#like..it took me a year and half to start using a program where i could Colour In The Lines aka the..whatever it's called. whatever..

[lunarharp]

pretty & cute witch men

[nyctoseraph]

ANGELS

[Seraph’s Mixtape Event]

Yandere! Actor Suguru Geto x PA! Reader

WARNINGS: obsessive behaviors, jealousy, confinement, kidnapping, mentions of mental health issues, foul language, use of firearms. YANDERE/DARK CONTENT AHEAD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. 3.3k words.

ALSO CONTAINS: probably inaccurate depictions of celebrity staff and how they work :/

“It’s getting darker and I’m starting to get anxious. Nobody told me I’d be lonely when I’m famous.”

-ANGELS, Chase Atlantic 

When Suguru made his debut in a mainstream action film, he took a rigorous two-year firearm training program.

Of course, he was a rising star in the industry, so he wanted to give his best shot at finally carving his name onto the skies of cinema. Before he went mainstream, he was more of an indie drama actor. Pure emotion, no-nonsense acting.

But then he got an offer to star in an intense, action-thriller film after his stellar performance in an indie horror entry, in which he bagged numerous awards for it.

He has a knack for acting crazy, the producer said.

Playing the role of a businessman turned madman after losing his company and family to the hands of his enemies, he needed to have enough grit and insanity to show on screen.

And so for all his efforts he delivered.

The bloody, violent revenge theme of the movie had garnered strong mainstream presence. Though, the main focus of the people was not the plot itself, but rather the actor. The delirious scenes where he repeatedly shoots the antagonist in the chest with such manic countenance proved to be a hit, generating thousands of clips and reactions online.

“Oh my god, he is so good??? I was genuinely scared.” “Would it be controversial if I said that he's a better actor than the antagonist here? I felt genuine fear when he emptied that barrel, like holy shit, pure talent i say” “Ahhh suguru geto the man you areee <3”

And with that, his career finally launches up to the stars.

★

When you first met Suguru, it was during the rise of his career.

With his growing fame and fanbase, the company that handled him decided to provide him more staff. Instead of just a single manager and a small glam team, he gets three more and a bigger team; there's even a personal assistant hired.

That's you.

When you first heard of your transfer as a PA, you're honestly worried. It's a role that requires being close to your client all the time. As a make-up artist that sidelines as a manager, you're only used to being called when needed then let go after your work is done.

This is also your first time being transferred to an apartment complex near a subdivision all for the sole reason of being closer to your employer.

But the worry gradually melted away when you met the man himself. Suguru is well-known for intimidating and crazy roles, hence the subconscious that he's also intimidating in real-life, but after all, the screen does not equate to reality.

Suguru is actually welcoming of you, even inviting you to his home inside the subdivision for a dinner. He insisted that since you're going to spend the majority of the time together, then you should get comfortable with each other's presence.

In real life, he turns out to be a mellow guy. He's pleasant company during the dinner, telling you about himself and laughing softly at the turn of events in his life.

You think that maybe it's not that bad after all.

★

It's been half a year now since you started working for Suguru.

As a PA, you honestly expected worse than whatever you have now. There were horror stories from your much more experienced co-workers about celebrities who were a pain in ass to assist, such as some of them being plain rude or some being difficult to communicate with.

Luckily for you, Suguru is none of that.

Sometimes you even wonder if you're needed here. The man is self-sufficient, like he didn't really need any sort of personnel like you. In fact, most of your time is spent just standing close to him or warning him of places where he could be mobbed; none of that carrying his stuff or running after him like you imagined before.

“Morning Mr. Geto, I brought you coffee and snacks.” 

“Really? I just also bought myself coffee just a few minutes ago, still, thank you.”

You tried explaining to him that he should focus on the less mundane things as that is your job and that he shouldn't go around public places too much, but he only replied with a sweet smile and a “don't worry about me too much.”

★

If there's one thing Suguru hates, it's feeling alone and pathetic.

Back when he's younger, he was that one reserved guy in a group of friends. He's reliable and trustworthy, so he's grown to offer help whenever and wherever.

Unfortunately, he's also grown to bottle up his worries and just ignores it until it piles up. Sometimes, he's tempted to just spill his brains out to someone and vent, but he thinks he might lose his role of being the reliable one if he does.

So he turns to acting. He turned to countless scripts, acted out his heart and his hidden emotions. It's easier this way, he thinks, because if anyone asks, then he could simply say that it's all an act.

★

Months turn to years and you continue your work. A busy schedule for such a big star is no surprise. You accompany him to photoshoots, interviews and business abroad. Although it's a tiring job, it's not unpleasant.

“I think you should really drop the mister and just call me Suguru.”

“Huh? Oh… yeah sure if that makes you comfortable.”

Your client is not hard to work with. You would even dare say that the two of you have gotten more comfortable around each other. He's friendly and on some rare occasions, even chatty, but still, you try to maintain a professional relationship with him.

Once during a busy taping for one of his series, you spent an entire night collaborating with his managers for his schedule. It was already dawn the next moment you looked outside. As you're about to pass out on the table, a hand reaches out, holding coffee and medicine.

“Don't get sick on me now.” 

It was Suguru. He was wearing a simple white tee and sweatpants, his hair neatly tied up. Your heart skipped a beat in realization, as you tried to avert your gaze and hide your cheeks.

“Oh, thank you, I should've been the one doing this.” There was a slight laugh in your tone, still reeling yourself after thinking how gorgeous your client is.

This is bad.

“Really? But you look like you'll drop down and start sleeping on the floor in your state. Don't worry about the schedule, I'll figure it out.”

Here he goes again, he's fond of saying the letter “I” you think. He has an entire team dedicated to him but for some reason he always thinks by himself, never involving them until someone reminds him that he should.

“So… just rest? No one's gonna scold you tomorrow” He urges you. You chuckle at his words.

“I promise, I always got you”

Now that you think about it, Suguru seems to stick around you more lately.

★

Lately, Suguru cannot stop thinking about you.

You, his sweet personal assistant that is so eager to help him. When he first heard of you, he thought that you're an unnecessary addition to his team. He doesn't need help in things like that, he can do it by himself.

But spending time with you, he found your willingness to help and support him endearing. You like to insist on doing things for him, and when he actually asks, you don't chastise him for it.

BANG!

“Boy, this is my first time seeing you miss in a while. Actually, you look out of it man, what's on your mind?” A friend of him asks, the one who trained him in this little hobby of his.

At first, Suguru only learned shooting for a role, but he quickly realized that likes it enough to continue. He thinks it's therapeutic, sometimes he likes to imagine the people who annoyed him that day in one of those target boards.

“Nothing, just tired.” He answers flatly, bringing the gun back down to the table and then sitting on it. 

“Really? Huh, I thought it's about that girl you were always with, honestly surprised she puts up with you, you're kinda hard to talk to.”

Suguru's eyes went wide for a second, shock flashing to his face.

Is he really that obvious?

“Ooooh got ya, if that was me I wouldn't be able to focus either honestly,” 

“Shut the fuck up.” Suguru once again picks up the gun and reloads it. The man in front of him starts laughing, which annoyed Suguru more.

As he was doing a few more shots, the laughter suddenly fades. He looks away to his target and nearly drops his gun.

“Suguru?”

Suguru was dumbfounded, he honestly forgot that he sent you his location earlier. He also may have forgotten that you will go wherever he is because you're hands-on like that.

“Hey, I was just doing some practice shooting. Sorry about this guy though,” He shoots a glare at him, in which his friend takes a sign to leave the two of you alone.

★

When you saw Suguru holding a gun, full focus on the target in front of him, you were reminded of his notable roles.

While he is not a typecast per se, his well-known roles tend to lean on more intense ones. Killers, antagonistic businessmen, vengeful protagonists; he's a very famous pick for these types of characters.

Suddenly, you blurted out, “you're really different from the roles you take.”

He looks at you, waiting for you to elaborate.

“I mean, I sometimes watch your clips online, and man, you're so believable in each one of them, but in real life you're actually pretty… hmm, calm?”

He laughs at that, “why, do you think I’m also crazy like my roles huh?” he jests.

“Hey! I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I just thought that maybe you're more… fiery? In real life because you're very good at acting crazy and stuff.”

“I might be, who knows”

Your head tilts a little, with a small ‘huh’ coming out of you. Suguru chuckles again, putting his gun down and sits beside you. He ruffles your hair and looks at you with an unreadable expression.

You might be the first one to know.

★

You and Suguru stay in the dressing room while waiting for the awards show to begin. He just finished his makeup and is now just sitting in front of the mirror. His makeup artist went outside to fetch a group of idols, leaving the two of you alone.

You sit far from him, on a couch at the end of the room. There was a tinge of disappointment when the makeup artist left. At any rate, you might just combust from overthinking.

You really need to keep things professional.

Lately, you feel like Suguru is getting way too touchy with you. Sometimes, he puts his arms around your shoulders when walking on streets (he says it's to avoid getting separated, but you think that his actions might actually catch more attention). He has also developed a habit of spamming you with messages and videos. At first you think it's funny and interesting, because it's your first time seeing this side of him, but as time goes on, the random stuff he sends turns to more specific ones — like edits of you two together.

He once sent you a video featuring pictures of you two together. It's not weird for a celebrity and their PA to be spotted together, what's weird is that Suguru loves to send this to you everytime.

You caught him browsing the comments once.

“Pardon my parasocialness but they look cute together no?” “Wow his PA is actually a beauty, if she were to become an idol, she's going to be my fav”

When he thinks you weren't looking, you see him like the other comment and then report the other one.

★

The makeup artist finally returns, two males in tow. She said they're from the group performing for the opening and that she needs help with their arrangements.

You immediately stand-up and approach them, you mention your experience as a makeup artist and then start helping set up the products on the table.

Suguru frowns, when he was the one on that seat earlier, you didn't bother helping on his makeup. You stayed behind, opting to do checks on his outfits and browsing through your checklists.

When he knew of your experience as a makeup artist, he asked you multiple times to assist him, in which you easily agreed to. But as time went by, you started pointing out his glam team and telling him that they'll be more than enough.

Lately, you also reply to his messages slower. Sometimes when you do, it's just through a reaction button. When he tries to  invite you for dinner, you always interrupt him, saying you already cooked and are on the way to drop it to his home. You always immediately leave once you do so.

Have you been catching on?

It hurt him to think that this was your reaction when you realized. Are you scared that you'll be bashed by his fans? Are you scared that you won't look professional anymore? Are you scared of him?

He knows that all of those are valid fears but sometimes he wishes you're just as in love with him as he is to you enough to ignore all these worries.

He finalizes in his brain one night that yes, he's in love with you. A part of him believed that you will be too, but with the way you started keeping distance, all of his delusions are stamped down. It hurts him really, that you're not even considering — that you're not even taking him seriously.

You look so lovely laughing with the idol you're currently applying foundation on, but it absolutely irritates him that you're not laughing with him. That it's not him bringing such a beautiful smile to your face.

All right then, he'll just show you how sincere he is.

★

You finally finished with the makeup, just in time before the show starts. The makeup artist and the two idols thank you profusely before going out the door.

Just as you're about to follow them, a hand grabs your wrist.

“Leaving me alone here?” In your absolute dismay, it was Suguru who pulled you back.

“Ah, of course not! I was just sending them out.” You awkwardly laugh, which earned a stare from him.

“Well it looks like you're leaving me, but whatever, hear me out first.” 

It was the little things like this that makes you doubt your position as his colleague. Too straightforward, no boundaries. You try to convince yourself that no, this is just friendly banter, we work closely afterall, but the intense stares and constant touching are always challenging that thought.

“I bought a mansion somewhere around the peninsula, accompany me there.”

Times like this you realize that Suguru has changed. A mansion, so suddenly? When he's the type of man to carefully plan out first?

You generally don't pry about his personal investments, and he's not one to involve you with those either.

Except this one.

Despite your questions, you put up a strained smile, and blurt out a ‘yes’ as a reply.

Suguru smiles at that, although it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

★

In your line of work, you're used to running a lot.

Being a PA, a make-up artist and a manager for busy artists tends to expose you to many hours of running after errands and last-minute changes on set.

But despite all that, this is your first time running this much.

You're not quite sure how many acres the new land Suguru Geto acquired has, but it's definitely large enough to get lost into, accompanied by trees that tower, seemingly fracturing the night sky around you. It's dark and there were no stars in the sky.

But there might be one tailing you right now.

When Suguru broke the news of buying a new mansion and its surrounding land in a remote area, you thought it was for investment purposes. 

When Suguru drove you there so you could explore the place together and assess the possible uses for it, you thought that it was to inform you as his staff of his future plans for this asset.

When Suguru brings you inside the mansion and locks it down from entry and exit, your earlier worries were answered and now all your reasoning is thrown out the window, leaving you all alone with him.

He stays there with you for a week, you cry to him for a week. Repeatedly coaxing him to at least think about his career, when he mentions attending an endorsement shoot, you were overjoyed.

You were absolutely horrified by your client’s descent to… whatever this is. You've seen signs on him, the special treatment, the funny stares, you've seen it.

You just didn't know how deep it goes down.

You did your best to explore the nooks and crannies of the infrastructure and to fully remember his schedules, setting a perfect timing to jump down a low enough window and hopefully traverse the territory back into the city.

But not even an hour of escape and you're already feeling the signs of your captor.

Four years ago, when Suguru Geto first debuted in an action film, he took a rigorous firearm training program.

And years later, he seemed to have taken a liking to that hobby.

You heard of a loud bang as you're running, nearly tripping you over in shock. There's no way he's here and there's no way he's using a gun just for you right? But when you hear steps more frantic than yours, your heart drops to your stomach.

“Dearest, where are you going?”

There, clad in a black sweater and armed with a handgun, Suguru Geto is closing in the distance. He's wearing his usual closed-eyed smile, but there's something wrong, something unnatural with it.

Like he's forcefully pressing down on some violent emotion.

Your heart lurches and you start running as fast as you can manage. There was no way he's here already, he was supposed to show up to an endorsement today, did he not go?

With your refusal to answer him, what tethers his last restraints broke loose and he's now aggressively tailing after you.

“I asked you a fucking question, where are you going, are you trying to escape me now?” Contrary to his demeanor, the way Suguru speaks is softer, but there's certainly an accusatory tone to it.

The screen does not equate to reality,

When you kept running instead of answering, another loud gunshot resonated in the forest.

But there could be similarities.

This time, the bang sounded closer to you, causing you to duck down. But as you're just collecting your bearings, another shot echoed. And then another, and another.

Each shot seems to get closer and closer.

You're debating whether Suguru would actually directly hit you, you knew of his hobbies, you know that with his distance, he can definitely hit you. You wanted to gamble by actually standing up straight to continue running, betting on the chances that he's just scaring you and wouldn't dare to shoot you.

But unfortunately courage doesn't come easy when you're against an armed madman gunning at your direction. Your body resorted to running while ducked down, but you lacked visibility to your surroundings and was slower this way.

Way slower than you would've wanted, because after a while you felt an arm hooking you into a hard chest. Suguru catches up to you, leaning his head into your shoulders and cradling your body with both of his arms.

The one holding the handgun rises up to your neck. The next thing you know is the feeling of the cold barrel lining to your skin.

You, frozen in fear and him exhausted, both of you stayed in that position for a few moments. Millions of thoughts are running in your head. Your trance was broken when you heard his soft voice, his breath fanning your neck.

“Got ya.”

He always does, just like he promised.

[seraph's notes]: mmm yes actor geto, i'd religiously watch all his flims ngl.

want more? check out the [database.] for other content!

[strawberryforks]

cops & chaos // tim bradford x f!reader

(part 1/3)

warnings: violence, kidnapping, guns, uhh probably other stuff too

a/n: thank you @113littlecrime for requesting i lovelovelove a good angsty plot-line. also, i wrote this instead of doing my classwork (#pleasevalidatemypreferredprocrastinationmethods) and i’m really hoping this means that the writers-block is gone because i’ve written over 5k words today after a way-too-long break. four-something-thousand of them was fanfic but trust, i’ll get back to my originally scheduled program (my silly little romantasies) soon

You lost your phone during the struggle so Life 360, the app your boyfriend insisted you download, would not come in clutch. The only person you could rely on right now was yourself and you… well, you were a little bit busy. Tied up with something, if you will.

You wanted your phone–wanted whatever invasion of privacy you could get. As long as it screamed: Here! I’m right here! And now? You were regretting turning down the one-month anniversary gift Tim had tried to give you, too.

“Baby,” he’d said, “please take it.” Tim Bradford tried pushing the box with a custom necklace inside of it back to you. Upon first glance, you had loved it. Studded with your birthstone, you were in awe. Immediately, you plucked it from where it lie and studied it appreciatively. When your thumb and index finger brushed over the jewelry, Tim looked nervous. You repeated the motion and something poked you—you moved it closer to your eyes and barked out an anxious bout of laughter. An incredulous one. Your boyfriend of one month (sure, you had known each other forever. Gone to elementary school together, then to the military, then, after being discharged you had decided to join him in his next adventure: becoming a cop. You and Tim had known the inner workings of each other’s mind, always. You were best friends but the label was never strong enough; best friends but did things best friends didn’t. Tim and you went out to eat and he always insisted on paying. When he was anywhere he needed a DD–or anything really–you were who he called. Once upon a time, he would rescue you from shitty boyfriends, then, he’d be jealous of the decent ones. Happy for you, but jealous, as you wasted time better spent with another whatshisface. You realised pretty quickly that your relationship, the only serious one you ever had, wasn’t fulfilling you. When you realised what was missing, that Tim was missing, you broke it off, lest you lead on a poor bloke while being in love, because that’s what you were) with your best friend. Things went back to the normal you knew. For three more years, you and Tim were friends with all kinds of benefits and just… no label. It took a friend and coworker, Angela Lopez, starting a family for him to realise he wanted to, too. And sure, the two of you, with your unorthodox relationship could’ve moved in together and called yourself roommates. You could’ve eventually had kids and called yourself co-parents but Tim came to the conclusion he wanted to call you his, instead. You always had been but the label was nice) still, your boyfriend of one month had given you a necklace with a tracker in it and you were only one half of shocked and appalled. “Tim, no,” you told him. You handed the box back, necklace plopped unceremoniously inside of it. “That, just so you know, is crazy.”

You two argued. Nothing bad but nothing good, either.

“Please, it’s for your safety”//”I’m just as capable of taking care of myself as you are. Do you want to wear a glorified collar and be microchipped like a dog?”//”I’ll wear one if you do,” and you snorted at that one, but,//”No, Tim. I already downloaded that stupid app of yours. (Life 360) Just because we slapped a label on this—us—doesn’t mean you need my location every second of every day.”//”You already tell me where you’re going, Y/n/n–”//”Exactly! I already tell you where I’m going so this is unnecessary. It’s a pretty necklace so I’ll wear it on one condition”//Of course. Anything”//”The tracker comes out.”

You were stubborn and you were an idiot. So, while a pretty necklace, covered in your birthstone, rested below your collarbone it was useless. Pretty but useless: how you were feeling right about now. Well, scratch that… with your hands wrenched behind your back, your wrists rubbed raw from the rope that pinned them together, and the blood smeared on your cheek and dripping from your bottom lip, you weren’t feeling too hot. Pretty wasn’t a descriptor you could use unless it was a prefix. You were in a pretty shit situation, you had been pretty stupid, walking home alone in the dark when you had a feeling the black SUV parked at the gas station you shopped at was the same one that had been parked on your street when you went for your morning job. You were pretty embarrassed that you’d gotten into your current situation and moreover, you were pretty pissed off.

Tied to a shitty chair inside of a shitty warehouse you felt like the stereotypical victim and that was something that, in all your years on this earth, you had never been. Water dripped onto the ground from a hole in the rusted sheet metal roof and a crowd of thugs assembled a few dozen feet away from you. Some of them wore skee masks but the ones that were too dumb to, you cataloged, taking note of their appearances and adding them to your shit-list. When, not if, you got out of here you would make it your personal mission to send all of these losers to jail.

Wonder how they’ll like being trapped.

You’re getting ahead of yourself.

Way.

There’s duct tape covering your mouth and you lick it until there’s space between the plush of your lips and the grey of the tape. Some skin goes with but we can’t all be winners, can we? Then, able to speak again and ready to make them regret the shoddy attempt at shutting you up: spoiler they can’t, you start seeking some attention. “Hey assholes!” you yell, “you know you’re supposed to treat your house-guests well, right? I mean, you’re halfway there! Thanks for taking my coat, and all! (you’re fucking cold) But like, I could use some water. And not introducing yourselves? Dick move.”

You get your water. A bucket of it, thrown in your face.

Like a wet dog, you shake your head. Hair, weighed down by wetness, whips every which way. It slaps against your skin. Burns, a little.

You’re like a dog. A wet dog, shaking off. You snarl like a dog too, spit like one. You let them know you’ll bite like one, too, if the opportunity presents itself.

Your wrists twist behind you, toying with the rope. It doesn’t loosen, barely has any give, and all it does is chafe and chafe.

“I thought I told you to shut her up!” Shouted one of the mask-wearing men.

“You’re buddies are incompetent,” you spit, wishing you could swipe the water away from your face. The hair out of your eyes,

The man, the one whose running this circus you’ve unfortunately found yourself a part of stalks closer, and you figure this is as good of time as ever to try and figure out what the hell is going on. “What do you want?” you ask, cautiously, as he moves even closer.

His shadow falls over you like a cloak; like the rescue blanket the EMTS will drape over your shoulders if your cop-buddies find you, like the arms that would wrap around you if Tim, did, and like the black sheet that would cover you if it all went wrong. As skilled as you were - you weren’t naive and knew this situation was a precarious one. At any time, it could go bad. If you had an idea of the man’s motivation, maybe you could pull a Nolan. Talk to them until their ears bled and their hearts, too, until they let you go and begged for forgiveness in confession at a church. “What’s your plan here, bud? Why me?”

“Y/n L/n.”

Well that’s fan-fucking-tastic. It’s personal.

You pay special attention to his voice, then. To the man's brown eyes and the bushy eyebrows half-visible in the mask’s holes. It’s not familiar but… but maybe your wrong. In your various careers, both dangerous, you’ve seen many faces. On case files, mid-battle, on the street. This one is unspecial; nothing new. “That’s me,” you say (because the dude knows already)

“What’s your name?” you return wearing a too-shitty smile. Maybe you’re a glutton for punishment.

His calloused hand smacked into your face. A sharp sensation stung your cheek and the silver band he wore on his ring ringer (married? No way) sliced your flesh. You could feel it swell, wiped it onto your shoulder anyways. You bite your tongue, lest you say anything else that ends up with you being hit again. “What do you want? Is it money?” you don’t suggest the possibility that it’s revenge; you don’t want to give whoever this is the idea. You know it’s likely, know you’ve made enemies and–

“Your partner,” he sneers, “is digging around where he shouldn’t be. We figured that this would change his attitude, take something of his, and he would focus on you. Not… well, sweetheart, that’s none of your business.”

It was revenge. Not on you. Hm, you thought, I feel a little less shitty now that I know this isn’t all my fault.

“So what? You’re going to kill me? Distract him with grief?” You really hope that’s not the fucking plan. The man, he doesn’t react to your statement–it’s chilling and reassuring. Chilling, because the thought of death doesn’t phase him and reassuring, comforting, because he isn’t overtly eager. He doesn’t smirk, doesn’t smack you again.

“No. You’re worth more alive than in the ground, though… an unmarked grave might be how our plans change if you don’t cooperate. He’d keep searching until he found a body, wouldn’t he? So loyal, so determined. (You’re starting to think this guy has a thing for your boyfriend. A little crush, maybe?) So stupid, poking around where he doesn’t belong. If Tim doesn’t learn to play our game you won’t be the only one cold and gone.”

You cringed.

“You’re just going to keep me here, then? Tied up? Under lock and fucking key?”

“Under rope and duct tape, you mean.”

You can’t help it. It’s instinct first, then it’s a slowly brewing plan. You won’t let them hurt Tim; you’ve protected him before, will again. The mixture of spit and blood in your mouth passes your pursed lips and lands on the uppermost bridge of your kidnapper’s nose. “Dumb little–” and then there’s that hand, in your face again. This time he hit you so hard your head spun. Ears ringing, the chair you were tied to wobbled and hit the ground with a large crack. The stupid fucker left you like that, on your side, not mindful of your hands while he continued to gloat and monologue like some wannabe Doofensmirtz protege.

“Tim will be so busy looking for you he won’t realise that my guys, they’re looking for him. A bullet will do nicely, won’t it? WIA to KIA, just like that? Survive in the–”

In the military. This man is military.

You wonder how he got in. Wonder, how someone so stupid, so ignorant, so blinded by ego and cockiness, could’ve been trusted to serve the country.

You don’t find out.

Not as you’re stood back up and leaned against a wall (because one of the chair’s legs broke) not as your neck bends at an angle you know you’ll feel for weeks, and not as in your closed fist, sits a piece of broken glass.

[captainsophiestark]

Can You Feel The Magic In The Air?

Percy Weasley x Reader

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Requested by anon! Thanks for being patient, I hope you like it!

Fandom: Harry Potter

Summary: Percy and his SO are driving themselves crazy studying for N.E.W.T.s, until they both decide they need some rest. Instead of sleep, though, they decide to take a moment to enjoy their last week at Hogwarts together.

Word Count: 1,775

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

The 1709 Warlocks' Convention established many important international wizarding laws and agreements that are still in effect today. Name three and provide an example of a Wizengamot case dealing with each, as well as-

I groaned, giving up halfway through reading the practice test question and face-planting on my book instead. The thud echoed through the otherwise silent library. This was my last weekend at Hogwarts before graduation, and I was spending it tearing my hair out studying for the second week of N.E.W.T.s, which would be starting tomorrow morning.

The first week had left me exhausted, both mentally and physically. The rest of the school and I had spent most of this weekend in between testing doing more studying, which hadn't helped much with the exhaustion. Making it through another week of tests was going to require a small miracle.

On the bright side, I wasn't going through it alone. Every other 7th year in the school was in the same boat as me, and none quite so stressed and determined to do well as my boyfriend, Percy Weasley. The two of us had been each other's main support system for a lot longer than just this year's N.E.W.T.s, but that support was being taken to a whole new level with this past week and next.

Almost on cue, I felt a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. I just groaned, not even bothering to try to lift my head off my book.

"Darling. Are you... alright?"

Percy's voice was thick, like he'd just woken up himself. I groaned again, but shifted enough that I could actually look at my boyfriend.

"I... literally don't think I can do this anymore. I'm going crazy."

Percy took a deep breath, nodding as he let it out.

"As important as it is for us to study, at this point, it might be better for us to get a bit of sleep."

I hummed, turning the idea over in my mind. The sun had just set, so it wasn't a horribly unreasonable time to go to bed. But all I'd been doing for the past month was sleeping, eating, and studying. And the thought of continuing that routine tonight, tomorrow, and for another week with no variation was almost to much to handle.

I looked back at Percy, who was paler than usual and looked to be as much in need of a break as I was.

"Or..."

"...Or?"

"I want a break, Percy, but I also want to enjoy my last week at Hogwarts. It's our final year! I want to spend it outside of this library, outside of these stacks of books, with you. I know we're both exhausted, but... let's do something fun. Just take a little bit of a break, ignore all this stress for once in our lives, and take a moment to enjoy this last week before we graduate and move on to the next part of our lives."

The corner of Percy's mouth twitched into a half-smile. He shook his head, but then, he closed the book in front of him and looked back at me, this time with a full smile.

"You know, this might be the sleep deprivation talking, but... let's do it. Let's take a break and do something together with our last week at Hogwarts."

I grinned. Maybe Percy was right, maybe it was the exhaustion talking, but for the first time in my life as we left the books behind in the library, I didn't have the little voice in the back of my head trying to remind me of all the upcoming tests I needed to study for. Instead, I was completely focused on Percy as he took my hand and we ran through the castle together.

"Where are we going?" huffed Percy as we picked up speed. I barely managed to stifle a laugh as I tugged him after me, down a set of stairs before they could move and throw us off course. It wasn't quite curfew yet, but even if it was after curfew, Percy was Head Boy and I was a prefect, so we were technically allowed to be out of bed.

"I'm not totally sure!" I replied, a breathy laugh escaping me as I made a last-second turn I hadn't been planning on.

Percy copied my laugh, then stopped short with a little gasp. He pulled on my hand to get me to stop with him, then looked at me with wide eyes, like he'd just been struck by lightning.

"I have an idea."

I raised my eyebrows, but Percy just grinned before taking off in the opposite direction, pulling me with him.

Neither of us had really ever done anything like this before, and honestly, it was a little bit freeing. An unexpected side effect of the exhaustion was less of the impulse control that usually kept me from following random, wild ideas and it was kind of nice.

I followed Percy through the halls of the castle until we ended up down by the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room. I raised an eyebrow at Percy as he finally stopped before a painting of a bunch of fruit.

"I... thought we could get some of our favorite foods from the kitchens," he said, dropping my hand to rub at the back of his neck. "I've heard my brothers talking about doing it, and I thought it could be a fun part of taking a break..."

"I think that's a great idea, Perce," I said with a smile. I turned back to the portrait and put my hands on my hips. "Do you... know how to get into the kitchens?"

"I do!" he said, puffing out his chest and grinning. He reached forward and touched the pear in the painting. It gave a little laugh, like it'd been tickled, and then the wall swung open to reveal the kitchens.

"Well, at least all that time you spend trying to keep your brothers on the rails has paid off a bit!" I said. Percy just shook his head, still smiling as we headed into the kitchen together.

We were met immediately with a whole host of house elves, smiling at us like we were long-expected guests. I don't know that either Percy or I had been planning to steal food from the kitchens, but whatever we'd been expecting to have to do ended up being unnecessary. The house elves loaded us up with all our favorite foods, almost before we'd been able to get a word out.

Barely ten minutes after entering the kitchens, Percy and I were leaving with our arms loaded with our favorite snacks and waves to the house elves as we stepped back into one of the main corridors of the castle.

"That was... much easier than I was expecting it to be," said Percy. I laughed.

"No kidding. I think your brothers oversold how hard that was going to be."

Percy nodded. "They most certainly did. Now all we have to do is find someplace to enjoy all of this."

I paused for a minute, mentally running through a list of semi-private locations in the castle. Our dorms were out and so was the Gryffindor Common Room. The library wasn't going to be an option for a thousand reasons, especially since it was officially after curfew. Even as Head Boy and a Prefect, it would probably be better if none of the teachers found us wandering around with armfuls of snacks.

After another moment's consideration, the perfect answer came to me in a stroke of absolute genius.

"...I have an idea."

****************

Percy and I made our way back through the castle and up to the Astronomy Tower. We'd be here for a test next week, but without a professor or any of the usual class equipment, it was actually pretty nice.

"C'mon," I said, pulling Percy with me to one of the windows looking out over the grounds. "We're in the astronomy tower, we ought to look at the stars."

We sat shoulder to shoulder together in the window well, the cool night air washing over us as our feet dangled over the edge of the tower. The railing was at the perfect height for us to lean against, keeping us safe while we could still feel freer than I'd ever felt behind all my stacks of books in the library.

We stayed up there for a long time, taking turns pointing out constellations. Once we ran out of constellations we knew, we started making them up. The two of us leaned against each other, heads together and rare stress-free smiles on our faces.

After a while, Percy turned to me, smile still in place. He had a warm glow about him that I didn't get to see very often in the midst of school-induced stress, which for the two of us, was almost all the time. I smiled back at him, feeling that same warm glow in my chest.

"You look amazing, love. You're... the most beautiful person I've ever met. I'm so lucky to be with you."

I laughed, waving Percy off as I leaned into his side.

"I look like an exhausted mess and I know it, Percy. But I appreciate you saying I look nice, anyway."

Percy shook his head and sat up, forcing me to do the same. He brought his hand up to my chin, gently tilting my head up until I met his eyes.

"You look gorgeous," he said, voice absolutely serious. "Absolutely gorgeous."

I smiled, and this time, a happy laugh bubbled out of me. I leaned in closer to Percy, and he immediately got the message. His lips met mine and fireworks exploded in my chest. I loved Percy so, so much. Neither of us had had the other on our bulleted plans for the end of our time at Hogwarts that would launch us forward into our careers afterwards, but damn if he hadn't been the best part of all of it so far.

We stayed up in the Astronomy Tower for a little while longer, wrapped up in each other, but eventually the night had to end. We wandered back to Gryffindor Tower, arms around each other and perfectly calm and at peace. Not a single problem or fact from studying even floated across my mind as the two of us paused in the common room together, just long enough to say goodnight.

When I checked the clock, I realized we'd actually only left the library about an hour ago. But with Percy, when the two of us were just enjoying our time together, an hour felt like a much better part of a lifetime.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21 @diego42

Harry Potter Taglist: @valkyriepirate

[sturnzsblog]

false promises and empty dreams 18

summary: y/n life changes and not for the best she is forced to move in with three people that she barely knows. She ends up falling for one of these strangers, but who will it be?

Warnings: mentions of death, stalking, drugs ( not actual use) and smut! this is for all parts of the story! please let me know if i missed any!

It had been a week since the call.

Since that call.

And somehow, in just seven days, my life had started to feel like a snow globe someone shook without warning.

Every morning, I woke up to a “good morning” text or call from her. Every night, we’d talk until one of us yawned too many times to keep the conversation going. My mom was back—at least, a version of her

And it felt… good.

Too good, maybe.

“Y/N,” she said on the phone that morning, her voice soft and full of hope. “Why don’t you come visit me? Just for a day or two. I’d love to see your face.”

I sat cross-legged on the floor of the laundry room, the only place in the house where I felt like I could think lately. I had a hoodie half-folded in my lap and a knot growing in my chest.

Visit her? Like—actually see her?

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t want to mess with your recovery or anything.”

“I’m in a really good place, baby. I want to see you. Just a weekend—two days. I promise it won’t be overwhelming.”

I nodded slowly even though she couldn’t see me. “Okay… I’ll look at flights.”

⸻

Later that afternoon, I sat on the kitchen counter while the boys hovered around the island eating chips and arguing over which movie to watch later.

Jimmy had stopped by and was rummaging through the fridge for his “daily visit snack,” as he called it.

My heart beat faster the longer I waited.

Finally, I cleared my throat.

“Hey, uh… can I tell you guys something?”

All three of them looked up—Matt from where he leaned on the sink, Chris from the stool closest to me, and Jimmy with a pickle halfway to his mouth.

“I talked to my mom again,” I started, watching their expressions closely. Chris nodded supportively. Matt stiffened a little. Jimmy blinked but didn’t say anything.

“And… I’ve been talking to her every day. She’s in a rehab program in New York. Doing really well.”

“That’s good,” Jimmy said, then finally took his bite.

“She invited me to visit for a couple of days,” I said, bracing myself. “So… I’m going.”

There was a pause.

“By yourself?” Matt asked.

I nodded.

“When?” Chris asked, softer.

“Tomorrow morning. I bought the ticket already.”

“Is that safe?” Matt asked, his voice a little sharper now. “You haven’t seen her in years.”

“I know,” I said quickly. “But it’s just two days. She’s in a residential center with supervision. I already called the facility and everything. I’m not being reckless.”

Chris reached over and touched my hand lightly. “I think it’s brave.”

I gave him a grateful smile.

Matt looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t. He just exhaled hard through his nose and left the room.

Jimmy muttered, “Oof,” and popped another chip into his mouth.

⸻

That night, I found Matt in the backyard by the pool, staring up at the sky like it had all the answers he didn’t want to ask me for.

“Can I sit?” I asked.

He nodded.

I settled next to him, knees pulled to my chest. The air was cool, breezy, but not too cold.

“You’re mad at me.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re quiet. That usually means you’re mad.”

Matt sighed, then looked at me, his face unreadable in the dim light. “I’m not mad. I’m just… worried.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I know you think that. But you’re letting her in so fast. What if she hurts you again?”

I blinked back tears. “I know it’s a risk. But I can’t live my life avoiding people who hurt me. If she really is trying, then I have to give her a chance.”

Matt looked away.

“Why does this feel like you don’t trust me to make my own decisions?” I asked, the words stinging as they came out.

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just—I care about you, Y/N. A lot. And you’ve been through so much already. I don’t want you to break again.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

So instead, I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I’ll be back in two days.”

He nodded.

“And maybe I’ll come back stronger.”

He sighed. “I hope so.”

⸻

In my room that night, Chris knocked once before letting himself in.

“Packed yet?”

“Almost,” I said, zipping up the small duffel bag on my bed.

He leaned against the doorframe. “You sure you’re okay doing this alone?”

“I think I need to.”

He nodded, then walked over and hugged me—tight.

“If anything goes sideways, you call me, okay? I will drive to New York if I have to.”

I laughed. “You hate driving. plus it’s like a two day drive.”

“Exactly. That’s how serious I am.”

I hugged him tighter. “Thanks, Chris.”

He pulled back and smiled. “Don’t forget your charger. And wear layers. New York’s cold.”

“I know. I’ve lived there, remember?”

“Still. You’re a California girl now. You’ll forget.”

I grinned and finally zipped up the bag completely. I was going. It was happening.

Two days. A thousand emotions. One chance to maybe, just maybe, start healing a part of me I’d kept buried for too long.

taglist 💋

@n00dl3zzz @pip4444chris @sturnzzlovee @bernardmatthews @badbishkayleee @katiebae333

[yuyan]

To my darling

A/n: Merry Christmas and have a happy new year! I hope you enjoy it @pavo-ocell-me! This was a very fun event that I loved taking part in @2023gisecretsanta

Pairing: Lyney x gn!reader

Tags: Pure fluff! Modern au, implied school/college setting, penpals, pre-established relationship, reader is learning French, where reader lives doesn't have snow, one curse word just one ^^

"Take intermediate French they said. You'll be fine they said," you muttered to no one in particular as you read the Google translation over and over again. "My French teacher is going to kill me."

You rubbed your eyes, peeking out of makeshift pillow your arms made. Standing tall at the front of the class with a booming voice was your French teacher. She held a small, clear glass jar with folded bits of paper inside in one hand while placing a stack of letters on her lectern with her other.

"Speaking with natives is an excellent and necessary way to develop your language skills (unlike this soon to be 30 minute speech) so due to the cancellation of the exchange program for this year and the long dragged on meeting, we have decided to give you all pen pals!" she announced. Her arms held a wide stance, awaiting for something you were unaware of.

Some whispers and small squeals echoed through the lecture hall. Others groaned and put their head on the desk, waiting for celestia, perhaps even an archon to take them. You did neither.

"I wish I could turn back time," you sighed. After contemplating for an hour whether your teacher would ever find out that you used Google translate to write half your letter or not, you started handwriting it on a stack of fancy paper you really shouldn't have been able to afford. "Shell never know. It's not like he can tell her anyways."

As you dragged your pen along the piece of paper, you remembered the speech about how necessary this was, the small piece of paper you pulled out of the bag and the letter that came with it. With a small smile playing on your lips, you signed off and stuck the small paper that read "lyney" just below your name with a paper rainbow rose you made yourself. It had its imperfections but it's similarity to the fresh ones he sent you left you content.

"Oh my god why did he reply so fast?" you asked yourself. Not even 3 days later and you received another letter from lyney. You traced the grooves of the red wax seal made you shiver. He wouldn't ever know you used google translate right? With pursed lips, you opened it. Perfume immediately muddled your senses as you opened up the envelope. Your peers hadn't even sent their first letter, let alone receive their second.

As you skimmed over the letter, you took down some notes like where he's from–which was so uncessary–what he likes to do and some of his contact details. You hummed, giving yourself imaginary pats on the back for reading a whole three sentences before typing the other two paragraphs into Google translate. You really needed to switch classes, desperately.

It was only then you spotted that a sentence in french came out the same in the translation. "You really shouldn't be using Google translate for these letters," written at the very bottom. Well fuck.

"You are friends with your penpal? Well that's lovely (name)," your French teacher clapped with bright sparkles in her eyes. It blinded you for a second and you had to look away before you lost the ability to see forever.

Instagram

(potato_name):lyney sent a reel.

(potato_name):lyney sent a picture.

(potato_name):lyney sent you a mes...

I didn't use Google translate for this one. Are you proud of me? You wrote at the bottom before slipping the letter into its envelope and sealing it with the new wax stamp set you bought recently.

You rushed back home. You winced at the clatter of your laptop in your bag hitting the floor, deciding it was a problem for future you. Ripping open the envelope and skimming through the letter, you read at the very bottom 'I am proud of anything you do, mon Cheri."

A smile broke out onto your lips as you neatly kept it away in a small box your mother got you from Fontaine when you were little. The small box was made of white marble with gold outlining its edges and gathering in a few swirls in the middle where the golden clasp rested.

The Sun shone brightly despite it being the middle of December. Rays of Sunlight squeezed through your closed curtains and you wondered if it was snowing in Fontaine right now. Did Lyney like playing in the snow?

Letters became less and less frequent as your peers lost motivation in writing long drawn out of paragraphs with nothing but small talk. A year and a half had passed yet your teacher held a strong morale despite the head of languages not enforcing this penpals program anymore. Even they must have gotten tired of the back and forth.

A few days until Christmas holidays. Opening your phone, you checked to see if lyney had texted you anything. Nothing...

Your eyes kept glossing over your texts from Friday 11am. Its been a week. Pictures of him and his two siblings who added you back on Instagram. Even Lynette had texted you today, showing some new tea she bought from inazuma last week.

Lynette

My brother has been writing non-stop for the past few days. Are you guys still doing the penpals thing?

You

No, maybe he is writing to someone else?

Your stomach dropped as you reread your message. "Writing to someone else...I need fresh air." You took your phone and wallet and headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" your roomate called out but you were already heading to the lift. You ran your fingers through your hair, pushing it out of your face with a sigh. It shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter but this is the fifth time you've checked your phone this morning and its been a week with only a read tag.

"I seriously need to ban myself from my phone."

Lynette

Oh...nevermind. I'll ask him then.

Sent Friday 10 : 39am

"The christmas carnival was so much funner this year," your friend said, laughing. Then one hiccup escaped from her mouth. And then another one. Until you and your other friend bursted out laughing. "Not funny!"

"Yeah yeah. I still can't believe (Name) won that plushie from that shooting stall," your other friend said. He tossed another chip in his mouth, after finally calming down from his laughter.

"I'm surprised too. Those games are typically so rigged, I mean did you see the look on the owner's face though?" you said.

Holding up the little classic brown teddy bear, you admired it at all angles. Its red bow had a little bell hanging from the centre, jingling as you walked.

Its silly smile matched yours and then you noticed it. The small teddy's bowtie resembled the one Lyney wore in one of the pictures he sent. And the small envelope the size of your palm that the teddy held was a real one made of paper.

"(Name)? Whats wrong?"

"Nothing! I just realised my parents wanted me back at 10 and well its 11 so I have to go," you said with a bright smile, "Bye!"

"You live in a dorm though?" your friend countered, "(Name)!" But you were already walking out of the festival gates.

Picking out the small envelope, you brushed your thumb over the grooves of the wax seal. The same wax seal that you used for the last letter you sent. Did he really get the same stamp?

A mini rainbow rose fell out. The vibrant colours provided a stark contrast to the humid summer night. One letter. Five words. I love you, Mon cheri.

Your eyes widened and you nearly dropped the letter, fumbling with it for a bit. Taking in the cool nighttime breeze, you looked up only to see the person you hadn't talk to in a week standing only a few metres away from you.

Lyney held a bouquet of vibrant rainbow roses in one hand and the other behind his back.

"How are you..?" You took as step back, your gaze falling to the floor then back up at him again.

"I told you I'm a magician in one of my letters didn't I?" Lyney started, "I would appear anywhere if it was to be with you."

[astrodances]

"Now I've had the time of my life No, I never felt like this before Yes, I swear it's the truth And I owe it all to you"

This is a very, very special drawing for me. ✨

In September of last year, I watched Dancing With The Stars' "Step Into the Movies" special again, at the end of which they recreate "The Time of My Life" scene from Dirty Dancing. And that sent me on a nostalgia trip back to my high school theater days over a decade ago now, where the drama club accepted my idea to do a "Time of Our Lives" theme, and a performance for that song à la Glee. Mind you, I was mainly the stage manager/techie sort, but I did some scenes for the showcases, and participated in this song with my then-boyfriend, along with two other couples.

And while we were hanging out in the green room backstage, a friend took some pictures of us. Including the one that directly inspired this drawing of Webby + Lena.

This started out as a memory remix of that photo, after watching the DWTS special, because I thought these two lovebirds would be really cute subjects for it.

But once I got going, it turned into a love letter, for many things.

As part of the remix aspect of it, I now picture myself in Lena's spot in the photo, getting to have the short hair I wish I had had back then, and getting to wear a suit and tie! (Yes, in the original photo, I am wearing the dress and red bow Webby's sporting here, and I have long hair. 🙈 Though I will say here that the little heart necklace she's wearing is exactly like the one I had, too! :)) Drawing this was really cathartic for my nonbinary self. 💜

And as for Webby, in this remix, she represents someone that, in retrospect, I wish I had shared this moment with from back then. In many ways, she really was the Webby to my Lena. 💜💖💝

(Literally) beyond the subjects of this though, this is indeed very much a love letter to a lot of things, to passions. The background is pretty much a replica of the drama classroom wall we were in front of for the photo, at least as far as layout goes, with a few direct recreations of things that were on the wall and on the table there. Everything else was me being a passionate (theatre) nerd.

(Details (many details) of said nerdiness and alternate versions below the cut!)

I've included un-blurred and background-only versions (and a version with drop shadow lines on the girls, because why not? it's a cool effect!) below, but I just want to point out the details, because I'm so dang proud of this.

The posters/programs for The Phantom Blot of the Opera, Featherspray, Chickago, and My Fair Dewey are obvious duck-parody references to their real-world counterparts (with the latter being the exact poster they use in DuckTales, in Dewey's dream in "Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" So thanks, Dewey! 😂). The Featherspray one was also included because Hairspray was one of the shows we did in high school! And lemme just say, creating theater posters is really fun!!

The MJ the Musical poster and the half-shown Notre Dame de Paris "Duckbill" right behind Lena's head are particularly special to me, since they (along with Phantom) are my favorite musicals, and getting to draw those two was especially fun!

The L'Orange Theater poster in the top-right is a bunch of duck easter eggs in one - the L'Orange Theater is mentioned and seen in the very first episode of DuckTales 1987, and of course, there's Aquarioon from DT17! Looks like it toured in Duckburg a long time ago. 😉

And the sheet music is the DuckTales theme! (Or at least the left side of it :P)

The "Congrats" card, calendar (the whale for upper half was my own touch), folder, page of random backstage stuff behind Lena's head (which includes little Star Trek and Darkwing Duck references), and golden "Theatre" card (with my old director's favorite quote) are directly from the photo (or at least based on what I could see through its blurriness 😝), as is the very edge of a cast photo in the upper-right. The purple note (totally not with any secret messages whaaaaat) below that, the certificate of excellence, and the little pride heart pins everywhere are little garnishes/dedications. 😊

The stage/theater diagram below the certificate is really cool, because that's a direct recreation (+ another hidden message) of a project a friend and I did for stagecraft back in our freshman year - I was even able to copy my own handwriting for the labels! 😄😂

The "Time of Our Lives" poster is a reference to the showcase I mentioned above that inspired all this, though the real-life poster looked very different, from what I remember.

The green bag below is sorta a nod to the secret pal exchanges we used to do during shows. 😉

And finally:

The Glittering Goldie show poster is me just having an absolute blast drawing her once again and coming up with something for her Blackjack days! And bonus - I'll be posting a gradient-only version of Goldie tomorrow! Really happy with how she turned out!

And the "All the World's a Stage" poster is me combining all of my theatre nerdiness with my passion for space and a good pun! 😁

ANYWAY...

I learned a lot with this drawing, about creating and about myself.

And I just had so, so much fun with it - it was all love, all passion, all happiness for this one. 💜💖💝

Wishing the same for all of you. ✨

Love, Astro 💜

[mirai-e-jump]

TV Guide Dan, LDH Special Issue dan the Girls ft. Yuzuki Hirakawa Interview (translation below)

Publication December 1, 2023

-RESOLUTION-

"Hirakawa-san, you entered the entertainment industry after winning the Grand Prix in the vocal and dance category of LDH's, "LDH Presents THE GIRLS AUDITION" held in 2018. Please tell us why you took part in the audition."

Hirakawa: I've always liked LDH artists. I would go and see their live performances, and I watched "Weekly EXILE," a music information program that was being broadcast at the time. Then, I heard the announcement that they'd be holding an audition for female artists for the first time in a while. Before that, auditions had been limited to singing and dancing, but the auditions I attended included various categories, including singing and dancing, as well as acting and modeling. At the time, I wasn't interested in the entertainment world, but my parents and those around me recommended I do it, so I did it partially out of curiosity. However, as judging progressed, before I knew it, I won the Grand Prix…is how it felt. I like singing, but I didn't have any dreams of becoming a singer. After joining the agency, I took singing, dancing and acting lessons equally, and during those lessons, I decided to pursue acting.

"Winning the Grand Prix helped you in deciding to pursue a career in the entertainment industry."

Hirakawa: I was in my second year of high school when I won the Grand Prix, and I had to move from Kumamoto to Tokyo by myself, so I was determined, or rather, I felt I had no choice but to do it. The final stage of the audition was a training camp exam, where about 10 finalists spent a week together. While there, I met other kids who were seriously working hard to pursue their dreams, and I realized that I could no longer be half hearted in my efforts just because I had been chosen. However, when I made my debut as an actor in the stage play of "Moryo no Hako," I didn't know what to do or what was expected of me on the stage, so I just went along with things. It was only last year when I was cast as the role of Rita Kaniska (PapillonOhger) in "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger" that I was able to proudly say, "My profession is an actor. Actually, before I was cast for the role…there was a time when I was wondering if it was okay to continue down this path, or if I should look for another one. That's why I was so happy when I was chosen to play the role, and thought I could continue as an actor. However, I was alittle anxious before the broadcast started. Rita is the king of Gokkan and the Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice, but their gender isn't clearly stated, and their face is almost invisible, being hidden behind their collar and hair. Since this type of character hasn't been seen in the Super Sentai series before, I couldn't predict what kind of reaction we'd get from the viewers. But thankfully, the positive feedback I've received since airing started has made me enjoy filming even more.

"We feel that characters who don't specify their gender are appropriate in the current era."

Hirakawa: I'm grateful to have been given such a role. I've always thought that my appearance, personality and voice were (gender) neutral, so I was happy to have landed the role of Rita. At first, Rita was a calm and quiet character who didn't say much, but as the story progressed, they're able to rely on others, and gradually become able to express their feelings in public. Slowly, their humanity and cuteness is showing, and I hope that my performance will make the character even more beloved.

"We feel like it's more difficult to express a character that changes gradually, rather than one that changes drastically, but do you find it difficult?"

Hirakawa: I'm not sure…personally, I don't find it that difficult. More than the changes of Rita in the story, I think the relationship between me and all the cast members were the biggest change. As filming progressed, the relationship between the cast members deepened, and I feel that we're able to understand each other. I think this naturally led me to express myself in the role. The atmosphere when Rita and their retainer, Morfonia (Hasegawa Kasumi), are together has also changed. Of course, this happened after the halfway point of the story, but it also reflects the fact that the cast members have become closer to each other.

"And now, "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger Character Book: The Bonds Connected by Moffun and Racules?!" featuring Rita, Morfonia, and Hymeno Ran (played by Murakami Erica) is on sale. Please tell us your thoughts after looking back on the photo shoot and interview."

Hirakawa: In the TV series, Rita and Hymeno, and Rita and Morfonia are sometimes filmed together, but this is probably the first time that Hymeno, Rita, and Morfonia are together. This was the first time doing an interview with the three of us, so it was very refreshing. Rita is called the "Immovable King," a character with very few movements. So, there aren't that many posing variations, but Hymeno and Morfonia moved alot to add variety, so I felt thankful for that (laughs).

"In episodes 32 and 33 of the TV series, there was a collaboration with "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger." You co starred with Shiono Akihisa-kun, playing the role of Souji Rippukan (Kyoryu Green), who also belongs to LDH."

Hirakawa: The day after it was decided that I'd be appearing in King-Ohger, I had work to do with Shiono-san, and when I told him, "I'm going to be your junior in Super Sentai," he said to me, "I know it'll be a tough year, but please do your best." He also said, "I hope we can work together again somewhere." At that time, I never imagined that I'd be able to work with Shiono-san in King-Ohger, so I was really happy when the collaboration episodes were announced. We only had one day of filming, but I was able to hear stories about the "Kyoryuger" days, and I was deeply moved by being able to appear in the same scenes for the first time. The collaboration episodes were directed by Sakamoto Koichi, who's famous for his action direction, and although we had to fight more enemies without transforming than usual, since I like action, it didn't bother me, and it was a valuable experience. I'm also working with Amano Kousei-san, another senior at LDH, who plays Grodie Leucodium starting from episode 30. Since Grodie is Rita's enemy, they have many scenes together. Amano-san is very considerate, lending us things to cool our necks when we were on location during the hot season. Also, he gets involved with me on Twitter, and is a really funny and friendly person. However, once he gets into his role, he completely changes, which I think is amazing.

"Since our magazine mainly features men, we'd like to ask what kind of men Hirakawa-san likes."

Hirakawa: Someone who's firm and flexible. When he messes around, he'll completely mess around, and when he talks about serious matters, he's serious. I'm the type of person who gets excited when I'm having fun, so ideally, I'd like someone who has the same enthusiasm as me, and to take the initiative and have fun doing whatever it takes, instead of being drawn away from me (laughs). Also, I think it's wonderful if he can say, "Thank you" and, "I'm sorry" for even the smallest of things, and if he cares about family.

"If you could be reborn, would you prefer to be male or female?"

Hirakawa: I'd like to be male. I used to play with my brother, who's 5 years older than me, and his friends, and I wanted to be a boy too.

"Well then, if you could be a man for one day, what would you like to do?"

Hirakawa: I wonder…(taking time to think), I guess I'd do some muscle training. If I can become a muscular man like Kaku So-san, my co star in King-Ohger, I'd like to go to the gym and train my muscles until he admits defeat! Kaku-san said he can bench press 120 kg (265 lbs), so I'd like to aim for that too and show off my muscles to everyone (laughs).

[klavery]

My 5 Year Old Forever World!

This is just a general infodump post about my bedrock world, posts going into more specific locations and builds will follow...

the top image is the center of my area & main base, its... a unique build. heres a sky view of the land + a (slightly outdated) map (orientation marked 4 convenience)

Bulleted info!

my singleplayer world was originally created on 4/20/20 in version 1.15 on my switch, the current file size is 801.1mb, and the seed is 285279141 (i dont actually remember if i entered a seed or not, it mightve been something dumb like dragonheartshipping4lyfe or iheartirisxbenga, bcuz i was obsessed w them at the time HDHDGD). i am currently at 10009 in-game days, and my account playtime is 135 days and 12 hours (3200+ hours). aside from my test world and a couple copies it is the only world i play on bedrock.

i play on survival + normal difficulty and have cheats enabled, so on bedrock that sadly means no achievements. cheats i play with/have played with are keepinventory, teleport, use of barrier blocks, wandering trader spawns off, fire tick off, and creative/spectator in place of free-cam. before spectator was added i used the program amulet to serve its purpose. i have yet to see credits, get elytra, shulker boxes, or a beacon. i have also used online tools like chunkbase for locating biomes/structures, and amulet to trim my world.

sometimes i plan builds in a creative test world and copies of my survival world. i know this kind of thing can seem pointless, but i just dont get the same sense of satisfaction just building in a creative world. heres what my test world looks like!

my "build style" is over-detailed and inconsistent! i understand not many people enjoy that, but i do, i think its really fun! building whatever i want where ever i want with no regard to the surrounding builds was a staple of my world from the very beginning. it takes a lot of the stress off of just simply playing a video game! this is also a good time to mention that half my base is located underground, so theres a lot not visible in the overhead view! also also, disclaimer that some builds in my world are not of my own design (they are directly copied) or take inspiration from others! i usually look to google images, hermitcraft, and fellow tumblr users for insp.

i save back ups frequently, to my internal hard drive, usb sticks, and my google accounts. ive lost a couple minecraft worlds over the years and do NOT plan on losing this one.

Some Background Info(Dump)!

so my world was originally started on my switch. i actually bought the game on a whim the day before i started it cuz i could (stimulus money). and having not played minecraft regularly at all for a few years, i was excited to get back into it, and being able to lay down while playing. that was a pretty big justification for getting bedrock while already owning java gdgffj.

but of course, that inevitable 2 week minecraft curse that seems to haunt the fandom came for me too. though, for me, the curse tends to crop up at the point im meant to enter the nether. this is the fate many of my old survival worlds had fallen victim to, being abandoned as soon as that portal gets lit, it was like, tradition for me. i could never stay dedicated to my worlds because the monsters, and dying in the game, scared me. that, and being overwhelmed by building. for some reason, i always thought building in the game was a lot harder than it really is. i think i just didnt have the practice, or confidence. these things are why ive had long minecraft droughts, despite really enjoying the game.

so i took a couple months break, believing this to be another case of a neglected world. but the thing that actually inspired to return was hermitcraft. i saw what they did, what they built and what they accomplished, and thought to myself, why couldnt i try harder to be like them? so eventually i returned to my most recent world, i didnt make a new one, and start over, as most people in this same situation do. i continued from where i left off, and, allowed myself to use keepinventory for the first time.

...that is until, after 9 months of owning bedrock, my switch decided to lock me out of the game. less than a year in, the data generated in my world, through natural intended gameplay (exploring WITHOUT the use of online biome and structure finding tools), had exceeded the switchs apparent limits. i know i had free space on AT LEAST the sd card, and yet it refused to let me keep playing, saying to, and i quote, "delete some stuff" so i could play again. aside from a test world that had to have been less than a megabyte in size, i didnt have any other "stuff" to delete to free up room. i thought this was the end of my beloved world until i did some research. buying a realm, copying my world to that realm, and then buying the windows version of bedrock on my laptop and saving the world to it from the realm was the one way to get my save off my switch without hacking it. so i ended up not only purchasing a useless realm, but an entirely new copy of the game just to continue playing on this one world. that probably gives you an idea of how dedicated i am and have been to it, lmao. i have played it pretty regularly ever since.

its so funny to me how what i thought at the time was just another "2 week" throw-away world became something so much more to me. ive never played this game for so long and so consistently, ive never gotten so much done in it, not even in old creative worlds. its really amusing how early builds like my starter house look exactly like all my other builds from my much older java worlds, "build style"-wise, compared to how i do it now.

so, as someone whos been so fiercely dedicated to the same world for half a decade, i just wanna express my love for the forever world trend thats going on right now. thats what inspired me to wanna post about my personal minecraft experience more. i rarely ever do, and thats because.. well, idk. ive become very passive with talking about myself or my interests lately. i guess im also afraid of being judged, because im gonna be real here, the minecraft community is deeply and obnoxiously obsessed with how people play the game, and what the "right" and "wrong" ways to do things in the game are. it really, really gets on my nerves. its one of those things where id prefer to just not get involved. so ive just kept stuff about my play-through to myself this whole time. but the mindset behind the forever world concept going around right now has given me some confidence!

so yeah!! i'll be trying to post more about my time with the game from now on! 🩷

[jaemified]

through the window (21 days) - lee chan

“waiting 21 days isnt so bad if itll always end like this.”

pairing ; lee chan x fem!reader

genre ; fluff but pretty cheesy fluff, strangers to lovers, neighbors to lovers, not a smau but twt profiles are showed

warnings ; swearing, floods, isolation, separation, chans flirty (thats a warning in itself), reader has zero relationship experience

wordcount ; 2.7k

synopsis ; after a long series of floods, youre finally able to meet the boy across the street who had caught your eye throughout the long few weeks.

note - chan isnt an idol but minnie/soyeon are

note 2 - idk what chan is looking at in that pic

read below the cut !

DECEMBER 8, 2023

winter, also known as flood season.

the town where you lived in was already at a low altitude, so the bridge built to cross over the river to the other side of the street always had submerged during this time of year.

the thing that sucked the most about all this, was you were pretty much rained in for however long it takes for the water to drain with absolutely no way out.

so naturally, you all had came prepared.

your roommates minnie and soyeon never minded all the rain as they hated going in to work at the crack of dawn, yet you however, loved what you did. tutoring a kids after school program wasnt half as bad as the average person might think.

but, of course seeing as they were all a bunch of middle school kids, they could be a handful. you decided to listen to your friends and use these next few weeks to relax.

or, what you thought relaxing was.

“come on y/n! dont you wanna make strawberry shortcake with us?” minnie yelled at you over soyeons loud music while you studied over the next lesson plan for your kids.

“maybe later- i really wanna get a head start on these lessons.”

“seriously y/n?” soyeon murmured in slight disgust, “i seriously doubt the first thing those kids want to be thinking about is what they’re gonna do with their math tutor after a free half month.”

you shrugged and took a sip of your coffee before typing in the highlighted notes from the handbook into your computer.

“come on. youre not spending our one free break of the year like this again!” soyeon exclaimed as she snatched the book out of your hands, then closing your laptop before putting them both away in the cabinet under the tv.

“you know i can just get that myself right?”

“no, because i won’t let you.” she replied, locking the door and putting the key in her pocket.

“come on! im passionate about what i do, i dont mind it at all!”

“me and minnie are passionate about writing songs too, but even we know when its good enough to take a break.”

“okay i know i don’t work half as hard as idols do but i still have bills to come by! besides, corporate management demands i have the next lesson plan finalized before the end of the week!”

“corporates a bitch, they gotta be more mindful of how they treat their employees. like how do you be top tutoring company in the country and you still cant manage your employees the way they deserve?” minnie shouted in frustration.

“and dont worry about bills for now, we got it.” soyeon whispered to you.

“minnie- you realize cube is the same way to you guys right? and you work way harder then i do despite not getting the income you deserve.”

“yeah but we manage. we have a contract anyway. i know we’re passionate about what we do but we most certainly are not passionate about who we work for.” soyeon replied for minnie as she couldn’t hear over the sound of the blender (why was she using a blender again?)

you sigh soaking in how much pressure your friends are under at work, realizing you don’t even have it half as bad despite having a pretty shitty boss.

“how bout you find someone worth crossing an ocean for? itll be half as fun for us as itd be for you, since it’s in our contract we aren’t allowed to date.” minnie spoke after the whirring of the kitchen appliances died down.

“how.. we are entirely stranded until however long it takes for this stupid flood to drain.”

“do some stalking on insta. let’s find you like uh.. celebrity crush or ulzzang you can fan girl over or something.”

you scoffed in annoyance and slight disgust with your friends knowing you never really cared for any of that.

you decided to sit down at the bay window by the front door, scrolling through your phone before something outside caught your eye.

there you saw a guy across the way, sitting in his bay window just like you, he who seemingly just finished receiving a lecture from his friends.

you watched as he ran a hand through his fluffy dark brown hair, before he turned your way, your eyes locking.

immediately, it was part of your instinct to nervously turn away.

before slowly looking back, that is.

there you found the beautiful brown haired boy, still looking at you, with a golden smile.

your heart melted (but you thought you were having palpitations) when you saw him look at you so fondly.

what is this feeling?

you slowly raise a hand, and wave to him shyly.

he waved back, before forming a heart with his arms he held over his head.

you laughed quiet enough so your friends couldn’t hear you, but your facial expressions were bright enough so he could be aware he was able to make you laugh.

the boy laughed in response before he seemed to mouth something, but you weren’t the best at reading lips.

you tilted your head in confusion before he jokingly rolled his eyes, and saying it again, but slower.

“cu-tie.” you realized he said, or attempted to say.

“cu-tie?” you sounded out, making sure you understood right.

he nodded before pointing at you, his finger tapping against the glass, “cutie.”

he absolutely reveled in the way you smiled so brightly, the way your cheeks flushed pink and your eyes sparkled with excitement.

you didnt even realize how you were falling for his charms.

before you were even able to say anything back, his friend came up from behind him, attempting to drag him away, yet the guy was still persistent.

you watched how his friend started to get angry, so the guy rolled his eyes and stood up, walking away with his friend down the hall.

but not before waving back at you, blowing a kiss.

you got up from your seat before wrapping your arms around minnie, resting your head on her shoulder while you spared a small glance at whatever soyeon was watching in the living room.

“hmm? what do you need now my child?” she dramatically questioned, as she knew you only got clingy when you needed something.

“whos that guy that lives across the.. on the other side of the bridge? in that dark brown house with the black roof?”

“oh? house 133 right? thats seokmin, minghao, and.. what’s the other ones name? I always forget.. chan! yeah, chan.”

soyeon jumped up in surprise, pausing her show after hearing you pique your interest at a guy for the first time.

“why? you like one of them? which one? minghao? he was pretty well liked for a foreigner. he was in the same exchange program as minnie. ” she excitedly asked.

“w-what? no! i was just asking cause i saw one of them out there earlier.” you unconvincingly lied.

“oh she totally likes minghao.” “not even!”

“sweetheart, we aren’t as dumb as you think we are.” minnie pouted at you while she pulled away to put the cake in the oven.

you huffed in disbelief before going to take a bag of chips from the pantry, walking down to your room to finish the lesson plan. (on the laptop your boss lent you since soyeon took your personal one).

meanwhile, there you left chan, day dreaming about you all day long. he was so curious about you, yet he felt so stupid for crushing on some girl he’d never spoken to before.

not like he even could at this point, you were stuck in the middle of a flood, anyway.

“whats on your mind channie? you seem out of it.” seokmin asked while he blindly stirred the tteokbokki, turning to face the younger boy behind him, sitting at the kitchen island.

“its chan. whens he not out of it?” minghao chuckled, throwing a chip at his cheek, sliding to sit over at the stool next to him as he emerged from his bedroom.

“who lives in that white house on the other side of the bridge? isnt that where soyeon lives? we went to high school together.” chan half-mindedly queried, zoning out as he stared into the marble counters.

“yeah, why?” minghao responded.

“did she move out or something? there was another girl there and it wasnt soyeon or minnie.”

“oh, you mean y/n? she graduated a year before you or something, but at another school. we used to work at the same tea house before she left for that tutoring agency.”

“y/n? sounds vaguely familiar. i think i remember seungkwan mention her being in his class.”

“why are you mentioning her all of a sudden? you never cared for girls.” seokmin teased with a wide smile.

“oh come on. you know he’s quite the flirt.” minghao playfully cooed at chan, dramatically waving his hand back at seokmin.

“you two are insufferable.” he groaned, banging his head against the counter.

you found yourself up at night, scrolling through twitter before you decided to search for the guy you ‘met’ today. minghao, was it?

‘xu minghao’ was what you had entered into the search bar, clicking on the top result.

‘myunghoez’

‘huh.’ you thought to yourself. so it couldnt be him, but seokmin didnt seem to have an account as you searched for his name.

you looked up chans name next, thinking maybe,, that there could be a chance it’s him. his profile picture was technically him, but not, him. but in your defense, how could you tell who was who if chans profile picture was a baby picture?

though you knew youd never hear the end of it from her, you decided to ask soyeon.

“do you have a picture of chan?”

“yeah hold on. its just an old screenshot from an old tweet though.” she mumbled before pulling up her phone to show you.

‘wow.’ you thought to yourself, ‘so this really was the guy i met today.’

before soyeon could ask any questions, you quickly thanked her and ran back to your room before posting a small something in reference to what minnie had said to you earlier.

days, weeks, went by of you and chan interacting through the window despite never seeing each other up close, or ever hearing the others voice.

but despite being isolated from separately, you still had fallen for one another nonetheless.

you loved the way you would feel butterflies in your stomach whenever he made a heart with his hands for you, and he absolutely adored the way you in the end would just make a big sign telling him what you wanted to say when you gave up on trying to get him to read your lips.

of course the flood had its downside, i mean being stuck with the same 2 other people for almost a month definitely takes a toll on you, isolation definitely can get depressing with no way out.

but in the end, it had its upside as well. you were able to meet a great guy despite never technically talking face to face, having only lip reading to communicate (why didn’t you think of social media?). not to mention you were able to put more time into a forgotten passion after all of your energy being used up as a tutor.

marine animals.

you and chan had technically discussed the idea of possibly having a first date when you get out of here, yet you still hadn’t decided where you’d go or what you’d do seeing as you both were pretty passionate about different things.

chan had always loved the stars, you had always loved marine life. but, you decided you would finalize a date night once you both get to meet face to face.

DECEMBER 29

after a long 21 days of disappointment, spending christmas without your family, 3 going on 4 weeks of crazed loneliness, you finally woke up one morning to find the overflowing river, drained, and to its regular level.

you were able to see the bridge once more and though the wood might be rotting, you just couldnt wait to cross it.

you immediately ran down the hall, dressing however best you could, fixing your hair to be as best as it would go, being sure to brush your teeth and pop in a mint before running straight out the door. (and ignoring all of soyeons questions as well as minnies protests)

as you stepped out the front door, you saw chan just leaving his house looking as beautiful as ever.

you ran straight for the bridge, chan catching you before you could slip on a puddle before he picked you up into a big hug.

“you’re just as gorgeous up close as you were through a window.” he whispered as he pulled you close, his hand cradling the back of your head, pulling it to rest against his chest.

“and you’re still just as much of a flirt arent you?” you chuckled before slightly cringing at your attempt to reciprocate the excitement.

you were excited, believe me, just couldn’t express it as well as he could.

“i cant believe it took 21 days to finally be with you.”

“it was worth the wait wasnt it?”

“you’ll always be worth the wait.” chan mumbled against your skin as he pressed a soft kiss into your cheek.

“cant believe you’re real..” you mumbled, leaning further into his touch.

“cant believe i got someone like you to fall for someone like me.”

“chan you’re so cheesy.”

“only for you.” he replied with that stupid grin you grew to love so much.

the two of you later took the time to talk more about life, each other, finally exchange numbers, then eventually decide what you’d do for your first date night.

“see you tomorrow at 12?”

“tomorrow at 12.”

DECEMBER 30

you practically couldn’t sleep as you bubbled in excitement. you picked out a pretty black dress that went nicely with a random pair of white sneakers before heading out on your way while your roommates were out at work.

“lookin as pretty as always.” chan smiled while he opened his car door for you.

“still as handsome as ever arent you?” you jokingly rolled your eyes as he backed out the parking lot.

you two had many common interests, yet what you were most passionate about definitely was pretty parallel to one another.

chan loved the stars, you loved the sea. so, you decided to go to an aquarium (that also included solar system exhibits), grab some food from a cafe you found out you both loved, go for a late drive to the beach, watch the sunset, then stargaze.

call it cliche but it was perfect for you both.

chan wrapped an arm around you as you both stared into the night sky, all the stars displayed beautifully.

he would point at a random star and say it reminded him of you, because it stood out from the rest, distinct, but perfect in his eyes.

he was the sweetest guy ever, perfectly fitting the standard for what’s considered boyfriend material, almost unrealistic, even.

“youre a person worth crossing an ocean for.” you told him more then truthfully, bringing a hand up to softly stroke his cheek.

“out of all the stars in the sky, youre the only one id pick.” he cringed realizing how corny it was. “too cheesy?”

“just enough.” you reassured, before sealing both yours and his lips into a warm and comforting kiss. chan had never felt safer in another’s embrace.

“waiting 21 days isnt so bad if itll always end like this.”

[beastomato]

hi tilin i hope rest can find you soon <3 <3 feel free to answer any or none of these :) <3

what are your favorite digital brushes to use?

what’s your favorite traditional art medium?

what’s your favorite film?

favorite song or album?

do you have a favorite pmd dungeon/area?

(silly question.) if totochimi were in the octopath universe, which classes would they be/where would they live? <3

WAHHHH YOU’RE SO KIND.. TY.. i did manage to sleep but it took a little while AHSJSJ i’m gonna answer all the questions bc i LOVE THEM SO MUCH

putting everything under a readmore section because it ended up being such a long post….!

what are your favorite digital brushes to use?

!!!!! it really depends on the drawing! i like to ball and switch brushes and textures with my work quite often because it’s more fun to work when idk what to expect, but here’s a little rundown of the ones i tend to use the most:

the 1px brush replicates the pencil from MS paint which is probably my favorite digital art texture ever? i use the thinner one for sketches and the thicker one for lineart but sometimes i also use both to sketch around. the airbrush i use for erasing, but i also use it for coloring (very rare) or even lineart (even rarer..). i’ve only begun to use the neopiko liner brush until recently but i like it a lot, and the ronin brush helps for messier-looking lineart as it’s really thick in texture (i found itwhile looking for chinese calligraphy textured brushes LOL). and the two best default procreate brushes which are the HB and 6B pencils i use either for sketch or lineart or even coloring sometimes. they’ve never failed me ever. some drawings i entirely use lasso tool for lineart or coloring which i don’t know if it counts as a brush.

also here are some examples of how i switch between brushes with recent drawings :-)

anyways THIS GOT TOO LONG i love rambling about my art processes I LOVE IT i wish i could do it all the time

what’s your favorite traditional art medium?

i honestly love ALL OF THEM AHAJSJAKSJ i’d even say i prefer them over digital art making….. i think it’s a tie between watercolors and acrylic though. i prefer acrylics because they’re much more flexible on where they can be applied (which is .. basically EVERYWHERE) while watercolor only ever shines to me in thick ass paper which is both expensive and hard to get imo.

also i don’t really get when people say acrylics get too opaque and dull when dry? like yeah they do end up more opaque when they dry that’s a property they have. idk if it has to do with the paint brands they sell here, but i never feel like acrylics lose their vibrancy when i paint.. i feel like it’s very easy for colors to look bright and saturated.. or maybe my process incidentally makes paint look more saturated? idk?

i do enjoy oil painting a lot but i don’t like the fact that you can fix your mistakes while working on it. being able to fix things means i go back to bad mind patterns and that sucks lol did you know i once broke an entire brush in half because i grabbed it too hard while oil painting. ANNNYWAYYY.. i also really enjoy pastels but the texture gets quite overwhelming on my fingers after a while. colored pencils are fun but too time consuming. ink drawings are great but again, same issue as watercolor except the paper for ink drawings has other requirements and i haven’t even looked for it LOL. i’ve never tried gouache, but i think i might have fun with it. OHHH you know which medium i also enjoyed? tempera. at school i was taught how to make my own paint with a recipe ^^ also idk if other art programs teach you mural painting but my school does and i also really loved it i wish i could paint all the walls in this world. it is quite daunting to begin, but once you get into the workflow it’s so much fun! <3

what’s your favorite film?

ohhhhhh i wanna start to watch more movies this year because i rarely watch movies but my favorite right now is probably Farewell to My Concubine. it is like 3 hours long bc it’s an epic that focuses on 3 characters but it is so worth it. the shots and the light in them are incredibly beautiful. it is quite heavy with its themes because it goes through conquests and revolutions and the societal consequences of both those things. i also liked that despite being a gay movie which would usually focus on just the men it makes the female lead between the 2 male leads a compelling character by showing you how she lives her new life as the wife of one of them despite the fact her past life as a sex worker weighs upon her heavily.. i simply don’t have energy for media where women don’t matter at all it annoys me so this was a good surprise. etc etc. i also watched The Boy and The Heron a few days ago which might be my favorite animated film now.. lots of thoughts. if surrealism has 0 fans then i am dead

favorite song or album?

ohhhh it really depends on mood but i really enjoy Boys at School by Spellling.. i love how layered it is i love when music feels intricately woven together.. in terms of albums it also kinda depends on my mood but i love Natalia Lafourcade’s Musas (both volumes) which are covers of iconic latinoamerican songs. also Yves Tumor’s Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) which also has so many layers to it so i eat it up every single time HAJSJD

do you have a favorite pmd dungeon/area?

YESSS oh my god. i’ve only played blue rescue team and explorers of sky so my answer might change in the future, but right now it has to be the Hidden Land. i love fantasy and when things don’t really make sense so when they tell you the Hidden Land is between like intervals of time or something i was like…… COOLEST SHIT EVERRRR….

also the fact you view it at first like this??? oh my fucking god. i liked traversing through it and how you really do get a perspective of being high up somewhere.. iirc the blue spaces here change color because it’s meant to be the sky as it shifts through time:

also i know this shit when i see it. they definitely got inspired by prehispanic temples here there’s no other explanation for this at all LOL

the entire area feels so.. it feels so natural but also like a place you’re not meant to be a part of like you do not belong there but you have to be there in order to save the entire world. also from blue rescue team i really liked all the friend areas especially.. but yeah i’m also a fan of the Hill of the Ancients where you find Xatu. it looks good in the manga too LOL what the hell i gotta read these things

if totochimi were in the octopath universe, which classes would they be/where would they live?

!!!!!!!! WHATTTT NOT A SILLY QUESTION AT ALL I HONESTLY REALLY REALLY LOVE IT OMG. TOTOCHIMI 8PATH AU…… GOES CRAZY…….

i think Toto is more of a clear cut answer to me! she’d be a warrior. i think she fits into the idea of knighthood quite well (serving someone or a specific ideal, putting your life on the line in order for those to remain safe and continue thriving). it’s the main thought i’ve had ever since i conceptualized Toto as an OC, of her being a protector.. LOL

Chimichang’s where it gets a lil’ more difficult for me to translate a class to her. she’s demanded to take on a specific role at an age where she shouldn’t be expected to have that kind of responsibility. despite having a noble status i think it fits with her to have a rogue class.. dancer fits her well in that sense i think. her role in the world is to honor her ancestry, aka to be a spectacle, to Stand Out against others of her same caliber. it might not make much sense to have a fighting type take the 8path dancer class (focused on support & magic/special attack) but iirc her species is a mixed attacker in the main games & there Are dancer mons with the fighting type so.. it works imo…..!!!!

about the where they live… OHHH this is much harder to adapt. Chimichang is actually from an island in my comic and the only fucking island in both games is Toto’haha, but i got such a sour taste in my mouth from how Toto’haha was handled as a location in 8path II that i don’t even like to say “if we replace humans with mons it could work..” LOL. and Toto is technically from.. nowhere! because she’s a human that got turned into a mon. despite living alongside Chimichang she never gets to call their island ‘home’ because it sure doesn’t feel like one JSKDNX but neither does the rest of the world either. so she’s more like a vagabond of sorts.

ok i think that answers all of it! SUCHHHH A LONG POST.. THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH ILY ILY I LOVED ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS!! i did manage to properly sleep after playing some ambient music as it helps me keep my mind at ease. i think napping so much sorta messed with my sleep schedule for a bit AJSJSH but i feel very rested right now <3 also helps that it’s a weekend! i needed it..

[markerofthemidnight]

You know what really pisses me off?

When fans of a multi-part indie game project- or, hell, any indie project- try to push for the next chapter/installment/whatever to be released unrealistically quickly just because it’s coming out later than they expected it to.

As a fan of mainly indie projects, it is SUCH a pet peeve for me! Everywhere you look, under new videos, in community posts, on Twitter, whatever, half the goddamn replies are just a bunch of lowlives screaming “WHERE’S (insert instalment here)?!” “YOU SAID (insert instalment here) WAS COMING OUT (insert time here)!” “I’M GONNA UNSUBSCRIBE IF (insert instalment here) DOESN’T COME OUT THIS YEAR!”

And what pisses me off the most is that it’s so evidently clear that none of them have ever devoted themselves to a project like this before! Do you know how to model and program a unique horror monster and give it a map to run around in? No! Do you know how to balance paying bills with all the other costs that you have to pay in order to make the game? Of course not, you’re only 11! Have you EVER written ANYTHING past your shitty, self-insert fanfiction, let alone a whole script?! FUCKING! NO!

I know because I used (emphasis on used) to be a Dark Deception fan back before Chapter 4 came out. You know that? And the comment section of all their community posts and videos was, indeed, filled with 11-year-olds parroting the same bullshit like that.

Until the trailer came out.

When the trailer came out, they all immediately stopped, and then what happened? What fucking happened? The comment section was immediately filled with people going “God, this looks good! No wonder it took them so long!”

It looked just about the same as every other Dark Deception chapter.

But still, that’s why you have some fucking patience. Because you have no idea what your favourite devs could be cooking up sometimes. People regressed into a bunch of caged chimpanzees back before Bendy and the Dark Revival came out, and look how good it was when it did come out!

And also, you wanna know what happened when Dark Deception: Chapter 4 came out? It was bugged. Bugged as shit. And it was almost entirely the fans’ fault for not giving the devs more time to sit on it.

(Granted, I know that this isn’t a very good example, since in my opinion a lot of the problems with Dark Deception are the devs’ fault- mainly the fact that they’re dealing with like 70+ projects and have actually given themselves no time to sit on the game itself- but… eh, my point still stands.)

Fans kept pushing for FNaF: Security Breach to come out. You know what happened? Bugged.

And don’t even get me STARTED on Cyberpunk 2077- a supposed AAA game- because we all know how that came out.

BUGS. UP. THE FUCKING. WAZOO.

(Yes, this is an old indie horror fan’s excuse to vent about all her trauma between the years 2020 to 2022, thank you very much.)

So, in conclusion… be kind to developers of small projects. Even if it takes them months, even if it takes them a year, even if it takes them five years, they’re going to give you what they crave eventually. They just need to actually prepare it first, and most people have no idea how difficult that actually is.

So stow your hunger, ravenous masses. Food will come soon.

[captainsophiestark]

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Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

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Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Summary: When a serious magical threat comes to Mystic Falls and puts Josie and Lizzie at risk, Caroline and Ric send Klaus' ex down to New Orleans to seek safe harbor for the girls with him. Or, what if Y/N went to New Orleans instead of Caroline, and Klaus was free to see them.

Word Count: 2,966

Category: Angst, Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I chewed my lip as I stared up at the building before me. If this were any other situation, I would've turned on my heel and run by now. But there were two little girls, one on either side of me, who needed me to be strong. This was their best hope of being safe, which meant all of my stuff needed to take a back seat.

I took a deep breath, trying not to let the girls sense just how nervous I was, then started heading for the door to the bar. It was the middle of the day, so hopefully no one would mind me bringing two kids in with me.

Caroline and Ric had trusted me with Josie and Lizzie, and I refused to let them down. Some new supernatural none of us knew existed had come to town and, worse, had started going after the girls. So, I'd sat down with their parents, and we'd figured out a plan to keep them safe: take them to the bigger, badder supernatural who I used to know.

My eyes scanned the bar for the familiar face of Klaus Mikaelson, and after a moment, I found him. He was leaning against the counter talking to the bartender, and I was surprised he couldn't hear my heart beating out of my chest from here. I hadn't seen him in years, and I'd also rejected him the last time I saw him. But he was the best chance the girls had, so I was just going to have to hope he didn't hate me now.

I cleared my throat, shook my nerves off as well as I could, herded the girls into a booth where I could keep an eye on them, then turned to face the bar. I found Klaus already looking at me, his arms crossed and a curious look on his face as he leaned against the counter. A wave of emotions hit me at once, but I shoved back against the feeling, squaring my shoulders and putting one foot in front of the other until I stood in front of Klaus.

"Hello, love," he said, and my heart damn near stopped in my chest. I took a deep breath. "It's good to see you again."

"It's... it's good to see you again, too."

And it was. Most of my friends had been relieved when Klaus finally left town, and they'd freaked out the minute they found out he'd come back to see me. And at the time, I'd convinced myself they were right, and that it was better he was gone. But standing before him now, that slight smirk on his face, I realized I had really, really missed him.

"So what brings you to New Orleans?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked past me to where the girls were playing a clapping game in the booth. "I take it it has something to do with them."

I sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"And who's the father?"

Now it was my turn to cross my arms and raise an eyebrow.

"They're actually not mine. But I'd say you don't have a lot of room to judge, considering the reason you moved to New Orleans in the first place."

"Who said I was judging? I was just trying to gauge how jealous I might need to be."

I huffed a laugh, trying and failing to hide my smile by glancing at the ground. Nik grinned at me, and for just a flash of a moment, it was like nothing had changed between us since the last time I'd seen him.

But then I heard Josie and Lizzie behind me, and I remember why I'd come here in the first place. I sighed and met Nik's eyes again.

"I need your help."

His eyebrows immediately drew together, and he straightened up from the bar, taking a half step towards me. The intensity of his worried stare made my heart melt.

"What's wrong, love?"

"There's a new supernatural in town. Or a few new ones, I guess. We're struggling a little bit to deal with them, and they've made Josie and Lizzie their targets. Caroline and Ric are their parents for all intents and purposes, and we sat down and decided our best chance at keeping the girls safe is if I left with them, alone, and came to you."

"And whose idea was that?"

"...Mine. It... actually took a lot of convincing for Ric and Caroline to let me bring them to you."

A hint of a smile flickered across Nic's face as he huffed a barely audible laugh. His beautiful blue eyes met mine with the intensity I'd seen a thousand times for both good and bad moments, and it made my heart race.

"You will always be welcome here, with me. I'll keep the three of you safe."

Relief washed over me. I closed my eyes, taking a minute, and when I opened them again I found Nik still watching me intently. I thought he might lean in for a hug or a kiss or something else, but instead, he just gave me a small smile and nodded in the direction of the girls.

"Mind introducing me?"

The girls absolutely loved Nik from the first moment they met him, and he was nothing but sweet and patient and kind. He made a few absolutely ridiculous jokes that had them falling out of their chairs laughing, and had my heart melting all over again. We left the bar together, the four of us strolling through the streets of New Orleans as Nik led us to his home. He glanced over at me a few times with the roguish smile I'd come to love, and despite the fact that I'd come here on the run to protect the girls, I couldn't help enjoying this moment with him. In different circumstances, it might've just felt right.

"We're almost home, but I just had a thought," said Nik, his arm swinging back and forth with Lizzie's as they marched down the street together. Lizzie and Josie held hands, and I did the same with Josie, making us a little chain. I turned to smile at Nik over the girls' heads.

"And what's that?" I asked. Nik smiled at me, then turned his attention to the girls.

"My favorite ice cream place in the whole of the city is very close to here. Does anyone else feel like we ought to make a pitstop?"

"YES!" the girls screamed in unison. I laughed as Nik stopped abruptly, turning on his heel and then pulling us in the other direction.

"Alright, come on then!"

The girls cheered as they marched after him, and my heart soared as I followed along behind the three of them. I'd gotten to see Nik like this every so often in Mystic Falls, but a lot of our interactions were colored by whatever drama he and his family had going on with my friends and I. Being with him, like this, and seeing him being so amazing with the girls was seriously doing something to me.

"This place really does have the best ice cream," Nik assured me as we stepped inside and joined the line, the girls bouncing excitedly in front of us as we stood shoulder to shoulder. "Hope loves it."

"Hope... how is she? How's... how's Hayley?"

Nik smirked. "They're both good. We've had our rough patches, but Hayley and I have found our rhythm as coparents despite not being together."

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, and Nik laughed.

"Now look who's trying to gauge their jealousy."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't hold back a grin all the same.

"Whatever. But... you're happy? Being a dad, and being here, and... and everything?"

The corner of Nik's mouth quirked up, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Like anything, it's had its ups and downs. But I wouldn't trade Hope for anything in the world."

I nodded, and the two of us fell into comfortable silence as we worked our way through the line. The girls were ecstatic to try their cones, and Nik recommended his favorite flavor to me, which lived up to the hype he'd promised. The four of us wandered slowly the rest of the way to our destination, which turned out to be an absolutely massive compound in the middle of the French Quarter.

Nik pushed open the door and led us inside just as the sun began to set outside. I came to a stop in the beautiful open space just inside the front doors, staring around at it in awe.

"C'mon, love," Nik said gently, resting a hand on my back and guiding me in the direction of the stairs. "Let's get the girls settled in for the night."

I just nodded, putting my focus back on the girls as we followed Nik through the massive compound. He pushed open one of the many doors along the second floor, letting us into a bedroom with two beds. I even spotted a few kids books on the shelves to one side of the room.

I slid my eyes to Nik with a raised eyebrow, but he just shrugged.

"For Hope, and any friends she might decide to bring over when the time comes. No reason to not be prepared, especially since we have the space for it." The corner of my mouth tugged up into a smile, that warm feeling spreading in my chest again. "I'll bring a few of her pajamas in, they should fit these two alright."

"Thanks."

"Of course, love."

Between the two of us, Nik and I managed to get the girls settled down and in bed in under an hour. They'd had a long, tiring day, after all, and if I weren't practically jittering with nerves after the afternoon I'd spent with Nik I'm sure I would've been right behind them.

Instead, I found myself following him after we closed the door to the girls' room, going who knows where in this massive house in his new life since he'd left Mystic Falls. After a few moments, I couldn't really take the silence anymore, so I spoke up.

"Where are the rest of the Mikaelsons?" I asked, my voice thankfully even. "I'd expected to see at least one of the siblings by now."

Nik turned to give me a little smirk over his shoulder, and I hated that he could probably hear my heart race.

"They're busy with other things for the night. And Hope is with Hayley having a mother-daughter weekend away from everything. It's just us, tonight."

My heart sped up even more, although that shouldn't have been possible. After a moment, Nik led me into the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. I took a seat at one of the high stools at the counter, watching him as he moved.

"I assume you still like hot chocolate more than most other drinks?" asked Nik without turning around. I smiled.

"Absolutely. I know it's been a little while, but come on Nik, I'm not a completely different person."

He paused to give me a smile over his shoulder, then continued in his hot chocolate preparations. I scratched at something on the counter while he worked, trying to get up the courage to talk about all the million things hanging in the air before us. Finally, I cleared my throat and forced myself to look up, watching Nik's back as I spoke.

"Thank you for this, by the way. For taking us in, even after... Well, even after I told to leave me and Mystic Falls."

Nik sighed, bringing our two mugs of hot chocolate over and setting them down on the counter before walking around to stand in front of me. We were barely an inch apart, but he didn't make a move to close the distance anymore. I'd set a boundary the last time I'd seen him, and he clearly had no intention of crossing it.

"I will always be here for you if you need me, love. If you seek me out for refuge, or to change your mind and take me up on my offer to show you the world, or even because I make the best hot chocolate in the entire world and you just can't live without it... I'll be waiting."

I stared up at Nik, a slight twinkle in his eye, as I fought to keep tears out of my own. He'd truly caused so many problems in Mystic Falls. My friends' dislike-to-hate of him made sense. But he'd always been sweet and funny, patient and kind and understanding, with me. If I was totally honest with myself, I'd been starting to fall in love with him before I'd decided to side with my friends and push him away.

"Don't cry, love. It's alright," he said, his eyes scanning my face. I hiccupped, the tears finally starting to fall, a combination of all the different emotions and stressors of my past few days coming together and overwhelming me at once. I'd held it together for the girls, but now they were in bed and taken care of, so I could safely fall apart.

I leaned forward, falling into Nik's chest, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me the moment I did.

"It's alright. You're safe with me."

That brought on a whole new wave of tears, not just for the stress of the day, but for everything I'd lost with Nik, too. He just held me tighter, rubbing soothing circles on my back as I let it all out, then slowly started to calm down.

I pulled back slightly once I managed to get ahold of myself. One of Nik's hands stayed on my arm, and he brought his other hand up to gently cup my face, wiping away a few of the tears with his thumb.

"What can I do, love? Tell me how I can help you and I'll do it."

I choked back another sob, this one turning into a half-laugh.

"You've already done enough, Nik. More than enough. It's just... it's been such a long day. I feel like I've been barely holding back a complete stress breakdown for like a week, and I always had the girls with me so I had to keep it together..."

"Well then, why don't we get you settled into a room so you can get some sleep, hm? We can always talk more in the morning."

Nik started to move to help me off the stool and up to bed, but I stopped him, hands resting on his biceps. He raised an eyebrow at me but didn't move away.

"No, Nik. I don't want to talk tomorrow, I need to say this. I... I love you."

Any hint of humor or lightness dropped off Nik's face, replaced by completely serious shock. My heart was racing out of my chest, and I knew he could hear it, but I pushed on anyway.

"I think I was falling in love with you before, and I didn't want to admit it to myself. But being with you here, now... it feels right. There are a bunch of powerful murderers chasing me, trying to hurt two kids whose parents have trusted me, exclusively, with their safety, and I'm in a strange city far from anywhere I've ever called home. But for some reason I just feel... happy. Happy to see you again, happy to spend time with you, about a thousand times calmer than I was without you. You feel like home, Nik, and I love you. I just... that just feels like something you should know."

Nik's eyes had been scanning and searching my face intently the entire time I'd been talking, the slightest hint of wetness gathering in his own eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth once I'd finished speaking, and he brought his hand back up to cup my face, his thumb brushing lightly over my cheek.

"I don't think I've made it any secret how I feel about you, love," he said, voice soft and tender. "But in case you need to hear it again, I love you. Always and forever."

A few tears managed to sneak out and down my cheeks again, but this time I had a smile on my face. Nik's expression mirrored my own.

"Once... once all of this is over, do you think... well, maybe I could come back here. To New Orleans, once the girls are safe back home. That is, if... if your offer to follow you to New Orleans still stands from the first time you extended it?"

Nik beamed back at me. "I can honestly tell you that absolutely nothing would make me happier."

My smile grew to the point of pain as I stared up at Nik, a light in his eyes that I'd missed much more than I'd realized. I leaned forward just slightly, Nik mirroring my move as I glanced at his lips. One corner of his mouth rose higher in the troublemaking smirk that always made my heart race before he closed the rest of the distance between us, his lips meeting mine, soft at first and then with the same urgency pulsing in my heart.

I'd kissed him before, but it had always been tempered by concern for my friends, and about what they'd think. But this time, as fireworks exploded in my chest and thousands of butterflies took off in my stomach, I couldn't bring myself to care.

I was safe and happy in the arms of the man I loved, kissing him senseless. I'd missed out on a lot of times like this, but from now on, I didn't intend to let anything keep me from spending every second I could just like this, friends and insane supernatural threats be damned. Always and forever.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

[iwonderwh0]

I wanna expand on Emma's character. She likes attention, she likes filming herself. There are piano in their room, so it's practically inevitable that she learns to play it. Who is her teacher? It's possible that it is human as, you know, music, maybe her rich parents think that it's best to learn it from humans. At least, we never heard that household models could teach playing instruments. Or actually, she probably learns using built-in program in the piano itself. Like, we saw this holographic screen when Markus was playing, it must include some learning modes.

She has favourite bands. She probably has some kind of spiritual beliefs, probably not like any specific religion but a mix of some new-age ones, at least their home looks like they are like this, like, if I remember it correctly there are Buddha statues so that's one thing. I think Emma, at least, believes in a few things, like karma and manifestations.

Her wrists are full of those handmade bracelets. Did she make them with someone? Alone? Are those friendship bracelets and there are some friends of her that have them too? She must've made at least one of those with Daniel, and it would be such a nice detail for him to wear one in-game. Missed opportunity. Maybe he took it off?

Daniel was activated for four years (huh, I thought longer, but it's still years though), so his character must've been quite developed for a while even prior to deviancy. Or, actually, maybe he deviated a lot earlier than the day we see him in the game. It is entirely possible that there was another event that made him freak out of his line, perhaps after fucking up and accidentally endangering Emma (they kept it a secret. I headcanon that Emma loves secrets. It makes her feel special), but he just stayed and continued his life with Phillips as if nothing happened without change because he liked it and felt responsible about it. I mean, it's not like he had somewhere to go — he doesn't know about Jericho as was confirmed in the evidence room. But ever since that day of his potential deviation he started to accumulate suspicions and paranoia that tipped over when he found out about AP700.

You know, it's kinda ironic that kids with household androids raise them as much if not more than household androids raise them. For kids those androids are part of their life, for androids it's their whole world (I mean, outside of some additional errands and other family members interactions that I don't think are composing even half of the time androids spend with kids they're looking after). Emma was 5-6 years old when Daniel was first introduced into her life. She must've already had friends and all kind of interests by that time, so Daniel didn't raise her from infancy.

You know, it's possible even that those kinds of androids get jealous of kid's other friends and family members. Daniel definitely feels like a jealous type, I doubt August 15 was his first time feeling resentment. The fact that he became Emma's first choice in four years must've been a really deliberate effort on his part, which, I mean, he spends the most time with her so he had this advantage.

Daniel belongs to the Phillips family but at the same time Daniel developed such a possessive attitude towards Emma as if she was his property. He integrated himself into her life as a "need, not want" and he will take her with him on his death row. He wants to believe that Emma needs him, but the truth is he needs Emma much more than she ever could. And it drives him mad.

Hear me out

What if

What if he was so jealous of Emma's other friends and so paranoid about her distancing herself from him that he cultivated circumstances where Emma preferred him over anyone else. A victory. And he put so much effort competing with other people for her attention that possibly of Emma replacing him with another android never crossed his mind. Until it hit him like an anvil. All of his work was for nothing. All this time he thought of himself as her friend. A person. Competing with other people. Turned out he wasn't even within the same category. He had always been only a toy.

[pbandjesse]

I think I am getting a cold. I feel pretty terrible today. I tried my best to hold it together and be present but it was a struggle. I finally got some DayQuil after work and it helped a bit. But I am just exhausted. It didn't help that it was pouring and cold and gross all day. But even despite that, I still had a pretty good day.

I slept alright last night. Waking up was tough. James has already taken Sylvie downstairs but she was still asleep when I got down there after I got dressed. So I wouldnt get to see her awake until I got home. Which was not ideal but at least James sent me videos and pictures. That made me smile.

I left here with my little backpack and my biscuit that James made with love. And then I was off.

I got to camp at 830. This morning was us pretending to be checking in the counselors in, pretending to be campers. I put together a silly prop with a clipboard and the instructions for parking so I could mime looking through the paperwork when I greatest cars. And that was fun! It wasn't like super ideal to be out in the rain but I had my umbrella. And would eventually go and get my jacket. I did not have my rain boots on this morning though and my shoes got soaked and my feet were so cold and wet.

But I was trying very very hard to be positive and focused and it was a fun day. We started at the bears (once I was done creating cars) and Alexi gave us a welcome speech. And it started raining but me and Jaymie shared my umbrella and stayed fairly dry.

The program today was lots of small groups. I worked on my embroidery. I put my phone in the phone jail to be present and be a good example for others. I would enjoy the bingo game we played to get to know each other. Lots of running around trying to find people who had different attributes to fill out the sheet. It was a good time.

The rest of the day was small groups to go over expectations and rules and other things that sets the tone for the summer. I tried to say things that needed to be said. About helping and cleaning up and taking care of materials. I called out the staffers who were being excellent and had excellent enthusiasm. I really hope the weird downer energy from last year doesn't infect this summer. I want this to be a good summer with lots of laughs and fun memories.

Lunch was a baked potato with vegetarian chili and broccoli. Which was really good. I was so hungry. I didn't feel good but the warm food helped. And once I finished eating I went up to the art building to change my shoes and get my jacket and that helped keep me going. We also were allowed to take our phones for a half hour. We are all such addicts, standing around in circles staring at our phones. But soon they were back in jail.

We played some games after lunch. I usually don't participate in games but I did 4 of the 5 games. And it was fun. They were not running games, more they were numbers games and guessing games. And I enjoyed that. I still didn't feel great but I was feeling good enough to work through.

We had some breakout sessions about expectations for programs and general care for kids. I would only lead the first two of the 5 because Heather wanted us to all gather for a camp all in meeting. And that was important. So Tony took over for me and I'm sure he did great. I trust him.

Sarah picked me up and we drove over to the hacienda. Went over this weeks schedule. And would spend some time gathering materials and dropping them off.

I was basically at the end of my energy. I went back to the lodge to get my stuff and see where they were at in training. They were basically finishing up. And I needed to go home. But first I needed to prep the mural canvas for camp all in. And then go to the grocery store for medicine.

I went to the store. Got some snacks and some meds. No luck on the ankle brace but it's fine. I'll get that that eventually. I just really wanted to go home.

There was a lot of traffic. A pretty bad accident on the side of the road. And then right before I got off the highway I hydroplaned and fishtailed and it was so scary. And then someone started tailgating me and being horrible and I was just trying to calm down. It was so stupid. I'm glad I didn't get hurt but it was the worst.

I got home and was still upset. But I was so happy to see James and Sylvia. Sylvia was all smiles. James gave me hugs. And James was making us pizzas again because that's what I asked for. And while that was baking I went to take a shower.

Being warm and clean and in jammies helped me feel better a little. But only a little. I sat with Sylvie for a bit who seemed happy to see me. Which was really cute. James played a video game and we all laid on the couch.

Now James and Sylvie are on the ground. And I'm very tired. Which is why I was trying to get this done early so I can hopefully get some sleep.

Tomorrow is a long day. With camp and then sewing club! I really hope that the DayQuil I got helps me make it through the day.

Sleep well everyone. I love you all. Goodnight!!!

[thestylesindependent]

Seemingly inescapable whenever you turned on the radio last summer, Harry Styles’ As It Was was one of the biggest hits of 2022, and remains on heavy rotation today. It topped Spotify’s end-of-year list of the most popular songs, and hit number one in the US and UK.

The song was co-written by Tyler Johnson alongside Kid Harpoon and Styles himself. Johnson and Harpoon both have production credits on the track - as they do on Watermelon Sugar, another Styles mega-hit - but as Johnson explained to Music Week [Paywall] last year, the creative process behind the two songs was very different.

“[Watermelon Sugar] took a while and As It Was was more speedy, right out of the gate,” he says. “Harry was sitting on the Moog One and I liked what he was playing, so I sat down and played as he started to write the melodies and the lyrics. Tom [Hull, aka Kid Harpoon] did a half-time beat around it, we were like, ‘No, it’s not right.’ So then Tom played the double time beat, which felt very good.

In terms of harmonic structure, As It Was has been compared to a-Ha’s Take On Me. As John Mayer demonstrated during a recent live performance, the two songs share a similar chord progression - ii-V-I-IV - but As It Was has a very different, highly distinctive topline.

“I said to Harry, ‘We need a lead line’ and he just came up right away with the ‘Dah, dah, dah...’ part,” reveals Tyler Johnson. “He didn’t hesitate. Then he started writing the second verse and referring to himself in the third person. So much of this song just came from Harry’s heart. And then Tom, as he does, with this magical sense of hooks that he has, came up with the idea of doing, ‘You know it’s not the same…’ after the chorus, which I was very impressed with. That turned out to be a very smart move.”

The song came together quickly, then: “Really, the record was about where it’s at now after three or four days,” Johnson recalls. “It didn’t go through a lot of [changes], there was never anything drastic. I had a guitarist friend, Doug Showalter, add electric guitars and some transition sounds. Then we got the tubular bells - another Harry idea - and I’ve got a video of him playing those. We had Mitch Rowland come in to do some live drums. We chopped those up for the ending to give it a more bombastic feeling.”

The best thing about As It Was is just how effortless it is, how it just flows over you and gives you a good energy.

Having a real drummer, it turns out, is important for Johnson, Harpoon and Styles. “For As It Was, we were thinking 2008-2012 indie rock, MGMT, Phoenix, Passion Pit. We want to be referential and for the music to sound familiar, but our process is that we don’t do as much drum programming as live drums. That’s what people in that era were doing to make things sound big, but not too programmed. Our engineer Jeremy Hatcher really helped shape that, those drum tones are unique in pop.”

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Kid Harpoon threw another influence on As It Was into the mix: “I’m sitting there on the drums and I was like, oh, this could have a Strokes kind of vibe,” he said. However, while he acknowledges the debt that As It Was owes to other artists and songs, he also firmly believes that it has its own identity.

"You get to the end and you hear it and you go, oh, it’s got the sort of A-ha references and the Strokes references and maybe there’s a bit of Talking Heads in there and then it becomes something bigger than the sum of its parts.”

Perhaps the relaxed vibe of As It Was stems from the fact that it was recorded in the living room in the home of A&R man Rob Stringer’s house, a place conducive to chilling out, you would have thought.

“The living room was actually a very perfect size for a control room, nice and tight but kinda long,” notes Tyler Johnson. “The back of it had a couch, an upright piano and windows that looked out over some fields, and in the front we had the desk. We rented a ton of gear, all the walls were lined with preamps and compressors. Even though we were going kind of bedroom-y, Tom and I just love lots of microphones and we do live drums, analogue synthesisers, multiple guitar amps… We love that whole element to recording.”

It was Styles, it turns out, who pushed for As It Was to be his album’s lead single. A wise move, it turns out, given its subsequent success.

“The best thing about As It Was is just how effortless it is, how it just flows over you and gives you a good energy,” thinks Tyler Johnson. “It has a gentle conversation with the listener while being upbeat. It’s easy to consume, but it still has depth and Harry brings so much character to it. Really, pop is just about people living life with music to garnish it.”