#and he would be into digital drawing and photography

[tojilicious]

PAPA - PAPARAZZI !

pairing : gojo satoru x reader

synopsis : you're not sure how it started—but satoru loves to film you getting off on his fingers. what once started as a blue moon ordeal has blossomed into an every week ordeal, but you're not complaining! afterall, it's for satoru's eyes only .... right?

contents : perverted bf gojo satoru!! mentions of his bestie, suguru :3. lewd photography, lewd filmography, voyeurįsm, exhįbitionism, fįngering (f receiving), clįt stįmulation, gspot stįmulation, dirty talking, teasing, squįrtįng, satoru is a little slimy, nonconsensual sharing of video (with suguru!!!)

word count : 1,586.

it's not unusual for satoru to push you, his precious girl, onto your back━your legs obediently and generously spreading to make space that he wastes no time claiming.

he's between your thighs now, gracing your body with featherlight touches; your tummy flexing when fingertips ghost along your bare skin and hips bucking when his warm exhales spread over your nude thighs.

it's also not unusual for your stomach to stir when you hear his voice from down there, all too eager to make a promise to you; the same promise he'll make you every time he's got you in this position.

"if you relax and be good for me, i'll make you feel sooo good, 'kay, cutie?—i promise!" he chirps in a sickly sweet tone all while you feel him shifting ever so slightly, back and forth wiggles that you know the meaning of all too well.

he's getting his phone out.

you're not sure how it started, but what used to be a once in a blue moon type of ordeal transformed into something the two of you did often. satoru will lay on his stomach, nestling between your limbs and pointing his phone's camera right at your panty clad slit in order to play paparazzi!

all the times you lay perfectly compliant for him, plump mound covered by the cutest panties he's ever laid eyes on? photographed.

all the times your body would begin to twitch with impatience—pretty begs and wiggling hips pleading for his touch? filmed.

there's times where it almost feels excessive—like satoru needs to be filling up the hidden album of his photo gallery with that darling place of yours all the time.

but it's not his fault! you're just too irresistible!

how can he resist the need to whip his phone out and photograph your pudgy and fat lips when they're making a perfect and solid outline through the thin fabric of your panties? ♡ and sometimes, depending on how tight your panties are; he'll even see the shape of your pretty little nub's hood poking from between the top of your lips!

oh! it's just begging for his attention!

"oohh—baby." he'd coo, zooming in to focus on the tiny twitches your clit makes just from hearing his voice, "d'you need something from me?" he'd ask.

and when you give a measly nod of your head off camera—how can satoru not give in?

how can he resist the need to film the way your hips buck from him, for him? the pad of his thumb draws feather light circles onto your panty covered clit and as soon as your noises begin to vary in volume, so does the pressure of his thumb. from soft to firm, from firm to firmer—he repeats it over and over again until a damp and dark patch is forming on the crotch of your underwear.

it's not long after that that your panties are yanked to the side and his middle and pointer finger are sliding halfway into your cunt, his ears as well as the phone's microphone relishing in the sopping squelches your hole makes.

"nghhh- 'toru.." you mewl when his fingers are already knowingly ghosting over your g-spot.

"hm?" satoru hums, eyes flicking up from his phone to glance at your scrunched up face.

"y'think i'm living up to my promise, baby?" satoru's voice is so sweet despite the nature of the promise, digits parting to scissor inside your cunt.

it's so cute when you sob out, nodding your head with haste in response to his question right as your hole squeezes on his fingers like a vice. it's like your body is granting him the confirmation he's searching for; reaffirming that your nodding head is nothing but the truth.

the more reactions satoru can wring out of you, the fuzzier and dirtier his brain is becoming. your cunt is so unbearably hot around his fingers and the noises you're making are just too cute.

"you're making such a mess, cutie—fuck." satoru groans, heel of his palm opting to rub against your pulsating clit.

the stimulation has your hole spasming and drooling out more slick, satoru's absent hand pinching his phone screen in order to zoom in and capture each glob of essence that leaves his fingers glistening even more.

fuck, you feel so unbearably hot around his fingers and every time he tries to pull his fingers away—you're sucking him right back in and begging him to stay. the combination of your moans, the squleches of your cunt, and the fact that he can feel the pulses of your slick ridden walls is making his brain melt.

he needs to see more, he needs to make this his best video yet—and in a daze of hot arousal that's flooding his brain, his lips speak and the words he release shake you to your core.

"wha'dya think suguru would say if he saw you like this, baby?" the way satoru sighs his best friend's name whilst fingering you like it's a normal thing he does has your hips bucking before breaking into stutters.

glazed over eyes widen and you squeak out a choked little "'toru!" in shock as clammy hands grab onto your bedsheets for some form of grounding.

your reactions go far from unnoticed and satoru can feel his mouth salivate. he mentions suguru for the first time during such a lewd act such as this.. and instead of reprimanding him for mentioning his best friend—you're tightening around him? did you like that?

"did—did'you really get tighter from me talking about my best friend?" satoru asks and even though you can't see him, you can still hear the smirk in his voice despite the way he's trying to frame his question as disbelief.

"do you want suguru to see you like this?" his palm focuses more on your clit, circling the little bud as you mewl out a weak 'no' that satoru thinks—no, that he knows is far from the truth.

and he knows it's far from the truth because yet again, you're clenching the moment you hear his best friend's name. not only that; your cunt is starting to pulse and you're grinding into his palm with fever now.

"toru—toru.." your whine comes out as if you're warning him, "m'close.."

"yeah?" he murmurs and he presses his palm right into your sensitive bud, fingers now devilishly hooking right against your gspot and prodding with a mean pressure.

"don't tell me you're gonna cum .. y'gonna show the camera how you cum for me? or.." and as he leaves his sentence hanging as you're mewling different forms and pitches of the word 'yes', he adds on to his words.

"you gonna show sugie how you cum, baby?" and with a perfectly timed tap against your gspot and circle rubbed onto your clit; the tightening coil in your lower tummy snaps and you shriek in a way that satoru's never heard before.

"cummin', toru!" your brows scrunch together and your cunt spasms around his thrusting fingers that now work to aid you through your orgasm, wave by wave.

your tummy flexes as clear liquid dribbles out onto his hand, hips bucking and jerking with each generous burst of euphoria that spreads throughout your body.

"'toru—fuck, it's good,it's good!" mewls and cries spill from your lips as you ride his fingers and buck into his palm, tears frosting your glazed eyes.

your knuckles may stay white permanently from how hard you're grabbing the sheets, riding his hand before letting out a harsh exhale before ultimately falling against the bed.

and even as you breathe deeply, limp body melting onto the bed—your hips can't help but jerk as his fingers slowly slide out, his thumb teasingly brushing up against your overstimulated clit to spread your squirt.

a whimper leaves your throat and the retreating beep of satoru hitting the stop recording button is all you hear with your recollecting breaths.

"you okay, cutie?" satoru murmurs as he idles between your thighs, eyes locked onto his phone and forwarding through the video to make sure the angles were perfect.

"mhmmm.." you softly hum and as you weakly get onto your elbows in order to look at him, you can't help but ask—

"'toru... you—suguru isn't gonna see anything, right?"

the way you ask is so sweet that his studying eyes break from the screen to connect with you. a second passes and a reassuring smile is spreading onto his lips and the outer corners of his eyes crinkle, "'course not. just for me, cutie. all for me."

and of course, you return his smile and sigh in response to express your relief before you're letting your back hit against the bed.

"you think i'll be a good addition to your library?" you tiredly ask, rubbing your eyes before letting out an exhausted yawn.

"mm—definitely, cutie. you did so good!" satoru gently praised you, giving you a glance before bringing attention back to his phone. "thanks for letting me be your paparazzi, baby."

you relaxing was for the best—as it gave satoru the perfect opportunity to open up his message conversation with suguru, attach the video and hit send.

it's almost immediately after sending that that a chat bubble appears on suguru's side of the conversation and satoru's smile grows wider.

satoru loves being your paparazzi so much so that he'll do exactly what a paparazzi does. he'll take the photos and videos and send them over to someone who will enjoy them.

[pastel-rights]

Beyond Memory Lane // [ PROJECT SEKAI ART PROJECT ]

[ EVENT SUMMARY ] - One day, after cleaning out the attic of his home with Emu, Rui discovers an old box hidden away in the corner by chance. Opening up the box, he finds several things from his childhood, spurring a trip down memory lane.

…

[ hii, i felt inspired and wanted to try and make a project sekai event set for an au I have, known as the "DECORA AU", that I've been working on for the past few days! and this is the collection of those efforts... yippee? yippee!! ]

DECORATED FLIPSIDE ♪ GACHA

4 ✩ Rui Kamishiro - [ The Space Left In-Between ]

"I've found yet another wonderful and special treasure."

**comes with the “Leading Director” costume. Card Skill: My First Light Show [ life recovery ]

..

4 ✩ Emu Otori - [ Watching Digital Stars ♪ ]

"Emu wonders what else this can do?"

**comes with the “Gummy Bear” costume. Card Skill: So Sparkly ♪ [ perfect tap score increase ]

..

4 ✩ Akito Shinonome - [ Captured On Film ]

"What are you doing now?"

**comes with the “Husk” costume. Card Skill: What Are You Doing...? [ score increase ]

..

4 ✩ Ena Shinonome - [ Old School Photography ]

"Never used one of these before... they're interesting."

**comes with the “Narcissus” costume. Card Skill: I Need A Good Filter. [ turns taps to perfect ]

..

4 ✩ Airi Momoi - [ Rewatching Movies Together! ]

"It's been so long since we've gotten to watch something together!"

**comes with the “Poppy Flower” costume. Card Skill: Want Some Snacks? [ life recovery ]

..

4 ✩ Kanade Yoisaki - [ A Trip To The Gas Station ]

"I made it... Now to buy some snacks... maybe dinner too?"

**comes with the “Koi Fish” costume. Card Skill: What's For Dinner...? [ score increase ]

…

[ EVENT STORYLINE BASIS ] - An event storyline that surrounds the recorded past and the recorded present of the characters involved in the story. The first half of the story primarily focuses on Rui, Emu, and the story of the old light projector found among the junk in the attic, while the second half focuses on Kanade and the others, running into one another while outside.

[ TRAINED CARD BASIS ] - The trained cards are all based on characters within the DECORA AU, their titles being the names of the associated characters they're "playing", which are The Leading Director (depicted with Rui Kamishiro) of the Decorum Hosptial, and the 5 different protagonists of the AU, Gummy Bear, Husk, Narcissus, Poppy Flower, and Koi Fish (depicted with Emu Otori, Akito Shinonome, Ena Shinonome, Airi Momoi, and Kanade Yoisaki). Everyone (hypothetically) gets the associated outfit and hairstyle depicted on the card.

[ ART AND CHARACTER DESIGN BY ] - All art shown is by yours truly! I also designed all the trained character designs and additional casual outfits. Yeah, even the patterns and the backgrounds, drew all those myself... godspeed if I say so myself /silly

...

[ FINAL WORDS? ] - hii! if you're seeing this, you got through everything, wow. i always wanted to do one of these custom sets but I was never really sure where to start and... figured I could do it with these goobers first, and so I did!! it was a very fun project.... i got to draw some people I've never drawn before, so i'd say it was an overall fun experience!! if you guys like what you saw, want to know more, or want to see a part two with the hospital staff and the vocaloids (I did NOT forget about them, promise!), maybe you could reblog the post or send in an ask? even a comment would make my day!

okay, I'm gonna go now, have a good day or night (wherever you are!), make sure to drink some water, the small things!! okay, bye!

[disillusioneddanny]

If It Makes You Happy (then why the hell are you so sad?)

Tim took a bite of his ravioli and looked around the table at his family. It was Sunday dinner. A monthly tradition where every member of the family adopted or otherwise came to spend a few hours together. It didn’t matter who was arguing with whom, or how estranged from the family you were at the time. You still had to attend the monthly family dinner. However, there were times when Tim wondered if anyone would notice if he stopped attending. If he no longer came to the dinners where he sat mostly unnoticed by the rest of his family. Where he typically sat in silence, having not uttered a single word throughout the entire event. Would they ever realize he was gone? Did they even realize he was there in the first place? 

A part of Tim truly doubted it, if he was being completely honest with himself. Maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to share with the family his upcoming exhibit. 

Tim was in his fourth year of college. Where he was getting a degree in Art, Technology, and Culture. It was a major that allowed Tim to immerse himself in photography, video art, creative coding, and so much more. He had gotten to work in traditional analog and digital photography. Played around with film and art in ways he had never thought of before while also learning about cultural theory, the expression of ideas, and cultural practices which gave him the chance to truly discover himself. It was the first time he had ever chosen something for himself. 

His entire life he had been groomed to run a business. To at first take over Drake Industries one day and then later Wayne Enterprises where he was unfortunately CEO. But then he had learned about the ATC program at Gotham University and he had fallen in love with it.  He had always been obsessed with photography and even film later on as he grew older and spent his days alone in dusty old Drake Manor. And he had always loved to learn about cultures, he ate up the stories from his parents and their trips abroad. Had spent countless nights watching the people of Gotham and how they did things, and had absorbed it all like a sponge to make up for the fact that he was just a lonely boy living in a manor by himself. 

Even when he had joined the Bats and had made his tiny little place with them, he still fell back on his love for learning about others and his desire to tell their stories. It had just become an intrinsic part of Timothy Drake. 

And now here he was, slowly creeping to the finish line. He had his senior showcase coming up. A requirement for all students who were receiving a bachelor of fine arts. He was to show off all of his best work from the last four years. It was a chance for him to show everything he had learned, and to display his work with pride. 

He had toyed with the idea of inviting everyone to it. To let them see the love that Tim had cultivated over the last four years. He was set to graduate in just a few months and the pride he felt for himself was tremendous. And if Tim invited the Wayne family to his senior showcase, then maybe they could come to his college graduation and share the achievement with them then too. 

It was a big time in Tim’s life and he wanted to share it with them. 

He listened as a lull came in the conversation and carefully cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the others. 

“I have a senior showcase this weekend for my BFA. It’s at six in the evening in the Wayne Arts Center on Gotham Campus. I would be happy to see you all there,” he said hesitantly, eyes firmly trained on his plate of food. 

“That sounds nice, Tim. I’ll try to be there,” Bruce said politely before going back to his conversation with Jason and Dick. Tim felt eyes on him, though, and slowly looked up to find his little brother giving him a curious look. 

“What?” He asked, still trying to calm his heart just a bit. He still wasn’t sure why he came to these things, why he was even here. Just talking to the Waynes gave him anxiety. Just being here reminded him how much he didn’t belong. How other he was compared to the rest of the kids that Bruce had adopted? 

Damian tilted his head to the side. “I was not aware that you were getting your Bachelor's in Fine Arts. Will you tell me about your degree program? I have been thinking about getting an Art History degree but have been torn between that and a business degree.”

Tim gave him a small smile and rested his chin on his hand as he started to tell Damian all about his degree and how he was enjoying the program at Gotham University. The rest of the family went on to their own conversations while Damian listened with rapt attention to Tim describing the ATC program at Gotham U. 

The rest of the week was a whirlwind as he prepared for his senior showcase, he had sent out invitations to everyone he wanted to come see his work. The Team had already made a reservation to take Tim to lunch before the showcase before helping him get everything ready. And as the day came to be, they had made good on their word, taking him to his favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Gotham before taking him to the gallery. He blushed as he listened to his three best friend gush over his artwork, as they listened to him explain each piece. They asked questions and made remarks about what their favorite pieces were and even tried to buy a few pieces only for Tim to promise to give each of them prints of his photos. 

The three had left with quick goodbyes, each one giving Tim a hug and congratulating him before they made their way from the gallery. The rest of the evening dragged on as people came by and asked Tim about his photos and the small films that played on the movie screen on one wall. He smiled and explained each photo to anyone who asked. He had wanted to showcase his vigilante photos of the bats and birds but it had been too much of a risk to do so. 

Instead he had shown off his photos that showcased all of his favorite parts of Gotham. From the beautiful gothic architecture, the gargoyles that looked out over the city. He showed the photos from the last time Ivy had thrown a fit in Robinson Park and covered the entirety of the grounds with flowers. He showed the pictures of community from Crime Alley and the beauty of the strength of Gothamites who had managed to survive the worst of the worst. 

He also featured pictures of his family, of Dick hanging from a chandelier, of Damian training Titus to do a trick. He had a picture of Bruce, Alfred, and Jason sitting side by side as they each read a different book. One showed Cass as she posed for the camera in her favorite ballet form. They were some of his most treasured memories, there for everyone to see and enjoy. Tucker between the one of Damian and the one of Dick was a photo of Tim. He had taken forever to set up the camera and get the timer right. Alfred had simply chuckled the entire time as he continued to offer to take the picture for Tim but no one was meant to be behind the camera for that picture. It was the only family portrait of his entire family. Cass, Damian, Tim, Dick, Jason, Bruce, Alfred, they all sat smushed into a single couch together, wide smiles and laughs on each of their faces as Tim beamed from the far side, leaning into Alfred’s side. 

The gallery was meant to showcase culture that was important to Tim. To showcase the life that he loved and treasured. And even if he never felt like he quite fit in the Wayne Family, even though he knew that he was the expendable one, the replacement, he still treasured his family. It was why he had invited them, he had wanted them to see just how important they were to Tim. And maybe they would realize he was important to them too.

Only, the rest of the evening seemed to drag on, and not a single person from his family ever stepped through the door. He waited, shoulders tensed and smile polite. Every bit the gentleman that Janet Drake had trained him to be as he stood with his hands clasped in front of him. He kept glancing at the clock, waiting for Bruce or Dick or someone to walk through the doors, to say hello and look at all the work that Tim had put in the last four years in college. The hours ticked by until it was nearing ten pm and the gallery started to clear out, custodians came in and started to clean up around him. 

Tim cast one final look at the doors before he turned to his photos and started to take one off of the wall. 

“Master Timothy! I am so sorry that we are late,” a voice said and Tim quickly to find Alfred and Damian walking through the doors of the gallery. A small smile spread on Tim’s face as Damian bound forward. 

“I apologize,” Damian said softly, staring up at Tim with disgruntled eyes. “I got into an argument with Father and then Titus scared Alfred the Cat and we spent the last three hours searching for that blasted cat and when we realized the time we came straight here,” he said. “What did the others think of your exhibit?”

Tim’s smile fell and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “They uh, they didn’t show up,” he said quietly. “But if you’d like, you guys are the last ones to show up. I’d love to show you everything.”

Alfred’s face fell at that as he stepped forward and clasped a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “That is their loss, my dear boy. I would love to see your work,” he said. Before he could stop himself, Tim pulled Alfred in for a tight hug, burying his face in the old butler’s chest as he held him close. 

“Thank you,” he whispered before pulling away. He glanced down at Damian and smiled. “How about I show you my work and then if my advisor is still here you can meet her and talk to her about the ATC program.”

The fourteen-year-old nodded his head once. “I would appreciate that,” he said before grabbing Tim’s hand hesitantly. He followed quietly as Tim showed them his pictures of Gotham, explaining the stories behind each one before he showed them his favorite pictures. His pictures of home and both men let out soft gasps as they looked at them. 

“Master Timothy, these are beautiful,” Alfred said, stepping forward to take in the picture of him, Bruce, and Jason. 

“The lighting for this is amazing, I did not know that I even smiled like that,” Damian said softly as he took in the picture of him smiling at Titus. 

“Oh Tim,” Alfred said quietly, losing all strict politeness that Alfred held so dear to his heart as he took in the family portrait. “This is amazing, Timothy. So absolutely perfect. I remember when you took this photograph. It was right after Thanksgiving dinner last year.”

“I was so irritated, Todd had gotten mashed potatoes in my hair,” Damian said with a huff, a small smile tugged on his face. 

“I did not even realize that Master Richard and Master Jason were hugging in this picture,” Alfred said, a soft smile sti on his face as he took in the way Dick had his arms wrapped around Jason’s shoulders, a wide smile on his face as he laughed at something Jason had said. A small smile sat on Jason’s face, his eyes brighter than Tim had seen since the older man had come back from the dead. 

Alfred tore his eyes from the picture. “How much?” he asked. 

Tim blinked. “What?”

“How much for the picture?” Alfred asked him, turning back to the family portrait. 

“For you?” Tim asked, blinking again in surprise. “Free of charge, considering it a thank you for coming to my senior showcase.”

“I would like this one of Titus and me,” Damian piped up. “It would be lovely on my desk in my bedroom.”

Tim sniffed, his chest tightening slightly. “I would be more than happy to give you both the original copies.”

“Timothy,” Alfred said, turning back to Tim, that soft, kind, smile on his face once again. “I am so incredibly proud of you.”

The vigilante’s eyes burned furiously. “I-I thank you,” he said, a soft sob slipped out of his mouth before small arms wrapped around him. Damian hugged him tight, his face pressed against Tim’s chest. 

“I am so sorry that our family forgot to come to your showcase, Timothy,” he said stiffly. “You are incredibly talented and it is their loss for missing out on this.”

Tim pressed a hand to Damian’s back, feeling tears building behind his eyes that threatened to spill over. “Thank you,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he looked around and spotted his advisor. “There’s Professor Maheshawen. She’s my advisor. We can go talk to her and you can ask your questions, okay?”

Damian nodded and pulled away carefully, smoothing down the front of his sweater before he followed after Tim to meet his professor. Leaving Alfred to continue staring at the pictures with a kind smile on his face.

Alfred Pennyworth looked at the smiles on his charges faces and let out a breath. One of these days, Bruce and the others would realize just how important Timothy was to their family, how he was the one who held them all together. He only hoped that they would not realize that lesson too late in life. At the very least, Damian was now starting to understand just how wonderful Timothy Drake was. 

[thoselethalarts]

𝕾𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖂𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖘 - Character Addendum

#2 - Achos and Lupe Algea

Some of the only real "twisted" characters that I actually have as part of my TWST cast, lmao. Meet the imp twins, twisted from Pain and Panic! They're part of a small "next generation" thing I've built with @dragon-simp, but I've become extremely attached to them lately after building them in TS4, so I couldn't resist drawing them and giving them some proper love.

Name: Lupe Algea Voice Claim: Tony Sampson Gender: Male (He/They) Species: Imp Faerie Birthday: July 25th Starsign: Leo Height: 145cm Eye Color: Amber yellow Hair Color: Carmine red Homeland: Isle of Lamentation

Dorm: Ignihyde School Year: 1st Class: 1-D, No.06 Occupation: Let's Play Livestreamer, Student Club: Magical Shift Club Best Subject: Flying

Dominant Hand: Left Favorite Food: Pepperoni grilled cheese sandwich Least Favorite Food: Tomatoes Dislikes: Losing, apologizing Hobbies: Video Games Talents: Mixology

Personality: Lupe is a little self-centered and prideful, so he usually doesn't think his actions or words through before he says or does something. He's the biggest cause of his own grief as he finds it difficult to apologize when he messes up or hurts someone he cares about. He's also a bit of a thrill-seeking daredevil, and either charges headfirst into things or is easily goaded into doing something stupid or dangerous in equal doses. This behavior pays off when he's playing games, however, as he'll find speedrunning tricks that nobody else thinks to consider due to the risk, odds, and luck involved in his skips. He considers himself a gourmand, and despite proclaiming to have high standards of food, he likes to eat anything and everything at least once. He has a seemingly bottomless appetite, and is often seen snacking on something, especially if he's doing something that requires extra focus and brainpower. His hardy appetite also gives him a great deal of energy and strength. He does video game livestreams regularly on the weekends, and wants to one day be famous. He frequently competes with his brother, Achos, over video games and menial tasks. The two of them will also argue and bicker, but are quick to put their differences aside if they have a shared enemy.

Unique Magic: “Feel Our Pain” - Creates a link between him and his target, making it so any pain and bodily damage he would ordinarily feel is instead deflected onto his opponent. He can afflict anyone within line of sight, and the magic lasts for as long as he has the mana to spare and he keeps his concentration on keeping the spell active.

--- --- ---

Name: Achos Algea Voice Claim: Sam Vincent Gender: Male (He/They) Species: Imp Faerie Birthday: July 25th Starsign: Leo Height: 150cm Eye Color: Amber yellow Hair Color: Cerulean blue Homeland: Isle of Lamentation

Dorm: Ignihyde School Year: 1st Class: 1-E, No.05 Occupation: Student Club: Photography Club Best Subject: Transformation, Transmutation, and Familiars

Dominant Hand: Left Favorite Food: Pita gyro Least Favorite Food: Stringy cheese Dislikes: Being looked down on Hobbies: Programming Talents: Fabric Arts (Knitting, Stitching, Cross-stitch)

Personality: Achos is an anxious imp that is almost always fretting over something. His frequent hesitation and paranoia make up for Lupe's lack thereof, and he's frequently seen being either dragged into his brother's shenanigans or attempting to drag him out of them. He fidgets almost constantly, and picks up as many hobbies as he can to occupy his mind in his downtime. He busies himself to the point that he often forgets to eat, but tends to remember more regularly when Lupe pesters him to cook for him (or if he sees Lupe snacking on something). He hopes to one day strike it rich, and will do almost anything to try and save a couple bucks. He one day wants to work in programming and digital security for STYX, both to make his mother proud and to one day become so wealthy he doesn't need to worry about finances again. He frequently competes with his brother, Lupe, over video games and menial tasks. The two of them will also argue and bicker, but are quick to put their differences aside if they have a shared enemy.

Unique Magic: “Feel Our Fear” - This spell clears his mind of all his anxious emotions and makes him increasingly more bold and reckless, while simultaneously afflicting whomever his target is with high amounts of anxiety, paranoia, and panic. He can afflict anyone within line of sight, and the magic lasts for as long as he has the mana to spare and he keeps his concentration on keeping the spell active.

[canmom]

How do you live?

I (finally!) saw Miyazaki's new film 君たちはどう生きるか (How Do You Live?/The Boy and the Heron)! It's been out in the States for a while, and in Japan considerably longer, but it took a while to make its way over here.

I remember at the time it came out, people were having fun riffing on the incredibly cryptic marketing campaign, which consisted only of this rather abstract poster...

In the spirit of this, I resolutely avoided watching any trailers or knowing anything at all about the plot of the film. I picked up a thing or two here and there - I knew to expect some amazing Shinya Ohira animation for example, and you couldn't really avoid seeing the bird with teeth! - but overall, I had no idea.

There's plenty of great writing about this film in English already, such as kvin's fantastic sakugablog piece which discusses the physicality of Ghibli's animation, its weight and springiness, as a throughline. The stuff that kvin talks about really stood out to me as I watched this film. You can likewise read detailed interviews with Toshiyuki Inoue (fantastic interview for sakubutas) and Akihiko Yamashita on fufuro.

First up, the credits of this film are pretty much a who's who of the greatest jp animators of the last 30 years, and they've had some 7 years to cook it, so naturally this film looks fucking amazing. This is absolutely the kind of film that only Miyazaki could direct - its design language feels so familiar and yet it's iterating in all kinds of visually imaginative directions that show that yeah, the old bastard's still got it.

And like, god, man. This film's animation is really something special. Its real-world scenes in particular are full of shots that require an unbelievably strong sense of space, of both subtle and broad acting, the classic Ghibli attention to detail on mechanical objects and everyday tasks. It's full of bouncing and squishing and squeezing and oozing things. It loves to draw crowds and swarms of people and animals. It's the kind of film where any given shot would be the absolute star-of-the-show sakuga moment in just about any other anime film. If you wanted a complete statement of the Ghibli school of animation, it would be hard to do better.

And yet, for all that Miyazaki's known for his tight control over animation and heavy corrections to animators, in this film he had to step back from that kind of role and hand over the sousakkan reins to Takeshi Honda, who steps up admirably - as kvin writes above, bringing in more realist elements to the bouncy Miyazaki style to create a really effective unity that grounds all the big fantastical elements of the film and fills the first act with tension.

Alongside all that excellent key animation, the film's colour and photography departments evidently understand that well-chosen colours and good highlight shapes beat all the digital gradients and overlays you can imagine - the drawings get plenty of form from the strength of the animation, and the flat shading really pops. The backgrounds are as delicious as ever, skyscapes and vegetation and opulent interiors with the just-slightly desaturated and harmonious colours that just kind of remind you that oh yeah, it is still possible to do it this way.

Basically it's a Ghibli film lol. You know how it is.

But what of the story...? What's all this technical magic in service of?

The film's story has something of the feel of a serial story, perhaps reflecting Miyazaki's (in)famous process of working out the film gradually as he draws the storyboards. Certain ideas, like the parakeet empire, arrive in the film rather suddenly and then become fairly central to the plot. There's a clear emotional throughline, but this is not a film that is in a hurry to explain itself more than it absolutely has to. It wants to keep its magical elements numinous and mysterious. I would say, though, it's generally more satisfying in this approach than some of Miyazaki's other later films like Howl's Moving Castle, and resolves a lot more clearly.

So what is it like, About? Well, Miyazaki has been pretty open about channeling a lot of his personal relationships into the film, and a lot of it seems to reflect more or less obliquely on him. It's what they call a 'personal film'. The protagonist's position as the son of an aeroplane factory owner during WWII is straight-up from life. What about the old sorcerer, haphazardly stacking blocks to keep a world alive, and looking for someone to succeed him? The reading's kinda obvious, even if Miya himself says this guy is based on his memory of Takahata. Well, he can be both...

To say more I'm gonna have to delve into the spoiler zone. See you below the cut.

OK so! Let's try and get some thoughts in order.

first, a plot summary type of thing

Our first act introduces us to Mahito at roughly the moment his mother Hisako dies in a hospital fire. This is midway through the war, which is present mostly in the background - now and then we see soldiers marching around, and of course Mahito's dad runs a factory producing warplane parts, not entirely unlike Miyazaki's own father although seemingly a bit higher up the ladder.

We jump forward a little and Mahito's father remarries - to his deceased wife's sister, no less, and she's already pregnant. This is Natsuko, who does her best to play the role of mother, but Mahito still has big traumas and he is understandably not entirely on board with the idea of welcoming a mum 2 who looks almost exactly like mum 1. He moves with Natsuko into a huge old house complex, a mix of older Japanese architecture with a more recent Western wing where the family currently sleeps - and staffed by a small army of colourful old ladies who are eager for any canned meat or cigarettes they can get their hands on.

Also there's this freaky heron that keeps bothering Mahito. It seems to have something to do with a mysterious tower which turns out to have been built by his great-uncle. Mahito visits the tower, but can't make his way inside. Natsuko tells him not to go into the tower.

Mahito goes to school, but naturally they don't much take to the new rich kid on the block, and so after being attacked by his classmates on his way home he injures himself with a rock. (His dumbass dad is like, who did this to you son, I'll fuck 'em up.) For the rest of the movie, he has half his head shaved to accomodate a bandage, which is the sort of attention to detail this movie loves.

The heron has started growing teeth and talking to Mahito, telling him to come to the tower. Mahito is convinced it's a trap, and after a maybe-dream sequence in which Natsuko shoots an arrow to drive off the heron, he steals cigarettes from Natsuko in order to get one of the servants to sharpen his knife, and then constructs a bow and arrow out of bamboo - using a couple of the heron's feathers. Constructing the bow and arrow is shown in immense, loving detail.

In the process, he witnesses Natsuko walk into the forest, and also stumbles on a book: How Do You Live? by Genzaburō Yoshino, which contains a handwritten message from his mother. He looks at this book briefly... and this is about the extent of the connection of the film to the book, beyond thematic parallels.

The maids notice that Natsuko is missing. Mahito tells one of the maids, Kiriko, that he saw her go into the forest, and they follow, finding an old road that gives another approach to the tower. They're greated by the heron man, who is increasingly emerging from the heron's beak to reveal a big warty nose. He's some kind of like... heron selkie or something, a gnome in a heron skin. There's some wonderfully grotesque animation around this guy.

Heron dude taunts Mahito with an illusion of his mother Hisako. Mahito threatens him with the bow - the heron guy is like, do your worst, not realising it's a maaagic arrow. The arrow chases him around the room and pierces his beak, fucking up his magic. At this point, the tower master shows up and orders the heron to guide Mahito. Heron guy sends everyone through the floor into a fantastical world...

Mahito arrives in front of a huge, sinister tomb. He approaches the gate, and a swarm of pelicans walk up behind, crawling all over him and pressing him through the gate. This causes a storm to start brewing, since opening the gate seems to piss off the stones or something...

A fisher woman resembling a much younger Kiriko runs up and chases the pelicans away. She takes Mahito under her wing, explaining that this world is inhabited mostly by dead people, but there are also these little round guys called the wareware, who gain the ability to fly when they eat a fish's guts.

Kiriko, uniquely in this world, has the ability to kill, so she catches fish to sell to the other inhabitants and feed to the wareware; she and Mahito butcher a huge fish. Mahito fairly quickly figures out that she is somehow the same Kiriko that entered with him. She has tiny charms representing the other maids, which serve an apotropaic function.

That night, staying on Kiriko's huge derelict ship of a home, they watch the wareware rise into the sky to be born as humans in Mahito's world. They're attacked by the pelicans, but a fire-wielding magic user called Hisa (hmmmmmmmmmm) drives the pelicans away. Mahito shouts at her not to harm the wareware, but Kiriko assures him that more of the wareware will survive thanks to Hisa's intervention.

Later, a singed and dying pelican explains the pelicans' predicament to Mahito in a scene that calls to mind the animals in Mononoke-hime. The pelicans are foreigners in this world, they don't have anything to eat, so they take it as their role to eat the wareware. The heron man arrives on the scene too, offering to help Mahito find Natsuko as Mahito - coming in to his own as a protagonist more - buries the pelican. Mahito distrusts him but eventually Kiriko persuades them to give working together a try.

Mahito and the heron set out. As they pass through a forest, the heron reveals that thanks to Mahito's arrow, he can't fly and do heron shit anymore - and by magic law, only Mahito can fix the hole. Mahito applies his new woodworking skills to fashion a bung for the hole. The heron tries to stage a top 10 anime betrayal, but then the bung needs more work, so Mahito fixes it, and from that point on, the heron joins the party and he and Mahito are fast friends.

(You might wonder why I just call him 'the heron' and not by a name. He never gets named! He's just the heron man.)

Mahito and the heron arrive at the house of a blacksmith who's supposed to help them find Natsuko, only to find it guarded by big buff parakeet men. The parakeets are splendidly goofy round guys - they remind me of the heedra in Nausicaa. The heron draws the parakeets away, and Mahito enters the house, only to find, uh oh! More parakeets. The parakeets prepare to eat Mahito, who is not carrying a child and therefore fair game unlike Natsuko, but Hisa shows up and burns them with fire magic. She looks just like a young version of Mahito's mum! Funny that. Hisa helps Mahito escape into her house through the fire, and then takes him to infiltrate the parakeets' empire.

In the human world, the maids explain the backstory of the tower to Mahito's dad. It's a weird meteorite that came from space, it turns out, and Mahito's great-uncle built the tower on top of it before eventually disappearing inside. Mahito's dad overprepares in an elaborate getup complete with katana, and goes to try to rescue everyone.

Hisa leads Mahito to a corridor full of doors which open into all the different worlds, including his own world. Mahito briefly glimpses his dad coming to try and rescue him - the two see each other briefly, but the parakeets catch wind of the whole thing and attack, and so Mahito and Hisa have to flee back into the magical world. We see that the parakeet guys turn into regular parakeets when they come into the human world. Mahito's dad becomes convinced he turned into a parakeet.

Mahito and Hisa make their way to the delivery room where Natsuko is resting, waiting to give birth. On their way, lightning starts emerging from the stone - Hisa explains that the stone is sentient and pissed with them. Mahito insists on approaching Natsuko despite this being a huge taboo. They have a heart to heart - Natsuko's mask breaks and she tells Mahito she hates him, while he finally starts calling her mother, as he's assaulted by paper charms that tear at him violently. They part, with Hisa burning the charms to free Mahito, but it's too much and they both pass out.

Mahito dreams of meeting the sorcerer, who stacks irregularly shaped wooden blocks, and explains that stacking the blocks is necessary to maintain the world, buying a few days at a time. The sorcerer reveals the huge flying rock that is the source of his power; he also shows Mahito some blocks, but Mahito somehow divines that these blocks are 'stone for building tombs' and stained with malice. The sorcerer approvingly says this is a good sign for Mahito's ability to succeed him.

While they were asleep, the parakeets have captured Hisa and Mahito. One of them is preparing to eat Mahito, but the heron arrives just in time to save him. They Metal Gear Solid their way through the kingdom while the Parakeet King - a big swaggering guy very like the colonel in Castle in the Sky - goes to press a claim on the wizard, using Hisa and Mahitos' taboo act of entering the delivery room as a bargaining chip. There's some very funny scenes where the parakeets cheer for their king.

Mahito pursues the parakeet king, but the king destroys the staircase behind him, and talks to the sorcerer. The sorcerer is inclined to wave away the transgression, because he wants to let Mahito succeed him, but the parakeet king seems to be bringing him around. I kind of forget how this part went, but the parakeet king goes away from the sorcerer for a bit while Hisa is freed from her prison thing.

Mahito climbs back up with the heron man's help, arriving in the sorcerer's little subplane. The parakeet king quietly follows him, after telling his aides to inform his subjects he was a good king. Mahito approaches the sorcerer, who reveals he has found a new set of blocks, unstained by malice, and again invites Mahito to succeed him. Mahito says that his self-injury is proof of his malice, making him unfit for the job.

At this point, the parakeet king intervenes. Angry at all this sorcerous malarky, he desperately attempts to stack the stones himself, but when they don't stack, he flies into a rage and slices them with his sword. This naturally causes the world to start collapsing, and everyone runs to the doors to escape into the human world.

Mahito has by this point figured out that Hisa is his mum, and he asks if she really wants to go back to their world, knowing that she will very definitely die in a fire not much later. But she is naturally on board with this. Young!Kiriko goes with her, suggesting that she and Hisako entered the magical world at the same time. Meanwhile, Mahito returns to his own time, with Natsuko and the heron. All the various parakeets and pelicans come out through this door too. Old!Kiriko is restored from her apatropaic charm.

As everyone celebrates their safe return (and the appearance of a fuckton of birds), the heron tells Mahito that he ought to forget what happened in the magic world. We skip forward again, with Mahito - now with a baby sibling - setting off to Tokyo. Roll credits!

now let's comment on it

This is not a film that necessarily prioritises an internal logic playing out - new elements enter unexpectedly even quite late in the film. The sorcerer's motivation is murky until late on; the parakeets become major antagonists despite entering only halfway through the film.

There is a certain temptation, knowing how autobiographical this film is, to take it is a roman à clef. Mahito is of course a young Miyazaki; the old sorcerer's concern about finding a successor might be about Miyazaki wondering who should take over Ghibli or if it should just be allowed to die. Under this schema, the parakeets might be Ghibli's legion of fans, or the merchandising empire that prints their designs on every possible product. kvin's article develops this kind of reading, finding some angles I wouldn't have even considered, such as how the idea of weight communicated by the animation factors in to such an allegaroy. It's also something suggested in Miyazaki's own comments about the film, where the sorcerer is Takahata, the heron man is producer Toshio Suzuki...

It definitely helps to know a bit about Miyazaki's background when approaching this film. However, I think it would be reductive to go too far with this kind of reading, and take everything as an allegory for something in Miyazaki's life. The film still has to stand on its own feet!

'Coming of age' is the spin put on it by some outlets, like the BBC. And this is accurate to an extent. The arc of this film is similar to Spirited Away: Mahito starts out sullen and traumatised, but like Chihiro he transitions over the course of his journey in the magical world into the kind of determined Miyazaki protagonist we're used to. On this coming of age angle... well, also like with Chihiro, I don't find the Mahito of the first part of the film especially unsympathetic, his alienation is extremely natural given his situation. Mahito's dad kinda sucks! Living in wartime Japan also really kinda sucks, even if you're the son of a rich dude. But definitely over the course of the film Mahito has a change of heart towards Natsuko, and forms friendships that motivate him to try to protect them. His character arc definitely sees him become 'more prosocial'.

However, there's another angle that's pretty important - the idea of the weight of 'malice', the cursed existences of the pelicans and the like, and the fantasy of building a utopian world that is free of these things. This returns to a theme of Nausicaa, the manga in particular, where Nausicaa discovers that the world she knows - the toxic forest in particular - is actually an elaborate artificial system for cleansing the world of pollutants, that the clean world on the other side will be uninhabitable to her and her people, and that the architects of this system wait in stasis to replace them in this utopian future world. Nausicaa destroys them, commiting instead to an uncertain future.

In Mononoke-hime likewise, we encounter the lepers and former sex workers of Irontown clinging on to the 'cursed' world. Their extractivist project proves incredibly destructive, but the film still regards them sympathetically, and the resolution sees them perhaps finding a new way to live - and San, the feral girl, reconciling herself to the idea of humans.

Here, although the parakeet king forces the decision, Mahito has already declared that he doesn't believe he's fit to oversee a utopia, but instead that his place is in the awful, violent human world.

The film, and the book it's vaguely based on, are titled How do you live? In Japanese, that's a plural 'you' (君たち). There's a lot of ways you could read it, depending on who you take as 'you' - a child asking an adult how to live, or equally a future question of how will you live. This is a lot more explicit in the novel - which I have not read, but here is a summary courtesy of wiki:

Junichi Honda is a fifteen-year-old junior high school student, known by his nickname Koperu, after the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. He is athletic and academically gifted, and popular at school. Koperu's father, a bank executive, passed away when he was young and he lives with his mother. His uncle (on his mother's side) lives nearby and visits frequently. Koperu and his uncle are very close. Koperu shares about his life and his uncle gives him support and advice. His uncle also documents and comments on these interactions in a diary, with the intent to eventually give the diary to Koperu. The diary writing, which is interspersed with the narrative, provides insight into the ethical and emotional trials that Koperu shared with his uncle. The diary entries, which cover themes such as "view of things", "structure of society", "relation", etc. are in the style of a note written to Koperu.[8]

Thinking like Copernicus that our Earth is a celestial body moving within the vastness of space, or thinking that our Earth is fixed at the center of the universe, are two ways of thinking that, in reality, are not only related to astronomy. Even when we think about things like the world around us or our own lives, the truth is that we are still revolving around them after all.

In the end, Koperu writes a decision on his future way of living as a reply to his uncle, and the novel ends with the narrator asking the question "how do you live?" to the reader.

The author of the novel was a socialist, who had been imprisoned by the nationalist government, and wrote the book intending to impart lessons on ethics. The version of his book published after the war was heavily edited to strip the book of political content. But it's also, perhaps paradoxically, a book that centres on very wealthy characters, aimed narrowly at educated boys, though it became a widely read classic.

Studio Ghibli's films, from both Miyazaki and Takahata, have a habit of being framed as imparting something to the younger generation - something the pair seem to have seen as a mission all the way back in the days of Panda Kopanda. For example, while Grave of the Fireflies is seen as the classic tragic war movie, for Takahata it was also aimed at criticising what he saw as the careless, consumerist generation of the 80s; the stubborn arrogance of the protagonist supposed to reflect on this. It's an attitude that also emerges in their comments about Chihiro. And, indeed, one of the first things we heard about How Do You Live? was that it was aimed towards Miyazaki's grandson - and more broadly towards that generation.

So what does this film have to say to the younger generations? Let's have a look at it from Mahito's POV.

For Mahito, the adults in his life are all pretty complicated. His father is enthusiastic and well-meaning but incredibly oblivious to what his son is going through (we might recall some of what Miyazaki wrote about his father in Starting Point, describing him as basically a grifter). Natsuko is masking pretty hard, trying to play the role of Good New Mum and connect to her newly acquired son, but there's an intrinsic distance. It is understandable that Mahito would want to reject them.

Mahito is... not entirely a passive character, he goes to some efforts to for example fashion the bow and arrow and repair the heron man's beak, but mostly he is pulled around by the plot into a strange world he doesn't understand. At first, his instinct is to retreat, even to the point of self-injury. Once he arrives in the magical world, he has acquired something of a purpose (finding Natsuko), but he gets pushed into near-disaster situations (the pelicans piling up to push him through the gate at the tomb) or stumbles into circumstances where something is expected of him (hey kid, gut this fish!). Gradually though his exposure to this world pulls him out of his shell. He runs into conflicts and injustices that seem intractable - the wareware and the pelicans - and has little power to intervene except to bury the bodies.

Eventually, he gets to carry out his main objective - finding Natsuko - but despite finally deciding to accept Natsuko as his new mother, he finds himself rejected, not just by her but also by the earth. Perhaps feeling responsible for getting her into trouble, his new objective becomes rescuing freshly-damsel'd Hisa. But now new adults want things of him - his great-uncle has decided he'd make a fine successor. Mahito has to make a decision here about what relationships he wants to commit to, what sort of life he wants to build - and he chooses the world he found so alienating at the outset of the film, the one which hurt him by taking his mother, not to the secondary-world fantasy.

It could be a 'this world is all we have' sort of statement, perhaps. But also the last act of the film feels like it gets a bit caught up in Castle in the Sky-style adventure-story beats.

I do feel like some aspects of the film ended up a little underbaked - which is an odd thing to say because it's not a short film and there is so much in it already. But Hisa for example - she's got badass powers and all, but I feel we barely get a chance to get a sense of what motivates her. Why did she enter the fantasy world? She acts at first like she doesn't know Mahito is her future son, but rapidly becomes incredibly devoted to him (in a way that reads a little romancey lmao). So much of her screen time is dedicated to having her convey the secrets of the world that it's hard to get a bead on her as a person.

Likewise, Natsuko - why did she enter this world to have her baby in this special ritual delivery chamber? She clearly knows more than most of the characters, but she gets kind of sidelined after Mahito confronts her, with wizard shit becoming more central. The animation does such a fantastic job of selling her feelings in the first part of the film that it feels like a shame that she drifts away at the end.

The progression of the film feels rather like a dream, where everything is arranged by symbolic significance to Mahito. It makes sense... on a magical level, where the secondary world is shaped primarily by parallels in the real one. So the tiny apatropaic statues of the old ladies protect him because they represent the role the real old ladies have in his life. Hisa has fire magic because Hisako died in a fire. Once Mahito has come to his personal resolutions about returning to the world, the magical one is no longer needed, and it collapses.

This is not such an uncommon role for magic in a story. In Miyazaki's own works, we have Totoro and Spirited Away, where a magical world provides direction or relief to a child's real struggles. Or take for example Okiura's film A Letter To Momo, in which the three yōkai recognise taking care of the grieving Momo as their explicit purpose as spirits. This magical world comes to Mahito to help him come to terms with losing his mother, and reorient himself towards living in a painful world.

Meanwhile, the sorcerer, whether he be Miyazaki or Takahata, is quite a distant figure. He may maintain the magical world by stacking his blocks, may be the authority which factions within it must plead to, but he also rules from afar in a vast empty palace full of long halls and open air spaces. His main company seems to be a big fucking rock, with which he made a 'contract'. He's generally handling it a bit better than, say, Ushiromiya Kinzo - he receives the parakeet king with good humour - but he's a pretty flawed god of his little world. So much of this world seems to pre-exist him, it's not something he constructed. Still, when he shows up, you pretty much have to do what he says.

If this is about Miyazaki's relation to Takahata, it seems like quite a sad portrayal. But 'unapproachable patriarch' does sorta describe their role in the studio from what I understand (c.f. Oshii's infamous article comparing them to the Kremlin).

When it comes to the question of who should succeed Miyazaki, we should probably consider the matter of Yoshifumi Kondō, who was being set up as the next big Ghibli director until his untimely death - which allegedly Takahata was willing to accept the blame for. The mythology built up around Miyazaki and Takahata is double-edged.

Here are some rather startling comments from Toshiyuki Inoue's interview. Inoue is one of the most impressive animators who ever lived in my book, the other star of the realist line besides Okiura. Just have a look at his booru page: iconic scenes from GitS, Akira, Millenium Actress; even in more recent films, he pretty much carried Maquia, and steals the show with his scenes in Miss Hokusai.

And yet even he was intimidated to be working alongside Miyazaki when he first came on board for Kiki's Delivery Service, fresh off Akira:

I believe you’ve always been a fan of Miyazaki’s, why were you scared to work with him? Toshiyuki Inoue: I had heard quite a few scary stories. A lot of acquaintances had worked on Nausicaä, Laputa and Totoro before that, so I knew how scary he could be when he got angry – I had heard stories of people being fired mid-production, things like that. How was it actually? Toshiyuki Inoue: Not as scary as I had imagined. He’d only rarely scream in the studio. But he did get angry. I’d sometimes be called to some separate room and lectured alongside Kōji Morimoto and Masaaki Endō. It felt like being in school all over again.

'Only rarely'. Honestly. Inoue describes how difficult it was for him to adapt his logical, analytical style to Ghibli's stretchy, bouncy characters - and how Miyazaki would disparage him if he, for example, drew a ship inaccurately.

For Inoue, coming back to How Do You Live was something like a 'return match'. He talks about how an older Miyazaki was no longer able to strictly correct the animation, and in general age was limiting him, but he still feels that Miyazaki is fundamentally superior:

Toshiyuki Inoue: I’ve always wished for a return match or a way to redeem myself. But even if I say that, I know I can’t even pretend to rival Miyazaki. I just can’t win. He’s extremely smart and learned, and on top of that, as an animator he always transcends common sense: he’s so talented that I know very well there’s nothing I can do against it. The more I learn about him, the more I realize I’ll never be on that level.

Miyazaki's genius is undeniable, but man... it's not a good mindset to cultivate if you want to find a successor lmao. If even Inoue doesn't feel he can measure up, who the hell could?

Mind you, it does rather seem that Miyazaki had mellowed out by the point of How Do You Live?. Here's Yamashita:

Akihiko Yamashita: As I said, the core of an animator’s job is to follow what the director asks, so whenever I had trouble with that, I’d go see Miyazaki to show him my roughs. He’d advise me on the things that were missing and reassure me about those that were good. He really helped me to gain more confidence in myself.

Reading these interviews underlines pretty hard that we shouldn't get too caught up in the mythology of Miyazaki the mighty auteur. While the story may be all on Miyazaki, and most of the character designs (with the notable exception of Natsuko)... so much of the details of the animation, the stuff that really makes this film land, is primarily shaped by everyone else - Honda in particular, but also the individual key animators who interpreted his scenes. I really need to get my hands on a copy of that Industrial History of Studio Ghibli book to get a less Miyazaki-centric perspective on the studio's history.

I do not feel, having come out of this film, any closer to knowing the answer to that eternally pressing question of how do you live - I guess I'm still working out my answer to that one, and I will be until I die. And maybe that's rather the point. I think this film still carries some of the flaws of Miyazaki's later films - despite having so many iconic scenes, it doesn't quite seem to know where it's going. But I am so glad to have seen this in the theatre (I saw it at the Prince Charles theatre in Soho with friends, the theatre was completely packed!), and glad Miyazaki managed to get this one out before he goes. Whatever happens to Ghibli without its sorcerer, it's been a hell of a thing to witness.

[amarachno]

“Getting thrown back ten years in the past is decidedly not a monday morning activity.” Tim Drake muttered, glaring at the old computer in front of him.

He had been in the middle of throwing himself into his desk chair at W.E. when the world flickered and suddenly he was lying sprawled on the floor of his childhood bedroom.

Tim continued grumbling as he checked out which events would have happened. From looking at the date, Tim gathered that he was about two weeks from his tenth birthday. His internal clock was going haywire, it had been around 8:20 AM and the 12th of September, now it is 9:14 PM on July 5th.

Tim needed a plan. Fast.

Tim draws a blank on his plan. Usually he’s much better at coming up with them but his body from ten years ago is sick. Who even gets sick in July? AND this body has a functional spleen. So basically no excuse and Tim is reminded why his parents called his useless all the time.

Right now? Tim just wants to feel happy. He misses the giddy feeling in his chest, that feeling had faded in the years since he turned twelve.

Tim has a really really good idea. Maybe it’s not a very good idea considering he’s sick and not in the ‘right’ body but it seems fun enough to ignore those setbacks.

Dressed in threadbare, baggy, black clothes he bought from a second hand store at some point in the past, Tim begins to pack. He pulls out a black backpack, peeks inside and grins and the contents. His camera, some lenses, and a few more essentials are tucked carefully inside. Theres a credit card in the camera case and a bottle of water at the bottom of the bag. Its perfect.

Tim opens his childhood window, climbs the tree outside the window, and begins a not so familiar trek to the bus stop. If his memory serves correct, there should be a bus arriving in about 30 minutes so Tim just has to jog a little bit to get there on time.

Boarding the bus goes well, getting up on the roofs goes even better. His little nine year old body is light and at this point, he had already been running around like this for a year so the muscles have built up adequately. Before he left, Tim had done some research on Batman’s patrol routes, and if he hurried Tim would catch Batman swinging by five rooftops down and three to the left.

Tim settled down half tucked between an air conditioning unit and a wall, content to wait for Batman. Already, his chest had lightened, feeling like his body was vibrating from excitement. He had missed this.

Ever since joining Batman as Robin, Tim had been forced to retire his photography hobby unless there was a stakeout. There was no time to go out in the city unless he was Robin. Training ramped up, the workload piled, and the exhaustion won out. Tim’s reflection on what his life had become was cut short by crowing laughter and the sound of a grapple.

Tim’s camera was out in a flash, standing on his toes for a good angle over the air conditioner. Point, aim, Click! Click! Click! Perfectly in frame, Robin and Batman flying side by side across the rooftop next to him.

He slunk back into the wall and checked out his pictures. He had brought his digital camera today, seeing as he was out of practice and wanted to see the finished product. His heart beating out of his chest, giddiness building in his lungs. Tim checked the small screen and-

They were perfect. From this angle, Tim caught the right side of their bodies. Batman’s cape flies out behind him, almost perfectly framing his figure against the bright lights of the city. He’s swinging forward, chest out, the symbol clear again his suit. Slightly lower than him and a little closer to the camera, Robin.

His Robin. Jason Todd, Tim’s Robin. The one he had looked up to so much. The Robin who died, came back, and tried to kill Tim.

Robin’s chest was puffed out, drawing a deep breath before another fit of laughter. One of his legs outstretched, the other curled up a little.

It was perfect. The sound of Robin laughing played on repeat in Tim’s mind.

Tim would not waste this chance.

Tim sat on that rooftop for another hour after that, thinking, planning, plotting. The trek home did not go as well. Tim’s body was achy and sweaty. At some point he must have gotten chilled, (Which is bullshit because it’s literally July.) but it had been raining the previous day so maybe that caused it. Either way, Tim’s bones hurt and his hands were shaking. His face felt hot but his body cold, and he already felt the sickness in his throat. Again, Bullshit. Tim made it back on the bus, and then off too! “Good job, Tim.” he mumbled as he walked back to his house. The gravel crunched beneath his feet and promised a… less than kind… extra crunchy landing if he fell over, so Tim took it an encouragement to keep walking.

Tim’s legs gave out ten minutes through the thirty-five minute walk. He is such a brave soul though, because he gets up again and tries to walk. It feels like his legs are made of jello and his vision is blotchy.

Again, this body has a spleen and everything! Useless.

Tim’s vision swims again and when he falls to the ground he doesn’t get back up.

________________

To be continued…

[the-exiled-comic]

How many years did you practice drawing to get to the level you are now and what advice do you have for people who want to learn and do practice but feel like they will never learn to be great artists?

i've been drawing digitally with a tablet since i was 11, and i'm 26 now so progress is something that is really slow going. if you want to improve fast there's a lot of things you can do personally i would check youtube for things like speed paints or tutorials and ideas on how to *think* when you are trying to draw. use references, look at photography and other art for visuals. tracing with the intent to learn can be okay (just dont post it online if youre tracing someone's art lol, i learned to draw anime cats by tracing mangas and then i made my own style)

i know a lot of people say this but bob ross' work and his videos teaching how to paint scenery is extremely helpful, his advice goes a long way for when you want to learn how to make illustrations quickly and thoughtfully. he talks a lot about using texture, composition, and colour, among other things, and i think it's really solid advice you can apply to all forms of art. he's also just inspirational. and i think feeling inspired and having a strong idea and will to create is really important in making art

[charleemoon]

credits: icon + moon divider + star divider

hallo!! im charlie lee, or will! im nineteen.

he/they/moon ✮ my names shift, so honestly just calling me by the name of whatever literally me guy i have makes me very happy. im always charlie though !

im unlabeled !! but usually i just call myself queer because its easier. im transmasc ! t anniversary is 11 10

auadhd + ocd + bpd [last two.. still working on dx but. if youre curious on what my problem is there you go]

american, half white half puerto rican :D

istp + 6w5 + 694 + sp/so + mel/ph

@sunbug1205 is my beautiful girlfriend >_<

ao3 + spotify + letterboxd !! [my ao3 is really dead but im working on stuff. in opposition my spotify has way too many playlists. sorry...]

art tag + my ocs

my posts are sorted as either charlieog, txtblog, or reblog!

all forms of art, creation, and fiction are my special interest !! art, writing, music, fashion, tv shows + movies, podcasts, comics, etc etc. im usually hyperfixtated on something fictional. my hypfix right now is nbc hannibal. i have an extremely wide variety of interests though, so please don't hesitate to interact about other things too !!

i write fanfiction and poetry, and also have a passion for candid photography. im self taught, not currently studying anything ! ive been drawing since i was a kid, but i've fallen a bit out of the habit. i gravitate in-between traditional and digital. im listening to music near every second of the day, and my favorite song is always something new.

im not in college at the moment... not sure what i'd like to do! i think one day i'd like to be a voice actor, get my poetry published, or become a freelance photographer... i want to create something meaningful, one day. capture beauty, or create for others, so i might affect others the way art has changed me. until then i am just a five foot teenager on tumblr

i am highly attached to nonhuman and fictional things. i see myself the same as some characters !! i also highly associate with dogs and the moon. we are one in the same to me !! being referred to as such makes me really happy :]

i post about suggestive/nsfw content, gore and other possibly triggering/sensitive content. i will reblog and interact with darker fiction like dead dove. i try to tag these as needed, but you have been warned !! same with my own content, my fics and poetry are often gorey, visceral, and uncomfortable. be warned !!

i don't have hard lines on interactions, but i would much much prefer to interact with other adults only !! due to the nature of my posts, and just in general. i will block if someone makes me uncomfortable, or honestly if im just not interested in their posts (my dash will sometimes recommend posts to me over and over and it gets annoying...) curate your experience, and i will mine! i don't mind interaction, but sometimes it can make me uncomfortable when people talk a lot about relating to characters i see myself as. you can be wary of this ! or not.

i'm here to post all my many many thoughts and feelings about the things i like !! i love love love talking with other people, so please! send me asks, mention me in things, dm me !! im not interested in discourse or debate, so if you don't like something i do or say, feel free to block me! i don't enjoy making people uncomfortable and vice versa. im really just here to infodump and chatter... thank you for coming to my blog :D

[ruruumin]

capture this moment.

₊˚ ᗢ photographer! kazuha x gn! reader, modern au.

⤷ we'll keep these memories with more than our hearts.

Most of his photos would consist of nature. It can span from simple pictures of the ocean or close-up shots of rare flowers he came across in gardens. On the rare occasion though, for the more special bunch, he likes to take photos of you. It comes to him whenever you’re not looking and when you’re traveling with him. He finds that the best ones always turn out to be the ones where it's unexpected.

When you first met him, you would have never thought he was a photographer. He looked more like a bookworm than anything else. He looked like someone who would knit cardigans and beanies. However, rest assured, this man (despite not looking like it) can take amazing photos. He would ask you to pose in different ways to enhance your stance or frame, and he would take full advantage of the situation to rest his hand against your waist. 

He’s very kind and soft with you, always giving you tips and advice with that smooth voice of his. He guides you carefully with his hands, never doing anything to make you feel uncomfortable. The last thing he wants is a photo you were not fond of. With his ability to come up with creative poses, it makes you wonder how long he’s been doing this for, and how many people he’s worked with.

He doesn’t have a very professional set up so don’t expect him to come out with a tripod or anything fancy. He likes using a digital camera that was passed down to him by his friend Tomo, who passed a long time ago. He says that one of his reasons for starting photography was to commemorate his friend, but also to remember the things he’s doing in day-to-day life. “You miss the small details in the mundane,” he would repeat, “best that we spend every moment appreciating what we have."

He keeps a lot of his works in an album that he carries around. He takes a marker and writes down the date and event just to make sure that he will never forget. On photos with you in it, he likes to draw hearts or cat whiskers on you. You would oftentimes tease him for having such cute habits. It wasn’t every day that you have someone so enamored by the littlest things about you. It made the time spent with him a little more special because it was being kept safe somewhere. You won’t be able to forget it with him around.

A small pet peeve you might have is when he takes photos of whatever he is eating. He’s one of those kinds of people. Though, he doesn’t mind if there are minor imperfections in the photo like a massive bite-sized mark being imbedded into his sandwiches. He thinks it adds to the charm. 

“Rest your hand here darling,” He whispers, placing your hands against your hip as he spreads your fingers out. You could feel his warm breath tickle the back of your neck. You swallowed a thick lump at the base of your throat, slightly nervous with the sudden intimacy. “Put your foot here. It would look nicer on camera when I shoot from an upwards angle.” 

[vacate-et-scire]

hii!! i was scrolling around when i saw your match up post! it seemed rlly interesting so why not join? hehe

pronouns: she/they

bi, male preference

likes: drawing (both digital and trad mediums), writing (narratives), multimedia (graphic design, film, photography), games (hsr, genshin and the likes), rain

hobbies: drawing, writing, photography, listening to music, reading (romance junkie), walking, watching sports (unfortunately)

dislikes: nosy and annoying people, huge crowds, group projects, noisy environments, summer, boredom

mbti, enneagram: infp, 6w5

a few more things: i wear glasses (nearsighted, astigmatism), and my type in short is practically-- someone who's tall and is mature, someone who'd bother to spend time with me (cus i must admit, i am quite lonely), and i'm always waiting for someone to spoil me (/hj)

i hope that's enough!! thank you!!

Your Blue Lock Matchup: Reo Mikage

Okay, hear me out—Reo Mikage is almost the ideal match for you, and let me explain why. He might not seem like the obvious choice at first glance, but when you think about it, his deep understanding of loneliness and yearning for connection matches your own. Reo isn’t the kind of person to waste time pretending to be something he’s not; he’s genuine, and that fits your need for maturity and authenticity in a relationship. He’s the type who, despite his polished exterior, is quite a soft and sentimental person on the inside—a quality that would make him deeply appreciate your creative pursuits, your love for art, and your nuanced personality.

His calm and collected demeanor aligns with your preference for someone who isn’t loud or obnoxious but who can offer comfort in silence, which works for your introverted side. You’d both enjoy long walks or quiet moments of introspection. And, like you, Reo is someone who values their personal space and enjoys being thoughtful, which means he wouldn’t overwhelm you. He’d understand your need for space to breathe, but he would never leave you feeling isolated—he’d show up when you need him, even if it’s just to listen.

Now, let's talk about how your artistic side would fit with Reo. His refined sense of taste would make him appreciate your drawings and photography, especially since he has an eye for beauty. He might even ask you for ideas about design or photography projects of his own, knowing you have a creative spark. You’d both love the aesthetic in life, whether that’s through the lens of a camera, the strokes of a brush, or the pages of a book. He might surprise you with small thoughtful gifts related to your passions—like a rare book or a special camera lens, something that feels personal and tailored to you. Reo is the type who notices the little things, which would make you feel seen in a way that’s meaningful.

When it comes to the more emotional aspects, Reo, much like you, has his own insecurities and inner struggles. He isn’t always great at opening up, but once he does, you’d find his vulnerability comforting, as he doesn’t let many people see it. The two of you would likely form an emotional bond that’s built on mutual respect, trust, and the shared experience of feeling like outsiders at times. You’d both prefer to keep things low-key and calm, yet there would still be a sense of depth that creates a strong connection between you two.

However, there are some differences to keep in mind. Reo’s background and the world he’s used to—full of expectations, status, and wealth—might feel a little distant or hard to relate to at times, especially when it comes to the lifestyle he’s lived and his sometimes unattainable standards. While you’re both introverted and creative, he might sometimes push you outside your comfort zone in subtle ways, expecting a certain level of interaction or socializing. But, his mature, sophisticated approach to life could be a challenge for you—while he can be mature, he may also seem distant and guarded in his own way, which might make it hard for you to break through his emotional walls at times.

You’d need to be patient with him, and he’d need to learn how to give you the space and quiet you desire, so it could take a little bit of adjustment. But if there’s one thing that would make this work, it’s that Reo would cherish you in his own way—he’d show you his love through subtle, intimate gestures, which, despite his distance, would never let you feel unloved.

At the end of the day, I think Reo would be your perfect match because of the deep understanding he’d offer, combined with the way he would elevate your creative passions, support your quiet moments, and spoil you with meaningful gestures (not just material things). There’s a complexity to him that matches your own, and you both understand what it means to be alone and desire something deeper than the surface level.

[baby-yongbok]

Poetry

Chapter Six - Mr.H

Hyunjin x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff with a swirl of angst

Summary: The night that you see Hyunjin again after your date is full of surprises. You can keep your cool but can he?

Word Count: 5,407

A/N: Things are happening, ya'll. I'm so excited to be back in Fan Fiction land <3 + If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the previous parts before this one so that you get the ✨full experience✨. See you next Thursday at 6 💕

Part Five

✧Poetry Series Masterlist✧

✧Main Masterlist✧

There wasn’t a moment of silence after Hyunjin left, you spent the entirety of your breakfast answering questions while giving Changbin and Serena as many details as you could before you had to leave for work. You will admit that you appreciate how involved your friends are, especially Changbin. You were almost afraid that he was going to go full big brother mode and quiz Hyunjin the moment that he met him but he actually kept his cool, let’s see how it goes next time. 

Speaking of next time, you haven’t seen Hyunjin since your date. The two of you have been texting nonstop and you even spoke on the phone two days ago but neither of you have brought up a plan to meet. He canceled your meetup this week because he had to help his roommate Felix with something upstate. You weren’t mad about it though, you took the free time as an opportunity to look into a new hobby. 

You have a bit of a tradition that you started during your second year of university, every autumn you look into building a new skill or taking up a new hobby. You weren’t sure what to get into this year until you saw a flier on your way to work yesterday. Apparently your local community center has a photography club that meets on Fridays where you’re taught everything that you need to know by a professional. There’s no way that you could turn a blind eye to such a wonderful free opportunity. So here you are, walking through the large glass doors and into the quiet lobby. Your brand new Canon camera is placed safely in its case hanging from your shoulder and your tote bag is hanging from the other. You looked up at the digital board by the reception desk to look for the room number for your class. Once you found it you made your way down the hall, humming a smooth tune to try and calm your nerves. You were more than excited but you were almost positive that the club would be filled with experienced photographers looking for community and you are far from experienced.

The door to the room is already open when you reach the room and there are a few people in there talking amongst themselves and fiddling with their cameras. You enter quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself but that fails once you get half way into the room. The group swiftly looks up at you, each one of them studying your frame with furrowed brows and that’s when you notice the elephant in the room… they’re all teenagers.

“Hi, you must be new.” One of the girls breaks the silence. “I’m Mia.”

“Hi, I’m Y/n. Nice to meet you.” You move to sit by the window, right in the middle of the row. You never liked being too far from the instructor but you also hate being in the front. 

“I’m James and this is Olivia, she’s a bit shy.” One of the boys sitting against the wall introduces himself and the girl sitting on his lap. Olivia offers a timid wave before looking back down at her camera. You smile, waving back at her. 

“Leo, stop being rude. Say hi to the new girl.” Mia pushes the boy sitting in front of her and he curses at her quietly before turning to you and waving passive aggressively. You wave back silently as you try to hold back a chuckle.

“Leo is an asshole, don’t mind him.” Mia explains before glancing down at her phone. 

“Two minutes until Mr.H gets here.” James nods his head, only half paying attention as he looks past Mia and over to you, clearly itching to ask you a question.

“Am I crazy or are you the oldest one here?”

“Oh my god, what the hell, James.” Mia’s exasperated voice echoes through the room followed by Oliva’s laugh. 

“It’s an observation, fucking shoot me.” You chuckle a bit, nodding your head. 

“You’re not crazy, I’m probably about seven years older than you guys.” 

“Oh you’re about the same age as Mr.H” You pinch your brows together softly, you didn’t expect the teacher to be around your age. “Maybe we can hook you two up, he desperately needs a girlfriend.”

“What are you going on about, James?” You shift your attention towards the person speaking, that voice sounds so familiar and you realize why as soon as your eyes land on his figure coming through the door. Hyunjin is the teacher?

“I’m just trying to get you a girlfriend, Mr.H” You watch as Hyunjin walks over to the desk at the front of the classroom, he hasn’t looked up from the packet in his hands since he came through the door. You take a moment to admire him, he doesn’t look as dressed up as he usually does, he looks relaxed and cozy. You could get used to this look. 

“Why don’t you worry about perfecting your depth of field instead. You’re not here to get me a girlfriend.” Hyunjin smiles to himself as he leans against the desk, still focused on the paper in front of him. The others in the room immediately start laughing and making fun of James. 

“That’s what you get.” Mia laughs as she moves from sitting on top of the desk.

“Whatever, Y/n is way too pretty for you anyway.” You cover your mouth as you try to stifle a laugh. Hyunjin immediately looks up at the sound of your name, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin asks before turning his head in your direction. He freezes for a second, his eyes glossing over your frame slowly to make sure that it’s really you. 

“Oh um you must be new.” He stands, pushing a hand into the pocket of his worn denim jeans and making his way over to you. 

“Yeah I am.” You grin, playing along with him. Once he reaches you he offers you his hand and you immediately take it into your own. 

“I’m the photography instructor for this program, you can call me Hyunjin.” He smirks down at you and you nod your head. 

“I’m Y/n.” He gives your hand a light squeeze before dropping it. 

“It’s a pleasure to have you in our club.” He winks at you before turning on his heels and stalking back over to his desk.

“Why can she call you Hyunjin but we can’t?” Mia whines, earning a dramatic eye roll from Hyunjin.

“Because I’m eight years older than you.” You chuckle lightly and Hyunjin smiles at the sound.

“How do you know that she’s your age?” James argues and Hyunjin shrugs. 

“Are you guys here to question me or to actually learn something?” The group of teens sigh as Hyunjin starts looking through his bag. “I made a project sheet for today but I suppose I can save that for next week now that we have a new member. Let’s focus on questions and practice for today.”

He pulls a thick folder out of his bag and places it on the desk right next to his massive Sony DSLR camera. You feel a bit intimidated by this side of Hyunjin, he seems to be very in his element here. Maybe he’s been doing this for a while.

“Can we do an object project?” Olivia asks in a soft voice, catching Hyunjin’s attention.

“I like that idea, what do you guys want to shoot today?” You can’t help but stare as Hyunjin talks to the kids, he seems to have a pretty solid relationship with them. You stare down at his Versace bracelet on your wrist as you listen to him talk to the kids. 

“Alright so that’s what it’ll be, four photo’s of your favorite place to be in this community center. It can be a place that you have a positive memory of or just a place where you feel the most comfortable. Today's object is a clock, if you don’t have a clock in the shot then it doesn’t count. Get creative, there are no limits. I want two black and white photos and two sepia.” The kids all stand from their seats, pulling their camera straps around their necks and talking about where to go.

“Be back here in forty-five minutes. I will set a timer, please don’t make me come find you.” The group mumbles a half hearted ‘okay’ before turning their attention back to their previous conversation. You take this time to unpack your own camera, turning it on and flipping through the settings. You made sure to watch a couple of videos before coming here but everything that you learned went right out the window once you saw Hyunjin. 

“I’ll be right with you, Y/n.” Hyunjin smiles over at you before turning his attention towards Leo. He’s been so quiet that you forgot that he was there. Hyunjin kneels in front of the boy's desk, leaning into his space a bit before whispering. You decided to look away to give them some privacy. Maybe you can manage to google some quick photography tips before he turns his attention to you.

You start looking up photography quick guides on your phone as you wait for him. You get so engulfed in the article that you’re reading that you don’t even notice Hyunjin making his way over to you until he’s sitting at the desk in front of yours. You jump a bit, locking your phone quickly.  

“Well this is a pleasant surprise.” He smiles as he leans back against the wall behind him. “You missed me so much that you tracked me down?” 

You chuckle, a light blush creeping up your neck. You look over towards where the kids were earlier and notice that they’re all gone. You must’ve been so distracted by your research that you didn’t hear them leave.

“What if I did?” You tease and now it was his turn to blush. “I didn’t know that you’re into photography.”

“Surprise.” You roll your eyes at him and he smiles towards you. “I may be a little into it. I’ve been doing it for about five years, nothing too major.”

“Clearly it is pretty major if you’re certified to teach people.”

“Are you impressed by that? Because if you are then I’ll agree.” You scoff, pushing his arm playfully. 

“No comment.” 

“That means that you are impressed.”

“Are you going to flirt with me or are you going to teach me how to work this thing?” You ask, holding your camera up in front of you while smiling towards Hyunjin. He surrenders, shaking his head and taking your camera from you.

“You’re right.” He turns your camera on, studying the settings and adjusting things the way that he sees fit. You can’t help but blush a bit as his fingers press the buttons. His gaze turned from playful to focused and serious as soon as you placed the device in his hands. The way that he operates the camera is actually pretty attractive. 

Your eyes widen a bit as you realize the nature of your thoughts. This is not the time to think about all of the things that you find attractive about your boyfriend,wait, he’s not your boyfriend. Not really, not officially, he hasn’t even asked you out for a second date yet. 

“Alright, so, this camera is actually pretty simple. I’ve adjusted some settings, I’ll show you what they all do and we can get you started on practicing the rule of thirds, sound good?” Hyunjins voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you sit up straighter in your seat. You clear your throat and look up at him as he watches you, his eyes wandering over the exposed skin of your neck for a second before looking up at you. 

“Sounds good, Mr.H.” 

“How’s this one?” You ask while looking down at your camera screen to study the photo you just took. Hyunjin steps closer to you from behind, looking over your shoulder to get a look at the photo too. 

“Perfect, I think that you should be fine without the grid now. Maybe practice eyeing it yourself throughout the week and I can check it for you when we meet next Friday.” You chuckle, turning your head to face Hyunjin and he furrows his brows in confusion. “What?”

“Couldn’t you just check it when I see you next Thursday?” He grins at you, shaking his head and tonguing his cheek.

“Nope, I’m gonna treat you just like everyone else in the club.” You narrow your eyes at him, glancing down at the tiny space between the two of you. 

“Like you are right now?” Hyunjin looks down at his hand on the small of your back and pulls his lips into a thin line.

“You’re right, Y/n this is highly unprofessional. I really need you to keep your hands to yourself.” Hyunjins eyes morph into cresents as you push him away from you, scoffing playfully.

“I hate you.” You make your way back over to your desk and Hyunjin walks over to his at the front of the room.

“Are you sure about that?” He pulls himself up onto the desk, sitting and leaning back on his palms. A deep blush runs over your cheeks as he stares over at you with an equanimous smirk adorning his lips. You look down, avoiding his piercing eye contact and now it was his turn to chuckle. “The kids should be back in a second.”

Just as he looks down at his phone the timer that he set earlier goes off. You look over at the door expecting to see them walk through but no one is there. Hyunjin closes his eyes, tilting his head back towards the ceiling and humming softly. Your eyes pinch together in confusion, is he not going to go get them? 

“Are you sure they’re coming back?” Hyunjin hums in response, a small smile pulling at his lips before he starts counting.

“5, 4, 3, 2” He points towards the open door and you can hear the loud pitter patter of the group racing down the hallway. “They’re always two minutes late.” 

“We’re here!” Olivia makes it into the room first, panting as she makes her way over to her seat. The rest of the group follows behind her, trying to catch their breath as they sit. 

“Once you all remember how to breathe we’ll get started.” Hyunjin teases, lifting his head to look at the group. You can’t help but smile, something about seeing him interact with them makes you feel warm. He's a natural leader, in the way that he carries himself, the way he talks to them. He radiates a sense of comfort and confidence in this space and it’s almost rewarding to see. 

“Can I go first?” Mia asks as she stares down at her camera.

“Nope.” Hyunjin quips quickly.

“Why not.” She whines and Hyunjin offers an exaggerated sigh in response. “I want to get it over with, Mr.H”

“And that’s why you’ll be going last.” Mia groans, putting her head down on the desk and stomping her feet. Hyunjin immediately imitates her, kicking his feet against his desk and whining. The rest of the group laughs, you even hear a faint chuckle coming from Mia. 

“Always remember that I'm ten times more dramatic than you.” Hyunjin teases before sitting up completely. “Alright, let’s do this. Show me what you got James.”

“I think that Olivia wants to go before me.” James sinks down into his seat as he tries to dodge a hit from the girl behind him.

“You threw your own girlfriend under the bus? That’s cold.”

You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t impressed. Each of the kids in this club are amazing at photography, if you saw any of the pictures that they took online you’d think that a twenty year professional was responsible for the art. You’re equally impressed by Hyunjin’s teaching skills, he answered all of their questions flawlessly and made sure that you were still engaged even though you didn’t participate in the activity. 

Once class ended Hyunjin texted you offering to walk you home, of course you said yes, you actually did miss him so you couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Your house was only four blocks from the community center but it seemed a lot longer since the city blocks are massive. Usually this would bother you, you’d put some music on and try your best to get the walk over with but you found yourself settling into a comfortable stroll with Hyunjin. You weren’t in a rush to get anywhere, you were grounded, living in the moment.

“How did you start teaching photography?” You asked as the two of you waited to cross the street. 

“My mentor set it up for me, he thought that it would be a good way to redirect my emotions.” He chuckles softly, taking a step forward to guide you across the street. “I told you that I was a bad kid but I didn’t really stop getting into trouble until I turned twenty. I met my mentor's son, Chan, a couple of weeks after my birthday when I was taking pictures of Felix for his portfolio. His dad is a photographer and he took interest in me almost instantly, he taught me some stuff and basically became a father to me. He started the club on my birthday last year when he retired from the community center.” 

“So you replaced him?” You look over at Hyunjin who seems to be deep in thought.

“Something like that, I’m one of the youth counselors but he was in charge of it all. People treat me like I’m in charge for some reason. It’s probably because I’m so smart and handsome.” He sighs dramatically, pushing his hands into his pockets and shaking his head. “It just isn’t fair, it’s so hard being me.”

“Oh yeah, it’s super hard being a model for luxury brands.” You laugh, rolling your eyes at him and bumping him with your shoulder. “I would hate being a role model for the youth.”

“Hey, this is hard work.” He defends as the two of you stop at the next corner. “But, on a serious note, I do enjoy working with them. I teach two more classes throughout the week and it’s probably what saved my life. Now, I get to help save theirs. Every kid that I teach has gotten into some kind of trouble. I like offering them a space to be themselves and learn something new, I like creating the space that I wish that I had when I was their age.” 

You stare over at the crossing light as Hyunjin opens up a bit. It’s so hard for you to imagine the sweet, soft guy standing next to you as an angry teenager fighting everything that looked in his direction. You can’t help but to feel proud of him, he seemed to have really turned himself around for the better. It takes a lot of discipline to correct bad habits. 

You keep your eyes trained on the light in front of you, waiting for it to change. Just as it turns green you reach your hand over towards Hyunjins, interlocking your fingers and offering a reassuring squeeze. He keeps his gaze forward as you two cross the street silently but the smile on his face and the blush on his cheeks speak a thousand words. He squeezes your hand back, running his thumb along the back of your hand as you reach the next block. He doesn’t need you to say anything back, your actions speak louder than any sentence you could possibly speak. 

“On a different note…” He looks over at you with a grin. “What did you tell your friends about me?”

“I am not answering that.” You start to pull away from him but he pulls you into his side, letting go of your hand and putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Let me guess, you told them that I’m the best kisser in the entire world and that I’m so amazing and funny and that you can’t get enough of me.” A goofy smile adorns his lips and you sigh, covering your face to hide your blush. “Aw, she’s shy.”

Before you can protest, your phone starts ringing in your bag and you take this opportunity to escape Hyunjins teasing. Thank god for Changbin.

“Hey, what’s up.” You laugh a bit as Hyunjin presses you into his side more. 

“Hey, are you with someone?” You can hear the smile in Changbin’s voice.

“Yup, coming home now.”

“Ah, good, could you do me a favor? I forgot to grab popcorn on the way home. Serena is coming over to watch a movie and that’s the only thing that I don’t have.” You nod, looking up the block and spotting a store on the corner. 

“I’ll grab it for you, I’m walking up to a store now.”

“You’re a lifesaver. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and tell Hyunjin that I said hi.” He sings the last part of his sentence before you say bye and hang up. He’s definitely going to question you as soon as you walk through the door. 

“Everything alright?” 

“Yup, I just need to go into this store.” You lock your phone and slip it back into your bag as you walk up to the store. “And Changbin says hi.”

There’s a group of guys outside of the store but you don’t pay them any mind, Hyunjin follows you closely as you pull away from him to enter the store, you’ve been to this shop a million times so you know where everything is. You make a beeline to the popcorn and make your way over to the counter. The cashier smiles at you as you approach, making small talk as he checks you out. Once you’re done you turn to Hyunjin who’s waiting for you at the door but his demeanor seems to have changed. His arms are crossed over his chest and he has a mean look on his face. You smile over at him as you start to leave the store but he doesn’t smile back, that’s odd. He opens the door for you and you take the lead exiting first and tucking the popcorn into your tote bag. 

“Excuse me, you’re looking really good tonight.” One of the guys standing outside of the store steps over to you and you flash him a small smile.

“Thanks.” You start to walk away but he speaks up again, stepping a bit closer to you.

“Can I have your number? I could take you out.” You shake your head, replying with a firm ‘No’ before starting to walk away again. Hyunjin places his hand on the small of your back, guiding you away from the group. 

“Come on, don’t be like that.” 

“She said no.” Hyunjin speaks up, his voice is loud and flat. You’ve never heard him use this tone before. It’s almost scary. The two of you start walking away again, Hyunjin makes sure to keep you in front of him as the two of you make your way towards the corner.

“I wasn’t fucking talking to you.” The guy follows the two of you. Picking up the pace as the two of you get further from him. “Come on, let me take you out sometime.”

“Keep walking.” Hyunjin whispers to you, pushing you forward a bit. He stops in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face the guy following you. You can’t help but to look back as you walk away slowly, you can’t just leave him there by himself. Neither of you know what that guy is capable of. 

“Do we have a problem?”

~ Hyunjin’s POV ~

I’m using every ounce of my self control to keep my temper in check right now. If this guy decided to mess with me while I was alone that would be a different story but he’s messing with someone that I care about and I don’t like that. This has always been a trigger for me, Felix always says that I get scary when I get mad protecting someone else. I really don’t want that to happen right now, I don’t want her to see that side of me but this guy is making it very hard to hold back. 

“How about you mind your business.” He yells in my face, his breath reeks heavy of alcohol, that’s not even fair. If I hit him he’s going to be knocked out almost instantly, drunk people can never take a hit. 

“She is my business.” I cross my arms over my chest and clench my jaw. I have to remember that she’s here. I have to keep my cool. “She said no, leave her alone.”

“Ah, I see, she’s yours. Is that it? That’s your bitch?” I bite my bottom lip between my teeth as his last question rings through my ears. Don’t react, not while she’s here. “She likes pretty boys, huh?”

I look back at Y/n, she’s stopped at the corner watching me. I take a deep breath and uncross my arms, turning back around to the idiot in front of me.

“Leave her alone, alright?” I turn to walk away, trying my best to distance myself from him.

“Is this your boyfriend?” He yells over at Y/n but that’s not the only thing that makes me snap. He touched me, he pushed my shoulder as I was turning away and I felt my blood boil instantly. I don’t even remember what I did, my body went into autopilot. I can hear Y/n’s heavy footsteps as I stand over the disoriented stranger. My hand in a fist at my side, I’m shaking, why am I shaking? I haven’t felt this mad in years, I haven’t hit somebody in years, this isn’t how that was supposed to happen. I was supposed to keep my cool, why did he have to fuck it up? The more that reality sinks in, the more angry I get. 

“What did I just fucking tell you?” I don’t raise my voice, I never raise my voice, there’s no need to. I bend down, making sure to keep eye contact with him as I grab his shirt, and pull him towards me. “Leave her alone.”

I can hear myself, I can hear the hiss in my tone. I can feel the anger getting to my head, I can feel myself losing to it. That’s my problem, I don’t know when to stop, once I get started it’s hell getting out of it. 

“You should’ve listened.” I don’t want to hit him again but I feel like I need to, I need to get this feeling to go away and the only way that I know how is to keep going. 

“I’m sorry, man.” He pleads, I knew that he wouldn’t be able to take the hit but that just makes it easier for me. I push him back onto the sidewalk, letting go of his shirt and raise my fist almost by instinct. Before I can lower it I feel a hand wrap around my wrist, I stop for just a second as I remember who this is about. Y/n is with me, she saw everything. 

“Hyunjin, get up.” Her voice is firm but somehow soft, I wish that I could just listen to her. I want to listen to her, maybe I can?

 Despite my desire to stop, I don't move. My brain and my body are doing two different things and for a moment I feel guilty. This is going to be how it ends isn’t it? She’s going to think that I’m a horrible person, she’s going to hate me for putting her through this. My jaw clenches at the thought of losing her, glancing back down at the man in front of me I feel anger climbing up my spine again. Why couldn’t he just walk away?

“I told him to leave you alone.” I meant for my words to come out softer than they did but I can still hear the hiss in my voice, it’s muffled by the sound of my heart beating in my ears but I can hear it. She steps in between us, trying her best to pull me back, her grip tight and her voice stern. 

“Hyunjin, please get up.” In all of the years that I got into fights there has never been a person who could calm me down. I don’t know why it’s different with her, I don’t know why but I don't resist. I allow her to lower my fist, I allow her to stand between us and guide me to my feet. 

“Hey, look at me.” I listen, taking a deep breath and turning my attention towards her. I expected her to look angry, I expected her to have tears in her eyes or maybe even look scared. My mom would always be angry, Felix would always look scared but she looks calm. How could she look at me like that after this? I don’t deserve that.

“Good, you’re fine. Everything is fine, come on.” Her hands run over my forearms, as she tries her best to ground me and by some miracle it’s working. 

She takes both of my hands and starts to lead me away from him, I keep my eyes on her as we walk over to the corner. I try my best to calm myself down, taking deep breaths through my nose and going through every grounding exercise that I was ever taught. For some reason those techniques aren’t what help me the most, it’s the look in her eyes that's calming me down. It’s the relaxed tone of her voice and the way that she’s guiding me. No one’s ever done this before. I can feel the anger in my body being replaced, it’s that feeling of electricity. That feeling that I only get when I’m with her. 

I’m not sure how long we’ve been walking but when I finally come out of my thoughts and look back I don’t see the guy anymore. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we passed her block. We come up on a busier street, nothing too serious just a couple of people going about their night. She guides me over to a bench at the bus stop and we both sit in silence. I close my eyes, running my hands through my hair and sighing heavily. 

“Let me see your hand.” Her tone is sweet like she isn’t about to check me for bruises. She reaches for my hand, running her thumb across the back of it and I hiss in pain. That’s definitely going to be a different color tomorrow. “You’re gonna need to ice that.”

“I know the drill.” I reply in a flat whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“He deserved it.” I shake my head, turning to look at her and this time I really looked at her. I let her see the worry in my gaze, I let her see the fear that has bloomed in my stomach. 

“I’m not sorry for hitting him. I’m sorry that I almost didn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop and if you weren’t there I wouldn’t have. I would have done everything that I could to make sure that he ended up in the hospital.” I allow my gaze to drift down to my hands and it’s only then that I realize that I’m shaking. I’m still shaking, it must be the fear, not the anger.

“But you didn’t.” Her hand rests over my trembling one, petting my skin softly with the pads of her fingers. I let out a shaky exhale at the feeling of her skin against mine. “I told you that I’d be there to calm you down. I told you that it would be alright if I saw you like that and I meant it.”

“You don’t hate me?” My words leave my mouth in a whisper as I bite my bottom lip. Reluctantly, I look up at her, her expression is still so soft and calm. 

“Not one bit.”

← Previous Chapter ♡ Next Chapter →

[shifterlivvs]

BLOG INTRODUCTION!!

Hihi, Welcome to my blog !

ABOUT ME (NON-SHIFTING RELATED)↷

My name is Livvie, I do witchcraft and work with Lilith. My birthday is September 18th and my MBTI is INFJ. I am Non-binary and aroace in this reality. I draw digitally, traditionally, paint, write stories and poems, make characters and oc's and like to play games. My first languages are German and Russian so excuse me for any spelling and grammar errors.

(My @ on Tiktok is shiftwithlivvs) just in case

Here are some of my interests besides spiritual stuff:

visual novels

sad movies, shows, games and music

horror games

homebrewing stuff

scrapbooking

journaling, shadow working

art, sculpting, photography, drawing

music, singing

favorite things:

fav artist (drawing): Angela he

fav artists (music): Caviar Noir, Violent Vira, Malice Mizer

fav show: hannibal

fav movie: the craft

fav game: fatal frame maiden of black water

LOA/SHIFTING RELATED↷

I'm a shifter and manifestor. I have a lot of DR's (26 currently and I'm always working on more) I've shifted I think 2 times. I'm not really sure if the second time was really a shift but I'm really sure of my first time. Both times were through a dream.

The DR's I focus most on are: Better OR, Obey Me DR, TWST DR, Stardew Valley DR, The Arcana Dr, Diabolik Lovers, Our Life Now and Forever, Our Life Beginnings and Always

I've been manifesting since I was little, often the things I manifested came instantly if it wasn't anything too major. Bigger things I've manifested: me and my family moving, loosing 7 kgs, etc...

DNI LIST↷

basic DNI list people (racists, homophobes etc...)

negative people

anti shifters

WHAT I'M PLANNING FOR THIS ACCOUNT↷

I'm not really sure what to post since I haven't been on Tumblr before but I think I just want to share my thoughts and progress in my Shifting journey and on shifting as a whole. Also I want to create script templates and subliminals, I'm already working on some templates and already have my carrd set up. I hope I can offer new insight for you guys and if you would like to hear about my DR's and my Shifting journey feel free to stick around. Also I would love to have some shifting moots !

[slumpsnail]

Process Post

The devil is in the details?

Time-lapse and more under the cut:

I read that some tieflings have forked tongues so I just wanted to draw Rolan with a very long forked tongue and then it turned into this punk rock au drawing. I liked the sketch so much, it ended up as a big paint.

The lighting is inspired flash photography, especially photos taken in a club and night scenes so my intention was to blow out the colors, hence the hot pink under sketch. I got attached to it and in the end the hot pink shows through in some areas which ultimately influenced some of the other colors. I was worried it would be too crazy but I thought to myself, don't be a coward just use them!

I love to bring back some of the core character details in AU stuff, so he's still a full time wizard and part time punk rocker haha. I gave him a thunderwave pin and his necklace is a section of the chest piece in his in-game clothes.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far :)! I think I'll keep making these process posts for my big paints. I'm learning to get better and faster at digital paintings, so it's helpful to log it but hopefully informative to you all as well!

Time-lapse and brushes below:

The brushes I used in this are from the COFE free and 2.0 brush pack, the base procreate brushes - inka, thylacine, and gouache, and Retro supply risograph brush for the bg.

[uwmspeccoll]

Old Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, 1900

Wisconsin architect and printmaker Charles Clark Reynolds (1893-1969) produced this etching of the Door County port city of Sturgeon Bay for the Federal Art Project of the WPA in 1941. Reynolds, who was born in Sturgeon Bay, ran a successful architectural firm with offices in Manitowoc and Green Bay, Wisconsin from 1920-1934. Andrew Stevens, curator emeritus of prints, drawings and photographs at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, made these observations about another copy of the print at the Wisconsin Historical Society in his 1998 exhibition catalog, 150 Years of Wisconsin Printmaking:

The print's title and the notation on the plate that identifies the image as being "Sturgeon Bay 1900" suggest a nostalgic purpose for the work. Instead of presenting the city as it was when the print was made in 1941, he looked back forty years, perhaps by reference to photography, to present if at the turn of the century [as Reynolds himself would have known it as a boy]. As if to reference further the retrospective stance of the work, there is a pencil notation in the print's margin that identifies it as having been printed on antique paper. This retrospective aspect of the work . . . may also reflect some of the historical goals of other projects of the WPA.

Our copy of the print is part of a portfolio of prints from the Wisconsin WPA, and this image is from a digitized version of that print from our digital collection Wisconsin Arts Projects of the WPA, which was made possible with generous financial support from The Chipstone Foundation.

View other posts on prints by Charles Reynolds.

View more posts from our Wisconsin Arts Projects digital collection.

[izumikoushiroweek]

Koushiro Izumi Week 2024 Prompts

Koushiro week aims to offer flexibility and a variety of prompts, so that fans with different talents and amounts of free time can participate!

Entrants are free to select among the prompts on any day, or treat every day as a free day!  You can post as many or as few times as you choose.  

There is only one day with a set theme.  Friday, October 25th will be Reblog Day! Entrants are encouraged to reblog their Koushiro and Tentomon content on that day, but please only reblog items that are not already on the Koushiro Week archive. I will make a special post on reblog day honoring our beautiful archive! Let’s share the Koushiro and Tentomon love, even if we are busy!

Event tag: izumikoushiroweek2024

Please find the prompts beneath the cut! You can use a prompt from any year. It gets harder every year to make new prompts, apologies for that (and for any repetitive/overlapping prompts). Please feel free to send suggestions!

New Prompts for 2024

Koushiro as a Son

Explore Koushiro's relationship with Kae and/or Masami! What is it like to be a parent to a kid or adult child who is so instrumental to the Digital World and everything that goes with that? How do they relate to him? Maybe draw the family going out, or Kae bringing snacks to Koushiro and Tentomon, or Koushiro appreciating his parents.

Koushiro as a Father

Koushiro's daughter is adorable, show us her! Or explore their relationship, how Koushiro feels about being a parent, how he struggles/grows/flourishes as one, how he relates to his daughter.

No Tech!

For whatever reason, Koushiro does not have access to any tech! How does he contribute/cope? Or maybe he just takes a nice day off?

Koushiro: Pillar of the Chosen

We have prompts about Koushiro as a CEO, but what if we focus on Koushiro as the head of the Chosen? What is he doing to support the Chosen, local and global, as he grows up? If he travels, can he stay pretty much anywhere with a Chosen he's helped at some point? What do Chosen think of him around the world? What do non-Chosen think? How does Koushiro cope with the pressure, or does he feel supported by thousands of Chosen?

Koushiro's Day Off, With or Without Friends

What do Koushiro and Tentomon do on an off day? Do the Chosen take him out sometimes? What does each Chosen like to do with him? Does Koushiro go along with anything, just to broaden his horizons?

Dressing Koushiro

I love the idea of each of the Chosen (or any character!) suggesting outfits for Koushiro when he's in his fashion phase. What would he look like if Yamato offered his wardrobe or picked an outfit that suited his (Yamato's) tastes? What about Takeru, lol?

Hobbies

What kind of hobbies might Koushiro explore? What hobbies might his friends encourage him to try?

Exploring the Digital World

Where are some of Koushiro's/Tentomon's favorite places in the Digital World? Do you think he goes there to think? Does he ever just... Sort of vanish there for a few hours, to remind himself what he's working so hard for, or just to breathe? You can draw the places, describe them, or work it into a fic/ficlet! Or share screen grabs/gifs/etc.

Appreciation

The Japanese Chosen (or the global Chosen!) try to thank Koushiro for all his help and support over the years. What do they come up with? How does it make Koushiro feel?

Music

What kind of music do you think Koushiro and Tentomon like? Do you have a Koushiro/Tentomon playlist to share? Koushiro and Miyako helped process music for Yamato's bands (explicitly The Teenage Wolves, but why not his other bands and future music?). What was that like?

Koushiro the Creative

Koushiro is highly entrenched in tech stuff. I wondered... Does he see himself as creative, or does that feel foreign to him? Does he have creative outlets? Maybe photography with Hikari or writing with Takeru? Or maybe a friend can help him see that the things he does ARE creative?

Growing

I mean this physically, but feel free to take it where you'd like! But Koushiro is a Short King who really shoots up between 02 and Tri. I wondered how he feels about that? Or if it was annoying to suddenly not fit into his wardrobe as he shot up?

Koushiro and the 02 Crew

Koushiro gets a lot of screen time in 02 (bless!). How does he feel about the younger Chosen? How do they feel about him? Write or draw him hanging out with his other crew!

2023 Prompts

Crest of Knowledge What does the crest of knowledge mean to you? What do you think it means to Koushiro and Tentomon? How about the people who love them?

It’s lonely at the top What is it like to be an outlier? Over the course of Adventure, Koushiro learns to use his gift to connect to others, rather than as a means to cope with lack of connection. This is beautiful, but still, being an outlier has to… complicate things. Do you think classmates or coworkers resent him and his success? Koushiro launches a business after high school. What is it like to have people relying on him for their livelihoods at such a young age? Do his older employees balk at having someone so young above them? Does he feel that he’s missing out on higher education and fun college activities?

What are your Koushiro headcanons?

Alternate Universe Do you have any AU Koushiro designs? Alternate haircuts? Show us your wildest Koushiro dreams, from mermaids to crossovers to epic fantasy!

Koushiro the mentor

Koushiro often takes on the role of mentor. He’s a member of both the Adventure and the 02 teams and works hard to support everyone. Show us Koushiro offering support to the Chosen: younger, older, or both! Explore his unique role and what it means to him. Does he enjoy sharing knowledge? Does he want to remain as involved as possible with the Digital World, even when the 02 crew takes over? So many Koushiros!

What is your favorite iteration of Koushiro? Adventure, 02, Tri, Kizuna, the reboot, the movies? Izzy and the various Koushiro dub iterations?

What is your favorite canon Koushiro outfit?

Show us a screenshot or draw it!

What is your favorite Koushiro or Izzy quote? How about Tentomon?

Screenshots/illustrations are encouraged, but not required.

Koushiro and Tentomon Screencap redraw

Koushiro memes!

Koushiro is Extremely Online, the boy has seen a meme in his day. Invent a Koushiro meme, or place him in an existing one! What memes do you think Koushiro would like?

Do you relate to Koushiro?

How so? Alternatively, what do you love about him and Tentomon?

What is something you wish we saw happen for Koushiro in canon?

I know we all have wish lists! Share yours!

Koushiro interacting with his parents I cannot get enough of the Izumis!

Prodigious!

What is your favorite prodigious moment? What do you love about Izzy? What are your thoughts about Koushiro vs Izzy?

Emotion As Koushiro grows more confident, perhaps he begins expressing his feelings more. Does he see this as a good thing (growth, trust that he is allowed to show how he feels), or regression (why can’t I control myself like I used to)? How does Koushiro feel about personal expression and his emotions?

2022 Prompts

Feel free to use prompts from last year, or to re-interpret and explore ones you already used!

Koushiro and Tentomon 

Wanna try your take on the classic Koushiro and Tentomon hug in the trolley?  Or show us the boys being adorable, living their best lives together?  The Koushiro and Tentomon relationship is so sweet, there is so much to explore here!

Adoption/family 

Koushiro tells his friends about the adoption, visits the graves of his biological parents, meets his first ever biological relative when he has his daughter, spends time with his parents, etc.  Also, Tentomon absolutely sobbing when he meets Koushiro’s kids, lol!

Friends/life outside of the Chosen

We don’t see much of Koushiro’s personal life throughout the Adventure content.  What does this boy get up to?  Who are his friends, both local and spread over the world?  What are his hobbies?  We know Koushiro is an incredible researcher/tech expert, but he is also a normal kiddo.

Confidence/the Chosen love you for you/everyone loves Koushiro

Koushiro struggles with self worth and confidence over Adventure.  We see him find his way as the Digimon Tech Expert, but we know he’s so much more than that!  Let’s explore Koushiro realizing that he’s needed and valued beyond his skills, and that he doesn’t need to be helpful to connect to and be loved by others- and that he very much is loved.

Confiding 

Koushiro doesn’t discuss his personal life onscreen during Adventure, except to Tentomon and his parents.  It would be amazing to explore him confiding in his friends.

Casual 

Koushiro tries to speak more casually to his friends- this is inspired by this post.

Koushiro as the head of Chosen information/Koushiro’s company

What does Koushiro get up to in his company in Kizuna?  How is he funding global Chosen activity and also researching and also having a life?  How does he juggle everything?  Does everyone look up to the guy who is making sure the global Chosen have the resources and information they need to operate?  Are his friends concerned?  

Plz help 

Koushiro needs help, and the others rise up- whether he asks them to or not, lol!  Maybe he’s stressed by work, juggling too much, or just in a research vortex and hasn’t come up for air in a while.  Maybe a Chosen convinces him to lean on them and take a break.  Or maybe someone pushes him to do “something fun,” and shenanigans ensue!  Maybe Tentomon secretly calls the Chosen when Koushiro enters a Work Vortex or seems down.

Oolong tea

A classic, lol!

FASHUN

Koushiro explores fashion and style!  Show us your best Koushiro Disaster Kouture ™, or show him growing out of that stage and settling into what you imagine his style might become.  Does all the screen time result in glasses someday?  

Eyebrows

Show us a range of Koushiro facial expressions!  Dem brows are there for a reason >:3 

Assistant Tentomon

Tentomon the mighty, making sure Koushiro remembers to Human (eat, sleep, call friends, etc).  Tentomon, acting as Koushiro’s secretary/assistant.  Tentomon learning how to research on his own!  Tentomon sending an SOS when Koushiro needs some help, but is too polite to reach out.

Mochimon

HIM CUTE!  HIM ROUND!  SHOW US HIM!

Koushiro and Bugs

Koushiro sipping from a ladybug mug, Koushiro being gifted ladybug items, Koushiro finding ladybugs or beetles and thinking of Tentomon, Koushiro taking a bug outside when someone else wants to squish it, Koushiro casually revealing that he has an encyclopedic knowledge of beetles for Reasons.

Computer Club President Koushiro

Koushiro was the computer club president in 02 (hopefully this is true of both the English dub and original Japanese)!  That would be so cute to explore!

Koushiro Playing Violin

Inspired by this.

[misslavenderlady]

My Baby Bats 💜🦇

This post is in honor of @hypocriticaltypwriter and her own baby bats. This part is about The Lost Boys themselves. There will be a part two with Michael and Star!

So some of you know I love the Sims 4. Back in 2022 I made The Lost Boys in the game because ya girl is obsessed. I also made:

The Emersons

Star and Laddie

Max

Thorn and Nanook

The Frog Brothers

The cave

Grandpa's House

The comic book store

The boardwalk

And....I just so happened to put myself in the game with them. There was no official "story" at first. I just wanted to smooch my boys so bad, and seeing as I don't have any digital art programs (I used to draw but I'm sooooo rusty), the Sims was the perfect way to go about it. 🥰

My sim self had a daughter with each of the boys (because I too wanted to have a gang of Lost Girls lol). I named each girl after the actor their fathers play.

Pictures and story below~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David's Daughter - Kira (the closest I could get to Kiefer)

She admires her father more than anything in the world. She wants to be a good leader and an even better protector of her sisters. Kira never backs down from a fight, often having moments in childhood where she beat up bullies that were harassing her sisters. But she doesn't use her brawn though. She's as smart as a whip, using patience and strategy to navigate life. Always studying her surroundings and knowing what to say or do for her next step. She's a mysterious girl and never reveals what she's thinking or feeling. As far as Kira is concerned, she needs to be on her guard should something happen to her father and she needs to take over as head vampire. That being said, she's very sensitive deep down, and is incredibly close to her parents, never wanting to be away from them for too long. The anxiety overwhelms her. David worries about the pressure she puts on herself.

Dwayne's Daughter - Billie

Billie is a gentle and kind girl. She's quite shy, often keeping to herself whenever she's around someone outside of the family. As a little girl, she would often hide behind her father, too scared to even say hi to new people. Dwayne was incredibly patient with her, and eventually found a way for her to socialize without getting out of her comfort zone. He introduced her to animals and wildlife in the Santa Carla mountains, showing her the hidden beauties of the world. She loves animals so much, and likes to spend time caring for stray cats and dogs she sees on the streets. Billie also inherited her mother's love of writing, and enjoys poetry most. It helps her navigate life and the feelings she has.

Marko's Daughter - Alex

A little artist like her father, Alex has an eye for the most fascinating curiosities around her. She's a jack of all trades, enjoying everything from photography, to sketching, to painting, to jewelry making. She has so many ideas, and her dad is more than happy to support her vision. She's also a little troublemaker like Marko, often going out to spray graffiti on the walls of various Santa Carla buildings. She's not afraid of causing some mischief if it means expressing herself. Alex also has a fondness of spooky stuff. She has a crystal ball, a collection of candles, tarot cards, and has a planchet earring that she uses whenever she wants to break out the ouija board. She's loves playing fun, witchy games with her sisters during sleepovers. Stuff like Bloody Mary and Light as a Feather, Stuff as a board.

Paul's Daughter - Brooke

Oh she's definitely her father's daughter. Brooke is a little wild child, always eager for an adventure. She's got plenty of energy to burn, dancing and running and jumping off furniture. She loves to stay up late and play video games or have dance parties with her sisters. Above all, her biggest passion is music. Growing up she listened to her father play guitar a lot, and immediately got inspired. He was more than happy to teach her, and ever since then, she's had a dream of becoming a rock star. She's got the energy and the beautiful singing voice for it after all.

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Here are some pics of the baby bats:

I'm gonna reblog this post with more baby bat pics from when the girls were little. Stay tuned!