#cheeky mascot change

[sleep-i-ness]

Commentary of the Heart (Part 2)

Summary: If you knew all it would take was a particularly embarrassing stint on commentary for the Gryffindor match, you would've suffered through it sooner

HARRY POTTER MASTERLIST | GENERAL MASTERLIST | PART 1

“Good afternoon, Hogwarts! It’s a cold and cloudy day but the atmosphere is just electric. I’m your commentator, Lee Jordan. Joining me today due to a few incidents last time, we have a special guest to keep me in line. Y/N, Gryffindor’s resident mascot-”

You stomped on Lee’s toe, who yelped down the megaphone and glared at you.

“Now, Ms Y/L/N, do I need to remove you from the commentator box?” Professor McGonagall’s voice cut in and you smiled up at her sweetly.

“No, no, Professor,” you winced as your voice boomed out across the pitch. “It’s an honour to be here alongside Lee today. Apologies if the commentary is a bit stop-start; the censorship team have decided to swap commentators when commentary becomes too subjective—”

“Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Just giving a disclaimer, professor.” At her stern look, you sighed, passing the megaphone back to Lee.

“Y/N is,” Lee gave you a onceover and a cheeky grin, “both beauty and brains, as many of you already know. And according to the Hogwarts rumour mill, the Gryffindor captain is particularly appreciative of that fact.”

“Mr Jordan!”

You froze, mouth agape as you stared at him, your face flaming. He offered you the megaphone, but you shook your head, pressing your ice-cold fingers against your burning cheeks in a futile effort to cool the blush. Prick. Absolute bellend. You were going to kill him after this

“Sorry, sorry, Professor,” Lee turned back to the pitch, cheeky grin plastered onto his face. “And coming out onto the pitch today, we have the Gryffindors! Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Any of them catch your eye, Y/N?”

“I think the thing that’s catching my eye is Potter’s Firebolt,” you responded, giving him a withering look. “Chang is a good Seeker but at the end of the day, the question will be whether her Comet will be any match for the Firebolt. And look, here come the Ravenclaws; Burrow, Chang, Davies, Inglebee, Page, Samuels and Stretton. I do have to say, Ravenclaw’s not doing too well with gender diversity this year-”

“Ms Y/L/N.”

“Sorry, professor. It must be a great honour for Chang to be representing the female population of Ravenclaw house out here on the pitch, proving to every young Ravenclaw girl that they too can take on the might of the Gryffindor team.”

“Y/L/N!” Professor McGonagall chastised and you blinked innocently, passing the megaphone back to Lee.

“Y/N, you make a very interesting point,” Lee glanced at Professor McGonagall and thought twice about what he was going to say. Fortunately for all in the commentator’s box, the whistle blew. “They’re off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt’s going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year’s World Championship—”

 “Jordan, would you mind telling us what’s going on in the match?” interrupted Professor McGonagall.

You laughed,

“Right you are, Professor—just giving a bit of background information—the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and —”

 “Jordan!”

“Okay, okay.” Lee sighed, passing the megaphone over to you.

“Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal…” your eyes scanned the field, “Samuels sending a nasty Bludger her way, but Weasley blocks it with a—ooh nice swing, George!”

“Y/N!”

Slightly too late you remembered the rules on impartiality. “Yes, sorry, Bell continues undeterred on her path to goal, dodging Davies and Stretton’s clumsy attempt at a Body Blow and—yes! scores! Ten-zero to Gryffindor! That was a beautiful knuckle ball from Katie Bell, straight past Page into the middle hoop.”

Your voice is drowned out by the raucous cheering that erupts from the Gryffindor section as you continue, eyes catching on Potter as he dives. “But no time for celebration, it looks like Potter has spotted the Snitch, diving down with Chang trailing after him on her Comet. It really is in these moments that we see the Firebolt shine—”

“Ms Y/L/N, could you return to commenting on the match?”

“Yes, professor,” you sighed. “And a nasty Bludger from Inglebee has Potter rolling to avoid it and he’s lost the Snitch. —Don’t worry, Potter, it’s clear that Firebolt beats Chang’s Comet by miles. — Up above, Page passes the Quaffle to Burrow, who moves to take up a Hawkshead Attacking Formation with Davies and Stretton, but a Bludger from Weasley has them scattering. Perhaps the more ambitious tactics ought to be saved for the big leagues. And Burrow passes to Davies—ooh, a lovely check from Spinnet means Gryffindor have possession and Ravenclaw haven’t even made it out of their goal end.              

Spinnet is undertaking some excellent zig-zag manoeuvring, confounding both of Ravenclaw’s Beaters as they wildly send Bludgers down the pitch. Spinnet shoots and she scores! Thirty-zero to Gryffindor. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, that’s two goals from Bell and one from Spinnet. Maybe Ravenclaw should reevaluate the number of women on their team—”

“Y/L/N!”

You sighed and passed the megaphone back to Lee, taking a large gulp of the glass of water next to you as he winked, jumping straight back into the game.

“Perhaps in an attempt to defend their all-male Chaser lineup, Davies is racing down the pitch, narrowly avoiding a Bludger from Weasley with an annoyingly impressive Sloth Grip Roll. Johnson goes for the check, but Davies is clutching on tight to that Quaffle—he can’t risk passing it when there’s such precise defence work being undertaken by the Gryffindor Chasers. He’s nearing the Gryffindor goal end, he shoots and AND IT’S A BEAUTIFUL SAVE BY OLIVER WOOD! What a man!” Lee nudged you and you wrinkled your nose as him, choosing to ignore his infuriating jabs. “Wood passes to Johnson, Johnson to Bell, Bell back to Johnson, and what a stunner that girl is—”

“Jordan.”

Lee sighs, passing the megaphone back to you and you laugh. “And Johnson scores, putting it at fourty-zero to Gryffindor, meaning that all female Chasers on the pitch have scored. I’m thinking Ravenclaw really ought to reevaluate their gender stigma because right now it’s not looking too good for them. Page to Stretton, Stretton to Burrow, Burrow gets hit by a precise Bludger from Weasley; I mean, look at the swing on those boys. I think we’re all waiting for summer to come around and getting a close look at their-”

McGonagall looms over you as Fred glances at you and winks, and you have to cover your mouth to stifle your laugh.

“their… bat work without all this cloud. Johnson has the Quaffle, drops it down to Bell, who veers up, confusing Page and scores! That’s fifty-zero to Gryffindor; up twenty in under a minute! It’s in these early moments that you really start to see the tactics shine; Gryffindor have stuck to their tried-and-tested tactics, although it’s hard to beat such natural talent, and Ravenclaw seem to have been watching too many big league games – this isn’t exactly international-level Quidditch.”

“Ms Y/L/N.”

Lee took back the megaphone with a grin. “Ravenclaw has possession. Davies passes to Stretton, Stretton to Burrow, Burrow back to Stretton – these Ravenclaws are really keeping the Gryffindor Chasers on their toes as they fly down the pitch. Davies pulls forward, losing Spinnet and gets the ball off Stretton. Davies shoots—and Wood intercepts, knocking it straight into Johnson’s waiting hands with the back of his broom! Now that man, as I’m sure Y/N will agree, is certainly a Keeper.”

You rolled your eyes at his terrible pun, perfectly content to sit and watch as Lee gulped at the sight of McGonagall’s thunderous face. “Johnson speeds down the pitch, Weasley knocking a Bludger straight out of her path and into Samuels, Johnson shoots and scores! That’s seventy-zero to Gryffindor. And Page sends the ball to Burrow, who fumbles and drops it straight down to Spinnet, Spinnet passes to Bell, Bell shoots and scores yet again! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter’s really putting it through its paces now, see it turn - Chang’s Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt’s precision balance is really noticeable in these long—”

 “JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS?  GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!”

You reluctantly took the megaphone from McGonagall, who scowled at the pair of you. “Ravenclaw seems to have finally woken up and is demonstrating that tenacity and skill we’ve come to expect from them. Davies grabs the Quaffle, and he’s off like a shot! Look at him dance around the Gryffindor defence—oh, but wait! He’s got Katie Bell on his tail! Roger makes a daring pass to Stretton! He’s moving in—oh, and a well-placed Bludger from Ingleburn sends Wood scrambling. Ravenclaw scores; that’s ten-eighty to Ravenclaw. Davies is back to prove that an all-male lineup might be traditional for a reason.”

You glanced at Professor McGonagall, whose lips were pressed so tightly together they had turned white and winced. Well, she hadn’t interrupted you which you took as your sign to continue.

“Wood passes to Bell, Bell to Spinnet, Spinnet to Johnson, and—oof, that’s a nasty Bludger from Samuels. Ravenclaw’s Beaters certainly aren’t playing around. Burrow has possession, he shoots, and—what a brilliant save by Wood! You’d think he’d been practicing in his sleep! Johnson with the Quaffle, tearing down the pitch, leaving the Ravenclaw Chasers trailing in her dust—she shoots, and Page saves with a textbook example of Starfish and Stick. I have to say that these new fancy moves do look impressive when they actually pull them off.”

“Y/L/N.”

“What, professor? I’m being complimentary!”

“Switch.”

With a grumble, you handed the megaphone back to Lee. “Ravenclaw in possession, Burrow shoots and scores. That’s thirty-eighty to Ravenclaw, putting Gryffindor now only fifty points ahead. And Potter has set his eyes on something, speeding towards the Gryffindor goals with a deep concentration on his face; and look at that Firebolt go, it moves like a dream—Chang blocks Potter—HIT HER, HARRY—”

A cough from McGonagall interrupted Lee and he bit back some more colourful language. “And it looks like he’s lost sight of the Snitch again. Wood seems to be advising for some more aggressive manoeuvres; Y/N might know a thing or two about how he works off this pent-up rage off pitch.”

You elbowed Lee, who let out a muffled oof and allowed McGonagall to tug the megaphone out of his hands. McGonagall passed it back to you, and you picked up where Lee had left off. “With that Firebolt of his, Potter would have absolutely wrecked Chang and her Comet. The Quaffle is still in play though as both Seekers return to circling the pitch. It’s clear that Chang’s tactic is to rely on Potter to find the Snitch for her—although with a broom like hers, it’s a brave and perhaps foolish move… Potter dives! Has he seen the Snitch? No! Potter expertly executes a Wronski Feint—maybe Ravenclaw should be taking notes on how to execute high-level manoeuvres from him— Potter is off after something again, Chang hot on his tail—what’s that? DEMENTORS ON THE PITCH?! Potter has just executed one of the most flawless Patronuses I have ever seen—this boy is thirteen and executes O.W.L. level wand work with more skill than most of Fifth Year. Perhaps Potter might want to sit my Defence Against the Dark Arts exam for me—”

“Y/L/N!”

“But Potter hasn’t let the Dementors bother him, he’s almost there—POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS 200 TO 30! AN ASTOUNDING VICTORY BY GRYFFINDOR!”

You turned and pulled Lee into a hug, both jumping with glee as Madam Hooch’s whistle echoed round the stands. The air filled with roars from the Gryffindor crowd as they made their way onto the pitch to where the Gryffindor team was celebrating. You pulled back, pressed a kiss to Lee’s cheek and then looked him dead in the eye. “This does not mean I forgive you for your comments today.”

“Aw, come on, they were funny.”

You glared at him.

“Ms Y/L/N,” you turned towards Professor McGonagall’s voice. “I’m afraid I don’t think this arrangement will be suitable for the next match.”

You bowed your head. “I’m sorry to hear that, professor. I greatly enjoyed myself though.”

She sniffed. “Yes, well, your commentary today was both lacking in impartiality and focus.”

You shared a grin with Lee and chorused a “Sorry, professor” before running out of the stands and down to the pitch.

--

“Interesting commentary work today.” Oliver slipped into the empty spot next to you on the sofa, passing you a drink as he did, and you murmured a soft thanks.

“Well, Lee and I had a deal that I would be as poor a commentator as possible to convince Professor McGonagall to allow him sole control of the commentary again. I did enjoy myself though.”

Oliver laughed. “All of it?”

“Well, when I was speaking.” You shot a half-hearted glare at Lee, who merely smirked back at you. “Lee does enjoy the attention of the megaphone. But you know, I think it’s important to raise awareness about the lack of gender diversity on Ravenclaw’s team; it’s quite shocking really.”

Oliver just laughed at you, and you flushed, blaming the alcohol for the pink in your cheeks. Definitely wasn’t anything else. At all. And you refused to be the one to bring up Lee’s comments. Oliver could make that move if he fancied, but you’d laid your cards out perfectly clearly.

You sipped at your drink, coughing as it scorched your throat. “What the hell is in this?”

Oliver shrugged. “Fred’s concoction.”

You froze and looked up at your very intoxicated friend, who was intently pouring Ogden’s Old into a bucket. And then at the empty bottles scattered around him. “I don’t think I want to know what’s in this.”

“Probably for the best.”

You hummed in response, glancing at Oliver out of the corner of your eye, only to find him watching you intently. You frowned into your cup. Then winced a mouthful down, using it to bolster that Gryffindor courage you always seemed to lose around him, and made eye contact with him.

“Do I have something on my face?” Somehow you managed to confront him with the perfect level of nonchalance and teasing, or at least it felt as if you had. You couldn’t quite tell right now but judging by the pink tinging the tips of his ears, you had pulled it off.

“Uh, no,” he stuttered, tongue tripping over itself as he worked to dig himself out of the hole. “I.. Just... You look good tonight, Y/N.”

You blinked. Of all the things to come out of Oliver’s mouth, that hadn’t been what you were expecting. And then your brain caught up with itself and you felt all of your blood relocate itself to your face.

“Thanks,” you murmured, slightly frozen to the spot. Drink. You needed more drink. You were far too sober to be smooth and seductive right now. You eyed the rest of your cup, took a deep breath and then polished it off, to the sound of whooping as Fred caught your movement out of the corner of his eye.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Fred tutted, stumbling over to you with a fresh glass in hand. “No empties allowed here!”

You rolled your eyes at him, accepting the cup nonetheless and raising an eyebrow when he continued to hover over you with an expectant look. Oliver shifted awkwardly next to you and Fred eyed him, eyebrows knitting together as the cogs squeaked round in his brain.

“Hm.” Was all he offered, finished off with a dramatic turn, robes whirling round him.

How strange. You said as much to Oliver, who just nodded, abnormally reticent around you, and you wrinkled your nose.

“Y/N.” Your name burst out from his lips, and he looked almightily like he was regretting saying it. Slowly, you nodded, tilting your head to the side and letting your hair fall away from your neck as you did. “What Lee said today…”

You froze, tongue darting out to wet your bottom lip. His eyes snapped to the movement and then back up to your face. Your heart pounded in your chest as the silence stretched, and you felt far too warm all of a sudden, deeply aware of the fire roaring away and the alcohol racing through your blood.

"What about it?" you asked, voice softer than you intended. You had meant to come across as bold and all devil-may-care, but inside your nerves were screaming. If Lee had destroyed your friendship with his words today, you were going to kill him. Break out your nastiest Bat-Bogey-Hex. Because you didn’t mind if he didn’t like you (that was a lie), as long as you had him as your friend.

Oliver cleared his throat, looking for all his worth as if a particularly rabid Bludger was racing towards him. His hand moved to the back of his neck, rubbing awkwardly. "Lee... well, he wasn’t completely off the mark, was he?"

You blinked. It seemed as if your blood had decided to permanently relocate to your face, which was fine, totally fine, apart from the fact that you hadn’t drunk enough for that to be a good enough excuse. "Which part, exactly? Lee had a lot to say today."

Oliver exhaled sharply, then laughed quietly. You didn’t know what the joke was. You felt sick. Maybe you had drunk too much. He leaned forward slightly and it took everything in you not to flinch away, because you knew what was coming and you really, really couldn’t stomach the words you knew were about to exit his mouth, the ‘oh, you’re like a sister to me’ and the laugh you’d have to muster in response.

"The part where he said, well," he chuckled again, “that I’m particularly appreciative of your brains and beauty.”

You smiled half-heartedly, knowing it didn’t reach your eyes, hoping you’d have an excuse to run away as soon as possible and then avoid Oliver for the rest of the year. Because it would be fine, he was graduating, and you could not pretend that he didn’t exist.

"I wasn’t planning on saying anything," Oliver admitted, his voice low, almost a murmur, "but watching you today, laughing, talking with everyone... I couldn’t help it. And now I’m sitting here, just... regretting not telling you sooner."

You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The room spun slightly—maybe from Fred’s drink, maybe from the confession hanging in the air. That wasn’t what you were expecting. You shut your mouth again.

"I’m sorry," he continued quickly, jumping into the silence you’d left hanging in the air. Fuck. You’d left it too long to respond, what was the right thing to say? "And I don’t want to make things weird. If you don’t feel the same, it’s fine. I just—" He paused, running a hand through his hair, and part of you just wanted to grab him and pull him in for a kiss. "I couldn’t sit here tonight and not tell you anymore."

You stared at him. Come on, you were meant to be witty and quick with your words, not speechless with your mouth glued shut as the man you’d be pining after for months confessed his attraction to you. You’d dreamed of hearing something like this almost every single night before you went to sleep (you did not care if that was unhealthy) but now you felt so, so unprepared.

"Oliver," you started, your voice breaking ever so slightly, "I..." You faltered for a second, eyes widening at the sight of him wincing. "I fancy you too. I mean, obviously.”

“Obviously?” He echoed slowly.

“Yeah, obviously. I mean, I thought you knew already.” You laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of your neck.

He stared at you. And then, a slow smile spread across his face, the kind that made your heart flip. "Really?"

"Really," you nodded, heart thudding in your chest as you waited for someone to jump out and yell that it was all some kind of prank. You knew none of your housemates would ever be that cruel, but really this had to be some kind of dream. A particularly vivid drunk dream.

For a second, neither of you said anything, just sitting there in the glow of the fire. And then you stuck out your arm. “Pinch me.”

“What?” Oliver asked with a bemused smile.

“Pinch me. I just need to be sure that I’m not dreaming right now.”

Then, with a laugh that was finally genuine, Oliver reached out and lightly pinched your arm. “Feel real enough to you?”

You blinked at him, a grin breaking its way across your face. And then he took your hand, his fingers warm and steady against yours, and you forgot how to breathe again.

“Yeah,” you murmured after a good half second, realising that he was still waiting for a response while you attempted to deal with the fact that he was holding your hand. Merlin, what were you, eight in the playground again? “So.”

“So,” Oliver echoed teasingly, lips pulling up into a smirk that made you want to snog him silly. “What do you say about going to Hogsmeade together? Just the two of us, of course.”

You took a breath, just to calm the fluttering butterflies that had only just started to settle down again. “I’d love that.”

A shaky breath left you as you beamed into your cup, trying to hide the giddy grin threatening to split your face in two. Oliver laughed quietly and you glanced up, feeling slightly embarrassed at the look of amusement on his face, but it was far too outweighed by your glee to even properly register.

“I guess we’ve got Lee to thank, haven’t we?" he said, grinning at you with a squeeze of your hand.

"Let’s not tell him that, though," you groaned, leaning your head against his shoulder. "He doesn’t need a bigger head than he already has."

Oliver chuckled, and his thumb brushed lightly across your knuckles. "Deal."

[parasolyaa]

Hi!! How are you doing?

I saw your post inviting asks and something I've been wondering is, if you could tell me about some things from Misha's childhood that are unique to Ukraine which he might feel nostalgic for as a young adult (snacks, toys, kids tv shows, etc)?

Thank you for the informative posts you make, you're awesome ☺️

hi!! i'm doing good tysm!!! couldn't be otherwise after getting an ask from the most legendary artist in this fandom, i adore your ricky art!! i'll use this post as an excuse to yap endlessly about random media that will mostly be irrelevant, but also a peek into that time and place. sort of.

the epithome of ukrainian childhood nostalgia is zhyvchyk: both a drink and a tv show (which is just an advertisement for that drink). it’s a bubbly apple soda, in other words - a drink of gods.

(also fun fact: after russia occupied crimea, they tried to make their own version of zhychyk there. they called it zhyvunchik and the only design change was that they ??cut off the arms of the mascot?? since zhyvchyk basically means “lively guy”, it was kinda ironic)

other drinks he’d definitely miss would be kvas and kompot (obligatory laughing and giggling when he calls it cumpot).

starting off with more traditional snacks, i envision young misha with a necklace of booblycks (obligatory laughing and giggling when he calls it booblicks)

also any roshen candy! (obligatory laughing and giggling when he mentions the nut out chocolates) (they indeed are called that) (they are pretty recent tho). the undying classic is crazy bee and shypuchka/fizzy boom (the darker green design is the older one).

also there are some fancy sets, associated with holidays or family gettogethers. strila/arrow, kyiv evening and kyiv cake

the thing misha would DEFINETELY love and miss is flint ?bread chips?, this is an unmatched snack. once again, darker green design is the older one, and also with a pretty wild taste. there is a big variety of those.

ukrainian childhood cartoons were mostly distributed among three channels - pixel, plusplus and malyatko tv (disney, nickelodeon and cartoon network were here too, but no point in talking abt them now). the first two usually broadcastered whatever cartoons from around the world were relevant at the time (ukrainian dub for ducktales was unmatched!!), and also a few ukrainian things. i will highlight "abetka tivi" (alphabet tv) from pixel. it was, well, a show about learning the alphabet. "auntie owl’s lessons" was another one, and there were much more episodes, usually about famous art, world history and etiquette.

on plusplus, there was a show called "fairytale with dad", in which male celebrities read out fairytales to children. something about healing daddy issues with this one. also there is a whole plusplus cinematic universe, because this show sometimes intervened with another original show of theirs about ??shapes going on adventures??. and there was a show called useful suggestions, which was universally disliked by kids for being too on the nose about the life lessons they were trying to teach.

and then there was malyatko tv. when it stopped broadcasting in 2023, everyone weeped and so did i. there were vibrant music videos, eg "turtle aha", "helper boy" (self PR for my fic with that name. sorry.) and other. and, even though this wasn’t original ukrainian content, i feel the need to mention this: malyatko tv often showed some old anime cartoons - "haidi", "pocahontas" and others. ukrainian opening dubs were ethereal. to me.

there also were old cartoon classics (broadcasted on a creepy channel called children's world, an ugly sibling of malyatko tv) - the “how cossacks” series and “there once was a dog", but there were tons more.

(also this made me remember another long-gone channel called Qtv. basically what the cool kids watched, it also shows up in every tiktok #ukrainechildhood #nostalgia #2000s video. it's showed simpsons and stuff and had cheeky editing, eg in an advertisement for death note they only showed spongebob clips to make it look like he was kira. pretty funny imo)

peak nostalgia is the show "країна у" (country u? krayina u? untranslatable title), which is a dumb sketch show consisting of shows on its own about people from different regions of ukraine. bringing this up because odesa was one of them, and, no matter if misha disliked this show or not, this definetely impacted his childhood. the schtik about "once upon in odesa" was that there were four guys in odesa and uuuuh that's it? i don't remember much about it tbh ...

there were also popular reality tv shows and stuff, i really really wanna highlight "the world inside out". it's a travel show about this dude dmytro komarov getting to most remote an unique places in the world. don't get me wrong, he was being an idiot half the time, but it was peak entertainment. he uploaded old episodes with english dub on youtube and now does charity work. props to him

back to cartoons, "fox mykyta" was a nice, more modern cartoon. it's vaguely based on ivan franko's book with the same name, which in turn is vaguely based on "the blue jackal". speaking of books, ukrainian school literature programe is traumatising asf, and i just need to mention "fedko-brigand". it's a short story about a young boy who misbehaved but only lied once, when he took the blame for pushing a rich boy in the river, which he didn't do. it's also the reason why ukrainian 5th graders all spent at least one night crying, and since rereading it, i just keep thinking about misha. i feel like he'd relate

i'm convinced every ukrainian child had this specific "abetka"(alphabet) book with rhymes to every letter. the "а-ба-ба-га-ла-ма-га" publishing house never fails with their illustrations.

also probably the most popular children's books are the ones by vsevolod nestayko, eg "toreadors from vasyukivka" and "wonderful adventures in the forest school".

about games and toys, i honestly can't recall any ukraine specific ones except "this thing but slavic!" (monopoly ukraine, stuff like that). motanka dolls count as an original toy. out of computer games, maybe the most popular one at the time - "stalker: shadow of chornobyl"? some irony in that. real life games tho? the only difference between the games of tag and kvach is the name. "сossacks and bandits" maybe... there's a bl comic with the same name btw, and i also think that's the only place where you can find the rules for it in english lol. or google translate the wikipedia page.

misha lived by the sea, so he probably played a lot of games on water, other than that - all the same things american kids experience. generally my main advise when thinking about misha's childhood is to remember he had all the same things people in uranium did, excluding canada specific media. after auntie owl's lessons came ninja turtles, and after eating flint bread chips it was only natural to sip coca cola.

also i can advise to just look up "ukraine nostalgia"/"дитинство ностальгія" on tiktok. half the time it will be uncomprehensive stuff, and the other half might be something that'd help shape the view of what it was like. this is an invitation to ask more specific things and also for my ukrainian mutuals to add on because i only scratched the surface. hope it was useful or somewhat interesting xd

[freddy-and-friends-au]

The band’s all here! (WIP)

I still haven’t finished their new endoskeletons yet, but I think I have their suits mostly down!

Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the inbox!

EXTRA INFO AND SCREENSHOTS UNDER THE CUT!!!

At first glance, these are obviously inspired by the traditional Chuck E. Cheese x Rockafire Explosion suits, designing them more like sports mascot costumes and having very little of the endoskeleton showing at all times (say for Foxy, of course). This was not only for more realistic world-building, but also to optimize animation, as we now have less moving parts that are actually showing, and therefore, less to render.

You might be wondering “if you wanted a more realistic approach to the suits, why not take a more realistic approach to the masks, like a more ShowBiz Pizza style?” And to that I say: everyone does that.

Okay, that isn’t entirely the reason. I like the idea of basing the designs more off of the canon models than something that already exists, because I like the idea of FazEnt having their own style of making animatronics. The ShowBiz style isn’t the only way to do animatronic masks, and these masks are how FazEnt would go about making them. Even when FazEnt does use the trademark ShowBiz rubber-face masks on the Junior models, they don’t do it the same way that ShowBiz does it.

Something interesting I want to do with Freddy & Friends is to set narrative moments apart from the moments meant to be passed off as real footage. The designs shown above are for the latter, meanwhile the narrative will use more artistically stylized suits textured to more so resemble a comic book, sort of like Into The Spider-Verse (except instead of going for a generalized comic book feel, the Freddy & Friends style is gonna be more reminiscent of the Batman: Year One comic). The designs will be more reminiscent of how I draw them on paper, as opposed to being faithful to the canon.

Here’s some extra info as to how I came up with the designs, as well as some extra renders and concept art!:

Original concept art from September 30, 2020.

Freddy was a little obvious to design, probably because everyone seems to design him like this when making more cartoonish versions of him. A more defined tuxedo complete with a collar and cuffs with a red stripe around his hat. It just seemed like the right direction to go in.

Bonnie was initially intended to wear a vest, though I was holding out for something else so that he could be differentiated from the evil rabbit (the evil rabbit wears a vest). I asked my friends what I could change it to, and one of them said “Try a cardigan”. Honestly, that fits Bonnie’s personality so much better, both in terms of spirit and cartoon.

You might also notice that Bonnie was supposed to have buck teeth, as well as more squared off teeth. That was originally part of his V1 model, but when I tried applying that to the new models, literally any way I tried to arrange it made Bonnie look like so much like an insufferable asshole that I wanted to punch him in the face. Ultimately, I ended up ditching the buck teeth and just gave him his classic teeth.

Chica was a little hard to do something unique with at first. I initially wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with her, but when I modeled her V1, her little chef’s hat was a last minute addition to her design. I’m also thinking about changing her bib into an apron, per the toon designs that Henry posted a while back.

Foxy was probably the most fun to design. Obviously, his final model has a lot of details inspired by the FNAF movie, but when I was designing him 4 years ago, I really just wanted to go crazy with his design. I wanted him to have a beard, I wanted him to have a peg leg (I really liked the idea of animating him with a limp). Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’ll keep the peg leg, because it might be a little too hard for Henry to animate with the tech that he has.

As a cheeky little reference to the roots of the FNAF fandom, I wanted Foxy’s hook to resemble the hook seen on the Splinks Foxy model. ;)

Endo01 - Version 4 WIP

I’ve done a few different versions of the endoskeleton. What I’m trying to do for this new one is to assemble him modularly, allowing me to make each component a recognizable component (they’re also actually modeled after real components).

I’m not gonna go into detail about the functionality of this guy, because I eventually plan to make a Freddy & Friends Instructional VHS series centered around being a mechanic for FazEnt. However, what I will say is that these designs are intended to have plausible functionality, especially using the technology of the 1980’s (which is not restricted to pneumatic technology, because making an animatronic walk with pneumatic actuators while maintaining the traditional complexity of animatronic endoskeletons is simply impossible).

EXTRAS:

The original Version 1 designs

My failed attempt at giving Bonnie buck teeth (I wanna punch him so bad…)

Fixed Foxy

???

[gross-giirl]

When developing characters for Inverse Ninjas, how did u design the characters to make them stand out from both their non/public domain appearances and how did u got away with keeping the names to them without even having to change a single letter?

These are really good questions. I'll answer the easier one first.

Well if the name is who the character is when they went into the domain, then the name is also public domain. You can't call The Little Mermaid "Ariel" because Disney named her that. You can use the story, you can name her anything else. You could call her Ursula if you're feeling cheeky XD. But her story is free for use and you can use it and change it as you like. For developing the characters, that's a longer answer. The tldr is that I get bored very easily and I prefer that while recognizably themselves, I also want them to look unique. The longer answer would be me going through each character individually and going through my choices with them and why. Mickey, for example, I wanted to be extra careful because he's Trademarked as well, and I Disney has a reputation of having a hair trigger for their long neglected mascot. Whereas Felix's copy written design is so close to the original, it was safer to shift slightly away from true classic rubberhose (again, not that I couldn't have just used the true PD design, I just had more fun not doing that) That said, if you or anyone else is curious about a specific character breakdown, just tell me which one :D

[eightiesbby]

turns around ... my brand-new face sparkling and batting its eyelashes at you ! nothing to see here — just a cheeky mascot change to manifest an app featuring the lovely maya hawke as your muse's face, y'know ? also falling to my knees to shamelessly beg for : dev patel, chandler kinney, courtney eaton, melissa barrera, chase sui wonders, mike faist, hunter schafer, mason gooding, zain iqbal, ayo edebiri, jonathan davi- [PUBLIC THIRST MUTED].

[a-petitefairy]

Flamme de Poulet: 2nd Mission.

by Isabella Audynna (@Karvmi on X)

Concept

If i were to manage a new branch of FlammedePoulet, i’d create a dining experience that’s as exciting as it is delicious. Introducing our new concept : ‘O’ Little Chicken’, a fast-paced, fiery take on ayam geprek that will have you coming back for more!

My restaurant would feature a sleek, modern design with a racing theme. Picture white and red decor, checkered flags, and racing stripes—it’s like walking into a pit stop where the only fuel you need is our spicy chicken! The vibe is energetic and fun, perfect for those who love a bit of adrenaline with their meal.

Our signature dish? Bite-sized ayam geprek paired with rice balls—perfect for eating on the go. These spicy little bites are designed for maximum flavor and portability, ideal for anyone who’s always on the move. And when we say spicy, we mean it—O’ Little Chicken doesn’t mess around with mild!

Mascot

Meet O’ Little Chicken, our fiery, feisty little hero! Imagine a tiny chicken with a big personality, rocking racing goggles, a flaming cape, and a cheeky grin. O’ Little Chicken is all about speed and spice, zipping around to deliver the hottest ayam geprek bites in town!

Staffs

First of all, i’m choosing limjiyeonh as our Head Chef because i know she can elevate food, plus, she’s got a chef’s hat that just screams “I know what I'm doing.”

Then i’ll put ENHYPENSlM, minrjeongi, and ywnazzn as our Chefs because i believe they can chop onions without crying. That’s the kind of emotional resilience we need in the kitchen, isn’t it? Also, these people can whip up a mean sambal that can make even the bravest diners break a sweat!

Nicngyi, Jiwloo, and kgimliz are our waitresses because they have the charm to make anyone feel welcome. Plus, they can balance six plates on one arm while telling a joke—a true multitasking queens. Customers won’s just come for the food; they’ll come for their witty banter!

Next, i’ll chose DONGDHYUN as our Cashier because he’s a human calculator. Seriously, he can make change faster than you can say “spicy chicken bites”. Plus, his friendly smile makes paying the bill a pleasant experience!

qimselle is our Marketing guru because she once made a tweet about her avocado toast go viral. If she can turn breakfast into a global sensation, just imagine what she’ll do for our spicy bites! Plus, she’s a meme queen who can create viral content faster than you can say “extra sambal.”

maxverstappein and leedohyxn are our Security guy because they built like a tank and has a soft spot for chickens. They’ll keep the peace and make sure no one tries to sneak off with O’ Little Chicken! Plus, they got that “don’t mess with me” look perfected.

Finally, txtsoobeen is our Cleaning expert because he can make anything sparkle. He’s got a cleaning playlist that keeps he motivated and a collection of cleaning hacks that would make Marie Kondo jealous. Our restaurant will be spotless, guaranteed!

Our Menu

[vapehk1]

Clouds on the Field: Mike McDaniel Vape and the NFL's Chill New Vibe

In the often serious and strenuous world of the NFL, where stress levels can match the scores of a high-octane playoff game, Miami Dolphins' head coach Mike McDaniel brings a refreshing twist. Known for his strategic genius and quick wit, McDaniel has been spotted more than once turning to his trusty vape. Let's dive into this foggy sideline phenomenon and see if there's more to the story than meets the eye. So, grab your snacks (and maybe your own vape), as we explore what it’s all about. The Sightings - A Puff of Mystery It's not every day that you see a head coach puffing away during a tense moment on the field. Yet, Mike McDaniel, with his laid-back demeanor, has been seen handling a sleek vape pen. The first notable sighting occurred during a particularly nerve-wracking overtime. Cameras caught a glimpse of McDaniel, not with a playbook, but what appeared to be a vape pen in hand, leading to a flurry of memes and cheeky comments on social media. Subsequent games had fans and commentators alike eagle-eyeing the sidelines, turning each Dolphins game into a where's Waldo of vape spotting. While some argue it adds a relatable touch to the coach, others wonder if he’s starting a trend. Will future NFL games feature designated vaping zones on the sidelines? Only time will tell. The Reaction - Fans and Fog Machines The reaction to McDaniel's sideline vaping has been as mixed as a tropical fruit e-juice. On one side, the internet has embraced this quirk with open arms, creating gifs, and even proposing a new team mascot: Mikey the Mist. Dolphins fans have expressed a spectrum of feelings, from amusement to admiration, appreciating the coach's ability to stay chill under pressure. On the other end, health advocates have raised concerns, sparking debates about the message this sends in a sport already scrutinized for its health policies. Yet, the consensus in the fanbase seems to lean towards amusement, with many noting that if vaping is McDaniel’s secret to keeping cool and crafting winning plays, they might as well sponsor a vape brand at the stadium. NFL Policies and the Vape Debate The NFL, known for its strict policies on substances, has a somewhat cloudy stance when it comes to vaping. There's no explicit rule against vaping on the sidelines, but it’s certainly a gray area. The league has policies against tobacco products, but non-nicotine vapes fall into a nebulous category. This sighting has prompted discussions among the top brass about whether there’s a need to clear the air regarding vaping. Could this lead to a new rulebook entry? And more importantly, how will it affect the coach's popular image as the "coolest" guy on the turf? As the debate continues, it seems McDaniel might just be the unintentional poster boy for vaping in professional sports. The Bigger Picture - Changing Times in the NFL Mike McDaniel's casual vaping brings up a bigger conversation about the evolving culture in the NFL. Gone are the days when coaches were expected to be the stoic, untouchable figures, pacing the sidelines with grim expressions. Today’s coaches, like McDaniel, are viewed more as real people with relatable habits, including the occasional need to take the edge off with a vape. This shift could signal a change in how the public perceives not just the leaders of their favorite teams but athletes and sports personnel in general. As society becomes more accepting of personal quirks, the NFL too seems to be adapting, slowly but surely. Maybe the future holds a more laid-back, accepting environment across all professional sports, where a little vapor is just part of the game. Conclusion In the entertaining exploration of Miami Dolphins' head coach Mike McDaniel's sideline vaping habit, "Clouds on the Field: Mike McDaniel Vape and the NFL's Chill New Vibe," we delve into how McDaniel's occasional puff adds a touch of humor and relatability to the often tense atmosphere of NFL games. This article captures the mixed reactions from fans and health advocates alike, with social media buzzing with memes and playful commentary, while also prompting discussions about potential updates to NFL policies regarding vaping. The phenomenon highlights a broader cultural shift within the NFL, signaling a move towards a more relaxed and humanized view of coaches. The piece amusingly speculates on the future of vaping in professional sports, suggesting that McDaniel's laid-back approach might just set a new trend, blending personal habits with professional personas in the public eye. If you want to know more, please refer to this article: https://keystonevape.com/best-vape/the-best-disposable-vapes-2024-you-cant-miss/ Read the full article

[diagonalleyhq]

not only is there a cheeky mascot change, but if you check out the main, you'll notice i've finally updated the aesthetics !!! feel free to head into the ask & tell me what you think !

[artg211]

Topics of Interest 

Naive Mascots: symbols, icons, trustworthy, characters

Public Service Campaigns: non-commercial, creating change, charitable 

Culture Jamming: humour, radical, media, political 

Final Topic

Naive Mascots started when imagery became cheaper to reproduce. They were used to accompany slogans. They made the brands trustworthy and intriguing. Sometimes they were abstract but usually had human characteristics. 

Keywords 

Iconic 

Symbol

Vintage 

Fun

Humanistic Character 

APP

Software: Illustrator 

Creative Concept

For this design challenge, I chose a theme that I felt was different from the other ones I have done this semester. I created a smoking, skull character that looks devious to represent a BBQ restaurant in Nanaimo. I picked a business that I felt matched the vibe of this type of iconic character. In Illustrator, I drew a smug smoking skull. I kept the colour pallet, layout and typography quite simple to highlight the character. I used red, black, white and gray because that is the colour of Smokin’ George’s current logo. I added minimal shading and detail.

Design Decisions 

When doing research, I realized that these types of mascots are coming back in popularity and they usually have a vintage feel to pay homage to the truly old mascots. I made the character have human features and do human things but it isn’t quite human. Mascots can be quite abstract sometimes as long as they are intriguing which I believe this one is. I knew I wanted the mascot to look a bit rebellious and to be smoking to connect with the name of the company. 

Summary 

Overall, I created a character/mascot for a restaurant called Smokin’ George’s in Nanaimo. I picked this place because the energy is very fun and cheeky like a mascot can be. I created the character in Illustrator. I chose to keep it on the simple side in terms of design but to add a vintage feel to the piece.

[hellywoodfmm]

cheeky lil mascot change to the one and only blondie, but i'll be around if anyone needs anything ! come and check us out ! we would love to have you !

[jointhewilderness]

cheeky little mascot change !! but also, i'm so sorry for my inactivity last night and tonight, i ended up crashing out early and then tonight i decided to make lasagna from scratch so it's been busy !! but the good news is that i know have two days off to absolutely obliterate my muses and be on the main, we accept both days over the weekend and i would love to get to that twenty writer mark !!

[notablehq]

lauren or ally from fifth harmony?

i  really  had  to  think  about  this  cause  both  are  absolutely  amazing  !  but  i’d  have  to  say  ally  !  

[musicalhqs]

most wanted from mean girls? 👀👀

⌞ʾ⁎ are you up to something, nonnie ? the plastics were recently reunited, and i know all of us would love to see janis most ! i’m also going to mention damian and aaron since we’ve never had them before. and if you’d rather play older characters ( who are just as welcome here ), what do you think about mrs george or ms norbury ??

[thebridgehqs]

Welcome to 1924 –  Matthias Helvar !! I hope you feel right at home here in Sydney. Before you get too comfortable and see what all our city has to offer, be sure to review our CHECKLIST. We’re so glad to have you with us, Beth !!

** Harry Potter is reserved for 48 hours!!

Look who just woke up- is that CALAHAN SKOGMAN? No, I must have been mistaken, that’s MATTHIAS HELVAR from SHADOW AND BONE. I heard he is 21 and stuck here just like everyone else. Even in the 20’s, they still give off a FUR COATS, A SOLDIER’S UPBRINGING, CONFLICTED FEELINGS impression. They’re known to be quite PROTECTIVE, but have a tendency to be UNTRUSTING on their bad days. (beth + can i reserve harry potter pls lol)

[phoenix-manga]

How would the families of the TWST boys react to the partner Pokemon of the Heartslabyul quintet, Savanaclaw trio, Octavinelle trio, Scarabia duo, Pomefiore trio, Ignihyde duo and Diasomnia quartet?

The answer is quite long so the rest is under the cut...

Riddle's mom might not approve because she thinks pets are a waste of time. But Riddle would learn from Azul a bit, just a bit, and lie that the exceptional students are given a familiar to help their image. That got his mom to change her opinion quickly.

Ace's family would fawn over the fire puppy, it was just so warm and fluffy, also a good boy who guards the house against intruders. There may be times Growlithe gets cheeky and pranks both brothers while pretending to cry to the mom who scolds her sons.

Deuce's mom would absolutely adore the Togepi, whenever Deuce ran errands with his mom and some people ask what was he carrying in his chest carrier and Deuce goes "My child!" and Ms. Spade plays along with it.

Trey's family would absolutely make Alcremie their mascot. The store sign is getting an upgrade and Alcremie themed desserts are gonna line the cake shelves. His sibling might unintentionally try to dab their finger on the Pokemon cause its made of cream. Trey has to remind them gently that Alcremie has personal space.

Cater's sisters would be gushing over Wynaut at first until it started to act so confused with what they were doing that they lose interest. Turns out Wynaut does this on purpose cause Cater is the only one who gets to see it active.

Leona brings his meowth home and immediately acts like a lil turd to those who whisper nasty rumors behind his back. Meowth may sass Leona from time to time but they ain't taking no disrespect for their trainer. Cheka's attention now goes to Meowth who handles the cub with the patience of a saint.

Ruggie is already using his little friend to help around the neighborhood. The kids know Murkrow, the neighbors know Murkrow. Granny Bucchi? She's already considered it a grandchild. Everyone has Murkrow's back and if some cheeky guy tries to pick on it by throwing rocks, they'll be hounded by the hyena fam.

Jack brought home his Maractus and his siblings were in awe of a living cactus. Maractus likes to sway from their wolf tails and ride on them like on would do to a blanket being dragged on the floor.

Azul showed his parents his new familiar and his mom is reminded of baby Azul. Clobbopus is gonna be the new baby of the household. And if Azul's old bullies try anything with him, Clobbopus gonna throw these hands and smack away.

The leech twins brought their Pokemon to their home, Foongus was placed in a bubble spell to keep it from drowning. Their dad was expecting them to get a dangerous-looking familiar but they came home with a derpy axolotl and a mushroom. He can't argue with his sons though. Mama Leech making sure their Pokemon feel comfortable at home. Maybe even made a room with an air pocket so that Foongus and Wooper don't have to worry about air.

Kalim's family would frighten Sunkern since there were so many strangers trying to pet it. Kalim for once gently scolds his siblings that they shouldn't rush towards Sunkern and if they want to play with him they have to promise to be gentle with him. His father was surprised but he thinks it was alright because his son is learning to set boundaries and be responsible.

Jamil's sister would find Natu so adorable and would borrow it for selfies and tell all her friends about her brother's cute parrot thing. Natu would disappear on her when she wants another selfy and Najma would pout when she sees the pokemon perched on her brother's shoulder. Jamil just smugly grins at her.

Vil's father would approve of Snom. Despite that his fans would think he'd get a pretty familiar, they'd grow to like Snom right away. Those beady eyes were so irresistible. The moment it evolves into a Frosmoth, his fans would fawn over it.

Rook's family would admire the beautiful plumage on Braviary. When the two go hunting, they have a bit of competition between each other on who can catch the biggest animal they can hunt. It's always a draw.

Epel's family thought that he got an apple from one of his classmates and it was really big. But to their surprise, it was a small dragon in the apple. Flapple would want to show off by lifting up the heavy tools with ease and helping sort quality apples. The Felmier family openly appreciates Flapple. Granny Felmier even made a nice little hat and scarf for her grandson's familiar.

Idia and Ortho wouldn't want the STYX to treat their Pokemon like the subjects they experiment on. So, they mostly keep them close whenever they get home. The Pokemon are the only ones who can provide them with temporary relief from this organization.

Malleus returns home with Vanillite and the fae servants were confused because why isn't their master finishing that ice cream- oh wait, it has a face... Some of the fae would be a bit shocked to see this kind of familiar that was given to their prince. Some might ask if they didn't let him pick one more suited to his image.

Malleus just waves them off by saying he specifically wanted this creature. Vanillite gets a very pampered home life.

Lilia wants to celebrate getting their Pokemon by making some dinner, Silver does the old, "Look what's that?" trick on Lilia as he and Teddiursa stuff Gulpin's maw with their portions. Gulpin is just happy to be fed.

Sebek is proudly showing his parents his new familiar who is currently mimicking his pose as he speaks. Mama Zigvolt is cooing at the little fairy bug while Papa Zigvolt is genuinely curious about what kind of familiar it was. Ribombee actually aiding his father in dental checkups is the cutest image ever.

[worriedvision]

Do it /hj

So part 1 is here, Heizou is having his redemption arc through Kazuha flopping lol! Gender neutral reader

--

Heizou woke up that morning to a strange invitation. Attached to the paper was this small sticker, a cute looking mascot to him. He opens the letter, not at all worried about it being a threat, and the contents of the letter describe a cluster of islands that were filled to the brim with puzzles. All he had to do was say yes.

That confused Heizou, until he realised the letter meant literally saying 'yes' out loud. He knew that he could take his time with cases, his intuition always carrying him easily to the answer. If this was a joke someone was pulling, he could easily go along with the joke.

But if it wasn't a joke? The nature of this letter was curious enough to catch Heizou's attention. Without dawning on it for too long, he says the magic word. Before he can look to see if anyone jumped out to laugh at him, however, he passes out.

Heizou wakes up on a bare island, oddly flat. Rubbing his eyes, he looks out to see the neighbouring islands that seemed much more extravagant. he was excited to get a feel of each of the islands, and even this seemingly plain canvas of an island he had woke up on intrigued him.

Of all islands, this was the one that was lacking severely. Walking around the island, he gets a hunch that he should investigate the middle. A single glimmer shines, and Heizou walks over, curious as he kneels down to investigate.

--

How did this happen to you?

You had decided to board a small boat, hoping to find some sort of exit that was unknown to the others. Next thing you know, you get sucked into the ocean. You don't have the chance to scream, nor to process it, falling for several seconds before landing in a comfortable bush. Opening your eyes, you look around to see the familiar environment of the outdoors. Surrounding you, is equipment you worked with on a daily basis.

Ah, so this was likely yours.

"I like working with the outdoors!" You hear your voice say, gleeful. "I applied for this position so I could do it full time while being responsible."

This was your interview, you recall quickly. Before you can dwell on how short the interview was, the interviewer clearly only interviewing you out of the legal requirement before giving you the job. Turning around the corner of a tree, you meet eyes with your first friend.

"Hey, we're gonna go for a karaoke night! Wanna come?" They smile. After a moment, they seem to pause. "Oh, I forgot you don't like singing. Sorry." They let out.

You shake your head, reassuring them that it wasn't a problem, that you could still come along and watch. You follow them into a bar, where your other friends were.

The scene reminds you of that night. The night your friend had pulled you aside, saying that they felt like they were growing too distant from you. No common interests, you just both happened to be newcomers to the area. Unlike you, the adapted quickly to the change, making many friends.

You, however, struggled. You found that the people you did attract were talented in ways you were never. Singers, painters, poets, you name it. Your job led them to the idea that you were also an artist, but after attempting to sing, people found out you were a terrible singer.

You leave the tavern before you can relive the humiliating experience, but you feel like you've been watched.

The next vision you have is the first interaction with Kazuha. He was sitting in the distance, blowing on a leaf and smiling softly to himself. He looks over a second after, and the way he smiles at you caught you again. He waves you over, and you walk over. You knew it was stupid, but you wanted to at least relive the happy days of you and Kazuha being an item. Neither of you say anything, and before you know it, Kazuha had walked away.

When you get up to follow him, you meet eyes with an unfamiliar man. Freezing up, you try to figure out if he was a threat. He gives a cheeky smile, a hand on his hip as he waits for you to ask the obvious question.

"Who are you?" You ask, furrowing your brows.

"Detective Heizou., at your service." He responds, pulling out a diary that you recognised to be the one you kept. Your eyes widen out of horror, and you reach out to take it from him. The last thing you needed was for him to find out how pathetically sour your writing was.

"I've already read through all of this, I'm afraid." Heizou laughs lightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiles, extending a hand. You reluctantly shake it, and he gestures for you to walk with him.

--

When Kazuha met Mona, you started to feel somewhat jealous.

Mona was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt about that. The way she gracefully carried herself, using her scrying glass. You brushed it off, knowing Kazuha loved you. He always reassured you there was more to life than the arts, and he liked you because you were great when it comes to understanding the outdoors. In the past, the two of you worked so well, yourself enjoying Kazuha's poetry and him appreciating your feedback on his cooking.

But then Mona happened.

Throughout the entire time you were there, you realised Kazuha gravitated towards Mona. Xinyan was an absolute sweetheart, trying her best to make you feel included, but that didn't do anything to help the growing jealousy you felt. When Kazuha had seen that crow flirting with Mona, you saw a look you never saw before in his eyes - jealousy.

Occasionally, you had been on the receiving end of flirtatious comments, but Kazuha had never been one to have that raw look of jealousy he had when Mona got that flirty comment.

Heizou looks at you, clearly curious. He had read all of your diary, but this was not documented which brought him to the belief this was new.

You were thoroughly embarassed that this stranger had been watching your less than happy love life. As much as you wanted to just stop advancing ahead, you knew there was only one way out of this place. Jumping into the boat with Kazuha, yourself and Heizou give each other a look.

--

The break up plays out in front of you, and you feel humiliated.

Watching it from the outside, you realised just how out of love Kazuha had been. The way he looked at Mona reassuringly whenever you weren't looking. The way his eyes no longer glistened with love, it was all too much for you.

"I guess this is it." You hear yourself woefully let out, tearing up.

You can't even listen to the entire conversation, seemingly overwhelmed with emotions. You watch as Kazuha walked away after the conversation, not looking back once and clearly unfazed.

The silence deafens you, and you look over to see Heizou, his eyes meeting yours as you tear up, lip quivering before he pulls you in. He rubs your back, soothing you to the best of his ability. He looks over, seeing another boat spawn in, and he decides to steer the boat himself, you being the passenger this time.

---

When Kazuha tells the others you had to head back to work, Everyone immediately asks him why you had to leave so suddenly. He brushes it off, explaining that you wanted him to stay while you went back to work. While almost everyone shrugged it off, Mona immediately had a bad feeling about this. After the meal was finished and everyone went their separate ways, Kazuha asks to speak to Mona. She gladly accepts, knowing this was going to explain more details on why you were away.

Her jaw drops when Kazuha admits his feelings for Mona.

"So you broke up with your ex, not even an hour ago, and you decide to start to court me?" She gasps out of horror. Kazuha furrows his brows, clearly confused as to why Mona had reacted like this. "And this sounds like you broke up with them solely to ask me out." She continues, eyes widening when Kazuha continues to stay silent.

Kazuha still has nothing to say, surprised that Mona hadn't accepted his feelings.

"Where did they go?" Mona asks, pulling out her scrying glass to start looking for you. Kazuha explains that he didn't know where you went, leaving you alone before you could start your journey home.

Mona gets an answer, seeing your boat submerged in the middle of nowhere. She frantically rushes to summon a boat before Kazuha can ask what she saw, and he narrowly escapes missing her boat when she kickstarts it.

--

Heizou reaches the island, and he feels something in the air change. Getting out of the boat, he holds you supportively as he gets out.

The island has changed. A tent made up, sleeping bag and an unlit campfire to accompany the hills that emerged from the land. Heizou finds it to be a welcome sight, a place for the both of you to relax and get to know each other better. Instead of going straight to the sleeping bag, however, Heizou finds the comfort of a blossoming tree to be more ideal, a comforting place for the both of you to relax. He lays down, you instinctively curl into him when he lays down successfully.

When your eyes fully close, Heizou looks up to see a boat speeding towards the island. He shakes his head, knowing that one of your travelling buddies must have been thoroughly concerned. He decides to let you rest, hoping that it wasn't Kazuha who was operating the boat.

Mona emerges, and he realises quickly that she figured out quickly that Kazuha had broken up with you. He had a feeling that Kazuha was in the boat based on how she glared back at him when he tries to stop her from getting out so hastily, and she runs over.

"Are they alright?" Mona asks quietly, not wanting to wake you up.

The boat starts to steer back, and Heizou had an idea that the person operating the boat was Kazuha. Heizou nods, and Mona sighs out of relief.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Mona starts. "I am-"

"Mona Megistus, the great astrologist?" Heizou asks, Mona looking surprised when he correctly recalled her name. "Shikanoin Heizou." Heizou strokes the top of your head to sooth you into a blissful sleep.

"It's a long story."