#rhythm&rhyme series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cosmerelists · 7 months

Text

If Cosmere Characters were in the Locked Tomb series...

[Spoilers for Stormlight Archive through Rhythm of War AND for Locked Tomb through Nona the Ninth!]

Specifically, I am imagining which pairs of Cosmere characters would be best suited as the necromancer/cavalier pairs we meet in the Locked Tomb series.

I cannot emphasize enough that if you’re coming here from Cosmere and have not read the Locked Tomb series, please skip this one! I am spoiling MAJOR plot points, and I don’t want to ruin these books for you!

1. Ninth House: Shallan (as Harrow) and Adolin (as Gideon)

In the Ninth House, Gideon is the big, beefy, lady-loving himbo who really doesn’t know anything but sword fighting and porn mags. And Adolin may not read porn (because Sanderson) but he is a big ol’ devoted swordsman who has his himbo moments. Meanwhile there’s necromancer Harrow who:

Lived as a cloistered nun (=Shallan being shut up at home)

Pretends her dead parents are totes alive (=Shallan pretending her dad is alive)

Puppets dead people (=somewhat similar to Shallan with her Alters)

Gets herself lobotomized to suppress memories of Gideon (=Shallan suppressing, just, so many memories)

Guards the Locked Tomb but is also obsessed with what lies inside (=Shallan and her “mother’s soul” in the safe)

Is forced to leave home to restore her dying house (=Shallan doing, well, the same thing)

So even though Shallan isn’t exactly a bone-obsessed necromancer, she and Harrow have more in common than you may at first think!

2. Eighth House: Nightblood (as Silas) and Vasher (as Colum)

The Eighth House are soul siphoners, meaning that the necromancer uses the cavalier as a big ol’ battery. They’re also deeply religious and inflexible, at least in their Silas & Colum iteration. Now, I was trying hard to think of a Cosmere character who has powers akin to soul siphoning when it suddenly came to me! Nightblood! Nightblood literally does eat souls! Plus, Nightblood is notoriously inflexible in their whole “Kill Evil” standpoint. I could have used either Vasher or Szeth as the cavalier to pair with Nightblood, but I use Szeth below and anyway, Colum/Vasher have the longer history with Silas/Nightblood.

3. Seventh House: Taravangian (as Dulcinea) and Szeth (as Protesilaus)

Dulcinea is a beautiful and sickly necromancer, having inherited her house’s traditional Blood Cancer, and she mostly lies around being beautiful and flirting with Gideon. However, it is eventually revealed that she’s not Dulcinea at all but rather big bad (?) Cytherea in disguise. And the cavalier Protesilaus is dead and just being puppetted around. This is all reminiscent of Taravangian, who pretends to be a kindly and sickly old man, harmless to all...but is actually a devious mass-murderer who is puppetting Szeth (by controlling his oathstone).

4. Sixth House: Kaladin (as Palamedes) and Syl (as Camilla)

My love for Palamedes and Camilla knows no bounds, so this one was hard. But in the end, I think Kaladin & Syl fit the bill. Palamedes is incredibly smart and trained in medicine, ala Kaladin, and he and his cavalier Camilla have incredible amounts of trust in each other. They work together seamlessly, as do Kaladin and Syl. And if they ever get separated, say by Palamedes blowing himself up into many little bits, they will nevertheless do whatever it takes to find each other--which reminds me of Syl fighting to get back to Kaladin when he semi broke his oaths in Words of Radiance. Camilla also tries to downplay how smart she is to some extent, and Syl can literally be invisible if she wants to be. Plus, Kal and Pal rhyme, so there.

5. Fifth House: Jasnah (as Abigail) and Ivory (as Magnus)

I mean, Jasnah pretty much had to be Abigail, since Abigail is a published scholar and the best historian of her generation. That’s Jasnah to a tee...even if perhaps Abigail tends to come across as a bit warmer than Jasnah. Magnus was harder because he’s (a) Abigial’s husband (and Jasnah is unmarried and Wit super doesn’t fit), (b) mostly an administrator / bureaucrat and ( c) a jolly sort who likes to play the embarrassing dad role. I went with Ivory as he is Jasnah’s true partner as her spren, and as a logicspren I think he’d make a good adminstrator perhaps. He’s not exactly a jolly father-figure, but what can you do?

6. Fourth House: Daorn (as Isaac) and Kaise (as Jeannemary)

The Fourth House is hard because their main characteristic is that they are literally children, and then they die. And I was having a very hard time trying to think of any pair of children who die or who even exist as a pair in Sanderson. So eventually I went with the children from Elantris--Sarene’s nephew and niece Daorn and Kaise. Mostly because they’re smart, somewhat sassy children. And Kaise knows some fencing, so that sort of fits for a cavalier.

[Spoilers for Lost Metal but apparently Kaise grows up to join the Ghostbloods on Scadrial??? I had no idea that was her until I was looking her up in the wiki holy shit]

8. Third House: Siri (as Ianthe), Vivenna (as Coronabeth), and Parlin (as Naberius)

In the Third House we have two beautiful sisters...one of whom ends up being a “spare” who isn’t a necromancer at all (and it’s not the one you think at first). In a similar way, Vivenna and Siri were both tapped at various points to marry the god-king; everyone thought it would be Vivenna with Siri being the spare sister, but it ended up being the other way around. Siri/Ianthe then end up in the house of the resident god and are fiercely loyal to him. Vivenna/Coronabeth meanwhile join up with rebel forces who are opposed to the god that Siri/Ianthe follow. Yet still the sisters do care deeply for each other, even when they find themselves working toward opposite ends. Phew! Oh, and I’m not really sure who should be their (sacrificed) cavalier, but Parlin is there as a protector and then he dies, so...I guess him? Despite them having really nothing else in common; sorry Parlin/Naberius!

9. Second House: Rlain (as Judith) and Eshonai (as Marta)

The second house is the strictly military one, so at first I was trying to make someone from Bridge 4 work, but it didn’t quite come together. Judith and Rlain do have a lot in common: they both work at gathering intelligence, serve as a spy after being taken in by an organization against their will (Judith with Blood of Eden and Rlain being sent to Bridge 4 which was not originally his mission), and are incredibly loyal through their chain of command. And they both have military training / experience. Meanwhile, Marta is just a star--she rises quickly through the miliary ranks, but then she dies before we get to know her much. Eshonai is a lot more fleshed out, but I am thinking about how she too quickly rose through the military ranks as she adopted Warform and shardplate and Stormform. And then she died, so.

10. First House: Dalinar (as John) and Evi (as A.L.)

John Gaius is, well, god--and he has what could be described as a problematic past (did you know that cows have best friends?). Dalinar may not be god, but he did bond the closest equivalent, the Stormfather, and Dalinar is pretty much the head of the Radiants, must as John is the head of the empire. Speaking of, both John and Dalinar built an empire! Meanwhile, there’s John’s “dead” cavalier A.L., whose name is not to be spoken--which reminds me of Evi, whose existence was literally excised from Dalinar’s head at one point. Now, it doesn’t seem like Evi is going to return and stab Dalinar where he sleeps, but, well, the series isn’t over yet...

52 notes · View notes

denimbex1986 · 4 months

Text

'Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

A statement posted on his Instagram account confirmed he died in the early hours of Thursday.

The statement said Zephaniah's wife "was with him throughout and was by his side when he passed".

"We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news," it added.

Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write.

He moved to London aged 22 and published his first book, Pen Rhythm.

His early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style of work that has evolved into the music genre of the same name, and he would also perform with the group The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.

As Zephaniah's profile grew, he became a familiar face on television and was credited with bringing Dub Poetry into British living rooms.

He also wrote five novels as well as poetry for children, and his first book for younger readers, Talking Turkeys, was a huge success upon its publication in 1994.

On top of his writing work, Zephaniah was an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022.

He played Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus, appearing in 14 episodes across the six series.

Zephaniah famously rejected an OBE in 2003 due to the association of such an honour with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

"I've been fighting against empire all my life, fighting against slavery and colonialism all my life," he told The Big Narstie Show in 2020.

"I've been writing to connect with people, not to impress governments and monarchy. So I could I then accept an honour that puts the word Empire on to my name? That would be hypocritical.

He often spoke out about issues such as racial abuse and education.

When he was younger, Zephaniah served a prison sentence for burglary and received a criminal record.

In 1982, Zephaniah released an album called Rasta, which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley.

It also included a tribute to the then-political prisoner Nelson Mandela, who would later become South African president.

In an interview in 2005, Zephaniah said growing up in a violent household led to him assuming that was the norm.

He recalled: "I once asked a friend of mine, 'What do you do when your dad beats your mum?' And he went: 'He doesn't.'

"I said, 'Ah, you come from one of those, like, feminist houses. So, what do you do when your mum beats your dad?'"

In 2012, he was chosen to guest edit an edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Zephaniah was nominated for autobiography of the year at the National Book Awards for his work, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah, which was also shortlisted for the Costa Book Award in 2018.

During a Covid-19 lockdown, Zephaniah recited one of his poems in a video for the Hay Festival.

"Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator. He gave the world so much," the statement announcing his death said.

"Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy."

A statement from the Black Writers' guild, which Zephaniah helped establish, said: "Our family of writers is in mourning at the loss of a deeply valued friend and a titan of British literature. Benjamin was a man of integrity and an example of how to live your values."

Others paying tribute included author Michael Rosen, who said: "I'm devastated. I admired him, respected him, learnt from him, loved him. Love and condolences to the family and to all who loved him too."

Actress Adjoa Andoh posted: "We have lost a Titan today. Benjamin Zephaniah. Beautiful Poet, Professor, Advocate for love and humanity in all things. Heartbroken. Rest In Your Power - our brother."

Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy said in a statement: "Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being.

"A generational poet, writer, musician and activist. A proud Brummie and a Peaky Blinder. I'm so saddened by this news."

Broadcaster Trevor Nelson said: "So sad to hear about the passing of Benjamin Zephaniah. Too young, too soon, he had a lot more to give. He was a unique talent."

Singer-songwriter and musician Billy Bragg added: "Very sorry to hear this news. Benjamin Zephaniah was our radical poet laureate. Rest in power, my friend."

Comedian, actor and writer Lenny Henry said: "I was saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Benjamin Zephaniah. His passion for poetry, his advocacy for education for all was tireless."

Writer Nels Abbey said: "To call this crushing news is a massive understatement. He was far too young, far too brilliant and still had so much to offer. A loss we'll never recover from."

The X/Twitter account for Premier League football club Aston Villa, whom Zephaniah supported said everyone at the club was "deeply saddened" by the news.

"Named as one of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008, Benjamin was a lifelong Aston Villa fan and had served as an ambassador for the AVFCFoundation. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."'

#Benjamin Zephaniah #The Benjamin Zephaniah Band #Peaky Blinders #Cillian Murphy #Adjoa Andoh #Michael Rosen #Black Writers Guild #Hay Festival #The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah #Jeremiah “Jimmy” Jesus #Rasta #Pen Rhythm #Aston Villa #Nels Abbey #Lenny Henry #Billy Bragg #Trevor Nelson

29 notes · View notes

slugtranslation-hypmic · 4 months

Note

Hey there Slug! I hope you ain't too buys and might have a lil fun with this one! Of each individual character, what are your respective favorite songs of theirs and why?

This is an easy ask to answer, so I'mma clear it from the pile and get to some older ones eventually.

I assume you mean solo songs only, right?

Under a cut for length because there are a bajillion boys in this series

Ichirou: I like his VA's rapping work in just about everything; he's really solid. Stage Ichirou also has a youthful quality I appreciate a lot, but of the main series songs... probably Break the Wall. It's high energy in a fun way. It also ties into a creative project I've been chewing on for years that's near and dear to my heart, although I'm not sure if I'll ever put it to paper and share it anywhere.

Jirou: I think Jirou's VA has a very pretty singing voice, so I like his softer songs. In general, I admire the "softer" aspects of Jirou's character and think that's where he shines best. So probably School of IKB, although I adore his choruses in Re:start.

Saburou: Requiem. I'm very, very, very into things that commit to being over the top and goofy, and I also enjoy combining classical and baroque elements with other genres. What's not to like here?

Samatoki: Gangsta's Paradise. The high speed rap is technically compelling. I generally appreciate v. fast rap since I enjoy learning and singing them. If the stage plays count, I really enjoy the emotion Samatoki's stage actor brings to Come Back to Me.

Juuto: ...There is some interesting text in the Personality section of Juuto's wiki page. (I have it pulled up to quick reference the song lists.) If anyone with wiki edit powers is reading this, you may want to clean that up... Anyway, I feel like they give Juuto great background music in just about every song, but Uncrushable takes the cake for me. I really like the BG music in that.

Riou: Move Your Body Till You Die, hands down. Goofy as fuck. Also, great workout music.

Ramuda: I find his main voice pretty grating, and his usual styles of music aren't my favorite in general. So Ramuda songs don't do a lot for me. I appreciate Pink Colored Love for plot reasons, though.

Gentarou: The slower Hypmic songs rarely do a lot for me, but I found myself enjoying Yume no Kanata a lot. Not sure I know why, necessarily...

Dice: 3$EVEN was one of the first songs I really enjoyed in Hypmic, and I still like its high energy today. In general, I'm impressed by Dice's VA's rapping ability and appreciate his parts in group songs a lot.

Jakurai: Like I said earlier, I'm not usually a fan of slow songs, so none of Jakurai's solos or duets have ever stood out to me. With that being said, I think Jakurai's speech style and slower rhythms makes him more fun and easier to translate w/ full rhyme and rhythm than many other characters. Like I think Labyrinth Wall would be fun to do a full cover of with syllable matching rhymes and line length while simultaneously trying to stick as close to the core meaning and tone as possible.

Hifumi: Both Champagne Gold and Don't Stop the Party are high-energy bops and great for working out. Slight preference for the former. I also really like his singing voice in group songs.

Doppo: Doppo's angrier verses in group songs are fun, but I'm especially fond of BLACK OR WHITE. In particular, I enjoy the DOTAMA cover. I'm a big DOTAMA fan for both his lyrical strength and considerable rapping chops. He's got a lot of songs that are really punchy and angry in this exact vein, and I love throwing on a playlist of his stuff while grinding out tedious work projects. Hahaha. Just rapping along "I don't want to work. I don't want to work. I don't want to work. BUT HERE I AM, WORKING!!!!" furiously under my breath.

Sasara: Comedian Rhapsody is really fun. This is another song I would love, love, love, love to try and do a full translation w/ preservation of rhyme/line length/jokes. Not for sharing--at that point it's just kinda showing off--but it's fun to chew on bits of it when I have moments of free time.

Roshou: Like most of the slow song characters, Roshou's solos aren't my favorite. I guess I prefer Under Sail to Own Stage for its background music.

Rei: All of Rei's songs are wild to the point of me liking them for the goofiness. If you commit to the bit, I'll enjoy it 9 times out of 10. Doesn't matter what the bit is. Shiro to Kuro is probably my favorite. LOVE the "heh heh we are up to no good" NPC villain energy of that song. But also, shout-out to his singing in Enishi, even if it's nigh-on intelligible to me. I love the hell out of Enishi in general.

Kuko: The king of goof himself. Sou Gyaran BAM is probably my favorite, but I am--to some degree--into virtually every song he's in.

Juushi: Wow, I'm listed as a source on this wiki page, lol. Anyway. Juushi's aesthetic as a whole isn't my cup of tea, but I have a soft spot for Moonlight Shadow, because the first two times I heard it were on Spotify shuffle while I just so happened to be scrubbing a toilet. So for a couple months after, I would put Bad Ass Temple on every time I cleaned the bathroom. Hahaha.

Hitoya: One and Two, and Law is so fucking goofy. I adore it. The live version with the airhorn? Chef's kiss.

Otome: Fuck it, let's do the ladies too. Out of all of her musical appearances, I like Just Do It the most. It adds such an interesting strength to her character, and the English portions are done super well.

Ichijiku: Love, love, love her part in Verbal Justice for its strength. This is yet another song I think would be fun to do a hell TL of, and then I remind myself that trying to rhyme "Kadenokouji" in English is a fool's errand.

Nemu: Her singing voice in WINK is nice, but I love her part in Femme Fatale for its energy. "I'm Nemu, and this is my masterpiece" Fuck yeah it is

#not a translation #asks #personal asks

24 notes · View notes

cappdeservesanap · 2 months

Text

if the captain were to have his anthem, a song that describes him and represents him in a specific way, any anti-war song would work. but i think what does him justice in a respectful way is pete seeger’s “where have all the flowers gone?”. omitting the “girls” aspect in the lyrics (and if we change it to “boys” for the sake of the captain’s sexuality), the song’s words are tragically beautiful - it’s a lyrical circle going from the flowers being picked by lovers who are loved by men who are soldiers who died doing their military service whose graves are now adorned with flowers - and so on. it outlines the tragedy of army men whose bravery cost them their lives and whose loved ones are left to mourn despite their duty to continue living a vastly different, ordinary life.

however, as wonderfully melancholic as the original is, i had in mind a specific cover of the song - a czech cover. the music is a tad more complicated than the original; it uses an electric guitar, a bass, and drums. but it’s much more nuanced that way - the drums represent the rhythm of a military march. the bass playing root notes with perfect fifths is a symbol of simplicity and repetition (of first joining the army. as the bass modifies the melody with each rhyme in each verse, it also emphasises that the more time the cap spends in the military, the more difficult keeping to his old ways can get). and with each verse, a new element of music is added (keyboard, the guitar plays a slightly different melody etc. to emphasise that this cycle brings new tragedies but can’t be possibly changed as it is a lasting tradition.

and the lyrics. oh, those haunting lyrics. i’m not even gonna talk about the voice singing them because the dissection of its depressing reverb and the suddenly powerful delivery of “where have all the soldiers gone” would take weeks. i just wanna focus on the translation. not your typical non-english-song-turned-english where the song loses its meaning. the meaning is there, but like a hundred times stronger. the lines do repeat, but not from rhyme to rhyme. i’m gonna translate this specific section because it’s so captain coded:

Where have all the soldiers gone

Long time passing

Where have all the soldiers gone

A long, long time ago

Where have all the soldiers gone

Gone to graveyards, every one

When will they ever learn?

in czech, it’s like this (nearly word-for-word translation):

And where have all those soldiers gone

People, what ever happened here?

And where have all those soldiers gone

Where could they be?

Series of graves in a line

The wind is howling all around

Who will ever understand?

i see a major difference between the last four lines. the original shows complete silence after a battle, how everyone fighting there died, and everything’s gone until another battle breaks in that exact spot. the czech version relays those emotions in a different way; yes, it’s dead silent, but the howling of the wind is a sign of something after death, of mourning coming both from the lovers and the dead, i.e. havers and the captain. and the “who will ever understand?” is somehow a contrast. “when will they ever learn?” to me is clearer because it either talks about the soldiers not learning they shouldn’t go to war or something along those lines. the former can say “who will ever understand [why those soldiers died]?” or “who will ever understand [the howling wind]?” and so on. it’s those endless questions the captain might ask himself from time to time to nobody’s understanding, i feel. when will he ever understand his death, or his love for havers, or his position?

here’s the song in question; i absolutely recommend just because of its heartbreaking atmosphere

#just a long rant really #i’m so sorry #i’m procrastinating writing my thesis :)#also feel free to prove me wrong or suggest other songs that are clearly captain coded i am begging #bbc ghosts #the captain #lieutenant havers #ramblings #Spotify

10 notes · View notes

rising-volteccers · 8 months

Text

So, this is a sort of word vomit piece where I just wrote stuff out to cope during a bad brain day and apply it to Friede. Nothing like a bit of self projection onto your favs, right? It turned out more cuter(?) than expected but I suppose when you add the kids in it, it's almost always going to be lighter than intended. Essentially it involves painting nails haha.

Anyway, hope this is still an enjoyable read!

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Liko

Occasionally, Friede had days where his mind became too cluttered. There was no rhyme nor reason for it to happen. He'd wake up in the morning and just knew. Focusing on one line of thought proved difficult, as did staying put long enough to be productive. He felt the need to do one thing or another yet found himself stuck with indecisiveness that it left him doing nothing at the end.

Over time, Friede found a way that helped him silence the buzzing thoughts. He came across it by accident during his college years and had since applied it whenever one of those days struck.

Today was one of them.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, Friede inspected one of the small bottles laid out on the desk next to it. He resisted the urge to tug at his hair and instead picked one up. With the rest of his supplies at hand, he spread out a small towel on the surface.

Friede began by swiping some nail polish remover over his nails. He stared at each one, forcing his thoughts to focus on how it removes excess polish even if he hadn’t worn some it still removes the natural oils on the nail it’ll make applying the layers smoother and it’ll last longer.

After that, he used a cuticle stick to push the soft skin of each cuticle back to the edge of his nail. He wrangled his brain to think on how pushed back cuticles makes it look even when he paints he didn’t want it to look messy.

Once he did that, he began to apply a base coat of clear nail polish on his left thumb. One stripe down the middle, left and then right. Rinse and repeat. While he waited for them to dry, he funneled his thoughts into deciding clear or color clear or color he’ll go with clear it’s not noticeable so less questions ask the better.

With his decision made, Friede dipped the brush into the clear polish again before placing a drop of it directly in the center, just above the cuticle. Then he brushed upwards all the way to the tip. Repeat on the left, following the curve to the tip. Repeat on the right, also curve to tip.

He paused to inspect the first applied layer. It looked neat, which started to dislodge some of the thoughts in his ever busy mind. Friede repeated the process one by one. Each time he stopped to inspect, and once satisfied, he found it easier to fall into a rhythm. He just focused on the act, on each stripe and bask in the soft glow of pride when he saw how neat it looked.

Doing this for half an hour calmed him in a way that was hard to describe. Perhaps it was the repetitive nature of applying each layer of polish. Maybe it was the sense of focus he got to ensure that he didn’t mess things up. He certainly liked the way he felt more at ease in his own skin now that his brain wasn’t questioning every single thing he did.

With the entirety of his attention laid on applying the final coat to his pinky, Friede didn’t notice the light knocks on his door. Once done, he inspected his work, feeling himself smile at how neat the clear polish looked on his nails. Was it actually visible or was he simply envisioning it in his mind? Who knows but it made him happy so that was all that mattered.

Friede placed his hand back down atop the towel to let it dry. Then he looked up–only to find a pair of eyes peeking at him from the slightly ajar door. He nearly jerked his hand back in shock, barely avoiding knocking off the small bottles on the table.

“Liko,” he breathed out, wrestling back his slipped control. Friede released a slow, steadying breath before plastering on a light smile. “I didn’t hear you, sorry. Were you looking for me?”

“N-No, I’m sorry for surprising you,” she apologized, eyes flickering to her shuffling feet before going back at him. “I wanted to ask if you could help me with this bit I’m stuck on but you looked so focused that I didn’t want to disturb… I didn’t know you painted nails.”

“I’m not exactly advertising it. I usually just wear clear nail polish so you wouldn’t really be able to see it anyway,” Friede replied easily. He was in a better headspace than before that he didn’t feel the need to deflect.

“I see. I thought using nail polish would paint your nails in colors,” Liko stated, pushing the door to properly enter after Friede gestured for her to do so with his free hand.

“Well I do have colored nail polish if I’m in the mood but I usually use the clear one. Harder to spot if I mess up.” Which he didn’t so don’t start second guessing himself now. He had no reason to work his thoughts up into a frenzy and undoing all the progress he did.

“Oh, is it difficult to clean up if you mess it up?”

“Nah, you’d use nail polish remover if you get some on your skin but it can be drying and harsh. Plus it’s just a pain to go through the steps to have it properly removed so–” A faint shrug. “–I just do my best to keep it neat.”

“I see. Is it… is it hard to paint nails?”

Here, Friede paused to take in the girl before him. It didn’t take long for him to make the connection for all these leading questions. Knowing Liko, she was probably too shy to outright ask. He briefly considered it, then decided that ignoring the tells would make him feel bad.

“Well, it takes a lot of practice to make it look neat. I can paint your nails if you want.” Friede threw out the offer so the choice was up to Liko.

“E-Eh? Realy? I wouldn’t be disturbing you…?” Liko fiddled with the hem of her shirt, looking nervous but hopeful.

“I wouldn’t have offered if it did,” he kindly replied. “Go ahead and take a seat on the chair, then.”

Liko did as instructed, her eyes immediately drawn to the small line of nail polish that Friede laid out in his indecisiveness earlier.

“I don’t have much colors on hand but if you’re not sure on what to choose, I think this would suit you.” Friede reached over to pick up a bottle of teal nail polish. It wasn’t a color he personally wore but it had been a part of the set he bought. He gave it to Liko so she could inspect the bottle herself.

“Um, then I’d like this color.” She handed back the bottle to him. Friede then gently grabbed hold of her hand to check her nails. Unlike his, it looked like she kept them clean and nicely trimmed. He could probably go straight to applying the base coat but he decided to swipe her nails with the polish remover first.

“You’d use this to remove excess polish if you had some but it’s also used to remove natural oils on your nails if there’s any,” Friede explained, eyes never once straying from how carefully he swiped it. He didn’t want to accidentally get some on Liko’s skin.

She nodded, keeping herself still throughout the process. After that, Friede carefully took out the brush from the clear polish bottle to apply the base coat on her thumb.

“Usually you’d want to put a base clear coat like this. This is to protect the colored polish from staining your nail,” he spoke up, sensing that she likely had a lot of questions but felt hesitant to ask.

Once he applied it to all the fingers on her left hand, they waited for it to dry. Friede began to paint on the first layer of teal polish using the same three swipe method from before. One down the center, curve from the left to the tip and repeat the same on the right. He just wanted to apply a thin first layer so it’d dry quicker.

Friede focused on making sure each and every nail were painted on neatly. He found the act of painting another person’s nail calming in its own right. He had both hands to work with, giving him a higher degree of control. While his thoughts didn’t wander, it did allow him the opportunity to observe.

The biggest takeaway he got was Liko’s hand being smaller than his. Objectively he knew that but it put things into perspective when he actually held it. Kids her age would usually be in school or out on their journeys (if they had the capability to do so) but she was in a unique position of doing both. It was a little sad that it came from a place of danger but Friede had promised Lucca that he and the rest of his crew will look after Liko.

Friede imagined had she stayed in school, Liko might have done this with her school friends. He learnt it in college as a means to focus when his mind became his own worse enemy but ordinarily, he pictured this to be a bonding activity between friends. Then again, he didn’t exactly have a normal school life himself so it was a lot of speculation on his part. It kept him focused though that by the time he ran out of things to observe, Friede was done with painting the nails on her left hand.

“There. Just keep your hand like that until the polish dries,” he stated, placing the brush back into the bottle for the time being. “After that I’ll apply a top coat to seal it and then we’re done. What do you think?”

Liko leaned closed to get a proper look without moving her hand. A smile easily came after she took in her painted nails. “It looks really good! Thank you Friede!”

“Heh, nothing to it. Gives me good practice too,” he replied easily, stamping down the mild embarrassment that rose from her genuine gratitude. “If you want, I can paint the nails on the other hand too if you don’t mind sitting around for awhile longer.”

“I’d like that!” Liko inspected them once more. “I’ve never had my nails painted before so seeing them done like this… I think I want to try it myself next time.”

“It’ll take lots of practice but I’m sure you can do it. You already have steady hands from drawing. Just have to get them used with the smaller brush,” he encouraged, flashing her a kind smile. “You can have this bottle and a few others if you’re interested in the color to start off with.”

“Really? You don’t mind it?”

“Nah. Like I said before, I usually use clear polish. Feel free to grab the colors you’re interested in.”

“Um, what would you recommend?”

Friede blinked a couple of times, then smiled. He spent the next hour giving Liko tips to start out while he painted the rest of her nails. By the time she left his room, she sported a beaming smile, marveling at the pretty teal color.

That was the first time he painted someone else’s nails in a long while. It pleased him to find the process calming as well. Compared to when he woke up this morning, Friede felt at ease with himself, able to think without his thoughts buzzing around to the point of distraction.

Before he could put away his kit, Friede once again almost knocked the bottles over when the door abruptly opened.

“Friede! Liko showed me the nails you painted for her and please please please can you do that for me too?” Roy asked excitedly.

Staring at the boy for a moment, Friede heaved out a soft sigh, resigned yet not displeased at all by the situation. This was probably going to be a regular occurrence, huh?

Well, he didn't mind the extra practice.

#Pokemon Horizons #Pokeani #Anipoke #Professor Friede #Liko (Pokemon)#Hana writes stuff

29 notes · View notes

coulsons-fullmetal-cellist · 10 months

Text

A Drop of Golden Sun

(Joel Miller x singing teacher female)

Words: 3, 692

Summary: Ellie takes up singing lessons and Joel reluctantly joins in. Singing teaching is my profession and this is what I actually do! I would love some feedback on this story as I need to know if it makes any sense to non-musicians. I’m writing an educational paper on the teaching of singing so if anyone also wants to read that, let me know!

Warnings: a bit of a slow burn between two adorable people, some swearing, lots of singing, a grown man being embarrassed, I’ve only seen the TV series so forgive me if my knowledge is lacking

Check out my crazy masterlist here

“How can you tell if someone is tone deaf?”

That was a question you haven’t heard in a while. You weren’t sure how the teenager in front of you would think to ask you, but her eyes were full of curiosity, and you were eager to explain.

“If someone was tone deaf, they wouldn’t be able to recognise the melody of a song. It’s very rare for someone to be tone deaf.”

“It is?” You knew this was Ellie, a newcomer to Jackson. You’d seen her around the school, sitting in the back of music class, not quite wanting to join in, just taking in the strange new atmosphere of singing along. You’d seen her being picked up by what you supposed was her father Joel after school. The two were adorably matched in surly attitude and clashed heads but you felt the love between them. It took a while for them to be properly introduced to everyone, but Ellie seemed more eager to know the towns music teacher, Joel standing closely behind the questioning teenager.

“Can you tell the difference between these two notes?” you started humming a very familiar two notes, a knowing smirk crossed the Joel’s lips. Ellie nodded, unaware of what was to happen. You hummed the same two notes again, then progressed in a faster rhythm, finally you opened your mouth to belt out the final bit to the Jaws theme. Ellie’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Wow! That was amazing! Did you write that song yourself?”

You and Joel shared a silent laugh, “Yes, I totally wrote that song myself.” The sarcasm seemed to be lost to the teenager.

“Would you be able to teach anyone to sing? No matter how terrible a singer they are?”

“Oh yeah, if someone has the enthusiasm and is willing to put in the work, then yeah.”

“So how can you tell if someone is a bad singer?”

“Well then, I’d have to hear them sing first. Do you know the lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?”

“Isn’t that a kid’s song?”

“Yes, which means it’ll be an easy song.”

“Well, I don’t know the song. They didn’t really teach us that stuff in basic training.”

“That’s okay, I can sing it for you if you want?”

Joel mumbled out, “I know the words.” He scratched the back of his head, hoping his words would be lost but you heard him well.

Ellie looked shocked, “You do?”

“Well, I was a dad, so I know all those kinds of songs.”

You brightened up, “I’d love to hear it.”

He sighed deeply, knowing what he’d have to face. He gave Ellie a death glare before he started off on the nursery rhyme. He started off quite confidently but soon realised all eyes in the room were on him, so he sang the last few lines quickly and let it fade away. You applauded his performance enthusiastically and Ellie joined in.

“Whoo! Real crooner there!”

To say Joel’s glare was a death glare was an understatement, but then he looked at the happiness on your face and softened, his embarrassment replaced by bashfulness.

“That was really good!” You swore you saw a bit of blush crawling up his neck.

“I want to try it!” Ellie then started her own version of the nursery rhyme. Her enthusiasm was almost infectious even if she didn’t get all the words or notes right. You applauded her performance almost before Joel did.

“Do you do private lessons?” the question from the man who just sang a nursery rhyme was one you haven’t heard in a while, “I know you do music at the school and all…”

“No, I mean yes, I can do private lessons. I just have to find the time between stuff.”

Ellie interrupted with a casual shove to Joel’s shoulder, “If you need anything fixin’, this guy’ll do it for you. He was a contractor.”

The laugh that came out of your mouth left her confused but you nodded to the man, agreeing to make an arrangement later.

*****

The story of how you survived an outbreak, and the collapse of society was probably put down to luck. You were managing the dull humdrum of surviving each day, becoming numb to everything you once took for granted. Finding the Jackson outpost became a glimmer of hope. Soon, your frozen heart defrosted with the melting snow. Soon word floated around of your life before everything changed and Maria approached you about setting up a music class in the school and now you came back to your old profession in some form.

How they managed to find a piano, let along a functioning piano at the end of human civilisation was nothing short of a miracle. Soon after, you had the luxury of paper to which you could write down some music which somehow didn’t leave your brain after all these years. You spent countless hours with a pencil and ruler making lines of music before you could start writing musical notes.

Things that were once an unnecessary luxury now became a needed break from the insanity that is the world ending. Jackson had settled into a routine for survival but once life settled a gentle harmony of peace and quiet hummed in the atmosphere. Ration cards were now being used to recreate childhood comfort foods and things that were once forgotten gradually crept back into life. Time could now be spent on things such as reading or randomly humming a song that became stuck in your head. Not having to survive a night in the freezing wilderness or worrying about where your next bite would come from could do that to you.

*****

A knock at the door of the school music room brought you back to when you first started teaching, the nerves came fluttering back. Ellie came sauntering into the room, closely followed by Joel.

“You’re both here for a lesson?”

“Well just me,” said Ellie, “He’s just here for moral support.”

You smiled at his surly face, “You can join in anytime you want. I want to see how you breathe, so I’d like you to take a nice deep breath and recite as much of the alphabet as you can on that one breath. Do that make sense?”

Ellie nodded and took a deep breath, raising her shoulders and managed to do the whole alphabet. You stood up and put your hands under your stomach, “That was good, but you were raising your shoulders, which only uses and eighth of your lung capacity. Put your hands under your stomach,” she copied you, “Now imagine your stomach is a balloon: when you breathe in, you inflate the balloon and when you breathe out, you deflate the balloon.” You demonstrated, letting your stomach go right out and in. Ellie eagerly copied you while Joel casually followed along, he took to the technique more easily than Ellie who was trying to wrap her head around this new way of breathing.

“How are you feeling?” you asked her.

“It feels weird. How’d you pick it up so quick?” she asked Joel.

“I’m older, I’ve had more experience with breathing.”

“You’re old you’d think you’d have trouble with breathing.”

“I’m not that old!” You couldn’t help but chuckle at this exchange.

“Let me know if you start feeling dizzy because lots of oxygen will be getting into your brain.”

“Maybe your brain will get smarter from all that oxygen,” Joel mumbled.

You went and sat at the piano, everything coming back to you now. “We’re going to do some warm ups, get the vocal muscles going. I like to talk them out before singing them. Now, imagine that some freshly baked cookies just came out of the oven,” you paused as you weren’t sure if Ellie would have ever experienced something such as freshly baked cookies.

“How about bread? Just out of the oven?” Joel suggested and that helped bring you back on track.

“Okay, so imagine the smell of freshly baked bread, that lovely smell,” you closed your eyes, “and you just…mmm” you hummed, imagining the taste of bread dancing on your tongue. Ellie and Joel closed their eyes and joined you in this dance of humming. You opened your eyes, “So you know how that feels? We’re now going to add music to it.”

Your fingers graced over the keys as if you never stopped teaching. All twenty years of hardship forgotten and felt like you only did this yesterday. You played up three notes and then went back down.

“I’ll demonstrate what we’re going to do. So hum along to this,” you played the sequence and hummed along, “And when I play the next bit,” you played the next note up to start a new sequence, “This is when you’ll breathe, and then we’ll hum along again,” you hummed along with the next sequence, “Then we’ll keep going up. Does that make sense?”

Ellie nodded but hesitantly looked to Joel for reassurance. “You can do it together or I can do it with you if you like?” She nodded for you to join her, so she hummed along going up the piano.

“How did that feel? I’m going to be asking that a lot.”

“It felt fine. Still weird.”

“Well it’s going to get weirder. That’s how singing goes. So, now we’re going to do what I call yawn singing. Yawning helps get that nice, relaxed feeling in our throat which is important to singing,” you gave a big dramatic yawn to demonstrate, “Let’s try that.” Ellie felt a little awkward yawning along with you, knowing it was something that had always been the source of scorn among others and yet here you were encouraging it. “Okay, let’s put that to music.”

You played the same musical sequence as before, Ellie yawn singing along with you. Joel was just the quiet observer in all this. “How did that feel?”

“It was definitely weird!” Joel just hummed in agreement.

“Now, have you ever laughed so much it hurt your stomach?”

Joel snorted, “Not with her bad jokes.”

“Hey, my jokes are excellent!” You saw the hint of a smile between the two of them.

“Well laughing gets our diaphragm muscles working so what we’ll do is take one tiny breath and go ‘ha ha ha ha ha’. Okay?” You all put your hands on your stomachs and did a few little laughs before adding the music. Instinctively your hands reached up as if to pop little bubbles of music, another memory from before. You realised and became slightly self-conscious of it. “How did that feel?”

“It felt good.”

“Good. Now we’ll actually get to a song!” You got up from the piano stool to place a piece of handwritten music in front of Ellie and Joel. He gave a knowing nod to the title of the song: Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music.

“That brings me back,” he mused.

“What? Back to the time of the dinosaurs?”

You gave Ellie a cheeky look, “So are you saying I’m that old?” That caused a smile to cross Joel’s face, and you joined in, and you continued with the lesson. “The way I like to approach a song is to do the tune, the melody, by itself; then we do the words by themselves; then we put the two of them together. Does that make sense?” Ellie nodded so you returned to the piano and started playing the tune which was one you always started new students on. “Feel free to hum along.”

It took a little while for her to get used to the tune which you knew was completely foreign to her, but she was determined to get the tune on her tongue.

“Alright, we’ll tackle the lyrics now,” You stood up and made your way to Ellie’s piece of music. You picked up the pencil that was on the makeshift stand. “The way we pronounce our words when we sing will be different to how we say them normally. I like talking out the lyrics in the rhythm so we can focus on the words and how they should feel when we sing them. Again, it’s going to be weird, but it’ll make sense once we add the music.” You used the pencil as a pointer and tapped out the rhythm to get syllable.

“When we get to a long note, we have to make sure the end of the word is heard clearly. If you do the long note but fade off then no one will know what word you just sang, so we have to emphasise it, almost making them two separate words. So, ‘Ray, a drop of golden su nuh’” you underlined the n in sun to make your point. “Let’s talk this out.”

Ellie followed along with you quite eagerly, sometimes looking to Joel like an eager puppy learning a new skill. You fed her with enthusiastic praise and her energy was bouncing in the air.

“Okay, let’s put the words to music,” you sat back down on the piano stool and started up the melody again, “Don’t worry, I’ll sing along with you.”

You started singing at your normal volume but softened it once you heard the confidence building in Ellie’s voice. “How was that?”

She shrugged, “Pretty good.”

“Okay, we’re going to get weird again. We’re going to yawn sing this. So imagine you’ve just come out of the dentist, oh wait. Just imagine your mouth has stopped working.”

“Like you’ve been drunk?”

“When have you ever been drunk?” asked Joel.

“I’ll sing this with you,” You started playing the song again. Ellie was trying hard not to giggle at the absurdity of the exercise, Joel once again quietly observing. “How did that feel?”

“Fun! Weird but fun.”

“Good. Now we’re going to laugh sing this. We won’t do the words, every one will be a short little ‘ha’.” You played the song again and Joel joined in softly on this one.

“Now, we’ll go back to singing with the words. When we get to one of the long notes, we’ll imagine we’re yawn singing it. And when we get to any little notes, we’ll imagine we’re laugh singing it. Does that make sense?”

Ellie nodded, eager to sing again. This time around, the change was obvious. “Did that feel any different?”

“A little bit, the higher notes felt better. Can we do it again?”

“Yeah sure, we can go as many times as you want.”

You played the song a few more times, you didn’t want Ellie to tire herself out in her first lesson. Before you knew it, the time had flown by, and the lesson had ended. Her poor face sunk in sadness but lit up when you said you’d see her next week. Joel nodded his thanks as he led her out the door.

*****

Sure enough, Ellie came by the following week followed by Joel. She told you she had practiced, and you believed her. You had started introducing a method you created where the singer uses their hands to sort of direct their voice forward. You mainly created the method to help singers with their breathing as a lot of them tried to breathe before finishing a musical sentence. It also helped make sure a long word ended strong. It was always fun to get students to imagine them poking the end of a word. Ellie took this literally and tried to poke Joel while singing and claiming she was practicing.

Soon word spread that you were teaching privately and more people in the community wanted to take up lessons. A lot of them were ones who remembered music from school and wanted a return to childhood. Others were told that they couldn’t sing which was a common thing with adult students. This encouraged several of the children to start lessons and word of forming a choir was now spreading. You would hope to get it up and running in time for a community talent show. A talent show was something that hadn’t happened in the world for a long, long time.

You found yourself playing on the piano more in your spare time. You fingers remembered how to play certain songs. That corner of your mind letting you play so freely, getting lost in the music. This song was one you hadn’t sung in a while.

Summertime, and the living is easy. Fish are jumpin’. And the cotton is high.

Oh, your daddy’s rich. And your ma is good lookin’.

So hush, little baby don’t you cry.

You sensed someone was watching and you nearly fell off the piano stool. Your heart being left behind to where it jumped out of your body. Joel rushed over to stop you from falling over like a complete fool.

“Shit, m’sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt; your singing was just so lovely.”

You paused, “Oh, thanks. Hadn’t sung that one in a while, put my guard down.”

“I’m not able to let my guard down yet.”

“Give it a few years. Was Ellie having a lesson today?”

“No, no,” he scratched the back of his head, “I actually had a question about a song I’m doin’.”

“You’re singing at the talent show?”

He sighed, “I was convinced.”

“Convinced?”

“Well, strongly convinced by Ellie who went and told everyone I was singin’.”

You laughed, “Yeah, she’s very convincing. So what song are you doing?”

He almost had trouble getting the words out, “Can’t Help Fallin’ in Love with You.”

“Oh lovely, is that for anyone special?”

He coughed out a maybe, but you didn’t question him further. “There’s a part I have trouble with, thought I should ask the expert.”

You went and sat back at the piano, “I’m more than happy to help.”

“Most of the song is fine, it’s just the middle part, ‘the only to the sea’ part.”

You hummed the part, looking to Joel if it was the correct part and he nodded. “Well, “there’s a few reasons why you might be having trouble with it. Sometimes it’s the notes, sometimes it’s the words and sometimes it's both,” you let out a contented sigh, “We can take it apart and see, well hear, where it’s giving you trouble.”

“Normally trouble is Ellie.” You joined in the laugher, noting how his eyes lit up.

“Let’s sing the part on doo.”

“Like that laugh singing?”

“You were paying attention?”

“I have to, to make sure Ellie practices.”

“It will be a little like laugh singing. We only have to lightly touch the tops of the notes. And we barely need any energy for these small notes. Most people tend to punch every note,” you gestured you hands to emphasise your point, “We only have to ‘boop’ them.”

“Boop?”

“Yes boop. I told you singing gets weird. But we’ll go with doo.”

Joel went through the sequence on doo, then dee. He seemed less uncomfortable with the strangeness of the exercises from accompanying Ellie to lessons over the weeks but having to do them himself was a lot different.

“Let’s try them with the words now but imagine lightly touching those notes.” He tried them but you heard he would hesitate on the top notes. “Would you be willing to use your hands?”

He sighed but gave it a go, following your movements. They were less elegant than yours but it did seem to help him with those notes causing him issue.

“Just try them by yourself and hopefully your brain will get used to it.”

“Thanks” he hesitated, “So I’m guessin’ you did all this teaching before,” he waved his hand, “everything?”

“I did. Ellie told me you wanted to be a singer but became a contractor.”

“I’m gonna have to tell her to watch where her mouth runs, but yeah, I did want to be a singer.”

“What stopped you?”

“Life I guess. And more than one person tellin’ me I couldn’t sing.”

“Were they experts?” he shook his head, “Then they had no right telling you.”

“Kinda wish you were around to tell them that.”

“We’re here now.”

“I’m glad we are.”

*****

“That will bring us back to do! Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do!”

The applause was rapturous for Ellie’s performance. She did a low bow and made her way back to the audience. Tommy, acting as MC, got up to the assigned performance area. “Another round of applause for Ellie! And now, finally making his debut, let’s welcome my brother Joel!”

After a pause, Joel reluctantly made his way to the front. He sat on the chair provided and placed the guitar on his knee. After a false start, he started strumming the guitar. His voice was softly coming through to the audience, he never once looked out to see how many people were watching him sing. Joel got to the part where he would hesitate, and you hoped your worry wouldn’t mentally pass on to him. The exercises you put him through must have worked because he passed through that part without any issues. Normally, most people would rush towards the end, their brain wanting to finish the song, but Joel didn’t speed up and fade off like he did all those weeks ago with that nursery rhyme.

“Take my hand, take my whole life too. But I can’t help fallin’ in love with you,” suddenly he lifted his head and looked straight into your eyes, “But I can’t help fallin’ in love with you.”

Oh. Oh…

The applause seemed to wash over the thrumming in your head. Surely, he wasn’t singing this love song to you. He was probably just looking to you for reassurance, that’s all it was.

“So, did he win you over with his singing?”

You were lost for words, “He what?”

“What better way to confess his feelings than through a love song?”

Joel had to butt in, “I kept sayin’ she’s a much lovelier singer so it wouldn’t work.”

You had to correct him, “Well it did work.”

“Oh. Oh.”

Ellie was practically singing, “I told you!”

Lovingly tagging @chaithetics @meveispunk @cevans-is-classic @tessa-quayle @boliv-jenta @ellenmunn @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @myloveistoolittle @brilliantopposite187

#pedro pascal #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us tv #the last of us 2023 #the last of us hbo #the last of us #tlou 2023 #tlou series #tlou hbo #tlou

33 notes · View notes

bizarrequazar · 3 months

Text

GJ and ZZH Updates — January 14-20

previous week || all posts || following week

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

01-14 → Possible hexagon ring sighting.

01-15 → Net-A-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ 361° posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian, 51129 with the date.)

→ GXG posted six photos ads featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of the GXG photoshoot. Caption: "Freeze and relax, feel the leisurely spring in advance. @ Gong Jun Simon enjoys every moment of the rhythm~"

→ Elle magazine posted a teaser of their photoshoot with Gong Jun that would be released the following day. Caption: "The New Year brings the 'dragon', and the new year brings the 'beauty'. The cover of the new issue is about to be revealed."

01-16 → Elle posted their photoshoot of Gong Jun. Caption: "The shooting location is in a building decorated in artistic style. The porch has been decorated early with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. The lawn in front of the door is still green and full of the vitality that is rare in winter. At 6 o'clock in the evening the night before, @ Gong Jun Simon was still working on set. After finishing work, he rushed to Shanghai. After getting up early, he had to rush to attend a New Year's Eve party after filming. He won’t have a holiday tomorrow for New Year’s Day, but will go back to the set and continue filming. Looking back further, last year at this time he was also preparing for a New Year's Eve performance and joined the group the next day. 'It's good not to have a holiday,' he said. There was a sense of urgency in his words, as well as a sense of eagerness to try. 'I just hope that every project will be filmed smoothly and new projects will start filming as soon as possible.' Why is he so serious about pursuing a career. 'I have to do it well this year and try to use my time as much as possible.'"

→ Gong Jun posted six photos from the Elle shoot. Caption: "In the first year of the new era, let's have fun together." He also posted nine to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: "Send 30 million red packets 🧧🧧🧧 Be healthy, be happy, be rich" and nine to his Instagram, caption: "Spring festival is coming!!! 🏮🧧🐲!"

→ Elle posted a video of their photoshoot featuring Gong Jun. Caption: "This year @ Gong Jun Simon has launched a 'World Favourites' section, where he publishes travel p-logs from time to time. On the one hand, he wants to record the scenery he has seen, the food he has eaten, and the interesting things he has seen. On the other hand, he wants to share what he has seen and heard with everyone, so that they can see the world he has seen through his records. In these travel p-logs, the photos and layout are all his own ideas. Gong Jun is a person with a strong desire to share. He hopes to pass on the happiness in life to others so that everyone can feel this happiness together. Of course, this is also a process in which he magnifies the happiness he feels."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of the Elle shoot. Caption: "Have a far-reaching inner rhyme and bring auspiciousness to the East. @ Gong Jun Simon is enjoying the fun of the New Year."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted fifteen photos from the Elle shoot. Caption: "The fiery national colours outline the oriental charm, and @ Gong Jun Simon writes the warmth of the New Year."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a douyin of footage from the Elle photoshoot. Caption: "Gong Jun inherits the past and traces the present, and absorbs the meaning of Chinese style. @ Gong Jun Simon interprets the modern style of the New Year with a pioneering attitude."

→ PRSR posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

01-17 → Gong Jun posted a promotional video he did for Deeyeo.

→ Kinokuniya Tokyo responded to whalers' injuries about stocking the Zhang Sanjian photobook, saying that they have been unable to contact the suppliers. They later posted an update that they have no plans to pursue this further.

→ PRSR posted a video (flashing lights cw) of their photoshoot with Gong Jun.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad announcing that Gong Jun would be appearing in a livestream the following day.

01-18 (Candy shower!!! 🍬) → Gong Jun posted a screenshot of the song 南京恋爱通告 (Nanjing Love Announcement) by Galaxy Express to his Instagram. Caption: "Good morning!" Fan Observations: - For the significance of Nanjing, see [here]. - This is only the second time that Gong Jun has posted a song to his Instagram since 813, and the first time that he has done so with it being the only thing in the post. Prior to 813, he posted songs quite often. - The song lyrics include the line "Sunrise on top of the purple-gold mountain," reminiscent of the golden mountain photos Gong Jun posted on 2022-12-17 which many people believe showed Zhang Zhehan from behind.

→ Gong Jun appeared on a livestream for Fresh, hosted in Nanjing. [full recording] Fan Observations: - He wore a jacket with a gold hexagon pattern. - One activity involved drawing images associated with words. For Nanjing, he drew a heart. 🥺 - He mentioned the song he had posted earlier, saying that he had found it a while ago and had been wanting to share it.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted eight photos from the Fresh livestream. Caption: "The carved jade dragon glows with vitality, and the veil and gold layer create the beauty of the new year. @ Gong Jun Simon feels pure in the momentum of soaring. I wish everyone a happy Laba Festival and prosperity with the dragon in 2024!"

→ Gong Jun posted four selfies. Caption: "Today is Laba, so it's time to post selfies!" Fan Observation: The hoodie and pose that he's doing in them is very reminiscent of photos he posted on 10-31-2022, the anniversary of the One Night in Nanjing, which are in turn reminiscent of selfies Zhang Zhehan had once posted. [comparison]

→ PRSR posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. The later also posted a photo ad.

→ Fresh posted five photos of Gong Jun from the livestream.

→ Yang Yang posted two photos of himself and Gong Jun from the livestream.

01-19 → Net-A-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ PRSR posted two behind the scenes videos [1] [2] (flashing lights cw for both) of their photoshoot with Gong Jun.

01-20 → The Instagram posted a video of "Zhang Zhehan".

Additional Reading: → N/A

previous week || all posts || following week

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

17 notes · View notes

dadsbongos · 11 months

Text

chapter 5 - two of hearts (reprise)

3.7K words

@latenightsimping @mantorokk-writes @kitmon @thornsnvultures new series all finished :) warnings - got eepy and didn't edit this as thoroughly as i did for other chapters

prev. chapter / masterlist

Dragging big work boots that you slapped on (you're sure they're your dad's), Mr. Kennedy's brow raises at the glum, muted gray and blue of your sweater and pants. He's standing before your ex - what was he exactly? You barely dated, after all.

Mr. Kennedy is standing before your ex-potential boyfriend, hands firm on his hips and both staring at you. He jerks his head towards Eddie, "You wanna switch partners?"

Exhausted and baggy eyes widen at once, betrayed and bug-eyed gaze flipping to Eddie in an instant. You fold your arms across your chest and 'hmph' as he stutters attempted excuses.

"I - well- you know, it'd be awkward? I just didn't wanna make things tough- we don't have to!"

"Wow," you muse, not particularly caring that Mr. Kennedy's face is stern and over this melodrama, "first you destroy my ego, and now this?" Eddie winces and you shuffle past to where your desks were smashed together, "What's a girl gotta do to get some compassion around here?"

"Nothing!" Eddie clamors after you, hands shaky and knees wobbling. He was hoping to take the coward's way out - really show his mother's far-and-away Irish blood in some silent exit. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of actually leaving.

"So, no switch?" Mr. Kennedy huffs as he sits back on his chair, "Kids."

"I honestly," Eddie waits until you look at him, swallowing the needles in his throat, "Honestly? I just figured you didn't wanna sit next to me and work with me, and I'm sorry I tried switching…" he looks away, little tears sparkling in his brown eyes, "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I should've never done it. I should've dated you for real," you're silent, peak stoicism and it makes him so nervous he just can't help but keep fucking talking, "I'm sorry I'm so dumb," he just can't help but try and break the tension with bad jabs, "I wanna throw myself into a fire every time I think about it."

And like a cornered animal, like the shrew everyone shudders at, you snap and bite, "But not before you did it?" you shush him as his pretty lying mouth opens, "You're such an asshole. You know? You know, I was excited to actually meet you because my brother and sister and all their little friends adore you," you make a big show of how your eyes crawl over him, little stinging bugs from head to toe and he feels like he's suffocating under the weight, "I wanted to see what the obsession was. And honestly, I can't see it."

You neglect to mention that at one point, you could. And it was beautiful.

He blinks, stupid lashes fluttering and stupid bambi eyes wet and stupid cherry lips wobbling with potential. Eventually, he settles on, "I'm sorry…"

And turns around in his chair to face forward - right at the blank chalkboard. At nothing.

"What hurt the most," your voice snips, rawness exposed, "was that you didn't bother calling after you left."

You don't know what you were hoping for, but it definitely wasn't this sullen silence as if he's the one hurt.

So you continue to thrash and snarl and bare your teeth, "I can't wait to deliver my yearbook bullshit. Declare that you do have layers - evil, then sweet, then evil again," he sits still, except for the incessant battering of his fingertips against the desk, no rhyme or rhythm just batting to bat, "Because you're selfish, you know, at the end of the day. You like winning more than you like being liked."

When he continues to pay you no mind, you feel crushed. You want a reaction to know he cares, and you want that more than you know that Eddie isn't the type of person to argue back when it matters. Petty debates are his hobby, but in real moments - he shuts down. You've seen it before. But that isn't how you operate, so you now walk away assuming you had less of him than when you began.

You dart out of the room, sneaking through the very back of the room and dodging Mr. Kennedy's annoyed face. You get to the parking lot, blotting little droplets from your lashes before you realize why you even care so much. Why you even want to forgive him after what he did.

Because no matter how upset you are, you still just want him to run up and loop his arm through yours and plant a fat, noisy, obnoxious Eddie Munson trademark kiss to your cheek. You feel like an idiot. You fell in love with Eddie Munson after one official date.

Normally, Jonathan drives you and the littles to school. But you didn't exactly tell him your newfound plans to ditch, so that's out of the window. Instead, you find a pay phone at the nearby gas station and dial Hungry Howie's.

"Hungry Howie’s, thank you for calling, how can I help you?" a tired drone breaks over the phone and you can imagine the person hunched over their box in the kitchen, half asleep.

"Robin's working today, right? I need to talk to her."

One fake delivery later, you were pushing open the cabin door and staring right at your dad in the kitchen. He's in a big white T-shirt you vandalized in seventh grade to say '#1 COP DAD and plain faded jeans.

"I wanted to surprise you both," he puts down the overflowing bowl of sugary cereal and wipes away the remnants of a milk mustache, "Take the whole week off, but now I'm being surprised."

"Yeah, well," you press your back to the door as it shuts, kicking off Jim's mud-stained work boots and stomping into the kitchen, "Relationships are stupid and I'm remembering why I never dated."

Eddie isn’t completely certain what Mr. Kennedy said as he ran out of class, his footfalls overlapped until he came to the fork between an exit and the foreign language hallway. Well, maybe Mr. Kennedy just sighed.

Taking the sharp corner into a long line of doors with pastes of other countries’ flags on them, Eddie pressed on a practiced path to the last door on the left. Dustin Henderson’s amateur Latin class.

He slots his face into the thin window that stretches about halfway down the door, waving a ringed hand behind the glass until Dustin finally locks eyes. Subtly, the boy shakes his head - swearing off the idea, at least until Eddie’s face becomes stern and he stomps a foot.

‘Mature’, Dustin mouths before throwing down his pencil and raising his hand and pointing over at the rack of laminated passes. He grabs the yellow one with a little stick figure next to a toilet on the right-hand side and slips out the heavy door.

Shoving Eddie out of the window’s view and into the nearby boys’ bathroom, Dustin grumbles, “This is why Suzie has to fix my Latin grade.”

“I fucked up,” Eddie wrings his hands, eyes flitting away from the good-natured and concerned face of his little right-hand man, “I need a lot of help…”

By the time Eddie’s twisted tale has wrapped up, Dustin’s left with an unhinged jaw - hands wide at his side, “How did I never hear about this?!” before Eddie can respond, he puts up a hand, “Also, that’s so mean - we all need to talk about this.”

“Not now, man,” Eddie scratches at his arm, nails scraping away the sturdy build of anxiety from the past day, “Just tell me how to fix this.”

He can see that Dustin doesn’t truly want to, but he has a big heart and so he sighs, “Alright. To get her forgiveness, you have to offer yourself up on the altar of dignity and even the score.”

Eddie’s neck snaps to check under the stalls, as if somebody had crept in during their conversation, “Don’t say shit like that out loud, man.”

“No,” Dustin punches Eddie’s shoulder, skin sticking to the leather of his jacket, “No, no! You don’t get to listen to Mike’s dumb ass all you want and then shut me out,” only when Eddie concedes with an eye roll and slumps back, does Dustin continue, jabbing a thumb into his own chest, “Because I know exactly what I’m talking about!”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie puts both hands up, “I surrender myself to your knowledge and wits.”

“Good,” the boy nods surely, “First you’re gonna tell me what she likes, we need something big. Something Mike could afford.”

“Why?”

“We’re getting rid of all that money you got and we’re spending it on her because that’s what we should do.”

“And then? Getting her presents cannot be the whole plan,” Eddie flicks the electric blue brim of Dustin’s Thinking Cap.

“And then…” Dustin throws his arms out wide, “You sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity.”

Eddie’s first thought goes to that pink and purple and blue lighting he first saw you - really saw you - under, dancing and free to the sound of sweet Stacey Q in The Sunset. You go every Wednesday and Saturday.

And he now has two days to learn a guitar cover of Two of Hearts.

“I mean, the nerve of that guy to not even come to school after that,” Barb gags, “Makes me sick!”

“Right?” Robin scoffs, shaking her head with folded arms, “I mean- what kind of person- “

“Please,” you settle onto one of the plush velvet barstools, clicking your nails against the smooth white counter, “I kinda don’t wanna talk about him right now.”

Settled against the counter by an elbow, Robin sucks in sharply, leaning over to nudge you, “Are you in the mood to see him then?”

“Huh?” you whip around, the stool screws squeaking as it spins and you catch Eddie Munson on stage - ole Sweetheart hanging over his chest and fumbling hands securing the microphone into its stand, “He’s such a fucking idiot.”

Barb nods solemnly, “This really isn’t his scene…”

Eddie’s eyes scan the crowd until he comes across the bar, and you can see his hand twitch up as if to wave. He decides against it, “Hi…” the call echoes and he winces, “Uhm, a girl that I - that I love is in the crowd tonight, and this is the song that played when I first saw her here,” he leans back, observes the group of misfits before him, and leans back in, “I also just recently realized what kind of place this is, so… I’ll be on my way soon,” and just as you think he’s finally about to begin, the devil’s forked tongue splits his lips again, “Also, you know, don’t worry about me saying anything- “ he raises a fist and you’re so mortified, “Power to the pussy and whatnot.”

And so the normally poppy and saccharine sweetness of Two of Hearts is replaced with echoing strums and the deeper tumble of Eddie Munson’s little Satanist voice. Little angelic loverboy Satanist voice.

Barb turns, red ringlets twisting and brown eyes flickering to you, she has the question on her tongue - You wanna leave? - but despite your prior complaints, you’re entirely hypnotized. Frozen on the stool with both hands stuck to your knees, eyes wide and doughy and so loving it hurts her.

She hates Eddie right now more than she ever hated Steve Harrington, but she fears that asking you to break out of this moment then perhaps it’ll send you spiraling. Which direction, she doesn’t know and she definitely doesn’t want to find out.

And you spot each other again, his chest puffs up when he notices you staring - he grins and that same twitch to wave hits his arm. And this time you’re seeing him - really seeing him - under pink and orange lights for the first time. Messy curls and pale skin and scratched, bumpy leather reflecting sunset shine and he sees you under Cupid’s magical pink lights and he thinks he’ll just about die if he can’t see you ever again.

And the lights change, flowery violet and it snaps you from his stare. You hop down from the stool, hands shaking at the realization of how ready you already are to forgive him. With knocking knees and lungs that squeeze between the gaps in your ribs, you slide down the checkered hallway into the bathroom.

Robin and Barb follow and Eddie’s already begun planning his next stage of apology.

Your locker jiggles open, door thick and stuck to the rusted frame - but eventually it pops open, just as it always does. A jumbled light blue fabric with baby pink flowers and flourishing green leaves printed over it rests on top of your textbooks. No price tag is attached but you recognize it from store windows and magazine catalogs with pretty brunettes and blondes and mannequins wearing it.

“What is it?” Barb leans against your side, peeking over your shoulder with a quirked brow.

“A dress,” you answer simply, balling your fist into your thigh and pressing until the muscle grows sore. Laura Ashley, the one you’ve wanted to wear to prom since it first was even announced.

You turn, spotting Eddie as he tries twirling around to pretend he hadn’t been watching you.

“What are you trying to do?”

Eddie kicks at the tile as if there are rocks and dirt to distract him, “Well, I had some cash that a guy paid me to take out a girl, but I fucked up by falling for her,” he shrugs, eyes fluttering from the tiled floor and the spot right between your eyes, “Fucked up even more by hurting her, so I have to try and make it right.”

And this is what you wanted, right? To be sick and twisted and see him miserable. You asked and you received and you absolutely hate it here.

“And are you hoping to get something out of this?”

He presses his lips together, thousands of little responses on his tongue, and yet none can escape - you hate how he shuts down, “It’d be nice to get back together, but I can’t expect anything when I’m the one that fucked up.”

“Eddie, I- “ you pause, laugh, and feel something hot like lava catch in your throat because you think you’re more scared about how badly you want him than you are angry at his misdemeanor.

And you can’t find a way to say that, so you turn and scamper off as the bell rings. Eddie sighs something heavy and thuds his head against the locker behind him, a heavy clang rings through his skull when suddenly the call of his name interrupts the self-pity. Dustin lingers just down the end of the hall, head and shoulders peeking past the wall as he gives an over-enthused thumbs up.

“You saw that, right?” Eddie’s bambi eyes follow Dustin as he skitters over, “Very decidedly not thumbs-up worthy.”

Dustin smacks Eddie on the shoulder, pearly whites on full display, “But she wanted to forgive you! Did you see that hesitation? We just need something incredible, something really big that she really wants.”

Eddie’s gaze flies up to the water-stained, browning ceiling tiles, “I have an idea, but it’s gonna be a huge pain in the ass.”

And for a week, you heard nothing from Eddie Munson. And for a week, you were ashamed over how heartbroken it left you - much more broken than when he initially screwed you over so royally.

Earlier today, Principal Higgins said he had to meet with you after school - theories boundless as to why, and it left you with cold sweats and a racing heart. What’s worse? Robin and Barb were sketchy about it all day. Downright refusing to look your way when you began the tale of the fucked up request.

And until you actually slip inside Higgins’ office, you were honestly thinking that perhaps they’d been replaced with heartless little science experiments that took on your friends’ shapes.

Upon entering Higgins’ office, you see the man himself adjusting a purple and yellow striped tie against his white button-down. You also see Barb and Robin and Chrissy fucking Cunningham littered around the carpeted room - leaning against walls and nestled into large indoor tree pots. And, of course, it isn’t a party unless he’s there, Eddie Munson squirming in the rightmost seat before Higgins.

“Munson came to me about your idea for a girls’ club,” Higgins gestures to the left seat, and you twitch your way into it, “I agreed under the terms that Hellfire split the drama room for your meetings. The scheduling for that will be up to you.”

Like that first fresh breath after a dunk in the pool, you feel your lungs lift. Your hands clench against the material of your floral dress - the closest you could get to that gift from Eddie without having the balls to actually wear it.

“As long as you, Barbara, Robin, and Christina don’t drop out and you can maintain proper club reports then- “ Higgins gestures to the four of you, “The club is yours. Appropriate files will be with your homeroom teacher next Monday.”

You nod slowly, arm and fingers numb as you reach over to snatch the President’s pin from Higgins’ hand. As soon as the cool metal is in your hand, the needle pokes an angry dot through your palm.

“Okay, happy ending, now shoo! Shoo!”

And with that, the mismatched group was sent lingering in the hallway - now empty of the bustling teenagers ready to be rid of the education system nightmare for the day.

“Congrats!” Chrissy Cunningham is the first to speak once you’re all out, her hand spindles against your shoulder, “I was so excited about the club when Eddie told me about it.”

“Right,” you can’t feel her hand on you, and you can’t feel it when she pulls it away - you don’t think to look for Barb and Robin. Not that you even can when there’s a sudden blur in your vision. The corners of your eyes left bubbling with this shock.

You’ve wanted this forever and you want Eddie, but you don’t think you could stomach the idea of people thinking you’re some gullible simp. And maybe he can tell because he’s quickly taking you aside.

Lovingly, he holds you, brushing hair out of your face and swallowing the pins in his throat, “I hope these are happy tears or something…” he laughs hollowly, “If not, I’m sorry.”

And the tears decide to fester on themselves, spreading like sores down the sides of your face, you think you’re really smitten with this guy. You wipe the tears and sniffle and say, “I’m so done being dramatic, but it feels like I have to be.”

Eddie shakes his head softly, and now you can feel his hands on you - they’re warm, “Why do you have to be dramatic? You’re, like, the frontman of the Individuality band.”

You wrench your face sharply, smearing the sores from under your eyes, “I just don’t wanna move too fast,” but you’re shifting closer to him, “I feel like I should be mad, but I’m not anymore, and I don’t know if this is the right way to go about everything.”

“Well, you know- I can’t make you forgive me- “

“That’s the thing, Eddie,” you groan, squeezing your eyes shut so tight that not even Geoff Capes could pry them open, “I do forgive you! I forgave you ten minutes after I found out! I haven’t been mad at you, but everybody else thinks I should be and I’m just not - and that’s so fucking scary.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then his hands slide down from your arms to your hands and he feels even warmer now, “I have to show you something.”

The girls and Higgins and the nightmare of this high school drama are left behind as Eddie drags you to the drama room. He’s rambling, in his usual stupid-sweet way, with a message that basically settles into “the guys are mad at me, but they can eat rocks”.

A pink symbol of Venus lays against a blue, purple, and orange sunset on a crumbled white banner on the middle table. It’s squiggly and the colors don’t bleed into each other quite right.

“Did you paint it yourself?” you turn to Eddie.

He inhales sharply, shrugging, “Yeah, had to retry like three times.”

“And you think I’m worth all this trouble?”

“I had five more plans if this one didn’t work and you didn’t tell me off.”

Because he thinks you’re sweet and loving, and you lean in and kiss him.

And he wraps his arms around you, tight like you might suddenly slither out. He buries his face into the junction between your neck and shoulders, hair tickling the side of your face.

“I missed this,” he whispers, going lax against you, “God, I missed this.”

Suddenly, you frown and he can feel it, “I should probably redo my assignment.”

He pulls back, plucking stray hairs out of his face with a quirked brow, “You finished it?”

“Yeah,” your face grows hot at this admission, “I went on a rage bender and it was done before Jane’s bedtime.”

But he laughs, full-bodied and entirely contagious - you find yourself giggling along with him. Eddie’s head is thrown back before he sighs, shaking his head, “You should keep it, it’d be funny!”

“No way!” you lightly punch his chest, brows furrowed, “I can’t be one of those people complaining about their boyfriend - that’s crazy!”

“Then I can help, if you want,” Eddie offers, leaning back in to kiss you.

But you lean further away, a teasing smile on your lips, “Nope. I want it to be a surprise!”

“Good things?”

“You know it.”

“I have good things in mine, too.”

“I’d hope so,” you lean in to return his kiss this time, then pull back suddenly, “But don’t think you can just pull extravagant bullshit every time you mess up!”

“Of course, not,” he rolls his eyes, “There’s also smaller bouquets of flowers and trinkets and jewelry.”

You laugh and finally lean in, only to pull back again, “But seriously- !”

“I know, sweetheart,” he closes in for you, stealing a chaste peck, “I’m messing with you.”

“Good,” and you cup his cheeks this time, bringing him back in for a much harder, more passionate, very deserved kiss.

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #10 things i hate about you #eddie.��#10 things i hate about you.🍹

43 notes · View notes

burningupp · 2 years

Note

Hi!! Can I be added to the tag list for Rhythm and rhyme if it’s open?! I just discovered it and I can’t believe I’m so late to the party

hi! I'm glad you're here, trust me when I say you're not late - I just suck at uploading lol

I will add you to the taglist! ❤️

#rhythm and rhyme #thank you for asking #taglist #taglist: series

2 notes · View notes

nikki-tine · 2 months

Text

So it's come to my attention that despite the page I have set up within the desktop version of my blog, I don't have a mobile version of an introduction post here. Oops! This one's newly written, too, in a different format than the other.

So, that being said - Hello!

I am Nikki/Niko (Whichever you prefer!) and I am a 27-year old Genderfluid artist person (My birthday is on January 9th!). I don't think there's too much to be said here, but I can and will say with confidence that this blog has been, especially in the last few or so years built up to be a catch-all for whatever I deem good to reblog or post (All of which typically related to fluff stuff, feel-good vibes or something that I may feel strongly about).

This place is, and always will be a safe space for a) People with disabilities (I am autistic, have ADD and Bipolar as well as Anxiety) and b) LGBTQ+-identifying people (I am, as mentioned before Genderfluid, and I'm Pansexual Panromantic!).

If a reblog or post makes you uncomfortable, then I will happily delete it if asked.

I make it a point to keep these posts SFW especially nowadays - however, I can't quite vouch for possibly the oldest of my posts (as I've been here since the early 2010s along with some ol' dumb teen thoughts involved and it'd take forever to sort absolutely everything out from over a decade ago at this point). I'm pretty sure that I've removed most of the NSFW stuff already from those years ago, but if I missed something then I don't mind deleting it as long as you let me know first (I'm incredibly disorganized and would appreciate a nudge in the right direction).

With these details out of the way - I am an artist that dabbles in various fandoms with no real sense of rhyme or reason outside of either hyperfixated interest or otherwise with the intent to update old ideas and refresh them into new ones. Like most artists on the internet, I ask that you do not repost without credit, trace and/or copy my work. I'm quite literally living paycheck by paycheck with my family right now. You CAN however use my artwork as a reference or as inspiration for your own work - If you do, lemme know! I'd love to see the result!

Here's a vague list of fandoms I dabble in (though my post history doesn't quite show that as I tend to leave most of my stuff to posting on Discord instead):

Pokemon (I've been a part of this one almost my entire life lol)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Another fandom I've been in for a grand majority of my life! I'm more of a casual fan as I haven't made much art recently, but I still absolutely love looking at what others come up with for OCs and stuff.)

Undertale (ESPECIALLY AU-centric)

Digimon (Passionate about this one specifically - I have a project I've been working with under this fandom since 2014 on and off)

Cookie Run (Kingdom primarily with a minor Ovenbreak focus for AU concept ideas)

Dark Cloud/Dark Chronicle (This one's SO obscure, but if you know these games then I give you a virtual baked good of your liking! These two games hold a very special place in my heart.)

Dance Dance Revolution, NotITG, Friday Night Funkin (I'm a rhythm game nerd and love the creativity of the communities surrounding these three - I just haven't been able to piece together anything for it yet visually except for FNF stuff on and off)

A Dance of Fire and Ice (Same as the DDR fandom part, but I've made a couple fanart pieces before so this one I may have an easier time of conceptualizing later)

FNAF (Specifically Security Breach AU work! This one's not as frequent as others but I still have stuff in mind for it. Security Breach is how I finally caved with the FNAF series as a whole after watching how the fandom grew over the years.)

Warriors (Warrior Cats, in our year 2024? Eeyup. I just like the funny spiritual witties!)

Team Fortress 2 (This one's in and out but it's one that I come back to a lot as my boyfriend, regularly interacting and involved in the GMOD animation community reminds me of my own TF2 stuff with his presence alone lol. Love you James! <3)

Persona 3, 4 and 5 (This one's a lil self-explanatory but I have AU ideas surrounding these games that I want to make more art for eventually)

If I have anything else not listed before, I'll add it to the list. C: Please keep in mind that although I dabble in these fandoms, AU versions of existing characters may be changed in terms of sexuality, personality etc to reflect the AU they are from (For example, I have a version of Cream Unicorn Cookie that uses he/they pronouns, and my Redeemed!Pomegranate Cookie from the same AU leans bisexual over lesbian for reasons relating to reflection of character and overall character development. I like to make characters more flexible while self-indulging, so keep this in mind). I note this because my own headcanons about certain characters have set off one or two people in the past unintentionally and they VERY much have pushed things in an effort to keep canon down my throat out of retaliation. Let's just say that this part in particular is a thing that taps a sore spot for me for personal reasons. :/

When it concerns making art of my characters - surprise or not, feel free to make art of them and mention me in post (and/or message me, either way works)! It makes me feel SO loved when I get art from others, and I appreciate every piece dearly. 💜💜💜 (I go so far as to hold onto an archive of art that was done for me - with artist names in-tact within the file name nowadays!)

A few things to consider when it concerns tickling-related matters with me:

I am a Switch! I'm unsure how far Ler or Lee I am just yet, but I do enjoy tickling both ways. Unfortunately, however, I'm the kind of person that practically flies across a room when poked,, (if it comes down to tickling my sona - Niko Spirata - tie or hold 'em down if you want to wreck 'em with tickles lol)

My interest in tickling alone is purely SFW - It feels too weird looking at IRL photos/videos with very rare exception (a lot of the exception is the giggle the lee produces from ticklish contact). As a result, all the stuff I'll be reblogging and posting here is art or animation-related instead!

My favorite tickle trope is the one where a shrunken someone or a small something wiggles under the unwitting lee's clothing to tickle them! (Points at wormonastriing's Squirmles as an example of this trope :3) No, seriously. If I end up with art of any of my characters getting destroyed with tickles in this manner I will ASCEND BEYOND GALAXIES.

My favorite spots with tickling overall are belly, side and rib tickling - on rarer occasions, I enjoy tickling in other places (I prefer foot tickling if the lee has paws instead of normal feet!). This lines up with a particular enjoyment of characters being slightly chubby! I looove a good squeeze of the sides or belly, enough to get the lee blurting out giggles.

I have only a few tags I use now on a regular, but these are:

#nikki-tine (This is my user tag and I put it in with my art posts and other things I post sometimes. You may also see others' posts under this tag, primarily with stuff related to asks or when art's been posted for me in the past <3)

#art, #tickle art, #tickling art (These are self-explanatory!)

#NJEGNJ (Something to that effect, lol. It's not exact but keyboard smash tag is typically wrote similarly or around the same for several posts, all of which ones that got me chuckling or giggling like a dork!)

My Commission Status is currently set to OPEN.

It's really complicated, however, and I don't have any other methods than Paypal and Robux right now so if you have questions about that then feel free to message me and I'll try to clear it up as best I can!

I only have two prices, both fully colored and shaded.

Chibies are $25 USD (+ 5 for an extra character)

My normal art style is $50 USD (+ 10 for an extra character)

I do best leaving the BG transparent, but if I HAVE to work on one then I can do nature-themed backgrounds pretty okay. It’s not a strong-suit of mine, however…

My Art Trade Status is Busted Wide Open™ to Mutuals, but I'm a little picky and choosy with random people.

If I decline an Art Trade, please don't take it personally!

In terms of Roleplay, It's Closed on-blog, BUT I'm Open to Roleplay in Discord servers (Provided there's a Tupperbot there for me to use).

I've been looking to find an RP server that has mutuals/friends and allows Undertale-related stuff (especially of the tickling-related kind!), so if you're a part of one please let me know!

DM Status overall is Open (As long as you are kind to me, I will return kindness back!).

My Asks are ALWAYS OPEN! I really like getting stuff in my inbox (and I unfortunately don't get asks often at all).

I'm most comfortable interacting with other adults and SFW blogs (this is more-so for safety than anything else on my end. I don't have the emotional or mental energy to handle potential drama involving context-disconnected words). I don't mind interacting with NSFW blogs here but only if in the context of specific interests of mine and not much else.

I don't really have much in the way of who can't interact with me as long as you are respectful/mindful of chat etiquette and are aware of the kind of impact you may make in messaging people like myself.

I do my best to look at blog descriptions and respect DNI's - If I end up poking at something I shouldn't by accident, as long as it's not met with aggression in DMs, I will happily fix whatever problem you may have related to that. I HATE making others uncomfortable/upset!

If you have questions, feel free to ask! I don't really use other forms of Social Media, but I do use some websites with a social aspect to them casually.

Links:

Flightrising (Funny dragon site)

Chicken Smoothie (This one's a fun lil adopt site from the late 2000s)

GPX Plus (This is literally Pokefarm Q before Pokefarm Q lol)

Gaia Online (Another old site with unfortunate currency inflation, but it's the site that's kept me going with character designing and such over the years! The blog part here is old, but the avatar is updated from time to time. This site is the reason I lean on Monochrome + a color as an aesthetic a lot lol)

Bluesky (mostly inactive - want activity there? nudge me here!)

DeviantArt (It's VERY rare I post here now. Also a warning for those under 18 - there's suggestive and nsfw art in my favorites dotted here and there so look with caution. my gallery itself is SFW however and all the works that would have been nsfw are archived.)

Artfight (Self-explanatory!)

#nikki-tine #introduction post #intro post #perpetual pin #hopefully it's enough for you guys - if I'm missing anything lemme know and I'll add what I can #Update 3/14/2024 - Added StH to my list of fandoms #Of all the things to forget adding...#Update 3/18/24 - Added info about making art of my characters in the post!#It’s been asked only a few times over the years but I figured it’d be good to add that in #Was asked about it in messages very recently - long story short PLEASE DO #I would ASCEND to see art of my characters!!#Update 3/21/24 - Added Ask inbox status #Update 3/22/24 - Added commission prices #Update 4/12/24 - Added my birthday!

12 notes · View notes