#i imagine when she wears clothes she looks like a professional wrestler

[hypogryffin]

aegis is a robot built for combat in the 90s. she should be 6 feet tall and built like a brick shithouse

[beanswrites]

Headcanons for characters Pt. 5: Modern! AU for the main 6 from "The Arcana"

Hello, people!

I definitely annoyed the living heck out of my followers for saying this every time, but I gotta say it for people who are seeing my work for the first time: Requests for headcanons and fanfics (for any fandom and any character) are open!

These headcanons won't actually be for one character, but many characters with an AU. Today's headcanons will be The Main 6 (Asra, Julian, Nadia, Muriel, Portia, Lucio) from a mobile game/visual novel "The Arcana" in a Modern! AU. If you don't know what that means, it's basically what I imagine they would do/look like if they lived today, in the modern world. This was requested by anon!

Hope you enjoy! :>

Asra Alzanar ☾︎

- Asra is a young adult who works as an owner of his own business (not an online business, just like his own shop) where he sells spices and jewellery. Since he's very successful and well known he travels around the world for his deals, but hires only the most trustworthy person he knows to keep his shop open (that would be MC)

- He lives in an apartment, and it is FULL of plants as well as many trinkets and random thing they've found on their adventures.

- I feel like Asra would listen to WILLOW (Willow Smith) and Lorde. They most certainly dragged both Nadia and Julian to the concerts.

- Absolutely loves amphibians and reptiles. For the longest time he considered getting an axolotl as a pet, but after lots of thinking they decided to get a ball python instead.

- Wears a lot of rings, and a pearl necklace with another longer chain necklace with a pendant is a must. All of those could, of course, be brought in his shop, and they are all handmade.

Julian Devorak ♥︎

- Julian is a doctor who works in a local hospital, who unfortunately has depression. He tries to deal with it by constantly being the hot friend or trying to be sassy, but at the end of the day, he still lies awake alone in his bed at night.

- Is of Russian descent, and just like Asra, is very proud of the culture. He often flies back to Russia to visit his family.

- He's a big fan of birds, and often goes to the local park to feed them breadcrumbs. It also reminds him of his late dog, that he used to walk around that same park.

- Definitely was the theatre kid in high school. And yes, he did get bullied.

- He has a smartphone, but doesn't use it very often. The only thing he does use it for is either work phone calls or to text his friends.

Nadia Satrinava ♔︎

- Nadia is a businesswoman working for her own EMPIRE of a company. Everyone said that after her divorce with Lucio she will loose all of her power (since they ran his family's business together), but she rose to the challenge and now is a world-known owner and CEO of her own company

- Went to high school with Asra and Julian, so even tho she travels around the world a lot for her work, she keeps in touch with them.

- Running her own company made her quite rich, so her house is really nice. Big living room, huge kitchen, and a luxurious bedroom. She likes to enjoy the finer things in life, like expansive restaurants, designer clothing and a good car, however she always stays humble and doesn't brag, unlike her ex-husband.

- At some point in her life, she did a runway show. She absolutely DOMINATED it.

- Her favorite past time (when she has it) is going to the library. Even though she can have any book she wants and read it at home, she loves to get away from the modern world and spend hours in the library, with classical music bursting thru her earphones. It eases her to know that nobody knows her and she doesn't need to be perfect.

Muriel ❁

- Grew up in a small mountain town close to the woods so he always knew his way around wildlife and nature. He finds most of his peace next to the shores of mountain rivers and in the woods, instead of big cities and noise.

-Used to be a professional wrestler (but he did it for money, not because he liked it) but now he moved away from that life and lives in a small town working as a veterinarian.

- He has a lot of PTSD from his life as a pro wrestler, which comes with some sensory overloads and triggers. One of these triggers is loud noise so he avoids all big cities. The only reason he would cross this habit is because he's visiting his childhood best friend, Asra.

- Muriel likes comfy clothes - sweats, hoodies, and generally something he can feel free in. When it comes to tops, mostly flannels or regular tees, but his shoes are always hiking or snow boots.

- Has a large dog, a German Sheppard to be exact, which he loves more than anything in the world. She's sort of like a service dog for his trauma, as well as his best friend/pet.

Portia Devorak ☼︎

- When her brother moved away, she continued living in Russia for a few years. After moving away from home, she applied to be an assistant to Nadia and Lucio, the owners of a huge company. Lucio rejected her, however his (now ex) wife loved her and immediately hired her. After the divorce and the failure of the company, she stayed Nadia's assistant for a couple of months more. Now, she runs a local bakery, but since she's grown to be Nadia's best friend, she visits her often.

- Has a small apartment, nicely and comfy decorated, but somehow managed to fit 18837492832085095348 cats.

- Ilya was actually the one who inspired her to follow her dreams to opening a bakery. He showed her that even tho he has mental health issues he still chased his dreams of leaving home and going to medical school. To honour him for that, she made his favorite pastry as a special on the menu: puff pastry with berry jelly filling.

- When her brother was experimenting with make up in high school, she was the one to teach him on how to use eyeshadow as well as eyeliner.

- Doesn't believe in technology too much, but owns a tablet where she keeps track of the orders and texts her friends. Recently she expanded her business to online orders, so it does come in handy.

Count Lucio AKA Montag Morgasson ♕︎

- Inherited a lot of money from his family and now constantly brags about being rich, when he doesn't actually do anything. Failed at keeping the business he had with Nadia.

- Won't show his face somewhere if he isn't wearing at least one designer brand clothing (His favorites are Armani, Versace and Gucci)

- He lost his arm in a fencing incident, in a competition. Later, he was treated in the local hospital (Yes, the one where Julian works at) and was unsatisfied with the fact that he will have a prosthetic arm so he tried suing the hospital.

- Owns ALL Apple products and uses them religiously (*bonus* Definitely said "Siri, can you find where I gave a fuck?" at least at one point)

- Has been wearing eyeliner since high school, and to be honest, he's rocking it.

--

That would be all for this one! As you can see, I basically took some things that are canon for these characters, and adapted them to the modern world. I also added some of my personal headcanons that have nothing to do with canon, but this is a modern au so I can pretty much let those headcanons flow. This is my first headcanons part where there are multiple characters, and I loved writing it!

Thanks for reading, and thank you anon for requesting this! If you have any request for characters or fandom, I'm up for anything! Love you guys♡︎

[pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow]

Connections

Summary: Saw Paing has many unexpectedly formed connections with some unusual people. He likes to think back on them sometimes.

A/n: Some of the bonds and connections below are based on background panels or implied friendships, but this is mostly imagined and made up. I think that Saw Paing works by helping war zones evacuate civilians, providing defense to important monuments/temples, disarming landmines/bombs, or testing defensive gear. It just seems like something he’d do for a living, so I wrote it in.

-------

It was odd, he thought sometimes, how easily it came to him. Sure he was too loud, too energetic, too violent, but people were still somehow drawn to him.  He just clicked with them. Saw Paing never really minded it actually.

With some, like Sekibayashi, it made sense. The pro wrestler was also naturally loud and loved his fighting style, so them becoming friends seemed inevitable once they started talking.

Cosmo and Adam weren’t an obvious case, per se, but it still went logically. They both didn’t mind the yelling, for different reasons. Adam could be just as loud when he chose to be, and Cosmo found that he enjoyed having someone more excited and fired up around. The three of them could talk about fighting, dealign with injuries, and complain to one another about siblings.

Others, like Muteba, even Saw Paing struggled to understand. They were on opposite sides after all, a man named ‘Genocider’ in the battlefield, and the man hired on a regular basis to help evacuate the civilians or disarm the weapons used against them. 

They’d met multiple times before, always in a professional capacity. Damn that Tomari and her weapons. She was a clever woman, playing both sides, selling weapons with the right hand and signing contracts to defend attacked villages with the left. Muteba later told him that he’d walked away half-deaf the first time they met. 

After that he’d started speaking more quietly when Muteba was around. Even when they had been enemies, it seemed rather cruel to torture someone who was just doing what he was paid to do. 

At times, they’d even fought on the same side. There wasn’t much to do outside of combat besides talking, and eventually they’d found common interest in fashion, even if Saw Paing applied his knowledge less often than Muteba did.

Friendships like that he hadn’t minded being forged from combat.

Others, not so much.

He looked for Karo after their match to tell him he’d done well. It wasn’t until he saw Karo looking at a photo of the sea that Saw Paing realized quite what the fisherman had been fighting for. It didn’t change either the results or the fact that Village of Dawn still needed victory to survive, but it gave them a decent conversation. That was how Saw Paing had even found out that the match had been rigged. 

Karo had assured him that he certainly hadn’t held back, but Saw Paing still felt horrible for even participating in a fixed match, knowingly or not.

“The prize money they give to the fighters, take mine, please.”  It wasn’t going to be anywhere near enough to save the harbor, but Saw Paing had no such delusions. It would, however, be enough for Karo and his manager to live on while they found new jobs and homes. Karo had been uncertain and almost angry, but he’d accepted it after the explanation. They bonded, now that the fighting was out of the way, over fish and families and loving the places they’d come from.

No matter how close they ever became though, Saw Paing doubts he’ll ever be able to not feel that stab of guilt over the rigging of the match.

And then there’s the bonds formed away from fighting.

Like Sayaka. God but their friendship was one of the most complex Saw Paing had ever had. It was obvious what everyone was thinking, even if they expressed it in different ways. Sayaka was a pretty, extroverted, popular girl who chose to hang out with him more often that with anyone else. People made assumptions. Even Gaolang had once, thankfully without other people around, asked him if he was in any type of relationship with her.

The answer, no matter how unbelievable people found it, was that they really were just friends. They’d known each other for 3 years, first meeting when Saw Paing’s opponent had thrown him smack into that arena’s commentator booth. Post-match Saw Paing went up to her to apologize. She made a joke. He made one back. They’d been best friends since. He’d even managed to gain Retsudo’s friendship, although the man’s sister complex went haywire if Saw Paing and Sayaka so much as talked in front of him.

Hanafusa and Sawada were two of the oddest people he’d become friends with, in part simply because they were the right type of people that he’d met in the wrong type of setting. Maybe it was because he’d seen that gleam in Hanafusa’s eyes before in the eyes of family, maybe it was because it was nice to talk to someone about fashion and dance, but somehow they drew closer and closer until Saw Paing was almost always likely to be in the medbay if he was not watching the matches.

Somehow, one way or the other, he’d talk to someone, click with them, talk to whoever came up to them for whatever reason, click with them, and repeat until there was a cluster of people all conversing and bonding, laughing at each others jokes and telling reidicuouls stories about this or that. That was his cue to disappear. He knew that for all he was a friendly man, people still preferred talking to those that fit their idea of “normal”, and that idea rarely included loud, over-the-top, yelling.

But sometimes they wouldn’t let him disappear. 

Sekibayashi dragged him over to Harou and Kiozan, talking just as loudly as Saw Paing and determined to have all three of them meet and bond.

Cosmo brought up school and asked for advice, while Adam struck up a chat about crazy stunts he’d done or start a conversation about weird impulsive ideas and their results.

Muteba would walk up to him to chat for a while, ask about his family and friends, things most people tended to forget he had.

Karo would pull him aside once a large group was already chatting and they’d talk about fish, or cooking, or sometimes what it felt like to be rooted to something, only for it to be yanked out from under your feet.

Sayaka wouldn’t let him leave at all. If it was Saw Paing who’d gotten these people to talk to one another, she explained once, he deserved to stay and get to bond with them too, even if it was just a few of the people there.

When he’d tried to sneak away anyways, Hanafusa very conveniently just so happened to need fashion advice, and then he was sucked into a heated debated between himself, Sawada, and three other fighters about what clothes Hanafusa should wear.

Even Gaolang, the man who hated being called his rival, the man who did his best to avoid Saw Paing at almost any other time, would make him stay. Whether it was with a question that led to a group debate, a joke that made him chuckle, or simply grabbing his wrist or shoulder and not letting him get away until of one of the other people present addressed him, Gaolang just wouldn’t let Saw Paing leave unless he wanted to. Despite the boxer’s words and gruffness, the subtext was obvious. He had to enjoy having Saw Paing around to constantly go so far to get him to stay.

It was.....nice, actually.

It was pretty nice to have friends that were just as crazy. It was nice to be know he wasn’t as alone anymore, that there were people outside of family that he could go to for help or worries. 

Saw Paing knows his friends would be thought of as just as weird as him if even half of their real lives were revealed to the general public, and that’s how he also knows that they’re the kind of people he clicks with best.

Because they’d clicked with him too.

------

END

[thenightling]

Things you may not have known about Blade: The Vampire Hunter

1.   A lot of people mistakenly believe that Wesley Snipes is the most accurate to the comic in regard to Blade The Vampire Hunter and that he was “perfect’ for the role.  The simple fact is if you’re familiar with the comics you would know this is not actually true at all.   Most of this list will be reaffirming this first point and that is why I write it first.  Many people judge by first impressions and for non-horror comic readers their first introduction to Blade was those movies so they assume that it is the most accurate as it is the version that they are most familiar with. In a way I think discovering comic book Blade is sort of like when someone reads Frankenstein for the first time and realizes The Creature is highly intelligent and has no flat head or neck bolts...  

2.   Blade was not American.   Blade was a Black British man.  In the comics he was born in London and is now nearly a century old (his physical age is hard to determine and therefor a man of roughly any age between twenty through sixty can play him).  He does not have an American accent.  For some reason Hollywood still has difficulty imagining Black Brits (except perhaps Idris Elba).  He is also of a mixed racial background.  After Blade’s first appearance in the 90s Spider-Man animated series he was thereafter always played with an American accent and later specifically imitating Wesley Snipes voice and tone.      

3.   Blade didn’t always just wear black.   Blade actually has very flamboyant tastes in clothes.  His first appearance had him wearing a green jacket with a wooden stake holster, puffy “balloon” style pants, boots, and over-sized translucent aviator sunglasses / goggles.   And it was not merely because this was the 70s.   Less than ten years ago Blade appeared in a Spider-man storyline where he chose (deliberately) to wear a pink and green Spider-man costume with his now trademark leather jacket over it.

4.   Blade does not always say “Mother f--ker” or “F--k.”   Blade actually swears relatively minimally in his earlier comics. In some later comics they tried to imitate how Wesley Snipes speaks but in general Blade does not swear that often.  He swears about as often as Doctor Strange.

5.   Whistler was not a hard edged, gruff, old redneck type.  The first depiction of Whistler was in the 90s Spider-man animated series and he was physically modeled after Peter Cushing’s version of Doctor Van Helsing. He walked with a cane and had an English accent.  The homage to Hammer horror was so distinct that his and Blade’s lair in that cartoon was behind a horror theatre that specialized in “Terrence Fisher” movies.”  Terrence Fisher had directed just about all the Hammer Dracula movies that featured Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.  This version of Whistler was kind, gentle, and very paternal and doctorly (toward humans).   

6.   Blade’s first appearance was actually in the comic Tomb of Dracula where Dracula was actually sometimes portrayed in a sympathetic light.  Tomb of Dracula was adapted into an anime movie which got dubbed into English in 1981.  It is titled Dracula: Sovereign of the damned.  Strangely, the company that adapted the graphic novel did not get the rights to Blade so they had to maneuver the story without him.  

7.  Blade had worked alongside Spider-man and currently is an Avenger. He was also a member of The Night Stalkers and The Midnight Sons.  So much for “Not a team player,” eh?

8.   As recently as three years ago Marvel had plans to introduce Blade’s long lost daughter, Fallon grey.   The concept art was released at the 2015 Comic Con but the character was never introduced.  Perhaps it was for the best.

9.  Blade has shown some sympathy to certain vampires.  Though it wasn’t the best eulogy, Blade did speak at the funeral of Morbius: The Living vampire (he didn’t stay dead...)   And in some rare occasions he has even worked with Count Dracula.  

10.  Blade was actually AGAINST the Superhuman registration act during the comic book version of Civil War.  Hurray for common sense!  Seriously, unlike the movies that made the registration act seem reasonable, the comic book version was more like a Nazi census and children were rounded up much like the Mutant registration act of earlier X-men comics. Blade was not in the wrong.

11.  The term Daywalker was first popularized by Blade however its oldest use may actually be in the third novel of Fred saberhagen’s Dracula book series.  The book called An Old Friend of the Family has a spell to summon Dracula, which bore the line “Walker by day, Walker by night” and may have inspired the term “Daywalker.”  

Daywalker, by the way, is a modern concept.  Dracula in Stoker’s novel could walk by day and night.  He was just weaker by day and could not take animal form or mist form by day. (He could do that at night though. Dracula often could take back, wolf, or mist form so long as the sun was down.)  This is also true of Carmilla in her original novel in that she was merely weaker by day.  

The first known story where a vampire actually burns in sunlight is the silent film Nosferatu (and that was mostly meant to be metaphor).  It had not yet even become mainstream lore at the time of the release of the 1931 Dracula movie starring Bela Lugosi (Sunlight is never described as a weakness in that film).  Sunlight was not used in the Universal monster movies as a weapon against vampires until the sequels.  

12.  Dracula in Marvel comics (where Blade first appeared) bares very little to no resemblance to the version in Blade: Trinity who answered to the name Drake.   Dracula in Marvel comics is more traditional, able to change his own age based upon how much he has fed, and is able to turn into a bat, wolf, and mist and he can conjure storms like Storm or Thor.   He does not look or sound like an American professional Wrestler.  Also he was the self-titled king of the vampires in the comics and never claimed to be the first vampire as there are plenty of vampires older than himself.  The only similarity the comic book version of Marvel’s Dracula has with the version in Blade Trinity is the implied high sense of honor which can only be found in the DVD / Blu Ray bonus and alternate scenes.

13. Hannibal King is NOT Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds is a fine actor.  That being said it should be noted that Hannibal King’s personality is nothing like what you see in Blade Trinity.  Hannibal King is a “vegan vampire” (a vampire that doesn’t kill) and works as a detective.  He’s more of a Sam Spade type... but with fangs.  Also much like Dracula (and most vampires in the actual comic books) he could turn into a bat, wolf, and mist.  These are powers downplayed or out-right ignored for the films.  (Personally I’m tired of vampires being reduced to just super strong and superfast.  I miss the shapeshifting.  It probably would have made the fight scenes more interesting...)

[sepiadice]

Art Direction of Tabletop RPGs

Dungeons and Dragons is good at being Dungeons and Dragons.

That shouldn't be a controversial opinion, and it's not worded as one, yet I have one friend who derisively labels it as a war game, and another friend who believes D&D is all you need in regards to TRPGs. These two are from distinct eras of my life, and have never met.[1]

My moderate view is such: Dungeons and Dragons is good. It's not the ultimate system, but if you want a western fantasy built on the framework of Tolkien, Fifth Edition is the way to go. You could use a different system, in theory, but no other system has the same reach and stability. Everyone knows D&D, which is valuable.

Its combat and mechanics are a good balance of grit and function, and it's mostly teachable. My friend's 'wargaming' derision is because he believes it doesn't support role-playing well. Something about the guy who wrote Dungeon World saying if it's not in the rules, it’s not in the game.[2] But I've always felt that D&D makes the right decision in not bogging it down with structure and dictating the 'correct' way to role-play.

However, if you want to do anything else (Sci-fi, non-european fantasy, superheroes, Slice of Life), best case scenario the seams will creak in the attempt. D&D is good at being D&D, and that's the limit.

I appreciate D&D. I'll play D&D, happily!

There's a reason I bristle when “DM” is used as the generic term.

That said, I've always had a sort of tonal disconnect when I play D&D, and it's because of the art.

Fair warning, what follows is a lot of personal interpretations and vague mumbling trying to relay a point. I’m not actually an authority on anything.

(Dungeons & Dragons owned by Wizard of the Coast . Image sourced from Wikipedia)

Dungeons and Dragons does not have pretty art. It’s technically well done, and far from ugly, but it’s not actually inspiring. Above we have the cover of the Player’s Handbook, the first thing most new players see. Setting aside that the focus of the cover art for what should be the book about Player Characters is a giant monster man[4], the cover is very orange. The actual people are composed of muted, neutral colors, and the background is vague and out of focus.

It’s not really conveying an air of fantastic worlds and larger-than-life characters (giant wearing a dragon skeleton aside). It coveys oppression, monotony, and “realism”.

(Pathfidner owned by Paizo. Image sourced from Wikipedia)

Pathfinder’s core rulebook, on the other hand, is colorful. Look at that big, bright dragon![5] Sensibly dressed Fighter Man’s brown clothes are still bright enough to pop him out from the green-grey dungeon background[6], and Fantastic Sorceress’s red dress is also bright and helps frame the Fighter as her hand glows with magic.

While both covers feature a woman with an orb of magic, D&D’s cover shows magic as contained and lighting a small space, while Pathfinder’s magic is big and trailing, hinting at movement.

Actually, D&D’s mage girl doesn’t have a cohesive movement. Is she falling from above? Jumping in from the left? Where is she going? It doesn’t really follow in a meaningful way.

Anyways: color. Yes, yes, I know the plague of brown and and muted tones is a much whined about criticism, and it might seem odd from someone calling himself SepiaDice, but neutral tones have their place; usually as background and supporting other colors to pop more.

Besides, Sepia has a noble history in film, the brown range isn’t a common image color, and Sepia is fun to say.[7]

Color choice is very important. Bright colors draw the eye and make visuals more distinctive. Bright colors also denote and bring energy to things. Dull colors are used for locations meant to be calm and sedate. If you want the characters and locations to seem fun and full of life, you fill it with bright colors.

Everything breaths, adventure can strike at anytime!

Dull colors, and it’s hibernation. People are around, but they don’t seem to enjoy it.

But let’s turn to the visual storytelling: what does each cover tell you about life in their setting?

D&D: lots of posing to look fancy, but there’s no real sense of energy. Jumpy Magerson’s weird Megaman hop has been mentioned, of course. The Giant has a look of dull surprise as he drops Jumpy Magerson,[8] as he holds a sword in the non-active hand. Foreground fencer man is wide open, holding his own foil up and away from where it might accidentally jab anyone. The locations is… orange? Looks like there might be lava geysers?

Patherfinder: A dragon roars at its enemies! Teeth bared, tongue coiled, tendons on display! Wings unfurled to make it seem larger! The fighter is yelling back at the dragon, his weapons mid-swing! Shoulder forwards to defend the rest of the body! The Sorceress is holding a firm stance as she casts a spell that crackles with arcane energy!

Pathfinder’s cover tells a story of epic combat, fizzly magic, and energy. D&D’s cover tells a story of two adventurers existing in a space also occupied by a giant.

Now, both of these systems have the same ancestry, as Pathfinder is an iteration on D&D 3.5.[9] But one sparks more joy when I look at it.

But let’s do another case study. I’ll need an audience volunteer, and my brother’s the only person immediately on hand.

I’m going to make him list three qualities of goblins real quick:

Green

Wimpy

Sneaky

Awesome. Don’t know if the green text translated, but those are what he wrote. Give him a hand!

So, with those three traits in mind, let’s look at a goblin picture from D&D Beyond:

(Owned by Wizards of the Coast. Source here)

Like, you can’t say D&D doesn’t call that a goblin, it’s literally on the goblin page.

This guy is yellow. He’s built like a four foot tall WWE Wrestler. He’s defending with his advancing arm as he rears up to smack ya!

(Okay, “Sneaky” is a hard one to argue.)

Moving on, what does Pathfinder call a Goblin:

(Owned by Paizo. Source here)

Look at this charming miscreant! Green. Big ole head. Good mix of of ugly and oddly adorable. Probably two feet tall, and happens to want your two feet, please, but you could step on him if you’d like.

He also looks like a Gremlin

(An adorable little chaos monster owned by Warner Brothers. Source)

Point is, Pathfinder’s more cartoony take on the classic monster feels more in the spirit of the thing. Every time I see one of those goofy faces, I feel like I’m in for an enjoyable time.

Bringing us back around to the point of this essay: the art direction of D&D bogs down my theater of the mind. The art in the rulebooks don’t inspire creativity or fantastic visions. It inspires… dull, lifeless people walking through dirt roads flanked by dead grass.

I don’t enjoy looking at D&D’s art. Relatedly, I don’t like looking at the art of Magic: the Gathering, whose style I can’t help by see in every D&D sourcebook cover I see. Neither game invokes an inviting world, but utilitarian ones that exist to give quick, forgettable visual flair to represent mechanical card effects.

To save making this long essay even longer and unfocused, I’ll save talk of actual ‘canon’ lore for another time.[10]

So why do I, a semi-professional funny man and sad dreamer who can’t actually draw, want to talk about rulebook art?

Well, I’ve always felt a disconnect when I play D&D. I make the characters, I roll the dice, I attempt to role-play, but I’ve always had an emotional gap between me and the character I’m playing. I like the concept, but when I use my theater of the mind, the character feels stiff and divorced from everything. Kind of like the 5th Edition rulebook.

Then I saw this:

(Source tweet. All of this artist’s work is great and I wish I could hire them.)

This half-elf showed up on my twitter timeline, and my first thought was ‘How come my characters don’t look like that?’

Soon followed by ‘Why couldn’t they?’

Then I completed the trilogy with ‘Why haven’t I imagined my characters in a style appealing to me?’

As I was deep into contemplating what sort of aesthetic I consider my “brand”,[11] it was entering a mind primed to start overanalyzing.

So, how do I imagine my characters? In the neighborhood of the D&D art, if I have  firm concept. Micah Krane always was mentally nebulous to me, just kinda being a generic half-elf dude. Trix (who was created for the brightly colored Pathfinder) is green-haired and wears a tail coat, but otherwise is also normal looking in my mind’s eye. In the last two D&D campaigns, Tybalt was also vague in appearance, and Teddi had Goat horns, but those were meant to stand out on a generic rogue character.[13]

But you know what I’ve never put on a character I’ve played? Glasses.

I hope that those who read my various media reviews[14] don’t need this overly explained, but I like glasses. I, myself, don’t wear glasses, but I find them to be great accessories in character design. Frames the eyes, come in a variety of shapes, adds bit of extra visual interest. I always point out Meganekkos and pay them extra attention.[15] I really, really like girls with glasses.

But I’ve never made one. Because there’s no cute design in D&D rulebooks. Just a range of handsome people to ugly halflings.[16]

That is the effect of art design in a system. It sets tone, expectations, and aesthetic for the players. It’s so ingrained that everytime I see art of players’ characters that break the standard, it always takes me aback. It’s inspiring to see artists who manage to divorce D&D the game from D&D the art.

I want to imagine fun, personally appealing characters. But the subtle direction of the insert art as I look through to rulebook, or the provided character portraits of D&D Beyond does not suggest things I like to see. It infects the mind, and leaves specific molds. People in practical, mundane clothes, walking down drab, uninteresting roads.

It’s the same lack of escapism that makes Western (Video Game) RPGs super unappealing to me.[17] Dark Souls, Elder Scrolls, Bioshock don’t look like fun places to be, they look tiring and full of splintery furniture waiting to do 1d4 nonlethal damage.

So I have to talk about anime now.

My mother was staying at my home a little while ago, and I turned on My Roommate is a Cat. This prompted her ask me about what about anime was appealing. I couldn’t form a competent answer for the question at the time, but it’s had time to churn in my head.

Anime is a good middle ground between cartoon and realism. It can broach deeper topics and more mature storytelling than children’s cartoons,[18] without sacrificing a light visual tone and fantastic imagery. Also, the fact that it’s produced by a non-American, non-European culture lends a degree of separation with cultural expectations and tropes. Enhances Escapism.

Luckily, in (very) recent years, after generations of exchanging video games and animation back and forth, Japanese Tabletop RPGs are starting to join in on the fun.

Which means I can look at Ryuutama.

(Image copied from DriveThruRPG. Brought over the pacific by Kotodama Heavy Industries. Buy this book.)

I love this system.

Watercolor art direction. Layout evokes a spellbook. Two Characters and a Dog take the focus on the cover, while the road signs and tiny shrine in the background invoke the emphasis on travel and wonder.

The interior art?

(Taken off the Ryuutama (english) website. Buy this book.)

Well, that makes the game just look like fun. Cartoony characters fighting cat goblins. Conflict, but it doesn’t make life feel like a constant struggle. A world I wish to inhabit. There’s also more detailed images of dragons and other world-establishing pictures mixed in to give the art range, but it’s this sort of charming that makes Ryuutama the first rulebook I actually sat and read cover to cover.[19] It’s a good system I already reviewed. Buy this PDF, maybe they’ll reprint the physical book.

Anyways, I’ll admit, the art’s a little too simple for D&D. Perfect for Ryuutama, and the end of the scale I want my mental image to be, but overshoots the sweet spot. And it’s difficult enough to find players for the much more popular 5e, so Ryuutama exclusivity would grind my playtime to zero.

Still, Ryuutama does a great job of setting it’s light, fantastic tone, where D&D has failed me. The art direction of the books, and years of exposure and defaulting to what I assume D&D should look for establishes a mental habit that’s hard to break. Wizards of the Coast has drowned nerd spaces with its particular kind of art, especially with MtG plastered all over hobby stores, deck boxes, dice, playmats, and even D&D sourcebooks.

That’s not even accounting for fanworks and the speculative fiction art in online spaces.

So what do I want to look like? Were I blessed with talent or with patient to actually learn to draw well, what would I be referencing?

What about what set my expectations of fantasy years before IndigoDice invited me to that fateful Traveller game?

(Screen cap of Tales of Vesperia grabbed from here.)

Well, okay, what I’m actually thinking about is Tales of Symphonia, but Vesperia’s graphics are kinda what nostalgia tells me Symphonia tooked like, as opposed to what it actually looks like.[20]

Look at that verdant town! Warm lighting, bright characters, leaves growing to depict life. A hotel built into a tree. This is a fantasy world that is unashamed about life thriving.

Forget solarpunk. This is my aesthetic.

As for the party members…

(Okay, Judith’s a little gratuitous, but The Definitive Edition lets me put her in a suit, and she’s awesome. Art stolen from here.)

Oddly enough, as far as JRPG outfits go, these are pretty tame with details.[21] Mostly bright, popping colors, even Yuri’s dark clothes are done in such a way to not feel grim and edgy, hints of personality, and I just enjoy looking at them.

The Tales series as a whole does a good job of taking European fantasy and applying Japanese whimsy to the design. Also yukatas. Every member looks like the hero of their own story, while still being part of a cohesive whole.

Which is, you know, the ideal way to operate as a TRPG party.

So, what’s the take away?

Artists, keep being creative. Pull inspiration in from things besides the rulebooks and Critical Role. Look at the other things you love and bring visual flare and whimsy to your art. Then share it. Ignite the passions of those of us who can’t do the draw-good thing.

Players, play with the tropes. I love doing it narratively and mechanically. My favorite rogue is still my neutral good stage magician who would never do a crime. Explore what’s possible in the freeform world of tabletop games, both in play and your Theater of the Mind.

Game designers, branch out with the art. And stop using Powered by the Apocalypse as a crutch.[22]

Hope this long ramble was enjoyable and cohesive. If you want more of this, my other works, and maybe to allow me to make an actual play podcast, consider supporting me through Patreon or Ko-fi.

Until next time, may your dice make things interesting.

[1] Though I would love to read a transcript of the two discussing it. It'd be a fun debate. [2] I don't like Powered by the Apocalypse for precisely this reason. Every actual play I've heard with the system has players talking about their characters in the abstract, because they're just pressing the buttons on their character sheet.[3] [3] I maybe should do a breakdown of PbtA one day. [4] Which is pretty poor direction. Do an epic group shot of characters battling a horde around them. [5] None of the D&D core books has a dragon on the cover. Come on, that should’ve been a gimme! [6] Similar note as footnote 5. [7] Also CornflowerBlueDice is too long to be catchy. [8] I figured it out! [9] I haven’t looked at at Pathfinder’s forthcoming second edition. Fifth Edition reclaimed it’s throne as The ubiquitous system after fourth lost its footing, so I don’t think there’s much point. [10] TL;DR: I ignore it. [11] Pulp Fantasy is too mundane. Steampunk is too victorian-y. Sci-fi fractals into so much. Solarpunk has appeal, but isn’t quite right.[12] [12] Haven’t really found the term. [13] Let’s not examine that I put more thought into female character design than male for the moment. [14] Which you should. Validate my efforts! [15] And desperately pray it’s considered innocent enough of a fetish that I don’t have to stop. [16] Never liked halflings. Gnomes are fine. Halflings, in art, have always been off-putting and malformed. [17] That and the emphasis of character customization kneecapping the Player Character’s narrative involvement. Can’t give them a personality if that’s the end user’s job! [18] Even Avatar: The Last Airbender felt like it had to sneak the narrative depth it achieved past corporate. [19] I do need to give it a reread, though. Relearn the system. [20] It still looks good, especially the environment, but the characters are kind of… leaning towards chibi. [21] This, specifically, is why I chose to highlight Vesperia over Rune Factory. [22] Technically nothing to do with this essay, but I can’t stress this point enough.

[thecircuszone]

Circus Zone Headcanons

Hoo boy okay this came from a fever dream and now I have a blog about it whoops. 

Lets begin shall we?

(Lengthy under the cut)

Innovative Perfomances and Real Entertainment

IPRE is a traveling big top circus that travels all over the country

Human AU

Takes place in a semi-steampunk world where technology old and new are combined

The Starblaster is the name of their train 

It’s painted this faded white with tacky little multicolor stars all over

Davenport hates the name

SPEAKING OF OUR BELOVED CONDUCTOR

Davenport or Masterport in this au is the ringleader of the circus as well as the conductor

Was really down on his luck after not being accepted into the military academy he had been preparing all his life for

Grandpa died and he inherited the fucking train he which Dav ignored for a while, never selling it due to nostalgia

Watches a circus roll into town and his head almost explodes because he has an idea

He is going to take this hunk of junk, repaint it, and make the best damn show anyone has ever seen

Slowly gained the members of IPRE one by one along with the others like Johann and Avi and Carey and Killian and more

Takes care of his beautiful boy (the train) which he grows to love

Everyone calls it the Starblaster because of the cheesy stars

Runs a tight ship (train?) when it comes to keeping things in order and on time

Also runs from the police because he never really got permission to do any of this? Or drive a train? Or start a business???

He doesnt have a permit and he certainly isn’t a trained professional but oh well :)

Wears a cute little top hat and has a GREAT MUSTACHE he has pampered

Sees the troupe as children he needs to guide and care for

Takes in runaways and strays because they keep moving foreword with their acts and always creating and being original

Very stressed though over money and running from the cops

Knows that if they lose the circus they lose everything so he does everything in his power to keep them alive

MERLE HIGHCHURCH

Lol he’s not in the show

He tried to sing and act and even preach to a crowd once. Hoo boy

But what he can do is attract people’s attention

Smooth talking mother fucker

He’s their PR or basically the guy that stands and shouts at people to come see the circus

He’s too old for a lot of intense tricks but he’ll wear clown make up and get pummeled around a bit by flaming knife thrower Lup or Magnus’ animals

He is very good at convincing people to come, great with children

His own kids sometimes see the shows and during the summers travel around with him on the train

Also the resident doctor on board

Unethical methods keep people from getting sick or hurt but when the time comes you gotta let him do his thing

Collects a lot of herbs and medicine on his travels as well as books about medicine

Attracts the older rich women and their grandchildren to come see the show

Car is full of plants hanging from the ceiling

Loses his eye when the rival circus gang comes rolling around to terrorize IPRE

Has a fake arm from when Magnus failed to save him from an attack after people claimed he swindled their money away from him

Makes the best dang drinks on the train

Makes them strong for Masterport

They bond over chess and talking about the past and the others in the troupe

Needs to make people laugh and lighten up at times

Knows they’re a messed up bunch so all the more reason to keep things sunny

MAGNUS STRONGMAN BURNSIDES

Strongman/Animal Trainer

Wears a bear mask and cape with wrestler pants

Bodyguard of the troupe 

Ran away from Ravensroost after it’s destruction

Same story as canon

Was seen by Masterport when he was doing underground fighting in order to earn money

Originally hired to be a bodyguard but was encouraged by Carey and Killian to show Dav his amazing strength

Put into the show shortly after ripping a log the size of Dav in half

Has an affinity for the animals in the show and cares for them

Signature act is pretending to wrestle a bear (they’re actually the best bros)

Slight anger issues when it comes to hecklers and customers who want to fuck with the troupe

But can be a gentle soul 

Aching to find love again

Ends up in jail a lot and the IPRE troupe has to break him out due to fights and looking like a threat when they arrive in a new town

His personal car is very minimalistic

Big bed and quilt. Some weights. Wood shavings all over with whatever his latest project is atm

Repairman when it comes to furniture as well as some of the train

Fucked Up boi needing a family again

Protects the troupe because he couldn’t protect his town from burning  

Takes his job seriously but never forgets to have fun

Does sick stunts with the flip wizard twins by throwing them up in the air and catching them and its just fucking cool can you imagine?

IT’S CH’BOY FLIPWIZARD

I know you’ve been waiting for this

This is gonna be a long one

Acrobat? Magician? Chef? He can do it all 

All his acts are done with Lup

The acrobat show is the center of attraction for the tent

They use silks and lights to give it that little umphf

Flipwizard techniques 

They completely trust each other, not ever dropping one another or making a wrong move

The magic show is another jaw dropper because twins

Taako can look like he’s teleporting from place to place because of Lup

Matching outfits

Taako is doused with glitter every night so he looks like an ethereal being flying high and acting like gravity doesn’t exist

The gap in his teeth is from a fall he took when Lup and him were little and learning how to make mistakes 

They lost each other for a while after social services caught up with their lack of parents and broke them up

Taako met Sazed in a home and they ran away together to start a show for other foster kids and homeless people

Taako gained his flair and absolute need for attention from these years of being praised by fans

The whole Sazed thing happens and he’s on his own until he finds Lup again at one of the early, less grand shows of the IPRE circus

She’s trying to see the acrobats act just like he is but they realize there isn’t even an act like that in the show

They basically get the job with a few choice words to Dav who is in desperate need to make his show actually good

They both need each other

Through the circus they’re able to stay together and nothing will ever bring them apart again

Because he is a very gorge almost not real human many customers and audience members want to see more of him

Very used to people grabbing at his skirt and his hips

Hides bruises and hickies on the daily 

Heavily guarded when it comes to his personal problems and demons 

He is a performer, he does not feel what he does not want to feel because he can control his emotions

His car is filled with crystals and soft lights

There are beads hung across the ceiling 

Lanterns everywhere cause aesthetic 

Desk is full of make up stuff and accessories 

Not a very good bed but many blankets and pillows

Keeps fan letters and admirer gifts in a chest under his bed

Hates being in debt to people 

Thinks there’s always a catch to everything

Also! resident chef on the train

Seriously they would’ve died without him making meals from nearly nothing

Big flirt and knows it

Incorporates as little clothing as possible into his acts

Enjoys the fuck out of it

That’s all for now! I’ll probably do the rest of the crew later.

[mascaracoffee]

Worth the Weight ~Baron Corbin Imagine~ *Smut*

Summary: When the number one contender for the women's championship gets a low-blow from Creative about her weight Baron takes it upon himself to show her how beautiful she really is. 

Warnings:smut, body shaming

I slammed the wooden door behind me, the paper sign reading ‘Creative’ flapping at the force. I pulled my hoodie over my freshly curled hair and purposefully walked down the hall quickly. Fresh tears pricking my blue eyes and threatening to ruin the elaborate match makeup that the sold out arena would never see. I passed by numerous stage hands and talent, keeping my head down in order to make it to my locker room and leave in peace. But the glee of giggles stopped me as I glanced over to see Eva Marie adjusting her new ring gear in a mirror as she laughed with a few of the other Divas.  She was preparing for my match, taking my opportunity. I felt my fists clench. But how could I be mad at her? I let this happen.

I heard my name called and paused to glance over my shoulder. My friend Becky sat cross legged on a stage crate concern painted on her features. Next to her stood Baron who’s concern mirrored Becky’s. His shirt stuck to the fresh layer of sweat that had accumulated on his body from his earlier match and his dark hair was pulled into a bun on top of his head.

“Don’t ya have a match?” Becky asked. The tears intensified and I blinked furiously glancing back at Eva.

“Not anymore” I mumbled lowly before tucking my head down pushing on to my locker room.

Baron called my name, his booming voice echoing off the walls as he caught up with me outside the door to my locker room.  He gently grasped my arms keeping me from running inside. He studied my face worry and concern flooding his features. My tears now streaming heavily down my reddened face. He pulled me to his chest.

“What’s going on?”

His voice was softer this time as I clutched to his frame desperate for the comfort he provided. I mumbled my answer into his chest.

“Can’t hear ya babe.” I pulled away from his chest with a sniff.

“Creative said I gained too much weight. They cut my match” I cried harder as the words left my mouth.

“They did what?” Baron exclaimed his dark eyes a mix or pity and anger.

“It was awful. They had pictures of me from some of my matches and they had circled my stomach and legs where they said it was too much.” I sobbed. “Apparently a fat Dakota Morgan isn’t what they envisioned for my character so they’ve cut out most of my matches until I can lose the weight. That means they pushed my title shot back too.”

“Kota” he whispered softly, fingers pushing back my auburn hair softly.

“They gave my match tonight to Eva. Can you believe that?”

Baron shook his head. “Look get cleaned up and meet me right here. We’ll head to the hotel and have a Supernatural marathon.” He grasped my hand twisting his pinkie with mine. “Deal?”

I smiled softly and whispered hoarsely “Deal.”

About fifteen minutes later both Baron and I were loaded into his rental and driving to our hotel. We were both silent, a rock station playing softly from the radio. I was still upset about my meeting with creative, their “professional criticism” hitting me harder than I would have liked.  Maybe they were right maybe I was getting too fat. Traveling made it hard to always eat healthy and I had gained some weight when I had gone home for the holidays. My train of thought was broken as I felt something warm on my hand. Looking down I saw Baron’s much larger hand enveloped over mine. His eyes briefly left the road and he gave me the smallest of smiles.

Baron Corbin. What would I do without him? He was a great friend, no, scratch that my best friend. We had become close in developmental, we traveled together, worked out together, ate together, spent our off days together, and most recently started rooming together to help on cost. We were mistaken for a couple on many occasions, a sentiment we just laughed off. However, I wouldn’t mind if it were true.  In public he was a man of few words but behind closed doors he was sweet and funny. Baron was a hard book to read though. I knew he cared for me, at least as a friend. He would occasionally kiss my forehead or cheek, hug me from behind randomly, surprise me with my favorite coffee to encourage me to get out of bed in the mornings but that didn’t mean he liked me did it?

 Once we arrived at our hotel room we both changed into comfy clothes and I set to pulling up the next episode to be watched of Supernatural on my Netflix while Baron went to the bathroom. I pulled up my Twitter as I waited; scrolling through the tweets fans had tagged me in. I favorited most and replied to a couple. Baron came back and got comfortable beside me as he started the episode. I kept scrolling when I stopped my thumb hovering over the illuminated screen.

‘@DakotaMorganWWE does NOT need to wear a crop top and shorts. Can we get her a snow suit? #Eww #porker #oinkoink’

‘Does @WWE not supply their talent with trainers and nutritionist? Hey, @DakotaMorganWWE lay off the candy and you might make it to a title shot.”

‘If @WWE is a multi-billion dollar company can’t they pay for @DakotaMorganWWE to get some lipo. She’s a great wrestler, terrible cellulite. She needs to hit up Dr. Miami!’

I felt the tears prick my eyes again. Of course I had always received things like this but after meeting with creative it was like salt in an open wound. Baron seemed to notice my lack of interest in the show after I failed to laugh at one of Dean Winchester’s jokes. Baron glanced over at me seeing my tears he yanked the phone from my hand and stood.

“Why are you reading this shit?” Baron barked tossing my phone onto the dresser after he read through it. I didn’t respond only cried more. Baron sighed.

“Stand up.”

I looked at him confused.

“Stand.Up.”

I did as he said, his tone leaving no room for argument, and stood before him as he turned me to face the full length mirror on the wall.

“Strip.”

“W-what?”I stammered feeling a heat rush to my cheeks as I turned to look at him but Baron turned me back .

“I said strip.”

With trembling fingers I tugged off my oversized tshirt and let the sweatpants slid down my legs before Baron kicked them out of the way. Looking back in the mirror I tried hard not to stare at the areas that seemed to be causing me so many problems.

“Tell me what you see.”

I shrugged “I see me”

“No. Describe yourself to me.”

I sighed running my hands up and down my face. My plain black cotton bra and lace cheekies made me feel so exposed and vulnerable.

“I wouldn’t say I’m fat but I’m chunky here” I let my hands touch around my stomach “And my thighs. And I have no ass, my skins pale, my boobs are too big and I have the boring blue eyes and stupid auburn hair and-“

Angry tears began to fall as I ranted finally pausing as my lip quivered and I looked down at my burgundy painted toes.

“No one’s ever gonna take me serious. Not at work, not in life. Not anything. That’s why Eva Marie is going to replace me. She has the body. I don’t.”

There was a long pause.

“You don’t see it do you?”

I looked up at Baron confused. His dark eyes were shining with a glint of hurt. In two strides he stood behind me and was staring me down in the mirror and I all I wanted was to throw my clothes back on and hide under a mountain of blankets.

“You’re not fat, you’re not chunky. You’re absolutely fucking beautiful. Your body isn’t designed to be like Eva’s or Nikkis or any other Divas that’s what makes you so great Dakota. You’re you, you’re real and that’s what your fans love about you.”

I smiled softly. Barons hands rand down my arms and wrapped around my waist.

“You’re the perfect size.”

His hands ran down my hips to my thighs and back making chills erupt across my skin. I stood frozen watching his every movement with raspy breaths.

What was he doing?

“Every inch of you.”

He nuzzeled his nose into my neck his lips ghosting over the skin.

Dear God, he was going to kill me.

“You’re ass…”he drifted off, his hands reaching back to kneed the flesh of my ass with his fingertips “Is flawless. You’re squat game is strong baby girl.” He chuckled into my neck before a loud slap filled the air and I jumped a whimper falling from my lips and my thighs clenched together at the sudden slap to my ass.

Yep, definitely tring to kill me.

“And your skin is the perfect shade to match those gorgeous blue eyes.” His hands traced back up my body and gently grasped my throat pulling my head to one side as the other hand tangled in my hair. “I love when you’re talking to me and I can see the passion in your eyes makes me never want to look away. I can tell exactly what you’re feeling just by looking in those baby blues. And your hair, God I love how your hair catches the sun. I love when you let it dry naturally and it curls around your face.”

My eyes fluttered closed feeling his hands trace over my skin the roughness of his fingers tracing over my skin so delicately.

Suddenly he grabbed my breasts roughly through my bra. “And you’ve got the best rack I’ve ever seen. All natural.”

“Want to know my favorite part?” Baron growled softly in my ear.

I could only nod my voice lost. Baron turned me to face him and in one swift movement had grabbed under my thighs and wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling me flush against him my head tucked under his chin.

“Look” he instructed. Turning sideways to look at the mirror. “You fit perfectly. Right here in my arms.”

He was right. With my legs wrapped around his waist and my head tucked under his chin my body seemed to naturally mold into his. Without a gap to be seen, you couldn’t tell where he ended and I began. I pulled my head away to look up at him. His cologne was intoxicating and his eyes were searching mine. He swallowed hard and licked his lips.

“I really want to fucking kiss you right now.” He murmrered.

“Please?” my voice was small, pleading.

Baron’s lips met mine in an instant. Quickly maneuvering with mine in a perfect pace, his tongue traced over my bottom lip antagonistically slow and I moaned as I granted him entrance his tongue exploring my mouth eagerly. My hands circled around his neck as I pulled his hair free from the band. It took three steps before he dropped me on the bed and I felt small as his 6’8 frame stood over me.

“I want you to see yourself like I see you.” He breathed heavily yanking off his tshirt and crawling on top of me. He began placing wet open-mouthed kisses at the base of my throat between my breasts to the hem of my panties. “I want you to feel beautiful, wanted, desired, and loved.”

I moaned as he kissed a trail back up to my lips his fingers molding into my hips. His beard tickled my neck as he gently grasped my earlobe between his teeth.

“Do you want me to show you how beautiful you are?’

His voice made my eyes want to roll back into my head with pleasure. I didn’t answer him only pulled him back to me for a deep kiss as my nails ran down his back to his basketball shorts. Baron stopped my hand with a chuckle.

“Impatient”

He unclasped my bra and tossed it aside devoting his full attention to my bust. I gasped as he took a nipple into his mouth sucking and nipping, his hands slipping under me to hold me closer to his mouth. My hands wrapped in his hair holding him to me as I mewled in pleasure beneath him. He released my nipple with a pop before working on the other.

I felt the heat between my thighs intensify and I began to wiggle desperate for some type of friction. Baron dropped his hips capturing me between the bed and his lower body weight to cease my movements. I gasped feeling the impressive outline of dick through his shorts.

“You see what you do to me.” He growled into my skin. “How hard you make me.”

I whined desperate to feel more of him. My fingers slipped into the band of shorts and tugged them down as he lifted his hips to help me. His dick sprang free from its restraints and pressed against my leg thick, hot, and heavy.

I desperately tried to reach touch him but he stopped me with a tsk moving further down my body with hot kisses.

“This is all about you sweetheart.”

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration as Baron peppered kisses around my panty line. My eyes fluttered closed and I bit down on one of my fingers in ecstasy as Baron’s hot breath hit my soaked core through the black lace and a shudder ripped through my body as he placed kisses across the lace.

“Beautiful” Barron mumbled against my hip bone the vibrations of his voice making me squirm against him.  He hooked his fingers through the lace and gently dragged it down my legs placing kisses down my right leg to my toes, he tossed my panties to the side before kissing back up my left leg. The scruff of his beard tickled my belly as Baron’s lips ghosted over my navel as he kissed down to my core.

“Baron” I whispered before I felt his tongue give a long swipe up my folds. My body jerked at the sensation a cry falling from my lips. Baron wrapped a thick tattooed arm around my waist to hold me down helping me put my legs over his shoulders as he set to work devouring me.

My body twisted and turned on the sheets my fingers finally tangling in Baron’s hair to hold him in place as moans and cries filled the hotel room. His lips captured my clit massaging the bundle of nerves between his full lips as two thick fingers entered me.

“Oh fuck” I cried as the two sensations collided in breathtaking ecstasy the muscles in my stomach tightening. My eyes clenched and I felt a white hot bolt explode as my body shuddered, pleasure flowing down to the ends of my fingertips and toes.

Baron pulled back and gave me a seductive smirk my juices still glistening on his lips. The sight alone was enough to drive me into another orgasm. He kissed each of my inner thighs softly before placing them back on the bed and crawling back to me, claiming his lips with mine. His tongue danced with mine sharing the taste of my juices. I moaned at the thought feeling another rush of heat at my core.

“So good” he breathed ghosting his lips over mine “So fuckin’ sweet. I think I found my new favorite meal.” He chuckled.

I pulled him down close again kissing his lips before trailing my lips down his neck and gently biting his shoulder. Baron growled as his hands trailed down my sides to my legs and spread them, wrapping them around his waist. He pulled me in for another kiss as he pushed his length inside of me. I gasped biting his lip gently as I adjusted. It had been so fuckin long and his impressive length and girth were pushing my limits.

Baron gently kissed my forehead “You ok?”

I nodded biting my lip. “Please” I whimpered, imploringly.  

Baron set a steady pace pulling mostly out before pushing back in deeply. His lips latched on to my neck sucking and biting as his hips thrust in to mine our moans and the smacking of skin creating a melody.

“So fuckin tight” he moaned in my ear. “I want to see you ride me baby girl.”

I tightened my legs around his waist and then used all of my strength to roll him over onto his back. Baron looked up at me surprised. I captured his mouth before trailing kisses down his chest and stomach my nails scraping behind. He clenched his eyes shut, tossing his head back and growling deep in his throat. I grasped his dick and positioned myself above him, using the head of his dick to rub against my entrance mischievously.

“Fuck don’t be a tease”

I chuckled before lining myself up with him and sinking down onto his length. The new position offered a new angle and I felt him stretch my walls even more so to accommodate him. I started a steady pace enjoying the feeling of Baron’s dick stretching my walls as he pushed deeper inside.

“God you’re fucking gorgeous” Baron breathed keeping a hand on my hip as he gently grasped my throat. He ran a finger over my lips and I caught it between my lips teasingly sucking the digit. I felt the first shudder break through my body as Baron pulled my down flush against him his hips snapping up to fill me. My hardened nipples were pushed into his chest as our mouths battled.

Suddenly Barron withdrew and I whined at the loss of warmth and the empty feeling it left. He pushed me on my side and wrapped himself around me from behind lifting my leg up over his as he drove his dick back inside of me. This new pace was rough and fast and I felt my orgasm fast approaching. Baron had one breast in his hand twisting and pulling at the nipple as he buried his face in my neck. His other hand wrapped tight around my waist to hold my body flush against his body. I could feel every inch of his muscles in his chest and stomach as they twitched and tensed at the exertion.

“Fuck Baron” I moaned purposefully clenching my walls around him. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Me too baby me too” He grunted pushing his pace a little harder as his hand traveled down between my legs to play with my clit.

Baron pulled his face away from my neck and met his gaze with mine. “I want to see you cum, I want to see what your pretty face looks like when I make you come undone around me. Cum for me sweetheart.”

I moaned at his words feeling my walls clench down and with a final flick of his fingers I reached my second orgasm. My body shuddered, a strangled cry of Baron’s name falling from my lips and I pushed myself further into Baron’s body as he held me to him. Baron crashed his lips with mine as I felt him release inside of me, his hot cum filling me up.

Never in my life had I felt this good, this carefree. Baron had made me feel beautiful and worshipped. Like a goddess he would indulge with every pleasure known to man.

As we both pulled away our chests heaving Baron kissed my forehead. He gently pulled his dick from me and I immediately missed the feeling. Baron went to sit up when I turned and wrapped myself around him.

“Don’t go” I whispered. “Just stay here. I want to enjoy this.”

Baron settled back beside me and wrapped me in his arms as I cuddled into his chest. I shivered as the cool air hit my naked body and Baron pulled the blankets over us.

“Thank you.”

“No problem sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss into my hair. “And don’t worry about Creative. We’ll revamp your meal plans and workouts have you back ready for that title shot in no time.”

“One request?” I asked tracing the tattoos on his chest and placing a kiss over the star.

“What’s that?”

“Can we replace cardio in the gym with sex?”

Baron belted out a loud, deep laugh that rumbled across the room.

“I’m serious” I pouted “Fuck Baron you made me cum twice! No one’s ever don’t that before.”

Baron gave me a smirk as he leaned in closer “And no one else will ever get the chance to. You’re mine.”

He pushed his mouth to mine and I pulled him closer feeling my smile spread even larger as he rolled over on top of me.

“Think you can handle more than two? Cause darlin’ I’m just getting started”

And with a wicked grin Baron disappeared below the blankets his lips trailing over my body before he reached the apex of my thighs and I bit my lip with a face splitting grin as I fell into the pillows.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Rosalyn Drexler Does Not Look Back

Rosalyn Drexler, “Rub Out” (1982), acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 30 x 40 inches (all images courtesy Garth Greenan Gallery)

Rosalyn Drexler, who just turned 90, is an unlikely grande dame of painting, but that is what she is. Her rediscovery began a little over 10 years ago when a mini-survey, I am the Beautiful Stranger — Paintings of the ’60s (March 16–April 21, 2007), thoughtfully curated by Arne Glimcher, opened at PaceWildenstein to wide acclaim. Here was an artist that the histories of Pop Art, with their focus on male painters, had left out. And yet it was immediately clear that such charged paintings as “Marilyn Pursued by Death” (1963), “Chubby Checker” (1964), and “Is It True What they Say About Dixie” (1966) more than held their own with works by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, and, frankly, outshone works by Tom Wesselmann, Mel Ramos, and other better known figures. In 2016-17, a traveling retrospective, Rosalyn Drexler: Who Does She Think She Is?, which originated at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, co-organized by Katy Siegel and Caitlin Julia Rubin, helped elevate her to the pantheon of important artists associated with Pop Art.

Rosalyn Drexler, “Nazi in the Garden” (1988), acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

Still, when I recently visited The Museum of Modern Art to see Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends, I found a painting by Drexler, “Hold Your Fire (Men and Machines)” (1966), directly across from the bank of elevators, flanked by screens on which videos were looped. Drexler had  gotten her foot in the door of this prestigious institution, but she has not yet been invited upstairs to  play with the big boys of Pop Art. I would like to think that it will happen soon, given the artist’s age, but the museum runs on a different clock, which has nothing to do with mortality and everything to do with a frozen view of history.

However, as much as we know about what Drexler was up to in the 1960s, it is time to see her in a larger context, as a figure who has continued to make powerful art and to go her own way. In contrast to Wesselmann and Ramos, she never got into a rut. The current exhibition, Rosalyn Drexler: Occupational Hazard, at Garth Greenan (September 5 – October 21, 2017) focuses on paintings done during the 1980s, at the height of Neo-Expressionism, and they look neither dated nor straining after effect or meaning.

Using a method she developed early in her career, Drexler, who is self-taught, finds and arranges images, which she enlarges on sheets of paper and subsequently glues to the canvas. In an interview that I did with Drexler for The Brooklyn Rail (July-August 2007) on the occasion of her PaceWildenstein show, Drexler described her genesis as a painter:

When I was a little girl, my mother bought me coloring books, and cut out dolls with their cute outfits, and lots of crayons; the big box — there was a gold crayon and a silver crayon and all kinds of blue. I hated finger painting. Most kids wanted to color outside of the lines, but I loved staying in the lines, because that way I felt protected. That was my only training (laughs)

Rosalyn Drexler, “Masked Reader” (1988), acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

In the 11 paintings in this exhibition, Drexler expands upon her technique in ways that are surprising, eye-catching, absurd, distressing, and mysterious. Why is a man, dressed in a black suit and tie, wearing a red and green mask while reading a magazine in “Masked Reader” (1988)? He is holding a coffee cup and a cigarette in the same hand, which is, frankly, weird. How does he drink from the cup without burning himself?

Why is the figure in “Portrait of the Artist” (1989) wearing a beanie with an airplane on top of it?  Are the propellers going to airlift the artist toward a higher realm? What about the bands of pointillist dots that frame the painting’s left, top, and right edges? Drexler’s artist — who is wearing black fingerless gloves to show of her red manicured fingernails — is holding a paintbrush and wearing a suit and tie, which turns the artist into a cross dresser. Why is her hand covering her masked mouth? I was reminded of another groundbreaker, Marlene Dietrich, who wore a suit in a number of films.

Drexler, who is a novelist, Obie-winning playwright, and Emmy-winning  screenwriter, has had a long interest in masks, dress-up, and disguises. I first knew her as a novelist and did not see her paintings until her show at PaceWildenstein. Her novel To Smithereens (1972), which I republished in 2011, is based on her days as a professional woman wrestler under the name, Rosa Carlo, the Mexican Spitfire. In these paintings, she marries images from the mass media with her imagination. Here the masks are both incongruous and uncanny, which is one reason why we keep looking at Drexler’s paintings.

Rosalyn Drexler, “Portrait of the Artist” (1989), acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

In “Rub Out” (1982), a dapper gentleman in a gray overcoat and matching gray hat is  slumped forward, his head pressed against a yellow tablecloth. The bright, cheerful colors — the turquoise ground, red chair, yellow tablecloth spattered with red spots (blood) — offset the violence as much as the gangster’s gray and black clothes. Drexler’s attention to detail is extraordinary. The awkwardness of the man’s legs, and the fact that he is seated on the edge of the chair, fold another dimension into the painting. This is especially true of the overcoat, which rides up over the man’s shoulders, as if it were about to swallow this head.

It is the quirkiness of the paintings that gets my attention. Nothing is as straightforward as it initially appears. Once you notice the first odd or inappropriate detail, you begin to see others. And yet, despite the oddness, the paintings hold together — they become believable visions. Drexler is not trying to be surreal or strange. She ponders what is disturbing about  everyday life — from the murder of gangsters in public to the violence  depicted in movies — with the same unerring eye that painted “Marilyn Pursued by Death.” The difference is that her paintings from the 1980s are more complex, literally and metaphorically speaking, more meaty. Nothing you see in her work should fit together, but it does. That’s what Drexler does that no other artist associated with Pop Art was able to do — she brought a lively imagination to bear on the banal and absurd images that dominate our lives, and especially the banal imagery emanating from the art world, and made them into something to contemplate.

Rosalyn Drexler, “Ana Falling (Was She Pushed?)” (1989), acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 80 x 40 inches

In “Ana Falling (Was She Pushed?)” (1989), Drexler is referring to the death of Ana Mendieta, whom she met in the mid-1970s, while at the University of Iowa. Mendieta either fell from a 34th-story window or was pushed by her husband, Carl Andre (depending on who you believe). A judge found Andre innocent, but not everyone accepts that verdict, and for a good reason: Mendieta was deathly afraid of heights. According to Drexler, the source of the image was a woman who fell from a fire escape. In the painting, she is wearing a turquoise-colored bra with the image of a red hand on each cup. Her turquoise bottom has hearts on it. These images feel inappropriate and make no sense. Neither does death.

Rosalyn Drexler: Occupational Hazard continues at Garth Greenan gallery (545 West 20th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through October 21.

The post Rosalyn Drexler Does Not Look Back appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[gcldthrone-archive-blog1]

✩

The Ultimate Relationship Tag ( Send ‘✩’ for the following )

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Easily the both of themWho threatens to leave but never actually does? Neither of themWho actually keeps their word and leaves? Probably the both? :/Who trashes the house? Neither of themDo either of them get physical? Neither of them. Both of them can be rude at times but neither of them would get physical with each other.How often do they argue/disagree? A good bit but when that one thing that comes along that they can agree on, they’d relish in it since it wouldn’t happen that oftenWho is the first to apologise? Sasha because she knows Seth can be hella stubborn

Sex:

Who is on top? SethWho is on the bottom? SashaWho has the strangest desires? Seth is a lot more out there than SashaAny kinks? I don’t know all your Seth’s kinks but Sasha is probs down for most :/Who’s dominant in bed? Seth. Sasha will have her moments where she can be a dom but for the most part, Sasha can be a vocal dom with that big mouth of hersIs head ever in the equation? ObviouslyIf so, who is better at performing it? Both think they are the betterEver had sex in public? No, but backstage at Raw is probably the most they’d goWho moans the most? Sasha. Seth gets her going.Who leaves the most marks? SethWho screams the loudest? SashaWho is the more experienced of the two? Seth obviouslyDo they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Fuck but I mean, down the line when things turn a little more serious than obviously they’d be making loveRough or soft? Rough but soft when around the kneesHow long do they usually last? Until both are satisfiedIs protection used? All the time. Can’t take any risks.Does it ever get boring? Never. They make sure it’s exciting one way or another.Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? I could see them renting an SUV instead of a car for a specific reason if you catch my drift.

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Nope. They aren’t even close to making plans but Sasha would want a child someday down the roadIf so, how many children do your muses want/have? Sasha wants at least oneWho is the favorite parent? Seth would probably be the favoriteWho is the authoritative parent? Both of them can be pretty bossyWho is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Seth because I can imagine Sasha wouldn’t be wrestling if they had a child.Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? SethWho turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? Both if possibleWho goes to parent teacher interviews? Both if possibleWho changes the diapers? Both. Probably take turns.Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? They take turnsWho spends the most time with the children? Sasha because retired momWho packs their lunch boxes? Sasha because retired momWho gives their children ‘the talk’? Seth perhaps?Who cleans up after the kids? Both of themWho worries the most? SashaWho are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Seth

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Sasha but she won’t admit it to himWho is the little spoon? Sasha since she’s the smallerWho gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? SethWho struggles to keep their hands to themself? Both of themHow long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Depends on how comfortable the position is. If it’s nice, then they can go a while.Who gives the most kisses? SashaWhat is their favourite non-sexual activity? Hating Steph McMahon and video gamesWhere is their favourite place to cuddle? On the bed or a couch?Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? SethHow often do they get time to themselves? A good bit

Sleeping:

Who snores? Neither of them?If both do, who snores the loudest? N/ADo they share a bed or sleep separately? Share a bedIf they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Somewhere in the middle. They don’t cling but they’re still touching to make sure the other’s there.Who talks in their sleep? NeitherWhat do they wear to bed? I don’t know about Seth unless he goes naked but Sasha would stick to Pajamas or a shirt and underwear if it’s hot in the roomAre either of your muses insomniacs? Not that I know ofCan sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Right now? Yeah. Seth has probably got a lot of pain in his knee so the doctor probably gave him some to help out.Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Like I said before, it’s a nice middle. Not too much but still enoughWho wakes up with bed hair? Both of themWho wakes up first? Differs between daysWho prepares breakfast in bed for the other? SashaWhat is their favorite sleeping position? Sasha might curl up next to Seth but she wouldn’t be like wrapping all of her limbs around him. She wants to give him some space but she likes her physical contact.Who hogs the sheets? SashaDo they set an alarm each night? YesCan a television be found in their bedroom? YesWho has nightmares? Neither as far as my knowledge goesWho has ridiculous dreams? Probably Sasha about stupid stuffWho sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? SashaWho makes the bed? SashaWhat time is bed time? Whenever they get to the next hotelAny routines/rituals before bed? Nothing besides typical stuff. Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Seth

Work:

Who is the busiest? It’s about evenWho rakes in the highest income? Seth. Sasha makes a good bit of money but Seth, considering he’s one of the top guys, makes a heck of a lot more than she does.Are any of your muses unemployed? NopeWho takes the most sick days? Neither of themWho is more likely to turn up late to work? Seth wouldWho sucks up to their boss? Neither of them what-so-everWhat are their jobs? Professional WrestlersWho stresses the most? YesDo your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? It’s not exactly the most fun for either of them considering Seth’s knee injury and Sasha is being put up against Nia who will more than likely target her knee yet again.Are your muses financially stable? Yes

Home:

Who does the washing? They wash their own things, but Sasha would also take care of Seth right now since walking isn’t so much an easy thing for him to do.Who takes out the trash? SethWho does the ironing? SashaWho does the cooking? SashaWho is more likely to burn the house down just trying? SethWho is messier? SethWho leaves the toilet roll empty? NeitherWho leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? SethWho forgets to flush the toilet? Neither of themWho is the prankster around the house? Seth. I can just imagine him getting away with something on Sasha and that cackle echoing through the house.Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? SethWho mows the lawn? Sasha makes Seth because shirtless Seth = yesWho answers the telephone? They answer their own phonesWho does the vacuuming? SashaWho does the groceries? SashaWho takes the longest to shower? SashaWho spends the most time in the bathroom? Sasha

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? Wanna take a look at their bank accounts and ask that again?How many cars do they own? They own their own car - one for the each of them and then probably something really nice. Something that screams “Yeah, we’re rich”Do they own their home or do they rent? They’d own a home togetherDo they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? Probably a nice middle. They’d probably get something close Seth’s Black and Brave school, but also close to a Crossfit Gym so that it’s a shorter driveDo they live in the city or in the country? Same as aboveDo they enjoy their surroundings? Yes What’s their song? I don’t know at the moment :/What do they do when they’re away from each other? They just live their life doing whatever they want. They might play some games, hang out with their friends, and Seth would obviously do his Black and Brave thing. Where did they first meet? Down in NXTHow did they first meet? Seth was NXT Champion at the time so he was one of the guys that you just couldn’t miss when you first came into the systemWho spends the most money when out shopping? SashaWho’s more likely to flash their assets? Sasha. Mostly for SethWho finds it amusing when the other trips over? BothAny mental issues? Not that I’m aware ofWho’s terrified of bugs? Neither of themWho kills the spiders around the house? BothTheir favourite place? Crossfit GymsWho pays the bills? Both of themDo they have any fears for their future? They both worry about the both of their knees. Both have been injured once and one more serious injury and they’d be out of it.Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? SethWho uses up all of the hot water? SashaWho’s the tallest? SethWho’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? SethWho wanders around in their underwear? Both of themWho sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Both of them but not together since their music tastes are kind of different.What do they tease each other about? Taste in music and Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? SashaDo they have mutual friends? Bayley (for now) and a couple othersWho crushed first? Sasha probably. When she was that young, naive girl who first came into the system, it was like the little nerd in school that no one pays much attention to and the captain of the football team kind of deal. Any alcohol or substance related problems? NopeWho is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Neither?Who swears the most? Seth

[gcldthrone-archive-blog1]

✩ cedes and pam

The Ultimate Relationship Tag ( Send ‘✩’ for the following )

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? MercedesWho threatens to leave but never actually does? NeitherWho actually keeps their word and leaves? NeitherWho trashes the house? NeitherDo either of them get physical? Not a chanceHow often do they argue/disagree? Not all that oftenWho is the first to apologize? Whoever is in the wrong

Sex:

Who is on top? Pam unless Cedes is riding some faceWho is on the bottom? Cedes 90% of the timeWho has the strangest desires? Neither Any kinks? Besides the typical stuff, I can see Pam making Cedes edge a lot.Who’s dominant in bed? PamIs head ever in the equation? I mean yeah. It’s their main thing.If so, who is better at performing it? Pam without any doubtsEver had sex in public? Backstage at Raw is the most public they’ve been.Who moans the most? Mercedes without a doubtWho leaves the most marks? Neither of them since their attires kinda show a good bit of the upper body. Don’t want the other getting in trouble with the bosses.Who screams the loudest? MercedesWho is the more experienced of the two? PamelaDo they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Make loveRough or soft? It’s soft. Might get rough for a moment but it’s mostly soft.How long do they usually last? They can go for a while depending on the nightIs protection used? Do you see a penis in this relationship?Does it ever get boring? Nope. Never. Always fun.Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Styles and Brie’s bathroom

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? They’ll adopt one dayIf so, how many children do your muses want/have? I can imagine at least oneWho is the favorite parent? It would depend on the dayWho is the authoritative parent? Pam. She’s a lot more serious than Mercedes.Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Mercedes. Pam would be a little like ‘you can’t do that’ but then Mercedes just doesn’t invite Pam to go with their kid to Six Flags. That usually changes her mind right away.Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Both to be honest. They’d just be sad they didn’t leave any for the other one.Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? BothWho goes to parent teacher interviews? BothWho changes the diapers? BothWho gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Switch back and forthWho spends the most time with the children? They both try their best to Who packs their lunch boxes? They’d both contribute to itWho gives their children ‘the talk’? Mercedes throws Pam under the bus and makes her do it. She’s an awkward little thing and wouldn’t know how to say itWho cleans up after the kids? Both of them would togetherWho worries the most? MercedesWho are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Pam

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Both of themWho is the little spoon? Mercedes easilyWho gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? PamWho struggles to keep their hands to themself?  PamHow long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Guess it depends on the time since if they’re both tired as fuck, they could go all night long cuddling.Who gives the most kisses? They both give a lot of themWhat is their favourite non-sexual activity? Being able to travel the world togetherWhere is their favourite place to cuddle? On a bed or on the couchWho is more likely to playfully grope the other? PamHow often do they get time to themselves? Whenever they want. They understand how often they are around each other so they give each other space when they want it.

Sleeping:

Who snores? Neither of themIf both do, who snores the loudest? N/ADo they share a bed or sleep separately? Share a bedIf they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? TogetherWho talks in their sleep? Neither of themWhat do they wear to bed? Pajamas or nothingAre either of your muses insomniacs? NopeCan sleeping pills be found by the bedside? NopeDo they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? They are usually spooning with Mercedes being the smaller one. That, or face to face.Who wakes up with bed hair? Both of themWho wakes up first? MercedesWho prepares breakfast in bed for the other? They pick up coffee for each otherWhat is their favourite sleeping position? Mercedes really loves face to face because that’s her favorite face that she gets to fall asleep looking atWho hogs the sheets? Both of them. They playfully fight over themDo they set an alarm each night? YepCan a television be found in their bedroom? YepWho has nightmares? Neither of themWho has ridiculous dreams? MercedesWho sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Mercedes on purpose Who makes the bed? Both of them do only to have a quickie and have to make it againWhat time is bed time? Usually whenever Pam’s sex drive says it isAny routines/rituals before bed? Ask Pam’s sex driveWho’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Mercedes

Work:

Who is the busiest? It’s about an equal thing since they are similar in popularity Who rakes in the highest income? Pam because she’s got the champion bonus atmAre any of your muses unemployed? NopeWho takes the most sick days? Neither of themWho is more likely to turn up late to work? Both cause of PamWho sucks up to their boss? Neither of them doWhat are their jobs? Professional WrestlersWho stresses the most? MercedesDo your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? Of courseAre your muses financially stable? Yep. They’ve got quite a bit of savings.

Home:

Who does the washing? Pam does the both unless Mercedes does her ownWho takes out the trash? Depends on who’s there when the thing is fullWho does the ironing? Both of themWho does the cooking? Both of themWho is more likely to burn the house down just trying? NeitherWho is messier? NeitherWho leaves the toilet roll empty? PamWho leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? NeitherWho forgets to flush the toilet? NeitherWho is the prankster around the house? Both of themWho loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? PamWho mows the lawn? They’d get someone to because they’re wealthy and lazyWho answers the telephone? Depends who’s phone they are callingWho does the vacuuming? PamWho does the groceries? BothWho takes the longest to shower? MercedesWho spends the most time in the bathroom? Mercedes.

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? NopeHow many cars do they own? They each have their ownDo they own their home or do they rent? They own oneDo they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? CityDo they live in the city or in the country?  CityDo they enjoy their surroundings? YepWhat’s their song? “Shut Up and Dance With Me”What do they do when they’re away from each other? Hang with friendsWhere did they first meet? Down in NXTHow did they first meet? Working in NXTWho spends the most money when out shopping? MercedesWho’s more likely to flash their assets? Mercedes tbhWho finds it amusing when the other trips over? BothAny mental issues? NopeWho’s terrified of bugs? Mercedes depending on the kind. Anything bigger than her fingernail and she’ll get a little freaked out but not really terrified.Who kills the spiders around the house? BothTheir favourite place? Wrestling ringWho pays the bills? Both of themDo they have any fears for their future? Considering they are a lesbian couple in today’s society? I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? BothWho uses up all of the hot water? Both of them together *eyebrow wiggle*Who’s the tallest? PamWho’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? PamWho wanders around in their underwear? Both of themWho sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Both of themWhat do they tease each other about? Silly little things like their taste in music and what not. Pam probably teases Cedes about how long she takes in the bathroom tooWho is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Neither tbhDo they have mutual friends? A lot. New Day, Shinsuke, Perkins, etcWho crushed first? MercedesAny alcohol or substance related problems? NopeWho is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? NopeWho swears the most? Nope