#part of my Aoki collection

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Aoki my most beloved.🧡

[todayisafridaynight]

Soooo why do you have the crack ship of Ryo and Daigo?

i see two ex-emo nepo babies and i think they should kiss and play mind games with each other

[respectthepetty]

Petty, I respect you.

I do.

However.

DONT BE QUITE ABOUT THE COLOURS IN ON1Y 1 BECAUSE I WILL READ A FULL THESIS ON IT, 20 PAGES!!!! 50 PAGES!!!!

PLEASEEEE Give

It

To

Meeeeeeeee 🥹

Anon,

You've opened a floodgate.

Because I always notice the colors, but just because I see colors doesn't mean I know why they are significant. Even if I see there is a pattern, it doesn't mean I understand its importance. And I don't think y'all should be subject to me screaming about Jiang Tian's paper bookmarks being yellow and pink in a book of (love?) poems where he has highlighted that "a girl's shyness is like a tender cherry under the sunlight" and "16- and 17-year-olds are like fruits in the morning sun, sparkling."

Sheng Wang asks who this is about, but we know who this is about. The colors mean things.

And more importantly, I actually didn't write weekly or episodic posts about shows until 2022. I used to wait until a show was over to write about the colors or background noise, and, mostly, I only did it when people would ask me about it. Big Dragon was the first show that I felt compelled to write weekly about the colors and background noise because it was so amazing, so 2024 is still an odd space for me to be in sometimes because as much as I love colors, I'm ALWAYS surprised how much y'all want to know about them . . . weekly . . . per episode . . . for all the shows.

I write for myself, but sometimes I think y'all don't need to witness me losing my shit every week for sixteen weeks over obviously color-coded characters in The Loyal Pin.

And sometimes I think y'all don't want to witness me losing my shit over colors that I can't completely understand like the grays in 4 Minutes.

And then other times I think y'all shouldn't have to witness me losing my shit over colors that I'm not sure are colors until I've watched enough episodes to feel sure that the colors are, in fact, coloring; then, the series, The Trainee, actually tells me the colors were coloring the entire time like I thought.

And that's why I try to be quiet about shows because I'm figuring them out in my head, or I'm waiting for enough information to feel confident about them, and I don't want to hog up the tag with my ramblings. I need to sit in it a bit to figure out what the colors mean.

Kiseki: Dear to Me was the perfect example. I didn't mention anything about colors until prompted by others because it took me until the third episode to feel certain that Chen Yi and Ai Di matched colors, then it took me close to the end of the series to realize all the cameo couples ALSO matched colors.

It took me until the end of My Love Mix-Up to realize Aoki's color had evolved.

It took me two seasons (and a movie) to feel secure that Kiyoi was a Heavenly Human in My Beautiful Man.

And it took me until midway through Semantic Error to figure out why the red disappeared.

That's how The On1y One is for me. I knew yellow/orange and blue would play some part in the story based on the posters, but I wasn't sure how until I started seeing more visuals appear.

Because even though I saw a yellow container of food for Sheng Wang in the first episode,

I didn't realize he mostly ate color-coded food until episode four.

It's such a tiny detail, so I could have easily missed it, but because I know that he is a picky eater, I feel like it's not simply a coincidence, and I quickly noticed it in the eighth episode.

But I needed to collect more images before I could state that. I needed to let the story develop before I realized it. I needed to settle into it. And that's why I wrote my halfway point post after a few people asked if I noticed.

Because I know I seem like a magician who shouts a lot, but I'm not. Sometimes, I have to be patient and let the colors sneak up on me while I'm simply enjoying the moment, like Sheng Wang's orange alarm clock nestled into the corner of his bed while he falls asleep on his light yellow pillow in his light yellow shirt.

I know not all visuals can be a literal bright yellow sign hanging from the color-coded boy's room, ya know?

I'm not Jenny who cannot grasp that she keeps taking food and drinks meant for Benny even when he realized if she could figure out the mug was about gay rights without realizing he was gay then someone smarter will along and piece the dots together . . .

Because like, girl, he's gay.

But it does take me time to collect images and get my thoughts in order, so until then, I'm going to be quiet.

Or as quiet as a loud ass like me can be.

[aheckinmess]

The Tiger Tango [Aizawa] (Angst)

(One-shot 21/? in a collection of My Hero Academia one-shots posted regularly on Saturdays - and sometimes Sundays.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Shouta Aizawa, Shota Aizawa, Eraserhead, Original Female Character(s), Ichijiku Aoki, Tigress, OC Considers Her Inner Self to Be a Tiger, Tragically This Tiger Got Kidnapped by the League, Because What Else Are You Gonna Do on a Saturday?, Protective Eraserhead, You Can See Endeavor in this Prompt if You Squint, Spinner Mentioned, Shigaraki is a Lil Bitch, But We Love Him Anyway, Also We Catch Him in the Feels, It Might be for Less Than Half a Second, But We Did It, Angsty Angst, Angst

Word Count: 1,625 words

Summary: Ichijiku has been trapped by the League for several days, and Shigaraki finally decides to hit her where it hurts. Will she end up losing herself to stay alive? Or will everything she loves become reduced to ash?

Ichijiku (Tigress)

My ribs ache as Spinner’s foot connects with it. There’s a resounding pop and I grit my teeth to keep from screaming. They can’t know the extent of my quirk. They know that my quirk is multi-faceted, but they don’t know what I can do aside from heal. I’m determined that’s how it will stay.

“You’re quite stubborn, aren’t you?” A familiar voice crackles. I instantly feel the need to clear my throat just listening to it. “No wonder Eraserhead hasn’t come to save you, yet. I’d be tired of the bullshit too.” 

I know what he’s trying to do, and it’s working. I refuse to retaliate, but I can’t deny the psychological blow that he delivers to me. It makes it harder to breathe, and exacerbates the pain rippling through my broken ribs. Tch, this guy’s right. You’re more trouble than you’re worth.

“Do you think he’s throwing a party?” Shigaraki continues, walking around me slowly as I flop onto my good side and grit my teeth. I hold my injured side and close my eyes as I’m forced to listen to him. “I bet the second you were gone he let out a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to deal with you anymore. No need to put up with your damn stubbornness, right? Doesn’t that piss you off?” 

No. I think. No, that hurts more than it pisses me off.

“Doesn’t it just rip you apart? Make you want to get revenge?”

Maybe a part of me…but I could never hurt Shouta. You don’t seem to understand that. I open my eyes and look at him with all the compassion my squishy heart can manage. Who hurt you?

Shock colors Shigaraki’s face and suddenly his foot connects with my face. I nearly yelp, but grit my teeth and swallow every sound trying to escape. I can’t afford to be weak right now.

“DON’T PITY ME!” He growls out, and I realize I’ve struck a nerve. Interesting. “Where were the heroes at when I was wandering the streets alone, huh?! What good did wanting pity do for me? No. You make me sick.” Another kick and my nose throbs. It starts running and I’m pretty sure it’s not from allergies. Especially from the rusty smell.

I whimper and wrap my arm around my waist, trying to hold myself together. I inhale sharply as he continues his psychological tirade. 

“God, I hope Eraser is at home laughing about all of the times he nearly threw you straight into our laps. That pitiful look really pisses me off; I bet it made him want to beat the shit out of you.” Another kick comes but this one is to my shoulder and searing pain ripples through it. My muscles ripple as I withhold a scream. “Though you’re not bad looking. That’s gotta be the only reason someone as cool as Eraser kept you around. You’d be amazed how much one will put up with for some good sex.” Oh, like you’d know, huh, Butterface? 

He nearly breaks me. All of these comments are illogical but nonetheless arrows stabbing directly into my heart. Stop it…I know Shouta deserves better but I’m trying my best. A tear threatens to fall down my cheek. No! Don’t you do it! You’ll give him what he wants! 

“Worthless. kick Disgusting! kick Why would he ever want you?! How’d you manage to convince yourself of that, huh?” He suddenly has his hand around my neck, a single finger disconnected from the others. “I bet I could disintegrate you to ash right now and he’d thank me for it.” He sneers.

My nose quivers and I stare directly at him. No matter how hard I try, I can’t find it in my heart to hate him. Not from the look on his face. Who hurt you? Is that why you hurt others? This isn’t how to fix it! 

“What do you think about that, Ichijiku?” His voice rumbles low and his eyes look wild, feral.

My heart skips as I realize something. He’s a tiger too. There’s no mistaking it. The crazy, feral gleam sets it off. Part of me yearns to reach out and squeeze him in a hug, even if it means my imminent demise.

You can’t let your guard down. Especially around a tiger. Answer him before you’re hurt again. How do we appeal to him? 

“I think…” I look up at him with glassiness in my eyes. “I think…I probably deserve it.” I whisper gently, gauging how he responds to it. His eyes soften just barely, but it’s something. “I think given how much of a fuck-up I am, he should thank you for it.”

“Heh,” He lets me go and I’m dropped to my knees. I exhale shakily as I look down, letting my hair curtain around me. “You’d fit right in here, you know, Tiger? We’re all a bunch of fuck-ups in this place.”

I imagine that’s his next course of action, to try and bribe or bargain with me to join the League. My thoughts are confirmed as he puts a hand under my chin to make me look at him. 

“Do you see this scar over my eye? The one over my lip?” He makes me look directly at him. On the surface, most might find him decrepit and repulsive, but I can only frown at the sight of so many scars. I nod, and he continues. “Touch them.”

I hesitate. His hand goes back around my throat, his eyes feral and…desperate? Scared? His eyes swim with a needy plea I can’t place.

“Touch. Them.” He growls out, and I gingerly reach a hand up to delicately trace over the scars. The raised skin feels just as callous as his cold words and harsh tone. Physical abuse, perhaps? But from who? Someone that made him feel as worthless as I sometimes feel, I’d wager. What brought him down this road? “There. You feel that? There’s a hundred other scars just like them all over this decaying body.” He hisses, voice laced with venom. 

“Who made them?” I ask softly, startled by my own voice.

“My goddamn father.” He growls out, eyes never leaving mine. “I was nothing to him. Nothing to anyone. Except Mon-chan.” He looks down and then back at me, the softness entering them for a split second again before they harden once more. “Take off my hood.”

Again, I hesitate. I’m scared of what this could mean. But I see his finger twitch and move my hands.

“Take it off. Slowly.” His voice is barely a whisper now.

I’m delicate and slow in my movements, survival instincts taking over as I comply. When his hood is finally down, I notice a few patches of thinning hair. He guides my hands to pat the top of his head.

“Hair torn out and pulled from being thrown around like a goddamn doll. Doesn’t that piss you off? Parents are supposed to care about their kids!” He roars out, grip tightening around my throat. “But you know about that…don’t you, Ichijiku?”

My heart stops and throbs at the truth behind his words.

Voices abruptly begin shouting down the hall and both Shigaraki and I look up, his hand leaving my throat and his eyes clearing. We got through to him. It was only a moment, but that means there’s still some humanity left inside him.

“Tomura, boy are we glad to see you! Nothing’s wrong, we can handle this! TOMURA, THEY’VE FOUND OUR HIDEOUT! THEY’RE COMING FOR THE GIRL! GRAB HER!” Twice screams down the hallway.

That’s all I need to hear. 

Shigaraki brushes the back of my shirt with all five fingers and disintegrates the collar, before I’m gone. I dart around Twice and down the hall - ignoring the burning in my leg - only to get yanked back by Spinner. I open my mouth wide and channel my inner Mic.

I unleash a scream with full quirk power to scare the shit out of every single one of them. “DOWN HERE!” My voice echoes down the hall.

As I wrestle with the many hands now trying to wrangle me, there’s another pop as my shoulder is dislocated. I hiss out my frustration, but it doesn’t make me stop fighting.

My limbs flail frantically before I see a beautiful sight.

A large man covered in flames followed swiftly by a familiar grey scarf. SHOUTA! Seeing him gives me more motivation and I roar before digging my nails into the man below me. 

Fighting whizzes by in a blur, but my brain suddenly focuses on when Shouta finally pulls me away from them. I’ve never been so glad to feel myself tightly wrapped in Shouta’s scarf. Because finally, I’m in his arms and curled up close to him.

“Eraser, there’s kids. They have kids here. You have to help them.” I whimper, eyes frantic but emotions subdued. “I have to–”

“You’re not doing anything.” He growls out. I can’t see his eyes past his goggles, but I feel their burn. “I’m getting you outside to authorities where you’re safe. I’m not losing you again.” 

There’s a flurry of shouting and limbs and curses, but in the end, Shouta gets me to an ambulance to get checked out and promises he’ll be back before he goes back to help the others. I’ve got several broken ribs, a broken leg, and a dislocated shoulder. There’s too much psychological damage for me to give an accurate account to the medical professionals.

All I know is that I don’t fall asleep until Shouta is back in my sights, safe and suffering only a few bruises and cuts. Only then do I allow myself the sweet embrace of sleep.

Want more Aizawa? Try: Stormy Salsa - Movie Magic

[bengiyo]

My Love Mix Up TH Ep 5 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Half realized he had let Atom down after getting the shit slapped out of him by Mudmee, and worked to apologize and reassure Atom of his friendship. After being falsely accused of cheating by his teacher, the teacher made Atom become the manager of the basketball team. This proved difficult for Atom, who was trying to get over Kongthap, but ended up feeling jealous of another girl he thought had a crush on Kongthap.

Oh, okay we're at a camp now.

The fantasy sequences are fun. Also amused at them running the guy on the stretcher, because that can't have been the best way to get him down.

Is this meant to be an ATOTS crossover since the actor's character is named Yod again?

They used PPL for the food sharing scene, of course.

Nice job saving the homie, Half.

I just skipped 30 seconds of built in ads to see a show ad. FFS

🎶 You would not believe your eyes if 10 million fireflies... 🎶

Fourth probably didn't have to act that much. He struggles with heights.

The spartan camp remains the weakest part of the KH story.

Okay, this outfit looks good on Fourth. I like having Aaron scare people.

Oh, everyone got fun outfits.

Hold on, they're letting them act! They let them have a few actual exchanges in the same shot without a cut.

Singing over the building tension is a bit heavy handed.

Why do those look like human teeth marks??? Is this a zombie flick now????

Congratulations. We have reached the talking stage.

The flash back to explain the shrine scene was a bit weird.

Next week the dating era begins.

Kieta Hatsukoi Thoughts: I don't want to be harsh to the Thai show this time, because I actually think this skiing trip in the source material is quite bad, so doing their own thing is fine. That being said, the withholding of food based on their performance feels especially cruel when it isn't a lesson in the strength of the collective that ends in a BBQ. This episode felt especially long for not that much gain. I also wish they hadn't broken up Atom's confession with the snake nonsense. It breaks the flow of Ida seeing Aoki properly.

[supermightyglue]

omgg im so obsessed with your jackass oc’s. i dont have a specific headcanon request but could you write more about a main cast girl?

yesssss yes !! & thank u sm that means the world <3 i have many more ideas and am gonna post actual headcanons and stuff but for now take this very random and very specific shit

her nickname is pissbaby. i have said it before but i must say it again so everyone is aware. she got it growing up and tbh there isn’t a real reason for it other than the fact that she has pissed herself a few times

went to the met gala with knox (was def invited before he was tho)

braids pontius’ hair a lot. does his hair in general. she’s good with hair styling nd even cuts her own

was the one to receive the off road tattoo

is always paired with knox (and tremaine sometimes) for press shit

has a lot of modeling/movie offers but tbh she just wants to skate and do stunts and travel and hang out with her guys

ik i said she cant cook but i changed my mind. cooking is lowkey her love language. she’s a vegetarian but doesn’t mind cooking meat if someone wants it. a long day filming? invites everyone over and cooks for them.

doesnt cook for herself tho. the queen of struggle meals. buys a lot of cereal

also always let’s ppl crash at her place. pontius is there a lot cuz the whole living in his van situation. he and steve were in her (iconic) cribz ep

present for most of the wildboyz trips even if she didn’t appear in the episode. she loves animals and traveling and learning about other cultures so it was like heaven for her

CRAZY stupid .. like, almost as bad as knoxville. she somehow was able to get in the bullpen and it scared the shit out of everyone (especially steve o)

honestly she doesn’t like fucking with animals and doesn’t wanna do anything to hurt them. she feels bad for certain things they do and regrets stressing them out

and she can be really sweet, but with animals? she is practically a different person. she turns into such a softie

has a few doggies. all rescues and with disabilities because she gets sad when people don’t want them

probably closest to the wildboyz, especially pontius. but knox too, and dunn <3

super fond of preston too. he’s so sweet and she can’t help but adore him

ppl swear either chris or pj is her soulmate (myself included nd i cant decide who pls help me)

always down for skate sessions

is sponsored by powell peralta (and is kinda at war with bam because he thinks his element sponsorship is better)

very fashionable. an it girl. (again, i picture her as devon aoki)

super scrappy and will fight a grown man

she knows how to fall because she’s a skater but she also has gotten some GNARLY injuries. usually to her head. always has bruises

knows first aid and she isn’t a medic obv but she has been SUPER helpful in certain situations

literally unable to drive, and yet, she drove for part of the gumball rally .. she managed to genuinely scare the guys. she doesn’t have her license for a reason.

one of those ppl who genuinely does not need deodorant but unfortunately the smell of jackass clings to her

has a lot of girl friends. she is a girl supremacist. we don’t blame her.

she can be really mean sometimes but most of it is on accident. she just doesn’t have a filter. the guys don’t really care tho, she fits in

ska music enthusiast. and a deadhead

so she doesn’t puke and doesn’t get grossed out HOWEVER she refuses to take part in that yucky shit. hell no. that’s what crosses the line.

once the guys collected a cup of their mixed sweat and poured it on her and she has never been so mad. like, she gets mad, she has a temper, but she lost her shit in a way that she never has before. made them turn off the camera. knoxville was the one to pour it—no one else was brave enough. tremaine was even on the fence about it. she ended up breaking knox’s nose. he was a good sport about it. they didn’t fuck with her in that way ever again

she can be kinda mean but it’s usually on accident cuz she has no filter. but for the most part the guys don’t give a fuck and it’s funny

interviewers and paps can be really really rude and sexist and the guys can’t help but get pissed and say stuff because they love her. BUT they also know that no one is better at defending her than she is. don’t fuck with her. ever. she will practically end someone’s career. she does not give a shit

[best-titan-7274]

I'd love to read some combat action if that's something you want to write! Maybe a small team doing spec ops, maybe a full combined arms assault, either way you know BT and Cooper are gonna do some fastball shenanigans when the opportunity presents itself.

I love that the fandom has apparently collectively agreed that Jack Loves Getting Yeeted (absolutely correct)

When the alarms go off, Jack’s halfway out of bed before he even realises he’s awake. His helmet is on the table by the door and he grabs it in passing. No time to get dressed with a base-wide alert like that deafening him.

The other Pilots are scrambling around him, bouncing off each other like the bumper cars Jack always liked when he was a kid. It’s more jarring now, but the flow evens out as they near the hangar. They know what they’re doing, it just takes a minute, sometimes, for them to get there.

All their Titans are already on the move, spreading out through the hangar, waiting for their Pilots to embark. Someone even uses their jump kit to get to their Titan first, eager to be out the door.

Jack takes it a little easier, because everyone remembers that time Wilson tripped and broke his nose before he ever saw battle.

Everyone gets in their Titans with no problems, and Jack is relieved that BT starts dampening the noise the second the cockpit closes around him. This is familiar to him, at least, even if the alarm isn’t the kind that any of them hear very often.

“Cooper, Alexander, Aoki, Castañeda, head west.”

“Yes, sir,” they say in almost-unison, three other Titans turning to follow BT out of the hangar.

He’s worked with Alexander before. The other two are strangers, but he knows Aoki is desperate to prove herself since she’s the newest Pilot and one of the youngest. He trusts her, though, because she wouldn’t be here if SRS command thought she wasn’t capable.

“There are enemies inbound. Approximately three minutes and seventeen seconds to contact. Six moving objects.”

Well, those odds aren’t great. All six of them can’t be enemy Titans, right?

“Anyone else got a better idea of what’s out there?” Jack asks.

There’s a private communication network between them, proximity-based and code-locked. They can say whatever they want without being overheard.

“Got it,” Alexander says a minute later. “Three Titans, three vehicles. Could be some ground troops but we’re not picking it up. We got a plan?”

“I have an idea, but BT’s not going to like it.”

“I do not like many of your so-called plans,” BT confirms.

Harsh, but Jack is well aware that BT thinks he’s a bit of an idiot sometimes. Maybe if he stopped throwing himself into danger, or eating snack cakes past their best-by date, but life is about the danger! And mild food poisoning.

“I need you guys to give cover fire with BT and then hold on my signal.”

“Would you like to provide more information?” BT asks.

“Nope, we’re good.”

And he got shot a little bit, the last time he said that, but shit happens. And it barely even scarred, so he feels like it wasn’t actually that bad.

The Titans spread evenly, BT second from the left. It’s barely light enough to see out, and as they race along, he’s pretty sure he gets another great idea. One that BT doesn’t disagree with him on, so that’s a great start!

One of the enemy Titans opens fire, and the four of them target their fire on the unfortunate idiot that made a spectacle of themself. The Titan starts sparking and stuttering almost immediately, and by the time the other Titan brings its guns to play, it’s too late.

At least until a tank round blows an arm off Alexander’s Titan, and some very creative swearing crashes through BT’s speakers.

“Cover fire stops now!” Jack barks, and steps forward.

There’s something about disembarking at speed that feels like getting flung off a moving vehicle and down a cliff, or something like that, but it’s very chaotic and a part of Jack is always very relieved when BT catches him.

BT launches him forward, and he uses the jump kit to get higher as he gets closer, out of the line of fire of the small guns mounted on the front of the vehicles. He can’t tell what they are, exactly, in the predawn light. But he saw that they’re stuck in one place and move side to side, not up and down.

If he gets above the bullets, he has nothing to worry about.

Theoretically.

BT had a lot of opinions about that part.

He drops straight down on top of one of the cars, grabbing one of the bars bolted along the top and swinging feet-first through the driver’s side window. He pushes off something inside – the driver’s chest, he thinks – and tosses a grenade as a goodbye ‘fuck you’. The jump kit gets him away from the explosion, but the driver next to him is aware of what just happened, because they pull a pistol on him.

He jumps, and trusts BT to be there to catch him.

He is, and so are the other two uninjured Titans on either side of him. Alexander’s hanging back, supporting them with cover fire, but careful not to pick too many battles. Even though Alexander’s built like a brick wall, he’s brain over brawns, and he’ll make sure not to shoot them in the back.

BT cups his hand around Jack, protecting him from a burst of incoming fire, and then he’s back in the pilot’s seat and ready to kick some ass.

His Titan is ahead of him, already shooting at one of the remaining Titans that’s closing at a run, trying to capitalise on the vulnerability of a Pilot not yet embarked. They’re a little too late or that, but there’s nowhere for them to run, so they keep charging.

Brave, Jack has to admit, before their bots crash together. The other Titan is bigger and heavier than them, but that just means that BT has the advantage of being faster on the ground.

And, unlike anyone else in this fight, he has Jack.

“Relinquishing control to Titan,” Jack says, and sits back with his hands off the controls. BT can process these kinds of things way faster than he can, and in a fight against an objectively better opponent, Jack might be a liability.

Besides, BT’s new and improved form comes with seatbelts. He doesn’t use them often, because disembarking at a moment’s notice can turn the tide of a fight, but he’ll need them now if BT wants to do some kind of crazy move.

BT does, and Jack is really going to have to talk to him about whatever kind of flippy gymnast yoga shit just went down, but in the meantime–

“Aoki, get those other two cars out of play,” Jack barks as BT gives him controls back, and he and Castañeda turn as one to face the last remaining Titan.

Jack tries to say he’s not a glory hound or anything, but he does kind of like that he’s going to add one more to his body count on this mission. They’re a crack team, him and BT, and he likes proving that over and over again, even if there’s no dispute about it.

Still, slamming your way through battle to indiscriminately kill everything is a great way to injure allies and get people pissed off at you. So he lets his teammate take the shot, and Castañeda rocks it, just like Jack expects of him.

“Hey, Command!” Aoki says cheerfully. “We smoked ‘em! Want us to bring you back a present? Bet we could pull something off these Titans’ data cores.”

Command’s reply comes quickly.

“Retrieve enemy data cores and helmets. Do not engage survivors if avoidable.”

“Toss me,” Jack says eagerly, already half out of his seat.

He can hear the disapproval in BT’s silence, but the cockpit opens up, and BT’s hand is resting just underneath.

BT flings him forward again, a little more gently this time. Jack lands on top of one of the downed Titans, and crouches to try to pull the door open. Success! And the Pilot was killed alongside their Titan, so there’s nobody to shoot at him. He hates when people shoot at him.

“Core and helmet secured from Titan one,” he reports. He takes a running jump back to BT, who catches him easily and deposits him back in the cockpit. He can let the others get the rest of what they’re after.

The other Titans’ cockpits are open, Pilots chit-chatting and occasionally waving away wisps of smoke from the trashed vehicles. The other teams have reported back their own successes already, so it’s not like Jack’s team is slacking.

“Anyone feel like pizza when we get back home?” Castañeda asks, slouched comfortably, the ubiquitous cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes. Until he spoke up, Jack kind of thought he was napping, but apparently that’s not the case.

“I’m always ready to eat,” Alexander agrees, and Aoki looks like she’s thinking about agreeing.

The best they can do now, in the field, is reheated and prepackaged food, but they’re all used to that, so he doesn’t think they’ll complain too much.

“BT, we ready to go back to base?” he asks.

“All clear.”

“Let’s go, team,” Jack calls, and they start making their way back to the closest thing to home that they have.

[ranchthoughts]

Inspired by a few people who have done this hi @wen-kexing-apologist and @justafriend-ql (and because I love organization):

Ranch's Thoughts

(aka, a meta roundup)

Meta 2023 Wrapped

GMMTV Multiverse

In which I attempt to untangle all the various universes in which GMMTV shows are set. An ongoing battle, so stay tuned for updates. My GMMTV multiverse posts can be found here, and my kissing chart posts can be found here.

Old Masterpost

Latest: The Multiverse so far, reorganized

Original GMMTV Multiverse Map post

Latest GMMTV Multiverse map

Kissing Multiverse: version 1, version 2, version 3

Latest Kissing Multiverse

ATOTS X Bad Buddy Our Skyy 2

Thinking about Snow White being the engineering play: parts 1, 2, and 3

Bad Buddy

Thinking about Bad Buddy and the (un)intentionality of seme/uke dynamics

Thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President (aka, my Bad Buddy and MSP trope subversion thesis)

Wai as a faen fatale: a defense (in conversation with @chickenstrangers)

An analysis of the Baseball Mom shirt, Bad Buddy episode 5

Thinking of Pat and Pran, and genre awareness

Thinking about Bad Buddy, and prequels, and tragedies

An impassioned defense of the episode 5 rooftop kiss, aka the Rooftop Kiss and Dichotomies

Thinking about Pran's "Pat, you've got to stop doing this to me" (in conversation with @dudeyuri)

Pat, Pran, and pursuit (in conversation with @dudeyuri)

Thinking about Pat, Pran, and competition (in conversation with @dimplesandfierceeyes)

My School President

Thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and coming out

More thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and coming out

Thoughts on Tinn, music, Gun, and his mother

The Good Place and MSP: Pacing and Narrative Structure

Thinking about MSP and how it shows us that imagination and theory are not the same as real life

MSP and the relief of a sweet show

Thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President (aka, my Bad Buddy and MSP trope subversion thesis)

Thoughts on the MSP ep.11 Chinzhilla fight scene

The Eighth Sense

The Eighth Sense and hazy cinematography

The Eighth Sense and missing pieces

The Eclipse

The Eclipse, repression, and self-knowledge

He's Coming to Me

"If you know how it's going to end, why start anything" as explored in HCTM and Bad Buddy (in conversation with @waitmyturtles)

Kieta Hatsukoi

Thinking about Aoki and Ida and how differently they think (in conversation with @chickenstrangers)

I Told Sunset About You

Conversations in ITSAY that are about more than they seem: Teh and Oh-aew floating

ITSAY is about: noses, backs, knees, and chests

Only Friends

Going to collect some of the OF ephemerality/voyeurism/control/trust, etc. posts I have written here for my own easier reference

Thoughts on ephemerality, permanence, YOLO, and photography post Ep. 2 (additions on photography by @chickenstrangers and @lurkingshan)

Where we are headed post Ep. 3 (with surveillance and voyeurism additions by @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles and @slayerkitty)

Photography and audio/video in the series, as of Ep. 3

Boston's Manipulations - a study of two scenes in Ep. 3

Manipulate, Mansplain, Manwhore, Manslaughter: Ray confronting Boston, ep. 6

The Mundanity of Meanness

My series cataloguing moments of ephemerality/permanence/YOLO/photography/voyeurism/control/hypocrisy/accountability etc. in Only Friends: ep. 3, ep. 4, ep. 5, ep. 6, ep. 7, ep. 8, ep. 9, ep. 10, ep. 11, ep. 12

and then of course the collection of everyone's thoughts, which got updated weekly.

3 Will Be Free

Opposing Triads

Between Us

Thoughts on Win's rock shirt

Miscellaneous

Signs, symbols, icons, indexes, genre, and BL

[ryttu3k]

Trans Rights Readathon book list! I've gone through my ridiculous TBR and pulled out… pretty sure everything that qualifies. I've also included a few recs for books with trans writers, protags/major characters, or both!

On TBR, owned

Aoki, Ryka - Light from Uncommon Stars (SFF, 372 pages)

Lake, Joss - Future Feeling (SFF, 294 pages)

Lemberg, RB - The Unbalancing (fantasy, 244 pages - hard copy)

Polydoros, Aden - The City Beautiful (YA fantasy, 462 pages)

Quills, Coffee - Blasted Research (SF, 288 pages)

Wilkes, Ally - All The White Spaces (horror, 358 pages)

On TBR, not owned

Angus, Callum - A Natural History of Transition (collection, 200 pages)

Candon, Emma Mieko - The Archive Undying (SF, 482 pages)

Dawson, Juno - Her Majesty's Royal Coven (fantasy, 452 pages)

Edgmon, HE - The Witch King (YA fantasy, 432 pages)

Fellman, Isaac - Dead Collections (fantasy romance, 256 pages)

Kelly, Anita - Love and Other Disasters (romance, 371 pages)

Lamb, Sacha - When The Angels Left The Old Country (YA fantasy, 400 pages)

Lukens, FT - In Deeper Waters (YA fantasy, 307 pages)

Mandelo, Lee - Summer Sons (gothic horror, 372 pages)

McLemore, Anna-Marie - Lakelore (YA fantasy, 289 pages)

McQuiston, Casey - One Last Stop (fantasy romance, 422 pages)

Pulley, Natasha - The Mars House (SF, 469 pages)

St Hogan, Carter - One or Several Deserts (collection, 206 pages)

Thomas, Morgan - Manywhere (collection, 209 pages)

Ones I've already read and am nudging others towards

Chambers, Becky - Monk & Robot

Chant, Austin - Peter Darling

Cipri, Nino - Finna; Defekt

Drayden, Nicky - The Prey of Gods

Hess, Al - World Running Down

Künsken, Derek - The House of Styx

Jamnia, Naseem - The Bruising of Qilwa

Jarboe, Julian K - Everyone On The Moon Is Essential Personnel

Lavery, Daniel M - Something That May Shock And Discredit You (part essays, part memoir. Originally published as Daniel Mallory Ortberg)

Lee, Yoon Ha - Phoenix Extravagant

Lemberg, RB - The Four Profound Weaves (one of the only stories I've read with older trans characters)

Kalsulke, Calvin - Several People Are Typing

Maxwell, Everina - Winter's Orbit

Stinzi, John Elizabeth - My Volcano (completely bonkers (complementary))

Sylver, RoAnna - Chameleon Moon series; Stake Sauce series

Tingle, Chuck - Camp Damascus (one of my top three books of last year!)

White, Andrew Joseph - Hell Followed With Us (one of my other top three books of last year!); The Spirit Bares Its Fangs

[lambergeier]

2022 book post FINALLY

this post is six weeks late because, frankly, i was on my honeymoon over new years and its hard to get up the will to type all this shit when everyone has already posted their book lists ages ago!! but also i read a lot of good books last year and wish to gloat, so here we are. italics are rereads, bold are my favorites, asterisks denote not-prose, and reviews are interspersed throughout as i felt like it:

January

No One is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood (this book made me cry so hard lmao. first part is a sickeningly true-to-life depiction of Being A Blue Check Person and then the second part makes you cry so bad.)

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon (what the fuck happened to the last third of this book? what shit-ass x-men knock-off did it come from?)

What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France - Mary Louise Roberts (got on a whole ww2 history kick because, gotta be real, i watched all of band of brothers during winter break 2021-2022 and developed a bug up my ass. pulled this off the shelf at the library on a whim and it was STUNNING. excellently, thoroughly told history of sex, venereal disease, and race among american GIs in normany following the invasion. would read anything roberts now.)

How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Andreas Malm

Hello, Sailor: The hidden history of gay life at sea - Paul Baker and Jo Stanley

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II - Allan Berube (another excellent ww2 book, frequently quoted on this site and for good reason. not written by a historian, so incredibly easy and engaging to read, that presents you with just this amazing overview of how modern american queer identity was totally, inextricably shaped by the us military and the experience of being part of it or even just near it lmao)

February

Possession - A.S. Byatt (really really lovely romance that was such a consistent pleasure to read that i got to the end basically unable to remember favorite lines or even scenes i was just like mmmmmmmm. book good.)

Uncanny Valley - Anna Wiener

Howl’s Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World - Patrick Wyman (this book sucked ass we gotta stop giving podcasters history books)

Watership Down - Richard Adams (so fucked up. loved this. love that we give this to children to read.)

Dead Collections - Isaac Fellman

March

The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker (much better than its prequel, imho! resolved many pacing issues but lost no heart!)

The Vanishing Half - Britt Bennet (part of the reason i managed to read so much this year is that i had to drive a lot for work and started putting audiobooks on in the car, having never been an audiobook person before. i listened almost entirely to contemporary litfic this way, a genre i also had not previously engage with, and this was both a fascinating entry into an entire other world of books and also kinda boring sometimes lmao. vanishing half was good, certainly better than some of the other stuff i ended up listening to, but still not something i would have finished if i weren't in the car)

The Reformation - Patrick Collinson (this bitch was so funny his preface to the book was 'i didn't list any sources because i've been teaching this topic for 60 years. the source is Me.' anyways almost totally unreadable but did provide me some good context on the counter-reformation, which i want to learn more about.)

Fleischman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Home Baked - Alia Volz (soooooo good all bay area homies please read this)

River of Stars - Vanessa Hua

April

Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki (INSANE BOOK. SO FUN.)

*Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller

Book of Dust - Phillip Pullman

Gold Diggers - Sanjena Sathian

*Angels in America - Tony Kushner (disconnected me from reality for like 24 straight hours. scared to reread it.)

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (read this in high school and hated it because i was a DUMB TEENAGER!! THIS BOOK IS SO FUNNY!!)

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett

Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

May

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (strongly eh.)

Oh the Glory of it All - Sean Wilsey (loved it but feels impossible to recommend.)

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Foundation - Isaac Asimov (absolutely fascinating as like, a history of the genre thing, even if i only "enjoyed" reading the first two or three stories lol. also, HE COULDN'T PREDICT FIAT CURRENCY?? ACTUAL PLOT POINT THAT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH METALS ON THE PLANET TO MINT COINS???? reader i lost my mind.)

June

All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy (all the pretty horses my insane high school problematic fave. i will never read the sequels)

Have His Carcase - Dorothy L. Sayers

The Power - Naomi Alderman (as i said on private twitter after rereading, this book makes me sick to my stomach not because of the gender shit, which is like, i know what the book's about that's what it's about it's not gonna be a different book, but christ it's so bleak. love an oral history style but i gave my copy away once i finished lmao.)

Murder Must Advertise - Dorothy L. Sayers

July

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid (great audiobook narrator, and a very funny book)

Several People are Typing - Calvin Kasulke (PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS AUDIOBOOK THEY HIRED A FULL RADIO-PLAY STYLE CAST AND SURE THE ACTUAL STORY DOESN'T STICK THE LANDING BUT IT'S SO FUNNY. i finished it on my own and immediately put it back on for emma to enjoy. so good.)

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South - Stephanie Jones-Rogers

Hawk Mountain - Conner Habib (oughhhhouguhughuhghh the dread. great book. wretched creeping horror. queer, if that matters. gives you the Dread.)

There, There - Tommy Orange

August

If an Egyptian Can’t Speak English - Noor Naga (experimental fiction, i listened to it on audiobook and actually missed a lot of what it was doing in print but still incredibly good. absolute sucker punch of an ending.)

The Loneliest Americans - Jay Caspian King

Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People - Elizabeth Fenn (great clear thorough history of the mandan nation of the upper missouri river, really enjoyed this.)

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us - Ed Yong (ed yong is the best science writer working today and this book was tremendous. i quoted like every other line of it to emma and she still went and borrowed it as soon as i was done. we immediately bought a copy for the house.)

Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII - Mary Louise Roberts

September

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse (damn so much modern sff is bad)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life - Ed Yong (not as good as the animal book but still VERY good)

Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat (unfuckingreadable. a masterclass of incoherent bullshit)

Nona the Ninth - taz lol (this should not have been its own book.)

*Ducks - Kate Beaton (cannot recommend highly enough. intense subject matter, also made me cry many times, but holy shit ms beaton you killed it with this one)

Unreleased Friend Book that I Love So Bad (soon!!)

Normal People - Sally Rooney

October

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (another book i haven't reread since high school holden ilu. you are my little problems boy)

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee (read it all in one day while on various airplanes. what a BOOK)

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Foundation - Mercedes Lackey (thus begins the valdemar stage of the year)

My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh (uh. would not recommend.)

November

Devil House - John Darnielle (ur crazy for this one mr mountain goats. still don't know if it was good or bad lol.)

Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Flight - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Fall - Mercedes Lackey

Magic’s Pawn - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i love you)

December

Magic’s Promise - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i'm obsessed with you)

Empire of Wild - Cherie Dimaline

Magic’s Price - Mercedes Lackey (oh misty we did NOT stick the landing here. rip to vanyel.)

Winter Counts - David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Neuromancer - William Gibson (loved so many individual sentences and, like foundation, a very interesting work for understanding the history of the genre. however in many ways, totally incomprehensible.)

total books: 66!!! nice work, me! really enjoyed how much i read in 2022 and how generally varied it was and after a long while of not reading too much at all, it's been very nice being back in the swing of it. also god non-fiction is so good. i can't read it particularly fast but every time i read a good one i enjoy it so immensely. look forward to reading more of it this year!!!

AND, FINALLY, A SHOUT OUT TO THE WORST DNF OF 2022:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab sucks shit.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Friday Ramblings

I don't normally do this but I have a couple of thoughts going on in my head regarding the last couple of days week in BL that I just wanted to collect them all instead of just doing it in tags.

Shadow

I'm pissed. I am a big fan of anything horror or supernatural themed stuff so I was really looking forward to this. (Don't even get me started of how disappointed I am at the disappearance of the other horror themed show I could be watching) And the first part did not disappoint. It was a strong first half, good set up of the different story lines and all the players and I was really excited about it. There was such good meta written about the show, and it turned out to be superior to what the show eventually gave us. (@wen-kexing-apologist specially gave us such excellent meta on this show that I wish they were in charge of the second half of this show) I agree with @lurkingshan about everything they said here. Something which I thought was interesting was that I think in this second half the show purposefully made the fake arm really obvious. I don't know if it wanted us to know before Dan but I also don't think it was an accident. But I'm also not gonna theorize about the reasons because I really don't care that much. The "BL" bait was just another thing that pissed me off. I'm not upset it's not BL, I'm upset because it was sold as such and no one will convince me otherwise. For a couple of episodes, at least, the show wanted us to think that Dan was falling for Nai. The prom moment was just fucking ridiculous. The parallels with October 6 could've been really interesting if there wasn't so much going on that it kinda took the weight of it away. One of the questions I like to ask myself when watching any media is - what is it trying to tell? Sometimes nothing and that's fine. It's pure escapism and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It can still be excellent. And sometimes it tries to say too much that it ends up not having a cohesive message and it all falls flat. Religion, communism, family trauma, homophobia, mental health, infidelity, teacher-student relationship, pregnancy, murder, police brutality, friendship, bullying, the oh so many supernatural elements, I could go on. You get the picture. So in conclusion, I am not happy.

VIP Only

It's cute. I like both of them enough and it's a good mellow way to start the friday madness.

Last Twilight

This show is surprising me so much. In the best ways. As I said before this pair didn't do much for me in the past but I've surrendered completely, specially to Jimmy. He was so good in this episode that I felt obligated to gif it just so I could keep watching his expressions.

That whole final scene just floored me. His eyes just carried that moment and that whole scene so well that by the end a lonely sunflower brought tears to my eyes. ( and I do not cry easy). After all the cute dates, this scene was a gut punch.

I'm just really stuck on this show, and it holds my attention all through the episode.

My Dear Gangster Oppa

This episode was silly, I couldn't care less about the gangster side of the story at the moment, I'd rather spend more time with the gamer friend group. Wahl got a bit of a redemption but I still don't like him. I liked that Guy stood his ground with Wahl and Tew, but hated the stalker behaviour. If you wanna go dude, just leave!

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun

Japan my beloved. They just keep giving me all I need. Toki is giving me some Aoki vibes and I could not be happier. And Toki now has got two friends in his corner and I'm so happy. This one and Kinou Nani Tabeta are currently my main sources of joy and my heart is full.

Pit Babe I'd like to thank @pharawee for giving us the novel commentary because it makes it a bit less confusing while I watch this. I have no clue about omegaverse so a part of me is confused, sometimes bored, another part of me is just waiting for Jeff and Alan to be a thing and all of me is happy that Pavel is on my screen weekly.

Twins

This show is dragging and I'm officially bored. I don't mind a slow burn if the rest of the show can hold it together. But the team animosity is just tiring and annoying at this point, the side couples are not engaging ( a bj in the shower does not a side couple make) and for a show named Twins, I would like to see more of them.

Middleman's Love

I'm 99% here for the sides. They are cute, they give me some Ram/King vibes and I wanna see more of them. I was super happy to see Ngern again and the family dinner was a good moment. I don't have the patience for this sort of misunderstanding anymore so that ending annoyed the hell out of me.

(I'm watching For Him too but I have nothing nice to say, so I'll say nothing at all. And yes I know I just did that with Shadow but I was never that invested in this one)

Really looking forward to Kinou Nani Tabeta tomorrow morning and The Sign in the afternoon.

I wish all a great weekend and thanks for reading💜

(because I needed a good cry)

[uweiy]

Original Content Masterpost

because even I can’t find my own damn content on this damned website.

*All fics mentioned are directly on Tumblr unless specified otherwise

The Untamed

Gifsets: Wwx and rooftops /Wangxian and jc being done part 1, part2, part3 / Yiling laozu /At Nevernight I wasn't by your side / I broke my promise /Bunny lanterns 🐇 / Lwj understanding the golden core thing

Fanart: Wwx flower boy mini comic / The red undergarnment / Song Lan / It snows / Yanqing and books

Memes: Is this... 🫱🦋🐦?/ Stabbing yourself in the heart /Picture u can hear /Y'all deserved better / Alignment chart / Tag urself (the untamed characters as people in my classroom ft. Stickmen) / The Untamed character generator

A lot of Textposts-y memes:

Wwx introducing himself and lwj / wwx translating lwj microexpressions / he'd marry you if you asked brother / wwx chugging a whole jar of ??? / Wwx no / there is no cure / Jiang fengmian loves his sons equally / lqr at wangxian wedding / wangji this is not allowed / I'm cold / get the hoe / I wasn't drunk / wen Ning is precious / shut UP / good morning :D

The juniors shenanigans: Jin Ling adulting / *sneaking out*/da headbands very precious yes / fairy climbs a tree

Fics

Xicheng Trying to hold on to you (1.6k, hurt/comfort), you confused me with a fucking dog (1.6k, College AU), They were roommates (10k, college AU)

Wangxian: Night of shooting stars (1.3k,Star!Lwj), Those who bleed (600 words, angst)

Other: Dangling Accessories (1.9k JC&Jin ling, Wandering Heart (Yanqing, 1.5k) Mianmian's Education course (Jc &wq, 800words) Alive (wwx-centric, drabble), Ouyang Zizhen at yi-city (<1k)

More detailed Cql-fic masterpost (with summaries) INCOMPLETE. Or read them in the AO3 collection (username Namariae).

Talks and other stuff

Yanqing 😍

The Untamed rewatch

2019 top 10 favourite posts / 2019 top 10 most popular posts

Cql OST / Beyond Control (LXC Character song)

Ask game

Cultivator conferences = disaster

Mriad

Posts: Chuyao being gay / Chuyao still being gay / list of things Lu Yao stole from Chusheng / Seriously so gay / go make me coffee

Fics: Empty space(filled with flowers) / All that glitters (ao3)

The Devil Judge

Beyond Evil vs The Devil Judge

Textposts: Get the fuck outta my house / Noo don't check me out ahaha / the Gaon Judas imagery

Gifs: *homoerotically pushes you against wall*I heard you live alone / the Kang Mansion / undresses you to tend to ur wounds

Fic: Rightful Place part 1 (Gahan)/ Rightful Place Masterpost

Love is Science

What the fuck is Love is Science?

Gifs: Ouwen's oh shit moments / Mark panicking bc gay / Shen Ying imitating a Sloth / that kiss in the gym / Ouwen pretty ✨ / Lee Mark's outfits are bisexualcore / love is in the little things

Memes/Other: Savage Ouwen / u're reasonable but ur friends are dumbasses /

Fic: The Mark/Ouwen sickfick no one asked for (domestic)

Recommendation lists

Top 5 BL shows I like

I have nothing to watch (yes u do)

Other:

Pile of Goop Aoki (Kieta Hatsukoi) / Rainless love in a Godless land / To my Star cooking (To my Star) / The 6 stages of Tumblr / Hanahaki disease prompts(?)

>📺(more or less) Current Watchlist

___

Other interests

Lotr

Viggo Mortensen has chaotic neutral energy

Continued list of things Viggo did

I've only had Frodo for a Day and a half

What do we do When we are sad

Aragorn you go king

(Discussion)Why does Gandalf love hobbits so much?

The Clearest diamonds (Bagginshield, AO3)

Stranger Things / The Sandman

over at @grabyourpillow

[independentartistbuzz]

DANKO from Lay Zhang’s Music Collective ‘D.N.A’ Releases New Single “Except”

Today, a new single is released under international idol Lay Zhang’s (LAY) very own music collective called the D.N.A Music Alliance, a curated collection of talented and emerging Chinese musicians that are to dominate the music industry on a global level. The new track, “Except,” is from rapper DANKO, which comes off the heels of back-to-back releases such as “21” by rapper GALI and “What She Said” by Vinida plus the group effort, “Break My Heart.” All releases are under the executive reproduction by LAY himself.

LISTEN TO “EXCEPT” HERE

WATCH LYRIC VIDEO HERE

D.N.A’s stacked line up consisting of 7 talented artists, including DANKO, GALI, Vinida and LAY himself debuted the collective with a full group project called “Cyphers.” Along with an experienced production team, with one of their producers being GRAMMY® award-winning producer Murda Beatz, this group of artists continues to expand its global reach. This next release sets the tone with a new subunit of the Alliance that is long-awaited and showcases a distinct style.

LAY's production skills shine through in his ability to craft captivating melodies, intricate beats, and atmospheric soundscapes that elevate the overall quality and aesthetics of the song. His creative vision and attention to detail contribute to the success and sonic appeal of the track, showcasing his versatility and talent as a multi-faceted artist in the realm of music production.

With a fluid flow, GALI’s abilities are unmatchable when it comes to style, he is a chameleon when it comes to adapting to different styles of music. GALI effortlessly showcases his lyrics and clever rhymes with his songs. With impeccable control and sense of flow, the artist creates a new style of rap that captivates the listener from start to finish.

Shanghai-based, hip-hop pioneer GALI is a rising star in the Chinese hip-hop music scene. He has established himself as a rapper and one of the most watched rappers in China, having been third runner-up of the 2020 hit show, Rap of China. His thoughtful lyrics and connotative taste distinguish him from other rappers. He continued to demonstrate that he is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry with the recent release of a single titled. “Stay With ME ((因你而在)” with YIHUIK (苡慧). The well-known Chinese rapper is all set to take his fans on an electrifying journey when he brings his much-anticipated ATLANTIS tour to Melbourne's 170 Russell on Sunday, July 23, fresh from a slot at Australia's premier festival Splendour in the Grass.

China-based rapper, DANKO is no stranger to the public in Asia and has become a household name from his vibrant career. He debuted in 2011 with his first album, “Illusion Human Nature” and soon became part of several known groups. He’s toured the United States and has released an array of hit singles, even appearing on the hit TV show, “The Rap of China'' like his predecessors that brought him to prominence. This latest release is a testament to DANKO and LAY’s undeniable chemistry as artist and producer. The track showcases the pair’s perfect blend of rhythmic beats and verses to catch melodies effortlessly executed under a classical instrumental.

LAY has been and continues to be a household name in Asia, and his career his been a whirlwind the last three years after joining forces with Steve Aoki and will.i.am for the 2020 hit cross-cultural collaborationLove You More, reaching #1 on the QQ Music China chart. He then released a string of hits with an album, two EP’s, cross-genre collaborations and solo singles overseas further propelling his international star power. The Chinese icon is one of the most beloved stars in the region with a loyal and highly engaged 51 million followers on Weibo and over 14.2 million followers on Instagram. As a solo artist, the entrepreneur’s career has skyrocketed to tremendous success, becoming the highest-ranked Mando-pop star on Billboard 200 chart and the first Chinese artist to enter the iTunes Top 60 in the U.S.; with his third solo albumNAMANANA. Outside of music, he routinely showcases his skills for acting in TV and film roles, hosted multiple top-rated reality shows in Asia and is one of the most awarded artists in China. Now, LAY is working with a multitude of established and emerging artists to help bring their star power overseas with this project close to his heart.

[aheckinmess]

Hide and Seek -> Pt. 1 [Hawks] (Fluff)

(One-shot 25/? in a collection of My Hero Academia one-shots posted regularly on Saturdays - and sometimes Sundays.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Keigo Takami, Takami Keigo, Hawks, Original Female Character(s), Ichijiku Aoki, Tigress, Fluff, Angsty Fluff, There's a Little of Both Okay, It's Bittersweet, Pining Hawks, Childhood Friends to Lovers, It's Actually So Cute, Takami - Keigo's Father Mentioned, Tomie Takami Mentioned, Bookstore is Mentioned, OC Works at a Bookshop, She Lives in Kamino Ward, The Bad Part of Town, Hawks Gets Protective, Pinky Promise, I'm Bad at Tagging, But I Blame That on the Fact that You Kinda Need to Read the Prompt Itself to Understand, What Else Do You Want from Me?

Word Count: 3,137 words

Summary: Hawks' childhood was not unlike that of Ichijiku Aoki, and she would know because she was his best friend. Ten long years after leaving her to train and be a hero, Hawks suddenly pops up in Ichijiku's life again.

Author's Note: This one-shot is a little different. Normally when I write multiple parts of a one-shot, I just include it in a separate series. However, this one just happened to run a little longer, so I decided breaking it into chunks would be helpful. I may end up deciding to make it its own series anyway, who can say? For now, you get part 1/2 of this tasty delicious prompt!

Ichijiku (Tigress)

Mommy doesn’t like emotional brats. That’s why when she and Daddy fall asleep, I sneak out the back door and start running down the trail behind our house. I make it to the broken tree before I see a blurry house. 

I step closer, the house getting clearer until it’s obvious it’s more of a shack, wooden and decrepit. It looks like the perfect place to play House, or Superheroes, or even Tea Party! Looking over my shoulder, I crawl beneath a lonely window and peek in. 

A little boy with red feathers looks back at me and I crouch as my heartbeat makes it hard to hear. I look up after a moment to find him when his shadow hangs out of the window above me.

“What are you doing here? You have to go before you get in trouble!” He whispers, turning over his shoulder. “My dad will be really angry if he sees you.”

“My mommy can’t find me, or she’ll whoop me good.” I hiss back.

We stare at each other for a minute before his pretty red feathers swirl around me. My face slips into a smile as I reach for it.

“This your quirk? What are they for?”

“I can move them around and hear things with them, but…Mom and Dad say they’re pretty useless.”

“Can you fly?”

“I dunno. Never tried.” He shrugs. “They don’t let me leave our house.”

“You should see if you can–” A limb snaps and both of us freeze, eyes snapping towards the sound.

“KEIGO!” 

I wave at him before hopping into the closest hidey hole I see: a barrel. The loud voice inside reminds me of Mommy. I expect the yelling and the smack! that follows, as well as the sharp scolding about being respectful and listening to adults.

I’m not expecting the silence that follows to be tainted with soft sobs from the sassy little boy from the window.

It makes me sad.

I peek out of my barrel and climb out, before looking into the broken window. The boy - Keigo? - faces away from me with shaky wings. He sniffles every few seconds as I listen for footsteps, eyes latched onto the woman sleeping on a mat beside him.

When I climb through and pad over to him, I pat his shoulder and pull on his arm. He pulls back and shakes his head.

“You have to go–”

“Who are you?” A tired voice asks.

I whip my head around to find a lady and two extra eyes watching me. Those two eyes float and circle around me, coaxing me to move closer to Keigo. I swallow thickly and hide my trembling hands behind my back.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m Keigo’s friend.”

“I asked who you are, Keigo’s friend. What’s your name?”

“Ichijiku.” I answer, looking at the floating eyes. “What are those for?”

“None of your business, kid.” Dark circles line her eyes as she glares at me. “Why are you here? How do you know Keigo?”

“I just met him. I was playing Hide and Seek outside when I found this house.” I explain carefully, glancing away. 

“Well, you’re not welcome here, kid. Keigo doesn’t have any friends. And if you don’t move your ass, my husband will kick you out personally.”

“Can I come visit Keigo another time if I promise not to bring nobody?” I plead.

“Tch. You can certainly try, kid.”

“Okay!” I lock her pinky with mine. “I pinky promise I won’t bring no one next time. See you later, Keigo!” 

. . . . .

The next time I see Keigo, I make extra sure I don’t see any eyes as I sneak in. No one else is in the house as I tiptoe over the wooden floorboards. Keigo’s still curled up in the same spot he was before, red feathers fanned out behind his back.

“Hi, Keigo.” I whisper.

“Huh?” He turns over and his eyes widen as he jolts to a standing position. “Ichijiku?”

“Yep!”

“What are you doing here?!” He hisses, squeezing a plushie against his chest. “I told you, my dad will kill you if he sees you here!” 

“He won’t see me.” I assure him. “Besides, you’re my friend! Do you wanna go play Hide and Seek outside?”

“I’m not allowed to go outside, ever.” He frowns.

“Oh.” I rub the back of my neck as I look around. “Well, do you wanna play Superheroes in here, instead?”

“What if my parents come back and you’re still here?”

“We can listen to hear when they’re coming and then I’ll go hide!” I say quickly, before I gasp and point at his feathers. “You said you can hear stuff with your feathers, right? Maybe you can listen for them?”

Keigo looks around the house one time, before he turns back to me with a smile.

“Let’s do it!”

It becomes our ritual to see each other at least once a week playing as the world’s greatest superheroes: Tiger and Birdie! Since Keigo can’t go outside and find me, I make the trek every Thursday to go visit.

Until one day I find the dilapidated shack empty.

My shoulders slump. My little legs scour the surrounding area and all over the house with no luck. No floating eyeballs. No loud, red-haired man. No Keigo. 

I return to my house feeling more lonely and worried than ever. Did he leave because he got in trouble? Did I get him in trouble? Will he ever come back? A few weeks pass and answer my question. As the little shack remains vacant, it becomes clear he's not coming back.

Mommy and I are waiting for the train when I spot it.

A small, red feather.

“What the hell are you looking at? Hurry up!” Mommy jerks me forward. “Pay attention so we’re not late!”

I see Keigo huddled up against the wall with his mom and my face smiles so wide it hurts! I look up at Mommy, scrolling on her phone, and get an idea.

When the train doors open and we make it to the platform, I duck and squirm between the people behind us to wiggle back into the train station. I dart over to Keigo as soon as the train doors close.

“Keigo-kun!” I call, sliding to a stop on my knees in front of him. “I found you!”

“Ichan?” His head lifts and his eyes sparkle.

I yank him into my arms, hugging him so tight. I don’t want to let him go. I want to take him home with Mommy so that he can stay with us forever!

“Where did you go?” I whisper, pulling back and wiping my face. “Your house is empty!”

“Endeavor saved us from my dad, Ichan! Endeavor’s real! Like…really real!” Keigo exclaims, holding out his Endeavor doll. “He helped us get away from Dad!”

“Yeah, and now we’re homeless, Keigo.” His mother scoffs, turning her head away. “We have nothing. Nothing to eat, nowhere to stay. Why do you have those feathers if you’re not gonna use them?”

 Keigo and I look between each other and then his mom. We remain silent. I turn back to the train to make sure my mom hasn’t come back for me yet. 

She’s going to be so angry.

“Where’s your mom, Ichan?”

“I hid from her so I could say hi.” I admit, rocking back and forth on my feet. “Is this where you’re staying?”

“For now, yeah. We move around Fukuoka to find places to stay warm or get food.” He pauses to look behind me before he adds. “You’re not gonna get in trouble are you?”

“Probably. But it’s okay. Maybe…maybe if I talk to my mommy you could stay with us! And then you wouldn’t have to look for food or blankets!” I offer.

“No way, kid.” Keigo’s mom snaps. “I’m not staying somewhere with another brat to take care of and a stranger. Get lost.”

I open my mouth to disagree, but Keigo’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. He uses a feather to turn me around.

“Ichijiku Aoki!” My mom snatches me by the front of my shirt as I flinch back with scrunched eyes. “What on earth did you think you were doing? What if I hadn’t found you? Now those bastards are looking into the custody case on the grounds that I’m not a competent parent. Get your ass back on that train!”

The following pop on my butt burns, but not as much as it burns to wave goodbye to Keigo.

. . . . .

“Pardon me, ma’am. Is your daughter home?”

“My daughter? What is this about? I’ve been getting her packed to move in with her father, you bastards. Why are you here?”

I peek around the corner of the dining table as I see men in black suits talking with Mommy. My stuffed tiger stays squished against my chest as I watch them.

“Ma’am, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. We’re not here to take your daughter. We’re here because a friend of hers would like to say goodbye.”

“Who?”

When Keigo comes into view, I gasp and pop out of my hiding spot, running over to him. This time, he’s the one that pulls me against his chest.

“Did you come over to play, Keigo? I’ve got–”

“I’m sorry, young lady, but he’s not here to play. He’s here to tell you goodbye. He won’t be speaking to you anymore.” A man behind him says.

Keigo stands there with his feathers looking sad. They drag on the ground as he tilts his head down.

“He…” I look at Keigo. “I won’t get to see you again? Never ever?” 

“Not never ever!” He says confidently, lifting his head. “Just…not for a long time. It’s like Hide and Seek. But this time, I’ll be the one to find you.”

“You pinky promise?” I ask, holding out a small digit while my eyes burn. Sticky tears dry on my face before he ever leaves, before he ever links his finger with mine.

“Pinky promise.”

. . . . .

“That was years ago, Sacchan, I doubt he remembers who I am.” I whisper to her over a crowd of fawning girls.

Years following Keigo’s abrupt removal from my life, I’ve walked the streets every day hoping for a glimpse of red feathers. By the time Hawks made his debut, I’d all but given up hope in ever seeing him again.

But now? Seeing the familiar floating feathers and the swarm of fangirls on a morning stroll with Sayuri could only mean one thing.

“There’s no way he’d forget you, Ichan! It sounds like you were his only friend as a kid. You don’t just forget that.” She presses, urging me forward against the claustrophobic hoard of warm bodies. “At least say hi. Don’t pass up the opportunity to meet #3!” 

At her insistence, I worm my way through the crowd; people scream his name and reach for his feathers. I know I have no shot, but I still raise my hand to get his attention when he looks in my direction.

Immediately, our eyes lock.

“Ichan!” His eyes widen and he surges forward, rendering me frozen. “Hey! Ichijiku, yeah?”

“Y-Yes. You…remember me?”

“Definitely! I told you I’d find you again, didn’t I? I’d know your face anywhere.” He smirks, red feathers circling around me. “Remember these?” How do I tell him that my every waking moment has been filled with the hope of seeing them again? That every thought in my mind has been tainted with his promise, with his smile?

“I do.” I grin, giggling as they tickle my face. “Did you ever figure out if you could fly?” I taunt.

“Haha! Sure did! Turns out you had the right idea.” His laughter settles in my bones and heals every ache. When he leans in close to me, the smell of springtime and cologne invades my nostrils as he whispers in my ear. “Meet me on the roof of this building in two hours.”

“Okay.” I breathe, exhibiting maximum self-control to keep from reaching for him when he pulls back.

“We’ve gotta catch up sometime!” He beams.

“For sure.” I nod.

As I’m shoved back into Sayuri’s side by the thronging mob, she gives me a knowing smirk while I pinch myself to see if I’m stuck in a dream.

“Told you he’d remember.”

“Shut up.” I flush. “We need to finish shopping quickly; I’m busy in 2 hours.”

. . . . .

Between my attention span and restless limbs, I simply can’t wait. I’m reclining on the roof well before the time I’m supposed to show up. For one lonely hour, I bond with the sky, voicing my insecurities and long-lost desires to the clouds as I gaze over the streets of Japan. 

“Breathtaking.” Keigo’s voice ricochets through every muscle.

“Y-Yeah.” I squeak, hopping onto my feet and rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t often get a view of the city from this high up.”

He chuckles, warm and inviting, as he steps within arm’s reach of me. “I wasn’t talking about the city, Ichan.”

I don’t have time for this. I can’t have time for this. The feeling of home that saturates every limb with this bittersweet reunion clashes with the reminder that a year ago I’d given up hope. I’d given up hope and decided to try and move past my age-old crush on a childhood friend that I’d never see again.

Now, here he is.

And the man waiting for me at home is not Keigo.

Yet, here I am. I am on top of a building looking out over Japan with Keigo. He thinks I’m breathtaking. And even though I know Akuma should be getting off work in a few minutes and heading to the apartment, my temperature skyrockets as I laugh off the giddy feelings building in my bones. 

“You grew into a charmer, I see.” I nudge him. “At any rate, it’s really good to see you again, Keigo.”

“Hawks, please. At least in public. My real name has been scrubbed from existence.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I’ve been looking for you since I became a hero, you know? I promised I’d find you, and I never forgot about you.”

“I never forgot you either, Birdie.” With every inhale, I get minutely closer to him until our arms touch. “I’ve missed you. I was starting to worry I’d never see you again.”

He envelops me in his arms and holds me against his chest. The warmth of his aviator’s jacket mingles with the heat of longing I’ve smothered over the years. 

“How have you been?” I ask.

“Busy.” Keigo loses a bit of his smile as he pulls back. “Being #3 calls for a lot of work. It’s exhausting.”

“I can imagine.” I peer up at him and focus hard so I don’t get lost in him. His smile. His eyes. His broad wings surrounding the two of us in our own little bubble. “You do an amazing job, for what it’s worth. I’m grateful for all the hard work you put in for everyone.”

“Heart of gold, just like I remember.” He pauses. “What have you been up to, then, Tiger?”

“Ugh…I’d hoped you’d forget that nickname.”

“Aw, come on! I’d never forget our first hero names. Tiger and Birdie fight for justice, remember?”

“Yeah.” I reminisce. “But I’m working at a local bookshop now. I’ve always enjoyed books. Being surrounded by them all day brings me a sense of peace that I’ve only ever found with you.” I turn away from him, facing the bustling view of the city.

“Nice! Following your dreams, yeah? Which bookshop do you work at? Which part of town?”

I stiffen and his feathers vibrate. 

“Honshiro, it’s a second-hand bookstore in downtown Kamino Ward.” I try to evade. “I’m also–”

“Woah, wait. You live over there?!” His wings stretch wide, large and captivating. “But it’s so dangerous over there! Why are you staying there, of all places? Why not further east where the neighborhood is safer? Isn’t there a Honshiro there, too?”

“Well, yeah. But, I mean, ideally we would have stayed in Fukuoka, but Akuma had a better work deal downtown.”

“Akuma?” Keigo’s feathers twitch and his eyes glow. “Who’s he?”

I look down, feeling my world crashing around me. What if I’d just waited? What if I had held out hope that Keigo would come back for me? Would I be living better than I am now? Would I be happier?

Would Keigo be mine?

“Akuma is my boyfriend.”

“Oh…” I don’t miss the way his wings droop. “Right. But, well, you can’t stay there. That place is crawling with villains. Fukuoka is my agency’s base of operations. You’d be safest there. I mean, even Kumamoto would have you in Ms. Joke’s territory.”

“I know, Birdie, but I can’t.” I sigh. “Akuma’s on the brink of a really big promotion. We’ll only be in Kamino Ward for a couple months tops. I’ll ask him what his position will be and if we can go somewhere safer, okay?”

“A couple of months?” He frowns before it melts into a little smile. “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing. But do me a favor and talk with him about it sooner rather than later…please? See if he can afford to move somewhere else.” “Hawks…” I sigh. “I really want to, but Akuma has a really good proposition there.”

“Is it a good proposition for you, though?” “Why does it matter so much to you, Birdie?” The distance between us suffocates me.

Silence stretches between us as he extends a gloved hand out to me. His lips part to say something before he clenches his hand into a fist and drops it to his side.

I deserve the pit. I deserve the lowest circle of hell. Because at that moment, I would do anything to make him reach out again and tell me he loves me.

“We both lived through similar childhoods. I was given an opportunity to be freed of it. I just want the same for you.”

“I know. I appreciate that you still care about me after all this time.” I look up at him, begging him with my expression to be mine even though I shouldn’t. He’s busy looking over the city, the collar of his jacket hiding his expression. “Can we keep in touch, then? If you give me your number, I can at least promise to call you anytime I think I’m in trouble.”

“Deal.” He taps his phone against mine and our contact information is swapped. “Promise me you’ll call me the second you’re in trouble.”

I hold out my pinky for him as a grin twitches on my lips. “Pinky promise.”

And with a crooked grin, he links his pinky in mine.

Want More Hawks? Try: Elysium

[lmjupdates]

IN CONVERSATION WITH LAUREN JAUREGUI

Interview by Jana Letonja

Multi-platinum Cuban-American singer-songwriter Lauren Jauregui has projected her voice across popular culture, including collaborations with everyone from Halsey and Steve Aoki to Ty Dolla Sign and Russ. Her sophomore EP ‘In Between’ was released on 26th May.

Lauren, your new EP ‘In Between’, which was just released, dives inward to craft an ode to the process of becoming one’s true, whole self. Tell us more about the inspiration and meaning of this EP.

This project is I feel titled pretty appropriately. It is a collection of songs, opened by a spoken word piece also titled ‘In Between’, which I think really captures what this project means. The ‘In Between’ is the space before you fully arrive,so these are pieces of figuring out and releasing to be honest. I’ve held these songs for 5 years, so it’s good to just let them go and for everyone to be able to hear and feel and live with them.

Your new single from the EP, ‘Wolves’, features Ty Dolla Sign and Russ. It marks your first collaboration with Ty Dolla Sign since 2017. How was it collaborating with him again, after such a long time?

I have a lot of respect for both Ty and Russ as artists and humans and I consider them both friends of mine. They’re two people who have always uplifted, supported, shown up and helped guide my spirit in this industry, so working with them on this song was an easy choice, especially back in 2018 when it was made. I’m grateful they both still believed in it the way I did and still do. The message is timeless. It’s about finding your light and purpose and allowing yourself to chase your dreams and visions outside of the constructs and BS they feed us.

The first two released singles from the EP are a poignant ballad ‘Always Love’ and vulnerable and intimate ‘Trust Issues’. What are the stories behind these two personal and deep singles?

They both are branches on the same tree of time. ‘Always Love’ is an ode to unconditional love and the way that I love. I wrote it when I was trying to process my feelings of a breakup. And ‘Trust Issues’ stemmed from the same period of healing, where people start entering your life or you’re lightly dating again, but you’re warning this lover that you’re probably not in the best time to be getting too involved in a relationship.

Your first album ‘Prelude’ showcased every side of you with no shortage of spirit, sensuality, style and soul. How does ‘In Between’ differ from it? And in what ways does it connect to it?

To me ‘Prelude’ and ‘In Between’ are sisters. They’re songs that came from the same version of me. The naive, stubborn, healing, grateful, excited, scared, passionate, present, ambitious dreamer that allowed me to get to where I am today and these songs are her exploring her healing, heart and self. They would’ve been part of the same project once upon a time to introduce myself, but I’m not her anymore. I’ve grown and she’s evolved, but these songs are still as much a part of my journey as the ones that will come from who I’ve been since you all last heard from me. So they had to be heard.

Who are your biggest musical inspirations and influences and why?

I honestly have a really wide range if I’m being real. I’m heavily inspired by pop, r&b, alternative rock music. I love salsa, boleros and reggaetón. I was heavily influenced by growing up in Miami and around my dad who was in a bunch of bands and always playing the drums and music in the house. I love a whole wide range of things. It’s hard for me to fit into a box, but if I think of who I’m inspired by, I’m inspired by all the badass songstresses, songwriters and producers like Hayley Williams, Amy Winehouse, Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, Summer Walker, SZA, Kali Uchis, Jhene Aiko, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kaytranada, Shakira, Celia Cruz. I like people who tell their stories through their music. I love Jazz too. I’m hard to pin, which is my strength and weakness I suppose. I’m versatile.

You’ve collaborated with many artists, from Halsey to Steve Aoki to Ty Dolla Sign and Russ, who are all from different genres. How do you choose who you’re going to collaborate with? What makes it exciting to create outside of your genre?

I don’t believe I’ve defined a genre for myself as of yet. Like I mentioned, I’m influenced by energy from a lot of different genres, so getting to explore making music with artists I’m friends with and look up to and am inspired by is really my only goal with collaborations. Having fun and creating interesting things with other creatives is a blessing.

Tell us more about your songwriting process. What usually inspires you the most when writing songs?

I feel very inspired by love and being alive. The sounds and whatever the producer and I are feeling that day usually drive the direction the song goes in. I love exploring a concept from beginning to end and for the music to align with the words. I usually start off with a track and then build the melodies by playing around until I find what I like and then write the words.

Being in the spotlight can be challenging? How do you deal with it?

I’ve been doing this for a while, so I think at a certain point there was acceptance. I’m grateful to do what I love and I focus on the real love and support around me. Just stay grounded and true to myself at all times.

Lauren, you also actively speak up for social justice initiatives, including human rights, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. What are your views and opinions on these pressuring matters?

Well, that’s a vague question, but I think my overall opinion in reference to the why is just that I believe we are all worthy of safety and a right to live life joyously and as ourselves, no matter our identity. I believe we all deserve to have the right to life, freedom, clean water and foods, shelter and autonomy over our bodies and minds. That’s what I believe and I just try my best to speak that truth to power as often as I can when handed a mic. I also believe it’s extremely important to be as loud about love as possible for this world to even remotely begin to shift into one where that can be a reality for everyone.

Now that your new EP is out, what is coming up next? Can you share a bit about your upcoming projects.

I’m focused on ‘In Between’ right now. She’s really fresh and new in the world, so I’m going to let her take a breath and live a little. In the meantime, I’ll be creating for my debut album while traveling a bit this summer and I’ll be going on tour in the Fall.

talent LAUREN JAUREGUI @laurenjauregui photographer BRIANNA ALYSSE @brialysse photo editor KWAMI LEE @notemplate.xyz stylist RAZ MARTINEZ @itsmerazzie make-up VITTORIO MASECCHIA @vittoriomasecchiabeuty hair NATHANIEL DEZAN @nathanieldezan producer DANIELLE HAWKINS @daniellehstyles @tunnelmediagroup editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA @timiletonja

[cloudii-reads]

artwork credit to: nellseto.mp3 on instagram !! created via their picrew <3

About The Reviewer 2023 !!

featuring Rain !!

1. What are some basics about me?:

Feel free to refer to me as either Rain, Cloud, or Cloudii! I use they/them pronouns, my birthday is December 26, and I’m interested in a variety of content/hobbies besides reading! I love writing short stories and creating OC’s in my free time, and a few of the things I’m most interested in would be Genshin Impact, Sanrio, Pokemon (both the games and card collecting,) and practically anything relating to the ocean and fish! I’m also a full time college student and aspiring to become a librarian! :)

2. What are my favorite genres?:

Nowadays, I typically find myself reading fantasy and literary fiction, however I do really enjoy cozy mysteries and magical realism! I also do love reading the odd non-fiction book here and there if it’s about a topic I find interesting, so usually fish, the ocean, or books as a general rule of thumb! I also adore reading books with solid lgbtqia+ representation!

3. What are my favorite books so far this year?:

So I’ve read quite a few books already this year that’s made it in my “all time favorites” category, but I’ll be limiting it to my top three for the sake of this question, haha.

1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

- A charming opening book to a series about old people solving murders! I had the audiobook playing in the background as I was reading a physical copy, and it really made the experience for me! I don’t normally listen to audiobooks since I can get really picky with voice acting and how it sounds, but I think that the VA for this book did a wonderful job! <3

2. Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

- To simply put it, the apocalypse is coming and it’s just a silly time. I absolutely ADORE this book (along with the show, in which I highly recommend watching !! Season two is breaking my heart, why Neil, WHY) and it’s pretty much absorbed my entire existence. Like The Thursday Murder Club, I listened to the full cast audiobook while reading along with the physical copy and.. holy moly. Season two may have broken my soul in two, but at least I can pretend like everything’s fine by listening to the audiobook with the actual book !!

3. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

- When I tell you that I practically cried ugly tears over this book, let me tell you, I cried BAD. This novel, as a queer person, made me feel so seen and heard, especially as the book follows the perspective of a trans girl, Katrina, and omg. It honestly just felt like Ryka took a part of my own soul and shoved it into the pages because I related to her struggles and story so, so much. Basically this whole book is just filled with all kinds of heart breaking stuff, and I absolutely loved it for that. Highly recommend looking more into it if you’re interested in reading it, though definitely take a look at the trigger warnings before going in!

4. What are my favorite and least favorite tropes?:

My favorite tropes absolutely have to be found family (as a general rule of thumb) and slow burn for romance! As for my least favorite tropes, I cannot STAND surprise pregnancy and fake dating, both are just really big ick’s for me.

5. What are some of my bookish goals for the year?:

So far, my basic reading goal is to read 25 books this year! The number’s a bit low since I started really getting back into reading a bit late into the year, but I’ll say I’m pretty settled into completing my goal so far, having read 15 books so far. Besides that, I want to try and read a more varied set of genres besides what I normally would read. Due to that, I’ve been trying to get into more non-fiction and I’m thinking of getting into poetry eventually, oh and recommendations would be really appreciated! This isn’t limited to just non-fiction and poetry but any genre, I’m always looking to expand on what I read! :)