#also^2 i still don't know how to color gold :standing:

[zorionbbq]

toshiki kadomatsu album redraw B^]

[l0vedoe]

Yandere!Lucifer X GN!Reader

Hi! My name is Kay, and it's my first time posting something on Tumblr (I don't know how to use this)

I've been really obsessed with Lucifer and I saw a Yandere!Lucifer fanfic that I loved a lot, but sadly there's no part 2 :( So, I decided I would write MY OWN Yandere!Lucifer fanfic! (Also without a part 2..) Here is the one I got inspired by! So, have fun! <3

Sorry if it's a little weird at first, english is not my first language and I'm still learning it!

Part 2 here!

Words: 3787

Synopsis: Your friends found a ritual that can bring Lucifer to your world and, unfortunately, you accepted to participate.

You were sitting on a pile of cushions with your arms crossed, not believing what you and your friends were doing.

A few days ago, one of your friends, Lesley, had found a ritual that could summon Lucifer, the King of Hell, into the human world. You knew that your group of friends were obsessed with those sobrenatural things, ghosts and anything with horror involved. You liked it too, but among them, you were the only one who didn't enjoy getting directly involved with these things. You liked the trivia, the facts, the stories you heard on the internet, but participate in rituals? Ha! No, certainly no. You were sensible enough to know that you shouldn't be messing with these things, whether you believed in them or not. You weren't scared, you just didn't want to disturb whatever exists out there.

Even though you didn't like the idea, you accepted, not knowing why though. Maybe it was because your friends kept insisting...

And there you were, in a dark room in an abandoned house that Lesley had found so that you all could perform the ritual.

You watched your friends as they prepared everything. One of them was making a large pentagram on the floor, while another was placing six candles around it. As soon as they had finished, the three of them stood inside the pentagram, looking at you as if that was all that was missing - and it was.

"Come on, you agreed to do it, remember?" Lesley says, holding out his hand to you.

"Unfortunately."

You said, standing next to your friends.

Lesley took a needle from his pocket and pierced everyone's finger, letting them each drip their own blood onto the pentagram below. Gab, your friend on your left, held out a lighter so that you could light the candles one by one. As soon as you had finished, you all left the pentagram and the atmosphere became more tense.

This couldn't turn out good.

"Lucifer, lord of the red skies, hear my sublime call, show us your true power and appear in this circle!"

When Lesley finished speaking, silence prevailed in the room... for a long time. Since you came here you believed it wouldn't work, but your friends really believed it would, so they were all very disappointed when they saw that nothing happened.

As soon as you thought to say something, the pentagram glowed in a gold so bright that it didn't seem real. It glowed so brightly that if you looked at it for too long, you would surely lose your sight, so you all looked away until the light ceased, and it did. With your vision still blurred, you turned to face the pentagram again and sighed in shock.

There, in the middle of the pentagram, was a short, blond man with pale skin. His eyes were yellow, his teeth were sharp and there was a red circle on each cheek. His clothing appeared to be of high quality and class, a red shirt covered by a white jacket with veiled details, matching his pants in the same color. His hat was also white, with a red band, a golden crown, an apple and a golden snake. A lot of information in a single hat, to be honest.

The man looked confused and annoyed as, with one hand, he was dusting his clothes.

Not only you, but all your friends looked at the man with admiration and amazement. “It worked..." they all thought.

No one said anything, they were too surprised to be able to formulate a single sentence.

"I knew Lucifer was a fallen angel, but I thought the fall would have affected his appearance?"

You say, analyzing the whole figure of the creature in front of you. He was pretty, you had to say.

Lucifer sighed, looking extremely bored with the situation.

"I thought no one knew the summoning ritual anymore, but it seems I was wrong." he says, looking at everyone in the room. "So...?"

He waits, with a judgmental look on his face.

Lesley wakes up from her thoughts and starts talking frantically.

"Oh, Great Lord Lucifer, King of Hell!" Lesley bows, followed by all her friends too, except you. Lucifer smiles. He liked those nicknames. "We're really, really sorry to bother you. We were just curious about whether this ritual would work or not, we didn't want anything to do with you."

Lucifer rolls his eyes. Of course, he had to have been summoned by a bunch of curious mortals...

"You see, I was taking care of very important things when you summoned me, and I am unable to return to my duties unless one of you makes a deal with me." Lucifer gestured his hand gracefully in the air as he spoke. You had to admit: the real devil was not at all what you expected. You expected a tall, red-skinned, goat-legged creature with long horns and a tail, but this...? It was laughable.

But of course you didn't laugh.

Lucifer turned his gaze on you, giving you goosebumps. His gaze on you was something you had never felt before, and it scared you. He was a shorty man and yet he was making you afraid of what might happen to you if you stepped in the wrong place.

You swallowed.

"I'm waiting!" Lucifer raised his voice, making everyone shiver. "Which one of you is willing to make a deal with me, hm...?"

Lucifer had an amused smile on his face as he analyzed each individual in the room. One shaking his legs, another trying to look away, another thinking about what to do to get rid of the blond man and, finally, you, who even though you were afraid, didn't seem to be letting your guard down. You looked at Lucifer with courage, and Lucifer liked that. He really did. When was the last time he saw someone like you? A long time ago, that's for sure. Most of the humans who ended up meeting Lucifer, willingly or by accident, used to be so scared and afraid that they would sometimes beg Lucifer to let them live with their souls in peace.

Souls... Lucifer never cared, really. Most of his deals didn't involve receiving the souls of humans in return, he had no interest in that, he just asked for anything that came to mind. Most of the time, something very silly. He didn't even like making deals with humans, it’s just time he wastes to satisfy the will of mortals.

Seeing that no one would take the initiative, he decided to do it for them.

"Since you guys won't make up your minds, leave it to me. Eeny-meeny-miney..." Lucifer began to choose, and when you saw that he was going to end up with one of your friends, you interrupted him. "Hm?"

"I'll make a deal with you if that's what it takes for you to leave us alone."

Lucifer smiles. He was loving your attitude.

"Are you crazy? You shouldn't do that! He is going to take your soul!" Lesley tried to warn you, worried about you.

"At least it'll help you not to mess with things like that again."

You say harshly, stepping closer to Lucifer.

So that's what you were afraid of? It was nothing new for Lucifer.

"All right, then. What's your name, dear?" Lucifer says, approaching you.

Everyone was looking at you worried and afraid. You liked your friends, but they were the kind who fucked up and left it to you so you could resolve things. Always.

"What do you want? My soul? Possession of my body?" You ignore the question the blond man made, leaving him a little frustrated, but without showing it.

He laughs.

"No, no, no! I don't care about these things, really!" He puts his hand on his chin and closes his eyes, seeming to think deeply, until he snaps his fingers, thinking of something. "Oh, I know! You're going to dance for me dressed as a duckling!"

You look at him with a mixture of confusion and disgust. Was this really the King of Hell that everyone was so afraid of?! You hold in your laughter.

"All right." You reach out to shake his hand, but he interrupts.

"Don't you know how deals work, darling?" he asks in a mocking tone, amused. "You need to tell me what you want in return."

"Oh, is that so?" you ask and he shakes his head positively. Actually, there was nothing you really wanted, you just wanted him to go away and for you to be able to come home soon. You should never have agreed to take part in that. "Oh, I don't know, man... give me a chocolate cake and we'll be fine."

Lucifer laughs softly. You seemed as bored as he was, and your boredom amused him too much.

He grabs your hand, and you automatically felt your casual clothes change into a yellow jumpsuit with a hood that had a duckling face on it.

You sighed. What a humiliation.

You danced a children's dance that you learned as a child, and you could see how Lucifer was enjoying it, his eyes shining, his cheeks reddening and a smile on his face. He clapped his hands frantically.

When you finished your dance, he sighed, snapped his fingers and your clothes returned to normal. A second later, you were holding a plate with a chocolate cake on it. It looked delicious.

"It was a great deal. I hope I never see you again!" Lucifer said, finally disappearing into a golden dust.

Your friends were wide-eyed and dumbfounded. They gave you a quick lecture on how you could have used that deal to get anything and you decided on a chocolate cake. You could ask for thousands of dollars, you could ask to have whatever you wanted, have as much power as you wanted, and you still decided on a chocolate cake?!

You didn't care, saying goodbye and making your way home while holding your chocolate cake. You were sure to devour it as soon as you sat down on your couch.

~

After that incident, your days went by as normal. You wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep. Wake up, work, come home, sleep.

It was a routine you got used to, and it was good to be used to things, you weren't the type who liked new things.

However, after a week or so of performing that ritual and summoning Lucifer, you began to feel strange. You felt watched almost all the time, it was uncomfortable even to take a shower and this was something that was really bothering you. You've never been sensitive to these things, what was going on?!

In addition to the feeling of being watched, you also began to see figures out of the corner of your eye and hear voices calling you. You could have sworn you were going crazy, it wasn't normal.

You sent a message to Lesley, telling him what you were feeling. Lesley didn't care much.

Lesley Bff: idk, it must be in your head

Lesley Bff: I felt that way too during my first ritual

Lesley Bff: but you know what?

Lesley Bff: Lucifer could be watching you 👻

You laughed.

You: if he's not back in his hole, I'll send him back there myself

Lesley could be right. You've never taken part in a ritual before, so maybe it affected you more than you expected.

You sigh, smiling at the thought of being anything else. "How silly..."

You head for the kitchen to get some water. Opening the fridge, you take out your jug of water and fill a glass with the liquid, putting the jug away again.

As you bring the glass to your lips, you notice a blond man on the other side of the dining table.

You continue to drink your water.

Wait...

You spit out the water, looking back to the front and no longer seeing the man there.

"I need therapy…" you say, putting a hand to your forehead.

"Everyone needs it, dear." When you hear the familiar voice, you're startled and turn around so fast that you drop your glass on the floor, shattering it. "Wow... Do you get that excited just by seeing me?" The blond smiles debauchedly.

"What the fuck..." that's all you managed to say. "I didn't summon you, damn it! Get the fuck out of here!"

You demand, making the demon in front of you laugh.

"It's that way of yours that made me fall in love with you!" he says, still laughing.

What?

You look Lucifer up and down with disgust. How strange was it to have a religious figure, who you believed existed only in your imagination until a week ago, tell you that he's in love with you? Answer: very. ABSURDLY.

"Dude, I don't want any trouble, just do me a favor and leave."

You say, calmly, but Lucifer didn't seem to hear. His smile remained on his face, it seemed to grow with every detail he appreciated about you. It was as if he was hypnotized. You could notice his pupils dilating and his cheeks starting to turn pink.

He moves closer, making you take a step back to keep your distance.

"I'm afraid I can't…" he said, still smiling, but now without showing his teeth and without looking you in the eye. He was analyzing your body, your baggy white T-shirt, your plaid pajama pants and your matching slippers.

Your posture was as if you were ready to run at any moment. Lucifer noticed, after all, he didn't want you to run from him. Why would you run from him?

He took a step forwards, coming closer again, and that was the exact moment you knew you had to run. You weren't an idiot, you ran, you ran as if your life depended on it and, at that moment, it really did.

As you climb the stairs to the second floor of your house, you enter your bedroom and lock the door. You didn't think it would help much since your enemy was a demon who could easily teleport to where you were, but you still did what was possible at the time.

Trying to think of many ways to make the demon go away and get you out of this, you are interrupted by a voice on the other side of the door.

"Darling, please..." the voice was sly. "I don't want to hurt you, I just want to talk to you..."

You didn't trust him. You couldn't trust him. He was the fucking devil!

You didn't answer, and a silence remained. You tried to look through the keyhole, to make sure he was no longer there and you could finally get out. As soon as you put your hand on the handle to open the door, you felt a hand on your shoulder. You automatically turned round and punched Lucifer in the face.

"Get away from me!" You screamed, and before you could run away again, golden chains wrapped around you, preventing you from moving. "What the...!"

"Look..." Lucifer begins, caressing the cheek you punched. "I just want to talk, that's all."

You didn't want to listen, you were just trying to free yourself from the chains that bound you.

Lucifer continued.

"Your attitude that day captivated me, and I found it so attractive how you didn't show any fear. Not to mention, of course, that your dancing was incredible." he smiled. "I couldn't help myself and started watching you ever since. I couldn't stop thinking about you for a second. I've spent the last few days just watching you from hell. I've watched you sleep, you eat, you work, you shower..."

This last part seemed to have had a different effect on Lucifer.

Until now, you really believed that you could escape him, but as soon as you realized that it was impossible to free yourself from the chains, your body withered. You knew there was nothing you could do.

Even so, indignation and confusion overwhelmed you. What was this guy saying? In love with you? Really?

You looked at Lucifer angrily, while he looked at you as if you were all he wanted.

"I've been so lonely these last few years, and as soon as I started watching you I wanted to be with you even more and more..." he said, hugging himself and looking at random corners as if he was fantasizing about a thousand different things. "So I give you the honor of moving in with me! In hell!"

You widened your eyes. That couldn't be real. It couldn't.

Lucifer, the fallen angel, wanted you to live with him in hell?

You laughed. Of course it was a joke. If you accepted, he would steal your soul and you wouldn't be free for anything else. Yes, that had to be it. It was a way of persuading you, tricking you, so that he could get what he wanted.

You took a deep breath, recovering from your laughter, and kept your eyes on Lucifer's hopeful gaze.

"No!" you said, loud and clear.

You didn't want another deal, you didn't want to go to hell, you didn't want Lucifer! You just wanted to get back to enjoying your holiday peacefully watching whatever was on TV, you didn't want anything new.

Hearing you refuse, Lucifer's expression changed from a smile to disappointment. He couldn't believe it. Why were you turning him down? He was the King of Hell, he could make you powerful like him, give you anything you wanted! What was stopping you from accepting?

"Why?! I can give you anything you want! Power, money, comfort and lots of chocolate cake! Please accept it..." he looked sad, but deep down he hoped you would say yes. "I love you..."

His last words made you even angrier. The devil himself was confessing to you, you no longer feared him.

"But I don't love you! I want to get away from you, your hell and everything that surrounds you! I don't want power, I don't want money, I want you to go away!"

You scream, spitting out the words with hatred, not even caring what the blond guy might feel. You couldn't stand it any longer, the chains were tightening your body with each passing minute, you just wanted to go back to your normal life, without demons, without rituals, without anything weird.

You noticed Lucifer with his head down, quiet, and wondered if now he would accept it and leave you alone. Unfortunately, he wouldn't.

As soon as he raised his face, you noticed his eyes filled with a bright red colour, his horns began to appear from his head and his tail appeared behind him. Clearly, he was very angry, and now you felt genuine fear of what might happen to you now.

He began to smile, a fearsome smile that showed his sharp teeth.

His voice was slightly distorted. The chains squeezed you tighter and tighter.

"I am Lucifer, King of Hell, and it is not you who will change that." he approached, still smiling. "I can do whatever I want, and I want you, and I'm going to have you, whether you like it or not."

With those words, the chains disappear and you fall to the ground in pain. They were already suffocating you.

As soon as you calmed down, you looked up to find Lucifer staring down at you without smiling now. He snapped his fingers, forming a portal beneath the two of you.

Before you could fall, Lucifer caught you. You had your eyes closed, afraid to open them and see what you feared. You only felt Lucifer holding you until he finally stopped on the ground and released you. You open your eyes and realize you're in a spacious room, with a large bed with crisp sheets. The walls were dark, as was the floor. There were several pictures of Lucifer with a beautiful woman and a little girl and lots of rubber duckies scattered around the room.

You looked out of a window to see the red sky on the other side.

You were in hell, alone with the angel who had fallen from heaven, with no idea how to get home.

You despair, your breathing quickens and becomes heavy, cold sweat begins to run down your face. You turn around and find Lucifer taking off his jacket and hat and settling down in the bedroom.

You keep your distance as he starts to approach with that same smile as before, until you slam your back against a wall, making it easier for him, who could now approach you.

He came close, standing inches away. His hand caressed your left cheek, while the other took your right hand, bringing it to his lips so that he could kiss it.

"Let me go…" you plead, your eyes filling with tears.

Lucifer looks at you, smiling even more.

"No." he says, in the same tone you used when you told him that. "I tried to make it as friendly as possible, but you wouldn't co-operate. How could I keep the person I love close if I didn't force you to stay here with me?"

"This is not love...!" you say, without looking at him.

"It's your idea of love that's wrong, darling..." Lucifer's face moves closer to yours, his hand still caressing your cheek. "That love you humans appreciate doesn't exist, it never did. Love where the two live happily ever after only exists when one of the people involved makes it happen. And that's exactly what I am doing right now..."

He kisses the corner of your mouth, and you shiver at the touch of his lips.

Why you? What was so different about you that Lucifer needed it to be you? Since Lesley came with that, you knew it wasn't a good idea to do that ritual, you'd never done such things just because you knew it was never a good idea. You didn't want to mess with whatever was out there because you knew you could end up in trouble, and yet you agreed to take part in that damn ritual...

Look at the state you're in now: being forced to be Lucifer's prisoner.

"Don't worry, it won't be so bad." Lucifer says, now hugging you and putting his face into your chest.

You wanted to cry, scream, punch Lucifer until you couldn't, but you were afraid of what might happen if you did. You remained silent, cried silently, without moving a muscle.

Once again, your friends fucked up with things and you had to deal with it.

Just a quick reminder: This is just a fanfic, I don't like the idea of a yandere in real life. In real life, this is crazy and toxic, I don't support that.

So, if you guys liked it, let me know! You can also ask for me to write something about Lucifer again (I'm not doing other characters yet).

Thanks for reading! <3

[jordyn14]

It’s just a little scrape | Joe Burrow

Summary: After a win against the Bills, everything is going good until a drunk fan finds his way into a place he isn’t supposed to be

Pairing: Joe burrow x first person fem reader

Words: 3962

Notes: this is different than the other fics I’ve written, but I hope you enjoy!! <3

A week later was the primetime home game against the Buffalo Bills. During the day, I had a quick photo shoot with a new clothing line here in Cincinnati, but I made sure to clear out my entire schedule for the rest of the day after that. Since it was a home game, which I was so incredibly excited about, Katie, my best friend, was coming to the game. Unlike me, she wasn’t with anyone on the team, but she loved going just as much as me. Like always, we were going to stay in Joes suite where his parents were also going to be. For the whole day, excitement ran through me. Not only did I have 100% confidence in Joe, but I had 100% confidence in the entire team, and today felt like a good day for the whole entire team. When it was finally time for Joe to leave, I sent him out of the door while admiring his all green outfit, which was my all time favorite color.

Currently, I was laying out my outfit onto our bed which consisted of a white sweater dress, a long brown trench coat, and a pair of almost knee high white boots. After I laid my outfit out, I grabbed my cute little clear purse with number 9 and Burrow on it which already held my must haves for game day, and then slipped into the bathroom. In the bathroom, I curled my hair and then put on some gold hoops. Once I was done with that, I put on my makeup and then walked out of the bathroom and to the bed where I got changed. While I changed, I got a text from Katie saying that she was on her way. I texted her back with, "I'm so excited, hurry!😆" The last game was in San Francisco and Katie and I just watched it over her house, plus before that was the bye week and we haven't gone to a game together since the Seattle game. Saying we were excited was an understatement.

We arrived at the stadium 2 hours early so we could settle in before the hundreds of people filed into the stadium. Like most home games, Katie drove me so I could drive back home with Joe when the game was over. Since we weren't in the stands where I could talk to Joe before the game, we both got settled into our seats. "I'm so excited to watch the game. Work has been stressful." Katie said while stuffing her mouth full of the chicken fingers we both got before we came up to the suite. "I know, it’s been way too long since we've watched a game together. How are the extra shifts going by the way?" I asked Katie. "Well," Katie said with a mouth full of food before she held up a finger so she could swallow the food in her mouth.

We both started laughing as she swallowed and then continued. "I'm making more money than I ever have, especially with the promotion, but I feel like I'm always on the go. I'm either at work, at the grocery store, the gym, the coffee shop, or in bed. I feel like you because I never see Jamie." Katie said. "Shit, Katie, why do you still work at the coffee shop? I even quit because I wasn't seeing Joe enough, and I don't have real job." I told Katie. "Yeah, well, you quit and you still don't see him." She said with a little scoff. Leaning towards her more, I said, "well that's because my husbands in the fucking NFL, obviously I'm not going to see him that much." I said. Katie gave me a little shrug of approval and then we laughed a little bit. "All I'm saying, is that you have the opportunities to see Jamie, you just have to take them. So, quit working at the coffee shop, pay the extra 10 dollars to have the store drop your groceries off for you, and see your damn boyfriend. If you need extra money, I'll pick up more photo shoots and give you the money." I said.

Katie sighed a little bit and then looked off into the direction of the field. "You know what, you're right, You should give me money." Katie joked. Elbowing her softly, I took a bite of my chicken and then watched as the boys went into the tunnel to get on their uniforms. "All jokes aside, you're right." Katie said. "Well obviously." I laughed with her.

The Bengals won the game 24-18. Katie and I cheered so much that by the end of the third quarter, we were already starting to get scratchy and sore throats. Although the bengals won the game, they gave us a big scare by letting the game get as close as it did. By the end of the game, my nerves were so high that Katie had to force me to unclench my fists and calm down a little. When it finally did end, we stood up and started to chant. "Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals! Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey think gonna beat them bengals! Nobody!" I changed along with the whole stadium, which included Robin and Jimmy who were just as excited. "Let's fucking go!" Katie yelled. "That's how it's done!" I yelled with Katie as we stood up and celebrated the win over the Bills in the primetime game.

Once we settled down and the stadium started to clear out, I hugged a yawning Katie goodbye and then after a little bit, walked with Robin and Jimmy to the tunnel where I would meet up with Joe. Since it was already really late and they had a little drive back to Athens, they decided to just text Joe and congratulate him on the win. The three of us stopped just before the tunnel entrance and we hugged. "I'm so happy that you don't have to go home with another grumpy Joe. There's been too many losses this season." Robin said as we pulled away from our hug. "You and me both. I love him, but he sure can have an attitude." I laughed and then hugged Jimmy. "By the way, Joe wanted to remind you once again not to call him right after the game and give him a play by play of everything. I tried to tell him that you already know, but you know how he can be." I told Jimmy who shook his head with a sigh.

"That boy will be the death of me." Jimmy said with a shake of his head and a little chuckle. "You and me both." Robin said. We said our goodbyes and then I walked into the tunnel entrance by showing them my pass and then headed to the family area where the players could see their families. While I walked over there, I got a text from Joe saying that the press conference took a little longer so he just got into the shower and to just wait for him by the locker room. So, rather than going to the family section where I could just wait for Joe, I went to the locker room entrance and leaned against the wall while waiting to see Joe. I couldn't wait to see a happy Joe after a much needed win and wrap my arms around him.

While I waited, I went on my phone and scrolled through Instagram where new pictures of Joe from the game started to appear. Even seeing Joe through the screen made my cheeks flush a deep shade of red and I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up into a smile. My eyes were so focused on the pictures of him that I didn't even notice the locker room door opened up. "What are you smiling at?" I heard Joe say in front of me. Quickly taking my eyes off of my phone, I slipped the phone into my pocket and walked over to Joe. Both of us had huge smiles on our faces as we walked towards each other. When we met in the middle, I wrapped my arms around Joes back and he wrapped his around my neck, holding me closely. "It may or may not have been a picture of you walking out with Sam to do the coin flip." I said, leaning my head back to look into Joes eyes.

Joe raised an eyebrow and said, "oh yeah?" He then leaned forwards to capture my lips with his. The both of us breathed in the kiss before he pulled away, not wanting anyone to take a picture of our kiss. "Believe it or not, you in a uniform really does something to me." I laughed. Joe just laughed and then looked into my eyes deeply. "Well it's a good thing that we get to go home in a little bit." He said with that pantie dropping smile he loves to give me. Right after he said this, my face flushed red. With a little groan, I placed my forehead on joes chest, trying to hide my obvious flustered state. "If I could, I would slip into the nearest supply closet with you." I said. With a small sigh, Joe straightened more, obviously getting turned on. Before Joe could say anything else that would solidify my decision of going into a closet with him for a little quicky, the locker room door opened again.

Lifting my head from Joes chest, we both looked over to the door and watched Ja'marr and Sam walk out of it in mid conversation. Right when Ja'marr looked at Joe and then me, he ended his sentence and then walked over to Joe, reading his facial expression, and patted him on the back. "Y'know, the locker rooms empty, you might be able to slip in there for a few minutes. What's your record, like 3 minutes?" Ja'marr said, but quickly walked away from Joe before he could hit him in the arm. "Fuck you." Joe joked with a stern look on his face and looked over at Sam who just put his hands up to show that he wasn't going to make any crude remarks or add onto what Ja'marr said. The both of us released our arms from one another, but Joe kept one arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side and we exchanged quick I love you's as we walked.

The four of us walked together to the family section where the boys could get some food and Sam could meet up with Jessica. "Y'know, she blocked me on Instagram in college because she saw that I was following you. She thought I was her competition." I said to Sam while we talked about Jessica and where she was during the game since I couldn't see her and neither could Morgan, Holly, or Tianna. "I know, she told me she was worried that we were getting together behind her back. It took a lot of convincing for her to fully believe that you were loyal to Joe." Sam said. While we talked, I heard some scuffled footsteps behind us and turned my head slightly to look at who was making the noise.

As I turned my head, I saw a man that I've never seen before. He looked to be in his mid 30's and based off of the way he was walking and the way his eyes were slow to move, I knew he was drunk. I took another look at the man, careful not to make it too obvious, and watched as the man held up his phone out to us. By now, the boys knew someone was behind us, but thought nothing of it. "Joe burrow." the man said. Joe, realizing the man was probably a fan, kept on walking. "Joe! Hey wait up! Can I get a picture with you." The man said again, followed by saying Joes name continuously to try and get his attention.

"Who is that?" I asked Joe. "Just keep walking. once we pass security up here they'll deal with him. He's not even supposed to be in here." Joe said and pulled me closer to him, not wanting any of us to pay any attention to him. "Do I have to fuck your wife to get your attention?" The man said with a small and weird chuckle, slurring his words like crazy. "What the hell." Ja'marr said and turned around. Joe clenched his jaw and turned around with Ja'marr. "What the fuck did you just say to me?" Joe asked in an angry tone, stepping closer to the man. "Hey, security!" Sam yelled, wanting security to step in before Joe did something. "There he is! Can I get a picture with you real quick?” The man asked and stepped forwards. Once closer, he began looking me up and down and said, “and maybe take her for a spin afterwards.” A shiver ran down my spine as I scowled at him in disgust.

"Let's go Joe, security is coming." I said and walked in front of Joe to try and stop him from doing something stupid. In times like these, Joe was a hot head. The man was known as 'Joe Cool' on and off the football field until it involved the people he loved. "No, no, say that again to my fucking face." Joe said. "Just back the fuck up man!" Ja'marr said to the man, standing by Joes side. No matter what, Ja’marr was always by Joe’s side, especially when it came to disgusting people like this man. "C’mon, Can I just get a pic real quick?” The man said and held up his phone and got both him and Joe in frame, except I was in it also. The man, not liking that I was in it, slipped the phone into his pocket and then put both of his hands on my shoulders. Since I was facing Joe in an attempt to keep him moving, I could see a few security guards coming up to us that Sam got. All of a sudden, I felt his arms on my shoulders and then he spun me around slightly, pushed me to the side so I wasn't in the way. One second I had both of my feet planted on the ground, and the next I lost my footing because of my big boots and fell to the ground.

Not expecting to fall so abruptly, I let out a faint scream as my knees skidded across the concrete. From above me, multiple shouts and yells echoed through the walls of the tunnel. There was a lot of commotion for about 5 seconds and then I felt 2 firm hands go onto my sides from behind me. Quickly, I was lifted off of the ground and placed back on my feet. I quickly turned around and made eye contact with Joe whose eyes were filled with anger. "I'm fine, I'm fine." I said quickly and then looked to Ja'marr who was going off on the man who touched me and also the security guards who let the man slip past them. Once joe could tell by my expression that I was okay, he turned around and took a step closer to the man who was being put in handcuffs my a police officer who came rushing over after seeing the commotion.

"Don't you ever lay your fucking hands on my wife again!" Joe yelled and then added in, “you hear me!” I looked to the man quickly and then at Sam who walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go over here." He told me and then guided me over to the side and away from everyone else. “Holy shit." I said, flustered from everything that just happened. It all happened so quickly. "Are you okay?" He asked me as we both turned around. Joe and Ja'marr were currently going off and raising their voices at the security guards who let the man get into the tunnel. The man was not wearing a pass and was not a family member of any of the players, so how he was able to get into the tunnel was beyond any of us. "I'm fine, I just fucking scraped the hell out of my knee's though." I let out a little exasperated laugh.

We both looked down at my knees. One was bloody just around the scrape, and the other one had a bigger wound on it which was currently dripping blood down my leg and onto my new boots. "Oh shit, that's not just a scrape." He said while laughing slightly because of the way I addressed the blood on my knees. “Oh no, my boots.” I said with a frown. After a few more minutes, more people gathered around the scene including a few more police officers, Zac Taylor, Jessica who came and found Sam and was currently having him fill her in a few feet away from me, and then Logan Wilson and Morgan who didn't leave yet. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Morgan asked when she got over to me, looking down at my scraped up knees.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I promise, it's just a little scrape." I said. Morgan and Logan stood by my side as we all watched what was going on in front of us. "How did he even get back here?" Joe said loudly. Zac stepped in between Joe and one of the police officers who was currently taking the man to his car outside. Joe and zac started talking. "What even happened? Who was that?" Morgan asked me. Logan stepped closer, wanting to hear what happened also. "A random guy from behind us kept trying to get Joe to take a picture with him. He was obviously drunk and whatever so we just planned on ignoring him until we got closer to the security guard so he could deal with him. When Joe wouldn't listen, the man literally said 'Do I have to fuck your wife to get your attention'." I said.

"That’s disgusting." Morgan said and put a hand over her mouth slightly, a sour look on her face. Logan's face scrunched up in disbelief and disgust and then looked over to the scene while still listening. I explained the rest of what happened to them and then the police asked to clear the area and informed Joe that the man was being taken to jail. As the area began to empty and everything died down, Joe walked over to me, but didn't notice my knees yet because of the chaos that just occurred. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Joe asked me his eyes darting from my right eye and left eye and cupped the sides of my face gently in his hands. His breathing was fast and ragged, obviously shaken up from what just happened too. Bringing my hands up, I grabbed onto Joes wrists that were on either side of my face and took a deep breath. "I'm fine, I promise you. I wouldn’t have even fallen if I wasn’t wearing these big boots. It was a small fall, that it." I said.

I looked deeply into Joes eyes with a small and reassuring smile, and shook my head to show that I was indeed fine. "Are you 100% sure? He shouldn’t have even put his hands on you." Joe said. "My knees along with my ego are a little damaged, but that's it, I promise." I said. Joe couldn't help but let out a small laugh at what I said before realizing that I said my knees. Quickly, Joe glanced down at my knees to see blood dripping down my right leg. "Shit, I didn’t know you were bleeding." He said quickly and then removed his hands from the sides of my face.

Joe kept his eyes on my knees for a few seconds before turning around a little. "Joe it's fine, I'll just wipe it off." I said and placed my hand gently on his arm, trying to pull him around towards me.  Joe looked at me quickly and said, "if the medical staff is still here then you're getting your knees cleaned up." The face he gave me told me that he wanted me to go along with him and not try to change his mind. Once again, he turned around and called Zac's name before he got too far down the tunnel. "Yeah?" Zac asked in a concerned tone. "Is the medical staff still here? I just want to get her knees cleaned up real quick and make sure she doesn't need stitches or anything." Joe said, taking a step forwards.

"I don't need stitches, it's just a little scrape." I said with a small laugh and walked by his side as Zac started to walk our way. "Well how am I supposed to know? All I see is blood dripping down your leg." Joe said, looking down at my knees again. "Oh man," Zac looked down at my knees, "Yeah, there are a few still in the locker room. Just come with me." He said. We all headed towards the locker room. I was in between Zac and Joe who was still a little fidgety and on edge after what just happened. Even though I was the one that got pushed down and hurt, Joe seems to be affected more by it. The way he keeps looking down at me and flashes those 'I'm sorry' eyes at me makes me want to pull him to the side and make him understand that I'm okay.

We finally got to the locker room and Zac found us someone who had their gear out still. So it went quicker, we just went over to Joes locker where I could sit down and the medic could clean up my knees and throw bandaids on them if needed. Zac said goodbye to the both of us and once again apologized for what happened. As soon as I saw Joes locker, my mouth almost dropped open. There were shoes, clothes, hats, some snacks, and many more random and weird things thrown around Joes locker room. It looked like a tornado came to Cincinnati and only hit Joes locker; plus a few other players lockers. "Do you ever clean? My goodness look at how gross it is." I laughed as I sat myself down on the fold out chair in front of Joes locker. Looking offended, Joe just chuckled and then kicked a few of the shoes that were in the open closer to his locker.

"The hate is really not necessary. Plus, it's not that bad." Joe said with a small shrug. Furrowing my brows, I looked around at Joes locker while the medic who kneeled down in front of me began to grab things out of his kit. Looking back up to Joe, he just started laughing at my reaction. "You really think this isn't "that bad?"" I asked, using air quotations to really emphasize what Joe just said to me about his terrible locker. "Okay, okay, it's pretty bad." We both started to laugh together and then the medic looked up at me, so I gave him my attention. "I'm just going to clean off some of this blood and then the actual wound itself. Once I get to the wound, it might sting a little bit." He said to me. "Alright, go for it." I said with a little laugh while Joe grabbed onto my hand and gave it a little squeeze.

[skyeblue8]

Ԋҽɬɬ'ട Ƒα𝓶σᥙട Ԋσ𝜏ടρσ𝜏, ㆜ԋҽ ᑭɾιԃҽ Ꭱιɳց...🍎

♚ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⃟⋆⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰⋆⃟⋆ ♚

❥ Okay, to start off, I am so, so sorry for how long this took. Like, this is the longest that my lists have been prolonged, and I'm sure most of y'all have forgotten about this, but I still feel better having posted this to know it was done. Let me know what you think in the comments, pls! Thank you!

♚ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⃟⋆⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰ ⋆⋆⃟⊱✪⃝⃞⃝⊰⋆⃟⋆ ♚

♚ Pride's Environment: 🍎

❥ Now, first things first, after much inner debate, I headcanon that the general size of the Pride Ring, while still very gigantic, is actually the smallest of the Seven Rings.

❥ Not because it's the weakest, but rather for two reasons – 1. I feel Pride is often interwoven with other Sins, thus not making it a very prominent stand-alone type thing despite it still having a strong influence on the other Sins. And, 2. Because, going on what @Lovesart23 has stated about Lucifer not liking Hell and probably, by extension, the other demons, I feel like he would keep his Ring grand in the sense to show off his image & power as a leader, but small so less people are in it and, by extension, near him.

❥ Now, as for the Ring itself, I feel like some of Vivzie's concepts for it work while others don't. For starters, I like the idea of nearly every building, monument, restaurant, etc. having some sort of golden apple, snake, and fallen angel insignia/themeing to them to highlight the pride of Lucifer's ring and Biblical actions, as well as being a fun nod to the NYC concept I have for the Ring as it would literally be the demonic version of city with The Big Apple. (Get it? 😉) I also really like the layout of Pentagram City, so that stays.

❥ Now, the red and black color themeing here is actually fine for me as I think it simply fits well with it being a "Top Ring" so-to-speak, so that'll be like your proud, actually Hellish impression of Hell, and, instead of having the whole "looks-can-be-deceptive" thing I have going on for the other Rings besides Wrath, it's just straight up in it's monstrosity while also having a hint of glamor to it. Second to Greed, I also feel that this Ring will have a significant amount of golden accents to it to, of course, to highlight Lucifer's ego and love of the finer things. Unlike Greed however, this gold is all real.

❥ Also, I realized I never considered this in the other Ring Headcanons, so consider this now, but, going off the idea of living furniture/objects in the Pride Ring from fallen Sinners, I headcanon that the same is applied in all the other Rings in my version of Hell, just with Hellborns and moreso in the Pride Ring because the Devil hates everyone. I'd also like to think that, outside of himself, he wouldn't waste his time of building structures or housing plants for the citizens so he let's their carnage do all the work.

❥ On that note, Pride is essentially a free-for-all to a slightly lesser extent than Wrath itself (not by much) and where there's kind of always a frequent fight to the top for Overlords as a lot of them are from here or move to here because they think that's where all the power is (and also to try to get closer to Lucifer).

❥ Now, while I'll discuss more about Ring Placement in future posts, I headcanon that Pride is, essentially, the "closest to the surface" a.k.a Limbo/Purgatory or the Human World (or some world in between that I'll elaborate later). Because of that, it's usually the first Ring to be effected by the Extermination and to greet new Sinners even if they're not supposed to be in the Pride Ring (meaning they'll just shoot right through to the according Ring)

❥ In addition, while this could be applied to all the Rings, I think Pride hides to most secrets about the afterlife and Abrahamic magic and the such because Lucifer likes to keep his secrets and is the most powerful. Another reason why people frequent gravitate here.

So... yeah, that's all I got for the Pride Ring in terms of Environment. Sorry if it's a bit underwhelming, but this Ring is arguably the most malleable in terms of world functions so there's truly anything you can do with this.

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏 * .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ * .♡ *:･ﾟ.♡

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏 * .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ * .♡

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏 * .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ * .♡ *:･ﾟ.♡

♚ Pride's Residents: 🍎

❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥

❞𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬❞

➺ Pride Imps - really just normal red imps w/ nothing too special to them b/c Lucifer doesn't care. (Some of them may have some sort of survival adaptations depending on whether or not their hybrids, but otherwise, there isn't too much for them.)

➺ Humanoid Goats, Sheep, Snakes - Animals indicative of the Bible

➺ The C.H.A.R.L.O.T.T.E.S - This is direct inspiration from @violetvolute and their "Hell Princesses" concept for Charlie. They're gold and porcelain anti-cherubium demons who serve as Pride's corrupt police-force, enforcing the few laws that exist in the Ring while simultaneously tormenting Sinners and Hellborns alike, but mostly Sinners. They're also the King's eyes and ears all around the Ring.

They posses certain abilities like flight, experienced combat, & shape-shifting into various furniture amongst the Ring to shock and terrify demons while also keeping a watch on them. They can be unnervingly excellent at their jobs when it comes to monitoring demons, able to keep their stance and their watch for a long period of time (one of them maybe the clocktower itself!)

❞𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬❞

➺ Any of the non-aforementioned demons who generally fit the Pride Ring aesthetic.

➺ Also, as a newly implemented identification to differentiate the Sinners from the Hellborns, every Sinner of each respective Ring, specifically Pride in this case, possess the glowing sigil/marking that represents the ruler somewhere visible on their bodies upon entering Hell.

❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥

❥ As you can see here, there's not a lot of uber-powerful native creatures in this Ring save for the C.H.A.R.L.O.T.T.E.S, and that's largely because they're the main ones who Lucifer trusts, save for one, and that's the main Charlotte we've all come to know, who has become a marginalized rogue among the others.

❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥ • ❥

Alright, so that's the Pride Ring. Full disclosure, much like the other Rings, whatever is established here is liable to be changed in the future if I find the worldbuilding to be too confusing, contrived, contradictory, etc. Because of this, please don't hesitate to give honest criticism or notes and suggestions in the comments here. And if I change something, I'll always be sure to notify you all on my blog. Thank you, have a great New Year's! 😘

[drconstellation]

More Half-and-Half-A-Miracle Thoughts

Part 2: The Dark side of Aziraphale

Updated 10 Nov 2023

Part 1: Miracle Power Ranking is here. Part 3: The Third Archangel is here

There was one that thing that struck me about the miracle working scene: why did Gabriel offer crossed hands to the duo?

Gabriel offers his right, his good, heavenly angel-sided hand to Crowley first, and his left, his sinister-sided demon hand to Aziraphale.

And this is NOT an accident.

Its been observed that Gabriel, in his amnesiac state like this, has reverted back to a more base-state angelic being, one of joy, and love, and curiosity. He's acting on instinct here.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. The demon has more light in him than the angel, and Gabriel and can feel that instinctively. This really shouldn't be a surprise to us, its been in our face all along. Now don't get me wrong - Crowley is still a demon, and Aziraphale is still an angel, I'm not saying that they aren't. Mostly we talk about how Crowley isn't all that much of a demon at heart, just "going along with Hell as far as [he] can," but we don't really talk about much about that other side of Aziraphale other than wishing to see more of his BAMF! side.

You know what - its a side that thanks to all of the rest you ops and meta-ists out that that I've come to both fear and appreciate. And let me tell you, if I found myself in a dark alley on a bad night I would hope to God it was Crowley I bumped into , because I feel he would at least give me the choice to walk out alive. I don't think Aziraphale would, I would be at the mercy of how ever he decided he wanted to manipulate the situation...and I find that rather chilling.

Crowley might be the charred demon with a heart of gold, but Aziraphale is the two-sided bastard of an angel he loves. All bright light casts a shadow. Its easy for us to be blinded by the shining light of goodness and right and the side of God (er, hang on, isn't the GO God an eldritch horror in disguise...?) and not be able to see what is hiding behind it.

We rarely see the back of Aziraphale's waistcoat, because he is rarely seen without an overcoat on, a covering of social propriety. There is the noticeable occasion in S2E1 when Crowley comes back to do the apology dance then they perform the hiding miracle (see screenshot below, and it was still hard to chose a good angle for all it went on for several minutes!) and perhaps in S1 when he spends all night reading Agnes Nutter's book. Both times its only in the privacy of the book shop, under the cover of night. So its easy to miss that the color of the back panel is a most un-angelic color: a dark viridian green. I know I keep banging on about this, but its important, and in more ways than one.

[Edit: Since I first wrote this, I've written a mega-meta on all the colours in GO, and some of the following interpretation has changed a little - but the significance of the green still stands!]

All the angels wear some form of a pale colored neutral palette, ranging from white to beige to taupe (white, off-white shades and shades of brown,) with dove-grey for the known in-show seraphim, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and Saraqael. Gold and blue are also associated with Heaven. But Aziraphale is the only angel to wear green and shades of blue-green. He's quite unique in that department.

The colors of Hell are completely different. Black, lots of black. And red, different shades of red. The demons are actually quite a colourful lot, but do tend towards the darker shades. Red is a colour of passion, not just a demonic colour, although it can be associated with the demonic sinister left hand side. The main colour of Hell is actually green - the thick green light that you almost of have to swim through in the crowded halls of Hell, and examples like the green stag on Furfur's sash. It represents chaos, in competition to the rigid lawful nature of Heaven.

So while Aziraphale mostly presents a socially acceptable angelic front, its telling only Crowley has properly glimpsed that dark, shady, bit-of-a-bastard unpredictable side to him - and likes it. (More from Cobragardens about it here in 1793 Paris and 1601 at the Globe.) I mean, come on - this is a being that sent a man to his death so he could go on lunch date? A lunch date he practically concocted just so he could see Crowley. wtf? A being of love who was about to shoot the Antichrist to stop Armageddon? A being who quietly and efficiently discouraged the mafia who threatened to set the book shop on fire from ever returning? (See, told you I didn't want to meet him a dark alley...) Plus we saw him mind-control a whole roomful of people for his Jane Austen-themed ball, just to woo his beloved demon, with no thought of the possible collateral damage. I'm sorry, is this the same "guardian angel" we were all glowing over earlier?

The coat lapel as wings theory adds some weight to this hidden dark side of Aziraphale as well. Aziraphale's lapels always point downwards, towards Hell. Particularly when he has been discorporated and returned to Heaven, where frustrated about being told he has to gear up for war, he instead wonders out loud if he can return to Earth to a possess a body, reasoning that if demons can, he must be able to as well. lmoa! You are so not an angel, my dear! Yet...he isn't a demon either. He's almost...a bit of both. Two sides to a coin. A blend of light and dark. Shades of grey...although he doesn't like to admit it.

Image by lomiel

Back to the shadow-like green panel on the back of the waistcoat.

Actually, on second thoughts, I'm going to put that in Part 3.

[skyedancer-rae]

TGAA 2 Spoilers

In which I recycle 2 jokes I've used previously because I am still amused by the idea of Ryunosuke accidentally confessing to Kazuma & Barok.

Image description after cut:

A 3 images are 2-panel comics, read horizontally. In all 3 comics, Ryunosuke is drawn in shades of blue (except for the armband, which is red), Kazuma is red, and Barok is violet (except for his badge, which is red). The gold accents on their outfits are also colored in gold.

Panel 1-1 shows Ryunosuke glancing at a mini Kazuma floating over his right shoulder (the manifestation of his love for Kazuma). The mini Kazuma says, "But Kazuma is your best friend, right? So why would he suddenly hate you just because you confessed to him?" Ryunosuke, expression slightly worried, says, "Well, you're right, but I still..."

Panel 1-2 shows that a mini Barok has appeared to float over Ryunosuke's left shoulder. Mini Barok says, "And Lord van Zieks has said that he trusts and respects you. At worst, he'd let you down very gently." Ryunosuke, still wearing the same expression as the previous panel says, "Well, yes..." Ryunosuke is drawn in monochrome shades of blue, except for his armband, which is red with gold accents. The mini Kazuma is in shades of red and the mini Barok is in shades of violet.

Panel 2-1 shows Ryunosuke is the left background talking to his shoulder, the mini Kazuma and Barok no longer visible, as he says, "But if they don't like me back, things would still be awkward after I confessed. I don't want to put either of them in a difficult position." Barok stands in the right foreground, gesturing toward Ryunosuke. His expression is incredibly flustered, a deep blush stretched across his face, and a small speech bubble with a scribble in it indicates that he is making a wordless, flustered noise.

Panel 2-2: A speech bubble gives Ryunosuke's dialogue as: "And things are still awkward between them. If one of them liked me back, it would be fine. But if they both liked me, I might still have to choose between them." Beneath this speech bubble, Kazuma can be seen, covering his face with his hand. Though his face is hidden from view, the side of his cheek and ear are a deep red, indicating that he is blushing. Kazuma says, "He likes to think out loud."

Panel 3-1 shows Ryunosuke is the background saying, "I don't want to break either of their hearts." A moment later, adding, "I mean, yes, they do both have nice chests, but how does that..." Barok & Kazuma stand in the foreground, incredibly flustered by the last comment. Kazuma can be seen from behind, covering his face with a hand. Barok stands to his right, deeply blushing, one hand braced against his chest.

Panel 3-2 shows Kazuma, hands cupped around his mouth in the foreground, yells, "RYUNOSUKE, YOU KNOW WE CAN HEAR EVERY WORD YOU'RE THINKING, RIGHT?" Ryunosuke, in the background, screams, "WHAT?!!!" His entire body jolts at the realization he has been talking aloud, deeply blushing. Beside Kazuma in the foreground, Barok hunches forward, a cartoon ghost falling from his breath to show how flustered he is by everything.

[mirikitakato]

[Translation] Murr SSR Card Story: Invitation to a new world

Why am I learning Perspectivism in a freaking bishounen card game?

Event: Reflections of the Moon in the Teardrops of Pavone Characters: Murr, Cain, Akira

Card Story: Invitation to a new world

Episode 1

That day, we visited a research institute located in the Western Country.

The place was overrun with poisonous Taboo Peacock leaves, exuding a desolate and strangely beautiful aura of ruins.

Cain: Sir Sage, the branches are drooping over there. Be careful.

Akira: Wow, you're right. Thanks for the heads-up, Cain.

Murr: The nectar dripping from the leaves is poisonous, so watch out!

Akira: I know... Even though this plant is beautiful, I can't help but feel a little scared when I hear it's poisonous.

Murr: ...Wah!

Murr let out a sudden shout and jogged over to a shelf filled with test tubes and flasks.

Murr: I found something amazing! Sir Sage, Cain. Look, look!

Akira: That color... Could it be Taboo Peacock poison?

Murr held a small glass bottle in his hand. A deep purple liquid swirled within the transparent container.

Murr: Yup. It's much more concentrated than what's on the market! This was made by extracting the venom and boiling it down for several hours. At normal concentrations, it's harmless as long as it doesn't enter the body, but at this level, even a single drop on the skin can be fatal.

Akira: Th-that dangerous!? Is it okay to just hold it like this...?

Cain: Of course not! Murr, it would be dangerous if the lid came off. Put it back where it belongs, please.

Murr: O~kie.

Cain: I'd expect nothing less from a research institute specializing in Taboo Peacock...Such potent poison, just casually left out like that.

Akira: It must be very valuable, then.

Cain: Indeed. It's strictly controlled to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. And even ordinary poisons are quite expensive, aren't they? A small vial of something as concentrated as that could probably fetch a mountain of gold coins.

Murr: This is a poison of such high value. When the effectiveness of this poison was confirmed, armies from all over the world desperately wanted to get their hands on it. Because it is extremely difficult to handle and there is no antidote, it is guaranteed to kill the enemy. The name "Taboo Peacock" was also given to it around that time.

Akira: Huh…So it was called by a different name before?

In response to my question, Murr didn't nod immediately. Instead, his eyes rose to meet the hanging leaves, their deep purple hues catching the light.

The falling peacock leaves seemed reflected for a moment in his irises. A hint of nostalgia flickered across his face as he spoke.

Murr: “Eye of Twilight”. The researcher I know called it that.

Episode 2

Akira: “Eye of Twilight”…

Cain: Huh…that's a very beautiful name.

Murr: These leaves have patterns like peacock feathers, don't they? They look like the sky being dyed purple as the sun sets, so that's why they were named that.

Cain: The patterns on peacock feathers look like eyes too.

Akira: Yes. Now that you mention it, the deep blue base color with the light-colored patterns on top looks like the twilight sky. I think it's a very romantic name. The current name itself doesn't leave a very good impression...

I looked up at the Taboo Peacock again. The peacock fern leaves were still standing beautifully.

Murr: The impression of “Taboo Peacock” is a relatively recent one, historically speaking. In some regions, the Taboo Peacock is even considered a sacred tree.

Murr looked back at the Taboo Peacock tree and chanted a spell.

Murr: 《Eanul Rambul》

The Taboo Peacock leaves fluttered down. Murr gently picked up one of them with magic.

Murr: "May the blessing of the eye protect you, so that you will never lose your way, no matter how dark the night may be, and continue to walk forward without hesitation."

Akira: Blessing of the eye...

Murr: Yup. There's also a custom of giving these leaves to important people as a prayer for protection.

Cain: I see... Even though it's poisonous, this thing wasn't always used as a weapon, right? Some people might feel like they're being watched over by the eye-like pattern. Even though we can't help but feel that it's a dangerous thing, it's not right to be prejudiced.

Murr: It’s not totally wrong, ya know! The way you feel is shaped by the era you were born in and the environment you grew up in. Of course, that's not a bad thing. We just perceive things within the framework we've unconsciously formed... After all, the fact that we find these leaves beautiful is also a kind of perception within our existing framework, right?

Akira & Cain: Eh...?

Murr: Sir Sage, Cain. What do you think are beautiful? Flowers? Butterflies? Or gems?"

Episode 3

Akira: Uh, well... I think they are all beautiful and wonderful things...

Murr: And why is that?

Cain: Even if you ask me why... do we need a reason to think something is beautiful?

Murr: Of course not! The definition of beauty is subjective, and that's part of your current life framework. With that in mind, let me ask you again: Now that you know Taboo Peacock poison can be deadly, can you still say that this tree is beautiful? Even with fear and caution towards the deadly poison, can you still truly find it beautiful and love it?

Murr blinked his clever and changeable eyes, looking at my and Cain's faces in turn.

Murr: For me, I think it's very beautiful! It's dangerous to get too close, just like the moon. That's part of its charm too. While I wouldn't get close to the Taboo Peacock like I would to the moon, I can understand that principle!

Akira: T-that's a tough question. It’s beautiful because it’s scary, although I can kind of understand that...

Cain: I haven't really thought about it that deeply before. So, once you think of Taboo Peacock as something dangerous, you can't purely think of it as beautiful, is that what you mean?

Murr: It's best to question the so-called “pure” too! We all have distorted subjective perceptions when we look at things. But interesting thing happens once you realize this. When you realize the framework exists and try to break free from it, you may discover a whole new world.

Akira: Like the idea that the dangerous poison is also part of its charm?

Murr: Exactly! Of course, then we might be bound by different frameworks again!

Cain: Uhm…?  I feel like my head is starting to spin.

Akira: This discussion may never end...

Murr: But don't you think it's interesting to feel this way? I like it! That's why I keep thinking about it!

Cain: As expected of Murr. If it were me, I might have fallen asleep while thinking about it. But my perception of the Taboo Peacock has changed a bit thanks to you.

Akira: Me too! Although I'm still a little scared, I'm also fascinated by its beauty and want to appreciate it carefully... Does this mean that we have become aware of the existence of the framework and then broken free from it?

Murr: Maybe! So now, tell me your understanding of the Taboo Peacock! Perhaps in the process of discussion, we will see a new world!

Card Episode: Stylish Interior Decoration

Murr: Sage! Look, look!

Akira: What's the matter, Murr...? Oh, is that a Taboo Peacock leaf!? How did it get here...?

Murr: I picked up a few leaves that fell on the ground when we visited the research institute last time! Look, the patterns shine when the light passes through them, right?

Akira: Oh, you're right…! The color even changes depending on the angle you look at it. Just like its name, it's like a peacock's feather. But is this okay? The nectar that drips from the leaves is poisonous.

Murr: I didn't touch it directly! I just used magic to make it float. Even if it doesn't get into your body, it can be very troublesome if it accidentally touches your mucous membranes. Hey, how about you get one too, Sage? If you decorate it near the window, it's sure to cast colorful shadows on the floor!

Akira: Uh...? Well, that's true. It would be a great interior decoration, but I'm not confident that I can take good care of it...

Murr: No problem! To prevent the poison from leaking, I'll seal it in several layers of glass and then seal it tightly with magic. I'll also add a stylish frame,《Eanul Rambul》!

Akira: Wow, amazing! It's turned into a super stylish wall decoration...! Oh, there's already a little bit of nectar oozing out. The faint purple color spreading on the transparent glass is so beautiful...

Murr: If the amount of nectar gradually increases, the glass might even be dyed a deep purple. It's because of the poisonous nectar that we can enjoy this beautiful change!

----Home Screen Line----

“Did ya know, Sir Sage? When someone gazes at something captivating, their eyes sparkle like jewels. Look, even now! Right in front of me, there are two dazzling gems... your eyes, Sir Sage, always shine brightly whenever you look at us!”

----Event Trait----

Tree Spirit: Because I love you, I don't want to hurt you. Because I love you, I don't want to be hurt. Beneath the grand tree, this is my heartfelt wish.

[scarvi-tealdisc]

After slowly writing this out through the week, I'm done with the second chapter! What I'm learning from writing this is to find a balance between writing out Zorua's POV while progressing the vague plot I have in mind. I want to write out all the ideas I have but I also don't want to drag stuff out for too long you know?

Anyways, I hope this is an enjoyable chapter! This AU is inspired from ideas shared by @ducydoo2000!

Series: Pokemon

Characters: Drayton (Hisuian Zorua)

[Read previous chapter]

Chapter 2

--

Awareness slowly trickled back in as it roused from a deep, dreamless sleep. It wanted nothing more than to burrow back into that peaceful darkness but its body had other plans. No matter how much it tried to ignore, it became painfully aware of all the aches and pains plaguing it.

A soft whine slipped out of its slightly parted mouth. With eyes still shut, it slowly turned on its side. It stretched out its front paws first, then the back legs. A surprised yelp erupted from the sudden ripple of pain. While dulled, it was present enough that it immediately went into alert, eyes snapping open. 

It didn’t know where it was.

This was not the icy landscape that it knew all its life. This wasn’t even the rocky, damp cavity of its den. While it was in an enclosed space, the smooth grey-white barriers were foreign to it. Various objects were scattered all around this strangely bright cave, nothing recognizable sans vague understandings of its origins.

It seemed to be laying on something soft and plush; akin to that of its littermates huddling together and it got to be the one laying partially on top. It experienced a fleeting sense of awe when a cautious press against the plushness left no imprint. It went right back to being smooth and soft.

The brown colored objects reminded it of wooden boxes the elder Zoroark brought back from time to time. They were often filled with food to share with the pack, and it was always a special occasion as they’d feast like kings on various berries rarely found within the frozen terrain. 

It also spotted various differently colored cloths draped over the boxes, on the floor, even hung on the walls. Those were vastly superior to the tattered, dulled ones often used to pad out the sleeping nest. Like the boxes, the cloths were typically brought back by elder Zoroark that returned back from…

Its ears flickered to the odd noise coming from the wall. One section had the same brownish shade of the boxes, and its eyes widened in surprise when it suddenly swung open.

“Oh, it seems like you’re awake.”

At the sight of the tall, shadowed figure of a human, memories instantly rushed back with such intensity that it made its head hurt. 

Humansangryparentbloodhurtscaredrunrunrun–

The singular step towards its direction prompted it to jump out of the soft bedding it was on, scrambling immediately towards the closest object that provided cover. It wasted no time in wiggling underneath the crack and went to the far back of the wall. 

“Ah, guess I scared you huh.”

The human’s foreign words carried no malice but it would not lower its guard. Now it knew that it was trapped in a human’s den with no immediate escape routes. That spot where the human entered seemed to be the only one that led outside but it couldn’t get there, not with it being closed once more. 

Approaching footsteps provoked it into growling, fur puffing up alongside the wisp on its head. Even though it was trapped, if the human tried anything to do harm, it will fight with all its might. Sharp teeth and claws still hurt when aimed at fleshy bits after all.

The human’s feet paused in front of the crack’s entrance. It barred its teeth when yellow-gold eyes peeked at it. The shade evoked memories of its parent, bringing forth sorrow that nearly drowned out its wariness. Unfortunately, it could not afford to mourn its lost, not when faced with extreme danger.

The stand off between it and the enemy lasted for what seemed like forever before the human conceded first. That instinctive fear of being stared down by a predator eased up ever so slightly once those yellow-gold eyes disappeared.

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone. At least eat the food here, alright? It’ll help you recover faster.”

It remained on high alert until the human moved away from its cover. Something was placed on the ground next to the soft bedding, nothing discernible to its eyes right now. Distant footsteps eventually faded altogether once it was left alone, the entrance opened and shut at the human’s exit.

Despite being the only one within the cave, it remained hidden for quite awhile, curled up into a small ball of fur. Its lack of knowledge about humans meant that it had a severe disadvantage, namely that it didn't know their hunting periods.

The elder Zoroark only went out during dusk and dawn, where they had the cover of darkness to further conceal their presence. It could not tell day or night in here, making it more difficult to gauge the human’s return. A single lapse in judgment might spell the end so it had no choice but to wary.

Still, it couldn’t remain that high strung for long. Being alert left it exhausted, reminded of the wounds it sustained before it was caught. Speaking of, it never really crossed its mind during its panic that the injury should’ve hurt more. It was still aware of its dull, persistent presence but that was it. No stabbing, sharp pain.

Curiosity eventually made it uncurl from its tight, protective ball. It twisted its head to look down at its leg. Some kind of white cloth was wrapped around the injury, and a tentative sniff made it rear its head back when a strong, foreign scent assaulted its senses.

How did it get there? The only one it could think of was the human that captured it but that made zero sense. If it took the time to really think, dulling the pain was counterproductive for the human. Wouldn’t it be better to leave it injured so it had little chance of fighting back? And going by that line of thought, the entire set-up seemed off now.

Why did the human bring it back to this cave? It awoke atop soft, warm bedding instead of something cold and hard. Being unconscious meant that there were plenty of chances to put it out of its misery and yet, upon entering earlier, it wasn’t immediately attacked. The human merely followed after it, observed for a moment before leaving it alone again.

It didn’t understand the human’s actions. For all of its short life, it was taught that humans were the enemy. Humans will harm its kin so it must remain hidden. The thought that this could all be some elaborate trap to lower its guard crossed its mind once again but then that begged the question: why?

Why was it kept alive?

This ambiguity made its head hurt. In a way, it’d be much easier had the human simply snuff out its life back in that unknown scenery. Then it wouldn’t have to live with this uncertainty of having its life toyed with. 

It whined softly. It missed its parent, its littermates, its den–all of which no longer existed. It knew that its parent protected it so that it could live on but…

The sound of its stomach growling pulled it away from spiraling. It couldn’t remember the last time it ate. Hunger gnawed at its belly before but the pain took greater presence. Now with it dulled, the hunger came knocking back with a vengeance.

Perhaps it could seek out food within this cave? Surely humans wouldn’t leave their den devoid of anything to eat? It recalled the elder Zoroark bringing out berries from a stash hidden within the den when the elements became too harsh for hunting. It believed that humans were as smart as they were cruel so with that fueling it, a little furry body eventually crawled out of the hiding space. 

It made a cautious sweep of its surroundings, eyes flickering to the closed entrance. It needed to be alert, ready to hide again if the human returned. 

Now with it out in the open, a faint sweet scent caught its attention. It came in the direction of the soft bedding, where upon closer inspection, it found a bowl of… something.

The scent came off from the pile of brown and red bits. It didn’t recognize the brown stuff but the red ones reminded it of berries that it ate before. Did the human left it here before they left? Why? Was it because they wanted to feed it? Another reason why this entire situation made its head hurt. None of the human’s actions made sense.

Its stomach growled once more. Hunger beckoned it to take a bite out of the sweet scented mystery food. This might just be a trap where the food was poisoned but it also smelled really good…

Well, if it was poisoned, perhaps it won’t be such a bad way to end. At least it’d be on a full stomach. That was how it tried to rationalize the situation. 

Swallowing, it cautiously approached the bowl. Leaning down to take another tentative sniff, it decided to go for the red bits that it thought were berries. After a few slow bites, its eyes widened in surprise.

The red bits were delicious! It did taste like the berries it ate before but much sweeter! When it took a bite of the brown stuff, the taste was different but no less appetizing. It began to scarf the mystery food down before long, uncaring at the prospect of it potentially being poisoned in the face of such tastiness gracing its tongue. If it was meant to die after finishing this, at least it wouldn’t be hungry. 

Somehow, it avoided choking from eating everything so quickly. By the time only morsels were left in the bowl, it wobbled a few steps towards the bedding, flopping down rather ungracefully atop its softness.

Rationally, it should go back into hiding instead of being vulnerable like this. Time must have passed while it ate, and while it didn’t know how long humans took to hunt, they could return at any time. Yet with a belly full of yummy, potentially poisoned food, summoning up the energy to do so felt like an impossibility. 

Sleepiness now clouded its vision, the want to close its eyes and slumber on became increasingly hard to ignore. In the end, it decided that it will only sleep for a moment. Just enough to ease the exhaustion before it went back into hiding. Surely it would pick up the sound of the human’s return. It did have good hearing after all.

Soon, it fell into a deep sleep. Unlike what it thought, it remained snoozing on when the entrance opened, unaware of the human that peeked into the room to find it lying on the soft bedding.

“Ah, at least someone was hungry,” the human whispered in their foreign tongue. 

Had it been awake, it would be confused that the human opted to carefully approach it, as if mindful of the noise they made so they wouldn’t disturb its sleep. The emptied bowl was picked up instead, and with the same amount of consideration, the human left the room just as quietly. 

–

Outside of the hastily prepared room, Drayven idly tapped a beat atop his forearm. He glanced down at his bandaged hand, the one that got bit yesterday by the strange Pokemon now sleeping peacefully inside. 

When he came across the injured little one during one of his morning walks outside of Opelucid City, he knew that he had to help it. Maybe he should have exercised more tact on how he approached it—his wife certainly gave him an earful while she disinfect the wound—but at the very least, he got it back home after it exhausted itself within his arms.

Drayven knew that for a speedy recovery, he should have brought the little one to a Pokemon Center instead. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to, not when he saw how terrified it looked. Call it instincts but he had the feeling that had he done so, he would never be able to see it again. 

The Pokemon didn’t look like anything he saw before. While it did have a similar build to Zorua, that was where the resemblance ended. Drayven concluded that the little one might be a rare Pokemon, and if he took into consideration the open fear it had towards him, one that had an unpleasant experience with humans.

This was all speculation of course but that was what his gut told him. If Drayven were to put his trust in something, it’d be just that. It was that very same feeling that led him and Elyssa to adopt the girl his dad introduced them to after all. 

Speaking of his dad, maybe it was time that he asked for the old man’s opinion in this matter. If anyone knew how to handle wild and distrustful Pokemon, it’d be him.

[syncopein3d]

The Warm One Part 2: Stay

Part 1

CW/relevant tropes (I'm a bit new to this format, so let me know if I miss any): living weapon, lady whump, magic whump, traumatic restraints, implied past injury, off-screen whumper, servant caretaker, other species caretaker (Orc), brief mention of pedestrian nudity.

"Tonight the Master of Sorceries comes to take me to supper with Their Divine Majesties, may they live forever," the weapon says. She sits at the vanity in a silver brocade gown as her thin brown hair is aggressively twisted and pinned in an elaborate arrangement of little curls and loops. The maid isn't cruel on purpose. She is afraid, in a hurry to be gone. Another paints the weapon's face dead white to cover her dark, baggy eyes as she looks up into the mirror's reflection.

"Yes, Milady," says the Orc there. He stands with his hands at his sides, watching.

"The Master likes them to see how much control he has before the campaign begins. So I may be late. You can go to bed if you get tired. Yours is behind the curtain."

"Yes, Milady." They haven't put him into corsets, thank goodness, so she can still see his belly hanging over his belt in his velvet tunic. He towers over the maids, looking awkward with his black hair hair newly cut short. The eyes that regard her curiously are yellow and slit-pupiled sideways, like a frog. He is sort of an olive color, also like a frog. The weapon likes that.

"They'll bring you food, as much as you want. Is there anyone you need to tell?"

"No, Milady. My parents are with the gods. My daughter is in the army."

"Her mother?" the weapon asks.

"She was at the delaying action at Kalthanos," the Orc says. "Some ten years now." The weapon nods, producing a worried cluck from the maid.

"Yes. The Master was waiting for me to recover so he could use me again. I remember. I am sorry that I caused her death."

"You didn't cause her death," the Orc says. "A Kalthan archer did. I was there. That's why I was carrying wood. I get lame if I try to run now. Can't keep up with the horses."

This is the most he has so far said in one go. Through the fog of pain and weakness the weapon looks at him with something Iike surprise. It is a new idea that something might not be her fault. He looks back without any suggestion of fear or anger or artifice, only simple curiosity. This, too, is new.

There is a knock at the door. The weapon rises, tightly bound by corsetry and pins, her gorgeous golden bracers heavy on her wrists and a golden comb heavy atop the confection of hair. She has never scarred so much that she can't feel the twin needles in her wrist veins.

The Master of Sorceries is waiting in the hallway as sunset stripes the carpets with gold. He is older than the weapon, but he looks younger. He is handsome, perfectly groomed, broad-shouldered and athletic and well-rested. His body is nearly perfect and his eyes are so very blue. The weapon looks back at her orc, huge, a little fat, the colors of a frog. And she smiles very slightly as she turns to go.

"Something amuses you?" The Master of Sorceries asks, his silken tone a warning.

"I am only pleased with your gift, Master. Thank you."

"So you will behave tonight, then?" he asks.

"Yes. I will be very well-behaved, Master."

When she returns, night has fallen. Maids hustle her inside to peel her out of her expensive garments and hang them up, smoothing them anxiously. The Orc is there poking up the fire. He turns away politely. The chemical wash to get the makeup layer burns a little as another maid works on her face.

"I don't care if you see," she says. "On campaign you will probably have to help. I'm sorry," she adds wearily.

"Don't be sorry, Milady." He turns back in time to see the shift come off over her head. The layers of stiffened fabric are meant to support more bosom than she has, oddly stuffed with rags, as if it was made for someone a little heavier. Her body is thin and wasted, every rib able to be counted. A spreading nest of scars covers the front of her body from collarbones to the thin fuzz of the pubic mound. It looks red and angry against the very pale skin, a seam and many branches. "What happened?" he asks, staring at it.

"The shift is tulle," the weapon says, absently misunderstanding the question. "It scratches." The scars vanish under a woolen robe, the maids push slippers onto her feet, and then they yank the pins out of her hair and flee, pushing the brush into her hand. She looks at it blankly, swaying as her support vanishes. What does she usually do at this point? Right. She usually falls over. Her knees are starting to buckle when suddenly, the world goes past slightly downwards and now she is surrounded by warmth. The Orc carries her over to the chair by the fire and sets her there, a little sideways. A huge hand appears around her shoulder, holding the brush. She looks at it blankly for a long moment before she nods.

"Very good, Milady." She expects him to be rougher with her hair than the maids are, but she is too limp to brace herself. So it comes as a surprise when his fingers begin carefully teasing the knots out. The weapon sits quietly, bathed in unexpected comfort, struggling to stay awake.

"What's your name?" she asks eventually, words a little slurred.

"Aldo, Milady."

"Just Aldo?"

"Just Aldo. Does Milady have a name?"

"No," she says. "I am the Wrath of the King. There was one before me. There will be another when I'm gone."

He is quiet as he works on her hair for a while. Now she can feel the bristles of the brush, but carefully, never scraping hard against her scalp.

"You've done this before," she says. Her voice is very small now. She hardly knows what she said. The pain in her wrists is constant, but this feels good. Nothing has felt good in this small, safe way in a long, long time. It washes over her in somnolent, gentle waves.

"My daughter had fine hair when she was small." For a moment his hand cups her skull and the back of her neck, gently turning her, and the wash of sheer overwhelming warmth fades the world completely away. She isn't sorry to see it go as her head grows heavy in his hand.

When next she knows anything, she is being laid down on the mattress, bare feet tucked in between cold silk sheets. She shivers, blindly groping without opening her eyes. One hand tangles in warm velvet, the hem of the Orc's tunic.

"Stay," she says. "Please. You can keep all your clothes on, just - stay."

"Yes," he says. There's no 'Milady' this time. She hears him pushing off his indoor boots and unbuckling his hard belt, and then the huge mattress indents beside her, rolling her down a small slope. His hands check her at shoulder and hip as he settles on his side. Heat begins to build under the covers immediately. The weapon presses herself weakly against the big soft belly. A heavy arm slides around her. Later she will remember that he doesn't feel stiff, tense. The muscle under the fat lies slack.

"I might make noises," she says. "Bad ones. Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, Aldo."

"I'm not afraid." Now she can feel the basso rumble of his voice through his body. "You can sleep. It's all right."

"You'll be here?" she is fighting it, even though she can't open her eyes.

"I'll be here. Shhhh, shh."

She doesn't know if it's true or not, but she wants it to be badly enough to let go. The world slides away down a dark tunnel.

There will be nightmares. There always are. But this time Aldo will be there to rub her back just a little, quietly, and tell her they're not real. And for a little while it will be all right.

Part 3

[fourseasonsfigs]

Building Block Figs - Two Devils

Following up on the last few days of building block fig posts, this is the last kit that I have to post about. I have three more incoming, but they won't arrive for at least a month, if that.

I actually started on these figs a while ago - they were the second set I started to make, after my first kit of Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake. That one was so involved that I figured I'd relax a little on an easy set before tackling the next scene.

Ahahaha. Little did I know.

First, I had such a big problem with this set that I originally wasn't sure I was going to buy it. The full, long name of this set is: Ghost Valley Valley Master and Tianchuang Leader. Great, love it, right? Always a fan. Except, this was the picture:

Right, you see the problem. Valley Master Wen is all dressed in his Episode 1 red finery, but our Tianchuang Leader definitely is not dressed in his midnight-hued civil servant assassin best. Why on earth would Zhou Zishu be in white? This is not "Rescue from Tianchuang Jail" A-Xu (although I kinda wish it was, that would be great).

Also, less egregious but still not great is the fact that Zhou Zishu's hair is Jianghu-styled half down, and that Baiyi has a cross-guard. This whole fig is just not working for me!

But, as you can tell (and as you would already have suspected anyway), I bought it, and just planned somehow to figure out a solution to change up the entire fig.

Somehow. I had no actual idea how to do it, but I felt confident I would somehow figure it out. So confident, that I even went ahead and put together Valley Master Wen first.

He, at least, was not going to require changing. The only thing I'd change up with him is to give him a gold guan instead of his hairpin, but I used up all my extra yellow bricks on the Catching Light fig, so I was out of luck. That's alright, I don't mind this one so much. The Valley Master would wear his hairpin at times, that makes sense.

Oh, I should say, in comparison to the other building block sets, these two together totaled 856 bricks - 424 for Wen Kexing and 432 for Zhou Zishu. The figs stand 4.4 x 5.2 x 10.2 cm and 5.2 x 5.6 x 10.2 cm respectively, and each one is rated 2 hours to complete. Like all of these kits, the time to complete is pretty right on, if you follow the directions.

The two figures came together in a set. I wouldn't have minded if they split up the two figures in two different bags, but nope, they're all mingled in there together!

Here's a sample progress pic:

This one wasn't too bad - it's always a little harder for the ones that are mostly one color, since it makes it easy to miscount as the colors all blend together. But, I didn't make any mistakes and it went pretty smoothly.

I finished the body and moved on to the face. They have you do the fig in pieces, and then put it all together at the end. You can tell the passage of time from the quality of the light in these photos, but I pretty much finished this one over the course of a day and an evening.

I had to laugh as I saw his red cheeks/eyeliner. Very cute!

And here he is! Photographed at a rakish angle, as well. He looks great!

While I was at it, I decided to click through the directions for Zhou Zishu, and see if I could figure out any ideas in advance of working on the fig. By this time, even one (and a half) sets in, I could see that they had provided lots of extra bricks, so the idea that was starting to half-bake in my head was that I would have enough bricks at the very end of all my kits to do something instead of the white.

While clicking though, I realized that I could skip the body part and do the head, which would help use up some of the necessary bricks. So the head it was! That way, I would really only have leftover bricks at the end.

That I got done very quickly. It wasn't bad at all! And, the best thing was that this head didn't have any long hair attached to it. So, I could just ignore the long hair when building the body, and use the head as is. Things were looking up!

I mean, Valley Master Wen looks horrified, but don't worry Lao Wen, he'll get better.

I set aside these two, and went on to the rest of the sets.

That brings us to this morning. I woke up, pulled out my SHL reference book, sat down with all the brick remainders, and figured out, I think, a pretty good plan of attack.

Technically, all his clothes are midnight shades of blue and wine, but those are not colors I had available, sadly.

I had a lot of black bricks left over since I wasn't doing the half-long hairstyle, and plus extras from the other sets. That being said, there wasn't a ton of the smaller sized bricks in black. Also, I didn't really want a fig that was black on black on black, and technically his robes are that deep midnight blue anyway. The biggest problem with that was that I didn't have enough of the darkest blue bricks. Or really any of the blue bricks, and of course going lighter would get us right back to a non-canon compliant fig. So, I decided to try and do his cloak and body with as much of the black bricks as possible, and try to use the blue ones as judiciously as I could, in the hopes of stretching them far enough.

I'm a little annoyed at myself I didn't take a pic of all the remaining bricks left so you could see what I was working with, but at least here you can see the start of the fig and the remaining black bricks left. You can also see where I started off making the interior white, to try and use as few black or blue bricks as possible. My plan was to make the cloak as enveloping as possible in order to use the least number of blue pieces.

You can see here how very few blue pieces there are left, and how far I have to go. You can also see here how I started changing up Baiyi, to make the hilt dark grey vs. the neon orange.

I will note at this point I was about two hours in on the body, which sounds ridiculous, but let me assure you, it gets worse. I stopped here for lunch, and then came back ready to finish this up.

Unfortunately for me, though, this is where I started to get into real trouble. I was changing up the sword, the top hand position (inadvertently, since I got rid of the cross-guard), I was trying to make the cape wrap around the front robes, ignore the directions for the long hair in the back and therefore revise the back (which is half hair). And I had no idea what I was doing with any of it, other than to desperately stretch out my remaining dark blue pieces. For each blue piece I did use, I was trying to figure out if I'd be better off using a bigger piece, or multiple smaller pieces, or if I might need those exact configurations later.

Basically, I was doing way too much off script, and didn't have the skills to back it up. The directions at this point were almost useless.

You can see how the step I was theoretically on looked nothing like the fig I was trying to make!

I must have reworked this piece here three different times. It doesn't help that the arms are asymmetrical, which only complicated something that I really didn't need to be any more complicated.

The biggest problem, of course, was that I was just way out of my depth, and kept making mistakes that I would have to go back and fix. And unfortunately, I have extremely poor visual short term memory, so when I disconnected a piece to fix a mistake or replace a brick, I couldn't remember how to reconnect it. And since I was so far off book with the instructions, I couldn't use that to help. I just had to figure it out new each time.

It was pretty rough going, I'm not going to lie.

Somewhere in this I ditched the two-brick configuration for Baiyi and made it into the slimmest, whippiest, greyest version I could.

At this point, those were all the blue bricks remaining, and I was critically short just a few pieces. So, I went to the lake raft set from Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake, which I'm going to re-work next to make the raft brown vs. blue and green. I pillaged a few dark blue bricks from the raft in advance of.

Finally, after three (more) hours, I was done! I couldn't almost believe it. Very happily, I started to take some pics.

And that's when I noticed that Zhou Zishu was actually taller than Wen Kexing. I was like, wait a minute. How is this possible?

It was possible.

At this point, I was really, really tempted to just say, you know what, it's good enough. Clean up the bricks and move on with life. But the bricks were still out, and I just couldn't let it go. After all this time, working so hard? No way.

I figured here the easy way out was to extend Wen Kexing's legs. Gong Jun is all legs anyway, so it would work.

I didn't take any pictures of this, because at this point I was losing the will to live, but basically not only did I extend his legs, I ended up extending the train of his robes just a little bit. Just to make it a little more like the show! I had plenty of red bricks, so this was actually fairly straightforward.

So NOW it was done. Unlike this extremely long blog post. Picture time it was!

You can see he's quite a bit taller now.

Don't judge my fig-designing skills too harshly, please! I was struggling. Desperately.

This is actually the first time I am really looking at them since I finished, so I'm curious about this too.

Oops, I see in my fugue state I knocked a little tendril of the Valley Master's hair off kilter. I'll have to fix that.

Ah ha, I did fix it! I have to say I really love how we have Wen Kexing's hand behind his back here - love this modelling. This is a good angle to see the train here - I just added that last two rows, nothing special.

Hmm, I guess I should have done a straight box down at the back for Zhou Zishu's cape, vs. trying to shape the shoulders and arms from where he's holding the sword. There isn't a ton of black bricks left, but I might go back and see if I can streamline it some.

Ok, this doesn't look too bad from this angle. I could have curved his bottom back part of his hair a bit more, but I suppose it can be the braid in back.

Well, Baiyi looks good!

Finally, I remembered to take a good bottoms-up pic for these building brick figs!

And the top here. Oh, I forgot to mention I had changed up Zhou Zishu's hair tie too - it was originally light grey and light blue, but I made it light and dark grey.

Alright, I'm at 30 pics, so there we have it. Clearly not the best, and there's still clean up work to be done, but I'm pretty happy how he turned out, considering everything. At least he's not wearing white robes.

In conclusion, I will not be giving up my day job for a brick designer job, that's for sure.

Well! Thanks for tagging along with me through brick festivities! I am looking forward to the next sets coming - they look wonderful. And best of all, I don't think I'll have to change a single thing on them!

Material: Plastic bricks

Fig Count: 508

Scene Count: 35

Rating: 8 hours of build time

[link to the Master Post Index]

[aladaylessecondblog]

5:40 (Raphael x Tav pt. 2)

TW: Noncon, dp, anal. Haarlep is involved and Raphael is ready to traumatize Tav.

-----------------

Raphael made another appearance at the end of the week, when Tav had gone out to check on her garden late in the evening to tend the vegetables and herbs. She collected some parsley and sage in a basket, and had just moved past the golden-yellow silphium when she heard a familiar huff behind her.

"I don't see how you live like this." He gestured vaguely, as if they were already in the middle of a conversation.

She stiffened, but managed to answer in an even tone, "In the outdoors, with life all around me?"

"Like a peasant. Perhaps I should have offered coin instead of silence."

"I am nothing," Tav said with a deep breath, "If not adaptable, and I need no extra coin."

She paused, looking at him and waiting.

"I know what you're here for," she said quietly, eager both for a distraction from the fear of the subject, "But there is something I would like to ask."

"'Why,' I suppose?"

Tav shook her head. "No, I know that already. You're a devil, it's what you do. I was merely curious how you woke here. With...the memory of..."

"The memory of your thievery and murder."

She set her basket down.

"The memory of your theatrics. Honestly," she spoke perhaps a little too loudly, trying to mask the anxiety running through her veins, "Who recites poetry during battle?"

There was a moment of silence. Raphael folded his arms, and fixed her with an iron-hard glare.

"You are only lucky you weren't sent back there, else we would have a vastly different arrangement. One much less...merciful...for you and your son."

"I hardly call this merciful."

Tav turned away from him, unsure whether facing him or not was more unsettling. She didn't want to see that glare, but she also didn't want to not see him coming.

"You're making this harder than it has to be. If you simply...cooperate...then I assure you things will be perfectly pleasant."

Deep breath. Tav didn't believe Raphael, not for a second. She knew better.

"Maybe I've changed my mind. Maybe I do want to know why," Tav said quietly. She tried to keep still, though she felt a shiver coming on. "Have you simply grown bored of Haarlep?"

"Shall we put it...there are some things even Haarlep cannot give me." There was a slow, dark chuckle as Raphael stepped directly behind her.

"Such as?"

The world shifted. Suddenly Tav was standing not in her garden, but--

She sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden change from the dark of the garden. Greens, golds, all colors of growth and life. Softness even, all of it coated in a veneer of shadow. Here, though...here it was all ordered, angled, harsh. Largely red, stately, with pillars and rocks that felt inescapable. As a druid she would never choose this place over the outside.

The balcony, she remembered standing here, before. The bed behind her had been tempting then...

The boudoir.

Her legs trembled beneath her, but she reached out and braced herself on the railing.

"Vengeance." Raphael's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "A sentiment I am sure you agree with. What was that woman's name, the one to murder your vampire and bear?"

"Orin."

"I'm sure you have the most gruesome death in mind for her."

"I--had thought to do what I did the last time. And that didn't involve killing her."

She was calm and composed internally. On edge, not afraid. But it was as if her body were saying 'bullSHIT you aren't scared!' Her heart was already off to the races, and despite her efforts to keep her breathing steady--

"Why?" Raphael started unfastening the buttons on the back of her dress as he spoke. "Answer me honestly."

"Because death wouldn't hurt her the way I wanted to hurt her."

"How delightful a thought. A point upon which we can both agree. The woman being a Bhaalist aside, death...is not a punishment." Having finished with the buttons, he lay his hands on her back and moved them outwards. The fabric of the dress was pushed off her shoulders, and fell to the floor. "It is a mercy."

He paused, stroking over her shoulderblades.

"Do you remember what I said when we first met?"

"...what?" Tav felt half-faint, and took another deep, slow breath to try and calm herself. "No. I don't."

"I have never forgotten it, you see." Another dark chuckle, and the run of his fingers through her hair. He leaned in close, his voice too gentle for the words he was speaking, "When hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair, that's when you'll come knocking on my door."

She swallowed.

"But for now, my dear indebted friend...I intend to reward you."

"Re--reward?" she practically squeaked the word out. Confusion and fear mixed together, and only intensified when Raphael didn't explain.

She was commanded to undress him, and then to join him on the bed. But when she made to straddle him, he tutted at her and turned her around, settling her in a reclining position with her head on his shoulder.

"You've behaved yourself. Oh, certainly you gave trouble at first, but...you seem quite well to know your place now. A quite welcome change of pace. I don't enjoy forcing the matter, after all. I would vastly prefer a willing voice raised in genuine passion."

Tav couldn't find the words to reply, but as Raphael's hands were wandering down, she spread her legs for him. A ruinous dark laugh, soft and dangerous, sounded off by her ear, even as she felt his hardening cock pressing against her back.

"When we fought," he said, two fingers of one hand probing her cunt as the other groped idly at one of her breasts. "You laid an offense at my feet..."

The push of his fingers was uncomfortable, but not entirely painful. She wasn't wet enough to take him, but she said nothing.

"An offense I have been working on correcting..." HIs voice drawled slightly. Slowly, dregs of unwelcome pleasure began to work their way out. Tav clenched at the sheets beneath her, and he gave a satisfied smirk. "...now, now, what have I said about stifling yourself?"

The hand at her breast moved to her jaw, turned her eyes to his, while down below he was working a third finger inside her. With a deliberate thrust of his hand Raphael forced a groan out of her.

"Must I give the same orders over and over? Is this the thanks you give me for my effort?"

"No, I--" she scrambled to correct herself, "--I just didn't--"

"You didn't want to," he whispered softly, "Oh, my dear, dear Tav...you will."

"Am I interrupting anything, master?"

That voice, she remembered it. More than ten years it had been since she'd heard it, but it brought everything back in an instant. The voice that had purred in her ear once, offered to let her stay there, beneath them, on them...to return to it, to that teasing voice that had whispered in her ear, promised pleasure of every stripe for time beyond count if she'd only give up just one little thing...

"Oh, far from it, Haarlep," Raphael said. "You're late, I've had to start the work myself."

"Apologies. I assume you wish company for yourself and your...painted morsel?"

"I wanted to reward her for so eagerly complying with the terms I set out." There was a pause, and a pain in her thigh as Raphael's hand gripped at it, with his nails digging in. "So...perhaps you might assume a different sort of form than our usual."

Tav took a deep breath. His tone was not so gentle as it had been, even a few seconds ago.

"Oh, I like that idea. Who shall it be, hrm?" Haarlep smirked. "I have so many forms to choose from, after all."

"Let me think..." Raphael's other hand was tapping out an unsteady rhythm on her jawline. "Oh, I know. Do you recall that young man I had for a while?"

"Certainly, master." Haarlep shut their eyes, and shifted...

...when the eyes looked out again, they belonged to Gortash. A younger one than Tav remembered. Still very much a man, but thinner, less filled out. More tired looking.

Thou, or thy son, Withers' voice echoed in Tav's mind. Choose. Only one of you shall go with her.

A voice, ruined, struggling, had responded. ...my son...

For a second, one hellishly eternal second, Tav swore her heart stopped. She barely registered Raphael tearing away at her underclothes.

"Please, no," she begged in a whisper.

"Do as you like with her so long as you keep that form," Raphael ignored the plea, and focused instead on Haarlep. "...for now, at least."

"And you, master? How shall I please you?"

"When I wish a change, I will let you know. For now..."

Raphael swept a dramatic gesture over Tav's bare body. And as Haarlep crossed the room, there was a whisper in her ear.

"What's wrong, my dear? Do you not like your reward? You should be thrilled." Gentle tone again. But only for that sentence. It turned sharp and cruel as a dagger in the heart when he spoke again, "It's what you earned, after all."

Haarlep, wearing Gortash's face, was climbing onto the bed, giving Raphael only time enough to whisper one last thing.

"Serve my pet eagerly and deny nothing requested of you."

She tensed, and there was a snicker in her ear. Haarlep pulled her forward, and the sudden contact broke her from her shock. She tried to stammer out that she couldn't--but the words wouldn't come, refused to even form in her mouth.

This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

The word 'no' was sealed in her mind, and she screamed it internally as Haarlep's eyes roamed over her once again.

It was like beating against a wall of stone trying to say the word, with bare fists that only grew bloodier and more painful with every repetition.

She could not say no. She could not say no.

"Perhaps you would like her to beg?" Raphael asked then.

"No need," Haarlep laughed and began to grind the tip of their hardened cock against her clit. "Allow me to work and I will have her doing it all of her own accord."

Let him have what he wants. It will be over faster. Just please, please, don't make me look at him.

"Not so wet as you should be...but we'll soon fix that." They kept grinding against her, and probing at her cunt with two fingers to gauge her readiness. Then they looked up. "Master...if I might make a request..."

"Within reason."

"Could you hand over the oil?"

"Of course, Haarlep, since you've asked so nicely."

Tav turned her head, tried to look, but given how far forward she was she couldn't see Raphael's movement behind her.

"Don't look at him, my pet." Haarlep pinched playfully at one of her nipples, and leaned down to brush a kiss (as tender as a last goodbye) over Tav's lips. "Look at me."

Every touch as she had remembered it being before, only now, with Gortash--revulsion filled what little of her mind remained unconquered by the incubus.

No, no, no, no, no

She took in a shaky gasp as she was compelled to look at him, at that face that had once belonged to her husband. Had there been any ability to resist, it would have faded as it did before, the first time she lay beneath the incubus. She hadn't wanted to fight against the flood of lust then, as she did now.

But in the end the result was the same.

Practiced hands moved eagerly over her her breasts, then back down to her hips.

She kept her eyes on their jaw as the bottle of oil was handed over.

"You seem quite eager, Haarlep," Raphael's voice sounded off, lustful, and yet still commanding. "To have a taste of giving what you only ever take."

"You have caught me." The incubus laughed, their mirthful sound only worsening the battle in Tav's mind.

Sick, it made her sick, to know this false version of her husband, to feel those hands on her after six years of missing them. She was certain that the disgust and fear were the only things stopping her from falling to the rising pleasure. The only thing that kept her from sinking into what would otherwise have been mind-blanking ecstasy.

She could not deny it, could not enjoy it, only rest here in this endless torment. The gasps of pleasure were not her own, though they were in her voice.

Tav could not enjoy this, not as she did before. Some of the oil was poured over their fingers, and there was a sudden hitch in her breath when she felt them slip over her damp cunt, then move lower, probing--

"Oh," Haarlep said in a breathless whisper, "It has been some time since anyone touched you here, isn't it? How long, I wonder?"

Once more, pleasure battled with loathing. A soft moan in her voice.

Tav answered, "More--more than ten years."

"Our dear pet's deceased husband did not much care to use her this way." The satisfaction in Raphael's voice was as infernal and devilish as his blood. "A pity, don't you think, not to use every avenue of pleasure?"

"Such a waste." Haarlep chuckled, and thrust his fingers slowly. "Relax, my pet, and let me remind you what lust can be drawn from here..."

It pained her just slightly at first, but their movements were gentle enough to keep her in a state of slight pleasure. After a minute or two of this, the rest of the oil was used to coat Haarlep's cock which then moved down, pressing gently.

"I've changed my mind," Raphael said suddenly. "Oh, by all means, have her this way. But I find myself unable to resist taking part in such..."

"How?" Haarlep asked.

Tav didn't see the gesture, but found herself turned and brought to her hands and knees, then hauled up. Haarlep reached down, angled themselves, and slowly brought her down onto their cock. The only mercy was the oil, making the intrusion into her ass lose all pain that might have been there without it. A whimper fell from her lips then, a surrender to the victory being claimed.

"So tight..."

"You can change to the usual now," Raphael said over her shoulder as he moved closer.

"Oh, is my master taking a more active role? Perhaps...we should do this more often."

"Yes," came the smirking reply, "I think we should."

A withdrawal, a shift, and then a push back inside her rear. Tav took in a sharp breath, feeling the change in Haarlep's body.

In front of her, Raphael gave her another of his looks. The kind that she had seen in his eyes the night she made the deal, that plainly spoke her weakness. It was filled with the knowledge that she was helpless to deny him anything, and oh, how he was reveling in it.

"Lean her back a bit."

Haarlep obeyed, and Tav groaned as the movement sent him just a little deeper. A second later Raphael's cock was thrusting inside her soaked center, forcing a yelp from her lips.

"I have it on good authority she enjoys being so filled," he said, looking again over her shoulder. "So let us be sure not to disappoint."

Darling...

She hadn't heard the whisper of Astarion's voice in some time, but suddenly it was in her ear again, as if instead it were him behind her. She'd had shut her eyes if she could. But it was as if Raphael had heard her thinking it, because his next command was, "Eyes open, and keep them that way."

A kiss was pressed to her lips, gentle only for a moment before his hand slipped into her hair. and his tongue pushed past her lips--and then, suddenly, both of them were thrusting into her. Slow, deep strokes that claimed every part of her at once.

At last Haarlep's influence was beginning to overpower her, the folding of her mind, the clearing of her mind. A mercy she had never expected to be grateful for. She released every moan that rose to her lips as the two of them fucked her.

Pain was a distant memory, and the familiar rush she had felt once before was rising to drown her. Her lips mouthed words she couldn't think, pleas that could find no voice. Her heart slowed and stopped along with her breathing, and her mind was (oh, what a relief!) clearing of everything but the rapture between her legs.

"Do you want her body, Haarlep?" Raphael's voice sounded off somewhere near, the only anchor Tav had to not drift away. He was moving slightly faster against her, thrusting and groaning and venting every hatred on her overstimulated cunt.

The only thing that drifted across her mind then was a vague sense of unease, so far into Haarlep's hunger had she fallen. The word 'no' was no longer trapped, but had failed to exist entirely. The feeling of being filled on both sides, fucked senseless, was all that there was. The beginning, the end, and everything in between.

Another few words she didn't notice, looking up at Raphael she saw his lips moving but there was nothing she could comprehend from them, if they were words, if she could even hear them at all, if...

If...

...if...

...warmth and flames...

A grunt, a feeling of further warmth in her belly. Raphael shuddered and moved back leaving her body still throbbing and leaking his spend.

"So delicious..." Tav heard the incubus whispering in her ear. Their hands were holding her hips as their own slowly rocked against her. "Mmm, yes...would you not like to stay...? Stay, and devote yourself to pleasure eternal. This could be...forever..."

The ecstasy was a constant plateau, and she could no more have answered than flown to the moon for the senseless state it had her in.

"You may have her body, but not her mind," Raphael said. "Isn't that right, Tav? Say the words."

"You..." Tav's voice felt like it was coming from someone else, somewhere else far away. Like she was far, far below a thick layer of fog she would never have been able to make it through were it not for the compulsion to obey Raphael. "...can have my body...but not my mind..."

"Tell her what you will do with it, Haarlep." There was a satisfied sigh then, as he reclined, watching the show before him unfolding.

As Haarlep continued to gently fuck her, they whispered, "As with Raphael's...I will add your body to my...glamour. I will gain great pleasure from you...AS you..."

Tav felt the end approaching, but could not find her voice. She'd had shut her eyes, had she been able--but there was nowhere to hide now. All was laid bare.

"But you must vow it - you are mine."

Her mouth moved on its own in reply, "I vow: my body is now yours."

Her tongue pushed against the roof of her mouth, trying to form a word she could not remember, a word that seemed so important, yet was lost in the haze.

One of Haarlep's hands came up, turning her head so their lips could capture hers.

This last touch was too much, the kiss too enrapturing, the ecstasy too much. It crested, broke, and she parted from the incubus only long enough to moan out the pleasure as her cunt contracted around nothing, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body greater than any that had come before.

But that release brought her out of the pleasurable haze, and slowly Haarlep eased her off their cock and back onto the bed. She turned to look, and saw their body shift to her own.

"I can't wait to figure out how you work," came her own voice in a lusty, slow tone, "What gets you going, what makes you sweat..."

These words, she remembered.

"And every time I make love in your shape...you will know. A shiver out of the blue, a tingle from beyond. You...will...KNOW."

"You can go now, Haarlep." Raphael's voice cut through the air, a command that would not be ignored.

"Very well." The incubus stood and turned, giving Tav an easy grin, "I will misuse you well."

He left.

"Very good work, Tav. I do believe Haarlep very much enjoyed the opportunity to partake in that."

Tav was breathing again, and she expected her heart to be pounding hard, but it wasn't. It was actually slow. Her head, empty. Her heart, a void.

She felt utterly hollow.

"Four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and twelve seconds. Your first hour is over, and what an hour it was." Raphael's smugness was evident in every oily word he spoke. "I am nothing if not fair, you know. Haarlep relishes excessive use of a new glamour...and I can grant you a quarter of the time spent wearing your body. I can imagine you'll be glad of it."

He stood, dressed, and picked her dress off the floor.

"Get yourself dressed. I'm taking you back."

Tav was glad for the compulsion to obey that followed, for had she been left to her own devices she was sure she'd never have gotten back up.

"Why?" she finally managed in a shaky tone when he handed her the dress. It was all she could say.

"Because as you told me about Orin, my dear Tav...death wouldn't hurt you the way I want to hurt you."

[olive-gardens-breadstick]

part 2 of my hope!hob Pandora's box au

part 1 part 3

word count: 2079

Morpheus picks the candle up and rolls it in his hand, examining it. it's not really anything special, just a yellow prayer candle. The glass is completely blank showing off the candle completely. He runs his fingers over the smooth glass considering putting something on it, like a sticker or something. Does he even have any stickers? Does hope even like stickers? Does he know what stickers are? He shakes the thoughts from his head and instead thinks about what story to tell. He'd thought about it a lot over the past few days. He's lived so long. How could he possibly choose where to start? Would hope have some sort of request?

he eventually decides to just light it, maybe his audience will inspire him and everything will work itself out once hope is here. Morpheus grabs a match and lights the candle and for a moment, everything is still. Morpheus looks around not seeing anything change and wonders if he did what he was supposed to. Maybe he was supposed to light it on an altar? Moving to a small table in his living room, he notices all the lights in his house are getting noticeably brighter until he has to set the candle down on the little table and cover his eyes from the blinding light. He keeps his face covered until he can tell the light has died down. When he uncovers his eyes he sees hope looking at him with a confused look.

"why were you covering your face?" he asks as Morpheus blinks away the floaters from hopes entrance

"your entrance was very bright" he says rubbing his eyes "if i hadn't it would have caused some serious damage to my eyes"

"oh I'm so sorry" hope apologizes stepping back and pulling his hands seemingly into his chest "I didn't know I'll try not to do it next time" he says looking down.

"It's alright, I doubt you can help it" Morpheus says turning back to the little table kneeling "next time I'll just close my eyes and face the wall after I light the candle." he assures hope as he clears the table of its previous inhabitants.

"What are you doing?" Hope asks, peering over his shoulder.

"I'm making a specific space for your candle." He explains picking up the candle to wipe down the table. He doesn't notice the endless' start to glow behind him.

"like.. an, alter?" hope inquires expectantly. no one had ever made HIM an alter before, it was always for some lesser being, made to syphon from him through a god or deity, he could feel it while he was in the box. he felt the faint pull in his chest, the construction and destruction of temples and altars made for others in an attempt to reach him through them. to have an altar made with specifically him in mind, well, it was... flattering.

"Yeah, an altar. seems like the most efficient way to do this, to get you caught up when I'm busy. I can just leave you things and you can examine them to learn about the current state of the world." he explains, dusting off his hands and standing up "does seem a little bland right now though huh? I don't think my darker colors really match your candle though, gonna have to go out and get some white and gold stuff." he adds examining the bare 'alter' with nothing but a candle, 'hardly counts as an alter right now though'

Morpheus turns to face hope, noticing he's still wearing a tunic. "how about instead of a story we can go get you a new wardrobe and some stuff for your altar?" he suggests looking hope up and down "you'll have to change though, i think my clothes will fit you"

"i- i mean- yeah, sure, sounds fun." Hob can feel himself falling through the words, first the mortal makes him an altar then offers to not only buy him clothes but choose things for his altar? He stands there lost in thought for a moment until the aforementioned mortal speaks to him once more.

"Also, will you stay here if I snuff the candle? I don't want to waste it." he asks handing him a set of completely black clothes 'he doesn't want to waste it' hob thinks with a smile. "yes I will, is there a room I can change in?" after Morpheus helps him to the bathroom and leaves hope to change, he snuffs the candle and makes a small list of the things he knows he has to get:

gold tablecloth

white lace runner

small offering tray

one (1) nice outfit for hope

they'd have to go somewhere nearby, hope doesn't seem like he'd be too keen on travelling by anything other than foot. Luckily there's a small boutique and second hand store nearby where they should be able to get everything. hob walks out with the clothes slightly askew and holding a pair of shoes.

"I do not know how to put these on," he says, raising them slightly higher. Morpheus looks up from his list surveying hope in his clothes.

"I probably should've helped you, apologies" he says adjusting the clothes slightly "but you managed to get the socks on so overall I'd say this is a success" he declares, motioning for hope to sit down on the couch. as soon as he does Morpheus kneels to help hope with the shoes

"Will the clothes we get me today look like this?" Hope asks as he watches Morpheus tie the left shoe.

"no, were going to get you something nicer, these clothes are just easy to take off and put on" he explains tying the right shoe "makes the whole process of clothes shopping easier" he sighs looking up "ready to go?" he asks standing up, hope nods. "alright let's go then."

the shops truly aren't that far. a ten minute walk at best. They don't talk much as Morpheus is too lost in thought and hope is too enamoured by the advancements of civilization, so enamoured in fact that he almost gets hit by a car. If Morpheus hadn't pulled him back onto the sidewalk at the last second he would've been very uncomfortable. He takes a minute to process what's going on and notices he is very close to Morpheus, almost burrowed into his chest with his arms wrapped around him. and Morpheus is so very comfortable and warm with the long coat he has on an-

"Okay" the word cuts through Hob's thoughts like a xiphos as Morpheus backs up to look him in the eyes and holds out his hand "take my hand."

"why?" If hob were human he'd say he could feel the blood rushing to his face as his eyes widened. but he's not human so he could soundly tell you  that he was glowing slightly.

"So you don't go, somehow unknowingly, stepping into oncoming traffic." he explains as he holds his hand up a little higher, hob takes it and they continue on their way.

Morpheus wouldn't say he was out of his depth when it came to clothes shopping, he just didn't buy color very offten. All of his clothes were various shades of black and dark grey with a few lighter greys (to which his students never failed to make a comment along the lines of 'busting out the spring collection I see' ) but looking at hope in his clothes... well he just didn't look right in black. but trying to figure out what base color to start with was tricky. black was out of the picture but yellow seemed too strong to use as a base. Eventually he settled on a white button up to layer with some sort of sweater. Maybe that's where the yellow could come in? He could worry about that in a moment, he should deal with the rest of the outfit first then the rest of the layers. He looked over all his options, made some choices and measured them against hope to get the right size and sent him to try them on and went looking for some layers. Maybe a blue sweater? but then the colors would-

"professor galanis?" uh oh "what are you doing here? its for sure not your style.'' This much was very true, though he hadn't expected to run into any of his students so he absolutely did not come up with a cover story.

"well, i-"

"hey, could you help me with this?'' The students' eyes go wide and Morpheus can't tell if the interruption is a blessing or curse but goes to help nonetheless. After defeating the buttons he hands hope a couple sweaters to try on and turns around to see his student still standing there.

"sorry about that I-"

"don't even worry about it sir." she says with a smile "sorry for interrupting your … outing." he’s going to get so many questions on Monday "i'll just-"

"actually, could you help me?" he will never hear the end of them "I'm not much of a color person and I need to pick out some accessories"

her eyes light up and she smiles wider "of course sir, i wasn't planning on buying anything anyways"

They spend far more time in the store than Morpheus had planned and by the end of the trip Hope has several outfits with accessories to match. The outfit he's wearing to replace Morpheus's clothes consists of a pair of cuffed blue jeans, a pale yellow sweater over a white button up, a string of fake pearls and a pair of converse.

"Thank you Ms. Tarcey," he says as they start heading out.

"no problem Mr. g, I came out to window shop and this was way more fun!" she says, opening the door.

"I'm sure it was," he says with a laugh "to show my gratitude, I'm willing to give you full marks on the writing assignment I know you haven't started." he offers as they get to the street watching as her eyes go wide and mouth falls open. "Now this is a one time thing. I will not offer this if you help me again." he warns, grabbing Hope's hand before he can run down the sidewalk to follow a dog.

"sir you have no idea how much that helps me" she mumbles, face still in total shock.

"I actually do," he quips. "have a good evening Ms. Tarcey. I'll see you Monday" he says leading hope to the secondhand store across the street.

"who was that?" hob asks once they're in the store.

"one of my students." Morpheus says inspecting a tablecloth. "I teach creative writing" he clarifies, putting the tablecloth back and picking up another. "What do you think of this one?" he asks, handing the fabric to hope.

The cloth is a rich yellow with a light shine, when the light hits it, shifting it reveals a pattern akin to Victorian woodwork, hob doesn't know that of course but he thinks it's beautiful anyways. He looks over to Morpheus who is carefully inspecting other tablecloths and table runners. hob notes how sharp his facial features are, how … elegant … they look. Morpheus turns back to him and he shakes the notion from his head.

"so..?"

"huh? oh, OH, yes i like it, it's perfect" hob chastises himself over how the words come out and picks up a thin lace table runner and pretends to examine it to keep his eyes from wandering. "this one's nice isn't it?"

"mm" he agrees silently, taking it from hob’s hand  and putting it in the small basket on his arm and walking towards a different part of the store. As he's following a small dish catches hob’s eye, well it's not really a dish, it's a scallop shell with a castle on a hill painted in blue on the inside and the edges are painted gold. He carefully turns it over in his hand examining it closely.

"Do you like it?"

Hob turns and sees Morpheus is behind him looking over his shoulder "oh yes, isn't it cool?" he beams, staring into morpheus's very.. pretty.. pale blue.. eyes.

"It is very pretty," he says, taking it from Hope's hand, examining it himself for a moment before gently putting it in the basket. "lets go check out." he says with a small smile and hob glows a tad.

[airasora]

Disney princess casual outfits from best to worst IMO

@lovestrucklyuniverse asked me what my favorite and least favorite Disney casual outfits were since I made a tier list on which fancy dresses! So once again I've made both a tier template, which you can try yourself HERE, and also did an actual list from favorite to least.

Moana

You guys may remember that I'm one of the people who were PISSED when Disney Dreamlight Valley changed the color scheme for the Moana 10 level friendship dress... and I am STILL MAD. I LOVE HER COLOR SCHEME. Honestly I love her ending outfit too, I forgot to add it to my Disney princess gowns tier (oops) but overall I've always had an affinity for Polynesian-Hawaiian fashion. I love all the details without it being overwhelming, and that necklace is gorgeous too.

Anna

I know that TECHNICALLY Anna's real "casual outfit" is actually just her fancy gown, but with sleeves and a cape - or at least it's very similar, so for me that meant I might as well do this dress instead. Could I have gone into Frozen 2? Sure, but I didn't want to do that because then I would have to consider ALL Anne and Elsa's outfits and that'd take forever. If I were gonna do that, I'd rather do a list of ONLY Frozen outfits or something xD Anyway, I think this dress is HELLA cute! A real nice spring dress, with some cute nature details at the bottom along with a "corset" and long sleeves. I like that while it's overall green, there are some pink accents and it has multiple shades of green so it doesn't feel too simple.

Rapunzel

I already mentioned this in the gown version of this tier list, but I am overall a fan of all of Rapunzel's outfits. I would have LOVED to see her green concept art dress though, holy crap. I hope there's a cosplayer out there who has made that dress cause I want to see it irl SO BAD xD Anyway, the dress we got is cute! Different shades of pink and purple, SMALL puff sleeves and loads of small details along with lace. I'm a lace girl, love lace, will never say no to lace. Probably.

Mulan

Now see THIS is a much better outfit for Mulan! Which is interesting cause it has a similar color scheme to her fancy hanfu, dark blue, dark red, grayish white and a pinkish red as well. So... why does this look WAY better to me??? I don't know. It just does. Perhaps I'll try to do a color swap of these two and see if I can make myself like Mulan's fancy hanfu more that way xD

Ariel

This dress is so stinking cute and the bigass bow in Ariel's hair is hilariously oversized, but in the best way xD I like that it's blue, but three different shades so it - like I've mentioned earlier with Anna's dress - isn't just one solid color. It is just a tiiiiiny bit too simple for my liking though, which is why it isn't higher on my list.

Belle

Not gonna lie, I heavily prefer Belle's peasant dress to her fancy, gold gown. It's simply color-wise, but the color switch around enough for it to not feel like one solid block of color. White shirt with poofy sleeves and a collar, blue dress with thick straps and a white petticoat along with a white apron. No cute little details or anything like that, but it doesn't feel that boring despite only being two colors. Also, her hairstyle is super cute.

Kida

I actually like like Kida's outfit just fine. It's nothing fantastic though and I think it's a little bit safe. Atlantians are, from what I know, a fictional group of people and culture, right? Why not experiment a bit more? Make her wear something that stands out! Instead it's just something I can imagine seeing a random white girl wear at the beach. It's not bad, but it's one of my many issues with the visuals of the Atlantis movie.

Jasmine

I like Jasmine's outfit fine. But it's all the same shade of blue and has NO details whatsoever. Yes, the "belt" of her pants is a lighter shade, but not by much. If it had a bit more decoration on it, I would like it a lot more. And I don't like those earrings. They've confused me since I was a child. How high up are her earlobes supposed to be exactly??? I don't know about you guys, but my earlobes are parallel to just below my cheek bones. On Jasmine, based on the earrings, it looks like her earlobes are parallel to the lower part of her eye which is just VERY high up, isn't it??? Either way, a fairly simply outfit that I think only really works cause Jasmine's own beauty carries it all.

Elsa

Eh... this dress should be right up my alley. I love cyan and teal shades, it has long sleeves, there's purple there, there's some cute details without them being overwhelming. On paper, I should love or at least like this dress and I just... don't. I really can't explain why, it just doesn't do anything for me. My only guess would be that it's tight. It looks limiting. Which is kinda the idea given what Elsa is going through at this point in the movie, so I like it for her, but personally it just doesn't work for me.

Merida

Again. Dark teal/cyan, but with Merida's dress I can easily explain why I dislike it: IT'S SO FUCKING BORING. It's one solid color all the way through and then it has those small frilly thingies on her wrists and upper body and I despise frills. Hate them. Reminds me of whipped cream and I hate whipped cream too xD And the frills being fucking beige doesn't help xD

Aurora

Boring peasant gown is boring, but I love that corset! But there's too much... beige, gray and just... I like color, okay? Or at least just not "neutral" colors like this. I might honestly have liked it more if it had dark, warm, earthy color instead. I am anti-beige xD Also never been a fan of this type of collar. It's giving school uniform and it makes me feel two types of ways and neither are what I should be feeling looking at a Disney movie xD

Tiana

This shade of yellow is one of the ONLY shades of yellow I actually like, otherwise I am just not a fan of yellow, usually. I do think it suits Tiana very well, but outside of that it's just very plain. I like the silhouette, sorta, but that's about it.

Pocahontas

Again, not a fan of neutral beige'ish colors. And what pisses me off is that if you google Native American fashion, there are SO MANY gorgeous examples. Once again, I get that animators might not want to put a bunch of details on an outfit of the main character, but goddammit, why does it have to be THIS boring??? Thankfully the necklace is there, but the dress on its own is just really boring.

Cinderella

Do I even have to explain this one? Disney has made plenty of cute "housemaid" outfits (Nanny from 101 Dalmatians, Mrs. Jenkins from Pocahontas 2) and this is just not one of them. But considering that one of the reasons Cinderella is wearing such a plain outfit is to make her ballgown that much more amazing, and that I find that to be one of the most boring Disney ballgowns, this outfit doesn't work for me.

Snow White

I mean, come on. It's supposed to be ugly and they succeeded. Can't really hate it for doing its job xD

Check out my tier list for Disney princess gowns here!

[cityandking]

photo album, mixtape, psyche, shooting star for minah, vesper, & caes!

tyyyyy!! // oc ask meme

photo album: describe one of your OCs’ favorite memories.

MINAH — answered! VESPER — sitting in solas' study talking about some semi-obscure magical theory and being delighted by the way solas approached it from his (assumed) hedgemage perspective and how that reframing added something she'd missed in her circle education. dorian, overhearing them, had leaned over the banister from the library above and was so insistent on getting in on the discussion that he was halfway through a lecture before solas asked if perhaps he'd care to join them for tea and scones, or if he was too loathe to abandon his pulpit. they'd been at it so late that leliana had dinner sent over, and vesper had just been satisfied and thrilled and grateful, which were novel and delightful things to feel in the middle of the war and the chaos. CAES — also answered!

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like.

MINAH — 1. bad blood - bastille (all this bad blood here / won't you let it dry? / it's been cold for years / won't you let it lie?) 2. part of me - noah kahan (even through the pain, I can't recall your face / just the ache of knowing everything was gonna change / I got so close to love with you, my dear / but I don't miss you / I miss the way you made me feel) 3. final girl - chvrches (telling all the tales took time that I just do not have / sifting further through the wreckage, I think you just have to laugh) 4. you can run - adam jones (truth gonna come out, someday / it's gonna wipe that smile right off your face) 5. liar - the arcadian wild (my life’s become this grand game of deception / my mind’s ignored all my heart’s good intentions) VESPER — 1. dear doubt - michael schulte (dear doubt, you wore out a path to my door / and it's needless to say that there's no way that I want you here) 2. make them gold - chvrches (we are made up of our longest days / we are falling but not alone / we will take the best parts of ourselves / and make them gold) 3. son - sleeping at last (so I will try, try, try to breathe / 'til it turns to muscle memory / I'm only steady on my knees / but one day, I'll stand on my own two feet) 4. woodblock - joe gil (I don't have to take my burdens home / I don't have to do this on my own) 5. be yourself - harrison storm (take on the colors on / and fire fight the winter storms) CAES — 1. everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears (all for freedom and for pleasure / nothing ever lasts forever / everybody wants to rule the world) 2. forces of the unseen - cloud cult (I'm gonna make it through, you'll see / I swear I'll prove you wrong / you haven't seen the last of me / I am way too strong) 3. culling of the fold - the decemberists (listen up boy / and listen up girl / it's a shallow little trench / and it's giving off a stench / it's a shallow little world) 4. heat stroke - black math (you're breathin' hard but I still got a hundred miles / untouchable I live for this / I breathe for this / I bleed for this) 5. my songs know what you did in the dark - fall out boy (be careful making wishes in the dark / can't be sure when they've hit their mark / and besides in the mean-meantime I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart)

psyche: what’s their head space like? do they have any mental illnesses? how do they process difficult or emotional situations? what are their coping mechanisms?

MINAH — it... could be worse? like it's not great up there but she's perfectly functional. she just ignores some stuff (or obsesses over it too much, or swings wildly between the two). processing emotions is not really part of her skill set, so most of her coping mechanisms are rooted in avoidance, distraction, and deflection all piled together into a wobbly card tower of maladaptive techniques. but honestly, she's fine. VESPER — her headspace is mostly just bleak. kind of a constant churn of what-if and not-again. she's definitely got a bit of an undiagnosed anxiety thing going on, but she copes with it pretty well all things considered. her emotional processing works overtime to keep up with how much thinking she does all the damn time, and her coping mechanisms tend to be Working Even More. one of the upsides of the inquisition is that she finally gets a proper support network. CAES — pristine. you've never met anyone better at compartmentalizing. he's a horrible little man who doesn't know how to let go of a grudge but he will have it sorted by date, location, responsible parties, and weather at the time. I'm not sure he "processes" his emotions but he sure does Do Something About Them (exact revenge, be petty, plot people's downfalls, etc.)

shooting star: if your OC(s) could have one wish what would it be?

MINAH — she doesn't know. she's so torn about what she wants most that it would be almost impossible for her to choose just one thing to wish for. maybe to go back and do it all over again. maybe just to have all the facts, so at least she'd know what went wrong. VESPER — part of her would feel obligated to wish for things for other people—a stop to the fighting, peace in southern thedas, that sort of thing. I think probably in actually she'd wish for happiness, or the chance to talk to solas again—to try to change his mind, or just to understand why he's so determined to continue down this path. CAES — power, probably. the sort of power you can dangle over people's heads; the sort of power that works quiet and in secret and bends the world to your will. it's why he wanted so badly to join the magisterium—it may be cutthroat and bloody and twisted, but it's also the center of everything and a great place to be to get shit done.

[orbital-obvious]

Ocean's 8 ANALYSIS [1/?] : MET GALA DRESS RANKING

I have watched Ocean's 8 and I have THOUGHTS so letss gooooo This is going to be in a number of parts becuse ahhhh this is gonna be long probably

Let's start with my ranking of the Met Gala looks because AHHHHH i need to get this out of my braiiinnnn (and it's also proabbaly the lightest topic, so!)

(pics taken from here btw which is another dress ranking post lol)

The important thing to remember about our O8 ladies is that a. they slay b. they are pulling a heist, so why they need to be glamerous enough to fit in, they also need to avoid standing out. My ranking will be based upon the very subjective scale of "how pretty i think it is" with notes about how this relates to the heist etc

Going from best to worst, first up ---

1

I mean. Comon.

9Ball aka Rihanna wearing TF out of this simple yet elegetn dress. It's very no nonsense, luxurious but simple.

When I tell you I GASPED when she got out of the van wearing this... Bro. Unmatched. The silluate and fit are perfect and this red was MADE for her, I swear.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

You can be a party pooper and say that despite its simplicity it's still to fancy and tight for a character like 9Ball who, tbh, didn't need to go to the gala anyway (being the hacker and off site by design). To that I say that we deserve to see Rihanna kill it going down the stairs like she owns the place which, if we're honest, she proabbaly does.

I love this dress so fucking much it's so simple yet such a perfect freaking fit. Love it.

2

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss hell yes.

Lou kills it with a suit that perfectly encapsulate her 'muscline' and edgy look throughout the film, just all glammed up. The color, the sparkle, that cheeky cleavage showing the jewl, omg. I want the entire wardrobe of Kate Blanche in this movie and her look was no dissapointment.

The thing that trips me a little bit, though, is that she wasn't filmed in the gala like the rest of the squad, and we only get to see her wearing this on the street, walking to Debbie, and I stg I thoguht she litterally wore this on the street and was like ???? But that was O K. and you know why? Cause she did it for the vibs and the WLWs and that's ok by meee.

3

The woman of the hour, Daphn Klueger aka Anne Hathaway.

It's lovely - I'm actually a little bit obssssed because I love a good cape and this is a GREAT cape, and whil striking it's not overbaring and works weell with th straplss dress to showcase th neckless.

This one is interesting bcausee it was designed, in univrse, to stand out and follow the gala theme (european royalty) and I actually feel that in universe she was proabably one of the 'adaquate, but not wow' persons of the night and the interenet probabaly chewed her off for not going all the way with the theme butttt

This is a movie, not real life, and the purpose of this outfit was to highlight the Necklace aka the target aka the focus point for the movie, which it did (as I say, it frames it perfectly) and it is a decent enough nod to the theme for me to belive this is a legit met gala outfit someone would wear.

My only issue is this color. I DON'T like it, not for this. A rich (royal) blue would have looked much better imo (and might have been a node to princess Diana famous ring if we go all big brain about it). I think the color was chosen to make Daphne stick out over the viewers and grab our focus (which was her role in the plot, tbh), so I get it - even if I don't like it.

4

Ok, love this. Amita - aka Mindy Kaling - suntring down the stairs in a look that is, literally, pure gold.

Love. Love. LOVE the sleeves, the ornament heavy on top, and the way the fabric drapes. She looks fantastic and this is definetally her kind of gold. The golden dress also gets extra points because I think that its good for hiest reasons - if you see her in passing and don't know who she is, you will rememebr the dress more than the person becasue it's so sparkly. I also like her hair in this, It feels nicely done but reasonable, considering she had to move from her kitchen worker costum to this in very short time.

5

A stong yet not overwheleming look from our woman on the inside, Tammy aka Sarah Pualson. She is the event orgnizers and therefore went with the (releteively) modest black on black look which fits in with the servers outfits and I personally really like.

I think it also works for Tammy as a person - it's not revealing, the puff sleeves make gives her broad sholders (cause she's a strong woman, lol) and It does look practicle for a woman who will probabaly be up on her feet all night, making sure things run smoothly - both in the heist and the actual gala.

My only issue? It looks CRUNCHY. It's one of those fabric that would either crumble or cut my hands if I try to squeeze it. Pretty spooky.

6

Debbi Ocean aka Sandra Bullock in this look that I'd call sufficiant - mfancy enough for the gala but underwhelming overall --- which is exactly the point of a heist disguise. She doesn't stand out and most people will probabaly forget she was even there.

The reason it's so low on the list is because I just.... don't like it very much. I think it's the gold-on-black color scheme, which I'm not a huge fan of, personally.

I WILL SAY that it works well with her wig which is practically the color of the embelishments and thus kinda mix the entire look togther in a fitting yet unimpressiv blob, a perfect costume for the heist.

Also I get a kick out of her being the only one wearing a wig, an extra con for our head conwoman.

7

It's not that I don't like this dress - I HATE it. I get that Rose is a once-legendary-now-flop in universe but comon, Helena Boham Carter deserved better than this.

It's doing so much, gives so little, and is just MESSY. The tacky print. THe flower embelishment. The unclear folds (?) around the chest UNDER the tacky print. WHY.

Though the biggest offendrs are the accessories. What in the mid 2010's is those stupid sunglasses - which, now that I look at them, might have been decent if not for that stupid giant hairpeice of mounted crap.

Rose Wile consisently gets the worst costumes in this movie and I just. Don't. Get it. This is the worse one though, by far.

8

Ok, but why do this to my girl Constanse (aka Awkwafina).

I have a personal hatred to those hotdog looking dresses with the nude mesh and those applique looking embelishment. Why not give her a suit, as well? She was wearing shirt+pants street style the entire movie, why torture hr lik this?

I hate it, but I do love the way she's wearing it, with he heels (who gave her HEELS?) in her hands and the IM DONE look on her face.

I do wonder how they glammed up her hair so fast, though. Weren't they on a tight heist schedual? Is this some secret thief trick? If so, where I can I learn it???

And that's it for the MET GALA looks of Ocean 8. It's a fun movie and I have lots more to talk about (good and bad) but it'll have to wait. So, for now, gorgeous gorgous dresses. HAHAH.

[makarovni]

WIP Wednesday!!!

Tagged by @adelaidedrubman to share some shit I've been working on. Right now I'm really trying to finish this one, the first Nonia and Kent thing I'm writing!! I'm also having a lot of fun with it, and writing the Veep characters is really fun. I debated sharing part of Got You Where I Want You chapter 2, but decided I liked this better bc you guys are getting this finished product sooner than GYWIWY since it's not even halfway done.

"So…" Nonia said on an exhale, still shivering just a bit from the winter air, "everyone's off doing their own thing. What should we do?"

Kent looked around, squinting at his surroundings as he so often did. "I was assuming we'd just go up to the room and continue working."

Nonia looked a bit annoyed by this. "Oh, c'mon, there's more to do in this hotel than just work in the room. Look, there's an area to watch TV, a seating area by the fire, a bar, a restaurant…there's gotta be something else we can do besides work."

He sighed and nodded, leaving his head bent down for a moment. "I'll admit, I am kind of hungry. We could go eat. But after that, it's right to work."

"Hey, if it gets you to have at least a little bit of fun, we'll go eat," Nonia replied, getting a head start in front of Kent walking to the restaurant. 

Kent caught up in only a second, due to the height difference between the two, and the fact that Nonia took two steps for every one step he took. Upon arriving at the entrance to the hotel's restaurant, they noticed a line and a busy hostess trying to tend to it. 

"Looks like they're busy," Kent observed. "You know I don't like waiting. We should head up and–"

A gloved fingertip pressed into Kent's lips as he spoke, and Nonia looked up at him with a look that he knew would lead to her trying to boss him around.

"Do not say work, Mr Davison, or I will throw my laptop in the fireplace," Nonia said playfully, taking her finger away from his face right after. "We can wait. It's only a small line."

Kent groaned in annoyance and threw his head back, knowing that Nonia wasn't going to budge on this one. 

"Fine. Let's go wait in the seating area, I don't like standing in lines that aren't necessary for my job."

Nonia patted him on the back as they walked over to the seating area. "I know you don't, Kenny. I know."

Kent glared at her for a moment, since she'd used that annoying nickname, but the pair went to sit down on one of the loveseats in front of the fireplace. As they did, Nonia noticed something that made her eyes light up. 

"Hey, look," she said excitedly, pulling Kent over with her to look at that very thing– a baby grand piano. A sleek ebony body with keys so clean it seemed no one had ever played. "You should play a song."

Kent scoffed at her as if she'd suggested something ridiculous. "I don't play piano, Nonia. How can I play a song if I don't know how?"

Nonia sat on the bench and looked up at him through flirtatious, long lashes. "I know for a fact that you play piano, Mr Davison. From one musician to another, I see the way your fingers work on a computer keyboard. They work the same on an instrument. I can tell. Plus, you told me one time that you play."

He began getting flustered, and squinted at her. "I never told you that. I would remember if I told you that."

Nonia shrugged and grabbed the lapels of his coat. "Then I guess your memory isn't as good as you think, Mr Robot. You did tell me. So show me."

As she said this, Nonia pulled him to her level so he would sit. Kent sat down beside Nonia on the bench and sighed as he took off his coat and gloves, leaving his top half in a dark brown blazer above a cream button down with a gold and red striped tie. Nonia liked these colors on him.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this…" He muttered, stretching his hands and then ghosting his fingers over the keys to practice a scale. 

Nonia looked over at him in pure admiration, beaming at him and knowing he was going to impress her. But Kent shocked her out of this trance when he said, 

"If I'm going to play, then I want you to sing. Do not try to tell me you can't, because I know you can." He said the last part almost in a mocking tone.

Scoffing, Nonia shrugged out of her own coat and pulled off her gloves, placing them over Kent's on the bench. Beneath, she was wearing a ribbed turtleneck dress in a beige color, with dark but sheer pantyhose and a pair of plain dark brown heeled boots, knee high. Understated, but sexy in a way.

"Fine by me," Nonia replied, leaning on the side of the piano. "Go ahead, play me a song, piano man."