#i actually... miss this writing style... i don't know. i think after working i've tried very hard to pack my sentences

[court-jobi]

How'd You Know (I Needed This)

((banner by me! I don't own Horikoshi's (sleepy) characters/work))

Pairing: Aizawa x reader (American!Pro Hero fem!reader, set before the events of Season 1)

Words: 4.9K

Rating: T+

Warnings: Aizawa has feelings and doesn't know what to do with them, alcohol mentions, slow burn, he fell first she fell harder, the feeling is mutual TM

Summary:

Shouta Aizawa surrenders his capture weapon for the night in favor of humoring Hizashi, and is rewarded for his follow-through at his show. He wants to know you, more than he has from teaching the brats alongside you for the last few months. Wants to know the smile that reaches your eyes more intimately.

He’s happy he gets this balcony happy hour with you -out from all their eyes inside- to be able to water this sweet, small thing he feels towards you to fullness.

A/N: I've been WAITING for this one, turn it up!!! Aizawa my beloved, I've wanted to write you for so, so long and can only hope I can do you justice. The man just has such a gentle side and I just wanted to give him something nice and self-indulgent~

For my My Hero Academia Masterlist, check it out here!

Read on Ao3

Damn it, why was he thinking like this? He’s in public for goodness’ sakes, with only two sips of drink under his belt. Not two drinks- two sips of a drink.  So if that’s the case of his sobriety, why was he off in his own little headspace as if he were drunk?  

‘Put Your Hands Up Radio’ found its home recording studio attached to this lounge: a place Shouta Aizawa never frequented unless expressly invited- or when Eraserhead was needed to scout out trouble. Far too noisy, too chatty, and filled with too many grown adults losing their sensibilities for his liking. 

Through one round of begging or another, he’d been roped into joining some of the staff of UA to an evening out, in support of Present Mic. Naturally, Aizawa would go- as his presence would all but guarantee everyone else’s. Despite begrudging the plans that pushed himself out of his preferred rest mode, he kept true to his word for Hizashi’s sake.

Promise kept, and therefore, appears to have been rewarded. 

Once the show wrapped for the night, his best friend was over the moon at how things were turning into a party that Friday night. After a day of shrill, whinging teenagers he’d wrangled all week, this level of volume was honestly the last thing he needed. Yamada’s voice doubled the decibel of the entire room- and that’s without his quirk activated. He always managed to annoy Aizawa when he started fangirling about one duet matchup or another.

But truthfully? Every sound this tired hero registered around him fell to white noise while he looked at you…

Sweet Little Miss, you are; gracing the lounge with your presence. You’re a vision tonight. Insist with your lilting dip to your words they all call you by your first name, outside of school grounds and against what’s considered custom. No hero titles either, unless an emergency called for formalities- then you’d cave.

These Americans are too casual. Even down to these outfits. What’s this–  black turtleneck, necklace she won’t leave alone- moving it around her thumb like that, short skirt.. and those damn thigh highs and tights. How is it she’s driving that moped of hers, wearing something like this…

Everything on your person, down to the way you held yourself in perfect confidence and ease adorned you like a perfectly-styled pro hero. It couldn't be a more stark contrast to his tried and true wardrobe. Even this after-hours look sat perfectly around each bend and curve of you, as you listened to the group. 

You’re smiling, too. It’s subtle, but it reaches your eyes, which makes it all the more authentic.

A smile he shouldn’t want to keep all to himself. Curves he really should have no business noticing. Features that he’s actually surprised he’s labeling as ‘attractive’ in his mind because the last time he ever felt an ounce of attraction to anyone in that way, he’d barely been able to grow facial hair. 

Desire for a safe place to land his dizzying mind is driving his tired sights to look to you for relief again and again in the conversation– without you even saying a single word. 

The barely-touched drink in his hand is only a prop; something to make him blend into the scene and not something he’s actually tasting for pleasure… meaning, these are his thoughts. Nearly completely sober. Should be illegal. Just illegal-

"Yo Sho, you still with us, sleepyhead?" 

Yamada pulled him out of his thoughts. Disguising any flare of being put on the spot, Aizawa  flitted his absent gaze back to his blond friend–

"Be nice. He’s had a rough day and is a good enough sport by being here,” you chirped up catching Yamada’s pull for Aizawa to part from the fringes of your little gathering.

Now toward you? He’ll soften his edge. After all, with you sticking up for him with blind loyalty, he nearly felt guilty for spacing out and causing you to speak up in the first place.

“- yknow, I'm inclined to take a nap myself," you leaned forward to grab a few more calamari bites to tend to your seemingly insatiable appetite. Aizawa felt warm at the sweetness and straightened up at Yamada’s prodding.

From then on, he made sure to look in your direction more often when you spoke to help him pay attention. He still didn't say much, never did. But he liked the company well enough.

These nights were truly few and far between. Life as an in-demand hero left him jumping from role to role, daytime and midnight obligations. The routine split his waking hours and stretched them paper thin.  Now more than ever,  he typically shirked as much off time as he was offered. And yet, he had to remember to prioritize levity and breaks– and in this case, indulge his treasured friend’s interests and ‘take one for the team’. Good for morale, he reasoned, just this once. 

The occasion was also a way for you to integrate with the group in an informal setting– great for the transplant from the States. You’ve taken amicably to the group of alumni-turned-faculty at UA, though much still remained a mystery about you, presently being peeled back bit by bit through stories and slips of the tongue. There was only so much a dossier could truly reveal about a person- even one curated by S.W.O.R.D. to volunteer aid their Japanese counterparts in their hero work.

It couldn’t tell what kind of teacher you’d turned out to be. Even with no experience working with students, you tread the line between instilling team-centered outlooks and pushing their quirk’s limitations to their max benefit. A crafty, inventive counterpart to complement his blunt teaching style: better together, and even the principal agreed.

It couldn’t point out where your true ambitions lie or where your drive came from. There remained much to be explained as far as your hero status here in Japan– a red-tape nightmare Aizawa was still intrigued to learn about. So far, you’d shared some limitations about “immigration statuses are being vetted with a fine toothed comb, so they’re still trekking through the paperwork”, so your wings are essentially clipped down to a student’s provisional license. This doesn’t please you too much, but you’re driven as much as his finest students with the aire of a professional he’d love to see in full action.

It couldn’t explain the stillness you could dip into, that he only caught once or twice when you believe yourself alone. There’s a past was weighing your shoulders level and compliant in the eyes of the law… but an urge to push back and ‘play this out’  brought hypotheticals to your lips whenever you chatted about what hero life is like for him, and added a sparkle to the eye that he had yet to fully source.

It couldn’t give away the gentleness you hold behind a carefully guarded smile– even in this harsh hero world. Maybe it was that indomitable spirit that those foolhardy patriots overseas carried… or rather, maybe it was the way you fought against such a loud persona. So far, Aizawa has taken only a few notes, but each little mental post-it was cluttering up his headspace. You held a quiet love of tea, a comical passion for the oxford comma, and a mind to care for the little things in life– like the lizards you rescue in an inverted cup to take outside where they belong . 

Surely life must have treated you hard to elicit such softness. Something tenderized you to achieve the peace you carry around or else you’re wearing a damn good mask. No, he determines you had to have made a choice to continue on the path that’s brought you to the present– even to this table where you’re taking your fill of maki rolls while casting little caring glances his way. 

All smiles and calm surety, as he mills through his thoughts that are damn near obsessed with you.

An employee file could never record ‘heart’, anymore than it could expose anything you didn’t want to reveal.

The night progresses while Aizawa stews on these thoughts, and plenty of others… for the ones that drift to his co-teacher offer him more mental stimulation than that he finds in the club’s lights and music.

Yamada’s night of filling his social battery was made nearly perfect by the karaoke that just started. Several of the other teachers got preoccupied in round after round of song, so it left Aizawa with a moment's peace. 

Well, peace he was going to enjoy by laying back on the couch for a little shuteye–  when his gut jumped at the feeling of a hand trailing up his forearm to the elbow with a polite, companionable touch. 

Facing its owner, Aizawa caught your little smirk and nod towards the balcony. You didn't pull hard, yet he followed like a magnet out to the patio. 

From there, rather than stay by the door to listen in on their friends ‘releasing their inhibitions and feeling the rain on their skin’,  you took him to the right, where a matching lounge set positioned itself in a blind spot between the rooftop bar and the fire escape. 

"Thought you looked like you could benefit from some soundproofing~" you brushed your hair back over one shoulder to follow the breeze’s direction, and left an open spot next to you by the railing. 

Nightlife and neon didn’t hold magic for Eraserhead given as many nights as he’s spent perched on precarious heights, but through a newcomer’s eyes, he could see the appeal. This part of the city glowed at night from dusk to dawn, and you clearly loved looking out over it; Aizawa certainly didn't mind this view either. 

Your perception skills are spot on, and incredibly thoughtful as you’ve suggested some fresh air- for his sake. If he wasn’t drawn to you any of the other times he’s paid attention to the spastic moths a more romantic person might call ‘butterflies’ before…  this cements each and every one as valid. 

He likes you. He really likes you. 

Time passed with appreciative quiet until you spoke again, 

"The only thing is, you can't really see stars in the city... there’s too much light."

"The beaches have a nice view," Aizawa replied after some thought.

"Oh yeah?"

"Enough to stargaze properly,” he offered without much sentimentality. Right by the pier was the best spot he and his former classmates would go on the weekends, before their hero work took off.

"I'll have to remember to take a drive there. Y'know, sometime when I'm not in two-and-a-half-inch heels." you chuckled as you shuffled back to the rattan settee, sitting for a bit to stretch out your legs. "I don't know how Nemuri does it."

"Feet hurt already?" Aizawa snuck his hands from his pockets and came to the seat across from yours. “Night’s young.”

"Getting there,"  your laugh greeted him over, "But you know what they say, dress to impress and all that. Yamada really pitched some hype for this afterparty, so~"

Fashion was hardly something that ever swayed Aizawa’s decision-making. Utilitarian was the way to go for his wardrobe- then, as now. 

"If aesthetics are all that determine these pros’ attention, that’s horribly vain." 

You bristled in good humor, 

"He didn't mean it like that– I just meant, he said to look nice for fun instead of for work. Call it ‘girl code’ if you want. We know that means to– just– /doll up a bit/!"

Aizawa held back a snicker at how you still ran into difficulties finding the most apt Japanese equivalents in your (pretty decently executed) second language. English slang you reverted to in moments like these fell from your mouth with an odd drawl. Still couldn’t place the regional accent you carried, but it charmed Aizawa all the same. 

“//Doll up//?” he mimicked. 

"//I like dolling up//!"

Aizawa reached and pulled his glass to his lips, meant to look aloof but not hiding his interest altogether well. 

"You don’t need to put on airs to get people to notice you…" 

"Right, because the accent gives me away."

"No, it’s your-”

Finally, a coward’s streak flared deep in his belly to shut him up. A rare hesitation. Damn this. What the hell’s happening to me–

 “–nevermind."

"My what?" you’re fully  interested, knowing a secret when it's presented.

"Nothing important."

Thankfully you not-so-subtlety dropped it with a hummed ‘ok’, but kept a watchful eye for him in your peripherals. 

The pro hero mused. Better for him to be honest, right? 

Just choose your words carefully. You’ll have to look her in the eye after this, you know. 

Aizawa widened his seated stance so his knee barely breached your space. 

Your sights lifted to him while he put his best poker face on. It’s not really any different than what he’d give to a perfect stranger– the only difference here is he has to force it.

Shit shit shit you're in deep, Shouta.

"You're plenty noticeable as you are. Anyone who meets you can see that," Aizawa shared in his usual soft-spoken tone. "Give ‘em ten minutes, and you've got them wrapped around your finger. It’s a whole impression, not just the outer package. Doesn't matter if you're in a dress that costs a month’s paycheck or a black button down. You're welcoming, sincere..." 

He’s realizing he might be trailing off, but finding you listening with full attention led him on; no liquid courage required. 

"You're stunning from the inside out. Enough to get others to notice."

Aizawa heard your appreciation before he saw it, a hum preceding the a genteel smile. With the win of his walls coming down, he had to give an honest smirk back. It was only fair; you’d earned it just by being you. By your flattered look, you were touched– but your brain was still working beneath the surface, and soon showed by a fleeting expression that spit from him.

Then, you caught your bottom lip for a second, before daring to look in Aizawa’s eyes again. It’s a sneaky look– like he’d snuck a peek at a card he’d meant to hide.

"...You remember what I wore on my first day at UA."

It was half question, half amusement. So dear, but oh-so pointed.

Aizawa froze.

"Black button down. You noticed me, then?" you countered more, "And here I thought you didn't care about appearances~" 

"In professional circles, no. Personal… that's a different thing, entirely." 

He kept your  sights locked onto his, not unlike how he used his quirk in a challenge– only far softer and he could risk the occasional blink.

Even when you took his glass from his hand and placed it away on the table alongside yours, he still looked fondly after you, in fact tilting his head to the other side, studying the way one piece of your hair was caught by your neck. What he’d give to be familiar with you enough to ever-so-carefully brush it back, letting his touch send a wave of shivers across your skin and maybe even make you hum at the gesture. But he couldn’t trust himself to do it now, settling on stretching his arm around the back of the couch. Just an open move, letting you join him on the couch as close as you’d like.

Was he really doing this? He never has before, but this felt so natural. 

You smiled still– and as you sit, you’re leaning into it.  Well then. 

“What was I wearing, Aizawa?”

With free fingers, he risked some little brushes on your near shoulder, bringing a happy little eyebrow lift from you. He just took in your features in close quarters, settled in it, as he remembered that day:

Black button down, grey skirt. Biker boots -practical choice- and these damn tights.

Aizawa’s dazed in the head, but he knows he's listed it off aloud based on how your sights widen, impressed. 

"Hmmm, tights do it for ya?” you smiled, “I'm surprised you haven't jumped the darling Ms. Nemuri then."

"I know way too much about Kayama to ever consider her that way,”  Aizawa’s tempered hand twirled a finger along a blown-away section of hair, just absently enough. “You however, tease just enough." 

"Do I tease you?” you offer with a little depth, “I don't mean to."

It’s here he’s worry he’s stepping over a line- if it weren’t for the downright delicious look in your eye. You say it like you’re sorry for acting unprofessionally– but you’re urging him on, hardly apologetic for your sweet posturing.

"You may not mean it, but it's not unnoticed," 

He took second to swallow, and steps fully over it. 

"or unwelcome."

You’re pleased with this, but deflect with your trademarked humor- 

"Well now that’s saying something. You've seen me in my pjs, too- far from glamorous.  That didn't break the allure for you?"

Aizawa had to huff though his nose at that memory.

"I caught you at arguably your most real self, that first night you patched me up," His outstretched arm rubbed full circles onto your shoulder now, with the lightest touch. 

“Still have no clue why you chose me over Recovery Girl. For the harshest grader in school, that was a pretty dumb move.”

“You were closer than going to campus. It was the practical choice.”

“You didn't even know if I knew first aid.” 

“You do,” Aizawa smirked. “You're too nurturing to not have a knack for it.”

Your legs crossed over, deflecting both your words and refreshing your body movement. In doing so, you slid even closer- a move not lost on Aizawa. 

“Well, I'm still not happy about it. You needed more attending than I was able to pull off. Whatever you get into those nights,” you flitted a look to the underside of his arm that lays outstretched –where you know he sports a scar now- “It… looked like it hurt, ‘Zawa.”

Warm. Warm and cared form. Felt it then, feel it now. That's the life in his chest he gets when he’s around you. 

"Can't change the past, and I certainly wouldn't have changed that. Wouldn’t pass up seeing that sight of you for the world."

This connection, this dance, it all feels that it must be older than what it is, more rooted in a shared history than a short few months. 

Aizawa wants to ‘get’ you. Know the thoughts behind your eyes. Get you talking, even if it means he needs to give up his silent nights and muted text alerts so he can learn you.  He’s happy he gets this balcony happy hour with you, out from other’s eyes, to be able to water this sweet, small thing he feels towards you to fullness.

His eyes narrowed playfully, "Are you embarrassed right now?"

Out of this entire teasing exchange, that note seemed to surprise you and turned you shy.  Short of clapping a hand onto your cheek, you just darted your gaze away- can you be cuter if you tried?

“h-Yeah, a little!" –though you tried to snark your way out of it, "you were hurt before, and blubbery- but now that we’re y'know– awake, and talking... Pretty faces make me nervous."

Nervous? Pretty? Aizawa doesn’t like the sound of either of those.

Aizawa raised a brow and gave a look, a touch more serious.

"Hey," He tapped your chin still with his free hand, "if you want me to lay off, you say the word."

Blindly, you hold his hand from retreating away– "No. You're good, I promise."

He’s drowning in you leaning into the cool touch offered to you–

“ Heh, I–uh… I’m pretty sure ‘friends’ don’t talk about each other like this, though.”

He couldn't be a coward now– not with you melting on the spot and giving him an insane amount of hope.

“Maybe not,” Aizawa reasoned gently, “-not if they’re content to stay that way.” 

–then all of a sudden his heart soared at her next words:

"Well… I like this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I like you, like this.” With your insistence for touch, you cupped his wrist in your own chill-tipped hand.

Hell yeah. 

Aizawa huffs another win in his foolish heart, but then watches as you keep talking–  you don’t break from your softness, but look reflective off to an absent point on his chest.

“It’s funny, y'know? Most jobs, you’d be lucky to find someone you would actually wanna talk to outside of board meetings and quarterly reports… but here in our line of work, you count on each other to save your lives.”

“That’s right.” Aizawa breathes.

“I uh.. never thought I’d be workin’ with kids- trying to keep them alive too. Teach them how to do the same. But I wouldn’t feel nearly as confident to do it, rise to the challenge, if it weren’t for you, ‘Zawa. You’re just as special. Inside and out.”

And when you look to his eyes again, fully awake and still sober, he swears he’ll say yes to any night Hizashi invites him to if it means he can have you this close. Things with you just feel lived-in. Companionable. He’s drawn to you in a way unlike others before you, because he didn’t believe he’s had the right, desire, or time to even entertain it. 

But everything’s different now. It just works, in his mind. He wants to spend his respites, his missions, everything- with you at his side, having his back. For however long you’d let him.

Touching your cheek, cursing the helmet you’d have to wear on the way home that would hide this angelic face from him once again– Aizawa curls towards you, barely tipping his head which screams ‘kiss her you ass’. You notice, and follow his lead almost halfway. 

“Yeah, I like you like this…” you sighed lightly, “--and I’d like us like this, too.” 

"Hm. Good."

...the door to the patio swinging open from around the corner startles you both. Present Mic doesn’t know his strength as he projects for the block to hear, swaggering about in his search.

You looked flustered sitting back up, but Aizawa was characteristically unphased at the sight of Hizashi finally rounding with a singsong cry of his name. 

Dammit.

"Hey kids, been looking for YOU, Miss America! There's some stateside artists on the karaoke lineup with your name on iiiiit- c’mon! I hyped you already to Nemuri– she didn't believe me that you sang with me for my English midterms!!"

"What?!” you blanched, “ Who said I was doing that?"

"I did!!” Yamada thumbed at his own brilliance, “ C’mon I'll do the first one with you!"

"First one– Dude, I don't need to be touting my Southern-ass self to a bunch of pros before I even make a name for myself here."

"This is HOW you'll do it! Come n’ wow them, break the ice- you’ll do amazing!" Yamada came to your side of the settee, tugging you up to your feet with little fight. "Tch, Sho, you're rubbing off on her, aren't you? Turning our sweet teach into a wallflower as we speak, huh?"

"She was doing me a favor- has an eye out for me when I needed an escape, unlike you." Aizawa droned, to your amusement.

"Yeah yeah fair enough. Now pleeeeeease, would you come inside?  It would be so much fun!"

From the way you’re freshening your jacket collar, you’re warmed from the neck up, caught between what just almost happened and the current situation Yamada is putting you in.

You look to Aizawa just like you did inside– a  glance, but it lingers longer than before. Like you are waiting to see what he thinks. If he’ll stay or go, should you leave. 

But Aizawa isn’t so selfish like before. He doesn’t feel it necessary to keep you to himself, because he sees your affection so clearly in your eyes now. He hosts butterflies in his stomach, yes, but they aren’t frantic and flitting about wondering what you may or may not think of him- chronically tired and a contrast to the breath of fresh air you are. You see him as a companion, too. Someone he might just get the chance to study, and learn, and adore in return.

No, he knows you like him as he is. Knows you’ll choose to meet him where he stands. He can share you, and will simply watch on as you stun him even more...

The Pro-Hero is desperate for some eyedrops in all this wind outside, but he would grin and bear it if you choose to deny Yamada’s pull on you. So instead, he merely leans forward to perch on his knees, with a hand on the lip of both your drinks. What Aizawa says in his non-answer left it open to what you wanted to do.  Stay or go, he’d follow suit.

Returning to the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed fellow teacher, you breathily gave in with your ‘ok’. 

"YEAAAAAUHHHH!"

"Damn peer pressure."

"You said yes," Aizawa smirked.

"Oh if she’s going, you're coming in too!" Hizashi was already whisking you away, and Aizawa rose on his own, following your knowing smile over your shoulder and matching it. 

With many forced karaoke and radio show nights, it’s Aizawa who braves the crowd and comes up behind you at one of Present Mic’s shows,  stepping in from the balcony where you wait by its door. He’s fresh off of work, sporting a new scar across his cheek courtesy of his day job, this time.. but you greet him with that familiar scrunch of the nose that he still finds adorable.

It’s rare he leaves campus nowadays, because he feels the stakes are higher than ever for him to remain vigilant. His students are his life, and as proud of them as he is, they are a constant effort of his mind and strength. Rest doesn’t come easy, and his rewards for a job (passably) done aren’t found in many places. 

One constant he has found helps, has been you. 

You, still alluring as ever, but who makes sure he doesn’t fixate on giving and giving of himself until he breaks– but to take his rests, reset, and even take a little jaunt over to these radio shows when he has staff coverage back at the dorms. Gives you two some time to get nostalgic, sentimental– or as close as he can get to those mushy spots in his heart about the club where he wrestled out his feelings for you for the first time.

He smooths a hand across your lower back now, when he joins you. He’s held onto your hands when they're cold, giving you whatever warmth he has. He knows each and every gap on your resume, partnered with you out on the streets, tag-teams in his classroom with this plucky 1-A Class he now leads, and is content to let you fill his thoughts when he wants to rest his eyes.

He doesn’t fight his affections now. Still would rather not simper in public too much because he’s quite averse to being the center of tabloids’ attentions, but stands by you all the same. 

"I'm surprised to not see you up there,” Aizawa greets, cool as ever. 

You lean on a hip, closer to him. 

"He's got his sets lined up today, didn't ask me-” You speak a little louder over the crowd, “I swear, your cockatoo still acts like I'm some gift from the heavens, just ‘cuz I can sing!"

"It's earned. You deserve every bit of it, and not just from Hizashi."

You turned over to him shyly, drawing his attention further– your tendencies to melt under his words encourages Aizawa to compliment you directly. Often. Whatever it is about his voice that you say you’re obsessed with, he still doesn’t understand– but he uses it to full advantage as he robs your drink from your hand,

"I happen to think you have a gorgeous voice," Aizawa speaks low to your ear. “You should sing at home more often.”

“Please. As if the kids would ever let me live it down.”

You refer -of course- to the twenty shared students between you, taking them all in stride since you’ve sufficiently bonded through fire alongside them. 

“That’s teaching for ya. Gotta push yourself beyond, plus ultra and all that.”

You chortle back in your throat, risking a kiss on his etched cheek to counter his snide remark, 

“You’re off the clock, ‘Zawa. No more hero talk, huh?” 

Aizawa cocks a brow, stealing a sip, “Sorry we can’t all turn it off like you, dear.”

The comment has you biting the inside of your mouth at the tease, and allows him a quick moment to press the glass’ condensation against his eye. 

“Want some air, hon?” you try again, softer than this atmosphere should allow.

Looking back at you -your hold on his elbow ready to guide him outside just like the first night- and Aizawa doesn’t need any more sips of the whiskey he holds.  

The retreat to ‘your couch’ is one he looks forward to any chance he gets. Bass boosted from the speakers inside becomes background noise that dulls his senses, doubled by the way you cozy up under his arm watching the skyline shift in light and color in comfortable silence. You trade roles with him: taking watch while he shuts his eyes for some restorative hydration. 

But before he gets too terribly relaxed by your weight settling his aching muscles to stillness, he registers a warm press to his mouth that he’s quick to chase after. That’s a satisfying thought, too: he doesn't have to imagine what it'd be like to kiss you anymore. 

[ashtavula]

Hi, I've been reading a lot of your work lately and I absolutely love them!

If it's not a bother can I request Jamil, Azul, Vil and Riddle with their S/O being the children of the great seven? Like they got isakaid there instead of yuu (I'm going to ask for all the Overblot boys because personally I think Idia, malleus and Leona are somehow related to the great seven, either a direct Descendants or distant relative)

Anyways thank you so much if you decide to do this and it's alright if you don't I just really love your writing style and works on the Overblot boys!!

This is a really interesting idea, considering all of the boys really respect the great seven!

Jamil, Azul, Vil, and Riddle with a reader who is the child of the great seven

Jamil:

-Jamil is usually reluctant to show off how smart he really is, but he feels like he has to prove his intelligence when he's with you. You are, after all, the child of the Sorcerer of the Sands. He fully believes that you must be just as wise as your father, even if you actually aren't.

-Jamil never refers to you by title, since it just reminds him that he's a servant, and you are the child of a grand vizier. He knows that you don't care, but he'd rather avoid bringing it up. Instead, he calls you habibi when you're both alone, and he can be more affectionate.

-He refuses to hear anything about you possibly returning to your home. Jamil knows that your father wouldn't approve of you dating a servant, and he can't stand the thought of losing you forever. All he can do is hope that you'll stay, against all odds.

Azul:

-Azul practically begs you to share what you know about your mother. He's always admired the Sea Witch, and he wants to know all there is to know. He'll light up if you reveal some of her wisdom to him, or show him how some of her magic was done.

-I assume that you're also an octopus mer, and that puts Azul at ease because you're like him. The two of you will both curl up in his octopot, giggling as his tentacles tangle with yours. Azul sweetly calls you his precious pearl as holds you, though he'll blush if you give him a pet name too.

-Azul is terrified that you'll leave him one day, and he tries his hardest to make you want to stay with him. He'll spoil you, and he constantly strives to prove that he's worthy of your love. He loves you too much to be able to bear losing you.

Vil:

-Vil doesn't want to push you too much, but the Fairest Queen is well-renowned for her poisons. Surely, you've learned from her, and can teach him. He also asks a lot about her beauty routines. He'll be ecstatic if you share any of her secrets with him.

-Vil adores being able to call you his beautiful prince/princess, and he tends to flaunt your relationship. He preens if you compliment him in return, and gets ridiculously happy if you call him your perfect prince. He feels tempted to record you telling him that, just so he can play it whenever he wants.

-He acts like he's not worried about you potentially leaving, but deep down he's scared that it will happen. He'd do just about anything to get you to stay with him, even if it meant facing off against the Fairest Queen.

Riddle:

-He gets even more serious about following the rules of the Queen of Hearts after realizing that she's your mother. Surely, you're pleased that he remembers all of them, right? Riddle would be baffled if you told him it wasn't necessary, or if you went so far as to criticize your mother for making up so many ridiculous rules.

-Riddle still refers to you by your title, but it's become a term of endearment. He'll kiss your hand as you stroll through the rose maze, and will affectionately call you his prince/princess. He also gets flustered if you refer to him as your prince. Or even better, your king.

-He worries that you miss your mother and your old home, but he desperately hopes that you'll stay with him. If it came down to you going back to your original place, Riddle would choose to go with you. Nothing is more important to him than his love for you.

[perfectlovevn]

(i'm so sorry, i'm not sure if you accept reviews or not so feel free to ignore this)

Helloo!! I'm brazilian and i'm still learning english so forgive me for any grammar mistakes. I've gotten all endings (i guess- please let me know if i missed anything!) so here's my review of Perfect Love! ♥

I loved this game sooo much! I never played an visual novel with a mean main character and it was just amazing. The trope of ''us'' being the actual villains is very interesting and it made the game super unique! It's also pretty obvious the amount of effort and hard work that's in the game, I was impressed by the quality of it all.

The music and sound effects are pretty good, I loved it all! The artstyle is very pleasing to look at and the black/white/grey contrast with Milo's blue/red eyes are such a nice touch too. I also loved the amount of easter eggs (you couldn't imagine the face I made when I named myself 'Ren') and secret endings/scenes.

Fortunately, when I first played, I knew nothing about the game nor about Milo (which I believe made the experience better since everything turned out to be surprising) and the endings were really good. Through the gameplay, I've encontered one grammar mistake (which I forgot to screenshot it, sorry) and one sprite glitch but nothing that made me annoyed.

After finishing the 8 main endings, I decided it was time to look a little bit on the official Tumblr's page of the VN and that's when I decided to test out all of the easter eggs and that's when I discovered the secret scenes.

So, to summary it all: absolutely 10/10! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun playing a game and being so invested in unlocking all of it's content! I was flabbergasted when I lost all of my endings heh

Please let me know if I missed anything- I'd be more than happy to clear the game entirely.

Hello there! I love reviews. On my other blog I always write recommendations/reviews for other vns, so I'm always open to seeing what people like and dislike about the game. I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna mash these two asks into one ask.

Thank you! I also think that a lot of vns don't always focus on being the bad guy in the story and those that do I usually enjoy quite a lot! I'm glad you like the quality of it, it was a lot of fighting renpy and it's UI because I have a one sided rivalry with the base renpy UI. I tried to make it look good though I think I maybe should have attempted to redraw some of the sprites for Milo (for like the third time).

For the art style itself, I actually did it in black and white because it was originally for the 2023 yanjam and I wanted to make a style that wouldn't be extremely tiring for me, and I really like lineart so I made everything in black and white (and also because I'm lazy, I say as I animate half of my assets). The red and blue really make it pop at the end since it's one of the few time color is used in the game. I love when people put easter eggs in their game and I know of a lot of yandere vns so I wanted to put in a ton! I'll probably put in even more in the update when I get all of the extra stories done because putting easter eggs like that is very fun.

Having no knowledge of a game is always a good way to be surprised about the premise and I think it definitely was something good in your case too! For the grammer/ sprite errors if you do ever play or remember what they were, please let me know. I'll try to fix it in the next update if possible.

It's always so nice seeing that people like my game though! I tried my hardest to make it a worthwhile experience and considering it's (technically) my first game, it really makes me happy to see that people really like it! Hopefully it doesn't have too much of the first game amatureness that tends to come (nothing wrong with it, but I hopefully have showcased I kind of know what I'm doing, I say, sweating profusely) .

Yup! That is all of the scenes in the game so far. At least that you can access. If you look inside of the code, I actually have two scenes that I put in there. One of them is pretty much a test scene featuring the character from the next game I'm making, and the other is a special scene where you go to Milo's apartment. You can't access those in the main game, but you can play them if you edit the code a bit.

Basically (for those who don't know), all you have to do is put "jump" and then the name of the label afterwards (so for instance if the label is "rabbit" you would put "jump rabbit") after label start in the code. The two scenes that are not accessable in the game are the last two scenes in the script.rpy file just to make it easier for you. (I put a note that says like "#I'm very dedicated to my craft I say as I disect Milo and then beat him with a stick" because I'm sorry Milo, you deserve better)

But yes, thank you for taking your time and writing your long review! I love it so much.

[nickelstudy]

JLPT N1 Experience

So first of all, Happy New Year. It has been a while since I've updated this blog. I've been feeling depressed in the past few weeks, I think it's because of drawing? I feel like I haven't been performing well in art, and that it's hard to accept painful truth that I cannot please everyone- not that it matters on this blog, but it's WHY I decide to take some time to write an update here.

I was supposed to talk about my first experience with N1 but I got busy after. I caught up in many stuff, I guess, plus I was busy with my birthday and helping my family's work throughout the month. But now that it's over, let's talk shall we?

Before That

I haven't talked about my last week strategy, here's what I did.

Stopped learning Kanji and do the drills instead

Finished Shinkanzen Grammar in the first section. I had some days left, so I skimmed through the second section without doing the exercise (I did for A - D i think but- I definitely shouldn't)

Borrowed these two books (pic below). For reading, I did every bit of every question style (there were like 6 of them right? Short passage, Long, etc.)

And for listening, I tried to rush through it but I kinda gave up with the chapter III or IV I'm not sure.

I switched between two of them on the last day

FYI the blue book is actually fantastic! I think I've said it before but it has explanation for each answers. I think it's super cool.

Now For N1

Chapter 1: Before exam

For context, I travelled to the exam location alone, so I wasn't bounded by anyone and I could roam anywhere. I got out early, and arrived there pretty early. But walking from the entrance to the exam spot took a while, to the point where I doubted to myself if I was going in the right direction. There were many people there already. I think the morning peeps had already entered the room when I arrived.

I had lunch and... wander around (Typical Pikmin Bloom player). There wasn't much to do anyway. I decided to take a quick review of some onomatopoeia and other vocabs. I think at that point, nothing is more important than vocabs. It was a while before they allowed us to go up the building. Anyway, I SAW A KID in a highschooler outfit in front of the same room as mine! IM- I DON'T KNOW?? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO BE THIS GOOD AT THAT AGE?? And of course we entered the room. I sat not so far from the entrance.

One thing that bothers me is the fact that they never announced to bring a mask but they asked everyone to wear it in the room?? Luckily, I had it on already.

Chapter 2: The Exam

Sorry for the long introduction haha. SO, starting off with vocabs, grammars, and reading. I skipped to grammar secion first because it's not too hard or too easy. It's all fuzzy now but I did okay(?)

There was あっての that's pretty easy. But there was one of them that bugged me and I was wrong on that one too. It's といたしまして... so weird, I didn't expect it to answer that. ALSO, HONORIFIC VERB CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD but i think i answered it right.

Then onto reading section because I was really scared if I couldn't finished it. It- took me a while to finish each of them but in a fair amount of time. It's like 10 minutes left that I switched to doing vocabs with a lightning speed because I FORGOT there was a fill in the blanks and not just guessing kanji's reading.

I almost got 誇張 (こちょう) wrong as こうちょう

There were 奇跡、偏り、矛盾、賄う、軽率 in which i had no problems

Filling the words is where I had problem due to hurriness. I missed the 快挙 cause I don't know the word.

見返り too, because there was a word that I thought it meant (repay) and not the first

I GOT ONOMATOPOEIA WRONG ANYwAY HECC YEA i didn't know what つくづく means so i went with きっかり or きっぱり im not sure

Also there was a sentence that was supposed to mean "His body condition was..." I thought it was "worsen" so I went with 崩れる except no it's the opposite "ほぐれる". I didn't know that word but i've seen it before it's the goodamn spirit's name from the game.

I didn't know what 尺度 means or how it is read but I got the meaning substitution right (yay) (it's standard)

Here's the fun one. デマ... THIS WORD THAT I NEED TO GUESS HOW IT IS USED WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ITS MEANING. I tried to came up with the word this word could come from. Dermatologist? Demand? Theme??? (that's テーマ) I had no idea and got it wrong eventually. Can you guess?

It's "Demagogie", a German word meaning false rumor... WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED. I asked one of my Japanese if she knew. Of course she did. She even gave me an alternative for it too... but I forgot. I only know that's it in katakana (im sorry)

Last minute i left one Mondai randomly answered!

For Choukai, it was so goddamn fast. I am certain that if it wasn't fast, it would be manageable for me. I honestly don't know if I scored it well or not, the last listening part were as hard as ever. ONE THING ABT IT THOUGH, there was a part where they were talking in a cafe about how the shop owner use a coffee beans? I think?

ANd FOR GOD'S SAKE WHAT'S WITH THE BACKGROUND MUSIC??? My concentration was popped away, I kept glancing around wondering if what I was hearing was someone's phone or the tape's music. I don't even know what the question really was to be honest.

What's Next?

I- I don't know. I just need to wait for the result. But I'll try to slowly get back to learning a bit Korean and Japanese every day again. Probably need to brush up Memrise and Anki. At least 5 mins a day haha. Thanks for reading til here. Keep on learning! I'll make sure to do my best for learning languages this year too!

I don't have new year's resolution but I guess.. continue ASL? I got busy that I have no time to do it anymore. I doubt if I can do it, considering I'll be busy with internship next academic year.

Anyway, have a great year everyone. Hope you have a good luck and success with studying and anything you are willing to pursue this year.

[jessnotfoundd]

Your fics are so good- I can not get enough of them !

Here is another prompt idea-

Tommy and Reader (who is also a cc ) first met at vidcon, and started talking. From there Tommy, of course, had to go back to the UK fairly quickly, but the two of them stayed in touch. After a couple of months, the two end up officially dating, long distance style since the reader is still living in the US. And since TwitchCon Amsterdam was coming up, the reader decided to fly out and go to the con to surprise Tommy ! Also, I’m not sure if you’ve seen Badlinu’s video about him sneaking into Tubbo’s meet and greet line, but I’m thinking that the reader does that type of thing.

-🎃

Yessss I have seen that video of Freddie, should write about him too?

I'm really glad you like my fics! thank you for all the requests <3

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮

Pairing: cc!Tommyinnit x cc!reader

Masterlist here!

After a few months of dating the blond, I started to have this necessity of seeing him, like face timing all night Isn't enough anymore. Holding my phone so he can see my face, the realization comes.

-So, twitch con Amsterdam is so close, do you think you could make it?- he asks, he's lying on his side and I smile at him.

-I hope so, but I'm not sure, lots of work in the middle, I'm finishing the book and I need to be with all the editors for the final touches.- I pout. I wasn't one to lie, but I wanted to surprise him.

-Yeah, I get it I guess, I thought It was a good opportunity to see you again.- he pouts too.

-Maybe I can fly to the UK after the book it's ready.-

-Yeah, I need to train my patience a little.- we both laugh, knowing how impatient he was.

After a few hours of making terrible jokes and remembering each other how much we loved each other, the call comes to an end, I get up and start working on the last touches of the book, he didn't need to know that I work my ass off a few weeks to be able to fly to Amsterdam and see him.

Now, dressing up in my hotel room in Amsterdam, after telling Tommy this week I would be super busy, so if I didn't text him was because of that. I could feel the sadness in his voice. I couldn't help but smile when he didn't see me, he's gonna be really surprised.

I put on some black sweatpants and a black hoodie Nike, a beanie Quackity gave me at some point on the Vidcon and some black glasses, I bring my mask to cover the rest of my face. When I get into the big event. I showed my credential to all the bodyguards that tried to take me out for my suspicious look. When my turn to 'meet' Tommy came, I walk to him and pulled him into a big and warm hug.

-I appreciate my organs, so if you let me keep them would be amazing.- he jokes and I laugh silently, so he wouldn't recognize me right away.

-Can you sign it, please?- I hold my credential and he takes it, I immediately take my glasses and mask off.- Surprise I guess.- he was looking at the user and the 'partner', and when he looks at me I could swear to god, he almost lost his mind.

-No fucking way- he wrapped his arms around me and I hug back.-I've missed you so bad- he hasn't let go yet.

-Babe, there's people waiting for you, I have all the time in the world with you, but they don't- I let go and he nods.

-Wait for me, please- he smiles.

-I'm not going anywhere soon.- I left a single kiss on his cheeks and leave for my actual meet and greet.

After a really long meet and greet, I'm ready to move to the SMP panel, where I'm sitting right beside Tommy. At some point, his hand move to my tight, and everyone freaks out, he starts to get red.

Now we were moving to my hotel room, he throws himself onto my bed and I snuggle to his side, with my face right in front of his.

-I love you- I peck his lips a few times.

-I love you too, so so much.- he pokes my cheeks and I smile.

-I still remember your face when you realize it was me.- I can't help but crack a laugh. He pushes me a little and I hid my face in the crock of his neck.

-I was so excited I just couldn't stop smiling so hard after that.- He laughs with me.

-I love you so much it feels unreal.- I left a trail of kisses from his neck to his forehead.

-Everybody dreams of being a billionaire, but every time I look at you I just don't care.-

-Isn't that a song from the vamps?- I smiled, we were so close that our noises were touching.

-I'm trying to be romantic, y/n.- he giggles and closes the gap between us.

The rest of the night went by playing games and seeing movies, enjoying each other company.

[blackorechan]

CHAPTER REVIEW: JULY 2023

i'm gonna try something new out: chapter reviews! mostly because oh my god i really wanna talk about this chapter. it's about poppy playtime legally distinct survival horror let's plays!

for your reading convenience, i have TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY edited in english dialogue and some misc text

let's fuckin GO.... !!!!!!! wait goddamnit this means i was too late to write that twitch streamer black au

so, before anything else, i really need to bring something up. like, it's not even relevant to the chapter i just kinda need to

black channel acknowledging and deliberately paying homage to garten of banban is going to fucking kill me. do you understand. this chapter's about poppy playtime but there are pages referencing banban too. the general theme for this issue BC-wise was "foreign horror games"

ok actual review time for this chapter

we start off seeing that satoshi is getting into horror game let's plays! he's too scared to play the games himself, so he just watches commentary channels play them.

now, why the fuck satoshi would still be scared of indie horror games right after he watched black grow twice the size of the earth and crush an alien military squadron with his bare hands and also get shot with a pistol, kinda like what happened literally the chapter before this, i don't know but, eh, hey, he's ten and i barely processed all that myself

black proposes they make a video so satoshi can learn to be just like the let's players he watches play those survival horror games! then he could be a famous youtuber, so he says

satoshi hesitates, but with some Encouragement from camera-chan, they set off

so, here we reach the part of the chapter where they are literally just playing poppy playtime basically.

this chapter's writing really shines through with a really fun detail though..

throughout this chapter, we can see the viewers on black's livestream send chat messages! they tend to be really rude about satoshi being scared shitless, making fun of him, generally behaving as a livestream chat does

i obviously am well versed in twitch, and though i think this is intended to be youtube livestreams for obvious reasons, it does feel a lot like watching an actual livestream to see the little comments heckling satoshi as he goes. it's just a fun detail!

it's pretty clear the complexity of the previous arc had an impact on the style kisaichi wants to pursue for this series. the shading especially stands out much more now, and there seems to be a better balance between comedic beats and the scary ones!

black's "asshole older brother and younger sibling he torments" dynamic with satoshi also has plenty of wiggle room this chapter! it's the reason they're doing it in the first place (and camera-chan's Encouragement), and black does not miss an opportunity to fuck with his stream co-host.

i'm having fun with the stream chat could you tell

but, we can only have so much for fun and games with our trio. there's something big, an elephant in the room...

or a cat, a cat works too.

this is "nyan-nyan", our not-huggy wuggy who is not so subtly also a nod towards banban. nyan-nyan does the exact same thing huggy wuggy and banban do in the game. it chases you!

it's at this point in the game, satoshi gets stuck. every time he tries to get past nyan-nyan, it kills him. but it's just a video game so he's fine, he respawns. it's fine. it's probably fine.

the story beats really resemble poppy playtime from this point forward, right down to "poor" huggy wuggy-sorry, nyan-nyan's fate, which by the way takes the cake for one of the most gruesome things i've seen in this series so far, but i'd rather just wrap up with this and give my final thoughts on this whole chapter!

VERDICT: REALLY GOOD!

"aren't you an indie horror nut, like, especially for the bad ones-" yes and that's why i reviewed this chapter! thank you for noticing how biased i am in this chapter's favor (especially after whatever the FUCK happened last month)

i'll be honest. this chapter is better than both the games it's paying homage to, because i actually did get startled when i swiped to the next page a couple times, which is not something i can say either poppy playtime or garten of banban themselves got out of me

the previous arc was dragging on so long i'd almost forgotten the horror aspects of the series. almost. not quite, not quite.

so, that's my two cents on the poppy playtime / garten of banban parody chapter! little early for halloween, but appreciated nonetheless.

besides, who wouldn't love that face? the answer is my boyfriend who got jumpscared multiple times in our dms when i showed him this panel

[miraiq]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

repost, do not reblog this

NAME: Prince/Jehr/PJ. PJ is just a combo of the two alias' first letters. Jehr was my original when I first started out using aliases ever, which was created for me by my best friend at the time. I slowly tried to make a new alias for other muses I wanted to write without having them be associated with me-- for some reason? Wanted to hide or start fresh or something I guess? Same friend also made me take a HomeStuck quiz to get my... uh... vibe? I don't recall what it was, but the answer was Prince of the Light and I used that as my personal url for years, so I actually took the newer alias from that.

PRONOUNS: He/Him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord is the fastest way to get responses from me, simply because the app is always logged in on my phone and pc, while tumblr is only logged in to my personal tumblr via my phone. Any mutuals that would like to add me on Discord: princem0n

NAME OF MUSE(s): For my sanity, google doc for full list. Otherwise, main/actively in use muses: Severa/Selena(FE), Caelus(HSR), Serval(HSR), Kyo(Fruits Basket)

BEST EXPERIENCE: To be perfectly honest shit-posting/memes are always a welcome relief and the best way to destress. I recall previously that myself and group of fellow hooligans would constantly make photoshop edits of stupid things that would go around on the dash. Example(s) of something(s) I made during that time:

But I also really enjoyed being able to deep dive into characters relations and how they worked against or with each other. Especially when it came to characters who didn't have their entire story brought to the forefront, like most videogame characters. You don't get to see the behind the scenes stuff with them, most the time, so it's fun to see how they could have gone about or reacted to different situations/after the fact/how it affected them.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: Lack of communication. Sometimes I forget things, so I'll typically come ask for an answer or reconfirming that I didn't miss something or misinterpret anything. If there is an issue, I am begging, please just approach me. I often will do this if I have a problem, all I ask is the same in return. I can't stand constantly being left on read, especially when trying to discuss stuff plot related. We can't be on the same page if we don't have conversations going BOTH WAYS.

Other than that I'm pretty relaxed. I, as a slow writer, won't hound people practically ever for responses. We're adults, life happens, things come up, muses hide or aren't as strong as others. As long as you aren't actively ignoring me/our threads, there's no problem. If I don't see you posting at all then I know you just need a breather and that is A-OKAY. This is a hobby for fun. Why be fussy and cause problems due to impatience? I guess that is another pet peeve- impatience- lmao.

MUSE PREFERENCES: Bottoms. I notice myself writing of lot of "tsundere" types? Or redheads. I just love them. Misunderstood but fight against the world because they don't want anyone to know that they're broken.

PLOTS OR MEMES: Both. Both is good. Everything in balance. I used to meme a lot, and I've definitely toned it down. But I don't know, sometimes getting too serious or having too many think-hard-about threads can be tiring, and lil shitposting is a good breather to be able to let you get back on with it.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Both are nice. I tend to overwrite, simply because my style will typically go into my muse's thought process(es), or if the thread is still being established, I try to set the scene or give background information. But, short replies are nice. Gives you a small thing to work on and take a rest between lengthier threads. That's also why I like random inbox prompts. Not all of them have to go anywhere- just gives you a space to do something else aside from your drafts.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: I am absolutely not a morning person. Night owl to the max. You will see me up still at 3am more often than not. I typically wake up around 10am-1pm, so I'm usually writing right around dinner.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): In some aspects, sure. Not entirely like one-for-one with any muse, but there's always at least a piece of myself in each muses. Helps write them better, in my opinion. Only exceptions typically being any "self-insert" like characters. (ie. Robin/Avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening). Most of those characters still have a base personality to them though, so unless you completely customize them, they're still pretty "how do YOU respond" choices change how they are.

Tagged by: Stealing dis from Rath Tagging: Yo who wants to let me know their lore?

[non-bionical-mecha-dude]

pls write a 2012 tmnt x artist reader who likes drawing them little things and self portraits. maybe even paintings or anything else!! thank you so much ur so cool

Aww, you're cooler!! Ask and you shall receive!! I apologize if you've requested something but I haven't replied yet, I've been having a lot of problems with my mental health, but I hope to get back on track, and maybe even write some stuff from the TMNT Bayverse movies (I'm obsessed with them right now)

2012 TMNT X ARTISTIC READER

💙🐢Leo🐢💙

Definitely taken a back

But very impressed

He couldn't even draw a stick figure, but he finds it so cool you can draw

Has definitely asked you to draw the captain from space heros before

Sometimes when he gets in his funny heroic poses, you like to do quick sketches of him

Definitely saw you one time, and stayed still just so you could draw him

Definitely a dork

When you drew him one time, you swear you could see stars in his eyes

He thought he looked so cool as a drawing

Definitely felt a confidence boost after that.

You've definitely used him to draw fighting poses

If you ever paint, he word remind you to put newspaper or something down so you don't get the dojo messy

He knows you'll be careful, but you never know what might happen.

You painted a beautiful Sakura tree in traditional Japanese style (which was really hard when you just have acrylic paints and not the special paint specifically made for that kind of painting.) With a light blue sky behind it.

When he walked in to check on you, he thought it was so amazing.

He had never seen an actual cherry blossom in real life, so, this shocked him (before S2)

He loved how you drew the petals, how the pink flushed against the shades of magenta and red.

He loved the simple branches

He felt as though he was in Japan just by looking at it.

He loved it so much, he showed it to Master Splinter, who was also impressed

Leo loved it so much, that he asked to keep it

He hung the painting on his wall, to stare at whenever he felt down

You both definitely have days where he'll chill on the couch watching Space Heros, and you'll be next to him, drawing whatever came to mind, wether it be a still life, figure posing, cartoons, facial expressions, or just practice drawing in general

He enjoys the quiet times together with you

❤️🐢Raph🐢❤️

Doesn't admit he likes it

Constantly says how art is dumb, but secretly, he loves your art work

You tried to convince him, saying how art can help get rid of negative emotions, and he called it stupid

But secretly, whenever he got super mad one day, he draw scribbles and circles, and harsh marks on the blank page, and even though the art wasn't all that great, he did feel a bit better after wards

You definitely caught him doing it when he went in his room mad, but came out a bit calmer and graphite smudges on the side of his hand and fingers

If you ever draw a portrait of him, he will say how you didn't capture his coolness right, but in all honesty, he thinks he looks so much cooler as a drawing, and stares at the drawing for an ego boost

Sometimes when he practices, you draw poses he does and his fighting stances, he rolls his eyes when you do this, but secretly, he enjoys it

Definitely asked you to draw Spike one day, so that he can keep a small photo with him when he goes on missions

But he'd never tell you that, he would just say that Spike would like it, and then say how it went missing from Spike's tank one day, but, he actually has it tucked away in his shell

When he walked in on you painting, he expected you to be drawing something dumb, but he actually was kinda shocked at what you painted.

A red sunrise over the black buildings of New York.

Sure, it wasn't anything major, the buildings were made with black sharpie and a ruler, and the red was just in the background going from red to a gradient yellow on the horizon, but he loved the simplicity of it

It wasn't anything to big or to small

It wasn't anything to complicated or to simple

And it was a picture he could understand the beauty of it.

Definitely complimented the painting, which left everyone's jaw on the floor since Raph would rather be caught dead than to compliment something

But, he just felt like he needed you to know he actually, genuinely, thought it was good.

💜🐢Donnie🐢💜

Very impressed.

Brags to the others that his S/O is so artistic

Melts at any drawing you may give him

Keeps all your little drawings on a cork board in his lab

He finds it cool when you draw people since he can only draw machines or blueprints

If you ever draw him doing a pose as a reference, he will stop until you're done, and then beg you to see the finished product

He thinks everything you make is beautiful

If you ever make a portrait of him, he will be so confused

He doesn't believe he looks as good as you made him look, and says stuff like "I don't look nearly as cool as that!" Or "Woah, I look alot cooler as a drawing!"

Poor baby

You definitely have to show him how cool he looks another time

Will lay his head on your shoulder while you're drawing

Very clingy

If you ever get frustrated with a drawing, he'll help you take a small break, so that you can relax, and have a better outlook on the drawing so that you can fix it later

He doesn't like to see you stressed

One time, when he's going over blue prints and ideas, he sees you painting something on a canvas on the floor

When he's done, he looks over to see what it is, and he literally gasps outloud.

It's a monochromatic purple painting of a calm library (monochromatic means it's one color, but with lighter or darker shades of that one color for those who don't know)

The painting shows dark purple bookshelves stacked way up high, and a lone lighter desk, with a lamp shining on an open book.

He thought the painting was gorgeous, considering he's never been to an actual library, that painting makes him want to go to one

Is gushing over it all day

Showing it off to his brothers

And even his father

Keeps the painting in his lab, right next to the cork board, so that anytime he may be stressed or frustrated, he can look at your art work, and feel at peace again

🧡🐢Mikey🐢🧡

Definitely a bit of a graffiti artist himself

Understands alot of art terminology oddly enough

You both give each other tips and compliments on each other's drawings

He draws more cartoons and stuff

If you ever draw something realistic, he'll say how he thought it was the real thing on a piece of paper

If you don't have a flat surface to draw on, say no more, because he'll flop on top of your legs, so you can lay the paper on his shell while you draw, so it's a win win, he technically gets to cuddle up in your lap, and you get a flat surface to draw on

If you ever draw him when he's in a wacky pose, he'll notice and do more wakier poses, to throw you off, until he does something that's super flexible like, and you give up trying, which he giggles at

Has definitely tried to get you into graffiti

But it's a lot harder than you thought it would be, your fingers got tired often, and so would your arms from holding them up above your head, the the paint seemed to be either to pigmented, or not pigmented enough, and sometimes, the paint would drip, or dry weird, so, you'd definitely leave graffiti to Mikey

One day, while he's goofing of, you decided to draw a still life of ice cream kitty

It was definitely more difficult than you thought, you had to constantly put him back in the freezer, and sometimes he'd get hungry and need an ice cream snack, and sometimes you couldn't get the colors right, but after some long long hours, you were finally able to paint the still life

Mikey had eventually came over to see why you kept staying in the kitchen and hanging with ice cream kitty. But when he saw it, he said "woooooahhhh" out loud

It was just a painting of ice cream kitty, shading and highlights and everything, you had even put a orange background behind him, so the canvas wouldn't look to blank.

He is freaking out, he's bouncing around the walls, saying how cool it was, asking a million questions per second, showing ice cream kitty even tho he's already seen it, and it just super hyper about it.

Is hugging you and spinning you around because of how much he loves it.

Definitely hangs it up in his room, so he can keep it forever.

Art buddies

[kpopfanfictrash]

Heloo miss🤍

I want advice 🫠 been thinking for a while that I want to start writing poems or songs but I dunno how to start can you share your story how did you get into writing and what made you think to be a blogger? how did you start?

How do I start? What do I write😭

Hi, anon! Hope your day/night is going well :)

Sure, I can share my experience with writing and on this blog. I've never actually written poetry or songs (not my forte!), but hopefully something about my creative process speaks to your own. Placing a cut here!

When I was growing up, I didn't write often outside of schoolwork and journaling. The first time I sat down and tried to write my own story/book (outside of school) was after college, during my first couple years in the workforce. I've always been an avid reader and kind of entered this slump where I wasn't seeing things I wanted to read on the market. This sparked the idea of... hey, what if I wrote the thing I want to read? I started by brainstorming and drafting a few full-length novels of my own. One of these I completed and the others were just snippets and scenes (none of these have been posted to my blog, although I do still have some in the back of my mind). I kind of got into a funk with this process, feeling as though I was writing without actually progressing.

COINCIDENTALLY, this happened to be around the time I found k-pop (2015). There were a lot fewer of us in the fandoms at the time lol, and Tumblr was pretty thriving with kpop creators. I created a blog here to see what was happening and that's when I stumbled upon fanfic. I realized this might be a great way to share my writing, get feedback and figure out whether people respond to my stories. I created this blog at the end of 2016 and started posting my writing.

To be blunt, things were very slow-going and I had NO idea what I was doing lol. I mimicked things I saw other writers doing (posting small chapters, adding a read more, creating a summary/header/etc., creating a master list, doing FAQs). At first, I was similar to you and had no idea what to write. Some things I found helpful were:

Take requests (ask readers to send you messages/asks with fic ideas for you to write)

Use story prompts/prompt generators (you can either Google writing prompt generator or find posts on Tumblr and ask your followers/readers to send you prompts)

As you start writing and posting, you'll eventually get a feel for what works for you. What genres are you drawn to? What tropes resonate with your writing style? Are you better at writing dialogue or description? Do you enjoy fantasy/world-building? (as a writer, not a reader LOL it's different) Are you comfortable with and/or inspired by writing sex between characters? All of these are things to explore and discover; and the answers can change over time! I know mine have. I will always recommend pushing your boundaries and trying new things; you never know what unexpected trope you'll enjoy.

It wasn't long before I stopped feeling inspired by requests and instead, started coming up with ideas of my own. Or -- maybe you'll try writing and find it never gets easier, you don't really enjoy the process and that's also cool. You can move onto the next thing of interest! Whatever you choose, best of luck and I hope you have fun and enjoy the experience.

[medicinemane]

Woken up, don't know when, just that it's 8:25am now and I was tossing and turning trying to go to bed around 5am

Woken up cause my mom can't find her mouse

Well yeah, there's a trash pile next to her bed

So I get to work. Gross and frustrating, especially cause I've done this before. It's wet, I think from the gallon of sweet tea on its side, but have been any bottle of water or whatever. Mop it up with all the random tissue and napkins and paper towels

There's like a literal foot trench of trash on the bed frame between the mattress and the wall. I clean it up, no mouse, but I push the mattress actually on to the frame as far as it'll go (frame is a full and my mom didn't like... check when ordering the mattress, so it's whatever comes after full)

Begin grabbing stuff at the foot of the bed, another... inch deep minimum trench of trash, no visible floor. 4 foot ish pile of clothes in the corner of the room next to this new trench

I keep tossing recyclables and stuff to keep towards the door, it's a big pile by the time I was done, and... we'll get to that

Whole time my mom keeps interjecting with how guilty she feels. Don't feel guilty, don't apologize, stop doing this to me. I don't say that, at the end I just say to find a spot that works for the trash can, she says she could put recycling in there trash can so it doesn't need a liner. I say that's fine but uh... find a spot to put the trash, it's fine to use grocery bag liners, it really is

Anyway, no luck, so I sit down in the spot I've made in the foot of the bed trench and then just run my leg under the bed, stretched out ballerina style, and scape everything and shove it to the back and side. Pick up a bit more, then stand up (fucking hard from that confined position) and take my trash bag to the back of the bed

Another leg sweep to pull stuff closer. My mom says how she'll just drive and go get a new one. I say don't, too expensive for just a mouse (50 fucking miles yo)

No luck, find 2 wormies wiggling through the trash. Sorry wormies, can't have you in my house, hopefully maybe I didn't kill you pinching you with trash to put you in the trash. I am sorry, but you can't be here whatever larva you were

Scrape scrape as I make a new pile of not exactly trash at this end, recycle and keepers and stuff

Finally I see pink just as my mom's lamenting again that she doesn't know where it could have gone. Slam... no... set with flair on the table, just hard enough to click loud, you know

Still plenty of trash there under the bed, but I'm fucking done

Went to go give my cat antibiotics, see its not 1pm and that's good at least

Full to the brim trash bag from all this and there's plenty left

You see why this frustrates me?

Already done this before even after she got the bed. I got a trash pile next to my trash can... of shit I missed the throw with our recycle, it takes me maybe 5 minutes to fix, not... 30? Just to kinda clean

Just get tired of my mom's infinite trash, she just... she just fucking doesn't put stuff in the trash and she doesn't think. Tried to turn the tall trashcan I found into recycle, said no it's trash... and finally I'm not having to scoop overflowed filth into the bag every week, it's talk enough

Anyway... you can at least get why I'm writing weird, right? Woken up for a miserable task

But I did it, instantly woke up, trundled downstairs, made zero conversation as my mom lamented how terrible she is, got a trash bag out, bed pushed against the wall, and mouse found

Kill me, going to bed now, hope you all have a good whatever... wish I had pics of just how bad it was. Better than the trailer, but... that's like saying bleeding out from the throat is better than bleeding out from a punctured stomach... duh, still not nice

Take care

[glitch-trees]

//The following is very long so there's a TL;DR at the end :)

Hello good people of tumblr! Welcome to my account, glad to have you here. This is a roleplay account for the omens au by the lovely bunfloras and quizb. Any and all posts will be related to that, unless I specify otherwise! Ooc posts will be dignified by two slashes, like seen in the beginning of this post.

If you were part of omens before, you may or may not recognize me from the week of chaos that I shall now be dubbing the unfortunate happenings that once occurred (with various variations). I will not go into any detail of the events that occurred. In fact, I will be so cryptic about it that people who don't know what happened will think that someone was kidnapped and replaced by a clone that then tried to kill the original and his closest friends. Oh wait, wrong au.

ANYWAYS! I was indeed quite active in the week of omens over on Twitter. Same character and everything, @glitch_trees if you want to check it out and learn more about my character. Some of my personal favorite moments of mine are the following:

-Getting the oh-so-elusive Bikeman follow. He was a true homie, he will be missed

-Almost getting burnt alive when a hero set the warehouse I was in on fire

-Making raccoon robots after the racclone fiasco

-Falling into a dumpster during parkour

-Writing on villains with sharpie and putting stickers on them with Phosphor/Lightning Bug

-This sick photo taken when running from the police:

-Hiding eggs all over the city for Easter with other vigilantes:

And that's basically all the notable/entertaining things I've done during the last go around. I should note that I don't consider any of what happened last time canon unless the creators themselves mention it and make it clear that it's canon. So events like vote Bikeman for god, the racclone fiasco, etc. won't be brought up by me a lot. I may mention them once or twice to make a funny haha joke, but it'll be more like a vague reference and I'll treat it like it was a weird collective dream everyone had.

ENOUGH OF THE PAST! It's time to talk about what will be happening now!

I will continue to roleplay as Glitch going forward. Don't know who Glitch is? They're my vigilante omens o who loves inventing, coffee, explosives, and being a pain in the ass for heroes.

They do in fact have a power, but it's not revealed to the public. It's a pretty discreet one, so unless you knew what to look for you wouldn't know what it was. To sum it up, they can control any machine that's within a certain distance from them, with a passive effect of knowing where nearby machines and their parts are (like wires and such). How it works is they split their consciousness, some of it going to the machine they control. This lets them do things like hear and see through mics and cameras. They can change how much of their consciousness they put into a machine, so they can either have a very loose control or go fully into it. Their skill in controlling the machine also changes with how well they understand it. If they made the machine themself, or are familiar with its structure and how it functions, they can get a pretty tight control. But if they don't know a lot, they'll get a lot of fight back. It's still possible to control a machine they don't know, but it's a lot more taxing and time consuming, so they hardly do that. Backlash includes migraines, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and dissociation. Side effects depends on how much of them goes into the machine.

They have quite a few tools in their kit, all of which were made by themself. Their main weapon is their staff, which is actually a pair of escrima sticks that combine together. They can be electrified as well. They have a laser knife, which is just a regular knife with a button that activates an electromagnetic radiation field around it. It can be used to cut and burn stuff that way. Then they have an eye mask, which is styled to look like one of those LED eye changing ones. But it has an earpiece connected that automatically hacks into police/hero radios so they can listen in. They have some animal robots, mostly smaller things like birds or bugs. Yes I'm keeping the raccoon robots, it was a cool idea okay. They use these to gather information before going into a fight or to distract their opponents. Some smaller things they have include hover boots, wrist braces that have various tools like a grapple gun, and generic tools like flashbangs, bear spray, lock picks, and smoke bombs.

But they're not Glitch all the time! By day, they're Emery Hart, a software developer trying to make ends meet.

They actually wanted to be a hero when they were younger. But when they applied for the academy, they were rejected, the only reason being that their power wasn't "heroic" enough. So, they took matters into their own hands, taking on the Glitch persona and saving people their own way. This might not be set in stone, if anything the creators say contradicts this backstory I will change it.

That's about all you need to know about Glitch! Let's talk a bit about me now.

I go by a few names. You can just call me Glitch ooc if you want. I also go by Apple, which is my regular username. Honestly I don't care what you call me as long as it isn't intentionally rude. I use she/her pronouns ooc, but I get it if you just want to use they/them so you just use the same pronouns for the same account.

I do use tone tags a decent amount myself. You don't need to use them when talking to me, but if it can come across a few ways then I would appreciate them just to clarify. If you don't use them for whatever reason, then I'Il probably ask what the tone was meant to be if I'm confused. If I don't ask and get the tone of your message wrong, just let me know no biggie.

I'm not actually that into the dsmp anymore, mostly I'm just into fan content like this. I do love Minecraft though, and a lot of video games in general. I mostly play Nintendo games, with Splatoon, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda being my favorite series. My favorite games are Kid Icarus: Uprising and Undertale though.

I write fanfics! I'm planning on uploading a ROTTMNT oc fic on my main Tumblr. It'll mostly be crack with no real plot in the beginning then lIl decide where I want it to go lol. I also have BNHA and Harry Potter fanfics that revolve around other ocs of mine. The BNHA one follows a quirkless vigilante and the Harry Potter one follows a Slytherin girl in Fred and George's year. They're both on A03, Quotev, and Wattpad, so if they sound interesting or you just like how I write on this page, then check them out! I assure you, you're not missing out on much if you don't know the plots of the source material. Each fic follows its own plotline, and while they might follow canon loosely, there are many differences that make it easy to follow without prior knowledge.

l also do art! I post ROTTMNT art and videos on TikTok along with some other content mixed in, and I post more finished pieces and WIPS on Twitter. If you like any art I post here and want to see more, check them out! That's about all I have to say. It was a big text dump so if you made it through all of it then congrats to you. You have my applause. I'll link the socials I mentioned previously below if you wanted to look into any, so peruse at your leisure.

Let's make this au amazing, and remember to PLEASE respect bun and quiz and all the work they've put into this!

TL:DR: Hi I'm gonna be role playing for the omens au by bunfloras and quizb. I'll be playing a vigilante character named Glitch who can control machines and is just an all around chaos incarnate. They have a bunch of cool gear that they made themself. They use they/them, and their civilian name is Emery Hart. When ooc, you can call me Glitch or Apple, and I use she/her but they/them is fine if you just want to use the same for op and oc. I use tone tags and would appreciate it if you use them as needed. I do a bunch of cool writing and art stuff on other sites which you can find the links to below. Let's have fun and not be weird okay? Woo!

Socials:

Original Glitch Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/glitch_trees

Main Tumblr!

Ao3:

Quotev:

Wattpad:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@appple_treee?lang=en

Main Twitter: https://twitter.com/appple_tree

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Seven // Wanda Maximoff

chapter six | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter eight

author’s note: hope y’all like this one 👀

The Maximoffs were just as a good at throwing a party as my own parents were.

Celebrating a new book that was published at Pietro's business, they threw a party in their back garden big enough to host half the town if they wanted to. Actually, now that I thought about, half the town was probably there.

We were invited to celebrate along with them because we were 'family' now, as Oleg and Iryna pointed out, so I found myself standing in their garden getting a drink under the night sky and trying to blend in with the snacks table so I wouldn't have to mingle. Parties still weren't my thing, clearly.

People-watching was more my forte. It was amazing the things people did when they thought nobody was looking. One guy coughed into his hand and wiped it on his pants – I reminded myself not to shake his hand – whilst some woman checked if her teeth were clean on the back of a serving tray.

My gaze raked the garden, indifferent to the men who attempted to get women's attention with a boyish grin and terrible pick-up lines, or the women who lifted their dresses a little higher than necessary to steal a man's attention. I spotted my parents talking to some guests whom I'd never see before, then there was Wanda's parents laughing alongside Pietro as he told a joke to some important looking people.

Eventually, my eyes fell to the remaining Maximoff, who was looking especially beautiful tonight. A deep lilac gown adorned her figure and she wore it like it was uniquely made just for her. She probably didn't even realise, but all eyes were definitely on her; a simple stride around the garden had people turning heads to see who the lilac beauty was. Y/B/N was the most envied man of the evening, with every guy here wishing they could have Wanda on their arm.

I'd wanted to tell her just how truly stunning she looked tonight, but I hadn't been able to pull her away from my brother's side for even a second. Everywhere he went, she went, too. I'd caught her eyes maybe three times tonight since she was so involved with whatever she spoke about with the people who worked for Pietro. I didn't take it personally of course, but it didn't make me feel any better.

Y/B/N had his hands all over her, probably suspecting just how many people were checking her out tonight, and I hated the way it made me feel. Envy and jealousy came over me and it wasn't pleasant. His hand was permanently fixed on her waist, at times moving suspiciously lower and making me roll my eyes. Occasionally, he'd lean over and whisper something in her ear making her flush – involuntarily or not, I didn't know. Wanda was a good actress, appearing as the perfect fiancé to him and couple to everybody else. Or, at least, I hoped it was acting.

"Pretty ladies shouldn't be standing by their lonesome," said someone with a Sokovian accent, but sadly not the one I wanted to hear.

"Pietro," I said with an amused smile, turning to face the man of the evening. "Congratulations on the new published book!"

He smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Y/N. How are you finding the party?"

I glanced around, disguising my discomfort with a nod. "It's great."

He chuckled, as if suspecting that was a lie, before changing the subject. "So, the book. Have you read it?"

Glad that this was something I could actually talk about, my shoulders relaxed and I nodded. "Yes! I bought it yesterday as soon as it was published. I've only read the first six chapters, but what I've read is beautifully written."

Pietro snickered, raising his brows. "Only? That's further than anyone here has read."

I smiled bashfully, eyes veering elsewhere with embarrassment. "I guess I just have a lot of free time."

He hummed with amusement. "And you must really like reading... Wanda mentioned you write, too. It's nice to know it runs in the family."

Certain my cheeks were flushed, I nodded. "Yeah, our dad, he taught Y/B/N and I how to write when we were kids. That's where my love of literature began."

"And what do you like to write?" he asked, intrigued.

I shrugged, the grip on my glass of champagne loosening as I grew comfortable. "I don't know... short stories, drabbles, novels. I mainly deal with themes of love and romanticism. We're so intent on leading our lives with what other people want that we rarely take time to think about we want... I write about that."

Swallowing, I looked to Pietro, hoping I wasn't boring him. He was a publisher after all, besides my soon-to-be brother-in-law. His opinion was important to me.

"I must admit, Y/N, my interest is piqued," he admitted, watching me with an inquisitive gaze. "Do you have anything I could read?"

"It's probably better than it sounds," I said dismissively, knowing this was just small talk.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I doubt that. You shouldn't say such things. You never know, you could be my next signed author."

I tried not to laugh. "Nice try, Pietro."

He smiled widely. "What? I'm serious!"

Tilting my head towards him knowingly, I sighed. "We both know that can't happen."

He was grinning now, clearly entertained by my unamused expression. "Says who?"

I motioned around us with my drink. "Says everyone? The world we live in?"

He began to list authors on his fingers as he said, "Jane Austen. Emily Bronte. Mary Shelley. Louisa May Alcott. Dare I name more?"

"Okay, okay, I get it," I said, pushing his hand down and rolling my eyes at his smug expression. "But I can promise you that all of those women fought tooth and nail to get published. Their families probably weren't as accepting as they wanted them to be. There's still people now who talk about how unprofessional and lacklustre their works are. They didn't have it easy. Still don't. And don't even get me started on the reputation side of things for you... d'you know how much backlash you'd get for signing a woman?"

Pietro shrugged, sipping his drink, before saying casually, "I only care about talent, Y/N. And if you have even a quarter of the talent your brother does, then I'm happy to go from there."

I quirked a brow, trying to gauge if he was pulling my leg or not. But the kind eyes looking back at me suggested he may not have been. Either way, the idea of actually being published – something I'd been dreaming of since I was a kid – was enough to raise my suspicions and make me shake my head.

"Thanks for listening, Pietro," I said conclusively, hoping he got the hint.

He nodded, accepting my word, thankfully. "Anytime. Hopefully this isn't the end of this conversation, though."

I cracked a smile, knowing it was but giving him the benefit of the doubt. He pursed his lips, glancing around briefly before attempting to hide an amused smile.

"What are you smiling at?" I teased, nudging him in the arm slightly.

His eyes met mine, sparkling with mischief. "You've probably not noticed, but as we've been speaking, almost everyone in this garden has looked our way."

I cocked my head with confusion, smile still present. He nodded subtly, eyes flickering to the right, so I followed his gaze and inconspicuously looked around. He was right, as murmurs of gossip escaped people's lips, their eyes trying to get a good look at the two of us. Even our parents were looking our way, no doubt discussing our future wedding affair.

"Wow," I breathed out, trying not to laugh as I looked back to him. "You'd think they'd have something better to do."

He leaned in, muttering, "Wanna give them a show?"

My eyes flickered between his, seeing that roguish charm of his come to life. I couldn't resist his mischievous attempt to piss off our parents, so of course I nodded with a stifled laugh.

"Care to dance, Miss Y/L/N?" he asked, a little louder than he needed to, attracting more attention.

I grinned, grateful for the idiot that was Pietro. He was already making my evening ten times better than it was.

Resting my hand in his outstretched one, I nodded. "Thank you, Mr Maximoff."

I barely had chance to put my glass down before he led me to the area before the live band that was strumming a lovely upbeat ballad. We joined the other couples that were also having a dance, unbothered by their nosey stares.

Bowing dramatically, he smiled and I curtsied before resting a hand on his shoulder and the other in his. He rested a hand on my waist respectfully before a grin spread across his lips and he began to dance me around everybody else, way too fast for me to keep up.

"Pietro!" I exclaimed between fits of laughter, trying not to trip over my feet or his.

"You said we could dance," he answered simply, before spinning me around.

My eyes went dizzy as he dipped me, making me laugh joyfully. For the first time all night, I was having fun. When he pulled me up, his eyes motioned to the left of us.

"D'you think our parents have already picked the wedding venue?" he teased.

"Definitely," I said with a nod, before shoving him back slightly. "But you, mister, need to slow down. You're like a speedster with the dancing. We should call you Quicksilver."

He laughed, continued to dance me around but much more slower this time. "I like that. You're clever. I can see why Wanda has taken a liking to you."

I knew he didn't mean it like that, but my heart dropped to my stomach anyway. A hearty chuckle escaped his lips as he noticed my expression. Thankfully, he didn't question it and we continued to make a fool of ourselves for a few more songs before taking a break by the snacks table.

"You're an idiot," I told Pietro as we caught our breath, but a delighted smile was on my lips. "You know you've probably convinced our parents that we're a couple now, right?"

"Hey, you're the one who started to fluff my hair like you loved me!" he retorted with humoured eyes.

"Because you're just so darn cute!" I mocked him, before moving forward and going in to fluff his hair yet again.

He attempted to smack my hand away as he said, "Hands off the hair, Y/L/N! I styled it perfectly!"

Grabbing my wrists, he held me back and I tried not to cry with laughter at the expression on his face.

"Such a child," I decided, pulling my hands away. "Whatever happens from here on out is definitely your fault."

He scoffed, as if ready to refute that fact, but before he could say anything, my brother's voice was heard.

"It's nice to see you actually conversing with people for a change, but maybe not my publisher."

Pietro and I turned and saw Y/B/N and Wanda approaching us. My brother seemed entertained by Pietro and I, looking between us with pre-conceived ideas that we may have already fancied each other, just like everyone else had tonight. Wanda, meanwhile, was watching me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"He's good company, what can I say?" I joked, returning my brother's smile.

"Oh?" He raised a brow, knowing look in his eyes.

I rolled my own, trying not to laugh at his insinuation. There was no point trying to convince him otherwise.

"I was just giving Y/N here the best evening ever since she was moping around in the corner," Pietro explained nonchalantly, making me smack his arm.

"I was not moping!" I defended myself.

He shrugged, ghost of a smile on his lips. "Whatever you say."

I gave him a playful glare before focusing my attention to the couple before us.

"As lovely as it is to see whatever this is," my brother continued to make things awkward as he motioned between us, "I came to get Pietro. Someone from the press is here and has questions about the book."

At the mention of this, Pietro straightened up and neatened his bow tie, flashing my brother his most confident smile. "Lead the way, Y/B/N."

After assuring Wanda he'd be back in a second, Y/B/N let go of her waist and guided Pietro to the members of the press. Glad that he'd finally left her side, I looked to Wanda with a soft smile.

"Hey," I said quietly, glancing around before saying what I'd wanted to say all night. "You look radiant tonight, Wanda." 

Unexpectedly, she crossed her arms and pressed her lips together firmly. "How was your dance with Pietro?"

Her green eyes, literally green with envy, watched me with distaste. It didn't take long for me to recognise that familiar jealousy entwined in her expression because it was probably the same way I looked when she was with my brother. For some reason, this made me smile with amusement.

"He's a very good dancer," I said, half truthful and half trying to poke fun.

She wasn't amused. "Yeah, everybody saw. You've been all over him."

I covered my mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. "I mean, he's pretty funny to be around. I can totally see why everybody wants us to get married."

Her jaw clenched as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"C'mon, it's a joke," I said lightheartedly, nudging her in the arm. "You know that."

After internally debating whether or not to believe me, she relaxed her shoulders and unclenched her jaw. "I know."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked, raising a brow and smiling playfully.

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing."

My smile faded as I searched her eyes. "C'mon. What is it? You know you can tell me."

"Forget it, Y/N," she muttered, avoiding my eyes.

Realising she was still clearly bothered, I sighed dramatically, hoping to lighten the mood. Making sure my voice was low enough for only her to hear, I said, "I only danced with him to annoy our parents. Same with him. He's clearly not interested in me and neither I with him. That's why we get along so well." Teasing her once more, I added, "If circumstances were different, I'd like to think we'd be good friends. He's quite handsome, though I think the good looks are a Maximoff twin thing. Maybe if–"

"I'm in love with you!"

I paused, blinking, unsure if I'd heard correctly. Her cheeks were flushed as she looked to me with exasperation.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was attracted by her outburst, I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding in my ears as she said what I'd been struggling to accept for the past two months.

"What?" I breathed out, raising my brows with surprise.

She licked her lips, realisation replacing her look of admission. Opening her mouth to say something, she stepped forward, but my brother returned with an oblivious smile on his face and interrupted the moment.

"Wanda, the journalists want a picture of us for their article," he said enthusiastically, returning his arm around her waist and tugging her close, making my skin crawl.

Her gaze lingered on me for as long as she could before looking up to my brother with a halfhearted smile.

"Sure," she agreed reluctantly.

My brother nodded at me before leading Wanda away. She gave me one last look, her eyes trapped with unsaid words, before leaving with him. My mouth went dry as Wanda's words echoed in my mind. She was in love with me. And I knew I was in love with her, too. I had been for a while.

But wouldn't admitting that make this whole thing a lot more complicated?

—

"Will you stop shaking your hand? It's very distracting."

I stopped shaking my hand and gave my mum an apologetic glance before facing the door again. I was extremely eager and nervous to see Wanda again, as I hadn't been able to see her for the rest of the party last night.

Her words were permanently resounding in my mind all night, making it difficult to fall asleep. The reality of our situation had dawned on me and I knew that even though everything would become more difficult between us, I had to tell her that I felt the same way. The last thing I wanted was her panicking that I didn't. Because these last two months loving her in secret were better than anything I'd experienced in my life.

Iryna and my mum had made plans to hang out today, including Wanda and I in the plans without actually telling me until this morning. I didn't mind though as I was hoping it could be an opportunity for us both to finally speak.

The front door opened to reveal Iryna with a bright, inviting smile. She exchanged greetings with us both and ushered us inside instantly. There, waiting, was Wanda, looking as gorgeous as ever. A calm suddenly enveloped me as I looked to her, my heart fluttering in my chest more so than usual. She loved me and that thought alone made me feel giddy inside.

"You must come upstairs to the closet with me," Iryna insisted before I could utter a word to the brunette. "I've been very silly and impulse-ordered a bunch of new dresses. Of course, the only way to fix that is to try them on."

My mother laughed alongside her and the two of them looked to Wanda and I questioningly. I smiled their way, glancing at Wanda, before following them upstairs. Maybe later.

I spent the next hour trying on clothes against my own will, modelling them for Wanda and our mothers awkwardly. Ecstatic, our mothers threw their opinions out at me, but I was barely listening because all I could seem to focus on was a quiet Wanda. I couldn't read her mind for the life of me – she was getting better at hiding how she truly felt.

Wanda also tried some dresses on, still not as enthused as she usually was, but neither of our mothers seemed to take notice. I sat on the lounge sofa alongside them, eyes unable to look away from Wanda as she modelled the dresses. I had no words, my mind hazy and tongue tied as she stole my breath away for the millionth time. She was ethereal.

"...what do you think, Y/N?" Iryna asked, forcing me to look away from Wanda and to her. "She should keep this one, shouldn't she?"

I hummed in agreement, looking back to Wanda, who was avoiding my eyes. "She should. I don't think I've ever seen a dress so perfect for someone before."

Our mothers didn't seem to think much of my comment, but Wanda finally looked up, not ignoring me for the first time since I got here. I offered her a small smile, hoping she could see what I'd been wanting to say to her since last night. But she looked away, chewing on her lip and looking down.

"I'm gonna change," she mumbled, before turning to go back behind the curtain.

A sigh escaped my lips as I leaned back against the seat. I'd just have to find a spare moment.

Iryna and my mum proceeded to try on a bunch of dresses before we called it a day and were ready to eat lunch.

"I want you to have these, Y/N," Iryna told me as we all stood up, motioning to the pile of dresses on the arm of the sofa. "It's my gift to you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, Iryna, you don't need to give–"

"Don't be ridiculous," she cut me off with a wave of her hand. "You're family now. Anything for my daughter-in-law."

I smiled awkwardly, not missing the eye roll from Wanda, before nodding. "Thanks..."

She looked to her daughter. "Wanda, medovyy (honey), can you help her pack them away and meet Y/M/N and I outside on the patio for some lunch?"

Wanda, having no other choice but to say yes, nodded and forced a smile in her mum's direction. "Sure, mum."

Our mothers fell into conversation as they left the room, finally leaving Wanda and I alone. I released a breath, grateful for the privacy, and looked to the Sokovian in question.

"You okay?" I asked slowly, wanting to find a start before erupting straight into my feelings.

She nodded, nibbling on her lip. She looked like she wanted to say something more, so I watched her patiently.

After a pause, when I thought she may just stay quiet forever, she spoke. "If what I said last night was out of line, I'm sorry."

I shook my head, a smile curling on my lips. "It wasn't. I'm in love with you, too."

Surprised, she finally met my gaze, eyes swirling with confusion. "You are?"

"Of course I am," I said quietly, stepping forward and taking her hands in mine. "I didn't mean to make you jealous last night. Pietro and I were genuinely just hanging out as friends."

She shook her head, eyes flickering between mine. "It doesn't matter about that. Forget it."

I still felt guilty, adding, "I know, but it does matter. I don't want to–"

She pressed her lips to mine quickly, cutting me off. Her fingers tangled in my hair as she tugged me closer with her other hand, making me gasp when my body touched hers. I kissed back, closing my eyes and moving my lips against hers in perfect sync.

I probably could have kissed her all afternoon, but the sound of the door opening made us both jump apart, startled. It was just a servant who was coming in to clean up the room. When she saw us, she gave us a small smile before moving around the room carefully. My eyes fell to Wanda's excited ones, and I smiled at her before nodding to the dresses.

"We should sort this out before they wonder what's taking so long," I told her, moving to pack them.

She nodded, grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently before helping me. We packed the dresses in no time before joining our mums out on the patio where they were sat with our lunch. I tried to keep my eyes off Wanda as our mothers spoke to us about God knew what, but it was hard when all I wanted to do was kiss her over and over, telling her just how much I loved her.

"...nice to see you both getting along lately," Iryna was talking, and I only zoned back in when I realised she was looking at me.

I blinked. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Wanda stifled a smile as my mum gave me a disapproving look from across the table.

Iryna didn't seem to mind as she chuckled. "You and Pietro," she continued. "You both seemed very comfortable at the party last night."

I settled on a polite smile. "He's a gentleman. Very nice to be around, I guess."

Iryna smiled knowingly, exchanging glances with my mum before patting Wanda on the forearm, getting her attention. "How does that sound, dear? Your brother and Y/N together?"

I shook my head instantly, realising how she'd taken my words. "That's not what I meant."

Humming in response, Iryna continued to look to her daughter. "You may have to start sharing your new best friend with Pietro."

Remembering Wanda's jealousy last night, I spared her a glance of concern, hoping she wouldn't let this get to her. She was smiling, but her eyes were dimmed with dismay.

"Uh-huh," she played along with her mother's words, before using her fork to pick at her food.

As our mums began to talk about it, I found Wanda's hand under the table and laced my fingers in hers, hoping she'd know I only cared about one person and it was her. Though she didn't look up, her hand tightened around mine and she didn't let go.

The rest of the lunch went by as expected, though the more Iryna and my mother mentioned the wedding, the more Wanda and I grew uncomfortable. It was so much harder to hear about it when I knew my feelings were growing stronger for the brunette every day. By the end of the meal, my mother was happy to go back home and said I could stay to hang out with Wanda, which of course I did.

After bidding her a goodbye, I let Wanda drag me upstairs and to her bedroom, though the door closed when she spun around and pushed me against it, immediately kissing me. Before I could even question what was happening, she pulled away and looked at me through a half-lidded gaze.

"I don't want to share you with my brother, ever," she rasped out lowly, before licking her lips. "I don't want to share you with anyone."

She breathed out, her breath mingling with mine. Her hands rested on my waist before she reattached our lips, moving hers slower and more thoughtfully against mine.

I closed my eyes, grabbing her face and holding her gently, letting her slip her tongue between my lips and play with mine. Then she sucked on my lower lip, teeth nibbling gently at the sensitive skin, and made my insides go warm and fuzzy.

When she let go, she trailed kisses down my jaw and to my neck, having me at her mercy.

"Wanda," I moaned, hand moving to the back of her neck as I tried to regain some control of the situation, but the longer she sucked at the exposed skin, the more my knees wanted to buckle.

Already lowering my dress to my shoulders, her hand untied the back of it and I flushed at the contact of her fingers against me, not used to the feeling but also not opposed.

"Wanda, are you sure?" I asked between bated breaths, attempting to get her attention by tugging at her dress.

She pulled back, hand rising to my jaw and caressing it with her thumb as she looked between my eyes. Hers were dark, clouded with an arousal I hadn't seen before.

"I am," she said with certainty, before asking, "Are you?"

I swallowed hard, the warmth in my core growing hotter as she stared at me with lustful eyes and swollen lips. "Yes."

She gave me a slight smile before pressing her lips to mine again, allowing me to wrap my arms around her neck. I heard her lock the door behind me as I undid the top of her dress, struggling to do so without breaking contact from her. We moved to the bed clumsily, trying not to stumble over our discarded dresses, before I laid her down and straddled her.

Leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her neck, I felt her fingers grip my waist, keeping ahold of my body on hers. I shivered as her nails scratched gently against the skin and grew warm when she lifted herself up gently to get more comfortable, her clothed centre rubbing against mine.

Taking a breath, I pulled away and hovered over her, revelling in the beauty that was Wanda Maximoff. Her cheeks were dusted pink as she opened her eyes, green eyes sparkling desperately as they flickered between mine.

"I love you," I told her softly, leaning on my elbow and caressing her forehead.

She smiled, nails trailing up my back and sending shivers down my spine. "Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu."

I tried not to laugh as I tilted my head with confusion. She smiled a little wider, hand reaching for the back of my bra.

"I love you, too," she translated in English, hint of amusement in her eyes, before she managed to undo the bra strap.

I rolled my eyes at her attempt of mockery before chasing down her lips once more. Everything about the woman before me was absolute perfection and I was glad I could finally share how I felt about her without having to hide it anymore.

The potential consequences of our actions was not my concern right now... all I cared about was treating her with the respect and care she deserved.

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

the shrooms cafe

part 1- watermelon tea with strawberry boba

hello everyone 🥺 this is the first series i've ever done so i'm a little nervous but i'm so excited because I really like this story!!!

this is the first part, and I have literally no idea how long it will be because I don't have a solid plan/outline yet! so feel free to send little concepts or things you would like to see included 🥺 i can't guarantee they will be added but i'll definitely try my best :)

shrooms cafe masterlist

my masterlist

warnings: none

word count: 2k

"Stella, we have to leave in 10 minutes!" You called up the stairs. "Come down so you can eat breakfast!" "Yeah Stella, hurry up!" Seraphina yelled from her spot at the dining table. She was finishing up her fruit loops with a grin on her face. "You're going to make us late!" As the youngest, she often liked to bother her sisters. She was only five, just starting kindergarten, but she was already a master at getting under their skin.

"Sera, don't antagonize your sister, please," you reminded her. "She's not going to make us late." Sophie rolled her eyes. "Seraphina, you're so immature." Despite only being 11, Sophie was clearly the mother hen. You sometimes joked that the girls didn't even need you; Sophie would take on the role of their mother with no problem. "Besides, you were the one who made us late yesterday." "It's not my fault I couldn't find my purple socks. What was I supposed to do?" "Maybe wear different socks?" Sophie suggested smugly. "You know I need my purple socks, otherwise I can't write my words!" Sophie rolled her eyes again. "You don't need a certain color socks to write." "Yes I do!" You smiled to yourself, turning back to the fridge as the two bickered. You pulled out the ingredients you would need to make their lunches, then reached up on your tiptoes to get their lunch bags from the top of fridge. "Okay girls, what kind of sandwiches do you want today?" "Peanut butter and jelly!" Seraphina said excitedly. "Why did I even ask?" You smiled. "And Sophie?" "Turkey please, but I can make it myself," She said, sliding off her chair and bringing the breakfast dishes to the sink. "Thank you, love," you said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "You are such a big help in the mornings, I don't know what I would do without you." "You would have a real handful dealing with those two," She said matter-of-factly. "That I would," you laughed, handing her a butter knife. "Stella!" you called again. The 8 year old came running down the stairs, carrying her backpack and another bag. "Did you forget I have dance today?" "I did not forget," you reassured her. She liked to plan things, and got worried quickly if she wasn't kept in the loop. "I'll pick you up at the door by the playground, does that work?" "Actually, I was wondering if I could walk today? A bunch of my friends do, and I feel kind of weird having my mom drop me off." "That should be fine," You nodded. "But stay with the group, don't go off by yourself." "I won't," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "You're so overprotective." "Oh yes, I'm so sorry for trying to keep you safe," you laughed. "Now what do you want for lunch?" Once everything was ready, the four of you made your way out to the car. Stella climbed into the back, and Sophie helped Seraphina get buckled. Even though the three of them bickered a lot (as sisters often do) it wasn't hard to see how much they loved each other. "Everybody buckled?" You asked, looking behind you. When you heard a chorus of confirmation, you started your playlist and smiled when the opening notes of Adore You filtered through the speakers. It was easily one of your favorite songs, and the girls liked it just as much as you did. It wasn't a long drive to the cafe; it took about 15 minutes if traffic was good. The girls' school bus stopped about a block away, so they walked there together every morning. Then after school, they would come back to the shop and read books or finish homework until it was time to close up and go home. You parked in the lot behind the shop, helping the girls out of the car and making sure they had all their things. Seraphina held out her hand, and Stella grabbed it to help her jump over a puddle on the sidewalk. Sophie gasped excitedly. "I think that was the biggest jump you've ever done!" The girls promptly launched into a discussion about who could jump farther as you unlocked the door. As soon as it was open, they made their way over to the mushrooms to find some books for the day. Their voices filled the shop as they chatted about school and the cute boy Stella liked and the kitten they had seen outside their house the other day. You went about your morning duties, flipping on the lights and starting up the coffee machine. You also turned on the oven, preparing to bake the muffins. (They were frozen- who has the time to bake them fresh? Certainly not a mother of 3.) Once the kitchen was ready, you went over to the radio and tuned it to a familiar station, the soft

music adding some pleasant background noise. "Okay girls, it's time to get to the bus stop," you said, leaning over the counter to speak to them. "Don't forget, I'm walking to dance," Stella said, pointing at you as she walked to the door. "I won't forget," you said, pointing back at her. "Have a good day!" "Bye mom," Seraphina waved her small hand at you. "Bye honey, bye Sophia," You smiled, blowing a kiss to the three of them. "See you later!" Once the three of them were gone, you went around to the shelves and straightened up, getting ready for your first customers.

-----

After the lunch rush had dwindled down and the shop was nearly empty again, you were getting ready to go on your lunch break. You had just leaned down to grab a sandwich from the deli case when the bell above the door jingled, alerting you that a new customer had come in. You straightened up, your eyes going wide when you realized who it was, but you quickly fixed your face and smiled. "Welcome to the Shrooms Cafe!" "Hello," the man smiled back, speaking in a deep British accent. "I saw your sign for boba tea, and I've been looking everywhere to find some. You're the third shop I've been to today, so I'm really hoping you're not sold out like everywhere else," he grinned, coming closer to the counter. "No, we're not out! What kind did you want?" You asked. "Um... probably should have thought about that before I came in," he laughed nervously, looking at the menu above your head. "Oh, don't worry about it, we're not busy right now," you said reassuringly. “Take all the time you need.” He smiled gratefully, stepping off to the side while he read the menu. Meanwhile, you fidgeted with towels and wiped off the work surfaces and tried to pretend you weren’t staring at him. Who could blame you, really? Harry Styles had just walked into your coffee shop. Who wouldn’t stare? “I think…” he spoke again, breaking you out of your trance. “I’ll do the watermelon tea, with strawberry boba, please.” You nodded, laughing lightly. He quirked one eyebrow, smiling along with you. “What’s funny?” “Oh, no, it’s just… of course you would order the one with watermelon.” “Oh,” he smiled, and you thought you detected a hint of a blush on his cheeks. “I guess I do have a bit of a reputation with fruit, don’t I?” “Just a little,” you grinned. “One watermelon tea with strawberry boba, coming right up.” After ringing up the order, you quickly got to work. Instead of his real name, you wrote “watermelon man” on the sticker on the cup. Hopefully he would appreciate your little joke. “Here you are,” you smiled. “I hope it’s good, seeing as you worked so hard to find some.” “I’m sure it’ll be amazing,” he laughed, grabbing a straw from beside the cash register. You also noticed he had dropped a generous tip into the jar, probably while you had been busy making the drink. “Have a nice day,” you smiled. “You as well,” he said with a small wave before he made his way out the door, sipping his drink as he went. You sighed, shaking your head with a small grin as you grabbed the sandwich from earlier and went to a table for your lunch break.

-----

“Hi mom!” Sophie yelled, holding open the door for Seraphina. “Hi girls!” You called from the back corner of the shop. “I’m by the mushrooms!” The girls quickly found you, Seraphia hugging you and Sophie situating herself on one of the short stools. “How was your day?” You asked. “Good! I gave my report on monarch butterflies and guess what Mrs. Wilson said?” Sophie asked, leaning forward. “What did she say?” “She said it was the best report she had heard all day. She waited until the other kids left so they wouldn’t feel bad, but still,” she said proudly. “Oh wow! I’m so proud of you,” you said, moving over to hug her. “What did I tell you? You can do anything you put your mind to,” you smiled. “Including writing the best report in the whole class, hmm?” She nodded happily before turning away from you to pull a book off the shelf closest to her. “Which one are you starting now?” You asked, leaning over her shoulder to see the book she had. “Anne of Green Gables,” she said. “Oh, I loved those books when I was your age,” you smiled. “I think you’ll really like them.”

She nodded, already immersed in the book. You turned back to Seraphina, who was pulling her folder out of her backpack. “And how was your day, miss Seraphina?” “It was so good, look!” She handed you a paper with two gold stars at the top. “My teacher gave me two gold stars. She said my writing was very good!"

"All that practicing we did must have worked, then!" you said, beaming as you looked at her letters. They were still wobbly, but a huge improvement over how they had been at the beginning of the school year.

She nodded. "And then I colored this picture for you!” She handed you another page. This one had a drawing of you holding hands with her, Sophie, and Stella. The three of you had big smiles and lots of adorable little details. Stella had her hair in a bun and was wearing ballet shoes. Sophie was holding a book in her free hand. Seraphina had drawn herself wearing a shirt with a cat (her favorite animal) on it, and she was wearing her purple socks. Lastly, there was you, holding a cup of coffee and wearing a shirt with a big red heart on it. “Since you like coffee so much,” she explained. “It's beautiful,” you smiled, hugging her. “We’ll hang it on the fridge when we get home, okay?” “Okay,” she agreed. “Why don’t you find a book and read with Sophie for a little bit? We have just over an hour, then we have to go get Stella from dance.” She nodded, handing you the papers and her backpack before running over to the shelves. She grabbed a picture book, settling into the red cushion in the tree and beginning to flip through the pages.

----- “Alright girls, it’s time to pick up Stella,” you said as you wiped off the counter one last time. You had already turned off all the machines and packed up everything else for the day. You flipped the lights off on the way out, smiling a bit when you saw the hand painted sign for boba tea in the window. Harry came into your mind again, with his easy smile, his kind words, and his blushing laugh. You really hoped you would see him again, even though you knew you probably wouldn't. Your shop wasn't very big or well known. How likely was it for him to come to the same little shop in the middle of London again? Still, it didn’t hurt to hope. Maybe he would decide to try the other flavors and stop in again. Your smile spread even further when you started your playlist and Lights Up was the first song to come on. Apparently, it was going to be hard to forget about him.

[dojae-huh]

Do you have favourite concept among kpop groups cb? The ones that use the concept in depth? Do you have background in fine art btw? My fine art knowledge is not extensive, so the only input that i can get from the concept they did is how the neos look. And I mostly focus on the face, so quite a lot are missed. Is that the reason they’re slacking because most fans just look at their faces anyway like me. The only thing I noticed is kpop style nowadays, are quite the same, they have same cloth silhoutte, same makeup, same hairdo. Pretty boy next to a pretty girl next to another pretty girl next to another pretty boy. Even when the concept is grunge the makeup is still pretty boy. It just ruin the concept for me. They really don’t want to ‘ruin’ the faces much. Honestly, for neos, I think firetruck and limitless era is truly the only neo era, concept-wise. I just saw Taeil’s pic during the firetruck? on tw the other day and wow he actually looks great with the spiky hair. I like neos makeup in firetruck mv but they toned down the makeup for the stage.

I need to think about favourite concepts, I'll return to it with a later post. My knowledge of k-pop pre-NCT is not very extensive, so the overview will be pretty shallow. But I think "a passerby's" opinion has some value as well. New fans don't need to know the history, they see and buy what is of today. And if a casual fan, like me, remembers something, then the team behind the group/MV did a good job of catching attention of a non-fan.

I'm a book illustrator (CG) and I do fine art with traditional media as well (I sold oils, watercolours, even one batic, lol). I've worked at an animation studio and did character design for games, drawn comics, posters, liquor stickers, etc. I tried this and that and settled on just plain illustration (educational books and books for kids, preferebly about animals). I like when there is no discussion with the client/editor, just a given task and "I know better what to do", lol. Saves a lot of brain cells.

I did study the history of art (twice), but I mostly forgot it. Still, as a professional artist I have visual sense and pay attention to a lot of things by habit (colour schemes, proportions, balance, lines, the creativity element, etc).

You answered your own question. The majority of fans are hooked on idols as pretty boys/girls, Koreans especially pay attention to the face first and foremost. 127 once did a black&white photosession with unfiltered skin (pores, scars, acne present). Fans didn't like it. Companies repeat what works, what is safe. Listen to the music producers, how tired they of smaller companies representatives asking them to write "a song like EXO". The producers want to do something new, sell some creative stuff they came up with, challenge themselves, move forward. Regular-Irregular photoalbum was done very well from artistic point of view. It is very atmospheric, very memorable. Fans complained their biases' faces were blurry...

That being said. The fans might not have much of taste, but well done design or art works undetected. A person suddenly starts to cry watching a movie. It's director's job to know how to put a scene in a way that would pull on heart strings, the viewer can be oblivious, not his area of expertise.

Same with k-pop concepts. "Hobgoblin" is a well known example of a concept that almost saved a group (CLC). Almost, because the company didn't cash on the success properly. Dreamcatcher gained popularity emulating j-rock and using the dark lolita aesthetics. Stray Kids catapulted to real fame once they found their over-arching concept with "Back door". How many boys got long hair for the next comeback after the MV? Practically every 4 gen bg.

Back to NCT. As a group it has an extensive lore and well-defined images for all units. Dream is doing well with their "Youth" concept. 127 is responsible for "Neo", but the clothes and concepts sometimes are not neo at all (the topic itself, or the execution).

"Boss" didn't have success originally in Korea, but it was the song that brought a massive number of i-fans. Exactly because the concept was done well. The "soldier" clothes are even copied now by other bgs. It's one of the few MVs with over 100mln views (=non-fans watch it).

Street cool boy fashion is everywhere in k-pop. Even if clothes are well matched and the boys look good in them, the concept is unmemorable.

Oh, wait, right, Jaehyun's cover's popularity. Yes, he is a super attarctive man, but it doesn't help with his other covers and songs. "I like me better" gained millions of views because of the concept "exploring a city with my boyfriend". The MV evokes the feeling of being on a date, being infatuated, having a nice time, it shows the atmosphere, a viewer wants to experience it again and again by repeatedly watching the video.

"90's love" is an example of excellently done concept. Watch any reviewer in their 30-s or 40-s, they are hooked to the sound and to the retro game theme, they get nostalgia. Again, the MV is over 100mln (=non-fans watch it).

I've recently came across Olivia Rodrigo. The team behind her knows how to produce a star. Yes, she has a nice voice (I really like it), but the producers created a very strong "American teenager" image. Her being a latina doesn't even stand in the way. I've never been to US and know of suburbs only from TV, I'm not from a country with cities developed around cars and can't even drive, and still I, a foreigner, "get" the vibe despite the lyrics reflecting none of my own experience. Imagine how easily the targeted audience is hooked. That's what a good MV and well done concept achieves.

[thanks-mike-stamford]

Fics that inspire my writing - Part II

This is Part II. Read Part I or Part III

Continuing the discussion, I grouped these fics together for something they have in common: author style! It was actually a bit hard choosing them because they are all written by authors who have a distinct style. Something in them that makes you recognise the author right away, that makes you think - oh yes, definitely is a story from this person. When you have a bunch of stories with the same kind of feel, it's hard to choose one to illustrate my point. Tip is: binge read the authors below!

Part II

I Used to Live Alone Before I Knew You by etothepii Back when there wasn't even s2 yet I was already reading stuff from this author. I absolutely love their fics. This one is super interesting, a Good Omens fusion book version - beyond numerous screaming posts on the internet I'm not really familiar with this universe.

Something I like in all their fics and it's worked beautifully in this one is that there's more than it seems under the surface. The characters are not an open book even to the reader, and the narrator (close Sherlock POV) doesn't give all the information. The narrator sometimes doesn't even explain the information we are given. The facts are presented piece by piece, building the layers of a character, making it clear that even if right now, for this story, it's not relevant, this person is a complex human being (or angel. Or demon) that doesn't exist solely for the purpose of the plot. Two factors help with this: the non-linear narrative, that permits we only know a part of someone when it becomes relevant; and the sort of omniscience of Sherlock. I say sort of because yes, he's a demon and he has access to the core of someone. He's able to fish for stuff that happened in someone's life and how they feel about that as a way to build their vulnerability to sin. However, this is not necessarily mind-reading or future prediction. He makes deductions based on the soul, let's put this way. But because he can't use it to predict exactly what is going to happen, he still gets surprised. Because the characters are layered, they are able to be consistent with what we know and yet unexpected, up until the end.

The combination of giving powers to the narrator and using non-linearity is brilliant, working to enhance the themes behind the plot, which are about the complexity of the human soul. I'm working on a WIP that has similar themes and I try to play with these aspects to make it smooth like this story, instead of a philosophical essay using voices of characters. I've tried the non-linear narrative in a published fic, but it didn't have the same level of success in serving the story. Let's see if it goes better when I try again.

What It Is by toyhto This author has two main things going on in their fics: the type of angst that makes you question yourself, and the type of humour that is not really about trying to make you laugh, it's a very weird type of humour. I love weird stuff.

This fic is not Toyhto's best angsty one or best humourous one, but it's one that creates a good mix of both, like a tragicomedy (but without a tragic ending). You have John not knowing how to feel about Sherlock, and Sherlock gambling possibilities on how to fix the situation. It's the narrative that fascinates me. The story keeps its cards close, the reader is often a bit uncomfortable, a bit wrong-footed. You don't know where the story is going (hell, sometimes you don't even know where a scene is going), so you keep hanging up until the end. There's an underlying panic in how characters interact, but it's never hysterical, it's never loud or obnoxious. And then you find yourself snorting in situations that shouldn't have been funny. Life is usually not one genre or the other, so why literature should be? I love that the story never tries to be something (sad, funny, intriguing), and yet it is. It's not easy to pull something like this.

I have a WIP currently on my drive folder where I try to play with this tragicomedy narrative thing. This fic inspires me in trying to keep the reader on their toes all while looking effortless.

Borrowed Ghosts by DiscordantWords DiscordantWords has been out there since 2016 showing how there's more than a way to fix canon. In fact there are multiple ways. This is the author you want to go if you watch the show and think eeh this should have gone a different way. There's probably a story in here which takes the same premise you thought about.

This one is just too incredible. Because it picks up right from a crucial point in canon and said - ok, what if everything still happened, but they actually make sense? For this story consistency is key, and if canon gave us a John Watson making bad decisions while nursing an unreliable brain work, that's what you get. But make it make sense! This is what happens when you are on a roll of bad decisions, this story tells me. This is what happens when you're isolated from what before kept you on track. This is what happens when on top of everything your mind is playing you tricks: they don't just stop because you decided to. That's not how it works. This story acknowledges the bad stuff, but to fix them it doesn't propose miracles, and it definitely doesn't ignore them. We get the consequences but we also get the process of change that is necessary for things to be good once again. Like John says: there's a difference between wishing something happened differently and wishing it hadn't happened at all. But it did happen, so now what?

Make it canon divergence but character consistency and twist it to fix it, it's what inspires me in this fic.

The Ancillus's Tale by Chryse I reiterate that everything by Chryse is a must, but everyone that follows me on twitter had to deal with me constantly gushing about their most recent work for months, so it will be this one here. I just have a lot of feelings about this fic. Oh, yes, omegaverse again, inspired by The Handmaid's Tale.

The one aspect that comes to my mind when I think about Chryse's works is dark themes. If I want to read about fucked up stuff happening, I will go to them. And this particular fix has fucked up stuff from the first to the last chapter. And it's very immersive: you get inside the head of whoever is POV at the moment, Sherlock or John. You get their physical reactions, their thoughts, you know what they know. And the world building is on point: detailed enough that is totally credible, you can see reality becoming that way, but it's not described to exhaustion. We are presented the info about what we need to know, and rest is there, somewhere at your peripheral vision where you know it exists but it doesn't become a nuisance to the plot. But more important than that, it's how the dark themes are treated. It's never on black or white situations, surprisingly, despite the universe setting. The characters especially - they are allowed to have conflicted feelings, they are allowed to misbehave even if they are supposed to be on the good side, they have nuance and complexity. And the cherry on top: just because it has a dark premise, it doesn't mean it can't have a super satisfying happy ending that even brings comfort to the soul after letting it being hurt. We get snippets of comfort, the promise it's going to happen all along the fic, to compensate the extreme suffering the characters are going through. It's glorious.

I have been toying with the idea of writing something on the dark side. In fact my next multi chapter is super fucked up (but as always, with the certainty of a happy ending), and I hope it can see the world soon. I'm writing with this premise in mind: characters are allowed to have conflicted feelings, and they are allowed to misbehave, that won't make them the bad guys.

This was part II! If you missed part I, just click here. Part III is up!

[siennadraws]

OC interview: Terys Lavellan

Thank you @thatssolavellan for the tag!!!

INTRODUCTION

1. Can you introduce yourself?

I am Terys, a hunter of Clan Lavellan, I go by she, and I'm Mythal's Chosen.

2. What is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

Gender identity is something different from elves to shem, but I feel comfortable being called a woman. I'm attracted to all kinds of people and single.

3. Where and when were you born?

I was born on the 7th day of the second month of Spring. The calendar we Elvhen use is different from the shem's Chantry's, but I think the month would be Cloudreach. I was born in my clan's camp, in Ferelden. We used to live there before the Blight.

4. What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

I use daggers and I prefer finishing the fight before it starts. I try to kill as many of my enemies as I can before they notice me.

5. Lastly, are you happy?

That's a difficult question. I am and am not. There's a moment for every emotion. Just because my life is hard doesn't mean I don't find happiness. But my life has been hard.

The rest of the questions under cut because it gets long.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

1. What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

My family is wonderful, and I love them.

My mother is a very wise woman, she's the more quiet one, listening in on everything before speaking. As the Keeper, she's also a very powerful mage. My mom is wise as well, of course, but she's more adventurous and loud, my uncle still tells stories of all the trouble they got into as children.

My sister is a sweetheart. She loves finding things and learning, a bit like me, but she's more of a open book, despite her shyness. She also loves all kinds of dogs, especially the wolves our clan travels with, especially Arla, the pack's leader.

2. Have you ever ran away from home?

Never, and I've never thought about it or found the need, to be honest.

3. Would you consider marriage or having children?

I'd consider marriage, but having children isn't something I want. I'd rather just help my fellow clan mates with their kids when they need and I can.

4. Do you secretly hate one of your friends?

No. Not at all. But I have hated some of them, and they hated me back. But we have moved on from it. Cass and I only started getting along after Corypheus was defeated. I had that weight off my shoulders and she had started realizing her biases. Awkward talks ensued but we're friends now.

Viv and I started getting along after Haven fell. I realized that she truly cared for her fellow mages and everyone else, just has a different way of thought on how to protect them, and I spoke to her about Dalish mages, and how we didn't actually abandoned them in the wilds. I think my sister joining the Inquisition was also a great help.

5. Which friend knows everything about you?

The one friend whose goals would find him using that knowledge against me. Solas.

ASKED BY FANS

1. Are you literate? Have you been to school?

I can read and write both Elvhen and Trade, my Trade was a bit rusty before joining the Inquisition. I was taught alongside my clan mates my age many different things, trades and history, survival and the ways of nature, religion. And I tried to learn more, and learned much more as life went on.

2. The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

I may have made a few jokes about Solas being the mastermind behind the Breach.

3. What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?

That the rumors Mother Giselle warned me about weren't that Dorian was manipulating me, or that we were working together for nefarious ends, but that we were in a relationship. I only realized it when Dorian made a joke about it, when he was saying his goodbyes.

4. Do you have mental health or physical issues?

I obviously have one physical issue, my missing arm. Thankfully I have a prothesis, but it causes problems of its own. And my mental health is... Probably shaky. I'm more paranoid and anxious than I used to be.

5. What is your current main goal?

My current goal is to stop Solas from ending this world. Hopefully finding a way to return it to it's natural state in a peaceful way.

CHOICES

1. Drink or food?

Food.

2. Cats or dogs?  

My sister would kill me for this, but cats. I still love dogs.

3. Optimist or pessimist?

A balance of both. It depends on what I'm thinking about.

4. Sassy or sarcastic?

Sassy.

HAVE YOU EVER

1. Been caught sneaking out?  

Yes. My sister and I used to sneak out to explore ancient Elvhen ruins, after they were cleared by the hunters. We told our mothers we were going to gather blueberries, but they caught on the lie. I suspect they sent some hunters to watch over us without being caught.

Once we got older my sister and I still went to explore the ruins, but this time with authorization, and a couple of my hunter friends as backup.

2. Broken a bone?

A couple, it happens when you're a hunter, or a reckless kid, or when you're trying to repair a big hole in the sky made by a Magister.

3. Received flowers?

Yes. Romantically and platonically. Dalish kids love making flower crowns, it's something that keeps their hands busy and that they can brag about.

4. Ghosted someone?

No. When you're Dalish there aren't many ways to ghost someone, even if it's during an Arlathvenn, so you don't really find the need later in life, even outside the clan.

5. Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get?

Never. This may be the cause of a couple of Josephine's grey hairs.

I'm tagging @dreadfutures @little-lightning-lavellan @vakarians-girl @vvakarians @tireddemigod @vronism (no pressure) and whoever wants to do this (pls tag me!)