#seeing an artist grow and change over their career is good

[polymysteryinciscanon]

No idea what I just watched or what emotions I am currently experiencing...but I am fundamentally changed as a person and have a better appreciation for the human condition so...

Sounds like a ghibli movie to me!

[bewitchingivy]

WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE YOU MEET YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE // pick a card

Hey, lovely souls! I hope you're all doing well~♡ In this new PAC, we're going to uncover what's going to happen before your future spouse comes into your life, to give you some little hints~hehe. Maybe the events mentioned in the piles is happening to you now, who knows?

methods used in this reading: tarot, intuition.

࿐ DISCLAIMERS:

Tarot or any forms of divination is not set in stone. It’s not your only future, but a probable one with the current energy you have right now. If a reading doesn’t resonate, simply let it fly away and shift your energy. Because you can change your reality, and you have the undeniable power to do so.

Please keep in mind that my readings are for entertainment, positive, or inspirational purposes only. Please don’t take them as a professional or medical advice. Any actions or decisions taken are your responsibility.

The images I use in my blog are not mine unless I say so. The pictures belong to their respectful owners.

Now choose one (or more) of the latest releases from my top 5 favorite artists!

PILE ONE / lavender haze - acoustic version by taylor swift

Greetings to the people who chose the first pile! Lovely to have you here <3

What we have in the cards here is that you will have some sort of recognition, achievement, or success before you meet your future spouse. Why am I strongly getting a graduation of some sort? The people who chose this pile are probably studying in college or highschool. There's going to be a celebration that your friends and family will have for you. At this time, you're going to receive a lot of praise and recognition. I'm also seeing that there's something spiritual happening after that, it's like you're going to have some spiritual transformation. You're going to grow spiritualy. Lastly, we have the Fools card here which tells me that after all this achievements and growth in your life, you're going to take a short break or vacation even for just a little while. Like a month or something. You will do a lot of self care and reflection at that time, and then you'll be ready to start new beginnings. And this new beginning coming your way? That's when you'll meet your future person <3

signs, confirmations, messages; a white dog (like a husky?), 444, clover leafs, going to a cafe, kdrama, tarot, yes, you're not late.

Thank you for allowing me to read for you ♡ I'm sending much love and light your way and to your loved ones! — Ivy Feel free to send me a feedback and check out my masterlist for more!

PILE TWO / say yes to heaven by lana del rey

Hi there! To you who chose pile two, I hope you're doing well!

So to begin your reading, this is somehow related to the first pile, since your first cards are the six of wands. Both piles are going to achieve some success. You'll definitely get some attention from this, I'm getting that this achievement of yours is like, going to attract a lot people's attention. For some of you, I'm getting that this is a career that you've always wanted to have, and now you got it. But here's the thing, not all people are going to have good intentions. There's going to be someone from your past, at first I was getting an ex friend, but some of you could have an ex lover too. You no longer talk with this person, but then when you've achieved this success of yours, they're going to be like, out of nowhere, “Hi! Congratulations, I'm really happy for you.” Which to me, guys, I'm sorry, but I will say that those are just lies. I'm mostly just getting that they'll be jealous of you, and they'll want to start over with you again just because you have this career or whatever success you'll have. You will notice this though. And though you still might care for them, and a part of you wants to start over your relationship, you will be disappointed to see that they still haven't change for the better and then you will eventually decide that you're not going to rekindle the fire you had with them. You're going to decide that it's over, like ever. (WEEEEEE!! ARE NEVEREVEREVERGETTINGBACKTOGETHER-) Ahem. Anyways, that's great. I'm proud of you already that you're going to do that. Because you'll need to kick this person's ass out of your life so your future spouse can knock on your door already.

I didn't got any more signs/confirmations for you, pile two!

Thank you for allowing me to read for you ♡ I'm sending much love and light your way and to your loved ones! — Ivy Feel free to send me a feedback and check out my masterlist for more!

PILE THREE / rush! by måneskin

Hello to you who has chosen the third pile~♡ I hope you're doing well!

Before meeting your future spouse, you will face some sort of decision whether you should leave or stay in a relationship. I'm really sorry to hear this, guys, but this person has/is going to give you pain. You put your hopes for this person only for them to disappoint you. I'm mostly seeing this is a romantic relationship, but for some of you it could be a friendship or a family member. But if it is a romantic relationship, it's going to be long distance. And for some of you, I'm just getting this, that it's not really a relationship but more like a situationship. Let me tell you some hints about this person; they have strong water placements and one of their hobbies is artistic. You're going to take a lot of time thinking and considering whether you should leave or not (this could involve some travelling/moving to another country as well.) It seems like you will be confuse what to decide. But since we have the Page of Wands as the last card, this strongly tells me you're going to choose to leave this relationship/situation behind even if it breaks your heart. But you have to do it for what's good for you and this person. And indeed it is, I mean, come on, your future spouse is on their way to you after this!

signs, confirmations, messages; ships, ocean, living near some large body of water (like a lake, river, beach, etc), 222, 47, april, grow and evolve, secret garden by frances hodgson burnett.

Thank you for allowing me to read for you ♡ I'm sending much love and light your way and to your loved ones! — Ivy Feel free to send me a feedback and check out my masterlist for more!

PILE FOUR / francesca by hozier

Hey there! If you've chose pile four, well, lemme say I totally relate to your reading HAHAH- nevertheless, I hope you're staying hopeful for the future! ♡

So let me clarify some things first, if you're somehow being held back by authoritative figures or more like, parents, then this is your pile. If you don't resonate with this, you can choose another pile. So! Oh, man. I'm feeling very tired and drained after tapping into your energy. You will be feeling this way before meeting your FS. So first, you're going to begin a new. chapter in your life. After feeling caged up or something, you're finally going to decide to take matters into your own hands and do the things in order for you to live your desired life. You're definitely going to do this, I have no doubt that you're going to manifest your desired life. You're also going to be working a lot on yourself, improving yourself to be better, doing shadow work, self care, and all the like. However! There's one problem here. You've let your parents have power over you. That's completely understandable, I'm with you, guys, and I'm still working on my situation myself. But you have to realize that you shouldn't let them affect you anymore. You're your own person. It could be that you're afraid to disappoint them or whatever, but it could also be that your parents are pretty judgemental and you're afraid to be judged by them if you do choose to pursue your dreams and desires. This will lead you to feeling restricted and held back again. You'll start being afraid to move towards your future. However, I definitely see here that someone will be coming towards your life at this time to help you get through this. And who's this person going to be? YOUR FS. AAAACK AHSISHAKSJSHSG

signs, confirmations, messages; 111, life path 8, connect with your inner child, be gentle to yourself, your fs is going to be someone you'll have a crush on first.

Thank you for allowing me to read for you ♡ I'm sending much love and light your way and to your loved ones! — Ivy Feel free to send me a feedback and check out my masterlist for more!

PILE FIVE / being funny in a foreign language by the 1975

The people who have chosen pile five are the chosen ones. LMFAO, yeah if your life would be a story, your trope would be the chosen one. Anyways! It's nice to have you here, chosen ones.

Okay, so what I'm getting here is that you guys are going to be working very hard about something. You're putting a lot of effort into this thing, or it could be your relationships around you too. It can be literally anything. Just anything that you're going to put a lot of effort and work, to the point that you'll forget about yourself. You're somehow overworking yourselves at this time, guys. I'm also sensing there's some unhealthy attachment or obsession over this particular thing. Please, take care and look after yourselves. But then, I see here that there's going to be some sort of epiphany or an aha moment right after, guys. It seems like someone's going to give you some advice, or a very harsh truth that you need to know. And it will make you pause and think about what you've been doing and all the efforts you gave to this certain thing the whole time. It's definitely going to hurt and hard to accept. But you will know that it's the truth. You're going to feel like you will lose everything. Lemme give you an example; you've taken a liking to someone and you'd really want to be with them, but then you put all your efforts to become the person you're not just for them to like you and you're giving all your time and energy to that person only for them to tell you one day that they don't share your feelings. Been there, done that 🙋🏻‍♀ But that's okay, guys. Because right along the harsh truth, is a new beginning. You're going to have the courage to begin again and you're taking the lessons you've learned and become more wiser and braver than before, ready to learn more about life. After that phase, you're going to meet your person <3

I haven't got any signs/confirmations for you, pile five!

Thank you for allowing me to read for you ♡ I'm sending much love and light your way and to your loved ones! — Ivy Feel free to send me a feedback and check out my masterlist for more!

[emtheanxiousdragon]

Our Hæth: A Wanderhome ARG

Ok so if you are any sort of game designer, whether that be a programmer for a mobile app, an artist for an indie TTRPG, or a top-tier producer at a AAA-game studio, you should read Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal, it inspires you to make games that don’t just form digital communities or entertain, but allow a deeper connection to your real life.

And one game that I think, with a twist, could really fit McGonigal’s idea is Wanderhome, the excellent pastoral RPG by tumblr’s very own @jdragsky . This game is beautiful, simple, and a tool for telling these lovely stories about anthropomorphic travelers exploring a recovering society and finding themselves along the way.

Now, let me introduce my idea, tentatively titled Our Hæth: A Wanderhome ARG.

You make a Wanderhome character, just like in a typical game. You also make a separate Wanderhome profile that represents yourself. (this can be your actual Wanderhome character if you want to take on an alternate persona). This secondary Wanderhome character doesn't actually travel the Hæth. They represent your journey in the real world. Your second character's playbook should fit yourself and what you hope to get from this experience. My secondary character will be a Peddler, because I want to grow my personal career.

Then you get connected to a Hæth. These are shared worlds/servers that begin like all Wanderhome games (at the start of Tillsoil very soon after the end of the war) and progress from there. You can start with other players or begin on your own and find others later.

When you wish to travel to a new area, instead of randomly deciding what it should be, you base it on your current location. It can be as simple as your bedroom or as grand as the Great Wall of China! I’ll show you what I mean with where I am now.

A beautiful pond, right? Let’s turn it into a spot in the Hæth! Our first nature is based on a literal take of the area. I’m by a pond, so the first nature will be Lake! The second nature is more metaphorical; based on what you know about your location, choose a nature that describes its personality. A lot goes on around this pond, so I’ll pick Carnival. The third nature should describe the place as it is when you arrive. The calm nature of the pond today means the third nature is Field. Build the location with the rules of each nature, combined with the traits of the season, and you’ve made a Place!

In Our Hæth, each location is permanently saved into the world you created it in. If other players want to visit this location rather than create a new one, they’ll replace the third nature and the seasonal traits and set off! They can see what you’ve written about the place and the adventures you’ve had here. If you know them in real life, you can share what the real-world inspiration is. If not, you can discuss as much about it as you feel comfortable sharing.

Once you're in a Place, great! Start playing Wanderhome. If you're alone, write down what your traveler does in this place. If you're with friends, get together in person and roleplay it out, or chat together over Discord or your online forum of choice. Their characters may travel with you for a while or your paths may diverge and reconnect later. Just remember what happens so you can share it as part of your character's story. When you make a Kith, go through the regular Kith creation process and add them to your Hæth. If other players visit this Place later, they may meet your kith and will want to know what happened.

The other big ARG element of this version of Wanderhome comes with using tokens. When your character does something to create a token, you need to do something to make a token in real life. Have a list of what different actions in Wanderhome mean for you in real life. For example, when my character Camper gives away something he holds dear, that means I have to complete some professional networking. Your token action should be challenging or good for you. Change your token action as your challenges and needs change. Make them fit your life and your goals.

Take a break to complete your token action, or write it down for after the session. You won't be able to spend your real-world token until you complete your task. Once that's done, the next time your character spends a token, you can spend one too! Your token rewards are something positive to reward yourself for putting in the effort and caring for yourself, your relationships, or the world. In my Hæth, when Camper keeps someone safe from the difficulties of the world, I get to take a nap rather than work!

The months can change in small groups when you agree to change them. In bigger groups, you may set a real-world date for the change in the months. Ask the month's question to yourself and your Wanderhome character. Consider your answer a "yes" regardless of which one of you says so. When the time comes for the seasons to change, set up a party with others in your Hæth or throw your own private celebration. Just as the holiday marks a moment of personal growth for your character, take a major step forward with your own goals. As Camper celebrates the new year, I'm going to start searching for a summer internship. I'll adapt my token actions and rewards as needed, and I'll continue playing.

So long as you have Wanderhome, you can play this game. You can keep track of your Hæth in a notebook, on a google doc, whatever. My perfect version of this project would be a little website where players can join different Hæths, watch their world grow on a virtual map, see all the information neatly organized online, and connect to a wide range of people in the Wanderhome community.

Thoughts?

[gyuarchival]

day & night | a choi yeonjun oneshot.

sypnosis: Relationship or career? a pivotal decision that every successful person has to make someday. With a very promising career as a leader in the performance director team, Yeonjun takes a big leap in deciding that it would be best to leave the country, and you behind to expand his work. Was it the best decision? Of course not. But he hopes that someday, he can come running back to you and beg for forgiveness.

genre: angst, sad breakup, no happy ending (sorry), gn!reader

warnings: none i think!

word count: 1.4k words

note: inspired by Day and Night - Jung Seung Hwan (Start-up OST)! I recommend you listen to it while reading. You can also listen to Wave To Earth Songs like 'love.' and 'seasons' to fit the mood. see you at the end :)

y/n's pov

It was pouring on a Friday night. You looked below your window to watch young adults prancing around the street with their friends and loved ones, having the time of their lives as bars and clubs are starting to open their business for the night. You wished you could be there with your friends too, but here you are, too busy cooped up in your own little apartment, with the only heat that brought warmth to your aching, cold heart.

You sighed. Did you regret missing out on a fun night? Maybe. But it wasn't worth risking the likelihood of you getting pissed drunk wailing about how your ex-boyfriend broke up with you in the most meanest of ways.

'im sorry, im doing this for us.'

The last text he ever sent. To leave you behind. To leave the promising future of a young budding relationship behind.

Your cat pounced on your lap as you sat on the floor in between the couch and the coffee table.

"Jjunie baby, i'm sorry, I have to change your name soon. I hope you don't mind that. he won't be coming home anymore too. guess we are not good enough for him to stay.." you talked with 'jjunie', as you quietly start to tear up again.

Jjunie was your first cat you adopted with him. He claimed her as a promise ring to you; a promise that he wanted to grow old with Jjunie and you.

"Why my name? No no! It should be a combination of our name- y/n hey~!" he tried to convince and stop you from writing down the adopted cat's name as his nickname, as you saw that it deemed fit to name a cat. Of course, he couldn't stop the excited you from penning it down. He looked over at you with joy, and gratitude over how he got someone like you.

"I love you so much," he whispered just enough for himself to hear and mean it. Taking your free hand, rubbing it in reassurance that he had your back in whatever you wanted to do.

You loved every part of him; from his passion in pursing his career as leading his own performance team, his structured facial features, his talent in composing songs and covering songs just as good as the original artists, and more that would be just an endless list of reasons for why you never see yourself with anyone else but him.

Alas, he didn't feel the same when work interfered with the two of you.

"Can't we just please work it out? I'm sure there's something. Yeonjun, please."

"Y/n, I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I have to go.. I can't leave this chance behind.. long-distance won't work on us.. just, make sure you stay healthy, yeah? don't forget about about jjunie.... bye, y/n."

He held you again one last time, embracing your warm hug that you were able to give him for the past 2 years together.

You couldn't stop him from pursuing his career and what he wants to do. So, there you were, alone. You decided to take out the vlog camera that you both shared to document the memories of 2 whole years when you were together. You started rolling.

"i can't say that I miss you, but everytime the feelings get overwhelming, you're there in my mind.. Is this a punishment for my wrongdoings? I'm sorry I pushed you away at times. I didn't mean to. Ha.. remember how we met? That Tuesday when I bumped into you in my favourite cafe. You ordered my favourite drink and sat at the window seat 2 years ago. You couldn't stop staring at me, you were so cute being so shy. That has yet to leave my mind as days passed. But the last time i saw you.. you looked at me, mellow…almost pale. I'm sorry if i wasn't enough. And thank you for everything. It was truly love, but at the wrong timing."

---

yeonjun's pov

"You alright?"

I looked away from the window, realising that I was still at the restaurant with my new dance team members.

"Yeah yeah, sorry, got a lot in my mind right now."

"That's alright man, relax a little! Come, let's drink tonight!"

I really don't want to.

Drinking used to be your favourite thing to do when you have nothing to do with your partner. Sometimes it might lead to a little more, but that's something you share personally with y/n.

Finally, after dreading the whole dinner, some had to be pulled out literally from their seats to get back home, but fortunately for you, they were all settled and the team members urged their team leader to go home; and so you did just that.

Empty. Quiet. Nothing but the sound of your shuffling footsteps to settle down in your new house for the next few years.

What's the point of having a house when I can't call it my home.

Sighing for the nth time, not caring if doing so will make your face get more wrinkles. You decided that maybe unpacking might be helpful to get your mind off of things. From the couch, you reached out for the nearest box, which became the most horrible decisions you have made, aside from breaking up from your most promising partner you ever had in your life.

The box was filled with things that symbolised every memory you shared with them. Pictures from dates you still vividly remember, because you cherish each time you get to meet the love of your life; cute plush toys that you used to win for each other. Rummaging through most of the things, your hand caught the most valuable item out of everything; a small box that held, an actual silver promise ring. You closed it quickly to avoid your tears from staining any part of the precious item, something you didn't get the chance to give before it all ended. You loudly sobbed in your own arms, feeling full of regret and guilt, wishing you didn't had to do that and stayed with them instead.

~

You came across your shared digital camera, that you bought with y/n to record your lives in your own perspective. Sometimes you two edit it and post it on YouTube for memories sake. And for the last time, you pressed the main button and recorded a parting message.

"Y/n, my beautiful lover. my person who shines so bright next to me. my person who was once everything to me. I am.. so sorry. Have you been well? Is Jjunie well? I hope he's eating a lot with you. It's been a few weeks and things still, hasn't changed. My performances are going well but, I can't help but miss you every fucking day.

Walking down the streets alone after burning the midnight oil reminds me of us walking home from classes during our school days, you complaining and ranting about your workload and being thankful about me being there with you. My side feels so cold now. Your hugs are the only thing that can warm me up like the sun on the last day of winter. You used to say I'm your teddy bear everytime. 'You really are my teddy bear. When I'm having a hard time, I can hug you, and you can hug me with your warmest hugs! You better not share it with anyone else!' Trust me y/n, I haven't been. I too have my hardships, but I choose not to tell you, for I worry more about you than anything else, including myself. Your hugs, cuddles, random acts of kindness even as small as giving me pieces of paper you tore from your notebook with words of encouragement on them, all of them gave me hope. If only you knew I still keep everything you gave me. I still order your favourite drink at cafes here, and sit at the window seat like you always loved. I somehow still smell you from some of my shirts. Even my things miss you too.

See this box? This box holds a secret that only I know. I hope one day, when I'm done, when I can finally hug you again once more, I can share the secret with you, and it will be ours. I know I left you abruptly, but please, if im not asking for much, please wait for me. This box and I, will wait for you too. I love you, y/n."

You stopped recording as tears continue to stream down your face.

---

a/n: the ending sounds like i can continue from there...hm... but no promises! let me know how this story made you feel, any suggestions/requests, im happy to take them all~! thank you for reading &lt;;3

[bridgertonopinions]

PR Anon - Part 2 (last post from me because i should really unplug and enjoy my vacation lol. I appreciate everyone being interested in my opinion, i do enjoy my job and human behavior. For context, I work in corporate PR, mainly male executives. I'll say this, regardless of industry, men are men. sometimes...) Here is my personal thoughts about LN. I think he's a good actor and handsome, none of what i'm about to say is to hate on him at all. I'm thinking of him in context as if he was my client/a male actor on a hit show. 1. LN was/is underprepared for what he needed to do to really take this opportunity to the next level for his personal career. Idk if it's because he expected things to just happen, didn't pay attention to his team or is just choosing to ignore advice; but he's fumbling the bag. I truly understand that he can be overwhelmed by it all, but you have a team you can lean on and utilize. He may be 31, but I think he lacks some maturity that's coming into play. 2. The Canada interview was at least the second time LN has mentioned that he's learning from NC because she's had previous success with Derry Girls. He needs to stop with that narrative because i have a feeling it's going to bite him in the butt. I think it's an immature way of thinking because LN was on a Disney Show (Disney training/media/etc for their actors is no joke) plus he was in a boy band. They may have not amounted to the same amount of hype/success as Derry Girls, but it's nothing to scoff at and he should be building upon those things as well. This feels like he's using it as an excuse for the way he's handling things.... 3. Social media is critical to the success of actors these days. The industry wants a ROI on their investments. So much of the $$ actors make these days will come from brand sponsorships/marketing and right now, his social media scoring is not great for someone on a highly promoted show compared to NC. (yes, marketers will compare bc as of right now, they are tied together) 4. Idk what type of actor he's looking to be (artistic vs commercial) but either way, he's going to struggle if he doesn't make some changes IMO. If he wants to do artsy films that get critical acclaim, they don't pay well and he'll need to supplement income via brand sponsorships etc. Hence the issue with #2. If he wants to do commercial things, he'll need to get onboard with media training for studios to consider him. I said it in a previous post, the marketing money into season is insane, it's being noticed by the industry. 5. Lastly, I think he's in a real pickle at the moment. NC is very beloved; she's getting critical, commercial and public love. If he does launch his relationship with A (who knows, don't care) the internet is not forgiving and the same shitstorm from last week will come up over and over again. If he says nothing, then he needs to be aware of how he's perceived by the general public in all the upcoming promo. He was a bit standoffish (IMO!) on the Canada show (crossed arms, distance between themselves, deflection in answers). People have noticed and there is chatter already about it online. He needs to warm it up to smooth out the "landing" of this promo season. I really do wish LN success and want to see him really grow into his own. I wish both NC and LN a ton of success in the near future. If anything, this has been a really interesting case study for those of us in the PR industry and maybe for those of you who are interested in how the PR industry thinks of things. It's not an easy job, lots of consider with human behavior and free will of your client.

I’m not sure I am buying into this but thank you for sharing!

[alarrytale]

I don't agree with your theory that Harry's PR relationships will stop people from joining his fandom and alienate existing fans. The majority of Harries and casual fans/GP don't think his relationships are PR.

I think Sony expects him to be a stadium act until he's in his early 40s and then a legacy act who still tours arenas but doesn't release music as often. He really can't be classified as 'a star that burns brightly and then burns out' after 14 years at the top of the industry, with no sign of anything slowing down.

Hi, anon!

I don't think H's PR relationships will stop people from joining the fandom, but i think he'll lose fans over it, because his fans grow up. Also the older he gets the less attractive he will become to younger people, and his whole selling point is his looks and sex appeal. He needs to find a way to market himself that's more about the music and artistry than his looks and private life. If you're only a fan of H because you want to marry him (which is half of harries), that's not a good foundation to build on if you want a long career. How long has Justin Timberlake been in the business? He's still making music, but no one's listening. Because his marketing was all about his relationship and back and forth with Britney. I'm also pretty sure people won't care about 45 year old TS's boy troubles, so she'll need to find other ways to sell and promote her music. If we take away the relationship drama and the looks, what are we left with that will appeal to fans? Good music, artistry and entertainment is what makes you an icon and legend.

H's thing is doing a PR relationship, making them a muse for his next album, write that album, do another PR relationship etc. I don't know if the general public will care who 45 year old Harry Styles is currently dating and want to hear the songs about his current squeeze. Neither Bowie, Elton, Whitney or Beyoncé have been promoting their music with relationship drama, scandals or cheap attention grabs. Their music and talent speaks for itself. People want to be a fan because they're talented and creative people who make good music.

I agree that i think Sony and Full Stop wants him to be an icon and legend, but they don't have the right strategy and marketing in place to make it so. At some point people won't care who H dates, because they aren’t projecting their own fantasies anymore. The fans are married with kids. Younger people flock to other artists their own age. Older fans doesn’t see the appeal or else they'd be a fan already.

So his image and marketing strategy isn't built for longevity. That doesn’t mean they can't change strategy and rebrand him. But currently they aren’t. At which point will H not appeal to teens anymore and when will his contemporaries not need him as an object for their sexual awakening anymore? I think we're there soon. How will all this impact fandom and his charting? How are they going to assure that H will be able to tour stadiums and arenas at 47 years of age or 60?

[jqmalikhsgib]

stars

fourteen

Meet YN Rihanna Fenty-Hotchner

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Rihanna has been a name we’ve all heard and seen everywhere!

The thirty-five year old musician has made many of us swoon over her music, iconic fashion moments, and many many more. Now the RnB artist is venturing out to be an Entrepreneur, Wife, and Mother.

“I’ve enjoyed the music and I still enjoy writing! I just think it was time to dip my toe into the fashion world more!” Rihanna States.

Over the years she’s been through many struggles and heartbreak. Rihanna rumored to date stars like Asap Rocky, Drake, even Ashton Kutcher. But she’s found love outside of the music industry.

Rihanna and her now husband [Aaron Hotchner] have been dating in private for three years before the star announced her relationship with him nearly a year ago.

“I just thought it was time,” Umbrella star starts. “Aaron and I were in bed and I mentioned to him I was ready to let the world know about our tiny little family. He supported whatever decision I decided to make. With that I slowly introduced my husband and son to the world.

Rihanna talks more about her past relationship and her current one.

“I never actually confirmed anything to the public because it never came up with former partners. If it did, they didn’t want to tell the world we were dating. It felt like they’d be ashamed of me.” She states.

“Not gonna lie, it brought so many insecurities into my mind. Whenever Aaron and I started dating, he picked up those pieces pretty quickly. I knew he was different from that moment.”

Rihanna explains to us how she met her lovely husband.

“It was so unbelievably crazy, actually! Him and his team had just finished a case and they’d been out celebrating. It was before I made it big. Some guy was flirting and he saw I was uncomfortable and came to the rescue. Since then, I’d never looked back.”

“I think the main difference between the relationships I have with Aaron versus the relationship i had with others is his ability to read me and have patience with me. Others didn’t have that in the past. Instead they treated me like I should be lucky dating them. They made me feel like given me a chance was a privilege. Aaron’s never made me feel like he was special and he was too good for me. If anything he’s shown me we’re good for each other. And that’s why it was so easy to fall for him!”

Rihanna explains her shift in the world now being a married woman and a mom.

“I use to see the world in black and white. We have the good and the bad, bad always outweighs the good, but my husband and son have taught me that I have to look at what’s right in front of me. With my husband being out there, catching the creeps and evil men and women out there, putting them away, one less bad guy is out there. It’s always gonna be someone dangerous, but in the end one less evil roaming the streets is still worth seeing the beauty in the world.”

Rihanna talks about her new identity in the industry. “I’m still Rihanna Fenty, that will never change! But now I think I’m ready for the world to see Yn Hotchner! Wife, Mother, and Philosopher! I want the world to see who Yn is. Not just Ri.” She explains.

“Being pregnant has really opened my eyes to so many possibilities of who I can be, honestly. I have learned so much about my body and my ability as a woman! I’m still young and can have fun, but being a mom and being pregnant, it’s really brought a new light to my eyes.”

We asked her about how big she’s prepared to grow her family.

“Aaron and I want a littler of kids! My husband is a bit older than me, but he’s always planned on slowing down, having multiple little babies out there. I’ve always wanted to have a big family of my own. I’m the only child, so having lots of babies been in my deck of cards for the longest time.

We asked Rihanna [Yn] what she expects in her new career choice.

“I’m almost done with a few skin care treatments for Fenty Beauty! We’re also launching Savage x Fenty, which I believe the fans will love! And with my pregnancy and being a mom, this launch will be for all! I hope the world is ready for what’s in store for the Fenty take over.

[jmdbjk]

Episode 4: Disconnected

Beyond the Star, produced by HYBE Media Studio

Namjoon gives a brief recap of their rise from debut, through the struggles of the next few releases and then they take off with Wings, Fire, Blood Sweat & Tears, Fake Love, and Idol and all their accolades and awards.

They open this episode with behind scenes from filming the ON MV at Los Angeles' Sepulveda Dam. It was hot that day.

[did you say something Jimin? ahem... anyway]

Regarding the previous years to this point in time, Namjoon says he may not have made the best choices all the time but he believes he made the best choices he could at the time. Yoongi says they compacted 20 years into 7 years at the expense of their physical well-being.

Namjoon says he tried to prove himself to the world but now sees that what he's left with are the choices he wanted to make at the time with all his effort and he learned a lot from them.

Jungkook says he lived a life fit for himself, that if he had forced himself to do something that didn't suit him, it would not have been good. He did what he wanted to do and experienced a lot. All decisions he made for himself and which helped him grow.

In other words, they chose to work hard and run full speed ahead and we know that led to an almost burnout situation.

Namjoon states the lyrics of the song ON are what they mean: they've been through it and are on the other side, they made it to the other side together. Bring the pain, bring it on, it will only make us stronger.

It is heartbreaking to hear them talk about how much work they put into the MOTS tour, how involved they were with equipment and production decisions. Yoongi said it had been a while since they'd been this excited about preparing for concerts.

Things were planned that we never knew about. A large-scale gala for TV promotions?

And then the news early 2020. Jimin was asking if there was any chance the concert would ever go ahead as planned...

During the two years or so of the pandemic, each member dealt with the social distancing, self-quarantining, loneliness and lack of live performances in their own ways. They did a lot of nothing during this time. The footage shown here was not of them during the first months of the pandemic. There were no cameras set up during that time. They used footage from times when they COULD film safely to help represent how they were during isolation. Looks like Hobi and Jungkook in the hotel suite after the Grammy Awards and footage of Jimin in his apartment in late 2021, etc.

There were long periods of time when everyone, including you and me were asked or required to abstain from going outside, to isolate away from others, to not socialize with more than 5 or 10 people at a time, even with our families.

Bang PD reflects that BTS were at the peak of their careers, they lived to perform, and had to overcome the feelings of helplessness and that's how he believes they've grown as humans.

So they innovated...they produced the first online ticketed concert: Bang Bang Con. Over 750,000 viewers watched.

It was reported on the news that BTS was once again changing the industry.

And then on August 21, 2020, they released a song to enjoy with the fans:

If The Most Beautiful Moment in Life was the turning point, Dynamite was literally the explosion that shot them into the stratosphere.

Dynamite broke records of every kind: on Youtube the MV set a new record of over 3 million peak viewers during its premiere, almost doubling the previous record, and set a new all-time record for the biggest music video premiere on the platform and the most viewed YouTube video in the first 24 hours, earning 101.1 million views and setting three new Guinness World Records.

In the U.S., Dynamite debuted a #1 on the BBHot100, and is BTS' first #1 single in the US. The song became both the longest-running number one on the Digital Songs chart by a Korean artist and the longest-charting song by a Korean artist on the Hot 100, when it spent its 18th non-consecutive week at #1 the Digital Song sales chart and 32 weeks on the Hot 100, three of those weeks at #1.

Hobi said it was overwhelming that their sincerity had reached all parts of the world. Jin said it was a song to simply enjoy with fans.

Bang PD said he knew what this would mean for their future and what a positive impact it was.

Yoongi said they did the song in the hopes of giving everyone strength during the trying times of the pandemic. Namjoon says because of the situation (the pandemic) they lost so much (cancellation of the MOTS tour) so during that time, the strength of music and performances were their way to give comfort and support to the fans.

With the ongoing pandemic, they had to adapt. In October 2020, they produced Map of the Soul ON:E ... two online concerts that had a record-breaking 993,000 paid viewers from a total of 191 regions across the globe. It was performed at the Olympics Gymnastics Arena. It was elaborately produced. It was expensive. Lots of man-hours went into it.

They said they enjoyed doing it, they worked hard but it was a challenge because the missing element was a live audience... Army was missing. It would never replace a live concert's energy but they were still thankful they could even do it to begin with. It would be another year before BTS was in front of a live audience again.

Overnight on Nov. 24, 2020 they gathered in front of the television in their dorm to watch the 63rd Grammy Awards nomination announcements. Only four of them were there: Jimin, Namjoon, Jungkook and Tae. I had heard the others had schedules the next day and needed to sleep.

They had never known how the Grammy nominations were announced, this was their first experience and when BTS was announced you could feel their astonishment through the screen. The first Korean artist to ever be nominated.

During the Grammy Award broadcast (done remotely), they also performed their own song, Dynamite.

Alas, they did not win but they'd made so much history and broke so many records in 2020, the year of deep lows and the highest highs.

They felt motivated, knowing they still had room for success and had something to strive for.

They were proud to show the world that there are singers like them from Korea and that Army and BTS exist.

[lingering-42-long]

Idk how many more ideas I have left in me lol

Request - König OR Rodolfo Parra x F! Reader [fluff]

Prompt/Idea - They're always writing poems/drawing stuff but they've lost inspiration. That's until they meet the reader on base or outside of the base, and immediately they begin to write/draw about them. The reader notices them and tries to talk to them, but they freak out and walk away, just for the art piece to fall out of their book. The reader picks it up and smiles

An Artist’s Muse

König x f! reader

I loved the idea of both so I may do another for Rudy. If this gets 20 likes I’ll do a Rudy version!

Sorry I have been inactive, I didn’t have any writing juice in me…. This is a short but sweet story. I changed it up a little bit because I didn’t read the full thing and I should’ve lol. I still think this is super sweet.

Warnings: none, fluff

Scenario: when König meets his girl for the first time, he gets the sudden urge to open his sketch book to draw.

Austria was a beautiful place with scenery that rivaled even some of the best locations anywhere else in Europe or America for that matter. König believed it wholeheartedly. This was his home where he grew up with his father and mother on their farm. He loved it here, though he hated the people of his town to some degree. But here he was sitting in another local area in a small café right outside of the main street. He was away from his obligations for a few months. He needed some time to recover and some time to rest. Just to be by himself.

One of his favorite past times was art. Growing up his mother sent him to an art school where he fell in love with art. He enjoyed doing a large variety of different things ranging from acrylic to oil watercolor and sketching with pencils and pens. He was a natural talent and everyone believed that he had a knack for it. He even entered a few of his pieces into a few contests and even one a little bit of prize money here and there. One might think that he would’ve chosen a path dealing with something in art for his career but he needed some thing else to channel his aggression, while art was a good way to relax, he still needed some thing else to fuel his mind.

As he was sitting, trying to think of some thing to draw, anything would be good at this point, he heard the door chime from where he was at his table. The café wasn’t usually busy at this time of the day but there were the occasional people that would be going back-and-forth ordering drinks or grabbing a quick bite to eat before heading off to another meeting or leaving to go do some thing. He didn’t like going during the times that were a little busy. As he took a sip from his coffee, he looked up to see a girl. This made him almost choke on his hot beverage, to him she was beautiful. Her hair flowed gracefully over her shoulders and her beautiful eye sparkled as she was trying her hardest to speak to the barista in his native tongue of German. It wasn’t good he wouldn’t lie but he could see the effort that she was trying. Thankfully the barista also knew English and help the girl out order her drink. König wanted to hide and not be seen. Out of all the days an angel had to land on this one particular afternoon.

The girl sat in a table next to a window across from him. She had brought a book to read and seems to be enjoying the hard cover. Inspiration hit him hard. Carefully pulling out his sketchpad once again, he began quietly working away every once in a while taking a quick glance in her direction just enough to remember features before sketching more on the page.

She stayed only for an hour before getting up, finishing her coffee, putting it in the trash, and waving goodbye to the baristas. He wanted to go after her, to show her what he had done so far, but he knew that would be awkward for both of them. She might think that he was stocking her and the last thing he wanted was to startle her. He was now pretty grumpy about the whole thing. All he wanted to do was to give her his drawing of her and hopes of asking her if she wanted to grab coffee soon, but now his chances were ruined because he didn’t have the courage to ask. He groaned and lightly hit his head against the table. He hated his social awkwardness, he always did. He just wanted the courage to go up and ask her.

Sighing, he picked up his equipment and put them back into his bag before he to finish this coffee and left for the day. As he walked out, he wanted to see if he could spot her anywhere on the street, but it was like she vanished. There was no trace of her. Cursing to himself quietly, he made his way to his car to head back to his families homestead.

3 weeks later

It has been three weeks since König had seen her and he finally lost hope in her coming back. Once again, he was sitting at his favorite table trying to come up with some idea to sketch some thing else outside of this memory of this mysterious girl. As he was about to give up, the door opened again and the same girl came back. She was talking to the barista about how she had made a trip to the capital city with some of her friends for school before ordering herself another cup of coffee and walking to the table where she sat last as she once again opened her book and began reading. König wasted in no time sketching out the finishing touches to her.

She got up to use the restroom and left her book open to the page where she was at. Taking in all of his courage, König stood up and with the paper in his hand, carefully placed it in her book where she was reading before hastily making his way back to his table hoping that the shadows hit him well enough for her not to notice. A part of him was praying that she would find him and talk to him and another part of him dreaded the idea of being caught.

When the girl came back she saw the paper and looked over it. A small blush formed over her cheeks as she quickly scanned the room for the person that could have done this. Her eyes landed on König, Who was fidgeting with his pencil sharpener, too nervous to look up. She closed her book and walked over to him.

“Did you do this?” She asked

König looked up and nodded shyly.

“It’s very beautiful.” The girl smiled, “Thank you for making me your muse.”

“O-oh no problem! You are very b-beautiful and I wanted to capture your radiance.” König Wanted to be run over by a truck. He sounded so cliché and stupid.

The girl blushed and gave a light laugh, “Well your not too bad yourself. I’m (y/n) by the way.”

“König.” He applied alittle to quickly and abruptly, but the girl didn’t seem to take notice of this.

“Conich?” She tried to say his name on her tongue.

“König.” He made the syllables a lot more clearer for her to hear.

“Con…Kön…ing…. König?” She asked looking at him if that was how she needed to say it.

The man grinned happily “Yes! Good!” He felt like there was a million butterflies just dancing around in his stomach. It made him happy and wanting to throw up all at the same time. Was this love? He felt at once a long time ago in his youth only to have it be betrayed on him.

“Well König, it was nice meeting you, your really good at this, you made my day…. Well I will see you around.”

“W-wait!” He stood up a little too fast making the table bump against his legs and the chair creek behind him. “Ummm…. I was wondering if you would like to grab some coffee sometime… if not I understand.” He couldn’t look at her directly. And fiddled with his hands as he was trying to come up with a sentence without sounding like an idiot or a creep.

(Y/n) just smiled and nodded “sure I would love too… tomorrow same time?” She asked.

“Ja… that would be good.” He nodded vigorously.

“Ok König I will see you tomorrow.” The girl blushed and walked back over to her table to finish reading her book with the paper in her hand. König practically collapsed back into his chair, he could hear his heart beating in his rib cage harder than it had ever beated before.

He got up after a little bit of calming himself down, to leave. He waved shyly back at (y/n) and she returned the wave smiling back at him making the tall man blush even more, as he made his way to the door. Once he got back into his car, he stared blankly at the roof trying to collect some thought that was flowing through his head that came up empty. Did he really just find a girl and was able to win her over with just a silly piece of art? Surely he couldn’t be that talented in doing that the only time he ever seen that happen was through films. He prayed to whatever was listening to him, that this would be the one for him, the one person who he had been searching for.

[simslegacy5083]

Not So Berry (Straud Descendants) Gen 9

Today's (8/28/2024) Episode: On Her Shoulders

Luigi’s reputation was critical to maintain his endorsement deals, buzz for his game, and of course his actual e-sports career, so he took it seriously.

One easy way to make others see him as a “good sim” was regular donations to charity.

He found worthy causes to associate his name with, such as Tess’s ex-boyfriend Julio’s “happiness for all” campaign and the Tomorang Renters Fund, which temporarily paid the rent for sims who were down on their luck so they wouldn’t get evicted and wind up homeless.

Luigi’s enterprising efforts were only possible by the grace of his rock-solid support system.

Now that it was her full-time job, Noemi had taken over the lion’s share of management and development for Project Daisy, in addition to being Skye’s primary caregiver. She’d never been the best at dealing with strangers, and lately organizing their staff of artists and programmers was wearing through her patience faster than it ever had before. It was a trial she could only bear by assigning herself chunks of relaxing code work between meetings.

The freedom to pick her own timelines and teammates was undeniably the part of being “lead programmer” that got her through all the rest, but her strange irritability remained a worrying mystery. Fortunately, at her annual GYN checkup, her doctor put her mind at ease with a simple explanation.

Noemi was officially going through “the change” and her issues were just temporary side effects of her body and mind adjusting to the perfectly normal and expected changes of leaving her child-bearing years (and hormones) behind.

Noemi was honestly relieved by her advancing age. She had never feared the idea of growing older and she and Luigi had long ago decided they were “one and done” in the kid department. If anything, saying goodbye to worries about a second unplanned pregnancy was a big win!

Her doctor warned her about other unpleasant symptoms that might pop up, but she was hardly listening as she gleefully composed emails pushing her most annoying issues back to Luigi.

“These hot flashes make me way too sweaty during the all-hands standup meeting. I’m going to need you to take those over.” … “Susan’s being a plumhole about revising the walk animations. Talk her around before I shiv her. Mood swings, you know.”

By the next time both sims had a day off, Noemi was feeling much more like herself, and they made some time to visit family.

Luigi and the relatives he was closest to had mostly ended up childless or with small families, but Chance and Bianca’s daughter Fern wanted a full house. When her third little one was born, she invited his family over to meet the new addition and hang out with the rest of her crew.

While the energetic Skye played outside with Fern’s doggie and the other kids, Luigi and Noemi headed in to say hello to little Alice. Noemi and Luigi had a great time holding the adorable tiny newborn and an even better time handing it back for a diaper change with big smiles. No more for them!

Even their next stop, seeing relatives at the wake for Denton’s mother Nikita, put no significant damper on Noemi’s improved mood.

She was, of course, sad for her friend’s loss, but the quiet atmosphere, surrounded by sims she knew well as her husband mixed drinks behind the bar, was as close to her ideal evening as was possible without a sturdy set of padded handcuffs.

She’d felt lonely and misunderstood as Kiana’s “too young” wife, but loving Luigi had brought her right into the heart of his warm family circle.

As Denton wept on her shoulder, she reflected on how happy she was to have given this strange family a second chance.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[astroyongie]

Mamamoo April Reading 2024

note: please take it lightly

Solar

Love: Solar isnt in a relationship anymore so she finally broke up with the person she was with around september. things for her seem to be going smoothly as she is still processing the whole break up and slowly moving on with her love life. at the moment she isn't into a mood of seeking someone else 

Career: when it comes to her career, she seems to be happy with everything she has got, Solar has projects for this year and she will be working on those. Solar is an artist that is completed with her career, she isn't seeking more than what she has and focusing on what her company provides only 

Self: she is in a good palace, in a positive place because despite her break up taking a lot on her it was her decision and she is doing things in a healthy way to get over them and be a happy person. Solar’s communication with her fans lately has also been more genuine 

Hwasa

Love: There’s someone that she loves so much and that she is fully in love with but the other person doesn't seem to have reprocrated her feelings, despite that, Hwasa is still behind them and still trying to work on something in hopes a possible relationship will bloom. as far as i can see i don't think it will work tho, since the other person truly isn't into her

Career: I feel like Hwasa isn't really happy when it comes to her career. She works a lot and she sacrifices  a lot of her night sleep for it but it does sound like the company she is under isn't giving her what she seeks and that often, promises are broken. she also has an image to keep but it feels like Hwasa wanted to change a few things but she didn't get the green light to do so 

Self: physically she seems to be going okay but mentally things are a little more complicated than that. She has a complicated mental health and at the moment she is on the vulnerable side and she hasn't been very emotionally balanced and even spiritually. Hwasa probably needs some time out from the industry to recenter herself 

Moonbyul

Love: she is still in her relationship and things seem to be doing well for her. She is in healthy one, there’s also some opportunities for her and her partner to grow as a couple and possibly take things for which is a good positive point. 

Career: Moonbyul has also been working on her career and on her solos that will be coming this year. altogether she is happy with what she has been producing so far as she is still working more on it to bring fans a few version of herself expect her to exceed on her creative and to give fans a good comeback this year 

Self: both mentally and physically she is doing okay. Moonbyul is someone emotionally stable at the moment, someone that knows what they are doing and she prioritize her well benign before her career which helps her balance everything out nicely

Wheein

Love: I think that currently Wheein is dating someone, someone that is an idol and with whom she has already worked (maybe a collab? or someone from her company?). in any case things are still fresh and they are still trying things out by themselves 

Career: her career is what brings her so much sadness because she isn't happy with what she has got, with what hse has been producing. Wheein is someone that is tuck on providing what her company a her sponsor demands so her own creativity and her own needs of her career are locked by these bigge forces 

Self: currently she feels very overwhelmed with everything that is happening in her life because all areas of her life are being stimulated and she often has a hard time keeping up with things. Wheein’s personal values as also been meeting some complications 

[uyuforu]

Resend!!

Hii uyu🦋 I would love to participate in your future spouse edition game? Can I join? I resent my detail again because earlier I was send wrong chart. And this one with more intuitively. ( hope you seen this one)

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

For exchange : I choose your moodboard with your fs❤

So I feel your future is likely to bring a sense of stability and calmness into your life. He will be very nurturing and supportive helping you navigate through challenging time and transition. He has very caring nuture. Offering you comfort and guidance as you move together. He is childish but at the same time very muture enough. He would love to see you in his clothes. He is like your bestie, you too will be share everything with each other. He is going to be a lil possessive over you( not in a bad way) he is more like you buddy/friend. You two will be very fun loving as a couple. Playing game, do cooking together. Love beach dates. He is the one you cheer you up for your work and gives you flowers often. His love language could be physical touch and words of affirmations. You two will the type of the couple people trying to be like. You two will grow old together!! 😭💍

And now for the game. My initial are RJ, my pronouns: she/her. Im a Leo sun, libra moon & Libra rising. ( aug 2003 born)

Here is my juno and groom persona chart.

Thankyou for the game<3 I really appreciate your efforts, time&energy you put into the readings for us💐( pls Dear don't over work) I feel you are really emotional and loving girl!!

Thankyou!!💌 have a great day/night✨

Thank you for participating in the game! Thank you also for the mood boards, it's very cute! Also not us having the same sun and rising signs lol. Also the description was quite the same as he is, he is scorpio rising so I am not surprised when you said possessive looool. It's a very cute and seems quite accurate? lol I hope so! I hope you will like your reading too ^^

Your Exchange Reading

✿ You could meet FS online, on social medias, somewhere people talk a lot and people just meet each other in order to chat. This can be related to learning languages! So an app to learn languages or going to a foreign country to learn a language, a café to meet foreigners and learn languages, etc.

✿ FS could have Aries/ 1H/ Gemini/ 3H/ Scorpio/ 8H/ Virgo/ 6H/ Leo/ 5H placements.

✿ FS could think long term with his money. He could be careful and want to keep money for future generation perhaps.

✿ FS could have a very good family and a good relationship with them. They are close and they feel blessed by their family.

✿ FS could have had a very good childhood.

✿ FS could have also moved often when younger. Perhaps in a foreign country but doesn't need to be.

✿ FS could be close to their mother or siblings too.

✿ FS could be quite chill and may actually like a certain routine. They could take care of their health and be quite serious about their life. They could be also a bit anxious but hardworking.

✿ FS could eventually change their career but have a lot of ambition.

✿ FS could have some mental health problem yet they could also be quite secretive when it comes to how they feel.

✿ FS could be quite popular to be honest, and could be very fun to be around.

✿ You could be meeting FS where they live. In their country, and if they are not a foreigner, you can meet them because of their family, and their mother also.

✿ He is someone who can be quite romantic, but mostly he will probably think of you as the one for them!

✿ Will live a major transformation in their life, will probably be hard.

✿ Will live also a big sudden change in their friend group or just friend related.

✿ This is a very creative and artistic person! They can be veryyyyy lucky in general in their life.

Hope you liked your reading!

[heresalittlestory]

Hello, it's "The Scoop." I'm the only one of the creators of this page still around and I've hardly been doing any writing.

I did start a still untitled "mid-90's" story. Since it could take a while till I get to the spicier part (I've got a whole sacred sexuality story in mind), thought I would at least post the beginning chapter.

Enjoy.

It’s the spring of 1996.  You’re a year past your 30th birthday, living alone in lower Manhattan, near Washington Square Park.  You’ve been working as a lawyer for a few years since graduating from law school.  For the past several months, you’ve been hanging out a lot with one of your friends since childhood, Adam Yauch.  You’ve stayed in touch through the years and have grown closer with him recently.  Adam’s apartment is in Soho, not too far from yours.  He moved back to NYC from LA the previous year.  It’s been exciting spending time with him and hearing about his band, the Beastie Boys, and the recent traveling that he’s done.  You feel like one of the more boring people from your group of childhood friends, many of whom ended up in the arts.  While you had some artistic leanings, you gave in to family pressure to choose a more assured career path.

You’ve bonded with Adam over Buddhism, and have been going to a Buddhist Center together some evenings for meditations and lectures.  Adam’s more serious about Buddhism than you are, but you have enough of a curiosity.  You studied Asian history and art history in college, and borrowed books from one of your parents who’s into Eastern philosophy.

You’ve recently become more involved in the cause of Tibet, having been educated about it by Adam.  It’s been inspiring witnessing his dedication, after seeing his band’s rise to fame in the 80’s and the associated notoriety.  Adam’s evolved a lot since that time.  You’ve also been helping him with what seems like a monumental task- organizing a large concert in San Francisco over the summer for Tibetan freedom.

Adam’s taken his interest in Buddhism so far that he’s nearly practicing as a monk.  You’re sure he has a bigger bank account than you do, but he’s been living in a sparsely decorated studio apartment.  He’s discussed with you that he’s taken a celibacy vow, and it’s been about a year since he made that decision.  This has spurred some reflection on your end.  You’ve been getting along so well with him, feeling like the line between platonic and romantic has been growing blurry.  But with his vow in place, you’re not sure how things could progress, if there is in fact something there. 

You’re trying to focus on the positives of having a very good friend, but the situation is still frustrating.  Adam’s become a regular in your fantasies.  He was a cute kid and now he’s a very attractive grown man.  You usually like guys with their hair a little longer, but find Adam’s nearly bald style suits him.  It emphasizes his lovely facial features, and you often get lost looking into his eyes.  You think of how things might go differently if only he weren’t pursuing Buddhism so seriously.  You haven’t been forthright with him yet, but you sense that he might have some mutual feelings toward you, and your friends think so, too.  

            One weeknight in April, you’re getting ready to have a bite to eat with Adam, then go to a group meditation with him.  It’s a warmer than usual spring night and Adam shows up to your place in shorts and a tee shirt.  You still have on your slacks and short sleeved blouse from work.  “You look really nice,” Adam says, as he greets you.  You love receiving the compliment, but try not to read too much into it.  “Thanks, maybe I should have changed after work,” you say, feeling mismatched with his more casual gear, “But I’m ready to leave if you are.”  You go to a Middle Eastern place where you both get falafel wraps, and then head to the meditation center. 

            You sit down next to Adam, each holding your malas, as someone in the group leads everyone in the Loving Eyes meditation.  You feel a charge sitting next to Adam, as if the energy between you is electric.   You wish you were bare-legged as well, imagining feeling his leg hair brush against you.  You’re not feeling very focused for the meditation.  Your feelings for Adam have been coming to a boil lately.

            You hear Adam softly chant “Om Mani Peme Hung” beside you.  Even his voice is affecting your equilibrium.  You try to focus on your mala beads and follow the chant.  When the sessions are over, sometimes you and Adam hang out with each other for a little longer.  You go back to his place tonight, feeling the pressure mounting to finally speak the truth to him.  You’ve lost enough sleep over the matter and while you’re nervous, you can’t keep it to yourself any longer.

You’ve noticed a change in body language between you and Adam over the past weeks.  Earlier on in the friendship, you’d keep a more respectful distance from each other.  But now when riding the subway or sitting on benches together, your bodies are often right up against each other’s, and it feels natural.  Adam doesn’t have much furniture at his place, so you end up sitting close together on his bed, and have even napped with him, enjoying his scent.  There’s been an ease and comfort with such intimacy.  

Adam’s talking to you about how planning is going for the Tibetan Freedom Concert, and you ask if you can discuss something else, and that it’s going to be something vulnerable.  He says he’s ready to listen.  As much as you rehearsed what you’d say in your head, you feel very exposed and grab one of his pillows, feeling like you want to hide behind it.  “What’s going on?” he asks.

“I don’t really know how to say this,” you begin, feeling your heart pounding in your chest, “but…I really like you.  I mean, I know we’re good friends and everything, but I like you as more than a friend.  I feel like I’ve noticed something between us, but I don’t know if it’s in my head.  And I feel kind of awkward bringing it up, cuz I know how things have been going with you and the Buddhism, and…”

“It’s okay,” Adam says in reply, putting his hand on the pillow that you have clutched against you.  “I’m so glad you said something.  I feel the same way about you, but I was worried about saying something because I don’t want to fuck up our friendship.”

You feel a lot of relief and happiness hearing this from Adam, but you’re still concerned about moving forward.

“You wouldn’t have fucked it up.  I think what we have between us is too special for that.  I’m just not sure about what’s next, with where you’re at.”

“Yeah, I know, the celibacy thing.  When I started down this path I felt pretty committed to a monk-like lifestyle, but my connection with you has certainly thrown a wrench in my plans, and I’ve been struggling a lot.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make things harder for you.”

“You don’t need to apologize.  I need to think about what to do with my life.  I wouldn’t go off this path for something casual, but you’re really important to me, and it’s made me question things.  I think love and family could be quite a sacred path to take, too.”

You can’t quite believe what you’re hearing.  You were worried about disclosing, and now Adam’s mentioning how seriously he feels about you.

“Now I’m sorry,” Adam says, with a slight laugh, “I’m probably freaking you out, talking about love and family like that.  I didn’t mean to get so heavy, it’s just that I’d only consider another way for the right person, and I think you’re such a person.  Anyway, as I said, I’m glad you let me know, I wasn’t sure if it was just me feeling something.”  

“Oh please, Adam, I’ve liked you for months.”

You hold off on further discussing the larger considerations and share about moments in the friendship when there were signs that there was something more going on.  In retrospect, it all seems so obvious, but it still feels like a dream now that the mutual attraction is out in the open.

It’s hard to hold off on touching and kissing him, but you manage to, wanting to respect his need to think things through and go slowly.  You end the night with a hug, lingering in his arms and holding him a little closer than you previously had.  

[vievecorcityrp]

DAVIS HEALY

GENDER: Trans Man

SPECIES: Human (Medium)

AGE: 35

SEXUALITY: Pansexual

OCCUPATION: Westwood School of the Arts - Fine Arts Professor, Oil Painting

DISTRICT: Garond, near the border of the Shipyard

BACKGROUND:

Davis sees things. That's been the case for almost half of his life, with the onset being in his late teens. Most of his experiences thereafter have been spent trying to contextualize these experiences, and spending time with the people he cares about. He started painting when he was very young, with most of his subjects in the beginning being landscapes and animals. Upon the onset of his schizophrenia however, his art changed, becoming raw and self expressive. It focused on body image and the hallucinations that haunted him, indistinguishable from the real supernatural world around him. Young, feral, and starving for something to go right, Davis bled himself out onto the canvas all but literally. It paid off, and at the tender age of 21 he was making gallery showings throughout the city, sowing contention amongst his elders with a brazen and arrogant demeanor. He was never one to mince words, especially in the face of unfairness or being looked down on. His work spoke for itself, however, and his notoriety seemingly couldn’t be stopped. Until it was.

Davis decided he wanted to get better. By his side through his journey to recovery was his closest friend and stanchest ally, his adoptive brother Marcus. They hadn’t gotten along as kids, with Davis refusing to understand the bias their mother had towards him, refusing to see that he was the favorite child. However, they reconnected after Davis' diagnosis, finally having a conversation about their inequities as adults. They became friends and roommates, with Marcus becoming the big brother Davis needed as the world decided that they liked his art better when he was sick. 

To keep the bills paid Davis took up teaching at an old haunt, the same school he dropped out of to pursue his career. Being washed up never felt so good. Davis found out that he really enjoyed being a mentor, helping young artists grow and discover their own direction, letting them know that it was okay to slow down and take care of themselves. Because he frankly, hadn't until he started teaching. It wasn’t long until he saw his protégé’s works lining the same galleries where his own used to stand tall, creating new shadows for him to happily stand under.

With a mostly stable workweek, he found time to nurture the other parts of his life outside of art, becoming a fuller person for it. He took up audiobooks, parkour, and most importantly ghost hunting. It had been a hobby that him and Marcus had entertained as teenagers, one of the only things they had in common. Their mother often scolded them for the dangerous places they went to, with Marcus being the one to constantly get in trouble despite it being Davis’ idea most of the time. With his brother now living with him it was easy to find the time to get back into it, and so the two indulged their childish hobby and took their mundane equipment out into the most abandoned and broken parts of the city they could get into.

They picked up little bits and bobs, nothing definitive enough to prove anything to any mundane person. Neither of them minded though, given it was all in the name of good fun. Until it wasn’t.

One night, they visited somewhere with a Ouija board in tow, determined to make contact with the unknown. Davis, having forgotten his medicine for a few days thanks to his adhd, assumed that the thing he saw lurking amongst the shadows wasn’t real. After all, he saw all sorts of things at his lowest. Why would this be different? The scare of it and the fact Davis’ schizophrenia was known, however, was enough for the brothers to leave quickly. 

Within a week, Marcus disappeared. A few more months later? He was presumed dead. Davis mourned without a body to cry over, helping his mother carry an empty casket. The lack of closure nearly ruined him, causing him to take medical leave to grapple with his mental health mostly alone. He never put the pieces together that Marcus disappeared after ghost hunting, that the thing he saw may have been real. And so, he kept doing it, if nothing else to connect with his brother. Sometimes that was figurative, but other times he hoped for something literal despite believing that deep down his experiences with the supernatural were just all in his head. And so, the eye just between his eyebrows remained closed, and a medium stubbornly remained unaware of his gifts. 

PERSONALITY: Hard-headed, smart mouthed, empathetic, heroic, creative, lightly paranoid, awkward, introverted, old-fashioned, nostalgia prone, curious, adventurous, playful, gullible

CHARACTER TYPE: Original

BLOG: @professorgeist

[eliashirsch]

I thought it’d be interesting to look back on how much my writing has improved in a year!

Top Gun is the only fandom I’ve ever fallen into a rabbit hole deep enough to want to write any serious fanfiction for. It’s actually why I approach my writing today in a ‘professional’ manner (actually revising and doing line edits etc) and for the first time in my life, I’m considering it as a viable career. So it’s safe to say Top Gun has changed my life in ways I never would’ve expected it. 

I knew of Top Gun from watching Maverick and was so impressed I decided to immediately go to Ao3 because I knew there were going to be some fics about Mav and Rooster (I remembered the exact moment I got home and opened my phone and was delighted to know I was right). Back then the tag wasn’t even official yet. It’s great to see it grow over a year! (I’m still refreshing the Top Gun Movies tag for any new fics. Does anyone do that still?)

So here’s the fic that I decided to write on a random day in June 2022, featuring Mav and the Dagger Squad after the mission, and Ice being exasperated over their antics. It’s a little silly, definitely in a time when team as family fics were popular. I actually wrote about 45k in two months, which was fast for me back then!

I think a canon event for a beginner fanfic writer is when a character ends up in the hospital, there’s a scene where their injuries are described in detail (which as a reader, I usually skim those). I think it’s to create a ‘realistic’ setting, but really, there are better ways to describe said character’s injuries. 

Looking back, there are a lot of scenes that feel very unnatural. Real people don’t really talk this way, it feels very like, cartoonish for them to reveal information this way. Again, just very fanfic-y. Not really good writing.

But I had a lot of fun writing these! The Daggers don’t exactly act like adults or have nuances and stuff. They’re mostly there for humor (or more like injecting my humor, which is kinda cringey when I read these back) but hey, at least I can look at these with nostalgia the same way a burnt-out artist looks back at their childhood drawing and remember the good times when life and pressure didn’t get in the way of creating.

Compare these with my more recent writings. I don’t know I just look at this and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. How better I am at pacing and characterization and making believable scenes and everything. It’s just asdkasjfhankakljk so proud of myself. (Excerpt from my fic.)

Another comparison, this one’s a first draft rather than a finished work. So it’s not super polished, but still infinitely better than how I started. I mean, you can even see the difference in format. I started out writing with Arial and a white background, and now I can't stand writing in anything other than a dark bg. Also, Calibri is the best font idc what anyone says.

That’s it! Thanks for reading to the end! A reminder that the more you practice and hone your work, you are going to improve! It’s possible, just keep going!

[godbirdart]

first off, i just want to say that i love your art, you are a huge inspiration to me and i love how expressive your characters are! would you have any tips for someone trying to grow a following from their art? specifically within the furry community ideally. im just not sure where to start

i hope youre having a great day!

thank you so much!!

okay i gotta preface this with: i have been doing commissions for over a decade. everything i say here i've been doing since roughly 2014, but my career as an artist didn't really Take Off and become reliable until 2019. success isn't immediate. some artists will grow faster or slower than others, not every tactic is going to apply / work for every artist; and that's okay. just keep pushing yourself and adapting and figuring out what works for You!

i’m putting this under a readmore as it got a bit long. every time someone asks me for advice on professional Anything i always write up a five page essay despite trying to bulletpoint it oof

post on multiple platforms and keep them all updated. i’m putting this one in bold because it is possibly the Most Important thing. we’re all watching twitter sinking over there, and many of my mutuals there were floundering because they hadn’t established themselves on any other social media site. i strongly recommend three or four socials minimum. my main four sites are tumblr, deviantart, twitter and toyhouse. furaffinity is also good. inkblot and artfol are new and i use them frequently as well. if you don’t like posting manually to every site each and every time you post art, Postybirb exists and is what i use to crosspost all my art to most of my socials at once.

avoid venting a lot on main. we all have frustrating days where our art isn’t getting the recognition we hoped, or we’re feeling petty about a controversial topic or the latest drama. it happens! it’s okay! however, many people just don’t like seeing dozens of negative posts on their feed. most people will sympathize, but if your negative vents are constantly clogging their dashboard they’re not gonna stick around.

shamelessly self promote yourself. reblog your own art. retweet it again. repost it. mention your other socials. we live in a world of timezones! when you post art, only a fraction of your audience is going to see it. i recommend reblogging / retweeting one to four individual pieces periodically over the course of a day and change it up each day. you can also repost your own work into photosets and title it “recent commissions” or the something like that.

don’t hide your linktrees and carrds. seriously! the amount of times on twitter i went to try and follow someone on another platform only to find they had no carrd or linktree link,, it is infuriating. put your socials link in your bio or pinned or SOMEWHERE readily at the top of your profile that’s easy to spot.

if you’re offering commissions, make a telegram channel or discord server for your announcements / openings.

post regularly. this one is a lot harder for artists that don’t make a lot of content, but posting even a status update once or twice a day can go a long way - especially if you’re on twitter with that platform’s hideous algorithm. alternatively as i said earlier, just retweet/reblog your work a few times a day and you should be good.

art trends are cool and fun and an easy way to get your work seen by others. see a “draw your sona in this outfit” meme? go, have fun with it. this one’s a bit tricky as timing is everything when it comes to ~trending~ content, so try and draw quick. that said, it’s never outdated to drawover reaction memes with your fursona.

try not to clog your socials with memes and shitposty images. this one is directed at twitter specifically. with twitter moments now gone, your media tab is the last way for people to hope to find your work organically on your profile without having to use the twitter search. they can’t get invested in your work if they can’t find it!

it’s okay to change course if you’re not vibing with where you’re headed. if you want to move onto a new aesthetic - that’s fine! you may lose some followers if they don’t click with your new vibe, but you’ll inevitably gain some new ones.

avoid frequent name changes. so many of the artists i follow have changed their brands / urls over the years that i don’t recognize them anymore.

tag your work properly. on tumblr, the first five tags on the original post are the tags your work will pop up in in the search feature. make those first five tags the Most important ones; example: #furry, #anthro, #art #fursona etc. twitter’s algo seems flip-flop if it likes tags or hates them. if you see a tag trending, repost your art in a photoset with the hashtag in the post [example: if #pokemon is trending, repost some of your pokemon fanart with the hashtag in the post body]. if the tag isn’t trending,,, i’ll be honest it’s a gamble if twitter likes your post or not at that point. i have no advice for that hell algorithm.

hosting raffles or doing a mini art request event [example: “leave a ref and i might draw your oc”] is good for traction while simultaneously giving back to the community + your audience a little!

try and reply to / like comments on your work. it’s not required per se, but it’s good to express gratitude.

engage with other members of the community. comment on other peoples work. like it. retweet it. follow other people. obviously don’t be disingenuous about it, but this is what the professionals call ~networking~

don’t compare yourself to others. this one is one you have got to keep in mind constantly. you’re going to find 17 year olds with huge followings and 30 year olds that are doing professional industry work whose level feels alien and almost out of reach. if you’re not doing as well, don’t let yourself get discouraged. we all gotta start somewhere!

related to the above point: be nice to your followers. venting on main about not having the same audience volume as others can come off as a huge middle finger to the audience you already have.

gaining a following takes time. unless you get a really lucky break, it’s going to take a lot of work and self promotion to build up your brand.

slap your name on everything. i mean it. any art you do - sign it. watermark it. people can and will share art in telegram channels and discord servers, and if the art interests someone they can easily source it back to you if your name is on it.

you can buy adspace. if you’re catering to a furry audience specifically, you can buy adspace on furaffinity pretty easily. inkblot i believe also offers adspace for artists though i haven’t looked too deep into it. this is really a “if you’re okay burning money” situation, as the huge chunkk of internet users have adblockers now and it’s a gamble if people will see or even click on your ad.

just have fun and do your own thing. you can hop on trends and draw art that caters to your audience’s tastes, but don’t forget to draw what YOU want and what YOU’RE about. Draw what makes YOU happy.

hope these help!! ;w;