(Angst tw, idk if happy ending??)
Hizashi has always wanted to be a catastrophe.
Because maybe if he's spiraling out of control, someone will at least go through the motions of caring about him.
But it never works that way.

Present Mic is loud and fun and flashy, and you'd think he would have drawn at least a couple of people in like moths to a strobe light. And, sure, he's got fans. Lots of them.
But the second he shows any of them *Hizashi*, they lose interest.
He starts wondering if he can even connect to people as himself, or if only his fake face, the mask he puts on, is human enough.
Eventually, he stops trying to ever take that mask off, even with people he considers friends.
And he's loud on the outside, but that's a celebration. The disaster is quiet.
It's just him, taking care of himself like putting coins in a jukebox to make it keep playing.
When he doesn't, when the marionette falls down, he's too ashamed to let anyone see. Nobody ever comes knocking on his door to see where he's gone.
If Shouta or Nemuri calls, he says he's sick and leaves it at that.
And they leave him alone.
Until they don't.
Hizashi is--well, he's not doing anything. Just sitting on--not even the couch, he has a perfectly good couch but that seemed like too much energy, gravity has pulled him down to the floor, and it's hard and uncomfortable but that feels right.
He had been looking at his phone, but all he could see was how everyone else was doing so much *better* than he was, they look so much like real people that they can't possibly be faking it like he is.
So he let his phone drop and just...stared at the wall, head full of static.
Until there's a knock at the door.
Which is really weird, only a few people know where he lives.
It's a lot of effort to get off the floor, and he's been there for so long that his muscles all protest, stiff and cold. But he manages it, and opens the door.
It takes a few moments for his mind to register Shouta, and when he does, his first instinct is a kind of quiet panic. He feels naked in his pajamas that he hasn't changed out of in three days, but even more so with his blank unsmiling face.
Shouta doesn't seem to notice, though. He just holds up a plastic bag.
It's another couple of moments before Hizashi realizes that he's supposed to take it. When he does, it's heavy and warm. "What's this?"
"Okayu. You said you had a cold." Shouta says it like these things are connected.
When Hizashi lifts the container out of the bag, the rice porridge warms his hands. "So?"
Shouta snorts. "So you're supposed to eat it. It'll make you get better faster."
"Oh. Thanks." Hizashi says, but it's dull, just what he thinks he's supposed to say.
Shouta squints at him suspiciously. "You don't sound like you have a cold."
Hizashi laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I'm getting better?"
Shouta just nods. "That's good. You shouldn't be contagious anymore, then."
And he pushes past Hizashi into his apartment.
Hizashi almost wants to stop him, to say he can't come in. Can't see him like this.
But Shouta is already on his couch, turning on the TV.
And he hadn't exactly been having fun, had he? The space already seems brighter with someone else in it.
So Hizashi just sits next to him. Shouta doesn't seem to need him to talk, but after a while, he nods to the container that Hizashi still has his hands wrapped around.
"You're supposed to eat that."
"Okay," he says. He's not hungry--until he opens the plastic takeout container. Then he's starving, realizes he can't remember when he last ate. The food is simple and bland, but it's comforting and warm.
He's halfway through the container when it clicks.
Shouta thought he was sick. Shouta got him sick-people-food. Shouta is taking care of him. Shouta did something nice for him.
And then he's almost crying into his rice.
It just means too much, right now. It's a small gesture--it's not even homemade food, Shouta doesn't have a kitchen. But he's also *here*, silently keeping Hizashi company.
He doesn't even say anything about him crying. He just reaches out and puts a hand on Hizashi's back.
It doesn't solve everything. It's just one light against a huge uncaring dark.
But one small light can take a room from pitch-black to dim, and what a difference that makes when you want to see your way out.

More from For later read

How I created content in 2020

A thread...

Back in Aug 2016, I started creating content to share my experiences as an entrepreneur.
Over 3 years I had put out 1,200+ hours of content - posting every week without


Little did I know that something I started almost 4 years back would give my life an entirely new direction.

At the end of 2019, my biggest platform was LinkedIn with ~700K followers.

In Jan 2020, I decided to build a team that would help me with the content.

I ran a month long recruitment drive to hire a team of interns.

It comprised 4 detailed rounds - starting with my loved 20 questions, then an assignment, then a WhatsApp video round and finally F2F.

Through 1,200+ applications, I finally selected 6 profiles, starting March.

I am a firm believer in @peterthiel's one task, one person philosophy
So the team was structured such that everyone was responsible for ONLY one task

1. Content ideas
2. Videography
3. Video editing
4. LinkedIn (+TikTok) distribution
5. FB+IG distribution
6. YouTube distribution

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#ஆதித்தியஹ்ருதயம் ஸ்தோத்திரம்
இது சூரிய குலத்தில் உதித்த இராமபிரானுக்கு தமிழ் முனிவர் அகத்தியர் உபதேசித்ததாக வால்மீகி இராமாயணத்தில் வருகிறது. ஆதித்ய ஹ்ருதயத்தைத் தினமும் ஓதினால் பெரும் பயன் பெறலாம் என மகான்களும் ஞானிகளும் காலம் காலமாகக் கூறி வருகின்றனர். ராம-ராவண யுத்தத்தை


தேவர்களுடன் சேர்ந்து பார்க்க வந்திருந்த அகத்தியர், அப்போது போரினால் களைத்து, கவலையுடன் காணப்பட்ட ராமபிரானை அணுகி, மனிதர்களிலேயே சிறந்தவனான ராமா போரில் எந்த மந்திரத்தைப் பாராயணம் செய்தால் எல்லா பகைவர்களையும் வெல்ல முடியுமோ அந்த ரகசிய மந்திரத்தை, வேதத்தில் சொல்லப்பட்டுள்ளதை உனக்கு

நான் உபதேசிக்கிறேன், கேள் என்று கூறி உபதேசித்தார். முதல் இரு சுலோகங்கள் சூழ்நிலையை விவரிக்கின்றன. மூன்றாவது சுலோகம் அகத்தியர் இராமபிரானை விளித்துக் கூறுவதாக அமைந்திருக்கிறது. நான்காவது சுலோகம் முதல் முப்பதாம் சுலோகம் வரை ஆதித்ய ஹ்ருதயம் என்னும் நூல். முப்பத்தி ஒன்றாம் சுலோகம்

இந்தத் துதியால் மகிழ்ந்த சூரியன் இராமனை வாழ்த்துவதைக் கூறுவதாக அமைந்திருக்கிறது.
ஐந்தாவது ஸ்லோகம்:
ஸர்வ மங்கள் மாங்கல்யம் ஸர்வ பாப ப்ரநாசனம்
சிந்தா சோக ப்ரசமனம் ஆயுர் வர்த்தனம் உத்தமம்
பொருள்: இந்த அதித்ய ஹ்ருதயம் என்ற துதி மங்களங்களில் சிறந்தது, பாவங்களையும் கவலைகளையும்


குழப்பங்களையும் நீக்குவது, வாழ்நாளை நீட்டிப்பது, மிகவும் சிறந்தது. இதயத்தில் வசிக்கும் பகவானுடைய அனுக்ரகத்தை அளிப்பதாகும்.
முழு ஸ்லோக லிங்க் பொருளுடன் இங்கே உள்ளது
https://t.co/Q3qm1TfPmk
சூரியன் உலக இயக்கத்திற்கு மிக முக்கியமானவர். சூரிய சக்தியால்தான் ஜீவராசிகள், பயிர்கள்