#For the record I like both Talas

[leeneir]

Duo AU; Pro Gamer Iso x Violinist!Reader (Part 1)

I check the iso x reader tag EVERYDAY. FOR ISO CONTENT. Sadly, Iso isn't that popular. Sigh. Guess I'll do it myself.

AU inspired by those public pianist trends on yt and my Iso x OC ship as always. Along with that one toxic pro gamer Iso x reader on here, i fking love that au sm. (Hes not toxic in this one tho lol)

Pro Valorant player Zhao Yu, better known by his internet name "Dead Lilac" is a mechanically gifted one-trick main whose name is famous all over the gaming community.

Professional Violinist "Reader", famous for their musical talent and prodigal like abilities, having climbed up the ranks and becoming renowed in the music community and on social media.

Iso finishes up a stream with a sigh, the ratio of wins to losses was bad today, how disappointing. Zhao Yu lays in bed, taking a brief moment of rest before he continued on with his day.

His roommate Omen is playing with the cat when he goes to the kitchen to get something to eat, they talk for a bit, and the cat starts purring at his feet. He picks it up and just does a stare off with the thing while it paws at his face (without claws), and blows a rasberry. Omen chuckles.

Omen brings up the fact that his friends are going out for an outting later, Zhao Yu decides to get ready. He wears his signature hoodie ofc.

Jamie, Sunwoo, Tala, Tayane, and Mateo come along. Sadly, Ryo couldn't come. He was too busy with his drift practice or whatever. Tala says her brother was just too lazy to come.

They all meet up at the mall where they go shopping and do whatever, discussing random whatnots and getting up to antics. And then they find a piano in public and Jamie tells Zhao Yu to play something, they'll record it and post it online because why not? He's really good at playing it too.

Zhao Yu decides to humor them and gets on the piano, trying to think of a piece to play before he starts.

His fingers cross the keys with grace and practiced ease, playing a romantic classical version of a popular song. Zhao Yu finds himself lost in the music piece as strangers began turning heads and pausing in their step. He can feel his friends' eyes on him as Phoenix' camera records him, and he finds himself becoming more confident with each note he plays.

Unbeknowst to him, as he was nearing the chorus, one stranger came up and opened a peculiar shaped bag, pulling out a violin out of it. The moment Zhao Yu plays the chorus note, a new instrument joined him.

He almost paused, but his fingers kept playing. Somehow, he and the violinist were perfectly in sync. He turned his head without lifting his fingers, and he see's the stranger playing the instrument, and he's awed by their ability.

More people crowd around as they watch the duet, enchanted by the melody and harmony while Jamie continues recording. Zhao Yu and the stranger play until the end of the song. When they finished, the whole crowd applauded and cheered. It sort of reminded Zhao Yu of the music recitals he did when he was younger.

He gets off the piano and approaches his duet, complimenting them on their skill and giving his name, which the stranger responded with their own.

Reader and Zhao Yu chat about the piece they just played, and Jamie and Mateo run in with the video, showing it to both of them. It's then that Zhao Yu saw Reader passing by before they decided to play, and he's amazed at how easily they synced up to him without missing a note.

Mateo then says that he was a fan of Reader which promptly confused Zhao Yu. Was Reader someone famous? Jamie asked for permission to post the video which Reader granted without issue.

They continued talking for a moment up until Reader said that they had an appointment to get to and excused themself.

By the time that was over, Zhao Yu's friend group went nuts. Apparently having held themselves back from "ruining his chances", whatever that meant. Jamie and Mateo however couldn't hold themselves which is why they approached. Sunwoo proceeded to shake him uncontrollably for not getting Reader's number. When he asked why he needed it, Tala called him a "lonely bastard".

He asks if they knew her since Mateo did, and he was told that Reader was a social media influencer known for their violin talent.

Jamie sent the video to Zhao Yu's editor and they continued on with their hangout. Though, the duet still played on the back of his mind throughtout.

Timeskip to later that night, Zhao Yu realized that maybe he should have gotten Reader's number, and also why Tala called him lonely. Omen watched the video too and acknowledged Reader's social media presence which made Zhao Yu wonder just how popular they were if even his roommate knew about them.

The next day, Iso's editor had the video ready and posted. And it was doing numbers.

As it turns out, a duet between a pro gramer and a famous violinist was bound to go viral and become so popular that it was trending on every platform.

Both to his confusion and surprise, his fans went crazy with the shipping. He knew what it was only because his online group and team engaged in such antics. Although he wasn't sure how Reader would react. He only just recently followed them on their socials and was surprised to find out that they were already a follower.

His twitch chat wouldn't shut up about the duet and he recounted the story of how that moment came to be. And they went haywire. Zhao Yu found ship edits of him and Reader from the duet video and things were getting out of hand. He was worried of how this would affect them considering they weren't part of this side of the community, much less even in this community.

He found a response from Reader regarding the duet, and to his relief it was mostly positive. They even addressed a part of the response directly to him, asking if they should record an official one if he wanted to.

Now, Zhao Yu was open to collabs. But for some reason, this one had him staring at his screen for minutes as the type bar blinked in the chat box, it was Reader's instagram.

He decided that it wouldn't hurt to add some music content into his gaming content and wanted to reach out to Reader to inquire about that collab idea they proposed. Except... he was nervous.

Why was he though? It made no sense. Zhao Yu didn't get nervous, so why was he? He's done this dozens of times, so why was it any different now?

Mustering up all the courage he could, he typed a few letters and sent the message without leaving room to think it over.

On Reader's phone, a notification popped up from instagram messages. They opened it up, it was from Iso?!

"Hey" they read.

Yknow, this has been sitting in my drafts for 3 weeks. Finally glad i got this out even if some parts are uncohseive

[diamondcrownacademy]

DCA Info Part 4: Academy Pets, Horses and Griffins

The art used is from this art dump originally posted on May 26th 2020.

Pets/Animal Companions

The academy stays true to the legends of the princesses by having the students bring their pets or be assigned to an animal companion as it is believed to help with responsibility and compassion. The animals have a spell cast on them that allows them to talk with their owners. If someone other than the owner tries to talk to them they can only hear the sounds the animal makes. But since the students have Animal Linguistics, there isn't much of a language barrier. The dorm rooms also have animal beds made for the pets. There is plenty of pet essentials in the school store too. The main building as well as the dorm living quarter buildings are built to have pathways for the animals so that they can venture around with little difficulty. The animals that aren't owned by the students are just wild animals who made themselves at home in the academy. Faustus often talks to them regarding the living conditions.

Horses

The horses of Diamond Crown Academy are used for the riding competitions. Though some students have their own horses brought to the stables. Most of the horses were raised in the academy.

Each of the horses are able to speak to humans via a gem collar. Until the collar is taken off or when not wearing one, only other animals can hear them speak. The collars have gems that also have the colors based on which dorm the student riding them are in.

From left to right, the horses shown in the photo above are:

🌹 Lusio (Arabian) - Briar's steed and he is considered a blue ribbon horse. He is a very proud stallion and is proud of his accomplishments. While his behavior makes him come off as narcissistic, but he admires and respects his rider. [He specializes in Racing, Showjumping, Dressage, Endurance Training]

Relationship with Rider

Briar and Lusio are a great duo, always in sync, but he just can’t help but brag to the other horses to the point where they’re just “we know, Lusio… I know!”

🐻 Tala (Gypsy Vanner) - Elu's steed and she is a mellow horse who has a lot of strength and stamina. She is often the mediator when the horses argue with each other. [She specializes in Racing, Trail Riding, Horseback Archery]

Relationship with Rider

Elu and Tala are both the calm pair, just vibing with their surroundings as they get lost in the moment. Though Tala tends to play peacemaker amongst the other horses in the stable.

🐲 Yinglong (Holsteiner) - Jinlong's steed and he is horse with amazing jumping strength. He is very energetic and likes his mane to be combed. [He specializes in Racing, Showjumping]

Relationship with Rider

Jinlong and Yinglong are both competitive and have a fire in their eyes. Yinglong likes to eavesdrop on gossip and will blabber to other horses.

👠 Dusty (Rocky Mountain Horse) - Ella's steed with a lot of optimism and sometimes does ranch work when he's not competing. He likes to socialize with people and other horses. He doesn't mind getting ribbons braided in his mane. [He specializes in Parade, Dressage, Ranch work]

Relationship with Rider

Dusty and Ella are the cute and peppy duo. Dusty is sometimes oblivious about the atmosphere in the room.

📚 Sullivan (Selle Francais) - Rozeline's steed who is timid but has a very good record on competitions like Lusio. Lusio considers him a rival even though he doesn't even want to compete. He will walk away from strangers and seek out his rider for comfort. [He specializes in Racing, Dressage, Showjumping]

Relationship with Rider

Rozeline and Sullivan both like their riding time to be solo. Although, Sullivan is scared of the dark and quite cowardly.

Griffins

Griffins are much different from horses, they are proud and wild so they aren't around as much when the winter season arrives. They migrate to warmer climates and return in spring. Griffins are very selective of who rides them and there is a reason why Griffin disc is only exclusive to the academy. But there have sports shows that feature it. Actius handles the Griffins while Faustus handles the horses at the academy.

[sysig]

2023 Art Purge

Original edition! Ended up having to split the doodles into two parts, I didn’t mean to end up with so many left over but oops - onto the commentary!

Remember crayon Edgar? I drew this one at the same time! Loosely based off Circus Baby but really just more of a general cutesy look - layering with colours is fun :)

Eyes, every year. Two general eyes, and two characters! Bottom left is Souichi, and bottom right is Vivian :) Vivian always gets a spare eye haha

Some concept art for a false backpack I still kinda wanna make - it’d be a prop for a game I made earlier this year, as the prize container! It’s meant to be kind of like a pop-up shop that can fold away fairly small and hold a bunch of small items safely and inconspicuously, though it wouldn’t actually work as a real backpack lol

Some Cherubsona concept art, thinking about their hair and the light rays - I considered having a single asymmetrical hair tuft, I think while I was still on the fence about having asymmetrical wings as well - I’m happy with the final design :)

And some baby angels! Based on my DQIX/AGE headcanons/actual canon lol, took a few tries to get a design I was happy with before settling on the bottom-most one with the fuzzed ears, lolling about haha. Cute!

Also thinking about “Fallen” designs, since my cherubsona is meant to be a fallen angel - or even just biblically accurate angels! Maybe they became more normal-looking after falling haha

More Charm doodles based on the Hungry idea - neither Frankenstein nor Zombies were quite what I was looking for, but they were close! Poor Charm, even if it is a Look

More eyes! Concept sketches of the Yanderapy boys :D Mitsu’s swirls and Ishida’s sleepy ♥ eye expression haha

An alternate panel of Mitsu being shy to admit his love language haha, I wanted his expression to be a little more visible but him hiding in the book is also very cute haha

Little doodle of Ishida singing Daisy Bell! He’s half-crazy all for the love of Mitsu after all

Technically these are from later in the year but I was really hoping to have the set up for a silly concept rolling - Ishida wants to play a game! The game would allow each of them to take a turn, with the goal of the game to be to sneak a gift into the other’s bag or pocket when he’s not looking. A cute and silly and fun concept to reverse pick-pocket the other and give a little treat! Totally harmless and not at all strange or weird or with any kind of underlying sinister vibes!

The punchline of course was that since they’re both yanderes that it basically turns into stalking each other, which as featured here, Mitsu is very into, who could have guess lol. The double punchline is that they’re both so aware of/obsessed with each other that they notice each other right away, but play along because it’s obvious that they’re both enjoying it haha It’s yandere enrichment! Ishida would also get a real rush from “hunting” Mitsu, as would Mitsu enjoy being “hunted” - yet more twisted love languages ♥

Random deer :) Actually one of the animals I considered for Dahlia early on but decided to scrap, because I don’t know how to draw deer lol

Also went through a couple scrapped designs for her artist friend, just to make sure I explored all my options thoroughly! I’m glad I did, but I’m happiest with the one I decided on, of course

Brief Dahlia and Tala meeting. They’re unsure of each other! Squirrels and dogs don’t have the best track record admittedly

Bit of vent :( Bar’s always good for it ♥

Bucket! :D Been a bit since I drew anyone from that cast, though I somehow made him on-model by accident lol, and of course he’s still cute! That’s the important part really

Eyesssssssss <3 <3 On the left were some quick comparisons between dot/filled-in eyes and eyes with a differentiated pupil and iris, since I’ve been defaulting to dark eyes a lot lately (it’s the Vargas influence lol); and on the right were a bunch of Cure eyes! I think at least partially studied off of some character creators? Lots of eye styles to choose from, which one suits her the best hmm. She has very sparkly eyes

And another sort-of study off a character creator haha, it’s very cute! Not very Cure, though

One of the early ideas that made me want to dig her out of storage was actually an animation idea that was maybe a liiiiiittle ambitious to go about making without her having a fixed design lol - I’ve always been a fan of magical girl transformations that completely glow-blot out the body and then they explode into frills and bows and fluff at the end haha. I would still like to come back to the idea at some point!

Ended up with a good handful of muscle studies, even after the ones I already posted - a lot of the poses ended up silly haha

And a lot of skull/face/neck studies as well, with mixed success :P

I’ll get it figured out eventually!

Sometimes it’s fun to just doodle around, shapes :) My own original human style feels so constantly in flux with the fanart I like to make and having so many non-human characters haha, probably doesn’t help that I prefer high stylism

A trio! They look kinda familiar, hmmm....

Yet more eyes lol, the first trying to figure shines. You can really see what a lack of editing does to the implied shapes pfft ♪

Always trying to figure out how to dragons! Another one I’ll have to get to Someday. There’s gotta be a trick to them >:0

Out of general studies and tests - hey I thought Just Desserts already had a sona??? And that she was like the most important and best and all that?? I got curious what my sona might be in the JD universe without being the villain haha, and I came up with a Chocolate-Chip Brioche Bun lad! :D I’ve always had something of an affinity for brioche, also somewhat inspired by Edgeworth’s cravat haha. But would Charm still exist and be wreaking havoc, or would this be the alternate universe Charm equivalent?? ‘Cause they’re definitely not “Charm”

Speaking of Charm tho! She’s holding a tooth lol - something something, candy people mining teeth? Because cavities? I dunno lol, but she’s certainly not all that much bigger than a tooth so that’s some fun scale for you :)

And finishing off with some cutesie little chibis :) I made the first as a reference for proportions, and the second to show how my holosona would look in that style haha, what a cute evil computer

[luna-maria-kalilin]

// Beyblade OC//

//TW!!: Eating Disorder, bullying and Selfharm!!//

//All this pictures made on piccrew//

//I've changed parts of character stories, please don't be mad at me.//

Yuna Maria Granger (Yuna Kinomiya)

Birthday: March 21

Family: Tyson Granger/Takao Kinomiya(Twin brother), Ryu Granger(Grandfather), Hiro Granger/Hitoshi Kinomiya(Elder Brother),Tatsuya Kinomiya(Father), Mary Granger (mother -i can't find her japanese Name)

Friends: Tala Ivanov/Yuri Ivanov, Spencer/Sergei, Bryan Kuznetkov/Boris Kuznetkov, Ray Kon, Max Tate/Max Mizuhara, Kenny Saien, Mariah/Chou Mao, Emily

About her: Yuna, Tyson's/ Takao's twin sister, is shy and outgoing at first. She has green eyes and black hair that she dyes red. Since they have known one another since they were little and Tala/Yuri has lived with his mother in Beycity since he was five, Yuna only has Tala/Yuri as her best friend at the beginning of the story. Yuna and Tala/Yuri correspond via letters over the years after he and his mother are forced to return to Russia (this concept has been in this form for a very, very long time). (Sorry, I never really read the manga in its whole.) Yuna began learning Russian at the age of six, and by the time Tala/yuri had to return to Russia, she had mastered the language. She experienced bullying and oblivion from her classmates while attending elementary school alone. She enrolls in middle school alongside Kai in a class, and they both fell in love. Yuna was unaware that Kai had also developed feelings for her. Both parties held back their love for each other for a very long period. They were required to participate in two groups one day. The teacher put Yuna and Kai in a group, which annoyed the other girls in the class who saw Yuna as a loser. Yuna suffered daily bullying from the other girls, which led to the development of an eating disorder and self-harm. But this collaborative effort ensured that Kai and Yuna could speak at last. After that, because they liked each other, they continued to hang out. Tyson eventually received what he disliked, but he gradually came to terms with it.

Mini facts:

Yuna enjoys reading, especially literary works. She is passionate about the arts and enjoys painting.

Yuna desires to serve others by becoming a doctor.

One of the few things that Tyson and Yuna have in common is the keeping of mantids.

Kai like it when Yuna tinkers with these miniature works of art. She likes to prepare insects and display them in lovely pictures or arrangements.

Kai encouraged her to colour and shorten her hair. In general, Kai greatly aided her, and she gained confidence.

I've been thinking about this Beyblade story since I was 13 years old. I never recorded it or participated in any roleplay, but I still adore it today. Ask me what you want if you want me to tell you more about it.

[tomaytow]

idol venti x reader brainrot

long spam. (not edited)

so as usual i was talking to the lovely @blooming-cecilia aka miss tala slash tulip about idol venti and first and foremost, i’d like to share this:

LIKE??? if you’re updated with luna’s idol venti istg he would definitely do something like this HAHAH it’s so cute

for the other 4NEMO/5WIRL members: extremely long noodle

for windblume: heart–shaped pastas, heart–shaped everything (venti cooking for his beloved will always be full of so much love.)

like guys, come on. you’ve seen his specialty—his buoyant breeze. it’s the sweetest thing ever, right? 💖

anyway, since we were in such an idol venti mood yesterday (courtesy of miss luna as always) here are other ideas we’ve screamed about:

since your boyfriend is literally an idol, it’s not at all surprising that your alarm or ringtone is definitely one of his songs (his solos).

addition by the great miss tala: considering that you both can’t really spend time with one another that much—because of his packed schedule and maybe yours, too—whenever you have the chance to see each other, venti will definitely steal your phone for a moment so he can record himself. so he can record his voice.

yeaaah, venti found out about the ringtone thing so he wants to change it. basically when you wake up now, you’ll instead hear his soft giggling, sweet murmuring and whispers of good morning, i love you. wake up, my windblume—don’t forget to eat breakfast, and most importantly, don’t ever forget that i love you, always and forever.

cue windblume just smiling like an idiot (with blush on their cheeks) as they prepare their breakfast. you have venti texting you good morning and i love you everyday and now he’s your fricking alarm. you’re obsessed. and he’s obsessed.

venti wants to be the first person you’ll hear, smh.

btw, whenever venti’s feeling a little lonely, he would look at his photos and watch his recorded videos of you. you’re not the only one yearning for him.

also, what if in this au, you’re not really that keen on taking pictures but you just can’t help yourself but capture stolen pictures of your ethereal boyfriend.

he’s so beautiful, and your photo album is filled with his pictures—it’s either he’s dancing excitedly backstage, singing inside a recording studio, him asleep while your finger’s pressed to his cheek, or even a funny picture of him sneezing. (“windblume, delete that!!”)

imagine if you almost want to run a dailyventi instagram account. LOL

actually, scratch that. your priv ig feed (reserved for you and your closest friends) is filled with venti’s pictures

venti’s feed may contain some promotional posts about his idol life or sponsorships, or just him doing his hobbies or him going on traveling—but you know better. you’re all behind those pictures. you are his amazing photographer.

venti also may act like a baby because he wants you to be included! he wants to show you to the world, that you’re his significant other, his lover, but you know that you both can’t do that. idol contracts pain

back to the dailyventi stan account, miss tala suggests that what if you really go through with that acct, and accidentally, you become a stan acct (LOL.) yeah, it’s not your intention—but you are a venti stan, right? you’re his number #1 fan after all!

and this anonymous account is just filled with venti’s pictures and there’s just no info about the owner of that account. your captions only consists of emojis, or even vague stuff, like “aah he’s so cute today” (when is he not), “venti’s in top form today” then [insert a clip of him here] or even a “silly venti”

and your captions are sometimes really vague or revealing

exhibit A:

“💨 🌙”

and it’s a picture of him smiling at the camera. if one sees the photo, they’ll interpret that venti’s cupping his cheek on someone’s face.

what do the emojis mean, the fans wonder.

exhibit B:

“he hates cheese”

and it’s a picture of him pouting at the 2 boxes of pizza on the dining table

fans or the general public may think that the owner of the account may be delusional or a stalker LMAO – but what if the label or agency approves your relationship, to the point that they even support it? you’re both free to do whatever you want, but you two don’t want to announce it on the world because of the toxicity of the fans? and also because you’d like some privacy together?

all in all, the owner of the acct is protected from allegations because there’s just no verified information about it. people have speculated that you may be venti’s lover but then again — there’s no evidence to confirm this theory; even if the diehard fans go investigator mode, there’s nothing they can find because it’s just all venti, venti, venti and the 5wirl members.

in line with this, just imagine that most of the fans just accepted that this is merely a marking strategy

cue venti’s interview when asked abt the account and he’s like — “ehe!” or “oh i’ve seen that acc!! they have a lot of nice hq pics i have to say, whoever runs the acc has some serious skills~”

and also the 5WIRL members covering up for him pls

another tala suggestion: what if venti continues on with the teasing and is like, “ok ill admit it. the photographer is...............my dear xiao” [cue dramatic fainting in xiao's arms like he’s swooning—it’s just for the fanservice and shippers]

unfortunately xiao is not on board with this, not at all, and he’s about to throttle venti because this little shit really has no bounds — but he has to follow his lead since after all, they have to conceal the photographer’s identity! (and it’s just for fun. right? YEAAAAH, xiao will bonk venti on the head later for this.)

these distractions are successful and the so–called shippers can thrive, but some of the people know better. this is just another play at hand, so who really is the photographer? the owner of the account?

also just imagine if xiao also has a secret lover too… 👁

xiao is a private person, reserved, and like the anon account, even the paparazzi can’t even lay a hand on him.

another miss tala suggestion: what if you and xiao’s lover are besties and you both bond while watching their interviews

sometimes you both are little shits as well because if venti and xiao do fanservice things on screen, you both will give them the silent treatment just for fun

(it’s not recommended) cuz venti will be all whiny all day and don’t even get me started on xiao. WHY WILL YOU DO THAT TO HIM??? HE’LL BE SO HURT

also imagine the 5WIRL gc. it’s evident that venti will be the ultimate spammer so he would be like:

“I MISS MY WINDBLUME CAN I SKIP PRACTICE TODAY 🥺🥺”

“hey kazuha can you check windblume for me 🥺🥺”

“xiao do you think my windblume still loves me even though we haven’t seen each other for a day”

“venti istg”

“AETHER HOLD MEEEEEE I’M SOOOOO HEARTBROKEN”

“why? what’s wrong?”

“I’M SO DEPRIVED OF MY WINDBLUME”

+ (and because of the heizou hangout event what if-)

“heizou ☺️☺️ can you please not flirt with my windblume ☺️☺️”

“and yes i’ve noticed ☺️☺️ you try to be subtle but i can see it a mile away.”

“do that again and i’ll change our netflix password so you won’t be able to watch the new season of the blacklist ☺️☺️”

yeah venti doesn’t pay their netflix subscription (we have miss jean for that!!!) but i bet my chocolates that he has the capability to do that

also since miss tala and i love the chaotic besties venti and xiao agenda, we have more hcs about those two in this idol au

in luna’s venti cinematic universe, venti and xiao were former roommates. miss tala hcs that xiao immediately reserved the farthest room away from venti after hearing the news that they can have their own rooms now (since he doesn’t want to be next to venti’s room anymore because my damn boy noisy af LOL)

but despite that, venti still manages to annoy him and the other members. archons help them

also what if what if, in the same cinematic universe, xiao knows about venti’s secret relationship? 👀

like pre-room separation, xiao can hear their late night calls and he’s just. so done with it

venti’s just all sweet and flowery words to his windblume like the romantic he is and xiao is just

“VENTI IT’S FUCKING 3 AM STOP MAKING KISSY NOISES THAT’S SO GROSS”

“MIND YOUR BUSINESS ALATUS”

“NO SHUT UP IF I HEAR ‘I LOVE YOU THE MOSTEST TIMES ONE BILLION’ I WILL END YOU”

and venti knows that he can trust xiao with his life. even aether seems to think so. he’s just a generally nice guy (and even op will reveal her secrets to him ngl cuz he probably wouldn’t care)

he’s irritated by venti, yes, but he knows that he’s not cruel or anything, so he’ll let him off the hook. even if he wants to flick him in the forehead hard for being such a bastard sometimes.

and xiao is such a softie he will absolutely not allow windblume to be separated from BARBATOS

another addition by the amazing miss tala as always: “he thinks hed rather stay up hearing him make kissy noises than hearing him [venti] sobbing himself to sleep”

YEAHHHH GOING TO THE ANGST FEST. no one can ever escape the angst

yeah, venti can get real lonely, we know that. :((

he just really misses his windblume

though venti tries to hide this, xiao notices and even attempts to make him feel better. like offering him some of those apple–flavored candies that he loves so much, or if he’s feeling generous, dandelion wine (though this is not often because a drunk venti will get more 10x annoying.)

or maybe even sometimes, xiao texts windblume to ask them about venti’s situation; to ask how to comfort him

he may do this discreetly because xiao can’t handle it if venti all goes puppy–eyed and is just THANK YOU XIAOOOO once venti realizes what he’s doing

xiao wants to avoid getting thanked genuinely because he still doesn’t know how to respond to them properly (cute little bean)

xiao probably got windblume’s number when venti fell asleep while talking to them on the phone

xiao knew it was windblume he was talking to because who would venti call around late nights and the contact name is just windblume with a lot of heart emojis

"u know how to keep a secret, unlike venti so...."

"yes, i understand, i won't mention you contacting me."

"....thanks. and if you need help..."

"yes i promise to contact you if i need help. thanks again, xiao. for this, and for looking out for venti for me. i'm glad you're his roomie."

"...yeah. (end call)”

(written by miss tala btw, and it’s super duper sweet!)

xiao remembering venti tearfully (yet reluctantly) confessing that he really misses his windblume. but now, he’s all grins—dazed, enamored, happy while talking to his beloved on his phone.

so windblume really means a lot to him.

also, regarding windblume’s contact saved on venti’s phone, imagine xiao just scolding venti when windblume calls just as practice ended and his phone was near someone else: “can u make it any more obvious!!! why are you so bad at keeping secrets... unlike them”

venti: HEY!!! arent u supposed to be on my side instead of theirs!!! we're roomies >:(((

xiao: they're my friend. you're just a roomie.

venti: dramatically falls onto his knees in the corner of the practice room. nobody turns to look, used to his antics

also i WAS inspired by a venti and xiao fanart where they’re both wearing dark caps and dark masks to hide their real identities ofc, and i thought: venti would definitely tell xiao to join him to go outside just so they can “see what windblume’s up to” though xiao straight up tells him that this is weird and it’s stalking.

cue venti yelling at him “BUT I’M THEIR BOYFRIEND WTF???” and it’s just so hilarious because they need to be damn careful and be less inconspicuous but venti’s just

“don’t fucking put your mask down—“

“BUT I WANT TO DRINK—“

“they know what your fucking lips and nose look like, venti.”

“don’t remove your cap—“

“it’s hot—“

“i will shave your head off.”

“YOU WOULDN’T.”

“xiao should i buy them some flowers? what do you think?”

“gross.”

“BWUH- how rude! i didn’t respond to you like this when you were asking love letter advice from me?? remember valentine’s day??? REMEMBER [INSERT XIAO’S S/O HERE]???”

“what if you shut up now”

after that, imagine once they finally find windblume (in their usual place or it’s just outside their workplace) venti and xiao are surprised that they’re kinda swarmed by some men. it doesn’t matter if they’re your friends or they’re merely your colleagues, but venti thinks that they’re a little too close for his liking and his bubbly mood just melts.

“ahhh, my windblume is right there!! my sweet, sweet windblume… xiao, hold me. i think i won’t be able to resist engulfing them in my arms and kissing them—“

“ok.”

“OUCH! BE GENTLE! DO YOU HOLD YOUR LOVER LIKE THIS?”

“you’re not them, so no.”

“fair. also. wait? who are those men?”

“…”

“xiao, hold me. hold me.”

“i am holding y— what th— VENTI—“

yeaaaah, xiao really has to hold venti down if they don’t wanna expose themselves in the process. and also, calm his jealous friend. him being jealous is funny but it’s such a hassle.

windblume’s phone

a notif from xiao

your boyfriend is sulking. how do i make him stop. he won’t stop glaring at my bird plushies, and he loves my bird plushies. please call him.

xiao’s phone

a notif from [name] [surname]

wait, what happened??

windblume’s phone

a notif from xiao

just call him.

and thus, the calling session (the ones with kissy noises and lots of cheesy i love yous) with venti begins once more.

we also talked abt more idol venti angst but i don’t wanna share that anymore cuz i want to be happy

[onestowatch]

19 LGBTQIA+ Artists You Need to Listen to This PRIDE

PRIDE is all about self-empowerment and self-determination. It’s about not just being comfortable with who you are but showing the world that there is pride to be found in being unapologetically you. And that’s why, this PRIDE, we wanted to shine a light on a small handful of our favorite LGBTQIA+ artists. Ranging from rapturous hyperpop, revelatory bossa nova meditations, romantic rave music, and everywhere in between, these are 19 LGBTQIA+ artists who deserve a spot on your PRIDE playlist and every playlist for that matter. 

girl in red

In her debut single, “i wanna be your girlfriend,” a teenage girl in red unapologetically sings of young queer love over a mesh of lofi production and jangly instrumentation that would come to define much of the bedroom pop genre. It is a standout moment of unrelenting honesty, and a serenely simple three-minute confession that would go on to strike a chord with millions who were afraid of what it meant to be something more than friends. Now, a few years later and following the release of her critically-acclaimed debut album, if i could make it go quiet, Ulven still writes with that same emotional honesty, putting forth every ounce of herself for the world to see. 

Meet Me @ The Altar

“the little lonely black alt girl i was in the 00s is living rn, she never even dared to hope she might see this 💖💖,” reads the top comment on Meet Me @ The Altar’s music video for their single “Garden.” It is a sentiment shared by much of the rising band’s fanbase, who are used to the mainstream alternative scene championing cis white males. Existing in the space between pop-punk and hardcore, Meet Me @ The Altar exists to challenge the notion that queer women of color don’t have a place in punk. And after penning a record deal with Fueled By Ramen, home to the likes of Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, and nearly every pop-punk band that made up your middle school playlist, chances are this is just the beginning for our new favorite punks.

THE BLOSSOM

For Lily Lizotte, better known as THE BLOSSOM, music exists as the synthesis and subsequent recontextualization of a host of past experiences. From the sound of their dad belting away in his home studio to stumbling upon niche Internet subgenres, THE BLOSSOM transforms all this and more into a sound that is instantly recognizable but impossible to perfectly place. The culmination of this host of influences takes sweeping sonic form on their debut EP, ‘97 BLOSSOM, a perfectly imperfect introduction to one of the most fascinating rising artists of recent memory.

BIMINI

You may recognize BIMINI as Bimini Bon-Boulash, the runner-up on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. And now you should familiarize yourself with Bimini, brit-pop extraordinaire. Releasing their debut single “God Save This Queen” earlier this June, Bimini deftly channels late ‘90s brit-pop and punk to deliver a single that has us absolutely living for the ensuing chaos. Serving up multiple looks throughout its eye-catching music video, “God Save This Queen” is not just a non-binary anthem but a veritable 2021 lookbook.

Hope Tala

With a sound that falls somewhere between turn-of-the-century R&B and bossa nova, Hope Tala’s music is expectedly a dream given sonic form. Perhaps that’s why much of the UK singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s music is able to so deftly weave imagery of love, heartache, and teenage fistfights into tightknit tracks that feel simultaneously transcendental and deeply personal. And with the release of her 2020 EP, Girl Eats the Sun, Hope Tala poses one all-important question, “Why have a life if you’re not going to do something crazy and make a difference in the world?” 

chloe moriondo

For much of chloe moriondo’s avid fanbase, watching her transform from budding ukulele sensation to pop-punk phenom very much meant watching her grow up. Getting her start on YouTube, moriondo's fanbase witnessed her evolve as both an artist and person. Coming out in the aptly titled “a ramble about self identity, growth, and being a lesbian,” to be a fan of the artist often feels like trading secrets with a close personal friend. It is a sentiment that rings all the more true upon delving into her debut album, Blood Bunny. Grappling with coming-of-age at the axis of empathic pop and euphoric pop-punk, Blood Bunny sees moriondo taking yet another impressive step forward.

Godford

Little is known about Godford beyond what can be garnered from a handful of interviews online and his succinct Spotify bio, and chances are he’s happier that way. The anonymous DJ and producer aims to make non-binary music that exists outside of the confines of genres, overly-simplified classifications, and even himself. What is important are the emotions his music hold and what his listeners take away. Fusing romanticism and rave in his debut album, Godford: Non Binary Place, the anonymous artist does just that. He provides a space that exists simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, like an ephemeral night spent out on the dancefloor with a stranger or close friend.

Joy Oladokun

Joy Oladokun is at the core of her music. It may at first glance appear to be a painfully obvious statement, but as her sincere songwriting seeps into every corner of your soul, it is a notion that becomes undeniable. In her major label debut, in defense of my own happiness, Oladokun writes with an unabashed authenticity, never turning a blind eye to the world around her. These shared reflections and recollections of life are often heartbreaking and uplifting in the same breath, but in their candidness, we can begin to piece together what it means to be human, imperfections and all.  

Allison Ponthier

Allison Ponthier may only have a handful of singles to her name, but her unmatched potential is clear as day. Raised in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, Ponthier’s moving songwriting and emphatic vocal prowess speak to her country roots. Pair that country sensibility with some of the most pristine pop songwriting we have heard in quite some time, and you begin to understand just how exciting Ponthier is as a rising artist. With only two singles to date, there’s not much else we can say beyond do yourself a favor and play “Cowboy” on repeat.

Rina Sawayama

It feels like no hyperbole to call Rina Sawayama an inevitable pop icon. First garnering critical acclaim with singles like “Cherry” and her 2017 debut EP RINA, the Japanese-British singer-songwriter staked her name on her immaculate ability to capture all the glamour and larger-than-life appeal of early ‘00s pop. Building on what was a nostalgic yet forward-thinking vision, Sawayama returned with her 2020 eponymous full-length debut. From nu-metal, club beats, to veritable pop anthems, SAWAYAMA emerged as a genre-defying showcase of an avant-garde pop star.

Arlo Parks

Listening to Arlo Parks’ music is akin to sipping on a hot cup of chamomile tea as you watch the world slowly pass by your living room window. It is a testament to the British poet and singer-songwriter’s subtle yet beautiful way with words, the way in which each lyric serves as a glance into a tightly-held memory or passing observation. These poetic musings come to life in her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, which layers lyrical revelations over some of the most tender R&B of recent memory. Parks’ is more than a must-listen; she feels like the birth of a new wave.

Claud

Claud has spent the past few years making a name for themselves in the indie pop world, and the culmination of it all arrives in their debut album, Super Monster. The acclaimed album sees Claud reckoning with coming-of-age and love with an irresistible charm. Pair that with a penchant for grounded, affective songwriting and infectious, dreamlike melodies and you have one of the best debuts of recent memory. In case you somehow need any further convincing that Claud is one to watch, Super Monster marks the debut release from Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records.

UMI

Equally as inspired by R&B and neo-soul as she is by her generation’s penchant for blurring genre lines, UMI and her music exist as a form of spiritual healing. Half-Black and half-Japanese, her work explores everything from identity to self-introspection, such as on the aptly-titled Introspection. It is a fondness for self-exploration that UMI delves headfirst into on her 2019 EP Love Language, a sublime blend of identity struggles, love, and anime that tackles the issue of always feeling like an other, never Black or Japanese enough.

Joesef

Sad boy summer. It’s the simplest way to being explaining Joesef’s serene albeit somber sound. Emerging out of Glasgow, the quickly rising star often wears his still bleeding heart on his sleeve, even when the underlying sonics seem to be moving onto greener pastures. It is an exquisite balancing act that comes to life on his 2020 EP, Does It Make You Feel Good?. Blending elements of soft-spoken R&B, jazz, and ethereal pop, Joesef sets himself apart as an artist whose influences and appeal know no bounds.

Serena Isioma

At the top of the year, we named Serena Isioma one of our top artists to watch in the year to come, and for good reason. The self-proclaimed “nonbinary rock star” experienced a breakout moment with “Sensitive,” a track that is difficult to perfectly encapsulate but think along the lines of fusing modern-day R&B and woozy indie-pop with reckless abandon, and you’ll be about halfway there. It was an impressive standout track that was only buoyed by a pair of EPs, Sensitive and The Leo Sun Sets, in 2020, officially cementing Isioma as an artist like no other.

Khai Dreams

Khai Dreams’ music is effortlessly easygoing. With its straightforward guitar lines and understated production, every track from the Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter flows out as naturally as breathing. Maybe it’s that laid-back approach that begins to explains Khai Dreams’ universal appeal and millions of monthly listeners, despite releasing most of his music independently. A hallmark of the DIY generation and its massive homebrewed potential, it would be a crying shame if you didn’t let Khai Dream’s serene meditations transport you somewhere far from here.

Frances Forever

Like much of their Gen Z cohorts, Frances Forever’s exponential rise was not the result of a well-executed marketing plan but by the pure chance of a single song finding a home online. The song in question, “Space Girl,” was originally part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Content before soon blowing up on TikTok, and it’s not hard to see why. Short, sweet, and to the point, “Space Girl” is a saccharine love letter to that bubbly feeling of floating on cloud nine. Now signed to Mom+Pop and with their debut EP, Paranoia Party, due out later this year, this is the perfect time to get familiar with Frances Forever.

Dorian Electra

Unapologetically playing with gender norms and stereotypes while seeing just how far they can push the limits of pop, Dorian Electra has long maintained a cult following in the world of experimental, highly addictive hyperpop. And it’s not hard to see why. Having collaborated with the likes of Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People, Pussy Riot, Rebecca Black, and more, Electra’s music ranges from off-the-rails hyperpop to introspective pop slow burns. All of this and more reaches a fever pitch in their 2020 album My Agenda, a devious showcasing of one of pop’s most explosive figures.

MAY-A

Maya Cumming, professionally known as MAY-A, is no stranger to the hustle it takes to make it in the music industry. The Australian artist got her start entering numerous singing competitions in her hometown of Byron Bay and started busking on the streets at the tender age of 11. Now, she has a breakout single under her belt in the form of “Apricots,” an anthemic indie-pop ode to queer love. And since that breakout moment, MAY-A has continued to release impressive single after single—the latest being the collaborative “American Dream.”

[korra-the-red-lion]

Legends of Tomorrow and the Zarlie Incident: Is it happening again?

As many fans of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are aware, during season 4 and 5 of the series, the ship “Zarlie”, a pairing of Zari Tomaz and Charlie, became quite popular during this time, especially during season 4.

Zari was a fan favourite character who was introduced in season 3. Throughout the season, Zari kept mostly to herself until she began to warm up to the others on the Waverider. Due to Zari’s closed off nature, she never had a LI in season 3. There were jokes about it, of course. Zari was very attractive to one Mr. Jonah Hex, and honestly. who wasn’t from the Waverider, haha? We’re told them as viewers that Zari is attracted to men. Sounds good.

Then s4 rolls around and Charlie gets introduced to the crew. Charlie takes an instant liking to Zari, affectionately calling her ‘Z.’ Maisie previously played Amaya on the previous two seasons, who was quite close with Zari as a friend, so it only makes sense that there is some chemistry between the two actors since they’ve been friends for awhile now. I wasn’t surprised when people starting shipping the two of them, thus the ship ‘Zarlie’ was born. What I wasn’t expecting was the writers to play into it. They had some pretty close scenes, and by close I mean there wasn’t enough room for two hands between their faces. And Zari made a comment about Charlie picking Amaya’s form because she was hot, implying that she thought Amaya was attractive. Thus the infamous scene happened:

No denial from Zari, just her usual annoyed look she got whenever Charlie started picking at her. Thus, the Bi Zari headcannon was born and mostly accepted by everyone in the LoT fandom. Of course, with Avalance and I believe Constangreen at this time, many people doubted it would become canon. And unfortunately, shortly after, Nate and Zari began dating, which felt sudden to me personally, and Steelhacker was born.

However, Steelhacker canon did not stop Zarlie from continuing. If anything, the writers only added more fuel to the fire so fans could have discussions. This is where I started to get annoyed, because why continue to bait the pair if you have no intention of making it canon? It felt a little dirty to me, even as I enjoyed the banter and chemistry between the two of them. Oh well, I thought at the time, it’s just shipping for fun now.

Season 4 ends with Zari being replaced by Zari Tarazi, or Zari 2.0 if you will. People still shipped Zarlie, though it was mostly from Zari 1.0. Fans were a little put off when Charlie said she slept with Behrad, but it also called attention to the fact that Behrad technically replaced Zari from the original timeline, meaning that Charlie wanted sleep with Zari, yes? Very confusing, but in a weird way, it was almost like they canonized the ship further.

Maisie had been on record several times acknowledging the chemistry between the two, and how much she wished they could have explore that more. Then of course, the news of the filmed but deleted kiss broke out and everyone from the Zarlie fandom lost their mind. There was a kiss, so in some strange way, Zarlie is canon, but only behind the scenes. From a show that does have amazing queer characters and content came a strangely bizarre queerbait that is now semi-canon, but only because the news of the kiss came to light, otherwise it would be another ship lost at sea, dragging people down with it as it lured them with its content. That should be the end of it, right?

Wrong.

Season 6 came out this season with Astra, the villain being manipulated by the Fates in season 5, being elevated to main cast. Joining her was newcomer Esperanza “Spooner” Cruz. Some people were hesitant because Astra was a bit of a polarizing character in s5, with reason. And of course, with any new character coming in, people are worried on how they will fit into the show. However, Spooner easily became a character that people enjoyed, and she somehow grounded the show, due to her very emotional character arc.

Spooner and Astra didn’t interact much until the animated sequence, when Astra turned her into a fork, much to the fans delight. Spooner actually encouraged Astra and after that, the two slowly became friends. They could have some snarky yet fun back and forth conversations and remarks to another, and the two actors played off each other well. They also connected from their lost mothers, Spooner who thought her mother had been taken by aliens and Astra who lost her mother to hell. They had a sort of emotional vulnerability between them that only they could understand.

Then the bowling episode came out and I think this is when the ship really got rolling. There was the big hug at the end of the match were a much taller Astra scoops Spooner up off her feet into a massive bear hug, smiles between the two. I know this is when I became a solid Esperastra shipper.

The pair continued to partner up after this. They partnered up again during the Clue-esc murder mystery game. Something that is very interesting about this is the pairings themselves. Ava gets killed by Sara right away (lol) and Nate dies shortly after, with Sara following behind. When Sara dies, her and Ava are shot together in a typical lovers pose in death. Makes sense, as they are engaged. Zari 2.0 is paired with Behrad and John, her brother and her lover respectively. Everyone is paired with someone they love. So...Astra and Spooner are paired up. Okay, no comment. JUST KIDDING. They die together, and this is shot in such a romantic way:

I know it’s dark, my apologies. But Spooner is leaning on Astra, and Astra is falling on top of Spooner. I’ve watched and read a lot of stuff, and this is a typical lovers in death position as well. 

Then we get to the final two episodes which see Spooner and Astra pairing up again. Spooner leans on Astra for emotional support throughout these two episodes, because she knows that Astra understands what she’s going through. Astra was devested when she thought she lost both Spooner and John at the same time. Luckily, Spooner did come back and the two shared a very emotional hug.

Now, this is where it gets a little frustrating as a fan. The writers and showrunners have stated clearly that they are Just Friends(TM). It seems like, based on some decisions from this past season, the writers are pushing for Astra/Behrad, which is like, not terrible but a little strange. However, Tala Ashe (Zari), has been on record to say that she thinks the actors have great chemistry and she ships them. So there is clearly a small divide yet again. So, if season 7 leans into this any more, is Esperastra the new Zarlie?

Of course friends can love each other, hug one another, and use each other as emotional support. However in this case, there does seem to be some underlying tension between the two that I wonder if the writers are going to explore. Is Esperastra going to stay friends, or end up becoming yet another queerbaited sapphic couple from Legends of Tomorrow? I guess only time will give us an answer on this. However, I will say, the parallels between the two ships is slightly uncanny, and perhaps even intentional. Zarlie connected by being two people who felt lost without family, and Esperastra may be doing the same thing now that John is gone, who was functionally Astra’s only family left.

Let’s hope Legends of Tomorrow doesn’t do the same thing twice.

[falseandrealultravival]

World-historically important era: with private and arbitrary selection criteria.

Since world history is woven by the myriad of nations and regions on the planet, it is generally difficult to tell whether any year is important (whatever is important). I would like to bend that point and arbitrarily list the six eras to reveal my bias in thinking. (Oldest first)

  @ 751: "Battle of Talas". Many people don't remember this, but I think it was covered in high school world history textbooks. It was a great war in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, where the Tang and Islamic empires, the great powers of the time, and now China and the United States fought over control of the region. In the battle itself, the Karluks betrayed against Tang, and Tang was defeated, making it impossible to move further west. ... But this is not important. In this battle, the Islamic Empire captured some technical craftsmen. It was the craftsmen of the paper industry. Nowadays, paper is not as good as electronic recording as an information medium, but the paper invented by Cai Lun in 64 AD has been the king of information media for many years. And in this battle, the Islamic empire acquired paper technology and developed civilization. And what was passed on to Europe via the Iberian Peninsula! It was the 12th century. Then the savage Europeans were, lately, led to the flowering of civilization by the power of paper.

   Making postcards with Japanese paper (by Rei Morishita)

  @ 1215: "Magna Carta" is enforced. This protects the rights of the lords, who were famous for their mismanagement in England due to John the Lackland (for example, they lost their land every time they went to war). Certificate. You have robbed the king of some of his rights, haven't you? And this age is old. It is 574 years older than the 1789 of the French Revolution. This legal text is still legally valid (customary law). It was proof that Britain would become the hegemonic nation of the largest territory in history. I can't think of any Japanese trying to deprive the country of the highest powers. I think this is the reason why Japan cannot become a land of democracy like Britain. We, Japanese just only imitated the shape. The spirit is not inherited. "Painted rice cake" and "Oval for cats" (Japanese proverbs)

.

  @ 1492: Columbus discovers the Americas. To be exact, it was the discovery of the West Indies Islands, but since the continent will also be discovered later, this discovery is the beginning. Spain and Portugal are one step away from the medieval stagnation until then. Europe has developed in a rude way to the former inhabitants of the so-called New World. Europe won overwhelmingly because of the "civilization clash".

   @ 1769: The year Watt obtained a patent for a steam engine. (The first year of the Industrial Revolution) The Industrial Revolution has a greater world historical significance than the French Revolution mentioned earlier. The French Revolution, which proclaimed "freedom, equality, and philanthropy," was energized by madness, created a state of chaos, and finally created a stronger emperor system than the royal government. (Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte) Why did Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette be sentenced to guillotine? (For more information on the madness of the French Revolution, see Anatole France's “The Gods Are Thirsty (Les dieux ont soif) “Whether in 1215 or 1769, Britain is a better country than France. Well, I think France has been following Britain. (However, I also like France too.)

  The other two are the most recent ages.

  @ 2001: Simultaneous terrorist attacks. This is a traditional and contemporary "civilization clash" between Europe (Christianity) and Arab (Islam) in world history. Generally, both camps have been hostile since the time of the Crusades. When the degree of development of civilization is large and biased toward Europe, I do not think of my own life of hijacking the "civilization's advantage: airplane" made by Europe and assaulting the "civilization's advantage: skyscraper". Hijackers. I have no words.

  @ 2020: A pandemic of the new coronavirus of Chinese origin. This doesn't need any explanation, but it seems that it's time to review and revise traditional civilization.

   A word of the day: Two times in China, two times in England, and two times in Islam have appeared in these six generations. Europe (comprehensive region) 3 times. Looking at this, I make a private and arbitrary analysis that Britain, China, and Islam will be the most important nations and regions in the history of the world. Oh yeah, as an extra edition, the Russian Revolution of 1917. A tragicomedy in which the Russian people were ignorant, but even democracy passed and tyrannical communism arose. I can't say anything, the Russian people are pathetic. Negative event.

    @A poetry dedicated to UK (The Democracy)

  Democracy is a strategic political system.

And officials have a duty of confidentiality.

However, if necessary, provide information

There is also an obligation to disclose.

What is that Japanese national tax, Sagawa?

He deserves imprisonment or death penalty.

 (2021.09.18)

[groovesnjams]

GROOVES n jamsS.O.T.Y. 2021

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 38 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

“Tala Tannam” by Mdou Moctar

MG:

What makes “Tala Tannam” such a warm, familiar song is Mdou Moctar’s guitar, the way you can hear his fingertips moving along the strings. It’s intimate and alive, and the surrounding instruments crackle and burn, giving the song a sort-of sunlit, campfire sound. With the choral-style vocals woven throughout, “Tala Tannam” evokes a live recording of a communal jam session – and it pretty much was that, recorded on the road between stops on tour. I was starting to feel like I’d managed to weasel an unusual amount of guitar music past DV this year when I realized that, no, I’d just found much better guitar music this year. Moctar’s playing is earthy and verdant, both, and it shines in a naturalist setting.

DV:

To my great dismay I’ve softened significantly on guitars, bit by bit and then all at once (Charly Bliss was the final straw.) But it’s also true that both MG and I heard an unusual amount of fantastic guitar music this year, and I’d like to think “Tala Tannam” would stand out no matter when it was released. Treading a line between ramshackle (the naturalistically loose handclaps, atypical in this era) and virtuosic (the elegantly plucked guitar that propels the song), it’s a song to get lost in. Mdou Moctar’s vocals melt in and out of the guitar sound, ebbing and flowing toward each chorus and gradually picking up definition only to disappear in a sigh. “Tala Tannam” has a gentleness that embodies its message of love and devotion; in a year as harsh as this could be, it feels like a healing balm.

[healing-winston-pratt]

The Resistance AU Part. 2

I said in Part. 1 of this AU I would tell how the Resistance works and how it started, so here we go!

There are nine sectors:

Gathering: They are in charge of going to the surface and collecting both groceries and information (newspapers, video recordings, photos, notes, gossiping, etc). Their color is brown.

Security: Both patrol units who secure the tunnels and the important sectors of the Resistance, and technicians in charge of the security system. Their color is black.

Training: The ones in charge of training the non-prodigies in physical combat and self-defense, as well as prodigies training/who are learning to control  their gifts. Their color is purple.

Education: It’s been a decade since the start of the Renegade Regime, so children were born in the Resistance or were already babies or kids, and this sector is in charge of the schooling. Their color is dark green.

Health: The medical sector, there’s no need for further explanation. Their color is soft pink.

Weaponry and Devices: They study the prodigy artifacts the gatherers bring from the surface, and they also develop their own weapons and devices.

Kitchen: They’re in charge of the cooking and it’s basically...that. They provide the entire burrow with food. Their color is white.

Cleaning: The janitorial team. Their color is orange. 

Clothing: They elaborate the jumpsuits/uniforms, and they also put together the wardrobe of the gatherers for them to go undercover to the surface in regular clothing. Their color is cream.

They all wear the same blue-gray jumpsuit uniform and a golden name tag with their alias, but each sector has its own color represented in some parts of the uniform.

The ones who are too young or too old to help in a sector, wear yellow in their uniform.

It’s not that people live by sectors: they’re only divided that way to fulfill duties, so a family can live together and each member works for a different sector.

Now, how the characters are sorted :) 

Nova and Narcissa are teammates in Gathering.

Ingrid is part of the security system technicians.

Honey is from Training.

Winston works at Education.

Leroy, Millie, Tina and Callum are part of Weaponry and Devices.

Maggie works at Cleaning.

Tala is part of Clothing.

(Bear in mind that they’re not the only ones in those sectors, though, because the Resistance is really huge).

Ace has its own color, golden, because he’s the leader of the Resistance.

There’s a (*looks up for “Council synonym”*) Committee at the Resistance, with Ace being the head and nine people representing their own sector. Honey and Leroy are their sector’s representatives, while Tala, Ingrid and Winston aren’t (bc I picture someone else in a higher position than them being in charge of their sector), but attend the meetings and their voices are heard because they have privileges™.

Nova spends time at Weaponry and Devices to develop her inventions.

Tala made Nightmare’s costume for the infiltration mission :”)

Also, her alias is Star Queen! Because even non-prodigies wear name tags with aliases in case the Resistance is discovered, so it won’t be easy for the enemy to set prodigies and non-prodigies apart (besides the obvious prodigy features, ofc).

Millie’s alias is the Historian and Narcissa is Mirror Walker (I think this one is canon but being brutally honest, I’ve never been 100% sure bc it was Ace’s nickname for her but if she were to use an alias, it would be that one).

Ingrid and Winston are roomies! I don’t think Ingrid has that bitchy personality in this AU, so she and Winston act more like siblings instead of hating each other. THEY’RE BOTH MENTALLY STABLE, OK? (there are therapists in the Health sector, this is a great community, change my mind).

The Librarian is part of the Resistance, but he lives on the surface and provides the gatherers with information when they go to the Library (he has no Resistance uniform).

I’ve already mentioned on Part 1 that Honey and Ace hosted clandestine meetings until they are discovered: that’s how they met the rest of the OG Anarchists + a lot more of prodigies and non-prodigies who supported them, but when the Renegades attacked the building because they’ve discovered them, only the OG Anarchists and Ingrid’s parents where there that night.

When the apartment exploded due to Thunderbird’s powers (you know, lightning), Tala and the girls hid beneath the debris. Tala was carrying Maggie on her back and they were like, chilling because they didn’t want to risk the Renegades finding out about their existence.

Meanwhile, the Council battles Ace and the Anarchists; Ingrid’s parents are killed, as well as some other Anarchists (*cofcofAtomicBrainandRatcofcof)

Georgie lands to inspect the building. Since the space is so limited and it’s in ruins, she lands wrong, and she cuts her calf a little, as in: There’s visible skin in her calf area.

Tala and Nova are holding their breaths, until Maggie makes a sound (this trumpeting thing babies sometimes do with their mouths) and Georgie approaches their direction (she’s hella terrifying here guys, there’s nothing but coldness in her eyes).

Nova sticks her hand out of the hideout and releases her power on Georgie, and once she falls asleep, Tala  makes it look like she was hit by debris and that���s why she fell unconscious (when Georgie wakes up, there’s dried blood on the back of her head). Then takes them out of there because neither the Anarchists nor the Council are on sight.

Tala gets a message from Honey until the next day, and that’s how she knows they’re hiding on the tunnels: During battle, Ingrid was very distraught due to her parents’ death (she does love them here :”)), so she was just...attacking people because she wanted to kill someone. ANYONE (as long as they were part of the Renegades). However, Ace was concerned about the fact that too many people were dying. 

In this AU, like it is implied in canon, Ace is the only person who can destroy Hugh, and Hugh is the only person who can destroy Ace (I’m not counting David because, well, David’s already gone). Hence, Ace KNEW that they were coming for him and that, if they killed him, there was a chance they would leave them alone. 

So, he took advantage of the fact Ingrid was going feral, and stepped in the middle pretending he was shielding someone. When Ingrid’s powers did their thing, a structure fell on top of him, but he stopped the debris using his telekinesis before it crushed him, *this* close to his body. And the Renegades were like “There’s no way he could’ve survived that lmao” (bc of course they would find that funny).

Ace had to wait another 30 minutes until they left, and when they did, he was very weak (ALMOST fainting, I think) but still he heard Honey HOWLING (And the other ones too, because bear in mind Ingrid, almost crazy with grief, was thinking she k i l l e d him) but somehow he managed to have the strength to get the debris off him on time (before he suffocated or fainted). 

So they hide in the tunnels, and once Tala and the girls join them and all of them have rested and attended their injuries, Ace builds the underground burrow while the rest of them (Nova stays and takes care of Maggie, ofc) go undercover to the surface, to take their allies (the ones that didn’t attend the meeting that night) with them.

The Resistance population eventually rises (it’s currently around 5,000 people) because they take refugees and families are created, but people on the surface don’t know about them: it’s usually the gatherers who save people who are being persecuted.

But Ace and the Anarchists know the Renegades are aware Honey, Leroy, Ingrid and Winston are still alive, so the four of them go to the tunnels every now and then and pretend to live there: they’re in sync with the security staff of the Resistance to know when a Renegade patrol unit is going to visit them.

The Council is pleased to “know” they live under such n a s t y conditions and that’s why they don’t kill them, besides, the first time they showed up after discovering them, Honey gave the performance of her life and pleaded them to at least let them stay there, and they were so amused by her suffering that they accepted, so they could watch their misery every time they pleased. 

Callum and Tina joined the Resistance as refugees (they came from separate ways, tho), while Millie and Gene were already allies who attended meetings, but Gene asked them to take care of Narcissa while he helped them from the surface so she could be safer underground.

And then she goes, with her two whole functional brain cells, and joins Gathering lmao. Also, she lives with the Artinos because Gene used to take her to the clandestine meetings so she and Nova usually played together :)

[ressyfaerie]

The beyblade battle between Tala and Julia. ( the battle g revolution never showed us)

I’ve realized as I started writing this I don't think Tala has battled any girls? Like ever? Please correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve never written Julia before so this is going into so many new realms! Prepare yourself for the #1 sass battle of the century. (okay so halfway through this fic I just looked it up and turns out he battled her off screen lmao but she’s the only girl he's ever battled (I forgot lol) So I based it around that idea, also I got carried away and now I want them to f. * are thoughts!

Tala hated seeing people he knew outside the beystadium beybattling, especially in awful disguises. The twins were surrounded by a cheering crowd, they were making more than a spectacle of themselves. 

Tala scoffed, “typical.” 

However-

He had to admit, he was intrigued. 

Suddenly a flash of purple flew by his face, he took a step back, but tensed back up convincing himself he couldn’t show he was caught off guard. 

He grimaced; she saw. 

Julia grinned at him under her helmet, her blade flung back to her hand with well practiced precision.

Tala locked eyes with her, and then, simply, rolled his eyes. 

She didn’t like that.

Tala turned to leave, advertising his disinterest. Julia wasted no time loading Thunder Pegasus into her launcher. 

“Get back here!” She yelled while launching her blade towards him. 

This time, Tala thought, she wouldn’t get the best of him, he didn’t move an inch.

Huge mistake. 

Tala felt a tingle on his wrist, he inspected it and found a few strands of red hair.

*She cut off a wad of my hair?! Are you serious!?*

Tala swung his whole body challenging her, she simply laughed at the small chunk of hair missing. 

“Are you taking me seriously now?” Julia smirked. 

Raul tried to grasp her arm to calm her down but she aggressively shrugged him off. 

“Naw- this guy is all talk and no brains Raul. I’m going to put him in his place.” 

“Why don’t you wait for the championship?” He shot her a devilish smirk. 

“Get real, you’re not going to make it to my level, battle me now so you don’t miss out.”  

Tala calmly looked her up and down, he knew it would be satisfying to turn her blade to dust, but then he thought about Kai’s reaction to him beybattling in a park.

“No thanks.” Tala shrugged his shoulders. 

“What did you say-” Julia challenged him.

Tala realized if he couldn’t fight with Wolborg, he could at least use his words. He decided to piss her off.

“Besides, I don’t fight girls anyways.” He stated nonchalantly. 

“You don’t- What?” Julia emphasized her sentence ready to launch her fist at him instead of her blade. 

“I’ve never fought a girl, and I don’t plan on it.”

“Are you for real?” Julia groaned this time, becoming painfully aware one of the bladers she idolized was sexist scum. 

“Prove me wrong then. Somehow manage to claw your way up the ranks with your pretty nails- and fight me.” 

Tala shot her a smile. He could piss her off more, no should he? Yes absolutely. 

“You should smile more. You’re prettier when you smile.”

Raul had to physically grab Julia before she launched herself at Tala. 

“I’ll see you in the championships.” She spat in his direction. 

Tala turned on his foot elegantly and waltzed away. 

*Damn, now I need to figure out what to do with my hair-*

And the day actually came.

Tala approached the beydish pleasantly surprised to see Julia as his opponent. 

“Are you ready to get beat by a girl?” She felt more confident than their last altercation. 

She loaded Thunder Pegasus into her launcher. 

Tala prepared Wolborg. 

“You think you’re going to be the girl that will change my opinion?” Tala grinned secretly hoping she would be. 

She replied, preparing her stance, “Absolutely.” 

The countdown hit and they both released their blades at record speed and strength. Julia had something to prove, and she would keep fighting until she did.

Her speed and endurance actually did impress Tala. Wolborg kept up at an even pace.

“Thunder Pegasus attack!” She yelled and attacked Wolborg relentlessly.

Tala held his ground easily, but, just barely. 

“You started off too strong Julia, think you have something to prove?” Tala placed his arms in front of him in a questioning gesture, but she knew it was him being cocky. 

“You better learn to take girls seriously- or else.” 

“Or else what? You’re going to scratch me with your coloured nails?” 

Julia took a breath and calmed down a bit.

*I can’t let this guy rattle me.*

“You mention my nails a lot you know, if you want yours coloured you just have to ask.” She placed her hands in the same questioning gesture Tala had previously. 

Tala scoffed, “Ugh.” He rolled his eyes. 

“And-” She continued, “if you were to be lucky enough to be scratched by mine you’d learn-”

Tala tilted his head.

“They hurt!” Julia commanded Thunder Pegasus fluidly and knocked Wolborg off it’s balance. 

Tala became nervous when the match took a drastic turn. Julia had screwed her head back on and now they fought evenly without remorse. Tala needed to change his tactic.

“You know Julia-” 

“What?” She sighed back exasperated. 

“I secretly hope you’ll beat me.” He smiled at her but also grew worried about his teammates thoughts on his next action.

“Why?” She wondered while preparing for another intense attack. 

Tala got there first, “because I love a woman who can kick my ass- Go Wolborg!” 

Wolborg’s speed increased as it advanced on Thunder Pegasus with intense velocity. Tala’s tactic worked, Julia was taken back for a moment, but she immediately snapped back and sent Thunder Pegasus on the assault. 

Their blades collided with an intense force

 The stadium lit up white for a moment, and then their blades had disappeared. 

Once their eyes adjusted, the outcome was Thunder Pegasus and Wolborg on either end of the dish, just the edges. Thunder Pegasus fell back and stopped spinning outside the dish. 

“TALA IS THE WINNER” 

The announcer screamed.

Julia’s eyes were wide, she was so confident- and now-”

“Julia.” Tala grabbed Wolborg then changed his direction towards her. 

“Get away from me you pig-” She took a step backwards, away from him.

Tala smiled and held out his hand. “That was a good battle.” 

She cautiously shook his hand.

Tala finished, “I’m excited to battle you again.”

“Oh?” Julia grinned, “So you changed your mind?” 

“I never knew a girl could battle the way you did-”

“And with such colourful nails!” Julia jabbed in there. 

“Yeah,” Tala let a small chucked escape his throat, “I’ll battle you again-”

“And any other girl that wants to challenge you right?” 

“Absolutely.”

[zahra-kha]

Dear Diary 19

I’m finally well enough to write in here! So last Plume was...interesting! In a few different ways.

Miss Leih had the stage set up to be icy. I’m guessing she may have had something to do with that, since the ceiling looked so deadly with all the icicles. All in all it was gorgeous though! It was called mistlefoe! Signups were closed and we were given mistletoes to throw or hang over whoever we wanted to go up on stage to fight. It was a lot of fun! Plus, we got to pick out random weapons for people to fight with. Depending on what we threw out, they’d either be something normal or fun!

I’d like to think people enjoyed themselves, I know I did!

Things did get tense towards the middle when Zhao fought Matteo. I guess for whatever reason he normally doesn’t fight since he loses himself and starts trying to eat people.

So...that’s a thing he does I guess.

And while his friends were there, I guess neither of them thought to tell the healer he can’t be healed with aether or he’ll die? They sure didn’t waste their time laying into Erith about how much they thought he was shit for going over to attempt to do what he’s been hired to do(Not to mention I was begging him to heal Matteo, Erith hadn’t done anything yet. I don’t regret it, because I’d want Erith to heal anyone he could, but it’s aggravating that they laid into Erith for it). I guess Matteo also decided to omit that information before he went up stage too. 

Well, whatever, I guess. Logic aside, they caused such a ruckus about it Quin got pissed off and stepped up (for good reasons, I’m sorry I had to get in your face, Quin!), Erith left, and I had to step in and bounce since Vel was out for the eve. Even Leih had to step in and kick them both out for good. I think Matteo is gone too. With that huge rucks that was thrown, it’s for the best, I feel.

After that it calmed down a lot, mostly because a lot of folks left, but also because we were half way through the eve. It was good to see my friends fight up on stage even though it was random, although I was sad I wasn’t able to pay much attention to Trystan’s fight. 

Hector showed up, he’s a guy I met at this new FC I joined. I don’t know him very well but he seems nice enough. I get the impression he’s kind of flirty from what I was hearing with him chatting with others on the side. Clearly the others had some impressions, since they were teasing me the moment he left the first time. I know it was just teasing but I’m really not into him like that. I wouldn’t mind becoming friends though! I still have to get him that book.

Anyway, I was matched up with Discordia and it was an intense fight! I think she’s one of those ones who gets a little too into it once she gets going. That in itself was interesting and different from other fighters I’ve encountered. There are some who lose themselves in the moment, like Discordia, some who can’t control themselves, like Matteo, I guess, and some who are especially calculating until presented with something so wild they have to rely on instincts. I think I fall somewhere in-between on the last one.

I think Discordia abandoned all thoughts of using the normal weapon she’d been given and brought out her own (not that we were forcing people to use the weapons we gave them), which was a flame thrower. That made fighting on the stage tricky. It was a good fight but in the end she caught me unaware and my whole world was engulfed in fire and crimson.

I don’t quite remember what happened after. Things went in and out and it’s fuzzy. I think Trystan carried me to a room. I was swimming in unimaginable pain so honestly, I was pretty delirious and everything felt dreamy through the haze.

After I was healed up enough I managed to find a way home and a healer tended to my other burns. I was told Gail healed my legs, which were pretty messed up. I’m really grateful to her, because...well, without my legs I’m not much of a dancer, am I?

Still, it was an amazing fight. I’d go against Discordia again. It was an amazing challenge, very unexpected, and in its own way, thrilling and fun. Discordia seemed to really enjoy herself as well? I think? All the cackling seems to suggest so.

The other healer I was able to get healed the rest of the burns, although I’ve got some light scarring. There’s definitely light scarring but it looks like skin discoloration now. I don’t mind it! Battle scars! You can really tell if you look at my legs, but my arms, stomach, and some small patches of my chest took some hits too. It’s not really noticeable unless I’m in the light but I’m hoping with some lotions and TLC some of it will fade in time. And if not, I don’t mind. I’m still going to wear cute outfits even with the scarring.

After I was cleared to have made a mostly full recovery I went back out to help with investigating those leve quests! We ventured out to a place I’ve never been before, Dravania. It’s really cold out there! It felt kind of refreshing on my skin though with the ointments I’ve been using.

There were some new people, a guy named Elf who seems to be an academic? Lots of academics. I guess his brother makes some mean curry and they kept talking about it which made me want some. Mmm, curry ~

I need to ask my mom to send me some more spices from home. Also, Jasper caught me singing the curry song my brother and I made up when we were kids. I’ve been discovered. I’m going to have to take him out. I should make some curry for everyone one of these days! I bet Tala would really like some home cooking too!

By the way, the Vath are weird. They do this weird chittering/clacking thing and they call us fleshlings. I don’t mind it, but I have scales and horns too! Acknowledge them! I’m not just squishy! 

Silliness aside, we were on the lookout for a missing vath and I suddenly got this weird sensation and then there was this knight beside me. I wish I could explain it better since he was made of aether but he was definitely one of those Ishgardian knight types but all faded out and bloody. The only thing that was really striking about him were his eyes. They were a very pretty shade of green.

I quickly realized that unlike the mist figures, only I could see him. No one seems to have found that strange and no one questioned me as to why I was the only one who could. That was...a relief. Strangest part was that I could hear him too. I think he was betrayed by someone.

We eventually found the lost vath, but the knight for some reason didn’t like either that or the vath? All the remaining color fled from his eyes and he attacked the poor thing. We still don’t know why or what caused it. We were able to stop him and heal up the vath and return back, but we had a lot of questions.

Looks like the knight was from the house Calvas (they found out after I tried to draw the crest he wore. I can’t believe Kuupa redrew it my drawing was so bad! Don’t record my monstrosities!) and he was traveling with another knight and someone else. Maybe a mage? I guess we have to do some more digging. I’m just wondering what happened and if he sold his name. The poor man, what drove him to do that?

That’s it for me, I have a party to get to tonight!

[bubblegumstardust]

A list of my OCs

Starfire Universe (action space thing)

Aliya: Former assassin who literally could not give 2 shits about any of what's going on

Nari: Recent graduate from the space fleet academy whatever thing and literally can't stand Aliya when she joins the squad

Isak: Also a former assassin and Aliya's best friend whose been dragged along for the ride

Yami: Bad. Ass. If you come up against her in a fight, you don't stand a chance

Yama: Asshole but we love him. Giant flirt

Kelsi: Team sweetheart. Adorable bean. Can fix literally anything

Enyo: Trauma. They will happily kick your ass. Nari's best friend and only soft for Kelsi

Madelyn: Android with the consciousness of Kelsi's older sister. Emotion is not a thing...until it is

Mia: Tech whizz. Likes hacking the government in her spare time

Alon: Poor suffering dad and squad commander. Give this man a break

Sekani: An actual angel. Hugs cure everything except major injuries but he can heal those too (medic)

Jian: Ex of Nari's older sister. Works at a different agency and somehow got stuck liasing with these dumbasses

-

Jaya: Trauma. Joined the "army" way too young but she's too good to stop. In charge of this elite group of dummies

Zera: Best pilot in her class. Ran away from home and has a reputation for being tough as nails. Real soft spot for Jaya

Min: Nari's older sister. Team medic and resident mum friend.

Aleksandr: Broody boy but actually a real softie. One of Jaya's best friends and has a crippling crush on their other best friend

Cody: Tech and engineering prodigy. Super sweet. Got it bad for the cute scientist whose helping them out.

Leon: Asshole who doesn't care about rules. Has more disciplinaries than anyone else but gets away with it because his mission record is insanely good

Elementals Universe (modern fantasy)

Elara: Immortal princess whose been around since the dawn of humanity. Has control of life and death

Amalthea: Elara's twin sister with the same power who hasn't been seen for like 500 years bc she done fucked up bad

Nik: Way too fucken old but being kept vaguely immortal by Elara bc his brother wanted to. Can create portals

Io: Also can create portals. Stupidly in love with Elara for about 2000 years

Kenna: Fashion design student who does not have the fucken time for saving the world. Fire powers.

Aiden: Also fire powers. Bad boy exterior, soft boy centre. We love him

Kirsi: Just a damn goddess tbh but also an enormous nerd. Water powers

Malik: Also water powers. Dumbass genius. Like honestly he's so smart but also the biggest idiot I've ever come across

Silas: Earth powers. Soft nature boy who just loves baking and sweaters and hugs

Gaia: Also earth. Babe. Rich kid but like a really amazing human being who always takes care of everyone.

Lani: Air powers. Tired. Lowkey angry feminist vibes and would absolutely be down for a revolution

Sora: Also air. Really quiet and sweet. Very artsy. Anger her at your own risk though

Miyako: Shadow. Major alt-girl vibes. Likes to pretend she doesn't care but really does a lot

Leyla: Shadow. Absolute rebel. Unbelievably talented. Will absolutely kick your ass

Tala: Light. She's just a straight up angel but has no idea what she's doing with her life. Dyed her hair white just to be extra

Citlali: Also light. Angry child who absolutely gets political on Twitter all the time.

Nate: Groomed his whole life to join the ranks of his families evil organisation. Redemption arc for my boi

Superhero Universe

Aimi: Can literally control other peoples bodies. Soft and sweet and absolutely terrified of her powers

Tamika: Powerful telekinesis. Most lovely person you'll ever meet

Tamara: Tamika's twin with the same ability. She's like...really cool

Sammi: They're somehow the team mum but absolutely should not be. Can mimic anything

Elodie: Sweet but lowkey chaotic. Abuses her ability to manipulate time constantly

Ciara: Can absorb energy and send out blast of it. Automatic team baby because of her age. Hates it

Nicu: Can warp reality and is absolutely the last person who should be trusted with that power. Chaotic. Absolute nightmare

Elias: Can make infinite copies of himself and constantly uses this to get in all kinds of trouble

Zola: Can phase through objects. Such a sweetheart. Has a constant headache from putting up with this lot

Kitt: Pain in the ass but dated both Elodie and Nicu as is so deeply ingrained in the group now that they can't get rid of him. Can control temperature

Fantasy Universe

Hari: Gay af. Eldest son who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders. Super hot and charismatic

Safina: A year younger than Hari. Has a hot warrior girlfriend. Actual fucking goddess

Zaryn: youngest child. Engaged to the princess of a foreign kingdom. Really sweet

Elidi: First in line to the throne of her kingdom. Soft quiet sweet girl. She is aestheticTM

Neoma: The hot warrior girlfriend. I might also be in love with her.

Leizi: Their cousin from a different kingdom. Has a claim to both their throne and her own. Is basically a lesbian pirate.

Dystopian Universe

Lina: So much trauma

Kylaa: joined the revolution but then went and fell in love which she didn't mean to do goddamnit

[thicahgase7]

{7:05 am}

For @wikihoeofgot7​​, the biggest Mark stan I know and love

Song: Lovestained by Hope Tala

[A/N: I would just like to note that the Y/N in this oneshot has A.D.D (Attention Deficit Disorder) which I also have so I hope I was able to show that a bit. But I hope you enjoy]

Slowly opening your tired eyes, you try to see if he’s still next to you but find him missing, his phone still resting on his nightstand. Groaning, you crawl over to his side and reach for the phone, checking to see who’s calling: someone from the group no doubt. Sure enough, one of the boy’s names pop up on the screen and you chuckle to yourself.  

Getting outta bed, you let out a groan while stretching to wake yourself up more, wondering where he was. The bathroom? Turning your head to the bathroom door, you could now hear the water running and music playing. Placing the phone back, you started to walk in the room but froze with a thought. Ooo you could surprise him with breakfast! Yea, that’s what you’ll do! But, checking your breath, you scrunch your face up. Maybe you should brush your teeth first..

You enter the bathroom, the music getting slightly louder now that you’re in the room. His back is facing you as he hums along to the song and you pause, stopping to admire his wet muscles. Instinctively, your hand reaches out to him but you stop yourself. You came in here to brush your teeth and go make breakfast, not attack him in the shower. At least, not for now. Focus! Careful not to make a sound, you keep looking between the shower and your hands, grabbing the toothbrush and slathering it in toothpaste.

“Wild wild wild, when I’m with you all I get is wild thoughts!” You cover your mouth, a laugh almost escaping you as he sings from the top of his lungs. Checking to see if you’ve been caught, he lathers his hair and still doesn’t turn around. He sways from side to side, body rolling while running his fingers through his soapy hair. Knowing you only had a minute or so at the most, you quickly brush your teeth, thankful that the music is so loud it covers the sounds of the sink.

“Wild wild wild thoughts!” Okay, any longer and you’re honestly gonna burst out in laughter but the way he’s dancing in there, you smile at him before turning around and closing the door quietly. You tell yourself you need to record him next time he does this so you could show him and his friends later if he’s being annoying. It would make things even since he shared with the boys a video of you snoring. Wait, what were you doing? Right, breakfast! You reach for your phone and head out of the room, unlocking your phone and looking up recipes. You notice a text from Yugyeom but ignore it for now. You figure you can answer him later.

What sounds good right now? Eggs benedict? You weren’t sure you had the tools to make that. Turning the corner of the hall, you continue to scroll for recipes. Pancakes? Hmm, last time you made them, they ended up a bit thicker than usual. What could you make? You suddenly feeling pain shooting from your hip and look down. While searching on your phone, you rammed yourself into the kitchen island, its corner hitting your hip bone. You hiss, crippling to the floor as you try to breathe slowly.

“Dammnit.” You start to rub your hip, hoping the pain will go away faster if you did that. You only had to wait for a few more seconds before the pain is gone entirely. Grabbing the edge of the countertop, you pull yourself up and sigh while glancing around. Just what the hell could you make? Your eyes rest on the fridge and you figure you should actually see what you have.

Let’s see: eggs, shallots, leftover takeout, milk, hmmmmm maybe? Checking your phone for more recipes, you notice you have notifications on snapchat. Opening the app, you notice it’s from most of the boys. You decide to send a quick picture of the kitchen, making a funny face before opening Pinterest. Your feed pops up to memes of the boys, other kpop memes, pictures of places, and regular memes.

“Ooo, a meme of GOT7?” Scrolling past the meme, you see a video of a kid slamming their face in the cake then seeing a cute duckling wadding through the water. Each swipe of your finger, a new meme pops up and you giggle to yourself. Maybe you should show some of these to him when you have a chance.

“Sooo, were you gonna grab something or did you just open the fridge to stand there looking like a dork?” You gasp and try to look behind you as hands wrap around your waist, the fluff of dark hair in your eyesight while his lips grazing your neck in a quick peck. You swat at his hands, your heart racing at the slight scare he gave you. You didn’t have to see his face to know he was grinning.

“Mark! You know you can’t just pop outta nowhere!” He chuckles, pulling you closer to him to feel the rumble of his chest on your back. You swear this man will be the death of you. Literally, he’s gonna give you a heart attack one day.

“Aww, I’m sorry my love. I just couldn’t resist~.” Rolling your eyes, you close the fridge doors as he still holds onto you. You start to squirm in his arms, hoping he’ll at least let you turn around to face him, but he only squeezes tighter. You try to look at him, placing your hands on his forearms.

“Umm, excuse me sir, but are you gonna let me go?” He snuggles his face in your hair, his nose rubbing against the nape of your neck.

“Hmm, and why would I do that?” You sigh, leaning on him while looking around for some excuse to make up. You finally rest your eyes on stove, looking at the knobs and handle of the oven. What were you even doing in the kitchen? You came in here for a reason and just what were you gonna do? Your attention snaps to the sound of the fridge opening again, one hand reaching for eggs while his other still resting around your waist. That’s right!

“I was gonna make you breakfast!” He lets you go to place the eggs down on the island, looking over at you with a lazy smile. Before he could go back to get more stuff, you squirm your way between him and fridge, feeling the cold air on your skin. He cocks an eyebrow up at you, the smile never leaving his face. “Oh, is that so?” You nod, turning around to quickly think of something to make. Eggs, butter, leftover rice and-! You got it! You run over to the cupboards to grab the one thing you need along with the spices, him moving out the way as you place your ingredients down.

“Yup, I wanted to surprise you with breakfast, but I guess I got distracted,” you chuckle nervously. When you glance back at him, he shakes his head while leaning against the counter opposite you. You watch as the muscles in his arms flex with the motion before paying attention back to him, his head tilted to the side in a curious expression.

“Well, I guess we had the same idea.” You can’t hide the surprise on your face as he waits for a response. He was gonna make you breakfast? You feel warm and fuzzy starting to bloom in your chest at the thought but then push it away, your competitive side getting an idea.  He sighs after a moment. “I know that look, what are you planning?” A grin starts to form on your lips as you try to feign innocence.

“Oh nothing…I was just thinking, maybe we could have a cook off? See whose breakfast is better..” You can see the glint in his eyes after saying that, his grin matching yours as he walks over to your side.

“Yea? And what’s the prize of winning?” You shrug coyly, stepping away from him to grab a small pan.

“Bragging rights? Loser has to do chores for a week?” You’d hope he would take the bait. Knowing how competitive you both are, you were simply waiting for him to raise the stakes. He tsks, shaking his head.

“Chores for a week and loser has to do something for the winner, whatever they pick.” There is was. If you win, there could be a bunch of possibilities for you: make him give you a massage, record him doing aeygo, dress him up in something ridiculous and send him out in public. The list was endless. But you had to be sure he wouldn’t back down from this, so you peered over at him with eyebrows raised.

“So the loser has to do whatever the winner wants them to do?” He doesn’t back down, his grin only getting wider as he shrugs.

“I’m a man of my word. I just can’t wait to do whatever I want to you.” There was no way in hell you were gonna lose. You nod, getting excited to see him eat his words.

“Deal. Let’s go!”

You both run around the kitchen, trying to get whatever you needed for your dish. The rest of the guys kept snapchatting you, making you pause and talk about whatever came to mind to your boyfriend: how your sister was doing, how Kelly from work was causing drama, etc. He would nod occasionally, commenting here and there before reminding you to focus on making the food.

You guys started playing music, letting whatever genre play out. Since your home more often than Mark, most of the music was more up your alley: reggaeton, rap, pop, just overall upbeat music. You were swinging your hips and just moving along the beat. Mark would join in with you and sing the songs he knew the words to. You almost brunt the rice and spam had it not been for him.  You were just about to make the eggs and toast when you heard your ringtone go off.

Checking your phone, you open a snap of Coco and whine. You throw your arm around his shoulder, peering over in his pan before showing him your phone.

“Look, Mark, it’s Coco! Aww, we should get a dog!” He laughs, his hands busy flipping something in the pan.

“Haha maybe, but then what kind of dog would we get?” Mulling it over, you chew on your lip. Hmm what kind of dog? You didn’t know. A boxer? Maybe a small dog? Ugh why was this hard?  “Hey, by the way, you want sweet or savory?”  At least you knew the answer to that question.

“Sweet, always.” Glancing over at you, he sneaks a quick kiss from your lips before putting the food on a plate. Damn, he’s making crepes.

“Okay, I’m almost done with your dish. What about you?” Shit, the eggs and toast! He laughs when he sees your bulging eyes. “I’m guessing not.” You shake your head, heading back to your side of the stove.

“Ahhh, how many eggs do you want?” He faces his back to you, blocking you from seeing what else he was doing to your food.

“Two.” Turning on the fire, you toss in the butter and eggs. While that sizzles, you rush over to the loaf of bread and turn back to Mark, him rinsing something before moving back to the cutting broad.

“How many pieces of toast?” He hums for a second, the sound of chopping coming from his hands.

“Just one.” You quickly turn the toaster on and place the bread inside before heading back to the pan, grabbing a spatula. You pray that the eggs don’t break as you flip it over, looking like the prefect over easy eggs. Just as you’re patting yourself on the back for this, you spot Mark eyeing you with a grin on his face as if he were a child at a candy store. You give him a look, trying to hide as much of the pan from his view as possible with your body.

“You better not be peaking at your breakfast!” He shakes his head and laughs, turning back to his hands.

“I don’t need to peak to know that I’m gonna win this battle.” You chuckle mockingly, checking on the eggs.

“Oo ho, is that so? Aight, bet!” After a few seconds, you slide the eggs onto the plate, next to the fried rice and spam. You see in the corner of your eye, Mark going back and forth before covering his creation and placing it on the island.

“Sooo, you done?” Covering your own meal, you spin around and cross your arms causally.

“As soon as the toaster is done, I will be.” He chuckles, leaning over the island with his hands clasped together.

“Sooo…” You lean over across from him, matching his goofy grin.

“Sooo…” He tilts his head to the side, dancing a lil to the beat of whatever song was playing.

“You come here often?” You burst out laughing, watching his eyes crinkle in joy as you hit his arm lightly.

“You dork!” He keeps dancing, walking around the island until he grabs your hands, bringing you close and spinning you both around. He begins to hum along to the lyrics, his lips brushing against your ear.

“You need to make me lovestained…” Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull his face in to give him a kiss.  His arms tighten around your body as you continue, open-mouthed while you run your fingers though his hair. He brings his hands to your face, cupping your cheeks before breaking away and grinning, your noses touching as he just stares at you lovingly. “God, I can never get tired of looking at you.”

You begin to open your mouth to say something when the toaster rings, Mark stepping away from you and walking back to his side of the island. You feel your cheeks burn from his remark while you turn around and busy your hands to put some butter on the toast. He could be such a sap sometimes and him making your heart swell right not was not fair!

Facing him once more, you place the toast next to your dish and grin.

“Alright lover-boy, who’s going first?” Shaking his head at the nickname, he shrugs.

“Up to you.” You know you’re gonna win so you have an idea, smirking at him while sliding your dish closer to him.

“How about, we open each other’s dish at the same time? That way we can enjoy our food without the other getting cold?”

You honestly you thought you would win the battle but when you both revealed your dishes, your mouth began to water at the sight. Mark had made you strawberry crepes, the cream and strawberry looking like heaven on a plate. You had tossed a glance at his face, catching the hunger in his eyes looking at your food. You knew both of you didn’t wanna admit the other was the winner, so you just started eating. But as soon as the cream touched your tongue, you couldn’t stop the moan coming from your mouth. Mark snickered and leaned closer.

“So, I win?” You had two options: admit defeat or be stubborn. To be honest, you could try to deny it all you want but you already knew the answer. On the other hand though, admitting defeat means he’s gonna make you do anything he wants. So you just scoff, trying to act like you didn’t just moan at how good Mark’s cooking is.

“Please, I was just so hungry that I got excited to have the food in my mouth.” He leans close, the smirk on his face only getting wider while holding a fork up to his lips.

“Oh yeah? Well I thought I fed you enough last night, you kept begging me to-” You quickly scoop a forkful of fried rice and shove it in his mouth before he could finish the sentence, scoffing at him.

“Stop making it sound dirty. I kept begging for some chicken wings while you refused and we still ended up getting take out. ” After swallowing his food, he tilts his head to the side with a grin.

“You gotta admit that that Thai place was pretty good though.” You sigh, looking away from him.

“Yea, it was pretty good. Anyways, eat your food.” Chuckling, he begins scarfing down his food while you try not to swallow your food in one go. You both keep glancing at each other to see if the one of you will admit defeat.

You end up finishing first and watch him as he eats, a smile planted on his face the whole time. He flashes a wink and grabs your hand, drawing circles with his thumb onto your skin while eating the rest of his food with his other hand. When he places his fork on the now empty plate, you kiss his cheek and pick up the plate, letting go of him to put it in the sink.

“I hope you’re not planning on washing the dishes.” Turning around, you stick your tongue out at him.

“And why not?” Getting up, he walks over, his eyes never leaving yours while placing his hands on either side of you.

“You still haven’t told me who won.” You poke his chest.

“Neither have you.” Shaking his head, he leans close to bring his lips against yours, his hands now moving to your hips. When he pulls back, his eyes dance with mirth.

“How about we both say what we think?” You nod, your hands placed on his chest.

“Alright, count of three: one-” He grins.

“Two-” You laugh.

“Three.  I won.”

“I won.” Gasping, you smack his chest while he chuckles. “Oh come on, I made you your favorite!” You step away and pout, crossing your arms.

“And you seemed to really enjoy my breakfast.” He nods thoughtfully, his fingers snaking through your arms and bringing your hand up to his mouth, lightly kissing your fingertips. You refused to give in and just stare at him despite feeling a blush creeping onto your face.

“Of course I enjoyed it, love. You made it for me.” Ooooo what a smooth talker. “So who won?” You figure you should be just a lil petty, just to mess with him a bit. He lets you go while you go to grab your phone, seeing notifications from the boys before turning back to him and grinning. You have a good amount of space between you, perfect for what’s gonna happen.

“I won and you can’t change my mind.” He raises an eyebrow, his lips pulling into a teasing smirk. “Oh yea? And what if,” he pauses, looking down before meeting your gaze, a playful glint in his eyes. You take a slow step back, waiting for the right moment. “I tickle it out of you?!” Now!

You run away, laughing madly as he chases after you, through the hall and finally diving into your bed, trying to hide under the covers but Mark’s way too fast for you. He jumps on the bed, pinning you under him as he tickles your sides.

“How you like that?!” You try to wiggle and squirm out of his grip but its no use, you cackle like crazy before you reach out and get him back. You manage to tickle his sides as well, using your momentum to roll over and get on top of him, his laughter filling the room.

“And how about you?!” You both can’t stop laughing, a sea of flying limbs and booming voices going on. If anyone came in, they would think you guys were crazy but you honestly didn’t care. This went on for a bit longer with either you or him on top of the other, having no clear winner. You guys called a time-out, laying on the bed and panting.

“Whoof, that was fun.”

“Yea….” Tring to catch your breath, you stare at the ceiling and listen to his panting. Nothing is said for minute before you break the silence.

“Soooo, you wanna cuddle?” He sighs, sitting up to look down at you.

“Oh god yes. Come here.” He moves over to lay on his pillow, lifting his arm up as an invitation and you waste no time to crawl over and curl into his side. Wrapping his arm around you, he hands you your phone. “By the way, you might wanna answer Yugyeom. He texted you six times already.” Your eyes widen, you totally forgot to get back to him  about doing a campaign with him.

“Shit. Hey, wanna do a CoD campaign with me and Yugyeom later? He said he’s bringing Mortal Kombat too.” He chuckles.

“Is that why he’s texting you?’ You nod, starting to text him back.

“Yea, he wanted to hang with us and I forgot to respond to him last night.” He shakes his head, smiling.

“Sure why not? Have him come over later so we can do it together.” Answering Yugyeom, you send a text and then open up tumblr.

“Bet. Hey, babe look at the memes people made of you guys.” Scrolling to your likes, you show him your phone. He scrunches his face as he goes through them, sometimes laughing, grinning, or cringing at the stuff.

“The stuff they come up with is always surprising..” You nudge him slightly.

“it’s just their way of showing their support and love.” He tilts his head to the side in thought. “You think I should make an account?” Shaking your head, you laugh.

“Hahaha no, don’t. If they find out you made an account, all hell would break loose….Have Bambam make a fake account.”

“Okayyy?” Resting your hand on his stomach, you keep scrolling.

“Trust me. Bambam could pull off having a fake account, so could Jackson but he might slip up.”

“You really thought about this, didn’t you?”

“Yup.” You get sent a link of an interview of BM from Sunny, Mark closing his eyes and you lower phones volume.

As the video plays, you get a pop up of an order receipt from your email. You click it and see an order made for a ring. You certainly don’t remember ordering anything recently. The interview still plays on in the corner of your phone while you stare at the receipt, completely ignoring whatever the people in the video were saying.

“Mark?” He slowly opens his eyes, peering at you from his eyelids.

“Hmm?” You show him your phone.

“Did you order a ring online?” His eyes go cartoonishly wide and snatches the phone outta your hand. You watch in shock as he hovers over your phone and tries to hide from you. After a few seconds, he flashes a weak smile.  “Uhhh, what was that?”

“Just a big fan of BM.” Just then, the video screams “Big Tiddie Gang!”, and Mark laughs nervously. You just look at him, knowing damn well he was lying.

“Mark, did you place an order for the ring?” He looks around until he feels your stare and slumps.

“Ugh, fine. Yes, I placed the order for the ring. I was gonna ask you to marry me when it came in and all that.” You feel your heart catch in your throat as he doesn’t look you and fiddles with the blanket. You sit up and jump on him, kissing him as you fall on the bed.  He doesn’t fight you as he kisses you back, his arms wrapped around your back. You laugh as you look back and see his shocked expression. “What was-”

“It took you long enough!” His shock turns into laughter, squeezing you close and resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Well excuse me for trying to plan something romantic.” You scoff and pull away, looking down at him.

“Screw romantic.  You could’ve just asked me with a ring pop and I’d be happy.” He laughs again.

“So it that a yes?” Rolling your eyes, you give him a pointed look. “Of course, it’s a yes!” You curl into his embrace, resting your head on his chest. You couldn’t help feeling like everything just felt right in the world in this moment. Knowing that this man wanted to spend his life with you and having all the time to show him what he meant to you made your eyes prick up. You refused to cry from happiness and instead grinned.

“Sooo, you’re a fan of BM and the big tiddie gang?” He laughs loudly, kissing the top of your head.

“Shut up.”

[punpunsutatta]

I was tagged by @michrocosmos, thank u catherine! i filled this out last night but then fell asleep right after 😅

1. What do you prefer to be called by people?

My name! Ayesha (pronounced EYE-sha) seems to have a million nickname opportunities (just ask my family 🙄), but I’m also picky abt who can call me what (it makes sense in my head ok, i can't just associate u with someone ELSE's designated nickname!) so just Ayesha pls

2. When is your birthday?

August 7th!

3. Where do you live?

east coast, U-S-of-A

4. Three things you are doing right now?

Uhhh well I'm laying down bc it's late rn, I'm also contemplating what to watch because decent sleep schedule?? we don't know Her! and then of course i'm stressing about next semester (bc of COVID and other issues) in the back of my mind at all times 🙃

5. Four fandoms that have piqued your interest right now?

The Untamed (one day I will finish this show.. One Day) and tbh from what I’ve seen Richie Rich looks interesting. My Engineer is good but on hiatus rn. Lastly i’ve been waiting for Love, Victor to come out and it's finally here! I watched the 1st ep live on twitter earlier. the acting seems a little eh but imma still watch tho lol (EDIT: i rewatched ep 1 and... if he doesn't get with andrew or felix what's the point)

6. How’s the pandemic treating you?

tbh it’s been... pretty rough. Like from March until maybe 2-ish weeks ago it hit really hard where I am. every day a couple thousand new cases, easily. I personally haven’t lost anyone Alhamdulillah but I know people who have. Anyway yeah it's been getting better recently & everyone is taking that plus the weather as a green light to go back to normal. like tf, this ain't over!!

7. A song you can’t stop listening to right now?

Tala - Ace Banzuelo ever since that RamKing edit weeeeeeks ago (still waiting on a lyric translations vid 😔), After Hours- The Weeknd, and an old Punjabi folk song. i know, my brain doesn’t make sense to me either.

8. Recommend a movie!

Ok so i REALLY don’t care how dumb this sounds, the disney movie Hercules is my absolute FAVORITE movie and i love it so much. it's probably a mix of childhood nostalgia, love for the blatant SASS, & the gorgeous art style. older disney movies are so visually pleasing! i could talk about them forever. i actually watched The Princess & the Frog earlier today & man... the love & care behind the animation/ design of that movie 😭. soso pretty to look at.

9. How old are you?

23, almost 24

10. School, university, occupation, other?

college got me all the way Fucked Up

11. Do you prefer hot or cold?

Is this weather-wise? I'm a summer baby so i would rather be too hot than freezing cold. drink-wise i prefer cold

12. Name one fact others may not know about you!

Ummm it's kinda random but i was thinking abt it earlier today, so here goes. my grandmothers both have the same exact name! Noor Begum :) It’s so cute when they call each other up, "Noor Begum" this, "Noor Begum" that. it's like all these years later they still get a kick out of addressing someone else with their own name lmao

13. Are you shy?

I mean..... I think there’s a certain level of friendship u gotta reach to Unlock The Dumbass, ya feel me? In general it's not too too high bc i'm a clown at heart but it differs depending on the situation & how we met (online, in person, etc).

(OMG the voice challenge going around a little while ago?? I had to record mine like 5 times at least 🤦🏽‍♀️ take from that what you will.)

14. Do you have any preferred pronouns?

She/her *insert joke about how I prefer to go by HRH*

15. Any pet peeves?

🤔 ngl I have some obsessive compulsive tendencies so a lot does bug me, but for pet peeves I'd say knuckle-cracking & snapping fingers to get someone's attention

16. What’s your favourite ‘dere’ type?

LMAO this would’ve been a good question for 5 years-ago Ayesha

17. Rate your life 1-10. 1 is crappy & 10 is best it could be

idek how to rate my whole life, that's too hard. but, as of recent, life is....... it could be better. I’m usually not one to open up that much but like.... I’m feelin pretty fuckin low. feels like i've been in & out of a panic attack the past 5 days. so uh yeah, love that for me (EDIT: day 6 wasn't so bad! we're gettin there)

18. What’s your main blog?

LMAO no thanks, i can't be held accountable for anything on there pre-2016. not like for racist reasons but for "i've been on tumblr so long it's basically a timeline of all the cringey fandoms i've been in/ a testimony to how DEEP in them i was" type reasons 😓

19. List your side blogs and what they’re used for.

see above (just know there’s definitely a couple. i’ve been on this hell site too long y’all, i got bored along the way)

20. Is there anything you think people need to know about you before becoming friends with you?

She a dumbass (also self-deprecating af lmao could u tell) but hey, She loyal!!

tagging: @babbyglitz @nerd-squash @tinewatleo @svt-district 💗

[globalworship]

Indian Classical Dance Recital with 5 Bible stories

Ruth Prithika is an award-winning dancer who has trained in Bharatanatyam classical dance of southern India since she was 5 years old.

This is a 12-minute solo recital with a lot of content. The full piece is about an hour, these are excerpts.

First is the list of biblical content, then the video, then the credits, then more about Ruth, then some information about the dance form.

A typical bharatnatyam recital or a complete performance routine is called a Maargam. It contains up to 9 elements - see them listed and explained at  https://kalyanikalamandir.com/bharatnatyam-maargam/

Ruth’s Maarga includes these 5 sections contextualized with Christian content. Some of this text is from her description on the Youtube page of the video. Text here in italics is from a review published at  https://narthaki.com/info/rev18/rev2185.html

1. Pushpanjali -  an offering to the Almighty. It is taken from the book of Genesis, the first chapter of the first book of the Holy Bible. The dancer offers her salutations (Pushpanjali) to each of the six days of creation [day and night, sky, earth/ocean/vegetation, sun/moon/stars, creatures, people]. Composition: Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna; Raaga: malika; Tala:Adi; 

 2. Varnam - It begins with a short sloka , which describes Lord Jesus as the protector of the universe, a friend of the needy, a compassionate soul. The first half depicts the birth and the early life of Jesus, while the second half is based on His ministries and miracles. Composition: Guru Vidyashree Radhkrishna; Raaga: Simhendra Madhyama; Tala:Adi 

Varnam, the centrepiece of the recital, followed the path of bhakti that described the saviour, Jesus. The pallavi says, "Show me your mercy, grant me the joy of happiness." An interpretation of the pallavi described the different crisis an ordinary human being undergoes, be it physical, metaphysical or spiritual. In times like these, Lord Jesus is our helping hand. The anupallavi described Jesus as the loving son, born to Mary and Joseph. The second half of the varnam says, "I am eagerly waiting to listen to your preaching, grant these keen ears of mine a chance to listen to your remarkable words." It goes on to describe his miracles and how his teachings inspire the devotees.

3. Padam - a unique abhinaya composition which is structured on the conversation of Jesus with a Samaritan woman (scrutinized as an untouchable). It is portrayed by the dancer stepping into the shoes of a Samaritan woman where she goes on to accept Jesus as her Guru. Composition: Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna; Raaga:Malika; Tala: Adi

4. Keerthanam - The cross symbolizes love. It is considered to be a gift of Jesus to mankind as he takes away all our sins, through His sacrifice, thereby drawing us closer to the Creator. It is depicted in two episodes - one, the crucifixion of Jesus and the other, how the entire folklore receives the cross as a symbol of his sacrificial love. Composition: Mr.Samuel Saadhu; Raaga: Desh; Tala: Adi

 A beautiful interpretation this came by innovating a new hasta [single-hand symbolic gesture] in Bharatanatyam to represent the cross,

5. Thillana - based on the resurrection of Christ as described in Luke 24. The recital, thus concludes with the message that Christ has risen and His spirit dwells among His people. Composition: Dr. E.V.S. Maben; Raaga:Sumanesha Ranjani; Tala:Adi (Khanda)

The words [for all the songs were] penned by her father, Dr. Suranjan Maben. The thillana was based on the resurrection of Christ as described in Luke 24. The dancer herself, peeps into the burial tomb of Jesus, and is overjoyed by the message of the angels who says that he is not here, but he dwells in our spirits. The dancer concluded the thillana on Easter day that Christ is risen and is dwelling in each one of us.

The 5 sections, composed by 3 different composers, are in 4 different raags and all use the Adi tala, a popular 8-beat cycle in Carnatic music.

+++

Credits:

Conceptualization: Dr. E.V.S. Maben Choreography: Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna Music and Mridangam: Vid. G Gurumurthy, Bengaluru Natuvangam*: Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna Vocal: Vid. Balasubramanya Sharma Flute: Vid. Jayaram Kikkeri Sitar: Vid. Sumarani Violin: Vid.Pradesh Achar Rhythm pad: Vid: Karthik Dathar Sound Recording: Prabhat Studios, Bengaluru

Presented  by: Ruth Prithika Email Id: ruthp42@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.prithika

* Natuvangam is a pair of small cymbals on rigid cords. The one in the right hand is made of brass and the one in left is of steel. The intricate rhythms are connected to the footwork of the dancer.

Read more at https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/in-conversation-with-nattuvanar-ksbalakrishnan/article24151554.ece

+++

In a FB post, Ruth wrote,

"Bharatanatyam is a dance form that symbolizes unity in diversity within the body. The dancer's body is like a spectrum of colors whose movements are painted across the canvas which is the stage, causing the spectator's gaze to wander all over the surface of the canvas. The unique expressions of the eyes, the hands, the legs and the feet synchronize with the music to create a perfect symphony."

See a terrific 1-minute video, made by Ruth (I think), that shows this at https://www.facebook.com/NatyaKalaConference/posts/156418545717482

This dance form has 55 root mudras (symbolic gestures), and some can be embellished. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mudras_(dance)#Bharatanatyam

+++

Ruth Prithika, daughter of Dr Roshan Maben and Dr E V S Maben is currently pursuing computer science engineering at NMAMIT, Nitte. She has been learning this divine form of art since the age of five. She has successfully completed her vidwath exam in Bharatanatyam and junior grade in carnatic music. She has performed with Gaana Nrithya Academy at various stages in and around the country. She has also performed at Doordarshan Studio in Delhi for Prasar Bharathi during ABU dance festival held in 2016. She has won various awards in several classical and solo dance competitions held at district, state and national level. She has received training in Kathak and Odissi dance forms through the workshops organised by the academy.

Ruth also studied computer science at University College Dublin, her current location.

Ruth performed this piece for a large gathering of Christians for Easter 2018 in her town of Mangaluru. https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=502763

Mangalore, officially known as Mangaluru, is the second largest city and major port of the Indian state of Karnataka. See a map and more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalore#Music_and_dance

The songs are sung in Kannada, a language spoken by about  57 million people in Karnataka and beyond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada

A few photos from the news article above:

+++

+++

+++

From an article and interview with Ruth about the performance above in the Times of India:

According to Ruth, it was her father who conceptualized the idea and penned the lyrics. Her music teacher gave the lyrics a poetic form, got the music recorded from internationally-recognized artists in Bengaluru, and choreographed the performance.

Vidyashree, the choreographer, said the biggest challenge was that unlike depicting Shiva and Krishna, whose mudras (symbolic gestures] are mentioned in Bharatanatyam, she had to create mudras and costumes suiting Jesus. “We had to start from scratch. We were able to do it, and I am glad people appreciated it.” Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/63571445.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst 

+++

See a 40-minute TV interview (in the Kannada language) with Ruth about the dance. Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna, the choreographer, is also part of the interview.

+++

A publicity poster for the event, from http://www.mangaloretoday.com/main/Kristha-Patha-Christ-based-Bharathanatyam-repertoire-in-city-April-1.html

+++

A note about the choreographer:

Guru Vidyashree Radhakrishna established the institution in 1994, choreographed several solo, group and thematic ballets and performed all over India and abroad. Many of her students have won state, national and International level competitions and received scholarships and awards. She is a graded artiste of Doordarshan. Having expertise in both Bharatanatyam and carnatic vocal, she has not only conceptualized and presented several child friendly ballets, but also scripted and choreographed concept based traditional repertoires. As a director, she has organized several festivals such as Aarohana, Nrityadhara and Nrityaniranthara under the banner of Gaana Nritya Academy . http://www.mangaloretoday.com/main/Kristha-Patha-Christ-based-Bharathanatyam-repertoire-in-city-April-1.html

+++

A review of the dance recital is at https://narthaki.com/info/rev18/rev2185.html

Here are two photos:

+++

+++

Some information on the mudras from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mudras_(dance)

The Abhinaya Darpa (a descriptive primer for dancers) mentions that the dancer should sing the song by the throat, express the meaning of the song through hand gestures, show the state of feelings in the song by eyes, and express the rhythm with his or her feet.

From the Natya Shastra, a text on the arts, this beautiful quotation and translation is often quoted by Indian classical dance instructors:

"Yato hastastato drishtihi"..."Where the hand is, the eyes follow"" Yato drishtistato manaha"..."Where the eyes go, the mind follows"" Yato manastato bhavaha"..."Where the mind is, there is the feeling"" Yato bhavastato rasaha"..."Where there is feeling, there is mood/flavour, sweetness (i.e., appreciation of art; aesthetic bliss)"

So vast are the subtleties expressed in the hand gestures of hasta that the vastness of what being human entails, and perhaps even what the entire universe contains, might be expressed by the dancer.