#Peak student life fr

[oonwah13]

For @ender1821 again lollll

[higuchisora]

The idea of characters from other stories winding up in SVSSS has been stuck in my head for a while but I'm not gonna write abt it lmao so here's what's been rattling around in the ole noggin:

Toph:

Toph would be a genuine menace

Specifically on poor Liu Qingge, who hasn't the slightest clue how he wound up with yet another student

Earthbending should not be possible here. Earthbending is NOT possible here.

Toph invents earthbending here.

In fact, she only gets stronger. Because the cultivation aspects of the world means she's got even more qi and knows more about how to use it beyond earthbending.

She can now use qi itself to "see" (sensing others' qi, using it to sense movement, etc.) Not just earthbending

Lqg wants nothing to do with any more disciples. Especially not ones as annoying as yang yixuan

He gets a gremlin even more annoying than yang yixuan

He lies awake at night, regretting saving her life that one time on a hunt and kickstarting her path of being a Problem

Specifically, he saves her life one night while she's out trying to remaster earthbending, inspiring her to become a cultivator

She runs away from her noble family and their arranged marriage and stifling life that they've planned out for her and heads straight to Cang Qiong's Bai Zhan peak the first chance she gets

Refuses to take no for an answer, thus growing to become lqg's #1 menace

He both blesses and curses the day she was born

Lqg would sooner die than admit she's basically his other baby sister/daughter figure

Will outright refuse to fly on her sword When asked how she'll get around, the earth goddamn MOVES UNDER HER FEET and she causes several earthquake/mole monster sightings with these shenanigans

Is banned from this move

Begins to tunnel underground instead

She could arguably fly on her sword just fine, sensing the qi around her to navigate and shit, but it's harder and definitely uncomfortable and brings back bad memories of that one time in the volcano with Aang and Sokka

Luo Binghe wants her dead

She probably never gets strong enough to 1v1 him and win but she's definitely strong enough to become a genuine challenge

Especially when she reinvents metalbending

Rides for her shizun ong

Would probably fight lbh for lqg's honor after the SQQ corpse situation (he did not ask her to do this)

Aang:

The angel of Qing Jing peak fr

Or that monastery but we don't hear enough about them tbh

Has legitimately no idea how he got here, maybe too scared to question it actually

Like, did he really fuck up and end up getting ripped out of the avatar cycle orrrr????

Decides some things are better left unknown

The only struggle he really has is not being bald anymore

Honestly???? Might still shave his head and just stick to a wig

Would inevitably get caught or ALMOST caught and eventually gets used to growing it out (would probably become the inventor of extensions or wig glue though lmao)

Would make the spoiled qing jing disciples better just by being around them tbh

Star student probably, would be a menace in a cute way

One of the few men allowed on Xian Shu (for visits/messages)

Would probably befriend demons ngl

Loves flying on his sword

Prefers his staff though, and eventually figures out how to make/get someone to make one for him

No one knows how he does the air scooter. They are scared.

No one asks about the tattoos either.

Or how he's controlling all these fucking elements.

He doesn't have an avatar state anymore, but that doesn't seem to stop him from being wildly more dangerous than anyone expected

Possibly unlocks permanent cultivation-blocking? Like sealing off your core

Demons don't take note

Until he learns how to do the same for demonic cores

Exorcist Aang

Possibly becomes a rogue/wandering cultivator

Wandering rogue exorcist Aang????

He's either a god descended upon the earth or a heavenly demon in disguise, according to critics

He thinks it's all silly

Until he meditates too hard and communes with a god or something who tells him they may or may not have bargained to snatch his corner of the avatars soul for a reason

Uh oh

Sokka:

Does not know how he managed to get spiritual energy or cultivate

Actively chooses not to think too much about it

The head disciple of An Ding 😭

Absolutely salty about it

Shang Qinghua is endlessly grateful though

Does not know what to make of the long hair thing; probably tries to keep his hair in a half-pony still, as an ode to the water tribe

I've seen some fics where Qiong Ding is headcannoned as the bureaucratic peak; in this case, he might be able to sweet talk his way in if fate and Yue Qingyuan is kind enough

Either way he's grateful he gets to do sword stuff again

Especially now that he can FLY on them?!

He hasn't completely forgotten his skills, so he's got a whole different style no one's seen before and it's Weirdly Good Actually

He finally works his cultivation up enough to get his personal sword

Then he finally gets to summon his and he cries

It's space sword

No one knows what the fuck to make of this weird ass sword but he doesn't care, it's his and he loves it

Known as the best ever manager of An Ding peak

Katara:

Would have one (1) argument with her brother and march up to Xian Shu

Frequent visitor of Qing Jing and Qian Cao

Mu Qingfang mourns every day that she didn't choose the medicine peak

Katara maintains that she's too ready to beat some ass to ever be a full doctor and vow to do no harm

Never quite learns to be comfy with a sword but can still handle her own

During the demon invasion on Cang Qiong (assuming she's there at the time), she bloodbends Hualing right off the mountain

The demons do NOT stick around

The cultivators are too scared to ask her what the fuck that was but they're nicer to her than before

The xian shu peak gains a fearsome reputation of possibly teaching blood magic

No One gets how she does the waterbending stuff. Outsiders assume it's some Xian Shu ancient secret technique. Or she's related to Mobei Jun. Real members know Kataras just Like This.

Keeps the hair loopies. No matter what people say.

Wears a blue necklace similar to her mother's heirloom; a gift from her shizun probably

Genuinely enjoys the sisterhood on Xian Shu. It reminds her of the better days of her home, before the southern raiders came back

Zuko:

Could've chosen from several peaks, but chooses Bai Zhan

Something about the bamboo on Qing Jing reminds him of his uncle though, so he likes to visit. But not for too long. It hurts.

Isn't really bothered by the long hair thing; while cutting hair isn't forbidden in the fire nation, long hair is common practice, especially for nobles

Keeps the standard topknot until Toph calls it ugly

And then he remembers toph cannot see his topknot

Starts doing ponytails anyway

Also a star student of Bai Zhan, especially after he busts out the firebending forms

Yet another nuisance for poor lqg

He and Toph are the only two that can keep up with each other

Known as the Twin Stars of Bai Zhan

Aka the Twin Headaches of Liu Qingge

Has a small red birthmark near his eye, on the side that used to be burned

The fact that there isn't a massive burn is mildly uncomfortable to him at first. Doesn't feel like himself

Again, No One knows how all these kids with weird qi abilities are coming from

They're beginning to suspect they're all part demon

Neither he nor Toph ever defeat the demon heritage allegations

Especially not with the way they fight. And allegedly have a Past that no one else knows about

Would also fight Binghe for his Shizuns honor

Weirdly chill for Bai Zhan actually

Has probably made leaps and bounds from his avatar hunting days already

Most expect him to have gone to a quieter peak, it's baffling

Until he beats the shit outta somebody

And then goes back to being gentle and chill and forgiving

He wonders if uncle Iroh is watching over him here too

He can only hope his uncle is still proud of him, wherever he might be

Lqg isn't his uncle, but he's still a kind presence that Zuko looks up to a little, even if the guy is a little too punchy

Thus takes it upon himself to ride or die for him

One of the few dual wielders around

His curved blades are also a source of curiosity for the others

But he's good with them so no one complains

In a bingliushen situation, Zuko, Toph, and YYX are feral protective gremlins that somehow make things better AND worse for the development of the bingliushen courtship process lmao

I'll probably make more at some point but that's all for now. If someone wants to make a fic of these PLEASE let me know, link me I'm desperate

[fangs-froth]

Diary: unwanted turns

I don't know if it's me or her, but things took an unwanted turn in the vibes department :( we went stationary shopping then watched twilight after with the same friend from lunch, and I think I was too touchy or something (not much, but me trying to lay my head on her shoulder, maybe too much in her space, but I felt the energies she was sending and gave her space) but she's been really distant between us.

I still go back and forth if I'm getting the right signals anymore, but last week was not a great week for our interactions :( I feel like any interest i had from her disappeared after the stationary night and I don't know why

There was a rumor a couple weeks ago that she had a night with another student and gave her hickeys. And the next week i saw them get really close and touchy, her hugging around the shoulders of the shorter student. Idk how to feel about this, but I haven't asked either to confirm.

We would normally chat after classes and maybe eat lunch together lunch hasn't happened in a while and I haven't been sticking around to chat, so we haven't had much time to talk like we had been. I feel like since she's not putting in much effort in this relationship, it's probably not worth it, especially after today. She was kinda snarky when talking about a cleaning project involving me putting away furniture upstairs and her tearing down walls of a thing. She then pointed out how she used to do that soo often and how more should have been done, because she did similar things in the past, even though it wasn't up to me to go so far into the project :(. She does this a lot tho, bragging on her knowledge and experience a lotttt and it seems like shes just bragging to brag, to look cooler which is very unattractive tbh. She also thinks shes up on a high horse most the time bc she's one of the more knowledgeable in the department but it's really annoying hearing about her wins all the time

Another thing happened too but Im done for tonight :(( it's not looking good for anything to happen between her, but it's so hard to form close relationships like that 1. In your pretty close knit academic department and 2. As a brand new student where most everyone has a little group already or already very close relationships

Today just got my blood boiling mad (bc I struggle with heavy things+stairs at the same time, like anyone else) and I just dont know if I want to try anymore. My friend has been telling me shes kinda bad news with the attitude she gives and her passive aggression I've gotten before.

This is just a bunch of nonsense, but here's a peak into my little life. I'll probably just stay friends with her. She also seems kinda into hookup culture and idk how I feel. I'm not super into that, but I just want SOMEBODY. As someone who's always felt like an outcast and unlovable for various reasons, I felt very good with her on the stationary night, like something could come from this. Now I'm not so sure. But I'm set to hang out with her again soon, so here's hoping it can glean what her deal with me is. Like are we cool? Are you seeing me too much? Too close to finals? Like fr what's up?

Love y'all.

Xoxo

[cancallmenurul]

Part (1)

Hello...

It's been a long time since I wrote here.

I want to tell you something here. I wanted to put it in my WhatsApp status, but it felt too long.

I miss my 70+kg weight. Yes, but I just miss it. I don't want to see the 70+ kg me, because the sleeping position is all wrong, many clothes and skirts are already narrow, and the body feels heavy.

One day, I even muttered, "Oh Allah, I want to be thin quickly."

If I trace back the journey I've been through, Allah Swt answered my prayers through a motorcycle accident in December 2021 so that I had to take antibiotics that made me nauseous and had no appetite for the treatment of broken teeth as a result of the accident, one of my lecturers considered me not worthy of a proposal seminar if I did not know an important concept in the research (he might motivate me to immediately revise and study again, but his tone sounded angry to me), after that, I suddenly lost my appetite completely, had a quarter-century crisis for the second time, had a fever, and continued with a real diet (I think I've written here about what I went through at that time, but it's already down and hard to find). Slowly, my appetite started to increase again, but I kept feeling sad, complaining, and losing interest in reading (my reading speed became so reduced, even though I still read books), writing (it became difficult or confused about what to write, which usually could just flow), and other things that I liked, the enthusiasm for working on the revision of the thesis proposal and writing the thesis itself was getting faded, I only wanted to do gadgets, even at its peak I once traveled on a motorcycle for 7 days, in those 7 days I almost crashed into another motorcycle because I lost focus, forgot the keys to the boarding house, forgot where to put the motorcycle keys, felt useless and wanted to just stop everything that was happening and go away from all this. I was starting to feel like I couldn't take it and I felt like I wasn't me. I felt like there was something wrong with me. The accident, loss of appetite, sadness, and everything that happened to me turned out to be my opening door to knowing that I had an adjustment disorder with depressive affect. The language the psychiatrist gave me was mild depression.

Many factors caused me to experience that. Changes in the surrounding life situation in the span of 2022 that made me experience a quarter-century crisis for the second time, the concept of a thesis that is different from most students and the headache of minimal references as well (the lecturer even followed my references, while I hoped I could find additional references from the lecturer), wanting to have a person of the opposite sex who is connected to be invited to the story even though it turns out that the frequency is yes, but it feels like I'm still difficult to connect (I don't know what parapet is blocking, but in the end it turns out to be expectations), having more than 1 best friend and already getting, can invite me to the path of Allah, but in some ways I'm too opposite to her (including about the opposite sex), complaining to my friends doesn't get the expected solution, complaining to my sister also sometimes appropriate and sometimes not in accordance with what is expected (even I once complained to my sister, "You can be sad, but not for too long", "Sometimes you have to force yourself", which I hope my sister can understand my situation who complains and is sad and tired), being encouraged by friends when met with the phrase "Cheer up! " has not worked, complaining to another friend I also did not get the solution I expected, complaining to Allah has really shed tears, but the solution was never seen. Some say that working on the thesis every day, that, I've tried, but that method is not me in the end.

At that time, my real world was not as pleasant as it seemed from my status and story. Yes, they say we shouldn't upload or tell sad things because it will prevent us from going down the path of happiness. However, I uploaded a sad story or status to remind myself that it's normal to have sad posts, we're humans after all. I'm only writing this to share lessons, not to throw myself into the abyss of unhappiness.

Continued to part (2)...

[starwars-and-discourse]

Good to hear from you again! I love your input fr! So refreshing to have good faith dialogue in relation to Star Wars these days!

Quinlan has never been a favorite of mine. I don’t hate him, of course. But I just think there are way cooler Jedi out there. I have always felt for him though in relation to the events of Dark Disciple. Because he lost a lot—he lost a bit of himself, really. Or, honestly, quite a bit of himself. And I feel there’s no way the Council didn’t feel that weight on themselves.

Mace is so tragic, especially in relation to Anakin. I think Mace’s distrust for Anakin is largely influenced by Anakin’s closeness with Palpatine—which actually combines with a separate point, about the Jedi being at the Senate’s mercy. In one of the comics Palpatine is like “hey, he’s struggling. Let me help. I’ll give him some advice blah blah blah” and Mace is like “He’s a Jedi. We have the final say in who our students spend time with, especially when it comes to politicians.” Then Palpatine pulls rank and says “With all due respect, the Jedi serve the Senate, and as I am head of the Senate…” and Mace begrudgingly gives in, because his hands are tied. It’s so damn sad, because to me Mace is one of the paragons of what the Jedi Order should represent: the pursuit of justice, protection of life, etc.

Anakin, as you say, had all of the resources he needed to make the best possible choices—but he refused time and time again, because of his selfish attachments. He couldn’t put the greater good above his personal desires, making him an easy target for Palpatine. And to make matters worse, he never told the people who could actually help him—who WANTED to help him—the full truth about anything personal. He told Palpatine, though. Palpatine, who constantly stroked his ego, complimented his skill, making him feel invincible. Because that’s what Anakin wanted, when you get right down to it: recognition and praise. He didn’t want to work for things, he felt entitled to them because of his perceived power.

Obi-Wan: If you practiced your lightsaber technique half as much as your wit, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman.

Anakin: I thought I already did?

Like, Anakin is the poster boy for hubris, and largely the antithesis of everything the Jedi stand for. I like how you put it: he appropriates being a Jedi, even when he is among them. I hadn’t thought of it like that before, but you’re absolutely right.

About the Jedi being at the Senate’s mercy and having little real power, what strikes me the most is something from Dooku: Jedi Lost. Toward the end, when Dooku goes before the Senate to implore them to do more for smaller or less influential planets, and the Chancellor at the time snidely remarks that the Jedi have no place in the Senate, basically asking who Dooku was to try to dictate policy. It’s very sad, because I do believe the Jedi, overall, were not pleased with the state of the Republic in its latter years. Especially those like Yoda who had seen the Republic at its height in the time of the High Republic. It would certainly be a depressing and unfortunate reality to see the peak and the decline.

I think the Jedi were too caught up in the pressures of the war to dabble too much in politics, even for advocacy reasons. They were very averse to attaching themselves too much to the realm of politics, which Palpatine knew. I actually have a book called Star Wars Propaganda, that’s just a collection of in-universe propaganda, written from an in-universe perspective. It talks about how the Jedi are basically absent from Republic propaganda, by their request, because they did not wish to be seen as the face of the war. It says Palpatine was more than happy to grant this request, as it made it easier to turn public opinion against them, slowly but surely.

But it would have been nice to see these things addressed in any of the shows or movies, though I am glad that subsidiary material has slowly begun to tackle these issues. I hope we get keep getting more of this kind of analysis and nuance!

Anti-Jedi content is always so interesting. Most of the criticism seems to come from either a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Jedi operate, intentional misrepresentation of canon, or blaming the Jedi for things outside of their direct control.

Much of it also seems to imply, if not outright state, that the Jedi are to blame for their genocide. Which is just…wild to me. The Jedi Order certainly had faults, as no organization is perfect. But something I see quite often is taking the flaws of individual Jedi and ascribing them to all Jedi.

“Mace Windu was mean to Anakin!!” No, he really wasn’t. Windu was stern, certainly. But I don’t think he was ever “mean.” Anakin was rash, arrogant, and so ruled by his emotions that Windu had every reason NOT to trust him or make him a master.

“The Jedi take children by force!” No, they don’t. That’s just blatantly untrue. If a family does not wish to give up their children, the Jedi do not take them.

“The Jedi use a slave army!!” This is an oversimplification. This is an issue that the Jedi routinely grapple with throughout canon. The Jedi don’t want to be leading any army at all—Palpatine gives them no choice. If they don’t fight? The public grows resentful toward them even sooner and Palpatine can call them traitors even earlier. They do fight? The war drags on due to Palpatine’s manipulation and the Jedi are called warmongers and things go as we know. The Jedi, overall, fostered the clones’ individuality and encouraged them to think for themselves. The Clone Wars had numerous victims, but chief among them are the clones themselves and the Jedi.

These are just a few of the anti-Jedi talking points I regularly see. There are countless others. I am of course willing to debate (respectfully, and if it is in good faith) my positions. But I find these ideas very tiresome at this point.

[ibuki-says]

Mukuro Ikusaba x reader general romantic headcanons?

oooo my first headcanons request!! very exciting hehe

--

mukuro ikusaba x reader headcanons

buff bodyguard gf!! buff bodyguard gf!!!

but fr anytime anyone even looks at you wrong, she immediately sends them the coldest glare imaginable

word gets around hope's peak that you're the partner of mukuro ikusaba the sixteenth student hidden- the ultimate soldier, and people quickly learn not to fuck with you

she's incredibly hesitant to reveal her feelings at first, please forgive her, she has no idea what she's doing

being around junko your entire life kinda does that to you

if you're more experienced in relationships, great! you can show her the ropes!

if you're less experienced (the same amount as her), also great! both of you can figure things out together!

very scary and cold to the rest of the school's population, but melts immediately when in your presence <33

yknow that post that's like: person a walks person b home to make sure they get home safe, but then person b wants to walk person a to make sure they get home safe? yeah, that's you two lmao

she's usually stubborn enough to win out, insisting that she's the ultimate soldier, she'll be perfectly fine to walk home alone!

she'll text you as soon as she gets home though, just so you know she made it back safe

[allaboutjoongi]

Lee Joon-gi Effect! First episode of "AgainMa" opens with a bang

SBS's new Fri-Sat drama "Again My Life" got off to an impressive start as Lee Joon-gi's prosecutor Hee-woo goes back to 15 years ago in the first episode, getting his revenge plans off the ground using the youth he's gained back and the experience he's brought from his 'future.'

Aired on April 8, the first episode of Again My Life caught viewers' attention as Kim Hee-woo (Lee Joon-gi), a passionate prosecutor who is brought back from the dead and goes back to 15 years ago, earning a second chance at life. The episode marked a great start for the drama, averaging 6.0% in Seoul and 5.8% nationwide, peaking at 7.7%, the highest rated among the Fri-Sat dramas. Among the target audience aged between 20 and 49, Episode 1 averaged 2.4%, the highest of all the programs that aired in the same time slot. (Nielsen Korea)

The episode opened with Kim Hee-woo working hard at eradicating corruption. Hee-woo is a prosecutor who's very passionate about justice and isn't afraid to intimidate an organized gang to take them into custody. He's also a warm-hearted prosecutor who likes to take care of powerless people. He buys all of the kimbap from an old woman who isn't able to do her business. Strongly believing that it is prosecutors' mission to eradicate corruption, Hee-woo never compromises on law and justice and is considered problematic within the prosecutors' office (prosecution service) because he has nothing to be afraid of and is reckless.

Hee-woo has set his sights on Jo Tae-sup, a power-hungry politician who has the entire country under his control and deceives the nation using them for a questionable cause. He uses the President's weaknesses against him to manipulate him: "I don't care who's the President as long as that's my person." "In this country, Jo Tae-sup comes first and then comes the President." Jo is also colluding with Kim Seok-hoon, chief of the district prosecutors' office behind people's backs, including Kim Hee-woo.

Kim Hee-woo comes face to face with Jo for the first time as Jo is summoned for an interrogation. However, Jo responds to Hee-woo's courage with greed. Jo turns the tables, threatening Hee-woo: "Justice isn't something you can have just because you want it. Justice discriminates. If you wanted to destroy me, you should have destroyed the system built for me first." The back-and-forth between the two ramped up the tension, keeping viewers on the edge of their seat. Jo also has already had someone take care of the witness Hee-woo secured. He puts on a benevolent smile but beneath it lies his cruelty.

After having all his cards exposed by Jo, Hee-woo gets killed by Dr K, Jo's henchman. But then a grim reaper appears before Hee-woo following his death, offering, "If you had one more life left, would you use to take down Jo Tae-sup again?" Hee-woo promises, "I will show him there is hell in this world as well," before getting brought back to life and sent back 15 years in time.

As a student preparing for a bar exam, Hee-woo starts to live his second life. With the grim reaper's words "Take your time to get prepared so you can set a perfect trap to catch him" in mind, Hee-woo begins taking little steps to exact his revenge. Also, Hee-woo has earned a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with his parents, who passed away in his first life. Above all, Hee-woo comes up plans to keep his parents alive by changing their future as that fateful moment approaches when they get killed in a hit-and-run.

At the end of the episode, however, Hee-woo sees his parents getting hit by a car once again despite everything he did to stop it, leaving viewers wondering if he can save his parents in his second life. Also, viewers are expecting to see if Hee-woo can bring the evil to justice in this second life using the database he brought back from his first life as he has gained 15 years back following his return to the year of 2007.

[fanficflaneuse]

Sleepless

A/N: Hello, magical tumblr beings. First of all, I can't to thank you enough for all your love and support on my very first imagine ever (you can check it out here). I wrote yet another fluffy, sickly-sweet, absolutely self indulgent imagine. I hope you like this one as well! 

Details: 

Draco Malfoy x reader (she/her pronouns). 

Words: 1689 

Summary: the reader has insomnia and decides to roam the castle in the middle of the night. Fluff ensues. 

Disclaimers: so Draco’s characterization here was a bit of a problem. It still bothers me a bit. This is fluffy and a bit pointless. Mentions of Dolores Umbridge. 

(Y/N) got tired of tossing and turning in bed. The soft snoring of her roommates only made things worse. She peaked through the curtains of her four-poster bed and saw Hermione sleeping. Her best friend had fallen in the arms of Morpheus a while ago.  And there she was, unable to close her eyes as the night seemed to stretch infinitely.

(Y/N) couldn’t remember a time in her life when she hadn’t suffered from insomnia. Usually, the sleeping draught helped her, but these days the stress around her was so overpowering she hadn’t even ventured into Madam Pomfrey’s realm for a small dose.

This year things were agitated to say the least. Pained by the tragedy at the Triwizard Tournament, Harry insisted that Voldemort was back. People were harsh. They mocked him, spread rumours about how he had lost his mind, accused him of lying. Some even claimed that he had murdered Cedric Diggory. She was one of Harry’s closest friends and she had her own reasons to believe him, which meant she was also a member of Dumbledore’s Army.

If the strain of running an underground society wasn’t enough, the fact that Dolores Umbridge had taken over the school gave plenty of reasons to drive anyone mad. The sickly-sweet pink lady was one of the most hateful people (Y/N) had ever met. She seemed to have taken a bow to make students’ lives miserable. She was dead set against Harry and the three people she, rather contemptuously, referred to as his “dream team”, which, of course, included her, along with Hermione and Ron.

The icing on the cake? (Y/N) had a crush. An annoying, deeply confusing crush on the one boy she definitely shouldn’t be ogling at. She blamed Snape for this. Hadn’t he decided that (Y/N) and Hermione had to be separated in his class, she wouldn’t have to seat next to the most hands...stupid and obnoxious Slytherin in the whole school. She wouldn’t have to talk to him every day, notice the little gestures that made him seem so vulnerable, so human. How his big grey eyes could hold so much emotion. How he had expressive eyebrows. How the corners of his lips curled just slightly in an awkward attempt to the friendly to her. How he’d fumble with his family ring and pout when he was confused. How he had this one single curl that wouldn’t be tamed regardless of how he combed his blond hair. How he would always treat her with kindness, albeit with a bit of playful cockiness, even when he was horrible to her friends.

Yes, it was totally Snape’s fault. Now, she not only had to deal with the butterflies and the blushing, the typical embarrassment of such situations, but also the guilt of liking a guy who’d call her best friends horrible slurs and created elaborate campaigns to discredit and embarrass them. What was wrong with her? She felt like a traitor.

If Ron thought Cho Chang could explode from an emotional overload, (Y/N) felt she could combust then and there.

Tired of being in bed, she pushed her covers and stood up. She slid into her linen night robe and slippers and left the room, swiftly and silently as a cat. It was not the first time (Y/N) roamed through the castle late at night. Walking helped to ease her mind and she found that the castle seemed more beautiful and enthralling the darker and lonelier it was.

(Y/N) was so distracted she didn’t realize she had unconsciously walked all the way to the astronomy tower. She decided to climb up, something she had never done in all of her nightly rounds. Once she walked through the door, (Y/N)’s gaze met those stormy grey eyes that gave her both butterflies and heartache at the same time. She gulped and took a few steps back. If she could’ve guessed, she probably looked terrified at the moment; he was, after all, part of Umbridge’s inquisitors.

“(Y/N) wait,” he said softly.

“Will you report me with Umbridge?” she asked, panicky.

“What? No. I just… what are you doing here?”

“I can’t sleep,” she shrugged.

She turned around to leave when she heard him whisper a “me neither” that sounded a bit desperate. She pictured his lips curled down ever just slightly and, finding the image adorable, decided to turn around. (Y/N) found him fiddling with his ring, which made her smile. He looked so shy and a cute that she couldn’t believe it was the same guy who could make her knees buckle with one of his infamous cocky smirks. She walked towards him while crossing her arms, suddenly self-conscious of her choice of outfit.

“Why so shy?” he asked, trying to go back to his cocky, confident persona, complete with checking her out. He thought he had nailed it until she raised an eyebrow in response, which made him cringe at his choice of words.

Draco Malfoy was used to having his walls so frighteningly high it was conflicting for him to interact with someone he actually wanted to let in. With her, her smart questions, her kind smile, the way he treated him as an equal and how she seemed to be interested in what he actually had to say, he felt the façade crumbling to bits. With his walls down, though, his “suave” persona turned a bit to dust. Around her, he felt dorky. Draco Malfoy dorky? Merlin, if his father knew this.

“Why can’t you sleep?” she asked absentmindedly, completely disregarding his last question. He noticed how her gaze shifted to the sky, her face full of wonder. He looked back at the stars as well and spotted Orion immediately.

“I have a lot in my mind,” he answered, “what about you?”

“Me too,” she answered.

“That’s Taurus, right?” she asked, pointing at the wrong constellation.

Draco smiled. Whenever they finished their work with a few minutes to spare, they would seat down and talk about their interests. Astronomy and Greek mythology were amongst the many topics they covered. He shared his knowledge on the first and learned about the later.  

The conversation then changed topics and they found themselves sitting on the floor, backs against the railing, sharing laughs and jokes and experiences. It was the first time they had the chance to have a full-on conversation, to ramble, laugh and be unapologetically friendly. Usually, their conversations ended after the bell rang. Tonight, they could talk for as long as they wanted to. Make each other blush as many times as they wanted to. Seat as incredibly close to each other as they wanted to. No one was waiting for the outside of the classroom, nobody would judge or mock them for being friendly with the other. Suddenly, (Y/N) was not mad that the night seemed to stretch infinitively.

“So, you believe Potter,” Draco pointed out.  

There was a bit of fake annoyance in his voice.  The conversation taken a more serious tone when she mentioned something about his inquisitorial squad.

“He is my best friend,” (Y/N) answered, shrugging once again.

“Pansy is my best friend and I don’t believe half of the things she says,” Draco stated, trying to light up the mood once again. He mentally patted his back when (Y/N) laughed.

“If there is one person that truly knows Harry is not lying it’s you, Draco”.

She said this without a trace of malice in her voice. She was merely stating a fact. Draco could’ve pretended he was offended, he could’ve scoffed and stormed off, how dare she imply he and his family had something to do with the Dark L Volde You Know Who? He could use that to stand up, close that door and never see her again, not have to deal with the terrible crush he had on her. But here’s the thing, he didn’t want to do any of that. He wanted to keep talking to her now and every single day. He wanted to see if she felt that same tickling in his stomach whenever he was around. And he wanted to kiss her. So so badly.

Besides, everybody knew his parents had connections to the Dark Lord. And his father…his father had been acting rather strangely when he got back home from his fourth year. He had talked nonsense all summer. It hadn’t taken him too long to connect the dots. He knew Voldemort was back. There was no doubt about it. But until he decided to reveal himself, he had to play his part. And thus, the whole Potter stinks campaign had started.

“(Y/N/N)…” he looked down, sad and ashamed.

She put her hand on his arm and their eyes met again. Draco was transfixed. (Y/N)’s heart was pounding hard on her chest. She leaned in slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of his reaction. Their noses were almost touching. She put one of her hands gently on Draco’s cheek and he leaned into her touch. The both closed their eyes as their lips finally touched. The kiss was slow at first, a bit shy even. But then they got comfortable with each other, his hands travelled to her waist, the hand that wasn’t on his cheek tangled in his blond hair. The kiss became hungrier. He bit her lip, she slithered her tongue into his mouth.

When they finally pulled away, Draco looked at (Y/N)’s flushed face and found himself absolutely smitten.

“I fancy you, Draco” she blurted out.

Draco gave her a huge, wholehearted smile. She smiled back.

“I fancy you too, (Y/N/N),” he said as he caressed her hair softly.

The kissed again and again, sweet chaste kisses and pecks that made them both erupt in giggles. Draco felt on cloud nine. (Y/N) couldn’t believe what was happening. That night, they didn’t speak of every possible way in which things could possibly go wrong. They didn’t talk about Draco’s concerns and certainties, about the war to come. They didn’t talk about (Y/N)’s guilt about her friends. They just kissed and talked and held each other all night.

And it was a beautiful night.

[igniting-quill]

korest (south korea x estonia)

Finding Solid Ground

Magical AU, early 1900s

Ship: Korest (South Korea x Estonia)

AN: 

If I was a better writer (and more efficient one) I swear I could have completed this. It started as a 1K, grew to 4K, and is still incomplete! Such a frustrating thing writing is. 

I am a college student taking difficult courses this semester, and to be honest a little burnt out from working on this… so unfortunately this WIP has been put on indefinite hiatus (don’t fret! I have ‘finished’ it with an ending, albeit a kind of bittersweet one. However, most of this piece has not been written and/or edited yet). For now, the story has multiple flaws: weak research, a lack of continuity, and a lack of meaningful scenes: it’s a first draft. However, I still think there’s lots of good parts in it too, plus I feel like I should respond to an ask that is like 5 months old by this point. I have peppered in Author’s Notes to supplement some of those weaknesses. The further into the piece, the more frequent AN’s will pop up. All AN’s will be inside “<” and “>” like <this>. It’s a tad cringey and reminiscent of early 2000s fic, but it’ll have to do. Anon and anyone else reading this, feel free to take what I wrote and continue it. Parts of the good in this that can get salvaged? I think it’s a rather interesting AU, and would be honored if people expanded on it. Just please make sure to credit me. 

I didn’t have great world building in my writing, so this is a brief introduction. The setting? Middle of nowhere Korea, early 1900s. I have blended elements of history and fantasy. The “magic” here can either be inherent (like magical powers people are born with) or learned (Like in Harry Potter where the people have to learn spells to actually do anything as a wizard/witch). Additionally, sort of like a hunger bar in Minecraft, “magic” can run out when the magic user is tired/famished/overusing spells. There are only a few people in this AU that have magical power. Think of it as I made the Hetalia cast have magic in place of their immortality.

TL;DR: Anon, I spent a whole lot of time on this to no avail. I think I ship Korest now though.

---

The first thing Eduard saw was a night sky. Moonlight streamed through soft clouds and stars peaked behind gaps. Beautiful.

But then, a cold wind whooshed past his ears and bit into his skin. He glanced down. Then, his eyes widened in shock. The trees looked like tiny, snow-covered bushes from up here. 

Teleport!

Nothing happened. Shoot. Why did his powers have to fail him now?

He flailed, his arms grasping at thin air as he plunged toward the earth and braced for impact.

“AGH!”

His right shoulder lit up in pain as it crashed into a branch. Crack. He hung there for a second, the branch swaying dangerously before it fell away from the trunk, dropping him lower. 

“Oof! Gah! Eouh! Tss!”

He was out of breath by the time he landed on the frost-sprinkled forest floor. He was dazed, soaking in what just happened. The leaves and snow softened the blow of the fall, but his shoulder still stung. It didn’t help that a bit of his blood was trickling out in the snow. His head throbbed dully. He propped himself up with his arms and his glasses fell off his face. 

Now the world was a blur, including the glasses themselves. He narrowed his eyes and brought the glasses up closer to his face. They were broken along the bridge, split into two halves. He brought the right lens closer. The glass had a crooked vertical gash running through it, ending with a broken rim. He picked them off the snowy ground and placed the pieces into his pocket. Slowly, gingerly, he stood up. He hobbled over to a tree and leaned against it. 

“Hello?” a voice asked in the distance. Eduard blinked, trying to keep his eyes open. He shifted his head to look toward the sound, but all he saw was a blurry forest and a faint glow far away. 

The last thing he remembered was the world turning to black.

---

Eduard drowsily opened his eyes to see a small room. He was in a bed with a thick comforter. It was dark, the windows showed a navy blue night outside. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a stranger walking over with a lit light source, eerily warm for being so small. That’s all Eduard could tell without his glasses. He touched his pocket, relief pouring in when he felt his eyewear. But he still felt tense. One thing was certain: this was an unfamiliar place, he had to get out of here. He tried to muster the energy to teleport, but his body stayed firmly in bed. His magic still wasn’t working it seemed.

“You’re awake.” The man noted, walking over to him.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“I’m Yong Soo.” The other man said. Eduard narrowed his eyes, trying to make out Yong Soo’s facial features. But it was still too blurry. “I found you passed out on the forest floor and thought to bring you home. But first, no weapons please. Empty your pockets.”

Yong Soo respected him enough not to ruffle through his things. Not that Eduard had anything to defend himself with anyways. Reluctantly, he decided to take out his broken glasses. The man took them and examined the pieces.

“You better not take my glasses for long.” The threat sounded empty, even to Eduard himself, but it felt better than nothing. Being in an unfamiliar place with his blurry vision was putting him on edge.

“Don’t worry about them,” Yong Soo flippantly responded. “Now, my turn: how did you end up in this forest in the middle of nowhere?”

That question stilled him. Eduard wondered how to logically explain falling out of the sky without the use of magic.

“I… don’t know. I didn’t mean to land here. And you still haven’t told me where I am.” 

Yong Soo gently placed his lantern on a nearby table. “We are kind of a new country. I do not know if you know about us, Mr. Sorcerer.”

“Sorcerer?”

“Magic user.” Yong Soo recited an incomprehensible (at least to Eduard) verse and waved his hand. The lantern slowly got brighter.

Eduard sucked in a gasp: that move was powerful. All he knew was transportation spells.

“I’m pretty sure it’s my fault you ended up here.” Yong Soo gestured with his hands, trying to describe his thoughts. “A sprinkle of magic and a bit of boredom, and… poof you’re here now. The spell I used attracts other ‘magic users’ like you and me. I was trying to get my brother, but looks like I can’t get to him for some reason” He sighed, as if he had something more to say but didn’t have the words. “Anyways, I am sorry for barging into your life. Hope that this somewhat makes up for your fall.”

Yong Soo grabbed ahold of Eduard’s hand. Lightly, he nudged Eduard’s fingers so that the palm of his hand would face up. With a flick of the wrist, he produced fully fixed glasses and laid them between Eduard’s thumb and pointer finger. 

“Woah...” Eduard whispered in disbelief, examining Yong Soo’s work. There were spells of all kinds, but he never saw one that ever smoothly put objects back together like this. He put his glasses on and looked at Yong Soo. His blurry vision became sharp. 

The clothes Yong Soo was wearing were so different from the stuff back home. Eduard didn’t have the vocabulary to describe them. He wore something akin to a dress, and the waistline was high, right under the chest. The top of the outfit had long sleeves that were wide, hanging down instead of staying tight around the wrist. He also held a thick book in one hand, part of it hidden under the sleeves.

The light from his lantern lit him up so that his pale beige skin contrasted with the darkness of the room. Dark brown eyes and ink black hair, a flyaway curl sticking out the side. An Eastern Asian man. There was a happy smirk on his face, one that triumphantly proclaimed that he succeeded in fixing the glasses.

“Just a simple little time reversal spell” He tapped on the edge of the frames for emphasis, and Eduard pushed his glasses back up with a huff. “Keep those safe, they’re expensive.”

“Now could you please tell me where on Earth I am? I know I’m not at home.”

“Korea. A bit ago we were Joseon. Now, what’s your name traveler?”

“Eduard.” he paused, trying to grasp everything that was happening. First things first: “How long has it been since I got knocked out?” 

“A few days.”

“Shoot.” Eduard sat up and got out from the covers, ignoring the sting from his right shoulder. “I’ve got to go. Back. You know. Before I got transported to this place.” He tried to muster up the energy to teleport out, but, ever frustratingly, his body still didn’t budge.

“Well. How do you even begin doing that?”

“If I could just…” Eduard concentrated, envisioning his home, and pulling himself mentally closer. But nothing happened. Eduard inwardly groaned.

“Okay there?”

“You don’t understand.” Eduard grumbled, trying to avoid worsening his wounds as he shuffled back under the covers. “Before I teleported, I was writing up this article. I’m part of a team attempting to get an Estonian newspaper off the ground. And well, it’s important to me for my article through… that sounds odd but let me put it this way. Though it may sound simple, it could propel us to become our sovereign nation! Independence, that’s something that has been a rarity. And with all the Russification going on, it’s been rough going.”

<Above probably needs development, I don’t know much about this topic and did minimal research> 

Eduard paused. “Wait a second, how the hell are you speaking Estonian?”

“When I saw that you were European,” Yong Soo showcased the thick book he was holding, “I used up my resources. I searched up a spell that would break a language barrier. Unfortunately, due to my own lack of language skills, I wasn’t able to understand that deciphers written words unfortunately. Then it would be easier to read this damn thing”

Eduard looked toward Yong Soo’s spell book. He recognized the Latin letters, but not the language of the script. “Now where’d you get this from?”

“I got it from a... ” He hesitated, “An acquaintance. From out East, Japan. And he got it from a British guy. My acquaintance is not on good terms with magic, even if he was once enthralled by it, and so I bought it from him.” 

Eduard heard rumors of a strong British sorcery. The spell should be pretty good.

Yong Soo kept going. “It was a good choice too. I have translated some spells in here and they are the only things keeping me from going bonkers. I isolated myself in the middle-of-no-where after all. Turns out it’s good to have a companion, even if that companion is a book.”

Eduard looked at the spell book, intrigued. “Since I can’t go back home anyways, should I test to see how well your spell holds up?

“Aren’t you already doing so? With, um, Estonian, right?”

“Well, if I *speak Russian you’ll understand me?*”

Yong Soo nodded. “Your accent changed a bit though.” 

“And, *if I stretch it… do you understand some broken German?*”

“I do.”

“How about-”

“Hold on. How do you know so many languages?”

Eduard frowned a bit, pausing to understand what Yong Soo was asking. “I’m a polyglot.”

“Yeah, I just so happen to be a polyglot too. But I learned about other languages out of necessity. I used to have a life of splendor, politics, and drama.” He pointed out the window. “I took a break from that by moving to a place with more trees instead of people. Right here. Now, what… ‘normal’ man would be that talented? There has got to be a driving factor.” 

Would it hurt to tell this Korean man about his life? If Eduard teleported out of here as soon as he could, it couldn’t do damage. “I told you earlier, I work for a newspaper. Using language, even other languages too, are my thing. At the same time, polyglots aren’t rare back home. I guess that’s what I get for being born into a place that got bulldozed over by neighboring powers continuously. The place gets pretty bi and multilingual. Other languages get impressed onto us.”

“By… ‘Us?’ You mean, ‘Estonians?’ Of a country that doesn’t exist?” 

“Yes.” Eduard said it with finality.

The Korean man seemed to be mulling over the words, unease spreading over his expression. “I wonder...” Yong Soo stopped abruptly. He walked over to a makeshift kitchen area. “I wonder if you like pickled, spicy food.” He beckoned Eduard to come over too.

“Pickled, yes. Spicy, no. Plus, I told you I have to go back home somehow, even if it is too late.”

Yong Soo looked at Eduard with a knowing glint in his eye. “If you could teleport back now, you would have already.”

“You’re not wrong.” Eduard gestured towards Yong Soo’s hands. “But, you also have a spellbook in your hands. If you really wanted to help, you would have given me a magic boost. I would have been on the way.”

Yong Soo frowned. “I don’t even think there’s a spell for a magic boost. I could be wrong though. I got this book very recently and only a few spells have been translated.”

“That means?”

“Considering the fact that you being here is the combination of both my magic power and yours, it seems like the way back is if I incorporate my magic with yours once more. Unless you can teleport for long distances, you’ll have to stay here with me.”

Eduard felt his heart plunge. They were quiet after that statement. 

<AN: Eduard has a hard time dealing with this new reality that he has to stay in an unfamiliar place. I didn’t give enough breathing room to write his experience with that.>

Yong Soo pointed toward a dish on the table. “I’ve got some cabbage-based kimchi. I have been living on this stuff for months here in the middle of nowhere.”

Eduard walked over to the table, looking over the unfamiliar food. “What are... these?” He tapped on a small porcelain bowl filled with cooked white grains. Then he gestured to two evenly shaped straight sticks, each about the size of a rectangular-ish, thinner, flatter pen.

“A bowl of rice and chopsticks. Of course.” 

Eduard searched around. “You don’t have forks?”

Yong Soo looked up at Eduard and a tangible pause lingered in the air. “Ah. You don’t know how to use chopsticks, do you?”

Eduard crossed his arms. “Look, I appreciate this, but I can’t even eat the food you’re offering me.”

“Well,” Yong Soo took the chopsticks for himself, showcasing how they were used. “I could teach you.”

Eduard’s stomach growled, as if on cue. He sighed, grabbed the chopsticks, and looked up at Yong Soo. “Well then. I guess I’ll have to learn.”

“First of all, you're holding it wrong.” Yong Soo picked up his own pair and let Eduard see his hand. “You raise and lower the top chopstick. And then you can do this.” He grabbed a piece of the cabbage kimchi and lifted it over to his bowl of rice. 

Eduard fidgeted with his hand. He tried to ignore the feeling of embarrassment while trying to get a semblance of the position.

Yong Soo let go of his chopsticks and leaned forward. He guided Eduard’s hand to the right position. He backed up after he was satisfied. “Now try it. Move the chopstick above up and down.”

Eduard tried to focus on his shaky hands. He slowly nudged the chopstick up, but then the lower one clattered onto the table. Yong Soo smothered a giggle.

“Hey, hey now. I’m a beginner.”

“I know, I know.” Yong Soo smiled at Eduard and handed him the fallen chopstick. “Try again.”

Eduard eventually got the hang of the chopsticks. He tasted a bit of the food, gritting his teeth at the unfamiliar taste of kimchi.  

<AN: Yong Soo insisted it was a very common Korean staple, and concluded that Eduard just had a low spice tolerance for the red chili pepper.>

---

“You know what? I think I’ve rested for a couple of days, I should try a simple transportation trick. Transporting objects and people are my inherent abilities.”

“I say go for it.”

Eduard laid his chopsticks on the table and shook out his arms. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the chopsticks, making sure to stay a bit away from them. “Come to me now…” 

The chopsticks vanished in a shower of sparkles. Eduard looked toward his hand expectantly. They didn’t appear. 

“Oof!”

A disgruntled Yong Soo pulled the chopsticks out of his hair. He handed them to Eduard. “They tumbled from the ceiling and ran into me.”

“Are you okay?” 

Yong Soo rubbed his head and then cracked up in laughter, “I don’t know about you, but I think you need to rest a bit more.” He tapped on the thick spellbook, “Maybe we can look through this together in the meantime.”

“Sounds fine by me.”

---

<AN: Brief continuity error below.>

“There’s something that’s been weighing on my mind Yong Soo. I normally travel short distances. How the hell will I get back home to Estonia?”

“You could make pit stops?”

“Not everyone is as hospitable as you, Yong Soo. Who knows what situation I could end up in.” He sighed, closing his eyes, taking off his glasses, and placing his head in his hand. “I've already been gone for awhile now. If I go back, I’ll get lost and be gone for good.”

Yong Soo looked up, at least that’s what Eduard could tell from his blurry vision, and stretched out his arms. “Well I am trying to work through this spell book to help you.”

“How are you translating it? Can you read English?”

“What do you mean?”

Eduard put his glasses back on and pointed at the spellbook. “The book’s in English, right? You said it was originally from a British sorcerer. I’m wondering if you can read it.”

“I can’t, not really well. But I did get my hands on this dictionary: English to Korean.” He lifted up a second, smaller book for Eduard to see. “I wrote a few notes for myself in the margins.” He pointed toward some notes on the sides. “English… is very different from what I know. Letters versus characters. It’s hard to decipher the text.” Yong Soo gave him a tired look, “You’re lucky, you know that? This dictionary was a really hard find. Without it you’d be stuck here with me until you walk to a port on foot and find a boat headed to Europe. The process is still extraordinarily slow, and I don’t know the vast majority of spells in here at all.” He looked back down to his book.

“Thank you for all this work you’re putting in for me. As a speaker of many European languages, maybe I could help?”

Yong Soo considered it and opened the spell book and the dictionary for Eduard to see. “Why not.”

<AN: they look over the spell book and determine which spells would be useful. This is a process that is tedious but rewarding.>

---

It was an abnormally warm winter night, so the two men decided to head outside and make a campfire. After all, it was brighter than a candlelit room with small windows. Out here, they had the stars and the moon too. Yong Soo clutched his spell book and wrote in the margins while Eduard semi-deciphered the word and matched it up in the dictionary. 

<AN: they get in a fight over something which gets somewhat physical, the dictionary (I was also considering the spell book?) slips into the campfire and burns up to a crisp. Imagine like a super comical, ‘keep the book up in the air like a volleyball’ shenanigans before it falls straight into the fire>

Eduard sat down, stunned. “I’ve solidified my own fate. I’m going to be stuck here forever. Shit.”

It was quiet except for the sound of a crackling fire. The two men started as the flames ate up the last of the pages.

“Maybe… maybe… how did you get that dictionary in the first place? What if we try that pathway again.”

Yong Soo mulled over the question before answering. “No that’s impossible. I got it through farway political connections.”

Eduard raised an eyebrow. “With a friend from Japan too?”

“Not friend. Acquaintance, and no it is not from him” He sighed and looked Eduard dead in the eye. “There’s no reason to hide the truth to you about it if we live in the middle of nowhere. Royalty: emperors and all. I used to work for them. Sort of. There’s a lot of things I can do with my inherent ability… I fixed your glasses with it. Mostly I fixed things there too: both physical and politically. In my free time I would make my own little inventions, tinkering with objects, and rewinding their physical state when I really messed up. But I was also a political advisor type. That’s where I really screwed up. Sadly my time spell doesn’t fix everything: it does not work well at all with organic matter for example. I left. I usually have some control over situations, with magic and all, but yet there I felt powerless. I feel like I ran away from it all.”

<AN: I wish I got more details as to what sort of role Yong Soo would play in an Emperor's palace. But I didn’t do my research and frankly don’t know what he would do.> 

<AN: This scene, where the two stare at this fire, is supposed to be a tender, shippable moment: people at their lowest bonding. Talk about YS’s background with Korean Royalty/government. YS’s fears are shown, he’s being vulnerable and talks a bit about his worries. Like Korea being smothered by its neighbors of China (Qing Empire) and Japan, at this point in history, leaning toward the latter. Eduard comforts him, and talks about his own life experience, like how Estonia doesn’t have that sweet sweet independence but it could come (ahem foreshadowing 1918). After the tender moment, with the power of teamwork, YS uses his time-manipulation-on-objects ability and Eduard uses his transportation ability to bring back the dictionary. The logistics behind it have something to do with the fire being extinguished, the ashes being clumped together, lots of back and forth, before they legit reverse a chemical reaction. They are tired out afterwards but satisfied dammit. >

---

<AN: There’s a scene in which they learn each other's languages. It’s cute, it’s quirky, and they bond. I’m in no place to implement this because I don’t know Korean or Estonian. A few more sessions of meeting up later, or maybe even in this section, they figure out a mix of spells that can get Eduard to go home.>

---

It was time.

The morning was quiet. Eduard looked out the window at the woods. The landscape was dusted with snowflakes. He wore his original clothes, no use of borrowing a hanbok now that he was heading back. Yong Soo joined him next to the window. He scooted closer till their shoulders touched. Despite how cold it was, Eduard felt warm.

“I can’t believe we did it.” He said, looking over to his Korean companion. “Thank you.”

“To think-” Yong Soo shifted, and Eduard turned to look. 

Yong Soo closed his eyes and leaned forward a tad, his bangs shifting to cover his face. 

“Okay there?”

“Yeah.” He sucked in a breath and composed himself. “Before you go…” He handed Eduard a piece of paper covered with beautiful strokes of black calligraphy.

“I haven’t learned these characters yet. What does it say?”

“My name. Three characters read from top to bottom.” He pointed to the very top. “Im,” to the middle, “Yong,” to the last, “Soo. 임.용.수.”

He pulled out another piece of paper for Eduard and a calligraphy pen. “Write your name down now.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to forget you.”

He looked Yong Soo in the eye, forlorn dark brown irises glancing back. He felt a sob rise in his chest and pushed it down. 

Eduard broke eye contact, and signed his full name on the blank sheet of paper. He handed it to Yong Soo. 

“Hold my hand, will you?”

He spread his fingers across the palm of Eduard’s hand. Yong Soo’s sleeve covered up their touch, but Eduard could feel their fingers lacing together. A solid grasp, and Eduard felt fulfilled and broken all at once. When he went home, could he ever feel this intact again?

“I don’t think I could forget you if I wanted to.”

“Write to me?” Eduard smiled despite the regret that he felt, swirling in his body. “I still need to learn that Korean.”

Despite his sad expression, Yong Soo broke into a smile. “Definitely.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Yong Soo let go of Eduard’s hand and stood back, flipping through the spell book in preparation. “In a time where I felt distant from the rest of the world, you were my solid ground.”

“I’ll miss you,” Eduard whispered. He closed his eyes.

Before teleporting away, Eduard heard a faint murmur in response. “I’ll miss you too.”

---

Footnotes:

“An acquaintance. From Japan. And he got it from a British guy. My acquaintance is not on good terms with magic, even if he was once enthralled by it, and so I bought it from him.” 

I have long strayed from the Hetalia canon, but this is influenced by those episodes where hws Japan couldn’t see the magic-spirit-types in the hot springs but hws England could.

“At the same time, polyglots aren’t rare back home.“

I have no idea if this is true, but I would think it would be. At least in modern times, it seems as if there's some sort of forced bilingualism that people from small countries that deal with. In this case, for an educated man like Eduard, I think knowledge of other languages (Russian for example) would be very helpful.

“I wonder if you like pickled, spicy food.” He beckoned Eduard to come over too./“Pickled, yes. Spicy, no.”

I was going to have this be a whole bit. About culture comparison and stuff! Turns out, as someone who is neither Estonian or Korean with very little motivation to read through a wiki page, I didn’t have enough content to implement my idea.

“But I was also a political advisor type. That’s where I really screwed up. Sadly my time spell doesn’t fix everything: it does not work well at all with organic matter for example. I left. I usually have some control over situations, with magic and all, but yet there I felt powerless.”

His mess up refers assassination of Queen Min aka Empress Myeingseong. I’m debating whether to keep this part in at all because it’s rather horrible to add things in with little research yet I keep doing it.

Thank you to @/alfredtalia for giving me insight into Yong Soo’s name. If your interested, here’s the link to the post.

There’s probably more that I could write here. I’m fine with discussing unanswered questions about this fic thru tumblr asks.

Thank you for reading this long long post!

[excvlsior]

about: *leo fowler.

basics.

full name: leopold kristoff fowler meaning of name: leopold = ‘people’ & ‘bold’, kristoff = ‘bearing christ’ nickname: leo, tadpole by some family members age: 23 date of birth: november 12, 1996 hometown: tallahassee, florida nationality: american ethnicity: dutch gender: demiboy sexuality: pansexual spoken languages: dutch, english profession: in lovell he’s a part time student and works at fowler’s flowers, but just the latter in st. louis

appearance.

height: 6′2″ eye colour: blue hair colour: auburn??? i feel like that’s the version of if someone had strawberry blond hair bt . strawberry brown instead??? idk it’s reddy-brown voice: pretty deep, surprisingly smooth jst feel like he has the personality of someone with a rougher voice bt . alas...... obnoxiously thick southern accent tattoos: c’est la vie on his ribcage, kristoff on his hip, ‘x’ on the inside of his middle finger done in shitty stick and poke, ‘L’ done in stick and poke on the side of his wrist, heart with a knife through it on his chest, tattoo inside his lip that says ‘pussy master’* :pensive:, ‘ouch’ on the bottom of both soles of his feet*, a hand giving the middle finger on the back of his left calf, dolly parton’s signature on the top of his thigh from when he got it at one of her concerts, a smiley face on his ass* >_>, a melting popsicle on the back of his right bicep*, ghost face mask on his right shin; * = he did them on a dare LKHSDGKLHLSDG piercings: lobes, right cartilage, industrial bar in his left ear, nostril, had an eyebrow and lip piercing when he was younger clothing style: pretty dishevelled and purposely ill prepared outfits, sometimes u can catch him in just plaid and khakis but more often than not he’s in something weird, his prized possession is a leopard print shirt that has a heart in the center, steals clothes from his aunt and uncle when he has nothing clean/can’t bother finding anything, been seen in marj’s skirts and leggings bc of this, and then on the other hand he’ll wear like a lime green tank top with a monster baseball cap worn sideways his style is just carefree and eclectic

health.

physical ailments: n/a neurological conditions: bipolar i disorder allergies: n/a sleeping habits: pretty much only falls asleep between the hours of 3-5 am, doesn’t matter if he works the morning or afternoon shift....... if he doesn’t work at all he’ll just sleep until his body naturally wakes up which is also usually around 3-5 pm KLSDGLKHSDGLKHDG exercise habits: doesn’t exactly have one..... he’s a pretty active and energetic guy so he’s usually up and about doing whatever anyway, also rides his bike everywhere since marj and steve r usually out with the only car they have sociability: loves being around people but he’ll eventually grow cranky, doesn’t necessarily need to be alone but at least with a different group of people if he gets to this point, the only time he actively doesn’t really want to see people is when he’s having a depressive episode but those don’t last too long as is drink / smoke / drugs: yes / yes / yes

personality.

positive traits: adventurous, courageous, determined, funny, gregarious, independent, quick-witted, tough, versatile negative traits: belligerent, cantankerous, foolhardy, harsh, impulsive, parsimonious, sarcastic, tactless, unpredictable, vulgar goals/desires: lowkey he’d never admit it but he just kinda wants his parents’ approval in the end, and also maybe to find something better than supervisor at a flower store (no offence to marj and steve its just not his dream) fears: staying committed and missing out on different opportunities/people that could change his life, the fact that he probably can’t do any better than be a supervisor at a flower store tbh hobbies: drinking, drawing a bit tbh, thrifting, loves collecting random knick knacks and is personally loving buttons rn, harassing his friends<3, making stupid tiktoks that somehow have gotten him a kind of big following habits: swearing obnoxiously without caring, yells in dutch when he’s frustrated which he’s mostly picked up on cuz everyone else in his family does it, stares more than what is socially acceptable tbh, refuses to walk under ladders

favourites.

weather: sunny with some clouds colour: dark green music: likes a lot of 90s and early 2000s rap and rock, old school country like he loves dolly parton LKSDHGKLHSDGLK rly enjoys elvis presley too, some edm or anything that he can jst dance wildly to movies: old school slasher films, screams his fav movie series ever food: spaghetti bt specifically w marj’s Phenom homemade meat sauce<3 drink: grape juice, whiskey sour

relationships.

father: steven fowler is his uncle but currently his legal guardian, he’s a co-owner of fowler’s flowers and is kind of a mess but in like the fun way....... LKSHDGKLHSLDG he just spends a lot of the day in nothing but boxers and socks w their cat on his lap watching the weather report if he’s not working, has the weird energy of someone who would be running like a joke shop instead of being a florist. archibald fowler is leo’s biological dad but he sucks Big Time, giant business typhoon i hvnt . figured out 100% wht sort of business bt hes got Money bt doesnt even rly want anything to do w leo he jst sees him as a massive disappointment bc archie’s nothing but a loser fart of a square. mother: marjorie fowler’s his aunt and other legal guardian also the other co-owner of fowler’s flowers, literally the sweetest woman on the planet like she’s never done anything wrong in her life n u can take tht to the bank. she’s a bit weird n super spiritual, their house constantly smells like random herbs and rly intensely of flowers and plants bc she makes so many home remedies bt she’s an angel a fkin ANGEL!!!!! renata kline’s leo’s mom n she’s like . fine ig she was pretty negligent n her best friend is a bottle of wine....... she rly peaked at a young age when she was a pageant girl n she still coaches n stuff now bt she’s obvs rly sad so leo tries not to lose it on her too much even tho he thinks she’s annoying LKSHDGKLHSLDKGKLSDG siblings: augustus is his oldest brother and he’s pretty cool, probs the brother leo is closest with even tho he considers him boring bt it’s only bc he’s . actually responsible n wht not they had a lot of fun growing up together tho when leo visited new york. mikhael is the devil, he’s actually a bit of a cunt n both him n leo have expressed their hatred fr each other without missing a beat i think they actually dnt hv any love or affection fr the other in the slightest SKLDHGLKSDHG. vaughn n leo r closest in age he’s not tht much younger n he’s probs the shiest of them, pretty soft spoken n well meaning, him n leo dnt rly keep in contact too much anymore bt theres a special place in his heart fr vaughn he’s pretty protective even tho he bullies him a lot bt thts besides the point. willhelm’s the youngest n it kinda shows he’s pretty idgaf attitude n rly blunt bt he’s also funny n probs the biggest partier outside of leo so he gets a pass whenever he rolls his eyes in leo’s face. pets: mitzie’s an 8 year old tortoiseshell cat who lives primarily on ppls laps shes literally more lap dog than cat significant other: n/a family’s financial status: middle class

extra.

zodiac sign: scorpio<3 mbti: estp - the entrepeneur enneagram: the epicure temperament: sanguine hogwarts house: gryffindor moral alignment: chaotic neutral primary vice: pride primary virtue: dilligence element: fire

[ichigopanhpff]

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 8

Read Ch. 7 | Masterlist

SPOILER ALERT: We divin’ right into the story plot for S4 here!

--

“Blink, he’s mine,” Red Riot growled out and got into stance. “Get the stragglers to safety.”

“I’m not running away from this fight.”

A barrage of blades came flying from the enhanced villain in hopes to distract them, only to have to two dodge simultaneously.

“No offense, but I can take him down faster,” the hardened boy firmly stated, his resolve re-lit. “At the rate his blades are coming, you’re just gonna get more beaten up. And there’s still people around who can get hurt. Their safety takes priority.”

He glanced at her current state, covered in cuts. Hating to admit her disadvantage here, Blink clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned.

“You better get him!” she shouted before running to a group of civilians to teleport them away to safety.

Using himself as bait, Red Riot lured the blades over to cover Blink while she continued to evacuate the vicinity. Charging in with his Unbreakable form, he successfully got close enough to execute his ultimate move, Red Gun Turret. Pummeling the villain directly in his torso, the man was sent flying to the far wall. Scurrying on the ground like a cowering rat when Red Riot approached him, he begged for his life, reiterating how all he wanted to do was get stronger and he’s just a pathetic guy wanting power.

With his words as a diversion, the villain used his blades to launch himself into the air to escape, only to intercepted by Blink and Fat Gum who were both mid-air. She swung her staff at full force, shattering his blades into a million pieces and kicked the base of his neck with the fat hero intercepting him with his body.

“When confronting an enemy, a villain’s conditions are: Kill! Escape! Beat up! And so on!” Fat Gum lectured through chuffed breaths. “For us, it’s just “capture without any victims”! Remember that, Red Riot!”

Gradually standing back up, Fat Gum successfully stopped the villain with his Fat Absorption quirk. Red Riot looked on amazement how easy he was able to take him down whereas he struggled to the end.

“To suppress villains, you gotta take away their will to fight as quickly as possible!”

Blink stomped over to the now softened redhead and gave him a hard smack to the back of his head, to which he gave a verbal hiss of pain.

“You goddamn idiot! Are you deaf?!” she shouted. “I told you not to talk to the enemy! That’s how they distract you!”

“S-sorry, Blink,” he sheepishly apologized as the lingering pain throbbed all over his occipital lobe.

“Don’t be sorry. Be better!” she angrily huffed and poked him hard on his chest to drive the point home. Red Riot let out a breath through his nose with a small frown at his senior and nodded.

“I’ll be careful next time,” he muttered out. The hardening hero looked away bashfully and wiped the sweat from the top of his lip with his index finger. “And thanks… for before. Your pep talk helped me bring out Unbreakable.”

“All I did was remind you of what you had all along,” she replied as a matter of factly. “You’re a hero, aren’t you?”

He looked up at his upperclassman, who was currently smirking at him and held the back of her fist out, to which he responded with a bump in acknowledging each other’s strength. The hidden civilians, even some of which Blink teleported away to safety, gathered around and thanked them for their actions.

“You two got one hell of a magnificent debut,” Fat Gum complimented. “Far different from mine. And you’re the ones who helped me out! The two of you will be great heroes yet.”

With the commotion dying down, the three regrouped with Suneater on the main street to help the local authorities round up the now captured street thugs. The group of four analyzed the capsule the hooded boy was shot with.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Blink firmly stated. “It’s a quirk booster. But it looks off...”

“Based on how long it lasted, it’s most likely a knock-off,” FatGum pointed out.

“It’s definitely not from America; theirs work up to two to three hours,” the scraped up girl deduced. “And the side effects are semi-permanent, depending on the uppers dosage mixed in.”

“Chances are it’s from Asia,” the tall, rotund hero guessed.

“You seem to know a lot about this, Blink,” Red Riot noticed. “Why is that?”

Suneater noticed the look of hesitation on her face, decided to answer in her stead. “It’s been all over the news as of late, so it’s not surprising the information makes its way onto the internet.”

“And I used to work with the cops back in the day and we seized a lotta this stuff during raids,” Fat Gum added, quickly catching on what his sidekick was doing.

Their discussion was interrupted by one of the cops coming over with information about the gun used to shoot Suneater. The two turned to their senior, who was currently hiding his face under his hood.

“You okay?” Red Riot asked with a tone of concern.

“… It’s such a bitter pill to swallow… To have a hero’s quirk not work is a poor showing on my end,” he mumbled out dejectedly. “Both of you had to protect me… It’s something Mirio would’ve done. You’re both a ball of sunlight.”

“Well, you helped me with this internship, guiding me through everythin’...” Red Riot replied.

“Suneater… It’s only temporary,” Blink comforted and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Your quirk’ll be back before you know it.”

He tilted his head down to hide his face under the hood.

“Blink… I have a really bad feeling about this,” was all he uttered out with a slight quiver in his voice. “We’ve heard of the boosters, but now we have a drug that can negate quirks? This is bigger than what you thought it is from before...”

All she could do was nod solemnly. With the investigation wrapped up, Fat Gum told the three to go to the hospital to get checked out and wounded tended before returning to the agency for the debrief. As they headed back to U.A., Amajiki pulled Ren aside with these parting words:

Whoever will be involved with this need to know your history. It’s bigger than you.

Days after their first day, classes went by as usual in the U.A. campus. As the evening rolled in, the students all gathered in the Common Area. Sighing aloud, Ren slumped her head back on the couch, not wanting to think about this burden anymore. She glanced over at Kirishima, who was also dazing out.

“Hey Kirishima! Ren-senpai!” Kaminari yelled across the room. “Your hero names are all over the news on the net! That’s awesome!”

The redhead walked over to see two articles his friend pulled up on his screen, the first reading “Newcomer sidekick Red Riot Breaks Into the Scene!” and the other “The Beaming Hope, Blink!” Meanwhile, Ren remained stationary on the couch, unable to move a finger; she was beyond tired after returning from Kansai and having to head to class the following day.

“Tsuyu, Uraraka!” Ashido shouted and showed her phone screen too. “Your names came up in another article!”

All the while other students were commending their achievements, Bakugou stood on the sidelines angrily grinding his teeth out of jealousy and frustration. Iida, however, commented even though they have their provisional licenses, academics take precedence over everything.

The R.A. closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch, with mental and physical exhaustion racking her body as she tuned out the lively conversation. She drifted to sleep and felt a sudden shift of weight on the couch. Lazily opening her right eye, she made out Todoroki’s face staring at her only to have it close again.

“If you’re tired, you should head back into your room to sleep,” he spoke into the shell of her ear in a low voice and noticed the thin cut scabbed over on her cheek. Unconsciously reaching out, his thumb softly grazed the bumpy surface of it, watching her slip further away from the conscious world. This was the first time he’s seen their resident advisor with such a peaceful expression.

“Ah, Ren-senpai fell asleep,” Yaoyoruzu pointed out. “That’s rare.”

“She has been pretty tired lately, huh,” Uraraka pointed out with a look of concern. “I hope the internship isn’t wearing her out.”

“Are you kidding?” Kirishima exclaimed. “She was kickin’ ass left and right! Senpai moved faster than me when we were fighting that blade bastard!”

“She really that strong?” Bakugou suddenly asked, his interest peaked.

The spiky boy stayed quiet for a moment, replaying the moments in his head.

“It’s not that she’s ridiculously strong like Togata-senpai, but….” He paused to think further, placing his hand on his chin. “She moves like she already knows what the enemy’s about to do.”

“So she’s predicting her enemy’s moves before attacking,” the ash blond boy summarized.

“Like Togata-senpai did with us during the exercise,” Midoriya added.

“It works with how she currently fights,” Kirishima agreed. “But if she was to fix up her offense, even I would struggle against her if we ever fought, maybe even lose.”

The four boys looked at her as she drifted into full slumber, her face looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.

As the days went on, Ren alternated between going to her internship and classes, trying her best to stay awake in the latter. At one point, one of Ectoplasm’s clone repeatedly slapped her awake during math class only to have no response and ended up in detention for it. It’s not that her current schedule made her exhausted, it’s the extra personal training sessions she put herself through that overworked her body.

Considering how the last fight went with the recent villain, she realized all of her weaknesses in her fighting style were laid bare like wounds.

She didn’t show it, but she was as frustrated as Amajiki when she placed all the pressure on Kirishima in taking that scumbag down. Forget the glory in making the front page of stories. She wanted justice delivered by her strength, something she currently lacked. And the fact that walking garbage used a quirk enhancer hit too close to home.

If she couldn’t take care of a small fry like that, what were the chances of her taking him down?

Knowing she couldn’t stay the way she was now, Ren swallowed her pride and initially asked the Big Three to do training sessions with her in the dead of night. However, given their schedules as third years on top of the internships, it was hard to squeeze it in.

Her next choice were those from 1-A.

Taking Seri’s advice to heart, who better to ask in training her close range combat skills than them? When it came down to picking sparring partners, the four who came to mind were Kirishima, Bakugou, Todoroki and Midoriya on the boys side; for the girls, it’d have to be Uraraka.

This wasn’t an act of desperation; they were strategically chosen because of their combat experience and skills.

Out of the five she chose, three agreed to help her. Midoriya refused because of his uncertainty in controlling his quirk and was afraid he’d hurt her. Uraraka also refused because she too was undergoing her own training.

However, out of the three boys, Kirishima was surprisingly the one who struck up the proposal in wanting something in return: information. He wanted to know what her relation was to the quirk enhancing drugs that’s been in circulation. Deciding it was a fair request, Ren accepted the condition. It was a necessary deal with the devil if she were to progress her own abilities.

Damn the past and what came from it; the present’s here for her to carve out her path. She’ll play Aizawa’s game and be the tragic hero he wants her to be. No matter the cost.

As the dead of night approached, Ren woke up from her nap and got dressed in a black tank top with her U.A. gym uniform bottom in the darkness of her room. Stretching out her limbs to stir up her sleep-ridden body, she sighed and knelt down on the floor in the middle of her room. Placing her right palm on the floor, she concentrated all of her energy into it and emitted a faint glow, creating a small trap door that wasn’t there before.

This was Ren’s second ultimate move: Void.

With her Flicker quirk, she can concentrate the energy from it to create a room in between spaces for safety and hiding. There is only one door for entrance and exit. The only people who can enter this space is whoever she invites with a verbal agreement. Anyone invited to the room can only enter when she activates it. As great as this move is, it takes a lot of stamina and concentration as Void is a one-shot deal. Because of the amount of energy it takes, it takes away her teleportation abilities for 24 hours.

Entering through the door, she found another person was already waiting for her with his arms crossed donning a matching black tank top and loose sweatpants.

“You’re late.”

“My alarm didn’t go off. Sorry.”

“Y’know, you’re wasting my precious sleep too.”

“Oh, please,” Ren disregarded and stretched her arms out. “You’re getting plenty from this session too, Bakugou. Even if it is once a week with you.”

The explosive blond merely huffed a breath and smirked while hunching over to stretch out his back and legs.

“Just remember the deal, senpai.”

The silence between the two was intercepted with the sound of a door opening. Bakugou scoffed at the person entering and rolled his eyes at a familiar bi-coloured hair boy walking toward them, wearing a white tank top with dark blue pants.

“Didn’t know tonight was a threesome.”

“Figured I up the difficulty level tonight,” Ren disclosed with a smirk. “I’m feeling impatient.”

“Just let us know when you need a break,” Todoroki reminded and placed his hands on his hips. “You’re overworking yourself as of late.”

“We’ll keep the session to two hours tonight. Sound good?” she bargained.

“Be it one hour or ten hours, I’ll kick your ass either way,” Bakugou growled out and lit his palms up with mini explosions. “By the way, Kirishima revealed one of your advantages when you knocked out on the couch the other night,” he mentioned in passing. “Teach that to us.”

“Oh?” Ren hummed with interest. “Gotta be more specific there.”

“He said you had foresight in battle,” Todoroki answered.

“Ah, that should be simple enough for you two to pick up, given both your combat experiences,” she casually remarked and suddenly appeared in front of Bakugou’s personal space and jumped back from being startled.

“What the– I thought you said you couldn’t teleport if you made this space!” he exclaimed.

“That’s my normal speed without my quirk,” she revealed with an arrogant smirk gracing her lips, her eyes glowing with mischief. “Some third years even say my speed surpasses Mirio-senpai’s by just a little bit.”

Taking a few steps away from the blond boy, she turned and placed her hands on her hips.

“Change of plans: your goal tonight is to predict my movements,” she stated. “This’ll be your first step in getting stronger and getting a leg up in your provisionals. Considering I can’t use my quirk tonight, you two are at an advantage.”

“But what about you, senpai?” Todoroki asked with hesitation.

“Don’t you worry. I have a few ideas up my sleeve.”

She flashed a confident grin at the two boys, their heart fluttering with nervousness and excitement. Just what kind of tricks will their Ren show them tonight?

[modelronpagame]

thnks fr th mmrs || Wallace "Kagemori” Kanta || Epilogue

It started off with a single notification: a missed call from Megumi Ugumori. Their band’s bassist. The ping started Kagemori initially, as they hadn’t heard their phone go off in months,

Then another notification: a missed call from Kagemori’s mother.

As those who were alive left Hope’s Peak’s Most Excellent returned to civilization (and therefore, cell reception), Kagemori’s phone pinged with the soon uncountable number of missed call and text notifications. Worried messages from his bandmates, less personal tweets from fans on social media, business emails from booked venues booked inquiring if Deadman’s Party would be canceling their tour performances.

Most were ignored for now, that was a shitshow they could deal with later. Leaning a bit more against E.ve’s shoulder with a weary sigh, Kagemori returns their most recently missed video call. A white haired girl picks up the phone almost immediately, suspicious until she studies Kagemori’s face for a few tense, quiet seconds. Her sudden sobs likely disturbed everyone within earshot.

“You look like shit, hun!!”

“…thanks, Megumi…”

When the visual kei artist made the trip back to Tokyo, his bandmates were there to meet him. Blue, white, and brown hair joined Kagemori’s own purple in a group hug that threatened to topple them over. One misstep and suddenly Kagemori’s stumbling over Gou’s platform sneakers, Katsa’s laughing warmly and Megumi’s voluminous skirts cushion their descent to the concrete. Deadman’s Party is reunited and crying together on the pavement. No one’s mascara made it out untouched, but tears were dried in order to introduce the person somehow still holding Kagemori’s hand. It was, of course, E.ve. Who may have been fidgeting silently throughout the whole reunion. 

Breathless and smiling, Kagemori inhales to give E.ve some sort of introduction - Katsa and Megumi were looking at their joined hands expectantly - but first, the drummer (tiny terror that Gou is) blurts out something abruptly: 

“Arent’cha that one streamer guy?”

Considering everything that happened, Kagemori was initially hesitant to leave E.ve’s side for very long - what if this was a dream? What if they woke up back in Mirai.co’s clutches - one or both of them dead? It was obvious both of them needed some time to heal from the horrors of the mutual killing game, both in the physical and mental sense. So, after a quick post on social media explaining that they were fine and that Deadman’s Party would be postponing their tour for about a year, Kagemori went quiet on the public front for a bit. The prying questions were just… something Kagemori couldn’t face immediately. After a trip to get snacks and, perhaps, medical attention… rom-coms, cheesy vampire movies, and as many blankets as Kagemori could carry were then brought to E.ve’s apartment. The two of them holed up there for a bit, trying to feel ok again after… everything. Twilight and cuddles helped.

After some time, he would take E.ve (who would later just go by Eve) on an actual first date. Then a second, then a third. The two bros could be spotted raising hell on Dance Dance Revolution mats across Tokyo, splitting high scores across every arcade while shooting each other absolutely sappy glances. Saying that he made Kagemori’s heart sing wasn’t an overstatement. They helped keep each other stable in the time after the killing game… and Kagemori helped Eve through his confession to his fans and in finding out who he was outside of speedrunning games. 

Kagemori would visit their mother when they were ready. They chose not to mention the threat on her life that the first motive presented, as they still… had no idea how to sort through why she was targeted instead of their bandmates. To avoid their step-father, most of Kagemori’s time at home was spent with his younger half-brother. Their one-sided sibling rivalry seemed stupid now, so maybe Kagemori could start letting go of their jealousy.

It was for the best that their mother no longer represent them, at least as their band’s manager. That was one decision they’d thought about in the long weeks of captivity.

They had made some mistakes in the first 19 years of their life, but the effects of the fifth motive (reliving a night they’d rather forget) made them realize saving their fellow ex-gang member was not one of them. Staying out of touch with them WOULD be a mistake, so they’d take the first possible opportunity to visit a small farm in Osaka. Maybe Oleander would still want to see them, even after Kagemori had distanced themself from everyone to save their reputation.

They kept their word. Kagemori helped out with the reserve course protests as much as their body would allow, yelling themself hoarse while standing, hip cocked, in the front of picket lines. They were never one to be shy about fighting for the causes they believed in, so when Hope’s Peak’s president to hear out their demands… well, they felt a bit of smug satisfaction. But the voice in their head undermined the protest’s success with whispers of, “how many reserve course students lead to the killing game?” Perhaps it was a good thing they graduated that year. 

At some point during Kagemori’s time recovering from the killing game, they went on a short trip to Gwangju. They wished it was under better circumstances, but Mickey had promised to show them around. The promise felt more bittersweet now. Kkwaegori-kun the stuffed duck made the trip as well, but Kagemori decided to ultimately keep him.

They drew the line at wearing clear jeans in her honor because they were, in Kagemori’s mind, a crime against fashion. So were speedos, but… Still, Kagemori would make sure everyone remembered Kyung Min “Mickey” Oh and her work.

More than a year after the escape from Hope’s Peak’s Most Excellent: a promotional video posted to the Deadman’s Party social media page. Beginning immediately, all across Japan: The Phoenix Tour. Aptly named, as many critics speculated that the “kidnapping” crisis would end the band’s career. The highs and lows of the past two years were the perfect musical drive, so the band hit the road. With… one roadie even their bassist had grown accustomed to: Eve had shotgun now. Not that anyone minded too much, four was the perfect number to play Mario Party while Kagemori drove.

The tour went better than anyone could have expected, especially after the tragedy at HPME. Kagemori truly came alive onstage, aloof persona slipping away as they hit high notes and death drops. They were the now former SHSL Visual Kei Artist for a reason, as anyone with a ticket could see. Given the success of Deadman’s Party’s tour, the band had a bright future ahead of them.

Over time, Kagemori would be more comfortable being public about their relationship with their boyfriend. It wasn’t Eve - not at all. Kagemori’s first relationship was based on a secret, having it exposed almost ended their career. Their second: a publicity stunt, a lie that became too comfortable. The visual kei artist was hesitant sharing details at first, not wanting anyone else sticking their nose in their relationship. But… as apprehension wore off, so did Kagemori’s aversion to public displays of affection. They were happy and everyone should know, damnit! Only idols had to worry about their fans getting upset by that stuff, so Kagemori considered his bandmates  yelling “GET A ROOM!” at him to be character development.

The two were kicked out of many couples cooking classes in their attempts to learn how to make something that wasn’t cup ramen. Eventually, Kagemori got the hang of it. Kind of.

…but what of their relationships with their classmates?

Kagemori still reached out to Hinata sometimes, texting her his increasingly less clumsy attempts at sewing stuffed animals. The visual kei artist hoped she could be a better friend to Red than he could, at the very least. They’d ask for updates, hoping he was doing better but not pushing it further.

Reiko Eigawa… was someone Kagemori genuinely wanted the best for, as she was one of the many victims of Mirai.co’s schemes but one of the few they got to know better than others. They, at some point in transit back to civilization, asked about the ring that rightfully belonged to her. She had someone waiting for her on the outside, after all. Someone that would have appreciated her no matter how she came home, whether that was flesh and blood, a giant robotic mantis, or somewhere in-between. 

Of course, they kept in touch. Kagemori was happy for Reiko when, some time in the future, a ring remained on her finger. They weren’t often one for romance usually (says one half of the only endgame class ship), but the visual kei artist would insist on meeting the blonde journalist that she went on about. They had bad experiences with such people, but perhaps the love of his Reiko’s life would be an exception.

And there was the matter of Ubatsi - no, Kunie Sasamoto. The measurements had to be altered significantly, as Kunie now had lost two arms and gained a bit in height after being de-robofied, but Kagemori finally made them the leather jacket that they’d sketched before Riko’s death. Sometimes, the two of them would get together to sew and catch up (because Kagemori’s delinquent days were now, pointedly, behind them). Ultimately, Kagemori was happy that they’d get a second shot at life with their sister… and they’d hope to whatever god was out there that Kunie wouldn’t do anything shady and reckless. The shadows they’d seen during the final motive motivated them to keep a watchful eye.

Kunie and Riko had tickets to their tour whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted. That courtesy was extended to any of HMPE’s victims that they were, at least, on friendly terms with. Unfortunately, some bridges were burned in the killing game’s final moments.

They would never truly like Preston, not at this point. An understanding was reached between them before the mastermind trial, but it turned stale in the aftermath. However, Preston was important to Eve. Kagemori would respect that and, at the very least, be courteous to the one who helped Atsuko’s scheming. Maybe forgiveness could come some day, but it wouldn’t come nearly as quickly as Eve’s had. Especially not if Preston was still half-pining over Eve, Kagemori did have eyes after all. 

Their friendship with Atsuko Fujimoto, at least the one they thought they knew until the mastermind trial, was left behind at HPME: a dress design hastily torn out of a notebook and left in a trash can. Her influence on Kagemori lingered in the songs they would write in the months after the killing game… not that they would ever give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

Ultimately, Kagemori wasn’t the same person they were before Hope’s Peak’s Most Excellent. Kagemori Kanta was now far from an island, as they actually had a few friends (and in one case, much more than a friend) that were outside their band.

…and perhaps, despite the pain and losses they endured, they now had more reasons to sing than before.

[sai-haras]

you're getting them anyways

•kaede starts talking to saihara during the introductory assembly and is like "weird school huh?" and he's like "damn why is a cute girl talking to me??"

•kaito sees saihara in his binder after gym class and is like "ok" and after school he corners saihara and is like "yo if anyone gives you problems i'll kick their ass bros stick together" and saihara is like "i guess we're friends now?" and then they were Never Seen Apart

•saihara comes to idolize kirigiri but it afraid of talking to her. she finds out and comes to him first. she learns about his problems with self confidence and has already signed the adoption papers

•asahina teaches tenko how to swim and deal with her prejudices against men

•tsumiki helps out yumeno with emotion suppression and romantic feelings for tenko ("you two... are so different. um, you kind of remind me of me and my girlfriend, actually...")

•hinata and komaeda both begrudgingly start to adopt ouma. ko mostly bc he sees himself in ouma and is like "okay we can't have this," and hinata is like "i keep having to bail this fucking kid out of holding for tying people's shoelaces together." eventually hinata just storms into homeroom like "KOMAEDA OUR SON IS IN JAIL AGAIN." they're not dating

•speaking of not dating. they kind of act like a married couple and flirt a lot but they never really bring up being romantically involved and all of the students and faculty ship it.

•hinata may be the school's therapist but ibuki is the real mvp, she cares a shitload about her students and sneaks into their dorms to see if everything's going alright and helps them out with homework. everyone thinks she's just super into tsumiki but they're like actually engaged fr

•harukawa was admitted for being the shsl child caregiver but naegi figures out something else is going on and helps her through it.

•the warriors of hope still treat komaeda like their servant. sometimes they crash homeroom just to get him to do shit. komaeda and komaru have like, the weirdest relationship that no one understands. hes like her cryptic uncle

•iruma: who's this snot nosed brat

nagisa: i ended the world

•iruma and saionji actually bond, much to the surprise of everyone, over their bitter attitudes and fear of abandonment.

•fukawa is ready to kill anyone who messes with the warriors of hope, like she already slaved her ass off for these kids, no way shes letting them get hurt. if you look at kotoko weird you're getting thrown through the wall. she's the librarian

•everyone loves komaeda even though hes weird as shit and loves hearing his life stories. all the kids tease him about hinata. he doesn't become everyone's dad. he's uncle ko. d...dunkle sans

•naegi becomes everyone's dad. he knows how fucked up hope's peak used to be and spends an excrutiating amount of time checking up on the students and making sure they're okay and deferring them to hinata. he goes to all of akamatsu's recitals, all of himiko's magic shows, he even goes and cheers on tenko at competitions

who wants to hear my headcanons for an au where the v3 backstory was real and the kids actually went to naegi’s hope’s peak

[blackkudos]

Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first African-American recipient of the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. However, a few weeks prior to the end of her reign, she learned that Penthouse magazine would be publishing unauthorized nude photographs of her in an upcoming issue. Williams thus resigned as Miss America on July 22, 1984 (under pressure from the Miss America Organization), and was replaced by first runner-up Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles. A few years later, she rebounded as an entertainer with the song "The Right Stuff." She then had a string of successful albums and singles and also found success as an actress (she is particularly well known for her roles as Teri Joseph in the 1997 feature film Soul Food, Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty, and Renee Perry in Desperate Housewives).

Thirty-two years after resigning as Miss America, the current CEO of the Miss America Organization, Sam Haskell, offered Williams a public apology at the beginning of the Miss America 2016 pageant (where she was serving as head judge) stating: "I have been a close friend of this beautiful and talented lady for 32 years. You have lived your life in grace and dignity, and never was it more evident than during the events of 1984, when you resigned. Though none of us currently in the organization were involved then, on behalf of today's organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less the Miss America you are and the Miss America you always will be."

Early life and education

Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in the The Bronx, New York, with a birth announcement that read: "Here she is: Miss America." Later in life, she participated in a DNA test with the following results: 23% from Ghana, 17% from the British Isles (specifically English, Welsh and Irish), 15% from Cameroon, 12% Finnish, 11% Southern European, 7% from Togo, 6% from Benin, 5% from Senegal, and 4% Portuguese.

Her maternal great-great grandfather was William A. Feilds, an African-American legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Her mother, Helen Tinch, met her father, Milton Augustine Williams Jr. (1935–2006), while both were music education students at Fredonia State Teachers College in the late 1950s. They both became elementary school music teachers after marriage, though their teaching positions were in separate districts. Milton also served as the Assistant Principal of his school for an extended period of time.

Williams was raised Roman Catholic, the religion of her father. Her mother, who had been raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism when she got married. Williams was baptized at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Bronx. Williams' mother played the organ at St. Theresa's Church in Briarcliff Manor for weddings and at mass and Williams used to assist her mother by turning the pages of sheet music.

Williams and her younger brother Chris (who would later become an actor) grew up in a predominantly white middle-class suburb of New York City. Williams believes that she may have been the first African-American student to go from the first grade to the 12th grade in the Chappaqua Central School District.

As the child of music teachers, Williams grew up in a musical household, studying classical and jazz dance, French horn, piano, and violin. She was offered the Presidential Scholarship for Drama to attend Carnegie Mellon University during the college application period, (one of 12 students to receive it) but decided instead to attend Syracuse University on a different scholarship. Thus, in 1981, Williams joined Syracuse's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Department of Drama as a musical theater major. She stayed at Syracuse through her sophomore year, until she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983.

Twenty-five years later in May 2008, Syracuse granted Williams a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. According to Syracuse News, "Williams earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and her substantial performances on stage and screen." Williams also delivered the 2008 convocation address, telling Syracuse seniors to "treasure this moment. These days are irreplaceable and are the beginning of the rest of your life."

Name

Williams is most often referenced and publicly recognized simply as "Vanessa Williams." There is, however, occasional confusion with similarly named actress Vanessa A. Williams, who is just two months younger. It has been reported that Williams first became aware of Vanessa A. in the 1980s when her New York University registrar told her that another, similarly aged student with the same name and from the same state had applied. When Williams appeared as Miss America in a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Vanessa A. accidentally received her check for the appearance, which she returned.

In the area of acting, the two ran into name conflict when Screen Actors Guild rules prohibited duplicate stage naming. Vanessa A. had registered the name "Vanessa Williams" first, so as a compromise, Williams was occasionally credited as "Vanessa L. Williams" in acting credits. To compound the confusion, both actresses starred in versions of the drama Soul Food (Williams in the film version, and Vanessa A. in its TV series adaptation). The Screen Actors Guild eventually took the issue to arbitration and decided that both actresses could use the professional name "Vanessa Williams".

Miss America

Williams, who was Miss New York 1983, initially gained public recognition as the first African-American woman to win the title of Miss America when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. Several weeks before the end of her reign, however, a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published unauthorized nude photographs of Williams. Williams was pressured to relinquish her title, and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Miss New Jersey 1983, Suzette Charles. Thirty-two years later, in September 2015, Williams served as head judge for the Miss America 2016 pageant. At the beginning of the event, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell made a public apology to Williams for what was said to her during the events of 1984.

Entertainment and fashion

Music

Williams first received public recognition for her musical abilities when she won the preliminary talent portion of the Miss America pageant with her rendition of "Happy Days Are Here Again" (Williams would later be crowned Miss America 1984). Four years later in 1988, Williams released her debut album, The Right Stuff. The first single, "The Right Stuff", found success on the R&B chart, while the second single, "He's Got the Look", found similar success on the same chart. The third single, "Dreamin'", was a pop hit, becoming Williams' first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 8, and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album reached platinum status in the U.S. and earned her a NAACP Image Award and three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

Her second album The Comfort Zone became the biggest success in her music career. The lead single "Running Back to You" reached top twenty on the Hot 100, and the top position of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on October 5, 1991. Other singles included "The Comfort Zone" (#2 R&B), "Just for Tonight" (#26 Pop), a cover of The Isley Brothers' "Work to Do" (#3 R&B), and the club-only hit "Freedom Dance (Get Free!)." The most successful single from the album, as well as her biggest hit to date, is "Save the Best for Last". It reached No. 1 in the United States, where it remained for five weeks, as well as No. 1 in Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada, and was in the top 5 in Japan, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The album sold 2.2 million copies in the U.S. at its time of release and has since been certified triple platinum in the United States by the RIAA, gold in Canada by the CRIA, and platinum in the United Kingdom by the BPI. The Comfort Zone earned Williams five Grammy Award nominations.

The Sweetest Days, her third album, was released in 1994 to highly-favorable reviews. The album saw Williams branch out and sample other styles of music that included jazz, hip hop, rock, and Latin-themed recordings such as "Betcha Never" and "You Can't Run", both written and produced by Babyface. Other singles from the album included the adult-contemporary and dance hit "The Way That You Love" and the title track. The album was certified platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA and earned her two Grammy Award nominations.

Other releases include two Christmas albums, Star Bright in 1996, and Silver & Gold in 2004; Next in 1997, and Everlasting Love in 2005, along with a greatest-hits compilation released in 1998, and a host of other compilations released over the years. Notable chart performances from subsequent albums, motion picture and television soundtracks have included the songs "Love Is", which was a duet with Brian McKnight, the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning "Colors of the Wind", "Where Do We Go from Here?", and "Oh How the Years Go By".

Television and film

Williams has had a successful career in television. Her first television appearance was on a 1984 episode of The Love Boat followed by guest appearances in a number of popular shows. In 1995, Williams starred as Rose Alvarez in a television adaptation of the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie and portrayed the nymph Calypso in the 1997 Hallmark Entertainment miniseries The Odyssey. In 2001, Williams starred in the Lifetime cable movie about the life of Henriette DeLille, The Courage to Love and in 2003, Williams read the narrative of Tempie Herndon Durham from the WPA slave narratives in the HBO documentary Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives. In 2006, Williams received considerable media attention for her comic/villainess role as former model/magazine creative director turned editor-in-chief Wilhelmina Slater in the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty. Her performance on the series resulted in a nomination for outstanding supporting actress at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards and in 2008 and 2009, she was nominated in the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series category for Ugly Betty. Williams next joined the cast of Desperate Housewives for its seventh season, where she portrayed Renee Perry, an old college "frenemy" of Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman). In 2017, she is slated to appear as Maxine in VH1's 2017 series, Satan's Sister's, which is based on the book with the same name by Star Jones, a fictionalization of Jones' time with The View. It was announced in May 2016 that Williams will join the cast of TNT's series, The Librarians, as recurring villainess General Rockwell.

Williams has also appeared in a number of feature films. She received a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of Teri Joseph for the 1997 feature film Soul Food. In 2007, she starred in the independent film My Brother, for which she won Best Actress honors at the Harlem International Film Festival, the African-American Women in Cinema Film Festival, and at the Santa Barbara African Heritage Film Festival. She also notably co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser, Samuel L. Jackson in the 2000 remake of Shaft, the characters from Sesame Street in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (as the Queen of Trash), and with Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana: The Movie.

Theatre

Williams began her career on stage in the 1985 production, One Man Band, as one of "the women." She followed it in 1989 as "Laura" in Checkmates. In 1994, she broadened her ascendant music career into a theatrical role when she was cast as the understudy for Aurora in the Broadway production of Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 1998, she portrayed Della Green in the revival of St. Louis Woman, and Carmen Jones in the 2002 Kennedy Center Special Performance of Carmen Jones. In the same year, she was also featured in the Tony/Drama Desk Award winning revival production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, for which she was nominated a Tony and Drama Desk Award for her performance as the Witch. This production included songs revised for her. In 2010, Williams starred in a new Broadway musical revue entitled Sondheim on Sondheim, a look at Stephen Sondheim through his music, film and videotaped interviews. Sondheim ran from March 19 to June 13 at Studio 54 in New York City. In 2013, she starred as Jessie Mae Watts in the Horton Foote play The Trip to Bountiful, which was later turned into a 2014 television film. In 2014, she starred in the Broadway musical, After Midnight and in 2015 she appeared in a PBS production of Show Boat as Julie La Verne.

Additional roles

Williams served as the host of the 1994 Essence Awards, co-host of Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters: Verve Records at 50, host of the 1998 NAACP Image Awards, host of the 2002 documentary, It's Black Entertainment, host of The 6th Annual TV Land Awards in 2007, host of the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2009, and finally host of the documentary Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation (2009).

Williams is a spokesmodel for Proactiv Solution, and was the first African-American spokesmodel for L'Oréal cosmetics in the late 1990s. She appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2000 as a contestant, and once again on August 10, 2009, as a celebrity guest during the show's 10th anniversary prime-time special editions, winning $50,000 for her charity. In a commercial that began running during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, Williams voiced the new character Ms. Brown, a brown M&M.

Fashion

In March 2016, Williams launched her own clothing line, V. by Vanessa Williams for EVINE Live.

Personal life

Williams and her mother Helen co-authored a memoir entitled You Have No Idea, published in April 2012. In the book, Williams discusses her childhood, rise to fame, and personal struggles (including life with type 1 diabetes), including the fact that she was sexually molested by a woman when she was 10 years old. She also spoke candidly about having an abortion while she was in high school.

Williams is a Roman Catholic, something she spoke about on the ABC News program, Focus On Faith with Father Edward L. Beck.

Williams is also involved with a number of humanitarian causes. She is a supporter of gay rights and same sex marriage, and in 2011 she participated in a human rights campaign entitled “New Yorkers for Marriage Equality". She is also partnered with Dress For Success, an organization that provides professional attire for low-income women, to help support their job-search and interview process. In addition, Williams is involved with The San Miquel Academy of Newburgh, a school for boys at risk.

Williams has been married three times. She married her first husband, Ramon Hervey II, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in 1987 just a few years after giving up her crown, and gave birth to her first child at this time (Hervey is a public relations specialist who was hired to resuscitate her career after her resignation as Miss America in July 1984). They have three children (Melanie, Jillian Hervey, and Devin) and divorced in 1997. She then married NBA basketball player Rick Fox in 1999. They have one daughter, Sasha Gabriella Fox, and divorced in 2004. In 2015, Williams married Jim Skrip, a businessman from Buffalo, New York.

Honors and awards

Williams is the recipient of many awards and nominations including Grammy nominations for hits such as "The Right Stuff", "Save the Best for Last", and "Colors of the Wind". In addition, she has earned multiple Emmy nominations, a Tony Award nomination, seven NAACP Image Awards, and four Satellite Awards.

She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 19, 2007.

Discography

Studio albums

1988: The Right Stuff

1991: The Comfort Zone

1994: The Sweetest Days

1996: Star Bright

1997: Next

2004: Silver & Gold

2005: Everlasting Love

2009: The Real Thing

Book

Williams, Vanessa; Williams, Helen (April 17, 2012). You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-Nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss (and Each Other). New York: Gotham Books. ISBN 978-1-5924-0759-0. 

Wikipedia

[starfriday]

Ananya Birla to release her second single ‘Meant To Be’ with Faded producer Anders Frøen

Worldwide Release: 28th July 2017

25th July 2017, Mumbai: After topping the charts and making headlines with her debut song ‘Livin’ the Life’, Ananya will be releasing her second international single, ‘Meant To Be’ on the 28th of July, 2017. The electro-pop single is produced by Anders Frøen known as Mood Melodies. Not only is he the famed co-producer of the song “Faded” by Alan Walker, but he has also worked with artists such as Jessie J, Alessia Cara, Zedd, Brandy, Karmin, and others.

The single will be released worldwide across all digital platforms and streaming services on 28th July while the official music video will premiere on Ananya’s VEVO / YouTube channel on 31st July.

Keeping her musical commitment in momentum, the ingenious entrepreneur and pop songstress has captured a very electronic yet pop sound. It is an emotive up-tempo song, which truly brings out Ananya’s voice and the distinct texture that it has.

Speaking on the inspiration for this song, Ananya said, “Some relationships don't last for a lifetime but we still feel like it is the one that is meant to be. It can get complicated for years as we go through other relationships however that one relationship still remains the most special for some reason. Even though it can be sad and frustrating when it ends- who knows what the future holds! This is what Meant To Be is about.”

With a probable album in 2018, Ananya also mentioned, “I’d like to believe that my music making process is a journey of self-discovery. I’m more inclined towards exploring the complexities and concepts of human emotions and experiences through my music in a relaxed fashion. I approach my music making process through the eyes of everyday people so that my music is relevant and inspiring in some form.”

Commenting on the song, Anders, the music producer said, “I had a great time working with Ananya in the studio in Los Angeles on ‘Meant to Be.’ We had an amazing chemistry from day one and our creative flow was incredible. We focused on getting the vocals perfect, then we went on to working on the beat together, collaborating on the drop and the synths in the song, jumping back and forward until we had a drop we loved!”

“It was an amazing journey working with Anders. Our creative vibes just came together beautifully. I grew so much as an artist. This song is very close to my heart and it has a lot more of ‘me’ in it. I can’t wait for the world to listen to this song!” replies Ananya.

Sharing his excitement Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director and CEO, Universal Music Group, South Asia adds, “The progress Ananya has made from “Livin’ The Life” to “Meant To Be” has been incredible! Here’s an artist who’s putting in tremendous effort and hard work and the result is there to see in the new single. It’s brilliantly produced by Anders - who’s worked with some of the best contemporary international acts around including co-producing Alan Walker’s biggest hits “Faded” and “Sing Me To Sleep” - and is in line with any of the international stuff out there! We are confident that this single will break new grounds for Ananya. She’s just 23 and her maturity both as an artist and as a songwriter amazes me. We can’t wait to get this single off the block.”

On the music front, Ananya is the first Indian artiste to be released on PM:AM Recordings which is home to some of the biggest artists a few being Tiesto, Alesso, Afrojack, amongst others. From an early age, musically inclined and talented Ananya was trained to play the santoor and she self learnt the guitar. “Livin’ the Life” and its remix have crossed over 19.6 million views on YouTube. The original single also peaked at a high #11 on the Shazam’s `India Top 100’ Song charts.

Everything about the song and the music video shows Ananya progressing into a more mature artist. It’s safe to state the 23 year old Ananya is here to stay, stand tall on her talents and conquer greater heights!

About Ananya

Ananya was just 17 when she founded Svatantra Microfinance, an initiative to help make rural entrepreneurs in India, especially women, more economically self-sufficient. She followed that with Mpower – an initiative to empower people dealing with mental health disorders. More recently, Ananya launched CuroCarte – an online lifestyle platform bringing together makers of handmade goods and collectors of luxury from around the world.

A student of economics and management from University Of Oxford, she has been the beneficiary of many felicitations including Hello! Hall Of Fame Corporate Debutante Award, Skoch Best Start-Up Award 2014, Leading Woman In Microfinance Award, CNBC Young Business Woman Award, Economic Times Trendsetter Young Achiever Award 2016, Asia Spa Youth Icon 2017, Hindustan Times Most Stylish Entrepreneur 2017. She has also been featured in Miss Vogue’s list of ‘28 Geniuses Under 28’, Forbes Asia’s list of ‘Women To Watch Out For In 2016’ and in Verve Magazine’s ‘Top 50 Power Women Of 2016’. She has been invited as a speaker on global platforms such as the Forbes Global CEO, Jakarta in 2016, Indian Institute of Management and the India Today Conclave in 2017