

And it's not exactly... A complete coincidence on everyone's part. At one point, Nagi openly states she wants An to be like her, to be able to see things from the same perspective. At least to some extent, some of the actions Nagi takes to make that happen are completely deliberate.

So An tries to be like Nagi. This is both a conscious effort on her part and something that just... Is sort of a hidden force that shapes her into who she is. If you watch Nagi and compare even the way she talks with people of the town to the more mature, somewhat-grown up but not quite there yet An we have today... There's so many similarities it's uncanny. An is still much more hot-headed and impulsive, but that caring, considerate side of her shines through even more than before.

An doesn't try to deny or hide that, too. In fact, she's actually pretty proud of it.

(Whether Ken lied to her to make her feel better or if that expression was just a reaction to being reminded of Nagi passing away & the masquerade that followed after that, we'll never know.)

But here's the kicker: there's so much of Nagi in An it's hard to pinpoint where Nagi-san's traits end and An's own personality begins, if it even does. Because of how early has everyone decided on An's future, and because An never did anything to even hint at wanting to do something different (which she didn't! Sometimes people want to continue their family's legacy and that's completely normal and fine - again, she just got really lucky, both with her talent and supportive surroundings), An subconsciously kind of accepted that being like Nagi is... Just who she is.

That comes with taking on Nagi's part in the community, too. In the same way Nagi took care of everyone in town by helping them out at events, so too, does An - just to a much lesser extent, by going out of her way to keep in touch with everyone, going to events, and helping at a cafe, too.

But An doesn't purposely mold or change her personality to be like her role model, too. This is important: An doesn't wear a mask because she doesn't need to. In her mind, she already is like Nagi, or at least, she's on track to be, without doing particularly anything different. Because they're just so similar they're so close and practically behave like sisters, and because An grew up singing in the town exactly like Nagi did, and because she loves the town just like Nagi did - what else could An possibly need to do except get better at singing and get more grown up?

You know, to reach that mature and down-to-earth side of Nagi that we often see in the past?

That side?

Yeah.

Now the Shizuan event's conflict isn't so out of place, is it?

But anyway, back to the point.

Because of Nagi wording things the way she does and because of people on Vivid Street making such a point of their similarities, An naturally assumed she would eventually become like Nagi. This is why, even aside from Kohane's improvement, aside An's abandonment issues, Kick It Up a Notch is a giant slap to the face for An, as well as her wake-up call.

Kohane taking on Nagi's mantle before An was able to, or potentially ever could, isn't just about singing - it's an attempt at An's entire sense of self, just as well as her place in the world, and on the smaller sense, her hometown, too.

Because if An is not Nagi, she doesn't belong.

Because An never knew how to do anything but sing. Because becoming like her family, like Nagi, was the only option she ever imagined for herself ever since she was a child.

And if An is not Nagi, then who the hell is she?

[this post was very much inspired by @the-one-that-weeps 's An analysis post, who kind of put this much more eloquently than I could! Go check them out.

All translated lines that aren't taken from the wiki transcripts are by lozybug on YouTube!]

#jay rambles.txt #jay's character analysis #project sekai #prsk #an shiraishi #vivid bad squad #i spent like a solid 3 hours writing this

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Several people have been kind enough to let me publish their thoughts on fandom, community, and queerness to celebrate Pride in the Library. Today's piece comes from @wolfpants.

Dear readers, dreamers, and purveyors of the glittering, gilded aisles of the Drarry Library,

Fandom life began for me at age fifteen. We just got our first family computer, taking pride of place in the utility room between the boiler and my dad’s boxes of tools. I had recently come out as bisexual to my friends at school, who, props to them, had all taken it quite well despite the small town we grew up in (I was very lucky, they were great - everyone else though? Not so much). Still, even with supportive friends offline, I never felt like I could talk to them about what I really enjoyed: watching Buffy, reading Harry Potter and looking for queer subtext (I could never have convinced any of them that Harry’s story screams gay allegory–no matter what JKR has to say on the topic back then or now), scouring bookshops and libraries for any sort of queer content I could get my hands on, desperate as I was to read something that spoke to me, to read about love outside of the heteronormative landscape of the popular media. I wasn’t just tired of boy-meets-girl; I had never identified with it in the first place.

The year we got dial-up internet was the year I discovered Livejournal. The absolute joy I felt, stumbling upon an LJ community specifically dedicated to roleplaying Harry Potter characters in queer pairings. Discovering, beyond that, that people wrote stories about Harry and my other favourite queer-coded character of the series: Draco Malfoy. And then it was Wolfstar (specifically Sirius), then Drarry again, and somewhere along the way my lurking fell off and I stopped reading fic for a while when I moved to London and settled into my first job, my first real relationship, and sitting uncomfortably atop my bisexual identity and not really knowing where that shift happened and why. All the while, I was pursuing a writing career on the more journalistic side: writing for music and film outlets, doing a little bit of secret creative writing on the side, dipping in and out of HP RPGs but never really—connecting. In “real life”, my relationship with my ex was falling apart, and I felt very disconnected from the LGBTQIA+ community because, even though I knew I belonged, I never felt like I could be truly me with anyone—perhaps because I was, unknowingly, still discovering who I really was.

When the pandemic happened, it gave me the breathing space I needed to get to that point. It brought me back to fandom.

It started with reading The Popular Wolfstar Fic Everyone Was Reading, and reopening my ao3 account to re-read some old favourites from over the years. It then unrolled to, hey, I have some free time, why don’t I try writing my own Wolfstar fic for my oldest, dearest friend (who I met RPing on LJ at 15!), which then turned into: you should publish this, and see what happens.

So, I did. And I made a tumblr account, and I lurked for a while, shyly reblogging things and scrolling through author accounts I’d admired from a very young age, astonished and really fucking impressed that they were still in the game. I read their new fics, I was drawn back into Drarry, and from there I discovered what a wonderful community this is, not only for its immensely talented creatives, but for its values as a inclusive, equitable, supportive, uplifting, and joyful group of individuals who genuinely welcome everyone with open arms and love. That, in itself, has made it easy to reach out to like-minded folks here, to make life-long friends, to chat to people who have been through similar experiences in questioning their identities (it is truly thanks to this fandom and the many discussions I’ve had with people here that I’ve been able to realise my identity as a NB lesbian). To write! To share! To not be ashamed of my kinks and to discover fun, delicious rare pairs! To look at breathtaking art and read some of the best goddamn writing I’ve ever set eyes on!

I have spent thirty-seven years on this planet. A good chunk of that time has been spent questioning many parts, pieces, and niggly jiggly bits of my identity. Who am I? What am I? Is there anyone out there who is just like me?

After many years of searching in the dark, of asking these questions over and over, I can joyously say that the answer is: yes. And oh, how thankful I am for that, for all of you, because fandom has really been the community I can categorically point to and say: they did that for me, we did that for we, and I will do anything for you.

Happy pride.

Thank you, Wolf, for joining me in the Library. Your love and joy for fandom have left me feeling quite tender-hearted, in the best way. It's so so good to ask the question "Is there anyone out there who is just like me?" and find over and over that the answer chorusing back is "yes." Thank you for adding your yes to our chorus, and joining me for Pride in the Library.

If you want more @wolfpants be sure to check out their work on AO3! I can't help but recommend the fic that made me fall in love with her writing in the first place, Pages of You, which I've featured previously for Happy Hour. It's got Drarry and Wolfstar, and is one of my favorite comfort rereads.

🏳️‍🌈 Lots of Love and Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

#pride 2023 #pride in the library #pride in the library 2023 #lots of love and happy pride #friends of the library #fandom community #wolfpants

[spinningerster]

idk if the newsies fandom is still active on here bUT I saw the new London production on Saturday (Dec 3rd) and need to share my thoughts bc THIS SHOW -

apologies in advance for the amount of fangirling i'm about to do. also this will probably be very long so prepare yourselves

so newsies is my absolute favourite musical and I actually can't believe I got to see the first professional UK production - not only that, I also got to finally meet my best friend who I met through the show! we also made a new friend whilst in the merch line - and another two at stage door after the show. it was so cool to be around other fans of the show!

and wow - I was completely blown away. guys, the choreography for seize the day and king of new york is out of this world, I was in awe the whole time. and the end of once and for all, oh my god. 3 standing ovations as well! (two in seize the day, and during the curtain call/bowsies)

the talent in this show is unreal; michael ahomka-lindsay and bronté barbé were really great as jack and katherine, I really enjoyed their portrayals of the characters and they both have great voices. moya angela was amazing as medda, she wore this beautiful outfit during 'thats rich' that matched what the bowery beauties were wearing, which I really liked, and she had a really nice voice. matthew duckett was great as crutchie, and yes letter from the refuge made me cry. my favourite character portrayal was probably ryan kopel, there was just something about how he plays davey that i loved, and he understood the assignment with poor guys head is spinning which made me very happy.

there were also three swings performing; bradley trevethan as elmer, jordan isaac as romeo, and zack guest who made his finch debut, and they were all amazing!

honestly I could watch those boys dance forever.

the cast made great use of the large space they've been given, there were some walkways that were used in various parts of the show, such as during brooklyn's here with the different boroughs, and the cast going into the audience (such as going up/down the main stairs) makes the show really immersive.

brooklyn were all girlsies. and they had a dance break during brooklyn's here. there was one brooklyn girlsie who had her arm in a sling and her name was splint.

new things they added/details I noticed and really liked were:

• les was actually involved in king of new york

• katherine wore a lady liberty crown made out of spoons at the end of kony which I loved

• race's cigar actually smoked

• there was a little bit at the start of the show, before santa fe prologue, which showed the newsies trying to sell papers

• jack had a small photo of santa fe in his pocket which he was looking at during santa fe prologue, it was a small detail they added that I absolutely loved

• during the 'world will know' scene where they're going on strike, katherine is on one of the walkways (the one closest to where we were sat) watching, which I really liked as her then wanting to help the newsies made more sense as she watched them declare their strike

• there was (at least to me) a small homage to the 1992 movie - during seize the day, they knocked over one of the newspaper carts and started ripping up the papers

• jack did a full on like tarzan swing from a rope (that seemed to appear from nowhere) during the fight scene, les went to do the same thing but davey was like 'um no get down'

• jack was in the seize the day dance break, and he was really good!

• he gave katherine a newsie cap in the finale it was so cute

the newsies were used for a lot of scene changes, specifically for when props needed to be brought on stage. my favourite one was when katherine said 'thank you' to the two newsies who brought her desk and chair on for watch what happens. (sidenote, if you're sat in manhattan, you walk under the stage and get to see all the props which was so cool)

we stage doored after the show and it was so cool, we met michael & bronte (who we actually also met before the show), matthew and ryan, and they were all so lovely!

the best piece of live theatre i've ever seen, it was like nothing i've ever experienced.

#newsies #newsies uk #west endsies

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week's writer spotlight feature is: @maryofdoom! They have forty-four Stranger Things and forty-three Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson works on archive of our own!!

@mojowitchcraft recommends the following works by ArgentumCivitas:

Tessellation

Every Time: A Steddie Drabble Collection

Corroded Coffin - Live On Tour - One Night Only

He Carries Me Quietly

Higher Education

Mary is such a talented writer, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by her. She’s an incredible story teller and very generous with brainstorming offering advice. - @mojowitchcraft

Below the cut, @maryofdoom answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

To quote Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes, “I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.” But for real, though, it's because my bestie and writing partner called me up on Discord one night and said, “Mary, you need to watch the first episode of Season 4 of Stranger Things. Right now. I mean it. I think the show is in love with Eddie.” (…Some, shall we say, substances may have been involved.) However, I stick with it because I love both the boys as characters. I think they're interesting. They have a lot of interesting aspects about them to explore, both singly and together, and I think we're all enjoying that.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Mutual pining! Good God, give me so much pining that I think I’m in the forest. Give me so much pining that I need to use an oil-based paint on them. Give me so much pining that I’ll saw those two boys into planks and repanel my house. 

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

By far, it's when one of them has a crush on the other and is pissed off about it. There’s so much potential for sparky, interesting dialogue with other characters (and with each other) when the boys find themselves in that situation. And then it leads to interesting moments when they finally turn the corner and realize they’re not actually mad at the other one, they’re in love. 

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

There are so, so many that I love. But instead of giving you one of the big ones, let me share this gem: Love My Way, by dreamspaces. It’s very short, at only 1,346 words, but sometimes a bite is as good as a meal. 

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

It might be interesting to do something with “and they were roommates.” I haven’t truly messed around in that space, yet. I also haven’t done a proper enemies-to-lovers, either, mostly because I can’t stand to set up a proper enemy relationship at the beginning…but I am chewing on an idea at the moment that might necessitate that sort of opening relationship between them.

What is your writing process like?

 It tends to follow a very specific order of operations:

Get an idea from somewhere. Possible avenues for ideas include conversations with friends, news stories overheard from NPR, something that hits while I’m listening to music, posts on Reddit, anything that turns up from general blorbo rotation, the works.

Write down the idea in my notes app of choice (I use Evernote)

Begin adding more thoughts and concepts to the idea (sometimes even snips of dialogue, if they hit interesting)

Once the idea has reached a critical enough mass, transfer it to Google Docs and turn it into a draft (if it’s a one-shot idea) or an outline (if it’s a longfic idea)

FOR A ONE-SHOT: begin writing the draft

FOR A LONGFIC: begin writing the outline, according to the outlining method detailed in Tom Lennon and Ben Garant’s Writing Movies for Fun and Profit (this book is half how to make it as a screenwriter in Hollywood and half solid craft advice on how to write a screenplay, and though I don’t want to write screenplays and though I was very skeptical until I tried it out, this is the only method that has worked to get me to finish any actual novel-length works)

FOR A ONE-SHOT: when the draft is done, put it down for as long as I can and then come back to it and revise it, heavily, to make it better

FOR A LONGFIC: once the outline’s done, actually write the thing 

FOR A LONGFIC: once the thing’s written, put it down for as long as I can and then come back to it and revise it, basically rewriting it completely

FOR A LONGFIC: do the same thing again, and then again, pausing in between each iteration for as long as I can

FOR BOTH A ONE-SHOT AND A LONGFIC: once it’s to the point where I don’t hate it, get ahold of my bestie and writing partner and have her read it and crit it and tear it apart

(cry a little because her crit is probably right)

Implement the good changes and ignore the bad ones - sometimes we have a (good-natured) fight about which ones are which

Send it to my other writing friends for their thoughts and comments and incorporate those, in a similar fashion

Revise, again

Once it’s as done as it’s going to be, make a posting schedule (if it’s a longfic)

Get it out there, according to the posting schedule

Begin working on the next thing

Do you have any writing quirks?

I mean, I can sit here and say “Oh no, I definitely don’t,” but I’m sure that I do. I am sure I have a distinctive writing style, just as everyone else does, but I would have to defer to anyone who’s read multiple works I’ve written to pull out any specific “quirks.”I will note that I really try hard to get the characters’ voices down, in their dialogue. I don’t know that I always succeed, but I try.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Oh, a schedule, ABSOLUTELY. More power to those of you who post when you’re done writing, but I am the kind of person who needs to have everything DONE and ready to go before I put even a HINT of it up online. You can see this from my writing process. It doesn’t lend itself nicely to just throwing stuff out there as a work in progress. 

Which fic are you most proud of?

Oooh, good question. I would have to say it’s a tie between the next two fics on this list. Tessellation, because I worked really hard on it (and because I figured out work skins), and He Carries Me Quietly, because I think it’s beautiful. The way it ends still gets me, even now. Not just because of the action that happens, but because of the words that I chose. I read them and I’m like, “...I wrote that? Damn, girl.”

How did you get the idea for Tessellation?

I mention it a little in its ending note, but I got the idea for Tessellation from a couple of places, one of which was the Steddie fandom itself. I love the idea of every single one of these 25,000+ stories about Steve and Eddie all being true all at once. Even the story of Stranger Things itself, as we see it on our TV screens, is just one possible version of the story that’s happening somewhere. (I truly believe that. I didn’t become an extremely lapsed Catholic for nothing. HECK THE RULES.)

When writing Tessellation, what was something you didn’t expect?

It was surprisingly easy to make connections between the six stories. It wasn’t like I was hunting for places to jam them in—they ended up falling into place very naturally. And I think my favorite one of these is when Steve, in the space story, is describing the spaceship that he pilots as “Rusalka class, she’s a good swimmer,” to Eddie, who presumably understands what this means in the context of the sci-fi world in which they live. 

What inspired He Carries Me Quietly?

It started as something else entirely—a whole established-relationship fic with the kids coming over to Steve and Eddie’s (either house or apartment) to play D&D, with an arc about a blind Max being included as kind of an oracle or super-NPC through Eddie passing her index cards with Braille on them, so she could be part of the game when and if she wanted to be. The whole thing was supposed to be told in flashbacks. I had a whole scene where Steve was figuring out how to bake cookies for everyone with whatever meager ingredients he had on hand. …Then it took a hard left into religious trauma, through some meandering means.  I guess it would be reasonable to say the inspiration, at that point, was seeing a tweet on then-Twitter with some speculation about how Eddie had come to live with Wayne. If it was the common (and unfortunate) queer-kid arc of being disowned by one’s parents. And then I thought, “Let’s go ahead and put Steve through that too, but let’s do it several years after it happens to Eddie, so that Steve has someone to guide him through the whole process.”

What was your favorite part to write from He Carries Me Quietly?

I think it was probably the opening, because of the rhythm of the sentences and how the sounds fit together with one another. I mean, if you choose to check it out, try reading the first few paragraphs out loud. It’s kind of what I think of when people talk about how writing has a cadence, or a musicality to it.  That, and the ending. The ending, starting with, “There’s one more thing that Steve wants to know,” was one of those things that just fell perfectly into place. I can see it so clearly in my mind: the two of them having a conversation, late at night in bed together, after a traumatic day. 

How do/did you feel writing Higher Education?

I love this goofy little story! It was part of a Discord server gift exchange in 2022 and my recipient said “College AUs are my jam,” so this is where my mind went. I wanted to consider a world where Eddie was the frat boy, instead of Steve. But if that were the case, the fraternity would have to be a pretty non-traditional one, wouldn’t it? The fictional Lambda House is based heavily on the fraternity house where I used to hang out in college. (It was at an engineering school and was populated entirely by nerds.)

What was the most difficult part of writing Higher Education?

The actual writing itself, honestly. Winter 2022 was a really difficult time for me, personally, and though I signed up for the fic exchange with all optimism and good wishes, it was a struggle to get everything done in time. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

One that really stands out to me is from Wrong Number, which was a oneshot I wrote based on a short conversation with some Discord friends. Picture it: Eddie and Jonathan and Argyle are all hanging out in the basement, and they’re all extremely high. Argyle, in his own way, can sense that something is wrong with Eddie. In order to get him to confess to whatever’s on his mind, they reference the pact they made that “anything said in the basement stays in the basement. It’s the law of the basement.” That just hits me as something so quintessentially Argyle. 

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Oh my, yes! I have two longfics in the pipeline that I hope to be sharing with everyone soon (or, well, as soon as I can get them through my Process). The Music of the Spheres is a Regency AU with a smoldering slow burn and an eventual happily-ever-after, while Home for the Holidays is a genre mashup: Steve’s in a Hallmark Christmas romance and Eddie’s in a psychological thriller. I am also rotating a couple more ideas in my brain that could potentially be longer works as well, but we’ll see how those go.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I think the esteemed and prolific two-time-Hugo-Award-nominee Dr. Chuck Tingle puts it very nicely when he says: “CREATE. BUILD. EXPRESS. CONQUER THE LYING VOICE THAT SAYS YOUR TECHNICAL PERFECTION IS BETTER THAN TRUTH OF THE MOMENT. FILL THE VOID WITH ART and do not fear because weve got your back buckaroo. we are ALL creators in our own way so LETS HECKIN CREATE.” Let’s heckin’ create, buckaroos. I’ll see you out there in the word mines.

Thank you to our author, @maryofdoom, and our nominator, @mojowitchcraft! See more of @maryofdoom's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie writers #writer's spotlight #writer's wednesday #maryofdoom

[flyiingsly]

Remember me

Square : Music

Pairing : Hunter x gn!jedi!reader

Warnings : mention of alcohol, mention of Order 66 and memories from the Clone Wars, a bit of angst but mostly fluff i guess, half confession, these two idiots are in love but not ready to say it out loud

Wordcount : 5,1k

Summary : When Hunter unexpectedly heard you sing for the first time, he instantly fell in love with your voice, and even more with you.

A/N : Here we are, my fourth submission for the @clonexreaderbingo ! This fic is one of my favorites among those that I wrote for the CFB honestly, because I really love the songs that have inspired it, and because, I don't know, that prompt suited Hunter very well in my opinion, and I'm really happy with how it turned out :D

Disclaimer : I'm still struggling to understand English grammar properly, English is not my native language and even if I have proofread my writtings several times, there is probably still typos in it. I'm very self conscious about it and I apologize for it in advance, but I'm doing my best to do better and I'm actively working at improving my writting skills !

So if you spot a typo, feel free to point it to me so I can correct it, it will be much appreciated :)

Before you start to read, go check the two songs that are featured in this fic :

(This one is one of my favorites feel good songs EVER ! THAT VIBE IS AWESOME OMG !!!)

(And this one is a cover of "Remember Me" from Coco by the wonderful Annapantsu, this song is haunting and beautiful, and I particularly love her version, she is sooooo talented !! Go check her channel, really, it's all gold !)

***

Today was supplying day for the Marauder crew. You and the Batch has just returned at Ord Mantell after your last mission for Cid. She paid you the credits she owed you, so it was time for some groceries and equipment shopping.

As usual, you split into two teams : the one going in town for groceries, and the one staying at the ship to tidy and clean the interior space.

It was a tradition inherited from the time of the Republic : every Clone battalion had to go for a cleansing day every now and then to keep their barracks organized and fit to live in. To be honest, it wasn’t really part of the Clone Force 99 habits to maintain their room on Kamino. In fact, it was mostly your idea to establish a cleansing day. Of course, Echo had already tried to force the idea on them long before you became part of the team, but they weren’t enthusiastic about it, so he just ended giving up.

But since Omega and you have joined them, they have finally realized that it was much needed, to keep the place they were living in in a somewhat decent state. And this time, it was to the two of you to fulfill that mission.

***

“Tech, are you sure we haven’t forgot anything ?” Echo asks his brother, who was scrolling on his datapad to check if all the items from the groceries list are crossed.

“Affirmative”, he answers, “we have everything we need to eat and to keep the Marauder flying for at least ten more rotations !”

“Good, let’s go back home then.”

As they approached the ship, Hunter started to hear some distant melody. More than just music playing, he heard some familiar voices that made his ears twitch.

“Did you hear that too ?” he asked his brothers.

“Yes, I did, pretty clearly” Tech answered, “Me too” Wrecker added.

“Seems like (y/n) and Omega are having a little fun while we’re working” Echo said jokingly with a smile.

The voices and the rhythm became more distinct as they entered.

“ … I'll make you happy, baby, just wait and see

For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three …”

You didn’t hear the boys coming, as the music was a bit loud, and you were totally carried away in the heat of the moment. They noticed that everything that was usually settled on the floor had been lifted on the furniture, and that the said floor was still wet on some spots.

“ … Oh, since the day I saw you

I have been waiting for you

You know I will adore you 'til eternity …”

When they finally caught a glimpse of you, they found themselves in front of a pretty unique and unexpected spectacle.

“ … So won't you, please (be my, be my baby)

Be my little baby? (my one and only baby) …”

Here you were, the handle of the mop in one hand, using it as a microphone, facing Omega who had a sponge squished in hers for the same purpose, both dancing in rhythm and singing passionately in unison. The floor was in the middle of being mopped, but everything else was as clean as it could be.

“ … Say you'll be my darlin' (be my, be my baby)

Be my baby now (my one and only baby)

Whoa-oh-oh-oh …”

They did their best not to interrupt you and stay discreet and quiet, but to be fair, it didn’t take them too much effort, for you were so absorbed that nothing could have disturbed you right now.

When the song ended, the two of you were happier as ever and giggling.

“Heyyyy, great job, you’ve nailed it girl !” you exclaimed at Omega, high fiving her.

The young girl’s eyes were sparkling with joy, she loved those shared moments with you.

But suddenly, you felt that something was off, and you stopped laughing, freezing at the realization that you weren’t alone anymore. When Omega noticed it, she turned her head toward the entrance of the room and smiled even more widely at the sight of her brothers.

“Hey !! Guys !! Have you heard us ? What do you think ? Isn’t (y/n) a great singer ?”

You weren’t even able to face them as you were horribly embarrassed. Your cheeks were burning red, and your only reflex was to facepalm yourself to try to hide it.

“That was awesome !!” a very enthusiastic Wrecker shouted out.

“That was great, indeed !”

“Yeah” Hunter spoke with a gentle smile. You could feel his gaze on you, making you blush even more, “that was impressive, both of you”.

“Thanks !!!” Omega was so proud, it was adorable.

“Don’t be so shy (y/n), look, they found it great !!”

You smiled at her words, moving your hand slightly from your eyes to look at her.

“Is that true ?” you teased, a smug smile on your lips.

“Of course !”

“Yes, your voices matched that song pretty greatly, well done !”

Wrecker and Tech immediately answered with encouraging smiles.

Then your eyes met Hunters. You could swear he was blushing too. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut by a grinning Echo.

“Yeah, why are you so shy ? Of course you’re a great singer, have you forgotten all the applause you used to get back in the day ?”

“Seriously, Echo ?” you grumbled, looking deadpan at him.

“Seriously, you should be proud of that voice, even if it’s even better when you’re playing while singing.”

“What are you talking bout ?” Wrecker asked, confused.

“Don’t you dare !” you warned him, pointing a finger at his direction.

“Ho, she never told you ?” his mischievous grin turned into a soft smile, “(y/n) used to carry her guitar wherever she went, especially on our days off. Sometimes we had the chance to get a private concert in the barracks, sometimes she would carry it with her to the 79”. Every time she started to play, everyone stopped talking to listen to her, and most of the time, we all ended singing along.”

You let out a deep sigh.

“Really ?” The giant’s eyes were now looking at you with fascination.

“You never told us that you knew how to play guitar !” Hunter said with surprise.

“That’s because it was very long ago, I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to play again … Plus, I didn’t get any more music instrument at hand anymore, I didn’t get the chance to bring it with me when …”

You stopped, frowning slightly, your eyes got lost in the vague for a few seconds before you could get your composure again. When you raised your head, you noticed that Hunter seemed moved by your words.

“Anyway,” you let out, trying your best to hide your troubles, “maybe someday I’ll get the chance to show you, but for now, karaoke will do, and we have some mopping to finish !”

You winked at the young girl, who immediately chuckled in response.

“Go on, you’ll take the cockpit, I take the back space, last one to finish will paid mantel mix to the other !”

Omega giggled and grabbed one of the mops “Good luck then !” she burst before heading for the said cockpit.

As the boy’s attention went on the groceries organizing, Echo didn’t move and stood still besides you. You looked at each other for a moment, before he lowered his head with a sad look.

“I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to embarrass you, let alone make you sad by bringing back old memories … I just wanted to tease you as we always do, you know, I thought it could be funny … I’m sorry, it was a stupid move …”

You got closer to him, and put your hand on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s just that … I wasn’t expecting that, I was taken aback, that’s all, but that’s okay, really !”

“I’m sorry” he repeated, sighing heavily, trying to avoid your eyes, “But to be honest, I miss those times … I miss those special little moments with everyone, when you were singing us some song in the barracks, you know ? Every time we were listening to you, all of our worries seemed to suddenly vanish, it was incredible, and I miss hat, I miss all of them …”

As he spoke, tears were starting to form in his eyes. It broke your heart to see him like that. You and him have gone through so much during the war. You were particularly close to each other, everyone in the Batch knew it from the many stories Echo had told them about you. You were here when they rescued him from the Citadel, and you were here when he decided to stay with them, you had been by his side for so long. You knew each other so well, you knew he didn’t means to hurt you by saying all if this.

“I know”, you whispered back, “But it’s okay, I’m not mad at you, I know you can be a little tease sometimes, but don’t worry, really.” You did your best to cheer him up, he smiled back, but the tears were still here.

“You know … I miss them too …” you finally confess, “And I miss those moments too, I think about them every day to be honest …”

Tears were rolling down his cheeks now. Echo had always done his best to stay strong in front of the others, and he was pretty good at hiding his feelings. But with you, it was different. Of course, he trusted the rest of the batch, but he trusted you on another level. You had so much in common, you had shared and lived through so much things together, you were so close that you were the only person he was able to share absolutely everything with.

The only answer you could give him was to wrap your arms around his neck and pulling him close in a reassuring embrace. You stayed like that for a moment, sharing each other pain until it soothes, comforting each other as you’ve always did.

Even if you were apart from the others, in the corner of the room where no one could have caught a glimpse of what you were saying, Hunter was still able to understand what was happening.

He knew you were both missing your late brothers in arms, and it often broke his heart to see you so devastated. But this time, a crazy little idea crossed his mind, and he decided to take charge of bringing back some of your lost happiness.

***

After the next mission, it was supposed to be Hunter and Tech turn to do the cleaning on the Marauder while the rest of the crew was going on a supplying trip. Hunter wasn’t usually very prone to cleaning and tidying. He was the kind of man who didn’t really bothered to live surrounded by dust and dirt, but he was doing his best to show willingness on this duty anyway, thanks to you. Even if it was still making him grumpy, he couldn’t deny that living in a clean space was more comfortable, especially since Omega was here. Since the two of you were here, he seemed to acknowledge and mind a lot of things he wasn’t caring about before.

But today he had something else on his mind. As soon as you came back to the ship from shopping, he jumped from his sit and headed toward the door, claiming to have a personal business to settle. You didn’t even get the chance to ask him about the level of cleanliness of the ship that he was already gone, leaving the squad in shared confusion. So you asked Tech instead, trying to understand what was going on with Hunter at the same time. The only explanation you got was that he seemed very impatient to go at the local market too, and that he was impressively motivated and fast to do his chores, which was very convenient for his partner, since he wasn’t very inclined to fulfill them neither.

So you just rolled with it. After all, even if it was intriguing, everyone had the right to some alone time once in a while.

When he came back, you weren’t sure what to think about him. You could swear that he was more joyful than when he had left the ship previously. In fact, everyone had noticed it, and Wrecker didn’t miss the occasion to tease him about it. You were able to catch a weird and suspect eye contact between him and Echo, telling you that they were probably up to something. But you just decided to let it go, trying your best not to wonder about what it could have been. You had the feeling that you’ll discover what it was all about soon enough.

As the day passed by, every task that needed to be done on board were completed. The Marauder was cleaner as ever, all the provisions racks were full, and you had enough ammunitions to take down an entire droid’s battalion. Now all that was left to do was to rest and take some good time until you were assigned to your next mission.

You were sitting on your bunk, putting your blaster back together after cleaning it piece by piece, the ship was peaceful as everyone was busy doing their own things, when Echo and Hunter came back from outside of the ship.

“If I may point out” Echo spoke, “Cid didn’t reach for us yet, which mean that we, at least, have tonight to take some time to relax and do whatever we want to.”

“Does that mean that you had something in mind?” Tech asked, not even raising his head from his datapad.

“To be honest, it had been some times since we hadn’t shared a drink, and I think that it could be a good idea to go out at Cid’s bar and have a chill evening, don’t you think ?”

“I knew it !” Tech finally looked at him, smiling “That’s indeed a very good idea !”

“I’m in !” Wrecker beamed. Of course he was.

“Me too !” You answered enthusiastically.

“Yes ! Wrecker, will you play dejarik with me ?” Omega asked her brother excitedly, who immediately started to complain jokingly about how she was always winning and that he had no chance to beat her anyway.

“Perfect then !” Echo concluded.

Hunter didn’t say anything, but you knew he was always in for a drink or more. You saw him smile with satisfaction at your answers, but most of all, you caught another meaningful look between him and Echo. Something had to happen tonight for sure.

***

The bar was a bit crowded as usual. You were looking at Omega playing dejarik with some Ithorian from afar. Wrecker had tried it for a couple games, but ended giving up after losing every times as he expected. It made you smile to see her so happy like that. And it was good to relax a bit before the next mission, it was well deserved for everyone. Wrecker and Tech were now passionately debating about some weapons efficiency while Echo was looking at them amusingly. You had started to feel a bit dizzy from the alcohol, and now a very pleasurable feeling of lightness and peacefulness was taking over you.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t even notice Hunter when he came to sit next to you at first. He looked at you for a moment, admiring you intensely before engaging the conversation.

“She’s really talented, I’ve never seen anyone won as much games in a row …”

“Yeah, she is. She’s really gifted” you answered, smiling proudly. “It reassures me to see that she can still be happy despite what she’s gone through”.

“I know you’re worried about her, I am too … I’m still figuring out how to take care of a child to be honest, and sometimes I just feel a bit lost, but I guess that I’m doing my best … We’re not prepared for that as soldiers, it’s not part of the training …”

The tone of his voice was sadder, and when you detach your eyes from Omega to look at him, you could read doubt on his face.

“I think you’re doing great, really. The four of you, you are wonderful brothers to her. I know it can be scary and unsettling sometimes, having to protect and care for another being through this world … It’s a heavy burden for sure … But trust me, you are doing great, and I mean it.”

“Thank you” he answered softly, a wide smile appearing on his face.

What you had just told him was really touching and reassuring him. He knew you had to take care of the younglings sometimes, back at the Jedi temple, and that you had been on a lot of battlefields with young padawans, unfortunately forced to witness more of their suffering that you could have possibly imagined … You never got the chance to have your own padawan to train before it all ended, but you knew very well what it meant to care for a child so young and vulnerable, even if they were supposed to be trained for fighting.

“To be honest, it wouldn’t be the same without you. You’re helping us a lot, with everything ... And … you mean a lot to Omega, she’s really attached to you, Echo is really attached to you, we all are really attached to you … I’m not sure if I have told you this before but … I’m glad you joined us … You really are part of the squad now … Really part of our family … And, yeah … It wouldn’t be the same without you …” he slowly added, in a more shy and hesitant tone.

It was hard for him to let all of that out. He was stumbling over his words, he wasn’t used to express his feelings, and you had a very strong presentiment that he wanted to add more, that he had something heavier on his mind to confess to you, but he seemed unable to. 

Your cheeks started to get warm and blushing, but you couldn’t break the eyes contact. It was way too intense and too mesmerizing, you could have drowned in his eyes at that moment.

You opened your mouth to answer something, but you couldn’t find your words. You desperately wanted to tell him how being part of that family was one of the best things that had ever happened to you, and that finding them had given your life a whole new start and a reason to keep fighting after losing everything that you had. But you couldn’t, you were so moved that you couldn’t even answer.

“I have something for you” he suddenly let out, pulling you out of your thoughts.

“What ? For me ? Why ?” you answer with surprise, still shacked by his words.

“Because I found something that I think you’ll like, and I wanted to give you a surprise … It’s inside the ship, would you mind following me ?” He had already stood up from his seat, inviting you to follow him with a tilt of his head.

“Of course, yes” you stood up too “I’m sorry, I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“Yeah, that’s the point of a surprise !” He chuckled at your confusion.

His smile was heartwarming, and you were so focused on it when you left the bar that you didn’t notice Echo watching you from the corner of his eye, a satisfied grin on his face.

***

When you enter the Marauder, Hunter made you sit on his bunk before heading toward the entrance again. He was nervous, it was the first time that you were alone together aboard the ship, and neither of you were use to its strange quietness.

“Close your eyes, I’ll come back, it won’t be long, don’t open them before I tell you so.”

“Yes sir !” you exclaimed, curiosity taking over you.

You heard his footsteps going down the metallic ramp. You were even more confused, where the hell was he able to hide something on the outside of the ship ?

When he came back on board again, your heart started to pound with impatience, beating faster with each of his footsteps. When he stopped in front of you, he stayed silent for a few seconds that seemed like eternity.

“You can open your eyes now …”

You immediately gasp at the sight of what was in front of you : carefully held between Hunter’s hands was a beautiful vintage guitar, old but still in good condition.

“Oh Maker !” you let out, “How did you manage to find that ?”

“Here, on Ord Mantell, at the local market. Remember that weird looking antique store right in front of the Mantell Mix stand ? They sell all kind of interesting stuff there, including old music instruments. It’s not much, but I thought you’ll be happy to be able to play again … “

“It’s absolutely perfect … Thank you so much Hunter … I … I can’t express how much it means to me ” your voice was now trembling with excitement and your eyes were sparkling with happiness,  “Can I … Can I try it ?”

“Of course, it’s all yours !”

You carefully took the guitar and put it on your lap while Hunter sat next to you on the bunk, examining it from every angle.

“That’s incredible, it’s nearly the same as the one I had back then …”

“Well, that’s because Echo helped me to choose it. He told me that yours was a particular design that Senator Amidala brought you back from one of her diplomatic missions. Guess I got lucky on this one …”

“I knew it !” you burst, “I knew that there was something going on, those eyes contacts were obviously hiding something ! But I must admit, I would have never suspected that … You two really are the bests !”

He was the happiest man right now, knowing that his gift was making you happy, on top of the fact that he was finally able to spend some time with you.

You give him a fond smile and before starting to pull the strings one after the other to tune them. As you were playing some random notes, Hunter’s attention turned to your hands, looking eagerly at your fingers dancing along the neck. Then the notes became chords, and you repeated these chords again, and again, like if you were trying to start something bigger. Like a hesitant bird flapping its wings again and again until it can finally remember how to fly, you wanted your hands to remember the right movements.

He couldn’t get his eyes off of your fingers. He was so focused, so mesmerized by the recovering of their dexterity that he didn’t notice the long breath you took before your lips parted.

“Remember me …”

The sound of your voice made his heart skip a beat. You had no idea how many times he had wished to hear it again …

“ … For I have to say goodbye, remember me …”

His head raised from your fingers to your face, his eyes sparkling with awe, admiring your features in silence.

“ … Don’t let it make you make you cry …”

Goosebumps run all over his skin, sending shivers across his entire body.

“ … For even if I'm far away, I hold you in my heart,

“I sing a secret song to you each night we are apart …”

As you were singing, you felt tears slowly brimming to your eyes and a lump invading your throat. Your voice started to tremble, and it took you a lot of energy to prevent it from breaking.

“ … Remember me,

Though I have to travel far …”

You closed your eyes, your mind aching from the sudden burst of old and painful memories coming from the depth of your brain. Your hands knew the movements so well that even without your eyes looking at the strings, the music went on flawlessly.

“ … Remember me,

Each time you hear a sad guitar …”

You used to sing that song to ease the minds of your fellow clone soldiers when the horrors of war were becoming too heavy to carry. It was a way to commemorate those who had fallen on the battlefield, a way to pay them tribute and to show that, even thought they were gone, you weren’t forgetting about them and their sacrifice.

You had learned it at the time you were fighting along the 501st, and you had played it a lot because it was often requested to you. It meant so much to you back in the day, and it was even more now, after everything that happened at the end of the war.

“ … Know that I'm with you the only way that I can be,

Until you're in my arms again …”

Tears were now rolling down your cheeks, but you weren’t paying any attention to them, for you were too focused on keeping your voice straight, only willing to honor your memories by finishing the song properly. Your emotion was contagious, and soon, Hunter’s eyes were watery as well.

“… Remember me …”

You sighed heavily as you played the last notes, then let your head fell on top of the guitar, wrapping your arms tightly around the instrument, like if you were hugging every one of those you were missing. You stayed like that for a moment, in complete silence, lost in your thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel sad with that gift … It seemed that music was something you were very fond of before, and I was just thinking that maybe, it could be comforting for you to have a chance play again …”

Hunter’s voice was full of concern. You were probably looking like a mess right now you thought, but you still find the courage to raise your head and look at him, giving him a weak but sincere smile.

“No, I’m fine, don’t worry … It’s just that … It’s hard to face those memories again sometimes, even the good ones, you know …. But I’m glad to still have them, this is all I have left of it, after all …”

You sighed again, looking at the guitar and brushing its surface with the tips of you fingers like if it was the most precious thing in the galaxy.

“Thank you so much, Hunter, that’s the best thing that you could have offered to me, really …”

“I have to admit …” he started to answer, hesitant, before going on, “it was a bit of a very selfish move … The truth is … I was craving to hear your voice again, and this …” he pointed at the guitar with a nod, “it was the perfect opportunity … I couldn’t help myself but, at least, try … I have just no words to describe what I’ve felt the other day when I heard you sing, it was just … Breathtaking honestly … ”

The way he was looking at you while speaking was so intense that it made your cheeks start to blush. It has been a long time since someone had looked at you that way, and it was totally taking you aback. You chuckled at his revelations, it was adorable, and rather flattering.

“Well, that’s a very smart move honestly !” you chuckled, “Thank you again, it’s been so long since I’ve sing for someone who enjoyed it … I think I needed that …”

The more he was looking at you, the more beautiful you were to him, and the more he was craving to touch your face and to kiss your lips. But at the same time, he wanted to comfort you and to make you feel safe, for seeing you cry and struggle with memories was heartbreaking to him.

Gathering his courage, he slowly raised his arm to wrap it around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him until your two bodies were pressed against each other, before moving his hand to your head and to gently stroke your hair.

You closed your eyes, settling your head on his shoulder, allowing your body to relax against his. His gestures were so soft and comforting, that soon, your mind felt at ease again, completely focusing on that touch you had wished to feel on your skin for so long. It was perfect, and you let yourself being submerged by that pleasant feeling.

As he was resting his head upon yours, Hunter realized that it still wasn’t the right moment to confess about his feelings for you like he had planned too. But it wasn’t bothering him, for that moment shared with you was a very special and meaningful one, and he had the feeling that it was another step into solidifying his already strong bond with you. One step at the time, he thought, maybe the next time will be the right, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the precious embrace.

“So …”, you let out after a moment, a sly smile appearing on your lips, “would you like to hear another one ?”

“Yes, please,” he breathed out, “with pleasure …”

And that’s how you both spent the rest of your night sat on his bunk, singing and playing various songs to him, giving him the best improvised private concert of his life.

You were still at it when the rest of the batch came back from the bar, and they all instantly gathered around the bunk to listen to you. You could swear that you caught a tear rolling over Echo’s cheek. Even if he was trying his best to keep his composure, you knew that it was giving him as much as emotions as you when you met the proud and nostalgic glance he was giving you.

Omega and Wrecker’s eyes were sparkling with fascination as they carefully listened to you, and Tech was stuck in awe too, eyes riveted to the confident movements of your fingers.

That night turned out to be a blessing that you fondly enjoyed, and for once in a long time, you felt completely and perfectly at your place, surrounded by people that you were now considering as your family, and hopping that one day, you’ll finally be courageous enough to tell their lovely sergeant how badly head over heels you were for him.

#cfb2023 #vi writing #sergeant hunter #hunter x reader #tbb hunter #the bad batch #hunter #star wars

[nobodysdaydreams]

Okay, now they REALLY gotta drop the Jacobi duck-related lore 🦆 (and I need to stop holding out hope Blessie will return 😔💔)

(Or my reaction to Wolf359’s Mission Mishap Episodes).

Welcome back dear readers! My schedule has been busy lately, but the Mission Mishap episodes were mercifully short, so I’ve been listening to a few episodes per week and have gathered my reactions here for you all to enjoy.

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Also tagging @lovelyladylavie because I promised I’d tag you way back on this post and forgot (I’m so sorry!) but my reactions are all under the tag so you should be able to find them!

Mission Mishaps: A Little Night Music

"Not fully reading your contract before you sign it...not understanding your job responsibilities, and wanting commander off your back" I love Doug's sponsorships and the dramatic irony 😂 *Cue The Fine Print playing in the background...*

I guess the only actor they could get was Doug. Nice of him to fill us in on what Minkowski and Hera are saying though.

OH MY GOSH.

HIS VOICE.

DR. DR. PROFESSOR DR. PROFESSOR F. EIFFEL 😂

It's so fancy. Mannnyyyy PhDs. Very impressive, Doug.

I'm so happy we got more radio show Doug. I need to hear him do a radio show where all his personalities talk to each other. Being the special guest on the show is Cutter's punishment for all eternity. The Dear Listeners make 5 copies of Doug so he can be all the characters.

"The feeling you'll die miserably..." yikes, broke character for a second there Doug.

"Ah yes...the way the piano notes dance around the...other piano notes...absolutely fantastic piece for when you want to start your day with the paino-y energy" Well said Doug.

Oh boy. Cowboy music. Is this the return of Badass McAwesome? Do I dare to hope?

Ah, well, better luck next time.

His poor toe. I hate when that happens too, Doug.

The...mind eraser?

Don't like how that sounds. Especially after the threats in "Change of Mind".

Better not be foreshadowing.

"This song is a mutant, it's superpower is being catchy. It never leaves."

Okay, THAT better not be foreshadowing.

"Afraid of the plant monster?" I wish we could be, Doug. I wish we could be. 😔🪴

"Worried you'll never get back to Earth to see you're family?" Oh, Doug. 💔

"Bosses you're pretty sure are kind of evil" Kind of is generous Doug.

Yeah...yeah Doug that got very dark there for a bit.

Moral boosting? Oh dear. MUTE 😂 AFTER TWO MINUTES 😂

I love Doug. Poor fellow. I enjoyed the broadcast Doug. They don't appreciate your talents.

Mission Mishaps: The Space You’re In

I love the title’s double meaning.

More of Doug dodging his work I see. A common theme.

“Please stop going off on tangents” I guess Cutter and Pryce didn’t send them up with any ADHD meds. “I’m here for work 😊” Nice cover, Doug. 👍🏻 nailed it.

“I’m gonna get that thing that I forgot”. You do that Doug.

How did I know Doug was gonna break something? 🤣

Specimen incubation period??? BLESSIE????

How dare they tease us with Blessie lore?

Good question Doug. Why IS there a harpoon?

Doug literally has no where to hide. 🤣

Oh right. Space. Why do I see that backfiring?

PFFTTT—- Did she just call him a lizard? 🦎

“It’s beautiful” -> “I hate space” poor Doug. I’m sensing a pattern 🤣

Mission Mishaps: You Want, I Solve Ah Doug stealing coffee from Minkowski. Once again, I sense a pattern.

Wait. A puppy? 🥰🐕‍🦺🐾

“The mean lady who runs this place” really Doug? You did just steal her coffee.

2 tails? Well, twice the wagging, I see that as a win. 🥰

Follow him Doug!

IS ZACH VALENTI DOING THE VOICE OF THE DOG?

AS SMEGOL AND GOLLUM FROM LORD OF THE RINGS?

AND IS DOUG HALLUCINATING FROM THE COFFEE???

The dogs are multiplying? David Bowie is here? Okay Doug is hallucinating for sure.

Ah hello Hilbert.

Why is he treating the manual like it’s the ring? 🤣

Well. That was weird.

Oh, Hilbert. All to get Doug to bond with the manual.

And yet something tells me he still won’t read it. It does sound like he might be cuddling with it at night and killing anyone who tries to take it from him though. Mildly concerning. Mission Mishaps: The Veldt Oh my gosh. The episode description. Eiffel goes into the greenhouse… y’all. I don’t wanna get my hopes up, but…

IS THIS BLESSIE CONTENT???? 🪴

I’m so excited guys. I don’t wanna get my hopes up, I know I shouldn’t, but I need Blessie back!

So Doug is doing his chores again. I sense a pattern.

He does a great Australian accent. Again, I need the aliens to clone Doug just so he can have a show where his different personalities talk to each other. Hm. Oxygen chamber has a lot of passwords. And a lot of weird ways to enter passwords. Which is nice for protecting the air, but not so great when you, you know, desperately need air and only have a few seconds to enter the password.

The binary forms of color? This is so extreme not to mention boring. Not one sign of Blessie. I’ve been bamboozled. And WHY is there a timer? This is so weird.

THAT’S IT?

Well I’m upset. We went to the greenhouse and didn’t see leaf or stem of Blessie. 💔

I’m not giving up hope. If not in the show then in fanfic that plant is coming back.

Mission Mishaps: Lights Out

Another entry from dear Doug. I wonder if Minkowski and Hilbert are gonna have him do something he doesn’t want to and then hijinks ensues and Doug messes something up?

HP Lovecraft, Call of Kuthulu? Oh me too Doug stuff is hard to pronounce.

Doug does a good creepy narrator voice. It’s funny to think of Hera listening to all this. It reminds me of those people on Lovelace’s crew reading stories together.

“Property of Dr….”

DOCTOR WHO? (A good show, but I’m literally asking the question).

Is it that girl on Lovelace’s crew who liked to read? (I’m sorry it’s hard to keep track of their names).

Ah yes, and the star is acting up. As is Doug’s imagination. I’m sure this couldn’t possibly go wrong.

Hilbert. What sample? What escaped?

I’m not getting my hopes up this time. You teased me with Blessie once. I’m not falling for it again. I’ve been burned before.

It just sounds like a little mouse. 🐁

…I hope it’s not one of the spiders… I’m now beginning to realize Doug’s fears…

“It’s small and scurrying”

Is it a mouse?

Doug, it’s probably just a mouse. “It’s staring at me.” Well it’s probably scared too, Doug.

Doug, you better not have killed that poor little mouse.

You killed the maintenance drone Doug? Well that was a wild ride. At first I thought they weren’t gonna go the “Doug messes up a thing Hilbert and Minkowski are doing” route but they always surprise me with their ability to bring it back there. Not that I’m complaining, I’m loving these stories. Mission Mishaps: Cold Turkey More Doug! Wow. 553 days. That’s… that’s a lot.

Thanksgiving? Is this the same Thanksgiving from Hera’s memory? 🦃

Banned from the kitchen? Oh poor, Doug. Was Hilbert not available? I guess he’s Russian so he doesn’t celebrate it. But he can probably cook.

Doug is just like me fr. Don’t ask my partner what happened when I tried to make him food. All you need to know was that I tried my best, and it’s the thought that counts.

Doug is gonna burn this Turkey. I know the actress was probably busy and these are “extra” episodes, but Hera please come online and help him.

Oh gross. Cans of spam? Disgusting.

Right, maybe Hilbert can do something. But on the other hand, Hilbert and Eiffel can make each other worse. And what was that about psychoactive properties? What was Hilbert exposed to?

“Can I give indifference? I have plenty of that.” Yes, Hilbert, you made that very clear.

“Oh well if I have to “come on”.” “Really!” “No.” Hilbert is lowkey hilarious 🤣 “I like pecan pie…maybe thanksgiving is not so terrible.” 🥧

I love how Hilbert sounds like he’s plotting something ominous even when he’s just talking about pie. 🤣

But seriously, why was he in Texas? He never answered that.

“The best way to keep him away from the kitchen was to put you in charge” oh poor Doug. She was right though.

Aw, this is sweet. I like how it connects to what we saw in Hera’s memories too.

Mission Mishaps: No Complaints Aw man, SI-5? What happened to Doug?

First they take Blessie from me then they force me to spent time with his killers.

Well gang, I guess it’s time for the adventures of Whiskey Man and Duck Boy.

Wow. Sitting in a car and brooding in the rain. An action packed adventure if I’ve ever heard one.

Oh wait, are they stalking Maxwell? They said she was from a small town.

“Did you stalk me?” Yes, he did Jacobi. Kepler was acting so creepy at that bar, I’m sorry. What even was that?

“I really hate you sometimes sir. ✨You’re the worst✨” oh Duck Boy you have no idea.

THE DUCK THING? OH NO PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE DUCK THING.

What video. WHAT VIDEO.

Please tell us why Jacobi is brooding and PLEASE tell us about the duck video.

Jacobi taught him questions only? Wow he really does love to dig his own grave.

Kepler is not your friend Jacobi. If you think he is, you… gosh you really need to meet somebody. Anybody.

All this complaining… Jacobi really is the evil version of Doug sometimes…

What was on Jacobi’s mind? What did Rachel think was on his mind? Oh, his one year recruitment.

Nothing good ever comes out of a mysterious duffel bag. Why does he have all those fireworks?

When your evil boss takes you on a fake stake out and gives you some fireworks to blow up because he knows you crave destruction: 💣🎆🥰🎇🧨😍

I like that they play fireworks sounds as they roll the credits. It’s a nice touch. Mission Mishaps: Happy Holidays Already down to the last one. Time flies when you’re having fun. Oh more SI-5. Hopefully a little less Whiskey Boy, a little more Duck related lore.

Oh no such luck. :(

Geez, Kepler really does love flexing every single bit of power that he has, doesn’t he? Just get to the point already! Why couldn’t he have been the one to go instead of Maxwell?

“Oh no! Not a binary fault in the quartical… um… that’s bad!” Duck Boy stop being funny I don’t want to like you.

Not Kepler’s slow claps… I swear this man is infatuated with the idea of being a super villain.

What are they afraid of?

…

A holiday party?

the evil space corporation has a HOLIDAY PARTY?

For what holiday? Cutter and Pryce clearly hate holidays. They’ve ordered people killed on nearly every holiday we’ve seen! … actually maybe that’s their way of making the holidays their own… and it makes me wonder who they want to kill at this party. Jacobi and Maxwell have a right to be concerned about this.

“We don’t ask questions. We trust that we were given orders for a reason.” THAT ONLY WORKS IF YOU ARE WORKING FOR TRUSTWORTHY PEOPLE. And committing or endorsing murder takes you off the trustworthy list.

The idea of Cutter and Pryce celebrating Christmas disgusts me. Like, physically I have a hard time stomaching it. Christmas is about joy, and love, and goodwill toward mankind. Cutter and his crazy science gf have no place involving themselves in that. Not unless they show some serious remorse and do some serious penance and jail time.

SECRET SANTA EXCHANGE?

What kind of horrifying messed up gifts do people get each other? I hope Jacobi gets a pet duck.

… Maxwell’s mom died? “We all know you don’t talk to your mom” “…my mom just died?” “No Jacobi.” STOP BEING FUNNY.

Compare this to the holiday stuff that happens with the Hephaestus… this has such a creepy undertone. Especially when you imagine the events happening at the same time.

Well, that’s all for the Mission Mishaps. Sorry it took me so long guys, but I love and appreciate your patience. Excited to finish the rest of the series and hopefully I’ll have more for you soon!

#bods wolf359 reactions #wolf 359 #w359 #wolf359 reactions #alana maxwell #warren kepler #daniel jacobi #doug eiffel #renee minkowski #alexander hilbert #Wolf359 #wolf 359 podcast #wolf 359 spoilers #Mission mishaps #wolf359 #hera wolf 359

[boysplanetrecaps]

Thoughts on Jonghyun, End of a Day, and Donghyun and Sunyoul's Performance

Hi, fam. In this post, I’m going to talk a bit more about the song End of a Day by Jonghyun, and what it means in the context of Sunyoul and Donghun’s performance on MNET’s Build Up. Along the way I’m going to be hitting some pretty serious topics, so don’t feel obligated to read this one if you’re not able to. It’s pretty sad. TW: suicide, mental health issues

This is Jonghyun.

He loved music from the time he was a child, and was scouted by SM Entertainment when he was only 15. He debuted as a member of SHINee in 2008, when he was 18. He was handsome, charismatic, and talented, with a unique and strong singing voice and great stage presence. He wasn’t just a singer and dancer and leader -- he also wrote songs for SHINee (Juliette), EXO (Playboy), bandmate Taemin (Pretty Boy, Already), and Lee Hi (Breathe). He was a gentle, sweet man, who stood up for social justice issues, including LGBT rights. He also was suffering, as we can tell after the fact, from mental health issues. 

A lot of what he was feeling comes through in his songs Breathe and End of a Day. 

Here’s a selection of lyrics from Breathe:

Take a deep breath Until both sides of your heart get numb Until it hurts a little Let out your breath even more Until you feel like there’s nothing left inside It’s alright if you run out of breath No one will blame you It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes Because anyone can do so Although comforting by saying it’s alright Are just words

Someone’s breath. That heavy breath How can I see through that? Though I can’t understand your breath It’s alright I’ll hold you You really did a good job

Here’s a selection of lyrics from End of a Day, which people say was inspired by his dog:

Your small shoulders, your small hands Become my cozy blanket at the end of a tiring day You did a good job today, you worked so hard I hope my shoulders and my thick hands Will become cozy comfort For the end of your tiring day as well I want to naturally sync my breathing with yours

Like water in a bathtub that wraps around you With no space left I want to warmly hold you without any space left At the end of my day, filled with awkward mistakes You, my prize, are waiting for me

I can’t cry all I want or even laugh all I want At the end of a tiring day but still, if I’m next to you Like a child, I can whine and then laugh Till I run out of breath I’m not used to seeing myself like this

You did a good job today, you worked so hard You are my pride

This preoccupation with wanting to do a good job, with wanting others to recognize that he did a good job, comes back in the worst possible place. 

In December of 2017, Jonghyun lost his life to suicide. It was something he obviously had been planning for a few days at the very least. In his note, he said he was “broken from the inside,” that his depression was “devouring” him. He spoke of wanting someone, anyone, to notice how much pain he was in, or to give him a reason to live, or just meet him where he was and empathize with him. He also spoke of feeling like he was going against the world, and ended the note by saying:

“It wasn‘t my path to become world-famous. That’s why they say it‘s hard to go against the world and to become famous. Why did I choose this path? It’s quite funny now that I think about it. It‘s a miracle that I endured through it all this time. What more can I say. Just tell me “good job.” You did great. Tell me I suffered enough. Even though you can’t laugh right now, just don‘t send me off blaming me. Good job. You suffered a great deal. Good-bye.”

To whom was he speaking, when he said “Good job. You suffered a great deal”? I think he was talking to himself. He was saying to himself what he wished someone would say to him, the same thing he said to himself in the lyrics of the songs he wrote. Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo.

And that’s why this whole segment with Donghyun and Sunyoul on Build Up completely broke my heart.  

We already saw Donghyun’s reaction to being selected as Top Tier in the first round of performances. He almost broke down, saying he’d never been chosen in first place for anything before. His overwhelming desire for praise and recognition made the judges a little uncomfortable. But even when he’s top tier, he and Sunyoul still feel like that. When they have to choose someone to sing to when they’re singing Jonghyun’s song, they need to sing to themselves. They have to tell themselves Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo.

When they lose the 2 vs 2 rival battle to the other team, after laying all their vulnerabilities on the line, Sunyoul thanks the the judges for the praise, saying he was “hungry” for those words. They told him he did a good job. But Donghyun, who got mixed results from the judges, takes it really, really hard. Sunyoul tries to comfort him by saying the magic words: Good job. You did well. 수고했어 Sugohaesseo. But the words fall into a bottomless pit in Donghyun’s heart. Did he do well? He didn’t do well enough to beat the other team. There is no good enough to fill that pit. 

After Jonghyun died, Lee Hi sang a song as a memorial performance at an end of the year award ceremony. She sang Breathe, the song he wrote for her, the song that was a wail of his pain, and she couldn’t quite make it through it, falling silent for almost a whole verse.

I found an article about that, and when I scrolled down a little, the very next article was about netizens attacking f(x)'s Sulli for something she did that they didn’t like. An article about an idol who felt pushed to take his life because he was never good enough for the public, followed by an article about another idol being attacked by the public -- an idol who also lost her life in the same way not too long later. 

Where does this end? I don’t know. 

Am I feeding this machine, by being a fan of this industry that chews people up and spits them out? Am I being too heartless to the people on this show by pointing out when their singing is pitchy, or nasal, or out of tempo? Should I just say 수고했어 sugohaesseo, you did well? The words that they all want to hear? The words that Jonghyun said in his note that he wanted to hear? The words he wrote to himself to soothe himself at the end -- his last thoughts on this earth?

수고했어.  

수고했어. 

At the end of Our Page, the song that the surviving members of SHINee wrote to honor Jonghyun, you can hear Onew saying  수고했어 in a soft voice. Did that reach Jonghyun, wherever he is? Does it reach anyone? 

Jonghyun, 수고했어. You did well.

Sulli, 수고했어. You did well.

Hara, 수고했어. You did well.

Moonbin, 수고했어. You did well.

And while they’re still here to hear it, I want to say it to everyone on this show, too. Donghyun, 수고했어. Sunyoul, 수고했어. 

And you, dear reader. You also. You are doing well. You don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t have to be productive or useful or what other people want you to be. Be kind, be open, be happy. You are doing well. 수고했어. 

Click here to go on to the next recap Click here to go back to the Build Up main post

#tw: suicide #tw: depression #mnet build up #jonghyun #sulli #goo hara #moonbin #donghyun #sunyoul

[xie-xan]

The cursed musician

Synopsis: A ballerina who fell in love with a cursed musician whose playing kills anyone who hears it Pairings: Venti x fem!reader (A/n): This is more of a poem than a story tbh …(￣ー￣) Genre: Angst.

A maiden fair and graceful, with a heart so light, Whose love for ballet was her greatest delight. She danced with poise and beauty, like a swan in flight, her movements fluid and elegant.

Her eyes shone bright with passion, her spirit so free, In the dance, she found her true identity.

Her feet, like wings, seem to fly, As she dances with a gentle sigh, Her movements fluid, like a stream.

With each step and movement, she found her grace, In the dance, she found her perfect place.

The music swelled and soared, a symphony of sound, As she danced, Her love for ballet, a love that would last.

The music swells, and the crowd applauds, As her dance comes to an end. She bowed and smiled as she searched the crowd, looking for the musician who had her heart.

A boy with a dream, a boy with a life, Heard the call of the rhythm and the beat and knew that his heart would never retreat.

His fingers danced on the strings so fine, As he coaxed out the melodies divine

His passion burned like a shining light for in the music, he found his peace a place where he could be himself, And let his soul take wing and soar.

His passion pure, his soul on fire, to play the notes, was his greatest desire.

But alas, a curse he did obtain, whoever heard his melodic strain, would meet their end, his gift is a burden, a deadly grace.

He played for none, his talent hidden, His music silenced, his dream unspoken, For fear of losing all he held dear, His life remained a secret.

But still, he played, in secret places, His music echoed, through empty spaces, hoping that one day, a cure he'd find, to break the loneliness that filled his heart.

After years of suffering in sorrow, he found her, he fell in love with a ballerina whose grace and beauty left him in awe.

Her feet were like petals of a rose in bloom as he watched her dance on the stage And in her eyes, a light did play.

His melodies were like a spell that captured her heart and made her fall. His fingers danced on the strings as if by magic, her heart did sing

The love they shared, was a fragile thing, That could be shattered with a single ring.

But still, their love was a flame, that burned so bright. For in each other, they found solace and a love that would never lose its hold.

His music, though it brought her pain, She could not help but love his gift.

And so she danced to his tune. Their love was doomed from the start, a fatal attraction, a broken heart.

The musician, swore to never touch an instrument, in hopes of saving their love, but what misery could be worse than the ballerina whom he had loved had numbered days?

And so she chose a better way to leave, she danced in his music, her body flowed with the cursed rhythm, yet she found solace in her lover's music.

The musician, whose tears fall upon each key, as he watched his lover dance. With the final twirl, the music ended and with her final bow, she fell.

He cried in agony as he held her close, her body lay in his arms on the very stage where she would capture the audience's gaze.

"Am I just a cursed musician who killed his lover, or a mere unlucky human, who was not loved by anyone? From this time on, I swear on your grave, oh darling, that I will never touch my instruments ever again, for they took you away from me."

"Oh the love of my life, I wish I could tell you how good you are at music. Your music holds the power to return a soul to the place from where it came from, hence giving it eternal peace. My love, it is your music that has brought me peace, it made my final dance more meaningful, I wish I could tell you how lucky I am to love you, I wish I could tell you that your music was the most beautiful piece I have ever heard. I shall await the time when we will meet again, and when that time comes, I will happily dance to your music and love you all over again."

#venti x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #venti x y/n #venti genshin impact #genshin fanfic #venti angst #genshin barbatos #genshin impact fanfics

[denimini]

i want to say something i’ve been thinking about for a while and figured this would be a good forum for it since a lot of people are discussing how they feel about how Jungkook has changed during this solo era. I think this is something that I thought I was struggling with alone but its starting to look like its not the case based on everything I’ve read outside of Twitter/X (that’s a whole new world these days, unfortunately).

I think what a lot of us are experiencing with Jungkook is really tied to the parasocial relationship we have with BTS, as well as cognitive dissonance. Since I became an army, Jungkook is the member I’ve least been able to connect with at an emotional level, after Tae. Ironically, we have a lot of things in common, including our intense adoration for Jimin. Despite that, I have always thought of him as someone kind, talented, passionate, and ambitious. None of those things have changed so, why is it so difficult for me to be interested or engaged with any of the things he’s doing nowadays? He is obviously the most active member right now, and everytime I go on twitter there is a lot of content and a lot of people reacting to that content. 80% of the time I feel annoyed by this and then I get this very guilty feeling of “why do I feel this way?”

I don’t know if others are like this but in my experience the more I am exposed to something I’m not that interested in the more I start to resent it. Unfortunately, I think that’s been the case with JK since every time I go online in army spaces I just see things about him and not Jimin (who is obviously my bias lol). When you add the whole pseudo bad boy schtick on top (something I’m 100% turned off by) then it starts to become really annoying to engage with his content and all of the overwhelmingly positive (i.e. horny) reactions to it all the time (on army twt that is).

Additionally, my “attraction” for BTS really was based on this perception that they are men that provide this sense of safety, unlike most other men. Their music wasnt fixated on “getting” women or bragging about them, in fact the whole opposite, there was this profound feeling of appreciation of women, among the other topics theyve discussed in the past like mental health. So now, that I’m being spoonfed this music that is exactly what I don’t like from any male artist, then there’s this sort of subconscious feeling of betrayal.

I feel like most of us are trying to convince ourselves to look past everything he’s putting out because he’s someone we’ve admired a lot. But honestly that just puts a lot of pressure on him when instead that we probably need to do is just not engage with things we’re not interested in. I know that’s exactly what I would do with any other artist so the fact that I’m trying to force him to fit into the box of “things I like” when he doesnt anymore is kind of unfair to him too.

There are many reasons that justify why he is choosing to act like this now. I’m a couple months older than he is and I’m also struggling to figure out who I really am and what I want to do with my life. I think its fine for JK to go through this journey and I get why he would need to make these mistakes in order to actually mature. I’ve just realized that the best thing for me to do is distance myself from it without feeling like a solo or an anti just bc I don’t resonate with what he’s putting out and am not interested in engaging with that all the time.

Anon, I love your mind and I think you hit the nail on the head here. In fact, you even helped me realize a few things that have been bugging me ever since Seven was released.

Firstly this: "He is obviously the most active member right now, and everytime I go on twitter there is a lot of content and a lot of people reacting to that content. 80% of the time I feel annoyed by this and then I get this very guilty feeling of “why do I feel this way?” - I have been asking myself this question for months now and you just gave me the answer.

The fact it, that while other members' debut and eras lasted a month or two at most and then sort of died down, I feel like I've been bombarded with Jungkook's content for months now, even during Tae's release. Even since Seven came out, JK is continuously everywhere - Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and almost all the posts I ever see anymore are of him, despite me also biasing Jimin. As you said, since I also don't have any interest in this "pseudo bad boy schtick", but was basically forced to consume both it and "the overwhelmingly positive (i.e. horny) reactions to it" all the time, it became tiring and annoying to me as well.

On top of that, as you wrote, BTS was a safe place for me , too. As a female presenting person, I am so tired of listening to music and consuming content about men “getting” women or bragging about them" (brilliantly said). I really felt safe and secure with BTS, as artists who respect, understand and value not just women, but all genders, and by extenstion I felt safe in the fandom. But the fandom itself changed with the release of Seven. It was never as horny, deranged or overly sexualizing, as it is now. For example, I feel like I have been literally followed everywhere by comments about "champagne confetti" and "Jungkook is a confirmer head pusher".

For me, the type of music JK does now is truly exactly what I don't like listening to from other male artists and the fact that it was coming from a member of BTS, was jarring to me. Rather than it being a "light playful shock", it really was more of "a subconscious feeling of betrayal", as you put it, and I am only now realizing it.

I am not a person to make myself try to like something I don't, but since it was Jungkook doing this music, I still subconsciously have been feeling guilty for not supporting him. Even though I don't actively force myself to listen to it, there is still this urge in me to do it, because this is BTS and I have always supported them, and yet I can't seem to do it, which adds more to my guilt and frustration.

I think these feeling really are due to our parasocial relationship with BTS and Jungkook, who for some of us have been an important part of our lives for years. But honestly, as you said, this truly isn't fair to Jungkook as an individual and an artist. Firstly, this despite JK being a part of BTS, this isn't BTS music. This is Jungkook as a solo individual artist. Whatever reason he had to want to choose this path for his career, it is his right and prerogative. It is time some of us, including me, to accept that the Jungkook we see now and his music, are simply not for us anymore and to distance ourselves from it. Even though I am a heterosexual person , exactly at the age to not mind songs with such adult themes, I actually feel too old for this type of music now. It is maybe best suited for someone in their early 20s, than in their 30s. It simply isn't for me.

We should let go of the guilt for not being able to support Jungkook the way we are used to doing for years with BTS and simply let him live they way he wants to. For his own peace, but above all, for ours.

When BTS reunite again some day, we will have our safe place again.

#jungkook #bts #jimin

[gardenerian]

hey you! can you believe it’s the end of the year? 🥳✨🥂

to wrap up another fucking fantastic year of loving on ian & mickey & each other, please share:

your favorite thing you created this year

a fanfic that you can’t wait to reread

a piece of fan art you can’t stop thinking about

happy new year! cheers to another go around the sun! xx

hello my sweet ✨ what a lovely way to wrap up an incredible year of creating here in this space 💓 so proud of the work we get to share and experience every single day 🥰

favorite thing i created? oh boy oh wow. it was a great year for trying new gif things! i was super proud of this 4x11 set, the gallavich week fleetwood mac set, maggie rogers purple set, and my bigass music set. i have many fic WIPs and i remain excited about them (may 2023 be your year, sweet lil baby fics), but bad brain disease etc etc has them in limbo. however! i was also very proud to post a nice wrap up to the garden song series 🍅

so many fantastic fics this year! YQHBR is a current favorite (ty @celestialmickey), as is faffy our @goodkwuestion beloved! then we have: ian the friendly ghost and bound & free from @sunoficarus, paragraphs by @palepinkgoat, sweetpea 🐈‍⬛ from @whatthebodygraspsnot, tender hearts and other maladies by the lovely @whatwouldmickeydo, @thisdivorce's reckoner, ITQD by @spoonfulstar, peace comes dropping slow from @metalheadmickey (yall. i love this fic so MUCH.), selfless acts of the illegal variety from dearest @abundanceofnots.

i still have MUCH to catch up on for recent fics - so this list will go on and on! but darling @loftec wrote the LOVELIEST holiday fic for me this year. and then of course we have M8TE by our very own YOU!

for art.... oh yall. so much. SO MUCH! flowery husbands from @glitteryolks, roadtrip husbands and freckle boy! by @heymrspatel, @iansfreckles dancey ian, @milkovski's MASTERPIECE, celebratin boys by @onlyopia, @grumpymickmilk veggie boys, @doodlevich dumb baby men!!! this golden beauty from @mishervellous, @deathclassic's snugglin babies, stunning starts by @mzshko, these vivid colors from @tectonicduck, and of course of course this elevator music piece i commissioned from the incredible @darthvaders-wife ✨

a gorgeous year around here. i could keep going for ages! i love to see this fandom continuing to create and inspire and share their talents. thank you all for everything you do to keep this place so lively and wonderful 🍅☀️

#bee-loved 🐝✨ #i adore you #i adore you all #mel answers

[alarrytale]

Little confession because I don´t know to who I can write my heart out.

So recently I became Niall´s big fan after attending his 2 shows, his music and some mix from 1D is the only music I´m listening right now and I have to say it´s such a relief to be his fan for so many reasons. I´ll probably compare something that´s uncomparable but still... His shows are in such a great mood because there are no gaslighted/in-denial fans like solo het/gf harries, everyone´s here for his music, his charm and genuine personality. So many larries and otp5/4 around wearing 1D or Louis merch and it´s such a safe space.

There´s absolutely no drama around him, he´s doesn´t need to be the blank canvas for his fans and be that mysterious person just like H has to be. And so he´s able to be very active on sm and it´s just very nice fans service. He got great photographer and so his tour content is great and really shows the atmosphere of his shows including backstage videos.

And I know he´s probably not closeted and so he doesn´t have to stunt to gaslight his fans, no tabloid drama, no queerbaiting accussations ´cause he´s straight and gay in the same time, no stunt pap walks, no anxiety when some sighting of him and his gf (whenever she´s real or a beard ´cause honestly idc about his relationship at all) will drop and include pda and face licking.

Writing this makes me really wonder if I actually want to be H´s fan. Like I will be larrie because I believe in them and their love and their cute ongoing pattern but I´m just tired of his super overhyped image, I´m tired of HS TM who´s the new legend/icon/changing the history/whatever bs they write about him when he´s just a regular singer who may be talented but wouldn´t be what he is without that huge hype from his label because they choose him to be their golden goose.

And so I´m not even excited about HS4 because it will be another super hyped promo, his stunt going through our throats as a muse for the album, more grammys and breaking records and more the new Bowie/Prince/Mercury of this generation while the rest of boys should deserve the same attention but they will never get to his level because the weren´t the choosen one.

Hi, anon!

I'm so glad you had fun at Niall's show! Niall is pretty drama free (or people don't care that much about Niall's drama is probably the better way of putting it). He's pretty chill and what you see is what you get. If that is what you like and enjoy, then keep doing it!

Harry is full of drama, so i get how it can all feel pretty tiring and frustrating. I can't tell you what you should feel and what you should do, and there is no right or wrong way to be a fan. I know what i enjoy and what i don't enjoy so i pay attention to the thing i enjoy and try to ignore the rest. Some things can't be ignored though, and you need to see how you feel about it when it when the time comes and he wants your attention and money. It's the time between last tour and new album that's always the hardest on fandom, and that's where we are now. You might change your mind when we get more positive promo from him like interviews, performances and fan service. Just see how you feel, things might change. If not, you've always got drama free Niall to be a fan of!

#fandom #solo niall #solo harry #harry image

[jonquilyst]

15 questions for 15 mutuals

I was tagged by @rebouks 💜(My answers are long so I apologize LOL)

are you named after anyone? I’m not named after anyone, but I’m named after this song (Have a Little Faith in Me by John Hiatt). It’s my parents wedding/couple song and since I’m their first kid together (I have an older sister but we don’t have the same dad) they wanted to name me after their get-together song, so my middle name is Faith… I honestly think this is one of the coolest facts about me because I love music and to also be named after a song is a flex imo

when was the last time you cried? A few months ago I cried after I failed to find parking downtown while on my way to a field trip for one of my graphic design classes. It sounds pathetic and insignificant but for a suburban girl with little familiarity driving in the big city and multiple anxiety disorders, it was exceptionally difficult to keep my brain from imploding on itself. I parked in a spot close to the building’s entrance only to find it was reserved for long-term parking and there was absolutely no more parking spaces available, even along the street. So after 45 minutes of searching (and 30 minutes after I was supposed to have arrived) I decided to call it quits and went home… I got myself some bubble tea on the way to help cheer myself up but I still cried in my bathroom with my cat. I really wanted to go to this field trip but I couldn’t because of how inaccessible it was. I really hate driving in the city 👎

do you have kids? Nope, just my cats. I don’t want any human kiddos either. I’ve got many reasons why, but basically my older sister has 3 grade-school age kiddos and as much as I love them they’re a lot of work and I’ve learned over the years that I kinda don’t want to dedicate my life to a helpless person. I want my life to be about me.

do you use sarcasm a lot? I use it mostly with my friends and family members lol. Not all strangers understand how hilarious I am

what sports do you play/have you played? I used to be in dance and basketball when I was a kid, but after I chipped my front tooth in basketball practice my mom wouldn’t let me go back so not anymore. Nowadays I walk but Idk if that’s considered a sport lol. I enjoy playing badminton though; it’s so so fun (just wish we had a court around here; it’s not very popular where I live).

what’s the first thing you notice about other people? Their general personality, I guess. What someone is wearing and how they talk and move really says a lot about a person and it’s usually the first thing I notice.

eye colour? Blue

scary movies or happy endings? I don’t mind a thriller every once in a while but I generally tend to prefer happy endings

any special talents? My special talent is being incredibly awkward 👍

where were you born? Minnesota (US); born and raised

what are your hobbies? Besides the Sims I draw, paint, and write (as in authoring books/short stories you can read). I actually have a website/portfolio where I have my favorite creations if you wanna check it out: https://resplendent.carrd.co/ 

do you have any pets? Yep, two cats 🥰 Lacey, my brown tabby and white girl and Oskar, my fluffy long-haired tuxedo boy!

how tall are you? About 5′4″ or 163 cm

fave subject in school? Based on my hobbies said above, I think you can probably guess that it’s art lol. I took all the painting and drawing classes in high school. 

dream job? A job where the hours are flexible and I’m not staring at the clock all day... Something that keeps me busy all day while not being too hard on the body.

Tagging @simelune @estah @glowbloom and anyone else who wants to do this 💜 (but you can ignore)

#tags #tag game

[joons]

What's your opinion on each beach boy individually?

I adore this question, thank you.

Brian Wilson: My forever boy. Talented, funny, adorable, strong. When I was first getting into the Beach Boys, I was just mainlining Brian interviews and sobbing because of how much I related to him, and he made me feel like I could get through just about anything. His entire story, his outlook, is about finding joy in the simplest things in the darkest times. It's such a beautiful thing to see reflected in someone. I got to see him live a few years ago, and it was overwhelming to be in the same room with him and see so many people just thanking him for his music. I love how unapologetic he is about what he loves and how he expresses it. He puts so much of himself out there in his music that it just reaches through and grabs hold of your heart. It's unmistakably him, from the plaintive loneliness in Pet Sounds to the cheeky weirdness of Love You, because music was always his safe space and the best way he could express himself without anything between you and him. He brings me such joy.

Carl Wilson: An angel. Sweetest boy, sweetest voice, grew into a whole hottie. I feel like I am very close to him as well, we are both kind of conflict-averse and quiet leader types. His voice is magic, and I love the more R&B influence he brings to songs. Wild Honey is one of my favorite albums, and I feel like it has so much of him in it. He is so gentle in life but fiery in the studio, I don't know. I'm always so happy listening to him.

Dennis Wilson: Dennis' songwriting is so impressive to me, there's so much soul and emotion in his voice, and I love the rawness of his vocals paired with the lush, classical beauty of his instrumentation. He went through so much, and I wish he could have gotten more help and time to heal. All the Wilson brothers just break my heart. They deserved the world. (I forgot to say I got to sit in one of his cars at a museum! <3)

Al Jardine: Such a cinnamon roll. I trust him wholeheartedly, like, if Al isn't on your side or doesn't like you, then I don't like you either. He's so supportive and kind and it means so much to me that he and Brian are still so close.

Mike Love: So annoying and frustrating that it almost feels like parody. Every time I come around to him, I find out something else about him that sends me through the roof again! He just should not be around sensitive people, he is hazardous to their health, and sometimes he says things that I just--!!! Despite all that, I love his voice and "Big Sur" and I have an ironic love for how much he tries to shoehorn Transcendental Meditation into everything. Respect the grift! Also "Student Demonstration Time" slaps, I don't care!!!!!!

Bruce Johnston: He's fine. Some of his songs are almost too sweet for me. Points lost for touring with Mike.

David Marks: He got totally shafted early on and led a very hard life, but he is talented and a real sweetheart.

Blondie Chaplin: Such a fun guy! Points gained for touring with Brian.

Ricky Fataar: Really don't know anything about him, sorry. I have just recently gotten to listen to the albums he is on, so I don't know much.

John Stamos: Literally, why are you here. Go away.

#messages #Anonymous #the beach boys

[cloudroots]

This is High Note the pony that I ship Fluttershy with in this universe! A random background pony who I liked the design of!

Let me say before we continue that I know the similarities between the designs of Mr. Shy and High Note. Whenever I draw Fluttershy's family I will make sure the guys much more green in their hue, so they don't look as similar. I actually did find High Note, before Fluttershy's family was even introduced, but I don't have much evidence for that. Let it be known that the two character aren't related in any way. I just thought Note looked cute, thank you for understanding. 

Anyway back to it! When I first made my Next Gen there weren't many shipping options that I liked for Fluttershy, in fact there wasn't many notable characters at all really. So younger me spent quite a while just looking through the wiki at all the background ponies to find a design that stood out. I ended up finding High Note, who I thought had nice colors and looked very cute. Also he had a music cutiemark which I thought fit well into a Fluttershy family idea. I also compiled some of his appearances, I really want to look at this boi. He has the same mane as Caramel, because that's how background design were like back then, I ended up changing Note's mane to differentiate the two more. 

1: High Note is a resident of ponyville, and has been for the whole time of the show, even a long time before then. He's a pretty active member of the community, he went to events and such. 

Note is a singer, sometimes a song writer. He is quite quiet, very kind hearted, understanding and a good listener. He is socially awkward, but he tries his best. He has a rather innocent and pure mind, even though he knows about how mean the world is he still is very warm hearted. Note loves his long hair and dressing more traditionally more feminine. He also doesn't care much for gender roles either. He is a little bit of a hippy and has an admiration for such people who care for others and the planet. When he gets closer and more comfortable with someone, he's more loud and enthusiastic. He also just sings all the time to himself. He's a real choir/ theater kid type.

High Note is more comfortable when he's preforming, and becomes incredibly expressive and confident. He feels as though can only be this confident when he's in a group like in a choir or a much smaller group, but he still needs others around. He also has a talent for theater, but mostly just musicals. He is an expert at belting and hitting those high notes. 

2: Even before the two actually met, High Note knew of Fluttershy. I guess you become a little well know after saving the world a few times, and also being a fashion icon for a short period of time. Note thinks Flutters is very pretty and wants to get to get to know her more, since they already live in the same town. Maybe even become friends? He basically just has a very cute and innocent crush on her.

3: His heart flutters whenever he sees he sees her in town, but he thinks she's too busy with life. He also doesn't want to bother her or invade her space, so he ends up just working on himself. 

4: He's quite lonely so works on preforming. He does some theater, and whatever vocal performances are available. He becomes parts of public and private choirs around the Ponyville area, but nothing too fancy. He makes some friends while doing these things and is having a good time. Whenever he's preforming he becomes a little cocky and his this aura about him. 

5: The mane 6 then all go together to one of High Note's choir concerts, and in this concert he has a solo in one of the songs. Fluttershy is impressed with him and now has a little crush of her own. 

6: Fluttershy doesn't pay too much attention when she's out on the town, especially when she's just getting groceries. Now, though she starts notices High Note around, and she looks around to see him. She never really noticed him before. Fluttershy goes to more of his performances off and on. Note saw a glimpse of Fluttershy at one of his performances, and starts feelings his heart flutter again. He hopes she liked the show, and his solos. 

They both have cute crushes now, and look for each other in town so they can look from afar. If they ever make eye contact, it's not for very long since they quickly look away and are blushy the rest of the day.

7: One of the days Fluttershy is out on the town with her friends, and looks for High Note and gets all sighy. Rarity notices her, she leans in and asks, "Have you made a move yet, darling?"

Fluttershy surprised answers with a red face, "I-I don't know what you mean"

"It's alright if you have a crush, dear. I noticed how you can't keep your eyes off that stallion, but I could be mistaken."

The yellow mare looks down in embarrassment, "I don't think I could build up the courage to even talk to him"

"I could help, if you want me to dear." Rarity offers.

The rest of the mane 6 talking among themselves, then Pinkie trots over to the two mares, and asks with squinted eyes, "What are you two at? OH, I KNOW HIM!"

"Really?" Fluttershy asks quietly. 

"Yep, I know pretty much everyone in Ponyville," Pinkie answers proudly. "And that's High Note!"*GASP*"I could totally introduce you guys!"

"I don't know about that."

"Well, whenever you're ready, we'll be here for you," Rarity tells Fluttershy.

8: At a later time, Pinkie pie, without much thought, pushes Fluttershy into High Note. Both are shocked, and Fluttershy is as red a tomato. "Are you alright, miss?" asks Note. She nods, walks away a little, then runs. 

9: Now the two are too embarrassed to look at each other even far away. Rarity sees how they're kind of a lost cause. Being the romantic she is, and wants her friends at least to have the chance of relationship.

10: She takes matters into her own hooves. At least a little bit. Rarity plans a little singer's get together and invites them both. Before she does though, she visits Fluttershy to make sure if she's really okay with going. Rarity won't force her, but will hype her up if she needs to. Rarity explains that it will be a cozy little get together, with not many ponies she doesn't know. Fluttershy hesitantly agrees. 

11: The two go together, and Rarity helped get Flutters a little dressed up. She was also there to make sure she would go and to comfort her if she wasn't feeling up to it. Fluttershy is incredibly nervous the whole walk there. Rarity tries her best to put Flutters mind at ease. When they get there, there's the Pony Tones (who Fluttershy is comfortable with), and only a few other ponies. The two friends greet some of the ponies then Fluttershy becomes full of nerves, once she spots High Note over near the wall, being friendly to whoever comes his way. 

12: Rarity gently nudges her over there, and Fluttershy goes and starts talking to him. He's a little surprised, but is friendly and happy. He starts with the talking, since this is a singer's gathering they talk about singing. She mentions that she went to some of his performances, and how impressed she was. She could never do something like that. Note is flattered by this, and tells her how he can go on stage even though he's actually quite a shy pony. They then start geeking out about musical performances they love, and how they love to sing and watch singing and dancing.  

13: The two have really hit it off, and Rarity is happy to see it. They talked for the longest time. Later into the event Rarity joins them, they seem so happy and excited. They then finally introduce their names to each other. They now have actually met and enjoy each other's company. One of two asks if they would like to hang out some other time, overjoyed the other accepts. 

14: Fluttershy and High Note's first date. The two weren't in a public place, to have more privacy. Fluttershy's friends were watching from afar for safety reasons. The mane 6 are all pretty protective of Fluttershy. They have a great time just talking again, and go on more dates. 

15: The couple go on very quiet dates, which at first they thought were platonic. They are very honest with each other, and find out they both like each other. They now go on even more dates, being picnics and such, all being far away from the generally public. 

16: The couple opening up more and more. Note being a little more loud and enthusiastic, he sings all the time. Fluttershy shows her snarky side. I love whenever she is sarcastic in the show. They have become incredibly comfortable with one another but still have boundaries that they respect.

17: They take it very slow for physical affection. They love each other very much and want to make sure the other is happy, so they had their first kiss deep into their relationship. They still prefer nose kisses and cuddles. They just don't kiss on the lips very much, they love on the check and forehead and such. These two are just very cute. They are both are the asexual spectrum, so they prefer cuddling and kisses over anything else. 

18: These two love each other very much, and have a strong bond of trust and communication. Little sweethearts these two. They were actually one of the first of the mane 6 to get married and settle down. They had a small nature themed wedding, with only friends and close family members. Some animals were there also of course! They both wore cute flower crowns, and Note might've also wore a dress. 

I once again was regretting my decisions by making such a long post again. I love how this one turned out though! The colors are so pretty, and it's all overall so soft!! I feel this is definitely a step up from the last one in quality.

#mlp #my little pony #mlp next gen #Cloud_verse #my art #ParentBios #fluttershy #highnote #flutternote #mlp shipping #mlp ship art #mlp ng #mlp fim

[chanstopher]

hehe, your blog actually was one of the main places i went to when i was getting to know him. i had no idea how hard i'd end up falling for him, he's become a cozy little safe space for me in the short span of a few weeks. ik that's really fast but i'm rly glad i decided to take the plunge and get to know skz and therefore him. what're some of your fav things about him, dreamy? - parfait anon

oh my god that is SO PRECIOUS :((( my lil blog omg

oh man saying everything about him is my favorite is cheating right? probably. it is true but i know you want examples so ok:

The most important thing about him is how fiercely he loves. if you take away all the music and his looks, and his talent, his heart is still so amazing, it's the core of him, and i think it's the core of stray kids. forming skz he didn't pick members who he knew would get him debuted. half of them hadn't been at the company a year, he picked people he knew he could work with and wanted to grow with. minho was literally just a dancer at that point, felix couldn't speak korean, half of them were not what I’d consider debut ready, but Chris picked them anyway and he worked tirelessly to debut with all of them.

and it never stopped, he writes for the members, he listens to their ideas, he walks in the back so he can always see them all. He admires them all, he supports them and loves them and always puts them before him, lines in songs, screen time, whatever he can. He prefers to be on the side watching them live their dreams and he's so proud of everything they do.

any time they make things or try things chris makes sure we all know, that we've all heard it or seen it, or that we know who's idea the cool thing in a song was or who wrote their lyrics for different songs.

if you watch the channies rooms during kingdom especially, there's a light in his eyes as he watches all of them. I rewatch him watching love poem so often i could draw his face from memory. when hyunjin was on hiatus that whole time he tried to sneak in ways to mention him without saying his name as much as possible.

the members are so comfortable with him, and he's so comfortable with them. when he films them playing with that guitar, when he just watches jeongin play games on his computer, when he was sad to be alone instead of being excited to have a solo player because he missed them, i could go on and on and on he loves them. and its fully reciprocated. those 7 boys with their super different personalities and ways of showing love they all show him so much love. they let him be so clingy and whiny and embarrassing and they admire him.

like he picked these kids after years of being alone and he gave all of them his heart and his protection and I love and admire him so much for it, and so do they.

"There's no leader like him" -minho

"He has a strong sense of responsibility, and makes a lot of sacrifices for the team," -bin

"I will grow up quickly, and I want to be there for you to lean on" -Hyunjin

"He carries a lot of responsibilities on his wide shoulders. I want to become someone that can give him strength" - hanji

"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here" - Felix

"The more I know about him, I feel that he's really amazing" -Seungmin

"He's our team leader. He's a very reliable leader." -Jeong

His heart is my favorite thing about him <3

#drm.ask #parfait anon #sorry i went a lil nuts #literally apologize for this

[anger-ey]

NSR AMA File 2 (part 2)

If B2J and the bosses have shadow animals like DK West what would they be? DISCLAIMER NONE OF THIS IS CANON. Sayu is a cat (Ellie's answer shocked Daim). Zuke is a zucchini. Mayday is a lemur (like King Julien). Eve is platypus(Ellie)/octopus(Daim)/peacock(Haz)???

Tatiana's broadcast after the DJSS fight was 3D projected instead of 2D animated, any particular reason why? Just a production choice, it was easier and more effective. It was inspired a bit by Space Channel 5's first boss, which also had the final boss show up on a monitor.

Any plans to do spin-off medias light LNs etc.? No plans so far. NSR is something they hold dearly so it'll be hard for them to find creators to partner with. They'll be very strict on who can nail the spirit of NSR.

Were there any NPCs that didn't make it into the game? There were a couple, like a beggar and a witch doctor who can predict the future (but none of them happens in the game).

Ellie's least favorite character to design? 1010 but only because she thinks she's not good at drawing guys and she hates drawing robots. The reason NJ and 1010 have butt plates is thanks to Ellie referencing Ben's gundam models. Also Ellie's favorite 1010 is Blue because she likes the hairstyle, the sunglasses, and the color blue.

Ben's most/least favorite character to animate? Least favorite is Eve, he thinks he didn't do a good enough job with her. Most favorite is 1010, the shuffle is fun to animate.

Will there be a Malay dub for NSR? They want to but time and money do be like that, also they want it to be great and local talents aren't enough.

What is the studio thinking of doing next? SURPRISE FREE CHRISTMAS DLC! New character designs, christmas-themed boss arenas, and christmas remixes for the soundtracks. Also MERCH TIME!!! DJ Sub hoodie is in the works.

Why are all of Tatiana's clocks set to 8:21? It's a sad clock face (like how 10:10 is a happy face). It's a total coincidence that August 21st is the death of the American soprano, Tatiana Troyanos.

Inspiration for Vinyl City's design? The districts are tied to the charter's personalities. DJSS's area looks the least maintained because he doesn't pay too much attention to its development. As you progress the more it gets flashier and fancier because the bosses progressively give their districts more funding. Yinu looks like a rose and her mother is very protective of her, which is why there are domes with plants inside everywhere in the district. The Plaza area is influenced by Malaysian urban architecture.

Does Neon J see 1010 as his children? It wasn't planned, but they love the fanon concept. If a sequel happens they can adopt the idea. (Daim says it's adorable, and 1010 would also see him as a father figure.)

Were character animations lipsynced for every language? They recorded English first, but there are some parts of the game they couldn't record in time. So it was like midway English but then the JP schedule came barreling in so they had to record Japanese first. The timing ended up being weird. Unfortunately, they had to cut French and Japanese voices to match the English version because the English version is the most accurate one.

Where is Vinyl City on the globe? Does it get monsoons? They'd like to keep the area fictional for now. It's definitely on Earth since the solar system is the same.

Why does Eve have two skintones? She was born with it. The progression of Eve from childhood to adulthood is a journey from self-hatred to self-love.

Why does Zuke collect toilet seats? It's an inside joke. They had a friend in high school who likes to put toilet seats on their friend's chairs. Whenever Ellie gets the opportunity she will slip a toilet seat into the game. Toilets became a recurring joke between them.

Does 1010 boys have different positions? (Daim: that's a cool question, but we have no actual answers.) Ellie and Haz think Green is the rapper.

Did you have any scrapped ideas for music genres? Probably no because the genre was not the main focus when they first designed the bosses. They started with themes and trends in the music industry instead of the genre. Fun fact for DJSS, at every phase he had a whole paragraph of lectures.

How old is Kliff and what does he do? He's around Tatiana's age or even older, past 50. What he does is undecided, they won't lock that in yet.

What is DJ Zam's neck tattoo? Love Mom tattoo (Ellie's answer). DJ Zam loves his mom!

Does Yinu's mom turn into a giant tree monster out of anger towards B2J or is it an effect of her husband's death? The tree design is part of her, not just because of anger. Their family has a strong connection to flowers and plant motifs.

Neon J's skill upgrade is specified to be napalm? It just sounded cool.

Thought process behind designing Eve and timeline between the Rupturika festival and Eve joining NSR? Daim started the two-tone design for Eve. In her initial design she's wearing a simple collar shirt and pants, like office wear. Ellie made it a bit more weird, so she added the jacket (Ariana Grande), leotard (Beyonce), and pasties. Eve had multiple limbs (Bjork) from the beginning of conception. No lore locked in for Rupturika.

What first sparked the creation of NSR? Haz had the idea first. He wanted to make a game based on music that isn't a rhythm game. Music is a universal language, so there must be something they can do with it. They always play with rhythm and beats but never with other aspects of music, like its rules. They're also inspired by underdog stories like Gurren Lagann. From there Daim fleshed out the characters. The idea was birthed around 2014 while in Japan.

How did Zuke know how to do mechanics stuff like workshop upgrades? Zuke learns and reads a lot, not just about music but also his side interests. He's a naturally inquisitive character. Zuke was the one who implemented Mayday's guitar canister.

Since Neon J's head is a monitor, does he have a brain? He still has a brain, his internal organs are still inside. (Daim: his brain is squished in the monitor? Haz: they took his brain and squished it into his butt plate- NOT CANON)

Qwasa converting music into energy? There was an argument between Daim and Aidi. Aidi wanted the lore to be more grounded, like the Qwasa being a crystal. Daim didn't think it was necessary to explain the "science". In the end it worked out for the game's storytelling.

Which NSR bosses are introverts and extroverts? Introverts: Eve, DJSS (could be ambi), Zuke, Sayu (4 introverts in one). Extroverts: Neon J, DK West, Mayday.

Can Neon J see? How does he see with his sonar head? Daim doesn't want to answer that now, but Haz says it would be cool if he's blind. Neon J is a bit self-conscious, so he only got the courage to take the spotlight in the battle with B2J.