#hayden from pm

[griffinsboyfriend]

Which choices man would be the best drag queen? Who’s the best when mugged up?

Oh gosh, I don’t know! Hmmm… I feel like Mal could be a good bearded queen idk! I’m not good at this haha!

Charles has those tight facial features that could serve all mugged up in correct lighting LOL.

[anakinlove]

Hello Lili my love how are u

Hello!!!!

I am good!!!

How are you??

[padmesweetheart]

A Thousand Silent Moments

Pairing: Hayden Christensen x Female!Reader

Genre: Slow Burn, Forbidden Love, Angst, Emotional Romance

Warnings:Emotional infidelity, intense longing, rain-soaked confessions, soft cursing, unresolved heartbreak

Authors note: I had to add more detail and information to make it make more since!

Request by @dream-this-nightmare-over

SEPTEMBER 7th 2004

You didn’t know what made this Tuesday feel heavier than the rest.

Maybe it was the weather—the stormy kind of sky that lingered low and gray all morning. Maybe it was the way your boyfriend had texted only once, a vague “busy today, talk later” you didn’t have the energy to reply to. Or maybe it was the fact that Hayden had worn that soft navy T-shirt that clung to his back and shoulders in all the wrong ways and smiled at you in all the right ones.

You’d been on this production for nearly eight months. What had started as a job opportunity had bloomed into something else entirely—except you refused to name it.

You refused to name him.

Hayden Christensen. The man who could light up a set with a single smirk. Who laughed with his entire body. Who stayed behind to help crew clean up. Who spoke in quiet tones behind the makeup trailer. Who looked at you like you were the only real thing in a world full of green screens.

And he wasn’t yours.

You had someone back home. A boyfriend. A relationship you’d tried to convince yourself was still salvageable, still steady, still worth defending. And yet—each time you sat across from Hayden during lunch breaks, trading sarcasm and soft grins, your chest twisted.

Because you wanted to say more.

Because he never said it first.

Because neither of you had the courage to be the one who let go of the wall first.

—————-

The clouds finally broke sometime around 5:00 PM. The storm rolled in like a symphony—deep, slow, steady. Thunder grumbled above as the wind picked up and rain began to fall in heavy sheets across the studio lot. Everyone rushed to cover, equipment shoved beneath tents, people ducking under canopies.

You were supposed to head back to the hotel.

Instead, you stayed under the back awning of the studio building, watching the downpour, hoping the cool mist might calm your racing mind.

That’s when you heard his voice behind you. Low, quiet, warm in the cold air.

“You always run to the rain, not from it.”

You turned.

Hayden stood a few feet away, rain already soaking through his shirt in spots, hair damp and curled at the ends. He looked like something torn out of a script—a tragic hero in the middle of a storm, quietly breaking.

You swallowed the emotion rising in your throat. “And you always find me.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe I’ve been looking too long.”

There was a beat of silence, filled only by the soft roar of water hitting the pavement. You shifted your weight.

“You should go inside.”

“So should you,” he said. But neither of you moved.

You felt it in your bones, that silent crackling between you. The almosts. The maybes. The weight of every stolen glance and almost-touch. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets now, jaw clenched, eyes unreadable.

“You know we can’t—” you started, voice trembling.

“I know,” he cut in. “Believe me, I know. I’ve tried to remind myself of that every single day.”

“Then why do you keep doing this?” you asked, your voice sharp—not in anger, but desperation. “Why do you look at me like I’m the only thing that matters when you know it can’t happen?”

“Because I don’t believe that,” he said, stepping forward, voice rising. “I don’t believe this is some passing crush. I feel like my chest is going to cave in every time you walk away from me.”

You took a breath, but it caught.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I’m not asking for anything,” he said, hands finally leaving his pockets, his shoulders soaked. “I’m telling you that this—whatever this is—it’s real. I’m not scared of it.”

“I’m not scared either,” you whispered. “I’m just… responsible.”

“Responsible,” he echoed, voice brittle. “Is that what you call it when you choose someone who makes you feel half-alive just because it’s easier?”

You flinched like he’d hit you.

His expression softened immediately. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”

You looked down, blinking hard. “He’s not a bad person.”

“I never said he was.”

“But you’re asking me to be one.”

“No,” he said gently. “I’m asking you to be honest. With me. With yourself. Because you and I both know—whatever this is between us—it doesn’t go away when we ignore it. It only hurts more.”

The rain had soaked through your sleeves now, cold and heavy. But the heat of his words made your skin burn.

You stepped back, shaking your head. “Hayden, we’re not us. There is no us.”

He looked at you like he could see straight through the lie.

“Then why do you look at me like that?” he asked. “Why do you always come find me when you can’t sleep? Why do you smile at me like I’m the one thing keeping you standing?”

Your throat closed.

“Why,” he continued, stepping closer again, “do you flinch every time I walk away like you’re terrified I won’t come back?”

You didn’t realize you were crying until the rain masked it.

You whispered, “Because I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Then stop hurting yourself,” he begged.

And in the silence that followed, in the steady pounding of rain around you, in the ache sitting heavy in your chest—

You broke.

You kissed him.

It was breathless. Messy. Tasting of tears and rainwater and too many words left unsaid. His hands were in your hair, pulling you closer like he’d been holding himself back for months, and you let him.

You let yourself feel what you’d been denying for too long.

It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t fair.

But it was real.

When you finally pulled away, he pressed his forehead to yours, both of you shivering.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I don’t know what comes next. I don’t even care. But I can’t live in the silence anymore.”

You nodded, still trembling, your fingers curling into his shirt.

“I’ve loved you this whole time,” you whispered back. “I just didn’t know I was allowed to.”

——-

You didn’t speak the entire cab ride back.

The rain had slowed to a mist, but it clung to your skin like guilt. The city lights passed in blurred streaks through the fogged window, and you clutched your bag to your chest like it might anchor you in place.

Hayden didn’t ask to come back with you. He didn’t even ask if you were okay.

He didn’t have to.

Because the answer was obvious: you weren’t.

Your lips were still swollen from the kiss. Your fingers still ached from how tightly they had clung to the fabric of his shirt. And your chest still throbbed with the memory of his voice breaking as he said, “I love you.”

And you had said it back.

God.

When you finally unlocked the hotel room door and stepped inside, you didn’t turn on the lights. You dropped your bag by the door and sank to the carpeted floor beside the bed, burying your face in your hands, heart pounding like it was trying to claw its way out.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket.

Ben: “Still no word from you. Let me know when you’re done with work. Miss you.”

You stared at the message.

Miss you.

Miss the version of me who doesn’t belong to someone else now?

Miss the version who doesn’t cry in the dark over another man’s hands?

Miss the girl you stopped really listening to three months ago?

You wanted to scream. Or cry. Or run.

Instead, you grabbed a pillow, pressed it to your mouth, and let yourself break.

——————

Wednesday Morning – 6:43 AM

September 8th 2004

You knocked on the door before you had the chance to talk yourself out of it.

Hayden opened it almost immediately, hair damp from a shower, wearing a plain white t-shirt and loose drawstring pants. His expression was somewhere between shock and soft hope, like he hadn’t let himself believe you’d actually show up.

You didn’t speak.

You just walked in and stood in the center of his room, arms crossed, rain-dampened curls clinging to your cheek.

“I didn’t sleep,” you said softly.

He nodded. “Me either.”

You turned to him.

“I told him,” you said.

Hayden blinked. “You did?”

You nodded, throat tight. “I couldn’t live with the lie. He deserved more than that.”

“What did he say?”

You looked away. “He already knew. He said he’s seen the way I look at you.”

Hayden swallowed. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” you said. “It’s mine. I let this stretch out too long. I told myself I was being a good person, staying, choosing the safe thing.”

You finally met his eyes.

“But it wasn’t safe. It was stagnant. And I don’t want to live half a life anymore.”

Silence stretched between you.

Then, with a single step, Hayden closed the distance and pulled you into his arms—slowly, reverently. Like he was scared you’d vanish if he held on too tightly.

“I didn’t know if you’d come,” he whispered into your hair.

“I didn’t either,” you said into his chest. “But when I imagined waking up this morning… I couldn’t stand the thought of it not being you.”

He kissed your forehead, softly, like a promise.

And then again, lower, brushing the corner of your mouth like it was the first time.

————-

Later that day at 5pm

It wasn’t perfect.

There were still too many questions. Still heartbreak in the wake of what you’d left behind. Still that nagging voice in your head that said maybe you were selfish.

But when you and Hayden sat on his hotel bed later, legs tangled, eating toast and eggs he’d made with too much pepper, and he said, “You talk in your sleep, you know,” with a stupid grin—

You felt more peace than you had in months.

Because what you had was messy. And complicated. And not part of any plan.

But it was real.

And for the first time in a long time, that was enough

@skyguytoast @dessxoxsworld @endairachristensen26

@bxbyysstuff @inlovewithallmusic

[angel-writes-skz-here]

Seduction

Prof! Minho x Student! Reader Synopsis: Minho finds your note, but is it too late? Have you moved on with Hayden? Are the games really over? Have you left for good? Warnings: Angst, fluff A/N: Part 4 is here!! Now y'all in addition to doing this series and other fics, I'm joining in with @breakmeoff to help her celebrate her 200 followers! If you'd like a fic written for it, head to her page or Here to check out the drink menu and submit your order in her Asks! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Much love and thanks for reading! As usual, let me know if you want to be tagged! 💖

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Missing You

Minho stares at the note for a while, his own words slapping him in the face. He puts it down on the counter and pulls out his phone texting you.

So you just leave without telling me. Real mature.

He waits for a response, but he’s left on delivered. He sighs. He could go to your dorm, but how in the world would he explain what he’s doing there? The only thing he can do is wait till Monday when he sees you in class.

-

You see the message pop up on your screen, but you don’t actually click on it to read it, just skim it on the home screen as you board the plane. You sit down in your window seat, biting your lip as you stare out the window in thought.

What you did wasn’t great, but he deserved it. He was a total ass and you just wanted him to feel the pain you felt, except, as bad as you hated to admit it, it was hard as hell to leave him there sleeping. His face was softened, peaceful even. His light snores were sweet, and if the world wasn’t so cruel, you could see yourself waking up next to him for a long time. But that wasn’t reality, reality was, he deserved every single bit of what was coming to him.

It had finally happened, so you thought, that some level of a connection had been formed between you, and you ripped it away; cut him the way his words cut you.  

Even if you did fake the latter part of the aphrodisiac.

-

The day goes by without a word from you, Minho sees it as a game, one of the many he was sure you were playing. He knew you’d crack if he went cold and distant, so that was his plan. No contact, no stolen glances, no smirks or smiles, play the game better than you and it wouldn’t hurt so bad, right? It wouldn’t be real, right?

Little did he know he was the only one playing a game.

-

Monday comes around and you aren’t in class. He tries texting you at the end.

Reminder: one more absence and you fail.

Not two minutes later he see’s you’ve read the message. He waits for the chat bubbles to appear.

But they don’t.

I know you read the message, y/n. I don’t want to fail you but I will be forced to if you don’t show up tomorrow.

Once again you read the message and don’t respond. He sighs and puts his phone away going about his day.

Tuesday, once again no sign of you. He shakes his head, and tries to prove he isn’t playing games and goes to log into the system and searches for your name only to see it isn’t on his roster anymore.

“What the fuck,” he asks himself quietly. Confusion strikes him as he pulls out his phone, bypassing the text message this time.

-

The phone rings and you jump from the sudden loud noise.

“Hello?” you answer, voice completely and utterly sleep induced.

“What the hell, are you asleep? It’s 1 pm.” Minho’s voice cuts through the phone.

“For you maybe, it’s midnight here,” you explain as you lay with your back against the mattress, eyes closed not ready for this conversation.

“What the hell are you talking about? And did you switch professors without telling me?”

You sigh, “Good night, Minho.”

“Y/n, wait, what the hell is going on!” he asks, irritation audible in his voice, as well as a hint of panic.

“I’m not in Korea anymore, genius. Now good night!” you almost yell before hitting the end call button, huffing as tears brim your eyes. You cover your face sighing.

You missed Minho like crazy, despite his harsh words, and it had only been a few days, but realistically what did you expect? A relationship? How would that work when your student visa ran out? You hadn’t thought past the here now until the plane ride, convincing yourself this was the best possible thing for your future and for your current sanity.

Moving back to the states meant Minho could finally be a memory; he could be the ghost he was intended to be after the first night you met. Not to mention, you could move on with Hayden who cared about you. Who loved you and waited for you, was willing to let go of any of the dumb things you did while half a world away.

The next morning you were getting ready to enroll in your new college classes.

“Now it says here you were studying in Korea,” your counselor notes, “Why on earth would you want to leave not even a year into studying?”

“I had some personal matters that needed my attention here at home and I just didn’t think the university was the best fit for me anyway.” You smile through the lie. She doesn’t push, only helps you get set up.

You leave the office, the feeling surreal that you’re back. Now that school is set up, you decide to go over to Hayden’s apartment.

-

You knock on his door and a smiling Hayden answers.

“Y/n!” He cheers pulling you inside. The two of you sit on the couch, he asks about your flight, asks about school, all the while holding you like you’d disappear if he let go.

“I’m so glad your home,” he leaves a few feather light kisses on your neck. It didn’t feel like home, but it was.

You crane your neck to kiss his lips, softly moaning against them as a certain professor enters your mind. You furrow your brows.

No, you got your revenge, it’s over and done.

No more Minho.

Hayden notices your demeanor.

“Everything ok? You seem a little tense,” he trails off rubbing your arm up and down.

“I’m fine,” you smile as you kiss him again. This time, the thought of Minho holding you close the way he did that night as your bodies connected,  enters your brain and you pull away from Hayden.

“Why don’t we go out, do something fun before school starts up for me.” You smile.

-

Minho can’t believe it. You weren’t kidding, you really left. He’d gone to your dorm after the phone call and seen your clean room. He checked with your other professors to see if it was actually true; it was. He felt empty, lost and confused.

Had he been that horrible? Was it all a big joke to you? How could he not have seen it? He knew he had been harsh, but he tried to vulnerable with you, thought maybe, just maybe something between you had settled, but clearly, he was wrong.

Over the next several weeks Minho is a wreck. He’s barely holding himself together. How could a girl he spent so little time with really take up this much of his mind?

He misses simply seeing you in your seat during class, misses the flirty signals, misses reading your assignments, regardless of any innuendo’s you could work into them. There are countless nights he spends tossing and turning, dreaming of your last encounter. Wishing he could feel you, that he could apologize for the words he said, tell you that ‘rules be damned’ and that you were his and his only. He needed you, something in his brain functioned better with you around, something about him was lighter and brighter, despite how he made it sound.

He just hadn’t realized it until you left.

Everything reminds him of you. Birds singing in the morning?

He remembered the way you’d absent mindedly hum a tune in class while reading.

The flowers he would see on the way to his office?

He remembered how bright, full of life and beautiful you were.

Students laughing in the courtyard?

He remembered how beautiful your sweet laugh was and how he missed you being around.

He couldn’t turn anywhere without being reminded of you. And he can’t take it anymore. Minho knows he’s got to do something about it. The late nights and empty days are simply draining him of any life. He can’t take it anymore.

-

During those several weeks Minho doesn’t reach out. Both of you just trying to move on with your lives, but you find your self staring at his contact name more than you should; hoping he’ll call or text.

-

You and Hayden are going strong by the time December rolls around, winter break only a few days out, life has become mundane, easy, and honestly, a little boring.

Well other than the few weird things you’d found around Hayden the last few weeks. Some random hair ties, an earing he said belonged to his sister, as well as one of his sisters’ shirts on his bedroom floor, oddly tucked away in his laundry.

Did you believe it? At first. But once you found the shirt, a pit in your stomach began to form. However, you didn’t voice any concerns especially after a few weeks went by and nothing else was found.

Until the official start of winter break.

You’re getting in car, Hayden picking you up from your last class, and you’re on your way to get hot chocolate from Starbucks. You’re arranging your stuff in the back seat as he drives when you see it.

A Durex wrapper in the floor board.

Your breath hitches and you bite your bottom lip. You hadn’t had sex in his car, or all week for that matter, and Durex wasn’t what he used for condoms anyway.

At least, not with you.

You sit down in the seat; hands folded in your lap.

“I’m, uh, I’m not feeling much like a hot chocolate anymore. I have a headache. Can you take me home?” you ask quietly.

“Yeah, are you sure? Do I need to stop and get you anything?”

“Nope, I just need to lay down.” You try to smile at him.

“Yeah, ok.” He says before changing lanes to take you home.

-

He pulls into the drive way and before he can lean in to give you a kiss you get out of the car, slamming the front door. You grab your bags from the back seat, and silently, you place the wrapper on his console. He looks to it, then you, eyes wide. You scowl and slam the car door, running inside the house, flinging the door shut behind you.

“FUCK!”

You sink down to the floor against the back door, emotions stopping you in your tracks.

“Y/n, let me explain.” He pounds on the door.

“Explain what? That you’re cheating on me? You asked me to come home! You asked me to come back and this is how you do me? I left a once and a life time opportunity for you!” you scream at him as you open the door.

“So please, tell me how you can explain.”

“We were on a break, Zoe and I,”

“Zoe? Are you fucking serious? You let that nasty bitch touch you? Oh my god, then you touched me,” you gag at the thought.

“It was just sex,” he says and you scoff.

“And yet you were seeing her while I was home! If it was just ‘sex’ you would have cut it off! That wrapper wasn’t in the car two days ago so I know it’s fresh, Hayden!”

You slam the door again. You take a deep breath, arms wrapped around your body, as you set off to the living room. Hayden walks off defeated, both of you knowing the end has come.

-

“What a way to kick off winter break,” you sniffle to yourself as you watch some cheesy Christmas film on tv. You were dressed in comfortable pj’s with homemade  hot chocolate and snacks.

“Fucking bull shit,” you mutter at the tv as you toss some popcorn at the screen as the two main characters kiss. You huff as you feel the tears come back. You allow them to flow freely down your cheeks.

As you sniffle, wiping the tears away, you hear a faint knock on your door. You huff as you get up, padding to the door.

“Hayden I don’t want to see,” you’re cut off by a face you hadn’t expected to see at the door.

Minho.

Your mouth falls open, eyes wide. He’s in sweatpants, a t shirt and has take out in hand.

“Can I come in?” he asks holding up the bag. You can’t say anything, so you step aside allowing him into the house.

You’re too stunned to speak, too emotionally vulnerable to be angry at him right now, too everything to do anything rational. So you simply watch him as he methodically walks around the kitchen, letting the silence settle between you.

He finds your glasses, opens the fridge like he owns the place, and pours two glasses of wine.

He sets them down on the counter, looking you in the eye, neither of you exactly sure what to say to the other. You’re shaking, visibly, and his eyes rake over your body, noticing the details of stress evident in your body language.

“I um,” he says lowly, clearing his throat, “I got your address from the system, it was in your file that was sent to each professor,” he explains. Once again silence stretches between you.

“Y/n,” he breathes and you close your eyes and as he takes a step towards you; you step back in response.

“You should go,” you say barely above a mumble, opening the door for him.

“Y/n please,” he begs. It’s not soft, it’s not sweet, it’s desperate. It’s longing. It’s something you don’t recognize from him. He strides towards you, too quickly for you to move back, he shuts the door and he cups your face in his hands.

You force your eyes closed again, not daring to look at him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, noses barely brushing each other.

“For what? You told me the truth. I can’t expect anymore than that.” You breathe shakily in his grip.

“No, baby, no I didn’t. I- fuck,” he sighs turning his head to the side in frustration, eyes briefly closing before turning back to you. He notices your lip tremble slightly, signaling tear filled eyes.

“Please, just let me stay. Let me explain.”

“You need to get back to Korea, get back to your current students.” You say as you force yourself away, walking past him, taking the glass of wine and the Italian food he brought over into the festively decorated living room. Minho peers in, the room is cozy, a Christmas tree in the corner, a fireplace and a TV with some cheesy movie on, he notices the popcorn and multiple blankets on the sectional that’s put together to look more like a large bed.

“Go home, Minho.” You call out, still being able to feel his presence despite your attention on the tv. He sighs before kicking his shoes off. Your body stiffens as he climbs on to the sectional with you, and gently takes the food and wine from you. You look past him, still angry with him.

“Kitten,” he barely whispers and you snap your neck in his direction.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare,” you seethe.

“You ignored me, you rejected me multiple times, fucked my math teacher with me in the room, then blatantly sat there and insulted me, and you think that just because you flew half way around the world I’m supposed to just be fucking grateful to you? Grateful that you decided, after I left, that you might want me? Are you serious right now?” You rise up to your knees, forcing Minho to relax back against the couch.

“You’re a shit human being, Minho. I get it, I wasn’t listening. But I am now. And I’m not going to sit here and just be grateful that you decided to come after me.” Your chest is heaving, cheeks tinted a shade of pink, eyes glassy and face twisted into something mixed with hurt, anxiety, and pure anger.

“And another thing, you men think you’re so fucking entitled, that we won’t figure shit out-,” you jab his chest before your cut off by Minho sitting up and crashing his lips to yours. You try to keep your resolve, gently trying to push him off you, but his lips are buttery soft, it’s forceful, but delicate all at the same time, his lips are uttering words his voice can’t. His hands find your face, gently cradling it like he did in the kitchen.

You fall back against the couch, Minho following you fluidly.

“Shut up,” he growls against your lips.

“Just shut,” his lips attach to your quickly, “the fuck up,” he mumbles and you can’t fight it anymore, your resolve is gone, something about him just crumbles you regardless of better judgment. Your hands are tangling in his hair, his body slowly pressing against yours as he groans against your lips as your hips shift upward.

“God, I’ve missed you so much,” his voice cracks so slightly, if you weren’t paying attention, you would’ve missed it, as he moves his lips to your neck.

“What?” you ask breathless, lips kiss swollen as he sinks his teeth into the flesh of your neck, causing you to groan and turn your head, giving him a better angle to suck, bite and lick.

“I said, I’ve missed you.” He mutters in your ear, causing goosebumps to flood your skin. He pulls back from you witnessing your shocked face, eyes glassy once more, still emotional from the earlier fight with Hayden.

“What’s wrong?” he searches your eyes as the pad of his thumb swipes over your cheek gently.

“Nothing, I just, it’s a lot,” your voice cracks.

“Don’t lie to me, what’s wrong,” his tone grows firm- protective. You look past him, biting your lip as the tv continues to play in the background.

“Minho, no offense, but you just showing up here,”

“Should tell you something about how I feel,” he interrupts.

“It’s been almost two months,” you mutter.

“I tried to move on, I really did. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t stop thinking about how we left things, how I spoke to you, how everything around me seemed to remind me of you, I tried to let you go but I couldn’t.” He explains and you stare at him, expression unreadable.

“But you’re avoiding my question,” he scolds. You sigh, a tear escaping your eye, one that Minho quickly kisses away, before closing his eyes.

“Baby,” he whispers as his forehead rests on yours, the breath from his nose ghosting over your chin. You had no idea Minho could be this… gentle. This… vulnerable.

“It’s just, today I found a fresh condom wrapper in Hayden’s car and we basically broke up, and, you know I left,” your voice begins to crack as tears fill your eyes, “I left because of our shit and he convinced me I’d be happier here and I thought we both could move on and I had a future with him, but that’s completely slipped through my fingers and now you’re here and I’m still pissed but I missed you like crazy and I-,” Minho’s lips cut you off again, this time, gently, like he has nothing but time, and plans on spending all of it with you.

The kiss turns from sweet to steamy as you pull him closer, fingers tangling in the ends of his hair, your palm to the back of his neck as he rests against you, body flush with yours.

“Fuck,” he breathes against you as your mouths separate for only a moment, this time, both of you exploring the other’s mouth, tongues gliding against each other. Your hand finds his wrist, guiding it to your clothed core, whimpering as his ghosts over it.

“No, no, no, not tonight, baby.” He says breathlessly. You pull back and look at him.

“What, but I thought,”

“We’ve got all week, ok? Tonight I just want to be with you and I’m not going anywhere,” he promises before kissing your forehead.

“And neither are you,” he playfully nudges you.

“You really came all this way, for me?” you ask quietly as he settles beside you.

“No actually I came because I wanted to see the snow.” He deadpans and you jab his side before he smiles.

“Baby, I’m absolutely crazy about you. It just took you leaving for me finally admit to myself.” He says quietly before kissing your lips again softly and allowing you to grab his food, and yours along with the drinks. You come back to the couch, settling in beside him to watch the rest of the Christmas movie, cuddling into his side. For the night, nothing else matters.

Just you and Minho.

Tags: @breakmeoff @thatonegirlonhere @thelovelybireader @channieehrtz @voicesinmyhead-rc @girlblogger-04 @sea1884 @kissesmellow21 @lily409 @kttb @esterxioo @pinkkiluvvmina @slutformyloveleeminho @yaorzu-blog @only14hsng @sillylittlecat1 @unstasia @peskybirdysya @minniesverse @stay5life @chezzeballs300

Do not repost my work

Love notes and comments are greatly appreciated!

[saywhat-politics]

Politics

Trump fires longtime Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

By Scott MacFarlane,Faris Tanyos

May 8, 2025 / 10:01 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump has fired longtime Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, a congressional source confirmed to CBS News.

Hayden was fired in an email Thursday from Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel.

"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately," read the email, which was obtained by CBS News. "Thank you for your service."

[amnhnyc]

☀️⚫🔭The eclipse is coming! Come celebrate at the Museum. On Monday, April 8, a solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

Here in New York City, we’ll be able to see the Moon cover up to 90 percent of the Sun! The eclipse will start at 2:10 pm, reach maximum coverage at 3:25 pm, and end at 4:36 pm. Join us at the Museum before the eclipse for family-friendly educational activities and to receive your eclipse glasses, with Museum admission and while supplies last.

This archival image, snapped outside the Hayden Planetarium, shows Museum staff preparing to document a solar eclipse in 1940. During an expedition to Jacksonville, Florida in April of that year, a plane carrying pilots, photographers, reporters, and a Museum curator soared 16,200 ft (4,938 m) into the air to photograph this celestial phenomenon from the sky.

Photo: Image no. 292466 / © AMNH Library

[julysn]

you rock my world [hayrisa]

INCLUDES. royal au, bodyguard hayden & princess risa. fluff. one-sided kinda.. idek anymore.

SYNOPSIS. risa falls asleep so hayden carries her to bed.

WORD COUNT. 770

NOTES. i want. amonster rn 😴 slightly ooc? should i be taking notes in ap human geography? yes but hayrisa…….

written for @calicoclovers in mind

Hayden would much, much rather be a jester, but instead, he stands beside Princess Risa as she addresses a crowd of her adoring citizens. They could've given him any job, any duty, even sweeping the floor would be a better way of spending his days at the palace than being the princess's bodyguard. His job just consists of following her around and succumbing to her wishes.

He watches with a bored expression, his usual cheeky smirk absent from his face. The princess stands at a podium, giving a speech about God-knows-what while the citizens of the kingdom cheer. He would do anything to be a jester, he would love to entertain people with his lame jokes. And this uniform was simply loathful.

His shaggy blonde curls fall over his eyebrows, sapphire eyes sparkling underneath the sunlight. He stands tall, lanky body accentuated by his white uniform. There's a bit of softness in his features, lips curled down into a faint frown as he was instructed to do.

Risa, on the other hand, appears perfect. Dark, soft waves cascade down her shoulders, complimenting her honey-toned skin. She moves and speaks with elegance and grace, her speech receiving applause and cheers from the crowd. She's in a purple co-ord, her stylist not bothering to dress her in a gown, but that doesn't make her any less beautiful.

After a few minutes, she finishes her speech, receiving a round of applause and many cheers from her adoring citizens. The kingdom truly loved her, and who could blame them? She’s the epitome of elegance.

“That was good, princess.” Hayden flashes her a charming yet cheeky smile as he steps beside her, the two of them walking back inside the palace.

Risa raises an eyebrow, unable to decipher the tone behind his compliment. She knew how he could be. “Was that sarcasm?”

“Maybe.” The blonde shrugs, letting a smirk rest on his lips. If he was being honest, he wasn't really paying attention—he had to be on the lookout for any threats to the princess or the royal palace, that was his job—and the flash of news cameras was distracting him from what she was saying.

“I'm so exhausted,” Risa complains, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she flops down on a nearby couch and lets her head toss back against the plush cushions. She's got violin lessons in the evening, and what time was it? 3 PM? She could sneak a quick nap before then.

Hayden stands beside the couch, running his hands down his uniform and patting the fabric to make himself appear more neat. “Already?”

Risa doesn't reply, instead shifting her body and laying down, resting her head against a pillow as her eyes flutter shut. She needed a nap, she needed energy. Her loyal bodyguard watches as she drifts off into slumber, gentle breaths leaving her parted lips.

The blonde smirks, chuckling at the sight of the princess all cozied up on the couch. She was adorable, no wonder why Prince Connor had taken such a liking to her and had come to visit the kingdom every chance he could.

He scoops her up, holding her in his arms as he begins to walk towards the stairs. He's surprisingly strong for someone as slim as him, gaining that strength after his mandatory bodyguard training. He ascends the staircase, every step slow and steady to not awaken the princess, holding her carefully.

The hallways are long and beautiful, walls adorned with various paintings of the royal family and the king's predecessors. Rugs line the floors, pots full of beautiful flowers at the end of the hallway. Once they reach Risa's room, a small butterfly hanging on the door to indicate who it belonged to, Hayden pushes it open and dims the lights, being careful to not disturb her slumber.

Her room's big, fit for royalty, commissioned paintings bringing life to her plain walls. A delicately crafted pink canopy sits above her bed, complimenting her soft and fuzzy comforters. Hayden’s always wondered what would it be like to sleep in her bed, to be surrounded by warmth and comfort, but he’s got to push these desires away as he carries her to bed.

“Sweet dreams, princess.” He whispers as he gently lowers Risa's sleeping form onto her bed, tucking her into her blankets and making sure she is at ease. He hesitates, but decides to lean down and kiss her forehead, an uncharacteristic gesture considering his usual sarcastic and flippant personality.

A part of him wants to get in bed beside her, but he fights against it.

For now, he’d stay professional.

[theeeveetamer]

Fields of Mistria initial thoughts

As you may or may not know I am a total sucker for farming simulator games. I don't usually go for Early Access games, but Fields of Mistria seemed extremely promising even though it's just launched into Early Access. So I want to talk about a few of the things I really like about it (and maybe a few that I don't). I will probably be drawing comparisons to Stardew Valley since it's the current preeminent Farming Sim of our time (but I'm not dissing it I love Stardew Valley as well. I think Fields of Mistria does a good job of taking what worked about Stardew and tweaking some things to improve even further)

But the tl;dr if you want it: I think this game is worth the money even in its current state

Trying to keep things as spoiler-free as possible, not that it's hard since the story isn't really too far yet in early access

Things that I like:

1 There is a wide range of cosmetics! Also, you don't have to store them anywhere. You "unlock" them, and then you can change your clothes, hair, skin tone, etc. at any time from the character customization menu. I'd have to check because I don't have the game right in front of me atm, but I think you can even change your name and the name of your farm at any time as well?

2) You don't actually need to have materials on hand to construct farm buildings, nor do you need to pre-clear the space! You buy the blueprint from the carpenter shop, which goes to your inventory. You take it back to your farm yourself and lay it down. Once you lay it down it spawns a drop box for materials, and you can put the materials in at your own pace. This makes it super easy to just drop a couple of wood in at the end of every day until it's done. This is a godsend for me especially, since I never remember to bring all the materials with me when I want to build things in Stardew

3) Speaking of convenience: you don't need to have any materials on hand when you're crafting! This is a godsend because when you initially start the game, all the crafting stations are in town and you have like no bag space. It'll just automatically withdraw things from your chest

The downside is, if you were trying to save stuff you have to be careful (the game will indicate when it starts drawing from your chests to craft the next item though, which is nice!)

4) Also speaking of convenience: shops are open and unlocked 24/7, and you don't have to have someone working there to buy things! This means if you realize you forgot to re-plant your crops at 10 pm you can still pop up to the general store to buy more seeds before the day is done

5) The romance events are all interesting and done well so far! I've only seen a couple though. It also appears that triggering them is based on completing a request on the community board, so you can't miss them like you might in Stardew

The downside is that there's so many community board quests that it's easy for these to get buried. I'm sure I've picked up half a dozen that I just haven't done yet because I haven't gotten around to knocking out some of these requests

6) I like that progressing in the mines requires you to collect items from the previous set of floors in the mines. It's good incentive to go back and collect more resources while still feeling like you're advancing

7) Dropping stuff on the ground and leaving it there won't de-spawn it. That means you can go around and "collect" resources, leave them there, and then circle back in a few hours or even a few days!

8) There's at least one older bachelor and bachelorette option! For the guys you have fellow farmer Hayden (who has a bit of a dad bod build) and the town's doctor Valen (she's a bit more masc looking). I'll take it

9) You can bang a dragon. They haven't completed the story enough to get events with him yet in Early Access, but he's a dragon. nuff said

10) You don't have to upgrade your tools in sequence, and equipment is separate from your cosmetics. This means you can skip straight from the worn pickaxe to the silver one!

Things I don't like (honestly most of these are minor nitpicks that can/might be improved upon):

1 I do wish there was some more body diversity, especially among the women. With the exception of Hayden pretty much all the romance options are pretty/handsome and slender (with pretty decently sized chests in the case of the women and pretty decently sized muscles in the case of the men)

I know they can design different body types because one of the Saturday Market vendors is a bit bigger (but she's not a romance option obviously), so why not?

2) Pretty much every item sells for less than it would if you were to craft it into something else. E.g. Iron ore sells for less than iron bars, and iron bars sell for less than an iron pickaxe

This is kind of half positive, half negative. It's good incentive to craft stuff! On the other hand, I'm a massive video-game hoarder so if I know I might be able to craft something that's worth more down the line I'll just save the item. This has turned my organization into a nightmare, and because I sell almost nothing money is much harder to come by

3) Backpack and storage management is. Woof. You start out with only ten item slots, and if you're like me and you carry all your tools all the time then that's going to fill up fast. At the start you'll only have ~2 slots to actually carry things other than tools. I think it only goes up in increments of 10 too, so even with the third bag upgrade you have about 30 slots (for reference, Stardew starts you with 12 and goes up in increments of 12 before capping out at 36)

I don't think this would be a problem if they just gave you a separate "tool bag" inventory where you could keep all your tools all the time, that didn't also take up bag space. Tools taking up bag space is honestly one of those "we should be over this by now" things in farming sims, IMO

4) Speaking of the bag... this is probably only a consideration if you play on controller, but the controls for swapping between items could use some work

If you've played Stardew with a controller then you know how it works. The left and right bumpers will swap between bag "tabs" and the triggers will move you between items in the currently selected tab. I haven't played around with trying to remap it, but by default Mistria doesn't do this.

Instead one of the triggers is to use a magic spell, the other is to throw items, and the bumpers are to swap between items in your bag. This means if you're on tab "A" and you need an item in tab "C" you need to manually press the bumper 10+ times until it scrolls aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way around to tab "C"

I think if you play with keyboard and mouse then you can just tap the different tabs so it's less of a problem

5) Minor nitpick, but when I play with a controller it doesn't get rid of the cursor. The cursor is pretty big and chunky so this is pretty distracting (I play on a dual monitor setup so I just move the mouse to the other monitor while I play, but it'd be nice if the cursor stayed gone while I played

6) So far the magic is a bit underutilized. I think I've only used the restore spell a handful of times when I was deep in the mines or fishing (fishing takes SO much energy). You have VERY limited magical stamina so you're probably not going to be using spells too much

I'll try to add to this if I think of more, but this is the stuff that's sticking out to me right now!

[haydenyoungappreciationweek]

Welcome to our third edition of the Hayden Young Appreciation Week! We started this way back in 2020, during the lockdown, and it's been a blast spreading our love for this amazing character ever since!!

Hayden is the heart and soul of Perfect Match - their tenacity, their unwavering love and their deep questions about life and identity make the story so much more interesting and nuanced.

For Day 1, we have two themes for you to try. One is of course Character Appreciation, where you can appreciate practically anything about Hayden!

There is also Vacation as a theme! We all know that PM as a story has its characters travelling around the world, either to get away from Eros or to plan their next move. Hayden, in particular, seems to thrive in different settings, exploring different cultures - even more so if their MC chooses the polyglot skill for them!

Any work is welcome – fics, art, edits, moodboards, interactive media, headcanons, meta, even screenshots of your favourite scenes! Our only requirements are that the works are original (nothing AI generated), and they center Hayden and present a positive depiction of them.

It is not necessary to put up your works only on the day of the theme – you can always put it up later. We will also be keeping a buffer week in case you’re not able to complete it during the week itself (till Oct 10th).

Please be sure to do the following when tagging your posts for HYAW 2023:

1. Use the tags #haydenyoungappreciationweek, and #HYAW, along with the day/theme you made the work for (#HYAW Day 1, #HYAW Day 2 etc).

2. Tag @haydenyoungappreciationweek, and hosts @sazanes and @lizzybeth1986 in your posts so we can access them easier!

FAN CONTENT BLOGS are the lifeline of our fandoms, esp for books that have long been over yet still have a strong fanbase. Many of them are hosting some incredible events that we highly encourage you to participate in if you feel so inclined!!

@choicesficwriterscreations - Accepts fic and art (no AI). Read up on their roster of events and guidelines here!

@choicesmonthlychallenge - Accepts fic and art. We're almost at the end of September but can still give in entries for the "Royal Academy" event (run by @choicescommunityevents and @ladylamrian) currently hosted - particularly Day 29! You could also participate in Picktober for next month!

@choicesholidays - Mostly fic and art. Currently no events, but be on the lookout for announcements!

@choicesprompts - Mostly fic. There are a variety of events for the next three months! There is Smutember, Flufftober and Angstgiving.

@choicespride - All content welcome as long as it features LGBTQ+ pairings and themes! Currently no events.

Hope you have plenty of fun with Hayden content today. Let's make Hayden's birthday special! 😃😃

Happy Hayden Young Appreciation Week, everyone!!

[underworld-office-fan-acc]

Silly random incorrect quotes of Uwo workers before Author goes to sleep -excluding Charlie because I forgot about them

So it's purely uwo ig 😓

Boss: That's it, you're grounded. Hayden, no adventures for you. River, no fighting for you. Joan, no complaining for you. And Eugene...is there anything that you love?

Eugene: Revenge.

Boss: No vengeance for you.

Eugene: I was going to say "I'll get you for this," but I guess that's off the table.

_____

Hayden: Eugene is late again!

Boss: How did this happen? I called them at 8 o’clock this morning and pretended it was 11.

Joan: I printed up a fake schedule for them saying we were starting at 9 instead of noon.

River: I set their clock to say PM when it’s really AM.

Hayden: Whoa, we may have overdone it!

*Eugene bursts through the door*

Eugene: WHAT TIME IS IT?

_____

Eugene: How do you connect with a fictional character?

Boss: What?

Joan: What?

Hayden: What?

River: *pulls up a 500 slide presentation* I'm glad you asked.

_____

River: Hey, let’s mess with Boss, guys!

Hayden: Hey, Boss, Boss' mommy so fat-

Boss: My mom committed multiple war crimes and is now locked in solitary confinement in a Bolivian prison.

Eugene: Well, uh- your dad-

Boss: My father left when I was two to be captured and consequentially sacrificed by a group of feral ferrets.

River: The fuck-

Joan: Well then...

Eugene: Stop, Joan!

Joan: Your grandparents so-

Boss: My grandmother floated into the sky like a balloon with too much helium when my grandfather spontaneously combusted.

Boss: You cannot best me, mortals.

_____

*Everyone is giving advice to Eugene*

Joan: It's okay to ask for help.

Boss: You're not a burden.

River: Murder is okay.

Hayden: Eugene's feelings matter!

_____

River: Alright Eugene, Hayden. Let's go over this one more time.

River: If something breaks?

Eugene: We try to fix it before Boss gets home.

River: If it doesn't work?

Hayden: We blame Joan?

Joan: Seriously, kids these days...

_____

Hayden: Why aren't there friend pick up lines? Pick up lines to make friends like-

Hayden, to Joan: Joan's clothes is cute! Where it would look better? Nobody else, because Joan is a beautiful person!

River, to Eugene: Be my friend or I'll set your entire family on fire.

Boss: There are two types of people.

_____

Hayden: Did Joan bring Boss?

Joan, gesturing to Eugene: No, but I brought the next best thing.

Hayden: Eugene? The next best thing would be River!

Eugene: I would be offended, but River is freakishly strong.

_____

Hayden: What makes everyone smile?

Eugene: Friends and Family.

River: Snacks.

Boss: Victory and success.

Joan: Face muscles.

_____

Boss: There's no meeting today because Eugene is at the police station.

Joan: They're in jail?!

River: We have to get them out!

Hayden: Jailbreak! I'm in!

River: I'll dress up and distract the guard!

Hayden: Ooh, Hayden will bake some food to help distract ALL the guards!

Joan: I guess I could bring my cane in case we need a shield to keep us from being shot-

Boss: No! Eugene wasn't arrested! They're undercover, taking the system down from the inside. They don't need our help!

[darkeralmond]

OCTOBER

TREVOR ZEGRAS X FEM! OC FANFIC

Synposis: It’s October 2023 and Pink Slip has finally finished their summer tour. The atmosphere changed along with the season as it went from summer to fall, meaning hockey season has finally began. Trevor Zegras has been launched into the spotlight of the media after mentioning how much he adored Pink Slip and the lead singer, Hayden Clarke. Not only does Hayden rekindle with Trevor, but now she’s responsible for writing songs for their new album. Can Hayden handle the responsibility of writing songs for the band and her new found media attention with Trevor?

Warnings: 18+ Violence, Language, Smut

Post schedule: Saturdays 4:30 PM EST (WP) & 5 PM (Tumblr)

wattpad link

Main Characters

HAYDEN CLARKE

TREVOR ZEGRAS

MALIYAH “MAL” HALE

JAMIE DRYSDALE

ALEXANDER ROMERO

WES BARKER

Chapters

Prologue

The Start Of Something

In The Spotlight

It’s Not a Date

Chase’s Halloween Blowout

Bad Idea, Right?

Unexpected Visits

[choicesficwriterscreations]

November Creator of the Month: Lizzybeth1986

Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @lizzybeth1986 We hope you will enjoy learning more about them and their work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog: Blog Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr?

Lizzy, absolutely 😁

*Center art by @sazanes

More below...

When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played?

I started playing mid 2017, I think. I played the flagship books (TF, TCaTF, MW), and def preferred TF at the time.

When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined the Tumblr fandom in 2017, around the time of the TRR finale. Mostly because the Liam hate at the time was intense and I wanted to write metas about why Liam was, in fact, not “a dick who betrayed the MC” 😂

I did have a Tumblr account before that (made it in 2015 to follow Bollywood film posts), but never actually used it.

How did you pick your blog name?

I was lazy af so it was my middle name plus my birth year haha

Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it! 

I started out with a couple reblogs, but my first actual post was about the romance points mechanism in TRR1. There was a point in the middle of the book where one nice word to Drake would give you an automatic romance point, and I was like, “Huh??? Either treat him like shit or risk him catching feels for me? Is that how it is???”. Thankfully, that stopped after two chapters. After that, I did an essay series analyzing Liam’s actions in the finale called “The Crown, The King and The Flame.” Romance Points Post The Crown and the Flame

How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Almost 6 years now! I started doing Liam fics around the beginning of TRR2.

What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?

I’m the most invested in TRR and PM, but between the two I’d probably say PM is my fave book overall. But yeah, my favourite book to write about would be TRR, because Liam, Hana and Kiara are such fantastic characters to write about! (Hayden and Sloane, too, but I’m still in the process of getting comfortable writing them).

Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?

It was Keychains, my two part fic series featuring my MC and Liam. It was set around the time the MC was waiting in the airport in TRR2, just before Maxwell and Bertrand intervene. It had a follow up with Liam’s PoV too.

I really like it. It included some really good hc’s I made at the time, like Esther buying an apple keychain to represent Cordonia at the same time, and Liam calling her his wife in Greek and Esther not realizing what the phrase meant. I thought the pathos and slight humour was quite well-done. I can’t think of much I would want to change in the story.

Keychains 1 Keychains 2

What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

As a series – Eleanor’s Kitchen! It’s ongoing, and it’s a joy to write. I love exploring food from a cultural lens, and since Cordonia was a fictional country, I could explore a variety of ethnicities and food cultures. Liam had a literal diamond scene that explored gastrodiplomacy, and I wanted to explore his childhood and Eleanor’s friendships too.

Individually – I would say my Kiara fic “An Ear to the Ground”. Kiara is a delightful character and exploring the social season through her eyes was a real journey! I also love “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” which explores the early days of the Sloane & Hayden friendship. I used asterisms and constellations to symbolize moments in their friendship.

Eleanor's Kitchen An Ear to the Ground The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?

Cordonian Waltz was definitely a surprise in terms of reception!! It was written in the style of headcanons I was seeing at the time, and I wrote it in second person. It became my most widely-read fanfic very fast, and every once in a while it would experience a major surge in readership. I enjoyed writing it and thought it was a lovely, romantic piece, but I really wasn’t expecting it to finally have 250+ reblogs out of it, and people coming and telling me this was the fic that got them into Liam x MC in the first place. I find that deeply gratifying 😍

There’s a lot of fics that I feel need more engagement and appreciation, but I can understand that those characters also don’t exactly get much of an audience. My entire PM set comes under this category; they typically get low readership. I think my Hana and Kiara fics too could do with more of an audience.

@twinkleallnight once told me that when she reads my stuff, she usually takes a long time just to ruminate on the story, and I like to believe that often, that’s why the engagement isn’t always immediate. Which I like too!! I like that some of my stuff can make people stop and think, and I like to believe that over time, the work will have its own impact.

Cordonian Waltz PM Set

If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Probably fluff but with a lot of observation and sometimes somber reflections. I’m not that great with angst…and I’ve never actually tried smut? But maybe one day 😄

Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

Yes! Some of my MCs are v different from me but I always incorporate something from my life experiences in them. Like Esther taking photos of the sunset or Basil not being science oriented but still having an interest in space.

Character wise I find I put a lot of myself into a lot of the characters I write. Notably, Liam, Hana, Kiara, certain Haydens and Sloane. Liam’s love for learning, different aspects of Hana and Kiara’s experiences as queer women, Sloane’s experiences as a neurodivergent woman, and especially my Scholar!Hayden’s (Iris) observations. I tend to incorporate a lot of my feelings and experiences more into certain canonical characters than in MCs.

What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Dialogue, I think. Especially when it’s a character I don’t relate to that much. But also sometimes when it’s a character I love but am only starting to write because then I really overthink it!

Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

Hmm…probably neglected wouldn’t be the word I’d use…I just take a very long time to kickstart them 😂

But yeah, definitely my Petals and Thornes series? That’s the fic series I’m doing for Hana x Kiara, that is supposed to explore TRR2 and 3 from their PoV (with significant changes). So far I’ve only been able to do some one-shots and hcs in that universe, but I do want to start the actual series soon!

I have some essay series’ I’d love to work on too! My Hana essay series which has two essays left, The Hayden Young Project, and a possible series on the alternative Lis of TRR!

Petals and Thornes Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure

If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

Hmm. A few people have asked me, actually, and while I’m not fully opposed to showing them I’ll probably take some time before I do show my work. I’ll probably overthink how much will be understandable to a reader who doesn’t have the context of the source, and what they may not understand.

What to show them first? I’m not sure! Maybe the smaller ones first, like Cordonian Waltz. Or my RCD fic Snowstorms, because it doesn’t have more than 2-3 canon characters featuring and I do talk a little about being a closeted queer teen figuring out their sexuality through cinema, which is an overall relatable experience to some! Snowstorms

Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?

In my early years I used to emulate Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s style. Much of her work that I read as a teen was pretty flowery, sometimes bordering on purple prose, and I really loved that style and tried to go that way. But now I think a variety of writers from different genres inform my writing. In terms of published authors, Jhumpa Lahiri, Helen Hoang, and non-fiction ones like Rukmini Pande, Ruby Hammad and Mikki Kendall.

In Choices fic, @callmetippytumbles for sure – a lot of the questions she was tackling with her MC in her Home series served as inspiration for some of the ideas I’ve been having in mind for Petals and Thornes. @thefirstcourtesan is a great writing buddy to have, too, and she has a knack for saying a lot in very few words! There’s also my amazing group of friends (shoutout to @cassiopeiacorvus, @thecapturedafrique, @mand-delemonde, and @beyonceswigs, as well as @twinkleallnight , @dcbbw @mariemarieohcontrary , @choicesfrog, @grapecaseschoices and @ohsnapitzlovehacker…the discussions are so good and leave some much to think about afterward 💖💖). All these discussions ALWAYS fuel my ideas and make me think out of the box.

I’ve also recently started writing polyamorous characters and relationships, and @angelasscribbles stories and resources have been such a great help in navigating that!

Home

@angelasscribbles Poly Resources

Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Haha! I’ve not even started the proper series yet but I think Petals and Thornes? But besides that maybe Eleanor’s Kitchen may work as a series idk 😄

Do you write original fiction?

I do try! I’ve done a few short stories but before I started fanfic, I did a lot of spoken word poetry and that was fun.

What other hobbies do you have?

Reading, watching video essays, spending months on hyperfixations 😂 and a little cooking. My kid’s gotten into craft recently and has succeeded in taking me down that rabbit hole too haha.

I used to be into making fruit wines but have gotten inconsistent with that over the years.

What’s your favorite emoji?

Because I have a huuuge thing for nerds – this one: 🤓

BONUS – tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

A story my mum often tells about how I got into writing, began with some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry. Apparently as a child I was notorious for writing things on the walls of our house. One day my older brother got a hardbound royal-blue covered notebook to write in, with gold lettering on the cover…and I got instantly jealous that I didn’t get one (I was 6 or 7 and already fond of telling stories). When I complained my mum made me a deal – she would get me the same notebook…IF I stopped writing on the walls and began writing in that instead 😂 It worked. My mother is a smart woman.

I love spoilers!! I will read the end of a novel I’m reading and then go back and read the rest. Sometimes I even read books all the way backwards lol.

I love romance, and my favorite tropes include second-chance romance and mutual pining while believing the other person will never love you back! Because, at heart, I’m a dramatic bitch.

[cadybear420]

Hi, how were you able to create the full body of Sakura from High School Story?

Ohohoh I'm glad you asked! It's a long and tricky process, but I'll explain it as best I can. With visual aid.

(Including the edit for reference)

Originally I'd just grab a random bare body asset, adjust it to her skintone, assemble the face sprite assets onto it, and then edit new outfits accordingly.

Since the original sprite was posed with a hand on her hip, I went with the "fem junior" bodytype (used for f!Dakota from WEH and f!Drew from RWB). But it didn't feel quite right to how her original sprite looked... so I decided to do it a different way.

First I'd piece together the original sprite. Then I'd go through the files to pick a full-body sprite that suited her– I went with that of Kamilah from Bloodbound instead. I made color adjustments as necessary to match Sakura's skintone.

Then I'd use the liquify filter tool (I use Photoshop/Photopea) to adjust the body to fit onto the pose that the original sprite gave us. Including making the left hand more like the hand on the original sprite.

Then, I'd need to merge the parts from her original sprite that were bare, to the body sprite. The original sprite shows a bare arm and one full hand, so I cropped it out from the original sprite, and (as shown in the above photos) erased the parts from the body asset that were going to be replaced.

I'd use the spot repair tool to make up for small gaps from the cropped arms and shoulders (where the straps of her dress were)

Then using air brush, air eraser, smudge tool, spot repair tool, and liquify tool, I'd merge the two pieces together.

And of course, I needed to adjust the thumb nail on the left hand

And we got our Sakura sprite! Ready to dress up in various outfits! :DDD

As for the outfit... I always make sure to keep the outfit leftovers when I cropped out the bare skin and arm.

So now I just need to add the bottom part. How exactly I add the bottom part depends on the top outfit piece itself, but for this one, I cropped out the lower white part, and added new skirt and leggings, to make the outfit fairly similar to her outfit from the original Prime game.

The skirt is recolored from f!Hayden's harajuku outfit from PM, and the leggings come from the thigh high stockings accessory from QB MC, adjusted accordingly with the godsend that is the liquify tool. Shading was added with the burn tool.

And that's how I made full-body Choices Sakura!

The process can vary, but I use these basic techniques to make full-body sprites of other half-body characters in HSS. The other ones I've shared so far are Myra and Mia, and I also have a couple for other characters such as Julian, Payton, Sydney, and Koh, as well as new outfits for the characters I have completed, that I haven't shared yet/am still working on.

[lizzybeth1986]

Headcanon: Sloane's Kids - Hamza, Artemis, Orion and Zohreh

(FC: Sloane Washington (center) - Nelly Muse)

Everyone who has read my fics kinda knows I have three separate universes for PM, with some commonalities. One in which my MC dates only Hayden, and two in which they date all the LIs. Hayden and Sloane in two of these universes also actively date other people. So in all universes, Khaan is someone Sloane has a relationship with, as well as Alana. I do plan to develop a "childhood sweetheart"-like character for her sometime in the future as well. So Hamza definitely is like a firstborn child to her, even though Khaan and Sloane don't exactly marry.

Sloane has three other children, twins from a fertility treatment as well as one daughter with Khaan many years later.

I see Sloane starting out trying to emulate Kim because she's such a fantastic role model, but she eventually gets her own groove and realizes she will be a different kind of parent and that's okay. Where Kim was more intuitive, Sloane is a consummate planner and she does bring that kind of energy into her parenting.

Tagging @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek and @sazanes for SWAW Day 2: Written in the Stars (since all Sloane's kids are named after certain celestial bodies).

Hamza Mousavi

(FC: Anthony Cyrus Keyvan)

• Born to an Iranian father and a Filipino mother, Hamza spent his first five years constantly moving house because his father Khaan constantly feared that Hamza would be targeted by Eros. Most of those early years feel like a bit of a blur in later life, because once the group entered their lives, things became far more settled for them.

• Hamza took an instant liking to Sloane the moment he saw her. She was shy and smart, was always sweet to him and tried to make healthy treats he would like, and clearly adored his dad. He definitely encouraged Khaan a bit to ask her out (in all universes).

• Hamza obviously is the oldest of the kids that came from the group, and revels in that fact. He is quite fond of bossing the kids around a little 😄

• His dinosaur-love eventually becomes a fascination for mythical beasts in general in later years. Unsurprisingly, his favourite genre for books is fantasy.

• At some point, Sloane revives her writing hobby, and starts writing books for children. Largely with Nadia's encouragement (she promises to do illustrations if Sloane completes a manuscript). Hamza very enthusiastically becomes the test audience for her first book before she sends it to publishers!

• Hamza got his love for healthy treats and a balanced diet from his father Khaan. It's an interest he grows up with. As an adult, he becomes a very sought-after nutritionist (to the initial chagrin of his siblings and cousins 😂)

Artemis Washington

(FC - Arsema Thomas)

• Artemis and her twin brother Orion were born around 3 and a half years after the events of the second book. Like her mother Kim, Sloane did want to have kids at that point, but wasn't ready to have a kid with the people she was dating. She did talk it over with them tho and instantly had everyone's support before she took the plunge.

• The names were of course a suggestion from all the Hayden's in all my universes 😄 Mostly coz Sloane had always loved that story, even before they came along.

• Arty loved to mix and match different pieces in her outfits from the time she was a kid, including a phase where she wanted to wear colourful underwear over her onesies at home coz it made her look like Superman. She was also known for layering different clothes over each other - there was a point at age 4 where she wore a onesie, wore a T-shirt over that, wore bright rainbow leggings over THAT, and completed that look with unicorn-printed shorts. In summer.

• She gets into haircare and makeup as an adult. Loves testing out different products and inventing new looks. I think she builds a brand of her own much later in her late 20s, when she is more confident of her expertise in the business.

• Her favourite film is the animated beauty "Hair Love".

Orion Washington

(FC - Kelvin Harrison Jr)

• Sloane always feels that Ori took after his Nana Kim in a lot of ways

• He loves cooking, and when he gets older loves experimenting with teas!

• Like Sloane, his favourite meal is also a DC Smoke.

• He loved being in the kitchen, loved mixing and matching things there. Sloane, Khaan and Alana would often find grapes in their cups of tea/coffee, an innovation 4 year old Ori would take pride in 😂

• Cooking is really this guy's love language. He does grow up to become a chef later on, joining culinary school early on.

• At some point both he and Hamza teamed up for a "Hello Fresh"-like initiative, where Orion would devise affordable and healthy meal kits, while Hamza assisted with consulting for meal plans!

Zohreh Washington-Mousavi

(FC- Yara Shahidi)

• Zo is five years younger than Artemis and Orion, and fourteen years Hamza's junior. The three of them did spoil their baby sister quite a bit in the early years 😂 She could bat her eyelashes and get away with practically anything - that was also a perk of being the youngest among the entire group of kids!

• Like her twin siblings, Zo's name was also astronomy-based. Artemis is a Greek name for the moon goddess, Orion is a constellation and Zohreh is the Persian name for Venus.

• The kids of the group (Hayden x MC's kids, Nadia and Steve's kids and Sloane and Khaan's kids) do have their own stargazing parties! All of them love looking out for rare astronomical finds, and have their fave constellations. Zo, tho, has a more scientific interest and cultivates it from an early age.

• Zohreh has her mother's interest in Astrophysics and both her parents' interest in tech, so she does actually enroll into NASA as an adult. She takes on a paid internship through the Pathways program after graduating, and that transitions into a full job there.

• Her favourite planetarium is the Hayden Planetarium in NY.

• Arty did plenty of hairstyling experiments on her baby sister as she reached her teens. That still doesn't change when they're adults and Zo has had a number of her friends vie and pay anything for her older sister's services after seeing her amazing hairstyles.

• Zo's fave dish that Orion has made is a Persian fusion dish - saffron chicken wings.

Family HCs:

• Sloane never actually marries, but she's pretty happy with the life she gets to live with the MC (in my poly universes), Khaan and regular visits from Alana.

• All my Haydens, and Sloane, are still close, and they're in fact is Orion's godmother/father in every universe. The MC is the same for Artemis. Nadia and Alana become Zo's godma's years later.

• As a kid Sloane always kept a stress corner for herself with things that would both calm her down and help her with stimming. She does keep one in the house for her kids and it really works for them.

• Hayden(s) kids, MC's kids, Sloane's kids and Nadia's kids all love to form their own group in every universe. Initially inspired by Hamza's stories about their parents, they also band together and envision scenarios where they can save the world 😁 Hamza is undoubtedly the leader haha, he keeps things from getting too out of hand.

• Sloane already looks up to Kim, but she does so even more after becoming a mother. She definitely does come to her for advice and suggestions from time to time.

--

Other HCs on the PM kids:

The Park-Young Kids (Hazel x Iris)

The Park-Tennyson Kids (Nadia x Steve)

[amandabe11man]

2, 11, 12 for Scott and Jack? :D

2. Favorite canon thing about this character? (brb trying to remember what is canon and what is fanon) hm, yes, quite! scott: uhhhh, I like his fashion sense? (dammit, why wasn't he in the movie for longer so we would've known more canon stuff about him--) but also, I love that scott is pretty much just the very definition of a slimy corporate guy; a cowardly one at that (but when working with jack, who wouldn't be walking on eggshells?). I like that he's not JUST slimy and smug though, but that he's very clearly afraid of jack (even before jack sent the warbeast on him). despite him not being alive for long in the movie, I rly like that they gave scott that little human element, instead of having him just end up as a charicature of "bad big corp guy". make no mistake, he's not a good guy, but we can understand why he's afraid, and that goes a long way! jack: I RLY like the whole ~aesthetic~ he's got going on. yeah ik this movie is from the 90s so ofc there would be old tech they used in the making of it, BUT STILL, I love chunky old tech stuff so much. plus, jack's lair speaks to me on a personal level too, because it reminds me of the media workshop my dad worked in when he was a media teacher back in the day. just-- a medium-sized room full of TVs and computers (early 2000's apple computers, amirite?), video tapes and stuff from the students, mmm YES!! I loved hanging out there as a kid👌😩 oh right, and I also like jack's silliness of course! very yandere of him

11. Would you date this character? as much as I think both jack and scott are good-looking-- no to both of 'em 😂 (I don't need that stress in my life mmk)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character? scott: I hc him as gay (kinda closeted though cause "ew it's no one else's business"). and ofc there's this thing that we've long accepted as fanon in this tiny fandom, and that is that scott would totally come into john's office to rant about anything and everything (john fuckin hates when he does this, ofc) jack: hmm, well, sexuality-headcanons are a good place to start, right? so-- I pm think of him as bi. more straight-leaning, as we can clearly tell in the movie, but hey, if there's a decent looking guy around, I'm sure he'd have no problem creeping on said guy either. in fact, I hc that, when scott was new at CHAANK, he was the target of jack's..... "attention". then when hayden came along, jack found her more interesting and pm moved on to her (still didn't stop him from being creepy to scott and several others though... jack pls)

[champ-wiggle]

A shy penguin wins New Zealand’s bird election after campaign filled with memes and tattoos

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY; Updated 11:33 PM EDT, September 15, 2024

A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, after a fierce contest absent the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before. (Hayden Parsons via AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It’s noisy, smelly, shy — and New Zealand’s bird of the year.

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.

It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was absent the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways — launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

More than 50,000 people voted in the poll, 300,000 fewer than last year, when British late night host John Oliver drove a humorous campaign for the pūteketeke -- a “deeply weird bird” which eats and vomits its own feathers – securing a landslide win.

A man rides past a mural celebrating John Oliver's New Zealand's 2023 Bird of the Year campaign in Wellington, New Zealand, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/ Charlotte GrahamMcLay)

This year, the number of votes cast represented 10% of the population of New Zealand — a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood.

“Birds are our heart and soul,” said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call. New Zealand’s only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved — and often rare.

This year’s victor, the hoiho — its name means “noise shouter” in the Māori language — is a shy bird thought to be the world’s rarest penguin. Only found on New Zealand’s South and Chatham islands — and on subantarctic islands south of the country — numbers have dropped perilously by 78% in the past 15 years.

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes,” Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird — the organization that runs the poll — said in a press release, using the Māori name for New Zealand. Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and can’t find enough food.

“The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support,” said Charlie Buchan, campaign manager for the hoiho. But while the bird is struggling, it attracted a star billing in the poll: celebrity endorsements flew in from English zoologist Jane Goodall, host of the Amazing Race Phil Keoghan, and two former New Zealand prime ministers.

Aspiring bird campaign managers — this year ranging from power companies to high school students — submit applications to Forest & Bird for the posts. The hoiho bid was run by a collective of wildlife groups, a museum, a brewery and a rugby team in the city of Dunedin, where the bird is found on mainland New Zealand, making it the highest-powered campaign of the 2024 vote.

“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure — a small, “goth” black robin only found on New Zealand’s Chatham Island.

A karure, or Chatham lslands black robin pictured on Chatham Island in Sept. 2016 is runner-up to a hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin in the New Zealand Bird of the Year competition, announced Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (0scar Thomas via AP)

The karure’s bid was directed by the students’ association at Victoria University of Wellington, prompting a fierce skirmish on the college campus when the student magazine staged an opposing campaign for the kororā, or little blue penguin.

The rivalry provoked a meme war and students in bird costumes. Several people got tattoos. When the magazine’s campaign secured endorsements of the city council and local zoo, Bull despaired for the black robin’s bid.

But the karure — which has performed a real-life comeback since the 1980s, with conservation efforts increasing the species from five birds to 250 — took second place overall.

This weekend as Rawson wrapped up her campaign for the ruru, she took her efforts directly to the people, courting votes at a local dog park. The veteran campaign manager who has directed the bids for other birds in past years was rewarded by the ruru placing fourth in the poll, her best ever result.

“I have not been in human political campaigning before,” said Rawson, who is drawn to the competition because of the funds and awareness it generates. The campaign struck a more sedate tone this year, she added.

“There’s been no international interference, even though that was actually a lot of fun,” she said, referring to Oliver’s high-profile campaign.

It was not the only controversy the election has seen. While anyone in the world can vote, Forest & Bird now requires electors to verify their ballots after foreign interference plagued the contest before. In 2018, Australian pranksters cast hundreds of fraudulent votes in favor of the shag.

The following year, Forest & Bird was forced to clarify that a flurry of votes from Russia appeared to be from legitimate bird-lovers.

While campaigns are fiercely competitive, managers described tactics more akin to pro wrestling — in which fights are scripted — than divisive political contests.

“Sometimes people want to make posts that are kind of like beefy with you and they’ll always message you and be like, hey, is it okay if I post this?” Bull said. “There is a really sweet community. It’s really wholesome.”