#scala setting

[tzufcallsmeshomps]

Hello there! I don’t have a specific prompt, but if you’re able, could you draw Brain (KHUX) or Namine? Stay well 💚

Why not both?

[yzafre]

What if the stuff that happened at the end of KH3 was like... bigger.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

KHML x The Good Place (Part 3/?)

[expederest]

[crazygirl0152]

Here is my finished booklet and you can use fingers you want a closer look

[louismygf]

girls when they just finished watching aotv

[invidiatechdemo]

actually have a lot of more specific hcs about character dynamics re: dark road but they're like unlockables in a videogame and/or probably going to only show up in ficstuff that is like, unpalatable to other people who aren't me. not for serious reasons just like. it's pony-related. which shouldn't be shocking).

i have opinions on what vidar's dialogue stuff re: nort and also like. opinions that i'm like 90% certain xehanort has at least /met/ hoder via baldr, but legitimately has not met vidar once, and why that is, but unfortunately for people online: i'm sorry, you're only finding that out in a crossover fic. because the main fic/fancomic ideas i have that are longform are all crossover fics (usually focusing on one series at a time. i once wrote like, half of a monsters inc-related jokefic thing that requires knowledge of the monsters inc comics to parse and then never posted it b/c i got embarassed).

[xxsycamore]

BAD LIAR

╰┈➤ You love Harrison, but he gets on your nerves sometimes. You know you can't lie to him, but you can still get back at him in other ways...

Harrison Gray/f!Reader • rating: E (MDNI) • tags: Jealousy; Make-up Sex; Couple Arguments; Rough Kissing; Vaginal Sex; Riding; Dirty Talk; Swearing; Rough Sex; Creampie • wordcount: 2,405 • masterlist

Visions of Temptation 2024/KINKTOBER DAY 5: Make-up Sex

"I told you already. Even if I didn't have my curse, I'd still see right through you. Because you're simply that bad of a liar."

The tiny gasp you let out only makes Harrison that much more amused. You feel the blood boiling in your veins, not even caring anymore if you're overreacting or not.

"I swear, this has nothing to do with you, Harry. I too like to drink strawberry milk sometimes, okay? It's as simple as that! I wanted to drink some so I got myself some. It was my strawberry milk. It wasn't strawberry milk I left for you because I'm too shy to tell you I got you a gift! Jeez!"

"I told you it's fine. I know how shy you can be when it comes to expressing your feelings…"

He pauses to take a sip - the last sip, precisely - of the glass before setting it down where you can see it.

The audacity.

"…So now that you saw me enjoying your gift, we can close the topic if you want to. No need to get so worked up over it… though I'd admit, it's a good look on you."

You watch the empty glass in disbelief.

"…It's sexy, even."

And in the next second, you simply storm out of the room.

***

Later that night, you enter the castle with your cheeks hurting from the big grin you’ve been sporting for quite some time now. With a spring in your step, you walk into the foyer while still linking arms with Liam.

You caught a carriage ride back home together after you ran into him, as your late afternoon going out happened to coincide with him finishing his rehearsal at Scala. Spending some time with him was definitely better than sulking by yourself while browsing the marketplace, seeing how quickly and effortlessly he cheered you up with his bright and bubbly persona. You're not sure if he asked out of politeness or if he picked up the signs of you having a bad day that easily - great, not only are you a bad liar but it seems like you can't hide your feelings at all now - but it wasn't long before you were telling Liam all about your lovers' quarrel earlier that day.

Liam's initial reaction was to smile. Just a smile, not a mocking laugh that reminds you of a certain someone's relentless teasing. Then he made sure to comfort you about it, saying he understands why you're upset with Harry. He's a good friend of his, after all, he knew exactly what you're talking about.

Liam's magenta eyes lighted up for a second, like an imaginary pair of cat ears tingling in attention on the top of his head, with a new smile blooming on his face. A mischievous one this time. He told you he has a plan.

"We're hooooome!" Liam announces out loud, making sure the figure sitting with its back to the door is able to hear it. Of course, both you and Liam know who this is, but you pretend you don't.

"Oh, Harry, it's you!"

Turning to face you while still holding onto the book he's been reading while waiting for your arrival, you and Liam make sure he sees your linked arms just for a bit longer before you let go of each other. You approach first, resting your arms on the backrest of the sofa where Harrison is sitting and gushing about the fun time you had with Liam.

"…And then he looked down and saw he was still wearing those funny-looking medieval shoes from the rehearsal!"

"I can't believe you had to point them out to me… In my defense, Tom is absolutely working me to the bone these days! He's so excited for this new play we're putting on!"

"Who wouldn't be? When you told me about the plot of it, it got me all excited too! Can't believe I haven't seen this play before… I definitely have to come see it. Hey, Harry, you're coming too, aren't you?"

Between the animated gesturing of you and Liam, Harrison remains quiet and mostly still. He crosses his arms in front of his chest, tilting his head for a second as if he's been distracted until you spoke his name.

"Hm? Oh, sure. I'll be there."

"Yaaay!" You clap your hands, before turning your attention to Liam again, as he apologizes for having to leave the two of you so soon. He doesn't forget to say that he's going out early in the morning and probably won't be back till the end of the day. And you don't forget to show how much you're going to miss him, giving him a nice goodbye hug. Right in front of Harrison's eyes.

Once he's gone, you let out a sigh, but don't hurry to move your attention to Harry just yet, even as you walk past him on the sofa. This, however, leaves you wide open, as a pair of arms wraps around your waist in a flash, pulling you right into the lap of the cunning fox.

"Eeek! What's gotten into you, Harry?"

Up this close, reading Harrison's gaze is not hard, even while he's doing the same to you. It's rare to see him so unlike himself, but if there's one thing you know for sure, it's that this is the face of a man being jealous. You need no special abilities to tell this much.

"Nothing much. What's gotten into you? You seem to be in high spirits."

You scrunch your nose at him, opening your mouth to bite back… but you select your words carefully so as not to be caught telling a lie, answering the question with a question.

"Can't I be?"

"'Dunno. It's not the face of someone whose treat was stolen earlier."

It's tempting to break the intense eye contact with a roll of your eyes, but you hold back, even if his words provoke you to do just that.

"Oh, that? I got over it already! I'm not childishly stingy about getting my treats stolen, like a certain someone."

Ouch, that must have hurt. You worry about going too far, but you can't deny the amusement of getting back at him. Especially when you can bask in the results of your earlier performance being written across his face. Maybe your place is in Scala, after all.

His teal eyes shimmer with an unfamiliar light in them, and trying to figure it out makes you feel dizzy. In the next moment, it ceases mattering altogether, because both of you go in for a kiss at the same time.

It begins slowly despite the dramatic pause that preceded it, neither of you wanting to give in first. You let Harrison in your mouth, just to ambush him; wrapping your tongue around his, you turn the kiss into something rougher, and he doesn't back down to you in the slightest. The mass of frenzied energy inside you manifests in clinging to his arms, to his shoulders, tugging at his hair, at his clothing; you maintain your iron grip even as you notice you're disheveling his shirt at this point.

He is the first to withdraw, and despite looking slightly out of breath, he's still staring at you with the same look in his eyes, almost as if he's mad at you. Good, the feeling is mutual.

"Bedroom. Now."

Thank god he said it already.

Once you find yourself in private with Harrison, you know you will not hold back, and neither will he. It's a surprise that a mindful hand still reaches for the light switch, though it's hardly important for either of you right now. With the way you're set on your goal, bodies knowing the way, you hardly need to be able to use your vision at all.

"You're the worst. I'm so mad at you."

"No, you aren't."

Ignoring his words, you relish in the feeling of the naked torso you drag your fingernails down, once that shirt is finally gone. But you're after his belt next, even if Harrison's own hands are on the way.

He's got your skirt removed already, trying to distract you with a kiss while he removes your blouse next, but you refuse to lift your arms up - not until you claim the next article of clothing on him. He breaks the kiss and clicks his tongue, fed up and impatient. Not unlike you.

He easily finds your wrists and grabs them, backing you to the bed and pushing you down until your body hits the fluffy duvet. From there on, his plan seems to be holding your wrists in one hand above your head while he attempts to lift the hem of your blouse again with the other, but it proves hard with you squirming underneath him. You can't stop looking at the expression he makes, and you remember to use your strongest weapon, your tongue.

"You're pretty worked up, aren't you, Harry? Could it be that you really got jealous…?"

He'd never confess to it straight up, so you can at least have your fun teasing him for a little longer.

"I didn’t."

"Liar."

The growing need to kiss his puckering lower lip is what makes you give up on the undressing war, letting the piece of clothing be taken off of you and discarded somewhere on the floor, joining the pile that's already there. Harrison keeps the kiss short because there's still more he can take off of you.

"Yeah, that's what I am."

That's it? No "at least I know when to stop", anything? You lift your head up to catch him moving down on you and tugging at your underwear using his teeth, and the sight makes you forget about your grudge for a split second. Damn it, you want him so bad.

You know once he gets between your legs you'd be screaming with pleasure no matter how stubborn you are. But at least you want to be the one calling the shots while your anger still fuels your boldness. It takes a little bit of effort and a little bit of tongue down Harrison's throat, but at last, you manage to push him down the bed and turn the tables on him.

Once you're on top, you drag down his pants in a rush together with his underwear, letting his erection spring out in your awaiting hands. You rub the blunt head onto your drenched entrance, teasing him one last time before you gradually sink down on him. Though it lacks the usual gentleness Harry treats you with, always mindful of his own size, and the result has you cursing him.

"F-Fuck you…"

"Yeah, it seems like you're trying to do that."

His big hands snake their way up your waist, already there to support you, and a part of you wants to smack them away and show him how well you can ride him without his aid. But you don't, despite yourself and despite the provoking words that his dirty mouth keeps on spilling.

You don't know what's to blame here, but the pleasure of becoming one with him grows tenfold under these circumstances. You need to keep going like you need air. Like it's the only way to channel the emotions rushing inside you right now. The only pause you're willing to take is to unclasp your bra and throw it down at Harrison.

He catches it, bringing it down to his lips for a second while flashing you another dirty look, before it ceases being of interest to him and he throws it away.

"You're- Haaah- You're seriously bad at this. Aren't you going to say something in defense?"

"I'm more interested in fucking you right now."

Your walls clench as you hear this, your body being way more honest than the words coming out of your mouth tonight, but it's hardly a surprise between the two of you.

"Since when did that become your priority? I thought you were having more fun teasing me?"

"Since yesterday. Remember when I commented on how sexy the look on your face is?"

The pace of your hips falters. Thinking about Harrison desiring you like this is, admittedly, hot, but it's his honesty that messes with your head here. As much as he uses his lies to his advantage, it seems like he can use honesty in just as dangerous ways.

Another lowering of your guard, and another chance for him to flip the two of you around.

Now that he's back on top, Harrison hooks your legs on the folds of his arms and it's your only sign to brace yourself for what's to come.

"Come on, say it. Say that you want me to fuck you. Or lie if you wish, I'm not stopping you."

You have to give up clutching your jaw the second Harrison starts pounding inside you in earnest, but the fear of him stopping is what makes you really say the words.

"Fuck me… Fuck me, please! More! Don't stop!"

"As you wish."

Unlike how talkative both you and Harrison have been so far, the following minutes are filled with nothing but moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. When he leans over you, caging your body completely in his arms, you can't resist wrapping your own arms securely around his shoulders, afraid of him playing tricks on you again. Even if you know he won't. You need this so badly, and so does he.

"Harry… Harry, tell me you love me…! Ngnnhh-I'm gonna-!"

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too-Ahhhh-!"

Hot-white takes over your vision as Harrison's pace shatters, his thrusts deepening just as you reach your peak, milking him for everything he has. He keeps rutting inside you while he cums, his heavy pants muffled into the crook of your neck as he leaves open-mouthed kisses against your feverish skin. You hold him so tightly even after the strong climax relaxes its grip on you, as if wanting him to sink into your ribcage and completely become one with you.

The kiss the two of you share once you can find your breath again, or maybe even before that, is a sweet one, but the aftertaste of it promises another round of this. It seems like there are still some things you have to settle with Harrison.

Liam when he came up with the idea: Oh they're fucking fucking tonight!

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @kimi00twin @g-kleran @thesirenwashere @devonares @galaxyprison   @starshards26 @thewitchofbooks @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @lordsister @ikemen-banshou   @themysticalbeing @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @ikemenlover24 @mcofthemansion @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 @lovely-bubb1es @aria-chikage @babyblue0t7 @rhodoliteschaos @shrimpy-kitsune @nightghoul381 @xbalayage @lucyw260 @kittygrimm88 @lokis-laugh @natimiles @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf @groovylita Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[goldensunset]

i’m like. so obviously i’m excited for missing link to shed more light on ephemer’s fate and character (and i like it when fans explore it for themselves). but at the same time i kind of hope it barely does? he’s a good example of a writing principle i believe in where sometimes less is more. sometimes having a character quietly fade away, whether through death or disappearance, and leaving it as a mystery hits so much harder than answering our questions. sometimes it’s about the resonance….

this character lost everything and was left alone in his grief. flash forward a couple hundred years and we see he’s long gone yet clearly lived a successful life and gave so much as a gift to the world. we don’t know what happened in between. he ceased to be a person, a character, and has now become a myth.

that statue tells you everything you need to know- he’s a legendary hero. why look beyond the surface? that’s who he was- or rather who he had to become. who was underneath? no one will ever know anymore. historical records can make a person live forever and yet they can never truly capture that person’s life but that’s the best thing you’ve got so what are you gonna do about it? it’s a pretty statue. it’s a nice town. why question it? he’s an inspiration and that’s all he needs to be, right?

he had to bury whoever he was. he had to become the hero, the fountain, the nexus from which all worlds spring… it’s about the silent tragedy. it’s about the quiet sacrifice. it’s about having nothing and giving everything- completely emptying yourself out to the point of fading away…

he doesn’t even haunt the narrative so much as he has melted into the narrative- he is scala ad caelum. he is the keyblade legacy. he embodies these concepts more than anything- that’s his role in the story. not even to be his own person so much as to set things up for others…

it’s messed up! and i kind of like that. it makes me feel things. so like come what may with ml but i’m going to savor this lack of information while we have it because it’s such a beautiful type of tragedy. you take a person and you turn him into stone- lasting forever, remaining beautiful and glorious, yet so impersonal

[pmamtraveller]

CARAVAGGIO - DEATH OF THE VIRGIN, 1606

This artwork was commissioned by the jurist Laerzio Cherubini, who intended to display the canvas in his private chapel at Santa Maria della Scala in Rome. Caravaggio not only failed to meet the contract deadlines, but he also delivered a piece that bore no resemblance to the aesthetic and iconographic standards of other artworks from that era.

Caravaggio depicted the unremitting grief of an ordinary human death. Mary rests on a makeshift bed, an impoverished woman, plainly dressed and barefoot, with a swollen belly and too exhausted to embrace the release of death. The same Mary Magdalene who cried in "The Entombment" stays despondently near her, while the apostles stand by, hushed, and helpless.

The setting does not depict individuals of noble or high lineage, but rather those who share the same reality as that of the Apostles and the Virgin. While in Rome, Caravaggio frequently had the chance to examine corpses up close, even days after death. Consequently, it is believed that the swelling of the Virgin might stem from this observation.

Caravaggio was misunderstood because he refused to filter reality. He couldn't lie, particularly in the presence of death; even when it truly signifies a rebirth, as seen with Mary. The spiritual homage that various artists aimed to celebrate through the fleeting glorification of beauty is present and acknowledged here in the deep sorrow of the apostles and Mary Magdalene. It is witnessed and exalted through strong colors and the true beauty of simple things.

[mote-historie]

Umberto Brunelleschi, Woman in Sheer Dress with Bird of Paradise, 1920's

Umberto Brunelleschi (1879 - 1949) was born in Italy, but moved to France in 1900, where he became a printer, book illustrator, and set and costume designer. He contributed to several French fashion magazines, such as Journal des Dames et des Modes, Gazette du Bon Ton, and Les Feuilles d'Art. Between the two world wars he worked on set and costume designs for several theaters, including Folies Bergère in Paris, the Roxy Theatre in New York, and La Scala in Milan. Some of the books he illustrated are Candide (Voltaire), Contes du temps jadis (Charles Perrault), and Les Masques et les Personnages de la Comedie Italienne. Towards the end of his life he also did a number of erotica illustrations. (x)

[dailytomlinson]

Yeah so we're at the last gig of the Faith In The Future Tour but it feels more like the last gig really [of] the last three years, I didn't really have a big break between the Walls Tour — the first tour — and the second tour of Faith In The Future. It's pretty sad, to be honest but like any, you know, moment in time is definitely a lot of room for reflection and like, I think it was the first tour gig, but it was the first time that I did like a full set, which I wanna say is about three years ago now, I was in Scala. I wanna say that was about to, about maybe 700 people forward to tonight and, you know, we're playing a sold out show in Mexico in an arena, and the shows in this run have been absolutely incredible. It's just another one of those moments for me to be really proud of what we've created. You know, a lot of my fans know I'm a massive, massive football fan. To have the luxury of being able to play in some of these football stadiums and also, you know, being able to play football in these stadiums after the gig, that is a luxury I'll never, ever get used to, it's an amazing feeling. Even when I was having a really good day before I started touring, never in a million years would I've ever included the word 'stadium' on my own solo tour. I thought that was one of those things that was incredible that happened in One Direction, that will never happen for me again unless, you know, we got back together or whatever. So to have gone through that journey and to feel that level of triumph, which feels... which surpasses my expectations by quite a long way, it's just one of those times where I just feel like in reflection, you know, once me and the fans are aligned and we really wanna do something, we fucking do it, man! And I like that, I like that a lot. So yeah, really proud to say that I've played some stadiums on my own, crazy even saying that. [fans section] I think my relationship with the fans has been relatively consistent but I think as time has gone on, that fans have realized just how vital they are to this whole thing. You know, before I started touring, it was only me on Twitter really telling everyone how important they are to this whole thing but the great thing about tour is: it gives the fans an opportunity to really feel their worth in the room, you know. And that's what's really been really special for me, it's not as if I've played more shows, I've got more experience and I've had to rely on them less, quite the opposite. As the shows got bigger, and the pressures got more, I've known I've got them with me so it's been really lovely, it's been a really lovely tour and one thing I'll never take for granted, no matter where I am. The consistency of the energy in the room is absolutely electric so yeah, all in all I think we've done a pretty good job. [FEQW stream section] It's funny that any big moment in my career always feels like, you know, the ultimate moment really and that was another one of those, the stream. Massive venue, sold a lot of tickets and obviously streaming as well and I put a lot of pressure on myself in those situations, because I know how hard I've worked to get here so I wanna get to these big moments in my career, I wanna be able to enjoy them but I also wanna provide a great night for the fans so that was one of those nights for me. It felt like  a real achievement and yeah, just a really literal example of how far this whole thing has come. [downtime touring section] Don't get loads of downtime, there's a lot of travelling, there's been a bit more on this tour. My relationship with the band and just, I mean like everyone on the road really, it's vital. As I've said before, my experience of touring is that of, you know, part of the unit, part of the band obviously, that was my experience coming up. So to be able to share these moments, not just the incredible live moments but also, you know, great moments of like fun and downtime, like when we were on the ATVs the other day, [...]. Those things are really vital to making this whole thing feel almost homely, you know, almost like home away from home. You need to have your people on your side and to be able to have a laugh a break from the madness. [AFHF 2024 section] It's the fourth years, can't quite believe that, of Away From Home Festival. As always, always a great day in the [...], something I'm really excited about and you get a different sense of achievement on those days,you know, it's really— it's not just my show that I've created, but something bigger than that and then yeah, something that I've always wanted to do so always in the run up, I'm excited. There's definitely some nerves going into it 'cause it's a bit like hosting a party, you know, you really want it to be great, I'm crossing my fingers that everything will go right on the day, yeah, I'm really, really excited, it should be another special day in the calendar. [LT3 section + festivals] At some point I'm gonna thank about the next record but I'm a bit scared, truthfully. Like right now feel like I've been enjoying the success of Faith In The Future for quite a while and yes, there's been the pressure of the shows but I delivered that, I think a good record and the record that was successful, so now I'm going into that next cycle it's a little bit tense to go into it, and I know it'll change once I get off the road and really start thinking about the essence, the record, the concept of the record and stuff like that but right now, yeah, I'm just thinking about the festivals, I'm excited for those.

Louis’ full monologue for the last leg of the Faith In The Future Tour in Latin America + FEQW livestream and AFH 2024

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

One of my pseudo predictions/ideas for khml is that it could involve a manhunt for Master’s Defender

Let’s say that Ephemera passes MD down through his family—four generations after him as Nomura mentions, til we get to present day missing link. He gives the specific instruction that it must be returned to Brain whenever he’s destined to arrive in Scala in the future (which might be mentioned in the Book of Prophecies). At the end of khux, Ephemera said he still considers MD belonging to Brain, so he wants to return it to its original owner.

But by the time missing link takes place, and Brain appears, what if the current wielder of MD (aka one of Ephemera’s descendants) refuses to return it, firmly believing that it’s their right to wield it rather than Brain.

This causes a stir within the family, as certain members would find this to be selfish, unreasonable, and going against Ephemera’s wishes. Along with just being dishonourable to Brain, assuming they respect him. Meanwhile, other members of the family end up agreeing with this wielder, believing that MD should stay in the family.

I can see this drama getting so out of hand that it spreads to Scala’s wider community, causing the wielder to go into hiding with MD, and leading to a widespread manhunt alongside other various conflicts. Maybe the game is about finding a missing link to the past in the form of MD, assuming that the titular “missing link” could be a physical item and not just a metaphorical or symbolic thing. As far as I know, MD and No Name are also the only keyblades to have chain-related abilities? Just as an added layer

Brain’s whole role in this is up in the air. I’m going to assume that he’d want to get MD back because of it being Ephemera’s wish (and he will get it back eventually, so it can be passed down to Eraqus), but I can see him getting exhausted by all the drama caused by it. Either way, he feels a sense of responsibility to try and fix everything that goes down

[leporellian]

thesis vii. the monster stands at the threshold... of becoming.

-

jeffrey jerome cohen, “monster culture” / backstage at the magic flute at the metropolitan opera house, NY, circa 1905 / "opera house" by thomas rowlandson and auguste charles pugin / the philadelphia metropolitan opera house before and after renovation / porgy and bess in rehearsal at the met, dir. james robinson / tosca act 1 original set design by adolf hohenstein / tosca at the san fransisco opera, dir. shawna lucey / wozzeck at the opera bastille dir. william kentridge / carmen dir. juan guillermo nova at the sng maribor / kids music cafe at the sydney opera house / don giovanni dir. robert carsen at la scala / madama butterfly dir. matthew ozawa at the detroit opera / the isango ensemble's edition of treemonisha dir. mark dornford-may / m. butterfly dir. james robinson at the santa fe opera / die meistersinger von nürnberg dir. barrie bosky at the bayreuth festival / rigoletto dir. david mcvicar at the royal opera house / the view from the stage at the margravial opera house, photographed by klaus frahm

[louisupdates]

Transcript to Louis’ FITFWT24: Latam IG recap reel [25.6.2024]

Yeah, so we’re at the last gig of the Faith In The Future Tour, but it feels more like the last gig of the last three years. I didn’t really have a big break between the Walls Tour, the first tour, and the second tour, Faith In The Future. It’s pretty sad, to be honest, but like any moment in time, there’s definitely a lot of room for reflection. And like, I don’t know if it was the first tour gig, but it was the first time that I did a full set, which I wanna say is about three years ago now, I was in Scala. I wanna say that was to about 700 people. Forward to tonight, and you know we’re playing a sold out show in Mexico in an arena. The shows in this run have been absolutely incredible. It’s just another one of those moments for me to be really proud of what we’ve created.

A lot of my friends know that I’m a massive, massive football fan. To have the luxury of being able to play in some of these football stadiums, and also being able to play football in these stadiums after the gig— that is a luxury I’ll never, ever get used to. It’s an amazing feeling. But even when I was having a really good day, before I started touring, never in a million years would I ever have included the word “stadium” on my own solo tour. I thought that was one of those things that was incredible that happened in One Direction, that will never happen for me again unless, you know, we got back together or whatever. So to have gone through that journey and to feel that level of triumph, which feels— which surpasses my expectations by quite a long way, it’s just one of those times where I just feel like in reflection, once me and the fans are aligned, and we really wanna do something, we fucking do it, man! And I like that, I like that a lot.

So yeah, I’m really proud to say that I’ve played some stadiums on my own. Crazy even saying that.

I think my relationship with the fans has been relatively consistent. But I think as time has gone on, that fans have realized just how vital they are to this whole thing. You know, before I started touring, it was only me on Twitter, really, telling everyone how important they are to this whole thing. But the great thing about tour is, it gives the fans an opportunity to really feel their worth in the room. What’s really been special to me is, it’s not as if I’ve played more shows, I’ve got more experience, and I’ve had to rely on them less. Quite the opposite. As the shows got bigger, and the pressures got more, I’ve known that I’ve got them with me. So it’s been really lovely. It’s been a really lovely tour. And one thing I’ll never take for granted, no matter where I am, is [that] the consistency of the energy in the room is absolutely electric. So yeah, all in all, I think we’ve done a pretty good job.

It’s funny, like, any big moment in my career always feels like the Ultimate Moment, and that was another one of those, the Stream: massive venue, sold a lot of tickets, and obviously streaming it as well. I put a lot of pressure on myself in those situations because I know how hard I’ve worked to get here, so I want to get to these big moments in my career. I want to really be able to enjoy them, but I also want to provide a great night for the fans. So that was one of those nights for me. It felt like a real achievement, and yeah, just a really literal example of how far this whole thing’s come.

I don’t get loads of downtime— there’s a lot of traveling— there’s been a bit more on this tour. My relationship with the band, and just, I mean, like everyone on the road— it’s vital. As I’ve said before, my experience of touring is that of part of the unit, part of the band. Obviously that was my experience coming up. So to be able to share these moments, not just the incredible, live moments but also great moments of fun and downtime, like when we were on the ATVs the other day; that was a laugh. Those things are really vital to making this whole thing feel almost homely, you know— almost like home away from home. You need to have your people inside, and to be able to have a laugh, a break from the madness.

It’s the fourth year, can’t quite believe that, of Away From Home Festival. It’s always a great day, the kind of thing I’m really excited about. You get a different sense of achievement on those days. That really is not just my show that I’ve created, but something bigger than that, something that I’ve always wanted to do. Always on the run up, I’m excited. There’s definitely some nerves going into it, ‘cuz it’s a bit like hosting a party, you know, you really want it to be great. I’m crossing my fingers that everything will go right on the day. Yeah, I’m really, really excited! It should be another special day in the calendar.

At some point I’m gonna think about the next record, but I’m a bit scared of it, truthfully. Like, right now? I feel like I’ve been enjoying the success of Faith In The Future for quite a while. And yes, there’s been the pressure of the shows, but I delivered that; I delivered the record and the record was successful. So now going into that next cycle, it’s a little bit tense to go into it. I know it’ll change once I get off the road and really start thinking about the essence of the record, the concept of the record, and stuff like that. But right now, yeah, I’m just thinking about the festivals. I’m excited for those.

[corishadowfang]

2025 Writing Goals

...Did I do one of these last year?? I...genuinely can't remember. But! I'm doing one this year--mostly to organize my own thoughts, haha, but I guess also to give people some updates, if anyone's interested in that?

But, uh, 2024 was...a year. The long and the short of it is: I am very burnt out. Most of that is due to my job, but other things have factored into it, too. (There were. So many animal emergencies this past year.) Because of that, I'm going to try to tailor my goals to be...a bit gentler. In theory.

As for the individual stories...

The Age of Fairytales (And Other Assorted Myths)

This is...probably officially going on hiatus, unfortunately. I don't particularly want it to, but I think it probably needs to. I've been struggling to write chapters a lot more than expected, and have been stressed about getting things out in a timely fashion, which is. Not particularly how I want to interact with fandom, and I don't want the story to suffer because of it. Some of this I think is due to the writing style (the myths specifically, which are different from my normal style), but most of it is from the aforementioned burnout. I don't think I was actually ready to have a regularly updated fic again, even if I thought I was (How was three months not enough time?? has been running circles around my head.), and probably should've stuck with my original plan of trying to write everything out, and then starting to post it.

That said, there's a reason it's going on hiatus, and isn't cancelled or anything, and it's because I still really like the idea. So for the moment, it might be going on the backburner, but hopefully I'll be able to bring it out and do more with it in the future.

(Also, like. Feel free to ask me about any lore stuff? Because I really, really want to talk about it, I'm just currently finding it difficult to put it into story format.

...I suppose I could also just make a lot of general worldbuilding posts in the meantime, too, which would be. Significantly easier. ...I'll have to see on that one.)

On My Heart

I really want to get back to working on this one; it's probably going to be my main "traditional" story. That said, I don't have a set goal for this; basically, I just want to make "decent progress" on it, haha. I'm going to try and take it easy and hopefully get at least some content that I'm happy with! (The beginning I already have, at least, feels pretty solid; now I just have to build onto that.)

One-Shots

I have four one-shots that have been sitting half-completed in my documents that I'd really like to finish at some point, which are:

coda: A Fallen Stars one-shot, covering the first year after the end of the story.

Children of Ozymandias: An AU where the Union Leaders (plus Player and Elrena) all remain together after the fall of Daybreak Town, examined through the eyes of people who don't have much relation to Keyblade wielders.

Touch of Midas: Hoder character study.

Ghosts of All We've Known: Ven-centric story looking at his connection to Scala, his buried memories of Daybreak Town, and his complicated thoughts about Eraqus and Xehanort and their past in Scala.

Of these, "Ghosts of All We've Known" is the one I most want to complete; I really like both the idea and what I've written so far, so hopefully I'll be able to finish that one this year, at least. "coda" also has a pretty good chance of being completed, just because, like...that's what I tend to work on when I'm feeling stressed, haha. So we'll see which of those two gets finished first!

(I would like to finish the other two sometime, as well, but...we'll stick with easy goals for now, and see how I'm feeling once those are done.)

And, uh...those are basically my plans for this year! I'm going to try very hard to just...kind of take things a bit easier. Keyword: try.