#i'm sorry if its ooc!

[hopeswriting]

was thinking about takeshi and how he's my favorite brand of unconditional devotion btw. the utter and absolute and all-consuming kind that runs so deep to the very core and is so intrinsic and fundamental to it, it can only express itself in the most casual and natural and certain way. without second thoughts, without any room for doubts or for any moral dilemma to be had over it, because of course he ought to always be breathing and living for his chosen person first and foremost. of course he ought to hang on their every word and make them true no matter what, no matter what he has to do to make it happen, no matter what he has to do to other people to make it happen, and no matter what it might turn him into in the process. because it's obviously the way the world should be for his chosen person. at their feet, ready to bend over backwards and break and build itself again to better answer to all their needs even if they don't ask it for it. it's the only right way it should be for them, and of course takeshi's going to do his utmost at all times to make it a reality as much as possible.

and his devotion comes out as naturally as breathing, comes out lighthearted and nonchalant like he might as well be talking about the weather, but it's not unaware of itself. it's not that takeshi doesn't know it's unhealthy and wrong and that he's willing to go entirely too far in its name for anyone's good. it's not that he wouldn't hear you out if you were to sit him down and explain to him just why he needs to tone it down a little (a lot). logically, he'd agree with you and know you're right. and then he'd tell you he's still not going to do anything whatsoever about it. that he's not bothered by it and doesn't feel the need to change anything to his attitude. makes it a point to never let anyone or anything sway him even an inch in the stand he took when it comes to that, no matter how many thousand of times you might go over the subject with him.

because the morality of his devotion isn't the point at all. is entirely irrelevant to it and doesn't affect the way he expresses it all. it's not the metric with which he draws a line in the sand to hold it accountable to. because the thing is, takeshi's entire world revolves around tsuna--tsuna is his entire world altogether, and it's just a matter of fact, that simple. to him it's a truth as unchanging as the sky being blue, and so being the way he is according to that truth is the only way he can imagine being that'd feel right to him. and so the actual and only metric that matters here is "would tsuna be happier if i were to do this?" and/or "is this something tsuna needs me to do?"

and like. i don't think takeshi ever stops being a kind person capable of compassion and understanding and mercy and forgiveness even ten years later once they became mafia through and through. and i don't think either he grows up to be feared and called a monster per se despite the things they inevitably had to do during those ten years (and the things they'll inevitably keep having to do as long as they keep being mafia), at least not in the way, for example, they'll never stop fearing and calling mukuro one. but i do think that among the tenth gen, he ends up being the one with the most ruthless, merciless and horrific blood on his hands of that particular and distinct loving kind. you know the one i mean, right? he comes to be the one most expected and the one first expected to be willing and to take it upon himself to go through with it when the need arises. and to think little of it after, if anything at all. all in the name of making tsuna's reign as easy on him as possible.

and it's to the point where it's the kind of blood that makes even mukuro pause at times. or, when takeshi is the one coming up with solutions himself during meetings, makes even reborn blink. not because it's unjustified or wouldn't be safe or efficient or anything of the sort, but because it is unwarrantedly thorough in its retaliation. and sometimes, at times like this, he's the one tsuna needs to step in for the most, because he's the only one who can reason with him that "yes, this would work in getting rid of our problem" but "no, please, don't do that takeshi". because if tsuna is the only thing that infers on just how much and in what ways he'll let himself be devoted to him, then of course, he's also the only one takeshi's willing to reign himself in for without second thoughts. because he'd hate to ever do something tsuna would disapprove of or wouldn't want him to do. or do something that'd make tsuna see him differently or love him back less even in the slightest.

and it's also like. his devotion isn't an undisciplined one. it's not one he doesn't have control over, the very opposite. it's a very purposeful and conscious choice he chooses to keep making over and over again every step of the way, and he taught himself to have control over it, to know when it's needed and/or wanted, and how much and in which ways it is when it happens, and to keep it down otherwise. and, yes, to also reign it back in at tsuna's request at times when it still slips past his control. because it's all about making tsuna's happiness easier and secure and long-lasting, and never about burdening him with just how committed he is to do that.

so it comes down to this: takeshi willing to go above and beyond and more for tsuna unless tsuna explicitly asks him not to. and to tsuna needing to ask him not to every now and then. and to other people pointing out to him how too many times tsuna's already needed to stop him, and that maybe there's a hint for him to take there. and to takeshi seeing the hint, looking it straight in the eye and recognizing it for what it is and just. deciding it doesn't apply to him because it's all perfectly normal behavior to him. because it's the only kind of behavior that makes sense to him and feels right.

and so—to circle back to my first point—he can only express his devotion as naturally as breathing, so casually, almost like it's something inconsequential and not worth talking about despite how unmistakably it couldn't be further away from being the truth. it's the only way he could have always known how to express it, because, after all, who has ever taken time to ponder about the details and the hows of the way they breathe?

and i, for one, absolutely eat that shit up every time, thanks for coming to my ted talk <3

[candyredappledragon]

// Hi guys not so serious post. ( Trust ). Anyway here's some doodles from the event. :]

bonus:

[lemresl0vemail]

Well, that is rather harsh...

So, about this... Lemres figure... Perhaps you should consider draining his magic... It would be very beneficial for the both of us... And you don't want to seem weak in front of your predecessor, right? Or are you too invested in his little fanclub?

-Runelord

Consider draining him? Yes, I've been trying to suck him off for a while now.

I hope Satan cuts your wi-fi soon. - 🗡️

[orangeshinigami]

wipes the dust off of this blog

hello i am alive and have decided to release ichigo from the basement i've been keeping him locked in for the past month <3

[muutos]

it's hard to pretend like i'm not getting frustrated with tumblr lately.

nobody is engaging with me. (obviously if you're an exception you'll know who you are). here, or on jamie. nobody is engaging with my posts - 0 notes after 0 notes on headcanons, no engagement on starter and plotting calls, no memes being sent, promos not being reblogged over &. over again. it's honestly just making me feel distant &. embarrassed. jamie's dash shouldn't feel dead at 70 + followers, and like . . . even here. idk. i'm just kinda feeling disheartened by tumblr lately so.

[everlastiingiimmortals]

luocha is so fucking hot

[yngai]

well, with any luck, one of the seventeen different resident evil games rumored to be currently in development is announced today

[scalproie]

Inspiration is a loop and @kazamajun's post gave me the motivation to write a little something of my own. So. Yeah :)

---

"What should we name him?"

"Him? " Kazuya whipped his head around so fast that Jun had to raise a hand to hide a chuckle. He never spend much thought on this whole... baby situation until now, but saying it outloud made him realize that he half-expected -and in all honesty, would've preferred- a daughter. "How can you be so sure?"

"A little bird told me." At that, Kazuya raised an eyebrow. Knowing Jun, she could mean this in a very literal way.

Gods have no need for sleep, they can partake in the activity all they want but it is more recreational than necessary, Kazuya certainely has never slept before. Well, before Jun. Taking a few hours every so often to lay down and rest together was a habit she took with her from the surface. She used to hide among mortals, watch them closely and fondly, adopted their life rhythms dictated by the sun. Kazuya never understood it and told her as much, but he certainely won't pass on the opportunity those habits of hers bring to hold onto Jun quietly for long periods of time. And it was another change Jun brought that was welcomed by all denizens of Hell, as it meant not dealing with its ruler for a few hours.

That intimacy was new to both gods, but they took to it quite rapidly. Kazuya always found it easy to talk in those moments before slumber, even easier than it already was to talk with her, and Jun never failed to notice, hence why she brought up the baby topic in the first place.

"Fine then, just name him whatever you want. I've no idea why you would even ask me."

"Is it so peculiar? That I would want you to choose the name of our child?"

He's more yours than mine, he bites down. But she must have felt it either way since she laid a heavy palm on his chest.

"He will be a deity, revered the same as us, tied to the both of us. Are you sure you want nothing to do with the way he will be worshipped?"

Ah, playing with his ego, she knows him so well.

"Is there nobody you'd want to honor?" She asks, much, much quieter. And just like that, she takes him to a place much more dangerous than the heavens where his opposing siblings reside: the past. He closes his eyes in remembrance and she observes him, ready to snap him out should he get somewhere too unpleasant.

"Jinpachi," he finally spoke, she squeezes his hand under the cover. "My grandfather."

"The God of the Sky?"

"You know him?"

It should not have such an effect on him, that she would know of his family; everyone knows of the Sky, of course she would be familiar with him, she used to see it everyday.

"Kazama, the God of the Wind -my own grandfather- always spoke of him with great respect."

"He said he would always watch over me..." At that, Jun was now making soothing circles with her thumb on the hand she was squeezing. "Not that it matters now anyway."

Because his own father, eons ago, usurped the throne of his granfather and started their family's cycle of godly violence. Because the sky was now forbidden to Kazuya.

"I like that name." Her soft voice was like a lifeline, anchoring him to the present. He turned his head so his lips would be on her forehead, but nothing more. "He could be like a piece of sky down here..."

Kazuya hummed in aknowledgement, signaling the end of the conversation. She snuggled closer on his neck, and eventually he felt Jun falling asleep before him. This didn't surprised him: she looked more tired recently, her face was paler, her smile thinner... he tried his best not to think too much about it. Or he blamed it on their unborn child.

He took her in his arms, and took her in entirely, before allowing himself to rest with her, undoubtful that at least she will still be here at their awakening.

---

She was gone.

Has it been hours? Days? Weeks? Millenia?

Even if Kazuya had the ability to tell the time down there, he would feel her absence for much longer than it actually was.

She was gone.

"Then go." Was the last thing he said before turning his back on her, before she could do the same to him. Staying here any longer would kill her? Watching her leave would kill him.

(Nothing would kill him. Nothing could kill him. Never again. He had to remind himself of that.)

He sat motionless in the lush garden. He broke his agreement with Bosconovitch to aleviate his sentence should he succeed in bringing a bit of the surface down here, he send him back to whatever torture the old soul was put through before the good inventor could even plead mercy. It was too late.

That damn garden. He wanted to tear it appart. He wanted to destroy it all.

But something kept stopping his hand, what for? he didn't know, that garden was useless now, it would be better to wipe it all out, to make room for something actually of use. Perhaps his mind was being clouded by thoughts of Jun.

Of course his mind was being clouded by thoughts of Jun.

So there he sat, eyes unfocused and aura lethal, in a garden that was gradually making him feel worse on a physical level. But it didn't bothered him anyway: the pain on his skin and bones distracting him from the pain in his chest.

His scar hurted again.

"... My lord?"

Kazuya couldn't care less whichever of his servant dared to disturb him.

"What should we do with your s-"

"Don't touch it." His voice made the ground shake and the air was electric. From the corner of his eyes, Kazuya could see them jump. Good. "I will deal with it myself."

He rose from his spot, and made his way out of the garden, without so much as sparing a glance at whoever would be unlucky enough to cross his path again, the previous servant already having bolted away at his first movement. When he arrived before the room where the dead infant was placed, various souls poured out of it and scuttled away like bugs, leaving it empty for the King of Hell.

Kazuya entered, and there it was in the middle: the small body, bundled up like a corpse more than a newborn. Kazuya stared at it, this pathetic weakling, too frail, too unworthy, and reached to grab it by the neck.

His hand slowed, a feeling reaching his own neck, warning to dig up old, old memories. Instead Kazuya settled to carry the body in a more appropriate matter.

As he stepped outside of the room, it suddenly hit him that he did not yet know what he should do with it. That no one else but him was supposed to dispose of it, of that he was certain, but how?

He looked again at the grotesque little thing. He could not recognize anything of himself in it. He could not recognize anything of Jun either.

Jun.

You were supposed to fix this, he mentally spat to the unborn baby, his face twisting into a silent scowl, you're the reason she had to leave.

The teary-faced image of Jun sprung into his mind with such intensity it brought back the full disturbance he felt upon seeing it for the first time.

You made her weak.

The realization that he wasn't speaking to the carcass did nothing to quell Kazuya's anger. Quite the opposite. He directed a vicious, vicious stare at the pounds of divine meat in his arms.

"I should throw you down to the lowest levels of Hell so that you may feed whatever monstrous things live down there, maybe that way you could make up for your uselessness."

He recoiled as soon as his venomous words left his mouth. The chill he just felt made him stop dead in his tracks. The thunder booming in his mind was a cruel punctuation. No. No, it bears my blood, he tried to rationalize, it deserves a better fate than this.

Yes, this was about pride, and not about the bone-deep horror he felt at how he just sounded like. Who he just sounded like.

He looked around at a loss, only to see that his feet took him back to the garden. Yes, of course, it was clear now: at the very least, it could be used as a grave, soon to be sealed off, and forgotten about. This felt fitting, this felt right, and right now he desesperately needed something to feel right.

So he entered back into the garden, and didn't need to search for long before finding a proper spot to bury the small body, which he set aside as he dropped to his knees.

To his dismay, that motion brought back more memories.

"Come join me!"

It was just after one of their spar, Kazuya was out of breath, as he often was when he went for extended periods of time on the surface. Jun was as lively as ever, covered in dirt that some would say is unfitting of a goddess, but Kazuya was above such thoughts: she yet again tied with him, she could look however she pleases.

"What for?" He called out to her.

"Helping me shape a new life!"

One could hear the smile in her voice as she gestured to the young tree waiting to be planted in a better sunlit spot.

"I take away life, Jun."

"And is that really all you can do, King of Hell?"

This got a smirk out of him, which only made her smile bigger, as she patted down the spot next to her. When he moved over and dropped to his knees, he could see that she has already worked up a sweat, having digged quite the hole, and they just had a fight before! He gave her a curious look: they're gods, surely there must be a less tiresome way to do this? And as usual, she understood him wordlessly.

"The effort makes it mean something," She held a handful of soil almost to his face and he leaned back ever so slightly. "It's much more satisfying than just willing it into existence."

His look turned from curious to perplexed, so she took his hands into her own (gently, so gently he learned not to jump at the touch anymore) and used them to scoop a bit of the earth.

"The soil is rich here thanks to the volcano," She said, referring to Hell's Entrance, not that far away from here. She kept her brown eyes focused on the ground. "Isn't it amazing? That what is thought to only bring death can help raise so much life?"

Kazuya just looked at her. He only ever looked at her. He could spend eons looking at her.

Her voice, somehow, turned ever softer.

"There is so much more to it than mere destruction."

In the garden, Kazuya felt as if he was digging a hole into his stomach, his throat, rather than in the soft dirt.

When the hole was deep enough, he lowered the unborn child into it, and stayed still for a moment to contemplate the fruit of his labor. Should he say a few words? Make a prayer like a mortal? All options beneath him of course, but sadly for him, that memory of... her brought a vulnerability. He especially despised it now.

Sighing, he began to push back the dirt into the hole.

He thought he dreamt the first sound, that it was just the impact of dust on clothes.

The second sound made him stop in confusion. To his credit, Kazuya heard plenty of last breaths, never a first one.

The third sound was like a great dam finally bursting wide open, a piercing scream that might as well have resonated throughout all levels of Hell. It was as if all the air that was in Kazuya's lungs left him to fuel those of the baby.

Kazuya reached into the hole with an alarming swiftness, as if that loud, irritating, wonderful sound could end at any moment. And he held the child with a gentleness he never thought himself capable of.

He didn't even know where the knowledge of making hushing, soothing noises came from.

He wouldn't dare to tear his shining bright red eyes away from the tiny godling in his arms, who in-between two hiccups started to just slightly open his own. Kazuya looked into them for the first time.

Dark, rich brown.

Outside the garden, a commotion has started to form, loud whispers started to rise, all souls present unsure of what to do, or what even was happening in there. Some were debating if they should enter to offer assistance to their Lord, some were saying it would mean risking punishment for daring to disturb their Master.

Hell embodied, an entity far older than all of Hell's denizens combined, including its Lord for whom she always had a soft spot for, broke away from the crowd to enter the garden, and find the origin of that strange, thundering noise.

It treaded inside on cautious steps, and she immediately felt the same unease Kazuya would when he stayed in there too long. She too was bound to this deep place far below from the surface that is Hell, maybe even more than him, but it was willing to endure the rising discomfort to help the one she had already saved long, long ago, and who she deemed her appointed ruler.

It found Kazuya in the middle of the garden, slowly pacing around, aware of her presence but unwilling to break his attention away from whatever he was holding.

When Hell Embodied came closer, it too felt it's breath taken away from her.

"Implausible," She whispered, awestruck, staring at the first ever hellborn child. "It came back to life."

"Jin."

Kazuya's eyes were shinier than she ever had seen them, even more shinier than when it encountered him for the first time, dying, at the bottom of Hell. They stayed fixated on the boy. He lightly bounced his son to make him more comfortable in his grip. Tiny hands were clasped on one of his much, much larger fingers.

"His name is Jin."

[citricchatter]

Every fanartist who draws Serirei and makes Reigen flirt in the most ridiculous way while Seri looks like his into it but his flight instinct is so overwhelmingly acting up that hes 2 seconds from combusting. Thank you sooo much, I love you. This is the dynamic I crave.

[millenniumdueled]

hey I know there's already so many posts going around d asking for help so I feel really disgusting doing this again, I feel like I don't deserve it when other people are suffering too but im

drowning

I had to call in to work Wednesday and call our emoloyee help line because I was feeling so suicidal over financial stress and now I'm once again unable to stop crying. I just got the paycheck that I was leeching off of during my time off and

I can't afford to pay my rent. I'm $200 short even after taking my savings down to the minimum of $300 I have to maintain to not get charged a fee. I have less than $2 in my emergency checking.

I don't really expect anyone to help. it's my own fault for using time off work as an excuse to go to the bar one night and to eat out twice and I knew damn well I had no business doing either of them I just got caught up wanting to go out since my mental health has been really, really bad and I've been really, painfully unhappy every single day. I hadn't gone out since emo night in February and I don't know how to make irl friends without going places that cost money. I'm so lonely and depressed I just really wanted a chance to make a friend and get to spend time with someone in person again. and I did, I had a great night and played pool and made a friend and we're planning to meet up again but

it feels so much like it wasn't worth it and I knew I didn't deserve to go out and have that fun and I did it anyway

I'm rambling but owning my own mistakes and actions is important to me. I want to be honest that I didn't get fucked over with bills, I did something stupid and selfish and ungrateful and spent almost $100 during a week off work just for funsies. it's why I hate hate hate HATE myself for having to ask for help. I should have to suffer the consequences of my actions so I don't do it again

I have a hair appointment this month I'm already going to have to cancel because I can't afford it. and that's fine, even though it means risking being blacklisted by the only hair salon I've ever not been disappointed or traumatized by

but with student loan repayment starting up again very soon, I can't. empty my savings. I can't lose my entire next paycheck transferring it early to pay my rent.

I can't take any commissions. I have one big one I've been putting off since January bc I'm scared of starting it and it never being good enough. I've been working on another "simple" commission for a month. I don't want to make promises that I can't keep. maybe in the future I can take some more, but I'm not even entertaining the option until I finish what I started.

my pay pal is @MRheuble and venmo is @jupitertrash, or I have tips set up on my personal blog

[pomfiores]

not to flex or anything but I'm so excited.

look at her. omg.

[manufactoredxbyxdesign]

x

[candyredappledragon]

How many Kierans have you seen on this god—I mean Arceus forsaken app? I need to know. And if possible, send me their links.

Also, for the whole ‘Pecharunt’ thing, it’s a mythical pokemon but you won’t find anything about it. There’s no historical evidence, not even myths, legends or even rumors of it existing. It’s a sneaky b’str’d, but it’s also the leader of the Lousy 3 (punt them to oblivion). And it even appears to break the ‘Pokémon aren’t even evil but loyal to evil trainers’ formula as I think it’s malicious, evil, ruthless and wants to do nothing but destroy. We don’t know why. We know nothing about it. But when it awakens,

GET AWAY FROM IT (or beat the living crap out of it, if you dare)

And don’t eat any purple coloured mochi, it was it that made them

ah— well to be honest i have no idea how many there are personally. in total. and i genuinely dont want to find out but.... if you really want to know the other three i think its uhm.

er... gimme a minute. @/ghost-kid-kieran @/ogerpons-favorite and @/adventureswithdipplin

oh there isnt any books about it....? huhm. thats weird... i remember seeing a deep purple book in the library the cover of it looked really old and had an image of some sort of peach thing opened? the pages felt a little brittle too.

i did try reading it just a bit but when i left to go get something i came back and it was gone? somebody probably grabbed it from my table. i dont know. i did try asking the librarian about it but there wasnt any information or anything of it at all.

but thank you for letting me know.. but why would i eat a random mochi? and is it that powerful? huh.

[darabeatha]

/ Always up for plots where my muses are horrendously down bad for someone ☝️

[viciouslyfilthy]

𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!

(Wasn't sure what to put for an image so... 🐭)

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑(𝐒): 💜💜PURPLE!!!!💜💜 (and lime green...)

🐀

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑(𝐒): sweets! Yours truly can be quite a big sweet tooth hehe.

🐁

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: mostly Classic Rock and Heavy Metal! :0 although we do enjoy quite a bit of Swing and Pop too.

🐀

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄(𝐒): Wreck-It Ralph, Phantom of The Paradise, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Black Christmas 1974, Malignant, Cast a Deadly Spell, V/H/S 94, Skinamarink, Van Helsing 2004, Ghostbusters 2, Aliens, Ghostbusters 2016, Leprechaun 4: In Space (LISTEN I LIKE GOOFY HORROR TOO OKAY-)

🐁

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy; The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack; Chop Socky Chooks; Adventure time/AT: Fionna and Cake; What We Do in The Shadows; Castlevania; Shameless (the american series not the british one ejdnsn); Breaking Bad.

🐀

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: I Heard (Eddie de Clown)- Madame Macabre

🐁

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: The Adventures of Professor Egghead (creepypasta series on yt)

🐀

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!

🐁

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: iHomu: the Von Henheim Project by Mélani Garzón Sousa; The Occult Book by John Michael Greer; Hyde by Craig Russel.

(For context yes we're reading all three books at the same time because I have a short attention span that needs to shift into another piece of reading after a while <\3)

🐀

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: Adventure time.

🐁

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍: tons of art stuff we either owe to people (commissions, art trade...) or gifts; ref sheets of my characters/updating their toyhouse page; setting up two-three other different RP blogs. One for a group of insectoid/fly-based OCs of mine- the other for the creepypasta series villain Professor Egghead.

Tagged by: @kingdom-of-mxginica

Tagging (y'all don't gotta feel forced to do this, just if you want to otherwise it's really no issue!! /gen) : @rxdhairxdsirxns ; @bambino-muses ; @paleobird ; @strebcr ; @lenorethequietbookkeeper ; @sins-of-the-sea ; @chiromutt ; @galaxyinfinitum ; @raktanag

[ameliadamen]

❨ＰＲＯＭＰＴ　１３❩: A GREAT BALLROOM DURING AN ELEGANT PARTY [ list ]

THE BALLROOM IS OPULENTLY DECORATED WITH GLITTERING CHANDELIERS CASTING A WARM GLOW OVER THE SCENE BELOW. THE WALLS ARE ADORNED WITH INTRICATE TAPESTRIES AND GILDED MIRRORS, REFLECTING THE ELEGANT FIGURES MOVING GRACEFULLY ACROSS THE POLISHED MARBLE FLOOR.

LARGE WINDOWS DRAPED IN SUMPTUOUS FABRICS LET IN THE SOFT MOONLIGHT, ADDING TO THE ROMANTIC AMBIANCE. THE AIR IS FILLED WITH THE SWEET SCENT OF FLOWERS FROM ORNATE ARRANGEMENTS STRATEGICALLY PLACED THROUGHOUT THE ROOM. MUSICIANS PLAY CLASSICAL MELODIES FROM A CORNER, THEIR MUSIC PROVIDING THE PERFECT BACKDROP FOR THE SWIRLING DANCERS.

GUESTS ARE DRESSED IN THEIR FINEST ATTIRE, THE LADIES WEARING ELABORATE GOWNS WITH VOLUMINOUS SKIRTS AND INTRICATE EMBROIDERY, WHILE THE GENTLEMEN ARE CLAD IN IMPECCABLY TAILORED COATS AND BREECHES. JEWELS SPARKLE AT EVERY TURN, CATCHING THE LIGHT AS THE DANCERS TWIRL AND SWAY IN PERFECT HARMONY.

AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL IS THE HOST, TALIA, WELCOMING GUESTS WITH A WARM SMILE AND ENSURING THAT EVERY DETAIL OF THE EVENING IS EXECUTED FLAWLESSLY.

❥: @rafayel-fishie 𝓲. 𝓡𝒶𝒻𝒶𝓎𝑒𝓁

AMELIA'S HEART RACED AS SHE STOOD ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE BUSTLING BALLROOM, FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER AMIDST THE CROWD. HER FAMILY'S NEWFOUND WEALTH AND RURAL UPBRINGING MADE HER ACUTELY AWARE OF HER DIFFERENCES FROM THE ARISTOCRATIC CROWD SWIRLING AROUND HER. SHE SMOOTHED DOWN THE FABRIC OF HER GOWN, A SIMPLE YET ELEGANT CREATION THAT PALED IN COMPARISON TO THE ELABORATE DRESSES OF THE OTHER LADIES.

EVERY STEP SHE TOOK FELT LIKE A POTENTIAL MISSTEP, AND SHE WAS TERRIFIED OF COMMITTING SOME UNFORGIVABLE SOCIAL BLUNDER. HER PALMS GREW CLAMMY AS SHE WATCHED THE INTRICATE DANCE PATTERNS UNFOLD BEFORE HER, THE GRACEFUL MOVEMENTS OF THE DANCERS SEEMINGLY FOREIGN AND INTIMIDATING.

AMELIA GLANCED NERVOUSLY AROUND THE ROOM, HER EYES WIDE WITH APPREHENSION. WOULD THEY NOTICE HER FALTERING STEPS, HER HESITANT GESTURES? WOULD THEY SEE THROUGH HER FAÇADE OF POISE AND GRACE TO THE INSECURE YOUNG WOMAN BENEATH?

SHE CAUGHT GLIMPSES OF RAISED EYEBROWS AND WHISPERED CONVERSATIONS, AND HER CHEEKS FLUSHED WITH EMBARRASSMENT. IT WAS AS IF SHE WORE HER INSECURITIES LIKE A BEACON, BROADCASTING HER DISCOMFORT TO ALL WHO CARED TO NOTICE.

DESPERATELY, SHE TRIED TO REMEMBER THE ETIQUETTE LESSONS SHE HAD HASTILY RECEIVED BEFORE ATTENDING THE BALL, BUT HER MIND WAS A WHIRLWIND OF ANXIETY AND SELF-DOUBT. SHE WISHED SHE COULD DISAPPEAR INTO THE SHADOWS, FAR AWAY FROM THE JUDGING GAZES AND STIFLING EXPECTATIONS OF SOCIETY.

BUT THEN, AS IF SENSING HER DISTRESS, A VOICE AT HER SIDE BROKE THROUGH HER TURMOIL.