#absynthe is red/black/gold

[sorry-i-forgot]

presenting my beloved tavs (at least the ones i'm the most focused on there are many)

Ardyth, wood elf Beast Companion Ranger

Absynthe, Zariel tiefling Oath of Vengeance Paladin

Audra, Mephistopheles tiefling Storm Sorcery Sorcerer

[maytheoddshq]

The food and drink carts scattered around the ballroom offer a wide variety of delicacies for ball attendees, but each has a special menu with exclusive 133rd Hunger Games confections and concoctions!

Metropolis Mixology

The Panhattan - by M

- 2 oz. whiskey of choice - 1 oz. sweet vermouth - 1 dash of orange bitters - Stir, pour, then top off the glass with pineapple juice - Garnish with a pineapple slice or a cherry, as preferred.

Riptide Raspberry - by Rainy

A blue-raspberry flavored gelatin shot with layers of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, topped with white candy woven candy and silver lusterdust. What better way to say go team?

The Hurricane - by Kaye

Despite its rainy-day appearance, this cocktail packs a cotton candy sweet taste with a punch of vodka. Beware the Category 5 hangover that might follow!

The Bodega Cat - by Kaye

This blood-red cocktail is a bourbon-cherry concoction as sophisticated as a pampered feline and with a burn to rival the razor sharp cat scratch of an alley cat. 

Do Tributes Dream of Electric Mutts? - by Lena

The sun sets over the city, and the moon drenches the skyline in silver glow. Tucked throughout, tributes slumber, or yearn for sleep. And what do they dream of? Find out for yourself with this very special tonic. Careful, though... A few sips, and you'll find yourself unable to keep your own eyes open much longer. Sweet dreams.

Cosmopolitician - by Greta

Crush pomegranates like you would rebel hopes and let them lie at the bottom of this decadent and classy drink that mixes vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice. Features a glittery sugar rim for this glittering city and a lime wedge.

End of the Whirled - by Greta

Layer a shot of absynthe with purple glitter liqueur for this beautiful and dangerously insidious cocktail that you know is going to hit you, but boy are you going to enjoy it while it lasts.

World's Flair - by Greta

Embrace the sweetness of the pre-Dark Days world with the spicy kick of knowing what's to come by mixing equal parts coconut rum, midori, and blue curacao with two parts lemonade, shaken over ice and then strained into a martini glass lined with dashes of Old Bay and a hot chili sea salt rim. A lemon slice adds a solar flare to the world that once was.

Capitol Crumbs Bakery

Sweet and Tart Catcake - by Virginia

This cupcake looks sweet and sugary from the outside, but just like the bodega cats prowling the Arena's streets, it has a sharp, tart center of blackberry cream — though it doesn't look like much, it packs a punch! The chocolates are also infused with blackberry.

The Murder Muffin - by Rainy

a tabbylike marbled muffin of chocolate and vanilla, topped with chocolate spots, a dust of cinnimon sugar, and a swiping of chocolate clawsting.

Ball Brownies - by Lena

Mahlon's special, still made with essence of ether (for as long as supplies last). So what if the price is doubled from last ball? You want the thing or not?

May the Odds be Ever In Your Flavor

City Lights Burger - by Virginia

This burger is made to look like a city night, in all its glowing glory. Patties can be made of beef or beans, but either way, they'll still come out bright blue — as will all the toppings.

The Freezer Burn - by Rainy

Inspired by the greens that entice so many tributes in the food court, pick a healthy and bright tasting salad! topped with a hard-boiled egg and fresh green tomatoes. So good it’s worth freezing for.

Victory Sundae - by Kaye

Feel as triumphant as a Victor while dining on this rich chocolate ganache poised on a soft bed of edible gold flakes, with caramel-chocolate ice cream, gold cookie crumble, and a healthy topping of whipped cream and delicate chocolate wafers on top.

The Bloodslide - by Greta

This update on a classic Cup of Dirt features crushed sour gummy people six feet under a layer of Black Forest ice cream (dark chocolate with cherry swirls), a layer of chocolate cookie crumbles, a layer of chocolate pudding, a thin layer of raspberry syrup (or, for the more alcoholically minded, raspberry liqueur), and chocolate shavings. The dish is then topped with a scoop of raspberry ripple ice cream, dark chocolate ice cream, chocolate covered marshmallows, and spun chocolate in a shape reminiscent of the Cornucopia. 

[annaquenta]

[Image description: A colored pencil drawing of Maedhros from the Silmarillion, looking up with a slight smile on his face. The image is shown nine times with various gradient backgrounds: cotton candy blue-pink, sunset colors, red and gold, coppergold, transparent/white, silverblue, blue with a gold stripe, black and feanorian red, and rainbow. End image description.]

March 30, 2020

fucking around with this mae drawing by making icons for my in-progress mae blog… which do you think should be the icon? Vote Now On Your Phones

(yes the coppergold/silverblue is a reference to @absynthe–minded‘s fic Blessed Hands, don’t judge me)

[nilsavatar]

Odette’s Moving Boutique [Crossover MCL - Eldarya - Howl’s Moving Castle] - CastielxNilsa

The H.Q. needed food, reserves were starting to run out and in Eldarya there was no way to support a stable, indigenous agriculture yet. To make up for the shortcomings quickly, Miiko decided to send two of his best collaborators in Our World, the heads of the Shadow Guard, Nevra, and of the Absynthe Guard, Ezarel. But in reality it was just a pretext, the real reason why she had sent them on Earth was to find Valkyon and Leiftan, mysteriously disappeared during the umpteenth refueling mission. However, something will go wrong and the circle of mushrooms will close the transition from one dimension to another sooner than expected. The two, stuck right in that world from which they had escaped long ago, will now have to find a way to go home, and to do so they’ll have to rely on a young apprentice witch and an half-vampire abberrantly against the lineage from which he descends. It won’t be easy at all, but in the Boutique ‘J’ everything is possible, even the impossible.

                                                              1.         IN WHICH NILSA IS HIRED IN A STRANGE SHOP

   As you had always feared, you didn’t last long at the Cozy Bear Cafe. Clémence fired you at the first opportunity, at the first mistake, just to keep you away from her beloved Hyun.    She and her ridiculous jealousy, a symptom of some weird form of mid-life crisis. Jealousy so rooted and blinding that, mixed with the worrying predatory instinct of a MILF, it prevented her from noticing that you’ve never nurtured the slightest interest in the shy, selfless and friendly Korean and that, admitted otherwise, it’s had the side effect of draining her of that minimum of logic sufficient to keep in her mind that, if you wanted to, you’d have all the chances in this world in your favor, to make him fall for you. A thing that, perhaps, has already happened…    The pretext in the specific seems almost a joke, recalling it now to the memory. You were passing through the glass door of the bar with a tray overflowing with glasses and empty cups begging to be put in the dishwasher - damned high school students - but, while you were about to reach Hyun at the counter, a striped red cat darted you between your legs at light speed, making you lose your balance. You fell ruinously to the ground and, with you, the porcelains, which shattered into a thousand pieces all around. You were lucky that, leaving your ego and your butt, you didn’t get hurt.    Clémence, hearing the noise, came out of the kitchen like a madwoman, with her hair gathered in an untidy bun, her apron stained here and there with flour and jam, the sleeves of the close-fitting leopard-print blouse turned up to the elbows, and her arms raised in half air to keep the herself from getting dirty. If possible, she looked even older that way. Older and filthy than she normally was already.    Her hazel eyes, surrounded by heavy make-up, wandered all over the room, from the indifferent cat who was licking itself in a corner, to the fragments of the china scattered on the ground, to Hyun’s hands that helped you to get back on your feet, still messed-up, brushing you away some crumbs.    The complexion of her face gradually changed shades in line with her anger, from a bright pink to a glowing periwinkle, and as one nuance left room for another, her expression became more and more distorted with them. Her irises became fiery, the round, swollen and protruding orbits like those of an oranda telescope, a thousand crow’s feet branched out to the outer corners where the eyelids joined, and the mud-colored lips opened wide in an animalistic grimace.    Her reaction was immediate.    The woman’s screams reached octaves that even a lyric soprano dreamt of, and confused words blew from her vulgar mouth, like a dam smashed by water. Not a single sentence got a complete meaning, such was the haste and fury with which she was passing from one subject to another, until she reached the fateful verdict, expressing a concept that was all too simple and clear as ruthless.    “You’re fired!”.    A heavy silence fell in the room.    Hyun, after a minute of muteness, tried to defend you. In vain.    “Enough, Hyun!”, the cougar raised a hand to the height of her face, “You have already covered her too many times. This time I can’t let it go”.    “But, the cat…”.     “Take off your uniform”, she stoned, “And don’t show yourself again, not even as a customer. You are a disgrace”. With those words she crossed the room, opened the wall closet and took out a broom and a dustpan.    You took off your uniform and your cap, livid face and gritted teeth, and you gave them to the waiter, to your ex-colleague, who took them with a broken expression printed on his face, « I’m sorry … I … I … I tried to… ».    "Don’t worry,“ you interrupted him, "it’s not your fault. Indeed, it’s better this way”.    Leaving the club determined not to set foot in it again, you walked tired and distressed towards the campus. In front of the gate you met a small, thin girl, with platinum bob hair, tinged with candy pink along the tips. She’s all smiling and perky, in sharp contrast to the Gothic style of her clothes. Her smile dissolved as soon as she deciphered the gloominess on your face.    "What happened?”, Chani sked without even saying hello.    "Clémence … I lost my job,“, you sobbed after one, at appearance, infinite pause.    Immediately the girl wrapped you by the shoulders in an embrace - an unusual gesture on her part, constantly trapped by her personal soap bubble -, "Don’t beat yourself down. That crazy bitch doesn’t deserve your tears. ”    You sniffed, raising your eyes to cross those of the girl, highlighted by the black smokey-eye, her face was out of focus through the veil of tears, “What will I do now? My parents pay the university tuition, but the rent of the room is my responsibility. ”    "In this regard, I have the solution,“ she said firmly, "I’m just going to the store where I work now, my boss is looking for another part-time employee.”   “But Chani, I don’t know anything about esotericism, stones and all that stuff.”    Your friend raised a testily eyebrow, she didn’t like the term stuff at all to hear, but for your friendship’s sake she decided to let it go, “I’ll teaching you everything. And in any case the shop owner is an easygoing person, there will be no problem in forming a novice ».    "Are you sure?”.    “Of course!”, she took you by the arm, «If it doesn’t work she won’t take you, but trying doesn’t hurt».   You uttered a last nasal grunt, nodding, “We will never know if I don’t try.”   “This is the spirit!”, she exclaimed, holding out a handkerchief, “Come on, let’s go.”

   After a short walk, you reached the city center, passed by Leigh’s clothing boutique, continued just beyond, and then turned onto a secondary alley. There was nothing apart from the badly off sign of a small shop, hanging perpendicular to the wall by two wrought-iron rods and made of wood panels, carved to form a cadet-blue spiked shield, surrounded by lilies and golden twigs, where, at the center, a pompous peacock-green 'J’ with gold edges gave a beautiful display of itself.    "It’s the initial of the family name,“, Chani said out of the blue, reading from your doubtful expression what you were thinking - or at first you convinced yourself of this -, "But I don’t know which it is. She doesn’t want to reveal it.”   You looked in the eccentric girl direction astonished, “Don’t you know your employer surname?”.   “I only know her first name, Odette, but everyone calls her Madame.”. That said, she pushed the French door open, making the bell ring above it and held it open to let you pass.    What stood before your eyes knew of the incredible. The shop was not particularly big, indeed, it was definitely small, and seemed even smaller due to all the sundries piled up on top of one another almost at random, giving the impression that the room could explode at any moment. Yet, by giving the right attention, you could identify a certain order in the arrangement of the various objects.    To your right, a large bookcase covered the entire wall, overflowing with ancient tomes with colourful leather covers and luxurious captions.    On the left, subdivided on the shelves by colour, there were glass jars with powders and oils inside that looked precious. Some were large, others tiny; some had regular shapes, others bizarre, round or angular, as if the glassmaker master who made them was undecided on how to create them. Under each of them, attached to the wood of the shelves, there were labels, and just below, the counter skirted the entire interior of the shop to the nearest door jamb. It was made of oak, covered with a thick plate of crystal to protect the semi-precious stones exposed inside, also arranged by color and with the respective caption.    On the other side of the furniture, there was the most untidy shelf of all, the one that at first sight gave you the idea that the objects in that palce were placed on a wing and a prayer. In fact, there were ampoules, mirrors, rolls of fabric, quartz pendulums, Middle Eastern chandeliers, goose feathers and inks, baskets, small paints, post-it attached to the bulk, rolled parchments, flowers threaded between who knows how among the various articles who knows how.    That place was a unique contradiction, passing from a manic order to the most disturbing and total chaos. And yet, despite the overpowering sense that all that minute things gave to the lieu, influenced also by the surrounding dim light, the place gave you a pleasant feeling of calm and warmth, and, not to be taken for granted, even that mystical aura typical of a magicians den was palpable, just as you’d expect from an esoteric boutique.    "Madame, I brought a friend. I think she could be a good candidate for part-time job,“, Chani winked at you. You both knew that she had overplayed a bit, you are really clumsy.    You perceisted a movement beyond the counter, then you heard the noise of something heavy that is moved with difficulty by somebody, and in fact, after a few moments, a woman in her late thirties emerged from the innumerable boxes on the floor, she disponed one in particular on the wooden shelf and began to empty its contents.    Her hair was long and curly of a warm and intense coppery red, which surrounded her rosy complexion sprinkled with freckles, highlighting the lemon-yellow irises, fixed on you like those of a feline.   How old was that woman exactly?   Her face was youthful, almost childish, but there was something in her eyes, a wisdom, an awareness of the world that was anything but immature.   "She is Nilsa.”    For a moment it seemed that his pupils flickered at the sound of your name, “Nilsa”.   You stepped forward reaching out, “Nice to meet you, Ma’m”. She looked at your hand but made no move to hold it. Did she want any demonstrations about your attitude before?    Anxious, you started raving, talking in burst like you used to do in moments of panic. How could you not be agitated, you needed that job.   “I don’t have much experience as a saleswoman, I worked mostly as a waitress, but I assured you that I’ll work hard, I learn very quickly …”.    A smug smirk curved her full lips as she brought the fists to her sides, “Do you have the same schedule as Chani in the university?”   Her sudden question left you dumbfounded, “…Yes, leaving aside the elective courses.”   “Very well. Let me know the time slots you are available, so as to organize the rotation of shifts from next week onwards”, the woman turned her back, beginning to arrange the articles on the various shelves,“ At the beginning you’ll be place side by side by me or Chani, and when I think you’re ready I’ll entrust the shop to you.”. She turned abruptly to look at you waiting for something.   “Are you saying I’m hired?”, you asked after a long while, even more dazed than before, “This way? Without a one-day trial? ”   “My intuition tells me you’ll get away with it. Are you free on Saturday afternoon?”, you nodded, “Great, I’ll wait for you at 3 p.m. Be punctual”.   Your eyes lit up like two supernovas, "Thank you! Thank you very much, Madame!”.   The owner looked at the elegant white pearl dial of the watch, "There’s still a quarter of an hour left to the opening, Chani, why don’t you show her the shop?”   The girl smiled politely, “Sure”.