#black clover stage play

[iluvluvnutella]

「ブラッククローバー the Stage」

New 4 individual visuals of Black Bull Members

Arisa Komiya as Noelle Silva

Kōsuke Maiguma as Magna Swing

Junpei Mitsui as Luck Voltia

Haruto Sakuraba as Yami Sukehiro

Black Clover Manga Gets Stage Play in September!

The play will run at Tokyo's Theater 1010 from September 14-18, and at Kanagawa's Kanagawa Arts Theatre from September 22-24.

Naohiro Ise is directing and writing the play, and Kenta Nitta is in charge of stage combat.

[r1-jw-lover]

Official John Wick Major Arcana tarot cards featuring Chapter 4 characters

Art by Julien Rico Jr, in collaboration with Lionsgate.

Sources: nerdsloveart, behance

Image descriptions below the cut:

[Start ID: 22 images featuring characters and locations from the movie "John Wick: Chapter 4" as Major Arcana tarot cards. The drawings are in black and white against a sandy beige background, and has plenty of circle motives. Roman numerals are at the top, their corresponding card title at the bottom, and the movie title "John Wick: Chapter 4" on the bottom left margin.

0: The number zero, or unnumbered, tarot card features Killa Harkan played by Scott Adkins as "The Fool". Killa is holding a 2 of spades between two fingers while giving a smug smile that shows off his set of golden teeth. He wears a ring on his right hand and the other hand is holding a stack of cards. Behind Killa is a minimalistic design resembling a casino token with details such as the diamond and clover symbols, as well as the numbers on the dice. In front of Killa is a table with two piling stacks of casino tokens, a gun, and the shadow of John Wick's head looming over a large portion of the table.

1: The number one tarot card features The Tracker or Mr. Nobody played by Shamier Anderson as "The Magician". Mr. Nobody has a smug expression on his face and is holding his rifle in a way that lets it rest slung over his shoulder. By his side is Mr. Nobody's Belgian Malinois. The backdrop consists of simplistic, grayish graphics of map vectors cropped into several circles of different sizes. There is a white-coloured infinity symbol on top of Mr. Nobody's head.

2: The number two tarot card features Rooney, aka The Ballerina, who first appeared in "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", as "The High Priestess". Rooney's back is facing towards us as she's performing a ballet move on a circular stage. Rooney is wearing a white crown and a dress that shows the cross tattoo on her back. In the backdrop, where Rooney's face is looking towards, are curtains with the initials "JW" written on the far ends of the frame.

3: The number three tarot card features Katia played by Natalia Tena as "The Empress". With a cool expression on her face, Katia is leaning forward against a set of railings, giving off a domineering aura. Katia is wearing a metallic necklace and a cross on her neck. Behind Katia is the crest of the Ruska Roma and a line in Russian circling around it.

4: The number four tarot card features The Bowery King played by Laurence Fishburne as "The Emperor". The Bowery King is sitting on a throne, but behind him is a pair of eyes staring menacingly at us. In front of him is a logo design with the same pair of eyes, though rendered smaller and appear less menacing, with an X crossed in between and a horizontal line capping the top of the X. At the Bowery King's feet, a few pigeons are shown in the foreground while the Brooklyn Bridge appear in the background.

5: The number five tarot card features The Elder as "The Hierophant". Behind the Elder is an Islamic floral design which extends into a more geometrical pattern. Standing in the background are two of the Elder's men.

6: The number six tarot card features John and Helen Wick, played by Keanu Reeves and Bridget Moynahan, as "The Lovers". John and Helen are smiling brightly towards each other in front of a New York night cityscape backdrop, with the Empire States building separating them at the centre. Above John and Helen is a silhouette of them pressed against each other about to kiss in front of a bright sun with the Brooklyn bridge in the background.

7: The number seven tarot card features John Wick driving his 1971 Plymouth Barracuda as "The Chariot". There is a bullet mark on the front glass pane of John Wick's car. On top is a closeup of John Wick surrounded by a circle of road markings and bullet marks.

8: The number eight tarot card features Charon played by Lance Reddick as "Strength". On top of Charon's head is the infinity symbol, and behind is a design reminiscent of a timepiece neatly decorated with knives, guns and bullets in a circle. Further behind is a faded image of the reverse side of the Gold Coin. Filling the bottom of the frame is the New York cityscape backdrop illuminated by the sun.

9: The number nine tarot card features Caine played by Donnie Yen as "The Hermit". Caine wears sunglasses and is holding a cane in his left hand and a pistol in his right. Caine's head is illuminated by a circle of bright light, which is surrounded by a dimmer, slightly bigger circle with Japanese wave patterns and then large protruding rays of black. In the backdrop are two winding trees along with a city landscape of Osaka, but they are overshadowed by Caine's black rays.

10: The number ten tarot card features L’Arc de Triomphe as "The Wheel of Fortune". The location is illustrated in such a way that looks like a clock, with the monument at the centre and twelve roads leading towards it. Surrounding the Arc de Triomphe are the letters from John Wick's name arranged in the exact order of north-west, north-east, south-west, south-east, west, north, east and south directions.

11: The number eleven tarot card features The Harbinger played by Clancy Brown as "Justice". The whole illustration is framed as if the Harbinger is contained inside an hourglass, with a half-body portrait of the Harbinger at the top and a full-body silhouette of him forming at the bottom from the sand flowing downwards. Behind the Harbinger's portrait is the Latin quote, "si vis pacem, para bellum", whereas next to the Harbinger's silhouette is a crescent moon. Along the sides of the hourglass outside are two duel pistols facing opposite directions on each side.

12: The number twelve tarot card features Koji Shimazu played by Hiroyuki Sanada as "The Hanged Man". Except for his feet, Koji is portrayed as an vertically-inverted reflection of himself on a pool of water. Koji is holding a katana and his head is surrounded by a circle of dim light and a brighter, slightly larger circle made of Japanese wave patterns. As seen in the reflection, behind him are cherry blossom trees and the Osaka city landscape.

13: The number thirteen tarot card features John Wick, aka the Baba Yaga, played by Keanu Reeves as "Death". John Wick is holding a pair of nunchucks in his right hand. Behind John Wick is a city landscape of Osaka lighted by the moon while his head is surrounded by a row of skull pictograms and two rows of bullets. There is also an faded image of the reverse side of the Gold Coin behind John Wick.

14: The number fourteen tarot card features Winston played by Ian McShane as "Temperance". Winston is holding up a wine glass with a capital C labelled on it, and there are multiple swords projecting from his back like wings. Behind Winston is the hotel name "Continental" and numerous halos of various fonts and patterns, along with the cityscape of New York, with the Statue of Liberty and the Empire States building in sight.

15: The number fifteen tarot card features The Marquis, Vincent Bisset de Gramont, played by Bill Skarsgård as "The Devil". Behind the Marquis is his signature emblem with two black knives crossed behind his head. The emblem is surrounded by two rows of knives. In the background is the night cityscape of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in view, illuminated by a moon that is surrounded by a snake or serpent that's chasing its own tail.

16: The number sixteen tarot card features the New York Continental Hotel as "The Tower". The top floors of the Continental Hotel are being set on fire as the small dark silhouette of John Wick and the debris carried along fall from its rooftop.

17: The number seventeen tarot card features Akira played by Rina Sawayama as "The Star". Illuminating behind Akira is a star resembling a six-pointed shuriken with two Japanese stork paintings on its left and right, which is further surrounded by a circle of alternating arrow fletchings and four-pointed shuriken. Akira is holding a bow and arrow and standing tall as the bodies of two men lie dead around her. In the background are the branches of cherry blossom trees and the sun or moon shining behind Akira.

18: The number eighteen tarot card features John Wick's and Mr. Nobody's dogs as "The Moon". The two dogs are staring up at the crescent moon, which is shaped as if John Wick's head is covering portions of the full moon. Surrounding the crescent moon are small stars and a illustration of the cycle of the moon phases. The two dogs are sitting on a road leading into an ambiguous city landscape in the background.

19: The number nineteen tarot card features the Sacré-Coeur as "The Sun". The rays of the sun spread out far and wide as wisps of clouds drifts behind the giant church. A dark silhouette of John Wick can be seen on the top open window of the Sacré-Coeur.

20: The number twenty tarot card features Chidi played by Marko Zaror as "Judgement". Behind Chidi is the emblem of the Marquis with a black knife cutting across behind his head. Below Chidi are the High Table's heavily armoured soldiers who are backdropped by a big splatter of sandy beige.

21: The number twenty-one tarot card features John Wick as "The World". John Wick's back is facing towards us with his head glancing back, showing us his face. Overlayed on top of him is his surname "Wick" with the "I" replaced by a bright silhouette of a walking John Wick. A circle of bullets surrounds John Wick and bullet marks scatter around him as the emblems of the High Table, the Marquis, the Adjudicator, and the Gold Coin fill all four corners of the frame.

./End ID]

[foxglovepng]

Random Headcannons 1🌼🥀

Requested: No

CW: Slight mention of drugs & Alcohol in Deuce's, mentions of panic attacks, TW mention of Donut Daddy, Gets a little deep in some of these.

Characters: Heartslabyul

I made some random headcannons to try and get myself back in the writing mood so I hope you like them. If you don't agree that's fine you can scroll and these are just my opinions. <3

I have a fun time writing these and I'm considering posting more headcannons until I finally get the motivation to write more.

Not proofread

🌼

Heartslabyul

Riddle

When it comes to Riddle I have a hard time with him because he is one of my least favorite characters, but in a way I feel for him because the way I describe him is Mommy Issues with a side of anger issues. (Also here his dad at?)

Behind Riddle's back everyone shits on his mom and tries to help Riddle with acknowledging his mom is a bad person and tries to help him see that.

When Riddle get's older I can see him being able to stand up to his mom and will slap back at her (Not physically) he also gets therapy to be able to cope with what she put him through.

A bit more positive, but post NRC Riddle gets a hedgehog and names it Rose or Heart.

Trey

He has personal deep beef with Donut Daddy on tik tok (Don't look him up PLEASE) he literally is that one Euphoria verse when he sees this man. When he got introduced to this man he was like "What the fuck is he doing to those PASTERIES." and now he holds a deep grudge and actively shits on him.

Weird head cannon but Trey is buff because I said so I MEAN LOOK AT HIM at his family's bakery he must be lifting some really heavy stuff right so he has to be buff in some way or another.

Cater

Cater moves around a lot from his father's job and currently resides in the Land of Pyroxene (If I am correct) I feel like it's possible Cater could have met Jack, Vil, and possibly Epel at sometime in his life he either doesn't remember or he does and doesn't mention it.

Cater goes skateboarding and he also knows how to roller skate and has ones with the light up wheels.

He's also very musical and can play the guitar so by this knowledge I am saying he can play Electric, bass, Acoustic, and the ukelele.

"Is that a baton in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" He sung to Trey (It's cannon because I said so)

Deuce

In his delinquent stage he definitely dabbled in drugs & alcohol with his gang (Via Cigarettes and weed). He turned down anything that was super hard although he probably got laced sometime and swore off weed but continued Cigarettes.

Whenever he gets urges to smoke he uses a nicotine patch but that's on rare occasions he chose to be an honor student and he gets panic attacks on occasion from his past as he wants to become better for his mom.

Some more positive headcannons him and Ace play video games a lot together and even though he tries to be an honor student he's still a teenage boy who wants to have fun so sometimes these video game sessions can go very late into the night and they fall asleep during class and start beefing on who's fault it was.

Ace

According to his Phantom Bride Vignette he loves roller coasters and horror movies meaning he probably loves Junji Ito and I will die on that hill. Another thing I want to add is he loves Jojo and different anime's that have a lot of fighting (Jjk, black clover, soul eater, seven deadly sins, demon slayer, castlevania) although I heavily believe his favorite is Jojo. He's an avid TPN and My hero hater.

Another thing someone on tik tok made casual wear sprites and said Ace was a closeted emo he listens to Pierce the Veil because I said so. I also feel like he occasionally goes skateboarding with Cater just to hang out with him.

(Updated on 5/12/24 to change Banner and title)

[xxstraykidsaikoxx]

ᴀᴋɪø ᴀᴋᴜᴍᴀ (sᴛʀᴀʏᴋɪᴅs)

AKIØ (아키오) is a member of the co-ed 4th gen group "Stray Kids" but was formally a trainee under YG Entertainment and was set to debut with BLACKPINK before being cut due to her young age and simply not being ready to debut at the time. Not wanting to let her talent go to waste, YG recommended her to JYP, and they decided to test her skills and see if she really was an 'ace' as YG proclaimed. Members Bang Chan, Felix, and Minho were there at her evaluation, and first hand experienced her overwhelming talent. After some long hours and days of convincing, Bang Chan convinced JYP that Aiko needed to be apart of the Stray Kids survival show and as per his request, JYP gave in and decided to let her be apart of it.

STAGE NAME: AKIØ (아키오)

BIRTH NAME: Aiko Shimura (志村愛子)

KOREAN NAME: Soo-ho (수호 시무라)

ENGLISH NAME: Azzy Shimura

POSITIONS: Vocalist, Rapper, Maknae

BIRTHDAY: April 17, 2002

ZSIGN: Aries

HEIGHT: 157cm (5'2)

MBTI: INTP---->ISTP

REPRESENTATIVE ANIMAL: Black Panther

UNIT: VocalRacha

NICKNAMES: YG's Secret Weapon, 4th Gen Siren, Fearless Maknae, Demon of K-POP

INSTAGRAM: akiø.akuma

YOUTUBE: whosakiø.__.

AKIØ FACTS:

• Aiko was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan until she moved to Houston, TX at 5 before moving back to Japan at 10

• At 10 she was kicked out of her home by her mother after a heated argument

• After attempting to finish middle school, she decided to drop out due to her mental health

• At 12, she auditioned for YG and got accepted

• While at YG, she trained with the members who would eventually become BLACKPINK

• Aiko looked up to them and the PINKS treated her like their younger sister

• Has the second longest training period among Stray Kids (2014-2017)-(2017-2018)

• Aiko's SKZOO character is KURO a black panther cub that sometimes comes with a blue bowtie

• Aiko's hair is really long and she's always had it dyed the tips of her hair since she debuted at JYP and she's tried to match the color of her hair with every comeback

• She has a German Shepherd named Clover and Pre-debut she had a dog of the same breed named Ryuko

• Because of Aiko's language skills and being fluent in most of them, her pronunciation in singing songs in those languages (i.e eng, jpn, & kor.) are very good which makes her vocals stand out more

• Her dancing is in no way terrible, she can easily keep up with most of the talented female dancers in the industry, but when it comes to dances with her members is where she gets mixed up. Being the only girl in the group, she has to work harder to learn the choreo.

• Aiko revealed in a live that her stage name if she would've debuted with BLACKPINK would've been 'AKUMA', and the PINKS still sometimes call Aiko by her old stage name

• Among the members her nicknames include: Ai, Shortie, Gen Z representative

• Is a member of Paboracha by default since she dropped out of middle school which her members like to joke about

• Would've possibly debuted with ITZY if Chan didn't call for Aiko when he did

• Besties with half the industry due to her friendliness

• While living at the dorms, she'd wake up at 6am every morning without fail and head to the JYP practices rooms to workout and practice

• Best english speaker along with channie and felix and they're jokingly refered to as 'EnglishRacha'

• Occasionally does lives where she either watches shows or movies, plays games, or dance practices with Hyunjin

• It was revealed that out of all the members, Ai is the one that swears the most, which comes as a surprise to many since she's so quiet on camera

• Has an iconic 'annoyed' look STAYs like to joke about

• Despite their rivalry, Minho revealed that Aiko is the most selfless member and will do anything to make someone happy

• A picky eater but if someone made food for her she'll eat it

• Helped write some of SKZ more emotional songs such as '#LoveSTAY', 'Silent Cry', and more recently 'Youtiful'

• Although her MBTI is ISTP, she is more loud and energetic when around the other members, close friends, and STAYs, which causes her to be an introverted extrovert

• When a STAY asked over bubble for a spoiler for the 'ending' of SKZ lore, she responded with '💀' which led to speculate that her 'character' AKIØ will die

• In 2020, she collaborated with BLACKPINK on their track, "Lovesick Girls" which reunited the old trainee friends

• While filming the MV for Lovesick Girls, she accidentally called ROSÉ 'oppa' since she was so used to filming with her members instead of girls

• Channie said it himself that Aiko has the best stage presence out of them all, and refers to it as 'YG stage presence' since Aiko still has the mentality of being a YG trainee

• When asked about her favorite MV among SKZ, she revealed that VENOM was her favorite since she finally got to rap and be a villain

• Her favorite era is NOEASY era since her hair was blue and her first solo 'HWAA' was released

• Aiko admitted in a live that her relationship with JYP is a little strained since the survival show when he eliminated Minho and Felix

• During May of 2023 it was revealed that Hyunjin and Aiko have been dating since 2020 which sparked chaos with STAYs, some being supportive and some being toxic, but even so the two seem to be unbothered

ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

[ari-jay]

A Mysterious Tip(Prologue)

Soft jazz music played through the orphanage walls. Most of the kids were asleep, tucked in their beds, while Rose and Clover were busy prepping for the funeral. They were trying to figure out how they would get the funds to do the public funeral. They didn't really have much funds to being with. As they were discussing the budget, the doorbell began to ring.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Rose said.

She went up to the door and was greeted by a mysterious man with a brief case.

"Uh... Can I help you?" Rose said.

"The Lady of the Woods sends her condolences..." They said as he held out a briefcase to Rose.

Rose looked at the brief case, then back at the man.

"Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous..." He said he handed her the briefcase.

"Wait, who-!" Before she could say another word, the person had disappeared into the night.

She closed the door behind her and went down to the maintenance tunnel where Clover and the rest of the gang were.

"Who was at the door, Rose?" Clover said.

"Some guy who delivered this briefcase. Idk. It seems pretty weird and shady if ya ask me." She said.

Rose placed the case on the table as they looked at it for a moment. Wondering if it was sent by someone from the Darling family or the Silver Fang Gang. Either way, the only way they would find out is to open it. Using caution, Clover unclasped the case and slowly opened it.

Inside of it was nothing but clover shaped black and gold Confetti.

"What the glittery goofs is this? A prank? A trick?" Nellie said as she stared at the case.

Clover took a closer look at the confetti and moved it around to revealing the bottom of the case.

"So, it's just a dumb briefcase that was filled with confetti?" Rose said, sounding annoyed and confused.

"No... look closer, Rose." She said as she pointed to a button hidden inside the case.

"This briefcase has more than meets the eye." She pressed the button, and the wood covering the second layer popped open. She lifted the wood to reveal a layer of stacks of cash and a black envelope.

The whole gang was shocked by the amount that was there.

"Holy Golden Nuggets! It's a money bag!" Nelie said as her eyes shined by the amount of money that was there.

Clover looked at the envelope. It had a red heart on it, but over it was a white x. She opened the envelope and read the letter.

"Dear Miss Clover,

How did you like my gift? My condolences to you, but I always saw death as more of a celebration of life than one that's about grief and sorrow. A real shame me and my family won't be able to hear or see any of your performances for a while. I'm a huge fan, you could even say I'm an admirer of both your performances on stage and backstage if you know what I'm saying.

I hope this will cover all the funds needed to execute a lovely funeral for a heart of gold like yours. Hopefully in your next life, I will be able to meet you in person and share a duet or two with you. Don't worry about your secret too. I cross my heart that I won't tell anyone about your plan. Just know... you have someone who's got their eyes, ears, and voice around this town. You know how the saying goes...

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer..."

-Lady of the Woods

Clover had so many questions going through her head, but one thing she knew she was certain of...

There was another Family out there, but one important question stuck out above the rest of them swirling in her head...

Are they friend or foe?

Wooooo! Done and done! A Welcome Home Mob! AU Comic.

These wonderful characters do not belong to me. They belong to the wonderful and talented artist below.

Mob! Red Rose: @maddiethehatter2192

Mob! Clover: @chimeracarnival

Mob! Sheriff Nellie: @sheriffopossum

Please go take a look at their blogs, or give them a follow!

Also, thank you for sticking around to the end and taking the time to read up until this point. I have a lot of plans for this fandom, so I appreciate your patience and support!

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 3: The side characters!

The love the screenwriter put into building the PGSM main cast - Senshi, Shitennou and Endymion is something to always celebrate as a fan of the series. Still, they are not the only ones who benefited from the live-action writing.

Many recurring side characters in the manga/anime had their characters further fleshed out / altered to have their personalities shine in the show. And even better, instead of being a background character most times, most of them actually have significant contributions to the brilliant storytelling PGSM gives us!

Tsukino Ikuko

Speaking of PGSM humour in part 2 of this series of blog posts, it is impossible for one to not discuss one of the most iconic changes and side characters in the live-action series - Usagi's mom!

In the manga and anime, Tsukino Ikuko is a sweet, caring, and typical mother in a Japanese household, except she has questionable lavender hair...

In the live-action, with the exception that Ikuko is a brunette which is quite a normal hair colour, everything else about her is... well, anything but normal. For lack of a better word, she is... eccentric, and is actually the person responsible for many of the shenanigans that occur in the Tsukino family. After watching PGSM, you can definitely tell from where Usagi inherited some of her traits...

Tsukino Ikuko, the yoga practitioner and creator of questionable omelette sauce, is great fun to watch. Her time on screen is not long, but whenever she appears, she SHINES and steals the show with hilarious antics and an amazing grasp of comedic cues worthy of a professional comedian! Not a minute of her screen time is ever wasted!

Tsukino Shingo

In the manga and anime, Tsukino Shingo is basically a smartass brat who loves butt-heading and teasing his older sister Usagi.

In the live-action, Shingo retains the smartass personality, but not much of a misbehaving brat. Instead, his character is further fleshed out that he is actually intelligent, sarcastic, sassy and... perpetually so done with Usagi and Ikuko.

Seriously, this kid is the responsible AND sensible one in the Tsukino household and the holder of all Tsukino brain cells. It is absolutely glorious and a wonder to see how all the sass could fit into his tiny body!

With Shingo and Ikuko together, any scenes of Usagi's home life is bound to leave you in stitches watching the chaos that goes on within its walls!

For a taste of live-action Tsukino family dynamics, please enjoy the following two scenes:

Present day the actor of little Shingo - Takeshi Naoki is (of course) all grown up, and an acclaimed and prominent stage actor in many musicals and stageplays, especially in the 2.5D world. (Manga/Anime adapted stage productions.)

Some examples are:

Hyper Projection Play “Haikyuu!!” - Nobuyushi Kai

My Hero Academia The “Ultra” Stage - Iida Tenya

Black Clover the Stage - Yuno (main)

Furuhata Motoki

Motoki in the live-action takes in both roles from the manga and the 90's anime, where not only does he work in the location that doubles as the Senshi's secret base (manga), but he is also Mamoru's best friend from school (90's anime). But otherwise his involvement in the story kinda just ends there.

In PGSM, Motoki's character is more fleshed out in that besides being a pretty face (because let's be honest, Kikawada Masaya is good-looking!), but he also provides some ongoing comic relief for being a huge turtle fanatic.

BUT! He is so much more than just comic relief! His easy-going, kind and caring nature also helps him become a buffer/translator and insight-provider on certain aspects of Mamoru's character for Usagi when it comes to his best friend. He helps Usagi see past Mamoru's tsundere tendencies, getting past the prickly exterior and seeing the caring side of her eventual fated lover.

... And that's not even the main involvement when it comes to our Senshi team. He has a much more significant role late series. But I shall not say more to keep this spoiler-free!

For long-time Tokusatus fans, Motoki's actor Kikawada Masaya has also continued his tenure in Tokusatsu in other well-known franchises:

Kamen Rider The First (film) - Hongo Takeshi (main)

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger - Master Red

Ultraman Decker - Captain Murahoshi Taiji

Osaka Naru

Across the manga-verse and anime-verse, Osaka Naru is well-known to be a Youma-magnet, rumourmonger extraordinaire, and Usagi's best friend outside of the Senshi team.

In the live-action, Naru continues to play both roles! But her character is a lot more three-dimensional, where she is both sweet and empathetic, but also territorial when it comes to holding her position as Usagi's best friend. So much so, she got bitchy and possessive and caused some teenage drama when she felt her position as Usagi's friend got threatened as Usagi becomes more and more embroiled in the Senshi business. Personally, that was one of my favourite storylines, where it just feels so much more personable and relatable regarding highschool drama and friendship issues. It is one that's close to my heart!

On the other hand, when Usagi encounters adversaries in her school life or love life, Naru is always here as a protector or to cheer Usagi up!

For those who don't now, another fun fact is Naru is played by Sailor Mercury/Mizuno Ami in one of the original Sailor Moon musicals!

The original side characters & villains

There are 2 other original side characters that have recurring appearances and an original villain character that is exclusive to the live-action that I'd love to introduce. (Well, technically there are 2 original villains, but one I'll actually introduce later). But since I said I'll make this mostly spoiler-free, I'll leave them out for now. haha

In my humble opinion, all of them are very well written. They are either there to cause drama - which the live-action has done well to amp up on the angst in the storyline, or there to cause chaos, which frankly is absolutely entertaining and a joy to watch!

And for the record, I especially ADORE the character with the sparkles in the middle. :P

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

8 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[onsunnyside]

🦩➩ 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤

Read 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠: The sun is brutal this summer, especially in Flamingo Trailer Park, the land of big hearts and cheap tricks, you’ve been here for years unlike your “new” neighbour, Ari. He’s older, bigger, and intimidating, the local rockstar, and you, well, aren’t you just the sweetest girl in the whole-damn city?

♫ ·ﾟ𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Note: All songs are by Lana Del Rey (unreleased). In order of parts:

𝟏/𝟔: Old Ricky's and The Den

Queen of the Gas Station

BBM Baby (Version 2)

Trash

Hey You

Girl That Got Away

𝟐/𝟔: Toothache

My Best Days

Last Girl On Earth

Butterflies

Driving In Cars With Boys

Put Me in a Movie

𝟑/𝟔: Drive-In and the Laundromat

Afraid

Pawn Shop Blues

Us Against The World

Put The Radio On

Hollywood

TV In Black and White

𝟒/𝟔: Dandy Andy's Diner (DADs)

Back to the Basics

Prom Song Gone Wrong

Is It Wrong

Every Man Gets His Wish (Version 2)

Break My Fall

Resistance

𝟓/𝟔: Wild 17

Yes To Heaven

Be My Daddy

Puppy Love

Caught You Boy

Bad Boy

Queen of Disaster

𝟔/𝟔: Saving Donna and the stage

Playing Dangerous

Television Heaven

Hollywood’s Dead

Roses Bloom For You

For You (For Charlie)

Wayamaya

Diet Mountain Dew (Demo)

Push Me Down

I Don’t Wanna Go

JFK

Never Let Me Go

more songs to be added

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞: Tough Love Parlour

Backfire

Ridin (ASAP Rocky ft. Lana Del Rey)

Heavy Hitter

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: Mermaid Motel

Mermaid Motel

Smarty

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬:

♫ ·ﾟ𝐀𝐫𝐢 & 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲) — teleport to Flamingo Trailer Park. Includes the songs below and some added for sugar.

Note: These songs have the vibes of what I think they’d sound like and their vibes.

Danvers (lead vocalist), Levinson (bassist) & Everett (drummer) Live at The Den:

Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - Crimson and Clover

Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing

Jesse Jo Stark - Love Is in the Air

Jimi Hendrix - If 6 Was 9

Derek & The Dominos - Layla

Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

Jimi Hendrix - Bold as Love

Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit

Saving Donna: (Ari’s parent’s band)

Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin - Piece of My Heart

The Doors - L.A. Woman

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin - Ball and Chain

Jimi Hendrix - Crosstown Traffic

Janis Joplin - Move Over

Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee

Jimi Hendrix - Third Stone From The Sun

Cream - White Room

Janis Joplin - Cry Baby

Jimi Hendrix - Dolly Dagger

Honourable mentions:

Boney M. - Sunny

Beach House - Space Song

Kali Uchis - Melting

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

Princess Chelsea - I Love My Boyfriend

Kali Uchis - Loner

Kali Uchis - Lottery

[donalds-dreamland]

on ttr's 10th anniversary

hi! i was too busy to write this yesterday, both from being out of the house and. playing cartoonival LOL

my name is clover. it's also ivy. it's also celestial storm sometimes. in the past it's been burningstone, and embersprout, and sparrowsight, and wingpaw.

and sometimes, it's even something like princess marigold wildfoot.

(full post under cut!)

this is a screenshot from 2008, taken by my dad. despite the fact we're on the street in this picture, most of my time at this stage of playing the game was spent chasing butterflies in toontown central, trying and failing to race, and being curled up in my dad's lap, watching him do CFOs and CEOs with his friends and being soothed nearly to sleep by donald's dreamland's playground music. there are other names i recall from this time period, such as princess pearl and kiddo the mice (kiddo got all the way to MML before 2013)...

and then i really started finding myself.

these two screenshots are from 2011. if you couldn't tell, i also have a special interest in pokémon, and i joined a Clan by the (eventual) name of Dark Nation. our leader was Darkrai, and my best friend within the group was a Latias. more on them later, but Dark Nation's important. i would play Snivy with my dad's other Toons he had at the time, Coffee and Mocha the black and brown cats. when i was strong enough, he'd run me through the factory with his friends, and i would always get lost and die in the warehouse in the run for the stairs.

(it was a pretty scary warehouse.)

and then i joined RiverClan.

i don't need to tell you too much about what the warriors Clans were like in the 2010s. if you were there, you understand. (TLDR, it was a lot of violent roleplaying, petty drama, and circumventing disney's dictionary as hard as we could. it was glorious.)

and if you understand, you know i speak from the heart when i say these experiences, of the names snivy (or ivy, as the chat would allow) and burningstone, and eventually of the name clover, who became my main in TTO, were the genesis of my artistic endeavors.

i was roleplaying. i was writing. i was getting up at 5am, going out to the dining room, setting up my laptop, and hearing digital meows and yowls from my speakers for four hours before my mom woke up and i had to do my homework. i was creating. i was thriving. i was living.

and i was still playing with my dad. it was how we kept in touch, and i had an absolute blast. even when i teleported to a hacker and got ivy suspended for a few days, or when i tried beating up a hacker in toon valley and my dad (the payer of the account) had to forward my mom the chat log to my mortification, or my days of family gatherings, showing the littles the trolley games as they crowded around my laptop...

i could go on for hours.

there was something different in my dad's tone of voice when he called me the day it was announced, to the point where i asked what was wrong. and then he broke the news.

i wasn't very happy either. i remember spending my last days on toontown with riverclan, with the people i loved, hoping i could carry them with me for the rest of my life.

and then something magical happened.

when ttr was announced, there was an early statement somewhere on its website, there was a statement that basically said "we cannot take the toons with us, but this gives you a chance to rewrite their stories!"

and rewrite them i did.

clover is at 73 laff and working on her cashbot suit. in TTO, i had only just broken into the brrrgh.

ivy is somewhere in minnie's melodyland, at 53 laff. i believe in TTO she was around 36.

celestial storm is a rebirth, a positive one, of every clan experience i had as a child. (believe me, if there's one thing i'm okay with letting rest in the ashes of TTO, it's the warriors clans. at least, the ones we had.) i haven't played her much except for cartoonival, but i want her to reach the same heights clover and ivy are.

not only did TTR let me rewrite the stories of my beloved toons, it opened the gateway for me to reconnect and reunite with my past clans, with dark nation and riverclan, to get back in touch and reignite feelings and stories long forgotten. and i can never thank the game enough for that.

i'm even breaking into corporate clash, into these new experiences, these new flavors and remixes of the game that singlehandedly shaped who i would eventually become.

i feel a little silly for what i'm about to do, but thank you to people like @latiastm , @winkyfish , @sonicthehedgehogunofficial and all the people i'm about to DM this post to on discord for finding me again and for sticking with me these many, many years.

thank you also to @papajoolia for being my leader, now and forever, and you have all my respect and congratulations for where you are in the industry. keep going!!!

thank you to all the people i've managed to rope into the game, at least a little bit, with how important it is, most especially @surleetonin . i love you!!! so much!!!

and most of all,

thank you, sir max, and everyone on the ttr team for keeping the most important aspect of my childhood alive and paving the way for so many others to give this game the love it deserves in as many ways as we can. thank you for keeping us alive!!!!!! thank you!!!!! so much!!!!!!!

even now i know these words aren't enough. it just brings me a great amount of comfort and joy to know that this aspect of my childhood was brought back with as much ferocity, devotion and love as the world could give it. as i could give it, as i want to give it. this game is everything, absolutely everything to me in so many ways, and to know it still stands brings me eternal peace.

my name will always be clover, and ivy, and burning, and ember, and sparrow, and celeste, and whatever other names this lovely community lets me take on.

and even somewhere within my heart, there will always be a part of me named princess marigold wildfoot.

thank you, toontown rewritten. 💙 happy 10 years! 🎉 TOONS OF THE WORLD UNITE!!! 🎂🥧

[soralinklokidottirofmirkwood]

Rock on: Xinyan x best friend reader.

Age: 15 Reader is childhood friends with Xinyan after her family moved from Qingce village to Liyue Harbor when she was a year old. She lives next door to Xinyan and they immediately become best friends after their parents became friends then 14 years later they start a duo band together.

Flashback no one’s POV:

2 year old Xinyan is happily playing dolls with 4 year old Yun Jin while there parents had tea on the porch and everyone in Liyue Harbor was doing their own thing when a wagon stopped in front of a house that was on sale “Oh looks like we have new neighbors.” Xinyan’s father said as a man with black hair and brown eyes got off the wagon while helping down a woman with pastel purple hair and purple, pink and blue mixed eyes with star shaped pupils, she had a sleeping baby on her back wrapped in a white cloth with a tuff of black fading to pastel purple hair in a tiny tail.

The couple began unloading the wagon but some stuff was falling “Let’s help them.” Xinyan’s father said getting up with Yun Jin’s father while their wives went to the woman to greet them “Hello, welcome to Liyue Harbor! We’re your neighbors.” Xinyan’s father said bowing “Thank you, I’m Yao! This is my wife Meiling and our 1 year old daughter Y/N.” he said happily gesturing to the woman with the baby still on her back now awake revealing that she has both parents eye colors one was brown like her father’s eyes but it was mixed with amber and red while the other was like her mothers eyes, both with the star shaped pupils.

While the adults are unloading the furniture your mother sat you down in your playpen with two more girls a bit older then you “Hi I’m Xinyan.” the little girl with sun kissed skin, sunset colored eyes and her black hair with yellow highlights pulled into high pigtails held by red ribbons.

The other girl with red eyes, pale skin and black hair with purple highlighted hair in twin braids held by red clover knots introduced herself next “And I’m Yun Jin.” She said “I’m Y/N.” You said happily “Let’s play.” Xinyan said taking out a wooden doll while you and Yun Jin did the same.

At 5:00 the adults finished packing while you and the two older girls continued playing but you all started getting sleepy “Would any of you like some tea?” Your mother “Yes please.” Yun Jin’s father said “Yes! Yea would be nice.” Xinyan’s father said as your mother went to the new kitchen to put tea on the kettle “Ohh looks like the girls feel asleep.” Xinyan’s mother said smiling as she sees you, Xinyan and Yun Jin asleep in the playpen with your dolls next to you three while the adults awed at the sight “Looks like Y/N is making friends already.” Your father said smiling while helping your mother bring out snacks.

End of flashback 14 years later during the lantern right:

You stand by Xinyan on the stage as both of you played your guitars while Hu Tao raps.

You smiled as you see your other friends such as Xiangling, Xingqui, Chong Yun, yun Jin, the traveler and the girl from Fontain Charlotte whom you’ve became fast friends with after she interviewed you and Xinyan on your band and how you two started it.

After the concert:

You are happily sitting down next to Xinyan eating rice buns that you made yourself that you call Rolling Riff buns, they look like the rice buns but you added bits of meat, shrimp, crab meat and Junyun chili peppers into it with chopped vegetables in the shape of lightning bolts “These are rocking Y/N.” Xinyan said happily munching on one of the electric purple buns “Thank you, I added meat, shrimp and crap into the buns.” You said happily eating your specialty dish “Hey they’re about to light up the fireworks, let’s go.” The older girl said grabbing your hand as both of you still had a bun in hand.

You and Xinyan both stand by each others sides as you wait for the fireworks to start and you began to remember your first lantern right together when you two were little “This reminds me of our first Lantern right.” The older girl said making you smile as you popped another bun in your mouth “Yes, only with more friends.” You said happily glancing at your other friends who were all gathering to watch the fireworks “Let’s go over.” Xinyan said once again grabbing your hand.

You, Xinyan and the others are all happily watching the fireworks as they decorated the night sky with the lanterns, jade chamber, the frost nail over dragon spine, the glow of the Narukami shrine in the distance of Narukami Island (apparently the shrine glows after you complete the Sakura cleansing ritual quest) and the stars making the night look beautiful “Hey Y/N one last concert for tonight but acoustic this time?” Xinyan asked making you smile “Let’s do it.” You said grabbing your guitar with Xinyan doing the same and both of you played a soft melody while memories of you two as kid’s playing imaginary instruments to playing actual instruments then performing your first concert together.

Later:

You and Xinyan walked home together after having fun on the last night of the lantern right “See ya in the morning Y/N.” She said hugging you as you hugged back “See ya Xinyan.” You said as you both broke the hug and went to your own houses, walking into the living room after taking off your shoes you greeted your parents “how was the concert?” your mother asked making tea while your father took out the Sakura Mochi he got on his business trip to Inazuma after the vision hunt decree lifted “It was great and I made a new friend named Charlotte! She’s from Fontain.” You said sharing with your parents what happened today “That’s great dear.” Your father said bringing the Mochi to the table as you helped carry cups and plates to the table while your mother brought over the kettle.

After nighttime tea with Sakura Mochi you bathed and went to bed looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

[sunny-choi91]

The first presentations of Black Clover The Stage have begun, hopefully some promotional video will come out and we can see the actors playing the characters 💚

#BlackClover

[iluvluvnutella]

「ブラッククローバー the Stage」

Black Clover Manga Gets Stage Play in September

The play will run at Tokyo's Theater 1010 from September 14-18, and at Kanagawa's Kanagawa Arts Theatre from September 22-24. Naohiro Ise is directing and writing the play, and Kenta Nitta is in charge of stage combat. The play stars: Keisuke Ueda as Asta Naoki Takeshi as Yuno Arisa Komiya as Noelle Silva Kōsuke Maiguma as Magna Swing Junpei Mitsui as Luck Voltia Haruto Sakuraba as Yami Sukehiro Yuuka Kato as Mimosa Vermillion Shuji Kikuchi as Klaus Lunettes Norihide Mantani as Lotus Whomalt Shōta Takasaki as Mars

[chidoroki]

Black Clover ch370

First new chapter of the year and I dunno if I should be thrilled or scared with how fast time seems to fly. Before we jump back into the extreme battle though, we get this nice colored double page. It's most likely due to all the HSR on my mind lately, but seeing all the coins and casino games just makes me think of Aventurine and Penacony.

No matter how many months it's been, Rill will always have artistic beauty on his mind as usual, but great to see him, William and Charlotte still alive and well. Um, as well as they can possibly be anyways.

It's been far too long but all the Bulls finally make it to the battlefield and I can see if any of my team-up predictions were correct. At the moment I can't really tell where this group is heading, or perhaps they're going to deal with these Lucius clones first and then help other squads, but I do like that Secre and Zora are nearby. I hope they have another combo moment like they did during the Spade arc. Kudos to Finral as always for his portals as well.

Right away I'm wrong with who I thought Charmy and Gauche would assist, with Charmy being summoned along with the previous group and Gauche helping Rill instead. And I know I shouldn't be surprised to see Marie as Gauche's side, but she is so young dude! Why are we bringing your beloved sister to such an intense fight like this? I get he might wanna personally protect her and there's a slim chance that maybe her magic could provide a little help, but still dangerous! Anyways, I was right about one team-up and I'm so incredibly thankful it was about Vanessa going to help Noelle! I thought Charmy would've joined too to supply Rogue with an endless amount of mana, but Grey is a good choice too with her and our beautiful witch being at an arcane stage. This seriously pleases me so very much, knowing that the Noelle and her siblings will have a better chance at surviving with these two squad-mates around. (also giving me so much hope that Vanessa might sorta interact with a certain silver captain. hmm? please??)

Seeing Gordon assist William and Charlotte is so smart though and I'm mad the possibility didn't even cross my mind at first, like duh, of course he's best around people with curses. Then Ichika and Nacht once again supporting Yami but we knew that. Still excited to see how our vice captain will handle dealing with Morgen.

I'm realizing now how many double spreads this chapter has and they're all wonderful. I haven't a clue on who Henry is helping out or if he's just thrashing random clones and heavenly angels but go off king! Our chaotic duo loves to see it too.

Slowly but surely making progress up towards Lucius' real body I suppose. It's always a good day when we see the brothers fight alongside one another. I can practically hear Haruka Mirai playing on full blast already and all my love for this series is swarming right back to me. Hell, I might re-watch it all again soon just for fun.

Usually I'm over here expressing my hopes and wishes for next chapter, but surprisingly, we were blessed with two this month. Hang on.

[giggly-squiggily]

Hi hello writer's block is kicking my butt so I'm turning to polls in hopes that it'll help.

So, I have about 6 requests in the WIP stage, some more finished than others. I want to finish at least one so I'll have three fics to post soon, but it's been a struggle ^_^'

And so:

More details on each WIP below the cut!

Option one: Requested by @/myreygn: Mattsun has wild taste in movies that usually leave the watcher in a state of Mindf*ckery. Kuroo doesn't get it and keeps asking questions, distracting him. Tickly shenanigens ensue.

Option Two: Requested by Anon: Kiawe accidentally spills strange incense on himself upon returning to his mountain spot. His Pokemon get a nice strong wiff of it and close in to investigate further, leading to the fire gym leader victim to some unexpected tickles!

Option Three: Requested by Anon: Baji is in a sudden ler mood and decides to take it out on Chifuyu; leading to what will forever be known as: "The Wreckening".

Option Four: Requested by Anon: Douma's bored without any immediate things to do and decides to play with Rui. A game of Hide and Seek is declared with a giggly twist!

Option Five: Requested by Anon: Asta decides to tickle Leopold, leaving our fire mage a giggly mess of laughter and Yuno left with the oddest feelings of jealousy.

Option Six: Requested by @/yae-mikko: Sae is a man who's good at remaining neutral. That is until Shidou enters the picture. Shenanigans ensue when the duel haired man wants to make his usually stoic boyfriend smile.

[acacia-may]

I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song (Black Clover Spatial Brothers Family Fluff Fic)

Description: Langris loses more than he bargained for when he loses a bet to Vanessa and she takes the opportunity to throw a concert staring both him and his older brother, Finral. He should've never told her he could play the lute...

Rating: G

Warnings: None besides Langris being Langris, I guess, but really this is all just fluff & shenanigans

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Family Fluff, Friendship Fluff, Shenanigans, Sea Shanty Langris & Ukulele Finral (Basically an AU), Tsundere Langris Vaude, Platonic Use of "I Love You," Spatial Mage Brothers Fluff, Langris Vaude Is Bad At Feelings, and (Somewhat Silly) Warm & Fuzzies

Relationships: Langris Vaude & Finral Roulacase Brotherly Relationship Centric (A/N: look at my boys actually getting along...sort of...), Langris Vaude & Vanessa Enoteca Friendship, Langris Vaude, Finral Roulacase, Vanessa Enoteca & Finesse Calmreich Friendship, Some (Minor) Langris Vaude/Finesse Calmreich

Characters: Langris Vaude (POV Character), Vanessa Enoteca, Finral Roulacase, and Finesse Calmreich (Charmy & Rill are briefly mentioned)

Word Count: 2201

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.

Note: This story was specifically written for and gifted to another writer friend of mine who had the idea of "Sea Shanty Langris" having a double act with Finral (who plays the ukulele). It was heavily inspired by the song "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" by Jim Croce (YouTube), and the song is (briefly) quoted in the piece denoted by italicized text & quotation marks.

Story Below the Cut. Thank you for reading!

Langris always knew his competitive streak would get him into trouble one day. What he didn’t know was that this “trouble” would land him behind the curtains of the little stage at Charmy and Vanessa’s restaurant, nervously twisting his hands around the neck of his lute. He should have never told that drunk witch he could play. That was his first mistake. His second was underestimating how good she was at cards.

“You ready, Langris?” she asked with a wink and a smile.

His brow furrowed, and he frowned at her. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered bitterly, but Vanessa just laughed.

“A bet is a bet, and you lost,” she insisted with a slight shrug of her shoulders and a pointed tilt of her head.

Langris huffed. He was sure that a normal person would have wanted money as spoils of gambling, but Vanessa wasn’t a normal person. He should have known she would want to humiliate him if she beat him—his third mistake. He huffed again. “Can’t you just take my money or something?”

“Nope.” Vanessa winked at him again. “I want to hear you play, and this is my only chance.”

“I already told you I’m terrible at it. It was just a hobby I tried to pick up…”—he shook his head—“I’m not musician.”

“We’ll see…” hummed Vanessa.

Langris wrinkled his nose at her. “Don’t you think you’re taking this too far? You picked my song. You made me wear this ridiculous outfit—”

“Hey!” she interrupted. “I made that.”

Langris blinked at her. He was honestly a little surprised that she would take ownership of having sewn these clothes. He certainly wouldn’t have. The shirt was striped in blindingly bright colors and had a deep v in the neckline that laced in the front for goodness only knows why, and his pair of dark, skinny pants were too snug—Langris suspected on purpose. To top it all off, Vanessa had also given him a pair of bloodred boots with curled, pointed toes and an earring that she, herself, had clipped onto his right ear. He shook his head. “I look like a pirate.”

“It’s a good look for you—very handsome.” Laughing, Vanessa ruffled her hand through his hair, and Langris glowered at her though his cheeks grew warm, in spite of himself. “Mmm…” she hummed thoughtfully, taking a step back to look at him.  “Though now that I’m seeing it all together it kind of reminds me of Finral.”

Langris bristled. That only made it worse.

“I hate you…” he muttered dryly, under his breath, but Vanessa just ruffled his hair again with an affectionate smile like he was just a huffy little kid.

“I know that’s not true,” she replied playfully tapping him on the nose. Langris’ cheeks flushed pink, but he crossed his arms.

“What if I just…refuse?”

Vanessa quirked an eyebrow at him, but she shrugged. “You won’t. I know you won’t. You lost, and you know it. You won’t be able to live with yourself if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain.”

“But I didn’t agree to any of this,” Langris protested more forcefully than he had been intending.  

“Look,” sighed Vanessa. “You can get huffy with me all you want, but I won fair and square and I’m not the one who had an existential crisis and learned how to play the lute.” She chuckled before she teased, “How exactly did that happen again?”

“I don’t know,” hissed Langris through his teeth. “You tell me.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but she eventually played along and bantered. “Well, I think it was probably something along the lines of: your brother ripped the rug out from under you and stole everything you ever wanted”—she began counting on her fingers—“your home, your title, your future, the only woman you ever loved—”

“That’s not—!” Langris stopped abruptly as he watched Vanessa’s mouth twitch into a smile at his flaming cheeks which told a much different story than his impassioned protestations.

Her smile widened. “So then you decided you had nothing to lose by just picking up the lute and following your dreams of singing sea shanties in bars.”

Pressing his palm to his forehead, Langris let out a long and disgruntled sigh. “I wish I had never told you about that.”

“Well, you did so no use in getting upset about it now, and come on... I’m not even making you play in front my customers.” She paused. “Because I want them to come back.”

Vanessa winked at him. Langris, however, was entirely unamused.

“And you don’t even have to play by yourself,” she continued.

Langris snorted. “What? Are you going to play with me?”

“Not me,” said Vanessa with a bright smile.

As if on cue, Finral appeared out of a shiny, spatial portal in the wall wearing a nearly identical outfit. Langris’ eyes narrowed, but his brother beamed at him with an exuberant wave of his hand. “Hi Langris!”

“No.” Langris turned to Vanessa with a pointed glare. “Absolutely not.”

“Aww, but Langris I’ve been practicing,” Finral insisted. “I felt bad that you had to play all by yourself, so I thought we could play together.”

“No,” Langris repeated even more forcefully than before. “This is humiliating enough. The last thing I need is you showing me up on the piano.”

“I wasn’t going to play piano.” Finral explained with an understanding nod. “I’ve been practicing the ukulele.”

With a proud smile, Finral held up the instrument, and Langris buried his face in his hands. This couldn’t be happening.

After a deep breath, he turned almost pleadingly to Vanessa, but the amused look on her face made it abundantly clear that she could never be persuaded to see reason. That didn’t stop Langris from trying, however.

“Vanessa please. I’ve been a good sport up until now.”

Vanessa just laughed, and Langris supposed he probably deserved that after having been basically forced into this concert kicking, screaming, and complaining the entire time.

“Try again,” she quipped teasingly. Langris rolled his eyes but sighed.

“The song. How will we split up the song?”

Vanessa hummed. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“I’m not here to steal your thunder,” Finral interjected, and Langris shook his head.

“That’s not what I’m worried about…I…” He stumbled over his words, scrambling to find the most compelling argument he could think of. “You really think I should be singing a love song with my brother.”

Vanessa’s brow furrowed thoughtfully, but a smile tugged at her mouth. “It’s not necessarily a romantic love song. I think it’s the perfect song choice.”

Something sparkled in her eyes as they met his, and Langris huffed. She had planned this all along. Of course, she had.

“Fine. Whatever…” Langris conceded at last. “Let’s just get this over with…”

*-*-*

After around five minutes of hushed mumblings and scrambling to figure out who would sing or play what and Vanessa’s insistence that Langris himself sing the chorus, they finally walked out onto the stage with lute and ukulele in hand. Thankfully the restaurant was empty, as Vanessa had promised, and they were the only ones there save Charmy and Rill who were seated with Vanessa at a table closest to the stage. Langris tried his best to ignore them as he began the intro, and Finral quickly joined in on the ukulele. He could feel himself unintentionally speeding up the tempo as he grew more and more nervous and more and more eager for this nightmare to finally be over. Finral quirked an eyebrow at him but continued strumming his ukulele trying to keep Langris’ uneven time.

When it was Langris’ turn to sing, his voice came out emotionless, disgruntled, and almost flat. Vanessa looked far too happy about this. He glared right at her as he half-talked, half-sang through his teeth, “Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong so I’ll—” His voice cracked, and he stopped abruptly as his eyes widened. In the back wall of the restaurant near the bar stood Finesse, still dressed in her coat and scarf.

“Langris?” whispered Finral in confusion before he, too, noticed their unexpected guest. “Finesse?” he exclaimed with a bright smile. “You came!”

“You invited her?” choked Langris with red cheeks.

Finral sheepishly scratched the nape of his neck. “Well…you know…she loves music and so I thought she’d like to see us play together.”

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” said Finesse as her face flushed.

“You’re right on time,” insisted Vanessa with a reassuring smile as she draped an arm around her and led her off to their table. “Finral and Langris were just warming up. Right, boys?”

Langris could have sworn she winked directly at him. He swallowed hard.

“Yeah…that was just practice,” said Finral with a bright smile before glancing over at Langris who barely managed a nod between his pounding heartbeat and trembling hands. He couldn’t believe Vanessa…or perhaps he could believe her which only made things worse. If he had to venture a guess this had been her plan all along. Langris huffed. If he wasn’t so livid, he might have been a little impressed. As it was now, however, he was much too nervous about the situation at hand to feel much of anything else.

When he and Finral began their song again, Langris found he couldn’t look at their audience, so he turned his attention to his brother and tried to lose himself in the music.

His shaking fingers somehow plucked the strings on the lute, and his singing voice, though it wavered a bit, rang out clear and crisp in the empty restaurant, “Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong…So I’ll have to say ‘I love you’ in a song…”

Langris’ brow furrowed as he heard his brother sniffle. He shook his head slightly as he began to play the interlude. His dumb brother…There were tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

Something suddenly panged in Langris’ chest, and he immediately felt very exposed—vulnerable. His cheeks flushed. Was his brother picking up some emotion in his words that Langris’ hadn’t intended? He had started to sing to him only because, in the moment, he had thought it would be the least embarrassing—that his brother was the least likely person in the room to judge him for singing something so soppy, but now he has to go and…and cry like that…like he had never heard…

Langris stopped abruptly—before realizing almost immediately that he was still supposed to be playing. He willed his trembling hands to find their notes as he ignored the blinking light suddenly clicking on in his brain. No wonder Finral was crying. He had never actually heard Langris say he loved him before.

His face grew incredibly warm, and he was certain he was blushing a bright red. He had been so worried about inadvertently expressing romantic love to Lady Finesse that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of expressing familial love to his brother instead, in his quest to avoid spilling the contents of his heart. Resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands, Langris let out a long and heavy sigh. After all that time that Vanessa had pushed and prodded him to tell his brother how much he meant to him and to tell Finesse how he really felt, she had essentially tricked him into singing it. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at what was surely an incredibly smug expression on her face. The last thing he needed right now was one of her teasing winks and knowing smiles. That brilliant, conniving drunk witch covering all of her bases…

Yes, he conceded, she was brilliant—infuriating but brilliant, and—his mouth twitched just barely in the corners—he had to admit she had got him. So, he sighed with a tilt of his head in her general direction as he started the chorus again.

*-*-*

“So I’ll have to say I love you in a song…”

As soon as the last chord sounded, his brother threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly with tears in his eyes. “I love you too, Langris!” exclaimed Finral far too loudly.

With flushing cheeks, Langris wrinkled his nose and patted his brother on the back. “Yeah…yeah…whatever.”

Over Finral’s shoulder he could see Lady Finesse sniffling with misty-eyes, but she said gently, “I had no idea you had such a nice singing voice, Langris.”

Langris cleared his throat and ignored the blush creeping into his cheeks. He met Vanessa’s eyes which were much more empathetic and touched than vindicated. Still she gave him that all-too-familiar knowing smile, and with just that hint of bantering smugness, she mouthed the words, “you’re welcome” at him.

Langris rolled his eyes, but he sighed and patted his still crying brother on the shoulder. He would have time to get back at her later, but, for now at least, he supposed she was right—he really did have to say ‘I love you’ in a song.

[pabitelphotography]

a little bit of cottage-core

✨ october ✨

With every month’s spotlight this year, I’m going to paint a little word picture of a comfy fairytale cottage. I’ll set the stage, adding more detail to this picturesque lifestyle cottage through each photo. My hope is that you’ll imagine right alongside me. And, in the comments, I would LOVE for you to play along! Tell me what your cottage looks like, what the property looks like, what you’d change about mine, ANYTHING!! I think this cottage will be so fun to build together. 🤍

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(10/12) Have I already mentioned having a bunch of winged friends at the cottage? Yes? Well, here we go again! My little white cottage with thatched roofing has a multitude of resident birds: mallard ducks, black-capped chickadees, black-crowned night-herons, and of course, Canadian geese. The cute Canadian geese tend to nest along the banks of the small stream that gently flows along the back edge of my cottage’s property. In the Spring, I am blessed enough to see a handful of the fluffiest goslings. They follow their parents out of the stream bank’s tall grasses, through my white clover lawn, all of the way to my peaceful pond for a quick swim at least once a day.

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A Little Bit of Cottage-Core is available as a 12-month calendar or build-your-own notecard set. Calendar orders are being accepted through December. Notecards are available individually or as build-your-own packs of three or ten cards. Message me to order or with any questions, and don’t forget to paint your word picture in the comments. See you soon for November's spotlight! 🤍

Calendars: $31.00 Individual Notecard: $7.00 Three-pack: $15.00 10-pack: $38.00 (shipping and tax is additional)

Ordering directly through me is always the best route, but both calendars and notecards can be found on Etsy as well: Calendar Notecards

[pashminalamb]

I keep thinking of Sae who reflects on his past now that he's in his late 20's. Maybe you were his first and only girlfriend because he could never truly get over you.

In his youth he was cruel and uncaring. He's still pretty cold now but it's mellowed out. He remembers you begging for him to come to some of your events and he flat out denied doing it because he was tired from practice or thought it was stupid.

He remembers your favorite flowers and favorite color. He remembers how you take your coffee and how you like your bagels with blueberries on the side. He thinks back to how you light up his life with out-of-tuned humming and messy paintings.

Then he looks back at himself now in his late 20's and still thinking about his late teens - early 20's because you were in them. He realizes how even after you left he kept the painting, some of them are faded due to time but its still valuable to him. He still checks in on certain drama series to see if they have a new season because he remembers you sitting on the couch urging him to watch it with you. How you would look so peaceful on the couch watching something he thought was utterly ridiculous at that time. Now he can see the charm to the show.

His curtains are still dark blue with cute patterns on it instead of pure black because you chose those curtains together. Though he still thinks black curtains are more efficient in keeping the sunlight out, he keeps the dark blue ones instead because they are one of the few pieces of you that remain.

He looks at your soical media and feels a aching kind of relief. He knows you've moved on, he can see it. Your smile reaches your eyes again and you look healthier than ever before. He's relieved that life is treating you well. But at the same time it hurts. To see how you've forgotten him so easily while he lays awake at night thinking of you. He see you post abouting going to the café you had your first date with him in, and instead of him there's another man. It hurts to see you smile so bright and know that he lost his chance.

He feels bad and knows it wrong to be hurt, but emotions sadly aren't that logical.

Finally when fate connects you two again he's hurt by the ring on your finger and the diapers in your shopping cart. But he's so glad you weren't agonizing over the past and possible what ifs like he was. So he returns your polite smile and finally starts looking forward again.

-🍀

Clover! See this is one of the reasons i say that Sae is one of the worst people to go in a relationship for- until he reaches his mid twenties and he knows that he was in the wrong.

Not beta read -

"Would you come to see me on stage, Sae?" you asked, handing a pamphlet to your play. "Mhm hm. I'll see." is all he says. such had been the routine over the weeks. 'Sae, do you want to help me go over my lines?' "Don't have the time for it." It was time before you had stopped asking him and he had gone about his life, football starting take priority again, until he had eventually stopped thinking about you. It didn't hurt him when you had stopped asking him to come to your performances, it didn't hurt him when you were cold to him neither did it hurt to hear that things weren't working anymore between the two of you when you had closed the door behind you, the space that you shared with him only having his things.

Sae was numb while you were there with him, only to have the after effect of the pain return when you were gone. It first started with the nightmares of not having you, then came the formalities; an aspiring actress posing with one of the best football players the world had to offer, the cameras not knowing that they were something more than that to each other as the flash went off. Sae still keeps memories of you, like the chipped mug in the corner of the room or the flounder plush you had bought for him as gag gift or the scented candles that he would buy subconsciously only to sneer down at it when he returned home. Was he missing you? He was in denial at first, the second being that of regret - wondering what he could have done to change the outcome or done to make you stay, the third being that of acceptance as he saw your engagement to his teammate.

You were probably the first serious love Sae ever had, and the only one that slipped through his fingers be cause he let you go.

[Istg- the angst is so immaculate. And you gave spoilers away for true north- you guys are really out here predicting me. >.<]