#and put passion into this hobby like we did when we were younger?

[mcflymemes]

please don't mistake silence for hatred. please don't mistake unanswered plotting messages as indifference, or a lack of enthusiasm towards you. considering the ages of most roleplayers, many of us have bills to pay, families to take care of, medical conditions to treat, appointments to make, classes to take, homes to clean, and lives to live away from the computer that are far, far more important than writing on tumblr — life has a tendency to get in the way of hobbies and fun things like this. be patient with your fellow writers. if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. of course you can set your boundaries, keep your space comfortable, and softblock whoever you wish, but do so while recognizing it's probably not hatred or apathy that keeps them from leaping into your dms with message after message. they probably love this hobby just as much as you... but sometimes life gets in the way.

#rp psa #roleplay psa #rp help #roleplay help #roleplay advice #'the rpc has changed for the worse' that's your opinion #but have that opinion while also acknowledging the ages of those you write with #and recognize they have responsibilities and worlds to take care of #people who depend on them #financial strain. hardships. unemployment. housing problems #medical bills. local weather disasters #trauma in their life deaths in their family #you cannot expect instant messages or EXTREME enthusiasm from everyone in this community #when so many of us are also dealing with irl situations #that are MORE important than talking about our fictional characters meeting for the first time #would it be nice if we could all find a comfy balance #and put passion into this hobby like we did when we were younger? #oh sure!!!! but that's just not viable anymore

[spacebeyonce]

so I was on twitter and I see this tweet. and it's a screenshot of a fic writer who is pulling their writing that they worked on for around six years due to plagarism and lack of engagement. the screenshot shows them in the A/N saying the next chapter will come out if they get x amount of comments, like back in the early oughts. I don't really think it's a big deal so I don't pay that part no mind.

but I checked the QRTs...and it's people saying the author is entitled, that they have a big ego, that this is just for fun and they should be doing this for themselves, and if they are only doing this for engagement then they're just miserable, and that this is just a hobby, and no one's entitled to getting responses, and like. I have. Thoughts. Opinions, if you will.

I was talking with stace about it because I feel insane?? like being in fandom is so different compared to when we were younger...it's so...idk. my lip started curling up at how many people were saying that the author was asking for too much, that they're entitled because they are just grateful for getting two kudos or they got one comment and it made their entire week. and like. stand up. STAND UP!!! WANT MORE. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO WANT MORE!!

'you're supposed to be writing for you! you should be drawing for you!' yeah sure but we're sharing this shit with y'all for a reason. if I was just doing this for me I'd keep it to myself like I did when I was a kid.

because sure. this is a hobby. this is something we should just be doing for fun. but is it really so entitled to want more responses, more engagement? more dialogue? people loooooove to parrot the idea that fandom is all about community, it's all about creating and communicating and having fun with each other over art and writing and all that shit. people love to say that! but when artists talk about how not great it feels to share something they worked on forever and barely getting anything back it's a problem.

maybe it's because I'm getting burnt out. I'm tired. passion can only get one so far, and after a while it gets tiring after a while, putting something out with that passion and not getting much in return.

#fandom critical #long post #I see people turn their nose up at others wanting more engagement with their art #more comments on their fics and saying shit like 'ao3 isn't social media it's not a community forum' #'you're not entitled to engagement' oh worm. bet

[noelledeltarune]

raises hand. i'd like to hear about your miscellaneous headcanons :]

YAYYY ok :-] all of these are unrelated 🔥💯

i know that everyone has their own specific headcanons for who their starters are but i have always liked the idea of them having been given their haxorus as an axew as their first pokemon. i totally understand why people think of it as being ingo's with the whole mold breaker earthquake thing but especially with the whole heroes of legend and original dragon thing i think it's customary / traditional for people in unova to give children who are setting off on their journeys together a dragon to raise together. like as a reminder not to be too consumed with your goals that you lose the people who matter to you. or something. works out because i imagine dragons are typically prideful and kind of finicky to raise by nature. so making it a 2 person job is easier on all parties LMAO (their haxorus is jolly by nature so maybe less so but. yknow)

i also personally think that emmet really likes to cook. completely unrelated and i don't know why i think so but to me his love of battling translates a little as him being a guy who cares about his health LOL. he wants his team to be in good shape, so he should put in that effort too! because it's something he's very passionate about. and this applies to exercise but also food to me. it's an easy way to take care of yourself and it's nice to share food with people (<- necessary intervention to avoid ingo's 7th fast food chain burger in 4 days). + i imagine that pokemon who do a lot of battling like his do would need to eat a lot anyways, it's probably cheaper to make your own pokemon food than to buy as much as he'd need in bulk. maybe he got into making it for his team when he was younger and that translated into him learning to cook because he's already making something edible anyways LMAO, might as well do the same for himself

i think ingo likes to draw. no real reason for this one either he just strikes me as The Absentminded Doodler. never really considered himself to be super passionate about art but he is a dedicated hobbyist. in my head when they were kids ingo and emmet's parents tried to get emmet into journaling because he wasn't much of a talker and they figured it'd be an easier way to express himself. he did not really care for it and ingo took it up instead. lots of paper for writing and doodling. i imagine he sort of got out of journaling as an adult/older teen but got back into both writing and drawing more when he was in hisui. we know he's a man who appreciates physical reminders of things. less ephemeral than memories 🔥💯

i also like the headcanon that uxie is the one who stole his memories rather than it just being a result of The Dreaded SpaceTime Travel. like i know it doesn't actually make sense because how would he have possibly met uxie given the requirement of having god's blessing in your cell phone. but. OH MY GOD! IN COMES CANALAVE LIBRARY'S "A HORRIFIC MYTH" WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!!!!!!!!

^ i just like it. it's also the one way i will excuse the trope of zoroark transforming into emmet because the pokemon guarding uxie's cave is. an alpha zoroark. so maybe that thing has some special powers relating to the memories it steals like it can look into them to more effectively scare people away from it or whatever. because like. hisuian zoroark can't actually read minds. LMAO. but i'll accept it specifically for ingo through this

i am known to be an enjoyer of the headcanon that emmet is a pokemon breeder as a hobby. but specifically NOT just with joltik. i think he met lenora when he was younger when she helped him revive his archen from a fossil and he works with her sometimes now as a breeder aiding in pokemon restoration. i also like to ignore the fact this would likely require a lot of dedicated training and education and time on top of his job because i can do whatever i want forever. i think that elesa's tynamo is the anime was a gift from him :-]

on a slightly related note i also think that emmet and burgh are underrated "characters who have never interacted but i think they'd be friends" guys. in my head even ingo likes to draw he's not really much of an art nerd. but i think emmet kind of is LOL. (<- queen of taking that one line where he talks about wanting to go to galar to see the sirfetch'd vs escavalier painting too far). i think they'd be bug buddies. they're both a little silly in a way that i think would be very compatible and i like imagining them as friends. 2 guys who love looking at pictures of bugs and also are professional pokemon battlers. match made in heaven 🔥💯 slightly related because burgh is the one character i think emmet actually would give a joltik to. gave him a shiny baby spider at one of his art shows and their friendship was cemented when a couple of weeks later he showed up on the doubles line with a professionally trained shiny galvantula :-]

i flip flop 100000x per day over their pokemon but specifically when it comes to the haxorus mold breaker thing i want to bring up how abilities on the battle subway are randomized. meaning that, to me specifically, it is not actually an act of malice 100% of the time. i KNOW that it was introduced in gen 6 but i think that mold breaker earthquake is more often a FUCK I FORGOT TO USE THE ABILITY CAPSULE AGAIN AFTER THE SINGLES LINE than a HA HA HA. FUCK YOU, TEAMMATE! ingo is also a guy who likes a thrilling battle and likes to win. if i wasn't as fond of the idea that their starter was axew i'd say it's a brought the wrong haxorus to work accident

i think that's everything that comes to mind for now. THANK YOU :-]

#talk tag #ask tag #oh ingo and emmet from pokemon. so many random thoughts about you. and i have 1000000 more. LOVE THESE ANIMALS. THE SUBMAS 💙

[atomicpen]

tagged by @faejilly but I don't really know who I might tag anymore, so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged. I know I see a lot of "tag X people" posts that I'm not included in even if I might be interested in doing it, so here is a tag for everyone else who doesn't typically get tagged in things but wants to do the things anyway.

blank questions beneath my own

Were you named after anyone?

One of my great-grandmothers

When was the last time you cried?

Last night, writing a condolences note for a friend who had to put one of their dogs down (lots of medical issues they did all they could about)

Do you have kids?

No

Do you use sarcasm?

Me? Never.

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Usually eyes and nose

What’s your eye colour?

Blue-grey

Scary movies or happy endings?

Yes

Any special talents?

Overwhelming wins at rochambeau; always making non-colorwork knit gauge with perfect tension; always finding exactly the kind of place we need to live in; spotting yarn stores and liquor stores

Where were you born?

In a hospital

What are your hobbies?

Reading, knitting, crochet, spinning, video games. Other activities others might consider hobbies but are more serious: writing, gardening

Have any pets?

Three cats

What sports do/have you played?

In an "official" team capacity? Soccer, field hockey, bowling

How tall are you?

My height is unknowable (virtually no one believes it, including people who have known me for years, like my own husband)

Favorite subject at school?

What level of school? When I was younger, I might say, "English classes." Older, I say any class that has a teacher/professor that makes the subject engaging and is clearly passionate about it. Even if I have zero personal interest in it, I will thoroughly enjoy learning about it.

Dream Job?

Creative Writing Professor, Published Author

*****

Were you named after anyone?

When was the last time you cried?

Do you have kids?

Do you use sarcasm?

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

What’s your eye colour?

Scary movies or happy endings?

Any special talents?

Where were you born?

What are your hobbies?

Have any pets?

What sports do/have you played?

How tall are you?

Favorite subject at school?

Dream Job?

#atomic does a meme

[freebooter4ever]

So, surfing \o/

I've daydreamed about it since i was a kid, and had this romantic image of it from like kate b*sworth and r*ip girls, and watching televised competitions. And i honestly never imagined i would ever get to try - lessons are so expensive. I was shocked when my friend offered to teach me, and lent me a practice board. He was awesome, so patient, and answered all my silly questions. And hung out there in the water, 'pushing' the board when it was time for me to try and catch the wave (TRY lol i mostly failed).

But unlike a few years ago, when i got onto a dirt bike for the first time and suddenly discovered something i'd been missing my entire life, yesterday didn't quite live up to the daydream.

For one thing i underestimated how hard it would be for me. My friend who was teaching me said i was a natural but at no point did i feel any confidence on the board, it was mostly a blur of panic lol. I was also shamefully freezing - im used to cold, i prefer the cold here in LA, and back in seattle the water was NEVER warm and they used to make us go swimming at like 5am in 60 degree water. I felt like i should have been used to cold water. But no, lol, instead i was so cold i was shivering. And trying to ignore it, but eventually it got so bad that my friend noticed and gently suggested that we take a break (and then i was like no once more, and then face planted, and popped up and said NO ONE MORE that didnt count)

When we finally did make it to shore we sat there for at least an hour - i pulled the wetsuit top off and bundled up in the towel, and i just couldnt get warm, it was ridiculous -_- the chill went down into my bones like it used to during seattle rain. I was so embarrassed. I dont think i stopped shivering until i got home and bundled up in my chair in the pengu*n's jersey - which its been too hot to even think about putting that on for months now.

I do want to try again - i need to work on my arms a bit i think lmao. But i also asked my friend if could just hang out on the beach and watch him and his buddies surf while i brought my sketchbook which, if im REALLY honest, is probably more my speed. When I was younger I probably would have had a better chance at this.

Thats the thing about all these extreme sports - skiing we could never afford when i was a kid, surfing was over 2 hrs away by car and ferry and required all that equipment, i was quite good at wakeboarding but it was my friends who owned the wakeboard and the speedboat so my opportunities were limited by whenever they invited me, and despite dirt bike riding feeling as if it was the song 'daylight' come to life i took one look at the monthly price tag this 'hobby' would cost and quickly assessed it was out of reach lol.

I actually did vaguely ask my friend about that - his passion for surfing. Cause listening to him describe it, and how dedicated he is to it, made me realize its how i feel about art. (my friend was scandalized when i said this was the first time i made it to the beach all summer, and that i hardly spent any time going out in LA, and that i hadn't been to any of the theme parks since moving here - he was like 'what have you been doing?' - and the answer is, sadly, just sitting in my room drawing mostly). I will give up all the 'hobby's in the world in order to afford more time to draw. Wish my dedication showed a bit more in my skill level :/

#Journal shit #He's also apparently a hockey AND a pens fan so i might actually have a friend to go with when the team plays in LA this year? #Which i cant believe it never came up in conversation because the 3D room that italianikisix and i were in was uniquely NOT soundproof lmao #And i was talking poor nick's ear off about hockey though i guess that was 90% of the time about nyc

[shiistone]

A rant about AI art

My good friend and I made a Dangonronpa roleplay together. It's been going on for over a year, well over 2 novels in length by now, has a second season, and being the artist of the two, I do all the art. This includes: -Thirty four character cards. -two monopad drawings. -Two 'surviving people left' banners, updated with deaths each chapter. (one has 16 characters, the other has 18.) -Two elevator pictures (again, one sixteen person, the other 18 person.) updated with each death. -Random art of our characters. -Working on a full 4 minute animation through the year for it. (I'm a minute and twenty seconds into it.) I'm not an amazing artist, but I do have some good talent. I've been working on art on and off for fourteen years, and that's really putting it lightly. I show him all my stuff and he appreciates it and is usualy amazed. It's awesome. I do all that for free because its a passion project that I love to do, though I've sunk countless hours into all this art. I'm not perfect with it, but my heart and soul is in it. I should note how my friend is an amazing person, not himself an artist (he has much talent in other areas though), and did not mean to upset me. I'm angry and hurt, but that wasn't his intention at all and my anger is probably misguided. He was just super excited. About what you ask? He went to some AI art site and made his characters there. And they turned out SO well. The pictures looked near perfect what we imagined and what I drew given the references he put together for me. they look like they were plucked straight out of an anime with beautiful colors. Some pictures showed the same character, but in their 'evil' persona or when they were younger or at a different angle and it was all consistent. He showed me twelve images that he made in a matter of seconds. He said he didn't use my art at least but it still hurt like hell. The only thing I could see that was a mistake on the AI's part is one hand's fingers were a bit too long. It sucks Because that art is just made and given away for free from an AI. art that should be done by people like me or other artists in commissions. And all that work I put into my stuff, the years and years i put into my art and trying to get better is just overshadowed. In seconds. twelve images, put together by a machine that hasn't done what I have. In seconds. They look great, and the flaws can be easily ignored. Put together by stolen artwork off the backs of artists like me and my friends, put into a blender and spat out. In seconds. twelve fucking images of the characters we crafted. twelve fucking images that where, frankly, brought to visual life by my hard work in a crunch time, remade my a machine that only knows lines of code. I was replaced in seconds. And yes maybe this rant is about me and I'm selfish for even making this. But after seeing my job slowly being taken over by robots, and now my hobby and my planned side job being taken over by that too...I'm angry! My friend said he's sorry, though I don't think he knows exactly how much this hurts. I made so much art and shared with him and he freaked out over how cool those AI pictures were. I knew it was bad before but seeing my friend just casually replace my talent like that... I didn't expect it to come from there. I hate AI art. It shouldn't be here- It's not cultivated or made by people. it's just stolen artwork, lines of code, placed together and spat out. It hurts artists in a world where pennies have to be scraped and people are being replaced for the sake of saving a few dollars for a corporation.

#rant #Ai art rant #Ai art #Ai #personal

[musicarenagh]

Meet Minno, The Man Who's Making Music from the Heart Prepare for a journey into the world of Minno, an electronic music genius whose new single “Through The Day, Through The Night” has caught people’s attention. Working with different singers, his latest album represents the ups and down we go through in life; from high moments to low points represented by day vs night dichotomy. Although Minno did not receive proper training, music has always been his passion. Throughout his childhood, he would fiddle with the piano fueled by an underlying passion for melodies. He cited that his family was creative but because they did not develop it, Minno altered the situation when he happened across music production in a technology class. His creative process is dynamic in that it begins with a chord progression upon which he builds his piece. Minno’s music evokes the spirit of indie rock, electro-pop and EDM but is also in its own category by being catchy and melodic. Apart from music, Minno’s hobbies include reading, staying active and working as a Mechanical Engineer. Although the process of marketing introduces some problems, Minno intends to share his music honestly with fans. Listen to Through The Day, Through The Night https://open.spotify.com/album/63aTXg50Y1XQJdf85AEdO2 Follow Minno on Facebook Twitter Spotify Soundcloud Youtube Instagram What is your stage name Minno Is there a story behind your stage name? Originally I was just going by my real name (Chris Minatti) and then once I felt my music was good enough I changed it up and created a stage name. Minno was kind of just randomly derived from the first three letters of my last name and I though it sounded cool. Where do you find inspiration? Inspiration can come from many things. Usually it is other songs or albums but it can also just be beautiful things in the world like mountains, paintings, cathedrals etc. Music-wise I listen to a lot of Indie Rock, Alt-Electro-Pop, and EDM and I think my music comes out as a blend of all that. What was the role of music in the early years of your life? I always loved music as a kid. I’d listen non-stop and would always try to learn to play songs on the piano without being able to read music or knowing how to properly play. Music has helped me through hard times and brought greater joy to the good times. Are you from a musical or artistic family? I think my family was always very artistic but was suppressed in a way. They never really pursued their creative talents. My Father for example, started painting at 60 years old and is actually really good, but he never had a creative outlet when he was younger. Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry? I just enjoy making music. Even if I were to never post any of my songs publically and I was the only one to ever hear them, I’d still make music. [caption id="attachment_53916" align="alignnone" width="1440"] I just enjoy making music.[/caption] How did you learn to sing/write/to play? I briefly played the Clarinet in 5th/6th grade. I was good at it but thought it was kind of lame. In 7th/8th grade I got put in a Music Tech class for all the slacker kids that quit band. A few of the weeks of that class we went over music production and learned how to use a DAW. I immediately was hooked and downloaded my own at home and started learning how to make music. What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform? It honestly might have been Avicii. Can’t remember if there were any before that. How could you describe your music? Electronic-EDM-Alt-Indie-Pop? I never know how to describe it. Hope that works. Describe your creative process. I generally start with a chord progression I like and then go from there. Usually I’ll add in synths and melodies and then do drums after I have basic foundation. Sometimes I’ll sit on a half done idea for years then finish it. Other times like my song Glory I’ll produce, mix, and master it in 4 days and release it 7 days after starting it.

What musician do you admire most and why? Kanye might have the most impressive discography of any musician in my lifetime. I certainly admire his music and his ability to continuously make incredible albums. Danger Mouse is also one of my favorite producers. Every Album he touches is gold. Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career? I think starting out I felt strong pressure to make “EDM” or songs that you can DJ live and people will dance. Now I don’t really care about that and make whatever I want. I think I’ve gotten a lot better as the years have gone by. Hopefully my Album shows that. What are your interests outside of music? I like to read a lot and learn about random topics. I’m also very into working out and playing sports. If it wasn't a music career, what would you be doing? I’m a Mechanical Engineer and that is still my primary source of income. So, probably that. What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? Marketing is really tough. It is such a competitive landscape. I know so many talented artists that have hardly any plays. As a musician you just want to make music but if you want people to hear it you need to spend a good amount of time on marketing and social media which is really boring. If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? There are a lot of scammers. Less scammers would be nice. https://open.spotify.com/artist/0jrZCNvQPfovBYGzifdQuo?si=t6_waxL8QQeCUUJR3ALJng Why did you choose this as the title of this project? Through The Day, Through The Night just felt like the right name. The songs convey a wide range of styles and emotions. I think it captures the feeling of all the highs and lows in life. And no matter what life brings us whether its day or night, light or darkness, we keep pushing on through. What are your plans for the coming months? Promote my album and start experimenting with new music J Do you have any artistic collaboration plans Yes I do. Stay tuned. What message would you like to give to your fans? Thank you to everyone that listens to my music. I hope you enjoy my Album. It has been quite the ride and your support means the world.

#Interviews #Minno #MinnodropsThroughTheDay #MinnooutwithThroughTheDay #MinnoreleasesThroughTheDay #MinnoThroughTheDay #MinnowithThroughTheDay #ThroughTheDay #ThroughTheNight #ThroughTheNightbyMinno #ThroughTheNightfromMinno #ThroughTheNightMinno

[careeralley]

Reinvent Your Career: Embrace the Joy of Starting Afresh

In college, I was always told that I should choose a career based on what I was passionate about. The problem was I was 18 years old and had no idea what I was passionate about. In fact, I knew very little about anything. The paradox of choosing a career based on your passion is that you may not know if you like it or not until you jump into it. Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist explains a different approach in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Frankl, who grew up in central Europe, was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Spending time in that camp was not what he had expected to do with his life, nor was it his passion. However, out of that experience, he decided to become a psychologist and study human suffering. His advice was to not ask what you want from life but rather what life is offering you. Allow your experiences to shape you and lead you to a place where you can be happy. Click To Tweet #CareerChange #NewBeginnings #ReinventYourself" quote="Feeling stuck in your current job? It's never too late to reinvent yourself! Discover the joy of a fresh start and make your career change today. Start here: #CareerChange #NewBeginnings #ReinventYourself" theme="style4"] This advice can be applied to a career. It is never too late to find something better. In fact, the experiences you have had up to this point may have prepared you for your next step. Here are some things to keep in mind while searching for the right place to work. 1. What is it that you like or don’t like about your career? If you are unhappy with where you are working now, make a list of the things you don’t like about it. As you’re looking at different options make sure they don’t have the same problems. Making a career shift can be hard and you don’t want to end up in another job you don’t like.   2. What are your hobbies or personal interests? What types of things are meaningful to you? A large reason people become dissatisfied with their work is that they feel their work is insignificant or meaningless. If you can find something you would enjoy doing every day, you will be much happier. 3. Do you believe in a product you might sell? It’s always better to work for a company that sells a product you believe in. I recently did work for a start-up company that was putting out a running app for I-phones. This app allows runners to connect with their friends, as well as receive personalized training plans based on their skill level. As a runner myself, I wanted to use this product in my own training. I believed it could really help people improve their skills. As a result, I had a greater desire to go to work every day. 4. Have you talked to people who are where you want to be? Who are the people you look up to? What kinds of qualities do they have? It may even be helpful to meet with these people to learn the details of their lives. Ask them how they got where they are. Then, follow their example. 5. What kind of lifestyle do you want? How do you want to live? This may change over time. Maybe when you were younger you wanted to travel, but now that you have kids you want a career that will allow you to work from home. Whatever your situation, your career will largely determine what type of lifestyle you will live. Whether you just graduated from college or have been working at the same company for 20 years, it’s important to remember that it’s never too late to make a change. We as humans are creatures of habit and change is scary. You’ll never know where you could end up however if you’re never willing to try. Everything Online Job Search (Everything Series) $12.95 $7.22 A complete guide to finding a job online explains how to find the thousands of job listings on the Web, use the leading career websites, create an electronic resume and cover letter, research companies via the Internet, find online contacts and network, and more. Buy on Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. 07/31/2023 10:55 am GMT Read the full article

[soverywitty]

I was tagged in 15 questions for 15 mutuals by @tadpal

I'm tagging @no-lava @salamancialilypad @justslowdown @colossalcryptid @aggressivebutterflies @thatsthenorthstar, sorry I know that's only 6 people, I just don't have a lot of mutuals on my main.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yeah. I was named after Katharine Hepburn. My middle name comes from my great grandma Gertrude's maiden name, and I'm planning to legally change my first name to my great grandfather's once I get the money and paperwork together.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Ooooh fuck, I cry a lot tbh. Last seriously bad cry was probably 3 weeks ago? It was around the time I left my job, it was super stressful. Since then, I think I cried most recently a little over a week ago. April 29th marked one year since we had to put our older dog down.

3. Do you have kids?

No! Thank god. I love kids, but only in small doses. I have a little sister who's 7 who I love to absolute death, but after a week visiting her, I feel like I need to just lay in a quiet dark room for a week straight.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I exaggerate and use hyperbole more than I use sarcasm. Like I use it occasionally, but when I'm going for comedic effect I tend to use the other tools in my arsenal.

5. What sports have you played?

I'm gonna be real, I have never been a sports girlie. If ballet counts, I did ballet when I was little.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about someone?

Hair and clothes. I guess, style in general. I'm decently faceblind, so faces don't tend to register much unless they're pretty distinctive. I'm very much a person that'll notice what you're wearing and stop to give you a compliment if I like it.

7. Eye Color?

Blue, but specifically, blue enough that I made having blue eyes part of my personality when I was younger

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I like scary movies, but only as long as they have a happy ending. I don't like any movies that end where everyone's miserable and everything's shitty and sad.

9. Any special talents?

Uhmmmm, not really? Like, there's not really anything I can think of off the top of my head.

10. Where were you born?

I was born in a decent sized city in the Southeast US. I still live there, and it's not too bad a place to live, but as soon as you leave the city and surrounding suburbs shit gets real rural and real conservative, real quick.

11. What are your hobbies?

Honestly, I fly through hobbies like nobodies business, I have ADHD, so I tend to hyperfocus and then get bored really quickly. The majority of my hobbies tend to be crafty stuff, but hiking and other outdoorsy stuff is another thing I love. Fashion and style and design stuff is a big passion of mine. Right now, I've been locked in on houseplants and stuff related to them. I have maybe 20(?) or so, and I also have terrariums, and a planted aquarium.

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have my sweet little Persie dog(follow us on @pomegranatepup), and I also have aquatic snails right now. I feel like all the plants I have should also count as having pets, but whatever.

13. How tall are you?

5'6"! I always try and lie and say I'm taller than that, but I'm really, really not. I'm mad about it because I feel like I definitely had the potential to be taller than I am.

14. Fave subject in school?

English! I was one of those gay bitches that'd be obsessed with their english teachers. My english teachers would have to give me advanced material because I'd finish and get bored so quickly with the english assignments we were given. I was also constantly reading books in class and getting in trouble for it. I know it's not the question, but my least favorite had to have been math, I failed algebra 1 like 3 times. Kind of embarassing, but I had undiagnosed dyscalcula, so whatever...

15. Dream job?

Right now, I want to someday open and run my own bakery or cafe, maybe a coffee shop. My current plan is to go to culinary school for pastry arts and go from there. I've been working as a baker for the past 4 years or so. Honestly, my real dream job is being a worthless layabout. If someone handed me 10 million dollars today, that would be amazing.

#tagged for me #this was fun!

[0613magazine]

201123 Esquire

Esquire's BTS Cover: The Selected Transcripts

Read three unedited exchanges between the members of BTS and Esquire's Dave Holmes.

ESQUIRE: Tell me your favorite thing about the person to your left.

Jung Kook to Jin: I like Jin’s persistency. I also like that he is a deep thinker but at the same time is light and casual. He feels like an older brother and also like a younger brother. I really like the flexibility in his thinking.

Jin to RM: RM has got everything. He seems perfect. But if you look closely, you can also see his imperfections, too. And I really like that about him.

RM: You don’t even have to look closely.

RM to SUGA: We have much in common. For BTS, I was the first trainee. SUGA was the second. We’ve spent so much time together. Almost a decade. We were billboard kids. We’ve been listening to ‘90s music, TI. My idols were his idols at the same time. We have different characteristics and hobbies. But when I think of him I feel like my old homie in my hometown. He gives me comfort as an old friend, old housemate.

V: Very touching.

SUGA to j-hope: What I really like about j-hope is his positivity. I’ve never seen him negative. Maybe when he was a trainee. But since he got his name j-hope I haven’t seen him be negative. And I think it’s important to have that kind of high self-esteem. So I learn a lot from him.

j-hope to Jimin: Just like what Jung Kook said about Jin—that he feels like an older brother but also like a younger brother—I feel the same about Jimin, but the other way around: he is younger than I am, but he almost feels like an older brother. There are a lot of things that I learned from him. But at the same time, he has the charms of a younger brother—he’s cute and fun. Also, we all love performing of course, but Jimin has a particular passion for the stage and really thinks about performance. I can feel that he really loves performing, and in that sense, there are many things to learn from him. Despite all the things he has accomplished, he still tries his best and brings something new to the table, and I really want to applaud him for that.

Jimin: Thank you for saying all these things about me.

Jimin to V: V is handsome. And that’s it.

SUGA: That’s the highest praise. Jimin: I’m joking. Jin said about RM that if you look closely you see his imperfections. For V, you don’t have to look too hard, you just can see it. And that’s his special charm. He has this innocence in him that makes him lovable—he is loved by so many. And I think that trait also enabled us to become best friends—that gifted me his friendship.

V to Jung Kook: I’ve never seen anyone who looks better with long hair than him. I also really like his personality. All jokes aside, I think Jung Kook is one of the most persistent people I know. And he has incredible talent so whatever he does, he can do it above average. And he puts everything into his performance to the point that I get worried. He gives his everything on the stage.

ESQUIRE: Congratulations on MAP ON:E ... It was gorgeous.

BTS: Thank you.

ESQ: How did you feel when the concert was over?

Jimin: I think for this concert we really had to draw our own meaning. We weren’t really taking time off, but we had to. So we asked ourselves during this whole period why are we working so hard doing this? What do these performances really mean for us? The biggest thing we got out of this concert was getting the answers to some of those questions and realizing why and for whom we are doing this.

ESQ: What were the answers?

Jimin: We did this in part for us. We were also reminded of the fact that we exist because of our fans. And for almost a year we had forgotten the joy of performing for a live audience, so it was a chance for us again to remind ourselves that we really need for this situation to end and we really want to start performing and meeting our fans in person again.

ESQ: How was it performing without a live audience? Did that throw you at all?

RM: We’re living in 2020, so there was some new technology that we haven’t seen, like connecting to thousands of cams and seeing fans on screen and hearing the live noises. We can’t compare it to the real scene, the real audience, but it was quite close to the real ones. It was quite okay, but we were afraid, like is this some future concert? Should we do this from now on? Forever? We had those fears, but thanks to technology it was okay.

“People who have their own view of life are cool, especially those who are not imprisoned by the past.”

ESQ: How do you come up with a setlist? Who comes up with it?

SUGA: This was a setlist that we had originally developed for the MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR. For this online concert, we discussed the setlist with the stage director about what we can do and we tried to come up with a setlist that is appropriate for this concert at this point in time. If we wanted to put a certain song in a certain place, we made a really strong appeal to the stage director and that would most likely change the setlist. We especially included a lot of our own ideas in this concert in terms of stage directions, so again it was too bad that we unfortunately weren’t able to perform in front of a live audience as planned, but it was still great to perform at least virtually in this situation and I was grateful for that.

ESQ: You know how many people watched worldwide, does that make you more nervous? More confident?

V: It was after the concert that we heard how many people actually tuned in. When we were actually performing, I think we were just focused on doing our best thinking about ARMY watching us.

j-hope: I actually feel less nervous performing live at a stadium. I felt a little bit more nervous knowing that this was being broadcasted live.

Jin: j-hope, born to perform at a stadium.

ESQUIRE: How do you define “cool”?

V: For me, when I shoot or do a performance, and if I am satisfied, then people tend to be satisfied. When I am satisfied, then it usually turns out to be cool.

Jimin: I haven’t put much thought into this, but I think when somebody wears something, says something, and their thoughts are well organized, and they are confident about what they are expressing, I think these types of people are cool. It’s different from stubbornness. People who have their own thoughts, their coolness shows. I think that means cool.

j-hope: Everyone takes things differently, and feels different emotions. When you get different opinions or feelings from what you think, rather than being offended, you accept it, I think that is something that I consider cool. I don’t think there is a correct answer.

SUGA: People who have their own view of life are cool, especially those who are not imprisoned by the past. It's cool to see people who aren't trapped in time.

RM: This is really an interesting question. I have been thinking a lot about this. I'm asking myself: What is cool? I think there are two kinds of cool: First of all, instinct. Sense. When somebody is cool, when he or she comes as an outsider and she or he has an attitude like, “yo, I can do this … why can’t we do this?” Not harming others. Secondly, there is a whole different cool. It’s like seeing the waves inside big trees that are thousands of years old. For example, when I see somebody—he could be an architect or artist or anyone—he has these waves and trees inside, I feel like "yo, that’s really cool”

Jin: I think being “cool” is being “generous,” which means me. Even if I could win, I lose. Even if I can fight, I lose. Isn’t that coolness itself?

Suga: That’s exactly what makes a person not cool.

Jung Kook: As the members have all said, the standards for coolness are very different for each person. I am myself and you are you, but then to know how to respect and understand each other is what I think defines cool.

V: Because I went first, I don't think I was able to give you the best answer. I think a person who can look after the people around them is cool ... but that means I am probably not.

ESQ: Is BTS cool?

BTS: Yes. We are cool. Do you know BTS?!

Source: Esquire

#2020 #bts #esquire

[bratz-kitten]

mars through the houses

mars in the 1st house: your confident, reckless and inconsiderate nature is due to your innate fear of being taken advantage of. you fear being seen as weak and like a victim that others can prey on. you’re very impulsive and energetic, not afraid of expressing yourself and pursuing what you want most in life. you want to show the world what you’re capable of and to impress others with your confidence. you want things done your way, you’re very independent. your sincerity and straightforward nature gives you a capability of hurting others and being hostile, it’s your job to choose not to. determined and unable to give up. you don’t even think twice before doing something dangerous; there’s this happy-go-lucky nature in you that makes it so that even when you get in trouble, things still work out your way because you believed they would. you react very quickly to obstacles and adverse situations/people trying to bring you down.

mars in the 2nd house: you’re very protective of both the people you love and your possessions. there’s an innate need for stability that you possess that has you being an impulsive buyer an hoarder, someone who needs to be careful with how much they’re spending – but it’s because you’re simply terrified of instability. you work hard to gain money and be able to spend as much as you want, but you should refrain from holding on to things too tightly. your value is not about how much money you make – remember that. even if you’re lucky when it comes to money, too much spending could cause havoc. inconsistency from the ones you love terrifies you. your values and strong opinions are very important to you, just like your independence and sensuality. others can be bothered by your possessiveness over them, with good reason; you should refrain from thinking you always know what’s best for them.

mars in the 3rd house: you’re very straightforward when it comes to expressing yourself and you’re not at all afraid of speaking about sensible issues, even when everyone around you is. you’re very outspoken and provocative, loving to expand other’s people’s perspectives and help open their narrow minds. you can be an overthinker to the point of losing yourself in your thoughts and paranoias. there’s a tendency for creating conflict through discussing with your friends and family, investing a lot of time in trivial arguments. easily annoyed and very knowledgeable, it’s like you have something to say about every subject. there’s a capability for being very harsh with your words; you have a sharp tongue. apologies are rare but when they happen, they’re very sincere. an intellectual through and through but you should be careful about being too analytical and experiencing mental trauma.

mars in the 4th house: you may have come from an abusive family in which you had to deal with a difficult childhood due to controlling, aggressive or downright abusive parents. either way, for the best or worst, your family problems affect you greatly. that manifests in either cutting ties with everything that connects you to your family or wanting to reproduce the dynamic in your present relationships to try and do it “right” this time. i’ve also noticed that there’s a fear underlying this placement of having children in fear of them going through the same things the native did. this placement also indicates coming from a dangerous neighbourhood. you have an immense emotional strength that helps you fight for what you want. you’re very protective but you also have a tendency to argue and antagonize others. avoid getting too stuck in the past. you’re a human manipulation detective, no one can lie to you. it’s a challenge for you to learn to deal with your anger and the past. you’re also very enthusiastic and active, and no matter whether you exercise or not, you tend to be very physically strong.

mars in the 5th house: you’re incredibly proud and competitive, making it so that you don’t accept failure. you have an explosive creative and destructive energy; you’re a natural risk-taker and gambler. active hobbies like playing sports would be very beneficial for these natives. you also tend to have a selfish nature. very sexual, love is a way for you to express yourself. sex is almost an animalistic drive. even if you don’t have a particularly high sex-drive, you have this need to be admired and respected by others due to your sexual prowess, which can be very toxic and make you have this complicated relationship with sex and how you want to express it vs how you think you should be expressing it. underlying fear about not being good enough, which explains your desire to win. very sentimental and with a huge need to live life to the fullest. hurried and chaotic energy. impulsive and your pursue of excitement and adrenaline might have you involved in many relationships.

mars in the 6th house: you have a very deep need of being of service to others, to the point of forgetting to put yourself first. you’re very dedicated to your passions and eager to work hard, with a lot of energy when it comes to work life, but be careful of overworking yourself to the point of a breakdown. you can also be very irritable when others are not working as hard as you or meeting your expectations; you should work on your teamwork skills, and to be more gentler with those around you and not let your violent nature get the best of you. you should also be more attentive of your health. very calculated and disciplined. you melt when being appreciated for your efforts. you make for a strict boss but an amazing friend. you tend to see the worst in people, though, being very attentive to their flaws that should somehow be fixed. it’s not like you have bad intentions, you just have a need for improvement, seeing the potential in everything you lay your eyes on.

mars in the 7th house: your need to be constantly stimulated can have you be intensely argumentative, especially with the ones who are closest to you. you can easily offend others and have a hard time compromising, which can drive people away and make teamwork prove to be a difficulty; that and the fact that you simply desire to lead. you love being in a relationship because it prompts you to be more active, but those relationships cam have a dynamic of restlessness to them due to the constant fighting. you have a lot of romantic energy, you just need to learn to channel it in a constructive way. very energetic and creative, with a love for being challenged and provoking others just for the fun of it. even if you can be careless of what others want and only focus on your needs, you still invest a lot of time and energy into your relationships; you’re very devoted, passionate and loyal. being more open-minded and learning to be a better listener would do you wonders.

mars in the 8th house: you both crave and fear intimacy. on one hand, you might be hypersexual and very assertive about your wants and needs; on the other hand, you fear letting anyone close to you for fear of them ending up betraying you. paranoias about being cheated on by your partner; you might hold on too much and too tight to people, needing to learn to let go of that need to control the ones you love. fear of opening up and being vulnerable, yet you wouldn’t stand others acting like that towards you. sexually magnetic. you seek intense manifestation and answers to your many questions about the dark side of life, unresolved traumas, the workings of the universe, etc. transformation occurs when you conquer your paranoias and fear of losing control, and it’s through that manifestation that your energy runs at its highest. moving on might prove to be very difficult when you’ve learned to identify with that part of your life as a part of your character. this placement focuses a lot on acting out your self-expression, which was something you didn’t get to do when you were younger.

mars in the 9th house: you’re very enthusiastic about intellectual pursuits and achieving your dreams. open-minded, and a lover of discussing your ideas with others. you hate it whenever someone tries to impose their beliefs on you, but there’s a tendency for you to do do exactly that to other people, due to thinking you’re always right. you love learning and travelling. you don’t care for social status, you care for enriching your mind. you might have a complicated relationship with higher-powers and the belief of god. there’s an innate need to search for and find the Absolute Truth, and these natives might either study about these matters like god or the universe with all the urgency in the world or be very afraid to explore them. either way, they feel very strongly, nearly fanatically, about the subject of god, the universe, philosophy. it’d do you well to understand that there isn’t an Absolute Truth and that everyone is allowed to have a different outlook and perspective on life because we all go through different things that change and mold our beliefs.

mars in the 10th house: you practically demand an exciting work dynamic + public image. you want to be recognised by your unwavering determination and passion in everything you do, your willingness to work hard and take the lead; you destroy every obstacle that comes your way. though, this assertive nature can make you come off as too aggressive, leaving others who aren’t as bold with a negative impression of you. spontaneous, independent and strong-willed; you’d hate to feel like there’s anyone or anything controlling you beside yourself. which is why you might hate destiny, you’re not fond of a higher-power being the one to make things happen and not yourself. you love obstacles and you literally feel bored when there’s nothing standing between your way and what you want; you like being challenged because you believe that that’s the way for you to push your limits and build resilience. conflicts with authority; you hate those in power due to their incompetence or corruption and want to fight to change the system. secretive and mysterious nature. strong instincts. you constantly seek answers, analyse others’ intentions and actions.

mars in the 11th house: unmatched bravery. you become a leader even without the intent of doing so, your passion and bravery inspiring all those around you. social issues, problems concerning your friends or humanity as a whole are when your aggressiveness comes hardest (seriously, don’t fuck with these people’s friends). very strong sense of right and wrong. however, your sense of justice is very personal, making it sometimes difficult for you to accept differences between people. your big dreams and determination to do what must be done causes frustration when dealing with the pessimism and restrictions of your current reality. you’re a rebel through and through. cunning and unpredictable. you’re willing to sacrifice yourself if it’s for what you’re fighting for. energised by the thought of joining the whole world together to fight for the same cause. an enjoyment of friendships with a competitive edge, you might have a rival who you actually really respect. natural problem-solver.

mars in the 12th house: your problems of unresolved feelings of rage are due to the complexes you used to feel in your family. you’re likely to have been physically abused and/or bullied in your childhood, which now shows in your fear of physical confrontation, fear of being physically weak. you internalize your anger, taking it out on yourself. explosive anger that may come off at unpredictable times. this placement also indicates insecurities and a fear of not achieving anything in life. prone to delusion like a distorted sense of reality/paranoias of your friends hating you. you might get lost on your fantasies as a form of escapism. now, i know this all sounds terrible: but if you’re able to work through your anger issues, take action instead of escaping through fantasies and work on developing self-love, the potential this placement has is enormous. because no matter how many times you get knocked down, you’ll rise stronger than ever. your strength is found within. courage that comes from emotional sensitivity. sexually magnetic + mysterious aura that draws others in.

#mars through the houses #mars in the 1st house #mars in the 2nd house #mars in the 3rd house #mars in the 4th house #mars in the 5th house #mars in the 6th house #mars in the 7th house #mars in the 8th house #mars in the 9th house #mars in the 10th house #mars in the 11th house #mars in the 12th house #astrology #mars #mars in the houses #capricorn #aries #pisces #gemini #aquarius #scorpio #libra #cancer #virgo #taurus #sagittarius #leo

[goeie-morgen]

Gossip Guy podcast with Willem De Schryver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYjtRYOGS00

translated by @jackfrostsander @bruisingknees @lblogss @yousmina and me :)

-

E: I do have another present for you.

W: Oei oei oei, presents.

E: I do that every week. I give something to my guest of the week.

W: Oei oei oei. Do I slide it?

E: Here in the front is a flap that you have to fold upwards…

[Intro]

E: Wassup people, welcome to a new episode of the Gossip Guy podcast. My name is Ender Scholtens and today I’m here with Willem De Schryver. Everything ok?

W: Sure sure (In Dutch sure is used as a confirmation to a question).

E: Is this your first podcast?

W: Yes, this is my first podcast.

E: Stress?

W: No, it will be fine, right? Relaxed.

E: I don’t know… (laughing). For the people who don’t recognize you, from where could they know you?

W: Hmmm, probably from the youth series WTFOCK where, in the third season, I play the role of Sander.

E: And we are allowed to talk about it in this podcast.

W: Yeah I also heard that. Yes, it’s over.

E: Was it a difficult chapter of your life to close?

W: Yes, I still clearly remember the last moment… Like really the last last scene at the sea… That was an emotional moment because you went through a lot as a group, you did a lot together, and emotional scenes, intimate scenes. But yes, I think, if I speak for the whole group that it was a goodbye to the series but not a goodbye from each other. We still keep in contact. Mainly through WhatsApp.

E: Yeah, the end of the series was beautiful. I sat next to my girlfriend when it just came online. Because there were a few scenes that we hadn’t seen yet and we were just watching them… And we refreshed and the last episode was online… The last piece was online… So, I thought… I really cried… It caused quite some emotions.

W: For many people… Also under the cast and even the extras that were present for that last scene… Even among them. I can remember that they got emotional because it really was over over. I think that we, WTFOCK, have been able to impact a lot of young people in Belgium. So, it’s beautiful… We closed it beautifully…

E: I don’t doubt that. I really liked the end. What is your favorite memory from your whole WTFOCK experience?

W: Hoh, hmmm. Do I have to choose one? Difficult to choose one… I think that the most enjoyable moments… At the end of each series… Almost… We were at the sea or in the Ardennes, as a group, for a vacation. Away together. And those moments… Away with the whole cast and crew… Being away for a whole weekend. And in the evening, talking late into the night and that creates a special connection and I think that, in general, was the most enjoyable… Yes, it affects me… You share, as a young person, a common dream or something we want to realize as an actor to succeed and everyone who works so hard for that… That’s nice to see.

E: I recently talked to Veerle and I know that if she sees Nora, like somewhere, say at a party… Then they stay together for the whole evening… Do you have that? With who did you have the best connection throughout that whole experience?

W: Yes…

E: That doesn’t mean that the rest is not chill or so…

W: No the rest is all stupid… There’s only one person… I hate you all! (joking) No! Yes, hmmm, I think that I definitely have the best connection with Willem. Just because we have been through a lot… I always compare the WTFOCK crew a bit to my own friend group, aside from the cast. I mean, I know to whom I can go for what. I know I can go to some if I feel sad, to talk and I know who I can go to to have a laugh. And who I can go to to have a general chat. And everyone has their qualities or like their own aura around them… Where I love to hang around. So, it differs from person to person. So, it’s hard to choose one person but Willem then in the sense that, if you jump naked together in a swimming pool and if you have intimate scenes together… That creates a connection, of course. So, yes, if I have to choose one person…

E: Is there a barrier that you have to overcome to play such scenes? Because they are very intimate, indeed. And I, personally, couldn’t imagine… I can’t act… But, to empathize with a role… To play such scenes… Is that difficult for you?

W: Huh, yes, that’s a question I get often. I mean like… Yeah and you have to empathize with that character… But yes, you step into that project with a certain professionalism and you say “okay, we are going to create a story and bring it to the public with certain values and that we want to tell something and show something” …So, yes, you don’t really think about it. So, it’s not like I thought “Ooooo, I am kissing with a boy but I am interested in girls”. That was not a problem for me because it really is about telling the story and making that together and if the story requires that then you just completely go for it.

E: That’s cool. What are your future acting ambitions? You now have played in a series, is that something you want to do more in the future or do you like theatre more or movie or…

W: I find it difficult to choose between theatre and film, for example. After WTFOCK I played in Déjà Vu, which you can see on Streamz and later this year on Channel 4… And I study theatre at KASK. And I notice the difference, due to the recordings, I am really in the field and I am busy and I work, while at school I learn new things about theatre… So, in my opinion I have more experience in television work because I actually have done projects for that and I haven’t yet for theatre, which is still school and learning. So, I think it’s currently hard to choose but I think, maybe it’s a cliché answer, but the combination is maybe ideal, of course. But I am still exploring and I will see how it goes…

7:02

E: What is your favorite food?

W: My favorite food?

E: Yes.

W: Hmmmm, in the past I was really a basic guy… Like spaghetti bolognese or so… But now, generally after my exams, I go to a restaurant with my grandma. She always buys. That’s always amazing. I am a fan. And I always take steak tartare with fries. That remains a bit of a guilty pleasure.

E: How long, do you think, would it take you to eat five full plates of spaghetti bolognese?

W: Hoh, hmmm. The thing is, my stomach is rather small…

E: Small?

W: I think that I would have to schedule in… Okay, after a certain time I would have to throw up and then eating further…

E: You’re allowed to take a break. You’re allowed to say… Okay, I take a few days…

W: No, no, not that…

E: You’re going to do it in a day?

W: Look, two plates… Three if I really push…

E: You get preparation time so you know like a week before… So, you can like…

W: Train yourself?

E: Yes, train…

W: Hoh, alee say about four hours…

E: Four hours?! Five plates, he? Like five really big plates…

W: Yeah but yeah, four minutes… I am exaggerating… Let’s say a day… In a day five plates…

E: Ok, that should work. Then you basically have every meal… Breakfast… Lunch… Dinner… and in between… pasta…

W: Pasta as breakfast…

E: One day should definitely be feasible.

W: Yes, indeed.

8:49

E: What is, according to you, the reason you were placed on this planet?

W: Fuck (laughs).

E: Existential crisis, okay? Have you never thought about what the purpose of life is and what…

W: Yes, certainly… Hmmm, I'm someone who worries a lot. When I'm in bed in the evening I start to think about questions like that and then I think “what am I doing? Willem… where do I want to go to and…” Hmmm, why was I put on this planet? Hmmmm… (speechless followed by laughing). This is really bad… It’s like I don’t value myself…

E: Noooo, but I didn’t expect a deep philosophical answer. Well, if you had one… really good but…

W: Okay I’m going to think about my philosophical answer… but no. If you want… No! Yes, now I'm really going to sound philosophical but… (crosstalk) Everyone who is on earth has a certain reason to be here and everyone… I for example have that… I really feel that… I never liked going to school. Especially, in lower and high school. I… I actually, on purpose, put my fingers in my throat in the morning to throw up…

E: Wow, that’s heavy…

W: And then going downstairs to say “papa I’m ill, can I stay home?” I don’t know why but that whole system… Sitting behind a desk all day… And those classes… that was not for me. And then I discovered my passion for acting and discovered that it really suited me. And that’s the thing… A lot of people often ask me like “how did you start?” and “I also would like to do that and where do I start and I have been rejected does that mean I am not good enough?” but I think that sometimes you shouldn’t rush to find your passion. It can take longer then you would like it to take. I think that if you too intensively search for "what am I good at?" and “I have to find something that I am good at” and… For me that’s happened unexpectedly. I did take acting classes on Wednesday afternoons after school and I kind of got into it like that… I think it differs for everyone and that everyone has their own purpose here on earth.

E: And would you say your purpose is acting?

W: Yeah…

E: There isn’t a right answer but how does it feel for you at the moment? Is that the thing you love doing the most or do you see yourself doing for a long time?

W: The thing is… I’m a person who gets tired of things very quickly. I’ve had a lot of hobbies.

E: So maybe next week you want to garden or something?

W: No, no I wouldn’t say that. No the thing is, with acting that isn’t the case. Since I was twelve… well first on amateur level…

E: How old are you now?

W: 19.

E: Oh wow I thought you were my age. 19… damn bro you’re three years younger than me.

W: 2001 represent.

E: That’s literally… you’re the same age as my brother! What the shit. Alright, no okay.

W: In November so almost 2002. I’m really a latecomer.

E: What?! You look like you’re the same age as me and everything.

12:14

W: But that’s honestly – thank you for saying that! I always used to be the “little guy.” None of the girls wanted to be with me cause they just thought I was cute.

E: I see.

W: And they came to me to talk about their love lives.

E: Oh, okay.

W: So I was always that guy who was like: “I’m in love with you.” “Oh, how cute! You’re so cute!” So I was always like: “Okay then, I’m never going to find anyone, I’m always going to stay… short. I’ll be all alone.” And then all of a sudden I –

E: Do you think height matters in regard to your chances with certain… people?

W: At this age I don’t think it does anymore, but I do think that – I think at – I just remember in high school that the romantic idea of what love was supposed to look like was very: a boy and a girl, and the boy has to be taller and stronger and bigger than the girl. But I think that now it’s more… I mean, at my age I’m convinced it’s more fluid than that, and it doesn’t have to be that way. So it doesn’t have to be an issue anymore.

E: But still, when you go on Twitter, short guys are still –

W: Yeah.

E: Totally annihilated.

W: I have notice – I have noticed – Yeah, it’s still… It’s still this… general thing that people get stuck on. Like: “Oh, a short dude. That’s not okay.” Or whatever.

E: Or like the guy has to be taller. But no, we’re – we’re – not… not all relationships… we’re really generalizing here. But I get what you mean.

W: Yeah.

E: No, it’s – I do think it’s still important. I think that when you’re, and this is really harsh, but that a lot of people look at you differently when you’re taller. I have this dude in my friend group, Louis Ledegen, and he’s close to 2 meters tall, and just some girls look at him and they just think that’s so… attractive or whatever. And I just can’t even imagine.

W: I don’t get that either.

E: That that makes them go like: “Wow!”

W: I was in the train just now and this dude walked by me and he was honestly like 2 meters tall and I was just thinking: “When you’re that tall, and you’re with…” I mean, the girl almost has to get on a stepping stool to reach him for a kiss! And girls are like – I mean, I’ve heard before that girls think it’s attractive when a man is really tall.

E: Yeah.

W: And yeah, I don’t know… I don’t totally get it.

E: No.

W: Maybe it’s cause I’m not that tall myself, that I’m like trying to protect myself and be all: “That’s not necessary!”

E: Yeah! If anybody knows the answer, do we, being shorter guys, have less of a chance?

W: Let us know, please.

14:53

E: Please let us know! We need some answers! Now in the show, wtFOCK, your hair’s a different color.

W: Yeah.

E: Yeah. Is that something… So that was actually – it wasn’t really blonde?

W: It was completely bleached.

E: Bleached.

W: It was more to the… But the thing is that they had to do it twice, cause the first time… I got there, for the first table read with the director and Willem [Herbots] and they were like: “Hey, Willem. We wanted to ask you something. We’d like to bleach your hair for the role.”

E: Yeah.

W: And I was like: “… Okay.”

E: Okay.

W: “And why?” No. “Just for the character and stuff.” So I was like: “Okay. That’s fine.” The thing is I had to be at the hairdresser for 4 hours for this.

E: Oh wow, heavy.

W: It was like this and this product, and it had to sit for a long time. It had to be bleached all over. And I got out of there the first time and I was completely yellow – but yellow like an egg.

E: Oh, shit!

W: And I… My mom dropped me off, and I texted her: “I’m done, will you come get me?” And I saw my mom approach and she just passed me by.

E: Oh wow.

W: She didn’t – she almost didn’t recognize me anymore. Like halfway - she was like – and then she was like: “Oh! Willem!” Like she hadn’t seen –

E: Oh shit.

W: That it was me. That I looked completely different. And then I arrived for another table read and Tom [Goris – director] was like: “Yeah… We’re not gonna go this route… This is too yellow.” So then I spent another 4 hours at the hairdresser. After that I had to be there for four hours almost every month. I did think it was cool to have bleached hair, but… You have to be at the hairdresser for so long, so that really wasn’t… my thing. I mean, I had some really cool moments with Mitch [Fabry – hair & make up wtFOCK]. Thanks, Mitch.

E: Would you ever dye your hair again?

W: Uhm.

E: Maybe another color?

W: Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m quite happy with my hair color, actually, I don’t know.

E: Alright.

W: Now it’s also like… Everyone always asks me: “So this is your natural hair color?”

E: Yeah.

W: And then I have to tell them: “Yeah.” And it’s like: “Oh, okay!” It’s this switch. But no, I’m happy with my hair. It’s fine.

17:03

E: I can also tell that you’ve got an earring? You can’t really tell on camera, but –

W: I’ll come a little closer [to the camera]. Yeah, I only got it recently, four weeks or something.

E: Yeah. Was it an impulsive, drunken decision, or something you wanted… for some time?

W: I’ve wanted it for a long time, but I was a little anxious about it like: “It’s not gonna look good on me,” and then after a while, a couple of months ago, I was like: “Fuck it, I’m just gonna do it.” And if it didn’t look good I could still just take it out, so it doesn’t really matter. But all in all I was pretty happy with it. My father, my parents – my mom: “Oh, so nice!!” And it was like – at first they give you a stud and then after four weeks you can change it to a hoop. And I really wanted a hoop, and I even asked the people in the (piercing) shop: “Can’t I please just get a hoop straight away?” And they were like: “No, sorry, it doesn’t work like that. For hygiene reasons that’s not okay.”

E: Okay.

W: But okay, so I had to wait four weeks and then eventually I could change it to the golden hoop. So I get home and the first thing my father said was: “Wow, you look like a douchebag.” That was the first thing out of his mouth, that I looked like a douchebag.

E: Is that the look you were going for?

W: No, not at all! Not at all!

E: I think it looks cool.

W: Thanks.

E: Cause a little while ago I wanted one, and so I put on my girlfriend’s earring – because even if your ear isn’t pierced it sticks a little ��

W: Yeah.

E: And so I just put it on there for a day or something, and then I was like: “Okay, that’s quite enough.” I don’t know if I’d want it for longer than that. Recently I’ve been getting into rings and stuff though.

W: I wore rings for a long time, but I don’t have any anymore. I actually want – I like them too. But I have to –

18:47

E: If I’d known, I would’ve brought you a gift!

W: Go shopping. Goddamn!

E: I did bring you another gift though!

W: Another gift? Oei oei oei, gifts!

E: This is something I do every week,  I give my guest of the week something.

W: Oei oei oei. 

E: It’s just…

W: Do I just slide it –

E: There’s a little hatch over here, that you have to lift, and then you can just lift it like that. There we go.

W: There we go.

E: White hairspray.

W: If I’d want to go back to – there we have it. Too good.

E: It can be washed out really easily as well. So this way you don’t have to be at the hairdresser for like four hours. And then when you’re sick of it, you can just get rid of it again!

W: That was the thing… Thank you, by the way.

E: You’re very welcome.

W: Now I can go back – Now I can go back to my past life. No, that was the thing as well. People who – people who - after wtFOCK came online, people really recognized me with the white hair. I mean, it’s pretty noticeable, when I’m walking through Ghent station – if someone with bleached hair. I mean, if you watch the show, I can imagine that when you see someone with bleached hair, you immediately connect the two and think: “Oh, that could be him.” And then you run in to some people who ask for pictures. After that my hair was really short, cause the people from Déja-Vu were like: “We’re not gonna do this, just go back to your natural hair color.” So I cut it all off, and there was this time where… nobody came to talk to me anymore. I was able to just be myself again. It was as if – looking back on it, it was actually really nice that for wtFOCK I was able to completely get into a different character with different hair. And the first time I got rid of the hair I really noticed that was no longer being associated with the character.

E: Hannah Montana vibes! Your hair changes color and nobody knows who you are anymore.

W: “Who are you?”

E: “Who the fuck are you?!”

W: “Does anybody want to take pictures with me? It’s me! It’s me! I swear!”

E: “I’m that dude from wtFOCK! I’m that dude from wtFOCK!”

W: So if people don’t recognize me anymore I can just… *pshhht* in the morning.

E: Exactly! If you want to take some more pictures, you can just…

W: No, no. That’s fine. No, yeah.

E: It’s kind of crazy, actually. Because, honestly? The very first time I saw a flash of you, with this hair color, I also thought: “I recognize you from somewhere…” But I think I’d already gotten in contact with you through social [media] and I didn’t put two and two together that you…

W: Yeah.

E: “Aaah!”

W: “Aaah! You’re that guy!”

E: Yeah, so…

W: But that’s the whole thing. If someone recognizes me, which doesn’t happen that often by the way, it’s always – I think it’s funny to be like: “No, that’s not me.”

E: No.

W: People really start doubting themselves, it’s very: “Uhm, can I ask you a question? Are you that guy from wtFock?” “Me? No.”

E: “No!”

W: “That’s not me.” And people will often be like: “Oh? What? But I recognize you…” That doubt on their faces is pretty funny but yeah, then I tell them it’s me.

E: Just the reaction of someone being like: “Huh, do I know you from somewhere?” “Do you watch porn?”

W: The confrontation.

E: “Oh… qmdkjg.” And it’d be even better if the parents were right there as well. “Argh!”

W: “Yes, Jürgen, care to explain yourself, young man?”

E: No, it’s just funny to joke about. But you’ve never – Do you just get: “Hey, are you that guy from wtFOCK?” Or have people also asked you: “Do I know you from somewhere?” Or: “What do I know you from?”

W: Yeah, it depends. The thing is – I go to school in Ghent and when the [popular place where college students go out] was still open before Covid-19, not that I went there often because I didn’t really like it there –

E: No.

W: - in the sense that the combination of young people who –

E: Watch wtFOCK.

W: - watch wtFOCK and alcohol – and people who’ve had alcohol to drink –

E: And are horny?

W: - their limits or boundaries are just gone. “Oh my god!!! You’re that dude from wtFOCK!! Can I kiss you??” Things like that!

E: Oh, fuck!

W: And I was really like: “Okay…?” I’m just a regular dude and I’m trying – and I actually thought it was less annoying for myself, but I thought it was more disruptive for my friends. Like even when we were just walking down the street, we got recognized a couple of times, and I was just like: I just want to have fun with my friends, and not have to spend too much time thinking. That’s another thing I was subconsciously thinking about. Imagine I drink way too much.

E: Yeah.

W: And I end up in the gutter somewhere, and people start filming that… So yeah, that made… So because of that I spent more time in friends’ dorm rooms just having dorm parties.

E: And since your bleached hair is gone, have you gone to a party?

W: When my bleached hair was gone corona was already a thing so I haven’t been able to enjoy it. But it’s starting to come back [the parties] so that’s nice. I’m looking forward to… tomorrow I’m going-

E: Are you going as well?

W: Are you going to Plein Air by Fuse?

E: Tomorrow I’m going to Jaimie Lee who-

W: …Is going to DJ at three festivals.

E: Yeah at three festivals and I will be backstage I guess.

W: Okay.

E: One of those festivals?

W: Yeah I don’t know. I have tickets for Fuse Open Air in Brussels.

24:19

E: I honestly have no idea where I’m going. Anyway, I’m excited. And I always asked, what’s the first event you went to ever since it’s allowed? Did you go to We Can Dance festival?

W: No I was studying.

E: Was today your last exam or yesterday?

W: Yesterday was my last exam in the morning. I was stressing so much, because I thought I would fail, but eventually I think it went relatively well. If you’re watching professors, let me pass please. No I think it went well.

E: Are you someone who is stress resistant?

W: Uhh no.

E: No?

W: I let it take over my body.

E: You get physically unwell?

W: I will be laying in bed and I’m tossing and turning and sweating. And I think about how I’m not gonna pass tomorrow. And the combination with my worries is really not good. It makes me stay up really late. The thing is with stress resistant, I for example made my own play at high school about a kid with divorced parents for my final work and the whole audience was filled with my family and my parents. That’s pretty confronting to tell a story that’s also a little bit of their life and is pretty personal. I’m always stressed for things like that. Then it’s weird – from the first word I spoke I had a lot of stress and worries and the first sentence that I said was something like “I don’t know what to do”, and then it’s all of a sudden poofff. The train has left.

E: You said you didn’t really know what to do now.

W: That’s the first sentence of the text that I wrote and the moment I said that sentence I thought in my head “the train has left, there’s no way back now” and then the stress disappears automatically. But before the final rehearsal there was a moment that I was moving around heavily and I was throwing with chairs. And afterwards I had to pack moving boxes, which was okay. But from moving around and the combination of stress it made me almost gag in the box from the stress so I almost puked. So at these moments it gets pretty heavy.

E: Did other people notice or were you hiding it?

W: Yeah the final rehearsal was luckily not with an audience, but my teachers were like “Everything alright?” and I was like “Yeah I’m good. It’s a bit much”. But when it comes to stress, a lot of people always say – I’m even a little stressed right now actually.

E: Really?

W: Podcasts, oh no no.

E: Oh shit. You have to be (stressed)

W: A lot of pressure on my shoulder here. No, but a lot of people say that it doesn’t look like that I’m stressed even though I really am dying from all the stress.

E: Only now you can hide it really well. You should become an actor.

W: A lot of people have said that to me often, but it’s not my interest. Also not much work in the field.

E: That too, fuck. Are you someone who constantly pretends like you’re okay?

W: Yes.

E: Even when you have a lot of shit going on in your head and you’re processing other things?

W: I'm one person. One person?

E: "I'm one person" [laughs]

W: I am one person. No, but I'm someone who often keeps their stuff to themselves, so that I can listen to what others need.

28:15

E: That was my next question. You listen more to other people’s problems and you’re the person people come to with their problems?

W: I think, at least I hope, that a lot of my friends do know that they can always come to me for a talk or a phone call. I'm someone that will shove away their happiness for someone else, which isn’t always positive of course.

E: It is a beautiful characteristic, but it shouldn’t take over indeed.

W: In the past it has happened that I was falling apart, but I kept pushing it away, because I wanted to take care of someone else. I noticed this a lot during the divorce of my parents. My parents had a hard time with the divorce and I remember that I came home as a little boy and I saw my mom sitting and I felt the duty to comfort her and to be there for her, even though I was 8 or 9 years old. That’s not something you expect to do or think from an 8 year old. It really broke me and now I can openly speak about it, because I have had enough conversations with my parents about it, about how it was for me. And I made a play about it, as I told earlier, so it’s been a whole process and that has scarred me till at least my 16th. My parents got divorced when I was 5 or 6 years old. It took me a long time to open up because of that. I notice it a lot in previous relationships, that I walk away from fights, because I would find the confrontation too heavy to get into a fight and to discuss. The divorce and fights with my parents scarred me so hard that I didn’t want that again. I wanted everything to be rainbow and sunshine, but life doesn’t work like that. And that was partly a misconception from me, that I thought that a relationship had to be perfect, if there is a fight, then it’s not going well. Now I realize that fights are part of a relationship. And also part of steps you take into accepting each other, listening to each other and understanding each other. It’s needed for a stronger connection. You can’t, well you can, but in my eyes you can’t be with someone for a long time without ever having had a conflict. Even if it’s a discussion, because then you’re adapting too much to the other, and then you say okay, I’m adapting to the demands of her and I suppress my own things or things I want to do, only to avoid the discussion, and that’s something I learned. And that’s how everyone learns their own things along the way.

E: You still see it in the youth, those romantic movies, where everyone is so in love and it always ends with a kiss or something and it’s always good and then you think, this must be the case in real life. Why can’t I find Gabriella Montez for my Troy Bolton. Even though that was a shitty relationship too, they were constantly fighting. No, but that gives a wrong image about relationships and for other things because of movies. And the reality is just different.

32:16

W: Yes. I recently for the first time -this is kinda embarrassing because it’s a must see- watched The Notebook.

E: Me too! What did you think?

W: It has been a few weeks ago. Or a few weeks, maybe 3 or something.

E: I watched it last weekend.

W: I almost cried.

E: Really?

W: I’m a really emotional person. I can really cry. I can really get lost in a movie. “No not the puppy, why?!” Those things, where I think "Willem, act normal". But no it was a beautiful movie.

E: Yeah I have a different opinion, because I just fell asleep. I fell asleep, because it all went so slow, it started so slow. I didn’t even watch the kiss in the rain scene.

W: The moment. It’s in literally every romantic movie. In the rain, it happens everywhere.

Ender: Yeah mate, it’s such a cliché actually, but yeah.

W: I bet you that they’re just standing there with a garden hose.

E: Definitely.

W: It can’t be that they’re waiting, “is it gonna rain today? We need to do that scene now”.

33:27

E: Checking the rain alarm while everyone is inside. There are definitely sprinklers there. It’s in a lot of romantic movies. Now that we’re talking about it, the filming you did with wtFock, you sometimes had scenes outside. Here we have those (light) spots, I assume that you don’t carry them outside. How do you guys do that?

W: Sometimes we do have spots outside, but as long as the light from the sun is okay – with a binocular (telescope), well it’s not a binocular, it’s a round thing you can look through and with it they can determine the brightness of the sun and if the sun is too bright for the lightning they need, then it gets shielded, the same that is in front of your lamps. With that they can dim the lights. Or when there is not enough they use isomo plates, that’s really weird. Sometimes there are really intimate scenes in a series where it looks like it’s really close to the skin of the actors. There is a camera with a plate on it and a stick for the sound above it, it sometimes made it really hard for me to focus, because everyone is sitting there and the director and I’m like “yeah, okay okay”. So it takes a lot to get it all professional.

E: Was there a crazy moment where you forgot your lines? That you’re laying in bed and you’re like “which sentence do I have to say now?”

W: Yeah we’ve definitely had a lot of bloopers. Yeah forgetting lines or.. the thing is, as long as the director doesn’t say cut, you have to keep going. It’s a matter of "how do I improvise myself around this scene to get to the point we actually have to get to", because you have a scene and you have your lines, but if you forget something, then you do know the main lines of where the scene has to go to. You know the scene will end in a kiss or something and these subjects will be spoken about in the conversation, so when you forget your lines, you try to work your way through it as best as possible. And when the director says it wasn’t good, then we’ll do it again. I’ve had a lot of moments where I forgot my lines and I was laying in bed with Willem and we would look at each other and we’d know that I had to say something, but I was stuck, so there would be a 10 seconds silence, hoping for them to say cut. Yeah so those kinds of moments a lot or moments where I… I also had that with Déjà Vu. I remember… by the way it was amazing to work together with such big names as Natali Broods and Koen De Graeve. And Koen, lovely person, was kind of the father figure on set and we had a scene, next to the bed, a quite emotional scene. And the camera was focused on me, close up on my face. And I still remember that, the sound was going, everything, and Koen had just told a joke, or made a face that made me laugh. So, I had to laugh really hard, but I had to act very sad. It was an intense scene of goodbyes. All the time, starting to laugh about everything. I still remember for wtFock we made a video with bloopers and those are very fun to watch back.

37:03

E: Are those bloopers ever published somewhere online?

W: I don’t think so.

E: I think if you’d be able to release them somewhere that a lot of people would be interested in them.

W: Yes, yes. I don’t know why, indeed. The fans would be happy with those.

E: I think a lot of people- because we were just talking about your biggest fan.

W: My biggest-

E: Your grandma.

W: My grandma, yes. Big shout out to my grandma.

E: Do you think she’s watching right now?

W: She’ll definitely watch, I hope so.

E: What’s your grandma’s name?

W: Micheline.

E: Micheline, thank you very much for watching Micheline.

W: Micheline.

E: I appreciate it.

W: Women in power. She deserves a special place. No really, she follows all the fan accounts of wtFock. And then sometimes, or very often, we call and she gives me an update of what’s being said on the internet. Or yes, I also remember, when scenes come out and there’s things being said and she’s like "Willem, is that true, what are they saying?" And I say "Grandma, it’s nothing, it’s all from the show." "Ah okay, okay." So yes, very sweet grandma. She’s like the grandma where everything was allowed. I think that’s the same for everyone. At home, there are a lot of rules, and then you got to sleepover at your grandma’s and it was like: "Oh, I get to stay up later, and she made pudding for me." Her vanilla pudding-

E: That good?

W: Grandma, if you’re seeing this, please make some vanilla pudding when I visit.

E: Dude, everything’s falling out of my pocket.

W: You’re letting everything fall out of your pocket? Maybe you need to buy another pair of pants.

E: The chair is too comfortable that I’m kind of sinking in it, and now I constantly get-

W: The conversation’s too comfortable-

E: It’s just my phone, it’s vibrating, I think it just vibrated out of my pocket. So, silent, great. Eh, what were we talking about? About your grandma.

W: About my grandma.

38:46

E: Now, totally different subject. If you were a fish, what color fish would you be?

W: A fish?

E: Which color do you identify most with?

W: Eh.

E: And you’re a fish too of course.

W: Identify with which color. The thing is, I’m in the scouts. And in the Jins, that’s the last year before you become a leader, we were given a color totem, and the whole group decided on a color that fits you.

E: All right.

W: And mine was mango orange.

E: Wow, that’s cool.

W: Yeah, I thought it was cool too. And it means, if I have to think back, mango has quite a hard peel, relatively, but the fruit itself is quite soft. And that refers to my personality. I’m someone that lets people in fast, around me, but in the beginning, suspicion is a little strong, but kind of like, testing. Let’s say that. But once- From the outside I might look a bit hard. A lot of people say that when I have my straight face-

E: Resting bitch face.

W: That I’m angry. I was once told on the subway by a dude, and I was just listening to music, staring in the distance, and I think, suddenly a dude comes up to me, in French: "C’est quoi ton problème, heh, tu regardes come ça, c’est quoi ton problème." And I was like: "I’m sorry". Apparently, I was looking in his direction with my-

E: Bitch face.

W: Bitch face. He must have thought I was looking for problems. So yeah, that’s why the mango, a little hard on the outside, but once you get to know me better, a soft, sweet boy. So that’s why, orange. So, an orange fish then.

E: A little bit of Nemo vibes.

W: Yes, Nemo then. But let’s, what’s that theory. Did you hear that?

E: Theory?

W: About Nemo.

E: What’s the theory?

W: Haven’t you heard that? I keep seeing that online. I’m having a crisis. So the thing is, your childhood will get ruined.

E: Fuck man.

W: The thing is-

E: But there really are, no keep going, I have something I want to say afterwards.

W: The thing is, I’ve heard, that Nemo is Latin for nobody, and that the father is imagining that he still has an egg left, but that that fish doesn’t actually exist.

E: Oh fuck.

W: And that Dory joins him, and he sees, we’re actually not looking for anyone, but because he has memory issues, he constantly forgets that they’re not looking for anyone. So, they’re actually looking for nobody. And I saw that online and I was like.

E: Damn, so all the eggs are eaten, but he imagines that someone still has to be there.

W: Yes, something to keep living for.

E: Fuck man, that’s very brutal. That’s very fucked up.

W: Sorry to everyone for who Nemo is ruined now.

E: There’s a similar theory about Phineas and Ferb, and then Candice, their sister, is based on a true story about a girl that lost her brothers and still imagines that they're still doing stuff in the garden. And she keeps telling her mom: "Look, look, they are still here, they’re doing that." And that the mom says: "They’re not there." And that’s why she can never see that. You get it? Brutal right?

W: My whole childhood is ruined. Fucking hell.

E: That’s going to be the title of this podcast.

W: Childhood ruined.

E: We’re ruining your childhood.

42:17

W: We’re ruining your childhood. No but that’s good because, thankfully, I have a half-sister, but I say sister because I think half-sister is an ugly word, of seven years old. She thinks she’s 16. She’s a real diva.

E: Oh wow, okay.

W: She’s very, I’ll tell you a story later, but the thing is, I experience all those things with her again. In the beginning it was like, turning the tv on, Bumba, again. And I could secretly watch with her without feeling guilty. I was like, I’m watching Bumba and secretly I’m enjoying it, but sssh, I’m just watching it with my sister.

E: That exactly.

W: And now it’s Ketnet, like Hoodie, those series that she’s watching. And yes, I notice that because of all the technology today, she has an iPad, she’s on YouTube, she’s watching those self-made crafts.

E: 7 years old?

W: 7 years old, yes.

E: Wow.

W: She watches those- where people are playing with Barbies and they make a little play with them online on YouTube and they do stuff. Yes, a tablet. She has an iPad that’s bigger than her head. That makes me think- well, an iPad is usually bigger than everyone’s head. Or well, almost.

E: Not if you have a mini of course.

W: Her head isn’t that big.

E: Okay.

W: She’s on it a lot though. But she’s a real diva. I think the best story I have, there’s multiple. I remember the story, we were sitting at the table and she was having another moment of "I’m the princess, and everyone can leave because I do what I want and fuck you all". But the thing is, there’s five kids at home. I have a brother and two stepbrothers. So, she has four brothers, and she knows very well that she has four brothers. And that makes her feel even more like she’s the princess at home. So, we were sitting at the table. And she kept staring at my dad like this while throwing her cutlery on the ground. Like "what are you going to do". And my dad was like: "Liv," because her name is Liv by the way, "stop that."

E: That wasn’t nice of Liv. (Liv sounds the same as lief which means nice in Dutch.)

W: No. Not nice of-

E: Haha. Sorry.

W: Badam pam ts. Can’t we put that under here. Yes.

E: No, sorry, keep going.

W: So, he was like: "Liv, stop that, stop that." He started to get annoyed, because she kept going. "Liv, what is so hard to understand about no." And then it got silent at the table so I thought, okay, it’s done. The o.

E: Oh wow.

W: 7 years old and she drops that.

E: Oh wow.

W: And I thought, okay.

E: Damn bro.

W: The o. That she even dares to say that. Yeah, and she has those moments. She was sitting at the table, with her mask on, eating. So, she pulled her mask down to eat, and then she was chewing with her mask on. And then I asked: "Liv, why are you wearing your mask?" "Yes, you came back from Ghent, you’re not in my bubble."

E: Okay, okay.

W: So, then I said: "Okay, that’s fine." It’s crazy how that goes around among young children. Because my sister came back home from school crying once. And I asked her: ‘Liv, what’s wrong?’ "Yes, my friends didn’t let me play with them." So, I was like: "Why?" "Margot says I’m not allowed in her bubble."

E: Oh wow.

W: See, that’s becoming the new- we played with Pokémon cards on the playground and now it’s about playing games in bubbles because it’s so-

E: Damn.

W: Yes, you’re only allowed to have four people in your bubble so we don’t play with more than four.

E: Oh wow.

W: So I found that kind of crazy, or confronting that it made me think like, even at such a young age it has an impact. And I know that the-

E: That it leaves an impression.

W: Yes, and I know that my dad-

E: It’s sad that children have to think about it.

W: Yes, exactly.

E: Well, it’s not that- everyone should think about it of course.

W: Yes, yes, of course. It’s also that I know the way my dad feels about raising, that he tells Liv straight up about things that are happening in the world. He doesn’t make things seem nicer, or saying, eh, yes, no, but that’s- The classic story of how babies are made, with the cauliflowers, and what not.

E: I also just think-

W: How am I going to explain that to my kids?

E: If you don’t make it a taboo to start with, is it that bad? It’s just- it’s just. Oh well, that’s a whole other conversation.

W: Yes, no, definitely.

E: But straight up just telling what’s going on to your kids. I think I would prefer that to making up a story about the flowers and the bees.

W: Yes, yes.

E: Because the story about the flowers and the bees, I don’t even know how you actually- pollinating and stuff, is that what that means?

W: You do it like this, pollinating.

E: Yes, no, exactly.

W: Yes, but well, children, that’s still a long time from now.

E: Do you want kids, you think, later?

W: Yes, please.

E: Do you think you would be a good father?

W: I hope I would be a good father. Despite my parents’ divorce, I really do… I do look up to my parents. I’m proud of the way they raised me. So yeah if I would be a good father… sometimes, but maybe that’s the age, kids frustrate me. I’m a leader in the scouts for the Welpen and Welpen -great guys- but they can also be annoying and say “I’m not participating” and “that’s a stupid game, can we do something else?” and I’m like “we invest so much time in this and so much preparation, please participate” so sometimes that bothers me. But I would prefer not to have just one (child). Certainly more than one because… are you an only child?

E: No I have a little brother.

W: Yeah only child… with all due respect to people who are only children but sometimes I think… for example, I’m very happy that I have a brother. Not that it wouldn’t be fun without a brother per se, but I don’t know, the contact I have with my brother is nice.

E: The thing is, you don’t know what you’re missing so it’s hard to miss it I guess. But I do think that my brother has been a great added value to my life.

W: Yeah, yeah.

E: In the same way, I never really had grandparents. They all died before I was born and the grandfather I did have was quite old when I was actually aware that I had a grandfather. So I’ve never really had the grandparents experience that you see with family gatherings and stuff. But I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything but I still know how much other people benefit from having grandparents. Also what you just said about how often you call each other and stuff. I think that’s the same with being an only child. If you don’t have any brothers or sisters, you don’t know what it’s like to have that, what you’re missing. But if you do have it, it’s an added value I think.

W: Yes, exactly. No that’s true. My brother is very helpful to me now. I know that I can count on him.

E: Older or younger by the way?

W: Older.

E: A lot older?

W: 21.

E: 21.

W: Oh boy I had to think about how old my brother is. Embarrassing. Love you man. No but we had - maybe you had that too – but when we were younger, we really fought.

E: Physical?

W: Real fighting. Yeah, it’s has now gotten much better. I think we understand each other a lot better, but it used to be real… we had Catch WW on the Wii and we reenacted that on the couch so that was… “In the right corner Ramy Stereo” and we were bare-chested and both had one boxing glove on and fighting each other until one of us cried, bled or gave up. Usually it was me.

E: That’s just the fate of the little brother.

W: I always went… I’ve never admitted that actually, [whispers] it’s a confession. I’ve never admitted it, but afterwards I always went to my parents and cried “Kwinten hurt me”.

E: That’s really… that’s the moment, you feel it coming and you think “ah fuck no, if I hit again it’s probably over but I want to…” [cross-talk] “no no no don’t tell mom! Don’t tell mom!” I think I was a pretty nice big brother. We often did shit together. We were at home playing on the couch together and Olaf bumps into a large box that was standing there and the box, bigger than Olaf back then, fell down on his hand.

W: Oh shit.

E: So Olaf broke his hand. And I thought “I made him jump over those chairs” and then you have to say “sorry sorry don’t tell them, don’t tell them!” but yeah if your hand is fucking broken, you’re not gonna stop crying because your big brother says “don’t cry”. Yeah, that are…

W: Yes, but the relationship [between Willem and his brother] has improved. Okay we still have our discussions but... I think moments like when we’ve both been to a pub or something and we come home at the same time and we’re always hungry and standing in the kitchen making sandwiches. Those are great moments. I don’t necessarily need to have emotionally heavy of deep conversations with my brother to know that he’s there and that I can have a good time with him. So I think that’s the added value of having a brother or brothers in general.

E: Do you guys also have a specific sense of humor? Or like those moments when the two of you are laughing and your parents or people around you think “what the fuck is going on?”

W: Yeah we speak some slang to each other for fun. Like “stu stu” and [my slang knowledge is very limited so I have no idea what he’s saying here lol], those kinds of things. Typical slang from Brussels and Leuven. It’s funny because my parents are always like “why are you talking to each other like that?” and recently, I was leaving and my mom said “stu stu!” so they are adopting those words and then my brother and I can’t stop laughing.

E: Also if your mom suddenly says “are we going to chill later?” and I’m like [laughing] “what? Mom!”

W: “Okay??”

E: It’s kind of cute. Yeah it’s fun. And what are… I almost want to go deep like…

W: That’s okay.

E: Is there a particular interaction or experience you’ve had with your brother that sums up your relationship right now? Or are those the moments when you’re laughing and eating at night? It doesn’t have to be a super deep or emotional moment.

W: I think it’s an accumulation of those moments and emotional moments too. For example, after it was over with my ex. I was really down back then, it hit me pretty hard. Those are the moments when I can walk into my brother’s room in the middle of the night and he’s there for me. I know that dude is always going to be there when something’s wrong, no matter how much we argue or how much we shit at each other. I just know, and I hope he does too, that I can call him 24/7, walk into his room 24/7 and he will be there or ready to listen. I think that’s just something… the fact that we know that about each other, that creates that bond. And the thing is, if only he would do his best and go to work, earn real money… because we went on holiday together and he still hasn’t… he still has some work to do but we’ve already planned something. I’m really looking forward to it. We’re planning to go surfing in Portugal together. Those are moments I just know I can go somewhere with him and have the time of my life without-

E: …That you can remember for the rest of your life what you did together.

W: Yeah, absolutely. Those moments that I want to cherish or want to keep or experience.

E: My little brother is also just the most annoying dude on this planet who I love the most.

W: Exactly that combination. Annoying, but you love them.

E: Of course. The cameras are back on. That means we’ve been at it for over 50 minutes.

W: 50 minutes? It feels like we’re chatting for 20 minutes.

E: Exactly.

W: Pleasant.

E: That’s good. If it’s pleasant and the stress is gone.

W: Do you actually like me? “No I hate you. We’re going to finish. It has been good.”

55:29

E: No we’re not going to finish yet, but before we do, is there anything you’d like to send out into the world before we finish? On average there are 10 to 50 people watching. Is there anything you want to say to them?

W: To the 10 to 50 people?

E: Yes.

W: 10 to 50 people, you are awesome. No, what I’m saying… maybe a little deep but it doesn’t matter. Very often in your life you are going to encounter that you run into a wall, that you’re going to have setbacks, that you think “I don’t want to anymore, I can’t to this anymore, life is all one big shit show” but I think that there is a certain… at least I believe that – everyone has their own opinion of course- that a certain path has been mapped out for everyone. Not necessarily that things are set in stone but there is a road that you are going to take and that road is going to have curves, is going to have hills, is going to have valleys, is going to have everything. Maybe it’s a gravel path, maybe rocks you stumble over but -it sounds a bit stupid- put on your best walking shoes and just walk that path the best way you can. Just try to live life with complete joy and euphoria because you’re 100% worth it. No matter what other people say or think about your ideology or style or way of life. Everyone is entitled to it or should be given the opportunity to be appreciated for who they are. I think that’s something we do too little in this society, but yeah.

E: Just don’t be too hard on yourself in the end?

W: Yeah, don’t be too hard on yourself. A lot of people blame themselves too much. Or “oh I’m like that and I don’t fit in because of that” or something. Then I think: so be it.

E: Do you sometimes feel that you should do more or have achieved more at this age? Of course you’re already doing a lot of cool shit but social media, I know there is a highlight reel of all people’s achievements and that sometimes it’s very difficult to filter between what is real and how much is that person actually sitting on the couch doing nothing. Do you sometimes feel that because of social media of because of your environment or I don’t know, that you’re not doing enough?

W: Gosh, sometimes I think my life is too full.

E: Too full?

W: Not that I’m saying “oh I have so many things to do” but I’m like... I’m letting that grow organically or so.

E: Not putting too much pressure on yourself?

W: Not putting too much pressure on yourself. I’m doing a course now that I’d like to finish because I’ve had those two projects and there are friends of mine who say “why are you still studying? You’ve had your opportunity, you’re going to get new opportunities right?” and I say “hey! I’m also only 19”. Sometimes I think “fuck Willem you should have achieved more already” but I also think I’m only 19. There was a conversation at school… I really think that’s one of the added values of the course. We receive an observation report twice a year, 5 pages where the teacher writes about you and how they see you, what they think about you, what your qualities are, what you still need to work on. It’s always spot on. So strange how they can just see right through you, even though I sometimes try to hide it. Yeah, where was I going with this… we had subsequent conversation about it and I said to my teacher “sometimes I feel like I’m too young for this course” that I have too little life experience. There are people in my class who are in their 20s or older, who have already studied something else before this, have read a lot more, seen a lot more than me, a lot more experience and I think “fuck, I don’t have anything”. People talk about certain topics and I don’t follow at all. I mentioned that I felt too young and she [the teacher] said “you’re young, but that also has its advantages. Your youthfulness can actually be an interesting tool in this course and look at it from a different perspective”. So I’m convinced: don’t be too hard on yourself, don’t think “whew, I’m already 20 and I haven’t achieved anything yet” so to speak. I even saw a video recently where… “if you don’t make it in your 20s, you might make it in your 30s and if you don’t make it in your 30s, you might make it in your 40s”. There are so many… there really are a lot of people… people often forget that there are people who only find out what they want to do or discover their passion later in life.

E: And also just… I think it’s so ridiculous that you set certain goals for a certain age or something. That it’s so expected that by 18 you must have completed high school and by 25 you must have had your first job interview, by 28/30 you must have a house and a serious relationship where you’re committed to for the rest of your life and by 40 you must have already had a promotion, that you can provide for yourself and fix your pension. All those fucking predetermined milestones. I think that’s kind of bullshit, you know?

W: Absolutely.

E: If that were the case, then I should graduate in a few years so to speak while I’m clearly not studying here because I have – fuck normally I have a re-exam today. And here we are.

W: Here we are.

E: I knew I was doing this but I mean that’s just… there’s so much time. I’m 22 now and I’m doing some shit, if I go nuts now or people don’t want to listen to this podcast anymore, don’t want to see what I do online, okay then I have to look elsewhere. But I did this and I went for it and I tried. I’m 22. Even if I go nuts now and it’s all gone, I’m only 22. There are still so many ways it could go. A lot of people don’t have a job at 22. If I started looking for a new job or something now, hopefully I’ll have one by 25. Then it’s still okay because I’m only 25. I don’t know, I always find that… I could go on for a long time about this. I think those predetermined milestones/goals of things that you must have achieved by a certain age, I just think it’s bullshit.

W: I sometimes make the comparison that people too often see life as the sports world. Football players who are good until 35 and then they are done. As if you must have already performed before that age. That’s not how it works. You really have all the time and you really don’t have to stress. I also notice that many people… you mentioned re-exams. That people say “fuck I have re-exams, oh no I’m not going to pass, oh no you have extra…” chill. You do your best, but suppose you have to repeat a year, that’s not a disaster either, is it?

E: What I also think is crazy is how many people have studied law and you eventually hear that they ended up in a marketing agency because they found it much more interesting. When I talk to some people who… I was seeing a social media manager recently [laughs] “seeing”, I was talking to him.

W: “seeing” okay [laughs].

E: I was talking to him.

W: [joking] Ender has something to say.

E: And I asked “what did you study?” and he said biochemistry. “How the fuck did you end up here?” Him: “uh yeah that just wasn’t the right fit for me. I have a master’s degree but I started working here because I found it much more interesting”. I thought: why am I pretending that the degree I’m trying to get is going to determine the rest of my life, you know?

W: Absolutely.

E: If there are so many people now… because he was only 28 or something. So I thought “aah okay so you’ve been studying biochemistry for so many years and now you’re here – I don’t know if I’m talking about the correct position – but now you’re just sitting here making content. Cool. But why do I attach so much importance to that one direction I’m studying right now that doesn’t even have anything to do with media or anything. I mean I’m very interested in media, I’m studying economics. Which is also interesting, but that’s not what I see myself doing in the coming years.

W: Yeah, yeah.

E: Anyway enough about me. Do you think you could win in a fight against a cow?

W: [laughs] I really like that. You can switch to totally different shit like that. Like before you suddenly asked what color fish do you want to be. Okay. That’s nice. Win… I’ve heard if you knock over a cow it dies. That it has a heart attack then. We don’t want to kill cows okay!

E: And purely hypothetical, you’re just standing in a kind of meadow so it’s not super big so you can’t go in all directions. There is a limited domain. You come face to face with that cow and you have to begin. No weapons. You’re standing there and the cow stands there and you both know you’re going to fight.

W: It knows that too?

E: It knows that too.

W: [makes mooing noises] okay ca va.

E: It’s not a bull but it does have horns so in fact it would-

W: I would shit my pants. I’d give up already. I would lie on the ground, come on. Really crazy, I saw Jackass recently. Those guys, that Wee Man, who was in that link with the bull and he’s being catapulted, so to speak.

E: I don’t understand how those guys aren’t all dead yet.

W: Yeah they are really crazy.

E: There was also a rumor that Wee Man died from a bowling ball during… but apparently that wasn’t true.

W: I don’t know.

E: Fucked up shit. Would you win against a cow?

W: Would I win against a cow? No, I wouldn’t win against a cow. I don’t think I would win against a cow.

E: I think I would. I think just like with a bull I would try to jump out of the way like that and once you’re on the side it’s just a matter of pushing. If what you said is true, it’s game over when it’s down and you know, that’s your tactic.

W: But the thing is, a cow is heavy, isn’t it?

E: True.

W: You can’t just push it over like that, can you?

E: Sure, but it’s a matter of life or death, isn’t it? The adrenaline rush. You have to image, a cow just comes running towards you. The adrenaline that goes through your body. You shouldn’t underestimate the power you have then.

W: Just find the best patch of grass and when it’s there, sneaky knife in the back. No, now people are going to think I’m that kind of person.

E: That you’re just a snake.

W: Snake. Definitely and I admit it. No, that would be fucked up.

E: I’m going to do one more thing that’s important. I’m going to find a Twitter shout out and in the meantime, I already asked you what your message is to the world and that was a beautiful message. Got something more banal that you’d like to share? Something that you want to share from your social media or something?

W: What do you mean from social media?

E: Where they can follow you. You can say something if you have a really good video that you want to share. “Check me everywhere”.

W: No I don’t have… people should do what they feel like doing. Do you think I’m cool, do you think I’m fun, follow me on Insta. No really doesn’t matter. Doesn’t really matter.

E: Alright, I’m just going to scroll and you say stop. I’ll go back and forth and you have to say “yes that’s the one who gets to have this week’s shout out”.

W: Exciting huh. Stop.

E: [reads twitter account] M. Verschuren.

W: M. Verscheure.

E: Is that…

W: [reads quote] “If you were never sad, you wouldn’t know you could be happy”.

E: Wow. Damn bro.

W: I’m going to edit my quote.

E: “If you were never sad, you wouldn’t know you could be happy”. Wow. If you didn’t have shitty days, you wouldn’t know what the best days of your life were.

W: Exactly. But what if you get stuck in your shitty days for the rest of your life?

E: That won’t happen. That’s my biggest fear.

W: Me too.

E: Looking back at your life and thinking-

W: …Fuck I’ve never been there again.

E: …That’s where I peeked. Hope that doesn’t happen. Anyway M. Verscheure thank you very much for listening, I really appreciate it. You as well, I think?

W: Absolutely, absolutely. How much were you going to pay me?

E: 50 euro.

W: Then I’ll come… awesome. Super cool.

E: Thank you so much to everyone who listened. I appreciate it. If you want to hear more you can always subscribe to this channel. It’s also good for my ego. I’ll just put your Instagram link in the description, for people who are interested. Okay, that was it.

W: Thanks, it was fun.

E: There’s an audio only episode on Spotify every Sunday and the video comes out on Monday. That’s it. See you next Monday. Or Sunday. Peace.

#wtfock #willem de schryver

[nightwishesworld]

Oh, I have a request! How about the daughters (who love the reader very much) always taking the reader and practically stealing her every time she’s with Alcina? (Cuz we need more daughters and reader interaction 🥲) And maybe to the point of our precious big dommy mommy gettin ya know ya know jealous? ;)) HAHGSHAHAHAHA, that would be hilarious to see. Anyways, hope you’re havin’ a great time~ ✌🏻till next time!

I’m so sorry this took me so long anon! I’ve gotten more requests than I ever thought I would and I’m starting to get behind. This was a really sweet one to put together though- really enjoyed it!

Slight Gore warning for Cassandra! Nothing too detailed but it is referenced. If you don’t like it just skip her

Bela

Being the eldest sibling has made her the most level-headed of the three. After decades of ending squabbles between her younger sisters, she’s discovered the pleasures of retail therapy. 

She takes great joy in popping off to neighboring villages for a few hours perusing the various aromatherapy shops.

And she takes even greater pleasure bringing you along. Dragging you, really. Even if you’re otherwise busy. Sometimes she’ll buy you a few scents or lotions that catch your eye.

She calls it “compensation for being dragged away from Mother,” but really she’s just happy to spoil you

Also loves asking you for literature recommendations. As vast as the castle’s library is, Bela had read through most of the literature over her lifetime

Is absolutely fascinated by modern day novels. 

She takes you on a day-long shopping spree visiting five surrounding villages just blowing through money buying almost every book that peaks her interest

Most of your time together is spent relaxing in the library talking about your novels. 

Eventually you’ve collected enough books to make an entirely new section in the library just for the two of you.

Even when cuddled up with Alcina in the library, there is simply no escaping Bela when she’s looking for recommendations or simply someone to talk to

At the end of the day, you really didn’t mind. You were more than happy to spend time with all the girls and happy they wanted to spend time with you. 

You knew as annoyed as Alcina got when interrupted she found it incredibly sweet that her daughters will go out of their way to be with you

Cassandra (Cassi)

Suffers from middle child syndrome hardcore

She’s a bit too old to understand Bela’s interests, but too old to join Daniela in her delusional fantasies. So naturally, she tries to cling onto you.

At first she tries to convince you to enter the basement with her so she can show you her “Art Gallery,” but Alcina forbade it. So things between you and Cassi went quiet for awhile

Alcina says Cassandra is an artist of some sort and all her work is done in the basement

After about a month of silence Cassandra came barrelling into your private study with some kind of canvas in her hands

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much, y/n, but I’ve been working really hard on your gift.”

You gush, “oh Cassi, you didn’t have to make me anything. That’s so sweet of you.”

She eagerly flips over the canvas to reveal her painting of a human heart.

It was beautifully detailed, the heart really jumped off the page against the black background...but something was off about it. It took a minute for you to realize it but once you did, you couldn’t stop staring. The heart was painted with blood.

You were lost for words. 

“Well?” Cassi, asked with a broad smile on her face. “Do you like it?”

All you could do at first was nod you head. “Oh Cassandra, its gorgeous. You really made this?”

The girl’s eyes were rapturous. “It’s my favorite hobby! But this particular piece was my first try at observational painting. I hope I did a good job...”

“Are you kidding Cassi? It’s beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it. Can I hang it on my wall?”

She lunges at you, wrapping you in a suffocating hug. “Thank you, y/n. I made it a heart so you know how much we love having you here with us.”

Tears were starting to prick your eyes. “I love you guys, too.”

You looked up lust long enough to see Alcina walk in your study, roll her eyes and walk right back out.

Daniela (Dani)

Being the youngest Dimitrescu definitely has its advantages and Daniela knows how to use every single one.

Gets away with absolutely everything and anything under the sun. Even things her older sisters could only dream of getting away with and it irritates them to no end.

Daniela is definitely the most daring of the three. Always pushing her boundaries with her mother and will go out of her way to annoy Alcina just for funsies.

Is comfortable (and has) appearing in your bedroom while your, erm...busy with Alcina. Literally grabs you by the arm and swoops you away in a swarm of moths giggling the entire time. You hear Alcina shouting obscenities as you’re taken away.

You’re both thoroughly embarrassed.

Daniela seems to be, just like her mother, very needy. Attention starved if you will. So of course, she’s in need of your presence every hour. Sometimes more. 

And for the dumbest freaking reasons!

“Y/n come quick! Look at the birds in the garden. They’re so pretty!”

You laugh at her excitement “They’re crows, Dani. We see them every day.”

Other times she will drag you to her room and pull out her vast collection of weapons and tell you different stories associated with each one. You loved hearing how passionate Daniela was about her collection.

On a few rare occasions, she even gifted you a set of daggers, or crossbow, or whatever your favorite weapon is.

“You don’t own any y/n, which means you’re vulnerable to attacks. One day I’ll teach you how to use them.”

BONUS: Alcina being absolutely done with her girls not sharing

Late hours of the night are Alcina’s favorite time of day

She gets to relax in bed with you all to herself while shedding away all the stresses from the day. 

More often than not she’ll lazily sip a glass of wine and reread her favorite novel to you while you’re nestled in her lap.

It was the only time of day she knew she had you all to herself

...usually...

One night all three of her daughters barged in your bedroom arguing who you would spend time with first. Alcina tried shouting over them to take control of the situation, but none of them were even paying her attention.

Situations like this call for drastic measures.

Alcina covered your ears and shouted at her girls from the top of her lungs. Once she knew she had their attention she reached over to the nightstand and pulled out a...spray bottle? They were about to laugh at her before she explained that the spray bottle contained holy water.

That scared them enough to make them back up a few steps. Daniela even hisssed at her, baring her fangs like a feral animal.

“I am tired of you three stealing away my y/n and I’ve reached my breaking point. This is the one time of day I’m allowed exclusive time with them and I will not have you getting in the way of that.”

You couldn’t process what was happening before you. Was Alcina really prepared to spray her own daughters with holy water just because she wouldn’t get her cuddles tonight? Really?

Daniela felt bold tonight. “As if you would actually do it. I bet that’s not even holy water.”

Alcina only arched a brow. “Well you’re more than welcome to come see for yourself, Daniela. By all means.”

The redhead was about to do just that until Bela pulled her backwards. “I guess we can wait and see y/n tomorrow. Goodnight, mother. Goodnight, y/n.”

As soon as Alcina knew they were gone she fell back onto the mattress, pulling you with her, peppering you in kisses. 

“Darling,” you ask. “Is that really holy water?”

She chuckles into your neck. “No, it’s not, and they should have known that. If it were I wouldn’t have been able to hold it without it making me feel ill. But they’ll figure that out eventually and once they do they’ll be back.”

“What then?”

“Pelting them with fake silver should do the trick.”

#lady dimitrescu x reader #tall vampire lady #alcina dimitrescu #lady alcina #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

[goblinshork]

Ok so what abaut Bodyguard and Agony whith a a naga prince that just hates the royal life and dreams of just having a simple life living in a cottage and selling homemade jewelry, so Reader his childhood best friend, personal bodyguard and person who he feel in love whith decides to make his dream come true (bonus if the prince has a sister so the kingdown whont stay whiout a ruler and she helps Reader whith the plan, bonus+ if the prince is kinda huge and scary to other people but he is just a chill dude that likes to make rings and necklaces)

Short scenario please! (Also sorry if its too long, feel free to just ignore this if you whant)

Not too long at all and I think it's an extremely charming idea! Thank you for sharing; big gruff, undercover sweeties are one of the most Choice(tm) archetypes.

This also got super long, but the vibes were singing to me.

Features: Slight angst, happy ending, kissing

Bodyguard + Agony (Monster Ask Meme)

Hands, Touching Hands (m!Naga x gn!Reader) [3.7k]

“Don’t lie, how many names do you remember?”

Alok yawned, curved fangs peaking out from almost-lips.

“None, thankfully,” he said, scratching at his curls, cut short enough that they barely formed.

“Impressive.”

“Oh—no, you won’t distract me. You agree with me don’t you?”

The book Alok had toyed the entire briefing slammed shut, the many bracelets at his wrist clinking for emphasis when you did not answer.

Watching him unfurl his tense length of tail, broad shoulders rising far above you as he 'stood', there was little to say but, "It’s not my place."

"Then it’s not mine, either."

He slunk toward the door and you picked up the book--the monstrous thing--with your arms rather than your hands before following him.

"Just give it time," you said in a reassurance that was too shallow to drown his mood.

Every move forward looked painful as he slithered forward like a child first learning to move against stone rather than soft grass. Unlike when he was a child, he was stilted by frustration rather than inexperience.

The conversation was left dropped, burning like the weight of the tome in your arms. If you were alone, you'd tell him to carry it. But servants, nobles, and royals passed frequently, all low bows and murmurs, moving on a touch quicker than polite.

When you first arrived to the kingdom, a slave dressed sweetly and presented as a gift, you'd marveled at how anyone could find the royal family intimidating when removed from their wealth and status.

Baby yellow skin and soft pink dapples painted everyone of them. Alok, himself, was more pink than yellow, and it reminded you of those delicate, painted dolls you'd press your face against glass to get a closer look at before being shooed away by the shop-keep.

You supposed little had changed since then, except now you were simply stared at, expected to keep your fingers off the pretty pink glass always, always in front of you.

The hallway Alok stopped moving forward in was empty, private; his. Without a word, you tossed the horrible book toward his crossed arms and swept the windows, floors, and ceiling for anything strange. His fumbling for the book, fingers audibly skimming against pages, made you smile.

"It's clear," you nodded. "Workshop, right?"

Alok deflated a bit, too caught between the mention of his workshop and pretending to have perfectly caught the book to keep his anger stoked.

"You're asking now," he said flat, looking from the book to you.

Putting up your hands in mock defeat, you turned, alert enough.

@

"I'm not angry at you.” The slits that served for his pupils, deep red and small in their focus on the gem he was cutting, turned to you when you said nothing in response.

“Sorry, I--” was dazzled by your eyes? Was enamored by how passionate you are for perfecting that sparkling little gem? “I know.”

“I just wanted to say it.”

You stretched from your place beside the door, perched on one of the few chairs at your disposal in the entire castle, “Thank you.”

“Don’t be patronizing,” Alok grumbled, pausing in his work. “I know...I know very well you must be tired of this, even if you won’t say it.”

The window was suddenly so interesting, your throat burning as you swallowed down the feeling kindling there.

“This is my home,” you said after hearing the scales of his tail shift closer. “There’s nothing to be tired of.”

Slowly, his hand rose to hover over yours, where it lay on your lap, “But you should be. I’d give you anything you needed. They couldn’t stop me.”

Everything you wanted to say was tucked in the patch of air that separated his touch from yours.

Any person, bought and raised to be singularly loyal would hesitate at the offer of freedom, wouldn’t they?

They’d want to grab his hand, wouldn’t they?

You could only guess as a love for a prince was not something to be said aloud unless you were allowed.

And you, a slave turned body guard, were not.

Standing, you scattered the almost-moment with a shake of your head, “I don’t care about freedom half as much as you think I do.”

His hand fell limp to his side, the slits that served as his nose flaring wide, as you continued.

“I’m your bodyguard and I’ll be your children’s bodyguard and I’ll be the same to whoever you choose from that book,” you finished, thoroughly shooing yourself away, wanting so much to run out the door.

Alok said your name quietly, but you remained silent.

And everything was still until it wasn’t.

In one smooth motion propelled by his sheer size, Alok stretched to the book and hurled it out the open window.

“No, you won’t. I’ll be their prince,” he said low, body suddenly too large for the room. “But I won’t be their king.”

You did run, then.

@

Perhaps the only place off-limits for a would-be king allergic to potential suitors was his sister’s drawing room.

Adur payed you no attention as she demanded entertainment from the brightly colored darlings and dark patterned beauties of the upper echelon.

“Did you know, I simply adore the pattern of your bangles lately,” she cooed, pointing to a decorated tail. “So perfectly in style.”

She continued on, picking this and that to sigh over, as you stood against the corner that provided the best view of the room, next to the door. 

You recognized each piece she fawned over as being similar to something Alok had on display or nearly-done in his workshop. Ah, to know a magician’s tricks.

Melting into a squat, you let their voices wash over you. No heart could hurt for long listening to women enjoy court gossip as much as this bunch did...from a distance.

When you, Alok, and Adur were younger, the rules seemed less stone and more like blades of grass, flexible and beneath you. Adur set you in front of her always revolving group of friends and tried to fit tail bangles around your thighs and waist. Alok insisted you sit side-by-side while studying geography, arithmetic, and etiquette. You lay between them on sunny afternoons, napping, legs touching tails.

But everything golden goes grey eventually.

“Well, do tell me. Did he throw it in the fire?”

You turned from the window, swapping red, setting sun for sharp, red eyes, “Out of the window.”

The room was empty but for you and her now. Adur pacing around, tail making quick work of circling the room as she read from her collection of letters.

“Still the amount of melodrama I expected so,” she shrugged, raising shoulders toward her pleased mouth as a silent finish to her sentence. “I, on the other hand, did pick.”

You rose, legs tingling from the sudden change. “Who?”

“Prince Talsa,” she said after cutting open a letter with her claw, “I’ve already decided on a short engagement and a respectable wedding down south. Perhaps closer to his kingdom than ours.”

“Talsa? Not rare one who everyone’s after?”

Adur looked at you as though you should know better before deigning to explain, “Prince Talsa is rather plain looking for a naga, yes, but that’s just the point.”

“Go on,” you said, wanting so much to be distracted.

“Think about it,” Adur scoffed. “Rare, beautiful babies create wonder amongst people, but children who look as though they could be born anywhere....don’t you see the appeal?”

She leaned against the window, long black hair obscuring her pink and yellow face, “They would be royalty that even the most common of folk could feel familiar to--feel endeared to. Even someone as devoid of charm or pretense as Alok could gain some favor. From their birth, I’ll have them attend every little festival and celebration. Their bond with the people will be unshakable.”

“You’ll make the best queen,” you said, unthinking to the implication.

“Has something happened to Alok?”

“No, you ju--”

Adur turned to you, delicate face empty, “It doesn’t matter what we know. He’s the eldest and alive and destroying a book won’t change that.”

Your hands shook as you laced them together, risking at least your life, by asking:

“What if we could change it?”

@

Everything in the little room lacked splendor, save the jewelry that her brother displayed to no one but himself, built only to separate Alok from his mentor. A failed attempt to elevate a man too gargantuan to grow further.

Even the flooring was rough on the tail, not smooth stone but brick for retaining heat. Only care for function within these four walls.

Adur noted her brother’s tail was bare as she swept over the lacking room, only his leather work belt draped over the apex where tail met torso. Every bit of jewelry he wore crowded his wrists and fingers, noisy as he worked on some large bangle unfamiliar to her.

He looked haggard, frown too ugly and deep to be a mere product of concentration. Grey tickled the roots of his bangs, pronounced enough to shine in the lamplight. Alok was getting too old to be a prince with only time for his hobby.

“Sometimes I think it would be kinder to simply put you out of your misery,” Adur said, closing the door behind her.

Alok’s back tensed, but he did not pause his work, “I’m surprised you said it out loud, but don’t say it like a joke.”

“Don’t be so serious,” Adur sighed, “of course it was a joke.”

“Where is--”

“Your human delight? Running errands for me.”

Alok did turn then, face flickering through emotions too fast to name, “They’re just as much your dear friend as mine, you little viper.”

“Forgive my callousness, but I find you respond to little else,” Adur said, picking at the sheer fabric of her top so it draped correctly against her arm again. “And perhaps they are my friend. But they are not just yours.”

“I won’t be king...even if they weren’t here.”

Adur laughed in a sizzling tone, forked tongue dancing with humor, “Oh? And I suppose your little fantasies of running away involve you doing so alone?”

Only the flames licking back and forth in the small forge answered her.

“You’re too old to be deluding yourself like this,” she went on, dropping a bottle and a sheer robe on Alok’s work desk. “It’s time to make choices once and for all, brother.”

“I’m not--”

“I’m not asking you to rule. You’d be pathetic at it, yes, I know. If not for our dear human friend, you’d have flunked every tutor save for your precious jewelry maker.”

Alok curled back over his tail, fingers picking at the fabric of the robe his sister had dropped. “Then what are you asking?”

Hand on the doorknob, Adur smiled, “if you had your way and left to live like a common man with your human, would you really never come back?”

“Never.”

Adur opened the door. “Good.”

@

The drider--Woodnet? Woodne? Wodner?--stayed near the the door as you did, but unlike you his sleek, black legs rested on a few thin lines of webbing where wall met ceiling.

Slowly, Alok raised his face to address the bodyguard, entirely unused to being the short one. Worse still was the struggle to match sights with the correct pair of the drider’s many blinking eyes. If you were here, you’d have nudged him to follow your lead already.

If you were here...this wouldn’t be happening in the first place. Just another wishful thought to swallow down as Alok struggled to stay polite in the face of his father’s prime bodyguard.

“Outside the room is fine,” Alok said in a clipped tone, turning as he did to avoid dealing with anymore niceties.

“Forgive me for questioning, Prince Alok,” the drider said, voice drifting down like floating silk. “But bathing is when you are most vulnerable. I can not help but object to the risk.”

The drider polished each word, in no hurry to finish his sentence and Alok’s eyes rolled once--twice--thrice by the time there was silence. If only this were any guard other than his father’s favorite.

“I understand,” Alok said. “But, the windows are trapped and you will be guarding the only entrance.”

The sound of burdened legs skittering down stone, followed by the opening and closing of the lone, stone door was his answer.

Driders were generally no longer friends of Alok’s kingdom. Wodnel....no, Wodni perhaps, was a relic of a time long gone, when his father was just proving himself a leader of a nation. That Wodnir--that was it, Wodnir--was so protective of Alok, having sparsely been involved with him and having been enslaved through ruthless, warmongering means made Alok’s shoulders bunch, the muscles between protruding over scales.

Is that how it was between you and he? Did you feign fondness and care or was it true? Was it true but maligned of him to hope for it due to how you came to be near him? Because of he was?

Alok disrobed and slunk into the hot water, hoping to drown his pithy doubts that crowded so large in his mind.

Flakes of shed rose to the top the longer he soaked, proof of a difficult shed. There was sure to be more bits to come as he scrubbed himself with the, apparently, ‘to die for’ body scrub his sister had left last week.

You were usually the one to soothe his bubbling stress in a life of constant politics and decorum, but the bits of dead skin were proof enough that Alok truly was getting too old for delusions. You’d only been away for a week and a spare number of days and here he was, so tense that not even a hot bath could unfurl him.

Ugh.

Politics and decorum. How would he survive tonight without you? Adur was announcing her engagement tonight, in tandem with the nobles emerging from their collective sheds at the tail end of the Harvest Festival.

Alok scrubbed himself raw, hoping to emerge a new man who could weather life half as well as everyone around him. But the harder he lathed himself in soap, the clearer the truth rang.

If only he could have you.

@

You had relieved Wodnier of his duties, thanking him with a bow, and standing stiff beside the door for precious minutes, waiting for his delicate range of hearing to wane.

As an apprentice, you had met Wodnier often enough to know he wished you well as much as any spider did a fly.

Hammering against your chest, you feared the vibration of your heart was loud enough for him to hear. And there was always a chance the door shutting at the end of the curved hallway was a trap; that Wodnier still stood in Alok’s quarters and was not making his way back to the King.

But you didn’t have time to be safe, only quick.

Jittered by adrenaline, you sprinted to Alok’s room---toe first, heel last--and back, holding your breath once you made it back to the door of the bath.

Sweat pooled against your forehead, but nothing sprang toward you sans the faint sounds of Alok bathing.

You slipped past the door, the pack in your hands bulky enough that the door opened wider than you’d wanted, the hinge creaking.

“Alok?”

The figure behind the curtain froze before calling back your name.

“We don’t have much time, Alok,” you pressed in a sure voice, but your legs wobbled as you neared the curtain. “I’m....I’m running away and I’m taking you with me.”

“What?”

Coming past the curtain, your chest could barely contain your quick breathing. His hair was devoid of any gray, blacker than pitch as it fell just above his ear holes and forehead. Muddy brown and maroon scales were sleek and wet, droplets rolling down his body, even near his---

You looked back up quickly, away from where his belt always covered. “I mean, I want us to run away and we need to go now.”

Having followed your wandering gaze toward the apex of his stomach and tail, Alok frantically looked toward his arms, the muddy water, “What in the fuck is this?”

“Adur is helping us,” is all you said and it was all Alok seemed to need as he picked up the bottle the dye had been in, nodding. “She said it’ll only last until your next shed but, by then, hopefully....”

“She wants to be queen very much,” he murmured.

You tore open the pack, reminding yourself that time was short, and held them out. “Yes. So, we need to go.”

“You have no idea--,” Alok started, before interrupting himself. “I need something from the workshop.”

“We don’t have time.”

He shook his head as he took what you offered, dressing himself in plain leather and thick, scratchy wool. “It will be quick.”

You opened your mouth--- “Please.” --but couldn’t keep firm in the face of his pleading.

“Okay.”

@

Alok threw a few rings, bangles, and tools into the bag.

“Only enough to sell and get started again,” he assured.

But as you turned to leave the room, his hand was on your arm, pulling you back.

“We--”

“I love you,” he breathed, holding two thick, ornate bangles in his free hand. Both were decorated, from the side you could see, with marigolds, jewels gleaming in the center of their petals. You recognized each one.

One was the size to fit a large tail while the other...

“Alok.”

“I want us to leave belonging to one another.”

Your shaking hands dropped the large bag and his slid to hold both yours in his large one. “If we leave together, we’ll live together too won’t we?”

Even your head shook now, from side to side, hoping to discern the moment as waking or dreaming. “Alok. Of course, because...Of course we will.”

“Oh, please say it,” he said, tugging you nearer still.

He repeated your name and like a spell, you found your words, “We’ll live together because I love you, too.”

His thin mouth, soft and bloodless, fell to yours from his full height, his body curling over you as he pressed against your lips again.

“Let me put it on you,” he whispered, mouth moving against yours as you clung to him.

“Hurry and then we can....Just the bangles and then we must go before it’s too late.”

Careful of his claws, he lifted you to sit on his work table before slipping his own bangle over the small tip of his tail and up further, until it stuck in place under his belt.

There was no time to remove your pants, to mold the bangle against your bare thigh as was intended, but Alok’s thick hands skimming around the metal the entire way up burned as though he were doing just that.

You slid off the table, when the bangle was snug, to melt against him for one brief moment of loving calm, your face rubbing against his neck.

You didn’t have time for more.

After disentangling from his tight hold, you threw the bag at him, near tears as he scrambled to catch it. “I know it’s selfish, but I’m so glad you’re going to be mine instead of a king.”

And then you ran, hand in hand.

@

“Hey! Heeeeey,” one of the children yelled as the whole group of five ran toward you, kicking up dust on the dirt-packed road. “My momma said that snake man eats kids who don’t do chores!”

“My papa said he can’t help with the festival because he’s growing more arms!”

“That’s dumb, Brittany. My papa is smarter and he said the same thing as Corey’s momma. He’s a kid eater!”

The group shrieked in delighted horror as they squabbled on the specifics of what was really, truly going on in their village.

You hiked the basket in your arms higher after several attempts to respond, loudly telling them to pay attention or you’d leave.

As though pulled forward by strings, they straightened as still as a child could, a few even holding their hands over their mouths to keep silent.

“All of your parents are right,” you nodded, “Every two months he must curb his huge appetite and force back his new, child-grabbing arms so he doesn’t hurt the very naughty children of this village.”

They all clamored to stress their innocence in a cacophony of babbling that soon grew into questions.

“Is that why you live with him? ‘Cause you protect the village?”

“And him,” you said.

“At the same time?!”

“Of course, it’s my job. Now go back toward the smithy before you find out just how many arms he has.”

Lunging forward in jest was enough to urge the children away, all of them teasing the other that they would be last to get there and a snake man’s lunch.

@

“You’re horrible,” Alok groaned, scales pale pink and yellow from a successful shed. “Soon, they’ll be grown-ups, running us off.”

Hefting the basket onto the dining table, you laughed, “they adore you in secret.”

The cottages here were baked of mud, hay, and a few supportive beams of wood and yours was no different. There was no splendor in the room-less house, but it was truly yours and his. And that was luxury enough.

“They had enough this time?”

You shook the canteen of dye, moving to stand next to him on the low hammock that served as bed, “And the next shipment of birch will contain enough to last us three months or more.”

Alok smoothed his claw down your face, his own expression wistful, “I feel too content to explain.”

You pressed your nose against the pink of his jaw, letting him raise you to straddle him.

“Then show me.”

#monster x reader #monster x human #monster fucking #monster romance #exophillia #terato #monster boyfriend #naga x reader #naga boyfriend #naga x human #fluffy.foam #new.shork #goblin.writes #conch.answered #alienfromagalaxy #I love adur and it is a shame how much of her had to be cut to make this not a mess #exophilia

[princessmariaphiliper]

THE SLEEPOVER FIC | Part 1 The Meeting

Notes: James Acaster, Ed Gamble (Platonic), and other characters to be added.

Pairing: James Acaster x Reader 

Genre: Fluff with eventual smut, Slow Burn fic

Words: 1,951

Summary: You and James have put yourselves into trouble, but you think maybe it’s hotter that way. 

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

It was a boring, cottage cheese Wednesday if anyone had bothered to ask you. The sky held a greyish tinge and the London air tasted like exhaust fumes as you made your way back home from the studio. It was 5:50 and you were more than ready to curl into bed, put on a podcast, and stare at your ceiling until you slept.

You’d been tied up in a project lately that stripped every brain cell out of you whenever you tried to think about it. 

This wasn’t because you didn’t like it! Don’t get me wrong, you adored the concept you were trying to convey through your piece. It was just missing something. Hence, Wednesdays the past month had started to feel a little groundhog esque. You knew the fog would part soon. 

Pulling your clattering keys from inside your coat pocket you unlocked the door to your flat. Upon entering you noted the new letters. A missed parcel, various pizza menus and an enclosed envelope from Ticketmaster. Grinning, you opened it up. 

Ed Gamble, McDonalds Apple Pie, November 15th 2021. Sounded delicious, you pulled out your phone, texting Ed. 

Hey! Just got your tickets through. Where are you rehearsing? Let me know when it starts and we can plan something :) 

It had been a while since you and Ed had hung out. You lived on opposite ends of the city and for the most part you were usually busy when he was free ,or vise versa. That the trouble of being friends with theatre people, no matter how hard you try, the schedules don’t gel. However, Ed usually rehearsed his shows in the venue below your flat, luckily this time was no exception.

I start Friday, usual place. We can go for drinks after I finish at 7 if you like?

Yes :))))) would love that!! Can we say 7:15 though as I’ll have to get back from the studio and change 

Yeah that’s fine, I’ll invite some people if that’s okay. We can meet you at the pub first? 

Sounds perfect, see you then. Send Claire love! 

Will do :) 

You put the kettle on and made yourself a pot noodle. Getting ready to sleep before another day of making. Excited at least, with the knowledge that on Friday night, you were getting shitfaced with your mates. 

And so Friday arrived. You started the day off right with a banana and a coffee to go on your way down to the youth centre. Fridays and Tuesdays were your favourite days of the week currently. On these days you worked with other women exploring the ideas of femininity within society. For many years it had been a passion project of yours, creating dialogues with women who’d gone through difficult times in their lives to convey their struggles through art. 

Today you were hosting a dance workshop with a group you had been working with for a while. They had all been making tremendous progress over the past few months you wanted to hold a class in celebration.

“Good morning Y/N” a familiar face beamed from across the hallway. 

“Good morning Olive!” Olivia was a petite lady, somewhere close to her mid forties. She had dyed fire colour hair that she always wore up in a headscarf. She was dance ready, wearing an outrageous and gaudy pair of printed leggings. 

Olive had grown so much as a woman since the first time you had met her, in one of your first ever workshops. The two of you had become thick as honey ever since. She even occasionally helped you plan and run some workshops out of studio now. It gave you joy to know you helped her grow into her full potential in one way or another. 

“How have you been?” 

“Oh same old. Trying not to lose myself in projects. How about you?” 

“Brilliant! Officially divorced on Monday. Sorry I couldn’t make it on Tuesday I was feeling the effect after a few too many champagnes” she laughed, her smile was contagious. Olive had been going through a complicated divorce for a good few years now, some of the reasons she started the project stemmed from such a relationship.

She was such a resilient woman, managing to smile through whatever life had put her through. You loved her distinct lack of care for what people thought of her being a single woman in her forties. 

It made you really put your life into perspective when you had met her. Even encouraging you to drop ties with your ex partner four years ago, who simply, didn’t care for you as a person but rather as an stability object. You hadn’t been in anything serious since. Not that you didn’t want it, being single had it’s perks too. You simply hadn’t been searching. A “bold move” in your late 20’s.

“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you! I’ll have a few for you tonight darling”

“Out on the town are you?”

“Yeah I’m meeting an old friend and hopefully some new people too”

“Well don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a wink. 

“I’ll try my best” 

It was 7:05 and you were definitely going to be late. You’d just set off from the studio, pushing your way through the crowds on the busy streets near your flat. It had been an intense day in the end, most of you and your class had gotten carried away with your choreography. Immersed in the music and memory you wanted to portray. In the end you had all learnt one another’s routines and combined them all to a jazz beat. 

You were still in your sports bra, leggings and oversized shirt with the duffel bag over your shoulder when you reached the outside door to your apartment complex. You heard a voice boom at you from behind. 

“Y/Nickname” you turned around, instantly knowing who it was by the stupid name. 

“Ed!” 

He was coming up from the basement venue staircase, there was another man loitering casually behind him. In an instant you recognised him from the telly. It was the one and only James Acaster, dressed in a deep green suit, white shirt and purple Oxfords. He had a peppering of stubble across his face that you hadn’t seen him sport on tv before. You noted it looked good on him. You made your way over to your friend and embraced him into the first hug you’d had in a long time. 

“Sorry I just got back, I might be a little late. I need to have a shower. Very sweaty” 

“Yes. Thanks for the hug” he said, making you chuckle. “We can wait around for you if you like. No one else is coming until later anyways. Oh! This is James by the way” James have a polite wave of a hello and smile at you then.

You didn’t quite know the etiquette of meeting people you’d seen on Dave for years. A simple, “Hi I’m Y/N” you decided was the most normal option. “You can come up if you like. I won’t be too long” 

“Sure” 

And so the trio of you braced the stairs and made it into your apartment. You moved rubbish around as you all entered. Slightly ashamed of how messy it was, moving open books into one corner of the living room to make space on the coffee table for some drinks. If they were waiting for you you’d at least fix them a little something as a thank you. 

“What would you like? I’ve got vodka, gin or tequila. Lemonade orange juice and pineapple juice for mixer” 

“Ooh vodka and pineapple sounds delicious Y/N” Ed said with some excitement, taking a comfortable seat on the sofa. James hung nervously by the door, as though he wasn’t sure of the etiquette this time. 

“Same here” he agreed

“Please have a seat, make yourself at home.” You said with a smile, watching as he looked around the room. You became slightly anxious that his glaze was clouded with judgement until he spoke as he went to take a seat next to Ed. 

“Nice place, where’d you get the paintings?” He asked genuinely as you began pouring three glasses of juice. 

“I made them myself” 

“Oh you’re an artist?” 

“Sort of, I work in lots of art forms, mostly theatre and community projects. Not painting though, it’s just hobby and plus, home décor is expensive”

He chuckled a little at that as you brought the two of them their drinks over. “I’ll put some music on while you shower is that okay?” Ed said, taking his phone out after taking a swig of his drink. “That’s strong” 

“Sorry might have given you mine” you said jokingly “let me disconnect my Bluetooth then” you said getting out your own and switching to Spotify. You played the music for a second or two just until you had it disconnected. It was the song you’d been working with all day at the studio with the jazz beat and hypnotic drumming.

“Is that Jon Bap?”

“Yeah, I was using it today at work” His eyes gleamed, visibly excited by the idea of it. 

“I love ‘What Now’,” he took a drink and shaking his head to himself “Such good drums on that album” 

“Yeah, you like the drums?”

“Was a drummer for years in my 20’s” 

You were slightly shocked by his comment on his age, always assuming he was younger than 30. Although it made sense for him and Ed to be in the same age bracket.

“Hey, that's cool, I never made it further than level two recorder. Guess I just don't have musical genes, anyways I’ll hop in the shower. Won’t be long” 

You made your way to the bathroom. Listening as the two men struck up a conversation. Giddy from the knowledge of their being pleasant conversation and good company tonight. You’d always admired James, never really considering the fact you may possibly meet him. You hoped that wouldn't mess up the possibility of a future friendship, by making a reference to something that he’d said on the telly before. Shaking the idea you stripped off, turning on the faucet and climbing inside. 

After you’d felt refreshed you did a little, awkward,  jig to your bedroom in your towel. You hadn’t considered the fact that from where James sat on the couch you could see all the way down the corridor. Your bathroom being on the right, and your room right on the very end. Embarrassment aside you dried off your hair and did your makeup quickly yet efficiently. Slowing down only to put on a red lip with care. You then got dressed. Choosing to opt for something a little fancy tonight as the other two had clearly made an effort. Even if you did end up somewhere at 4am, it still felt good to dress up for the walk of ‘platonic’ shame. 

You chose a silky skirt with a slip down the leg in a champagne iridescent colour. Paired with a tight long sleeved polo in white. You slipped on a pair of socks with ruffles over the top of your rhinestone tights. You emerged from your room feeling a little more confident and ready for a boogie. 

James smiled brightly at you when he noticed you’d come out. Something else was flashing across his face that you couldn’t quite pinpoint however. You brushed it off, blaming the triple vodka pineapple you’d been sipping through your ready-ing routine. 

“7:28, not bad” Ed said looking at his watch when you fully entered your living room. Pulling on your white leather converse. You told him to shut up in response and book an Uber.

#james acaster x reader #james acaster #james acaster imagines #james acaster fanfic

[jotakaklovers]

ETERNAL LOVE Part 2 : What Is This Warm Feeling? #jotakak fic

Author note : Hello everyone. We meet again! What about the previous story? Is it enough to make you feel curious? Okay, well then I will write the continuation now. I hope you like this 2nd part. Once again I warn, sorry if you find many mistakes in my writing because English is not my main language.

Ehmmm ... a little note, I should have written in the previous post but I forgot. So forgive me hehe. In this story, the lives of Jotaro and Kakyoin are not the same as the canon manga, there are no more stands and so on. Everything is normal. That's it, thank you. And for additional information, the story in this section is longer than the previous section. I hope you still enjoy reading it.

Pairing : Jotaro x Fem Kakyoin x Marina ( Jotaro's wife in manga canon )

Genre : Romance, adult, hurt-comfort, supernatural

Rated : M (18+)

Summary : 100 years have passed, at last they were given another chance to be together . But no longer to be a pair of friends, but to be a couple who will complement each other until death arrives. Because Kakyoin, has reincarnated into a different form. He is becoming a woman. But even that doesn't mean his love journey with Jotaro, the person from his past who him actually loved secretly before he finally had to lay down his life to save Holly, Jotaro's mother, would run smoothly. Because at this time they meet in a complicated way. Namely with the beginning of the affair and seasoned with feelings of old love blossomed again. The reason is because at this time, Jotaro already has a lover named Marina, the younger sister of Kakyoin in this era, who turns out to be the reincarnation of his wife from the past.

Let's enjoy it! 😊

- - - ETERNAL LOVE - - -

__ Even though fate has separated them for a long time but the love that is in their hearts has never been lost until now, that's true eternal love__

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After a while, Marina felt uncomfortable when she saw her sister and her boyfriend continue to shake hands and look at each other. So she immediately summoned the two with the intention of letting the handshake slip away.

"Are you done shaking her hand?"

"Alright, we're done," replied Jotaro as he immediately let go of Kakyoin's hand.

"So, how are you sis? Can you design a tuxedo and wedding dress for us?”

“Erm… Y-yes I can. But wait a minute, have our parents and Jotaro's parents approved of this marriage?"

"My parents have approved of our marriage."

"Well then that's good. But why didn't you tell me about this Marina? I'm your sister."

"Sorry sis, I wanted to give you a surprise. So I kept this a secret. Hehehe, sorry sis ...." Marina apologized while smiling shyly.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Oh yeah by the way, how did you guys met? I want to know the story," said Kakyoin as he drank his coffee again until it was finished.

"Honestly, our love journey up to this point has nothing interesting, sis. We only met on campus then we had the same hobbies and passions, so we could quickly become a couple and suddenly Jotaro proposed to me. Everything feels fast.”

Right after Marina finished her story Kakyoin put down her coffee cup then she immediately responded to Marina's words.

“Wow… that's called a great love story! I'm so jealous, I've never felt anything like that, even though I'm already old … huhuhu … ,” replied Kakyoin while acting like someone who was about to cry.

“You  and I are only 1 year apart. You not old, you just like me. Just be patient."

"Okay I understand. Thank you for comforting me. So what, what theme do you want for this tuxedo and wedding gown design?”

"Don't you recognize me? Of course the ocean theme. That's what we like, isn't it Jotaro?”

Hearing Marina's question, Jotaro just nodded his head in response to Marina's question. It's natural for Jotaro to act like that, because Jotaro himself has a quiet personality and will only speak when he really needs something.

"Okay, I'll do it. Then I will measure your body size first. For Jotaro, let my male employees take care of it. Because he's too tall for me to reach."

"So please get out of here first," said Kakyoin ordering them to get out of her room.

"Okay. Come on honey, let's go out," replied Marina as she invited Jotaro to come out with her. Meanwhile Kakyoin followed behind her.

It didn't take them long to walk, they finally arrived at the boutique's main room. In the room there were many clothes that had been neatly arranged, then there were several mannequins wearing evening gowns in every corner of the room. In addition to the mannequin, in the middle of the room there is a brown sofa chair in the middle of which there is a small table made of round wood.

Kakyoin then invited them to sit on the sofa chair. After they sat down, then Kakyoin also sat down. Then she immediately started the conversation.

“By the way, where do you want to get married? In America? Or in Japan? If in Japan it will be more amazing, there are many unique and historical buildings, then the mother will feel happy if her child who has been in America for a long time still wants to return to her hometown.”

“Ehm, it just so happened that we both chose to go to Japan. Because we really want to remember our hometown. Even though we have mixed blood, including Jotaro who also has mixed American-Japanese blood.”

It was true what Marina said. If they, including Kakyoin have mixed blood between America - Japan. Because actually Marina and Kakyoin's mother is Japanese and their father is American. Then for Jotaro his mother is American and his father is Japanese.

"Well that's good then. Oh yeah, when are you guys getting married?”

Right after Kakyoin asked that, Marina remembered something.

"Oh yes, I remember something! This is your invitation, sorry I forgot to give it to you hehehe." Marina said with a slight chuckle. Then he immediately gave the invitation to her sister. The reason she chuckled was because she was ashamed of her own carelessness.

“Thank you,” Kakyoin replied after accepting the invitation. And Kakyoin can see how the invitation design looks like. Most of the designs of the invitations are ocean-themed. The color of the invitation mat is greenish like the ocean and decorated with beach sand, shells that have been given glitter liquid and miniature small fish.

Then Kakyoin kept the invitation in a small drawer under the small table.

 "Okay, let's start the measurement."

After Kakyoin said that, she clapped her palm together hard. The goal is to call the two male employees who look busy putting things down. Naturally, this happened because the boutique shop had just opened and the Kakyoin employees had just arrived.

“Clap! Clap!”

"Shuichi! Hiroshi! Help me!"

"Okay madam."

After that, the two of them immediately walked towards Jotaro. Meanwhile Kakyoin immediately invited Marina to her room. Once inside the room they immediately started measuring the body. First Kakyoin took the measuring tape that was on her desk. Then she immediately measured Marina's waist. And in the midst of that activity Kakyoin started a conversation.

 "By the way, for the size of a woman's body your body is quite sexy even I think it's sexier than me. Has Jotaro ever had sex with you?” Kakyoin teased while continuing her activities.

"SEX!" How surprised Marina was to hear such a question. Because for her it was a very embarrassing thing and not worth discussing at a time like this.

“Shh… lower your voice. So how have you guys done it? Isn't America more free than here?"

"No, we never did. Because we agreed to get married first then do it.”

“Good! My sister is already adult.”

“Am I still a baby?… huh big sister sucks!” Marina exclaimed with her face already as red as a tomato while pinching her sister's waist a little.

Meanwhile, Kakyoin who received such treatment just laughed out loud because for her Marina's response was not much different from that of children aged 5 years.

Long story short their body measurements have been completed. Then Marina said goodbye to Kakyoin because she and Jotaro would be looking for a pair of rings for their wedding day. And when Marina said goodbye to her, she started to remember something.

"Wait a moment!"

Hearing Kakyoin's scream, Marina immediately stopped her steps and responded to her sister's scream.

"Yes sis? What is it?" asked Marina as she turned to Kakyoin.

“Isn't it too early for you guys to come to the jewelry store? It's still 7 o'clock is there any shops open at this hour?”

"Don't worry sis, the plan today is that Jotaro and I will go for a walk around Tokyo. Because Jotaro and I haven't been here for 5 years. There must have been a lot of changes.”

“Oh I see ... Be careful on the road, guys…”

"Okay sis..."

From a distance Kakyoin can see Jotaro piggybacking on Marinaa. Then they just drove away. In Kakyoin's eyes they look affectionate. This made Kakyoin smile. At first the smile etched on her face was a smile full of happiness but after a while the smile just disappeared and was replaced by a tear that came out of her left eye flowing down her left cheek just like that.

Why am I crying? And why does my heart hurt? Hah ... I don't know maybe it's just my feelings, don't worry about it any more.

Coinciding with this, she was suddenly startled by the voice of his employee.

“Miss Noriaki? When do we start working on this outfit?”

Kakyoin who didn't want to show her tears in front of other people immediately wiped her tears and turned her head at the same time responding to her employee's words. Do not forget also when responding to the words of her employees she smiled.

"Let's just do it now, because next month the event starts."

Long story short the day passed quickly. Night came. At night, Kakyoin is seen sitting on her bed. She was still awake with a facial expression that looked like someone was deep in thought. Because actually in her mind there are many questions that arise.

What happened today, everything feels like déjà vu. That man, Jotaro, my sister's lover. Who is he actually? Why does he look so much like the man in my dream? From the nature even physical all the same. Could this be a coincidence? Or maybe not? Ah I don't know I'm confused thinking about it, I better just sleep.

Just when Kakyoin closed her eyes suddenly she was shown a scene where she just met Jotaro in a state she was still a man. Then she is also shown the story of a 50 day trip to Egypt and finally a description of his death. Then she also saw Jotaro's face trying not to cry when he saw his corpse. Not long after, she noticed something new. Which had never appeared in her dreams before. She saw Jotaro flying by plane to a place. Then she saw a girl who suddenly came into Jotaro's life. That girl's face exactly the same as her younger sister, Marina. Then she could feel time had passed so fast, because suddenly she saw Jotaro married to Marina. And soon after she saw Jotaro had a child. The child is a girl and is adorable. But somehow it happened, suddenly Kakyoin felt her body was so tired and she could also see that she was still beside the little girl. Until the little girl grew into a big girl.

And right when she saw that last scene, her body kept sweating and in her sleep she kept on fidgeting until she finally made herself fall off her bed.

Bruk…

“Ouch…,” Kakyoin moaned while holding her head with both hands. Because earlier she fell with her head first hit the floor.

This dream again… Why does it keep repeating itself and even now it continues. And Marina? Why did she appear in my dream when she became Jotaro's wife? I'm getting more and more curious about what happened? Who can help me to answer all my confusion?

Meanwhile in another place, Jotaro also feels the same with Kakyoin and this also keeps him awake. In his mind he also wondered.

What actually happened today? Why does everything look so weird? Why do I meet someone who is exactly the same as the person who has always appeared in my dreams?

But after that, unlike Kakyoin, he didn't sleep right away. Instead, he immediately opened his cell phone. Then do a search about the meaning of his dream. He kept looking for a long time until finally he was surprised by the fact that his dream was not an arbitrary dream. But actually his dream is containing a very big meaning. Well, in essence the search he did resulted in that actually this dream he was having was a sign that he was a reincarnated soul.

"Reincarnation?"

What is this crazy thing? Ah no, it's just hallucination I can't believe it. I better sleep.

Just like Kakyoin, when he just fell asleep suddenly he was shown a series of strange events starting from his meeting with Kakyoin, a 50 day trip to Egypt, then Kakyoin's death and finally he somehow saw himself married to Marina and managed to have a female child. But when he saw this new series of events, Jotaro felt something was wrong because for some reason he saw Kakyoin's soul trapped inside his daughter's stand. And right after he saw it all he felt restless and he immediately woke up. When he woke up, he immediately pulled a strand of his hair, causing some of his hair to fall.

"Marina? Kakyoin? The souls of Kakyoin and the girl? What's this really about?"

Afterwards Jotaro felt very dizzy, and there was no one to help him that night. If this is the way Jotaro can only be patient until fate will answer all the riddles.

Long story short the day passed quickly. Two weeks have passed so quickly and it's been a schedule for Jotaro and Marina to do their wedding dress fittings. Because this activity is very important for the bride and groom to do. The goal is to make the clothes ordered by the bride look good and match the bride's taste at the wedding.

“Today, their schedule is fitting clothes but why don't they come too? It's already 10 minutes late."

Just when Kakyoin said something like that, she suddenly saw Jotaro already in front of her boutique as he started to walk into her boutique. This happens because the door installed at the Kakyoin boutique is an automatic door so the door can detect the presence of people and will open automatically.

"Good morning," said Jotaro before the conversation as he walked towards the sofa.

“Morning,” answered Kakyoin with the position where she was now sitting on the sofa.

"Where's Marina?" asked Kakyoin then after Jotaro had sat down on the sofa.

"Today she suddenly had a fever so I'm the one here now."

“This shouldn't be possible, because at the fitting, all of the bride and groom must come. So I'd better change your wedding dress fitting schedule."

It's true what Kakyoin said if the bride and groom can't come, then the fitting can't be done. Because the fitting itself is done to help prepare for the wedding to make it look more tidy and structured.

"Don't worry, later she will call us using video call media. So, the fitting can still be done."

"Okay, thank’s." replied Kakyoin confirming Jotaro's words.

"Okay, let's start first. Jotaro, please try this tuxedo. Not too many accessories, but the colors are quite friendly with the ocean. I hope you like it," continued Kakyoin starting the conversation. She spoke while handing over the tuxedo.

So in more detail, the tuxedo's appearance is as follows, for its basic color is a slightly bluish greenish color, exactly like the ocean. And in the pocket there are shell accessories. That's all there is nothing else. So that was the reason why Kakyoin said that she made the tuxedo without any extra accessories.

"Where's the dressing room?" Jotaro responded regardless of what the tuxedo looked like. All he could think about right now was to try it quickly so that everything would be over quickly. Because to be honest, at home he has another job. That is teaching students in America through online meeting media. Well, so Jotaro's job is a lecturer for marine biology courses. Just like in his past life.

" The dressing room is on the right side of my office. "

"Thank you." Hearing that, Jotaro immediately walked into the dressing room. It didn't take him long to change clothes. About 2 minutes later he immediately came out of the room. When he walked out, Kakyoin happened to see him and to be honest when he saw that Kakyoin was stunned. Because Jotaro's aura really radiated.

"Wow, it really suits you!. Do you like it?”

“Yes, I like it,” Jotaro replied flatly and this made Kakyoin feel dissatisfied. So she immediately decided to make a video call to Marina.

 "Hello Marina, how are you?"

"It's getting a little better, sis," replied Marina with a weak bed and a weak voice.

"Okay, then get well soon huh. Oh yeah how about this? Do you like it?” asked Kakyoin while showing the wedding dress he had made attached to a mannequin.

"It will look better if you wear it because then I can imagine what if I wear it."

"Okay, I'll use it. Wait a minute, please …."

10 minutes later, Kakyoin had finished wearing the dress and she walked away confidently. Seeing that Jotaro felt a strange vibration in his heart, but he immediately ignored it because he knew this was not right.

"It's perfect, I really like it. But it would be great if I wear it now,” Marina whined. Because after all, Marina really liked the design. Because Kakyoin gives a touch of the ocean theme that is so strong on the dress.  

"Then I'll take this dress there. But wait this afternoon, after the boutique is closed."

"Okay, I'll wait."

After that the video call was closed and Kakyoin immediately put her cell phone on her small table. Shortly after he put down his cellphone, suddenly she heard Jotaro calling her name.

"Kakyoin."

"Yes?" replied Kakyoin and Jotaro immediately walked up to her. Feeling Jotaro's body getting closer to him Kakyoin started to panic. But she held back the panic for now. Because she wanted to know what Jotaro would do after this.

"You are beautiful."

Honestly when Jotaro said these words he felt like he was admiring someone he had known for a long time. So it feels like he's out of his mind. Even he himself was confused as to why it was like this.

And Kakyoin was surprised when she heard those words. So she just froze on the spot. But before long she was startled by something else, which made her stop frozen in place.

“E-eh… Why are you so close? Go away from me!"

Well Jotaro has approached her now and to be honest at a time like this Kakyoin is really panicking, because this is the first time she's been approached by a man. The reason is because in fact she has never been in love with any man, all her life she has only spent seeking knowledge and seeking achievements in the fields she likes. Namely fashion design.

So she immediately tried to push Jotaro's body. But it turned out that what she was trying to do ended up in vain because Jotaro was taller and stronger than her. So she could only give up now and let Jotaro do what he wanted. The proof is now that she's letting Jotaro get closer to her. Then she also let Jotaro's hand touch his hair, touch the birthmark on her face which is arguably very strange and touch the cherry earrings that are attached to her ears.

“Even this hair, these scars and these cherry earrings why are they exactly the same as the man named Noriaki Kakyoin who always appears in my dreams?”

"You dreamed that too?" asked Kakyoin afterward while looking straight into Jotaro's eyes.

“Yes, even I can see myself in strange clothes. I wore black clothes resembling a school uniform. Did you see it too?”

"Yes, I see."

Then they immediately hugged. In that hug Jotaro spoke again. But this time he whispered in Kakyoin's right ear.

“What really happened between us? Even at times like this I can feel a warm feeling enveloping my heart.”

"You're beautiful," said Jotaro again as he immediately put his hands on Kakyoin's cheeks then he pulled Kakyoin's chin closer to his face. At first the distance between the lips was still far apart but soon the distance between the lips was severed and their lips were touching.

How shocked Kakyoin was when she felt this sensation, because honestly this was her first kiss. So when the kiss happened, Kakyoin froze on the spot, and Jotaro who felt it immediately gently stroked Kakyoin's long hair. The goal is to make Kakyoin feel calm. And sure enough, it didn't take long for Kakyoin to immediately relax and close her eyes tightly.

I'm sorry Marina, but somehow I feel like something made me like this. Even when I kiss her, I feel my feelings are so calm and warm. Even I think this feeling can not be described clearly. What is this really? I don't know I don't understand. Jotaro thought in the middle of the kiss. And while kissing Kakyoin, Jotaro's hand continued to work. Well he started to unzip the dress and made the dress just open. After knowing that the dress was open Jotaro instantly throwing away the dress was like a useless item.

Just like Jotaro in his heart, Kakyoin also spoke.

We've gone too far, I can even feel this dress slipping from my body, I have to stop Jotaro before things get fatal.

But honestly she himself felt unable to stop all this because for some reason there he could feel something that made her feel reluctant to refuse all of this. Everything just feels tied up.

Why is this? Why do I feel so comfortable when I feel all his touch that he bestows on me? Was it because of that dream? The proof alone we both dream the same thing. But I don't know if it's true or not. Kakyoin thought as she allowed Jotaro to continue doing things she shouldn't have. Because honestly she felt his body really weak now.

I'm sorry Marina. I betrayed you. Kakyoin thought again while shedding tears, because she suddenly remembered about Marina. But somehow when she remembered about Marina she saw that something was wrong. Marina's face changed rapidly from where she wore a wedding dress the same as in her dream, then continued with the natural appearance of the Marina she had known all along. As a spoiled sister. From here she started to feel dizzy from thinking about this but she didn't want to prolong the matter so she immediately forgot all those strange images.

So she immediately kissed Jotaro back and she let Jotaro's big hands roam her breasts and pussy from under her underwear. Because right now all that was left on her body was that pair of underwear.

In essence right now the two of them had completely lost their minds and lust completely enveloped them. Moreover, they can also feel a warm feeling that somehow makes them no longer afraid to do that. Even if they do it in a boutique. Which is sure to be seen by people who will shop there.

Meanwhile in the distance, without Jotaro and Kakyoin knowing there was a pair of eyes staring at them with a look of sadness.

To be continue...

#jotakak #jjba part 3 #stardust crusaders #noriaki kakyoin #jotaro kujo #jotaro x kakyoin #female kakyoin #my writing #what I wrote #jojo fic #fanfiction #jjba genderbend #marina kujo